New Delhi: Every Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-driven insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help you dig deeper into the stories reported by the Mint in the past week. This was the big week of the Union Budget, in which the Center announced record capital spending for 2023-24, along with changes to the new tax regime. Adani Enterprises decided to reverse its $Continuing Public Offering (FPO) of Rs 20,000 crore after a market rout.
In 2023-24, when global growth is expected to slow, the central government has budgeted for record capital spending of $10 trillion, almost 37% more than the revised estimate for the current fiscal year. Thus, capex will represent 22% of total spending, the highest participation in almost two decades. Spending on revenue will increase by only 1%. The Center’s share of capital spending is expected to increase to $8.6 trillion, and the rest was assigned as loan transfers to the states to finance their expenses.
The budget proposed changes to the income tax rates under the new tax regime. Those with income up to $7 lakh/year will be exempt from paying any tax. For income from $7-20 lakh, effective tax expenditure has fallen by 20-30%. The tax output on $The income of 20 lakh will be reduced by about 15%. The super-rich with top incomes $Rs 5 crore will not only benefit from reduced tax rates, but will also benefit from reduced surcharges, which will reduce the effective tax rate from 42.7% to 39%.
mass hunting
That is the number of managing directors and CEOs across all sectors of India Inc. who are due to be replaced when their terms end at the end of next year. mint reported, citing data collected by primeinfobase.com. Companies have different priorities when looking for their next pick: while some are looking abroad for directors, others are looking for the right candidates within India, industry executives said.
On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises Ltd canceled its full subscription $FPO of Rs 20,000 crore citing investor protection concerns. He announced that he will return the funds raised from investors. The move came after a sell-off in Adani group shares continued for the sixth day in a row following allegations of fraud by US activist short-seller Hindenburg Research. Reuters also reported that the market regulator was examining the recent decline in shares of Adani group companies.
Corporate India reported a mixed performance in the third quarter, with manufacturing companies reporting double-digit revenue growth even as operating profit lagged due to persistent cost pressures. Businesses were able to offset inflation with price increases, which fueled revenue growth. According to a Mint analysis of 399 companies (excluding banks and finance companies), net sales in the third quarter rose 15.9% from a year earlier, the lowest in eight quarters. Net profit was down 3.8% year-on-year, but up 11% since the second quarter.
Fair point
That is the Economic Survey’s projection for India’s economic growth in 2023-24, a slowdown of 7% expected for the current year ending March 31 due to global uncertainty. India will remain the world’s fastest growing major economy, the Survey said. The economy will be boosted by “strong domestic demand and a rebound in capital investment.” However, the Survey warned of challenges around the growing current account deficit.
Theater owners say cinema attendance in Hindi-speaking markets has plummeted to almost half the post-Covid level. The number of people watching Hindi movies in theaters fell to 189 million in 2022 from 341 million in 2019 and 316 million in 2018, according to media consultancy Ormax. With ticket prices rising and audience awareness that many movies will soon be available on OTT platforms, it’s no surprise that attendance has dropped.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s final full-year budget speech ahead of the 2024 general election was also her shortest at just 87 minutes. The previous record was 91 minutes last year. However, in terms of word count, the speech was 13,761 words long, 42% more than last year’s speeches.