The country's gross GST collections hit a record high of Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April, growing 12.4 per cent year on year driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions and imports. GST collections breach landmark milestone of Rs 2 lakh crore, the finance ministry said in a statement.
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.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
The government, it would seem, is reserving its firepower to spend on big-ticket items that will be announced in the Budget, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
At least six major UK universities have announced plans to set up campuses or liaison offices in India.
The finance ministry has turned down a proposal for shifting the exporters' tax refund plan to the commerce ministry, which has been lobbying hard to take charge of the duty entitlement pass book scheme.
As Pranab Mukherjee resigned to contest the Presidential poll, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday took charge of the finance ministry portfolio at a time when the country's economy is going through a bad phase.
State-owned banks have received guidance from the government to close Jan Dhan accounts whose beneficiaries are unwilling to keep them active, amid rising instances of such accounts being misused by fraudsters as mule accounts to defraud people, people aware of the development said.
Good monsoon is likely to create more jobs in the agriculture sector, which in turn could save the exchequer around Rs 10,000 crore
A decision to this effect has been taken after Arun Ramanathan retired as finance secretary on Thursday. Currently, Chawla is the senior-most official in the finance ministry. In addition, G C Chaturvedi, currently serving as additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, has been appointed as additional secretary in-charge of the financial services department.
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a PIL alleging that Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu awarded government contracts to his family members. The court has asked the state government to provide details of the beneficiaries and inform if due process was followed. The bench also sought responses from union ministries of home affairs, finance and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the issue within five weeks.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government official. This excludes dividend from nationalised banks and financial institutions. As on October 21, the Centre collected Rs 28,913 crore as dividend and other investment from CPSEs, accounting for over 50 per cent of the Budget Estimate for FY25.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Power Grid and State Bank of India were among the laggards. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Titan, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
Kant, a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre, was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022, months before India assumed the G20 Presidency.
The Budget announcement of zero tax for earnings upto Rs 12 lakh per annum and the rejig of tax slabs across the board should prompt more than 90 per cent of individual taxpayers to embrace the new tax regime as compared to the about 75 per cent as of now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. Agrawal also highlighted the government's focus on "non-intrusive" tax administration through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simplified tax processes for common taxpayers. He emphasized the benefits of the new tax regime (NTR), which offers simple calculations and allows taxpayers to file their ITR without professional help. The CBDT chief stated that the Budget provisions related to income tax payment benefit all income earners, not just those earning Rs 12 lakh per annum, creating a positive sentiment in the economy and propelling growth. The department is also harnessing technology, including AI and data analytics, to widen and deepen the tax base, resulting in increased compliance and tax revenue. Agrawal further highlighted the positive impact of data availability and simplified tax processes on compliance rates, citing examples of taxpayers filing revised returns and paying taxes after being prompted by the department's data analysis.
The finance ministry is considering amending the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, which governs public-sector banks (PSBs), to make suitable provisions for allowing PSBs to transfer shares to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) when dividends of such shares remain unclaimed by the investors for seven consecutive years. "While Section 10B of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, allows the transfer of unclaimed dividends to the IEPF, it, however, does not mention a provision for transferring unclaimed shares and may now be amended by the next government to allow such transfers to happen," said a person familiar with the matter.
It had earlier proposed cutting it down to Rs 250 crore due to slow progress in enrollment of new employees.
The Kananaskis gathering on June 16-17 is the Prime Minister's 6th consecutive participation in the G7 Summit.
The finance ministry has rejected the formula and, instead, suggested an alternative that takes into account well-head prices of suppliers in Qatar, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Malaysia.
'It has also outlived its initial purpose of reducing physical gold imports.'
Net direct tax collection in the eight months of the current fiscal touched 58.34 per cent of Budget Estimates (BE) at Rs 10.64 lakh crore. The net tax collection for April-November stood at Rs 10.64 lakh crore, which is 23.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year, the ministry of finance said.
Cooking gas or Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) price has been raised by Rs 50 per cylinder by distribution companies, Union Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with his global counterparts on the margins of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, with discussions focusing on a range of issues such as trade, investment, counter-terrorism and global challenges.
'Make-in-India played a key role in India's effective action against terrorism during Operation Sindoor.'
GST collections in October stood at Rs 1.72 lakh crore, the second highest-ever, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The collections are 13 per cent higher than the Rs 1.52 lakh crore collected in October 2022.
The Indian government has announced new rules for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving foreign contributions under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). These rules include requiring NGOs to obtain a "Not a Newspaper" certificate from the Registrar of Newspapers for India if they engage in publication-related activities, as well as submitting financial statements and audit reports for the past three years. Additionally, NGOs must submit a commitment letter from the donor, a project report detailing proposed expenses, and a declaration that administrative expenses will not exceed 20% of the foreign contribution.
Facing criticism from the government over the central bank prioritising inflation over growth, the new RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Monday said that prospects of the Indian economy are expected to improve on the back of high consumer and business confidence in 2025. "As we strive to preserve financial stability to support a higher growth path for the Indian economy, our focus remains steadfast on maintaining stability of financial institutions and, more broadly, systemic stability," Malhotra said in foreword to the Financial Stability Report.
The free food scheme is driven by electoral considerations, but its long-term fiscal risks outweigh the short-term gains, cautions A K Bhattacharya.
The issue of his wife appearing as counsel for the revenue department has caused P Chidambaram a lot of embarrassment. Tell us if he should quit.
The government on Monday appointed Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared Malhotra's name, who has been appointed as the RBI Governor for three years, starting Wednesday. Malhotra, a 1990 Batch Rajasthan Cadre IAS Officer, will replace Shaktikanta Das, whose tenure ends on Tuesday (December 10, 2024).
Cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni and industrialist Anand Mahindra were on Thursday named in a 15-member panel constituted by the defence ministry to carry out a comprehensive review of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant.
'Once bitten, twice shy, I didn't take up the challenge this time...' 'I realised I had failed to follow my karma because I feared failure.'
Finance firms in these SEZs likely to get tax breaks.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the performance of regional rural banks (RRBs) after the Budget session of Parliament, according to two people familiar with the matter. The finance minister will review the performance of RRBs after August 13. The review will include discussions on enhancing the digital capabilities of RRBs, said a senior government official.
