Page 6 - Finance Ministry

Refunds account for 17.6% of India's gross tax collections in FY25

Tax refunds in FY25 accounted for 17.6% of gross collections, a sharp rise from FY14. The average time to process refunds dropped to 17 days in 2024, compared to 93 days in 2013

Finance ministry seeks Claims portal control from health ministry

The department of financial services, under the ministry of finance has sought the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) regarding the same

Govt may bring health claims portal under FinMin to tackle inflated costs

The move is aimed at strengthening oversight of the portal and improving transparency in pricing and billing practices across the health insurance sector, Reuters reported

FinMin directs public sector banks to evaluate board performance

"Independent third-party board evaluations are a widely accepted global practice, and India has only recently begun adopting them," remarked S. Krishnan

Govt extends NPS-like tax benefits to Unified Pension Scheme staff: FinMin

In a bid to promote Unified Pension Scheme, the government has made necessary changes to provide tax benefits to employees opting for UPS at par with those under National Pension System (NPS). The inclusion of UPS under the tax framework marks another step forward in the government's effort to strengthen retirement security for central government employees through transparent, flexible and tax-efficient options, the finance ministry said in a statement. "The government has decided that tax benefits as available under NPS would apply mutatis mutandis to UPS as it is an option under NPS," it said. These provisions ensure parity with the existing NPS structure and provide substantial tax relief and incentives to employees opting for the UPS. The finance ministry through a notification dated January 24, 2025 had notified introduction of the UPS as an option under NPS for the recruits to the central government civil service with effect from April 1, 2025, giving one-time option to the .

FinMin pushes PSBs to expand branches amid private sector competition

Amid rising competition from private and small finance banks, PSBs have been asked to scale up physical infrastructure and cover over 200 unbanked population clusters

Small savings rates unchanged for sixth straight quarter from July 1

Interest rates for the popular PPF and post office savings deposit schemes are also unchanged at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively

EVs, defence, RE sectors face rare earth risks, says finance ministry

Finance ministry's May 2025 review notes easing inflation and strong GDP growth, but flags upside risks from global conflicts, oil prices and investor sentiment shifts

FinMin working to double the life insurance cover under the PMJJBY

As part of this revamp, a revision in premiums is also under consideration

Finance Minister urges PSU banks to boost credit growth, maintain profits

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked public sector banks (PSBs) to take advantage of Reserve Bank's jumbo 50 basis points rate cut to increase lending toward productive sectors of the economy. During a meeting to review financial performance of PSBs, Sitharaman asked their chiefs to maintain profitability momentum in FY26, sources said. Cumulative profit of 12 PSBs rose to record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY25, registering a growth of 26 per cent over the previous year. The year-on-year increase in profit in absolute terms was about Rs 37,100 crore in FY25. According to sources, the minister expected that PSBs credit growth should improve post 50-bps rate cut by RBI. Banks were also directed to try maintain the FY25 credit growth level or increase during the current financial year. On June 6, the RBI's six-member monetary policy committee, headed by Governor Sanjay Malhotra lowered the benchmark repurchase or repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent. It also slashed

Govt urges state-run banks to boost lending amid economic growth push

Financial Services secretary M. Nagaraju said banks were also urged to boost credit to small businesses and improve deposit mobilisation, following a review meeting chaired by FM Nirmala Sitharaman

BCs seek meeting with finance ministry to break deadlock over remuneration

Industry representatives for business correspondents point out that there is pressure from banks to raise deposits, despite the fact that the BC channel has already overtaken branches in doing so

FinMin may bring cheques, credit cards, higher overdrafts in PMJDY 2.0

The official said that the government believes that these upgrades will also help reduce the number of inoperative accounts

Centre may speed up stake dilution in GIC Re, New India Assurance

As of now, the government holds 85.44 per cent in New India Assurance and 82.4 per cent in GIC Re

Finance Ministry, RBI discuss scaling up unified lending interface

The finance ministry together with Reserve Bank held a meeting with various stakeholders, including state government representative to deliberate on ways to scale up Unified Lending Interface (ULI). ULI is a new digital public infrastructure (DPI) designed to streamline the lending process, similar to UPI in the payment space. It is a technology platform built to facilitate easy access to authenticated data from various sources, through standardised APIs to which all lenders can connect seamlessly through a plug and play' model. Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju and RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar co-chaired a meeting with officials from various ministries/departments of Government of India and state governments on scaling up ULI, the finance ministry said in a post on X. ULI is envisioned as a DPI for credit delivery designed to integrate technology, data, and policy into one seamless platform, Nagaraju said during the meeting which saw participation of senior officials of

Fifth edition of Time Release Study shows faster import clearance at ports

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman releases CBIC's NTRS report showing average cargo release times improved at ports and airports, though delays rose at inland depots

CBDT acts against non-filers with foreign income, assets worth ₹29,000 cr

Finance Ministry on Friday said CBDT is taking action against people having foreign income and as many as 5,483 taxpayers have filed belated returns reporting foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and additional income of Rs 1,089.88 crore. Suitable action under the extant provision of law is under consideration for non-responsive taxpayers, the finance ministry said in a statement. The finance ministry's statement comes amid reports that money deposited in bank accounts of Indian entities in Switzerland has increased in 2024. Indian money parked in Swiss banks more than tripled in 2024 to 3.5 billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs 37,600 crore) on the back of a huge jump in funds held through local branches and other financial institutions, annual data released by Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday. The ministry statement said that a total of 24,678 taxpayers reviewed their ITRs and 5,483 taxpayers filed their belated return for the assessment year (AY) 2024-25, reporting forei

A K Bhattacharya's third book on India's FMs captures the post-reform era

Typically, by the third sequel, authors tend to lose energy, but not A K Bhattacharya. He enjoys reporting the joys and pains of India's finance ministers too much

Most public-sector banks see decline in headcount even as branches spread

Public sector banks (PSBs) have shown varied trends in employee strength over the last three financial years

Beware if bank staff says insurance purchase mandatory for loan approval

Your guard should also go up if undue pressure is applied to purchase a policy immediately