'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
The direction to the labour ministry was given after the prime minister met a workers' delegation led by G Sanjeeva Reddy of Indian National Trade Union Congress.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 17 had announced that State Bank of India (SBI) would extend a term loan of $1 billion to Sri Lanka, fully guaranteed by the Indian government, and this was part of India's financial aid to the troubled island nation. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was quoted saying by news agency PTI that the loan would be used for importing food, medicines, and other essential items. "India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and we will continue to extend all possible support at this juncture.
Shalini Gupta, a freelance writer from Pudicherry, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar what she would like to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget.
After keeping the appointments of some of the senior level officers on special duty/private secretary on hold for months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally cleared some of them.
While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is aiming for a return to the path of fiscal prudence, various departments of the central government appear to be out of sync.
Dissenting states including Chhattisgarh and Kerala, have made it clear they are in no mood to relent. They want the Centre to borrow the entire Rs 2.35 trillion this fiscal citing bleak fiscal position.
The opposition parties will meet on Monday morning to evolve their strategy in both Houses of Parliament after protests by them on the Hindenburg-Adani issue overshadowed most of the first half of the Budget session.
With the fall of Congress, Chidambaram's political graph too started moving southwards.
Last year, Sitharaman had ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a 'bahi-khata'.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Union civil aviation ministry would take up the issue with the finance ministry, Patel said, expressing the hope that the latter would respond favourably to the civil aviation ministry's representation.
Sitharaman, who became the first full-time woman defence minister in the first tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government -- will also head the Corporate Affairs ministry in the new cabinet.
Seven electric two-wheeler companies have suffered a cumulative loss of over Rs 9,000 crore on account of unpaid dues and loss of market after their subsidies were stopped last year, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said on Wednesday. These companies have also been directed by the govt to refund the subsidies availed by them. The audit by SMEV's chartered accountants indicates the total, cumulative damages to affected companies could account for over Rs 9,000 crore on a conservative basis, it noted.
Later, Sitharaman's office clarified that the FM had already met the industrialists, experts, and economists during the pre-budget consultations.
It further said that the loan application form should be suitably modified to incorporate passport details of borrowers.
7 states account for over 80 per cent of the total direct tax collections by the Union government.
This is the fourth such recruitment drive proposed to be undertaken by the Narendra Modi government which had in 2018 initiated lateral entry.
Only three or four tonnes is estimated to have been mobilised under the scheme.
The EPFO, which has 50 million subscribers, provides annual interest of 8.75 per cent on provident fund deposits.
The two major railway unions have proposed to the government an unprecedented alternative to privatisation or inviting foreign investment, to help raise funds and improve revenue.
With Raghuram Rajan not 'really there', the FinMin has decided to keep a watch on market developments this week with all key officials on the job.
Anticipating a sudden and huge crowd in bank branches following the announcement of various measures by the government on Friday, the AIBEA said since the number of employees in bank branches are very few, the crowds can pose a big risk for the bank staff as well as for the customers who might be visiting in large numbers.
Rather than talking endlessly about lost and marginal opportunities, India's climate envoys need to start thinking bigger, says Mihir S Sharma.
India plans to phase in cash transfers of food and kerosene subsidies from September, saving 10-15 per cent of the $21 billion in annual outlays on the benefits by eliminating fraud, a senior finance ministry official said on Thursday.
Many PSU banks had recently cut interest rate on loans for two-wheelers and consumer durables.
The Finance Ministry has been pitching for EPFO funds to be invested in the equity markets to maximise their yields.
The Lower House of Parliament took up the Demands for Grants and Appropriation Bills after two adjournments as the ruling and Opposition MPs engaged in a matching duet over demands for an apology by Rahul Gandhi and the Adani issue.
When Nirmala Sitharaman announced her new privatisation policy, there were serious doubts if the move had the BJP's full political backing. All those doubts were dispelled when her initiatives were endorsed by Modi in Parliament, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Suresh said the ministry had received several representations from the EPF pensioners Association, pointing to the meagre pension amount, which in some cases was about Rs 50 to Rs 300.
Accordingly, West Bengal can borrow Rs 20,362 crore, Maharashtra (Rs 46,182 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 29,108 crore), Karnataka (Rs 27,054 crore), Gujarat (Rs 26,112 crore) and Rajasthan (Rs 16,387 crore).
In 2009, FinMin proposed to move regulators' reserves into public account. These accounts were finally opened in 2013-14. However, no funds have been deposited in it so far.
However, independent economists are not as gung-ho as the finance ministry over the likelihood of deficit target being met this time around, says Indivjal Dhasmana.
With an aim to safeguard the investors from possible frauds involving collective investment schemes, the government has proposed a high-level committee of members from Reserve Bank, Sebi, Corporate Affairs Ministry and Economic Office Wing of state police departments.
The largest challenge for the gigantic exercise between the Centre and the 29 states was to keep the latter interested over the years.
The Ministry of Finance may seek the Union Cabinet's approval for the proposed 10 per cent stake sale in state-owned Coal India Ltd by the end of this month, a senior Coal Ministry official said
Issuance of new bank licences proves that the apex bank wants the financial sector to flourish.
In the June quarter of FY24, 51 per cent of consumers who took small-ticket personal loans already had more than four credit products at the time of accessing yet another new loan, compared with just 17 per cent in the June quarter of FY20, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The finance minister may stagger some of the recommendations.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and other finance ministry officials have reached the last leg of pre-Budget consultations.
