Page 22 - Finance Minister

Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting on June 20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a pre-budget consultation with industry stakeholders on June 20. Here's what to expect

FM Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting with industry chambers on Jun 20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to hold pre-budget consultations with industry chambers on June 20, sources said. The budget for 2024-25 fiscal is likely to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July. Industry sources said the pre-budget consultation with Sitharaman would be preceded by a meeting with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on June 18. The 2024-25 Budget is likely to lay out Modi 3.0 government's economic agenda. The finance minister will have to look at measures to boost growth without hurting inflation as well as look for resources to meet the coalition government's compulsion. The economic agenda would include steps to fast-rack reforms to make India a USD 5-trillion economy in near future and turn the country into a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. The Indian economy is projected to grow 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of improving rural demand and moderating inflation, as per RBI estimates. The Modi 3.0 government inherits a strong

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to set new record with 7th consecutive Union Budget

With the interim budget presented on February 1 of this year, Sitharaman equalled Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets

Agreement with IMF for fresh loan expected next month: Pak Finance Minister

Pakistan's finance minister Mohammad Aurangzeb on Thursday said an agreement to secure a fresh loan to address the country's economic woes is expected to be reached with the International Monetary Fund next month. Aurangzeb, while addressing a post-budget press conference here, a day after unveiling the Rs 18,877 billion budget, announced that negotiations with the IMF were underway and going in the right direction. I don't want to say anything in finality other than the fact that it's (IMF talks) moving positively, he said and expressed hope that a staff-level agreement (SLA) is expected in July too. He, however, declined to talk further on the topic of SLA. The budget, which many believe is designed to meet IMF requirements for securing another USD 6 billion to USD 8 billion loans under the medium-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF), marks a 25 per cent increase over the outgoing fiscal year's outlay. The government has proposed historically-high additional taxes through various .

'Ease of living': Back in office, Nirmala Sitharaman lists priorities

Says reforms undertaken since 2014 will continue

Analysts welcome PM Modi's faith in Sitharaman as finance minister

Some analysts see spending on infrastructure, which soared under Sitharaman, to remain a big focus of the government

Modi 3.0: Nirmala Sitharaman set to present seventh Budget in a row

A JNU alumnus, Sitharaman led the country in the G20 discussions, bringing to the table for the very first time issues related to cryptocurrency and other much-needed reforms as well

Economy expected to have grown at slower pace in Jan-Mar qtr: Survey

The median forecast from a survey of 54 economists put GDP growth at 6.7% year-on-year for the three months, the fourth quarter of India's 2023-24 fiscal

Centre saved over Rs 25,500 cr via fund transfer norms: FM Sitharaman

The NDA government has disclosed off-Budget funded schemes in the Budget documents from FY22

Modi govt reshaped, transformed Budget in last decade: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Modi government has reshaped the Union budget in the last 10 years from a mere record of expenditures to a strategic blueprint for equitable distribution. The minister asserted that the government would continue to maximise the value of taxpayers' money by putting it to the best possible use. She said the Modi government has prioritised transparency in its budgeting practices and numbers. Countries with transparent budgets are often viewed more favourably by international bodies such as the IMF and World Bank. This can lead to improved global trust. "This starkly contrasts the @INCIndia-led UPA government's repetitive practice of hiding the deficits through off-budget borrowings and issuance of 'Oil Bonds', which somewhat covertly shifted the fiscal burden to future generations. Under UPA, standard fiscal practices were routinely changed to make Budget numbers look favourable," Sitharaman said in a series of posts on X. She sa

LS polls: If economy growing fast, why people not prosperous, asks Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the BJP-led Centre on Sunday, asking why people have not prospered if the country's economy is growing at a rapid pace. Addressing her first Lok Sabha poll rally in Punjab in favour of Amar Singh, the Congress candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "speaking lies and making hollow promises to the public only to capture power". At another rally in Chandigarh, she countered the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) charge that the Congress is anti-Hindu, saying her party's philosophy is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which has taught people about truth, love, harmony and non-violence. In Fatehgarh Sahib, the Congress general secretary urged people to ensure Singh's victory in the June 1 polls. Hitting out at the Modi government, she claimed that 70 crore youngsters are unemployed in the country and the rate of unemployment is the highest in 45 years. Gandhi said 30 lakh posts are vacan

New book on FMs reveals complex yet interesting times of 1977-98

The period covers the first demonetisation, first attempts in tax reforms, balance of payments crisis

Govt considers easier regulations for CPSEs' entry into 'Ratna' club

A second official said the Ratna status allows CPSEs to do hassle free business. "They don't have to come to the government for permission for every business decision," the official added

PE funds partly behind the 62% drop in India's net FDI? Samir Arora's view

The ace fund manager was reacting on 'X' to a Business Standard story that quotes a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on gross FDI flows into the country in FY24

FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks ICAI to set up 'Big 4'- like Indian firm

Interacting with the ICAI in Patna, Sitharaman sought a commitment from them to start work on the same as part of their 100-day agenda for Viksit Bharat by 2047

India must up its share in global manufacturing: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Some economists, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, have said recently that India should focus on services sector rather than manufacturing as it has missed that opportunity

FM's 'khata khat' remark: Cong accuses her of overseeing peak unemployment

The Congress on Tuesday hit back at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for questioning the finances behind the Congress' poll guarantees of providing Rs one lakh per annum to poor women and youth of the country and accused her of overseeing record unemployment and price rise. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while Sitharaman considers the Congress guarantees benefitting 99 per cent population as "lofty" but not the Rs 16 lakh crore loan write off for the prime minister's "cronies" or a Rs 2 lakh crore corporate tax cut for 0.7% of the largest firms that went straight into his "friends'" pockets. He asserted that the schemes promised by the Congress will be properly executed by the INDIA bloc government starting next month. "It is typical of the Modi government to describe only those policies intended to benefit 99% of the population as 'revdi', while billions handed out to the PM's cronies are excluded from this category. "The good news is that these .

Unchecked explosion of retail trading can spark market stability issues: FM

The ratio of the notional value of derivatives traded in India to more traditional cash trading is 422 times, the world's highest, Axis Mutual Fund said in an October 2023 report

IDBI Bank stake sale: FinMin in talks with RBI to hurry vetting process

Govt hopes to conclude transaction by FY25-end

PSUs not in disarray, but thriving under Modi regime, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said PSUs have suffered under the Congress-led UPA government and previously neglected ones like, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), have seen a 'resurgence' under the Modi government. Rebutting allegations by the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi that state-owned companies are in a disarray, Sitharaman said such claims are a textbook example of the pot calling the kettle black. In a post on X, the Minister said that under the Modi-government, public sector undertakings (PSUs) are thriving, benefiting significantly from the culture of professionalism infused in them along with increased operational freedom. PSUs have suffered under the Congress-led UPA government. PSUs that were previously neglected under the UPA government, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, have seen a resurgence under the Modi government, she said. "Repeated claims from "the @INCIndia ecosystem and @RahulGandhi in particular that Public Sector .