Financials
Greater Boost to e-governance, new scheme for software export industry
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NEW DELHI: The Government today announced its proposal to enhance the allocation for e-governance from Rs. 395 crore in the year 2006-07 to Rs. 719 crore in 2007-2008.
Presenting the Budget proposals in the Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the Government had launched an ambitious programme for e-governance with the objective of improving efficiency, convenience, accessibility and transparency in Government functions and take Government services to the common citizen. He said the Central Government supports e-governance action plan at State levels and therefore it was proposed to increase the allocation for such support from Rs. 300 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 500 crore in 2007-08.
The Minister also proposed to provide Rs. 33 crore for a new scheme of manpower development for the software export industry.
Mr Chidambaram noted that e-filing of corporate returns introduced this financial year had been a resounding success and until January 31, 2007, 301,736 returns were electronically filed by corporates. The Ministry’s analysis showed that ‘the effective rate of tax paid by all corporates, thanks to numerous tax concessions and exemptions – several of them well-intended – was only 19.2 per cent’. He therefore decided to extend Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to income in respect of which deduction is claimed under sections 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act.
MAT had been introduced in 1996-97 for companies with book profits, and its purpose was to bring about horizontal equity in taxation.
Extending service tax to renting of immovable property for use in commerce or business, the Minister excluded residential properties and land for entertainment.
While bidding goodbye to 200,000 assesses through service tax proposals, the Minister said he proposed to bring new assesses into the fold by extending service tax to fields like the Development and supply of content for use in telecom and advertising purposes; asset management services provided by individuals; and
Design services.
The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers had agreed to work with the Central Government to prepare a roadmap for introducing a national level Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from April 1, 2010.
Keeping in mind the special needs of several sectors and the interest of the consumers, the Minister mooted a proposal to raise the exemption limit for small scale industry (SSI) from Rs.1 crore to Rs. 1.5 crore. The exemption limit for small service providers was being increased from Rs. 400,000 to Rs. 800,000. While noting that this will mean 200,000 assesses out of a total of 400,000 assesses will go out of the service tax net, he said he was happy to give away the revenue loss of Rs. 800 crore in the interest of the small service provider and the consumer.
The Minister said the telecommunications industry had repeatedly requested that the multifarious taxes, charges and fees applicable to the industry should be unified and a single levy on revenue should be collected. He had accepted this proposal and proposed to request the Department of Telecommunications to constitute a committee to study the present structure of levies and make suitable recommendations to Government.
He proposed to exempt from service tax all services provided by technology business incubators to encourage innovation. Similarly, their incubatees whose annual business turnover does not exceed Rs. 50 lakhs will be exempt from service tax for the first three years.
As a measure to encourage small and medium enterprises to invest and grow, the Minister said the surcharge on income tax will be removed on all firms and companies with a taxable income of Rs. One crore or less, benefiting about 1,200,000 firms and companies.
Since VAT (Value Added Tax) had proved to be an unqualified success and VAT revenues of the implementing States increased by 13.8 per cent in 2005-06 and by 24.3 per cent in the first nine months of 2006-07, the next logical step was to phase out Central Sales Tax (CST) and the Central Government had reached an agreement with State Governments in this regard. Consequently, the CST rate will be reduced from 4 per cent to 3 per cent with effect from April 1, 2007 and Rs. 5,495 crore had been provided for compensation for losses, if any, on account of VAT and also on account of CST.
Noting that venture capital funds were a useful source of risk capital for start-up ventures in the knowledge-intensive sectors, the Minister said it was necessary to limit the tax benefit to investments made in truly deserving sectors. He therefore announced that among other industries, information technology relating to hardware and software development would be given pass-through status to venture capital funds only in respect of investments in venture capital undertakings.
MUMBAI: It’s time to brief the markets: Page Industries is showing that even when regulations tighten, it can still keep its footing in the innerwear business. The Bengaluru-based apparel major has reported its financials for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, delivering a performance that remains steady and well put together.
The company’s top line showed plenty of elasticity this quarter. Revenue from operations stretched to Rs 1,38,675.71 lakhs, a healthy jump from the Rs 1,29,085.82 lakhs reported in the preceding quarter. Compared to the same period last year, which stood at Rs 1,31,305.10 lakhs, it’s clear the brand’s grip on the market isn’t loosening. Total income for the quarter, including other finance gains, reached a comfortable Rs 1,39,919.03 lakhs.
However, it wasn’t all smooth silk. The Government of India’s new unified Labour Codes, covering everything from wages to social security, officially kicked in on 21 November 2025. This regulatory shift forced Page Industries to account for a one-time “exceptional item” cost of Rs 3,500.42 lakhs to cover incremental employee benefits and related obligations. Despite this Rs 35-crore legislative snag, the underlying business remained robust. Profit before tax stood at Rs 25,625.35 lakhs after the exceptional hit, and without that one-off cost, the figure would have been a more muscular Rs 29,125.77 lakhs. Net profit for the quarter came in at Rs 18,953.64 lakhs.
Total expenses rose to Rs 1,10,793.26 lakhs, driven largely by raw material consumption of Rs 30,162.65 lakhs and employee benefits of Rs 23,310.66 lakhs. Even so, the company’s operational strength ensured the bottom line remained firmly stitched together.
For shareholders, the news is particularly “fitting.” The Board has declared a third interim dividend for 2025-26 of Rs 125 per equity share. The record date has been set for 11 February 2026, with the payment scheduled on or before 6 March 2026. This follows two previous interim dividends of Rs 150 and Rs 125 declared earlier in the financial year, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sharing the spoils of its success.
Looking at the nine-month stretch ending December 2025, Page Industries has amassed total income of Rs 4,04,090.59 lakhs, with total comprehensive income of Rs 58,231.49 lakhs. While the basic earnings per share for the quarter dipped slightly to Rs 169.93, compared to Rs 183.48 in the same quarter last year, the year-to-date EPS remains a solid Rs 524.57.
Auditors at S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP have given the results a “limited review” thumbs up, reporting no material misstatements. It seems that, as far as Page Industries is concerned, the business remains as well-constructed as its famous Jockey briefs.
