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There had been some confusion over presentation of the Budget following the death of MP E Ahamed Budget 2017 India   : Government and Parliament secretariat sources said the Budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be delivered according to schedule on Wednesday. Amid confusion over whether the Parliament would be adjourned following the death of sitting member of Parliament E Ahamed, sources said the Budget presentation would not be postponed. Ahamed, who was an Indian Union Muslim League Lok Sabha member and former Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed, passed away early morning on Wednesday.. He had suffered a cardiac arrest at the time of President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Government sources said there was needless confusion about the issue. Usually, the House proceedings are adjourned if a serving member passes away. But sources said there was no rule to this, and this was only a convent...

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...

Ahead of the budget session he urged all political parties will work together for people's benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday ahead of the   Budget 2017   session hoped that the current session will be "fruitful" and all political parties will work together for people's benefit. "We had discussions with every political party individually and collectively. There should be productive and detailed discussion of the budget during the session," Modi said while addressing the media here. "I urge all parties to help in smooth functioning of the session. I hope for fruitful discussions. We aim at positive and meaningful debates for public interest. "I am hopeful all political parties will work together to move forward," he said. Modi also said: "This is the first time the budget is being presented on February 1." "Everyone would remember that earlier budget used to take place at 5 pm. This practice was chang...

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

Govt can offset any negative impact by lowering corporate tax rates, mitigating note ban impact Investors in India are bracing for higher taxes and fewer incentives from the government’s annual   Budget 2017   on February 1, as the focus shifts to wringing out revenues to finance giveaways and higher public investment. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is widely seen as being friendly to businesses and investors, it is not expected to announce any dramatic moves at a time when the economy is under pressure from a cash squeeze. Among expected measures are a hike in a transaction tax on stock derivatives trading and a less beneficial approach to long-term capital gains tax exemptions, according to analysts. India is also set to provide guidelines for new rules in April that will crack down on tax havens, while foreign portfolio investors are seeking clarity behind ‘indirect transfer’ rules that could increase tax liabilities for overseas funds. Bu...

FMCG firms have admitted that their sales were impacted due to "adverse liquidity conditions After taking a demonetisation hit, FMCG companies are pinning hopes on a growth oriented   Budget  2017   to see a revival in consumer confidence and create demand both in urban and rural markets. "We are expecting a growth-oriented Budget with various stimuli to revive consumer confidence... Proactive reforms to stimulate demand by increasing the money in the hands of the emerging middle class and rural India, this will help bring FMCG growth back on track," Godrej Consumer Products Ltd Managing Director Vivek Gambhir told PTI. Kolkata-based Emami too is expecting a growth oriented budget "to boost consumption, increase public investment, promote digitisation, broaden tax base and lead higher growth" and improvement of business sentiments. "It (Budget) should aim at clarifying policies particularly with respect to GAAR, POEM, GST etc. As wi...

Recent developments in the US and UK could impact growth for the Indian IT sector Industry size Approx: $143 bn (IT - ITeS) plus $17 bn (e-commerce) Employment figure: Approx 3.9 million Contribution to GDP: About 9.3% Key issues or areas of concern for the sector Global political uncertainty due to the recent developments in the US and UK could impact growth for the Indian IT sector as these are one of the largest markets for the Indian IT-ITeS companies. Given that emphasis could be to create jobs in the US could have negative influence on outsourcing of jobs from outside the US, which in turn could have implications on mobility of IT specialists. The new GST law poses multiple challenges for e-commerce firms, especially around compliance and related formalities, with e-commerce platform being liable to collect TCS (tax collected at source) on supply of goods and services by supplier. Due to significant automation and changes in technology, employees are being re-...

Jaitley is looking at how to fund giveaways to taxpayers and higher public investment India's finance minister is likely to borrow more than originally planned when he presents the Budget 2017 Date   on Feb. 1, senior aides and officials said, despite counting on revenues from a national sales tax whose launch date is still unknown. Arun Jaitley is looking at how to fund giveaways to taxpayers and higher public investment to help nurse Asia's third-largest economy back to health after the government's shock decision in November to abolish high-value banknotes. That is raising concern among some economists and investors that the government will take too many fiscal risks. Yet officials say that, given the choice, they would choose growth sustained by state investment over a fiscal straitjacket. "Some degree of flexibility on fiscal discipline should not be seen as irresponsible fiscal management," one senior government official told Reuters, request...

Chandrababu Naidu-led panel recommended taxing cash transactions of at least Rs 50,000 The finance ministry on Wednesday said it had not taken a decision on the banking cash transaction tax (BCTT) a day after speculation arose that it could be introduced in the   Budget 2017   for 2017-18 because a panel on digitalisation had made a case for it. A committee on digitalisation headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had in an interim report recommended taxing cash transactions of at least Rs 50,000 to promote digital payments. The committee also wanted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry not to permit cash transactions above a threshold. “We have submitted the recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and are fairly confident that some of these will be incorporated in the Union Budget,” Naidu had told the media on Tuesday. "The media has reported various aspects of the recommendations made by the committee, including...