Netizens broke out into a meme fest as they welcomed Nirmala Sitharaman's tax break.
With this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent a strong message to ally, Janata Dal-United President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, that their partnership remains intact and that they will be formidable partners at the hustings.
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.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
"If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country," she said.
If we wanted the Himalayas as a backdrop, we didn't shoot it on a green screen.' 'We actually went to the Himalayas and shot on location.'
'It was like rigorously preparing for a solid, good exam...' 'I don't know what marks I will get, but I felt the rigorous preparation of an exam.' 'You may sweat, but I feel rejuvenated.'
'The Bhashini Mission has delivered a working technology at large scale, which is as good as or better than the one with MNC tech giants.'
'I do believe there will be a resolution in the next couple of months on the penal tariff and hopefully on the reciprocal tariff also.'
"Commonwealth Games in India would leave lasting impact by boosting tourism, and creating jobs, the Government said in a statement.
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.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday termed the second-generation GST reforms as a big booster to consumption-driven growth while his firm promised to pass on the benefit of the cut in tax rates to consumers.
Adarsh Kumar, a Class 12 student from a farmer's family in Bihar, has been shortlisted among the top 10 students in the world for the Chegg Global Student Prize 2025.
How has Budget 2025 affected your domestic budget? What will be dearer? Find out.
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
'The finance minister has done as much as she can when you look into the fiscal constraints she had.'
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
'Ek baar aap GST dekh lo!' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime. And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.
Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 1.42 trillion in 2025, with their sales hitting Rs 12,257 crore in the first four trading days of September.
rediffGURU Dr Upneet Kaur explains how to discuss and resolve financial arguments in a relationship.
'That is going to have an impact on literally every one, whether you buy a toothpaste, a safety pin, a car, shoes or medicines or you go to a diagnostic centre.'
The All India Chess Federation did not utilise Rs 3.12 crore out of the central government's allocation of Rs 5.2 crore during FY25.
Reduction of GST on health insurance premium from 18% to 0% looks like a straight 18% reduction in what consumers pay. The truth, however, is...
Realme has expanded its India-exclusive budget-friendly P3 series with the launch of two new smartphones: the Realme P3 Ultra 5G and the Realme P3 5G.
'But this Budget alone will not fix what ails the Indian economy.'
The US's recent 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports will have a trickledown effect on India's affordable housing, potentially derailing demand as well as supply in this segment, according to experts. Pointing to worker incomes and jobs in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that typically make up majority of the customer base of affordable housing, would take a hit in the near terms due to the tariff change, further crippling India's affordable housing sector, already reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Have you ever thought about how some investors always manage to find well-performing stocks before everyone else? They seem to have an eye for finding companies that aren't in the media but still deliver returns. These are called hidden stock opportunities, and the shortcut to finding them is all about knowing where and how to look. In this article, let's walk through some practical tips for finding these stocks in the share market.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced reservation for Muslims in supplying goods and services up to a value of Rs 1 crore to various government departments, corporations and institutions in the state budget for 2025-26. The budget also increased the value limit of government contracts in which Muslims can avail reservation to Rs 2 crore. The reservation to Muslims under 2B category is in addition to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Castes coming under Category-1, Category-2A. The budget also included various welfare schemes for minorities, including Rs 50,000 to support simple marriages and Rs 1,000 crore under the Chief Minister's Minority Colony Development Programme.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
'In case a particular industry has not passed on the benefits and if we receive complaints, we will take up the matter with the industry body concerned.'
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.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The investigation against Bharadwaj (45), former Delhi health minister, is understood to be linked to an Anti-Corruption Branch case into alleged corruption in health infrastructure projects by the previous AAP government.
The festival's People's Choice Award, voted by the audience, is a strong indication of films that can eventually be nominated and even win Oscars. Twelve of the last 15 People's Choice winners have received Best Picture Oscar nominations.
The total assets of the country's sitting legislators amount to Rs 73,348 crore, which is more than the combined annual Budgets (2023-2024) of Nagaland (Rs 23,086 crore), Tripura (Rs 26,892 crore), and Meghalaya (Rs 22,022 crore), totaling around Rs 72,000 crore.
'Our attempt to honour the taxpayer has been since 2014 and more actively since 2019-2020 onwards.'
China showcased its latest military hardware, including hypersonic and ballistic missiles, during a parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of its victory against Japanese aggression in World War II. President Xi Jinping called for world peace and national rejuvenation.
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