Author: Himalayan Express

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday raised the country’s real GDP growth projection for the current financial year 2026-27 by 40 basis points to 7.1 per cent, citing the strength of economic activity despite global headwinds.

Announcing the outcome of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Malhotra said geopolitical tensions, elevated international commodity prices, additional frictions in global trade and tightening global financial conditions could weigh on India’s growth outlook.

“Taking all these factors into consideration, real GDP growth for this year is projected at 7.1 percent, with Q2 at 7.2 percent, Q3 at 6.9, and Q4 at 6.8 percent,” Malhotra said.

He said the 40 basis points upward revision reflected the strength of economic activity despite the significant global challenges.

The RBI Governor said India’s real GDP growth stood at 7.8 per cent in Q1, supported by resilient private consumption and strong investment activity, which recorded almost a 12 per cent increase. The contribution of net exports also remained positive.

“We exhibited resilience amidst global headwinds, as evident from real GDP growth of 7.8 per cent in Q1,” Malhotra said.

He said high-frequency indicators for Q2 suggest that economic activity is maintaining momentum, although with some moderation compared with the previous quarter.

Manufacturing activity has remained steady despite cost pressures, while services sector activity has stayed broad-based, supported by higher domestic and external demand. Both manufacturing PMI and services PMI remained in the expansionary zone in Q2, although the pace of expansion slowed from Q1.

Private consumption remained broadly resilient, supported by discretionary spending, while fixed investment continued to remain strong.

However, the RBI Governor said some weakness was visible in non-durable goods and domestic air passenger traffic.

Merchandise exports registered higher double-digit growth during July and August, supported by efforts to expand market access and diversify markets. Services exports also recorded accelerated growth during the two months.

Looking ahead, Malhotra said global economic uncertainty and supply chain disruptions could affect domestic economic activity. He also said a weak southwest monsoon and strong El Niño conditions could affect the upcoming rabi season and rural demand.

He said continued infrastructure spending, a rebound in private capex and strong credit flows are expected to support investment activity. Services exports are expected to remain buoyant, while recently operationalised bilateral trade agreements should support merchandise exports. (Agencies)

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and their supporters for allegedly forcibly entering Akashvani Bhawan during the opposition’s march against the CEC on October 6, officials said on Wednesday.

The FIR was registered after police received a complaint alleging that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, their supporters and other MPs accompanying them entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises without permission, the Delhi Police officials said.

On Tuesday, the two Congress leaders were among 260 people detained following an over eight-hour sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan after an INDIA bloc march towards the Election Commission office was stopped by police.

The opposition MPs were protesting against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission under Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, raising the issue of “vote chori”.

According to Delhi Police, the INDIA bloc parties had planned to march from the Parliament House to the Election Commission on Tuesday. No application seeking permission for the march was submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, and no permission was granted, police had said. (AGENCIES)

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday welcomed the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s action against Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in the Union territory, saying such measures will strengthen the country economically, socially, culturally and from the security perspective.

In a post on X, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal thanked Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, security forces and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the action and urged other states to follow ain the footsteps of the Union territory.

“We hope that not only will Jammu and Kashmir be sanitised of these foreign infiltrators, but the remaining state governments will also move forward swiftly in this matter, enabling us to enrich our country from economic, social, cultural, and security perspectives,” he said.

As many as 150 Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in Jammu and Kashmir were shifted to West Bengal on Monday as part of the deportation process.

According to officials, a survey conducted by the administration with the assistance of the Jammu and Kashmir Police across the Kashmir Valley found around 600 Bangladeshi nationals allegedly staying illegally in the region.

The Bangladeshi nationals were kept at a camp manned by the Srinagar Police and were being transported to Bagdogra for their eventual deportation to Bangladesh, the officials said.

A batch of 150 people was flown on a special Indian Air Force aircraft to Bagdogra on Monday, where they were handed over to Border Security Force personnel, they said.

Another batch of 150 Bangladeshis is scheduled to be deported on October 7, according to officials.

The development comes after the Union Home Ministry constituted a High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (HLCDC) to identify illegal immigrants living in border areas. (Agencies)

The Centre has notified 375 permissible works under the new rural employment framework, with a greater emphasis on livelihood infrastructure, water security and disaster preparedness, expanding the list of works by 41 per cent over the previous scheme.

The Ministry of Rural Development said the new schedule, under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-G RAM G) Gramin Act, 2025, divides the works into four categories — water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works for extreme weather events and disaster preparedness.

Of the 375 works, 128 fall under water security, 111 under core rural infrastructure, 98 under livelihood-related infrastructure and 38 under disaster preparedness, according to the ministry.

The expanded list includes water conservation and irrigation structures, rural health and community facilities, agro-processing units, cold storage infrastructure and flood protection works.

The ministry said livelihood-related works would account for 26 per cent of the total, compared with 1.1 per cent under the previous framework.

These include cleaning, grading and packaging units, mini flour mills, market yards, dairy infrastructure, mushroom cultivation sheds and aquaculture structures.

Infrastructure for self-help groups and their federations, including SHG worksheds and SHE Marts, as well as training and skill development centres, has also been included.

Water security remains the largest category, covering check dams, recharge shafts, rejuvenation of rivers and water channels, reclamation of waterlogged land and rainwater harvesting.

The schedule also provides for drip irrigation, sprinkler systems and interventions such as artificial glaciers for water conservation.

The core infrastructure category includes solar street lighting, waste recycling plants, greywater treatment units, rural libraries, veterinary and rural health centres, Common Service Centres and additional classrooms and laboratories in government schools.

Repair and maintenance of Jal Jeevan Mission water-supply infrastructure is also covered.

For the first time, the framework has a dedicated category for disaster preparedness and extreme weather events. The 38 works include flood relief shelters, embankment strengthening, flood protection, restoration of rural roads and community assets after disasters, and forest-fire management measures, the ministry said.

It said 181 works relate to agriculture and allied activities, including 52 individual-beneficiary works. Another 107 works are tagged for Antyodaya and vulnerable households, including 68 individual-beneficiary works. The schedule also includes 36 works each related to women and youth.

Works will be planned through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans based on local needs and approved by the Gram Sabha, with digital tracking through the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, the ministry said.

The VB-G RAM G Act, which came into force on July 1, replaced MGNREGA’s demand-driven employment framework with a new system that provides for 125 days of guaranteed wage employment per rural household annually.

It also introduced a 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio for most states, with the Centre determining state-wise normative allocations and states bearing expenditure beyond those allocated.

The opposition had objected to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme and raised concerns over the revised funding pattern, the allocation mechanism and a provision allowing states to pause work during peak agricultural seasons for up to 60 days a year. (AGENCIES)

High drama unfolded at the INDIA bloc march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission headquarters here on Tuesday as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with some other supporters entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises in a bid to reach the poll body’s office.

The Congress leaders along with other MPs were earlier stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street near Niti Aayog office during their march to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

After being prevented from proceeding further, they sat on the road in protest. Soon Rahul Gandhi and TMC’s Abhisekh Banerjee climbed atop a police barricade, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to a awaiting bus for being detained.

However. she was soon seen alighting from it and joined her brother at the Akashvani gate.

Despite being prevented by police, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Deepinder Hooda entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises from the reception gate. They were later seen sitting under a tree.

Area Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma reached the spot with a large posse of policemen in a bid to evict the protesting opposition members.

During the march, opposition MPs were seen carrying cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans, including “BJP hai CEC hai”, “Vote chor, gaddi chhod” and “Democracy not for sale”.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi posted, “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign”.

Heavy security deployment and barricading had been put in place in and around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters ahead of the march.

Security personnel were stationed in the area much before the MPs began arriving.

The MPs gathered at Parliament’s Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters.

Ahead of the march, opposition MPs questioned the security arrangements and stepped up their demand for Kumar’s resignation, citing the Supreme Court’s observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.

Congress MP Imran Masood accused Kumar of eroding public trust in the Election Commission.

“Across the country, the institution that Gyanesh Kumar headed was an institution the entire country trusted, an institution the entire country took pride in and felt proud of. Questions were never raised over its impartiality. One person has broken that trust,” he told PTI Videos.

“And an entire nexus is working together. We will question Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP chief ministers will start giving the answers,” he alleged.

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Supreme Court’s observations on Monday had strengthened the opposition’s objections to the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement,” he alleged. Calling the CEC a “Cheating Election Commissioner”, the CPI leader said opposition parties had been agitating against the provisions since 2025 and would intensify their movement.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut questioned the scale of security deployment ahead of the march, saying the MPs intended to proceed peacefully.

“We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed,” he said.

Raut claimed that Border Security Force and CISF personnel had been deployed and security outside ministers’ residences increased.

Accusing Kumar of misleading the public over the Supreme Court’s position on Form 6, he said the CEC had “no moral right” to continue in office.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission’s records to ascertain whether changes had been made and who had authorised them.

The observations were made while hearing a petition challenging alleged unilateral decisions by Kumar.

In its September 26 statement, the Commission had said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court, while forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.

The protest comes amid an opposition campaign over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Commission. The poll body has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to SIR were taken unanimously. (Agencies)