Finance Secretary

Former Finance Secretary Ajay Seth appointed as new Irdai chairman

Ajay Seth, former finance secretary and G20 finance track lead, appointed as Irdai chairman for three years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier

Govt names ex-Finance Secretary Ajay Seth as new Irdai chairman for 3 years

The government on Thursday appointed former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth as chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Seth's appointment as chairperson of the insurance regulator for a period of three years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, a government notification said. Seth, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, retired as Economic Affairs Secretary in June this year after a four-year stint. The appointment of IRDAI chairman comes nearly four months after the vacancy was created following Debasish Panda completing his term in March this year. As per the procedure for the appointment of regulators, the name is suggested by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC) headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Based on interaction with eligible candidates, FSRASC recommends

SBI pays Rs 8,076.84 cr dividend to govt, cheque presented to FM Sitharaman

The country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday paid a dividend of Rs 8,076.84 crore to the government for the financial year 2024-25. The dividend cheque was presented to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by SBI Chairman C S Setty in the presence of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju and Finance Secretary Ajay Seth. "Smt @nsitharaman receives a dividend cheque of Rs 8076.84 crore for FY 2024-25 from Shri C S Setty, Chairman-@TheOfficialSBI," the finance minister's office said in a post on X. SBI declared a dividend of Rs 15.90 per share for the financial year 2024-25, higher than Rs 13.70 per equity share distributed for the previous year. SBI had paid a dividend of Rs 6,959.29 crore to the government last year. During 2024-25, the bank earned a record net profit of Rs 70,901 crore, as against Rs 61,077 crore in the preceding year, registering a 16 per cent increase.

Panel on non-financial regulatory reforms to begin work soon: Finance secy

Finance Secretary and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on Saturday said that a high-level committee for regulatory reforms in non-financial sector should be starting its work soon to foster ease of doing business as announced in the Budget 2025-26. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech last month had announced creation of a high-level committee for regulatory reforms for a review of all non-financial sector regulations, certifications, licences, and permissions. "The committee will be expected to make recommendations within a year. The objective is to strengthen trust-based economic governance and take transformational measures to enhance 'ease of doing business', especially in matters of inspections and compliances. States will be encouraged to join in this endeavour," she had said. Observing that a number of structural reforms have been announced in the last 10 years, Seth said, at the same time keeping those reforms in tandem with the technological ...

Ajay Seth, 1987-batch IAS officer, designated as new finance secretary

A 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from the Karnataka cadre, Seth is also known for his role as the officer in charge of the finance track of the Group of 20 under India's presidency

Ajay Seth takes baton from Tuhin Kanta Pandey as new Finance Secretary

Ajay Seth, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Karnataka cadre, brings a wealth of experience to his new role

India to assess benefits of OECD's global tax deal after US quits: Fin secy

India will evaluate the benefit of joining the OECD's global tax deal as the US deciding to withdraw from such a global pact has made it "impractical to implement", Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump on January 20 in a Presidential memorandum had said that the "Global Tax Deal have no force or effect within the United States", thus nullifying the progress made so far by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to bring 140 countries on the same platform to levy a minimum 15 per cent tax on profits of multinational corporates. To a question on what would be India's stand on the global tax pact, Pandey said the US exit has added a lot of uncertainty and if the United States is not joining it then such a pact doesn't work out. Pandey, in a post-Budget interaction of Assocham, said the tax deal is a multilateral approach where the US is much integrally needed. "If the US has now said that it is walking out of it, then

Not concerned about rupee value, RBI managing volatility: Finance Secretary

Amid rupee falling to a record low level of 87.29 to a dollar, Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday said there is no concern over rupee value and the Reserve Bank of India is managing the volatility of the local currency. "There is no concern about the value of the rupee. The volatility in rupee is being managed by the RBI," Pandey told reporters. He said the Indian rupee is "free-float" and no control or fixed rate is applicable on the currency. He said the exchange rate is facing pressure amid unabated foreign fund outflows. The rupee depreciated 67 paise to hit record low of 87.29 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday after Trump Tariffs on Canada Mexico and China triggered fears of a broad trade war. Donald Trump slapped Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent duties and China with a 10 per cent duty, The move was the first strike in what could usher a destructive global trade war, forex traders said. In 2025, the Indian rupee depreciated 1.8 per cent from the 8

Centre vows to avoid protectionist signals on trade: Finmin official

India has been trying to placate the Trump administration after it accused the South Asian nation of maintaining very high tariffs that hurt prospects for American firms

Finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey takes charge as revenue secretary

A 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Odisha cadre, Pandey had been serving as the DIPAM secretary since October 24, 2019

Tuhin Kanta Pandey take charge as revenue secretary in finance ministry

Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Thursday took charge as Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday appointed Pandey, who was holding the charge of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), as the Revenue Secretary. The order also stated that Pandey will continue to be designated as the Finance Secretary. In September last year, Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer from Odisha cadre, was appointed the Finance Secretary. The Finance Ministry has six departments -- Revenue, Economic Affairs, Expenditure, Financial Services, DIPAM and DPE -- and the senior most bureaucrat in the ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary. Before serving as Secretary in the DIPAM, Pandey held many significant positions in the Union government and the Odisha government, in addition to serving a stint in the Regional Office of the United Nations Industrial Development ...

Senior bureaucrat Tuhin Kanta Pandey designated as finance secretary

Senior bureaucrat Tuhin Kanta Pandey was on Saturday designated as the new finance secretary, according to an official order. Pandey, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Odisha cadre, is currently the secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved designating Pandey as the finance secretary, the order issued by the personnel ministry said. The vacancy was created following the appointment of T V Somanathan as the Cabinet secretary last month. As per the convention, the senior-most secretary in the Union finance ministry is designated as the finance secretary.

Senior IAS officer T V Somanathan appointed Cabinet Secretary for two years

Dipam secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey could be the next Finance Secretary

After FY26, fiscal deficit target will be a range: Finance Secy Somanathan

Path towards a reduction in the debt-GDP ratio will be announced later

'Nothing has structurally changed on either food or fertiliser subsidy'

Somanathan responded to a range of queries arising from the Budget and explained the government's thinking, on employment schemes, capital gains indexation and fiscal roadmap and many more

'Internship scheme a complicated solution to a complicated issue': Fin secy

At 'Budget with BS: The Fine Print,' Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said companies costs for interns will be funded through their CSR budgets

'Can only provide fiscal incentives': Fin secy on govt's role in employment

At 'Budget with BS: The Fine Print,' Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said fiscal incentives are the central government's responsibility, while skilling and education primarily fall under state govt

Govt cannot go alone in skilling, pvt sector crucial: Finance Secretary

Finance secretary discusses the Union Budget's emphasis on employment, skills, and state-level reforms

DJB lacks accountability, got Rs 28,400 cr since 2015: Delhi finance secy

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) received more than Rs 28,400 crore since 2015-16 but it did not use the funds as per sanction conditions, the Delhi government's principal finance secretary has told the Supreme Court which is hearing an AAP government's plea alleging non-disbursal of funds to the water utility. The senior government official also said the statutory body lacks accountability. The top court had on April 5 asked the Delhi government's Principal Secretary (Finance) to release funds to the DJB and had made the utility, responsible for supplying potable water to the national capital, a party to the plea filed by the ruling AAP dispensation. In an affidavit filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Ashish Chandra Verma, the principal secretary of the finance department, extensively referred a March 15 report of the chief secretary on the subject of "serious problems" related to water supply and maintenance of sewage lines being faced by residents of Delhi to .

On path to achieving fiscal deficit target of 4.5% by FY26: FM Sitharaman

Interim Budget: Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said that the removal of tax old tax disputes is likely to cost the Centre around Rs 3,500 crore