FM Nirmala Sitharaman attends RBI Board of Directors meeting

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday attended a meeting of members of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) here in the national capital.
The meeting as held after the Union Budget 2024-25 and days after the Lok Sabha passed the finance bill, with a few amendments moved by the government in the parliament.

The meeting held at the office of Reserve Bank of India and saw the participation of RBI governor Shaktikanta Das and other board of directors of the bank. The meeting is expected to discuss the budget provisions and economic situations prevailing in the country.

Earlier on August 7, expressing her confidence on the Union Budget 2024-25, Finance Minister said the approach of the government has been to bring greater simplification of tax laws and procedures and enable growth and employment in the country.

Sitharaman said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been to establish a simple, efficient and fair technology-driven taxation regime in the country. “So, simplification and ease of compliance for the taxpayer has been the primary objective with which in the last 10 years, and this year, in the third term of PM Modi, the approach to taxation has been to simplify it, reduce the burden on taxpayer and make sure it is transparent and equitable,” she said.

“This year also, our approach has been that we bring in greater simplification of tax laws and procedures, and that we enable growth and employment in this country,” she added.
Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23.This is the first full budget of the NDA government led by PM Modi. The BJP-led alliance won a third successive term earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the RBI on August 8, decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. This marks the ninth consecutive time the central bank has opted for stability in its monetary policy.

The decision to keep the repo rate steady comes amidst persistent concerns about inflation, which remains above the RBI’s target range.

The RBI’s Monitory policy committee has anticipated the growth rate of economy for fiscal year 2024-25 at 7.2 per cent.