Page 35 - Finance Minister

Online gaming to attract investment once tax policy finalises: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the GST Council is deliberating on taxation policy for online gaming and exuded confidence that the sector will attract investment once it is finalised. She was responding to a question from a Korean gaming company Krafton on what are India's plans to attract foreign investment in gaming companies. The minister said the discussion is going on at the ministerial level in the GST Council into various aspects of online gaming, including taxation and regulation. The Goods and Services Tax Council is chaired by Sitharaman and comprises finance ministers of states. "Once the policy certainty arrives, taxation becomes more ... clear, it will attract investors," Sitharaman said while addressing the Indian diaspora in Seoul. Online gaming witnessed a spurt during the time of the Covid lockdown, with the number of users in India rising substantially. As per a KPMG report, the online gaming sector would grow to Rs 29,000 crore by 2024-25, f

Support India with more concessional climate finance: FM asks ADB

Finance minister Nitmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa and urged the multilateral funding agency to to support India with more concessional climate finance, as the country's economic progress can have huge positive impact regionally and globally. During the bilateral meeting with the president here, Sitharaman said India continues to be the most significant country for ADB's sovereign and non-sovereign operations. She also expressed support to Asian Development Bank (ADB) for innovative financing mechanisms to enhance the lending capacity of the bank. She advised ADB to introspect and assess how the bank can effectively support developing member countries. "FM Smt. @nsitharaman urged @ADB_HQ to support India with more concessional #ClimateFinance, as India's economic and developmental progress can have huge positive impact regionally and globally," a tweet from the finance ministry said. Asakawa during the meeting reiterated ADB's commitment of providin

FinMin wants PSBs to enhance recovery rate from written-off accounts to 40%

Worried over the low recovery rate from written-off accounts, the Finance Ministry has asked state-owned lenders to increase it to about 40 per cent, sources said. Currently, the recovery rate from written-off accounts is less than 15 per cent. Public sector banks (PSBs) could recover only 14 per cent of the written-off loans worth Rs 7.34 lakh crore in the last five years ended March 2022. Of Rs 7.34 lakh crore written-off loans, state-owned lenders recovered Rs 1.03 lakh crore. So after recovery, the net written-off stood at Rs 6.31 lakh crore at the end of March 2022. It seems that after the write off banks get complacent about recovery from those non-performing assets (NPAs), the sources said, adding, this level of recovery is not acceptable. Besides, they said, higher recovery from written-off accounts directly adds to their bottomline and improves their capital. To review the situation on the issue, the sources said, the Department of Financial Services would soon hold a mee

CBIC to introduce automated GST scrutiny system by next week: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asked the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) to increase the taxpayer base and introduce an automated GST return scrutiny system by next week. The total Indirect Tax collections for the 2022-23 fiscal stood at Rs 13.82 lakh crore, up from Rs 12.89 Lakh crore in 2021-22. The average gross monthly GST collection for 2022-23 stood at Rs 1.51 lakh crore and monthly GST revenue collections exceeded Rs 1.4 lakh crore for 12 months in a row. In a review meeting with the CBIC, Sitharaman desired that the indirect tax body may undertake a comprehensive root cause analysis of fake billing and input tax credit claims by studying the typology of cases already booked and come up with recommendations on technology-based solutions to address the menace and prevent its occurrence. The Finance Minister directed CBIC to introduce its automated GST return scrutiny by next week and to implement an action plan to increase the taxpayer base .

Cordiality missing in current political discourse: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman made references to Vaghul's frequent run-ins with the political executive

Cordiality missing in political discourse, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The finance minister also said that for forty years, each government competed with the previous one for showing that they are more socialist than the dispensation that preceded it

Mahila Samman Savings Certificates: All you need to know about the scheme

There are no upper limits to the number of accounts. However, there is a cap on the maximum deposit limit. Additionally, there should be a gap of at least 3 months between opening of any two accounts

Supply side problems adding to inflation, govt monitoring continuously: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said seasonal supply side problems add to inflation and that they are being monitored continuously with efforts being made to bring down prices of essential commodities. Highlighting that efforts have also been made to bring down fuel and natural gas prices, she said these are imports coming into the country and the prices are high in the global market, due to the impact of Covid and Russia-Ukraine war. "On prices, since November 2021, when the Prime Minister himself has instructed us to reduce the excise duty on fuel, as a result before Deepavali one announcement was made. Then sometime in June 2022, again we reduced the excise duty further. As a result, price of fuel came down somewhat," Sitharaman said during a press conference here. "But when we are speaking about fuel or natural gas, we need to understand one thing: these are products which are imported, and particularly after Covid and particularly even more after the war

High-balance bank accounts without updated KYC under govt's radar

The RBI has instructed banks to finish updating KYC on a recurring basis for all customers with active accounts by June 2023, an official said

FM directs CBDT to ensure time-bound disposal of tax payers' applications

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) should ensure timely action on all applications filed by tax payers

Growth momentum may have sustained in Q4, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release the March quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data on May 31

FinMin working with MeitY, RBI to clamp down on ponzi apps: FM Sitharaman

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the finance ministry is working with MeitY and RBI to clamp down on ponzi apps to prevent them from taking away hard earned money of gullible investors. Cautioning investors against ponzi apps, Sitharaman said investors should do their due diligence and should not be lured by claims of lucrative returns made by them. "There are also apps which are coming out and reaching out to people saying we can do this, we can do that. Your money will fetch you this much. "Many of them are ponzi, the apps on which we are working with the Ministry concerned, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and with the Reserve Bank and clamping down on them like never before, so that we don't get those ponzi apps, taking away hard earned money," she said. Speaking at the Thinkers Forum at Tumakuru (Karnataka), she said, social influencers and financial influencers are all out there but a strong sense of caution is required in each one

Green projects: FinMin may allow cos to deploy blended finance instruments

The finance ministry is examining the possibility of allowing financial institutions to raise funds from blended finance instruments to invest in green climate projects, sources said. Blended finance involves leveraging of financial resources of the public sector or philanthropies to phase in private sector investment, thereby catalysing private finance in high-risk and long-gestation projects. The use of blended finance promotes investments in new and emerging sectors and it attracts commercial capital towards projects that contribute to sustainable development, while providing financial returns to investors, the sources said, adding, it holds the potential to catalyse private finance in such projects. It is still to be tested and therefore the ministry is looking at it from all possible angles, the sources said. Blended finance is aligned to the Prime Minister goal to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced India's aim of achieving net zero

India, US working towards for strong, peaceful global community: Sitharaman

India and the US are together building a foundation for a strong, peaceful and harmonious global community, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. "When we celebrate diversity, celebrate inclusiveness, it is also the point that we share a lot of positive thoughts when we are doing this," the finance minister said. Today when "we celebrate togetherness, it is that spirit which governs India and US relationship: a positive thinking relationship of two democracies, which have their own share of challenges and their own share of internal problems, but we don't allow them to overwhelm us", she said. The minister was addressing Indian Americans at an event organised by the Indian Embassy here to celebrate the country's diversity. "We are together and building strong foundations for a strong, peaceful and harmonious global community. That's where, I think, the contribution of the Indian diaspora, here people of Indian origin, to the US is very important," she said. "You ...

Govt committed to reforms for a stronger India: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman is in the US to participate in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring meet

FM Nirmala Sitharaman arrives in Washington to attend IMF, WB meetings

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived here to attend the annual spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and lead the G-20 countries in a series of intense interactions over a host of issues facing the world. Sitharaman, who is leading a high-powered delegation, is scheduled to kick off her public engagements on Monday from the prestigious Peterson Institute for International Economics by speaking on resilience and growth of the Indian economy and interacting with the think-tank community. Among key engagements of the finance minister here include, spring Meetings of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; hosting the Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under India's G20 Presidency and G20-related side events; World Bank Development Committee and IMF Committee Plenaries, interaction with global economists and think-tanks, bilateral engagements and interaction with global business leaders and investors in roundtables. Sitharaman

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to attend Spring Meetings of IMF-World Bank

She will also participate in G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings

Consumer rights body asks Finance Minister to probe biz activities of Rario

The Consumer Online Foundation has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to investigate the business activities of company Rario and its compliance with Indian taxation laws

Inflation kept at 6% or below despite adverse circumstances, says FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the inflation has been kept at six per cent or below despite adverse circumstances as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Price rise is a matter on which the Centre is very sensitive and responsive, she said. Sitharaman said the pandemic and the conflict had a bearing on the prices of commodities which India import, adding that the government has taken measures including giving subsidies. Will you compare the situation prevailing everywhere, particularly after COVID, particularly after Russia and Ukraine war? The (prices of) commodities we import are all sky-rocketing. They are not produced in India. We totally import. Is that price rise mine? But that price hits me. And there, I have to give support, the Minister said. Even in this adverse circumstances inflation has been kept at six per cent or below. There are times it goes up. Then we work together with RBI and say please control it, ...

Opponents built 'wrong rumour-based image' of BJP in past 20-25 years: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said BJP never discriminated against anyone and never endorsed vote-bank politics, while referring to the Padma Shri award given to Bidar-based craft artist Rasheed Ahmed Quadri. Quadri was among 91 people who received the Padma Shri award from President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Quadri is heard telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi after getting the award, I am from Bidar. I waited for five years during the UPA period but it did not happen (getting award). Then I gave up hopes thinking that the BJP will not give me any award but proving me wrong you selected me. For this, I thank you very much. Commenting on this incident, Sitharaman said a "wrong rumour-based image" has been built about BJP by opponents in the past 20 to 25 years. While the Prime Minister repeatedly says Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' and we too say that, we do not endorse vote bank politics. .