Budget 2018: A 15-year, Rs 35.3-trillion plan to put Railways on track

BUDGET 2018 - The Indian Railways is working on a Rs 35.3-trillion investment plan by 2032, pushing up the capital expenditure for the ministry by around 92 per cent annually. Going by the ambitious vision, the average annual investment, including capacity addition and modernization, would touch around Rs 2.5 trillion, up from the Rs 1.31 trillion in 2017-18.

This long-term investment will also comprise the modernisation plan of ‘Vision 2030’ and also Rs 8.56-trillion investment target that former minister Suresh Prabhu had kicked off starting 2014-15. “The Indian Railways will require approximately Rs 35.3 trillion by 2032 to create the requisite capacity and modernize the system,” the ministry said in a report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Railways, under Piyush Goyal, has already started the work, aiming to achieve at least 4000 km electrification per year in the coming years.

The capex for Railways during 2015-16 and 2016-17 were Rs 935.2 billion and Rs 1.21 trillion, respectively, posting a significant increase in the recent years.

As per the latest plan, railways freight share may zoom from 33 per cent now to around 47 per cent. It has also set a target of increasing the passenger kilometre to 3.3 trillion PKM in 2030, from about 1.13 trillion PKM now. While the completion of dedicated freight corridors would segregate freight and passenger traffic on high density routes, speed of freight trains will increase from 25 km per hour (kmph) to 100 kmph.  

Budget 2018: FinMin could raise disinvestment target to Rs 1 trn

BUDGET 2018 - Buoyed with the aid of the success of this 12 months’s disinvestment programme, the Finance Ministry ought to set a fair better target of Rs 900 billion-1 trillion (Rs ninety,000-1,00,000 crore) for 2018-19. this may encompass the sale of Air India, a number of different privatization projects, mergers, initial public offerings, the centre’s two exchange-traded price range, buybacks and offers-for-sale, or even monetization of land belongings.

The budgeted estimate for 2017-18 is Rs 725 billion (Rs 72,500 crore), the very best ever for a year thus far. With the purchase of Hindustan Petroleum through ONGC predicted to be completed soon, that target could be easily outstripped. As of January 22, divestment proceeds stood at Rs 555 billion (Rs 55,500 crore). ONGC’s acquisition of HPCL’s fifty one in keeping with cent stake is valued at Rs 369 billion (Rs 36,900 crore). that could take divestment proceeds to Rs 925 billion (Rs ninety two,500 crore) for 2017-18.

the approaching 2018-19 budget, to be supplied by using Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while no longer anticipated to be outright populist, will nonetheless comprise sops and spot an increase in allocation across schemes and public expenditure. he'll require resources, and disinvestment is anticipated to be a chief one.

Budget 2018: Time's running out for Modi to shore up rural voters' support

BUDGET 2018 - More than 60 people in Dhamaka, a village of about 230 families some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from India’s capital New Delhi, have received notices threatening to auction their fields. Singh urgently wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to provide debt relief, better prices for his crops and jobs for his sons when it unveils the annual fiscal budget on Feb. 1.

“I don’t know how to escape from this crisis,” Singh, 62, said this month while showing the notice to immediately repay Rs 247,296 ($3,886) he owes to the bank. While he previously voted for Modi, he’s unsure who will get his vote in the next national poll due early next year.

Time is running out for Modi to shore up the support of rural voters who underpinned his rise to power in 2014, when he won India’s biggest mandate in three decades. The budget will be the last opportunity for him to announce significant fiscal measures that could win back villagers like Singh.

Budget 2018: How Jaitley can help recycling sector create millions of jobs

BUDGET 2018 - The Indian financial system is seeing a extensive-based totally improvement throughout numerous sectors and is on course for a sturdy increase. but, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley prepares finances 2018, the remaining full price range of the Narendra Modi led government earlier than the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, one foremost undertaking for the authorities in the Union finances 2018-19 could be making sure the advent of latest jobs and retaining the economic balance.

We agree with that the metal recycling and standard recycling industry can create tens of millions of jobs inside the country. The chinese authorities has put recycling as its pinnacle priority in its 5-yr Plan. It has created recycling parks and zones in the usa to enhance the industry.

via comparison, the recycling sector here in India has been neglected for a long term. now's time for our authorities to present a specific choice to the sector, which promises to not best keep the surroundings however also create thousands and thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

58% banks report rise in bad loans in July-December period, reveals Survey

BUDGET 2018 - The percentage of banks reporting a rise in non performing assets (NPAs) in July-December last year has reduced significantly, indicating stability in credit environment, according to a report.

The latest round of the Ficci-IBA survey drew responses from 19 public sector, private and foreign banks representing 59 per cent of the banking industry by asset size.

According to the survey, 58 per cent of the respondent banks reported a rise in NPAs, significantly lower than 80 per cent in the previous round. Infrastructure, metals and engineering goods were key contributors to the bad debt.

However, only 28 per cent banks reported a rise in the number of requests for the restructuring of loans as compared to 40 per cent in the previous round.

For the forthcoming Union Budget, the banks demanded full tax deduction on the NPA provisioning; reduction in corporate tax rate; and accelerated investments in infrastructure sector.

"Most of the responding banks have suggested reduction in corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, lowering of MAT rate to 15 per cent and enhancing tax deductions and exemptions for individuals. This should boost credit demand at both corporate and retail level," said Ficci on the report.

Budget 2018: Cut Deficit, Lift Capex - Next Year's Budget Goal

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to deliver mostly good news on fiscal consolidation when he unveils next year’s budget on Feb. 1. The government is set to overshoot its deficit target in the current year through March, largely due to lower dividend payments from the central bank. The proposed Budget 2018 for fiscal 2019 though, will look better -- for deficit reduction and investment plans.

The consensus view is that Jaitley has to choose between two competing goals: either purse its aim to cut the deficit to 3% of GDP, or boost investment needed to spur growth and reduce bottlenecks in the economy -- not both. Bloomberg Economics’ view is that the trade-off isn’t so stark. Sales of government-owned assets and increased revenue from goods and services tax reform mean Jaitley should be able to net sufficient revenue to meet both objectives.

BE expects the budget deficit to come in at 3.4% of GDP in fiscal 2018, down from 3.5% in the previous year. That would exceed the government’s target of 3.2%, reflecting lower-than-expected revenue as demonetization squeezed profits of the Reserve Bank of India and the GST dented growth. That would still be within a relaxed limit of 3.5% of GDP afforded by a review committee that gave the government more wiggle room on account of those major structural reforms. And for the year starting in April, the government should be able to stick to its original target for a deficit of 3% of GDP, as the reforms clear the way for faster growth and stricter compliance -- improving tax buoyancy.

Budget 2018: This is why Maharashtra's drought woes are likely to continue

BUDGET 2018 - In lots of approaches, the Lendi irrigation project near the Andhra Pradesh-Maharashtra border continues to be a prime example of the excruciating delays which have plagued irrigation projects in India.

Conceived in 1987, this predominant irrigation project turned into to be completed in 1992. The assignment involved constructing a dam on the Lendi river to shop over 6 trillion cubic metres of water before it joined the Manjira river, a tributary of the Godavari, the most important river of peninsular India. The mission being completed by using the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation improvement employer Ltd became at the beginning envisaged to be constructed on the price of half a billion rupees. but in 2016, government similarly pushed the completion date to 2020 with a revised price of Rs 14 billion. If the challenge is completed after 28 years of delay, it'll be part of 16 different such irrigation tasks in Maharashtra that have been placing fire for over  decades. a lot of these projects are inside the excessive drought-hit regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada in the state.

This shouldn’t were lots of a bother for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who receives set to give his government’s final full-fledged finances on February 1, 2018. however the truth that such behind schedule tasks dot Maharashtra could truly rankle the finance minister. records sourced from his ministry indicates that these multi-decade delays in finishing minor and major irrigation tasks throughout Maharashtra have value the government a whole lot of cash through the years. Out of a total of 29 irrigation tasks underneath construction in the country, 16 are delayed with huge time lags. these tasks that ought to have been completed at an expected cost of Rs 9 billion will now end up costing more than Rs 50 billion. And the destiny of those anticipated to be commissioned in 2018 nevertheless stays doubtful.

Budget 2018 must address these key issues to boost investment in infra

As India's Finance Minister is days away from presenting Budget 2018, there are two key issues that he must address to boost investment and growth in the country. They are: Non-tax revenues from land bank monetisation of public institutions, and full tax-exempt status for income from debt instruments issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) in India.

The budget must pay attention to non-tax sources of revenues especially with a view to partially monetising the land banks of large public institutions such as the Indian Railways and the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

Land bank monetisation solves two core problems for India -- lack of available land for infrastructure and lack of financing for infrastructure. It also leads to productive use of an asset of great value that is lying idle. Land utilised for infrastructure will be land that will be used for productive purposes and therefore will create jobs, a much-needed requirement for a young and growing population.

Budget 2018: Steps to Stimulate the Manufacturing Sector

India’s recent soar of 30 positions on the benefit of doing commercial enterprise ranking via the sector financial institution is surely a welcome fashion. but nonetheless tons has to be completed; further reduce in pink tape, taking up hard reforms and identifying and disposing of bottlenecks are just a number of the steps which might be had to further cement India’s position as a beneficial and possible funding destination. A vibrant manufacturing zone is a need to for a vibrant economy and finances 2018 affords the FM with a completely unique opportunity to similarly push for reforms and improve the producing area. inside the past the government has said that it desires and expects 25% of the India’s GDP to come back from the producing sector via the year 2022, up from the current 16%. also under the PM Narendra Modi's Make in India scheme the authorities expects that the manufacturing sector will create 10 crore jobs by 2020. although in India the manufacturing sector has grown over the years but the growth has been slower while compared to the opponents within the neighborhood. by way of 2020, it's far expected that India will become the 5th largest manufacturing hub within the world. For India's production quarter to compete and outshine the likes of China a whole lot work will be required by way of the government within the Budget 2018-19.

Union Budget 2018: Impact on Smartphones in India

BUDGET 2018 - The complete state has their eyes set at the fifth and last complete-fledged Union finances in Narendra Modi’s government to be offered in Lok Sabha. This Union budget might be offered on February 1, 2018, via Mr. Arun Jaitley, our Finance Minister. This Union price range has a whole lot of significance as it's miles provided after two huge financial decisions made in Mr. Modi’s government- Demonetization and GST. The previous yr’s finances was also very unique as railway price range and fashionable finances have been offered on the same day.

every body is watching for a few statement to be made about their respective area on this Union price range. there may be anticipation that cellular telephones might also come to be inexpensive after February 1, 2018.

Union finances 2018: Smartphones to move inexpensive?
cellular phones are seen in each not unusual man’s possession, in particular teens. children is looking ahead to inexpensive handsets for use. The CEO and Director of COMIO Smartphones, Sanjay Kalirona stated that the GST must be decreased from 12%-five% and offer tax reductions to promote the mobile enterprise market in India. This have to assist in making mobiles less costly to the common man, specifically youngsters. all the industrialists are searching as much as Union finances’s help for applicable budgetary allocation for the boom of the cellular industry.

What startups want from Budget

BUDGET 2018 - The Indian economy is amongst the sector’s quickest-growing economies. This together with government’s persevered efforts to improve the benefit of enterprise has caused a begin-up revolution in India. The year 2017 witnessed funding of $13.7 billion across 820 offers in startups! but, the Indian startup surroundings still lags in the back of its peers in Silicon Valley and Israel.
The achievement of those startups largely relies upon on authorities policies, regulations and guidelines. With finances 2018 simply around the corner, there is lots on each startup’s want list.

access to smooth credit
The government had earlier installation a fund of Rs. 10,000 crore to offer financial assistance to startups. The authorities had also formulated a credit score guarantee fund with a corpus of Rs. 2000 crore to permit startups to elevate collateral loose loans up to Rs. 500 lakh per case. however those funds aren’t sufficient. on the ground degree, securing credit score remains now not very smooth for sparkling startups. there's a demand of the task plan and great documentation in conjunction with ensures and once in a while collateral too. price range 2018 can remedy this example through:

• Expediting the status quo of credit guarantee fund.
• establishing banks that particularly cater to disbursal of loans and financial management of startups.
• The government also can authorize a few nationalized and few private banks to feature verticals that solely service necessities of startups.

Budget 2018: Eyes on Arun Jaitley's announcements for rural sector

BUDGET 2018 - As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gets right down to supply his 5th annual price range for the 2018-19 economic 12 months, all eyes will be on his announcements for the rural sector which is going via a downturn inside the previous few years.  consecutive droughts at the side of a sharp fall in earning have became agriculture unprofitable ensuing in big agitations in several components of the united states of america.

in line with some estimates, in the 2017 Kharif season on my own, an envisioned Rs 360 billion has been denied to farmers for no longer being capable of sell their produce on the state-mandated minimal help price (MSP). the autumn in farm incomes now not only threatens to dent the ruling BJP electorally but could also enhance a large query mark on the government’s promise to double earning through 2022.

on this attitude, enterprise fashionable looks at budgetary allocation for agriculture and allied sectors within the past few years below the UPA and primary years of the NDA together with agriculture increase in the course of these years.

The budget allocation for Ministry of Agriculture and allied activities, which includes the departments of agriculture studies and animal husbandry, has grown with the aid of 114% seeing that 2010-11, with a large bounce coming from 2016-17 after the authorities started including the expenditure incurred on hobby subvention on brief-term crop loans underneath the Ministry of Agriculture.

Budget 2018: Managers want Arun Jaitley to align tax cycle to calendar year

A Deloitte survey of pre-Budget 2018 expectations of managers on non-public income tax indicates that most provide a thumbs-up to aligning the tax 12 months with the calendar yr. Jurisdiction-unfastened e-assessment of tax returns, a gradual discount in private tax charges in keeping with modifications to the company tax structure and more suitable tax breaks for education of kids are among different key price range 2018 demands from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Indian managers are keen to align the tax 12 months (April-March) with the calendar year (January-December), notwithstanding probabilities of initial hardships. In a survey of round 700-odd managers, a majority of respondents (eighty four in keeping with cent) need the Indian tax year to be modified from the financial year to the calendar 12 months. a bit over half (52 in keeping with cent) are in favour of bringing agricultural profits beneath the tax ambit. interestingly, one-1/3 of the respondents (33 in line with cent) did no longer conform to tax on agriculture income.

near -thirds (sixty four in keeping with cent) of the respondents gave an equivocal thumbs-as much as the concept of jurisdiction-unfastened e-evaluation. E-assessments are visible as a part of the tax branch's endeavour to expedite and simplify evaluation proceedings, lessen the taxpayer's inconvenience and stamp out corruption. but, 20 in keeping with cent of the respondents believe that this pass could not be beneficial. The ultimate sixteen consistent with cent aren't certain if this move could be of any help.

Budget 2018: Fear of outright populism overdone, say analysts

The contemporary market rally a month before the BUDGET 2018 proposals are introduced on February 1 is the satisfactory in over a decade, with the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices gaining over six in keeping with cent so far in calendar yr 2018 and crossing the 36,000- and eleven,000-levels, respectively, for the first time ever on Tuesday.

though most analysts do no longer anticipate the proposals to be hugely populist, brokerages might keep a close watch on how the government manages the fiscal scenario a 12 months earlier than the u . s . goes to polls scheduled in may additionally 2019, and modifications, if any, to the prevailing norms of long-time period capital profits tax (LTCG) on equities.

at the same time as analysts peg the financial deficit for FY19 to be round three.2 per cent, any trade to the LTCG tax structure on equities will be a sentiment damper, analysts say. accelerated allocation for infrastructure including lower priced housing, roads, railways, and ports is likewise feasible.

Budget 2018: Oil ministry seeks cut in excise duty on petrol, diesel

India's oil ministry is pushing for a cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel in the approaching Budget 2018 to cushion the impact of growing oil prices on its good sized customer base,  oil ministry officials advised Reuters on Monday.

prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces elections in key states later this year, and a nationwide election in early 2019, has confronted strain over a upward push in retail prices of petrol and diesel to a report stage.

India has the very best retail costs of petrol and diesel among South Asian international locations as taxes account for about forty-50 percentage of the pump expenses.

A litre of petrol prices seventy two.23 rupees ($1.thirteen) while diesel is offered at 63.01 rupees. Petrol and diesel account for approximately 1/2 of India's subtle gas consumption.

"we can simplest advise. it's far as much as the finance ministry to take a choice," a senior oil ministry authentic said.

A cut in excise obligation on petrol and diesel inside the finances, because of be unveiled on Feb. 1, would pose challenges as the government is suffering to tackle a widening fiscal gap amid falling tax revenues due to the implementation of a goods and services tax (GST) regime from July.

In 2016/17, the petroleum sector contributed round five.2 trillion rupees ($81 billion), about a 3rd of overall sales receipts, for federal and country finances.

India raised excise obligation nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up federal finances as international oil charges fell, but then cut the tax closing October via 2 rupees a litre.

Budget 2018: Disinvestment dept asked to bring Rs 1 trillion before March

The disinvestment branch has been told to deliver a sum of Rs 1 trillion to the Budget 2018 table for FY18. clean from the fulfillment of crossing the once a year disinvestment goal for the primary time, the finance ministry feels the branch ought to be capable of attain the sum through March 2018. “We have been informed to make use of the buoyant marketplace situations to reach the magic discern,” a source within the recognise of the trends told enterprise standard.

Over the weekend, kingdom-owned Oil and natural fuel agency (ONGC) has offered out the complete fifty one in line with cent authorities stake in downstream Hindustan Petroleum employer Ltd for Rs 369.15 billion. With this sale, the entire income from disinvestment inside the economic year FY18 will attain Rs 912.fifty three billion. The budget estimate for sell-off for the yr had stood at Rs 750 billion, which the branch under disinvestment secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta has handsomely exceeded.

The awesome numbers will are available handy for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to hew close to the budgeted monetary deficit quantity of 3.2 in step with cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY18. The ministry has been underneath stress to fulfill its fiscal math because the collections from the goods and services Tax (GST), brought in July this monetary year, has so far consistently fallen brief of target. A enterprise preferred document on Monday cited that the centre might need to elevate every other Rs 4.2 trillion thru oblique taxes to meet its goal of Rs nine.26 trillion for the economic yr in four months.

The disinvestment department, also part of the finance ministry, has to line up a few brief sales in these months to raise an extra Rs 88 billion inside the revised budget estimate to the touch the Rs 1-trillion mark. it's miles understood that the department would love to do parcels of small promote-offs than any large ones. Their contemporary overall performance is already far in advance in their fulfillment in the previous financial year. In FY17 the Centre had raised Rs 462.forty seven billion after revising down its finances estimate of Rs 565 billion.

Budget 2018: Fiscal deficit number to be close to target of 3.2% of GDP

BUDGET 2018 - whilst Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents the 2018-19 Union budget on February 1, he might also announce a economic deficit number for 2017-18 pretty near the target of three.2 consistent with cent of gross home product (GDP) in spite of extra borrowing, better-than-predicted spending on flagship schemes, and projected shortfall in the products and services tax (GST) and spectrum sales.

Accounting for the primary advance Estimates for 2017-18, an extra planned borrowing of Rs 200 billion, the monetary deficit ought to come in at 3.35 according to cent of GDP. but even that may be negated and the monetary deficit be brought down to meet the finances Estimates, if Rs 2 hundred billion is not withdrawn from the country wide Small financial savings Scheme, analysts say.

To ensure there is no substantial deviation from the economic goal, the finance ministry is working on three fronts: Asking returned unspent allocations from different departments or reducing the gross budgetary support (GBS); sporting forward positive spending gadgets, along with subsidy bills; and similarly dispensing integrated GST court cases among the Centre and states.

Budget 2018: Rs 30 bn for 1.2 mn CCTVs in all 11,000 trains, 8,500 stations

BUDGET 2018 - In its endeavour to provide a safe and secure travel experience to passengers, India Railways is pitching for the procurement of about 1.2 million CCTV cameras to ensure state-of-the-art surveillance systems in all trains and stations across the country.

The Railways will make a provision of around Rs 30 billion (Rs 3,000 crore) in its budget for 2018-19 to install CCTV systems in all 11,000 trains — including premier and suburban services — and all the 8,500 stations in the Indian rail network, to provide safety and security at rail premises.

As per the plan, while each coach will have eight CCTV cameras covering the entry gates, aisle and vestibules, all crucial points at stations will have the systems.

Currently, there are about 395 stations and about 50 trains that are equipped with CCTV systems.

"All mail/express and premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and local passenger services, will be equipped with the modern surveillance systems in the next two years," said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Railways is exploring various options to fund the installation of the CCTV surveillance systems and may even raise resources from the market if needed.

Given the increased number of derailments last year, the Rail Budget this time is slated to give top priority to safety and prevention of accidents — followed by improving passenger amenities to make the journey pleasant.

For Budget 2018, FM Arun Jaitely skip WEF 2018 summit at Davos

BUDGET 2018 - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley changed into scheduled to be one of the key speakers on the India-precise sessions at the arena economic discussion board (WEF) in Davos, but he's going to now not be journeying to the Swiss town. A finance ministry source said the exchange in plan changed into because the FM become needed in New Delhi to devote time to the finances.

aside from top Minister Narendra Modi, Jaitley turned into to be one of the six Union ministers scheduled to wait the WEF. The FM became in advance scheduled to be in Davos on January 24 to participate in the key “usa approach dialogue on India”. commerce and industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and herbal gasoline Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were to enroll in Jaitley on this session.

sources showed the alternate in the FM’s itinerary slightly 24-hours after the Ministry of external Affairs (MEA) had held a press conference on Friday to announce that Jaitley would be visiting to Davos.

PM Modi may be in Davos from January 22 to 23. he's slated to deal with the inaugural plenary consultation and is also scheduled to satisfy 60 of the arena’s topmost enterprise leaders and leader government officials at a dinner on January 22.

Modi is the first Indian PM given that H D Deve Gowda in 1997 to wait the WEF. Jaitley will present the Union price range, the fifth and very last one of the current the government, on February 1.

Budget 2018: Animal rights body wants funds for cow shelters, grazing land

With the Union budget 2018 simply days away, an animal rights body has asked the government to allocate price range for a host of animal troubles, inclusive of for upkeep of gaushalas and improvement of grazing land.

Spelling out their expectancies from the budget, the Federation of Indian Animal protection enterprises (FIAPO) has also demanded elevated budget for avenue animal care through the Animal Welfare Board of India, amongst others.

Varda Mehrotra, Director of FIAPOa, urged the authorities to allocate unique budget for going for walks animal beginning manipulate programmes for puppies, funds for regulating slaughterhouses and for setting up and proper functioning of state Animal Welfare forums.

Mehrotra stated there are nearly four,000 gaushalas which are practical throughout the us of a but just a few (maintained with the aid of non secular sects or individuals) are in top circumstance.

"some of the not unusual issues determined in gaushalas consist of overcrowding, insufficient feed, insufficient clinical interest, communicable illnesses being unfold to other wholesome animals through infected air/water/feed, and so on. The authorities desires to allocate price range for better preservation of gaushalas given that they presently house animals that no longer give milk," he said in a statement.

Budget 2018 to be historical; Railways' capital investment to triple: Goyal

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that the approaching BUDGET 2018 might be historical for Railways and capital funding plans had been anticipated to boom by using three times.

"The capital funding plans of the Indian Railways are expected to nearly triple between 2013-14, the last 12 months of the Congress authorities, and 2018-19, the final 12 months of the first time period of our authorities. the imminent price range will (be) ancient for Railway," Goyal instructed ANI.

"top Minister Modi and his government were devoted to development. the first 4 Budgets had also focused at the fast improvement of the u . s . a .. This price range could be no extraordinary, it's going to focus on the nicely being of the humans of India... each phase of human beings of India. it will likely be targeted on development, correct governance," stated Goyal.

Goyal also said that the Mumbai nearby train might quickly be made over and all problems would be solved inside the coming five years.

"i am a Mumbaikar myself. I completely recognize the expectancies of Mumbaikars from finances and my dream might be to offer pleasant centers to them. Our experiment of AC local train changed into a brilliant achievement. 40-seven more AC neighborhood trains were ordered. To expand the Suburban Mumbai Railways is our dream, ardour," the minister brought.

earlier within the day, as part of the ritual, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley accomplished the symbolic 'Halwa ceremony' in advance of the Parliament's finances consultation, starting off on January 29.

Budget 2018: Arun Jaitley likely to address Sebi, RBI boards on Feb 10

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is probably to address the forums of markets regulator Sebi and Reserve financial institution on February 10, a senior reputable said.

quickly after the presentation of Union budget, it is a standard exercise for the finance minister to address the boards of the Securities and alternate Board of India (Sebi) and the Reserve bank of India (RBI).

The finances for 2018-19, which might additionally be the closing complete BUDGET 2018 by using the existing NDA authorities, is scheduled to be supplied on February 1.

A senior regulatory professional stated the finance minister is probably to deal with the boards of Sebi and RBI on February 10, especially on topics associated with the budget.

in advance, a leading inventory brokers' institution the association of country wide Exchanges members of India (Anmi) had counseled the government should reduce GST on brokerages to 12 according to cent as well as scrap taxes on securities transactions and dividends.

publish GST, the burden of taxation on the transaction expenses has expanded, the grouping had stated in a representation to the finance ministry.

It had requested the ministry to get rid of the securities transaction tax and abolish dividend tax for boom of the capital markets.

in keeping with the Anmi, the STT plays a unfavourable function in enhancing liquidity and creation of depth in Indian capital market.

Union Budget 2018 to bring income tax cheer? Here's why this EY survey thinks so

The government is likely to tweak income tax slabs and rates in Budget 2018-19 to bring down the burden on individuals, while there is unlikely to be any change in the current taxation of dividends, according to a survey by EY.

In a pre-Budget survey by tax consultant EY, a wide majority of 69 per cent of the respondents felt that the threshold limits for taxation would increase further in order to boost disposable income in the hands of the people.

About 59 per cent of the respondents were of the view that multiple outdated deductions would be replaced with a standard deduction in order to reduce the tax burden of employees.

The survey includes the views of 150 CFOs, tax heads, and senior finance professionals and was conducted in January.

About 48 per cent of the respondents said they expect the finance minister to lower corporate tax rate to 25 per cent but the surcharge would continue.

Most of the respondents (65 per cent) do not anticipate a change in the current taxation of dividends at this stage. About 24 per cent of the respondents feel that with a view to lowering the overall burden on the corporate sector, the government may lower the rate to 10 per cent.

"The pre-Budget 2018 EY Survey with business decision makers reveals a consensus amongst India Inc for stability and consistency in tax policies and a moderate tax structure. There seems to be little expectation of any major direct tax overhaul after the transformative introduction of GST earlier in the year," EY India National Tax Leader Sudhir Kapadia said. 

PM Modi indicates Budget 2018 may not be populist, open to more changes in GST

With barely 10 days for the presentation of the fifth and final Budget of the current term of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated it might not be populist.

In an interview to the Times Now television channel, telecast on Sunday evening, the PM said he was open to more changes in the goods and services tax (GST). Its implementation was a collective exercise involving ruling and opposition parties; he accused those having termed it a ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ of “insulting" Parliament.

The PM also rejected criticism of providing jobless growth, saying "lies" were being spread about employment generation and furnished data from a recent study to say seven million jobs have been created. However, he acknowledged farm distress. He said it was the responsibility of central and state governments to identify and address farmer issues.

Modi also pledged his government would stay the course on reforms that had pulled out India from being among the 'fragile five' economies of the world to being a 'bright spot'.

In the interview, telecast on the eve of his leaving for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum meet, the PM said it was a myth that common people expected “freebies and sops” from a government. He was asked if the final full Budget 2018 of his government would be a populist one, given that the Lok Sabha election was nearing. “Those who have seen me as the chief minister (of Gujarat) and also as the prime minister (would know) the common man does not want all these things. It is a myth," he said.

Budget 2018: Disinvestment dept asked to bring Rs 1 trillion before March

The disinvestment department has been told to bring a sum of Rs 1 trillion to the Budget 2018 table for FY18. Fresh from the success of crossing the annual disinvestment target for the first time, the finance ministry feels the department should be able to reach the sum by March 2018. “We have been told to make use of the buoyant market conditions to reach the magic figure,” a source in the know of the developments told Business Standard.

Over the weekend, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has bought out the entire 51 per cent government stake in downstream Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd for Rs 369.15 billion. With this sale, the total earnings from disinvestment in the financial year FY18 will reach Rs 912.53 billion. The Budget estimate for sell-off for the year had stood at Rs 750 billion, which the department under disinvestment secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta has handsomely exceeded.

The impressive numbers will come in handy for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to hew close to the budgeted fiscal deficit number of 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY18. The ministry has been under pressure to meet its fiscal math since the collections from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced in July this financial year, has so far consistently fallen short of target. A Business Standard report on Monday noted that the centre would need to raise another Rs 4.2 trillion through indirect taxes to meet its target of Rs 9.26 trillion for the financial year in four months.

The disinvestment department, also part of the finance ministry, has to line up some quick sales in these months to raise an additional Rs 88 billion in the revised Budget estimate to touch the Rs 1-trillion mark. It is understood that the department would like to do parcels of small sell-offs than any large ones. Their current performance is already far ahead of their achievement in the previous financial year. In FY17 the Centre had raised Rs 462.47 billion after revising down its Budget estimate of Rs 565 billion.

Jaitley should contain fiscal deficit in Budget 2018: Noted economist

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must attempt to attain the economic deficit target and take more steps to put in force initiatives correctly inside the imminent budget, referred to US-primarily based economist T N Srinivasan has cautioned.

Srinivasan, the Samuel C Park Jr Professor Emeritus of Economics at Yale college, similarly stated there's no economic idea to hyperlink activity losses to demonetisation and implementation of the products and services Tax (GST).

"I anticipate him to comprise the monetary deficit as some distance as he can, take in addition steps to put into effect projects correctly and on time," he informed PTI.

The government is aiming to contain monetary deficit for the modern-day monetary at 3.2 in line with cent of GDP.

Jaitley is scheduled to give the Union price range for BUDGET 2018-19 on February 1.

asked to comment on concerns in India about job losses because of demonetisation and GST rollout, Srinivasan, who at one point taught RBI Governor Urjit Patel, stated, "there is no economic principle linking the two.

Budget 2018: Expect rural boost, relief for middle class through tax cut

We count on Budget 2018 to provide a boost to consumption via higher allocation for rural-orientated schemes. a few remedy for middle-class via a reduce in tax fees/better exemptions for tax savings can not be dominated out both, given that this is the closing full budget before the overall elections 2019. the focus on infrastructure spending to revive the capex cycle ought to see higher allocations for roads, railways, power programmes. We additionally assume a few rest of financial deficit objectives as this is the primary 12 months of transformational and disruptive reform like GST. however, universal the waft course for financial consolidation must maintain inside the medium term.
area-smart expectations from Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities:
Banks
* extended incentives and budgetary allocation to encourage flow of credit score to MSMEs.
* Inclusion of a much broader income variety below lower priced housing schemes and in addition incentives to builders for the identical
* Incentives for long term challenge financing via banks with consciousness on roads and railways
* greater readability over recapitalisation bonds for state owned banks’
* discount in the tenure for interest tax unfastened deposits from 5 years to three years
* Digitisation tasks including special awareness on promoting UPI based payments across a broader platform

NBFCs
* as a way to deliver a boost to cheap housing, the government may announce steps to make land acquisition easier for low-cost housing builders
* PMAY allocation was raised from INR150b in FY17 to Rs 230 billion in FY18. We count on extended allocation for the same.
* If there's any announcement of better import duty on gold, it is able to effect gold expenses and in turn gold financing groups
* Exemption limit for hobby deductible for housing loans united states of america24 for tax calculation reason may growth from the current degree of INR0.2m
* Infrastructure bonds can be reintroduced for increasing the allocation closer to infra spending

At pre-Budget 2018 meet, states flag drop in revenue on GST roll out

At the pre-Budget 2018 consultations of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with state finance ministers on Thursday, ministers representing state governments run by Congress, Left parties and regional parties flagged the revenue drop faced by states after the goods and services tax (GST) roll out and flagged agrarian distress.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who represented the Janata Dal (United)-Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government in his state, demanded more central assistance for key schemes and revise wages for unskilled workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He suggested the Centre advance the fiscal year to start from January 1, and increase income tax exemption limit from Rs 250,000 to Rs 300,000.

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal asked the Centre to announce a farm debt waiver for the entire country on the lines of the one announced by the Congress government in Punjab.

Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac flagged the revenue drop and resource crunch that state governments have faced after the GST rollout, which has impacted the socio-economic spending capacities of states.

Isaac said the Centre has increased central excise by Rs 8 per litre on diesel between 2015 to 2017, and reduced it recently only by Rs 2 per litre. He said none of the states have substantially increased the rate of tax on diesel. Isaac said that in this context it was "unfair" on the part of the Centre to ask the states to reduce the rate of tax when most of the states were faced with financial crisis because of uncertainties related to revenue that accrued to them on the implementation of the GST. He asked the Centre to strictly implement the anti-profiteering measures in the GST. He said any effort to bring stamp duty, one of the few taxes that states can raise, under the ambit of the GST would be "unconstitutional".

FY19 growth at 7.1%, Budget unlikely to be populist: India Ratings

BUDGET 2018 - India Ratings and Research on Thursday projected the country's economic growth to improve to 7.1 per cent next financial year from 6.5 per cent this year, buoyed by robust consumer demand and low commodity prices.

In its outlook for 2018-19, the agency said there will be a gradual pick up in growth momentum owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in place.

"While the implementation of GST is likely to benefit the economy over the medium to long-term, the same cannot be said about the impact of demonetisation," India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra), a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, said.

Ind-Ra expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 7.1 per cent year-on-year in 2018-19, it said.

The projection is a tad lower than 7.4 per cent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for next financial year.

Ind-Ra said but for demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST) implementation, growth would not have decelerated to 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 and 6.5 per cent in 2017-18.

With the global crude prices firming up, Ind-Ra expects retail and wholesale inflation to come in at 4.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively in 2018-19, indicating an end to the current rate cut cycle.

GST rate cut: From diamonds to used cars, here's full list of revised items

Two weeks ahead of Budget 2018, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Thursday cut rates on 83 employment-oriented goods and services, in a bid to encourage greater compliance as revenues have dipped since the landmark reform was announced in July. The panel, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising representatives of all states, at its 25th meeting decided to reduce tax rate on 29 items and 54 categories of services with effect from January 25. Businesses have raised concerns about high rates of taxation and cumbersome processes in GST, billed as India's biggest tax reform in 70 years.

The goods on which GST will be lowered include biofuel-run buses, used motor vehicles and diamonds and precious stones.

Here's the complete list:
List of goods on which GST rate recommended for reduction from 28% to 18%
Old and used motor vehicles on the margin of the supplier, subject to the condition that no input tax credit of central excise duty/value added tax or GST paid on such vehicles has been availed by him.
Buses, for use in public transport, which exclusively run on bio-fuels.
List of goods on which GST rate recommended for reduction from 18% to 12%
Sugar boiled confectionary Drinking water packed in 20 litters bottles Fertilizer grade Phosphoric acid Bio-diesel Bio-pesticides Bamboo wood building joinery Drip irrigation system including laterals, sprinklers Mechanical Sprayer
List of goods on which GST rate recommended for reduction from 18% to 5%
Tamarind Kernel Powder Mehendi paste in cones LPG supplied for supply to household domestic consumers

List of goods on which GST rate recommended for reduction from 12% to 5%
Articles of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerwork
List of goods on which GST rate recommended for reduction from 3% to 0.25%
Diamonds and precious stones
List of goods on which GST will not be charged
Vibhuti Parts and accessories for manufacture of hearing aids De-oiled rice bran

Budget 2018: Easier GST to industry tag, will FM gift these to real estate?

BUDGET 2018 - The year 2017 was a landmark one in terms of policy directives. The real estate market witnessed a temporary setback on account of reforms like Real Estate (Development & Regulation) Act (RERA) and Goods and Services Tax (GST). However, after withstanding the aberrations, the market now seems to be settling down to the changes, which are envisioned to bring long-term benefits. The New Year has started with hopes of a market revival, especially on the back of positive policy roll-outs in the upcoming Union Budget 2018-19.
Every year, the Union Budget presents an opportunity to the government to work towards the revival of Indian real estate and address the looming concerns that afflict various stakeholders. Budget 2017 doled out several benefits such as infrastructure status to the affordable housing segment and lower interest rates for loans up to Rs 12 lakh, but 2018 awaits resilient steps to kick start the recovery phase.
The Indian realty industry stands at the cusp of restoration and announcements of reformatory measures to address high land costs, unsold inventory and tedious approval processes are instrumental for the turnaround of the sector.
In 2018, stringent action is required for renewal. Certain initiatives towards reviving the sector are critical in the short term. Here are some of them:

* Industry status: This is a long-pending demand of the real estate sector which is considered vital for its expansion. Accordance of an industry status will extend subsidies and tax exemptions that are required to uplift the sector. Availability of easier and cheaper funds to the real estate developers will be a major booster for the market. 

Budget 2018: Real estate wants infra status widened beyond affordable homes

In the year 2017, we saw the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) and the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA). The twin policy moves, in addition to the lingering effects of the demonetisation exercise of late 2016, had an adverse impact in the short run on real estate sale and the overall economy.

However, these moves also brought about consolidation and transparency in the sector. Now, in the Budget 2018, the last full Budget 2018 of the present government before the general elections of 2019, we hope Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will – after granting infrastructure status to affordable housing – also spread this benefit to the entire real estate sector. Also, considering the cost of homes in cities, the rebate on home loans must be increased and tax exemptions be given. On the supply side, the government should incentivise builders to undertake more projects in the affordable housing segment.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) provides that if a private developer promotes affordable housing on its own land, the allottee should get all the benefits prescribed in the scheme. However, other segments like grant to the individual houses in un-planned settlements and grants to the local bodies in upgrading the units are considered, and local bodies are made to promote such projects – the main area being affordable housing which may get a boost. However, the supply line in the housing market has been almost ignored so far. The resources of the vast workplace of disciplined private developers need to be utilised better by making the process liberal and free from bureaucratic complexities.

Budget 2018: Time for India to build skills via enabling education infra

At a time when India is poised to become the fastest-growing economy in the world in the year 2018, it is imperative for the country to ensure the development of requisite skills to reap its demographic dividend advantage. And, in this, Budget 2018 could play a very important role.

To achieve the building of skills, there is a need to gear our education system to focus on learning outcomes and teachers’ training which are key to capacity building.

For India to be able to leverage its strengths and opportunities on a global scale, it needs to undertake significant reforms and investments in building education and skills, strengthening its innovation system, promoting English as a life skill and further bolstering its information infrastructure.

As Finance Minister Jaitley prepares to present Union Budget 2018-19, the last full Budget of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in its first term, we hope that a significant amount of attention would be paid to the need for building education infrastructure.

To create and sustain an effective knowledge economy, India must undertake systemic integration of education reforms to strengthen its competitive advantage. In this Budget, we hope that the government will give prominence to increasing quality of higher education and overall quality of schooling. We also hope that the government will continue to promote e-learning through digitisation in education which will encourage the youth of the country to shift to digital platforms for advanced learning.

Budget 2018: Govt may raise health spending by 11%, less than requested

BUDGET 2018 - India is poised to raise its public health spending by 11 per cent in the annual budget next month, after rejecting Health Minister JP Nadda's demand for a much bigger increase to ramp up disease control, according to government sources and documents.

Nadda sought a "bare minimum" budget of nearly $10 billion for 2018-19, which is 33 per cent higher than last year, in a letter to the finance minister on Nov. 26, which Reuters has reviewed.

Nadda argued the funds were needed for expanding vaccination coverage, free drugs distribution, and also to ward off a growing threat of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, which killed 6 million people in India in 2016.

His request was not approved: the health budget is expected to rise by 11 per cent to $8.2 billion, three government officials told Reuters. They declined to be named or be identified further as the discussions were confidential.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year set a target of raising annual health spending to 2.5 percent of India's GDP by 2025, from 1.15 percent now - one of the lowest proportions in the world.

The health budget this year will put that pledge at risk.

"What's the point of having a (2025) GDP target? With this funding, it still looks like a herculean task," said one of the officials interviewed.

Budget 2018: Unfair to judge me on demonetisation and GST only, says Modi

BUDGET 2018 - Countering the allegation that his government had reneged on the promise of creating 10 million jobs a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a recent study showing seven million jobs had been created in the formal sector alone in the current financial year.

“This data of seven million jobs is not like building castles in the air. It has been calculated by an independent agency on the basis of EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) figures,” Modi said in a television interview, days before leaving for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum meet.

One should also count the opportunities that were being created in the informal sector, he added.

“As many as 100 million people have taken loans from the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana without any bank guarantee. Loans to the tune of Rs 4 trillion have been disbursed. New entrepreneurs are being created. Won’t you count these figures as job creation?” he asked.

“One can counter these figures on the political lines, but these numbers are not based on just wishful thinking,” he said. “We are on the right track so far as job creation is concerned.”

According to a study authored by SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh and IIM Bangalore professor Pulak Ghosh, 590,000 jobs had been generated every month until November in the current financial year. This means that seven million jobs will be created in the formal sector in 2017-18 if one expands the trend on a pro-rata basis.

The study, titled “Towards a Payroll Reporting in India”, calculated the number of jobs in enterprises from the membership of the EPFO, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, the General Provident Fund, and the National Pension System (NPS). So far as data from the EPFO is concerned, the study estimated that 3.68 million jobs were generated till November of FY18, which would imply 5.5 million in the entire year. This would be higher than the 4.5 million created the previous financial year, a period which saw disruption from demonetisation.

When asked as to what kind of Budget, the last full one of the Narendra  Modi government, it will be, the prime minister said the mantra of his government was development. “Whether this is the last Budget or the first Budget, whether there are elections or not, the mantra of Modi is only development, development and development. The mantra of the Bharatiya Janata Party is only development. Sabka sath, sabka vikas (Cooperation from all, development for all).”

As GST revenues fall, Jaitley to fight evasion with these two weapons

 BUDGET 2018 - While Thursday's Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet concluded with some cause for cheer after 83 employment-oriented goods and services saw their rates cut and the Council was reported to be moving towards one form to file returns, indications and statements emerging from the meet also pointed towards a tougher stance on the government's part as far as GST compliance is concerned.
Looking to plug gaps and curb tax evasion, the government could bring in a reverse-charge mechanism (RCM) under the composition scheme. In fact, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has gone as far as to reportedly threaten as much.

As reported earlier, GST collections have been coming down and reached a low of Rs 800 billion in November.
Owing to the lack of any anti-evasion measures in the current system, GST revenues are subdued. As reported earlier, the biggest concern emerged from the composition scheme, which yielded just Rs 3 billion in the first quarter from 1.7 million dealers.

According to reports, over 40 of the law review committee's recommendations have also received in-principle acceptance. Subsequently, amendments would be moved during the second half of the Budget 2018 session.
Government to use two anti-evasion tools:
The government, according to reports, is set to tighten the noose. Here are the two tools it intends to use:
1) Reverse-charge mechanism: According to a Times of India report, the government aims to increase its GST collections by nearly 25 per cent. How will it achieve this feat? According to the report, the government will crack the whip on tax evaders from April by bringing back the RCM, which will serve as an anti-tax evasion measure and allow authorities to keep a track of transactions.
As reported earlier, the composition scheme yielded just Rs 3 billion in the first quarter from 1.7 million dealers. In fact, 500,000 persons have shown annual turnover less than Rs 500,000.

Budget 2018: Custom duty rejig may make smartphones, gadgets costlier

Make in India is set to get a major boost in Budget 2018 through a customs duty rejig, according to a report. However, these measures are likely to pinch customers' pocket as they could make imported high-end mobile phones and electronic goods expensive. Basic customs duty may be imposed on components such as printed circuit boards, camera modules and displays that are allowed duty-free entry now.

Custom duty rejig in Budget 2018

Customs Duty may be revised on certain other selected goods. Through this, the government can address inverted duty structures—finished goods facing lower duty than the inputs that go into them.

Post implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), customs duty is the only levy which still falls under the central government's domain.

In December 2017, the government had raised basic customs duty levied on imported mobile phones to 15 per cent, up from the 10 per cent, which it had levied earlier on July 1 last year.

The government has imposed 15%  basic customs duty on mobile phones and parts like charger, headsets, battery and USB cable with immediate effect to boost domestic manufacturing.

However, this decision drew flak from tax experts.

"With BCD exemptions available under FTA as well, their impact will also require a separate evaluation on Make in India initiative," Rahul Shukla, executive director, indirect tax at PwC, told Economics Times.

Make in India programme

As part of the Make in India programme, the government is planning to make India a manufacturing hub rather than a destination where goods are assembled. The engineering sector in India attracts immense interest from foreign players as it enjoys a comparative advantage in terms of manufacturing costs, technology and innovation.

Today, Indian manufacturing companies in several sectors are targeting global markets and are becoming formidable global competitors.

Budget 2018: Auto industry seeks reforms to improve better infra, logistics

Union Budget 2018 would play a crucial role in determining the growth trajectory of the industry and the economy at the same time. To put a cap on inflation and ensure a balanced economy, my Budget expectation is that the finance minister would look at reining in fiscal deficit below 3.2 per cent. I hope that the Budget will have a greater focus on growth-oriented measures than populist schemes.

To facilitate industrial growth and promote ‘Make in India’, there need to be reforms that would improve the quality of infrastructure and logistics, such as wider roads, modernisation of ports, railways and airports.

To make the business scenario more conducive, it is important that the rationalisation of corporation tax continues in line with the pre-defined road map.

There should be reforms to prioritise increasing farmers’ incomes in the country for productive agricultural growth. To build a globally competitive manufacturing sector in the country, investment in ‘Skill India’ is also imperative. Higher education and training quality need enhanced focus in Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget reforms.

To promote growth of the auto industry, the Narendra Modi government should aim at more long-term policies so as to lower the effect of Budget tinkering and bring long-term stability.  Considering the critical issue of environmental pollution, we hope the government will relax tax rates in favour of clean and green technologies, such as strong hybrids similar to pre-GST era.

Budget 2018: Reeling under dwindling exports, AEPC seeks several relief

BUDGET 2018 - Reeling from a continued fall in export growth and marginal refunds on the goods and services tax (GST), the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has written to the government, seeking 12-15 types of relief. They want the duty drawback and the refund of state levies (ROSL) to be restored to pre-GST levels, and also exemptions from the new indirect tax for exporters.

Growth of apparel exports has clocked a negative 39 per cent, 11 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, in October, November and December last year, according to H K L Magu, chairman, AEPC.

Now, in the run-up to the Union Budget, the export body has sought incentives from the government, to boost exports. It wants the duty drawback on cotton apparels to be restored to pre-GST rates of 7.5 per cent and the ROSL of 3.5 per cent. They also want to be exempted from 18 per cent GST for air freight.

After the GST roll-out last year, the duty drawback fell to 2 per cent; ROSL to 1.5 per cent on cotton apparels, and 2.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, on different man-made apparels.

Till September, when the previous rates were applicable, apparel exports grew in double-digits. However, October onwards, exports began taking a hit.

“We have been asking the government to support apparel exporters to survive. There have been blockages of funds between July and December; hardly anybody got GST refunds. Dollar weakened to be valued at Rs 63. We have become uncompetitive; Bangladesh has begun cashing in on this,” said Magu.

He added, “The government did take notice of the impact. Hence, in the mid-term review, the merchandise export incentive scheme was increased from 2 per cent to 4 per cent. However, more steps are needed to revive the industry.

Budget 2018: Elections or not, my mantra is development, says Narendra Modi

BUDGET 2018 - Countering the allegation that his government had reneged on the promise of creating 10 million jobs a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a recent study showing seven million jobs had been created in the formal sector alone in the current financial year.

“This data of seven million jobs is not like building castles in the air. It has been calculated by an independent agency on the basis of EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) figures,” Modi said in a television interview, days before leaving for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum meet.

One should also count the opportunities that were being created in the informal sector, he added.

“As many as 100 million people have taken loans from the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana without any bank guarantee. Loans to the tune of Rs 4 trillion have been disbursed. New entrepreneurs are being created. Won’t you count these figures as job creation?” he asked.

“One can counter these figures on the political lines, but these numbers are not based on just wishful thinking,” he said. “We are on the right track so far as job creation is concerned.”

According to a study authored by SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh and IIM Bangalore professor Pulak Ghosh, 590,000 jobs had been generated every month until November in the current financial year. This means that seven million jobs will be created in the formal sector in 2017-18 if one expands the trend on a pro-rata basis.

Budget 2018: Know your savings if FM Jaitley changes tax exemption limit

There have been reports that Union Budget 2018 could bring a huge relief for the middle class, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley increasing the personal tax exemption limit and tweaking tax slabs. This is the last full Budget of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govt in its present term.

The finance inistry has received proposals that the tax exemption limit should be increased to at least Rs 300,000 per year, if not Rs 500,000, from the existing Rs 250,000.

A tinkering of the tax slab, should that happen, would also give a substantial relief to the middle-income group, especially the salaried class, which has been hit by the impact of retail inflation lately.

Business Standard takes a look at the likely scenarios of a change in the personal income tax exemption limit and how your wallet would be impacted in each of those scenarios.

Budget 2018: From FDI to unified market, challenges ahead for retail sector

BUDGET 2018 - Key challenges
Multiplicity of laws & regulations governing the sector
Lack of industry status for retail
Lack of clarity and understanding of regulations/guidelines governing online retail trading leading to ambiguities and hurdles for the e-commerce sector
Lack of access to organised funding, especially to small retailers

retail budget Source: Strategy&/PwC ResearchWhat industry wants

National Retail Policy: A single retail policy will help streamline various laws and regulations affecting the retail sector
Unified National Market: To be globally competitive, India needs to adopt a ‘unified market’ approach to the retail sector – minimise licences required and establish a system of single-window clearance. The game-changing GST will help
Rationalisation of FDI: While the government has given the necessary push to ‘Make in India’ in food retail, it would help if non-food ‘Make in India’ retail category can also witness a liberalised FDI policy
SBRT and MBRT: The SBRT and MBRT frameworks need to be defined in the FDI policy. Divisions could be on the basis of nature or formats of retail
Industry status: This will improve access to funding to MSME retailers, especially amid high pressure with growing competition from organised retail and e-commerce

 Akash Gupt, partner and leader regulatory services, PwC India
PwC POINT OF VIEW

Akash Gupt, partner and leader regulatory services, PwC India

We look forward to a national policy for retail to complement growth of various channels
It will provide the right stimulus to both domestic and foreign investments in the sector.
A conducive regulatory environment for offline and online retailers will help build ‘New India’, benefiting consumers, industry and economy at large

GST Council may lower rates for farm gear, electric vehicles next week

The GST Council may take up rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) rates for a handful of items at its meeting next week. These items include bio-diesel buses, electric vehicles and irrigation equipment.

The GST Council meeting will be its last one before the presentation of the Union Budget 2018 on February 1.

The relatively small list for rate reduction was finalised by the fitment committee earlier this week and may be taken up by the GST Council, which is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprises state finance ministers.

“The items qualifying for rate reduction in the upcoming meeting have been picked with an objective of giving a push to agriculture and clean energy. Other items in the 28 per cent tax slab will not be taken up this time with revenues yet to stabilise,” said an official.

The rate for irrigation equipment may be reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent, while that for bio-diesel vehicles and electric vehicles from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

Budget 2018: Govt likely to increase agri-research allocation by up to 15%

The government is likely to increase the budget allocation for farm education, research and extension by up to 15 per cent to around Rs 80 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) in 2018-19 fiscal as the focus will on making rapid strides in doubling farmers' income, sources said.

The Union Budget 2018 will be presented on February 1.

"There has been a minimum 10 per cent annual increase in the budget allocation for agri-education, research and extension purpose in last few years. We hope 15 per cent higher budget allocation would be made available for the DARE (Department of Agricultural Research and Education) for the next financial year," the sources said.

The funds will be used on priority areas with an aim to address the country's key farm sector problem and make rapid strides in the direction of doubling farmers' income through the use of technology and innovation, the sources added.

In the next fiscal, the DARE is planning to focus on using technology and agri-innovations in particularly 150 backward districts and build capacity of farmers in tribal areas.

It is also considering initiating programmes on use of sensors in agriculture, build and transfer post-harvest technology, use of animal cloning for commercial application, genome editing in select crops and bio-fortification.