Donald Trump is catering to the basest fears and prejudice of unenlightened Americans -- yes, there are those too, in sizeable enough numbers to elect one of their own as president. That would most certainly not Make America Great Again, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
Car restoration service provider Super Car Club Garage (SCCG), backed by Raymond chairman and managing director Gautam Singhania, has sought the Centre's green light for a licence to import foreign vehicles for restoration and subsequent re-export.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
Subhash Chandra Garg, the former finance secretary who was shunted out of the finance ministry within three weeks of Modi-2.0 government's first budget last year, on Saturday alleged that new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman got him transferred out.
In a significant policy shift aimed at boosting agri-productivity and rural prosperity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.
The deportation of Indians from the United States, deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede and the joint Parliamentary committee report on the Waqf bill were among the issues that led to heated exchanges and some disruptions in an otherwise smooth first part of the Budget session that ended on Thursday.
JSW Steel, owned by Sajjan Jindal, has emerged as the world's most valuable steelmaker, boasting a market capitalisation (mcap) of nearly $30.31 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
India's economic growth rate is estimated to slip to a four-year low of 6.4 per cent in 2024-25, mainly on account of poor showing by the manufacturing and services sector, according to government data released on Tuesday. The gross domestic product (GDP) rate of 6.4 per cent will be the lowest since the Covid year (2020-21) when the country witnessed a negative growth of 5.8 per cent.
The government on Friday doubled the limit of Mudra loan amount under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh under a new 'Tarun Plus' category to promote entrepreneurship in the country.
In FY24 alone, 1.34 million fraud cases were reported, amounting to losses of Rs 1,087 crore.
The government has set up a search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to shortlist names for the appointment of the next chief election commissioner, sources said on Monday, citing an order.
Fresh plans of privatisation or divestment in central public sector enterprises and public sector banks might take a back seat this financial year because these may require a large consensus among coalition partners.
Three years after India declared its goal to become a net-zero economy by 2070, the policy design for achieving the target has begun, with the NITI Aayog forming dedicated multi-sectoral committees to prepare a transition plan. In 2021, India joined a select group of nations that set a target year for becoming net-zero carbon economy. At COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined a five-pronged 'Panchamitra' climate action target for India and committed to a net-zero target by 2070, joining nations like the US, the UK, and China.
'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.'
Forty-five specialists will soon be joining key posts of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in different central ministries as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse fresh talent to further improve ease of governance.
The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
This ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country, sources added.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
The labour ministry on Thursday held discussions with representatives of private job portals, including Naukri, Monster, LinkedIn, Indeed and TimesJobs. The ministry held discussions towards strengthening the 'Employment and Skilling Ecosystem' in India, an official release said. Sunil Barthwal, secretary, ministry of labour and employment held a meeting on 10th February 2022 with representatives of the top private job portals of the country, the release said.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
Religious structures, Bengali traditions, and 'graffiti' drawn during the July uprising will be included on the currency notes.
The government on Friday hiked customs duty on crude and refined sunflower oil to 20 per cent and 32.5 per cent, respectively. According to a finance ministry notification, the basic customs duty on crude palm, soybean and sunflower seed oil has been increased from nil to 20 per cent.
A higher level of private sector financing and resource mobilisation from new sources will be crucial for India to build quality infrastructure, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. The Economic Survey 2023-24 was tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in September, in gross terms, were at Rs 1.73 lakh crore, with a yearly jump of 6.5 per cent, according to data from finance ministry released on Tuesday. In September 2023, the total collection was to the tune of Rs 1.62 lakh crore. CGST, SGST, IGST, and cess all increased year-on-year in September, official data made available on Tuesday showed.
Perhaps because the Modi government had some differences of opinion with two of the economist governors (one of whom was appointed by the Manmohan Singh government), there is a view that its political leadership prefers a civil servant to head the RBI, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The Centre is in "mission mode" to fill vacancies in government departments and ministries. The Department of Expenditure is currently following up with other wings of the government to expedite pending appointments. Regular follow-ups are being made to fill the vacant positions, so that the stated target of eliminating 1 million vacancies is met by December 2023, ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections. Even as the nodal ministry for filling vacant positions in the government is the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Department of Expenditure's Establishment Coordination (Personnel) division is providing support for the recruitment drive.
The health and family welfare ministry spent 70 per cent of its allocation till October. The ministry may need additional funds for the vaccination drive which is expected to be kicked off from January.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will arrange identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal to assist 1 crore gig workers. Presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, the finance minister also said a scheme for the socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The fund will promote domestic shipbuilding of all types and sizes to reduce India's dependence on foreign ships.
The National Informatics Centre uses AI to automate document analysis and detect fraud in government departments.
This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Droupadi Murmu's assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps.
After social media outrage over a Budget proposal making it mandatory to get tax clearance certificates for going abroad, the government on Sunday clarified that the proposed amendment is not for all, and only those accused of financial irregularities or having substantial tax arrears need such clearance. The finance ministry, in the Finance Bill, 2024, has proposed to add the reference of the Black Money Act, 2015, to the list of Acts, under which any person should clear his liabilities to obtain the tax clearance certificate.
'With new projects and recently awarded projects kicking in, capital expenditure should only increase going forward.'
The Union Finance Ministry on Friday announced key amendments to foreign exchange (forex) regulations, including mandating government approvals for all investments originating from countries that share land borders with India. The latest amendments also seek to simplify cross-border share swaps and streamline key definitions, such as "control". The updated regulations have aligned the treatment of downstream investments made by overseas citizen of India (OCI)-owned entities with those owned by non-resident Indians (NRIs) on a non-repatriation basis.
'The Budget needs to focus more on social welfare schemes.'
