The postal department would be floating tenders for procurement of hardware and development of software. Pilots will be held in rural and urban post offices and the final roll out will be completed by September 2012.
A preview of many of the tableaux, some of which are still being constructed or given finishing touches, was held at the Rashtriya Rangshala Camp in the city.
As part of the ritual, ''halwa'' is prepared in a big ''kadhai'' (large frying pot) and served to the entire staff involved in the Budget making exercise of the ministry. Halwa was served while maintaining COVID protocol with all present in mask and those distributing sweets were wearing gloves.
The Union home ministry has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) for alleged violation of laws, a move the public think-tank termed "incomprehensible and disproportionate" and vowed to seek legal recourse against.
The government may soon give the green light to bilateral trade between Russia and India in their national currencies to avoid any trade disruptions, multiple people aware of the matter said. While the Department of Commerce has recommended the proposal, an announcement is likely to be made by the finance ministry after further deliberations between the Department of Economic Affairs and Department of Financial Services. "The finance ministry will take a call on how to peg the two currencies," a senior government official told Business Standard. In the past, the two nations have had rupee-rouble trade, and when such an arrangement is implemented again, it will bypass the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West.
Gold imports in 2011-12 amounted to $56.5 billion and in the current financial year, till December, they are estimated at $38 billion.
Gold and silver imports during April, 2013 jumped by 138 per cent to $7.5 billion against $3.1 billion in the year-ago period.
A high-level meeting will be convened soon to decide on probing the India operations of Chinese Telecom companies -- 'Huawei' and 'ZTE' -- against the backdrop of the US calling the two firms a threat to American national security.
Seeking to prevent misuse of funds belonging to foreign investors, the Reserve Bank has proposed that transfer of such funds to the Indian entity should be allowed only through escrow mechanism under which the money would remain with the bank pending investment.
As part of it, the govt may permit 26% FDI in insurance broking through the automatic route.
This time, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who attended the first such retreat in 2008, would be present.
The Union Cabinet has cleared disinvestment of the country's largest insurer LIC and a panel headed by the finance minister will now decide on the quantum of stake dilution, a senior official said on Monday. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had in January appointed actuarial firm Milliman Advisors LLP India to assess the embedded value of LIC ahead of the IPO (initial public offering), which is touted to be the biggest public issue in Indian corporate history. The Budget amendments to the LIC Act has been notified and the actuarial firm is expected to finalise the embedded value of the life insurer. Under the embedded value method, the insurance company's present value of future profit is also included in its present net asset value.
Documents related to 2G spectrum allocation cannot be accessed by the public till the Joint Parliamentary Committee completes its probe and submits its report, the Central Information Commission has stated. The JPC, which is probing the high-profile scam, has directed the finance ministry not to reveal any information till it completes the probe.
DEA official writes to DIPP suggesting that govt needs to understand what has been left out, and why, in the revised application of the retailer.
For the first time, the government is considering the merits of a tariff policy to contain prices that could include allowing external agencies to import commodities and cultivating some essential crops overseas. An inter-departmental team from the ministries of finance, food and consumer affairs and commerce has been asked to work out a strategy to this effect.The finance ministry's department of economic affairs has submitted its views and a final paper is under preparation
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce has called a meeting on July 10 to discuss the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the cigarette industry.
A direction is this regard was given on Wednesday after Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal met in the presence of the secretaries of the Department of Economic Affairs and Coal Ministry
Industry is demanding a cut in repo rate to help revive India's sagging GDP growth that hit decade's low of 4.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2012-13.
Spectrum qualifies for the infrastructure criteria, say ministry officials.
The rupee has lost over 2.5 per cent in the two trading days of this week and nearly 10 per cent in the past six weeks on concerns of scaling down of stimulus packages by the US.
The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday.
Many bureaucrats have in the recent past switched sides to join companies.
This will enable security agencies to tap any call, real-time chat and data without help from the operators.
One wing of the government's definition of what constitues infrastructure is different from that of another and this needs to be resolved fast.
Provident fund body may get support to ensure interest rate comparable with other savings instruments.
The rate of cash withdrawals over deposits was almost double in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to the latest analysis submitted by the RBI to the finance ministry.
The finance ministry has already raised the fiscal deficit target to a more acceptable level of 5.3 per cent.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared setting up of Cabinet Committee on Investment for providing expeditious clearances to major projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion).
Post-sale, the government stake would be 75 per cent, which will help NTPC to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms.
Finance Ministry officials are engaging in hectic parleys with the PSUs to speed up the process so that the disinvestments can take place in the December and March quarters.
The road transport ministry has asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ascertain the findings of a report by the World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit. According to the report, contractors paid bribes and gifts to influence the actions of NHAI officials and consultants.
Sri Lankans queued up to apply for fresh passports outside the department of immigration and emigration office in Colombo.
He will be the first bureaucrat to head the central bank in almost five years.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was aware of the contents of the controversial 2G note which was issued as an office memorandum at the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office, a top official told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Thursday.
Senior finance ministry official said the economic affairs department cleared the proposals on Friday.
In the first phase, most of the outdated regulations in the state and central Acts will be removed. Further, compliances with regard to annual inspections, licence renewal, and storage of multiple data will be eased.
The two groups have another JV, Wadia BSN, set up in 1996 to launch Groupe Danone's products from its global portfolio. However, nothing has been launched through the JV till date and Danone is in negotiations with the Wadias to dissolve the JV.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is not going anywhere. That being the case, why is the hesitation to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
