The finance minister could improve the quality of public spending, which could mean placing greater emphasis on capital expenditure and a closer review of revenue spending, such as subsidies, to ensure they are targeted only at the poor and are less of a drag on public finance, notes A K Bhattacharya.
While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little more would have boosted economic growth even further, suggests Rajiv Memani.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
'If tax-and-spend was expected to trickle down, it has failed; India's rural wages are stagnant, which has wrecked consumption growth,' points out Debashis Basu.
Anticipating US action on tariffs, India seems to have made the first move by revamping its tariff structure by reducing the slabs to eight rates, points out Mukesh Butani.
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'We are getting to understand the mind of this generation.' 'Minor tweaks are being made to ease the process as we go along.'
The data for individual weighted received premium (WRP) showed divergent trends for life insurers in December 2024. Overall, the industry's individual WRP grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y); LIC's individual WRP declined 13 per cent while private players saw 11.4 per cent growth.
We must bring a laser focus on our own interests, and define our friends and foes more clearly instead of trying to live by somebody else's rules. We must grow up, think for ourselves, think India First, asserts R Jagannathan.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday, following months of ethnic violence in the state. BJP leaders have begun closed-door meetings to decide the next course of action. The opposition welcomed Singh's resignation, while the BJP hopes the move will help restore peace in the region.
Parliament's Budget Session will be held from January 31 to April 4, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table her eighth straight budget on February 1. The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on January 31, followed by the tabling of the economic survey. The first part of the Budget Session will have nine sittings from January 31 to February 13, after which Parliament will break for recess to examine the budget proposals. The session will reconvene on March 10 to discuss the demands for grants of various ministries and complete the budgetary process, concluding on April 4.
An Indian engineer, Yogesh Panchal, was detained in Iran for almost two months for allegedly clicking photographs in a restricted zone. He was released earlier this week after the Ministry of External Affairs intervened. Panchal, who hails from Nanded district in Maharashtra, visited Iran in December to explore business opportunities. He was apprehended from his hotel room on December 7 and accused of shooting videos and photos in a restricted zone. He was held in a local detention center for 59 days and treated well, although blindfolded throughout his incarceration. The family sought help from Rajya Sabha member Ajit Gopchade, but the Iranian Embassy in Delhi initially did not cooperate. The MEA's intervention led to a hearing and his eventual release.
The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to walk the extra mile, but if need be, we should respond in equal measure as a sovereign nation, notes Ajay Srivastava.
The repo rate cut by 25 basis points by the monetary policy committee (MPC) of RBI announced Friday will give a long-awaited relief on interest rates and also be supportive of economic growth, according to experts. Repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks.
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
The RBI under new Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday cut interest rate for the first time in nearly five years as the central bank pivoted the policy stance to support a shuttering economy. The 25 basis points rate cut to 6.25 per cent comes after last rate reduction in May 2020. The last revision of rates happened in February 2023 when the policy rate was hiked by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
The Indian automobile retail sector saw a strong start to 2025, with overall sales increasing by 6.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in January, according to the latest report by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Despite the positive numbers, the association noted that auto dealers have mixed expectations for the coming months. Nearly half (46 per cent) anticipate further growth in sales, while 43 per cent believe sales will remain steady.
Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif will officially inaugurate the stadium on Friday during a ceremony, where notable artists such as Ali Zafar, Aima Baig, and Arif Lohar will perform live.
The government's indirect tax collection is expected to increase by 8.3 pc in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), according to a report by ICICI Bank. The report also noted that this growth is higher than the 7.1 per cent increase seen in FY25 and is mainly driven by rise in GST revenue from strong urban consumption. It said "The increase is driven by higher goods and services tax collections which in-turn is explained by boost to urban consumption".
'When the girls said they want to play football, the mothers were encouraging.' 'It was the fathers who were against the idea.'
'I believe that the overall demand for commercial vehicles will improve, even though there is a slowdown in the GDP.'
Titan, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Zomato and Bajaj Finserv were also among the laggards. Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank were among the major gainers.
The government, in the forthcoming Budget, could consider levying higher tariffs on imports to check the significant decline in rupee value witnessed in the past few months, said EY Chief Policy Advisor DK Srivastava. The noted economist argued that higher import duties would curb the demand for dollars from importers and help arrest the sliding value of the rupee, which touched a historic low of 86.70 to a dollar on January 13.
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, passed away in Lisbon on 4 February 2025, aged 88, surrounded by his family.
'We will be very, very proactive in providing whatever liquidity requirements are needed.'
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
'The message is loud and clear: "If you're not falling in line, we will open a line of understanding with the MNS, and then the Shiv Sena will be in trouble".'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day working visit to the US from February 12 during which he will meet President Donald Trump, the external affairs ministry announced. The visit will give further impetus and direction to India-US bilateral relationship. Prior to his US visit, Modi will be in France from February 10-12 to co-chair the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron. He will also visit Cadarache, the site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor of which India is a partner. During his visit to France from February 10-12, Modi and Macron will also address the India-France CEOs forum. The prime minister and Macron will travel to Marseille where they will inaugurate the Consulate General of India. The leaders will also visit the war cemetery and pay tribute to the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers in World War 1. Modi and Macron will visit Cadarache, the site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). There has been a very close rapport between Trump and Modi, dating back to the US leader's first term. There is a clear convergence of interests between the two countries in several areas, including trade, investment, technology, defense cooperation, counterterrorism, Indo-Pacific security, and people-to-people relations.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to impose property tax on commercial establishments operating in slum areas and is also considering the levy of a Solid Waste Management (SWM) user charge in the future. The civic body is expecting to collect a total of Rs 5,200 crore in property tax during the next financial year. The BMC intends to levy an SWM charge on Mumbaikars in a phased manner though it would not be levied in FY 2025-26.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Larsen & Toubro rallied nearly 5 per cent. Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were also among the major gainers. ITC Hotels, Zomato, Nestle and Maruti were among the laggards.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Indian government of hiding the number of deaths in the stampede at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Yadav demanded strict action against those involved in covering up the "mis-management" of the event and called for an all-party meeting to discuss the arrangements. He also criticized the government's handling of the stampede, claiming that they used JCB machines and tractor trollies to clear the bodies lying around after the incident.
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said the Mumbai suburban railway would soon get new-design trains fitted with better features for passenger comfort and reducing overcrowding.
'As the Budget has taken some measures to spur growth, similar action from the MPC may be expected.'
The deadly stampede at the Maha Kumbh, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people, resonated in both Houses of Parliament on Monday, with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders demanding a list of the deceased.
Prasad hit out at the Opposition, alleging that it starts getting upset the moment it hears "Kumbh" or "Sanatan".
The RBI is likely to reduce the key interest rate by 25 basis points this week after keeping it on hold for two years, complementing the Union Budget initiatives to push consumption-led demand, though the sliding rupee continues to be a concern. As the retail inflation has remained within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone (less than 6 per cent) for most of the year, the central bank can take rate action to boost growth hit by sluggish consumption, opined experts.
"The President was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi, the former Congress chief, was heard saying in clips in what appeared to be a reference to how long the address was.
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