MP falls ill during budget speech

July 14th, 2009 Obama's teleprompter breaks in mid-speechWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama had just started a spirited defense of his economic stimulus plan on Monday when one of his teleprompter screens came loose, crashed to the floor and shattered into pieces. The gadget's fall surprised Obama, who uses a teleprompter during most speeches and even brief remarks.

July 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government remained committed to divesting stakes in the state-run companies, but without diluting their public sector character. Replying to the debate on the national budget in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, the finance minister said there was some disappointment that not enough was said on the government's divestment policy in his July 6 budget speech.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the national budget was not the document to spell out micro policy details and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government remained committed to divestment in state-run firms without diluting their public sector character. "I have made it very clear that we intend to include the public in disinvestment programmes," Mukherjee told an interactive meeting with India Inc, a day after presenting the national budget for the current fiscal.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was left red faced while presenting the budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha Monday when he skipped two key paragraphs relating to the allocations for the minorities. He realised this only after a note written on a piece of yellow paper was placed on the lectern before him.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will raise Rs.1,120 crore (Rs.11.2 billion/$224 million) this fiscal from sale of government equity in state-owned units, according to the budget papers Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in parliament Monday. In 2009-10, "disinvestment proceeds have been estimated at Rs.1,120 crore which includes disinvestment of a small portion of equity in Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), Cochin Ship Yard Ltd, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd, Manganese Ore India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd," the Receipts Budget 2009-10 said.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday reduced duties on large cars while unveiling the 2009-10 budget proposals. A leading NGO said this would increase air pollution in a big way.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor C. Rangarajan said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's union budget presented in parliament Monday was a difficult balancing act.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the railway budget would be a "pro-people" budget. "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget," Banerjee said after an all-party meeting here.

June 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A persistent fly kept buzzing around Delhi Finance Minister A.K. Walia as he was presenting the budget Monday.

June 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has hiked its defence spending for fiscal 2009-10 to Rs.347 billion ($4 billion) in the budget presented in parliament Saturday. Of this, Rs.343 billion has been allocated for the armed forces, Rs.463 million for defence production and Rs.840 million for the defence division, Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar said while delivering the first budget speech by a woman in Pakistan's history.

March 21st, 2009 KOLKATA - The West Bengal assembly was plunged into chaos Friday as the opposition shouted slogans and walked out alleging the government had presented a full-fledged budget instead of a vote-on-account, which was in violation of the election code. Speaking outside the House, opposition parties Trinamool Congress and Congress threatened to complain to the Election Commission on the Left Front government paying no heed to the model conduct code in force for the election.

February 15th, 2009 MUMBAI - Indian equities slipped further Monday as acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee delivered his interim budget speech. In the first part of his speech, Mukherjee signalled that the future economic situation looked grim.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Monday said the 'aam admi', or common man, has been badly let down during the five years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee began presenting the interim budget for the next fiscal amid expectations that measures will be announced to cushion the impact of global meltdown on the Indian economy, and help revive consumer demand. The exercise began with Mukherjee reading out his budget speech in the Lok Sabha, during which he will also seek an approval to finance the government's expenditure, till such time the regular budget is presented by a new government after elections, and passed by parliament.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had to Monday interrupt the interim budget presentation by Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee after Janata Dal-Secular MP M.P. Veerendra Kumar fell ill.