Education sector has reasosn to cheer Budget.
Jaitley said a 10 per cent tax long on capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh made from the sale of shares has been introduced but those made till Janaury 31 would be grandfathered. A 10 per cent tax on distributed income by equity oriented mutual funds has also been proposed in the budget.
The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country's total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on Monday.
The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country's total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on Monday. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, rights group Oxfam International said that taxing India's ten-richest at 5 per cent can fetch entire money to bring children back to school. "A one-off tax on unrealized gains from 2017-2021 on just one billionaire, Gautam Adani, could have raised Rs 1.79 lakh crore, enough to employ more than five million Indian primary school teachers for a year," it added.
'Increased allocations for MNREGA could have provided the much needed push to rural demand and consumption at a time when recovery continues to remain uneven.'
Indian billionaires saw their combined fortunes more than double during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their count shot up by 39 per cent to 142, while the wealth of the ten richest is enough to fund school and higher education of children in the country for 25 years, a new study showed on Monday. In its annual inequality survey released on the first day of the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda summit, Oxfam India further said that an additional one per cent tax on the richest 10 per cent can provide the country with nearly 17.7 lakh extra oxygen cylinders, while a similar wealth tax on the 98 richest billionaire families would finance Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest health insurance scheme, for more than seven years. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a huge rush for oxygen cylinders and insurance claims during the second wave last year.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday put a poser as to why there was no objection from lawmakers on the government's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making PAN cards, a move which was given effect by the latest budget from July 1.
Constantly evolving rules and anomalies over tax treatment have constrained corporate programmes in the first year that the government's CSR mandate has been in force.
Sanjeev Nayar offers some ideas on how Indians can help in improving the lives of those living in border areas and in the process help the Indian Army.
The actual expenditure will only be marginally higher and hence, the multiplier effect will be muted.
Outlay for infra is also expected to see a significant increase in view of the government's Rs 111-trillion investment plan under the national infrastructure pipeline to develop social and economic infrastructure over five years.
Net sales during the reported quarter rose to Rs 20,594.3 crore, up 14.4 per cent against the year-ago period.
Arun Jaitley had a tough fiscal hill to climb.
'Dear PM, INC supports the salary cut for MPs. Please note that MPLAD is meant to execute developmental works in the constituency. Suspending it is a huge disservice to the constituents and will undermine the role and functions of MP,' Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the third quarter of financial year 2018-19, starting October 1 and ending on December 31, 2018, has been revised, the finance ministry said while notifying the rates.
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
Working hours cannot go beyond 48. Those who give a four-day week will have to provide three consecutive holidays after that.
Of the seven surveys presented under Modi govt, predictions of three were quite close to the actual GDP growth rate, one saw the base year change in between, but the last three were way off the mark.
Sandeep Shanbhag offers tips on post Budget taxation rates.
'Vajpayee used to consult the Opposition; Indira Gandhi used to consult the Opposition. Which khet ki mooli is Modi?'
Mohandas Pai took part in an hour-long chat on rediff.com
Indian economy about to take-off
To make possible discretionary spending including capex and that on welfare, the government decided to borrow more than planned in FY21 -- Rs 12.7 trillion.
She also accused the Union government of making "false claims" about crop insurance benefits to the farmers, even as the state government was bearing 80 per cent of the cost.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday presented the Union Budget for 2016-17.
'This is not without risk because extraordinary steps taken in exceptional times have the habit of becoming habits until the next crisis intervenes,' warns T N Ninan.
'The Modi regime is not willing to use its huge political capital for taking any economic policy measure that it fears might undermine that political strength, says A K Bhattacharya.
Incentives for industries have been rolled back and teachers have gone without salary for months as the state grapples with the after-effects of the ban
About 17 lakh investors, mostly in West Bengal, who have lost crores of rupees in the Saradha chit fund scam are fast losing hope. The scandal continues to roil West Bengal political circles with several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders being implicated and some arrested. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name has been dragged into the sordid mess. Indrani Roy presents a FAQ on what the scam is about and the main players behind it.
There cannot be a 'blanket ban' on media reporting on cases of rape and sexual abuse, it said.
Budget-makers in North Block are looking to maintain this fiscal status quo, in spite of tax revenues nowhere close to where the government wants and in spite of possible higher expenditure commitments.
Indians must remember that Pakistanis hate losing to India, at war or in cricket, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
She charged the government with profiteering at the expense of the people, saying its duty was to help them in times of crisis and not make profits out of their hard-earned money.
Indian state's generosity is not restricted to its poorest citizens.
Participating in the debate on the budget, leaders of parties like the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Left launched an all-out attack on the BJP government for allegedly selling off the country's assets and PSUs to big industrialists.
Any NGO critical of the government is unlikely to receive a green signal. The new amendment will leave NGOs vulnerable to harassment. It was the NGO sector that helped provide compassion and food to millions of people during the lockdown. The new Bill will render such cooperation and camaraderie impossible in future, observes Rashme Sehgal.
The government's programmes should be expected to generate some momentum, but the macro-economic numbers are not encouraging, observes T N Ninan.
The minister, in an eight-page open letter to farmers, said the Modi-government was committed to their welfare and stressed that the new legislations were aimed at benefitting small and marginal farmers.
'We all wanted a strong Centre with a decisive mandate from the people, to allow them to take bold decisions.'
EPF is the major vehicle for the long-term savings of organised private sector employees.
