Rijiju, however, did not specify when and who will give notice for privilege motion against Gandhi. It is believed that someone from treasury benches in the Lok Sabha will do so.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trading session on Tuesday after India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from current 25 per cent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the Union Budget as a "people's budget" that fulfills the dreams of every Indian and said that it is a "force-multiplier" that will boost consumption, investment and growth. He highlighted a host of measures for different sectors, including welfare initiatives for gig workers, tax relief for the middle class, and support for the manufacturing sector.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended 2.5 per cent higher on Tuesday after India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent.
'Based on the joint statement, a formal agreement will be drafted, which may take a month or month-and-a-half to finalise. We aim to sign the formal agreement by mid-March.'
The opposition has submitted a notice for a resolution to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, citing disallowed speeches and MP suspensions.
This is the second Budget of the BJP-led NDA government in its third term in office.
India and Canada are negotiating a long-term uranium supply agreement worth $2.8 billion. They are also exploring expanded civil nuclear cooperation after the passage of the SHANTI Bill.
8 Member of Parliaments were suspended from Lok Sabha for tearing & throwing papers at the Chair till April 2. Uproar started when Rahul Gandhi was barred from citing former Army Chief, General M M Naravane's memoir on 2020 India-China clash. Rediff.com brings you the details of these MPs who were suspended.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of late NCP leader Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as Maharashtra's first woman deputy Chief Minister after being elected as the leader of the NCP legislature wing.
Learning from East Asia, India must reform its district administration with performance, accountability, and vision to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat, points out Deepak Mishra.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
'Some success has been achieved in raising the costs of terrorism for Pakistan.'
The Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2025-26, up from 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of better performance of manufacturing and services sectors, as per the government data released on Wednesday.
This comes a day after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which replaces the MGNREGA and has a provision for 125 days of wage employment for rural workers.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will remain in the NDA, while regretting short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine. He lauded Modi for the Union government's measures for the state and highlighted recent state government initiatives.
Real GDP growth surprised on the upside in 2025, but weaker nominal growth, trade uncertainty, and soft demand signal a bumpier road ahead.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the RJD's past education policies in Bihar, attributing migration to the state's poor education system under their rule. He praised the current NDA government's efforts to improve education and development, launching several initiatives focused on youth skilling and education in the state.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
This has been our history of good governance: Things that were difficult to do and required planning and implementation were first taken up and then abandoned, notes Aaakr Patel.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor addresses concerns about his recent statements, asserting his alignment with the party's principles and goals.
Ahead of the upcoming budget, eminent economists during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged the government to take steps to accelerate economic growth and improve infrastructure, sources said. The meeting was organised by the NITI Aayog on Thursday to elicit views and suggestions of economists for the first budget of the Modi 3.0 government. "Earlier today, interacted with eminent economists and heard their insightful views on issues pertaining to furthering growth," Modi said in a post on X.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
Shukla said the two missions presented a major opportunity for the country and the sustained commitment of the government to the space sector, despite setbacks such as the Chandrayaan-II mission was laudable.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which aims to replace MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
With this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent a strong message to ally, Janata Dal-United President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, that their partnership remains intact and that they will be formidable partners at the hustings.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes the government's proposed bill to replace MGNREGA, arguing it weakens the guaranteed 100 days of employment for the poor and centralizes control over the scheme.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
'MGNREGA was about a guaranteed right to work.' 'The new law does not guarantee employment at all.' 'It removes everything that made MGNREGA a legal guarantee.'
Construction major L&T is gearing up to expand its footprint in the global nuclear supply chain, a senior company official has said, while calling for amendments to key legislations on the domestic front to pave the way for the entry of private players and foreign capital necessary for capacity enhancement.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that raising the FDI limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector will help attract more capital, improve competition and increase insurance penetration by making policies more affordable.
India's 2030 Commonwealth Games bid is set to be formally approved on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Sport's general assembly in Glasgow.
'...not merely in managing fiscal mathematics, but in demonstrating conservatism and prudence within that framework.' 'Looking forward, we believe sufficient growth drivers exist -- ranging from government reforms to revival in consumption to favourable monsoons. Numerous factors support the Indian economy.'
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the Union Budget 2025-26 continues efforts to accelerate growth and provide inclusive development.
A lot of the 100-day programmes would be 'milestone-based' with timelines for achieving targets for social-sector schemes.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
