The Indian Rice Exporter's Federation (IREF) on Tuesday urged the government to provide tax incentives, interest subvention and freight support in the upcoming 2026 Budget to strengthen the sector's competitiveness while addressing sustainability concerns.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India's first maritime lender, state-owned Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL) hit the ground running with a Rs 4,300 crore disbursement announcement last Tuesday, within months of being registered as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in June 2025.
To ensure a glitch-free rollout of the next-generation GST with reduced rates and lesser slabs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired three separate meetings to assess GSTN's preparedness and the time it would take to implement technological changes required in the software systems.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks approval for a gross additional expenditure of Rs 1.32 lakh crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students on a cruise ship on the Brahmaputra River during a 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme on the second day of his Assam visit.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to provide tax exemptions to subscribers of the Unified Pension Scheme.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said he will take it up with the government and asked a junior minister to request the presence of a Cabinet minister in the House.
While 28,141 applicants accepted internship in round one, in the second phase this was down to 24,638.
To digitise Customs processes, the Union finance ministry is planning to integrate the Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE), Risk Management System (RMS), and Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System (ICES) into a single unified national Customs platform, according to government sources.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government cannot restrain retailers from trading in Futures and Options (F&O) but will definitely create awareness regarding the risks involved in putting money in such instruments.
Nearly 96 per cent of new applicants will benefit from this simplified approval route.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. Speaking at the Digital Payments Awards 2025 ceremony here, the minister credited fintechs with helping speed up financial inclusion and taking the payment system to even the far-flung areas of the country.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced two bills in the Lok Sabha to levy excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products, and a new cess on manufacturing of pan masala, which will replace the GST compensation cess on such sin goods.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government led by Narendra Modi refers entrepreneurs as wealth creators as the profit earned by them through ethical ways help drive development goals. "Wealth creation in India has never been a taboo in India.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
'...not merely in managing fiscal mathematics, but in demonstrating conservatism and prudence within that framework.' 'Looking forward, we believe sufficient growth drivers exist -- ranging from government reforms to revival in consumption to favourable monsoons. Numerous factors support the Indian economy.'
Google plans to invest $15 billion over the next five years in setting an artificial intelligence hub in Visakhapatnam, a senior official of the company said on Tuesday.
With less than six months left for this financial year and poor response from applicants, launching the scheme this year is unlikely.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST rates will come down further and the work on rationalising tax rates and slabs has "almost reached a finale". She said that the revenue neutral rate (RNR) has come down from 15.8 per cent at the time of the launch of GST on July 1, 2017, to 11.4 per cent in 2023.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allayed apprehension that privatisation of state-owned banks would hurt financial inclusion and national interest. She said the bank nationalisation done in 1969 has not yielded the desired result as far as financial inclusion was concerned.
What he carried, straight from the heartland of India, was the refreshing smell of mitti (soil) that permeated every word he wrote, recalls Jasmeet Singh Gandhi.
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.
Advertising legend Piyush Pandey has passed away. He was 70. The news of Piyush Pandey's demise was shared by columnist Suhel Seth on X on Friday morning.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is cutting short her official visit to the US and Peru and will depart for India at the earliest, following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Sitharaman arrived in the US on Sunday for a six-day visit, after which she was scheduled to travel to Peru for a five-day trip. The decision comes after 26 people were killed in a terror attack near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and two other powerful trustees considered close to him blocked the reappointment of late Ratan Tata's close associate and businessman Mehli Mistry as trustee, deepening the rift at the philanthropic arm that controls the holding company of Tata Group, people familiar with the matter said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth budget on Saturday.
'Ek baar aap GST dekh lo!' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime. And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.
'The answer is not for me to give. The answer either way has to be heard from the industry itself. Tell us why not if you are not doing it; tell us if you are doing it -- why should this question remain unanswered?'
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) adoption rate has risen to over 4.35 per cent, with more than 100,000 people out of 2.3 million eligible individuals opting for it, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman S Ramann said in an exclusive interview with Business Standard on Monday. He also said that six states had approached the PFRDA for help in adoption of the scheme.
After months of discord, the Tata Trusts appear to be moving towards reconciliation, with recent reappointments and open exchanges signalling a return to cooperative governance.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday clarified in the Lok Sabha that India's rising gold reserves, including those held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is not intended to replace any international currency.
'The informal sector can grow at a 100 per cent rate -- we have to plan big.'
Victory wrested from regime that only listens when forced, the TMC said on GST exemption on insurance.
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