Chunk-HT-UI-IndiaBudget2013-TopStories

Around noon today, you could get some good news from finance minister P Chidambaram, who is expected to raise the income tax exemption limit from the current level of Rs. 2 lakh. Gaurav Choudhury reports.

In the first railway budget by a Congressman in 17 years, minister Pawan Kumar Bansal sought to walk a tightrope by combining political compulsions with fiscal prudence. Srinand Jha reports.
What is in it for you | Freight charge to push up prices | No hike in passenger fares 

Mobile e-ticketing, SMS alerts on train schedules, a new online ticketing system, free wifi, GPS-enabled passenger verification as Bansal turns away from Lalu's earthy solutions to technology to help passengers. Charu Sudan Kasturi reports. Railways take tech leap | Rail budget forward looking: PM  | Gaffes and barbs | Bansal’s budget: one size fits all

India's economy is on track on to record its worst growth in a decade, and that should serve as a wake-up call to revive reforms and remove obstacles to growth, the Economic Survey for the current fiscal year tabled in Parliament said on Wednesday. HT reports.

The budget has left personal income tax slabs unchanged, but finance minister P Chidambaram announced a minor relief for those at the lower end of the taxable bracket — a tax credit of Rs. 2,000 for those with annual incomes of up to Rs. 500,000.

Finance minister P Chidambaram may have good news for those stung by high medical and education expenses.

The UPA government is set to go all out to woo women in the coming budget with a slew of incentives including gender-oriented spending programmes, special savings schemes and greater tax exemptions. Gaurav Choudhury reports.

This week's budget should focus on keeping the fiscal belt tight, increasing infrastructure spending and boosting investor confidence. Abhijit Patnaik writes.

Finance minister P Chidambaram in his forthcoming budget is likely to give complete income tax (I-T) exemption for five years to micro and small enterprises (MSE) units, established by first generation entrepreneurs. Debobrat Ghose reports.

The government will face significant challenges on revenue mobilisation while formulating the budget for 2013. Not only does it have to support social schemes, there is significant non-plan expenditure as well. KR Sekar writes.

The Economic Survey to be tabled in Parliament today is likely to suggest a series of steps to arrest the declining GDP growth, which is estimated to be at the decade-low of 5% in the current fiscal. What is in it for you | Freight charge to push up prices

The govt is all set to double the allocation for schemes for protection of women in 2013-14 budget. This comes in the backdrop of nationwide protests demanding women safety. Moushumi Das Gupta reports.

Government can hope for a less turbulent budget session of parliament after Congress and BJP seemed to converge on key issues on Wednesday.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hinted that the budget 2013-14 would reflect the government’s bid to revive economy through fiscal management and some “difficult decisions”.