Page 46 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Will open 30 million Jan-Dhan accounts this FY, says FM Sitharaman

The average balance per account has increased from Rs 1,065 in March 2015 to Rs 4,352 as of August 16, 2024. Roughly 80 per cent of these accounts are currently active

No NPS rollback; UPS an attempt to improve it: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

'Fresh scheme not compulsory for states'

GST Council meet to discuss rate rationalisation on Sep 9, says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the GST council next month will discuss rationalisation of tax rates but a final decision on tweaking taxes and slabs will be taken later. She also said that compensation cess on luxury and sin goods are also going to be discussed and can come up in the September 9 meeting or later. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary met last week and broadly converged on retaining slabs under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) unchanged at 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The panel also tasked the fitment committee -- a group of tax officers -- to analyse the implication of tinkering rates on some items and present them before the GST council. "The upcoming GST Council meeting will take up the issue of rate rationalisation. There will be a discussion on the issue. Committee of officers will make a presentation on rate rationalisation," Sitharaman told reporters here. However, a final .

India, Singapore commit to boost cooperation in emerging, futuristic areas

India and Singapore on Monday pledged to further enhance co-operation in the emerging and futuristic areas. The Indian delegation led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deliberated upon six pillars identified under India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong led the delegation of Singapore during the second ISMR. "During the meeting, the leaders emphasised on ways of further enhancing co-operation between India and Singapore in emerging and futuristic areas. Both sides deliberated upon six pillars identified under ISMR, which include Digitalisation, Skill Development, Sustainability, Healthcare & Medicine, and Advanced Manufacturing and Connectivity," the finance ministry said in post on X. The leaders also discussed plans for commemorating the 60th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore, alongside regional and global cooperation, including ASEAN & G20 developments, it said. The leaders noted that the ...

Indian ISMR delegation calls on Singapore Prez, PM, discuss bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday called on Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and discussed ways to further take forward the bilateral strategic partnership. The four ministers are here for the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) to be held on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on issues of mutual interests. "Honoured to jointly call on President @Tharman_S of Singapore. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister @narendramodi. Value his guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership," Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting. They also met Prime Minister Wong. "Delighted to call on Prime Minister @LawrenceWongST of Singapore today morning along with my colleagues @nsitharaman, @PiyushGoyal and ...

FM Sitharaman, Goyal to attend India-Singapore ministerial meet on Monday

ISMR is a mechanism established to set a new agenda for India-Singapore bilateral relations. Its inaugural meeting was held in New Delhi in September 2022

TMC's O'Brien urges Sitharaman to withdraw 18% GST on insurance premiums

TMC leader Derek O'Brien has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to "urgently review" and withdraw the 18 per cent GST on health and life insurance premiums during the upcoming GST Council meeting. O'Brien, in a letter dated August 24, demanded that the GST on health and life insurance premiums be withdrawn at the 54th meeting of the GST Council. "The 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health and life insurance premiums is a burden on 45 crore Indians comprising the middle-class," said O'Brien, the Trinamool Congress' (TMC) leader in the Rajya Sabha. "These insurance schemes provide financial security during times of distress, may it be an illness, accident, or untimely death. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that all sections of society are able to afford this crucial social safety net," he said. O'Brien also expressed fear that levying a high GST rate on health and life insurance might lead to many citizens not opting for insurance schemes or even ...

Four union ministers to attend India-Singapore ministerial meet on Aug 26

Four union ministers - Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, S Jaishankar and Ashwini Vaishnaw, will attend the India-Singapore ministerial meet on Monday with a view to further strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries. The commerce and industry ministry on Sunday said the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) is scheduled to take place in Singapore on August 26. Goyal will engage with leading global business figures in Singapore, including DBS Bank, Temasek Holdings, OMERS, Keppel Infrastructure, and the Owners Forum. The minister will explore strategies to bolster bilateral trade and investment, capitalising on India's burgeoning market opportunities and its dynamic growth trajectory, it said. "Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will participate in the second ISMR along with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technolo

FM tells officers to effectively implement GST, keep positive attitude

The goods and services tax (GST) should be implemented effectively and officers should keep their attitude towards taxpayers positive, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Friday. Speaking at the inauguration of the newly constructed GST Bhawan at Hiran Magri in Udaipur, Sitharaman said, "GST offices are being made convenient since 2019... This will help taxpayers to easily get their problems resolved." Calling for a "positive atmosphere" between the officer and taxpayers, the FM said, "Officers should keep their attitude positive towards the taxpayer so that there is no need to take harsh steps." "In the GST Council, too, officers and ministers are solving problems immediately," she said. The problems of taxpayers should be resolved immediately so that doubts do not turn into problems, she said. "GST officers should have such a mindset that they are ready to help the taxpayers, which will boost business," he said. The finance minister also pointed out that the

FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeks RBI help to clear RRB dues with states

The finance minister also directed RRBs to become more customer-friendly and use their local connections to further improve performance

MCA likely to bring out internship scheme guidelines within two weeks

The MCA has held industry consultations on the scheme before finalising the guidelines. The ministry will also put in place checks and balances in the scheme to ensure transparency

FM Sitharaman urges regional rural banks to reduce high attrition rates

RRBs were established regionally and are oriented towards rural areas, with capital contributed by the Government of India, state governments, and sponsored banks under the RRB Act, 1976

Use simpler language in tax notices, don't instil fear: FM tells officials

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked tax officers to use simple language in income tax communications so that notices do not instil fear in the minds of taxpayers. Advising the income tax officers not to take "disproportionate" action and use enforcement measures only, as the last resort, Sitharaman said tax officers should use "power judiciously". "Taxpayers must not be subject to unnecessary harassment," she said, adding that tax authorities should mention the reason for sending tax notice and present their side of the story in a "crystal clear" way. "It would be better if the tax-related communication is simpler in language, becomes devoid of technical words and is not convoluted so that an average taxpayer understands what he/she needs to do or what the notice is about," Sitharaman said at the 165th Income Tax Day celebration here. Stating that tax authorities are not for instilling fear in the minds of people, Sitharaman said the department should collect wha

Focus on deposits, strengthen cybersecurity: FM Sitharaman to banks

The FM also met top officials of regional rural banks in a separate meeting, where banks were asked to expedite one state-one RRB initiative

FM asks RRBs to devise suitable products aligning with MSME clusters

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to devise suitable products aligning with MSME clusters to increase banking penetration. During a review meeting with chairpersons of RRBs and CEOs of their sponsored bank, the finance minister emphasised active outreach by the RRB branches located in MSME clusters to ensure credit to small and micro enterprises in areas like textile, wooden furniture, leather, food processing, packing materials etc. that hold immense potential for increasing the loan portfolio. Sitharaman also asked sponsor banks and RRBs to recognise the challenges ahead and continue focusing on maintaining asset quality, expanding digital services, and ensuring robust corporate governance. During the meeting, Sitharaman underlined that all RRBs must have their own up-to-date technology stack to stay relevant and noted that digital banking services like mobile banking will be a boon for regions with relatively challenging physical ...

FM Sitharaman meets heads of PSBs, exhorts banks to improve deposit growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday held a performance review meeting with heads of public sector banks and urged them to improve their deposit growth. Deposits have been growing 300-400 basis points lower than the credit growth in the last few months, creating an asset-liability mismatch for banks. According to sources, the finance minister reviewed the financial performance of banks and progress made in the implementation of various flagship schemes of the government, including PM Awas Yojana, PM Surya Ghar and PM Vishwakarma Yojana. Sitharman also took stock of deposit growth, credit-to-deposit ratio (CD ratio) and asset quality, sources said. The minister asked the banks' chief to focus on core banking business and increase the pace of deposit growth by introducing innovative products. Earlier this month, the finance minister had said there is a mismatch between deposit and lending growth. "Growth in lending is higher...I will be meeting banks (on August 19) for vari

FM to discuss bad loans taken over by NARCL with PSBs, RRBs on Monday

Sitharaman had last chaired a meeting with heads of PSBs in December 2023

Urgent need to address $4 trn financing gap to accelerate SDG progress: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that inadequate access to developmental finance is hindering developing economies from achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and underscored the urgent need to address this USD 4 trillion annual financing gap. Addressing the third Voice of Global South Summit virtually, Sitharaman said that recent reports reveal that the implementation of many SDGs in developing economies is stagnating, with some indicators even regressing. The SDG financing gap is estimated to be USD 4 trillion annually for developing countries, she said. Observing that the global South is affected by global uncertainties, she said one in four developing countries will be poorer by the end of this year than they were before the pandemic as per a recent World Bank report. "Growth thus remains insufficient to drive progress in development and poverty reduction. To accelerate progress on SDGs, there is an urgent need to address the USD 4 trillion financing

India must focus on skilled workforce to become developed by 2047: Gopinath

India has grown well in terms of its overall growth rate, and at 7 per cent, it is the fastest growing major economy in the world, she said

Foreign exchange rules amended: Cross-border share swaps eased by govt

Now, transfer of all shares in firms having FDI with countries sharing land borders, would require prior government approval