The Indian Railways has closed 2013-14 with a 15 per cent increase in revenue, rising to Rs 1,40,485 crore, compared to Rs 1,21,831 crore last year.
The government's total debt increased by 2.6 per cent to over Rs 46 lakh crore in the third quarter ended December, compared to the previous three months of the current financial year.
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables her Budget on February 1, the numbers could be something to cheer.
This comes at a time when the COVID-19 crisis is expected to derail the government's revenue maths for 2020-21, hitting the mop-up from sources such as taxes and divestment.
It seems a given that Drishyam 2 will enter the Rs 200 Crore Club and will be only the second Bollywood film after Brahmastra to do that in 2022.
The Budget oration of the finance minister and the confidence with which she delivered it, along with the measures and the recent upsurge in the economy would all contribute to unleashing the storied 'animal spirits' and help the economy run on the growth path quite smoothly. Or so the government hopes, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Eminent economist Arvind Panagariya has said India is on the cusp of returning to a high growth trajectory and voiced confidence that the country will become the world's third-largest economy by 2027-28. Currently, India is the fifth largest economy "so it's another five years.We are already in (the year) 2023. "So 2027-28, India should be the third-largest economy," Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, told PTI in an interview in New York.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley more than halved the central government's financial support.
Striking a different note from its peers, US brokerage Bank of America Securities has maintained that the Reserve Bank will leave rates unchanged next week, recognising growth-focused and capex-driven fiscal expansion, which though poses huge price pressure and interest rate risks later. The RBI's rate setting panel Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will begin its deliberations next Monday and announce the policy moves on Wednesday (February 9) in the backdrop of a massive spike in bond yields post the Budget. Almost all major central banks are in the process of hiking rates to tame inflation.
This may free up resources for productive or lending purposes.
'We would advise investors to invest in a disciplined way in equities for the long term.'
Fitch said COVID-19 is still in India and it is very likely that the government will have to spend a bit more on fiscal measures to support the economy.
The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
If this Budget was not packaged and sold as a Budget for the poor and for farmers, Narendra Modi would have lost the next election.
As far as the Indian households are concerned, although the leverage ratio in this basket has multiplied nearly 3 times in the past decade, it is still well below not just developed but also most other developing economies.
In the current financial year, the Centre released nearly Rs 1 lakh crore compensation to the states till September.
The regulator budget is projected to have deficit of Rs 76.6 cr; fee hike will help turn this into a surplus of Rs 105.7 crore.
The divestment department has lined up a host of companies.
I am increasingly seeing young people starting 25-year-SIPs; these kids will definitely benefit from the long term effect of compounding, notes P V Subramanyam.
CBI is also probing a criminal conspiracy angle of the Saradha scam.
The government has fixed the target of indirect tax collection, comprising customs, excise and service tax, at Rs 5.65 lakh crore for 2013-14.
Outlining the Budget estimates for the coming year, the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu put the plan size at Rs 1.21 lakh crore.
To meet the revised estimates for 2019-20, the central government will have to garner Rs 5.03 trillion in total revenues in March, which has seen the worst phase of the coronavirus pandemic so far and the resultant lockdown.
Gulabo Sitabo was made with a budget of Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore. Amazon Prime bought the streaming rights for Rs 60 crore to Rs 65 crore, helping the producers make over Rs 20 crore.
The government cut its disinvestment target by more than half for the current financial year and pegged the proceeds at Rs 36,925 crore for 2014-15.
The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country's total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on Monday.
The term of the Deputy Chairman and Members of the Commission is coterminous with that of the Prime Minister and all of them have resigned following the change of government last month after the general elections.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Freight rates for grains, pulses and urea would increase by 10%.
'With Ramaland, the tourism department is looking to attract children and adults alike. It'll be learning with entertainment.'
The United Nations estimates about one third of the world's 1.2 billion poorest people live in India
The Indian Railways on Wednesday said it suffered an estimated loss of Rs 13,675 crore (Rs 136.75 billion) in the current fiscal on account of various social service obligations, including suburban and non-suburban services.
Opposition said saying it lacked vision and road map to execute ideas.
'I believe the modified scheme is much more beneficial and simpler.'
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The estimated market borrowing by these two companies during current fiscal were pegged at Rs 13,800 crore (Rs 138 billion) from markets, as per the interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 tabled in February.
First and business class air travellers would find flying costlier.
The new Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian believes that more than unemployment, it is the quality of employment which needs to be focused on. In an interview with Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana, Subramanian said that controlling inflation was the Modi government's biggest achievement.
For the first eight months of the current financial year, the figure stood at Rs 7.17 trillion.
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