Page 5 - Finance Ministry

Govt asks insurers to swiftly settle claims in flood-hit Andhra, Telangana

The Finance Ministry on Thursday said PSU insurance companies have been directed to ensure swift claim settlements by organising special camps and easing claim processes for those affected by heavy rains and floods in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The insurance companies have been also instructed to widely advertise the names and contact numbers of nodal officers to whom the policyholders can contact. In a statement, the ministry said in view of the heavy rains and floods in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Department of Financial Services issued directions, on Thursday, to the public sector insurance companies to extend and provide full support to the people affected by floods. "The insurance companies have been instructed to ensure swift claim settlements by organising special camps and easing claim processes and thereby provide relief to those affected," the ministry said in a post on X. The central government and finance ministry are committed to supporting those affected by t

To boost capex, FinMin relaxes norms for expenditure exceeding Rs 500 cr

The finance ministry has relaxed norms for expenditure exceeding Rs 500 crore to accelerate capex (capital expenditure) that is pegged at Rs 11.11 lakh crore for the current fiscal. This will give a push to government spending which suffered a slowdown for a couple of months due to general elections. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget proposed to raise the capital expenditure target by 11.1 per cent to record Rs 11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25. To provide requisite operational flexibility in the execution of the Budget, it has been decided to relax rules for big releases above Rs 500 crore for all items of expenditure in the current financial year, an office memorandum dated September 2, 2024, said. The relaxation permitted is subject to strict compliance by all ministries and departments, it said. All expenditures should be in compliance of the guidelines of the Single Nodal Agency (SNA)/Central Nodal Agency (CNA) and Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) and Quarterly ...

Finance ministry to sell 6.78% stake in GIC Re for Rs 4,700 crore

Stake sale for non-retail investors begins on Wednesday, retail investors to bid on Thursday

FinMin to develop climate finance taxonomy in 6-10 months: DEA secy

Climate finance taxonomy is a set of guidelines that will help investors and institutions direct funds towards investments that will aid in tackling climate change

Nitin Gadkari wants states to pitch for GST cut on flex-fuel vehicles

Share of biofuel will be 50% of fossil fuels in five years, says minister

Power to arrest is proportional to its checks, balances: Delhi court to ED

A Delhi court has pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) while granting bail to an accused in a money laundering case and said that the power to arrest must be directly proportional to its checks and balances coupled with unambiguous regulations. Granting bail to Mangelal Sunil Agarwal, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dheeraj Mor noted that in a "very unpleasant situation", while the previous investigating officer had cited him as a witness, the next IO chose to arrest him based on the same evidence available on record. "The hallmark of investigation is its objectivity. Subjective interpretation of IO must be deprecated as it would make a supposed objective investigation dependent upon his uncontrolled whims and fancies, who has been conferred extreme power of arrest that leads to curtailing liberty of an individual," the judge said in the order passed on August 31. "In these circumstances, it is apparent that one of the lOs was/is wrong and either acted upon the considerations

Govt looks to increase insurance cover under PMJJBY, PMSBY to Rs 5 lakh

Centre may increase cover from the current Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh under its flagship insurance schemes ahead of the high-stakes assembly elections in three states

Govt lowers minimum public shareholding rule to 10% for GIFT City listing

Experts believe these revised thresholds will enable Indian companies to access global capital and will be a step in cementing the country's position in the global financial landscape

No restrictions for queer community to open joint bank accounts: FinMin

The ministry also said that a clarification in this regard has also been issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to all the scheduled commercial banks on August 21, 2024

GST Council meet to discuss rate rationalisation on Sep 9, says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the GST council next month will discuss rationalisation of tax rates but a final decision on tweaking taxes and slabs will be taken later. She also said that compensation cess on luxury and sin goods are also going to be discussed and can come up in the September 9 meeting or later. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary met last week and broadly converged on retaining slabs under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) unchanged at 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The panel also tasked the fitment committee -- a group of tax officers -- to analyse the implication of tinkering rates on some items and present them before the GST council. "The upcoming GST Council meeting will take up the issue of rate rationalisation. There will be a discussion on the issue. Committee of officers will make a presentation on rate rationalisation," Sitharaman told reporters here. However, a final .

Kalpataru gets notice from Afghan govt for not submitting tax declarations

Kalpataru Projects International Ltd on Tuesday said it has received a tax notice from the Afghanistan government for non-submission of certain declarations. In an exchange filing, the company said, "The branch office through its consultant... received certain tax challans from the Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan Revenue Department with the demand of payment of tax liability, additional tax and fine, due to non-submission of certain declarations for FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22." The notice was received on August 26, it said. The authority has demanded tax liability of AFN 8,774,153 (Rs 104.59 lakh), additional tax of AFN 12,150 (Rs 0.14 lakh) and fine of AFN 166,401 (Rs 1.98 lakhs), Kalpataru Projects International Ltd said. The branch anticipates this additional tax and fine may be waived off by the Ministry of Finance once the payment towards the tax liability is discharged, it said. Last week, the company also received a tax notice from the GST authority in India. The authority

UPS no burden on future govts: Cabinet Secretary-designate Somanathan

Fiscally prudent, funded within Centre's projections, stresses pension panel head

New pension norms in the works; finance ministry to meet state govts

Approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, the UPS kicks in from April 1, 2025

FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeks RBI help to clear RRB dues with states

The finance minister also directed RRBs to become more customer-friendly and use their local connections to further improve performance

To ban or regulate? Govt's cryptocurrency paper likely by October 2024

In October 2023, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors adopted the roadmap on crypto assets proposed in the synthesis paper, calling for its swift and coordinated implementation

MCA likely to bring out internship scheme guidelines within two weeks

The MCA has held industry consultations on the scheme before finalising the guidelines. The ministry will also put in place checks and balances in the scheme to ensure transparency

Economic momentum intact, set to achieve 6.5-7% growth: FinMin report

India's economic momentum remains intact despite a somewhat erratic monsoon, and real GDP growth of 6.5-7 per cent projected in the Economic Survey seems appropriate, a finance ministry report said on Thursday. According to the Monthly Economic Review for July, the Indian economy has sustained its momentum in the first four months of FY25. Goods and Services Tax collections in the first four months of FY25 underwent a level shift pushed up by the widening of the tax base and heightened economic activity, the report released by the finance ministry said. "The resilience of domestic activity is also reflected in the strong performance of the manufacturing and services sector purchasing managers' indices. The manufacturing growth has been driven by expansion in demand conditions, a rise in new export orders and growth in output prices," it said. On the fiscal front, it said, the Union Budget FY25 has laid out a glide path of fiscal consolidation. Supported by strong revenue collection

Over Rs 80,000 crore worth GST notices issued for assessment year 2018-22

Alleged shortfall in tax paid, reversal of ITC among reasons

No plan to probe Buch over Hindenburg row: FinMin sources deny media report

Hindenburg Research on August 10 alleged that Sebi Chief Madhabi Buch and her husband had alleged investments in obscure offshore funds, which were used in the alleged Adani money syphoning scandal

Focus on deposits, strengthen cybersecurity: FM Sitharaman to banks

The FM also met top officials of regional rural banks in a separate meeting, where banks were asked to expedite one state-one RRB initiative