Budget 2015 16

The target of Extra-Budgetary Resources through Partnership for 2016-17 is Rs 18,340 crore. No projection of funds has been made for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

MMTC to auction gold collected under monetisation scheme

State-owned trading firm MMTC to e-auction the precious metal collected by the government under the Gold Monetisation Scheme in lots of five kg bars

Central funds transfer to states declined 0.3% in FY16: RBI

Referring to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the report said that despite several reform measures, goods and services continue to be bogged down with several indirect taxes at different stages of the value chain with significant tax cascading.

Irdai recommends waiver of service tax on insurance premium

It has also suggested extension of tax-break on pension products of life insurance companies on lines of that introduced by the Centre for additional investment of Rs 50,000 under National Pension System (NPS) last year.

Committed to cut corp tax to 25% in 4 yrs: Jayant Sinha

The government is hoping to roll out the GST from April 1, 2016 and the ideal rate for it will be the one which is revenue neutral, Sinha added.

Changes in Benami Act will block black money in realty

The Budget 2015-16 has proposed a new and comprehensive Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, which is likely to be introduced in Parliament in the current session.

ITC to hike cigarette prices by up to 15%

According to sources, Gold Fake regular is likely to be priced at Rs 78 for a pack of 10 cigarettes as against Rs 68 now, up 15 percent, while Navy Cut brand is likely to be priced at Rs 78 for packs of 10 cigarettes pack, up 12 per cent from Rs 70 now. ITC is India's largest cigarette manufacturer.

India pitches for rating upgrade by Fitch

In their meeting with Fitch representatives, senior Finance Ministry officials highlighted various initiatives announced in the Budget 2015-16 which are expected to boost investment and growth. The officials highlighted the government's commitment to stick to targets set for the fiscal as well as the current account deficits.

More tax sops needed to make REITs attractive: CBRE

In Budget 2015-16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had rationalised capital gain tax regime for the sponsors of newly-created business structure REITs. The rental income arising from real estate assets directly held by the REIT was also proposed to be allowed to pass through and to be taxed in the hands of the REIT unit holders.

Corp tax cut will make India competitive: Rev Secy

Drawing a comparison, he said the corporate tax rate was 25 percent or less in other ASEAN nations, which were India's main competitors. "The reduction in corporate tax rate is expected to make India competitive, it is expected to make India as an attractive destination for investments, for both domestic and for global investors.

Govt optimistic about GST roll out from Apr 2016: Rev Secy

Elaborating further, he said increase in service tax from the next financial year, the restoration of normal tax rates on automobile sector and increase in excise duty of petrol and diesel from November last year would help the government in garnering more revenue.

Gold monetisation guidelines likely by May

To curb gold imports and monetise large idle stocks of the precious metal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2015-16 had proposed introducing a gold monetisation scheme, which will replace both the present gold deposit and gold metal loan Schemes.

Union Budget 2015: State-banks have much to complain from Jaitley's Budget

For the banking community, this Budget was bitter-sweet, it brought cheer to some, but left many disappointed too. For the private lenders, the Finance Minister‘s move to remove the distinction between Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) has brought immense relief.

Budget 2015 India: Aims higher economic growth, says Mehta Equities

Mehta Equities has come out with its outlook on Budget 2015-16. "Right move in the right direction aims higher economic growth," says the research firm.

Budget 2015: Yet to receive order from govt under Swachh Bharat: HSIL

RB Kabra, president of HSIL says it is yet to receive order from the government under Swachh Bharat, but has got orders from several corporates to build toilets.

Budget 2015-16: Black money law with no safeguards may up corruption, graft

Black money law essentially is draconian in nature. They will enable the taxman and the investigating agencies to wield enormous power against citizens. The potential for corruption and graft will escalate, not reduce if these powers are not counter-balanced with safeguards.

Budget 2015: Effective service tax may increase to 16%: KPMG

Sachin Menon of KPMG says new service tax will be applicable on all services. He says the new service tax is in line with GST norms. The finance ministry has said there is an enabling provision in the Finance Bill to levy service tax on all services provided by the government to business entities.

Expect 15% returns from mkt this year; like IT: Samir Arora

The biggest takeaway of Budget 2015-16, according to Helios Capital's Samir Arora is how certain sectors will be killed and rightly so, example, real estate. He says the biggest beneficiary of black money in India is real estate and gold. Arora says he did not see many positives for realty in the Budget.

Delayed fisc consolidation won't hurt India rating: Moody's

"The measures in the Budget doesn't change our view on India' s sovereign credit profile," Moody's Sovereign Ratings Analyst Atsi Sheth told Media.

Budget 2015-16: No fireworks for realty; REIT capital gain tax merely eased

Furthermore, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to allow tax pass-through for alternate investment funds.

Budget 2015: FM Arun Jaitley allocates Rs 2.46 lk cr for defence sector

The local manufacture of defence equipment is the focal area of PM Modi's Make in India programme given that India imports nearly 60 percent of its defence equipment.

Union Budget 2015: No sops for cement; excise, freight hike to bog sector down

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday announced a 2.7 percent hike in freight rates for cement in the Railway Budget 2015-16.

Expect thrust on alternate energy in Budget 2015-16: Karvy

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Jagannadham Thunuguntla of Karvy Stock Broking shares his expectations from the upcoming Union Budget 2015-16.

HSBC sees Budget focusing on public investment-led growth

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to earmark higher funds for public investments in the Budget to be presented this weekend, taking advantage from the savings he could mop-up from the steep fall in oil import bill in the past few months, says a report.

Budget session kicks off next week: Here's what to expect

The much-awaited Budget session will kick off from February 23 to May 10. Apart from the Union Budget, the government will try to push eight ordinances. The session also promises to be a stormy one with the Congress likely to oppose the government's Land Acquisition Ordinance.