Fancy riding a virtuous self-sustaining growth cycle under a clear blue sky with no worry in the world? That’s the rough imagery the Economic Survey wants to paint and the chief economic advisor (CEA) even tweeted about adopting so-called blue sky thinking to take India towards the goal of being a $5 trillion economy.

India Watch: What is blue sky thinking?

India’s economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8% in January-March 2018-19, due to poor performance in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data released on May 31 said.

India's GDP growth rate slumps to 5.8% in fourth quarter

The finance ministry is reworking strategic sale procedure to ensure the outright sale of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) within 4 months of issuance of documents to potential investors, a move aimed at ensuring the speedier conclusion of the entire process, an official said. However, for CPSEs like Air India, which is relatively bigger in size, the timeline for completion of the strategic sale is likely to be fixed at 6 months from the date of issuance of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) about the company.

Currently, there is no set timeline for concluding the strategic sale of a state-owned company and the entire process, in some cases, drags on for months, if not years. “The strategic sale policy is already in place, but the procedure needs to be streamlined so that the sale process is completed within 3-4 months’ time. The thinking is that if a process cannot be completed in 4 months then it should be abandoned,” an official told PTI. Facing a daunting task of meeting the Rs 90,000-crore disinvestment target in the current fiscal, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will focus on an outright sale of selected CPSEs, which have been pending for long. NITI Aayog has already identified 35 profitable and loss-making CPSEs which can go in for strategic sale.

“The procedure would be drafted in a way such that the process can go on simultaneously for more than one CPSE. For bigger CPSEs, the timeline for completion of sale could be extended till about 6 months,” the official added. The companies which have been shortlisted for strategic sale include Air India, Air India subsidiary AIATSL, BEML, Scooters India, Bharat Pumps Compressors, and Bhadrawati, Salem and Durgapur units of steel major SAIL.

The other CPSEs for which approvals are in place for outright sale include Hindustan Fluorocarbon, Hindustan Newsprint, HLL Life Care, Central Electronics, Bridge &amp; Roof India, Nagarnar Steel plant of NMDC and units of Cement Corporation of India and ITDC. The process for strategic sale of many state-owned companies started back in late 2017 or early 2018 but the transactions could not be concluded.

The DIPAM had issued PIMs for sale of Pawan Hans, Bharat Pumps &amp; Compressors Ltd, Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd in April 2018, while the same for Scooters India, Hindustan Newsprint was floated in March 2018. The same of SAIL’s Alloy Steel Plant was issued in February, while that of Hindustan Prefab was posted on the website in October 2017.

However, these transactions could not be completed so far due to a variety of reasons. In last fiscal, the government had raised Rs 84,972 crore from CPSE disinvestment, of which Rs 15,914 crore came in from strategic stake sale. During the fiscal, state-owned NBCC bought government stake in HSCC for Rs 285 crore. Besides, a consortium of four ports acquired the government’s 73.44 per cent stake in Dredging Corp of India for Rs 1,049 crore, while National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) was sold for Rs 80 crore. An amount of Rs 14,500 crore was raised by way of state-run state-run Power Finance Corp acquiring the government stake in REC. So far in the current financial year, the government has mopped up Rs 2,350 through disinvestment transactions.

The finance ministry is reworking strategic sale procedure to ensure the outright sale of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) within 4 months of issuance of documents to potential investors, a move aimed at ensuring the speedier conclusion of the entire process, an official said.

The finance ministry is reworking strategic sale procedure to ensure the outright sale of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) within 4 months of issuance of documents to potential investors, a move aimed at ensuring the speedier conclusion of the entire process, an official said. However, for CPSEs like Air India, which is relatively bigger in size, the timeline for completion of the strategic sale is likely to be fixed at 6 months from the date of issuance of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) about the company. Currently, there is no set timeline for concluding the strategic sale of a state-owned company and the entire process, in some cases, drags on for months, if not years. “The strategic sale policy is already in place, but the procedure needs to be streamlined so that the sale process is completed within 3-4 months’ time. The thinking is that if a process cannot be completed in 4 months then it should be abandoned,” an official told PTI. Facing a daunting task of meeting the Rs 90,000-crore disinvestment target in the current fiscal, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will focus on an outright sale of selected CPSEs, which have been pending for long. NITI Aayog has already identified 35 profitable and loss-making CPSEs which can go in for strategic sale. “The procedure would be drafted in a way such that the process can go on simultaneously for more than one CPSE. For bigger CPSEs, the timeline for completion of sale could be extended till about 6 months,” the official added. The companies which have been shortlisted for strategic sale include Air India, Air India subsidiary AIATSL, BEML, Scooters India, Bharat Pumps Compressors, and Bhadrawati, Salem and Durgapur units of steel major SAIL. The other CPSEs for which approvals are in place for outright sale include Hindustan Fluorocarbon, Hindustan Newsprint, HLL Life Care, Central Electronics, Bridge & Roof India, Nagarnar Steel plant of NMDC and units of Cement Corporation of India and ITDC. The process for strategic sale of many state-owned companies started back in late 2017 or early 2018 but the transactions could not be concluded. The DIPAM had issued PIMs for sale of Pawan Hans, Bharat Pumps & Compressors Ltd, Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd in April 2018, while the same for Scooters India, Hindustan Newsprint was floated in March 2018. The same of SAIL’s Alloy Steel Plant was issued in February, while that of Hindustan Prefab was posted on the website in October 2017. However, these transactions could not be completed so far due to a variety of reasons. In last fiscal, the government had raised Rs 84,972 crore from CPSE disinvestment, of which Rs 15,914 crore came in from strategic stake sale. During the fiscal, state-owned NBCC bought government stake in HSCC for Rs 285 crore. Besides, a consortium of four ports acquired the government’s 73.44 per cent stake in Dredging Corp of India for Rs 1,049 crore, while National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) was sold for Rs 80 crore. An amount of Rs 14,500 crore was raised by way of state-run state-run Power Finance Corp acquiring the government stake in REC. So far in the current financial year, the government has mopped up Rs 2,350 through disinvestment transactions.

Finance Ministry reworking strategic sale procedure for CPSEs

The Election Commission Sunday “strongly advised,” the Finance Ministry that any action by its enforcement agencies during election time should be “neutral” and “non-discriminatory”. The poll panel’s advice came amid allegations that the government was using the agencies to target rival parties in the poll season.&nbsp;

In a letter to the Union revenue secretary, the commission said it would like to “strongly advise that all enforcement actions during the election period, even when conducted ruthlessly with a view to curbing this blatant electoral malpractice, should be absolutely neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory.”

The Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are the executive arm of the Department of Revenue in dealing with financial crimes. In case of suspected use of illicit money for electoral purposes, the chief electoral officer of the state must be kept “suitably informed” during the model code of conduct period, it said.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha election starts from April 11 and counting will be held on May 23. The Income Tax department has carried out raids in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday and in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the recent past.

The opposition has alleged that rival parties are being singled out by the ruling dispensation in the poll season. 
The letter also highlighted that money power with the intention of influencing voters’ behaviour has over the years emerged as one of the biggest challenges for the conduct of free, fair, ethical and credible elections.

The EC said it is understood that all enforcement agencies working under the administrative control of the finance ministry’s revenue department must be undertaking enforcement actions based on inputs and actionable intelligence, as per extant laws.

The Election Commission Sunday “strongly advised,” the Finance Ministry that any action by its enforcement agencies during election time should be “neutral” and “non-discriminatory”.

The Election Commission Sunday “strongly advised,” the Finance Ministry that any action by its enforcement agencies during election time should be “neutral” and “non-discriminatory”. The poll panel’s advice came amid allegations that the government was using the agencies to target rival parties in the poll season. In a letter to the Union revenue secretary, the commission said it would like to “strongly advise that all enforcement actions during the election period, even when conducted ruthlessly with a view to curbing this blatant electoral malpractice, should be absolutely neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory.” The Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are the executive arm of the Department of Revenue in dealing with financial crimes. In case of suspected use of illicit money for electoral purposes, the chief electoral officer of the state must be kept “suitably informed” during the model code of conduct period, it said. The seven-phase Lok Sabha election starts from April 11 and counting will be held on May 23. The Income Tax department has carried out raids in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday and in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the recent past. The opposition has alleged that rival parties are being singled out by the ruling dispensation in the poll season. The letter also highlighted that money power with the intention of influencing voters’ behaviour has over the years emerged as one of the biggest challenges for the conduct of free, fair, ethical and credible elections. The EC said it is understood that all enforcement agencies working under the administrative control of the finance ministry’s revenue department must be undertaking enforcement actions based on inputs and actionable intelligence, as per extant laws.

Ask enforcement agencies to be neutral: Election Commission to Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry has declined to share copies of three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad, saying they were being examined by a Parliamentary panel and disclosing details will cause a breach of privilege of the House.

These reports were submitted to the government more than four years ago. 
&nbsp; 
The UPA government had commissioned in 2011 the studies by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.

Replying to an RTI query, it said the study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER, and NIFM were received by the government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively.

"The reports and government's response to it have been forwarded to Lok Sabha secretariat for placing them before the Standing Committee on Finance," the ministry said.

 
The Lok Sabha secretariat has informed that the same has been placed before the committee which will examine it, it said in a reply to an RTI application filed by this PTI correspondent.

It denied to share the copies of these reports, saying the disclosure would cause the breach of privilege of Parliament and, therefore, the information sought is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The section bars information, "the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament". The reports were submitted to the panel on July 21, 2017.

There is, at present, no official assessment of the quantum of black money in India and abroad.

According to a study by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an estimated US$ 770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014.

Nearly US$ 165 billion in illicit money exited the country during the same period, the latest report by the global financial watchdog said.

"The issue of black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention in the recent past. So far, there are no reliable estimates of black money generated and held within and outside the country," the Finance Ministry had said while ordering the studies in 2011.

These estimates were based on various unverifiable assumptions and approximations, it had said.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the studies included the assessment or survey of unaccounted income and wealth, and profiling the nature of activities engendering money laundering both within and outside the country.

The studies were to identify, among other issues, important sectors of the economy in which unaccounted money was generated and examine the causes and conditions that resulted in the generation.&nbsp;

The Finance Ministry has declined to share copies of three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad, saying they were being examined by a Parliamentary panel and disclosing details will cause a breach of privilege of the House.

The Finance Ministry has declined to share copies of three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad, saying they were being examined by a Parliamentary panel and disclosing details will cause a breach of privilege of the House. These reports were submitted to the government more than four years ago. The UPA government had commissioned in 2011 the studies by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad. Replying to an RTI query, it said the study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER, and NIFM were received by the government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively. "The reports and government's response to it have been forwarded to Lok Sabha secretariat for placing them before the Standing Committee on Finance," the ministry said. The Lok Sabha secretariat has informed that the same has been placed before the committee which will examine it, it said in a reply to an RTI application filed by this PTI correspondent. It denied to share the copies of these reports, saying the disclosure would cause the breach of privilege of Parliament and, therefore, the information sought is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The section bars information, "the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament". The reports were submitted to the panel on July 21, 2017. There is, at present, no official assessment of the quantum of black money in India and abroad. According to a study by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an estimated US$ 770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014. Nearly US$ 165 billion in illicit money exited the country during the same period, the latest report by the global financial watchdog said. "The issue of black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention in the recent past. So far, there are no reliable estimates of black money generated and held within and outside the country," the Finance Ministry had said while ordering the studies in 2011. These estimates were based on various unverifiable assumptions and approximations, it had said. The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the studies included the assessment or survey of unaccounted income and wealth, and profiling the nature of activities engendering money laundering both within and outside the country. The studies were to identify, among other issues, important sectors of the economy in which unaccounted money was generated and examine the causes and conditions that resulted in the generation.

Can't disclose black money reports as Par Panel examining them: Finance Ministry

Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal who has been given a temporary charge of the ministry to fill in for Arun Jaitley said on Friday that Jaitely was in good health and is recovering rapidly.

The government has however not commented on Jaitely's conditions.

Arun Jaitley who is currently in New York underwent surgery at a hospital on Tuesday.

He has been advised at least two weeks of rest by the doctors, sources said.&nbsp;

Jaitley had travelled to the US on January 13 and had undergone tests for soft tissue cancer this week.

In his absence Goyal is likely to present the interim Budget, PTI reported citing sources.

(With inputs from agencies)

Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal who has been given a temporary charge of the ministry to fill in for Arun Jaitley said on Friday that Jaitely was in good health and is recovering rapidly.

Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal who has been given a temporary charge of the ministry to fill in for Arun Jaitley said on Friday that Jaitely was in good health and is recovering rapidly. The government has however not commented on Jaitely's conditions. Arun Jaitley who is currently in New York underwent surgery at a hospital on Tuesday. He has been advised at least two weeks of rest by the doctors, sources said. Jaitley had travelled to the US on January 13 and had undergone tests for soft tissue cancer this week. In his absence Goyal is likely to present the interim Budget, PTI reported citing sources. (With inputs from agencies)

Arun Jaitley in good health, recovering rapidly: Piyush Goyal

Krishnamurthy Subramanian, a professor from the Indian School of Business, has been appointed as the new chief economic adviser.

Krishnamurthy Subramanian took charge as his predecessor, Arvind Subramanian, abruptly left the country's finance ministry in June, news agency Reuters reported.&nbsp;

As per Krishnamurthy's profile on ISB's website, he serves as Associate Professor &amp; Executive Director, Centre For Analytical Finance and Executive Director, Centre for Analytical Finance.&nbsp;

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Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed as the new Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for three years. <a href="https://t.co/3sLQ97gh8v">pic.twitter.com/3sLQ97gh8v</a>
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"His services on the expert committees on Corporate Governance for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and on Governance of Banks for The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have established him as one of the chief architects of corporate governance and banking reforms in India. He serves as a member of SEBI’s Standing Committees on Alternative Investment Policy, Primary Markets, Secondary Markets and Research," as mentioned on the website.&nbsp;

He has a PhD from Chicago Booth School of Business and is a top-ranking IIT-IIM alumnus. He is one of the world’s leading experts in banking, corporate governance and economic policy.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

Subramanian worked as a consultant with JPMorgan Chase in New York before starting his career in academics.&nbsp;

Krishnamurthy Subramanian, a professor from the Indian School of Business, has been appointed as the new chief economic adviser. Krishnamurthy Subramanian took charge as his predecessor, Arvind Subramanian, abruptly left the country's finance ministry in June, news agency Reuters reported.

Krishnamurthy Subramanian, a professor from the Indian School of Business, has been appointed as the new chief economic adviser. Krishnamurthy Subramanian took charge as his predecessor, Arvind Subramanian, abruptly left the country's finance ministry in June, news agency Reuters reported. As per Krishnamurthy's profile on ISB's website, he serves as Associate Professor & Executive Director, Centre For Analytical Finance and Executive Director, Centre for Analytical Finance. Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed as the new Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for three years. pic.twitter.com/3sLQ97gh8v — ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2018 × "His services on the expert committees on Corporate Governance for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and on Governance of Banks for The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have established him as one of the chief architects of corporate governance and banking reforms in India. He serves as a member of SEBI’s Standing Committees on Alternative Investment Policy, Primary Markets, Secondary Markets and Research," as mentioned on the website. He has a PhD from Chicago Booth School of Business and is a top-ranking IIT-IIM alumnus. He is one of the world’s leading experts in banking, corporate governance and economic policy. Subramanian worked as a consultant with JPMorgan Chase in New York before starting his career in academics.

Krishnamurthy Subramanian takes charge as chief economic adviser

Keeping up the heat on the RBI, the government will continue to press the central bank to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve, sources familiar with the discussions said.

In recent weeks, the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rbi-governor-urjit-patel-could-resign-on-november-19-report-175967">rift between the RBI and the government</a> has been widening over various issues.

Recently, the government cited never-used before provisions of law that gives it powers to issue directions to the RBI on mattes of public interest to resolve certain issues.

Citing Section 7 of the RBI Act - an unprecedented move in the 80-year history of RBI - the government wants RBI Governor Urjit Patel to address three prime concerns. They pertain to transfer of surplus funds, easing of NPA norms to kickstart lending and support growth, and easing liquidity crisis facing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), sources had said.

These issues may figure during the RBI's board meeting on November 19.

According to the sources, the government would continue to press the RBI to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve.

The government wants the RBI to part with most of its profit as dividend. The central bank, however, feels that it needs to retain a share of profits to make its balance sheet stronger, as per media reports.

The government wants Rs 3.6 lakh crore of surplus to be transferred to it, the reports said.

In its attempt to clean up the banking system, the RBI introduced Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework that places curbs on lending, expanding branch network and dividend distribution on weak banks.

It has also mandated banks to declare a delinquent borrower even if payments were overdue by a day.

The government wants some of these strictures to be eased to kick start lending and support growth, the sources said.

One of the nominee director on RBI's Central Board S Gurumurthy has reportedly written to RBI Governor Urjit Patel regarding Deputy Governor Viral Acharya raising the issue of the bank's autonomy at a public event recently.

Sources had said that the RBI's board meeting on November 19 was pre-scheduled and routine. The last meeting of the board was held in October.

Apart from Patel and his four deputies, there are 13 nominated directors on the RBI's board.

The reports of rift between the RBI and the government surfaced last month following the Finance Ministry reportedly started discussion with the RBI under the never before used Section 7 of the RBI Act.

In a statement last week, the ministry said the RBI's autonomy is "essential" and will be "nurtured".

Last week, Economic Affairs Seceretary Subhash Chandra Garg and government nominee on the Board took an apparent dig at Acharya's 'wrath of financial markets' comment in a tweet saying vital indicators of the economy were showing improvement.

Acharya, in his much talked about speech last month, raised the issue of autonomy of the central bank and said that undermining the central bank's independence could be "potentially catastrophic".

"Governments that do not respect central bank independence will sooner or later incur the wrath of financial markets, ignite economic fire, and come to rue the day they undermined an important regulatory institution; their wiser counterparts who invest in central bank independence will enjoy lower costs of borrowing, the love of international investors, and longer life spans," Acharya had said.

The deputy governor's comment had generated controversy, hinting at the growing rift between the government and the central bank.

Keeping up the heat on the RBI, the government will continue to press the central bank to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.

Keeping up the heat on the RBI, the government will continue to press the central bank to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve, sources familiar with the discussions said. In recent weeks, the rift between the RBI and the government has been widening over various issues. Recently, the government cited never-used before provisions of law that gives it powers to issue directions to the RBI on mattes of public interest to resolve certain issues. Citing Section 7 of the RBI Act - an unprecedented move in the 80-year history of RBI - the government wants RBI Governor Urjit Patel to address three prime concerns. They pertain to transfer of surplus funds, easing of NPA norms to kickstart lending and support growth, and easing liquidity crisis facing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), sources had said. These issues may figure during the RBI's board meeting on November 19. According to the sources, the government would continue to press the RBI to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve. The government wants the RBI to part with most of its profit as dividend. The central bank, however, feels that it needs to retain a share of profits to make its balance sheet stronger, as per media reports. The government wants Rs 3.6 lakh crore of surplus to be transferred to it, the reports said. In its attempt to clean up the banking system, the RBI introduced Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework that places curbs on lending, expanding branch network and dividend distribution on weak banks. It has also mandated banks to declare a delinquent borrower even if payments were overdue by a day. The government wants some of these strictures to be eased to kick start lending and support growth, the sources said. One of the nominee director on RBI's Central Board S Gurumurthy has reportedly written to RBI Governor Urjit Patel regarding Deputy Governor Viral Acharya raising the issue of the bank's autonomy at a public event recently. Sources had said that the RBI's board meeting on November 19 was pre-scheduled and routine. The last meeting of the board was held in October. Apart from Patel and his four deputies, there are 13 nominated directors on the RBI's board. The reports of rift between the RBI and the government surfaced last month following the Finance Ministry reportedly started discussion with the RBI under the never before used Section 7 of the RBI Act. In a statement last week, the ministry said the RBI's autonomy is "essential" and will be "nurtured". Last week, Economic Affairs Seceretary Subhash Chandra Garg and government nominee on the Board took an apparent dig at Acharya's 'wrath of financial markets' comment in a tweet saying vital indicators of the economy were showing improvement. Acharya, in his much talked about speech last month, raised the issue of autonomy of the central bank and said that undermining the central bank's independence could be "potentially catastrophic". "Governments that do not respect central bank independence will sooner or later incur the wrath of financial markets, ignite economic fire, and come to rue the day they undermined an important regulatory institution; their wiser counterparts who invest in central bank independence will enjoy lower costs of borrowing, the love of international investors, and longer life spans," Acharya had said. The deputy governor's comment had generated controversy, hinting at the growing rift between the government and the central bank.

Govt to continue pressing RBI for relaxing norms, funds: Sources

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel for "dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgment on disclosure of the wilful defaulters' list.

The CIC has also asked the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make public the letter of former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on bad loans.

Irked over the denial of information on disclosure of names of wilful defaulters who have taken bank loans of Rs 50 crore and above by the RBI in spite of a Supreme Court order, the CIC has asked Patel to explain why a maximum penalty should not be imposed on him for "dishonouring" the court verdict, which had upheld a decision taken by then information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, calling for disclosure of names of wilful defaulters.

Patel, speaking at the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on September 20, had said the guidelines on vigilance, issued by the CVC, were aimed at achieving greater transparency, promoting a culture of honesty and probity in public life and improving the overall vigilance administration in the organisations within its purview, the CIC pointed out.

"The commission feels that there is no match between what RBI governor and deputy governor say and their website regarding their RTI policy, and a great secrecy of vigilance reports and inspection reports is being maintained with impunity, in spite of the Supreme Court confirming the orders of the CIC in the Jayantilal case," Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said.

He concluded that it would not serve any purpose to punish the CPIO for this defiance, because he acted under the instructions of the top authorities.

"The commission considers the governor as the deemed PIO responsible for non-disclosure and defiance of Supreme Court orders and CIC orders and directs him to show cause why a maximum penalty should not be imposed on him for these reasons, before November 16," Acharyulu said.

He rejected the arguments of Santosh Kumar Panigrahy of the RBI that section 22 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act would not override various laws he quoted, prohibiting disclosure of names and details of wilful defaulters and hence, the RBI should be discharged from the obligations of disclosure.&nbsp;

"His contention that unless the above-referred enactments are repealed, the RBI cannot disclose the details of defaulters is also absurd," Acharyulu said.

He added that another contention of Panigrahy that the pendency of a PIL before the Supreme Court on the issue would prevent him from disclosure was also baseless as he did not present any interim order passed by the Supreme Court preventing the disclosure of names of wilful defaulters or against the proceedings before the CIC.

"These submissions of the RBI show that its legal wing did not bring to the notice of the CPIO that in the RBI vs Jayantilal N Mistry case, a Supreme Court bench consisting of M Y Eqbat and C Nagappan JJ, on December 16, 2015 [Transferred Cases (Civil) Nos. 91 to 101 of 2015], gave a landmark decision, upholding the direction of the CIC to disclose the inspection reports of the RBI and the names of wilful defaulters in many cases, rejecting all the above-referred contentions of the RBI," Acharyulu said.

The information commissioner said in that case, the counsel for the RBI had raised the same contentions, referring to the same cases referred by Panigrahy, and those were straightaway rejected by the Supreme Court.

"The commission finds no merit in hiding the names of, details and action against wilful defaulters of big bad loans worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

"The RBI shall disclose the bad debt details of defaulters worth more than Rs 1,000 crore at the beginning, of Rs 500 crore or less at a later stage within five days and collect such information from the banks in due course to update their voluntary disclosures from time to time as a practice under section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act," he said.

Acharyulu asked the RBI governor to remember, at least once, one of the three lakh farmers who died in the field as he failed to sustain his crop or sell his produce for an appropriate price and hence, could not pay of the debt before defying the transparency law and directions, and discontinue the non-disclosure policy which will seriously harm the economy of the nation.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel for "dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgment on disclosure of the wilful defaulters' list.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel for "dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgment on disclosure of the wilful defaulters' list. The CIC has also asked the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make public the letter of former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on bad loans. Irked over the denial of information on disclosure of names of wilful defaulters who have taken bank loans of Rs 50 crore and above by the RBI in spite of a Supreme Court order, the CIC has asked Patel to explain why a maximum penalty should not be imposed on him for "dishonouring" the court verdict, which had upheld a decision taken by then information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, calling for disclosure of names of wilful defaulters. Patel, speaking at the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on September 20, had said the guidelines on vigilance, issued by the CVC, were aimed at achieving greater transparency, promoting a culture of honesty and probity in public life and improving the overall vigilance administration in the organisations within its purview, the CIC pointed out. "The commission feels that there is no match between what RBI governor and deputy governor say and their website regarding their RTI policy, and a great secrecy of vigilance reports and inspection reports is being maintained with impunity, in spite of the Supreme Court confirming the orders of the CIC in the Jayantilal case," Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said. He concluded that it would not serve any purpose to punish the CPIO for this defiance, because he acted under the instructions of the top authorities. "The commission considers the governor as the deemed PIO responsible for non-disclosure and defiance of Supreme Court orders and CIC orders and directs him to show cause why a maximum penalty should not be imposed on him for these reasons, before November 16," Acharyulu said. He rejected the arguments of Santosh Kumar Panigrahy of the RBI that section 22 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act would not override various laws he quoted, prohibiting disclosure of names and details of wilful defaulters and hence, the RBI should be discharged from the obligations of disclosure. "His contention that unless the above-referred enactments are repealed, the RBI cannot disclose the details of defaulters is also absurd," Acharyulu said. He added that another contention of Panigrahy that the pendency of a PIL before the Supreme Court on the issue would prevent him from disclosure was also baseless as he did not present any interim order passed by the Supreme Court preventing the disclosure of names of wilful defaulters or against the proceedings before the CIC. "These submissions of the RBI show that its legal wing did not bring to the notice of the CPIO that in the RBI vs Jayantilal N Mistry case, a Supreme Court bench consisting of M Y Eqbat and C Nagappan JJ, on December 16, 2015 [Transferred Cases (Civil) Nos. 91 to 101 of 2015], gave a landmark decision, upholding the direction of the CIC to disclose the inspection reports of the RBI and the names of wilful defaulters in many cases, rejecting all the above-referred contentions of the RBI," Acharyulu said. The information commissioner said in that case, the counsel for the RBI had raised the same contentions, referring to the same cases referred by Panigrahy, and those were straightaway rejected by the Supreme Court. "The commission finds no merit in hiding the names of, details and action against wilful defaulters of big bad loans worth hundreds of crores of rupees. "The RBI shall disclose the bad debt details of defaulters worth more than Rs 1,000 crore at the beginning, of Rs 500 crore or less at a later stage within five days and collect such information from the banks in due course to update their voluntary disclosures from time to time as a practice under section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act," he said. Acharyulu asked the RBI governor to remember, at least once, one of the three lakh farmers who died in the field as he failed to sustain his crop or sell his produce for an appropriate price and hence, could not pay of the debt before defying the transparency law and directions, and discontinue the non-disclosure policy which will seriously harm the economy of the nation.

RBI chief gets show-cause notice for 'dishonouring' SC judgment

The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that both the government and the RBI have to be guided by public interest and the requirements of the economy.&nbsp;

It added that "autonomy for the Central Bank within framework of RBI Act is essential and accepted governance requirement. Governments have nurtured and respected this."&nbsp;

There have been several media reports of late of a massive rift opening up between the government and the Reserve Bank of India.&nbsp;

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said last week in a public speech that "governments that do not respect central bank's independence will sooner or later <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/a-govt-that-does-not-respect-rbis-independence-will-incur-wrath-of-markets-rbi-deputy-governor-173752">incur the wrath of financial markets</a>". Acharya is said to have had the backing of his boss, RBI Governor Urjit Patel.&nbsp;

The government was reportedly "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/government-very-upset-with-rbi-for-making-rift-public-sources-174359">very upset</a>" by the RBI talking about the rift in public.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, wionews.com reported that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rbi-governor-urjit-patel-may-consider-resigning-after-rift-with-government-report-174513">Patel may be considering resigning</a>.&nbsp;

In its statement Wednesday, the Finance Ministry added that: "Extensive consultations on several issues take place between government and RBI from time to time. This is equally true of all regulators. Government has never made public the subject matter of those consultations. Only final decisions are communicated."&nbsp;

The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that both the government and the RBI have to be guided by public interest and the requirements of the economy. It added that "autonomy for the Central Bank within framework of RBI Act is essential and accepted governance requirement.

The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that both the government and the RBI have to be guided by public interest and the requirements of the economy. It added that "autonomy for the Central Bank within framework of RBI Act is essential and accepted governance requirement. Governments have nurtured and respected this." There have been several media reports of late of a massive rift opening up between the government and the Reserve Bank of India. RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said last week in a public speech that "governments that do not respect central bank's independence will sooner or later incur the wrath of financial markets". Acharya is said to have had the backing of his boss, RBI Governor Urjit Patel. The government was reportedly "very upset" by the RBI talking about the rift in public. On Wednesday, wionews.com reported that Patel may be considering resigning. In its statement Wednesday, the Finance Ministry added that: "Extensive consultations on several issues take place between government and RBI from time to time. This is equally true of all regulators. Government has never made public the subject matter of those consultations. Only final decisions are communicated."

Both govt & RBI have to be guided by public interest, Finance Ministry says amid reports of row

Japan is drawing up plans requiring all senior government bureaucrats to undergo anti-sexual harassment training, an official said today, after a scandal involving a top finance ministry employee.

"We are now preparing such a plan," a cabinet office official told, adding that a final version will be presented at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this month.

The move comes after the top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry quit in April following allegations he sexually harassed female reporters.

He denied the claims, but a ministry probe subsequently found the allegations credible and docked his retirement benefits.

The finance ministry was slammed for its poor handling of the case, with Finance Minister Taro Aso initially dismissing the allegations and officials later calling on victims to come forward publicly.

Earlier this week, a foreign ministry official in charge of Russian affairs was suspended for nine months, with Japanese media widely reporting he had been accused of sexual harassment.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono has declined to clarify why the bureaucrat was suspended, citing the privacy of "the victim." The training plan could be approved as early as next week at the meeting entitled "Base for creating a society where all women shine," that Abe will head, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported.

How many officials will be required to undergo the training remains unclear, though some media reported it may become mandatory for bureaucrats seeking promotion.

Abe has made increasing female participation in the workforce a key plank of his economic policies as Japan struggles with a labour shortage.

But the country ranked bottom among G7 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest "Global Gender Gap Report", coming 114th worldwide.

It scored poorly on women's participation in the economy and political involvement.

The #MeToo movement has sometimes seemed to have skipped Japan, though some observers said the outcry over the finance ministry case suggested a reckoning could now happen in the country too.

The sexual harassment scandal at the finance ministry has proved an additional headache for Abe, whose government is already under fire over two cronyism scandals -- one of which involves the scrubbing of documents by the finance ministry.

The move comes after the top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry quit in April following allegations he sexually harassed female reporters

Japan is drawing up plans requiring all senior government bureaucrats to undergo anti-sexual harassment training, an official said today, after a scandal involving a top finance ministry employee. "We are now preparing such a plan," a cabinet office official told, adding that a final version will be presented at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this month. The move comes after the top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry quit in April following allegations he sexually harassed female reporters. He denied the claims, but a ministry probe subsequently found the allegations credible and docked his retirement benefits. The finance ministry was slammed for its poor handling of the case, with Finance Minister Taro Aso initially dismissing the allegations and officials later calling on victims to come forward publicly. Earlier this week, a foreign ministry official in charge of Russian affairs was suspended for nine months, with Japanese media widely reporting he had been accused of sexual harassment. Foreign Minister Taro Kono has declined to clarify why the bureaucrat was suspended, citing the privacy of "the victim." The training plan could be approved as early as next week at the meeting entitled "Base for creating a society where all women shine," that Abe will head, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported. How many officials will be required to undergo the training remains unclear, though some media reported it may become mandatory for bureaucrats seeking promotion. Abe has made increasing female participation in the workforce a key plank of his economic policies as Japan struggles with a labour shortage. But the country ranked bottom among G7 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest "Global Gender Gap Report", coming 114th worldwide. It scored poorly on women's participation in the economy and political involvement. The #MeToo movement has sometimes seemed to have skipped Japan, though some observers said the outcry over the finance ministry case suggested a reckoning could now happen in the country too. The sexual harassment scandal at the finance ministry has proved an additional headache for Abe, whose government is already under fire over two cronyism scandals -- one of which involves the scrubbing of documents by the finance ministry.

Japan plans anti-sexual harassment training for officials

The government introduced a new reward scheme on Friday for awarding and encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties.

Under the scheme, a person can get a maximum of Rs 1 crore for providing information on benami (proxy) transactions and properties.

The new&nbsp;initiative known as "Benami&nbsp;Transactions Informants Reward Scheme" will help the Income Tax Department to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion.

The ministry also clarified that strict confidentiality will be maintained under the scheme and the identity of the person giving the information will not be disclosed.&nbsp;

The rewards will also be given to foreigners for disclosing such transactions and properties.

The Ministry also said that black money was invested in properties in the names of others, even though benefits were enjoyed by the investor concealing his beneficial ownership in his tax returns.

The Finance Ministry said, "Under Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 a person can get reward upto Rs 1 crore for giving specific information in prescribed manner to the Joint or Additional Commissioners of Benami Prohibition Units in Investigation Directorates of Income Tax Department".

Under revised Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, a person can get reward up to Rs 50lakh for giving info in prescribed manner to designated officers of Investigation Directorates in IT Dept about substantial evasion of tax on income or assets in India actionable under IT Act '61 ANI reported. 
&nbsp;

The new initiative known as "Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme" will help the Income Tax Department to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion

The government introduced a new reward scheme on Friday for awarding and encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties. Under the scheme, a person can get a maximum of Rs 1 crore for providing information on benami (proxy) transactions and properties. The new initiative known as "Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme" will help the Income Tax Department to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion. The ministry also clarified that strict confidentiality will be maintained under the scheme and the identity of the person giving the information will not be disclosed. The rewards will also be given to foreigners for disclosing such transactions and properties. The Ministry also said that black money was invested in properties in the names of others, even though benefits were enjoyed by the investor concealing his beneficial ownership in his tax returns. The Finance Ministry said, "Under Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 a person can get reward upto Rs 1 crore for giving specific information in prescribed manner to the Joint or Additional Commissioners of Benami Prohibition Units in Investigation Directorates of Income Tax Department". Under revised Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, a person can get reward up to Rs 50lakh for giving info in prescribed manner to designated officers of Investigation Directorates in IT Dept about substantial evasion of tax on income or assets in India actionable under IT Act '61 ANI reported.

Government announces maximum award of Rs 1 crore for disclosing Benami transactions

Enthused by the successful conclusion of Bhushan Steel case, the finance ministry expects banks to write back more than Rs 1 lakh crore after the resolution of all 12 NPA cases referred to insolvency proceedings by the RBI &nbspits first list.

Last week, Tata Group acquired controlling stake of 72.65 per cent in the debt-ridden Bhushan Steel Ltd for around Rs 36,000 crore will help in cleansing the banking system as well as boost lenders profitability.

The remaining 11 NPA cases which are in the pipeline will easily bring to the table over Rs 1 lakh crore and the amount coming from resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will directly add to the bottomline and help in reduction of NPAs of the public sector banks, a senior finance ministry official told PTI.

Last year in June, RBI's internal advisory committee (IAC) identified 12 accounts, each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 per cent of total NPAs of banks.

Following the RBI's advisory, banks referred Bhushan Steel Ltd, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, Essar Steel Ltd, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Lanco Infratech Ltd, Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd, Jyoti Structures Ltd, Electrosteel Steels Ltd, Amtek Auto Ltd, Era Infra Engineering Ltd, Alok Industries Ltd and ABG Shipyard Ltd to NCLT. These accounts together have total outstanding loan of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

The Kolkata Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has already approved Vedanta Resources's resolution plan for acquisition of Electrosteel Steels last month.

Besides, the NCLT last month also asked the lenders of Bhushan Power & Steel to consider the bid submitted by UK-based Liberty House for the debt-ridden company.

Bhushan Power and Steel owes close to Rs 48,000 crore to banks and was referred to the NCLT by Punjab National Bank in June last year.

Last week, Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, has acquired 72.65 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel by paying around Rs 36,400 crore, of which Rs 35,200 crore will be paid to financial creditors.

The buy-out is expected to bring relief in the form of capital boost to PNB that was one of the leading lenders to the debt-ridden company, the bank said in a statement.

PNB in a statement said the bank had the second highest exposure to Bhushan Steel and will benefit greatly from this acquisition.

PNB sources say that the ledger outstanding to Bhushan Steel was Rs 3,857.49 crore while Rs 1,542.99 crore were earmarked for provisioning.

With this resolution, PNB's NPA will fall by Rs 3,857.49 crore. While the bank will recover Rs 3,050 crore of the outstanding amount it will also be able to write off Rs 807.49 crore from the provision it had held for this NPA.

The resolution will also have a direct impact on the bank's bottom-line this quarter.&nbsp

Sources say that this may have a positive effect on the bank's profitability to the tune of Rs 735.50 crore. On top of this, lenders including PNB will continue to own 12 per cent in the acquired entity giving them the opportunity to cash out later when the valuation of the company goes up.

With a current market capitalization of Rs 598 crore at the rate of Rs 27.75 per share for Bhushan Steel Ltd., the share for lenders that stands at nearly 12 per cent, works out to be Rs 72 crore.&nbsp

Another state-owned lender Bank of India (BoI) said it would be able to realise around Rs 1993 crore from the first successful NCLT resolution of Bhushan Steel.&nbsp

The remaining 11 NPA cases which are in the pipeline will easily bring to the table over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Enthused by the successful conclusion of Bhushan Steel case, the finance ministry expects banks to write back more than Rs 1 lakh crore after the resolution of all 12 NPA cases referred to insolvency proceedings by the RBI &nbspits first list. Last week, Tata Group acquired controlling stake of 72.65 per cent in the debt-ridden Bhushan Steel Ltd for around Rs 36,000 crore will help in cleansing the banking system as well as boost lenders profitability. The remaining 11 NPA cases which are in the pipeline will easily bring to the table over Rs 1 lakh crore and the amount coming from resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will directly add to the bottomline and help in reduction of NPAs of the public sector banks, a senior finance ministry official told PTI. Last year in June, RBI's internal advisory committee (IAC) identified 12 accounts, each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 per cent of total NPAs of banks. Following the RBI's advisory, banks referred Bhushan Steel Ltd, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, Essar Steel Ltd, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Lanco Infratech Ltd, Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd, Jyoti Structures Ltd, Electrosteel Steels Ltd, Amtek Auto Ltd, Era Infra Engineering Ltd, Alok Industries Ltd and ABG Shipyard Ltd to NCLT. These accounts together have total outstanding loan of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. The Kolkata Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has already approved Vedanta Resources's resolution plan for acquisition of Electrosteel Steels last month. Besides, the NCLT last month also asked the lenders of Bhushan Power & Steel to consider the bid submitted by UK-based Liberty House for the debt-ridden company. Bhushan Power and Steel owes close to Rs 48,000 crore to banks and was referred to the NCLT by Punjab National Bank in June last year. Last week, Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, has acquired 72.65 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel by paying around Rs 36,400 crore, of which Rs 35,200 crore will be paid to financial creditors. The buy-out is expected to bring relief in the form of capital boost to PNB that was one of the leading lenders to the debt-ridden company, the bank said in a statement. PNB in a statement said the bank had the second highest exposure to Bhushan Steel and will benefit greatly from this acquisition. PNB sources say that the ledger outstanding to Bhushan Steel was Rs 3,857.49 crore while Rs 1,542.99 crore were earmarked for provisioning. With this resolution, PNB's NPA will fall by Rs 3,857.49 crore. While the bank will recover Rs 3,050 crore of the outstanding amount it will also be able to write off Rs 807.49 crore from the provision it had held for this NPA. The resolution will also have a direct impact on the bank's bottom-line this quarter. Sources say that this may have a positive effect on the bank's profitability to the tune of Rs 735.50 crore. On top of this, lenders including PNB will continue to own 12 per cent in the acquired entity giving them the opportunity to cash out later when the valuation of the company goes up. With a current market capitalization of Rs 598 crore at the rate of Rs 27.75 per share for Bhushan Steel Ltd., the share for lenders that stands at nearly 12 per cent, works out to be Rs 72 crore. Another state-owned lender Bank of India (BoI) said it would be able to realise around Rs 1993 crore from the first successful NCLT resolution of Bhushan Steel.

Finance ministry expects banks to get back over Rs 1 lakh crore with resolution of 12 major NPAs

Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the BJP government over the&nbsp;absence of Union Minister Arun Jaitley and Secretary Hasmukh Adhia from the finance ministry at the same time

Gandhi&nbsp;tweeted a&nbsp;mock letter to Finance Minister addressed by Prime Minister.

Through his letter, Gandhi targetted the government for allegedly interfering in financial policies.

The letter said, "Dear FM, As you are indisposed and Finance Secretary is on vacation with his Guru on a quest for inner peace, I have decided to shut the Finance Ministry till further notice. The PMO will take all financial policy decisions as before. Prime Minister".

His tweet was based on a report that said Jaitley had not attended office for a month because of a kidney ailment and also claimed that finance secretary Adhia has taken leave till May 20 to do yoga and meditation with Swami Visharadanand Saraswathy in Mysuru.

In his letter, Gandhi said that in the absence of the finance ministers, the Prime Minister Office will take the decisions on finance policy "as before".

Jaitley had not attended office for a month due to a kidney ailment. However, sources have claimed that the Finance Minister had been clearing files from his residence. 
 
He attended a&nbsp;cabinet meeting and chaired a meeting of the GST council through video conference on April 25.

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Dear FM, 
 
As you are indisposed and Finance Secretary is on vacation with his Guru on a quest for inner peace, I have decided to shut the Finance Ministry till further notice. 
 
The PMO will take all financial policy decisions as before. 
 
Prime Minister<a href="https://t.co/EqHxbkQSXT">https://t.co/EqHxbkQSXT</a>
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/993742922549022720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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'Dear FM, As you are indisposed and Finance Secretary is on vacation with his Guru on a quest for inner peace, I have decided to shut the Finance Ministry till further notice. The PMO will take all financial policy decisions as before,' the letter said. It was signed 'Prime Minister'

Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the BJP government over the absence of Union Minister Arun Jaitley and Secretary Hasmukh Adhia from the finance ministry at the same time Gandhi tweeted a mock letter to Finance Minister addressed by Prime Minister. Through his letter, Gandhi targetted the government for allegedly interfering in financial policies. The letter said, "Dear FM, As you are indisposed and Finance Secretary is on vacation with his Guru on a quest for inner peace, I have decided to shut the Finance Ministry till further notice. The PMO will take all financial policy decisions as before. Prime Minister". His tweet was based on a report that said Jaitley had not attended office for a month because of a kidney ailment and also claimed that finance secretary Adhia has taken leave till May 20 to do yoga and meditation with Swami Visharadanand Saraswathy in Mysuru. In his letter, Gandhi said that in the absence of the finance ministers, the Prime Minister Office will take the decisions on finance policy "as before". Jaitley had not attended office for a month due to a kidney ailment. However, sources have claimed that the Finance Minister had been clearing files from his residence. He attended a cabinet meeting and chaired a meeting of the GST council through video conference on April 25. Dear FM, As you are indisposed and Finance Secretary is on vacation with his Guru on a quest for inner peace, I have decided to shut the Finance Ministry till further notice. The PMO will take all financial policy decisions as before. Prime Ministerhttps://t.co/EqHxbkQSXT — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 8, 2018 ×

Finance Minister 'indisposed', secretary 'on quest for inner peace': Rahul writes mock letter

According to the finance ministry, the government was able to mobilise Rs 7.41 lakh crore from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) during 2017-18.

"During the year 2017-18, total revenue collections under GST in the period between August 2017 and March 2018 has been Rs 7.19 lakh crore. Including the collection of July, 2017, the total GST collections during the 2017-18 stands provisionally at Rs. 7.41 lakh crore," the Finance Ministry said in a tweet.

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During the year 2017-18, total Revenue Collections under GST in the period between August 2017 and March 2018 has been Rs. 7.19 Lakh Crore .
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/FinMinIndia/status/989738503264133120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"This includes Rs 1.19 lakh crore of CGST, Rs.1.72 lakh crore of SGST, and Rs 3.66 lakh crore of IGST (including Rs 1.73 lakh crore on imports) and Rs 62,021 crore of cess (including Rs 5,702 crore on imports)," it said.

According to the finance ministry, the average monthly collection during the August-March period has amounted to Rs 89,885 crore.

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The SGST Collection during the year 2017-18 including the settlement of IGST has been Rs. 2.91 Lakh Crore.
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/FinMinIndia/status/989741622186332160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Total compensation released to the states for a period of eight months during 2017-18 was Rs 41,147 crore, this was to ensure that the revenue of the states is protected at the level of 14 per cent over the base year tax collection in 2015-16.

The ministry further noted that the Revenue Gap in each state has been on the decline over the last eight months.

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Including the collection of July, 2017, the total GST Collections during the Financial Year 2017-18 stands provisionally at Rs. 7.41 Lakh Crore.
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/FinMinIndia/status/989739237217001472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017.

(With inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

The ministry further noted that the Revenue Gap in each state has been on the decline over the last eight months

According to the finance ministry, the government was able to mobilise Rs 7.41 lakh crore from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) during 2017-18. "During the year 2017-18, total revenue collections under GST in the period between August 2017 and March 2018 has been Rs 7.19 lakh crore. Including the collection of July, 2017, the total GST collections during the 2017-18 stands provisionally at Rs. 7.41 lakh crore," the Finance Ministry said in a tweet. During the year 2017-18, total Revenue Collections under GST in the period between August 2017 and March 2018 has been Rs. 7.19 Lakh Crore . — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) April 27, 2018 × "This includes Rs 1.19 lakh crore of CGST, Rs.1.72 lakh crore of SGST, and Rs 3.66 lakh crore of IGST (including Rs 1.73 lakh crore on imports) and Rs 62,021 crore of cess (including Rs 5,702 crore on imports)," it said. According to the finance ministry, the average monthly collection during the August-March period has amounted to Rs 89,885 crore. The SGST Collection during the year 2017-18 including the settlement of IGST has been Rs. 2.91 Lakh Crore. — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) April 27, 2018 × Total compensation released to the states for a period of eight months during 2017-18 was Rs 41,147 crore, this was to ensure that the revenue of the states is protected at the level of 14 per cent over the base year tax collection in 2015-16. The ministry further noted that the Revenue Gap in each state has been on the decline over the last eight months. Including the collection of July, 2017, the total GST Collections during the Financial Year 2017-18 stands provisionally at Rs. 7.41 Lakh Crore. — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) April 27, 2018 × The GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017. (With inputs from PTI)

Average monthly GST collection since rollout Rs 90,000 crore: Finance Ministry

The E-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods came into effect on Sunday nationwide.

Reports say that over 1.71 lakh interstate e-way bill was generated on Sunday.

Though it was a first day of the implementation, according to reports, the Goods and Services Tax network (GSTN) has claimed it to be a success so far.

However, experts say that the system would face the real test on Monday as the number of e-way bills generated in Monday is quite less compared to weekdays.

Starting from Sunday, business and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector e-way bill in order to move goods worth over 50,000 rupees from one state to another.

The finance ministry said that "a total of 10,96,905 taxpayers have registered on e-way bill portal till date. Further 19,796 transporters, who are not registered under GST, have enrolled themselves on the e-way bill portal."&nbsp;

"1,71,503 e-way bills have been successfully generated on the portal from 00:00 hours till 17:00 hrs of 1st Apri, 2018," the ministry added.

Done by GSTN &nbsp;in association with National Informatics Centre (NIC) the e-way bill mechanism runs on this portal.

https://ewaybillgst.Gov.In.

Karnataka has already implemented this system since December last year to move goods within the state.

First introduced on February 1, the Good and Services Tax e-way bill's implemntation was put on hold after the system developed flitches in generating permits as the several states starting to generate intra-state e-way bills.&nbsp;

(With inputs from PTI)

 
&nbsp;

Reports say that over 1.71 lakh interstate e-way bill was generated

The E-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods came into effect on Sunday nationwide. Reports say that over 1.71 lakh interstate e-way bill was generated on Sunday. Though it was a first day of the implementation, according to reports, the Goods and Services Tax network (GSTN) has claimed it to be a success so far. However, experts say that the system would face the real test on Monday as the number of e-way bills generated in Monday is quite less compared to weekdays. Starting from Sunday, business and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector e-way bill in order to move goods worth over 50,000 rupees from one state to another. The finance ministry said that "a total of 10,96,905 taxpayers have registered on e-way bill portal till date. Further 19,796 transporters, who are not registered under GST, have enrolled themselves on the e-way bill portal." "1,71,503 e-way bills have been successfully generated on the portal from 00:00 hours till 17:00 hrs of 1st Apri, 2018," the ministry added. Done by GSTN in association with National Informatics Centre (NIC) the e-way bill mechanism runs on this portal. https://ewaybillgst.Gov.In. Karnataka has already implemented this system since December last year to move goods within the state. First introduced on February 1, the Good and Services Tax e-way bill's implemntation was put on hold after the system developed flitches in generating permits as the several states starting to generate intra-state e-way bills. (With inputs from PTI)

Over 1.7 lakh e-way bills generated on inter-state E-way bill launch day; real load test tomorrow

The finance ministry set a 15-day deadline on Tuesday for state banks to take action to improve their oversight of operational and technological risks after the country`s second-biggest state lender was hit by a $2 billion fraud.

The directive did not mention Punjab National Bank, but comes after the lender said on Monday the amount of fraudulent transactions suffered could rise by $204 million, in addition to the $1.77 billion earlier reported. The news sent PNB shares reeling to a 20-month low.

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PNB`s announcement late on Monday also sent shares of other state-run lenders lower, reinforcing concerns about the escalating financial cost of the unauthorised loans steered towards billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems Ltd.&nbsp;

The scale of the fraud, the biggest to hit an Indian lender, has stunned the country and put the lack of supervisory oversight by PNB`s own officials, as well as the central bank and auditors under the spotlight.

The fraud has also sparked aggressive investigations by the country`s authorities, including a raid last week of Nirav Modi`s former law firm that lawyers described as unprecedented.

Rajeev Kumar, the top bureaucrat in the Department of Financial Services, said in a Twitter message that the government expected state-run lenders &quot;to take pre-emptive action and identify gaps/weaknesses&quot; for potential operational and technological risks within 15 days.

Kumar also posted a notice from his department with a list of expected action by the lenders, including identifying current oversight weaknesses, preparing a report on how to improve practices and standards, and directing the banks` boards &quot;to assign clear accountability&quot; for implementation and compliance.

Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, also without mentioning the PNB case, decried a &quot;lack of ethics&quot; among sections of Indian business and criticised inadequate oversight by auditors and regulators.

Worries about the lack of supervision in India`s banking sector have been compounded after state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce said on Sunday it had suffered losses of around $17 million over loans provided to a sugar company that the lender claims was fraudulently diverted.

Meanwhile, pen maker Rotomac Global is facing a police investigation over accusations it cheated a consortium of lenders, while private lender City Union Bank has said this month &quot;cyber criminals&quot; had hacked its systems and transferred nearly $2 million via the SWIFT financial platform.

Analysts said the government directive could hit banks in the short-term if more fraud is detected, though it would benefit the sector in the long-term.

&quot;The oversight in the banking system is obviously not good,&quot; said Yuvraj Choudhary, an analyst at brokerage Anand Rathi.

&quot;This could lead to uncovering of more potential scams. We can expect bottom-lines to be hit in the coming quarters.&quot;

LAW FIRM RAIDED&nbsp;

Meanwhile, various Indian authorities have stepped up investigations into potential wrongdoing at PNB as well as companies tied to Modi and Choksi, although no charges have yet been filed.

An official at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the country`s federal police had raided the offices of law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas last week, which had represented Modi for a while, and taken away documents related to the Indian jeweller. He did not give additional details.

Lawyers said they were unclear what legal basis the CBI had used to seize the documents.

Cyril Amarchand did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

At least a dozen people - six from the bank and six more from Modi`s and Choksi`s companies - have been arrested, while investigators have seized a number of properties from the two, including jewellery and luxury vehicles.

Both Modi and Choksi, whose whereabouts are unknown, have said they are innocent.

PNB shares were trading down 12 percent at 0917 GMT, after earlier falling as much as 14.2 percent to its lowest since June 2016.

A sub-index of state-run lenders, the PSU Bank index, was down 3.5 percent, while top-ranked State Bank of India was down 2.5 percent.

The directive did not mention Punjab National Bank

The finance ministry set a 15-day deadline on Tuesday for state banks to take action to improve their oversight of operational and technological risks after the country`s second-biggest state lender was hit by a $2 billion fraud. The directive did not mention Punjab National Bank, but comes after the lender said on Monday the amount of fraudulent transactions suffered could rise by $204 million, in addition to the $1.77 billion earlier reported. The news sent PNB shares reeling to a 20-month low. × PNB`s announcement late on Monday also sent shares of other state-run lenders lower, reinforcing concerns about the escalating financial cost of the unauthorised loans steered towards billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems Ltd. The scale of the fraud, the biggest to hit an Indian lender, has stunned the country and put the lack of supervisory oversight by PNB`s own officials, as well as the central bank and auditors under the spotlight. The fraud has also sparked aggressive investigations by the country`s authorities, including a raid last week of Nirav Modi`s former law firm that lawyers described as unprecedented. Rajeev Kumar, the top bureaucrat in the Department of Financial Services, said in a Twitter message that the government expected state-run lenders "to take pre-emptive action and identify gaps/weaknesses" for potential operational and technological risks within 15 days. Kumar also posted a notice from his department with a list of expected action by the lenders, including identifying current oversight weaknesses, preparing a report on how to improve practices and standards, and directing the banks` boards "to assign clear accountability" for implementation and compliance. Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, also without mentioning the PNB case, decried a "lack of ethics" among sections of Indian business and criticised inadequate oversight by auditors and regulators. Worries about the lack of supervision in India`s banking sector have been compounded after state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce said on Sunday it had suffered losses of around $17 million over loans provided to a sugar company that the lender claims was fraudulently diverted. Meanwhile, pen maker Rotomac Global is facing a police investigation over accusations it cheated a consortium of lenders, while private lender City Union Bank has said this month "cyber criminals" had hacked its systems and transferred nearly $2 million via the SWIFT financial platform. Analysts said the government directive could hit banks in the short-term if more fraud is detected, though it would benefit the sector in the long-term. "The oversight in the banking system is obviously not good," said Yuvraj Choudhary, an analyst at brokerage Anand Rathi. "This could lead to uncovering of more potential scams. We can expect bottom-lines to be hit in the coming quarters." LAW FIRM RAIDED Meanwhile, various Indian authorities have stepped up investigations into potential wrongdoing at PNB as well as companies tied to Modi and Choksi, although no charges have yet been filed. An official at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the country`s federal police had raided the offices of law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas last week, which had represented Modi for a while, and taken away documents related to the Indian jeweller. He did not give additional details. Lawyers said they were unclear what legal basis the CBI had used to seize the documents. Cyril Amarchand did not respond to a request for comment. At least a dozen people - six from the bank and six more from Modi`s and Choksi`s companies - have been arrested, while investigators have seized a number of properties from the two, including jewellery and luxury vehicles. Both Modi and Choksi, whose whereabouts are unknown, have said they are innocent. PNB shares were trading down 12 percent at 0917 GMT, after earlier falling as much as 14.2 percent to its lowest since June 2016. A sub-index of state-run lenders, the PSU Bank index, was down 3.5 percent, while top-ranked State Bank of India was down 2.5 percent.

Finance Ministry gives state-run banks 15 days to improve oversight

Revenues from the Goods and Services Tax could cross Rs 1 lakh crore a month towards the end of next fiscal once anti-evasion measures like matching of tax data and e-way bill are put in place, finance ministry officials said on Tuesday.

Once the GST return filing process stabilises completely, the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM) will be put to action for 360 degree profiling and matching the database of people filing GST with Income Tax returns filed, they said.

The government has budgeted about Rs 7.44 lakh crore from GST in the 2018-19 fiscal beginning April 1. The estimated collection for 8 months (July-February) of the current fiscal is Rs 4.44 lakh crore. The March collection will take place in April, the start of new financial year, 2018-19.

Officials said the revenue estimates for next fiscal are conservative and could go up depending on enforcement actions taken by the government.

Collections under the GST, implemented from July 1 last year, were over Rs 95,000 crore for the first month, while in August the figure was just over Rs&nbsp; 91,000 crore. In September, it was over Rs 92,150 crore, October (Rs 83,000 crore), November (Rs 80,808 crore) and December (Rs 86,703 crore).

As of December 2017, 98 lakh businesses were registered under the GST regime.

&quot;We will soon start matching of the turnover shown in GST returns with the income returns filed with the I-T department. It could begin by second half of next financial year,&quot; a senior finance ministry official said.

&quot;Once these measures are put in place, there is no reason why GST revenues would not average Rs 1 lakh crore every month,&quot; he added. 
Another official said that the focus of the department will also be on plugging the gaps in the gold and jewellery industry.

&quot;Gold imports have been rising every month despite a 10 per cent customs duty. But where is this imported gold channelled to? With GST in place, the revenue authorities now have the power to seek details about end supplies,&quot; the official said.

Import of gold attracts a 10 per cent basic customs duty. On top of that, a 12.5 per cent countervailing duty (CVD) was levied prior to GST. Since GST subsumed CVD, the GST rate on gold at 3 per cent has to be paid at the time of imports in the form of Integrated GST with effect from July 1.

India is the world&#39;s second biggest gold consumer after China. The import mainly takes care of the demand of the jewellery industry. 
The official said that once the system stabilises, the intelligence agencies within the revenue department could better monitor end usage of the imported gold.

&quot;DGARM would be utilised to provide intelligence inputs and do big data analytics for taxmen for better policy formulation and taking action against tax evaders,&quot; he said.

Set up under the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), DGARM will use internal and external sources for detailed data mining and risk management.

As per data on GST returns filed by companies opting for composition scheme, as many as 5 lakh firms reported such a turnover which works out to annual sales of Rs 5 lakh only.

Out of 10 lakh businesses that opted for the composition scheme during the July-September period, about 7 lakh have filed GST returns for the quarter. 
Businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh are exempt from the GST regime.

The official further said that currently, there is little tracking of goods movement from one state to another and the e-way bill would act as a tool to check tax evasion as then movement of stock and its end use would be monitored.

E-way or electronic way bill is for the movement of goods and can be generated on the GSTN (common portal). Movement of goods of more than Rs 50,000 in value cannot be made by a registered person without an e-way bill.

GST collections added up to Rs 80,808 crore in November and Rs Rs 86,703 crore in December

Revenues from the Goods and Services Tax could cross Rs 1 lakh crore a month towards the end of next fiscal once anti-evasion measures like matching of tax data and e-way bill are put in place, finance ministry officials said on Tuesday. Once the GST return filing process stabilises completely, the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM) will be put to action for 360 degree profiling and matching the database of people filing GST with Income Tax returns filed, they said. The government has budgeted about Rs 7.44 lakh crore from GST in the 2018-19 fiscal beginning April 1. The estimated collection for 8 months (July-February) of the current fiscal is Rs 4.44 lakh crore. The March collection will take place in April, the start of new financial year, 2018-19. Officials said the revenue estimates for next fiscal are conservative and could go up depending on enforcement actions taken by the government. Collections under the GST, implemented from July 1 last year, were over Rs 95,000 crore for the first month, while in August the figure was just over Rs 91,000 crore. In September, it was over Rs 92,150 crore, October (Rs 83,000 crore), November (Rs 80,808 crore) and December (Rs 86,703 crore). As of December 2017, 98 lakh businesses were registered under the GST regime. "We will soon start matching of the turnover shown in GST returns with the income returns filed with the I-T department. It could begin by second half of next financial year," a senior finance ministry official said. "Once these measures are put in place, there is no reason why GST revenues would not average Rs 1 lakh crore every month," he added. Another official said that the focus of the department will also be on plugging the gaps in the gold and jewellery industry. "Gold imports have been rising every month despite a 10 per cent customs duty. But where is this imported gold channelled to? With GST in place, the revenue authorities now have the power to seek details about end supplies," the official said. Import of gold attracts a 10 per cent basic customs duty. On top of that, a 12.5 per cent countervailing duty (CVD) was levied prior to GST. Since GST subsumed CVD, the GST rate on gold at 3 per cent has to be paid at the time of imports in the form of Integrated GST with effect from July 1. India is the world's second biggest gold consumer after China. The import mainly takes care of the demand of the jewellery industry. The official said that once the system stabilises, the intelligence agencies within the revenue department could better monitor end usage of the imported gold. "DGARM would be utilised to provide intelligence inputs and do big data analytics for taxmen for better policy formulation and taking action against tax evaders," he said. Set up under the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), DGARM will use internal and external sources for detailed data mining and risk management. As per data on GST returns filed by companies opting for composition scheme, as many as 5 lakh firms reported such a turnover which works out to annual sales of Rs 5 lakh only. Out of 10 lakh businesses that opted for the composition scheme during the July-September period, about 7 lakh have filed GST returns for the quarter. Businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh are exempt from the GST regime. The official further said that currently, there is little tracking of goods movement from one state to another and the e-way bill would act as a tool to check tax evasion as then movement of stock and its end use would be monitored. E-way or electronic way bill is for the movement of goods and can be generated on the GSTN (common portal). Movement of goods of more than Rs 50,000 in value cannot be made by a registered person without an e-way bill.

Revenue from GST will top Rs 1 lakh crore a month after anti-evasion measures: Finance Ministry officials

Eight tax officers have been appointed by the Finance Ministry to handle GST-related queries on Twitter.

According to the official order, the officers will be in charge of handling queries related to the Goods and Services Tax on the social media platform.

The move came keeping in mind the fact that a lot of queries are raised on various social media platform.&nbsp;

&quot;The decision to appoint the officers was taken as lots of queries are being raised through social media platforms,&quot; a senior finance ministry official noted.

The tech-savvy assistant commissioners will provide online solutions to queries related to the GST with immediate effect.

(With inputs from PTI)

The tech-savvy assistant commissioners will provide online solutions to queries related to the GST with immediate effect

Eight tax officers have been appointed by the Finance Ministry to handle GST-related queries on Twitter. According to the official order, the officers will be in charge of handling queries related to the Goods and Services Tax on the social media platform. The move came keeping in mind the fact that a lot of queries are raised on various social media platform. "The decision to appoint the officers was taken as lots of queries are being raised through social media platforms," a senior finance ministry official noted. The tech-savvy assistant commissioners will provide online solutions to queries related to the GST with immediate effect. (With inputs from PTI)

Finance ministry appoints officers to handle GST-related queries on Twitter

Direct tax collections soared 18.2 per cent during the first nine months of current fiscal at Rs 6.56 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said provisional numbers for direct taxes collections showed an 18.2 per cent growth during April-December.

Direct taxes are made up of income tax paid by individuals, wealth tax and corporation tax paid by companies.

&quot;The net direct tax collections represent 67 per cent of the total Budget Estimates of direct taxes for FY2017-18 (Rs 9.8 lakh crore),&quot; the statement said.

Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 12.6 per cent to Rs 7.68 lakh crore during April to December, 2017.

As many as Rs 1.12 lakh crore refunds have been issued in the period.

The ministry said advance tax collection was up 12.7 per cent at Rs 3.18 lakh crore.

While the growth in corporate income tax advance tax is 10.9 per cent, that in personal Income Tax advance tax is 21.6 per cent.

Direct taxes are made up of income tax paid by individuals, wealth tax and corporation tax paid by companies.

Direct tax collections soared 18.2 per cent during the first nine months of current fiscal at Rs 6.56 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. In a statement, the ministry said provisional numbers for direct taxes collections showed an 18.2 per cent growth during April-December. Direct taxes are made up of income tax paid by individuals, wealth tax and corporation tax paid by companies. "The net direct tax collections represent 67 per cent of the total Budget Estimates of direct taxes for FY2017-18 (Rs 9.8 lakh crore)," the statement said. Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 12.6 per cent to Rs 7.68 lakh crore during April to December, 2017. As many as Rs 1.12 lakh crore refunds have been issued in the period. The ministry said advance tax collection was up 12.7 per cent at Rs 3.18 lakh crore. While the growth in corporate income tax advance tax is 10.9 per cent, that in personal Income Tax advance tax is 21.6 per cent.

Direct tax collections rise 18.2 per cent in April-December

The Union Budget <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/union-budget-to-be-presented-on-february-1-28623">set to be announced on February 1</a> is set to include special measures to strengthen women&#39;s safety.

The Railway Ministry is likely to announce 2018 as &quot;Railway Women&#39;s Safety Year&quot;.

The Railways intends to strengthen women&#39;s safety during train journey with a number of steps, sources said.

The budget is likely to have a detailed plan on women&#39;s safety, steps include installation of CCTV cameras in ladies coach especially in suburban rail service.

The budget is also likely to announce increasing the number of washrooms to at least two at each platform for women.

Finance minister Jaitley may also announce deployment of RPF women constables in ladies coach and in long routes

The budget is also likely to allocate&nbsp;of funds for women safety in Railways from Nirbhaya Women Safety Fund which is of Rs 1,000 crore.

The Budget Session of Parliament will commence from January 29th.&nbsp;President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 29 and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day.

The first phase of the session will be from January 29 to February 9.&nbsp;

The budget is likely to have a detailed plan on women's safety, steps include installation of CCTV cameras in ladies coach especially in suburban rail service.

The Union Budget set to be announced on February 1 is set to include special measures to strengthen women's safety. The Railway Ministry is likely to announce 2018 as "Railway Women's Safety Year". The Railways intends to strengthen women's safety during train journey with a number of steps, sources said. The budget is likely to have a detailed plan on women's safety, steps include installation of CCTV cameras in ladies coach especially in suburban rail service. The budget is also likely to announce increasing the number of washrooms to at least two at each platform for women. Finance minister Jaitley may also announce deployment of RPF women constables in ladies coach and in long routes The budget is also likely to allocate of funds for women safety in Railways from Nirbhaya Women Safety Fund which is of Rs 1,000 crore. The Budget Session of Parliament will commence from January 29th. President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 29 and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day. The first phase of the session will be from January 29 to February 9.

Budget likely to announce several features to strengthen women's safety in Railways

The Finance Ministry has permitted businesses to rectify mistakes in their monthly returns - GSTR-3B - and adjust tax liability, a move that will help them file correct returns without fear of penalty.

This relaxation will give an opportunity to businesses to claim tax credit correctly by rectifying the mistakes made initially while computing GST liability.

Businesses have been finding it difficult to assess tax liability correctly after India moved to Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime with effect from July 1.

Industry bodies have been demanding relaxation of norms and easier compliance provisions to help businesses adapt to the new system of filing tax returns online.

The CBEC in a recent communication to field officer has said &quot;as the return in Form GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past month(s), the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself in appropriate tables...&quot;.

It said while making adjustments in the output tax liability or input tax credit, there can be no negative entries in GSTR-3B.

The amount remaining for adjustment, if any, may be adjusted in the returns in Form GSTR-3B of subsequent months and, in cases where such adjustment is not feasible, refund may be claimed, CBEC said.

GSTR-3B, initial summarised return, has to be filed by businesses by 20th day of every month for the previous month showing details of taxes paid.

&quot;Where adjustments have been made in Form GSTR-3B of multiple months, corresponding adjustments in Form GSTR-1 should also preferably be made in the corresponding months,&quot; it added.

EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said the circular will bring relief to businesses who were struggling to make changes in their GST return form.

Rajat Mohan, partner in AMRG and Associates said the CBEC had in September 2017 allowed businesses to rectify errors in GSTR3B returns while filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 of the same month.

Now in order to improve the procedure, the CBEC has said since GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past months, the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself.

As per the new circular, Mohan said &quot;all rectifications can be made in the same month&#39;s GSTR?3B and GSTR -1&quot;.&nbsp;

This relaxation will give an opportunity to businesses to claim tax credit correctly by rectifying the mistakes made initially while computing GST liability.

The Finance Ministry has permitted businesses to rectify mistakes in their monthly returns - GSTR-3B - and adjust tax liability, a move that will help them file correct returns without fear of penalty. This relaxation will give an opportunity to businesses to claim tax credit correctly by rectifying the mistakes made initially while computing GST liability. Businesses have been finding it difficult to assess tax liability correctly after India moved to Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime with effect from July 1. Industry bodies have been demanding relaxation of norms and easier compliance provisions to help businesses adapt to the new system of filing tax returns online. The CBEC in a recent communication to field officer has said "as the return in Form GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past month(s), the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself in appropriate tables...". It said while making adjustments in the output tax liability or input tax credit, there can be no negative entries in GSTR-3B. The amount remaining for adjustment, if any, may be adjusted in the returns in Form GSTR-3B of subsequent months and, in cases where such adjustment is not feasible, refund may be claimed, CBEC said. GSTR-3B, initial summarised return, has to be filed by businesses by 20th day of every month for the previous month showing details of taxes paid. "Where adjustments have been made in Form GSTR-3B of multiple months, corresponding adjustments in Form GSTR-1 should also preferably be made in the corresponding months," it added. EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said the circular will bring relief to businesses who were struggling to make changes in their GST return form. Rajat Mohan, partner in AMRG and Associates said the CBEC had in September 2017 allowed businesses to rectify errors in GSTR3B returns while filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 of the same month. Now in order to improve the procedure, the CBEC has said since GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past months, the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself. As per the new circular, Mohan said "all rectifications can be made in the same month's GSTR?3B and GSTR -1".

Government relaxes norms for rectification of returns under GST

The Finance Ministry today cautioned that virtual currencies are not legal tender and such currencies have no protection.

Noting that there has been a phenomenal increase in recent times in the price of virtual currencies (VCs) including Bitcoin, in India and globally, it said the VCs don&#39;t have any intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets.

&quot;The price of Bitcoin and other VCs, therefore, is entirely a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility in their prices,&quot; the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

There is a real and heightened risk of an investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes which can result in a sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers losing their hard-earned money, it said.

The statement further said that users, holders and traders of VCs have already been cautioned three times, by the Reserve Bank of India about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to by investing in Bitcoin and/ or other VCs.

The RBI has also clarified that it has not given any licence/ authorisation to any entity/ company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency, it said.

&quot;The government also makes it clear that VCs are not legal tender and such VCs do not have any regulatory permission or protection in India. The investors and other participants, therefore, deal with these VCs entirely at their risk and should best avoid participating therein,&quot; it said.

Consumers need to be alert and extremely cautious as to avoid getting trapped in such Ponzi schemes, it said, adding VCs are stored in a digital/electronic format, making them vulnerable to hacking, loss of password, malware attack etc. which may also result in permanent loss of money.

As transactions of VCs are encrypted they are also likely being used to carry out illegal/subversive activities, such as terror-funding, smuggling, drug trafficking and other money-laundering Acts, it added.

&quot;VCs are not backed by government fiat. These are also not legal tender. Hence, VCs are not currencies. These are also being described as &#39;Coins&#39;,&quot; it said. 
There is, however, no physical attribute to these coins, it said.&nbsp;

The Finance Ministry said virtual currencies are not legal tender and that they have no protection

The Finance Ministry today cautioned that virtual currencies are not legal tender and such currencies have no protection. Noting that there has been a phenomenal increase in recent times in the price of virtual currencies (VCs) including Bitcoin, in India and globally, it said the VCs don't have any intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets. "The price of Bitcoin and other VCs, therefore, is entirely a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility in their prices," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. There is a real and heightened risk of an investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes which can result in a sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers losing their hard-earned money, it said. The statement further said that users, holders and traders of VCs have already been cautioned three times, by the Reserve Bank of India about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to by investing in Bitcoin and/ or other VCs. The RBI has also clarified that it has not given any licence/ authorisation to any entity/ company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency, it said. "The government also makes it clear that VCs are not legal tender and such VCs do not have any regulatory permission or protection in India. The investors and other participants, therefore, deal with these VCs entirely at their risk and should best avoid participating therein," it said. Consumers need to be alert and extremely cautious as to avoid getting trapped in such Ponzi schemes, it said, adding VCs are stored in a digital/electronic format, making them vulnerable to hacking, loss of password, malware attack etc. which may also result in permanent loss of money. As transactions of VCs are encrypted they are also likely being used to carry out illegal/subversive activities, such as terror-funding, smuggling, drug trafficking and other money-laundering Acts, it added. "VCs are not backed by government fiat. These are also not legal tender. Hence, VCs are not currencies. These are also being described as 'Coins'," it said. There is, however, no physical attribute to these coins, it said.

Government warns against Bitcoin

India will borrow an additional 500 billion rupees ($7.79 billion) this fiscal year, a higher-than-expected figure that could lead to it breaching its fiscal deficit target for the first time in four years and hit the bond and equities markets.

The announcement by the finance ministry on Wednesday comes weeks after Moody&#39;s Investors Service upgraded India&#39;s sovereign credit rating for the first time in nearly 14 years, in a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government. It had vowed to maintain fiscal discipline without compromising growth.

But analysts said the additional borrowing was a &quot;negative&quot; that could raise the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s stated target of 3.2 percent.

India is having to raise the extra funds as the federal government has already spent over $200 billion in eight months to October, about 60 percent of the budgeted spending, while revenue collections were just 48 percent of the target.

The government&#39;s tax collection plunged after the launch of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July that complicated tax filings for business and hit the economy.

Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, the Indian arm of rating agency Moody&#39;s, said the additional borrowing could lead to &quot;modest fiscal slippage&quot; as the government was likely to miss its revenue receipts target.

&quot;Given the clouded outlook for revenues, sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap would entail compression of expenditure, which would dampen the expected economic growth recovery in March quarter,&quot; Nayar said.

Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of the government&#39;s policy panel NITI Aayog, said the borrowing was required to &quot;nurture the green shoots of economic recovery&quot;.

&quot;The health of the economy is more important than meeting any fiscal deficit target,&quot; he told ET Now news channel.

A few analysts, however, said some additional borrowing was expected and was priced into bond yields, meaning there are unlikely to be big swings in them on Thursday. The announcement on borrowing came after markets closed on Wednesday.

Reuters reported earlier that the government was considering cutting capital expenditure by at least 300 billion rupees in the March quarter.

New Delhi has also sought higher dividends from state companies.

N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at New Delhi think-tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said the government was entering &quot;uncharted territory&quot; after the fall in revenue collections.

&quot;In any case, a 3.2 percent target was not a realistic number after the launch of GST.&quot;

The government's tax collection plunged after the launch of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July that complicated tax filings for business and hit the economy.

India will borrow an additional 500 billion rupees ($7.79 billion) this fiscal year, a higher-than-expected figure that could lead to it breaching its fiscal deficit target for the first time in four years and hit the bond and equities markets. The announcement by the finance ministry on Wednesday comes weeks after Moody's Investors Service upgraded India's sovereign credit rating for the first time in nearly 14 years, in a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. It had vowed to maintain fiscal discipline without compromising growth. But analysts said the additional borrowing was a "negative" that could raise the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's stated target of 3.2 percent. India is having to raise the extra funds as the federal government has already spent over $200 billion in eight months to October, about 60 percent of the budgeted spending, while revenue collections were just 48 percent of the target. The government's tax collection plunged after the launch of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July that complicated tax filings for business and hit the economy. Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, the Indian arm of rating agency Moody's, said the additional borrowing could lead to "modest fiscal slippage" as the government was likely to miss its revenue receipts target. "Given the clouded outlook for revenues, sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap would entail compression of expenditure, which would dampen the expected economic growth recovery in March quarter," Nayar said. Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of the government's policy panel NITI Aayog, said the borrowing was required to "nurture the green shoots of economic recovery". "The health of the economy is more important than meeting any fiscal deficit target," he told ET Now news channel. A few analysts, however, said some additional borrowing was expected and was priced into bond yields, meaning there are unlikely to be big swings in them on Thursday. The announcement on borrowing came after markets closed on Wednesday. Reuters reported earlier that the government was considering cutting capital expenditure by at least 300 billion rupees in the March quarter. New Delhi has also sought higher dividends from state companies. N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at New Delhi think-tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said the government was entering "uncharted territory" after the fall in revenue collections. "In any case, a 3.2 percent target was not a realistic number after the launch of GST."

India faces fiscal deficit target miss after extra borrowing

The government has withdrawn the December 31 deadline for mandatory quoting of national biometric identifier Aadhaar and PAN for certain financial transactions like opening of a bank account.

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Has been decided by Government to notify 31st March, 2018 or 6 months from date of commencement of bank account based relationship by the client, whichever is later, as date of submission of Aadhaar number&amp; PAN or Form 60 by the clients to the reporting entity: Finance Ministry
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940910260532867072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The new rule notified in the Gazette modifies the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 to replace the requirement of submitting &quot;the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number by December 31, 2017&quot; with a provision saying &quot;submit the Aadhaar number, and Permanent Account Number or Form No. 60, by such date as may be notified by the Central Government&quot;.

While the 12-digit Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), PAN is allotted by the Income Tax Department. Form 60 is a declaration filed by an individual or a person (not being a company or firm) who does not have a PAN and who enters into any specified transaction.

Tuesday&#39;s notification by the Department of Revenue in the finance ministry effectively paves the way for extending the deadline for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar for activities like the opening of a bank account.

This is in line with the Centre last week informing the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend till March 31 the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes.

On December 7, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar was extended by three months to March 31, 2018.

Under the PMLA, Aadhaar, PAN and other official documents are required to be obtained by banks and financial institutions from anyone opening a bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

The notification issued on Tuesday stated that accounts where Aadhaar and PAN are not furnished by the date notified by the government will cease to be operational.

If the account holder &quot;fails to submit the Aadhaar number and PAN by such date as may be notified by the central government, the said account shall cease to be operational till the time the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number are submitted by the client&quot;, it said.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) forms the core of the legal framework put in place by India to combat money laundering and generation of black money.

The PMLA and its rules impose an obligation on reporting entities like banks, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify the identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information to the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND).

As per Rule 9, every reporting entity shall at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship identify its clients, verify their identity and obtain information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship. 
Intermediaries like stockbroker, chit fund company, cooperative bank, housing finance institution and non-banking finance companies are also classified as reporting entities.

The broad rule also applies to all cash dealing of more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency, cash transactions where forged or counterfeit currency notes have been used and all suspicious dealings.

All cross-border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh in foreign currency and purchase and sale of immovable property valued at Rs 50 lakh or more also fall under this category, according to the reporting rules.

Tuesday&#39;s notification said amendments are being made in Rule 9 of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005.

The government has withdrawn the December 31 deadline for mandatory quoting of national biometric identifier Aadhaar and PAN for certain financial transactions like opening of a bank account. Has been decided by Government to notify 31st March, 2018 or 6 months from date of commencement of bank account based relationship by the client, whichever is later, as date of submission of Aadhaar number& PAN or Form 60 by the clients to the reporting entity: Finance Ministry — ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2017 × The new rule notified in the Gazette modifies the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 to replace the requirement of submitting "the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number by December 31, 2017" with a provision saying "submit the Aadhaar number, and Permanent Account Number or Form No. 60, by such date as may be notified by the Central Government". While the 12-digit Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), PAN is allotted by the Income Tax Department. Form 60 is a declaration filed by an individual or a person (not being a company or firm) who does not have a PAN and who enters into any specified transaction. Tuesday's notification by the Department of Revenue in the finance ministry effectively paves the way for extending the deadline for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar for activities like the opening of a bank account. This is in line with the Centre last week informing the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend till March 31 the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes. On December 7, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar was extended by three months to March 31, 2018. Under the PMLA, Aadhaar, PAN and other official documents are required to be obtained by banks and financial institutions from anyone opening a bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above. The notification issued on Tuesday stated that accounts where Aadhaar and PAN are not furnished by the date notified by the government will cease to be operational. If the account holder "fails to submit the Aadhaar number and PAN by such date as may be notified by the central government, the said account shall cease to be operational till the time the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number are submitted by the client", it said. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) forms the core of the legal framework put in place by India to combat money laundering and generation of black money. The PMLA and its rules impose an obligation on reporting entities like banks, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify the identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information to the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND). As per Rule 9, every reporting entity shall at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship identify its clients, verify their identity and obtain information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship. Intermediaries like stockbroker, chit fund company, cooperative bank, housing finance institution and non-banking finance companies are also classified as reporting entities. The broad rule also applies to all cash dealing of more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency, cash transactions where forged or counterfeit currency notes have been used and all suspicious dealings. All cross-border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh in foreign currency and purchase and sale of immovable property valued at Rs 50 lakh or more also fall under this category, according to the reporting rules. Tuesday's notification said amendments are being made in Rule 9 of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005.

Aadhaar-PAN linking: Government extends deadline to March 31

The finance ministry announced Friday that it has extended the due date for filing Income Tax returns&nbsp;till October 31.

The Ministry of Finance made the&nbsp;announcement on Twitter Thursday.

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Due-date for filing Income Tax Returns &amp; various reports of audit prescribed under the IT Act,1961 has been extended to October 31, 2017.
&mdash; Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/FinMinIndia/status/903257416132734976">August 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The due date for filing IT returns and Audit Reports was September 30.

The government had earlier asked those&nbsp;filing their IT returns to quote their Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment number.

On Thursday (August 31), the government extended the date for linking Aadhaar with the Personal Account Number&nbsp;upto December 31&nbsp;to facilitate ease of compliance by taxpayers.&nbsp;

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The due date for filing taxes was September 30. The finance ministry extended the deadline

The finance ministry announced Friday that it has extended the due date for filing Income Tax returns till October 31. The Ministry of Finance made the announcement on Twitter Thursday. Due-date for filing Income Tax Returns & various reports of audit prescribed under the IT Act,1961 has been extended to October 31, 2017. — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) August 31, 2017 × The due date for filing IT returns and Audit Reports was September 30. The government had earlier asked those filing their IT returns to quote their Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment number. On Thursday (August 31), the government extended the date for linking Aadhaar with the Personal Account Number upto December 31 to facilitate ease of compliance by taxpayers.

Deadline for filing Income Tax Returns extended till October 31

The 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget is set to come to an end from the next fiscal, with the finance ministry accepting railway minister Suresh Prabhu&#39;s proposal to merge it with the General Budget. 
 
According to Railways, the finance ministry has now constituted a five-member committee comprising senior officials of the ministry and the national transporter to work out the modalities for the merger. The committee has been asked to submit its report by August 31. 
 
&quot;I had written to finance minister Arun Jaitley for merger of the Rail Budget with General Budget. This will be in the Railway&#39;s interest and also in the nation&#39;s interest. We are working out the modalities,&quot; Prabhu said. 
 
The public sector behemoth has to bear an additional burden of about Rs 40,000 crore on account of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards, besides an annual outgo of Rs 32,000 crore on subsidies. 
 
Besides, the delay in completion of projects resulted in cost overrun of Rs 1.07 lakh crore and huge throw-forward of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in respect of 442 ongoing rail projects. 
 
If the merger happens, Indian Railway will get rid of the annual dividend it has to pay for gross budgetary support from the government every year. 
 
According to a senior Railway official, the move to discard the age-old practice of a separate Rail Budget is part of the Modi government&#39;s reform agenda. 
 
With the merger, the issue of raising passenger fares, an unpopular decision, will be the finance minister&#39;s call. 
 
Prabhu had also told Rajya Sabha on August 9 that he has asked the finance minister to merge the Railway Budget with General Budget in the long-term interest of national transporter as well as the country&#39;s economy. 
 
All-India Railwaymen&#39;s Federation General Secretary Gopal Mishra said railway ministry&#39;s autonomy will be lost in the merger. &quot;But we have to see in what form the merger will happen,&quot; he said. 
 
The merger move is significant as it is expected to have political implications. 
 
It has been seen that almost every Railway Minister, particularly in coalition governments, has addressed his constituencies by doling out favours by way of new trains and projects. 
 
The keenly sought after railway ministry is likely to lose much of its sheen if merger happens. 
 
(PTI)

The 92-year-old practice is set to come to an end after a proposal to merge it with the General Budget was accepted by finance minister

The 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget is set to come to an end from the next fiscal, with the finance ministry accepting railway minister Suresh Prabhu's proposal to merge it with the General Budget. According to Railways, the finance ministry has now constituted a five-member committee comprising senior officials of the ministry and the national transporter to work out the modalities for the merger. The committee has been asked to submit its report by August 31. "I had written to finance minister Arun Jaitley for merger of the Rail Budget with General Budget. This will be in the Railway's interest and also in the nation's interest. We are working out the modalities," Prabhu said. The public sector behemoth has to bear an additional burden of about Rs 40,000 crore on account of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards, besides an annual outgo of Rs 32,000 crore on subsidies. Besides, the delay in completion of projects resulted in cost overrun of Rs 1.07 lakh crore and huge throw-forward of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in respect of 442 ongoing rail projects. If the merger happens, Indian Railway will get rid of the annual dividend it has to pay for gross budgetary support from the government every year. According to a senior Railway official, the move to discard the age-old practice of a separate Rail Budget is part of the Modi government's reform agenda. With the merger, the issue of raising passenger fares, an unpopular decision, will be the finance minister's call. Prabhu had also told Rajya Sabha on August 9 that he has asked the finance minister to merge the Railway Budget with General Budget in the long-term interest of national transporter as well as the country's economy. All-India Railwaymen's Federation General Secretary Gopal Mishra said railway ministry's autonomy will be lost in the merger. "But we have to see in what form the merger will happen," he said. The merger move is significant as it is expected to have political implications. It has been seen that almost every Railway Minister, particularly in coalition governments, has addressed his constituencies by doling out favours by way of new trains and projects. The keenly sought after railway ministry is likely to lose much of its sheen if merger happens. (PTI)

India likely to have no Railway Budget from next fiscal year

The Indian government has refuted allegations of interference in the functioning of the country&#39;s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, stating it fully respects the independence and autonomy of the RBI.&nbsp;

The finance ministry was responding to allegations of an RBI union which accused it of infinging on the central bank&#39;s autonomy by appointing an official for currency coordination, PTI reported.

&quot;Consultations between the government and RBI are undertaken on various matters of public importance wherever such consultation is mandated by law or has evolved as a practice. Consultations mandated by law or as evolved by practice should not be taken as infringement of autonomy of RBI,&quot; the finance ministry said in a statement.

&quot;It is categorically stated that the government fully respects independence and autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India,&quot; the ministry said.

In a letter to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees had stated that employees were feeling &quot;humiliated&quot; by events since demonetisation because of &quot;blatant encroachment&quot; on RBI&rsquo;s exclusive jurisdiction on currency management.

The letter also said the RBI&#39;s autonomy and image have been &ldquo;dented beyond repair&quot;.

The union raised the issue after at least three former governors &nbsp;&mdash; &nbsp;Manmohan Singh (former prime minister), Bimal Jalan and Y V Reddy &nbsp;&mdash; &nbsp;flagged concerns about the central bank&#39;s functioning. Former deputy governors, including Usha Thorat and K C Chakrabarty too have voiced their worries.

&quot;An image of efficiency and independence that RBI assiduously built up over decades by the strenuous efforts of its staff and judicious policy making has gone into smithereens in no time. We feel extremely pained,&quot; the employees said in the letter.

The letter said the RBI staff has carried out its job excellently after the move to ban 87 per cent of the outstanding currency by the government.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

 
&nbsp;

The finance ministry clarified that consultations between the government and RBI on matters of public importance should not be taken as an infringement of autonomy

The Indian government has refuted allegations of interference in the functioning of the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, stating it fully respects the independence and autonomy of the RBI. The finance ministry was responding to allegations of an RBI union which accused it of infinging on the central bank's autonomy by appointing an official for currency coordination, PTI reported. "Consultations between the government and RBI are undertaken on various matters of public importance wherever such consultation is mandated by law or has evolved as a practice. Consultations mandated by law or as evolved by practice should not be taken as infringement of autonomy of RBI," the finance ministry said in a statement. "It is categorically stated that the government fully respects independence and autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India," the ministry said. In a letter to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees had stated that employees were feeling "humiliated" by events since demonetisation because of "blatant encroachment" on RBI’s exclusive jurisdiction on currency management. The letter also said the RBI's autonomy and image have been “dented beyond repair". The union raised the issue after at least three former governors — Manmohan Singh (former prime minister), Bimal Jalan and Y V Reddy — flagged concerns about the central bank's functioning. Former deputy governors, including Usha Thorat and K C Chakrabarty too have voiced their worries. "An image of efficiency and independence that RBI assiduously built up over decades by the strenuous efforts of its staff and judicious policy making has gone into smithereens in no time. We feel extremely pained," the employees said in the letter. The letter said the RBI staff has carried out its job excellently after the move to ban 87 per cent of the outstanding currency by the government. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Indian govt respects central bank's autonomy, says finance ministry amid row

Finance Ministry on Wednesday exuded confidence that the supply of new currency notes would considerably improve in next 2-3 weeks even as it asked the RBI and banks to &quot;countercheck&quot; the data regarding the deposit of now-defunct currency notes to ensure there is no double counting.

The RBI has already pumped in Rs 5 lakh crore worth 500 and 2,000 rupee notes and by the month end about 50 per cent of the Rs 15 lakh crore worth demonetised currency would be injected into the system, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here.

&quot;Finance Ministry, RBI and enforcement agencies are working in tandem so that situation eases out.&nbsp;Situation has considerably improved. And going forward, I would expect in next 2-3 weeks situation&nbsp;will considerably ease out with the supply of more new 500 rupee notes,&quot; he said, adding that&nbsp;condition would not &quot;worsen&quot; after December 30.

He said the government has stepped up printing of 500 rupee notes and as its circulation increases,&nbsp;people would also take out the 2,000 rupee notes they were hoarding so far.

More than 2 lakh ATMs have already been recalibrated against 2.20 lakh ATMs and it has come to the&nbsp;ministry&#39;s notice that some banks in order to ensure that they are in a position to service their&nbsp;own customers, prefer to give cash through their branches.

&quot;We have advised banks that they should continue to replenish cash in ATMs and not to starve ATMs. We are&nbsp;monitoring it regularly,&quot; Das said.

As per RBI data, over Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been deposited&nbsp;till December 10.

&quot;RBI has given a figure of Rs 12.5 lakh crore which has been received back. There are lot of areas&nbsp;where we feel there could be double counting. So we have identified those areas and we have&nbsp;requested RBI and banks to again double check.

&quot;So a process of correction, checking, counter checking of the figure, due diligence is being done&nbsp;to see there is no double counting of figure.... We think there is scope for double counting and&nbsp;therefore the scope for verification of those figures are going on,&quot; Das said.

He said three times the total number of lower denomination notes -- 100, 50, 20 and 10 -- which RBI&nbsp;supplies in a year has been supplied over the last five weeks.

About Rs 1.60 lakh crore worth 100 rupee notes were in circulation before November 8 and more than&nbsp;Rs 80,000 crore worth of this notes have been supplied to the market over past five weeks.&nbsp;

The DEA Secretary further said that more number of 50, 20 and 10 rupee notes has also been&nbsp;circulated in the system.

&quot;Roughly about almost 50 per cent of the notes which were in circulation would be supplied in the&nbsp;next 10-15 days,&quot; Das said, adding that seized notes are being put back to circulation as soon as&nbsp;possible.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes,&nbsp;and replaced by new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. The demonetised notes accounted for 86 per cent of currency in circulation or Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

&quot;More and more production lines have been diverted in printing 500 rupee notes because we have&nbsp;enough number of 2000 rupee notes that have been supplied and there is enough stock available. But&nbsp;now the printing of the 500 rupee notes have been significantly stepped up.

&quot;It has been pushed into the market so that the supply of 2000 rupee notes becomes more mobile. So&nbsp;with increased supply of 500 rupee notes, the 2000 rupee notes which people were hoarding till now&nbsp;will come back to the system,&quot; Das said, adding notes are being airlifted to areas facing shortage. 
 
He further said that the security features and design of the new notes were indigenously developed&nbsp;and hence the possibility of counterfeiting it is far far lower.

Das also promised to sort out issues faced by Nepal and Bhutan due to non-availability of 500 and&nbsp;2,000 rupee notes.

&quot;As far as Nepal is concerned we have already examined the report, so we will be taking some action,&nbsp;whatever action govt will take is under examination.

As far as Bhutan is concerned, the RBI has made necessary arrangements for supply of cash required&nbsp;by Bhutan authorities because Indian rupee is accepted in Bhutan. So the RBI has given necessary&nbsp;instructions to connected banks to give necessary cash required by Royal Monetary Authority of&nbsp;Bhutan,&quot; he said.

Das said the RBI has a particular plan of action with regard to currency supply. &quot;With regard to&nbsp;remonetisation process, it would be as per requirement and also government has given a big push to&nbsp;digital transaction. There is very significant growth of digital transaction and therefore the&nbsp;requirement of cash will be measured and based on requirement the cash will be remonetised.&quot;

He said the CBDT is taking &quot;surgical action&quot; on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit&nbsp;(FIU) and the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed by banks for detecting illegal&nbsp;accumulation of new currency.

&quot;Further action is being taken by the tax department and it is not an aimless fishing expedition,&quot;&nbsp;Das said.

With regard to the impact of demonetisation on the sowing of the Rabi crop in winter, Das said the total sowing area so far was almost at par with last year and whatever shortfall had happened would be made good in the coming weeks.

(PTI)

More than 2 lakh ATMs have been recalibrated, 2.2 lakh to go

Finance Ministry on Wednesday exuded confidence that the supply of new currency notes would considerably improve in next 2-3 weeks even as it asked the RBI and banks to "countercheck" the data regarding the deposit of now-defunct currency notes to ensure there is no double counting. The RBI has already pumped in Rs 5 lakh crore worth 500 and 2,000 rupee notes and by the month end about 50 per cent of the Rs 15 lakh crore worth demonetised currency would be injected into the system, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here. "Finance Ministry, RBI and enforcement agencies are working in tandem so that situation eases out. Situation has considerably improved. And going forward, I would expect in next 2-3 weeks situation will considerably ease out with the supply of more new 500 rupee notes," he said, adding that condition would not "worsen" after December 30. He said the government has stepped up printing of 500 rupee notes and as its circulation increases, people would also take out the 2,000 rupee notes they were hoarding so far. More than 2 lakh ATMs have already been recalibrated against 2.20 lakh ATMs and it has come to the ministry's notice that some banks in order to ensure that they are in a position to service their own customers, prefer to give cash through their branches. "We have advised banks that they should continue to replenish cash in ATMs and not to starve ATMs. We are monitoring it regularly," Das said. As per RBI data, over Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been deposited till December 10. "RBI has given a figure of Rs 12.5 lakh crore which has been received back. There are lot of areas where we feel there could be double counting. So we have identified those areas and we have requested RBI and banks to again double check. "So a process of correction, checking, counter checking of the figure, due diligence is being done to see there is no double counting of figure.... We think there is scope for double counting and therefore the scope for verification of those figures are going on," Das said. He said three times the total number of lower denomination notes -- 100, 50, 20 and 10 -- which RBI supplies in a year has been supplied over the last five weeks. About Rs 1.60 lakh crore worth 100 rupee notes were in circulation before November 8 and more than Rs 80,000 crore worth of this notes have been supplied to the market over past five weeks. The DEA Secretary further said that more number of 50, 20 and 10 rupee notes has also been circulated in the system. "Roughly about almost 50 per cent of the notes which were in circulation would be supplied in the next 10-15 days," Das said, adding that seized notes are being put back to circulation as soon as possible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and replaced by new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. The demonetised notes accounted for 86 per cent of currency in circulation or Rs 15.4 lakh crore. "More and more production lines have been diverted in printing 500 rupee notes because we have enough number of 2000 rupee notes that have been supplied and there is enough stock available. But now the printing of the 500 rupee notes have been significantly stepped up. "It has been pushed into the market so that the supply of 2000 rupee notes becomes more mobile. So with increased supply of 500 rupee notes, the 2000 rupee notes which people were hoarding till now will come back to the system," Das said, adding notes are being airlifted to areas facing shortage. He further said that the security features and design of the new notes were indigenously developed and hence the possibility of counterfeiting it is far far lower. Das also promised to sort out issues faced by Nepal and Bhutan due to non-availability of 500 and 2,000 rupee notes. "As far as Nepal is concerned we have already examined the report, so we will be taking some action, whatever action govt will take is under examination. As far as Bhutan is concerned, the RBI has made necessary arrangements for supply of cash required by Bhutan authorities because Indian rupee is accepted in Bhutan. So the RBI has given necessary instructions to connected banks to give necessary cash required by Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan," he said. Das said the RBI has a particular plan of action with regard to currency supply. "With regard to remonetisation process, it would be as per requirement and also government has given a big push to digital transaction. There is very significant growth of digital transaction and therefore the requirement of cash will be measured and based on requirement the cash will be remonetised." He said the CBDT is taking "surgical action" on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed by banks for detecting illegal accumulation of new currency. "Further action is being taken by the tax department and it is not an aimless fishing expedition," Das said. With regard to the impact of demonetisation on the sowing of the Rabi crop in winter, Das said the total sowing area so far was almost at par with last year and whatever shortfall had happened would be made good in the coming weeks. (PTI)

Demonetisation: Significant number of Rs 500 notes being printed, says Indian government

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