The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato surged over 7 per cent. Maruti, ITC Hotels, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and IndusInd Bank were among the biggest gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
'Additionally, the significant employment multiplier will boost direct and indirect jobs of up to 1.1 million.'
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has said that he will pursue relief for the Enforcement Directorate and banks taking more than two times the debt he owed. His remarks came following a statement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament about recovery of over Rs 14,130 crore from his attached assets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
The real requirement for the finance minister's explanatory speech is to explain the measures taken in the Budget to influence inflation and growth not just through the announcement of a deficit goal, but more broadly through the impact on money supply, consumer demand, foreign trade and investment, explains Nitin Desai.
Kolkata-based artist and co-worker of the Missionaries of Charity, Ritu Singh, who has had a long association with the order, fondly remembers the gentle Sister Nirmala, who passed away on Tuesday, sharing anecdotes that truly uplift the spirit.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remarks on the rising prices of onions in the Lok Sabha.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on December 5. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is considered the frontrunner for the chief minister's post, with the BJP having recorded its best-ever electoral performance in the state. The Mahayuti coalition includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
'We are not incentivising the old tax scheme. These taxpayers will also shift to the new regime after comparison.'
The government may save over Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) on capital and revenue expenditure allocated towards new schemes in the FY25 Budget that are yet to be implemented.
'It took us 75 years to reach a per capita income of $2,730.' 'According to IMF projections, it will take only five years to add another $2,000.'
'Nearly 10 million people will benefit from the increase in the rebate limit for those earning up to Rs 12 lakh.' 'We expect all that money will come back into the economy in either savings, consumption, or investments.'
"The new structure will substantially reduce taxes on the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment," Sitharaman said presenting what was dubbed as 'reformist' budget for the next fiscal in Lok Sabha.
Implications for capital gains, wealth taxes, and investment strategies require careful consideration, notes Anil Rego, founder and CEO, RightHorizons.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
'Once filed, it cannot be revised or rectified.'
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said people are finding current interest rates "very stressful" and urged banks to make them affordable. Speaking at an event organised by State Bank of India, the finance minister said that at present, India requires industry to ramp up and invest in new facilities, and added that lowering lending rates can help achieve the "Viksit Bharat" aspiration.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved the full Budget for 2024-25, sources said.
Jitendra Chouksey from Pune tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar what he would like to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget.
While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide a strong boost to consumer sentiment and spending, points out Rajani Sinha.
Expressing condolences on the demise of the doyen of Indian industry and Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said he has left an indelible mark on society. "Saddened by the passing away of Shri Ratan Tata, a leader par excellence, visionary industrialist, and philanthropist whose contributions have left an indelible mark on our society," Sitharaman said in a post on X.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best during the last six years even as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the opportunity to head the monetary authority of the country. Das, in a series of posts on X, on his last day of his six-year term as RBI Governor, also thanked the Finance Minister, various stakeholders and his colleagues at the central bank.
The need for a manufacturing policy, reining in food inflation and raising investment in the country were among key suggestions given by economists who met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior ministry officials in the first round of pre-Budget consultations on Friday.
Sitharaman, who became the first full-time woman defence minister in the first tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government -- will also head the Corporate Affairs ministry in the new cabinet.
The Income Tax department on Monday invited public inputs for review of the six-decade old I-T Act with regard to simplification of language, litigation reduction, compliance reduction, and obsolete provisions. Pursuant to the Budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had set up an internal committee to oversee the review and make the Act concise, clear, and easy to understand, which will reduce disputes, litigation, and provide greater tax certainty to taxpayers.
Following the lacklustre growth numbers in the second quarter (Q2FY25), economists believe the upcoming Union Budget for 2025-26 should focus on reforms that will stimulate consumption, manufacturing and spur employment. India's growth unexpectedly slowed to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, due to low capital formation, weak consumption, besides adverse weather impact.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com attends Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presser in Chennai to tom-tom the government's achievements in its first 100 days in office.
For promoting women-led development, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Budget carries an allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.
Sree Annapoorna Sree Gowri Shankar is a familiar name across the country. With over 1,500 employees, it is renowned for its filter coffee and Keerai Vada throughout Tamil Nadu. Its operating revenues range from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore.
Using the debt-to-GDP ratio as a fiscal anchor aligns with efforts to promote fiscal transparency through proper disclosure of off-budget borrowings.
The government on Tuesday announced withdrawal of the 2 per cent equalisation levy or digital tax on overseas e-commerce supplies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The finance minister could well be on her way to setting a record of achieving the biggest single-year reduction in the government's fiscal deficit, explains A K Bhattacharya.
A heated political battle erupted Tuesday over Arvind Kejriwal's claim of the Haryana government 'poisoning' the Yamuna water, with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he cannot be forgiven for his 'dangerous statement', while the Aam Aadmi Party chief asserted he won't let the people of Delhi die due to the dirty, poisonous water.
Devendra Fadnavis, who is set to become the chief minister of Maharashtra for a third time, was a sensitive, polite and helpful student who never boasted about his family's political background, recalls one of his school teachers. Savitri Subramanium, who was Fadnavis' teacher in Saraswati Vidyalaya from Class 8 to 10, says he was an average student but studied well. She remembers him as a polite and simple student who never boasted about his family's political background even though his father Gangadharrao Fadnavis was an MLC at the time. Subramanium said she never thought that Fadnavis would become a good orator as he never came on stage or performed on stage during the school days. She added that he may have inculcated these qualities during his participation in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student activist.
The Budget for 2024-25 should focus on employment generation, besides promoting the manufacturing sector, economists attending the pre-Budget consultation meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Wednesday said. The meeting was attended by National Co-convenor Swadeshi Jagran Manch Ashwani Mahajan, Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID) Nagesh Kumar, and TCA Anant among others.
