Party sources said apart from the Railway and General Budget, the government wanted to initiate some key legislation during the session to send a political message to voters. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has also planned to hold a meeting of the secretaries of different ministries to know each ministry's priority agenda. "We have to set the government's agenda accordingly," Bansal said.
India and the US on Wednesday expressed the hope for an early resumption of the Doha round of negotiations and agreed to make all efforts to achieve an ambitious, balanced, and pro-development outcome.
Under attack from Left parties and other allies like DMK, the government on Tuesday put on hold the decision to reduce quantity of foodgrains under the public distribution system that would have brought down food subsidy.
The UPA government will fulfill the Congress promise of providing rice and wheat at cheap rates through ration shops in the wake of record procurement by the state agencies, Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday after taking charge.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
An opinion poll conducted by India Today to find out who are India's hated politicians has revealed some interesting results. Recent attacks on Indian political leaders have exposed the growing discontent among the masses, who are fed up of rising prices and corruption.
The government would not extend export freight assistance to sugar mills beyond September, Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday. On August 29, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the government must end assistance to sugar exporters since enough sugar had been exported out of the country.
The Cabinet's reluctance to approve the food and consumer affairs ministry's proposal to decontrol sugar is hard to understand -- especially when supplies are comfortable and set to improve further because of the dismantling of the sugar buffer of 5 million tonnes. Besides, the fresh crushing season is beginning next month. Yet, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has put on hold the move to do away with the 10 per cent sugar levy and the monthly release mechanism.
A single market regulator clearly has its own advantages over multiple regulators. But it is more suitable for well-developed and mature markets which are smaller in size, like the UK.
Might discuss Ordinance route tomorrow, note circulated among ministers listing discussion topics.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, also bemoaned the conduct of Deputy Chairman Harivansh and the Modi government's decision of "bulldozing" the Opposition in the House.
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
Pawar asked Modi why he was daring Opposition leaders to bring back Article 370 of the Constitution after it was nullified by Parliament in August.
The first Global Agro-Industries Forum will be organised in New Delhi from 8 to 11 April 2008.
National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India has floated tender after kitchen staple prices touched Rs 90 even though wholesale rates were much less at Rs 50-60 a kg.
Rediff.com takes a look at the revamped Cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:
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Initiating a debate on the current economic situation in the country, Ravi Shankar Prasad of Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the government over rising prices, including that of onions, saying the common man is suffering and "crony capitalism has come to rule".
The Food Security Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill and the Aadhar card could bring electoral dividends to the government as it tries to hard to woo the poor, reports Renu Mittal
Barely days after imposing a 40 per cent export tax on onions to cool down soaring prices, which, in turn, triggered widespread protests across the main growing belts, the Centre on Tuesday sought to mitigate both political and economic tensions gripping parts of Maharashtra. It decided to procure an additional 200,000 tonnes of onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal for its buffer stock from farmers, a rate that is strikingly close to the price at which they were being exported before the 40 per cent duty was levied on August 19. The export price before the imposition of the duty stood at around $320 per tonne free on board (approximately Rs 2,650 per quintal).
The fifth round of talks was held on December 5, while the sixth round originally scheduled for December 9 was called off after an informal meeting of Home Minister Shah with some union leaders failed to reach any breakthrough.
A delegation of opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Left leaders on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the three farm laws against which thousands of farmers have been protesting on various borders of the national capital.
Rangarajan, who was answering questions on onion prices touching Rs 100 per kg in some cities, said the impact on inflation would not last long.
The decision marks first successful policy intervention.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
The BJP veteran was detained on Monday evening while protesting against the state government's "apathy" towards the farmers of Vidarbha. He was taken to the district police headquarters and later released.
'There is no food to eat and water to drink and people are migrating in hordes.' 'Chief Minister Fadnavis must shift his base to Marathwada in such times.' 'If you do not help during a drought, then when will you help?'
Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra reached Mumbai on Sunday evening to participate in a rally at the state capital on Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws.
It is largely due to his vision and efforts that we have almost quadrupled our per capita milk availability in the last 40 years, points out Shailesh Dobhal.
With half of their staff on duty and no visitors allowed in waiting halls, many top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are under quarantine due to the extended lockdown are exploring ways to keep themselves busy.
Prithviraj Chavan helping out Delhi's government tide over high onion prices has not gone down well in his home state of Maharashtra, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
It is regrettable that the IB has tried to devalue the expertise available both within the concerned ministry and in the scientific community by its allegations. Governments and NGOs in many western nations have not been accused of being 'anti-national' when they put their foot down on questionable practices by cash rich agri-business companies, says Rashme Sehgal.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a stay of the implementation of the contentious three new farm laws hoping this will end the prolonged protests by the farmers and also constituted a four-member panel of agri experts to resolve the impasse between their leaders and the Centre.
'The Congress's allies won't be left behind in looking out for their own interests. Some will demand a bigger share of the ministerial or electoral pie, others will simply jump ship,' says T V R Shenoy.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is hailed as the architect of economic reforms in the country, is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, it was announced on Tuesday.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is coming under increasing fire from his own party colleagues for quite a few reasons, says Anita Katyal
In a country where 35 to 40 per cent of food is not consumed, the government urgently needs to reduce wastage to an acceptable level.
Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed as the farmers began their march from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament at 10.30 am.
The Indian economy was on an impressive growth path through the first decade of this century till it was brought to an abrupt halt by the policy inertia during UPA2 and the Modi government's inability to restore economic and financial momentum. Fascinating glimpses of what went wrong from Puja Mehra's must-read book The Lost Decade: How India's Growth Story Devolved Into Growth Without A Story.
The kind of people Narendra Modi has chosen, the decisions he has taken and the rail and central budgets suggests that he is treading carefully in New Delhi. There is less of innovation and more of continuity, so far. He is not ready to rock the boat and start from scratch, says Sheela Bhatt.
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