Stuck projects to spring back to life with fresh lending; cut in end prices to benefit buyers.
A positive list for taxation of services might be back, though only for accounting purposes.
FinMin talking to Irda on many issues, meeting Chidambaram this week.
The government would take a hit of about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) this year if it rolls back the excise duty of Rs 1.5 per litre on diesel it levied last week.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will soon have to decide whether to stick by his predecessor's choice of former Reserve Bank governor Y V Reddy for chairmanship of the 14th Finance Commission, to be set up next month.
The finance ministry is instead thinking of expanding the list of services on which the tax would be levied under the reverse charge mechanism.
The finance ministry may ask cash-rich public sector undertakings (PSUs) to invest in foreign assets that are currently available at cheap rates due to the global economic slowdown.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has called a meeting of officials from life insurance companies on September 1. The meeting is aimed at improving insurance penetration and addressing concerns of companies in the sector.
The finance ministry has proposed to remove from the guidelines a clause on the lateral movement of small and mid-sized banks' heads to large banks.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is proposing a penalty on German sportswear giant Adidas' subsidiary Reebok India for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems to be sitting on the proposal, while requests continue to flow in from states to add more names to the delegation.
Says invest Rs 1.2 lakh cr or offer special dividend or give surplus cash back.
As finance ministry officials remained glued to news flashes on the LCD screens in their rooms, others were constantly monitoring news on the web. The support staff got its share of the news feed by keeping a close watch on politicians visiting North Block, reports Vrishti Beniwal
From second homes and AC rail travel to private tutors, astrologers and marriage-makers come under the tax net
The finance ministry has asked state-run general insurers to increase premiums on health insurance, motor and other policies, and refrain from undercutting each other to get new business.
FDI cap may remain intact at 26% as Cabinet takes up legislation this week.
Tax amount of Rs 10-15 crore may be the threshold above which rule could be invoked
After the enactment of retrospective amendments to the Income Tax Act next month, the government may ask Vodafone to pay in excess of Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) -- more than two and half times the tax amount the telecom major was "advised to withhold" on its $11-billion deal with Hutchison in 2007.
A finance ministry official said Vodafone had threatened arbitration against something that had not happened. He said the UK-based telecom company was presuming it might happen.
Higher online filing of returns that is expected in the ongoing financial year will enable faster processing of claims and hence a further increase in refunds.
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