Reliance Industries has Got the US Nod to Import Crude Oil from Venezuela

Reliance Industries has got the US nod to import crude oil from Venezuela. ONGC has also applied for a waiver to buy crude oil from Venezuela! It is quite possible that ONGC will also get a similar nod. It should be noted that Reliance Industries is the second largest buyer of crude oil from Venezuela.

This decision of the USA will increase India's access to cheap crude oil. I am sure that India's strong relationship with Russia, increasing share of Russian crude oil in Indian basket and the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia which was widely circulated in the world media by the Russian state media must have played a significant role in this decision. The US wants India to cut its crude oil import from Russia. So India must have argued that until and unless India has access to other cheap alternatives, how could India cut its crude oil imports from Russia? The US must have agreed and nodded to the application of Reliance Industries for waiver to enable India to explore more and perhaps better alternatives than Russia. It must be noted that the US had imposed sanctions in 2019. This was the time when India’s crude oil import from Russia started increasing which had increased to 40% of the total Indian crude oil basket!

What is Angel Tax?

Abolition of angel tax would be very beneficial for the Indian startups. But before I discuss the impact of angel tax on Indian startups, it would be appropriate to answer what is angel tax?

Angel Tax is a tax imposed on Indian startups receiving funding from angel investors on the fair market value. Angel tax in India before Union Budget 2024 was 30% of the fair value of the startups. Angel tax was introduced in the Union Budget 2012 by then Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

For example, if the fair value of a startup is Rs 1 crore and it raises Rs 1.5 crore from angel investors, the excess amount of Rs 50 lakh is subject to this tax.

Union Budget 2024 Aimed at Demographic Dividends

It has been 10 years since the government gave any tax relief to the middle class! It was expected that the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be increasing the tax deduction limit under 80C of Income Tax Act from ₹2.5 lakhs to ₹4 lakhs or ₹5 lakhs along with standard deduction in the first Budget of Modi 3.0 with the purpose to increase the demand in the Indian economy which would lead to more jobs because of increased disposable income. However, the budget is not that generous as far as the deduction is concerned. I, along with other economists, was sure and still am that if only the standard deduction limit is increased, then it would not be able to achieve the dual goals of increasing economic activities in the economy as well as controlling the falling savings in the economy.

जर्मनी ने 'कॉम्पैक्ट पत्रिका' पर प्रतिबंध लगाया

जर्मनी ने घृणा फैलाने के नाम पर दक्षिणपंथी 'कॉम्पैक्ट पत्रिका' पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया है। यह प्रतिबन्ध आंतरिक मंत्री फेजर के आदेश पर लगाया गया है। इतना ही नहीं बल्कि पत्रिका के प्रधान संपादक जुर्गन एल्सेसर के घर पर छापा भी मारा गया है।

क्यों?

क्योंकि प्रगतिशील और धर्मनिरपेक्ष मानकों के अनुसार, आजकल गलत को गलत व हत्यारे को हत्यारा कहना भी घृणास्पद माना जाता है!

'कॉम्पैक्ट पत्रिका' की सबसे बड़ी गलती यह है कि 'कॉम्पैक्ट पत्रिका' जर्मनी में जर्मन संस्कृति का समर्थन करते हुए किसी अन्य संस्कृति के प्रचार व प्रसार का मुखर विरोधी है जो संयोग से वर्तमान सरकार की नीतियों के विरूद्ध है और सरकार का विरोध करना दुनिया में कहीं भी और पश्चिमी देशों में विशेषकर लोकतन्त्र, प्रगतिशीलता व स्वतन्त्रता का हनन है! सरकार तो सरकार होती है और उसका समर्थन हर किसी को करना ही चाहिए। वैसे बुद्धिजीवी होने का सर्टिफिकेट मिलने के बाद व्यक्ति को बस अपने विचारधारा की पार्टी की सरकार को समर्थन करने और बाकी सभी विचारों को नाजी और फासिस्ट कहने व साबित करने की छूट और यदि आप अपने अभिव्यक्ति से स्वतंत्रता का उपयोग करते उनका विरोध करते हैं तो आप निश्चित रूप से फासिस्ट हैं!

Why has the GST Collection Data for June 2024 not been Released?

On 1st July 2024, India completed 7 years of implementation of GST in the Indian economy. Initially it was a roller coaster ride with many states objecting on various issues along with implementation confusions and glitches. As a result many had expected it to fail but India has implemented GST smoothly across the nation. It is a great achievement as it has unified the Indian markets as far as taxation is concerned.

However, some concerns are being raised with July moving towards August! Every month in the first week, India has been regularly and religiously releasing the GST collection data. It was religiously followed till June 2024. But since 1st June 2024, GST collection data has not been released. None knows, why has it not been released?

People are now speculating about it with so many conspiracy theories. However, media reports suggest that the GST collection in the month of June 2024 was ₹1.74 lakh crores which is 7.7% greater than the collection of June 2023.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प पर हमला

कल अमेरीका के पूर्व राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प पर जानलेवा हमला हुआ जिसमें वो बाल-बाल बच गए। यह उनके सुरक्षाकर्मियों के सतर्कता और उनके भाग्य के कारण संभव हो सका और अमेरीका अपने इतिहास में गलत व खूनी अध्याय लिखते-लिखते बच गया।

जो हुआ उसकी भर्त्सना हो रही है जो ठीक भी है। लेकिन प्रश्न तो उठता ही है कि क्या अमेरीका आन्तरिक राजनैतिक वातावरण इतना खराब हो चुका है कि एक बीस बर्षीय युवा के मन में डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के प्रति इतना विष भर गया है या फिर भर दिया गया है कि एक आम युवा एक पूर्व राष्ट्रपति पर चुनावों से पहले जानलेवा हमला कर रहा है? क्या अमेरिका की राजनीति का स्तर इतना गिर चुका है कि आमचुनावों के पहले राष्ट्रपति पद के मुख्य दावेदार और वर्तमात राष्ट्रपति के मुख्य प्रतिद्वन्दी पर जानलेवा हमला हो रहा हैं?

Artificial Intelligence and the Associated Fears

There has always been resistance to any change in this world. Status-quo is the motto of most people even if the change can improve the circumstances! Who wants to come out of their comfort zone? After some time, even discomfort and pain also creates its own comfort zone for the individuals!

For many, scratching their sores becomes a pleasant habit for them!

In the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a lot of opposition to calculators; mainly in the academics. A lot of professors come out on the roads protesting and demanding a ban on the use of calculators in the academics saying that it would negatively affect the mathematical ecosystem! However, time has turned the calculator into a most trusted ally of mathematics!

In the same way, there was a time when there was a lot of opposition to computers across the globe in almost every section of society. The use of computers was also opposed saying that it would eliminate people's jobs by increasing the use of machines in the industries (automation) but it proved very wrong. Rather the use of computers has increased the number of jobs unprecedentedly creating many new industries and jobs. The only difference it has brought in is that it just changed the very nature of jobs! Today there is a huge demand for high skill jobs in the market instead of low skill jobs.

दिल्ली की सिविक व्यवस्था इतनी लचर क्यों है?

प्रकृति भी अजब-गजब खेल दिखाती है। परसों तक दिल्ली में पानी की कमी से हाहाकार मचा था।‌ चारों तरफ पानी की कमी से लोग परेशान थे। राजनैतिक दल राजनीति करने में परेशान थे तो मंत्री साहिबा अपना काम छोड़कर भूख हड़ताल में व्यस्त थीं। लेकिन कल अचानक ही सारी कहानी बदल गई। कल पूरे दिन दिल्ली पानी के भराव से हाहाकार मची रही!

कल सुबह शायद ही कोई सड़क रही होगी जिस पर ६ इंच या उससे अधिक पानी नहीं भरा था! कल सड़क पर जो मैंने झेला वैसा हर साल ही झेलना पड़ता है। फिर भी कल स्थिति बहुत ही भयावह थी। कल घर से सुबह 7 बजकर 50 मिनट निकला इस उम्मीद से कि किंतु बजे तक पहुँच जाऊँगा। जो यात्रा (लगभग २७ किलोमीटर) सामान्यतः सुबह-सुबह ४५ मिनट में पूरी हो जाती है, उसे पूरा करने में लगभग ४ घन्टें ३५ मिनट लगे! ये सिर्फ मेरा व्यक्तिगत अनुभव नहीं है। दिल्ली की सड़कों पर आज जो भी बाहर निकला, उसने यही अनुभव किया!

The Fall in the Share of the Households in the Capital Formation in India

Post pandemic, the share of the households in the capital formation in the Indian economy is falling. Household savings had increased increased significantly during the pandemic because of increased risk aversion of the citizens. The households post pandemic have used the savings and heavily borrowed to buy different classes of assets resulting in a fall in the household savings to 61% in financial year 2023 from 78% in financial year 2021. However, it should also be noted that the household financial liabilities in India had increased to 5.8% of the GDP which is highest since financial year 2012.

The fall in the share of the households in the capital formation is a cause of concern for any economy. For a developing economy like India with a share of more than 70% of the population below age of 25 years, it is even more worrisome. It would have a multifaceted impact on the overall well-being for the economy and the citizens.

The fall in the share of the households in the capital formation in Indian economy would lead to many problems like higher inequality in income as well as wealth, fall in consumption, slowdown in housing market, lower wealth accumulation and bad savings and financial health of the citizens in medium to long term which at present when inequality is at very high level in country.

सनातन धर्म व अन्य मजहब

आज जिसे देखो वही सनातन पर ज्ञान देने लगता है। इतना ही नहीं बाकी मजहबों से सनातन की तुलना करते हुए जाने कितने ही तर्क देता है। खैर जो तुलना करते हैं और सभी धर्मों, मजहबों व पंथों को एक जैसा और समान बताते हैं उनके लिए नीचे की पक्तियों में कुछ मजहबों व सनातन धर्म की शिक्षा वर्णित है

“जो ईसाई नहीं हैं वो वंचित हैं। गैर-ईसाई, चाहे वह व्यक्ति कितना भी नेक इंसान क्यों न हो, मृत्युपरांत नर्क का ही भागी होगा। नर्क से बचने के लिए उसके पास सिर्फ एक ही उपाय है और वह यह कि वह व्यक्ति ईसाई स्वीकार कर स्वर्ग का भागी बने।”

- बाइबिल