Rediff.com takes a look at some popular faces, who fought Election 2014 and here's the verdict on them.
Past recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, actors Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna, among others.
The political storm in the United Progressive Alliance government over Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi issue on Thursday gave an opportunity to the Bharatiya Janata Party to charge that the government is short of number and is shying away from facing the amendments to the President's address in Parliament.
Referring to the recent hike in reservation and cancellation charges, the Railway Minister said it was necessary to deter the touts as they were selling tickets of Rs 500 at Rs 1500.
Expressing concern over the 'poor financial situation' in the railways, opposition parties on Thursday asked the government to come out with steps to be taken to improve the condition of the public sector unit behemoth.
Pressing for tabling of the Lokpal Bill on Wednesday itself in the Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left sought to corner the government which was not ready for immediate discussion on it.
Acknowledging that consensus eluded the all-party meeting on Lokpal issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday said the government was confident that it would be able to table the proposed bill in the winter session itself.
The Congress released its second list of 71 candidates on Tuesday night. It is an interesting list, considering the names which have been taken on and the ones which were dropped. Renu Mittal reports
After introducing the controversial nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests, the government on Friday said it hopes to bring it for consideration in the Monsoon session of Parliament.
"Do you think the answer to break the deadlock is to demand the resignation (of the Prime Minister)? They are not moving forward. Today we had invited them for talks. But they are probably not willing to talk. Perhaps they will be ready to talk on Monday," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters outside Parliament House.
Uncertainty prevails over the much-talked about Lokpal Bill being brought up for consideration in the monsoon session of the Parliament beginning on August 8.
Worried over Baba Ramdev's indefinite fast from Saturday, the government on Wednesday took an extraordinary step to woo him by deputing Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and three other senior ministers to the airport for talks but he appeared not to relent on his plans.
Poet, artist and award-winning diplomat Abhay K will release his second book of poems Remains Thursday, June 28.
The United Progressive Alliance is seriously considering increasing the strength of the proposed Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam from 21 to 30 members to accommodate more parties, but it is in no mood to expand its scope of the JPC to cover Commonwealth Games (CWG) fiasco, the Adarsh Society scam and the cancelled ISRO S-band spectrum sale.
With the washout of winter session of Parliament weighing heavily on its mind, the government on Sunday appealed to the opposition to ensure a smooth budget session beginning next month expressing readiness to discuss all issues, including 2G spectrum, "on priority".
The passengers will be able to register by providing the PNR and other details such as mobile phone number.
Due to paucity of time, the UPA government will drop the traditional scrutiny of the Budget by the Parliamentary standing committees. Instead, Pranab Mukherjee is in touch with BJP and the CPM, while Pawan Kumar Bansal and Anand Sharma have been asked to liaise with the smaller parties to ensure the Budget moves smoothly through Parliament.
P Chidamabaram's February 28 Budget will not have any big-ticket ideas, reports Sheela Bhatt
Analysts on Monday gave a mixed reaction to the railway budget, with some terming it as a "non-event" saying there were no radical measures to bridge the revenue deficit in the document, and a few calling it "pragmatic" given the limitations.
Union Minister for Railway Pawan Kumar Bansal presented the Railway Budget for 2013-14 on Tuesday.
As experts have to say, this year's Railway Budget will by no means a populist one.
Effective from midnight of January 21, the hike will help railways earn an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year. Railway Minister P K Bansal said it was imperative.
Ahead of Anna Hazare's dharna in New Delhi on Sunday, government on Friday said Team Anna should await the passage of the Lokpal Bill before going ahead with any agitation on the issue.
The Centre on Wednesday appealed to Tamil Nadu and Kerala to amicably settle the issue of Mullaperiyar Dam between them and expressed its willingness to play a role of "facilitator".
In a written reply to the House, Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the recommendations are presently under examination by the ministry.
Accusing Punjab of running a campaign blaming it for floods in its territory, Haryana on Monday sought the Centre's intervention over the issue and defended construction of the Hansi-Butana link canal.
Hectic political activity is on in New Delhi with the government upset with what it terms as Team Anna's attempts to seek political consensus on its Jan Lokpal Bill. There is also uncertainity surrounding the scheduled debate in Parliament over the draft bill.
These ministers are meeting select group of editors and senior reporters every week to put forward their viewpoints. The wooing of journalists at the ministerial level is unprecedented and shows the defensive mood prevailing within the government.
Governor E S L Narasimhan met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath to apprise her of the prevailing situation in Andhra Pradesh.
The much-hyped Lokpal Bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said on Thursday.
The government said on Friday there is no proposal to ban participatory notes, which are instruments through which unregistered entities invest in the Indian securities markets.
A move is afoot to extend the session of Parliament by three days from December 27 to 29 after a five day break from December 22, when it was scheduled to conclude, to facilitate adequate time for consideration of the Lokpal Bill. The Lokpal Bill is expected to be brought in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has sounded Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Party leader L K Advani on the move and has promised to get back.
The delegation, to be led by Home Minister P Chidamabaram, is expected to meet a cross-section of people of the troubled state before arriving at a package of solutions
The government on Friday said that 92.6 per cent bank deposits are fully protected under the Deposit and Insurance and Credit Guarantee scheme.
After the Amendment Bill is passed by Parliament and comes into effect, businesses like casinos would also come under a legal obligation to report their activities in the country. For fighting the menace of terrorism, the Bill introduces new category of offences which have cross-border implications. The draft legislation also empowers the Enforcement Directorate 'to search premises immediately after the offence is committed.'
However, the final decision on the date of presentation of the Budget will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The study of the Targeted Public Distribution System, which covered 18 states, held that though the offtake per household has shown improvement yet only about 57 per cent of the below the poverty line households are covered. The information was given by minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Based on evaluation studies and feedback received from states, a nine point action plan has been jointly formulated.
A much talked about bill seeking a three-fold hike in salaries of MPs from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000 and doubling their two key allowances to Rs 40,000 each was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Three Pakistani banks, including Habib Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank, have expressed interest in opening branches in India.
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