Page 25 - Nirmala Sitharaman

India to be 6th largest insurance market by 2032, says FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman in a tweet highlighted decriminalisation and reduction in compliance burden for businesses and individuals among reforms undertaken by the government in the last ten years

FM Sitharaman woos UK investors, highlights India's growth, reform push

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired an India-UK Investor Roundtable in London, attracting around 60 UK investors representing various pension funds, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions. According to the Ministry of Finance, the high-level roundtable on Tuesday evening outlined the priorities of the government for enabling sustained economic growth and investment opportunities, with the policy support that is shaping "New India". It highlighted the efforts being made by the ministry to pursue process and governance reforms to reduce compliance burden and ease regulation for facilitating an enabling environment for business and investments. India offers a compelling growth opportunity for foreign banks and the government of India is actively encouraging foreign investment in the banking sector, Sitharaman told the gathering. With an expanding middle class and strong and stable policy environment, the Union Finance Minister said that India is set to

Speeding up fast-track mergers: Govt proposes wider scope, action awaited

Company Law experts said listed companies were unable to take the benefit of the fast-track mechanism for mergers with a wholly owned subsidiary since approval of all shareholders was required

India's growth trajectory remains strong, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

"Our government remains committed to continued reforms, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and ensuring that growth benefits every section of society," she said

India's domestic demand big magnet amid US trade tariffs, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the resilience of the economy and strength of domestic demand will continue to make India an engine of growth amid the rapidly evolving global trade landscape as a result of US tariffs. In an interaction entitled the Opportunities and challenges for India's quest to become a developed economy by 2047' at the High Commission of India in London, she asserted that the economy was well placed to capitalise on domestic efficiencies and competitiveness as it tackles global headwinds. The world has seen depressed growth for over several years; earlier, it was low interest for long and now it's going to be low growth for long, and that's not happy news for anybody, said Sitharaman, who is here on her first UK visit in her current Union Cabinet term. India has maintained its fastest growing economy tag continuously now for five years and we still think that momentum may moderate a bit, but it will still be India who will keep that grow

Nirmala Sitharaman arrives in London at start of six-day Europe tour

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in London on Monday evening at the start of a six-day official tour of Europe from April 8-13, which will also cover Austria. The Ministry of Finance announced her arrival with a social media post after the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, received the minister at Heathrow Airport. Sitharaman is scheduled to kick-start her UK visit with an in-conversation session at the High Commission of India in London in partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE) on Tuesday. This will be followed by the 13th Ministerial Round of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) with her UK counterpart, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, on Wednesday. Both leaders are expected to announce and launch various reports and new initiatives for further bilateral collaborations, according to an official pre-visit Indian government statement. The 13th EFD is a significant bilateral platform between the two countries that offers ...

Lenders add 25K beneficiaries under Tarun Plus category of Mudra Yojana

Lenders have added about 25,000 beneficiaries under the Tarun Plus category of PM Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in a 4-month short period of FY25 where borrowers were given enhanced loans up to Rs 20 lakh. The scheme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her last July Budget. As per the Budget 2024-25 announcement, loan limit was doubled to Rs 20 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the 'Tarun' category. Following the Budget announcement, the Tarun Plus scheme was notified on October 25, 2024. As many as 24,557 new borrowers took loan under the Tarun Plus category amounting to Rs 3,790 crore in a short period of four months during FY25, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju told media while briefing about achievements of PMMY. He further said that generally Rs 5-6 lakh crore loans are sanctioned under the scheme in a year of late. The PMMY was launched on April 8, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the goal of

Govt's FY25 capital expenditure may surpass RE of Rs 10.18 trillion

To meet the RE would require a 44 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in capex

US reciprocal tariffs: An opportunity for TN in jolt to US footwear majors

According to industry experts, the higher tariffs on China and Vietnam will turn out to be most beneficial for Tamil Nadu

No fee for updating nominees in PPF accounts: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Previously, it had been reported that financial institutions were charging a fee for updating or modifying nominee details in PPF accounts

TMC MP links Sunita Williams to Gujarat politics, Sitharaman hits back

TMC MP Nadimul Haque demands Bharat Ratna for Sunita Williams and mentions her late cousin Haren Pandya, the former Gujarat minister leader who was assassinated in 2003

'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 ...