Ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan, the Congress government on Saturday night issued an order for the conduct of a caste survey in the state.
The Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved a slew of social sector initiatives, including treating the backlog of reserved vacancies of other backward classes (OBCs) as a distinct group not subject to the limit of 50 per cent reservation in a year.
A meeting of the CCEA is likely to be held next week.
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 committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Commissioner of Security (Civil Aviation) to prepare aviation security manual on handling aircraft hijack situation.
The much-awaited special purpose vehicle for funding infrastructure projects is all set to take off by next month with the Prime Minister's Committee on Infrastructure giving it a green signal.
With India joining the project, it would be called TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline.
The government on Friday approved sale of its minority stakes in four public sector firms -- Hindustan Copper, Oil India, MMTC and Nalco-- to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore.
Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday opposed the hike in diesel prices, saying it was not consulted about the step and demanded its rollback. "We were not consulted for this and we are unhappy with the decision to hike diesel prices," said Railway Minister Mukul Roy.
The government is expected to take a decision tomorrow on the issue of allowing foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent stake in cash-starved Indian carriers.
Two technocrats, two hard-boiled politicians are India's new Cabinet ministers...
Dinesh Trivedi, a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, says, "Our government is seriously bothered about Anna's health. Why is Team Anna not requesting Annaji to break his fast, even once? I believe the government is more worried about Anna's health than even Team Anna."
This will enable security agencies to tap any call, real-time chat and data without help from the operators.
Admitting that prices of sugar, pulses and vegetables are rising, the government today said it is planning to increase the subsidy for distribution of pulses through ration shops to provide relief to the common man.
Govt puts populist schemes on fast track.
In a move apparently aimed at mollifying states, the Union home ministry has proposed to take out the National Counter Terrorism Centre from the ambit of the Intelligence Bureau, a sticky point over which the anti-terror body has been stuck.
The government on Thursday gave its approval to set up the National Counter-Terrorism Centre which will act as the nodal agency for all anti-terror activities in the country.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said the State has an obligation to recognise unions entered into by queer couples and grant them benefit under the law.
With the exit of Pranab Mukherjee from the Council of Ministers, Sharad Pawar's name was listed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the official website of the Prime Minister's Office, triggering speculation on Thursday as to whether he was now the number two in the government.
The Union cabinet on Saturday recommended re-promulgation of the controversial land acquisition ordinance. The land ordinance will be issued for the third time.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said his position on controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir has not changed and the Centre is considering three amendments proposed by his ministry to the Act.
While Brijlal Khabri, former BSP MP from Jalaun, is UP Congress Committee chairman, former UP cabinet minister and Mayawati's once close confidant Naseemuddin Siddiqui heads the party's state media department. Completing the ex-BSP troika, Nakul Dubey, former UP cabinet minister in the Mayawati dispensation (2007-12), is one of the six UP Congress regional presidents. He is reckoned among the most active of the three.
The strategic planning has already begun to install the BMD system in the two cities and the final proposal will be put before the government after detailed analysis of the entire project, sources told PTI in New Delhi.
India is moving towards joining the club of few countries having air-launched cruise missiles with a proposal to equip IAF's frontline fighter aircraft Su-30 MKI with BrahMos.
The National Intelligence Grid, a dream project of Home Minister P Chidambaram for an effective anti-terror system, appears to be materialising 18 months after he conceptualised it with the Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Monday gave it an "in-principle" approval.
Post-sale, the government stake would be 75 per cent, which will help NTPC to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms.
The Left parties have slammed the government for the vote.
Gail India subsidiary Mahanagar Gas (MGL) on Friday announced a steep reduction in the retail price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by Rs 8/kg and domestic PNG (piped natural gas) by Rs 5/SCM across its licenced area. The move comes on the heels of the Centre revising the pricing methodology of domestically-produced natural gas on Thursday as proposed by the Kirit Parikh committee and following it with the new price announcement earlier in the day. In February, the city gas distributor reduced its CNG price by Rs 2.5/kg but prices are still around 80 per cent more than those in April last.
We don't go by either "popular morality or segmental morality" but what the Constitution mandates, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday when an argument was advanced before it that young same-sex couples across the country wanted to get married.
With key UPA allies -- the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamul Congress and Nationalist Congress Party members -- clearly expressing their resentment to a new state, sources say the Congress is now looking to find a way out of the situation.
Upstream firms pay for a portion of fuel subsidies by extending discounts on crude oil they sell to refiners who are forced by the government to sell diesel and cooking fuel at rates lower than cost of production.
The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the operation on Tuesday after hearing the differing viewpoints presented by the home and defence ministries on the necessity of such an operation against the Issac-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the NSCN. The CCS has backed the home ministry view that the Army needs to intervene and clear the two districts of armed militants from both the rival factions
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