Page 34 - Finance Minister

GST increased states' revenue buoyancy, benefit stands out as exemplary: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Goods and Services Tax (GST) has increased revenue buoyancy of states, and the all-round benefit stands out as "exemplary". The multiplicity of taxes in the pre-GST regime resulted in a "tax-on-tax" effect, causing the same product to be taxed multiple times and hence becoming costlier for the consumers, she said at the GST Day 2023. Giving a comparison of the tax rates pre and post-GST, Sitharaman said, "GST has done justice to the consumers by bringing the rates down compared to the previous regime". Before GST was introduced, India's indirect tax system was fragmented, where every state was effectively a distinct market for the industry as well as the consumer. "Whether it is common consumer, whether it is the state government, a matter of tax buoyancy, whether it is making it digital and simpler, GST stands out as an exemplar," Sitharaman said. State revenue buoyancy pre-GST was 0.72, while post-GST, it is 1.22. "GST has br

PSBs profit tripled to Rs 1.04 trn in 9 yrs; need to continue momentum: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the public sector banks' profit in the last nine years has tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore due to initiatives taken by the government and underlined the need for continuing the momentum to fuel economy. The net profit of public sector banks (PSBs) has almost tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in FY23 from Rs 36,270 crore in FY2014. Inaugurating the corporate office of Punjab and Sind Bank here, the minister said that banks need to "build on laurels" by following the best corporate governance principles. "Banks should not sit back and revel in success. They should follow best corporate governance practices, adhere to regulatory norms, ensure prudent liquidity management and continue to focus on having robust asset-liability and risk management," she said, stressing that the Indian economy has moved away from the 'twin balance sheet problem' to 'twin balance sheet advantage'. The finance minister said that there was a time when the Indian

Economy has moved from twin-balance sheet problem, banks now profitable: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the Indian economy has moved away from the twin-balance sheet problem of banks and corporates to twin-balance sheet advantage because of the concerted efforts of the Modi government. Profit of public sector banks increased to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23, tripling from what it was in 2014, the minister said while inaugurating the corporate office of Punjab & Sind Bank here. The twin-balance sheet problem refers to deterioration in financial health of banks and corporates at the same time. "As a result (of various initiatives of the government) I'm glad to say the problems of twin-balance sheets have gone away like the Reserve Bank observing it is a twin-balance sheet advantage that the Indian economy is benefiting from,", Sitharaman said. The minister said the term twin-balance sheet was heard after a long time and according to the Reserve Bank, the Indian economy is now benefiting from the twin-balance sheet ...

FM Sitharaman interacts with under Rozgar Mela scheme recruits in Chennai

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met the new recruits who received job offers in various departments under the Government of India's Rozgar Mela. Sitharaman, on a brief visit to the state's capital, along with senior government officials interacted with the appointees at the Indian Bank Management Academy for Growth and Excellence (IMAGE) here. The appointees were recruited for various roles including probationary officer at the public sector Indian Bank, inspector of Income Tax, and preventive officers at the Customs department, among others. Since the launch of the scheme in 2022, six installments of the Rozgar Mela have been organised across the country and around 4.3 lakh appointment letters have been distributed under it. The National Skill Development Corporation under the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been organising Rozgar Melas across the country to provide suitable job opportunities to unemployed youth. In May, the financ

Kerala Gov justifies withdrawing pleasure from state FM Balagopal last year

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday justified withdrawing his pleasure from state Finance Minister K N Balagopal last year over his remarks on people from other states, and said withdrawal of pleasure does not mean his dismissal. Khan said he still strongly holds the view that if a person who has taken the oath to uphold the unity and integrity of India says publicly that those who hailing from a particular region of the country cannot have understanding of the education system of another state of the country, it is a violation of the oath. "So, expression of displeasure is different...in that sense it was. Because in my opinion it was. (But) Chief Minister did not consider it violation of oath, he is continuing," he told reporters here. He was responding to the queries of reporters regarding the incident in October last in the wake of the ongoing tussle between the Governor and the government in Tamil Nadu. On Thursday, hours after dismissing minister V Senthil Balaji fro

IMF deal expected in next 24 hours: Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar

The agreement, which would be subject to approval by the IMF board, has faced an eight-month delay

Odisha CM Patnaik urges FM Sitharaman to withdraw 18% GST on Kendu leaves

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to completely waive the 18 per cent GST tax on Kendu leaves as it would adversely affect the livelihood of the poorest of the poor section of the society. Patnaik in a letter written to Sitharaman on Monday said that 18 per cent GST on Kendu leaves should be waived in the larger interest of poor and tribal people associated with Kendu leaves trade in the state. "Imposition of GST (18%) on Kendu leaves is adversely affecting the Kendu leaves trade. This in turn affects the livelihoods of Kendu leaves pluckers, binders and seasonal workers and implementation of social security and welfare schemes for them," Patnaik wrote in the letter. Stating that the Kendu (Tendu) leaf, which is a minor forest produce, is the financial backbone of 8 lakh kendu leaf pluckers, binders and seasonal workers of Odisha, Patnaik said the people engaged in the trade are mostly tribal and women belonging to the poorest o

Cleartax forays into crypto tax segment, expects 1 mn filings this year

The online tax filing company has integrated with over 100 crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, CoinDCX, Binance, and WazirX, to provide taxation services at one common platform 'CryptoTax'

Govt to launch portal for unclaimed shares, dividends by February 2024

Currently, investors have to produce about 24 documents for refunds. As a part of the refund process, these documents are checked multiple times at various stages of the process

Pak FM Dar allegedly harasses journalist over question on elusive IMF deal

Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has found himself at the centre of a controversy for engaging in a heated exchange with a journalist, who accused the politician of slapping him over a question about the stalled IMF deal. The incident occurred on Thursday when Dar was leaving the parliament premises after addressing a National Assembly session when he was approached by journalist Shahid Qureshi, the Dawn newspaper reported. In a video that has gone viral on social media, the reporter can be seen asking Dar if he would be willing to talk and the minister responded he had just finished speaking. Qureshi then inquired about the progress of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's recent meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. While Dar, 73, did not reply to the questions, the journalist persisted and questioned the government's failure to secure the USD 1.1 billion deal from the Washington-based globa

Pakistan Finance Minister Dar meets US envoy; discusses stalled IMF loan

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar met US Ambassador Donald Blome on Wednesday as the cash-strapped country scrambled to get a stalled loan from the IMF to push back the threat of a looming default. Islamabad had inked a deal with the Fund in 2019 to get a USD 6.5 billion package, but at least USD 2.4 billion has not been released as the Fund says Pakistan has been unable to meet important prerequisites. The programme is set to lapse on June 30, leaving Pakistan more vulnerable than ever to meet external payments. Dar informed the US envoy about the progress on talks with the Washington-based global lender while expressing his government's commitment to complete the programme, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance. Dar also informed the ambassador about his government's budgetary measures to reduce the fiscal gap to meet its national as well as international financial obligations, the statement said. He shared the economic policies and priorities of the ...

FM seeks spotting of credit-deficient districts for financial inclusion

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday suggested identification of credit-deficient districts in each state and carrying out special credit outreach camps there

Urge farmers to cultivate millets, pulses: FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Nabard

She also called for protecting the returns of farmers, who are already growing millets

CPI MP asks FM to initiate pension updation for banking sector retirees

He further said that the demand of bank retirees was not fulfilled even though the All India Bank Retirees' Federation has met the Finance Minister four times in the past one and half years

India's net direct tax mop-up rises 11% to Rs 3.8 trillion till June 17

Net direct tax collection till June 17 this fiscal rose by 11.18 per cent to Rs 3.80 lakh crore on higher advance tax mop up, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. The Advance Tax collections for the April-June quarter of 2023-24 stood at Rs 1,16,776 crore as of June 17, reflecting a growth of 13.70 per cent over the same period last fiscal. The Net Direct Tax collection of Rs 3,79,760 crore (as of 17.06.2023) includes corporation tax (CIT) at Rs 1,56,949 crore and personal income tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax(STT) at Rs 2,22,196 crore, the ministry said in a statement. On a gross basis, before adjusting refunds, the collection stood at Rs 4.19 lakh crore, a 12.73 per cent growth over the same period last fiscal. This includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 1.87 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax(STT) at Rs 2.31 lakh crore. Refunds amounting to Rs 39,578 crore have been issued till June 17, a 30 per cent growth over last year.

Strengthen GST registration process further with tech: FM to tax officers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked tax officers to strengthen the GST registration process further by using technology during a review meeting on fake registration and billing. Tax officers have identified 11,140 fake GST registration and initiated action against fraudsters in the ongoing two-month-long special drive launched on May 16. "Smt @nsitharaman instructed that the GST registration process may be further strengthened using technology to curb entry of such fake entities in GST ecosystem. The FM called for a nationwide campaign to explain the objectives of the special drive to weed out fake entities," the office of the Finance Minister said in a tweet. During the review meeting, which was also attended by Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra and CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri, Sitharaman was apprised of the methods like identity theft of people being adopted by fraudsters. "Smt @nsitharaman took note of the existing measures being undertaken by the ministry like ...

SBI presents dividend cheque of Rs 5,740 crore to Finance Minister

State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday paid a dividend of Rs 5,740 crore for the financial year 2022-23 to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The dividend cheque was presented by SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara in the presence of Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi. "Smt @nsitharaman receives a dividend cheque of Rs 5,740 crore for FY 2022-23, which is the highest-ever dividend given by State Bank of India to Govt of India for a financial year, from Shri Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman -@TheOfficialSBI. Secretary - @DFS_India Shri Vivek Joshi is also present on the occasion," the finance minister's office said in a tweet. SBI had declared a dividend of Rs 11.30 per equity share (1,130 per cent) for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. For the full 2022-23, SBI's net profit increased 59 per cent to Rs 50,232.45 crore. The profit in the 2021-22 fiscal was Rs 31,675.98 crore.

Finance ministers and their balancing acts

A K Bhattacharya's book delves into the challenges, decisions, and political dynamics of India's economic policies through the lens of its finance ministers

Russia's GDP projected to grow by 1% through 2023: Finance Minister Anton

Russia's GDP is projected to grow by 1 per cent this year, accompanied by an anticipated increase in real income for the population, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday.

Need states' support to resolve industrial corridor issues: FM Sitharaman

The industrial corridors can be operationalised by expediting land acquisition, facilitating the implementation of external infrastructure linkages, among other things