Nirmala Sitharaman News

₹5.06 trillion. The minister also said that northeastern states have been granted ₹15,440 crore interest-free 50-year loans for capital asset creation since 2020-21."Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels

Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met the G20 Independent Expert Group on strengthening of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). The G20 Independent Expert Group (IEG) is co-convened by former American treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and ex-chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh. The IEG set up by G20 India Presidency has focused on strengthening MDBs and delivered Volume 1 of its report which was acknowledged by G20 leaders in New Delhi Leaders Declaration earlier this month. «The #G20IEG members are currently in India working on Volume 2 of their report to be discussed in #G20 meetings scheduled to be held under the Indian Presidency in #Marrakech on sidelines of @IMFNews @WorldBank #AnnualMeetings,» the finance ministry said in a post on X. The fourth and final Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting under India's G20 Presidency is taking place next month in Morocco. MDBs need to provide an additional USD 260 billion annually to fund sustainable infrastructure and help nations achieve SDG targets, the group said in its Vol 1 report. Additional spending of some USD 3 trillion per year is needed by 2030, of which USD 1.8 trillion represents additional investments in climate action, mostly in sustainable infrastructure, and USD 1.2 trillion in additional spending to attain other sustainable development goals (SDGs), it said. The major MDBs are World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and African Development Bank (AfDB).

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd contributed innovatively to the Chandrayaan project and helped in cutting costs, numerous private sector firms in India have also contributed to this, particularly in the realms of mechanical and electronic fabrication. The minister emphasised that advanced technology is coming not just from these state-owned entities, but also from private players and that their high-end technology has made an immense contribution to the efficiency of these projects.

Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government will appeal in the Supreme Court for an injunction against the CWMA order that stipulates the release of about 5,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 28. Siddarmaiah also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in this regard. The order by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) came on September 18. Siddarmaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar are likely to meet the Union Jal Shakti Minister to discuss this matter. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urged the Congress government in Karnataka not to «politicise» the matter as the state has agreed to release 2,500 cusecs out of 5,000 cusecs of water to TN. The issue was discussed in a meeting with all Members of Parliament and Union Ministers from Karnataka in the national capital here. Barring Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, all MPs from the state attended the meeting. «The state is in distress as we have not received enough rainfall.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday launched Kisan Rin portal along with Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) manual in Delhi. The portal will serve as an integrated hub to offer a comprehensive view of farmer data, loan disbursement specifics, interest subvention claims, and scheme utilisation progress. The finance minister also unveiled the Ghar Ghar KCC campaign to achieve saturation of the scheme.

finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday lashed out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for his "weak women" remark during the first sitting of Rajya Sabha in the new Parliament building. Kharge had in his speech stated that political parties picked «weak women» as candidates and «won't choose those who're educated and can fight.» «Largely, ladies from backward and scheduled castes are not that literate. Their literacy rate is low, because of which all political parties have a habit of nominating weak women,» ANI quoted Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, as saying. «They (parties) won't choose those who're educated and can fight,» the Congress leader said.

Women's Reservation bill in the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that the ruling BJP government is not giving credit to the Congress as the Bill was already passed in the Rajya Sabha during the previous UPA led government. «They don't give us credit but I want to bring to their notice that the Women Reservation Bill was already passed in 2010, » Kharge said while addressing the Rajya Sabha. During the House proceedings, a controversy erupted after Kharge said that all political parties had a habit of choosing weak women as representatives. «Literacy rate of women from Scheduled Caste is less and that's why political parties have a habit of choosing weak women and they won't choose those who are educated and can fight,» Kharge said. On Mallikarjun Kharge's statement, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that such remarks are unacceptable. «We respect the leader of the opposition but to make a sweeping statement that all parties choose women who are not effective is absolutely unacceptable. We all have been empowered by our party, PM.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday expressed concern over the slow progress of computerisation in Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and urged them to speed up the process to strengthen credit delivery in rural areas.There is still a lot of work to do in digitising RRBs and cooperative banks, she said after launching the ‘Kisan Rin Portal’ and Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) manual here.Cooperative banks are not equally endowed, and their financial health varies, she said, adding ramping up capacity in the sector is taking place under the Ministry of Cooperation headed by Home Minister Amit Shah.

KCC (Kisan Credit Card) loans, said Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the launch of Kisan Rin Portal and Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan on Tuesday. The Centre will be re-launching KCC initiatives to provide loans upto Rs 3 lakh. The minister also stated that nearly Rs 1.41 lakh crore has been disbursed against premium of Rs 29,000 crore under PM Fasal Bima Yojana, reported ET Now. The event was attended by Union finance and corporate affairs minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as well.

Nirmala Sitharaman responded to the remarks by Mallikarjun Kharge and said that they have been empowered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She mentioned President Droupadi Murmu as an empowered woman. "We respect the leader of the opposition but to make a sweeping statement that all parties choose women who are not effective is absolutely unacceptable.

Narendra Modi. “Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfill the demand for women's reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet.

Union Cabinet met here on Monday evening after the first sitting of the special session of Parliament, amid speculation that it may clear some important legislative proposals. There was no word on what transpired in the meeting which lasted for over 90 minutes. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was attended by Union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari and Arjun Ram Meghwal. Ever since it was announced that the Parliament session would be held from September 18-22, there has been speculation on various bills, including the women's reservation bill, that may come up during the session. Earlier in the day while addressing the media ahead of the session, PM Modi had said that this Parliament session may be of short duration but is big on occasion, and is of «historic decisions».

Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Rs 13,000-crore Vishwakarma scheme extending benefits to artisans primarily belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) of the lower strata and the Dalit castes. It’s estimated the scheme will benefit about three million families of traditional artisans and craftsmen across one and a half dozen small-time occupations. They include weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, barbers, carpenters, boat-makers, small tool makers, potters, cobblers and masons. Inaugurating the scheme and a modern India International Convention and Expo Centre ‘Yashobhoomi’ in Dwarka here on Vishwakarma Day, the prime minister said he was dedicating it to “every labourer, every Vishwakarma (artisan) of the country”. The day also marked Modi’s 73rd birthday. The prime minister underlined that his government was committed to giving due recognition to the marginalised people.

₹3 lakh in two tranches under the Vishwakarma scheme will be identified through a three-layer verification process, one each by gram panchayats, district collectors and state-appointed committees, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will also provide skilling camps and toolkits, and facilitate access to these local products in domestic and international markets, Sitharaman added at the launch of the new central scheme on Sunday. The MSME ministry will extend collateral-free loans to recipients of the scheme.

Vishwakarma Jayanti', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched 'PM Vishwakarma' scheme for the benefit of traditional artisans, with an allocation of Rs 13,000 crore. The event took place at the newly inaugurated India International Convention and Expo Centre in Dwarka, New Delhi. The launched scheme will offer skill enhancement through both basic and advanced training, a toolkit incentive of Rs 15,000, collateral-free credit support up to Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of 5 per cent, incentives for digital transactions, and marketing support, read a PMO press release. «PM Vishwakarma scheme has been launched today which will emerge as a ray of hope for artists and craftspersons,» said PM Modi during the event. The scheme will register 'Vishwakarmas', who create using their hands and tools, at no cost through Common Services Centres, utilising the biometric-based 'PM Vishwakarma' portal. These artisans and craftspeople will receive recognition in the form of a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card. It will benefit artisans and craftspeople in rural and urban areas across India.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday presented a dividend cheque of ₹1,831.09 crore to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. LIC Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty presented the dividend cheque as the government's share of dividend in the presence of Department of Financial Services Additional Secretary MP Tangirala, the insurer said in a statement. The dividend was approved by the shareholders in the annual general meeting held on August 22, it said.

By Nikunj Ohri

NEW DELHI : India and the UK have launched an infrastructure financing bridge to plan and implement major infrastructure projects, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. The two countries have also agreed to conduct investment negotiations in parallel with the goods negotiations to conclude their free trade agreement (FTA) talks.

In the complex world of financial services, debt recovery is a crucial challenge for banks and institutions. Two main solutions have emerged: Debt Recovery Agents (DRAs) and Litigation Financing. While DRAs have been less effective due to aggressive tactics and legal concerns, a promising alternative called Litigation Financing or Third-Party Funding (TPF) has emerged. TPF involves third-party funders supporting litigation costs in exchange for a share of the proceeds in successful cases. The lacking regulation in DRA gives push to TPF as it allows claimants to access the justice and peruse for their own claims even with limited financial sources.

Coinbase is set to discontinue its operations in India, the firm has informed some customers through email. According to a TechCrunch report, the crypto exchange has now warned customers in India that the Coinbase crypto exchange is about to discontinue its operations in India, and users will be able to use the app only till September 25. “Please note that you will be able to access Coinbase.com or Coinbase app until September 25, 2023, and should withdraw funds held in your account by such date,” the email said, as cited by the TechCrunch report. Coinbase has also disabled users in India from signing up to its exchange, and asking them to download Coinbase Wallet, the report said on Monday.

On Monday, Bitcoin price experienced a minor decline of 0.50%, trading at $25,742. This shift in value comes amidst India's contemplation of regulating the cryptocurrency sector in alignment with the IMF-FSB guidelines.