The first leg of the Budget session concluded with debates over the India-US trade deal and a former army chief's memoir, and will reassemble on March 9.
The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
In a few hours the Government of India will table the Economic Survey for fiscal 2003-04. Economic Survey is always presented a day before the Annual Budget is announce by the Finance Minister. Take the Rediff Business Quiz and find out how much you
The 2026-27 Budget, seeking to harmonise the government's imperative to grant certainty while ensuring a rational tax policy, had several notable announcements to usher in halcyon days, says Mukesh Butani.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Senior New Delhi-based journalist R Rajagopalan, who has been closely following the Union Budget preparations since 1977, lifts the veil off India's most secretive operation.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the National Democratic Alliance government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.
The Union Budget will be presented on February 29.
Will Nitish Kumar file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha on Thursday morning?
The Lok Sabha Secretariat defends Speaker Om Birla's concerns regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's safety amidst opposition protests and disruptions in the House.
The incident took place right outside Parliament's Makar Dwar, the main entrance which MPs take to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab.
With the Union Budget three months away, major industry chambers have submitted to the government proposals on common taxes, seeking simpler compliance and a quicker resolution of tax disputes.
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha that is expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours, As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth Budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday again took a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style pouch as she headed for Parliament to present Union Budget 2023-24 in a paperless format just like the previous two years. She posed for the traditional 'briefcase' picture outside her office along with her team of officials before heading to meet the President. She, however, was holding a tablet instead of a briefcase to present the Budget in a digital format.
Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers.
With the tablet carefully kept inside a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it instead of the briefcase, Parliament will be her next destination after the call on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Sectors throw up a wishlist for the Finance Minister.
'Our vision is to innovate as many products as we can and solve as many problems as possible.'
The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated over Rs 1,400 crore to the law ministry to meet carry forward expenditure for holding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and purchase of new electronic voting machines for the Election Commission. The allocation includes Rs 500 crore for the elections, Rs 300 crore for voter identity cards, Rs 597.80 crore for "other election expenses", and Rs 18.72 crore for new EVMs. The law ministry is the nodal agency for the Election Commission, polls, electoral laws, and appointment of members to the poll panel.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, broke away from the colonial tradition of carrying a Budget briefcase in July 2019, opting instead for a traditional 'bahi-khata', to carry the Union Budget papers.
As part of the ritual, ''halwa'' is prepared in a big ''kadhai'' (large frying pot) and served to the entire staff involved in the Budget making exercise of the ministry. Halwa was served while maintaining COVID protocol with all present in mask and those distributing sweets were wearing gloves.
The government will come out with a White Paper on the mismanagement of economy prior to 2014 with an aim to draw lessons.
'Generating employment requires a shift in policy.' 'If not, the country will face economic, social and political challenges in the coming years.'
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu could not read out his customary closing remarks that sum up the business conducted in the House during the session, as Shiv Sena and other opposition MPs created a ruckus.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
'BSE has facilitated nearly Rs 35 trillion in capital raising across multiple segments.'
Last year, Sitharaman had ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a 'bahi-khata'.
In line with India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, the largest share of aid portfolio has been granted to Bhutan with the allocation of Rs 2,068 crore.
The Lower House of Parliament took up the Demands for Grants and Appropriation Bills after two adjournments as the ruling and Opposition MPs engaged in a matching duet over demands for an apology by Rahul Gandhi and the Adani issue.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
This will be the first time since the presentation of independent India's first budget on November 26, 1947, that the documents containing income and expenditure statement of the Union government along with finance bill, detailing new tax and other measures for the new financial year, will not be physically printed.
Senior bankers anticipate discussions on issues related to technology, cyber security, and customer protection.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday used her trademark 'bahi-khata', a ledger wrapped in a red-coloured cloth, to carry Budget documents as she arrived in Parliament House to present her third straight Budget. Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers. She used the same last year and again on Monday.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
The 54-page document tabled in Parliament detailed how the Modi-government pull the economy from being counted among the most fragile-five in the world to being the fasted growing and the most attractive investment destination.
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