Khasi tribal farmers clean harvested paddy in a field along the Assam Meghalaya border, on the outskirts of Guwahati As part of a broad roadmap to achieve one of its duties (kartavya), govt on Sunday emphasised “targeted efforts” to increase farmers’ income through “productivity enhancement and entrepreneurship”, using cutting-edge technology, including multilingual AI tools, and…
NEW DELHI: Amid trade tensions, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday sought to address a long pending demand of the commerce department by allowing the sale of goods by eligible manufacturers in special economic zones (SEZs) to domestic tariff area on payment of duty at concessional rates.Sitharaman said that only a prescribed share of…
Indians are increasingly investing in real estate overseas. Even salaried individuals are doing so driven by factors like children studying abroad and investment diversification. For resident individuals, such purchases are governed by RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows outward remittances of up to $250,000 per person in a financial year. Families often pool individual…
The budget has announced a major overhaul in the taxation of share buybacks, shifting them from dividend taxation to the capital gains framework, while imposing a higher effective tax on promoters to curb misuse of the route. Once legislated, it will apply to buy backs after April 1.The silver linings: Many shareholders could end up…
Amid controversy over the Father of the Nation’s name being dropped from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the FM on Sunday announced the launch of Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj scheme to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts.“This will help in global market linkage and branding. It will streamline and support training, skilling, quality of process…
To ensure persons with disabilities (PwDs) get dignified livelihood opportunities and timely access to assistive devices, the govt on Sunday announced the ‘Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana’ and the ‘Divyang Sahara Yojana’.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the ‘kaushal yojana’ for livelihood and the ‘sahara yojana’ for assistive devices are “fundamental needs” for PwDs.Noting that IT, animation, visual…
Budget 2026’s proposal to restructure Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation has revived merger speculation. Sitharaman said govt wants public-sector NBFCs to scale up and cut costs, with clear credit and tech targets. As a first step, it plans to restructure PFC and REC to drive scale and efficiency.Both lenders carry heavy exposure to…
Employability In Focus, More Pulp For Orange Eco Signalling a shift in employment strategy, the Budget, instead of announcing how many jobs will be created, focuses on building conditions for sustainable work, with skilling, services and sector-led ecosystems emerging as core pillars. A high-powered education-employment-enterprise standing committee will map skill gaps, identify high-employment service sub-sectors…
Of 30 Index Stocks, 26 Close In Red At a time when global markets are witnessing high volatility due to geopolitical uncertainties, the hike in securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives trades hit investor sentiment on Dalal Street on the Budget day. This in turn led to a sharp sell-off that pulled the sensex down…
Buying property from an NRI? Worried about obtaining TAN? Not anymore. To relax the compliance burden, the Budget has proposed that resident individuals and HUFs need not have a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) if they are purchasing a property from a non-resident Indian (NRI). The amendment will take effect from Oct 1,…
