Patel's closeness to the Gandhi family was undeniable. But unlike others, he resisted the temptation to use it to leverage personal business, says Aditi Phadnis.
During the 16th Lok Sabha, 180 bills were passed and 45 ordinances promulgated.
Thursday was the penultimate day of the Budget Session of Parliament. The second half of the session which began on March 5 has been a washout with no legislative business being transacted due to stalling of proceedings by the opposition.
The move has left the Democrats fuming, asserting that the Pentagon didn't seek permission.
'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said the stimulus package has left several sections like the poor, migrants, farmers, labourers, workers, small shopkeepers and middle class high and dry.
The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
Select committees on Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill and Coal Mines Bill recommended their approval without any change
The Tejas Mark 1A outperforms the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 Thunder in avionics and weaponry, but the finance ministry's tax burden makes the Indian LCA costlier and hurts it in the export market.
Those in the soccer competition that started ahead of the main event beginning on Saturday have borne the brunt of the disruption.
She will replace US Supreme Court Judge Justice Brett Kavanaugh who was nominated by President Donald Trump for the top post.
'We have set out a timetable to reduce income tax rates for all incomes below Rs 50 lakh, and to progressively eliminate the surcharges on income above Rs 50 lakh, by 2024.' The Budget speech past CII president Naushad Forbes wants to hear.
The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday awarded the 2024 summer Olympic Games to Paris and the 2028 edition to Los Angeles following a vote in the Peruvian capital.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a new job creation scheme by giving subsidy to those establishments that make new hires. The subsidy would be to cover for retirement fund contributions by employees as well as employers for two years, she said. Employees contribution (12 per cent of wages) and employer's contribution (12 per cent of wages) totalling 24 per cent of wages would be given to establishments for two years, she said. Under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, every Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)-registered establishment taking new employees would get this subsidy.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given nod to re-promulgation of the controversial land ordinance, which could not be converted into law during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament, for the third time.
The most serious recommendations to change the financial year came in the years preceded by deficient rainfall. The Jha committee was formed after droughts in 1979-80 and 1982-83, reports Rishika Pardikar/IndiaSpend.
Will it be home or defence for Amit Shah?
Michael Phelps urged US lawmakers on Tuesday to push for a reform of the global anti-doping effort in sport after a career in which the Olympic great said he was never confident he was competing against clean athletes.
'Given that the RGF is a family-controlled trust, why would the Congress defend it every time someone accuses it of wrong-doing?' asks Virendra Kapoor.
In a letter signed by 16 of 17 committee members including two Indian-Americans Jhumpa Lahiri and Kal Penn, they said reproach and censure are necessary following Trump's "support of the hate groups and terrorists who killed and injured fellow Americans in Charlottesville."
The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill is likely to come up in the Rajya Sabha on March 12 for consideration and passage.
The National Democratic Alliance on Monday said it will allow the Parliament to function if formation of Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum allocation scam is announced by the government on Tuesday, but would continue to raise irregularities in the Commonwealth Games-related projects and Adarsh Housing scam.
Drawing continuous flak from the Supreme Court for not implementing the Lodha Committee recommendations, Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur on Monday said the state units are currently confused about some of the suggestions and need more clarity before complying.
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
Chidambaram said the stimulus package has left several sections like the poor, migrants, farmers, labourers, workers, small shopkeepers and middle class high and dry.
HRD Minister Smriti Irani is likely to be the target of Opposition attack in Parliament where Rahul Gandhi will lead the Congress charge against the government on Tuesday.
Rio de Janeiro will deliver a successful Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday, despite delays in preparations, lack of funds and the country suffering from its biggest political and economic turmoil in decades.
Opposition on Thursday forced deferment of consideration of the contentious Mines and Minerals Bill in Rajya Sabha till on Friday.
"I am innocent till proven guilty," a beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi said after CBI raided his house in New Delhi and questioned him for eight hours over allegations of bungling in the conduct of the sporting extravaganza.
Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on a motion thanking the president for his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, he said for the first time in decades, people of Jammu and Kashmir got benefits of reservation.
Faced with the prospect of yet another embarrassment in Rajya Sabha, Government on Tuesday night bowed to the opposition demand for sending the Mines and Minerals bill to a Select Committee after hours of battle of wits between rival sides.
United States Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has named her Chief of Staff, Domestic Policy Advisor and National Security Advisor -- an all-women team -- which she said has the experience to hit the ground from day one.
'The Modi regime is not willing to use its huge political capital for taking any economic policy measure that it fears might undermine that political strength, says A K Bhattacharya.
She will replace controversial Brett Kavanaugh who endured a bitter confirmation battle last year after President Donald Trump named him to the US Supreme Court.
NDA ally, the TDP continued to disrupt the both Houses of the Parliament over demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.
'The no-rate cut policy and preference to wait for the Budget and clarity on the fiscal front demonstrate RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is maturing in his new role,' notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Members of the BSP forced two adjournments of the Rajya Sabha till noon, creating uproar over the suicide of Dalit student, Rohith Vemula.
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party is not overly worried about getting the amended land acquisition bill through in the Upper House, it has nevertheless decided to have a three-day gap between the dates of the sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the Budget session.
Net sales growth for the quarter ended December (Q3FY20) was 4.5 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis for companies that have declared their results so far, compared to an 8.4 per cent rise in the first half of the financial year. This indicates that there could be a further rise in days' sales of inventory.
"We request and seek cooperation from all parties, including the Opposition, for smooth functioning of both Houses to make this session fruitful," Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said.
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