Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for financial year 2018-19 on February 1. The first phase of the budget session of the parliament began from January 29 and will continue till February 9. This year's budget session is crucial as it comes after the Modi government made two very big financial decisions in the last couple of years - Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Also on Jaitley’s mind will be the crucial Parliamentary elections in 2019. So will it be a populist election out to woo voters? Follow the fast, accurate and incisive budget coverage live right here on Business-Standard.com

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for financial year 2018-19 on February 1. The first phase of the budget session of the parliament began from January 29 and will continue till February 9. This year's budget session is crucial as it comes after the Modi government made two very big financial decisions in the last couple of years - Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Also on Jaitley's mind will be the crucial Parliamentary elections in 2019. So will it be a populist election out to woo voters? Follow the fast, accurate and incisive budget coverage live right here on Business-Standard.com

The BIG Budget 2018-19 coverage | Live on Business-Standard.com

When Reliance founder chairman Dhirubhai Ambani wanted to pursue his long-cherished dream of setting up a refinery, he was offered land in the barren and desolate region off Jamnagar

Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship company of the ports-to-energy conglomerate helmed by billionaire Gautam Adani, is likely to see consolidated revenue grow at a CAGR of 17.5 per cent and net earnings by 45.8 per cent over 2023-24 fiscal year (FY24) and FY27, a report said.
AEL is one of India's largest listed incubators which has conceived, grown, matured and demerged many successful businesses, including ports company Adani Ports & SEZ, city gas distributor Adani Total Gas, power transmission company Adani Energy Solutions, renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, and commodities firm Adani Wilmar.
The company is incubating airports, manufacturing solar modules and wind turbines, green hydrogen, road construction, data centre, and copper.
"Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), the incubator of many successful industry-leading businesses, is ambitiously diversifying into green hydrogen and its ecosystem to drive future growth," Ventura Securities said in the ...

The company is incubating airports, manufacturing solar modules and wind turbines, green hydrogen, road construction, data centre, and copper

The year 2024 brought innovations in AI applications, from healthcare to fighting online fraud, and more. However, this election year also raised concerns about AI biases and deepfakes

ISRO is set to launch two satellites on Monday night from the Sriharikota spaceport to demonstrate docking and undocking of spacecraft in orbit, which will make India the fourth country in the world to achieve the feat.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) warhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will place the two satellites -- SDX01 and SDX02 -- in a 476-km circular orbit and attempt the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDEx) in the first week of January, the space agency officials said.
"This mission will mark India's entry into the exclusive league of nations capable of mastering space docking," Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said.
The SpaDEx mission is expected to be a stepping stone for India's future endeavours in space exploration which include getting rocks and soil from the moon on Earth, the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station and landing an astronaut on the lunar surface.
Only the US, Russia and China have mastered space dockin

Only the US, Russia and China have mastered space docking technologies

The Jharkhand government on Sunday said 11 of the 47 workers stranded in Cameroon in central Africa were brought to the state and efforts were underway for the safe return of the remaining labourers.
The development comes after the state government filed FIRs against a Mumbai-based firm and some middlemen for alleged non-payment of wages to 47 workers from the state, who were stuck in the African country.
"Eleven out of 47 migrant workers from Jharkhand, stranded in Cameroon, were brought to the state as per instructions from Chief Minister Hemant Soren. All the workers were sent to their homes by the Labour Department. The return of the remaining 36 workers is also being ensured," a statement from the chief minister's secretariat said.
Earlier this month, the labour commissioner had filed the FIRs at Hazaribag, Bokaro and Giridih police stations against middlemen and employers following a direction from Soren who had received complaints that these workers did not receive their wage

After the government took action, the process to make payment of wages to the workers was initiated

Gurugram police have deployed over 2,000 policemen to ensure hassle free New Year celebrations, officials said on Sunday.
MG road, Cyber hub and sector 29 market have been identified as key sensitive points which are expected to be hit by maximum party goers and majority of cops will be stationed here to keep things under control, they said.
The police have allotted 10 parking spots around these venues.
According to an official statement of the Gurugram police, special programmes and events will be organised mainly at 22 places in Gurugram for New Year celebrations.
Besides deploying a huge force, police's Counter Assault, Police Riders, Police PCR, Crane, Fire Brigade and ambulance teams have also been deployed with all safety equipment at all these places, it said.
Major security arrangements are made at MG road, Cyber hub, Golf course road, DLF phase-1 and market of sector 29.
About 1,044 policemen will be deployed at those 22 spots, 10 parking lots and police checkpoints, the

According to an official statement of the Gurugram police, special programmes and events will be organised mainly at 22 places in Gurugram for New Year celebrations

Industry body CII in its budget suggestions for 2025-26 has recommended lowering the excise duty on fuel to boost consumption, especially at the lower income level, arguing that fuel prices significantly drive inflation.
The budget could also consider reducing marginal tax rates for personal income up to Rs 20 lakh per annum. This would help trigger the virtuous cycle of consumption, higher growth and higher tax revenue, said CII.
Asserting that the gap between the highest marginal rate for individuals at 42.74 per cent and the normal Corporate Tax Rate at 25.17 per cent, is high, it said, inflation has reduced the buying power of lower and middle-income earners.
"The central excise duty alone accounts for approximately 21 per cent of the retail price for petrol and 18 per cent for diesel. Since May 2022, these duties have not been adjusted in line with the approximately 40 per cent decrease in global crude prices. Lowering excise duty on fuel would help reduce overall inflation and

Further, it urged the government to raise the annual payout under the PM-KISAN scheme from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000. Assuming 10 crore beneficiaries, this will entail an additional expenditure

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam to discuss India Post's path to profitability, an official release said on Saturday.
Scindia, along with officials from the Department of Posts, presented their capital expenditure demands to the finance minister to make it a profit centre by 2029.
Scindia aims to make India Post globally competitive and has been leading Department-wide efforts to drive higher customer acquisition, retention and operational efficiency.
During the meeting with the finance minister, Scindia presented a new development plan for India Post and said the department is working on rationalising costs and aiming to make most processes digital.
The minister hopes to make the department a profit-making logistics company with a focus on customer satisfaction, as per the release.
He also mentioned that the ongoing Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) exercise will benefit a lot from the investment from the finance ministry.

Scindia, along with officials from the Department of Posts, presented their capital expenditure demands to the finance minister to make it a profit centre by 2029

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Celebrity and Travel Photographer Rahul Lokare from Flamingo Productions creates waves of change in the world of photography.

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The BIG Budget 2018-19 coverage | Live on Business-Standard.com

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