The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Millets have special nutritive properties (they are high in protein, dietary fibre, micronutrients and antioxidants) and special agronomic characteristics (drought-resistant and suitable for semi-arid regions). If millets are good for nutrition …
Read More »T.N. AMONG TOP FIVE STATES RECEIVING GST COMPENSATION
Tamil Nadu was among the top five GST compensation receiving States during the five-year transition period from July 2017 to June 2022, according to a study by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced on July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022 marked …
Read More »REVISIT THE TAX TREATMENT OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Adam Smith, in his famous work The Wealth of Nations, argued that commodities such as sugar, rum and tobacco, though not necessary for life, are widely consumed, and thus good candidates for taxation. Research in India and around the world supports the use of taxes to regulate tobacco consumption. However, …
Read More »NREGA REFORMS
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is no stranger to reform. In fact, the zeal with which reforms are introduced often outpaces the capacity to adapt. Every time the administrative system gets back on its feet after a reform move, it is hit by another. Poorer States …
Read More »SEBI’S SCRUTINY ON ADANI GROUP TRANSACTIONS
India’s market regulator has increased scrutiny of deals by the Adani Group over the past year and will study a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research to add to its own ongoing initial investigation into the group’s foreign portfolio investors, as per two sources aware of the matter. On Wednesday, the …
Read More »KASHMIR’S PASHMINA SHAWLS
Kashmir’s famed pashmina shawls, known for centuries for their intricate buta or paisley patterns, got a French touch this week. Artist Maximilien Pellet turned the fabric into a canvas for contemporary art forms at a Parisian exhibition, in a rare bid to cater to Western sensibilities. Mujtaba Qadri, owner of the label …
Read More »INDIA’S GROUNDWATER GOVERNANCE
Data show that India, with nearly 18% of the world’s population, occupies about 2.4% of the total geographical area and consumes 4% of total water resources. A World Bank report says that India is the largest groundwater user. A rapidly growing economy and population are straining the country’s groundwater resources. …
Read More »‘A BILLION FIREFLIES: CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS TO SHAPE A NEW POST-PANDEMIC WORLD’
News from Davos and Delhi in the third week of January has framed the moral and intellectual crises affecting Indian economic policies. In the first instance, speaking at a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos on India’s road to a $10 trillion economy, the Chairman of Tata Sons …
Read More »BUDGET 2023-24 MUST BALANCE ELECTORAL SIGNALLING WITH FISCAL PRUDENCE
In the week ahead, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her fifth and this government’s last full-fledged Budget before the Lok Sabha election in 2024. Although some electoral overtures can be made in an interim Budget next year, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will also be mindful of the flurry …
Read More »STATE GOVT. MAKES ₹7.5-CRORE EQUITY INVESTMENT IN FIVE SC/ST START-UPS
The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned ₹7.5 crore in equity investments to five start-ups that were founded and managed by entrepreneurs of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Chief Minister M.K.Stalin handed over the sanction orders on Friday in the presence of Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management …
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