Page 7 - Union Budgets

Qualitative improvement

Higher capex will improve growth prospects

Defence preparedness

Govt will have to find more resources

White Paper on Indian economy tabled: Tracks 'Fragile 5' to 'Top 5' journey

Within hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising his predecessor Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha, the White Paper criticised almost all aspects of the UPA rule under Singh

Cabinet approves six multi-tracking projects worth Rs 12,000 crore

Projects likely to add 87 million tonnes of cargo for rail

Best of BS Opinion: Not by cosmetic changes alone, valuation surge & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Not by cosmetic changes alone

Disinvestment can get a shot in the arm by ministerial revamp, not by just a nomenclature change

Borrowing cost of states falls to 18-month low at 7.48% at latest auction

The borrowing cost of states declined to an 18-month low at 7.48 percent at the latest auction held on Tuesday. Since the first auction of the fourth quarter held on January 2, the average cut off of state government bond auctions was sniffing at a shade less than 7.8 per cent, which was a two-year high. At the latest auction held on Tuesday, 14 states raised Rs 26,700 crore which was 22 per cent lower than the indicated Rs 34,400 crore for this week in the fourth quarter auction calendar, according to data shared by rating agency Icra. The lower supply was partly on account of the upward revision in tax devolution in the revised estimates for FY24 by the Centre in the interim Budget. This may reduce the borrowing requirements of some of the states in the remainder of the fourth quarter of this fiscal. Reflecting the lower-than-indicated borrowing on Tuesday, the spread between the cut-off of the 10-year state debt and the 10-year G-Sec yield eased to 41 basis points from 49 basis

India's Interim Budget represents responsible fiscal management: USISPF

Commending Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her consistency and focus on growth in her interim Budget, a US-based India-centric business advocacy group has said that it represents a welcome statement of responsible fiscal management in an election year. The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) also commend the government's continued focus on the trinity of infrastructure, inclusive growth, and fiscal prudence in line with growing US-India commercial ties. The interim Budget was presented on February 1 by Sitharaman. As an interim, pre-election budget with no major policy pronouncements, it represents a welcome statement of responsible fiscal management in an election year, the USISPF said in a statement. General elections are expected to be held in India between April and May. According to budget projections, the fiscal deficit for the upcoming financial year (2025) will narrow to 5.1 per cent and GDP growth will remain between 6-7 per cent GDP. On the expendi

Budget session highlights: PM predicts at least 370 seats for BJP in LS

Parliament Budget Session 2024 Live Updates: Catch all the latest developments here

Interim Budget: Govt allocates Rs 1.18 trillion for Jammu and Kashmir

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday proposed an interim Budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for fiscal 2024-25 for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. The interim Budget envisages a fiscal deficit of Rs 20,760 crore and a 7.5 per cent growth in gross state domestic product (GSDP). The capital expenditure for the fiscal has been proposed at Rs 38,566 crore, which is 14.64 per cent of the GSDP, as per the interim Budget tabled by Sitharaman in Parliament. The revenue receipts for the next fiscal stood at Rs 97,861 crore. According to Sitharaman, the crucial reforms undertaken in 2019 enabled "path-breaking" measures by the Union Territory Government to decentralise governance structure, promote inclusive development, upscale revenue generation and step up infrastructure development. "The Government is maintaining law and order to ensure security while simultaneously implementing initiatives for economic and social development. The Government has adopted a policy of zero ...

FY25 Budget will help state become $1 trn economy: UP finance min Khanna

Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna on Monday said his budget for the next fiscal year will be all-inclusive and help the state become a USD 1-trillion economy. Talking to reporters ahead of presenting the annual budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the state assembly, Khanna said the budget will be 'Sarv Samaveshi' (all-inclusive) and 'Sarv Sparshi' (taking care of all) to ensure all-round development. "The Yogiji's (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) budget will take UP forward to achieve its target of becoming a 1 trillion dollar economy," he said. He further said that the upcoming budget is expected to give emphasis on infrastructure, youth employment, and women empowerment. Asked about whether the budget will give a push to BJP's religious agenda by allocating more funds to places of religious importance, he said, "all this comes under the head of infrastructure".

Kerala Budget: Support price of rubber hiked, agri sector gets Rs 1,698 cr

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday presented the state's budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the assembly by allocating Rs 1,698.30 crore for the struggling agriculture sector and increasing the minimum support price for rubber to Rs 180 from Rs 170. He also set aside Rs 50 crore for extreme poverty eradication and announced Rs 134.42 crore for the cooperative sector. Tabling the fourth budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, Balagopal said that though the state is facing an economic crunch and the Centre allegedly imposing financial restrictions, the LDF government would not show any compromise in the development front. Indicating that the state government would go ahead with its development plans, the finance minister said investments worth Rs three lakh crore would be brought to the southern state in the next three years. He said Rs 1,698 crore would be set aside for the traditional agricultural sector and investments worth Rs 5,000 crore would be ...

Tewari gives adjournment notice in LS to discuss Indo-China border issue

Earlier last week, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi gave an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha and sought a discussion on the border situation with China

Unusual election year Budget signals PM Modi's sky-high confidence

India's economy is now the fifth-largest in the world, from the tenth-largest when Modi first took office a decade ago, and the fastest expanding among major nations

Interim Budget indicates the way forward

On the external sector, the Finance Minister said that geopolitically, global affairs are becoming more complex and challenging with wars and conflicts

Statsguru: Railway expenditure for FY25 is pegged at Rs 2.6 trillion

Freight earnings are expected to grow 6.5 per cent in FY25. This is faster than the 2.5 per cent expected in the revised estimates for the current year

Defence preparedness

Govt will have to find more resources

Qualitative improvement

Higher capex will improve growth prospects

Existing taxation structure for corporates very reasonable: Revenue secy

The existing taxation structure for corporates with a 22 per cent tax is "very reasonable" when compared to an economy of the size of India and hence the concessional tax regime which was in force for four years for new manufacturing units was not extended beyond March 2024, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said. In an interview with PTI, Malhotra said the Interim Budget 2024-25 provides for continuity in taxation regime and the benefits given to taxpayers in the last years are showing results in the form of huge buoyancy in personal income tax. "Taxpayer services have been a major focus of the government and this will continue going forward. Taxpayer services includes rationalisation, simplification and trust-based taxation with less scrutiny and more pinpointed assessments and use of technology. We are hopeful taxpayer services will continue to improve helping us in compliance and improving tax collection efficiency," Malhotra said. To a question on why the concessional tax regim

I-T dept will erase petty tax demands on its own, says CBDT chairman

The income tax department will "erase" petty tax demands pending against about 80 lakh taxpayers on its own and issue a "speaking order" explaining the process to be followed, CBDT chairman Nitin Gupta said Friday, a day after the measure was proposed in the interim Budget. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Thursday declared the government's proposal to withdraw outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs 25,000 till 2009-10 fiscal and up to Rs 10,000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15. This was being done, she said, as part of an effort to improve ease of living and ease of doing business for citizens. The finance minister added that there were "a large number" of petty, non-verified, non-reconciled or disputed direct tax demands, many of them dating as far back as the year 1962, which continue to remain on the books, causing anxiety to honest taxpayers and hindering refunds of subsequent years. "We will erase these demands, we will extinguish such a demand from the