Nirmala Sitharaman News

Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that amidst the global turmoil and sorry state of affairs as regards the banking systems, the Indian banks continue to stand healthy, strong, and resilient. The finance minister noted that banks have recovered Rs 33,801 crore from wilful defaulters by March 31, 2023, and efforts are underway to tackle wilful defaults and reclaim funds «In our country, not only the non-performing assets (NPAs) are coming down, but also the profit margins are going up,» she said while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha. Sitharaman observed that even when last year, major bank collapses happened in the USA, Switzerland and Germany, India is showing NPAs coming down year after year.

New income tax vs old income tax slabs: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Narendra Modi's government interim budget for FY25 on 1 February 2024. During an election year, the government does not present a full-fledged Budget, instead, it prepares an interim budget.

State Governments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament Monday. “Presently, there is no proposal to relax the existing terms for borrowing capacity of the State Governments including the Government of Kerala,” Sitharaman said in response to a question on whether the government is considering to relax borrowing terms for the state of Kerala. Kerala had requested for an additional borrowing equivalent to one percent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) over and above the borrowing ceiling fixed for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24. Sitharaman added that the centre applies a common yardstick while fixing the annual borrowing limit of all the State Governments under Article 293(3) of the Constitution of India. “In doing so, it is guided by the recommendations of the Finance Commission,” Sitharaman said. For the current financial year 2023-24, the Gross Borrowing Ceiling of Kerala has been fixed at Rs. 47,762.58 crore. Of the total borrowing ceiling, Rs.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there is no proposal to relax the existing terms for borrowing capacity of state governments, including Kerala for 2023-24. Kerala has requested the Centre to allow an additional borrowing equivalent to one per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) over and above the borrowing ceiling fixed for 2023-24 fiscal year. In a reply in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the Centre applies a common yardstick while fixing the annual borrowing limit of all state governments under Article 293(3) of the Constitution.

GST collection has been showing an upward trend on an annual basis since its rollout on July 1, 2017, and the average gross monthly mop-up in the current fiscal so far is Rs 1.66 lakh crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, she said the GST collection crossed Rs 1.50 lakh crore mark in every month of the current fiscal and had touched a record high of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023. «GST collection has been showing an upward trend on year-on-year basis since the implementation of GST w.e.f.

₹2.79 trillion and in 2021-22 at ₹1.71 trillion. One study estimated that Telangana’s off-budget borrowing in 2021-22 was 30% of its total borrowings that year. For Kerala it was 22%, Chhattisgarh 17% and Andhra Pradesh 12%.

macroeconomic fundamentals are fairly well-rooted, the government continues to monitor external factors such as the US Fed interest rate policy and the currency exchange rate. «Our growth rate, which has the comfort of a wide domestic captive market and also the bulk middle class, which has the purchasing power to give us comfort, is certainly one of the factors necessary for our growth.

Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, describing exchange rate fluctuations and high-interest rates as downsides for the Indian economy. Speaking virtually at the India Global Forum held in the UAE, Sitharaman said high-interest rates, especially in advanced countries, “will have a bearing on investments into India." “The domestic market and our macroeconomic fundamentals are fairly well-rooted. India is comfortably placed because of our stable policy and predictable tax domains, but factors outside are not in our control," Sitharaman said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday dismissed allegations by Kerala's Left government of negligence in fund allocation and claimed that the Central government promptly sends the required funds to the people of the southern state without any delay. Responding to the Left government's allegations of not releasing funds under various categories, she pointed fingers at the state government, alleging that it was due to the state's failure to meet the necessary criteria.

Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) and small finance banks should be cautious while lending. The previous day, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said these lenders should diversify their sources of funding and not rely too much on bank loans. Mint looks at why the minister and the regulator are cautioning NBFCs.

group of ministers (GoM) formed to deliberate on issues related to regulating online gaming is likely to hold its first meeting on December 15, said people with knowledge of the matter. While the GoM has conducted “a couple of informal meetings” so far, the first official meeting is likely to set the tone for the process of regulating online gaming, with a specific focus on how to effectively tax the sector and avoid “any illegal gambling or betting, especially from off-shore players”, said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri to draft a team from his company to Karnataka and facilitate procuring Sri Anna millets from drought-hit farmers. Her intervention with ITC followed a meeting Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy had with her in Delhi on Thursday. She has asked Puri to also consider other measures that can help the state's farmers, the FM said in a post on social media platform X. Sitharaman added that she had explained the initiatives the Centre was taking on the subject during her discussion with the ministers. Karnataka has declared 224 out of its 236 taluks as drought hit. Commenting on Sitharaman speaking to the ITC Chairman, Gowda told ET that the government procurement was the only way to protect and encourage farmers for major millets like ragi, jowar and bajra (pearl millet).

Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi on Thursday and requested her to take an early decision on the State's memorandum seeking drought relief. He urged her to release funds from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) early, highlighting the urgency due to prevailing farmers' distress. «Timely payment of assistance to farmers would partly relieve their distress,» Gowda told ET. He has also asked her to consider the data the government submitted on the numbers of small and marginal farmers. The available data with the Union Government, he added, underestimated the size of the small & marginal farmers. The government, the minister said, had placed Aadhaar-lined alternate data sets to substantiate that 70% of farmers in Karnataka were small and marginal in nature. The CM told the media in Mysuru, last week, that the government has sought Rs 17,900 crore towards drought relief. The Central Drought Study Team, he said, had not given a report even after a month and the Centre had also not responded to the government's request.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and small finance banks need to heed the central bank and exercise due caution while lending, without “going too far too soon”. Speaking at the Digital Acceleration & Transformation Expo in the capital, organised by Trescon, the minister said: «Enthusiasm is good but sometimes it becomes a bit too far for people to digest. So as a measure of caution the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has also alerted small finance banks, NBFCs to be careful that they don't go too far too soon and face any downside risks later.» Earlier this month, the RBI tightened the norms for unsecured consumer loans, as it directed banks and shadow banks to assign a higher risk weight to such credit.

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a national trade union affiliated to the RSS, has demanded a guaranteed pension under the National Pension System, on the lines of the Old Pension Scheme, in its meeting with the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. “A high level delegation of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh led by Ravindra Himte, all-India general secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), submitted a memorandum to the finance minister demanding guaranteed pension under NPS like Old Pension Scheme (OPS),” BMS said in a statement issued after the meeting. “The present system does not provide any assured pension.

capital markets regulator Sebi to seek inputs from shareholders while drafting norms and rework them if the proposals are perceived to be much too restrictive, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday, seeking to allay industry concerns that «over-restrictive regulations» would kill innovation. Speaking at the Digital Acceleration & Transformation Expo in Bengaluru, organised by Trescon, the minister also exhorted state-run banks to further improve efficiency in drawing depositors while remaining cognisant of their role in satiating the vast credit appetite of a fast-growing economy. “Get deposits, give them (depositors) good interest rates, and then make good money out of it as well. But at the same time, be possibly conscious (of the fact that) India's growth depends on banks lending comfortably to people who want to set up units and grow them,” Sitharaman asked the public-sector banks. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, non-food bank credit growth touched 15.3% in September, which is lower than the 16.9% a year before but well above the long-period trend. As for striking a balance between regulation and innovation, Sitharaman said: “The government has been suggesting to Sebi that before they come up with any regulation that can be perceived as being restrictive, they should actually consult industry and stakeholders.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that in order to prevent con artists from abusing the system, people must become more conscious of cyberfrauds and take control of technology. Speaking at the 'DATE with Tech' event, the minister stated that the government regularly examines public sector banks and the regulator RBI checks its own systems in order to prevent cyber frauds, in which victims are tricked via phone or SMS.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the latest advancements in the implementation of the crypto regulation roadmap during the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit yesterday.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday showed that 87% of the individual respondents and 89% of the firms felt claiming income tax refund was convenient. Checking refund status was reported as smooth by 84% of individuals and 77% of firms. The extensive steps introduced by the government in recent years to streamline, simplify and automate the tax regime have borne rich dividends as is evident from the survey results on assessing speed and efficiency of income tax refunds, a statement from the finance ministry on the survey said quoting CII president R.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed as «despicable» Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's description of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a panauti (bad omen) for India's loss in the world cup finals against Australia. «It’s such a despicable comment,” the FM told the media in Hyderabad when asked about Gandhi’s comments during the election campaign in Rajasthan that the Indian team almost won the game but lost due to 'bad omen' while addressing a campaign rally in Rajasthan. “He (Rahul Gandhi) is continuing the Congress tradition of calling all abusive names for the PM. Is that how sport is going to be encouraged? Is that the route through which Congress wants to encourage sports in the country?” Sitharaman said, disapproving of the Congress leader’s remark. The FM said the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) of the Modi government has resulted in wonderful victories, whether it is at the Asian Games, Olympics or even the Paralympics.

AMC Repo Clearing is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to find ways to bring down operational costs related to taxation rules and the role of intermediaries on the tri-party repo platform, which the government is banking on to deepen the corporate bond market. The clearing house, promoted by asset management companies and inaugurated by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in July, is discussing matters related to recent taxation changes for corporate bonds as well as regulatory guidelines related to entering tri-party repos and the costs associated with it, two market sources aware of the development told ET. «They (AMC Repo) are trying to bring down that cost to attract more participants following feedback from the market. One of the discussion points with Sebi is to do with the step announced in the budget regarding TDS (tax deductible at source) on corporate bonds,» one of the sources said. «Given the nature of a tri-party repo, there are complications arising from the move — if the TDS is deducted in the name of the AMC Repo, how is that transferred back? Moreover, there are issues surrounding the eligibility of the securities at the time of coupon payments,» the source said. A tri-party repo is a type of contract that includes a third party which acts as an intermediary between two entities — one lending against a security and the other borrowing with a commitment to repurchase (repo) the security at a later date.