BJP manifesto rooted in reality, prepared with nationalist vision: Jaitley

Election News

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said the BJP's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections beginning this week has not been prepared with a 'tukde tukde' mindset but with a strong nationalist vision.
The document, 'Sankalp Patra' (document of resolve), is rooted in reality, Jaitley said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the manifesto.

"Our new policy, new doctrine of striking terror in its origin has received global recognition," Jaitley told the gathering.

The Union finance minister said the party was committed to annulling Article 35 A of the Constitution, which provides special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
When India is at the cusp of history making most of all its lost opportunities, does it require a fragile government or a decisive one, he asked.

Jaitley added that previous governments only gave slogans, but the Modi-led administration gave resources to the poor.

He said the essence of the BJP manifesto is to deplete poverty over the next five years to single digit and then gradually eliminate it.

"Our fiscal prudence since 1947 has been best ever for any government," the finance minister said.

 (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Arun Jaitley to present Business Standard Annual Awards today

Current Affairs

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Business Standard Annual Awards in the presence of top India Inc leaders and senior government officials who will gather at the ITC Maurya in New Delhi on Friday to celebrate excellence in the corporate, banking and social sectors.

This year’s awards will be given to outstanding organisations and individuals who took their respective fields of operations to newer heights while delivering on scale, sustainability, leadership, and innovation.

They were chosen by three separate juries comprising some of the most respected names in India Inc. While the corporate excellence awards were chosen by a jury led by Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Banker of the Year was selected by a jury led by former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor S S Mundra. The CSR awards were chosen by a jury headed by Tata Institute of Social Sciences Chairman S Ramadorai.

The jury chose Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vinod K Dasari the CEO of the Year for drafting the company’s growth strategy and focusing on three verticals to address the cyclical challenges of the trucking business.

He introduced new products and focused on light commercial vehicles and built a strong intermediate commercial vehicle franchise, all of which led to its market share increasing from 12-14 per cent four years ago to around 25 per cent.


 chart One of India’s oldest success stories of foreign investment, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has changed the way Indians go about in their daily life – ranging from home care, beauty and personal care, to foods and refreshments. HUL’s hard work was recognised by the jury, which awarded it the Company of the Year...Read More

Modi govt's Rafale fighter jet deal 2.86% cheaper than UPA's: CAG report

Economy & Policy:

The Narendra Modi government’s agreement with France to buy 36 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the price negotiated by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its aborted attempt to buy 126 of these planes, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report tabled in Parliament .
Beyond that headline number, the report gave enough talking points to both the government and opposition parties to validate their respective positions.

While the report on capital acquisitions of the Indian Air Force came down heavily on the original 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal, it also raised concern that Dassault or France did not offer any company or a sovereign guarantee for the latest government-to-government deal. And, that this will lead to savings for the French company and limit India’s legal remedies in a breach of contract.

The report drew sharp political responses. “It cannot be that the Supreme Court is wrong, the CAG is wrong and only the dynast is right... Satyameva Jayate – the truth shall prevail. The CAG report on Rafale reaffirms the dictum,” Union minister Arun Jaitley tweeted. “The lies of Mahajhootbandhan stand exposed by the CAG report. How does democracy punish those who consistently lied to the nation?”


Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the CAG report did not mention the dissent note by negotiators, and that the government's argument on price and faster delivery of the Rafale had been demolished. The report states the Rafale jets would be delivered only one month faster than they would have if the original deal went through. “You say there was no scam, then why are you afraid of ordering a JPC?” he said, reiterating his demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the deal.

Piyush Goyal back as interim Finance Minister, to present interim Budget

Intrim Budget 2019:

With eight days to go before the Narendra Modi government presents its interim Budget on February 1, the Prime Minister on Wednesday entrusted Railway Minister Piyush Goyal with ministerial portfolios of finance and corporate affairs till Arun Jaitley comes back from the US.

Jaitley underwent a surgery in the US on Tuesday. With doctors having advised him two weeks’ rest, Goyal is set to present the interim Budget — the final Budget of the Modi-led government’s current tenure, which comes less than 90 days before the Lok Sabha polls and could contain key announcements.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, issued at 8.55 pm, the President, as advised by the PM, directed that during the period of Jaitley's indisposition, the finance and corporate affairs portfolios, held by him, be temporarily assigned to Goyal. It said Goyal would continue to hold his existing portfolios: Railways and coal.


 The communique stated that Jaitley “be designated as minister without portfolio during the period of his indisposition or till such time he is able to resume his work as minister of finance and minister of corporate affairs.”...Read More

Budget content will be decided by economic realities, says Jaitley

Economic & Policy:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the interim Budg exist,” Jaitley said.et, to be presented on February 1, will be within the existing conventions. Its contents, however, will be dictated by economic compulsions and realities of the day, he added.

Amid concerns over his health, Jaitley was speaking live from New York and addressing an event in Mumbai organised by CNBC TV-18. Ahead of the next meeting of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Jaitley also said that real interest rates in India cannot be higher than most major economies.

“There is a convention for interim Budgets, on what you can and cannot present. Ordinarily, there should be no reason to move away from that convention, but then the larger interests of the economy always dictate what should be in the interim Budget,” Jaitley said, without disclosing details.


 “If we look at the bigger picture, there have been successes over the last few years. There have also been challenges. Without getting into specifics, some of those challenges really can’t afford to wait. There is a necessity to address some of them. We intend to work within the parameters of the conventions that...Read More