If this Budget was not packaged and sold as a Budget for the poor and for farmers, Narendra Modi would have lost the next election.
Following the Budget being announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, leaders across the political spectrum provided their views.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 17 Madhya Pradesh elections promising MSP for wheat at Rs 2,700 per quintal and paddy at Rs 3,100 and houses for beneficiaries of the state's flagship scheme 'Ladli Bahna'.
A K Bhattacharya lists three reasons why Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will most likely present a full Budget on February 1, 2019.
In his letter to Modi, Kharge hit out at the railway minister for seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, saying the law enforcement agency is meant to investigate crimes, not railway accidents.
Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said she was happy that the House was discussing the most important ambassadors of the country, the film fraternity.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed his regret that the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota was not provided under the Bill brought by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2010.
Modi said 'Vision 2020' will make the Railways free from constraints.
Goyal's move was criticised by the Opposition saying with general election months away, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had mandate only to present a vote on account and a Budget containing direct tax proposals.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced hiking the capital expenditure by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development for 2023-24 and will be at 3.3 per cent of the GDP. Presenting the Budget for 2023-24, she said the newly established infrastructure finance secretariat will assist in attracting more private investment. "Capital investment outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP.
'It is a balanced and prudent Budget that sets the foundation for future growth in the economy.'
Barclays said Indian equities have had a strong first half.
Barclays said Indian equities have had a strong first half.
'Despite being Bihar chief minister twice and an MLA for over three decades, he and my mother used to stay in a jhopri in our village.'
There were a lot of expectations from Narendra Modi government's maiden Budget. How did it fare?
The House was adjourned seconds after convening amid ruckus over various issues, and Rahul Gandhi left Parliament soon after that.
'There can be no dispute over the adverse impact such a policy will surely have on India's manufacturing competitiveness,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
The Budget is expected to make some key announcements, including relief package for farmers, poor and sops for the middle-class.
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.
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.
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
The Centre's programmes of maternity benefit and Child Protection Services also got a major boost in the Budget.
A piece of slightly negative news can cause a serious setback, warns Debashis Basu.
This ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country, sources added.
Religion matters. Aspirational India is still poor. India admires strong leaders. India values decency. Shreekant Sambrani highlights the reasons why the BJP pulled off improbable victories in the Hindi heartland.
Vasundhara Raje may have had her faults but she is an unconventional and brave leader who deserves better, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
Modi said he was "full of confidence" ahead of his "examination" by 125 crore people, a trait which he wanted students to emulate when they appear for their examinations.
In a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Dubey said that the former Congress president was expected to initiate the debate but did not do so last minute as "probably he got up late".
'If some measures are implemented quickly, they can help revive growth.'
Of all the Budgets presented over the years, Chidambaram under the leadership of Manmohan Singh is hailed for presenting the dream Budget in 1997.
Reaching out to the youth of the Kashmir Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spelled out initiatives for peace and development, and assured they will not inherit the problems faced by their parents and grandparents.
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.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
Total subsidy bill could come down to around Rs 2 trillion.
The BJP leadership believes these parties are flexing their muscles in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls for better seat-sharing deals.
Oil sank to the lowest level in a month after shedding all of its gains from the US-Iran clash as traders waited to see whether any further hostilities will disrupt exports from the East Asia.
Debates on changing the name of India to Bharat continue to spark a crisis of identity without answering moot questions that stare us in the face. Ramesh Menon asks a few of those questions that do not have easy answers.
'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'
The dates of general elections in 2019 and the presentation of the final Budget of the Modi government are so far removed from each other that Jaitley is not under any pressure to present a populist Budget. Instead, he could well unveil an array of schemes and proposals that he believes are necessary for the economy, even if a few of them could be unpopular, says A K Bhattacharya.
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