Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had reported a "serious breach of security" in his office in a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September last year. In his letter, Mukherjee claimed that "planted adhesives" were found in 16 locations including at his office, the offices of his advisor Omita Paul and private secretary Manoj Pant and two conference rooms used by the finance ministry. Mukherjee clarified that no microphone or recording devices were found.
Economic growth should be accompanied by social and political stability.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers.
The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the candidature of UPA's presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee accusing him of abusing his office as finance minister and securing "pecuniary favour" in the form of votes from various political parties in the upcoming Presidential election.
Years before the Supreme Court struck down as 'unconstitutional' an opaque political funding tool that allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits, the then finance minister Arun Jaitley -- the prime mover of electoral bonds -- had termed them legitimate and transparent.
The April-June quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY25) may be soft for banks with loan growth moderation, net interest margin (NIM) pressures, and higher staff and credit costs inching up, according to analysts. Credit growth could ease due to the lagged impact of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightening and deposit growth has weakened, and the current account and savings account (CASA) ratio has declined 10-370 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) for many banks.
With an Interim Budget and an election victory behind him, and a full-year budget ahead, Mukherjee would presumably have lots on his mind, but understandably be coy of revealing much.
On Wednesday, Mukherjee addressed two press conferences at the International Monetary Fund.
As the debate on revealing names of those who had stashed money abroad was hotting up, a Parliamentary panel grilled finance ministry officials on why the confidentiality clause was put in tax treaties in the first place.
Away from the political chaos in New Delhi, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is celebrating the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Miriti village of West Bengal's Birbhum district.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday met exporters, a day after the release of the April export data which showed the sharpest fall in overseas shipments in 14 years, assuring them he would do his best in the Budget.
"No, she will not make me the PM," was Dr Pranab Mukherjee's cryptic response in a reference to Sonia Gandhi when he was asked by his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee about his chances of becoming the prime minister in 2004.
In the first major breakthrough in the week-long standoff, the government on Tuesday appointed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its negotiator for talks with Anna Hazare and his aides over their demand for a strong Lokpal. Announcing the government's initiative, Hazare's close aide Arvind Kejriwal said the activist will decide as to who will represent his team in the talks with Mukherjee.
Discuss Pranab Mukherjee's tenure as FM with Senior Associate Editor (Business)Faisal Kidwai.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to visit Iran soon, said Manbir Singh, India's ambassador to Iran.
The first task before Mukherjee, who was also in charge of the finance minister in the previous government, would be to present the budget for 2009-10 and spell out policies and priorities of the new United Progressive Alliance government. The minister at his office was received at by key finance ministry functionaries, including finance secretary Ashok Chawla, revenue secretary P V Bhide, expenditure secretary Sushma Nath and chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee on Monday quit his job from Steel Authority of India Limited to join politics and contest the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
For most of his first stint as finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee had Indira Gandhi as his prime minister. In his second stint, the prime minister was Manmohan Singh.
"Yes, if the crisis deepens further and there is greater volatility in financial flows, there is an increased risk of this (currency war) happening," Mukherjee said in response to a question.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her sixth straight Budget ahead of the Parliamentary elections, matching the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman in her pre-election Budget, which technically is a vote on account and popularly termed an interim Budget, will seek Parliament's nod for a grant in advance to meet the central government's essential expenditure for the first four months of the new fiscal year that starts in April. A new government elected after the April/May general elections will present the full Budget, likely in July.
Besides Mukherjee, who is leader of the Lok Sabha, the committee, headed by Speaker Meira Kumar, will have four other members from the Congress, three from Bharatiya Janata Party each from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Janata Darty-Secular leader H D Deve Gowda on Thursday announced his party's support to UPA's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's security is being beefed up after the ruling party announced his name as their candidate for the Presidential polls. There will now be a heavy security at his house and the traffic flow will not be restricted for one month.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also managing the finance ministry, presented the Interim Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on Monday. Following is the text of the entire Budget Speech:
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has brought about a coup in North Block by bringing an Indian Foreign Service officer Venu Rajamoni as Joint Secretary to head multilateral institutions division.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be right in pushing for FDI in retail because reports have been pouring in, indicating that the economic downturn in India and abroad will worsen in coming weeks. Sheela Bhatt examines the politics behind the government's decision.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
The senior Congress leader said there is no point debating now on why the former president accepted the invite to be the chief guest at an RSS function in Nagpur.
Top government officials in New Delhi have started discussions with stakeholders ranging from shipping and container companies to export promotion councils to understand the impact of the Iran-Israel tensions and plan ahead. Inter-ministerial talks are also being lined up amid the crisis situation in West Asia, sources confirmed. While the crude flows are not directly under any threat, elevated oil prices remain a concern, according to officials.
Ahead of the Word Cup semi final match between India and Pakistan on March 30, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that sports should not be mixed with politics. Referring to Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to Mohali, to watch the semi-final match between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, Mukherjee said sports and politics must be treated separately and not mixed.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Monday described Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as a "qualified" candidate for the post of President but said his views on others were equally positive.
Pranab's earlier fear of Sonia relying too heavily on a coterie due to her lack of experience turned out to be unfounded. As per Pranab, Sonia had her close advisers but she did not follow anyone's advice blindly. A fascinating excerpt from Sharmistha Mukherjee's Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.
The newly appointed Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee took charge of his new office in north block, returning to it after a gap of 24 years. The Finance Ministry office, which has been sealed off to outsiders and particularly prying journalists with the vote-on-account preparations in full swing, was on Thursday opened up at 4 p.m. when the media was invited in to cover the taking over ceremony.
Moulya Software's founder Pradeep Soundararajan in an open letter to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee pleads for a budget that would encourage start-ups to become tomorrow's Infosys, Tata and Reliance.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till Tuesday after the tabling of the Budget.
False and acrimonious debates such as Modi versus Manmohan might allow for victories that are political and partisan. But the real loser is the nation, India and Bharat, notes Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Modi government in its first term.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
As Pranab Mukherjee resigned to contest the Presidential poll, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday took charge of the finance ministry portfolio at a time when the country's economy is going through a bad phase.
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