Page 39 - Finance Ministry

Govt announces higher gratuity, other benefits for LIC agents, employees

The finance ministry increased the gratuity limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for LIC agents

Finance ministry seeks applications for post of whole time member Irdai

The finance ministry has invited applications for the post of Whole Time Member (Distribution) at insurance regulator Irdai. The applicant should preferably have at least 25 years of experience in the relevant area with a minimum of three years experience at a senior level, the Department of Financial Services said in an advertisement. The applicant should not be below the rank of a Chief General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India or equivalent that place in other financial institutions or regulatory bodies, it said. The department, under the finance ministry, said the applicant should have a minimum of two years of residual service as of the date of vacancy, that is March 4, 2024, and the applicant's age should not exceed 60 years on the said date. The term of the office of the member will be in accordance with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act. No person will hold the office of the Whole Time Member after attaining the age of 62 years, it added. Currently,

Finance ministry defends GDP deflator and real GDP growth estimate

The finance ministry said India's GDP deflator is dominated by the Wholesale Price Index

GST tribunal to have 31 benches across 28 states and UTs: Finance Ministry

Karnataka, Rajasthan & UP will have multiple benches; UTs, except Delhi, do not have an independent bench

Finance Ministry notifies 31 state benches of GST appellate tribunal

The Finance Ministry has notified 31 benches of GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) which will be set up in all states and Union Territories. Setting up of state-level benches of GSTAT would help businesses by way of faster dispute resolution. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes a long time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases. As per the notification, Gujarat and UTs -- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, will have two benches of the GSTAT; Goa and Maharashtra together will have three benches. Karnataka and Rajasthan will have two benches each, while Uttar Pradesh will have three benches. West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar islands; and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will together have two GSTAT benches each, while Kerala and Lakshadweep will have one bench. The seven North Eastern states -- ..

UK, India agree pensions and insurance partnership, says British FM

Britain and India have agreed to launch partnership to boost cross-market investment by insurance and pension sectors, Britain's finance ministry said

Finance ministry asks Sidbi to increase direct lending portfolio

Out of Rs 10,000 cr corpus available under the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Scheme, Sidbi has sanctioned around Rs 9,500 cr to AIFs and disbursements have been around Rs 4,500 crore so far

28% GST on deposit refunds issued by online gaming portals, casinos

Once a given amount is deposited with the platform, tax will be imposed on the whole amount, irrespective of the part of the deposit returned to the player at a later point

LIC may need 5 yrs more beyond 2027 comply with public float norms

FinMin-LIC discusses roadmap, stake dilution plans and challenges ahead

FinMin tightens PMLA rules, brings partners with 10% stake under purview

The finance ministry has tightened the anti-money laundering rules by bringing in partners holding 10 per cent stake in a firm, as against 15 per cent earlier, under the definition of beneficial owners. The ministry has amended the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, which also provides for management-level functionary as 'Principal Officer' responsible for providing information to the financial intelligence unit. The amendment also said that in the case of a trust, the reporting entity shall ensure that trustees disclose their status at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship or when carrying out specified transactions. The government has in recent months tightened various anti-money laundering provisions ahead of assessment by the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The agency is scheduled to conduct an assessment of the implementation of anti-money laundering and ...

Centre sets Rs 4,350 cr as target for IREDA in operating revenues

In the previous financial year, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) managed to achieve revenue from operations of Rs 3,482 crore, surpassing the target of Rs 3,361 crore

FinMin initiates Budgetary exercise for 2024; seeks inputs from ministries

The Finance Ministry has initiated the process to prepare the interim Budget for 2024-25 by inviting inputs on expenditure from different ministries and departments. It will be an interim Budget as the elections for the Lok Sabha are due early next year. The full Budget for FY25 will be presented after the formation of the new government after the general elections. "Pre-budget meetings chaired by Secretary (Expenditure) shall commence in the second week of October 2023...shall continue till around mid-November, 2023," according to the Budget Circular (2024-25) of the Budget Division under the Department of Economic Affairs of the Finance Ministry. According to the circular dated September 1, financial advisers should ensure that the necessary details required should be submitted by October 5, 2023. The Budget Estimates for 2024-25 will be provisionally finalised after completion of pre-Budget meetings, it said. During the pre-budget meetings, the requirement of funds for all ...

Inflation will remain steady in coming months, growth on track: FinMin

Food price inflation rose to 11.5% in July, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, while India is set to receive its sparsest monsoon rains in eight years

PM SVANidhi scheme to help bring India in top 3 world economies: Mos Karad

Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Krishanrao Karad on Tuesday said that PM SVANidhi, a loan scheme for street vendors and small traders, will help in achieving the target of bringing India into the world's top three economies in the next few years. He said Madhya Pradesh was on the second spot in implementation of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), which was launched in June 2020. The Union minister was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a zonal conference organised here to review the implementation and progress of the special micro-credit facility for street vendors. Officials of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan participated in the conference. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India, currently the world's fifth largest economy, will be at No. 3 spot in the next few years, Karad said. "To achieve this target, we need to speed up money circulation and the PM SVANidhi scheme will play an important role for this," said the junior ...

Ministries should be realistic in budgeting for this and next year: Govt

The Finance Ministry is expected to bring out the budget circular in the first week of September. The pre-budget meetings will start in October

Over 500 mn Jan Dhan accounts opened in past 9 yrs, deposits cross Rs 2 trn

More than 50.09 crore accounts have been opened under the PM Jan Dhan Yojana in the last nine years and the deposit balance swelled to over Rs 2.03 lakh crore, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched on August 28, 2014, with the aim to provide universal banking services through the opening of zero-balance bank accounts for every unbanked household, based on the guiding principles of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured and funding the unfunded. Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi said 33.98 crore RuPay cards were issued to PMJDY account holders as of August 2023, up from 13 crore at the end of March 2015. "Currently there are 225 crore bank accounts in the country. The data shows that many people have more than one bank account. Overall in terms of account opening, we are nearing saturation," Joshi said. He said the zero balance accounts under Jan Dhan yojana have reduced to 8 per cent of total accounts as of Augus

FinMin considering proposals to include EVs under priority sector lending

The move will reduce the cost of finance and also promote and accelerate the penetration of EVs in the country

Govt may rejig borrowing plan as small savings rise: Finance ministry

An official from the finance ministry disclosed that the net collections have so far reached 34 per cent of the budgetary target

Inflation may stay elevated in coming months, says finance ministry

The government's continued emphasis on capital expenditure is expected to drive growth in the coming years, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic review for the month of July

FinMin, MCA must strive for simplification of processes: Sitharaman

Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs should strive for simplification of processes with a focus on whole-of-the country approach to maximise delivery and engagement, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Addressing the Chintan Shivir of the Finance Ministry and MCA, Sitharaman also emphasised the need to continuously reorient policy in the cultural context and to instil a sense of ownership in decision-making, to enhance effectiveness with efficiency. During the three-day Chintan Shivir of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, discussions were held by more than 100 senior officers of MoF and MCA on how to re-orient to achieve the Amrit Kaal goals. In a statement issued after the conclusion of the Chintan Shivir on Tuesday, Sitharaman advised the officers to optimally utilise the vast pool of resources and experience at disposal in the Government. The Finance Minister underlined mentoring of young generations to embellish efforts in the march