Nirmala Sitharaman is an Indian politician and a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, Sitharaman holds two important portfolios — the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs — in the Narendra Modi-led government in its second term at the Centre. She is the first full-time woman finance minister of the country. Earlier, Indira Gandhi had held finance as an additional portfolio for a short duration when she was the prime minister of India. Sitharaman has also served as the Defence Minister in PM Modi's previous cabinet. Before entering into politics, Sitharaman worked in the corporate sector after getting a master’s degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Subsequently, she moved to London with her husband and joined the British Broadcasting Corporation. She returned to India in the 1990s. She has also served as a member of National Commission for Women (NCW). She was one of the founding directors of Pranava school in Hyderabad. In 2019, the Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred her the Distinguished Alumni Award. The Forbes Magazine ranked her 34th among the 100 most powerful women in the world in the same year. More
Nirmala Sitharaman also urged states to keep up the pace of infrastructure projects at the meeting, which saw Chief Ministers from four states, ministers from nine states, besides senior officials from all the states attend the meeting.
In the meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council earlier this month, Sitharaman had called on India's regulators to conduct a 'special drive' to settle unclaimed bank deposits and financial sector claims across all segments.
Sitharaman was responding to comments by P Chidambaram that the introduction and withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 note has cast doubt on the integrity and stability of Indian currency
The finance minister was speaking in Mumbai on the occasion of the Narendra Modi government completing nine years.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks on nine-years of the government. Watch!
Speaking at the conclave, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Prime Minister Modi has brought in a change in the mindset and earned the trust and faith of the people of this country through his unflinching 'Seva Bhaav'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the new Parliament building on Sunday.
Following the listing of SCILAL, the government will look to invite expressions of interest for its 63.75 percent stake in SCI. The government expects three to five players to bid for its stake.
Despite penalties and imprisonment prescribed for offenders, E-cigarettes are available across a range of sources including tobacco vendors, general stores and online providers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presented 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in government departments and organisations across the country.
Sitharaman also met Brazilian counterpart Haddad Fernando on the sidelines of the G7FMCBG meet. Fernando appreciated India's organisation of the G20 presidency and its piloting of significant global economic issues, the finance ministry said in a tweet.
Sitharaman is on a two-day official visit to Niigata, Japan, for a 'Dialogue with partner countries' at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting on May 12.
The FSDC meeting will also review activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee chaired by the RBI governor and the action taken by members on the past decisions of FSDC.
India's annual retail inflation for March rose at the slowest pace in nearly 15 months and was below the central bank's upper tolerance level for the first time this year, on the back of softer food prices.
Over 6 lakh appeals are pending before the I-T department and tribunal; the finance ministry claims less manpower is leading to the pile-up.
Highlighting that the world is passing through an age of "resets" of fuel, food, fertiliser, debt, energy, supply chain, sustainability, fiscal stability, etc, she said "we need a robust ADB that adopts a transformational rather than incremental approach for sustainable and resilient regional development."
Ajay Banga, 63, will take over as the President of the World Bank on June 2. He will succeed President David Malpass.
The minister said the discussion is going on at the ministerial level in the GST Council into various aspects of online gaming, including taxation and regulation.
She further said the G20 Presidency has come at a crucial stage for the emerging economies, stressing that three years are critical for the global economy, which is going through a reset.
In cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the COVID period, 95 per cent of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security will be returned to them by the government.
Sitharaman is leading an Indian delegation to attend the 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of the ADB along with Investor/bilateral and other associated meetings.
Banks have been directed to be more proactive with regard to big written-off accounts by the Ministry.
'Mann Ki Baat', the radio show hosted by Prime Minister Modi, was celebrated by tons of people across the world for completing a century. Many notable dignitaries hail the success of the show
Highlighting that efforts have also been made to bring down fuel and natural gas prices, she said these are imports coming into the country and the prices are high in the global market, due to the impact of Covid and Russia-Ukraine war.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday issued a word of caution on taking financial advice from financial influencers (finfluencers) on social media. She further said that one should also be wary of apps offering outlandish returns, since they most often turn out to be 'ponzi apps'. Watch to know more!