Nirmala Sitharaman News

Mint takes a look at some of the key policy changes brought in by Nirmala Sitharaman, an influential voice in the new cabinet, during her first five years as FM. Sitharaman is tipped to retain the finance portfolio in the new government. The union budget for FY24 raised the tax-rebate ceiling under the new personal income tax regime from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh, easing the burden on the middle class.

Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents as well as certain civil society groups are trying to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process, the BJP alleged on Sunday and urged the Election Commission to prevent any attempts of «violence and unrest» during counting of Lok Sabha poll votes on June 4. The poll panel was also urged by a BJP delegation comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal to take cognisance of the «systematic attempts» being made to undermine the process and initiate stringent action against those responsible.

India's growth surged to 8.2% in FY24, riding a better-than-expected 7.8% expansion in the March quarter on the back of robust manufacturing, provisional estimates released on Friday showed, underscoring the country's status as the world's fastest-expanding major economy. This is the highest annual growth since FY17, excluding the 9.7% post-Covid rebound in gross domestic product (GDP) in FY22 after the 5.8% contraction in FY21. The advance estimate released in February had pegged FY24 growth at 7.6%. Economists and government expect the high growth to continue though tepid private consumption remains a concern. The data comes ahead of the final phase of polling on Saturday.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Modi government has turned around the banking sector through various reforms and improved governance which has led to banks recovering more than Rs 10 lakh crore from bad loans between 2014 and 2023. She said the Enforcement Directorate has investigated around 1,105 bank fraud cases, which resulted in the attachment of Rs 64,920 crore worth of proceeds of crime. As of December 2023, assets amounting to Rs 15,183 crore have been restituted to the Public Sector Banks (PSBs). «Recently, India's banking sector achieved a significant milestone by recording its highest-ever net profit, crossing Rs 3 lakh crore. The banking sector turned around due to PM Shri @narendramodi's strong and decisive leadership. Our government atoned for the UPA's sins in the banking sector through comprehensive and long-term reforms,» Sitharaman said in a post on X. She said there has been no leniency in recovering bad loans, especially from large defaulters, under the Modi government and the process is ongoing.

₹3.36 trillion owed by defaulting corporations under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code since 2016 when the bankruptcy reform was introduced, finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.The minister said in a social media post that the recovery, a significant improvement over the previous regime—the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)—represents around a third of what was claimed by creditors and 162% of the liquidation value of the assets. The BIFR regime achieved debt resolution of fewer than 3,500 cases in the nearly 30 years since its inception in 1987 whereas IBC has rescued 3,171 distressed companies between 2016 and March 2024 and helped shut down unviable businesses, the minister said in the post.

India's sovereign outlook after 10 years to 'positive,' citing improved quality of public spending and expectation of broad continuity in reforms and fiscal policies. India's rating remains unchanged at BBB-. The agency said the country's rating could be upgraded in the next 24 months if it adopts a cautious fiscal and monetary policy that reduces the government's elevated debt and interest burden while bolstering economic resilience. «It's a welcome development,» finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman posted on X, «It has been possible due to the series of macroeconomic reforms undertaken since 2014, along with substantial outlay for capex, fiscal discipline, and decisive & visionary leadership.» Expressing enduring confidence in the economy, economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth told ET, «I am glad S&P, in its own assessment, has realised the strength of India's economy and upgraded outlook… The team led by the chief economic adviser could convince them (S&P) to reach (this) assessment.»

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the revision in India's rating outlook to positive by S&P reflects solid growth performance and promising outlook for the coming years. India is well on track to become the third-largest economy in the third term of the government and become a Viksit Bharat by 2047, Sitharaman said in a post on X. Earlier in the day, S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's outlook to positive, from stable. This is the first time that S&P has assigned a positive outlook on India's rating. S&P retained India's rating at lowest investment grade of 'BBB-'.

FY25 capital expenditure outlay by 8-10% from the ₹11.11 lakh crore allocated in the vote on account when the full budget is presented thanks to better-than-expected tax revenue and a record surplus transfer by the RBI to the government. «Both tax and non-tax revenue are expected to be better,» a senior official told ET. «Additional surplus transfer from RBI provides enough headroom to spend more.» Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented an interim budget in February as this is an election year. The results will be declared on June 4. The full budget is expected to be announced about a month after the new government is formed.

₹25,500 crore in the last few years.Sitharaman said in a social media post that new norms were introduced for transferring Central grants to autonomous bodies and various implementing agencies from FY18, leading to savings of more than ₹15,000 crore till date. This is due to a new interface to release funds ‘just in time’ to these bodies through their accounts with the Reserve Bank of India, which helped in lowering the borrowing cost for the Central government. This mode of transfer, using what is called a treasury single account, is also now leveraged for releasing funds for Central sector schemes to implementing agencies, having an outlay of more than ₹500 crore.

retail trader participation in stock futures and options overblown? Exchanges and stock brokers may have a reason to believe so. According to NSE data, the value of trades by retail investors who traded less than ₹10 lakh in a month as a percentage of total equity F&O turnover of ₹46.25 lakh crore in March was 0.6%. Options turnover in the total F&O turnover has been calculated on the basis of the premium and not the strike value (which is used by NSE and BSE to calculate their turnover officially).

Indian equity derivatives that’s driven up volumes to the highest in the world is spurring concern among the nation’s policymakers that the frenzy may hurt efforts to harness household savings for productive purposes. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran sounded caution in recent days about growing retail participation in the equity futures and options market.

BJP alleged on Friday that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be held directly responsible for the reported attack on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal and questioned his silence on the issue. The party said instead of taking action against his aide and accused Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal is moving around with him. In an interaction with the media, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the alleged attack on Maliwal as “unbelievable and unacceptable” and wondered how the chief minister could be expected to protect the women of Delhi if his own MP who was also the Delhi Commission for Women chief. “Kejriwal has not spoken a single word till today. No comparison can be made between this case and other assaults on women. It took place in the chief minister’s own house, when the chief minister was present and by a man who is considered the right hand of the chief minister. The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson was attacked. The Delhi CM does not have the confidence to make a statement. He should apologise,” Sitharaman said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has advocated for a greater emphasis on the manufacturing sector during her speech at the CII Annual Business Summit 2024 held in Delhi on Friday. Sitharaman highlighted the importance of manufacturing alongside services and underscored the need for increased investment and governmental backing to strengthen this sector. “Manufacturing must increase, India must also increase manufacturing with the help of policies, its share in manufacturing in global value chains.

Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday said the government significantly increased the outlay for capital expenditure (capex) over the last 10 years to build quality infrastructure in the country, which had a significant multiplier effect on economy and investment, besides improving ease of living. She said the share of capex in overall expenditure went up to over 21% in 2023-24 as against just 12% in 2013-14 during the UPA regime, when infrastructure development remained grossly neglected. «Since 2014, our govt has allocated a total of ₹43.53 lakh crore in Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) capital expenditure, an increase of 3.72 times compared to 2004-14,» she said in a long post on social media platform X.

₹43.5 trillion for building infrastructure in the last 10 years, which boosted the economy through a multiplier effect, while lowering logistics cost for businesses, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. The minister said in a social media post that better road connectivity attracts investments and boosts local businesses by improving market access and reducing logistics costs.

The Wire, Parakala Prabhakar predicted that the BJP would win between 200 and 220 Lok Sabha seats while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would fall below the majority mark. The Wire's Karan Thapar asked Prabhakar, "If the BJP performs as poorly as you're expecting, what future do you see for Narendra Modi?" To this, the economist replied, "You know this is a complex question, but if you look around the world history, almost all dictators have ended their reigns either in handcuffs or in coffins." Parakala Prabhakar also stated that he expected to see a non-BJP government formed on 5 June, the day after the Lok Sabha Election Results will be counted.

In the landscape of finance, a radical shift is ongoing, it challenges the traditional investment landscape for financial gains. This transformation is vainly guarded by Social Stock Exchanges (SSEs); it prioritizes investing in social and environmental causes along with monetary returns. As the world is facing numerous challenges, climate change, poverty, social injustice, and inequality, SSEs provide an opportunity for investors to align financial objectives with societal development.

retail investors of the perils associated with the derivatives market stressing that «unchecked explosion» in the riskier futures & options (F&O) may potentially create problems in household finances. «Any unchecked explosion in retail trading in F&O can create future challenges not just for the markets (but) for investor sentiment and also for household finances,» the FM said and PTI reported.

interim budget, presented on 1 February, pegged a capex of ₹11.1 trillion for FY25, marking an increase from FY24's budgeted estimates of ₹10 trillion and revised estimates of ₹9.5 trillion. Higher capex is largely proposed for infrastructure sectors such as roads, shipping and railways. The capital allocation for these ministries has also been scaled up substantially in the budget, allowing them to complete work under the Vision 2027 plan.

P Chidambaram on May 10 questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over Rahul Gandhi’s demand of enquiry into the Prime Minister’s allegation that the grand old party has received "tempo loads of black money" from industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. The silence of the two leaders is ominous, said the former Union Minister, Chidambaram. "The Hon'ble Prime Minister had made a very serious allegation: that two prominent industrialists have tempo-filling quantities of cash and they were delivered to the Congress party.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said eastern India has potential to emerge as the country's growth engine with a decisive push to industrialisation, adding that a mineral-rich state like Jharkhand must get rid of rampant corruption to draw businesses. Pitching for a change in governance, the minister said Jharkhand has been reeling under rampant corruption, migration and lawlessness. The state is ruled by a coalition government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the BJP is the main opposition party. Sitharaman was speaking at an event on «Eastern India: Engine of Growth For Vikshit Bharat» in Ranchi. The minister reiterated that India would become the world's third-largest economy «in the coming year or so» from the fifth-largest, as announced by PM Narendra Modi.