Sensex up just 6.5% while the best returns were during Manmohan Singh, with the Sensex soaring nearly 167.5%.
On the individual front, housing loan rebate on self-occupied property was increased from Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 2,00,000.
Jaitley increased the excise duty on most tobacco products by 10-15 per cent.
Besides Budget, markets will be driven by global events and the outcome of assembly elections.
Tamal Bandyopadhyay offers some unsolicited advice for a government wh,ich came to power, with brute majority and the nation's pragmatic chief money man.
'Gloom is nowhere in sight, with healthy foreign exchange reserves, a strong rupee, healthy tax collections, corruption and crony capitalism under check,' argues Gopal Krishna Agrawal.
There isn't much Budget could do directly to help sectors.
Spotlight likely on cement, metals, road cos
Sahara group, whose legal battle with Sebi continues in Supreme Court over refund of over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) to investors, has made a surprise announcement of plans being afoot to hire over 56,000 new employees this year along with investments to the tune of nearly Rs 32,400 crore (Rs 324 billion).
India has eased foreign direct investment rules for the construction sector, the government said on Wednesday, in an effort to attract more money into the country to build new hotels, housing and townships.
NITI Aayog vice chairperson Rajiv Kumar tells Indivjal Dhasmana that additional funds could be generated through divestment, and that the fiscal deficit should be widened while focusing on the revenue deficit.
'The government has done extremely well.'
Lalgarh, once a nerve centre of Naxal insurgency in West Bengal, now represents a different place.
The construction sector is now India's second-largest employer after agriculture, the trend coinciding with India's high-growth phase and decline in poverty levels
FinMin plans tougher targets for bad loans, Casa and others in performance-linked pay for senior management.
Annabel Mehta, Sachin Tendulkar's mother-in-law, has dedicated her life to working with the Beautiful People of the other half of Mumbai without whom the city would neither exist nor thrive. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel met the amazing lady who was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire for her service to underprivileged communities.
BJP's total silence on Delhi statehood is intriguing.
The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and other United States schools, Tim Cook, India's Indira Jaising and Mukesh Ambani. The names mentioned above have nothing in common... until now. They have all been named as Fortune's World's 50 Greatest Leaders. Here are some of the prominent names mentioned in the list.
The awarding of in-principle licences for 10 small finance banks is likely to be a game changer in a way which may not be adequately realised right now.
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
Sensex, Nifty under pressure on weak global cues.
The Budget provides a reassuring message about Prime Minister Narendra Modi staying the course.
Jaitley has managed the difficult feat of sticking to the fiscal correction.
Low consumer demand, a slide in investments and troubles in the banking sector should prompt the government to recalibrate taxes and expenditure. It is also important to ramp up spending on health care and education, says CII president Sumit Mazumder.
Struggling, corrupt construction industry will be challenged by the prime minster's $250-billion plan
Arun Jaitley is on a 10-day trip to the US.
When Correa was hailed as India's greatest architect in 2013, he said, 'Greatest is so...so definite. Most innovative might have been better'
Today, people are happily raising 80-85 per cent through home loans, and if they still don't have enough, the rest is raised through a personal loan.
'For 20 years, successive governments have failed to provide housing for the poor. Here, they were to get 400 sq ft flats for Rs 54,000,' says Prakash Ambedkar who was arrested by the Maharashtra government for getting thousands of people to submit forms for these apartments.
Some developers point out that what comes in the way of low-cost housing is the sky-high price of land
M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant turned political commentator tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi's war is not against the opposition parties or the Congress but against the bureaucracy and the establishment.
The industry status will help the sector access bank lending at average interest rates
The industry's reactions to the Budget have been mixed.
'This is not a small change, it's a BIG change. People wanted to hear the voice of their PM. They can do so now. This is a big parivartan.'
The public-private partnership model is a compulsion, says the minister.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances