The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approached the government to allow tax breaks for subscribers of municipal bonds that are crucial for funding infrastructure development at the grass-root levels, a senior official said on Tuesday. The capital markets watchdog will also root for a tax break for municipal bonds during its meeting … Read more
The central government’s mop-up from excise duty levied on petrol and diesel more than doubled to Rs 3.72 lakh crore in the pandemic year 2020-21, out of which states were given less than Rs 20,000 crore, according to a reply by the government in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj … Read more
The Centre will provide Rs 95,082 crore to states in November, including the advance release of one instalment of central tax devolution, to help them drive up capital expenditure and aid growth. Two instalments – of Rs 47,541 crore each – together instead of one will be released to states on November 22, union finance … Read more
Economic laws lose relevance after a few years and may also become a constraint for growth, chairman of the Thirteenth Finance Commission Vijay Kelkar said on Tuesday, pitching for a “sunset clause” for such statutes. Kelkar, who has also served as the Union finance secretary, cited the Land Act and Rent Act while illustrating the … Read more
The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance on Thursday released the second monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 9,871 crore for the year 2021-22 to 17 States. “With the release of second installment, a total amount of Rs 19,742 crore has been released in the first two months of the … Read more
The finance ministry will soon set up an internal working group to redraw the country’s fiscal consolidation road map following the sharp slippage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A new legislation based on this group’s recommendation may be introduced in the monsoon session of parliament, a senior government official told ET. “An internal group may … Read more
COVID 19 and the school closure that has followed, is set to bring in a big technology reboot in the central government run chain of Navodaya schools. Plans are afoot to bring in tablets and devices for over 2.8 lakh students enrolled in these residential schools. Top officials in the Education ministry confirmed that the … Read more
NEW DELHI: Cities are the worst hit by Covid-19 and the Centre should consider increasing fund allocation to strengthen urban local bodies, and enable them to meet exigencies of pandemic-like situations and facilitate their faster recovery, a study commissioned by the Fifteenth Finance Commission has said. It also suggested that the government tweak the proportion … Read more