Page 104 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Govt keeping eye on inflation, WPI fallen to 21-month low: FM in Parliament

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the government is keeping an eye on inflation which is purely "extraneous" nowadays because of fuel and fertiliser prices. Replying to the debat on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said wholesale inflation has fallen to a 21-month low. Later, the Rajya Sabha returned the Supplementary Demands for Grants to the Lok Sabha, thus completing the process of authorising the government to spend an additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in FY2022-23. Retail inflation based on consumer price index which remained above the Reserve Bank's tolerance level of 6 per cent since January this year has declined to 5.88 per cent in November. The minister also said private investment capex is taking place in India because of favourable policies like PLI and cited few examples. Sitharaman also stressed that the supplementary demand for grants is essentially for food security, fertiliser requirements and providing support

Finance Ministry red-flags CSS fund mis-utilisation by Chhattisgarh govt

Says Rs 1,213 cr being spent in violation of rules and Rs 11 cr diverted to time deposits to earn interest income; calls for action against officers responsible

Note in circulation rise 8% annually to Rs 32 trillion: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said note in circulation (NiC) has witnessed an annual growth of 7.98 per cent to Rs 31.92 lakh crore as of December 2, 2022. The demand for currency depends upon several macroeconomic factors, including economic growth and level of interest rates, she said in a reply to the Lok Sabha. The quantum of cash or banknotes in the economy depends on the requirement for meeting the demand for banknotes due to GDP growth, inflation, replacement of soiled banknotes and growth in non-cash modes of payment. She stressed that the mission of the government is to move towards a less cash economy to reduce the generation and circulation of black money and to promote the digital economy. Both the government and RBI have taken measures to promote a less cash economy and encourage digital payment, she said. With regard to 'Rationalisation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for Debit Card Transactions', she said the RBI has advised banks to ensure that ...

Loans worth Rs 1,009,511 written off in last 5 financial years: Sitharaman

Scheduled commercial banks have written off loans amounting to Rs 10,09,511 crore in the last five financial years and the process of recovery of dues from the borrowers continues, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Sitharaman said recovery in NPA (non performing asset) accounts, including written-off loans, was an on-going process. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, public sector banks have recovered Rs 4,80,111 crore, including Rs 1,03,045 crore from written-off loans, during the last five financial years, she said. "As per inputs received from the RBI, scheduled commercial banks have written off an amount of Rs 10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years," Sitharaman said during Question Hour. The borrowers of written-off loans continue to be liable for repayment and the process of recovery of dues from the borrower in written-off loan accounts continues, she added. Banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated

India committed to improve trade facilitation: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Centre is committed to improve trade facilitation for every stakeholder, including Customs Department personnel and those involved in the trading communities, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Sunday. Beyond construction of a new building, these days emphasis is also given on how energy-efficient the buildings would be so that there is no pollution or disturbance to anyone, she said at an event here. "I am extremely happy to lay the foundation stone for new office complex 'Vaigai' which is aptly named and actually comes out of the commitment that the nation has made to improve trade facilitation", Sitharaman said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of new office complex 'Vaigai' at Customs House here. "There was a time when we thought that we have to build office space based on officers, staff and requirements. These days, it is also looking at how green our buildings are going to be, and how energy-efficient these buildings will be," she said. "In tra

Centre, state govts to focus on efforts to widen GST base: FM Sitharaman

According to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, monthly GST revenue collection has been above Rs 1.4 trillion in the recent past

GST Council defers GoMs reports on appellate tribunal, capacity-based tax

Clarifies compensation cess of 22 per cent on SUVs, said tax treatment of MUVs to be examined; nods to the decriminalisation of GST offences

GST Council meet: Council agrees to decriminalise certain offences

The GST Council on Saturday agreed to decriminalise certain offences and doubled the threshold for launching prosecution to Rs 2 crore, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said. The Council could decide on only 8 out of the 15 agenda items due to paucity of time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding the items not considered included one pertaining to setting up of appellate tribunals for GST. The issue of mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses could also not be taken up. Malhotra said GST on online gaming and casinos was not discussed as the report of a Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on the issue submitted its report only a couple of days back. The report of the GoM was not even circulated to GST Council members, he added. He further said the Council agreed to raise the threshold of launching prosecution to Rs 2 crore from the present Rs 1 crore. Also, the GST on husk of pulses was reduced to nil f

GST Council meet begins; decriminalisation, gutkha biz tax on agenda

Decriminalisation of offences under the GST law, setting up appellate tribunals and mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses are among the issues slated to be discussed in the GST Council meeting which began on Saturday morning. Besides, GST on online gaming and casinos may come up for deliberations at the Council meeting. The Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, set up last year on the issue had submitted its report to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The Council would also consider a report of tax officers and give clarity on the rate applicability in certain goods and services. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the 48th meeting of the GST Council via virtual mode, in New Delhi, today," the finance ministry tweeted. With regard to decriminalisation of offences, the law committee of the GST Council, comprising tax officers from the Centre and states, has suggested to the Council to ...

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Brace for climate tariff walls, FM Nirmala Sitharaman cautions India Inc

Says the upcoming Budget will continue to push growth

Lessons in budgeting: Changing Budget tack amid changing realities

From an adventurous start in 2019 to modest revenue projections last year, there has been a marked change in Ms Sitharaman's approach. T N Ninan looks at what can be expected in Budget 2023

Coordinated efforts taken to contain Chinese loan apps: FM in Rajya Sabha

Government departments and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are taking coordinated steps to check Chinese mobile apps offering easy loans and cheating people, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Responding to a zero-hour issue raised by a Trinamool Congress MP, she said action has been taken against apps that are cheating people by offering loans. The minister said she had in the last 6-7 months held several meetings with representatives of the central bank, her ministry officials and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on the issue of Chinese loan apps harassing and cheating people. "A lot of apps that have been badly misused have also been brought to the attention of MeiTY," she said. "So there is a coordinated effort to contain such apps. And also to take action against those who are misusing." Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) is the nodal ministry that issues orders for blocking apps considered prejudicial to the sovereign

Budget this year to follow spirit of earlier ones, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sithataman on Friday indicated that her forthcoming Budget will continue to push growth on the back of public spending as she said it will "follow the spirit" of earlier Budgets. Sitharaman, scheduled to present her fifth straight Budget on February 1 for the fiscal starting April, had unveiled a massive public spending programme to support the economy, emerging out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Budget, the finance minister had raised capital expenditure by 35.4 per cent for the financial year 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore to boost demand, while the capex last year stood at Rs 5.5 lakh crore. "It is very inspiring and motivating for me, especially at a time when we are readying the next budget for the country, a budget which will follow the spirit of the earlier Budgets. We are going to set the template, which was set to earlier but follow it and take it further for India's next 25 years...," she said at an event here. The GDP growth has slowed in recent

Work out strategies to draw global manufacturers to India: FM to industry

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked Indian industry to work out strategies as to how businesses operating in developed countries can look at India as a production or sourcing hub amid recession fears in the western countries. India has brought in a lot of facilitation and tweaking of rules to attract foreign investment into India and is also engaging with industries who want to co-locate in the country, the minister said. "As much you are preparing yourself for a long-drawn recession in the Western world, in the Developed world, I think it is also the best time for you to work out strategies for drawing those manufacturers from there to India. "Even as they are headquartered there, it might be useful for them to think of sourcing many things from here and producing from here at least for markets in this part of the globe," Sitharaman said at an event here. She said the suspected long-drawn recession, which is likely to affect Europe, is not just going to affect expo

Tariff walls on exports likely by nations undergoing green transition: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Indian industry to be prepared against "tariff walls" which are likely to be imposed by nations undertaking green transitions, on Indian exports

No consensus in GoM report on GST framework for online gaming

The panel, headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, submitted its second report to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the all-powerful GST Council meeting on Saturday

Best of BS Opinion: Critical decisions, chaos on the ground, and more

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On track to meet FY23 fiscal deficit target, inflation within RBI band: FM

'We'll bring inflation down further for the sake of common people', said FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Critical decisions

GST Council is expected to improve business conditions