Centre to move towards accrual-based accounting.

Standardise definitions of revenue, fiscal deficit

Business Standard

Same loan terms for states; back-to-back facility restored.

Set up fund to pass on external loans

Explanatory memorandum as to the action taken on the recommendations made by the Twelfth Finance Commission in its report submitted to the President.

Report on action taken

Within hours of the publication of this column, the proposals concerning income-tax matters in the Finance Bill, 2005 would travel from the stage of guesswork to reality. 


Say no to surcharge, cess and amnesty

Exemptions from central excise duty given to units in the North-east or other backward regions are in the news. Such exemptions do not serve the purpose of development, feel some. 


Sukumar Mukhopadhya: Liberal view of promotional exemption needed

With the unexpected and unprecedented rise in business process outsourcing (BPO) in India, it was but natural that the legislature was concerned about the clarity required for taxing income of the

H P Agrawal: Incoherent approach to BPO tax

With oil prices hitting fresh highs every day, finance ministers around the world (except in the oil-exporting countries) are worried about a slowing down in economic growth. 


Betting on a decline

In a case recently decided by the Supreme Court about export tax the issue was whether refractory cement is cement. 


Sukumar Mukhopadhya: Refractory cement is not cement

The encouraging quarterly results that the Indian IT sector has just put behind it should not let it lapse into complacency. 


Up the value chain

The HRD minister has perhaps for the best motives sharply reduced the fees for postgraduate management education. He claims support from an unpublished report by a Committee under the Chairmanship of

Management education: the real issues

An air of expectation hangs over Parliament House moments before the Budget is presented, like a wedding party that can hear the distant drums of the baraat

Banter-free Budget

K Venkataramanan

The finance minister has taken a practical approach in presenting the budget given the macroeconomic conditions and various other constraints that the government is grappling with. The Budget has focused on some key social issues and there is a welcome emphasis on establishing gender equality and a special focus on the disabled. Focus on improving support for women, the youth and the poor is laudable.

A practical Budget, but revenue projections seem optimistic

A growth forecast that is seriously wrong is dangerous - it can lead to revenue projections and spending decisions that become seriously inflationary

A balanced Survey: Nitin Desai

People suspect, though Mr Bansal loses Rs 24,000 cr in passenger business, he makes super-normal profits in freight business

An amateurish reform agenda: R Sivadasan

The minister did not touch upon expediting the much-awaited accounting reforms, hanging fire for almost 10 years now

Debt Servicing Fund in right direction: Vivek Sahai

The mechanism of fuel adjustment charge in freight rates will result in a burden to the industry

Pragmatic budget maintains consistency with last year's 'reformist' move: Manish Sharma

The forthcoming Budget may give tax exemptions to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and also give them more scope to access funds. A senior official in the know told Business Standard the government is considering giving tax exemptions to these organisations, hitherto available only for cooperative societies.

Farmer Producer Organisations may get tax exemptions in 2013 Budget

The state of railway can be summed up from the fact that while Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was reading out his speech and stressing on rail safety, a train in Gulabganj, Madhya Pradesh, ran over two kids resulting in the crowd setting the station on fire. The lack of safety and inadequate network have been the bane the railways for some year now.

Railway Budget: Safety and network expansion remain unaddressed

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