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Industrialists laud focus on agriculture, MSME sectors and its objective to maintain fiscal prudence Uttar Pradesh Inc has welcomed the   Union Budget Of India   for its purported focus on the agricultural and Micro, Small and Medium (MSME) sectors and its objective to maintain fiscal prudence. The general opinion among the industrialists and industry chambers was the Budget had primarily focused on the farm sector, rural population, youth, poor and underprivileged health care, infrastructure, financial sector for stronger institutions, speedy accountability, public services, prudent fiscal management and tax administration. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) UP State Council chairman and Tasty Dairy Specialties Limited managing director Atul Mehra said the Budget had accorded highest priority to rural and agricultural sectors due to its large employment potential. "The Budget would certainly boost the Indian economy as all the key sectors have been considered ...

09:12 AM FM Arun Jaitley and ministry officials with #Budget2017 09:13 AM Final decision on budget to be taken by speaker, decision expected by 10 a.m. 09:28 AM BUDGET EXPECTATION: Post demonetisation, expectations of measures to boost demand are high – in the form of personal income tax cuts and higher social spending especially targeted at lower income population, says Gautam Chhaochharia, ED & Head of India Research, UBS Securities 09:29 AM Sensex opens marginally higher, Nifty still below 8,600 ahead of the Union Budget.   Also read:   Markets open in green as investors await Budget 2017 09:32 AM SECTORS TO WATCH: Agri-related spending increase would be positive for Fertilisers, Consumer Staples, Tractors and 2Ws. 4) A reduction in personal tax rates could benefit Consumer Discretionary and Autos. 5) Higher infra spending would be positive for Cement, Roads, Railways, Logistics and CVs. 09:34 AM Budget 2017   will be presented, obituary m...

Jewellers, however, say no black money in system post demonetisation; move will only dampen demand In a major blow to the already struggling jewellery sector in India, the government might cut the threshold limit for the requirement of the permanent account number (PAN) or Unique Identity Code (Adhaar Number) in urban, and Kisan Credit Card number in rural areas for jewellery or bullion purchases between Rs 50,000-100,000, post Union   Budget 2017 Date   . The Budget, which will be announced on Wednesday, is likely to further tighten the noose around black money after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, announced on November 8, 2016. "The government has already proved that it would go all out against black money. Since jewellery trade has been on the government's watch list, we may see a cut in the minimum threshold in know your customer (KYC) requirement to Rs 50,000-100,000," said an industry veteran on condition of anonymity. Rajesh Khosla, Managi...

Since the low 2,0148 hit on December 26, the Bankex has risen 12% to settle at 22,566 last week With the Union   Budget 2017   just a sniffing distance away, banking stocks are on a roll. The BSE Bankex, the barometer of banking stocks, has shot up 12% since its December lows in the anticipation of budgetary stimulus to keep demons of demonetisation at bay. Since the low 2,0148 hit on December 26, the Bankex has risen 12% to settle at 22,566 last week. This is against an 8% rise in Sensex during the same period. Bank stocks such as YES Bank (up 27%), Federal Bank (up 26%), Punjab National Bank (up 20%), IndusInd Bank (up 18%) and Bank of Baroda (up 14%) have seen a phenomenal rally in the period mentioned. Others such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, AXIS Bank and SBI too gained anywhere between 9% and 11%. Below are six concerns that market participants hope FM Arun Jaitley will address in Budget 2017:   Click Here

Besides Budget, markets will be driven by global events and the outcome of Assembly elections As the Narendra Modi-led government prepares to present the   Budget 2017   on February 01 after the big bang demonetisation move in November, the markets have clawed back from their recent December lows with the S&P BSE Sensex rallying nearly six per cent to over 27,200 levels. The rally in the mid-and small-cap indices has been sharper with the S&P BSE Mid-cap and the S&P BSE Small-cap indices surging around 11 per cent each during this period. Also Read:   Arun Jaitley likely to take the stimulus route to economic growth So what does this Budget hold in store, and what are the markets expecting from the Finance Minister this time around? The markets, analysts say, are primed with the expectation that the Budget will be focussed primarily on reinforcing the 'black money crackdown' theme with a secondary focus on delivering token payments to the poor as...

Ahead of the Union   Budget 2017 , a top body of broadcasters has written to the government seeking "Infrastructure Status" for the broadcasting industry. According to sources, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation(IBF), a body which has leading broadcasters as its members, has in a representation to the Finance Ministry said the Indian broadcasting industry is a mass employment creator which as of date has employed nearly 10 million people across the value chain. Given its large size and revenue projections, the sector is expected to contribute Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore in the form of direct and indirect taxes by 2020. The broadcasters have argued that in the present era of convergence of telecommunication, information technology (IT) and broadcasting technology, the distinction between telecom services and broadcasting services has got blurred. They have also mentioned that by way of a notification January 9, 2004 issued by the Ministry of Communication an...

Stands by decision to advance Budget date; many states seek loosening of fiscal deficit rule While some states have complained of declining tax revenues due to demonetisation, the Centre is hopeful of exceeding its   Budget 2017   Estimates (BE) for 2016-17 in both direct and indirect tax collections. It has reiterated the decision to advance the Budget presentation date to February 1, despite objections. “We will end this year with higher revenues for both direct and indirect taxes compared to the estimates,” said Finance Minister   Arun Jaitley   after the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting and pre-Budget consultation with state counterparts. The states raised concern over declining revenues and sought relaxation in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit, beside central support to revive labour-intensive industries. To a query, Jaitley said the Reserve Bank (RBI) would remove the current restrictions on cash withdrawal after ...

7th Pay Commission: Cabinet approves big pay hike for government employees The union cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, a move which will boost consumption by putting extra disposable income in the hands of the central government’s 4.7 million employees. The   Seventh Pay Commission   (7th CPC) had recommended a 23.5 per cent increase in pay, pension and allowances under a ‘business as usual’ scenario. It had envisaged an increase in pay of Rs 39,100 crore, increase in allowances of Rs 29,300 crore and increase in pension of Rs 33,700 crore, taking the total financial impact for 2016-17 to Rs 1.02 lakh crore. The   pay panel   revisions are in force retrospectively from January 1, 2016. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said before the budget that he would provide Rs 1.1 lakh crore and the budget documents showed that Rs 1.06 lakh crore has been provided for. The centre ...

People not satisfied with mere slogans, PM tells party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to resolve its confusion on who would be its chief ministerial candidate for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and whether at all it should announce one. But the aggression in Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  and party chief Amit Shah's speeches at a public rally here underscored the importance of a good performance by the BJP in the UP elections, slated for early 2017, if Modi is to return as prime minister in 2019. Both Modi and Shah appealed to the people of UP to reject the nepotism, casteism and lawlessness wrought by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who were hand-in-glove in corruption. Modi credited the people of UP for enabling BJP to win a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha elections and that the state has given India several of its prime ministers. BJP, along with its ally Apna Dal, won 73 of UP’s 80 seats in 2014. Shah was more direct. “The road to Delhi g...

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday announced he was withdrawing a controversial Budget proposal to tax 60% of EPF balances at the time of withdrawal. He also withdrew another proposal to tax  contribution made by an employer beyond Rs 1.5 lakh a year.  However, the proposal to not tax 40 per cent of money withdrawn from national pension system stays.  Earlier, he had said only 40% of the total accumulated EPF balance would be tax-free.  Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 Show full article Read more from our special coverage on "EPF" Congress protests for withdrawal of EPF tax proposal PM Modi asks Jaitley to reconsider taxing part of EPF withdrawals, say sources EPF row: Nitish slams Centre, says financial future of youth in jeopardy FM to clarify position on EPF withdrawals in Parliament soon Rahul demands rollback of proposed EPF withdrawal tax

The Aadhaar Bill that the National Democratic Alliance government introduced in the Lok Sabha as a money Bill last week is wholly adopted from its predecessor United Progressive Alliance's (UPA's) version. In a rare instance of not renaming or tinkering with it, the Bill neither plans to make the unique identification number mandatory or limit its issuance to citizens. Show full article Read more from our special coverage on "AADHAAR BILL" Aadhaar Bill discussion in Lok Sabha from tomorrow Jaitley introduces Aadhaar Bill in Lok Sabha Aadhaar bill introduced in Lok Sabha Aadhaar Bill to ensure privacy protection

The government could introduce a regulatory framework to ensure that the biometric details of citizens it collects is kept discreet and used only to generate Aadhaar numbers or authenticate them. The Aadhaar Bill, which could be introduced in the  Lok Sabha   on Thursday, is likely to introduce this regulatory framework. It could also to propose that in cases of national security, an officer not below the rank of a joint secretary will be empowered to call for disclosure of such information. Show full article

After sharp criticism of a Budget proposal to tax 60 per cent of the amount withdrawn from the Employees' Provident Fund, the Union finance ministry will consider suggestions for partially withdrawing it. Show full article Read more from our special coverage on "EPFO, BUDGET 2016 " EPF tax: Its a healthy proposal