Page 3 - Budget

Union Budget 2025: A look at poetic touches in finance ministers' speeches

Union Budget 2025: Here's a look at how finance ministers have infused poetic and cultural references/ quotes in their speeches

Hopeful that Budget will offer schemes to aid MSMEs: UCCI president

Mohanty stated that he wants the corporate tax to be further reduced for the MSME sector

J-K Assembly's first budget session in 6 years to begin on March 3

The Budget Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will begin on March 3 with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's address, officials said on Thursday. This will be the first budget of the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government after assuming power on October 16 last year, ending a six-year-old central rule. "I, Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, under the provisions of Section 21(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, call upon the Members of the Legislative Assembly to assemble in the Legislative Assembly Complex at Jammu on Monday, the 3rd of March, at 10 am to hear my address," read a bulletin issued by the Assembly secretariat. In another bulletin, the Assembly Secretariat requested the members not to send more than 10 starred and 10 unstarred questions in relaxation of Rule 32 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and not more than three bills in relaxation of sub-rule (3) of Rule 65 of the Rules o

Budget 2025: Will the Finance Minister provide a fillip for demand growth?

Why media and policy circles are abuzz with expectations of big announcements on Saturday

A sagging India story: Budget 2025 aims to revive flagging momentum

Overenthusiasm about India was so 2024

India's budget likely to raise major subsidies by 8% to $47 bn in FY27

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the national budget on Feb 1, amid slowing growth in Asia's third-largest economy and rising global uncertainties

Union Budget 2025 expectations highlights: Budget should focus on infra spending, says MPC member

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

Budget Pulse: What’s inside the Union Budget?

The Union Budget 2025 is just around the corner. What does the Budget include? Watch the video to know in simple terms.

Union Budget 2025 updates: Medtech industry calls for standard GST rate

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

MCA may widen internship scheme, engage states to boost participation

The scheme had set a target of providing 125,000 opportunities by the end of March 2025

Budget 2025: EY, industry seek tax relief, housing, and compliance reforms

EY India also advocates for extending the ESOPs tax deferral benefit to all employers and permitting tax payment at the stage of sale

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

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 ...

Budget 2025: Key industry expectations from tax cuts to reforms

A key expectation is the introduction of higher income tax exemptions to boost disposable income for middle-income households

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

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 ...

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

Budget 2025: Gems, jewellery sector urges govt to reduce GST to 1%

The gems and jewellery sector has urged the government for a reduction in goods and services tax (GST) to 1 per cent on revenue equivalence ratio to ease the cost burden on the industry in the upcoming Budget. "We seek rationalisation of taxes and availability of finance to support business," the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Chairman Rajesh Rokde said in a statement on Tuesday. With the continuously increasing gold rates, the current rate of GST is increasingly becoming a burden for the industry and end customers, he said. Therefore, GJC is urging for a reduction in GST from the current 3 per cent to 1 per cent in the upcoming Budget, which will encourage compliance, Rokde said. The tax reduction will enhance affordability for consumers, especially in rural areas, and most importantly, improve revenue collection by increasing the size of the formal economy, he added. The industry apex body said there is a need to introduce a concessional GST rate for lab-grow

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