Finance Ministry officials are engaging in hectic parleys with the PSUs to speed up the process so that the disinvestments can take place in the December and March quarters.
The rate of cash withdrawals over deposits was almost double in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to the latest analysis submitted by the RBI to the finance ministry.
The road transport ministry has asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ascertain the findings of a report by the World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit. According to the report, contractors paid bribes and gifts to influence the actions of NHAI officials and consultants.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was aware of the contents of the controversial 2G note which was issued as an office memorandum at the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office, a top official told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Thursday.
Senior finance ministry official said the economic affairs department cleared the proposals on Friday.
The two groups have another JV, Wadia BSN, set up in 1996 to launch Groupe Danone's products from its global portfolio. However, nothing has been launched through the JV till date and Danone is in negotiations with the Wadias to dissolve the JV.
He will be the first bureaucrat to head the central bank in almost five years.
The central government has appointed India Invest Economic Foundation, a private agency, as consultant for operationalisation of new pension scheme by this month.
A preview of many of the tableaux, some of which are still being constructed or given finishing touches, was held at the Rashtriya Rangshala Camp in the city.
The finance ministry on Monday said the ability of the Reserve Bank to intervene in the forex market to arrest the fall in rupee is limited, even as the Indian currency declined to a 32-month low of Rs 51.50 per US dollar in the early trade.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the Budget, announced facilitating the establishment of dedicated infra debt funds through special purpose vehicles for attracting foreign investment in the infrastructure sector.
The Reserve Bank will announce draft guidelines for giving new banking licences in the next few days, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.
The posts of finance secretary and secretary, economic affairs department generate ambiguities over ownership of the finance ministry's most important annual exercise.
"RBI has been following a good policy. These are the ways of correcting international imbalances," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by ICRIER in New Delhi.
The government on Friday said it has started implementing liberal FDI rules under which proposals up to Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) foreign equity would be cleared by the Finance Minister without seeking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
A decision to this effect has been taken after Arun Ramanathan retired as finance secretary on Thursday. Currently, Chawla is the senior-most official in the finance ministry. In addition, G C Chaturvedi, currently serving as additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, has been appointed as additional secretary in-charge of the financial services department.
Another roadblock to be removed from FDI path; Load on insurance chest.
Volatility in investments concern for RBI.
In the first phase, most of the outdated regulations in the state and central Acts will be removed. Further, compliances with regard to annual inspections, licence renewal, and storage of multiple data will be eased.
At present, a project with investment of more than Rs 600 crore in sectors routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has to be referred to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Former Department of Economic Affairs Secretary E A S Sarma on Friday claimed that the regulatory agencies, including SEBI, had ignored his warnings about the financial irregularities committed by Satyam.
This is not her first stint in North Block or in leading a major economic ministry. She started Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term as minister of state for finance, was made the commerce minister, and then became the defence minister.
"We are not looking at increasing FII (investment) limit in government securities," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters. Earlier in June, the government raised the FII investment limit in government securities to $5 billion from $3.2 billion.
The relaxation will apply to those sectors that have composite caps (foreign direct investment or FDI plus FII). "The move will not impact sectors like banking and insurance which are governed by Acts of Parliament. However, sectors with composite caps which see administrative control like telecommunication services, broadcast services like direct-to-home and FM radio will benefit," a Delhi based FDI policy expert told Business Standard.
For the second time since Press Note 2 and 4 were issued in February 2009, the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry has raised questions on their implementation, this time over an application before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia vacates his post on November 30 and Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, the second seniormost bureaucrat in the finance ministry, retires on January 31, the day before Jaitley presents the 2019-20 interim budget.
From defending the shock announcement of demonetisation to spearheading the remonetisation drive that included the cumbersome process of printing and supplying new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, his calm composure brought a sense of serenity to an otherwise chaotic situation.
The department of economic affairs in the Union finance ministry has suggested aggressive sterilisation of foreign capital inflows, tightening of government expenditure and intervention in key farm produce markets like wheat.
Eases regulatory hurdles for Bharti-MTN deal.
The government does not expect the stock markets to fall below the levels witnessed on Monday, which saw benchmark Sensex plunging by nearly 700 points during the intra-day trade.
Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu's resignation as the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
The move is part of a larger initiative by the government to speed up work in the highway sector.
