Thousands of flag-waving Thai protesters stormed more government buildings as they intensified their mass political rally against embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for a fourth day on Wednesday, plunging the polarised nation deeper into crisis.
The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles but that failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the 'transformative' 'Agnipath' scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
Exporters on Thursday demanded fiscal incentives, tweaking in customs duties on certain products and credit at affordable rates in the forthcoming Budget to boost exports and create jobs. In a pre-budget virtual meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar is affecting exports' competitiveness and the sector requires more support. "Creation of employment is the biggest challenge faced by the country...We would urge the government to provide fiscal support to units which provide additional employment in the export sector," the exporter's body said.
The armed forces can undertake infrastructure development even in ecologically fragile areas which are declared "strategic areas" by the government.
Domestic air passenger traffic was back to the growth trajectory in June amid the falling number of COVID-19 cases in the country with around three million passengers flying on local routes in the previous month as against around two million in May, a report said on Tuesday. Though there is some recovery observed in June, stress on demand continues, driven largely by the second wave of the pandemic, limiting travel to only necessary travel, credit rating agency ICRA said in its report. On a sequential basis, domestic passenger traffic was up 41-42 per cent in June over May.
The ministries and departments, where bureaucrats are parked after being moved out of key positions, reflect the priorities of the government.
The chief minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.
El-Sisi welcomed Modi, who is on a two-day state visit to Egypt, at the Presidential Palace where the two leaders were closeted for one-on-one meeting after which the two sides signed a memorandum of understandng.
'We have not decided yet if we will be joining hands with the BJP and, if so, what kind of ministries will be distributed among the rebel MLAs'
The rise of domestic leisure travel, helped by rising income levels, is helping the industry offset the sluggishness in business from foreign visitors
India's largest online travel agency, MakeMyTrip said that it is premature to assess the impact of Omicron variant on overseas tour bookings. Others in the travel sector however are worried about cancellations in the coming days as countries tighten travel restrictions. "It is too early to assess the impact of the new Covid-19 variant on outbound travel. "Additional protocols are already set in any case from several countries which will help contain the variant coming to India.
In a massive surge, Delhi on Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh COVID cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
Singh was among the many MPs who attended a breakfast meeting hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 18 as well as a Parliamentary panel meeting on transport, tourism and culture attended by around 20 MPs on Wednesday. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said in a tweet, 'This government is putting us all at risk. The PM says self-isolate yourself but Parliament is on.'
The Government also defended the President's decision to enforce a state of emergency, that had given him sweeping authority to act in the interests of public security and preserving public order, including suspending any laws, authorising detentions and seizing property, saying it was declared after attempts were made to attack the President's Office and other public property.
Besides urging the Centre for extension of loan moratorium, the hotel and travel industries have also demanded deferment of GST and advance tax payments and waiver of fees for all forthcoming licences and permits.
Patel was administered the oath as the 18th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat.
Cleartrip acquired Saudi travel firm Flyin last July and it provides bilingual ground support service and itineraries for inbound tourists.
'It's like the BJP is mocking people: Do what you want, we'll still win.'
There are 3,691 centrally protected monuments and sites under the ASI.
The protests brought home the fact that the Sri Lankan public is in no mood for halfway measures, as voices against Rajapaksa 'family rule' and 'securitisation' of the civilian administration began sidestepping the more critical economic crisis, affecting the nation and afflicting the individual, observes Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy.
The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are no longer working towards a Diwali deadline though negotiations are progressing well, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said as New Delhi expressed confidence on Friday of an "early date" for a mutually beneficial deal. "There are ongoing negotiations as we know on the FTA. There is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal, an FTA, that is beneficial to both the countries at an early date," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi. It came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, and referenced the Roadmap 2030 bilateral agreement signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former UK PM Boris Johnson in May last year, with no specific reference to the FTA.
Single-screen cinema halls are likely to be allowed with strict social distancing norms.
The dissidents, led by former president Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, would leave the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna coalition with its 14 Members of Parliament, party sources said after their meeting with the President on Monday.
He recalled PM Modi's message at the United Nations and hailed India's mission "to save the planet from conflict and violence" through the principles of Buddhism.
Tagore had a song for every occasion. Perhaps one of his songs on greed could become the anthem for the once hallowed Visva Bharati, says Keya Sarkar.
The industry chamber is in favour of reopening schools and educational institutions, allowing foreign carriers to operate, permitting usage of restaurants and eateries in hotels, opening up of cinemas and multiplexes, and reopening metro rail services.
Giving a relief to exporters community, the government on Thursday said it will release Rs 56,027 crore to exporters against pending tax refunds under different incentive schemes for outbound shipments. The amount will be disbursed to more than 45,000 exporters. Briefing the media about the decision, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Rs 56,027 crore, which is being released under various export promotion schemes, is over and above duty remission of Rs 12,454 crore for the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) Scheme and Rs 6,946 crore for Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme already announced.
The central government has asked public sector undertakings to dissuade their employees from participating in the bandh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday mooted the idea of "One Nation, One Uniform" for the police, saying it is just a suggestion for consideration and he is not trying to impose it on the states.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Indian Railways' wholly-owned listed subsidiary, is eyeing partnerships to offset recurring costs incurred in train operations, which is part of its two-year-old diversification from core catering and ticketing businesses. To this end, it is courting public sector undertakings such as Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and others to create a special purpose vehicle for the routes for which IRCTC has bid. The Railway ministry opened bids for public private partnerships in passenger train operations in July 2021 and received bids to operate 29 pairs of trains with around 40 modern rakes that would entail an investment of Rs 7,200 crore.
A number of countries like Canada, Turkey, Belgium, Italy and Israel have banned flights from the UK as the British government warned that the potent new strain of the virus was "out of control" and imposed a stringent new stay-at-home lockdown from Sunday.
The Delhi government will identify single-use plastic littering hotspots and the entry points of such items into water bodies and drains by October 31 this year, according to a draft action plan for the elimination of the environmentally hazardous products.
Tourist visa on arrival for 40 more countries including US, UK and Germany could become a reality soon.
As per protocol, people arriving from coronavirus- affected regions are being put under home quarantine as a precautionary measure while their samples are sent for tests.
The new cabinet, predictably, has a sizeable number of Yadavs and Muslims, though members of other sections of the society also find a place.
The 80-odd projects completed till now are already valued at Rs 14,000 crore.
The move to resume work in ministries comes nearly a month after the government issued work from home protocols in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Airports hold pride of place in the government's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) programme to monetise public assets. Private airport operators, including the Adani group, Fairfax, GMR and Zurich Airport, are expected to evince interest in the next round of public private partnership (PPP) development of state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports. Industry analysts, however, do not expect bids to be as high as the last round, which saw Adani group gain control of six airports.
The Ministry of Railways has decided to introduce steam locomotives on all hill railways and on some other tourism circuits with the support of the Ministry of Tourism.
