Till now, the maximum Bharat Ratnas were awarded in 1999 when four recipients were given the coveted award.
Neither Union agriculture minister nor junior ministers were present to hear our concerns. We asked why the minister is not meeting us, why the government is playing double standards by calling us here and ministers holding virtual meetings in Punjab. There was no proper response," Darshan Pal, member of the coordination committee of 29 farmers' organisations, said after the meeting.
He was reviled by critics in his party as a neo-liberal in disguise but till the end, he retained his belief in secularism and the humanity of Communism.
Former West Bengal chief minister and a front-ranking Marxist leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will go down in the country's history as a pragmatic communist who kept aside his ideological convictions to woo capital for the industrialisation of his state.
A total of 45 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion in the 81-member assembly.
The government on Thursday reappointed former IPS officer Ajit Doval as the National Security Adviser (NSA), according to an official order.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has handed over portfolios of nine rebel ministers, who are currently camping in Guwahati, to other ministers.
Worried over slowdown of agriculture sector due to "technology fatigue," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday assured the Chief Ministers that the Centre was willing to support their plans for enhancing productivity in the segment.
Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary on Friday said the Centre won his heart with the announcement of Bharat Ratna to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. 'Dil Jeet Liya,' he posted on X.
According to the Morcha, the demands which Delhi Chalo has been called include: MSP should be guaranteed as per C2+50 percent formula and, as promised, a law should be made to guarantee it; all the farmers should be made debt free, and all agricultural loan must be waived.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
The government is seeking private investment in agricultural sector to remove infrastructure bottlenecks by developing cold chains, warehousing and transport facilities.
Moody's Ratings on Tuesday said India's growing water shortage can disrupt farm and industry sectors and is detrimental to the credit health of the sovereign as rising food inflation and decline in income may spark social unrest. It said decreases in water supply can disrupt agricultural production and industrial operations, resulting in inflation in food prices and hence can be detrimental to credit health of sectors that heavily consume water, such as coal power generators and steel-makers.
"When Amit Shah was in Goa (for campaigning for February Assembly polls), he asked for a Himalaya (brand) water bottle. It was then brought from Mapusa (located around 10km from Panaji)," Naik said, addressing an event in South Goa.
Nine MLAs, including Babul Supriyo, took oath as ministers in West Bengal on Wednesday, in a major reshuffle of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
The 'Angh' of Oting, Tahwang, is contesting the February 27 assembly polls on a Naga People's Front (NPF) ticket against the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party MLA P Paiwang Konyak, who is a cabinet minister in the outgoing government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday expressed optimism that the country would be able to sustain four per cent growth rate in the farm sector achieved during the past three years.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
Modi stated that with the population increasing and the land resources being constant, the only way ahead for farmers was to increase productivity using latest technology.
The government on Friday scrapped a minimum price threshold that it had set previously for exports of onion as it looked to pass on the benefit of international glut to Indian farmers. The government had previously fixed a $550 per tonne as the minimum export price (MEP), which essentially meant farmers could not sell their produce overseas at lower than this rate.
The government will formulate a strategy to make India self-reliant in edible oils by boosting domestic output of oilseeds and launch a comprehensive programme to support dairy farmers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday. India imports a large quantity of edible oils to meet the domestic demand. During the 2022-23 marketing year (November-October), the country imported nearly 165 lakh tonnes of cooking oils, valuing a whopping Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the district late on Sunday night, assured the people of all help from the administration.
The JSP has made an electoral alliance with main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist headed by K P Sharma Oli.
About 60 per cent of India's population depends on agriculture, but its contribution to the national output is less than 20 per cent.
He also said that complex issues related to genetically modified food, nuclear energy or the exploration of outer space cannot be settled by faith, emotion and fear, but by a structured debate.
The minister was explaining to bamboo growers of Ponnampet how profitable the agriculture business is, but some cowards do not realise that and commit suicide.
Highlights of the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The party's national executive meeting chaired by its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged price rise and unemployment as "burning issues"
The 72 year-old minister breathed his last late on Saturday night, Kauvery Hospital Executive Director Dr Aravdindan Selvaraj said in a medical bulletin.
As a panel of senior ministers deliberates on the need to review curbs on exports of some rice varieties, data shows that since outbound shipments saw restrictions in July-August last year, the non-basmati segment has suffered more than basmati exports. Sources said the panel is expected to soon deliberate on a few suggestions to ease the export curbs on some rice varieties due to higher-than-required stocks in the central pool. The panel, some observers feel, may also postpone the decision to ease the export curbs till a firm picture emerges on the latest kharif paddy sowing.
"First ladies from Turkiye, Japan, the UK, Australia and Mauritius, among others visited the exhibition at NGMA (National Gallery of Modern Art)," the source added.
Following a high-level meeting in New Delhi on February 2 between the two sides, India agreed to replace its military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10. The first batch left the island nation well before March 10.
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".
India Inc on Thursday pitched for lowering income tax burden on common man, increase in capital expenditure, and firm steps to contain food inflation in their nearly two-hour long interaction with finance minister Nirmala Shitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. During pre-Budget consultation with Sitharaman, the industry leaders and associations also urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development with a view to maintaining the economic growth momentum. The industry leaders also laid stress on boosting the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, considered a backbone of the Indian economy and main employment generator.
"My aim is to make Maharashtra the world's big financial powerhouse and to make Mumbai a global fintech capital," he said.
The agriculture minister said the government's constant efforts are aimed at making farmers prosperous by increasing their income.
Renowned agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan and the driving force behind the nation's 'Green Revolution,' passed away in Chennai on Thursday.
'The Congress in the past backed the demand, but will not support it now since the SP opposes any division of UP.'
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
