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.
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.
Reverting to high growth, managing inflation and insulating India from adverse global economic situation are the major challenges before the country, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.
Contending that economic growth has been high during United Progressive Alliance rule, he admitted that gross domestic product of 7 per cent was 'not adequate' but refused to accept the opposition contention that it was all time low.
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.
Strongly defending its decision to allow FDI in retail, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday told Congress Members of Parliament that the government was "compelled" to suspend the move to avoid "pre-mature elections". Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party, Mukherjee also apologised to members who had supported the government in allowing FDI in retail but said going ahead with the decision could have created a "crisis" for the government.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday dismissed as speculation reports that he has emerged as a front runner in the race for presidential election.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday discussed with his senior Cabinet colleagues the Mullaperiyar dam issue over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been at loggerheads.
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.
Stepping back to break the logjam in Parliament, the government on Wednesday put the controversial decision on foreign direct investment in retail on the backburner till a consensus is evolved, a proposal the entire opposition and the dissenting allies accepted without reservation.
India's infrastructure financing requirements and the new manufacturing policy being finalised will open up $1 trillion opportunities for global investors over the next five years.
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.
The controversy over allowing FDI in retail rocked Parliament for the third day on Tuesday with a united opposition forcing adjournment of both the Houses till noon. Shortly after the Lok Sabha met for the day, members rushed to the Well, demanding rollback of the decision to allow FDI in the retail sector. Members of Trinamool Congress, a key partner of the United Progressive Alliance, kept shouting 'Cancel FDI in retail'.
After conducting a few pilot studies, the government is in the process of introducing a new accounting system in a phased manner that would provide an effective way to track and assess assets created out of public money.
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.
Anna Hazare's demand for right to recall elected representatives and reject candidates is not feasible in a huge country like India, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday and claimed that the provision, if implemented, would only create political instability.
The OECD is a club of developing countries and has been playing a key role in reforming the international taxation system.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday spurned Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's request for inputs on the proposed Lokpal Bill, arguing it would not be proper for a political party to submit its views to a drafting committee comprising civil society members as it would upset constitutional propriety.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed disappointment about the outcome of a meeting with Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the financial condition of the cash-strapped state.
Releasing the book Icons of Pune, which profiles young entrepreneurs from the city, Mukherjee said the city was country's economic hub, with an expanding automobile and IT sectors.
Current President Robert Zoellick, who took office in July 2007, is schedule to retire in June.
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.
On the heels of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee blaming some 'elements in Pakistan' for the audacious terror attacks on Mumbai, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh received a phone call from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari
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 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.
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Indian diplomacy needed to acquire an economic perspective to its thinking and strategic approach, for furthering the country's interests in the changing global order.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said he was confident of the DTC being recommended by the standing committee in the coming (winter) Parliament session.
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.
"The life of a Finance Minister is not easy. Various players, including policy makers, politicians, agriculturists and business houses, participate in the making of the economy."
The government on Monday proposed removing the sectoral restriction on venture capital funds, a move that will allow more startups beyond the current nine sectors to get access to growth-stage capital.
The government said it will provide capital support of Rs 15,888 crore (Rs 158.88 billion) to public sector banks and financial institutions during the next fiscal to strengthen their capital base.
Budget would have cascading impact on inflation and consumer demand.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a quantum leap.
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