Central government’s infrastructure spending has seen a sharp jump in the first quarter of the current fiscal as capital expenditure during the quarter reached Rs 1.75 lakh crore, a 57% jump over the previous year.

In the same quarter last year, the Capex incurred by the government stood at Rs 1.11 lakh crore. For the current fiscal ending March 31, 2023, the government has earmarked Rs 7.5 lakh crore for Capex, 27% more than last fiscal.

Compared to the sharp jump in capex, revenue expenditure during the quarter saw a moderate 8.5% rise. Net tax collection during the quarter grew 23% to Rs 5.06 lakh crore compared to Rs 4.12 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit in the first quarter breached Rs 3.5 lakh crore, 21.2% of the full-year target. In the previous year during the same quarter, the fiscal deficit was at Rs 2.74 lakh crore.

The Centre has set a target for fiscal deficit at Rs 16.6 lakh crore or 6.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the current fiscal. It was at 6.7% in the last fiscal.

India’s core sector output registered double-digit growth for the second straight month in June at 12.7%. However, sequentially declining it was lower than may growth, as it was at 19.3%, the government data released on july 29  showed.

Young weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga smashed two Games records on his way to a sensational gold medal win at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games as he added a second yellow metal to India's tally on july 31.

July 30, 2022, will be etched in the memory of the residents of Kundapur taluk forever as their local boy Gururaja Poojary won the bronze medal in the 61kg category in weightlifting by lifting a total of  269 kg in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

India's youngest athlete at the Commonwealth Games, 14-year-old squash player Anahat Singh, made a winning start in the women's singles competition.

Anahat was too good for Jada Ross of St Vincent and the Grenadines, completing an 11-5 11-2 11-0 win in the round of 64.

Anahat was selected in the Indian team following her impressive run at the under-15 level including wins at the Asian Junior Squash and German Open this year.

The Prime Ministry Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation on  july 30 with the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres.

He discussed the recent attack on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where two Indian peacekeepers lost their lives.

Modi also urged the UN Secretary-General to ensure expeditious investigations, to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice. He underscored India’s commitment to UN Peacekeeping, with more than 2,50,000 Indian peacekeepers having served under UN Peacekeeping Missions so far.

Nearly, 177 Indian peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping Missions, the largest by any Troop Contributing Country.

Meanwhile, Guterres offered his condolences to the families of the two slain Indian Border Security Force personnel, as well as to the government and the people of India. He reiterated his unequivocal condemnation of the attack against MONUSCO and assured all possible action in conducting speedy investigations.

The AAP government in Delhi on  july 30 scrapped its New Excise Policy 2021-22 following multiple enquiries, including those by the CBI and Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police, into charges of "undue financial favours to liquor licensees" and other "major decisions/actions in violation of statutory provisions, that had huge financial implications."

The old liquor policy is likely to be back in force from August 1, 2022 .

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on  july 30 wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and apologised to her for his objectionable remark.

In a letter to the President, he said that he mistakenly used an incorrect word for her and it was a slip of tongue.