News digest: Budget 2018, stressed steel firms, Gujarat polls, and more

Central Board of Direct Taxes has asked for a lower collection target than that given in the Budget Estimates this financial year, owing to subdued economic activity

Pensioners, India Inc may get tax breaks in Budget

The political message of Union Budget 2018-19 is expected to be consolidating the gains from the big-ticket changes of the past three years rather than introducing radical departures.  This is the conclusion of top officials as the finance ministry wraps itself up in the veil of secrecy two months before the Budget is read in Parliament by the finance minister.  However, the one area in which some changes could be possible is direct tax rates for the corporate sector. Read more

Direct tax officials seek cut in collection target

The Centre, struggling to rein in its fiscal deficit at 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), faces worries on the direct taxes front too. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked for a lower collection target than that given in the Budget Estimates this financial year, owing to subdued economic activity. Read more

Gujarat elections: Narendra Modi accuses Congress of stoking communal fire

A day before Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to file his nomination papers for election to the post of Congress president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the opposition party for the “absence of internal democracy”. Read more

Bid deadline for stressed steel firms extended

Seeking to ensure maximum participation in the bidding for stressed assets under the insolvency law, the creditors’ committees for Bhushan Power & Steel and Electrosteel Steels have extended the deadline for submitting the expression of interest (EOI). Read more

Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto battle it out for mid-segment bike market

Rajiv Bajaj calls him a “good friend”, yet his company, Bajaj Auto, is waging a bitter battle against Siddhartha Lal’s Eicher Motors to break into the 250 cc-plus motorbike market, where the latter reigns supreme. In a tweet last week, Lal, chief executive officer, Eicher Motors, said, “Royal Enfield’s sales are equivalent to the global sales of Harley-Davidson, KTM, BMW, Triumph, and Ducati, combined. Read more