finance minister
India's jewellery duty rollback: Opposition parties jostle for credit
Though the postponement of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was the biggest concession Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made in India's Finance Bill, 2012-13, it was the rollback of a 1 percent excise duty levy that the country's political parties were more excited about. These even competed against each other to take credit for the move.
India's FM may meet jewellers' associations today
Amid widespread protests over the Indian government's decision to levy duty on unbranded jewellery, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to meet the representatives of jewellers' associations on Friday to sort out the issue.
India's Finance Minister to rethink non-branded jewellery excise rise
India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday agreed to reconsider the proposal to impose excise duty on non-branded jewellery in the country. He, however, declined to do away with the increase in import duty on gold and platinum.
Singapore may see two years of "sub-par" growth
Singapore is likely to experience "sub-par" growth in the next two years due to problems in the global economy, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Tuesday, according to local news reports.
India is trying to further liberalise retail and defence FDI, says Finance Minister
India has told the US that it is trying to further liberalise the retail and defence sectors for foreign direct investment (FDI).
"Discussions are underway to build a consensus on further liberalisation of the FDI policy in these sectors," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a function organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and The Brookings Institution, in Washington on Tuesday.
Australian economy set for fast recovery
Australia's economy will recover faster than anticipated from last quarter's contraction, driven by a record mining boom, and the government will not relent to pressure to scrap new taxes, Finance Minister Penny Wong said.
The economy would be underpinned by a AUD430 billion (USD453b) pipeline of investment in minerals and energy, Wong said on Friday. The government was committed to introducing resource and carbon taxes, she said.
NZ Finance Minister: Deficit now, surplus ahead
New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English said on Tuesday that the government's 19 May budget will rein in the deficit and set a credible path back to surplus.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Treasury said the government's core operating deficit for the nine months to 31 March was higher than it had forecast in December, under the impact of the 22 February earthquake in the nation's second largest city, Christchurch.
India pledges action over "black money"
India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday "appropriate action" would be taken against a horse stud farm owner accused of stashing over $8 billion in Swiss banks. His promise came as the Congress-led government is reeling from a slew of corruption scandals that have created huge headaches for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his second term of office.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court lambasted the Congress administration for not having the "willpower" to act against black money hoarders.
Will continue to move towards GST, says India's FM in Budget speech
India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, as part of his Budget 2011 speech, he commented on his stance on good and services tax: "In view of the healthy growth in indirect taxes in 2010-11, I had the option to roll back the central excise duty to levels prevailing in November 2008. I have chosen not to do so for two reasons: I would like to see improved business margins translated into higher investment rates and I would also like to stay my course towards GST. I have, therefore, decided to maintain the standard rate of central excise duty at 10 percent."
India likely to peg FY12 GDP growth at 9pc
The Indian economy's robust performance during the ongoing fiscal year is likely to prompt the government to peg gross domestic product growth in the fiscal year 2011-12 at 9 percent, as well as withdraw the stimulus measures in the forthcoming Budget.
The survey – to be tabled by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday – is likely to highlight food inflation and the slow recovery in the euro zone as areas of concern for the domestic economy.
