Tolerant Muslims can be counted on fingers. I think their number is not even in the thousands, the Union minister of state for law and justice said.
The move was opposed by exporters and rice growers as it led to depressing of prices in the domestic market and deprived the growers the benefit of lucrative exports. This prompted Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath to review the situation early this week.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will have to resign within two weeks from one of the two seats he won in the just-held Lok Sabha elections, a constitutional expert said citing provisions in the law as well as the Constitution.
Manjhi's political journey took a dramatic turn when, in 2014, he was unexpectedly anointed Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar, who had resigned after a disastrous Lok Sabha election.
During the meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram would bring in the Action Taken Report for approval before it is laid on the table of the House along with the Liberhan commission report. Pranab Mukherjee will chair the Cabinet meet in Dr Singh's absence.
Normal life was badly affected in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as a bandh against the Union cabinet's approval of a bill for division of Andhra Pradesh began on Friday.
Till now, he was being guarded by a small team of the central paramilitary force SSB.
A proposal, which will empower the Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether a juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape is to be sent to a observation home or tried in a regular court, is learnt have been cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Ajit Kumar Seth, an IAS officer of the 1974 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed the new Union cabinet secretary. The announcement was made hurriedly to avoid an embarrassment to the government after speculation that the incumbent KM Chandrasekhar, who retires next month, would get a fourth extension
The Indian government has appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends on February 28. Pandey's appointment comes at a time when the markets are experiencing bear pressure due to withdrawals by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Pandey has extensive experience in the finance ministry, having served as the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He also played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget and the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill. Pandey's appointment is for an initial period of three years.
The revamped Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law is unlikely to see the light of the day before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce department had sought the Union Cabinet's nod to bring amendments to the existing SEZ Act, 2005 late last year. The plan, thereafter, was to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Cabinet's approval remains pending.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
The mega-merger of state-run carriers Air India and Indian received the final government nod on Thursday, with the Union Cabinet giving a go ahead to the proposal of the Group of Ministers in this regard.
A bill seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children with provisions for stringent punishment for such offences was approved by the Union Cabinet.
For the past one week, Modi has been holding in-person meetings with Union ministers apparently to take stock of the work done by the government in the last two years and to discuss various issues.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' is appropriate," Sen, 90, said.
Under the banner of the CII, domestic drug majors have approached Cabinet Secretary BK Chaturvedi for being allowed to present their views on the new pharmaceutical policy, scheduled to be discussed by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.
The Janata Dal-Secular demanded that the Congress government should sack Khan from the Cabinet for his racist slur.
The Union Cabinet will have a special meeting on Friday evening to discuss the Justice Verma Committee report, which has recommended a series of measures to make crime against women laws more stringent.
Aiming to expedite the decision making process, the Cabinet secretariat has fixed a time-frame of two weeks for completing inter-ministerial consultations on Cabinet notes.
Two key legislations Lokpal Bill and Food Security Bill -- are expected to be taken up by the Union Cabinet on Sunday after which they will be brought to Parliament next week.
After UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had intervened and asked government to take consent from 80 per cent land owner for purchase of land.
The Union cabinet on Friday gave its "full mandate" to the negotiating team led by Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan to put forth India's arguments on sustainable development at the meet.
The government on Sunday appointed former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. Joint Secretary in the finance ministry Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey will be the secretary to the commission, the government said in a notification. "The President is pleased to constitute a Finance Commission with Dr Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Professor, Columbia University, as the Chairman. Members of the Commission will be notified separately," it said.
