He was last month appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs in place of his batchmate Arvind Mayaram, who was first shifted to Tourism and then to Minority Affairs Ministry.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
Former Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the new Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), an anti-terror probe agency formed after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai.
Indian Police Services officer Amar Pratap Singh was on Tuesday appointed the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation for two years succeeding Ashwani Kumar.
Among the panels announced on Thursday is the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) to be headed by the prime minister with Shah as the other member.
'The government does not want to be transparent or accountable. Therefore, they do not want to appoint information commissioners.'
The latest extension will allow Bhalla to stay in the post during the general elections due early next year.
After Punjab, the party high command has shifted its focus to Rajasthan, where demands for Cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum after reports of resentment in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who along with 18 MLAs had rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot last year.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was given a one-year extension on Thursday, beyond his present tenure that was to end next week, according to an official order from the personnel ministry.
CBI's Additional Director K Saleem Ali was promoted as posted as the special director of the agency.
His extension order was issued on Monday.
Adani Green Energy, the renewable arm of billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, has withdrawn from two proposed wind power projects in Sri Lanka, following the Island nation's new government deciding to renegotiate tariffs. "Adani Green Energy has conveyed its Board's decision to respectfully withdraw from further engagement in the renewable energy (RE) wind energy project and two transmission projects in Sri Lanka," the firm said in a statement.
Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
Considered a neighbourhood specialist, Ravi Sinha has worked extensively in Jammu and Kashmir, the North East and other countries.
At least 13 candidates are in the race for the position of managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of Punjab National Bank (PNB), the second-largest public sector bank (PSB), according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. "Among the candidates, some are executive directors (EDs) and managing directors in major PSBs. "Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) will conduct the interviews next month," said a source.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced that the state will become the first in independent India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), with the date of implementation to be announced soon. The UCC, which aims to unify personal laws for all citizens, has been approved by the state cabinet and preparations for its implementation are almost complete. Dhami stated that the training process for UCC implementation is nearly finalized and the government is aiming for a swift rollout. Speculation is rife that the UCC could be implemented on Republic Day, coinciding with the conclusion of municipal elections. The UCC includes provisions related to marriage, divorce, annulment of marriage, succession, and live-in relationships. The state government has introduced a dedicated portal for online registration of related matters and has authorized Common Service Centers (CSC) to simplify access for citizens. In remote areas, CSC agents will provide door-to-door services. The Gram Panchayat Development Officer will serve as the Sub-Registrar for registration work in rural areas. The government has also implemented Aadhaar-based registration to make the process easier. Citizens can track their application status through email and SMS, and an online complaint portal has been set up. Dhami dismissed Congress allegations of divisive politics, emphasizing that the UCC provides a uniform system and law for all.
A high-level panel on 'One Nation, One Election' studied election processes in seven countries including South Africa, Sweden and Belgium before recommending simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies in India. The other countries where simultaneous elections are conducted are Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Union Cabinet approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
Boris Johnson is in a 'buoyant mood' and 'will fight on' to stay as the British Prime Minister, one of his top aides has said, despite some of the embattled premier's most loyal cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Priti Patel, joining the mutiny and demanding his resignation.
Shringla, a 1984 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, is considered an expert on India's neighbourhood and is currently serving as envoy to the US.
Pandey is a Maharashtra cadre IAS officer of 1984 batch.
The vacancies are learnt to be impacting the I-T department's day-to-day functioning.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
The appointment came just days before his retirement on July 31.
Saxena, 64, will succeed Anil Baijal who resigned from the post last week citing "personal reasons".
Bhalla will succeed former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn, who died in the US on July 30 after a brief illness.
The appointment of new expenditure secretary comes a month-and-a-half ahead of the Budget for 2020-21 to be presented on February 1.
Atishi, a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has retained the Kalkaji Assembly seat in the Delhi elections. She defeated her BJP rival, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri, by a margin of 3,521 votes. Atishi's win comes as a relief for the AAP, which suffered major losses in the polls. She had previously served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for a short period last year. Atishi's victory is significant as she is one of the few AAP leaders to win in the elections. Her win is likely to solidify her position within the party.
He said he considers this duration as enough and would like to return to his practice.
In a late night development, S Jaishankar, India's Ambassador to the United States, was appointed foreign secretary on Wednesday, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure has been abruptly 'curtailed" by nearly 8 months.
Eminent scientist S Christopher was on Thursday appointed as the director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation for a two-year term.
Suspended by the ICC for "political interference", Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will soon introduce a new law to curb meddling of any sorts by people with considerable influence in the corridors of power.
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After scrapping the selection of six UPA-appointed bank chiefs, the government has now decided to make significant changes to the selection process.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved conferring the status of classical language on Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, who is due to retire on June 14, was on Monday given a six-month extension in service, the second time he has got it in the top bureaucratic post.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
Senior IPS officer Anil Kumar Sinha was on Tuesday night appointed the new CBI Director to succeed Ranjit Sinha who retired in a glare of controversy with the Supreme Court directing him to recuse from 2G spectrum scam case probe.
'The collegium system will remove any such doubts from the minds of people and the political parties.'
The report on the alleged liquor scam, a hot button issue in the run-up to the elections, claimed a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 941.53 crore, saying timely permissions were not taken for opening the liquor vends in non-conforming municipal wards.
Declaring the Telangana government's support to the Telugu film industry, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday said the former would take steps to make Hyderabad a destination for international film shootings.
