News Analysis India

Tag: Finance Minister

  • Naidu, Birla discuss Covid-safe Budget Session

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday discussed preparations for the Budget session of Parliament amid the surge in coronavirus cases.

    The session begins Monday with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to members of both the Houses.

    During the meet, Birla suggested that members of both the Houses can be seated at different locations by name to avoid confusion, crowding, and inquiries. Naidu accepted the suggestion, parliamentary sources said.

    Due to Covid norms, the two Houses are meeting at different times. Members of the two Houses will be accommodated in chambers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as galleries to prevent crowding.

    To implement the sitting arrangement by name, parties have been approached to draw up a list of members who would be accommodated in various locations. Seats were allotted in chambers and galleries of both the Houses based on the strength of parties.

    ALSO READ: Budget expectations: Clarity on crypto taxation, hike in 80C limit, duty rationalisation on EVs

    Given the reduction in the time of sitting of both the Houses by one hour per sitting due to staggered timings, Naidu and Birla took stock of the time available for different items of business. They underscored the need for cooperation from all sections of both the Houses for effective utilisation of available time.

    While Rajya Sabha would meet from 10 am to 3 pm, the Lok Sabha would sit from 4 pm to 9 pm. Officials informed the two presiding officers that the Parliament House complex has been sanitised and all possible measures are being taken to contain the spread of coronavirus.

    They were told that all MPs have been requested to take RT-PCR test 48 before the commencement of the Session. Part one of the session would end on February 11. The second part would begin on March 14 and conclude on April 8.

  • Many districts lack banking presence despite high level of economic activities: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said many districts in the country lack banking presence despite high level of economic activity taking place in those areas.

    Addressing banking industry lobby grouping Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Sitharaman asked lenders to augment efforts of deepening presence.

    Giving the lenders the option to decide which place requires banking presence through a brick-and-mortar model and where a step-down presence would help, Sitharaman made it clear that she is not against digitalisation and efforts.

    She said the banks’ books are much cleaner now and this will help the government as the recapitalisation requirements go down.

    The finance minister also said the upcoming National Asset Reconstruction Company should not be called a “bad bank” as it is called in the US.

    Banks need to be nimble and understand every unit’s need to achieve the USD 400 billion exports target, she said.

  • Need to conclude loan guarantee scheme for medical infra in non-metros in time: FM

    The main objective of the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Covid-Affected Sectors (LGSCAS) is to partially mitigate credit risk and facilitate bank credit at lower rates of interest 7.95 per cent per annum.

  • Honest taxpayers deserve to be recognised for paying due share of taxes: Nirmala Sitharaman 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said honest taxpayers deserve to be recognised for dutifully paying their due share of taxes and appreciated the Income Tax Department for successful implementation of various reforms.

    In her message to the I-T Department on the 161st anniversary of Income Tax Day, she complimented the department for continuing to work towards simplifying its procedures and processes, and making its functioning hassle-free, fair and transparent.

    “The minister observed that the honest taxpayers deserve to be recognized for the contribution they are making to the progress of the nation by dutifully paying their due share of taxes. She also lauded taxpayers for discharging their compliance obligations despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic,” an official statement said.

    Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary observed that most of the processes and compliance requirements have been shifted to online platforms and the need for taxpayers to physically visit tax offices has been eliminated or minimized.

    He highlighted the fact that the interaction with taxpayers is now characterized by a spirit of trust and respect, relying more on voluntary compliance.

    Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj also complimented the department for having done well in adapting itself to the emergent changes in the economy and having been able to achieve a healthy growth in tax collections.

    He also appreciated the initiatives undertaken by the department to reorient its approach towards revenue collection, making its functioning trust-based and taxpayer-centric.

    Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman J B Mohapatra lauded the tax officers for their collective efforts and effectively fulfilling their twin role as the revenue earning arm of the nation and provider of taxpayer services.

    Referring to the larger and far-reaching policy measures like ‘Honouring the Honest’, Faceless Regime and adoption of the Taxpayers’ Charter, he noted that these initiatives have made the departmental functioning more transparent, objective and taxpayer-friendly.

  • Government not going for lockdowns in big way, says Sitharaman amid COVID wave

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid surging coronavirus cases in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday made it clear that the government would not go for lockdowns in a big way and only resort to local containment.

    In a virtual meeting with World Bank Group president David Malpass, Sitharaman appreciated the initiatives of the World Bank to increase the lending space for India to enhance availability of finance for development.

    “Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman shared the measures being taken by India to contain the spread of second wave of pandemic including the five pillared strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and #COVID19 appropriate behaviour,” the Finance Ministry said in a tweet.

    “Even with the second wave, we are very clear that we are not going in for lockdowns in a big way. We don’t want to totally arrest the economy. The local level isolation of patients, or households which have people in quarantines are the methods through which the crisis will be handled, the second wave will be handled. There shall not be lockdown,” she said.

    She also shared other measures taken by government including distribution of LED bulbs, ethanol blending programme under National Bio Fuel Policy, voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, incentivisation of electric vehicles to achieve green, resilient and inclusive development.

    Daily average cases across the country crossed 1.5 lakh last week. As per the latest health ministry data, 1,61,736 new coronavirus infections have been reported in a day pushing India’s total caseload to 1,36,89,453, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped further to 89.51 per cent.

  • Is U-turn on interest rate order an ‘oversight’ or ‘election-driven hindsight’: Congress asks Finance Minister Sitharaman

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday hit out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after she ordered withdrawal of the interest rate slashing order and asked whether the U-turn was an “oversight” or an “election-driven hindsight”.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the small saving rates would be reduced soon after elections.

    “There was already a loot on petrol and diesel and soon after the elections end, the small saving rates will be reduced and there will be a loot on the savings of the middle-class.

    “This government is of jumlas (rhetoric) and the loot of common people,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi using the hashtag “oversight”.

    Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Really Nirmala Sitharaman ‘oversight’ in issuing the order to decrease interest rates on GOI schemes or election driven ‘hindsight’ in withdrawing it?” Party general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit out at Sitharaman and said she has no right to continue as the finance minister.

    “Madam FM, Are u running a ‘Circus’ or a ‘Government’,” Surjewala asked.

    “You have no moral right to continue as FM,” he said.

    “One can imagine the functioning of economy when such duly approved order affecting crores of people can be issued by an ‘oversight’. Who is the competent authority referred in order,” he said on Twitter.

    Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said when inflation is at about 6 per cent and expected to rise, the BJP government is offering interest rates below 6 percent hitting the savers and the middle class below the belt.

    “The BJP government had decided to launch another assault on the middle class by slashing the interest rates and profiting itself. When caught, the FM is putting forward the lame excuse of ‘inadvertent error’,” he said on Twitter.

    “Announcement of interest rates on savings instruments for the next quarter is a regular exercise. There is nothing ‘inadvertent’ about its release on 31st March,” he also said.

    After the government issued fresh interest rates, Sitharaman in a tweet said, “Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn.”

  • Budget session of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly starts today, CM Baghel will present the budget as Finance Minister on March 1

    The budget session of the assembly will start from Monday. There are 24 meetings to be held during this period. Today will be Governor Anusuiya Uike’s speech on the first day, on 25 and 26 February the Governor’s address will be discussed. On March 1, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will present the budget as Finance Minister. There will be general discussion on the budget on 2 and 3 March. Budget grant demands will be discussed from March 4 to 23. Explain that 2 thousand 3 hundred 50 questions have been put in the budget session, 1 thousand 262 starred and 1 thousand 88 unstarred questions have been put in it. On the other hand, the opposition has prepared to surround the government on a number of issues including procurement of paddy, lifting of paddy, farmer suicides, law and order situation in the state, rising crime against women and women. The budget session of the Legislative Assembly is likely to be uproar.

  • Nirmala Sitharaman slams Opposition for creating false narrative, says govt working for poor sections

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Friday slammed the Opposition and accused them of constantly alleging a false narrative that the government only worked for cronies and said several of the Centre’s schemes were for the poor.

    “It has now become a sort of habit for some in the Opposition to constantly allege, in spite of what we are doing for the poor and the steps taken for helping the poor and needy of this country, a false narrative is created that this government works only for cronies,” Sitharaman said while replying to the discussion on the Union Budget in Rajya Sabha.

    She reminded members of the Upper House of several schemes that have been implemented for the poorer sections of the country, like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Saubhagya Yojana.

    ALSO READ: Union budget instrument to attain Aatmanirbhar Bharat, says FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha

    “Over 1.67 crore houses were completed under the PM Awas Yojana. Over 2.67 crore households were electrified under the PM Saubhagya Yojana since October 2017. Is this for the rich?” Sitharaman asked.

    She further pointed out, “The total value of orders placed on the government’s e-market is Rs 8,22,077 crore. Are they being given to big companies? They are being given to MSMEs. Over 3.6 lakh digital transactions via UPI have taken place from August 2016 till Jan 2020.”

    She also took a dig at the Congress party, saying, “UPI is used by who? The rich? No. The middle class, smaller traders use UPI. Who are these people then? Is government creating UPI and facilitating digital transactions to benefit rich cronies? For some damads? No.”

    Opposition members raised objections over her remarks, to which she responded, “Damad, I didn’t think is the trademark of Indian National Congress. Damad har ghar mein hota hai. Magar Damad Indian National Congress mein ek specialised naam hai. (Son-in-laws are there in every household, but it is a specialised name in the Indian National Congress).

    This comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on February 4 termed the Union Budget 2021-22 as ‘crony centric’, which ‘betrays’ the employers of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

    “Modi’s crony centric budget means — Struggling MSMEs given no low-interest loans, no GST relief. The employers of India’s largest workforce betrayed,” Gandhi had tweeted.

    Earlier, he had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to “handover India’s assets to crony capitalist friends”. He had slammed the government for not “putting cash in the hands of the people”.

    Gandhi had also said the government should support MSMEs, farmers and workers for generating employment.  

  • Union budget instrument to attain Aatmanirbhar Bharat, says FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Union Budget 2021-22 is the instrument through which Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to be attained and asserted that the government is also looking at “long term sustainable growth”.

    Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Budget 2021-22, Sitharman said, “It’s a Budget which clearly draws on the experience, the administrative capacities and also exposure that the Prime Minister had during his long elected tenure – both as CM and as PM of this country – known for his commitment towards development, growth, and reforms. So these three things are essentially infused in the budget which is now speaking for itself in the sense that it is the instrument through which Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to be attained.”

    Besides providing ‘quick short term solutions’, Sitharaman said that the government is also looking at “long term sustainable growth”.

    ALSO READ: Opposition parties slam govt over Union Budget in Rajya Sabha, say nothing in it for common man

    “So post-pandemic and post-global contraction, economies have suffered across the world. And as I said in my budget speech the attempt made in this budget is to provide strong stimulus, to provide such a stimulus which can bring in a multiplier effect and therefore instead of finding quick short term solutions, even as we provide short term quick relief for those people who so desperately need it,” the minister said.

    “We are looking at medium term, long term sustainable growth, which will keep India in that kind of growth trajectory which will maintain us as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world,” she added.

    The Finance Minister said 800 million people were provided free foodgrains, free cooking gas was provided to 80 million people, and cash directly was given to 400 million people including farmers, women, divyangs, and the poor.

    “Over 1.67 crore houses completed under PM Awas Yojana. Is it for the rich? Over 2.67 crore households electrified under PM Saubhagya Yojana since ’17 October. The total value of orders placed on Govt e-market is Rs 8,22,077 crores. Are they being given to big companies? They are being given to MSMEs,” she said.

    Slamming the Opposition, Sitharaman said: “It has now become a sort of habit for some in the Opposition to constantly allege, in spite of what we are doing for the poor and the steps taken for helping the poor and needy of this country, a false narrative is created to accuse – saying that this government works only for cronies.”

    On February 4, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed the Union Budget 2021-22 as “crony centric”, which “betrays” the employers of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).”Modi’s crony centric budget means- Struggling MSMEs given no low-interest loans, no GST relief. The employers of India’s largest workforce betrayed,” Gandhi tweeted. 

  • Article :- It is possible if Modi is there A total of 47 thousand ventilators available in the country in the last 70 years Purchase of 50,000 ventilators from PM Cares Fund

    On the board of the (PMNRF)Prime Minister National Relief Fund – the Prime Minister, the President of the Congress Party, are representatives of private industries. On the board of PM Cares: Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister, Defense Minister – all are officials.

    Who will audit PM Cares?

    The Modi government appointed M / s SARC & Associates as the auditor of PMNRF at the end of the financial year 2017-18. The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund is being audited from the year 2018-19. It will also audit PM Cares.

    Let us tell you that the opposition has been constantly raising questions about the PM Cares Fund. There is a continuous demand for its audit from the Congress. The fund was also challenged in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the formation of the PM Cares Fund to deal with epidemics such as the corona virus.

    Where was PM Cares Fund’s money used?

    In the midst of the growing infection of the corona virus, the PM Cares fund was created. On the call of PM Modi, the country’s special to the common people donated fiercely. The Prime Minister’s Office has informed that Rs 3100 crore has been allocated from this fund for the fight against Corona.

    Regarding the use of PM Cares Fund, in this report it was revealed that Rs 2,000 crore 50,000 Made in India ventilators were given. One thousand crore rupees was given for the welfare of the migrants. Hundred crore rupees were given to make the vaccine. There were first 47,000 ventilators in the country. 50,000 ventilators came into the country from PM Cares.

    The special thing is that the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was formed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, although its managing committee has always included the President of the Congress Party. When the PMNRF Fund was created, which people were included in its managing committee.

    1) Prime Minister

    2) President of National Congress Party of India.

    3) Deputy Prime Minister.

    4) Finance Minister.

    5) A representative of Tata Trustees.

    6) Representative of industry and commerce to be elected by FICCI.

    However, from time to time, new members have been added to it. In 1985, there came a time when the responsibility of managing this fund was handed over to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was also empowered to make him the Secretary of the Fund to whom he would have the right to operate the bank accounts of the Fund. That is, this fund started to be fully run by PMNRF. It is to be noted that this decision was taken when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister in charge of this fund.

    Now, let’s talk about Kakru-Vishwakrishwas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up the Kakru-Presidents Fund to make public contributions to fight the Corona epidemic. The donations under this will be used to provide relief to people affected by the corona virus. Other members of this fund include Defense Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister. Apart from this, people doing good work in science, health, law and public sectors have also been appointed as its members. With the formation of this fund, famous celebrities as well as common people have made their contributions in lakhs.

     However, a question arises again and again that despite the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, why was the PM Cares Fund started? A magazine has claimed that the Prime Minister of the PM is more democratic than the National Relief Fund. Therefore, it would also not be wrong to say that the PMNRF -Vishwashtram is more transparent than the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. There is also a provision for the establishment of an advisory board in PM Care Fund which can house medical professionals and healthcare professionals, academics, economists and lawyers. Politics also started with the Kakru-Nations. While the Congress is not telling it as transparent, the BJP says that the Congress is unhappy with it because there is no place for the Congress President in it.

    TAG : – Defence Minister, Finance Minister, Home minister, PM Cares Fund, PMNRF, Prime Minister, Prime Minister National Relief Fund, Tata Trustees, Ventilators