India Financial News

fiscal prudence. The glide path 2026-27 onwards envisages fiscal deficits such that the percentage of government debt to GDP keeps falling. This is a very big and ambitious statement for a developing economy like India. These targets are being achieved without compromising on the quality of receipts and expenditures.

Growth@work: The big message from Union budget 2024-25 Micro, medium and small enterprises are the life force of our economy and the flow of credit to them will have a multiplier effect on the economy. The FM announced several measures to simplify credit flow to MSMEs through a credit guarantee scheme and new assessment model for these businesses. The limit for Mudra Loans has also been increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh under the Tarun category, which will have a cascading effect on the sector and its ability to create jobs.

Under pressure from the disappointment in the Lok Sabha polls, the government got a massive boost for its 2024-25 budget in the form of a windfall dividend transfer by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With help from that revenue gain, the Centre chose to focus on cutting the fiscal deficit, and offer some tax relief to boost consumption, but only with a marginal increase in revenue expenditure. Did the budget manage to fire on all cylinders, or did it just showcase policy continuity? Mint breaks it down: After an unexpected loss of majority in the elections, the temptation to deliver a pro-welfare or a populist Budget could have run high for the ruling party.

₹16.13 trillion, compared with ₹16.85 trillion in the interim budget, as the finance minister sought to send a strong signal to the market and rating agencies about the government’s commitment to fiscal prudence. The gap between receipts and spending will partly be financed by market borrowing of ₹11.63 trillion, compared with ₹11.75 trillion projected in the interim budget. In the financial year ended in March, the government had raised ₹11.75 trillion from the market.

₹1 crore. But exemptions must go. A new comprehensive economic framework for next-gen reforms is on its way, Sitharaman said.

«While the overall sentiment remains positive without signs of weakness, the market appears overbought by various measures. Therefore, we advise against aggressive long positions,» said Rajesh Bhosale, Equity Technical Analyst, Angel One.

budget day, the market is prone to kneejerk reactions. So, as soon as the finance minister announced higher short-term and long-term capital gains taxes on financial instruments, the stock market tanked. Of course, it recovered towards the close as sanity set in. And what’s that sanity? In my view, it is that capital gains are intact, only the capital gains tax is higher.

angel tax across all investor classes marks a landmark reform benefiting India's startup ecosystem, the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said Tuesday and applauded the proposal in the Union budget to reduce tax rates for the foreign companies to 35 per cent. «India has long been a country of engineering and tech talent, yet there have been gaps in the innovation ecosystem. The abolition of the angel tax across all investor classes marks a landmark reform benefiting India's startup ecosystem. This important reform will stimulate increased startup funding from both domestic and international sources,» the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said.

Union Budget 2024, Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, said that it is a pretty balanced budget focused on job creation.

India Post Spreads Wings: To deepen penetration of banking in northeast, FM has announced plans to have more bank branches in the region. More than 100 branches of India Post Payments Bank will be set up there.

SWITCH TO EMISSION TARGETS: Plan for Hard-to-abate Industries The budget has proposed a road map for moving the hard-to-abate industries such as steel and cement from energy efficiency targets to emission targets. Regulations for transition of these industries from the perform, achieve, and trade mode to Indian carbon markets will be put in place. It is essential to meet net zero goals, said Shashank Sharma, chairman of Sunsure Energy. The units will also get financial support for making the cleaner switch.

reforms to improve the domestic shipping industry and generate more jobs in the sector.

India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, unveiled the Union Budget for 2024-25 in India on July 23. The budget maintained the existing tax rate for the cryptocurrency industry without directly addressing digital assets.

middle class are the primary focus of the budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. In a post-budget media briefing, the minister spoke about the government's attempts to simplify the tax regime and spur job creation. Edited excerpts:

tax rate for foreign companies to 35% from 40%, aiming to attract more overseas firms to set up a permanent base in the country and boost foreign inflows. «We want more investment to come into the country that is why it has been brought down,» Sitharaman told reporters after the budget. The government decision will benefit overseas companies looking to open branch offices such as branches of foreign banks and warehouses in India with a permanent establishment tag. It will also help those looking to open project offices for undertaking engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts. «When the tax rate for domestic companies was cut, the gap between the two had further widened...so it had to be narrowed,» said finance secretary T V Somanathan. The tax cut along with the scrapping of taxation for foreign shipping companies operating cruises in India, and safe harbour rates for foreign mining companies selling raw diamonds is expected to further enhance the country’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign capital.

budget builds on the interim budget and sets the tone for next year's exercise. It aligns with the vision of enabling India to achieve a developed economy status by 2047. This statement of intent is supported by a future-oriented plan and backed by specific allocations in employment generation and skilling, startups, research and innovation, MSMEs and climate action to support India's ambitions.

Narendra Modi has been in office since 2014, this is the 11th successive budget of his tenure. There will be signs of continuity, as well as critics who will say that one measure or the other should have come much earlier rather than now. While all this is well-taken, the fact is, every budget — even if part of a continuum — also has its individual context. This context is both political and economic.

GOING DOWN Imported cancer drugs trastuzumab deruxtecan, osimertinib, and durvalumab— customs duty cut to nil from 10%.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the budget promotes "inclusive growth", benefitting all segments of society, and will be a «catalyst» in making India the third-largest economy and a developed nation.