Indian Government

Govt in election mode

What could be on the cards to bolster its prospects?

India among the top four countries that asked Twitter to remove content

India was also among the top nations that asked for Twitter user data last year, according to data shared by the company

Network Planning Group under PM Gati Shakti approves 4 infra projects

The Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM Gati Shakti initiative has approved four infrastructure projects related to railways, an official statement said on Friday. In October 2021, PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan was launched with an aim to develop an integrated and planned infrastructure to reduce logistics costs. All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing an investment of over Rs 500 crore, are routed through NPG. "NPG under PM Gati Shakti at its 46th session examined and recommended four infrastructure projects," the commerce and industry ministry said, adding that these projects will be developed in tandem with PM Gati Shakti principles using the integrated and holistic approach. These projects will also provide multimodal connectivity, seamless movement of goods and passengers, it said. The four projects are construction of broad-gauge double line between Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur in Rajasthan, broad-gauge line between Junagarh to Nabarangpu

Indian government forms panel to review pension system, says FinMin

The Indian government has formed a panel to review the country's pension system and discuss whether changes are warranted, the finance ministry said on Thursday

Govt blames Oppn for logjam in Parliament as productivity dives in Houses

The government on Thursday blamed the Opposition for the virtual washout of the second half of Parliament's Budget Session, saying the ruling BJP was ready to drop its demand, a likely reference to its insistence on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apology, if opposition parties reciprocated its gesture on their stand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told reporters after the session concluded that the government wanted a discussion on the Finance Bill before it was passed. "We were ready to give up our stand. But they should have also given up their stand. We had a strong stand," he said, without directly referring to the BJP stand. He noted that Speaker Om Birla had called a meeting to defuse the logjam, but the Opposition stuck to its stand. Meghwal said the productivity of Lok Sabha was 34 per cent and of Rajya Sabha 24.4 per cent during the session, which had begun on January 31. Overall

Why's govt unable to seek release of ex-Navy personnel from Qatar: Congress

The Congress on Thursday raised concerns over the detention of eight former Navy personnel by Qatar and sought to know from the government why it could not seek their release even after seven months. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that even though the Qatari national arrested along with the former Naval personnel has been released, why have the Indian authorities not been able to secure the release of Indians? "Why is the Indian government still unable to either ascertain the facts of the case or to reassure the ex-naval personnel and their families that justice will be done," he asked. Ramesh reminded the government that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had in Parliament termed it a "very sensitive case and said that the interest of the detained is "foremost in our minds... We assure, they are our priority". Yet, while an Omani national who was arrested along with the ex-Navy personnel was released in November, the Indian citizens remain in ...

Surrogacy law in its current form is appropriate, govt tells SC

The law, in its current form, bans commercial surrogacy. Furthermore, it aims to regulate the surrogacy industry

185 outsiders bought land in Jammu and Kashmir in last 3 years: Government

As many as 185 people from outside Jammu and Kashmir have bought land in the Union Territory in the last three years, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, however, said as per the information provided by Ladakh, no land has been bought by outsiders in the UT. "As per the information provided by the government of Jammu and Kashmir, a total of 185 people from outside the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have bought land in the UT during 2020, 2021 and 2022," he said replying to a written question. While, one person bought land in 2020, 57 bought in 2021 and 127 in 2022, he said. The Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following the Constitutional change in October 2020, the Union Home Ministry issued a notification stating that any Indian citizen can buy land, except agricultural, in munic

Modi hails work under Mission Amrit Sarovar, 40,000 water bodies developed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the achievement of around 40,000 water bodies having been developed under the Mission Amrit Sarovar in the last 11 months, saying the speed at which work is being done in this direction infuses new energy in our resolves of 'Amrit Kaal'. Around 40,000 water bodies have been developed under the Mission in the last 11 months, achieving around 80 percent of the target under the scheme, according to the Rural Development Ministry. In a tweet, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said Mission Amrit Sarovar is moving towards achieving its goal. "More than 40,000 Amrit Sarovars have been dedicated to the nation. There is a target of constructing 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August 15, 2023," he said. Responding to Shekhawat's tweet, Modi said on Twitter, "Many congratulations! The speed with which 'Amrit Sarovars' are being constructed across the country is infusing new energy in our resolutions of 'Amrit Kaal'." Amrit Kaal, which roug

LS: MP gives adjournment notice to discuss govt in 'market for new spyware'

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss a news report that "reveals that the Indian Government is in the market for new spyware."Tewari said, "A report in the Financial Times dated 31st March 2023 reveals that the Indian Government is in the market for new spyware. The NSO, the company that manufactures and sells Pegasus, has been blacklisted by some countries.""The report further reveals that the Government is willing to spend up to USD 120mn or around Rs 1000 crore. Around a dozen spyware sellers are expected to bid to the Indian Government," he added.He further said that the procurement of such Surveillance Technology without parliamentary oversight has grave implications for the right to privacy of individuals guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian ConstitutionUnder these circumstances, the House must adjourn to discuss the matter of the Government reportedly seeking to procure Pegagus-like surveillance technology, he ...

Govt may consider 0.3% fee to maintain UPI payment system: Report

The government may consider a 0.3 per cent uniform digital payment facilitation fee to fund the infrastructure required for such transactions and also to ensure financial viability of the UPI payment system, suggested a study by IIT Bombay. The facilitation fee of 0.3 per cent can generate around Rs 5,000 crore in 2023-24, said the study titled 'Charges for PPI-based UPI payments--The Deception'. The study, which analyses the impact of the decision of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to introduce interchange fee on payments through mobile wallets, argued that the payments received by merchants should remain 'unpolluted' whether they are from UPI directly or through prepaid e-wallets. The NPCI, with effect from April 1, 2023 introduced an interchange fee of 1.1 per cent on transaction amount for usage of prepaid payment instruments for making payments through UPI to merchants. These will apply on prepaid wallet-based UPI merchant transactions. Rather than thrusting

April-February net tax revenue at Rs 17.32 trn, says government data

The government's non-debt capital receipts consisted of recovery of loans of Rs 20,229 crore and miscellaneous capital receipts of Rs 38,671 crore

Government asks state-run banks to conduct more robust stress tests

The matter was reviewed at a March 25 meeting of the bank leaders with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who met to discuss progress of a reform agenda for the lenders

Govt sanctions Rs 800 cr for installing 7,432 EV fast charging stations

The Ministry of Heavy Industries on Tuesday said Rs 800 crore under FAME India Scheme Phase II has been sanctioned to three PSU oil marketing companies (OMC) for setting up 7,432 public fast charging EV stations across the country. The amount has been sanctioned under FAME Scheme Phase II. The ministry has released Rs 560 crore or 70 per cent of the total amount to three OMCs -- Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) -- as the first installment for the installation and commissioning of upstream infrastructure and charging equipment of EV public charging stations at respective retail outlets in the country. The installation is expected to be completed by March 2024, the ministry said in a statement. At present, there are 6,586 charging stations across the country. "The addition of the new 7,432 public charging stations will be a significant push to EV charging ecosystem," the release said, and added the charging capacity would be used for chargin

Guidelines in place for use of ASI sites to hold cultural events: Govt

The issue relating to use of any specific areas of centrally protected monuments or sites across the country for holding "cultural events" has been resolved and the competent authority has approved a slew of guidelines for it, the Parliament was informed on Monday. Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha on whether the government has any policy to permit cultural shows at heritage sites. In his response, the minister shared the list of guidelines, and said, "The issue relating to usage of specific areas of protected monuments/sites for holding cultural events has been resolved and the competent authority has approved the following guidelines for usage of protected areas". As a matter of course, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will not like to permit the use of monuments and land attached to such monuments for holding functions/events, reads the guidelines. "The circles may, however, permit such use only as an except

Government hasn't intervened in Adani's tussle with US short seller: Sanyal

The "government has not intervened anywhere," Sanyal, a member of prime minister's economic advisory council, said in an interview in New York

India to splurge $12 bn on airports in next two years as travel rebounds

The world's fastest-growing aviation market aims to boost the number of airports to 220 by 2025 from the current 148, for which private builders will invest about $9 billion

Govt plans to establish 100 observatories to expand seismological network

India plans to establish 100 more observatories in the next two to three years to further enhance seismic monitoring capabilities, Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In a written reply, Singh said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) maintains a network of 152 observatories for monitoring of seismic activity in and around the country. He said the National Seismological Network has a detection capability down to magnitude 3.0 earthquake for most parts of the country. Singh said natural disasters are triggered by natural processes and not always affected by the human consequences. However, vulnerability of any region is always affected by non-engineered structures, he said. "Thus, there is a need to devise proper mitigation strategies by adopting scientific and engineering solutions to reduce the associated risks," the minister said. He said seismic microzonation study was important as it helps generate inputs for constructing ...

UIDAI makes Aadhaar document update facility online free till June 14

The Unique Identification Authority of India has made document update facility online for Aadhaar free till June 14, an official statement said on Wednesday. Earlier, residents were required to pay Rs 25 to update their documents on the Aadhaar portal. "The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has decided to allow residents to update documents in their Aadhaar online free of cost, a people-centric move that will benefit millions of residents...The free service is available for the next three months, i.e., March 15 to June 14, 2023," the official statement said. As per Aadhaar Enrolment and Update Regulations, 2016, Aadhaar number holders may, on completion of every 10 years from the date of enrolment for Aadhaar, update their supporting documents in Aadhaar, at least once, by submitting proof of identity (POI) and proof of address (POA) documents, so as to ensure the continued accuracy of their information. "It is important to note that this service is free only on ...

India likely to keep April-Sept borrowing under 60% of FY24 goal: Report

India aims to raise 15.43 trillion rupees ($187.18 billion) from the market in the financial year starting April 1, higher than the 14.21 trillion rupees it raised this year