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revenue growth, said a Media Partners Asia report.

defence and railways, that dominated the previous budgets were missing this time. This was a Budget for coalition partners, towards which Nirmala Sitharaman has loosened the purse strings. A special financial support of ₹15,000 crore will be extended to Andhra Pradesh via multilateral agencies for development.

The Treasury Department is ordering the nation’s banking industry to start disclosing its holdings of Russian assets, with the goal of eventually seizing those billions of dollars in assets and selling them to aid the devastated Ukrainian economy

Golden fields of wheat no longer produce the bounty they once did in Morocco

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to raise spending to create more jobs and spur economic growth

Viksit Bharat in the full budget. Overall, the Budget 2024 has been an inclusive one, listing out nine priority areas. In fact, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, FICCI’s four priority areas, namely manufacturing (Make in India), farm-led growth, women-led development and sustainability, closely mirror the thrust areas highlighted in the budget.

A senior Russian lawmaker says the nation’s CBDC – the digital ruble – will not be ready for cross-border use until 2026.

«Now, whether the short-term capital gains tax, short-term transaction tax increase, will it necessarily act as a disincentive for speculative activity or not, obviously one measure is not adequate and if you are looking for gains in hundreds and 200% because of the embedded leverage in derivative assets, you are not going to be swayed by a small increase in the short-term transaction tax,» says V Anantha Nageswaran, CEA. Well, you pointed out in the Economic Survey that a lot of experimenting is happening as far as the investment in the stock market is concerned and today, we saw the LTCG and short-term capital gains, the tweak there. What is your thinking as far as, from here on the stock markets or investment in stock markets is concerned as far as this? V Anantha Nageswaran: Look, I mean, I am not in the prediction business for stock markets.

«I think all in all many positives in this budget and over a period of time certainly as these schemes get implemented, it is going to provide further impetus to the economy,» says Sanjiv Puri, President CII & CMD, ITC. If you have to rate the budget on a scale of one to five, how would you rate the budget? Sanjiv Puri: Well, I do not have a framework for that kind of rating, but I would say the budget is commendable because not only has it addressed these investments required for inclusive growth, it has also got a holistic approach to the climate change, issues of energy transition, issues of certain natural resources like water, etc, are being addressed and it is ahead as far as the guidance on fiscal consolidation glide path was concerned.

Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, SBI, says the emphasis on employment, skilling, and MSME is clearly articulated as the key pillars for inclusive growth in the Budget. Additionally, there is a strong focus on enhancing productivity and resilience in agriculture. Addressing youth employment and skilling is crucial for the economy, and maximizing these resources is essential. Furthermore, MSME is a core focus area for manufacturing and services, along with urban development initiatives like PMAY, which will significantly boost the real estate sector in urban areas. This Budget has struck the right chords. It is a Budget which, in a sense, has balanced growth and also government's vision of sab ka saath, sab ka vikas. In your mind, what was the big standout feature? Dinesh Kumar Khara: The Budget is something that is going to focus on the inclusive growth in the economy.

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.

budget delivered on most counts for the economy, but may have disappointed the market through higher capital gains tax on equities and securities transaction tax on futures and options. On the positive side, we highlight (1) the moderately higher spending on farm and rural economy and lower income tax for middle-income households, which is a positive for consumption, (2) the thrust on employment generation through several new measures and (3) fiscal consolidation, which is a positive for bond markets and yields. On the negative side versus market expectations, we note (1) the unchanged capex compared with the interim budget figure and (2) a higher capital gains tax on equities. The government may pursue further rationalisation in the capital gains structure for various asset classes over a period of time. The government increased allocation to revenue expenditure (6.2% increase versus 3.2% in the interim budget) and cut income tax rates for middle-income households, which is a positive for consumption sectors. The higher proposed spending on social welfare schemes and rural development will drive a faster recovery in the farm and rural economies. The reduction in income tax rates for the lowest income tax slabs corresponding to middle-income households should provide an impetus to two-wheeler, consumer durables, QSR and other discretionary items.

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.

Fighting climate change is difficult partly because humans are weird. It’s difficult to get them to care about their own future well-being much less that of entire future generations. People blow retirement funds.

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

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.

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.

finance minister in India's history to present seven consecutive Union budgets, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had the momentous task of addressing multiple areas such as rural demand, infrastructure development, manufacturing, technology upgradation, among others, to build levers for sustainable growth for the Indian economy-underpinned by an overall focus on boosting consumption and spending.

customs duty on gold will help reduce smuggling and aid the economy, businesses and employment, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in an interaction. He said easier norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) could entail expedited and automatic approvals. Edited excerpts:

central government will stay the fiscal consolidation course and tailor its annual deficit targets from 2026-27 in such a manner that its debt-to-GDP ratio will progressively decline, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.