Rice at Re one per kg for
poor families, bonus for farmers, interest-free loans for peasants, free
laptops and tablets for students are the key promises made by the ruling BJP in
its manifesto for the Assembly polls to be held in the state this month.
"Rice at one rupee a kilogramme will be provided to 42 lakh poor families
in the state if the party remains in power," Chief Minister Raman Singh
said during the release of the manifesto in presence of senior leaders here
today. Other promises for the farmers made in the manifesto included interest
free agricultural loans, free power supply (for 5 hp pumps), Rs 300 per quintal
bonus for paddy, insurance facilities and crop insurance guarantee scheme.
Besides, the party has also assured to make efforts to provide Rs 2,100 per
quintal support price to farmers for their paddy. However, it has not clarified
a fix support price for paddy procurement to the farmers. To attract young voters,
the party has promised to provide free laptops and tablets to students in the
first year of their college. Early this year, the government had provided free
laptops and tablets to students of final year in college. Free laptops to
engineering and medical students while tablets to the science and arts stream
students in the first year of their college will also be provided, Singh said.
Establishment of an IT hub has also been mentioned in the manifesto. For women,
the party has assured to introduce Noni Suraksha Yojna (Ladli Laxmi Yojana) to
lay a firm foundation of girls' future, under which a fixed amount will be
deposited in the name of new born girls and they will be given Rs 1 lakh after
attaining age of 18 years. Interest free loans upto 2 lakh to SHGs (self-help
groups), free of cost education to girls in government colleges till
graduation, the manifesto added. Setting up Chhattisgarh Film Development
Corporation, mono rail and metro rail project (for Raipur to Rajnandgaon and
Raipur to Bilaspur in first phase), setting up a central tribal university and
loans at 1 per cent interest to students of all sections are other highlights
of the manifesto. In the health sector, BJP has promised to raise the medical
cover under smart card scheme. The members in a family would get free health
care upto Rs 30,000, which was earlier Rs 25,000.
Correlating the ups and down in the Indian rupee with the stock market, Vijay Bhambwani, CEO, bsplindia.com, suggests that if the rupee continues with its downward fall, the Indian stock market may fall breach October lows and fall further. “If the rupee falls below the 53.0-53.50 mark vis-a-vis the USD, expect a mini meltdown atleast in the equity markets. In that case, the 2250 level (on Nifty) will be breached easily to form a new low. The possibility of that low being below the 2000 levels on the Nifty spot is fairly high,” he says. Bhambwani supports his outlook by comparing the value of rupee at the time of October lows. “The October 2008 lows were made with the INR at 51.20 - 51.40 band. The rupee has breached the 52 level since then. Clearly the nation’s ‘share price’ (currency) indicates weakness. The curency market is a far more accurate barometer of the nation’s health compared to the equity indices. Whether you like it or not, we are under siege. Had it not been March (NAV ...
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