No major announcements or tariff changes for freight or passenger segment likely to be announced.
The Union government is projected to share about 32 per cent of central taxes with states during the financial year 2024-25 against the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of 41 per cent. The Revised Estimates (RE) for FY24, too, show a similar share of states in the central taxes at 32 per cent. In absolute terms, however, there has been an increase in the amount devolved to states compared to the Budget Estimates (BE) for FY24 at Rs 11 trillion.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved the Interim Railway Budget with a vote-on-account for Rs 26,000 crore for expenditure in the first four months of the next financial year.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) record surplus transfer to the government has raised hopes among bond traders that the government might reduce its gross borrowing for the current financial year (2024-25/FY25) by up to Rs 1 trillion. The RBI approved a dividend of Rs 2.11 trillion for the central government for 2023-24, marking an increase of roughly 141 per cent from 2022-23 (FY23). In addition, the contingency risk buffer has been raised to 6.5 per cent from the previous 6 per cent.
There is logic at work in most of what has been announced by Arun Jaitlley.
There hasn't been any dramatic moment in the first act (the Budget) but nobody would complain. It's par for the course as long as the figures don't change in the main Budget, which will be presented after general elections.
Presenting the Interim Railway Budget for 2014-15, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday announced that new trains will be introduced.
Will this be a 'political' Budget? Or, will the Budget be able to take the country back to growth path?
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) slim majority in Lok Sabha may delay more far-reaching economic and fiscal reforms that could impede progress on fiscal consolidation, Moody's Ratings said on Wednesday. NDA securing a majority in the general elections will give a historic third term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India. "We expect policy continuity, especially with regards to budgetary emphasis on infrastructure spending and boosting domestic manufacturing, to support robust economic growth.
The new government that presents the full Budget for 2024-2025 in July should be ready to restructure the way divestment is managed and implemented, proposes A K Bhattacharya.
FinMin does not expect tax or non-tax revenue to reach anywhere close to the targets set in the interim Budget. Sources say that the challenge before the new government will be either to accept the reduced projection and tailor the Budget accordingly or set a more ambitious target.
Converting what was supposed to be an interim budget or a vote on account into an almost full-fledged budget announcement in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal proposed an array of incentives for both middle-class and farmers, whose disenchantment was said to have cost the BJP dearly in recent assembly elections.
Presenting the Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also said Rs 35,000 crore has been given under the One Rank One Pension scheme in the last three years.
Railway Budget will be presented on July 8.
The outlay for defence sector almost remained unchanged compared to what was allocated in the interim budget on February 1.
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
Elections may be a few months away, but the government may get into election mode much earlier than that, predicts A K Bhattacharya.
The Budget refers to the 'Annual Financial Statement', laid before both the Houses of Parliament.
It has been another lost year for the Railways despite the intra-year measures to compensate for the rise in fuel costs.
The losses in state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have put the ruling party under pressure to announce swift measures aimed at addressing rural distress and lack of employment.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday slashed excise duty on cars, SUVs and two-wheelers, and capital goods and consumer durables.
The finance minister should attempt to quickly get back to a path of fiscal consolidation.
Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav presented the Railway Budget for 2004-2005 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 6, 2004).
After dropping a Rs 5,000 crore plan to fill parts of strategic oil storages, the government will lease out space in the underground rock caverns to domestic and international firms to store oil, a top executive said on Tuesday. India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd has built underground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store 5.33 million tonnes of oil that can be used in any emergency situation like supply disruption or war. UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has already hired half of the 2.5 million tonnes storage capacity at Padur and 1.5 million tonnes facility at Mangalore.
Stock markets will be driven by quarterly earnings by index majors, global trends and the RBI's interest rate decision this week after digesting news on budget proposals and US Federal policy outcome, say analysts. The trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude would also dictate trends in equities. "On the domestic front, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting is scheduled from February 6-8.
The push given to rooftop solar installation in the Interim Budget ties in with its high rate of adoption in Tier-II and -III cities of India. If original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automobile industry, government, and the solar sector are to be believed, in cities of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Kerala, 45-50 per cent of electric-vehicle (EV) users are employing rooftop power to charge their vehicles. This is compared to the national average of 25 per cent, say industry sources.
Concerned by GDP slowdown and unrealistic tax targets, the economists urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to implement long-term structural steps like land and labour reforms. Warning against any off-Budget financing the economists said the government should prepare a statement of intent for its social, rural and welfare sector expenditure.
"India's middle class, small traders and farmers are the lifelines of its economic growth. By catering to these ambitions #Budget2019 infuses hopes for millions of dreams."
Excise duty on small cars is cut to 8 per cent where as the tax on large- and mid-sized cars has been brought down to 20 per cent.
He could be doling out more funds to woo voters and tax cuts to support industry.
A large number of officials and support staff, who are directly associated with the Budget making and printing process, are now required to stay in the ministry and remain cut off from their families till the presentation of the Budget in the Lok Sabha.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
A total of Rs 101.29 crore has been allocated to Lokpal for 2019-20, according to the budget presented on Friday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
'Your decisions should not be driven by your view on the market, but by your objectives, risk appetite, and time horizon.'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the Lok Sabha secretary general on Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra's plea challenging her expulsion from the Lower House.
The first two days of the session will be devoted to swearing-in of the newly elected MPs while the Lok Sabha speaker will be elected on June 19.
Ahead of the new government assuming office later this month, the finance ministry has begun the Budget-making exercise to enable the incoming finance minister to present the full-fledged Budget for 2009-10.
By taking the mutual fund route, investors can take exposure to gilts with small amounts. Over a decade or more, returns from these funds tend to be sound.
The income tax department has garnered about Rs 4,600 crore in taxes from 56 lakh updated I-T returns filed by taxpayers in the past two years, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chief Nitin Gupta said. In a post budget interview to PTI TV, Gupta also said the I-T department has set up a demand management centre at Mysuru, Karnataka, which is focusing on disputed pending large tax demands of above Rs 1 crore. "We are continuously improving the services and creating litigation free environment. We have come out with a facility for updation of return.
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