The finance ministry is learnt to have raised a serious objection to the proposed relaxation in the foreign direct investment norms in restricted sectors such as telecom and insurance.According to sources in the government, in a meeting of a group of ministers on Tuesday, the finance ministry representatives argued that the proposed relaxation would effectively remove the current limits in the respective sectors. Sources said senior members of the GoM also objected.
People giving me unasked for advice of discipline and restraint don't realise that if I disregard discipline there would be a bloodbath.
Sitharaman continues with the tradition she set in 2019, carrying the budget speech in a 'bahi-khata', which she used after dropping the briefcase tradition.
On Agri Stack, Expenditure Secy V Vualnam says it's progressing well; using IT, farmers will be able to choose exact fertiliser quantities needed, reducing crowding at fertiliser outlets.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed a six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for small taxpayers like students, tech professionals and relocated NRIs as she presented the Union Budget 2026-27.
The project is aimed at enabling faster movement of security forces and military equipment during exigencies, while also improving connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other north eastern states.
Three key babus will make room for a new set of officers to carry the baton of Budget programmes.
Nirmala Sitharaman moved into her Kartavya Bhavan office on October 2, in time to get the work on the Budget 2026-2027 going.
The FM also said the government has proposed a joint panel of Corporate Affairs Ministry and CBDT for incorporation of income computation and disclosure standards.
The National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, MCX Stock Exchange and United Stock Exchange have been invited for the August 6 meet.
The row over the 2G note on Tuesday resonated in the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting with members alleging that facts were being suppressed, prompting the Committee to summon two top finance ministry officials besides demanding affidavits from government that all relevant documents have been given.
The review will help all the banks find if there is any loophole.
Falling rupee, sluggish stock market is set to make his task more challenging.
The MPC states that the 4 external members will have a tenure of four years each.
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty.
India's consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation could ease in the coming months thanks to the arrival of kharif crops, lower international commodity prices, and a pass through of lower input costs to consumers, the finance ministry said in its Monthly Economic Review (MER) for October, which was released on Thursday. The MER, however, warned that the global macroeconomic situation remained precarious and a recession in many advanced economies would impact India's exports. "Easing international commodity prices and new Kharif arrival are set to dampen inflationary pressures in the coming months.
The instructions cite service rules that bar any government servant from making any adverse criticism of any policy or action of the government.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of compromising India's interests on the world stage and selling out farmers and the poor during their time in power.
Set to file nomination papers for the Presidential poll, a sentimental Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday resigned as finance minister to "embark on a new journey", leaving behind his four-decade stint as a political activist.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attended the swearing-in ceremony.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has reviewed the evolving situation in West Asia, directing departments to assist Indian nationals affected by recent developments and emphasizing the need for dialogue and diplomacy.
The roll-out of 3G or third-generation mobile telephony services, scheduled for this year-end, may be delayed after the Ministry of Finance strongly criticised the Department of Telecommunications for announcing 3G guidelines without consulting it. In a communication with the DoT earlier this week, the finance ministry said the move was inappropriate and contrary to a 2003 cabinet decision.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed Rs 10,000 crore investment in the biopharma sector over the next five years, a move which would give a boost to the country's pharmaceuticals industry.
The reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates has increased the momentum in India's economic activity both on the supply and demand sides, while robust agricultural activity - reflected in the strong onset of rabi sowing and adequate reservoir levels - has reinforced the outlook for food supply and rural incomes, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
The Budget allocation includes the construction of new lines and the purchase of locomotives, wagons, and coaches, among other works.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
The ban has been in force since last Friday.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
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