Page 23 - Nirmala Sitharaman

'Laboured and tortuous': Chidambaram on Sitharaman's explanation on capex

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a "tortuous" explanation to his question about capital expenditure and asserted that the numbers "conclusively" proved that there was a "cut" in capex during 2024-25. Chidambaram said this in a statement late this evening while responding to the answers given by Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha. The former finance minister said Sitharaman has given a "laboured and tortuous" explanation to a simple question on what was the budget estimate for capital expenditure in the 2024-25 budget and what is the estimate at the end of year. "There is a reduction (cut), and I asked in the Rajya Sabha what are the reasons for the cut? FM could have listed the reasons and it is for the people to decide whether the reasons are acceptable or not. "Instead, she has questioned the very comparison of BE and RE. I am astonished that the Hon'ble FM should say that comparison of BE and RE is 'flawed'. If BE and RE ar

FinMin to hold review meeting with banks on Thursday on govt schemes

The meeting will be chaired by the Department of Financial Services secretary M Nagaraju

Raising money as important as managing debt: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

FM says, when it comes to finances of the country there can be no politics

Capex not cut, states got Rs 1.46 trn special assistance in FY25: FM

Sitharaman said that state governments have requested for continuing the scheme and enhancing the outlay for the scheme from time to time. In FY25, a total of Rs 1,53,673 crore was earmarked for this

Capital expenditure not cut, rises to Rs 11.21 trn for FY26: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the capital expenditure has not been cut, but has gone up to Rs 11.21 lakh crore for 2025-26 fiscal, and there has been proportional increase in loans given to states for capital expenditure for the same year. Replying during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said the capital expenditure was at Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25. "Actually, (in) the budget this year..., it has gone up to Rs 11.21 lakh crore. So, the capital expenditure has not been cut at all," she said. Loans to states under the scheme for interest-free 50-year special assistance for capital expenditure has gone up proportionately. "So, cutting down the capital expenditure is not the case with us," she added. Sitharaman was responding to a question by senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram. Chidambaram sought to know the reason for reduction in the capital expenditure for FY25 in the revised budget estimate to Rs 10,18,429 crore

India's forex reserves strong, can cover 11 months of imports: Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman's remarks came after several opposition members raised concerns about the country's financial position, particularly regarding fluctuations in forex reserves

Sitharaman to visit London from Apr 8-10; FTA talks may figure in meetings

Issues pertaining to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister would be attending a host of meetings, including India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London. Sitharaman is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and other British ministers. "Issues pertaining to the trade agreement and bilateral investment treaty (BIT) may also come up for discussions between the two," the official said. On February 24, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds announced resumption of negotiations for the proposed FTA between the two countries. The India-UK negotiations are resuming after a gap of over eight months. The talks were launched on January 13, 2022. S

FM Sitharaman to launch NITI-NCAER portal on state finances on April 1

The NITI NCAER States Economic Forum portal aims to enhance data accessibility and provide valuable insights into India's economic landscape at the state level

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 ...

FM Sitharaman meets US Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne Clark. "Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt @nsitharaman met Ms @SuzanneUSCC, President and CEO, US Chamber of Commerce @USChamber, in New Delhi, today, along with Mr Atul Keshap, President, @USIBC at @USChamber," the Finance Ministry said in an X post. The ministry further said that during the meeting, Sitharaman mentioned that India values the growing business engagements between India and US businesses. Clark appreciated India's continued reforms, including in FDI, leading to the growing interest of US businesses in India, and underlined the increased cross-border investment, innovation, growing entrepreneurship and trade that strengthen the US-India partnership, the ministry added.

No major lapses found in gold loan portfolios of PSBs after audit: FM

Sitharaman was replying to the discussion on the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Later, the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote

GoM reviewing GST on farm equipment and inputs: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Says existing provisions under I-T Act have gaps in addressing digital data

Over 30k taxpayers declare foreign assets, income of Rs 30,300 crore: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said more than 30,000 taxpayers have revised their I-T returns or filed belated returns and declared additional foreign assets and income of about Rs 30,300 crore. "We carried out a 'nudge' campaign in which we nudged taxpayers to voluntarily disclose their Foreign Income and Assets. SMS and E-mails were sent to around 19,501 select taxpayers, asking them to review their Income Tax Returns filed for the 2024-25 based on information available to Income Tax of foreign deposits etc," she said in reply to Finance Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha. As a result of the campaign, she said out of 19,501 taxpayers, a total of 11,162 taxpayers revised their returns and filled out Schedule Foreign Assets Form, declaring total assets of Rs 11,259.29 crores disclosing foreign income of Rs 154.42 crore. In addition to the above, she said 883 taxpayers revised their ITRs and corrected their status from resident to non-resident in the revised return for ...

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill 2025 with 35 amendments, Rajya Sabha next

The amendments include one that abolishes a 6 per cent digital tax, popularly known as the 'Google Tax,' on online advertisements

New Income Tax Bill set for discussion in monsoon session: Sitharaman

The new Income Tax Bill will be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Replying to the discussions on the Finance Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the new income tax bill, which was introduced in the House on February 13, is currently being vetted by the Select Committee. The Select Committee has been mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session of Parliament. "...we will take it (new income tax bill) up in the monsoon session," Sitharaman said. The monsoon session of Parliament is usually convene in July and runs through August. The simplified Income Tax Bill, which is half the size of the 1961 Income Tax Act, seeks to achieve tax certainty by minimising the scope of litigation and fresh interpretation, the Income Tax department had earlier said. The new bill has a word count of 2.6 lakh, lower than 5.12 lakh in the I-T Act. The number of sections is 536 against 819 effec

35 cartel cases under CCI radar in the last five years: FM Sitharaman

The CCI is currently investigating allegations of cartelisation in the advertising industry and has raided several firms in the past week to gather evidence

TN gets major PLI projects in electronics, automobile, says Sitharaman

Tamil Nadu has emerged as a key beneficiary under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, receiving a significant share of projects in the electronics and automobile sectors, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Addressing an event organised by Chennai Citizens' forum on Saturday evening, Sitharaman dismissed charges of the state government that the Centre has neglected Tamil Nadu in terms of funding. She said major 'big ticket' projects have been announced and are progressing at various stages of implementation across the State. "Tamil Nadu has been the largest beneficiary under the PLI- scheme in electronics, electronic parts and automobiles. Out of the 27 companies that have received approval from the Centre, 7 are based out of Tamil Nadu," the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs noted. Sitharaman highlighted that 25 per cent of the companies availing benefits from the PLI scheme are from the state, she said drawing applause from the audience at the

Sitharaman, Citi CEO discuss bank's staff growth in India, digitalisation

During their discussion, Jane Fraser highlighted Citi's expansion in India and expressed interest in strengthening the company's presence in the country

Need safeguards before raising FDI limit to 100% in insurance: Parl Panel

A Parliamentary Panel on Wednesday urged the government to put safeguard measures in place to counter concerns like profit repatriation while raising the foreign direct investment limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector. The Standing Committee on Finance, in its report, said the downside of the FDI in India's insurance sector should be dealt with adequately and scrupulously. The Committee would like to emphasise the need for some safeguard measures to be in place to counter concerns like profit repatriation i.e. foreign investors sending earnings back to home countries rather than reinvesting in India; reduced decision-making power of domestic firms; job security concerns arising due to potential automation and cost-cutting measures; focus on high-margin policies, neglecting rural and financially weaker sections etc, it said. With regard to the integration of InsurTech (Insurance Technology) in the sector, the report said it has the potential to enhance efficiency, customer ..

Sebi lowers minimum investment in social stock exchange to Rs 1,000

According to the latest directive, the September 2022 circular will now specify that the minimum investment size for ZCZP instruments will be Rs 1,000