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.
The Congress on Monday said it welcomed the reported move as the party has been raising the demand for long.
The Union cabinet will discuss the report of the Group of Ministers on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy on Thursday.
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.
BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
The BJP and Congress have called out the 'Delhi model' as a hoax, built on sustained propaganda when the ground reality is different.
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.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Announcing the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decision, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said a Special Purpose Vehicle would be set up for the project.
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.
The central government's Great Nicobar development project, proposed around an unprecedented transhipment port, will be executed to keep environmental impact minimal, and is essential as it is of national importance, the government has said amid calls to abort the controversial project due to ecological concerns, the Centre said in an official statement.
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
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
The government on Wednesday approved 12 new industrial cities in 10 states on the lines of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Dholera in Gujarat to boost domestic manufacturing with an estimated investment of Rs 28,602 crore. These industrial areas will be in Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in UP, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in AP, and Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan, and one in Haryana. A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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'.
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.
The 'deliberate attack' on a Hindu temple in Canada sparked strong condemnation in India on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.
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.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce
'BJP and RSS may have differences over minor issues but their hearts long for one common aim -- that of A Hindu Rashtra.' 'And this time to prove this point the RSS has prepared to help BJP win this election with all its might.'
The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured the newly elected legislative assembly on Monday that the Omar Abdullah government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state.
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