In addition, the finance ministry will present a report on steps taken to step up flow of resources to SMEs, textiles, gems and jewellery and rupee and foreign currency resources to exporters.
The decision to impose 0.5 per cent cess will translate into a tax of 50 paise only on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who took additional charge of the finance ministry recently, has rejected a Planning Commission proposal to increase the upper limit for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for infrastructure projects coming up under the public-private partnership model.
Having faced a debacle in four Assembly elections recently, the UPA government is exploring ways to woo voters before the coming general elections - without deviating from the path of fiscal consolidation.
SAIL on Friday said the finance ministry has given its in-principle approval for 20 per cent disinvestment of the steel giant.
The Arun Jaitley-led finance ministry reiterated banks should act tough on wilful defaulters.
The Petroleum Ministry on Wednesday sought over Rs 19,620 crore (Rs 196.20 billion) in compensation for state retailers Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and HPCL, which sold cooking fuels below cost in 2009-10 fiscal.
Income tax department sends out notices to cryptocurrency investors on suspicion of tax evasion.
Pranab Mukherjee takes pride in being cautious.
'I have no problems with the finance ministry or with state governments treating petrol pump prices as the last resort for meeting their ambitious spending targets with very limited revenue resources.' 'But let's do away with this smokescreen of free pricing of petrol and diesel and go back to administered pricing regime,' says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
"For the Lok Sabha elections, we are making meticulous planning on all fronts including electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT)," he said.
Retirement fund body EPFO will cut exposure in corporate bonds and park more funds in the secure government securities.
The decision to scrap the plan for landless workers and focus only on small and marginal farmers was made as there was no proper method to find out who qualify as landless labourers.
Narendra Modi's victory does not represent a victory of 'the Indian nation', but only an elite-driven polarising phenomenon. The sooner we -- and the BJP -- recognise this, the better, says Praful Bidwai.
Instead, 2019-20 could be the base from which the Budget estimates for next year are calculated.
Agenda for FIPB meeting on Jan 18 doesn't mention its application.
In latest move, ministry of mines removes B L Bagra
The ministry of petroleum has approached the finance ministry to seek permission to give additional bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore to the three public sector oil marketing companies --Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd--to help them close the last fiscal with a profit.
Steps such as safeguard duty in the works to plug the route
Senior policymakers say it is a tough task and the finance ministry may resort to the time-tested method of carrying forward part of the subsidy payment burden to the next fiscal year.
While the surcharge on super-rich would help garner additional income of around Rs 12,000 crore this fiscal on the direct tax side.
The committee had recommended a complete junking of the existing subscriber-based criterion for additional spectrum allocation and wanted that spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz should be auctioned.
The government would be setting up a National Health Protection Council, National Governance Board and National Health Agency before roll-out of the scheme on August 15.
Credibility of fiscal promises is a virtue that no finance minister can afford to lose.
The railways heritage lines that are part of the UNESCO-accorded sites list include Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka Shimla Railway.
Say this isn't the time to levy taxes, as industry is already struggling with slowing sales and rising costs; CBEC asks for supporting data.
IThe fiscal deficit target for 2020-2021 was originally set at 3.5 per cent of GDP. But the government's revenues have collapsed and its expenditure burden will only increase over the Budget estimates.' With the government having already planned for an additional borrowing of over Rs 4 trillion, the fiscal deficit for the current year would be much higher than the Budget estimate, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Interestingly, PM Modi had thanked his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for offering the support to the rain-battered state on August 18.
As the Centre deals with the fallout of cash shortage in certain parts of the country, Principal Economic Advisor in the finance ministry, Sanjeev Sanyal, bottom, left, tells Arup Roychoudhury that the demand for cash has seen a spike of late.
A scam had come to light in two lesser-known services-- Railway Board Secretariat Service and Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service -- where promotions were being made allegedly without following due procedures and bypassing Union Cabinet's jurisdiction.
'While all would agree on the need to be ready to launch cross-border strikes on terror camps, there is sharp disagreement on how best to do it.' 'Through IAF fighters, or surface-to-surface missiles?' 'Or should army Special Forces be created to do the job?' 'If air strikes are the agreed priority, additional funding must be made available for the purchase of fighters and missiles.' 'If it is to be Special Forces, the army must be facilitated in raising a Special Forces Command,' notes Ajai Shukla.
The auto industry, however, said any such step to impose additional taxes on the sector will not 'make sense'.
India's short-term overdraft facility with the Reserve Bank of India was in surplus at Rs 120 billion and the government will not borrow funds from the market in the fiscal year ending March 31, a finance ministry official said.\n\n
In 2009, the UPA government, had announced a slew of measures to boost liquidity in NBFCs. These included a scheme for providing liquidity support to NBFCs having assets size of over Rs 100 crore through a SPV.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced Rs 3 lakh crore collateral free automatic loan for businesses, including MSMEs, to benefit 45 lakh small businesses. Detailing parts of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package, she said this loan will have a 4-year tenure and will have 12-month moratorium, she said.
'The fiscal situation is stressed (when is it not?!), economic growth has slowed, tax revenue has fallen short and the deficit is high if it is properly accounted,' points out T N Ninan.
New fuel to cost 15-20 paise less per litre
A New York court has paused Cairn Energy's pursuit of US assets of Air India for the recovery of $1.2 billion arbitral award, so as to allow the British firm to reach a settlement with the Indian government on the long drawn dispute. The New York district court delayed the tax suit to November 18, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. This follows Cairn Energy and Air India jointly asking the court to stay further proceedings in view of the fresh government enacting a fresh law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country.
