Page 27 - Finance Ministry

LS election phase 2: FM Sitharaman, Rahul Dravid among early voters

Polling was underway on Friday in 88 constituencies spread across 13 states and union territories in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging people to cast their votes in record numbers. Polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Asserting that their vote is their voice, Modi especially told the youth and women voters to turn up at the polling booths in great numbers, and said a high voter turnout strengthens democracy. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also urged voters to come out and vote to protect democracy from the clutches of dictatorship. He also said that the Constitution should reverberate in their hearts before they push to voting button. In Kerala and Karnataka, long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths as soon as voting started. However, there were reports of EVM breakdowns in various booths across Kerala, delaying the election process in those places. Polling in underway at 20 Lok Sabha seats in .

Above-normal monsoon likely to ease food prices: Finance ministry

FinMin report says rupee expected to remain within comfortable range

Nearly 46 FDI proposals pending: DPIIT writes to 17 govt departments

Of these 46 proposals, 27 have also received comments from the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding security clearance

BoB World app scam cases: FinMin pushes for enhanced KYC procedure

In a bid to check incidence of BoB World app scam and other such financial frauds, the finance ministry makes a case for an enhanced KYC procedure and extensive due diligence by banks and financial institutions for onboarding merchants to safeguard customers against cyber risks, sources said. Appropriate due diligence of merchants and Business Correspondents (BCs) who offer banking services in rural and remote areas is necessary not only to check frauds but also to fortify the financial ecosystem, sources said. According to sources, there is a need to strengthen data security and data protection at the level of merchants and BCs as chances of compromise are higher at that level. Therefore, sources said, RBI may advice banks and financial institutions to review the concentration of BCs in cyber fraud hotspots and their onboarding, blocking of micro ATMs found to be involved in frauds. This was one of the suggestions made at an inter-ministerial meeting held recently with the objecti

At Rs 3.1K crore, revenue mop-up of top local bodies of UP soars 33%

According to a former UP Chief Secretary, the rising tax and non-tax revenue from the local bodies augurs well for the urbanisation agenda of the Yogi Adityanath government

Public-sector banks may be allowed to transfer unclaimed shares to IEPF

FinMin preparing to amend Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970

Securities tribunal gets new presiding officer, new technical member

Securities Appellate Tribunal was without a presiding officer or a judicial member for three months

SBI billed govt Rs 10.68 crore as 'commission' for electoral bonds

The amount was charged across 30 phases with fees ranging from Rs 1.82 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore

RBI monetary policy highlights: Last mile of disinflation is always challenging, sticky, says Governor Das

RBI MPC highlights: Catch all the highlights related to RBI's Monetary Policy Committee announcements here

The long road to liberalisation

The return of Indira Gandhi and the subsequent takeover by Rajiv Gandhi saw one of the periods of highest economic growth initially but these and associated investments were powered by dollops of debt

No change in income tax slabs from April 1, 2024: Finance Ministry

Misinformation on the new tax regime has been spreading on certain social media channels. To set the record straight, the ministry clarified several key points

Printing of 10k electoral bonds worth Rs 1 cr each stopped after SC ruling

Three days before the apex court struck down the electoral bonds scheme, the Finance Ministry had approved the printing of the bonds

Procurement through govt's GeM portal crosses Rs 4 trn so far this fiscal

The procurement of goods and services through government's portal GeM has crossed Rs 4 lakh crore so far this fiscal due to higher buying activities by various ministries and departments, a senior government official said on Friday. The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments. "As of March 28, the procurement has crossed Rs 4 lakh crore. It is historic," GeM CEO P K Singh told reporters here. In 2021-22 the procurement value stood at Rs 1.06 lakh crore and it crossed Rs 2 lakh crore last financial year. He said that procurement of services from the portal has jumped from Rs 66,000 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2.05 lakh crore so far this fiscal. Similarly, goods worth Rs 1.95 lakh crore have been bought from the platform till March 28 this fiscal. GeM has over 63,000 government buyer organisations and over 62 lakh sellers and service providers offering a wide range of

Govt's gross liabilities rise to Rs 160.69 trillion at Dec-end: FinMin

Total gross liabilities of the government increased marginally to Rs 160.69 lakh crore at the end of December 2023 from Rs 157.84 lakh crore at September-end, the finance ministry said on Thursday. This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.8 per cent in the September quarter of 2023-24, said the public debt management quarterly report (October-December 2024). Public debt accounted for 90 per cent of total gross liabilities during the third quarter of the current fiscal year. "During the quarter, the yield on Indian domestic bond initially rose but softened thereafter on account of decline in crude oil prices, lower than expected domestic CPI prints for October and November and news about possible inclusion of Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) in a major global emerging market index," the report said. Further, an ultra-long 50-year G-sec was introduced to cater to the demand from long-term investors. On the other hand, US treasury yields remained volatile during the quarter .

BS Manthan: High tariffs not for ever, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman listed the four Is - infrastructure, investment, innovation, and inclusiveness - as the pathway for achieving the goal of a developed India by 2047

ED raids multiple Punjab locations in guava orchards compensation 'scam'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged guava orchards compensation "scam", official sources said. The ED case was registered after the federal agency took cognisance of a Punjab Vigilance Bureau FIR pertaining to alleged embezzlement of nearly Rs 137 crore released as compensation for guava orchards on land acquired by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). The premises of some senior government officials and some private persons are being covered, the sources said. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested a number of people, including some horticulture department officials, in this case, they said.

S&P Global raises India's FY25 GDP growth forecast by 40 bps to 6.8%

Agency's projection is lower than the Reserve Bank of India's and the government's growth estimate of 7%

Improved summer sowing likely to ease inflation: Finance Ministry

Says CAD needs to be watched in FY25

India's economic outlook for next fiscal positive, says finance ministry

The finance ministry on Friday said with an uptick in private investment and inflation trending down, India's outlook for the next fiscal looks positive. The Monthly Economic Review also said that inclusion of Indian bonds in Bloomberg bond index from January 2025 should bolster inflows. It said robust investment activity is driving growth amid a steady rise in consumption. "The continued focus on public investment seems to have crowded in private investment," said the February edition of the review by Department of Economic Affairs. The National Statistical Office (NSO) has revised upwards the GDP growth estimate for current fiscal to 7.6 per cent from 7.3 per cent. India grew above 8 per cent for three consecutive quarters, reaffirming its position as a standout performer amid sluggish global growth trends. Various agencies echo a similar sentiment revising the FY24 growth estimates of India closer to 8 per cent, the ministry said. "On the whole, India looks positively toward

Govt considers changing SARFAESI, DRT; to provide legal weight to e-notices

To speed up the debt recovery process, the Finance Ministry has set up a panel to suggest amendments to the SARFAESI and DRT Acts, including a provision for granting legal sanctity to e-notices to debtors, sources said. The committee headed by an Additional Secretary held several meetings, and discussions are in the advanced stage in this regard, sources told PTI. Last month, the Finance Ministry held extensive deliberations with the top brass of banks and Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) to enhance the efficacy of DRTs for expeditious recovery of debts. "We have formed a committee led by the Additional Secretary to decide on relevant amendments. The aim is to make the debt recovery process less tedious and more effective. We are also planning to introduce a provision to provide legal sanctity to e-notices. "So that an SMS and e-mails sent by banks can be considered as notice. This will help in fast-tracking the recovery of debt," sources said. The Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) Act