Noting that elections will be held in four states, she urged party leaders to sustain the momentum and goodwill that had been generated for the party in the Lok Sabha elections.
India on Monday set aside over Rs 7,100 crore in its budget for 2021-22 as development assistance for countries in its neighbourhood as well as in Africa and Latin America, with Bhutan getting the maximum allocation of Rs 3,004 crore while Rs 100 crore will be given to Chabahar port project in Iran.
'Make in India'presents a huge opportunity for jobs.
The Budget has increased the allocation for the Commonwealth Games from Rs 3,472 crore (Rs 34.72 billion) from Rs 2,112 crore (Rs 21.12 billion).
Firojiya, a first-time MP said that in order to motivate him to get fit, Gadkari had said that funds for development works would be only allocated to him if he loses weight.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will use new floodlights at stadiums in Karachi and Lahore for the Champions Trophy early next year.
After being elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in 1999, Najma Heptulla rang up the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from Berlin to convey the news but had to hold the phone line for an hour as a staff told her that 'madam is busy'.
The government on Monday allocated an increased sum of Rs 3073 crore for the Sports Ministry in the Union budget for fiscal 2009-10, and also proposed to sanction Rs 3472 crore for next year's Commonwealth Games. The budget for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been increased by Rs 1480 crore than what was proposed in the interim budget presented before the Lok Sabha elections.
Sitharaman also said the government is also working on a national language translation initiative.
Investors should view the increase in the LTCG tax rate in conjunction with the increase in capital gains exemption from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh, which will provide some relief.
All investors should ideally have a 10 to 15 per cent allocation to gold. Whether they invest in gold ETFs or SGBs should depend on their investment horizon.
The government has exhausted only 39 per cent of its fiscal deficit target in the first half of FY24.
Gandhi said the budgetary cuts were weakening the legal guarantee of timely payment and employment. She noted that the Supreme Court had likened the delay in MGNREGA payments with forced labour.
Startup and venture funds on Tuesday cheered the Budget decision on the abolition of angel tax for all investor classes, terming it a "game-changer" that would remove significant barriers in growth and foster a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem. Angel tax refers to the tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market value.
The government may provide for targeted fiscal incentives and allocation of funds for promotion of green hydrogen in the country in Union Budget 2022-23, which is slated to be unveiled in Parliament on Tuesday. The government launched National Hydrogen Mission in 2021. Earlier this month, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh had indicated that a green hydrogen policy will be unveiled in February which would feature many incentives to boost green hydrogen in the country. "While 2021 saw the launch of National Hydrogen Mission, it is likely that the Budget may provide for targeted fiscal incentives for R&D in green hydrogen segment, creation of domestic supply chain for hydrogen and reduce customs duties on electrolysers to boost green hydrogen production," says Venkatesh Raman Prasad, Partner, J Sagar Associates (JSA).
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday claimed a senior railway official had flagged a fault in the signal interlocking system in February and warned of the train accident risk but the problem was not rectified which led to the Balasore train crash.
The government, it would seem, is reserving its firepower to spend on big-ticket items that will be announced in the Budget, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The Centre's programmes of maternity benefit and Child Protection Services also got a major boost in the Budget.
Ayushman Bharat aims at providing a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family annually and is aimed at benefitting more than 10 crore poor families across the country.
Under the title of "legal enforcement", states and Union Territories were directed to appoint officers solely responsible for discharging the functions of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers at the district level.
The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021, reveals A K Bhattacharya.
'It has remained around 38 per cent over the past four to five quarters.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Education, jobs, health and more: Experts share their wishlist.
'Government's focus should be on the expenditure side in this Budget, not so much on the taxation side.'
First things first: For those wondering if they need to reapply, the answer is no.
'There is also a possibility that Andhra Pradesh may demand a similar package. But as of now, we are only working on a package for Bihar.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced allocation of whopping Rs 48,000 crore for completion of 80 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), both rural and urban, during the next fiscal year. In her budget speech, the minister said: "In 2022-23, 80 lakh houses will be completed for the identified eligible beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana, both rural and urban. Rs 48,000 crore is allocated for this purpose." The Centre would work with states for reduction of time required for all land and construction related approvals, for promoting affordable housing for middle-class and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in urban areas, she said.
'China's opaque defence allocation processes are shrouded in mystery and have triggered security dilemmas among its neighbours and others,' notes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
'Arbitrage funds make the most sense for those in the 30 per cent tax bracket, are viable for those in the 20 per cent bracket, but less so for those in the 10 per cent bracket.'
While no specific state-oriented sops were rolled out, a strong thread of political wellness ran through the Budget.
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 government expects the expenses on tours of ministers and former Prime Ministers in the current fiscal to be Rs 3 lakh less than the total budget allocation, but still this would be more than Rs 160 crore (Rs 1.6 billion).
This was the one Budget that required radical departures on all these fronts, when it had none, asserts, Shreekant Sambrani.
Sources in the Rural Development Ministry said the actual expenditure incurred in 2020-21 will be higher than the allocated funds and it will at least be at par with this year's total estimated expenditure of MGNREGS.
Several BJP-backed state governments have unveiled schemes targeting the poor, women, farmers and students, following the party's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
The supplementary nutrition programme and the Poshan Abhiyaan under the Women and Child Development Ministry has been merged to launch Mission Poshan 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome, according to the Union Budget announced on Monday.
State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), which operates India's strategic crude oil storage, will make awards by December to lease around 1 million tons of crude oil storage space (7.3 million barrels) at two of the country's three existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs), around a fifth of the total SPR capacity. This will enable the refilling of crude caverns even as escalating hostilities in the Gulf threaten disruptions in crude supplies, two industry sources said.
The finance minister clarified that indexation benefits offered until April 1, 2001 would be protected. This means older properties, including legacy assets, would benefit.
The Plan allocation for the power sector has been doubled from Rs 2,230 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 5,130 crore in 2010-11. The allocation does not include allocations for Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). This was announced by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech in Parliament on Friday.
