
New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate a two-day conference of top Income Tax department and CBDT officers later this month in the national capital and discuss efforts to maximise revenue collection. The annual conference of Chief Commissioners and Directors General of the I-T department will be held on May 28 and 29.
A host of challenges being faced by the department like illegal chit fund companies, ponzi schemes, issues of international taxation and non-intrusive and technology based surveillance are expected to be discussed during the meet.
Chidambaram, according to sources, is expected to deliver the inaugural speech at the conference which will also be attended by authorities from the Finance Ministry, Department of Revenue and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex body of the I-T department....
more

09:55 AM, May 19, 2013

New Delhi: A delegation of MPs and MLAs from Delhi on Saturday met Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and requested him to release water to the national capital from Munak Canal in his state. The Munak canal was constructed by Haryana with financial assistance of around Rs 400 crore given by Delhi government on the condition that the national capital will be supplied 80 MGD water from it. But...

01:57 AM, May 19, 2013

London: Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reform push to revive Indian economy and restore investor confidence was on Thursday lauded by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who said he has done a great job. "When it comes to India, I think Mr Chidambaram has done a great job at telling and showing the world that India is open for business," Osborne told select Indian journalists after his meeting with...

02:20 AM, May 17, 2013

Thrissur: JPC Chairman PC Chacko has said it will be "unconstitutional" to summon former Telecom Minister A Raja, prime accused in the 2G spectrum case, before the Joint Parliamentary Committee to take evidence, as it would be an "infringement" of Article 20 of the Constitution. "Article 20 (iii) of the Constitution clearly states no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself," Chacko said....

01:26 AM, May 16, 2013

A week after the Supreme Court pulled up the Government over its control on the functioning of the CBI, the Prime Minister on Tuesday constituted a Group of Ministers to review the SC's directives on CBI autonomy. The GoM is headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and will include V Narayanasamy, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewari. ...

07:14 PM, May 14, 2013

Bhubaneswar: Terming as shocking and unfortunate Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reported statement favouring special category status to Bihar before report of a sub-committee, ruling BJD on Monday accused Congress of working against the interest of Odisha. "As far as I know (about) backwardness of Bihar, I am sure it will qualify to be a special category state by the sub-committee to be appointed under the chairmanship of Raghurama G...

02:25 AM, May 14, 2013

Sources said on Monday that a section within the Congress wanted Manmohan Singh replaced as PM before Parliament's monsoon session. ...

10:57 PM, May 13, 2013

Sources said on Monday that a section within the Congress wanted Manmohan Singh replaced as PM before Parliament's monsoon session. ...

09:19 PM, May 13, 2013

Patna: With his visit to Congress office with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram triggering speculations of JD(U) getting closer to Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday downplayed the incident saying he was just being a good host. "I just played a good host to a guest (Chidambaram) who had come to Bihar on Saturday," Kumar, who dropped Chidambaram at the gate of state Congress headquarters 'Sadaquat Ashram' in...

08:16 PM, May 13, 2013

New Delhi: A section within the Congress party is keen on replacing Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, sources said on Monday. According to the sources, the leaders want Singh replaced before the monsoon session of Parliament. While there is no consensus yet on the alternative name, sources said that Defence Minister AK Antony and Finance Minister P Chidambaram could be considered. Meanwhile, a few leaders are in favour of...

06:13 PM, May 13, 2013

Patna: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said that Bihar will be accorded special category status after the change of criteria. "I hope that new criteria will determine status of backward states. Bihar will certainly qualify for special category status under new criteria for it," said Chidambaram. "The central government is reviewing the new criteria for special category status to backward states like Bihar," he told mediapersons in Patna,...

08:02 PM, May 11, 2013

New Delhi: The government on Friday formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to deal with the issues raised by the Supreme Court on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its recent hearing on the agency's affidavit on the coal scam probe. The SC had indicted the government for its interference in the agency's functioning and asked it to come up with an affidavit on steps to make the CBI...

05:52 PM, May 10, 2013

New Delhi: A Group of Ministers is expected to consider a DoT proposal on Thursday that may clear the way for state-owned telecom firms, BSNL and MTNL, to venture into cable TV and broadcasting services to help infuse life into the loss making companies. The Department of Telecom (DoT) is learnt to have forwarded several suggestions to the Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, that include BSNL...

11:35 PM, May 09, 2013

Finance Minister P Chidambaram and BJP leader Jaswant Singh were asked by reporters on what it takes for a government to be re-elected. ...

12:47 PM, May 08, 2013

New Delhi: The Empowered Group of Ministers on Drought, headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, on Wednesday approved an additional assistance of Rs 256 crore for rejuvenation of orchards in drought-hit Maharasthra. However, the decision on extension of duty-free import of oilcakes to boost fodder supply was left to the Finance Ministry, which will take a call after assessing the demand and supply situation. "The proposal on providing additional assistance...

12:28 PM, May 08, 2013

Mumbai: At a time when the independence of the CBI is being questioned, the police forces in most states continue to function under political influence. Former top police officers have taken on the Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil for direct interference in police transfers and postings in the state. More than three years after the then Home Minister P Chidambaram lamented the interference of the political executive in police transfers...

07:47 AM, May 04, 2013

New Delhi: Despite BJP escalating confrontation in Parliament, government has listed two key bills, including the ambitious National Food Security Bill, for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill piloted by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is also on the legislative agenda of the Lok Sabha Thursday. Congress has often dubbed the Food Bill and the Land Bill as "game-changers" as...

09:15 PM, May 01, 2013

New Delhi: FM radio services would now spread to 294 cities across the country with the government on Wednesday approving a proposal which will involve private agencies. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the auction of 839 channels in 294 cities to be awarded through ascending e-auction through private agencies. It decided that the authority to make any other minor change in Request...

06:58 PM, May 01, 2013

Washington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi are among 16 Indians who have found a place in the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine's list of the 500 most powerful people on the planet. Apart from them, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister AK Antony and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid are also in the list. Indian spiritual leaders Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar are also in the...

04:45 PM, May 01, 2013

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said Enforcement Directorate should be extremely careful while choosing cases for prosecution under the money laundering law and focus its energies on important ones. "A word of caution is necessary. We must be extremely selective in deciding which cases to prosecute under the money laundering law. Otherwise, we will be overwhelmed with cases that we would be required to prosecute," he said...

04:32 PM, May 01, 2013