Total subsidy bill could come down to around Rs 2 trillion.
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed on increasing credit flow to businesses to meet the needs of a fast reflating economy and said financial products will have to be tailor-made for fintech and startups. He said that although the government's endeavour is to promote the private sector, public sector presence in banking and insurance is also required.
India's sportsperson could not perform well in the past due to nepotism and corruption but his government cleaned up the system, he said.
Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bonds scheme and termed it an important step in ensuring transparency in electoral funding.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for reforming the World Health Organisation and streamlining its approval process for vaccines and therapeutics, and favoured making flexible the WTO's rules relating to trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
Here's what could be ahead for India: A $10-trillion economy by 2030-32, a Sensex at 1,00,000 by 2025, monthly GST revenues at Rs 2 trillion by 2024-25, 100 new unicorns by 2025, and poverty below 5 per cent by 2030, predicts R Jagannathan.
The Budget is expected to make some key announcements, including relief package for farmers, poor and sops for the middle-class.
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.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
The BJP leadership believes these parties are flexing their muscles in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls for better seat-sharing deals.
'What is most distressing is that the revival of the economy, creation of more employment, and reducing poverty are not on the agenda of the government at all.' 'We are an economy on the verge of a demographic disaster.'
The Centre's programmes of maternity benefit and Child Protection Services also got a major boost in the Budget.
Opposition parties have slammed the decision to change the long-standing practice, alleging it was being done with an eye on the assembly polls in five states.
Kejriwal's remarks came after the Delhi State Election Commission sought the advice of legal experts on if it can still hold polls for the three municipal corporations here following a communication from the Centre for their unification.
Customs and excise duty rates have been amended mainly to promote Make in India.
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.
Yechury said the aim should be how to protect our economy from slowdown
'The BJP has everything to lose if it performs poorly in UP. It dreads a repeat of Bihar,' says Rajeev Sharma.
President Murmu reached the new Parliament building in a six-horse buggy accompanied by the Presidential Bodyguards riding horses.
Addressing the Grah Pravesham programme, to hand over new houses to their owners, via video conferencing, Modi said his government has given topmost priority to providing houses to the poor people.
Railway Budget will be presented on July 8.
'If some measures are implemented quickly, they can help revive growth.'
Special status to Yoga by categorising its promotion as charitable.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's decision to allow Singh to speak on the Bharat Ratna honour to Charan Singh drew sharp protest from the Congress, leading to a heated exchange of words between the opposition and the treasury benches.
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
'There can be no dispute over the adverse impact such a policy will surely have on India's manufacturing competitiveness,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
Sitharaman has held pre-budget meetings to elicit views of various sections including representatives of chambers of commerce and industry.
'Modi is now the biggest messiah of OBCs and Dalits as V P Singh once was.'
'The estimated expenditure is expected to be more than double the Rs 60,000 crore spent in 2019'
In spite of Budget's rural focus, the government has consistently stumbled in agriculture, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Seven years after Modi took office, merchandise exports were lower in 2020-2021 than when he had taken over from Manmohan Singh, points out Aakar Patel.
BJP's reversals in rural Gujarat has prompted many policy watchers to predict that the Budget would have incentives for the agriculture sector and the rural economy.
Two full-fledged semiconductor fabrication plants are going to come up in India very soon entailing multi-billion dollar investment besides several chip assembly and packaging units, Minister of Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. In an interview with PTI, the minister confirmed that the two projects include a $8 billion proposal submitted by Israel-based Tower Semiconductors and the other from Tata Group. "I am happy to share this with you and you are probably the first one I'm sharing this with.
The early tabling of the financial Budget ends a 70-year tradition.
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.
The home minister said the northeast and the Left-wing extremism-affected areas in the country are tribal-dominated regions and security is a precursor to development there.
Senior bureaucrats say the government has planned a 'feel-good' Budget after the 'pain' of demonetisation.
The aid to Nepal increased substantially from Rs 650 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,050 crore in 2019-20.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Himachal Pradesh is making efforts to mollify party leaders who are disgruntled over distribution of tickets to six Congress rebels for the assembly bypolls, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Tuesday.
