Union Budget 2024-25 news: There has been some comfort provided to individuals who opt for the new income tax scheme as there is some rationalisation across the slabs
The government has doubled spending on infrastructure over the past three years as a way to boost the economy
From the introduction of wealth tax to economic liberalisation to privatisation, here is a look back at landmark Union Budgets
Budget 2024: Sitharaman in her inaugural Budget presentation in 2019, had introduced the 'Bahi Khata' to carry the Budget documents, replacing the traditional leather briefcase
Union Budget 2024-25 will be the seventh consecutive budget presentation by Sitharaman, a record streak by any finance minister of India, marking a key historical milestone.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to make history with her seventh consecutive Union Budget presentation today, laying out Modi 3.0's fiscal plan for the India Budget for FY25
The finance ministry's Economic Survey on Monday suggested that governments renounce some of their powers as it would be good for 'both the governed and the governing'. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2023-24 a day before the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. While contemplating the challenges that lie ahead, one should not be daunted because the social and economic transformation of democratic India is a remarkable success story, the document, authored by a team lead by Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, stated. "We have come a long way. The economy has grown from around USD 288 billion in FY93 (1992-93) to USD 3.6 trillion in FY23," it said. India has generated more growth per dollar of debt than other comparable nations and abject poverty has all but been eliminated. Human development indicators have improved, and more Indians, especially women, are getting educated, the 476-page document said. "However, it would be a missed opportunity --
Economic Survey 2024 LIVE news: The Economic Survey stated that short-term inflation outlook benign, but India faces persistent deficit in pulses
A total of 1.92 crore foreign tourists visited India last year, a jump from 10.54 lakh in the pandemic year of 2021, according to the Tourism ministry. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave data of foreign tourist visits (FTVs) to India from 2021 to 2023. According to the data, 1,92,45,817 foreign tourist visits were recorded in 2023, while the number stood at 85,87,562 in 2022, and 10,54,642 in 2021. Delhi saw a remarkable rise from 1,00,178 FTVs in 2021 to an estimated 18,28,116 FTVs in 2023. Similarly, Goa's foreign tourist arrivals jumped from 22,128 in 2021 to 4,52,692 in 2023. Maharashtra experienced one of the highest increases, with FTVs growing from 1,85,643 in 2021 to an estimated 33,87,739 in 2023. Smaller states and UTs also reported significant growth. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw an increase from 1,687 FTVs in 2021 to 9,025 in 2023. Arunachal Pradesh, which had only 182 FTVs in 2021, welcomed 4,496 i
Fast capacity augmentation, modernisation of rolling stock, and energy efficiency are among the key focus areas for Railways, the Economic Survey 2023-24 said, highlighting Outlook's for Railway, on Monday. "In line with this, investments are prioritised in areas like dedicated freight corridors, high-speed rail, modern passenger services like Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat Express, Aastha Special Trains, high-capacity rolling stock and last-mile rail linkages," the Survey said. It said that the Railways is planning projects for three major corridors -- High-traffic density corridors, Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridors, and Rail Sagar (port connectivity) corridors -- to reduce logistics cost and carbon footprint. The survey said that the Railways has planned to reduce its carbon footprint primarily through sourcing its energy requirements through renewable energy sources. "The expected requirement of installation of renewable capacity by 2029-30 is around 30 Giga Watts. Other strateg
The Reserve Bank should stop looking at food inflation in deciding interest rates and the government should explore giving coupons or direct cash transfer to poor to deal with higher food prices, the pre-Budget economic survey said on Monday. While the inflation rate has moderated in recent months, the RBI has refrained from cutting benchmark interest rates -- which decide the rate at which home, personal and corporate loans are given by banks -- citing elevated food inflation. India introduced the inflation-targeting framework in 2016 under which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mandated to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The benchmark policy rates are decided bi-monthly by the RBI on the basis of movement in consumer price index, which includes food, fuel, manufactured goods and select services. "India's inflation targeting framework should consider targeting inflation, excluding food. Higher food prices are, more often, not ...
Stock Market Highlights on July 22: In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap, and SmallCap indices snapped their two-day losing run to settle 1.3 per cent and 0.85 per cent higher, respectively
Numbers are 40 per cent lower than the number of overall investor accounts
The short-term inflation outlook for India is benign, and the expectation of a normal monsoon and moderating global prices of key imported items give credence to the projections made by the RBI and IMF, the Economic Survey said on Monday. However, to ensure long-term policy stability, the Survey 2023-24 suggested making focused efforts to increase the production of major oilseeds, expanding the area under pulses, and assess the progress in developing modern storage facilities for specific crops. The Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also suggested linking of price monitoring data for essential food items collected by different departments to help monitor and quantify the build-up of prices at each stage from the farm gate to the final consumer. "The ongoing efforts to construct the producer price index for goods and services may be expedited to have a greater grasp of episodes of cost-push inflation," said the Survey authored by a
Raising concerns over growing obesity and increase of consumption of highly processed foods laden with sugars and fat, the Economic Survey said 54 per cent of the total disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets. Obesity presents a "concerning situation" and preventive measures must be taken to enable citizens to have a healthier lifestyle, it said. "Obesity is emerging as a serious concern among India's adult population," said the Survey, which was tabled on Monday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament. If India needs to "reap the gains of its demographic dividend, it is critical that its population's health parameters transition towards a balanced and diverse diet", it said. Citing a report from the Indian Council for Medical Research, the Economic Survey observed that the rise in consumption of highly processed foods laden with sugars and fat, coupled with reduced physical activity and limited access to diverse foods, exacerbate micronutrient deficiencies a
Sector move towards data-based lending instead of 'judgement-based lending', it says
Government is expected to reduce its deficit target slightly from the 5.1 per cent of gross domestic product projected before the elections
MSS bonds are issued by the government outside the normal borrowing program to enable the Reserve Bank of India soak up liquidity
The Economic Survey 2024, to be presented today, will evaluate India's economic recovery, growth potential, and address key challenges, setting the stage for budgetary decisions and fiscal policies
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety. The Monsoon Session begins on Monday and will have 19 sittings till August 12 when the government is expected to present six bills, including the one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and also get the Parliament nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under central rule. Sitharaman will also table the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has convened a meeting of the floor leaders of political parties in Parliament to understand issues they would want to raise during the session. The BJD, led by former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has declared that it would play the role of a strong opposition and aggressively raise issues of interest to the state