Page 94 - Nirmala Sitharaman

Govt taking steps to control inflation, will continue to focus on it: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the government is taking a lot of steps to control inflation and will continue to focus on it. For instance, in the case of pulses, the government is encouraging farmers to grow pulses to boost domestic production and has also reduced the import duty on some of the pulses to improve local availability. When asked whether Budget 2023-24 would bring down inflation, Sitharaman said: "The government is taking a lot of steps to control inflation and will continue to focus on it." She was in the city for a post-budget 2023 discussion with various stakeholders. "We have taken a lot of steps, for example, encouraging farmers to sow pulses so that the production of pulses in India increases in the coming sowing season," Sitharaman told reporters here. She further said that as a short-term step, "wherever we are importing, whether Masoor, Moong or whatever pulses, the government has reduced the import duty to single digit or has

RBI will take required action to keep inflation in check: FM Sitharaman

In a recent report the RBI said that the retreat of inflation is expected to be stubborn and beset by supply shocks in the upcoming year

Simplified filings: RoC approval not required for most corporate actions

The govt has introduced a new system called "file and forget," which is part of its ongoing revamp of the statutory filing website, MCA21

Next phase for GST

Appellate tribunal will improve business environment

LIVE: Delhi LG gives nod to convene House, hold mayoral poll on Feb 22

"Recommended MCD mayor elections to be held on 22 Feb," Kejriwal said in a tweet earlier in the day. Stay tuned for latest updates

GST Council adopts GoM report on setting up tribunals with modifications

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST Council adopted the report of the Group of Ministers on GST Appellate Tribunal with certain modifications, and the final draft amendments will be circulated to state finance ministers for their comments. The GoM on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs) was set up in July last year under the chairmanship of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala. The panel has suggested that the tribunals should consist of two judicial members, and one technical member each from the Centre and states, besides a retired Supreme Court judge as president. The GoM report on the establishment of the GST Appellate Tribunal has been accepted with slight modifications in the language that will be shared with States on Sunday and following which a final draft of the Tribunal's setting up will be worked out, Sitharaman told reporters after chairing the 49th meeting of the GST Council. She also informed that the Council h

GST Council cuts tax on jaggery; rationalises late fee on delayed returns

GST Council on Saturday reduced the Goods and Service Tax on liquid jaggery, pencil sharpeners, and certain tracking devices, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Briefing media after the 49th meeting of the GST Council, the minister also informed that reports of the GoM (Group of Ministers) on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry, and on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs), have been taken on board. She further said all the GST compensation dues will be cleared, including Rs 16,982 crore for the month of June. The finance minister further said the GST Council has decided to rationalise late fees on filing of annual GST returns after the due date. Finance ministers of states and UTs (with legislature) and senior officials of Union Government and states participated in the meeting.

Entire Rs 16,982 cr GST compensation cess to states to be cleared: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the entire GST compensation cess for June 2022 totalling Rs 16,982 crore will be cleared.

Amit Mitra urges FM to call GST Council meeting to address overregulation

The West Bengal government on Friday wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging her to call a special meeting of the GST Council to address cases of massive overregulation and the current state of the MSMEs that have registered under the GST regime. Dr Amit Mitra, the principal chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well to the finance department, said in a letter to Sitharaman that the "labyrinthine regulatory structures have engulfed MSMEs in particular, dragging them to an abyss". "I urge you to call a special and exclusive meeting of the GST Council to address the case of massive overregulation and the current state of the MSMEs who have dared to register under the GST regime in their quest to become formal," Mitra wrote in the three-page letter. The former state finance minister's call for the special meeting came a day before the 49th GST Council meeting is scheduled to take place on Saturday in New Delhi. The meeting will be held two ...

Fund allocation for MGNREGA has not been reduced, says Sitharaman

The fund allocation for MGNREGA has not gone down, FM Nirmala Sitharaman here on Friday, adding it is a demand driven scheme and as and when the demand increases, the Centre provides money

Budget prepared keeping mind external challenges also: FM Sitharaman

The Union Budget 2023-'24 has been prepared keeping growth in focus and also external economic challenges such as fuel prices, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman said on Thursday. In an interactive session on the Budget, she said the focus was on the common man and weaker sections and to ensure that their businesses are supported, their education is supported, the opportunities which are available for them to skill themselves are also given enough provision. "The priority is to keep the growth momentum as it is and also to make sure that the further support measures for sustaining growthAnd be conscious of the fact that challenges which are extraneous to India. External challenges will have to be kept in mind. We should be ready for any unpredictable events from outside of our border," she said when asked what the priorities were when the budget was given a final shape. "Economic challenges which are even today prevalent in terms of fuel and fertilisers. Fertilisers are coming dow

LIVE: Appetite of states for capex has gone up, says FM Sitharaman

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Exporters need to be receptive towards impact of recession: FM Sitharaman

She also revealed that petrol, diesel can be included in GST once states agree

FM exhorts exporters to foresee impact of global slowdown, engage with govt

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday exhorted exporters to be receptive and 'foresee' how the recession or slowing economy abroad will pan out for them, while asking them to constantly engage with the government. Stating that external uncertainties are far more 'unpredictable' and therefore challenging, Sitharaman said in a post-pandemic, post-war world, and where there is a repeat occurence of virus, there is no fixed 'template' to deal with uncertainties. With regard to imports, she assured the industry that the government is looking at specific items to see which are going to be consistently needed for next few years as well as those whose import could hurt domestic manufacturers. "The changes abroad, recession abroad or the slowing economy abroad are all going to be challenge for Indian exporters. So Indian exporters will have to be far more receptive of what is happening there or even foresee how that will pan out for them and keep constantly engaging with the ...

Petroleum products can be brought under GST if consensus reached: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that if states arrive at a consensus, then petroleum products can be brought under the GST regime

Set up team to resolve MCA21 portal glitches: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The latest version was launc­hed on January 23

FinMin directs Corporate Affairs Ministry to resolve MCA21 portal issues

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday took cognisance of the technical glitches being faced by the companies while filing incorporation documents on the newly-launched MCA21 V3 portal, saying that the Corporate Affairs Ministry is working in cooperation with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), and consultants Ernst & Young to resolve the matter on priority.

Crypto, web3 sectors need global ties for effective regulation: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said crypto assets and web3 sectors require significant international collaboration for effective implementation of domestic legislations. She said these are relatively new and still evolving sectors, with no specific regulations. "By definition, these sectors are borderless and require significant international collaboration for any specific legislation on these sectors to be fully effective," Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The minister was replying to a question by DMK MP T Sumathy on whether the government has prepared any future roadmap to regulate virtual digital assets / cryptos/web3 sectors in the country. In reply to a separate question, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the government is engaging with G-20 countries to build international coordination on regulating crypto assets. He said India's G-20 presidency provides an opportunity to place different priorities, including crypto asset

FM Sitharaman asks states to expedite formalities to seek GST compensation

Finance Minister came down heavily in Parliament on states complaining about delay in getting GST compensation, saying that rather than blaming the Centre for delay in facilitating the payment

Too early to gauge spillovers of central bank digital currency: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament that it is still too early to gauge the spillovers of the CBDC, while assailing concerns on whether it would impinge on an individual's autonomy