Page 58 - Finance Ministry

Importers still wait for clarity on expanded scope of IGCRS Rules

The new rules now say they come into play even in situations where the notifications prescribe end use of imported goods but do not specifically prescribe application of the new rules.

Opposition slams FM Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened

Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, saying she cannot hide the failure of her government in handling the economy. The ruling BJP defended the finance minister's statement, noting that the dollar has appreciated against most currencies. It also said that if rupee depreciates against all currencies "like it happened during UPA in 2013", it is called rupee getting weaker, which is not the case now. The Congress alleged that the people were paying the price for the government's "incompetence and wrong policies". For how long will RSS-BJP work to weaken India by misleading the public from reality? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. Referring to India being ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, Gandhi tweeted: Now the Prime Minister and his ministers will say, 'Hunger is not increasing in India, but people are not feeling hungry in other ...

Many roads lead to GST

The solution to many difficulties that we see today lies in a sound indirect tax system

State-owned NBFCs looking to tap into India's first sovereign green bonds

The finance ministry is yet to confirm their participation and draw broad contours of the bond issuance

Coal to be back again as gas becoming unaffordable: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Given the global energy crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that coal is going to be back again as gas has become unaffordable. Sitharaman, who attended the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said the western world has seen countries moving to coal. The Western world has seen countries moving to coal. Austria has already said, and todaythey are going back to coal, Sitharaman told a group of reporters from India during an interaction on Saturday. Russia has sharply curtailed natural gas shipments to Europe in retaliation for sanctions that the West put in place after its invasion of Ukraine. In late April, Russia cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland after they refused Moscow's demand to pay for the deliveries in rubles, Russia's currency. Also, apart from that many countries in the West are moving away from coal to generate electricity as it contributes to climate change and air pollution. Responding to a question on her

Govt not to procure fresh Covid vaccines; surrenders Rs 4k cr from budget

The government's Covid vaccination programme is in its final leg with the Health Ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 per cent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the Finance Ministry. Official sources told PTI that more than 1.8 crore doses are still available with the governments at the Centre and in states and the stock is sufficient to continue the vaccination drive for around six months, given the low uptake of vaccines among people due to declining Covid case burden. Even if the government's stock gets exhausted, Covid vaccines will be available in the market. "Any decision on whether to procure Covid vaccine doses through the government channel or get (fresh) budget allocations for the purpose after six months will depend on the coronavirus situation prevailing in the country at that time," an official source told PTI. As part of the nationwide vaccination drive which began on Janu

Govt notifies 12% wage hike for employees of PSU general insurers

The Finance Ministry has notified an average 12 per cent wage hike for employees of four public sector general insurance companies effective from August 2017. "This Scheme may be called the General Insurance (Rationalisation of Pay Scales and other Conditions of Service of Officers) Amendment Scheme, 2022," a gazette notification dated October 14, 2022 said. This wage revision is effective from August 1, 2017 and applicable to those who were in the service of these companies, it said, adding that officers and employees will get arrears for five years. The next revision due from August 2022 will be in the form of a variable pay based on the performance of the company and the employee, it added. Unions are not happy with imposition of pay linked to performance of the company and their performance. "We are having strong reservations against the way the wage revision has been done after the wait of 64 months. Linking wages with performance seems to be illogical as we employees underta

India briefs G20 FMs, central bank governors on its 2023 presidency agenda

India on Thursday briefed the finance ministers and central bank governors of G-20 countries about its agenda for the next year when it assumes the rotating annual presidency of the grouping. India will take over the G20 Presidency in 2023, including the finance track. The ministers and governors have been briefed about the proposed main priority agendas from the 2023 India Presidency, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters during a press conference held here on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Indonesia currently holds the presidency of G-20 countries. On Thursday Indrawati chaired meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors of G-20 countries, which among others was attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das. It is during this meeting and the breakfast meeting hosted by Sitharaman earlier in the day for the finance minister

India has set global benchmarks; economic revival on sustained path: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is setting the global benchmarks on the digital front and that it will be able to face geopolitical and economic uncertainties

India's public goods are available for countries in need: FM Sitharaman

Observing digitalisation has become the biggest advantage in India in the last two years, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that India's public goods are available for countries that need them. Sitharaman said the open-source network that the government of India has created as a public good is helping small and medium industries to scale up their operations. Standing here I want to reiterate that India's public goods are available for countries which so they need it, Sitharaman told students of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) during an interactive session on India's unique Digital Public Goods. The minister asserted that India has a digital stack that other countries can use. So if India today can talk of a digital stack, it's not talking of just payment where UPI, which is today acceptable in Singapore, UAE, and many other countries, she said. We are not talking of just Rupay cards, we are not talking of credit cards, we'

India's 5G indigenous; can reach other countries as well: FM Sitharaman

India has launched its indigenously developed 5G infrastructure and is ready to share it with other countries as well, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. The story (of India's 5G) is yet to reach the public, Sitharaman said in her interaction with students at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The 5G that we've launched in our country is completely standalone, she said in response to a question. There could be some parts coming from, say, countries like (South) Korea, but (not) coming from somebody else. So complete indigenous technology that we can now provide 5G (to any country) who wants it, she said. So, our 5G is not imported from somewhere else. It's our own product, Sitharaman said. The 5G services were recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in select Indian cities and are likely to cover the entire nation by 2024, she said. On 5G, I think, we can be immensely proud of India's achievements, Sitharaman said

FM Sitharaman calls for effective tax reporting regime on crypto assets

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for an effective tax reporting regime and information exchange between jurisdictions for crypto assets to combat offshore tax evasions. Participating in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting here on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, Sitharaman intervened on a number of critical issues, including infrastructure, investments and international taxation. On scaling up sustainable and digital infrastructure investments, she highlighted the need to leverage private sector participation. She also spoke on mobilising finance at sub-national level for inclusive and quality infrastructure. The last session of the ongoing G20 meeting saw discussions on the progress made on the agenda of international taxation during this year. On the two-pillar solution, the finance minister called for participative engagement of all jurisdictions in negotiations and prioritising capacity building.

India calls for collective prevention of aggravating risks: FM Sitharaman

: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for collective responsibility to prevent the risks from aggravating. Sitharaman said that India's efforts will be to encourage conversations that recognise our inter-dependencies, our shared wisdom, and our collective aspiration for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world. Today's global economy faces a confluence of challenges and it is our collective responsibility to prevent the risks from aggravating, the finance minister said in her speech during the closing session of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors here being held on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. India will head the annual rotating presidency of G-20 next year. In her remarks, the finance minister said that India views the hosting of the G20 Presidency as an opportunity as well as a responsibility. Rebuilding trust in multilateralism is at the core of India's thinking, she told her

India to become world's third-largest economy by FY28, says IMF

Projected to grow bigger than Japan at $5.36 trillion

13 major states have room for Rs 7.4 trn capital spending in FY23: Icra

As many as 13 major states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, have a massive fiscal space of Rs 7.4 lakh crore for capital spending in the current fiscal, 81 per cent higher than the last fiscal, Icra said on Thursday. The 13 states, having nearly 85 per cent share in India's GDP in 2020-21, had made a capital expenditure of Rs 4.1 lakh crore last fiscal. Their Budget estimate for capex spending this fiscal is Rs 5.8 lakh crore, the rating agency added. The agency's analysis is based on 13 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. "Icra estimates that the 13 state governments have the fiscal space to incur capital spending of as much as Rs 7.4 trillion in FY2023, rivalling the size of the GoI's capex budgeted for this fiscal. While the availability of funds doesn't appear to be a constraint in FY2023, the actual outgo incurred by these state ...

FM Sitharaman on US visit from today; to attend IMF-WB annual meetings

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will arrive here on Tuesday to attend an important meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The finance minister during her visit will also hold a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Sitharaman upon her arrival will participate in a fireside chat on "India's Economic Prospects and Role in the World Economy" at the prestigious Brookings Institute think-tank and soon after hold a bilateral meeting with Yellen at the Department of Treasury. At an official dinner hosted by India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, nearly 30 senior representatives of the US Administration, World Bank, IMF, and CEOs of the private sector are expected to participate. In addition to her one-on-one meeting with the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass, the finance minister is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with countries like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, ..

Finance ministry mulls steps to curb cheque bounce cases: Report

The finance ministry is mulling several steps like dipping into other accounts of a cheque issuer and prohibition of opening of new accounts of offenders to effectively deal with cheque bounce cases which are clogging the legal system. Many suggestions were made at a high-level meeting recently called by the ministry to deal with the high incidence of cheque bounce cases. Some of the steps suggested before taking legal recourse included debiting another accounts of the cheque issuer if his or her account is short of funds to honour the instrument, sources said. The other suggestions were treating cheque bounce as default of loan and thus reporting it to credit information companies for necessary downgrade of score, the sources said, adding a proper legal view would be taken before these suggestions are accepted. If these suggestions are implemented, it would help enforce cheque honouring by the payer without the matter going to court and also compel him/her to make payment by creat

Govt to kick off Budget-making exercise for FY 2023-24 on Monday

The government on Monday will kick off its annual Budget making exercise for financial year 2023-24, that is expected to look at measures to revive growth amid a gloomy global outlook. The meeting would start with consultations with various ministries and departments on the revised estimates (RE) of expenditure for ongoing financial year and the fund requirement for 2023-24. On the first day on Monday, RE meetings with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour And Employment, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports would take place. Most of these discussions to finalise RE for ongoing financial year (2022-23) and Budget Estimate for 2023-24 would be chaired by the Finance Secretary and Expenditure Secretary. The month-long deliberations would end on November 10, with consultations with Ministry of Cooperation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, ...

Expenditure under Centrally Sponsored Schemes up by 72.1% till FY22

11 states, UTs spent more than allocated share in FY21; but in FY23, Centre expects to save Rs 80,000 cr

Finance Ministry cuts August 2022 spend: Efficiency or compression?

The centre saved around Rs 10,000 crore through SNA last fiscal year