Tough balancing act in the offing in the last budget of UPA-II.
Tough balancing act in the offing in the last budget of UPA-II.
P Chidambaram presented the Budget for the 9th time.
If P Chidambaram's Budget speech was an hour-long attempt at presenting his government's and his own record in a good light - as he is perfectly entitled to do - such a "marketing" effort invites the recounting of an alternative retelling of the record.
Renu Mittal reports on how the United Progressive Alliance government is walking the tight-rope over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
Earlier, ratings agencies like Standard and Poor's and Fitch had threated to downgrade India's sovereign credit rating to junk grade in view of the worsening fiscal position of the government.
On the day of the Union Budget on February 28, Indian stocks had fallen sharply after Chidambaram said that Tax Residency Certificate is 'a necessary but not Sufficient' condition to avail of the benefits under double taxation avoidance agreements.
Changes in indirect taxes can have a huge impact on monthly home budgets, as these would hit the prices of essential commodities and services.
The strongest reasons for creating an independent debt management office (DMO) are also the ones for not doing it now, says Rajeev Malik.
The Reserve Bank of India has opposed Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget proposal to use part of the foreign exchange reserves of over $200 billion to provide "credit wrap," or credit guarantee insurance, for financing infrastructure projects.
Indian industry expressed disappointment on Wednesday over Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget for 2007-08, raising concerns on lack of measures to increase productivity and for losing an opportunity to provide relief to the corporate sector.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget may have evoked mixed reactions across the country but it has brought a smile on the faces of officials in the Forest Department. The Forest Department in Karnataka, which is all smiles after the state was ranked second in tiger conservation, says the additional allocation of funds will help them go about their job better.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget announcement to cut the excise duty on drugs from 16 per cent to 8 per cent received a loud applause from many corners. However, the common man is yet to see its impact as there are many loose ends to be tied up and loopholes to be plugged before drug prices show any downward trend.
Industry captains share their views on the Budget.
Pursuant to Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget announcement, a roadmap to streamline tax structure on all saving instruments will be rolled out next month.
The new measures will lead to tax collection of Rs 9,000 crore
'It was like a doctor giving some simple pain killers to a patient in dire requirement of chemotherapy.' 'There was no sense of urgency or desperation in this particular Budget.'
'The middle class you can hurt anytime. For revenues, politics, pleasure, anything,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'On the tax front, most of the Budget proposals are sensible'.
An analysis of the frequency of various watchwords in the finance minister's Budget speech shows that he was perhaps trying to hold on to his ideas without treading on anybody else's toes, says A K Bhattacharya.
'We need to put aside our anxieties about the Budget for now and possibly for long, and carry on as best as we can,' advises Shreekant Sambrani.
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