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All e-tickets booked through the IRCTC website will get cheaper Call it a populist budget or a socialist one, Modi government has put in every effort to cast away gloom that had settled in post demonetisation move. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented a historic budget - since this was the first one in 92 years, which merged Railway   Budget 2017   to the Union one. A comprehensive budget from the Finance Minister was anticipated owing to the upcoming Assembly elections in Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Uttarakhand. commenting on the Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "this Budget is yet again devoted to the well-being of the villages, farmers and the poor" While the common man has many reasons to be happy about, Jaitley certainly did wipe the smile off politicians' face across all parties. Here are some goodies handed out by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley: Income Tax reduction : In a major step, Finance Minister Arun Jait...

Income tax rate cut to 5% for individuals having income between Rs 2.5 lakh-Rs 5 lakh Here are the highlights of Jaitley's   budget 2017   for the 2017/18 fiscal year that begins on April 1. FISCAL DEFICIT * The 2017/18 budget seeks to pursue prudent fiscal management to preserve financial stability. *Fiscal deficit at 3.4% *Revenue deficit stands reduced to 2.1% in Fy18 GROWTH * Jaitley says India seen as an engine of global growth DEMONETISATION * Demonetisation "a bold and decisive measure", will make GDP bigger and lead to higher tax revenues - finance minister * Hit to economy from government decision to outlaw high-denomination notes will be "transient", effects of demonetisation not expected to spill over to next year * Pace of remonetisation has picked up and will soon reach comfortable levels * Surplus money in the banking system will lower borrowing costs, increase credit flow INFLATION *Consumer price index inflation is...

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...

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...