Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions to improve the domestic supply and control prices, which touched Rs 100 per kg earlier this month.
The Union Cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss the Telangana crisis in detail and the government is expected to announce a time-bound programme for the formation of a separate state, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
JD-U national president RCP Singh reacted with a sense of vindication to the developments in the party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan, whose son has been left cornered in a revolt led by the former's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras and supported by four other MPs, including nephew Prince Raj.
FDI is a major driver of economic growth and a source of non-debt finance for the economic development of the country. The government has put in place an investor-friendly policy on FDI, under which investment up to 100 per cent is permitted on the automatic route in most sectors/ activities. At $ 64.37 billion, FDI in 2018-19 is the highest ever investment received for any financial year.
Notwithstanding Andhra Pradesh assembly's rejection of Telangana bill, a Group of Ministers on Tuesday cleared the draft legislation to be placed before the Union Cabinet on Thursday to pave the way for its tabling in Parliament.
"In view of the crisis arising out of Covid-19, it has been decided that additional instalment of dearness allowance payable to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to central government pensioners due from January 1, 2020, shall not be paid. "The additional instalment of DA and DR due from July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, shall also not be paid," the department of expenditure said in an office memorandum.
In her four-page resignation letter addressed to the prime minister, she said, 'In view of the decision of the government of India to go ahead with the Bill on the issue of marketing of agricultural produce without addressing and removing the apprehensions of farmers and decision of my party, Shiromani Akali Dal, not to be a part of anything that goes against the interest of farmers, I find it impossible to continue to perform my duties as a minister in the union council of ministers.'
The move will benefit 50 lakh (5 million) employees and 30 lakh (3 million) pensioners.
The government on Wednesday permitted NRIs to invest up to 100 per cent stake in disinvestment-bound Air India. The decision comes at a time when the government has sought preliminary bids for 100 per cent stake sale in the national carrier. "Today's decision on Air India is one milestone decision where NRIs... will get permission to invest 100 per cent in the airline," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at a briefing about the Union Cabinet's decision.
If AAP dominates both state and local elections, the move for unification may become the illness for the BJP instead of the medicine it was supposed to have been.
The government on Wednesday said that all urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will come under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, a development aimed at providing comfort to depositors and prevent repeat of PMC Bank like scams. The President of India will promulgate an ordinance to this effect, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
New ministry will bring much-needed transparency in the functioning of the cooperatives, which so far have been riddled with allegations of political interference and mismanagement.
He later had tea served in 'kulhad' with minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and paid Rs 40 for two cups.
The change in leadership at the railway ministry comes at a time when the national transporter is grappling with low passenger earnings even as it is trying to increase freight loading and open up its doors to private investment. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge from Piyush Goyal who got the railway portfolio in 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modii dropped Suresh Prabhu from the Union Cabinet. Completing freight corridors, negotiating land for the bullet train, and speeding up monetisation plans would be some of the major focus areas for Vaishnaw.
The GoM recommended that activities of all religious organisations should not be allowed till May 15 as a precautionary measure to check spread of coronavirus infection, the sources added.
Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
A court at Mahad in Maharashtra, while granting bail to Union Minister Narayan Rane, said his arrest over his controversial remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was "justified", but his custodial interrogation was not necessary.
Paswan, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the country who had been a part of several governments headed by rival parties, died on Thursday at the age of 74.
Our last mile delivery stood out, she said, and promised that programmes will be accelerated and red tape will be reduced.
Shah said that the NPR will not affect the nationality status of any citizen of the country.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is determined to implement the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project despite the Centre's indifference.
Pressure mounted for the removal of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday as more instances of impropriety tumbled out amidst talk of a reshuffle of the Union cabinet in which beleagured Law Minister Ashwani Kumar may be shifted to a different portfolio.
Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and the party's chief whip in the Upper House Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government is throttling the voice of the Opposition leaders to prevent them from raising issues of public importance.
Here are some of the key farmer leaders who fronted the protests.
'As long as Rane is the point-person, the Sena will never revive its partnership with the BJP.'
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 'Mission Karmayogi', dubbed as the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative, aimed at capacity building of government employees to make them more "creative, proactive, professional and technology-enabled". The core guiding principles of the competency-driven programme will be to support a transition from "rules based to roles based" HR management to prepare the Indian civil servant for the future, according to a government statement.
According to sources, the proposal is listed in the agenda of the meeting of the Union Cabinet scheduled for Friday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy convened an emergency meeting at 11.30 am on Friday with ministers, members of Parliament, members of Legislative Council and members of Legislative Assembly from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema to discuss the developments following the Union Cabinet's approval of bifurcation of the state.
Two days after it was cleared by the Union Cabinet, an ordinance on sexual violence against women under which rape that leads to death of the victim can now attract death penalty was on Sunday promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the roll-out of the 'PM POSHAN in Schools' scheme that will provide hot cooked meal to students of elementary classes in government and government-aided schools across the country.
Expressing her anguish over the pain of farmers, Badal, leader of the ruling BJP's erstwhile ally, said, "It is strange that farmers are spending nights in open during the chilling winters and even then their demands are falling on deaf ears."
Announcing the cabinet decision, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also said the President, the Vice President, Governors of states have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility.
The top court directed the Secretary of the Union water resources ministry to personally appear before it on May 14 with a draft of the Cauvery management scheme to implement its verdict on water sharing between four states including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
'The more you challenge her, the more powerful she gets'
This step by the Modi government is in the right direction and will go a long way in safeguarding the interests of socially and economically backward communities, asserts Professor T V Kattimani, Vice-Chancellor, Central Tribal University, Andhra Pradesh, Vizianagaram.
A top Home Ministry official said no note has been prepared yet to be placed before tomorrow's scheduled meeting of the Cabinet to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The government takes pragmatic steps on telecom.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has held a series of meetings with MPs and Union ministers from Punjab and Haryana and surrounding states, and virtual interactions with state agricultural ministers of all BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ruled states where he briefed them about the merits of the two bills, the sources said.
The proposal may provide relief to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore to service providers.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday rejected in the Supreme Court the plea of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma that he was holding an office of profit on the day of filing nomination for President's election, saying he ceased to be the Leader of the Lower House as a result of his resignation from the Union Cabinet.
