Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia has opined that state governments can tax large agriculture farms that are diversifying and getting high income levels, to strengthen finances. Speaking at a conference on the 16th Finance Commission report on Wednesday, the former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission said the revenue generated from taxing diversified agriculture can be retained entirely by the states and need not be shared with the Centre. "Now, the fact of the matter is that all of agriculture cannot be taxed by the Centre and can only be taxed by the states. Is it the assumption that agriculture must forever remain exempt from income tax, irrespective of the size of the holding? It's very difficult to defend that," he said. He added, "If you have holdings of modest size that are diversifying, they can certainly be generating reasonably high income levels and come under the income tax category. That tax would go 100 per cent to the states. It wouldn't be taken away by the ...

The rise in tariffs will raise prices in major economies and trigger an economic slowdown, possibly even prompting a recessionary phase, says Montek

Ahluwalia added that creating newer cities in existing states is riddled with challenges that are both political and economic

Former Deputy Chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission and eminent economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday recalled his long association with Manmohan Singh, saying he welcomed criticism and took on board different options on economic issues. Ahluwalia credited him with setting the course for India's economy by introducing economic reforms. Speaking with PTI Videos, Ahluwalia said, "I think one of the things that we can learn from Dr. Manmohan Singh is that the economic policy is a complicated issue and it's good to get all kinds of views on the table. It's not a simple matter of just deciding something and then if you can just implement it things will get done". Ahluwalia recalled that former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, who was then associated with IMF had made critical remarks about Manmohan Singh's work, and Singh later appointed him as the Chief Economic Advisor. "So to bring in someone who has been so critical into the ministry is an indication that one should accept

Ahluwalia said if household net savings continue to decrease and fiscal deficit reduction is neglected, it could lead to significant problems, including crowding out of private investments

In a letter to the UPSC, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly believes that the lateral entry process should uphold the principles of equity and social justice

The commerce minister left no one in any doubt that the government will protect the domestic producers as long as they felt that it was necessary

Ahluwalia suggested that a portion of central taxes be set aside for this transfer and the remaining be shared between the Centre and the states

At Business Standard Manthan, Arvind Subramanian said that to reduce the gap, there needs to be a renegotiation of social contracts in agriculture and fiscal federalism

In a Q&A, the former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, dwells on the areas where he feels UPA did not meet up to the challenges and the progress made by the BJP on certain fronts

The moves by investors and accounting innovations by economists and auditors could make a critical difference on the margin. Call it Plan B; there is no Plan C, writes T N Ninan

Looking into yesterday while he assesses today, Ahluwalia retains his entrenched belief in India's ability to overcome

Ahluwalia said he is in favour of NMP that will look to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways

Is the economic recovery at the cost of the middle class? Will Jet Airways' take-off after a lull be smooth? Is stock frenzy based on irrational exuberance? Listen to this podcast for answers

Business Standard sits down with renowned economist and former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to get answers to crucial questions on the economy

Massive electrification and a switch to green sources of electricity could be an ideal decarbonisation strategy for India, suggests the former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission

Climate change is at the top of the agenda this year in both developed and emerging market countries, says Ahluwalia

Bringing down import tariffs by at least 50 per cent holds the key to achieve competitiveness in India, Ahluwalia said

Irascible but always ready to listen, Khullar's guiding credo was that a civil servant must never lose sight of his client

Economy, which contracted in the first two quarters of the current fiscal, has started recovering at a gradual pace, former deputy chairman of erstwhile Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said