From withdrawing the stimulus to implementing the Finance Commission proposals, the FM has his task cut out.
In the following analysis, RelaxwithTax has tried to squeeze out the useful information -- from the Budget Speech delivered by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee -- that is relevant to you in terms of personal taxation and finance.
P Chidambaram was conspicuous by his absence on the dais at the second day of the plenary.
The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on inclusion of caste categories in the census is likely to be held on July 1.
To capitalise on the proposed changes in the Budget and the information on black money available with the government, the government is revitalising the economic intelligence council (EIC) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the Indian economy could grow by 7.5 to 8 per cent during the current financial year, though price rise and fiscal consolidation remained areas of concern.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday conferred with his top colleagues as Uttar Pradesh government sought nearly 50,000 central paramilitary personnel for tackling any possible law and order problem after the Allahabad high court judgment next month in the Ayodhya title dispute.
In a good sign, the government will depend less on borrowing to finance budgetary proposals in 2011-12 than in the ongoing 2010-11 financial year.
Concerned over high credit cost and availability of funds, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said he will ask banks for a 'benign plan of action' while committing to stimulate economic growth by stepping up public expenditure and speeding up reforms.
Highly-placed sources in the government say that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had asked Pranab to make the second statement, rolling back the Telangana announcement. However, Mukherjee is learnt to have the told her that the second statement should come from the person who made the first statement, for better credibility. He also advised the Congress president that the prime minister should be kept out of the picture.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will soon give the green signal to the payment of 9.5 per cent interest rate on provident fund deposits during 2010-11, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
Asserting that there is no need to press the panic button, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said the Dubai debt crisis would not have 'earth shaking' impact on India's economy.
Amid pressure from various quarters for an early decision on the creation of a separate state of Telangana, the government on Saturday said more consultations with various parties are needed on the contentious statehood demand and the exercise would take "some time" to end. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel discussed the situation in Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
The finance ministry is planning to change the face of banking in the Red corridors at the tribal heartlands of India. The move is part of the government decision to redraw its law and order management and development plans in view of the growing Naxalite menace threatening India.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
Two important features are Effective Revenue Deficit and Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Current President Robert Zoellick, who took office in July 2007, is schedule to retire in June.
Diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday tore into United Progressive Alliance's handling of Anna Movement, which he said was a "Frankenstein monster" created by the central government itself.
Outflow of portfolio investment, and consequential decline in the stock market and the value of the rupee are effects of the problems in Eurozone.
Chief of Army General VK Singh and heads of the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing will also attend the meeting where Chidambaram would give his ministry's assessment of the situation in the valley. The CCS would also discuss the request for army assistance sought by and Kashmir Chief Ministe Omar Abdullah to help control the vloatile situation in the state
Focusing on rural India and attaining a high GDP, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee outlined targets such as speeding up infrastructure development and spending more for the development of rural areas and the poor.
The 8.9 per cent growth during the first half of this fiscal notwithstanding, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said he would prefer to be conservative and would be happy if the economy this fiscal were to grow by 8.75 per cent.
Besides, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry secretary general Amit Mitra, L Suresh, vice president of Film Federation of India, UTV Group chief financial officer Rajeev Waghle, chief financial officer of Reliance Big Films Subhashish Sarkar and Zee Tele films chief executive officer Puneet Goenka, among others, were also part of the delegation.
The Cabinet Committee on Security today took stock of the situation arising out of the Pune bomb blast and is understood to have discussed issues related to the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
Still battling the fallout of last month's steep Rs 7.54 a litre hike in petrol price, the government on Friday said it is not considering raising rates of diesel, domestic gas (LPG) and kerosene for the moment.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2009-10, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that in order to bring in tax reforms in the country the government will bring the new DTC within 45 days. The code will replace the existing Income Tax Act, which was enacted in 1961 and would subsume the direct tax legislations.
Corruption has emerged as a major issue in the country but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not responsible for the situation, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday. ''I don't hold the prime minister responsible for the entire issue related to corruption. But the situation reflects that governance is not up to the mark,'' he said.
The second and third quarters of FY10 are unlikely to see the economy expanding at the pace it did in April-June period, but that does not warrant a downward revision of growth forecast, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
Industry is of the view that rising interest rates is increasing the input cost as loans are getting costlier.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the Vudget 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday announced the extension in the time given to the farmers having more than two hectares of land to pay 75 per cent of their overdues under Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme extended from June 30, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal MTN group president and CEO Phuthuma Nhlek had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. The two telecom majors extended the deadline for exclusive talks for their proposed $23-billion deal to the end of next month recently.
Concerned over the ongoing public spat between the two regulators, the government on Wednesday asked Sebi and Irda to move court immediately on the contentious issue of who will regulate unit-linked insurance products.
Price of diesel, LPG and kerosene will have to go up.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his government expected a reasonably good growth rate of seven per cent in the ongoing 2011-12 financial year.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
The joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill met in New Delhi on Tuesday for the last time amid "fresh and serious" differences between the government and Anna Hazare team.
The move, he said, would enable the Authority for Advance Rulings set up under the Income Tax Act 1961 to also function as the Authority for Advance Rulings for Indirect Taxes. The AAR was established to address the taxability issues of NRI assessees. The assessees can put in an application to the authority and seek judgement on their tax issues.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the Budget 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday stated that the target for the agriculture credit flow for the year 2009-10 is being set at Rs 3,25,000 crore. Agricuture credit flow for the year 2008-09 was Rs 2,87,000 crore.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday broke hearts of fairer sex by increasing import duty on gold bars, but tried to be even handed by raising income exemption limit for women by Rs 10,000 and by exempting excise on branded jewellery.
The finance minister's office had sought the Cabinet Secretary's opinion whether Mukherjee should remain part of the EGoM in the wake of his presidential candidature.
