In this week's wrapup, we will be talking about how the annual budget is prepared, a tax scheme that is making billions for the Government, the problems with NREGA, how shared micro-mobility apps work, and the industries affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Let's get started then.

The Budget Decoded

On Monday, we spoke about how the Union budget is prepared.

The Budget for the country is much like the budget you draw up ever month to plan your expenditure. Only difference, is that it's done at a much large scale. The Government has to think about several sources of income, various dependent sectors and states, and a population of 1.3 billion people who will be directly affected by where they choose to allocate resources.

So yeah, a lot of time and effort goes into forming the budget. So here's a story to help you learn more about the process.

The Taxman's deal

On Tuesday, we spoke about the nifty scheme that is bringing in billions for Indian Tax authorities. India is trying to get large MNCs like Microsoft, Amazon, Google to set up businesses here. However, when that does happen, any transaction that they make with their parent companies abroad are viewed with extreme suspicion.

So how do you bridge this trust deficit? Enter, Advance Pricing Agreements (APA).

Find out what it's all about right here.

The problems with guaranteed employment

On Wednesday, we spoke about the benefits and pitfalls of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The scheme promises to provide unskilled, manual work to any rural adult who asks for it. It was a game changer in the early years, and was instrumental in reducing poverty, increasing rural wages and plugging migration to urban areas.

However, its implementation was flawed and problems like non-payment of wages and corruption by middlemen led to its steady degradation.

Anyway, if you want a more detailed exposition on NREGA and why it's had to take a beating in recent years, you should check out our full article here.

Let's Bounce?

On Thursday, we talked about Bangalore's last-mile mobility startup Bounce. Bounce provides IOT enabled, dockless bicycles and scooters to assuage people's last mile connectivity woes. Users simply have to locate a vehicle on the app, unlock it using their phones, ride it to their destination and leave it there for someone else to pick up.

These rides are very economical for users. But that begs the question- will Bounce ever become profitable?

Find the answer here.

The unexpected side-effects of the Coronavirus

On Friday, we spoke about the collateral damage caused by China's Coronavirus. The Coronavirus hasn't just impacted health and well-being, it has also affected prominent industries in insidious ways. People's fear of flying to and from China is causing disruptions in aviation, pharmaceutical industries are getting a boost, oil prices are dipping and domestic production has taken a hit.

And if you want to know how all of this is playing out, read our full story here.

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That's all from us, folks! Happy weekend.