Page 77 - Nirmala Sitharaman

K'taka CM writes to Shah, Sitharaman to expedite drought relief funds

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to expedite the process of releasing the drought relief funds to the state. In separate letters to the three Central ministers, Siddaramaiah highlighted the dismal rainfall this year which was the lowest in the last 122 years. The chief minister pointed out that out of 236 taluks, 223 have been declared drought hit in Karnataka. Among them, 196 are categorised as severely drought affected. Noting that Karnataka has estimated a loss of Rs 35,162.05 crore, Siddarmaiah said the state government has sought Rs 18,171.44 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) for undertaking drought relief measures in the state. The chief minister pointed out that there are 52.73 lakh small and marginal farmers with a land holding of less than two hectares, who are most impacted by drought as the majority of t

Priyanka silent on atrocities on women in Cong-ruled Rajasthan: Sitharaman

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi speaks about crimes on women in states not ruled by her party but keeps quiet on the atrocities faced by Dalit women in Rajasthan. During her rallies in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls will be held on November 17, Gandhi has been attacking the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over poor law and order and its terrible consequences on women. She has been routinely alleging that rapes have increased during 18 years of BJP rule in MP. Hitting back, Sitharaman said, "In Rajasthan, especially on Dalit women, such terrible atrocities are being committed that one gets scared after watching the news on television and reading newspapers." "The Rajasthan government is not taking any action. But Priyanka does not say anything on this subject. She does not go to Rajasthan and question the Chief Minister. She goes to other states and gives lectures," the Union minister told reporters. In reply to a ..

Wants to bring petrol under GST: Sitharaman slams Cong on double standards

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Union government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but the Congress is adopting "double standards" on the issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the central government have been in favour of bringing petroleum products under the GST regime from the beginning as it will benefit the people, she told reporters here. "Who are the people who are stopping petrol and diesel from being brought under GST? If Priyanka is in favor of bringing petrol and diesel under GST, she should ask every state government of Congress to agree to it in the GST Council, the minister said. The media should question the Congress on its "double standards", she added. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been targeting the BJP governments at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh over inflation during her campaign rallies ahead of November 17 assembly elections in the state. Asked about the impa

FinMin focuses on bringing all business establishments under GST net

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the finance ministry's focus is not only on increasing GST revenue but also on bringing all the business establishments under its ambit. She was speaking at a function to open 12 GST Suvidha Kendras in Gujarat from here, which will help business establishments to have flawless GST registration and will help them resolve their issues at such centres. "GST 'one nation one tax', collection is going up every year, every month. GST has brought tax rates down on many items compared to earlier times. Businessmen know that they are not going to be double taxed under GST which was the case earlier. GST collection is increasing because of it," Sitharaman said. But many establishments still prefer to remain out of the ambit of GST and are not part of the formal economy, she said. "Why should they come in the tax net, not because they will pay me tax, but for the true strength of the economy what we capture is only some and not entire an

India's G20 presidency gave clear policy direction: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The Finance Minister said that the current pace of global growth remains quite weak, well below the 3.8 per cent average in the two decades before the pandemic

Momentum must be maintained on New Delhi Leaders' Declaration: FM on G20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said India's G20 Presidency has provided a clear policy direction for addressing the needs of the majority of the global population whose voices are often unheard in multilateral forums. "However, we still have work left to do," the minister said in an inaugural address at the Seminar on 'Strong, Sustainable, Balanced and Inclusive Growth', organised by the ministries of finance and labour, and the commerce department. On December 1, 2022, India assumed the mantle of G20 Presidency. The G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration (NDLD), unanimously agreed to by all G20 countries, addresses some of the pressing challenges confronting the global economy and also provides policy guidance for a future built on people-focused principles and trust-based partnerships, Sitharaman said. "Even though by the end of this month, our role as G20 Presidency comes to an end, momentum must be maintained on the policy guidance in the New Delhi Leaders' ...

FM meets President and PM of Sri Lanka, discusses issues of mutual interest

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and discussed India-Sri Lanka joint initiatives in the economic and commercial sphere. The president of Sri Lanka acknowledged the multi-faceted support to Sri Lanka provided by India during the economic crisis. Sitharaman is on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. "They discussed India-Sri Lanka joint initiatives in the economic and commercial sphere. FM Smt. @nsitharaman highlighted that the 'Vision document on Economic Partnership' adopted during his visit to India in July 2023 will further strengthen the countries' maritime, air, digital, energy and people-to-people connectivity," the finance ministry said on a post on X. The finance minister also expressed satisfaction on the progress made in recent negotiations on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement and UPI-based digital payments and shared her views on Investment Based Support and Bilatera

Raising receipts, accelerating economy's size key to address debt problem

The Centre's debt had risen by around ten percentage points of GDP during 2020-21 compared to the previous year, while the state's debt by little more than four percentage points of GDP

FM Nirmala Sitharaman pitches for economic integration with Sri Lanka

Sitharaman assured India will continue to work closely with the island nation on debt restructuring discussions and extend support for its economic recovery

India will work closely with Sri Lanka to deepen civilisational ties: FM

India, the Finance Minister said, had rendered an unprecedented financial assistance of over $4 billion for the people of Sri Lanka

FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeks global help to nab smuggling masterminds

Export-import frauds threaten the global supply chain and are inimical to economic and national security

Intergovt coop essential to crack masterminds behind smuggling network: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday stressed on the need for intergovernmental cooperation to crack the masterminds behind smuggling networks and take steps to deter illicit trade. Speaking at the Global Conference on Cooperation in Enforcement Matters organised by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Sitharaman said that customs authorities should share information among themselves to curb the network of illicit trade and efforts should be made to ensure that information shared is "actionable". Sitharaman also said that the nature of smuggled or illegally traded goods has not changed over the last 50-60 years and it continues to be precious metals, narcotics, precious reserves from forest or marine life. "So largely the goods which are illegally traded remain the same. There are no newer areas on which the customs authorities are baffled. If this is the way it is showing a trend over the decade, by now most of us should be fairly informed of who are the forces behind

Finance ministry's expenditure management to keep space for global crises

The pre-budget discussions are expected to conclude on November 14

Weekend Bites: More trouble in IT paradise, RBI's plans, and taxing expats

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

Food should not become instrument in war, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The finance minister urged countries across the world to consider regional balance in sourcing their food supplies, especially staple, and essential products

Businesses need to factor in impact of terror while making investments: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said businesses will have to factor in the impact of global terror while making investment decisions. Addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2023, she said terrorism is impacting the entire globe and no region is spared. With that level of risk or uncertainty coming into business decision-making, investments will face uncertainty and high risk permanently, she said. "Businesses can no longer be just attracted by policies or by the openness of an economy. The risk that investors and businesses will have to factor into their decision-making is going to be strongly influenced by the impact of global terror," she said. On globalisation, she said there is pessimism about it and there is talk of re-globalisation... how strategic blocks are reshaping itself. "Who is grouping with whom, who has left the Group and who and who is remaining outside of all these groups or forming new groups. So re-globalisation but with different shades and col

Govt to ensure that debt burden not passed on to future generation: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Friday said the government is mindful of the fiscal deficit management and will ensure the burden of servicing debt is not passed on to next generation. Addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2023 here, she said the government is looking at the ways in which it can bring down the overall debt. "We are conscious of matters related to macro economic stability of the country and responsibility with which we deal with our fiscal and also the fiscal management and so for every decisions that we take today, we are conscious of what burden is going to leave for the next generations," she said. It is very easy to be profligate and burden the coming generations with the debt that you will be sitting with, she said. "We are conscious of the debt of government of India. Compared to many others, it might not be as high as it is, but even then, we are consciously looking at experiments in different parts of the world," she said. She said the government

Jan-Dhan scheme biggest instrument of financial inclusion: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), launched in 2014, has emerged as the biggest instrument of bringing financial inclusion in the country. Delivering the inaugural address at Kautilya Economic Conclave 2023, the minister said benefits under more than 50 government schemes are being directly transferred into the beneficiaries' bank accounts, and PMJDY has played an important role. She also said when the scheme was launched, a certain section of people had made "snide" remarks saying public sector banks would be under pressure as these are zero balance accounts. However, these accounts have a balance of more than Rs 2 lakh crore, Sitharaman said. In her address she also spoke elaborately on climate financing and challenges associated with it. The minister also said that multilateral institutions including Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have become less effective in the current global situation. Sitharaman also ...

India needs its own P&I entity for maritime, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Addressing the Global Maritime India Summit 2023, the finance minister said that such an entity would provide greater strategic flexibility to India's shipping operations

Capabilities, legal systems needed for arbitration on maritime sector

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for developing capabilities and legal systems, so that the country can have an international arbitration centre for the maritime sector. Addressing the final day of the three-day global maritime summit here, the minister said, while there are many Indians working in international arbitration centres in London or Singapore or Dubai, they are all just helping the senior lawyers there and not leading a case. This needs to change and can change, she said. But there is a need to improve and strengthen our arbitration processes and laws so that they meet global standards, the minister said, adding that "when we have developed a system for this we can also have an arbitration centre". On the need to improve financing to the maritime sector, she admitted that despite having a strong balance sheet, banks are not very enthused about funding this sector, largely due to higher risks this sector is associated with. Sitharaman said she is i