Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Archives - Lokmarg

Modi Assures Support To Tamil Nadu Flood Situation

By LokMarg 24th December 2023

In the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Michaung, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured support for Tamil Nadu and deputed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to assess the flood situation.

In a post on X, Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister’s prompt attention to the dire situation.

“Prime Minister @narendramodi called me to inquire about the unprecedented floods in Southern Tamil Nadu, immediately after #CycloneMichaung,” CM Stalin said in the post.

The Chief Minister apprised the Prime Minister of the urgent need for financial support from the Union government to address the mounting challenges faced by the state.

“I have explained to him the massive rescue and relief efforts undertaken by the state government, despite resource constraints, and sought immediate financial support from the Union government,” he added.

In response to the Chief Minister’s plea, PM Modi assured full support from the Union government to help Tamil Nadu overcome these twin calamities.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister conveyed that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been deputed to assess the flood situation on the ground.

“Prime Minister has assured the support of the Union government to overcome these twin calamities and conveyed that he has deputed Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman to assess the flood situation,” Stalin said.

As Tamil Nadu grapples with the aftermath of the cyclone and flooding, the state government and the Centre have jointly mobilised a massive rescue and relief operation to help the affected people.

As many as 35 deaths have been reported so far in the ongoing flooding, with Thoothukudi district accounting for 22 fatalities and Tirunelveli 13.

On Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said the rescue operation in the flood-affected southern districts of the state has been completed and the focus now is on the restoration of basic services there. However, communication lines in some districts are still in disarray in the aftermath of the flood.

Roads and railway tracks have been left inundated due to the incessant rainfall across the state. (ANI)

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India Calls For Action On Climate Funding, Transfer Of Technology Ahead Of COP28

By LokMarg 28th November 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit COP28, where policymakers and governments will converge to chalk future strategy for climate mitigation.

The Finance Minister made the comments during a virtual session at the inaugural event of India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A) held in Dubai on Monday.

“India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds. The Paris commitment given by us has been funded by us. We didn’t wait for the hundred billion that is never on the table. A lot of talk, but no money coming on the table. No pathways to show how technology is going to be transferred,” Nirmala Sitharaman observed.

Climate finance typically refers to any financing that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.

Demanding action instead of words, the Union Minister said, “Particularly for developing and emerging market economies, funding this is going to be a huge challenge. So, I would think the conversations can happen; a lot of talks can happen but eventually, COP28 should show the direction, both for the transfer of technology and for the actual funding.”

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, will be the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held from November 30 until December 12, in Dubai.

While she admitted that there would be challenges, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would not affect the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEEC) that was announced during the G20 Summit back in September.

“It is a vision for long-term considerations and it is going to be a long-term project. It’s not just going to depend on one or another major event pertaining to the area. It is going to be pursued because India has a very good relationship with each of the Middle East countries. So, IMEEC, or the India, Middle East, and Europe Economic Corridor is not going to be dependent on one or the other major event of concern, but it is something on which the vision drives the implementation in the long run,” she noted.

“So, it’s going to face challenges alright, but it has got its own strengths, and countries who are directly or indirectly involved with this project are absolutely clear that this, through India, is going to be critical for global trade, global partnerships and also making sure that this corridor will benefit each one of these countries,” she said.

Under the theme ‘Unleashing Ambitions,’ IGF ME&A convenes business leaders, policymakers, and thought leaders from India, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss opportunities for further collaboration and growth between these regions through a series of exclusive networking opportunities, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, covering a range of topics including trade, investment, innovation, technology, and sustainability.

UAE’s AI Minister, Omar Al Olama, emphasised the indispensability of artificial intelligence and its impact on society.

“If anyone, whether it’s in the UAE or another country, says we’re going to stop or not allow you to use these tools, how will it impact your quality of life? It’s going to have a detrimental impact on your quality of life. This is the fact of the matter. That’s why countries like India, for example, went down the non-conventional path of creating their own platforms, which I think is very smart and really the way that many countries of that size need to go. In that sense, AI is driving the economy. AI is impacting society. And AI is today the technology that is enabling people to go into the 21st century in the right way. Governing it the right way, regulating it the right way and developing certain forms of the right way is really the only way to go,” Olama said.

On AI regulation, Olama expressed his scepticism, saying, “Calls for regulation of AI are non-starters and I’ve been saying this for a few years and the reason why is it’s as if I told someone I’m going to regulate a field of computer science or I’m going to regulate electricity. You don’t regulate electricity; you regulate where electricity is used and what are the outcomes. And AI is a field of computer science. It is very difficult for you to have one set of regulations that cut across all its use cases.”

“The second thing is the impact of AI differs on geography. So, I’m sure the Indian stakeholders in India that are looking at the impact of AI in India will see much different challenges to India than I’m seeing in the UAE because of demographic differences, because of different job classes and types of jobs and maturity of the technology.”

IGF Forum also witnessed interventions from Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Gujarat Industries Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Author and Monk Gaur Gopal Das, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Droom Technology, representative from Zupee and some other startups from India.

At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to an ambitious five-part “Panchamrit” pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reducing emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.

India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070. (ANI)

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‘Six Muslim-Dominated Nations Were Bombed…’ Sitharaman Tears Down Obama’s Advice

By LokMarg 25th June 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Saturday, lashed out at former US President Barack Obama for his comments on Indian Muslims and said that under his reign, the United States had bombed six Muslim-dominated countries.

While addressing a press conference in Delhi, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “It was surprising that when the PM was visiting the US and telling people about India, a former US President (Barack Obama) was making a statement on Indian Muslims…I am speaking with caution, we want a good friendship with the US, but they comment on India’s religious tolerance. Perhaps 6 Muslim-dominated countries were bombed due to him (Obama)… More than 26,000 bombs were dropped.”
This comment came after US former President Barack Obama, during a media interview, said if ethnic minorities are not protected, there is a strong possibility of the country “at some point starts pulling apart”.

Obama’s made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and said if President Joe Biden meets with PM Modi, “the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning”.

Meanwhile, at the conference, the union minister defended PM Modi from questions surrounding the treatment being meted out to the Muslims in India and pointed out that out of 13 honors, that the Prime Minister received from different countries, six awards were from such nations where Muslims are in the majority.

“Honorable prime minister himself during the press conference in US has said how his government works on ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ principle and doesn’t discriminate against any community whatsoever but the fact remains that repeatedly when people join in in this debate and highlight issues which are non-issues in a way because if there are issues in states which are to be raised they are being raised at the state level,” Sitharaman said at the press conference.

Further, she added, “Law and Order is the State subject that people are taking care of it and elected governments are there in each of the states which respond to it. To just allege without basic data in hand just tells us that these are organized campaigns which purposely are being leveled at the doorstep of the Prime Minister otherwise why would countries give such an honor to the prime minister and why would there be a distortion in understanding how India and its minority population irrespective of which religion they belong to minority population are being part of the Indian mainstream.”

Slamming the opposition, she said that as Congress couldn’t see the possibility of winning the election, they have started such kind of campaign.

The minister further slammed Congress and stated that such campaigns are being flaoted into the ecosyatem as Congress is aware that they are incapable of wining the 2024 general electionas.

“Congress is doing more this time than last two elections. Karnataka’s talk was different but such toolkits which run in foreign countries, they are working against Prime Minister because they (Congress) are sure that the public will not support them. (ANI)

No Action Executed With Sense Of Revenge On Cong: Sitharaman

By LokMarg 20th February 2023

On a query over the Directorate of Enforcement’s ongoing raids on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said no action is executed with a sense of revenge.

At the post-Budget press conference in Jaipur, the finance minister said, “Any agency first collects data and only then action is taken. No action is executed with sense of revenge.”
She also said that Congress should learn to listen while sitting in the Parliament.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday conducted fresh searches at nearly a dozen locations in Chhattishgarh in mining and alleged coal levy scam. The places searched include residential and office premises of various Congress leaders namely Ram Gopal Agarwal, Girish Devangan, RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari ad Sunny Agrawal, said sources.

The Finance minister also said if any party or state government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST), then it would be discussed only once it is placed before the GST Council.

The Finance minister was addressing a query about bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST and on the rising price of cooking gas at a press conference in Jaipur on Monday.

She said it does not depend on the government and only the GST Council can decide on this, adding that if any party or state government wants to bring petrol diesel under the purview of GST, it would be discussed only after placing before the Council.

The Finance minister added that it can be brought within the ambit of GST only with the consent of all states.

The conference was also attended by the Union ministers of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad. Finance Secretary TV Somanathan and Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran were also present at the conference.

During the post-Budget conference in Mumbai on February 11, Sitharaman said Indian regulators are “very experienced” and seized of the matter related to the Adani Group and are “on their toes” to handle the situation that has arisen following a report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.

Addressing mediapersons in Mumbai, Sitharaman said the regulators “are on their toes as always, not just now”.

Recently there was a major crash in the Indian stock market in the wake of a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group.

The US firm has accused the Indian conglomerate of engaging in fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, which the Adani Group has denied. (ANI)

Nothing For Poor But Election Speech: Kharge

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that the Budget 2023 was prepared keeping an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections adding that it has nothing to offer for the poor people of the country.

He further said that the ruling government has failed to control inflation and the budget is not for common people.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 today in Lok Sabha. This was the third time in a row that the government presented the budget in a paperless form.

Speaking to ANI, the Congress President said that no steps have been taken for jobs, to fill government vacancies and MNREGA.

“The budget was presented by the Modi government keeping in view the upcoming Assembly polls in three-four states. This was an election speech and they had prepared that 15 days ago. There is nothing in the budget for poor people and to control inflation. No steps for jobs, to fill government vacancies and MNREGA,” said Kharge on Union Budget 2023.

Lambasting the BJP at the Centre for not presenting any vision to create jobs, Kharge said that the government failed to fill vacancies at existing government offices.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that the Budget 2023 does not reflect the real sentiments of the people such as unemployment and price rise.

He further said that the Union Budget is filled with fancy announcements whose implementation is under question.

“This budget is not addressing the real sentiment of the country that is unemployment and price rise. It only had fancy announcements that were made earlier too but what about implementation? Only insurance companies were benefited from PM Kisan Yojana not farmers,” said KC Venugopal.

Highlights of the budget presented by the Union Finance Minister included big incentives under the new income tax regime. The IT rebate limit in the new regime has been increased from

Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and the new tax regime will be the default tax regime, the Finance Minister said. Capital expenditure outlay has been increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the GDP.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the “first budget of Amrit Kaal” and said that it would lay a strong foundation for building a developed India.

The Prime Minister said that the budget gives priority to the deprived and will fulfill the dreams of the aspirational society, the farmers and the middle class.

“The first budget of Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. It gives priority to the deprived. This budget will fulfil the dreams of an aspirational society including poor people, middle-class people, and farmers. I congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman and his team for this historic budget,” PM Modi said in a televised address.

Noting that PM Vishvakarma Kaushal Samman will bring a huge change in the lives of ‘Vishvakarmas’, the Prime Minister said that for the first time schemes relating to their support has been incorporated into the budget. (ANI)

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allocation of the budget for various social sector schemes Sitaraman

Budget: Centre Aims To Eliminate Sickle Cell Anemia By 2047

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her budget speech in Parliament, said that the central government aims to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047, and a mission will soon be launched in this regard.

The mission will create awareness among the common people with a universal screening of seven crore people in the age group of 0 to 40 years in the tribal areas and counseling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.
Speaking on medical research, she said that facilities in select ICMR labs will be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector research and development teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.

Dwelling on the subject of pharma innovation, the Finance Minister informed that a new program to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centers of excellence. She said that the government will also encourage industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas.

She also announced that 157 new nursing colleges will be set up across the country to give a boost to the health sector.

The Finance Minister also announced that under PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with the needs of the industry will be emphasized. The scheme will also cover new-age courses for industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics IoT, 3D printing drones, and other soft skills to skill the youth for international opportunities.

30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different states for the purpose, said the Finance minister.

Sitharaman also said that the Centre will recruit 38,000 teachers and support staff for the 740 models Eklavya Model Residential Schools serving 3.4 lakh tribal students.

She also focussed on the training of teachers and said that teachers’ training will be re-envisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development, dipstick survey, and iCT implementation. (ANI)

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Budget: Govt Raises Capital Expenditure Outlay By 33% To Rs 10L Cr

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

The government proposes to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 percent of the GDP, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

“(This outlay) would be 3.3 per cent of GDP, almost three times the outlay made in 2019-20. With substantial increase, it is central to government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd in private investments and provide cushion against global headwinds,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech in Parliament today.
Further, the government proposes to increase the agricultural credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, Sitharaman said. The agriculture sector of the country has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years.

The government will also launch a sub-scheme of existing PM Matsya scheme to improve value chain efficiencies, she said.

Sitharaman started her Budget speech at 11 am, the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 is also presented in paperless form.

This year’s Budget holds much significance as the country is scheduled to have the next Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024.

As per established tradition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with ministers of state Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad and Finance Secretary T V Somanathan called on President Droupadi Murmu.

This is the fifth budget presentation by Sitharaman.

The budget session of the Parliament began on Tuesday with President’s address, subsequently the tabling the Ecomomic Survey for 2022-23. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10.

The Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday, noted India’s GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to the estimated 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. (ANI)

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Budget 2023: Income Tax Rebate Increased, No Tax On Income Upto Rs 7L

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced an increase in the income tax rebate limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh stating that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime.

The Finance Minister also proposed to change the tax structure in this regime by reducing the number of tax slabs to 5 and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh.
On personal income tax, the FM announced that “Tax for income of Rs 0-Rs 3 lakh is nil, for income above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, for income of above Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 9 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent and for income above Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh to be taxed at 20 per cent and above 15 lakh at Rs 30 per cent.”

For pensioners, the finance minister announced extending the benefit of standard deduction to new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of Rs. 15.5 lakh or more will benefit by Rs. 52,500.

Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget in Parliament today said, “A person earning Rs 9 lakh a year will now be paying just Rs 45,000 instead of Rs. 60,000 currently. Similarly, a person earning Rs 15 lakh will now pay only 10 per cent of this as tax.”

The finance minister also said: “The limit of Rs 3 lakh for tax exemption on leave encashment on government salaried employees. That was set in 2002 when government salaries were lower and is now being raised to Rs 25 lakh.”

She also added, “The new income tax regime will now become the default option, but people will still have the option to go for earlier regime.”

The average processing time for income tax returns has been reduced from 93 days to 16 days.(ANI)

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During the Union Budget speech in the House, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that 50 additional airports, helipads, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds will be revived to improve regional air connectivity in the country.

Budget: New Airports, Water Aero Drones, Advanced Landing Grounds Announced

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

During the Union Budget speech in the House, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that 50 additional airports, helipads, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds will be revived to improve regional air connectivity in the country.

“50 additional airports, helipads, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds will be revived to improve regional air connectivity,” informed Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.
Sitharaman started her Budget speech at 11 am, the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 is also presented in paperless form.

This year’s Budget holds much significance as the country is scheduled to have the next Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024.

This is the fifth budget presentation by Sitharaman.

The budget session of the Parliament began on Tuesday with President’s address, subsequently tabling the Economic Survey for 2022-23. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10.

The Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday, noted India’s GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 percent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to the estimated 7 percent this fiscal and 8.7 percent in 2021-22. (ANI)

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The Whole World Has Its Eyes On India’s Budget, Modi

By LokMarg 31st January 2023

Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India’s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation.

“Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the aspirations.

“Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, the ray of hope being seen by the world glows brighter-for this, I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations,” PM Modi said while addressing the media.

The Prime Minister cited the “credible voices from the world of the economy” and said that they have brought a positive message ahead of the session.

“Today, the Budget Session is commencing. Credible voices from the world of economy, have brought in a positive message, a ray of hope, and a beginning of enthusiasm. It is an important event today,” he said.

PM Modi said the maiden inaugural address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both Houses is a matter of pride for the Constitution.

“The President is going to address a joint session for the first time today. The President’s first address to the joint session of Parliament is a matter of pride for our Constitution, and especially for respect of women. The whole world has its eyes on India,” he said.

“Our Finance Minister is a woman too. She will present one more budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget,” PM Modi added.

The budget session will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)

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