Finance minister attempts a clean-up job, keeps projected expenditure growth low.
RSS-aligned Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on Monday expressed disappointment over the government's budget proposals with regard to divestment and foreign direct investment, especially in the insurance sector. The BMS, however, lauded the government for its current efforts on the massive vaccination programme, a special scheme for tea workers in West Bengal and Assam, labour oriented push on infrastructure projects in construction sector and development of five major fishing harbours viz. Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Petuaghat as hubs for economic activities etc. On other Budget proposals, it said in a statement that "mixing the beautiful concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat with FDI and disinvestment in the Union Budget is disappointing for the employees".
The capital outlay to cover the modernisation programmes have got a hike of 10.05 per cent.
The Budget may see new rural schemes and stepping up of funding towards existing programmes like MNREGA, rural housing, irrigation projects and crop insurance.
Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Friday urged the Centre to provide more fiscal powers to the states as well as increase the shareable proportion of the GST collections. Besides, he asked the central government to expedite approval for the semi-high-speed railway line or the Silverline project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. The project is mired in controversies.
Indian Railways has managed to improve its freight volumes each year since the pandemic. However, its inability to add new industries and goods will pose a challenge for the national transporter in the wake of it setting an ambitious target of 45 per cent share in the national logistics by 2030. According to officials, the ministry of railways achieved 114 million tonnes (mt) of miscellaneous goods (classified as balance and other goods) in 2023-24.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal did not hike passenger fares.
India has of the one world's largest railway networks.
Indian companies are expecting generous tax incentives from the Union Budget that will help them invest more in building capacities in the coming years. While the productivity-linked incentives (PLIs) are a good start to spur local manufacturing, the government should also take steps to boost consumer demand, which is not showing encouraging signs, say chief executive officers (CEOs) of India Inc. Statistics released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that Indian banks had sanctioned loans worth Rs 75,558 crore in 220 new projects - a record low - in the pandemic-hit financial year ending March 2021. This is not showing any signs of a significant pick up in the last nine months of the ongoing financial year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide election in 2014 raised hopes he would draw a line under India's socialist past, cut welfare and reduce the government's role in business.
Spotlight likely on cement, metals, road cos
Zetwerk Manufacturing, a $3.1 billion company in the contract manufacturing space, is planning to come up with an initial public offering within the next 15-24 months, a top company executive said on Saturday. The Bengaluru-based company aims to raise at least $500 million, targeting a valuation of around $5 billion.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai also finds a mention among these architectural marvels.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
'On the tax front, most of the Budget proposals are sensible'.
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2010-11 in Parliament, the minister said outpatient departments and diagnostic centres will be set up in several stations across India.
They said that massive public investment in infrastructure, social sectors and agriculture would generate employment and the Union Budget should give it a priority and allocate necessary funds for this.
The initiatives intended to benefit the common man include e-ticketing, catering on demand, bio-toilets, food for infants, better stations.
Hussain said the new government had inherited an "empty treasury" while the prices of oil were shooting up.
The Budget for 2018-19 has at least five takeaways that are yet to receive adequate attention, says A K Bhattacharya.
A team of Trinamool Congress Members of Parliament met Railway Minister and party colleague Dinesh Trivedi soon after he presented the Railway Budget in which he proposed to hike fares across all classes.
This Budget will be a litmus test of the government's resolve to ensure Make in India strategy works
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
Honda dealers stopped taking orders for Jazz. The company will, however, deliver pending orders.
Presenting the Interim Railway Budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha on Friday, he informed that the number of consequential accidents came down to 194 in 2007-08, as against 325 in 2003-04.
The rupee had lost 23 paise to end at 54.09 in Tuesday's trade due to month-end dollar demand.
The strike was supposed to affect about 23 million passengers.
Overall, the populist/ electoral elements in the budget have remained measured with the finance minister being clearly aware of a higher-than-expected rise in oil prices, less-than-planned tax revenues and the wider deficit for FY 17/18, constraining his margin of maneuver, says Claude Claude Smadja.
PMO officials said while they had got a request from Trinamool Congress MPs for a meeting with the PM, no letter recommending Trivedi's replacement had been received till late Wednesday night.
Cement may get costlier by Rs 7 per bag of 50 kg because of the hike in freight rate by 5.79 per cent in Railway Budget today, but manufacturers of the building material said a final call will be taken after the Union Budget.
This finance minister has come of age. That's not condescension. It is a praise, says Omkar Goswami.
As Indian Railways looks to avert the crisis like last summer, preparations are under way to stock up coal at thermal power plants. Much like February and March, thermal coal movement in April was 5 per cent higher than the previous year, data from the Ministry of Railways shows. While India prepares for a hot summer this year, 48.23 million tonnes (mt) of coal for thermal power plants was ferried by Indian Railways in April. The national transporter also moved about 500,000 tonnes--18.4 per cent-- more imported coal for power plants this April than it had done last year.
Presenting the Interim Railway Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the minister said that Palej, Panoli, Kosamba and Kim in the districts of Surat and Bharuch in Gujarat, Roshanara Garden and Sultanpuri in Delhi, Shastrinagar and Model Town of Ludhiana in Punjab and Vasarpadi in Tamil Nadu will be considered on priority for construction of ROBs and RUBs.
Stepped up public expenditure must be accompanied by focused policies, advises Vinayak Chatterjee.
During a five-hour meeting with his entire Council of Ministers, Modi specifically asked for faster and better communication of the government's decisions.
'We need to look beyond the current approach'.
The Indian Railways proposes to introduce 58 new trains which includes five Jansadharan Trains, five Premium Trains, six AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains.
'The economy has to become the government's No. 1 priority, which it is not at the moment,' says T N Ninan.
Can Jaitley's team hope to garner 17% more on personal income tax?
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances