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Thursday, January 29, 2026
TopicFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Topic: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman is an Indian politician with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), and has served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs since 2019 (this is as of March 2024). In the first Modi government, Sitharaman served as the Minister of Defence between 2017 and 2019, thereby becoming India’s second female defence minister and the second female finance minister after Indira Gandhi, and the first full-time female minister to hold each of those portfolios.

Sitharaman first joined the BJP in 2004 and was appointed party spokesperson six years later. She was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014. While presenting her first budget, she made a statement by replacing the traditional budget briefcase with a ‘bahi-khata’ with the National Emblem to carry the speech and other documents.

India’s taxation system needs key reforms. Three suggestions to the Finance Minister

Jaithirth Rao -
Setting revenue targets for officials is something that Bhishma, Thiruvalluvar, and Chanakya would have strongly opposed. It incentivises officials to become tyrants.

Festive seasons align with the rollout of GST 2.0. Citizens to get more money in hand

Meenakashi Lekhi -
The new norm marks a decisive shift from the earlier complex system that created friction for households and small businesses alike.

Modi govt withdraws Income Tax Bill 2025, Sitharaman likely to introduce updated bill next week

Udit Bubna -
New Delhi: The Income Tax Bill, 2025 has been withdrawn and an updated version is likely to be introduced in the Parliament next week. In...

Govt’s earlier FDI limit of 74% in insurance sector has remained underutilised, Parliament told

Udit Bubna -
In the latest budget, the FDI limit was increased to 100 percent, but most foreign companies are not buying such large stakes in the Indian insurance sector.

‘Said I treated her like bachchi, bitched about her’—behind Sitharaman’s ire at ex-finance secy Subhash Garg

Sanya Dhingra -
From Nirmala Sitharaman to Vasundhara Raje & Chandrababu Naidu, Garg's book 'No, Minister' details years of behind-the-scenes political friction.

Finance Minister Sitharaman promises to boost GCC growth by easing taxation rules, govt support

Kasturi Walimbe -
Speaking at Global Capability Centers Summit in Delhi, the minister highlighted the sector could grow up to $200 billion by 2030 in India.

How Modi govt saved Rs 11,000 cr in 3 yrs & brought in financial transparency with this pivot

TCA Sharad Raghavan -
This system has also meant that the Centre can transfer money to states for a scheme exactly when they need it, rather than having to park funds in bank accounts for the full fiscal year.

Govt’s new income tax bill will require you to share passwords with tax officials during searches

TCA Sharad Raghavan -
FM Nirmala Sitharaman said draft Bill—tabled in Lok Sabha & sent to Parliamentary Select Committee for review—incorporated “substantial changes” from original Act. Tax rates remain unchanged.

In Sitharaman’s budget speech, a verse from Thirukkural on good governance, a quote from Apparao

Sonika Kumar -
Finance minister had quoted Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in her 2020 and 2021 Union Budget speeches as well. Even PM Modi has mentioned lines from the poet on several occasions.

Union Budget: Tourism sector to get boost with visa waivers, medical tourism push & homestay loans

Vandana Menon -
The govt laid out a plan to make tourism a key sector for employment-led growth in India. FM Sitharaman announced a plan to develop 50 tourist destinations in the country.
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Opinion

Why sharp selloff in Japanese bonds has a message for India’s budget

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Although its overall GDP will soon be bigger than Japan’s, on a per-capita basis India is still 12 times poorer.

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Economy

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Defence

Indian Army ties up with US drone company that made its name in the Ukraine conflict

Debdutta Chakraborty -
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National Interest

Non-alignment is coming back in a new avatar: Trump-peedit alliance

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No nation other than China can negotiate one-on-one with Trump on an equal footing. That’s why the middle powers who so far formed the core of multilateral bodies now feel orphaned.

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