Despite BEST employees calling off their indefinite strike, Mumbai's bus services remained significantly below normal on Monday morning, with only 57% of the scheduled fleet operational. Commuters experienced long waits, leading many to seek alternative transport. The strike ended after an agreement with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, which included interim pay hikes and commitments for future improvements and clearing dues.
The Union Budget for 2004-05 was presented in the Lok Sabha today by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. In his opening remarks, Chidambaram said the verdict in the recent general elections was a vote for a change in the manner in which the government wa
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.
BEST employees continued their strike in Mumbai for a second day, causing significant disruption to public transport despite appeals from the Maharashtra Transport Minister and the invocation of MESMA. Commuters were forced to rely on alternative, overcrowded transport options, while the striking unions maintained their demands for budget merger, improved pay, and absorption of contractual workers.
Restoring weighted tax deductions and adopting a petty patents regime can foster firm-level innovative activity critical for competitiveness, points out Nagesh Kumar.
Kautilya, widely known as pioneer of economics in India and author of Artha Shastra (rules of economics), was invoked for the fourth time in the country's annual Union Budget speech on Friday, including thrice by the incumbent Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Indian Parliament is expected to extend its budget session to introduce a bill increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816, reserving 273 for women, and amending the women's reservation law.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticized the Lok Sabha for denying Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi the opportunity to speak, calling it 'absolutely bizarre'. Tharoor stated that Gandhi should be allowed to voice his concerns and that preventing him from speaking undermines the purpose of Parliament.
'The Dravidian parties wanted to prevent the TVK from forming a government.'
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 9,40,581.75 crore to Rs 4,50,61,658.60 crore (USD 4.90 trillion) in a single day.
The Centre is considering amendments to the Recovery of Debt and Bankruptcy Act in the Budget to allow some Debt Recovery Tribunals to focus only on high-value cases.
Shares of brokerage-related companies nosedived 18 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising securities transaction tax on commodity futures to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent in the Union Budget 2026-27.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons lists out the important things, of course, apart from the IT exemption limit, that the salaried class must be looking forward to in the Union Budget 2015-16 that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present tomorrow morning
High spectrum costs limit operators to invest in next-gen network infrastructure.
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.
Not a single retail outlet ran dry. Every household that wanted a cylinder got one. India faced neither a 1991 moment nor a 2013 one. Macroeconomic stability held. This was not an accident, and it was not luck alone. It was the work of a government that chose to act as it had during the pandemic -- deliberately and gradually, building one measure upon another rather than reaching for a single dramatic lever, explains V Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
With only one day left for the House to go into month-long recess, the Chair directed members to lay their written speeches so that the crucial money bill could be returned in time.
Standard deduction of 40% or Rs 30,000 whichever is less for salary till Rs 5 lakh, above Rs 5 lakh, 20,000.
Dinesh Trivedi's experience as a businessperson and his fluency in Bengali are expected to be crucial in strengthening India-Bangladesh relations, particularly in attracting Indian investments to Dhaka.
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
The clarification comes in wake of media reports that Finance Ministry is contemplating to merge the Railway and General budgets and change the financial year.
'When markets go into a budget with excessive optimism, the risk of disappointment is higher.'
Preparations for the Union Budget for 2004-05 have already begun, even before the formation of the Congress-led coalition government is in place.
If the union Budget were a human being it would score high on body language.
Piyush Goyal presents the National Democratic Alliance government's Budget amid high hopes and expectations from across the spectrum of society -- from farmers to industralist. Will the Budget fulfill the expectations of all?
The NDA government has gradually nuanced its position on the issue of demographic challenge.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel tanked the most by 4.57 per cent. ICICI Bank, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the laggards. Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, ITC and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
Eighteen of India's 28 states exceeded the fiscal deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of GSDP in FY25, a deterioration comparable to the Covid year of 2020-21, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The report also noted a decline in states reporting a revenue surplus, with Bihar, Mizoram, and Telangana moving into deficit.
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
Indian states significantly increased their reliance on market borrowings to finance gross fiscal deficits in 2025-26, with the share of market borrowings rising to 76.3 per cent, even as the weighted average cut-off yield on State Government Securities (SGS) and spreads over central government securities also increased.
Centre took the line that it should not be presented in the middle of Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur
Pranab Mukherjee will begin the fortnight-long pre-budget brainstorming sessions with various stakeholders.
The finance minister may stagger some of the recommendations.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has written to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is likely to consult the parliamentary affairs ministry before framing his response on the government's plans to advance the budget presentation to February 1, sources said.
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day following a dispute between the government and the opposition regarding Rahul Gandhi's request to speak before the Union Budget discussion commenced.
