In televised remarks after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget, Modi said it has many provisions for the agriculture sector, including for making loans easier for farmers.
None of the demands of the industry were met.
Nirmala Sitharaman's messaging was clear when she presented a well-balanced Budget with an eye on state elections in nine states followed by a general election next year, observes Ramesh Menon.
In times of global challenges, G-20 presidency gives an opportunity to strengthen India's role in the global order, she added. The government is implementing scheme to supply free foodgrains to poor under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) with expenditure of Rs 2 lakh crore from January 1, the finance minister said.
'It has been an ongoing process, talking to the relevant ministries about eliminating leakages and curbing non-core expenditure in various schemes.'
India Inc gave a thumbs up to the UPA-II's last Union Budget before the general elections next year and said Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented a "bold" and "growth-oriented" Budget.
Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
The budget is "farmer friendly, common citizen friendly, business environment friendly" and will add to 'ease of living' and 'ease of doing business', Modi added.
#Budget2018 resulted in over 14 lakh conversations on Twitter.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the 2006-07 Union Budget in Parliament on Tuesday.
India Inc points out issues that need to be addressed in the Budget.
Terming the Budget as growth-oriented, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that to find a solution to the ills plaguing the various sectors, the Union Budget 2004-05 proposes to give a boost to agriculture, industry and social and physical
Later, Sitharaman's office clarified that the FM had already met the industrialists, experts, and economists during the pre-budget consultations.
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
Govt mulls gradual switchover to the January-December financial year
Petroleum subsidy for 2013-14 budget estimates is Rs 64,998 crore.
Oil and gas exploration policy will be reviewed to move from profit sharing to revenue sharing contracts.
The interim Budget proposals that will be presented on February 1 in the backdrop of the general elections scheduled in April/May 2024 are likely to have a hint of populism, believe analysts, but are unlikely to derail the government from its path of fiscal prudence.
The TDP expressed "serious displeasure" over the Union Budget as it "gave nothing" to the state.
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party members and ministers from the Cabinet reacted positively to the Budget. Here are some of the reactions.
The Budget kept away from mood dampeners such as an increase in taxes (capital gain taxes) and even the much-feared introduction of Covid cess and wealth taxes, says Nimesh Kampani, chairman, JM Financial.
'Given our turbulent neighbourhood, the prime minister is likely to emphasise on democratic dividend as the reason behind India's continuous prosperity.'
The Union Budget is not everyone's cup of tea. But here's how you can make it yours.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that the government proposes to increase the benefit of carrying forward losses for startups to 10 years.
Tuesday's meeting at the PM's residence, attended by all the five secretaries in the finance ministry besides top officials of other economic ministries and NITI Aayog, cleared a five-year vision plan for the government to make India a $5-trillion economy by 2024.
This was the one Budget that required radical departures on all these fronts, when it had none, asserts, Shreekant Sambrani.
The supplementary nutrition programme and the Poshan Abhiyaan under the Women and Child Development Ministry has been merged to launch Mission Poshan 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome, according to the Union Budget announced on Monday.
We should work in unison to boost growth: FM
Government's objective is to bring down the cost of cultivation through efficient use of fertilisers and agro chemicals, and increase in realisation. It is, thus, planning to connect 200 agricultural mandis with electronic National Agricultural Mandis this year and 225 next year, to enable farmers to sell their produce hassle-free online.
'It is a balanced and prudent Budget that sets the foundation for future growth in the economy.'
The BJP would want that by March 2022, when UP votes, the economy starts looking up and it heads into the polls with no other issue distracting from its main poll plank of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Earlier, the chief minister of Punjab had written in the same vein to the prime minister.
Agri experts are meeting FinMin ministry officials on Monday to give their inputs on the Budget.
Yechury said the aim should be how to protect our economy from slowdown
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended on a mixed note on Wednesday as the euphoria about the Budget fizzled out, with investors going for profit-taking ahead of the Fed interest rate decision. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 158.18 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 59,708.08 after it trimmed most of the intra-day gains. During the day, it had zoomed 1,223.54 points or 2 per cent to 60,773.44.
Budget planners for now have been told to prepare with the assumption that GST will apply from April 1.
They said that massive public investment in infrastructure, social sectors and agriculture would generate employment and the Union Budget should give it a priority and allocate necessary funds for this.
The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021, reveals A K Bhattacharya.
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.
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