It was a many splendoured political career, which ended at the presidential palace. But the prime minister's post eluded him, even though it was a position he openly aspired for.
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.
Moulya Software's founder Pradeep Soundararajan in an open letter to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee pleads for a budget that would encourage start-ups to become tomorrow's Infosys, Tata and Reliance.
Set to file nomination papers for the Presidential poll, a sentimental Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday resigned as finance minister to "embark on a new journey", leaving behind his four-decade stint as a political activist.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her sixth straight Budget ahead of the Parliamentary elections, matching the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman in her pre-election Budget, which technically is a vote on account and popularly termed an interim Budget, will seek Parliament's nod for a grant in advance to meet the central government's essential expenditure for the first four months of the new fiscal year that starts in April. A new government elected after the April/May general elections will present the full Budget, likely in July.
The Unite dProgressive Alliance government and the Opposition will debate in Parliament on Thursday the terms of reference of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G spectrum scam and pass a resolution.
The 2G spectrum case has taken a wild turn with the release of a note that could be a game changer.
The removal of 10 per cent surcharge on direct taxes to cost Rs 10,034 crore.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday jokingly stated, "I have become an antique piece," about his transition from an active political life to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. "Of course, it (being the President) has the other side of the picture that perhaps I have become an antique piece in the theatre of Indian economic activities," Mukerjee said.
Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai, who is retiring on Thursday after 39 years of service, told rediff.com in an exclusive interview, that, "No bugging took place" in the office of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
After reducing duties on petroleum products, the Centre has now asked the states to follow suit.
The commission in its report, tabled in Parliament, recommended increase in share of states to 32 per cent of central tax proceeds from the current 30.5 per cent.
A quick assessment of the ground reality will tell you that it is a reflection of the finance ministry's mistaken faith in factors beyond its control.
Years before the Supreme Court struck down as 'unconstitutional' an opaque political funding tool that allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits, the then finance minister Arun Jaitley -- the prime mover of electoral bonds -- had termed them legitimate and transparent.
Banks have sought relaxation in norms for classifying loans to delayed infrastructure projects as sub-standard assets even as the Reserve Bank of India has indicated its unwillingness to ease the group exposure ceiling.
The flow of funds to Kalignar TV begins on 23rd December 2008 and goes on till August 2009. The Finance Minister during that time was Pranab Mukherjee - the UPA's candidate for the post of Presidency.
Rejecting opposition demands, government on Wednesday refused to make public information received from foreign countries with regard to Indian account holders but expressed readiness to issue an elaborate document on the problem.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday hinted at financing for sorting out Eurozone crisis after a credible assessment of solvency problem is made.
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also observed silence for two minutes in the memory of Mukherjee.
'He told senior journalists a few days after the Babri Masjid demolition, 'Jo hua theek hua. Maine isliye hone diya ki BJP ki rajniti hamesha ke liye khatam ho jaye.'
The sad truth is that the debt-to-GDP ratio will shoot up close to 90 per cent in the coming year, and the fiscal deficit glide path does not promise to reduce it substantially any time soon, predicts Mihir S Sharma.
India's macroeconomic authorities must focus on fiscal stabilisation and Mukherjee has to provide the leadership as finance minister.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday again took a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style pouch as she headed for Parliament to present Union Budget 2023-24 in a paperless format just like the previous two years. She posed for the traditional 'briefcase' picture outside her office along with her team of officials before heading to meet the President. She, however, was holding a tablet instead of a briefcase to present the Budget in a digital format.
India's food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay on Thursday met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi ahead of the general\nbudget on July 6.
The senior Congress leader said there is no point debating now on why the former president accepted the invite to be the chief guest at an RSS function in Nagpur.
The ministry also plans to set up a compliance committee along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on a public-private partnership mode to look into issues of small and medium enterprises and help them comply with the environmental laws.
In her Budget 2023-24 presentation, she also said the Centre will launch the 'Dekho Apna Desh' initiative to promote domestic tourism.
Amid the raging row over the controversial 2G note, three ministers on Wednesday night met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at his residence to find a way out to end the political storm.
The suspense over the possible composition of the National Democratic Alliance cabinet seems to be nearing climax as sources informed that a list of names is being finalised to be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee on the sidelines of Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
'All the big things happening today in economic development have their beginning in Dr Manmohan Singh's ideas.'
Mukherjee said it was not necessary for the RBI governor to consult him before the mid-quarterly review of the credit policy.
The announcement came just ahead of the meeting of a ministerial panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to look into the Cairn-Vedanta deal which was struck in August.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday expressed dismay over the way Lok Sabha had to approve an additional net expenditure of about Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) without any discussion in the din by Opposition over demand for a joint parliamentary committee to probe 2G spectrum allocation.
In the turf war between the battered Communist Party of India-Marxist and its arch rival, Trinamool Congress, veteran Congressman and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has found a new place of prominence.
More than merely being an economic balancing act, this was also about walking the political tightrope.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on salient features of the Budget.
The DMK on Monday put on hold the resignations of its six ministers from the UPA Government in a dramatic new turn, with the party and Congress engaged in hectic negotiations to sort out their seat-sharing problems in Tamil Nadu. Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee telephoned DMK chief M Karunanidhi twice, and urged him not to pull out his ministers from the cabinet during the Budget Session, and sought a day's time to resolve problems.
"No, she will not make me the PM," was Dr Pranab Mukherjee's cryptic response in a reference to Sonia Gandhi when he was asked by his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee about his chances of becoming the prime minister in 2004.
The President may not have agreed with the government on many occasions. Not once was this ever made public -- though he told off ministers in private.
