Here is a quick catch-up on the major budget announcements so far##Here is a quick catch-up on the major budget announcements so far

- India will ease foreign direct investment restrictions in single-brand retail.

- Will open up FDI in aviation, insurance, media and animation sectors.

-Will allow foreign investors to buy debt of listed real estate investment trusts.

- India will become a $3 trillion economy in the current fiscal year, and a $5 trillion economy in the next few years.

- Proposed government investment of 100 lakh crore in infrastructure over the next five years.

- Will upgrade 125,000 kilometres of roads over the next five years at a cost of $11.6 billion.

-Minimum public shareholding in the listed companies to be raised to 35 percent from the original 25 percent.

-Rs 10,000 crore allocated to the FAME II scheme

-Enhanced target set of Rs 1,05,000 crore for disinvestment during FY20 .

- A proposed allocation of Rs 70,000 crore for public sector banks' recapitalisation.

- A new series of coins including for Rs 20 to be made available for public use shortly.

- PAN and Aadhar will be interchangeable.

-Customs duty on indoor and outdoor split air-conditioners hiked to 20% from 10%.

-FY20 GST revenue target at Rs 6.6 lakh crore including CGST of Rs 5.26 lakh crore.

-FY20 fiscal deficit target cut to 3.3% from 3.4%.

-Import duty on gold & precious metals increased to 12.5% from 10%.

-Special additional excise duty of Rs 1 per litre on petrol and diesel for road and infra.

-Effective income tax increase of 3% for those earning Rs 2-5 crore.

-2% TDS on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs 1 crore in a year from 1 bank account.

Jul 5, 2019 10:30 PM

How finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman walked the fiscal tightrope##How finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman walked the fiscal tightrope

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has walked a tight-rope well in her first budget. She has created room for bank recapitalisation and offered a window to NBFCs besides increasing the total budgeted capital expenditure versus the interim budget and still managed to achieve fiscal discipline. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 10:10 PM

Government hints at more state-run bank mergers##Government hints at more state-run bank mergers

After the successful merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, the Narendra Modi government on Friday said the centre is looking to merge more state-run banks in future.

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Subhash Chandra Garg, finance secretary, said, "The time has come for doing more strategic disinvestment and the government is conveying its clear intent on that front, "The government has examined case by case and is zeroing on companies which can be strategically divested." READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 9:29 PM

Changes in customs duty point at shift in foreign trade policy towards protectionism##Changes in customs duty point at shift in foreign trade policy towards protectionism

Sweeping through the huge election victory, the Union Finance Minister presented the NDA Government’s instrumental budget for FY 2019-20, laying down its vision and action plan for the second term. The government has continued its focus on the ease of living, social welfare measures, infrastructure development, and ease of doing business and simpler tax compliances and administration. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 9:09 PM

Experts say budget to boost rural employment##Experts say budget to boost rural employment

The allocation of Rs 60,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MNREGA) in the Union Budget presented on Friday is expected to boost employment in rural areas, experts told IANS. The programme, which aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas, had been allocated a sum of Rs 55,000 crore for the financial year 2018-19. The revised estimates for the programme had shot up to Rs 61,000 crore, however. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 8:43 PM

FM Nirmala Sitharaman recited a Tamil poem in her budget speech, here’s what it meant##FM Nirmala Sitharaman recited a Tamil poem in her budget speech, here’s what it meant

In the middle of her maiden budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman turned to poetry before making key announcements on the taxation front.

Quoting the famous Tamil poet, Pisiranthaiyar, the minister attempted to use verse from his poem, ‘Yaanai Pukka Pulam’, which describes an elephant and its love for feeding on paddy. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 8:37 PM

Here are some interesting facts about the history of Budget##Here are some interesting facts about the history of Budget

Here are some interesting facts about the history of the budget:

-The budget is known to allocate nearly 25% of the income tax collected by the centre to the development of roads and railways

-For every rupee earned, the government spends 37 paise on interest and over 7.5% of the government’s revenues come from dividends

-The allocation to pension and benefits is as much as 55% of the government’s annual capex and the excise collection is still about 40% of the amount collected as GST. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 8:11 PM

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan flays Union Budget##Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan flays Union Budget

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday slammed the Union budget, saying the Centre did not heed the State's plea for raising the borrowing limit to help it overcome the devastation caused by the floods last year. In a statement here, Vijayan said the budget, presented by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had also failed to keep its various promises, including setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences, made to the state. It was unfortunate that the budget did not show any "sympathetic attitude" towards the southern state, which had been devastated during the August floods last year.

Jul 5, 2019 7:44 PM

Union Budget 2019: Here are the 10 key takeaways from FM Sitharaman's speech

Updated : July 05, 2019 07:15 PM IST Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented her maiden budget in parliament. The finance minister has said the country is on track to become a $5-trillion economy by 2024.

Jul 5, 2019 7:32 PM

FM makes PAN redundant as ITR filing to be made possible only with Aadhaar##FM makes PAN redundant as ITR filing to be made possible only with Aadhaar

This will allow those who do not have PAN to be able to file their income tax returns. Presenting the first budget of the Modi government in its second term, Sitharaman also said that Aadhaar card for NRIs with Indian passports will be issued after their arrival in India, without waiting for the mandatory 180 days.

Jul 5, 2019 7:19 PM

What Arundhati Bhattacharya, Ramesh Damani, Sajjid Chinoy and other big names make of Budget 2019##What Arundhati Bhattacharya, Ramesh Damani, Sajjid Chinoy and other big names make of Budget 2019

“Rs 70,000 crore is a little more than what the market was expecting... So, they have considered some amount of growth capital and not only regulatory capital,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, former SBI chairman.

Click or tap to read full report here

Jul 5, 2019 6:58 PM

CBIC Pranab Kumar Das says government will act to support the common man if fuel prices skyrocket##CBIC Pranab Kumar Das says government will act to support the common man if fuel prices skyrocket

Jul 5, 2019 6:46 PM

Fiscal deficit target of 3.3% realistic: Finance Secretary SC Garg##Fiscal deficit target of 3.3% realistic: Finance Secretary SC Garg

Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in a customary briefing post Budget said, "On the revenue side as compared to actual of 2018-19, direct taxes are expected to increase by 17.5 per cent, indirect taxes are going up by only 15 per cent. This is very realistic targets in our judgement. On non-tax side, there is also an increase as we are expecting better dividends."

On expenditure side, he said, it is more or less the interim Budget only with an increase of Rs 2,000 crore.

"All these put together gives us a saving of Rs 6,000 crore as compared to interim Budget that brings down fiscal deficit from 3.4 per cent to 3.3 per cent. Some concern raised that outside Budget there might be borrowing even there, there is the reduction. The fully serviced bonds, it has been brought down from Rs 64,000 crore to Rs 56,000-57,000 crore...so the number is reasonable," he said.

Jul 5, 2019 6:35 PM

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks to CNBCTV18##Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks to CNBCTV18

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is speaking to CNBCTV18's Managing Editor Sheeren Bhan in an exclusive interview.

Here are the main highlights from the interview:

-On ditching briefcase in favour of traditional Indian 'bahi khatta,' the FM says it was my family's suggestion to drop the Budget Briefcase. Wanted to get out of the colonial hangover.

-This budget should kickstart the virtuous cycle of investment.

-Important to ensure that those people who are literally somewhere in the nook and cranny of the country need the support through the direct benefit transfer (DBT).

-The public investment in infrastructure will continue even now and the scope of it is not just roads, it is going to be Sagarmala, inland waterways, greenfield airports, brownfield ones etc.

-We have addressed comprehensively the developments in the NBFC sector.

-During my stakeholder consultation, I had very eminent NBFC leaders highlighting the fact that you cannot have one problem attributed to the entire crisis.

-The NBFC problem may have reached the peak and it is now only going to have to improve.

-It is necessary now to very clearly put money in the hands of people and consumption will increase if monsoon is good.

Jul 5, 2019 6:18 PM

Union Budget 2019: Government proposes Rs 100 lakh crore infra investment##Union Budget 2019: Government proposes Rs 100 lakh crore infra investment

After a populist pre-election interim budget tabled in February, the first Union Budget of the Modi 2.0 government was expected to address concerns over the country’s growth – and as always, all eyes were on the proposed outlay for infrastructure.

The key announcements are:

-The second phase of the Bharatmala road project will now integrate state government participation to develop the road network.

-Use of rivers for cargo transportation to decongest roads and railways.

-The continued thrust on metro lines, of which 657 km are currently operational.

-The finance minister announced that about 1.25 lakh km of road length will be upgraded over the next 5 years, at a cost of over Rs 80,000 crore. READ MORE

Jul 5, 2019 5:54 PM

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