Page 29 - Finance Minister

Commerce ministry to launch portal to provide info to aspiring exporters

The commerce ministry will launch an online platform in the next 2-3 months to provide all relevant information, including details about custom duties, for aspiring exporters. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the portal will act as a one-stop place for getting all information on engaging in export activities. The 'Trade Connect ePlatform' will provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, and easy access of benefits under Free Trade Agreements. Besides, it will facilitate access to sector specific events along with a facility to address trade related queries to officials in Government of India and associated entities to get expert advice.

Cabinet approves creation of 3 officer-level posts for 16th Fin Comm

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of three officer-level posts for assisting the 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the creation of three posts at the level of Joint Secretary i.e. two posts of Joint Secretary and one post of Economic Adviser, for the 16th Finance Commission, an official statement said. "The newly created posts are required to assist the Commission in carrying out its functions," the statement said. All other posts in the commission have already been created as per the delegated powers, it added. In a notification dated December 31, 2023, the government appointed former vice chairman of Niti Aayog Panagariya as the chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey was named as the Secretary to the Commission. The Commission would submit its report to the President by October 31, 2025. The report would be for five years commencing April 1, 2026. Be

Red Sea crisis: Comm dept asks FinMin to maintain credit flow to exporters

Shipping ministry asked to monitor trade volume at major ports in India

Govt may consider cash refunds to exporters to improve cash flow: GTRI

The government can consider giving refunds to exporters in cash instead of scrips for tax remission schemes, as it would immediately improve cash flow for them, economic think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. At present, the refund under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme and the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme is issued as a scrip, which can be used to pay basic customs duties at the time of import. The scrip can be sold to other importers, who can later use the scrip instead of cash for payment of basic customs duty. These schemes refund select central and state levies to Indian exporters. "Refund RODTEP and ROSCTL dues to exporters in cash and not in the form of scrips. This will immediately improve the cash flow of thousands of exporters facing a weak export outlook for 2024," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The RoSCTL refunds taxes for apparel and made-up sectors. RoDTEP covers most of the remaining

Govt levies 50% export duty on molasses, relief for edible oil imports

The government has imposed 50 per cent duty on exports of molasses, a by-product of sugarcane used as raw material for alcohol production, with effect from January 18. A finance ministry notification said molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar will attract 50 per cent export duty. In another notification, the finance ministry extended the existing concessional duty rates on imports of crude and refined edible oils -- palm, soyabean and sunflower -- by one year till March 31, 2025. The basic import duty on refined soyabean oil and sunflower oil was cut to 12.5 per cent from 17.5 per cent , in June last year. India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a small quantity of crude soft oil, including soyabean from Argentina. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.

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LIC receives notification for tax refund of Rs 25,464 crore for 7 AYs

The insurer noted that it will file an appeal with the before Commissioner (Appeals) against all the tax notices

FM seeks more participation from French financial institutions at GIFT City

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met French President Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne and sought greater participation from French financial institutions and operations in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City. "They discussed approaches for further enhancing collaborative positions on climate actions, strengthening international financial institutions and addressing the debt vulnerability in low-and-middle-income countries," the finance ministry said in a post on X. Recognising the synergy between Indian UPI and French Targeted Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), they explored avenues for closer financial integration, it said. "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman encouraged greater participation from French financial institutions and corporations in pathbreaking initiatives and operations in IFSC at @GIFTCity," it said. Bonne is in the national capital ahead of the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macaron as the chief guest for the

Parliament session from January 31, FM to present Interim Budget on Feb 1

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Interim Budget session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both Houses of Parliament

Direct listing of stocks at GIFT City soon, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman also expressed that IFSC should become the platform for the trade of carbon credit

India growing rapidly, to be $30 trn economy by 2047: FM Sitharaman

Relationship between states and centre is of collaborative federalism, she says at Vibrant Gujarat Summit

Centre expected to maintain fiscal discipline in Interim Budget 2024

Interim budget likely to prioritise fiscal consolidation over populist spending, anticipating fiscal deficit at 4.5% of GDP by FY26

ED files fresh charge sheet before special court in Mahadev app case

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a fresh charge sheet before a special court in Raipur in a money laundering case investigation linked to alleged illegal betting and gaming through the Mahadev online book app, official sources said Thursday. The federal agency will share this second prosecution complaint (charge sheet) with authorities in Dubai to secure either the deportation or extradition of the two main promoters of the app-- Ravi Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, they said. The two were recently detained in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol red notice issued against them at the behest of the ED. The agency is understood to have shared the contents of the first charge sheet with the UAE authorities, on the basis of which a non-bailable warrant was secured against the two leading to issuance of the Interpol red notice (RN). The about 1,700-1,800 page fresh charge sheet was filed on January 1 and five accused, including alleged cash courier Aseem Das, police constable Bheem Singh

RBI's draft framework advocates for independent members in SRO boards

The struggle to get top-flight IDs on their boards found indirect mention in the first-of-its-kind interaction between the RBI's brass and the boards of state-run banks and private banks

NARCL, PSBs should work to expedite on-boarding of stressed accounts: FM

The Finance Minister, during the review meeting, also asked the banks to put more effort into recovery from accounts declared as fraud and wilful default while also monitoring early warning signals

Fiscal deficit for Apr-Nov narrows to 50.7% at Rs 9.07 trillion: Govt

Earlier this month, finance minister for state Bhagwat Karad said that the Centre was confident of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 5.9% in FY24

HM Amit Shah pays tribute to Arun Jaitley on his birth anniversary

Taking to social media platform, X, the Union Home Minister said that through his contributions to our social and political life, Arun Jaitley will always remain in our collective memory

RBI, Mumbai banks receive bomb threat demanding resignation of FM

Mumbai Police are investigating an email claiming bombs planted have been at 11 locations, calls for resignation of RBI governor and finance minister

FinMin to meet heads of PSBs on Sat; review implementation of govt schemes

Finance minister Niramala Sitharaman is scheduled to meet managing directors of public sector banks (PSBs) on Saturday to review the financial performance of lenders. PSU banks have earned a net profit of about Rs 68,500 crore during the first six months of the current financial year. The meeting is going to take stock of the progress made by banks in achieving targets set for the various government schemes, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Stand-Up India, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), sources said. This is the probably last full review meeting before the presentation of Budget 2024-25 and general elections later next year. She will also discuss on measures to improve customer service and cyber security, sources said. The finance minister would also review financial inclusion, credit growth, asset quality, and business growth plan of banks for the next financial year, the sources said, adding non-performing assets (NPAs) and the reco

31 people lost their lives in rain related incidents in TN: FM Sitharaman

As many as 31 people have lost their lives in the four districts in Tamil Nadu due to heavy rainfall, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. The Centre has already released Rs 900 crore funds in two installments to be used in this financial year to Tamil Nadu, she said, addressing mediapersons here. Sitharaman said the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai has ultra-modern equipment including three dopplers and had forecast on December 12 itself that there would be heavy rainfall in the four districts - Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin on December 17. When such a massive disaster was taking place in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M K Stalin was in Delhi with the INDI Alliance, she said.