Under Urjit Patel, the then RBI Governor, the central bank had a habit of making complete about-turns on various issues, including electoral bonds and digital payments, former finance secretary Subash Chandra Garg said in his book titled 'We Also Make Policy: An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions.' Citing some instances of about-turns by the then RBI Governor Patel, Garg in his book said, RBI had done so on the electoral bond issue and it had so in case of setting up of Payments Regulatory Board (PRB). RBI also made unilateral decisions like ordering complete data localization for participation in the payment system, Garg wrote in the book which will hit the stands on October 1.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that the Canadian allegations with regard to the death of a Khalistani separatist was discussed during his meeting with the Secretary of State Tony Blinken a day earlier and noted that the two delegations came out better informed after the meeting.
India and the Maldives on Friday agreed to set up a core group to further deepen their partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 'productive' meeting with newly-elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and discussed ways to enhance the bilateral friendship across diverse sectors.
After her elevation as defence minister, Sitharaman has become a member of the cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister.
The central government has given banks and credit card entities six to eight months to put in place the requisite reporting mechanism and related features to collect tax at source on international credit card transactions, a senior bureaucrat told Business Standard. According to the bureaucrat, the plan to bring overseas credit cards under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) has not been mothballed and is simply being deferred so that banks get adequate time to get the system up and running. The official expects the reporting mechanism to be ready in the given time, and the rule could be implemented in the next financial year (2024-25, or FY25).
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
During the monsoon session, which began on Monday, the Opposition is seeking to corner the government on its handling of the standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the COVID-19 situation, economic downturn and unemployment, and is pressing for discussions on these issues.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
Senior bureaucrat Tarun Bajaj was appointed revenue secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre on Tuesday.
Though the two-day SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting began at the Taj Exotica Resort in Benaulim on Thursday evening with a reception hosted by Jaishankar, the main deliberations took place on Friday.
Rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage as well as fuel cell development were some of the suggestions made by various stakeholders at the pre-Budget consultation meeting convened by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The customary pre-Budget consultation meetings were held with the finance minister virtually between December 15 and December 22, as per the finance ministry statement. More than 120 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in eight meetings, scheduled during this period, it said.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament.
The Air Chief Marshal also said that India's rise in the Global South marks a "pivotal point" in international affairs.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday announced 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the judicial services, and the state-run law colleges and universities.
'They have started becoming an important player, but not at the same level as they were in the earlier part of the decade.'
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, another wing of the Finance Ministry, has also been cautioning people against providing details of their PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts through e-mail.
It is in circumstances like this that the Constitution becomes extremely important. It reminds us that we have a commitment towards higher human values to fulfil, a path to get back to, suggests Shyam G Menon.Else, we risk being rudderless in an ocean of money and majoritarianism, suggests Shyam G Menon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and underscored India's support for an early and durable resolution of the Israel-Palestine issue through dialogue and diplomacy.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
DEA is currently headed on an interim basis by Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray
Owing to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman being new to her role, a number of crucial announcements in the Budget bore Garg's imprint, especially the decision to borrow in overseas markets, reduce the fiscal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product, and resort to off-Budget borrowing to meet that target, says Arup Roychoudury.
Officials say that such a list, to be updated on a real-time basis, will serve as a ready reckoner in identifying those committing multiple economic offences
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure the top rank in handling domestic and international affairs in a global survey conducted by a Chinese firm.
A parliamentary committee scrutinising three bills to replace existing criminal laws did not adopt its draft report as scheduled on Friday, taking into account the submission of some opposition members that they needed more time to study it.
Jaishankar also made it clear that it is in nobody's interest to see a country get into severe economic difficulties, and that too a neighbour.
'If businessmen should be included in the political process -- which is essential in my opinion -- they need to have the freedom to express themselves and to take stands against the government of the day, without fear of reprisals and attacks on their business.'
A minimum of three-match Test series and the home team footing the bill of the visiting side in a bilateral contest are some of the recommendations made by the MCC's World Cricket Committee.
The finance ministry said on Tuesday that high energy and commodity prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine may provide an upside risk to inflation and continued vigil is required. "Going forward, elevated energy and commodity prices may act as an upside risk to the inflation outlook in the near-medium term. "Given the inherently unsustainable nature of high prices, international commodity prices are expected to level off early with an increase in supplies outside the crisis zone," the department of economic affairs said in its latest monthly economic report for February.
Despite the objections raised by Reserve Bank of India and Election Commission, India's politics has been funded anonymously and it is time to end this, asserts Aakar Patel.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the much-awaited 2022-23 Union Budget on February 1. While there has been strong recovery in some sectors, touch services like hospitality, tourism and leisure continue to suffer after two Covid-19 waves. Household savings have been hit due to increased spending on health care. Consumption has still not reached pre-pandemic levels.
'There is merit in keeping the central bank's balance sheet strong if the government's fiscal balance sheet is weak.'
The new scheme may be announced before the Lok Sabha elections.
The embassy said it was 'cognisant' that some may attempt to characterise this move as an internal conflict, allegedly involving diplomats who switched allegiance to the Taliban, adding "that this decision is a result of broader changes in policy and interests".
Jaishankar described the October 7 strikes on Israeli cities by Hamas as "terrorism" but at the same time asserted India's long-standing support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Palestine issue.
PAC summons RBI Governor Urjit Patel, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.
Banks have raised concerns over the new international trade settlement in rupee, fearing that facilitation of such a mechanism could result in them facing the ire of economic sanctions by the West, people aware of the matter said. Large banks with overseas operations have sought clarity and assurance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that they will not be targeted with sanctions for facilitating rupee trade with a sanction-hit country such as Russia. The present payment mechanism is a shift from earlier such arrangements, like the one with sanction-hit Iran, which involved banks facilitating settlement of international trade that did not have business in the sanctioned nation.
Jet had planned to raise $400 million (Rs 2,000 crore) via equity investment through the Qualified Institutions Placements route from Foreign Institutional Investors.
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
The External Affairs Ministry claimed that more than mere courtesies were exchanged between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China President Xi Jinping at Bali G20 Meet in November 2022.
