Page 16 - Finance Ministry

Cong slams BJP after FinMin says USAID projects not linked to voter turnout

Amid the ongoing row over USAID funding, the Congress on Monday claimed that the Union finance ministry has "thoroughly exposed" the BJP's "lies" with its annual report for 2023-24 stating that the US agency is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the Government of India and none of them has anything to do with voter turnout. The BJP has also rejected allegations of the Congress and accused Rahul Gandhi as well as the party of colluding with foreign forces in a bid to weaken India. The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24. "Currently, seven projects worth a total budget of USD 750 million (approx) are being implemented by USAID in partnership with the Government of India," as per the finance ministry's annual report for 2023-24. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "None other than the Union Finance Ministry has thoroughly exposed th

FinMin to meet heads of PSBs on Mar 4, to review financial performance

The finance ministry has called a meeting of heads of public sector banks (PSBs) on March 4 to review financial performance of banks and progress of financial inclusion schemes, among others. The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju. According to sources, the meeting would also discuss and review the progress of various financial inclusion schemes including PM SVANidhi Schemes. This is going to be the first meeting after presentation of Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament. PSBs have posted highest-ever net profit of Rs 1.29 lakh crore in the April-December period of the current fiscal year, marking an annual increase of 31.3 per cent. The performance of PSBs has shown significant improvement on key financial parameters, like record net profit growth, improved asset quality, and build-up of adequate capital buffers, during the period under review. The 12 state-owned banks recorded net profit growth of 31.3 per cent (year-on-year) to achieve

Govt extends Chief Economic Adviser Nageswaran's term until March 2027

Nageswaran was appointed to the position in 2022 and has also served as a part-time member of the economic advisory council to the prime minister from 2019 to 2021

FinMin to discuss hiking deposit insurance limit with PSBs on March 4

This is the first review meeting of the finance ministry with PSBs after the Union Budget 2025-26

Deposit insurance cover may increase from Rs 5 lakh: DFS secy Nagaraju

Currently, deposits of up to ₹5 lakh are covered under the deposit-insurance scheme of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation

Nearly Rs 1 trillion unspent welfare funds lying in states' accounts

For each scheme, the state government designates one SNA and opens its account in a scheduled commercial bank to ensure just-in-time release of funds based on the pace of expenditure

Select Committee of Lok Sabha to examine Income Tax Bill constituted

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Select Committee of the lower house to examine the Income Tax Bill. To be headed by BJP's Baijayant Panda, the panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session. The ongoing Budget Session will conclude on April 4 and the Monsoon session could commence in the third or fourth week of July. While introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had urged Birla to refer the draft law to a Select Committee of the House. The much-anticipated Bill will replace terminologies such as "assessment year" and "previous year" with the easier-to-understand "tax year" as part of a move to simplify language while removing provisos and explanations.

Debt-to-GDP over fiscal deficit: Will FM Sitharaman's strategy pay off?

Since the finance minister announced a glide path based on debt-to-GDP ratio to measure fiscal deficit, opinion has been divided on the move since it would also reflect on government borrowings

Railways' capex meets targets, likely to remain at the same level

Despite not getting any additional outlay in the Budget 2025, Railways officials are not worried since their spending numbers sit well with Budget Estimates (BE) for FY25

Due diligence of IDBI Bank's qualified bidders underway: MoS Finance

The due diligence of qualified bidders for IDBI Bank, which is up for privatisation, is underway, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. The government, along with LIC, is selling nearly 61 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. This includes a 30.48 per cent stake of the Government of India and 30.24 per cent of LIC. In January 2023, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) received multiple Expressions of Interest (EoI) for buying stake in IDBI Bank. "After security clearance by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and fit and proper evaluation by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the due diligence by the qualified bidders is being done," Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. After the required clearances, investors would get access to the data room and a due diligence process will be initiated. At present, the government holds 45.48 per cent in IDBI Bank, while LIC's shareholding is 49.24 per cent. To a question on whether the gover

Finance ministry no to public sector banks taking haircut on MTNL loans

If allowed, this would amount to default by central government, it says

Finance ministry may consider rate cut for small savings schemes in FY26

The central bank on Friday reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent from 6.5 per cent following its first monetary policy review of the year

After several steps to reduce direct tax disputes, govt takes another shot

Legislation to amend Income Tax Act, simplify language and procedures to reduce such disputes

State survived financial crisis; welfare schemes unaffected: Kerala FM

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Friday, while presenting the budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the Assembly, said the state has survived the most intense phase of financial crisis without any of its welfare schemes or development work being affected. Presenting the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led government's fifth budget in the Legislative Assembly, Balagopal announced a Rs 750 crore project for the rehabilitation of the Wayanad landslides victims. Balagopal said that the Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages in Wayanad witnessed an extreme calamity that plunged Kerala into deep sorrow. The disaster claimed over 200 lives, destroyed hundreds of properties and thousands lost their livelihoods with the estimated loss due to the landslides being around Rs 1,202 crore, while the cost of rehabilitation is expected to be approximately Rs 2,221 crore, as assessed by a team of experts, the minister said. He said the 2025-26 Union Budget has not allocated any assistance for the ..

PSBs strongly capitalised and ready to fuel economic growth: FinMin

PSBs have significantly improved asset quality, with a low net non-performing asset (NPA) ratio of 0.59 per cent, and an aggregate net NPA outstanding of Rs 61,252 crore

FinMin seeks proposals for 2nd supplementary demands for grants for FY25

The finance ministry has sought expenditure proposals for the second and final batch of supplementary demands for grants for FY25 from various ministries to be tabled in the ongoing Budget session. According to an office memorandum, ministries are required to submit their supplementary proposals by February 12. The cases that would be eligible to be incorporated under such demands include those where advances from the Contingency Fund have been granted. Besides, payments against court decree would be included as well as cases where the finance ministry has specifically advised to propose the supplementary demand in the ongoing Budget session, it said. The proposals for supplementary demand for grants may be projected within Revised Estimate 2024-25 ceiling after a thorough and objective assessment of additional requirement of funds, the memorandum dated February 3 said. "While processing proposals for supplementary grants, the grant controlling authority must invariably identify .

Finance ministry asks employees to avoid AI tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek

Countries like Australia and Italy have placed similar restrictions on the use of DeepSeek, citing data security risks

India to assess benefits of OECD's global tax deal after US quits: Fin secy

India will evaluate the benefit of joining the OECD's global tax deal as the US deciding to withdraw from such a global pact has made it "impractical to implement", Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump on January 20 in a Presidential memorandum had said that the "Global Tax Deal have no force or effect within the United States", thus nullifying the progress made so far by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to bring 140 countries on the same platform to levy a minimum 15 per cent tax on profits of multinational corporates. To a question on what would be India's stand on the global tax pact, Pandey said the US exit has added a lot of uncertainty and if the United States is not joining it then such a pact doesn't work out. Pandey, in a post-Budget interaction of Assocham, said the tax deal is a multilateral approach where the US is much integrally needed. "If the US has now said that it is walking out of it, then

Budget proposals to garner up to Rs 45,000 cr bank deposit: DFS Secy

Budget proposals for income tax cuts and other tax changes will help banks to mobilise Rs 40,000-45,000 crore additional deposits, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju on Monday said. The Union Budget 2025 has proposed an increase in the tax deduction at source (TDS) threshold on interest earned from fixed deposits for general (non-senior) citizens from the current Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per financial year. The TDS threshold for fixed deposit interest income earned by senior citizens will go up from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh from FY2025-26, he said. "We see over Rs 20,000 crore coming back into the banking system due to the hike in tax rebate limit, over Rs 15,000 crore from the hike in TDS threshold on interest earned from savings deposits by senior citizens," he said in a post-Budget media briefing. Besides these two, Rs 7,000 crore is seen coming from the non-senior individuals tax savings due to the income tax slab changes, he added. Asked about MTNL debt resolution and haircu

FM Sitharaman says no targets for rupee value, it is market-determined

The value of Indian rupee is market-determined, and there has been no devaluation, which is a feature of a fixed exchange rate regime, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. The rupee has been falling in recent weeks, and on Monday touched an all-time low of 87.29 against the American currency. Various domestic and global factors influence the exchange rate of the rupee such as the movement of the Dollar Index, trends in capital flows, level of interest rates, movement in crude prices, and current account deficit. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said there has been no devaluation of the Indian Rupee (INR), which is a feature of a fixed exchange rate regime. "The value of the INR is market-determined, with no target or specific level or band," she said. The minister further said the depreciation of currency is likely to enhance the export competitiveness, which in turn impacts the economy positively. On the other hand, depreciation may raise the prices