Showing posts with label ECONOMY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ECONOMY. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Thursday, September 8, 2011
भारत की प्रमुख स्वतंत्र संस्थाएं
भारत की प्रमुख स्वतंत्र संस्थाएं
योजना आयोग
योजना आयोग की स्थापना भारत सरकार द्वारा मार्च, 1950 में की गई थी। देष में संस्थानों का प्रभावी दोहन कर, उत्पादन बढ़ा कर, सभी को रोजगार के अवसर देकर लोगों के जीवन स्तर में तेजी से सुधार लाने के उद्देश्यों से इस संस्था की स्थापना की गई थी। जवाहरलाल नेहरू योजना आयोग के प्रथम अध्यक्ष थे। फिलहाल इसके अध्यक्ष प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह हैं और उपाध्यक्ष एम. एस. अलहूवालिया हैं।
भारतीय चुनाव आयोग
भारतीय चुनाव आयोग एक स्वायत्त एवं अर्ध-न्यायिक संस्था है। इसका गठन भारत में स्तवंत्र एवं निष्पक्ष रूप से प्रतिनिधिक संस्थानों में जन प्रतिनिधि चुनने के लिए किया गया था। भारतीय चुनाव आयोग की स्थापना 25 जनवरी, 1950 को की गई थी। आयोग में वर्तमान में एक मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त और दो चुनाव आयुक्त होते है। वर्तमान में मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त एस. वाई. कुरैशी हैं।
संघ लोक सेवा आयोग
संघ लोक सेवा आयोग (यूनियन पब्लिक सर्विस कमीशन) भारत के संविधान द्वारा स्थापित एक ऐसी संस्था है जो भारत सरकार के लोक सेवा के अधिकारियों की नियुक्ति के लिए परीक्षाएं संचालित करती है। संविधान के अनुच्छेद 315-323 में एक संघीय लोक सेवा आयोग और राज्यों के लिए राज्य लोक सेवा आयोग के गठन का प्रावधान है। प्रथम लोक सेवा आयोग की स्थापना 1 अक्टूबर, 1926 को हुई थी।
राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग
राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग का गठन जनवरी 1992 में एक संवैधानिक निकाय के रूप में किया गया था। महिला आयोग का काम महिलाओं के संवैधानिक हित और उनके लिए कानूनी सुरक्षा उपायों को लागू करना होता है। इस आयोग की पहली अध्यक्ष जयंती पटनायक थीं। मौजूदा अध्यक्ष ममता शर्मा है।
केंद्रीय सूचना आयोग
भारत सरकार ने अपने नागरिकों के जीवन को सहज, सुचारु रखने और देश को पूरी तरह लोकतांत्रिक बनाने और सरकारी पारदर्शिता के लिए आरटीआई अधिनियम स्थापित किया। 2005 में इस का आयोग गठन किया गया। राइट टू इन्फॉरमेशन (आरटीआई) का अर्थ है सूचना का अधिकार और इसे संविधान की धारा 19 (1) के तहत एक मूलभूत अधिकार का दर्जा दिया गया है। आरटीआई के तहत हर नागरिक को यह जानने का अधिकार है कि सरकार कैसे कार्य करती है। फिलहाल मुख्य सूचना आयुक्त सत्यानंद मिश्र है।
राष्ट्रीय अल्पसंख्यक आयोग
केंद्र सरकार ने राष्ट्रीय अल्पसंख्यक आयोग का गठन राष्ट्रीय अल्पसंख्यक आयोग अधिनियम-1992 के तहत किया। इसका गठन पांच धार्मिक अल्पसंख्यकों मुस्लिम, सिख, ईसाई, बौद्व एवं पारसी समुदाय के हितों की रक्षा के लिए किया गया है। आयोग में एक अध्यक्ष, एक उपाध्यक्ष और पांच सदस्य होते हैं जो अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय का प्रतिनिधित्व करते हैं। वर्तमान में राष्ट्रीय अल्पसंख्यक आयोग के अध्यक्ष वजाहत हबीबुल्लाह हैं। आंध्र प्रदेश, असम, बिहार, छत्तीसगढ़, दिल्ली, झारखंड, कर्नाटक, महाराष्ट्र, मध्य प्रदेश, मणिपुर, राजस्थान, तमिलनाडु, उत्तराखंड, उत्तर प्रदेश तथा पश्चिम बंगाल में भी राज्य अल्पसंख्यक आयोगों का गठन किया गया है। इन आयोगों के कार्यालय राज्यों की राजधानियों में स्थित हैं।
भारत के नियंत्रक एवं महालेखा परीक्षक
कम्पट्रोलर ऐंड ऑडिटर जनरल यानी नियंत्रक एवं महालेखा परीक्षक को आम तौर पर कैग के नाम से जाना जाता है। भारतीय संविधान के अनुच्छेद 148 में कैग का प्रावधान है, जो केंद्र व राज्य सरकारों के विभागों और उनके द्वारा नियंत्रित संस्थानों के आय-व्यय की जांच करती है। यही संस्था सार्वजनिक धन की बरबादी के मामलों को समय-समय पर प्रकाश में लाती है। 1948 में पहले कैग वी. नरहरि राव बने थे। भारत के कैग फिलहाल विनोद राय हैं। वह देश के 11वें कैग हैं।
– रूबी प्रसाद, साभार: अमर उजाला उड़ान
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Banking System of India
Banking System of India
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Bank of Hindustan (1770) was the first bank to be established in India (Alexander and Co.) at Kolkata under European management. Other banks set-up was Bank of Bengal (1806), Bank of Bombay (1840) and the Bank of Madras (1843) - these were called Presidency Banks.
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First bank with limited liability managed by an Indian board was Oudh Commercial Bank, founded in 1881. The first purely Indian bank was the Punjab National Bank (1894).
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It is the Central Bank of the country.
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It was established on Apr 1, 1935 with a capital of Rs.5 crore. This capital of Rs.5 crore was divided into 5 lakh equity shares of Rs.100 each. In the beginning, the ownership of almost all the share capital was with the non-government share-holders.
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It was nationalized on Jan 1, 1949 as govt., acquired the private share holdings.
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Administration: 14 directors in Central Board of Directors besides the Governor, 4 Deputy Governors and one Government official. The Governor is the Chairman of the board and Chief Executive of the Bank.
- Governors:
- 1st Governor-Sir Smith (1935-37)
- 1st Indian Governor : CD Deshmukh (1948-49)
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Issue of Notes: Regulates issue of bank notes above 1 rupee. It acts as the only source of legal tender money because the one rupee notes issued by Ministry of Finance are also circulated through it.
The Reserve Bank has adopted the Minimum Reserve System for the note issue. Since 1957, it maintains gold and foreign exchange reserve of Rs.200 crore, of which at least 115 crore should be in gold.
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Banker to the Government: Acts as the banker, agent and advisor the Govt., of India. It also manages the public debt for the Government.
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Banker's Bank: The Reserve Bank performs the same function for other banks as the other banks ordinarily perform for their customers.
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Controller of Credit: The Reserve Bank undertakes the responsibility of controlling credits created by the commercial banks. To achieve this objective, it makes extensive use of quantitative and qualitative techniques to control and regulate the credit effectively in the country.
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Custodian of Foreign Reserves: For the purpose of keeping the foreign exchange rates stable, the Reserve Banks buys and sells the foreign currencies and also protects the country's foreign exchange funds.
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It formulates and administers the monetary policy.
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Acts as the agent of the Government of Indian in respect to India's membership of the IMF and the World Bank.
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No personal accounts are maintained and operated in RBI.
The Reserve Bank of India (Amendment) Bill 2005 has been approved. This bill amends the Reserve Bank Act for providing flexibility to the Central Bank in fixing the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). CRR is the cash that banks deposit with RBI and is one of the key instruments used by the Central Bank to inject or suck out liquidity from the market.
SLR specifies the minimum amount that banks must invest in government securities. This bill is to arm RBI with greater autonomy and authority to deal with subjects (mainly CRR and SLR) under the Act. This bill also allows the Central Bank to regulate derivatives, repo instruments (overnight rates used to regulate liquidity) and securities.
The amendments also seek to end the ambiguity about the legal validity of derivatives as it was seen to inhibit the growth of the market.
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Friday, June 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
India is less poor today -- BPL population dips to 26.1 pc
the percentage of population below the poverty line (BPL) declining to 26.1 per cent in 1999-2000 from 35.97 per cent in 1993-94.
According to the latest estimates of the Planning Commission, while the percentage of rural BPL population has dropped to 27.09 per cent from 37.27 per cent, in urban India, it fell to 23.62 per cent from 32.36 per cent during the five-year period.
In absolute terms too, the BPL population has dropped by over 19 per cent, to 26.03 crore in 1999-2000, from 32.04 crore in 1993-94. The rural poor stands at 19.32 crore (as against 24.4 crore) while the urban poor stands at 6.71 crore (7.63 crore).
At the State-level, although the percentage of BPL population in Orissa has declined to 47.15 per cent from 48.56 per cent, it has overtaken Bihar to reach the top slot with the highest incidence of poverty.
Bihar, which accounted for the highest percentage of BPL population in 1993-94 at 54.96 per cent, now recorded 42.6 per cent, a sharp drop of over 12.36 percentage points.
The other big States with high incidence of poverty were Madhya Pradesh at 37.43 per cent (as against 42.52 per cent), Assam (36.09 per cent), Uttar Pradesh 31.15 per cent (40.85 per cent) and West Bengal 27.02 per cent (35.66 per cent).
Among the big States with very low level of poverty, Jammu and Kashmir led the pack with the percentage of BPL population at 3.48 per cent (25.17 per cent). Next in line was Punjab 6.16 per cent (11.77 per cent), Himachal Pradesh 7.63 (28.44 per cent), H aryana 8.74 (25.05 per cent) and Kerala 12.72 (25.43 per cent).
Poverty levels in the remaining States were Maharashtra 25.02 per cent (36.86 per cent), Tamil Nadu 21.12 per cent (35.03 per cent), Karnataka 20.04 per cent (33.16 per cent), Andhra Pradesh 15.77 per cent (22.19 per cent), Rajasthan 15.28 per cent (27.4 1 per cent) and Gujarat 14.07 per cent (24.21 per cent).
However, the Planning Commission has cautioned that the poverty ratios over the two time periods (1993-94 and 1999-2000) are not strictly comparable.
The survey methodology has undergone changes over the two surveys in 1993-94 and 1999-2000. It is basically to do with the estimation of monthly per capita consumption expenditure on the basis of responses using different recall periods. This fact needs to be kept in mind in assessing trends.
History of panchayati raj in India
The Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1957)
In 1957, Balwantrai Mehta Committee studied the Community Development Projects and the National Extension Service and assessed the extent to which the movement had succeeded in utilising local initiatives and in creating institutions to ensure continuity in the process of improving economic and social conditions in rural areas. The Committee held that community development would only be deep and enduring when the community was involved in the planning, decision-making and implementation process.[8] The suggestions were for as follows [9] :-
• an early establishment of elected local bodies and devolution to them of necessary resources, power and authority,
• that the basic unit of democratic decentralisation was at the block/ samiti level since the area of jurisdiction of the local body should neither be too large nor too small. The block was large enough for efficiency and economy of administration, and small enough for sustaining a sense of involvement in the citizens,
• such body must not be constrained by too much control by the government or government agencies,
• the body must be constituted for five years by indirect elections from the village panchayats,
• its functions should cover the development of agriculture in all its aspects, the promotion of local industries and others
• services such as drinking water, road building, etc., and
• the higher level body, Zilla Parishad, would play an advisory role.
The PRI structure did not develop the requisite democratic momentum and failed to cater to the needs of rural development. There are various reasons for such an outcome which include political and bureaucratic resistance at the state level to share power and resources with local level institutions, domination of local elites over the major share of the benefits of welfare schemes, lack of capability at the local level and lack of political will.
S K Dey : The first Minister for panchayati raj in India
Late Mr. S. K. Dey [1] (1905–1989) piloted and steered the course of community development and Panchayati Raj in the challenging, formative period of India’s independence as Cabinet Minister of Cooperation and Panchayati Raj under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru. After Nehru’s death he took leave from Ministerial responsibilities to dedicate himself fully for the cause of Panchayati Raj as long as he lived.[2]
K. Santhanam Committee (1963)
One of the prime areas of concern in this long debate on panchayati raj institutions was fiscal decentralisation. The K. Santhanam Committee was appointed to look solely at the issue of PRI finance, in 1963. The fiscal capacity of PRIs tends to be limited, as rich resources of revenue are pre-empted by higher levels of government, and issue is still debated today. The Committee was asked to determine issues related to sanctioning of grants to PRIs by the state government, evolving mutual financial relations between the three tiers of PRIs, gifts and donation, handing over revenue in full or part to PRIs. The Committee recommended the following [10]:
• panchayats should have special powers to levy special tax on land revenues and home taxes, etc.,
• people should not be burdened with too many demands (taxes),
• all grants and subventions at the state level should be mobilised and sent in a consolidated form to various PRIs,
• a Panchayat Raj Finance Corporation should be set up to look into the financial resource of PRIs at all levels, provide loans and financial assistance to these grassroots level governments and also provide non-financial requirements of villages.
These issues have been debated over the last three decades and have been taken up by the State Finance Commissions which are required to select taxes for assignment and sharing, identifying the principles for such sharing and assignment, determine the level of grants and recommend the final distribution of state's transfers to local authorities.20
Ashok Mehta Committee (1978)
With the coming of the Janata Party into power at the Centre in 1977, a serious view was taken of the weaknesses in the functioning of Panchayati Raj.[11] It was decided to appoint a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta to exa¬mine and suggest measures to strengthen PRIs. The Committee had to evolve an effective decentralised system of development for PRIs. They made the following recommendations [12] :-
• the district is a viable administrative unit for which planning, co-ordination and resource allocation are feasible and technical expertise available,
• PRIs as a two-tier system, with Mandal Panchayat at the base and Zilla Parishad at the top,
• the PRIs are capable of planning for themselves with the resources available to them,
• district planning should take care of the urban-rural continuum,
• representation of SCs and STs in the election to PRIs on the basis of their population,
• four-year term of PRIs,
• participation of political parties in elections,
• any financial devolution should be committed to accepting that much of the developmental functions at the district level would be played by the panchayats.
The states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal passed new legislation based on this report. However, the flux in politics at the state level did not allow these institutions to develop their own political dynamics.
G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985)
The G.V.K. Rao Committee was appointed to once again look at various aspects of PRIs. The Committee was of the opinion that a total view of rural development must be taken in which PRIs must play a central role in handling people's problems. It recommended the following [13] :-
• PRIs have to be activated and provided with all the required support to become effective organisations,
• PRIs at the district level and below should be assigned the work of planning, implementation and monitoring of rural development programmes, and
• the block development office should be the spinal cord of the rural development process.
L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986)
L.M. Singhvi Committee studied panchayatiraj. The Gram Sabha was considered as the base of a decentralised democracy, and PRIs viewed as institutions of self-governance which would actually facilitate the participation of the people in the process of planning and development. It recommended [14] :
• local self-government should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved by the inclusion of new chapter in the Constitution,
• non-involvement of political parties in Panchayat elections.
The suggestion of giving panchayats constitutional status was opposed by the Sarkaria Commission, but the idea, however, gained momentum in the late 1980s especially because of the endorsement by the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who introduced the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill in 1989. The 64th Amendment Bill was prepared and introduced in the lower house of Parliament. But it got defeated in the Rajya Sabha as non-convincing. He lost the general elections too. In 1989, the National Front introduced the 74th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which could not become an Act because of the dissolution of the Ninth Lok Sabha. All these various suggestions and recommendations and means of strengthening PRIs were considered while formulating the new Constitutional Amendment Act.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act
The idea that produced the 73rd Amendment [15] was not a response to pressure from the grassroots, but to an increasing recognition that the institutional initiatives of the preceding decade had not delivered, that the extent of rural poverty was still much too large and thus the existing structure of government needed to be reformed. It is interesting to note that this idea evolved from the Centre and the state governments. It was a political drive to see PRIs as a solution to the governmental crises that India was experiencing. The Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, passed in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao government, came into force on April 24, 1993. It was meant to provide constitutional sanction to establish "democracy at the grassroots level as it is at the state level or national level". Its main features are as follows [16]:
• The Gram Sabha or village assembly as a deliberative body to decentralised governance has been envisaged as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj System.
• A uniform three-tier structure of panchayats at village (Gram Panchayat — GP), intermediate or block (Panchayat Samiti — PS) and district (Zilla Parishad — ZP) levels.
• All the seats in a panchayat at every level are to be filled by elections from respective territorial constituencies.
• Not less than one-third of the total seats for membership as well as office of chairpersons of each tier have to be reserved for women.
• Reservation for weaker castes and tribes (SCs and STs) have to be provided at all levels in proportion to their population in the panchayats.
• To supervise, direct and control the regular and smooth elections to panchayats, a State Election Commission has to be constituted in every State and UT.
• The Act has ensured constitution of a State Finance Commission in every State/UT, for every five years, to suggest measures to strengthen finances of PRIs.
• To promote bottom-up-planning, the District Planning Committee fDPC} in every district has been accorded constitutional status.
• An indicative list of 29 items has been given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. Panchayats are expected to play an effective role in planning and implementation of works related to these 29 items.
History of panchayati raj in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monday, April 18, 2011
Navratna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Navratna was the title given originally to nine Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), identified by the Government of India in 1997 as its most prestigious, which allowed them greater autonomy to compete in the global market.[1] The number of PSEs having Navratna status has been raised to 16,[2] the most recent addition being Oil India Limited.
PSU companies are divided into three categories:
- Maharatna
- Navratna
- Miniratna CPSEs
- Category I
- Category II
Originally, the term Navaratna meant a talisman or ornament composed of nine precious gems. Later, this symbology was adopted in the courts of Emperor Vikramaditya and the Mughal emperor Akbar, where the Navaratnas were a group of nine extraordinary men in their respective courts.
Maharatna status
In 2009, the government established the Maharatna status, which raises a company's investment ceiling from Rs. 1,000 crore to Rs. 5,000 crore.[3] The Maharatna firms would now be free to decide on investments up to 15 per cent of their net worth in a project.
Earlier, the Navaratna companies could invest up to Rs 1,000 crore without government approvals.
Criteria
In order to qualify as a Maharatna, the process is bottoms up. This means the lowest employee should be proud of his/her company and contribute to the same according to the global standards. The 6 point criteria for eligibility as Maharatna are:
- Having Navratna status.
- Listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations.
- An average annual turnover of more than Rs. 20,000 [4]crore during the last 3 years.
- An average annual net worth of more than Rs. 10,000[5] crore during the last 3 years.
- An average annual net profit after tax of more than Rs. 2,500 crore during the last 3 years.
- Should have significant global presence/international operations.[6]
List of Maharatna
- Coal India Limited [7]
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited [8]
- NTPC Limited [9]
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited [10]
- Steel Authority of India Limited [11]
For the talisman, set of stones and gems, see Navaratna. For the well-known navratnas of Akbar and Vikramaditya's courts, see Nine Gems.
Navratna status
Navratna was the title given originally to nine Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), identified by the Government of India in 1997 as its most prestigious, which allowed them greater autonomy to compete in the global market.[12] The number of PSEs having Navratna status has been raised to 16,[13] the most recent addition being Neyveli Lignite Ltd [14].
Miniratnas status
In addition, the government created another category called Miniratna. Miniratnas can also enter into joint ventures, set subsidiary companies and overseas offices but with certain conditions. In 2002, there were 61 government enterprises that were awarded Miniratna status. However, at present, there are 63 government enterprises that were awarded Miniratna status.
[edit] Category I
This designation applies to PSEs that have made profits continuously for the last three years or earned a net profit of Rs. 30 crore or more in one of the three years. These miniratnas granted certain autonomy like incurring capital expenditure without government approval up to Rs. 500 crore or equal to their net worth, whichever is lower.
- Airport Authority of India
- Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited
- Bharat Dynamics Limited
- BEML Limited
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
- Bridge & Roof Company (India) Limited
- Central Warehousing Corporation
- Central Coalfields Limited
- Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Cochin Shipyard Limited
- Container Corporation of India Limited
- Dredging Corporation of India Limited
- Engineers India Limited
- Ennore Ports Limited
- Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited
- Goa Shipyard Limited
- Hindustan Copper Limited
- HLL Lifecare Limited
- Hindustan Newsprint Limited
- Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited
- Housing and Urban Development Corporation
- India Tourism Development Corporation
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
- IRCON International
- Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd.
- Mazagon Dock Limited
- Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
- MOIL Limited
- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
- Mishra Dhatu Nigam
- Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India
- MSTC Limited
- National Fertilizers Limited
- National Seeds Corporation
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation
- NHPC Limited
- Northern Coalfields Limited
- Numaligarh Refinery Limited
- Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited
- Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam
- Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited
- South Eastern Coalfields Limited
- State Trading Corporation of India Limited
- Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited
- Telecommunications Consultants (India) Limited
- Western Coalfields Limited
- Water & Power Consultancy (India) Limited
[edit] Category II
This category include those PSEs which have made profits for the last three years continuously and should have a positive net worth. Category II miniratnas have autonomy to incurring the capital expenditure without government approval up to Rs. 300 crore or up to 50% of their net worth whichever is lower.
50. Bharat Pumps & Compressors
51. Broadcast Engineering Consultants (I) Limited
52. Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited
53. Educational Consultants (I) Limited
54. Engineering Projects (I) Limited
55. Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited
56. HMT (International) Limited
57. HSCC (India) Limited
58. India Trade Promotion Organization
59. Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Corporation Limited
60. M E C O N Limited
61. National Film Development Corporation Limited
62. P E C Limited
63. Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited
Friday, April 1, 2011
Railway Budget, 2011
For the third year in a row, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee made an attempt to come out with the “aam aadmi” budget sparing the passengers and industry from fare and freight hikes and announcing the highest ever investment of Rs 57,630 crore, with 68 new trains.
On February 25, 2011, presenting her third Railway Budget in UPA-II in the Lok Sabha, Mamata vowed to build a stronger railroad infrastructure based on the Vision 2020 document while announcing a slew of concessions, including reducing the eligibility age of senior women citizens from 60 to 58 years and raising the fare concession for senior citizens (above 60) from 30 to 40 per cent.
The budget estimates for 2011-12 project a freight loading of 993 million tonne and a passenger growth of 6.4 per cent. Ordinary working expenses have been estimated at Rs 73,650 crore and appropriation to depreciation reserve fund pegged at Rs 7,000 crore.
A provision of Rs 6,735 crore has been made for dividend payment and the excess for railways for the new fiscal has been projected at Rs 5,258 crore, with an operating ratio of 98.1 per cent.
Gross traffic receipts have been fixed at Rs 94,840 crore, which is higher by Rs 75 crore over budget estimates. The ordinary working expenses have been fixed at Rs 67,000 crore. A target of 1,300 km of new lines, 867 km of doubling of lines and 1,017 km of gauge conversion has been set.
Indian Railways, the world’s second largest under a single management, has a network of 64,099 km to ferry as many as 18.9 million passengers on 7,000 trains daily, from 6,906 stations. It also runs 4,000 freight trains to carry 850 million tonne of cargo.
Highlights
- No hike in passenger fare and freight rates.
- Highest ever plan outlay of Rs 57,630 crore proposed.
- Rs 9,583 crore provided for new lines.
- 1,300 km new lines, 867 km doubling of lines and 1,017 km gauge conversion targeted in 2011-12.
- 56 new Express Trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 Durontos to be introduced.
- 16,000 ex-servicemen to be given jobs in railways.
- Ten-year backlog of 1.75 lakh jobs to be addressed.
- Durontos on the Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Madurai-Chennai routes.
- Integrated suburban network to be set up in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad.
- A bridge factory in Jammu & Kashmir and a state-of-art institute for tunnel and bridge engineering proposed at Jammu.
- New Shatabadi to link Ludhiana with New Delhi.
- New weekly train, "Vivek Express", on Bandra (T)-Jammu Tawi Express route via Marwar-Degana- Ratangarh -Jakhal-Ludhiana.
- Industrial park in Nandigram, Metro coach factory for Singur.
- Centre for excellence in software at Darjeeling.
- Concession for senior citizens increased from 30% to 40%.
- Age for senior women citizens’ concession reduced to 58 from 60.
- Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana to be launched.
- Student special .trains to be started; start of Rajrani Express.
- Multi-purpose smart card to be introduced for all-India travel.
Union Budget 2011 Highlights
Union Budget 2011 Highlights
- Standard rate of excise duty held at 10 percent; no change in CENVAT rates.
- Personal income tax exemption limit raised to Rs 180,000 from Rs 160,000 for individual tax payers.
- For senior citizens, the qualifying age reduced to 60 years and exemption limit raised to Rs 2.50 lakh.
- Citizens over 80 years to have exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh.
- To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5 percent from 7.5 percent.
- A new revised income tax return form 'Sugam' to be introduced for small tax papers.
- raise minimum alternate tax to 18.5 percent from 18 percent.
- Iron ore export duty raised to 20 percent
- Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10 per cent in view of the global economic situation.
- Service tax widened to cover hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000 per day, A/C restaurants serving liquor, some category of hospitals, diagnostic tests.
- Service tax on air travel increased by Rs 50 for domestic travel and Rs 250 for international travel in economy class. On higher classes, it will be ten per cent flat.
- Works of art exempt from customs when imported for exhibition in state-run institutions; this now extended to private institutions.
- Subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 1.44 trillion rupees.
- Food subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 605.7 billion rupees.
- Revised food subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 606 billion rupees.
- Revised fertilizer subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 550 billion rupees.
- Revised petroleum subsidy bill in 2010-11 at 384 billion rupees.
- State-run oil retailers to be provided with 200 billion rupee cash subsidy in 2011-12.
- Fiscal deficit seen at 5.1 percent of GDP in 2010-11.
- Fiscal deficit seen at 4.6 percent of GDP in 2011-12.
- Total expenditure in 2011-12 seen at 12.58 trillion rupees.
- Plan expenditure seen at 4.41 trillion rupees in 2011-12, up 18.3 percent.
- Gross tax receipts seen at 9.32 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
- Non-tax revenue seen at 1.25 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
- Corporate tax receipts seen at 3.6 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
- Tax-to-GDP ratio seen at 10.4 percent in 2011-12; seen at 10.8 percent in 2012-13.
- Customs revenue seen at 1.52 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
- Service tax receipts seen at 820 billion rupees in 2011-12.
- Economy expected to grow at 9 percent in 2012, plus or minus 0.25 percent.
- Inflation seen lower in the financial year 2011-12.
- Disinvestment in 2011-12 seen at 400 billion rupees.
- Government committed to retaining 51 percent stake in public sector enterprises.
- Net market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 3.43 trillion rupees, down from 3.45 trillion rupees in 2010-11.
- Gross market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 4.17 trillion rupees.
- Revised gross market borrowing for 2010-11 at 4.47 trillion rupees.
- To create infrastructure debt funds.
- FDI policy being liberalized.
- To boost infrastructure development with tax-free bonds of 300 billion rupees.
- Food security bill to be introduced.
- To permit SEBI registered mutual funds to access subscriptions from foreign investments.
- Raised foreign institutional investor limit in 5-year corporate bonds for investment in infrastructure by $20 billion.
- Setting up independent debt management office; Public debt bill to be introduced in parliament soon.
- Bills on insurance, pension funds, banking to be introduced.
- To allocate more than 1.64 trillion rupees to defence sector in 2011-12.
- Corpus of rural infrastructure development fund raised to 180 billion rupees in 2011-12.
- To provide 201.5 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in 2011-12.
- To allocate 520.5 billion rupees for the education sector. Rs.21,000 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
- To raise health sector allocation to 267.6 billion rupees.
- Rs.500 crore more for national skill development fund.
- Rs.54 crore each for AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) centres at Murshidabad and Mallapuram.
- Rs.58,000 crore for Bharat Nirman; increase of Rs.10,000 crore.
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wage rates linked to consumer price index; will rise from existing Rs.100 per day.
- Infrastructure critical for development; 23 percent higher allocation in 2011-12.
- Removal of supply bottlenecks in the food sector will be in focus in 2011-12.
- To raise target of credit flow to agriculture sector to 4.75 trillion rupees.
- 3 percent interest subsidy to farmers in 2011-12.
- Cold storage chains to be given infrastructure status.
- Capitalisation of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) of 30 billion rupees in a phased manner.
- To provide 3 billion rupees for 60,000 hectares under palm oil plantation.
- Food storage capacity to be augmented; 15 more mega food parks to be set up in 2011-12; of 30 sanctioned in previous fiscal, 15 set up.
- Comprehensive policy on further developing PPP (public-private-partnership) model.
- To move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene, LPG and fertilizers.
- Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge B. Srikrishna, to complete its work in 24 months; to overhaul financial regulations.
- Five-fold strategy against black money; 13 new double taxation avoidance agreements; foreign tax division of CTBT strengthened; strength of Enforcement Directorate increased three-fold.
- Bill to be introduced to review Indian Stamp Act.
- New coins carrying new rupee symbol to be issued.
- Anganwadi workers salary raised from Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000.
- Housing loan limit for priority sector lending raised to Rs.25 lakh.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Economic Survey 2010-11 Download
- State of the Economy and Prospects
- Micro-Foundations of Macroeconomic Developement
- Fiscal Developments and Public Finance
- Prices and Monetary Management
- Financial Intermediation and Markets
- Balance of Payments
- International Trade
- Agriculture and Food Management
- Industry
- Services Sector
- Energy, Infrastructure and Communications
- Human Development, Equity and Environment
- Statistical Tables
- Economic Survey (All Chapters)
Budget 2011-12 Download
- Key to Budget Documents
- Budget Highlights (Key Features)
- Budget Speech
- Budget at a Glance
- Annual Financial Statement
- Finance Bill
- Memorandum
- Receipt Budget
- Expenditure Budget
- Customs & Central Excise
- The Macro Economic Framework Statement
- The Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement
- The Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement
- Statement of Revenue Foregone
- Implementation of Budget Announcements
Economic Survey 2010-11
Economic Survey 2010-11
The Indian economy has emerged with remarkable rapidity from the slowdown caused by the global financial crisis of 2007-09. With growth in 2009-10 now estimated at 8.0 percent by the Quick Estimates relesed on 31 January 2011 and 8.6 percent in 2010-11 as per the Advance Estimates of the Centeral Statistics Office (CSO) released onm 7 February 2011, the turnaround has been fast and strong.
State of the Economy and Prospects
Micro-Foundations of Macroeconomic Development
Fiscal Developments and Public Finance
Prices and Monetary Management
Financial Intermediation and Markets
Balance of Payments
International Trade
Agriculture and Food Management
Industry
Services Sector
Energy, Infrastructure and Communications
Human Development, Equity and Environment
Statistical Tables
Courtesy: www.indiabudget.nic.in
Thursday, March 17, 2011
INDIAN ECONOMY
Indian Rupee has got its symbol as . This symbol has been designed by—
(A) D. Kumar Raju
(B) Udai D. Raj
(C) D. Udai Kumar
(D) D. Udai Reddy
Ans : (C)
2. Primary gold is a gold of—
(A) 20 carat
(B) 22 carat
(C) 23 carat
(D) 24 carat
Ans : (D)
3. First share market in India was established in—
(A) Delhi
(B) Kolkata
(C) Chennai
(D) Mumbai
Ans : (D)
4. ‘Aam Admi Bima Yojana’ is an insurance scheme for rural landless households executed by the nodal agency—
(A) National Insurance Co.
(B) State Government
(C) LIC
(D) Central Government
Ans : (B)
5. Revenue Deficit as a per cent of GDP in Budget 2011-12 has been estimated at—
(A) 4•2%
(B) 6•8%
(C) 6•0%
(D) 4•6%
Ans : (D)
6. GST would be introduced from—
(A) January 1, 2012
(B) August 1, 2011
(C) April 1, 2012
(D) August 15, 2011
Ans : (C)
7. The rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) proposed in the budget 2011-12 is—
(A) 15%
(B) 18•5%
(C) 20%
(D) 22%
Ans : (B)
8. Which of the following is not a financial regulator ?
(A) IRDA
(B) AMFI
(C) PFRDA
(D) SEBI
Ans : (B)
9. Inflation in India is measured on which of the following indexes/indicators ?
(A) Cost of Living Index
(B) Consumer Price Index
(C) Wholesale Price Index
(D) Gross Domestic Product
Ans : (C)
10. As per 13th Finance Commission Recommendations during 2010-15, transfers to the states from the central tax pool are expected to be—
(A) Rs. 44000 crore
(B) Rs. 164832 crore
(C) Rs. 318581 crore
(D) Rs. 107552 crore
Ans : (C)
11. From which of the following taxes, the Central Government will get the maximum revenue in 2011-12 ?
(A) Custom Duties
(B) Income Tax
(C) Excise Duties
(D) Corporation Tax
Ans : (D)
12. How many economists shared Nobel Prize in Economics for the year 2010 ?
(A) 01
(B) 02
(C) 03
(D) 04
Ans : (C)
13. The target for exports in 2013-14 has been fixed at—
(A) $ 300 billion
(B) $ 275 billion
(C) $ 250 billion
(D) $ 450 billion
Ans : (D)
14. Global Hunger Index released by IFPRI in October 2010 places India at—
(A) 58th rank
(B) 64th rank
(C) 67th rank
(D) 74th rank
Ans : (C)
15. When was the first EPZ set-up in Kandla ?
(A) 1965
(B) 1970
(C) 1975
(D) 1995
Ans : (A)
16. For rural development allocation Union Budget 2011-12 is—
(A) Rs. 16,000 crore
(B) Rs. 46,000 crore
(C) Rs. 56,000 crore
(D) Rs. 87,800 crore
Ans : (D)
17. What is true for the service tax in Union Budget 2011-12 ?
(A) It is raised from 10 to 12%
(B) It is left unchanged at 11%
(C) It is left unchanged at 10%
(D) It is reduced from 14% to 12%
Ans : (C)
18. Which part of Indian rupee has been allotted in public expenditure for repaying interest on loans in 2011-12 budget proposals ?
(A) 18 Paise
(B) 21 Paise
(C) 22 Paise
(D) 23 Paise
Ans : (A)
19. In Forbes-2000 list of the year 2010 how many Indian companies got the place ?
(A) 16
(B) 56
(C) 37
(D) 27
Ans : (B)
20. As per the latest data available (for the year 2009). Infant Mortality Rate (per thousand live births) in India is—
(A) 72
(B) 68
(C) 60
(D) 50
Ans : (D)
Trade and Industry Objective Questions
Trade and Industry Objective Questions
1. Recently, Ministry of Human Resource Development developed a new index termed as ‘Educational Development Index’ (EDI) related to primary and upper primary education.
The state at the top of this index is—
(A) Delhi
(B) Kerala
(C) Tamil Nadu
(D) Andhra Pradesh
Ans : (B)
2. India’s mobile market has been ranked at the……largest market of the world.
(A) Second
(B) Third
(C) Fourth
(D) Fifth
Ans : (B)
3. In 2010-11, contribution of service sector in country’s GDP is estimated at about—
(A) 48•6%
(B) 50•6%
(C) 57•3%
(D) 52•6%
Ans : (C)
4. Hutch-Essar has recently been acquired by—
(A) Bharti Airtel
(B) Vodafone
(C) Reliance
(D) Tata Mobile
Ans : (B)
5. In 2010-11 budget, the allocation for National Ganga River Basin Authority has been—
(A) Rs. 100 crore
(B) Rs. 200 crore
(C) Rs. 400 crore
(D) Rs. 500 crore
Ans : (D)
6. The tax-GDP ratio in 2010-11 is estimated at—
(A) 10•12%
(B) 10•38%
(C) 12•3%
(D) 11•98%
Ans : (B)
7. In 2011-12, the maximum limit of custom duty is proposed as—
(A) 11%
(B) 10%
(C) 9%
(D) 8%
Ans : (B)
8. In Human Development Report 2010, India has HDI ranking at—
(A) 126th
(B) 119th
(C) 127th
(D) 129th
Ans : (B)
9. As per the latest available data, in September 2010, India’s total external debt stood at—
(A) $ 122•610 billion
(B) $ 192•610 billion
(C) $ 295•8 billion
(D) $ 233•610 billion
Ans : (C)
10. In New Direct Tax Code for senior citizens, income tax exemption slab has been raised to—
(A) Rs. 2•00 lakh
(B) Rs. 2•00 lakh
(C) Rs. 2•50 lakh
(D) Rs. 3•00 lakh
Ans : (C)
11. Now the latest CRR as declared by RBI w.e.f. April 24, 2010 is—
(A) 6•0%
(B) 5•5%
(C) 5•75%
(D) 6•5%
Ans : (A)
12. As per revised estimates for 2010-11 released by CSO, the growth rate for Indian economy has been estimated to be—
(A) 9•5%
(B) 8•6%
(C) 9•8%
(D) 6•7%
Ans : (B)
13. US-based “Novelis” has recently been acquired by—
(A) Tata Group
(B) Birla Group
(C) Reliance Group
(D) Jointly by Tata and Birla Group
Ans : (B)
14. When was RBI nationalised ?
(A) 1st April, 1935
(B) 1st January, 1949
(C) 1st January, 1935
(D) 1st July, 1969
Ans : (B)
15. According to the latest data published in World Trade Statistics of WTO. India’s share in world trade of goods and services in 2006 was—
(A) 1•0%
(B) 1•1%
(C) 1•2%
(D) 1•5%
Ans : (C)
16. As per quick estimates for the year 2010-11, Indian economy’s GDP at factor cost (at current prices) stood at—
(A) Rs. 3790063 crore
(B) Rs. 4713000 crore
(C) Rs. 4879232 crore
(D) Rs. 6426277 crore
Ans : (C)
17. What is the theme of World Development Report 2010 ?
(A) Poverty and Next Generation
(B) The Real Wealth of Nations : Path Ways to Human Development
(C) Incidence of Rural Poverty
(D) Development and the Next Generation
Ans : (B)
18. How many banks are there in public sector at present ?
(A) 28
(B) 27
(C) 19
(D) 20
Ans : (B)
19. What is the national minimum wage rate fixed under minimum wage legislation on November 2009 ?
(A) Rs. 56
(B) Rs. 60
(C) Rs. 100
(D) Rs. 76
Ans : (C)
20. For attaining 9% growth rate during 11th plan, investment level has been estimated to be—
(A) 31•4% of GDP
(B) 34•8% of GDP
(C) 38•7% of GDP
(D) 36•7% of GDP
Ans : (D)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
First time in India Rupee 150 coin
First Rupee 150 coin issued by India
India’s highest denomination commemorative coin released on 9th may 2010 at New Delhi by Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee to mark 150th birth centenary of Nobel Prize winner Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore. There were two coins with denominations of rupees 5 and rupees 150 in a beautiful presentation set.
also released 75 & 100 rupees coin.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
वैपकास को मिला मिनी रत्न का दर्जा
नई दिल्ली। वाटर एंड पावर कंसल्टेंसी सर्विसेज [वैपकास] को सोमवार को मिनी रत्न का दर्जा दे दिया गया।
जल संसाधन मंत्रालय के तहत आने वाली वैपकास को उसके उल्लेखनीय प्रदर्शन के लिए जल संसाधन मंत्री पवन कुमार बंसल ने यहां मिनी रत्न श्रेणी-एक का दर्जा दिया है। इस मौके पर बंसल ने कहा कि कंपनी को नवप्रवर्तन तथा जल निकायों के जीर्णोद्धारी की दिशा में काम करना चाहिए। उसे नवरत्न का दर्जा पाने का प्रयास करना चाहिए।
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia's first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. With a view to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000.
This policy intended to make SEZs an engine for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the Centre and the State level, with the minimum possible regulations. SEZs in India functioned from 1.11.2000 to 09.02.2006 under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy and fiscal incentives were made effective through the provisions of relevant statutes.
To instill confidence in investors and signal the Government's commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater economic activity and employment through the establishment of SEZs, a comprehensive draft SEZ Bill prepared after extensive discussions with the stakeholders. A number of meetings were held in various parts of the country both by the Minister for Commerce and Industry as well as senior officials for this purpose. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. The draft SEZ Rules were widely discussed and put on the website of the Department of Commerce offering suggestions/comments. Around 800 suggestions were received on the draft rules. After extensive consultations, the SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10th February, 2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedures and for single window clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The main objectives of the SEZ Act are:
(a) generation of additional economic activity
(b) promotion of exports of goods and services;
(c) promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources;
(d) creation of employment opportunities;
(e) development of infrastructure facilities;
It is expected that this will trigger a large flow of foreign and domestic investment in SEZs, in infrastructure and productive capacity, leading to generation of additional economic activity and creation of employment opportunities.
The SEZ Act 2005 envisages key role for the State Governments in Export Promotion and creation of related infrastructure. A Single Window SEZ approval mechanism has been provided through a 19 member inter-ministerial SEZ Board of Approval (BoA). The applications duly recommended by the respective State Governments/UT Administration are considered by this BoA periodically. All decisions of the Board of approvals are with consensus.
The SEZ Rules provide for different minimum land requirement for different class of SEZs. Every SEZ is divided into a processing area where alone the SEZ units would come up and the non-processing area where the supporting infrastructure is to be created.
The SEZ Rules provide for:
- " Simplified procedures for development, operation, and maintenance of the Special Economic Zones and for setting up units and conducting business in SEZs;
- Single window clearance for setting up of an SEZ;
- Single window clearance for setting up a unit in a Special Economic Zone;
- Single Window clearance on matters relating to Central as well as State Governments;
- Simplified compliance procedures and documentation with an emphasis on self certification
Approval mechanism and Administrative set up of SEZs
Approval mechanism
The developer submits the proposal for establishment of SEZ to the concerned State Government. The State Government has to forward the proposal with its recommendation within 45 days from the date of receipt of such proposal to the Board of Approval. The applicant also has the option to submit the proposal directly to the Board of Approval.
The Board of Approval has been constituted by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under the SEZ Act. All the decisions are taken in the Board of Approval by consensus. The Board of Approval has 19 Members. Its constitution is as follows:
(1)
Secretary, Department of Commerce
Chairman
(2)
Member, CBEC
Member
(3)
Member, IT, CBDT
Member
(4)
Joint Secretary (Banking Division), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
(5)
Joint Secretary (SEZ), Department of Commerce
Member
(6)
Joint Secretary, DIPP
Member
(7)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology
Member
(8)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries
Member
(9)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
Member
(10)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Member
(11)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests
Member
(12)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice
Member
(13)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
Member
(14)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development
Member
(15)
A nominee of the State Government concerned
Member
(16)
Director General of Foreign Trade or his nominee
Member
(17)
Development Commissioner concerned
Member
(18)
A professor in the Indian Institute of Management or the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
Member
(19)
Director or Deputy Sectary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce
Member Secretary
Administrative set up
The functioning of the SEZs is governed by a three tier administrative set up. The Board of Approval is the apex body and is headed by the Secretary, Department of Commerce. The Approval Committee at the Zone level deals with approval of units in the SEZs and other related issues. Each Zone is headed by a Development Commissioner, who is ex-officio chairperson of the Approval Committee.
Once an SEZ has been approved by the Board of Approval and Central Government has notified the area of the SEZ, units are allowed to be set up in the SEZ. All the proposals for setting up of units in the SEZ are approved at the Zone level by the Approval Committee consisting of Development Commissioner, Customs Authorities and representatives of State Government. All post approval clearances including grant of importer-exporter code number, change in the name of the company or implementing agency, broad banding diversification, etc. are given at the Zone level by the Development Commissioner. The performance of the SEZ units are periodically monitored by the Approval Committee and units are liable for penal action under the provision of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, in case of violation of the conditions of the approval.
Approved SEZs in India
SEZ Approvals granted under the SEZ Act, 2005
List of Formal Approvals granted under the SEZ Act,2005
In principle approvals granted under the SEZ Act, 2005
Statewise distribution of SEZs approved under the SEZ, Act, 2005
Sectorwise distribution of SEZs approved under the SEZ Act, 2005
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