Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has presented an annual budget that focuses on wooing the salaried middle class with tax cuts and spurring economic growth by boosting agriculture and manufacturing.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to raise spending to create more jobs and spur economic growth.

India’s finance minister has unveiled a short-term budget to meet government expenditures until national elections are held by May, saying it will boost spending on infrastructure projects, build homes for poor villagers and cut the fiscal deficit by reducing subsidies.

A meeting in India of finance chiefs and central bank governors of the Group of 20 leading economies has ended without consensus because of differences over the war in Ukraine.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations meeting in India are set to address critical global economic challenges, including the threat posed by climate change and rising debt among low-income countries.

A meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies has ended without a consensus, with Russia and China objecting to the description of the war in Ukraine in a final document.

Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several new clean energy initiatives in her annual federal budget speech on Wednesday, saying “green growth” is a top priority for the country.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to ramp up capital spending by 33% in a $550 billion annual budget designed to spur economic growth and create jobs ahead of a general election next year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has included hefty spending on infrastructure projects in its annual budget, looking to spur growth and improve its popularity just ahead of key state elections.

India’s economy is projected to grow 8% to 8.5% in the financial year beginning April 1, signaling a strong recovery after it was slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)NEW DELHI – India’s government has proposed to increase spending on health care in a $477 billion budget for 2021-22 that promises extra help for weathering the coronavirus pandemic. “India is well well-poised to be the land of promise and hope," she said in explaining the budget for the fiscal year that begins April 1. India currently spends about 1% of its gross domestic product on health, the lowest among major economies. But a surprise demonetization in 2016 and the hasty rollout of a goods and services tax in 2017 were harsh blows for manufacturing, the largest contributor to India’s economy. The government provided a $266 billion pandemic relief package in May and a $35.1 billion package in November to cushion the blow from the lockdowns and virus outbreaks.

India's economy contracted by 7.7% in the 2020-21 financial year, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Friday. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)NEW DELHI – India's economy contracted by 7.7% in the 2020-21 financial year, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Friday. A country enters a technical recession if its economy contracts for two successive quarters. The downturn followed a strict two-month lockdown imposed across the country beginning in March to combat the pandemic. That was followed by a $35.14 billion package to stimulate the economy by boosting jobs, consumer demand, manufacturing, agriculture and exports hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)NEW DELHI – A promise of free COVID-19 vaccination has become an issue in key state elections in India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the promise when releasing the ruling Hindu nationalist party’s manifesto for elections that begin in Bihar state next week. The promise angered the Congress and other opposition parties who accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party of politicizing the pandemic and playing on people’s fears. India added fewer than 60,000 new cases for a fifth day Friday, with the 54,366 new cases taking the overall tally past 7.7 million. It has the second-most cases in the world behind the U.S., though cases have declined in recent weeks.

Daniel Berehulak /Getty ImagesNEW DELHI - India is slashing taxes on companies and manufacturers to try to revive its struggling economy. The tax cuts will result in a 1.45 trillion rupee ($20.4 billion) drop in government revenues every year, according to Sitharaman. The government has also eased rules on foreign investment and relaxed regulations that prevented companies like Apple from opening stores in India. Sitharaman said boosting India's manufacturing will mean "a lot more investment, a lot more employment generation [and] a lot more economic activity" in the long run. Analysts say the tax cuts will help.

(CNN) - India on Wednesday announced a complete ban on the sale of all e-cigarettes, saying the devices posed a health risk, especially to young people. "Unfortunately, e-cigarettes got promoted initially as a way in which people can get out of the habit of smoking cigarettes. Sitharaman said the deaths of seven people in the U.S. following vaping-related sicknesses had added to local concerns about the impact of e-cigarettes on people's health. She said that an emergency ordinance banning the use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) will be issued in the coming days. According to the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report, 39 countries have banned the sale of e-cigarettes or nicotine liquids.