The Bills pertaining to the introduction of a new law and amendment to the Constitution will not be tabled in the coming Budget session of Parliament. finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and state finance ministers will meet in April to decide a new date for the GST rollout.
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.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has more or less finalised the plan to tweak the Union Cabinet before Parliament opens on August 8. Three ministers will be shifted to the new portfolios. Home Minister P Chidambaram, as expected, will become the finance minister. He succeeds Pranab Mukherjee who has become President of India. He is impatiently waiting for the announcement to be made within 'three to four days'. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The main Opposition party suggested that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were not on the same page with regard to the retrospective amendment to tax laws against the backdrop of Vodafone case, leading to the current precarious situation.
CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat felt the government's Budget did very little for the common man and only catered to certain sections of the country.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said this while presenting the Union Budget in the Parliament on Friday.
Intensifying its attack on BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, the Congress on Friday demanded a thorough probe into his "interest" in the Maharashtra irrigation project for which he had sought early release of funds. Stating that Gadkari had written a letter even to the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for release of money for the controversial Gosikhurd project, the ruling party warned the BJP that it will "dig its own grave" if he continued at its helm
The Individual tax payer exemption limit to be raised to Rs 200,000 from Rs 180,000.
Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has not resigned, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Thursday
As major ally Trinamool Congress tabled an embarrassing amendment to President's address, Congress on Tuesday night warned allies that such steps could threaten the stability of the government.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday announced a slew of concessions, including a 1 per cent interest subsidy for lower and middle income housing loans, and exempted road repair and maintenance services from the ambit of service tax.
In April, S&P had lowered India's rating outlook to negative from stable
The Cabinet had had approved promulgation of the Ordinance on Insurance Bill and re-promulgation of the Coal Ordinance on Wednesday, a day after the conclusion of the Winter session of Parliament.
Pranab Mukherjee appears set to be the next President with his candidature announced on Friday by the ruling UPA and endorsed swiftly by supporting parties Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party amid indications that he will gather more support ahead.
Ending months of speculation, the ruling coalition met on Friday evening at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh where its Chairperson Sonia Gandhi put forward the name of the 77-year-old veteran Congressman from West Bengal as its candidate, which was unanimously approved by the leaders of the constituent parties
Ending days of suspense, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday made it clear that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was her first choice for Presidentship and Vice President Hamid Ansari was also in the reckoning.
Vikas Khemani, President & Head-Institutional Equities, Edelweiss Securities, feels Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee could really make Union Budget 2012-13 an important one.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night for consultations with United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday on the issue of the Presidential poll nominee of the UPA, amid intense speculation on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the post.
The USA-India Chamber of Commerce has said the annual budget presented by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is a massive piece of fiscal stimulus which would spur growth and employment in the country.
Association points out that over 40 clearances from various agencies are required for real estate projects.
The move to extend the income tax benefits enjoyed by units covered by the Software Technology Parks of India Act and those set up in export oriented units by another year -- up to March 31, 2011 will benefit around 6,000 STPI units and 2,486 EoUs. In its budget-related wish list, the commerce ministry had recommended a three-year extension of the scheme, while the industry has been asking for five.
In a strongly-worded letter to Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, eminent lawyer and MP Ram Jethmalani has alleged party leaders are "silent against the huge corruption" in United Progressive Alliance-II government and are instead engaged in infighting.
Days after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses for 2G spectrum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday held consultations with senior Cabinet colleagues on its impact on the telecom sector and the way forward. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Paranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Law Minister Salman Khurshid.
A look at the key members who make the country's biggest fiscal package.
The Union finance ministry is considering an increase in the central excise duty for some of the products that had benefited from the two rounds of reductions announced by the government as part of its fiscal stimulus measures last year.
With the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam indicating their preference for P A Sangma as presidential candidate, the Nationalist Congress Party leader on Thursday thanked them saying they have been responsive to the aspirations of tribals and appealed to other parties to support a candidate from the community.
Amid rupee's free fall and slowdown in western markets, the government is likely to announce incentives in the foreign trade policy (FTP), scheduled for June 5, to boost exports.
However, so far only 16 states have amended their Acts based on the model provided by the centre.
The issue of controversial cartoons in textbooks generated heat in the Lok Sabha with members demanding immediate action in the matter saying the sketch has hurt sentiments of a section of the society.
The first Unique Identification Card to citizens will roll out in 12-18 months.
Backing for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee got further boost with United Progressive Alliance constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam endorsing his name for the post of President over which the Congress hopes to build a consensus across the political spectrum.
While Lalu's chances of retaining Cabinet berth seems remote, experts believe there may not be too many new faces as far as important ministries are concerned.
The speed at which political statements of doubtful veracity acquire the aura of gospel truth is astonishing. One such "truth" is: coalition compulsions impede economic reforms. Even Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu believes in it. He recently said, "Thanks to coalitional democracy, there is some slowdown in economic reforms and decision-making."
A day after they placed their demands before Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, including restructuring of the 'massive debt burden' faced by the state, a delegation of Trinamool MPs met the Prime Minister to raise the issue.