A head count to identify the poor, including their caste and religion, was on Thursday approved by the government, which aims at ensuring that the benefits of the targeted subsidy programme reach them. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod for conducting a census in rural and urban areas to identify those living below poverty line. The enumeration on the basis of caste and religion would be part of the census.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took charge of their new official responsibilities at the state secretariat 'Mantralaya' here after taking oath of office on Thursday evening.
The Union Cabinet's nod is required to give effect to the government decision to allow private carriers to fly to Colombo, Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The government told Portugal on December 12 that the gangster would not be given capital punishment if he were extradited to India.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said all members of the Union cabinet are equal, comments that come in the midst of a stand off between the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on issues including the Number 2 slot to Sharad Pawar.
After her elevation as defence minister, Sitharaman has become a member of the cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister.
Singh's stand is untenable and his departure as inevitable.
The deadline set by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare for passing the Lokpal Bill is inching closer, but the government seems to be in no hurry. Sources in the government said that the Union Cabinet is unlikely to discuss the Lokpal Bill on Sunday.
The Union Cabinet on Monday deferred a decision on hiking the salary and allowances of Members of Parliament though the issue was discussed in detail.
Indians living in United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Italy will be able to apply for dual citizenship.
Asked to whom the demand was made, Gogavale said it was probably Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as new chief minister of Maharashtra while allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday evening.
Singh said it is the principle of BJP not to promote nepotism and fight against dynasty rule and his decision to resign is in line with the party's principles.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the United Progressive Alliance government which decided to withdraw the ordinance that sought to give protection to convicted lawmakers from disqualification, saying it has succumbed to "dynastic" pressure.
Expressing his ignorance about allegations that Justice (retd) A K Ganguly was framed for his 2G verdict, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday said Union Cabinet has done whatever done in his matter.
With this, the Shiv Sena has become the second major political party to release its list of candidates for the state assembly polls. Its ally BJP released a list of 99 candidates on Sunday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday warned of "another language war" amid the ongoing Hindi imposition row, stating that the state is "ready" for it. He also expressed concerns about the potential loss of Lok Sabha seats due to the proposed delimitation process, which he believes will disadvantage states that have successfully implemented population control measures. Stalin has called for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the issue, urging unity across political lines to address the perceived threat to Tamil Nadu's representation in Parliament.
In a significant message to the business lobby in Washington, the Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.The move will encourage the nuclear power plant manufacturing companies, which have been eyeing the Rs 60,000-crore plus market in India, for the next 5-10 years. According to sources, the government will fix the civil liability at approximately Rs 2,400 crore for the manufacturers.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has removed Union Fertiliser Minister M K Alagiri and Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran from two key sub-committees of the Union Cabinet. Both Alagiri and Maran are leaders of the Congress's ally DMK. In the wake of the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam, involving DMK leader and then telecom minister A Raja, the PM has been careful about allocating sensitive positions to the party's leaders.
The term of the 22nd Law Commission, which is without a chairperson for the past few months, ends Saturday with its key report on the uniform civil code still in works. The report prepared by the law panel on simultaneous elections is ready and is pending submission to the law ministry.
The Union Cabinet will soon consider a comprehensive Special Economic Zones Bill, which would lay down guidelines for their development, operation and management.
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.
The Enemy Property Act has turned two senior cabinet ministers into adversaries. Salman Khurshid, minister for corporate affairs and minority issues, directly targeted Home Minister P Chidambaram during the Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is all set to carry a major reshuffle in his Cabinet that is scheduled to take place around 11:30 am on Sunday. The reshuffle is likely to see the inclusion of several young faces
The Union Cabinet rejected the ordinance route for a set of anti-corruption measures despite pressure from Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for bringing such laws.
His extension order was issued on Monday.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Uttarakhand are disappointed over the state not getting a representation in the Union Cabinet with most of them maintaining that the party's impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the hill state should have earned it a seat or two in Narendra Modi's council of ministers.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked for selective exemption from the order to seek permission from the Union cabinet before the sale or long-term lease of any land of the government or a government-controlled statutory body.
The BJP and JDU leaders claimed that Prasad insulted women in the state with his comment.
Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, had to literally face a trial-by-fire to ensure widespread acceptance of his path-breaking Union Budget of 1991 that saw the nation rise from its darkest financial crises.
A comprehensive Bill, to replace the age-old law relating to print media, that will cover Internet edition of newspapers and include provisions on limits on foreign news content and investment was on Thursday approved by the Union Cabinet.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday decided to amend a 144-old press law that will prohibit those convicted of terrorist activities from bringing out any newspaper or publication.
The Congress has refused to induct the DMK nominee T R Baalu in the Cabinet, in place of A Raja, who resigned as telecom minister amidst serious charges of irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday held consultations giving further grist to the speculation mill over a possible reshuffle of the Union Cabinet. This is the fourth meeting of the two leaders in recent days amid indications that the reshuffle would take place any time this week. There has been no official word on when exactly the prime minister would carry out the exercise.
Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.
Despite the Nationalist Congress Party upset with the new pecking order in the government, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Monday steered clear of the controversy in the wake of his being relegated to the third position in the Union Cabinet.
A major Indo-US agreement that provides for assistance by American civil aviation bodies to their Indian counterparts in modernising airports
