Heena Sharma Blog

  In a significant change amid digitalisation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this year unveiled a ' Made in India ' tablet replacing the traditional briefcase before presenting Budget 2021 . With the move aimed at a paperless Budget, now 'bahi khata' (a ledger wrapped in a red cloth) has been completely removed from this year -- a move to reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Digital India' mission. In 1947, India's first Finance Minister R. K. Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget. In January, the Central government also launched 'Union Budget Mobile App' on the occasion of the Halwa ceremony to enable MPs and people to access Budget documents digitally. It was launched as no budget papers will be printed this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sitharaman, who will present the Budget for the third time, is expected to lift and give an impetus to the Indian economy that has been...

Budget 2020 LIVE updates and Budget highlights: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting her second Union Budget in Parliament today. The Budget speech is being keenly watched on both sides of the aisle in Parliament, and also by investors, both domestic and foreign, besides various interest groups like farmers and the anxious middle class. Budget 2020 comes at a time when India is staring at an estimated 5 per cent annual rate of expansion, the slowest pace since 2009. The economy has lately been impacted by slowing trade, rising protectionism, and concerns over a high level of unemployment. The recent sluggishness in the economy has led to expectations that the Budget would contain further stimulus measures to boost growth through new policy initiatives and continued reforms to achieve accelerated growth and employment generation. On Friday, the government tabled the Economic Survey 2019-20, which projected the country's GDP growth for 2020-21 at 6-6.5 per cen...

The Congress on Saturday expressed hope that the Union Budget would provide relief to the salaried class through tax cuts and invest in rural India besides providing a healing touch to the common man and industry facing "hardship" since demonetisation. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the last budget led to crashing consumption levels, soaring unemployment and falling GDP. "Budget 2019= Consumption crashed, Unemployment soared, Farm distress surged, Incomes declined, Investments slumped, Public spending fell, GDP nose dived!," Surjewala tweeted. "Yet, Modiji gave Corporate Tax Cuts of Rs 1,45,000 crore. Let Budget 2020 give tax cuts to Salaried Class and invest in Rural India," he said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hoped the budget fulfils expectations of the common people. Read More

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme of the government which gives Rs 6,000 a year to farmers may see a cut in budgetary allocation. It is learnt that the allocation for PM-Kisan may be slashed by 20 per cent to about Rs 60,000 crore in the general Budget from Rs 75,000 crore. The amount allocated to the scheme was Rs 75,000 crore, in the Budget estimate of 2019-20. The reason for this massive cut is the obstacles being faced in its implementation in some of the states. Under the PM-Kisan scheme, farmers are given a total of Rs 6,000 in three instalments annually. However, according to sources, the revised estimate can come to Rs 61,000 crore in the current financial year. The reason for this is not to implement the scheme by some states like West Bengal. Also, many states do not have proper data of farmers. The target of farmers availing this scheme has been reduced from 14.5 crore to 14 crore which will mean lower spending and allocation under the s...

A cut in personal income tax, sops for rural and agriculture sectors as well as an aggressive push on infrastructure spending are likely to be part of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 's "feel-good" second Budget. Facing the worst economic slowdown in more than a decade, Sitharaman is expected to pull out all stops to spur consumer demand and investment, government sources and economists said. Sitharaman's second Budget, to be presented on February 1, is expected to announce measures to restore economic growth and to set out a clear road map for achieving the ambitious target of USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. Investments have failed to pick up despite corporate tax cuts and other stimulus measures, higher FDI inflows, plans to consolidate state-owned banks and monetary easing. After corporate tax cuts in September last year, speculation is rife about possible reduction in personal income taxes. A combination of an increase in the basic exemption limit...

The Budget session was inaugurated today with the President’s address. The Budget would be presented by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2020. General Election 2019 saw the opposition try to corner the Narendra Modi government on the issues of a slowing economy, unemployment and rural distress. The voters however reposed their faith in the government and gave it an even bigger mandate. The state of the economy however has continued to be the biggest cause of worry for the government. Not only has unemployment reached record high levels, GDP growth has tanked and India may go by a less than 5 per cent in this fiscal year. The state of the economy is what makes Budget 2020 very important. How important is the Budget for the government politically? What can the government do to mitigate the political risk? Is it the best chance for Modi 2.0 to announce major economic reforms? Read More

India's first female money serve in right around five decades, Nirmala Sitharaman , has held a wide scope of occupations: She rode on board a contender stream as barrier serve. As leader of the exchange office she pondered falling fares. She's been a national representative for her gathering, and in more youthful days worked in London as a home style salesman. Presently Sitharaman, 59, faces what may wind up one of the hardest exercises in careful control of her profession. On May 31, inside hours of her landing in her new office in New Delhi, she was welcomed with India's most exceedingly awful monetary updates on the year: Unemployment had contacted a 45-year high, and India had lost its tag of the world's quickest developing real economy to China in the last quarter of the financial year. On July 5, Sitharaman shows up in her new job, introducing India's financial limit when she's experiencing tension to spend more to revitalize the economy. She sh...

The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to correct an error in cigarette taxation under the new tax regime, which did not account for the cascading effect on excise duty that existed in the pre-GST system. FAIFA is a non-profit organisation that represents the cause of farmers and farm workers of commercial crops across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat. In a letter written to the Finance Minister, which has also been submitted to various concerned Ministries including the PMO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Labour, the association has highlighted that error in cigarette taxation has inadvertently increased compensation cess rates that has resulted in additional taxes of around 13 per cent above the pre-GST levels. "Any additional burden caused by the increase in compensation cess rates will put furth...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), having changed management last month following a clash with the government, is likely to transfer an interim dividend of Rs 300-400 billion ($4.32 billion-$5.8 billion) to the government by March, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The dividend could help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration bridge a widening budget deficit following a drop in tax collections, and would come after the government pushed the RBI for the additional funds ahead of a national election due by May. Former finance ministry official Shaktikanta Das was appointed as the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following resignation of Urjit Patel last month amid tensions over the dividend payout and other issues. The government and RBI have now appointed a panel to look into the issue around the sharing of the RBI's reserves. Read More Business Standard