Page 14 - Centre

Centre extends tenure of DCGI Dr V G Somani by another three months

The tenure of Dr V G Somani as the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has been again extended by another three months, according to an order issued by the Union Health Ministry. The extension will come into effect from Tuesday, the order said. He was earlier given an extension in August this year. "In continuation to office order dated 16.08.2022, the competent authority has concurred approval for Dr V G Somani, to continue to hold the charge of the post of Drugs Controller of (India) for a further period of three months w.e.f. 16.11.2022 or until further order, whichever is earlier," it said. Dr Somani was appointed the DCGI for a term of three years on August 14, 2019. The DCGI heads the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which is responsible for ensuring quality drugs supply across the country.It also has authority to give approval to new drugs and regulate clinical trials.

Budget 2023-24: FY24 direct tax target likely to see 14-17% increase

Centre's FY23 mop-up may top BE by Rs 1-1.5 trn

Centre allows export incentives for those settling trade in rupee

DGFT makes key amendments to foreign trade policy

Mind our languages: Govt should avoid imposing Hindi

Seeking to impose a uniform language on the country is the surest way to encourage discord

Chhattisgarh govt asks Centre to cancel Parsa coal mine's forest clearance

In light of the protest against clearance given to coal mines in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand region, the Chhattisgarh government has urged the Centre to cancel the approval for diversion of forest land for Parsa opencast coal mine in the area, an official said on Tuesday. In a letter to the director general of forests, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Monday, the state forest department sought to cancel the approval of non-forestry use of 841.548 hectare of forest land for Parsa coal mine allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), the official said. The letter stated that the widespread public protest in Hasdeo Arand Coalfield has resulted in a law and order situation. Keeping in view the protest, law and order and public interest, please take appropriate action to cancel the diversion (of forest land) approval issued for the Parsa mine project," KP Rajput, under Secretary of state forest and climate change department, said i

21,000 sq ft freed, Rs 4 lakh revenue earned from cleanliness drive: MoHFW

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said nearly 21,000 square feet of space was freed and Rs 4 lakh revenue earned during a month-long special cleanliness drive. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the progress of the Special Campaign 2.0 for Disposal of Pending Matters and Swachhata Drive at a meeting with senior officials on October 31. Mandaviya said tremendous enthusiasm was witnessed in the ministry headquarters and its attached subordinate offices and autonomous bodies for institutionalising "swachhata" and minimizing pendency. "During the campaign period, 21,600 files were reviewed, 8,416 public grievances and their appeals were redressed, over 1,100 cleanliness campaigns were conducted and approximately 21,000 sq. ft. of space has been freed and Rs 4,06,315 revenue has been generated," according to a statement. The objectives of the campaign were to minimize pendency, institutionalize swachhata, strengthen internal monitoring mechanism, train officers in ..

Centre to enhance sale of SHG products on e-commerce portals: Minister

The Centre on Friday launched an e-commerce portal for marketing products made by women of self-help groups (SHGs), and said efforts were underway to have at least 25 per cent of all sales by them through online. Union Minister of State for Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste inaugurated the Saras Food Festival and said the government will take steps to establish Saras stalls by women SHGs in all state capitals, major cities and metros, airports and railway stations for widening the reach of marketing, the ministry said in an official statement. He also launched the e-commerce portal, www.esaras.in, for better and more effective marketing of the products prepared by women of self-help groups and said, "efforts are on to have at least 25 per cent of all sales by women self-help groups through e-commerce portals annually." Through such festivals, Kulaste said, more and more people will be exposed to ethnic and home-made handicrafts, paintings, toys, food and other items. "Each wom

Make uniform law for charitable, religious bodies: Kerala HC tells Centre

Kerala High Court urged the Centre to explore possibility of a uniform central legislation to regulate the functioning of charitable organisations and religious institutions

Collective responsibility of states and Centre to tackle crimes: Amit Shah

It is the collective responsibility of states and the Centre to effectively tackle trans-border crimes, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday. "In our Constitution, law and order is a state subject...but we can be successful against trans-border or borderless crimes only when all states sit together to ponder over them, make a common strategy and (make) efforts to curb them," he said here. Shah was addressing a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' organised with the objective to prepare an action plan for the implementation of 'Vision 2047' and 'Panch Pran' announced in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech. The home minister said it is the collective responsibility of states to effectively tackle crimes operating from across the country's border or states' borders or regional crimes to make society free from fear. The 'shivir' can become a good platform to discuss strategies to counter cyber crimes, narcotics and cross-border terrorism, among others, and to exchange good .

Centre asks Bihar to complete construction of wheat, rice silos by Dec

Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has directed Bihar government to complete the construction of wheat and rice silo in Buxar by the end of December. Pandey, who was on a visit to Bhojpur and Buxar districts of Bihar on Wednesday, reviewed the progress of implementation of lifting and distribution of foodgrains under the National Food Security Act and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), an official statement said. He also reviewed the preparedness of paddy procurement for the upcoming 2022-23 kharif marketing season.

Hindustan Copper pays Rs 74 cr dividend to Centre for FY22: Ministry

State-owned Hindustan Copper has paid a dividend of Rs 74.20 crore to the Centre for FY'22. "Hindustan Copper... has paid today a dividend of Rs 74.20 crore to the Government of India for FY 2021-22 being 30.01 per cent of Profit After Tax (PAT) in compliance with DIPAM guidelines," the mines ministry said in a statement. Total dividend pay-out to all shareholders was Rs 112.17 crore. The dividend per share was the highest ever declared by the company. During FY'22, the company achieved the highest-ever net turnover of Rs 1,812 crore and Profit Before Tax of Rs 381.76 crore. The company is currently implementing its mine expansion plan to achieve 12.2 million tonnes per annum ore production. Hindustan Copper, a public sector undertaking, is under the administrative control of the mines ministry. It is the country's only vertically integrated copper producing company as it manufactures copper right from the stage of mining to beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refin

Centre extends deadline for filing GST returns for Sep till Oct 21

The government has extended the deadline for filing GST returns for the month of September by a day to October 21, the CBIC said on Friday. On Thursday, taxpayers faced a slow functioning of the GST portal, which was the last date for filing monthly GST returns for some taxpayers. Following that, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had said that an extension of the due date was being considered. "The GST Implementation Committee of GST Council has approved extension of the due date of filing GSTR-3B return for the month of September 2022, for the monthly filers, from 20th October, 2022 to 21st October 2022," the CBIC tweeted on Friday. Monthly return and tax payment form GSTR-3B is filed in staggered manner between the 20th, 22nd, and 24th of each month by taxpayers in different states. GST Network (GSTN) provides the technology backend for running Goods and Services Tax (GST). Infosys is the service provider for GSTN.

Solar manufacturing PLI to create 90 Gw addl capacity in India: R K Singh

India to have more than 60% power generation from RE by 2030, says minister

Centre recommends elevation of two judges as CJs of Karnataka and J-K HC

The Centre has notified the elevation of two judges as chief justices of the Karnataka High Court, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, and also notified the transfer of Chief Justice of J&K High Court to the Rajasthan High Court.

Can reducing 'state-litigation' solve half of the judiciary's problems?

Yes, the government is the biggest litigant in the country, but this is not the whole truth

List of SC cases to be placed before Attorney General first, says Centre

Centre has issued a notification directing that the list of SC cases be placed first before the Attorney General for selecting the matters in which he considers his appearance to be necessary

Ajay Bhadoo appointed Dy Election Commissioner, Akash Tripathi MyGov's CEO

Senior bureaucrat Ajay Bhadoo has been appointed as the Deputy Election Commissioner as part of a senior level bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Sunday by the Centre. Bhadoo, a 1999 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Gujarat cadre, has been appointed to the post up to July 24, 2024, a Personnel Ministry order said. As many as 35 civil servants from different services have been appointed as joint secretaries in the central government departments as part of the reshuffle. Akash Tripathi, a 1998 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MyGov, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. Basant Garg, a 2005 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been named Additional CEO, National Health Authority under the Department of Health & Family Welfare. Lochan Sehra, a 2002 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, will be joint secretary, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), ...

Adequate food stock to meet Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana requirements: Govt

Amid concerns raised by the Finance Ministry over continuation of PMGKAY till December 2022 owing to inadequate food grains and extra burden on the exchequer, Govt claimed that it has sufficient stock

Adhikari urges Centre to check 'illegal diversion of funds' by WB govt

Accusing the West Bengal government of illegally diverting" Central funds, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, urged Union Finance minister to take appropriate steps so that the malpractices come to an end. He made the accusation in a series of tweets and also wrote a letter to the Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard. The BJP leader in a tweet alleged that the state government had tactfully opened the State Nodal Account of Public Finance Management System in a private bank where the State Emergency Relief Fund Account was in operation so that Central funds could be easily diverted. "It is a can of worms waiting to be opened," he wrote on the micro-blogging site on Thursday. The MLA from Nandigram requested the Union minister to keep a tab on the transactions of the state government and attached a copy of the letter, dated September 29, with his tweet. Adhikari later tweeted, "one tweet of mine and West Bengal government is out of lin

Kerala govt initiates implementation of Centre's ban on PFI, affiliates

Close on the heels of the Central government declaring the Popular Front of India (PFI) as a banned organisation, the Kerala government has initiated steps to implement the order by empowering the district administration and police to take action against the outlawed outfit's activities. The Home Department of the state government on Wednesday issued an order stating that since PFI, its associates, affiliates and fronts have been declared as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the powers which the state government can exercise have been delegated to the respective District Magistrates (DMs) and Police Superintendents (SPs). The DMs and SPs, in their respective jurisdictions, would be exercising powers under Sections 7 (power to prohibit the use of funds of an unlawful association and 8 (power to notify places used for the purpose of an unlawful association) of UAPA, the state government order said. The Union government on Wednesday had banned the PF