Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday said that the market forces decide the value of rupee with respect to the US dollar and the central bank is not worried about day-to-day movement of the currency value.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who picked the evocative term 'Operation Sindoor' to codename the Indian armed forces' strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, official sources said on Wednesday.
The Indian Parliament will introduce a constitutional amendment bill on Tuesday that seeks to hold Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. The bill, popularly known as "one nation, one election", will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and is likely to be referred to a joint committee of both houses for wider consultations. The bill also aims to align elections in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and the NCT of Delhi. The move has been met with mixed reactions, with some supporting the idea of reducing election-related expenses and others expressing concerns about its impact on democratic processes.
Of the 156 LCH, 90 would be for the Indian Army while 66 would be for the Indian Air Force.
The Nagaland cabinet has decided to meet both the NSCN-IM and the Government of India to push for a resolution to the Naga political dialogue. This comes after the NSCN-IM threatened to return to the jungles due to delays in the resolution, and demanded third-party intervention. The Nagaland cabinet will meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to press for expediting the negotiations. The NSCN-IM has accused the Centre of refusing to honour key provisions of the Framework Agreement, specifically the recognition of the "Naga national flag and constitution." The state cabinet is also scheduled to meet with the NSCN-IM leadership before their trip to Delhi.
A constitutional amendment bill for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and could be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses.
The Centre on Monday announced seven big programmes for the holistic growth of agriculture and allied sectors with a total outlay of nearly Rs 14,000 crore, as it aims to improve farmers' income. The Union Cabinet approved seven big-ticket programmes related to the farm sector, including a Rs 2,817-crore digital agriculture mission and a Rs 3,979-crore scheme for crop science. "The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved seven schemes to improve farmers' lives and increase their incomes at a total outlay of Rs 13,966 crore," an official statement said.
Punjab Police and Chandigarh Police got into a minor scuffle on Tuesday over the custody of a Rajasthan native who is accused of filing his Rajya Sabha polls nomination with forged signatures.
Mizoram government reiterates its opposition to the Centre's plan to fence the India-Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR), citing ethnic ties and concerns for refugees.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju clarifies that tribal communities in the northeast and other areas will be exempt from the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to preserve their traditional way of life.
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
The Supreme Court's opinion on the presidential reference can impact on any number of cases if and when governors, if not the President, take a literary view of the Supreme Court's 'ppinion' on their 'discretionary powers' without reference to the rider on 'reasonable time', points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved changes to GST laws to levy a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs, sources said. The amendments to the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) acts, which were approved by the GST Council last week, are likely to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, which will end on August 11. The GST Council in its 51st meeting on August 2 recommended amendments to the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for leasing out airports at Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram through public-private partnership (PPP).
'I will not be surprised if there is a 7 per cent handle in front of the decimal place for the full financial year.'
'I think that kind of change is coming. We should stay prepared for that change, whichever industry or sector we are in, we must be prepared.'
As the smoke from the flames flared up, slogans like 'Zubeen, Zubeen' and 'Jai Zubeenda' reverberated in the air, and people were heard singing his song Mayabini Ratir Buku.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expanded his cabinet on Thursday, inducting 11 new ministers, including six first-timers and two women. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. The new ministers include six from the JMM and four from the Congress. One minister is from the RJD. The expansion comes after the JMM-led alliance won the recent assembly elections with a comfortable majority. The cabinet expansion is expected to give the government a fresh impetus to push its agenda and accelerate development in the state.
The Bihar cabinet has decided to restrict the 35 per cent quota for women in government jobs to only permanent residents of the state, ahead of upcoming elections.
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.
The deal fell through over unresolved disagreements over contentious issues, mainly on agriculture and automotive sector tariffs.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
'This type of comprehensive legislation has never been introduced before in Parliament's history.' 'A bill that simultaneously affects ministers, chief ministers, and the prime minister represents completely uncharted Constitutional territory.' 'Throughout our nation's legislative history, the established policy has consistently held that public office holders should face punishment only after receiving conviction from a competent court of law. Without this safeguard, we risk systematic destabilisation, and our federal structure would face complete collapse.' 'Any central government could potentially deploy this legislation against state governments they oppose politically. This represents the most frightening prospect and dangerous possibility that these bills create.'
More than 750 houses and crops on over 33,000 hectares were damaged in Dharashiv district, where helicopters and boats had to be deployed to rescue stranded people, they said.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday turned down the Bharatiya Janata Party's offer to accommodate Praful Patel as a minister of state with independent charge in the new National Democratic Alliance government and said it was assured that 'remedial measures' would be taken.
The 21-month-long Emergency also saw the government amend the Constitution several times, including to keep the elections to the offices of President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Speaker beyond the scrutiny of courts and insert the words 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' in the Preamble.
A statement issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry earlier on Saturday said the all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
It added that following this, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of Ministry of Defence vide communication dated November 7, 2015, conveyed the policy of OROP for the defence force personnel.
The first session will commence in the third week of June with the oath-taking by the newly elected candidates as members of the House, the sources said, adding the oath-taking is likely to continue for two days, following which a new Speaker will be elected.
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
A high-level panel on 'One Nation, One Election' studied election processes in seven countries including South Africa, Sweden and Belgium before recommending simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies in India. The other countries where simultaneous elections are conducted are Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Union Cabinet approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
'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.'
'There will be not less than 31 lakh people working in the census process.'
Tokhan Sahu, a first-time member of Parliament and a surprise addition to Narendra Modi's new cabinet, has been active in politics for the past three decades, though he has maintained a low profile throughout his career.
During a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Modi lauded both Naqvi and Singh for their contributions to the country during their ministerial tenure, sources said.
