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The fifth and last Budget 2018-2019 of the Narendra Modi government would need to address the problem of economic growth and meet the challenge of creating jobs, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Tuesday. Participating in a panel discussion after former president Pranab Mukherjee launched Chidambaram’s book, Speaking Truth to Power, a collection of his essays published in newspapers, Ahluwalia and Chidambaram disputed recent claims in a study that the Modi government created 7 million jobs. Ahluwalia termed the inferences of the study based on Employees' Provident Fund Organisation data was “flawed”. Chidambaram said the Economic Survey was “an utter confession” that in the four years the Modi government has failed to deal with three of the biggest issues — employment, education and agriculture. He said the attempt by Pulak Ghosh, of IIM-Bangalore, and Soumya Kanti Ghosh o...

Budget 2018-2019 : Demands from activists and economists for a raise in the budget allocation for the government's maternity benefit programme have failed to cut ice with the Centre. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has not sought any increase for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), which promises Rs 6,000 to pregnant and lactating mothers for the birth of their first child, in its wishlist to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for Union Budget 2018, an official said. The ministry has asked for Rs 25 billion for the programme, the same as last year. An initial amount of Rs 27 billion was announced for the scheme during Union Budget 2017 but it was later revised to Rs 25 billion. About 60 top ec onomists of the country wrote to Jaitley in December last year, pointing out that the amount of Rs 27 billion set aside by the Centre was a third of what is required under National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, which entitles all pregnant women and l...

Investors in Indian shares are growing increasingly anxious after a stellar rally. The India VIX Index, which measures the cost of NSE Nifty 50 Index options, has risen the most since September 2016 in January, climbing in tandem with the equity gauge. While the trend has been similar in the US and other Asian markets, it’s especially pronounced in India, where five straight weeks of simultaneous gains marked a record. With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley readying to deliver the Union Budget 2018-2019 on Thursda y, traders are seeking to hedge a rally that has added more than $425 billion in equity values in the past four months. The Nifty, which has already hit 13 records in January, trades at 18.4 times estimated earnings for the next year, near an all-time high and a 30 per cent premium to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The fact that the India VIX and Nifty have been moving together “reflects the rising wariness in the market around the rapid run up in prices” Sunil Sha...

Budget 2018-2019 : India is the fifth largest military spender (2016) in the world and the largest importer of arms, accounting for 13% of the world’s total imports between 2012 and 2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank. However, over three years to 2017-18, there was a 9% decline in budget allocation for capital investments against requirements, or “projections” in officialese, a factor that could delay procurement and modernisation of the armed forces, according to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee On Defence 2017-18, an advisory body to the defence ministry, presented to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) on December 19, 2017. The air force capital budget was 46% lower than its requirements, the Army's was 41% and the Navy's 32%, the report said. The budget for defence expenditure–including revenue (salaries, transportation costs, stores), capital investments (equipment, ammunition), pensi...

The Budget 2018-2019 , is likely to get some relief for everyone as it is the last full-fledged budget of the BJP-led government ahead of the general elections in 2019 and the government is expected to follow a please-all strategy. The government is diligently working on various permutations and combinations to arrive at the right mix which ensures that the tax burden is not unreasonable and at the same time enough resources are mobilized for infrastructure development. We expect that the finance ministry is working on a proposal to increase the tax exemption limit from INR 2.5 lakh per annum to INR 3 lakh or more and introduce some changes in the tax slabs to lighten the taxpayers' burden. The corporate India also has great expectations from the upcoming Union Budget 2018 as this would be the first post-GST budget and the last before the general elections of 2019. We expect a series of populist policies in this year’s budget including reduction in corporate tax to attract inve...

Budget 2018-2019 With elections in sight, India's government is under pressure to loosen fiscal policy in its budget on Thursday. Tempting as this may seem, it would be a mistake. Chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has made the most candid argument for relaxing the country's tough fiscal stance: Given the political calendar, promises to honor the targets simply wouldn't be believed. He has a point -- but the answer is to do a better job of explaining why the targets make sense. The Indian economy was jolted by the overnight withdrawal of high-value currency notes in November 2016 and last July's introduction of a complicated goods-and-services tax. Plummeting crop prices have caused widespread distress in the rural areas where most Indians live. Facing upcoming state polls, as well as another general election in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to loosen the purse strings. Indeed, many investors seem to want him to, because they'...

Budget 2018-2019 As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gets set to present Budget 2018, the last full Union Budget of the Narendra Modi-led central government in its present term, there is an anticipation that he will somewhat shed his prudent stance in favour of a more populist stance one. The view emanates from the fact that this will be the finance minister’s last chance to please the voters through a Budget 2018 before 2019 general elections. Populism in the government’s Annual Union budget 2018 could assume policy decisions like lower tax rate for the salaried class, lower corporate tax rates in tune with Trump’s benevolence for the corporate class in the US and big bonanzas for India’s farmers. If the Economic Survey, prepared by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and his team is anything to go by, Jaitley has all the ammunition that he needs to sound the election bugle for 2019 with this Budget. All he needs to do is lock, load and fire.

Budget 2018 Businesses awaiting Indian top Minister Narendra Modi to follow via on a pledge to reduce corporate taxes may additionally need to wait a chunk longer. In his final complete finances before 2019 elections, Modi is dealing with a revenue squeeze that may make it hard to deliver on a promise to lower the primary corporate tax rate over the years to twenty-five percent from 30 percentage. It’s a capture-22 situation for the most effective, who is also seeking to trap overseas traders at a time while america, united kingdom and other international locations are decreasing business taxes. Right here’s a examine Modi’s task in advance of the authorities’s finances 2018 on Thursday. Why cut? Modi pledged in 2015 to deliver down company taxes over 4 years, however organizations are nevertheless looking ahead to a roadmap on how so that it will show up. It’s a part of his assignment to improve India’s funding climate: he is likewise reducing pink-tape, spurri...

Budget 2018 Cautious, optimistic, or both? Either way, the Economic Survey 2018 has been described as "a must-read for all seeking to improve their understanding of the Indian economy". Pegging GDP growth for FY19 at 7-7.5 per cent, the survey also flagged various hurdles the economy and its sectors would face, including the threat from rising oil prices and climate change. For the "first time in India's history", as stated by the survey, state-wise data on international exports was dwelt upon in the document. The data indicate a strong correlation between export performance and the standard of living in states. Further, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said in the Economic Survey, presented in Parliament on Monday, that the government cannot rule out a pause in its fiscal consolidation plan in the coming financial year. ALSO READ: Economic Survey prescription: Beat investment slowdown with public spending Other issues, such as the h...

Budget 2018 : A change in marketplace sentiment, bolstered by rapid infrastructure development, would carry greater overseas direct investment (FDI) in the actual property zone and create jobs inside the hinterlands, the monetary Survey 2017-18 stated. The arena has been within the doldrums for a while now, registering a 5-year low in income. The Survey said the government’s projects could increase the infrastructure area. India might want about $4.5 trillion inside the next 25 years for infrastructure improvement, of which it'd be capable of garner approximately $3.9 trillion, the Survey stated. Even as the residential market witnessed sales of best 58,000 devices within the first half of of 2017, new residential income fell to a 5-year low of one hundred and one,850 units all through this era within the top 14 cities. Admitting enforcement of the real property Regulatory Act (RERA) and the products and services tax (GST) — each of which have been added in last yea...

Budget 2018 Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on Monday continued the practice of presenting interesting data in the Economic Survey. Among various data sets, he highlighted pendency of cases in various fora and its impact on gross domestic product (GDP). He presented data on climate change on crop yields. In a chapter on transforming science and technology in India, the CEA tried to capture expenditure on research and development by various countries vis-à-vis India. A snapshot of some interesting facts:

Beforehand of Budget 2018 , market regulator Securities and exchange Board of India (Sebi) and inventory exchanges are taking precautions, anticipating a huge run-up within the fairness marketplace. Sebi has asked agents to gather better margins from those with enormous positions in futures and options. these include overseas establishments, wealthy buyers and proprietary desks. There are worries that the big construct-up of positions in equity derivatives should pose a systemic chance. stock exchanges have requested agents to mop up extra deposits from customers with giant publicity to derivatives. “ Inside the joint assembly of exchanges and Sebi, it has been decided that markets should be alerted at different stages of MWPL utilisation so that investors can take an knowledgeable choice on whether to maintain or square off their current positions properly earlier than regulatory/surveillance movements set in,” said an NSE round on January 23. Brokers and traders h...

Budget 2018 Bolstered by sharp increase in the tax base, goods and offerings tax (GST) revenue mop-up has been ‘surprisingly robust’ no matter ‘teething difficulties’, stated the Economic Survey 2017-18 . The oblique tax base grew 50 in line with cent for the reason that GST roll-out, led with the aid of a massive increase in registrations, particularly by small enterprises. The demonetisation of high-price currency notes in November 2016 ended in widening of taxpayers’ base, the Survey stated. As of December 2017, there had been 9.eight million unique GST registrants, slightly extra than oblique tax registrants underneath the sooner machine. despite the fact that now not similar, GST has increased the wide variety of particular oblique taxpayers by extra than 50 consistent with cent, a big 3.4 million. “the two numbers are not comparable. Registrants inside the antique gadget were not precise, seeing that many taxpayers were registered beneath numerous taxes,” the Surv...

India's bond markets extended declines, sending the 6.79 percent 10-yr bond yield up as an awful lot as thirteen foundation points on worries the government might widen its financial deficit goal and after an legitimate said there was much less scope for financial easing. Bonds took a success after the government's annual monetary survey called for a pause in fiscal consolidation, main to worries that New Delhi might widen its fiscal deficit objectives while it unveils its annual Budget 2018 on Thursday. The Finance Ministry's leader financial adviser, Arvind Subramanian, also told a information conference he saw much less scope for monetary policy easing because of a recent acceleration in inflation, in addition pressuring bonds. The 6.seventy nine percentage 10-12 months bond yield rose to as excessive as 7.sixty one percentage, while the recently unveiled 7.17 percentage 10-12 months bond yield turned into up 10 bps at 7.forty one percent.

Notwithstanding Repeated assurances from the government, it is rather likely that the Centre may not be able to meet its gross sales target in FY18. As proven in Chart 1, the indirect tax collection target become Rs 926 billion for FY18. however so far collections below the products and services tax (GST) were underneath expectancies. simplest 66.7 according to cent of assessees filed returns in December, while collections below the repayment scheme additionally were subdued. Non-tax revenue collection additionally seems to be underneath pressure, with the Reserve bank of India (RBI) moving a decrease than anticipated dividend, as shown in Chart 2. but latest reviews advocate the RBI may additionally well switch a higher amount. Disinvestment proceeds, but, provide a few cheer. As proven in Chart three, the Centre has mopped up Rs 523.eight billion till the quit of November as against a budgeted goal of Rs 725 billion. With ONGC’s buy of the authorities’s stake in HPCL for ...

India's government will be trying to woo back rural voters and small businesses when it announces the 2018/19 budget on Thursday and pick up economic momentum as it heads into a season of elections, officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extolling India as a model of economic growth and political openness, told the World Economic Forum in Davos last week the country would be a $5 trillion economy by 2025, more than double its current size. But at home, Modi is facing voter discontent over falling farm incomes and the lack of jobs for hundreds of thousands of youth entering the labour force each month. This month, the government lowered its gross domestic growth forecast for the year ending March, 2018 to 6.5 percent, the weakest pace in four years. Growth slowed down because of a chaotic rollout of nationwide goods and service tax (GST) last year and a shock move to ban high-value currency notes in late 2016. Modi's ruling alliance barely scraped thr...

Budget 2018 The government on Sunday stated it might "go away no stone unturned" to make sure the passage of the triple talaq bill within the finances consultation of Parliament starting Monday, and asserted that it'd speak to numerous parties for a consensus on the difficulty. The government met leaders of political events at a meeting in Parliament house on Sunday and also sought their cooperation in making sure the achievement of the vital consultation at some stage in which the Union budget would be presented. The all-party meeting was attended with the aid of prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of the competition and other events. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan additionally held a dinner assembly with celebration leaders for the session's clean functioning and said the leaders had confident her in their cooperation. Also read: Centre to push for passage of triple talaq invoice in...

Budget 2018 After the 2009-10 economic survey, which projected monetary increase on the dot for 2010-11, most surveys in succeeding years were off target in predicting growth. notably, the most effective other exception became the survey of 2015-16 that pegged monetary increase in quite a number 7-7.seventy five consistent with cent for 2016-17 and real boom was indeed 7.1 in step with cent. The increase fell inside the range anticipated by way of the survey despite the 12 months witnessing demonetisation. The predominant setback in phrases of prediction may be the survey of 2010-11, which had forecast boom to be nine consistent with cent for 2011-12 (plus or minus 0.25 in line with cent) however boom fell all the way down to simply 6.five according to cent. nine according to cent boom has remained wishful wondering these days even after the exchange within the GDP computation method, which many say overestimates the growth. Allow us to now see the focal point of the four s...

Budget 2018 India’s social region underneath the Modi government has had a disappointing run. within the run-up to the 2014 elections, the public debate among economists Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati set the tone for what changed into at stake. whilst Sen believed that the Centre needed to make investments extra in social infrastructure to enhance productivity and therefore raise boom, Bhagwati believed that only a focal point on increase could yield the assets needed for making an investment in social region schemes. In 2018, it's miles clear that with big rural and agrarian distress, a vast increase in social area allocations and their right utilisation is truely important to bring a great deal-wanted relief to the us of a’s more prone sections. another purpose for hoping that the approaching union finances will appreciably growth social area spending is that over the last 3 years, standard allocation for the social quarter has no longer been fine. After the Modi...

Economic Survey 2018 is a flagship annual file of the Finance Ministry that evaluations the overall kingdom of the economic system Budget 2018 session LIVE updates: The Economic Survey will be released today. It marks that start of the Budget session of Parliament. The Economic Survey 2018 will be read out by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, as a precursor to the Budget 2018-19, to be announced on Thursday. In view of this, Finance Ministry's Chief Economic Adviser, Arvind Subramanian started a web page wherein he has shared some details on the Survey. What is Economic Survey? It is a flagship annual document of the Finance Ministry. It reviews the overall state of the economy in the last 12 months. In August last year, however, the government for the first time presented a mid-term economic survey. ALSO READ : Budget session begins today, eyes on Economic survey & top 10 developments

Budget 2018 Sluggish upgrades in fundamental indicators of maternal and infant mortality, double burden of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases, excessive out-of-pocket expenditure, a failing public region and heavily commercialised private zone characterise the healthcare disaster in India. The yr 2017 saw some of incidents in the health sector across the united states which spotlight each of these issues. At the same time as the deaths of children in a public health center in Gorakhpur because of alleged disruption of oxygen supply highlighted the systemic screw ups in public fitness provision, the instances of excessive billing and negligence in large corporate hospitals (e.g. the case of dengue dying in Fortis medical institution, Gurugram) confirmed that the unregulated personal area isn't any way to India’s healthcare troubles. The protests towards the NEET examination, in particular in Tamil Nadu, added forth the complexities worried in ensuring a ...

Budget 2018 The Indian Railways is working on a Rs 35.3-trillion funding plan by means of 2032, pushing up the capital expenditure for the ministry by round ninety two consistent with cent annually. Going by the formidable imaginative and prescient, the average annual investment, which include ability addition and modernization, could touch round Rs 2.5 trillion, up from the Rs 1.31 trillion in 2017-18. This long-time period funding  may also comprise the modernisation plan of ‘imaginative and prescient 2030’ and also Rs eight.56-trillion funding goal that former minister Suresh Prabhu had kicked off beginning 2014-15. “The Indian Railways would require approximately Rs 35.3 trillion with the aid of 2032 to create the needful ability and modernize the device,” the ministry said in a report to the Parliamentary status Committee. The Railways, below Piyush Goyal, has already commenced the paintings, aiming to obtain at least 4000 km electrification consistent with 12 mont...