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.
Admitting there were challenges before the economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at a post-Budget media conference that another set of decisions and measures would be announced during the Budget's passage in Parliament.
Rejecting reports of his evading the law, he told reporters that the charges against him and his son were 'nothing further from truth'.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja on Monday told a Delhi court that former finance minister and now Home Minister P Chidambaram, should be summoned and examined as a witness in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Coming out in strong defence of Home Minister P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal on Saturday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance of attempting to "foist" culpability on him in the 2G scam saying it was a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
US is not going to do the kind of sequential taper that was hinted in May, said FM.
There are huge opportunities for US companies to invest in India, he said in Washington, DC.
It is Finance Minister P Chidambaram's meeting with leaders of public sector bank unions that averted the three-day bank strike proposed from March 28.
Chidambaram was also hopeful that fiscal deficit will be contained within the targeted 5.3 per cent of the GDP this fiscal and trimmed to 4.8 per cent in the next.
Once three officers reached inside, they opened the gates to allow other team members waiting outside.
Ruling out any rollback of reforms in the face of Leftist pressure, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the government policies needed to be fine-tuned to make it painless for the poor.
The senior Congress leader's role has come under the scanner of investigating agencies in the Rs 3,500-crore Aircel-Maxis deal and the INX Media case involving Rs 305 crore.
Chidambaram has been magnanimous in endorsing my book, says the former RBI Governor D Subbarao.
Feature for feature, bank FDs are indeed better than debt funds today, mainly thanks to Ms Sitharaman, notes Debashis Basu.
Even as Bharatiya Janata Party MPs are boycotting the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G spectrum scam, the panel's chairman P C Chacko has ruled out summoning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The capital market, which moves up and down at the drop of a hat, lacks complete sense of humour, observed Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
The minister, however, admitted that manufacturing sector remains a problem area. The manufacturing sector output nearly halved to 5.3 per cent from 10.1 per cent during the first half of the previous fiscal. The other problem areas include electricity, gas and water supply group which too witnessed a deceleration of growth to 3.1 per cent in the first half of 2008-09 compared with 7.4 per cent during the first half of the last fiscal.
It is understood that the agency wanted to put a fresh set of questions to him regarding the deal and hence had asked him to appear.
In a huge relief to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea for making him a co-accused in the 2G spectrum case, saying there was no prima facie material against him of any criminal conspiracy or procuring of any pecuniary gain.
Terming the poor monsoon so far as 'unfortunate', Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the contingency plans are in place to help farmers replant alternate crops as well as supply drinking water and fodder.
The minister would be accompanied by Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram and other finance ministry officials.
The factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, soared to 16-month high of 8.2 per cent in October on good performance of the manufacturing, power sector and higher output of capital as well as consumer goods, indicating sudden recovery in the economy.
Inflation in food articles category in January stood at 8.8 per cent.
The minister expressed confidence that India will get back to high growth path soon.
Govt will keep inflation moderate: Chidambaram
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on the plea for a probe into the alleged role of Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam after a spirited defence of him from government and the Central Bureau of Investigation, both of which maintained that no case has been made out against him.
The senior Congress leader was in New Delhi to campaign in Maharashtra Assembly polls.
'India will succeed. I know this past year has caused a lot of concern, but this year is over and by elections we will achieve our ambitious economic agenda.'
Chidambaram hit out at former Bharatiya Janata Party Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, saying he was a 'distant memory' for the people of India.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
Days after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses for 2G spectrum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday held consultations with senior Cabinet colleagues on its impact on the telecom sector and the way forward. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Paranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Law Minister Salman Khurshid.
Mandatory scrutiny soon by large taxpayer units the FM set up in 2006.
He hoped parliament would approve the real estate regulator and land acquisition bills in its monsoon session
Rejecting allegations of vendetta levelled against him and the United Progressive Alliance, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday demanded that the government should ensure that Lalit Modi returns to India to face the probe by the Enforcement Directorate on various charges, including money laundering.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said he was confident that the economy will grow close to 8 per cent this fiscal, although the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council saw gross domestic product expansion slowing to 7.7 per cent.
Chidambaram, who is also senior spokesperson of Congress, said at the AICC briefing.
Wedding preparations for Parineeti Chopra and AAP leader Raghav Chadha are in full swing.
Worried over high budget deficit derailing growth, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday unveiled a five-year road map for fiscal consolidation to promote investments, contain inflation and take India to high growth trajectory.
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