07:43 (IST)
FM likely to increase spending to spur growth
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is likely to increase state spending on infrastructure on Saturday, aiming to get growth back up from its lowest in a decade. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to announce plans to spend over 102 trillion rupees (1.09 trillion pounds) on roads, ports, airports, irrigation and other infrastructure over the next five years.
These expectations were spurred after Krishnamurthy Subramanian, chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, said the government could push economic reforms to boost growth.
Experts say that the government spending has to target the rural economy and the unorganised sectors as it account for roughly 94 percent of India’s total employment and 45% of the country’s output, CNBC reported.
07:33 (IST)
Nirmala Sitharaman to present her second Budget today at 11 am
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Budget 2020 today - 1 February. This will be Sitharaman's second budget as finance minister. Sitharaman will present the Budget for fiscal 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha at 11 am.
This is the second Budget of the Narendra Modi government after it retained power for the second time in a row in the May 2019 general elections. Sitharaman was appointed the first full-time finance minister of the country. Indira Gandhi is the only woman who presented the Union Budget before her and that was in 1970.
Budget 2020 LIVE Updates: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Budget 2020 today - 1 February. This will be Sitharaman's second budget as finance minister.
Sitharaman will present the Budget for fiscal 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha at 11 am.
This is the second Budget of the Narendra Modi government after it retained power for the second time in a row in the May 2019 general elections. Sitharaman was appointed the first full-time finance minister of the country. Indira Gandhi is the only woman who presented the Union Budget before her and that was in 1970.
Till 2016, the Union Budget was presented on the last day of February every year. The Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government changed that practice in 2017 and started presenting the Budget from 1 February since then. Under the new practice, then finance minister Arun Jaitley had presented the Budget.
When and where to watch Union Budget 2020 Live?
The Union Budget 2020 live-stream can be watched online on Firstpost Live from the morning. Apart from this, the Budget Live is available on the Lok Sabha website as well. Doordarshan will also webcast the Union Budget Live on it's YouTube channel.
Expectations from Budget
Entire eyes are on Sitharaman when she will present the Budget on Saturday as the country is passing through a tough time in the wake of the ongoing economic slowdown that gripped the country nearly one year ago. It is expected that the government will declare measures that will accelerate economic growth and create employment, another area of major concern.
Adding the concerns of the government, the unemployment rate hit a 45-year high last year drawing flak from all sections of the country.
The salaried class expects that the finance minister will hike the ceiling of the personal income tax limit Rs 5 lakh this time. It is a prolonged demand from the employees. At present, the income tax limit is Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for the senior citizens.
Corporate India is expecting effective measures from the government that will boost demand and consumption, which is also under the grip of slow demand for the past around one year.
In September last year, the government slashed the income tax rate for companies by almost 10 percentage points to 25.17 percent. It also offered a lower rate to 17.01 percent for new manufacturing firms to boost the economic growth rate from a six-year low by incentivising investments to help create jobs.
Another sector that is reeling under crisis is the auto sector. Slump in demand has not only hit the automobile sector but the ancillary industry also. Several carmakers retrenched workers besides suspended operations several units to tide over the crisis situation in the past one year.
What is the Union Budget?
According to Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the Union Budget is the annual financial statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Central government for that particular financial year. The receipts and disbursements are shown under three parts in which the Government Accounts are kept, viz.,
(i) The Consolidated Fund of India,
(ii) The Contingency Fund of India, and
(iii) The Public Account of India.
The finance minister's Budget presentation speech has many parts. They pertain to various categories: Annual Financial Statement (AFS), Demand for Grants (DG), Appropriation Bill, Finance Bill, Macro-economic framework for the relevant financial year, Medium-Term fiscal policy and a strategy statement, Expenditure Profile, Expenditure Budget, Receipts Budget.
Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2020-21 here
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