Page 6 - Finance Ministry

Inflation likely to be below RBI's target in FY26: FinMin review

The finance ministry's June 2025 review says inflation could fall below the RBI's 3.7% target, providing scope for further easing, though credit growth remains weak

Only 1.37% of eligible central employees opted for UPS as of July 20

Just 31,555 employees have enrolled in the Unified Pension Scheme despite a three-month extension; Finance Ministry highlights low adoption

FinMin sees room for more rate cuts as inflation remains below RBI's target

The finance ministry on Monday said there is room for further easing of interest rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the inflation is comfortably below the central bank's median target of 4 per cent. Retail inflation, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), has remained below 4 per cent since February and dipped further to more than six-year-low of 2.82 per cent in May. "Core inflation remains subdued, and overall inflation is comfortably below the RBI's 4 per cent target, affording room for the easing cycle to be sustained," said the finance ministry's monthly review report. The central has cumulatively reduced the short-term benchmark lending rate (repo) by 100 basis points since February. The next meeting of the RBI's rate-setting panel -- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) -- during August 4-6. The RBI has projected headline inflation at 3.4 per cent for the second quarter of the fiscal year, while in the first quarter, actual inflation came below the target of the RBI. "It

Slabs, cess, and trade-offs: India's GST faces a fork in the road

With rate slabs ripe for consolidation and the compensation cess at a crossroads, India's GST revamp must balance political economy, revenue stability, and taxpayer fairness

I-T Bill 2025: FinMin rejects demand for time limit on tax pleas' disposal

The finance ministry said the statute only provides for the time-lines and procedural requirements and the mechanism to make appellate procedure more efficient and taxpayer friendly

PSBs flag 1,629 wilful defaulters with dues over ₹1.62 trillion: FinMin

Public sector banks have identified 1,629 wilful defaulters with outstanding loans totalling Rs 1.62 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, according to the Union Finance Ministry

Public sector bank NPAs drop to 2.58% from 9.11% in 4 yrs: Finance ministry

Gross NPAs of public sector banks dropped from 9.11% in 2021 to 2.58% in 2025, driven by RBI and government reforms, stricter recovery laws, and improved asset resolution frameworks

Govt forgone ₹99K cr in FY24 due to corporate tax incentives: MoS Finance

The government is estimated to have forgone around Rs 99,000 crore in revenue in the 2023-24 fiscal on account of tax incentives extended to corporates, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Tuesday. Corporate tax rates have been gradually reduced since 2016 while phasing out the exemptions and incentives. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Chaudhary gave the estimated revenue forgone due to the tax incentives by way of various deductions in corporate tax, from FY 2019-20 to 2023-24. The corporate tax revenue foregone in 2023-24 stood at Rs 98,999, followed by Rs 88,109 crore and Rs 96,892 crore in 2022-23 and 2021-22, respectively. In 2020-21 and 2019-20, the total corporate tax revenue foregone was Rs 75,218 crore and Rs 8,043 crore respectively. The minister was replying to a question from AAP MP Raghav Chadha on the estimated loss to the exchequer due to the corporate tax reductions from 2019-20 to 2024-25, and for the financial year (2024-25). Estimated

Govt ups engagement with rating agencies to show economic strength: FinMin

The government has strengthened its engagement with global rating agencies through a structured interactive process, during which the overall macroeconomic scenario is highlighted before them, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Sovereign credit rating agencies such as S&P, Fitch, and Moody's have assigned India the lowest investment-grade rating. Moody's Ratings has assigned a 'Baa3' rating on India, with a 'stable' outlook, while S&P Global Ratings has a 'BBB-' with a 'positive' outlook. Fitch rates India at 'BBB-' with a 'stable' outlook, while Morningstar DBRS in May upgraded India's rating to 'BBB', with a stable trend. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the government has made sustained efforts to strengthen India's overall economic outlook, thereby positively impacting its credit profile. These include maintaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals, such as steady growth, price stability, fiscal consolidation, a ...

FinMin looks to widen infrastructure plans for capital expenditure push

Experts say that, given the higher capital spending by the Centre in April-May of FY26, there is room to raise the capex target beyond the budgeted ₹11.2 trillion

Delhi to receive Rs 600 cr Central funds under special assistance scheme

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the funds will be used to accelerate development projects across the city

India needs tax breaks, startup push to lead global wellness tourism

KPMG-FHRAI report projects India's medical tourism to reach $58.2 bn by 2035, calls for tax incentives, global branding and startup support to drive growth

From educator to minister, FM Nirmala Sitharaman opens up on her journey

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a candid conversation in Shillong, reflects on her journey in education, personal values, North East development, and governance

Govt to give best of attention to promote GCCs: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Sitharaman says the Centre will offer tax, legal and administrative support to boost GCCs in India and guide states to develop hubs in tier 2 cities

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