CII on Thursday objected to any mandatory reservation for socially underprivileged in the private sector even as it forecast 8.3 per cent GDP growth target for this financial year.
In both of these Hindi heartland states, the straight contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress.
Women will have a decisive say as chairpersons in seven of Jammu and Kashmir's 20 districts.
Allocation for schemes only for SCs and STs to be increased to Rs 3,271 crore (Rs 32.71 billion).
The Union government is thinking of levying one more cess on incomes of corporate India to help them discharge their duties towards the people belonging to the scheduled casts and the scheduled tribes.
In a setback to those clamouring for quotas without any bar, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that the "creamy layer" should be excluded from the reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.
Turning pro-active on the issue of private sector job reservation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted a coordination committee of officials to go into the issue of affirmative action by business and industry in providing jobs for SC, ST.
The accused -- Bhakti Mehere, Hema Ahuja and Ankita Khandelwal -- were arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of doctor Payal Tadvi by tormenting her with casteist slurs.
The only visible hint of the impending election is the hoardings put up by local election authorities, urging citizens to exercise their franchise.
'Rather than criticising the kind of candidates fielded by political parties from our living rooms, NOTA in a sense implores the electorate to say this by turning up in person at a polling booth to ensure their protest is registered.'
Opposition Congress claimed that the accused was linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party. The ruling party, however, denied the allegation.
The Gujjar community will be given five per cent reservation as a special category under an agreement reached with Rajasthan government, bringing to an end the nearly month-long agitation for Scheduled Tribe status. Addressing a joint press conference with Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla in Jaipur, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced five per cent quota for Gujjars as also Rebaris and Banjaras.
"There is, however, no change in the quantum of All India Quota PG seats, which is 50 per cent as directed by the Supreme Court earlier and remaining 50 per cent of the seats are earmarked for the concerned state government."
The National Council of Educational Research and Training will provide 100 scholarships to talented students who have dropped out of school due to financial problems.
Miffed over alleged atrocities against Dalits, Congress MLA Pana Chand Meghwal on Monday sent his resignation to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying he doesn't have the right to remain a legislator if he can't protect his community.
A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court's March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.
Polling in 70 constituencies began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, except in nine polling booths in the Maoist-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district, where voting began at 7 for security reasons, a poll official said.
A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh asked the UGC to furnish the details of steps taken on a plea by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi.
Our caste warriors will not even ask these questions, let alone explore better solutions to address the problems of inequality and skewed life outcomes, argues R Jagannathan.
Justice Karnan claimed that the seven judges of the bench have insulted him 'wantonly and deliberately and with mala fide intention'.
The BJP asked voters in Gujarat to do "100 per cent voting for the son of the soil" Modi to take "revenge" in a democratic manner for the "insult"
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
The ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress described it as the 'social cabinet', with 70 per cent representation to the BC, SC, ST and minority communities.
The opposition will seek to target the government on the issue of farmers' plight as well as their demand for a legal backing for minimum support price.
Many exit polls have kept the incumbent Bharatiya Janata party ahead of the Congress in what was a straight contest between two main parties. Assembly polls were held in the state in a single phase on November 17.
Yasmeen Wankhede, the sister of Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, has filed a police complaint in Mumbai seeking registration of an FIR against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for allegedly defaming her, an official said on Thursday.
The FIR was registered at Akola in Vidarbha region against 33 persons, including 28 policemen, an official said.
A senior bishop of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on Thursday said instead of saying in the US that there is no discrimination in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try to convince the Christians in Manipur about that.
They are doing so in protest against the Tamil Nadu government's anti-conversion law.\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, who has been booked for murder and instigating violence, also called for review of the entire reservation policy at the national level.
The Lokpal chairperson, all of its eight members and support staff are being allocated space in the hotel premises.
The complainant alleged that Malik made "false and derogatory" remarks against him and his family members.
The Congress will contest 42 seats and the INPT 18 seats reserved for STs. They will jointly campaign for their candidates.
Any economically weaker from Brahmins, Rajputs (Thakurs), Jats, Marathas, Bhumihars, several trading castes, Kapus and Kammas among other upper castes with an annual income below Rs 8 lakh and not owning more than five acres of agricultural land will get the benefits of the reservation.
