Budget ideas from industry are irresponsible
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government was ready to bring in and get the Lokpal Bill passed in the next session of Parliament if the Opposition cooperated with it.
India and China have established a Working Group to prepare a framework for the settlement of their vexed boundary issue, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced at Harbin in China on Thursday. The 11th round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China was successful and they have decided to set up a Working Group to prepare a framework for the resolution of the boundary issue, said Mukherjee.
The finance minister as part of his pre-Budget consultations is meeting industry bodies and ministers and has slotted Deora for June 15, a source said. On Deora's agenda will be getting back the seven-year exemption or holiday from payment of income tax for natural gas producers. He may also press for infrastructure status for natural gas.
India will not tolerate obstruction in fencing along LoC, says defence minister
Maharashtra's beleaguered Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi after his name cropped up in a controversy surrounding the Adarsh housing society in Mumbai. Earlier, Sonia met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel, All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and Union minister Prithviraj Chavan over the issue.
The finance minister also provided some relief to readymade garment manufacturers by raising the abatement available for levy of taxes on retail price of some branded garments and textile made-ups.
On the eve of the Supreme Court hearing of his petition on age, Army Chief Gen V K Singh on Thursday met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who has been informally acting as a trouble-shooter in the controversy.
He pointed out that wages under the NREGA have been increased from Rs 61 to Rs 100 which would lead to earnings of Rs 10,000 annually 'irrespective of qualification'. Mukherjee, who is the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief urged party workers to pinpoint failures in implementation of the scheme at the block and panchayat levels.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh continues to be in the hot soup. The crisis regarding the Indo-Pakistan joint statement simply refuses to blow over with the party now giving charge to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony to diffuse the situation, retrieve the issue with the least damage to the government.
India Inc on Tuesday described Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as industry's Sachin Tendulkar saying the veteran leader was steering the economy "with ease of a seasoned player" in difficult times.
He rejected Advani's demand for a Parliament resolution declaring Arunachal Pradesh as an inalienable part of India.
The Reserve Bank of India chief also reviewed the high-level of inflation with the Finance Minister, ahead of the quarterly review of monetary policy next week, amidst expectations of another hike in key interest rates.
The government on Friday shot down a suggestion in the Lok Sabha for setting up a committee under the member of Parliament in respective constituencies for monitoring disbursement of loans by banks to priority sector like agriculture, small and medium enterprises.
As lawyers distance themselves from defending Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab in court, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that the terrorist caught during the Mumbai attacks will get a fair trial."Of course, in India everybody will get a fair trial," Mukherjee told PTI when asked whether Kasab should be given a fair trial."Every person in India who is accused or prosecuted is entitled to have a fair trial," he said.
Reverting to high growth, managing inflation and insulating India from adverse global economic situation are the major challenges before the country, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.
Strongly defending its decision to allow FDI in retail, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday told Congress Members of Parliament that the government was "compelled" to suspend the move to avoid "pre-mature elections". Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party, Mukherjee also apologised to members who had supported the government in allowing FDI in retail but said going ahead with the decision could have created a "crisis" for the government.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday described the failure of talks between India's telecom giant Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN on the $23 billion merger deal as "part of the game".
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.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked the United States to ease restrictions on supply of dual use nuclear and space technologies, which he said were needed to realise its economic potential
Amid recessionary fears in advanced economies, India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has called for channelising global surpluses to build infrastructure in developing nations to boost world economy.
Other noted personalities to be bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan include noted playback singer Asha Bhosle, chess wizard Vishwanathan Anand, mountainer Edmund Hillary and industrialists Ratan Naval Tata, Infosys mentor N R Narayana Murthy, steel tycoon Lakshmi Narayan Mittal and hotelier P R S Oberoi.
The minister said at a time when banks in the US and Europe needed government support for survival, banks in India were strong enough to sustain on their own.
As the United Progressive Alliance government desperately fights the perception of a policy paralysis, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee dismisses it with equal vehemence contending that the coalition was set on achieving higher economic growth.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday refused to comment on a letter sent by his ministry to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the 2G spectrum scam, saying he cannot make any remark on the matter as it is "subjudice".
Amid the rituals of Maha Ashtami (the third day of the five-day festival), Pranab Mukherjee spoke to Shine Jacob on the Moody's downgrade of State Bank of India and other issues.
Kashmiri Pandits have impressed upon the central government that there should be no dilution of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and nothing should be done to weaken the state's integration with the country. A group of Kashmiri Pandits met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi on Sunday night and apprised him of their views on the current volatile situation in the state.
The sharp decline in rupee against the dollar is a cause of concern and there are expectations that steps would be announced to boost the domestic currency, the finance minister said.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
The country's economy is estimated to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2009-10 from 6.7 per cent last fiscal. Inflation on Monday rose to 8.56 per cent in January from 7.31 per cent in the previous month on various food items turning costlier.
Industrial production, measured by the index of industrial production, slowed to a 20 month low of 1.6 per cent in December, from 2.7 per cent in November 2010.
The finance minister said the early signs of improvement in the Indian economy are seen despite no big recovery visible in the global economy.
President Pranab Mukherjee has convened a three-day Governors conference from February 12 to articulate the stability of the Union Government, anticipating a hung Parliament in May 2014.
Mukherjee said the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including economic and commercial cooperation, was reviewed during the the meeting.
Scotching speculation about early polls, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has made it clear that the survival of the government was more important than the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Left parties will have to be taken on board. He ruled out the possibility of a minority government signing the nuclear agreement, saying the US was not ready for it.
Toughening its stand, key United Progessive Alliance constituent Trinamool Congress on Thursday said if the Congress names Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Vice President Hamid Ansari as its Presidential candidate, it will "contest" the election with A P J Abdul Kalam as its nominee.
Denel was blacklisted after the CBI started a probe into reports that the company had paid commissions to middlemen to clinch a deal for selling anti-material rifles to India.
The standoff over Women's Reservation Bill ended on Thursday with the government announcing that the proposed legislation would be brought in the Lok Sabha only after consultations with all sections.
Food production in the current fiscal is likely to go down as sowing will be 20 per cent lower due to the weak monsoon, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. Also, 161 districts have been declared drought-prone, he added.
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