India witnessed a record-breaking surge in deal activity in February, with 226 M&A and private equity deals totaling $7.2 billion -- the highest monthly deal volume in the last three years, according to the Dealtracker report of Grant Thornton Bharat. "This represents a 67 per cent increase in volumes and a 5.4-fold increase in values compared to February 2024, while a 14 per cent increase over the previous month," it said.
She has shown shrewdness, sensitivity, and courage. All of these will be needed in ample quantities for the real challenge that will emerge after the elections, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The resilience of the economy and strength of domestic demand will continue to make India an engine of growth amid the rapidly evolving global trade landscape as a result of US tariffs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in London on Tuesday.
Healthcare: Good news for all ASHA, anganwadi workers
The Union Budget has an opportunity to bring into practice the principles of maximum governance, minimum government and ease of doing business by objectively removing anomalies and dated government controls.
A higher level of private sector financing and resource mobilisation from new sources will be crucial for India to build quality infrastructure, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. The Economic Survey 2023-24 was tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday.
'It is a crisis of BJP's own doing. This is an in-house fire.'
The Budget announcement of zero tax for earnings upto Rs 12 lakh per annum and the rejig of tax slabs across the board should prompt more than 90 per cent of individual taxpayers to embrace the new tax regime as compared to the about 75 per cent as of now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. Agrawal also highlighted the government's focus on "non-intrusive" tax administration through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simplified tax processes for common taxpayers. He emphasized the benefits of the new tax regime (NTR), which offers simple calculations and allows taxpayers to file their ITR without professional help. The CBDT chief stated that the Budget provisions related to income tax payment benefit all income earners, not just those earning Rs 12 lakh per annum, creating a positive sentiment in the economy and propelling growth. The department is also harnessing technology, including AI and data analytics, to widen and deepen the tax base, resulting in increased compliance and tax revenue. Agrawal further highlighted the positive impact of data availability and simplified tax processes on compliance rates, citing examples of taxpayers filing revised returns and paying taxes after being prompted by the department's data analysis.
'There is no retrospective changing of the law, only its simplification.'
The Parliament resumes on Monday after a break. WATCH THE LIVE DEBATES HERE.
Top on the government's agenda would be getting Parliament's approval to the budgetary proposals and presentation of the budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Equity benchmarks climbed in early trade on Wednesday amid an overall positive trend in the global markets and ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2023-24. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 516.97 points to 60,066.87. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 153.15 points to 17,815.30.
Corporate earnings from blue-chips like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Donald Trump's swearing-in as the US President, and trading activity of foreign investors are the key factors to drive equity markets this week, analysts said. Trump will be sworn in as the US president for a second term on Monday. This week, several key Nifty-50 companies, including BPCL, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Dr Reddy's, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel and ICICI Bank are scheduled to announce their financial results.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a 66 per cent hike in the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY) outlay to Rs 79,000 crore.
The Rs 1-trillion Research Development and Innovation (RDI) fund, which was announced in the July budget for FY25, of which Rs 20,000 crore has already been allocated, will be operationalised in the next two to three months, a top official said.
The Union Budget on Wednesday outlined several initiatives to drive India's technology agenda and boost digital infrastructure, including new centres of excellence for artificial intelligence, National Data Governance Policy, and Entity DigiLocker.
The finance ministry will kick-start the exercise to prepare the Union Budget for financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from October 12, according to an official notification released on Monday. "The pre-Budget meetings as well as the meetings to discuss the revised estimates will start from October 12 and will continue till the second week of November," according to the Budget circular of the Department of Economic Affairs' Budget Division. The Union Budget is expected to be announced on February 1, as has been the practice of the past few years.
The government on Tuesday announced Rs 900-crore allocation in the Budget for the newly set up Ministry of Cooperation for the 2022-23 fiscal, besides slashing Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) on cooperative societies to 15 per cent and surcharge to 7 per cent, which nodal minister Amit Shah hailed saying it will boost the sector. Of the total allocation for the next fiscal, a significant amount of Rs 350 crore has been provided for digitisation of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACs), while Rs 274 crore for an umbrella scheme 'Prosperity through Cooperatives' which would have a number of sub-components with the aim of all-round development of cooperatives in the country. For the first time, a separate budget of Rs 11 crore has been provided to Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICON).
The BJP had no option but to get Jagdeep Dhankhar out of its way for the sake of the Modi government's stability, reveals Sheela Bhatt, the legendary political journalist.
The focus of the Union Budget is on providing basic amenities to the poor, middle class and youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, and asserted that it is imperative that India becomes self-reliant.
'...to address the serious faultlines that had got exposed during the pandemic.' 'If the economy is looking up this year, we could have been allocated an increase of at least 20%.'
The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for the rural jobs guarantee programme for 2022-23.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
'India has resolved to hold the 2036 Olympic Games in these 10 complexes.'
Week beginning March 12 will unveil, one-by-one, new information and data that will have a bearing on Budget.
During a five-hour meeting with his entire Council of Ministers, Modi specifically asked for faster and better communication of the government's decisions.
The Opposition parties on Friday slammed the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as "anti-people", "lacklustre" and one that would increase the financial burden on the common man.
According to the Committee's recommendation, while Part 1 of the Budget session would be held from January 29 to February 15, Part 2 would be from March 8 to April 8.
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.
A large number of items including petrol, diesel, gold, silver, cigarettes, fully-imported cars and split air conditioners will become more expensive due to hike in taxes, as proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget for 2019-20.
The government on Tuesday proposed reducing the long-term capital gains tax on immovable properties to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent, but removed the indexation benefits to adjust for inflation, a move experts termed as "negative" for sellers.
he FIR was lodged against her based on a complaint, the police said.
This is an increment of about 0.50 per cent compared to the last budget.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced plans to increase milk and dairy production in the country. India is the largest milk producer in the world but there is low productivity, the finance minister said.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports jumped over 5 per cent. NTPC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Zomato, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank and Maruti were among the other big gainers. From the 30-share pack, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and UltraTech Cement were the other laggards.
'...how do they consume and contribute to the GDP?'
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday presented her sixth Budget in a row, equalling the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the performance of regional rural banks (RRBs) after the Budget session of Parliament, according to two people familiar with the matter. The finance minister will review the performance of RRBs after August 13. The review will include discussions on enhancing the digital capabilities of RRBs, said a senior government official.
The recess allows department-related standing committees to examine demands for grants of various ministries. The Finance Bill and related demands for grants are passed in the second phase of the Budget session.
