Union Budget 2015-16 News

Government has realised Rs 919 crore through the fourth tranche of its Sovereign Gold Bond scheme -- the highest so far.

Cautioning against being "too optimistic" about economy as yet, industry body Assocham today said a large majority of CEOs and CFOs find the revised GDP data of over 7 per cent growth as "too good to be realistic".

With an average of over Rs 1,000 crore a day, the net foreign fund inflows into Indian capital markets have crossed USD 11 billion (over Rs 68,000 crore) in little over two months so far in 2015.

The NDA government Saturday hailed the Union Budget 2015-16 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it "progressive and practical" while the opposition slammed it for being "pro-rich".

"We were looking forward to a stronger emphasis on the automobile industry from Budget 2015 but there doesn't seem to be much momentum on that front," Nissan India Operations President Guillaume Sicard told PTI.

The industry players, however, expressed disappointment over no reduction in customs duty on the metal.

The government has clubbed 10 major schemes, including National Food Security Mission, under the umbrella scheme "Krishionnati Yojana" to be implemented by states with central assistance of Rs 9,000 crore during the 2015-16 fiscal.

Shares of Banking, Healthcare and Auto sectors shot up on good buying while FMCG, Consumer Durable and Power counters fell on selling pressure. Scrips of cigarette makers, led by ITC, declined on a proposal to hike excise duty on cigarettes.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presenting the Budget in Lok Sabha today proposed to defer the applicability of the General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) by two years.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed an increase in investment in infrastructure by Rs 70,000 crore in the year 2015-16 over the year 2014-15 from the Centre’s funds and resources of CPSEs.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday proposed to merge the Forward Markets Commission with SEBI to strengthen regulation of commodity forward markets and reduce wild speculation.

The healthcare industry has welcomed Budget proposals to increase tax exemption limits for health insurance cover and set up more AIIMS across India, saying such moves enable people's access to better facilities.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announced a series of steps to broaden the tax base to garner more receipts.

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announced in his Budget speech that with respect to Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the employee needs to be provided two options.

Arun Jaitley today proposed rationalization of various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve tax administration.

India will have a unified regulator for commodities and capital markets, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announcing that Forward Markets Commission will be merged with Sebi.

Arun Jaitely while presenting the Union Budget 2015-16, here today, said that government is committed to supporting employment through MGNREGA and ensure that no one who is poor is left without employment.

The minister proposes to introduce a gold monetisation scheme, which will replace both the present gold deposit and gold metal loan Schemes.

For the current fiscal, disinvestment proceeds are projected at Rs 31,350 crore in the revised estimates. This is lower than Rs 58,425 crore budgeted earlier.

To soothe investors' nerves, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday deferred the controversial General Anti-Avoidance Act (GAAR) by two years, saying its immediate applicability can create 'panic' in markets.