It will be the second Budget of the Modi 3.0 government and eighth straight Budget for Nirmala Sitharaman, rare in Indian polity.
Politics is not on the radar of 18 to 21-year-old Indians, reveals Rama Bijapurkar.
What should investors do when markets hit an all-time high, and we have seen five new all-time highs in 2023? Dwaipayan Bose has some answers.
rediffGURU Hemant Bokil answers your personal finance queries
Some of the policy measures announced are expected to go a long way in removing current challenges on financing faced by businesses and also increasing economic activity, especially in areas of construction and manufacturing.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Thursday reported more than doubling of its net profit to Rs 1,894.8 crore in the three months ended March 2024 and announced the introduction of business class in select routes this year. The strong performance in the latest March quarter, which also marks six consecutive quarters of profitability, was fuelled by higher traffic, increased capacity and a favourable external environment.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
But this might not be the best time to enter these, as probability of further reductions in near future is low
Indian government bonds, particularly those of shorter maturity, strengthened sharply on Monday, as the collapse of the California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) prompted investors to rush to the safety of American debt, leading to a decline in US bond yields.
'The cost of financing the fiscal deficit will decrease, as new passive investors join in.'
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Analysts and economists have hailed the fiscal projections in the interim Budget, saying the lower fiscal deficit forecast shows that the government, even in an election year, is serious about fiscal consolidation and that the numbers look achievable. According to Devendra Kumar Pant, the chief economist at India Ratings, the two broad themes of the interim Budget are fiscal consolidation and stepping up focus on agriculture/rural to course correct, to some extent, the differential benefits of the ongoing economic growth that's tilted in favour of upper-income bracket/urban households. The projected fiscal deficit numbers for FY24 and FY25 suggest that the government is serious about achieving the fiscal consolidation path of 4.5 per cent fiscal deficit by FY26, and given the nominal GDP growth assumption and revenue buoyancy, the target appears plausible, Pant said in a note.
'When buying a term insurance plan, you need to visualise today what could happen to your family tomorrow in your absence,' suggests Mahavir Chopra, director-health, Coverfox.com.
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila (retd) answers your personal finance-related questions.
The contribution from asset management companies (AMCs) has surpassed the Rs 3,000 crore target for the creation of a Rs 33,000 crore backstop facility for debt mutual funds (MFs). The initial corpus for the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF) is nearly Rs 3,100 crore, according to multiple government officials and AMC executives. "The fund is operational now. "The required corpus has been raised by AMCs and the remaining part (Rs 30,000 crore) is in the form of a guarantee from the government which will be activated only in case of a credit event," explained D P Singh, joint CEO and deputy MD, SBI MF.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'Domestic investors are opening up to the idea of high-growth Internet companies as a pool of value creation.' 'They like the execution that they see with Zepto, and for us, that is the most important factor.'
The grandfathering clause and set-off provisions can be used to reduce the tax payable on sale of bonus shares, says Arvind A Rao.
Goals like buying a car or travelling abroad are short-term goals whereas purchasing a house or retirement planning are medium and long-term goals.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget as an "all-inclusive" document while the Opposition dismissed it as "anti-people" and mere rhetoric lacking the vision for creating jobs and taming inflation.
'Investors with higher risk appetite and longer horizon (more than one year) can invest in longer-duration funds like corporate bond funds, long-duration funds and gilt funds for maximum gain.'
The financial services sector, including NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs), have historically been the largest borrowers from MFs.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The government on Friday raised interest rates on most post office saving schemes by up to 0.7 per cent for the April-June 2023 quarter in line with the firming of interest rates in the economy. While the interest rates for popular PPF and savings deposits have been retained at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, there has been an increase between 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent in other saving schemes, a finance ministry statement said. The highest increase was in the interest rate of the National Savings Certificate (NSC), which will now attract 7.7 per cent, up from 7 per cent, for the April 1 to June 30, 2023 period.
Since MAAFs invest across multiple asset classes, they offer diversification.
'For me, if I want to buy a house to stay, I don't care about indexation because I don't want to sell that house.' 'The only thing that matters to me as a buyer is that the home price should be within my reach.' 'Any market, when speculators and investors go out, it will benefit the middle class.'
rediffGURU Dev Ashish answers your personal finance and mutual fund queries.
AirAsia's India plans may not be hit with the current crisis that the airline is going through
Why it is important for investors to select the right product according to their specific investment needs, risk appetite and investment tenure.
Lamborghini has sold 10,112 cars worldwide -- so India's 100 is certainly a big deal for them. But how big a deal is it for us to peg our consumption theories around, asks Rama Bijapurkar.
'Set aside around six months' monthly expenses for emergencies.' 'Keep this money in safe and liquid options, such as liquid funds and fixed deposits.'
Interest rates on bank FDs have started coming down and rates on other fixed-income products will also decline. Investors should lock in to instruments offering higher returns.
'Investors should restrict themselves to a few category schemes with high quality portfolios apart from overnight and liquid funds.'
Kharge's remarks came after Modi on Friday said the Congress stands "badly exposed" in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.
An NCD's credit rating will tell you whether risk possibility is high or low. Instruments rated below AA are regarded as high-risk.
rediffGURU Dev Ashish answers your personal finance and mutual fund queries
With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level.
The Indian economy will grow at around 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal, notwithstanding high crude oil prices and increased uncertainty due climate changes, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani said on Thursday. Virmani also asserted that the gross household savings ratio in India has consistently gone up. In an interview with PTI, he said: "My growth projection (of India's GDP growth) is 6.5 per cent plus minus 0.5 per cent... because my experience is that the fluctuations in global GDP more or less has balanced out for us, assuming normal changes."
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
