Expressing happiness on the Delhi assembly election outcome, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday exuded confidence that the BJP government will certainly transform the national capital in line with India's Viksit Bharat aspirations. "...indeed, happy to know that because under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, we are very keen that Delhi gets a government which serves its people. And that's something which is the need of the hour for attaining Viksit Bharat 2047," Sitharaman said when asked for her comments on the trends showing the saffron party ahead. The BJP is poised to form a government in Delhi after 26 years, with the latest EC trends showing the BJP ahead in 43 of Delhi's 70 seats and AAP in 16. The BJP won five seats and AAP six seats in polls so far, according to the latest Election Commission (EC) data. The Minister further said India's national capital should have a government which serves the cause of its people. "And I strongly believe that the road map th
The CGAM, comprising relevant infrastructure secretaries, undertakes periodic reviews to monitor the progress of transactions and resolve structural issues
Although public debt has gone up across the world after the pandemic, it is in India's interests to reduce it to a more manageable level
Parliament Budget Session news: Catch all the major updates from the ongoing Budget session of the Parliament
The GST Council will soon take a decision on having fewer and lower rates as the review work is almost complete, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Currently, Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a four-tier tax structure with slabs at 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Luxury and demerit goods are taxed at the highest bracket of 28 per cent, while packed food and essential items are in the lowest 5 per cent slab. The Council, chaired by Sitharaman and comprising her state counterparts, has set up a group of ministers (GoM) to suggest changes in GST rates as well as reduce slabs. "To be fair to the GST and the ministers who are all in the council, the work on rationalizing and simplifying GST rates has already commenced. In fact, it had commenced nearly three years ago," she said at the India Today-Business Today Post Budget Round Table. Sitharaman said later the scope was widened and now the work is almost complete. Mentioning that she told ministers in the Council to have a
The budget announcements aim to foster public-private cooperation and are expected to attract global investments in the infrastructure sector, industry players and experts said. In her budget speech on Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made several announcements to give a push to various sectors, including infrastructure. She said Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be provided towards 50-year interest free loans to states, for infrastructure development, and an asset monetisation plan will be launched for 2025-30 period to infuse Rs 10 lakh crore capital in new projects, besides an outlay of Rs 500 crore for setting up a centre of excellence in artificial intelligence for education. Rasmi Ranjan Ray, SUEZ India CEO said the Budget has set the stage for transformative, infrastructure-led growth with a record allocation of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the form of 50-year interest-free loans to states for infrastructure projects. Virendra D Mhaiskar, Chairman & Managing Director, IRB ...
As part of the Viksit Bharat initiative, announced in the July 2024 budget, the government launched a comprehensive internship scheme aimed at providing opportunities to 1 crore youth over five years
There is a substantial increase in budgetary allocations to all the states for 2025-26 as compared to that of between 2009-14 for the development of rail infrastructure, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. Presenting a state-wise break up of the budgetary allocation for railways and the pace of development of rail infrastructure, Vaishnaw said that while railways was moving at a snail's pace before 2014, it has made historic progress in the past ten years during the NDA rule. Holding separate interaction with media persons and senior officials of respective divisions and zones via video conferencing, Vaishnaw provided a detailed update of various significant aspects and progress status of projects. According to Vaishnaw, when a comparison is drawn with 2009-2014, the average budgetary allocation for the next financial year 2025-26 is 27 times higher for Delhi, 23 times for MP and 22 times for Chhattisgarh. While the annual average budget for Bihar was Rs 1,132 crore .
The value of Indian rupee is market-determined, and there has been no devaluation, which is a feature of a fixed exchange rate regime, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. The rupee has been falling in recent weeks, and on Monday touched an all-time low of 87.29 against the American currency. Various domestic and global factors influence the exchange rate of the rupee such as the movement of the Dollar Index, trends in capital flows, level of interest rates, movement in crude prices, and current account deficit. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said there has been no devaluation of the Indian Rupee (INR), which is a feature of a fixed exchange rate regime. "The value of the INR is market-determined, with no target or specific level or band," she said. The minister further said the depreciation of currency is likely to enhance the export competitiveness, which in turn impacts the economy positively. On the other hand, depreciation may raise the prices
With southern states voicing concerns over 'unfair' tax money devolution, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the states have to engage and highlight their concerns with the 16th Finance Commission, whose recommendations will decide how the funds are divided. Population is one of the criteria used by Finance Commissions to decide how the tax revenues are divided. Southern states, which have managed to check the rise in population, feel they get a raw deal when compared to the northern states with much larger population growth. In an interview with PTI, Sitharaman said the central government does not decide on the devolution formula. The devolution of taxes is made in accordance with the recommendations of the Finance Commission and the aggrieved southern states should approach the panel for change in parameters. "It is for the states to engage with the Finance Commission to express their concerns about the parameters based on which the tax devolution principles are laid dow
UPL share price rose after a rating upgrade by Investec, which revised the stock's outlook to 'Buy' from 'Sell', alongside a strong performance in Q3FY25 and announcements from the 2025 Budget
To facilitate credit accessibility, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a customised credit card scheme for micro enterprises registered on the Udyam portal
Sitharaman spoke on issues ranging from the theme of the Budget to income tax relief and challenging geopolitical environment
The land for building key infrastructure in these destinations will be provided by states
"The Prime Minister decided that we need to recognise the taxpayers and their contribution, and if there's a way in which we can reward them, we should. Yes, it will lead to consumption"
Union budget 2025-26 Live Updates: Modi govt has made some big announcements including changes in the new tax regime with taxpayers not having to pay any income tax on earnings up to Rs 12 lpa
Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday described the Union Budget as "by the people, for the people, of the people", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats. "We have heard the voice of the middle class" who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview. With the honest and proud taxpayers wanting the government to do more to limit the impact of factors like inflation, the prime minister was quick to task Sitharaman to look at ways to give relief. While Modi was quick to agree to tax relief, it took a bit of convincing to get on board the officials in the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) - who are tasked to ensure revenue collection to meet welfare and other schemes, she said. Presenting her eighth straight budget, Sitharaman on Saturday announced
FM Sitharaman targets FY26 fiscal deficit at 4.4% of GDP
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday flaunted India's unblemished track record of not faltering on any of its fiscal consolidation or debt reduction targets as she seemed to shrug off the passiveness of agencies like Moody's which have not upgraded India's ratings. Sitharaman in her budget for fiscal year beginning April treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth as she not only gave the middle class the biggest-ever tax relief but also unveiled a glide path for reducing fiscal deficit next year and debt as percentage of GDP by 2031. India, she said, had to borrow more during the pandemic to meet the fiscal needs of the economy amid global challenges, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical conflicts in two theatres. "Despite all these we have shown a commitment and following the commitment to the last word as regards fiscal deficit and the glide path that we should follow," she told PTI in an interview. "We have, not one year have we ...
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday rejected criticism over the slide of the Indian rupee, saying it has depreciated only against a strengthening US dollar but remained stable against all other currencies because of the strong macroeconomic fundamentals. In an interview with PTI, she said a 3 per cent depreciation in the rupee against the US dollar in past few months is a matter of concern as it makes imports costlier, but she rejected criticism that the local currency has seen all-round weakness. "I am concerned but I will not accept the criticism that 'Oh Rupee is weakening!' Our macroeconomic fundamentals are strong. Rupee wouldn't be stable against all the currencies if the fundamentals were weak," she said. The Indian rupee has been under pressure in the last few months but it continues to be the least volatile currency against the US dollar among its Asian and global peers. The reasons for the rupee hitting record lows almost on a daily basis against the US dollar ..