Page 9 - Finance Minister

Union Budget 2024: Will Bengaluru be included in 50% HRA exemption?

Currently, rented houses in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai qualify for a 50% exemption from HRA, while those in other locations (non-metro) fall into the 40% category

Govt looks to launch new index ranking states by their labour standards

The index is aimed to promote 'healthy competition' between states to improve labour welfare, productivity, social security coverage, and more

Budget 2024: Rise in standard deduction limit likely in new tax system

Union Budget 2024: Standard deduction represents a portion of the income that is not subject to taxation; it serves as a comprehensive allowance for tax deductions available to salaried employees

FinMin to meet CEOs of PSBs on Jun 25, review financial inclusion schemes

The finance ministry has called a meeting of heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Tuesday to review progress of various financial inclusion schemes, including PM Vishwakarma, Jan Suraksha and Mudra Yojana. The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi. According to sources, the meeting would review the progress of various flagship schemes, including PM Vishwakarma, StandUp India, PM SVANidhi , among others. Other financial inclusion related issues would also be discussed in the meeting, sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year launched PM Vishwakarma scheme under which traditional craftsmen and artisans will be provided loan assistance at a minimal interest rate without the need for collateral. With a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore for a period of five years, the scheme will benefit about 30 lakh families of traditional artisans and craftsmen, including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and ...

Education Budget 2024: What did FM Sitharaman say in the past five Budgets?

Education Budget 2024: The BJP-led NDA government has steadily increased its allocation towards the education sector, focusing on skilling and digitisation. Here are highlights of the last 5 years

Budget 2024: Will the govt bring back fare concessions for senior citizens?

Union Budget 2024: According to RTI disclosures, Indian Railways earned around Rs 2,242 crore from about 150 million senior citizens during the financial year 2022-23

Centre may prepay market loans taken to compensate states during Covid yrs

The central government may be able to repay Rs 2.69 lakh crore loans it had taken to compensate states for GST revenue loss in FY21 and FY22 by November 2025, four months ahead of its scheduled repayment, an official has said. The full repayment of the market borrowings is expected earlier than the previously calculated timeline of March 2026. The issue is expected to be taken up for discussion in the next meeting of the GST Council in August, the official added. The compensation cess was initially brought in for five years to make up the revenue shortfall of states, following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The compensation cess expired in June 2022, but the amount collected through the levy is being used to repay the interest and principal of the Rs 2.69 lakh crore that the Centre had borrowed during COVID-19. At the 53rd GST Council meeting on Saturday, it was learnt that Karnataka had raised the issue of continuation of compensation cess levy, repayment

News updates: Govt orders CBI probe in NEET paper leak case

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Budget 2024: FM vows Centre's support to states via timely tax devolution

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday underlined Centre's support to states through timely tax devolution and GST compensation arrears to stimulate growth. At the pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers, Sitharaman also nudged states to take advantage of the scheme under which the Centre gives 50-year interest free loan to states for undertaking specified reforms. In her remarks, the Union Finance Minister underlined the union government's support to states through timely tax devolution, Finance Commission grants, and arrears of GST Compensation being provided for providing stimulus to growth, an official statement said. Regarding the 'Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment', Sitharaman mentioned that while most of the loans are untied, a part of it is conditional-linked to citizen-centric reforms by states and sector-specific capital projects and requested the states to avail these loans by fulfilling requisite criteria. Most states ...

Agri bodies urge FM Sitharaman to boost research, rationalise subsidies

Pre-budget meeting: Finance Minister meet agricultural bodies to discuss policy and budget recommendations

Increase capex, simplify taxes, bring more PLI schemes: India Inc to FM

Sanjiv Puri, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), suggested that the capex spending should be increased by 25% over the revised estimate of 2023-24

What did FM Sitharaman say about fiscal deficit in the last 5 Budgets?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to maintain fiscal deficit target at 5.1% for FY25

Finance sector pitches for tax sops, removal of tax anomalies in Budget

Financial sector players on Thursday made a case for tax sops in the upcoming FY25 Budget for deepening of the market. In a pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here, some of the players urged the government to fix tax arbitrage wherever it exists. This was the second Pre-Budget Consultation which was attended by leading experts of the financial and capital markets sector in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2024-25, the finance ministry said in a post on X. The full Budget 2024-25 is expected to be presented in Parliament next month. Emerging out of two-hour meeting with the finance minister, Arun Kohli, MD & Country Head, Morgan Stanley India Company, said tax policies need to be stable and long-term oriented. Participants also made their point on capital gains tax and securities transaction tax. According to George Alexander Muthoot, MD of Muthoot Group, some of the players pitched for deepening the market and provide some tax ...

Budget 2024: Boost jobs, stick to fiscal goals, economists advise FM

Economists discussed measures for capacity-driven growth that should be sustainable and the need to push private sector investment and consumption to sustain the growth momentum

Union Budget 2024: No likely cut in fuel prices, PMAY allotment may rise

The Union Budget 2024 is expected to be announced in the third week of July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting on June 20

Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting on June 20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a pre-budget consultation with industry stakeholders on June 20. Here's what to expect

FM Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting with industry chambers on Jun 20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to hold pre-budget consultations with industry chambers on June 20, sources said. The budget for 2024-25 fiscal is likely to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July. Industry sources said the pre-budget consultation with Sitharaman would be preceded by a meeting with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on June 18. The 2024-25 Budget is likely to lay out Modi 3.0 government's economic agenda. The finance minister will have to look at measures to boost growth without hurting inflation as well as look for resources to meet the coalition government's compulsion. The economic agenda would include steps to fast-rack reforms to make India a USD 5-trillion economy in near future and turn the country into a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. The Indian economy is projected to grow 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of improving rural demand and moderating inflation, as per RBI estimates. The Modi 3.0 government inherits a strong

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to set new record with 7th consecutive Union Budget

With the interim budget presented on February 1 of this year, Sitharaman equalled Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets

Agreement with IMF for fresh loan expected next month: Pak Finance Minister

Pakistan's finance minister Mohammad Aurangzeb on Thursday said an agreement to secure a fresh loan to address the country's economic woes is expected to be reached with the International Monetary Fund next month. Aurangzeb, while addressing a post-budget press conference here, a day after unveiling the Rs 18,877 billion budget, announced that negotiations with the IMF were underway and going in the right direction. I don't want to say anything in finality other than the fact that it's (IMF talks) moving positively, he said and expressed hope that a staff-level agreement (SLA) is expected in July too. He, however, declined to talk further on the topic of SLA. The budget, which many believe is designed to meet IMF requirements for securing another USD 6 billion to USD 8 billion loans under the medium-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF), marks a 25 per cent increase over the outgoing fiscal year's outlay. The government has proposed historically-high additional taxes through various .

'Ease of living': Back in office, Nirmala Sitharaman lists priorities

Says reforms undertaken since 2014 will continue