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.
Biju Janata Dal termed the Budget, which was presented in Parliament by Rail Minister Sadananda Gowda, 'quite shocking' and 'illogical' as it complained that no emphasis had been made in it for the areas that generated more revenue from freight.
The Budget session of Parliament started Monday with the President's address.
Capital expenditure (capex) by 54 large central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and five departmental arms with an annual capex target of Rs 100 crore and above has reached around 42.5 per cent of their annual target of about Rs 7.33 trillion in this financial year so far, a senior official from the Ministry of Finance told Business Standard. "The Centre is pushing the big public undertakings in the infrastructure and refinery sector to achieve 90 per cent of their target by the end of the third quarter," he said. The capex by this group of CPSEs stands at around Rs 3.1 trillion in the April-August period so far.
The 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty ended flat at the mark of 29,008 and 8,767 respectively.
Economic growth, which we are taking for granted, slows for a completely different set of local or global factors and the Modi premium vanishes, observes Debashis Basu.
Things are looking up for engineering firms and Siemens is likely to be one of the leading beneficiaries. Apart from the generic revival in activity, which is expected to continue through the 2023-24 financial year (FY24), the Budget has a strong infrastructure thrust, which works in Siemens' favour. The company reported a standalone Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of Rs 550 crore (up 66 per cent year-on-year or YoY) in Q1FY23 (Siemens follows the October-September accounting year).
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'.
About 110 tonnes had been loaded additionally in the 55 goods wagons.
Better funding assistance & reforms needed for tourism-related development projects.
'On the tax front, most of the Budget proposals are sensible'.
A day after proposing fare hike in the rail budget which has threatened his job, a defiant Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday said he would repeat the same if asked to present the budget again.
The finance ministry has advocated an increase in auto and cooking fuel prices only after the Budget is tabled in Parliament on February 26 in an effort to avert possible united protests from the United Progressive Alliance's non-Congress allies and opposition parties ahead of a busy opening week of Parliament.
What is required from government is intellectual framework.
NDA leaders have decided not to allow transaction of any business in Parliament till 'tainted' Union ministers are dropped.
Can Jaitley's team hope to garner 17% more on personal income tax?
Internet facility, better and comfortable seating and catering arrangements will be provided in the specially designed coaches.
The Rail Budget will be presented in the first week of July and a balance between the 'commercial and human face' of the railways will be maintained, railway minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday. She also hinted that she would spend more time in her home state than in Delhi as the official work can also be carried out from West Bengal.
The year 2015 has seen eight accidents because of derailments.
Dinesh Trivedi continued to be Railway Minister on Thursday but only just with the United Progressive Alliance leadership appearing to have buckled under the Trinamool Congress demand to sack him, an action that has been temporarily delayed by the Union Budget to be presented on Friday.
The redevelopment of stations is good news for construction companies.
Mumbai locals will get a swanky look with state-of-the art coaches.
In August 2013, the Cabinet had given an in-principle nod to set up the authority and sent a draft note to the railways, to be discussed with the law ministry.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu faces a stiff dilemma on whether to raise fares and freight rates in his second Rail Budget.
Senior citizens, differently-abled, pregnant women and medically sick travellers will be given a preference
Indian Railways expect to more than double their surplus to Rs 1,975.98 crore (Rs 19.75 billion) in 2005-06 compared to the target set for this fiscal thanks to higher earnings and sustained growth in transport and economy.
After bumbling for years since 2014, the Modi government seems to believe that massive government expenditure will lead us to prosperity supported by 'seat-of-the-pants' decision-making, observes Debashis Basu.
Debroy is expected to have a role and responsibility similar to the erstwhile chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday assured the Delhi high court it will not arrest Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav this month, after which the politician agreed he will appear before the probe agency on March 25 for questioning in connection with a case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget presentation on Monday was in sharp contrast to his colleague Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's disorderly and oft-disrupted performance.
Indian Railways has to up investment to strengthen network just like China and Russia.
Inviting private sector in Indian Railways is a good idea.
The total salary and pension bill of the central government, which will also include Railway employees, will go up from estimated Rs 4.33 lakh crore to Rs 5.35 lakh crore during 2016-17
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu aligns priorities, funding and organisation to shape a transformation agenda.
Indian Railways is currently implementing a project that involves laying of a broad gauge line connecting Nangaldam to Talwara in Himachal Pradesh.
Bowing to pressure, the finance ministry may give industry relief from some of the new levies proposed in the Budget.
Amid railways eyeing higher revenue from travellers in air conditioned coaches, the number of passengers in AC First Class and AC 3 Tier registered a decline in 2013-14 as compared to the previous fiscal.
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