New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s move to remove basic customs duties on flat panel displays, open-cell display components, and components of mobile phone circuit boards, camera modules and sensors, will help component suppliers enter India and localize their operations, said Union minister for information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. This, in turn, will attract more…
The Union Budget 2025 brought in several noteworthy changes to pension schemes to boost the financial security of retirees and spur more people into structured retirement planning. These changes aim at tax benefits, adjustments to standard deductions, and the introduction of new pension frameworks. Tax benefits for NPS Vatsalya scheme Extension of tax benefits under…
In a bid to improve productivity of different crops and bring them up to global benchmarks, the budget announced multiple schemes targeting crops like cotton, pulses and fruits and vegetables. To improve production and credit facilities for farmers in under-performing districts, the budget also announced a new scheme—Prime Minister Dhana Dhanya Krishi Yojana—which will be…
New Delhi: The Centre will infuse ₹33,757 crore in state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), according to the Union Budget for 2025-25. This capital infusion is down 53% from ₹72,027 crore in the revised final allocation for FY25. The company is expected to start generating strong annual growth in revenue, after a turnaround…
New Delhi: The customs duty rejig announced in the Union budget for FY26 lowers India’s average customs duty rate sharply from 11.65% to 10.66% and sends a positive signal to India’s trading partners like the US, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairperson Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said in a post-budget interview. The comments…
New Delhi: The Union government plans to raise the bar for benchmark reforms for states seeking access to its 50-year interest-free capital expenditure (capex) loans, aiming to drive deregulation and improve ease of doing business—a key focus of the latest budget – said Ajay Seth, secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). “As we…
The days of intrusive tax scrutiny and compliance enforcement are over and tax administration will be based purely on trust and greater reliance on data mining, Central Board of Direct Taxes chairperson Ravi Agrawal said in a post budget interview to Mint. Agarwal said that under the revamped new personal income tax regime, those with ₹24…
The government aims to expand the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, to 120 airports in the next 10 years. The scheme, launched in October 2016, covers 88 airports in underserved areas and has operationalised 619 routes. This number is set to swell to 739 operational routes. In her budget…
The know your customer (KYC) norms are set for an overhaul, signalling a move towards a central KYC or CKYC system that actually works. In the Union Budget 2025 announced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, the Centre announced the rollout of a revamped CKYC (central know your customer) registry, aiming to simplify…
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has followed a stable trajectory in all her Union Budgets since 2019. This year’s budget speech, though, was unusual in not mentioning allocations for specific Infrastructure sectors. The unsaid implication being – execute and implement existing projects in large sectors like highways and railways. Of the allocation to Infrastructure of an…
