Page 30 - Centre

Carefully monitoring developments in Afghanistan, says Centre

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India's focus has been to evacuate its citizens who are stranded in Afghanistan.

HC asks Centre to respond to pleas by FB, WhatsApp challenging IT Rules

The new IT rules for social media intermediaries require the messaging app to trace chats and make provisions to identify the first originator of information

Sitting on Rs 1 trn in assets, pvt airports want cash support from govt

Experts say the demands of airports controlled by big corporate groups sitting on piles of cash are unlikely to be entertained by the Modi govt

Port asset monetisation to push up private participation amid TAMP dilution

The total estimated capex towards these projects stands at Rs 14,483 crore between FY22-FY25

India allowed to operate two flights daily to evacuate citizens from Kabul

The permission has been granted by the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport

EAM speaks to German counterpart on evacuation challenges in Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday spoke to his German counterpart Heiko Maas on the latest developments in Afghanistan and challenges relating to emergency evacuation from Kabul. "Appreciate the call from Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas of Germany. Discussed the evacuation challenges in Afghanistan and the policy implications of the changes there," Jaishankar tweeted. India has been in touch with the US, the UK and a number of other leading powers on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday evening. Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul in view of chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover. India on Saturday evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians from Kabul. By Tuesday, India had evacuated 200

Top headlines: LPG price hiked; govt clarifies on discom loss levels

Business Standard brings you the top headlines this evening

Govt likely to withdraw sugar export subsidies from new season

India, the world's biggest sugar producer after Brazil, incentivised overseas sales for three years in a row, helping New Delhi emerge as a significant, stable exporter of the commodity.

Centre announces Rs 1,300 crore package for Northeast to tackle pandemic

Mandaviya said the fund is being provided to purchase medicines, enhance oxygen supply, increase beds -- general, ICU and children -- at local and district-level hospitals.

Single-use plastic items to be prohibited from July 2022: Centre

The ministry has also notified an increase in the thickness of plastic bags, aiming to reduce littering of plastic

'You are full of faff': TMC MP hits back at Centre, poses 8 questions

TMC leaders pointed out that even in 2014, 60-70 per cent of the bills were sent to parliamentary committees for a review and claimed that now, only 11 per cent of the bills are sent

Kerala received 60% more vaccine doses than proposed, says Centre

The Centre said, "It supplied adequate doses of COVID vaccines to Kerala under the National COVID-19 Vaccination programme."

Bureaucracy doesn't distinguish between sovereign and absolute power

Even after scrapping the 'retrospective tax' the bigger problem of the bureaucratic interpretation of sovereign power remains unresolved. The time has come for Parliament to sort out the confusion

Railways operating 846 passenger trains in view of Covid: Govt

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the Railways had discontinued all passenger carrying trains in March 2020.

Centre weakening four pillars of democracy: Raut on Pegasus row

Raut expressed surprise that the central government was not even paying heed to the Supreme Court's observation that the Pegasus case, if true, was a serious matter

UCC: Not possible to lay down rigid time frame in the matter, Govt tells RS

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said Article 44 of the Constitution provides that the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

Centre should be more into free-spending policies: Abhijit Banerjee

Banerjee heads West Bengal's Global Advisory Board (GAB) and advises the state government on issues related to the pandemic

27% reservation for OBCs, 10% for EWS candidates in medical courses: Govt

OBC students from across the country shall now be able to take the benefit of this reservation in the AIQ scheme to compete for seats in any state

'Some elements' reducing parl panel on IT to 'ping pong match': Tharoor

Asked about reports of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moving a "privilege motion" against him, Tharoor told reporters that it has no "validity"

Govt considering follow-up scheme to AMRUT to cover all urban areas: Puri

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) covers only about 60 per cent of the urban population and the government is actively considering a follow up scheme which will cover 100 per cent of the urban areas, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Thursday. The AMRUT scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 to establish an infrastructure that would ensure robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Puri said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget statement had talked about a follow up to the AMRUT scheme. The AMRUT scheme only covers 60 per cent plus of India's urban population and the government is actively considering a follow up scheme which will cover 100 per cent of the urban areas, the minister said amid continuous protests by Opposition members over the Pegasus spying row and farmers' issue. To a question on the number of ongoing project