Some Latest Updates About Ministry Of Finance in India
The Ministry of Finance in India
The Ministry of Finance is one of the most critical ministries within the Government of India, concerned with the economy of India. Its primary domain lies in taxation, financial legislation, financial institutions, capital markets, center and state finances, and the Union Budget.
It is the apex controlling authority of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Economic Service, Indian Cost Accounts Service and the Indian Civil Accounts Service.
It has five departments within its jurisdiction, namely, –
- Department of Economic Affairs
- Department of Expenditure
- Department of Revenue
- Department of Financial Services
- Department of Investment and Public Asset Management
Some Latest Updates About Ministry Of Finance in India- [1]
Reworking strategy for sale procedures for CPSEs –
Ministry of Finance is reworking the strategy to ensure speedier sale procedures to safeguard the outright sale of CPSEs by four months from the date of issuance of documents to potential investors.
At present, there isn’t a set timeline for conducting sale strategies for a state-owned company, and the entire process may also drag on for months and months.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is aiming to meet the INR 90,000 crore disinvestment target in the current fiscal, which is a daunting task. NITI Aayog has already identified 35 profitable and loss-making CPSEs, which can be a part of this strategic sale.
Retaliatory tariff deadline to US products postponed –
The Government delayed the date to impose retaliatory import duties on 29 products from the United States of America to June 16.
A notification from the finance ministry stated that the implementation of increased customs duty on 29 US products had been deferred to June 16 from May 16.
This extension has been done in response to the decision of the United States of America to withdraw export incentives which are being provided to Indian exporters under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) program.
India’s exports to the US during 2017-18 stood at US$47.9 billion whereas imports stood at US$26.7 billion. Therefore, the balance of trade is in favor of India.
Ministry of Finance to review bank recap after September 2019 –
The Ministry of Finance has decided to review the capital infusion requirements of Public Sector Undertakings banks post-September 2019, and there is likely to be a separate allocation for recapitalization in the general Budget which is expected to be presented on July 2019.
According to some official sources, by September 2019, the capital position with regards to all the regulatory requirements and growth of all the PSU banks which received funding between 2018 and 19 will be clear.
Finance Ministry Report says Repo rate cut transmission is yet to happen and other big stories from the report-
The March report of the Ministry of Finance highlights that recent cuts in the repo rate are however to transmit to the weighted average lending rate of banks and thus the effects of the easing on investment activity are however to manifest.
The nominal exchange rate has been appreciating in Quarter 3 of 2018-19, but despite that they net flow of portfolio investment has remained in the negative.
The Foreign Exchange Reserves in terms of months of import cover fell to 9 months in October 2018 from 14 months in April 2016. Since then, the import cover has been increasing.
GST Filing deadline for sales returns extended in Odisha –
The Ministry of Finance has extended the last date for filing summary sales return for April in 14 districts of Odisha to June 20. This has been done due to the devastating cyclone named “Fani” which hit the state earlier this month leaving 64 dead and at least 241 injured in Odisha.
Similarly, the last date for filing final sales return for April for taxpayers having a turnover of more than INR 1.5 crores has been postponed till the 10th of June.
The names of the districts are:- Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khordha, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri.
The QR code could be a “must” for shops –
To promote digital payments in India government is looking to mandate a QR code-based payment option by using UPI at all shops and establishments with consumers opting for this method of payment are also eligible for GST benefits along with the shopkeepers.
“We are looking at incentives for both, the shopkeeper or the restaurant owner as well as consumers,” an official told The Times of India.
Sources also indicate that many countries of the world had mandated digital payment tools and thereby have gained tremendously, with China being a recent example.
For several months now, the Central Government, as well as the State Government, have been discussing ways to promote digital payments to tone up GST, which is vulnerable to evasion.
CONCLUSION
The Ministry of Finance is one of the important ministries of the Government of India and therefore, always in the news due to various reasons which may relate to financing, trade, infrastructure, industries, etc. India is an economically stable country, thanks to our current government and previous governments which have gone by. All five departments of the Ministry of Finance play a vital role in determining the economic progress and stability of the country. The working Ministry of Finance largely determines the economic growth and development of the nation. Today India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world with the due credit growing going to the Department of Economic Affairs under the Govt. of India. Undoubtedly, the Ministry of Finance is a significant body under the Govt. of India.
[1] Business News Live, Share Market News – Read Latest Finance News, IPO, Mutual Funds News, The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ (last visited May 16, 2019).
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