News Analysis India

Tag: Nirmala Sitharaman

  • Cabinet ministers: Narendra Modi, Cabinet take oath: Check Team Modi 3.0

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday was administered oath of office for the third time by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

    Several key leaders including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, JP Nadda, HD Kumaraswamy, Jitan Ram Manjhi and others were also sworn-in as ministers in PM Modi-led cabinet. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 240 seats, with the NDA obtaining a total of 293 seats out of 543 in the lower house. Congress fought the election as part of the INDIA bloc and the parties together were able to prevent BJP from getting a majority on its own in Lok Sabha.Team Modi 3.0 Amit ShahRajnath SinghNitin GadkariJP NaddaShivraj Singh ChouhanNirmala SitharamanS. JaishankarManohar Lal KhattarHD KumaraswamyPiyush GoyalDharmendra PradhanJitan Ram ManjhiRajiv Ranjan SinghSarbananda SonowalVirendra KumarKinjarapu Ram Mohan NaiduPralhad JoshiJual OramGiriraj SinghAshwini VaishnawJyotiraditya ScindiaBhupender YadavGajendra Singh ShekhawatAnnapurna DeviKiren RijijuHardeep Singh PuriMansukh MandaviyaG Kishan ReddyChirag PaswanCR PatilRao Indrajit SinghJitendra SinghArjun Ram MeghwalPrataprao JadhavJayant Chaudhary Jitin PrasadaShripad NaikPankaj ChaudharyKrishan PalRamdas AthawaleRamnath ThakurNityanand RaiAnupriya PatelV SomannaChandra Sekhar Pemmasani SP BaghelAllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States

  • White Paper on UPA decade: Congress lacked 'neeyat and niyam', says FM Sitharaman

    White Paper on UPA decade: Congress lacked 'neeyat and niyam', says FM Sitharaman

  • PM Modi to reply on ‘Motion of Thanks’ in Lok Sabha today; BJP MPs asked to remain present in House

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu had addressed the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on January 31, the first day of the Budget Session.Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in Lok Sabha to be present in the Lower House on the fourth day of the ongoing Budget Session. Apart from this, as per the List of Business in the House for the day, Lok Sabha MPs Ravneet Singh and RamshiromVerma will lay on the table the minutes of the twelfth sitting of the Committee on Absence of Members from the sittings of the House held on December 14, 2023.

    MPs PP Chaudhary and NK Premachandran will present the 28th report of the Committee on External Affairs (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on the subject ‘Countering Global Terrorism at Regional and International Levels’.

    BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar will make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 49th Report of the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development on ‘Functioning of Directorate General of Training’ pertaining to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present a statement (Hindi and English versions) of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2024-25.In Rajya Sabha, while the discussion over the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address is to resume, MPs Ashok Kumar Mittal and Prakash Javadekar will lay on the table, a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Twenty Eighth Report of the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on ‘Countering Global Terrorism at Regional and International Levels’ in the House today.

    Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav will introduce the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)

    Amendment Bill, 2024 Bill in the Rajya Sabha today to amend the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

    The last session before Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May this year will be spread over eight sittings spread over a period of 10 days and may conclude on February 9.

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

  • BJP MPs felicitate Modi, Sitharaman for ‘pro-poor’ Budget

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:   Congratulating itself on the Union Budget, the BJP in its parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday felicitated PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The PM described the Budget 23-24 as “pro-poor” and “inclusive” while Sitharaman said the proposals took care of the middle class while keeping the focus on the country’s poor.

    Specially designed garlands were presented to the two amid thunderous applause. Party chief JP Nadda credited the PM with conceptualizing the “pro-poor budget.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi showered praise on Sitharaman for bringing out a “well-balanced and all-inclusive budget.”

    “It is an all-inclusive Budget that touches every section of our society, especially the poor and the deprived sections”, the PM said. The PM, however, kept up the political pitch. He advised his party MPs to reach out to their respective constituencies and discuss what the Budget has for them. The PM told the MPs that whenever the Budget is presented, there are a few people who speak negatively. “This year’s Budget has been hailed as pro-people even by those who are opposed to the BJP ideology,” he said.

    He dismissed the Opposition charges that the Budget proposals were prompted by crucial polls in nine states this year and then the Lok Sabha polls early next year. “It is not a poll-driven budget but a budget focused on the betterment of the poor. It is an all-inclusive budget.” The PM told the party MPs that if they wanted to get re-elected, they should always be in dialogue with the people, especially those belonging to the poor and middle class in their constituencies.

    He said if the party MPs interact with the people directly, there will be no anti-incumbency. “I think all of us should go to our constituencies and stay connected with the people,” he said. Sharing details of the meeting with the media later, Joshi said that the PM also directed the MPs to organize “MP sports competitions” (Saansad Khel Spardha) in their respective constituencies.

    NEW DELHI:   Congratulating itself on the Union Budget, the BJP in its parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday felicitated PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The PM described the Budget 23-24 as “pro-poor” and “inclusive” while Sitharaman said the proposals took care of the middle class while keeping the focus on the country’s poor.

    Specially designed garlands were presented to the two amid thunderous applause. Party chief JP Nadda credited the PM with conceptualizing the “pro-poor budget.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi showered praise on Sitharaman for bringing out a “well-balanced and all-inclusive budget.”

    “It is an all-inclusive Budget that touches every section of our society, especially the poor and the deprived sections”, the PM said. The PM, however, kept up the political pitch. He advised his party MPs to reach out to their respective constituencies and discuss what the Budget has for them. The PM told the MPs that whenever the Budget is presented, there are a few people who speak negatively. “This year’s Budget has been hailed as pro-people even by those who are opposed to the BJP ideology,” he said.

    He dismissed the Opposition charges that the Budget proposals were prompted by crucial polls in nine states this year and then the Lok Sabha polls early next year. “It is not a poll-driven budget but a budget focused on the betterment of the poor. It is an all-inclusive budget.” The PM told the party MPs that if they wanted to get re-elected, they should always be in dialogue with the people, especially those belonging to the poor and middle class in their constituencies.

    He said if the party MPs interact with the people directly, there will be no anti-incumbency. “I think all of us should go to our constituencies and stay connected with the people,” he said. Sharing details of the meeting with the media later, Joshi said that the PM also directed the MPs to organize “MP sports competitions” (Saansad Khel Spardha) in their respective constituencies.

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman admitted to AIIMS

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here on Monday, sources said.

    The 63-year-old has been admitted in a private ward of the hospital.

    She was taken to the hospital around 12 noon.

    More details are awaited.

    NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here on Monday, sources said.

    The 63-year-old has been admitted in a private ward of the hospital.

    She was taken to the hospital around 12 noon.

    More details are awaited.

  • US treasury secretary Janet Yellen nudges India to cut business ties with China, Russia

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Seeking to nudge India to cut trade ties with China and Russia, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said it is high time the world moved away from doing business with “risky countries”. 

    Pitching the concept of ‘friendshoring’, where countries will source their needs from those with shared values, she said: “For too long, countries around the world have been overly dependent on risky countries or a single source for critical inputs.

    We are proactively deepening economic integration with trusted trading partners like India.” Meanwhile, in a separate development that could sweeten the pitch, the US Department of Treasury on Friday removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years.

    Yellen also noted that the while the Ukraine war has brought distress to the world economy with energy prices skyrocketing, the challenges from the conflict and supply strains have in fact brought India and the US closer together. India is an indispensable partner to the US, Yellen added.  

    Addressing the media jointly with Yellen, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India and the US will look forward to strengthening bilateral ties with greater vigour. “We will continue to rely on close cooperation with the US to address the global economic challenges in a more coordinated manner and in strengthening multilateralism,” she said. 

    NEW DELHI: Seeking to nudge India to cut trade ties with China and Russia, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said it is high time the world moved away from doing business with “risky countries”. 

    Pitching the concept of ‘friendshoring’, where countries will source their needs from those with shared values, she said: “For too long, countries around the world have been overly dependent on risky countries or a single source for critical inputs.

    We are proactively deepening economic integration with trusted trading partners like India.” Meanwhile, in a separate development that could sweeten the pitch, the US Department of Treasury on Friday removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years.

    Yellen also noted that the while the Ukraine war has brought distress to the world economy with energy prices skyrocketing, the challenges from the conflict and supply strains have in fact brought India and the US closer together. India is an indispensable partner to the US, Yellen added.  

    Addressing the media jointly with Yellen, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India and the US will look forward to strengthening bilateral ties with greater vigour. “We will continue to rely on close cooperation with the US to address the global economic challenges in a more coordinated manner and in strengthening multilateralism,” she said. 

  • FM hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

    By PTI

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hinted at the possibility of the Centre considering restoring state status to Jammu and Kashmir.

    She dropped the hint while talking about the distribution of funds to the states by the Centre as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

    Delivering a lecture on Centre-State relations here, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi without any hesitation had accepted the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission in 2014-15 that 42 per cent of all taxes– an increase from 32 per cent till then– should be given to the states.

    “That Finance Commission said now you raise it to 42 per cent… which means that Centre will have a lesser amount in its hand. Prime Minister Modi, without a second thought about it, fully accepted the Finance Commission recommendation and that is why today states get 42 per cent of the amount–now reduced by 41 per cent because Jammu and Kashmir is no longer a state.”

    “It will soon become…maybe sometime…,” Sitharaman said in her lecture on “Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat” organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh idealogue P Parameshwaran.

    In August 2019, the central government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hinted at the possibility of the Centre considering restoring state status to Jammu and Kashmir.

    She dropped the hint while talking about the distribution of funds to the states by the Centre as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

    Delivering a lecture on Centre-State relations here, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi without any hesitation had accepted the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission in 2014-15 that 42 per cent of all taxes– an increase from 32 per cent till then– should be given to the states.

    “That Finance Commission said now you raise it to 42 per cent… which means that Centre will have a lesser amount in its hand. Prime Minister Modi, without a second thought about it, fully accepted the Finance Commission recommendation and that is why today states get 42 per cent of the amount–now reduced by 41 per cent because Jammu and Kashmir is no longer a state.”

    “It will soon become…maybe sometime…,” Sitharaman said in her lecture on “Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat” organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh idealogue P Parameshwaran.

    In August 2019, the central government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories.

  • Financial strength critical for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’: Nirmala Sitharaman

    By PTI

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said indiscriminate borrowing and spending by certain States on non-merit goods and expenditure is a matter of concern, and fiscal strength is a critical component for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

    The temptation to borrow beyond capacity would create an inter-generational burden and affect the fiscal soundness of the country, she noted.

    “There are new sources of risks every state is facing. The temptation to spend on non-merit goods. The tendency to get into such not-so-viable, non-merit expenditure is very high in some States,” she said.

    Sitharaman was delivering the second P Parameshwarji Memorial Lecture on “Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat” organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh idealogue P Parameshwaran.

    If contingent liabilities are expanded, the successive governments also have to bear its burden, the union minister warned. As per the Constitution, the Centre can discuss with and question States on borrowing but many of them see it as an interference in their space of authority, she said.

    Sitharaman also recalled that there were states which were initially reluctant to accept the Centre’s money in building assets saying that they would be monitored if the union government’s 50-year interest-free loans were accepted for the purpose.

    Noting that they do monitoring everywhere, she said even if the state receives world bank assistance, it would also be monitored by the Centre.

    When they were asked to take the budgetary allocation with 50 years interest-free loans for building assets, they said they did not want as they would be monitored by the Centre.

    “This is a vicious narrative”, Sitharaman said and asked “is the Centre Pakistan?” The Finance Minister also said every state gets its share in due time under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “During the pandemic, immediately after that, and in 2021 and 2022, whenever we have the comfort of some more revenue coming in, I have paid extra installments to the states much ahead of time. So that they don’t run short of money. The data can prove it,” she added.

    Citing the GST Council as a positive example of cooperative federalism, the minister said it can show how good governance can work for the common people of the country.

    The actual advantage of such a GST Council is the federal structure and the centre-state relations as every state has a voice there.

    The Finance Minister also justified the Centre collecting cess of building infrastructure, saying the money collected in this name is not used for itself, instead it is used for building roads, highways, big ports etc in the states.

    “When you collect money in the name of infrastructure cess, roads are getting built everywhere, ports are getting built everywhere. No one state has denied highways, no one state has denied major ports.” 

    Lamenting that a wrong political narrative was being peddled to spoil the Centre-State relations, she said federal relationships should be governed by three Cs — cooperation, collectiveness, and coordination.

    The economy, in the globalised world, must address the vulnerabilities it faces and the Centre and the States would have to work together in that regard, she said.

    Despite hurdles and challenges, the country surged ahead in areas of development and even reached the fifth position in the global economy index overtaking the United Kingdom, the Minister pointed out.

    Observing that cooperative federalism brings a greater sense of togetherness in the country, she said that during the pandemic states and Centre worked together to ensure the wellbeing of people.

    Sitaraman said the union government takes care of the interests of everyone under Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas.

    If all the states, in good fiscal health, can take India together, it is not difficult for it to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of independence, she added.

    Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan also attended the event.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said indiscriminate borrowing and spending by certain States on non-merit goods and expenditure is a matter of concern, and fiscal strength is a critical component for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

    The temptation to borrow beyond capacity would create an inter-generational burden and affect the fiscal soundness of the country, she noted.

    “There are new sources of risks every state is facing. The temptation to spend on non-merit goods. The tendency to get into such not-so-viable, non-merit expenditure is very high in some States,” she said.

    Sitharaman was delivering the second P Parameshwarji Memorial Lecture on “Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat” organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh idealogue P Parameshwaran.

    If contingent liabilities are expanded, the successive governments also have to bear its burden, the union minister warned. As per the Constitution, the Centre can discuss with and question States on borrowing but many of them see it as an interference in their space of authority, she said.

    Sitharaman also recalled that there were states which were initially reluctant to accept the Centre’s money in building assets saying that they would be monitored if the union government’s 50-year interest-free loans were accepted for the purpose.

    Noting that they do monitoring everywhere, she said even if the state receives world bank assistance, it would also be monitored by the Centre.

    When they were asked to take the budgetary allocation with 50 years interest-free loans for building assets, they said they did not want as they would be monitored by the Centre.

    “This is a vicious narrative”, Sitharaman said and asked “is the Centre Pakistan?” The Finance Minister also said every state gets its share in due time under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “During the pandemic, immediately after that, and in 2021 and 2022, whenever we have the comfort of some more revenue coming in, I have paid extra installments to the states much ahead of time. So that they don’t run short of money. The data can prove it,” she added.

    Citing the GST Council as a positive example of cooperative federalism, the minister said it can show how good governance can work for the common people of the country.

    The actual advantage of such a GST Council is the federal structure and the centre-state relations as every state has a voice there.

    The Finance Minister also justified the Centre collecting cess of building infrastructure, saying the money collected in this name is not used for itself, instead it is used for building roads, highways, big ports etc in the states.

    “When you collect money in the name of infrastructure cess, roads are getting built everywhere, ports are getting built everywhere. No one state has denied highways, no one state has denied major ports.” 

    Lamenting that a wrong political narrative was being peddled to spoil the Centre-State relations, she said federal relationships should be governed by three Cs — cooperation, collectiveness, and coordination.

    The economy, in the globalised world, must address the vulnerabilities it faces and the Centre and the States would have to work together in that regard, she said.

    Despite hurdles and challenges, the country surged ahead in areas of development and even reached the fifth position in the global economy index overtaking the United Kingdom, the Minister pointed out.

    Observing that cooperative federalism brings a greater sense of togetherness in the country, she said that during the pandemic states and Centre worked together to ensure the wellbeing of people.

    Sitaraman said the union government takes care of the interests of everyone under Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas.

    If all the states, in good fiscal health, can take India together, it is not difficult for it to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of independence, she added.

    Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan also attended the event.

  • FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks States to lessen logistics burden on exporters

    By PTI

    KAKINADA: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked States to adopt a multi-modal approach and ensure logistics did not become a burden on exporters.

    She said the PM Gati Shakti was a beautiful protocol with which a synergy could be brought in.

    Delivering the inaugural address after inaugurating the third campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Kakinada, Sitharaman referred to ‘One District-One Product’ and ‘Vocal for Local’, initiatives, aimed at promoting local products and creating their export markets.

    She said the Commerce Ministry was working on getting an export policy that would help the exporters by giving them incentives and promoting many things.

    “There’s a repetitive and very relevant line that the Commerce Minister refers to ‘We can’t be exporting taxes. We also should identify ways in which those taxes, whether Centre, State or local, that are on these products should be removed so that we don’t burden their exporters,” the Finance Minister said.

    The governments did not get much revenue from those products but burdened the exporters nevertheless, she noted.

    She said the growing cost of electricity and logistics was also affecting the exports.

    “With better roads and ports coming ‘electronic facilitation for the customs operations coming’ surely, the logistics element is being addressed little by little. State governments should also spend some time to see that logistics don’t become a burden on exporters,” Sitharaman said.

    The Finance Minister referred to the Prime Minister’s suggestion that States should open export promotion offices in Indian embassies abroad.

    Smt @nsitharaman addresses the gathering at the inauguration of Kakinada campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (@iift_official) at JNTUK Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Shri @PiyushGoyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, is also present on the occasion. pic.twitter.com/fbUHrR3e3k
    — NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) October 28, 2022
    “If you have the capacity to tell the kind of things you produce that are international class, our embassies are the place where you should be and target the markets there. Some of our States are the size of some European countries. We have the capacity even as a district to capture the market outside,” she said.

    “The ‘One District-One Product’ is an attempt to identify such products in each district that have a natural capacity, organic capacity. And ‘Vocal for Local’. Those are the kind of products that capture international imagination and need to be supported,” she added.

    Sitharaman, who said she was speaking as a student of trade and not a minister, observed that trade-related courses should become a lot more nimble.

    She exhorted the IIFT students to have a comprehensive understanding of what was going on in the global trade areas.

    “Multilateral institutions that govern trade have set the global norms. We should understand them. If anything, India’s case should be put forward in a far more discerning, understanding way,” she said.

    Sitharaman asked students to widen their horizons and have a multi-disciplinary approach to studying the trade. The Finance Minister asked the IIFT Vice-Chancellor to ensure the institution actively engaged in India’s trade.

    ALSO READ | World Bank offers to take India’s digitisation to rest of world: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

    “Wonderful brains are here. Use them to tell the Commerce Ministry how to go about it (foreign trade). You should be in the team of the Commerce Minister when he negotiates trade (with foreign countries),” Sitharaman said.

    She took a dig at the Indian economic service and Indian trade service officers for doing only a “copy-paste” job.

    Andhra Pradesh has had 10 top national institutions coming to the state, including AIIMS, NID, NACIN, IIT, IISER, within the first five years of its bifurcation.- Smt @nsitharaman at the inauguration of Kakinada campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (@iift_official). pic.twitter.com/1Ji6vcJoUO
    — NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) October 28, 2022
    “You have Indian economic service and Indian trade service officers giving papers to the Minister, saying, ‘Oh, the minister can you please take this up?’ But, many a time I find them copy-paste. I am sorry to say this. The Minister doesn’t get an advantage,” Sitharaman remarked.

    Andhra Pradesh Ministers Buggana Rajendranath, K Nageswara Rao, Ch S V Krishna, S A Raju, Rajya Sabha members G V L Narasimha Rao, P S C Bose, Lok Sabha members V Geeta, M Bharat, MLCs, MLAs, and others attended the event.

    The IIFT-Kakinada has been opened on a temporary basis on the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University here. IIFT’s own campus on a 25-acre site at the Kakinada SEZ would be built at a cost of Rs 230 crore.

    KAKINADA: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked States to adopt a multi-modal approach and ensure logistics did not become a burden on exporters.

    She said the PM Gati Shakti was a beautiful protocol with which a synergy could be brought in.

    Delivering the inaugural address after inaugurating the third campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Kakinada, Sitharaman referred to ‘One District-One Product’ and ‘Vocal for Local’, initiatives, aimed at promoting local products and creating their export markets.

    She said the Commerce Ministry was working on getting an export policy that would help the exporters by giving them incentives and promoting many things.

    “There’s a repetitive and very relevant line that the Commerce Minister refers to ‘We can’t be exporting taxes. We also should identify ways in which those taxes, whether Centre, State or local, that are on these products should be removed so that we don’t burden their exporters,” the Finance Minister said.

    The governments did not get much revenue from those products but burdened the exporters nevertheless, she noted.

    She said the growing cost of electricity and logistics was also affecting the exports.

    “With better roads and ports coming ‘electronic facilitation for the customs operations coming’ surely, the logistics element is being addressed little by little. State governments should also spend some time to see that logistics don’t become a burden on exporters,” Sitharaman said.

    The Finance Minister referred to the Prime Minister’s suggestion that States should open export promotion offices in Indian embassies abroad.

    Smt @nsitharaman addresses the gathering at the inauguration of Kakinada campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (@iift_official) at JNTUK Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Shri @PiyushGoyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, is also present on the occasion. pic.twitter.com/fbUHrR3e3k
    — NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) October 28, 2022
    “If you have the capacity to tell the kind of things you produce that are international class, our embassies are the place where you should be and target the markets there. Some of our States are the size of some European countries. We have the capacity even as a district to capture the market outside,” she said.

    “The ‘One District-One Product’ is an attempt to identify such products in each district that have a natural capacity, organic capacity. And ‘Vocal for Local’. Those are the kind of products that capture international imagination and need to be supported,” she added.

    Sitharaman, who said she was speaking as a student of trade and not a minister, observed that trade-related courses should become a lot more nimble.

    She exhorted the IIFT students to have a comprehensive understanding of what was going on in the global trade areas.

    “Multilateral institutions that govern trade have set the global norms. We should understand them. If anything, India’s case should be put forward in a far more discerning, understanding way,” she said.

    Sitharaman asked students to widen their horizons and have a multi-disciplinary approach to studying the trade. The Finance Minister asked the IIFT Vice-Chancellor to ensure the institution actively engaged in India’s trade.

    ALSO READ | World Bank offers to take India’s digitisation to rest of world: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

    “Wonderful brains are here. Use them to tell the Commerce Ministry how to go about it (foreign trade). You should be in the team of the Commerce Minister when he negotiates trade (with foreign countries),” Sitharaman said.

    She took a dig at the Indian economic service and Indian trade service officers for doing only a “copy-paste” job.

    Andhra Pradesh has had 10 top national institutions coming to the state, including AIIMS, NID, NACIN, IIT, IISER, within the first five years of its bifurcation.
    – Smt @nsitharaman at the inauguration of Kakinada campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (@iift_official). pic.twitter.com/1Ji6vcJoUO
    — NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) October 28, 2022
    “You have Indian economic service and Indian trade service officers giving papers to the Minister, saying, ‘Oh, the minister can you please take this up?’ But, many a time I find them copy-paste. I am sorry to say this. The Minister doesn’t get an advantage,” Sitharaman remarked.

    Andhra Pradesh Ministers Buggana Rajendranath, K Nageswara Rao, Ch S V Krishna, S A Raju, Rajya Sabha members G V L Narasimha Rao, P S C Bose, Lok Sabha members V Geeta, M Bharat, MLCs, MLAs, and others attended the event.

    The IIFT-Kakinada has been opened on a temporary basis on the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University here. IIFT’s own campus on a 25-acre site at the Kakinada SEZ would be built at a cost of Rs 230 crore.

  • Opposition slams Sitharaman’s remark that rupee has not weakened 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remark that the rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, saying she cannot hide the ‘failure’ of her government in handling the economy.

    The ruling BJP defended the finance minister’s statement, noting that the dollar has appreciated against most currencies.

    It also said that if rupee depreciates against all currencies “like it happened during UPA in 2013”, it is called “rupee getting weaker”, which is not the case now.

    Congress alleged that the people were paying the price for the government’s “incompetence and wrong policies”.

    “For how long will RSS-BJP work to weaken India by misleading the public from reality?” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.

    Referring to India being ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, Gandhi tweeted: “Now the Prime Minister and his ministers will say, ‘Hunger is not increasing in India, but people are not feeling hungry in other countries’.”

    Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said only the finance minister can explain the meaning of this ‘new theory’ and alleged that the government’s efforts to strengthen the rupee in the last 11 months have not succeeded as foreign investors do not have faith in its policies.

    The rupee is now at the cusp of crossing 83 against 1 USD and it seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi “will only stop after it crosses 100”, she said.

    Shrinate pointed out that 86 per cent of India’s trade is in American dollars so when the rupee weakens it affects the India’s economy, trade and import.

    “But the finance minister is not bothered, she has come up with a new theory…Weakening rupee increases prices. Rupee is not weakening and unemployment is not there, there is no price rise, all this is being said while the people grapple with these issues,” Shrinate said.

    Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh also hit out at the finance minister and asserted that the weakening of the rupee will further push up prices.

    “Till when we will have to pay the price for your (the government’s) wrong policies and incompetence,” he said.

    In a statement, NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the ‘absurd’ statement by Sitharaman “will not hide the failure of her government in taking care of our country’s economy”.

    “She must concentrate more on looking after her ministry and focus less on trying to win Lok Sabha constituencies for the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2024. She must not forget that she is the finance minister and her duty is to safeguard the economy of India first,” he said.

    Sitharaman had recently spent three days in Baramati as part of the BJP plan to expand base in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    Baramati is the home turf of NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by his daughter Supriya Sule.

    Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also took a swipe at the finance minister.

    “My economics isn’t weak, yours is stronger,” he tweeted while sharing a video of Sitharaman.

    BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra defended the minister’s remarks. When rupee gets weaker against all currencies like it happened during UPA in 2013, it is called ‘Rupee getting weaker’, he tweeted.

    “When most of the currencies are depreciating against dollar due to fed rate hikes is called dollar getting stronger that’s what happening right now, it should also be noted that rupee has appreciated against most of the currencies therefore it shouldn’t be called as rupee getting weaker,” he said in another tweet.

    Speaking with reporters after attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the US, Sitharaman said that the rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, as she defended the 8 per cent slide in the value of Indian currency against the greenback this year.

    She asserted that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong and that inflation was low compared to other parts of the world.

    NEW DELHI: Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remark that the rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, saying she cannot hide the ‘failure’ of her government in handling the economy.

    The ruling BJP defended the finance minister’s statement, noting that the dollar has appreciated against most currencies.

    It also said that if rupee depreciates against all currencies “like it happened during UPA in 2013”, it is called “rupee getting weaker”, which is not the case now.

    Congress alleged that the people were paying the price for the government’s “incompetence and wrong policies”.

    “For how long will RSS-BJP work to weaken India by misleading the public from reality?” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.

    Referring to India being ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, Gandhi tweeted: “Now the Prime Minister and his ministers will say, ‘Hunger is not increasing in India, but people are not feeling hungry in other countries’.”

    Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said only the finance minister can explain the meaning of this ‘new theory’ and alleged that the government’s efforts to strengthen the rupee in the last 11 months have not succeeded as foreign investors do not have faith in its policies.

    The rupee is now at the cusp of crossing 83 against 1 USD and it seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi “will only stop after it crosses 100”, she said.

    Shrinate pointed out that 86 per cent of India’s trade is in American dollars so when the rupee weakens it affects the India’s economy, trade and import.

    “But the finance minister is not bothered, she has come up with a new theory…Weakening rupee increases prices. Rupee is not weakening and unemployment is not there, there is no price rise, all this is being said while the people grapple with these issues,” Shrinate said.

    Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh also hit out at the finance minister and asserted that the weakening of the rupee will further push up prices.

    “Till when we will have to pay the price for your (the government’s) wrong policies and incompetence,” he said.

    In a statement, NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the ‘absurd’ statement by Sitharaman “will not hide the failure of her government in taking care of our country’s economy”.

    “She must concentrate more on looking after her ministry and focus less on trying to win Lok Sabha constituencies for the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2024. She must not forget that she is the finance minister and her duty is to safeguard the economy of India first,” he said.

    Sitharaman had recently spent three days in Baramati as part of the BJP plan to expand base in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    Baramati is the home turf of NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by his daughter Supriya Sule.

    Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also took a swipe at the finance minister.

    “My economics isn’t weak, yours is stronger,” he tweeted while sharing a video of Sitharaman.

    BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra defended the minister’s remarks. When rupee gets weaker against all currencies like it happened during UPA in 2013, it is called ‘Rupee getting weaker’, he tweeted.

    “When most of the currencies are depreciating against dollar due to fed rate hikes is called dollar getting stronger that’s what happening right now, it should also be noted that rupee has appreciated against most of the currencies therefore it shouldn’t be called as rupee getting weaker,” he said in another tweet.

    Speaking with reporters after attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the US, Sitharaman said that the rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, as she defended the 8 per cent slide in the value of Indian currency against the greenback this year.

    She asserted that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong and that inflation was low compared to other parts of the world.