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  FM grants sops for VC funds, raises basic customs duty on tea, coffee There will be no tax on distributed or undistributed income of venture capital funds. The income distributed by the funds will only be taxed in the hands of the
investors, Sinha said while seeking Parliament' nod to the Finance Bill.
 
 Food supplies minister rules out rollback of price-hikes
 'Reduction in subsidy to the tune of Rs 21 billion would burden a middle class individual to the extent of just Rs 3,  the cost of a cup of tea,' Shanta Kumar said.
 
 Informal Cabinet meet ponders rollback of foodgrains price-hikes
 Several other issues concerning direct and indirect taxes were also discussed. The prime minister chaired the meeting in spite of his indisposition.
 
 Sinha maintains suspense over changes in Finance Bill
 ''If I make any changes in the Finance Bill, I would not be the first or the
last finance minister to do so,'' the finance minister told the Confederation of Indian Industry.
 
 The Making of India's Rs 1 trillion fiscal deficit
 Economists who have read between the Budget lines say, there are more villians in the fiscal drama  than the ones identified by the government -- expenses, interest payments and the
failure in meeting the divestment targets. Interest payments form
91 per cent of the fiscal deficit.
 
 Budget blues
 Devangshu Datta calculates the Gross Domestic Product based on three deficit estimates from the Budget papers and gets three different figures!
 
 The Rediff Jury
 
Demolishing the poor, sparing the rich'Yashwant Sinha should have left food subsidies untouched and focused on aggressive privatisation, downsizing of public sector units and desubsidisation of higher education,' says Dilip Thakore.
 
 'Whatever happened to the mergers and acquisitions policy?'
 Infosys Technologies chairman N R Narayana Murthy; Confederation of Indian Industry president  Rahul Bajaj; Satyam Computers chairman R Ramalinga Raju; Ranbaxy Laboratories CEO D S Brar; AT & T India MD Virat Bhatia on the Y2K Budget. In Real Audio.
 
 The Rediff Budget Jury's verdicts: the complete collection
 
 
Information You Can Use
 
Budget and mutual funds
Budget 2000 has  far-reaching implications for mutual funds. Dhirendra Kumar takes a closer look at the key changes.
 
 Budget 2000: fineprint upfront
 A comprehensive analysis by SBI Capital Markets Limited. (Download Acrobat Reader. Needed for access.)
 
 1) How will your tax outgo change?
 2) How will MAT affect companies?
 An exclusive analysis by Dun & Bradstreet India.
 
 Taxes: A ready reckoner
 What to be happy about:  Cellphones, computers, photographic equipment,electronic goods will be cheaper. What to be sad about: Surcharge on income tax has not dropped and has gone up in the highest bracket.
 
 The Budget, in Real Audio
 Listen to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.
 
 Black Tuesday: How stock exchanges sank on Feb 29
 
 FM puts fiscal deficit of Rs 1 trillion at 5.6% of GDP for 99-00
 
 Debt servicing eats up big chunk of the government's rupee
 
 
 
Dun & Bradstreet Budget Special |
The Run-upBudget Process |
Budget Hotlinks |
NDA Government & Economy
 Official Web site of the Ministry of Finance: Budget 2000 document
 Ministry of Finance: Economic Survey 1999-2000
 
 
 
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