Nirmala Sitharaman News

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said on Sunday that «Bengal is facing financial breakdown», after meeting the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday in New Delhi. The Governor demanded «an emergency cabinet and issuance of white paper».

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the complete budget for the fiscal year 2025 in July. As usual, taxpayers have an extensive list of desired items for the finance minister. Senior citizens make up a significant portion of the tax-paying demographic in India since they also earn income, often in passive ways. Nevertheless, with the rising cost of living, senior citizens might feel that the existing income tax benefits need to be increased. Three experts tell ET Wealth Online what senior citizens want from the upcoming Union Budget 2024. Also read: Section 80C deduction in Budget 2024: Will the government increase Section 80C limit under the old income tax regime in Budget?

MUMBAI : Foreign investors in India’s equity markets have shed their pre-election jitters and remain on a bullish streak ahead of the Union budget, assured of political and economic continuity with Narendra Modi returning as Prime Minister for a third successive term. Nirmala Sitharaman, in her second successive term as India’s finance minister, will present the federal budget for 2024-25 next month. Foreign institutional investors, or FIIs, have turnedbullish ahead of the budget not just in the cash segment of Indian equities but also on the derivatives segment.

central government employees and pensioners get arrears for the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) suspended for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic? In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (staff side), Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees, urged the central government to release the DA arrears of 18 months suspended earlier. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Government stalled the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, General Secretary, of Bharatiya Pratiksha Mazdoor Sangh, urged the central government to release the suspended DA arrears of 18 months. In a letter addressed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Singh said, «I fully understand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic disruptions that led to the freezing of three instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for the fiscal years 2020-21. However, as our nation is gradually recovering from the impact of the pandemic, it is heartening to witness an improvement in the financial position of our country.» In a letter to Prime Minister, Mishra said, «As a secretary (staff Side) of the National Council (JCM) it is my duty to draw your kind attention to some of the major issues which are agitating the minds of the central government employees and pensioners.»

Sebi has allowed up to 100 per cent aggregate contribution by non-resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India, Resident Indians in the corpus of FPIs that are based out of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The move is expected to enhance investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in India. In a circular issued on Thursday, Sebi said it has amended FPI rules to «provide flexibility of having up to 100 per cent aggregate contribution by non-resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Resident Indians (RI) Individuals in the corpus of FPIs based in IFSCs in India and regulated by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)».

indices closed at fresh highs on Thursday, with Nifty and Sensex crossing the 24,000 and 79,000 milestones, respectively, for the first time, maintaining their bullish momentum since the election results earlier this month, amid high expectations from the budget after President Droupadi Murmu's speech in Parliament Thursday. Analysts said the sustained run-up in indices of late is part of the pre-budget rally, aided by renewed flows from foreign investors in June. The optimism, however, did not rub off on the broader market where there were more losers than gainers.

social sectors Thursday called on finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who chaired the customary pre-Budget consultation meeting, to further step up focus on health and education. They argued such a move will not just lead to greater ease of living but also bolster the economy's productive capacity. Some of them also called for raising the budgetary spending on these critical social sectors, said a person aware of the deliberations. The full Budget for FY25 will be presented next month.

Union Budget will see India undertaking many historic economic policies and reforms will be undertaken at a faster pace, President Droupadi Murmu said in her Parliament address. «India is contributing 15 per cent to the global economy. In the upcoming sessions, this government is going to present the first budget of this term. This budget will be an effective document of the government's far-reaching policies and futuristic vision,» Murmu said as she addressed a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Along with big economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in this budget," the President said.

Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her seventh consecutive budget since 2019, joining an exclusive group of finance ministers who have delivered at least five consecutive Union Budgets. This distinguished group includes notable figures such as Morarji Desai, Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, and Arun Jaitley. Following the Lok Sabha elections, this budget will be the first full budget presented as part of Modi 3.0. Prior to 2016, the budget was traditionally presented on the last day of February. However, starting in 2017, the budget has been consistently presented on February 1 each year.

Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025 in July, several stakeholders have urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to provide tax relief for salaried employees.The Union Budget 2024-25 is expected to be presented in Parliament on July 23 or 24.Salaried employees are hoping to see several favourable announcements, including an increase in income tax rebate, restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS) and formation of the 8th Pay Commission.The last pay commission was formed in 2014 and its recommendations were implemented in January 2016.They also want income tax slabs under the old tax regime to be adjusted or the tax exemption limit increased for the new tax regime.To boost consumption, the government may provide some tax relief to those with income above ₹15 lakh annually and may also explore reducing the income tax rates for annual income of ₹10 lakh, according to a report by news agency Reuters.In a pre-budget meeting on Monday, trade unions made some key demands to the finance minister.The unions had asked the government to stop the privatisation drive of PSUs, scrap the new pension scheme, fill all the existing vacancies in the central government departments and PSUs, and stop the practice of contract and outsourcing.“The ceiling limit for the income tax rebate for the salaried class on their salary and gratuity must be substantially raised.

Section 80C provides income tax benefits of up to ₹1.5 lakh to salaried individuals for investing in income tax saving instruments like the Public Provident Fund (PPF), five-year fixed deposit (FD), ELSS, National Savings Certificate, etc. Personal Finance experts believe Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should hike the 80C deduction ceiling while presenting the first Union Budget of Modi 3.0 govt.The clamour to increase the limit for Section 80C deductions primarily arises due to several reasons:1)The current limit of ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80C was set in 2014 when Late Arun Jaitley was the finance minister .With inflation and increased living costs, individuals find it challenging to save enough within this limit while meeting their other financial obligations.Clear CEO Archit Gupta proposes revising the Section 80C limit, which has stagnated since 2014 despite increasing inflation rates.

Union Budget 2024: With just about a month to go before the union budget, the finance ministry has started its routine meetings and consultations with various stakeholders from the industry and social sectors. Among many proposals before the finance ministry, one pertains to tax relief for salaried taxpayers, according to reports.

budget in mid-July after a shock election outcome in which Modi failed to win a majority and has returned to power with the help of allies. The budget, Modi's first major policy announcement in his third term, is expected to lay out possible changes to India's economic priorities for the next five years, the tenure of the coalition government. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is considering lowering personal tax rates for certain categories of individuals while sticking to the nation's fiscal deficit target for the year, government sources have said.

Exporters sought the creation of an Indian shipping line, duty cuts on import of products like wet blue leather, extension of a key scheme for small exporters to avail pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit, and duty drawback for platinum jewellery at their pre-budget meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday. Highlighting the need for an Indian shipping line, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations president Ashwani Kumar said that India's outward remittance on transport services is increasing with rising exports. «We remitted over $109 billion as transport service charge in 2022. As the country moves towards the goal of $1 trillion, this will touch $200 billion by 2030. A 25% share by the Indian shipping line can save $50 billion on a year-on-year basis,» he said.

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliate central trade union, demanded that the Centre extend the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for 200 days for each family from 100 now, include agriculture and allied sector work under the scheme and restore the old pension scheme. In its pre-budget meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, BMS general secretary Ravindra Himte demanded a five-fold increase in the minimum pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995, to ₹5,000, along with enhancement of honorarium of scheme workers, especially for accredited social health activists as well as Anganwadi, Midday Meal Scheme and National Health Mission workers.

Modi 3.0 Budget 2024 Expectations: What are Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's plans for taxpayers?The need to protect domestic industry from dumping of Chinese products featured prominently in the discussions."We represented our industry pain points, which are imports from China and the threats we face from China," said Ajay Sardana, chairman - National Expert Committee on Chemical and Petrochemical, Indian Chamber of Commerce."China has created a lot of overcapacity. After the pandemic, with the demand coming down, they are dumping products in India at a cheaper price.

Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the first Union Budget of the Modi 3.0 government in the third week of July. The upcoming budget is likely to be an extension of the interim budget presented earlier this year in February 2024.

BENGALURU:The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) has sought a review of the Competition Commission of India's (CCI's) definition of control over companies by private equity (PE) funds in a meeting with the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the Budget 2024-25.“When PE funds invest in companies, they have some rights to protect themselves that can be viewed as a control position. So, the question was if there can be an exemption for PE funds," Srini Sriniwasan, vice-chairperson of the industry body for alternative assests, told Mint in an interview on Tuesday.Besides, the IVCA discussed measures to boost domestic capital in alternative investment funds (AIFs) to finance infrastructure, credit, startups and growth companies in the pre-budget consultation meeting on 20 June.The finance minister is expected to present the budget by July end.Sriniwasan, who is also the managing director of Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd, asked for more clarity on the definition of what constitutes a PE investor.

duty structure wherever required. In a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, FIEO president Ashwani Kumar made a case for an extension of the Interest Equalisation Scheme for the next five years. «We request the scheme which is valid till 30th June, 2024 may be extended for a period of 5 years. Looking into the rise in interest rates consequent to the increase in Repo rate from 4.4 per cent to 6.5 per cent in the last 2 years, the subvention rates may be restored back from 3 per cent to 5 per cent for manufacturers in MSMEs,» Kumar said. Kumar also urged for the establishment of an Indian shipping line of global repute to reduce foreign shipping line dependency and save foreign exchange.

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, an RSS-affiliate central trade union, demanded the Centre extend the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme for 200 days for each family from 100 now, inclusion of agriculture and allied sector work under the scheme and restoration of the old pension scheme. In its pre-budget meeting with the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BMS general secretary Ravindra Himte demanded increasing the minimum pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 while enhancing of honorarium of scheme workers, especially for Asha, Aanganwadi, Mid-day Meal and National Health Mission workers. “The government must ensure provision of adequate funding for Beedi and other unorganised sector welfare boards and a minimum monthly pension of Rs 5000 and variable dearness allowance along with benefits of Ayushman Bharat for all EPS 95 pensioners,” it said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

tax rebate for salaried class and restoration of the old pension scheme are some of the key demands made by trade union leaders during a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. The unions also asked the government to stop the privatisation drive of PSUs, scrap the new pension scheme and restore the old pension scheme (OPS). «The ceiling limit for the income tax rebate for the salaried class on their salary and gratuity must be substantially raised. Government-sponsored social security fund for the unorganised workers and agricultural workers has to be set up to provide them with defined universal social security schemes including minimum pension of Rs 9,000 per month and other medical, educational benefits,» the CTUs said in their memorandum.