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).
No increase in passenger and freight fares. Ticket reservations over mobile phones to be introduced soon.
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.
Passengers can now book a meal from the different menu options available as per the choice, for delivery at the opted station or train.
Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday announced a marginal hike in passenger fares.
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.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
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.
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'.
This Budget will be a litmus test of the government's resolve to ensure Make in India strategy works
Jaitley's Budget has the potential to change the face of Modi's Bharat
There would be a marginal 3% increase in freight rates.
Amid rising demand for coal freight and an aggressive push towards diversifying its freight basket, Indian Railways is planning to buy 100,000 more wagons over the next three fiscal years. The procurement plan will majorly comprise BOXN wagons, which are used to transport coal, said a senior Ministry of Railways official. Notably, the railways recently floated a sizeable tender worth Rs 35,000 crore of wagons, which had been in the pipeline since 2018. "Our Budget Estimates for freight increase were conservative.
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.
It would be interesting to see what the government proposes to investors.
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.
India Inc hailed the Railway Bugdet on Monday as promising and said measures, especially those on containers and freight services, will not only help the industry but benefit the general public as well.
Steel scrips have found reason to celebrate what with freight rates for steel being reduced in the Railway Budget announced on Wednesday.
The Budget loosened the reins on public spending to drive growth.
First Rajya Sabha approved the Rs 45 lakh-crore spending proposed in the Budget, followed by the nod to the Finance Bill that contains tax proposals.
A Trinamool Congress member on Wednesday used the debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha to attack BJP over Tuesday's incident in the House where members came to the verge of a clash.
The larger virtue of maintaining fiscal credibility should not be unduly diluted by quibbles on the fiscal math, says Sajjid Chinoy.
High fiscal deficits raise inflation which hits the lowest income and salaried classes.
Prime Minister Modi took over power in mid-May with high expectations that it would strengthen India's fragile macro economy and faltering investment and growth.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav will present his maiden Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that is widely expected to be pro-poor with no increase in second class suburban and passenger fares and freight charges.
On the lines of entertainment provided by airlines, Prasad may announce launching of this scheme beginning with Shatabdi trains, Rail Bhawan sources said.
'George Fernandes will always be remembered in history as the man who successfully called the railway strike.'
Modi, who addressed a public meeting in Hyderabad after laying foundation stone and inaugurating several development projects, also said the lack of cooperation from the state government is leading to delay in the completion of several central projects in Telangana.
Even as several trains have more than 200 waitlisted passengers every day, running some trains with so many vacant seats is a criminal waste of scarce resource.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
Jaitley said a 10 per cent tax long on capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh made from the sale of shares has been introduced but those made till Janaury 31 would be grandfathered. A 10 per cent tax on distributed income by equity oriented mutual funds has also been proposed in the budget.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the fiscal deficit slippage this financial year (2017-18) was largely statistical.
On August 15 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that the Indian Railways would launch 75 Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2023. Later, in her 2022 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years, which are expected to cost between Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. Those upbeat announcements come after a series of cancelled tenders, vigilance actions against officials and interdepartmental rivalry that delayed the addition of these iconic trains developed entirely indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
In Kerala, the use of black ranges from such convenience to strictures by community and religion to fashion and personal choice. One would have to be really insecure or too fond of the well settled life to see black solely as a badge of protest, points out Shyam G Menon.
Shinde announced that his government is committed to providing reservation to the Maratha community.
