Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government led by Narendra Modi refers entrepreneurs as wealth creators as the profit earned by them through ethical ways help drive development goals. "Wealth creation in India has never been a taboo in India.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
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.
The minister, however, said she was not in favour of relaxing rules for Apple to sell refurbished second-hand phones in India
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu showered gifts on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when he met her in New Delhi on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday expressed anguish over not being allowed to learn Hindi in Tamil Nadu as a student and was even mocked on the streets for attempting to learn the language.
What he carried, straight from the heartland of India, was the refreshing smell of mitti (soil) that permeated every word he wrote, recalls Jasmeet Singh Gandhi.
Union Minister for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, too, slammed Rahul Gandhi and said his remarks on the judiciary were irresponsible.
Nirmala Sitharaman has designed the revenue mix in such a way that while Centre's share in taxes would grow a massive 25 per cent, states' share would grow a dismal 6 per cent.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced two bills in the Lok Sabha to levy excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products, and a new cess on manufacturing of pan masala, which will replace the GST compensation cess on such sin goods.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST rates will come down further and the work on rationalising tax rates and slabs has "almost reached a finale". She said that the revenue neutral rate (RNR) has come down from 15.8 per cent at the time of the launch of GST on July 1, 2017, to 11.4 per cent in 2023.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday presented the Economic Survey 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha. The Economic Survey is an annual document presented by the government ahead of the Union Budget to review the state of the economy.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Income Tax Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and urged Speaker Om Birla to refer it to a select committee of the House. Opposition members opposed the Bill at the introduction stage but the House passed a motion by voice vote for its introduction.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. Speaking at the Digital Payments Awards 2025 ceremony here, the minister credited fintechs with helping speed up financial inclusion and taking the payment system to even the far-flung areas of the country.
Advertising legend Piyush Pandey has passed away. He was 70. The news of Piyush Pandey's demise was shared by columnist Suhel Seth on X on Friday morning.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
On Friday, January 31, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2024-2025 in the Lok Sabha.
Google plans to invest $15 billion over the next five years in setting an artificial intelligence hub in Visakhapatnam, a senior official of the company said on Tuesday.
The finance ministry on Friday said it has proposed a two-slab GST rate structure to the Group of Ministers (GoM), along with special rates for select items.
So tell us, does Sitharaman's budget deserve cheers or boos?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allayed apprehension that privatisation of state-owned banks would hurt financial inclusion and national interest. She said the bank nationalisation done in 1969 has not yielded the desired result as far as financial inclusion was concerned.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
The proposed overhaul of popular H-1B visa regime may result in higher operational costs and shortage of skilled workers for the $110-billion Indian outsourcing industry.
With less than six months left for this financial year and poor response from applicants, launching the scheme this year is unlikely.
In a scathing attack on the Congress, Defence Minister Niramala Sitharaman on Monday alleged that the opposition party was "knowingly" misleading people over the Rafale jets' pricing.
In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
Replying to a question about women empowerment, Sitharaman insisted that patriarchy is a concept invented by the Left.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday clarified in the Lok Sabha that India's rising gold reserves, including those held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is not intended to replace any international currency.
This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Droupadi Murmu's assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps.
The Budget assumes significance as it comes on the back of lower-than-expected growth numbers during the second quarter and geopolitical uncertainty.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) adoption rate has risen to over 4.35 per cent, with more than 100,000 people out of 2.3 million eligible individuals opting for it, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman S Ramann said in an exclusive interview with Business Standard on Monday. He also said that six states had approached the PFRDA for help in adoption of the scheme.
This is the second Budget of the BJP-led NDA government in its third term in office.
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.
'The answer is not for me to give. The answer either way has to be heard from the industry itself. Tell us why not if you are not doing it; tell us if you are doing it -- why should this question remain unanswered?'
Delivering her sixth straight Budget, on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman left the taxpayers disappointed by not proposing any changes.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, broke away from the colonial tradition of carrying a Budget briefcase in July 2019, opting instead for a traditional 'bahi-khata', to carry the Union Budget papers.
Both life insurance and medical insurance premiums are subject to an 18 per cent GST rate.
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
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