Nirmala Sitharaman News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s manufacturing sector has struggled to exceed 17% of GDP over the past 20 years. Taking note of inverted duty structures, a key reason for this underperformance, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her last budget speech announced a comprehensive customs tariff review.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) should strive for greater provision of innovative financial models and scale up efforts for private capital mobilisation. The minister in her meeting with the AIIB delegation, comprising 11 officials of the Board of Directors of AIIB and senior representatives and staff, said India could act as a sandbox for AIIB's piloting of innovative financing models and technologies. Sitharaman, who is also Governor on the AIIB Board, stated that the multilateral institution should broaden its investment in priority sectors of climate adaptation and resilience, infrastructure development, energy security, urban development and extend support for India's next generation reforms, an official statement said. She also stressed upon the importance of continually incorporating finance plus and budget plus elements in AIIB's project design and implementation.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Union government is likely to release ₹50,000 crore to ₹70,000 crore to states as part of its ‘special assistance for capital investment’ scheme in the three months to December (Q3, FY25), to be used for ramping up capital expenditure, two people aware of the matter said.

Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that India’s use of public money to create digital infrastructure—instead of relying on private players to do so, like in many other countries- —has helped even small businesses grow, innovate and reach markets overseas.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to consult state finance ministers on the FY26 Union Budget following Parliament’s winter session, which concludes on 20 December. Her focus: strategies to drive job creation and economic growth amid signs of easing urban consumption.

Revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra conveyed this at a meeting taken by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take stock of the progress of the review announced in the Budget. Sitharaman chaired the meeting Monday to assess the progress as the government is looking to introduce the draft bill in the budget session. Apart from Malhotra, the meeting was attended Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Ravi Agarwal, and other senior CBDT officials The Department has also received 6,500 suggestion from the public, to simplify the IT law.

fiscal deficit for the first half of this fiscal year through September stood at 4.75 lakh crore rupees, or 29.4% of annual estimates, government data showed today. The fiscal deficit widened from 39.3% reported in the comparable year-earlier period. Total receipts stood at 16.37 lakh crore rupees, while overall expenditure in April to September was at 21.11 lakh crore rupees. They were 51% and 43.8% of this fiscal year's budget target.

Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India's significant progress in electrification, water accessibility, and economic empowerment during a fireside chat with John J Hamre, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in Washington, DC Highlighting the progress made in rural electrification, Sitharaman highlighted that every village in India now has access to electricity. She noted that in 2014, many villages across India, including those near state capitals, lacked even basic infrastructure for electrification. She said «I don't think any village in India is unelectrified today. Households have received the connections. So, if I remember the situation in 2014, there were still many villages in many parts of India, some even very close to the state capital, provincial headquarters, without even a pole to receive the electric wires. Now, all that has been overcome. Houses have got their electricity.»

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the contributions of the Global South to the foundations of multilateral development banks at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference and emphasized on embedding diverse voices in decision-making to ensure a truly inclusive and global development framework. She was speaking at the Development Committee Plenary session on 'A Future-Ready World Bank Group' at the World Bank during the Annual Meetings 2024 in Washington, DC. In her intervention at the session, Sitharaman urged the World Bank to promote a two-way exchange of innovations, drawing from the transformative experiences of the Global South in areas like digital inclusion and sustainable energy.

SBI Research in a report has advocated for quicker review of the Income Tax Act as announced in Budget 2024-25. The report recommended that the revised Act be introduced as a money bill so that it can be passed within stipulated 75 days. This will not only simplify and streamline taxation process but also aligned with economic growth and inclusivity. The report recommended raising the TDS threshold on bank interest payments from Rs 10,000 to at least Rs 100,000. Allowing annual issuance of TDS certificates (Form 16A) instead of quarterly, aligning it with Form 16 for salaries, since Form 26AS is primarily used for credit and a flat tax rate for individuals earning over Rs 8 lakhs, specifically for those aged 60 to 80, with additional provisions for individuals aged 80 and above.

Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that more than USD 450 billion has been transferred through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to the people in last 8 years. The minister shared these key insights on India's achievements with Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) while speaking at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA on Tuesday. «Over 51 ministries and departments in the central government deal with Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT). More than USD 450 billion have been transferred cumulatively in the last 8 years» the minister said.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday pitched the India story to a large group of pension funds and institutional investors in the US and impressed on them to take advantage of India's enormous investment opportunities. Sitharaman addressed a roundtable on “Investment Opportunities in India” at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the world’s oldest and largest bourse with around 11 Indian companies listed on it, according to a finance ministry post on X (formerly Twitter). “The roundtable is being attended by various pension funds and other institutional investors and fund managers across USA, forming one of the largest financial systems in the world in terms of total assets under management,” the ministry said in the post.

Nirmala Sitharaman, arrived in the United States and received a warm welcome at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday (local time). India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and Consul General of India in New York, Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, welcomed Sitharaman, following her arrival from Mexico City. «Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman is welcomed at the Newark Liberty International Airport by India's Ambassador to USA, Shri @AmbVMKwatra along with Consul General of India in New York, Shri @binaysrikant76, after her arrival from Mexico City, today,» the Ministry of Finance stated in a post on X.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. CPSEs have to spend 60 per cent of their CSR funds on the theme set for a particular year. «We have added PM's Internship Scheme to 'Health and Nutrition' as the common theme for CSR activities by the CPSEs for 2024-25. CPSEs will spend 60 per cent of their CSR funds towards 'health and nutrition' and PM's Internship Scheme this fiscal,» an official told PTI. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, earlier this month, started enrolling companies as well as interns under the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme. Over five years, the scheme envisages providing internships to 1 crore youth.

Waaree Energies, a leading solar panel manufacturing and installation company, expects rooftop solar (RTS) to contribute at least 30% in its total revenue in the coming years, Amit Paithankar, Chief Executive Officer, Waaree Energies, told ET. “In the next five years, RTS could most definitely be a significant contributor to our revenue, highlighting its importance in our strategic roadmap…We can foresee a minimum of 30% and upwards of RTS share in our revenue pie in the coming years,” Paithankar said. “As we gear up for this massive shift, our PV module manufacturing capacity expansion plans are well on-track and as it is, we have ample infrastructure to meet the foreseen demands,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At the recent Energy Transition Summit, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored the adverse impact of unilateral and arbitrary policies such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on India’s trade and green-transition pathways, noting that India’s decarbonization journey should be guided by its own development needs and not by the Global North. Sitharaman was referring to the EU’s measure that would impose a charge on imports into the EU of products of aluminium, iron and steel, cement, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen beginning January 2026.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government is simultaneously “pushing all levers” to sustain the current high growth rate, and the country’s economic prospects for this fiscal have been recognised by multilateral bodies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. India, the minister said, can be a leader in Industrial Revolution 4.0, which is guided by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and Big Data & Analytics, thanks to its large young population. Sitharaman was speaking at an event at St Teresa’s College in Ernakulam, Kerala, her office said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday commended Indian financial sector regulators for doing a «world-class job» and bringing greater transparency into the system. Underlining that she is not against questioning or critiquing regulators, Sitharaman said there is a need to be «extremely conscious» about contributions made by them as well.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India will become a developed economy over the next 25 years if it sticks with the reforms pledged by policymakers, but the country has to move fast in building global supply chains before it is too late, economist Jagdish Bhagwati said in an interview.

Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan express interest to join International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to trade with India as the viable route to the Indian Ocean Region ahead of the BRICS Summit in Kazan that would among other matters lay emphasis on inclusive connectivity corridors. Uzbekistan in particular is keen to harness the full potential of INSTC as well as the Chabahar Port in the backdrop of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) signed in Tashkent on Friday during the visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Uzbekistan has sent its first cargo to India via INSTC recently. “The BIT between India and Uzbekistan assures appropriate protection to Uzbekistan investors in India and Indian investors in Uzbekistan, in light of relevant international precedents and practices. It will increase the comfort level and boost the confidence of investors by assuring a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination, while providing for an independent forum for dispute settlement through arbitration,” according to a statement issued by the Indian government.

FIR against Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others for allegedly extorting money through electoral bonds, Karnataka Minister Congress leader Priyank Kharge slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over electoral bonds, accusing her of 'architecture' of that bill. Speaking to ANI, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said, «The Supreme Court has already told that the electoral bonds are illegal and unconstitutional. The same has been filed here in Karnataka. There are instances where they have forced companies into Quid pro quo and the architect of all this is the finance minister and that's what the complaint has said.» «The court has upheld for the complaint. Let the investigation happen, What are they so scared of?...» he questioned BJP.