03/02/2022 - TOP 3 NEWS OF INDIA

The fertiliser subsidy has been reduced from Rs 1,40,122 crore in the previous budget (2021-22) to Rs 1,05,222 crore in the current budget (2022-23), which was announced on Tuesday.

Punjab is projected to be impacted particularly hard by a cut in fertiliser subsidies of roughly Rs 35,000 crore announced in the Union Budget. The state, which consumes the most fertiliser per hectare in the country, is expected to lose over Rs 3,141 crore in subsidies, which would most likely be passed on to farmers.

The fertiliser subsidy has been reduced from Rs 1,40,122 crore in the previous budget (2021-22) to Rs 1,05,222 crore in the current budget (2022-23), which was announced on Tuesday. This represents a savings of roughly Rs. 34,900 crores (25 per cent). With only 1.53% of the country's land area, Punjab has been consuming roughly 9% of the total fertilisers used in India, which include di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), urea, Muriate of Potash (MOP), and Super. It has one of the highest per-hectare utilisation rates. Punjab's loss is estimated to be roughly Rs 3,141 crore, or about 9% of the total subsidy cut of Rs 34,900 crore.

Tarun Bajaj, the Revenue Secretary, explains why the government has not granted tax relief to individuals.

According to revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj, the government would look into how it can achieve parity between the new exemption and the old income tax regime for individuals in order to encourage more people to switch to the new one. He claimed revenue estimates were hard but feasible in an interview with Anuradha Shukla and Deepshikha Sikarwar.

The government has not offered any tax relief to individuals....

"What relief could we have offered. Any tax concession we offer to salaried class, is not specific to them. It is available to everyone. There was also a huge dilemma about what kind of concession we offer, especially with the new exemption-free regime in place. If we offer any concession under the old regime, then the whole initiative of an exemption-free regime would be hurt. After a detailed analysis of the returns received this year, which would be the first year for the new regime, we would have to see what we can do to bring parity to encourage people to move to the new regime. Under corporate tax, as per 2019-20 returns 65% of income and 16% of assesses have moved to the new regime. This year more would have moved".

BJP MP files breach of privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for "inciting people."

Nishikant Dubey, a BJP lawmaker, accused Rahul Gandhi of misinterpreting the Constitution's fundamentals and spreading "false and illogical information" to "incite the people at large." Nishikant Dubey, a BJP lawmaker, filed a breach of privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, accusing him of "inciting" people with his speech in Parliament on Wednesday, in which the Congress leader slammed the government for allegedly destroying the concept of India by ruling a union of states as a "kingdom."