Common Man's Budget

Aamir: Govt should focus on education in budget

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today said the Union Government should focus on education and nutrition in the budget. "The budget should focus more on children, on their nutrition and education. It is important that they (children) get good education," Aamir told reporters here today.

The Union budget would be presented on the coming Friday. "Education is an important sector and teachers contribute in building children's future. They (government) must focus on education and more on primary education. I want government to provide good quality education," he said.

When asked about his views on entertainment tax, Aamir said, "I don't want any reduction in that...all I expect is focus on education and nutrition."

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Income Tax: Businesses fear more taxes in Budget 2012

India's businesses, already facing high interest rates and a global economic slowdown, worry that the finance ministry will ask them to shoulder a bigger tax burden in the budget set for release on Friday to trim the fiscal deficit. After a drubbing in recent state elections, the government has little room to cut subsidies costing 2.5% of GDP. But without fiscal consolidation, the Reserve Bank of India will have a...  

Axe the Tax: CNN-IBN presents tax wishlist to Pranab

CNN-IBN's Axe the Tax campaign took your tax wishlist to the Finance Minister - with the six taxes that you want the Government to axe. ...

Budget 2012: what the health sector hopes from FM

Health sector in India has seen some of the most dramatic growth stories in the past decade. Ranging from improved health care facilities to low cost treatment, the success of the health sector has been primarily driven by private enterprise. There has been a huge improvement in the R & D facilities in the nation. The pharmaceutical segment has also registered phenomenal upward movement. However all this has not happened...  

Budget: Will education get a big push from the FM?

There are many innovative and helpful developments in the Indian education sector since the past 4-5 years. The government of India has been putting consistent efforts to strengthen the sector as a whole and to improve the quality by private-public partnerships and through IT-based education. In the union budget 2011-2012, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allocated Rs 52,057 crore for this sector alone. A favourable budget allocation is expected this year...  

Budget 2012: Dear FM, please go easy on students

Students do not have it easy as education loans do not come cheap. This year, the student community is hoping that exemptions against education loans are extended to 10 years from the current 8 years. Education qualifications to a great extent shape the careers of students. However, today coaching classes and private tuitions have started having a major impact on their educational excellence. Hence students are hoping that service tax...  

KPMG: What salaried people can expect from Budget

New Delhi: Individual looks forward to Budget with just one question " will it increase my 'take home pay'? Let's look at the most anticipated changes in this year's Budget which will have a direct impact on this question. Increase in slab rates The rationalisation of tax slabs in line with the proposed Direct Tax Code (DTC) would help the common man. Increase in the minimum exemption limit to Rs...  

CNN-IBN presents Axe The Tax proposals to Pranab

New Delhi: CNN-IBN presented Axe The Tax proposals to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who will present the Union Budget on March 16, on Tuesday. Axe the Tax proposals are those s taxes which the common man wants to be modified or abolished. The Axe The Tax for financial year 2012-13 include six proposals. The first point is raising of savings exemption limit under Section 80C which is currently Rs 1,20,000...  

Budget 2012: Raise tax revenues, says OXFAM CEO

OXFAM CEO Nisha Agrawal also says that the Government needs to spend on things that reach to poor people. ...

Amend tax laws for senior citizens: 70-yr-old to FM

Kolkata: A senior citizen Manik Dabriwal wants tax laws to be amended so that citizens above the age of 60 years can claim deductions on the medical insurance premium paid by dependents. Manik, a 70-year-old businessman, spends his days catching up on the news that is something he didn't have time for when he was young. In his twilight years, Manik hopes to reap the benefit of his age, as...  

Does the FM have the space to push reforms, restore confidence?

It may be difficult for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to push through big ticket reforms. ...

Budget: Pharma Cos call for infra to healthcare

By Ranjit Shahani As 16 March draws close, Indian healthcare is once again at the crossroads waiting with bated breath for the Union Budget in the hope that it will provide the necessary impetus to the pharmaceutical industry. Announcing Infrastructure status for Healthcare would be just what the doctor ordered. The reality is that rural and semi-urban India lacks even the most basic healthcare infrastructure. Since setting up facilities in...  

'If I were FM, I would raise the tax exemption limit'

CNN-IBN travels across the country to know what the country wants from the Finance Minister this budget. ...

Remove tax on clubbable income: Jaipur hotelier to FM

Jaipur: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the Budget on March 16. A hotelier from Jaipur Prithvi Singh from Jaipur requests the Fiance Minister to remove the tax on clubbable income provision from the Income Tax Act. It's a week short of Prithvi and Pratibha Singh's 16th wedding anniversary and Prithvi wants to gift his wife something special. She wishes for a part of heritage property to do something of...  

'If I were FM, I would allot more money for Arts students'

CNN-IBN has been travelling across the country and speaking to citizens about what they want from the finance minister this year. ...

'If I were FM, budget would be more investment friendly'

CNN-IBN travels across the country to know what the country wants from the Finance Minister this budget. ...

Budget: Increase tax breaks, says House panel

New Delhi: With just a week left before the Union Budget for the year 2012 is announced, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Direct Taxes has recommended major tax reforms, including a raise in the tax exemption limit for annual income up to Rs 3 lakh. The panel has also recommended some changes in the tax rate on various income groups, ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent. According...  

'If I were FM, I would decrease oil prices'

CNN-IBN travels across the country to know what the country wants from the Finance Minister this budget. ...

Budget 2012: Aam Aadmi wants to save more

New Delhi: Tax experts have always been advising us to save for our retirement and for our family, and all the savings can even help us save on income tax. But is the government encouraging us to put away enough? Many Indians want to be able to save much more. Anya, who is a school going kid, is too young to know what inflation is, but it will impact her...  

Budget 2012: Populism may trump reforms

New Delhi: The Congress party's drubbing in assembly elections proved beyond doubt that its populist politics failed to resonate with voters, and yet investors and consumers alike are bracing for more of the same from the besieged ruling party. Hemmed in by maverick allies and the fallout from a slew of corruption scandals, the Congress party-led central government has failed to carry out any meaningful structural reforms since it was...