A bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian governor-general, has replaced a statue of British architect Edwin Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan, symbolizing a move away from colonial influences and embracing Indian heritage.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday demanded blocking of live telecast of India-Pakistan match during the Asia Cup next month, citing national interest and public sentiment.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
The government on Wednesday approved the inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, fulfilling long-pending demands from these states.
Naidu was an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist during the Emergency and was arrested and jailed.
It has been a turnaround for Javadekar, who was earlier stripped of the charge of two key departments of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs as a minister of state.
Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the National Democratic Alliance is stooping too low and carrying out a scurrilous campaign against Congress nominee Pratibha Patil.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Priyaranjan Dasmunsi denied that the nation was heading for a mid-term poll.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
The committee has to consider a wide range of issues relating to the national anthem, and have extensive discussions with various ministries.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio (Independent charge), was on Sunday promoted to the Cabinet rank as was Goyal.
Parliament proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday following protests by the opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House on the Manipur issue. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition kept insisting on a discussion under Rule 267 of the House.
The opposition was demanding a discussion on the issue on Wednesday itself. The House witnessed three brief adjournments as the government and opposition parties were trying to reach an agreement on holding the discussion on the Delhi violence as well as the debate on two ordinances which are set to lapse.
The move to resume work in ministries comes nearly a month after the government issued work from home protocols in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Top government functionaries, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended International Yoga Day events across the country on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a yoga event at the Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi said everybody should practice the ancient Indian discipline lifelong.
"This is a golden opportunity for us to lift the lives of the poor, the deprived. This is the time for doing more development and reforms," he said.
More screenings are expected to take place in some colleges in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram later Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
Stepping up their attack on Rahul Gandhi for his 'democracy under brutal attack' remark in the United Kingdom, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union ministers, on Thursday demanded an apology from the Congress leader insisting that he was 'not above Parliament'.
Rathore takes over from the pro-active Goel following a major cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress on Thursday said it firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy, remarks that came after the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the opposition party for its leader Digvijaya Singh thanking Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
Naidu was an ABVP activist during the Emergency and was arrested and jailed.
She had many firsts to her credit such as being the youngest cabinet minister in the Haryana government, first woman chief minister of Delhi and the first woman spokesperson for a national political party in the country.
As Germany took note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused the Congress of 'inviting foreign powers' for interference in India's internal matters and the Opposition party hit back, alleging that its rival was attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.
Mourning the demise "as a personal loss", Naidu expressed hope that the words and deeds of this exemplary leader will continue to inspire all those in public life.
The 78-year-old Ahamed died at 2:15 am at RML hospital where he was admitted on Tuesday and put on artificial life support.
The powerful orator leaves behind the legacy of an easily-accessible leader who played a key role in BJP's emergence in the late 1990s.
Apart from Smriti, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ananth Kumar took over as law and parliamentary affairs ministers respectively.
Leaking of official secrets of military operations is treason and those involved in it must be punished, the Congress said on Wednesday on the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and demanded that the prime minister must come clean.
In this year's budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high value cash withdrawals as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles.
Opposition parties forced early adjournments in both Houses of parliament as they continued to press for a debate on demonetisation under any rule that entailed voting, a demand that the government has refused to accept. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi led a walkout by the Opposition over no obituary references being made for the seven Army personnel who lost their lives in the terror attack on an Army base in Nagrota, Jammu and Kashmir.
Naidu is a fitting candidate for the office of vice president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
A senior politician Naidu respected once tried to convince the firebrand student leader to quit the Jana Sangh.
Jaitley said the tribunal has confirmed Italy's obligation to return Sergeant Girone to India in case India's jurisdiction over him is established.
Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said all the commissions were functioning and the process of filling up the vacancies was on.
He has served BJP in several capacities, will also be a saviour for the NDA in the Rajya Sabha, where they are still in minority.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
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