The Congress on Tuesday slammed the Union Budget as being "more focused on posturing than action" and claimed that the "copy-paste government" has borrowed heavily from the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.

The budgetary allocation for the civil aviation ministry has been reduced to Rs 2,357.14 crore for the current fiscal ending next March, with regional air connectivity scheme set to get Rs 502 crore during the same period.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday thanked the Central government for recognising the needs of the state in the Union Budget for fiscal 2024-25 by focusing on the capital city, Polavaram project, industrial nodes and development of backward areas.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said courts should stay bail orders only in exceptional circumstances.

A political slugfest has erupted between the BJP and Congress in Gujarat after the latter alleged that a man held in a drugs case in Surat was close to several top leaders of the ruling party, including Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and the party's state chief C R Paatil.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant changes in customs duties in the Budget 2024, leading to price reductions for several key items. The budget includes major reductions in customs duty on cancer medicines and mobile phones, which will bring down their prices in the retail market. Additionally, imported gold, silver, leather goods, and seafood will also become cheaper.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a cut in customs duty on minerals such as lithium, copper and cobalt, which are critical for nuclear energy, renewable and other sectors, to give a fillip to the energy transition.

The Congress on Tuesday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken a leaf out of its 2024 Lok Sabha polls manifesto by announcing an internship programme but "in their trademark style", the scheme has been designed to "grab headlines with arbitrary targets" rather than a programmatic guarantee.