Page 3 - Finance Ministry

PSBs register strong business growth of 11% in H1 FY25, says FinMin

There are currently 12 public sector banks in India, including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), and UCO Bank, among others

FinMin revokes 8-year-old circular: CPSEs no longer need NITI nod for JVs

The DPE in a notification said it has been done to make the process easy and less time consuming

Industry bodies urge Finance Ministry to ease TDS rate structure

Proposal seeks to lessen compliance burden on taxpayers and avoid litigation

SC rules in favour of DRI authority; clears recovery of Rs 20,000 cr tax

This ruling confirms that DRI officers qualify as "proper officers" under Section 28 of the Customs Act, enabling them to issue show-cause notices

Finance ministry asks PSU banks to meet loan targets for agri-allied sector

The finance ministry has asked public sector banks (PSBs) to meet loan targets for the agri-allied sector during the current financial year. Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju in a meeting held on Tuesday reviewed the progress of credit disbursement to agri-allied activities like animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries with Public Sector Banks (PSBs), NABARD and State/ UT Level Bankers' Committee. Representatives of state governments/UTs, the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and the Department of Fisheries also participated in the discussions, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The secretary urged PSBs to take all necessary steps to ensure that respective targets are met during the current financial year and stressed the state governments to facilitate banks in improving the flow of credit to these sectors. Nagaraju underscored the importance of the allied sector in driving agricultural growth and its employment potential in rural areas and ...

Govt urges banks to boost credit flow for allied agri sectors; here's why

The allied activities receive only 10 per cent of the total agricultural credit while they contribute 40 per cent of the agricultural output, said the RBI report

Finance Commission grants released for RLBs in Haryana, Tripura, Mizoram

The Centre has released the first installment of the 15th Finance Commission grants for 2024-25 to rural local bodies in Tripura and Haryana, and a second installment in Mizoram, according to an official statement on Tuesday. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj said in Tripura, untied grants totalling Rs 31.40 crore and tied grants of Rs 47.10 crore have been released for all 1,260 rural local bodies (RLBs), including traditional local bodies, 40 block advisory committees and 587 village committees. Untied grants are utilised by RLBs for location-specific needs, except for salaries and other establishment costs. Tied grants are used for basic services such as sanitation, maintaining Open Defecation Free (ODF) status and the supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling. Haryana has received untied grants amounting to Rs. 194.867 crores. These funds have been disbursed for 18 eligible district panchayats, 139 block panchayats and 5,911 gram panchayats in the state, th

Finmin starts phase 4 of RRB consolidation, number to fall from 43 to 28

In a bid to achieve operational efficiency and cost rationalisation, the Finance Ministry has initiated the fourth round of consolidation for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and the number of such banks is likely to come down to 28 from 43 at present. As per the roadmap prepared by the Finance Ministry, 15 RRBs operating in various states would be merged. Among states that will see consolidation of RRBs include Andhra Pradesh, which has the maximum number of RRBs (4), Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (3 each), and Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan (2 each). In the case of Telangana, the amalgamation of RRBs will be subject to bifurcation of assets and liabilities of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) between APGVB and Telangana Grameena Bank. "Given the rural expansion of RRBs and agro-climatic or geographical ethos and in order to retain the USP of RRBs viz the closeness to communities, it is the felt need to embark on .

Urban demand stress under watch, festivals may boost consumption: FinMin

The inflation rate stood at 4.6 per cent in the first half of FY25, down from 5.5 per cent during the same period last year

FinMin can't treat DRT officers as subordinates, says Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a matter related to lawyers' strikes at DRT Visakhapatnam

Finmin considers proposal to raise posts of Chief General Managers in PSBs

The finance ministry is considering a proposal to raise the posts of Chief General Managers in public sector banks in view of their increasing business and profitability. As per existing government guidelines, there can be one Chief General Manager (CGM) for four General Managers in a public sector bank (PSB). These guidelines were issued in 2019 and since then there has been marked improvement in performance of PSBs despite the pandemic, sources said. Business of PSBs have witnessed significant growth and consequently they booked record profit, sources said, adding the Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry is reviewing CGM positions for achieving the next level of growth by PSBs. The decision to relax the guidelines would be taken after thorough examination and considering the need for furthering their business expansion, sources said. The CGM post was created in 2019, after the merger of 10 nationalised banks to four large lenders. CGMs act as an administra

Ministers' group discusses merger of GST compensation cess into taxes

The group of ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess, under Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, on Wednesday discussed merger of compensation cess into GST. States suggested that during the transition of cess, once it is decided to merge with taxes no new goods should be added to the list of luxury, sin and demerit goods. States were of the view that since the compensation cess ends in March 2026, the only way to restructure it is to merge the levy with the taxes and bring about separate tax rates for the items on which cess is levied currently. "GST compensation cess is coming to an end. A discussion needed to be done on what will be the future of the cess. Every state has given their views. This was the first meeting," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said. Should it continue as cess or be converted to tax and whether there would be changes in luxury, demerit and sin goods items, Chaudhary said, "Discussion is going on". The next meeting of the GoM on

Group representing business correspondents seeks raise, writes to govt

Model is critical for financial inclusion but commissions have not been revised 'in a decade'

Over 3.5 mn I-T audit reports filed on e-filing portal up to Oct 7: FinMin

The finance ministry on Wednesday said more than 34.84 lakh audit reports, including about 34.09 lakh Tax Audit Reports (TARs), have been filed for assessment year 2024-25 on the e-filing portal till October 7. The income tax department had extended the date for filing the audit report from September 30 to October 7. There is an increase in the filing of TARs for the AY 2024-25 by around 4.8 per cent compared to the filings of TARs on the due date for AY 2023-24. "To assist taxpayers, the department conducted extensive outreach programmes through emails, SMSs, webinars, social media campaigns and messages on the Income Tax portal to create and raise awareness among the taxpayers about filing TARs and other audit forms by the due date. Various user awareness videos were uploaded on the Income Tax portal to provide guidance," the ministry said in a release. It further said that these concerted efforts have been helpful to taxpayers and tax professionals in timely compliance in filing

CBDT forms an internal committee for full review of Income-Tax Act

Public feedback invited to help make the Act concise and easy to understand

Finance ministry releases new norms for handling delayed tax refund claims

You will no longer need to approach higher authorities even if the tax amount increases

Govt announces 3 new external members ahead of key RBI MPC meet

Govt appoints Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya, and Nagesh Kumar as new external members of RBI's Monetary Policy Committee

Pickup in public expenditure may keep growth steady: Finance ministry

The review released on Thursday said that the risk of market correction has risen amid a boom around the world, and if this risk materialises, the spillover effect may be felt globally as well

Finance ministry's pre-Budget meetings to commence from October 10

The finance ministry will commence from October 10 its pre-Budget meetings with review of six ministries and departments, including new & renewable energy and skill development & entrepreneurship. The meetings, which will continue through November 11, are being held to firm up budgetary allocations for 2025-26 and finalise the revised estimates for the current fiscal year. On the last day, Ministry of Railway and Department of Health and Family Welfare will be discussed. The Union Budget 2025-26 is expected to focus on reforms to further accelerate growth and implement measures to boost job creation and economic demand. "Pre-budget meetings chaired by Secretary (Expenditure) shall commence in the second week of October 2024. Financial Advisers shall ensure that necessary details...are properly entered in UBIS (Union Budget Information System) before/latest by October 7, 2024," the Budget circular 2025-26 issued by Department of Economic Affairs said. It will be the second ...

SC discarded 573 tax cases post-revision in appeal filing: Finance ministry

The finance ministry on Tuesday said the Supreme Court has disposed of 573 direct tax cases after the monetary limits for filing appeals were revised in the Budget. The Union Budget 2024-25 provided for an enhanced monetary limit for filing appeals related to direct taxes, excise and service tax in the tax tribunals, high courts and the Supreme Court and the limits were increased to Rs 60 lakh, Rs 2 crore, and Rs 5 crore, respectively. "The Hon'ble Supreme Court today disposed of 573 direct tax cases where the tax effect is less than Rs 5 crore, in view of the revised monetary limit of filing of appeals," the finance ministry said. This significant milestone aligns with the government's efforts to reduce tax litigation and promote ease of doing business, it added. As a result of these revised limits, it is estimated that about 4,341 cases will be withdrawn from various judicial forums over the course of time. This includes ITAT: 717 cases, high courts: 2,781 cases and Supreme Court