Nirmala Sitharaman has designed the revenue mix in such a way that while Centre's share in taxes would grow a massive 25 per cent, states' share would grow a dismal 6 per cent.
'That Modi and the BJP can continue to treat the rising and expanding middle class this way shows that they have gamed its mind quite perfectly,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Jaitley increased the excise duty on most tobacco products by 10-15 per cent.
Information technology (IT) companies have been on the road to revival in the past one year. From being the worst-hit sector in 2022 with a loss of 26 per cent, the Nifty IT index closed 2023 with gains of 24 per cent. So far in 2024, the index is up around 7 per cent against the nearly flat Nifty 50 benchmark index. The IT index has been on a continuous decline in the last three sessions.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
That "Rollback Budget" ushered in an era of rollback.
Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the pros and cons of both investment types.
Unhappy that the Budget has not done anything to reduce escalating prices, the Communist Party of India said on Tuesday that it\nwould launch a countrywide agitation against high prices of essential commodities\ndespite the low rate of annualised inflation.
There are tell-tale signs of a slide in the quality of Budgets presented by the current administration, says Parthasarathi Shome.
This Budget is about finding a balance between political objectives and economic uncertainties.
A session of both Houses of Parliament will be held from September 18-22 without Question Hour or private members' business, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha secretariats said on Saturday.
"You can memorize 1000s of words, but what do you do if you get a word that you don't know?"
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday raised the personal income tax rebate limit, doled out sops on small savings and announced one of the biggest hikes in capital spending in the past decade as she did a tight rope walk in the Budget between staying fiscally prudent and meeting public expectations in the year before general elections.
The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices have managed to stay afloat in a volatile January that saw the frontline indices hit their respective 52-week high levels and then slip. While the S&P BSE Sensex has lost over 2 per cent thus far in January, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices have gained nearly 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively during this period.
An individual can avail tax deduction on the amount spent during the year on a deferred annuity for self, spouse, or child.
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
The defence budget for this year, which is 1.79 per cent of the GDP, has come under criticism from former Army generals and military experts who say it is not adequate in view of the present security environment.
Taxpayers with old, outstanding taxes will benefit from the CBDT's new scheme.
Asked if he is joining the BJP, Nath said, "If there would be any such thing, I would inform you first."
The manual, to be released by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, is an extensive document prepared by the Budget division of the department of economic affairs in the finance ministry.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
As the adjournment of Parliament for an indefinite period with the Rajya Sabha also adjourning sine die kickstarts the final countdown for the general elections, Modi said the last five years were a period of "reform, perform and transform" with the country moving towards "big changes" at a fast pace.
Key lessons from the mandate must find reflection in Budget announcements.
A well-established tax system would have a predictable buoyancy - how fast the collections grow as a proportion to the growth of the economy. But that is not the case with GST. It is still undergoing substantial changes as the government responds to structural as well as administrative glitches.
Giving relief to individual taxpayers, the government on Monday raised the income tax exemption limit.
Fiscal consolidation is keenly awaited.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a Rs 100 per cylinder cut in cooking gas LPG price to ease financial burden on households. Non-subsidised cooking gas price will be cut to Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital with effect from midnight of Friday/Saturday, official sources said. Prices vary from state to state depending on the incidence on local taxes.
The Congress has so far announced 82 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls beginning April 19.
'In the present era of strategic uncertainty and rapidly changing threats, no military professional now disputes the unavoidable necessity of a joint planning staff for the planning and conduct of joint operations so that integrated operations can be planned 'top down',' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
