Page 35 - Finance Minister

Leave encashment limit for non-govt employees hiked to Rs 25 lakh: CBDT

The CBDT circular dated May 24 stated that the increased leave encashment limit will be applicable from April 1, 2023

India witnessing high growth in aerospace: FM to Boeing seeking investment

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said India's aerospace and civil market is on a high growth trajectory and invited US-based aircraft maker Boeing to ramp up investment in the country. During an interaction with a delegation from Boeing comprising of their global senior leadership team, Sitharaman highlighted the opportunities available in India for relocating companies in the form of not just a captive market but also the chance to be a hub for serving the region as a whole and this can be rewarding for companies from a business point of view. "In reference to the recent bulk order for aircraft placed by Indian companies, FM stated that India's aerospace and civil market is on a #HighGrowth trajectory & also informed the group about aircraft leasing operations being undertaken by banks in GIFT-IFSC @GIFTCity," a finance ministry said in a series of tweets. In the context of India's geographical advantage, the minister underlined India's focus on repositioning itself

FinMin invites applications to appoint CEO and chairperson of NLMC

ACC has approved a committee to appoint executives and board members of NLMC

Developing nations need to provide digital solutions for citizens: FM

Addressing G7 meet in Japan, Sitharaman highlighted that access to digital connectivity has empowered people and there is a need to discuss ways to measure empowerment going beyond GDP indicators

FM Sitharaman pitches for empowering people by increasing digital access

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday underlined the need for going beyond GDP numbers and empowering people by improving digital connectivity in developing nations. Addressing G7 seminar on economic policies for welfare, in Niigata, Japan, she stressed that technology improves access for the poor to markets and basic services and highlighted that access to digital connectivity has empowered people and there is a need to discuss ways to measure empowerment going beyond GDP indicators. She underlined the dilemmas faced by Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) between climate security and growth as they manage overlapping crises and socio-economic transformation. "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman emphasised on the importance of #SustainableGrowth and environment and the need for balancing the two in the short and long run," a finance ministry tweet said. "The Union Finance Minister shared India's focus on #technology #DigitalPublicInfrastructure #DPI #GreenHydro

FM Nirmala Sitharaman leaves for 2-day visit to Japan to attend G 7 meeting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday embarked on an official two-day visit to Niigata, Japan, to attend a G7 meeting. India is an invitee to G 7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. "During her visit, FM Smt.@nsitharaman will also have multilateral and bilateral engagements with her counterparts, besides a roundtable meeting with business leaders and investors," a finance ministry tweet said. During her trip, she will address investors and business leaders in Tokyo. Besides, she will address a seminar on 'Economic Policy in Pursuit of Welfare' at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting while two other sessions--Tackling Immediate Challenges Facing Developing Countries and Strengthening International Cooperation for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. The G7 is a forum of leading industrialised nations--Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Representatives of the European Union are alway

FSDC discusses need for more early warning indicators for economy

Amid banking crisis in West, FM says ensuring financial stability is shared responsibility of all regulators

CA, CS handling client money in PMLA ambit; FinMin notifies rules

Aim is to curb fraudulent practices

'Support replacing charter lending limit', says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Met South Korean FM and invited other investors to take forward investment in India's infrastructure sector

Vivad Se Vishwas scheme aimed to provide relief to MSMEs comes into force

Also, relief will be provided in all contracts for procurement of goods and services, entered into by any ministry or department attached with MSMEs

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