Page 57 - Finance Ministry

FM hints at possibility of Centre restorating of state status to J&K

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hinted at the possibility of the Centre considering restoring state status to Jammu and Kashmir. She dropped the hint while talking about the distribution of funds to the states by the Centre as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. Delivering a lecture on Centre-State relations here, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi without any hesitation had accepted the recommendation of 14th Finance Commission in 2014-15 that 42 per cent of all taxes-- an increase from 32 per cent till then-- should be given to the states. "That Finance Commission said now you raise it to 42 per cent...which means that Centre will have a lesser amount in its hand. Prime Minister Modi, without a second thought about it, fully accepted the Finance Commission and that is why today states get 42 per cent of the amount--now reduced by 41 per cent because Jammu and Kashmir is no longer a state. "It will soon become may be sometime...,

FM Sitharaman likely to begin pre-Budget talks from third week of November

FM Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials will hold eight meetings in all with all stakeholders

Govt notifies enhanced financial support for Central, state PPP projects

Funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to Viability Gap Funding Scheme notified in December 2020

Parliamentary panel to seek explanation over EPFO plan rejection

A Parliamentary panel will seek explanation from the finance ministry for turning down the labour ministry's proposal to increase the pension of EPFO subscribers from the current Rs 1,000 per month. The quantum of increase proposed by the labour ministry could not be ascertained. Top officials from the labour ministry and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday briefed Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour chaired by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on operation of the EPF pension scheme and management of its corpus fund. The finance ministry had not agreed to the labour ministry's proposal for any enhancement in the monthly pension, the officials informed the panel. The panel has now decided to call top officials from the finance ministry to seek explanation behind the move. The labour ministry has constituted a High-Empowered Monitoring Committee for complete evaluation and review of the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995. The committee in its report had ...

Unprofitable, growing bad assets: The tale of existential crisis at RRBs

They are mostly loss-making, with growing bad assets so the agricultural sector prefers commercial banks

Maharashtra appoints liquidator to wind up Rupee Cooperative Bank

Over 200 employees risk losing their jobs

Define game of chance, game of skill to decide on taxation: GST law panel

The law panel has informed the group of Ministers (GoM) that a clear definition will clear confusion and reduce scope for multiple litigations

FM Sitharaman lists climate finance, crypto regulation as key G-20 agenda

Nirmala Sitharaman says India will push for the voice of developing and low-income nations

Vivek Joshi takes charge as secretary of dept of financial services

Senior bureaucrat Vivek Joshi on Tuesday took charge as the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance. Joshi replaced Sanjay Malhotra who is slated to take over as Revenue Secretary. Prior to this appointment, Joshi, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, was the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs. DFS keeps a tab on the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the National Pension System.

FinMin extends query submission deadline for IDBI stake sale till Nov 10

The finance ministry on Thursday extended the deadline for potential bidders to submit queries on IDBI Bank privatisation by 13 days till November 10. The ministry on October 7 had floated the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) inviting bids for selling about 61 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. The deadline for raising queries and submission of bids by interested bidder was October 28 and December 16, respectively. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) on Thursday issued a corrigendum to the PIM and extended the deadline for submission of queries till November 10. The government is expecting to get the financial bids for IDBI Bank by March and complete the process of privatisation in the first half of next fiscal beginning April 2023. After the stake sale, the government's and LIC's stake jointly will come down to 34 per cent, from currently 94.72 per cent. LIC and the government currently holds 49.24 per cent and 45.48 per cent stake respectively in

Finance Ministry extends ITR filing deadline for companies till Nov 7

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for the assessment year 2022-23 by businesses till November 7. The last date for filing ITR by companies who are required to get their accounts audited was October 31. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex decision-making body in matters of income and corporate tax, in a notification said since it had last month extended the deadline for filing audit reports, hence the ITR filing due date too is extended. "CBDT... extends the due date of furnishing of Return of Income under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2022-23, which is October 31, 2022... to November 7, 2022," the CBDT notification said. Domestic companies are required to file their income tax returns by October 31, 2022, for the Financial Year 2021-2022. The due date to file ITR will be November 30, 2022, for companies which are subject to transfer pricing norms. AMRG & Associates Director ...

FM asks AIIB to scale up investments in clean energy, infrastructure

India on Wednesday asked Beijing-based multilateral lending agency AIIB to scale up investments in priority areas like clean energy and infrastructure sector with a special focus on education and health. Addressing the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India has embarked on the path of a self-reliant economy and therefore has been successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic. As regards AIIB, she said, it needs to scale-up investments in key priority areas, including clean energy and energy efficiency, disaster resilient infrastructure, social infrastructure with a special focus on education and health, and digital infrastructure in order to ensure a meaningful impact is achieved and resources are not scattered in multiple areas. As public resources alone are insufficient to meet the vast infrastructure needs of the members, she advised that the bank should not only .

Not a pre-election Budget, please!

The forthcoming Budget should plan a faster fiscal deficit reduction, instead of embarking on a spending spree

Economic recovery strong, but inflation fears persist: Finance ministry

The monthly economic report stated that rupee depreciated by 5.4% against the dollar in the first six months of FY23, less than the depreciation of 8.9% of six major currencies in the DXY Index

Fiscal, monetary authorities should be watchful amid global gloom: Finmin

"Inflation trajectory remains dependent on geopolitical developments," the report stated, adding risks to inflation were amplified by an appreciating U.S. dollar," the ministry said

Sanjay Malhotra succeeds Bajaj as revenue secy; Giridhar named defence secy

Road Transport and Highways Secretary Aramane Giridhar has been named the new defence secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Wednesday. Giridhar, a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Defence. He will take over as secretary of the Department of Defence after the retirement of Ajay Kumar on October 31, a personnel ministry order said. National Highways Authority of India chairperson Alka Upadhyaya will be the new road and transport secretary replacing Giridhar. Secretary in the Department of Financial Services Sanjay Malhotra will be the new revenue secretary. He has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Revenue. The officer will take over as secretary, Department of Revenue, after Tarun Bajaj completes his term on November 30. Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affa

PSU dividend targets may be missed due to impact on oil industry

The budget estimate for dividends from PSUs is Rs 40,000 crore. So far, the centre has garnered Rs 15,766 crore. Even with such healthy receipts so far, a shortfall is expected

Finance ministry releases Rs 1,764-cr grant to four states for MPC/UAs

The finance ministry on Wednesday released Rs 1,764 crore grant to four states. The states to which grants were released are Andhra Pradesh (Rs 136 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 109 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 799 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 720 crore). "The Department of Expenditure today released an amount of Rs 1,764 crore to 4 states for providing grants to million plus cities/urban agglomerations," the ministry said in a statement. The grants released are meant for Million Plus Cities/ Urban Agglomerations (MPC/UAs) of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh; Durg Bhilainagar and Raipur in Chhattisgarh; Aurangabad, Greater Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune and Vasai-Virar City in Maharashtra. It is also meant for Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The 15th Finance Commission in its report for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 has divided the urban local bodies into two categories: (a) Million-Plus urban agglomerations/cities (excludi

FinMin seeks trade, industry suggestions on taxes for 2023-24 Budget

Kickstarting stakehoder consultation for 2023-24 Budget, the finance ministry has sought suggestions from industry and trade associations regarding direct and indirect taxes. Along with the suggestions, the industry has to submit justification for their demand which, if found with merit, could become part of the Union Budget for 2023-24 (April-March), to be tabled in Parliament on February 1, 2023. The deadline for sending suggestions for changes in the duty structure, rates and broadening of tax base on both direct and indirect taxes is November 5. "In the context of formulating the proposals for the Union Budget for 2023-24, the Ministry of Finance would like to be benefited by the suggestions and views of your association," the ministry said. It said that since the government is working to phase out tax incentives, deductions and exemptions while simultaneously rationalising direct tax rates, the industry should point out 'positive externalities' arising out of the ...

Centre to infuse Rs 5,000 crore in state-run general insurers: Report

On October 14, the finance ministry notified the wage revision plan for officers and employees of state-run insurers which is expected to cost Rs 8,000 crore to these companies