This is Jaitley's first overseas visit since his kidney ailment was confirmed in April last year.
A look into Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's Duronto trains.
The change in labelling, which is seen as a part of government's effort to push generic drugs, will come into effect from September 13.
Not all change is good, but this one is, applauds Shekhar Gupta.
Pranab on Sunday met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed budget-related issues with him.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday approved the interim general budget which will be presented in the Lok Sabha by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. Singh went through the interim budget related papers and after formally signing them, forwarded them to President Pratibha Patil, a Prime Minister's Office spokesman said."The Prime Minister also approved the interim budget speech," the spokesman added.
Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on Friday.
Cement is set to be dearer across the country by Rs 8-9 per 50 kg bag from March 1, with the rise in excise duty, industry sources said.
In his recent Budget speech, the finance minister reiterated the government's plans to make India "slum-free" within five years.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the Union Budget 2004-05 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Just 6.4% of branches owned by new private sector banks are in the rural areas
A quick calculation by Congress managers soon after the unprecedented walkout by Congress's friends and foes alike has thrown up the figure of 275 in the ruling alliance's kitty. This is just 3 more than the majority mark of 272, "and a matter of grave concern", said a senior Congress leader.
The government on Friday proposed a nearly 16-fold increase at Rs 1,900 crore (Rs 19 billion) for Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) headed by Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani.
The government hopes to implement direct tax code from April 2011.
Experts believe the move will have little impact given limited production of generic drugs and authority of doctors in prescribing medicines.
Mukherjee could not implement nine of the promises he made in his Budget for 2009-10 and most of these pertained to significant areas of the economy.
Officials said there had been no official word or indication from the top yet. The expectation from officials is to do what they can, but it is understood that all fiscal and budgetary targets don't matter anymore.
Sources in the know said the government would initiate talks with businesses, including Tatas, shortly for divesting its stake in the national carrier.
The details of the BWA auction winners are still awaited from the Department of Telecom.
Divestment in India has been a painfully slow process. Will the government finally press the gas?
The new Goods and Services Tax (GST) is broadly as announced by Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech in July, and will comprise two parallel systems.
A person in the 30% income tax bracket with a Rs 40 lakh home loan at 9% interest rate would, under the Rs 3.5 lakh interest exemption, will save Rs 105,000 in tax in the first year, against Rs 60,000 under the previous interest exemption of Rs 2 lakh.
Sitharaman raised excise duty and road and infrastructure cess on the auto fuels by Rs 2 per litre each to raise over Rs 28,000 crore.
The Duronto train, which will run thrice a week, will leave Mumbai every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 2015 hours and will reach Nagpur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0745 hours, a railway statement said on Friday. Similarly the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto will depart from Nagpur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2025 hours and arrive at Mumbai on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7-55 am, it said.
As expected, there have been no major announcements in the Interim Budget.
Despite the reforms of the 1990s, the country's corporate structure hasn't transformed in any major manner.
The Railways have slashed service charges levied on purchase of e-tickets by half from April 1.
23% increase for Highways: The allocation during the current year to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) has been stepped up by 23 per cent over the 2008-09 (BE).
In his Budget speech, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the stimulus package given in February this year has been extended from June 30 to December 31 this year.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is set to face a decline of Rs 300 million ( Rs 30 crore) in revenues from sale of online rail tickets in the coming financial year as a result of the reduction in service charge announced in the Rail Budget last month.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget on Friday. In her third Railway Budget speech, Banerjee said atleast one doctor will be available on long distance trains.
Experts agree with the assessment that the Budget next month would respond to the predictions of deficient monsoon rains with a policy package. According to them, rain-fed areas, which are likely to be affected by a 'below normal' monsoon, could see increase in allocation in terms of higher spending through the public distribution system and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget Speech in Parliament on Friday proposed to increase the Plan outlay for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy by 61% from Rs 620 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 1000 crore in 2010-11.
In a bonanza to farmers, the government on Friday announced a subsidised five per cent interest rate on crop loans on timely repayment, while proposing a 15 per cent hike in credit made available for farm sector.
The government on Friday announced loans at a subsidised interest rate of five per cent -- two per cent less than market rate -- for farmers who pay their dues in time.
However, the finance minister did not oblige members in the Rajya Sabha with clarifications on his intervention in the debate on the issue of price rise, even when Communist Party of India-Marxist member Sitaram Yechury sought some more information.
"Preparations for the regular budget are on... priorities are listed in the manifesto. (These) Will get reflected in the finance minister's budget speech," said the new minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena. 'The focus of the new measures will be to stimulate demand in the domestic economy and to ensure there is more purchasing power in the hands of the people and more liquidity in the hands of the companies,' the Congress manifesto says.
The biggest impact of the new tax system is the significant widening of income slabs. According to this, people with annual income not exceeding 1.6 lakh (Rs 160,000) will not have to pay any tax.
E-proceeding of tax scrutiny has certain technical and practical issues which need to be addressed before making the system fully electronically driven.
According to railway ministry sources, Banerjee is in a hurry to start the train services she had announced in her Budget in July last year.
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