Finance Ministry

Economists say the India-US trade deal could lift FY27 GDP growth by 20-40 basis points by boosting exports and reducing uncertainty, though risks from imports remain

Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty

The government, along with the regulator, is carefully watching the rupee, which has slipped below the 90 mark against the US dollar, and may take measures once the situation becomes uncomfortable, Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said on Monday. "Anything above 90, everyone starts talking about it. Even, we start watching it carefully. It is a question of flows, and we are impacted by that," he told PTI in an interview. However, she said, a depreciating rupee does have a certain value in terms of export competitiveness whenever it happens. "We are watching together with regulators and other stakeholders. We will see how to handle it if a situation more than uncomfortable happens," she said. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, the rupee depreciated by around 6.5 per cent between 1 April 2025 and January 22, 2026, making it one of the weakest-performing currencies in this period. Its fall was comparable to that of the Japanese yen, which lost about 5.5 per cent, and

Budget 2026 puts mental health, biopharma manufacturing and medical skilling at the centre, with Nimhans 2.0 and drug affordability shaping a broader healthcare realignment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Union Budget, aligned with India's recent trade deals, provides unprecedented support to MSMEs, sunrise sectors and infrastructure, laying the foundation for jobs

Watch the full Union Budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 at 11 AM. This will be Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget speech

Finance Ministry asks NABARD to study RRB mergers' impact as viability reforms, IPO plans and tech integration aim to boost sustainability, inclusion and rural credit growth

The upcoming Budget is going to put emphasis on easing the debt-to-GDP ratio, which is around 56 per cent, instead of targetting a specific fiscal deficit number as the country has almost reached the end of the glide path envisaged in the FRBM legislation. A fiscal deficit of 3-4 per cent is considered comfortable and a desirable target for a growing, developing economy like India, aiming to balance economic expansion with financial stability. Under the revised Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the fiscal deficit target was below 4.5 per cent of GDP for 2025-26. Therefore, the union government announced a new glide path with the debt-to-GDP ratio as the fiscal anchor. So, the roadmap for the next six years was announced in the FRBM statement released on February 1, 2025. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech in July 2024, had said, "The fiscal consolidation path announced by me in 2021 has served our economy very well, and we aim to reach

Ahead of Budget FY27, exporters seek correction of inverted duties, lower taxes for MSME manufacturers and targeted support for shipping and R&D

As Union Budget 2026 approaches, healthcare leaders spell out priorities to curb preventable disease, cut out-of-pocket costs, and strengthen India's health system at scale

Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju on Tuesday asked Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSICs) to ensure timely resolution of public grievances and to provide seamless, prompt claims processing, in order to provide efficient services to customers. Chairing a meeting to review the financial performance of PSICs for FY25 and the first half of FY26, Nagaraju emphasized that PSICs should focus on increasing profitable business and devise strategies to reduce loss ratios, while maintaining market share and consistently strengthening their retail portfolios. The meeting was attended by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) CEO and MD R Doraiswamy, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) ED Hitesh Joshi, New India Assurance Co. Ltd (NIACL) CMD Girija Subramanian, National Insurance Co. Ltd (NICL) CMD Rajeshwari Singh Muni and United India Insurance Co Ltd (UIICL) CMD B S Rahul. Besides, Oriental Insurance Co Ltd (OICL) CMD Sanjay Joshi and Agriculture Insurance Company of Indi

Lenders have sanctioned Rs 3,361.83 crore to 774 applicants under the Rs 20,000-crore Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE) in one month to help promote exports facing the heat of the steep US tariffs. The scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on November 12 provides 100 per cent credit guarantee coverage by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) for extending additional credit facilities up to Rs 20,000 crore to eligible exporters, including MSMEs. CGSE was made operational on December 1, 2025. It enables banks and financial institutions to extend additional financial assistance to Indian exporters during a period of certain headwinds, which shall diversify their markets and enhance their global competitiveness. "Applications worth Rs 8,764.81 crore (1,840 applications) received, out of which Rs 3,361.83 crore (774 applications) sanctioned by the lenders" till January 2, 2026, Department of Financial Services (DFS) unde

"The meeting, to be chaired by the Joint Secretary (banking) in DFS, will assess the status of unclaimed deposits transferred to the DEA Fund and the pace of claims settlement across banks

The government is considering changes to insurance commission structures to lower acquisition costs and improve affordability, DFS Secretary M Nagaraju said

As the Centre reviews hundreds of schemes, the push to rationalise spending could reshape fiscal federalism, ease pressure on states, and improve the efficiency of public expenditure

Of the total projects, 232 are related to central ministries and departments, while the remaining 630 are with states and Union Territories

54 centrally sponsored and 260 central-sector schemes may be reappraised for next financial year

Move aimed at making safe-harbour rules more attractive and practical

From the finance ministry came a mix of revenue-raising and trade-defence actions. Taxes on tobacco products will increase from the beginning of next month

Gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday. Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore. Gross revenue from domestic transactions rose 1.2 per cent to over Rs 1.22 lakh crore, while revenues from imported goods were up 19.7 per cent at Rs 51,977 crore during December, 2025. Refunds were up 31 per cent to Rs 28,980 crore in December. Net GST revenues (after adjusting refunds) stood at over Rs 1.45 lakh crore, up 2.2 per cent year-on-year. Cess collection last month dipped to Rs 4,238 crore, as against Rs 12,003 crore collected in December 2024. Effective September 22, 2025, GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper. Also, a compensation cess levy is levied only on tobacco and related products, as against luxury, sin and demerit goods earlier. The