BUSINESS
At Rs 1.13 lakh crore, GST collections cross Rs 1 lakh crore mark for 5th month in a row in February
GST collection in February stood at Rs 1.13 lakh crore, 7 percent higher year-on-year, but lower than an all-time high of nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore in January, official data showed on March 1.
ECONOMY
Time for food-processing revolution in India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Speaking at a webinar on the Budget’s agriculture-related announcements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the private sector should increase its participation in areas such as agriculture research and development, storage and processing, as well as soil testing.
ECONOMY
Cabinet may take up new land policy for Concor within two weeks
The wait for a new Land Licensing Fee was considered a key roadblock in the privatisation of Container Corporation (Concor). The new policy is expected to bring down the land lease rates for use of railway land for industrial purposes
BUSINESS
Finance Ministry, Cairn Energy looking for amicable solution to tax dispute: Govt sources
The meeting between Cairn Energy CEO Simon Thomson and finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey comes amid speculation that India is set to challenge an international arbitration award that went against it over the retrospective levy of taxes.
BUSINESS
Agreed to 15th Finance Commission's suggestion on non-lapsable Defence Fund: Finance Minister
The 15th Finance Commission had recommended constitution of Modernisation Fund for Defence and Internal Security (MFDIS), a non-lapsable dedicated fund to bridge the gap between projected budgetary requirements and allocation for internal security and defence.
ECONOMY
1.46 lakh establishments registered under new employment subsidy scheme: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Speaking on the fiscal roadmap of the government, the Finance Minister said: “We have not hurried to say that next year the fiscal deficit will come down to something which we will like to see. We are going to be careful about how we come down that fiscal path without affecting or creating any hurdles to growth.”
INDIA
Budget 2021 has potential to lift growth prospects: Fitch
Fitch said the announcement of an asset reconstruction company and an asset management company to deal with non-performing assets should be credit positive and added that plans to privatise two state-run banks could also be significant.
ECONOMY
Explained | Why the Finance Minister wants to discontinue off-budget NSSF loans to Food Corporation of India
Food Corporation of India has been the biggest recipient of off-budget financing through NSSF loans. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated in her Budget speech that the Centre would end this practice. Their extra-budgetary nature meant these borrowings did not figure in the fiscal deficit calculation and therefore did not paint an accurate picture of the economy
ECONOMY
How the government resisted populist temptations to create a growth Budget
Economy in tatters, a raft of sectors batted by the virus crying for help, plenty of lobbying from all quarters. Yet the policymakers stuck to the task of creating a Budget affixed on growth goals. A behind-the-scenes look at what went into the making of Budget 2021.
ECONOMY
Exclusive | New Development Finance Institution to be 100% owned by govt
“Right now it will be a government-owned DFI. It will be through legislation, which will also enable the setting up of private DFIs. There will be a provision that if in the later stages, the DFI wants to diversify its equity, it will be able to do that," Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj told Moneycontrol.
ECONOMY
Interview | New ‘bad bank’ will take in at least Rs 2 lakh crore of NPAs: Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Krishnamurthy Subramanian also said the measures taken by the Modi government to deal with the latest economic crisis are less inflationary than interventions by previous governments, and that some 100 crore people may be vaccinated for free.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Cutting income tax rates isn't the only way to provide relief: Finance Secretary
In an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that GST collections in the last couple of months have improved because of systemic changes undertaken by the department of revenue, without increasing tax rates.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | I believe we can exceed the divestment target for 2021-22: Anurag Thakur
Speaking to Moneycontrol, the Minister of State for Finance said that while the medium term fiscal deficit targets till 2025-26 seem challenging, the Modi government has had a proven track record of fiscal discipline.
ECONOMY
Budget 2021: Vaccine allocation of Rs 35,000 crore to immunise 50 crore people
Expenditure Secretary TV Somanathan told Moneycontrol that the Finance Ministry had a rough cost of Rs 700 per person in mind. The budget allocation is just a part of what will be spent, as state governments and corporates will also allocate sums for the vaccination drive
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Corporate tax collection in FY21-22 expected to be better than pre-COVID collections: CBDT chief
In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, PC Mody said that committees like those on Direct Tax Code (DTC) were constituted in a certain context and with certain intent in mind and it's not essential that all the suggestions of such committees get implemented.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Confident of listing LIC, selling BPCL, Air India in FY22, says DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey
DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Moneycontrol that while the names of two state-owned banks and one general insurance company to be privatised are yet to be decided, just announcing that PSBs are up for privatisation was a big statement of intent in itself.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Government can't sustain handouts indefinitely, says Expenditure Secretary TV Somanathan
Speaking exclusively to Moneycontrol in a post-budget interview, Expenditure Secretary TV Somanathan said it was a conscious decision by the government to invest in infrastructure projects which will create jobs rather than provide further handouts, as the former will have long-term benefits.
BUSINESS
New Bad Bank to be set up within a month or two, says Financial Services Secy
The New Development Finance Institution announced by the finance minister will be called the 'National Bank for Financing, Infrastructure and Development', Financial Services Secretary Debashish Panda said.
INDIA
Budget 2021: Government looks to end below-the-line accounting of Budget numbers
The Finance Ministry had promised in the past few years that it would end the practice of Extra Budgetary Resources and bring every allocation and loan on-the-books. It seems to be finally taking steps in that direction.
ECONOMY
Interview | Right time to bet on long-term growth through infra investment: Sanjeev Sanyal
Hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2021 speech, Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal, one of the architects of the Budget, spoke exclusively to Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Budget 2021: FM Nirmala Sitharaman opens government purse-strings to revive growth
Stating that fighting the COVID-19 pandemic remains the Centre’s biggest priority, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to set aside Rs 2.46 lakh crore for healthcare, with Rs 35,000 crore earmarked for the coronavirus vaccine programme.
BUSINESS
Budget 2021: FM Nirmala Sitharaman targets FY22 fiscal deficit at 6.8%, expands budget to provide stimulus
For FY21, the revised fiscal deficit estimate now stands at 9.5 percent of the GDP, from a budgeted estimate of 3.5 percent.
BUSINESS
Budget 2021 | Govt to go big on privatisation in FY22; FM announces details of strategic sector policy
The government has pegged the disinvestment target for FY22 at Rs 1.75 lakh crore. This will include the shedding of Centre's stake in two state-owned banks and a general insurance company, and large-scale asset sales, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget presentation.
ECONOMY
Interview | FY22 could be a big year for privatisation: Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian
In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Krishnamurthy Subramanian also said that the idea of a 'bad bank' was being discussed ahead of the Budget, and that a counter-cyclical fiscal policy was part of pre-Budget deliberations.
