Budget 2011-12 is a collage that has all the hallmarks of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the consummate political artist. Join the apparently disparate dots and you get a big picture that has elements of what we had expected - pushing financial inclusion, especially in rural and small-town India, controlling inflation, catalysing economic growth and laying down a roadmap to curb black money. HT reports.
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The 24% hike in the outlay for education announced in the union budget will not help the sector because what is needed is a change in mindset, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

Pranab Mukherjee’s announcements of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), an expanded information highway for colleges and attempts at improving farm sector health critically rely on technological infrastructure that India is desperately trying to put in place. Charu Sudan Kasturi reports. Must haves

Domestic passenger car and two-wheeler sales surged in February as customers advanced their purchases in anticipation of an increase in excise duties in the Union Budget that could have made cars and bikes costlier. HT reports.

Many real estate developers across India who do not have a presence in the affordable housing segment may foray if the “investment linked deduction” offered by the government on investment in the sector is substantial. Sachin Dave reports.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today alleged that railway minister Mamata Banerjee was "busy somewhere else forgetting" about the genuine needs of the his state.

I love my state and did nothing wrong by sanctioning projects for Bengal. My state was deprived for long, but I have been fair to all states,” said railway minister and Trinamool chief Mamataa Banerjee to a television channel on Friday just after her speech in Parliament.