Page 15 - Finance Ministry

Lower Kharif sowing calls for deft management of foodgrain: FinMin report

A Finance Ministry report on Saturday underlined the need for deft management of stocks of agriculture commodities in view of lower crop-sowing for the Kharif Season, stressing there should be no room for complacency on the inflation front. Overall, inflationary pressures in India appear to be on a decline with a pre-emptive set of administrative measures by the government, agile monetary policy and easing of international commodity prices and supply-chain bottlenecks, according to the monthly Economic Review released by the Finance Ministry. However, it said, there is no "room for complacency on the inflation front as lower crop-sowing for the Kharif season calls for deft management of stocks of agricultural commodities and market prices without unduly jeopardising farm exports." India's rice production could fall by 10-12 million tonnes during the Kharif season this year due to a fall in paddy sowing area, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey had said earlier this month. The Kharif ..

India 5th largest recipient of FDI in April-June quarter: Finance Ministry

India retained its status as an attractive destination among a set of developed and developing economies, as the 5th largest recipient of FDI in the April-June quarter, said Ministry of Finance.

IRCTC causing loss to exchequer by not issuing invoice: Tax consultant

Chandigarh-based tax consultant Ajay Jagga said the Supreme Court recently issued notices to the Central government on a plea seeking to plug existing loopholes in the GST system

FinMin okays converting Vodafone Idea's Rs 16,100 cr dues to govt equity

The government of India will own nearly 33% of Vodafone Idea's equity, and become the single-largest shareholder if the deal goes through

Central government to begin Budget 2023-24 preparations from October 10

Budget 2023-24 will be the fifth budget of the Modi government. It will be FM Sitharaman's last Budget before the 2024 General Elections

Explained: How govt imposing curbs on rice exports will affect India

The restrictions were placed, because sowing has not been up to expectations on account of irregularities in rainfall

FinMin sets up panel to address issues faced by venture capital, PE firms

The Finance Ministry has set up a high-level panel headed by former Sebi chairman M Damodaran to look into issues being faced by venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) investors. The six-member committee will suggest steps for scaling up investment by VC and PE funds, a government notification said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2022-23 had announced setting up of an expert committee to examine and suggest appropriate measures related to venture capital and private equity. "Venture Capital and Private Equity invested more than Rs 5.5 lakh crore last year facilitating one of the largest start-up and growth ecosystem. Scaling up this investment requires a holistic examination of regulatory and other frictions," she had said. As per the terms of reference, it said, the panel would comprehensively study, using a systems approach, the end-to-end frictions and potential accelerants from regulatory policy and taxation to facilitate ease of investing as wel

Global bond index providers reach out to India amid geopolitical shifts

Recent rally in bonds despite US bond selloff signals optimism on global index inclusion

The case for greater centre-state coordination to meet long-term goals

Many public policy experts and policymakers have stated that more mechanisms are needed for regular centre-state coordination and interaction on various issues

Steps to check prices will be felt more significantly in few months: FinMin

The Finance Ministry on Monday attributed the rise in inflation to base effect and increase in food and fuel prices, and stressed that initiatives taken by the government to curb price rise will be felt more significantly in the coming months. According to the data, the retail inflation inched up to 7 per cent in August from 6.71 per cent in July. The ministry further said that the core inflation, which is calculated by excluding the transient components of CPI --'food and beverages' and 'fuel and light' at 5.9 per cent remained below the tolerance limit of 6 per cent for the fourth consecutive month. "The headline inflation based on retail CPI recorded a moderate increase from 6.71 % in July 22 to 7.0 % in August 22. This increase is attributable both to an adverse base effect and an increase in food & fuel prices - the transient components of CPI inflation," the ministry said in a series of tweets. This is the second instance since RBI adopted the inflation targeting approach ...

Top headlines: Retail inflation rises to 7% in August; AI leases 30 planes

India plans to pay about Rs 20,000 crore ($2.5 billion) to the state-run fuel retailers, such as Indian Oil Corp., to partly compensate them for losses and keep a check on cooking gas prices

Govt plans Rs 20,000-cr aid to oil firms hit by soaring costs: Report

The oil ministry has sought a compensation of Rs 28,000 cr, but the finance ministry is agreeing to only about a Rs 20,000-cr cash payout, say sources

FinMin mulls changes in insurance laws to boost penetration: Report

The finance ministry is contemplating changes in insurance laws, including reduction in minimum capital requirement, with a view to increasing the insurance penetration in the country. Insurance penetration in India increased from 3.76 per cent in 2019-20 to 4.20 per cent in 2020-21, registering a growth of 11.70 per cent. Insurance penetration measured as the percentage of insurance premium to GDP witnessed handsome growth during the year, mainly due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The ministry is doing a comprehensive review of the Insurance Act, 1938 and also looking at making relevant changes to help push growth of the sector, sources said, adding the process is at a preliminary stage. One of the provisions being considered is lowering the minimum capital requirement of Rs 100 crore for setting up an insurance business, the sources said. Easing capital requirement would allow entry of differentiated insurance companies like in the banking sector, which has categories like universa

Top Headlines: Direct tax collections jump, broken rice exports, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Direct tax mop-up jumps 35.5% to Rs 6.48 trillion in FY23: Govt

The ministry said refunds amounting to Rs 1.19 trillion have been issued till September 8 this fiscal year, 65.3 per cent higher than the refunds issued for the same period in FY22.

Finance Ministry to kick-start budgetary exercise from October 10

The finance ministry will kick-start the exercise to prepare the annual budget for 2023-24 from October 10 in the backdrop of revival of the Indian economy and fears of recession in developed countries. The budget for the next year will have to address critical issues of high inflation, boosting demand, job creation and putting the economy on a sustained 8 per cent-plus growth path. Earlier in the day, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said inflation is no longer "red-lettered" and the priority for the government now is job creation and boosting growth. "Some of course are red-lettered (priorities), some may not be. Red-lettered ones would of course be jobs, equitable wealth distribution and making sure India is moving on the path of growth. "In that sense inflation is not red-lettered. I hope it doesn't surprise many of you. We have shown that in the past couple of months that we were able to bring it to a manageable level," she said. It will be the fifth budget of the Modi

RBI should be more synchronised with fiscal policy to tackle inflation: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Reserve Bank will have to be more synchronised with the fiscal policy and other factors in taming inflation. Inflation management cannot be singularly left to the monetary policy, which has proved totally ineffective in many countries, she said at a seminar organised by economic think-tank Icrier. "The RBI will have to synchronise somewhat, may be not as much synchronised as other western developed countries would do. I'm not prescribing anything to the Reserve Bank... I'm not giving any forward direction to the RBI but it is the truth that India's solution to handling the economy, part of which is handling inflation also is an exercise where the fiscal policy, together with the monetary policy has to work," she said. There are economies where policy is designed in such a way that the monetary policy and the interest rate management is the one and the only tool to handle inflation, she said. "I would say India's inflation ..

RBI, FinMin ask banks, trade bodies to push cross-border rupee trade

Reserve Bank and the finance ministry on Wednesday asked top management of banks and representative of trade bodies to push exports and import transactions in rupee. It was stressed during a meeting that banks should connect with their foreign counterparts for opening special rupee vastro accounts to facilitate cross-border trade in Indian currency rather than popular mode dollar, sources said. Trade associations and their foreign trading partners should explore opportunities to make use of the framework, sources added. The meeting, which saw participation from various stakeholders, including officials of external affairs and commerce ministries, Indian Banks' Association, urged embassies abroad to promote the mechanism through diplomatic channels. According to sources, countries like Sri Lanka, Argentina and Zimbabwe may be interested in settling bilateral trade in rupee. RBI in July issued a detailed circular asking banks to put in place additional arrangements for export and im

India's digital revolution offers investment opportunities to US, says FM

India's digital revolution offered investment opportunities for the United States, the South Asian country's finance minister said on Wednesday

FinMin to hold meeting with stakeholders to push overseas trade in rupee

The finance ministry will on Wednesday hold a meeting with all stakeholders, including banks and officials of external affairs and commerce ministries, to discuss ways to promote cross-border trade in rupee instead of US dollar. The meeting, to be chaired by financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra, is expected to see attendance from representatives of the Reserve Bank of India, IBA and industry bodies. Banks would be asked to promote this by asking exporters to negotiate on rupee trade, sources said. RBI in July issued a detailed circular asking banks to put in place additional arrangements for export and import transactions in Indian rupees in view of increasing interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency. The announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow cross-border trade transactions in rupee is a timely move and a step towards internationalisation of the currency. Currently, a large part of bilateral trade between India and Russia is gett