Page 7 - Indian Government

IRS officer Ravi Agrawal appointed new CBDT chief, to succeed Nitin Gupta

Ravi Agrawal, a 1988-batch IRS officer, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body for the Income Tax Department. He takes over from Nitin Gupta, a 1986-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, whose extended tenure as the chairman ends on Sunday, June 30. Gupta was appointed as the CBDT chief in June, 2022. He was scheduled to retire in September last year but was given a nine-month extension till June. The new CBDT chief is currently working as member (administration) in the board. An order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) said Agarwal will head the CBDT till June, 2025. Agrawal is scheduled to retire in September but his appointment order said he will continue on "reappointment on contract basis" till June 30 next year, in usual terms and conditions applicable to re-employed central government officers, in relaxation of the recruitment rules. A senior Union finance ministry officer told PTI

Dy NSA Vikram Misri named next foreign secy, to succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra

Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) Vikram Misri was on Friday named as the next Foreign Secretary, according to an official order. Misri, a 1989 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed to the post with effect from July 15, it said. He will succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who was in March this year given a six months' extension. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Misri, Deputy NSA in the National Security Council Secretariat, to the post of Foreign Secretary with effect from July 15, said the order issued by the Personnel Ministry. It also approved the curtailment of Misri's tenure as the Deputy NSA.

Govt bond yield flat as traders expect inflows on Day 1 of index inclusion

Most Indian government bonds under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) will be a part of the JPMorgan index. These papers have already seen inflows nearing $11 billion since the inclusion's announcement

25% of new hires married women; nearly 70% of workforce women: Foxconn

Apple iPhone maker Foxconn has informed the government that 25 per cent of its new hires are married women and its safety protocol, which requires all employees to avoid wearing metal irrespective of gender or religion, is not discriminatory, sources said. In an informal note shared with the government after reports suggested it is not hiring married women, Foxconn stated that such stipulations are not part of its policy and these claims may have been made by those individuals who were not hired, sources said. They added that such media reports malign the fast-growing Indian manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Wednesday has sought a detailed report from the Tamil Nadu labour department on the issue of married women not being allowed to work at the Foxconn India Apple iPhone Plant, as reported by the media. "Foxconn had clarified that 25 per cent of the latest hires are married women. This would mean nearly one-third of the total women are marri

BJP's JP Nadda replaces Piyush Goyal as Leader of House in Rajya Sabha

BJP president and Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda has been named Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, official sources said on Monday. Nadda replaces Union minister Piyush Goyal, who recently won the Lok Sabha elections and on Monday took oath as a member of the Lower House. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Besides Nadda, there are 11 members of the Upper House who are in the Union Council of Ministers.

Govt imposes stock holding limits on wheat to check hoarding, price rise

In a move to check wheat price rise and hoarding, the Centre on Monday imposed stock holding limits on traders, wholesalers, retailers and processors with immediate effect. The restrictions will remain in force until March 31, 2025, across all states and Union Territories. Under the new rules, retail outlets and individual stores of big chain retailers are allowed to stock up to 10 tonnes of wheat, an official statement said. Traders, wholesalers, and large depots of big chain retailers face a cap of 3,000 tonnes each. For processors, the limit is set at 70 per cent of their monthly installed capacity (MIC) multiplied by the remaining months of the 2024-25 fiscal. The government has mandated all entities to declare their stock position and regularly update it on the Department of Food and Public Distribution's portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/wsp/login). Those holding stocks exceeding the prescribed limits have been given a 30-day window to comply with the new norms. The decision

22 fishermen held, 3 boats seized by Sri Lanka: Stalin tells Centre

As many as 22 Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested and their three boats were seized by Sri Lanka, Chief Minister M K Stalin conveyed to the Centre on Monday and sought immediate steps to secure the release of all the fishers arrested so far and their boats. Writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Stalin referred to continuing loss of livelihood for fishermen due to 'incidents of arrest and intimidation' by Sri Lanka and said that on June 22, twenty-two fishermen from Rameswaram fishing harbour were apprehended by the island nation along with their three mechanised fishing boats. "I request you to ensure the immediate release of the apprehended fishermen and their boats. I would also like to inform that permission is yet to be granted for the salvage boats and crew for bringing back the released boats from Sri Lanka. Similarly, the requests of various Fishermen Associations in Tamil Nadu to visit the fishermen jailed in Sri Lanka, to provide them with some consolation and ..

Govt to name bidders of first round of strategic mineral blocks on Monday

The government on Monday will declare the names of the bidders who have won the blocks in the first round of critical and strategic mineral blocks auction. The preferred bidders will be declared during the launch of the fourth round of auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks. "During the event, preferred bidders of the first tranche launched on November 29, 2023 will be declared," the mines ministry said in a statement. Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey will launch the fourth round of auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks here. So far, the Centre has launched three tranches of auction of 38 critical and strategic mineral blocks located across 14 States and Union Territories. The government had earlier cancelled the auction for 13 of the 20 blocks put on sale in the first tranche of critical minerals as the response was lukewarm. Of the 20 blocks put on offer, 56 physical bids and 56 on

Chirag Paswan vows transparency on investment at World Food India event

The government will refrain from sharing exaggerated figures on investments at the World Food India event this year until they are fully verified and materialized on the ground, Union Minister Chirag Paswan said on Wednesday. Addressing media at the curtain raiser of World Food India's third edition scheduled for September 19-22 here, the Food Processing Industries Minister sought to allay concerns over the status of investment made in the food processing sector during the last two editions. Responding to a PTI query on the status of investments made in the previous two editions and any plans to tighten MoU conditions, Paswan said, "Investments are promised while signing an MoU and there is a gestation period (for implementation). It is only after that we come to know how much has been grounded. Henceforth when we talk about investment, we will mention those investments which can be grounded." Paswan, who also launched a mobile app and website of the third edition, said, "We are ver

FY25 net direct tax collections up 21% at Rs 4.63 trn in April-June: Govt

On a gross basis, tax collection before refunds grew more than 22% year on year to Rs 5.16 trillion, the statement said

Union Budget 2024: No likely cut in fuel prices, PMAY allotment may rise

The Union Budget 2024 is expected to be announced in the third week of July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting on June 20

Govt headhunter interviews eight people for HPCL top post; rejects them all

The government headhunter PESB has rejected all candidates it interviewed for the top job at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), the third instance in as many years that the board has not found any suitable candidate for the role in a state oil firm. The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) on June 14 interviewed eight candidates, including a director on the HPCL board and managing director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), but rejected them all. "The Board did not recommend any candidate for the post of chairman and managing director (CMD) HPCL and advised the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to choose an appropriate course of further action for selection, including the Search-Cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) or as deemed appropriate with the approval of the competent authority," the PESB panel said in a notification. The HPCL CMD post will fall vacant on September 1, 2024, when the incumbent Pushp Kumar Joshi retires on attaining a superannuation age of 60 years. The .

PM Modi, French President discuss ways to further strengthen partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met French President Emmanuel Macron and believed to have discussed ways to further bolster the bilateral ties and exchanged views on global issues. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit here in the southern resort town of Italy. It is Prime Minister Modi's first foreign trip after assuming office for a third time this month. The two leaders last met in January when the French President visited India to attend the 75th Republic Day of India. During their last meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their shared vision for bilateral cooperation and international partnership, outlined in Horizon 2047 and other documents from the July 2023 Summit. Horizon 2047 Roadmap sets an ambitious and broad-ranging course for the bilateral relationship for 2047, the centenary year of India's independence.

'Most JP Morgan index clients to invest directly in Indian govt bonds'

India's inclusion in global bond indices was discussed for nearly a decade before the inclusion in the widely tracked JP Morgan index was finally announced last September

PMO has become catalytic agent infusing new energy into system: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday his office has become a "catalytic agent" which infuses new energy and dynamism into the system, and claimed that it used to be seen as a big power centre 10 years ago. Addressing staffers of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) after he began this third term, Modi said his only goal is "nation first" and his only motivation "Viksit Bharat", adding that this was his expectation from them as well. "My every moment is for the country," Modi said, asserting that he has promised to work round the clock to achieve the goal of India becoming a developed country by 2047. The PMO should be for service and it should be a people's PMO and not Modi's, he said, adding that he was not born to rule and he does not think about accumulating power. The 140 crore people of India are always on his mind and he considers them a form of God, Modi said. In the last three months, Modi said in an apparent reference to the election campaign, he witnessed their strength

Rising India food costs likely snapped inflation downturn in May: Report

The Reuters poll of 50 economists conducted June 5-10 predicted consumer price inflation (CPI) is expected to have picked up to 4.89 per cent last month from April's 4.83 per cent.

Hindu-Muslim coalition back

The Muslim vote is the BJP's biggest worry. Knives are already out and probing its most critical fault line. Without recovering UP, the BJP's decline threatens to become chronic, and progressive

Reforms for 'Viksit Bharat' may not fall prey to new coalition government

But, in coalition, the focus may go off specific policies such as labour codes and privatisation

UPS in talks with govt to make some parcel-tracking tags in India: Official

UPS began expanding its use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on packages about two years ago, helping its workers avoid millions of package scans per day

India needs mandate for clear, continuous leadership: Ex-diplomat Shringla

India requires a mandate for a clear and continuous leadership that can take decisions to make it a developed nation by 2047, former top Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said Wednesday. Shringla said even in the US he has got an impression that the administration would like to see a clear mandate in India that would make it a strong economic power. What we need is a mandate for a clear and continuous leadership that can take the decision that will take Bharat to a Vikshit Bharat stage by 2047, Shringla told PTI. The former foreign secretary and the Indian Ambassador to the US is currently on a private visit. The youth, which is the majority of the country, expect that and they will provide a mandate to the leadership that will bring them the best opportunities and take us to a situation we have never even dreamt of being a developed country in every sense of the world whether it is women empowerment, economic, socioeconomic or environmental developments, he said. I think we