New lower GST rates kicked in from Monday, resulting in a slashing of prices of as many as 375 items ranging from toothpaste and shampoo to cars and television sets, a move seen as an attempt to boost consumption to cushion an economy facing tariff headwinds. Tax rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent have been clubbed into two rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, resulting in a reduced price of 99 per cent of daily use items.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
The Congress party has accused the BJP of engaging in "damage control" after the party distanced itself from comments made by two of its MPs, Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma, criticizing the Supreme Court. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the BJP's clarification was merely an attempt to mitigate the damage caused by the MPs' remarks and that the party's actions were hypocritical, given the silence of the BJP president on similar comments made by other party members.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
Sankarshan Thakur, editor of The Telegraph whose prowess with words added that extra edge to his analyses and ground reports, died at a Gurgaon hospital on Monday after prolonged illness. He was 63.
The opposition on Saturday termed the absence of female journalists from a press conference of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on Nari Shakti.
Sinha had earlier charged Jairam of discriminating against states that were ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hitting back at the Election Commission after it dismissed allegations about slowing down the updating of Haryana election results, the Congress on Tuesday said the poll watchdog's reply degrades the conversational level to an 'unacceptable low' and 'misrepresents crucial facts' in a vein similar to that done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he congratulated his friend T M Thomas Issac for, what he sarcastically said, taking over as "Finance Minister of Somalia".
The Congress on Tuesday took strong objection to the criticism directed at it by the Indian envoy to Ireland while responding to an Irish daily's editorial, saying that attacking opposition parties openly in a manner like a 'party apparatchik' was 'disgraceful behaviour' and the ambassador should be sacked.
"Rahul Gandhi is de facto Congress chief but he should become de jure" and make the party battle ready without waiting for anti-incumbency to build up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted Pitroda's decision.
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Modi should take inspiration from former prime minister Indira Gandhi and stand up to the president of the United States.
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
The Aadhaar Bill passed during Budget session last month, overruling amendments moved in Rajya Sabha.
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has written to the Prime minister on the need to review the earlier central plan to develop six 'nuclear parks'.
The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of India's defence attache to Indonesia that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and accused the government of having 'misled' the country.
The acrimony started when Dhankhar aksed Pramod Tiwari of the Congress not to state unverified facts. To this, Ramesh said it would be authenticated.
The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the government over the women's reservation bill, saying the only appropriate description of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done with the matter is "it is a post-dated cheque drawn on a failing bank".
After being reprimanded by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his controversial remarks in China, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh met Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday and is said to have clarified the context of the statement.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh for calling the former a 'super chief minister'.
The Parliament premises will sport a new look when the 18th Lok Sabha convenes for its maiden session in June as work is underway to integrate the entire complex, comprising four different buildings.
Opposing 'regularisation of illegality' which he described as 'a peculiar Indian characteristic', Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that many times he too has been forced to compromise in cases of violations of green norms.
Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, had to literally face a trial-by-fire to ensure widespread acceptance of his path-breaking Union Budget of 1991 that saw the nation rise from its darkest financial crises.
Congress strategist and Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN has said that the 2014 general elections are not a battle between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
The lawmakers slammed opposition leaders over their remarks on the development, alleging that they were "happy" with the US government's move when "everyone" should be standing together in such a situation.
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
'A man who has been treated with the greatest respect by the Congress leadership has betrayed it by his vicious personal attacks which reveals his true character. GNA's DNA has been Modi-fied,' Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
Congress will fight against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and not BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections as the Sangh is now in control of the saffron party, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it had filed a chargesheet on April 9 in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the chargesheet also names senior Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as co-accused.
Accusing Jairam of making a mountain out of a molehill, she has sought to draw the prime minister's attention to the minister's bid to generalise some information.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a direct assault on the values of the republic. The party accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarization, while urging for unity and solidarity in the face of adversity. The CWC also demanded a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence failures and security lapses that led to the attack.
The Congress party has expressed its support for the Indian cricket team ahead of their Champions Trophy semifinal match against Australia, despite a recent controversy involving a party spokesperson's social media posts criticizing Indian captain Rohit Sharma. The party distanced itself from the spokesperson's remarks, stating that they do not reflect the party's position and asked her to exercise greater caution in future.
Reflecting the unease in party over praise of Aam Aadmi Party by its leaders, a Congress leader on Friday likened it to early days of Lalu Prasad's rule in Bihar in the nineties while another slammed Union minister Jairam Ramesh for praising Arvind Kejriwal's party.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was set to participate in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) rally in Ranchi, will not be able to attend as he 'took ill suddenly and is unable to leave New Delhi for the present', party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday.
While the tiger will most likely not go extinct in the next half-century, its current trajectory is catastrophic. A combination of poor governance, bureaucratic sloth and lack of leadership is leading us towards an ecological disaster.
Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
Orissa can now divert forest land for the steel project.
India would neither succumb to the Americans on issues of national security, such as its defence ties with Russia, nor cede ground on its domestic interests in the agriculture and dairy sectors.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances