Page 1122 - Business Finance
Govt to reduce fiscal deficit to 3 pc in 2021-21, eliminate primary deficit
The government Friday came out with a roadmap to reduce the fiscal deficit, the gap between total expenditure and revenue, to 3 per cent of the GDP by 2020-21, and eliminate primary deficit. As per the medium term fiscal policy cum fiscal policy strategy statement tabled in Parliament, the government is aiming to contain the fiscal deficit at 3.4 per cent in the current as well as next fiscal, and then bring it down to 3 per cent in 2020-21. Presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government would have maintained fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent for year 2018-19 and taken further steps to consolidate fiscal deficit in year 2019-20. "However, considering the need for income support to farmers we have provided Rs 20,000 crore in 2018-19 RE (revised estimates) and Rs 75,000 crore in 2019-20 BE (budget estimates). "If we exclude this, the fiscal deficit would have been less than 3.3 per cent for 2018-19 and less than 3.1 per cent for year 2019-20," he said ..
Vote-on-Account: Additional provision of Rs 666.66 crore for conducting general elections, 12.14 to EC for awareness campaign
An additional provision of Rs 666.66 crore (voted) in revenue section has been provided for conducting general elections to Law and Justice Ministry in the vote-on-account presented in Parliament on Friday.In vote-on-account for expenditure of the central government, the gross expenditure for 2019-20 is estimated to be at Rs 97,43,039.70 crore. Against this requirement, the amount asked for is Rs 34,17,295.38 crore.Broadly, the provision represents one-third of the estimated gross expenditure exhibited in the demands for grants 2019-20, except in certain cases where the expenditure is not uniformly spread over the year and larger provision is required to meet the likely expenditure during April to July 2019.Items of expenditure for which over and above one-third of the total provision has been sought includes additional funds for Law and Justice Ministry for conducting elections as well as for Election Commission for voters awareness campaign among many other departments and ...
Honeywell forecasts full-year earnings above estimates
(Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc on Friday forecast full-year earnings in a range that was largely above analysts' estimates, as the company continues to benefit from robust demand for aircraft parts.
Weak quarter mars Deutsche Bank's return to the black
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A bigger than expected loss in the fourth quarter and weakness at its investment bank overshadowed the first annual profit in four years for Deutsche Bank.
Oil prices flat on U.S.-China trade talks uncertainty
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Friday as the resolution of trade talks between the United States and China remained in doubt while producer cuts and U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan exports have helped to tighten supply.
Goyal showers tax sops, reaches out to farmers, unorganized labour
Setting aside all conventions with an eye on the coming elections, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday showered tax sops for the middle class and salaried tax payers including zero tax liability for those with income is up to Rs 5 lakh and announced an annual income support of Rs 6,000 for small farmers and contributory pension for labourers in the demonetization-hit unorganized sector.
Expert opinions on Interim Budget 2019-20
Following are the opinions by experts on the Interim Budget 2019-20 presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday:
Government announces Rs 214.20 crore hike in sports budget
The government on Friday hiked the sports budget by Rs 214.20 crore for the financial year 2019-2020, which also includes an increase of Rs 55 crore in funds for the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
IDBI loan fraud case: ED attaches Rs 224 crore worth of assets of firms linked to Sivasankaran
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 224.6 crore of a firm linked to former Aircel promoter C Sivasankaran in connection with a money laundering probe in an alleged multi-crore loan fraud at IDBI Bank. The agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment of assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Siva Group of Companies and Axcel Sunshine Limited located in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. The ED, in a statement, said the assets include land parcels and office premises located at MRC Nagar and T Nagar in Chennai, mutual funds and deposits available in bank accounts. The total amount of attachment in the case is Rs 224.6 crore, it said. The agency said it registered a criminal case under PMLA, taking cognisance of a CBI FIR against the firms, C Sivasankaran and others for non-payment of loans of USD 67 million (about Rs 470 crore) disbursed by an IDBI Bank branch located in Chennai. The ED said ..
Budget 2019: Government steps up farm support, gives tax relief in pre-election budget
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's government pledged 750 billion rupees ($10.56 billion) to support poor farmers and reduced the tax burden for the middle class on Friday, as it looked to rally support from voters with the final budget before a general election.
Main Budget may have benefits for taxpayers above Rs 5 lakh, hints Goyal
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal Friday said the government may consider relief for taxpayers having annual income above Rs 5 lakh in the main Budget after polls. There is no change in the tax rate and limits for other category beyond Rs 5 lakh, Goyal said while talking to media after presentation of the Interim Budget. He expressed hope that next government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi other tax proposals will be looked at in the main Budget. "I had the constraint of this being an Interim Budget. However, there were many things which could not have been waited for the final Budget, particularly relief for small taxpayer which I have passed on. The rest is for the then Finance Minister for decide in July 2019," he said. Explaining the rationale for providing tax relief to lower middle class with annual income of Rs 5 lakh, Goyal said, "This neo-middle class required certainties about their future tax liabilities and save them from refund process, we have given ...
Govt proposes hike in allocation for export promotion schemes to Rs 4,115 cr for 2019-20
The government Friday proposed an increase in budgetary allocation for export promotion schemes to Rs 4,115 crore for 2019-20 with a view to boost the country's outbound shipments. In the revised budget estimate for 2018-19, the allocation stood at Rs 3,681 crore as against the budgeted amount of Rs 3,551 crore. The schemes which would get additional funds during the next financial year (April 2019 - March 2020) include market access initiative, national export insurance account, gems and jewellery sector, investment in Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and interest subsidy scheme. According to the budget documents, funds for interest subsidy schemes was proposed to increase to Rs 3,000 crore in 2019-20 as against the revised budget of Rs 2,600 crore in 2018-19. The interest equalisation/subsidy scheme for pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit started on April 1, 2015, and will end in March 2020. The government provides 3 per cent interest subsidy to exporters. It helps enhance
Budget 2019-20: Delhi Police gets Rs 7,881.77 cr
The Delhi Police has been allocated Rs 7,881.77 crore in the Budget 2019-20, an increase of 6.40 per cent from the budget outlay in the last fiscal. Of the total amount allotted in the budget, Rs 7334.28 has been earmarked for the Revenue Section, which comprises the Administrative Section, the Road Safety Cell and the Development and Communication Network. The amount saw a 7.99 per cent increase from the last budget outlay of Rs 6791.60 crore. For police infrastructure, which comprises office and residential building projects, Rs 384.86 crore has been allocated, seeing a decline from last year's amount of Rs 460.95 crore. Rs 162.63 crore has been allocated for other expenses, including procurement of motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, signals and blinkers and the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS).
Power PSU investments to dip 21.87 pc to Rs 44,000 cr in FY20
The government has reduced the total investment by seven state-run power firms, including NTPC and PowerGrid, by 21.87 per cent to Rs 44,332.81 crore for 2019-20, against the revised estimate of Rs 56,742.49 crore for the current fiscal. The investment by these public sector undertakings (PSUs) was budgeted at Rs 54,270.11 crore for the current financial year, according to the Budget 2019-20 document. According to the document, the highest cut of 47.34 per cent in the investment has been done for Power Grid Corporation to Rs 15,000 crore for 2019-20, compared with the Rs 28,487.53 revised estimates for this fiscal. The investment by the company was budgeted at Rs 25,000 crore for this fiscal in the previous Budget. In the case of NTPC, the investment for 2019-20 has also been reduce to Rs 20,000 crore from Rs 22,300 crore for this fiscal. The investment for the current fiscal was not revised. The investment by the state-run hydro power giant NHPC has been increased to Rs 3,806 crore .
Rupee drops 17 paise to 71.25/USD on fiscal slippage concerns
The Indian rupee Friday weakened by 17 paise to close at 71.25 against the US dollar as concerns related to fiscal slippage weighed on the sentiment after the interim budget unveiled some big populist measures ahead of the general elections. On a weekly-basis, the domestic currency registered a loss of 8 paise. The rupee had registered a marginal gain of 2 paise in the previous week. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened at 71.08, but during the day it came under selling pressure. The local unit moved in a range of 70.94 to 71.39 and finally finished at 71.25 per dollar, down by 17 paise against its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee had settled 4 paise higher at 71.08 against the US dollar. "Indian rupee and bonds fell on the budget announcement of the higher borrowings," V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities said. The interim budget pegs fiscal deficit slipping by 10 bps to 3.4 per cent for the current year, owing to an ..
11 promoter group entities of Dynacons Tech settle disclosure lapse case with Sebi
Eleven promoter group entities of Dynacons Technologies including Dynacons Systems & Solutions have settled a case with Sebi related to alleged disclosure lapses after paying Rs 22.28 lakh towards settlement charges. The other 10 promoter group entities are Shirish M Anjaria HUF, Parag J Dalal, Devangi Parag Dalal, Hasumati Dalal, Jigan D Anjaria, Parag J Dalal, Nilam S Anjaria, Trigen Infosolutions, Dharmesh S Anjaria and Shrish M Anjaria. In separate orders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said the settlement orders dispose of the adjudication proceedings against the entities. The regulator initiated adjudication proceedings after it was observed that an individual named Arun Govil in August 2014 made a public announcement to acquire over 2 crore shares through an open offer, representing 26 per cent shares of the company. Pursuant to the announcement, Sebi observed that the promoter group had not disclosed the annual declaration in prescribed format in ...
Direct Tax collection exceeds target in FY19, pegged at Rs 13.80 lakh cr in FY20
Direct tax collection for current fiscal exceeded the budgeted target by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 12 lakh crore, while FY20 fiscal the mop-up has been pegged at Rs 13.80 lakh crore. The government had originally budgeted to collect Rs 11.50 lakh crore in current financial year from direct taxes, which include corporate tax and personal income tax (PIT). As per the 2019-20 Budget estimates, out of the Rs 13.80 lakh crore direct taxes, the Government aims to raise Rs 7.60 lakh crore from corporate tax and Rs 6.20 lakh crore from PIT. This is higher than Rs 6.71 lakh crore estimated to be collected from corporate tax and Rs 5.29 lakh crore from PIT in the current fiscal ending March 2019. On the indirect tax front, customs collection in the current fiscal too surpassed the budgeted estimate of Rs 1.12 lakh crore to touch Rs 1.30 lakh crore. In 2019-20, mop up from customs are expected to be higher at Rs 1.45 lakh crore. Excise duty collections in 2019-20 is budgeted at similar levels for ...
Real estate stocks gain up to 4 pc after budget announcement
Shares of real estate firms gained up to 4 per cent Friday after the government proposed extending tax sops given to these companies for developing affordable housing until next fiscal and tax exemption on notional rent for unsold inventories for two years. Shares of The Phoenix Mills rose 3.66 per cent, Oberoi Realty went up by 2.46 per cent, Indiabulls Real Estate 1.84 per cent, Sobha 1.20 per cent, Godrej Properties 0.73 per cent, DLF 0.67 per cent, Omaxe 0.49 per cent, Sunteck Realty 0.45 per cent and Prestige Estates Projects 0.37 per cent on BSE. The BSE realty index also gained 1.33 per cent to close at 1,797.76. While presenting the interim budget for 2019-20, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also proposed certain incentives to individual tax payers that would have positive impact on the real estate sector, which is facing a multi-year demand slowdown. The government announced that capital gains of up to Rs 2 crore could be rolled over for investment in two housing units from the
Thyssenkrupp boss defends break-up as scepticism persists
BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp boss Guido Kerkhoff on Friday sought to drum up support among small shareholders for a plan to break up the steel-to-elevators group, facing criticism about the lack of concrete details over how the move will lead to better results.
Cochin Port's business grows 8%
The cumulative handling of cargo at Cochin Port between April 2018 and January 2019 grew by eight per cent to a record 26.148 million metric tonne (MMT), as compared to the same period last year, the company announced on Friday.