Centre Financial News

NEW DELHI : The Centre is in talks with Rajasthan to increase procurement of wheat and coarse grains, a government official said, seeking anonymity. At present, Rajasthan buys oilseeds and pulses in larger quantities than it does wheat and coarse grains. The centre seeks to improve wheat procurement and encourage millet consumption by running the procurement drive in collaboration with state and central agencies.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has initiated the process of crediting interest to provident fund (PF) accounts for the financial year 2022-23, offering an interest rate of 8.15 percent. This marks the highest interest rate on PF accounts in more than four decades. The interest rate set by the EPFO for the financial year 2022-23 represents a notable uptick from the 7.59 percent interest rate provided in the preceding financial year.

₹10.60 lakh crore, crossing 58 per cent of the Budget target for the full year, the Income Tax department said on Friday. The net corporate tax collection grew 12.48 per cent and personal income tax mop up rose 31.77 per cent. The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to 9 November continue to register steady growth according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance.

offshore platforms after the government levied 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on trading of virtual digital assets (VDAs) with effect from July 2022. The study, by Delhi-based think-tank Esya Centre, found that over Rs 3,50,000 crore was traded by Indians on offshore platforms between July 2022 and July 2023, which is over 90% of total VDAs traded by Indians. This has deprived the exchequer of Rs 3,493 crore of revenue, as against the collected revenue of Rs 258 crore, because of offshore trades that are not TDS compliant. This also means that billions of dollars of capital gains tax will not be collected on these trades conducted offshore.

New Delhi, The Centre on Tuesday authorised release of tax devolution of Rs 72,961.21 crore to states for November. «The Union Government has authorised the release of tax devolution of Re 72,961.21 crore to State Governments for the month of November 2023, on 7th November instead of the usual date 10th November,» the Union finance ministry said in a statement.

recent example of appointments cleared for the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It said the Supreme Court Collegium recommended names of five advocates for elevation as judges of the High Court. However, the central government only cleared three names, ignoring the names placed in serial numbers 1 and 2.

Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of a criminal law which requires even an acquitted person to execute a bail bond and furnish sureties before release from jail. The provision — section 437A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) — requires a person who has been acquitted to furnish a bail bond and sureties, valid for a period of six months, to be able to be released from custody.

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free ration scheme will be extended by 5 more years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on November 4. 80 crore people will benefit from it, Modi added. The Prime Minister made the announcement at a rally in election-bound Chhattisgarh. At the rally, PM Modi also took a swipe at the Congress party. He accused it of prioritising financial gains and frequently engaging in corruption. Modi said, «Congress hates self-respecting and confident poor.

Gopal Rai has urged the Central government to only allow CNG, electric, and BS VI-compliant vehicles in Delhi-NCR to address the issue of vehicular pollution. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Rai expressed concerns about the anticipated decline in air quality due to Diwali fireworks and stubble burning in neighbouring states. He called for an emergency meeting with NCR states to address the issue. Starting November 1, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed that only electric, CNG, and BS VI-compliant diesel buses operate between Delhi and cities in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan within the National Capital Region (NCR). Rai proposed extending the ban on non-BS VI compliant vehicles throughout the entire NCR.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) recognized two more tokens on Nov. 2, adding XRP (XRP) and Toncoin (TON) to its list of recognized tokens. They join Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) as coins recognized in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). 

The Centre on Thursday will launch a month-long nationwide campaign aimed at raising awareness on the use of digital life certificates among central government pensioners, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

Siddaramaiah on Tuesday slammed the BJP, calling the party's drought study tour a «farce,» a day after the BJP formed several teams to tour across Karnataka. BJP leaders, he said, should be pressurising the Centre to obtain drought relief for the state instead. The saffron party had announced on Monday that teams led by former chief ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai and other leaders would travel the state and study the drought situation everywhere.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday alleged that the rights of states are being crushed under the BJP-led regime at the Centre, and appealed to the people to back the opposition INDIA bloc in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to ensure real autonomy for states. In the third episode of his 'Speaking for India' podcast series, Stalin chose the theme of state autonomy and used his «voice for true cooperative federalism», targeting the BJP and the government helmed by it at the Centre. Stalin pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his earlier role as Gujarat Chief Minister, had often spoken backing the rights of states. «However, after he came to Delhi as Prime Minister, the very first sentence of the Constitution, 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states', became a thing of dislike for him.» The Centre does not «allow» the states to even function within the Constitutional framework and it is not inclined to listening to the states either, Stalin claimed.

Apple phones regarding a possible 'state-sponsored' hacking attack. However, the government has claimed that it is very serious about the issue and that it has issued an ordered probe into the matter. «We are serious about these allegations and we want the complainants to go through the investigation,» IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said at a briefing. He said that the complaints require deep technical understanding and certain agencies will be involved in the investigation. Furthermore, Vaishnaw claimed that the Opposition leaders cannot digest India's progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are indulging in compulsive critique. «There are many compulsive critics in our country. Their only job is to criticise the government,» he said. «From the mail sent by from Apple, it can be understood that they have no clear information, they have sent alerts on the basis of an estimate. This is vague. Apple has released a clarification that the allegations by compulsive critics are not true. Such advisories have been sent to people in 150 countries. The people who cannot see the growth of the country are doing destructive politics,» Vaishnaw added. Earlier in the day, prominent Opposition leaders part of the INDIA bloc took to social media claiming they got a message from Apple Inc saying their phones are likely being targeted by 'state-sponsored' attackers.

Bank of Japan's policy decision when it is likely to lift its inflation forecasts and ponder tweaks to its bond yield control. The yen weakened 0.19% to 149.38 per dollar but was not far from the two-week peak of 148.81 it touched on Monday after the Nikkei newspaper reported the BOJ would consider making adjustments to its yield curve control (YCC). The BOJ sets a target of around 0% for the 10-year yield under YCC. Under criticism that its heavy defence of the cap is causing market distortions and an unwelcome yen fall, it raised its de-facto ceiling for the yield to 1.0% from 0.5% in July. On Tuesday, the 10-year JGB yield jumped 6.5 basis points to 0.955%, its highest since May.

₹80 a kg, up from ₹60 last week and ₹30 two weeks ago. Prices are similar in other cities such as Chandigarh, Kanpur and Kolkata. Supply-chain intermediaries said they could spiral further.

Attorney General R Venkataramani, in a statement filed before the Supreme Court ahead of the hearing of petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme scheduled on October 31, stated that citizens do not have the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution regarding political party funding.

On October 15, 2023, the Solana Foundation announced a significant partnership with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Crypto Centre, aiming to bolster the Web3 sector in Dubai—a recognized global hub for cryptocurrency and blockchain innovations. This alliance is expected to foster a conducive environment for member companies and developers at the DMCC Crypto Centre, enabling them to expand their projects both technically and business-wise.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday took a dig at the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that the latter «made fun» of the public over the reported inflation in the country. In a post on X, Kharge wrote, «The crying voice of the people, who have been burdened under the burden of BJP's inflation in the last nine and a half years,… Every time on the issue of inflation, Modi government made fun of the public, teased like this — »Inflation is not visible", «I don't eat onions», «It is better than other countries».

Kerala convention centre blast on Sunday. A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said security has been tightened across main markets, churches, metro stations, bus stands, railway stations, and other public places.