Corporate America has urged India's Finance Minister to announce a bold Union Budget that would unleash the next generation of economic reforms and help the country realise its full growth potential.
The Union Budget is in the wings. While economists, analysts and political pundits are busy making predictions about the biggest annual financial event in the country, common people are no less interested either.
Telephone calls from Congress ministers at the Centre, including Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on behalf of the party high command may have forced Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi to seal the fate of Union Telecom Minister A Raja, who was asked to resign after he landed in Delhi last night.
The Mamata Banerjee government, which came to power in July last year, has been demanding special package in the form of interest moratorium.
Pranab Mukherjee said the government proposes to move various legislative Bills related to financial sector reforms.
The Individual tax payer exemption limit to be raised to Rs 200,000 from Rs 180,000.
Vikas Khemani, President & Head-Institutional Equities, Edelweiss Securities, feels Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee could really make Union Budget 2012-13 an important one.
Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said banks have positively responded to his suggestion to reduce credit interest\nrates.
Quoting medieval India's political thinker Kautilya as well as Mahatma Gandhi, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday punctuated his Budget speech with words of wisdom, wit and humour.
They've proposed a sub-committee under the proposed GST Council or the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers to resolve any disputes in the tax's implementation.
With people reposing faith in the UPA and voting for stability, this is the government's chance to fulfill its promises, ensure growth and development of the country, check runaway prices, and offer succour to the aam aadmi.
The Union Budget 2010-11 seeks to address the needs of multi-service operators to invest in 'digital head end' equipment to adopt digital technology and keep pace with on-going transformation in infotainment sector.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain on Saturday said the country is not being run by a government, but a private limited company whose basic job is to protect the interests of oil companies and not the common people. He was addressing a news conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. He demanded that the union government must immediately rollback the fuel price hike.
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.
In the pre-budget Economic Survey 2010-11, the Union finance ministry made a strong pitch for the pro-growth impact of investment in human capital adding, "fortunately, there is awareness of this in India and efforts are afoot in terms of budgetary allocation and actual initiatives to boost the development of skill and human capital."
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, whose absence from the Lok Sabha was noticed by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the Union Budget for 2011-12, has injured himself while exercising and has been advised complete rest for four weeks.
Under attack from social activist and anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday quit the Group of Ministers on corruption, saying he does not want to be "associated" with the panel anymore.
The seven-member grouping has seen two changes -- S Jaipal Reddy replacing Murli Deora after taking over as the Oil Ministry, while Kamal Nath has given away to the new Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi.
The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on inclusion of caste categories in the census is likely to be held on July 1.
Food inflation had soared to a year's high of 18.32 per cent for the week ending December 25 before declining to 16.91 per cent in the subsequent week.
Despite the attempts made by the opposition to keep the Bhopal tragedy alive, the Congress leadership has made efforts to put a deliberate closure on the issue.
The government will launch a project for modernising employment exchanges, which will help the youth to get jobs by registering themselves online at any exchange in the country.
Cracking the whip after tough talk, the Congress on Tuesday suspended 12 rebel candidates including three sitting legislators who defied the party line and filed nominations as independents against 'official' nominees of Trinamool and Congress alliance in West Bengal.
Mr Mukherjee missed that last call, but Indian politics is as accommodative as an Indian airport. There is always a second announcement, a last and final call! Is Mr Mukherjee ready to fly?
As indicated by Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the UPA government has already initiated process to make higher allocation in social sector.
Pranab lost his cool with a scribe.
Full convertibility is presently not allowed under Indian law and the government is in no hurry on that path.
With Parliament paralysed for the fifth day running and no business being transacted, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is under pressure to partially rollback the Foreign Direct Investment in retail, which was approved by the Union cabinet last week.
The markets tanked 209 points after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tabled the Union Budget in Parliament on Friday. Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan defends the measures, saying the markets will need time to comprehend the measures.
Giving some relief to tax payers, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday proposed raising the income tax exemption limit for individuals to Rs 2 lakh per annum from Rs 1.80 lakh.
Government said consultations are on to arrive at consensus on allowing FDI.
"As far as states are concerned, it's the primary responsibility of the states to provide security. But if the state government wants any assistance from the Centre in that respect, we will be glad to provide that," Mukherjee said.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the Indian Infrastructure Financial Corporation Limited (IIFCL) will evolve a financing mechanism for giving increased support to infrastructure projects.
The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hoped that the steps taken by the government and those by the Reserve Bank of India would bring the inflation down to six percent by the end of this financial year.
The Union government will donate $1.5 million (nearly Rs 8 crore) to the University of Chicago next week to help establish a new visiting professorship in Indian studies named after Swami Vivekananda, university officials said on Tuesday.
Presently, customs duty on natural rubber, the principal raw-material for tyres is 20 per cent, whereas the customs duty on tyres (the finished product) is 10 per cent, or even lower depending upon preferential/concessional tariff under various regional/bi-laterial trade agreements.
At the meeting, Gandhi described bills on Food Security and Women's Reservation as 'most important' legislative agenda of the government.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the Union Budget in Lok Sabha on Friday, announced grant of project import status to 'Monorail projects for urban transport' at a concessional basic duty of 5 per cent.
The President's election is hitting the headlines because all the parties believe that in the 2009 general election no single party will get a majority. In such a scenario the President's role becomes crucial
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