Page 2 - Indian Government

Beant Singh assassination convict's mercy plea sensitive matter: Govt to SC

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that there was sensitivity involved in the matter related to the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination case of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai was hearing Rajoana's plea seeking directions to commute his death sentence to life term due to the "inordinate delay" in deciding his mercy petition. "There is a sensitivity involved. Some agencies will have to be consulted," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, who also appeared in the matter, said the issue was being reviewed by the government. He said since the issue was sensitive, some more inputs were required in the matter. The bench said it would hear the plea after four weeks. While hearing the petition on November 18, the apex court had put on hold its order asking President Droup

Direct eye banks, hospitals to register transplants with NOTTO: Centre

The Centre has asked states to direct eye banks and hospitals performing tissue or cornea transplants to mandatorily link and register such procedures with the national registry maintained by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO). The hospitals and eye banks will be required to share data on the number of patients waiting for tissue and cornea transplants, the number of donations and transplantations performed as well as the number of tissue and cornea stored and utilised. Just like the waiting lists for transplant of organs such as liver and kidney can be seen on the centralised platform, the list of patients waiting for cornea transplants will also be made available, a senior official said. "The appropriate authority of each state should also collect data on tissue/cornea donation and transplantation from all such registered centres and furnish the same to NOTTO every month," a letter from NOTTO Director Dr Anil Kumar to all states and Union Territories ...

A Constitution Museum to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Constitution

The Constitution Museum will portray several milestones in its evolution, including important debates, discussions, individuals, and national and international events that have shaped it

SC notice to Centre on plea to include ayurveda, yoga in Ayushman Bharat

The Supreme Court sought the Centre's response on a plea seeking inclusion of ayurveda, yoga, and naturopathy in the national Ayushman Bharat scheme. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued the notice to the Centre and others on the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The plea, which sought inclusion of the practices in PM-JAY, also known as Ayushman Bharat, said the inclusion would allow a significant portion of the country's population to avail affordable healthcare benefits and wellness in various serious diseases, apart from providing employment to many working in the field of Ayurveda. Ayushman Bharat, which was launched in 2018, has two main components -- PM-JAY and Health and Wellness Centres. The former provides for a cashless health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per BPL family every year. The petitioner sought the scheme to be implemented in all states and the Indian healthcare systems. "PM-JAY, that is, ..

Centre must establish mandatory accessibility norms for specially abled: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to implement mandatory accessibility standards within three months, in a significant order aimed at improving access to public spaces for persons with disabilities. The order by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud comes in response to slow progress on the accessibility directives issued by the court in a judgement on December 15, 2017. The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, underscored the necessity of "meaningful access" for disabled persons to public spaces and mandated a two-pronged approach: adapting existing infrastructures to accessibility standards, and ensuring that all new infrastructure is designed to be inclusive from the outset. The bench found that one of the rules of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act does not establish enforceable, compulsory standards, but rather, it relies on self-regulation through guidelines. While acknowledging that accessibility ..

Judiciary's independence doesn't mean delivering verdicts against govt: CJI

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Monday said the independence of the judiciary does not mean always delivering verdicts against the government. Speaking at an event here organised by the Indian Express group, Chandrachud said there are pressure groups trying to get favourable verdicts by putting pressure on the courts by using electronic media. "Traditionally, judicial independence was defined as independence from the executive. Independence of the judiciary even now means independence from the government. But that is not the only thing in terms of judicial independence. "Our society has changed. Particularly with the advent of social media, you see interest groups, pressure groups and groups which are trying to use electronic media to put pressure on the courts to get favourable decisions," he said. Chandrachud, who demits office on November 10, said a lot of these pressure groups term the judiciary independent if judges decide in their favour. "'If you do not decide in my favour

In major reshuffle, Centre appoints 29 joint secretaries in different depts

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre, 29 joint secretaries have been appointed in different government departments. Officers from various central services, including the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among others have been appointed to these key joint secretary (JS)-level posts, as per an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. IDAS officers Praveen Kumar Rai and Rakesh Kumar Pandey, and IRSEE officer Rajesh Gupta have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Home Ministry, said the order dated October 25. Raj Kumar, a 1999-batch IA&AS officer, has been named as Director (Finance) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) under the Ministry of Home Affairs for a tenure of five years, it said. Deepak Agarwal, a 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as ...

Centre doubles loan limit under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to Rs 20 lakh

The government has doubled the loan limit under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to Rs 20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship in the country. This increase aspires to further the overall objective of the Mudra Scheme which is funding the unfunded, the finance ministry said in a statement on Friday. A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday. As announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23, 2024, in the Union Budget 2024-25, the limit under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been enhanced from the current Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. "The limit of Mudra loans will be enhanced to Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the 'Tarun category', Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha. This enhancement is specifically beneficial to upcoming entrepreneurs facilitating their growth and expansion. The move is in alignment with the government's commit

UPPSC PCS Prelims exam 2024 postponed, likely to be held in December

The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) has postponed the UPPSC PCS Prelims 2024 exam. Initially scheduled for October, the exam is now expected to be held in mid-December 2024

Kannur airport yet to get 'point of call' status from Centre: Kerala govt

The Kerala government on Friday said that Kannur airport was yet to receive 'point of call' status, enabling foreign airlines to operate services from there, despite several representations to the Centre and a recommendation by a parliamentary standing committee in favour of that. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh made this submission in the Assembly on behalf of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in response to UDF MLA Sajeev Joseph calling the CM's attention to the necessity of increasing the number of flight services from Kannur airport and to develop it into international standards. Rajesh said the issue of granting 'point of call' status to the airport was raised before the Centre several times. The CM himself met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu over this matter, he added. "The CM has submitted a memorandum to the Civil Aviation Minister on September 28," he said. A parliamentary standing committee has also recommended ...

Centre to create a database of citizens moving abroad for work, education

During a high-level meeting chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, discussions focused on improving coordination between the Ministry of External Affairs and NITI Aayog

Govt pushes for HT-BT cotton to counter increasing demand to use glyphosate

The government is deliberating complex policy decisions regarding Herbicide-tolerant BT (HTBT) cotton and the use of herbicide 'glyphosate' as industry demands intensify, Agriculture Commissioner P K Singh said on Friday. The key issue revolves around permitting widespread glyphosate application in cotton farming, even as discussions are underway about officially introducing HTBT cotton varieties in the country. "On one hand, the industry is demanding the use of glyphosate in cotton. Then how to go for that?" Singh said addressing a brainstorming session on emerging challenges and management strategies for weed management in India. A dedicated committee is presently studying the implications of introducing herbicide-tolerant cotton varieties, at a time when glyphosate could potentially be used without such modifications, he said. Such policy matters remain unresolved and require thorough examination, the official emphasised. German life science company Bayer has applied for regula

New updates: Oil prices jump 5% on concerns over West Asia, say reports

Stay with us for all the major news updates from around the globe

Received representation on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship: Govt to Allahabad HC

The central government on Monday informed the Allahabad High Court that it has received a representation filed under the Citizenship Act 1955 alleging Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had British citizenship. However, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey sought more time to place before the high court bench the status of action on the representation moved by S Vignesh Shishir. Justices Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla of the Lucknow bench had asked the Centre to apprise the court of the status of the representation after Shishir, a BJP worker hailing from Karnataka, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) stating that no action has been taken by the Centre in the matter. The bench fixed October 24 for next hearing. In the PIL, the petitioner claimed that he made detailed enquiries into the issue of Rahul Gandhi being a British citizen and had several new inputs. He claims to have accessed confidential emails from the UK Government and these

NITI Aayog to overhaul schemes for SC/STs, minorities & vulnerable groups

The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office of NITI Aayog has sought proposals from consultancy firms to support the evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

Parliament panel on Waqf Bill receives over 120 million responses

A parliamentary panel examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has received a staggering 1.2 crore email responses amid campaigns launched by rival groups to ratchet up support for their respective viewpoints regarding the draft law. Parliamentary sources said the Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagadambika Pal, has also received 75,000 responses with documents to support the respective views, prompting the panel to seek additional staff from the Lok Sabha Secretariat. "We have deployed 15 additional personnel to go through the email responses and categorise and document those," one of the sources said. Radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has appealed to his supporters to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by sending responses to the parliamentary panel examining the draft law. The appeal from Naik has triggered a counter-reaction and several Hindu groups too have urged their supporters to write emails to the committee in support

Amidst war on DVC, Bengal Power secy Santanu Basu steps down from board

Amid a war of words between West Bengal government and Centre over release of water from reservoirs of Damodar Valley Corporation, state Power secretary Santanu Basu has stepped down from the Board of DVC, officials said on Sunday. The Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Waterways of West Bengal has also quit the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), they said. Basu in an email to DVC chairman on September 21 said "In view of the unprecedented and uncontrolled release of water by the DVC from its dam systems, leading to widespread inundation causing immense sufferings to the people in vast areas of the state, I do hereby tender my resignation as the member of state from the Board of DVC." State Information and Cultural Affairs Department in a statement on Sunday said "apart from the Power secretary, the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Waterways, West Bengal, also resigned to voice protest on the same issue from Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC)." The

Govt approves sale of FSNL to Japan's Konoike Transport for Rs 320 cr

The government on Thursday approved the privatisation of Ferro Scrap Nigam Ltd (FSNL) to Japanese corporation Konoike Transport Co Ltd for Rs 320 crore. Under the Steel Ministry, FSNL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of MSTC Ltd. The government had received two technically qualified financial bids for the company. The Alternative Mechanism, comprising Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Steel Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, have approved the highest bid amounting to Rs 320 crore of Konoike Transport Co Ltd for sale of 100 per cent equity shareholding of MSTC Ltd in FSNL along with transfer of management control, a finance ministry statement said. The 320 crore bid was higher than the reserve price of Rs 262 crore set by the government on the basis of valuation carried out by the Transaction Adviser and Asset Valuer. The strategic sale of FSNL received two technically qualified financial bids. The bid submitted by Konoike Transport Co. Ltd at Rs 320 cr

Govt may allow more compute capacity based on requirement: IT secretary

The government may look at creating more "compute capacity" through viability gap funding after building high-tech capability under the Rs 10,372-crore India AI mission, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday. Addressing a Deloitte India event, Krishnan said that India AI Mission has an outlay of about 10,372 crore of which more than Rs 4,500 crore is intended for compute capacity. "Later on, there is a possibility, and we will decide based on how much compute capacity actually gets created in the country. There is a possibility that we would actually support more compute capacity being created on the viability gap funding," Krishnan said. The government has invited bids for the empanelment of entities for providing artificial intelligence services on the cloud under the India AI mission. Under the IndiaAI Mission, supercomputing capacity, comprising over 10,000 GPUs, will be made available to various stakeholders for creating an artificial intelligence (AI) ...

India on way to becoming third-largest economy by FY31: S&P Global report

India is on track to becoming the third-largest economy by 2030-31, driven by a projected annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent this fiscal, S&P Global said in a report on Thursday. The report also said that with 8.2 per cent growth rate in FY2024, continued reforms are crucial to improving business transactions and logistics, boosting private sector investment, and reducing reliance on public capital. It said equity markets are expected to stay dynamic and competitive due to strong growth prospects and better regulation, and foreign inflows into Indian government bonds have surged since the country joined major emerging market indexes, with further growth anticipated. To maximize trade benefits, India must develop infrastructure and geopolitical strategies, particularly regarding its extensive coastline, said the first edition of 'India Forward: Emerging Perspectives' report. Nearly 90 per cent of India's trade is seaborne, necessitating robust port infrastructure to manage ...