Business

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Seeking to further improve the ease of doing business, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said NRIs will be allowed to set up one person companies, definition of small companies will be revised and various provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act will be decriminalised.

The proposed relaxations to rules governing One Person Companies (OPCs) are expected to benefit startups and innovators.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The government on Monday said definition of small companies will be revised by raising capital base to Rs 2 crore from the current limit of Rs 50 lakh.

In the Union Budget for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed setting up of investor charter across financial products.

She said an asset reconstruction and management company will be set up for stressed assets of banks, while also stating that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) framework will be strengthened.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will borrow about Rs 12 lakh crore in 2021-22.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2021-22, she said expenditure for the next fiscal year has been pegged at Rs 34.83 lakh crore, which includes Rs 5.54 lakh crore of capital spending.

Sitharaman also said states will get 41 per cent share of taxes as per the 15th Finance Commission recommendation and the government has accepted the recommendation.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Following are the highlights of the 2021-22 Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday:

Fiscal position and health outlay:

* Spending on healthcare hiked by 137 pc to over Rs 2.23 lakh crore

* Rs 35,000 cr outlay for COVID vaccine in fiscal beginning April 1

* Today India has 2 vaccines available, 2 more vaccines are expected soon

* Sharp increase in capital expenditure for next fiscal to Rs 5.54 lakh cr, up from Rs 4.39 lakh cr of last fiscal

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The TMC lashed out at the Centre over the Union Budget on Monday, saying it was 100 per cent "visionless" and its theme was "sell India."

The remarks came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman read out the Union Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.

"India's first paperless budget is also a 100% visionless budget. Theme of the fake budget is Sell India!" TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien said. "Railways: sold, Airports: sold, Ports: sold, Insurance: sold PSUs: 23 sold!"

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The defence budget, including outlay for payment of pensions, was increased to Rs 4.78 lakh crore for 2021-22 as against last year's Rs 4.71 lakh crore.

Excluding the pension outgo, the allocation in the Union Budget for the armed forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakh crore.

Jaipur, Jan 30 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the initiative to talk to the agitating farmers and it should not be a matter of prestige as decisions are changed many times in a democracy.

Gehlot also sought a judicial inquiry into the January 26 violence in Delhi and said agitations continuing for a long time is not in the interest of the nation.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- In areas ranging from trade and investment to people-to-people exchanges, the China-U.S. relationship is at a low point rarely seen since the two countries established their diplomatic ties.

Over the past few years, this most important bilateral relationship in the world has deviated from course due to disruptions by irresponsible policies, a Cold War mentality, and ideological biases triggered by a handful of U.S. politicians.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: Italy has blocked exports of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, following warnings by activists and lawmakers about the use of weapons in violation of human rights in Yemen, Anadolu Agency reports.

"This is an act that we considered necessary, a clear message of peace coming from our country. For us, the respect of human rights is an unbreakable commitment," Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in a statement.

30 Jan 2021; MEMO: A move by South Korea towards releasing $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds may help spur Iran's judiciary to resolve the seizure of a Korean ship being held for alleged environmental pollution, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Friday, Reuters reported.