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.
The Budget Session will be held from January 29 to April 6.
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
The GST, an indirect tax regime, is to be rolled out from April 2016.
He added there would not have been need of any due process or Cabinet Committee for Appointment if seniority alone was the criterion.
As per the orders issued on Monday by the chief secretary, appointments of all chairman, vice-chairman, and nominated members in boards and corporations, autonomous bodies, cooperative institutions and other committees, including temple committees and urban local bodies be terminated forthwith.
A CCEA meeting is scheduled for tomorrow but the approval for the Cairn-Vedanta deal is not listed on its agenda so far.
The hope that the ongoing 13th round of negotiations towards an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) could conclude with a deal for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to sign off in time for the India versus England World Cup cricket clash in Lucknow on October 29 seem to be fading, according to a UK media report on Wednesday. The Financial Times quoted officials briefed on the negotiations to say that a lack of movement towards opening up of the Indian market to British professional services in the field of law and accountancy is among the factors for the slowdown. So much so that cricket fan Sunak's proposed return visit to India after an inaugural visit as UK Prime Minister to New Delhi for the G20 Summit last month is looking "very, very unlikely to happen".
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, and Personnel in its report in December last had recommended passage of the Bill in its present form and suggested that the issue should not be left to the discretion of political parties.
Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been "prematurely" repatriated to Manipur cadre where a fresh bout of violence has worsened the already tense situation.
Besides the Union Cabinet, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are giving final touches to major changes in the All India Congress Committee and Andhra Pradesh Congress unit. There is also the likelyhood of shuffling of state governors.
Keith Vaz, Britain's longest-serving Indian-origin MP was on Thursday re-elected as chair of the British Parliament's influential Home Affairs Select Committee.
An early choice will also allow Mr Rajan to do some hand-holding.
This is the third time the party is boycotting a meeting, amid rumours that all is not well with the coalition.
'The Constitution of India is a stumbling block. So, they want a Presidential mode of election.' 'This is the sole purpose of the BJP to go for one nation, one election.'
The CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry in 2016 which was later converted into a regular case, they added.
"Pawar saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in the guard a few days ago. We should see his decision in the light of his age and health also. Everyone has to take a decision according to time, Pawar saheb has taken a decision and he won't take it back," Ajit Pawar said.
While there is no change in the strength of the Modi-led CCPA over its two tenures, what has changed is its profile.
The action followed a show-cause notice to the Shahpura MLA, who is a former Speaker of the state assembly, from the party's state unit president CP Joshi.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the Rs 2,058 crore (Rs 20.58 billion) stake sale deal between Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad.
It is our job to ensure security, law and order in the state, Shinde said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not chosen any of the top ministers in his Cabinet to head the government during his visit to South Korea between March 24 and March 27. "The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs may decide on issues of national urgency. The CCPA will, in the prime minister's absence, be presided over by the senior-most minister," says a 'Secret/Most Urgent' note sent out by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth to nine senior ministers.
Joshi, a 1992 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Manipur cadre, replaced Dr Rajesh Kumar.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed his regret that the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota was not provided under the Bill brought by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2010.
Extending its winning run in the south, the Congress on Sunday won 64 assembly seats to form government in the Bharat Rashtra Samiti-dominated Telangana, with the southern solace coming in the midst of a saffron sweep of the Hindi heartland where the Bharatiya Janata Party wrested two states from the grand old party and retained one.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and D K Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
Senior leader Oscar Fernandes, who is currently minister without portfolio, could be brought full time to the organisation amid reports that the known loyalist of the party chief could get a key assignment.
At the same time, the Cabinet approved reducing government's stake in select PSUs such as IOC to below 51 per cent while continuing to retain management control.
"Had corona (COVID-19) not been there, the prime minister would have dedicated NATGRID to the country. I am hopeful that the prime minister will dedicate NATGRID to the country in some time," Union home minister Amit Shah said during the 51st Foundation Day event of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) here on September 4.
The defence ministry said 10 helicopters will be for the Indian Air Force and five will be for the Indian Army.
Former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who was on Sunday elected the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislative party in Himachal Pradesh, hit out at the Congress, alleging its government was failing to deliver on poll promises and leaders were moving in different directions.
"The policy draft has been approved. The ministry has been renamed as education ministry," a senior HRD ministry official said. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new education policy was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto ahead of the 2014 general election.
Earlier, the BJP governments in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh had announced implementation of the UCC in their states.
Sources from the Services Department, however, claimed that the order issued by the government was 'illegal'.
It is thanks to the policy of liberalisation conceived by Manmohan Singh and enforced by P V Narasimha that the Indian economy has now become the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has registered a case against Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Ravindra Waikar and five others in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in a western suburb, an official said on Friday.
The decision will now be taken on Tuesday during a full fledged cabinet meeting
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