<p>Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said it was important for the country to achieve self-reliance in the defence sector.&nbsp</p>

<p>“Cultivating innovation within India is imperative to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence. The young innovators of India will play a big role in the future to indigenise the defence industry ” she said in her address to students at IIT Madras here.</p>

<p>She said it was important to restore a lot of strength to the manufacturing sector. “The priority of our government is to underline the need for India to restore a lot of strength to its manufacturing sector,” she said.</p>

<p>Sitharaman said the NDA government had taken steps to streamline the defence procurement policy in 2016 to “simplify the entire process”. She said the focus was on reviving the manufacturing sector so it could contribute a lot more to the country’s GDP.</p>

<p>“The services sector is growing rapidly and the focus is on reviving the manufacturing sector. Ultimately, it is the private sector that has to get the manufacturing sector going,” she said.</p>

<p>Sitharaman also stressed the need to reinvent and be self-sufficient for India’s defence sector needs. The priority for defence in the government’s “Make In India” policy was to stop India’s dependence on imports, she said.</p>


Sitharaman said the NDA government had taken steps to streamline the defence procurement policy in 2016 to "simplify the entire process".

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said it was important for the country to achieve self-reliance in the defence sector. “Cultivating innovation within India is imperative to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence. The young innovators of India will play a big role in the future to indigenise the defence industry ” she said in her address to students at IIT Madras here. She said it was important to restore a lot of strength to the manufacturing sector. “The priority of our government is to underline the need for India to restore a lot of strength to its manufacturing sector,” she said. Sitharaman said the NDA government had taken steps to streamline the defence procurement policy in 2016 to “simplify the entire process”. She said the focus was on reviving the manufacturing sector so it could contribute a lot more to the country’s GDP. “The services sector is growing rapidly and the focus is on reviving the manufacturing sector. Ultimately, it is the private sector that has to get the manufacturing sector going,” she said. Sitharaman also stressed the need to reinvent and be self-sufficient for India’s defence sector needs. The priority for defence in the government’s “Make In India” policy was to stop India’s dependence on imports, she said.

Achieving self-reliance in the defence sector significant to country: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

<p>The TDP on Wednesday night decided to pull out of the NDA government at the Centre and asked two of its ministers in the Modi government to tender their resignation but kept the door for ties with the BJP ajar.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/finance-minister-arun-jaitley-promises-funds-equivalent-of-special-status-to-andhra-pradesh-35020">Also read: Will give money equivalent </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/finance-minister-arun-jaitley-promises-funds-equivalent-of-special-status-to-andhra-pradesh-35020">of</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/finance-minister-arun-jaitley-promises-funds-equivalent-of-special-status-to-andhra-pradesh-35020"> special status to Andhra Pradesh, says&nbsp;Arun Jaitley</a></p>

<p>The TDP took the painful decision in the interest of the state as it was left with no other option, party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at an emergency press briefing.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It&#39;s a crucial time.<br />
We have to stand, we have to fight, we have to get it done.</p>
&mdash; N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncbn/status/971447691489239040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>The two ministers in the Modi government are Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary.</p>

<p>In a tit-for-tat action, the two BJP ministers in the Naidu government--K Srinivasa Rao and T Manikyala Rao--too announced their decision to quit.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I tried reaching out to the Prime Minister to inform him about our decision. But sadly, he was unavailable.</p>
&mdash; N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncbn/status/971446399316385792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;When the intended purpose (of joining the Union Cabinet) has not been served, there is no point in continuing. For me the sole agenda is to safeguard the interests of the state, he said.</p>

<p>The TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.</p>

<p>Naidu&#39;s announcement came barely hours after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a press conference in New Delhi this evening that funds equivalent to what a special category state receives would be extended to Andhra Pradesh, but drew a line saying politics cannot increase the quantum of money.</p>

<p>We have now come out of the NDA. Party-to-party (TDP-BJP ties) issue will be decided later, he added, hinting that their alliance may continue in the future.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I am not angry with anyone. This decision has been taken only to benefit the people of Andhra Pradesh.</p>
&mdash; N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncbn/status/971446279287988224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Jaitley said giving special category status, as demanded by Naidu, to any state apart from those in the North-East and three hill provinces were not constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations.</p>

<p>For special category status category states, the Centre meets 90 per cent of the funds required in a centrally sponsored scheme as against 60 per cent in case of normal category states. The remaining funds are provided by the state governments.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Centre has been taking one sided decisions and our patience has run out now. When the purpose of joining the union cabinet hasn&rsquo;t been fulfilled, it&rsquo;s best to resign now.</p>
&mdash; N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncbn/status/971446230088691712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Naidu said Jaitley&#39;s announcement was the &quot;last straw&quot; for the TDP. Naidu had repeatedly insisted on special category state status for Andhra Pradesh following mounting pressure from the opposition.</p>

<p>Jaitley&#39;s statement was nothing but insulting us, he maintained.</p>

<p>&#39;&#39;I made every effort to get our issues resolved by the Centre in the last four years. I told them about the people&#39;s sentiment and tried to convince them in every manner but to no avail, he said.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We&rsquo;ve waited enough. We&rsquo;ve believed in false promises enough. Our ministers are resigning from the Union Cabinet. We will do whatever it takes to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh.</p>
&mdash; Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/naralokesh/status/971437418027995136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>They (Centre) are with a predetermination and there appears to be no way they will help us. Under such inevitable circumstances, we have decided to come out of the NDA, Naidu said, after a three-hour teleconference with party MPs and state ministers following Jaitley&#39;s assertions.</p>

<p>He said the TDP joined the NDA government only to protect the state&#39;s interests following its bifurcation but claimed the Centre was taking unilateral decisions without thinking about the solutions to the state&#39;s problems.</p>

<p>The chief minister said he tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone as a courtesy to inform him about the decision to pull out of the NDA government. It is my responsibility as a coalition partner to inform the prime minister about our party decision. My OSD spoke to his OSD but the prime minister did not come online, he said.</p>

<p>Naidu hoped the Centre would at least now respect the sentiments of people of Andhra Pradesh.&nbsp;</p>


The TDP took the painful decision in the interest of the state as it was left with no other option, party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at an emergency press briefing.

The TDP on Wednesday night decided to pull out of the NDA government at the Centre and asked two of its ministers in the Modi government to tender their resignation but kept the door for ties with the BJP ajar. Also read: Will give money equivalent of special status to Andhra Pradesh, says Arun Jaitley The TDP took the painful decision in the interest of the state as it was left with no other option, party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at an emergency press briefing. It's a crucial time. We have to stand, we have to fight, we have to get it done. — N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 7, 2018 × The two ministers in the Modi government are Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary. In a tit-for-tat action, the two BJP ministers in the Naidu government--K Srinivasa Rao and T Manikyala Rao--too announced their decision to quit. I tried reaching out to the Prime Minister to inform him about our decision. But sadly, he was unavailable. — N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 7, 2018 × "When the intended purpose (of joining the Union Cabinet) has not been served, there is no point in continuing. For me the sole agenda is to safeguard the interests of the state, he said. The TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Naidu's announcement came barely hours after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a press conference in New Delhi this evening that funds equivalent to what a special category state receives would be extended to Andhra Pradesh, but drew a line saying politics cannot increase the quantum of money. We have now come out of the NDA. Party-to-party (TDP-BJP ties) issue will be decided later, he added, hinting that their alliance may continue in the future. I am not angry with anyone. This decision has been taken only to benefit the people of Andhra Pradesh. — N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 7, 2018 × Jaitley said giving special category status, as demanded by Naidu, to any state apart from those in the North-East and three hill provinces were not constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations. For special category status category states, the Centre meets 90 per cent of the funds required in a centrally sponsored scheme as against 60 per cent in case of normal category states. The remaining funds are provided by the state governments. The Centre has been taking one sided decisions and our patience has run out now. When the purpose of joining the union cabinet hasn’t been fulfilled, it’s best to resign now. — N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) March 7, 2018 × Naidu said Jaitley's announcement was the "last straw" for the TDP. Naidu had repeatedly insisted on special category state status for Andhra Pradesh following mounting pressure from the opposition. Jaitley's statement was nothing but insulting us, he maintained. ''I made every effort to get our issues resolved by the Centre in the last four years. I told them about the people's sentiment and tried to convince them in every manner but to no avail, he said. We’ve waited enough. We’ve believed in false promises enough. Our ministers are resigning from the Union Cabinet. We will do whatever it takes to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. — Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) March 7, 2018 × They (Centre) are with a predetermination and there appears to be no way they will help us. Under such inevitable circumstances, we have decided to come out of the NDA, Naidu said, after a three-hour teleconference with party MPs and state ministers following Jaitley's assertions. He said the TDP joined the NDA government only to protect the state's interests following its bifurcation but claimed the Centre was taking unilateral decisions without thinking about the solutions to the state's problems. The chief minister said he tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone as a courtesy to inform him about the decision to pull out of the NDA government. It is my responsibility as a coalition partner to inform the prime minister about our party decision. My OSD spoke to his OSD but the prime minister did not come online, he said. Naidu hoped the Centre would at least now respect the sentiments of people of Andhra Pradesh.

TDP pulls out of NDA government, keeps door for alliance with BJP ajar

<p>The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes run by the government may be further extended beyond March 31, the Centre indicated in the Supreme Court today.</p>

<p>The Centre said that since some more time would be needed to conclude the prolonged hearing in the Aadhaar case, the government may extend the deadline from March 31.</p>

<p>A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan agreed with the contention of Attorney General K K Venugopal.</p>

<p>&quot;We have extended the deadline in the past and we will extend the deadline again but we may do it by the end of month to enable the petitioners in the case conclude the arguments,&quot; Venugopal said.</p>

<p>The bench said, &quot;It is a very valid point raised by the Attorney General and the court would not allow repetitive arguments made by the petitioners&#39; counsel in the matter.&quot;</p>

<p>On December 15 last year, the apex court had extended till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes.</p>

<p>Earlier senior advocate Shyam Divan, who had led the arguments challenging Aadhaar and its enabling Act, said that the deadline of March 31 be extended as it was highly unlikely that the hearing in the case challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act will be concluded.</p>

<p>&quot;The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes is March 31. This will have all India ramification as various institution would have to adjust themselves accordingly,&quot; Divan said.</p>

<p>Justice Chandrachud said even if the court reserved its verdict on March 20, the banks and other institution would have only 10 days left, which might be difficult.</p>

<p>The bench then called the Attorney General for assistance in the issue.</p>

<p>At the fag end of today&#39;s hearing, Venugopal appeared before the bench and made the statement about the possibility of extension of the deadline.</p>

<p>Senior advocate Arvind Datar, who argued against the Aadhaar scheme, said it violated the fundamental rights of citizens.</p>


The government indicated in the Supreme Court today

The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes run by the government may be further extended beyond March 31, the Centre indicated in the Supreme Court today. The Centre said that since some more time would be needed to conclude the prolonged hearing in the Aadhaar case, the government may extend the deadline from March 31. A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan agreed with the contention of Attorney General K K Venugopal. "We have extended the deadline in the past and we will extend the deadline again but we may do it by the end of month to enable the petitioners in the case conclude the arguments," Venugopal said. The bench said, "It is a very valid point raised by the Attorney General and the court would not allow repetitive arguments made by the petitioners' counsel in the matter." On December 15 last year, the apex court had extended till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes. Earlier senior advocate Shyam Divan, who had led the arguments challenging Aadhaar and its enabling Act, said that the deadline of March 31 be extended as it was highly unlikely that the hearing in the case challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act will be concluded. "The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes is March 31. This will have all India ramification as various institution would have to adjust themselves accordingly," Divan said. Justice Chandrachud said even if the court reserved its verdict on March 20, the banks and other institution would have only 10 days left, which might be difficult. The bench then called the Attorney General for assistance in the issue. At the fag end of today's hearing, Venugopal appeared before the bench and made the statement about the possibility of extension of the deadline. Senior advocate Arvind Datar, who argued against the Aadhaar scheme, said it violated the fundamental rights of citizens.

Centre may extend March 31 deadline for Aadhaar linkage

<p>Former Union minister P Chidambaram on Saturday advised the NDA government to appoint &quot;good managers&quot; to implement its various welfare programmes.</p>

<p>The government is &quot;good owners of programmes but incompetent managers&quot;, news agency PTI quoted the former finance minister as saying.</p>

<p>Referring to the Economic Survey, he said some of the flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Rural Electrification and LPG distribution are yet to produce the tangible and measurable outcome.</p>

<p>Toilets were built under the Swachh Bharat scheme, but they lacked water connection and waste disposal system, he said, citing reports.</p>

<p>&quot;Nobody is questioning the intentions of the government or the prime minister. I am sure the intentions are good. But what it proves is while they (government) are good owners of the programme, they are very incompetent managers of programmes.</p>

<p>&quot;If you want to have toilet programme to be implemented, you must have a competent manager,&quot; the former finance minister said at Manthan, a forum that promotes public discussions.</p>

<p>On the Union Budget, Chidambaram said it failed to address the issues of farmers, youth and education.</p>

<p>The Economic Survey had indicated that agricultural growth was stagnant, which was not a good sign as over 50 per cent of our population depends on the farm sector, the Congress leader said.</p>

<p>The Budget also failed the test of fiscal consolidation, he said.</p>

<p>Indian economy has &quot;decoupled&quot; from the rest of the world, and the Narendra Modi Government was very late to notice the decline of growth rate, Chidambaram said.</p>

<p>&quot;The government is whistling in dark. It has become intolerant, and as a result, the voices (of concern or dissent) are not heeded. If you don&#39;t listen or heed voices, nobody is going to tell you the truth,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>To a question, the former finance minister said people of the country may not accept privatisation of all public sector banks.</p>


The government is "good owners of programmes but incompetent managers", he said.

Former Union minister P Chidambaram on Saturday advised the NDA government to appoint "good managers" to implement its various welfare programmes. The government is "good owners of programmes but incompetent managers", news agency PTI quoted the former finance minister as saying. Referring to the Economic Survey, he said some of the flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Rural Electrification and LPG distribution are yet to produce the tangible and measurable outcome. Toilets were built under the Swachh Bharat scheme, but they lacked water connection and waste disposal system, he said, citing reports. "Nobody is questioning the intentions of the government or the prime minister. I am sure the intentions are good. But what it proves is while they (government) are good owners of the programme, they are very incompetent managers of programmes. "If you want to have toilet programme to be implemented, you must have a competent manager," the former finance minister said at Manthan, a forum that promotes public discussions. On the Union Budget, Chidambaram said it failed to address the issues of farmers, youth and education. The Economic Survey had indicated that agricultural growth was stagnant, which was not a good sign as over 50 per cent of our population depends on the farm sector, the Congress leader said. The Budget also failed the test of fiscal consolidation, he said. Indian economy has "decoupled" from the rest of the world, and the Narendra Modi Government was very late to notice the decline of growth rate, Chidambaram said. "The government is whistling in dark. It has become intolerant, and as a result, the voices (of concern or dissent) are not heeded. If you don't listen or heed voices, nobody is going to tell you the truth," he said. To a question, the former finance minister said people of the country may not accept privatisation of all public sector banks.

Govt is 'good owners of programmes but incompetent managers': Chidambaram

<p>The middle class can hope for a big relief in 2018-19 Budget, which will also be the last regular Budget of the NDA government, as the finance ministry is contemplating to hike personal tax exemption limit and tweak the tax slabs, according to sources.</p>

<p>The proposals before the ministry are to hike the tax exemption limit from the existing Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to at least Rs 3 lakh if not 5 lakh, they said.</p>

<p>Besides, the tinkering of tax slab is also being actively considered by the ministry to give substantial relief to middle-income group, especially the salaried class, to help them tide over the impact of retail inflation, which has started inching up.</p>

<p>In the last Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley left the slabs unchanged but gave marginal relief to the small taxpayer by reducing the rate from 10 per cent to 5 per cent for individuals having an annual income between Rs 2.5-5 lakh.</p>

<p>In the next Budget to be unveiled on February 1, the government could lower tax rate by 10 per cent on income between 5-10 lakh, levy 20 per cent rate for income between Rs 10-20 lakh and 30 per cent for income beyond Rs 20 lakh.</p>

<p>At present, there is no tax slab for income between 10-20 lakh.</p>

<p>&quot;Considering the steep rise in the cost of living due to inflation, it is suggested that basic limit for exemption and other income slabs should be enhanced to give benefit to low-income group. The income trigger for peak rate in other countries is significantly higher,&quot; industry chamber CII said in its pre-Budget memorandum to the finance ministry.</p>

<p>Although the industry chambers want the government to reduce peak tax slab to 25 per cent, it is unlikely that the ministry will agree to that due to pressure on fiscal deficit.</p>

<p>The subdued indirect tax collection the following rollout of Goods and Services Tax from July 1 last year has put pressure on the fiscal deficit, which has been pegged at 3.2 per cent of the GDP for 2017-18.</p>

<p>The government recently raised borrowing target by additional Rs 50,000 crore for the current fiscal to meet the shortfall.</p>

<p>According to industry body FICCI, there is a likelihood that demonetisation effects may linger on for some more months and hence there is a need to further boost demand and therefore, the government should consider revision of income tax slabs, by raising the income level on which peak tax rate would trigger.</p>

<p>&quot;This would improve purchasing power and create additional demand. For individual taxpayers, 30 per cent tax rate should be applied only if the income is above Rs 20 lakh. Additionally, interest rates should be lowered to enable affordable finance for conducting business operation and expansion,&quot; it said.</p>

<p>Among other things, chambers have suggested reintroduction of the standard deduction for salaried employees to at least Rs 1 lakh to ease the tax burden of them and keeping in mind the rate of inflation and purchasing power of the salaried individual, which is dependent on salary available for disbursement.</p>

<p>Standard deduction, which was available to the salaried individuals on their taxable income, was abolished with effect from the assessment year 2006-07.</p>


The finance ministry is contemplating to hike personal tax exemption limit and tweak the tax slabs

The middle class can hope for a big relief in 2018-19 Budget, which will also be the last regular Budget of the NDA government, as the finance ministry is contemplating to hike personal tax exemption limit and tweak the tax slabs, according to sources. The proposals before the ministry are to hike the tax exemption limit from the existing Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to at least Rs 3 lakh if not 5 lakh, they said. Besides, the tinkering of tax slab is also being actively considered by the ministry to give substantial relief to middle-income group, especially the salaried class, to help them tide over the impact of retail inflation, which has started inching up. In the last Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley left the slabs unchanged but gave marginal relief to the small taxpayer by reducing the rate from 10 per cent to 5 per cent for individuals having an annual income between Rs 2.5-5 lakh. In the next Budget to be unveiled on February 1, the government could lower tax rate by 10 per cent on income between 5-10 lakh, levy 20 per cent rate for income between Rs 10-20 lakh and 30 per cent for income beyond Rs 20 lakh. At present, there is no tax slab for income between 10-20 lakh. "Considering the steep rise in the cost of living due to inflation, it is suggested that basic limit for exemption and other income slabs should be enhanced to give benefit to low-income group. The income trigger for peak rate in other countries is significantly higher," industry chamber CII said in its pre-Budget memorandum to the finance ministry. Although the industry chambers want the government to reduce peak tax slab to 25 per cent, it is unlikely that the ministry will agree to that due to pressure on fiscal deficit. The subdued indirect tax collection the following rollout of Goods and Services Tax from July 1 last year has put pressure on the fiscal deficit, which has been pegged at 3.2 per cent of the GDP for 2017-18. The government recently raised borrowing target by additional Rs 50,000 crore for the current fiscal to meet the shortfall. According to industry body FICCI, there is a likelihood that demonetisation effects may linger on for some more months and hence there is a need to further boost demand and therefore, the government should consider revision of income tax slabs, by raising the income level on which peak tax rate would trigger. "This would improve purchasing power and create additional demand. For individual taxpayers, 30 per cent tax rate should be applied only if the income is above Rs 20 lakh. Additionally, interest rates should be lowered to enable affordable finance for conducting business operation and expansion," it said. Among other things, chambers have suggested reintroduction of the standard deduction for salaried employees to at least Rs 1 lakh to ease the tax burden of them and keeping in mind the rate of inflation and purchasing power of the salaried individual, which is dependent on salary available for disbursement. Standard deduction, which was available to the salaried individuals on their taxable income, was abolished with effect from the assessment year 2006-07.

Middle class 'can hope for tax relief' in upcoming Budget

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Achieving self-reliance in the defence sector significant to country: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

TDP pulls out of NDA government, keeps door for alliance with BJP ajar

Centre may extend March 31 deadline for Aadhaar linkage

Govt is 'good owners of programmes but incompetent managers': Chidambaram

Middle class 'can hope for tax relief' in upcoming Budget