Page 6 - Budget

Budget 2024: What are the special packages for Bihar, Andhra Pradesh?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh. She said the Centre will set up airports, medical colleges, and sports infrastructure in Bihar

With the Union Budget 2024 minutes away, key highlights from Interim Budget

The Interim Budget 2024 highlighted the government's dedication to economic growth, infrastructure development, social welfare, fiscal consolidation, innovation, and sustainable practices

Going to be a milestone Budget of Amrit Kaal, says PM Narendra Modi

Modi hits out at Opposition over protests during the special session

Telecom technology needs capital, govt to allocate 5% of USOF for R&D

The government has decided to allocate 5 per cent of Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) for research and development of telecommunications technology, said the Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday. At present, the government has a corpus of around Rs 80,000 crore collected under USOF which has now been renamed as Digital Bharat Nidhi. "Telecommunication technology development requires significantly large and patient capital for R&D and commercialisation. To address this, the government has decided that an allocation of 5 per cent of annual collections from Universal Services Obligation Fund would be made available for funding R&D in the telecom sector," the survey said. According to the survey, the Telecom Technology Development Fund formulated in 2022 has seen significant participation from startups, MSMEs, academia and industry. The survey said the government dedicated '5G Test Bed' to the nation in 2022, providing an end-to-end testing facility, ...

The Budget Show with BS: Tax, capex, jobs and politics

Will Budget 2024 bring tax relief? Will it be populist? What to expect on jobs? Will the capex push continue? What about special package for Bihar and Andhra? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

Dream Budgets and nightmares since 1991

Which have been the most impactful Budgets since the economic reforms began in 1991? And which Budgets altered the course of reforms? And what will be a great Budget to have on Tuesday? Watch this spe

Budget Watch: Textile sector seeks a stitch in time as govt mulls tax cuts

Budget 2024: Centre is considering tax incentives and other measures to support the textile and apparel industry, including reducing customs duties on imported cotton and revising the PLI scheme

The Budget Show with BS: Tax relief on home loans?

Will Budget 2024 bring tax relief on home loans? How will it boost affordable housing? What may be in store for residential, office, commercial real estate? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

The Budget Show with BS: Sport, Olympics and more

What will Budget 2024 do to improve sports infrastructure in India? Are we doing enough to harvest more Neeraj Chopras? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

Union Budget 2024: FM participates in 'halwa' ceremony held at North Block

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for preparation of Union Budget 2024-25 to be unveiled on July 23 in Lok Sabha. The ceremony is a ritual in which traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the budget. It is organised in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital and is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials. "The final stage of the Budget preparation process for Union Budget 2024-25 commenced with the customary Halwa ceremony in the presence of Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman, in New Delhi, today," the finance ministry said in a post on X. As part of the ceremony, the finance minister also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the official

Govt may scale down fiscal deficit target to 5% or less in Budget: ICRA

The government is likely to lower fiscal deficit to 4.9-5 per cent of the GDP for this financial year in the upcoming Budget aided by revenue buoyancy. The government had pegged the fiscal deficit estimate at 5.1 per cent for the current fiscal year when it presented the interim Budget in February. "The union government is likely to set a fiscal deficit target at 4.9-5 per cent, lower than projected 5.1 per cent of GDP, without compromising the capital expenditure target of Rs 11.1 lakh crore," ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar told PTI. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the full Budget on July 23. This will be her seventh Budget in a row. This budget aims to set the foundation for India's journey towards becoming a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047. The government achieved a fiscal deficit of 5.6 per cent of the GDP during the previous financial year. "There is also a high likelihood of reducing the net market borrowings for the current financial year by

Budget 2024: Apparel exporters seek fiscal incentives to boost exports

Apparel exporters on Monday sought fiscal incentives including cut in customs duties and fund support in the forthcoming Budget to boost the outbound shipments from the sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget on July 22. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) suggested the government should increase the rates under the interest equalization scheme to 5 per cent for all the apparel exporters for a period of five years. "This will increase the apparel industry's competitiveness in the international market," AEPC Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said in a statement. He also said that all types of trimmings and embellishments should be covered under Import of Goods at Concessional Rates of Duty Rules. Sekhri said that with the complete value chain and commitment for compliance driven quality products, India is all set to unleash its prowess in the textiles and apparel sector by being a significant global player. "The long-term policy for garment indu

The Budget Show with BS: Tax relief for deposits, pricing UPI, 5-day week

What will Budget 2024 do to help banks push deposits? Will Budget 2024 announce 5-day work week for banks? What about financial inclusion and IDBI privatisation? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

The Budget Show with BS: What to expect for health, education?

What will Budget 2024 do for health and education sectors? How are we factoring global warming and pollution in our health budgeting? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

The Budget Show with BS: Will angel tax on startups be removed?

Will Budget 2024 help startups access domestic capital? Will angel tax be removed? Will startup innovation and R&D get a push? What about deeptech and AI? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

Budget 2024: India's space sector eyes strategic allocations and incentives

Union Budget 2024: The space sector in India is expected to reach $44 billion by 2033. Industry leaders call for incentives to push private sector growth

Power sector Budget wish list: Funds for green energy, more domestic mfg

Sector executives are expecting a relook of GST rates across the renewable energy supply chain, and viability gap funding for newer sectors

Budget 2024: What does India's power sector expects from FM Sitharaman

Union Budget 2024: Securing supply chain stability and embracing new technologies are essential for the sector's long-term sustainability and efficiency

Budget 2024: EEPC urges revival of interest subvention scheme for exporters

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC India) has urged the government to revive the interest subvention scheme for exporters in its pre-budget recommendations. EEPC India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia emphasised the scheme's importance, especially with rising interest rates. He called for restoring the three per cent subvention rate for specific tariff lines and a 5 per cent rate for MSME exporters across all product categories. The recent exclusion of merchant exporters from the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) raised concerns. EEPC India argued that merchant exporters, with low profit margins, are significantly impacted by credit costs. They proposed extending the IES benefits to them with a three per cent subvention rate. A government notice extended the IES for two months, but only for MSMEs. This left merchants and large exporters ineligible after June 30. The apex engineering exports promotion body warned this exclusion could hurt these businesses, especially those

Budget 2024 wish list: ATMA urges govt to restrict import of waste tyres

The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) on Tuesday said there is a need to restrict import of waste tyres into India, saying the country is becoming a 'dumping ground' for scrap tyres. The import of waste/scrap tyres into India has increased by more than five times since FY20-21, ATMA said in its pre-budget submission to the finance ministry. "Such indiscriminate import of waste/scrap tyres is not only an environmental and safety concern but also undermines the very purpose of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Regulation on Waste Tyres which is in place since July 2022," it added. Raising the concern, ATMA Chairman Arnab Banerjee said,"The import of waste/scrap tyres into India needs to be restricted through policy measures and, if necessary, allowed only in multiple cut or shredded form." India has emerged as one of the leading manufacturers of tyres in the world with domestic manufacturing of tyres surpassing 200 million per annum. Accordingly, there is enough