Finance Ministry

Parl panel seeks 'golden share' safeguard for PSU stake dilution below 51%

Finance panel asks Centre to outline legal safeguards, including golden share, to retain strategic control in PSUs if government stake falls below 51 per cent

Finance ministry cuts MeitY allocation by 17% for FY27 amid underspending

Finance ministry cuts MeitY's FY27 allocation by 17% due to underspending in PLI, semiconductor and AI Mission schemes, with panel flagging concerns over fund utilisation

Create energy policy to shield economy from oil shock: Parl panel to FinMin

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday suggested that the Department of Economic Affairs should develop a strategic energy mitigation framework to protect the economy from oil shocks and ensure long-term stability. In addition, the Standing Committee on Finance, in its report, emphasised that the rapidly evolving global competition for critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are essential for semiconductors, renewable energy systems, electric mobility, defence technologies, and the development of alternative fuels, requires a coordinated national strategy. The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, has, therefore, recommended that the government accelerate efforts to secure diversified international supply chains for critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, while simultaneously strengthening domestic exploration, processing, and value-addition capabilities to support emerging sectors, including renewable energy, electric mobility, and ..

FinMin amends minimum public float rules for companies planning IPOs

The Finance Ministry has amended rules for minimum public offers floated by companies for getting listed on stock exchanges and linked it with post-issue capital. The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified on March 13, states that companies with post-issue capital of more than Rs 1,600 crore and below Rs 5,000 crore will have to increase their public shareholding to at least 25 per cent within three years from the day of listing in the manner specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The rules further state that at least 2.5 per cent of each class of securities must be offered to the public at the time of listing, irrespective of the post-issue threshold. It also said that a company with post-issue capital of up to Rs 1,600 crore, at least 25 per cent of each class of equity shares or debentures convertible into equity shares issued by the company must be offered to the public. If the post-issue capital is more than Rs 1,600 crore, bu

Govt seeks LS nod for additional expenditure of ₹2.81 trillion in FY26

Finance Ministry seeks Parliament approval for Rs 2.01 trillion net additional FY26 spending through the second supplementary demand for grants, with allocations for subsidies and reserve funds

Govt seeks Lok Sabha nod for ₹2.81 trn gross additional expenditure in FY26

The government on Tuesday sought Lok Sabha approval for gross additional expenditure of over Rs 2.81 lakh crore in current fiscal year. The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "Approval of Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 2,81,289.26 crore. Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 2,01,142.96 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/Departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries aggregates to Rs 80,145.71 crore," said the Supplementary Demands for Grants.

India's urban reset: What 16th FC report, Budget 2026-27 mean for cities

Record Finance Commission grants promise greater fiscal autonomy for cities, but sharp cuts in central schemes shift the burden of urban transformation to states and municipalities

FinMin asks banks to step up efforts to reduce delays in IBC cases

At a review meeting, the finance ministry directed public sector banks to minimise adjournments and speed up CIRP filings, aiming to accelerate NCLT admission and resolution timelines

Sebi examining Calcutta Stock Exchange exit application, says MoS finance

Capital market regulator Sebi is examining the application seeking voluntary exit of the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) from its business, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Chaudhary said Sebi has constituted a Working Group on the matter and appointed a valuation agency for verification and valuation of CSE's assets and liabilities. Certain information sought by Sebi from CSE is awaited, he said. "Sebi would be passing a speaking order giving an exit to CSE from stock exchange business after taking a view on exclusively listed companies of CSE, its assets and liabilities, and relaxation from any regulations in order to facilitate exit," he said. The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE), in its February 18, 2025, letter to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), sought voluntary exit as a Stock Exchange under the Sebi Exit Policy for stock exchanges. "The proposal is at the stage of examination befor

Centre reviewing Rodtep scheme to assess and justify its continuation

Reassessment is a part of exercise to rationalise central-sector schemes to enhance efficiency

DGGI probe into banned online gaming leads to Fino Bank arrest: Sources

Finance Ministry sources say probe has flagged GST evasion, shell entities and payment aggregators in alleged banned online gaming operations, leading to arrest of a senior bank official

On the right track: Asset monetisation will boost efficiency and growth

Given fiscal constraints and the need to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio, the Union finance ministry sees reviving asset monetisation as key to sustaining growth momentum

BS Manthan: Sitharaman flags fund utilisation gap, cautious on China FDIs

FM Sitharaman says political choices affect fund usage, defends calibrated disinvestment, and reiterates cautious stance on Chinese investment and BITs while backing domestic reforms

NMP 2.0 for FY26-30 launched: Govt aims ₹16.7 trn from asset monetisation

Private investment of Rs 5.8 trillion also included in the target

No tax risk for foreign companies setting up data centres in India: FinMin

The Budget proposal of a 20-year tax holiday to foreign companies which provide cloud services globally will be available only to those which have set up a MeitY-notified data centre in India, and there will not be any risk for such overseas firms of their global income being taxed in India on this account, sources said on Wednesday. Finance Ministry sources also said that the Budget announcement would also give certainty to foreign companies that are in the business of providing cloud services and procurement services from a data centre in India. "Now Indian data centres can confidently offer their services to such global cloud entities, without these global entities perceiving any tax risk if they use Indian data centres," sources added. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her 2026-27 Budget, had proposed to provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India. It will, however, need

Trade deal sweetens FY27 growth arithmetic as exports lift outlook

Economists say the India-US trade deal could lift FY27 GDP growth by 20-40 basis points by boosting exports and reducing uncertainty, though risks from imports remain

Income Tax dept aims to dispose of over 200,000 CIT(A) appeals in FY26

Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty

FinMin carefully watching rupee movement: Economic Affairs Secretary

The government, along with the regulator, is carefully watching the rupee, which has slipped below the 90 mark against the US dollar, and may take measures once the situation becomes uncomfortable, Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said on Monday. "Anything above 90, everyone starts talking about it. Even, we start watching it carefully. It is a question of flows, and we are impacted by that," he told PTI in an interview. However, she said, a depreciating rupee does have a certain value in terms of export competitiveness whenever it happens. "We are watching together with regulators and other stakeholders. We will see how to handle it if a situation more than uncomfortable happens," she said. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, the rupee depreciated by around 6.5 per cent between 1 April 2025 and January 22, 2026, making it one of the weakest-performing currencies in this period. Its fall was comparable to that of the Japanese yen, which lost about 5.5 per cent, and

From Nimhans 2.0 to biopharma, Budget 2026 reshapes health priorities

Budget 2026 puts mental health, biopharma manufacturing and medical skilling at the centre, with Nimhans 2.0 and drug affordability shaping a broader healthcare realignment

Budget support will help MSMEs scale from local to global: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Union Budget, aligned with India's recent trade deals, provides unprecedented support to MSMEs, sunrise sectors and infrastructure, laying the foundation for jobs