Parliament: Why govt has no record on farmer income, who will own LIC

Finance Minister said that listing of LIC will give opportunity for retail investors to participate in the creation of wealth

Parliament proceedings were disrupted on Tuesday as Congress and BJP lawmakers sparred over the riots in Delhi, but there was still time for the government to make policy statements about tax collections, bank frauds and farmers' income. Here is what it said. 

1. Govt to retain LIC control after listing

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday during the Question Hour informed the Rajya Sabha that the government will retain management control of Life Insurance Corporation and and safeguard the interest of policyholders even after listing of the insurance behemoth through initial public offering (IPO) on stock exchanges.

In a written reply, the Finance Minister said that listing of the company will give opportunity for retail investors to participate in the creation of wealth. The IPO, she said, would be brought out after necessary legislative changes and regulatory approvals.

2. Govt collected Rs 7.52-trn direct tax in Apr-Jan

The government has collected over Rs 7.52 lakh crore as direct taxes till January 31 of the current fiscal, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. The Revised Estimate has pegged the target for collection of direct taxes for the current fiscal, which ends on March 31, at Rs 11.70 lakh crore. 

MoS Anurag Singh Thakur said that the tax collection includes both corporate and income taxes. He added that last advance tax installment is due in March 2020, and hence it is little early to predict the final collection of direct taxes for the current year at this stage.

3. Banks, select FIs report frauds worth Rs 1.43-trn 

The Parliament on Tuesday was informed that banks and select financial institutions have reported frauds of over Rs 1.43 lakh crore during the April-December period of the current financial year. Sitharaman said that the amount involved in fraud has reduced sharply from the peak of Rs 50,329 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 5,244 crore in the first three quarters of 2019-20.

The minister further informed that 626 cases were registered with CBI by banks, in which accused persons numbering 2,111 have been charge sheeted during the period from FY2016-17 to FY2019-20. 

4. Bill to provide more teeth to RBI for regulating co-op banks tabled 

To avoid PMC-like crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled a bill to provide more powers to the RBI for regulating cooperative banks in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to strengthen cooperative banks by increasing professionalism, enabling access to capital, improving governance and ensuring sound banking through the RBI. Introducing the bill, Sitharaman said it is the "need of the hour" to avoid a PMC Bank-like crisis in the future.

5. Govt doesn't have data on financial condition of farmers

The government does not have data regarding financial condition of farmers in the country, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, he said, "The last survey was conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2013 and, therefore, no data is available with the ministry indicating the financial condition of the farmers." However, as per the last survey conducted by NSSO in India in 2013, rural India had about 90.2 million agricultural households, which constituted about 57.8 per cent of the total estimated rural households of the country during the same period, he said.