The Congress seems to have brokered peace with the main Opposition parties on the crucial food security and land acquisition Bills and ensured that they are not dependent on the whims and fancies of smaller parties. Renu mittal reports
'At least 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of plastic chewing gum gets dumped.' 'And because the way people spit it out, there's no possible way this plastic can be recycled.'
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House for the passing of the Union Budget 2025-26.
When Kasturi Rajamurty won a gold medal in powerlifting at the WPPL World Cup in Russia, she sure had come a long way. From a life of penury to constantly being short of funds to fuel her passion, she had finally triumphed, and how.
While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
In his notice to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader alleged that the home minister had made unfounded allegations against chairperson of Congress parliamentary party with "a premeditated motive to malign her reputation."
The government had pegged food subsidy at Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900 billion) in the 2013-14 Union Budget.
The Tamil Nadu government has termed the proposed Bill on Food Security as confusing and inaccurate.
While Birla did not specify the financial implications of the move, sources said the Lok Sabha Secretariat can annually save more than Rs 8 crore with the subsidy coming to an end.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said government will soon come out with a draft Food Security Bill.
The much-touted Food Security Bill, which proposes to give the country's three-fourth population the right to highly-subsidised food, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with the government rejecting apprehensions that it would impinge upon the rights of states.
Team Anna on Monday evening demanded that Lokpal Bill be passed by Parliament before the legislation on Food Security to ensure that the money spent on ensuring food for all reaches the deserved without any diversion of funds.
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
'He has been one of the clearest thinkers in the history of business.'
'I am smitten with Tokyo's eclectic mix of modern cosmopolitanism and old world Japan,' confesses Dinesh Raheja.
The Empowered Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the Food Security Bill, paving the way for Right to food to be made a fundamental right backed by legal provision. The bill is strongly supported by Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Stating that the food subsidy bill is becoming "unmanageably large", the Economic Survey 2021 on Friday suggested the government to increase the selling price of foodgrains provided through ration shops to over 80 crore beneficiaries. Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at highly subsidised rates of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse grains through Public Distribution System (PDS) as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA). "While it is difficult to reduce the economic cost of food management in view of rising commitment towards food security, there is a need to consider the revision of central issue price (CIP) to reduce the bulging food subsidy bill," the survey said.
Various estimates of the extra cost to the government for an improved food security Bill are doing the rounds, but many agree the Union government's proposed food subsidy bill would double.
A canteen owner at a theatre screening the movie Pushpa 2: The Rule in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior allegedly bit the ear of a man over a dispute on settling the snacks bill, the police said.
The UK Home Office has announced a crackdown on illegal working across the country, targeting restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores, and car washes. In January, Immigration Enforcement teams conducted record-breaking raids, arresting 609 individuals, a 73% increase from the previous year. The crackdown comes as the government introduces new legislation aimed at tackling criminal gangs that facilitate illegal immigration. The Home Office highlights the dangers of illegal migration and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals while emphasizing its commitment to safeguarding workers and removing foreign criminals.
The minority front of the Uttar Pradesh BJP will distribute 'Saugat-e-Modi' kit to 32 lakh poor Muslims on the occasion of Eid this year.
Experts say the Bill should include higher-value food items than just cereals
While the motives of the Bill are of course laudable, there is every likelihood that the consequences of its passage will be dire.
Ushering in the biggest programme in the world to fight hunger, Parliament on Monday gave its nod to the landmark Food Security Bill which seeks to provide highly subsidised foodgrains to the country's two-third population as a right.
The right to food campaign, which is a collaboration of people's movements from across the country, is now on the verge of seeing its demand of a right to food become a reality.
This sweet that uses edible gum and nuts is a winter favourite.
Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel on Monday posted on social media platform X that the Union Cabinet has approved the women's reservation bill, but deleted the post within an hour.
The Manmohan Singh government's rush to pass the Food Security Bill reflects extreme paucity of logic and action, says Neeta Kolhatkar
A decision on the legal right of the poor to get wheat or rice at Rs 3 per kg was deferred on Thursday as Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar could not attend the meeting of a panel of ministers on the Food Security Bill on health grounds.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
The ordinance on the Food Security Bill is expected to come up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, sources said on Monday.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
It should be called the food insecurity bill. It is too weak and mean to fight hunger, says Praful Bidwai
Lending her support to Donald Trump's leadership prowess, the Italian PM said that the Left Wing is nervous about leaders from conservative parties winning and collaborating globally.
The free food scheme is driven by electoral considerations, but its long-term fiscal risks outweigh the short-term gains, cautions A K Bhattacharya.
'Any meaningful food security programme should aim at gradually reducing the number of hungry dependent on government support,' says Devinder Sharma. 'This is only possible if the government had looked at the entire issue in a sincere manner. I don't think at any stage the government was honest in its approach. It had simply worked and reworked the Food Security Bill keeping the 2014 election in mind.'
Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the proposed Food Security Bill, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the bill, in its current form, will push the country toward "malnutrition".
Food subsidy bill rises 20% in April-January
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday met Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and discussed various issues including financial inclusion, payment systems, microfinance and digital lending among others. "Mr.@BillGates visited RBI Mumbai today and held wide ranging discussions with Governor @DasShaktikanta #RBI #rbitoday #rbigovernor #shaktikantadas #BillGates," RBI said in a tweet. Gates Foundation pursues a lot of activity in India including promotion of financial inclusion, health sector and climate change.
It does not bar any state or the Centre from continuing or launching other food-based schemes.
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