After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
From the 30-Sensex firms, ITC tanked 9.69 per cent, following Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank. In contrast, NTPC, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Revenue collection next financial year may be affected, and, along with this, subsidies on food and fertilisers can go up if the war in West Asia drags for long, according to experts.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has requested the Rajya Sabha secretariat to remove Raghav Chadha as the party's deputy leader in the House, proposing Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement, amidst Chadha's absence from key party events and prolonged silence on AAP matters.
Cigarette-to-soap conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit (attributable to owners) of Rs 4,931.19 crore for the third quarter (October-December/Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26), affected by a one-time provision related to the new labour codes and a base effect from an exceptional item in Q3 of 2024-25. In the year-ago period, net profit had stood at Rs 4,934.8 crore.
Encouraging domestic financial savings through focused measures would help mobilise long term resources for funding infrastructure and economic development.
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, has approached the Delhi high court seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore it claims to have paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs. The petition came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain.
Cooking gas or Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) price has been raised by Rs 50 per cylinder by distribution companies, Union Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.
Households should moderate large discretionary expenses for the time being.
'They should prioritise essential spending. They should maintain an emergency fund covering 6 to 12 months of expenses.'
India's new manufacturing project announcements more than halved in the fourth quarter of FY26, falling 60 per cent sequentially and 78 per cent year-on-year to approximately 1.7 trillion, driven by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, and existing unutilised manufacturing capacity.
The Kerala High Court has overturned a single judge's order that had put a 15-day hold on the screening of 'The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond,' paving the way for the film's release.
'Repeated adjournments are one of the largest contributors to lengthy litigation cycles.'
The unchanged duty structure for the cement industry is a major disappointment. However impetus for rural growth and infrastructure development will ensure healthy demand to continue.
Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
The government is likely to give a subsidy of Rs 30,000-35,000 crore to state-run oil companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) - to compensate for losses incurred from selling LPG at below cost over the past 15 months, according to a senior official.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Only the government's emphasis on infrastructure, special announcements on key sectors like telecom, automobiles, etc in the coming Budget can bring cheer to the plastic industry.
As per the White Paper issued by FICCI Gems & Jewellery Group -- the total size of the Gems & Jewellery Sector (both domestic and exports) was about Rs 4,15,000 crore (Rs 4,150 billion).
Seeks removal of custom duty on commodity polymers and cut in others, but also seeks hike in customs duty on plastic products
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
Central Excise - Kerosene used for extraction of paraffin retrospective exemption to returned kerosene no unjust enrichment refund entitled : Madras High Court
The West Bengal government has filed FIRs against five state government employees for alleged lapses in electoral roll revisions, following an Election Commission ultimatum. The action comes after the EC directed the state to initiate criminal cases against the accused for adding fictitious names to voter lists.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of late NCP leader Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as Maharashtra's first woman deputy Chief Minister after being elected as the leader of the NCP legislature wing.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
Since items in the 12% category account for only about 5% of total GST, the additional boost to consumption may not be significant, points out M Govinda Rao.
With the Union Budget nearing, excise duty on cars is back as a topic of debate.
The textile sector seeks cut in Excise duty on MMF to provide level playing field and hike in allocation under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Centre is staring at a combined shortfall of up to Rs 1 trillion in excise and Customs revenues in the current financial year (FY23) compared to the Budget estimates (BE), mainly because of duty cuts on edible oil and petroleum products. The government set a target of Rs 3.35 trillion for excise and Rs 2.13 trillion for Customs mop-up for FY23 while presenting the Budget in February. "As excise duty collection is mainly driven by diesel volumes, we might see a clear gap in the level budgeted for FY23, following the reduction in cesses on petrol and diesel in May. We are expecting somewhere between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 trillion dip in excise and customs duty collections," a senior government official told Business Standard.
The government will cut excise and customs duty on petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene to contain the effect of spike in international crude oil prices, which touched an all-time high of $47 a barrel.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
A series of strikes at the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant since June this year has resulted in excise revenue losses to the tune of nearly Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion) for the government, while the company has already suffered a hit of up to Rs 1,540 crore (Rs 15.40 billion).
Among the different products, Air conditioners and LCD's are expected to have a higher growth rate for next few years in the industry.
Reduction in corporate tax rate: In view of the fact that the present Budget is expected to be intermediate in nature, insofar as it would pave the way forward for DTC, it will be commendable if CTR in FY 2012-13 is brought down at least to match the proposed rate of flat 30 per cent in the DTC.
Remove 10 per cent Excise Duty on Branded Garments or reduced it to 1 per cent level in line with 130 Other Items. Extend benefits of Section 35 (2AB) of the Income Tax Act (deduction of 150 per cent of the expenditure incurred on In-house Research and Development Facility by any Company engaged in the business of Manufacture or Production of any Article or thing specified in the Eleventh Schedule).
Seeks to promoting a Fibre Neutral Fiscal Policy
India's cement demand is expected to grow by over 10 per cent.
Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC's) Q2FY26 operating profit of 14,600 crore beat Street estimates and was up 16 per cent on a sequential basis. It surged 287 per cent over the year-ago quarter on account of an improved refining performance.
Realistically no major reforms are expected for the pesticides industry. Reduction in excise duty is very unlikely, as it would not solve the basic problem of spurious manufacturers.
