Delhi may become the first state to move to direct cash pay-outs of subsidies on kerosene sold through the public distribution system (PDS). The petroleum ministry said it has "welcomed" a proposal to this effect from the Planning Commission, which acted on a plan suggested by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
The new economic dawn that is being sought to be initiated in the state may have received a severe jolt from two ongoing developments
While there was no mention of India in the National Cyber Threat Assessment reports of 2018, 2020 and 2023-24, the 2025-26 assessment mentions India -- along with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea -- in the 'Cyber threat from state adversaries' section that introduces the state cyber threat ecosystem and discusses the cyber threats to Canada.
"We have suggested a fund for drought or flood, and when our production is hit. The fund will be with the states which the Centre will provide. The implementing agency will be the respective state governments," said K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture and food.
'I have seen, even in my village, people hanging pictures of Communist leaders -- Jyoti Basu, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong -- in their drawing rooms. Could we not hang pictures of Swami Vivekananda? '
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and a veteran Congress leader Gegong Apang was grated bail on Friday by the Gauhati high court in connection with the Rs 1,000 crore public distribution system scam.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday declared the southern state as India's first fully e-governed state where an entire range of government services have been digitised so that they can be provided to the citizens promptly and transparently.
The ban on onion export is temporary and will be reviewed every two weeks until its prices decline below Rs 15 per kg.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 17 Madhya Pradesh elections promising MSP for wheat at Rs 2,700 per quintal and paddy at Rs 3,100 and houses for beneficiaries of the state's flagship scheme 'Ladli Bahna'.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said the government must ensure that the prices of essential commodities remain affordable for the aam aadmi (common man). In a 'Letter to Congresspersons' in the latest issue of the party mouthpiece, she also put the onus of controlling price rise on the state governments, saying they should strengthen the public distribution system and control black marketing and hoarding.
The praise for peasants, most of whom are subsistence farmers, comes ahead of general elections due in a few months. The minister presented statistics to hard-sell the government's initiatives to prop up the agriculture sector and improve the conditions of roughly about 60 per cent of the country's population depending upon it.
However, storage capacity way behind even present public distribution system procurement need.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said a wad of currency notes was recovered by security staff from the seat allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
'If you invest in a rush at the last moment, you could compromise on selecting the best tax-saving options.'
As the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is set to crack down on companies to ensure compliance with printing QR codes on top-selling brands to curb counterfeiting, top pharma companies say they welcome the regulator's mandate and that they are on track. They also view it as a positive step to ensure patient safety. Sheetal Arora, CEO of Mankind Pharmaceuticals, which has already adopted QR codes in 20 of their products, stated: "We strongly advocate for mandatory implementation of barcodes and QR codes on medicines as this initiative will not only protect patients but also strengthen the integrity of our healthcare system by reducing circulation of counterfeit drugs."
The BCG project, which is supported by the United Nations' World Food Programme, the government of India and the government of Orissa, involves scanning finger prints and the iris for preparing biometric cards for a population of around 1 million. Srijan Pal Singh, an IIM-A student, who is part of the project, says the biometric cards will be filtered through a super computer to avoid duplications.
As part of steps to control inflation and augment availability of essential commodities, the government is considering re-allocating wheat in place of rice for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes.
The report noted that the value of food coupons needs to be indexed to food inflation. Public distribution system is a major initiative of the government to ensure food security for the poor.
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.
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
On supply of free televisions, he said he would explain it in detail at an election public meeting on April 5.
The government's decision to put on hold even limited cuts in ration shop entitlements spells trouble for any future attempts to target subsidies.
The government on Friday admitted that market prices of pulses are higher than the import rates and said it would soon launch a scheme of supplying them at subsidised rates to people through ration shops.
Worried over its failed procurement operations and anticipating a shortfall in production, the Centre has decided to invite tenders for import of 1 million tones of wheat.
The top court took note of the submissions of some aspirants that a question related to an "atom" and its characteristics had two correct answers and a set of examinees, who gave one particular answer out of the two correct ones, were awarded four marks.
As part of the change in outlook, all these mills are now modernising its equipment and sourcing high quality paddy from local markets and neighbouring states.They have also started broadening their market in domestic and foreign shores.
With production hitting a three-year low of 14.7 million tonnes in this sugar season (October to September), the government is also expected to double the levy quota for the PDS from 10 to 20 per cent to tide over shortages. The levy price and quota act as a notional benchmark for open market sugar prices, which have doubled to Rs 34 to Rs 35 a kg since last September, owing to a global shortage. The price of levy sugar is half that of the open market price.
Food security for all was a poll promise from the ruling Congress party before this year's general elections.
Here stood a man who embodied the legacy of whatever Brand Tata stood for, embellished it, and departed into the long night, leaving the brand legacy for others to further enrich, notes R Gopalakrishnan.
An MLA of Bihar's ruling Janta Dal-United has lodged an FIR against his son for allegedly threatening a shopkeeper for extortion. \n
There is nothing to be worried about as bilateral ties are robust with solid foundations. Both are on the same page on the economic and defence/security ties bilaterally and globally and that shall continue irrespective of change in political dispensation in either country, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Strongly advocating reforms in all segments of agriculture, the government on Friday said it will take up with Nabard its plans to double the rural credit in the next three years.
The government has decided to scrap a plan to purchase wheat through a series of small domestic tenders in different parts of the country, fearing that private traders may corner most orders.
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