With the government putting off an increase in diesel prices, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora sought an increase in government subsidy to bail out the three oil marketing companies (OMCs). Deora met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in Mumbai to seek an immediate release of `10,000 crore as interim subsidy to Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
The GoM, which would be headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would suggest a comprehensive policy and institutional mechanisms to tackle paid news, sources said.
Under attack for inability to control surging food prices, especially onions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a letter to state chief ministers asking them to crack down on hoarders to ensure increase in supply of essential items.
He says there are certain aspects, such as export growth, that are impressive.
Draft bill seeks to provide grains to households in both priority and general categories and cooked meals to all others.
Asks India Inc for a list of concerns in 4 weeks, to coordinate policy response within 60 days; FM says prevailing cynicism based on perception, not facts.
The Congress on Monday downplayed reports of a disagreement between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee over Dr Singh's offer to appear before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee over the 2G spectrum issue, saying Mukherjee was only underlining the legal position. "The finance minister has himself clarified his statement. Mukherjee was only underlining the legal position that it was not binding on the PM to appear before the PAC," Cong said.
Factory output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, fell sharply to 1.8 per cent in December 2011, from 8.1 per cent a year ago, mainly on account of contraction in mining, capital goods and poor growth in manufacturing sector.
The fiscal deficit, estimated at 4.6 per cent of the gross domestic product, is expected to be around 5.6 per cent, mainly on account of factors like subdued revenue collection, poor disinvestment receipts, high global commodity prices and increasing subsidy bill.
Inflation has remained stubbornly close to double-digit levels during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
They've proposed a sub-committee under the proposed GST Council or the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers to resolve any disputes in the tax's implementation.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday put the onus on West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to give a reply to Home Minister P Chidambaram's letter which asked the government to disarm CPI-M cadres in the state. "The home minister has written to the state government. He has fulfilled his responsibility. Now the state government should fulfil its responsibility and reply by acknowledging receipt of the letter," he said.
Brushing aside speculations of tension with ally Trinamool Congress, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said the two parties would form an alliance to fight the 2011 Assembly election.
On the eve of the Supreme Court hearing of his petition on age, Army Chief Gen V K Singh on Thursday met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who has been informally acting as a trouble-shooter in the controversy.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday demanded an apology from the Opposition, accusing it of "destroying" Parliament after they rejected his offer of a special session to discuss the Joint Parliamentary Commitee issue on 2G scam.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde, who is probing illegal mining in the state, on Thursday claimed that his phone has been tapped. Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, told PTI that after reports of alleged bugging in the office of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee surfaced, he had asked a professional to carry out a check in his office. "(The professional) told me that my telephone has been tapped. Every conversation was being recorded," he said.
The five-day meeting, whose pre-plenary sessions began today, will provide a platform for high-level discussion and co-operation and would evaluate the progress by APG members in implementing the international standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, a statement said.
The hike in petrol price was necessitated because of increase in prices of crude oil in the international market, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
The Union Budget may be presented around the middle of March in view of the ongoing Assembly elections, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated on Wednesday.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee accused Bharatiya Janata Party of being responsible for the Rajya Sabha's failure to pass the Lokpal Bill by changing its stand within 24 hours.
Expressing concern over rising inflation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said both the government and the central bank are working in tandem to bring it down to a comfortable level.
The government plans to borrow Rs 4.17 lakh crore (Rs 4.17 trillion) from the market. Last year it had borrowed Rs 4.47 lakh crore (Rs 4.47 trillion).
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said Rahul Gandhi could "probably" become the next prime minister.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the ongoing investigation against the owners of Indian Premier League teams.During the briefing, Mukherjee explained to Dr Singh how bids for franchisees were made.Reportedly, Dr Singh and Mukherjee also discussed the names of Nationalist Congress Party leaders Praful Patel and Supriya Sule being drawn into the IPL controversy.
Encouraged by the industrial production growth rate of 10.8 per cent in October, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday sounded confident that the trend would continue and the fiscal would end with double-digit growth rate.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave the Business Today Best CFO in the Public Sector Award to Sarraf, ONGC said.
In the Economic Survey, the government had projected that India's GDP growth would be between 8.75 per cent to 9.25 per cent this fiscal.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn today commended India's role in managing capital inflows, which have already crossed $50 billion this year--about 4 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Industry body Assocham has asked the government to retain both excise duty and service tax at existing rate of 10 per cent in the Budget for 2012-13.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was aware of the contents of the controversial 2G note which was issued as an office memorandum at the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office, a top official told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Thursday.
It is believed that a large majority of them are third country investors which use the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention with Mauritius for saving capital gains tax.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday congratulated French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on her appointment as the new Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Trying to hardsell India, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday assured the United States business community that the country's growth story was intact and it was committed to expediting reforms and further liberalisation of the foreign investment regime.
The launch of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership on Tuesday is significant because the two countries have traditionally been wary of opening up their markets and services to each other.
The reaction from Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia comes a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested LIC Housing Finance CEO Ramachandran Nair and seven other senior bankers on charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Law Minister Veerappa Moily will oversee the smooth transition of power in Andhra Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain on Saturday said the country is not being run by a government, but a private limited company whose basic job is to protect the interests of oil companies and not the common people. He was addressing a news conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. He demanded that the union government must immediately rollback the fuel price hike.
After promising support to the United Progressive Alliance government over the 2G Spectrum controversy, Tirnamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took the Congress by surprise when she joined the Opposition in their demand for a joint parliamentary committee on Monday.
The government on Thursday insisted Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office had not been bugged, claiming the whole thing was "bogus" and the matter should be closed now. "I had myself talked to the finance minister on Wednesday evening on this matter. There is nothing to take forward. The finance minister has categorically and emphatically stated (to the media) that it has been investigated and the answer is there has been no bugging," said Ambika Soni.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday the Intelligence Bureau's 'chewing gum theory' regarding the alleged bugging of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office as 'big joke'. The party has demanded a thorough probe into the matter.