Page 38 - Latest Updates on Budget 2025-26

Budget key trigger for life insurance companies' stocks in near term

Premium growth may be volatile for the rest of FY25 due to surrender value regulations

Budget FY26: Goldman Sachs highlights focus on fiscal deficit, growth

India's elevated public debt-to-GDP ratio remains a concern. A reduction in the general fiscal deficit from 8 per cent in FY25 to 7 per cent by FY30 is critical to keeping public debt sustainable

CII suggests 10-point agenda on ease of biz reforms ahead of Budget

Ahead of the upcoming Budget, industry body CII on Sunday suggested a 10-point agenda to drive ease of doing business reforms, aimed at reducing compliance burden, simplifying regulatory frameworks, and improving transparency. Among the "urgent policy interventions", the industry body has recommended that all regulatory approvals -- central, state and local levels -- must mandatorily be provided only through the National Single Window System. It has also pitched for expediting the process of dispute resolution by improving the capacity of courts and placing greater reliance on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism. For streamlining environmental compliances, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said, a unified framework could be introduced, which consolidates all requirements into a single document. Emphasising that easy access to land is important to facilitate new or expanding businesses, it said that states may be incentivised to develop an online integrated land ...

Govt cuts Census budget allocation by half, RGI to seek additional funds

The Union Home Ministry has halved the Census and Statistics budget for 2024-25, with provisions for the Registrar General of India to request additional funds for the delayed census

Realtors seek stamp duty cuts, revised home loan limits in Budget

The year 2024 has seen a slowdown in real estate due to general and state elections, with housing sales in the top seven cities declining by 4 per cent

Amnesty scheme for customs may be announced in upcoming Budget: Experts

In a bid to reduce litigation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the upcoming Budget may announce an Amnesty Scheme for customs to foster ease of doing business. "The main asks of the industry would certainly be aligned with the objectives of the government and one objective of the government has been litigation reduction. On that front, having an amnesty scheme for customs especially covering pre-GST legacy taxes like additional duty, special additional duty has been one of the asks of the industry," Price Waterhouse & Co LLP managing director Anurag Sehgal said. The government had in the past announced amnesty schemes for excise and service tax and even for the income tax but not for customs. There are estimates that over 40,000 cases were pending in various courts and tribunals pertaining to customs duty alone. Another consultancy firm EY India said customs litigations are pending at various forums for a very long time and the same require time and effort to be spent by ...

DPIIT officials meet AIFs to promote capital mobilisation for startups

The meeting saw the participation of more than 70 AIFs, with discussions focused on capital mobilisation and promoting funding for startups in smaller cities

Budget likely to raise KCC credit limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh

Launched in 1998, Kisan Credit Card scheme had over 74 million accounts, with outstanding credit of Rs 8.9 trillion as of June 30, 2023

Govt may introduce one-time amnesty scheme to resolve Customs disputes

The official said around 35,000 customs cases, involving over around Rs 50,000 crore are currently pending across various courts

Days ahead of Union Budget, revenue secy Arunish Chawla shifted to DIPAM

In a significant reshuffle within the Finance Ministry, senior IAS officer Arunish Chawla has been reassigned from his position as revenue secretary to head the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), a move which comes three weeks ahead of the Union Budget. DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been appointed as the new revenue secretary in place of Chawla, according to a personnel ministry order. Pandey is also the finance secretary. The changes come at a time when the Finance Ministry is working on the the Union Budget, scheduled for presentation on February 1. Wednesday's reshuffle is seen as the government's strategic adjustments as it gears up for the crucial financial planning period ahead. Chawla, a 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Bihar cadre, was appointed as the revenue secretary only on December 25 last year. He was then working as the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. He will also hold additional charge of the pos

Capex should be ramped up by 25% over BE: CII President Sanjiv Puri

CII President Sanjiv Puri said that exports are facing headwinds while suggesting measures such as minimum import and anti-dumping duty

Budget 2025: IESA asks govt to tax all new tech batteries at 5% GST

India Energy Storage Alliance on Wednesday said batteries, irrespective of technology type, must be uniformly taxed at 5 per cent GST like electric vehicles to support the emerging sector. Ahead of the Union Budget, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) President Debi Prasad Dash told PTI that the government may consider protecting domestic cells and battery component manufacturers in the wake of an increase in imports of lithium-ion cells, which has risen to Rs 24,000 crore in FY24 from Rs 18,000 crore in FY23, especially from China. There is a disparity in the tax structure of batteries, he said, adding GST for lithium-ion batteries is 18 per cent, but other chemistries, like lead acid, sodium, and flow batteries and others, are at 28 per cent. On the other hand, for electric vehicles, the GST is 5 per cent. "So, as an industry, we need support to this emerging sector, and all new technologies must be taxed at 5 per cent, and there should not be any difference between different ...

Expect RBI to cut rates next month, Budget must focus on job creation: CII

Industry body CII expects the RBI to cut the benchmark interest rates next month to support sagging growth, its President Sanjiv Puri said on Wednesday and stressed the need to boost job creation through targeted interventions for labour-intensive sectors in the upcoming Budget. In an interview with PTI, Puri flagged "sticky" food inflation, highlighting the need to build agricultural resilience and de-linking it from the interest rates under the inflation targeting framework, arguing that it is on account of climate change and not really influenced by the monetary policy. Puri is also the Chairman and Managing Director of ITC. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is slated to present the Budget in Parliament on February 1. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) chief also expressed optimism that much-needed labour reforms will be taken up by the BJP-led NDA government in the third term, stressing that it would benefit the economy and create more jobs. Puri also raised the issu

Budget 2025: NRAI seeks industry status, subsidies for food services sector

National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Wednesday asked the government to grant industry status to the food services sector while seeking an equitable and fair e-commerce policy to provide a level-playing field to protect restaurants, delivery partners and consumers from potentially exploitative practices of platforms. In its pre-Budget recommendations, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said restaurants should be allowed to operate for longer hours, and also sought targeted subsidy schemes and access to debt financing for SMEs. NRAI said the industry is expected to reach Rs 7,76,511 crore and grow at an 8.1 per cent CAGR by 2028, making it the third-largest food services market globally. "Given the size (and) immense contribution of the food services industry to the country's economy, it should be accorded an industry status," NRAI said in a statement. Industry status helps in getting lower utility tariffs, reduced property taxes, easier access to finance,

Budget 2025 expectations: Insurers seek GST cut, Section 80D hike, more

Budget 2025: Key demands include reducing GST on premiums, revising tax exemptions under Section 80D, and introducing a health regulator to counter rising medical inflation

Union Budget should reduce personal I-T for lower-income groups: EY India

The Budget is expected to focus on boosting private capex, tax simplification and reduction in personal income tax, particularly for the lower-income groups, to stimulate demand, EY India said. The Union Budget for 2025-26 is scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1. EY India, in its Budget expectation note, said with over Rs 31 lakh crore stuck in income tax disputes as of 2023-24, there is an urgent need to clear Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) backlog and bolster alternate dispute resolution mechanisms like advance pricing agreements and safe harbours. "While a full comprehensive review of the direct tax code may take time, we might see some initial steps towards its implementation in this Budget. I also hope for a reduction in personal income tax, particularly for the lower-income groups, to provide relief and stimulate demand," said Sameer Gupta, National Tax Leader, EY India. EY said the expectations from Budget are focused on a set of strategic reforms that

GDP growth cut sets gloomy backdrop to Union Budget, says Congress

The downward revision of GDP growth estimates for the current fiscal calls for radical action to dispel the cloud of growth slowdown and investment chill in the country, the Congress said on Wednesday. AICC general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it also set a gloomy backdrop to the Union Budget. He suggested that income support for India's poor, higher MGNREGA wages and increased minimum support prices (MSPs) were the need of the hour, and demanded a drastic simplification of the "comically complex" GST regime and Income Tax relief for the middle class. In a statement, Ramesh said the advance estimates released by the Union government for GDP growth in the 2024-25 financial year projected a mere 6.4 per cent growth. "This is a four-year low, and a sharp deceleration compared to the 8.2 per cent growth recorded in FY24 (2023-24). It is even lower than the recent RBI estimate of 6.6 per cent growth which itself marked a reduction from the earlier projection of

FinMin to review flagship schemes with PSB chiefs ahead of Budget

The meeting aims to review the progress of various financial inclusion schemes and discuss future funding requirements in light of the upcoming Budget

Budget for outcomes: Governance and financing reforms hold the key

The challenges to inclusion need to be addressed head on with governance changes and higher untied funding with community accountability and ownership

As Census looms after years of delay, questions over expenditure persist

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also expected to gather up the unspent capex and allocation for the current fiscal to push for a massive spending effort in FY26