Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge made remarks on the manner in which political parties select women candidates from weaker sections and raised the issue of 'delayed' GST payments to non-Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states.
The finance ministry has set up two committees of state finance ministers which would rework rate slabs, review GST exempt items and identify potential evasion sources. Four years after the roll out of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST), which replaced the complex indirect tax structure, the centre and states have started work on moving towards a "simpler rate structure in GST" by reviewing the current rate slabs, including special rates and merger of rate slabs. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation would also review items under inverted duty structure to help minimise refund payout, and review the supply of goods and services exempt under GST with an objective to expand the tax base and eliminate breaking of input tax credit (ITC) chain.
Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said on Tuesday that the Central Board of Trustees would be meeting on May 31 at New Delhi for reviewing the interest rate of employees provident fund.
He underwent a renal transplant on May 14 and on the same day, his ministerial charges were given to Piyush Goyal on an interim basis.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Union Minister Anurag Thakur's incendiary slogan.
Structural changes to government finances could be focus of the Union Budget, says Mihir S Sharma.
The new scheme may be announced before the Lok Sabha elections.
If things go according to the plans of the Indian government, Mumbai may rob Belgium's Antwerp, currently the world's top diamond destination, of its priced position.
Now that the economy is growing at a higher-than-expected rate, it is time to accelerate the pace of fiscal consolidation, and the Budget could be a good starting point, argues Rajesh Kumar.
'Somebody was using somebody to make statements that will stir the stock market and lead to a surge.' 'A sudden surge and a sudden crash is always an ideal situation for people to make illicit gains and then siphoning off the money.'
This followed a notification from the Union Finance Ministry asking it to "investigate, countrywide, the entire episode of mass circulation of fake revenue stamps."
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
As the government is busy preparing Budget, the Army on Thursday sought more funds for the force, saying this would help in its modernisation process.
Income Tax sleuths are looking forward to be trained in the ways of intelligence gathering similar to RAW and IB personnel as they feel the present techniques employed by them are 'ad hoc'.
After securing Congress support for a rise in the foreign investment cap in the insurance Bill, this is another key reform Bill where the Centre has managed a broad consensus.
'Chidambaram, lots of people argue not without justification, is all about bluff and bluster without any concrete achievement on the ground. His record in the finance ministry fully endorses that view,' argues Virendra Kapoor.
Welcoming the move, the Capstocks MD V Rajendran said the move would prove beneficial for the bourses in the long term, and will aid the economy to ensure a steady flow of funds into the stock markets.
Likely to be merged with Union Budget from FY18
The finance ministry will kick-start the exercise to prepare the Union Budget for financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from October 12, according to an official notification released on Monday. "The pre-Budget meetings as well as the meetings to discuss the revised estimates will start from October 12 and will continue till the second week of November," according to the Budget circular of the Department of Economic Affairs' Budget Division. The Union Budget is expected to be announced on February 1, as has been the practice of the past few years.
Of the cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is for enhanced expenditure on fertiliser subsidy under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for the capital outlay in defence services.
If things go according to the plans of the Indian government, Belgium's Antwerp, the diamond destination of the world, may be robbed of its priced position by Mumbai soon.
Sitharaman exhorted the states to work together with the Centre, stating that while the Union government sets the direction of economic growth, it is for the states to ensure effective implementation on the ground.
As around 5,000 nurses went on strike from the afternoon hampering patient care services at the premier hospital, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria in a video message termed the strike in the time of pandemic as "inappropriate and unfortunate".
The government's Covid vaccination programme is in its final leg with the health ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 per cent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the finance ministry.
'The pace of disbursement and project recommendation picks up as the tenure of the House draws near and usually all amount is released.'
The government is targeting export of goods and services worth $2 trillion by 2030.
The income tax department on Wednesday conducted raids in multiple states as part of a pan-India tax evasion probe against certain registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) and their alleged dubious financial transactions, official sources said.
'The first duty of the government is to learn lessons from a bad experience and course correct. It's a pity that the government is making policy without looking at evidence and differentiating between immediate and urgent.'
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first and only women till now to have presented the Union Budget.
The government on Wednesday issued special 6-year bonds worth Rs 328 crore (Rs 3.28 billion) for meeting Unit Trust of India's shortfall in assured return scheme.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
The agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spelled out water, its management, clean rivers as one of the 10 points of vision for the next decade.
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