Page 3 - Indian Government

Rajnath Singh attends commissioning ceremony of INS Tushil in Russia

The ships construction was closely monitored by an Indian team of specialists from the Warship Overseeing Team stationed at Kaliningrad, under the aegis of the Indian Embassy in Moscow

Farmers suspend foot march to Delhi for the day after some suffer injuries

Protesting farmers on Sunday afternoon suspended their foot march to Delhi for the day after some of them suffered injuries in tear gas shelling by Haryana security personnel here along the state's border with Punjab. Farmer leader from Punjab Sarwan Singh Pandher said at least eight farmers were injured and one of them was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. "We have called back the 'jatha' (group of 101 farmers)," he told reporters here. Pandher said the farmers would decide their next course of action after a meeting of their forums -- the Samyuka Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The 'jatha' resumed its foot march from the farmers' Shambhu protest site earlier in the afternoon but was soon halted by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel. Tear gas shells were lobbed at the protesting farmers and water jets were used as well to disperse them after they reached the ...

Upgrading India's auditing standards will boost credibility: NFRA chief

Aligning India's auditing with global standards will help boost investors' confidence, attract more funds and ensure greater credibility to the financial data, National Financial Reporting Authority's chief Ajay Bhushan Prasad Pandey has said. He also asserted that the country cannot have "inferior standards" when the pursuit is to become a "Viksit Bharat". NFRA was constituted under the company's law in October 2018. The watchdog has passed more than 80 orders. In a recent interview, Pandey told PTI that there are certain gaps in existing auditing standards and that internationally, many standards were updated to address loopholes that had led to various scams. "In India, we are yet to update the standards in various areas. In the last 20 years, many of these standards are there in most parts of the world. We want to become Viksit Bharat, and our standards should also be aligned with global standards. We cannot have inferior standards," the NFRA Chairperson said. According to him

India set to become $30 trillion-economy by 2047: Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has asserted that India will become a USD 30 trillion-economy by 2047. Delivering a lecture at the concluding function of XLRI-School of Management's year-long platinum jubilee celebration here on Saturday, Pradhan said that India, the fastest-growing global economy, is currently in the fifth position and will bag the third spot in the next three years. "The world didn't even count India on the economic front when XLRI came into being 75 years ago. Today, we are the fastest-growing economy and fifth-largest economy in the world, with a size of US 3 trillion. We will be the third-largest economy in the next three years at USD 5 trillion. Our economy will grow to USD 30 trillion by 2047," he said. "We have to be wealth creators, job creators. We have the potential to create millions of jobs. The world is looking at India for digital public infrastructure... 46 per cent of digital transactions in the world take place in our country. We have .

Akhilesh Yadav slams Union govt over reports of GST hike on various items

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday attacked the BJP government at the Centre on reports that the GST on several items might be hiked, saying the BJP plans to "increase corruption" instead of increasing revenue. In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "BJP was saying 'one country, one tax' but this statement of theirs also turned out to be a 'jumlaai jhoot' (rhetoric) because now they are bringing new slabs of tax." "When there is 'one tax, many slabs' then the slogan of 'one tax' has proved to be a lie in the true sense. Actually, there is a big game behind increasing the tax rates. This is the BJP's plan to increase corruption instead of increasing revenue to do 'vasuli' (extort money) from shopkeepers and businessmen through the officials by exerting more pressure on them," he charged. His remarks come after reports that the GoM on GST rate rationalisation has suggested tax rate on sin goods like aerated beverages, cigarettes, tobacco and ..

Not only India but idea of Nehru itself needs to be defended: Jairam Ramesh

Both detractors and admirers of Jawaharlal Nehru are living in his shadow and, since 2014, the story is one of governance through maximum criticism of the country's first prime minister, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday. Speaking at the launch of writer-scholar Aditya Mukherjee's "Nehru's India", the Congress general secretary said one of the biggest takeaways from the book was that "not only the idea of India but the idea of Nehru itself needs to be defended". "...needs to be defended from its old critics, from its new critics, and it has to be reinterpreted for a changing India. I just want to say that we all live in the shadow of Nehru. Many of us have assimilated Nehru and many of us contest Nehru. And even those who contest Nehru cannot run away from the shadow of Nehru," the Rajya Sabha MP said. The book, published by Penguin, focuses on Nehru's understanding of history and India's cultural past while offering a window into his understanding of communalis

6 million new job cards issued under MGNREGS every year, Centre tells LS

Sixty lakh new job cards are issued under the MGNREGS on average every year and the government has no role in the deletion of the job cards which is done based on various parameters, the Centre said on Tuesday. Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told the Lok Sabha that 57 per cent of the rural development budget is allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and asserted that Aadhaar-seeding of the cards enhances transparency. He was responding to Congress leader K C Venugopal, who claimed that the names of 10.43 crore MGNREGS workers have been deleted in the last four years. Venugopal also wanted to know whether the deletions were linked to the Aadhaar-seeding requirement. "Ninety-nine per cent of all job card holders have Aadhaar seeding. Aadhaar seeding is nothing but to increase transparency. It is not an obstacle," the minister said during the Question Hour. According to Pemmasani, the deletion of job car

India needs stronger partnerships in global economy: EAM Jaishankar

Jaishankar also stressed the importance of domestic development to strengthen India's credibility and attract international collaborations

Indian govt opposes regulating production of primary plastic polymers

India on Sunday said it did not support any measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers as it could impact the development rights of nations. This statement came as a global meeting in South Korea's Busan to finalise a legally binding treaty to combat plastic pollution ended without an agreement. At the closing plenary of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, tasked with drafting the treaty, India said some suggestions from countries, including its own, were not reflected in the draft text. It sought assurances from the chair that countries would have the opportunity to include their views in future discussions. India's lead negotiator, Naresh Pal Gangwar, said the treaty's scope should focus solely on addressing plastic pollution and avoid overlaps with other international agreements or bodies. He requested that this clarity be reinstated in the draft text. "India would like to state its inability to support any measures to regulat

Stricter laws needed for curbing vulgarity on social media: Vaishnaw

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said there is a need to make existing laws more stringent to curb vulgar content on social media platforms. In the Lok Sabha, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said the Parliamentary Standing Committee should take up the issue and also called for a consensus to frame more strict laws in this regard. Earlier, there were editorial checks and it was decided whether something was right or wrong but those checks have ended. Today, social media is a platform for freedom of press but it is uncontrolled and there is vulgar content, the minister said during the Question Hour. There is a need to make existing laws more stringent laws to curb vulgar content on social media platforms, Vaishnaw said amid din in the House. He was responding to questions by BJP member Arun Govil about existing mechanisms to check telecast of vulgar and sex-related content through social media platforms illegally and whether the government proposes to make the .

NGT sends notice to Centre, others over expanding Himalayan glacial lakes

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Centre and others in a matter regarding the rapid expansion of the Himalayan glacial lakes, raising concerns over the increasing risk of natural disasters. The NGT took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a news report showing about 10.81 per cent increase of the glacial lakes in the last 13 years due to the rising temperatures. According to the report, the melting of glaciers due to increase in temperature paved way for larger glacial lakes, which held more water and, in turn, increased the risk of natural disasters like floods and landslides. In an order passed on November 19, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said, "The report also notes that the surface area of glacial lakes in India has increased by 33.7 per cent from 2011 to 2024." The tribunal noted the report had outlined the sudden growth of these lakes that posed a heightened risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF

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