During Tuesday's annual budget, India's government announced plans to spend $24 billion to create jobs over the next five years and $32 billion on rural development this year alone

Gradually, we are moving towards a simplified taxation regime, while bringing down the incidence of tax itself. Therefore, we are taking this review, says FM

The budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs has increased by Rs 574.31 crore to Rs 3,183.24 crore for 2024-25 as against the revised estimate of Rs 2,608.93 crore in 2023-24. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2024-25, her seventh straight presentation, surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai. This was the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's third term in office. The budget allocation for the ministry was Rs 3,097.60 in 2023-24. However, the revised estimate was Rs 2,608.93, according to official documents. The budget estimate for the Ministry of Minority Affairs this year is Rs 3,183.24. Of the proposed allocation for the ministry, Rs 1,575.72 crore is for education empowerment. The allocation for Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities is Rs 326.16 crore and for Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities is Rs 1,145.38 crore. A total provision of Rs 2,120.72 crore has been made for the ma

The Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday has been received with much enthusiasm within the UK business and investor community, with the fall in the Corporate Tax rate for foreign companies from 40 to 35 per cent and the abolition of the "Angel Tax" among the stand-out proposals. Announcements by the minister on India's fiscal deficit being on a downward trajectory, estimated at 4.9 per cent of GDP for this financial year, were among the aspects that experts feel would help boost foreign investor sentiment towards the economy. The country clocking an 8.2 per cent growth in the previous financial year and efforts to create jobs and enhance skills were among the other key highlights for UK business and industry. Overall, I would say it's a positive Budget for the Indian economy. There have been some really positive measures, particularly on infrastructure and supporting the agricultural economy, said Anuj Chande, Partner and Head of the

The budget also announced a new mechanism for facilitating the continuation of bank credit to MSMEs during their stress period

Mentions incentives for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, but their financial implication is unclear

The final report of the 15th Finance Commission had recommended transfer of 41 per cent of central taxes to the states after two Union Territories were carved out of Jammu and Kashmir

India has witnessed a remarkable development in the tourism and hospitality sectors in the post-COVID-19 era. According to the Economic Survey 2023-24

Around Rs 1.08 trillion lined up for critical safety works like Kavach, repairing and overhaul of old lines

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation has received a budgetary allocation of Rs 77,390.68 crores for the fiscal year 2024-2025. This figure reflects a minimal increase of only 0.5 per cent from the revised estimate of Rs 77,032.65 crore announced in budget 2023-2024. A substantial portion of this financial year's allotment for the Drinking Water and Sanitation department is directed towards the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), which received Rs 69,926.65 crore, a marginal rise from the revised estimate of Rs 69,846.31 crore in 2023-2024. This flagship programme aims to provide functional household tap connections to every rural household by 2024, focusing on ensuring regular and adequate water supply. Additionally, the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS) has been allocated Rs 95 crore, a huge rise from the Rs 3 crore it got in the last revised estimate. The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), which focuses on maintaining Open Defecation

India's FY25 capital expenditure outlay is maintained at Rs 11.11 trillion, in line with the Interim Budget and up from last year's estimate of Rs 9.5 trillion

The Budget 2024-24 on Tuesday allocated Rs 1,309.46 crore for census, a significant reduction from 2021-22 when Rs 3,768 crore was allocated for the decadal exercise, an indication that it may not be carried out even after a significant delay. A meeting of the Union cabinet on December 24, 2019 had approved the proposal for conducting census of India 2021 at a cost of Rs 8,754.23 crore and updating the National Population Register (NPR) at a cost of Rs 3,941.35 crore. The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the NPR were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The census operation continues to be on hold and the government has not yet announced the new schedule. Officials said since general elections had taken place this year, the census exercise will not be able to be carried out in 2024. According to the Budget 2024-25, Rs 1,309.46 crore has been allocated for censu

The government on Tuesday announced setting up of hubs to promote exports through e-commerce medium in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that these hubs, under a seamless regulatory and logistic framework, will facilitate trade and export-related services under one roof. "To enable MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and traditional artisans to sell their products in international markets, e-commerce export hubs will be set up in PPP mode," she said. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has recently said that a regulatory framework to push the country's exports through e-commerce medium is expected to be ready by September. At present, India's exports through this medium are only about USD 5 billion compared to China's USD 300 billion, annually. There is a potential to take it to USD 50-100 billion in the coming years. Through these hubs, small producers will be facilitated to sell to aggregators and then that aggregator will find

India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has criticised developed countries for their "double standards" on climate action, highlighting the G7's commitment to ending the use of unabated coal power plants only in the first half of the 2030s, despite their high carbon emissions. In the annual economic survey, Nageswaran said it is morally wrong to ask developing countries to abandon their aspirations for better living standards to allow developed countries to maintain their lifestyles in cleaner environments and cooler climates. He argued that economic growth would empower developing countries to better address climate change. Nageswaran said the UN convention on climate change and its Paris Agreement mandate that developed countries provide resources and take the lead in mobilising finance to tackle the global problem. "However, much of the climate action by developing countries has been done through domestic resources, and the emphasis of the developed countries has mai

This could be a disadvantage for the Indian economy, mentions the survey

Upon assuming office as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi made his first foreign visit to Bhutan in June, marking a pivotal moment in strengthening India-Bhutan relations

Tax revenue's continued growth, meanwhile, is led by direct taxes

Says that he was upbeat but cautious about the growth prospects of India while projecting a 6.5-7% GDP growth rate for 2024-25

Any option for making supplies without GST payment is not available for such deemed exports

Suggests use of 'agri-stack' for better targeting of fertiliser subsidies