About a dozen states cutting across party lines on Wednesday pitched for extending the mechanism to compensate states for revenue lost from the implementation of GST beyond June 30, but no decision was taken. Briefing reporters about deliberations at the two-day meeting of the GST Council in Chandigarh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said finance and other ministers of 16 states spoke on the compensation issue. Of the 16 states, 3-4 spoke of evolving their own revenue stream to break from the compensation mechanism, she said.
The National Pension System is applicable for government employees joining the service after April 1, 2004. It was based on the premise of contribution rather than defined benefit applicable for employees prior to the NPS.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have proposed the Finance Ministry their plan to raise Rs 54,800 crore through Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) and Tier-2 bonds in the current financial year (FY25), 37 per cent more than the Rs 39,880 crore raised in FY24
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, in protest against all states except two being 'ignored' in the budget, an allegation termed 'outrageous' by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanm, who said all the states never found a mention in any of the previous budgets, including those presented by the Congress.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that there are no reliable estimates of black money generated by Indians within and outside the country, but it is estimated at being between Rs 500 billion and Rs 1,400 billion.
The government on Tuesday announced certain incentives as part of efforts to boost maintenance, repair and overhaul activities in the country's aviation and shipping sectors. India is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world.
'Till the BJP does not understand Kejriwal they cannot win Delhi.'
From the outcome of the general elections and then Union Budget to tepid corporate earnings in the September 2024 quarter (Q2-FY25), sticky inflation and Reserve Bank of India's stance on interest rates, extreme weather conditions, Indian stock markets have braved it all in calendar year 2024.
A freebie once granted can hardly be discontinued. All that can happen is to substitute it with a bigger freebie, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Urging Naxals to shun violence, Shah announced that the Chhattisgarh government would announce a "new look" surrender policy in 1-2 months.
The outcome of the Union Budget, quarterly earnings from corporates and global trends are the major factors to drive stock market sentiments this week, analysts said. Besides, the trading activity of foreign investors, the rupee-dollar trend and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude are also crucial aspects to watch out for.
The Unified Pension System (UPS), approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, is "fiscally prudent" as it will be funded within the Centre's fiscal projections, according to T V Somanathan, the Cabinet Secretary-designate. Speaking to Business Standard immediately after the Cabinet nod, former finance secretary Somanathan, who headed the committee set up in March 2023 to review the National Pension System (NPS), said the UPS will not postpone pension expenditure as it will be contributory and financed each year.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme, introduced to provide financial assistance to women, could affect the timely payment of subsidies in other sectors.
Sitharaman has held pre-budget meetings to elicit views of various sections including representatives of chambers of commerce and industry.
The National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, MCX Stock Exchange and United Stock Exchange have been invited for the August 6 meet.
With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level.
PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that all people will be provided free of cost vaccines.
The disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat in the Olympics after being found overweight before the final bout also saw the government and Opposition come to blows in Parliament.
Senior bankers anticipate discussions on issues related to technology, cyber security, and customer protection.
The tie-up would focus on financing of entry level cars from Maruti portfolio, which include the M800, Omni and Alto models, the company said. "Maruti Suzuki is keen to expand its presence in rural and semi urban markets. We have the right products and an excellent network across the country to support it. However, there is still lot to do in the direction of finance availability especially beyond metro towns," said MSI Chief General Manager (Sales) R S Kalsi.
Unlike the previous visit, where TDP MPs accompanied Naidu to meetings, sources termed the current visit as "low profile", with one-on-one meetings with key Union ministers.
The development comes a day after a government resolution (GR) was issued, in which the state administration ordered disbursal of Rs 10 crore funds for strengthening the state Waqf Board.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The sources claimed that one of those arrested is believed to be Arsh Dalla, who is associated with the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and ran terror modules on behalf of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist who was killed in June last year.
Sinha said that he was not invited for "any party events, rallies or organizational meetings".
A doctor at heart, always! Great gesture by my colleague, PM Narendra Modi tweeted.
The government does not seem keen on issuing fresh gold bonds given the overall cost and rising gold prices.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed misleading claims by opposition leaders that if any state is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation. Replying to a Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman asserted that no state was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA government also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech.
India has reduced the time period for foreign investors to seek international arbitration from five years to three years as part of the recently signed investment pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a departure from its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, if the Indian judicial system is unable to resolve a dispute within this shortened period, investors can resort to international arbitration. The investment pact, signed on February 13 in Abu Dhabi, came into force on August 31, replacing the previous pact.
From highways connecting once-remote regions to aviation networks carrying millions, India's infrastructure story is one of transformation.
The Budget should use the extra RBI surplus to better effect, suggests A K Bhattacharya.
Your choice between the Old and New Tax Regimes should reflect your financial strategy and investment goals, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
Leaders of the JD-U, which has two ministers in the Union government, insist that the resolution also spoke of "special package and other types of help" and that Bihar could still get a lot from Narendra Modi government.
How does the Union Budget 2024-25 impact taxpayers, investors and traders?
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Union Budget and claimed that the plates of all states except Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were empty in the budget allocation.
Here are the key highlights of the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' for the 2024 parliamentary polls.
