The government is focussing on four “I”s infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusivity to realise the goal set for 2047

"The government has come up with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an open network for digital commerce that is helping even the bigger e-commerce businesses," said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to meet with state counterparts on December 21-22 for pre-budget discussions and a GST Council meeting. Key agenda items include potential GST exemptions for certain insurance policies and rate reductions on various goods. The Council may also consider raising GST on luxury items like high-value shoes and watches.

“The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing systematic inequalities, which have plagued the society,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

BJP’s third term pledges support for space, AI and warehousing; Next-generation reforms agenda to touch all factors of production including digital infrastructure

The Bill seeks to give customers an option to increase the number of nominees per bank account to four, from existing one, among others

At a Centre for Global Development event, Sitharaman highlighted India’s use of foreign reserves to aid distressed nations without conditions.

The meeting assumes significance as State Finance Ministers will present their recommendations for the 2025-26 Budget to be unveiled on February 1, 2025

Addressing the 3rd edition of Kautiliya Economic Conclave here, the Minister said, India's critical economic performance in the recent decade was underscored by its leapfrog from the 10th to the fifth largest economy in five years.

Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is looking towards boosting domestic capacities, and building resilience against external shocks

Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that providing free digital access to the public, coupled with extensive campaigns and awareness programs in local languages, helped people across the country embrace technology

Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday did an hour-long session of yoga exercises in the open air as he led corporate India to join the International Day of Yoga celebrations.Several public and private sector companies held yoga sessions at their offices to promote the adoption of exercise in daily routines to stay fit and healthy.Adani, chairman of logistics-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, and his wife Priti, who heads the Adani Foundation, "participated with more than 1,000 members of the Adani Parivaar team to celebrate health, mindfulness and meditation," the group said in a statement.The session was held at a football ground at Adani Shantigram in Ahmedabad.Several other business leaders tweeted pictures of their yoga sessions.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s office on Thursday had tweeted that PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore for over 41.81 lakh accounts in MSME, retail, agriculture and corporate sectors during March-April 2020.

The meeting, to be held via video-conferencing, will also take stock of interest rate transmission to borrowers by banks and progress on moratorium on loan repayments, sources said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) on Monday to discuss various issues, including credit offtake, as part of efforts to prop up the economy hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The meeting, to be held via video-conferencing, will also take stock of interest rate transmission to borrowers by banks and progress on moratorium on loan repayments, sources said. The RBI had on March 27 slashed the benchmark interest rate by a massive 75 basis points and also announced a three-month moratorium to be given by banks to provide relief to borrowers whose income has been hit due to the lockdown. Earlier this month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with heads of both public and private sector banks to take stock of the economic situation

New Delhi, May 10: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) on Monday to discuss various issues, including credit offtake, as part of efforts to prop up the economy hit by

Under the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme, each farmer gets Rs 6,000 in a year in three equal installments directly in bank account

Govt has decided to tax only the income generated by NRIs from the biz in India, leaving their global incomes.

Fight against Covid-19: FM Sitharaman announces Rs 1.7 lakh crore 'PM Gareeb Kalyan Scheme'

INR-USD future contracts will be available for 22 hours across all time zones for all global participants from GIFT IFSC.

The minister emphasized that special focus towards export enhancement is the need of the hour. He highlighted the need to focus on import substitution to replace imports with domestic production.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a crucial meeting with home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to firm up strategies for the financial sector in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The meeting, to be held via video conference, will also dwell on credit disbursement since March, with the focus on Covid-19-related credit sanction and offtake.

A former defense and trade minister, Nirmala Sitharaman became the first woman finance minister of India after Indira Gandhi.

She has inherited an economy facing a number of risks.

She faces immense challenges as finance minister. India's economy is starting to splutter on the back of a slow-down in consumption and private investment.

Fixing this and jump-starting the economy are the first order of business.

The data released on Friday was disappointing at different levels.

Lower growth in GDP, stagnant growth in core sector in April 2019, and the government just about managing the 3.4% deficit number in FY19 pose puzzles for the new Cabinet which assumes responsibility of kick-starting the economy.

A look at key macroeconomic indicators presents a gloomy picture.

Sinking GDP Growth Means FM Nirmala Sitharaman has to Push for Sweeping Reforms

According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 5.8% in the last quarter of financial year 2019 (FY19), between January and March.

GDP Growth Slips to 5-Year Low

The data demonstrates GDP growth slowing steadily, from 8 to 7 to 6.6% in the first three quarters of FY19.

The signs of slowdown are visible throughout the economy.

Growth of Core Sector Industries Remained Flat

India's core economy grew at 4.3% in FY19, its second slowest pace in the past 5 years, down from 4.9% in FY15, according to latest data by the ministry of commerce and industry.

The 8 core industries include Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery, Fertilisers, Steel, Cement, and Electricity.

8 Core Sectors Report Flat Growth in FY19

The growth rate is also flat since fiscal FY18 which had also recorded a 4.3% growth.

Manufacturing and Services Sector Activity Decelerates

Core sector growth will have a direct impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these sectors account for a major chunk of total factory output.

Worries Rise as Factory Output Shrinks in March

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) are used to gauge the level of activity in the manufacturing sector.

What Does the PMI Say?

The country's manufacturing sector performance fell to an eight-month low in April as new business growth moderated, curbed by the elections and a challenging economic environment.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index declined from 52.6 in March to 51.8 in April, reflecting weakest improvement in business conditions since August 2018.

However, this was the 21st consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark.

In PMI parlance, a number above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.

The April PMI data indicated a softer increase in new orders had restricted growth of output, employment, and business sentiment.

Further, the Indian service sector lost momentum in April, with rates of new business and output growth both cooling to seven-month lows.

Indian Service Sector Loses Momentum Too

Falling from 52.0 in March to 51.0 at the start of FY19, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index pointed to the weakest upturn in output since last September.

Besides these, there are many other indicators of a slowdown.

A decline in consumer demand, a slowdown in government spending, and weak private investment have likely impacted India's growth in the fourth quarter.

One such high frequency indicator is automobile sales.

What do these numbers indicate?

Vehicle sales are a very important economic indicator about how the people of India feel about their economic prospects.

After all, no one is forcing anyone to buy a car and given that if a consumer buys a car, he chooses to make a down payment and/or take on an EMI.

This is only possible if the consumer is feeling positive about his future economic prospects.

Automobile Sales Skid as Demand Remains Sluggish

On Saturday, India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, reported a 22% decline in sales in May, the lowest in seven years.

Other auto-makers such as Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, and Hero Moto Corp reported declines in sales too.

All these economic indicators basically provide evidence of the Indian economy slowing down further since January 2019.

Another major area that needs immediate attention by the government, is job creation.

According to a CMIE survey, the unemployment number stands at 41 million people. That is too big a number to be ignored.

Now, job creation at such a mass level won't be a walk in the park. To set the wheels in motion, the government will have to look at infrastructure spending.

Capacity expansion in new projects has seen a gradual slowdown in the past few years.

Infra Capacity Expansion Likely to Be the Key Focus of the Modi Government

From Rs 3.3 trillion in June 2018, the number has come down sharply to Rs 2.1 trillion as of March 2019.

Co-head of research, Tanushree Banerjee believes this is first area the government will look to focus on.

Apart from creating jobs in the infrastructure sector, it opens a lot of other avenues.

Here's an excerpt of what she wrote in The 5Minute WrapUp:

• Better infrastructure will mean better connectivity to non-metros. This will attract manufacturing companies to set shop in these towns. It will give a boost to the urbanisation of the population.
  
  This is a trend I see clearly playing out in the coming years.
  
  Infrastructure spending -> Improved roads -> Increased two-wheeler sales.
  
  It is just one of the 50 irreversible trends I believe will carry the Sensex to 1,00,000.

Typically, when the capacity utilisation rises, it prompts companies to expand their capacities. If this gradual pick-up sustains, it could lead to a pick-up in private sector investment.

Thus, a revival in the investment cycle could be underway despite the current economic slowdown.

And, as far as equity markets are concerned, participants were expecting a weak fourth quarter growth data.

As such, the now published data may not weigh on the market but will raise expectations from the government and the RBI.

The pressure points in the form of finance, tax rates, infra expenditure, specific sector-related policies etc, must be addressed.

While the weak GDP data will be an important input for the Union Budget.

Most investors are now keen to know what's in store in the first week of July.

Warm regards,
Rini Mehta

The FM also said that about three crore farmers with agricultural loans totaling Rs 4,22,113 crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March

FM Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 39th GST Council meeting

GST rate on MRO services of aircraft reduced from 18% to 5%: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Single 12% GST for both hand-made and machine-made matchsticks: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

She further said that state-owned banks implemented the moratorium announced by the RBI on repayment of loans.

Rahul Gandhi had attacked the ruling BJP after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a list of 50 wilful defaulters accused of cheating banks.

he noted that these borrowers hail from a variety of sectors like micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), retail, agriculture and corporate, waiting for disbursal soon after the lockdown is lifted.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman insisted that the Indian National Congress and Rahul Gandhi should introspect why they "fail to play a constructive role in cleaning up the system".

A day after suggesting that Indian economy is "poised to recover" as indicated by high levels of loan sanctions by banks over last two months, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday pointed out that banks are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the current coronavirus situation does not result in liquidity crisis for businesses.

The government's decision of upholding power purchase agreements as well as the opening up of railways, city gas distribution, and electricity supply to the private sector, are welcome steps

Slowdown in economic growth has taken a clear toll on revenue growth

The FM disagreed with experts who termed the new tax regime complex and unavailing saying it would benefit some taxpayers, if not all

The tax proposals are aimed at stimulating growth, simplifying tax structure, bringing ease of compliance and reducing litigation

She further said that many people have been speculating that the fiscal deficit would cross 4%

FM says country's macroeconomic parameters are sound

"We have not made up our minds as yet (on the removal of all exemptions)... We are trying step by step, move forward and no particular timeline given," she said

The launch comes amid the world's most expansive coronavirus lockdown, which has crippled businesses and hurt trading volumes in the country's financial markets.

Sitharaman is presenting the full Budget for 2019-20. She is carrying the Budget documents in a red silk bag with national emblem.

Her speech was laced with Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit and even Tamil verses.

Last year, Sitharaman had ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a 'bahi-khata'.