In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore (Rs 66 billion) a year, the first such increase in a decade.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategist, is getting ready to take on the United Progressive Alliance in the coming Budget session of Parliament. Jaitley's legal background and his envious reach in New Delhi's media is a potent combination helping his party to push its political agenda. He spoke exclusively to Sheela Bhatt on the Uttar Pradesh election.
Taking strong exception to the central government's decision to return the proposal for division of the state into four parts, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday flayed the United Progressive Alliance regime for what she termed as "total apathy" towards the issue.
This is the second time in a month that Minister of State in PMO Narayanasamy has met the DMK patriarch, whose party is the largest ally of Congress with 18 Lok Sabha members after the exit of Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.
Claiming that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi are not on the same page, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said government has to be large-hearted and not act as "big brother" for creating a political consensus, which is key to economic reforms.
Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday opposed the hike in diesel prices, saying it was not consulted about the step and demanded its rollback. "We were not consulted for this and we are unhappy with the decision to hike diesel prices," said Railway Minister Mukul Roy.
In surprising comments, Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said his Samajwadi Party, a key outside supporter of the United Progressive Alliance government, is in the "opposition" and will fulfill its role in that capacity.
The United Progressive Alliance will face the monsoon session of Parliament, which begins on Wednesday, on a high, having proved that when it comes to numbers it can beat its opponents hollow.
Trinamool Congress has named Derek O'Brien as its chief whip in the Rajya Sabha. The party, which is a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance government, has sent a communication in this regard to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
The beginning of the month-long session will coincide with the vice presidential election, in which the victory of United Progressive Alliance-Left nominee Hamid Ansari appears to be certain.
Nearly three years ago, Pratibha Patil became the first woman governor of Rajasthan and, after her selection as United Progressive Alliance nominee for the post of President, she could break the male dominance at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The move to open multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment may run into rough weather, with key Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, as well as some constituent parties of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, rejecting or being ambivalent towards the proposed policy.
Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday refused to rate the three year performance of the United Progressive Alliance-II government, saying there are "ups and downs" for every government.
Upset over the naming of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G scam charge sheet, United Progressive Alliance's key ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Monday decided to convene a high-level committee meeting on Wednesday to plan its future course of action.
Scheduled meetings of various Groups of Ministers have been postponed for the foreseeable future as key ministers in the United Progressive Alliance government turn their attention to political assignments for the Assembly polls in six states.
Public-sector oil retailers are projected to lose Rs 45,571 crore on selling petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost.
Slowly, Rahul Gandhi is becoming more pro-active and taking a great deal of interest in matters of governance and key programmes of the United Progressive Alliance government. On Thursday, Rahul called on Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at his residence (the first time he paid such a visit) with a Budget wish-list.
Sources said both Mukherjee and Deora were in favour of Rs 2-3 a litre hike in petrol and diesel prices and Rs 25 per cylinder increase in LPG rates.
Hailing the Supreme Court verdict in 2G case, L K Advani on Wednesday wondered if former telecom minister A Raja could be the sole "villain" and said no one can beat the United Progressive Alliance government, which is "actually run" by Sonia Gandhi, in its "stinking record" in scams.
Inaugurating the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas celebrations here, he pointed out that infrastructure, agriculture, health and education were the key priorities for the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government.
'I left the party with heavy heart. If a party is working against national interest, there there is no other option but to leave it'
For the first time, the Government of India has launched an interactive website to seek feedback and suggestion on various issues that would contribute to the approach paper of the twelfth Plan (2012-17). Views on the Plan can also be expressed through a Facebook page.
United Progressive Alliance key ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday strongly pitched for a multi-member Comptroller and Auditor General, saying the recent flopped auction of 2G spectrum that netted only about Rs 9,000 crore had proved wrong the top auditors' report pegging the presumptive loss in 2G allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
Karunanidhi, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance, was busy attending a book release function by his close friend and renowned poet Vairamuthu.
Senior lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was attacked by three youths on Wednesday at around 4.15 pm when he was getting ready for an interview with a TV channel. Bhushan is fighting scores of cases against the United Progressive Alliance, and also the petitioner of the case related to 2G scam.
A day after the Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance, hinted at going alone in 2014 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, a Congress MP on Tuesday said it was impossible for the Mamata Banerjee-led party to win all 42 seats without its support in the state.
The others who will be joining the commission as members are Narendra Jadhav, honorary vice-chancellor of Pune University and Mihir Shah, secretary of Samaj Pragati Sahayog. The government has also retained Abhijit Sen, Syeda Hameed and B K Chaturvedi as members in the reconstituted commission, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
The new United Progressive Alliance government will prepare an approach paper to address the key issues of the economy against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to go ahead with the scheduled Indo-Pak meeting after the blast at Pune's German Bakery that has so far claimed 10 lives, is not an easy one for him, with two key ministers of his government opposing the move.
Some of the security and intelligence agencies, which currently enjoy immunity from public scrutiny of their functioning, may soon be brought under the realm of the Right to Information Act of 2005, as the government is finalising amendments to the Act.This is one of the key recommendations of a study before the United Progressive Alliance government, as it reviews the landmark law that had brought in considerable transparency in the function of the public institutions.
The United Progressive Alliance government says it will table the civil nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, but before that it hopes to resolve the continuing differences with the opposition parties over the wordings of some key aspects of the bill.
The first task before Mukherjee, who was also in charge of the finance minister in the previous government, would be to present the budget for 2009-10 and spell out policies and priorities of the new United Progressive Alliance government. The minister at his office was received at by key finance ministry functionaries, including finance secretary Ashok Chawla, revenue secretary P V Bhide, expenditure secretary Sushma Nath and chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani.
Outlay for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology has come down from Rs 1,665 crore (Rs 16.65 billion) in 2009-10 (revised estimates) to Rs 1,600 crore (Rs 16 billion) in 2010-11.
Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling on Tuesday following uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears a natural choice as the prime ministerial candidate of the United Progressive Alliance in the next elections and it may be 'too early' for Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief and a key UPA partner, Sharad Pawar has suggested.
A key meeting of senior United Progressive Alliance government ministers and political parties, including the Congress and its Left allies, failed to secure a political consensus on the showpiece Special Economic Zones initiative.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, a key ally in the United Progressive Alliance, on Wednesday strongly opposed the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form. The party did not rule out withdrawing support from the Congress-led coalition at the Centre if its demand for quota within quota, for Dalit and minorities in the legislation, was not conceded. RJD's rigid stand might throw a spanner in the efforts of the UPA to ensure passage of the Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances