Labour law changes for three years may not be enough as it takes a couple of years for factories to build and operations at a proper scale start only in the third or fourth year.
Taking dim view of the ongoing war of words between Janata Dal-United and BJP, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi said the two estranged allies were orchestrating a 'friendly fight' with each other to distract attention from the real issues.
States are now gearing up to implement the scheme, integrating it with their own public health insurance plans and tying up the loose ends.
During the day, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting to review preparedness for COVID-19 management, through video conference with health ministers, chief secretaries of all states and UTs, central ministers and representatives from the related organisations and stressed on the need for keeping testing and quarantine facilities, isolation wards, and labs in active readiness.
'Rahul Gandhi has personally paid a heavy price for this character assassination and remorseless ridiculing and the Congress, of course, has been demolished politically.'
The Election Commission has taken action against Narendra Modi for flashing the Bharatiya Janata Party symbol while addressing a presser after he cast his vote in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused it of destabilising institutions, polarising society and mistaking its parliamentary majority for a licence to impose its narrow ideology on people
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
Japan Plus to facilitate and fast-track investment proposals.
'The conception of Make-in-India, Skill India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padao and so on show a visionary breadth of mind, and Modi is almost the first political leader in India to put them into effect with single-minded zeal,' notes B S Raghavan, the former civil servant.
'...Where there is clearly no evidence of community transmission, letting life return to normal in those districts while continuing to rigorously control the spread of the infection.'
'Little about this regime, given its vindictive credo, is a complete surprise. But we were still taken aback by the CBI raid as it was a complete abuse of due process.' 'These are not legal inquiries, but abusive use of State power. They are not legitimate investigations, but a witch-hunt.' 'Ours is a typical, classic case of the State and its organs being used as an outlet for motivated vendetta of the vilest kind.'
'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
States to come under DIPP watch on ease of doing business.
As India prepares for a calibrated exit from the lockdown by easing more restrictions, 'Unlock-1 -- the first of the three-phase plan for reopening of prohibited activities in non-containment zones with a stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) -- kicks in at a time when the country recorded a daily jump of COVID-19 cases by over 9,000 for the fifth straight day on Sunday.
As the Centre faces multiple hurdles, BJP-governed states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have swiftly moved in to usher in radical reforms as they aim to take a larger share of the FDI pie.
Of that figure, a whopping 4,246 people died in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone.
The nationwide death toll on Friday rose to 2005 as the intense heat wave continued to sweep many parts of the country, with Palamau in Jharkhand recording the highest temperature of 47 degrees Celsius.
A PTI tally of figures announced by different states and union territories, as of 9.25 pm, showed a higher number of 1,76,792 confirmed cases and at least 5,100 deaths. It also showed nearly 86,000 recoveries and close to 85,700 active cases.
'The Modi government needs some big private sector trophies to affirm its anti-corruption credentials before the polls.' 'So on whose neck will the sword fall next?' 'To that extent, the outing of the ICICI Bank-Videocon story is cathartic,' says Shekhar Gupta.
It also chided Gujarat for not filing an affidavit on the matter, saying "just because you're Gujarat doesn't mean you can do whatever you like."
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi could be in double trouble with Congress moving the Election Commission over his alleged "wrong" affidavits in the past on his marital status and government saying that a judge for the snoopgate probe will be named soon.
He said it was not only a tax reform but 'is a measure that lends strength to the new culture of honesty'.
"This is nothing but mockery of the whole judicial process," Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal said in stinging remarks against the Narendra Modi government as she returned the new Lokayukta Bill for reconsideration by the legislative assembly.
Here comes the moment of truth. Modi prides himself on offering an "incorruptible" government. Will he dilute the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill to coax the administration's fealty and compromise his self-image?
It is mind-boggling to find our prime minister putting exports on the back-burner, says Jayanta Roy.
Nitish 'sent his emissary, Prashant Kishor, to me on five different occasions.' 'Kishor seemed to indicate that if I were to assure in writing my party's support to the JD-U, the latter would pull out of the BJP alliance and rejoin the Mahagathbandhan.' A revealing excerpt from Lalu Prasad Yadav's Gopalganj To Raisina: My Political Journey.
The fact that everyone but Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh is speaking on the issue only gives credence to the specious fears of farmers that this government is out to get them. Aditi Phadnis reports
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin will attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Delhi with an agenda to develop a plan to bring together AAPI, NGOs and the government to provide access to affordable and quality health care. Aziz Haniffa reports
It is important to approach the belief of people in ancient India's achievements with a sense of proportion, balance and empathy, argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Radhakishan Damani is the only billionaire to see his wealth grow by around 20% during the lockdown.
Narendra Modi's positive engagement with Barack Obama has well and truly washed away the doubts and slights of the past.
Two years is when the honeymoon surely starts to sour, so what should Prime Minister Narendra Modi focus on ahead of 2019? Devanik Saha offers some ideas.
Trashing allegations of illegal snooping against Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday ruled out the Congress's demand for a rethink on its prime ministerial candidate and claimed that the ruling party's "dirty tricks wing" was behind the controversy.
The petition has alleged that the Centre took a series of steps in a "completely mala fide, arbitrary and illegal manner to ensure that Asthana was given the charge of CBI director".
For one, the prime minister's residence will go vegetarian for the first time; Amitabh Bachchan, deservingly, will be conferred the Bharat Ratna; and the people can expect a lot of emotion-loaded communication from the prime minister, feels Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Troubles for the beleaguered Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje mounted on Friday with the disclosure that she was the beneficiary of investments of over Rs 11 crore made by tainted IPL ex-commissioner Lalit Modi in her son's company at a high premium.
