Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is "absolutely condemnable," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised "when they happen and not when it suits others" because there is a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had initially taken a conciliatory stand on the issue with a minister even going as far as to tell rediff.com that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not indulge in petty politics on this issue. The party had left the final decision to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
.jpg)
The implementation of the much-hyped Aadhaar Card scheme is in trouble following the Supreme Court's interim order on Monday, which observed that the card can be issued only to Indian nationals and the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing of benefits of the government's subsidy schemes.
These parties also asked the Centre to present a revised comprehensive economic package that will be a 'true stimulus' and sought reversal of all unilateral policy decisions, especially pertaining to labour laws, as they put forth a 11-point demand charter before the government during a virtual meeting, called by the Congress to discuss the situation arising out of the pandemic as well as the lockdown.
Congress senior leaders concede that UPA could be safe in terms of numbers but that does not solve problem totally
The government is considering a provision to provide an exit window to holders of cryptocurrencies (cryptos), keeping in mind that banning them outright could deal a blow to investors sitting on them for years. According to sources in the government, the framework in the making may propose a grace period of three to six months for investors before prohibiting the possession, trading, mining, and issuing of cryptos. A group of secretaries chaired by the Cabinet secretary is learnt to have met in mid-March and discussed issues associated with cryptos, including the consequences of banning them and also on possible substitutes of blockchain technology - an advanced technology Bitcoin uses.
While players in the financial ecosystem are opening up to the idea of receivables funding for the sector, this market needs a regulator, which a Parliament panel feels only RBI can provide.
Pakistan leadership, he said, is 'riding a tiger on this issue and tiger never spares its own rider'.
'Cyrus was always very different. He would think before acting.'
'The critics are getting carried away.' 'The challenge for the RBI is not any erosion of autonomy caused by demonetisation.' 'It's the whole attempt to reduce the RBI's stature and role that has been under way,' says T T Ram Mohan.
The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the RBI on Monday to place on record the K V Kamath committee recommendations on debt restructuring in view of Covid-19 related stress on various sectors as well as the notifications and circulars issued so far on loan moratorium.
Bank unions - officers and workmen - had buried their differences and sat across the table on August 29 to work out a fresh deal with the IBA involving a 20 per cent wage hike.
In a resolution passed at its national assembly in Haridwar, the SJM said the Modi government's proposed strategic divestment of PSEs was an "imprudent business decision" and "against national interest".
Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia vacates his post on November 30 and Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, the second seniormost bureaucrat in the finance ministry, retires on January 31, the day before Jaitley presents the 2019-20 interim budget.
The government on Monday slammed Congress leader Kamal Nath for his remarks that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision on the issue of grant of Leader of Opposition status could be "flavoured" by BJP, saying it is "unfortunate" as the Speaker is above party lines.
The Congress may get chairmanship of the prestigious Public Accounts of Committee but still there is no guarantee whether it will get the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The decision marks first successful policy intervention.
Ahead of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with opposition parties on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said there would be no dilution in its stand on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam and threatened to disrupt the budget session of Parliament if the demand was not met.
The central government, in its revised draft of the constitution amendment bill, had proposed that fuel and liquor should be brought under the ambit of GST.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed banks and financial institutions to provide services related to cryptocurrencies by setting aside the RBI's 2018 circular which had prohibited them. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, said the Reserve Bank of India circular is liable to be set aside on the ground of "proportionality". "Accordingly, the writ petitions are allowed and the circular dated April 6, 2018 is set aside," said the bench, also comprising justices Aniruddha Bose and V Ramasubramanian.
The procurement and distribution will be centralised though the government is yet to take a call on the initial number of doses that will be procured.
Congress insists on sending legislation to select committee, says will support it in winter session.
The placement on to grey list could hurt Pakistan's economy as well as its international standing.
Spiraling steel prices led the government to cut customs duty by 2.5-5.5 per cent on a range of products from semi-finished to flat and long products for the benefit of MSMEs, that have been at the receiving end.
A day after being sworn-in, the new ministers took charge of their portfolios. Here's a look at the various new ministers on their first day at work.
Airline told to transfer non-core assets, subsidiaries to special purpose vehicle
The BCCI has written to Attorney-General Goolam E Vahanvati and former Chief Justice A S Anand to get clarity on the controversial "whereabouts" clause in WADA'S Anti-Doping Code that has been opposed by top cricketers. Eleven cricketers, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, have opposed the clause and have already missed the July 31 deadline to sign the Code.
A ministerial committee has been set up to propose a suitable legislation or amend existing penal provisions, which would make instantaneous triple talaq an offence, government functionaries said on Tuesday.
The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty too slipped from its record high, shedding 10.30 points or 0.09 per cent to end at 11,346.20.
Following is the gist of the controversy over sudden transfer of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who retired on Monday, to Delhi and related rules.
NBFCs which have not met Sebi criteria will face tough action.
The Bill neither plans to make the Aadhar mandatory or limit its issuance to citizens.
Over the past several weeks, the Trump administration has come out in support of India against China.
The pre-Budget proposals sent to the finance ministry aim to bring uniformity in tax treatment for investments in different financial sectors, mitigate hardship to retail taxpayers, and encourage participation in mutual funds.
"Unlike in UP, the governments of Punjab and Rajasthan are not denying that the girl was raped, threatening her family and blocking the course of justice. If they do, I will go there to fight for justice," he tweeted.
"When you look at our opponents in this race, you think the Chinese gave Hunter Biden $1.5 billion -- because he was a great businessman, or because they knew the Bidens could be bought, and therefore soft on China," he said.
'I would recommend two parts to fiscal support. One, support the lower end of the society by direct intervention through ways such as direct benefit cash transfer. Second, give fiscal support to the stressed sectors in line with the Rs 3-lakh crore (Rs 3 trillion) emergency credit line guarantee norms'
Janata Darty-Secular leader H D Deve Gowda on Thursday announced his party's support to UPA's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee.
India and China achieved a major milestone this year when their bilateral trade crossed the landmark figure of $100 billion but it did not generate any fanfare in both capitals as the two Asian giants are going through a "particularly bad patch" in their relations due to a set of actions by Beijing in violation of agreements that led to the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Starting with a modest $1.83 billion in 2001, the bilateral trade crossed $100 billion-mark in the first 11 months this year, a significant milestone for which the two countries carried out campaigns to boost trade and build it as a major stakeholder to improve the relations between two nations, whose ties otherwise remained frosty over the festering boundary dispute and strategic rivalry. According to last month's data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), the India-China bilateral trade totalled $114.263 billion, up 46.4 per cent year-on-year from January to November 2021.
