Page 73 - Nirmala Sitharaman

PM-KISAN to Ayushman Bharat: Key changes possible in interim Budget

Interim Budget: Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there may not be big announcements. However, various reports have suggested that there may be some changes in many of the Centre's schemes

Budget 2024 LIVE updates: Govt raises import duty on gold, silver jewellery

Union budget 2024: Govt will table the interim budget where focus will likely be on controlling fiscal deficit and supporting agri ahead of the elections. Catch all the budget-related live updates

FM alleges police misuse in TN; Governor alleges 'spiritual repression'

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Monday alleged that priests and staff of a Shri Ram temple here, under the control of the state government, faced 'repression' while the entire country celebrated the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaking to reporters in Kancheepuram alleged that the Tamil Nadu police 'is being misused' by the 'Hindu hating' DMK regime to thwart public screening of the Ayodhya ceremony and celebrations to mark the event. The DMK 'is clearly showing its personal hatred' for the Prime Minister and 'suppressing worshippers,' she alleged Against the background of the BJP alleging a 'ban' by the DMK regime for celebrations and public screening to mark the consecration, Ravi, underscored his visit to a temple here and seemingly backed the Saffron party's accusation. The Governor said on X: "This morning I visited Sri Kodandaramaswami Temple, West Mambalam, Chennai, and offered prayers to Prabhu Sri Ram for the well-bein

Budget 2024-25: Govt may increase capex to propel economic growth

With private investment still muted, the government is likely to maintain its momentum on increasing capital expenditure, especially for the infrastructure sector in the upcoming Budget to propel economic growth. Post COVID-19, the Budget has been laying special emphasis on capex. It has kick-started a dormant cycle for the economy. As a result India has witnessed over 7 per cent growth in the last three years, the highest among the large economies of the world. During the current financial year, the government has made a record high provision of Rs 10 lakh crore towards capex. During 2020-21, the government earmarked Rs 4.39 lakh crore which increased by 35 per cent to Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the subsequent year. Another 35 per cent hike in capex was done in 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore which subsequently reached a high of Rs 10 lakh crore, an increase of 37.4 per cent. In the upcoming Budget too, the government is expected to earmark a large amount towards capex as such investment

Interim Budget to cut fiscal deficit in election year, focus on capex: Poll

The government is aiming to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.50% of GDP by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year (FY) from 5.90% in the current year to end-March 2024

Budget 2024: MSMEs expect special package from FM Sitharaman on Feb 1

The MSME sector wants Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to come out with a special package for small and medium enterprises to ensure greater availability of institutional credit at competitive rates to enable it to play a bigger role as India moves closer to becoming a USD 5 trillion economy. Sitharaman is scheduled to present the interim Budget 2023-24 in the Lok Sabha on February 1. This will be the last major economic document of the government before the next general elections. The share of MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) sector in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021-22 was 29.15 per cent. On expectations from the Budget, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) said the relationship between banks and MSME is an uneven one with the balance of power heavily tilted in favour of the lenders. "Lack of competition in the banking sector (75 per cent of banks being public sector) and weak regulatory institutions, which have not .

India to budget fiscal deficit at 5.3% of GDP in FY25: BofA Securities

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will opt for a further reduction in fiscal deficit to 5.3 per cent of India's gross domestic product in the upcoming budget for FY25 despite poll pressure, a foreign brokerage said on Friday. The government will meet the FY24 commitment to reduce the important number to 5.9 per cent, BofA Securities said in a note. "We see Centre's fiscal deficit to consolidate further to 5.3 per cent of GDP, despite poll pressure," its analysts wrote in a note. The government will opt for continuing with its strategy of consolidating fiscal deficit through capital expenditure driven growth instead of expenditure compression, it said. The brokerage said digitization-led formalization has aided the fiscal math through tax buoyancy on one side and reducing wasteful expenditure (subsidy leakage) on the other. The government had earlier committed to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent by FY26 as part of its glide path to gradually reduce the gap, which is seen

Budget 2024: Who was first woman to present Budget? Know interesting facts

Interim Budget 2024: Who holds the record for reading the most number of budgets in India and other interesting Budget facts

Budget 2024 expectations: What stance will interim Budget 2024 adopt?

Nirmala Sitharaman's recent statement that the February 1 Budget would just be a vote on account could mean that she will uphold the convention surrounding an interim Budget

Union Budget 2024: Add 'Sin Tax' and these terms to your financial glossary

Union Budget 2024: The central government will present an interim budget for the new financial year on February 1 during the Budget session of the Parliament

Pharma industry seeks incentives for R&D, conducive policies in Budget

The pharma industry has sought fiscal incentives to promote research and development (R&D) in the sector, as it is likely to reach USD 400-450 billion market size by 2047. In a statement, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance Secretary General Sudarshan Jain said there is a high risk, long gestation period and low success rate in research, and therefore, there is a need for continuous investments. "The budget 2024-25 should outline conducive policies that provide benefits in terms of both direct and indirect taxes and also facilitate ease of doing business for the pharma companies," Jain noted. The interim Budget is scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. Jain said the domestic pharma industry is at the cusp of change. "The Indian pharma sector aims to achieve USD 120-130 billion by 2030 and USD 400-450 billion by 2047. To achieve this vision, the Union Budget 2024-25 should accelerate the pace of innovation and R&D," he added. The announcement

Interim Budget may see measures to boost consumption demand, rural economy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers. Women and marginalised communities may get additional sops as part of Sitharaman's effort to boost consumption ahead of the general elections, experts said. Usually, interim Budgets, which are presented in the Lok Sabha ahead of the general elections, do not contain fresh tax proposals or new schemes. In the interim Budget, the government will seek permission from Parliament to meet its expenses for 4 months of the 2024-25 ...

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FM seeks more participation from French financial institutions at GIFT City

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met French President Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne and sought greater participation from French financial institutions and operations in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City. "They discussed approaches for further enhancing collaborative positions on climate actions, strengthening international financial institutions and addressing the debt vulnerability in low-and-middle-income countries," the finance ministry said in a post on X. Recognising the synergy between Indian UPI and French Targeted Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), they explored avenues for closer financial integration, it said. "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman encouraged greater participation from French financial institutions and corporations in pathbreaking initiatives and operations in IFSC at @GIFTCity," it said. Bonne is in the national capital ahead of the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macaron as the chief guest for the

Parliament session from January 31, FM to present Interim Budget on Feb 1

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Interim Budget session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both Houses of Parliament

Direct listing of stocks at GIFT City soon, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman also expressed that IFSC should become the platform for the trade of carbon credit

Budget 2024: What is interim budget

On 1st Feb, Nirmala Sitharaman will present an "interim Budget". Watch the video to understand what this is and how it's different from full Budget. #interimbudget #budget2024 #nirmala > >

IFSC needs to ready platform where green credits can be traded: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said India has a USD 10.1 trillion funding gap to meet its net zero commitment and asked IFSC to set up a platform where green credits can be traded. Speaking at a session 'An aspiration of modern India' at the GIFT City, the minister said companies in India will be able to access global funds soon with direct listing on IFSC exchanges. "The much awaited direct listing of stock in Gift IFSC was announced earlier. We are going through the process in a systematic manner and I'm confident that it will happen at the earliest. With that Indian companies should be able to access global funds easily being listed in India," she said. Last year the government had decided to allow listed and unlisted companies to directly list themselves on the IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) exchanges at GIFT City. Currently, Indian companies can access foreign equity markets only through issuing depository receipts or by listing their debt ...

India growing rapidly, to be $30 trn economy by 2047: FM Sitharaman

Relationship between states and centre is of collaborative federalism, she says at Vibrant Gujarat Summit

Interim Budget 2024-25: Funds to boost reach on fintech industry wishlist

They hope for provisions to ease financial burden on fintechs and tax-saving benefits to startups