Now, the bad news. The tourism ministry has set aside a mere ₹3 crore for overseas promotion of India for its ‘Incredible India’ campaign. The long-running, award-winning campaign—under the sub-head of overseas promotion and publicity and market development assistance—was left by the wayside this year, as the ministry shrank its allocation by 97% from last … Read more
New Delhi: Inclusive development and the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) growth agenda for the future have emerged as the central theme of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s interim budget for FY25. Social justice and inclusive growth will be an effective and necessary governance model for the NDA government, Sitharaman said in her speech, calling it secularism … Read more
One could read as a metaphor the finance minister’s reference to Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa’s well-fought battle with Magnus Carlson in her budget speech on Thursday. Ahead of the 2024 general election, finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman chose to place long-term welfarism over short-term populism, and in the process, delink the budget from the ballot. This strategy … Read more
The ₹1 trillion innovation fund announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the interim budget on Thursday is expected to give a big boost to local technology development and manufacturing, and help India move beyond providing high-tech services towards development of products, experts said. In her interim budget speech on Thursday, Sitharaman said the fund … Read more
New Delhi: The government’s keenness to promote rooftop solar installations comes through in the interim budget. Addressing a press conference after the budget, union finance secretary T.V. Somanathan said: “There is a provision of ₹10,000 crore for rooftop solar in the budget.” The move is expected to boost the ambitious goal of 500 gigawatts (GW) … Read more
In its latest budget presentation, the Narendra Modi-led government reaffirmed its commitment to bolstering capital expenditure (capex) and maintaining fiscal discipline, a strategic stance that has characterized its financial governance in recent years. The budget showcases a significant escalation in capex, which has almost tripled in the past four years, thereby becoming a cornerstone for … Read more
The finance minister presented a vote on account highlighting the government’s achievements in the last five years and laid the foundation for the budget post-election. The priorities for the government visible from the past budgets are infrastructure, investment, inclusive growth and fiscal prudence. The government, barring the covid shock, has achieved the impossible trinity of … Read more
In the course of preparing the budget, you have laid down a roadmap for a developed India. What are the key takeaways you intended for us? This process started before 8 October, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from Red Fort (on 15 August). We believe ‘Amrit Kaal’ as ‘Kartavya Kaal’ as well. … Read more