Another Budget has come and gone. Television channels went berserk, the cameras moving swiftly from Parliament to the markets and to experts at television studios. Outside, it was life as usual. The disinterested fruit-seller waiting for afternoon to subside into evening, a person taking an afternoon nap below a banyan or peepal tree, a 20-year-old listening to FM radio on his mobile phone, passengers in buses, either half-asleep or lying to their bosses that “they were just 15 minutes away” — no one could have had “the Budget” on their mind.

Amidst the global economic scenario and the pressures of populism from within the ruling alliance, the Finance Minister had the unenviable task of pushing for long-awaited tax reforms. In the short term, his proposals to increase rates of both Service Tax and Central Excise to 12 per cent and extend the levy of service tax on all services seem cruel and inflationary.

The Budget proposals aren't as damaging as bullion dealers and jewellers are making them out to be.

Bangalore: Infosys chief Kris Gopalakrishnan on Wednesday expressed hope that DTC and GST will be pushed through in the forthcoming budget, while Genpact vice chairman Pramod Bhasin feared economic reforms will be tough going forward.

India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $55.8 million to $293.44 billion for the week ended Feb 17 due to increase in foreign currency assets, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday termed the third quarter GDP number of 6.1 per cent as "disappointing" but expressed the hope that economy will register a growth of 7 per cent for the entire fiscal.

India's exports grew 10.1 percent in January at $25.34 billion, official data showed Thursday, widening the monthly trade deficit to $14.76 billion.

Corporate Affairs Minister M. Veerappa Moily Thursday said the government was keen on getting the new companies act passed in parliament to help curb unfair business practices in India.

Industry chamber CII has urged the Finance Ministry to reduce import duty on non-coking coal used for power generation in the upcoming Budget.

Ahead of the Budget 2012, the apex body of the domestic electrical equipment industry IEEMA today sought extension of the tax exemption to all power projects, including generation, transmission and distribution.

The government's fiscal deficit target for the current year has been breached in January, and with the numbers for the two months still to come, the gap between expenditure and revenue may widen further.