Page 30 - Finance Minister

The sanctity of an interim Budget

The Finance Minister's bold announcement of no big schemes on February 1 is commendable

Budget 2024: Here are 5 lesser-known facts about the Union Budget of India

The history of India's Union Budget over the years is a fascinating one. Here's a look at some lesser-known facts about the Union Budget

No 'spectacular announcements' in interim Budget, says FM Sitharaman

"Budget that will be announced will just be a vote on account because we will be in election mode, and elections will happen during the coming summer", the FM said

Finance Ministry holds a review meeting on large value fraud cases

During the review meeting, it was emphasised that all measures should be taken to further improve coordination between the CBI and banks for expeditious investigation

India's Q2 growth rate highest in world; fundamentals strong: FM Sitharaman

The finance minister also informed the Rajya Sabha that the manufacturing sector in India had registered its highest growth of 13.9 per cent in Q2FY24

Cabinet approves 'terms of reference' for 16th Finance Commission

Chairman, members to be appointed 'as soon as possible'; commission to submit report by Oct 31, 2025

Govt may ask 16th Finance Commission to include HDI, SDG in formula

Article 280 of the Constitution says that the President of India can constitute a Finance Commission to make recommendations regarding the distribution of tax proceeds between the Centre and states

NBFCs should remain cautious on lending as suggested by RBI, says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said NBFCs and small finance banks need to remain cautious while lending as suggested by the Reserve Bank. Speaking at 'DATE with Tech' event here, Sitharaman cautioned that NBFCs and small finance banks should respect the red line and should not go too far in their enthusiasm. "Enthusiasm is good but sometimes it becomes a bit too far for people to digest. So as a measure of caution the RBI has also alerted small finance banks, NBFCs to be careful that they don't go too far too soon and face any downside risks later," she said. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday had said the central bank's tougher stance on unsecured loans earlier this month is a "preemptive" move aimed at ensuring financial stability. Following a massive rise in unsecured lending and delinquencies, the Reserve Bank on November 16 tightened the norms for unsecured consumer credit, asking banks and NBFCs to assign a higher risk weight. As a result, it

15 Tamil Nadu fishermen reached Chennai after being released from Sri Lanka

The Finance Minister spoke to the Foreign Secretary and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, following which the fishermen were rescued

Economy still fragile, support from IMF to continue: Pakistan's FM

Pakistan's caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar has said Pakistan's economy continues to remain fragile despite improvements and the cash-strapped nation would have to go for more IMF loans for some time, a media report said on Friday. Akhtar also emphasised that Pakistan needs strong financial reforms to strengthen its economy, the Dawn newspaper quoted her as saying. "The next International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme is very necessary for some time as the economy has returned to stability that was still very fragile. Until we are able to increase exports and domestic resources, we will need another programme," Akhtar said. Her remarks came a day after the Pakistan government and the IMF concluded a review of the ongoing USD 3 billion stand-by agreement with a staff-level agreement, opening the way for Pakistan to get USD 700 million in the second tranche. She said there was no more refuge from undertaking long-standing reforms. The country will not survive without this.

India to emerge as third largest global economy by 2027: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to emerge as the third largest economy in the world by 2027. Addressing the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue here, Sitharaman said India's economic growth is estimated to be just under 7 per cent during the year, the highest among major economies, despite global headwinds. The Indian economy is therefore on the right track and is heading towards a bright future, she said. Amidst supply-chain disruptions and economic turbulence due to contemporary conflicts that impact the Indo-Pacific, irrespective of whether they are occurring in relatively distant Ukraine or in relatively-proximate Israel or Yemen, and despite the palpable tensions prevalent in the South- and East China Sea, the Indian economy stands out as a bright spot, she said. "Even according to the usually conservative estimates of the IMF, the Indian economy is set to emerge as the world's third largest economy by 2027, hopp

FinMin focuses on bringing all business establishments under GST net

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the finance ministry's focus is not only on increasing GST revenue but also on bringing all the business establishments under its ambit. She was speaking at a function to open 12 GST Suvidha Kendras in Gujarat from here, which will help business establishments to have flawless GST registration and will help them resolve their issues at such centres. "GST 'one nation one tax', collection is going up every year, every month. GST has brought tax rates down on many items compared to earlier times. Businessmen know that they are not going to be double taxed under GST which was the case earlier. GST collection is increasing because of it," Sitharaman said. But many establishments still prefer to remain out of the ambit of GST and are not part of the formal economy, she said. "Why should they come in the tax net, not because they will pay me tax, but for the true strength of the economy what we capture is only some and not entire an

The stunning resilience of emerging markets

Prudent economic policies and central bank independence have allowed them to defy analysts' expectations of a debt spiral

India's G20 presidency gave clear policy direction: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The Finance Minister said that the current pace of global growth remains quite weak, well below the 3.8 per cent average in the two decades before the pandemic

Finmin questions rationale for extending FAME scheme beyond current fiscal

The Heavy Industries Ministry proposed an extension to subsidies for EVs under FAME III with a higher allocation for five more years to support the growth of electric and alternate fuel vehicles

India will work closely with Sri Lanka to deepen civilisational ties: FM

India, the Finance Minister said, had rendered an unprecedented financial assistance of over $4 billion for the people of Sri Lanka

FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeks global help to nab smuggling masterminds

Export-import frauds threaten the global supply chain and are inimical to economic and national security

India needs its own P&I entity for maritime, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Addressing the Global Maritime India Summit 2023, the finance minister said that such an entity would provide greater strategic flexibility to India's shipping operations

Capabilities, legal systems needed for arbitration on maritime sector

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for developing capabilities and legal systems, so that the country can have an international arbitration centre for the maritime sector. Addressing the final day of the three-day global maritime summit here, the minister said, while there are many Indians working in international arbitration centres in London or Singapore or Dubai, they are all just helping the senior lawyers there and not leading a case. This needs to change and can change, she said. But there is a need to improve and strengthen our arbitration processes and laws so that they meet global standards, the minister said, adding that "when we have developed a system for this we can also have an arbitration centre". On the need to improve financing to the maritime sector, she admitted that despite having a strong balance sheet, banks are not very enthused about funding this sector, largely due to higher risks this sector is associated with. Sitharaman said she is i

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