In the first seven months of 2011-12, the Centre's fiscal deficit has crossed 74 per cent of the year's target. Inflation has been over 9 per cent for a year, despite food inflation falling considerably.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday called for close cooperation between India and Bangladesh for building mutual trust to combat the threat of terrorism.
Rejecting opposition demands, government on Wednesday refused to make public information received from foreign countries with regard to Indian account holders but expressed readiness to issue an elaborate document on the problem.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday received the first foreign leader after assuming office in July -- Fiji's Head of State Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. Mukherjee told Nailatikau there was need for an expansion of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday demanded an apology from the Opposition, accusing it of "destroying" Parliament after they rejected his offer of a special session to discuss the Joint Parliamentary Commitee issue on 2G scam.
Mukherjee, who was in South Korea for a three-day official visit, came to the Korean Demilitarised Zone for a brief time.
In an affront to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has refused to relieve an Indian Administrative Service officer he wanted as his private secretary in what appears to be fast soiling relations between the two since differences cropped up over Teesta river deal with Bangladesh.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said Rahul Gandhi could "probably" become the next prime minister.
Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Abhijit Mukherjee, son of President-elect Pranab Mukherjee, on Tuesday expressed his desire to contest from Jangipur lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district which was represented by his father.
Communist Party of India Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in an effort to break the logjam over the India-United States nuclear agreement.Karat went to Mukherjee's residence early in the morning to hold discussions on the issue that has created a stand-off between the government and the Left allies.The meeting assumes significance as it comes hours ahead of the crucial UPA-Left committee meeting.
He says current arrangement is working fine.
Railways were now less dependent on budgetary support than five years earlier due to the efforts of Lalu Prasad in making the sector financially self-reliant, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.
Hours before being sworn in as India's 13th President, Pranab Mukherjee appeared relaxed and in high spirits.
Even before P A Sangma filed an election petition in the Supreme Court challenging Pranab Mukherjee's election as President, Mukherjee filed a caveat on Tuesday seeking a copy of the petition against him.
United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Monday met ruling Congress MPs, MLAs and MLCs as part of his campaign for the July 19 Presidential election.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the demand for smaller states does not mean that new states would be created everywhere.
Expressing concern over rising inflation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said both the government and the central bank are working in tandem to bring it down to a comfortable level.
Rejecting the 'protectionist policies' of the US, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday free flow of goods, services and capital would ease the global financial crisis.
In a stern warning to Pakistan, India on Wednesday said it was 'determined to take strongest' possible steps to ensure that there is no repetition of incidents like the Mumbai terror attacks.
Congress sources have told rediff.com that Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram or External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will replace Shivraj Patil, who resigned on Sunday, as home minister. The announcement is likely to be made in the next couple of hours after the all-party meeting called to discuss the Mumbai terror attacks.
Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the election of Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee as the President of India.
Amid divergent views within the Congress on tackling Maoists, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that Naxals are political elements out to capture power and the issue of development was "more imaginary than actual".
The RBI on Thursday hiked key policy rates for the 10th time since March, 2010, in a bid to tame inflation, which crossed the 9 per cent mark in May.
The issue of terrorism and security for travellers between the two countries is believed to have dominated the agenda of the meeting.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday arrived in Dhaka on a two-day tour to join the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of poet Rabindranath Tagore.
A homemade crude bomb of low intensity was hurled today outside the Sonargaon Pan-Pacific hotel in Dhaka where President Pranab Mukherjee is staying. No one was injured in the blast which took place around 2 pm., said Apoorva Hassan, the officer in-charge of Tejgaon police station.
Bangladesh on Sunday rolled out the red carpet for President Pranab Mukherjee who arrived in Dhaka on a three-day state visit to boost bilateral ties amidst a general strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami to protest conviction of its three top leaders for the 1971 war crimes.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday underlined the need for India and Bangladesh to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation, warning that insurgents have the 'potential' to affect the bilateral ties.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday assured Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that land acquisition issues for the proposed Tata Steel plant in the neighbouring country would soon be resolved.
Supporting Reserve Bank's hawkish stance on monetary policy, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the increase in the key rates was necessary to contain inflation.
"To achieve 9 per cent growth (it) will require little longer time", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, participating in a function organised by a private TV channel. Mukherjee said this fiscal 'we will have six per cent plus growth.'
UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee's camp on Saturday hit back at opposition-backed candidate P A Sangma for raking up fresh allegations against his candidature saying the campaign was being "vitiated".
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that inflation will start easing soon as the government's efforts to remove supply-side bottlenecks have started yielding results.
Mukherjee has always been obliging to mediapersons waiting for comments outside his North Block office on various issues plaguing the economy and sometimes on politics.
Making a passionate plea to lawmakers to avoid disruption of Parliament and state assemblies, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday called for "collective thinking" by political parties on the issue. He also asked them to ponder whether there was any need to amend existing rules to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
Critics call fiscal deficit projections ambitious; government to meet Opposition, chief ministers to discuss issues after Budget session
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Communist Party of India - Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday to discuss the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement. Mukherjee asked the Left Front to allow the United Progressive Alliance government to go ahead with the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Before leaving to tender his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mukherjee said, " I stand ready to embark on a new journey".
Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury created flutters on Thursday when she talked of how valuable Pranab Mukherjee is to the government but the party stepped in immediately to clear the air saying the finance minister is not ruled out from the Presidential race.
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