Budget 2022 LIVE: Govt to take balanced view on cryptocurrency, says Sanyal

The issue of cryptocurrency has not been covered in the Economic Survey 2021-22, Principal Economic Adviser said in an interaction with media

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey report in the Lok Sabha on Monday, marking the first day of the Budget session of the Parliament. The Survey projected a GDP growth rate in the range of 8-8.5% for the next fiscal 2022-23 (FY23). The economy is projected to grow at 9.2 per cent in the current fiscal.

The Budget session of Parliament is likely to be stormy with Opposition parties all geared up to raise the Pegasus snooping allegations, farmers' issues and the border row with China. The session is being held in the midst of crucial assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is locked in a bitter electoral contest with its rivals, and with the campaigning in full swing, it will have an effect on Parliament proceedings.

Stay tuned for Budget session 2022 LIVE updates

9:32 PM

Amazon-Future case; SC to pronounce verdict on pleas of Future group firms

The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Tuesday the verdict on a batch of pleas filed by Future group firms against a Delhi High Court order declining stay on an arbitration tribunal decision refusing to interfere with the Emergency Award (EA) of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli has fixed the cases for pronouncement of judgement at 10.30 AM.

 

The bench, on January 11, had reserved the judgement and had said that it wanted to send the case back to the Delhi High Court to render a finding on the enforceability of the SIAC award restraining FRL's sale of assets to Reliance Retail.

 

The apex court has reserved its order on two sets of petitions filed by FCPL (Future Coupons Private Ltd ) and FRL (Future Retail Ltd).

9:21 PM

Tamil Nadu records 19,280 positive cases, 20 deaths in 24 hours

Tamil Nadu continued to witness a decline in fresh infections as the state added 19,280 new Coronavirus positive cases on Monday taking the tally to 33,45,220, while the net recoveries stood at 31,09,526 with 25,056 positive patients getting discharged after treatment.

 

The state saw 20 fatalities in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 37,564. The number of active cases, including isolation, rose to 1,98,130. The state had reported 22,238 fresh infections yesterday.

9:15 PM

Pune sees 3,762 Covid cases, 14 deaths; over 2,300 hospitalised

Pune on Monday reported 3,762 COVID-19 cases, taking the district's tally to 14,09,835, while 14 deaths took the toll to 19,475, an official said.

 

He said 2,056 cases were reported in Pune city, 931 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 597 in rural and 29 in cantonment limits.

 

As on Monday, the district has 2,317 cases in institutional isolation and 56,887 in home quarantine, he added.

9:11 PM

India's overall score on NITI Aayog's SDG index improves: Economic Survey

India's overall score on the NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) India index and dashboard improved to 66 in 2020-21 from 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018-19, indicating progress in the journey towards achieving the goals, as per the Economic Survey 2021-22.

 

Despite 2020-21 being a pandemic year, India performed well on eight of the 15 SDGs measured by the NITI Aayog SDG India Index, it said.

 

These included - goal 3 (good health and well-being), goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), goal 10 (reduced inequalities), goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities), goal 12 (responsible consumption and production), goal 15 (life on land). and goal 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions).

8:57 PM

Abatement of pandemic to kick in virtuous investment cycle, generate jobs: CEA

Pinning hopes on rapid vaccination drive, newly appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that abatement of the COVID-19 pandemic would kick in virtuous cycle investment leading to job creation.

 

The government has taken various steps to support lower income categories, he said in an interaction with the media on the Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day.
 

Naturally, he said, it will take time to regain confidence because the slowdown in consumption spending is not only a function of the lack of income growth, but also because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and health impact etc. Read more.

7:22 PM

West Bengal reports 1,910 new Covid cases

7:11 PM

Mumbai reports 960 new Covid cases

6:55 PM

Kerala records 42,154 fresh Covid cases, 729 deaths

After reporting more than 50,000 fresh COVID-19 cases daily for the last few days, Kerala on Monday logged 42,154 new infections which raised the caseload to 60,25,669.

 

The southern state had reported 51,570 cases a day ago. Kerala on Monday also reported 729 deaths which raised the total fatalities in the state to 54,395, according to a government release.

 

Of the deaths, 10 were reported in the last 24 hours, 81 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 638 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said.

6:53 PM

Govt to take balanced view on cryptocurrency, says PEA

The government will take a balanced view on the issue of regulation of cryptocurrencies as they have implications on the country's financial stability, Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal said on Monday. Currently, there are no particular regulations or any ban on use of cryptocurrency in the country.

 

The issue of cryptocurrency has not been covered in the Economic Survey 2021-22, Sanyal said in an interaction with media on the Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day. "As you know, this is a matter of some debate, both inside the government, in the Ministry of Finance, and even in Parliament. So, this is something that is currently in discussion," he said.

 

The Reserve Bank has also highlighted various issues, including financial stability impact of such virtual currencies. "There are some financial stability issues. But there are also other arguments that are made in terms of innovation and so on....obviously a balanced view on this will be taken," he said.

5:38 PM

Mumbai-Kolkata and Delhi-Kolkata flights to operate daily

5:08 PM

West Bengal CM announces relaxations in Covid curbs

4:46 PM

Economic Survey LIVE updates: Spending on social services has been significantly ramped up in recent years

Spending on social services has been significantly ramped up in recent years, in various categories such as health, education and others, in line with Government's policy of providing safety nets to vulnerable sections in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic 

4:45 PM

Economy Survey 2022 highlights

4:42 PM

Economic Survey LIVE: The unemployment rate

While the unemployment rate gradually dipped during this period to reach 9.3 per cent in Q4 of 2020-21, The unemployment rate for males as well as females, aged 15 & above, recovered to the pre-pandemic levels.

4:26 PM

There has been a very sharp increase in both tax and non-tax revenues

There has been a very sharp increase in both tax and non-tax revenues; this is great because it supports capital expenditure which too is above pre-pandemic level 

 

- Principal Economic Advisor