County Union Financial News

NEW DELHI : Every Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by. Smaller firms accounted for a bigger share in overall profits in 2023-24, while international agencies have become more optimistic about India’s 2024-25 growth projections after its stellar show in 2023-24. India’s corporate profit has always been driven by the biggest firms, with the top 10% commanding 95% of the profit share.

Logistics industry is expecting steps that will further improve ease of doing business in the country, incentives and benefits for green initiatives in the sector, among others, in the Union Budget for 2024-25, which is set to be presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament next week. «There is significant scope to improve the ease of doing business by streamlining regulations and adopting digital processes. Simplifying and ensuring consistency in GST administration, greater clarity and standardisation in interpretation of customs procedures, and TDS regulations are crucial steps in this direction,» said R S Subramanian, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, DHL Express India. «I am optimistic that the Budget will prioritise infrastructure and logistics as critical levers of growth, consistent with the interim Budget,» said Rizwan Soomar, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, DP World North Africa and India Subcontinent.

Asian fund managers by brokerage BofA shows that the triad of Japan, India, and Taiwan continue to be at the top of investor mindshare, while China and Thailand lag at the bottom from an allocation perspective. Asia Pacific fund managers are 51% overweight Japan, 32% overweight India and 24% overweight Taiwan while China (net 43% underweight) is at the bottom of the table.

Budget 2024, scheduled in July, one may expect the government to continue with its objective of moving towards a simplified tax system through the new tax regime (NTR) that was introduced in Union Budget 2020-21. With a view to make the NTR more attractive for individual taxpayers, the government could consider taking measures such as increasing the standard deduction limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000; including health insurance premium (u/s 80D) in this regime and enhancing the deduction limit available to promote adoption of adequate health insurance cover. Besides, an increase in deduction limit for employer's contribution to the National Pension System (NPS) u/s 80CCD(2) from 10% of basic salary to 14% will be a welcome move. The enhancement of this deduction will ensure parity with the provision applicable for central and state government employees and would provide an option for enhanced tax saving under the new tax regime, along with promoting long-term retirement savings. However, in case the government continues with the old tax regime as an option, it will be important to rationalise some of the tax provisions. One such provision will be to consider Bengaluru as a «metro city» for the purpose of HRA exemption in Budget 2024.

NEW DELHI : Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises Ltd, called for simplifying tax regimes for companies and individuals in the Union Budget 2024-25. In an interaction with Mint, he also sought financial support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the healthcare sector in the budget to be presented to 23 July. He said the industry would be looking for a meaningful road map to advance the country towards becoming a developed nation by 2047 in the budget.

Countries that adopted such a trajectory have manufacturing’s share at 20%+ of their gross domestic product. Despite the reforms and initiatives, India’s manufacturing ecosystem continues to face challenges on key investment criteria on account of low labour productivity, high logistics and power costs, and limited innovation.

immovable assets such as real estate to bring about uniformity. Currently, any capital gain from the sale of real estate held for 24 months or less is treated as a short-term capital gain. In contrast, the holding period threshold for listed equities and equity mutual funds is 12 months. The proposal suggests that property held for more than 12 months be considered long-term assets, bringing this in line with equities and equity mutual funds, a person privy to the deliberations told ET. However, there may not be any change in the tax rates for both long-term and short-term capital gain. The long-term capital gains tax on property is 20% with indexation benefits to adjust for inflation.

India looks forward to being a prominent player in the global supply chain, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who will be presenting the Budget for record-seventh time, may have to look at introducing a host of measures to strengthen the manufacturing sector and an improvement in the delivery routes. “With the help of policies, India must increase its share in global manufacturing chains,” Finance Minister Sitharaman said recently, adding that India needs to have greater sophistication in product manufacturing, and the government needs to see how best this can be given policy support. «I also want to underline, much against the advice given by some economists who say India should no longer be looking at manufacturing or ramping up manufacturing, that the country must also increase, with the help of policies, its (manufacturing) share in the global value chains,» she said.

Budget expectations: Finance Minister Nirmala SItharaman will present the full Union budget after nearly a week. She presented an interim budget in February. Equity investors are keenly watching the budget for its impact on different sectors and stocks as well as for larger policy goals that impact the market in the long term. While the Budget is likely to set the priorities for the third five-year term of the Narendra Modi government, it is also likely to present a roadmap for the period up to 2047, the hundredth anniversary of India's independence, In her interim budget speech, she said, «In the full budget in July, our Government will present a detailed roadmap for our pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’.» The budget is expected to lay emphasis on infrastructure, manufacturing, fiscal discipline, creation of jobs and social spending as well as economic reforms. Below are the sectors which are expected to be the main themes in the budget.

Union Budget on July 23 in Parliament, standard deduction to Rs 1 lakh and increasing tax break among others are some of the expectations for the comman man that consultancy firm KPMG expects. «There has been a significant rise in medical expenses, fuel costs and overall inflation. Keeping in mind the increase in personal expenditure it is popularly expected to enhance the standard deduction to Rs 1 lakh from the existing limit of Rs 50,000,» said the firm in a note. The Union Budget will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led coalition government's first major policy announcement after the 18th Lok Sabha polls.

Jitendra Singh on Saturday said holding only Pakistan responsible for the recent spike in terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir is not sufficient as he called for self-introspection to end illegal activities, which benefit terrorism in the Union Territory. He said the government is implementing a new strategy, which includes deployment of army in the higher reaches to ensure that peace is restored within one week in Kathua, where five army personnel were killed and an equal number injured in an ambush by the terrorists on July 8. «The recent terror incidents (in Jammu region) carried out by infiltrators from Pakistan is condemnable. But repeatedly saying that Pakistan has done this is not sufficient. We have to ask ourselves and inner-souls what we have done to end social evils which are benefitting terrorism,» the minister of state in the prime minister's office told reporters in Kathua. The minister was in Kathua, part of his Udhampur parliamentary constituency, for a 'Public Darbar' — his first after getting elected for the third term — to meet the public and resolve their issues. Kathua Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Minhas and other officers were also present.

climate change is leading to more thunderstorm activity and consequently, more lightning strikes worldwide, senior scientists said on Saturday. At least 43 people were killed due to lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday and 21 in Bihar on Friday. Most of the people killed were either transplanting paddy in fields, grazing cattle or taking shelter under trees to protect themselves from the rain. Former Secretary in the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, said climate change is increasing the formation of convective or thunderstorm clouds.

Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday voiced their strong opposition to the Centre's move to vest more powers in the Union Territory's Lieutenant Governor for taking decisions on matters related to police and all-India service officers. While main regional outfits — the National Conference (NC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) — said the decision would «disempower» the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress termed it as the «murder of democracy» and the Apni Party urged all parties to shun differences and unitedly protest against the move. NC Vice President Omar Abdullah said the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve better than a «powerless, rubber stamp» chief minister who will have to beg the Lieutenant Governor to get a peon appointed. The former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, however, said the move was «another indicator that elections are around the corner in J&K».

Federal Bank led the way in gross loan expansion while CSB Bank showed the highest deposit growth among Kerala-headquartered lenders which published their quarterly business numbers so far. Federal Bank reported a 20% year-on-year rise in gross loan portfolio to Rs 2.24 lakh crore at the end of June. Fairfax-backed CSB Bank clocked a 17.8% rise in gross loans to Rs 25099 crore while South India Bank's loan portfolio rose 11.4% to Rs 82510 crore. City Union Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank are yet to publish their first quarter business numbers till Wednesday noon. ESAF Small Finance Bank has not shared the numbers as well.

e-Pay Tax service allows the e-Filing site to facilitate direct tax payment-related actions, including challan (CRN) production, payment, and payment history tracking. Taxpayers are offered wide range of modes for payment, including Net Banking, Debit card, Pay at Bank Counter. Penalty for missing ITR filing last date: Who has to pay and who doesn't

Union Budget 2024 that is set to be presented on July 23, the Centre is mulling over the idea of 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. These proposals or some parts of it are expected to be announced in the Union Budget. In the interim Budget, the government increased the allocation for the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to 12 crore families, to Rs 7,200 crore while Rs 646 crore was assigned for the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

BYD has signed a contract to build a $1 billion factory in Turkey, stepping up its efforts to expand internationally. This calculated action seeks to support BYD's ambition to lead the world EV market. According to a statement shared on X, Turkey's industry minister Mehmet Fatih stated the factory will start production by late 2026. It is anticipated to increase BYD's capability for European vehicle manufacture, with an approximate yearly production capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

An important person in the government requested me to write about how the subsidy from Union budgets for second-class AC train seats in India has grown since 2014, given that these fares haven’t been adjusted for rising fuel costs. I haven’t managed to figure out if there is a subsidy on these fares, let alone how fast it may be growing. Happy to be corrected, but it seems that the outgo towards this subsidy and the figures needed for computing it are not being reported in the Union Budget.

BJP national president and Union Minister J P Nadda will visit Jammu on July 6 to set the party into motion by announcing plans for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Nadda, who will receive a warm reception in Jammu following the BJP's third consecutive victory, will review the party's operations. This move is crucial as the Election Commission of India (ECI) begins updating the electoral rolls in the Union Territory, paving the way for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir along with other states. «Nadda is arriving in Jammu to assess the party's functioning and discuss strategies for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir,» Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Ravinder Raina told PTI.

Jammu and Kashmir administration has formed a seven-member panel to identify foreign nationals who have been illegally overstaying in Jammu and Kashmir for the past 13 years, aiming to facilitate their deportation. The panel has been tasked with gathering biographic and biometric details of illegal migrants and maintaining an updated digital record regularly. «Sanction is hereby accorded to the re-constitution of the committee to identify foreign nationals illegally overstaying in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since 2011», Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department, Chandraker Bharti said in an order. The administrative secretary of the home department will chair the panel. Other members include the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) of Punjab, the Criminal Investigation Department (Special Branch) of the Jammu and Srinagar headquarters, and all district SSPs and SPs (Foreigners Registration), along with the state coordinator, NIC.

Building a new factory? Budget may extend concessional tax rate for a year The plan is to encourage more value addition in segments where local production is predominantly in the nature of assembling imported components, the person said. Improving ease of doing business and cutting red tape in claiming tax refunds are also high on the government’s priority. Experts said that an amnesty scheme under customs is the need of the hour.