Post-Budget, the FM was at his most relaxed as he would get to use his mobiles, and can take visitors.
As the operation against Maoists in Lalgarh entered a crucial phase, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram on Saturday and apprised them of the situation there.
The existing building is a British-era building, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker who were responsible for planning and construction of New Delhi.
Indian Industry leaders are elated that the Congress government has returned to power. Here is a wishlist of Cabinet ministers.
When Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee entered the Committee Room in North Block for the empowered group of ministers' meeting on fuel price hike on Monday, he found Communications Minister A Raja already sitting there.
As the ministry of finance gets into the Budget mode, its officials perhaps want to tell themselves, "All is well". So, they have none other than Aamir Khan, alias Rancho of recent Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, talking to them this weekend on Cinema and Society.
Having made no headway to amend a 26-year-old double taxation avoidance agreement with Mauritius, the finance ministry has hardened its stance against broadening India's economic engagement with the island nation.
Ahead of the first quarterly review of credit policy on Tuesday, RBI Governor D Subbarao on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to review the macro economic situation.
Home Minister P Chidambaram along with his cabinet colleagues Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad held a meeting on Friday to analyse the Delhi High Court's judgement decriminalising same gender sex.
Going by available indications from North Block, Mr Mukherjee may like to do a Chidambaram when he presents the Revised Estimates on February 27, 2010
Stating that he had consistently held Singh in high respect, he expected the same from him.
Pranab Mukherjee takes pride in being cautious.
The Union home ministry barred journalists from meeting senior officials other than the spokesperson and came out with a set of guidelines on dissemination of information to the media.
A consortium of Bharat PetroResources, Videocon Industries and the US-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp have discovered additional oil in their block in the Campos basin, off the Brazilian coast.
IPS officers from 1993 to 1996 batches can now start polishing their resume as Home Minister P Chidambaram is on a hunt for a trusted lieutenant.
In this interview, Rakesh Mohan spoke on a range of issues about the challenges he faced during his stint at the central bank and the journey from handling the real economy sectors to monetary economics
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday expressed confidence that the economy would register a very satisfactory growth, although there may be a temporary slowdown.
Kaleidoscopic lights replace incandescent glory this year.
Officials also said that sufficient steps have been taken to control air and noise pollution during the construction work for the new parliament building, which will have separate offices for all MPs and those will be equipped with the latest digital interfaces as a step towards creating 'paperless offices'.
The sudden exit of Yogesh Agarwal as the chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, or PFRDA, has once again brought the relationship between financial sector regulators and the finance ministry into sharp focus.
"You cannot have a lockdown of people, and a lockout of the economy. That is not the way to formulate policy. We are not criticising, we are only saying it is time to rethink, we will support the government in every possible way," said Kapil Sibal.
As Mukherjee prepares to return to North Block after a gap of 24 years -- he was last there in January 1985 -- and becomes the first minister to sit simultaneously in both North and South Block, it is learnt that Mukherjee would be using the North Block office of the finance minister, which till recently had been used by P Chidambaram. He is expected to shuffle between the office of the finance minister and the external affairs minister.
In one of its many arguments, North Block has maintained that direct tax exemptions may be viewed as a subsidy by importer countries, which may then impose countervailing duties on exports from Indian special economic zones. The issue is pending with the empowered group of ministers on special economic zones headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
'The economy has to become the government's No. 1 priority, which it is not at the moment,' says T N Ninan.
'Here, after all, was a fine specimen of intelligence in the field that Adam Smith gave formal structure. And successful RR surely was as RBI chief.'
With Raghuram Rajan not 'really there', the FinMin has decided to keep a watch on market developments this week with all key officials on the job.
'Will Pakistan allow R&AW and Indian armed force officers access to roam around their strategic bases?' 'Is there any precedent anywhere in the world of such permissions being granted?'
Minister of state for home affairs Sri Prakash Jaiswal said that the centre would help Rajasthan goverment to ensure that the IPL matches go on without hindrance.
Bankers on Wednesday asserted that interest rates were unlikely to go up in the immediate future. They said this on the eve of a crucial meeting of state-owned bank chiefs with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, where the government is expected to signal a bias towards a soft interest rate regime.
The finance ministry is likely to float a discussion paper next month on the proposed new income tax law, which aims to simplify the existing law and phase out tax exemptions.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday cleared official files from his sit-in site outside the Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, as he asserted that governance would not be allowed to suffer because of the protest.
'The return of India to its own civilisational values can never endanger freedoms as pluralism is the bedrock of our culture,' assert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The newly appointed Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee took charge of his new office in north block, returning to it after a gap of 24 years. The Finance Ministry office, which has been sealed off to outsiders and particularly prying journalists with the vote-on-account preparations in full swing, was on Thursday opened up at 4 p.m. when the media was invited in to cover the taking over ceremony.
The roll-out of 3G or third-generation mobile telephony services, scheduled for this year-end, may be delayed after the Ministry of Finance strongly criticised the Department of Telecommunications for announcing 3G guidelines without consulting it. In a communication with the DoT earlier this week, the finance ministry said the move was inappropriate and contrary to a 2003 cabinet decision.
The BJP president will have to address issues like scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution, an issue dear to the party and the Sangh Parivar for long and a promise included in the manifesto during the last elections.
After Raghuram Rajan leaves, the world for the succeeding RBI governors will be distinctly different.
Chidambaram to meet ministries' financial advisors, PM's economic council.
The highest collection target has been given to Mumbai at Rs 4.39 trillion, followed by Delhi and Bengaluru.
The board deliberated on the governance framework of the RBI and it was decided that the matter needs further examination
This assurance was given by home minister Amit Shah to a delegation of sarpanch and panch from Jammu and Kashmir who met him on Tuesday.
