Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
For the past one week, Modi has been holding in-person meetings with Union ministers apparently to take stock of the work done by the government in the last two years and to discuss various issues.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a personnel ministry order said. She will continue to function as the secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said.
The divestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may hit a fuel price hurdle, according to officials dealing with the matter. They pointed out that the inconspicuous administered price regime could hamper the prospects for potential buyers of BPCL. A senior oil ministry official said public-sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs) take a hit when they sell petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), three of the most popular petroleum products in the country.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India's economic image is not affected due to Adani Group's recent decision to pull out Rs 20,000 crore FPO (follow-on public offers) amid allegations of financial wrongdoings, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
Modi called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.
The Rajasthan government will soon begin an online auction of a special pink sandstone variety, much sought after by builders including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, found in the Bansi Paharpur area of Bharatpur.
A second wave of Covid driven by the Delta variant engulfed the country in May-June bringing the health system to its knees and leaving people gasping for help.
The GoM will suggest various development, economic and social steps to be taken for the two UTs which will come into existence on October 31, sources said.
According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) before the pandemic was 700 tonnes per day across the country. Now, with the second wave, the demand has gone up more than seven times, reports Jyoti Mukul.
"In principle, the ask in return is that India should not support the G7 (Group of Seven) proposal. "A decision on this issue will be taken later following talks with all the partners," an official with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.These "substantial discounts" will be steeper than those offered by Iraq in the past two months, officials said.
The DRDO will set up five oxygen plants, out of the total 500 planned, in and around Delhi by this weekend, the defence ministry said.
Russia on Thursday said it was not bothered at a possible price cap on its crude oil proposed by the West, saying Moscow will negotiate directly with its partners like India and China as the price should be decided between the producers and consumers, and "not someone who just decided to punish someone." Members of the G7 have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to hit Moscow's ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Countries want to reach an agreement ahead of December 5, when Europe's embargo on Russian crude travelling by sea takes effect.
The commission asks for notification to be deferred; RIL's KG-D6 pricing issue may return to Cabinet
Government-controlled oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have held back petrol and diesel price revisions for a week and are expected to continue doing so, ostensibly owing to political reasons. It appears that the Centre has informally conveyed to the three major OMCs to not revise fuel prices for the time being, two people in the government said. This informal directive follows the talks between the Centre and states on cutting taxes and bringing the auto fuels under the good service tax regime not fetching the desired results, so far.
The ICICI board is looking to the retired petroleum secretary to provide 'maturity and sagacity'.
While presenting her 2021-22 Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had set a fiscal deficit target of 6.8 per cent of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) against the 2020-21 Revised Estimate of 9.5 per cent. The fiscal correction in the upcoming 2022-23 Union Budget is unlikely to be that steep. Even as discussions among top Budget-makers are ongoing, the fiscal deficit target for 2022-23 may likely be in the range of 6.5-6.8 per cent.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
Budget for 2022-2023 has returned to its agenda for protectionism in the name of creating a self-reliant India, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) has asked ministries, government departments, and public sector undertakings (PSUs) to send a list of assets that can be monetised under the proposed National Monetisation Pipeline. The list will be used for creation of an asset monetisation dashboard, which will keep a track of such assets. The government, meanwhile, has asked CRISIL to prepare a road map for monetising assets of PSUs and government departments.
He also asserted that ease of living and ease of doing business were behind the spirit of the work being done under the Central Vista project.
The Budget shouldn't be stuck on fiscal numbers, the PMO apparently said.
Government sources said the GoM on coronavirus crisis also reviewed various measures being initiated by concerned ministries to allow partial economic activity in 'non-hotspot zones' from April 20.
Executives would analyse information and pass it to seniors.
Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami is to preside over a meeting in the North Block on Thursday with seven secretaries to discuss about the formation of Telangana.
With only months to go for the general elections, the new environment minister has gone into overdrive to clear projects.
Govt looks to take cooking gas to tiger reserves, Naxal-hit areas
Petrol price on Thursday was cut by Rs 6.07 per litre and diesel price by Rs 11.75 in Delhi as oil companies passed on a record reduction in excise duty rates to consumers. Buckling under pressure, the government had on Wednesday cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 10 a litre to give reprieve to consumers battered by record high retail fuel prices. Since states charge local sales tax or VAT not just on the base price but also on the excise duty levied by the centre, the total incidence of price reduction is higher.
Spurring the economy, currently in the throes of a slowdown, remains the prime focus for most ministries, but the government is also looking to make women's welfare and environmental protection key to policymaking in this term.
It is now becoming increasingly clear that rising imports have played a significant role in sustaining the buoyancy in revenues from GST, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, said, "All I can say is, we are very serious about fiscal consolidation, and intend holding on to our fiscal targets, even if the crude price rises on a sustained basis."
According to data released by the commerce and industry ministry, exports stood at $25.01 billion in the month. The fall is only the second time exports contracted in the past year.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the preparations for Cyclone Yaas including the evacuation of people on the high seas as well as in vulnerable coastal areas and the safety of COVID-19 facilities.
The Union oil ministry is considering a proposal to adopt differential pricing for diesel, under which industrial users like power utilities, will be charged market prices and retail consumers continue to be subsidised.
Budget has already bombed at the box office and passing it without a revisit will be a mockery of the exercise though any modification may be short lived and perfunctory, observes V Ranganathan.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the much-awaited 2022-23 Union Budget on February 1. While there has been strong recovery in some sectors, touch services like hospitality, tourism and leisure continue to suffer after two Covid-19 waves. Household savings have been hit due to increased spending on health care. Consumption has still not reached pre-pandemic levels.
The Centre's push to sell Air India on priority has led to delays in other strategic divestment proposals, such as privatising United India Insurance, as well as ongoing transactions, such as Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), revealed multiple officials involved in the process. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is yet to take new privatisation recommendations of the NITI Aayog to the core group of secretaries on disinvestment (CGD) headed by the Cabinet secretary, said one of the officials. The priority now is to ensure all approvals for Air India are in place since the government intends to hand over the national carrier as early as this month.
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