Page 63 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Nation moving ahead with vision of women-led development: Sitharaman

Asserting that women empowerment has been a pivotal focus of the NDA government at the Centre, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that India was moving ahead with the vision of women-led development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was speaking after inaugurating a credit outreach programme at the Jai Prakash University in Bihar's Saran district. "Our PM has done a lot for the empowerment of women in the country, be it providing them with gas cylinders under Ujjwala Yojana, constructing houses and toilets in villages or getting the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed in Parliament. Today, the entire world is accepting the fact that the women of India are progressing a lot under the leadership of Modi ji," she said. "Women empowerment has been a pivotal focus of the NDA government. The country is moving ahead with the vision of women-led development under the leadership of Modi ji," she said. Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj ..

FM Sitharaman calls for clarity on GST classification-related issues

CBIC gave a presentation that it has detected fake input tax credit claim of Rs 1.14 trillion from the year 2020 till date

Restoration of Hindu places of worship done in all fairness: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday defended restoration of Hindu places of worship saying they are being done in all fairness and backed by proof, and not an attempt to emotionalise anything. The construction of the three-storeyed Ram temple in Ayodhya is underway after the Supreme Court verdict came in favour of the temple in 2019. Earlier in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla idol as per prescribed rituals. "We need the right kind of storytelling, highlighting it and wherever necessary... so that the civilizational attempt to restore (temples) is done with fairness...we are not trying to emotionalise anything...emotion we have inside, but proof with which we go to the court should stand out for itself," Sitharaman said at a book release event here. Releasing a book titled 'Waiting for Shiva Unearthing the Truth of Kashi Gyan Vapi' written by Vikram Sampath, she said documentation has been an inherent part of the Hindu wa

Use tech to plug loopholes, improve taxpayer services: FM to GST officials

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked GST officers to leverage technology to plug loopholes and provide better taxpayer services. Inaugurating the first-ever National Conference of Enforcement Chiefs of the State and Central GST Formations, Sitharaman advocated for sharing of the emerging best practices, emphasising the need for seamless coordination across states in the larger national interest. "The Union Finance Minister urged all the GST formations to leverage technology to plug the loopholes as well provide better taxpayer services," an official statement issued after the meeting said. She also stressed that clarity on the classification of related issues should be looked into at the earliest through appropriate channels. Sitharaman also exhorted the GST officials to engage with stakeholders to understand their concerns, enhance compliance, streamline processes, and work collaboratively towards making the tax system more transparent and efficient. In her address

National pension system added 21.5% fewer corporate subscribers in 2023

Saw 158,212 new subscribers last year compared to 201,517 during 2022

FM Sitharaman to inaugurate conference of GST enforcement chiefs on Monday

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate on Monday a conference of enforcement chiefs of all state and central GST officers to tackle tax evasion. In the conference, Goods and Services Tax (GST) formations will deliberate on combating GST evasion, including examining current challenges and delving into successful methods adopted by central and state tax enforcement officers. It would also strategise on effective methods to combat fake invoicing, sharing best practices, fostering synergy, and leveraging technology and data. The conference will also balance ease of doing business and discuss striking a crucial equilibrium between facilitating a smooth business environment and implementing effective and deterrent enforcement measures. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the one-day conference and also deliver the keynote address on March 4, a finance ministry statement said. Embracing the spirit of cooperative federalism as .

WTO: Fighting for rights of small fishermen, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The ongoing WTO 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, which was supposed to end on February 29, has been extended by a day due to the logjam over key issues

Many countries negotiating to start rupee trade with India: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said many countries are negotiating to start trade in rupee as the country's fundamentals are strong and the Indian unit has been "mostly stable" against most of the international currencies. Addressing the Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru Memorial Lectures 2024 at JNU, Sitharaman also said India has opened up every sector for private investments and will extend fiscal and policy support to sunrise sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and manufacturing using innovative tools. "Indian Rupee being mostly stable against most of the international currencies except for the US dollar, where it had volatility. But even in that case, compared to many other currencies, the Indian rupee has been far more stable even against the US dollar. "And therefore, you find countries today wanting to have trade relations built on rupee trade," said Sitharaman while addressing students and professors at her alma mater. "As a central university, JNU

AMC Repo Clearing sees trades of over Rs 10,000 crore in February

Fee waiver, more participation and increased order size result in surge

Direct Benefit Transfer worth Rs 34 trn facilitated by PFMS: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said Direct Benefit Transfer of Rs 34 lakh crore has been facilitated by the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and asked accounts officers to further enhance efficiency and transparency of the system. In a written message to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and the Indian Civil Accounts Organisation (ICAO) on the occasion of the 48th Civil Accounts Day, Sitharaman said PFMS has been the cornerstone of establishing an efficient fund flow system alongside a robust payment and accounting network. PFMS is the management information system used by officers of the Indian Civil Accounts Service to maintain the accounts of the government. It is also used to transfer funds to beneficiary accounts of various government schemes via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). "The Direct Benefit Transfer mechanism, facilitated through PFMS, has led to the transfer of Rs 34 lakh crore from the government. This is a testament to the system's ...

Fintechs raise UPI payment charging concerns with FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The MDR on UPI payments has been a longstanding demand from the fintech industry, asserting they don't generate revenue from such transactions

Sitharaman flays Cong MP on demand for separate nation for southern states

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has decried Congress MP D K Suresh's statement that the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation due to the alleged injustice in the release of central grants to them. Insisting that "the central government has no role to play except for obeying the Finance Commission, Sitharaman said the states must sit with the Commission and highlight the weightage that will help them get the grants." "If southern states...I don't want to club them as southern states...each one has its own strengths and it is also now getting into those very, very dangerous threshold of 'Southern states together'. We will have '...' (separate nation)," the finance minister said during an interactive event - 'The Indian Express Adda'- here on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the Bengaluru Rural MP Suresh said the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation if the alleged 'injustice' was not rectified. He had claimed that taxes collec

Fintech compliances have to be simplified, made user friendly: Sitharaman

She said that the emphasis of the government has been on system reforms to throw out unnecessary laws that may become an instrument in the hands of rent-seekers

Bengaluru tax payers are giving us buoyancy: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hailed Bengaluru tax payers for their contributions in building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat', and said the Department of Revenue is running its entire national faceless income tax assessment scheme from Karnataka's capital city. Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the upcoming complex HONGIRANA for Income Tax officers and staff here, she said the tax payers of Bengaluru have been absolutely giving us the buoyancy, and thanked all individual and corporate taxpayers in this region for making sure for building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat'. "Your contribution is relentless. There has never been a dip. So thank you very much Bengaluru for keeping that momentum up", she said. Sitharaman also emphasised the investments that the Central government is making in Bengaluru. She noted that the Government has brought about the entire faceless system for income tax assessment and ease of doing business to ensure that tax assessee

Next gen reforms to top third-term agenda, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman said that among other areas of focus, the government is also going to ramp up investment in the logistics sector which has immense untapped potential along with tourism

TMC depriving poor of central schemes for sake of politics: FM Sitharaman

The politics of denying these benefits to the people of Bengal is a disservice done to them, the finance minister added

Meeting with FM 'consultative' and 'positive': fintech, startup executives

The finance minister added that companies must ensure strict compliance and adherence with regulations

FM Sitharaman confident of India Inc aligning to nation's development goals

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday exuded confidence that India Inc will align itself to the developmental goals of the nation with an objective of making the country a developed nation or 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047 on the 100th anniversary of independence. Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly indicated that the goal of Viksit Bharat is to be attained to provide the future generations a better India. Addressing a session on 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Viksit Bharat & industry', organised by Ficci, the minister said that industry's role is critical in achieving the goal by 2047. "You were with India during the freedom struggle, you built industry and capacity despite the colonial pressure...So Indian industry has always kept that spirit up and against terrible odds kept moving along on national interest. "I can't see how they will be left out in this game of building a developed India by 2047. So it should be natural to India's industry to align itself with .

Digital infrastructure is a modern day factor of production: FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman was speaking at the National Conclave on Viksit Bharat 2047 organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

Sitharaman asks India Inc to align with 'Viksit Bharat' @ 2047 vision

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday exhorted Indian Inc to align itself with the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, when India will complete 100 years of independence. Addressing a session on 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Viksit Bharat & industry', organised by Ficci, the minister also assured the industry that reforms will continue in the third term of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The new government will be formed after the general elections due in April-May and the BJP is confident that Prime Minister Modi will return to power with a greater majority. Sitharaman said that India has moved up to become the fifth largest economy and is on the way to become the third largest global economy. The minister said that several reforms were undertaken by the government during the last 10 years and the trend will continue. She said that the reforms to be undertaken by the next Modi government will touch on factors of production.