Focus on growth in budget: FM YouthNet hosts NEEDP in Dimapur

HYDERABAD, FEB 16 (PTI): The Union Budget 2023-’24 has been prepared keeping growth in focus and also external economic challenges such as fuel prices, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman said on Thursday. In an interactive session on the Budget, she said the focus was on the common man and weaker sections and to ensure that their businesses are supported, their education is supported, the opportunities which are available for them to skill themselves are also given enough provision.

“The priority is to keep the growth momentum as it is and also to make sure that the further support measures for sustaining growth…And be conscious of the fact that challenges which are extraneous to India. External challenges will have to be kept in mind. We should be ready for any unpredictable events from outside of our border,” she said when asked what the priorities were when the budget was given a final shape.

“Economic challenges which are even today prevalent in terms of fuel and fertilisers. Fertilisers are coming down a bit, but even then it is a factor beyond us. These are the primary concerns,” she further said.

Sitharaman said the budget was prepared keeping in view every section of the society including SC, ST, OBC and other backward classes.

Replying to a query on the allegation that the Centre is curbing states finances by limiting their

Police conduct state-wide...

(From p-1) borrowings, Sitharaman said as per Article 293 of the Constitution Centre is authorised to look at States’ borrowings.

He mentioned that in order to rule out any violation of MCC, all police vehicles, including those belonging to officials of the department, buses, trucks, mini trucks belonging to the police department were frisked. During the drive, auctioned police vehicles that were plying without new registrations were also thoroughly checked. Tamgadge stressed that public servants have to follow MCC once it came into effect and that they came under the supervision of Election Commission of India. He cautioned that police vehicles or, for that matter, no government vehicle should be misused.

He clarified that the drive was carried out not to harass any individual, pointing out that as the polling date drew close, there could be some black sheep wanting to use such vehicles to carry out illegal activities under the guise of law enforcers.

He informed the media that all vehicles belonging to the government, CAPF and vehicles requisitioned for election, would continue to be frisked and monitored on a timely manner.

The ADGP said any government vehicle caught transporting illegal items or violating MCC would be an offence under Representation of People’s Act, IPC and cautioned that it would attract criminal and disciplinary action, beginning with suspension, followed by legal proceedings against the accused. He disclosed that since the election process had begun in the State, overall seizures had crossed the levels of previous election by several folds. He said the drive would be intensified in the coming days to ensure a free and fair election and prevent any form of inducement.

She further said it is the practice over several years that the Centre monitors State borrowings. “There is a well established, over the last 70 years practice of the Constitution that the Centre looks at the borrowing limits of the states. It is not new. It has not come in 2014.

It is not something which we have changed to the disadvantage of the states,” she said.

To another query on the Centre levying cess and not sharing the same with the states, she said during several discussions in Parliament it was informed that much more than what was collected has been dispatched to the states. According to her, there is greater appetite in the states as far as the 50year interest free loans was concerned, particularly in North-Eastern states.

On the Income Tax slabs in the new regime, she said it is the individual who should decide where to invest and the government has nothing to do with it.

The FM said the employment guarantee scheme (MNREGA) is a demand driven scheme and accordingly funds are allotted. However, since 2016, the Centre has always spent more than the budgetary estimates.

With regard to Telangana Chief Minister

K Chandrasekhar Rao’s criticism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious target of India becoming a USD five trillion economy was “a joke and silly,” Sitharaman said “CM garu don’t joke and let’s all speak about it with responsibility.”

She alleged that Telangana’s debt burden has increased from Rs 60,000 crore in 2014 to over Rs three lakh crore now.

Gold falls Rs 50; Silver advances Rs 140

NEW DELHI, FEB 16 (PTI): Gold price fell by Rs 50 to Rs 56,270 per 10 gram in the national capital on Thursday, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had touched Rs 56,320 per 10 gram. Silver, however, jumped Rs 140 to Rs 65,720 per kilogram.

“Spot gold prices in the Delhi markets traded at Rs 56,270 per 10 gram, down Rs 50 per 10 gram,” said Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities.

In the overseas market, both gold and silver were trading higher at USD 1,840 per ounce and USD 21.69 per ounce. COMEX gold was trading higher in Asian trading hours on Thursday amid a slight pullback in the dollar index, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

DIMAPUR: YouthNet hosted business pitching session for North East Entrepreneurship Development Program (NEEDP) which provides a platform for entrepreneurs and startups to showcase their innovative ideas and potentially secure funding for their ventures. In a press release, YouthNet informed that the judging panel included personalities such as; Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Senior Mentor of IIM

Calcutta, Debapratim Das, Assistant Director (Tech) and Team Leader Startup India, Department of Industries & Commerce Keneirienuo K Theunuo, YouthNet director, Nuneseno Chase, assistant professor, department of management from Nagaland University Dr. Ditalak Mpanme, program head, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Rajarshi Sarma. Altogether around forty startups and entrepreneurs from Nagaland pitch for their business witnessing strong presentation skills, a compelling value proposition, and an in-depth understanding of the target market and competition presented at YouthNet Incubation Centre.

It may be noted that NEEDP is an initiative of NEC (North Eastern Council) implemented in association with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, aimed at creating an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem that can help foster, SocioEconomic Development and Employment Generation in the North East region. As a part of this initiative, North East Entrepreneurship Challenge (Hunt) is being organized for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs across all the eight states of North East to identify a target group of 270 entrepreneurs through a systematic, transparent selection process ensuring representation from each state.