Heena Sharma Blog

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...

During decision years, for example, this one, India's active fund priest offers up just a "between time spending plan," under the suspicion that the approaching government will have diverse arrangement needs. Given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's legislature was reelected so effectively, one may think the spending it's booked to introduce on July 5 won't look vastly different. It should. Modi's new fund serve, Nirmala Sitharaman , faces unexpected conditions in comparison to her forerunner. In the months since the between time spending plan, India's economy has gotten ugly. In May, we discovered that the economy had developed at just 5.8% in the three months among January and March, essentially lower than anticipated. The storm - pivotal for development in agribusiness, which utilizes half or a greater amount of India's specialists - has failed to meet expectations. Downpour in June was a third not exactly expected; it was the fifth-...

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 Centre is considering increasing the personal income tax threshold in next month’s budget, according to people familiar with the matter, as authorities seek to kickstart consumption in the economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may raise the tax exemption limit for working-age individuals to Rs 300,000 ($4,316) of their annual income, up from the current Rs 250,000, the people said, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorised to speak publicly about the proposals. The tax measures haven’t been finalised yet. Any tax exemptions will add stimulus to an economy that’s slowed sharply this year, with growth reaching a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year. The proposed tax move would put at least Rs 2,500 more in the hands of each of India’s 50 million taxpayers. It could also add to pressure on the budget deficit, which is pegged at 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year that began on April 1. The f...

Tax officials are likely to ask for a reduction up to 6 per cent in their collection target in the full Union Budget for 2019-20, compared to what was given in the interim Budget. That 6 per cent would translate into a reduction of Rs 1.5 trillion. The new finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has already expressed concern over revenue collection at interactions with officials. The cuts are being sought by both the direct and indirect tax departments. Direct tax officials are going to ask for a cut in their collection target by Rs 60,000-70,000 crore or 4.3-5.1 per cent of the figure in the interim Budget for 2019-20, for overall yearly growth of 15 per cent. If approved, the direct tax collection target would be revised at close to Rs 13 trillion, from Rs 13.8 trillion in the interim Budget. As for indirect taxes, the central goods and services tax (CGST) growth target might be cut by Rs 70,000-80,000 crore in the full Budget or 11.5-13 per cent of the interim Budget if on...

The 2019 interim budget on February 1 is likely to bring some good news for taxpayers. Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may double the income tax (I-T) exemption threshold for the salaried taxpayers from the present Rs 250,000 to Rs 500,000, according to an IANS report. With financial apathy on the rise after demonetisation drive, this pre-poll sop tactic by the PM Narendra Modi-led government is expected to benefit the middle-class segment of the society. FM Jaitley may also reinstate a tax-free status for medical expenses and transport allowance. ALSO READ: Interim Budget options for Mr Jaitley The demand to double the I-T exemption limit to Rs 500,000 was made by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as one of its pre-Budget recommendations. The industry has also sought an increase in the deduction under Section 80C to Rs 250,000 to incentivise savings. As the ruling BJP government is trying to outline its economic policy vis...

The budget session of Parliament is likely to be held from January 31 to Feb 13, and an interim budget is expected to be presented on February 1, government sources said Wednesday. They said the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs deliberated on the dates for the budget session at a meeting. Budget 2019 It is expected to be the last session of the current Lok Sabha as general elections are due in April-May. Read our full coverage on Interim budget 2019

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