Sitharaman said GST Council is a body in which every finance minister from every state sits and decides on how the disbursements happen.  

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's warning came as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that she was responding to the point raised by a Congress member who was not present in the House.

The government was looking to sell 5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) this month, which could have fetched over Rs 60,000 crore to the exchequer. The IPO would have helped meet the curtailed disinvestment target of Rs 78,000 crore this fiscal.

Sitharaman, in her Budget speech on February 1, had announced that Digital Rupee or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be issued by the RBI in the coming fiscal year. She had also announced the government will levy 30 per cent tax on gains made from any other private digital assets from April 1.

The Reserve Bank of India and the Union government have not given any sort of recognition to cryptocurrencies and, therefore, they are not legal in the country right now, the Union minister of state for finance, who had come here to attend a function, told reporters.

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, the Finance Minister referred to the Congress leader's remarks on poverty to counter the criticism from Opposition leaders, including former finance minister P Chidambaram of the Budget leaving out the poor.

Replying to the general discussion on Union Budget, the minister said, "I am not going to legalize it or ban it at this stage. Banning or not banning will come subsequently, when consultations give me input".

Replying to a general discussion on the Union Budget in Rajya Sabha, the minister said, the Budget for 2022-23 fiscal year, stands for continuity, brings stability to the economy along with predictability of taxation.

"Double digit inflation during UPA-1, UPA-II was indeed 'andhkaal', and coal scam, 2G scam, antrix-devas scam, that all was andhkaal," Sitharaman said.

Introduction of digital currency, investments in the construction of roads, railways, airports, ports, 400 new Vande Bharat trains, rural housing, and no change in income-tax slabs were among key announcements. Let's take a look at what different businesses have to say post-budget announcement.

Priyanka Gandhi, who is spearheading Congress' campaign in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, asked Nirmala Sitharaman to tender an apology to the people of UP for her 'typical UP-type' remark.

The Government proposed to introduce Digital Rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23 for more efficient and cheaper currency management system.

Presenting the Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledged that due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools, children, particularly in the rural areas, and those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, other weaker sections, have lost almost two years of formal education.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Budget 2022 on Tuesday announcing that digital currency, 5G services will be launched by next year, new Vande Bharat trains but no change in tax slabs. Let's take a look at what a common man needs to know about Modi government's budget.

In another announcement, Finance Minister said that an independent nodal umbrella body will be set up for private players to meet their requirements for testing and new technologies and to get the certification. The overall defence budget of 5,25,166 crore including Rs 1,19,696 crore for defence pensions is an increase of 9.8 per cent compared to last year's total outlay.

The basic personal tax exemption limit in the personal income tax was last revised in 2014. Notably, personal income tax is one of the most keenly awaited announcements in the Budget every year.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman slammed Rahul Gandhi for his 'Zer0 Sum Budget' remark at Modi government saying that she will take criticism but not from someone who hasn't done his homework.

The Delhi Police was allocated Rs 8,654.26 crore in 2021-22.

 The digital university will be built on a networked hub-and-spoke model, with the hub building cutting-edge ICT expertise. The best public universities and institutions in the country will collaborate as a network of hubs and spokes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated.

In order to provide a level playing field between the co-operative societies and companies, the government proposes to reduce the Alternate Minimum Tax rate for co-operative societies to 15 per cent from the current 18.5 per cent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced.