A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Budget 2020 proposes income tax cuts for those who forgo exemptions; others to pay existing rates: The finance minister said income-tax exemptions may be removed in the long run.
  2. Centre’s plea against stay on 2012 gangrape convicts’ execution to be taken up by Delhi HC today: President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petitions of convicts Vinay Sharma and Akshay Singh.
  3. Gunman opens fire in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, two days after Jamia shooting: Congress said same ideology inspired Shaheen Bagh shooter and Nathuram Godse.
  4. Comedian Kunal Kamra sends legal notice to IndiGo, asks for Rs 25 lakh compensation: The legal notice seeks to have the suspension revoked immediately and asks the airline to tender an unconditional apology.
  5. Bullets will surely work if someone doesn’t listen to reason,’ says Adityanath in Delhi rally: The Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed at another rally that the anti-CAA protestors at Shaheen Bagh resent India’s rise on the global stage.
  6. Union Budget has ‘vision and action, will push up employment’, says PM Modi: Amit Shah, JP Nadda praised Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman for the budget. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said Budget has no strategic idea, Mamata Banerjee criticised Centre’s LIC plan.
  7. Budget 2020 fails to impress markets, Sensex falls almost 1,000 points while Nifty ends over 11,600: The top losers on the Sensex were ITC Limited, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, and State Bank of India.
  8. Government raises FY20 fiscal deficit target to 3.8% of GDP: Nirmala Sitharaman said the agriculture credit target would be increased to Rs 15 lakh crore. The finance ministry allocated Rs 4,400 crore for tackling air pollution in big cities, and there was a marginal increase in allocation for defence forces.
  9. Air India plane evacuates 324 Indians from Wuhan, six offloaded due to fever: Meanwhile, the toll in China increased to 259, with a total of 11,791 infections reported.
  10. Gross GST collection for January crossed Rs 1.1 lakh crore for the second time since rollout: The gross GST revenue for January showed a growth of 12% from its January 2019 figure.