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 issue of 'cash garlands' has caused concerns to the Election Commission which will soon set up a high-level expenditure watchdog.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with her team of bureaucrats, delved into the fine print of the 2024-25 Budget documents in a press conference, detailing the government's road map on bringing down the debt-to-GDP ratio and bold tax measures.
Ramesh alleged that through the "electoral bonds scam", the Bharatiya Janata Party has collected Rs 8,200 crore and used the route of "pre-paid, post-paid, post-raid bribes and shell companies".
Projects worth Rs 500 crore and above and up to Rs 1,000 crore can be cleared by the Finance Minister.
'Those movie stars are asking for Rs 35 crore and are opening to Rs 3.5 crore.' 'How's that math working?'
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out several flaws in the financial practices of the Gujarat government and said there was a need to formulate a realistic budget based on the needs of the departments.
He said with a view to releasing a white paper on the state's finances, the cabinet has asked the officials to furnish information on the expenditure made by the previous government from 2014 to December 7, 2023 on all departments in the state government and the purposes for which the expenditure was incurred.
To keep a strict vigil on cash and bullion movement in poll-bound Gujarat, the Income Tax department has deputed its teams in every district and airport in the state and have also flagged around one-third seats as 'expenditure sensitive', a top official said in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
'A mid-year review makes the end-of-year financial review manageable and less stressful.'
The Central Board of Direct Taxes is developing a data bank on tax returns and expenditure by tax payers to improve the quality of assessments and revenues, which could lead to reduction in raids, P L Singh, chairman, CBDT, said in Mumbai.
Almost 25 per cent central government posts were vacant as of March 2022, compared to 9.4 per cent in March 2002.
Crisis-hit SpiceJet plans to hand out pink slips to at least 1,000 employees in the coming days as the airline works to significantly reduce costs and streamline operations of its depleted aircraft fleet, officials said on Monday. Faced with financial woes, legal battles and other headwinds, the no-frills carrier might ask more staff to leave as there is excess manpower now compared to the number of planes in service. A final decision on the quantum of layoffs is expected this week, one of the officials in the know said.
The same day the tax sleuths had raided the house of DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan and some of those linked to him. The MP from Arakkonam has interests in a variety of business sectors.
'The global situation is not very good.'
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad Yadav's two of the most trusted senior IAS officers have been moved into departments held by the party patron's sons in the Bihar cabinet.
Income tax sleuths who reached Khan's residence on Jail Road in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh at 7 am on Wednesday completed their search Friday evening.
Nearly two million postcards and eight million letters pass through India's post offices daily.
'The first duty of the government is to learn lessons from a bad experience and course correct. It's a pity that the government is making policy without looking at evidence and differentiating between immediate and urgent.'
The finance minister could review customs duty on crude oil, other exemptions.
This is not her first stint in North Block or in leading a major economic ministry. She started Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term as minister of state for finance, was made the commerce minister, and then became the defence minister.
The Centre is in "mission mode" to fill vacancies in government departments and ministries. The Department of Expenditure is currently following up with other wings of the government to expedite pending appointments. Regular follow-ups are being made to fill the vacant positions, so that the stated target of eliminating 1 million vacancies is met by December 2023, ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections. Even as the nodal ministry for filling vacant positions in the government is the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Department of Expenditure's Establishment Coordination (Personnel) division is providing support for the recruitment drive.
Of the top four companies, which collectively hold more than half of India's market share, two have pitted Shah Rukh Khan and Sunny Deol against each other.
Moody's Investors Service on Friday raised India's growth projection for 2023 calendar year to 6.7 per cent on account of robust economic momentum. "Strong services expansion and capital expenditures propelled India's 7.8 per cent real GDP growth in the second (April-June) quarter from a year ago. "We have accordingly raised our 2023 calendar year growth forecast for India from 5.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent," Moody's said in its Global Macro Outlook. - el nino
Bharti Airtel on Monday posted a 54 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,442.2 crore in the December quarter, mainly on account of growth in high value customers. Airtel prepaid mobile customers are required to pay at least Rs 155 for about a month-long service as the company had raised rates by 56 per cent in January 2023. Bharti Airtel managing director Gopal Vittal has indicated a need for further increase in mobile services rates.
The Election Commission had pegged the cost of procuring additional Electronic Voting Machines and paper-trail machines for holding synchronised Lok Sabha and assembly polls at nearly Rs 9,300 crore.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal that offers an option of availing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to the state government employees who joined the service after November 2005.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections.
The ruling Aam Admi Party in Delhi rejected the allegation of any wrongdoing and accused the BJP of "using all its power to finish AAP".
For the startup ecosystem in India, the scorecard so far has been a mixed bag, observes Akhil Gupta.
The expenditure was incurred by the government through the Central Bureau of Communication, Thakur said.
The guidelines for strategic disinvestment were issued on Monday itself when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for 2016-17.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday alleged that a scam of Rs 500 crore took place in the state information and publicity department during the tenure of the government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
Describing the DAD as the "guardian of defence finance", he emphasised the need to bolster the internal vigilance mechanism so that any suspicious activity can be detected and reviewed immediately.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her sixth straight Budget ahead of the Parliamentary elections, matching the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman in her pre-election Budget, which technically is a vote on account and popularly termed an interim Budget, will seek Parliament's nod for a grant in advance to meet the central government's essential expenditure for the first four months of the new fiscal year that starts in April. A new government elected after the April/May general elections will present the full Budget, likely in July.
A taxpayer paying rent to his/her spouse is entitled to claim HRA benefit under relevant sections and within prescribed limits.
'It has been an ongoing process, talking to the relevant ministries about eliminating leakages and curbing non-core expenditure in various schemes.'
'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'
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