Nirmala Sitharaman News

Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who will present Union Budget for record-seventh time is scheduled to table the Economic Survey on July 22, Monday. «The Economic Survey of India will be laid on the table of the Houses of Parliament on Monday, the 22nd of July, 2024. The Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024 will also be presented on the 23rd of July, 2024. Tentatively 6 items of legislative business and 3 items of financial business have been identified for being taken up during this session,» said Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The upcoming Budget will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's first major policy announcement after securing a third term in May. The Budget is set to host an array of measures to combat unemplyement and other persisting issues in the country.

Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan feels that his ministry «deserves a good budget» allocation for setting up of processing units across the country which will help in providing job opportunities to local people and also boost farmers' income. Without disclosing contents of his ministry's request from the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Paswan said his ministry has sent the Budget wish list to the finance ministry and was not sure of how much of that will be accepted in this budget, considering the limitations. But, he was hopeful that the wishlist would be accepted in the subsequent years. In an interaction with PTI, he also outlined his top three priorities — setting up of food processing units, taking Indian brands to global markets and clearing various misconceptions regarding processed foods.

The mutual fund industry is demanding capital gains tax on the units of debt mutual funds held for more than 3 years to be taxed at 10% without indexation, as applicable in respect of Long Term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) from debentures. The demand has been raised by industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), which in its proposal sent to the Ministry of Finance has said that it was «logical» to do so as this could encourage retail investor participation in bond markets. «We request for an amendment to Finance Act, 2023 and consider the mutual fund units as securities, with long-term capital tax rate thereon should be according to / in line with the capital gains tax on bonds, debentures, SDL and G-secs etc,» the Amfi budget proposal document said.

Best of the Week every alternate week, I've realised that there's a cadence to this newsletter. But last weekend broke that mould.One of the more interesting responses came from a friend. She mentioned that my way of writing was termed “creative non-fiction" and that it is a popular category of writing.

Atishi on Friday demanded Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre for infrastructure development, claiming the city government got nothing in return over the past year despite its income tax contribution of Rs 2 lakh crore. Delhi also provided Rs 25,000 crore as central GST to the pool of taxes, the minister said during a press conference here. Ahead of the presentation of the Centre's annual budget, Atishi batted for release of more money to Delhi, saying it could be spent on infrastructure development in road, transport and power sectors as well as to beautify the city. Asserting that people of Delhi are the highest income tax payers, the minister said, «Delhi should get Rs 10,000 crore from the Rs 2.07 lakh crores that people of the city pay as income tax. This amount of Rs 10,000 crore is just 0.25 per cent of the Central government's budget and only 5 per cent of the income tax of Delhiites.»

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Among the many sectors eagerly awaiting the announcements, the cryptocurrency industry has high hopes for favorable reforms that could significantly impact its growth and regulatory landscape. Industry experts have outlined a clear wishlist ahead of the Budget, focusing on critical issues such as the high transaction tax and the inability to offset losses against gains. These concerns have been significant deterrents for investors and innovators in the crypto space. Meanwhile, the crypto community is optimistic that the government will address these challenges to create a more conducive environment for the sector.

Union Budget 2024: India, under PM Narendra Modi’s tenure, has seen a steady increase in healthcare allocation and spending. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world, the government had highlighted healthcare as a priority sector. The allocation for health in the recently presented Interim Budget for 2024-25 was especially crucial as India approached the 2025 deadline set by the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 to increase health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP.

Union Budget Expectations: The Modi government, in its first Budget of the third term, is expected to stick to the disinvestment target set for this fiscal year in the interim Budget. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman set the target for 2024-25 at Rs 50,000 crore. However, in the Interim Budget tabled in February, the 2023-24 disinvestment estimate was revised downward to Rs 30,000 crore from the previously budgeted Rs 51,000 crore. Ahead of the full Budget for 2024-25, scheduled for July 23, SBI Research has suggested that the government may take a clear stance on the disinvestment of public sector banks (PSBs). The report, led by Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser at SBI, emphasised the need for a concrete roadmap to attract capital and boost confidence in financial institutions. A recent CareEdge Ratings report noted a total disinvestment potential of approximately Rs 11.5 trillion at current market capitalization, assuming the government retains at least a 51 per cent stake in these public enterprises. Public sector enterprises could contribute around Rs 5 trillion, while public sector banks and insurance firms could potentially add another Rs 6.5 trillion.

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.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Thursday nominated 14 members including Sudip Bandhyopadhyay, Gaurav Gogoi, Dayanidhi Maran, PP Chaudhary, and Anurag Thakur for the Parliament's business advisory committee. The committee, which is effective from July 18, will be chaired by Birla himself. The next session of the Parliament is set to commence on July 22, and the budget will be presented on July 23 by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

NEW DELHI : The full Union Budget 2024-25 is to be presented by the re-elected government on 23 July. The taxpayers’ expectations from the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman are well known. The overarching expectation is that the government will announce measures to increase personal disposable income.

IDBI Bank ahead of the Union Budget 2024 and all eyes are now on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Narendra Modi government had set the ball rolling for divesting its stake in the development financial institution-turned bank in May 2021. Since then, the Centre has been waiting for the green signal from the RBI as the central bank assessed if the bidders met the fit and proper norms. These norms check if the bidders are compliant with regulations and are not under the scanner of other regulators. The central bank has given its report on all but one bidder which happens to be a foreign participant, which did not share information and the overseas regulator too has not provided data, TOI on Thursday reported. With the current market cap nearing Rs 95,000 crore, the Centre could potentially realize around Rs 29,000 crore from the disinvestment. However, several observers have noted that the transaction terms are not very attractive.

This is part of a special series of articles by the country's foremost voices, ahead of Union Budget 2024, aiming to draw attention to the critical reforms that can help India in its journey to become a developed nation by 2047. In a few days from now, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her seventh consecutive budget, a record in India’s history. This is also the first Union budget in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Undoubtedly, we expect directional continuity in policy announcements with a thrust on economic growth, social development and sustainability, in line with the vision for Viksit Bharat 2047.

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.

NITI Aayog. While the vice chairman and the full-time members of the Aayog remain the same, some of the new ministers of the Modi government have become either ex-officio members or special invitees to the Aayog. Since the term of the Aayog, barring the position of the chief executive officer, is co-terminus with the term of the government, the re-constitution of the Aayog was due since the formation of the new government in June. As per the notification, effective from Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue to be the chairman of the Aayog with Suman Bery as the vice-chairman and VK Saraswat, Ramesh Chand, VK Paul and Arvind Virmani as full-time members of the Aayog.

Union Budget 2024: In a bid to enhance passenger travel experience and facilitate faster speeds, thereby reducing travel time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her interim budget speech earlier this year that 40,000 normal rail bogies will undergo conversion to Vande Bharat standards. This announcement marked a significant boost to India’s railway infrastructure, underscoring its pivotal role in the government’s capital expenditure agenda. The interim budget for fiscal 2024-25 allocated Rs 2.55 lakh crore to Indian Railways. Sitharaman, in her sixth budget speech, proposed a 5.8% increase over the budgetary estimate (BE) of Rs 2.41 lakh crore set for fiscal 2023-24. The revised estimates (RE) for fiscal 2023-24 stood at Rs 2.43 lakh crore, marking a notable commitment to bolstering the railway sector. Once again, this allocation in the interim budget represented the highest ever granted to the national transporter, reflecting the government's steadfast commitment to enhancing railway infrastructure and services across the country.

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.

The budget is now slightly more than a week away. Finance ministry officials would have already sifted through all the proposals, recommendations and advice received from various quarters, and taken a decision on which ones to retain and which ones to discard. Many proposals and measures are probably already in the oven for final baking; what is probably left are incorporating last-minute proposals from party members, updating data and putting final touches to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s commentary.

Budget 2024, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Industry players are hopeful for tax reductions on exports to bolster demand for Indian-made gold and diamond jewellery.

NITI Aayog is likely to hold its ninth governing council meeting on July 27 to deliberate on the government’s Vision 2047 for a Viksit Bharat. The meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to be attended by chief ministers of all states and lieutenant governors of union territories besides the top minister of the Modi cabinet. Governing council is the apex body of NITI Aayog. The Aayog has been pursuing the policy of cooperative federalism and has regularly called upon all states to deliberate on important matters pertaining to the economic growth of the country as it feels India’s growth is closely linked with that of states. Prior to this, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to lay out the blueprint for a Viksit Bharat while presenting the full Union Budget on July 23.