Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
"I extend puja greetings (Saradiyar Subhecchha) to all people and wish them well," a relaxed Mukherjee said while leaving for his ancestral home with his wife.
Even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday officially and publicly stuck to his stated position that the 2G note was an "inter ministerial background paper" and that the "inferences and interpretations in the note are not my views", sources say that a internal inquiry would be held at the highest level to pinpoint who had made the inferences and at whose behest.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed the rise in food inflation as an area of 'grave concern'.
"Serious deliberations are underway for establishing a regulator for the coal sector and similar thought is now being given to other infrastructure sectors as well," said Pranab Mukherjee.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has arrived in New York for a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the 2G spectrum issue in the wake of a Finance Ministry note involving P Chidambaram.
Reflecting new strains in the Congress-Trinamool tie up, Union minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday asked his party to counter Mamata Banerjee's charge that Congress was responsible for the break up of the alliance for the upcoming civic polls.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday refused to comment on a letter sent by his ministry to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the 2G spectrum scam, saying he cannot make any remark on the matter as it is "subjudice".
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday refused to comment on a letter sent by his ministry to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the 2G spectrum scam, saying he cannot make any remark on the matter as it is "subjudice".
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday admitted the Reserve Bank of India's move to hike short-term lending and borrowing rates will hurt growth in the near-term, but exuded confidence that economic expansion will gather pace later as a consequence.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday justified legislative changes in taxation law with retrospective effect, saying this was required in order to protect "the interests of the (tax) department".
Downplaying the recent war of words with China, India on Wednesday expressed confidence that the boundary dispute would be resolved amicably through dialogue.
Besides Mukherjee and Deora, the EGoM would have power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, fertiliser minister M K Alagiri, law minister Veerappa Moily and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Maharashtra's beleaguered Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi after his name cropped up in a controversy surrounding the Adarsh housing society in Mumbai. Earlier, Sonia met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel, All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and Union minister Prithviraj Chavan over the issue.
For India, the ideal inflation rate would be 4-5 per cent although it may be difficult to attain, the minister said while inaugurating the Economic Editors' Conference in New Delhi.
The minister recalled the steps taken by the government to deal with general inflation, which was in the negative zone in June-August, 2009, and had since risen to 9.9 per cent in March, 2010.
The government has set up two income tax overseas units at its missions in Singapore and Mauritius and will create such units in eight more countries to facilitate exchange of information on tax-related issues, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government was ready to bring in and get the Lokpal Bill passed in the next session of Parliament if the Opposition cooperated with it.
To check price rise, the government is importing some of the commodities to bridge the supply-demand gap and strengthening mechanism for providing subsidised items to poor, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday.
Government has announced a slew of measures to give impetus to electric cars.
The ban on onion export is temporary and will be reviewed every two weeks until its prices decline below Rs 15 per kg.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed hope that food prices will fall further after the festive season, even as he expressed concern over the high prices of non-food and fuel products.
Last year, the World Bank Group launched South-South Experience Exchange Facility to promote the idea that the development sucesses in one country can pull people out of poverty in another.
The card, depicting the goddess in red on a yellow backdrop, with a prominent eye aiming a trident at an invisible adversary bears Mamata's signature and the caption 'Sharodiya o Deepavalir Shubheccha'.
Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee worshipped Goddess Durga on Thursday at his ancestral home in Mirati village on 'Mahasaptami', the first day of the four-day long puja.
Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy has written to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee demanding a hike in excise duty on diesel cars to make up for subsidised fuel being used in vehicles.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also asserted there's been no pressure by the United States for India to enact financial sector reforms, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors, on the eve of President Obama's visit.
Former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld once had to catch Mukherjee in Kirnahar during the Puja.
This is not the first time that industry has been slow in responding. The finance ministry had to send repeated reminders to industry captains to get feedback on quite a few discussion papers in recent times.
Amidst a warning that the country is sitting on a "grain bomb" due to prospects of record wheat output, the government on Thursday admitted to cases of foodgrains rotting and said enough storage facility must be created.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may consider measures to deal with foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows, which are emerging as a potential threat, said the central bank's Deputy Governor, Subir Gokarn, in Mumbai on Tuesday. His comments came a day after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said there was no need for restrictions on foreign inflows, in an interview with a television channel.
The Government on Wednesday virtually turned own demands of two Tamil parties, including United Progressive Alliance constituent Patali Makkal Katchi, for India's intervention to stop military offensive in Sri Lanka, saying it cannot force a sovereign government of another country to take a particular line.
The caste census would be carried out by the government between June and September next year, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday.
The government today said the proposed Financial Stability and Development Council, an inter-regulatory agency headed by the finance minister, would not act as a super regulator.
The Finance Ministry should encourage local manufacturing of currency paper to check counterfeits and exempt its production from excise duty, a high level committee has said.
The International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said that the global economic recovery is fragile and remains uncertain as not enough jobs are being created.
In an environment vitiated by strong arm tactics of some microfinancial institutions, financial inclusion could be a business opportunity.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who discussed Pakistan's response on the Mumbai terror attacks dossier with senior ministerial colleagues P Chidambaram and A K Antony, on Thursday said that India is examining the report received from Islamabad. "Pakistani authorities have admitted that elements in Pakistan were responsible for terror attacks in Mumbai," Mukherjee told reporters hours after Pakistan's response was handed over to India's High Commissioner.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday called upon banks and financial institutions to lay emphasis on mobile banking as a means of increasing penetration in un-banked areas and hinterlands.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that revenue authorities have detected tax evasion of about Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) during the past 18 months as a result of international cooperation as well as domestic surveillance.
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