Bhupender Yadav's entry to the Modi government as a Cabinet minister is seen as his just reward after serving as a party office-bearer for the longest term among all current occupants.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
Amid speculation over Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United's next move in the wake of vote counting trends, senior party leader K C Tyagi on Tuesday said they are in the National Democratic Alliance and 'we will be in the NDA'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda and several other leaders and prominent personalities were present at the ceremony.
The Union cabinet will discuss the report of the Group of Ministers on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy on Thursday.
A blame game began in the Congress on Tuesday as it failed in its bid to come back to power in Haryana after 10 years, with senior party leader Kumari Selja saying the party high command should assess all reasons that led to the disappointing result and identify the people responsible.
The much-talked about Land Acquisition Bill, which provides for enhanced compensation to land owners and other benefits, was Monday approved by the Union Cabinet notwithstanding reservations from some senior ministers on some aspects.
The revision of pay scales of faculty, design and scientific staff and other academic staff of the over 50 centrally-funded institutions were approved by the Union Cabinet. The Cabinet also approved giving financial assistance to states for implementing the revised scales.
The Congress on Monday said it welcomed the reported move as the party has been raising the demand for long.
The Union Cabinet and its committees have been given a new 'mantra' by President Pratibha Patil and asked to clear every proposal only after ensuring that it meets the requisites of equity or inclusiveness, innovation and public accountability.The Cabinet Secretariat has shot out a 'secret' demi official letter to all secretaries in the government, citing the President's diktat.
With speculations rife about a Union Cabinet reshuffle, the Congress has discussed the issue with Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, the largest ally of the United Progressive Alliance after the exit of the Trinamool Congress. Union Minister V Narayansamy called on DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Tuesday, but the latter is learnt to have turned down the offer for the induction of his party MPs in the Manmohan Singh-led Cabinet, party sources said.
Rediff.com has in its possession the full Cabinet Note that was given to the members of the Cabinet ahead of the crucial meeting on Friday evening.
In big bang reforms, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies as well as allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route. Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said nine structural reforms for the telecom sector were approved. The definition of AGR, which had been a major reason for the stress in the sector, has been rationalised by excluding non-telecom revenue of telecom companies.
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
The Union Cabinet was understood to have decided in principle to dissolve the Medical Council of India whose chief Ketan Desai has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on graft charges.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear that it will not campaign for ally Nationalist Congress Party's candidate Nawab Malik in the assembly polls due to his alleged links with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, but has no objection to his daughter's candidature.
Dr T V Somanathan is the first finance secretary to be appointed Cabinet secretary since 1985. His appointment at this juncture seems to carry much meaning for the forthcoming trajectory of reforms and restructuring of India's steel frame.
JMM has called for observing 'black day' in Ranchi following the sentencing of Shibu Soren.
In a significant move, Government will bring in a bill in Parliament's Budget Session to make registration of marriages compulsory under a law for mandatory recording of births and deaths, notwithstanding one's religious affiliation, thereby providing legal protection especially in cases of inter-religious matrimony.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the Centre on a plea filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, and listed the matter along with other pending petitions on the issue for hearing in April.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the first meeting of the expanded Cabinet which will be followed by a meeting of Council of Ministers on Monday.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
The Union Cabinet also decided to promulgate an ordinance -- The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 -- to give reservation benefits to the people living along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, who often face shelling from across the border.
BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term on Thursday.
JD-U leaders contend that R C P Singh may have misled the BJP leadership into believing that Nitish Kumar was ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.
Announcing the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decision, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said a Special Purpose Vehicle would be set up for the project.
Most of the 40 MLAs in the Shinde camp don't have enough legislative experience to conduct business in the House and so the first ministry expansion needed induction of veterans.
The Union Cabinet Thursday approved the Contempt of Courts Amendment Bill, 2004, which seeks to liberalise the law by introducing "truth" as a defence in contempt proceedings.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has once again ducked the question of who is No. 2 in the Union Cabinet in the working arrangements he made during his 4-day Iran visit.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday didn't join his cabinet colleagues Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in visiting the Nagpur-based memorial of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
With President Pranab Mukherjee accepting the resignations of seven Cabinet ministers late on Saturday evening, the reshuffle is expected to see the induction of at least 12 ministers, most of them being younger in age. There will be a conscious effort to ensure that Cabinet has a younger profile
Months before the Haryana assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced its strongman Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister with low-profile OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini, a decision that surprised many.
Five Parliamentarians from Karnataka including Janata Dal-Secular leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Pralhad Joshi, who were part of the previous Cabinet, on Sunday took oath in the new National Democratic Alliance Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP and Congress have called out the 'Delhi model' as a hoax, built on sustained propaganda when the ground reality is different.
Modi said the newly-sworn in government took four major decisions related to farmers' and traders welfare in the first meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Sonowal, a law graduate, is considered to be a rarity -- an honest politician who also worked to unite different communities with his oft-repeated lines 'Barak-Brahmaputra-plains-hills'.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday said it would not nominate any party representative to the Union ministry to fill vacancies in case of a Cabinet reshuffle.
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