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India, like other developing nations, faces a stiff challenge in attracting capital flows as near-term uncertainties over US trade relations, crude price spikes, and the lack of an India angle in global AI developments weigh on its investment attractiveness, a Finance Ministry report said on Thursday. Stating that high-frequency indicators for July-August 2026 suggest some moderation in the pace of economic activity following the strong 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter (April-June), the Monthly Economic Review said global conditions have turned unfavourable again, with an oil price spike in September and short-term pressure on the Indian currency remaining. "Geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty means that India cannot afford to rest on its post-Covid growth laurels. It has to be earned every quarter. That is the challenge for policymakers," said the Monthly Economic Review for September. The report highlighted the need to make the Indian economy "more ...
The finance ministry will begin a month-long series of pre-budget meetings from October 12 as part of the preparations for Union Budget 2027-28. "Pre-budget discussions to finalise RE (Revised Estimate) 2026-27 and BE (Budget Estimate) 2027-28 in respect of the Grants/appropriations will commence with effect from 12.10.2026 under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Expenditure)," a notice by the Budget Division of the ministry said. The notice dated September 23, 2026, circulated to all ministries and departments, has a schedule of meetings with the Department of Expenditure. The schedule has been prepared taking into account various exigencies, and is being circulated well in advance. Hence, ministries and departments should ensure that the necessary details required should be submitted by October 6, 2026, the notice said. These meetings will continue till November 13 as per the schedule. The Budget Estimates for 2027-28 will be provisionally finalised after completion of pre-budget
The Finance Ministry has called a meeting of chief executives of public sector banks and regional rural banks on Monday to discuss measures to ensure continuity of banking operations and essential customer services during the three-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions to press for 5-day banking and other demands. The bank unions have called a 3-day nationwide strike beginning September 28, which may impact banking services for five days as the weekend before September 28 is a holiday. This strike, if it materialises, would coincide with the half-yearly closing of the banking sector. Bank unions under UFBU had gone on nationwide strike on September 11 over their demand. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary will chair a meeting on Monday of chief executives of public sector banks (PSBs) and regional rural banks (RRBs) to discuss measures to ensure continuity of banking operations and essential customer services during the strike period, according to a .
The Finance Ministry will organise a two-day conference of finance ministers and finance secretaries of states and Union Territories with legislature here on September 18-19 to deliberate policy priorities for India's development journey towards Viksit Bharat. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the conference, which will bring together several chief ministers and finance ministers of states along with senior state government officials, the ministry said in a statement. The conference, titled 'Financing India's Journey Towards Viksit Bharat', will focus on policy complementarities between the Centre and states, and seek to bring together academic research and practical policymaking to discuss financing requirements for India's development, it said. Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur will outline the objectives of the conference during the inaugural session, it said. The keynote address will be delivered by N K Singh, President and Life Trustee of t
The finance ministry on Wednesday clarified that there was no foreign influence behind the decision to impose 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. The clarification follows accusations by some Opposition parties, including the Congress, that the government succumbed to US pressure in taking the decision to impose the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). "Some claims suggest the change is due to foreign influence. This is false. India's UPI policy decisions are made independently, with the clear goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem," the finance ministry said in a post on X. Since its launch in 2016, UPI has grown into the world's largest real-time interoperable payment system - entirely on India's own terms, it said. UPI processed 24.5 billion transactions in August 2026 alone. To keep this system self-sustainable, secure and innovative, a small fee on high-value merchant transactions helps fund better
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday called for independent research on tax policy to become part of public discourse, saying tax professionals must look beyond sectoral interests and put the national interest first. Sitharaman was speaking at the Eighth International Tax Conference on 'New Age Taxation' here organised by the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation. "A mature tax policy debate must go beyond sectoral considerations," she said, urging tax professionals to "rise above sectoral consideration and put nation first." Sitharaman said the government had deliberately rationalised provisions relating to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS), raised thresholds and reduced unnecessary criminal consequences. On international taxation, the finance minister said India renegotiated its tax treaties with Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus to restore its right to tax capital gains at source.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. "Sanjay Malhotra, Governor-@RBI calls on @nsitharaman," the office of the Finance Minister said in a post on X. The meeting comes weeks after India logged a record 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year despite global uncertainties. The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the RBI's rate-setting panel, is scheduled for October 5-7, 2026. In August, the central bank kept the short-term lending rate (repo) unchanged at 5.25 per cent for the fourth time in a row. The Reserve Bank should raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points next month and again in December as a countermeasure to persistent external shocks, elevated crude oil prices and signs of broader inflationary pressures, an SBI research report said on Friday. "Just one month back, there were practically not much talks of rate hikes, and most (if not all) expected a
The finance ministry has nudged all ministries and departments to move to Producer Price Index (PPI), from the current Wholesale Price Index (WPI), for rate escalation and adjustment clauses in future government procurement contracts. The Department of Expenditure, in a communication to all ministries and departments, said that PPI is a more internationally accepted index compared to WPI used in government contracts to define price escalation. For the first time, the commerce ministry has started issuing monthly PPI data for both goods and services since June to better reflect price movement at the producer's level, thus paving the way for phasing out wholesale price inflation numbers in the next five years. "Ministries/Departments are encouraged to adopt Producer Price Index (PPI) in place of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in all price escalation clauses of future contracts, once PPI becomes available," the expenditure department said in an office memorandum dated July 13, which was .
The Standing Committee on Finance has flagged the "crippling" 43 per cent vacancy in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), and recommended setting up a task-force to ensure the early filling of all 38 vacant positions. Lamenting that "no tangible progress" has been made in resolving vacancies at DIPAM since the Committee's report presented in March, the panel said, "for a department overseeing a public asset portfolio exceeding Rs 42.76 lakh crore, routine administrative correspondence is grossly inadequate". The Standing Committee, in its report tabled in Parliament in March, had noted that maintaining only 51 officers against a sanctioned strength of 89 - with critical shortages at the Director (11 vacancies) and Under Secretary (8 vacancies) levels - "severely jeopardises" the department's ability to execute complex transactions like the IDBI Bank sale or finalise CPSE MoUs. Such significant manpower shortages in a field requiring highly specialised ..
The Finance Ministry has advised central government entities procuring consultancy services through the GeM portal against prescribing excessively high turnover and payroll requirements, saying such criteria could unnecessarily restrict competition. In an office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure said that procurement agencies should ensure that the prescribed minimum staff strength in a tender is commensurate with the manpower required for the satisfactory execution of the consultancy assignment. "... Disproportionately high staff strength requirements, without adequate justification, may unnecessarily restrict competition," said the memorandum issued by the Procurement Policy Division of the Expenditure Department. The department said a sample study of consultancy procurement tenders floated on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) over the last three financial years had revealed certain issues about eligibility and qualification criteria. The study revealed instances of ...