Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold a pre-Budget discussion with state governments on January 13.
From withdrawing the stimulus to implementing the Finance Commission proposals, the FM has his task cut out.
To capitalise on the proposed changes in the Budget and the information on black money available with the government, the government is revitalising the economic intelligence council (EIC) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
In the following analysis, RelaxwithTax has tried to squeeze out the useful information -- from the Budget Speech delivered by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee -- that is relevant to you in terms of personal taxation and finance.
P Chidambaram was conspicuous by his absence on the dais at the second day of the plenary.
The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on inclusion of caste categories in the census is likely to be held on July 1.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday conferred with his top colleagues as Uttar Pradesh government sought nearly 50,000 central paramilitary personnel for tackling any possible law and order problem after the Allahabad high court judgment next month in the Ayodhya title dispute.
In a good sign, the government will depend less on borrowing to finance budgetary proposals in 2011-12 than in the ongoing 2010-11 financial year.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the Indian economy could grow by 7.5 to 8 per cent during the current financial year, though price rise and fiscal consolidation remained areas of concern.
Concerned over high credit cost and availability of funds, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said he will ask banks for a 'benign plan of action' while committing to stimulate economic growth by stepping up public expenditure and speeding up reforms.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will soon give the green signal to the payment of 9.5 per cent interest rate on provident fund deposits during 2010-11, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
Highly-placed sources in the government say that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had asked Pranab to make the second statement, rolling back the Telangana announcement. However, Mukherjee is learnt to have the told her that the second statement should come from the person who made the first statement, for better credibility. He also advised the Congress president that the prime minister should be kept out of the picture.
Amid pressure from various quarters for an early decision on the creation of a separate state of Telangana, the government on Saturday said more consultations with various parties are needed on the contentious statehood demand and the exercise would take "some time" to end. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel discussed the situation in Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
Two important features are Effective Revenue Deficit and Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Asserting that there is no need to press the panic button, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said the Dubai debt crisis would not have 'earth shaking' impact on India's economy.
Current President Robert Zoellick, who took office in July 2007, is schedule to retire in June.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
The finance ministry is planning to change the face of banking in the Red corridors at the tribal heartlands of India. The move is part of the government decision to redraw its law and order management and development plans in view of the growing Naxalite menace threatening India.
Diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday tore into United Progressive Alliance's handling of Anna Movement, which he said was a "Frankenstein monster" created by the central government itself.
Outflow of portfolio investment, and consequential decline in the stock market and the value of the rupee are effects of the problems in Eurozone.
Chief of Army General VK Singh and heads of the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing will also attend the meeting where Chidambaram would give his ministry's assessment of the situation in the valley. The CCS would also discuss the request for army assistance sought by and Kashmir Chief Ministe Omar Abdullah to help control the vloatile situation in the state
Focusing on rural India and attaining a high GDP, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee outlined targets such as speeding up infrastructure development and spending more for the development of rural areas and the poor.
The 8.9 per cent growth during the first half of this fiscal notwithstanding, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said he would prefer to be conservative and would be happy if the economy this fiscal were to grow by 8.75 per cent.
Besides, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry secretary general Amit Mitra, L Suresh, vice president of Film Federation of India, UTV Group chief financial officer Rajeev Waghle, chief financial officer of Reliance Big Films Subhashish Sarkar and Zee Tele films chief executive officer Puneet Goenka, among others, were also part of the delegation.
Still battling the fallout of last month's steep Rs 7.54 a litre hike in petrol price, the government on Friday said it is not considering raising rates of diesel, domestic gas (LPG) and kerosene for the moment.
The Cabinet Committee on Security today took stock of the situation arising out of the Pune bomb blast and is understood to have discussed issues related to the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2009-10, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that in order to bring in tax reforms in the country the government will bring the new DTC within 45 days. The code will replace the existing Income Tax Act, which was enacted in 1961 and would subsume the direct tax legislations.
Corruption has emerged as a major issue in the country but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not responsible for the situation, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday. ''I don't hold the prime minister responsible for the entire issue related to corruption. But the situation reflects that governance is not up to the mark,'' he said.
Industry is of the view that rising interest rates is increasing the input cost as loans are getting costlier.
The second and third quarters of FY10 are unlikely to see the economy expanding at the pace it did in April-June period, but that does not warrant a downward revision of growth forecast, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the Vudget 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday announced the extension in the time given to the farmers having more than two hectares of land to pay 75 per cent of their overdues under Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme extended from June 30, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal MTN group president and CEO Phuthuma Nhlek had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. The two telecom majors extended the deadline for exclusive talks for their proposed $23-billion deal to the end of next month recently.
Concerned over the ongoing public spat between the two regulators, the government on Wednesday asked Sebi and Irda to move court immediately on the contentious issue of who will regulate unit-linked insurance products.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved public private partnership mode for the rollout of BharatNet project for broadband services in villages in 16 states with viability gap funding of Rs 19,041 crore, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Prasad said the decision to involve private players was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August 15, 2020 that around 6 lakh villages in the country will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days. "The Cabinet has in-principle approved implementation of BharatNet in 16 states in a public private partnership model with total expense of Rs 29,430 crore.
Price of diesel, LPG and kerosene will have to go up.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his government expected a reasonably good growth rate of seven per cent in the ongoing 2011-12 financial year.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
The joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill met in New Delhi on Tuesday for the last time amid "fresh and serious" differences between the government and Anna Hazare team.
The finance minister's office had sought the Cabinet Secretary's opinion whether Mukherjee should remain part of the EGoM in the wake of his presidential candidature.
Once the tremors of Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav's political shock dies down, they will return for fresh negotiations with the Congress, notes Sheela Bhatt.
