Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Droupadi Murmu's assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps.
The CBI arrested Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, an absconder carrying a Rs 10 lakh reward, in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed. He is allegedly part of a conspiracy hatched by the banned JKLF.
The largest tranche came in July, in the wake of Operation Sindoor, with the DAC according acceptance of necessity -- or initial approval -- for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to approximately 1.05 trillion through indigenous sourcing.
New Delhi 'will have to take a call which supply source suits us the best,' the finance minister said, pointing out that crude oil accounts for the bulk of India's foreign exchange spend.
The Budget assumes significance as it comes on the back of lower-than-expected growth numbers during the second quarter and geopolitical uncertainty.
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.
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 Tuesday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for preparation of Union Budget 2024-25 to be unveiled on July 23 in Lok Sabha. The ceremony is a ritual in which traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
Experts say Indian Railways must grow its share in the freight market to remain financially sustainable.
The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024, was held in North Block on Wednesday in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad was also present. A customary halwa ceremony is performed every year before the "lock-in" process of Budget preparation begins.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
'I am doing the drive in making sure that people pass this on. So the drive is not with distrust. The drive is just in case.' 'Just in case it doesn't get passed on, I am here.'
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Since April 4, around 35 importers in India have either not received any shipment of the magnets or have not been granted the import licences by China.
'There is no retrospective changing of the law, only its simplification.'
The Union finance ministry has kicked off the exercise for preparation of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 and has asked all ministries to rush proposals by October 31 for inclusion in the second supplementary budget for 2011-12 to be presented in the winter session of Parliament.
Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh.
The government on Sunday appointed former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. Joint Secretary in the finance ministry Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey will be the secretary to the commission, the government said in a notification. "The President is pleased to constitute a Finance Commission with Dr Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Professor, Columbia University, as the Chairman. Members of the Commission will be notified separately," it said.
The Union Finance Ministry on Tuesday said that aggregate business of public sector banks (PSBs) has shown strong growth of 11 per cent in the first half of the financial year 2024-25 (H1FY25) to touch Rs 236 trillion. The operating and net profit were also robust. At Rs 1.5 trillion, operating profit grew by 14.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) while the net profit saw an impressive 25.6 per cent jump at Rs 85,520 crore in the first half of FY25.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent a judicial request to the United States seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who has claimed to possess crucial details about the Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s. Hershman, the head of the Fairfax Group, had previously expressed his willingness to share information with Indian agencies, alleging that the investigation into the scam was derailed by the then Congress government. The CBI's request comes after previous attempts to obtain information from US authorities yielded no results. This move highlights the continued efforts to uncover the truth behind the decades-old scandal, which has had a significant impact on Indian politics.
After the merger of regional rural banks (RRBs) under the "One State, One RRB" policy to improve their efficiency and minimise competition among public-sector banks (PSBs) that sponsor them, the government is planning to list at least five RRBs by the end of financial year 2026-27 (FY27). After the latest amalgamation that came into effect on May 1, there are 28 RRBs in 26 states and two Union Territories (UTs), with more than 22,000 branches covering 700 districts.
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.
Students at Tezpur University in Assam have shut down the institution, protesting against Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. The shutdown has led to the cancellation of end-term examinations and has garnered support from teachers and non-teaching staff.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for the preparation of Union Budget 2025-26 to be unveiled on February 1 in the Lok Sabha. The ceremony is a customary ritual in which traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget.
'The global situation is not very good.'
Fresh plans of privatisation or divestment in central public sector enterprises and public sector banks might take a back seat this financial year because these may require a large consensus among coalition partners.
'During his stint as prime minister, he got 270 million people out of poverty.' 'This, according to the World Bank, is the fastest compression of poverty anywhere in the world.' Arvind Mayaram, the former finance secretary, recalls his encounters with Dr Manmohan Singh.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
"The Union government has authorised the release of tax devolution of Re 72,961.21 crore to state governments for the month of November 2023, on 7th November instead of the usual date 10th November," the Union finance ministry said in a statement.
India's brittle energy security is inextricably linked to two opposing paradigms - fossil fuels, and the transition to green energy. The first powers the present; the second paves the way for Viksit Bharat in 2047.
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.
If the fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP has to be met for 2024-2025, which the government must in view of the uncertainties and challenges emerging both domestically and globally, the finance ministry may see in the composition of the current year's capex a sliver of hope, notes A K Bhattacharya.
He will succeed incumbent Rajiv Gauba, who completes his unprecedented five-year term in the top bureaucratic post this month-end.
'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.'
