The Union health ministry has been allocated Rs 99,858.56 crore in the Budget 2025-2026, an around 11 per cent hike over the Rs 89,974.12 crore in the budget (revised estimates) of 2024-2025 with the government announcing setting up daycare cancer centres at all district hospitals over the next three years.
GST Reform 2.0, which trims tax slabs from four to two, signals a push for demand-led growth, and together with recent income tax cuts, sets the stage for sustained economic growth, experts said. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on September 3 approved an overhaul of the indirect tax regime by taxing essentials at 5 per cent and other goods at 18 per cent. A new 40 per cent tax will be applicable on luxury and sin items.
The total allocation to the defence sector is 12.9 per cent of the total budget of the government of India for the financial year 2024-25.
The net indirect tax collection in 2020-21 grew 12.3 per cent annually to Rs 10.71 lakh crore, thereby exceeding the target set in revised estimates, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The mop-up through indirect taxes, which include GST, Customs and excise duties, was Rs 9.54 lakh crore in 2019-20. In the Revised Estimates (RE) for 2020-21, the target was set at Rs 9.89 lakh crore. Net collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) stood at Rs 5.48 lakh crore during 2020-21, an eight per cent drop compared to Rs 5.99 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year.
Infosys was the only large-cap IT player to report sequential constant currency (cc) revenue growth for the June quarter (1 per cent ), which was ahead of analyst expectations, but the company's sharp downward revision in its growth guidance took most brokerages by surprise. In line with the cut in its FY24 revenue guidance (cc) to 1-3.5 per cent, brokerages have unanimously reduced FY24 EPS estimates for the company in the range of 2-4 per cent, though the Street is likely fearing even further downside, they say. Global brokerages Macquarie and Nomura downgraded Infosys to underperform and reduce ratings, respectively, with the latter cutting the target price to Rs 1210 from Rs 1260.
Indian information technology (IT) service providers are expected to deliver low single-digit sequential growth in the first quarter (April-June) of 2025-26 (FY26), even as macroeconomic uncertainties continue to persist due to the volatile geopolitical environment.
India's net direct tax collections contracted 1.3 per cent to about 5.63 trillion as of July 10, with corporate taxes dropping 3.7 per cent and non-corporate taxes recording a fractional 0.04 per cent contraction, Income Tax department data released on Friday revealed.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday proposed to borrow Rs 14.13 lakh crore by issuing dated securities to meet revenue shortfall in the next financial year starting on April 1.
Merchandise exports to the US jumped 23.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $8.3 billion in June, even as India's overall outbound shipments witnessed contraction during the month, according to the data released by the commerce department on Tuesday. The increase in outbound shipments to the US was largely driven by the rush among exporters to utilise America's pause on its plans to impose country-specific reciprocal tariffs.
'If tech giants like Amazon, Google, Apple and Meta enter the IPL broadcasting arena, it could further revolutionize sports media in India.'
China is set to build a rail link connecting Xinjiang province with Tibet, part of which will run near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
RBI projects GDP growth in FY16 at 7.8 per cent, 30 bps higher than FY15. However, this comes with a downward bias.
Several executives argue that UPI has the potential to grow tenfold, but warn that the absence of a monetisation model risks stagnating the real-time payments system, which has been recording all-time-high transaction volumes every year.
The ministry of minority affairs informed the Lok Sabha that in 2022-2023, it had been allotted Rs 5,020.5 crore (Rs 50.20 billion); in the Revised Estimates, it had got Rs 2,612.66 crore (Rs 26.12 billion); and had spent, until the end of March this year, Rs 712.5 crore (Rs 7,12 billion).
'From tariff tensions and border skirmishes to unrest in West Asia.' 'The worst may be behind us. But any further upmove will now have to come from earnings.'
India's industrial production growth slowed to 2.7 per cent in April 2025 due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors, according to official data released on Wednesday.
The Union government is projected to share about 32 per cent of central taxes with states during the financial year 2024-25 against the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of 41 per cent. The Revised Estimates (RE) for FY24, too, show a similar share of states in the central taxes at 32 per cent. In absolute terms, however, there has been an increase in the amount devolved to states compared to the Budget Estimates (BE) for FY24 at Rs 11 trillion.
India's industrial production growth slowed to a nine-month low of 1.2 per cent in May 2025 due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors caused by the early onset of monsoon, according to official data released on mMonday. The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 6.3 per cent in May 2024.
India's consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation rate is likely to have cooled further in June, thus remaining below the 4 per cent target of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a fifth consecutive month, giving the central bank wiggle room to focus on growth. Economists reckon that the decline is on account of easing prices in various categories of goods, especially food items, and a favourable base effect.
Rapido - one of the largest players in the bike taxi commute business - says the new guidelines released by the central government on July 1, permitting "non-transport motorcycles" for aggregators, no longer give states the option of rejecting the revised policy.
'Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way.'
India's real GDP growth in FY26 will slide further to 6.2 per cent in FY26 from 6.5 per cent in FY25, a Japanese brokerage said on Monday. In a research report, Nomura said there is a "divergence" between the growth in GST collections and across other high-frequency growth indicators like auto sales and bank credit growth.
Net direct tax collection in the eight months of the current fiscal touched 58.34 per cent of Budget Estimates (BE) at Rs 10.64 lakh crore. The net tax collection for April-November stood at Rs 10.64 lakh crore, which is 23.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year, the ministry of finance said.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Consumer Products, has said in the company's annual report for FY25 that India remains one of the bright spots of economic growth amid a volatile global environment. He said India's long-term growth was underpinned by strong demographic and economic fundamentals as well as structural reforms.
Fiscal deficit would be brought down to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. She also said that tax receipts for the next fiscal are budgeted at Rs 23.3 lakh crore and states would be allowed 3.5 per cent of GDP as fiscal deficit. To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, net market borrowing from dated securities is estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore, Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget for 2023-24 in the Lok Sabha.
In a significant policy shift aimed at boosting agri-productivity and rural prosperity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.
Post-election capital expenditure (capex) has been weak at 2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in M9FY25. The FY25 revised estimates (RE) indicate 7 per cent growth in FY25 against FY24, implying 21 per cent Y-o-Y growth in Q4FY25 government capex.
India's macroeconomic health is in a "relative goldilocks situation", and although the risk of higher landed oil prices, due to insurance cost surges and closure of choke points due to the brief Israel-Iran war, has receded, it is "too soon to sound the 'all clear' for the rest of the year", the Finance Ministry said on Friday.
The stock of India's largest listed pure-play retail company, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has slipped over 10 per cent from its monthly highs. A weak operational performance in the fourth quarter (January-March) of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) and muted near-term outlook due to intense competitive pressures and higher costs could lead to downward momentum on the stock. While the stock dipped by 3.44 per cent in early trade on Monday, it recovered a bit to close 1.07 per cent lower at 4,017.
When Nirmala Sitharaman announced her new privatisation policy, there were serious doubts if the move had the BJP's full political backing. All those doubts were dispelled when her initiatives were endorsed by Modi in Parliament, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Indian stock markets have experienced some ups and downs in the first half of 2025. However, both the Nifty 50 and Sensex saw steady gains, supported by a healthy economy and better corporate earnings. In this article, we will look at the detailed performance of these key indices and explore the sectors that drove the market rally.
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
'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.'
Mumbai, which adds 37 per cent to the total direct tax mop-up, has reported tax collection of Rs 4.93 trillion so far, against the full-year target of Rs 5.35 trillion.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday marginally revised upwards the economic growth projection for the current fiscal to 6.5 per cent, from its earlier estimate of 6.4 per cent. Unveiling the first bi-monthly monetary policy of 2023-24 fiscal, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the GDP growth in the first quarter of 2023-24 is expected at 7.8 per cent.
At the same time, Rs 53.32 crore is for the President's Secretariat and Rs 36.22 crore for the expenditure on the President's household establishment, including staff salaries, which includes discretionary grants of the President.
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced an ambitious plan to develop the country's top 50 tourist destinations in a "challenge mode", with the aim of boosting employment-led growth and attracting international visitors. The Ministry of Tourism has received a significant budget increase for 2025-2026, with a focus on enhancing tourism infrastructure, promoting domestic and international travel, and ensuring the safety of tourists, particularly women. The government plans to promote homestays, improve connectivity to tourist spots, and provide performance-linked incentives to states that demonstrate effective destination management. The budget also includes investments in public enterprises, skill development programs, and initiatives to promote medical tourism and spiritual tourism.
10 largecaps stocks which stand to gain from the Budget.
India's economic growth accelerated to 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2023-24, mainly due to good performance by the manufacturing, mining & quarrying and construction sectors. The Indian economy recorded a growth of 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of this fiscal (October-December 2023), according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday.
The fiscal deficit in the first three months of current fiscal stood at Rs 2.86 lakh crore or 51.6 per cent of Budget estimates for 2015-16.
