Amit Mitra said : “If the GST is to move forward, in the manner it has started, then we have to maintain this … If majoritarianism becomes a rule, it will lose its entire value,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GST is riddled with potential fraud and this needs to be addressed but nobody is addressing it in the manner in which collectively the GST council should address,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Ease of doing business is a myth as far as GST is concerned. MSMEs today are de-registering as they cannot cope with it. What worries me most is that the one of the largest employers of India, the MSMEs, will leave and de-register and go back to being informal with these kinds of numbers,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “What concerns me deeply is a steady erosion of federalism. That environment of federalism is gone. Now the environment in the council is majoritarian, toxic and acrimonious,”

expressindia Saturday, January 21, 2023 6:15:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The states’ total debt burden is Rs 2.69 lakh crore. If we talk about West Bengal, the debt in books is Rs 10,856 crore,”

expressindia Saturday, January 21, 2023 6:15:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “What worries me is that MSMEs are today deregistering. They can’t cope with this. And they are labour-intensive entities. With these kind of numbers, we believe they will go back to being informal,”

business-standard Friday, January 20, 2023 9:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra stated : “This is even more pertinent at a time when G20 is being held under India’s presidency. You are aware the G20 nations, have made financial inclusion of SMEs and micro enterprises as their focus area in the global action plan,”

financialexpress Tuesday, January 10, 2023 5:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Therefore, I humbly urge you to persuade both the RBI and MSME Department of the Government of India to rectify the notifications and allow self certification by micro weavers and artisans for bank loan applications, as was the case in the initial Notification,”

financialexpress Tuesday, January 10, 2023 12:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “You would be shocked to know that in West Bengal alone, out of 15,298 weavers who applied for loans as many as 10,108 faced rejections by banks- a staggering 66%, rejection rate, between April 2022 and September 2022 (six months period),”

Hindu Monday, January 9, 2023 8:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Similarly, out of 48,153 applications for loans, from the artisans of the State, 29,656 applications were rejected by banks- again a staggering 62% rejection rate. These artisans too have gone through vetting by DICs and were holders of artisans’ credit cards,”

Hindu Monday, January 9, 2023 8:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I also urge you to bring finality, through consensus, on the serious matters pending with two GoMs for over a year,”

financialexpress Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I humbly urge you to call a meeting of the GST Council urgently. May I also urge you to bring finality, through consensus, on the serious matters pending with 2 GoMs for over a year,”

expressindia Thursday, November 17, 2022 5:08:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Yet, in utter violation of this solemn provision, you have not called a single meeting of the Council (physical or virtual) over the last four-and-a-half months,”

Hindu Wednesday, November 16, 2022 5:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra pointed out : “The Centre is the biggest giver, as much as Rs 1.25 lakh crore through eight central schemes, which can be construed as freebies,”

timesofindia Friday, August 19, 2022 8:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra mentioned : “If it is a freebie, why did the Centre not cut it? Like this, Rs 1.25 lakh crore is being given away by the central government in freebies,”

timesofindia Friday, August 19, 2022 8:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "Post decision of the Honourable apex court, it has become imperative for the GST council to take every decision by consensus and to leave aside any shade of majoritarianism not only for the future credibility of the GST Council but also the uphold the rich tradition of this august body,"

business-standard Tuesday, June 28, 2022 8:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,"

business-standard Monday, June 27, 2022 8:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,"

newindianexpress Monday, June 27, 2022 5:56:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,”

financialexpress Tuesday, June 14, 2022 10:49:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “We note with dismay an ominous sign that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “You will appreciate that in the year 2016, when the said decision was made, none of us could have predicted that the world would be hit by the Covid pandemic of this magnitude. Nor could we have guessed that the economy of the world, and of course, that of India, would be under unprecedented stress, due to this pandemic,”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Though we are in the third year of the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic continues to adversely affect our economy. The supply chain in manufacturing, services and agriculture is still broken. The MSME sector is struggling to survive and the informal/unorganised sector, which provides employment to more than 90% of the labour force, remains severely fractured”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : “According to statistics, the Center has given Rs 6,591 crore to Bengal for GST deficit in fiscal 2021-22, while the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka got more than eight and a half billion,”

expressindia Friday, June 3, 2022 3:12:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In April and May, the first two months of the current fiscal year, the GST collection in Bengal has grown by 19.23 per cent against the protected rate of 14 per cent. Mr Majumdar should know the facts,"

business-standard Thursday, June 2, 2022 10:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When compared with Q1 figures in 2021, the rise is four-fold,”

timesofindia Wednesday, May 18, 2022 3:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

dw-en Monday, May 2, 2022 6:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is a time-tested strategy followed by economies across the world during hard times. The Bengal CM gave monetary support to the underprivileged to boost their capacity to consume. It has worked, as is evident from the estimated positive GSDP growth of 12% against the national GDP growth of 9%. We focussed on boosting demand, the centre prioritised the supply side,"

timesofindia Saturday, March 12, 2022 6:10:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

deutschewelle-en Wednesday, February 16, 2022 6:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There is no direction of financial growth in this Budget. There is nothing for the poor and middle class. The income tax structure remains unchanged. The Centre’s Budget is either a hoax or a lack of goodwill,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 8:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “It is a terrible thing to do. But this is the Modi model of development,”

thehindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 6:00:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “It is a terrible thing to do. But this is the Modi model of development,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 5:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is either bluff or there was a lack of understanding of the economic situation. The government is only tinkering with the old policies. There is also no change in the tax slabs for the salaried middle class. There is nothing in this Budget that will address high unemployment, inflation and issues faced by farmers and small and medium enterprises. No sector of the society will benefit from it. People in the informal sector will not survive. This Budget is probably serving the misplaced dream of one or two people,"

business-standard Tuesday, February 1, 2022 4:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "interests of only a section of people"

business-standard Tuesday, February 1, 2022 4:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

dw-en Monday, January 31, 2022 6:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “My question is, if a cost-benefit analysis has been done. The cost is massive closure of units, particularly small and medium units, (which will give rise to) unemployment. The units (which migrated to) the formal economy by registering for GST (may be forced to) become informal again,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 25, 2021 7:20:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I also hear tales of tax terrorism and demands being faced by the industry on various counts. Put together, many of them are relocating,”

rfi-en Saturday, December 4, 2021 6:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I reiterate that I am keenly awaiting your confirmation that RMD, headquartered in Kolkata, will not be dismantled, thereby saving the livelihoods of scores of workers. West Bengal and its people must not be deprived in this manner,”

expressindia Saturday, June 19, 2021 4:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants in Bengal would either be asset stripped or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants in Bengal would either be asset stripped or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Odisha mines will be allocated to the Rourkela and Jharkhand mines will be allocated to Bokaro”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “By throwing Durapur and Burnpur into the open market, these plants would be rendered uncompetitive. And over time, these plants would become inefficient, unprofitable and unviable,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am shocked to learn from the media that the Raw Materials Division (RMD) of SAIL, headquartered in Kolkata, is being dismantled. This will result in the job loss of scores of contractual employees in the midst of this Covid pandemic , literally putting them in harm’s way. And over hundred permanent employees working in RMD, Kolkata will face total destabilization of their families, their spouses and their children, with the imminent transfer, in the midst of the pandemic,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “You are very well aware that the raw material price is Rs 9,500/- a tonne in the open market, while RMD was supplying to Durgapur and Burnpur at a price of Rs 650/- a tonne. Therefore, by throwing Durgapur and Burnpur into the open market, these plants would be rendered uncompetitive. And, over time, these plants would become cost-inefficient, unprofitable and unviable,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants (Durgapur and Burnpur) in Bengal would either be stripped of their assets or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift… I may point out that these plants today are profitable entities having yielded a profit of Rs 1,486 crores,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra concluded : “I sincerely urge you to instruct your officers on the Board to stop SAIL from dismantling RMD and thereby saving the two great iconic and profitable institutions of the Maharatna PSU,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “this move of dismantling the RMD and resultant negative implication on Durgapur and Burnpur follows the BJP’s recent electoral loss in Bengal”

thehindu Wednesday, June 16, 2021 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “this move of dismantling the RMD and resultant negative implication on Durgapur and Burnpur follows the BJP’s recent electoral loss in Bengal”

Hindu Wednesday, June 16, 2021 8:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

news-yahoo-in Wednesday, June 16, 2021 7:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

business-standard Tuesday, June 15, 2021 9:27:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I was heard repeatedly in the meeting. But during the concluding part, I kept on raising my hand and you could see me… All [other] microphones were unmuted by the Centre’s web management team. My microphone was muted and I could see it… I am not a fool. Please investigate and let me know. Why was my microphone muted at a critical time when I wanted to put across my dissent? I am giving the benefit of the doubt,”

expressindia Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “dramatic shift from consensus mechanism to authoritarian and majoritarian approach in the GST Council,” “It destroys the only federal institution in the country,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:18:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “How much revenue will you make on masks, on hand sanitizers? We are asking for zero rating only for a limited period,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:18:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “If you cannot do zero rating because you don’t want to do an ordinance, which you had done for three farm laws, you put 0.1% rate, which is practically zero. This is an issue in which we require consensus for the people of India,”

financialexpress Monday, June 14, 2021 8:03:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The decision was made outside the council. This undermines the credibility of the GST Council,”

business-standard Monday, June 14, 2021 6:12:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "I tried my best to repeatedly raise my objection after your announcing this decision, but unfortunately, I was never given the floor and my voice was muzzled, as the Secretary brought the meeting to a close and the virtual link was cut off. Whither GST Council!"

newindianexpress Sunday, June 13, 2021 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "I could never imagine that this would come to pass in a GST Council meeting where my voice is muzzled, despite the restraint and decorum that I have maintained in the 44 meetings of the GST Council-- truly unprecedented. Obviously, this and other instances in today's GST Council meeting have dealt a major blow to the spirit of cooperative federalism undermining the very ethos of the GST Council,"

newindianexpress Sunday, June 13, 2021 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "I tried my best to repeatedly raise my objection after your announcing this decision, but unfortunately, I was never given the floor and my voice was muzzled, as the Secretary brought the meeting to a close and the virtual link was cut off. Whither GST Council!"

news18 Saturday, June 12, 2021 9:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is totally an anti-people decision that is being thrust on us at the GST Council. As representatives of the people we have no way to justify these decisions of draconian nature,"

economictimes Saturday, June 12, 2021 6:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This and other instances in today's GST Council meeting have dealt a major blow to the spirit of cooperative federalism undermining the very ethos of the GST Council,"

economictimes Saturday, June 12, 2021 6:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am taken aback that after a year like 2020-21, where revenue plummeted in the entire nation and our state was hit with twin disasters of Covid and cyclone Amphan, it is being expected that our capital expenditure would not only be back on track, but increase by more than 100% since 2019-20 (from Rs 15,970 crore to more than Rs 34,000 crore this year)”

financialexpress Saturday, June 5, 2021 1:46:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I must express my deep disappointment at hefty GSTs being proposed on items vital in the fight against Covid 19 pandemic, at the 43rd GST Council meeting,”

financialexpress Friday, June 4, 2021 8:51:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "I propose that the Council in its wisdom, may agree to accept zero-rated tax for all Covid relevant materials, equipment, drugs and vaccines. This will allow manufacturers and their entire supply chain entrepreneurs to avail input tax credit. Therefore, there would be no adverse impact on prices for the consumers,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "I look forward to fruitful deliberations and bold decisions in the ensuing GST Council meeting on Friday,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I propose that the Council may agree to accept zero-rated tax for all Covid relevant materials, drugs and vaccines. This will allow the manufacturers and their entire supply chain entrepreneurs to avail input tax credit. Therefore, there would be no adverse impact on prices,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, May 25, 2021 9:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Due to Covid Wave-2 and lockdowns, the compensation will be much higher than what was projected earlier,”

financialexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 7:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states. As per GoI, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of Rs 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

newindianexpress Wednesday, May 19, 2021 7:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “You are kindly aware that the GST Council was mandated to meet once in every quarter. Unfortunately, this solemn mandate has been violated twice over, by not calling a meeting of the Council for two consecutive quarters — not even virtually,”

expressindia Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crores in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

HindustanTimes Saturday, May 15, 2021 9:33:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crores in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

HindustanTimes Saturday, May 15, 2021 6:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states. As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid wave 2,”

HindustanTimes Friday, May 14, 2021 1:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The GST Council was mandated to meet once in every quarter. Unfortunately, that has been violated twice over, by not calling a meeting for two consecutive quarters - not even virtually,"

HindustanTimes Thursday, May 13, 2021 1:56:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states,”

timesofindia Thursday, May 13, 2021 6:27:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “As per the Gol projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of Rs 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22, without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2. Now, due to Covid Wave-2 and lockdowns, the compensation will be much higher than what was projected earlier. This is undoubtedly deeply distressing,”

financialexpress Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I draw your kind attention to para 6 of the ‘Procedure and Conduct of Business Regulations of the Goods and Services Taxes Council’ which provides that the ‘Council shall meet at least once in every quarter of the financial year’. You would agree that not meeting every quarter to discuss vital issues is not in line with the very principle of cooperative federalism”

financialexpress Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : “The employment generated is to the tune of 28 lakh already,”

expressindia Sunday, March 7, 2021 2:08:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Mo-Shah’s negative propaganda on investment busted by 100 Bankers in Meet. Banks in Bengal lent ₹63,000 crore for investment to Medium-Sml industry [medium small] Aprl2020-Jan21, with State gov’s support. Result: 23 lakh new jobs as per GoI capital/labour ratio.Mo-Shah bolun?”

Hindu Monday, March 1, 2021 7:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state. Therefore, we have decided to reduce state tax by Rs 1 to provide relief to the people,”

expressindia Monday, February 22, 2021 3:07:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In the case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

outlookindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 10:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra stated ( about State Finance ) : "However it is significant to mention that when Modi Government came to power total aggregated cess was 8 per cent of the gross tax collected and now it has increased to 14.5 per cent. This is why the CAG has also questioned the Central government on why they are increasing cess and not tax? This is a direct attack on the federal structure. I have also written to the Finance Minister of India highlighting the same,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:48:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about State Finance ) : "To reduce the common man's burden, the State Government has decided to allow rebate of Re 1 per litre on sales tax payable on sales of petrol and diesel w.E.F. The end of midnight of 22nd February, 2021 till 30th day of June, 2021,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:48:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : "He has given wrong, misleading and politically-motivated information. The Centre, as a part of the federal structure, collects taxes from states and shares. We had received only Rs 1.13 lakh crore in the last 6 years (FY14 to FY20),"

news18 Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earned 32.90 per litre in tax and cess from petrol on February 20, while the state got around 18.46. For each litre of diesel, the Centre earned was 31.80 per litre as against 12.77 earned by the state,"

HindustanTimes Sunday, February 21, 2021 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “To reduce the common man’s burden, the State Government has decided to allow rebate of Re 1 per litre on sales tax payable on sales of petrol and diesel w.e.f. the end of midnight of 22nd February 2021 till 30th day of June 2021,”

thehindu Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.57 for the state,”

thehindu Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra pointed out : “As we all know cess is not given back to the states and the Centre is deducting a major amount as cess,”

business-standard Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The fact is that the Centre collects taxes from all states and what they are giving from those funds is expected in a federalist polity. On top of that, the figure is being inflated,”

business-standard Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

financialexpress Sunday, February 21, 2021 3:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,”

financialexpress Sunday, February 21, 2021 3:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is 31.80 per litre as against 12.77 for the state,"

HindustanTimes Sunday, February 21, 2021 2:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

nampa Sunday, February 21, 2021 2:24:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “World over, including the Furlough scheme in the UK, the aim is to increase demand stimulation... More spending by people will lead to more demand stimulation. This is missing in this budget,”

timesofindia Tuesday, February 2, 2021 8:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The State has already spent approximately 4,000 crore to combat COVID-19 but the State has received only 279 crore from GoI [Government of India],”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 1, 2021 10:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Congress ) : “The budget announced construction of roads in states going for elections, is there any motive behind it? Why not other states? It announced road projects of 625km in West Bengal, but the state government has already constructed 88,841km of rural roads in 10 years, which has been recognised by the Government of India,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 1, 2021 10:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Since 2014, out of the gross revenue collected by the Centre, 16% has been through cess and surcharges. This is the money that will not come to us. So there is an intent here. Cess and surcharges undermined the federal fiscal health,”

Hindu Monday, February 1, 2021 9:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is not a speck to stimulate demand in the economy as seen in the budget. It does not have any macroeconomic rationale and directionless. The only main objective is to sell family silver,"

economictimes Monday, February 1, 2021 9:13:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The lower devolution to the state has caused severe strain on state’s finances at a critical time when Covid-19 induced lockdown already resulted in shrinking state revenues and increasing expenditure on healthcare and welfare schemes to provide relief to the poor,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I urge you to call a GST Council meeting to discuss the matter and arrive at a consensus,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Given the state of the economy and the expected fall in GDP of 7.7% for FY21, state governments will need to invest more in capital sector projects to boost the economy. So, there is an urgent need for states to be able to borrow more to tide over the current situation,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “In such circumstances, the imposition of conditions for borrowing, further limits the fiscal space for States. Therefore, it is proposed that similar relaxation in FRBM, of at least 2%, without imposing any conditions, be allowed in FY22,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The Central government also undertook restructuring of CSS by merging and discontinuation of schemes, along with altered sharing pattern between the Centre and States with increasing burden on the state share. This has had an adverse impact on the state’s finances, nullifying the potential positive impact of the increased proportion of devolution. The sharing pattern needs to be corrected in favour of the states urgently,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra suggested : "You may consider taking a Keynesian approach as was done by other nations rather than relying on Say's Law,"

business-standard Friday, January 22, 2021 12:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote ( about error ) : "It is my considered view that the supply side stimulation being followed by your government is in error and it is failing to check the contraction of the GDP which probably stands at the highest for any nation in the world,"

business-standard Friday, January 22, 2021 12:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy, what should have triggered in the mind of the government is the Great Depression which has happened. What should have been done is to follow the Keynesian model of government expenditure to boost demand as the private sector is unable to do that,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 5, 2020 8:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There are structural issues and the IT and ITeS sectors are not outside this framework. India’s GDP growth had been falling. Earlier, there were demonetisation and the half-baked GST, which have not been successful and no analysis has been done by the government,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 5, 2020 8:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “In other words, by asking the states to borrow one-third of the potential compensation funds from the competitive auction market of the RBI, a lot more debt servicing burden will be generated for the states, to be paid from cess collection. This huge differential in interest rates between the GoI special window rate and the market borrowing rate of the states, provides a cogent reason for GoI to borrow the whole amount from its special window,”

financialexpress Saturday, November 14, 2020 2:31:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Considering the acute financial stress on the state’s finances due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal,”

economictimes Friday, November 13, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Considering the acute physical stress on State finances due to Covid-19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal under which the GoI (Government of India) has agreed to borrow two-thirds of the possible shortfall (Rs. 1.1 lakh crore) and transfer the same to the States on a back-to-back basis, instead of asking the States to borrow, as was proposed by the GoI earlier in ‘Option 1’,”

HindustanTimes Friday, November 13, 2020 10:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Considering the acute fiscal stress on State finances due to COVID-19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal under which the GOI has agreed to borrow two-thirds of the possible shortfall (₹1.10 lakh crore) and transfer the same to the States on back to-back basis, instead of asking the states to borrow as was proposed by GOI earlier in option 1,”

Hindu Friday, November 13, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Needless to say, we sincerely urge you to borrow the remaining one third of potential shortfall (Rs 72,000 crores) as was suggested in GST council meeting in earlier letters and conversations,”

Hindu Friday, November 13, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Written text on the proposal says that a special window would be provided for borrowing but expenditure secretary has said that only a letter of comfort could be worked out. Who are we to believe?,”

financialexpress Friday, October 9, 2020 10:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “The revenue secretary abruptly announced that the meeting had ended. This has never happened before,”

timesofindia Tuesday, October 6, 2020 4:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Around 50.27 per cent investment proposals between BGBS, 2015 and BGBS, 2018 went into implementation mode. For BGBS 2019, already Rs 71,646 crore is under implementation. The employment generated through these investments is to the tune of 28 lakh already,”

expressindia Thursday, October 1, 2020 11:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Similarly, tax collection has grown from Rs 21,228 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 65,806 crores in 2019-20. The debt-GDP ratio has been brought down from 40.65 per cent in 2011 to 33.3 per cent in 2019-20,”

expressindia Thursday, October 1, 2020 11:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The idea is to bridge the digital divide and many renowned companies like Essar Information Technology have taken up space in one of them,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Another big IT company is coming up with a data centre in the state,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The idea is to bridge the digital divide and many renowned companies like Essar Information Technology have taken up space in one of them,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Another big IT company is coming up with a data centre in the state,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 1:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “it will be a historic mistake for India”

expressindia Thursday, September 17, 2020 12:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,”

expressindia Thursday, September 17, 2020 12:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "it will be a historic mistake for India"

news18 Thursday, September 17, 2020 10:29:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,"

news18 Thursday, September 17, 2020 10:29:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “it will be a historic mistake for India”

Hindu Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,”

Hindu Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "it will be a historic mistake for India"

nampa Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:07:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “They (the union government) have given us two options: to borrow Rs 97,000 crore (revenue shortfall arising on account of GST implementation and not taking into account the Covid-19 impact); borrow the entire Rs 2.35 lakh crore (assuming that there is a pandemic),”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Now they are going to facilitate the borrowing. The fiscal deficit of the credit rating agency is taken with the Centre and the states. The debt GDP ratio will be there with Centre and State. So, it doesn’t matter whether we borrow or you (Centre) borrow, which is why the RBI is of the view that when you are going to create a special window, you do it directly with the Government of India. Then you will also get the government securities (G-Sec) rate, which is 2% less and that will be treated as monetisation of the fiscal deficit. Why you are pushing on the states. This is the spirit of the whole GST council, which is that the centre that should compensate us,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra explained : “In the first option, the shortfall of Rs 97,000 crore arising out of GST implementation will be borrowed by states. This will happen through a special window. In the second option, the entire amount of Rs 2.35 lakh crore can be borrowed by the states through market debt. But my concern is borrowing by states will have macro-economic implications. The problem is the state will not be able to borrow because there is no relaxation in FRBM. My suggestion is let the Centre borrow it in lower rates,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Is this a bigger strategic game? Trust is the basis of the GST council. Politics should not be there and it should be based on merit. But unfortunately, with Centre’s change in stand, members in the GST council are shaky about what is going on. Fifteen states, including several BJP states, stood up at the GST Council meeting and said that the Centre should do the borrowing,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra concluded ( about Nirmala Sitharaman ) : “Madam Sitharaman said that it is an ‘act of god’, so was demonetisation also an act of God? Unprepared GST was an act of god? In 2016, the GDP fell to 8 % and in 2019-20 it fell to 4.2 %. You know how much that amounts to? The loss was Rs 6 lakh crore annually. Was that also an act of God? They are consistently ruining the country's economic policy. This year the quarterly growth fell to 3.1 % and they talk about ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Do you know how much-fixed investment growth is? It is -6.5 % of fixed investment. GDP falls, quarterly growth falls, fixed investment falls all before COVID. Is it an act of god or people are looking for a lame excuse in the name of God,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the name of ‘act of God’ a huge debt is being thrust on states which will destroy their financial health and federalism will be crushed giving rise to brute power of centralism. We find it totally unacceptable,”

expressindia Monday, August 31, 2020 4:38:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra asked : “Many people are worried and see this as a pattern. Once the financial health of states becomes shaky, the brute power of centralism will come into play. Is this the new ideology?”

HindustanTimes Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Now, they are saying just the opposite. This is totally subterfuge,”

HindustanTimes Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra asked : “In the name of ‘Act of God’ huge debt is being thrust on states which will destroy their financial health completely. That will lead to crushing of federalism and replace it with the brute force of centralism. Is this a bigger strategic game,”

business-standard Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We hope to have a collective decision on this matter very soon and seek more clarity from the Centre,”

financialexpress Sunday, August 30, 2020 5:28:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We hope to have a collective decision on this matter very soon and seek more clarity from the Centre,"

timesofindia Sunday, August 30, 2020 4:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

HindustanTimes Thursday, August 27, 2020 10:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

HindustanTimes Thursday, August 27, 2020 3:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,"

newindianexpress Thursday, August 27, 2020 1:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,"

newindianexpress Thursday, August 27, 2020 12:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the States. In case of shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the States, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Under no circumstances, States should be asked to borrow from the market as it will increase their debt servicing liability. Further, it may lead to cut in State expenditure which is not desirable at this juncture when the economy is witnessing severe recessionary trend,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Some dent in this trust has already been made due to delayed payment of GST compensation. Let us not do anything that will give a death blow to this unique collective effort,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “It appears that our worst fears are now coming true. It is surprising that the Constitutional guarantee given to the States is being interpreted in a manner that the Centre is not responsible to compensate the States and it is the States (in the GST Council) which will have to find means to compensate themselves! Nothing can be more damaging, unfair and unjust than this,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It appears that our worst fears are coming true. It is surprising that the constitutional guarantee given to the states is being interpreted in a manner that the Centre is not responsible to compensate the states and it is the states (in the GST Council) which will have to find means to compensate themselves. Nothing can be more damaging, unfair and unjust than this,”

expressindia Thursday, August 27, 2020 4:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The introduction of GST in a trudy federal country like ours has been rightly hailed world over as the most innovative example of cooperative federalism, based on mutual trust. Some dent in the trust has already been made due to delayed payment of GST compensation. Let us not do anything that will give a death blow to this unique collective effort,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 26, 2020 11:31:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Further, it may lead to a cut in state expenditure, which is not desirable at this juncture,”

business-standard Wednesday, August 26, 2020 10:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The policy on the logistics sector is ready and we will seek inputs from the industry. The logistics sector is very important since it creates huge employment opportunities,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 8, 2020 2:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Nandan Nilekani ) : “On March 14, Nandan Nilekani came to the GST Council and made the presentation — as Infosys works with the government on creating and maintaining the IT system — he said the model allows several kinds of frauds,”

financialexpress Thursday, July 2, 2020 1:10:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We had given our responses on the day of receiving the letters and mentioned that there are 20 districts in West Bengal where migrant workers are located. However, we find that the central scheme did not include a single district of the state in the list of beneficiaries,"

news18 Monday, June 29, 2020 8:20:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “He said 10 crore toilets have been built when only 1.43 crore had been built and on the power situation he is unaware that Bengal has surplus power and no power cuts,”

timesofindia Tuesday, June 9, 2020 8:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The macroeconomic scenario in India has been on the downside since 2019 with the GDP declining steadily from 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 to 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2020,"

timesofindia Sunday, June 7, 2020 4:05:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra alleged : “Every time we go to the market to borrow, the Centre has to okay it. So, where is the need to attach conditions. This is being done to undermine the states,”

business-standard Sunday, May 24, 2020 5:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra alleged : "Every time we go to the market to borrow the Centre has to okay it, so where is the need to attach conditions. This is being done to undermine the states,"

business-standard Wednesday, May 20, 2020 11:03:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is another smokescreen. It should have been increased from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. Instead, it has been made unconditional up to 0.5 per cent and the rest is being dictated by the Centre. This is a way of undermining the autonomy of the states” “States are being allowed to borrow with conditions dictated by the Centre without any discussion with the states. It is a serious undermining of the federalist structure. Every time we go to the market to borrow, the Centre has to okay it, so where is the need to attach conditions,”

business-standard Sunday, May 17, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Narendra Modi ) : “The RBI’s liquidity-boosting measures announced earlier amounted to about Rs 8 lakh crore. And PM Modi allocated Rs 1.7 lakh crore for free foodgrain supply in March. The two add up to Rs 10 lakh crore. And, of the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore, only Rs 4.2 lakh crore will go to the public. This is only 2% of the GDP,”

timesofindia Thursday, May 14, 2020 5:55:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "People must know the truth and the Centre's actual new announcement is just Rs 4.2 lakh crore or 2 per cent of GDP,"

business-standard Wednesday, May 13, 2020 9:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra recalled : “spending of CSR funds for Covid-19 is eligible CSR activity”

financialexpress Friday, April 17, 2020 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I urge that the above proposals may be urgently put in place so that the state has some resources to fight the menace of Covid-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, unorganised workers and SMEs, who among others have been badly impacted,”

economictimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : “In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:25:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “May I urge that the proposals may be urgently put in place so that the State has some resources to fight the menace of COVID-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, the unorganized workers and micro and small enterprises, who among others, have been so badly impacted,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:25:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

business-standard Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "May I urge that the proposals may be urgently put in place so that the State has some resources to fight the menace of COVID-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, the unorganized workers and micro and small enterprises, who among others, have been so badly impacted,"

business-standard Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is most disappointing, if not shocking, at this critical hour of need to fight COVID-19 and disburse committed expenditures,”

expressindia Tuesday, April 7, 2020 3:45:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “This (release of just April instalment) is most disappointing, if not shocking, at this critical hour of need to fight Covid-19 and disburse committed expenditures,”

financialexpress Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I urge that the above proposals be urgently put in place so that the state has some resources to fight the menace of Covid-19 and implement welfare measures for the people,”

financialexpress Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The spread of Covid-19 has created a havoc to the state finances... non-receipt of GST compensation from the central government has further aggravated the already stretched state finances,”

business-standard Friday, April 3, 2020 1:49:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Some BJP states also supported. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, all have textile industries. First they deferred (rate hikes on) all items, but after lunch they said they could raise it on mobile phones,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 11:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I, therefore, suggest that you defer this issue in the upcoming GST Council meeting and take it up for discussion when the economy of India has stabilised reasonably and the COVID-19 matter is not a burning issue,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 4:05:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about error ) : “I can only hope that in an attempt to correct one type of error made in the GST rates, we do not let loose further downturn in major job intensive sectors and the agrarian economy,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 4:05:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Markets in India are facing a double whammy with stagflation on one hand and the looming effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the other … May I urge you not to make changes in the rate structure during these perilous economic times, particularly keeping in mind the interest of the common people”

expressindia Saturday, March 14, 2020 12:21:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “My deepest concern is for February-March, we will not get paid,”

business-standard Wednesday, February 26, 2020 12:59:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This fiscal, the Centre has reduced West Bengal’s share by Rs 11,000 crore in tax devolution. On the other hand, revenue from the Central cesses and surcharges (which are not required to be shared with states) have increased three fold in the last five years. This is against the spirit of federalism”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There is not even a mention of the word slowdown in the entire Union Budget. The Centre should first accept the ground situation and then everyone can put their heads together to work out a solution,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GST was implemented in a haste without doing any beta testing. This has resulted in fraudulent transactions taking place across the country. Suspicious transactions are also going up,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 25, 2020 6:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “These are very disturbing signals as these are important for sustaining investors’ confidence,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 25, 2020 6:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GST was implemented in a haste without doing any beta testing. This has resulted in fraudulent transactions taking place across the country. Suspicious transactions are also going up,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “These are very disturbing signals as these are important for sustaining investors’ confidence,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is important to engage the Rotarians for helping the MSME sector in the state as it is the highest employment generator"

business-standard Friday, February 14, 2020 7:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Kolkata office is second largest of RBI with its jurisdiction spread over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, yet vacancies have reduced sharply to 11, gives a sense of discrimination from a pan-India institution,”

thehindu Wednesday, February 12, 2020 4:05:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Kolkata office is second largest of RBI with its jurisdiction spread over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, yet vacancies have reduced sharply to 11, gives a sense of discrimination from a pan-India institution,”

Hindu Wednesday, February 12, 2020 3:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the last eight years considerable work has been done by our government and economic reforms made under different social protection schemes for citizens. Even after repaying the huge burden of loan and at the same time persistent non-cooperation of the Central government, we have stood by the people of Bengal and we are determined to introduce various social development schemes for the citizens,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 11, 2020 4:17:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about West Bengal State ) : “Economic growth is meaningless without employment. While unemployment rate in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 11, 2020 2:13:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “India’s GDP growth rate has touched its lowest it has come down to 5 per cent in 2019-20, which is lowest during the past 11 years. In comparison, the growth in GDP in Bengal has reached 10.4 per cent, which is double the growth rate of India,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “India’s GDP growth rate has touched its lowest it has come down to 5 per cent in 2019-20, which is lowest during the past 11 years. In comparison, the growth in GDP in Bengal has reached 10.4 per cent, which is double the growth rate of India,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When the chief minister met the Prime Minister, she handed over a list, where the dues to the state were pegged at Rs 38,000 crore. Now we know from the Budget that total dues are much more. If we add the dues of more than Rs 50,000 crore, the total dues will be close to Rs 90,000 crore,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There are about three lakh workers in 370 tea gardens,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 5:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Economic growth is meaningless without employment. While unemployment rate in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 5:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “While unemployment in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 1:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “While unemployment in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 1:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The new rates will make registration more affordable. There will be a uniform reduction of 92 per cent in all the four categories,"

nampa Monday, January 27, 2020 8:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is a big move. We expect that once this private freight terminal comes up, more and more investors will come to build other freight terminals,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, December 24, 2019 5:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Industrial Development Corporatio ) : “The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited has 800-acre of land to build a state-run industrial park. Once the freight terminal becomes operational this land will be utilised for the purpose,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, December 24, 2019 5:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Sourav Ganguly ) : “It will be a world-class cricket facility where both men and women will be trained in cricket. CAB had applied for the plot and hoped Sourav Ganguly will be happy as the cabinet cleared it,”

timesofindia Tuesday, December 24, 2019 12:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is a big move. We expect that once this private freight terminal comes up, more and more investors will come to build other freight terminals,"

business-standard Tuesday, December 24, 2019 1:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Industrial Development Corporatio ) : "The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited has 800-acre of land to build a state-run industrial park. Once the freight terminal becomes operational this land will be utilised for the purpose,"

business-standard Tuesday, December 24, 2019 1:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The upcoming Budget cannot have social expenditure decline which is like punishing the common people. Stagflation is knocking at our door and we are concerned that next Budget will not be able to address it,”

financialexpress Thursday, December 19, 2019 9:12:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The upcoming Budget cannot have social expenditure decline which is like punishing the common people. Stagflation is knocking at our door and we are concerned that next Budget will not be able to address it,"

firstpost Thursday, December 19, 2019 7:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra argued : “lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but in focusing on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures”

financialexpress Thursday, December 19, 2019 6:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with 'stagflation' knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

timesofindia Wednesday, December 18, 2019 7:13:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with 'stagflation' knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

business-standard Wednesday, December 18, 2019 12:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis...the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,"

business-standard Wednesday, December 18, 2019 12:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

expressindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 6:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis…the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,”

expressindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 6:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis…the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

Hindu Tuesday, December 17, 2019 3:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis...the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures,”

Hindu Tuesday, December 17, 2019 3:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and the consumers are going through the most distressing times with stagflation knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

timesofindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 9:34:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Exempted list of items had been arrived at after lengthy deliberations spread over a number of GST Council meetings between the union FM and state FMs,”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We are in receipt of a letter from the GST Council wherein suggestions have been sought on ‘review of items currently under exemption’ for shoring up GST revenues. This is alarming, indeed,”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing ),”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but in focusing on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and the consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “It will also start a dangerous trend of imposing cess on goods and services arbitrarily as a means to increase revenues in desperation rather than through well thought out logic,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanies by growing inflation),”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This move will be hugely inflationary and further worsen the existing macro-economic situation for common consumers,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We should avoid setting a precedent that will imperil the structure of GST in the future,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “We urge you to honour that so that the current mistrust between the Centre and the states is put to rest for all time to come,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The government will build the hub so that international buyers can come here to buy our local artisans’ products,”

expressindia Friday, December 13, 2019 8:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The real estate sector is the second largest employer in India and West Bengal for both skilled and unskilled workers. It is expected to generate 1.28 crore of man-days in the state in future,"

business-standard Thursday, November 28, 2019 6:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is not a cyclical correction but a structural slowdown. The demonetisation decision hit businesses across the country. A few months later, another blow came in the form of the ill-conceived GST rollout,”

business-standard Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GST frauds at least to the tune of Rs 1 trillion have taken place so far, if we include states’ data,”

business-standard Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “If there is no money in the fund, call a GST Council meeting and tell the states the way forward,”

financialexpress Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Fake ITC (input tax credit) means tax lost, as this ITC is not backed by transaction in goods or services in reality. Even worse is the fact that some recent reports are suggesting that these chains appear to be ending in export. This means not only that they are not paying taxes, they are actually getting cash refunds against ITC where actual business never took place”

financialexpress Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Development of business intelligence systems to detect such frauds, setting up of dedicated units in each state, or issues which are barely getting mentioned in the last few (GST Council) meetings, though it is the need of the hour”

financialexpress Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Though it has picked up slightly in October with ₹95,380 crore, it is still 5.29% below the collection of October 2018 which was ₹1,00,710 crore,”

Hindu Tuesday, November 19, 2019 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The World Bank has already submitted a master plan for development of logistics infrastructure in and around Kolkata Metropolitan Area ( KMA). It is also undertaking a review of industrial infrastructure, including industrial parks, industrial estates, special economic zones and others on eastern corridor in the South Asian region encompassing West Bengal along with other states viz. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. This has been aimed at enhancing logistics competitiveness, employment generation, ease of doing business and investment opportunities,”

financialexpress Sunday, November 17, 2019 1:20:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Amit Shah ) : "Amid celebrations of Durga Puja, Amit Shah is scaring our people with NRC pitch in Bengal. This is threatening a section of people. Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, and Christian refugees will not be included in the process. This is unconstitutional,"

business-standard Wednesday, October 2, 2019 4:13:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I am myself in a state of panic. Which document would I furnish? I hail from Jessore, which was East Pakistan and has now become part of Bangladesh. So, I shall also be thrown out. I can be put in jail. Jails are being built in Assam and jails will also be built here,”

HindustanTimes Wednesday, October 2, 2019 2:03:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is unconstitutional on the part of a union home minister to create such panic and the people of Bengal will give him a befitting reply,”

financialexpress Tuesday, October 1, 2019 10:16:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Amit Shah ) : “Amid celebrations of Durga Puja, Amit Shah is scaring our people with NRC pitch in Bengal. This is threatening a section of people. Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, & Christian refugees will not be included in the process. This is unconstitutional,”

india Tuesday, October 1, 2019 9:30:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told ( about Amit Shah ) : "Today the Union Home minister Amit Shah created panic among the people of the state over NRC amid the Durga Puja festivities,"

business-standard Tuesday, October 1, 2019 7:15:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We plan to create an exclusive park for building materials manufacturing for which 100 acres will be provided in the red category certified area of Panagarh”

HindustanTimes Friday, September 27, 2019 9:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We plan to create an exclusive park for building materials manufacturing for which 100 acres will be provided in the red category certified area of Panagarh"

business-standard Friday, September 27, 2019 4:25:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : “I said to Mr. NK Singh (chairman of the Commission) when he came to the GST meeting (in Goa last Friday), that I can see in 2022 states will fall off the cliff..,”

financialexpress Thursday, September 26, 2019 1:32:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Mamata Banerjee ) : “Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had received several requests to reduce the fee. We had a meeting with the fire and disaster management department and decided to slash the fee to provide relief to people. Fire is not a revenue-earning department. The fee had been revised to make people aware of the situation. That purpose has been served to an extent and we are now revising the fees to reasonable levels,”

timesofindia Tuesday, September 24, 2019 10:36:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,"

business-standard Monday, September 23, 2019 10:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The fire department is not a revenue earning department but a regulatory department. So if small businessmen pay hefty amounts to get the licence, they will be unable to do business. So we have decided to device this mechanism,"

business-standard Monday, September 23, 2019 7:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “However, in respect to 2005 there has been a formidable increase of 45%,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the case of residential buildings above 14.5 metres including dharmasalas, educational institutions, art galleries, library and residential complexes the fire license fees was Rs 43.5 per Sq Mtr or Rs 25,000 which is higher. The state government now has decided to bring it down to Rs 4.35 which is reduction of 92 %. Similarly, in case of hospitals, nursing homes and guest houses that fall under the second category the fees was Rs 80.7 per Sq Mtr or Rs 30,000 which is higher and now it has come down to Rs 6. 52 per Sq Mtr,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “In case of the most hazardous buildings like the godowns and warehouses the fees has been reduced to Rs 13.5 per Sq Mtr from Rs 161.4 or Rs 1 lakh which is higher,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Our chief minister had several requests to reduce the fees and she promised to do so. We had a detailed meeting with the fire and disaster management department and finally we decided to cut down the fees so that the people don’t have problem in paying the fees. The fire department is not a revenue earning department. This exorbitant fees was imposed to make the people aware of the situation but our government doesn’t have any intention to tax the people. So we have made the fees reasonable and within the limits of the common people,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,"

newindianexpress Monday, September 23, 2019 5:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,”

Hindu Monday, September 23, 2019 2:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The perception about West Bengal is different from the hard data on the ground,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : "There has also been a capital flight. From 2014 till date, the capital flight from India is USD 45 million,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The country is facing the highest unemployment rate in the last 44 years, while it has dropped 40 per cent in West Bengal,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “With a week to go for the Council meeting, the agenda has not been circulated yet. There is no study that has been done. Revenue is an issue that is a big concern right now,”

business-standard Friday, September 13, 2019 1:44:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Indeed, the subdued and below-target tax collections under GST, since its inception, is primarily due to hurried and unplanned introduction of GST,”

Hindu Thursday, August 29, 2019 8:55:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is a matter of concern that the Centre has to take money from the RBI. The Reserve Bank of India transferring record Rs 1.76 lakh crore dividend and surplus reserves to the government is a matter of great concern. This has increased the financial risk of the country. It will be a concern for the future of our nation,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In 2017-18, the capital expenditure was 19,085 crore. Now in 2018-19 it has increased to 23,787 crore, which is an increase of 25 per cent. As because there has been an increase in planned expenditure, capital expenditure and private investments, there has been a rise in the GDP,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is a matter of concern that the Centre has to take money from the RBI. The Reserve Bank of India transferring record Rs 1.76 lakh crore dividend and surplus reserves to the government is a matter of great concern. This has increased the financial risk of the country. It will be a concern for the future of our nation,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In 2017-18, the capital expenditure was 19,085 crore. Now in 2018-19 it has increased to 23,787 crore, which is an increase of 25 per cent. As because there has been an increase in planned expenditure, capital expenditure and private investments, there has been a rise in the GDP,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I am delighted to say that as per the Government of India’s ministry of statistics and programme implementation just published table on GDP growth of state in 2018-19, our state’s growth is the highest in the country at 12.58 per cent. This at a time when the country is going through deep recession,” “The Indian economy is in a state of deep recession. This is while the government of India is in a deep policy paralysis. Unemployment rate is high. The central government needs to talk to state governments and political parties for find a way out,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GDP growth fell to 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 financial year, which is the lowest growth rate since the last five years (between 2014-15 and 2019-19. Industrial output growth is 2 per cent in June 2019, which was 7 per cent in June 2018,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Manufacturing grew by 1.2 per cent in June 2019 as against 6.9 per cent in June 2018. Mining grew by 1.6 per cent in June 2019 compared to 6.5 per cent June 2018. Added to this there is high unemployment rate. The automobile sector and ancillary industry is also hit,” “Investment in new projects plunged to 15 years low in the quarter ending in June 2019. Implementation of investment projects worth Rs 13 trillion has been stalled,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Mamata Banerjee ) : "It is because of the policies of the Mamata Banerjee government on the ground. Take the example of a road that has been created in my constituency which has created five markets in the area. We have revolutionised village roads, Mamata Banerjee has spent on capital expenditure, which is almost 11 times more than the previous one,"

polandsun Saturday, August 10, 2019 11:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is a deep recession due to job loss and the men and women in the country are suffering the highest unemployment rates in the last 45 years and this is going to deepen,"

polandsun Saturday, August 10, 2019 11:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “I am delighted to say that as per the Government of India’s ministry of statistics and programme implementation just-published table on GDP growth of states in 2018-19 West Bengal’s growth is the highest in the country at 12.58 per cent,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 10, 2019 6:21:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “We are holding the baton and moving forward while the rest of the country is going through serious recession,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 10, 2019 6:21:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Countries like Ireland and UK have set a target of 2030 and 2040 respectively to achieve zero emission. Even China took 20 years in this attempt to transform and did it first in one city before slowly expanding over time”

business-standard Thursday, July 25, 2019 12:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is no Make in India, it is Break in India. The government is underconfidence to implement cess and surcharge. It is nothing but to undermine the federal structure"

business-standard Wednesday, July 10, 2019 7:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Unless we are able to address these issues along with putting in place corrective steps to check tax evasion, we are still far from reaping the benefit of revenue buoyancy, which was expected after introduction of GST. This is a great cause of concern,"

business-standard Tuesday, July 2, 2019 1:30:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The industry is going through bad period, (it) should get stimulated but with these complications, they will be caught in inspector raj, they will be caught in hawala,"

rediff Sunday, February 24, 2019 8:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The industry is going through bad period, (it) should get stimulated but with these complications, they will be caught in inspector raj, they will be caught in hawala,"

business-standard Sunday, February 24, 2019 6:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Arun Jaitley ) : "Why I said for one per cent is because the Central government's own research shows that the tax incidents across states averages to 0.6 per cent. So, my justification was very solid" "I am happy that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the GST Council have accepted my submission for the sake of affordable housing. A fight on affordable housing should not be discriminated. Group of Minister had proposed three per cent, but I felt that would punish affordable housing,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 24, 2019 5:47:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Therefore the suggested rate of 3% by the GoM will actually increase the burden on the small home buyers. This is certainly not desirable,”

economictimes Sunday, February 24, 2019 9:40:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Housing, other than affordable category, actually has incidence of 5% GST in the medium range and 7% in the premium category, as per the table at page 172 of the agenda notes,” “Our data for West Bengal shows that 70% of the flats/units registered has a cost of Rs 40 lakh. This data provides evidence to the fact that the proposed scheme by the GoM will actually create a large burden for a significant section of home buyers,”

economictimes Sunday, February 24, 2019 9:40:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The fire is almost fully under control. As many as 25 fire engines were deployed to fight the flames. Now a team will enter the factory and search for the five who are missing,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 12, 2019 6:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “We will also conduct an enquiry into whether there were lapses and will take strong steps,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 12, 2019 6:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Their top-ranking officials attended the summit this time. Unless they had taken a decision, top officials would not have been here,”

news-yahoo-in Saturday, February 9, 2019 6:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “In the earlier editions of the BGBS, the foreign delegates mainly came to gather some experience about the affairs of West Bengal. This time, 450 foreign delegates, who represented various countries like UK, Italy, Poland, Republic of Korea, Japan, USA, Germany, France, UAE, Luxembourg and many others, actually did some business. They have either signed MoUs for cooperation and collaboration, or have tied up with local partners, or have been handed over land by the government to start a new unit,”

financialexpress Saturday, February 9, 2019 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In agriculture development, we have made a budgetary allocation of Rs 6,086 crore for the financial year 2019-20 against Rs 2,766 crore in FY 2018-19. This is a 120 per cent increase which will benefit the state’s farmers,”

expressindia Tuesday, February 5, 2019 1:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Despite this, till now, the state has been able to create 9.05 lakh jobs,"

dnaindia Monday, February 4, 2019 10:31:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Despite this, till now, the state has been able to create 9.05 lakh jobs,”

expressindia Monday, February 4, 2019 7:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Who are going to get benefits of the scheme? Globally, many big companies were being charged for misusing personal data,"

ibtimes-in Saturday, February 2, 2019 9:56:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Prices of vegetables decrease 4 to 6 times if they are not sold fresh and kept for the future market. This kind of a storage facility can keep vegetables fresh for at least seven days and help farmers realise the right price for it. This warehouses would be exclusively used by Sufal Bangla,”

financialexpress Monday, January 21, 2019 10:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The GST Council meeting was scheduled on December 22 but on December 18, the Prime Minister announced that only 0. 5 per cent to 1 per cent of the items such as aircraft, SUVs, cigarettes and alcohol will be taxed at 28 per cent,"

newindianexpress Saturday, December 22, 2018 10:28:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The information available with us shows that Rs 823.95 crore has been already invested in the north Bengal districts and works of projects worth Rs 971.98 crore are in progress. Also, there are investment proposal of another Rs 2,700 crores for north Bengal,”

news-yahoo-in Saturday, December 22, 2018 10:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is surprising that the prime minister is now demanding what we had urged the Union government to do long time back. If our demands were met a year back, some of the negative effects of the faulty GST could have been avoided and the economy could have been saved,”

news18 Saturday, December 22, 2018 6:59:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It has been reported in the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently made a statement that only 0.5 per cent to 1 percent of the items — luxury goods such as aircrafts, cigarettes, alcohol and SUVs — will be taxed at 28 percent. However, it is the GST Council alone which has been constitutionally empowered to decide on GST rate for goods and services. The statement made by the Prime Minister on 18 December just before the GST Council meeting on 22 December undermines the constitutional authority of GST Council as it pre-empts the decision making authority of the Council,”

news-yahoo-in Friday, December 21, 2018 6:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Today a short (returns) form is being filled and when you do not upload invoices, according to me, today hawala is happening out of GST. If invoice is not required to be uploaded, when you file GSTR-3B then you claim input tax credit (ITC), which is black money because there was no transaction. It was unprepared GST,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 18, 2018 6:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I had said that GST should not be launched on July 1, 2017. Computers were required to process 300 crore invoices, but there was no testing or pilot run,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 18, 2018 6:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “For artisans, artists, folk arts and tribal arts, no registration will be required up to Rs 20 lakh (turnover). Clay idols are exempt now”

expressindia Saturday, September 9, 2017 9:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GSTN has major problems. We had much discussions and all that has to be settled and a committee of ministers has been formed along with a committee of officers,”

expressindia Saturday, September 9, 2017 9:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This shows the federalist character of India,” “CGST and IGST laws will come up for further discussion at the next meeting of the Council in mid-March”

expressindia Monday, March 6, 2017 1:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “States were seeking that dhabas and small restaurants can adopt the composite scheme. The Centre has agreed to that and now these small businesses will pay 5 per cent tax (to be shared equally between the Centre and states),”

Hindu Saturday, March 4, 2017 6:15:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “If the GST is to move forward, in the manner it has started, then we have to maintain this … If majoritarianism becomes a rule, it will lose its entire value,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GST is riddled with potential fraud and this needs to be addressed but nobody is addressing it in the manner in which collectively the GST council should address,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Ease of doing business is a myth as far as GST is concerned. MSMEs today are de-registering as they cannot cope with it. What worries me most is that the one of the largest employers of India, the MSMEs, will leave and de-register and go back to being informal with these kinds of numbers,”

thehindu Saturday, January 21, 2023 4:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “What concerns me deeply is a steady erosion of federalism. That environment of federalism is gone. Now the environment in the council is majoritarian, toxic and acrimonious,”

expressindia Saturday, January 21, 2023 6:15:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The states’ total debt burden is Rs 2.69 lakh crore. If we talk about West Bengal, the debt in books is Rs 10,856 crore,”

expressindia Saturday, January 21, 2023 6:15:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “What worries me is that MSMEs are today deregistering. They can’t cope with this. And they are labour-intensive entities. With these kind of numbers, we believe they will go back to being informal,”

business-standard Friday, January 20, 2023 9:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra stated : “This is even more pertinent at a time when G20 is being held under India’s presidency. You are aware the G20 nations, have made financial inclusion of SMEs and micro enterprises as their focus area in the global action plan,”

financialexpress Tuesday, January 10, 2023 5:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Therefore, I humbly urge you to persuade both the RBI and MSME Department of the Government of India to rectify the notifications and allow self certification by micro weavers and artisans for bank loan applications, as was the case in the initial Notification,”

financialexpress Tuesday, January 10, 2023 12:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “You would be shocked to know that in West Bengal alone, out of 15,298 weavers who applied for loans as many as 10,108 faced rejections by banks- a staggering 66%, rejection rate, between April 2022 and September 2022 (six months period),”

Hindu Monday, January 9, 2023 8:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Similarly, out of 48,153 applications for loans, from the artisans of the State, 29,656 applications were rejected by banks- again a staggering 62% rejection rate. These artisans too have gone through vetting by DICs and were holders of artisans’ credit cards,”

Hindu Monday, January 9, 2023 8:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I also urge you to bring finality, through consensus, on the serious matters pending with two GoMs for over a year,”

financialexpress Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I humbly urge you to call a meeting of the GST Council urgently. May I also urge you to bring finality, through consensus, on the serious matters pending with 2 GoMs for over a year,”

expressindia Thursday, November 17, 2022 5:08:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Yet, in utter violation of this solemn provision, you have not called a single meeting of the Council (physical or virtual) over the last four-and-a-half months,”

Hindu Wednesday, November 16, 2022 5:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra pointed out : “The Centre is the biggest giver, as much as Rs 1.25 lakh crore through eight central schemes, which can be construed as freebies,”

timesofindia Friday, August 19, 2022 8:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra mentioned : “If it is a freebie, why did the Centre not cut it? Like this, Rs 1.25 lakh crore is being given away by the central government in freebies,”

timesofindia Friday, August 19, 2022 8:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "Post decision of the Honourable apex court, it has become imperative for the GST council to take every decision by consensus and to leave aside any shade of majoritarianism not only for the future credibility of the GST Council but also the uphold the rich tradition of this august body,"

business-standard Tuesday, June 28, 2022 8:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,"

business-standard Monday, June 27, 2022 8:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,"

newindianexpress Monday, June 27, 2022 5:56:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “We note with dismay and ominous signs that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,”

financialexpress Tuesday, June 14, 2022 10:49:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “We note with dismay an ominous sign that the Centre has decided to withdraw the goods and services tax (GST) compensation to the states from July 2022. Such a decision, if taken, is completely contrary to what was envisaged at the time of adoption of GST,”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “You will appreciate that in the year 2016, when the said decision was made, none of us could have predicted that the world would be hit by the Covid pandemic of this magnitude. Nor could we have guessed that the economy of the world, and of course, that of India, would be under unprecedented stress, due to this pandemic,”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Though we are in the third year of the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic continues to adversely affect our economy. The supply chain in manufacturing, services and agriculture is still broken. The MSME sector is struggling to survive and the informal/unorganised sector, which provides employment to more than 90% of the labour force, remains severely fractured”

financialexpress Monday, June 13, 2022 11:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : “According to statistics, the Center has given Rs 6,591 crore to Bengal for GST deficit in fiscal 2021-22, while the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka got more than eight and a half billion,”

expressindia Friday, June 3, 2022 3:12:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In April and May, the first two months of the current fiscal year, the GST collection in Bengal has grown by 19.23 per cent against the protected rate of 14 per cent. Mr Majumdar should know the facts,"

business-standard Thursday, June 2, 2022 10:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When compared with Q1 figures in 2021, the rise is four-fold,”

timesofindia Wednesday, May 18, 2022 3:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

dw-en Monday, May 2, 2022 6:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is a time-tested strategy followed by economies across the world during hard times. The Bengal CM gave monetary support to the underprivileged to boost their capacity to consume. It has worked, as is evident from the estimated positive GSDP growth of 12% against the national GDP growth of 9%. We focussed on boosting demand, the centre prioritised the supply side,"

timesofindia Saturday, March 12, 2022 6:10:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

deutschewelle-en Wednesday, February 16, 2022 6:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There is no direction of financial growth in this Budget. There is nothing for the poor and middle class. The income tax structure remains unchanged. The Centre’s Budget is either a hoax or a lack of goodwill,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 8:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “It is a terrible thing to do. But this is the Modi model of development,”

thehindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 6:00:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “It is a terrible thing to do. But this is the Modi model of development,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 1, 2022 5:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is either bluff or there was a lack of understanding of the economic situation. The government is only tinkering with the old policies. There is also no change in the tax slabs for the salaried middle class. There is nothing in this Budget that will address high unemployment, inflation and issues faced by farmers and small and medium enterprises. No sector of the society will benefit from it. People in the informal sector will not survive. This Budget is probably serving the misplaced dream of one or two people,"

business-standard Tuesday, February 1, 2022 4:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "interests of only a section of people"

business-standard Tuesday, February 1, 2022 4:29:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Wholesale inflation is over 14% and unemployment has expanded. Without private investment, we may be heading toward stagflation,"

dw-en Monday, January 31, 2022 6:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “My question is, if a cost-benefit analysis has been done. The cost is massive closure of units, particularly small and medium units, (which will give rise to) unemployment. The units (which migrated to) the formal economy by registering for GST (may be forced to) become informal again,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 25, 2021 7:20:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I also hear tales of tax terrorism and demands being faced by the industry on various counts. Put together, many of them are relocating,”

rfi-en Saturday, December 4, 2021 6:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I reiterate that I am keenly awaiting your confirmation that RMD, headquartered in Kolkata, will not be dismantled, thereby saving the livelihoods of scores of workers. West Bengal and its people must not be deprived in this manner,”

expressindia Saturday, June 19, 2021 4:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants in Bengal would either be asset stripped or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants in Bengal would either be asset stripped or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Odisha mines will be allocated to the Rourkela and Jharkhand mines will be allocated to Bokaro”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “By throwing Durapur and Burnpur into the open market, these plants would be rendered uncompetitive. And over time, these plants would become inefficient, unprofitable and unviable,”

financialexpress Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:33:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am shocked to learn from the media that the Raw Materials Division (RMD) of SAIL, headquartered in Kolkata, is being dismantled. This will result in the job loss of scores of contractual employees in the midst of this Covid pandemic , literally putting them in harm’s way. And over hundred permanent employees working in RMD, Kolkata will face total destabilization of their families, their spouses and their children, with the imminent transfer, in the midst of the pandemic,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “You are very well aware that the raw material price is Rs 9,500/- a tonne in the open market, while RMD was supplying to Durgapur and Burnpur at a price of Rs 650/- a tonne. Therefore, by throwing Durgapur and Burnpur into the open market, these plants would be rendered uncompetitive. And, over time, these plants would become cost-inefficient, unprofitable and unviable,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “I am deeply apprehensive that these two massive plants (Durgapur and Burnpur) in Bengal would either be stripped of their assets or be sold off in the name of disinvestment, having crippled them through the current policy shift… I may point out that these plants today are profitable entities having yielded a profit of Rs 1,486 crores,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra concluded : “I sincerely urge you to instruct your officers on the Board to stop SAIL from dismantling RMD and thereby saving the two great iconic and profitable institutions of the Maharatna PSU,”

expressindia Thursday, June 17, 2021 4:58:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “this move of dismantling the RMD and resultant negative implication on Durgapur and Burnpur follows the BJP’s recent electoral loss in Bengal”

thehindu Wednesday, June 16, 2021 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “this move of dismantling the RMD and resultant negative implication on Durgapur and Burnpur follows the BJP’s recent electoral loss in Bengal”

Hindu Wednesday, June 16, 2021 8:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

news-yahoo-in Wednesday, June 16, 2021 7:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

business-standard Tuesday, June 15, 2021 9:27:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I was heard repeatedly in the meeting. But during the concluding part, I kept on raising my hand and you could see me… All [other] microphones were unmuted by the Centre’s web management team. My microphone was muted and I could see it… I am not a fool. Please investigate and let me know. Why was my microphone muted at a critical time when I wanted to put across my dissent? I am giving the benefit of the doubt,”

expressindia Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “dramatic shift from consensus mechanism to authoritarian and majoritarian approach in the GST Council,” “It destroys the only federal institution in the country,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:18:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “How much revenue will you make on masks, on hand sanitizers? We are asking for zero rating only for a limited period,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:18:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “If you cannot do zero rating because you don’t want to do an ordinance, which you had done for three farm laws, you put 0.1% rate, which is practically zero. This is an issue in which we require consensus for the people of India,”

financialexpress Monday, June 14, 2021 8:03:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The decision was made outside the council. This undermines the credibility of the GST Council,”

business-standard Monday, June 14, 2021 6:12:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "I tried my best to repeatedly raise my objection after your announcing this decision, but unfortunately, I was never given the floor and my voice was muzzled, as the Secretary brought the meeting to a close and the virtual link was cut off. Whither GST Council!"

newindianexpress Sunday, June 13, 2021 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "I could never imagine that this would come to pass in a GST Council meeting where my voice is muzzled, despite the restraint and decorum that I have maintained in the 44 meetings of the GST Council-- truly unprecedented. Obviously, this and other instances in today's GST Council meeting have dealt a major blow to the spirit of cooperative federalism undermining the very ethos of the GST Council,"

newindianexpress Sunday, June 13, 2021 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "I tried my best to repeatedly raise my objection after your announcing this decision, but unfortunately, I was never given the floor and my voice was muzzled, as the Secretary brought the meeting to a close and the virtual link was cut off. Whither GST Council!"

news18 Saturday, June 12, 2021 9:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is totally an anti-people decision that is being thrust on us at the GST Council. As representatives of the people we have no way to justify these decisions of draconian nature,"

economictimes Saturday, June 12, 2021 6:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This and other instances in today's GST Council meeting have dealt a major blow to the spirit of cooperative federalism undermining the very ethos of the GST Council,"

economictimes Saturday, June 12, 2021 6:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I am taken aback that after a year like 2020-21, where revenue plummeted in the entire nation and our state was hit with twin disasters of Covid and cyclone Amphan, it is being expected that our capital expenditure would not only be back on track, but increase by more than 100% since 2019-20 (from Rs 15,970 crore to more than Rs 34,000 crore this year)”

financialexpress Saturday, June 5, 2021 1:46:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I must express my deep disappointment at hefty GSTs being proposed on items vital in the fight against Covid 19 pandemic, at the 43rd GST Council meeting,”

financialexpress Friday, June 4, 2021 8:51:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "I propose that the Council in its wisdom, may agree to accept zero-rated tax for all Covid relevant materials, equipment, drugs and vaccines. This will allow manufacturers and their entire supply chain entrepreneurs to avail input tax credit. Therefore, there would be no adverse impact on prices for the consumers,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "I look forward to fruitful deliberations and bold decisions in the ensuing GST Council meeting on Friday,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I propose that the Council may agree to accept zero-rated tax for all Covid relevant materials, drugs and vaccines. This will allow the manufacturers and their entire supply chain entrepreneurs to avail input tax credit. Therefore, there would be no adverse impact on prices,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, May 25, 2021 9:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Due to Covid Wave-2 and lockdowns, the compensation will be much higher than what was projected earlier,”

financialexpress Tuesday, May 25, 2021 7:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states. As per GoI, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of Rs 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

newindianexpress Wednesday, May 19, 2021 7:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “You are kindly aware that the GST Council was mandated to meet once in every quarter. Unfortunately, this solemn mandate has been violated twice over, by not calling a meeting of the Council for two consecutive quarters — not even virtually,”

expressindia Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crores in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

HindustanTimes Saturday, May 15, 2021 9:33:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crores in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2,”

HindustanTimes Saturday, May 15, 2021 6:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states. As per GoI [Government of India] projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22 without taking into consideration the impact of Covid wave 2,”

HindustanTimes Friday, May 14, 2021 1:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The GST Council was mandated to meet once in every quarter. Unfortunately, that has been violated twice over, by not calling a meeting for two consecutive quarters - not even virtually,"

HindustanTimes Thursday, May 13, 2021 1:56:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “May I point out that among many matters that need to be discussed most urgently at the GST Council, is the alarming shortfall that is expected in the compensation to states,”

timesofindia Thursday, May 13, 2021 6:27:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “As per the Gol projection, the shortfall was expected to be to the tune of Rs 1,56,164 crore in 2021-22, without taking into consideration the impact of Covid Wave-2. Now, due to Covid Wave-2 and lockdowns, the compensation will be much higher than what was projected earlier. This is undoubtedly deeply distressing,”

financialexpress Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I draw your kind attention to para 6 of the ‘Procedure and Conduct of Business Regulations of the Goods and Services Taxes Council’ which provides that the ‘Council shall meet at least once in every quarter of the financial year’. You would agree that not meeting every quarter to discuss vital issues is not in line with the very principle of cooperative federalism”

financialexpress Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : “The employment generated is to the tune of 28 lakh already,”

expressindia Sunday, March 7, 2021 2:08:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Mo-Shah’s negative propaganda on investment busted by 100 Bankers in Meet. Banks in Bengal lent ₹63,000 crore for investment to Medium-Sml industry [medium small] Aprl2020-Jan21, with State gov’s support. Result: 23 lakh new jobs as per GoI capital/labour ratio.Mo-Shah bolun?”

Hindu Monday, March 1, 2021 7:39:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state. Therefore, we have decided to reduce state tax by Rs 1 to provide relief to the people,”

expressindia Monday, February 22, 2021 3:07:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In the case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

outlookindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 10:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra stated ( about State Finance ) : "However it is significant to mention that when Modi Government came to power total aggregated cess was 8 per cent of the gross tax collected and now it has increased to 14.5 per cent. This is why the CAG has also questioned the Central government on why they are increasing cess and not tax? This is a direct attack on the federal structure. I have also written to the Finance Minister of India highlighting the same,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:48:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about State Finance ) : "To reduce the common man's burden, the State Government has decided to allow rebate of Re 1 per litre on sales tax payable on sales of petrol and diesel w.E.F. The end of midnight of 22nd February, 2021 till 30th day of June, 2021,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:48:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : "He has given wrong, misleading and politically-motivated information. The Centre, as a part of the federal structure, collects taxes from states and shares. We had received only Rs 1.13 lakh crore in the last 6 years (FY14 to FY20),"

news18 Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earned 32.90 per litre in tax and cess from petrol on February 20, while the state got around 18.46. For each litre of diesel, the Centre earned was 31.80 per litre as against 12.77 earned by the state,"

HindustanTimes Sunday, February 21, 2021 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “To reduce the common man’s burden, the State Government has decided to allow rebate of Re 1 per litre on sales tax payable on sales of petrol and diesel w.e.f. the end of midnight of 22nd February 2021 till 30th day of June 2021,”

thehindu Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.57 for the state,”

thehindu Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra pointed out : “As we all know cess is not given back to the states and the Centre is deducting a major amount as cess,”

business-standard Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The fact is that the Centre collects taxes from all states and what they are giving from those funds is expected in a federalist polity. On top of that, the figure is being inflated,”

business-standard Sunday, February 21, 2021 6:32:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

financialexpress Sunday, February 21, 2021 3:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government’s earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,”

financialexpress Sunday, February 21, 2021 3:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is 31.80 per litre as against 12.77 for the state,"

HindustanTimes Sunday, February 21, 2021 2:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol, while the state gets Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning is Rs 31.80 per litre as against Rs 12.77 for the state,"

nampa Sunday, February 21, 2021 2:24:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “World over, including the Furlough scheme in the UK, the aim is to increase demand stimulation... More spending by people will lead to more demand stimulation. This is missing in this budget,”

timesofindia Tuesday, February 2, 2021 8:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The State has already spent approximately 4,000 crore to combat COVID-19 but the State has received only 279 crore from GoI [Government of India],”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 1, 2021 10:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Congress ) : “The budget announced construction of roads in states going for elections, is there any motive behind it? Why not other states? It announced road projects of 625km in West Bengal, but the state government has already constructed 88,841km of rural roads in 10 years, which has been recognised by the Government of India,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 1, 2021 10:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Since 2014, out of the gross revenue collected by the Centre, 16% has been through cess and surcharges. This is the money that will not come to us. So there is an intent here. Cess and surcharges undermined the federal fiscal health,”

Hindu Monday, February 1, 2021 9:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is not a speck to stimulate demand in the economy as seen in the budget. It does not have any macroeconomic rationale and directionless. The only main objective is to sell family silver,"

economictimes Monday, February 1, 2021 9:13:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The lower devolution to the state has caused severe strain on state’s finances at a critical time when Covid-19 induced lockdown already resulted in shrinking state revenues and increasing expenditure on healthcare and welfare schemes to provide relief to the poor,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “I urge you to call a GST Council meeting to discuss the matter and arrive at a consensus,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Given the state of the economy and the expected fall in GDP of 7.7% for FY21, state governments will need to invest more in capital sector projects to boost the economy. So, there is an urgent need for states to be able to borrow more to tide over the current situation,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “In such circumstances, the imposition of conditions for borrowing, further limits the fiscal space for States. Therefore, it is proposed that similar relaxation in FRBM, of at least 2%, without imposing any conditions, be allowed in FY22,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The Central government also undertook restructuring of CSS by merging and discontinuation of schemes, along with altered sharing pattern between the Centre and States with increasing burden on the state share. This has had an adverse impact on the state’s finances, nullifying the potential positive impact of the increased proportion of devolution. The sharing pattern needs to be corrected in favour of the states urgently,”

financialexpress Saturday, January 23, 2021 3:16:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra suggested : "You may consider taking a Keynesian approach as was done by other nations rather than relying on Say's Law,"

business-standard Friday, January 22, 2021 12:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote ( about error ) : "It is my considered view that the supply side stimulation being followed by your government is in error and it is failing to check the contraction of the GDP which probably stands at the highest for any nation in the world,"

business-standard Friday, January 22, 2021 12:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy, what should have triggered in the mind of the government is the Great Depression which has happened. What should have been done is to follow the Keynesian model of government expenditure to boost demand as the private sector is unable to do that,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 5, 2020 8:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There are structural issues and the IT and ITeS sectors are not outside this framework. India’s GDP growth had been falling. Earlier, there were demonetisation and the half-baked GST, which have not been successful and no analysis has been done by the government,”

financialexpress Saturday, December 5, 2020 8:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “In other words, by asking the states to borrow one-third of the potential compensation funds from the competitive auction market of the RBI, a lot more debt servicing burden will be generated for the states, to be paid from cess collection. This huge differential in interest rates between the GoI special window rate and the market borrowing rate of the states, provides a cogent reason for GoI to borrow the whole amount from its special window,”

financialexpress Saturday, November 14, 2020 2:31:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Considering the acute financial stress on the state’s finances due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal,”

economictimes Friday, November 13, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Considering the acute physical stress on State finances due to Covid-19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal under which the GoI (Government of India) has agreed to borrow two-thirds of the possible shortfall (Rs. 1.1 lakh crore) and transfer the same to the States on a back-to-back basis, instead of asking the States to borrow, as was proposed by the GoI earlier in ‘Option 1’,”

HindustanTimes Friday, November 13, 2020 10:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Considering the acute fiscal stress on State finances due to COVID-19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, West Bengal is willing to go along with your new proposal under which the GOI has agreed to borrow two-thirds of the possible shortfall (₹1.10 lakh crore) and transfer the same to the States on back to-back basis, instead of asking the states to borrow as was proposed by GOI earlier in option 1,”

Hindu Friday, November 13, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Needless to say, we sincerely urge you to borrow the remaining one third of potential shortfall (Rs 72,000 crores) as was suggested in GST council meeting in earlier letters and conversations,”

Hindu Friday, November 13, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Written text on the proposal says that a special window would be provided for borrowing but expenditure secretary has said that only a letter of comfort could be worked out. Who are we to believe?,”

financialexpress Friday, October 9, 2020 10:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “The revenue secretary abruptly announced that the meeting had ended. This has never happened before,”

timesofindia Tuesday, October 6, 2020 4:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Around 50.27 per cent investment proposals between BGBS, 2015 and BGBS, 2018 went into implementation mode. For BGBS 2019, already Rs 71,646 crore is under implementation. The employment generated through these investments is to the tune of 28 lakh already,”

expressindia Thursday, October 1, 2020 11:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Similarly, tax collection has grown from Rs 21,228 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 65,806 crores in 2019-20. The debt-GDP ratio has been brought down from 40.65 per cent in 2011 to 33.3 per cent in 2019-20,”

expressindia Thursday, October 1, 2020 11:48:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The idea is to bridge the digital divide and many renowned companies like Essar Information Technology have taken up space in one of them,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Another big IT company is coming up with a data centre in the state,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The idea is to bridge the digital divide and many renowned companies like Essar Information Technology have taken up space in one of them,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Another big IT company is coming up with a data centre in the state,”

Hindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 4:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “So far, 3,000 IT professionals have been selected for jobs under the scheme within three months from its launch,”

thehindu Wednesday, September 23, 2020 1:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “it will be a historic mistake for India”

expressindia Thursday, September 17, 2020 12:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,”

expressindia Thursday, September 17, 2020 12:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "it will be a historic mistake for India"

news18 Thursday, September 17, 2020 10:29:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,"

news18 Thursday, September 17, 2020 10:29:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “it will be a historic mistake for India”

Hindu Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There will be distrust in place of trust. Therefore, the whole GST experiment on a consensus basis on the federalist polity will become a problem,”

Hindu Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "it will be a historic mistake for India"

nampa Thursday, September 17, 2020 9:07:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “They (the union government) have given us two options: to borrow Rs 97,000 crore (revenue shortfall arising on account of GST implementation and not taking into account the Covid-19 impact); borrow the entire Rs 2.35 lakh crore (assuming that there is a pandemic),”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Now they are going to facilitate the borrowing. The fiscal deficit of the credit rating agency is taken with the Centre and the states. The debt GDP ratio will be there with Centre and State. So, it doesn’t matter whether we borrow or you (Centre) borrow, which is why the RBI is of the view that when you are going to create a special window, you do it directly with the Government of India. Then you will also get the government securities (G-Sec) rate, which is 2% less and that will be treated as monetisation of the fiscal deficit. Why you are pushing on the states. This is the spirit of the whole GST council, which is that the centre that should compensate us,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra explained : “In the first option, the shortfall of Rs 97,000 crore arising out of GST implementation will be borrowed by states. This will happen through a special window. In the second option, the entire amount of Rs 2.35 lakh crore can be borrowed by the states through market debt. But my concern is borrowing by states will have macro-economic implications. The problem is the state will not be able to borrow because there is no relaxation in FRBM. My suggestion is let the Centre borrow it in lower rates,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Is this a bigger strategic game? Trust is the basis of the GST council. Politics should not be there and it should be based on merit. But unfortunately, with Centre’s change in stand, members in the GST council are shaky about what is going on. Fifteen states, including several BJP states, stood up at the GST Council meeting and said that the Centre should do the borrowing,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra concluded ( about Nirmala Sitharaman ) : “Madam Sitharaman said that it is an ‘act of god’, so was demonetisation also an act of God? Unprepared GST was an act of god? In 2016, the GDP fell to 8 % and in 2019-20 it fell to 4.2 %. You know how much that amounts to? The loss was Rs 6 lakh crore annually. Was that also an act of God? They are consistently ruining the country's economic policy. This year the quarterly growth fell to 3.1 % and they talk about ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Do you know how much-fixed investment growth is? It is -6.5 % of fixed investment. GDP falls, quarterly growth falls, fixed investment falls all before COVID. Is it an act of god or people are looking for a lame excuse in the name of God,”

news18 Monday, August 31, 2020 8:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the name of ‘act of God’ a huge debt is being thrust on states which will destroy their financial health and federalism will be crushed giving rise to brute power of centralism. We find it totally unacceptable,”

expressindia Monday, August 31, 2020 4:38:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra asked : “Many people are worried and see this as a pattern. Once the financial health of states becomes shaky, the brute power of centralism will come into play. Is this the new ideology?”

HindustanTimes Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “Now, they are saying just the opposite. This is totally subterfuge,”

HindustanTimes Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra asked : “In the name of ‘Act of God’ huge debt is being thrust on states which will destroy their financial health completely. That will lead to crushing of federalism and replace it with the brute force of centralism. Is this a bigger strategic game,”

business-standard Sunday, August 30, 2020 8:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We hope to have a collective decision on this matter very soon and seek more clarity from the Centre,”

financialexpress Sunday, August 30, 2020 5:28:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We hope to have a collective decision on this matter very soon and seek more clarity from the Centre,"

timesofindia Sunday, August 30, 2020 4:14:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

HindustanTimes Thursday, August 27, 2020 10:11:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

HindustanTimes Thursday, August 27, 2020 3:34:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,"

newindianexpress Thursday, August 27, 2020 1:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : "The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states. In case of a shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,"

newindianexpress Thursday, August 27, 2020 12:07:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the States. In case of shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the States, as per the formula agreed upon with the states,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Under no circumstances, States should be asked to borrow from the market as it will increase their debt servicing liability. Further, it may lead to cut in State expenditure which is not desirable at this juncture when the economy is witnessing severe recessionary trend,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Some dent in this trust has already been made due to delayed payment of GST compensation. Let us not do anything that will give a death blow to this unique collective effort,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “It appears that our worst fears are now coming true. It is surprising that the Constitutional guarantee given to the States is being interpreted in a manner that the Centre is not responsible to compensate the States and it is the States (in the GST Council) which will have to find means to compensate themselves! Nothing can be more damaging, unfair and unjust than this,”

Hindu Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:53:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It appears that our worst fears are coming true. It is surprising that the constitutional guarantee given to the states is being interpreted in a manner that the Centre is not responsible to compensate the states and it is the states (in the GST Council) which will have to find means to compensate themselves. Nothing can be more damaging, unfair and unjust than this,”

expressindia Thursday, August 27, 2020 4:57:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The introduction of GST in a trudy federal country like ours has been rightly hailed world over as the most innovative example of cooperative federalism, based on mutual trust. Some dent in the trust has already been made due to delayed payment of GST compensation. Let us not do anything that will give a death blow to this unique collective effort,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 26, 2020 11:31:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Further, it may lead to a cut in state expenditure, which is not desirable at this juncture,”

business-standard Wednesday, August 26, 2020 10:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The policy on the logistics sector is ready and we will seek inputs from the industry. The logistics sector is very important since it creates huge employment opportunities,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 8, 2020 2:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Nandan Nilekani ) : “On March 14, Nandan Nilekani came to the GST Council and made the presentation — as Infosys works with the government on creating and maintaining the IT system — he said the model allows several kinds of frauds,”

financialexpress Thursday, July 2, 2020 1:10:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We had given our responses on the day of receiving the letters and mentioned that there are 20 districts in West Bengal where migrant workers are located. However, we find that the central scheme did not include a single district of the state in the list of beneficiaries,"

news18 Monday, June 29, 2020 8:20:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “He said 10 crore toilets have been built when only 1.43 crore had been built and on the power situation he is unaware that Bengal has surplus power and no power cuts,”

timesofindia Tuesday, June 9, 2020 8:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The macroeconomic scenario in India has been on the downside since 2019 with the GDP declining steadily from 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 to 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2020,"

timesofindia Sunday, June 7, 2020 4:05:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra alleged : “Every time we go to the market to borrow, the Centre has to okay it. So, where is the need to attach conditions. This is being done to undermine the states,”

business-standard Sunday, May 24, 2020 5:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra alleged : "Every time we go to the market to borrow the Centre has to okay it, so where is the need to attach conditions. This is being done to undermine the states,"

business-standard Wednesday, May 20, 2020 11:03:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is another smokescreen. It should have been increased from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. Instead, it has been made unconditional up to 0.5 per cent and the rest is being dictated by the Centre. This is a way of undermining the autonomy of the states” “States are being allowed to borrow with conditions dictated by the Centre without any discussion with the states. It is a serious undermining of the federalist structure. Every time we go to the market to borrow, the Centre has to okay it, so where is the need to attach conditions,”

business-standard Sunday, May 17, 2020 8:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Narendra Modi ) : “The RBI’s liquidity-boosting measures announced earlier amounted to about Rs 8 lakh crore. And PM Modi allocated Rs 1.7 lakh crore for free foodgrain supply in March. The two add up to Rs 10 lakh crore. And, of the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore, only Rs 4.2 lakh crore will go to the public. This is only 2% of the GDP,”

timesofindia Thursday, May 14, 2020 5:55:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "People must know the truth and the Centre's actual new announcement is just Rs 4.2 lakh crore or 2 per cent of GDP,"

business-standard Wednesday, May 13, 2020 9:18:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra recalled : “spending of CSR funds for Covid-19 is eligible CSR activity”

financialexpress Friday, April 17, 2020 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I urge that the above proposals may be urgently put in place so that the state has some resources to fight the menace of Covid-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, unorganised workers and SMEs, who among others have been badly impacted,”

economictimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : “In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:25:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “May I urge that the proposals may be urgently put in place so that the State has some resources to fight the menace of COVID-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, the unorganized workers and micro and small enterprises, who among others, have been so badly impacted,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:25:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : "In order to tide over this critical situation, we had made a request for advance release of the Revenue Deficit Grant provided by the 15th Finance Commission, where we urged you to release the full amount of the grant during the months of April, May and June 2020,"

business-standard Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : "May I urge that the proposals may be urgently put in place so that the State has some resources to fight the menace of COVID-19 and implement welfare measures for the people, especially poor farmers, the unorganized workers and micro and small enterprises, who among others, have been so badly impacted,"

business-standard Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is most disappointing, if not shocking, at this critical hour of need to fight COVID-19 and disburse committed expenditures,”

expressindia Tuesday, April 7, 2020 3:45:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “This (release of just April instalment) is most disappointing, if not shocking, at this critical hour of need to fight Covid-19 and disburse committed expenditures,”

financialexpress Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “May I urge that the above proposals be urgently put in place so that the state has some resources to fight the menace of Covid-19 and implement welfare measures for the people,”

financialexpress Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:09:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The spread of Covid-19 has created a havoc to the state finances... non-receipt of GST compensation from the central government has further aggravated the already stretched state finances,”

business-standard Friday, April 3, 2020 1:49:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Some BJP states also supported. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, all have textile industries. First they deferred (rate hikes on) all items, but after lunch they said they could raise it on mobile phones,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 11:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I, therefore, suggest that you defer this issue in the upcoming GST Council meeting and take it up for discussion when the economy of India has stabilised reasonably and the COVID-19 matter is not a burning issue,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 4:05:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about error ) : “I can only hope that in an attempt to correct one type of error made in the GST rates, we do not let loose further downturn in major job intensive sectors and the agrarian economy,”

business-standard Saturday, March 14, 2020 4:05:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Markets in India are facing a double whammy with stagflation on one hand and the looming effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the other … May I urge you not to make changes in the rate structure during these perilous economic times, particularly keeping in mind the interest of the common people”

expressindia Saturday, March 14, 2020 12:21:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “My deepest concern is for February-March, we will not get paid,”

business-standard Wednesday, February 26, 2020 12:59:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This fiscal, the Centre has reduced West Bengal’s share by Rs 11,000 crore in tax devolution. On the other hand, revenue from the Central cesses and surcharges (which are not required to be shared with states) have increased three fold in the last five years. This is against the spirit of federalism”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There is not even a mention of the word slowdown in the entire Union Budget. The Centre should first accept the ground situation and then everyone can put their heads together to work out a solution,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GST was implemented in a haste without doing any beta testing. This has resulted in fraudulent transactions taking place across the country. Suspicious transactions are also going up,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 25, 2020 6:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “These are very disturbing signals as these are important for sustaining investors’ confidence,”

Hindu Tuesday, February 25, 2020 6:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GST was implemented in a haste without doing any beta testing. This has resulted in fraudulent transactions taking place across the country. Suspicious transactions are also going up,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “These are very disturbing signals as these are important for sustaining investors’ confidence,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:08:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is important to engage the Rotarians for helping the MSME sector in the state as it is the highest employment generator"

business-standard Friday, February 14, 2020 7:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Kolkata office is second largest of RBI with its jurisdiction spread over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, yet vacancies have reduced sharply to 11, gives a sense of discrimination from a pan-India institution,”

thehindu Wednesday, February 12, 2020 4:05:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The Kolkata office is second largest of RBI with its jurisdiction spread over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, yet vacancies have reduced sharply to 11, gives a sense of discrimination from a pan-India institution,”

Hindu Wednesday, February 12, 2020 3:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the last eight years considerable work has been done by our government and economic reforms made under different social protection schemes for citizens. Even after repaying the huge burden of loan and at the same time persistent non-cooperation of the Central government, we have stood by the people of Bengal and we are determined to introduce various social development schemes for the citizens,”

financialexpress Tuesday, February 11, 2020 4:17:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about West Bengal State ) : “Economic growth is meaningless without employment. While unemployment rate in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 11, 2020 2:13:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “India’s GDP growth rate has touched its lowest it has come down to 5 per cent in 2019-20, which is lowest during the past 11 years. In comparison, the growth in GDP in Bengal has reached 10.4 per cent, which is double the growth rate of India,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “India’s GDP growth rate has touched its lowest it has come down to 5 per cent in 2019-20, which is lowest during the past 11 years. In comparison, the growth in GDP in Bengal has reached 10.4 per cent, which is double the growth rate of India,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “When the chief minister met the Prime Minister, she handed over a list, where the dues to the state were pegged at Rs 38,000 crore. Now we know from the Budget that total dues are much more. If we add the dues of more than Rs 50,000 crore, the total dues will be close to Rs 90,000 crore,”

business-standard Monday, February 10, 2020 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “There are about three lakh workers in 370 tea gardens,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 5:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Economic growth is meaningless without employment. While unemployment rate in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 5:35:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “While unemployment in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 1:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “While unemployment in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,”

HindustanTimes Monday, February 10, 2020 1:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The new rates will make registration more affordable. There will be a uniform reduction of 92 per cent in all the four categories,"

nampa Monday, January 27, 2020 8:57:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is a big move. We expect that once this private freight terminal comes up, more and more investors will come to build other freight terminals,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, December 24, 2019 5:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Industrial Development Corporatio ) : “The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited has 800-acre of land to build a state-run industrial park. Once the freight terminal becomes operational this land will be utilised for the purpose,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, December 24, 2019 5:09:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Sourav Ganguly ) : “It will be a world-class cricket facility where both men and women will be trained in cricket. CAB had applied for the plot and hoped Sourav Ganguly will be happy as the cabinet cleared it,”

timesofindia Tuesday, December 24, 2019 12:40:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is a big move. We expect that once this private freight terminal comes up, more and more investors will come to build other freight terminals,"

business-standard Tuesday, December 24, 2019 1:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Bengal Industrial Development Corporatio ) : "The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited has 800-acre of land to build a state-run industrial park. Once the freight terminal becomes operational this land will be utilised for the purpose,"

business-standard Tuesday, December 24, 2019 1:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The upcoming Budget cannot have social expenditure decline which is like punishing the common people. Stagflation is knocking at our door and we are concerned that next Budget will not be able to address it,”

financialexpress Thursday, December 19, 2019 9:12:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The upcoming Budget cannot have social expenditure decline which is like punishing the common people. Stagflation is knocking at our door and we are concerned that next Budget will not be able to address it,"

firstpost Thursday, December 19, 2019 7:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra argued : “lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but in focusing on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures”

financialexpress Thursday, December 19, 2019 6:23:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with 'stagflation' knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

timesofindia Wednesday, December 18, 2019 7:13:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with 'stagflation' knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

business-standard Wednesday, December 18, 2019 12:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis...the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,"

business-standard Wednesday, December 18, 2019 12:11:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

expressindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 6:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis…the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,”

expressindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 6:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis…the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti evasion and fraud detection measures,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This is indeed alarming. We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),”

Hindu Tuesday, December 17, 2019 3:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Instead of increasing or imposing new taxes or cesses the GST Council has to collectively find ways and means to provide relief to industry so that they are able to tide over the present crisis...the solution of additional resource mobilisation lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but focus on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures,”

Hindu Tuesday, December 17, 2019 3:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and the consumers are going through the most distressing times with stagflation knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing inflation),"

timesofindia Tuesday, December 17, 2019 9:34:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Exempted list of items had been arrived at after lengthy deliberations spread over a number of GST Council meetings between the union FM and state FMs,”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We are in receipt of a letter from the GST Council wherein suggestions have been sought on ‘review of items currently under exemption’ for shoring up GST revenues. This is alarming, indeed,”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanied by growing ),”

economictimes Tuesday, December 17, 2019 5:47:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “lies not in tinkering with the rate structure but in focusing on anti-evasion and fraud detection measures”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “In my view, we should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and the consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “It will also start a dangerous trend of imposing cess on goods and services arbitrarily as a means to increase revenues in desperation rather than through well thought out logic,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 17, 2019 4:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We should not in any way tinker with the rate structure or impose any new cess at a time when the industry and consumers are going through the most distressing times with ‘stagflation’ knocking at our door (stagnation accompanies by growing inflation),”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This move will be hugely inflationary and further worsen the existing macro-economic situation for common consumers,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We should avoid setting a precedent that will imperil the structure of GST in the future,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “We urge you to honour that so that the current mistrust between the Centre and the states is put to rest for all time to come,”

business-standard Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:19:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “The government will build the hub so that international buyers can come here to buy our local artisans’ products,”

expressindia Friday, December 13, 2019 8:39:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The real estate sector is the second largest employer in India and West Bengal for both skilled and unskilled workers. It is expected to generate 1.28 crore of man-days in the state in future,"

business-standard Thursday, November 28, 2019 6:41:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is not a cyclical correction but a structural slowdown. The demonetisation decision hit businesses across the country. A few months later, another blow came in the form of the ill-conceived GST rollout,”

business-standard Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GST frauds at least to the tune of Rs 1 trillion have taken place so far, if we include states’ data,”

business-standard Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:45:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “If there is no money in the fund, call a GST Council meeting and tell the states the way forward,”

financialexpress Thursday, November 21, 2019 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Fake ITC (input tax credit) means tax lost, as this ITC is not backed by transaction in goods or services in reality. Even worse is the fact that some recent reports are suggesting that these chains appear to be ending in export. This means not only that they are not paying taxes, they are actually getting cash refunds against ITC where actual business never took place”

financialexpress Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra wrote : “Development of business intelligence systems to detect such frauds, setting up of dedicated units in each state, or issues which are barely getting mentioned in the last few (GST Council) meetings, though it is the need of the hour”

financialexpress Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Though it has picked up slightly in October with ₹95,380 crore, it is still 5.29% below the collection of October 2018 which was ₹1,00,710 crore,”

Hindu Tuesday, November 19, 2019 11:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The World Bank has already submitted a master plan for development of logistics infrastructure in and around Kolkata Metropolitan Area ( KMA). It is also undertaking a review of industrial infrastructure, including industrial parks, industrial estates, special economic zones and others on eastern corridor in the South Asian region encompassing West Bengal along with other states viz. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. This has been aimed at enhancing logistics competitiveness, employment generation, ease of doing business and investment opportunities,”

financialexpress Sunday, November 17, 2019 1:20:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Amit Shah ) : "Amid celebrations of Durga Puja, Amit Shah is scaring our people with NRC pitch in Bengal. This is threatening a section of people. Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, and Christian refugees will not be included in the process. This is unconstitutional,"

business-standard Wednesday, October 2, 2019 4:13:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I am myself in a state of panic. Which document would I furnish? I hail from Jessore, which was East Pakistan and has now become part of Bangladesh. So, I shall also be thrown out. I can be put in jail. Jails are being built in Assam and jails will also be built here,”

HindustanTimes Wednesday, October 2, 2019 2:03:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is unconstitutional on the part of a union home minister to create such panic and the people of Bengal will give him a befitting reply,”

financialexpress Tuesday, October 1, 2019 10:16:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Amit Shah ) : “Amid celebrations of Durga Puja, Amit Shah is scaring our people with NRC pitch in Bengal. This is threatening a section of people. Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, & Christian refugees will not be included in the process. This is unconstitutional,”

india Tuesday, October 1, 2019 9:30:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told ( about Amit Shah ) : "Today the Union Home minister Amit Shah created panic among the people of the state over NRC amid the Durga Puja festivities,"

business-standard Tuesday, October 1, 2019 7:15:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “We plan to create an exclusive park for building materials manufacturing for which 100 acres will be provided in the red category certified area of Panagarh”

HindustanTimes Friday, September 27, 2019 9:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "We plan to create an exclusive park for building materials manufacturing for which 100 acres will be provided in the red category certified area of Panagarh"

business-standard Friday, September 27, 2019 4:25:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Commission ) : “I said to Mr. NK Singh (chairman of the Commission) when he came to the GST meeting (in Goa last Friday), that I can see in 2022 states will fall off the cliff..,”

financialexpress Thursday, September 26, 2019 1:32:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Mamata Banerjee ) : “Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had received several requests to reduce the fee. We had a meeting with the fire and disaster management department and decided to slash the fee to provide relief to people. Fire is not a revenue-earning department. The fee had been revised to make people aware of the situation. That purpose has been served to an extent and we are now revising the fees to reasonable levels,”

timesofindia Tuesday, September 24, 2019 10:36:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,"

business-standard Monday, September 23, 2019 10:50:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The fire department is not a revenue earning department but a regulatory department. So if small businessmen pay hefty amounts to get the licence, they will be unable to do business. So we have decided to device this mechanism,"

business-standard Monday, September 23, 2019 7:43:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “However, in respect to 2005 there has been a formidable increase of 45%,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In the case of residential buildings above 14.5 metres including dharmasalas, educational institutions, art galleries, library and residential complexes the fire license fees was Rs 43.5 per Sq Mtr or Rs 25,000 which is higher. The state government now has decided to bring it down to Rs 4.35 which is reduction of 92 %. Similarly, in case of hospitals, nursing homes and guest houses that fall under the second category the fees was Rs 80.7 per Sq Mtr or Rs 30,000 which is higher and now it has come down to Rs 6. 52 per Sq Mtr,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “In case of the most hazardous buildings like the godowns and warehouses the fees has been reduced to Rs 13.5 per Sq Mtr from Rs 161.4 or Rs 1 lakh which is higher,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Our chief minister had several requests to reduce the fees and she promised to do so. We had a detailed meeting with the fire and disaster management department and finally we decided to cut down the fees so that the people don’t have problem in paying the fees. The fire department is not a revenue earning department. This exorbitant fees was imposed to make the people aware of the situation but our government doesn’t have any intention to tax the people. So we have made the fees reasonable and within the limits of the common people,”

timesofindia Monday, September 23, 2019 7:38:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,"

newindianexpress Monday, September 23, 2019 5:53:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The slowdown in the economy is structural and not cyclical. This structural change has been brought about by demonetisation, hasty and faulty implementation of GST and the collapse of the IL&FS,”

Hindu Monday, September 23, 2019 2:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The perception about West Bengal is different from the hard data on the ground,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra claimed : "There has also been a capital flight. From 2014 till date, the capital flight from India is USD 45 million,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The country is facing the highest unemployment rate in the last 44 years, while it has dropped 40 per cent in West Bengal,"

business-standard Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:36:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “With a week to go for the Council meeting, the agenda has not been circulated yet. There is no study that has been done. Revenue is an issue that is a big concern right now,”

business-standard Friday, September 13, 2019 1:44:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Indeed, the subdued and below-target tax collections under GST, since its inception, is primarily due to hurried and unplanned introduction of GST,”

Hindu Thursday, August 29, 2019 8:55:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is a matter of concern that the Centre has to take money from the RBI. The Reserve Bank of India transferring record Rs 1.76 lakh crore dividend and surplus reserves to the government is a matter of great concern. This has increased the financial risk of the country. It will be a concern for the future of our nation,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In 2017-18, the capital expenditure was 19,085 crore. Now in 2018-19 it has increased to 23,787 crore, which is an increase of 25 per cent. As because there has been an increase in planned expenditure, capital expenditure and private investments, there has been a rise in the GDP,”

financialexpress Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "It is a matter of concern that the Centre has to take money from the RBI. The Reserve Bank of India transferring record Rs 1.76 lakh crore dividend and surplus reserves to the government is a matter of great concern. This has increased the financial risk of the country. It will be a concern for the future of our nation,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "In 2017-18, the capital expenditure was 19,085 crore. Now in 2018-19 it has increased to 23,787 crore, which is an increase of 25 per cent. As because there has been an increase in planned expenditure, capital expenditure and private investments, there has been a rise in the GDP,"

newindianexpress Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:52:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I am delighted to say that as per the Government of India’s ministry of statistics and programme implementation just published table on GDP growth of state in 2018-19, our state’s growth is the highest in the country at 12.58 per cent. This at a time when the country is going through deep recession,” “The Indian economy is in a state of deep recession. This is while the government of India is in a deep policy paralysis. Unemployment rate is high. The central government needs to talk to state governments and political parties for find a way out,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The GDP growth fell to 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 financial year, which is the lowest growth rate since the last five years (between 2014-15 and 2019-19. Industrial output growth is 2 per cent in June 2019, which was 7 per cent in June 2018,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Manufacturing grew by 1.2 per cent in June 2019 as against 6.9 per cent in June 2018. Mining grew by 1.6 per cent in June 2019 compared to 6.5 per cent June 2018. Added to this there is high unemployment rate. The automobile sector and ancillary industry is also hit,” “Investment in new projects plunged to 15 years low in the quarter ending in June 2019. Implementation of investment projects worth Rs 13 trillion has been stalled,”

expressindia Sunday, August 11, 2019 6:50:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Mamata Banerjee ) : "It is because of the policies of the Mamata Banerjee government on the ground. Take the example of a road that has been created in my constituency which has created five markets in the area. We have revolutionised village roads, Mamata Banerjee has spent on capital expenditure, which is almost 11 times more than the previous one,"

polandsun Saturday, August 10, 2019 11:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is a deep recession due to job loss and the men and women in the country are suffering the highest unemployment rates in the last 45 years and this is going to deepen,"

polandsun Saturday, August 10, 2019 11:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “I am delighted to say that as per the Government of India’s ministry of statistics and programme implementation just-published table on GDP growth of states in 2018-19 West Bengal’s growth is the highest in the country at 12.58 per cent,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 10, 2019 6:21:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “We are holding the baton and moving forward while the rest of the country is going through serious recession,”

financialexpress Saturday, August 10, 2019 6:21:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Countries like Ireland and UK have set a target of 2030 and 2040 respectively to achieve zero emission. Even China took 20 years in this attempt to transform and did it first in one city before slowly expanding over time”

business-standard Thursday, July 25, 2019 12:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "There is no Make in India, it is Break in India. The government is underconfidence to implement cess and surcharge. It is nothing but to undermine the federal structure"

business-standard Wednesday, July 10, 2019 7:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Unless we are able to address these issues along with putting in place corrective steps to check tax evasion, we are still far from reaping the benefit of revenue buoyancy, which was expected after introduction of GST. This is a great cause of concern,"

business-standard Tuesday, July 2, 2019 1:30:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The industry is going through bad period, (it) should get stimulated but with these complications, they will be caught in inspector raj, they will be caught in hawala,"

rediff Sunday, February 24, 2019 8:23:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The industry is going through bad period, (it) should get stimulated but with these complications, they will be caught in inspector raj, they will be caught in hawala,"

business-standard Sunday, February 24, 2019 6:22:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said ( about Arun Jaitley ) : "Why I said for one per cent is because the Central government's own research shows that the tax incidents across states averages to 0.6 per cent. So, my justification was very solid" "I am happy that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the GST Council have accepted my submission for the sake of affordable housing. A fight on affordable housing should not be discriminated. Group of Minister had proposed three per cent, but I felt that would punish affordable housing,"

dnaindia Sunday, February 24, 2019 5:47:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Therefore the suggested rate of 3% by the GoM will actually increase the burden on the small home buyers. This is certainly not desirable,”

economictimes Sunday, February 24, 2019 9:40:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Housing, other than affordable category, actually has incidence of 5% GST in the medium range and 7% in the premium category, as per the table at page 172 of the agenda notes,” “Our data for West Bengal shows that 70% of the flats/units registered has a cost of Rs 40 lakh. This data provides evidence to the fact that the proposed scheme by the GoM will actually create a large burden for a significant section of home buyers,”

economictimes Sunday, February 24, 2019 9:40:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The fire is almost fully under control. As many as 25 fire engines were deployed to fight the flames. Now a team will enter the factory and search for the five who are missing,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 12, 2019 6:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra added : “We will also conduct an enquiry into whether there were lapses and will take strong steps,”

HindustanTimes Tuesday, February 12, 2019 6:44:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Their top-ranking officials attended the summit this time. Unless they had taken a decision, top officials would not have been here,”

news-yahoo-in Saturday, February 9, 2019 6:26:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra told : “In the earlier editions of the BGBS, the foreign delegates mainly came to gather some experience about the affairs of West Bengal. This time, 450 foreign delegates, who represented various countries like UK, Italy, Poland, Republic of Korea, Japan, USA, Germany, France, UAE, Luxembourg and many others, actually did some business. They have either signed MoUs for cooperation and collaboration, or have tied up with local partners, or have been handed over land by the government to start a new unit,”

financialexpress Saturday, February 9, 2019 5:24:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “In agriculture development, we have made a budgetary allocation of Rs 6,086 crore for the financial year 2019-20 against Rs 2,766 crore in FY 2018-19. This is a 120 per cent increase which will benefit the state’s farmers,”

expressindia Tuesday, February 5, 2019 1:52:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Despite this, till now, the state has been able to create 9.05 lakh jobs,"

dnaindia Monday, February 4, 2019 10:31:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Despite this, till now, the state has been able to create 9.05 lakh jobs,”

expressindia Monday, February 4, 2019 7:58:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "Who are going to get benefits of the scheme? Globally, many big companies were being charged for misusing personal data,"

ibtimes-in Saturday, February 2, 2019 9:56:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Prices of vegetables decrease 4 to 6 times if they are not sold fresh and kept for the future market. This kind of a storage facility can keep vegetables fresh for at least seven days and help farmers realise the right price for it. This warehouses would be exclusively used by Sufal Bangla,”

financialexpress Monday, January 21, 2019 10:59:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : "The GST Council meeting was scheduled on December 22 but on December 18, the Prime Minister announced that only 0. 5 per cent to 1 per cent of the items such as aircraft, SUVs, cigarettes and alcohol will be taxed at 28 per cent,"

newindianexpress Saturday, December 22, 2018 10:28:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “The information available with us shows that Rs 823.95 crore has been already invested in the north Bengal districts and works of projects worth Rs 971.98 crore are in progress. Also, there are investment proposal of another Rs 2,700 crores for north Bengal,”

news-yahoo-in Saturday, December 22, 2018 10:14:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It is surprising that the prime minister is now demanding what we had urged the Union government to do long time back. If our demands were met a year back, some of the negative effects of the faulty GST could have been avoided and the economy could have been saved,”

news18 Saturday, December 22, 2018 6:59:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “It has been reported in the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently made a statement that only 0.5 per cent to 1 percent of the items — luxury goods such as aircrafts, cigarettes, alcohol and SUVs — will be taxed at 28 percent. However, it is the GST Council alone which has been constitutionally empowered to decide on GST rate for goods and services. The statement made by the Prime Minister on 18 December just before the GST Council meeting on 22 December undermines the constitutional authority of GST Council as it pre-empts the decision making authority of the Council,”

news-yahoo-in Friday, December 21, 2018 6:02:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “Today a short (returns) form is being filled and when you do not upload invoices, according to me, today hawala is happening out of GST. If invoice is not required to be uploaded, when you file GSTR-3B then you claim input tax credit (ITC), which is black money because there was no transaction. It was unprepared GST,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 18, 2018 6:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “I had said that GST should not be launched on July 1, 2017. Computers were required to process 300 crore invoices, but there was no testing or pilot run,”

financialexpress Tuesday, December 18, 2018 6:37:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “For artisans, artists, folk arts and tribal arts, no registration will be required up to Rs 20 lakh (turnover). Clay idols are exempt now”

expressindia Saturday, September 9, 2017 9:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “GSTN has major problems. We had much discussions and all that has to be settled and a committee of ministers has been formed along with a committee of officers,”

expressindia Saturday, September 9, 2017 9:17:00 PM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “This shows the federalist character of India,” “CGST and IGST laws will come up for further discussion at the next meeting of the Council in mid-March”

expressindia Monday, March 6, 2017 1:42:00 AM EAT

Amit Mitra said : “States were seeking that dhabas and small restaurants can adopt the composite scheme. The Centre has agreed to that and now these small businesses will pay 5 per cent tax (to be shared equally between the Centre and states),”

Hindu Saturday, March 4, 2017 6:15:00 PM EAT