As part of the pre-Budget exercise, the finance minister customarily holds parleys with various stakeholders, state finance ministers, industrialist groups, leading economists, trade unionists and officials of various financial sectors.
If accepted, the plan could give the sector Rs 70,000-crore (Rs 700-billion) relief.
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.
Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said banks have positively responded to his suggestion to reduce credit interest\nrates.
Food inflation rose to 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25, because of rise in prices of food items like onion, milk and meat.
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.
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 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.
Participatory Notes (P-Notes) are derivative instruments issued by FIIs to foreign investors -- individuals or corporates -- who want exposure to Indian equities, but do not want to register with Sebi.
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.
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.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will present the Rail Budget on July 1.
The standoff between the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha appears set to end on Thursday when a discussion on an adjournment motion on the issue of black money takes place following an agreement reached between the two sides on Wednesday night.
Going by the current pace, UIDAI seems unlikely to meet the target of issuing a million Aadhaar numbers a day to cover half the country by 2013.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had reported a "serious breach of security" in his office in a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September last year. In his letter, Mukherjee claimed that "planted adhesives" were found in 16 locations including at his office, the offices of his advisor Omita Paul and private secretary Manoj Pant and two conference rooms used by the finance ministry. Mukherjee clarified that no microphone or recording devices were found.
The finance minister attributed the rising prices to demand-supply mismatch, depreciating rupee, global commodity prices and easy monetary policy followed by some countries.
The Indian rupee dropped by 58 paise to a lifetime low of Rs 52.73 per US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on persistent demand for the American currency from banks and importers amid sustained foreign capital outflows from the equity market.
Terming sharp revision in the industrial production data as "totally baffling", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said he has asked the authorities concerned to look into the issue.
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.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to allow the Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance 2010 to lapse, since it could affect the autonomy of all regulators, including the central bank.
The RBI on Thursday hiked key policy rates for the 10th time since March, 2010, in a bid to tame inflation, which crossed the 9 per cent mark in May.
"I am not revising it (the target) right now. We have fixed the target and we will try to achieve it, but it depends on many other situations, particularly the economic health conditions," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
Amid the growing chorus against black money and the government's efforts to pull the plug, Union Law Minster M Veerappa Moily has suggested Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to completely overhaul the tax administration.
The two major changes include: keeping an option open for supplying more than 3 kg of subsidised foodgrains to general households and widening its reach to include lactating women, destitute and aged people and providing nutritious food to children.
"Oil marketing companies are to take decision depending on cost of their imports. It is market related as per as oil market companies are concerned on petrol," Mukherjee told reporters.
Those who have been following developments in the past few years know that Wal-Mart alone must have spent millions of dollars in India for lobbying with our government to open up retail sector for FDI.
Officials said Mukherjee had proposed the name of Modi for the post, as an experienced person like him could have helped convince BJP-ruled states to move ahead on the Goods & Services Tax (GST).
Dismissing fears of a slowdown, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India's growth drivers are intact and the Centre is committed to policy reforms.
The Congress has launched a campaign to counter the anti-graft movement by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev and accused a section of civil society of trying to weaken democratic institutions.
The rise in inflation based on wholesale prices in October from 9.72 per cent in September was mainly on account of higher prices of fruits and vegetables, manufactured goods and petrol.
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.
Jewellers remained firm over complete rollback of excise duty.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the medium-term outlook for the economy is bright and presents an excellent opportunity to take the growth process forward.
Mexican bank head seeks support for IMF post.
Senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee resigned as chief of party's West Bengal unit on Sunday citing "heavy government responsibilities", and Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Ranjan Bhunia was appointed to the post by Sonia Gandhi.
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