Key takeaways from Finance Minister’s ‘Amrit Kaal’ budge speech

News Network

February 1, 2023

New Delhi, Feb 1: Presenting her fifth annual Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the government is adopting seven priorities to guide India through the Amrit Kaal. Major announcements for taxpayers were also made in the Budget.

"The budget adopts following seven priorities -- inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector," the Finance Minister said. Amrit Kaal is described by the government as the 25-year period culminating in the centenary of India's independence. The finance minister said seven priorities of the budget complement each other.

She said four transformative opportunities can be used in Amrit Kaal for enhancing economic empowerment.

Here are the highlights of the Budget Speech:

* The FM proposed to increase income tax rebate limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh under the new tax regime

* The new tax rates are 0 to Rs 3 lakhs - nil, Rs 3 to 6 lakhs - 5%, Rs 6 to 9 Lakhs - 10%, Rs 9 to 12 Lakhs - 15%, Rs 12 to 15 Lakhs - 20% and above 15 Lakhs - 30% under the new tax regime

* An individual with annual income of Rs 9 lakh will have to pay only Rs 45,000 as tax as opposed to Rs 60,000 earlier, she said.

* Outlay for capital spending increased 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore in FY24

* The capex allocation is higher than the Rs 7.5 lakh crore budgeted for in the previous year and the highest on record

* Budget allocations increased to Rs 79,000 crore for affordable housing in FY24 under the PM Awaas Yojana

* Rs 35,000 crore to be provided for energy transition

* The FM proposed a cut in customs duty on lab-grown diamonds

* Incentives to replace old, polluting vehicles used by the central and state governments also proposed by teh government

* Revamped scheme for credit guarantee for small and medium businesses from April 1

* Collateral free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore under revamped scheme to be provided

* Increase in public capex key to crowding in private investments

* Integrated IT portal will be set up for reclaiming unclaimed shares and dividends

* Govt proposes to cap deductions from capital gains on investments in residential houses to Rs 10 cr

* Highest surcharge rate reduced from 37% to 25% in new tax regime

* Taxes on cigarettes hiked by 16%

* Basic customs duty hiked on articles made from gold bars

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‘Israel’s sole objective is erasing entire Palestinian presence’

News Network

November 21,2024

Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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