Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, Crisil, believes, you have to start with cutting oil subsidies - with diesel deregulation taking the prime spot in reforms.
If fiscal consolidation is not No. 1 priority in this budget, the RBI will be unable to deliver the growth stimulus that is required.
Rupa Rege-Nisture, chief economist and general manager of the Bank of Baroda, speaks to Firstpost's Rajanya Bose in an exclusive video interview.
Manika Premsingh spoke to Ajay Shah of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for Firstpost.
Economists are keeping their fingers crossed on what lies ahead. But their prescriptions are clear: fiscal consolidation, energy pricing reforms, and rationalisation of subsidies.
Just a few hours left before Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents his Union Budget proposals for the new financial year starting 1 April.
Real benefit is for those earning in the Rs 8-10 lakh bracket as it will give a straight and flat tax relief to the extent of Rs 20,000 .
Of the 10 points on which the budget can be evaluated, six are mildly positive. But the numbers could still go wrong.
Reacting to the Budget, Caparo Group Chairman Swraj Paul said: "The budget has taken the reality of India's situation. There are too many problems that exist which need to be dealt with to make the economy .
Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC India, said the main worrying factor in this Budget is government expenditure as the money never reaches the right hands.
While industry leaders have have described the Budget as pragmatic, timid and disappointing, there is someone who has given the budget a full ten on ten. Read on for more.
Dependence on corporate tax revenue and vulnerability to commodity prices and exchange rates weakens the government's credit profile and lack of specific policies in the Union Budget to address these weaknesses is "credit negative", Moody's said in a research note
To give a major boost to tourism, e-visas will be issued at nine Indian airports, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday in his Budget 2014 speech.
Chidambaram may explain why economic growth slowed to a decade's low of 4.5 percent in 2012-13 and outline steps taken by the government to put India back on a high-growth trajectory.<br />
Admitting that promotion of entrepreneurship and startup companies remains a challenge, Jaitley announces a Rs 10,000 cr fund to act as catalyst to provide equity, risk capitals for startups
Firstbiz highlights a list of announcements focussed on tax reforms, corporate tax policy, India's IT industry, and more
The government has decided to set up a committee, including representatives from the Finance Ministry, Ministry of MSMEs, and RBI to give concrete suggestions on the financial architecture of the MSME sector in three months.
The government aims to construct Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects or high capacity plants in the radiation rich states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Ladakh.
Emulating the US system of taxing aerated drinks, the Finance Minister also chose to target aerated drinks but only those that contain sugar, sparing fruit juices and other aerated drinks like soda.<br />
The Ministry was allocated Rs 2,03,672 crore in 2013-14 and was provided Rs 2,24,000 crore in the interim budget presented by the UPA government in February this year.<br />
Jaitley announced an integrated Ganga development project called the 'Namami Gange' and allocated a fund of Rs 2,037 crore to it.
The Finance Minister said primary education is a major priority for the Modi government and that steps would be taken to provide minimal school infrastructure facilities.<br />
Expectations had been high that the government would utilise India's strongest election mandate in 30 years to take radical steps comparable to the 1991 market reforms that unleashed an era of high economic growth.<br />
The importance of Rs 100 crores in the Modi government's maiden Union Budget that was presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today.
Here's what Rahul Gandhi may have said about Budget 2014
Finance Minsiter Arun Jaitley's maiden budget offers no big bang reforms but does focus on boosting investor confidence in a bid to revive India's investment cycle and attract household savings into financial assets. <br />
Budget 2014 seeks to revive growth and curb borrowing, but left open questions on how it will reduce the fiscal deficit and restore investor confidence.
It was Modi, Modi-nomics, Hindus, FDI in defense and insurance sectors that caught the eye and peppered the headlines across international media when it came to budget 2014.
The three common threads in Jaitley and Obama's speech: entrepreneurship, infrastructure and religion.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has provided some relief to the individual tax payer who has been bearing the brunt of high inflation in the economy.<br />