He said the new short-term treasury bills will be part of the government's same borrowing programme. To meet its burgeoning expenditure, necessitated by the slowing down economy, the government has pegged its market borrowing at over Rs 4.5 lakh crore (Rs 4.5 trillion) for the current fiscal, bulk of which is being raised in the first half.
Without specifying the date for presentation of the full Budget for the current fiscal in Parliament, finance secretary Ashok Chawla on Wednesday said that the vote-on-account may be needed for another short period, if it is not possible to pass the Budget by August 1.
Just five days after mandating all listed companies to have a minimum 25 per cent public float, the government said on Wednesday indicated it was open to a review of the new rules. "If there is need for any modification, correction, amendment, or may be amplification, it will be done," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of a function by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The Finance Ministry on Tuesday said the RBI's move to retain almost all key rates unchanged will give a positive signal to the economy, which is on the path of recovery.
The Centre has indicated that it would consider giving direct cash subsidy to state-owned oil marketing companies this year, instead of bonds, to compensate them for selling cooking fuel at lower than market price.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India is keeping a close watch on the movements in the stock prices at the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, which hit the upper circuit halting the trade for the day, a senior finance ministry official said.
The government said on Monday food inflation has started easing and will fall to an acceptable level of 5-6 per cent in due course, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and Left Parties went ahead with a nationwide strike to protest against rising prices.
There is scepticism in some quarters that the Budget for 2010-11, while spreading cheer, may be skating on thin ice. For instance, some of its assumptions will give way if the non-tax revenue projections turn out to be castles in the air.
"Subject to synergy, subject to reasonable similarity in culture, they (public sector banks) in the next 5-10 years really need to look at consolidation and merger," finance secretary Ashok Chawla said after launching the mobile banking service of Vijaya Bank in New Delhi.
The government will offload equity in six to seven state-owned companies in the next 12 months, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Tuesday.
Ruling out upward pressure on interest rates in the near future because of high market borrowings, the government on Tuesday said it will not go for additional borrowings due to the impact of erratic monsoons as tax receipts are expected to be robust.
Admitting that the economy may be impacted if the monsoon is inadequate, the government on Monday said the growth rate in 2009 will not fall to the levels being projected by international agencies like the IMF and the World Bank.
The steep hike in onion prices set alarm bells ringing in the government, which has imposed a ban on onion exports till January 15, 2011, to increase availability in the domestic market.
The government had in June deregulated the prices of petrol but did not take a decision on diesel, which is used by various industries and the transport sector.
The borrowing in the first half of the next fiscal will be less front-loaded (borrowing in tranches) than the similar period of the outgoing fiscal because access to overseas borrowings will be lot more improved next fiscal, finance secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters here today after a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India.
As exporters started complaining about adverse effects of rising value of the rupee against the dollar, the government on Thursday said appreciating Indian currency reflects strength of the economy and it cannot do much so long as the unit rises and falls in a range.
"Growth in the economy was very encouraging and it is expected to improve further going forward," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.
The government on Thursday said it has stepped up its market borrowing to Rs 2.99 lakh crore for the first half of the current fiscal against Rs 2.41 lakh crore announced earlier.
"We are not looking at increasing FII (investment) limit in government securities," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters. Earlier in June, the government raised the FII investment limit in government securities to $5 billion from $3.2 billion.
Sources at the NSE as well as the President's office rejected media reports that Kovind's pulling out of the event had to do with reasons other than his packed itinerary this week.
Finance Commission has got new team who are committed to growth initiatives.
The Direct Taxes Code is likely to be implemented from 2011-12. Sources said the bill in this respect may be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session.
The Union finance ministry on Thursday said the falling inflation rate would result in further lowering of interest rates. "The trend is clear for falling inflation and this will translate into lower interest rates," Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry Ashok Chawla said while commenting on the inflation data.
On the day its financial year was ending, Japan on Friday extended the largest ever soft loan package of yen 155,458 million (about Rs 5,910 crore) to India for 2005-2006 fiscal for various projects including the second phase of the Delhi Metro.
Ramkrishna's exit comes at a time when NSE has been in focus over a new regulatory framework for high frequency trades and co-location facilities, which some believe give undue advantage to some brokers and traders
Facing flak, TERI's executive vice chairman R K Pachauri on Friday proceeded on leave from two other bodies -- TERI and its governing council, which also appointed former Competition Commission chief Ashok Chawla as the new chairman in an apparent damage control measure.
Environmentalist R K Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues in the recent past, has stepped down as a member of the governing council of the TERI.
It is possible that the final Budget architecture may be at variance with the comments.
If convicted, the offences entail a maximum punishment of seven years.
Pensioners, India Inc may get tax breaks in Budget
Will Arundhati Bhattacharya be the RBI's first woman governor? Or will Urjit Patel succeed Raghuram Rajanas RBI governor when his term ends on September 4?
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has got into firefighting mode to control the reputational damage caused by the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) order against its former managing director and chief executive officer Chitra Ramkrishna and others. According to sources, the exchange's management over the past one week has met several key stakeholders, including officials in the finance ministry and Sebi, major shareholders, and trading members, trying to distance itself from the controversy. The exchange plans to hold more meetings in the coming week to ensure that trading volumes and confidence in the bourse don't get impacted, they added.
Chidambaram said it was a 'despicable slur' on the six secretaries of the government.
From Swachh Bharat to spearheading the Make in India campaign, the PMO seems to be at the centre of all policies, writes Nivedita Mookerji.
It could be a matter of concern that foreign shareholders of the NSE are registered in tax havens such as Mauritius and Cyprus.
A glance back at some of the important ups and down Indian Inc faced in 2018.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances