<p>Dr Gagandeep Kang, Microbiologist and virologist, India, in an exclusive interview with India Today talks about the most appropriate gap that people should take between the two vaccine doses. Gagandeep also explains whether those who took the vaccine shot in February and March were just as protected as those who would now take it after a 12-week gap. On being asked whether those who taken both the vaccine doses (covaxin or covishield) have very less chances of getting hospitalised due to severe Covid-19 illness, she said, "I think we can say with confidence that vaccines have a very high chance of preventing severe diseases and mortality in people who have taken two doses of Covaxin. As for Covishield, even a single dose of vaccine gives very good protection which is over 70 per cent against severe disease. Watch the video for more details.</p>
<p>The Union Budget 2021 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was all about prioritising key issues including ramping up healthcare spending. The healthcare sector received one of the largest allocations in percentage terms. Ashwin Sapra, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas explains how this budget will help the healthcare industry and scope for improvements. Watch the video.</p><p>Also Read: <a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html">Budget 2021: Impetus to affordable housing welcome, more needs to be done, say realtors</a></p>
<p>With the fiscal deficit at 9.5 per cent, there was hardly any scope available for tax concessions or tax reliefs for the common man. However, the good part about the year's budget was there were no new taxes or COVID cess announcements which ensure continuity and stability in the system, said Tarun Arora, Partner, Deloitte India. Watch the video as he weighs in on what works in the budget. </p>
<p>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Union Budget 2021-22. The government emphasised more on healthcare, infrastructure in the Budget, while giving no particular relief for middle class in terms of income tax exemption. The Budget this year was presented under extraordinary circumstances as the country fought coronavirus pandemic. Watch the full speech.</p><p>Also Read: <a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html">Budget 2021: Impetus to affordable housing welcome, more needs to be done, say realtors</a></p>
<p>In a first-ever paperless budget presented today, FM Sitharaman attributed the success of earlier reforms to AI and data analytics. She also introduced some more much-awaited reforms while promising to smoothen the GST structure. Saloni Roy, Senior Director, Deloitte India breaks down the indirect tax proposals in the Budget and explains whether they have met expectations or not. Watch the video for more.</p><p>Also Read: <a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html">Budget 2021: Impetus to affordable housing welcome, more needs to be done, say realtors</a></p>
<p>Speaking about today's Union Budget, Ramanuj Kumar, Partner, Amarchand Mangaldas said that this year's budget was reform-oriented and focused more on the infrastructure sector. The increased allocation of almost 35 per cent was allocated to infrastructure . Watch the video as he explains more about what's promising in the budget.</p><p>Also Read: <a mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html" target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/reactions/budget-2021-impetus-to-affordable-housing-welcome-more-needs-to-be-done-say-realtors/story/429935.html">Budget 2021: Impetus to affordable housing welcome, more needs to be done, say realtors</a> </p>
<p>Given the current pandemic , the common man's expectations were higher from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with regard to tax relief measures. However, no such tax reliefs were announced for the common man as income tax slabs remain unchanged in this year's budget. Watch the video as Divya Baweja, Partner, Deloitte India, weighs the pros and cons of the changes in budget presented by the finance minister today</p>
<p>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Monday, announced Rs 25,000 crore for highways in poll-bound West Bengal. Proposing highway infra work including awarding 8,500-km of highways by March 2022, FM Sitharaman further announced highway projects in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam. Watch the video for more.</p>
<p>In the budget speech Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited India's Test cricket win against Australia. The Finance Minister quoted Rabindranath Tagore and said, "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark." In this spirit, she said, she "can't help but recall the joy that we as a Cricket loving nation felt after Team India's recent spectacular success in Australia." Watch the video for more.</p>
<p>Looking at the current challenges, there is very less room to meet the common man's expectations for FM Nirmala Sitharaman, says Divya Baweja, Partner, Deloitte India. But there would still be expectations from the common man. Watch the video for more.</p>
<p>The first objective of the government in the upcoming budget should be job creation, said Tarun Arora, Partner, Deloitte India. Salary limits should also be increased for employees from Rs 25,000 to at least Rs 50,000, he added. Watch the video for more details.</p>
<p>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the government's Aatmanirbhar packages totalling Rs 27.1 lakh crore to deal with the COVID pandemic, accelerated the pace of structural reforms. In the first ever paperless Union Budget, Sitharaman proposed the introduction of Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore. She added that the programme will help to strengthen health systems in the country. An amount of Rs 35,000 crore will be spent on Covid-19 vaccines as part of the Rs 2.23 trillion spending. Watch the video for more.</p>
<p>This year's finance budget will be announced in the backdrop of exceptionally challenging times due to COVID-19. The FMCG sector, however, has witnessed green shoots of recovery thanks to good monsoon, good demand and growth in the personal care and home care segments. Watch the video as Sanjesh Thakur, Partner, Deloitte India, speaks about FMCG industry's expectations from upcoming budget and why the government should spend more on infrastructure and provide consumers with higher disposable income and thus boost consumer confidence. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/budget-2021-speech-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-highlights-income-tax/story/429755.html">Budget 2021 highlights: FM Nirmala Sitharaman unlikely to announce relief on income tax front</a> </p>
<p>The economic revival activities in India have started in full swing now. The country has witnessed a spike in the demand for automobiles and consumer durables, with unemployment declining to one-third of what it was at the peak of lockdown. Watch as Rajeev Dubey, Editor, Business Today, explains which sectors have helped the economy, in Business Today's new 'Budget' series. </p> <p>Also Read: <a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/union-budget-2021-date-timings-sector-wise-expectations-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-all-need-to-know/story/429414.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/union-budget-2021-date-timings-sector-wise-expectations-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-all-need-to-know/story/429414.html"> Budget 2021: Date, time, sector-wise expectations; everything you need to know</a></p><p><a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/videos/union-budget/2020-21/budget-2021-why-india-cant-borrow-more/429621.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/videos/union-budget/2020-21/budget-2021-why-india-cant-borrow-more/429621.html">Also Watch: Budget 2021: Why India can't borrow more</a> </p>
<p>A host of economists have suggested that the government needs to spend more towards the overall economy and infrastructure to create enough demand in the economy. This would finally bring us out of this recession. But where will the government get resources from? Watch the video as Rajeev Dubey, Editor, Business Today explains ways by which the government could raise resources and spend more to finally achieve its targets, in part 2 of the Budget series. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/videos/union-budget/2021-22/union-budget-whats-working-whats-not-for-indias-economy/429431.html">Watch: Union Budget: What's working, what's not for India's economy</a> </p>
<p>The union budget is set to be announced on February 1 amid expectations of corporates and Indian citizens. Indian economy witnessed a setback during last year, with the coronavirus pandemic raging and lockdowns in place across the country. The new budget is expected to revive the economy and get industries back to the pre-COVID levels. How can the new budget contribute to the economy getting back on track?. Uday Shankar, President, FICCI, Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, Rashesh Shah, Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group, Naina Lal Kidwai, Ex-President, FICCI discuss expectations with India Today.</p><p>Also Read: <a mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/columns/indian-economy-budgeting-fy22-with-critical-information-gaps/story/429601.html" target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/columns/indian-economy-budgeting-fy22-with-critical-information-gaps/story/429601.html">Rebooting Economy 63: Budgeting FY22 with critical information gaps</a> </p>
<p>The Economic Survey 2020-21 has indicated that the Indian economy is cruising towards a much quicker growth recovery after the 'once-in-a-century' COVID-19 crisis. The survey, prepared by Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian and his team, forecasts the real GDP growth to bounce back sharply in FY22. Watch the video for full speech.</p><p>Also Read: <a mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/economic-survey-lays-down-ground-rules-for-rbi-to-end-covid-19-forbearance-policies/story/429553.html" target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/economic-survey-lays-down-ground-rules-for-rbi-to-end-covid-19-forbearance-policies/story/429553.html">Economic Survey lays down ground rules for RBI to end COVID-19 forbearance policies</a> </p>
<p>The covid-19 pandemic has inflicted some real damage to almost all sectors of the economy, infrastructure being one of them. While the government will be busy making up for the economic losses in the upcoming budget, it shouldn't forget that equal importance needs to be given to job creation, economic growth, livelihoods and infrastructure. Watch as Sanjay Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India, talks about the challenges of infrastructure projects and why the government should set up an infrastructure board for the same. </p><p><a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/budget/2021/" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/budget/2021/">Budget 2021</a> </p>
<p>From making amendments in Section 80C to assuring uniformity in the tax treatment for mutual funds schemes and ULIPs of insurance companies, there are many expectations from the budget. Watch as Tapati Ghose, Partner, Deloitte India, explains more on what employees want from the upcoming budget. </p><p>Also Read: <a mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/budget-2021-5-big-challenges-in-indian-banking/story/429275.html" target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/budget-2021-5-big-challenges-in-indian-banking/story/429275.html">Budget 2021: 5 big challenges in Indian banking</a> </p>
<p>The finance minister's announcement that budget 2021 will be like no other has created a lot of euphoria and excitement among citizens. But, at the same time, it has also fuelled concern regarding increase in taxes as the government will have to spend money on infrastructure and sectors affected by COVID such as-healthcare, tourism and hospitality. Watch the video as Rajesh Gandhi, Partner, Deloitte India explains how the balance can be achieved and expectations met given a tight fiscal situation prevailing in the economy. </p><p><a target="_blank" mce_href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/budget-2021-covid-19-crisis-emphasises-need-for-higher-allocation-for-healthcare-sector/story/428940.html" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/budget-2021-covid-19-crisis-emphasises-need-for-higher-allocation-for-healthcare-sector/story/428940.html">Budget 2021: COVID-19 crisis emphasises need for higher allocation for healthcare sector</a> </p>
<p>In conversation with India Today TV, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee discussed the economic implications of COVID-led lockdown and ways in which economic growth can be stimulated in the upcoming budget. The discussion revolved around the Oxfam report on rising income inequality among people especially after COVID, when Indian billionaires' wealth rose by up to 35 per cent while 84 per cent households suffered some form of income loss. Watch the video for Banerjee's suggestions on bridging this income gap.</p>
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