President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said the country's farm production and procurement increased during 2020-21 crop year despite the pandemic and agricultural exports reached a record level of Rs 3 lakh crore during the same period. In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, Kovind said the government is focusing on making the country self-sufficient in edible oils besides making special efforts to promote organic farming, natural farming and crop diversification. "My government is working continuously to empower the farmers and the rural economy of the country... I would like to give maximum credit to the small farmers of the country for this consistent success and strengthening of the agriculture sector," he said.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail on Thursday told the government that complex legal structures have been used by some firms to bypass the country's e-commerce rules which from the very beginning do not allow foreign capital in the inventory-based model. At a meeting called by the commerce ministry on allegations that foreign online retailers created complex structures to bypass foreign investment rules and damage small traders, Amazon urged the government not to issue any clarification until investigations into its business practices had been concluded, sources said. At the meeting, Reliance Retail's representatives said the Indian e-commerce policy does not allow foreign capital in the inventory-based model and foreign investment is allowed only in pure technical infrastructure/ platform that facilitates the meeting of buyer with sellers.
I had about eight, nine, dating apps on my phone. But I always felt this pressure of looking good.' 'When it comes to finding romantic love, it just feels very shallow.' 'I felt it was time for something different, something non superficial.'
'When a person is capable of infecting 50 others, will you think about the privacy of the person or about protecting the lives of people?'
A reception often reserved for rockstars came the way of mining mogul Anil Agarwal when he started revealing nuggets of his ascent from a scrap-metal dealer to one of India's most prominent self-made industrialists on social media. And now he has been flooded with booking writing proposals and has even been offered money for a biopic. In February this year, Agarwal, 68, started tweeting his journey from Bihar to Mumbai first and then to London to head a globally diversified natural resources company with interests in zinc-lead-silver, iron ore, steel, copper, aluminium, power, oil and gas.
'If the government starts playing favourites, if the government acts in a manner which is not transparent, then natural resources which belong to not just you and me, but future generations, they fritter away. The anger against corruption, the anger against India's natural resources being looted is a consequence of the fact that within society there is a huge amount of turmoil and discontentment. Why should an Empowered Group Of Ministers or the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decide the administered price of gas?' asks Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in this exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended up 62 per cent reduction in base price of premium 2G spectrum and up to 37 per cent in case of radiowaves freed from the cancellation of 122 licences, compared to the amount fixed for previous auction.
'Is China's intention not clear?' 'Do we still think that if we are nice to China, it will be good to us?'
It would pave the way for Jammu and Kashmir to attract large-scale investments, the industry leaders said.
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.
Based on this price, state governments, private hospitals, industrial establishments, etc would be able to procure vaccine doses from the manufacturers.
'Ultimately, we have to understand that we don't have the supply at the population scale. 'Therefore, it has to be prioritised.' 'That's what the government has done.'
'The common belief in political circles is that if you provide reservation to somebody, s/he will automatically come up.' 'This is a very faulty understanding.'
The Bombay high court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Chanda Kochhar against her termination as the managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank A division bench of Justices N M Jamdar and M S Karnik accepted the bank's contention that Kochhar's petition was not maintainable as the dispute was contractual and concerns a private body.
According to a study, the change in frequency for transmitting mobile signals could cost the telcos over Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) cumulatively.
Six government employees, including two policemen, were on Wednesday dismissed from service for their alleged links with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of employees sacked in last nearly six months to 25, officials said.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the biggest tax reform since Independence.
'Whatever I did, I did for the farmers and whatever I am doing, I am doing for the country'
However, Butt's father taught them a lot about the game.
Political analysts say the road to the 2024 polls for the Congress is going to get tougher as it is a party that is 'in the ICU' and cannot be revived with quick-fix solutions.
The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it 'has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever'.
Keshav Prasad Maurya's election from Sirathu in Kaushambi will be among the keenly watched contests in UP. If he and the BJP win, will he be luckier this time?
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K V Subramanian will be leaving the finance ministry and returning to academia on completion of his three-year term. The government had appointed Subramanian, an ISB Hyderabad professor, as the CEA in December 2018. He had succeeded Arvind Subramanian, who quit the position close to a year ahead of his extended tenure. Subramanian's three-year term would have come up for renewal in December but he decided to return to academia.
The MHA said the government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.
Reliance Jio, together with partners, has tested its 5G solutions in India, successfully demonstrating speeds of over 1 GBPS, and its 'Made in India' solution is "globally competitive", RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Thursday. Ambani also exuded confidence that the company will be the first to launch full-fledged 5G services in the country. Jio is not just working to make India '2G-mukt' (free from 2G) but also '5G-yukt' (5G empowered), he added. Jio's engineers have developed a 100 per cent home-grown and comprehensive 5G solution that is fully cloud native, software defined, and digitally managed.
The PM also said that the country does not face problems in farm production but in post-harvest losses and therefore efforts are being made to strengthen post harvest infrastructure facilities and ensure better income for farmers.
Calling for attention to cases of sexual violence against women and girls in India, UN Resident Coordinator in India Renata Dessallien said the alleged rape and murder in Hathras and Balrampur are a reminder that those from disadvantaged social groups are at greater risk of gender-based violence.
Regulator has suggested a lower reserve price even in service areas where spectrum was sold in November 2012.
Ramesh Menon, the veteran journalist suggests Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi what he should do if he wants to win 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Cloned journals have become more rampant in the post-pandemic world.
In his address at an extraordinary video conference of the G-20 leaders, Modi also urged the grouping to come out with a concrete action plan to fight the pandemic and said human beings rather than economic targets should be put at the centre of its vision for global prosperity and cooperation.
The only way out for DMRC would be if the lenders, a consortium of 10 banks, find another concessionaire for the project
An empowered group of ministers headed by Defence Minister A K Antony is to consider an Oil Ministry proposal of abolishing the priority ranking according to which natural gas is first given to urea manufacturing fertiliser plants, then to LPG units, followed by power plants, city gas, steel and refineries.
He allegedly advanced the cut-off date to favour accused firms in allocation of 2G licences.
The Oil Ministry has proposed raising natural gas prices by at least 60 per cent, a move that will result in rise in urea as well as power costs.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal economic snoop agency under the Union finance ministry, sent 289 legal requests to its counterparts across the globe during 2018-19 as compared to 177 in 2017-18 and 138 in 2016-17.
The lockdown in India has been a timely, graded, proactive and pre-emptive public health measure to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and has been part and parcel of the government's overall strategy, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Chairman, Empowered Group 1, said at a media briefing on the COVID-19 situation.
'Due to change in the weather, the challenges are increasing.' 'The morale of the air fighters is high and the availability of advanced equipment empowers them to face any enemy.'
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala have been ranked as the top five states in innovation in Niti Aayog's second Innovation Index released on Wednesday. The index, released by Niti Aayog's vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, has been developed on the lines of the Global Innovation Index. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar have been ranked at the bottom of the index. Karnataka topped the index for the second year in a row.
Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday mentioned about leadership transition at his energy-to-retail conglomerate, saying he wants the process to be accelerated with seniors, including him, yielding to the younger generation. Ambani, 64, who has previously not spoken about succession plans at the country's most valuable company, said Reliance is "now in the process of effecting a momentous leadership transition." Ambani has three children -- twins Akash and Isha, and Anant.
