Nirmala

Amid the row over divestment of IDBI Bank, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday took on the Congress party and the previous UPA government, alleging they used banks and financial institutions as "personal entities" and pressured bank employees to extend loans at their whim, bypassing prudent lending norms. In a post on X, the Finance Minister also cited several instances from the Congress-led government, including the removal of SBI Chairman R K Talwar in 1976 under Indira Gandhi's rule after he allegedly refused to give in to political pressure to relax lending norms for a company linked to Sanjay Gandhi. She was responding to a post on X by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on IDBI Bank. On the remarks made by Rahul Gandhi, Sitharaman said, "IDBI Bank was handed over to us in poor shape, as IDBI itself was forced to lend to large business groups with close connections to @INCIndia leaders such as Videocon, Winsome, ABG Shipyard, and Kingfisher. "These turned into bad .

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Centre is committed to reducing the fiscal deficit, as evidenced by the annual budgets, stressing that the national debt will be limited to 50 per cent of the GDP by 2030. Addressing concerns about the national debt, she said that since the post-COVID period, every nation has faced debt challenges. "We are committed to reducing the fiscal deficit, as evidenced by our annual budgets. We have openly stated our goal that by 2030, the national debt will be limited to 50 per cent of the GDP. We are consistently putting in place measures to reduce the Union Government's debt, and international organisations have acknowledged India's disciplined approach to debt management." Sitharaman told reporters here.

Giving or taking more beyond that plateau would be 'very, very difficult' for both countries, Sitharaman said at an event in New Delhi

The next phase of consumption will be driven by upward mobility into brackets where discretionary spending accelerates, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday urged the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation (ITRAF) to make its independent tax policy research more visible and contribute directly to policymaking and public discourse. Addressing the Eighth International Tax Conference on 'New Age Taxation' organised by ITRAF here, Sitharaman said India had professionals and experts of the highest calibre in taxation but needed stronger institutional platforms to bring their expertise together and contribute to policy choices. "You have so far contributed quietly, and I would now urge you to contribute visibly, because I understand that the commentary you produce is of such high quality and it reaches the profession, but it should also reach the policy processes, and it should reach the public at large," she said. Sitharaman said ITRAF had brought together chief financial officers and tax heads of major technology companies, senior advocates, partners of leading professional

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.

Sitharaman criticised the Congress for staging protest at the recently concluded AI Impact Summit, calling the demonstration "inappropriate".

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday came down heavily on banks resorting to mis-selling of financial products, including insurance, saying it is an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). "Banks should concentrate on their core business... My pet peeve has always been .... you're spending more time on selling insurance when it is not required, and conveniently, it fell between two stools (of RBI and IRDAI)," Sitharaman told reporters after her customary post-Budget address to the Central Board of the RBI. On February 11, the RBI had issued draft guidelines on mis-selling, saying banks will have to refund the entire amount paid by the customer for purchase of the product or service and also compensate the customer for any loss arising due to mis-selling as per an approved policy. The public has been given time until March 4 to give feedback. The stricter norms on mis-selling will come into effect from July 1, the RBI had said. "I am glad that the RBI is coming up

Budget 2024: The Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 is scheduled to be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there is no proposal to relax the existing terms for borrowing capacity of state governments, including Kerala for 2023-24. Kerala has requested the Centre to allow an additional borrowing equivalent to one per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) over and above the borrowing ceiling fixed for 2023-24 fiscal year. In a reply in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the Centre applies a common yardstick while fixing the annual borrowing limit of all state governments under Article 293(3) of the Constitution. In doing so, it is guided by the recommendations of the Finance Commission, she said. To a question on whether the Centre proposes to relax the existing borrowing terms considering the financial crisis of Kerala, Sitharaman replied in the negative. For current fiscal year, the gross borrowing ceiling of Kerala has been fixed at Rs 47,762.58 crore. Out of this, Rs 29,136.71 crore is Open Market Borrowing (OMB) while the rest is

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, who cast her vote for Karnataka Assembly polls on Wednesday, expressed confidence about BJP coming back to power in the state with full majority and criticised the Congress over inflation during UPA rule. On the issue of rising inflation, the Union minister said she and the BJP government stand with the people and want the prices to come down. Contending that the BJP government is making efforts to control price rise, she hit out at the Congress saying that it doesn't have any right to criticise the Centre on the issue as inflation was constantly high during its tenure. "You are watching for yourself the situation here, senior citizens, youth, women have come with families and are peacefully standing in queues to cast their votes, and looking at the way in which they interacted with me it is clear to me that BJP will come back victorious with full majority," Sitharaman told reporters here after voting. To a question on the foremost issues on

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington on Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the third pillar will now have to be sustainable goals and other climate-related objectives, climate funding, and so forth.Underlining how India's presidency has brought attention to the necessity to incorporate these factors while still being compatible with World Bank objectives and not merely balancing on them, Sitharaman said that New Delhi from its presidency very clearly highlighted that it's going to be how a perfect balance is traced the developmental goals and climate finance.Addressing the media queries, Sitharaman also highlighted the post-pandemic development requirements and laid emphasis on how the focus should lie on them, solely."Not just development funding for low-income countries, post-pandemic development requirements becoming lot more focussed. We're also highlighting core 2 things for World Bank - extreme poverty alleviation & bringing prosperity post

The plant-based meat market in India is likely to touch $500 million in three years, according to analysts.

States will demand an extension of the compensation period or a change in the GST revenue distribution formula

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today expressed the hope that Budget 2016-17, to be present next week, will allocate required funds for Start-up India programme. She said her ministry, Commerce and Industry, will do its best to solve the financial difficulties being faced by start-ups. Speaking on the "role of Centre through Start-up India initiative" at a programme here, the minister said "the government, I am sure, will be a lot more flexible in dealing with issues raised by start-ups and we are not just looking at tech-based or application-based start-ups". She added: "With the kind of start-ups and the kind of activity generated, India was ranked third globally and this cannot happen unless there was ground swell for it and youth are already at it." Stating that she would rather put a lot of energy in pure science related matters, health, space and defense, Sitharaman said she saw everything going in favour of Coimbatore to be the start-up capital. "You .