Nirmala Sitaraman – Artifex.News

Simplification of customs will be next big reform, says Finance Minister

admin — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 10:10:00 +0000

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File
| Photo Credit: Moorthy G.

Ahead of Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (December 6, 2025) said the simplification of customs would be the next big reform agenda for the government.

During the current financial year, the government undertook reforms such as rate rationalisation and simplification of the income tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a bid to boost consumption by providing more cash in the hands of the common man.

“We need a complete overhaul of customs… we need to have customs simplified for people to feel that it is not cumbersome to comply… need to make it more transparent,” Ms. Sitharaman said while speaking at the HT Leadership Summit here.

“There is a need to bring the virtues of income tax to the customs side in terms of transparency,” she said, adding that the proposed reforms will be comprehensive and entail customs duty rate rationalisation.

The announcements to this effect can be made in the upcoming Budget, likely to be presented on February 1.

“We have brought down customs duty over the last two years steadily. But in those few items where our rates are considered to be over the optimal level, we have to bring them down as well. Customs is my next big cleaning-up assignment,” she said.

In this year’s Budget, among other measures announced, the government proposed eliminating seven additional customs tariff rates on industrial goods, following the removal of seven tariffs in 2023-24 (announced in the previous budget speech on July 23, 2024). This reduces the total number of tariff slabs to eight, including a zero rate.

On the depreciating rupee against the dollar, Ms. Sitharaman said, it will find its natural level.

The rupee has depreciated about 5% against the U.S. dollar during the calendar year 2025. The rupee breached the 90-a-dollar level for the first time to settle at a fresh all-time low of 90.21 (provisional) on Wednesday (December 3, 2025), down 25 paise from its previous close, amid sustained foreign fund outflows and higher crude oil prices.

Ms. Sitharaman exuded confidence that the GDP growth would be 7% or above during the current financial year.

The Indian economy grew by a higher-than-expected 8.2% — a six-quarter high — as increased factory production in anticipation of a consumption boost from the GST rate cut helped offset deceleration in farm output.

The growth in the second quarter, compared with 7.8% in the preceding three months and 5.6% in the year-ago period, was aided by a strong showing from the services sector, which clocked double-digit growth.

For the first half ended in September, India clocked a growth rate of 8%.

Published – December 06, 2025 03:40 pm IST

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Economic Survey Identifies Areas For Further Growth: PM Modi

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 14:22:14 +0000

File: The Economic Survey an overview of the short-to-medium-term prospects of the economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Economic Survey highlights the prevailing strengths of the economy and identifies areas for further growth and progress as “we move towards building a Viksit Bharat”.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Economic Survey 2023-24, along with the statistical appendix in the Lok Sabha.

The Economic Survey is an annual document presented by the government ahead of the Union Budget to review the state of the economy. The document also provides an overview of the short-to-medium-term prospects of the economy.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi said, “The Economic Survey highlights the prevailing strengths of our economy and also showcases the outcomes of the various reforms our Government has brought.”

“It also identifies areas for further growth and progress as we move towards building a Viksit Bharat,” the prime minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Union Budget 2023 a disappointment to Telangana as many of its demands remain unfulfilled

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:51:36 +0000

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2023-24.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Union Budget 2023 presented in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman has come as a disappointment to the Telangana government which claimed that “there is nothing particular about Telangana”.

Budget 2023 | What’s cheaper and what’s costlier?

Finance Department officials termed the Budget as “business like” and said the Centre had in fact reduced the outlay for national rural employment guarantee scheme at a time when the State was asking for enhancement of mandays under the scheme. “There are of course some positives such as focus on capital expenditure and fiscal consolidation, but most of the State’s demands remained unconceded,” they said.

A senior official said the incentive of enhancement of 0.5% fiscal deficit to States was of no big use to the State as it is anyway not participating in the power sector reforms as mandated by the Centre to avail it.

Strong pitch made by Finance Minister T. Harish Rao to bring down the share of cesses and surcharges as a percentage of gross tax revenue to a level not exceeding 10% remained unfulfilled.

The State expressed concern during the pre-Budget meetings convened by the Union Finance Ministry that its interests are being compromised with the increase in recourse to levy of cesses and surcharges by the Centre claiming that tax devolution to States as percentage of gross tax revenue of the Centre worked out to 29.7% in 2022-23 as compared with the share of 41% recommended by the XV Finance Commission.

“Thus, increase in the amounts collected through cesses and surcharges has not only compromised the recommendation of the Constitutional institution but also the interests of States,” Mr. Harish Rao lamented. There was, however, no announcement forthcoming in the Union Budget regarding redressal of the grievance raised by the State.

The Union Finance Minister did not also make any mention about the State’s request to make applicable the decision to prospectively treat the off-Budget borrowings raised by the State public sector corporations serviced out of the State Budget as State borrowings from the next fiscal year.

Regarding the Centrally sponsored schemes, Mr. Harish Rao said: “We request that apart from reducing the number of schemes, a State should be given the option of selecting a few schemes which suit its requirements. This will be in the interest of promoting cooperative federalism.” Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman, however, did not touch upon the subject during her speech in the Parliament.

Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights | Income tax rebate limit increased to ₹7 lakh crore; Railways accorded highest-ever capital outlay

Another area of concern for the State has been the non-implementation of the promises made in the A.P. Reorganisation Act 2014 mandating the Centre to take fiscal measures including offer of tax incentives to promote industrialisation in the State.

Officials said so far, no major tax concessions have been offered to the State with exception of minor concessions in the depreciation rate.

The persistent demand for according national project status to Kaleshwaram project also went in vain as the Union Finance Minister did not touch upon the subject in her speech.

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