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Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday raised the Sabarimala gold loss issue during an NDA poll campaign event at Perumbavoor and said even 'God is not safe' in Kerala. While addressing party workers during a roadshow, she said the southern state may be known as 'God's Own Country'. "But God is not safe in Kerala. Even Lord Ayyappa's gold was taken away. So, my humble request is that...we don't want UDF and LDF anymore in the state," Sitharaman said. Launching a scathing attack on the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF and the Congress-led UDF, she accused the traditional fronts of mismanaging Kerala's economy through alternate stints in power. "The UDF and the LDF cannot go on like this. Because Kerala's economy is in a very bad state," the finance minister said. She claimed that the state's financial condition had worsened significantly, alleging that industries were in decline and entrepreneurs were finding it difficult to sustain operations in Kerala. Citing prominent ...
Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said in the Lok Sabha that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been a main and very crucial factor in improving the health of the country's banking sector, including recovery of non-performing assets. Piloting a bill for further amending the IBC in the Lok Sabha, the minister stressed that companies have been doing well and their corporate governance practices have also improved after coming out of the insolvency resolution process. She made the remarks while replying to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as reported by the Select Committee. The Bill has proposed 12 amendments to the IBC, which came into force in 2016. The IBC has been a main and very crucial factor in improving the health of the country's banking sector, Sitharaman said, adding that more than half of the NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) have been recovered by the banks through the resolution process. On August 12, 202
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India is riding on the reform express and reforms are happening with conviction and clarity. Replying to the debate on Finance Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, "Reform is not happening out of compulsion, but out of conviction, with clarity, confidence and commitment. India is riding on the reform express under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." She further said there is a trust-based tax administration that is being improved by reducing unnecessary hardship for honest taxpayers. The government has taken various steps to empower MSMEs, farmers, and cooperatives because they are at the heart of creation of employment for production and for the overall development of India, she said. This Finance bill aims to support them with very many measures that improve liquidity but also reduce the compliance burden and give them the opportunity to have greater contribution towards the larger economy, she ...
There is no proposal of a complete loan waiver for farmers under consideration with the central government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Monday. However, she said, the government has taken several measures to strengthen the economic conditions of the farmers, including timely and adequate credit through Kisan Credit Card (KCC), wherein crop loan up to Rs 3 lakh is provided at subsidised interest rates under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), with additional incentives for timely repayment. Besides, the government has enhanced collateral free short-term agricultural loans, including loans for allied activities, from Rs 1.60 lakh to Rs 2.00 lakh and ensuring adequate flow of credit from the banking system to the priority sectors of the economy, including agriculture, under Priority Sector Lending guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), she said in a reply to the Lok Sabha. Additionally, the government has launched crop insurance
The Lok Sabha on Monday referred the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to a joint parliamentary committee comprising members from both Houses of Parliament for a detailed analysis and recommendations. The decision was taken following a voice vote after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested it. Earlier, after the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha, opposition members Manish Tewari (Congress), Saugata Roy (Trinamool Congress) and T Sumathy (DMK) strongly opposed it, alleging that the legislation sought to dilute the provisions of law under which companies mandatorily have to pay 2 per cent of their profits towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). The finance minister strongly refuted the allegations and said that the Bill has been introduced after two years of deliberations. She said the apprehensions of the members were unfounded as the Bill seeks to amend only the criteria of net profits, not the entire clause related to CSR. Sitharaman then suggested to Speaker O
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday told the Lok Sabha that approval for central grants is one thing and applying for the amount by the states is another thing as she mentioned that Kerala did not avail Rs 311.95 crore as part of national disaster mitigation fund. The minister was responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour on the arrears of grants and amounts pending from the central government towards Kerala. Sitharaman, who is in charge of the finance and corporate affairs ministries, said a state has to provide the utilisation certificate so that the next round of funds can be released. For instance, she said there was a specific case related to Kerala where despite the allocation, the Kerala government has not even drawn the amount. An amount of Rs 311.95 for the National Disaster Mitigation Fund that includes Rs 72 crore for risk mitigation project in the landslide-affected territories of Wayanad. Another Rs 17.73 crore was approved for forest fire mitigat
The government will soon come out with a modified Stand-Up India scheme to provide better benefits to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs looking to set up new projects, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Launched in 2016, the Stand-Up India scheme aimed to empower Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and women entrepreneurs by facilitating bank loans for setting up new enterprises. The scheme expired on March 31, 2025. Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha, the Minister said the modified scheme will incorporate lessons learnt in implementation of the original Stand-Up India scheme. "With studies done by Niti Aayog and others, this scheme is being redrafted and sooner the Cabinet will be given a proposal with which we will launch a new scheme to continue with this Stand-Up which benefitted SC/ST and women all over the country," Sitharaman said. The scheme provided loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore at the lowest applicable rate of the bank f
The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the second batch of supplementary demands for grants, allowing the government to spend an additional Rs 2.01 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Through the second batch of supplementary demands, the government sought Lok Sabha approval for spending a gross of Rs 2.81 lakh crore extra in the current fiscal year. With additional receipts of Rs 80,000 crore estimated for the current fiscal year in the supplementary, the net additional cash spending will be Rs 2.01 lakh crore. Despite the additional expenditure, the fiscal deficit for the current financial year (2025-26) will be within the Revised Estimates (RE), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while replying to the debate. The second batch of supplementary demands was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha amid din. Opposition members were protesting over the availability of LPG in the country amid the ongoing West Asia crisis. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the passage of the ...
The government on Tuesday sought Lok Sabha approval for gross additional expenditure of over Rs 2.81 lakh crore in current fiscal year. The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "Approval of Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 2,81,289.26 crore. Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 2,01,142.96 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/Departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries aggregates to Rs 80,145.71 crore," said the Supplementary Demands for Grants.