Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill; Will introduce a white paper on black money in current session: FM
Admitting that the benefits of high growth have not reached a large section of the country, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said inclusive growth cannot be achieved without removing corruption.
Moving the Finance Bill, 2012 for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, Mukherjee halved the capital gains tax for private equity investors to 10 per cent and relaxed the norms for arrest of persons involved in violation of Customs Act.
Amid vociferous protests by the Opposition on the plight of farmers due to lack of storage for record production of foodgrains, government on Monday admitted a mismatch between procurement and storage and said efforts were on to ease pressure on godowns by encouraging exports and providing foodgrain to MNREGA workers as part of wages.
The minister blamed ground realities like lack of majority of ruling party toward the failure of finally signing the Teesta water sharing deal.
Clarity on GAAR, IIP data & rupee movement to guide investors.
Offering "huge scope" for foreign investments, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said India needs about $1 trillion in next five years for infrastructure development, half of which has to come from the private sector.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday dismissed as speculation reports that he has emerged as a front runner in the race for presidential election.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist asked the Congress to take the initiative in building a consensus on the candidate for the presidential election though it indicated it was not averse to supporting either Vice President Hamid Ansari or Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the post.
According to sources, the task force made a separate presentation on fertiliser, LPG and kerosene, covering issues like existing subsidy regime and the proposed new model.
Giving a new turn to the Presidential race, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday ruled out supporting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari or any other candidate who may be put up by the Congress but is open to supporting anyone chosen by the non-Congress parties.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said he was confident of the DTC being recommended by the standing committee in the coming (winter) Parliament session.
Haryana Janhit Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi won the Hisar by-poll by defeating nearest rival Ajay Chautala of Indian National Lok Dal by 23,617 votes.
Government on Tuesday dismissed reports that four Union ministers had offered to quit their posts and work for the party, saying all Congress leaders are working for the party whether they are a part of the dispensation or the organisation.
Nothwithstanding his chief economic adviser's contention that there would be no reforms till elections in 2014, Pranab says there is no lack of appetite for reforms and that an electorate's support or lack of it can be gauged only in the national polls.
The meeting, on the sidelines of the Annual Spring session of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, will happen within a couple days of about a dozen US industry associations writing to the US Treasury Secretary to take up the controversial move by India to amend the Income Tax Act with retrospective effect.
The weather in Washington is balmy, but Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the US to attend a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, would feel a distinct chill as he readies to meet corporate America.
At the IMF, India is expected to link announcement of additional resources to the IMF to the implementation of 2012 quota reform.
On Saturday, Telangana was the buzzword in New Delhi with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Governor ESL Narasimhan flocking to the capital. But after a series of meetings held with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidamabram, a conclusive decision still eludes the issue.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday elicited the views of their junior cabinet colleagues and Congress leaders from Andhra Pradesh on the Telangana statehood demand, which has virtually divided the party on regional lines.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh summoned Governor of Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan to New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the political situation in Andhra Pradesh, including the ongoing agitation on Telangana.
Amid pressure from various quarters for an early decision on the creation of a separate state of Telangana, the government on Saturday said more consultations with various parties are needed on the contentious statehood demand and the exercise would take "some time" to end. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel discussed the situation in Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
He said assessees' "comfort zones" have to be significantly enhanced, even as deliberate evaders and offenders are punished.
While some have praised the Budget, others have expressed their displeasure.
Current President Robert Zoellick, who took office in July 2007, is schedule to retire in June.
Amid recessionary fears in advanced economies, India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has called for channelising global surpluses to build infrastructure in developing nations to boost world economy.
G-24 grouping comprises 24 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
"Yes, if the crisis deepens further and there is greater volatility in financial flows, there is an increased risk of this (currency war) happening," Mukherjee said in response to a question.
Diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday tore into United Progressive Alliance's handling of Anna Movement, which he said was a "Frankenstein monster" created by the central government itself.
As India's investment rate is estimated to decline this financial year, industry chamber CII has asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to give a boost to investments in the forthcoming Budget, but economists believe a rollback of stimulus may continue.
Setting at rest the uncertainty about overseas investments, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said that persons investing in stock markets through participatory notes (P-Notes) will not have to pay taxes in India.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee cited a statement by former Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2011, alleging that the Centre had deviated from its own statement.
High food prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty since June.
Proposed scheme will not provide immunity to tax defaulters.
Should you be popping the champagne or perhaps sulking around? Salil Dhawan decodes the budget and tells what it has in store for people like us.
Budget silent on issue, major decisions unlikely before 2014 election.
The US corporate world wanted India to address issues relating to foreign investment in infrastructure and insurance sectors.
The government's plans to reign in petroleum subsidies to plug the fiscal deficit next financial year are in jeopardy, as a whopping Rs 2.13 lakh-crore revenue loss is expected at the current levels of global crude oil prices and domestic retail prices of controlled products.
The Opposition parties on Friday slammed the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as "anti-people", "lacklustre" and one that would increase the financial burden on the common man.
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