Page 26 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Kharge slams Modi govt, calls Sitharaman's 'good returns' claim ironic

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday termed as ironical the claim of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the Indian economy is giving good returns, and said a "visionless" Modi government has tanked the economy and ruined the lives of Indians. "Nothing can be more ironical than Modi Sarkar's FM saying that our Economy is delivering 'Good Returns', he said in a post on X. Kharge said Rs 45 lakh crore has been wiped out from the Indian stock markets so far in 2025 and Nifty 50 firms have shown the worst quarterly profit growth in five years. "Foreign Investors have sold over Rs 1.56 lakh crore of stocks since October last year, including nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 itself, which has led to wiping out wealth of small and medium investors," the Congress chief said. "Rupee at 87, means Trade Deficit is sky-high. Imports have risen by 62.21 percent in the last 5 years. The Modi Government's Trade policy is disastrous for India," he said. Drawing a comparison, Kharge

Govt, RBI working together to control inflation and drive growth: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government and Reserve Bank are working in "sync" to control inflation and in turn boost growth. Speaking to reporters here, the finance minister said inflation cooled to nearly 4 per cent, and attributed this outcome as a factor which helped the Reserve Bank cut interest rates first time in over four years when it slashed the repo rate by 25 basis point this month. "Inflation-related management of supplies and also the monetary policy is working in sync in order to favour the growth cycle," the FM said. She said that inflation management also includes work on aspects relating to imported inflation. Meanwhile, Sitharaman handed over keys to homebuyers from select projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), whose long-stressed residential projects have been completed under the "Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH I) Investment Fund". The milestone marks the completion of 50,000 homes, as per

India delivering 'good returns': FM Nirmala Sitharaman on FII selloff

We are building to be an investor-friendly country, says FM

SWAMIH touches 50,000 mark as FM Sitharaman hands over keys to homebuyers

The primary objective for establishing 'Special Window' fund is to provide priority debt financing for completion of stalled housing projects that are in Affordable and Middle Income Housing sector

Sam Pitroda, New Delhi railway station stampede, Nirmala Sitharaman & more

Meanwhile, Indian Railways has announced shutting down the Prayagraj Sangam Station from 17th to 28th February due to Mahakumbh’s massive rush.

Profit booking leading FIIs to sell Indian equities: FM Sitharaman

Seeking to assuage concerns over foreign institutional investors (FII) selling Indian equities lately, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday attributed the action to profit booking. Speaking to reporters in the financial capital, Sitharaman said the Indian economy is one where the investors are bagging better returns which leads to profit booking. "FIIs also go out when they are able to or in a position to book profits. Indian market today, Indian economy today, has an environment in which investments are also yielding good returns and profit booking is also happening," she said. It can be noted that FIIs have sold over Rs 1.56 lakh crore of stocks since October last year, including nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 itself, which has led to a sharp correction on the indices and wiping out investor wealth. Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said FIIs are not moving from one emerging market to other, and added that in times of global uncertainties like the one being witnessed

BITs should capture national interest, current model will be revamped: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that going forward the bilateral investment treaties should capture national interest in relation to regulatory powers and serve as a guide to arbitrators in resolving disputes. Speaking at the inauguration of the first PG Certificate Course on International Commercial & Investment Treaty Arbitration in New Delhi, Sitharaman said issues related to Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) are unique to the sovereign and hence BIT should be negotiated stand-alone rather than as a part of FTA agreement. Stating that arbitrators have often ignored the judicial decisions of the host country, Sitharaman said an investment treaty must not only provide better regulatory powers to the nations but must also serve as guidance to arbitrators to restore faith in arbitration. "I strongly believe, moving forward, the framework of investment treaties should capture national interests in relation to regulatory powers and strengthen guidance for ...

Select Committee of Lok Sabha to examine Income Tax Bill constituted

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Select Committee of the lower house to examine the Income Tax Bill. To be headed by BJP's Baijayant Panda, the panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session. The ongoing Budget Session will conclude on April 4 and the Monsoon session could commence in the third or fourth week of July. While introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had urged Birla to refer the draft law to a Select Committee of the House. The much-anticipated Bill will replace terminologies such as "assessment year" and "previous year" with the easier-to-understand "tax year" as part of a move to simplify language while removing provisos and explanations.

FinMin asks ICAI to review new Income Tax Bill 2025, suggest improvements

Central Board of Direct Taxes expects the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to go through the bill section-by-section, keeping in mind the needs of both businesses and individual taxpayers

Govt, RBI keeping vigil on rupee fluctuation: FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha

The FM said that the value of the Indian rupee is influenced by various factors such as the index of the dollar, trends in capital flows, interest rates, and crude price movements

FM Nirmala Sitharaman introduces new Income-Tax Bill in Lok Sabha

Speaker to send the bill for examination to a select committee of house members

Income Tax bill tabled, Modi-Trump meet, Adani Green's projects in Sri Lanka & more

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Income Tax Bill 2025 in Lok Sabha today. PM Modi arrived in Washington DC, today for a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

FM replies to Jaya Bachchan: Tax on movie tickets reduced from 28% to 18%

Responding to questions raised by MP and former actor Jaya Bachchan's about the film industry, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said entertainment tax has been streamlined under the GST regime

No state has been ignored: Nirmala Sitharaman defends Budget in Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman counters Opposition claims that the Budget favoured BJP-ruled states, especially poll-bound Bihar

FM presents new I-T Bill in LS, to be reviewed by a standing committee

The Income Tax Bill 2025 will undergo review by a standing committee before being sent back to the government for approval. Thus it will some time for it to be passed in the Parliament

New Income Tax Bill tabled in LS: Here's what's changing & what's not

If passed, the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961 and come into effect on April 1, 2026

New I-T Bill more complicated than previous one: Congress MP Manish Tewari

The new Income Tax Bill is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday

Debt-to-GDP over fiscal deficit: Will FM Sitharaman's strategy pay off?

Since the finance minister announced a glide path based on debt-to-GDP ratio to measure fiscal deficit, opinion has been divided on the move since it would also reflect on government borrowings

Income-Tax Bill, 2025 to be tabled in Parl: New tax slabs, reforms & more

The new Income Tax Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday, Feb 13, replacing the six-decade-old Income Tax Act of 1961. Here are the highlights of the Bill

Masterclass in deflecting blame: KC Venugopal slams FM's Budget reply

In his X post, he said Sitharaman's reply was more about political point-scoring than addressing the concerns raised by the opposition