This is the first "Green budget" of the government for effective containment of pollution in the city, the deputy chief minister said in the budget session of the assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
But the government will present a second tranche of Supplementary Demands for Grants during the Budget session of Parliament in February, when it can seek additional spending.
The mere increase of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) over the last year's budgeting with a nominal hike in capital spending will not suffice to accomplish this vital objective of national security.
I am happy I didn't knock anyone down, driving recklessly or trying to show off. However, in one instance of road rage (the consequence of arguing with a driver who disrespected my right to cross the road peacefully) I did find a man in a SUV taking his anger out on me by driving his vehicle over my feet, recalls Shyam G Menon.
The 54-page document tabled in Parliament detailed how the Modi-government pull the economy from being counted among the most fragile-five in the world to being the fasted growing and the most attractive investment destination.
Officers responsible for preparing budgets say their detailed costing projections are mostly ignored. The defence ministry simply takes the previous year's budgetary allocations for each service and adds a small percentage to those.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget today.
As the DefenceExpo gets underway in Goa, Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) says the proposed Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 should ensure that the Indian defence industry is on the path to design, develop and make in India.
Against a turbulent and uncertain background, Budget 2017-18 hewed a steady, forward-looking course, says Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the government.
The allocations for military have been made while outlays on the development and non-development budgets have been slashed by 50 per cent and 20 per cent respectively to create fiscal space for rehabilitating the flood-affected population.
Converting what was supposed to be an interim budget or a vote on account into an almost full-fledged budget announcement in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal proposed an array of incentives for both middle-class and farmers, whose disenchantment was said to have cost the BJP dearly in recent assembly elections.
How much are others responsible for the Trump presidency moving in the directions it has, asks T N Ninan.
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The Hinduja brothers, who top Britain's rich list, said in a statement that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget had set the direction for a 'very positive long-term agenda'.
The defence secretary was responding to a question from Congressman Joe Wilson, a friend of India in the Congress who, of late, has been critical of India deciding to take an independent position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A piece of slightly negative news can cause a serious setback, warns Debashis Basu.
While the corporate sector has benefited from massive capital expenditure, leading to sky-rocketing stock prices, investors would do well to keep an eye on the macroeconomic picture and government finances, not just corporate profits, for signs of trouble, alerts Debashis Basu.
The budget, presented by Finance Minister Thomas Issac, focused on infrastructure development, strengthening of social welfare measures, steps to enhance safety of women, giving impetus to public education and health. It is the second budget by the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF after it came to power last year.
The Budget has evoked mixed reactions from Silicon Valley investors.
India's per capita expenditure on defence is less than $10, while the average expenditure of the top ten spenders in Asia is $800 approximately.
Finance minister attempts a clean-up job, keeps projected expenditure growth low.
Minister of state for defence, Rao Inderjit Singh, on Thursday asked the armed forces to "prioritise" their requirements in the view of the limited budget and also spend the allocated money efficiently.
Noting the actions and capabilities of the Chinese side, the IAF chief said, "They had brought their J-20 fighter aircraft (to areas close to Eastern Ladakh) and they go off from there but that is the flexibility of airpower. The moment Indian Rafales were brought in, their J-20 was there. We know their actions and capabilities and we are taking the required steps."
After cost inflation, this year's allocation will buy significantly less than last year's, says Ajai Shukla
'An expanding army, rising salaries due to the 7th pay commission, and raised pensions due to OROP are consuming money at the cost of badly needed bulletproof jackets, rifles, artillery, submarines, warships and fighter aircraft,' notes Ajai Shukla.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
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.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his maiden budget last week in which he vowed to contain fiscal deficit at 4.1 per cent this year and lower it to 3 per cent by 2016-17.
The end goal of defence procurement should be not import or indeginisation but securing the country through able and ready armed forces, says Air Marshal P V Athawale (retd)
US President Barack Obama signed a US $ 680-billion defence budget bill that provides US $ 2.3 billion military assistance to Pakistan with tough conditions to make sure that the funds are not squandered or diverted to affect the "balance of power in the region".
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the fiscal deficit slippage this financial year (2017-18) was largely statistical.
Jaitley praised the DRDO saying it was "doing quite a lot to meet the requirements of the armed forces but the Services need much more and that will come through domestic industry."
'On the tax front, most of the Budget proposals are sensible'.
The corridor is expected to attract around Rs 1,250 billion investment and create 4,00,000 jobs. It will start from Mysore, pass through Bengaluru in Karnataka, to connect with Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchy in Tamil Nadu.
According to an Assocham survey, India Inc is not expecting much for itself in the upcoming Budget. The Budget is most likely to benefit the common man.
The Budget session of the Parliament is likely to begin from February 25 with the Presidential Address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha followed by presentation of rail budget and general budget on February 26 and 28.
Sheela Bhatt recounts the tension, suspense and disruptions during P Chidambaram's interim budget in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
According to an Andhra government statement, Naidu 'reposed confidence' in the PM's leadership.
The revenue budget of the defence services is likely to go up 3.2 times in the next Budget if the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission are accepted. On an average, the services had recommended a salary hike of up to 4.5 times. They had also sought a five-and-a-half times increase in counter-insurgency allowances. They had expected an increase of 3.8 times. The increase in salaries that has been granted is 3.2 times. Allowances, by and large, have been doubled.
A key United States Congressional Committee on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that imposes conditions on Pakistan for receiving American economic and military aid which will depend on the action Islamabad takes against terrorists and the menace of improvised explosive devices.
