The Empowered Committee of state finance ministers is meeting under the chairmanship of West Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta to work out agreements on various aspects of the GST.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday, kick-starting his four-day visit to China, during which the boundary row and irritants surrounding it are expected to dominate his talks with the leadership in Beijing.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said treaties had been signed with a total 37 countries to know the details of money stashed abroad by Indians.
As Anna Hazare's fast entered the 12th day, Pranab Mukherjee said the situation was "moving out of hand" and "a crisis" had been created even as he asked lawmakers to "seize the moment and demonstrate the commitment" in dealing with corruption which is "gnawing at the vitals of our polity".
'We think we can do anything and everything when we have an overwhelming majority in the legislature. But that should not be the case'
Accusing the Opposition of not allowing the government to put forth its views in Parliament on Anna Hazare's detention, two senior ministers on Tuesday said such an attitude was "not fair" in a parliamentary system. Leader of the Lok Sabha and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the Opposition created a pandemonium in Parliament forcing its adjournment.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday put the onus on West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to give a reply to Home Minister P Chidambaram's letter which asked the government to disarm CPI-M cadres in the state. "The home minister has written to the state government. He has fulfilled his responsibility. Now the state government should fulfil its responsibility and reply by acknowledging receipt of the letter," he said.
'I think we will be able able to inspire confidence in the minds of prospective investors,' says Mukherjee.
Some tax reliefs are proposed to be announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday, amid demands from various Opposition parties to review service tax proposal for the housing sector in the budget.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee accused Bharatiya Janata Party of being responsible for the Rajya Sabha's failure to pass the Lokpal Bill by changing its stand within 24 hours.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the Indo-US nuclear deal and raised the issues of delay in the delivery of Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee late on Wednesday night rebutted the charges by Team Anna that he had told them the Gandhian's health was not government's concern, saying the remarks were "distorted."
The dialogue is intended to enhance all-round cooperation and contribute to greater regional peace and stability.
Their parleys, which staved off a breakdown between the Left and the ruling coalition for the time being, followed a series of meetings between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top leaders of the party till late Thursday night.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
India's macroeconomic authorities must focus on fiscal stabilisation and Mukherjee has to provide the leadership as finance minister.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday left for Mauritius on a three-day visit during which he will be the chief guest at the national day celebrations of that country.
The essential dispute is over China's refusal to acknowledge the McMohan Line as the border between the two nations, and staking claim to large tracts of land as a contiguous part of Tibet.
As India continues to push Pakistan to eliminate terrorism, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said he believes President Asif Ali Zardari is sincere about ending the menace, but underlined that his desire should be backed by actions. "I believe he (Zardari) has the desire to fight against terrorism," he said in an interview to a TV channel while describing the Pakistan President as a 'nice man and a gentleman'.
Battling damaging allegations of sexual assault, Strauss-Kahn tendered his resignation from the top post of the IMF on Wednesday, while maintaining that he was innocent.
Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday accused the Congress of "lowering the dignity" of the President's office by making Pranab Mukherjee the United Progressive Alliance's nominee for the top constitutional post.
"There is a need to sustain foreign trade, revive foreign investments and generate domestic demand in order to maintain our growth rates," said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also holding the finance portfolio. Boosting the economy was also necessary to "uplift multitudes living below the poverty line." Noting that India cannot remain immune to global crisis, he said, "India faces special challenges from the international financial crisis."
Refuting charges that India did not hand over all documents on the Mumbai terror attacks to Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that entire documents on the matter had been passed on to the neighbouring country."It is a false allegation that we did not hand over all documents pertaining to the attack on India's financial hub... we have given entire documents on the matter to Pakistan," Mukherjee told reporters.
Mukherjee said Fernandes approved the visits, which the commission claimed was for inspecting weapons systems under probe, on December 22, 2003, when it was inquiring into 14 major defence deals.
Amid the raging controversy over the note on P Chidambaram vis-a-vis 2G spectrum auction, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York on Sunday to sort out the issue.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will soon have to decide whether to stick by his predecessor's choice of former Reserve Bank governor Y V Reddy for chairmanship of the 14th Finance Commission, to be set up next month.
The affidavit did not even refer to or mention any person. Therefore, the inference which is sought to be drawn that a clean chit has been given to Fernandes is unjustified and totally unwarranted, he said.
Grappling with a high rate of price rise, the government on Tuesday expressed concern that increasing prices of crude and other commodities in global markets could add to inflationary pressure in the country.
Food inflation numbers have moderated every week since early November when it stood at double-digit.
Venu Rajamony, a career diplomat, has been appointed as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.
Venu Rajamony, a career diplomat, has been appointed as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.
PM taken out of ICU, likely to attend the last day of the Parliament session.
President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver his maiden address to the nation on Tuesday on the eve of 66th Independence Day.
Speaking about the challenges and the opportunities of development in a globalised era, Mukherjee said, sustaining high growth over an extended period has become more complex.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in New York and reviewed bilateral relations across "a gamut of items of cooperation." "It was a "good meeting," Rice said.
India-China ties have developed rapidly and the exchanges of high-level visits have forcefully promoted bilateral ties and cooperation for mutual benefit, said Pranab Mukherjee. He met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi over the weekend in New York.
Bhartiya Janata Party general secretary Anant Kumar and Janata Party chief Dr Subramanian Swamy will meet the Election Commission to complain about the Rajya Sabha secretary general for rejecting their demand that United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee should be disqualified, as he was the chairman of the Indian statistical Institute Kolkata when he filed his nomination paper for the Presidential election.
President Pranab Mukherjee has cut short his scheduled visit to Bihar by a day, possibly because it was clashing with a rally of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Patna.
