Ten days after the expansion of the BJP government's cabinet in West Bengal, key portfolios have been allocated, with senior leader Tapas Roy taking charge of industries and journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta appointed finance minister.
On sarkaritel.com, a private initiative that serves as a gateway to the government, the council of ministers does not include the finance portfolio at all.
Following through announcements with enforcement of measures is key, as a run through recent Indian economic history shows, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
The first task before Mukherjee, who was also in charge of the finance minister in the previous government, would be to present the budget for 2009-10 and spell out policies and priorities of the new United Progressive Alliance government. The minister at his office was received at by key finance ministry functionaries, including finance secretary Ashok Chawla, revenue secretary P V Bhide, expenditure secretary Sushma Nath and chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani.
Discuss Pranab Mukherjee's tenure as FM with Senior Associate Editor (Business)Faisal Kidwai.
For most of his first stint as finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee had Indira Gandhi as his prime minister. In his second stint, the prime minister was Manmohan Singh.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be right in pushing for FDI in retail because reports have been pouring in, indicating that the economic downturn in India and abroad will worsen in coming weeks. Sheela Bhatt examines the politics behind the government's decision.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents his 5th Budget in Parliament.
The finance minister as part of his pre-Budget consultations is meeting industry bodies and ministers and has slotted Deora for June 15, a source said. On Deora's agenda will be getting back the seven-year exemption or holiday from payment of income tax for natural gas producers. He may also press for infrastructure status for natural gas.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee sought to soothe the frayed nerves of India's financial regulators by saying the government would not undermine their autonomy. Mukherjee's assurance came a day after Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao went public with his "concerns" over dilution of the central bank's role in dealing with inter-regulatory disputes in the Ordinance issued last month.
Rediff.com brings to you Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget Speech Live from Parliament at 11.00 a.m. on February 28.
Rediff.com brings to you Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget Speech Live from Parliament at 11.00 a.m. on February 28.
Indian banks, which are increasingly getting worried due to asset-liability mismatch, have sought the government's approval to float tax-free bonds.
The forward process is on, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tells NDTV 24x7.
The Union Budget 2011-12 is just round the corner. On February 28, even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announces his Budget proposals there are a lot of challenges that face him.
Pranab Mukherjee, who has been selected as the UPA's Presidential nominee, will resign on Sunday as the Union finance minister.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the Union Budget 2009-10, which was presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the floor of the Parliament on Monday.
India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is all set to become the next President of the country.
In a relief to individual tax payers, the government on Friday changed the slabs cutting the rate to 10 per cent for income up to Rs five lakh, while leaving the threshold limit for tax-free income unchanged at Rs 1.6 lakh.
Two dedicated freight corridors -- Eastern and Western -- are in operation covering several states and districts.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee seems to have stuck to increasing income for the government as the sole focus of the Budget 2010. The key problem faced by people -- inflation has been thrown out of the window of consideration.
Here is the entire text of the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget Speech:
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that there are no reliable estimates of black money generated by Indians within and outside the country, but it is estimated at being between Rs 500 billion and Rs 1,400 billion.
'When I met the prime minister, he asked me, "Dr Ganguly, what do you do with people in your company who lie to you?"' 'I said, "Prime Minister, we counsel them and give them a gentle warning. If they lie again, they are sacked".' '"This is my problem,'" Rajiv responded. "I can't sack people in government".' A revealing excerpt from former Hindustan Lever Chairman Dr Ashok S Ganguly's We Are Our Future: Reflections On Life.
Duvvuri Subbarao recounts how his tensions with P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, then finance ministers, over monetary policy spilled over into other issues in the central bank in this excerpt from Who Moved My Interest Rate?, his memoir of his term as Reserve Bank of India governor.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, broke away from the colonial tradition of carrying a Budget briefcase in July 2019, opting instead for a traditional 'bahi-khata', to carry the Union Budget papers.
'If Rahul couldn't persuade his colleagues without resorting to theatrics, then maybe politics wasn't his calling
The family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the proposed site for his memorial at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi. The memorial, measuring around 900 square metres, will be located adjacent to the memorial of former President Pranab Mukherjee. A trust will be set up to oversee the construction of the memorial, which will be funded by a government grant of Rs 25 lakh.
Breaking his silence after nine years, Vijay Mallya said he may return to India if assured a fair trial.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was on Friday given the additional charge of Finance Ministry with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being admitted to the hospital for a heart bypass surgery on Saturday.
With the tablet carefully kept inside a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it instead of the briefcase, Parliament will be her next destination after the call on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Will the finance minister present a legacy-seeking Budget?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create history when she presents her seventh straight Budget on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman, who will turn 65 next month, was in 2019 appointed as India's first full-time woman finance minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term.
