Spurring the economy, currently in the throes of a slowdown, remains the prime focus for most ministries, but the government is also looking to make women's welfare and environmental protection key to policymaking in this term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hard sold his government's reforms spanning from manufacturing to taxation to labour, saying they have changed the world perception about the country from 'why India' to 'why not India' and went on to quote record foreign investment during the pandemic as a testimony to that. Speaking at industry association Assocham's Foundation Week event, Modi also said agriculture reforms brought by his government six months back have started benefiting farmers. The reforms in the last six years have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from 'why India' to 'why not India' in investing.
The government has asked the eleven municipal areas to step up monitoring in old cities, urban slums and other high density pockets like camps and clusters for migrant workers for management of COVID-19 cases.
'I hear of so many people not getting their money and producers not taking their calls to pay them.'
A total of 77 deaths were reported since Thursday evening of which 27 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 17 from Gujarat, 11 from West Bengal, seven each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, three from Delhi, two from Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and one from Karnataka.
Each train is likely to carry around 1,000-1,200 passengers, keeping in mind the social-distancing protocol.
The finance ministry is working on a second relief package for the Indian economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the contagion, sources said. Last month, the government announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package in the form of foodgrains and cash transfers for the poor and vulnerable section of the society to help them deal with the hardships caused by the lockdown. Now, the government is working on a stimulus to be given to hard-hit sectors of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, sources said, adding that an announcement is expected in the next few days depending on the severity of the pandemic.
India is the third worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US and Brazil in terms of cases and deaths.
'Despite the pandemic, we aspire to maintain the momentum of last year.'
The states need to identify the children in distress through outreach and surveys and prepare a database with a profile of each child, along with the details of their specific needs and requirements, and ensure that the data is uploaded on the Track Child portal.
New norms issued as per the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 have mandated a cap on surge price, preventing aggregators from charging more than 1.5 times of the base fare.
India has entered a 'demographic sweet spot' with half of its population being under the age of 29. This 'demographic dividend' is likely to last for 2-3 decades and provides the government a unique opportunity to harness the vast potential of India's youth, points out Raj Kishore Mishra, the former civil servant turned development professional.
The government's decision to release the reports comes two days after over 200 scholars from across the globe issued a statement demanding release of all withheld reports produced by the NSO, including the household consumer expenditure survey that was junked.
The BJP calling the Congress a "torn old party" moving towards a stage where its relevance and necessity will be completely lost.
Rules being drafted, to also cover unorganised sector; maternity benefit, old age pension, sickness allowance to be included
His about-turn in the farm laws proves that he sees everything in just one dimension: Politics. That helps sometimes. But not always, observes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The company has already shifted production to Aurangabad.
'There was already a cash crunch and this (lockdown) has created more trouble.'
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Riyadh late Monday night on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to participate in the high-profile financial summit Future Investment Initiative, dubbed "Davos in the desert", an initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Labour and Employment Ministry has requested the Finance Ministry to keep Employee State Insurance and Employee State Insurance schemes out of the ambit of service tax as they are social security schemes.
The new government order to review the service record of employees who have completed 30 years in the job to identify inefficient or corrupt staff and retire them prematurely has invited the ire of labour unions, who believe that this is a step towards privatisation.
Javadekar asserted that the first 50 days have shown that Modi government's second term will be more effective and will build on the success of its previous tenure.
Around 40 per cent of the country is staring at drought-like conditions ahead of the monsoon as water levels have receded sharply.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
If someone does reduce his contribution, he should scale it back to the 12% level as soon as he can, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, Public Health Foundation of India, V Ramana Dhara, said the unlock has resulted in a return to old habits of indiscipline in physical distancing and improper mask use.
The statement said the food inflation stood at 7.56 per cent in February, 2014, against 8.94 per cent of the previous month and 14.98 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.
Asked during a press briefing if special trains and private vehicles will also be allowed to transport these people as demanded by some states and others, Joint Secretary in the Union home ministry Punya Salila Srivastava said the orders issued at present were for 'using buses and for group of persons'.
'The Indian State needs to focus on healthcare, education, infrastructure and law and order, and get out of all these regulatory cholesterols.' 'Then, India will fly.'
16 national and regional industry bodies and sectoral business lobbies video-conferenced with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday and raised key concerns facing Indian industry in the wake of the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.
Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio (Independent charge), was on Sunday promoted to the Cabinet rank as was Goyal.
India's trade with the Gulf-Arab region stands at $180 billion. India needs the Gulf region more in terms of trade, investments and employment than the other way round. When it comes to faith, the Gulf-Arab nations have not been found wanting at any point in time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The scheme, which will be effective from July 1, 2019 would benefit 36 million employees and 1.28 million employers. The ESI Act applies to factories with 10 or more workers and provides for medical, cash, maternity, disability and dependent benefits to employees drawing a salary of up to Rs 21,000 per month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of providing free inoculation to all adults will entail total spending of anywhere between Rs 45,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. This is higher than Rs 35,000 crore that the government had budgeted.
Informing about his decision, Maurya said in a tweet in Hindi, 'Due to the attitude of gross neglect towards Dalits, backwards, farmers, unemployed youth and small and medium-sized traders, I am resigning from the council of ministers of Yogi (Adityanath) of UP.'
Narendra Modi's victory does not represent a victory of 'the Indian nation', but only an elite-driven polarising phenomenon. The sooner we -- and the BJP -- recognise this, the better, says Praful Bidwai.
A positive outcome in the year was when India signed an ILO-sponsored 'jobs pact' in July and put employment and social protection at the centre of crises responses.
'The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill' makes employment of children below 14 years as cognisable offence for employers and provides for penalty for parents.
Stating that the fight against COVID-19 is at the final stage, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday cautioned against letting the guard down before it is completely over and requested states to enhance the vaccination coverage and motivate the over 12 crore beneficiaries who are due for their second dose to take it.
India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 6,48,315 on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 18,655 with 442 new fatalities.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances