US e-commerce giant Amazon, which is said to be investigating alleged bribes paid by its legal representatives in India, spent a staggering Rs 8,546 crore or $1.2 billion in legal expenses for maintaining a presence in the country during 2018-20, sources said. Sources aware of the firm's public account filings said entities of Amazon - including Amazon Retail, Amazon Seller Services, Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon Wholesale, and Amazon Internet Services - paid Rs 3,420 crore in India during 2018-19 and Rs 5,126 crore during 2019-20 towards legal fees. Amazon is locked in a legal tussle over the takeover of Future Group and is facing a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
Amit Shah's net worth grew 32 per cent to Rs 37.91 crore, mainly due to 80 per cent appreciation in the market value of his securities.
The sixth round of talks between the two sides are being held after a considerable gap. The fifth round of talks was held on December 5.
Amid the political spat, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) lent its weight to the prime minister's suggestion, noting that the idea of using wind turbines in generating water from moisture in air and separating oxygen from air is technically feasible.
Vardhan had said on Friday, "Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can."
Will it be home or defence for Amit Shah?
The court noted that Gupta made 'dishonest misrepresentation' before the then prime minister.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari will head a committee which will reach out to social and volunteer organisations while his Cabinet colleague Sushma Swaraj will head a group that will produce literature for the polls.
The combativeness reflects her insistence not to meekly acquiesce to what has been going on in Raisina Hill for years or decades, observes Kartikeya Tanna.
Rahul Bajaj, one of the most successful business leaders in the country, has finally decided to hang his boots at Bajaj Auto, the company he nurtured and steered to one of the leading firms in two and three-wheeler space. The non-executive chairman of the Pune-based two and three-wheeler maker has tendered his resignation which would come into effect from close of business hours on April 30, 2021, Bajaj Auto said in a regulatory filing. In place of Rahul Bajaj, the company has appointed Niraj Bajaj as chairman with effect from May 1, 2021, it added.
The court fixed the matter for July 28 for order on cognisance.
Speaking at the meeting called by the central government, Modi said India is in a better position than many other countries in terms of the ratio of the population hit by the disease but underlined the need to remain vigilant as he cited the resurgence of the infection in some countries like the UK, sources said.
According to the decision, such entities can now first operate through e-commerce and then open brick-and-mortar stores.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The new Council of Ministers comprises of 25 Cabinet ministers, nine Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 24 Ministers of State (MoSes).
President Ram Nath Kovind said the nation will always be grateful to the security personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty.
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
The Naresh Goyal-promoted private airline, in which UAE national carrier Etihad holds 24 per cent stake, is facing acute cash crunch after posting two back-to back quarterly losses this year.
Tomar said the government is committed to "peaceful talks with farmers' leaders and does not intend to hurt farmers' sentiments".
"I don't want Z category security. I want to be an A-category citizen, at par with you all. Why was UAPA not invoked against those who fired at me? ...I want to live, to speak. My life will be safe when the poor are safe. I will not get scared of those who shot at my car," he said in Parliament.
With this, the Congress's strength in the 40-member assembly reduced to 14 from 16.
Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of debt-laden State-run airline Air India but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
The plan could mature into either an umbrella programme for urban youths similar to the Garib Kalyan Rozgaar Abhiyaan or a modified urban-focused version of MGNREGS.
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.
The former finance minister also objected to the filing of a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against The Wire, which carried a story on Jay Shah's business.
Tomar also indicated that the government will not repeal the laws.
The fifth round of talks was held on December 5, while the sixth round originally scheduled for December 9 was called off after an informal meeting of Home Minister Shah with some union leaders failed to reach any breakthrough.
Three union ministers -- Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Prakash -- will hold discussions again with 40 farmer unions' leaders, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union which is spearheading the protests.
It was also the shortest speech by Sitharaman, who had delivered the longest speech last year. Her first Budget speech in July 2019 went on for around 137 minutes and in 2020, it went on for more than 160 minutes and was cut short after she felt unwell.
There is buzz that the PM, confident of an election victory, will introduce 25 new ministers.
As the issue remained deadlocked with both sides sticking to their respective positions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while laying the foundation stone for a new Parliament building, invoked Guru Nanak to underscore the importance of dialogue and noted that the Sikh Guru had said that interaction should continue till eternity.
The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health since August 10.
The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey are at the hospital to enquire about his health condition.
New Jersey-based bridal fashion magazine, Bibi Magazine recently held an event called The Bibi Sexy Seven.
Arun Jaitley and Amit Shah and other ministers will listen to PM's radio talk 'Mann ki Baat' while having tea with people across poll-bound Gujarat on Sunday.
Sources said the railways is keen to ensure that a purely domestic entity bags the tender and once it was felt that the Chinese JV was a frontrunner for the project, it was scrapped.
The cover provided under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, which is a vital safety net for them, ended almost a year back on May 31, 2020. Ever since, there hasn't been much progress on the higher insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh promised under the newly launched Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
While the BJP is in a comfortable position to choose between the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, both have its share of drawbacks. Prasanna D Zore/Rediff. com reports
