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budget in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram pushed forward five demands from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

budget underscores the government's steadfast commitment to growth without compromising on fiscal discipline. The overarching message is clear: progress for all segments of society through equal opportunity. This blueprint addresses critical sectors such as manufacturing, services, agriculture, and startups, while providing targeted support for women and job seekers. An unwavering resolve to elevate India to a 'developed economy' status by 2047.

Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said in an interview to Anuradha Shukla and Deepshikha Sikarwar. Edited excerpts:

Elon Musk has once again dropped a bombshell. Now he has claimed on social media that “America is going bankrupt.” Though the SpaceX CEO has made this comment sarcastically, he may not mean it in a real sense. He took to social media platform X to reply to Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus, who had sarcastically commented about his tax dollars funding government mishaps.

capital gains tax across asset classes has a positive effect in three areas. One, it lowers arbitrage among asset classes, such as equities, real estate and gold for household savings. Two, it addresses the differential in effective tax rates on labour and capital. And, three, it allows government tax revenue to grow without unduly affecting economic productivity. All these have long-term effects on economic growth and redistribution by influencing behavioural changes towards work, savings and risk-taking. The move also lowers the likelihood of asset price bubbles by encouraging freer capital movement. The markets have, thus, taken the changes announced in the budget in their stride, and the anticipated turbulence was weak and short-lived. Further steps to harmonise the tax treatment of capital gains are likely to be met with less anxiety by investors.

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on Wednesday said the Budget has assumed a reasonable nominal GDP growth rate of 10.5 per cent as higher assumption could have led to a larger fiscal deficit. «As far as the current year is concerned, fiscal prudence places the demand on us that we are realistic or a bit conservative in assuming what the potential revenues may be while at the same time provide adequate provisions for productive priorities of the government. That is what this Budget does,» he told PTI in a post-Budget interview.

The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, the second straight reduction in the central bank’s easing cycle.

inflation outlook.

space sector has immense economic potential, likely to be worth Rs 35,200 crore, about 8% of the global share by 2033. On 23 July, the Finance Minister announced the creation of a dedicated “space fund” worth Rs 1,000 crore, aiming to boost India’s space economy, attract investment and in the global space industry. According to Mr. Pawan Goenka, IN-SPACe Chairman, the fund is expected to be a professionally managed entity that supports space businesses. India has showcased on the global stage its ability to innovate on a frugal budget, fulfilling the Chandrayaan-3 mission at a cost that was merely 3% of the Russian moon missions. This Budget proposal signals the Government’s intent to give a fillip to the Indian space sector by providing financial support, mentorship and guidance to emerging space startups. The establishment of the space fund marks the next step in a successful PPP collaboration aimed at advancing the technology essential for India's success in this field.

Elon Musk has strongly refuted the report by Wall Street Journal that he is donating $45 million every month to Trump campaign. Musk will continue supporting the Republicans and Trump’s election campaign. He also spoke out against developing a ‘cult personality’. Musk was speaking to Jordan Peterson and this interview was shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Businesses and shoppers who for the last two years pulled back on outfitting their homes and offices are back to buying chairs, couches and desks, which may be a boon for furniture maker MillerKnoll. The global design company, which sells everything from Eames chairs to desks, rugs and lamps under the brands Herman Miller, Knoll and Design Within Reach, for the first time in a couple of years saw organic order growth in the three month-period ended June 1. For differing reasons, two of MillerKnoll’s major customer groups slowed their furniture-buying in recent years.

Mint explains the budget’s many nuances and its potential long-term impact. The biggest concern was whether the central government’s policy choices could change after the electoral outcome. Over the years, it had worked hard to improve spending efficiency by cutting back on revenue expenditure and focusing on capex which had a greater multiplier effect.

Many workers will see their annual raise shrink next year as the job market continues to cool from its torrid pace in the pandemic era.

₹1.4 trillion in the previous budget (revised estimate) to an estimated ₹1.47 trillion. Boosting employment and employability was rightly given utmost priority in this year’s budget. The announcement of three employment-linked incentive (ELI) schemes for first-time workers, job creation in manufacturing and support for employers are in line with CII recommendations.

Read this | Mint Primer: The budget in 5 minutes The one thing we know is the three schemes are framed in formal-sector employment. This takes the shape of workers being registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which is mandatory for firms with 20 employees or more. In the last few years, net new EPFO enrolments have risen progressively, with first-time employees aged 25 years and below accounting for about 50% of net additions to EPFO payrolls.

₹1.48 trillion for education, employment and skilling is well intended. India as a country of over 1.4 billion people needs more jobs and employable talent. The push to increase participation in the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a critical step toward formalizing the labour market.

Bank of Canada interest rate cuts may be coming too little, too late for many Canadians, two polls this week suggest.

Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday was unique among all the budgets presented by her in that it offered a long-term roadmap for a developed India, an aim set by the government called Viksit Bharat. At the start of the Parliament’s Budget session, a day before the budget was presented, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the budget will further the goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

First Triveni of fiscal discipline

Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh and Modi 3.0's first union budget in the Parliament, Congress paid tribute to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his contribution in ushering India into a new economic era.

«So, all of these contours or making India a product nation, these perspectives I think were very useful from the budget as well. Some of the clarity, the fleshing out of these medium-term plans should start becoming visible,» says Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank. Let us just begin then with the overall outlook this time around with respect to the Budget and the finance minister clearly retaining the FY25 capex target at about 11.1 lakh crore rupees. How do you believe that one should be reading into the fine print? Neelkanth Mishra: This was the first budget of a new government, so there were two major asks from it or at least two major signals that we were all looking for. One was will the direction of the fiscal maths change? There was I think apprehension among some quarters that the government because of the election verdict would change its stance, so at least on the budget arithmetic it is very clear that the government sticks to the focus on macroeconomic stability on a very relentless focus on bringing down the cost of capital over the medium term and I think some of those changes will start becoming visible in the next year or two.