PMs strong reply to Trumps tariff bomb!
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Mint
26 minutes ago
- Mint
PM Modi's Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana for youth: ₹15,000 for 1st private job— eligibility, benefits and other details
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, which is expected to generate 3.5 crore jobs in the next two years. In July, the Union Cabinet had approved the scheme aimed at incentivising job creation in the country. "Today is August 15 and we are launching a ₹ 1 lakh crore scheme for the youth of this country. It is good news for you that PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana is being rolled out from today," Modi said in his Independence Day speech. He said that under this scheme, the youth getting their first job in the private sector will get ₹ 15,000 and the companies employing them will get incentives. * With an outlay of ₹ 99,446 crore, the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) aims to incentivise the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs over two years. Of these, 1.92 crore beneficiaries will be first timers, entering the workforce. * The benefits of the scheme would be applicable to jobs created between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2027. * The scheme consists of two parts: Part A is focused on first-timers, and Part B is focused on employers. * Jobs created between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2027 are eligible * Must be first-time private sector employees * Must be registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) * Monthly earnings should be up to ₹ 1 lakh * Employees will receive one month's EPF wages up to ₹ 15,000 in two instalments. First instalment after 6 months of service and second instalment after 12 months and completion of a financial literacy programme. * Employees will get direct benefit transfer (DBT) via Aadhaar Bridge Payment System (ABPS) * Incentives for hiring employees earning up to ₹ 1 lakh * Up to ₹ 3,000 per month will be given for each new employee for two years * For manufacturing employers, incentives are extended to the third and fourth years * Employers must maintain new hires for at least six months * Employers must hire two extra staff if they have fewer than 50 employees, or five extra if they have more than or equal to 50 * Employers will get funds directly into PAN-linked bank accounts
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Centre proposes fewer GST rates: only 5% & 18% to remain, tax on common-use items slashed
The Centre has proposed to reduce the number of slabs under the Goods and Services Tax system, retaining the 5% and 18% slabs, while introducing a lower concessional rate below 1% and a high 'sin rate' of 40% on just five to seven items, according to official sources. This would entail entirely doing away with the 12% and 28% tax brackets. Of these, 99% of items currently in the 12% slab will be moved to the 5% rate and 90% of goods and services in the 28% bracket will move to 18%. There will be no cess of any kind over and above the GST rates. These reforms would be part of a 'Deepavali gift' from the Centre in the form of 'next-generation GST reforms', Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced during his Independence Day speech at Delhi's Red Fort on Friday. The reforms will bring down 'tax burden on the common man', he added. 'There will of course be a hit to revenue, but it will not be so huge as to materially affect the fiscal deficit,' an official said. 'The thinking is that the lower rates will increase consumption, reduce evasion, and widen the tax net, which will increase revenues by the end of the financial year.' Up to the States now The Ministry of Finance, in a press release issued soon after the speech, said that the Union government has sent its proposal on GST rate rationalisation and reforms to the Group of Ministers (GoM), which has been constituted by the GST Council to examine the issue. It added that the GST Council would deliberate in its next meeting — likely be held in September or October, according to sources — on the recommendations of the GoM and would strive to implement the bulk of the reforms within this financial year. The Centre would be engaging with the States over the next few weeks to achieve a consensus on these reforms. The reason the Centre had to put forth such a proposal in the first place, the source confirmed, was because the GoM tasked with simplifying the GST only comprises representatives of the States. 'Even though the Centre is part of the GST Council, it has no voice when it comes to these changes, such as rate rationalisation or what happens with insurance,' a source explained. 'And so we had to submit our proposal to the GoM.' It is now up to the States to accept or reject the proposals, the source added. Revenue impact According to sources, the 28% tax slab currently accounts for 11% of the revenue from the GST, the 12% slab accounts for 5%, and the 5% slab accounts for 7% of the revenue. The bulk of the revenue — around 67% — comes from the 18% slab. The Centre has also proposed that the rates on aspirational items, such as white goods, would be reduced. Air conditioners are currently taxed at 28%, which will see a reduction, while other white goods currently taxed at 18% could potentially see their rates reduced as well. This includes daily-use items such as toothpaste, soap, and shampoo. 'A few years ago, the Reserve Bank of India calculated that the average GST rate in India had settled at 11.6%, which will now substantially come down,' the first source explained. 'The idea is that similar items will be taxed the same, so, for example, all namkeen (savouries) will be taxed at the same rate.' They added that there would be only five to seven 'sin goods', such as tobacco and gutka, in the 40% category, while the concessional rate of less than 1% would apply to the few items that are currently taxed below 5% and above 0%. These include precious metals like gold and silver (currently taxed at 3%) and semi-precious stones (currently taxed at 0.25%). 'Nothing has been added to this list of concessionary items,' the source asserted. Other reforms To promote 'ease of living', the Centre has proposed using technology to speed up and ease the GST registration process and implement pre-filled returns, thus reducing manual intervention and eliminating mismatches, while refunds could be processed in a faster and more automated manner. 'One of the more consequential proposals in terms of ease of living is to correct the inverted duty structure for most goods since this was leading to working capital issues,' a source explained. An inverted duty structure is when the tax rate of a product is lower than the tax rate of the inputs that go into its production. The government reimburses companies for this inversion, but delays for any reason lead to the companies' working capital being locked up, which affects their ability to invest in new business.
Hindustan Times
28 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Friends & foes in an uncertain, shifting world
President Donald Trump's coercive tariffs on India and indulgence of Pakistan have turned euphoria about India-US partnership under his leadership into bewildered dismay and rage. The sequence and the corrosive language suggest that tariffs are a manifestation and expression of problems beyond trade. It also betrays our lack of economic leverage unlike China's. Various reasons have been attributed to his decisions that do not bear repeating here. There is politicisation of the relationship in the US not seen in the past three decades, with the White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, a Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideologue, joining the chorus of criticism on India's purchase of Russian oil. The Indian political and street mood is now, justifiably, furious at how the country has been treated by the US even as everyone realises the importance of that country and the bilateral relationship. (PTI) In India, there is domestic political impact due to the huge investment in the relationship; geopolitical ramifications because of the strategic bets we made in a shifting global environment; and, economic consequences from setback to exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Of equal concern is Pakistan. There have been multiple short-lived U-turns in the US-Pakistan relations that do not end well for either. But, every time US-Pakistan relations improve, Pakistan is emboldened in its military adventurism and terrorism against India. Pakistan also hopes to capitalise on President Trump's obsession with peace-making to inveigle him into mediating the 'Kashmir issue'. The government has been rightly firm on red lines for its sensitive sectors and sovereign choices, yet restrained in statements and open to negotiations. For a number of reasons, this is not a 1998 moment, but there are lessons from it. Amidst an absolute freeze then, India chose engagement over hostility. As then, this crisis is an opportunity to renegotiate the relationship with clarity and strength. Since the transformation of India-US relations began in 2000, there have been differences, including on ties with Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that both sides have navigated. The challenge, perhaps, is that we are dealing with a president with no precedence. Engagement with the US must continue and a way forward is found, without compromising our national interests. The relationship has substance, multiple dimensions and strong institutional mechanisms to provide resilience. However, beyond the vulnerabilities arising from the vicissitudes of the relationship, broad global trends require an appraisal of our policies. The transformation of India-US relations started in an era of unipolar US power reinforced by a strong transatlantic partnership. China was still not a major power and considered amenable to integration into the western order. The US–Russia relationship had not reached the present level of hostility. That geopolitical space which allowed multidirectional relationships is shrinking. There is also the expectations gap, more visible in the mature state than in the period of courtship, between a less self-assured US with unipolar ambitions and neat allies-adversaries dichotomy, and a rising India of strategic autonomy and multipolar inclinations. The fissures were beginning to appear during the Biden era. But it was papered over because of the overriding objective of containing China based on the classic American foreign policy goals and strategy of both direct containment and involvement of formal and informal alliances that necessitated accommodation of differences. President Trump will deal directly with China and pursue a different set of goals with a range of possible outcomes. With allies, the relationships will be on independent tracks based on perceived grievances and extractive possibilities, as Japan, Korea, Australia and the EU have seen or Taiwan may experience. More broadly, he has diluted or dismantled the instruments of US engagement — trade, technology, investment, aid, education, mobility, soft power, institutional reinforcement, guarantees and commitments. Even as countries are trying to negotiate a least cost agreement in the short-term, there will be the inevitable hedging, diversification and regionalisation that will diminish American power and influence, including in the Indo Pacific. China has overtaken the US in influence and power in the Asean region. Russia has weathered the worst over the past three years. Europe, buffeted by three powers, is in search of strategic influence. Trump is accelerating the erosion of West-built global institutions. Brics today evokes more interest than western institutions. Multipolarity is a rising tide. In this world of change, India's pursuit of strategic autonomy is a stronger imperative. So, as we rebuild ties with the US, we must do so on realistic foundations. At the same time, we must reinvigorate and restructure our broader global engagement, including with Russia, China and Europe, beginning with our home that is Asia and the Indian Ocean. Consistent with our values, our position must also carry the moral weight of principles, as for example on the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, which will also increase our standing in the Global South. In trade, we must do all we can to ensure competitive access to the US market, but also hasten the pursuit of other destinations that together account for over 80% of India's exports. If India is to increase exports on scale, we must pursue major economic reforms at home; invest in people, innovation and technology; and integrate more into the global value chains (GFCs). There is strong correlation between high-quality free trade agreements and global value chains, which account for 50-70% of global trade. Potential critical and bottleneck products account for around 20% in global trade, with almost 66% of the share of the exports in these products originating from East Asia-Pacific. Global trade is transitioning from multilateralism to regionalism and bilateralism, accelerated by US policies since 2008. We are on that path, too. The scope and coverage of the UK comprehensive economic and trade agreement and our EU proposal reflect our new ambitions. We must also revisit our agreements with Asian powers and find a modus vivendi with China. The government's emphasis on energy security through renewable, hydrogen and nuclear sources and on digital sovereignty is the right course. Defence capabilities and indigenisation, already a high priority, need a stronger boost. Foreign collaborations must take into partners' history, policies and geopolitical positions, and create genuine capabilities in India, not technological dependencies. For India, this crisis is an opportunity to build its future and pursue the path to be the power we wish to be. Jawed Ashraf is a former Indian ambassador. The views expressed are personal.
