P. Chidambaram

In the Union Budget 2012 Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced an additional excise duty on special utility vehicles (SUVs). Heavy Industries minister Praful Patel has now rushed to the rescue of SUV-makers and has asked the FM to do away with the additional duty. CNBC-TV18‘s Anshu Sharma reports.

The Union finance minister P Chidambaram today said in the Rajya Sabha that a pick up in investments is on the horizon and it will shore up the equity markets.

Senior BJP leader and former finance minister (in Chandra Shekhar‘s Cabinet) Yashwant Sinha is not too hopeful that GST will be implemented anytime soon.

Kumar Ketkar of Dainik Divya Marathi, Dipankar Gupta, former professor of sociology at JNU and Rajdeep Sardesai, managing editor, CNN-IBN concur, on CNBC-TV18's Indianomics, that the ability to build consensus and project a focus on growth is what will ensure electoral victory.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today discussed with market regulator Sebi the future agenda for growth of capital markets, as also steps needed for simplified KYC norms for foreign investors.

Liquidity has been the key driver of Indian market and will remain so going ahead, says Nandan Chakraborty of Axis Capital. However, he cautions that India is more vulnerable to global volatility compared to other emerging markets (EMs).

The Union Budget doesn't have any significant policy initiatives or tax incentives for the real estate sector. The Budget does propose a 1 percent Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on property transactions. The realty index is down 9.4 percent for the week.

Union Budget 2013 has largely met its key objective of fiscal consolidation, but it was an over hyped event so it punctured some expectations of foreign investors, says Gautam Chhaochharia, head of mid-cap research, UBS India.

The mutual fund sector has mixed feelings about Budget 2013. While some of them are happy with the liberalisation to the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS), others are shocked with the move of hiking Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) for debt funds. CNBC-TV18‘s Mitra Joshi and Farah Bookwala report.

Budget 2013 offers amnesty to people who have defaulted on indirect tax payments over the last five years.

The assumptions made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Union Budget 2013 speech look optimistic and realistic, Atsi Sheth of Moody's Investors Service tells CNBC-TV18. "It is not just revenue growth, but assumptions about subsidy cost are optimistic as well."

The finance minister answers questions about Budget 2013 using Google hangout, a multi-person online video chat, at 8:00 pm today. P Chidambaram today joined the camp of other personalities like Barack Obama to use Google Hangout, social media, to reach out to people.

After presenting the last Budget of the UPA 2, it was Finance Minister, P Chidambaram's turn today to explain the proposals to India Inc.

The Union Budget 2013, which was presented by the finance minister on last Thursday, was hailed as a forward looking and prudent Budget.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday had a post Budget meeting with representatives of industry associations.

Finance minister P Chidambaram introduced Union Budget 2013-14 in Parliament on February 28. He introduced various taxes in this Budget which affected the automobile industry. CNBC-TV18's show for auto enthusiasts Overdrive decodes what Budget 2013 means for the auto enthusiasts.

With the Budget 2013 over, it is time now to find out how different sectors are reacting and if their respective Budget wishlists have been addressed. The real estate sector, for one, is mostly disappointed. CNBC-TV18‘s Priyanka Ghosh reports.

He started his speech by saying “I have been at pains to state over and over again that India, at the present juncture, does not have the choice between welcoming and spurning foreign investment.

Clarifying the government's stance on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA), the Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18 that Mauritius should not be preferred route of investment.

Ravi Uppal, MD, JSPL told CNBC-TV18 that the power projects have been facing several issues over the past two quarters. He expected the FM to speak more on lending rates in the Budget, as lower lending rates can further fuel investments.