Nitin Gadkari's ‘dadagiri' jibe amid US's tariff offensive against India
The White House has linked the penalties to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil — a stance India has defended as essential for its energy security. The move has sparked the sharpest diplomatic rift between the two countries in two decades, with Washington suspending trade talks and warning of further sanctions.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a pointed message widely seen as directed at Trump, said India would never compromise on the welfare of its farmers, fishermen, and dairy workers, even if that meant 'paying a heavy price.''For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority,' PM Modi said at a recent event.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also criticised the US measures, suggesting that some powers were uncomfortable with India's rapid growth. Referring to the US as 'sabka boss,' he said, 'Many are trying to ensure that products made in India become more expensive so that the world stops buying them. But no power can now stop India from becoming a major global power.'India has branded the tariffs 'unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable' and vowed to 'take all necessary actions' to protect its interests.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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Mint
24 minutes ago
- Mint
Centre working on framework to help panchayats become financially-autonomous
New Delhi: The government is working on a framework to help village councils (panchayats) generate their own revenue and become financially autonomous, carrying out development works without relying on funds from the Centre or states. The Union Panchayati Raj ministry has set up a panel, consisting of senior officials from various state governments, which is tasked with formulating a blueprint that can act as a guide for states and Union territories (UTs) in creating and amending their model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) rules. "We have constituted a committee comprising senior officials from various state governments, to prepare a model OSR framework of panchayats, which can serve as a benchmark for the states in formulating and amending their OSR rules," Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary, ministry of panchayati raj, said. The template, to be shared with states and UTs, aims to plug the gaps in existing regulations and guide local bodies in mobilising revenue, which mainly comes from taxes, fees and other charges. The development assumes significance, as nearly a dozen states and UTs don't have OSR rules. The 22 states and UTs that have already formulated the rules need to update them, said Bharadwaj. Own Source Revenue (OSR) refers to the revenues that panchayats generate on their own, from sources such as property tax, water charges, market fees, trade licence fees and building permit fees. OSR rules help regulate, standardize, and empower panchayats to collect and manage the revenues efficiently. The OSR rules are crucial to panchayat as they empower them to function independently and also reduce over-dependence on central and state grants. Additionally, they support local development projects with locally-generated funds. According to Bharadwaj, there are 11 states and UTs that have not yet framed OSR rules. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep. Twenty two states and UTs have already developed and implemented OSR-based regulations, allowing panchayats to levy and collect taxes, fees, tolls, or other local sources of revenue. Among these states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Some States have detailed guidelines on fixing OSR rates. In many instances across the states, it has been observed that much more efforts need to be made towards fulfilment of these requirements. "Financial rules related to OSR generation were prepared long ago in states, and hence have been suffering from various deficiencies like use of incomprehensible legal jargons and lack of updating," Bharadwaj added. Panchayats, which act as grassroots-level bodies to implement government programmes and for achieving the sustainable development goals, get grants from the Centre, state governments, as well as raise their own revenue in a limited way through internal sources like local-tax revenues and user charges. "Self-sufficiency is an ideal state for gram panchayats as they can have more funds to carry out developmental works. However revenue collection is conditional as it depends on economic activities in a particular area," said Sri Hari Nayudu, economist, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi. "Most of the time we are dependent on state government grants for developmental works, since most of us doen't know how to increase revenue. The proposed rules can guide us in that direction," said Gurcharan Singh, Panch-Charik Patti Sarkar, a rural local body in Moga district of Punjab. In 2021-22, the average per capita OSR collected by panchayats at all-India level was ₹ 100. Also, the average OSR for gram panchayat was ₹ 230,000 per year, with 42% of gram panchayats having less than ₹ 100,000 revenue per year. "The key reasons behind low revenue collection are over-dependence on grants, underutilization of tax powers, weak administrative systems and trust deficit with citizens which limit the revenue," said an economist who requested not to identified.
Deccan Herald
26 minutes ago
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Zelenskyy says current front lines should be the start for negotiations
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German Chancellor to travel to Washington for talks on Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington on Monday, joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders for talks with US President Donald Trump, the German government announced on Sunday. According to a statement, the visit is for an "exchange of information" with Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska on Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported. After the Alaska summit, Zelensky announced that he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday. Merz is expected to discuss the current state of peace efforts, the statement said, adding that security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine will be addressed. Earlier on Saturday, Trump held a telephonic meeting with the European leaders and Ukraine's Zelensky to brief them on his discussions with the Russian President in Alaska. Following the meeting, Presidents Trump and Putin said that they made progress in three hours of talks on Friday, moving closer to finding an end to the Ukraine War, but did not announce an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, the US President took to his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, calling the meeting with Putin in Alaska a successful one. 'A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late-night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO. It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted. "President Zelensky will be coming to DC, the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the post added. European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Portuguese President Antonio Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed President Trump's efforts to 'stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression', and achieve just and lasting peace. 'As President Trump said, 'there's no deal until there's a deal'. As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks, including President Zelensky, whom he will meet soon. We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelensky towards a trilateral summit with European support," read a joint statement issued by the European leaders after Saturday's phone call.
