Budget 2013

The global crisis has affected the Indian economy too. In the midst of this crisis, the implementation of the Direct Tax Code (DTC) was postponed beyond the proposed date of April 2012.

The upcoming union budget should be focused on boosting private as well as the government's investment in infrastructure, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

The threat of a proposed hike in customs duty on gold that will make imports costlier is leading to a sharp buying of gold by bullion traders and stockists despite the near record high domestic prices of over Rs. 30,000 per 10 grams. Anupama Airy and Mahua Venkatesh reports.
All that glitters

Indian industry leaders on Wednesday urged finance minister P Chidambaram to not impose a tax on the 'super rich', and to maintain a stable tax regime to boost investor sentiments and capital inflows as the economy appears on track for its worst growth in 10-years. HT reports.
FM meets state FMs

To attract more takers and channelise insurance and pension funds as also household savings, finance minister P Chidambaram as part of his forthcoming budget proposals may allow state-owned IIFCL to stand as a guarantor for bonds floated by private infrastructure companies. Anupama Airy and Mahua Venkatesh report.
Bonding with the market

The imbroglio over allowing FDI in multi-brand retail seems set to spill over to the budget session of Parliament, Vikas Pathak reports.

The finance ministry is working towards an amicable resolution of the retrospective tax amendment issue that could provide some relief to British telecom giant Vodafone, which is facing a tax liability of Rs. 11,200 crore.

Struggling to meet its budgeted disinvestment target of Rs. 30,000 crore for the 2012-13, the government is set to fix an even higher target of over Rs. 40,000 crore for the next fiscal year. Mahua Venkatesh and Anupama Airy report.