The finance ministry has suggested forming a GST council, headed by the Union finance minister, to address disputes between the Centre and the states in the proposed GST regime.
A price of $4.20 per million British thermal units is not viable for smaller gas discoveries, say industry experts.
The subsidy burden of upstream oil companies, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd, have risen 42 per cent in a single quarter.
With less than a year left for the scheduled introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), most states have increased their VAT (value-added tax) rates. The move is seen as an attempt to extract better compensation from the Centre for loss on account of GST rollout
The annual Finance Bill may soon become far less exciting as the government plans to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding tax proposals in Budget. Once the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are in place, the finance ministry will adopt a public discussion approach for most future decisions, while confining the annual exercise to a few procedural changes.
The Union finance ministry may have to battle it out in court with the sponsors of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to make them comply with its service tax payment demands.
Rural retail was supposed to cash in on the prosperity of Bharat, but the storyline hasn't really gone the way big corporate houses had hoped.
Rural retail was supposed to cash in on the prosperity of Bharat, but the storyline hasn't really gone the way big corporate houses had hoped.
The petroleum ministry has put on back burner the proposal to create a national gas highway development authority, following an opposition from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, which currently has the powers to authorise pipelines.
With recent issues from state-run companies receiving lukewarm response from the markets, the government has downscaled its divestment programme this year, restricting it to a maximum of eight companies.
Siphoning off food and fuel meant for the poor has made India's public distribution system ineffective.
After failing to convince states to keep petroleum products within the ambit of the proposed goods and services tax (GST), the Centre has finally relented. It has agreed to the proposal of the empowered committee of state finance ministers to keep petroleum products like crude, motor spirit, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and high-speed diesel out of GST.
A senior official in the finance ministry said the Central Board of Direct Taxes addressed the nine areas of concern in the Code identified by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The government has taken the first concrete step towards the introduction of the goods and services tax.
However, storage capacity way behind even present public distribution system procurement need.
The levy had to come into effect from April 1. It would now be in force from July 1.
Discounts for retail investors may become a part of the government's disinvestment policy, instead of being offered on a case-to-case basis. The discount offered could be up to 10 per cent of the issue price.
The government got Rs 9,930 crore from its follow-on offer of NMDC shares, leaving it short by Rs 1,448 crore for its year's disinvestment target of Rs 25,000 crore. In addition, it got about Rs 2.5 crore by way of interest income on the issue money from banks.
Delhi may become the first state to move to direct cash pay-outs of subsidies on kerosene sold through the public distribution system (PDS). The petroleum ministry said it has "welcomed" a proposal to this effect from the Planning Commission, which acted on a plan suggested by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
PSB may get its first non-Sikh at the helm, vigilance clearances are awaited.