Page 8 - Government Of India

ADB, India signs $141.12 mn loan for industrial corridor development in AP

The load Is part of a larger $500 million multi-tranche financing facility approved by the Asian Development Bank in 2016

'Govt to issue notices to debar more cos found violating FAME-II norms'

The government will issue notices to more companies that have been found violating localisation norms under the Rs 10,000-crore FAME-II scheme seeking to debar them and recover incentives claimed by them since FY 2019-20, an official said on Wednesday. Also, the Heavy Industries Ministry will resume disbursal of subsidies under the scheme shortly as reports of most of the firms under the ambit of the audits being conducted by India's premier vehicle testing and validation agencies ICAT and ARAI have been received, the official said. "We have received reports that some other companies have also violated the FAME-II guidelines. We will be issuing them notices similar to the notices issued to two firms found to be violating the localisation norms earlier," said the official, requesting anonymity. He shared that the subsidies have not gone out but reports of most of the companies have come. "IFCI is processing the subsidy claims and shortly may be in a couple of days we will be resum

Centre plans to tone up communication ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the government on Wednesday held a day-long brainstorming session on improving its public outreach, particularly to those who do not have access to television and newspapers. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, addressing over 100 communication officers of the government, stressed on the importance of reaching out to all sections of the society, particularly the underprivileged. He said a large part of India lives in a media shadow, bereft of facilities of television and newspapers, and it was the responsibility of the Indian Information Service (IIS) officers to reach out to that section of society. He said the IIS is a vital part of the government and the Chintan Shivir provided the officials a unique opportunity to collaborate, self-introspect and timely course correct the work in the ministry. Thakur also noted that the media landscape and the way people consume information was changing fast, and there was a need to adapt

Govt launches Sanchar Saathi, AI-based portal to detect telecom frauds

Astr is the third reform, which uses AI to find out the total number of connections each person has taken

India cuts windfall tax on petroleum crude from Rs 4,100 per tonne to zero

Prior to this, the government announced the reimposition of the windfall profit tax on domestically produced oil from zero to Rs 6,400 per tonne. The government also scrapped the export duty on diesel

Govt to roll out lost mobile blocking, tracking system pan-India on May 17

People will be able to block and track their lost or stolen mobile phones across India with the rollout of a tracking system by the government this week, a senior government official said. Technology development body Centre for Department of Telematics (CDoT) has been running the pilot of the CEIR system in some of the telecom circles, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and North East region, and the system is now ready for pan-India deployment, a DoT official, who did not wish to be identified, told PTI. "CEIR system is scheduled for pan-India launch on May 17," the official said. When contacted, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Project Board at CDoT Rajkumar Upadhyay did not confirm the date but confirmed that the technology is ready for pan-India deployment. "The system is ready and now it will be deployed across India in this quarter. This will enable people to block and track their lost mobile phones," Upadhyay said. CDoT has been able to add features to check the u

We are not trying to put anybody out of business through ONDC: DPIIT Secy

The government wants all e-commerce players to become part of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and this initiative is not trying to put anybody out of business, a top official said on Thursday. Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that the idea is to democratise the e-commerce for MSMEs and smaller producers in the remote parts of the country and provide them a level playing field. It's not that we are trying to put anybody out of business, or we are an upfront competitor to any particular portal or any particular e-commerce provider. We are actually inclusive, we want all e-commerce players to be part of this network, Singh told reporters here. The statement assumes significance as there were certain reports that prices of certain food products are much cheaper at the seller apps on-boarded the ONDC initiative as compared to the renowned food delivery services players' prices. Singh said that in the lo

Govt's wheat procurement up 42% at 25.2 mn tonness so far in 2023-24

The government's wheat procurement has reached 25.2 million tonnes so far in the ongoing 2023-24 marketing year, up 42 per cent from the year-ago period, according to the Food Ministry. The procurement so far has already breached the 18.8 million tonnes mark achieved in the full 2022-23 marketing year (April-March). With the ongoing procurement of wheat and rice, the foodgrains stock levels are on the rise in the government granaries ensuring food security to the entire nation, the ministry said. Wheat is the main rabi crop and the government has kept a procurement target of 34.15 million tonnes for the current marketing year. Although the marketing year runs from April to March, the bulk of the procurement is done between April to June. "Nearly, 25.2 million tonne procurement of wheat has been done till 9th May, 2023. This figure is 7.5 million tonnes higher than the corresponding date during the 2022-23 rabi marketing year," the ministry said in a statement. A major contribution

SSC CHSL Notification 2023 out; Dates, Vacancies, All you need to know

Candidates who have completed their 12th grade and are seeking employment in the government sector will find the SSC CHSL 2023 to be an excellent opportunity

Delhi Waqf board can only be custodian, not owner of properties: Centre

Earlier an affidavit has been filed before the court of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri in a petition of the Delhi Waqf Board challenging the order to inspect 123 properties

Launch 'PLI Plus' to focus on development to boost manufacturing: GTRI

The government should consider launching a 'PLI Plus' scheme with focus on development of new products, industrial designs and enhancing productivity with a view to boost domestic manufacturing, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. A production-linked incentives scheme (PLI) is under implementation by the government with a budgetary outlay of about Rs 2 lakh crore for 14 sectors such as white goods, mobile, telecommunication and auto components. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report said that creating sustainable and competitive manufacturing is imperative to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent by 2030, up from 15 per cent at present. "This will require shifting focus to one step back. From quick manufacturing outcomes to R&D, reverse engineering, and deep work. "This can be done under the Make in India framework with the launch of eight PLI Plus initiatives. These initiatives will strengthen the foundation of Indian manufacturing and aspire .

Serious attempt to undermine every autonomous institution: Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said right across the spectrum there is a serious undermining of every autonomous institution and it seems the government has only the "loyalty" criterion before appointing individuals to head them. In an interaction at Press Club here on 'The need for an independent media as a vital link for democracy', Tharoor said intimidation of the press was a legitimate issue, and if he has a voice in the party manifesto, he would certainly suggest that this should be made an issue and the party would stand for guaranteeing the freedom of press and non-interference. The MP from Kerala also said before the 2019 elections, he had warned that a victory for the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) would result in an attempt to create a Hindu Pakistan. He said in the first few months after the BJP government stormed to power in 2019, he wasn't far off from his prediction as the government brought legislation on triple talaq and the abolition of special provisions o

Govt giving level-playing field to youth to build stronger India: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday appealed to the youth to come up with new ideas to empower the country in the field of science and technology

A large part of misinformation directed towards govt, says MoS IT

A large part of misinformation has been directed towards the government in the last 2-3 years, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a live Twitter session on Friday. During the session on Twitter, the minister stood firm on new rules to notify a fact checker that will identify false or misleading content related to the government on social media platforms. "When you do an analysis over the last....2-3 years, a large part of the misinformation operations have always been directed against the government," Chandrasekhar said. He cited a Washington Post story, which talks about Khalistani bots and accounts posting fake information about the government. "Misinformation directed towards the government needed to be addressed. This was a request not just by the users of the internet, but also the intermediaries who now have to comply with Rules...and because it was government information and government facts, it cannot be a fact-checking unit outside the ..

Expert disagrees with Centre's claim of Coronavirus becoming an endemic

As India continues to witness an upward trend in the daily cases, experts are now divided on when the current Covid-19 wave will reach its peak

Govt mulling blocking websites transmitting pirated content: Official

The government is mulling blocking websites transmitting pirated content, Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said on Thursday. Stressing that the government is serious about curbing piracy, Chandra said it has already proposed to make filming of content for piracy as an offence, and is now looking to add another provision on transmitting such pirated content. " now, we want to add another provision where transmission of (pirated) content on the internet also we want to make (it as) an offence. "So, if that happens, it will go a long way in protecting copyright as we will be able to block those websites where such content is being transmitted," he said while speaking at an industry event here. He said the changes will be proposed in the Cinematograph Act, where the government is proposing some amendments. The amended draft will be introduced in Parliament "very soon" to be passed and made into a law, he added. He also urged the industry to be "more cogniza

India, Canada agree to enhance commercial ties, discuss regional issues

India, Canada agreed to enhance momentum in commercial ties, and strengthen cooperation in science and technology, energy, education, consular issues, counter-terrorism, and streamlined mobility

Govt using new software to spy over people opposed to it: Congress

The Congress on Monday accused the government of using a new software to spy over people opposed to it and damage India's political and democratic system. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the Modi government first used Cambridge Analytica (CA), then Pegasus, then Israeli Contract Hackers led by "Team Jorge" and now it is vying for a new spyware to "meddle in Indian political system and Democracy". "Just like Pegasus, Cambridge Analytica and the recently exposed 'Team Jorge' - the Modi government has now bought a new spyware to snoop, spy and surveil individuals and institutions? These institutions include - Opposition parties, NGOs, media houses, civil-rights activists, judiciary, Election Commission, and every other Institution which protects any semblance of democracy," he told reporters. "If Modi ji is spending so much on malware and spywares to snoop and spy on institutions - why can't he tell the nation that to whom does the Rs 20,000 Crore in Adani's shell ...

Govt releases SOP for child helpline 1098, to have a 24*7 control room

The government has come out with standard operating procedures for child helpline 1098 which will have a 24x7 dedicated control room in each state and Union territory and will be integrated with emergency response support system 112. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) said the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will provide necessary technical infrastructure for setting up of control rooms in all states and UTs where child helpline and women helpline call takers shall be co-located so as to handle women and child related calls in a single location. The helpline operator has to have a Masters in Law/Social Work/Sociology/Social Science/ Psychology with at least five years' experience of working on relevant domains in an administrative set-up with a government or non-government project/programme and preferably with at least one-year experience of counselling either within or outside the same set-up, the SOP stated. The operator should be preferably a .

No mechanism available to deactivate Aadhaar of deceased persons: Govt

The government has mulled over the possibility of deactivating Aadhaar of deceased persons. However, no mechanism is currently available to do it, sources aware of the development have said