A fresh survey to identify a minimum of eight million new beneficiaries of the flagship rural housing scheme, in addition to the 12 million already identified, will use the latest face-recognition tools to minimise gaps, a senior official said on Tuesday. The survey, which has already started across the country for building the fresh 20 million new rural houses over the next five years, can also be done by the beneficiary himself/herself as well through the Awaassoft mobile application specially created for this purpose.
What some of our politicians were up to on Friday, October 18, 2024.
Pradhan met Energy Secretary Rick Perry during an unscheduled trip to the US Capitol and discussed energy cooperation between India and the US, Indian investment in Liquefied natural gas and shale sectors, and the possibility of the US exporting LNG to India from early next year.
LPG customers of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will continue to get cooking gas subsidy post-privatisation of the nation's second-biggest fuel retailers, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. "Subsidy on LPG is paid to consumers directly and not to any company. So the ownership of the company that sells LPG is not of any material consequence," Pradhan told PTI. The government gives 12 cooking gas (LPG) cylinders of 14.2-kg each to households in a year at a subsidised rate.
The Rs 5 lakh free health insurance cover would benefit senior citizens of around 4.5 crore families. Eligible beneficiaries would be issued a new distinct card under the scheme, the government said.
Gearing up for the upcoming state assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Partyon Wednesday named its organisational spearheads for the elections, putting Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav in charge for the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur respectively.
The T20 World Cup in the US is a 'landmark event' and there is huge excitement among the diaspora as well as across America, said Consul General of India in New York Binaya Srikanta Pradhan.
Ramesh asked the PM why river Ganga is "dirtier than before" even after spending Rs 20,000 crore on the Namami Gange project.
While Joon was a Congress rebel, Kadyan fought as an Independent after the BJP denied him ticket.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said the Preamble to the Constitution is very well there in NCERT textbooks of Class VI as he refuted charges made in this regard by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Union Finance Ministry on Tuesday said that aggregate business of public sector banks (PSBs) has shown strong growth of 11 per cent in the first half of the financial year 2024-25 (H1FY25) to touch Rs 236 trillion. The operating and net profit were also robust. At Rs 1.5 trillion, operating profit grew by 14.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) while the net profit saw an impressive 25.6 per cent jump at Rs 85,520 crore in the first half of FY25.
Pradhan, who had filed his nomination on Wednesday, said he accepts the decision of party national president Akhilesh Yadav, who he met in the morning.
The deceased, identified as Birendra Kumar Das, was serving as ADM (revenue) in Gajapati district.
A threat about the presence of bombs on an Akasa Air flight at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar was received on social media, but it later turned out to be a hoax, an official of the airport said on Thursday.
Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, India's Consul General in New York, hosted the country's cricket team that is in the United States for the ongoing T20 World Cup, on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the doubling of the upper limit of Mudra loans to Rs 20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship in the country. "The limit of Mudra loans will be enhanced to Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the 'Tarun category', she said while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha.
AAP projects its affordable 'health model' as a success story. The BJP calls it a hoax.
The government will come out with a credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to facilitate term loans without collateral or third party guarantee, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Presenting her seventh straight Union Budget, she also said that public sector banks to build in-house capability for credit assessment of MSMEs.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Minister Anil Vij on Sunday said he will stake claim for the chief minister's post if the party returns to power in Haryana after the October 5 assembly polls.
The BJP accused Congress leaders of colluding with foreign forces to destabilize India and demanded Sonia Gandhi to disclose her role in a George Soros Foundation-funded organization's activities. The ruling party also attacked Rahul Gandhi, calling him a "pawn" for his protests against the Adani issue.
Be it poor, middle class, upper middle class or rich, every individual who is 70 years and above is eligible for getting Ayushman card and will receive free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh at any of the AB PMJAY empanelled hospitals once the expanded scheme gets launched.
PepsiCo on Wednesday announced that Sudhir Pradhan was selected as one of the corporation's top salespeople during a special awards ceremony held at PepsiCo Headquarters in Purchase, New York.
Highlighting the the government's focus on providing power to all, Finance Minister Goyal said 2.5 crore families were without electricity in 2014 and "we have provided power to almost all families".
'Focus will be on smaller loan amounts to meet the needs of affordable homebuyers.'
A freebie once granted can hardly be discontinued. All that can happen is to substitute it with a bigger freebie, notes A K Bhattacharya.
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday emphasised the need to strengthen affirmative action as a tool for inclusion while urging the rejection of divisive tendencies rooted in perceived social hierarchies.
The revised budget for 2024-25 shows a sharp rise in the allocations, particularly for major irrigation projects and the Namami Gange Mission-II.
President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
There are enough threads left to weave a Season 4, hopefully without the dark clouds hovering over Phulera.
Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two major schemes -- PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Krishonnati Yojana -- with an expenditure of over Rs 1 lakh crore to promote sustainable agriculture and ensure food security.
He said one of the objectives of the new National Education Policy, unveiled in 2020, was to reduce academic stress on students.
The textbooks themselves have not been finalised by the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC), he said.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.
Over 40 people are still missing after a series of cloudbursts occurred in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on the night of July 31 and wreaked havoc.
He said the transformation brought about by the fintech sector in India is not just limited to technology, but its social impact is far-reaching. He also stressed that fintech has dented the parallel economy and is bridging the gap between villages and cities on the financial services front. The prime minister also said that in the last 10 years, the fintech space has attracted investments of more than $31 billion and fintech startups have grown by 500 per cent.
Amid a row over irregularities in competitive exams National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and National Eligibility Test (NET), the education ministry on Saturday notified a seven-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Industry experts believe that health insurance companies are unlikely to experience business cannibalisation due to the central government's decision to extend health coverage to people aged 70 and above, regardless of their income level, under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet expanded the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to include all senior citizens aged 70 and older. This move is expected to benefit nearly 45 million families, comprising 60 million senior citizens, by providing Rs 5 lakh in free health insurance coverage per family.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
Their Supreme Sacrifice for the Motherland will Never be Forgotten.
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