The finance ministry, in the explanatory memorandum to the Finance Bill 2008-09, proposes to withdraw the tax holiday which has been a window the petroleum ministry has been using to market the oil and gas exploration blocks under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (Nelp) since 1999. The commitment to give a 7-year tax holiday to companies producing gas from Nelp blocks was finalised by the Union Cabinet after consultation with the finance ministry.
The Ministry of Finance or Commerce would certainly need a larger hospitality budget than the Ministry of Agriculture.
The finance ministry's proposal to set up a National Tax Tribunal has moved a step closer with the law ministry finding no objection with the plan.
The finance ministry's proposal to off-load a small part of the government equity in National Aluminium Company Ltd has been rejected by the administrative ministry.
Debt mutual funds are likely to be stripped of the long-term tax benefit if they invest less than 35 per cent of their assets in equities. Such mutual funds will attract short term capital gains tax. The government is likely to make such a proposal in the form of an amendment to the Finance Bill 2023 in the Parliament, sources said.
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
The 28 new ministers who joined the Chouhan cabinet on July 2 include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state.
Despite the objections raised by Reserve Bank of India and Election Commission, India's politics has been funded anonymously and it is time to end this, asserts Aakar Patel.
In the seven intervening years since his "dream" Budget of 1997, the only thing that doesn't seem to have changed about him is his name.
Trading of diamonds especially with a gulf country has come under the lens of intelligence agencies here for suspected terror financing and money laundering.
FinMin urges reduction not be weighed against Budget estimates.
India spends significantly less on defence than could be expected from a country that faces simultaneous armed threats from two hostile neighbours -- China and Pakistan.
The ministry asked all departments to cut avoidable expenditure, including seminars and conferences at five-star hotels and abroad, purchase of new vehicles, foreign travel and appointment of consultants.
So how do you rate the Modi government's 11th budget?
Over the past six months Rajasthan has introduced some of India's most radical free-market labour, land and welfare reform.
India's finance ministers have played a crucial role in framing policies and initiating reforms to boost the economy.
A 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in budget allocation towards the roads sector for FY24 has led to renewed interest among investors. However, a combination of escalating costs for Bharatmala and unseasonal rains to some extent have impacted progress. Bharatmala's cost has nearly doubled from Rs 5.35 trillion to Rs 10.6 trillion and the finance ministry has asked MoRTH to go slow until Cabinet approval is received.
BlackRock has again reduced the valuation of its share in edtech firm Byju's - this time to about $1 billion, TechCrunch reported on Friday, citing disclosures made by the US-based asset manager. This is 95 per cent less than its peak valuation of $22 billion in 2022. The markdown comes at a time when the company is facing a multitude of challenges, including securing fresh capital, delays in financial reporting and legal disputes with lenders.
Nine days after he took charge of the finance ministry after incumbent P Chidambaram was shifted to the home ministry following the terror attacks in Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has informed Congress President Sonia Gandhi that a full-time Cabinet minister would be needed for the portfolio because he was extremely busy with other works.
This is the fourth such recruitment drive proposed to be undertaken by the Narendra Modi government which had in 2018 initiated lateral entry.
A senior income tax department official in the know of the discussions to have taken place in the finance ministry said the ministry was looking into the issue as a possible option.
Sources said while the Janata Dal-Secular will have nine new ministers, the Congress will have nearly 12 of its legislators inducted into the cabinet. Lone Bahujan Samaj Party MLA N Mahesh will also be a part of the cabinet expansion and will be given a key portfolio.
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