Nirmala Sitharaman News

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present the Budget for FY 2025-26 in the Parliament on February 1, 2025. Prior to the presentation, the Ministry of Finance will publish the Economic Survey, which is followed by a press conference addressed by the Chief Economic Advisor and other senior officials of the Finance Ministry. The big theme for the upcoming survey will be deregulation, or the process of letting go of regulations in some spheres, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on December 6.

Sanjay Malhotra from the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi to the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai has left a key position vacant, just seven weeks before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget. This development poses a unique challenge as the government has yet to announce Malhotra's successor for a role that demands extensive expertise in both direct and indirect taxation. Historically, the government has refrained from extending terms of finance officials even in the crucial lead-up to the budget. The vacancy now highlights the delicate balance required to ensure seamless coordination within the finance ministry, which comprises six departments—Revenue, Expenditure, Economic Affairs, Financial Services, DIPAM, and Public Enterprises. Of these, Revenue, Expenditure, and Economic Affairs play critical roles in shaping the Union Budget. This year's scenario is further complicated by recent changes in leadership. DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, now serving as the Finance Secretary due to his seniority, is juggling multiple responsibilities, including overseeing the Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of Personnel. For Expenditure Secretary Manoj Govil and Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju, the upcoming budget will be their first experience in such a high-stakes exercise.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Shaktikanta Das will step down as the 25th governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday, at a time when the war on inflation is ongoing and economic growth has taken a sudden slow turn. Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman (finance) and Piyush Goyal (commerce and industry) had called for rate cuts after GDP growth slowed to 5.4% in the July-September quarter.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There’s something about the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings that makes these the cynosure of all eyes.

Nirmala Sitharaman chaired another pre-Budget meeting, this time with the stakeholders from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to gather their inputs and suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2025-26. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary; Finance Secretary; DIPAM Secretary; Department of Economic Affairs Secretary; Chief Economic Adviser; among others. Members from Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE); Karnataka SC and ST Entrepreneurs Association; Plant-Based Food Industry Association (PBFIA); Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers Association (ASIMA); Rajasthan Footwear Manufacturers Association; The All-India Plastics Manufacturers Association; All India Manufacturers Association; Gujarat Chamber of Small Industries Association; Federation of Associations of Cottage and Small Industries (Based in West Bengal); Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small and Medium Association; and Laghu Udyog Bharati were among the participants at the meeting.

Devendra Fadnavis will once again take over as chief minister of Maharashtra. On Wednesday morning, Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the legislative party leader at a BJP meeting at the state legislature, paving the way for him to be the chief minister of the state a third time. Fadnavis will be sworn in on Thursday. Fadnavis' name was proposed by MLAs Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar and seconded by MLC Pankaja Munde and other members. Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman were the central observers overseeing the entire process. In his speech, Fadnavis thanked the legislators for electing him as the legislative leader. «If I have to analyse the results of this historic election, then the key message is 'Ek hai to safe hai' and 'Modi hai toh Mumkin hai',» Fadnavis told the BJP legislators. Fadnavis issued a note of caution to the BJP MLAs saying, «There are a lot of expectation from us. We have a huge mandate. We can't fulfil all the things that everyone wants. The larger goal for why we have come into politics is not for just any post or to become big. In the coming days, things will happen in our favour and things will go against us. In the larger interest, we have to work together,» Fadnavis said hinting that the BJP will also have to compromise in the interest of its two allies — Shiv Sena and NCP.

Bank stocks are in the spotlight on Wednesday, December 4, after the Lok Sabha passed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 on Tuesday during Parliament's winter session, introducing significant changes to banking regulations. «Banks are being professionally run today. The metrics are healthy so they can go to the market and raise bonds, raise loans & run their business accordingly,» said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her address at the Lower House of the Parliament.

CBIC) has said that media reports regarding the Group of Ministers (GoM) recommendations on GST rate changes regarding various goods and services are premature and speculative. In a social media post, the CBIC said a Group of Ministers was constituted to look into the GST rate rationalisation apart from certain other issues referred by the GST Council. The GoM comprises of ministers from the States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala with the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar as the Convenor.

Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament, proposing significant changes to banking regulations. «Banks are being professionally run today. The metrics are healthy so they can go to the market and raise bonds, raise loans & run their business accordingly,» said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her address at the Lower House of the Parliament. Among its key provisions, the Bill allows depositors to nominate up to four individuals for their bank accounts or fixed deposits, replacing the current single-nominee system. The move aims to simplify fund distribution after the death of an account holder, a problem which arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that Indian banks have remained healthy, adding that we can not afford to have struggling banks. The minister was presenting the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. She added that the credit must go to the Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Ministry for the banking system to not have collapsed. «Banks have collapsed in countries having a sound system too,» said Sitharaman.

Muthoot FinCorp ONE just on the basis of the daily transactions they do using QR-code. Muthoot FinCorp ONE, a strategic business unit and the digital platform of Muthoot FinCorp Ltd (MFL) will offer loans with daily repayment options to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) that use QR-code based apps for daily collections, the NBFC said in a statement. This is in line with a 'New Credit Assessment Model' for small businesses, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her Budget presentation on July 23. Under the model, banks were required to assess small businesses based on their 'digital footprints' and not on their balance sheets. According to a report by IFC (International Finance Corporation), India's nearly 6 crore MSMEs contribute 31 per cent to the GDP, employ nearly 13 crore people, and make up 45 per cent of exports. Yet, despite being the backbone of the economy, they remain extremely credit-starved. The current addressable credit gap for MSME in India runs into a few lakh crore rupees.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asserted that PM Narendra Modi was of the view that women would steer economic growth in the country, which was on its way to becoming the third largest economy in the world. She was speaking at a credit outreach programme held in the north Bihar town of Darbhanga, where loans for Rs 1,388 crore were provided to 49,137 beneficiaries by various banks. Among those present were Union minister Chirag Paswan and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, among others. Sitharaman said, «Earlier, PM Modi used to tell me that the Union budget should be women-centric. But now he says the budget should be one that visualises women in leadership roles.»

Universal Account Number (UAN) and seeding of Aadhaar to bank account is must for employees who wish to claim benefit of Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme, which is administered through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). This mandatory exercise needs to be completed by November 30, 2024, if you want to get the benefits of the ELI scheme. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this new scheme during the Union Budget 2024 in July and there are three types of ELI schemes (A, B, and C). «Since the benefits under Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme, will be disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to eligible employees, Employers are urged to ensure UAN activation and Aadhaar seeding in Bank Account by 30th November 2024 in respect of all their employees who have joined in the current financial year, starting with the latest joinees,” the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in an EPFO in a circular dated November 22, 2024.

Additionally, the INDIA bloc will be looking forward to cornered the BJP-led NDA alliance over rising tensions in Manipur as well billionaire Gautam Adani's indictment in the United States for alleged bribery worth $256 million. «A total of 42 leaders from 30 political parties were present in the meeting. There are many topics. Everyone has asked for discussion on some topics but we want that there should be a good discussion in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The government is ready to discuss any topic. Our only request is that the House should run well and there should be no ruckus. Every member wants to participate in the discussion but the House should run well. To run the winter session well, everyone's cooperation is needed and everyone's participation is necessary,» Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had said after the Centre called all-party meeting chaired by Union Minister Rajnath Singh.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Less than four years after the government concluded its review of India’s inflation-targeting regime in April 2021 and opted to keep both its target and nitty-gritty—its target range, indicator, etc—unchanged, its view of inflation targeting seems to be shifting.

Asked when the fund would be made operational before February 1, 2025, Seth said, «In the next couple of months». Seth said R&D investment by the private sector has not picked up despite giving tax exemption for R&D and hence the government has decided to be a partner in R&D and nudge the private sector to take the risk.

festive consumption demand and farm sector recovery have helped the Indian economy to overcome a lull seen in the second quarter and put it back on track, the Reserve Bank of India's state of the economy report said. «Inflation is already biting into urban consumption demand and corporates’ earnings and capex. If allowed to run unchecked, it can undermine the prospects of the real economy, especially industry and exports,» said central bank researchers led by deputy governor Michael D Patra. They said that RBI remained consistent with the mandate of “price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth”. The underlying mandate of

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided in its meeting held last month to keep the policy rate unchanged for the tenth consecutive time. In April last year, the MPC stopped its rate-hike cycle by retaining the key lending rate at 6.5 per cent. The RBI had hiked rates six times in a row before it decided to pause in April last year. The impact of those rate hikes was not believed to have percolated to the ground by then. As inflation seemed to be coming under control in recent months, expectations about a rate cut grew. Though the RBI changed the stance to 'neutral' from the earlier 'withdrawal of accommodation' unanimously, it retained the key rate at 6.5%. in its last meeting in October due to high inflation. The inflation further touched a 14-month high at 6.2% for October, led by a spike in vegetable prices. It is above the RBI's mandate of 4% with a tolerance band of 2 percentage points on either side. Now, many expect the RBI to cut rates in February next year, instead of earlier expectations of a rate cut in December.

Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he has sought an appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the «reduction» in loan amount to the state this year, from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The Chief Minister will be travelling to the national capital tonight. «There is a launch of Nandini products in Delhi, so I'm going. I have also sought appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, because NABARD loan to the state this year has been reduced. Last year, Rs 5,600 crore was given, this year it is Rs 2,340 crore. It has been reduced by 58 per cent,» Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters here, he noted that the NABARD comes under the Finance Ministry. «I will make a request to her.»

Insurance industry regulator Irdai's Chairman Debasis Panda on Tuesday urged bankers to focus on their core job and not pedal insurance alone. In comments that come a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also made similar suggestions, Panda said the bancassurance channel is very useful in deepening the reach of insurance in the country. «There is merit in the system but we have to do it with care and caution so that you don't forget your activity and only start selling insurance. It should be incidental,» Panda said, speaking at the annual banking and economy conclave organised by SBI here. Insurance companies definitely need low-cost distribution solutions like the ones offered by the banks, which have a massive spread across the country and cover nearly all the inhabited places, he said.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday expressed concerns over the mis-selling of products, particularly insurance, stating that it adds to the customers' borrowing costs. Speaking at the State Bank of India Economist Conclave, on whether there is a case for a policy rate cut, the FM said «banks’ interest rates will have to be far more affordable» while adding that she does not want to get into the debate about whether perishables should be part of the inflationary measure index. Banks have facilitated the distribution of insurance project products, Sitharaman said. «While this model has significantly contributed to improving insurance penetration across the country, it has also raised concerns about instances of mis-selling … I would say, it added or contributed in indirect ways to the increased cost of borrowing for the customers.»