Singh said the farmers opted for 'unusual deeds' to draw media attention as they belong to organisations with only a few thousand members.
The need for a manufacturing policy, reining in food inflation and raising investment in the country were among key suggestions given by economists who met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior ministry officials in the first round of pre-Budget consultations on Friday.
Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday said a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
The defence minister, without naming anyone, said some people are not liking the rapid development of India and are unable to digest it.
The varieties will take at least 4 to 5 years to reach farmers after they complete the usual cycle of breeder, foundation and certified seeds.
The Supreme Court of India resolved a decades-old land dispute in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, involving land originally vested in the Portuguese government.
Tomar and Parkash, along with their ministerial colleague Piyush Goyal, had led the government's negotiations with the protesting farmers.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reshuffled his cabinet, inducting 19 new ministers and elevating Harsh Sanghavi to Deputy Chief Minister. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Friday, with several existing ministers continuing in their roles.
The deal fell through over unresolved disagreements over contentious issues, mainly on agriculture and automotive sector tariffs.
Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, while they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation in Chandigarh. The police also began evicting protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, which have been closed for over a year. The action comes amid concerns from industrialists in Punjab over the prolonged closure of the border points, which they say has resulted in heavy losses. The meeting between the farmer leaders and the central delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was inconclusive, but the next meeting is scheduled for May 4.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
Union minister J P Nadda clarified that the Vice President's office was informed about his and Kiren Rijiju's inability to attend a Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting convened by Jagdeep Dhankhar before his resignation. This statement follows questions raised by a Congress leader regarding their absence.
'Our endeavour will be that we identify these products, put them in the public domain so that the manufacturers can look at them and give a boost to Make in India.'
The ministry of finance will kickstart its massive budgetary exercise from October 15.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
'Traders and exporters will have to explore alternative markets.'
As the Northeast monsoon intensified across Tamil Nadu, the regional weather office issued heavy rainfall alert to a number of districts. Chief Minister M K Stalin reviewed the situation and directed precautionary measures.
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
The Narendra Modi government will purchase all farm produce at minimum support price, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
'India has experienced any number of doctors, engineers, and individuals from professional backgrounds being implicated in terrorism. This is not a novel development.' 'These are mobilisations of opportunity. One does not exclusively associate with one's own kind. A comprehensive conspiracy requires diverse skill sets.' 'One needs individuals with local community contacts, those possessing physical capabilities, technical expertise -- an entire spectrum of capacities.'
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
According to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the revival in the agriculture sector has been due to the record production of 216 million tonnes of foodgrains, 22.7 million bales of cotton and 345 million tonnes of sugarcane in 2006-07. He said this revival was a result of the amendments made in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Acts by the various state governments with the guidelines of the centre.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 1,600-crore assistance package for flood-hit Punjab after reviewing the damage. He also announced ex gratia for the deceased and injured. The state is battling its worst deluge since 1988.
The next generation GST reforms would 'absolutely' set an economy open and transparent with further reduction in compliance burden and benefiting small businesses, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
Ministers' resignation accepted, portfolios farmed out
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra in a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
A profile of B Sudershan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge and Opposition's vice presidential candidate, highlighting his career, judgments, and contributions to constitutional law.
A panel of Union ministers will hold a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including loan waiver and bringing an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, has broken his fast after the Punjab government intervened and dispersed protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders. The Supreme Court lauded Dallewal's efforts and acknowledged the government's action, while also asking for a status report on the situation. Contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court's order of providing medical aid to Dallewal were dropped.
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are expected to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to "oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will never compromise the interests of its farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers, asserting that he would be ready to pay any price.
'The state governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will be encouraged to consider measures of their own as the employment and economy in such export-oriented states will be affected.'
'I do believe there will be a resolution in the next couple of months on the penal tariff and hopefully on the reciprocal tariff also.'
The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
