Dubbing the statements of Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram on the controversial 2G note as "comical", Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said the issue was not one of settling bruised egoes but of fixing responsibility for loss of "lakhs of crores" of revenue in spectrum allocation.
'It is just an excuse to say that the Centre has run out of money.' 'Pruning these schemes would mean hard time for the people of India.'
Can the newly-minted Jal Shakti ministry bring water to some 19 crore Indian households that have never had taps or heard the sound of flowing water, wonders Vinayak Chatterjee.
The Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate have been asked by the government to pull up their socks and expedite disposal of cases related to terror financing in various parts of the country.
Of the total cash outgo Rs 40,000 crore is towards enhanced expenditure under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program and Rs 33,771.48 crore have been sought for direct benefit transfer under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and National Social Assistance Programme.
Many life insurance companies are yet to see a sharp spike in the sale of high-value policies as was widely expected in the aftermath of the government's decision to tax income from insurance policies having an aggregate premium above Rs 5 lakh in a year.
India has evidence that social media platforms are being used to raise terror funds, NIA director general Dinkar Gupta said on Thursday, underlining that the issue will be deliberated during a two-day international ministerial conference on countering terror financing.
Chairing a meeting to review the security situation in LWE-affected states, Shah said the Modi government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance against left wing extremism since 2014.
NITI Aayog had been asking for Rs 7,500 crore for three years to set up an AI framework.
The government has identified nine key focus areas in the AI national programme, including agriculture, education, Indian languages, smart cities, cybersecurity, transportation, and finance.
The the scheme has a subscriber base of 35 million.
With differences between the Union law and finance ministries now over on the thorny issue of auctions for 3G spectrum, it is now for the Department of Telecommunications to decide on the schedule.However, while its top officials met to discuss the next course of action and whether the auctions can be done before this financial year concludes on March 31, it appears DoT still needs time.A Raja, the minister, continued to say he is still waiting for advice.
The tax portal problem is a goof-up by both sides, and making Infosys the only villain in the story is quite unfair, argues Shyamal Majumdar.
Austerity measures announced by the government to rein in the fiscal deficit will not apply on air travel by ministers and senior officers going abroad on official visit.
Also on the anvil is abolition of distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure and replacing it with capital and revenue expenditure
Chaudhary Charan Singh, who on Friday was conferred with India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, is popularly known as a champion of farmers.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to sources close to the development, finance secretary Ashok Chawla, who is driving the process, is working on a concept note to provide the framework for consolidation.
Pranab Mukherjee will begin the fortnight-long pre-budget brainstorming sessions with various stakeholders.
In the Union budget, Rs 65,011.8 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, up from Rs 62,659.12 crore in 2019-20.
The Centre is looking to improve disclosures made by public sector undertakings (PSUs), and has asked such companies to share monthly progress made on capital expenditure targets and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives undertaken by them. New details such as gender-wise reporting of contractual workers, unused land, and profit share in joint venture companies have also been added in the list of disclosures. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which publishes the Public Enterprises Survey and collects information for Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed with PSUs, is looking to integrate data collected from government-owned companies.
The government can also individually exempt the PSBs, that are to be privatisated from the two Bank Nationalisation Acts. This will bring such lenders under Banking Regulation Act, and make them companies, reports Nikunj Ohri.
Tobacco will be subjected to the highest tax slab of 28 per cent and an additional cess. The current rates of taxation on cigarettes and chewing tobacco are about 64 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively.
After reducing duties on petroleum products, the Centre has now asked the states to follow suit.
The final decision on the proposal rests with the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Vodafone is locked in twin tax disputes with the government.
It added that following this, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of Ministry of Defence vide communication dated November 7, 2015, conveyed the policy of OROP for the defence force personnel.
Merely bringing down the government stake below 51% may not find any taker for the PSBs. The government must bring down its holding to at least 26%, recommends Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A reshuffle-cum-expansion of Union Council of Ministers appears to be on the cards after the July 19 Presidential elections.
This will be the first time since the presentation of independent India's first budget on November 26, 1947, that the documents containing income and expenditure statement of the Union government along with finance bill, detailing new tax and other measures for the new financial year, will not be physically printed.
Welcoming Raghuram Rajan panel report which has put Bihar among the least developed states, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday described it as a 'victory' for the state but was non-committal on alliance with the Congress for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The Reserve Bank of India has sought views of the Union ministry of finance in giving permission for a 'Credit Suisse' Swiss Bank to open its first Indian branch in Mumbai.
Post office savings of 1, 2 and 3 year term deposits and 5-year recurring deposit currently fetch 8.4 per cent interest per annum.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
Regulated electronic platforms such as e-spot markets or spot exchanges may be deemed as authorised markets.
National artificial intelligence unit stuck for lack of anchor department
Sebi has proposed waiving off stamp duty on e-issuance of bond to the ministry of finance.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed with him the issue of a finance ministry note on allocation of 2G spectrum which appeared to raise questions on his role.
Restoration of Customs duty on crude oil & rollback of exemptions likely.
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