BJP's poll promises of lower tax rates and interest-free agricultural loans are likely to be in focus as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to form the next government.

General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) of India Thursday reported a 19.7 per cent fall in standalone net profit at Rs 603.37 crore in the last quarter of the fiscal ended March 2019.

This is the first time in the history when a non-Congress government has returned to power with absolute majority

In the interim budget earlier this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley provided relief to small and salaried taxpayers. But, a substantial number of them could not get any relief as the tax burden was reduced only for taxpayers earning less than Rs 5 lakh during the financial year 2019-20.

India, over the decades, has under-invested in healthcare, education, and skills development. All of this will come to bite the new government as it braces up to the challenge of finding millions of jobs every year.

The focus of the income tax department is on tightening the compliance, automation of processes and elevated use of technology, to eliminate opportunities to evade taxes and give efficiency to the government in terms of collection of taxes. And the honest taxpayers may benefit from the lowering of taxes.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 7.31 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago due to a tax demand of Rs 11.58 crore.

The Council predicts Indian demand for gold at 750-850 tonnes 2019, against 760 tonnes in 2018. The June quarter is expected to see brisk business on the back of the traditional wedding season buying and the Akshaya Tritiya festival.

Realty firm Sobha Ltd has posted 73 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 113.3 crore for the quarter ended March on higher sales.

Share Market Update: Market Breadth was in favour of sellers, as 1134 stocks declined on NSE against 509 advancing stocks, while 75 remained unchanged. Similarly, 1608 stocks were declining on BS against 936 adavcing stocks, while 143 remained unchanged.