Union Budget 2014-15 to be presented in Parliament today amid expectations of tax sops

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present his maiden Budget on Thursday after his Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won a landslide victory in May to form the first majority government in three decades.

Jaitley's maiden Budget is expected to be a tightrope walk of trying to meet demands for tax sops especially from the middle class and pursuing fiscal prudence to spur investment and growth.

There are high hopes from the new government that it will raise tax slabs and also significantly hike the annual tax exemption limit to provide a much-needed relief to salaried class, which is reeling under the stubbornly high inflation.

Economic Survey 2013-14: FY15 GDP growth pegged at 5.4-5.9%

New Delhi: India's economy is expected to grow between 5.4 percent and 5.9 percent in the current fiscal year, the new government`s first Economic Survey said on Wednesday.

The Economic Survey 2013-14, tabled in Parliament a day ahead of the Union Budget 2014-15, expects that moderation in inflation will ease the monetary policy stance and revive the confidence of investors.

As regards the downside risks, the Survey lists factors like poor monsoon, the external environment and the poor investment climate.

The Survey further said the measures taken by the government to improve investment climate and improve governance could push up growth to 7-8 percent in the coming years.

After recovering in 2009-10 and 2010-11, GDP growth slowed down to decade's low of 4.5 percent in 2012-13. It picked up marginally to 4.7 percent in 2013-14.

Here are the key highlights


Growth

-Estimates India FY15 GDP growth at 5.4-5.9%