Country Financial News

Nirmala Sitharaman gears up to present the Budget, scheduled for July 23, let's have a look at what the Budget Survey by ET Online said about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Indian economy at the moment. The good, surprisingly, is that 'inflation is under control', the bad part is the global uncertainty and coalition politics. The ugly, and predictably, is India’s jobless growth. In the run-up to the Budget 2024, ET Online conducted a survey to get a sense of what India is looking for in the upcoming Union Budget. The survey received responses from nearly 9,500 Economic Times readers. Over 34 per cent of respondents believe that inflation being under control is the best thing about the Indian economy at the moment. More than 29 per cent of respondents opted for the country's healthy forex reserves as a key strength. Nearly 24 per cent chose the healthy balance sheets of businesses, while 12 per cent appreciate the ease of doing business in the current economic climate.

Bangladesh on Thursday, while authorities cut some mobile internet services as violent clashes that have killed six and injured hundreds this week showed no signs of slowing. Shops and offices were open in Dhaka, the capital, but there were fewer buses on the streets, as a call for a nationwide shutdown from students demanding abolition of a quota of 30% reservations drew little response. Police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing students who blocked a major highway in the southern port city of Chittagong as mobile services were halted across most of the South Asian country.

Uniform Civil Code and any move that does not consider the views of all sections is a forced one and hence against the Constitution, says Samajwadi Party MP Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi. In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters here, the imam of the Jama Masjid across the road from Parliament also said issues of the Muslim community were the same as that of other sections in the country and education and health have to be a priority for development. The Rampur MP, whose Lok Sabha polls candidature caused a flutter with SP veteran Azam Khan reportedly opposing it, hailed Khan as a big leader of the state, party and Rampur. «There was no opposition, the election was fought with everyone's support. I did not face any such thing (opposition). There are no differences with him,» he added

India's first overseas Jan Aushadi Kendra in Mauritius, testifying the «close» bilateral cooperation, especially in the key health sector. Jaishankar was in Mauritius on a two-day visit from June 16 to 17, one of the first countries he visited in his current term as External Affairs Minister. On Wednesday, he jointly inaugurated India's first overseas Jan Aushadi Kendra with Mauritian Prime Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, «testifying to the close cooperation between our countries, especially in the important sector of health,» the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been set up to make affordable generic medicines available to all.

budget, global markets are buzzing with anticipation. Stakeholders in the urban development sector are especially hopeful for policy reforms and fiscal support from the Central Government under Modi 3.0. Following an 11% increase in infrastructure capital allocation in the interim budget, significant advancements in urban development are expected. With India’s urban population projected to reach 600 million by 2030, the demand for quality infrastructure and basic amenities in cities is soaring. The focus on urban development in India is anticipated to continue, with initiatives aimed at enhancing infrastructure and the quality of life in urban areas. The Government of India has been actively emphasising the enhancement of infrastructure, housing, and technology integration to boost overall urban living standards. Accordingly, there are several key expectations of the industry stakeholders related to the advancements in the urban development sector in India from the upcoming Budget 2024, which may be summarised as below -

e-commerce exports in India’s free trade agreements. To achieve $200-300 billion in e-commerce exports by 2030, the two organisations, in a report on Thursday, proposed cheaper financing through priority sector lending for such outbound shipments and increasing the consignment limit via courier route to $50,000 from $12,000 now. The report titled ‘Enabling e-commerce exports from India’ has recommendations on easing customs procedures, enabling robust reconciliations and payment settlement mechanisms and various policy interventions to push e-commerce exports which are estimated at $4-5 billion in FY23 accounting for 0.9-1.1% of India’s total merchandise exports. The report compares best practices followed in China where the consignment limit for e-commerce exports is $50,000, cross-border e-commerce pilot zones established to expedite customs clearances through a ‘green channel’, simplified export procedures like release-from-manifest and consolidated declaration, and preferential policies, warehouse facilities, and benefits including lower income tax in these zones.

Keki Mistry, Former VC & CEO, HDFC, says his experience over the years not only in India but in many other countries globally, is that when the tax rate is reduced, compliance is improved significantly and there is a greater urge to work and earn more income. So, a reduction in tax rates, whether it is a different tax rate and also the highest marginal tax rate, will go a long way in improving sentiment, including increasing productivity. At the end of the day, it will also result in higher savings and increased consumption.

India is likely to cut the floor price for basmati rice exports and replace the 20% export tax on parboiled rice with a fixed duty on overseas shipments, government sources said, as rice inventories in the country jumped a record high. The world's biggest rice exporter imposed various curbs on exports in 2023 and continued them in 2024 in an effort to keep local prices in check ahead of the general elections held in April-May. New Delhi is expected to lower the basmati rice's minimum export price (MEP) to $800-$850 a metric ton, down from $950 a ton, to boost shipments, said the sources, who didn't wish to be identified as they are not authorised to talk to media.

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.

The corporate tax landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, globally, with the advent of the Global Minimum Tax, also known as Pillar Two. By 2024, this initiative had been adopted by 30-plus countries, signalling the most significant reform of international tax regulations in a century. Prepared under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Inclusive Framework, which encompasses over 140 countries, Pillar Two is poised to redefine the fiscal obligations of multinational enterprises (MNEs).

The coming U.S. presidential election, with the growing prospect of a return of Donald Trump to the White House, promises to have profound repercussions for Europe’s security, future trans-Atlantic relations and the conflict in Ukraine—changes with which European leaders are starting to grapple. Trump’s pick of Sen.

KEC International shares climbed 6% to Rs 940 in Thursday's trade on BSE after the firm secured new orders of Rs 1,100 crore for transmission & distribution (T&D) projects in India, Middle East, Australia and the America. The projects include 765 kV Transmission line and 765 kV GIS substation orders in India, from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). The company also secured orders for a 132 kV transmission line in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the supply of towers in Australia and the Americas, and the supply of Hardware and Poles in America.

BEIJING — U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump's new running mate JD Vance stuck to a hard line on China in his first speech since being selected earlier in the week.

HDFC Defence Fund, the only active fund based on the defence sector, has offered more than 100% return in the last one year. The scheme gave 128.52% return in the said period. The scheme has offered around 60.16% return in 2024 so far and around 55.25% return in the last six months. What is helping defence sector based mutual funds deliver this stellar performance?

power sector in the country, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called on the state governments to make improvements in the sector to become self-sufficient. Speaking to reporters, Minister Khattar, said, «There are guidelines that can be given to the state governments. Ultimately, the work of implementation is the responsibility of the state governments, so we will definitely appeal to everyone as the power sector has become so important nowadays… if the sector is not made self-reliant, then its effect directly falls on the public as well as the state governments.» He added, «So if the state governments want to stand on their own two feet and be self-sufficient, then it is very important to bring improvements in the power sector...»

Sachin Shah, Executive Director & Fund Manager, Emkay Investment Managers Limited. In an interview with ETMarkets, Shah said: “But as I said, the more important thing is the devil is in the details. How are you going to manage your fiscal deficit? Is it at the cost of capital expenditure?,” Edited excerpts:

medical equipment market was worth $11 billion in 2022, making up 1.5% of the global market. The department estimates that the sector may grow to $50 billion by 2030 with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.4%. “The department of pharmaceuticals has submitted a new proposal on the meditech sector to the finance ministry for final consideration," the second person added, adding the final contours of the proposal are still being worked on.

Nine crew members were rescued and another died as teams searched for others after an oil tanker capsized this week off the coast of Oman, according to the country's state news agency

Columbia has a unique problem. The Latin American country is in a catch 22-situation. The Government had signed an important agreement with a major rebel group to attain peace and prosperity but now faces another issue pertaining to increasing levels poverty which may have been caused by this agreement. Columbia’s cocaine production was at an all-time high but now this supply remains unsold resulting in large scale poverty of the farmers who were cultivating this drug. There has been a dramatic downturn in the drug market which has added to the reduced sales of this drug resulting in economic hardships for the people.

The group Google asked to distribute $100 million to news outlets in Canada has publicly released its governance model, which it says focuses on sustainability, equity and innovation within the industry.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to visit Serbia later this week to discuss a tentative deal with the Balkan country for the controversial excavation of lithium, a critical substance in making batteries for electric vehicles