Page 107 - Nirmala Sitharaman

FM Sitharaman seeks to shrink budget deficit as global headwinds loom

A longstanding plan aims to shrink the shortfall to below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26

Rationalisation in long-term capital gains tax structure on the anvil

The finance ministry is looking at rationalising long-term capital gains tax structure by bringing parity between similar asset classes and revising the base year for computing indexation benefit to make it more relevant, an official said on Friday. Currently, shares held for more than one year attract a 10 per cent tax on long-term capital gains. Gains arising from sale of immovable property and unlisted shares held for more than 2 years and debt instruments and jewellery held for over 3 years attract 20 per cent long term capital gains tax. The revenue department is now looking at rationalising the tax rates as well as holding period for calculating long-term capital gains and an announcement is likely in the 2023-24 Budget to be presented in Parliament on February 1. Also, a change in base year for computing inflation-adjusted capital gains is being contemplated, the official added. The index year for capital gains tax calculation is revised periodically to make it more relevan

FHRAI meets Nirmala Sitharaman, seeks infra tag for hospitality industry

Representatives from Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday and sought granting of infrastructure status to the hospitality industry in the forthcoming Budget. Currently, hotels built with an investment of Rs 200 crore or more have been accorded infrastructure status under the RBI infrastructure lending norm criteria. The association has requested that this threshold be brought down to Rs 10 crore to give a fillip to budget segment hotels. This will enable hotels to avail term loans at lower rates of interest and also benefit from longer repayment periods. It has also requested for hospitality to be classified as an industry that's applicable across the country and create a corpus which compensates states for any notional loss, the association argued. "FHRAI put forth to the minister specific requests with special emphasis on granting infrastructure status to the hospitality industry," a release stated. The ...

Retail inflation likely to ease in coming months: Finance ministry

The MER, however, warned that the global macroeconomic situation remained precarious and a recession in many advanced economies would impact India's exports

Why is India Inc batting for the small guy?

Business leaders and representatives from industry bodies have recently met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to propose rationalisation of personal income tax rates and more. Let's find out more

Pre-Budget meet: Farmers' bodies ask govt to lift export ban on wheat

In a pre-budget consultation with the finance ministry, farmers' organisations on Tuesday asked the government to lift ban on exports of agri items like wheat and restrict import of products that cost below the minimum support price (MSP). They also demanded that the government should focus on increasing domestic output of local oilseeds such as soyabean, mustard, groundnut and sunflower, instead of palm. Imposition of higher taxes on processed foods was another suggestion made by farmers' bodies during the virtual meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The finance minister chaired her third pre-budget consultation with the experts of agriculture and representatives of the agro processing industry here. In his wish list for the Union Budget 2023-24, Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Ajay Vir Jakhar demanded that the government should "not allow import of produce where landing costs are below MSP". He also urged the Centre to focus on human resources development in the farm

Abolish exemptions

Instead of reducing tax rates, Budget 2023 should take steps to reverse the decline in tax buoyancy

FM Nirmala Sitharaman holds a pre-budget meeting with stakeholders

Representatives from the commodity market have demanded cost rationalisation and reduction of commodity transaction tax to Rs 500 per crore from Rs 1000 per crore: Official

Farmers' groups urge govt to allow global trading of farms' carbon credits

The farmers' representatives urged the Finance Minister to focus on human resources development over infrastructure

Focus on job creation, capex boost, tax measures in Budget: Industry to FM

Employment-linked incentive scheme for services sector suggested

Sitharaman to meet state FMs for pre-budget consultation on Friday

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold pre-budget consultations with her state counterparts on Friday. The meeting is part of the customary meetings that the minister undertakes with stakeholders before the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1. The pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers will be held in New Delhi on November 25, an official said. Sitharaman on Monday began consultation to seek suggestions for the Budget 2023-24 with industry captains and experts from infrastructure and climate change. On November 22, the minister will meet the agriculture and agro-processing industry, representatives from the financial sector and capital market. She will also be meeting the representatives of the services sector and trade bodies, besides experts from the social sector, including health, education, water and sanitation, on November 24, in virtual mode. The budget for the next year will have to address critical issues of high inflation, boosting demand, job

Budget should focus on job creation, steps to broaden tax base: India Inc

The Budget should focus on measures to accelerate job creation and broaden the tax base by rationalising GST and personal income tax slabs to boost consumption, industry bodies said in their pre-Budget meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. "The external scenario is likely to continue to be unfavourable for some time. Hence, we must broad-base our domestic economy by creating new sectors of growth and driving employment generation to boost domestic demand, inclusion, and growth," CII president Sanjiv Bajaj said. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was part of the virtual pre-Budget meeting which was called for an aggressive focus on privatisation of public sector units and increasing allocation to capital expenditure with focus on an investment led growth strategy to pump India's economy amidst the global uncertainty. To boost job creation, CII suggested that an employment linked incentive scheme be introduced and the government could consider an urban ..

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman kicks off pre-budget consultations

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday kicked off pre-budget consultations, holding meetings with industry chamber heads and infrastructure experts about their expectations from the upcoming Budget. The meetings were held virtually and Union Ministers Of State For Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, and other senior officials also attended the meeting. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs her 1st #PreBudget2023 consultation with the first group of captains from Industry & experts of #Infrastructure and #ClimateChange, in New Delhi, today," the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet. "The 2nd #PreBudget2023 meeting is being attended by MoS Finance Shri @mppchaudhary and Dr @DrBhagwatKarad ; Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan; Secretaries of DEA, @SecyDIPAM, DoR, @DFS_India, CEA Dr Anantha Nageswaran & Senior Economic Advisor @FinMinIndia," it added. The participants gave suggestions on the 2023-24 Budget, which will be presented in Parliament by

Cut I-T, review capital gains tax in Budget 2023-24: CII to govt

FM Nirmala Sitharaman's pre-Budget consultations from today

Will the dream run continue for banks?

As the war for deposits escalates, the cost of money will rise and banks' NIM will be under pressure. Also, a few banks may invite trouble by aggressively growing their retail books without necessary

LIVE news: Finance Minister to begin pre-budget consultations from Monday

From Amit Shah's scheduled rally in Gujarat to BJP's roadshows across Delhi ahead of MCD polls, catch all the live updates from across the globe here

Adoption of new technology necessary for transparent accounting system: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that adoption of new technology is necessary for a transparent accounting system. Transparent accounting is also so essential for sustainable economy and transparency cannot be ensured without trust and ethical accounting practices, she said. Sitharaman, who is also in charge of the corporate affairs ministry, was speaking at the 21st World Congress of Accountants that is being jointly organised by the International Federation of Accountants (IFCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. "Adoption of new technology is necessary for a transparent accounting system. This is also necessary for sustainable livelihoods of our people and also for sustainable manufacturing and services. "Innovative technologies like Web 3.0, which has already taken over our lives, can bring about a lot of changes in the way we conduct our businesses," she said. The minister also said that technologies such as blockchain, machine learning, ..

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to kick-start pre-Budget meetings from Monday

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will kick-start the customary pre-budget meetings beginning Monday with a special focus on issues concerning climate change and infrastructure. The minister would hold virtual meetings on November 21 in three groups with industry chambers, infrastructure sector and environment experts seeking suggestions for the 2023-24 Budget making from stakeholders. On November 22, Sitharaman would meet agriculture and agro processing industry, representatives from financial sector and capital markets. She will also be meeting the representatives of services sector and trade bodies, besides experts from social sector, including health, education, water and sanitation, on November 24. The pre-budget meetings with the trade union representatives and economists are scheduled for November 28. The participants will give suggestions on the 2023-24 Budget which will be presented in Parliament by the Finance Minister on February 1. Sources said climate change would

FM urges AIIB to scale up investment in renewal energy, smart technologies

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to scale up investment in renewal energy and smart technologies and also urged the multilateral agency to set up a regional office in India. AIIB President Jin Liqun called upon the finance minister here and discussed various issues of relevance to the bank. "While appreciating AIIB's growing portfolio in India, FM Smt.@nsitharaman suggested that @AIIB_Official should scale-up #investments and mobilise private finance in India's key priority areas including #RenewableEnergy, #EnergyEfficiency and climate #SmartTechnologies," the finance ministry said in a tweet. India is a founding member of AIIB with the second-highest voting share. India holds 7.74 per cent equity in the multilateral bank, next only to China (29.9 per cent). "As India is the largest client of @AIIB_Official, FM Smt.@nsitharaman reiterated that AIIB should plan to set up a regional presence in India to facilitate .

FM urges independence of CAs to preserve integrity of financial statements

Says statutory filings and audit reports by CAs are public documents that multiple stakeholders rely on; urges adherence to fair and transparent practices