CATEGORIES

₹2.2L cr for houses under PMAY-U 2.0

THE Centre on Tuesday announced central assistance of ₹2.2 lakh crore over the next five years to meet housing requirement of one crore urban poor and middle class families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0 and also proposed interest subsidy to provide loans at affordable rates.

No hike in rural job scheme, static at ₹86K cr

THE flagship scheme for rural employment, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been allocated ₹86,000 crore in FY25 same as the revised estimate for FY24 and ₹20,000 crore more than the budget estimate in FY24.

FM keeps capital expenditure unchanged at ₹11.11L crore

CONTRARY to expectations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday kept the capital expenditure (capex) unchanged at ₹11.11 lakh crore in the Union Budget.

₹26K cr for better road connectivity

BIHAR will get four road projects for better connectivity; PatnaPurnea Expressway, Buxar3 Bhagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya, 1 Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and additional two-lane bridge over the Ganga at Buxar.

Kashi Vishwanath model for Gaya, Bodh Gaya temples soon

THE Centre has planned comprehensive development of four significant religious sites in Bihar associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism with an aim to stimulate investment and unlock economic opportunities.

E-com export hubs to help small vendors

THE government will set up Ecommerce Export Hubs in publicprivate-partnership model in order to enable MSMEs to sell their products in international markets.

Pvt players for N-sector soon, energy transition on fast track

THE government is planning to release a policy document on appropriate energy transition pathways that balance the imperatives of employment, growth, and environmental sustainability, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

MUDRA loan limit hike, credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs

IN their efforts to revitalise the ailing MSME sector, the backbone of the Indian economy and creator of crores of jobs, the NDA government has come up with a slew of reforms.

India Inc gives thumbs up to growth focus

THE captains of India Inc have given a big thumbs up to the Union Budget of FY2024-25 as they believe it would play an important role in keeping the nation's growth rate intact and foster employment.

Massive ₹2L cr outlay for jobs, skilling

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced an outlay of ₹2 lakh crore for five schemes and initiatives that will facilitate employment and skilling opportunities for ₹4.1 crore youth over five years.

Edu loans up via e-vouchers, UGC budget cut

UNION Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of ₹1.20 lakh crore for education in the Union Budget for 2024-25.

Oppn CMs decide to boycott NITI Aayog July 27 meeting

THE Chief Ministers of the Opposition states have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for 27th July over the 'discriminatory' Budget.

'Kursi Bachao Budget no good to commoner': Rahul ups ante

COMING down heavily on the first Budget presented by the Modi 3.0 government, the Opposition parties termed it a budget driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states.

Visionary Budget to uplift society: Modi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the Union Budget was aimed at realizing 'Viksit-Bharat', asserting that the Budget proposals belonged to every section of society with a potential to herald \"better growth and a bright future' in the country.

HARRIS IN RACE AGAINST TIME & TRUMP TO BREAK HIGHEST GLASS CEILING

BORN the year the US outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, sex and national origin, Kamala Harris has finally come within touching distance of realising the loftiest American dream-that the child of an immigrant can rise to the highest office.

PICKING UP IDEAS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF AISLE

THE day after the Congress released its election manifesto this April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the document had the \"stamp of the Muslim League'.

FM STRIKES BALANCE ON FISCAL PRUDENCE AND SOCIAL DEMANDS

FOR any new government, life actually begins with the first budget.

THIS BUDGET IS A LONG, ARDUOUS MARCH OF HOPE

The govt skirted minefields of populism and opted for a structural approach on many demands. The moves will be deemed transformative only when they hit the ground

Electronics sector gets biggest PLI allocation

IN the Budget, the finance minister has allocated 12,493.02 crore for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme across different sectors for this financial year.

Govt sets 4.9% deficit target on fiscal correction path

EVEN though political imperatives vastly dominated the first Budget of the PM Modi-led NDA government's third term, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has walked the talk on her commitment to fiscal prudencemostly due to the whopping 2.11 trillion (2.11 lakh cr) windfall received from the Reserve Bankand has lowered the fiscal deficit target more than anticipated to 4.9% for this year and to 4.5% for the next.

Derivatives, capital gains tax rate hike bring markets down

THE Budget, which otherwise ticked all the boxes despite its heavy political tone and doles, has left stock market investors in disarray as the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tweaked the tax rates for market assets-a fivefold increase in the securities transaction tax to 0.1% and a 2.5 percentage points hike in the long term capital gains tax to 12.5%.

FM coins new acronym-EMPLOYMENT

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday emphasized the government's commitment to job creation and youth skilling initiatives by introducing a new acronym 'EMPLOYMENT'.

AIADMK says DMK govt is a burden on people, stages protest across state

CONDEMNING the DMK government for the increase of power tariff and alleged proposal to impose certain restrictions on the distribution of tur dal and palm oil in fair price shops, AIADMK organised demonstrations across the state on Tuesday.

MSMEs get collateral-free loan, but interest pain remains

THE Union Budget may have brought some cheer to MSMES with much needed reforms to tide over fiscal stress, but the lack of any reduction in interest rates on the loans given to the small and medium enterprises poses some concerns.

Farmers vexed over no loan waiver, MSP

THOUGH farmers have welcomed the budget announcement that one crore farmers will be initiated into natural farming in the next two years, they however, have expressed their dissatisfaction as there is no announcement on loan waiver or guaranteed minimum support price for their produce.

₹11L cr for infra boost lauded

INDUSTRY reacted positively to the budget and claimed it is supporting MSMEs, encouraging entrepreneurship, and boosting employment.

TAX SLABS DON'T PASS MUSTER WITH SALARIED CLASS

SALARIED taxpayers have said the new income tax slabs and a hike in the standard deduction announced in the Union Budget have fallen short of expectations.

'Gift to allies who got BJP majority'

SLAMMING the BJP-led centre for boycotting Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said giving funds generously to certain states for political reasons and spitting hatred on states like TN, which play a major role in country's growth, will destabilise India's democratic and federal principles.

Kanchi councillors want 'biased' commissioner transferred from corpn

A section of councillors in Kancheepuram Corporation, cutting across party lines, including ruling DMK, staged a sit-in protest at corporation office on Tuesday, condemning alleged bias shown by Corporation Commissioner M Senthil Murugan and demanding his transfer.

1 teacher for 88 kids: A sorry tale of corpn schools

THE delay in filling teacher vacancies in corporation schools in north Chennai is affecting daily classes and quality of education.