Page 9 - Nirmala Sitharaman

FM Sitharaman to attend GoM meeting on Aug 20, explain next-gen GST reforms

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend a crucial meeting of a state ministerial panel on August 20 to put forth the Centre's proposal for sweeping GST reforms that will slash tax rates and lead to reduction in prices of common use items. The two-day meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalisation is scheduled on August 20-21 here, sources said. The meet will deliberate on the Centre's proposal for GST reforms of reducing the number of tax slabs in Goods and Services Tax (GST) to two -- 5 and 18 per cent, and a 40 per cent special rate on a select few items. Sources said apart from the rate rationalisation panel, the two-day meeting would be attended by members from GoMs on compensation cess and also health and life insurance. "The idea is to put forth the Centre's view point behind the GST reform proposal. Although the Centre is not a member of the GoM, Union Finance Minister's presence and her address will give the GoM a better understanding of the ide

New GST plan by Diwali: What is a GoM, how it works, and why it matters

Explainer: What the GST Council's GoM on rate rationalisation is, how it works, who its members are, and how its decisions could shape India's two-slab GST plan by Diwali 2025

Expect an income tax refund rush as new law approaches implementation

These refunds, reckoned to be close to ₹1,000 crore, largely relate to tax demand cases in which taxpayers had secured favourable orders from appellate authorities

Income Tax Bill 2025: Key changes for property owners, taxpayers, investors

Income Tax New Bill 2025: The revised Income Tax Bill, 2025 replaces last week's withdrawn draft, bringing clearer property rules, new slabs, higher rebates and fixes for refund claims

India, Singapore to hold 3rd ministerial roundtable in Delhi on August 13

The 3rd round of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) will be held in New Delhi on 13 August 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.Indian Ministers who will participate in the 3rd ISMR are Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs; S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs; Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry; and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology.Ministers from Singapore who will participate are Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry; K. Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs; Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information; Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower; and Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport.Envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ISMR is a unique mechanism for setting .

FM Sitharaman introduces modified Income Tax Bill in Lok Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the modified Income Tax bill in the Lok Sabha after including "almost all of the recommendations of the Select Committee." Introducing The Income-Tax (No.2) Bill, 2025, Sitharaman said the bill seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to income-tax and will replace the Income Tax Act, 1961. "Almost all of the recommendations of the Select Committee have been accepted by the government. In addition, suggestions have been received from stakeholders about changes that would convey the proposed legal meaning more accurately," said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. The Select Committee, chaired by Baijayant Panda, had suggested a host of changes in the Income-tax Bill, 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13. "There are corrections in the nature of drafting, alignment of phrases, consequential changes and cross-referencing. Therefore, a decision has been taken by the government to withdraw

LIVE: LS passes Income-Tax (No 2) Bill and Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill

Catch all the latest news updates from around the world here

New I-T Bill with Parl panel's suggestions to be tabled on Monday: Rijiju

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the new Income Tax Bill, as cleared by a Select Committee, in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Rijiju's statement came in the wake of apprehensions voiced in a section of the media on the withdrawal of the Income Tax Bill from the Lok Sabha on Friday. "It is being presumed that there will be an absolutely new bill, ignoring the earlier bill for which a lot of work was done, and all the work done and time spent will go down," Rijiju said. The minister made it clear that the apprehensions were ill founded as the new bill to be introduced will incorporate all the changes which have been suggested by the Select Committee and which have been accepted by the government. Rijiju said it was a normal parliamentary procedure when the amendments to a bill already introduced in the Lok Sabha are too many. The Select Committee of the Lok Sabha, chaired by BJP member Baijayant Panda, mad

FM Sitharaman withdraws Income Tax Bill, revised draft to be tabled Aug 11

Finance minister will submit a revised version of the I-T Bill, incorporating most of the Select Committee's recommendations

INDIA bloc to protest at Parliament against Bihar electoral roll revision

On August 1, Rijiju said the govt was ready to hold discussions on any issue under the rules, but the SIR could not be debated as it is carried out by a constitutional body--the Election Commission

Flipkart executives meet ministers to discuss MSME push, India listing

CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, shared updates on digital commerce expansion, financial inclusion, and plans to redomicile ahead of a potential IPO

Nabard promotes 6,215 farmer producer organisations, says FM Sitharaman

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has promoted the formation of 6,215 FPOs till date under various schemes, Parliament was informed on Monday. The major support provided to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) includes formation of FPOs, capacity building, credit facilitation and market linkage support, financial literacy, etc, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha. In addition, she said, Nabard, in partnership with Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has conducted FPO Melas (TARANG-celebrating Collectivisation) at 50 locations across 24 states/UTs to demonstrate the products of FPOs/OFPOs to enable the marketing & branding of FPO products. She further said Nabard extends loan assistance to state governments for the creation of rural infrastructure through various funds, that is, Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Nabard Infrastructure Development Assistance (NIDA), Rural

Govt capex hits ₹2.75 trn in Q1FY26, but lags pre-election year levels

The net tax revenue of ₹5.4 trillion stood at 19 per cent of the BE in Q1FY26 compared to 21.3 per cent in Q1FY25, registering a contraction of 2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y)

Why are GCCs in India, touted as the next big thing, in a tax tangle?

The key problem, say tax experts, lies in the classification of GCCS and what they do: while tax authorities look at the share of operational work done in India

Raising FDI in insurance aims to unlock sector's full potential: FM

Raising the FDI limit in insurance to 100 per cent will help the sector achieve its full potential by growing at 7.1 per cent per annum over the next 5 years, outpacing the global growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Monday. The finance minister in Union Budget 2025-26 had proposed to raise the limit of foreign investment in insurance sector from the existing 74 per cent to 100 per cent. Raising the limit will eliminate the need for foreign investors to find Indian partners for the remaining 26 per cent, easing the process of setting up their operations in India, effectively increasing the number of insurers in the country, she said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. This will attract stable and sustained foreign investment, increase competition, facilitate technology transfer, and improve insurance penetration in the country, she said. The decision to increase FDI component in a particular insurance company is made by its promoters, depending upon vario

Over 31,500 govt employees opt for UPS till July 20, says FM Sitharaman

As many as 31,555 central government employees have opted for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) till July 20, and the last date to enrol under the scheme is September, Parliament was informed on Monday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as on July 20, 2025, at least 7,253 claims have been received and out of which 4,978 claims have been processed for payment of benefits under UPS. From April 1, 2025, the government has introduced UPS as an option under the National Pension System (NPS) for the central government employees. UPS will provide assured payouts to the employees. In reply to a separate question in the House, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, "as on July 20, 2025, 31,555 employees have opted UPS". Further, Sitharaman said based on the representations from employees and associations, the cut-off date to opt for UPS was extended for a period of three months up to September 30, 2025. "As per eligibility criteria,

Growth must mean jobs, value addition and economic stability: Sitharaman

At the launch of A World in Flux, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said India's top priority is quality growth focused on jobs, value addition and sustainability

A World in Flux: India’s Economic Priorities

At the launch of 'A World in Flux', Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said multilateral institutions are now in limbo and stressed the urgent need to reshape them for today's rapidly evolving world

A World in Flux: Sitharaman flags need to reshape institutions for present

At the launch of 'A World in Flux', Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said multilateral institutions are now in limbo and stressed the urgent need to reshape them for today's rapidly evolving world

No retrospective change in I-T Bill, only simplification: Baijayant Panda

The old law had become so complicated that even experts couldn't give the clear answer, says Panda