Manmohan Singh and almost all his Cabinet colleagues were among those who drove to her 10, Janpath residence in New Delhi to wish her.
The government on Tuesday said the steps taken by the national pharmaceutical pricing authority for enforcement of prices fixed by it had resulted in recovery of an overcharged amount of Rs 80.08 crore (Rs 800.8 million) till October this year.
The BJP is seeking to make an issue out of Kanchi Shankaracharya's arrest and Jharkhand Mukthi Morcha chief Shibu Soren's reinduction into the Union Cabinet.
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
'We can't underestimate future threats.'
Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP is accusing Laloo Prasad Yadav's RJD of 'sabotaging' the prospects of its candidates in the Lok Sabha polls.
One of the politically sensitive issues on which the United Progressive Alliance government will have to decide soon is the subsidy increase on phosphatic fertilisers by up to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to keep a check on domestic prices.
Fertiliser ministry officials on Monday briefed the new minister Ram Vilas Paswan about the pending decision on increasing subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers by upto Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to keep a check on domestic prices.
Rebel Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ram Kripal Yadav met top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in New Delhi amid indications that he would cross over to saffron ranks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
One of the demands is that export duty should be rolled back in view of industry promising to hold the price line. A decision will be taken soon," Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters. The industry has also promised to restrict export at the existing level and the government is monitoring the situation closely, the minister said, adding that "we are satisfied with the industry's action."
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget announcement to cut the excise duty on drugs from 16 per cent to 8 per cent received a loud applause from many corners. However, the common man is yet to see its impact as there are many loose ends to be tied up and loopholes to be plugged before drug prices show any downward trend.
A day after Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertiliser Ram Vilas Paswan told Parliament that steel prices would come down by Rs 500 a tonne on account of the 2 percentage point reduction in Cenvat, makers of flat and long products quietly raised prices by Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 a tonne on March 4.
'The present timing suggests it was done under some political influence,'says Supreme Court lawyer Prasant Bhushan.
The former MP is alleged to have murdered CPM legislator Ajit Sarkar in Purnea.
India's total fertiliser subsidy burden in the current financial year is more than double the budgetry allocation of Rs 24,500 crore (Rs 245 billion) as announced in the Budget.
The seat had fallen vacant following the death of Lok Janshakti Party founder and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Steel Authority of India Ltd, the country's largest steelmaker, will invest a massive Rs 100,000 crore for expanding capacity to 40 million tonnes by 2020, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced in New Delhi on Friday.
It aims at slashing the average market prices from 10 to 30 per cent for low-end brands and from 30 to 60 per cent for high-end ones.
The government does not intend to introduce a mechanism to control the prices of steel and iron ore as they are deregulated and are governed by market forces, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
Rebel Lok Janshakti Party MP Pashupati Kumar Paras appeared to have scored a point on Thursday when he was unanimously elected as the new national president even as the faction headed by his cornered nephew Chirag Paswan dug in its heels and vowed to teach the 'traitors' a lesson.
In a season of political deal-making, it would seem the BJP is not only keener to win new friends but is ahead of rival Congress in the game. Its only competition, if at all, has come from regional satraps and the Left parties, which on Tuesday resolved to fight the elections together against both the Congress and BJP.
With less than two months to go for the Lok Sabha election, the expected process of political realignments has begun, reports Anita Katyal.
The grand old party, which had gone to polls in February this year in alliances with RJD and LJP contesting 84 seats, could secure just ten and finish second in as many, polling a meagre five per cent of votes.
Both factions moved swiftly to take control of the party a day after Paras, the youngest brother of Paswan's father and party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, was recognised by the Lok Sabha secretariat as the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party in the House.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Here's how political leaders across the country celebrated the festival of colours.
'It must be kept in mind that the LJP has never been a fan of Nitish Kumar's style of politics. He has harmed the Dalits by creating a sub-group of Mahadalits for his own political gains'
The seat had fallen vacant following the death of Chirag Paswan's father and Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan. The BJP has nominated former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi for the seat.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
Chirag Paswan says his party's support to BJP is issue-based.
'We have done what we needed to do on behalf of the consumers'.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The newly elected members of the Lok Sabha will take oath on June 2 and 3 while the election of speaker is scheduled for June 4.
Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and is voluntary in nature at present.
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