Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt raises import duty on gold, silver jewellery

Union budget 2024: Govt will table the interim budget where focus will likely be on controlling fiscal deficit and supporting agri ahead of the elections. Catch all the budget-related live updates

4:58 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Coai request custom duty exemption on certain telecom equipment in Budget

The Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai), which represents private sector telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, requested exemptions on Customs duty on certain telecom equipment, which presently increases the cost of rolling out this critical infrastructure. Rising over a period of five to six years, duties have now hit 20 per cent.

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4:50 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Telecom service providers urge finance ministry to suspend USOF in Budget

Telecom services providers have urged the Ministry of Finance to suspend the universal service obligation fund (USOF) till the existing corpus is exhausted.
 

In their Budget recommendations, they have also pressed for an exemption from the service tax on “assignment of right to use natural resources” and the slashing of Customs duty on telecom equipment to zero.

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4:03 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt defers Rs 5,000 cr plan to fill parts of strategic petroleum reserve

India has deferred a Rs 5,000 crore ($601.78 million) plan to fill parts of its strategic petroleum reserve, keeping in mind emerging trends in oil markets, the finance ministry said on Saturday.
 

In the federal budget for 2023-24, the government had outlined a plan to purchase crude oil worth Rs 5,000 crore for caverns in the southern cities of Mangalore and Visakhapatnam.

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3:39 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt likely to up Budget size by 10% to Rs 43-33 trillion

The government's size of the Budget for the current year was Rs 40 trillion and next year it is likely to increase by 10 per cent to Rs 43-44 trillion. (PTI)
 

 

2:53 PM

Interim Budget 2024: What to expect

Sitharaman has hinted that there may not be any big announcements in the upcoming Budget but experts still expect a number of key promises.

 

A recent poll by news agency Reuters suggested that the upcoming Budget is expected to strike a balance between populist measures and fiscal prudence. It said that the Centre will target a lower fiscal deficit of 5.3 per cent for 2024-25 from 5.9 per cent in the current year.

 

2:41 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Capital spending this financial year has already exceeded Rs 10 trillion

Capital spending has already surged more than 33 per cent this financial year to over Rs 10 trillion ($120 billion) and is projected to rise 15 per cent in the next, reaching  Rs 11.50 trillion, with expectations of an increase in private investment.

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2:37 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Interim Budget to reduce fiscal deficit, shows Reuters poll

The government is aiming to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.50 per cent of GDP by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year (FY) from 5.90 per cent in the current year to end-March 2024.

 

The Jan. 10-19 Reuters poll of 41 economists showed the February 1 budget is expected to target a narrowing of the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP to 5.30 per cent in 2024-25.

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2:35 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Interim Budget to focus on capex, shows Reuters poll

The Janusary 10-19 Reuters poll of 41 economists showed that nearly all respondents said infrastructure investment (34) would be the top priority, followed by rural development (17) and job creation (16), as the latter has failed to keep pace with the tens of millions joining the workforce each year. 

 

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2:04 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: More funds may go towards welfare schemes like MGNREGA, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi

This tax buoyancy has given the government headroom to allocate more funds for social sector schemes, like MGNREGA, rural roads, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Vishwakarma Yojana without deviating from the fiscal consolidation path of lowering fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent by 2025-26. (PTI)

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1:33 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Markets expects removal of securities tax

The markets have been expecting removal of securities transaction tax (STT) for a few years now. This tax (charged at 0.1 per cent for delivery based equity trading) is levied on the value of securities transacted through a recognised stock exchange in India.
 

“Relief in taxation of dividends in the hands of investors will boost sentiment,” wrote analysts at ICRA Analytics.

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1:27 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Markets expect policy continuity in Budget announcement

Since the government is in election mode, analysts at Nomura believe there will be tacit targeting of its key constituents, with the interim budget likely to be a political statement. Since most opinion polls expect the current dispensation to be back in power, it is likely that the interim budget will be presented under the assumption of policy continuity after the elections.

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1:14 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt raises import duty on gold, silver jewellery findings to 15% from 11%

The Indian government has increased the import duty on gold and silver findings, used in making jewellery, and on precious metal coins to 15 per cent from 11 per cent, effective from January 22, to bring them in line with duties on gold and silver bars.

In a notification issued on Monday, India's Ministry of Finance also hiked the import duty on spent catalysts containing precious metals to 14.35 per cent from 10.1 per cent. (Reuters)

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12:55 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt budgeted to collect Rs 18.23 trillion from direct taxes in this financial year

The government had budgeted to collect Rs 18.23 trillion from direct taxes in this fiscal. Till January 10, the mop-up stood at Rs 14.70 trillion, which is 81 per cent of budget estimates. The total direct tax mop-up is likely to exceed budget estimates by about Rs 1 trillion. (PTI)

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12:46 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Rs 226 crore sanctioned for ropeway in Himachal, says Nitin Gadkari

Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that Rs 226.02 crore has been sacntioned for the development of a ropeway to connect Nature Park to Bijli Mahadev Temple in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh. The 2.33 km long ropeway will be built under the "Parvatmala" - the National Ropeway Development Programme.

12:38 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Centre likely to announce Phase IV of Delhi Metro project which includes 5 corridors

According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), phase IV has five more corridors. These are Janakpuri West to R.K Ashram, Tughlakabad to Delhi Aerocity, and Majlis Park to Maujpur, which are under implementation. The other two corridors are Inderlok - Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block. All which may be announced in the Interim Budget on February 1. 

 

12:34 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Centre expected to announce Rs 7,500 cr Delhi metro project to connect Haryana-UP

Centre is likely to announce Delhi Metro’s new corridor project to connect Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during the Interim Budget on February 1. The project is estimated to cost Rs 7,500 crore and will extend from Rithala in Delhi to Kundli in Haryana. This will be the sixth and final corridor of Delhi Metro’s phase IV project.

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12:13 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Budget should pave way for dedicated courses in gaming

Namratha Swamy, chief operating officer at Mobile Premier League (MPL) says that that Budget 2024 should pave the pave for dedicated courses in gaming. 

He says, "These courses will play a pivotal role in nurturing the next generation of game developers and professionals, ensuring a steady supply of skilled talent to fuel the industry's growth."

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11:52 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Taxation on esports should be slashed to 18% from 24%

Rohit Agarwal, founder and director of gaming marketing agency Alpha Zegus, says that the taxation on esports should be slashed to 18 per cent from 28 per cent.

"From budget 2024, one of the major steps I look forward to is more 'esports' based activities moving to 18 per cent slab," he said. Adding that the esports industry is also looking forward to the Centre encouraging more state governments to assign budgets for the growth and promotion of esports.
 

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11:42 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE update: E-sport companies expect dedicated fund allocation in the Union Budget

Esports companies and federations expect a dedicated allocation of funds for the sector as it has the potential to grow after its inclusion as an official medal sport in the Asian Games 2022.

"For establishing the infrastructure necessary for the industry's development and to nurture an esports ecosystem that positions India as a global esports hub, we hope to see a dedicated allocation of funds for the esports sector," says Lokesh Suji, director of the Esports Federation of India and vice president at the Asian Esports Federation.

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11:19 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE update: Paper manufacturers urge Centre to increase import duty on paper by 25%

Domestic paper and paperboard manufacturers have demanded a hike in import duty to 25 per cent on paper products and the imposition of a quality control order in the upcoming Budget to discourage cheap inward shipments.
 

The Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), in a statement on Monday, said that in its pre-budget submissions to the government, it has urged for increasing the basic customs duty on the import of paper and paperboard from 10 per cent to 25 per cent as India's WTO Bound rate is 40 per cent on these products. (PTI)

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11:05 AM

Budget 2024 date: Why the Union Budget of India is presented on February 1

From 1999 till 2017, for almost 20 years, the Union Budget continued to be presented on the last working day in February. It was changed in 2017.

Arun Jaitley, who was then the finance minister, announced that from 2017, the Budget would be presented on February 1 and not on the last working day as it was a colonial-era practice.
 

Jaitley also announced that the Centre did not get ample time to make new policies for the year that would start from April 1, if the Budget is presented on the last day of February.

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10:57 AM

Budget 2024 time: Why the Union Budget is presented at 11 am

The Budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February since the colonial era. The time was chosen due to India’s time difference from the United Kingdom. India’s time is 4.5 hours ahead of the British Summertime, and the Budget at 5 pm (IST) ensured that it was announced during the day in the UK.

However, the practice was changed by Yashwant Sinha in 1999 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government. Sinha, who was India’s finance minister between 1998 and 2002, suggested that the Budget be presented at 11 am as it would allow time to analyse numbers. Sinha also said that this would allow more informed debate in the Parliament.

On February 27, 1999, Sinha presented the Budget at 11 am for the first time in India. Since then, it has been presented at 11 am.

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10:40 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE update: PM Modi promises to install rooftop solar panels in 10 million houses

Following the Ram mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, "The first decision I have taken after returning from Ayodhya is that our government will launch “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana” with the target of installing rooftop solar on 1 crore houses."

"This will not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class, but will also make India self-reliant in the energy sector," he added.

 

9:43 AM

Govt expected to announce a substantial increase in agricultural credit to Rs 22-25 trillion

With intensions to support agriculture and farmers in the country, the government is likely to announce a substantial increase in the agricultural credit target to Rs 22-25 trillion in the upcoming interim Budget for the next fiscal and ensure every eligible farmer has access to institutional credit, according to sources. The government's agri-credit target is Rs 20 trillion for the current fiscal.

 

9:39 AM

Govt likely to focus on reducing fiscal deficit, expanding capital expenditure in union budget

In its interim budget scheduled to be table on February 1, the goverenment is likely to focus on controlling the fiscal deficit while expanding the capital expenditure to an all-time high, according to a report published in Reuters. This budget is significant given that it will be tabled weeks before the Lok Sabha elections where BJP is predicted to win a third-term. The interim budget is likely to stike a balance between populist measures and fiscal prudence.