Stock Market News today, PSU banks: The year 2024 was a roller-coaster ride for Indian stock markets, marked by volatility driven by the Lok Sabha elections, Union Budget 2024, a slowdown in corporate earnings, and sticky inflation. Geopolitical tensions - particularly between Israel and Iran in West Asia - along with various stimulus announcements by China and yen carry trade rocked the equity markets throughout the year.
'There is a vision in the Budget, and the vision is to take India from a largely agrarian, rural economy into a fast-track digitalised economy.'
The real requirement for the finance minister's explanatory speech is to explain the measures taken in the Budget to influence inflation and growth not just through the announcement of a deficit goal, but more broadly through the impact on money supply, consumer demand, foreign trade and investment, explains Nitin Desai.
NDA leaders have decided not to allow transaction of any business in Parliament till 'tainted' Union ministers are dropped.
rediffGURU Anil Rego answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The government has revised gold import data, bringing down numbers for November by $5 billion to $9.84 billion, possibly to rectify double accounting of inbound shipments. According to revised data of the commerce ministry arm Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), gold import numbers have been slashed since April 2024, revealing excess imports of about $11.7 billion during the first eight months of 2024-25.
The secret to building Rs 5 crore corpus lies in one simple decision. But the longer you wait, the more it costs you -- not just in money but in missed opportunities, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that India will soon create a comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure its borders. He highlighted the increasing threat posed by drones, especially along the India-Pakistan border, and emphasized a 'whole of government' approach to tackle this issue. Shah also spoke about the ongoing Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) and the Modi government's Vibrant Village Programme, which aims to develop and integrate the population of northern borders.
Congress ministers on Friday hailed the General Budget as "balanced, thoughtful and forward looking" which would lay the foundation for fiscal consolidation but ally Trinamool Congress dismissed it as "status-quoist".
The members who were present at the 93rd BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bengaluru on Sunday requested incumbent secretary Jay Shah to speed up the process of finding his successor to keep the transition of power as smooth as possible.
'The shifts in US involvement in global conflicts and geopolitical alliances could introduce uncertainties.'
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that comprehensive development of Vishnupad Temple corridor at Gaya and Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar will be supported by the government to transform them into world-class pilgrim and tourist destinations. These corridors will be modelled on the successful Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, she said. Vishnupad Temple is one of the most ancient Hindu shrines located next to the Falgu river, while the Mahabodhi Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here's how to own your dream home without paying excessive interest on your EMIs.
Tovino Thomas' big budget action entertainer is a middling, tonally inconsistent watch that keeps you hooked, observes Arjun Menon.
'Assess the property in terms of type, size, location and price point, and whether it fits into your budget.' 'If it checks out on these fronts, one may consider the accompanying offers.'
Anil Patel, the secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association and Rohan Jaitley, son of late Arun Jaitley and the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association are the two names in running to take over as BCCI secretary.
Party leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Union Budget as a 'zero-sum budget', saying it has nothing for the salaried, middle class and the poor.
'Any finality in such matters requires political views. We will review it closer to the full Budget.'
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Coming Wednesday, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 2023 Union Budget - the last full Budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While India exited 2022 as a relatively bright spot in the global economy, the FM will endeavour to present a Budget that insulates India's economy against global headwinds and recession in advanced economies, while sticking to the path of fiscal consolidation. In this, she is being helped by her core team of trusted advisors.
Everybody talks of China as the real threat, but we aren't even building a decisive capability against Pakistan, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Asset allocation should be driven much more by long-term factors rather than the market scenario at any particular point in time.'
'Arbitrage funds make the most sense for those in the 30 per cent tax bracket, are viable for those in the 20 per cent bracket, but less so for those in the 10 per cent bracket.'
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Amid a tussle with the Aam Aadmi Party government, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that he has summoned the assembly for the budget session on March 3, even as the top court told both sides that constitutional discourse has to be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship.
Reeling under a series of derailments, the Budget is likely to announce creation of a separate safety fund of about Rs 1 lakh crore over the next five years.
Most investors should have a 5% to 10% allocation to gold for diversification. They should stagger their investments to mitigate timing risk.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic. This was Sitharaman's fourth Budget. While the taxpayers were left in the lurch, once again, was she able to cheer Corporate India?
It is possible that the final Budget architecture may be at variance with the comments.
Fewer people participated in MGNREGA during the first six months of this financial year (April-September) compared to the same period last year, a recent analysis of the scheme's performance by LibTech showed.
Also on the anvil is abolition of distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure and replacing it with capital and revenue expenditure
The entire census and NPR exercise is likely to cost the government over Rs 12,000 crore, the officials said.
Modi said he was "full of confidence" ahead of his "exam", the Budget, by 125 crore people
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'The conspiracy is to end India's entrepreneurship culture even before it fully blooms.' 'Negativity is being spread in society towards all those who do business, and this hatred for business and wealth creators is spilling everywhere.'
The idea is to get the budget passed by Parliament along with Appropriations Bill and the Finance Bill by the end of March as this would ensure implementation of the Budget proposals from April 1.
'It would be reasonable to assume that Modi 3.0 would be more focused on projects and schemes which do not require any legislative change or which have the support of its coalition partners,' asserts A K Bhattacharya.
Employees of public sector general insurance (PSGI) companies are observing nationwide one-day strike on Wednesday to protest against intended privatisation of state-owned insurers. The Joint Front of Trade Unions in PSGI companies met on Monday and decided to protest against the decision of the government to privatise PSGI companies. The unions have given a call for one-day strike against the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha, General Insurance Employees All India Association general secretary K Govindan said. Employees of all four PSGI companies are participating in the day-long strike, he said.
