Rate hopes fuel Budget rally, Sensex hits 4-month high

Mumbai, Feb 6 (PTI) The Budget-induced optimism got a leg to stand on as the Sensex today pushed higher for the fourth day by scoring 199 points to close at 28,439 -- a 4-month high -- after hopes built up that RBI might go in for a rate cut at the Wednesday's policy meet.

The NSE Nifty retook the crucial 8,800-mark today.

At its last policy review in December, RBI in a surprise move had decided to leave rates unchanged, but this time a lower retail inflation and fiscal discipline as shown in the Budget have prompted calls for RBI to remain accommodative.

Global leads aligned as most Asian shares ended higher, tracking weekend gains in the US on better-than-expected jump in US jobs and a move by President Donald Trump to cut back financial regulations, accelerating buying pace by investors.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 198.76 points, or 0.70 per cent at 28,439.28, its highest closing since September 23 last year when it had closed at 28,668.22. Intra-day, it sprang to a high of 28,487.28.

The gauge had rallied 584.56 points in the previous three sessions after the presentation of the Budget on February 1.

The NSE Nifty regained control of the 8,800-mark and added 60.10 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 8,801.05 at the close. On September 23, the index finished at 8,831.55.

"Markets continued to be buoyant on the expectation of rate cut by RBI and positive global cues. We are seeing continuation of rally in the rate sensitive sectors led by reality, banks and FMCG which were also supported by Budget related sops," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Major European indices stayed in the positive zone, too.

Data showed that foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 353.84 crore last Friday, adding to the level of optimism.

The rupee appreciated for the 9th straight day to trade at a fresh 2-1/2 month high of 67.14 (intra-day) against the dollar, keeping the overall mood upbeat.

A good 22 stocks in the 30-share Sensex pack advanced while 8 turned lower.

Sun Pharma led the charge by surging 4.20 per cent while ICICI Bank zoomed 3.18 per cent.

Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ITC Ltd, HUL, GAIL, NTPC, Asian Paints, Wipro, RIL, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and L&T supported the ongoing bull run.

BSE realty jumped the most (up 1.90 per cent) followed by FMCG (1.28 per cent), healthcare (1.27 per cent) and consumer durables (1.27 per cent).

Broader markets remained in the green too, with the mid-cap index advancing 1.10 per cent and small-cap 0.88 per cent.

Realty stocks continued their upward journey, buoyed by the infrastructure status to affordable housing in the Budget 2017-18 to encourage investment in the segment, which offered tax sops to developers to complete unsold inventories.

In the realty space, HDIL soared 7.80 per cent, Godrej Properties surged 3.32 per cent, Prestige Estates Projects 2.83 per cent and DLF 1.32 per cent.

Asian shares, led by Hong Kong, closed higher.

In Europe, London's FTSE was up 0.23 per cent and Paris CAC 40 0.14 per cent while Frankfurt edged down 0.14 per cent.

SC to give verdict in one week in Jaya DA case

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) In a verdict that can have implications for Sasikala, who is set to take over as chief minister, the Supreme Court today indicated it could give its judgement on the appeals challenging the acquittal of late Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate assets case, also involving her.

A bench headed by Justice P C Ghose asked senior advocate Dushyant Dave representing Karnataka to wait for one week after he made a mention before it regarding the delay in pronouncement of the verdict.

Dave said that they have been waiting for the judgement for quite some time and requested the bench to pronounce it soon.

The apex court had last year, before the demise of Jayalalithaa, reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the order of her acquittal of the Karnataka High Court.

Sasikala, a shadow of Jayalalithaa for nearly three decades, is set to become the chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as the AIADMK Legislature Party yesterday elected her as its leader, over a month after she became the party's powerful General Secretary.

In case the Supreme Court upholds the lower court order convicting Sasikala and others, she may have to step down from the post she is likely to take oveR.

Sasikala elected leader by AIADMK MLAs, set to be CM

Chennai, Feb 5 (PTI) V K Sasikala, shadow of Jayalalithaa for nearly three decades, was today set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as the AIADMK Legislature Party elected her as its leader, over a month after she became the party's powerful General Secretary.

She is expected to be sworn-in as the third Chief Minister of the state within two months on Tuesday.

The name of 62-year-old Sasikala as AIADMK Legislature Party leader was proposed by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at a meeting of party MLAs at the party headquarters here.

The MLAs unanimously elected her as their leader, enabling her to take over the reins from Panneerselvam.

Soon after, 'Chinnamma' Sasikala drove to the party headquarters where she was greeted by Panneerselvam and senior party leaders.

Prior to the party meeting on a day of fast-pased developments, Panneerselvam visited the Poes Garden Residence to meet Sasikala.

"It was Panneerselvam who had first persuaded me to become the Chief Minister and General Secretary as well when Jayalalithaa passed away," Sasikala told party legislators in her acceptance speech.

She said the development has come "shattering the expectation of our political opponents that there will be a split in the party after the demise of our Amma (Jayalalithaa)."

Sasikala had a special word of praise for the Panneerselvam, stating "whenever the party faced tough times and whenever there were difficulties in Amma becoming the Chief Minister, it was our dear brother Panneerselvam who has been loyal."

Sasikala said the AIADMK would strive for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu.

With her elevation, which comes over a month after she took charge as AIADMK General Secretary on December 31, Sasikala carries on the legacy of Jayalalithaa, who also held the two posts allowing her to wield complete control on the government and the party. .

Punjab, Goa vote heavily in assembly polls

Chandigarh/Panaji, Feb 3 (PTI) Punjab and Goa on Saturday voted heavily with an estimated 70 per cent and a record-breaking 83 per cent turnout as the first round of assembly elections in five states concluded by and large peacefully, Election Commission said

Traditional rivals BJP and Congress are locked in a keen electoral battle in the two states where Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has made its maiden foray in the assembly elections, seeking to play a killjoy for the two major contenders for power

It is the first outing for Aam Aadmi Party in assembly elections outside Delhi where it rules with an overwhelming majority in the state assembly and all eyes will be on it to see if it can upset the applicart of the two major national parties

BJP is in government in Punjab in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for two successive terms, while it also helms Goa, despite ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party having drifted away just after the announcement of elections to form a three-party combine

The elections to Punjab and Goa, which will be followed by those in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, beginning later this month and spilling over to March, are being billed as a major test of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity post-demonetisation

Barring minor skirmishes and technical glitches in EVMs and Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines which delayed voting for some time, polling passed off peacefully in Punjab where nearly 79 per cent electors had cast their votes in the 2012 polls

In Punjab, where SAD-BJP alliance has been in power for the past decade, today's polling will decide the fate of a number of political bigwigs, including 89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, seeking a sixth term in office, his old political rival and Congress' CM face Amarinder Singh, who has declared it will be his last election, and Badal's son and deputy Sukhbir

Badar Sr. is locked in a keen battle with Amarinder for the Lambi seat, the pocket borough of the Badals. Amarinder, the scion of Patiala royal family, is also in the fray from his home town where ready to give him a run for his money is the former army chief J J Singh of SAD

Stand up comedian and AAP MP from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, who is a probable candidate for chief ministership if the party wins the election, is crossing swords with Sukhbir in Jalalabad. Navjot Singh Sidhu, the voluble cricketer-turned- politician, who quit BJP to join Congress just ahead of the polls, is trying his luck from Amritsar East seat, part of his former parliamentary constituency Amritsar

The other prominent candidates include Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehragagga), Indian Youth Congress Chief Raja Amarinder Singh Warring (Gidderbaha), Badal's estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal on Congress ticket (Bathinda Urban)

Goa registered a record 83 per cent voter turnout with no incidents of violence and very little technical problem reported in the EVMs and VVPAT machines. In the 2012 assembly elections, Goa had recorded an impressive 81.8 per cent voting

Goa, where chief ministership has been as fickle as the loyalties of its political leaders, today's vote will decide the fate among others of five former CM's, besides incumbent Laxmikant Parsekar

While Ravi Naik, Digambar Kamat, Pratapsinh Rane and Luizinho Faleiro are in the fray as Congress nominees, Churchill Alemao is contesting on NCP ticket. The electoral fate of AAP's chief ministerial face Elvis Gomes, a former bureaucrat, will also be decided.

Hope to take GST legislations to Parliament this session: FM

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) Keen to rollout the Goods and Services Tax by July, the government plans to take the supporting legislations to Parliament next month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

While the all-powerful GST Council has already decided on a four-slab tax structure for the indirect tax regime, the levy for different goods and services will be decided by May or June.

Jaitley said he hopes to get Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) draft legislations approved at the next GST Council meeting on February 18 and bring them in the second half of ongoing Budget Session. It will reconvene on March 9 after a month long break and continue till April 12.

"Now the main policy issues (with regard to CGST and IGST) over 9 meetings have been put to rest. Final drafts are now being prepared and once they are circulated with the legally vetted language, those drafts will have to then go to Parliament and state legislature (for SGST) for approval.

"We will meet on 18th of this month. Hopefully, my target currently is to finalise those drafts and take them in the second part of the budget session in Parliament," Jaitley said at a post-Budget meet with industry chambers.

While the CGST will subsume central taxes of excise, central sales tax and service tax, IGST is to be charged on movement of goods and services from one state to another.

States will also have to pass SGST or State Goods and Service Tax. Also, a GST Compensation Act needs to be approved by Parliament to provide for compensation to states that lose revenue from implementation of GST in first five years.

"One parallel exercise is fitment of various commodities in to the rate structure for that the officer have to meet," Jaitley said.

The GST Council has fixed the four-tier structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 percent.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said a good or service will be put in a slab which is closest to the current rate at taxes.

"As far as fitment of rate is concerned there are four slabs. The present incidence of VAT plus excise duty, or VAT plus service tax it whatever is the incidence, the slab closer to that is the slab where it will fall," he said.

Also, there will be few items of exception which will go to the GST Council for discussion, he said. "We hope to complete the process of final rules and laws by 31st of March, rates can be decided even in the month of May or June.

US slaps new sanctions on Iranian entities after missile test

Washington, Feb 3 (PTI) The US today slapped more than two dozen Iranian entities with sanctions, two days after the Islamic republic dismissed President Donald Trump's warnings over its latest missile test as baseless and provocative.

The announcement also comes a day after Trump put Iran "on notice" for its alleged destabilising behaviour and carrying out ballistic missile test in violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls on Tehran not to test missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.

The ballistic missile launch was the first by Iran since Trump became president.

According to reports, Iran's missile test occurred at a well-known site outside Semnan, about 225 km east of Tehran.

The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the multiple entities and individuals slapped with sanctions were involved in procuring technology and materials to support Iran's ballistic missile programme, as well as for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

"This action reflects the United States' commitment to enforcing sanctions on Iran with respect to its ballistic missile program and destabilising activities in the region and is fully consistent with the United States' commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," the Treasury said.

"Iran's continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide, and to the United States," said John E Smith, Acting Director at the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

"Today's action is part of Treasury's ongoing efforts to counter Iranian malign activity abroad that is outside the scope of the JCPOA," he added.

The Treasury said OFAC designated several networks and supporters of Iran's ballistic missile procurement, including a critical Iranian procurement agent and eight individuals and entities in his Iran - and China-based network, an Iranian procurement company and its Gulf-based network, and five individuals and entities that are part of an Iran-based procurement network connected to Mabrooka Trading, which was designated on January 17 last year.

It also designated a key IRGC-QF-run support network working with Hizballah, including IRGC-QF official Hasan Deghan Ebrahimi, his associates Muhammad Abd-al-Amir Farhat and Yahya al-Hajj, and several affiliated companies in Lebanon.

Iran has previously warned that new US sanctions could constitute a violation of the nuclear deal, setting up a scenario in which the agreement could unravel something that hardliners in both countries would welcome.

The row comes against a backdrop of already strained ties between Washington and Tehran over Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.

Court discharges Maran brothers, others in Aircel-Maxis cases

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) A special court here today discharged former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others in the Aircel-Maxis deal cases lodged by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

However, today's order would not have any effect on the two accused Malaysian nationals -- Ralph Marshall and T Ananda Krishnan -- as the court has already segregated the trial against them from that of Maran brothers and others.

The order was passed by Special Judge O P Saini who is exclusively dealing with the 2G spectrum allocation scam cases and those cases arising out of the investigation into it.

CBI had filed a charge sheet against the Maran brothers, Ralph Marshall, T Ananda Krishnan, M/s Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd, M/s Astro All Asia Networks Plc, UK, M/s Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, M/s South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd, Malaysia and then Additional Secretary (Telecom) J S Sarma who died during the course of the probe.

They were chargesheeted for alleged offences punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the money laundering case, ED has chargesheeted the Maran brothers, Kalanithi's wife Kavery, Managing Director of South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL) K Shanmugam, SAFL and Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL) under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Besides Maran brothers, the court discharged two companies - M/s Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd (SDTPL) and M/s South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd.

During arguments on framing of charges, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover had claimed that Dayanidhi had "pressurised" Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his stakes in Aircel and two subsidiary firms to Malaysian firm Maxis Group in 2006.

The charge was strongly refuted by Dayanidhi. All the accused had denied the allegations against them made by the investigating agencies and had moved bail pleas.

Sensex hovers at 4-month high on Budget rally

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) The Budget rally entered the second day today after the Sensex closed at nearly a 4-month high of 28,227, underpinned by healthcare and IT stocks amid mixed global shares.

Apart from auto, capital goods and infra, all sectoral indices notched up smart gains.

After moving between 28,070.81 and 28,299.92, the Sensex settled up 84.97 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 28,226.61. This is the highest closing since October 4 last when it closed at 28,334.55.

The index had rallied 486 points yesterday, spurred by a series of market-friendly budget moves.

The 50-share NSE Nifty finished higher by 17.85 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 8,734.25 after trading between 8,685.80 and 8,757.60.

"The turnaround in IT and pharma stocks and the weakness in the dollar after an unchanged US Fed policy have given some impetus to the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

The rupee closed higher at 67.37 after the US Fed decided to keep rates unchanged and struck a cautious tone about policy tightening.

Market stayed in a tight range during the first half due to profit-booking after Wednesday's sharp rally and a weak trend in Asia, but revival in buying interest among domestic institutional and retail investors led stocks higher.

The Budget's significant allocation to infrastructure and focus on affordable housing, rural development and agriculture contributed to the rally.

Coming up next is RBI's monetary policy next week which is being closely tracked by investors.

Software stocks such as Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra were back in demand as they gained by up to 2.85 per cent.

Drug major Dr Reddy's walked away with top honour by jumping 3.31 per cent followed by Sun Pharma (2.64 per cent).

Overall, 15 scrips out of 30 Sensex stocks ended higher.

However, some like Hero MotoCorp, M&M and Tata Motors in the auto sector faced selling following disappointing January sales numbers.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth Rs 92.73 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) lapped up shares worth a net Rs 1,133.74 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Buying by retail investors continued in broader markets, helping the small-cap and mid-cap indices gain up to 0.95 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables gained the most by 2.18 per cent, followed by healthcare 1.79 per cent, IT 1.78 per cent and technology 1.68 per cent.

Other Asian markets showed a weak trend, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng ending 0.61 per cent lower and Nikkei losing 1.22 per cent.

European markets were in a mixed shape in their early trade, with Frankfurt rising 1.08 per cent and London's FTSE down 0.11 per cent. Paris CAC 40 shed 0.23 per cent.

India Celebrates Basant Panchmi on 01 Feb 2017

 

Vasant Panchami marks the onset of spring. Considered as an auspicious day, the festival follows the Hindu calendar and falls on the fifth day (panchami) of the lunar month of Magha. This year in 2017, Vasant Panchami is being celebrated on February 1. As per Panchang, the Panchami tithi begins at 3.41am and ends at 2.20pm and the puja mahurat is said to be between 7.13am and 12.34pm.

Basant Panchmi is celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami Tithi) of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu month Magh. From this day, Vasant Ritu (the spring season) begins in India. Saraswati Puja is also performed on this day. The celebration takes place when the Panchami Tithi prevails during the first half of the day i.e. the time between sunrise and midday.

Celebrated by Hindus, the festivals observed on this day include Saraswati Puja also known as Shree Panchami, Basant Festival of Kites in Punjab and Haryana, Sufi Basant and more. People visit the temple and pray to goddess Saraswati – the deity of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. Along with student, schools and educational institutions seek blessings from the goddess as well, and the famous Saraswati shloka, Ya Kundendu, is recited by most.

Significance and importance of Basant Panchami 2017

This day is also considered as an auspicious day to begin work. It is also considered very auspicious to get married or perform house warming ceremony (griha pravesh) on the day of Vasant Panchami.

If Panchmi Tithi begins after the midday and prevails in the first half of the next day then Vasant Panchami is celebrated on the second day. The celebration can only shift to the next day in one condition i.e. if Panchami TIthi is not prevailing in the first half of the first day at any point of time. Otherwise, in all other cases, the celebration will take place on the first day. That is why, sometimes, Basant Panchami also falls on the Chaturthi Tithi as per Panchang.

Vasant Panchami day is dedicated to Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami day. Vasant Panchami is also known as Shri Panchami and Saraswati Panchami.

People worship Goddess Saraswati to get enlighten with knowledge and to get rid of lethargy, sluggishness and ignorance. This ritual of initiating education to children is known as Akshar-Abhyasam or Vidya-Arambham/Praasana which is one of the famous rituals of Vasant Panchami. Schools and colleges arrange pujas in the morning to seek blessing of the Goddess.

Purvahna Kala, which is the time between the sunrise and the midday, is considered to decide Vasant Panchami day. Vasant Panchami is celebrated on the day when Panchami Tithi prevails during Purvahna Kala. Due to which Vasant Panchami might also fall on Chaturthi Tithi.

Many astrologers consider Vasant Panchami as Abujha (अबूझ) day which is auspicious to start all good work. According to this belief whole Vasant Panchami day is auspicious to perform Saraswati Puja.

Although there is no special time to perform Saraswati Puja on Vasant Panchami day one should make sure that Puja is done when Panchami Tithi is prevailing. Many times Panchami Tithi doesn't prevail whole of the day on Vasant Panchami day hence we believe that it is important to do Saraswati puja within Panchami Tithi.

On this day, Goddess Rati and Lord Kamdev are worshiped in 16 ways (Shodhashopchar Puja) during the first half of this day i.e. the time between sunrise till midday.

Shodshopchar Puja Sankalp

ॐ विष्णुः विष्णुः विष्णुः, अद्य ब्रह्मणो वयसः परार्धे श्रीश्वेतवाराहकल्पे जम्बूद्वीपे भारतवर्षे,
अमुकनामसंवत्सरे माघशुक्लपञ्चम्याम् अमुकवासरे अमुकगोत्रः अमुकनामाहं सकलपाप - क्षयपूर्वक - श्रुति -
स्मृत्युक्ताखिल - पुण्यफलोपलब्धये सौभाग्य - सुस्वास्थ्यलाभाय अविहित - काम - रति - प्रवृत्तिरोधाय मम
पत्यौ/पत्न्यां आजीवन - नवनवानुरागाय रति - कामदम्पती षोडशोपचारैः पूजयिष्ये।

If husband-wife worship Rati-Kamdev after this Sankalp in 16 ways (Shodashopchar), their married life turns into a blessing from all the possible ways.

Rati-Kamdev Dhyan

ॐ वारणे मदनं बाण - पाशांकुशशरासनान्।
धारयन्तं जपारक्तं ध्यायेद्रक्त - विभूषणम्।।
सव्येन पतिमाश्लिष्य वामेनोत्पल - धारिणीम्।
पाणिना रमणांकस्थां रतिं सम्यग् विचिन्तयेत्।।

Saraswati Puja

On this day, at the above given worship duration, intellectuals (or people related to education, art, etc.) worship Saraswati. The Puja becomes even more powerful when worshipers recite Saraswati Stotra along with the other rituals.

Sri Panchami

Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth; also known as “Shri”) and Lord Vishnu are also worshiped together on this day. Some people worship Goddess Laxmi and Saraswati together as well. Usually, businessmen worship Lakshmi. It is considered highly auspicious if businessmen recite Shri Sukta on this day.

Above given Pujas (worships) should be performed in either 5 ways (Panchopchar) or 16 ways (Shodashopchar).

Saraswati Puja on Vasant Panchami /Saraswati Vandana

Saraswati Ya Kundendu is the most famous Stuti dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and part of the famous Saraswati Stotram. It is recited during Saraswati Puja on the eve of Vasant Panchami.

या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता
या वीणावरदण्डमण्डितकरा या श्वेतपद्मासना।
या ब्रह्माच्युत शंकरप्रभृतिभिर्देवैः सदा वन्दिता
सा मां पातु सरस्वती भगवती निःशेषजाड्यापहा॥

शुक्लां ब्रह्मविचार सार परमामाद्यां जगद्व्यापिनीं
वीणा-पुस्तक-धारिणीमभयदां जाड्यान्धकारापहाम्‌।
हस्ते स्फटिकमालिकां विदधतीं पद्मासने संस्थिताम्‌
वन्दे तां परमेश्वरीं भगवतीं बुद्धिप्रदां शारदाम्‌॥२॥

Budget ups public spending, halves basic tax rate

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) In a pre-poll Budget aimed at softening the demonetisation blow, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today halved the basic income tax rate to 5 per cent and lowered rate for small companies while boosting spending on rural employment, agriculture and infrastructure.

Creating history, the Minister presented a merged railway and general Budget after advancing the dates by a month that provides a record outlay of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure schemes besides a capital expenditure of Rs 1.3 lakh crore on railways and Rs 64,000 crore on highways.

The Budget seeks to provide a record Rs 10 lakh crore in loans to farmers, boost funds for rural employment guarantee programme, bring one crore households out of poverty and promised to build one crore houses by 2019 for the homeless ahead of the crucial elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

In view of the fact that the proposed GST is expected to be rolled out soon, he left indirect taxes largely untouched except for some changes in duties on tobacco products, solar panels and circuit for mobile phones.

While excise duty on pan masala has been hiked to 9 per cent from 6 per cent currently and that on unmanufactured tobacco to 8.3 per cent from 4.2 per cent, the same on filter and non-filter cigarettes of all length was also hiked.

Mobile phones will be costlier with the Budget proposing a 2 per cent special auxiliary duty on import of populated printed circuit boards (PCBs).

While the income tax rate for income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh has been lowered to 5 per cent, a 10 per cent surcharge has been slapped on income between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. The 15 per cent surcharge on income above Rs 1 crore will continue.

While the surcharge alone would net Rs 2,700 crore a year, his give away on direct tax proposals will result in a loss of Rs 15,500 crore.

The change in the personal income tax rate for individual assessees would reduce the tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh to either to zero (with rebate) or 50 per cent of their existing liability.

In order not to have duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to them is being reduced to Rs 2,500 available only to assessees up to income of Rs 3.5 lakh.

While the taxation liability of people with income up to Rs 5 lakh is being reduced to half, all other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person.

In the case of senior citizens above 60 years, there will be no tax up to Rs 3 lakh, while the exemption will be up to Rs 5 lakh in case of citizens above 80 years. Both the categories will attract income tax of 20 per cent on income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh and 30 per cent for income above Rs 10 lakh.

Against the backdrop of demonetisation intended to eliminate black money and introduce clean transactions, the Budget barred any transaction in cash above Rs 3 lakh. As a measure of transparency in political funding, he lowered to one-tenth the donation that political parties can accept in cash to Rs 2,000 per donor.

Also bearer Electoral Bonds will be introduced which a donor can buy from a scheduled bank through cheque or e-mode, for making donations.

The Finance Minister expressed confidence that the pace of remonetisation has picked up and would soon reach comfortable levels with effects not expected to spillover into the next fiscal. .