Budgeting for agriculture and food
The Union Budget 2023-24 was presented against the backdrop of some critical geopolitical developments and was the last full budget before the next general elections. Signicantly, 2023 is also the year
Budget
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Centre moots state-level funds for Metro projects
New Delhi Highlighting its inability to support increasing number of metro projects, the Centre has asked state governments to follow the models of Karnataka and Delhi for financing capital-intensive Metro rail projects by levying cess on residential and commercial developments, and increasing house tax. It has also urged them to set up state-level urban transport funds with such levies to finance the projects. The Centre says its unable to support the increasing number of metro systems through the Budget and therefore wants the states to develop their own funding sources to part-finance such capital-intensive systems.
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State asks Centre to lift all taxes on petrol
Bhubaneswar: Finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai on Thursday urged the Centre to waive all taxes levied on petrol and roll back the hike to avoid a major economic disaster. Reacting to the Rs 7.50-paise
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China to beef up 'green' efforts
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Thursday that central government-funded expenditures on energy savings and emission reductions as well as on renewable energies development will total 97.9 billion
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Fin Min throws Rs 38K cr budget lifeline to oil firms
The finance ministry will release Rs 38,500 crore from the budget for cash-strapped state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs). Also, the Department of Expenditure has directed state-run upstream firms ONGC,
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Fighting Malnutrition
Interventions to fight malnutrition must be simultaneous with outcomes being monitored by an overarching body. The finance minister’s Budget 2012 speech contains the much-awaited, much-needed paradigm
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Affordable housing policy soon, as ECB fails to excite
The policy will include increasing the floor space index & easing of density norms An affordable housing policy is in the works to attract developers and to meet the shortage of around 25 million houses in the country. The Union Budget had announced access to external commercial borrowing (ECB) for affordable housing but the industry wasn't excited due to low margins in this category. Now, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (Mhupa) is in the process of framing an affordable housing policy, expected to be finalised in two months.
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Reality check: Jairam can’t offer funds
After patting on the back by announcing that he would give one per cent of the annual budget of the ministry for rural development (`99,000 crores) to the ministry of panchayati raj, Union minister Jairam Ramesh is faced with reality check — that it is not he who can do so, but Parliament only. A few weeks ago, Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh announced that one per cent of his ministry’s annual budget, which would come to about `990 crores, would be given to the panchayati raj ministry.
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City lakes drying up, civic body says can’t help it
Despite new lakes being announced every year in its budget, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has been found wanting when it comes to their upkeep. Mid-way through the summer, some of the major
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Finance Bill relief for thermal power units
Extends exemption from basic customs duty & CVD indefinitely, to give relief to hard-pressed industry The Finance Bill passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday, to give effect to the Union Budget proposals, has removed the 2014 time bar it had earlier proposed on the duty exemption for thermal coal. In its earlier Budget proposals, the finance ministry sought to exempt thermal coal (also called steam coal, and used in thermal power generation) from the basic customs duty of five per cent and the concessional countervailing duty of one per cent till March 31, 2014.
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Oil Ministry for hiking excise duty on diesel cars
The move has been proposed in order to discourage consumption of subsidised diesel by personal vehicle owners The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is demanding an increase in excise duty on diesel cars with a view to discouraging consumption of subsidised fuel by personal vehicle owners. "A proposal was received from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for levy of additional excise duty on diesel cars along with their suggestions for Budget 2012-13," Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.