All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman will deliver a populist budget leaving more money in hands of the common man or push the reform agenda by staying on the fiscal glide path to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
Earlier, proceeds from disinvestment were shown separately as part of the miscellaneous receipts in the Capital Receipts Budget.
Experts say the state's economy is grappling with hidden debt, rising welfare costs, and lack of transparency.
Fiscal deficit for 2021-22 worked out to be 6.71 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), lower than 6.9 per cent projected by the Finance Ministry in the revised Budget Estimates, according to government data released on Tuesday. Unveiling the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for 2020-21, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said that the fiscal deficit in the absolute terms was be Rs 15,86,537 crore (provisional).
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The Budget estimate of fiscal deficit for the next financial year has been underestimated by nearly 0.9 percentage point of Gross Domestic Product, or about Rs 51,000 crore. This is because the estimates for revenue collections in the Interim Budget for 2009-10 do not reflect the full impact of the duty concessions announced by the government since December 2008. The Budget estimate for fiscal deficit in 2009-10 put it at 5.5 per cent of GDP.
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
'There's a misconception that all Rs 1 lakh crore will be spent immediately, leading to higher consumption of FMCG goods, travel, and vehicle purchases.' 'While some of this money will go toward consumption, not all of it will.' 'The impact depends on where people deploy their savings.'
The Union health ministry has been allocated Rs 99,858.56 crore in the Budget 2025-2026, an around 11 per cent hike over the Rs 89,974.12 crore in the budget (revised estimates) of 2024-2025 with the government announcing setting up daycare cancer centres at all district hospitals over the next three years.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
Commonwealth Sport's EB recommends Ahmedabad as host for 2030 CWG
After the disappointment of War 2, there was some respite this weekend as Param Sundari managed to have a decent opening at the box office.
In a significant policy shift aimed at boosting agri-productivity and rural prosperity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.
'The finance minister missed yet another opportunity to simplify the income tax structure in the Budget.' 'This was an opportune moment to get rid of the old tax system entirely and move fully to the new system,' asserts M Govinda Rao, member of the 14th Finance Commission.
Going by this Budget's estimate of government spending of Rs 48.2 trillion, the government has allocated a significantly lower percentage to defence -- 12.9 per cent.
"Commonwealth Games in India would leave lasting impact by boosting tourism, and creating jobs, the Government said in a statement.
Geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainties, volatility in international commodity prices and financial market uncertainties pose considerable risks to India's economic growth in the coming year, the finance ministry cautioned on Wednesday. "Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty in the policy environment... tariff-related developments in multiple countries have heightened trade-related risks, affecting investment and trade flows globally.
Job creation, improving farm productivity, and mobilising public funds for infrastructure development were some of the issues that figured during the interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and economists ahead of the 2025-26 Union Budget. The prime minister on Tuesday met eminent economists and sectoral experts at NITI Aayog to hear their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 lakh crore is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.
The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the eighth month of financial year 2024-25 touched 52.5 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Tuesday. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between the government's expenditure and revenue -- was about Rs 8.47 lakh crore during the April-November period, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Pakistan suffered an 85 per cent loss after spending Rs 869 crore for hosting the Champions Trophy 2025.
Whether she will pare the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP, using the record dividend received from the RBI, or expand flagship government programmes will be keenly watched.
The road ahead will require navigating complex financial challenges while fostering job creation and sustainable development in the region.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The agency received Rs 911 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2022-23, which was later decreased to Rs 906.59 crore in the Revised Estimates.
Indian information-technology (IT) service providers are likely to report another quarter (July-September) of low, single-digit growth owing to macro uncertainties, chiefly emanating from America, with no respite in sight even in the second half of the year.
Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor crossed Rs 1,000 crore in R&D spend for the first time, as legacy OEMs accelerate innovation to compete with new-age EV players.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman provides the much-expected tax relief for the middle class, leaving more money in their hands, as there is tax buoyancy
After a subdued first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), banks are now betting big on the festive season, rolling out attractive loan offers to boost credit growth in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26) - a trend likely to be further accentuated by the second-order effects of the good services tax (GST) cuts.
The government's indirect tax collection is expected to increase by 8.3 pc in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), according to a report by ICICI Bank. The report also noted that this growth is higher than the 7.1 per cent increase seen in FY25 and is mainly driven by rise in GST revenue from strong urban consumption. It said "The increase is driven by higher goods and services tax collections which in-turn is explained by boost to urban consumption".
Amid the Budget preparation, the revenue department is assessing the feasibility of further adjustments to maximise benefits for salaried individuals.
If the fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP has to be met for 2024-2025, which the government must in view of the uncertainties and challenges emerging both domestically and globally, the finance ministry may see in the composition of the current year's capex a sliver of hope, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a fresh Rs 15,000 crore 'SWAMIH Fund' for completion of 1 lakh units in stalled housing projects across various cities, a move aimed at providing relief to distressed homebuyers whose investments are stuck. In November 2019, the Centre announced a stress fund named 'Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing' (SWAMIH), to complete stalled housing projects across India.
New lower GST rates kicked in from Monday, resulting in a slashing of prices of as many as 375 items ranging from toothpaste and shampoo to cars and television sets, a move seen as an attempt to boost consumption to cushion an economy facing tariff headwinds. Tax rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent have been clubbed into two rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, resulting in a reduced price of 99 per cent of daily use items.
India's goods exports rebounded in July after two months of contraction, with outbound shipments rising 7.3 per cent to $37.24 billion, led by a surge in exports to the United States before the country's reciprocal tariff kicked in and bolstered by a recovery in exports to other key markets.
Continuing on the fiscally prudent path, the Modi government in the interim Budget refrained from announcing populist measures, which will help it trim the fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent of the GDP next fiscal and 4.5 per cent in FY26.
India's fiscal deficit has crossed the government's initial estimate of 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the eight months up to November 2008.
Seven of the meetings will be held in late November or early December at the finance ministry, as is the norm.
'India may never fully participate in the AI hype cycle, but we can position ourselves to benefit from its inevitable disenchantment and the cycle of disillusionment,' alerts Akash Prakash.
