Will There Be Consensus on NCTC?

The Bharatiya Janata party’s defeat in the Karnataka assembly polls turned Finance Minister P Chidambaram into a 'TV reporter' on Wednesday. The senior Congress leader took the microphone from a TV reporter and put in front of senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh as he emerged from Parliament. "Don't you credit Congress with the victory," he asked Singh. In fact, the finance minister was being asked questions by reporters about the Karnataka polls when he saw Singh coming out. Promptly, he ...

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s proposal about setting up an all-women bank -- first suggested in this year’s budget -- received much acclaim. The proposed bank will lend mostly to women and women- run businesses, support women self-help groups and women's livelihood, Chidambaram had said. But Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has stolen some of the finance minister’s thunder by pointing out that the Andhra Pradesh government has already set up a financial ...

Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday there is no need of panic over rupee depreciation against the dollar and assured investors that policymakers will take steps to curb volatility in the forex market. "I don't think we need to panic about what is happening in rupee. "Yes, it does put pressure on inflation, it puts pressure on subsidy bill, specially on imported commodities. "But I think rupee will find its level. "And I think authorities will take measures to ensure there is no ...

Amid row over a proposal to raise natural gas price, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government will take a decision on the issue keeping ‘larger interest’ in mind. The Oil Ministry has proposed raising natural gas prices by at least 60 per cent, a move that will result in rise in urea as well as power costs. "All views will be considered and the government will take a decision. My intention is that the government must decide on these matters," Chidambaram told reporters in ...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Planning Commission blamed the rupee’s recent slide on the twin deficits - current account and fiscal - after the Indian currency touched Rs 57 a dollar, the lowest level in almost a year. The rupee closed at 56.85 on Thursday. The Planning Commission said the average annual economic growth in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2013-17) could be up to 7.9 per cent against its earlier projection of eight per cent.  K C Chakrabarty, deputy governor of RBI, ...

Markets have made a smart recovery and are trading near day’s high led by renewed buying among financials and capital goods shares. By 1435, Sensex gained by 62 points at 19,631, and the Nifty up 30 points at 5,954 levels. On the global front, The euro hit four-week high against a weaker dollar on Thursday and stocks edged down ahead of a European Central Bank meeting at which no change in rates is expected although economic forecasts may be tweaked. The ECB cut its main interest rate to ...

New Delhi : Seeking to accelerate reforms to spur investments, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the government will announce host of decisions, including relaxation of FDI caps and resolution of gas and coal prices, in the next few days. He ...

With the surge in gold imports again posing a threat to the country’s widening current account deficit (CAD), the government on Monday said it might review its import policy. It added it might ban the sale of gold coins by banks.Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the country was not in a position to afford high levels of imports; policies could be reviewed to reduce imports of the yellow metal, he added. In May, gold imports stood at 162 metric tonnes, he told reporters.The issue was ...

Dept to focus on real estate, infra, mining and manufacturing to detect evasion   With the corporate sector, especially multinational firms, flagging off concerns over an aggressive tax department, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has asked officials to tread cautiously while chasing tax evaders and avoid raids as long as possible.Chidambaram, who has assured foreign investors of a stable and non-adversarial tax regime during his road shows, has asked the income-tax department to focus on ...