Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have communicated to the telecom department that they will not pay AGR dues of Rs 88,624 crore, the deadline for which ended on Thursday, and will wait for the outcome of modification petition listed for hearing before the Supreme Court next week, according to official sources. Reliance Jio on Thursday paid Rs 195 crore to the telecom department to clear all adjusted gross revenue dues accounted till January 31, 2020, according to an official source.
Beyond welfare politics, the BJP has assiduously worked to appropriate regional icons.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan has come out with a communiqu announcing distribution of portfolios of the ministers sworn-in on Monday in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers:
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
Petrol and diesel will cost Rs 2 a litre less from Wednesday after the first excise duty cut by the Modi government comes into effect.
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as the market prepared for a gradual increase of Iranian exports into an already oversupplied market from 2016.
The Centre will soon write to the states to bring uniformity in the Value Added Tax on oil products so that benefits of price cuts filter down to the masses.
'The days when less government, more governance were spoken of are well and truly behind us.' 'More government, it is now believed, means more governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The new Ministers of State sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh.
'Indian and Iranian sources both confirmed to me that India and Iran are moving ahead to implement a payment system on buying oil from Iran and hope to finalise it very soon,' says Aveek Sen.
'Till the time the MSM and Modi don't trust one another, expect more Nirmala Sitharamans springing out from nowhere,' says Sudhir Bisht.
The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
Officials said the oil marketing companies had provided data to the Income Tax department.
The move is expected to bolster India's energy security.
'You cannot judge a government within a month. Give us five years' time.' 'At times, strict economic decisions have to be made for the good of the poor in the long run.' Dharmendra Pradhan, one of the Modi government's stars, speaks exclusively to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about why the government is forced to roll out 'bitter medicine.'
The prime minister made it clear that the BJP stood for the welfare of farmers and was committed to them
The five persons were arrested by the Crime Branch.
RIL said it had launched 'an internal probe' into its staff's detention.
According to a source close to the development, the government is set to come out with a notification in this regard by the end of this week.
In a move that will give cooking gas consumers more choice, state oil marketing companies have started selling mini 5-kg LPG cylinders at subsidised rates.
Pradhan said a team of officials of state-run Indian Oil Corporation had visited Vietnam and explored some business ventures
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
Many BJP leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous Cabinet could be retained.
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State-owned oil firms are likely to announce reduction in rates, made possible because of softening in international oil rates, this evening, government and industry sources said.
The keynote address will be given by United States President Donald Trump
The country may propose pipeline via China when Putin visits this year.
'Our intentions are clear. If I keep all the acquired land under the ownership of the government, why do you raise questions about my intentions?' 'One achievement of my ministry would be the gas pricing policy. Two, we made a delivery mechanism (for domestic LPG) which is the largest in the world. We are crediting money to the poor directly. It is the biggest structure of direct subsidy transfer.' 'It is very easy to work with Modi. He gives everyone a chance in decision-making. I have become a minister for the very first time, but if we want to raise any issues in the Cabinet, we have full freedom to do so.' The second and final part of Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's exclusive interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
If the Modi government is going to set new benchmarks of performance, don't expect the majority of his dozen-odd ministers-who-matter with economic portfolios to be making the difference, says T N Ninan.
Not only the BJP but key bureaucrats are also known to have hinted to the top leadership of the need to expand the Cabinet.
Digital-pay companies see 10x growth spurt after demonetisation, report Ayan Pramanik & Shine Jacob/Business Standard from Bengaluru.
The world's largest cash transfer programme has eliminated around 40 million ghost connections
A highly-placed source in the BJP told Rediff.com, "Just as the Sangh dislikes the pseudo-secularism of the Congress, the Sangh also has a distaste for the pseudo Hindutva that the BJP is trying to practise in maddening race for power."
Prime Minister Modi will continue to take the nation by surprise, catching his political opponents offguard, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to attend Davos meeting in about 20 years since H D Deve Gowda in 1997.
Non-performers were not punished, performers were not rewarded, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
Portfolios of more than half-a-dozen ministers are expected to be changed.
Petrol price was on Friday cut by Rs 2.42 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.25 a litre after an excise duty hike limited the benefit of global crude prices slumping to six-year low.
Elaborating on this theme, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan pointed out that if the power sector had not been opened up through reforms initiated in 2003, India would still have been in darkness.
Pradhan said a National Data Repository which will store information on all sedimentary basins of the country is being pursued on top priority.
The country must get its act on global alliances right in order to feed its fuel-hungry economy, points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
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