Page 36 - Latest Updates on Budget 2025-26

Budget 25: Will changes occur in 80C, 80D, or other tax-saving provisions?

Amid rising healthcare costs, there is growing demand to raise the tax deduction limits under Section 80D for health insurance premiums

Biocon urges govt to exempt cancer, rare-disease drugs from tax in Budget

To make cancer care more affordable in price-sensitive India, Mazumdar-Shaw said, the government must also cut import duties for high-tech instruments

Green transition: Expectations and recommendations for Budget 2025

It is important for India to establish a coherent and comprehensive tax framework which will incentivise green investment and support the renewable energy value chain among other measures

Union Budget 2025-26: Here are the key challenges in the telecom sector

Digital ecosystem growth is facing the increasing risk of cyberattacks on consumers and enterprises alike

Budget 2025 needs to focus on capex, infra spending: RBI MPC member

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget for financial year 2025-26, needs to focus on capital expenditure and infrastructure spending to boost economic growth and make it more sustainable, RBI Monetary Policy Committee member Nagesh Kumar said on Sunday. The eminent economist noted that sustaining infrastructure expenditure and building it further would be very helpful for creating a much more robust trajectory of economic growth for India. "In the context of the slight economic slowdown that we observed in the second quarter, and overall, there is a need to boost growth and make it more robust, more sustainable. "The finance minister would do well to continue this momentum (in Budget 2025-26), which she herself started two years ago, of putting great emphasis on capex, infrastructure spending and increasing it to very healthy levels," he said in an interview to PTI Videos. The Union Budget for 2025-26, set to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, arrives amidst globa

Budget: Govt could cut customs duty on raw materials to boost manufacturing

The government could reduce customs duty on inputs used in manufacturing medical equipment, electronic goods and footwear industries in the forthcoming Budget to boost local manufacturing, according to tax experts. Deloitte India Partner, Indirect Tax, Harpreet Singh said key demands from the Customs side from the 2025-26 Budget, to be tabled in Parliament on February 1, would be rate rationalisation, simplification of the regime, and litigation and dispute management. "In the lines of the phased manufacturing plan, we expect some duty cuts in raw materials in electronics, home appliances, healthcare products, and pharmaceuticals. These are the industries where the government wants to give impetus in terms of manufacturing, and hence, we will see the raw materials declining in these sectors," Singh told PTI. On the proposed Customs duty rationalisation announced in the Budget in July 2024, Singh said the sectors which could see rationalisation are healthcare, manufacturing of medica

Eliminate coal cess to support power-intensive industries: Assocham

Industry body Assocham has pitched for the removal of coal cess stating that the move will support power-intensive industries like aluminium and maintain competitiveness of the domestic industry. In its pre-budget memorandum 2025-26, the industry body said that "high cess on coal (Rs 400 per MT)...be eliminated to support power-intensive industries." Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present the Union Budget 2025 on February 1, 2025. The cess was introduced as Clean Energy Cess in 2010 with a levy of Rs 50 per metric tonne on coal. It has been increased over the years from Rs 50 per metric tonne to Rs 100 per metric tonne in 2014-15, Rs 200 per metric tonne in 2015-16, and Rs 400 per metric tonne in the Union Budget 2016-17, it said. The hike in coal cess has increased the production cost of aluminium many times, Assocham said. It further said that the steep hike in coal cess has adversely impacted the sustainability of the aluminium industry being a highly ...

Govt converted ease of doing business to unease in doing business: Cong

The Congress on Sunday claimed that the Modi government's retrograde policies have broken the confidence of investors in India and converted the ease of doing business to unease in doing business. Ahead of the Union Budget, the opposition party said that to fix this, the upcoming budget must eliminate raid raj and tax terrorism. It also called on the government to take action to protect Indian manufacturing jobs and take decisive action to shore up wages and purchasing power. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government has long proclaimed its desire to improve the "ease of doing business" in India but yet in the past decade "we have only seen an easing of private investment which has fallen to record lows and the easing out of businesspersons who have departed India in large numbers for foreign shores". "A byzantine, punitive, and arbitrary tax regime covering both GST and income tax - which amounts to sheer Tax Terrorism -is now the .

Budget should cut tax rates, focus on domestic drivers to boost growth: EY

The forthcoming Budget needs to focus on domestic drivers like reducing personal income tax and allocating higher capex, to boost growth amid global economic uncertainties, EY's chief policy advisor D K Srivastava has said. Srivastava, a member of the Advisory Council of the 16th Finance Commission, said since urban consumption is lagging, it is necessary to rationalize the personal income taxes structure, both in terms of rates and deductions such that additional disposable incomes could be put into the hands of lower and middle income class groups. "At this time when global economic conditions are not very suitable for the Indian economy and for the global economy as a whole, the government has to rely very heavily on domestic demand drivers," he told PTI in an interview. Srivastava said FY26 Budget should earmark a 20 per cent growth in capex spending over the revised estimates for current fiscal. He projected fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP in current fiscal, and 4.4 per .

Budget 2025: Space sector seeks PLI scheme, more use of satellite data

India's space sector wants the government to spend more on space-based services, slash taxes to spur growth of start-ups and introduce a production-linked incentive scheme for them in the Union Budget. The sector has put forward its demand ahead of the Union Budget for 2025-26 on February 1. The Indian space economy is valued at 8.4 billion dollars and the private sector has just about started making a mark by building satellites and launch systems eyeing a manifold increase over the next decade. "Probably something like a production-linked incentive scheme for the space sector would be helpful from a budget standpoint. A lot of infrastructure development needs to be done for space as well. So, if it can be incentivised for companies to set local manufacturing, that would be great," Pixxel Space co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Awais Ahmed told PTI. The Indian Space Association (ISpA) Director General Lt Gen A K Bhatt (retd) demanded import exemptions, lower GST, and tax ...

Budget session 2025 to be held from Jan 31 to Apr 4: Check key dates here

President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Upper and Lower Houses on January 31, after which the Economic Survey will be tabled

TAC Security's founder urges Centre to prioritise cybersecurity in Budget

Cybersecurity vulnerability management company TAC Security founder Trishneet Arora sought from the Centre actionable steps in the upcoming Union Budget to enhance the country's cybersecurity framework. In a statement, Arora stressed the importance of creating a secure, resilient, and innovative cyber ecosystem that not only safeguards India's expanding digital economy but also positions the nation as a hub for global cybersecurity innovation. Suggesting measures to strengthen the country's cybersecurity landscape, Arora sought Rs 500 crore for the next three years to fund nationwide cybersecurity education and awareness initiatives. "This includes collaborating with top institutions like IITs, NITs, and other specialized centers to create a steady pipeline of industry-ready cybersecurity talent. Programmes will focus on hands-on training, research, and developing practical skills to equip young professionals to meet the growing demand in the cybersecurity sector," he said. He also

Explained: Why TDP does not expect much for Andhra Pradesh from Budget

It has finalised several investment proposals in the last eight months and has successfully negotiated support from the Centre, whenever required, to assist these companies

Explained: What is fiscal deficit and what it means for economic stability

As of January 2025, India's fiscal deficit for FY25 is projected at 4.9 per cent of GDP, amounting to approximately Rs 16.1 trillion

Union Budget 2025: Exploring India's most historic budgets

As we gear up for the upcoming Union Budget, let’s revisit some of the most iconic budgets in India’s history.

Budget 2025: Will home loan relief become a reality? Experts weigh in

The affordability of home loans depends heavily on fiscal policies and potential relief measures in Budget 2025

Union Budget 2025 expectations updates: Geospatial sector seeks funding for satellite tech

Union Budget 2025 Latest Updates: Catch all the latest developments related to Union Budget 2025 here

FY25 seafood exports cross Rs 60,000 cr, govt eyes duty cuts in Budget 2025

The government has proposed reducing the Basic Customs Duty on several key inputs for shrimp and fish feed production to 5%

Commerce dept seeks to extend 2 export schemes ahead of Union Budget

The commerce department is now seeking an additional allocation of Rs 1,600-1,700 crore, which will allow the government to drag the scheme till March 31

Will Budget 2025 simplify tax filing for the common man?

A clearer system may lead to fewer disputes with tax authorities, fostering a more cooperative relationship between taxpayers and the government