Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla has been appointed as Finance Secretary in the ministry of finance with effect from Tuesday. The post of Finance Secretary fell vacant following retirement of Arun Ramanathan, who was also Secretary of Financial Services.
An IAS officer of 1973 batch of the Gujarat cadre, Chawla also hold additional charge of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Financial Services.
The first indication that the United Progressive Government may opt to hold the General Election before schedule came on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Ashok Chawla s secretary, economic affairs instead of picking up a full-fledged finance secretary.
A decision to this effect has been taken after Arun Ramanathan retired as finance secretary on Thursday. Currently, Chawla is the senior-most official in the finance ministry. In addition, G C Chaturvedi, currently serving as additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, has been appointed as additional secretary in-charge of the financial services department.
The move comes after CBI gets sanction to prosecute him in Aircel-Maxis case
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
The committee on allocation of natural resources said in its draft report said, "In the ideal scenario, a gas pooling arrangement, with a view to mitigate price volatility is not recommended".
As many as 230 persons, including ex-Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, former Corporate Affairs Secretary R Bandyopadhyay and other senior bureaucrats and eminent economists have lined up for the two high profile jobs at the country's anti-monopoly watchdog, Competition Commission of India (CCI).
A day before taking charge, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday met senior officials of the ministry to discuss issues related to the economy.
With barely a month to go for Budget 2011-12, the government on Thursday appointed Sushma Nath as the new Finance Secretary and gave her an extension for two months till May 31 this year.
R Gopalan has been appointed as Secretary Economic Affairs. He will hold this position, in addition to his current charge as Secretary Financial Services.
Securities Exchange Board of India chairman C B Bhave, and Insurance Regulatory Authority of India chief J Harinarayan had separate meetings with finance secretary Ashok Chawla on Monday over the ongoing tussle between the two regulators over equity-linked insurance schemes.
The manufacturing output, which constitutes around 80 per cent of the index of industrial production, grew 12.3 per cent in May against 1.8 per cent in same month last year, official data released on Monday said.
"As far as India is concerned, the impact on us will be minimal. In fact, in the short run -- that is, purely in the short run -- it might help us in terms of India being regarded as a relatively safer haven," Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of a Assocham function in New Delhi.
Ashok Chawla outlined the key thrust areas of Budget 2011.
The reserve price is Rs 1,750 crore for a pan-India BWA spectrum licence.
In what would augur well for the industry facing slowdown, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday expressed hope that banks will bring down their lending rates.
Amid tensions over denial of visa to a top Indian Army General by China, India and China are set to hold two-day high level annual dialogue here on a host of bilateral and global financial issues from September 1.
If India takes part in $500-billion resource raising programme of International Monetary Fund, as decided at the G-20 summit in London last week, it will cost the country up to $11 billion (Rs 55,000 crore).
Work on modernising, expanding and renovating the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport will be taken up from January next year, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Friday.
It is believed that the commission in its report has suggested higher allocation to the states during five years starting from next fiscal.
The Finance Ministry on Monday initiated an e-Office programme directed towards a paperless office by enabling access to internal information for its employees through any computer.
Labour secretary dismisses finance secretary's doubts, says there is enough in the account to pay 9.5%.
The Finance Ministry on Wednesday hinted that stimulus packages given to the industry may be rolled back, saying too much stimulus could be injurious when the economy is on a revival mode.
Airlines in India have suffered a staggering loss of Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) in 2007-08, and it could double in the current fiscal depending on which way fuel prices are headed, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said.
A high level search panel, headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, has been constituted by the government for the purpose, though it is said that Bhave himself could apply for the fresh term after his three-year stint ends in February 2011.
Amid reports that it may not want market regulator SEBI Chairman C B Bhave to continue beyond February next, government has kicked off a search process for the next incumbent.
The government has cleared 19 foreign direct investment projects worth Rs 4,340 crore, including that of Tata Steel and Future Ventures.
In the wake of repeated faults in planes carrying Haj pilgrims from Srinagar, the Union home ministry on Monday summoned civil aviation officials following a strong protest by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
This was decided after Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the private consortium developing the greenfield airport, rejected the civil aviation ministry's proposal of keeping both the airports operational. The Karnataka high court had recently advised the government to reconsider the concession agreement with the private developers, which says that the existing airport in Bangalore should be shut down after the new one starts functioning.
Food inflation has touched a 10-year-high of 19.95 per cent and the inflation rate based on the Wholesale Price Index, which was estimated at 4.78 per cent, is expected to cross 6 per cent by the end of the month.
Capital inflows have reached record levels as investors borrow cheap from advanced countries and invest in high-yielding assets in developing countries.
He said the new short-term treasury bills will be part of the government's same borrowing programme. To meet its burgeoning expenditure, necessitated by the slowing down economy, the government has pegged its market borrowing at over Rs 4.5 lakh crore (Rs 4.5 trillion) for the current fiscal, bulk of which is being raised in the first half.
The government will retain 51 per cent stake in all public sector units, finance secretary Ashok Chawla said. The government has proposed to mop up Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) this fiscal from divestment of stake in PSUs.
The Union finance ministry is in favour of increasing non-promoter shareholding in listed companies to 25 per cent of the equity base in a phased manner, so that the number of shares available for trading increases, said Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla.
The wholesale price inflation rose to 8.62 per cent in September from 8.51 per cent in the previous month.
India and China on Thursday held high- level comprehensive dialogue on a host of financial issues to identify areas of convergence to step up their cooperation in the international and bilateral economic spheres.
Ahead of the G-20 Summit, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will lead a delegation to a preparatory meet on March 11 in London where deliberations on issues like liquidity crunch and reforms in international financial institutions are likely be taken up.
Just five days after mandating all listed companies to have a minimum 25 per cent public float, the government said on Wednesday indicated it was open to a review of the new rules. "If there is need for any modification, correction, amendment, or may be amplification, it will be done," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of a function by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
"We are not looking at increasing FII (investment) limit in government securities," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters. Earlier in June, the government raised the FII investment limit in government securities to $5 billion from $3.2 billion.
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