Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has criticized his cabinet colleague, Nitesh Rane, for making "misleading" statements about Muslims not being part of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army. Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, called for restraint from political leaders and stressed the importance of maintaining communal harmony in the state. He emphasized that Shivaji Maharaj never discriminated based on caste or creed and highlighted the contributions of Muslims during his reign.
Inputs from religious texts, scriptures of local dialects and inspirational word-of-mouth stories will also be included.
Mukesh Ambani's Antilia includes a private theatre that seats over 50, a snow room, and even an ice cream parlour. If that's not redefining home entertainment, what is?
Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
The government on Tuesday proposed a relief to taxpayers with respect to capital gain tax on real estate properties by giving them the option to choose between 20 per cent and 12.5 per cent tax rates.
The government will introduce a new Income Tax bill next week to take forward the "trust first, scrutinise later" concept, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. In another major reform move, the minister announced that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector will be increased to 100 per cent from 74 per cent.
Association for Democratic33 per cent of 4,092 sitting MLAs were non-graduates.
Zohram Kwame Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected New York mayor this November.
As per the Budget memorandum, the government has proposed amendment to Sub-Section 2 of Section 23 of Income Tax Act, which relates to determination of annual value of house properties.
Anticipating US action on tariffs, India seems to have made the first move by revamping its tariff structure by reducing the slabs to eight rates, points out Mukesh Butani.
If it was Andhra Pradesh last Budget, it's poll-bound Bihar that has now turned to Centre with a list of demands. How the NDA government is delivering on promises.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
The controversy followed after another Madhya Pradesh minister, Vijay Shah, came under fire for remarks about Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide a strong boost to consumer sentiment and spending, points out Rajani Sinha.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
'We had tremendous faith in honorable Modiji in his second term as he was well-settled. Sadly that has been belied.'
Finance minister P Chidambaram assured a select gathering in New Delhi on Tuesday that Union Budget of 2013 will be presented on schedule. He expressed hope, that like it happened in 2004, it will not be passed without debating.
State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara has pitched for tax relief on interest income, saying it would help banks to garner savings that could be used for funding long-term infra projects. Currently, banks are required to deduct tax when interest income from deposits held in all the bank branches put together is more than Rs 40,000 in a year. With regard to savings accounts, interest earned up to Rs 10,000 is exempt from tax.
IIT Guwahati Professor D Udaya Kumar, who designed the Indian rupee symbol, has refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the Tamil Nadu government's new rupee logo for the state budget. Kumar's father was a DMK MLA, but the professor insists it's a coincidence and he has no opinion on the state government's decision to use a Tamil letter for the rupee symbol in its budget logo.
'India has the potential to grow at more than 7%, with the monetary policy providing a supportive hand.'
'Always ensure that lease terms are clearly written in the agreement, including rent escalation clauses and notice periods.'
'Stay disciplined, and remain invested.' 'Volatile times are the best to invest in structural opportunities at the right price.'
Interim Budget, the US Federal policy decision and quarterly earnings will be the major drivers for stock markets which may also see some consolidation this week, say analysts. Besides, investors would also focus on the trading activity of foreign investors and global trends for further cues. From the macroeconomic front, the PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) data for the manufacturing sector is scheduled to be announced on Thursday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Saturday presented a tax-free budget for financial year 2010-11 with an outlay of Rs 1,13,675 crore (Rs 1.13 trillion) and a projected expenditure of Rs 1,13,660 crore.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech on Wednesday was marked by the usual thumping of benches by the ruling alliance members, but the loudest cheer was reserved for her announcement of income tax relief, which was welcomed by 'Modi, Modi' chants in Lok Sabha that also witnessed a few instances of protest by the Opposition.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure and amenities will be taken up 'on our islands, including Lakshadweep' to address the 'emerging fervour' for domestic tourism in the country.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to strike a fine balance between being fiscally prudent and growth supportive when she presents her fourth straight budget on Tuesday, which is expected to have plans to boost spending to revive investment and create jobs. The Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2022 is likely to raise spending on infrastructure to set the economy on a firmer footing. The stage for the Budget presentation was set by the Economic Survey stating that the government has the fiscal space to do more to support the economy that is forecast to grow at a healthy 8-8.5 per cent growth in the 2022-23 fiscal.
Taking both direct and indirect taxes, the gross collection is expected to grow 10.45 per cent to Rs 33.61 trillion in 2023-2024.
The finance minister's assertion that industry should not expect any spectacular announcements in the 2024 interim Budget suggest that the electoral imperatives of more tax concessions or higher expenditure on welfarist programmes could be far less pronounced than they were before the 2019 interim Budget, expects A K Bhattacharya.
The old tax regime remains unchanged. 'Taxpayers opting for it will continue to follow the existing slab rates and deductions.'
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
The government will launch a Rs 2-crore term loan for 5 lakh first-time women, SC and ST entrepreneurs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
The real estate sector wants "high-impact" measures, like special schemes and tax breaks for developers, to revive the fortunes of the affordable housing segment in the country, multiple executives told Business Standard. This segment has been struggling since the Covid-19 outbreak, in contrast to larger and costlier homes which have been selling like hot cakes. The demand comes at a time when the government is taking suggestions from industry players before tabling the General Budget in the Parliament next month.
Opposition leaders slammed the Centre on Wednesday for its 'limited' focus on important sectors like health and education in the Budget for 2023-24 fiscal.
Whether the ambitious targets are achievable is a moot question as India's earlier target was 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020.
It collected Rs 13.30 crore (Rs 133 million) on Friday, and zoomed past Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) on Saturday and Sunday.
Presenting the Union Budget, Sitharaman announced that the government will partner with the private sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors and in the research and development of small modular reactors.
Like last year, Sitharaman opted for a traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry budget documents. Dressed in a crisp yellow silk saree, the minister carried the documents wrapped in a red silk cloth, adorned with the Indian emblem in golden.
