'Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal once told me that if onion prices rise we will face the flak for it across India.' 'What can farmers expect from a government which talks like a trader and only believes in (electoral) profit and loss?'
The only occasion when the BJP had 100 seats in the Upper House was in 2022.
After the government's online monitoring system for the import of electronic hardware items went live on November 1, inbound shipments of laptops and tablets slipped in November to a nine-month low at $225 million, contracting 17.15 per cent year-on-year. This decline was primarily driven by reduced imports from Singapore (down 43.7 per cent), Hong Kong (down 27.4 per cent), and China (down 14 per cent), according to the data released by the commerce department. China accounts for approximately 83 per cent of such imports.
The power minister briefed the investors on various steps undertaken by the government.
There was buzz of Piyush Goyal being elevated to Cabinet rank but only Prakash Javadekar made the cut.
The RBI under former governor Shaktikanta Das resisted pressures to cut interest rates through 2024 as it kept its 'Arjuna's eye' trained on inflation, but the central bank under a new detail-oriented head will soon have to take a call if it can continue sacrificing growth. Das, a career bureaucrat who in 2016 oversaw Prime Minister Narendra Modi's highly disruptive demonetisation move, left a lasting legacy as he demitted office towards the end of 2024 after expertly navigating monetary policy for six years, the highlight of which was steering India's recovery through the pandemic.
There is also speculation within the BJP that its national president J P Nadda, whose extended tenure will end by this month and who was among the leaders meeting Modi, may also be brought back in the government.
A BJP MP from Nagaland has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came "very close" to her and "shouted" at her during a protest outside the Parliament, making her feel "uncomfortable." The incident has led to a war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, with both sides accusing each other of misconduct. The BJP has demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi, while the Congress has denied the allegations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its tally dwindling by less than half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar was on a roll, pocketing 30 of the 48 seats.
Goyal wondered why an e-commerce market place model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, was incurring such huge losses adding that it needs to be looked into.
Congress leader K C Venugopal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla without being offered the Deputy Speaker's position.
Thackeray also declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively.
Jaitley, who was the finance minister before a medical procedure led to the charge being temporarily taken away from him, missed presenting the sixth and final Budget of the Narendra Modi government before the general elections. In his absence, the charge of the ministry was given to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal.
The constituency of Mumbai South, home to industrialists as well as high-ranking government officials, fared the worst with 47.7 percent voting.
Barely days after imposing a 40 per cent export tax on onions to cool down soaring prices, which, in turn, triggered widespread protests across the main growing belts, the Centre on Tuesday sought to mitigate both political and economic tensions gripping parts of Maharashtra. It decided to procure an additional 200,000 tonnes of onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal for its buffer stock from farmers, a rate that is strikingly close to the price at which they were being exported before the 40 per cent duty was levied on August 19. The export price before the imposition of the duty stood at around $320 per tonne free on board (approximately Rs 2,650 per quintal).
The meeting is expected to chart a road map for cleaning up their balance sheets and boost credit flows, reports Somesh Jha.
India will not tailor its policies to suit US EV maker Tesla, and its laws and tariff rules will be formulated to attract all-electric vehicle manufacturers from across the world to set up a base in the world's fastest-growing economy, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. Tesla has been seeking an initial tariff concession that would allow it to offset 70 per cent customs duty for cars priced less than $40,000, and 100 per cent for cars of higher value.
The BJP's effort comes in the wake of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal set to attend the eighth RCEP ministerial meeting in Bangkok from October 10 to 12.
Glimpses from the At Home reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Republic Day.
There was not a dry eye in sight as 3,024 beneficiaries of a slum rehabilitation project were overwhelmed by emotion as Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi handed them the keys to their new homes at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Hours after Jitin Prasada switched from Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia welcomed Prasada to the party asserting that his inclusion would make the BJP stronger in Uttar Pradesh.
The theme for this year's Yoga day is "Yoga for Humanity".
From the word go, Bihar growled its needs out when an MP from the state said aloud: "Give something for Bihar also, Madam." Every time the Budget mentioned cities and towns in Andhra Pradesh, "Kursi Bachao" was the call from Congress MPs.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Union minister Piyush Goyal for his remarks that Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee is "Left-leaning", saying "these bigots are blinded by hatred" and have no idea what a professional is.
This will be the first major electoral test after the political realignment that emerged in 2019.
In September, JSW MG Motor India, the newly minted joint venture between SAIC Motor, which is present in 100 countries, and Indian conglomerate JSW Group, launched the Windsor, an electric car that introduced battery as a service (BaaS).
India and the US have settled the last trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over poultry products, according to a joint statement released on Friday. With this, the two countries have mutually resolved all the seven pending trade disputes at the WTO. "The leaders lauded the settlement of the seventh and last outstanding WTO dispute between India and the United States.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh.
India has flagged concerns over non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by its exporters with the Russian government, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Monday. NTBs faced by Indian exporters are mainly in sectors such as marine products and pharmaceuticals.
Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, has decided to buy 24.5 per cent equity in BT Group - a move that will make the Indian conglomerate the biggest shareholder in the UK's second-largest telecom company both in terms of market value and subscriber count. The shares are being purchased from billionaire Patrick Drahi's Altice UK through a combination of cash and debt .
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
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.
Shrirang Barne, an MP of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, on Monday expressed disappointment over the party not getting a cabinet berth in the newly-formed Narendra Modi-led government and alleged partiality.
It could end the payment backlog and improve the revenue flow of discoms, says Piyush Goyal
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
The Centre is unlikely to offer new direct tax incentives for units operating in special economic zones (SEZs) and may instead allow the grandfathering of previous exemptions that such units were entitled to, according to proposed amendments to the SEZ Act, 2005, people aware of the matter said. The amendments, proposed by the commerce department, will soon be considered by the Cabinet for approval. This represents a departure from the department's earlier plan to introduce these changes through the Development Enterprises and Services Hubs (DESH) Bill, 2023, which faced strong criticism from the ministry of finance.
India and Australia would now implement the free trade agreement on a mutually agreed date as the Australian Parliament on Tuesday approved the pact between the two countries. "BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a tweet. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) needed ratification by the Australian parliament before its implementation.
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
Asking the Congress members, who were on their feet, to maintain the decorum of the House and not show placards, Birla said they should let the House function.
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