Page 16 - Union Budget

Union Budget 2024: Push for Lakhpati Didi 2.0 to boost women empowerment

Budget 2024: The Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 is scheduled to be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23

Ahead of Budget, hospitality players demand infra status for hotels

Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation. "The sector is burdened with high taxation, expensive and multifarious licences, approvals and compliances. Hotels are capital intensive with a long gestation period. Cost of operating hotels is high and largely fixed. This makes investments in hotels risky. There is a need to make hotel investments more attractive with an improved rate of investment and to .

Budget wish list: Pharma industry seeks tax benefits, effective IPR regime

There is a need to incentivise R&D investments, offer corporate tax concessions and establish an effective intellectual property rights regime in order to push the growth of domestic pharmaceutical industry, as per the industry bodies. Outlining the sector's wish list for the upcoming Union Budget, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) Director General Anil Matai urged the government to explore methods to incentivise R&D investments, such as deductions on R&D expenses, research-linked incentives for MNCs, and corporate tax concessions. The initiatives will help in accelerating R&D and innovation in the sector, he added. "Recognising the high-risk, long-gestation nature of R&D, we suggest extending the scope of section 115BAB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to companies solely engaged in pharmaceutical research and development and providing a 200 per cent deduction rate on R&D expenditures," Matai said. This would significantly boost the sector's .

FinMin wraps up consultations, FY25 Budget to be presented on Jul 23

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has concluded consultations with various stakeholders, including representatives of industry and social sectors, as part of the budget preparation exercise. Sitharaman will present her seventh Budget on July 23. This would be the first full budget of Modi 3.0 which is going to set the path for Vikshit Bharat (developed India) by 2047. Last month, President Droupadi Murmu, while delivering her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, had said that many historic steps and major economic decisions will be taken in the upcoming budget session. In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament since the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, the President said, "This budget will be an effective document of the government's far-reaching policies and futuristic vision". "Along with major economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in this budget," she said. The Finance Ministry in a statement said the pre-budget consultat

Budget 2024: Govt may double beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat scheme

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23; the Budget session of Parliament to take place from July 22 to August 12

Budget 2024 must focus on tax relief to stimulate consumption: India Inc

The Union Budget FY25 should focus on offering relief to taxpayers, especially in the lower income brackets, to stimulate consumption, industry players suggested. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the full Budget for fiscal 2024-25 on July 23 which will be the first major policy document of the new government. The industry also urged the finance minister to lower corporate tax, phase out tax exemptions, and broaden tax base to boost economic growth. "Rationalise and simplify the tax system to improve compliance and promote investment. Consider measures such as reducing corporate tax rates, phasing out tax exemptions, and broadening the tax base to make the tax regime more efficient and equitable," Assocham said. Rating agency ICRA said the government is likely to set a fiscal deficit target at 4.9-5 per cent for FY25, as against 5.1 per cent estimated in the Interim Budget on February 1, without compromising the capital expenditure target of Rs 11.1 lakh .

Budget 2024: 7 key demands listed by govt employees' union for Centre

Ahead of the Budget on July 23, the union has called for a lunch hour demonstration in front of all central government offices from July 17-19 in support of these demands

Budget 2024: What does the healthcare sector expect from FM Sitharaman?

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23

Union Budget 2024-25 likely to go vocal for higher local procurement

Greater local content norms may kick in first in steel, chemicals, pharma sectors

Union Budget 2024: PM Narendra Modi to meet top economists on July 11

Budget 2024: At the key meeting, economists and industry experts as well as Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery will present their views and recommendations regarding the Budget

Big players missing, corp bond issuances drop 36% in Apr-Jun period

HDFC's large fund raise stimulated the bond market, creating a momentum that continued into the subsequent months

Focus back on raising revenue

With the fiscal deficit target staring at the government, the FY25 Budget has limited expenditure options

Union Budget 2024-25: Draft tax law likely for minimum levy on MNEs

The global minimum tax, also known as the Pillar Two regime, aims to prevent MNEs from shifting their profits to low-tax nations

Union Budget 2024-25: Here're key challenges in renewable energy sector

Local manufacturing (wind, solar) to be scaled up to compete with global majors on quality, price

Data analysis and GST policy

The tax reform's happy ending hinges on appropriate policy reforms, which require mining the rich vein of GST data for deeper insights by research outfit

Sensex sees third fastest 5,000-point gain in history to reach 80,000 mark

The fastest 5,000-point rally for the Sensex was nearly three years ago (September 24, 2021) when the index hit an intraday high of 60,333 in a span of just 28 trading days

Information asymmetry

GST data must be released

FinMin concludes pre-Budget talks with 120 invitees, 10 stakeholder groups

Representatives from agriculture, education, health, MSME, energy, infrastructure sectors were the participants

Govt mulls doubling no of AB-PMJAY beneficiaries, insurance amount in 3 yrs

The government is actively considering doubling the beneficiary base under its flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme over the next three years, with all those aged above 70 years to be brought under its ambit to begin with, and also increase the insurance coverage to Rs 10 lakh per year. The proposals, if given a go ahead, would entail an additional expenditure of Rs 12,076 crore per annum for the exchequer as per estimates prepared by the National Health Authority, official sources told PTI. "Discussions are happening to double the beneficiary base under the AB-PMJAY over the next three years, which, if implemented, will cover more than two-third population of the country with health cover, the sources said while noting that medical expenditure is one of the biggest reasons that push families to indebtedness. "Deliberations are also underway over finalising a proposal to double the limit of the coverage amount from the existing Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh," they said. These

Big ideas for Budget D-Day

Jobs, skills and innovation should be the focal point