The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has sent to the Telecom Ministry, a volley of questions including why views of the Finance Ministry, Law Ministry and even the Prime Minister were ignored when taking decisions on allocation of spectrum in 2008.
Sources estimate there could be about 60 applications at the department of industrial policy and promotion for up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment in single-brand retail.
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.
Agarwal's relationship with the finance ministry has been choppy, particularly after P Chidambaram.
The Finance Ministry, for the second time, turned down a proposal of Jaipur IPL Cricket (JIPL), the joint-owners of Rajasthan Royals, to transfer its entire equity abroad in a cashless transaction. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) rejected the JIPL plea on objections from the Sports Ministry, a source said.
AirAsia recently said it would set up a 49:30:21 joint venture with the Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace of Indian investor Arun Bhatia to launch a new Indian airline.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is in continuous talks with network vendors to finalise its 5G rollout plans, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said. "We are in early stages of 5G deployment. "5G is an important development and we are keeping our eyes on it," Moondra said on Wednesday in a post-result analyst call. Already five months behind rivals Jio and Airtel in the 5G race, Vi's efforts will be on the deployment of 5G in target geographies.
The finance ministry is understood to have turned down, for the second time, a proposal of Jaipur IPL Cricket (JIPL), the joint owners of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, to transfer its entire equity abroad in a cashless transaction.
India can become the number one automotive manufacturing hub in the world within five years, but auto companies need to enhance safety features to reduce deaths due to road accidents, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. In his inaugural address at the Auto Expo 2023 here, the minister for road transport and highways asserted that the government's target is to reduce these accidents by 50 per cent before the end of 2024 while asking the auto industry to take suo moto action for road safety as the government doesn't want to make anything mandatory. Gadkari's sentiments were also echoed by Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, who lamented that while India has only 1 per cent of the total overall vehicles, the country accounts for 11 per cent of the total global deaths due to road accidents.
With the setting up of the watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) and introduction of new legislation like the Direct Taxes Code and the Goods & Services Tax scheduled next year, private companies and consultancies are looking at the government pool of civil servants to meet their requirements.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, headed by DEA Secretary Arvind Mayaram, approved the proposal at its meeting in New Delhi.
There is a growing concern that many entities are routing their investments into the country through Mauritius to reap undue tax benefits.
The proposal was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Pranab Mukherjee takes pride in being cautious.
Internet major Google has appointed former joint secretary at Niti Aayog Archana Gulati as head of public policy in India. A Google spokesperson confirmed the appointment. Messages sent to Gulati elicited no immediate reply. Gulati was looking after digital communications policy matters at the government think tank and took voluntary retirement in April last year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the much-awaited 2022-23 Union Budget on February 1. While there has been strong recovery in some sectors, touch services like hospitality, tourism and leisure continue to suffer after two Covid-19 waves. Household savings have been hit due to increased spending on health care. Consumption has still not reached pre-pandemic levels.
Dissatisfied with the reply about non-submission of the controversial March 25 note on 2G spectrum allocation before the panel examining the issue, non-United Progressive Alliance members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Monday asked the finance ministry to provide input documents that helped its compilation.
This is despite expectations of a stormy session, given the unresolved standoff on the Opposition's insistence on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the telecom spectrum controversy.
From the seas to the stars, this partnership will now be deepened by the defining role of technology, the statement said.
A newspaper vendor from Neknoor in Maharashtra tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar what he would like to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget.
The finance minister is ready to present a second financial package. The Centre has ruled out a mega stimulus and will rely on targeted, incremental packages. Industry is clamouring for a bailout, the liquidity upheaval in capital markets is nowhere close to being sorted out, and all budgetary forecasts now stand irrelevant, reports Arup Roychoudhury.
NSE's Ramakrishna and ING Vysya Bank's Bhandari front runners for the post.
A scam had come to light in two lesser-known services-- Railway Board Secretariat Service and Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service -- where promotions were being made allegedly without following due procedures and bypassing Union Cabinet's jurisdiction.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing restrictions in mobility may result in a 75 per cent reduction in the budgetary allocation for foreign travel in FY22, a senior finance ministry official said. The government will cut "frivolous expenditure" when all the activities are going on in the virtual mode, joint secretary in the ministry of finance, Madnesh Kumar Mishra, said in an event organised by XLRI. It can be noted that the budget for the next fiscal is under preparations right now and officials are also having discussions internally and also with external stakeholders for suggestions.
Finance Commission has got new team who are committed to growth initiatives.
The parties have jointly applied to the Delhi high court, requesting that it accept their agreed terms of settlement, subject to such further orders as the court sees fit, it said.
A committee appointed by financial regulators has recommended an overhaul of regulatory norms governing credit rating agencies (CRAs) and sought a host of disclosures from them to make the system more transparent.
The appointment of new expenditure secretary comes a month-and-a-half ahead of the Budget for 2020-21 to be presented on February 1.
In view of popular demand, the government will on Tuesday relaunch saving instrument Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), wherein the invested money will get doubled in 8 years and 4 months.
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.
In a breakthrough that could end the political uncertainty in Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government will consider the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Chemicals and Petrochemicals sector to make India a manufacturing hub for such products. In view of stringent pollution control regulations and rising labour cost, she said, global manufacturers in the chemical industry are looking at diversifying their products and production capability and India stands out as an alternative destination for manufacturing. Besides, India offers a large domestic market, she said while addressing the third edition of the summit on 'Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India'.
The government is examining various amendments to the insurance law, including a special statute for health insurance, aimed at improving the functioning of domestic companies and increasing their penetration.
The government on Wednesday said the ordinance seeking to empower Reserve Bank to cut Statutory Liquidity Ratio below 25 per cent is expected to be brought in by this month-end or early February.
Besides financial stability, the paper will cover the role of committee of financial sector regulators, HLCC, which decides on the issue of coordination among watchdogs like SEBI, the Reserve Bank, PFRDA, IRDA from time to time.
