Live BLOG

Union Budget 2012: Highlights

The Economic Times is live-blogging the Union Budget 2012. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates, analyses from market experts and politicians, reactions from India's top business leaders and live analysis throughout the day. The Budget is being seen as an opportunity to push for big reforms to jumpstart India's creaking infrastructure and slowing economy.
1 New Update
09:05:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

RBI hails fiscal measures, but evasive on rate cuts

Reserve Bank of India welcomed the Budget proposal to bring down fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent, saying the strategy of increasing indirect taxes and capping subsidies are reliable measures to control deficit. It, however, said this will not have any immediate bearing on the central bank's monetary policy stance. "Budget proposals are an important consideration, and positive development, but the monetary stance is not going to be influenced by only one factor", Deputy governor Subir Gokarn said.
08:05:43 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget gives some cheers for film industry

The Indian film industry had something to cheer about in the Budget today following the proposal to exempt it from Service Tax on copyrights relating to recording of cinematographic films. The proposal announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his 2012-13 Budget speech was welcomed by Bollywood which said it is a huge relief and the "best gift" for the film industry coinciding with the start of the Centenary year of Indian Cinema this year. The Film Producers Guild called off its proposed strike to press for the exemption after Mukherjee made the announcement. It has been making this demand for a long time.

08:03:28 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Get ready to pay higher mobile bills

The country's over 900 million mobile phone users will have to shell out more money on their bills with the proposed hike in service tax rate to 12 per cent from 10 per cent in the Budget today. "The increased costs will eventually be borne by the consumers in the form of higher charges for the services," COAI said. Country's largest telecom firm Bharti Airtel said the hike in service tax will increase cost of services to customers and also impact the P&L (Profit and Loss) statement of telecom companies. "The telecom sector is already burdened with multiple and high tax levies which account for 30% of the telecom services revenue...As a highly taxed industry, this will certainly have a further impact on the consumer," Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor said.
08:01:29 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rupee ends up 20 paise on proposals to boost ECBs, duty on gold

The rupee pared early losses to end the day 20 paise up against the US currency as Budget proposals to allow overseas borrowings for more sectors and doubling import duty on gold boosted the sentiment on domestic currency. Analysts said Budget proposals to allow ECBs for aviation, power, road and other sectors raised hopes of more fund flows to the country. The government's move to hike import duty on gold, which is expected to impact demand, also boosted the rupee they said. India is the largest gold consmuer and gold imports account for a large chunk of country's total purchases. The local currency opened strong at 50.27/28 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market in line with early rise in stocks. It turned negative at mid-session and hit a low of 50.43.
08:00:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Harried MFs welcome Budget

The Rs 6.75-trillion mutual fund industry, which has been down in the dumps for quite some time now, today lauded the STT cut in the Budget as they believe the move will provide a fillip to the struggling sector. Accepting a long-pending demand for lowering the transaction costs in the capital markets, the Budget has proposed a reduction in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) by 20 per cent, from 0.125 per cent to 0.1 per cent, on cash delivery transactions.

07:58:24 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Cement prices may go up by Rs 5 per bag

Cement may become dearer by Rs 5 per 50 kg bag in view of the Budget proposal today to raise excise duty to 12 per cent from 10 per cent earlier. "The hike in excise duty will push up the sales cost by Rs 5 per bag. Cement makers will obviously try to pass it on to the consumers, but their ability to do so will depend upon the condition of the market where they operate," a prominent industry leader said. On whether the abatement of 30 per cent on the retail sale price, as proposed in the Budget, would have any cooling effect, he said, "This will not be enough to offset the cost escalation." The average price of cement was around Rs 285 per bag in the country. But, since cement is largely a regionally-traded commodity, its price varies from one region to another. The Budget 2012-13 proposed to hike excise and service tax by 2 per cent across the board.
07:54:57 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Is the Budget positive for the common man?


07:29:09 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

CII welcomes Growth oriented Budget: Muthuraman

CII welcomes the attempt at reversing the fiscal slippage of the current year by introducing amendments to the FRBM Act. Successful fiscal consolidation will be contingent upon widening of the tax base and better targeting of subsidies. The commitments to contain subsidy at 1.75% of GDP and eliminate the effective revenue deficit in three years are critical targets introduced in this Budget. CII is hopeful that the government will be able to achieve these milestones. The revenue and expenditure targets set for 2012-13 seem realistic and the fiscal deficit of 5.1% of GDP is achievable. However, according to the CII President, the borrowing level required to finance this deficit is still high and will keep up the pressure on interest rates.
06:46:54 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget increases AC, first class train fares further

Passengers travelling in all AC classes and first class will have to pay charges in addition to the recent hike in train fares with the General Budget bringing journeys in them under the ambit of service tax. With this move, passengers would have to pay over three per cent over and above the recent train fare increases. While public transport in general has been kept in the negative list, Railway officials said that first class and air-conditioned coaches will now be under the service tax net.

06:41:02 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rules eased for VCs to invest in more sectors

The government proposed removing the sectoral restriction on venture capital funds, a move that will allow more startups beyond the current nine sectors to get access to growth-stage capital. Presenting the Budget 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said "the restriction on Venture Capital Funds to invest only in nine specified sectors is proposed to be removed." As per section 10(23FB) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, SEBI registered venture capital funds are eligible to invest in firms engaged in only nine business activities. The nine sectors include nanotechnology, information technology relating to hardware and software development, seed research and development, bio-technology and research and development of new chemical entities in the pharmaceutical sector.
06:38:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Duty exemption on 6 life-saving drugs

The Union Budget has proposed to extend concessional basic customs duty of 5 per cent with full exemption from excise/countervailing duty to six specified life-saving drugs and vaccines, even as the stress has been laid on vaccine security. The basic customs duty has been brought down to 5% from 10% in the import of probitics. Stressing on eradication of disease and prevention, the government plans to set up new vaccine units in the country and modernize the existing ones. The 2012-13 Budget has proposed setting up of a new integrated vaccine unit near Chennai.
06:31:33 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt to spend Rs 50 crore on overseas Indians

India will spend close to Rs 50 crore on welfare schemes targeted at overseas Indians in 2012-13, according to budgetary estimates proposed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) has been allocated a total of Rs.114.77 crore for the next fiscal, a 41 percent increase from the 2011-12 budget outlay of Rs.81 crore. The ministry will also spend Rs.6 crore on celebrating the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.
06:26:37 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

S&P says India's budget deficit will remain high

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that India's budget for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, would be mildly negative for the unsolicited sovereign credit rating on India (BBB-/Stable/A-3). Potential risk surrounds the government's target divestment of Rs 30,000 crore in the next fiscal year.
06:22:06 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget reinforces UIDAI's existence

"We have made it quite clear that Aadhaar will form the underlying platform for government services," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told ET. Adds Ajai Chowdhary, chairman of HCL Infosystems, a UIDAI vendor: "Aadhaar will become important also for private companies who want to authenticate their employees and customers." The government wants to lower its expenditure on central subsidies to 1.75% of GDP by 2015-16, from an estimated 2% in 2012-13. This will be done partly by reducing the outgo on subsidies ad partly by better targeting. “We welcome the support given to us in Budget 2012-13,” says UIDAI director general RS Sharma. “We will try and implement the existing projects in Aadhaar scheme which can benefit all.”
06:18:21 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Yashwant Sinha: Budget 2012-13 misses big picture

The ninth budget of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) misses the big picture and fails to address challenges like inflation and high economic growth, former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha said. "This budget is not for the aam aadmi... there is no big picture... it pays lip service to vital sectors like infrastructure and power," Sinha told reporters after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the union budget for 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha. According to Sinha, it failed to address major challenges like providing better quality of life for the people, controlling inflation, bringing down high interests rates and ensuring high economic growth.
06:16:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Delhi Metro gets Rs 2,200 cr

Delhi Metro got a budgetary allocation of Rs 2,200 crore for construction of its ambitious Phase-III project that envisages extending the modern transport system further in the national capital. Delhi Metro has begun construction of its Phase-III project that will add another 103 km of the capital to the Metro map. Delhi Metro officials said they were satisfied with the budgetary allocation announced in the Budget as it was on the expected lines.
06:10:15 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Garments to get cheaper despite hike in excise duty

Branded garments will become cheaper despite hike in its excise duty as a result of the government raising the abatement from 55% to 70% under the budgetary proposals for 2012-13. This would mean the levy would not be imposed on 70 per cent of the cost of the product as against the present exemption of 55 per cent. Apparel Export Promotion Council Chairman A Sakthivel said: "The increase in the duty rate from 10 per cent to 12 per cent will adversely impact raw-material costs."

06:06:39 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ISRO get Rs 125 crore for Mars mission, eyes Nov 2013 launch

After the moon mission, ISRO's plans for Mars exploration got a shot in the arm with the government allocating the ambitious programme Rs 125 crore in the Union Budget announced today. ISRO got a Rs 2283 crore hike in allocation in the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, over the 2011-12 revised estimates of Rs 4432 crore. The Mars mission, which comprises putting a spacecraft in the Red Planet's orbit to study its atmosphere, could be launched in November 2013 by ISRO's warhorse rocket -- the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
06:00:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget boost for women, child development programmes

Among the mission for empowerment of child development, the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS), a programme for early childhood care and development, has been given a sizeable increase of 58 percent from Rs 10,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 15,850 crore in 2012-2013. "The ICDS is being strengthened and re-structured," Mukherjee said. Under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, SABLA, it has been proposed to spend Rs.750 crore. "Protein deficiency among women and children is one of the common sources of malnutrition in India. I propose to reduce basic customs duty on soya protein concentrate and isolated soya protein from 30 percent to 15 percent," Mukherjee informed in his budget speech.
05:55:33 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Coal India officials unhappy with the Budget announcements

Coal India officials are unhappy with the Budget announcements for the coal sector as the proposed exemptions on mining will help the state-run miner save only about Rs 60-80 crore. The company imports equipment worth Rs 600-900 crore every year. However, Coal India has readied another expression of interest for importing coal on a long-term basis. The company was awaiting commitments from consumers before going ahead with it. Now that the government has announced exemption on import of mining equipment, it may once again ask for expression of interest from overseas suppliers.
05:51:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Markets tank despite many positives

The stock market reacted sharply to the budget proposals, tanking over 1 percent or 210 points, despite a slew of pro-investor measures announced by the finance minister. The proposal to introduce the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme, reducing STT and introduction of electronic platform for the IPO subscriptions will lead to increased participation from retail investors, according to analysts. Analysts said the market actually can heave a sigh of relief given that the Budget did not propose any measure that would affect the investor sentiment.
05:49:09 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget gets mixed reactions from NRIs in Gulf

The NRI community in the Gulf region had mixed feelings for the Budget, as some of them welcomed the hike in duty on gold while some others were disappointed by increase in service tax and excise duty. ITL Cosmos Group President Ram Buxani said increase in the customs duty on gold will help Dubai's business. On the hike in service tax and excise duty in the Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today, Indian Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) President Sudesh K Aggarwal said, "The common man will get adversely affected due to the increase in the indirect taxation - such as increase in the excise duty and service tax." "The government should have focused more on widening the tax base and bringing more people on the tax net through effective management than increasing the tax at this juncture," he added.
05:46:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

23% increase in MEA budget; big increase in the aid to neighbours

An increase of Rs 1825.97 crore has been made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget 2012-13 for MEA including increased assistance to Latin American Countries from Rs 0.50 crore to Rs 15 crore. While aid allocation to Bangladesh is Rs 30 crore as compared to Rs 8 crore last year, the aid for Bhutan and Nepal is Rs 2638 crore and Rs 270 crore respectively this year. Last year the aid component was Rs 2030 crore for Bhutan and Rs 150 crore for Nepal.
05:44:30 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Some welcome steps, more could have been done: Healthcare companies

The healthcare industry welcomed moves to promote preventive health check ups and research in pharma in the Budget but said more could have been done to accelerate growth in the sector. "More could have been done in this Budget but there are lots of good things in it for the heath care sector," Apollo Hospitals Enterprise ED Operations Sangita Reddy said. Expressing similar views, Metropolis Healthcare MD & CEO Ameera Shah said: "I am happy to see preventive healthcare being given more importance in the budgets. However, the industry expected much more than this."
05:40:18 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bicycle prices to go up by 3-4%

The bicycle makers hailed the Budget proposal to hike import duty saying that it would curb "unhindered" import of bicycles and parts from China "to some extent". "Price of bicycle will go up by more than Rs 100 per unit because of one per cent increase in excise duty on bicycles and increase in basic excise duty by 2 per cent and increase in service tax," United Cycles & Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) President Gurmeet Singh Kular said.
05:37:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget allocates nearly Rs 212 cr for training babus

"This (grant) also includes provision for grants to Indian Institute of Public Administration and other training Institutions; provision for Training schemes like Training for all, Domestic Funding for Foreign Training, up-gradation of LBSNAA to a Centre of Excellence, setting up of National Centre for Good Governance, augmentation of Training Facilities at ISTM," as per the notes on Demand of Grants by the government.
05:36:15 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Soya protein items to attract lower customs duty

In its bid to protect women and children from protein deficiency, the government today proposed slashing basic customs duty on soya protein concentrate and soya protein to 10 per cent. The step is aimed at fighting protein deficiency among women and children which is one of the most common sources of malnutrition in the country, he said. Simultaneously, excise duty on all processed soya food products is being reduced to the merit rate of 6 per cent, Mukherjee added.
05:35:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

K C Chakrabarty: Higher govt borrowing may not eat up public credit

"The idea of 5.1 percent fiscal deficit should not deprive credit needs of the society," he told PTI at an HDFC Bank event here. When asked if the higher fiscal deficit, which forces the government to borrow extra from the market, would crowd out private investment, the deputy governor said, "I don't think so.. legitimate credit demand will not be crowded out."
05:31:18 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Cigarette prices to go up; no impact in stock price

Prices of filter cigarette can increase by 8-10%, which analysts feel would only have a short-term impact on cigarette sales of leading companies like ITC Ltd and Godfrey Philips. Snubbing the price hike, industry body The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) director Udayan Lall said the increase in cigarette excise duties will substantially aggravate the tax arbitrage between duty paid and duty evaded cigarettes.
05:29:23 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Tata Motors to increase prices following excise duty hike

Within hours of the Budget 2012 presentation, Tata Motors decided to increase the prices of commercial and passenger vehicles with immediate effect. Tata Motors said in a statement that the company has decided to increase the prices in proportion to the hike in the excise duty.
05:19:32 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Customs duty collection to go up by Rs 33k cr in 2012-13

In the budget, Mukherjee proposed increasing the customs duty on import of completely built cars and SUVs to 75 per cent from 60 per cent (3,000cc engine capacity for petrol and 2,500 cc for diesel vehicles) earlier. Precious metals like gold and platinum will also become more expensive as the customs duty in imported standard bar has been hiked to 4 per cent from 2 per cent and those on non-standard gold bar has been hiked to 10 per cent from 5 per cent earlier. Imported bicycles will also become more expensive as customs duty has been hiked to 30 per cent from 10 per cent, while the same for bicycle parts has been increased to 20 per cent from 10 per cent.
05:14:51 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

S&P: Don't forsee immediate negative impact of budget on rating

Rating agency Standard & Poor's does not foresee any immediate negative implication on India's sovereign rating after the government outlined a high fiscal deficit target in the budget for the next fiscal year, said Takahira Ogawa, director of sovereign & IPF ratings. "Because if they do so, then it might have a very negative implication on the recovery of the macro economy which may be even more detrimental to our rating," Ogawa said over telephone from Singapore.
05:11:43 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Government to go full steam ahead on cash transfers

The government wants to bring its expenditure on central subsidies down to 1.75% of the GDP over the next three years. This will be done partly by reducing the outgo on subsidies. Apart from food, said the FM, "all other subsidies would be funded to the extent that they can be borne by the economy without any adverse implications." And partly through better targeting and leakage-proof delivery of the subsidies. The architecture for ensuring the latter, said the FM, is coming along well. "The Aadhaar platform is now ready to support the payments for MG-NREGA, old age, widow and disability pensions and scholarships."
05:08:18 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

1% TDS on any deal of property other than agriculture land

The tax is mandated to be paid if the property consideration is over Rs 50 lakh in specified urban areas and Rs 20 lakh in any other area. The transaction will be registered only after the buyer provides proof of deduction and payment of TDS. The proposal will be effective from October 1, 2012. According to tax experts, given the wordings in budget documents, it’s applicable to resale of property and not to builders who sell their stock in trade.
05:06:33 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Local power equipment makers protest status quo on import duty

“This is a major setback for manufacturers who have made big investments to build power equipment capacity,” said M S Unnikrishnan, managing director and chief executive officer of Thermax, which has a power equipment joint venture with the UK’s Babcock and Wilcox Co. “Companies may scale down investment and those who have already set up capacity may run on low capacity and jobs would be lost unless government intervenes,” he told ET. He said the industry would seek a review. “We are not giving up yet and will take it up with the finance minister when we meet him on Sunday,” Unnikrishnan said.
05:05:51 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bonanza for clean tech, hybrid cars to become cheaper

“The Union Budget 2012 brings quite a lot of encouraging signs for the clean technology industry in the country,” said Hari Kiran Chereddi, managing director of Sujana Energy Besides hybrid vehicles, solar energy is also going to become cheaper. Installation of solar plants has been exempted from countervailing duty, which is going to be a huge boost for the industry. Equipment imports for the solar thermal industry will now be much more cost effective. “In order to fully realise our potential in the realm of solar energy, solar thermal projects need encouragement,” said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
05:00:53 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Sachin Tendulkar scores his 100th Century in International Cricket

04:32:34 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Gold shoots up by Rs 450 on hike in import duty, global cues

Gold rose by Rs 450 to Rs 28,140 per 10 grams today, as stockists created fresh positions to meet seasonal demand, triggered by proposals to hike import duty amid a firming global trend in the Budget 2012-13. Silver followed suit and jumped up by Rs 300 to Rs 56,500 per kg, as industrial units purchased more on fears of price rise in the coming days. Traders said the bullion market is shocked on budgetary proposals to hike import duty for the second time this year on standard gold bar and coins exceeding and unbranded ornaments. They said the upsurge was further supported as gold in overseas markets spurted, raising fears of more rise in the prices.
04:27:05 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Mercedes Benz to hike price of cars by up to Rs 3 lakh

Mercedes Benz India said it will hike its product prices by up to Rs 3 lakh expressing disappointment over high duties imposed in the Budget. "The Budget is very disappointing for us. We were hoping for some reduction in taxes for large vehicles instead of hiking it further," Mercedes Benz India Director (Corporate Affairs and HR) Suhas Kadlaskar said. Petrol and diesel driven vehicles having length exceeding four metres and engine capacity of over 1,200 cc and 1,500 cc respectively will now be charged with an ad valorem duty of 27 per cent, instead of the earlier 22 per cent and a fixed duty of Rs 15,000. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), however, welcomed the move to impose higher customs duty imported luxury vehicles.
04:23:24 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Power tariffs set to fall

The measures announced in the Budget will help remove the roadblocks the power sector has been facing in terms of fuel and finance. They will help lower tariffs for consumers and offer a breather to power companies setting up new projects. "Tax-free bonds, external commercial borrowings (ECB) for part-financing rupee debt of existing projects, withholding tax on interest payments on ECBs, sunset norms and profit tax as well as exemption of basic customs duty will help reduce the cost of setting up power plants, and hence, generation costs," said Ashok Khurana, director-general at Association of Power Producers. "This in turn will result in lower generation costs and lower tariff for consumers," Khurana added.
04:21:27 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Fund managers cheer as sectoral restrictions are lifted

"This amendment would bring venture capital investment at par with SEBI guidelines thus allowing greater access to Indian companies looking for venture capital financing," said Vaibhav Gupta, Associate Director, Tax and Regulatory Services, Walker Chandiok &Co. Besides, the proposal to float a Rs 5,000 crore India Opportunities venture capital fund with SIDBI to help start-ups is seen as a step to benefit micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) across the country. As per estimates of Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), there are currently 26 million MSMEs present in India, of which only 5% has access to institutional funds. "Any kind of equity support to MSMEs is welcome as it was greatly needed," said Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general at FISME.
04:20:19 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

I-T Dept can now challenge DRP ruling

The income tax department will soon be able to appeal against the orders of the Dispute Resolution Panel, the appellate body for disputes arising from transfer pricing and other issues related to taxing cross-border transactions. The Budget proposes to amend sections 253 and 254 of the Income Tax Act to allow the department to move the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal if it feels aggrieved by a DRP order. The amendment will take effect in July 2012. "This is a significant amendment which will have a bearing on transfer pricing-related decisions," said Sanjay Sanghvi, tax lawyer with Khaitan & Co.
04:13:35 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt to borrow 29 paise for every rupee in its kitty

The government's dependence on debt has gone up from 27 paise in the previous Budget to 29 paise in the coming year, reflecting the pressure on revenue collections. On the expenditure side, central Plan will account for an outgo of 22 paise, followed by 18 paise of interest payments.
04:09:53 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget lacklustre for oil and gas sector

Senior officials say they had expected complete deregulation of diesel, more freedom to revise petrol prices, abolition of excise duties and special duties prevailing on branded fuels. So, oil PSUs continue to be a worried lot, as they believe that the Budget did not do anything special for the sector that is reeling under one of its worst financial crisis, hit by a triple whammy of high crude prices, the government's steadfast refusal to deregulate fuel prices and the obvious under-recoveries that are threatening to bankrupt oil PSUs.
04:07:07 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Life for FM not easy: Pranab, invokes Shakespeare

"Economic policy, as in medical treatment, often requires us to do something, which in the short run, may be painful, but is good for us in the long run. As Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, has said in Shakespeare's immortal words, 'I must be cruel only to be kind.'"
04:02:06 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Home Ministry gets Rs 54,449 crore

The Home Ministry got Rs 54,449 crore in the General Budget, a two per cent cut than last year, with an emphasis to provide new residential quarters and barracks for Central Armed Police Forces personnel. However, the Budget did not allocate any separate funds for the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, whose fate still remains uncertain following strong objections from non-Congress chief ministers citing infringement of states' powers.
04:00:39 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

It is a good Budget: Congress

Congress has said that Mukherjee has balanced various imperatives and has presented a budget, keeping both medium term objectives and long term economic view in mind.
03:59:46 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Central assistance to Delhi slashed in Budget

Out of the total allocation, Delhi government has been given an amount of Rs 700 crore under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) while Rs 281.75 crore has been given as normal assistance to the city government. The allocation to the city government under JNNURM in 2011-12 was Rs 900 crore while normal assistance was Rs 252.70 crore.
03:53:31 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Refinance kitty for RRBs will have skewed impact

The Rs 10,000 crore short term refinance fund for regional rural banks will be a welcome respite for cash-trapped lenders but the benefit will be limited only to the strong entities having adequate capital to lend. The country has as many as 40 weak RRBs with capital- to- risk weighted assets ratio below 9%, limiting their capacity to lend. Unless they receive fresh capital from stakeholders, they will not be able to get the benefit of the new refinance kitty to the fullest.
03:50:49 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Disappointing Union budget by a lame duck Centre: Nitish

"The union budget presented by a lame duck government at the Centre is useless and disappointing. There is nothing substantial in the financial proposals to boost the economy or to benefit the people", he told reporters here. The UPA government appears not to care much about price rise nor has it proposed anything to remove regional imbalance, he said, adding, the budget made him feel that the Centre lacked confidence to deal with economic concerns.
03:37:25 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

TV, AC, refrigerator prices to go up by 2-4%

Prices of consumer electronics like LCD TV, LED TV, air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machine and microwave ovens are going to go up by 2-4%, posing a major headache for white goods companies who are fighting a slowdown in demand for the last one year. TV makers indicated LCD and LED TV prices will also go up by 2-3%. As a result, a 32-inch LCD TV price will go up by Rs 800 while that of a 32-inch LED TV by around Rs 1,200.
03:34:21 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Nifty provisionally ends 1.3% lower at 5309.50. The index has hit a high of 5445.65 and a low of 5305.00

03:33:52 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Gold smuggling likely to increase

"Official imports of gold is likely to go down while smuggling will increase because of the over 4% difference between international and local prices," felt Gitanjali Group chairman and MD Mehul Choksi. C. Vinod Hayagriv, MD, C. Krishniah Chetty & Sons P Ltd. said that gold jewellery prices were likely to go up by Rs 560-750 per 10 gms. Orra CEO Vijay Jain praised bringing unbranded jewellery under the ambit of 1 per cent excise duty. "It creates a more level playing field between branded and unbranded jewellery."
03:31:47 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Sensex provisionally ends 1.2% lower at 17,451.24 led by losses in RIL, ONGC and L&T

03:29:50 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Sensex gainers: ITC (up 4.4%), M&M (up 2.9%), HUL (up 0.8%) and HDFC (up 0.6%)

03:28:56 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Sensex losers: Sun Pharma (down 7.7%), ONGC (down 4.6%), NTPV (down 4.1%) and Tata Power (down 4%)

03:25:26 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

BSE FMCG gains 1.8%, BSE Auto index rises 0.1% and BSE consumer durable index up 0.1%

03:25:17 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Eco-system for early stage companies set to improve as FM proposes to remove sectoral caps on venture capitalists

Besides, the proposal to float a Rs 5,000 crore India Opportunities venture capital fund with SIDBI to help start-ups is seen as a step to benefit micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) across the country. As per estimates of Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), there are currently 26 million MSMEs present in India, of which only 5% has access to institutional funds. "Any kind of equity support to MSMEs is welcome as it was greatly needed," said Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general at FISME.
03:24:18 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

BSE oil & gas index slips 3.1%, BSE power index drops 3% and BSE capital goods index down 2.9%

03:22:53 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Sensex slips 190 points led by losses in RIL, ONGC, L&T and SBI

03:22:39 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Funds for skills development doubled

The Budget doubled infusion into the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDF) to Rs 1,000 crore, raising the corpus of the fund to Rs 2,500 crore. "This will allow NSDC to fund more sustainable skills training initiatives that can benefit millions of youth nationwide," said NSDC Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Dilip Chenoy.
03:21:35 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM is serious about increasing fuel prices: Swaminathan Aiyar

PM is serious about increasing fuel prices: Swaminathan Aiyar
03:20:30 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt targets Rs 40,000 crore from spectrum auctions

The Government expects to raise about Rs 40,000 crore from the sale of airwaves in 2012-13 and the auctions may provide much-needed revenues to its coffers and help it in its drive for better fiscal consolidation next year. Two bandwidth auctions are slated to be held before March 2013, and industry watchers say the sale precedes may be more than three times the budget estimates. In addition to these upcoming auctions, the amount raised from spectrum will be even higher if the government implements its plans to impose a one-time fee retrospectively on all 'excess' airwaves held by incumbent GSM operators. The one-time levy alone will bring over Rs 23,000 crore to the exchequer.
03:18:09 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM makes farmers happy in Budget 12-13

Pranab Mukherjee has been able to appease the farming community through the slew of announcements on agriculture that he had made in the Union Budget 2012 -13. The morale of the farmers have got a boost as the budget allocation to agriculture has gone up by 18%. But the economists and corporates do not see much in the budget for agriculture as they feel that most of the policies were already in place and there has been no radical step in the budget to increase the crop production significantly.
03:16:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Urea makers rue another wasted opportunity

Fertilizer manufacturers hoping for urea price decontrol saw the pre-budget speech gains in share prices erode fast as the finance minister offered them little solace. The government's push to promote Single Super Phosphate (SSP) against the heavily subsidised di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), which is likely to prove a cushion to the growing subsidy burden, however resulted in gains for SSP makers. Rama Phosphate and Liberty Phosphate, gained nearly 9% and 3% respectively immediately after the budget speech. Stocks of companies such Chambal Fertilizers, National Fertilizers, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Nagarjuna Fertilizers, were quick to pare their pre-budget gains.
03:14:54 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

IT sector tax concerns, FM looks the other way

The 2012 union budget is silent on taxation of onsite software services, a key demand of the software industry following tax notices issued to many India headquartered software firms. The income tax department has contended that onsite services, derogatorily referred to as body shopping, are not eligible for tax exemption because it is export of technical manpower. Software exports were eligible for tax exemption under the STP Act but with the benefits ending from this financial year onwards, the apex software industry body, Nasscom, had asked for appropriate clarifications to be issued in the budget stating that onsite services are an integral part of IT services.
02:37:43 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

NHAI may get to award more projects

For roads and highways sector, the finance minister decreased withholding tax from 20% to 5% on interest payments on external commercial borrowings. This would encourage more foreign financial institutions to lend to these companies. Withholding tax is deducted form the interest payment to non-resident Indians.
02:32:46 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt spending seen driving domestic IT sector

Government spend on technology this year is likely to cross record levels with the unique identification authority of India and other technology driven projects in various arms of government getting special attention in budget 2012-13. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee who stressed the need to tighten the subsidy regime during his budget speech, is banking on technology driven projects to plug leakages in the system. India spends more than Rs 3 lakh crore on subsidies every year. Besides the Rs 14,323 crore to be spent on Aadhaar, the project which aims to give each Indian a unique identification number, the government will also spend on a mobile based fertilizer management system, an LPG transparency portal, and Aadhaar enabled payment for government schemes in at least 50 districts.
02:31:35 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ganesh Natarajan, Zensar Technologies: Nothing much in the budget for IT

02:29:39 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Maruti, Honda, M&M to raise vehicle prices

With an increase in the excise duty on all products in the Budget for 2012-13, car makers like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda Siel Cars India will hike prices of their vehicles by up to Rs 70,000. "We are going to raise the prices of all our products and will pass on the entire additional excise duty. Currently we are working on the exact amount of the hike," Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said. Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra also said it will increase the prices of its entire range of products. "Given the current economic scenario and the revenue deficit of the country, the hike in excise duty was fully anticipated. Although the industry will not cheer about this, but we have to live with it," Mahindra & Mahindra President (Automotive and Farm Equipment Sector) Pawan Goenka said.
02:27:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Capital goods sector's hopes dashed

The Budget has failed to provide relief to the capital goods sector, which has been grappling with issues such as availability of coal, land acquisitions and environmental clearances. Manufacturers such as BHEL and Thermax, which have been sitting on idle capacities because of cheap imports of power equipment from Chinese and Korean markets, were in for disappointment because the Budget did not seek to create a level-playing field between them and their Chinese rivals. Despite the Committee of Secretaries’ recommendation last month of imposition of import duty on such equipment, the Budget did not address this issue. That explains why stock prices of a few capital goods companies, which were up nearly 3% at the beginning of the budget speech, had plunged into the red by the time the finance minister finished.
02:25:15 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Vijay Mallya: Good balanced and pragmatic budget announced by FM

02:18:29 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Premium on insurance products may go up

However, the good news for the sector is that policies sold in the rural sector will be exempted from service tax, but the market is insignificant to make a substantial advantage. “The life insurance industry will have to shell out Rs 800 crore from the hike in service tax. They would save Rs 40 crore from exemption of service tax on rural policies,” said S B Mathur secretary general Life Insurance Council.
02:17:22 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Realtors developing affordable housing projects will be able to lower interest costs

Realty developers who are developing affordable housing projects will be able to lower interest costs after the budget allowed companies to borrow overseas. The extension of the 1% interest subvention scheme for affordable housing continues for another year, benefitting buyers in the market for houses worth upto Rs 25 lakhs.
02:16:16 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Higher Bonds Limit to benefit NHAI, IIFCL

National Highways Authority of India, National Housing Bank and the state-run IIFCL will benefit from the finance minister’s doubling of tax-free funds they could raise from the market to Rs 60,000 crores a year. But private lenders such as Infrastructure Development Finance Co. will be put at a disadvantage.
02:14:51 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Little cheer for textile industry

This Budget offers little to lift the low spirits of textile industry. The 10% excise duty levied on branded garments has been taken under the overall excise duty ambit, which has been raised to 12% from 10%. In terms of impact, there would be marginal benefit to textile companies in the higher end of the value chain. The Budget also proposed customs duty exemption of shuttleless looms from 5% to zero, which would benefit spinning mill companies such as Nahar Spinning Mills, Vardhman Textiles, Sangam India and Suryajyoti Mills.
02:14:07 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Insurance, pension amendment bills to be introduced

Presenting the budget for 2012-13, Mukherjee said the government has received the reports of the parliamentary standing committees on finance that looked into these bills. He said: "The official amendments to these bills will be moved in this session of the parliament." The PFRDA Bill would covert the interim PFRDA into a full fledged authority defining its powers and duties. The interim PFRDA was set up in 2003.
02:10:08 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Vodafone tax issue may be re-opened

The government may re-open withholding tax case involving British mobile phone player Vodafone after the budget clarified the definitions of “property” and “transfer”, both of which affected the tax department’s jurisdiction on the Vodafone-Hutch transaction. “The taxability of the indirect transfers has unfolded again through clarificatory and retrospective amendments in the provisions codifying the source base taxation. This will significantly impact the cross border transactions and the debate will again knock the doors of the Court,” said Amit Singhania, Principal Associate, Amarchand Mangaldas – India’s largest corporate law firm by number of lawyers.
02:08:00 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

GST boost for Indian E-commerce

“This is fantastic news for e-commerce and retail sector since this would lead to synergy and streamlining of the tax structures,” said Raja Lahiri, Partner-Transaction Advisory Services, Grant Thornton. The GST will have a positive impact on retail as a whole, said Sunjay Guleria, co-founder of online private label site, Sher Singh. “Whatever benefits retail will obviously benefit e-retail as well,” he added.
02:05:31 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

India's Unique ID scheme gets a budget boost

The project being driven by former Infosys chief executive will use the money to enroll 400 million Indian residents into the unique identification database by June 2013. So far, the Unique Identification Authority of India that goes under the brand Aadhaar has enrolled about 200 million Indians, of which 140million has been issued the unique numbers.
02:02:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget is clerical, ineffective: CPI

The budget for 2012-13 was "absolutely clerical" and "ineffective", Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta said. "It is an absolute clerical budget. It could have been prepared by the clerical staff of finance ministry and there was no need for the finance minister prepare it," Dasgupta said.
02:01:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget 2012: Corporate tax rates left unchanged

Budget 2012: Corporate tax rates left unchanged
01:55:37 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: Urea dereguation is a matter of time

01:55:29 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: Need to adjust fuel prices to control subsidies

01:55:09 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt proposes Rs 15,888 cr capitalisation for PSU banks

SBI gains 0.4%, Bank of India went up 1.98% while Bank of Baroda dropped by 0.39% on the BSE
01:52:27 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Maruti Suzuki: Cars will become costlier; this will effect customer sentiment negatively

01:51:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Challenge is to get the growth rate back to 8 per cent: PM

01:51:18 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Growth rate of the economy is a major achievement in the past three years, says PM

01:49:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Gold to become costlier

01:48:54 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Food security scheme to be upgraded

Food security scheme to be upgraded
01:48:05 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

IT department can tax Vodafone type cross border deals

01:47:57 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Section 9 deals with taxability of companies with foreign companies

01:47:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM amends Section 9 of IT Act with retrospective effect

01:47:20 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Dariusz Kowalczyk, Credit Agricole: Disappointed with the budget because it assumes a relatively high, 5.1% deficit in the 2012/13 fiscal year

01:46:15 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

A Prasanna, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership: It is a status quo budget

01:44:49 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Government eases infrastructure funding options

Government eases infrastructure funding options
01:43:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Standard Chartered, lone India listed foreign bank, rose to 20% limit

Standard Chartered, the lone India listed foreign bank, rose to 20% limit and could gain more after the Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee allowed two-way fungibility of Indian Depositary Receipts. The minister’s move could lead to many other international companies listing their shares in India that could lead to seamless movement of capital between their home country and India.
01:41:24 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: The Budget aims at faster, equitable, sustainable and more inclusive growth

01:40:42 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Budget 2012 and impact on NRIs

The government of India will now allow qualified foreign investors access to the Indian corporate debt market. Qualified foreign investors, or QFIs, can be individuals, groups or associations based abroad. This proposal, when implemented will deepen the country’s shallow bond market and also open up a lucrative avenue for foreign individual investors who are keen to participate in India’s growth story. But, NRIs will hope for something more. On paper, NRIs were always permitted to invest in Indian corporate bonds.
01:38:49 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: Finance Minister has been able to address twin tasks of checking inflation and accelarating growth

01:38:05 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: When the time comes, we have to bite the bullet on subsidies

01:37:41 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

PM: When the time comes for taking tough decisions, we hope we will be able to take all our allies on board

01:33:50 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

I-T exemption limit raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.8 lakh

I-T exemption limit raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.8 lakh
01:30:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

STT reductiion below market expectations

The proposal is expected to only marginally push delivery-based volumes in the cash segment in which the new rate of STT of Rs 100 per Rs 1 lakh turnover will be applicable in 2012-13 . Currently, delivery-based turnover accounts for less than 20% of the total cash turnover on the bourses, according to brokers.
01:28:17 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

National Skill Development Fund allocated Rs 1,000 crore

01:24:55 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Cars will become more expensive tonight

The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee hit a body blow on the struggling passenger car industry with a 2% increase in excise duty. The increased tax is likely to be passed on to the common man tonight and it will dent an already weakening sentiment. The government has increased the excise duty on large cars from 22 to 24%, However in what is a major reprieve for the auto industry, the finance minister did not slap any additional tax on the diesel cars.
01:20:34 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: GDP growth will exceed 7.6%, fiscal deficit will surprise positively

01:20:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

He has tried his best to give a good budget, happy with Defense allocation: AK Antony

01:19:46 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Madhu Kela: Local stocks will track global markets; liquidity inflows

01:17:53 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Was this a pro aam-aadmi Budget?

01:15:34 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

It is a good budget, says Rahul Gandhi

01:15:03 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Defence Budget hiked by more than 17%

01:13:33 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Madhu Kela: Adhering to fiscal consolidation is good for markets

01:12:54 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Madhu Kela: Fuel and fertilisers prices will increase this year

01:12:29 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Airlines can access foreign funds

"To address the immediate financing concerns of the civil aviation sector. I propose to permit external commercial borrowing (ECB) for working capital requirement for the airline industry for a period of one year subject to a ceiling of $1 billion," Mukherjee said while presenting the union budget 2012-13 to the Lok Sabha. "A proposal for allowing foreign airlines to participate up to 49 percent in the equity of an air transport undertaking engaged in schedule and non-schedule transport services is under active consideration," he said.
01:11:06 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Amansa Capital: No negative surprises and its a populist budget

01:07:24 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Losers in Transport sector on BSE: Patel Integrated Logistics (-5.16%), Spicejet (-3.99%), Jagsons Airlines (-3.37%), Jet Airways (-1.85%), CONCOR (-0.87%)

01:07:13 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Gainers in Transport sector on BSE: Chartered Logistics (+0.77%), Kingfisher Airlines (+0.72%), Agarwal Industrial Corp (+1.70%)

01:06:28 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Madhu Kela: Budget arithmetic and targets are realistic

01:05:11 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Deepak Parekh: GDP will grow if RBI cuts rates by 50-70 bps

01:04:25 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Deepak Parekh: Fiscal deficit target for FY2013 is realistic

01:04:00 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Deepak Parekh: GDP growth target is realistic

01:02:41 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: 100-150 bps cut in interest rates will fuel growth

01:02:22 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: GDP rate understated

12:56:45 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Deepak Pandit: Happy to see FM taking various steps in this budget

12:56:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rural housing scheme to be upgraded: FM

Rural housing scheme to be upgraded: FM
12:54:37 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Excise duty raised to 12% from 10%

12:53:04 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Hope Gold Loses Shine

Customs duty on gold increased to 4% from 2%. That's good - Indians need to import less gold, which will help the current account deficit, and put that money in more productive uses, which will raise savings
12:52:09 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

10 year benchmark at 8.40%

12:52:03 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Increased customs duty on gold and platinum to 4% from 2%

12:51:23 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Something Even for Telecom?

FM has helped aviation and power companies, has he done anything for that other troubled sector, telecom? Some mbile phone parts have been exempted from basic customs duty and phone towers are to get viability gap funding, but does that help telecom service providers? Their problems are not the lack of size of the market, which is huge, but low revenue per customer and high costs from policy uncertainty. Sunil Mittal had asked for ultra cheap smart phones so that data can make up for revenue that voice can't anymore. Will lower duties on mobile parts help that?
12:50:55 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Duty on handrolled beedis increased

12:50:32 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Diamonds emerald and ruby prices will increase

12:50:11 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Advalorem duty on some cigarettes

12:49:01 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Agriculture credit target raised to Rs 5.75 lakh crore

Agriculture credit target raised to Rs 5.75 lakh crore
12:48:03 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Customs duty on refined gold doubled

12:47:47 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Import of aircraft parts exempt from basic customs duty

12:47:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Basic customs duty on cigarettes reduced

12:47:10 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Customs duty on some gold and platinum products increased

12:46:53 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Cuts customs duty on rail equipment to 7.5% from 10%

12:45:24 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow external commercial borrowing to part finance rupee debt in power projects

12:45:13 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Proposes to remove sector-specific restriction on venture capital fund investments

12:44:45 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Mobile phone parts exempted from basic customs duty

12:44:30 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Automated shuttle looms exempted from customs duty

12:44:14 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

School education exempt from service tax

12:43:41 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

12% excise duty imposed on branded retail garments

12:43:21 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

LCD and LED panels exempted from custom duty

12:41:19 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Customs duty reduced from 7.5% to 2.5% for iron ore equipment

12:40:21 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: King Coal

Power companies must be cheering, all the meetings with PM and other high officials worked...FM has not only allowed ECB to be used for retiring rupee debt of power companies but also duty free import of coal for 2 years. But this is all stop gap...unless Coal India is reformed and the mes on tariffs sorted out, power companies will be on shaky ground. But these are things that most government-watchers think will never happen
12:39:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Has the FM done enough with the tax slab revision for individuals?

12:39:33 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Thermal power companies exempted from customs duty for 2 years

12:39:27 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

5% customs duty exempted on equipment for fertilizer plants

12:38:19 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt sees expenditure rising 29% in 2012/13

12:37:49 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

LNG out of customs duty

12:37:45 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Full exemption on customs duty on coal

12:37:30 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

10 year yield at 8.40%

12:34:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

No change in peak customs duty

12:34:49 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To raise duty on large cars to 27%

12:34:22 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Some infra construction services exempt from service tax

12:34:11 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FY 13 net market borrowing at Rs 4.8 lakh crores

12:33:58 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Common tax code for service tax and excise

12:33:47 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Standard excise duty hiked to 12%

12:33:40 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 18660 crores will result from service tax rise

12:33:11 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Service Tax Net Increases as Expected

The much talked about service tax negative list has come. 17 services in the negative list. FM says there will some exemption for some bits of the film industry, which has completed 100 years. And he mentions Ra1. Did he see it? Hopefully not...dreadful film
12:32:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Service tax up from 10% to 12%

12:29:14 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Direct Tax Code implementation deferred: Pranab

Direct Tax Code implementation deferred: Pranab
12:28:19 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: FM almost Fails the Fiscal Test

Fiscal deficit for this fiscal is almost 6%, and budgeted to be 5.1% for next year. That the fiscal situation was bad this year was known, but is 5.1% deficit target a major consolidation? Not really. Remember this year was supposed to have a deficit GDP ratio of 4.6%. If 5.1% is all that the FM can propose for next year, this is bad news.
12:23:26 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Income Tax Changes Welcome but Modest

Tax exemption limit and slabs changed, tax outgo of those who pay personal income tax will reduce. You will save, ET Now has already calculated, Rs 2060 a year because of the changes. But bear in mind, that these are small changes, welcome as they are. The slabs still dont make much sense given how incomes have changed in India. Still, some good news. But worry about the deficit situation, it's not good
12:22:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Income Tax at 20% for Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh

12:21:36 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Income Tax at 30% for income of over Rs 10 lakh

12:20:20 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Income Tax at 10% for Rs 2-5 lakh

12:19:51 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

No change in corporate tax rates

12:17:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Raises exemption limit to Rs 2 lakhs from Rs 1.8 lakhs

12:14:56 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Non plan expenditure at Rs 9.7 lakh crore

12:14:37 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Modest Target for Disinvestment

FM says Rs 30 k crore is disinvestment target for next fiscal. This is Rs 10k crore less than what was the target for this fiscal. Of course, trying to get resources via ONGC share sale resulted in a horrible fiasco. Is the very modest disinvestment target a reflection of a scare or altered thinking? Given that growth and stock market sentiments are set to improve next fiscal, shouldn't the disinvestment target have been more ambitious? Or is the government being modest now so as to claim credit for exceeding target next year? Right now, though, the disinvestment target looks very disappointing -- almost anti-reform.
12:13:56 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Fiscal deficit at 5.9% in FY 12

12:13:50 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Tables a white paper on black money issue

12:13:42 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Gross tax receipts at 10.77 lakh crore

12:13:37 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Gross tax at 10.6% of GDP

12:13:26 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Coal India advised to sign FSA with power plants

12:08:54 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Will government be able to implement GST from August 2012?

12:07:57 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Agri credit target for FY13 at Rs 5.75 lakh cr, up Rs 1 lakh cr

12:07:06 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To introduce new law for micro finance institutions

12:06:34 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Defence outlay at Rs 1.95 lakh crore

12:05:28 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Allocated Rs 25,555 cr for Right to Education in FY13; cuts interest rates on loans to women self help groups

12:04:48 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt aims to trim subsidy burden

12:03:08 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: That Inclusive Growth Feeling

FM reading out long lists of schemes, peppered with programmes named after Nehru-Gandhis but excluding an immediate, firm budgetary commitment to the food bill...This is probably the most depressing part of the budget speech. It is proof that Indian policymakers will learn nothing despite overwhelming evidence that most schemes are money-wasters. Think about this: FM has just announced allocation for national health mission, the same scheme that in UP under Mayawati led to massive corruption and murder. Revealingly, even on NREG, the prestige welfare programme for Congress, FM doesn't have anything but bromides to say. NREG has worked up to a point, but it has also now been massive compromised by crooked intermediaries. GoI's social spending is probably the most effective argument there ever was against a welfare state.
12:01:59 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rural development fund of 20000 crores

12:01:35 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

NRHM allocation hiked to 20820 crores

12:00:17 PM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Economy to grow at 7.6% in 2012-13: FM

Economy to grow at 7.6% in 2012-13: FM
11:56:48 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 14000 crore for rural drinking and sanitation in FY 13

11:56:29 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM announces new equity savings scheme

11:53:25 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Govt doubles allocation for tax-free bonds to Rs 60,000 crore for financing infrastructure projects in 2012/13

11:52:55 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow qualified foreign investors in Indian corporate debt markets

11:52:23 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

New state owned irrigation company to be set up

11:52:16 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allocate Rs 14232 cr to UID project, up 13% in FY 13

11:51:39 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Propose National mission for food processing

11:51:07 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

10000 crores allocated to NABARD to fund RRBs

11:50:49 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Interest subvention for short term crop loan continues

11:50:39 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Agri credit target for FY 13 seen at Rs 5.75 lakh crore, up 1 lakh crore

11:50:27 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Plan outlay for agriculture raised by 18% to Rs 20208 crore in FY 13

11:50:19 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 300 crore for intensified irrigation program

11:50:09 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: The Kingfisher Budget Proposal

As we were discussing Kingfisher in our comment on the corporate bond market proposal, FM says airlines can access ECB funds of up to one billion dollars, he's also made a proposal of power companies financing rupee debt with ECBs. Airlines and power are the two sectors ion trouble, and the budget seems to have listened to them. The question is whether this will help the troubled companies, many of whom face more fundamental problems than financing shocks. But it may buy them more time. So, who outside India will loan money to Kingfisher, now that everyone inside India is loath to?
11:48:45 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Retail stocks rally as Budget commits to multi-brand FDI

Shopper's Stop gained 3.3 per cent, Pantaloon Retail was up 1.5 per cent, Trent Ltd was up 1.8 per cent and Provogue was up 10.5 per cent. Kouton Retail also gained 3.5 per cent. Presenting his Union Budget in Parliament, Mukherjee said that the decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail business has been kept in abeyance, but effors are on to arrive at a broad-based consensus after consultations with state governments and other stakeholders.
11:47:50 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Irrigation, dams to be eligible for special funding

11:47:43 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Telecom towers made eligible for viability gap funding

11:46:51 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Fuel supply constraints have hit power supplies nationally

11:46:35 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Will allow external commercial borrowing for power, housing road construction companies

11:46:22 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To make 8,800 km of highways in FY13; outlay raised

11:45:58 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Plan outlay raised 18% to Rs 20,208 cr for agriculture

11:44:43 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow ECB funding to finance working capital needs of airlines for 1 year

11:42:54 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 10000 crore of tax fee bonds for power sector

11:42:42 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow ECB funding to finance working capital needs of airlines

11:41:44 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To become self sufficient in urea production in next 5 years

11:39:55 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow ECB to fund part finance power rupee debt

11:39:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Oil and gas pipelines to be eligible for viable gap funding

11:39:23 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Double infra debt amount to Rs 60,000 crore

11:39:00 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

DTC to be implemented at the earliest

11:37:55 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To allow qualified FII into domestic corporate bonds

11:37:47 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 15890 crores for recapitalization of PSU banks

11:37:35 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Extend RRB capitalisation for 2 years

11:37:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Propose Central KYC depository

11:37:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

12th plan infra investment at Rs 50 lakh crore

11:36:22 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shares of BHEL trading 3.6% higher at Rs 293.85, top Sensex gainer

11:36:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Sensex losers: RIL (down 0.8%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.6%) and Tata Motors (down 0.6%)

11:36:05 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

BSE realty index gains 2%, BSE banking index up 2% and BSE power index rose 1.8%

11:35:57 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Sensex trading 180 points higher led by gains in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and ITC

11:32:29 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: GOOD FOR RETAIL INVESTORS?

FM promises tax incentive for new investors as well as tries to broaden the reach of IPOs. These make sense when you consider that the share of household savings delpoyed in capital markets has come down sharply. But will Indians switch to capital markets without pension and insurance funds being allowed to freely invest in equities, and without sorting out issues like commissions for muitual fund agents. Plus, the big question, as the Survey had pointed out, how will Indians be dissuaded from buying gold?
11:32:03 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: One Good Thing About Subsidy Reform

FM says food subsidy will be fully provided for in the budget, that's a good promise, because actual expenditure always exceeds budgeted ones, like it will this year. But this will be a tough promise to keep
11:29:35 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Changes in IPO norms to increase participation in small towns

11:29:22 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To introduce new Rajiv Gandhi equity scheme

11:29:12 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Government to include advance pricing in Finance Bill 2012

11:28:58 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Find ways to expedite implementation of decision, prompt delivery and good governance with transparency, while curbing black money and corruption

11:28:46 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Remove bottlenecks in agriculture, energy, transport, coal, power and national highways

11:28:36 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ensure rapid rise in private investment

11:28:30 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Frame policies that trigger domestic demand recovery

11:27:38 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To implement Direct Tax Code at the earliest

11:26:42 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Signs of economy turning around in March quarter

11:26:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Efforts continue to arrive at consensus for 51% in retail FDI

11:25:56 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Subsidy Reform?

FM says subsidy/GDP ratio to be under 2% in FY13. This is not so radical as it sounds. Subsidies exceeded that limit in 08-08 and 09-10. The last budget promised subsidy at 1.5% of GDP, but it will certainly be higher. So, in terms of quick analysis at least, and in an overall sense, there seems to be no radical subsidy reform for the coming fiscal year, more like stepping back from a disaster. Also, FM made the right noises on getting m,oney to beneficaries, but at least so far, there has been no detail about a step-by-step approach to this. Hopefully, more detailed examination of the budget will prove us wrong.
11:25:30 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To continue to hold 51% stake in state owned companies

11:25:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rs 30,000 cr divestment target in FY 13

11:23:33 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To implement DTC at the earliest

11:23:25 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

GST to be operational by August 2012

11:23:12 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To bring down subsidy to 1.7 % of GDP in the next 3 years

11:21:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

To roll out computerized scheme for fertilizer subsidy transfer

11:20:20 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Economy to grow at 7.6% in 2012/13

11:19:56 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Central subsidies to be under 2% of GDP

11:19:07 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Decided to fully provide for food subsidy in the budget

11:18:51 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: FRBM amended

FM says amendment to fiscal responsibility and budget management Act will be introduced in the finance bill. He highlights the concept of effective revenue deficit and better targetting of expenditure...these are concepts that will attract plenty of interest in post-budget analysis.
11:18:20 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Fiscal balance has deteriorated

11:17:46 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FRBM implementation back on track

11:17:37 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Fiscal deficit rose due to subsidy

11:16:12 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

High crude oil prices hit growth, averaged $115/bbl in 2011-12

11:15:50 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: India has achieved to diversify export and import markets

11:14:41 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Expect current account defict to decrease next year

11:13:53 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Current account defict to be at 3.6%

11:13:26 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Early Signs

FM has hit the right notes so far. Domestic demand drivers, private investment, combating corruption...he's said all the necessary things, he's also said that 'mere words are not enough, we need a roadmap'...should we raise our hopes, whatever the budget turns out to be, this is a good beginning. Pundits are saying fiscal consolidation is a the biggest test. But Shankar Sharma on ET Now said in the pre-budget programme, the deficit is not that big an issue. An interesting contrarian view, and one which will be even more interesting once we know the budget's fiscal performance
11:12:54 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

10 year benchmark yield at 8.43%

11:12:43 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Expect headline inflation to moderate further and stabilise

11:12:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Significant slowdown in growth over the last two years

11:11:48 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: To address black money, corruption in public life

11:11:39 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: To enhance supply side; cut infra bottlenecks

11:11:20 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: To focus on domestic demand, raise private investment

11:11:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Manufacturing sector appears to be on a revival path

11:11:05 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Needs to improve supply side management of economy

11:11:00 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Numerous economic indicators suggest economy is turning around

11:10:31 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

ET COMMENT: Budget Starts With House Bedlam

Can't our MPs let the House function even on budget day. Budget speech started with Opposition MPs raising a din. FM said 'please' several times and the Speaker had to remind the House that FM was perfroming a constitutional duty. FM had to re-read the first few lines of the budget again. A terrible advertisement for Indian parliamentary democracy. Now, there's relative silence in the House. So far, FM is giving the background...he has just said 'we have to take hard decisions'...does that mean this is going to be as the media says, a bold budget...let's hope so
11:09:00 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Need to improve supply side in economy

11:07:55 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Tight monetary policy hit consumption and growth

11:07:46 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Auto stocks down on profit-booking

11:07:24 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Global crisis hit Indian growth

11:07:16 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Middle East crisis, debt worries in EU have intensified

11:06:33 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Performance this year was disappointing but as compared to peers India was better

11:05:47 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

GDP expected to grow at 6.9%

11:04:31 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: Eurozone debt crisis got worse this year

11:03:56 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Opposition ruckus as Pranab begins Budget speech

11:03:23 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FM: It was a year of recovery and challenges

11:00:15 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Kotak Equities: Do not expect major reforms for power sector

Kotak Equities: Do not expect major reforms for power sector
10:59:02 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Losers in Metals - Non Ferrous sector on BSE: Gujarat Foils (-10.46%), Globus Corp (-9.76%), Maithan Alloys (-3.10%), Cronimet Alloys (-2.14%), NALCO (-1.10%)

10:49:38 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Punita Kumar Sinha: Challenge for govt will be to pursue FDI in critical sectors

10:48:53 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ramdeo Aggarwal: Interest rate difference is very high in India as compared to western world

10:47:11 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ramesh Damani: Markets in good shape and international liquidity is strong

10:44:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ramesh Damani: Fiscal deicit is what markets is looking now

10:44:04 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ramdeo Aggarwal: Govt credibility on fiscal numbers are low

10:40:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Mitesh Thakkar: Buy Gail; Buy Adani Power; Sell Videocon Industries

10:39:46 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Will it be a populist or reformist budget?

10:39:06 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Ashwani Gujral: Buy stocks that will not get impacted by the Budget 2012 like Pharma & IT

10:32:01 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Rupee strengthens before budget

Rupee firmed as global risk-taking improved, but traders said the currency would come under pressure if the budget disappoints.
10:30:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bharat Doshi, M&M: Subsidy on diesel should be removed instead of duty on diesel cars

10:27:58 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

V Balakrishnan, Infosys: Take steps to reduce fiscal deficit

10:24:20 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

DMK Ministers to skip budget

10:24:10 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Cabinet meet underway ahead of the budget

10:23:11 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bibek Debroy: Budget may provide Rs 70,000 crore for food subsidies

10:16:53 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Swaminathan Aiyar: FM may not raise fuel and fertiliser rates in the budget

10:16:37 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Jim Walker: RBI may not cut interest rates in the near future

10:16:27 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bimal Jalan: Political compulsions may influence Budget

10:16:02 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bimal Jalan: No political consensus on reducing government expenditure

10:11:53 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Jim Walker: Borrowing may increase going forward

10:11:16 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Bimal Jalan: Rising expenditure is a concern for the government

10:10:48 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Swaminathan Aiyar: Do not expect a make or break budget

Swaminathan Aiyar: Do not expect a make or break budget
10:02:47 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Atul Suri: Budget may be a non event

10:02:42 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Atul Suri: Traders should exit trades if Nifty falls below 5170

10:02:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Atul Suri: Global flows are driving the markets ahead

10:02:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Atul Suri: Excise duty on diesel vehicles may be levid by FM

10:00:48 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Punita Kumar Sinha (Blackstone): Allow FDI in retail

10:00:37 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Punita Kumar Sinha (Blackstone): Increase FDI limits in Insurance, aviation

09:57:17 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Amansa Cap: Avoid trading around the budget

09:49:51 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

FIIs expect fiscal consolidation in budget: HSBC

FIIs expect fiscal consolidation in budget: HSBC
09:45:25 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Nirmal Jain: Bottleneck in infrastructure will worsen

09:45:08 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Citi: Global markets likely to remain bullish in end-March, early April

09:40:36 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Amansa Cap: Markets wants concrete action from the government

09:39:05 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

BSE Realty index gains 0.9% led by gains in DLF, DB Realty, Unitech and Sobha Developers

09:38:53 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

BSE power index gains 1%, BSE realty index up 0.9% while BSE consumer durable index slips 1.5%

09:35:42 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Sensex up 40 points led by gains in ITC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank

09:23:44 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Top Nifty Losers: RCOM (-5.30%), DLF (-5.08%), IDFC (-4.62%), BHEL (-3.52%), HDFC Bank (-3.46%)

09:15:43 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab Mukherjee enroute to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President

09:05:20 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab Mukherjee reaches North Block

09:01:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab gives final touches to the Union Budget 2012-13 on Thursday

08:57:05 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab Mukherjee leaves for Parliament

08:53:01 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Will politics hijack Union Budget 2012?

08:52:42 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

UBS Securities: FIIs expect a sustainable plan to curb fiscal deficit

08:52:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

JPMorgan: Govt needs to reform the subsidy regime

08:52:27 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

JPMorgan: Cyclical upmove in Indian markets to be independent of Budget

08:52:14 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Kotak Inst Equities: Govt might hike excise duty to 12% from 10%

08:51:55 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Kotak Inst Equities: Expect diesel prices to go up post the Budget

08:51:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Kotak Inst Equities: Govt may impose tax on diesel vehicles

08:51:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Kotak Inst Equities: Expect fiscal deficit to touch 6% in FY13, 5.4% in FY14

08:47:40 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: Private sector capex may increase in 2012

08:47:34 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: Expect interest rates to decline this year

08:47:27 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: Growth may bounce back to 8.5% by year-end

08:47:18 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: Markets are expected to gain irrespective of the Budget

08:47:10 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Shankar Sharma: Markets may not react positively to the Budget

08:46:56 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Angel Broking: Global liquidity will decide local market trends

08:46:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Angel Broking: Complacent governance has caused GDP slowdown; not fiscal deficit

08:44:37 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Lack of progress in infra spending a concern

08:44:25 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Need increased spend to sustain economic growth

08:44:13 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Foreign funds will not withdraw from India

08:43:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Adrian Mowat: Cyclical upmove in market to be independent of Budget

08:43:16 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Adrian Mowat: Abolition of subsidy will be ideal

08:43:05 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Adrian Mowat: Expect divestment announcement in Budget

08:42:44 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Do not expect DTC, GST to be introduced

08:42:30 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: FIIs expect fiscal consolidation in Budget

08:42:21 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Govt needs to reduce expenditure

08:38:16 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Markets hope Budget will not be populist

08:37:46 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

HSBC: Major concerns are over Budget being populist

08:37:25 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Adrian Mowat: Market are rallying because of inflation, monetary policy, rather than expectations of reform in the Budget

08:36:06 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Experts from around the world say that India needs to push for reforms

08:35:43 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Global Markets: US stocks extend rally to 4-year high on strong macro data

08:25:41 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Will the Finance Minister appease all?

08:23:18 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Maximum number of 10 budgets have been presented by Morarji Desai

Mukherjee will join the league of P Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Y B Chavan and C D Deshmukh, who have presented seven budgets each in the past
08:22:26 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab will present the Union Budget for the seventh time, the second-highest by any Finance Minister

08:13:28 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab Mukherjee's 2012-13 budget to be 81st in India's history

08:13:08 AM IST, 16 Mar 2012

Pranab Mukherjee to present Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha today

Business News › Union Budget 2012: Highlights
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