In a pre-Budget interaction with economists, FM Arun Jaitley said that with a sharp decline in global oil prices and due to focused attention the current account deficit is also within the comfort level.

Some economic advisers argue that the government's capital spending should be increased to help the economy break free of its slowest phase of growth since the 1980s.

The first one promises to have a long-term bearing on the agrarian economy. The immediate challenge before the new government was to expand agriculture production and control food prices.

Corporate India finds govt schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, announcement to build Smart Cities 'promising' and is hopeful that the next Budget would make progress on these.

While not as low as China's, India's inflation has come down steeply from over 11 percent in November last year, and it is now lower than other BRIC economies - Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

India's economy lost momentum in the first three months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, amplifying industry calls for faster and deeper economic reform.

Business Today brings you important news from the past fortnight, which you may have missed.

Six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in, there is a sense that the Indian economy has got moving after several wasted years.

FM Arun Jaitley outlined major priorities of the government as reviving and sustaining higher GDP growth, increasing savings, fiscal consolidation, keeping the Current Account Deficit at moderate level and reviving investment cycle, among others.

The Prime Minister's attempts at fiscal change have been less bold than some would wish, steering clear of reforming the most sensitive benefits - food and fertilisers.

Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, was informally recommended for the post by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

A senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Arvind Subramanian's appointment was recommended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. A Cabinet-level approval is expected to follow.

Jalan has been appointed the chairman of Expenditure Management Commission, which will look into various aspects of expenditure reforms to be undertaken by the government.

The government blocked the deal because it wanted more attention paid to its concerns over WTO limits on stockpiling of food which will ultimately hit its subsidised food distribution programme, the world's largest, targeted at nearly 850 million people.

\"We have to take a firm position in negotiations with powerful countries of the world. Had we followed the policies of the previous government, the interest of our small farmers would have been jeopardised,\" Jaitley said.

Two years of near double-digit inflation, stubbornly high because of market inefficiencies and supply bottlenecks rather than strong demand, combined with faltering growth and stagnating wages have squeezed India's consumers.

Who said what about Union Budget 2014-15-

It really would not have been that difficult for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to push through a decisive Budget. But he chose to present a Budget that looks tame in the context of what is needed to propel the economy forward.

The historic victory of the Narendra Modi-led NDA in May had fuelled the hopes of the common man, corporate leaders, investors and policy wonks alike. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget 2014 covered a lot of ground but there was no major announcement.

Being the first budget in 10 years by a non-UPA government and that, too, coming from a coalition with a crushing majority in the lower house, expectations were high of a massively reformist Budget that would give the somnolent economy the jolt it badly needed.