Page 80 - Nirmala Sitharaman

FM Sitharaman meets China's Liu Kun; discusses G20-related issues

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday met her Chinese counterpart Liu Kun and exchanged views on G20-related matters. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the last day of the G20 Leadership Summit here. It is to be noted that China President Xi Jinping decided to not attend the G 20 Summit. China was represented by its Prime Minister Li Qiang. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman met Mr. Liu Kun, Finance Minister of China, on the sidelines of the #G20 #LeadersSummit in New Delhi. They exchanged views on various issues related #G20," the finance ministry said in a post on X.

India's external debt-service ratio at 5.3% within comfort zone: FM

India's external debt of USD 624.7 billion at March-end 2023 with a debt-service ratio of 5.3 per cent is within the comfort zone and modest from a cross-country perspective, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. In her foreword to 'India's External Debt: A Status Report 2022-23' released earlier this month, Sitharaman said the ratio of external debt to GDP declined to 18.9 per cent at March-end 2022-23 from 20 per cent a year ago. The long-term debt constituted 79.4 per cent of total external debt, while short-term debt, which is 20.6 per cent of the total external borrowing, is basically incurred to finance imports, enhancing the stability aspects of the total external debt, she said. "From a cross-country perspective, India's external debt position is better than most of the Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) as measured by select vulnerability indicators, such as share of short-term debt in total external debt, external debt to GNI (Gross National Income), forex ...

FM Sitharaman exchanges pleasantries with UK PM Sunak at G20 dinner

They both discussed the issues of mutual interest and areas of collaboration to further enhance the friendship between the two nations

Indian G20 presidency has walked the talk on MDBs, inclusion: FM Sitharaman

Expert group report on MDB reforms, IMF-FSB synthesis note on crypto to be taken up in next finance track meeting in Marrakesh

G20 Summit 2023: Major developments that happened on September 8

Here is a recap of the events that happened on September 8 ahead of the G20 Summit

28% GST on deposit refunds issued by online gaming portals, casinos

Once a given amount is deposited with the platform, tax will be imposed on the whole amount, irrespective of the part of the deposit returned to the player at a later point

Tax filing will have to double every nine years to meet FY47 target

Growth rate to achieve target would be over 8% per annum

ITR filings increased threefold in each tax bracket: FM Sitharaman

Taxable workforce will be 85.3% by 2047 against 22.5% now

FM Sitharaman asks financial entities to ensure customers nominate heirs

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked banks and financial institutions to ensure that their customers nominate heirs, which can help reduce the quantum of unclaimed money. "I want banking system, the financial ecosystem (including) the mutual funds, stock markets... everybody to keep in mind that when someone deals with his (customer's) money, the organisations will have to think about the future and ensure that they (customers) nominate their heir, give the name and address," Sitharaman said at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) here. As per a report, the banking system alone has over Rs 35,000 crore of unclaimed deposits, while the overall quantum of the unclaimed money is said to be more than Rs 1 lakh crore. The finance minister also said that it is essential to build a responsible financial ecosystem, and added that one laggard can cause a disruption. Sitharaman also said that tax havens and round tripping of money are a threat to responsible financial ...

Discussions on global framework to regulate crypto underway: FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman added that cryptocurrencies can not be regulated efficiently without the cooperation of all countries

Focus on digital capability upgrade, FM Sitharaman tells rural banks

The Centre has a 50 per cent stake in RRBs while sponsor banks and state governments own 35 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively

FM Sitharaman to launch 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikar' scheme on Sep 1: Chautala

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch the Mera Bill-Mera Adhikar Scheme from Gurugram on September 1, Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Wednesday. She will launch this scheme in a programme to be organised in Sector 15 of Gurugram, the JJP leader said, as per an official statement. Chautala said that under this scheme, the consumers will have to upload the receipt of the purchase of the goods on a portal. He said that consumers will also get rewards through the corpus fund of Rs 30 crore, through a draw system. He said that this scheme will play an important role for GST collection as more and more people will be motivated to collect GST bills. Dushyant Chautala said that the Mera Bill-Mera Adhikar scheme will develop the tendency among consumers to demand the bill from the seller while purchasing goods. Notably, the Centre on Thursday said it will launch the 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikaar' initiative to encourage the culture of customers asking f

Nirmala Sitharaman asks RRBs to remove duplication of PMJDY accounts

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked Regional Rural Banks to make efforts to remove duplication of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts. During the review meeting with heads of RRBs, the finance minister emphasised the need to increase penetration under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) and financial inclusion and stated that a roadmap has to be prepared for completing the designated activities in a timebound manner. The minister urged the RRBs to remove duplication of PMJDY accounts and facilitate storage facility for apple growers particularly in J&K and Himachal Pradesh, an official statement said. During the review meeting of Regional Rural Banks of Northern Region here, the Finance Minister emphasised on digital capability upgradation of RRBs and instructed MD and CEO Punjab National Bank (PNB) to ensure that all RRBs by the bank to acquire digital onboarding capability by November 1, 2023. The Centre has 50 per cent stake in RRBs while sponsor ..

Inflation will remain steady in coming months, growth on track: FinMin

Food price inflation rose to 11.5% in July, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, while India is set to receive its sparsest monsoon rains in eight years

Centre likely to infuse capital in certain regional rural banks in FY24

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with chairpersons and senior officials of RRBs from the Northern region in New Delhi on Wednesday

Jan Dhan Yojana revolutionised financial inclusion in India: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said Jan Dhan Yojana-led interventions and digital transformation have revolutionised financial inclusion in the country, as more than 50 crore people have been brought into the formal banking system with cumulative deposits surpassing Rs 2 lakh crore. On the ninth anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world, Sitharaman in her message said 55.5 per cent bank accounts have been opened by women, and 67 per cent have been opened in rural/semi-urban areas. Under the scheme, the number of bank accounts grew 3.4-fold from 14.72 crore in March 2015, to 50.09 crore as on August 16, 2023. Total deposits too have swelled from Rs 15,670 crore as of March 2015, to over Rs 2.03 lakh crore as of August 2023. The average deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have increased 3.8 times from Rs 1,065 as of March 2015, to Rs 4,063 in August 2023. About 34 crore RuPay cards hav

B20 Summit India 2023: Taming inflation key to growth, says FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman says green shoots of private capex upcycle can be felt now

Sustaining economic recovery a challenge in coming years: Sitharaman at B20

The FM said using only interest rates to control inflation might have a downside, and supply-side issues also need to be managed

B20 Summit India: My priority is to tame inflation, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government's priority is to tame inflation to ensure sustained economic growth. Addressing the B20 Summit India, being hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said the GDP numbers for the first quarter, to be released this month, should be good. Observing that elevated interest rates for considerable time hampers recovery, Sitharaman said, "my priority is to tame inflation." Retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly on account of spiralling prices of tomatoes and vegetables. On growth, she said that India has been able to accelerate the pace of economic reforms and the first quarter GDP numbers "should be good." The National Statistical Office is scheduled to release the GDP numbers for the first quarter on August 31. Sitharaman said that "green shoots' of private capital expenditure can be felt on back of the government's push for capital expenditure in the budget.

Govt aiming to make India global hub for green hydrogen: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government is aiming to make India a global hub for production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen. Speaking at the launch of HSBC India's strategic partnerships towards enabling innovation in Green Hydrogen, the minister said the government is focused on driving green growth through a range of green reforms. The initiative, she said will provide a roadmap towards reducing carbon intensity in the economy and enable the creation of green job opportunities. "Green hydrogen has a pivotal role to play as we counter climate change and work towards enabling a low-carbon and self-reliant economy. We're aiming to make India a global hub for production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen," Sitharaman said, as per an HSBC release. HSBC India has partnered with IIT Bombay and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF) to pursue technological advancements to make green hydrogen more efficient, cost-effective, and ...