The government is working to make India a developed country by 2047, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Presenting the interim Budget 2024-25, Sitharaman also said minimum support prices for 'Annadata' (farmers) have been increased periodically and appropriately. She asserted that for the government, social justice is an effective and necessary model. The government is focussing on addressing systemic inequalities, she said, adding that the emphasis is on outcomes so that socio-economic transformation is achieved. "We focus on outcomes and not outlays," Sitharaman said. Poor, women, youth and farmers are four castes for the government, she added.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting the pre-election Budget for 2024-25. As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan before heading to Parliament. "Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman along with Ministers of State Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad and Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget," Rashtrapati Bhawan said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). President Murmu extended her best wishes to the finance minister. The Union Cabinet met thereafter to clear the Budget. Before the actual presentation in Parliament, the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will approve the Budget for fiscal year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025). Expectations are running high as Sitharaman presents her sixth budget in the Lok S
Ahead of Budget 2024, here is a recap of the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2023
The last session before Lok Sabha polls, expected to be held in April-May this year, will have a total of eight sittings spread over 10 days
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Benchmark equity indices recovered their previous day's losses and closed nearly 1 per cent higher on Wednesday amid robust buying in HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. Investors are eyeing the two important events lined up ahead -- the interim budget and the US Fed interest rate decision -- to derive further cues from. Reclaiming all the early lost ground, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 612.21 points or 0.86 per cent to settle at 71,752.11. During the day, it zoomed 711.49 points or 1 per cent to 71,851.39. The Nifty climbed 203.60 points or 0.95 per cent to 21,725.70. "Nifty bounced back from a weak start and closed with gains of 204 points at 21,726 levels. Global markets will keenly await the US Fed's commentary on the rate cut timeline. On the domestic front, investor's focus will be on the Budget," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Among the Sensex firms, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, ..
Former NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the government needs to continue its focus on capital expenditure in the upcoming interim budget, as private investment is 'still weak' and there is a need to bridge infrastructure gap, which has been 'plaguing' the Indian economy. Kumar noted that increase in capital expenditure during the Modi government period is showing results in terms of the much better quality of the infrastructure and this was needed to make Indian industry globally competitive. He said because of rising indirect tax revenues and also the widening direct tax base, the finance minister will also achieve fiscal consolidation targets. "The capex thrust will continue because the private investment still remains a bit weak. And also, we need to overcome the infrastructure deficit that has plagued our economy and also the logistics cost, which are very high and can only be covered by rising public capital expenditure" he told PTI in an ...
The panel will submit its report by Oct. 31, 2025 covering a period of five years commencing on April 1, 2026
Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today
From the first Budget to today, India's economy has changed, requiring boards to adapt and think on a global scale
There is a need to reduce stress in agriculture and increase demand to ensure sustainable growth
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the interim budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, February 1. Catch all the latest Budget 2024 updates here
Simplifying taxes would help businesses navigating turbulent times, writes Ketan Dalal
Floor leaders of various parties on Tuesday attended an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. Defence Minister and Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his deputy Arjun Ram Meghwal represented the government at the meet. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' K Suresh, TMC's Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK's T R Baalu, Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party's S T Hasan, JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur and TDP's Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting at the Parliament House complex. It is a customary practice ahead of every session to convene a meeting as leaders of different parties highlight the issues they want to raise in Parliament, and the government offers them a glimpse into its agenda and seeks their cooperation. It will be a short session this time, between January 31 and February 9, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table an interim budget ahead
Recent bond auctions saw bids that surpassed expectations, said Alok Singh, group treasury head at CSB Bank
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the interim budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, February 1
From modernisation to border security, here is a look at India's defence Union Budget over the last decade, according to reports by Ministry of Defence
The budget this week is an interim one until a new administration takes office, and the finance minister has already hinted there won't be any major announcements
The Interim Budget due on February 1, 2024, will include a Vote on Account to ensure that the government's expenditure does not get affected in view of the Lok Sabha elections
The growth rate of the combined revenue receipts of the 16 largest states has fallen by almost 80 per cent to 5 per cent during April-November from the budgeted 17.4 per cent for the current fiscal, according to a report. The states have so far borrowed over 37 per cent more than they did last fiscal and given these poor numbers, they will have to borrow heavily this fiscal to service their debt and pay salaries and pensions. The plunge is due to a contraction in sales tax and lower-than-budgeted growth of state goods and services tax collections (SGST), excise duty and stamps and registrations during the period, restricting the growth of states own tax revenue (SOTR) to 11 per cent. Another reason for the poor numbers is the steep decline in Central grants, Icra Ratings said in a report. The agency, though, expects an upside in tax devolution in the fourth quarter, its quantum may not be adequate to fully offset the shortfall in grants. Moreover, even if a sizeable portion of the