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Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh presents state’s largest Budget with an eye on 2024 polls

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With an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday tabled a budget of
Rs 6,15,518.97 crore for the financial year 2022-23.

This is almost double the size of Rs 3,46,935 crore budget presented by Akhilesh Yadav government for the financial year 2016-17.

It includes new schemes worth Rs 39,181.10 crore.

The state government has also announced budgetary provision worth crores of rupees to strengthen the police and maintain law and order in the state.

Tabling the budget in the Assembly, state Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said that the government has not only made a record payment of Rs 1,72,745 crore to sugarcane farmers until May 16, 2022, which is Rs 77,530 crore more than the five years of accumulated payment of Rs 95,215 crore during Akhilesh Yadav’s government, but has also proposed Rs 1000 crore for payment to the remaining sugarcane farmers.

The budget proposes free irrigation facility to farmers through 34,307 government tube-wells and 252 minor branch canals as well as Rs 1000 crore under Mukhya Mantri Laghu Sinchai Yojana to address irrigation related issues of the state.

Furthermore, the budget proposes accidental insurance of Rs 650 crore for farmers under Mukhya Mantri Krishak Durghatana Kalyan Yojana.

The Yogi government aims to distribute 2 crore smartphones and tablets in the next five years, including 12 lakh in the current financial year itself.

It has also proposed Rs 897 crore for multi-modal connectivity projects under PM Gati Shakti Yojana and Rs 694. 34 crore for the 594 km long six-lane Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj.

The total receipts in the current financial year are estimated at Rs 5,90,951.71 crore, including revenue receipts of Rs 4,99,212.71 crore and capital receipts of Rs 91,739 crore.

The share of tax revenue in revenue receipts is Rs 3,67,153.76 crore. This includes its own tax revenue of Rs 2,20,655 crore and the state’s share in central taxes of Rs 1,46,498.76 crore. The fiscal deficit is estimated of Rs 81,177.97 crore which is 3.96 per cent of the estimated Gross State Domestic Product.

The budget not only focuses on the education of youth and their employment, but also empowerment of women and farmers as well as all-round growth of the state and law and order.

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Join e-Shram portal to access AB-PMJAY benefits: Centre to platform workers

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New Delhi, March 8: The Labour Ministry on Saturday urged the platform workers to self-register themselves on e-Shram portal, so that they may be considered for the benefits under the scheme at the earliest.

The gig and platform economy is expanding, offering new jobs in sectors like ridesharing, delivery, logistics, and professional services.

NITI Aayog has projected that the gig economy in India will employ over 1 crore workers in 2024-25, subsequently reaching 2.35 crore by 2029-30.

Recognizing the contribution of the gig and platform workers to the nation’s economy, Union Budget 2025-26 announcement has provisions for registration of online platform workers on e-Shram portal, issue of identity cards, and healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

The AB-PMJAY health scheme provides a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation across over 31,000 public and private empanelled hospitals in India.

For early implementation of these Budget provisions, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is soon launching the scheme, and has asked platform workers to register on e-Shram Portal for formal recognition and access to AB-PMJAY benefits.

“As a first step, Ministry requests the Platform Workers to self-register themselves on e-Shram portal, so that they may be considered for the benefits under the scheme at the earliest,” it added.

The platform aggregators are also requested to disseminate this information among the platform workers engaged with them and facilitate them to register on e-Shram portal.

Meanwhile, over 30.58 crore unorganised workers have been registered on the e-Shram Portal for receiving benefits under various social welfare schemes of the government.

The e-Shram portal has registered over 1.23 crore workers in 2024, averaging 33,700 enrolments per day.

The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis.

The e-Shram portal has been integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) Portal. An unorganised worker can register on NCS using his or her Universal Account Number (UAN) and search for suitable job opportunities. A link has also been provided to the workers registered on the e-Shram portal to seamlessly register on the NCS.

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₹122-Crore New India Co-op Bank Scam: EOW Issues Blue Corner Notice Against Ex-Chairman Hiren Bhanu & Wife

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Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has intensified its crackdown on Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri, the absconding couple in the Rs122 crore scam at New India Cooperative Bank.

Blue Corner Notice Issued

The EOW has issued a Blue Corner notice against Hiren, the alleged mastermind and former chairman of the bank, and Gauri, who was the acting vice-chairman. Investigators have traced Hiren to Abu Dhabi and Gauri to Thailand, leading to the issuance of the notice. The EOW had initially issued a lookout circular.

Now, with confirmed foreign locations, the alert has been issued. The Blue Corner notice will help track Bhanus’ locations, monitor their activities, and facilitate their arrest.

According to EOW sources, the duo fled abroad just before the scam was exposed. As per the probe, Hitesh Mehta, the bank’s general manager, executed the fraud under the instructions of the Bhanu couple.

Reports indicate that they received Rs28 crore from the embezzled funds. Hiren fled to Dubai on January 26, while Gauri left for Thailand on February 10 just before the scam was uncovered on February 12.

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Cooling inflation reinforces case for potential RBI rate cuts: Report

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New Delhi, March 8: India’s inflation fell to 4.31 per cent in January from 5.22 per cent, approaching the RBI’s 4 per cent target after four months above 5 per cent and this trend reinforces the case for potential rate cuts, with the repo rate at 6.25 per cent, a new report showed on Saturday.

The observed market trajectory suggests a cautious sentiment among investors, potentially influenced by macroeconomic conditions, sector-specific developments, and global financial market trends, according to the Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund report.

The Nifty 500 Index declined by 7.88 per cent in February, reflecting contractions across multiple sectors. Factor-based strategies reflected broader market movement, while fixed-income instruments, including Nifty 5 year Benchmark G-Sec (+0.53 per cent), exhibited relative stability.

Globally, developed markets displayed mixed movements, where Switzerland (+3.47 per cent) and United Kingdom (+3.08 per cent) registered gains, while Japan (-1.38 per cent) showed a contraction, the report mentioned.

The US CPI inflation stood at 3 per cent, reflecting marginal increase from 2.90 per cent in the prior month.

Another HSBC report mentioned that India’s long-term outlook remains strong and the investment cycle is projected to be on a medium-term uptrend supported by government investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, pickup in private investments, and a recovery in the real estate cycle.

The HSBC Mutual Fund’s ‘Market Outlook Report 2025’ expects higher private investments in renewable energy and related supply chains, localisation of higher-end technology components, and India becoming a more meaningful part of global supply chains to support faster growth.

The real economy, as of now, has evinced resilience to global developments.

“Basis the growth-inflation numbers, the MPC’s last policy action as well as the MPC minutes, we believe the RBI-MPC would deliver another 25 bps cut at its April policy while continuing to stay nimble and flexible on its liquidity strategy,” the report projected.

For a third rate cut, inflation trajectory, monsoon outlook and global developments will possibly be key inputs going into the June policy meeting

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