Union Budget 2013

• Union Budget 2013: Chidambaram outlines steps to boost infrastructure sector growth

  Union Budget 2013: In a move to allay industrys concerns that the governments austerity drive could crimp investments in crucial sectors like infrastructure, P Chidambaram said planned expenditure in the next financial year would be 29.4 per cent higher than the current year.

• No further hike in train reservation, cancellation charges: Pawan Bansal

  Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal made it clear on Friday that there will be no further hike in the near future in reservation or cancellation charges, though cross subsidy from freight to passenger segment has touched Rs 25,000 crore.

• No further hike in train reservation, cancellation charges: Pawan Bansal

  Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal made it clear on Friday that there will be no further hike in the near future in reservation or cancellation charges, though cross subsidy from freight to passenger segment has touched Rs 25,000 crore.

• Inflation must fall to 4-6 per cent; Budget may help: RBI

  India's high inflation must come down to a 4 to 6 per cent range, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday, noting full implementation of this year's Budget will have a "softening impact" on price growth.

• Hope RBI takes cue from Budget while deciding rates: Chidambaram

  The Finance Minister on Friday said he hopes the Reserve Bank will take into account the fiscal consolidation path shown in the Budget while taking a call on interest rate in its coming policy review on March 19.

• Diesel subsidy may have to be frozen to meet Budget numbers: Raghuram Rajan

  The government may have to freeze the diesel subsidy at the current level to protect the Budget numbers at some point in time, said Raghuram Rajan, chief economic advisor to the Finance Minister, while flagging concerns over the widening current account deficit.

• No rollback of duty hike on SUVs, says Chidambaram

  Virtually ruling out rollback of 3 per cent hike in excise duty on SUVs, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday assured India Inc that a clutch of decisions, mainly on indirect taxes, would be announced during the course of debate on budget and Finance Bill in Parliament.

• Week ahead: Right time to invest in stock markets

  The week ahead should see the stock market rebound as Finance Minister P Chidambaram has clarified on certain amendments in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius. Ambiguity on the same had sent the markets reeling under selling pressure on Budget day.

• Chidambaram to 'hangout' with netizens on Budget tomorrow

  Have a query on Budget 2013-14? You can directly ask Finance Minister P Chidambaram as he will take questions on all proposals tomorrow on Google Hangout-- a multi-person online video chat.

• No shame in high income, Chidambaram tells 'super rich'

  Two days after P. Chidambaram announced a 10 per cent surcharge on the income of individuals earning more than Rs. 1 crore in his Budget for 2013, the finance minister told NDTV's Vikram Chandra and Shweta Rajpal Kohli in an interview on Saturday that there is no shame in earning a high income, adding that all high income earners must declare their...

• Many more steps to boost economy soon: Chidambaram

  Two days after presenting Union Budget 2013, that has been described at best as balanced and pragmatic and at worst as disappointing and lacking substance, Finance Minister P Chidambaram spoke to NDTV's Vikram Chandra and Shweta Rajpal Kohli about the prospects for the Indian economy in the coming financial year (2013-14) and beyond.

• No unilateral revision of tax treaty with Mauritius: Chidambaram

  Finance Minister P Chidambaram today sought to allay investors' apprehensions on Tax Residency Certificate issue saying India will not unilaterally revise the double taxation avoidance treaty with Mauritius.

• Budget 13: Continuance of interest subvention scheme, other measures to boost agriculture

  The Finance Minister has tried to maintain sound fiscal management on one hand, while creating growth drivers for the agricultural sector at the same time. Here are some of the welcome steps being proposed to give agriculture sector a boost.

• Budget 2013: FM perfects the tightrope walk, balances banking sector expectations

  While some of the proposals in the Union Budget 2013 would have a positive effect on the banking sector, the budget on the whole appears to have evoked mixed reactions from the banking industry, if the bank index of the stock exchange is anything to go by.

• Budget 2013: No major reforms in indirect tax structure; custom, excise duties held steady

  As compared to Budget 2012-13, which ushered various changes in the area of indirect taxes like the introduction of the Negative list regime in service tax, Budget 2013-14 has not seen any major reforms in the tax structure. The basic rates of customs, excise and service tax have not been tinkered with nor has there been any significant addition t...