'Is this the only way for India to become a $5 trillion economy?' 'When you have unused foreign exchange here, why borrow more dollars?'
Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia vacates his post on November 30 and Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, the second seniormost bureaucrat in the finance ministry, retires on January 31, the day before Jaitley presents the 2019-20 interim budget.
The report from the first request is scheduled to be delivered to Congress on December 15 this year.
The government on Friday said it has started implementing liberal FDI rules under which proposals up to Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) foreign equity would be cleared by the Finance Minister without seeking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Pakistan will buy sugar and cotton from India, newly appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced on Wednesday, lifting a ban on their import from the neighbouring country imposed in the wake of heightened tension over Kashmir in 2019. The decision was taken at the meeting of the economic coordination committee (ECC), which was chaired by Finance Minister Azhar.
Exemption limits, standard deduction on radar.
'The Modi regime is not willing to use its huge political capital for taking any economic policy measure that it fears might undermine that political strength, says A K Bhattacharya.
Inflation in food articles during May stood at 1.13 per cent, as against 2.55 per cent in April.
Kotak Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, falling 3.71 per cent, followed by RIL, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, HDFC and ITC.
Likely to be merged with Union Budget from FY18
The Reserve Bank on Friday approved the transfer of Rs 99,122 crore as surplus to the central government for the accounting period of nine months ended March 31.
A Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday recommended a composite foreign investment cap of 49 per cent in the insurance sector and supported a government Bill to amend the Act.
The PFRDA Act would give statutory status to the pensions sector regulator, and in addition to other objectives, aims to address apprehensions regarding safety and yield under the National Pension System.
The Centre has to bear the maximum burden of borrowing NSSF loans to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011, provides for market based returns and wide coverage based on several investment options in the pension sector with an aim to building confidence in the subscribers.
An increase in sales across all categories in the automobile industry, has made need for higher working capital inevitable.
Top laggards in the Sensex pack included Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, L&T, SBI, Tata Steel and Axis Bank, falling up to 3.46 per cent.
In fact, no other recent Union Budget has held so much significance for the Indian economy as the one to be presented in about six weeks from now, notes A K Bhattacharya.
An all-party meeting on Monday failed to hammer out a consensus over the controversial Insurance Bill, which was scheduled to be taken up in Rajya Sabha.
The government wants to use the FDI victory impetus to clear the Companies Bill and those amending the banking and pension Acts.
The government is considering a proposal to privatise some state-owned banks in phases.
A Parliamentary committee has asked Reserve Bank of India to direct banks to channelise more funds to industry and other sectors instead of investing excessively in risk-free government papers.\n\n\n\n
Budget may bring exemption for those backed by Indian securities other than shares
One hopes that the government will act on the Kelkar panel recommendations.
Like the UPA government, probably the NDA government also feels that hardships caused to taxpayers are just collateral damage and that taxpayers are too few and even those few don't have a vote (non-individuals) or don't vote, says Harsh Roongta.
Empolyees Provident Fund, the Central Board of Trustees of EPF is likely to meet on May 31 to take a view on the rate to be paid for the current year.\n
The idea is to do away with the need for the approval of the Core Group of Secretaries on Divestment for privatisation of companies, especially in non-strategic sectors.
The move will increase working capital requirement for brokers, raise the work load on the system and will leave little room for contingencies.
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Housing finance leader HDFC's bid to cash in on India's booming real estate got a boost with the government on Thursday allowing a global realty fund sponsored by it to invest up to $720 million (Rs 3,240 crore) in the country.
The Centre is likely to cut budgetary support to the railways by around Rs 5,000-10,000 crore for 2018-19, out of the total budgeted GBS of Rs 53,060 crore. Due to this cut in GBS, the railways is likely to depend more on borrowings, asset monetisation, and internal generation to meet the capex target of Rs 1.465 trillion for the current year.
Official talks were held between Modi and Seikh Tamim for multi-sectoral partnership and strengthening of Indo-Qatar ties following which the agreements and Memorandums of Understanding were signed on the second day of the Prime Minister's visit.
Some international markets offer interest rates as low as one per cent, which could reduce the government's interest cost significantly.
The government must set up a Bank Investment Company to shrink its role in PSBs, if we are serious about tackling the two persistent issues - lax corporate governance practices and discretionary decision-making, says Shyamal Majumdar.
The proposed auction has business-friendly terms and conditions, including reduced upfront amount, adjustment of upfront amount against royalty and liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalise the coal mines. Besides, 100 per cent FDI through automatic route has been allowed.
Banks feel happy shifting their toxic assets from loan books to investment books while the ARCs enjoy the management fees with a smile, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
