Sitharaman's response to queries of reporters here came in the backdrop of state political parties protesting the conduct of recent Postal department exams in English and Hindi only.  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the tax proposals in the Finance Bill 2019 are aimed at improving the ease of living and reducing the pain of the citizens

Total bad loans of commercial banks declined by Rs 1.02 lakh crore to Rs 9.34 lakh crore in the 2018-19 fiscal on the back of steps taken by the government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday.

7th Pay Commission: Days after Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, Central government employees can get good news by the end of July. Central government employees are expected to get an increment in Dearness Allowance (DA) of up to 5 per cent.

​Giving point-by-point rebuttal to senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said in the Rajya Sabha that all revenue targets in the budget are realistic and India will become a $5 trillion economy in the next five years.

No new announcement was made regarding their impending demands on the 7th Pay Commission recommendations in the Modi government's Union Budget 2019.

Modi Government has launched Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) under which you will get gold at a cheaper rate as compared to the market price. The price of one gram gold has been kept at Rs 3,443. Notably under this instead of gold, one will get bond of the gold purchased issued by the RBI bank.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's office has already clarified there is "no ban" on the entry of media persons in the Ministry and that just a procedure has been brought in for "streamlining and facilitating" the entry of media persons.

The voting on the Finance Bill is also expected to be taken up on Wednesday afternoon and the ruling BJP issued a whip to its members to be present in the House.

Justifying raising of tax incidence on the super-rich, the finance ministry said the highest tax rate in India was still lower than many countries, including the US and China, and it was a worldwide phenomenon to ask the super-rich to pay extra tax.

The government has lowered the fiscal deficit target to 3.3 percent of the GDP as it is expecting net additional revenue of Rs 6,000 crore over the interim Budget estimates.  

The decision to raise import duty on gold in the Union Budget was taken after a careful consideration, including its likely impact on smuggling of the yellow metal, a top government official said.

This came a day after in her Budget speech on Friday she said that the government will modify the present policy of retaining 51 per cent stake in PSUs. 

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman P C Mody told news agency PTI in an interview that all "legacy issues" related to start-ups will be resolved through a consultative process and under strict supervision of senior officers of the tax authority.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the non-banking finance company (NBFC) sector crisis has plateaued but not ended yet and her ministry will monitor the emerging situation with the RBI, a day after she announced a slew of measures to address the lending concerns of the NBFCs.

All eyes were on Nirmala Sitharaman as she had a massive job at hand. She had to fill in the shoes of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as well as lay foundation that would help India achieve its goal of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy. Presenting Modi 2.0 government's first budget, Sitharaman laid huge emphasis on investment and consumption to realise the dream of 'New India'. Here is sector wise analysis of who got what in Modi Sarkar 2.0's first union budget.

Alstom's India and South Asia Managing Director Alain Spohr said: "The Finance Minister has taken a holistic approach to prime up India's growth engine. This budget lays down a clear path India needs to take to become a $5 trillion economy."

The first Budget of Modi 2.0 government has laid huge emphasis on investment and consumption to realise the dream of 'New India' making it a $ 5 trillion economy in the next few years, but mobilising funds remains a challenge for it in the wake of global headwinds and domestic slowdown.

The central govt employees were expecting an announcement regarding their long-pending demand of hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond 7th Pay Commission recommendations in this budget. However, according to reports, there is no increase in the minimum wages of central govt employees in the Budget 2019.

Budget 2019-20 happened to be the first of the Modi 2.0 government. And as per the size of the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) victory over its opponents, Sitharaman's maiden Budget speech was a giant-sized bag of chocolates -- a mix of all flavours (read: some might not be your favourite).