The revamped Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law is unlikely to see the light of the day before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce department had sought the Union Cabinet's nod to bring amendments to the existing SEZ Act, 2005 late last year. The plan, thereafter, was to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Cabinet's approval remains pending.
The parliamentary panel, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushil Kumar Modi, has also decided to examine remote voting and e-postal ballots for Indians residing abroad.
'Will the LG be ready to rule with a light hand, having been vested with powers that amount to using a hammer to kill a fly?' asks Aditi Phadnis.
The petitioner, advocate PV Jeevesh, said that while the Centre gave Hindi and Sanskrit titles to those important legislations, the majority of the legal fraternity in South India is not conversant with the two languages.
Four cities in neighbouring Pakistan and one in China are among the world's top 20 polluted cities.
The BAPS Hindu temple in Chino Hills, California, was desecrated, marking another incident targeting Hindu temples in the United States. The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) condemned the act and called for unity against hate, while the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) demanded a thorough investigation and highlighted a pattern of such incidents in recent years.
Indo-Canadian Anita Anand and Delhi-born Kamal Khera are part of new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet. Anand is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry while Khera is Minister of Health. Carney's cabinet with 13 men and 11 women is smaller than Trudeau's 37-member team.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was summoned as an accused in a coal block allocation case, but the Supreme Court intervened and stayed the directive. Singh, a renowned economist and politician, questioned the absence of mandated sanction for prosecuting public officials and denied any wrongdoing in the coal block allocation. The Supreme Court's decision highlights the complexities of government functions and criminal prosecution in cases involving public officials.
A gas cylinder blast in a house at Dholahat in West Bengal's Pathar Pratima has claimed eight lives, including four children. The explosion, which occurred on Monday night, triggered a massive fire, intensified by the presence of stacked firecrackers inside the house. The incident has sparked a political controversy, with the BJP demanding a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe and the TMC maintaining that the police are already investigating and that the state government has a "zero-tolerance " policy towards such incidents. The blast has also raised concerns about the safety of illegal firecracker manufacturing units, which have been linked to several recent accidents in the state.
The newly enacted laws are -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act
The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list, a senior official said on Thursday.
Army troops in Bangladesh intensified their patrols on the streets of Dhaka as the country witnessed rising tensions with the newly formed student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) accusing the military of political interference. The NCP staged protest rallies at the premier Dhaka University campus vowing to thwart at any cost a military-backed plot to rehabilitate deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League which was toppled seven months ago in a student-led violent street protest in July-August last year. A key leader of NCP, which was floated last month with widely assumed blessings of Professor Muhammad Yunus, accused the military of political interference over a proposal for inclusiveness that would allow Awami League to participate in the next elections. The military, which is now entrusted with maintaining nationwide law and order with magistracy power, however, did not enter the campus but continued their intensified patrol, particularly in the capital. The NCP convenor Nahid Islam said at the Muslim fast-breaking iftar party that the army or any other state institution had no "authority to propose or make decisions" about politics. He added that in no way "we will allow installation of another 1/11 government" in the country.
'It may take some time for them to get down to the details, such as the location and capacity.'
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
'Our Constitution as well as the Right to Education Act do not make any distinction between Indian or foreigner; it only talks about 'child'.' 'It says that every child has the right to get education.'
The Taliban have announced they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) employing women in Afghanistan.
Fadnavis further said it was too early to comment on a foreign or Bangladeshi link to the riots as the probe is underway.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that India's decision to revoke the diplomatic immunity of 41 Canadian diplomats is a violation of the Vienna Convention and it should worry all countries, hours after New Delhi rejected Ottawa's attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.
The finance ministry's proposal to set up a National Tax Tribunal has moved a step closer with the law ministry finding no objection with the plan.
The matter came up before Justice Subramonium Prasad who listed it for hearing on October 16.
Soon after assuming office, Meghwal declared that there was no confrontation with the judiciary and that his priority would be to ensure speedy justice for all.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar acknowledged that some ministers are unhappy with the portfolios assigned to them in the new cabinet, which includes a high number of ministers. Pawar said that the work on pending projects will begin soon after the ministers take charge of their respective ministries. The budget session of the Maharashtra legislature will commence on March 3.
'Peninsular Indians could ask 'Why should we contribute half of India's tax revenues if we account for only a quarter of the seats in the Lok Sabha?'.' 'The rest of the country seems likely to counter that 'democracy means one vote per person irrespective of where that person resides in India'.' 'With no easy answers to this thorny debate, the south's economic ascendancy could end up creating a Hobson's choice.' A revealing excerpt from Nandita Rajhansa and Saurabh Mukherjea's book, Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed concern over information regarding USAID funding in India, calling it "concerning" and hinting at potential "bad faith" activities. Jaishankar asserted that India is looking into the matter and that the country should know who is involved in such activities. He also emphasized the need to expand India's security definition in the digital age, highlighting the influence of technology and narratives on public perception. The statements come amid controversy surrounding USAID funding for certain activities in India, with the US President Donald Trump questioning the agency's funding of voter turnout efforts.
Sources said the report of the law panel on simultaneous polls is not yet finalised. They said "some more things are required to be done", indicating that the law panel will be invited again by the high-level committee.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla Tuesday said the decision to invoke a new penal provision related to hit-and-run cases, which has sparked protests by truckers, will be taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
Dream11, Baazi Games, Zupee and WinZO among others are invited for the discussion with the anti-money laundering watchdog.
Against the backdrop of the recent controversy between the Election Commission and the Law ministry over the latter claiming control over it, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Monday made it clear that this cannot happen as EC is a Constitutionally independent body.
The deportation of 104 Indian nationals from the US, followed by another 119 set to arrive in Amritsar on Saturday night, has sparked controversy in India over the treatment of returnees. The US government's intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants has led to criticism of the use of handcuffs and shackles for deportees, even those who have committed no crimes beyond immigration violations. The issue has led to heated debates in the Indian Parliament, with opposition leaders demanding an inquiry into the deportation process. The Indian government is engaging with US officials to ensure the humane treatment of deportees, while also facing the challenge of reintegrating returnees into Indian society. The deportations highlight the ongoing tension between border control and human rights, and the complexities of US-India relations.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the finance ministry, highlighting concern over fund utilisation and fund accumulation by quick commerce companies and deep discounting of goods on their platforms. According to a recent letter seen by Business Standard, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) noted that its analysis indicated that approximately 80 per cent of these funds were directed toward customer acquisition strategies instead of creating cutting-edge innovations or sustainable growth models for the retail sector.
He further said that he is now looking forward to fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision in the Earth Sciences Ministry.
Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday described the Union Budget as "by the people, for the people, of the people", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for the middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats. "We have heard the voice of the middle class" who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview.
Forest law vests overall control over the productive assets of the jungles in the forest bureaucracy.
It would be the prime minister's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump became president for a second term.
The government on Tuesday introduced in Parliament three redrafted bills to replace the existing criminal laws by including various recommendations made by a parliamentary panel.
Finance ministry asks bank, insurance & market regulators to issue notifications
The Indian government has sent an additional 50 CAPF companies, comprising over 5,000 personnel, to Manipur to address the challenging security and law and order situation in the northeastern state. This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) deployed 20 additional CAPF companies to the state following violence in Jiribam district. The deployment brings the total number of CAPF companies in Manipur to 218. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also meet to review the security situation in Manipur and strategize to handle the volatile situation in the state.
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