Page 109 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Financial strength critical for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat': FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said indiscriminate borrowing and spending by certain States on non-merit goods and expenditure is a matter of concern, and fiscal strength is a critical component for 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'. The temptation to borrow beyond capacity would create inter-generational burden and affect fiscal soundness of the country, she said. "The tendency to get into such not-so-viable, non-merit expenditure is very high in some States," she said. As per the Constitution, the Centre can discuss with and raise questions to the States on borrowing but many of them see it as an interference in their space of authority, she said. Sitharaman was delivering the P Parameshwarji Memorial Lecture on "Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat" organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh ideologue P Parameshwaran. Lamenting that a wrong political narrative is being made to spoil the Centre-State relations, she said ..

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What is coal gasification and why is India investing in it heavily?

On Novemebr 3, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the biggest ever coal mine auction of 141 mines in India

FM Sitharaman likely to begin pre-Budget talks from third week of November

FM Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials will hold eight meetings in all with all stakeholders

Govt notifies enhanced financial support for Central, state PPP projects

Funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to Viability Gap Funding Scheme notified in December 2020

US treasury secy Janet Yellen to visit India on Nov 11 for EFP dialogue

Yellen will meet with tech sector haeds, visit Microsoft India Development Center, and hold a bilateral meeting with FM Sitharaman

India offers policy stability, transparency: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India offers policy stability, transparency and consultative process of governance to incubate investment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday as she invited investments in prospecting energy resources in the country. Stressing that there is a need for investments in coal, she said, "We need greater investments also to help in gasification of coal. I invite all of you to energetically participate in the (sixth round of commercial mines) auction processes which have been launched today and keep your options also further extended for greater extraction of minerals in India." During this 'Amrit Kaal', India needs all the basic minerals as the country is in the process of rapid growth, she added. Quoting a Morgan Stanley report, the finance minister said India is the place where investment should be. "This is where action is. We are definitely creating a policy environment through which greater transparency and greater policy stability guides and invites investments. T

Deals worth 7.5 trn to be struck during Karnataka's Global Investors Meet

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that initially when this global meet was planned, the expectations and targets were somewhere in the range of Rs 5 lakh crore

Sitharaman to launch 6th round of commercial coal mines auction on Thursday

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch the sixth round of commercial coal mines auction on Thursday. Sitharaman will be the chief guest at the launch event to be held in the national capital. The coal mines to be auctioned are fully-explored and partially-explored coking and non-coking mines, the coal ministry said in a statement. Coal minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for coal, mines and railways Raosaheb Patil Danve will be the guests of honour for the event. "Details of the mines, auction terms, timelines etc. can be accessed on MSTC auction platform," the coal ministry said in a statement. The auction will be held in online mode through a transparent two-stage process, on the basis of percentage revenue share. The coal ministry has so far auctioned 64 mines under commercial coal mines auction, which was launched in 2020.

FM Sitharaman lists climate finance, crypto regulation as key G-20 agenda

Nirmala Sitharaman says India will push for the voice of developing and low-income nations

Technology helped to plug leakage in benefit transfer to poor: FM

Technology adoption by the government for the benefit transfer to targeted people has plugged leakages and ensured good governance, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. Delivering the NT Rama Rao Memorial Lecture on Friday, she said, "What Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has done is by adopting technology he has contained the leaky bucket process. There are no leaks, the beneficiary who must get that money gets it". Technology has become a big instrument through which human folly and temptation are contained, she said at the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM). "Today, the way we have adopted technology is ensuring that benefits reach the common public, one of the goals of good governance has been achieved," a press release by GITAM quoted Sitharaman as saying. Earlier this month, the Prime Minister had said that the government has so far transferred Rs 25 lakh crore through direct benefit transfer (DBT). "I am not saying this is foolproof. Ingenuity will

FM Sitharaman asks states to lessen logistics burden on exporters

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked States to adopt a multi-modal approach and ensure logistics did not become a burden on exporters. She said the PM Gati Shakti was a beautiful protocol with which a synergy could be brought in. Delivering the inaugural address after inaugurating the third campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Kakinada, Sitharaman referred to 'One District-One Product' and 'Vocal for Local', initiatives, aimed at promoting local products and creating their export markets. She said the Commerce Ministry was working on getting an export policy that would help the exporters by giving them incentives and promoting many things. There's a repetitive and very relevant line that the Commerce Minister refers to We can't be exporting taxes.' We also should identify ways in which those taxes whether Centre, State or local that are on these products should be removed so that we don't burden their exporters, the Finance Minister said. The

FM asks AIIB to scale up investments in clean energy, infrastructure

India on Wednesday asked Beijing-based multilateral lending agency AIIB to scale up investments in priority areas like clean energy and infrastructure sector with a special focus on education and health. Addressing the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India has embarked on the path of a self-reliant economy and therefore has been successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic. As regards AIIB, she said, it needs to scale-up investments in key priority areas, including clean energy and energy efficiency, disaster resilient infrastructure, social infrastructure with a special focus on education and health, and digital infrastructure in order to ensure a meaningful impact is achieved and resources are not scattered in multiple areas. As public resources alone are insufficient to meet the vast infrastructure needs of the members, she advised that the bank should not only .

Finance Minister says India's growth resilient despite exogenous threats

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday said that despite exogenous threats, India's well-targeted policy mix, accompanied by major structural reforms, have aided its growth to remain resilient

Global economy facing disruptions, India can't be decoupled: Rakesh Mohan

Country has to tailor its actions in response to international crises, says economist and former deputy governor of RBI

Digital Banking Units to boost financial inclusion: All you need to know

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan will get four DBUs each, followed by Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Sikkim and Telangana, with three DBUs each

FM deserves Phd: Congress on Sitharaman's 'dollar strengthening' statement

Taking a sideswipe at Nirmala Sitharaman over her statement that Indian currency is not sliding, the dollar is strengthening, the Congress on Monday said that the Finance Minister qualifies for a PhD

Opposition slams FM Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened

Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, saying she cannot hide the failure of her government in handling the economy. The ruling BJP defended the finance minister's statement, noting that the dollar has appreciated against most currencies. It also said that if rupee depreciates against all currencies "like it happened during UPA in 2013", it is called rupee getting weaker, which is not the case now. The Congress alleged that the people were paying the price for the government's "incompetence and wrong policies". For how long will RSS-BJP work to weaken India by misleading the public from reality? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. Referring to India being ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, Gandhi tweeted: Now the Prime Minister and his ministers will say, 'Hunger is not increasing in India, but people are not feeling hungry in other ...

A big step towards 'ease of living': PM Modi opens 75 digital banking units

The DBUs will help banks that are now looking to reduce their physical footprint with fewer brick-and-mortar branches, with a 'light' banking approach.

Rupee is not sliding, dollar is strengthening, says FM Sitharaman in US

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, as she defended the 8 per cent slide in the value of Indian currency against the greenback this year. Speaking to reporters after attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, she asserted that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong and that inflation was low compared to other parts of the world. "First of all I would look at it as not rupee sliding, I would look at it as dollar strengthening, dollar strengthening incessantly," she said in reply to a question on weakening rupee. All other currencies around the world are performing against a strengthening dollar, she said. "And I'm not talking technicalities, but it is a matter of fact that India's rupee probably has withstood this dollar rate going up, the exchange rate in favour of dollar strengthening is there and I think Indian rupee has performed much .