<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46794515.cms" />Day 1 of the two-day BJP <keyword id="55124" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="National-Executive">National Executive</keyword> in Bengaluru saw party chief <keyword id="6355521" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amit-Shah">Amit Shah</keyword> taking a jibe at <keyword id="5268" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Gandhi">Rahul Gandhi</keyword>, asking <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> to go look for its 'missing' <keyword id="19496" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="leader">leader</keyword> instead of looking for faults in the government. 
 
Shah slammed the Congress for its opposition to the Centre's land acquisition bill, which it called anti-poor and anti-farmer. 
 The Congress has been ratcheting up support against the land bill in a series of protests across India. This the second salvo at the Congress leader. On Thursday, the BJP took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi over his likely appearance at a farmers' rally on April 19, saying it is not sure if such news reports are true and his "vacation" is finally over. "Are you serious?" was how <keyword id="180781" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="BJP-spokesperson">BJP Spokesperson</keyword> Shahnawaz Hussain responded when reporters sought his response on Gandhi's return to active politics with the rally against the land bill amendments brought by the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>. 
 
The land bill is the big agenda at the National Executive, with the BJP planning to drum up support around the legislation. PM Modi has asked his junior ministers to reach out to people, especially those in rural India, and canvass the party's stand on the legislation. 
 According to Times Now, <keyword id="26680" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nitin-gadkari">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> has been assigned the task to lead the PR team over land bill. 
 <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, Shah, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and senior leaders LK Advani and MM Joshi are among those expected at the meeting. 
 
The Congress was quick in its response with senior leader Digvijaya Singh saying the BJP shouldn't be bothered about Rahul Gandhi. "They will know when he's back," he told Times Now. 
 
The Congress' recent ante over the legislation has irked the party. "We do not know if reports about the date Rahul Gandhi is coming on are true. No Congress Spokesperson has made any statement to this effect. What plane is he coming on, when will he me(others), if his vacation is finally over... this all will be discussed when he does finally come back," Hussain said. 
 Gandhi has been missing in action for over a month and Congress has insisted that he has been granted leave of absence to introspect over the party's affairs following a string of electoral reverses starting with its rout in the <keyword id="6355187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections. 
 
He skipped the first leg of the budget session, inviting criticism from the opposition parties. 
 
Faced with a volley of questions about Rahul's whereabouts and the date of his likely return, AICC spokesman RPN Singh said, "You are asking the same question daily... As already said he has gone for introspection on recent events with an aim to strengthen the organisation. Whenever we will get intimation, you will be informed." 
 At the same time, Congress MP <keyword id="42332" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jairam-Ramesh">Jairam Ramesh</keyword> dismissed questions whether <keyword id="689" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sonia-Gandhi">Sonia Gandhi</keyword>'s leadership of recent party protests meant Congress had given up on the young leader. "Everyone in the party including the vice-president are involved," he said.

Look for Rahul, don't try digging out Govt's faults: Amit Shah slams Cong at BJP national executive

<ul><li>Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra with support from Sharad Pawar's NCP and the Indian National Congress.</li><li>The three parties differ in their ideologies and therefore have decided to arrive at a 'common minimum programme'.</li><li>Given the state's rural distress, financial aid for farmers cannot be ruled out.</li></ul>A month long political drama has come to an end paving the way for Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to take oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This is a historic moment for the Thackeray family, which has been politically significant in the state for decades but never had a member on the hot seat. Thackeray has got to this point with support from Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress. All three parties differ in their ideologies and therefore have decided to arrive at a 'common minimum programme' in a bid to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power. Given the state's rural distress, financial aid for farmers cannot be ruled out. "There has been significant political discourse around farm stress in last few weeks. Farm loan waiver can potentially could be the first order of the business of the new government," a Macquarie research report said. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 <div type="image" title="Nagpur: NCP President Sharad Pawar interacts with farmers during a visit to Khap..." msid="72272944" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;NCP President Sharad Pawar interacts with farmers during a visit to Khapa village to inspect damaged crops, in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.Photo) (&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





























 This has implication for the state's financial health. An estimated ₹50,000 crore farm loan waiver, spread over 2 years, will push the state's fiscal deficit beyond 3%. Fiscal deficit is the amount of money a government spends over and above its earnings and it's advised by law that any government (state or central) should keep the excess spending to less than 3% over its earnings. Maharashtra's budget deficit is already at a four-year high, which means the government has been spending a lot more than it earns. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 While the farm crisis in the state does warrant immediate attention, a farm loan will increase the deficit and reduce the money available for growth projects like building infrastructure. In the last three years, Mumbai has seen an explosion of infrastructure projects which are in various stages of completion. Roads have been dug up across the city causing traffic snarls but people have been hopeful that the temporary pain will make way for easier commute in the future. For instance, 274 kilometres (km) of metro-rail network is under construction. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 <div type="image" title="Mumbai: A view of a construction site of a metro train parking shed at Aarey Col..." msid="72272112" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A view of a construction site of a metro train parking shed at Aarey Colony, Mumbai. The Supreme Court on Monday restrained authorities from cutting any more trees in Mumbai&amp;#39;s Aarey colony for a Metro car shed before further hearing on Oct. 21.Photo)(&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>























































 In the particular case of the metro rail shed construction in the Aarey colony (a rare green cover in the mega city), the incoming coalition will be tested on its will to reverse the decision. The previous government had bulldozed opposition from the citizens to the cutting of about 2,0000 trees for the construction of the shed, while all opposition parties paid nothing more than lip-service to the cause. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
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 Aside from the metro rail construction in the capital city, there are also other marquee projects like the upcoming airport in Navi Mumbai, the high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Nagpur as well as Mumbai and Ahmedabad (in the neighbouring state of Gujarat) that will be in focus. As rivals of BJP, the parties in the incoming coalition have time and again criticised these ambitious projects heralded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the top NCP leadership, the three parties have decided that the money which is to be given by the state government for the Bullet Train will be diverted to the farmer welfare scheme as it is part of the common minimum programme they have agreed on, the IANS reported on Tuesday. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 <div type="image" title="Bullet train" msid="72272606" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The upcoming airport in Navi Mumbai, the high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Nagpur as well as Mumbai and Ahmedabad (in the neighbouring state of Gujarat) will be in focus as rivals of BJP, the parties in the incoming coalition, have time and again criticised these ambitious projects heralded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>







































 The good news is that the Navi Mumbai airport and the Trans-harbour sea link may not get stalled, according to Macquarie, but the pace of approvals may slowdown delaying the projects. The international financial services firm believes that the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine will be more favourable to the builders in the state and that will be music to the ears for the state's real estate sector that has been in shambles for a while now. It is important that Maharashtra's economy keeps moving at a fast pace because it is the largest contributor to India's GDP (gross domestic product). And already, Maharashtra's contribution to India's GDP is at a multi-year low at 14%. That's a significant setback for the state that is home to the country's financial capital. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/article/maharashtra-state-assembly-elections-2019-debate-veer-savarkar-or-jobs/articleshow/71644079.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">These are the issues the opposition could have capitalised on but didn’t</a>

Here's what to expect from the new government in Maharashtra

<ul><li>India’s financial capital has richest civic body in the country that is ridden with corruption and inefficiencies. </li><li>The budget for Mumbai’s municipal corporation has increased 5 times in the last 12 years. </li><li>Yet, the creaky infrastructure brings the mega city to a grinding halt every monsoon.</li></ul>The <keyword id="33109" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Joker">Joker</keyword> was Gotham’s ‘agent of chaos’ and for Mumbai, it’s the civic body-- the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which is responsible for its infrastructure. That includes roads, sewage, storm water drainage, bridges, water supply, licenses for commercial activity, schools and hospitals. “Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair!” the Joker said in 2009 blockbuster, The Dark Knight. In Mumbai, corruption and inefficiencies of the city’s civic body unleash misery and puts millions of lives at risk, at random. Watch: A Jaguar gets stranded in a Mumbai floods while a Mahindra Bolero wades through 
 
 
 
 <div type="Youtube" id="UaNcpuDIEzM" title="Mahindra Bolero pick-up overtakes stuck Jaguar in flooded road" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UaNcpuDIEzM/mqdefault.jpg"></div>







 Just like the hopeless people of Gotham, every monsoon, Mumbaikars prepare for the eventuality that they may not return home as they leave for work. On Wednesday (September 5), the civic body magnanimously advised schools to stay shut due to incessant rains-- at 10 am. Watch: Stranded students being rescued by civilians 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="mybmc" handlename="माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3281764595/0a984bb8488fcd5307a6ccfe5f918287_normal.jpeg" favoritecount="1527" retweetcount="438" status="In wake of IMD’s warning of heavy rainfall for the rest of the day too, the schools shall remain closed today. The… https://t.co/sd7U5QQOhl" createdat="1567570920000" id="1169103292632186881"></div>







 By then children had already left for school and, unsurprisingly, found themselves stranded. In some cases, they were able to get back home as late as 7 pm. 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="TamannaInamdar" handlename="Tamanna Inamdar" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1140458161800806400/jHsXf1eW_normal.jpg" favoritecount="38" retweetcount="6" status="Finally got her home at 7 pm. Nearly six hours after my child boarded her school bus and after a harrowing 'rescue'… https://t.co/K4Zea2fewx" createdat="1567605078000" id="1169246560745484288"></div>







 Money that would put a smile on any face The mega city’s generous 24 million population has accepted the civic body’s indifference as its fate. This, even after contributing ₹30,000 crore ($4.2 billion) this year to the municipal budget. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s budget has swelled nearly five times in the last 12 years but the plight of its people has only gotten worse. Even by the standards of commercial capitals in developing countries, Mumbai is a mess. Behind the veneer of its entrepreneurial spirit and a professional workforce, lies a city that has been plundered by the ruling elite at an unprecedented scale. Mumbai’s civic body is flushing billions down the drain Meanwhile, the cats at the BMC (which has 1.2 lakh personnel) are getting fatter every year. For instance, documents show that its Chief Engineer AS Yamgar of the Sewerage Operation Department made a monthly salary of ₹1,24,725 as of June 2018. This is nearly as much as <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/business/budget-2018-increases-salary-of-president-by-200-to-rs-5-lakh-per-month-1647855.html">the salary of the President of India before the hike last year</a>, or that of a mid-level corporate employee. However, for the BMC leadership and staff, the money seems to come without accountability. 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="surajojhaa" handlename="Suraj Ojha" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1164059122280456192/Jwi4E8aL_normal.jpg" favoritecount="31" retweetcount="26" status="#MumbaiRainsLive Mithi river over flowing @mid_day @RidlrMUM @patel_bhupen #RainyDay #SafetyFirst #MumbaiTraffic https://t.co/670zkW9Zi1" createdat="1567581422000" id="1169147340135026688"></div>







 And the rot runs deep. <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mumbai-bmc-driver-makes-more-money-than-commissioner-216408-2013-11-04">An India Today story in 2013</a> exposed how a driver earns more than the municipal Commissioner he serves. He simply slept in the vehicle after being relieved of his duties and got paid for working overtime. Shiv Sena, the party ruled by the Thackeray family, controlled the corporation for most part of the last three decades. Therefore, the blame for the shortcomings of the civic body squarely falls on them. The poor quality of the pothole-ridden roads of Mumbai reveal the enormity of misused funds. People tend to believe without question when it is informally said that less than 20% of the money is actually used in the infrastructure projects, and the rest is siphoned off. The passivity of the voters can be disheartening. Almost 81% of the total of 1,491 kilometres of roads in the city are managed by the BMC. But, the four best-managed roads in the city – Bandra Worli SeaLink, New Airport Road, Eastern Freeway and Bandra Kurla Complex-- are under the supervision of Mumbai Metropolitan Road Development Authority (MMRDA), which is also in charge of the metro rail construction that is currently underway. The MMRDA is not without flaws as exposed by <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/mumbai-monorail-a-trip-to-nowhere/article29273282.ece">the colossal failure of the recent monorail project</a>. Yet, it has been slightly more efficient than the BMC in some cases. The devastating floods of 2005 that killed over a 1,000 people should have been a wake up call. At that stage, an honest leadership would have been embarrassed enough to pull themselves into action and resurrect the city to avoid a similar carnage in the future. Since then, there have been five Chief Ministers -- Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Prithviraj Chavan, and now, Devendra Fadnavis-- but the people’s plight has got worse with every passing monsoon. One may expect the authorities to prepare and respond better given that an election is scheduled this year. However, the choice for the voters is between the devil and the deep sea as both Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outfits have failed the people of the city over the years. In Mumbai, “<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/393220611192996582/?nic=1">there are no heroes here, only survivors.</a>” 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="Ketul1Indian" handlename="ketulkumar" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/864159255225610240/_A7uwK2n_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6" retweetcount="2" status="👏👏🙏🙏 to all the good Samaritans who helped these kids yesterday. #MumbaiRains https://t.co/SjyFS8ugQK" createdat="1567658862000" id="1169472148504596480"></div>







 Disclaimer: Vishal Bhargava is a contributor to Business Insider. He has donned several hats in India's financial sector-- from investment banking to financial research to business development-- before becoming an entrepreneur. The opinions are solely reflect the views of the author and not of the publication.

If Mumbai is Gotham, the civic body would be the Joker

<ul><li>Parrikar was known for being a efficient administrator, a straight politician who led a simple life, as well as a Hindu hardliner who promoted the cause of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his entire career</li><li>He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, but he returned to work and even presented the budget for the state of Goa on January 30, 2019.</li><li>He was the chief minister of Goa for three terms and the country's defence minister from 2014 to 2017.</li><li>He was the first alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology to become a state legislator.</li></ul>India's Former Defence Minister and current chief minister of Goa, <keyword id="6363133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="manohar-parrikar">Manohar Parrikar</keyword>, passed away at the age of 63 years after suffering from a pancreatic cancer since February 2018. He was treated in different hospitals in Mumbai, Goa, Delhi and even in the US. He returned to work briefly in December last year and even presented Goa's state budget on January 30. 
 
 
 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Extremely sorry to hear of the passing of Shri Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, after an illness borne with fortitude and dignity. An epitome of integrity and dedication in public life, his service to the people of Goa and of India will not be forgotten <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PresidentKovind</a>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href="https://twitter.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/1107287948486017024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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 He has been the chief minister of Goa for three terms- from 2000 to 2005, from 2012 to 2014, and most recently, since March 2017. Parrikar served as the defence minister of India between 2014 and 2017 during which he opened investigations into alleged corruption in past defence deals including the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) decision to buy AgustaWestland choppers. He was also at the centre of a controversy over the current government's decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault. However, the federal auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, gave a clean chit to the deal in February 2019. Born in Mapusa, Goa, Parrikar went on to graduate in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) in 1978. He was the first IIT alumnus to serve as a member of legislative assembly. Parrikar cut his teeth at the Hindu right-wing organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, early in his life and was one of the key organisers of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the early 1990s. The RSS is the ideological parent of the <keyword id="58687" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> (BJP) that has been in power since 2014 and will be seeking re-election in the upcoming summer. In his lifetime, Parrikar earned the reputation for leading a restrained, simple life, being an astute politician, fast decision maker and an efficient administrator. He also was attacked for his political ideology, which was shaped by the early grooming at RSS that promotes a majoritarian view that glorifies Hindu traditions, and denounces any additional sops for social or religious minorities irrespective of their status.

Manohar Parrikar, Goa's chief minister and India's former defence minister, succumbs to pancreatic cancer at the age of 63

The <keyword id="20449324" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Bill" source="keywords">Finance Bill</keyword> 2024 was passed by <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Lok Sabha" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Lok Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> on Wednesday evening, with a few amendments moved by the government. Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said the approach of the government has been to bring greater simplification of <keyword id="19987671" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax" source="keywords">tax</keyword> laws and procedures and enable growth and employment in the country. She responded to points made by members. The Finance Minister clarified that in real estate, the roll over provisions have not been withdrawn and are applicable. She said if the capital gain in a property transaction is invested in buying another one or two properties up to a maximum value of Rs 10 crore, no capital gain tax is required to be paid on such profits. <keyword id="20619608" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="capital-gains" source="keywords">Capital gains</keyword> can also still be invested in bonds which are notified under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh annually and save on taxes. To give relief on budget proposals, Sitharaman also moved an amendment in the Finance Bill on the changes in the capital gains tax on <keyword id="20412285" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="property-transactions" source="keywords">property transactions</keyword>. The amendment implies that taxpayers can avail either a lower tax of 12.5% without indexation or a rate of 20% with indexation, if the property is acquired prior to July 23, 2024, the day union budget was presented in the Lok Sabha. Sitharaman clarified that taxpayers can compute taxes under both provisions and choose to pay tax under the scheme where lower tax is applied. Effectively, July 23, 2024, is now set as the cut-off date for the calculation of the capital gains versus the earlier cut-off of 2001. Sitharaman said she has proposed these amendments as some members have raised hypothetical calculation to prove that under new provisions taxpayers will have to pay higher taxes. The new tax proposals on capital gains tax was brought in to bring in parity among different asset classes like equities, mutual funds and real estate. In the Finance Bill introduced on July 23, the Finance Minister had proposed a flat long term capital gains tax of 12.5% with no <keyword id="943856" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="indexation-benefit" source="Orion">indexation benefit</keyword>s, prior to it property transactions used to be taxed at 20% with indexation benefit. The minister also clarified that the grandfathering proposal will be allowed only for individual and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) taxpayers and not for companies and Non Resident Individuals. They have to pay flat 12.5% LTCG tax without indexation. The proposed amendment will apply not only on real estate transactions, but also on unlisted equity transactions, which are done before July 23, 2024. All such transactions will be taxed at 10% long term capital gains instead of FY24-25 budget provision of 12.5% tax. With the opposition members demanding removal of <keyword id="19951327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST" source="keywords">GST</keyword> on health insurance, Sitharaman said tax was there on medical insurance even before GST was introduced. "There was already a Service Tax on medical insurance, before the GST was introduced. This is not a new tax, it was already there in all the states. Those protesting here, did they discuss regarding the removal of this tax in their states? Did they write to the Finance Ministers of their respective states about it and asked them to raise it in the GST Council where states have 2/3rd part? No, but they are protesting here. This is their double standards, this is their drama," she said. "Wrongful protests have happened recently, and comments have been passed on the basis of a news report which suggested that the 'Centre has pocketed Rs. 24,529 crores of health insurance premiums alone'. This is incorrect and highly misleading. The GST rate of 18% on health insurance comprises of 9% CGST and 9% SGST. Thus, of the total collections of Rs 24,529 crores from health insurance in the last 3 years, Half of it, Rs. 12,264 crores, went straight to the states as SGST. It doesn't even come to the Centre," she added. The minister said that apart from this, roughly 41%of the Centre's share of GST collection on health insurance is devolved back to the states again, as part of Tax Devolution as per the Finance Commission's formula. Sitharaman said the new income tax regime is simpler and offers lower income tax rates for individuals. "It gives flexibility to the taxpayer to see where he wants to put his money in the absence of exemptions which is available in the old income tax regime. The old regime has not been dissolved and is still an alternative to the new tax regime. It still offers benefits of various deductions such as interest on home loan, etc. Individuals without business income can choose between regimes once and can revert back too. Hence, a choice has been provided to assesse," she said. For the previous Assessment Year 2023-24 till December 31, 2023, about 3.8% of taxpayers opted for the new tax regime, which equates to 30.93 lakh individuals, from a total of 7.98 crore ITRs filed in the categories of ITR-1 to ITR-4, she said. "However, for the Assessment Year 2024-25 until July 31, 2024, there was a dramatic increase in adoption of the new regime, with approximately 72.8% of taxpayers choosing the new tax regime. This represents about 5.25 crore individuals, out of a total of 7.22 crore ITRs filed in the same category." Sitharaman said this shows a substantial shift in taxpayer preference towards the new tax regime, over the span of just one year. "Taxpayers opting for the new regime does not mean savings and investments are not happening in the economy by the middle-class. Due to growth in fintech, better awareness, and ease of investment due to UPI, e-KYC, progressive regulations, investments in mutual funds have increased tremendously. On an average, 17.88 lakh new folios have been added every month in the last 5 years since June 2019. The number of unique mutual fund investors has grown from under 1 crore in 2014 to about 4 crore today," she added. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 was passed after amendments moved by opposition were negatived. Sitharaman said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been to establish a simple, efficient and fair technology-driven taxation regime in the country. "So, simplification and ease of compliance for the taxpayer has been the primary objective. In the last 10 years, and this year, in the third term of PM Modi, the approach to taxation has been to simplify it, reduce the burden on taxpayer and make sure it is transparent and equitable," she said. "This year also, our approach has been that we bring in greater simplification of tax laws and procedures, and that we enable growth and employment in this country," she added. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23. This is the first full budget of the NDA government led by PM Modi. The BJP-led alliance won a third successive term earlier this year. The Lok Sabha took up discussion on the Finance Bill after the Appropriation Bill for the central government's expenditure for 2024-25 was passed by the House on Monday. The Finance Bill will now be discussed by Rajya Sabha. The passage of bill will complete the budget process.

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill, provision on LTCG tax on property transactions amended

<ul><li>Defence, road and rail spending by the government is aiding growth in capital goods companies.</li><li>Due to the long-term nature of government spending, tendering momentum will go on till FY30, says Motilal Oswal Securities.</li><li>Wait for a good entry point in capital goods stocks, say analysts, as they have seen a good run in recent times.</li><li>Digital and green infrastructure-based ordering led by the private sector can also aid growth in a few players. </li></ul>India is building more roads, expanding railways and defence orders are trickling in. That’s good news for capital goods companies which also got another near-term boost in the form of lowered political risk; after the national ruling party BJP secured mandates in three states. According to Motilal Oswal Securities, with government spending on metros, water projects, transmission and more, the stage has been set for a ‘decadal growth opportunity’. Driven by long-term structural tailwinds, the sector is all set for a healthy revenue compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), it adds. The government has already spent 47% of what it budgeted for FY24, in the first half of the fiscal year. Private sector, which is spending less, is moving towards automation and green infrastructure, providing smaller but steady orders. In the second quarter, the manufacturing sector grew 13.9%, hitting a nine-quarter high – all indicating that good times are ahead of capital goods companies. The ‘expanding pie’ Government’s capex is projected to grow to ₹17 lakh crore in FY24 as compared to ₹13.5 lakh crore in FY23. With healthy tax collections, there are few doubts on the government’s ability to keep up the pace. “Government has outlined various capex plans for transmission, railways, highways, water, and defense indigenization as well as several PLI schemes. Though we believe that these targets are aggressive as compared to past runrates, even a 60-70% achievement ratio of the said targets can result in significant long-term opportunity for the sector,” says Motilal Oswal Securities. Most of the government’s spending plans are for the long-term too. And this will keep the tendering process busy till FY30, analysts expect. Companies too are all set to gain from the growth, by expanding capacities. “Demand-supply gaps, improved pricing and confidence over sustenance of capex momentum — all have triggered expansion in manufacturing capacities across companies; especially eyeing the latest revival seen in the power sector,” said a report by IIFL Securities. Wait for entry points say analysts Driven by robust order inflows, expanding margins due to lowered raw material cost, most companies in the sector gained significantly in the last few months, barring a few exceptions. That has altered the risk to reward profile of the sector. L&amp;T and <keyword id="6425802" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bharat-electronics" source="Orion">Bharat Electronics</keyword> are IIFL’s preferred bets on the relative risk-reward trade-offs. Motilal Oswal also has a Buy recommendation on L&amp;T, ABB, Siemens, <keyword id="113731" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="cummins" source="Orion">Cummins</keyword>, and a ‘neutral’ stance on Bharat Electronics, Thermax and KEC. “We are positive on the business models of these companies but would look for better entry points owing to unfavorable risk reward at current valuations,” it adds. Cap goods stock movements <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30-day change </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">L&amp;T </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">11% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bharat Electronics </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">11.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Siemens </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ABB India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9.9% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CG Power </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">24% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cummins </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13.3% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MTAR Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Netweb Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14.8% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ideaForge </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-5.6% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: BSE The digital infra opportunity The size and scale of opportunities that will land in the kitty of companies are also different for companies in the sector. Infrastructure spending bodes well for companies like L&amp;T, Bharat Electronics, Siemens, Power Grid, Hitachi and more. Smaller and recently listed companies like <keyword id="19739527" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ideaforge-mtar-technologies" source="Orion">Ideaforge, MTAR Technologies</keyword>, <keyword id="13433278" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="netweb-technologies" source="Orion">Netweb Technologies</keyword> and more can gain from PLI-led schemes. “We expect the uptick in capex to be driven by PLI-led schemes, data center and EV/EV charging-led infrastructure; increasing expenditure towards industrial automation and digitization, and sustainability-driven capex,” said Motilal Oswal. As more companies go towards digitization and the cloud, companies that provide HVAC and cooling systems are also expected to bring in orders for companies like Siemens, ABB to gain from the same. Such orders are also expected to come from the private sector whose capex spending has been sluggish and patchy this year. While there has been an uptick in sectors like cement, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, telecom, food &amp; beverages, and metals &amp; mining, most of the spending is veering towards sustainability. “We see select pockets where opex-led spend towards greener sources of energy and sustainability is happening. We expect the private capex cycle to take some more time to revive,” says Motilal Oswal. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/private-equity-vc-players-make-a-killing-as-ipo-rush-yields-them-10000-crore/articleshow/105649353.cms">Private equity &amp; VC players make a killing as IPO rush yields them ₹10,000 crore</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/no-stopping-the-election-party-with-occasional-profit-booking-say-analysts/articleshow/105721549.cms">No stopping the election party with occasional profit-booking say analysts</a>

As road & rail projects gather steam, cap good companies set for a decadal growth opportunity

<ul><li>Several banks including SBI, <keyword id="6357149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank" source="Orion">HDFC Bank</keyword> have increased interest rates on fixed deposits.</li><li>This is good news for FD investors who saw multi-year low interest rates as banks have been cutting interest rates over the past couple of years.</li><li>There are expectations that the RBI would now start hiking interest rates due to high inflationary pressures.</li></ul>Investment in fixed deposits (FD) at banks is still one of the popular investment products because of the guaranteed returns factor. Also, amid current volatile market conditions, FD is supposed to be one of the most secure and steady profit making products to invest in. Since the last few years, interest rates on fixed deposits have been at a multi-year low considering the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was busy picking up the economy from COVID-19 wounds. This required RBI to infuse liquidity in the system and thereby cut interest rates. Cut to over two years since the pandemic happened, there is enough liquidity in the system and inflation is also high. Moreover, Union Budget 2022-23 proposed larger capex to boost growth amid persistently high inflation. All this has led to expectations that RBI would raise interest rates in the country in the coming time. Hence, several banks are hiking interest rates of fixed deposits after a gap of more than a year due to the pandemic. Here are banks that revised interest rates of fixed deposits in recent days. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bank’s FD interest rates </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 year to 2 years </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2 to 3 years </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 to 5 years </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HDFC Bank </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.20% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.45% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SBI </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.10% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.20% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.45% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">UCO Bank </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.10% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.10% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.30% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Central Bank of India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.10% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.10% </td></tr></tbody></table> Also, central banks of many developed countries are gearing up to raise interest rates to tame high interest rates, which have risen sharply across the world after the monetary policy stimulus programme since COVID-19. In India, the RBI has kept rates steady for a long time as it thinks the economy needs some more support. Nevertheless, this is good news for bank depositors as interest rates are expected to only inch up from here. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/bjp-up-has-spent-over-3-crore-on-facebook-ads-last-month-congress-spent-6-lakh/articleshow/89750791.cms">BJP UP has spent over ₹3 crore on Facebook ads last month, Congress spent ₹6 lakh</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/medibuddy-has-raised-125-million-for-clinical-research-and-hiring/articleshow/89750389.cms">Healthcare company MediBuddy has raised $125 million for clinical research and hiring</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/special-flights-for-indian-students-and-nationals-living-in-ukraine-amid-conflict-with-russia/articleshow/89746785.cms">Special flights for Indian students and nationals living in Ukraine amid conflict with Russia</a>

Here are banks that rose FD interest rates posing an attractive opportunity for depositors

<ul><li>The recent documents on <keyword id="6354576" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook" source="Orion">Facebook</keyword> revealed by whistleblower Frances Haugen have several reports on the company’s role in India.</li><li>Various experiments and tests showed Facebook’s algorithms recommending groups and pages that promoted hate speech and misinformation.</li><li>The documents also revealed a rise in bots and fake accounts during the 2019 general election in India.</li></ul>Facebook has a serious <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebook-claims-it-uses-ai-to-identify-and-remove-posts-containing-hate-speech-and-violence-but-the-technology-doesnt-really-work-report-says/articleshow/87095158.cms">hate speech and misinformation problem</a> in India, and it has been struggling to control it. The new findings of the social media giant’s presence in India are a part of “The Facebook Papers” collected by whistleblower Frances Haugen, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/23/technology/facebook-india-misinformation.html">report</a>. There are many reports on how Facebook’s algorithms recommended content that incited violence, and how it failed to stop misinformation among its biggest user base. These reports were written by Facebook employees on their experiences of how the social media platform affects India. One report explained how a Facebook researcher created a new user account as a person living in Kerala. It followed groups, watched videos and checked out new pages all recommended by Facebook. “Following this test user’s News Feed, I’ve seen more images of dead people in the past three weeks than I’ve seen in my entire life total,” the Facebook researcher wrote in the report. The reports also showed how Facebook was a mess during the 2019 general election in India. The platform was filled with bots and fake accounts related to the ruling party BJP and opposition “wreaking havoc”. Facebook had announced steps to counter misinformation and also partnered with fact-checkers in the run up to the general election. But it also created a “political white list” to exempt some politicians from fact-checking. It also found that there were bots and fake accounts that spread misinformation on the voting process. An internal document called “Adversarial Harmful Networks: India Case Study” showed that Facebook is filled with anti-Muslim content which mostly includes “dehumanising posts” and misinformation. The company was also aware of groups promoting organisations like the RSS and Bajrang Dal that pushed for anti-Muslim content on the platform. It even considered designating these organisations as “dangerous” but didn’t take any decision fearing it could affect the company’s operations in the country. The bigger problem here is Facebook’s global budget for classifying misinformation wherein 87% is allocated for the United States which accounts for only 10% of its total user base. As for the remaining 13%, it’s for other countries including India. Facebook’s change in the news feed to focus on engagements between friends and family also further pushed misinformation in India, especially during the pandemic. According to Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone, these figures don’t include third-party fact-checkers. Stone added that Facebook has invested in finding hate speech in various Indian languages including Hindi and Bengali. Stone acknowledged that there is a rise in hate speech against marginalised groups including Muslims in India and globally and that Facebook is “improving enforcement” and updating its policies. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mark-zuckerberg-hits-out-against-apple-as-facebooks-ad-revenue-dwindles/articleshow/87250491.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Mark Zuckerberg hits out against Apple as Facebook's ad revenue dwindles</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/here-are-the-top-ten-tech-deals-on-amazon-sale/articleshow/87249606.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Last week of Amazon Great Indian Festival sale — here are the best tech deals worth checking out</a>

Internal documents reveal how Facebook struggled to deal with misinformation and hate speech in India

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/32704233.cms" />NEW DELHI: Less than a five-minute drive from the Ashoka Road headquarters of BJP, where the old guard is losing ground to the new, <keyword id="47100" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Atal-Bihari-Vajpayee">Atal Bihari Vajpayee</keyword> sits quietly in a wheelchair in his SPG-guarded Krishna Menon Marg bungalow watching snatches of television and reading newspaper headlines. 
 The master orator, who was silenced by a stroke in 2009, cannot grasp either the small print or the big picture of what's happening within the party he nurtured. The three-time <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> — last between 1999 and 2004 — bid adieu to active politics almost a decade ago. Now, as Modi — whom he'd wanted removed as Gujarat <keyword id="5269" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Chief-Minister">chief minister</keyword> after the Godhra riots of 2002 — tightens his hold over BJP, some of his close friends and followers are feeling slighted or pushed to the wall. 
 Unlike the good old days, no one comes calling on him with complaints about the party or to listen to his poetry. The only regular visitors are N M Ghatate, Vajpayee's friend of nearly six decades, L K Advani and B C Khanduri (the general-turned-politician who was chief minister of <keyword id="44522" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Uttarakhand">Uttarakhand</keyword>), who come to sit by his side or ask daughter Namita about his health. 
 Ghatate who visits him almost every week, sometimes even twice, says, "Prime Minister <keyword id="6359397" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Manmohan-Singh">Manmohan Singh</keyword> makes regular inquiries about his health and never misses wishing Vajpayeeji personally on his birthday." The two, Ghatate says, have an old association. Ghatate remembers how then PM PV <keyword id="6358441" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Narasimha-Rao">Narasimha Rao</keyword> called Vajpayee to complain that his <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Finance-minister">finance minister</keyword> Manmohan Singh had taken criticism of his budget by the opposition to heart and had offered to resign. 
 During a career spent mostly in opposition, Vajpayee had criticized everyone, from <keyword id="6383869" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Nehru">Nehru</keyword> to his daughter <keyword id="5513" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indira">Indira</keyword>, but never realized it could hurt someone so much. Ghatate says Vajpayee immediately called Singh and told him not to take such comments to heart as they were meant to score political points. The Rao government was saved an embarrassment, and a new friendship was forged. 
 Ghatate says Vajpayee is still mentally alert. "But the stroke he suffered does not let him speak." Till then, he'd kept himself busy with books and writing. Within two months of the 2004 electoral defeat, he wrote a four-page article on the successful NDA coalition experiment and how even <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> had to fall in line; he argued that coalitions were here to stay. 
 
A better part of Vajpayee's day, Ghatate says, is spent with physiotherapists, doctors and nurses. "I go there and just watch him or talk to family members. He understands everything but cannot have a conversation," he says. Vajpayee's favourite food — Chinese and prawns — is now served only in small portions. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/32704107.cms" /> 
 Advani, who was <keyword id="230854" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="deputy-PM">deputy PM</keyword> in the last NDA government, is reported to have wistfully told some people that Vajpayee would consult him on "everything". When asked if BJP leaders still asked him for advice, he is believed to have replied, cryptically, "When they need to." 
 
For Ghatate, who first met him in the 1950s, the sight of the silent statesman is heart-rending. Vajpayee, who had known Ghatate's father, Babasaheb Ghatate, a senior Hindu Mahasabha leader, took the young law student under his wing in Delhi and treated him like a younger brother. 
 
Of all the things that the protracted illness has taken away, Ghatate misses Vajpayee's sense of humour the most. When Ghatate gave him the news of the death of JN Dixit, Manmohan Singh's first national security advisor, Vajpayee said, "He was a good man. His problem was he used to work hard and worry a lot about the consequences." Ghatate pointed out Vajpayee's NSA and Dixit's predecessor Brajesh Mishra was also hard working, to which Vajpayee retorted with a mischievous smile, "Yes, Brajesh too was hard working, but then I had to worry about the consequences," Ghatate recounted this to Mishra and the two had a good laugh. 
 
Ghatate has been busy compiling Vajpayee's jokes and witticisms into a book. He has so far collected about 80; he knows there are many more out there.

A Peek Into The Life Atal Bihari Vajpayee Now Leads

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46921090.cms" /> 
Ambani-Modi bond may be the talking point in Indian politics yet the BJP-led government in centre isn’t letting Reliance India Limited (RIL) take undue advantage in the corporate espionage case that shook the media just before the March budget. As per a news report by The Economic Times, the government has argued that allocation and pricing of a natural resource, which the government holds as a trustee of the people cannot be the subject matter of an internal arbitration. 
 In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the <keyword id="523615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Petroleum-Natural-Gas">Ministry of Petroleum &amp; Natural Gas</keyword> has instead asked the court to throw out RIL's petition to appoint a third arbitrator of independent nationality to decide on the pricing of natural gas. 
 As per the financial daily, the affidavit by the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> seems to reflect a hardening of stance as this is first occasion that the government has said the dispute cannot be resolved by arbitration. 
 RIL had appointed Sir <keyword id="355508" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="David-Steel">David Steel</keyword> as its nominee on the arbitration panel, while the government had appointed GS Singhvi, former Supreme Court judge, as its representative. The company subsequently asked the apex court to appoint the third arbitrator. 
 
In its affidavit, the government has also said that if the matter was to be decided by arbitration then it has to be under Indian laws and the third arbitrator has to be an Indian citizen, a demand that RIL has staunchly resisted, through its reply filed through Parekh &amp; Co. 
 Senior advocate Harish N Salve is representing RIL in court. RIL had demanded that the prices be increased from $ 4.2 mmbtu to $8.4 mmbtu during the UPA regime as per a formula fixed by a committee headed by C Rangarajan, economic advisor to the <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">prime minister</keyword>. The price $8.4 per MMBTU was notified on January 14, 2014 and was to be applicable from April 1, 2014. This was later deferred in view of the elections in May. 
 
However, after the new government came in, fresh guidelines came into effect from November 1, 2014. Under these guidelines the price was increased to $ 5.61 mmbtu. The government said the October 2014 guidelines would apply prospectively and uniformly to all sectors of the <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/economy" target="_blank">economy</a> and allocation would also be as per the revised gas utilisation policy. 
"... implementation of such government notified guidelines cannot be a subject matter of a private arbitration," the affidavit said. "The role of the respondent as the executive is to lay down policies and guidelines, which would best protect the interests of the public and are actions which ought not to be made subject to private arbitration proceedings." 
 
"Any challenge if at all will essentially have to be made before the appropriate courts of India as the same shall have a bearing on the public at large...," it said. 
 
"The role... of the executive of the union in framing policies for an entire sector of entities and the public at large cannot be challenged and decided under a private challenge and decided under a private contract which the (respondent - ministry) has entered into with a private party for the purposes of exploration, extraction and exploitation of natural resources. 
 
The government also accused RIL of demanding implementation of the pricing of January 2014, under the threat of arbitration proceedings which was "mala fide". 
 
RIL in its affidavit claimed that it had always acted in consonance of government policies and fulfilled all its obligations under the production sharing arrangement. It had never used gas as its private property, it said. It had never allocated any gas to its own petrochemical plants and refineries, the company said. 
 
(Image: Reuters) 
RIL denied the suggestion that it had attempted to hold the national economy hostage to its benevolence.

Modi isn’t soft on Ambanis: Corporate Espionage investigation is the proof

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46918255.cms" /> Ambani-Modi bond may be the talking point in Indian politics yet the BJP-led government in centre isn’t letting <keyword id="419838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Reliance-India-Limited">Reliance India Limited</keyword> (RIL) take undue advantage in the corporate espionage case that shook the media just before the March budget. As per a news report by The Economic Times, the government has argued that allocation and pricing of a natural resource, which the government holds as a <keyword id="6362074" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="trustee">trustee</keyword> of the people cannot be the subject matter of an internal arbitration. 
 In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the <keyword id="523615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Petroleum-Natural-Gas">Ministry of Petroleum &amp; Natural Gas</keyword> has instead asked the court to throw out RIL's petition to appoint a third <keyword id="60830" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Arbitrator">arbitrator</keyword> of independent nationality to decide on the pricing of natural gas. 
 As per the financial daily, the affidavit by the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> seems to reflect a hardening of stance as this is first occasion that the government has said the dispute cannot be resolved by arbitration. 
 
RIL had appointed Sir David Steel as its nominee on the arbitration panel, while the government had appointed GS Singhvi, former Supreme Court judge, as its representative. The company subsequently asked the apex court to appoint the third arbitrator. 
 
In its affidavit, the government has also said that if the matter was to be decided by arbitration then it has to be under Indian laws and the third arbitrator has to be an Indian citizen, a demand that RIL has staunchly resisted, through its reply filed through Parekh &amp; Co. 
 Senior advocate Harish N Salve is representing RIL in court. RIL had demanded that the prices be increased from $ 4.2 mmbtu to $8.4 mmbtu during the UPA regime as per a formula fixed by a committee headed by C Rangarajan, economic advisor to the <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">prime minister</keyword>. The price $8.4 per MMBTU(Million British Thermal Units) was notified on January 14, 2014 and was to be applicable from April 1, 2014. This was later deferred in view of the elections in May. 
 
However, after the new government came in, fresh guidelines came into effect from November 1, 2014. Under these guidelines the price was increased to $ 5.61 mmbtu. The government said the October 2014 guidelines would apply prospectively and uniformly to all sectors of the economy and allocation would also be as per the revised gas utilisation policy. 
"... implementation of such government notified guidelines cannot be a subject matter of a private arbitration," the affidavit said. "The role of the respondent as the executive is to lay down policies and guidelines, which would best protect the interests of the public and are actions which ought not to be made subject to private arbitration proceedings." 
 
"Any challenge if at all will essentially have to be made before the appropriate courts of India as the same shall have a bearing on the public at large...," it said. 
 
"The role of the executive of the union in framing policies for an entire sector of entities and the public at large cannot be challenged and decided under a private challenge and decided under a private contract which the (respondent - ministry) has entered into with a private party for the purposes of exploration, extraction and exploitation of natural resources. 
 
The government also accused RIL of demanding implementation of the pricing of January 2014, under the threat of arbitration proceedings which was "mala fide". 
 
RIL in its affidavit claimed that it had always acted in consonance of government policies and fulfilled all its obligations under the production sharing arrangement. It had never used gas as its private property, it said. It had never allocated any gas to its own petrochemical plants and refineries, the company said. 
 
RIL denied the suggestion that it had attempted to hold the national economy hostage to its benevolence. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

<ul><li>Veteran devotional singer <keyword id="806680" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Chanchal">Narendra Chanchal</keyword>'s video of a bhajan on the virus went viral. </li><li>The urine of Indian cows was selling at ₹500 a litre and the dung at ₹500 a kilo. </li><li> Hundreds of people lined up to drink cow urine at a ‘gaumutra party.’ </li></ul>The <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic is a travesty and it has inspired art and trade of a bizarre kind. The current number of infected patients in India are 147, after 13 people were cured of the disease and three lost their lives, according to the latest data available on the ministry of health and family welfare <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/">website</a>. O kitthon aaya corona bhajan It is human nature to look for a bit of comic relief even in the grimmest situations, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is no different. Veteran devotional singer Narendra Chanchal's video of a bhajan on the virus at a recent Holi function went viral. The opening line of the song goes: Dengue bhi aaya, swine flu bi aaya, Chikungunya ne shor machaya, Khabre ki ki ho na, O kitthon aaya corona, Maiya ji, kitthon aaya corona (There was dengue, there was swine flu. Chikungunya created some noise, too. All of it made news, but where did corona come from?). <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9tFa7bAUne/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9tFa7bAUne/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9tFa7bAUne/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Jagrata is better than cure 💃🏻🦠💃🏻</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mallikadua/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> M A L L I K A D U A</a> (@mallikadua) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-03-14T06:45:23+00:00">Mar 13, 2020 at 11:45pm PDT</time></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
]]></cdata></div>

 Later a group of ladies singing ‘Corona bhag ja’ was another quirky and funny viral video that gave netizens a good laugh. 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="KrishnaMohanINC" handlename="Krishna Mohan Sharma" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1220000348552564736/UfqDHJkF_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4230" retweetcount="1437" status="ये हिंदुस्तान हैं साहब यहाँ कुछ भी हो सकता हैं कोरोना भगाने का गीत 😂😂😂😂 #पीएम_पनौती https://t.co/KmorMr3BVw" createdat="1583584251000" id="1236268070131224579"></div>





 Gaumutra party On Saturday (March 14) Swami Chakrapani, the president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha organised a ‘Gaumutra party’ (cow urine party) where hundreds of people lined up to drink cow urine being poured from kettles into ‘kulhads.’ 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="TheDeshBhakt" handlename="Akash Banerjee" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1239401822017617920/vxBJHru-_normal.jpg" favoritecount="5557" retweetcount="1678" status="#DeshBhakt joins #GaumutraParty 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Via #TeamDeshBhakt @sarthakgoswamii ⁦@yononsensedude⁩ https://t.co/ZwhCYSEzAw" createdat="1584196284000" id="1238835123665043456"></div>





 This came after the Assam BJP MLA <keyword id="8857690" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="suman-haripriya">Suman Haripriya</keyword> suggested the bizarre treatment during the budget session of Assam Legislative Assembly. “It (cow urine and cow dung) can cure cancer patients. We have got evidence. Even an Ayurvedic hospital in Gujarat applies cow dung to cancer patients. They are given Panchamrit prepared from cow urine and cow dung,” he said. Cow dung and urine - a coronavirus remedy Inspired by songs Indians started selling bizarre Coronavirus remedies like cow urine and dung. According to IANS urine of Indian cows was selling at ₹500 a litre and the dung at ₹500 a kilo. "I have two cows -- one Indian cow and the other a Jersey cow. I earn my living selling milk. So, after I saw the gomutra party on television, I realised I could make more profit by selling cow urine and dung. Now, I can utilise every part of cows in my business," said Mabud Ali. No non-veg, no Coronavirus At the gaumutra party event, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha’s Chakrapani claimed that COVID-19 is an “avatar” that has “come to punish those who eat non-vegetarian food”. 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="dhruv_rathee" handlename="Dhruv Rathee" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1080350328099348481/r9y2CKt-_normal.jpg" favoritecount="20189" retweetcount="6442" status="Gaumutra and Gobar Party! Listen to these Hindu Mahasabha intellectuals claiming to treat everything from Coronav… https://t.co/2bokkaLan5" createdat="1584197670000" id="1238840937322774529"></div>





 "Corona is not a virus, but an avatar for the protection of poor creatures. They have come to give the message of death and punishment to the one who eats them," said Swami Chakrapani further stating that the avatar is of Lord Narsingh. Mental Illness is the cause of coronavirus Uttar Pradesh CM <keyword id="43254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yogi-Adityanath">Yogi Adityanath</keyword> while addressing the public at the Yog Mahotsav event in Rishikesh said Coronavirus could be prevented by overcoming 'mental illness'. "The world needs to be free of illnesses of the body and mind. If one overcomes mental illness, then one can avoid diseases such as blood pressure, heart attack, kidney failure, liver issues and even the coronavirus," he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">coronavirus: Latest News, Articles on coronavirus | Business Insider India</a>

Coronavirus: From 'Kitho aya Corona' to Cow dung and urine remedies, here's what Indians are upto

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/35342454.cms" />The stock markets have been in a buoyant mood ever since <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> was named the BJP's prime ministerial candidate on 13 September last year. With Indian voters giving the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a clear mandate, the markets turned euphoric. On the 16 May, the day of vounting, the Sensex opened up by more than 1,000 points and then breached the historic 25,000 mark. 
 Now that the markets have safely negotiated possibly the year's biggest event risk, <keyword id="6416579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Retail-investors">retail investors</keyword> need to reformulate their stock market strategy: should those who have been sitting on the sidelines enter the markets now in anticipation of the bull run continuing? And, for those who entered the markets earlier, is it time to book profits in view of stretched valuations? 
 
Cast a fresh eye on your portfolio 
 
Investors with a short-term investment horizon, who have made substantial profits from the current run-up, may encash their gains. "Investors who got in at lower levels should book partial profit and wait for a correction to re-enter," says Vibhav Kapoor, Group CIO, IL&amp;FS. The rationale: the markets have already factored in the positive news and valuations are getting stretched. 
 Long-term investors, on the other hand, may continue to hold on to their investments. "The overall long-term trend is positive," says Kapoor. Adds Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman and joint managing director, First Global: "India's fundamentals are among the best in the world right now, so hold on to your equity investments." Raamdeo Agrawal, joint managing director, Motilal Oswal <keyword id="6354241" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Financial-Services">Financial Services</keyword>, concurs. "The long-term story is just starting, so investors should continue to be in equities for the next five years," he says. 
 
Adds Andrew Holland, CEO-Equities, Ambit Capital: "Foreign investors are very positive, so the high inflows may continue for a few more months." Events like the Union Budget and important economic policy announcements are expected to keep the markets buoyant over the next few months. 
 
 
 
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Which segment should you bet on? 
 Should you seek refuge in the relative safety and stability of large-caps, or should you aspire for the higher returns that mid- and small-cap stocks can potentially offer? Remember that these three segments rarely move up in tandem. The large caps led the charge when Narendra Modi was anointed prime ministerial candidate. Only later did the mid- and small-cap counters take over from them. The BSE Mid- and Small-cap indices have gained much more than the Sensex since 13 September. This trend may continue in the future as well. The large-cap stocks are gaining again now, which implies that mid- and small-caps may play catch-up later, once large caps enter correction mode. The mid- and small-cap indices are also quoting at a discount to the large-cap index. However, <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword>ors need to invest in each stock on its own merit, based on its growth prospects and current valuation. "It would not be correct to brand the entire mid- and small-cap segment as undervalued or overvalued. Investors should go company-wise," says Swapnil Pawar, chief investment officer, Karvy Capital. 
 
 
 
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Which are tomorrow's sectors? 
 
With the NDA winning a clear mandate, the surge in economy-related stocks may continue. Enter these sectors whenever the markets take a breather. "We continue to like cyclicals," says Holland. One of the new government's top priorities will be to kickstart the investment cycle by expediting clearances. Since the executive wing of the government is likely to work with a sense of urgency, sectors like infrastructure, construction, capital goods and power are expected to fare well. 
 
Another sector expected to benefit from an economic turnaround is financials. But private and public sector banks will go their own separate ways. The former are expected to increase their share of the market pie. Unlike their public-sector peers, they don't have NPA (non-performing assets) related concerns. An economic recovery augurs well for public sector banks as well since it will reduce NPAs throughout the system. While the resolution of NPA-related concerns may take a few quarters, prices of PSU bank stocks may run up much earlier. 
 The oil and gas sector too is in a sweet spot currently. An appreciating currency will favour this sector by lowering its subsidy burden. Since its low of 68.85 vis-a-vis the dollar on 28 August, 2013, the <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rupee">rupee</keyword> has strengthened considerably. While this may be attributed largely to the government and the RBI reining in the current account deficit (CAD), the expectation of a business-friendly government taking over after the elections has also led to the inflow of dollars, which has pushed the rupee above the 59 level. The RBI may buy dollars to slow down the pace of the rupee's appreciation, but the currency may nonetheless strengthen in the short run. The new government is also expected to resolve the vexed issue of gas and oil pricing, which will be another shot in the arm for the sector. 
 
Despite global demand improving, the rupee's appreciation could act as a headwind for IT companies in the next few quarters. If sectoral rotation continues and money keeps on moving out of defensives and into cyclicals, there will be added pressure on IT stocks. Avoid this sector for the time being. 
 
Other export-oriented sectors such as textiles and leather may also suffer on account of the rupee strengthening. The domestic slowdown in China may lead to heightened competition from Chinese exports. Import substitution sectors like metals are also in the same boat. 
 
 
 
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Pharmaceutical, another export-oriented sector, is expected to fare better. While it too will be hit by the currency's appreciation on the external front, the picture in the domestic market is improving. The sector has already put the troubles caused by the drug price control order (DPCO) of 2013 behind it. 
 Cyclical rotation may hurt some of the defensive stocks in the short term. However, the fundamentals of sectors like auto and <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> will improve as domestic demand rises. The demand for premium products, which carry higher margins, is expected to improve in the wake of an economic recovery. A stronger rupee will also lower the cost of imported raw materials for many of these players. Try to latch onto some of the reasonably priced stocks in these sectors whenever the markets correct. 
 
Stocks of a few industrial groups, such as Adani, have done well ever since Narendra Modi became the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. Since momentum still favours these stocks, you may continue to hold on to them for the time being.

You Searched For "BJP budget news" and got 14 results

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Full transcript of PM Narendra Modi's TV interview

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