The protests against farm laws saw a fair share of controversies as well with climate activist Greta Thunberg and pop sensation Rihanna making their way to India's prime time debates and terms such as 'toolkit' and 'andolanjeevi' entering the Indian political lexicon.
He also said that most of the farmers were "satisfied" with the steps taken by the central government, and added that their interests were "safe and secure" in its hands.
India is one of biggest producers and exporters of agri commodities.
Families of farmers along with fellow villagers at many places in Punjab, which had once remained the epicentre of the farmers' agitation, will prepare 'ladoos', 'jalebis', 'barfi' and other sweets to welcome them, farmer leaders said.
Before bidding farewell to Singhu, some farmers performed havans and sang kirtans, and some danced to bhangra songs to mark the day as 'Vijay Diwas'.
To maintain law and order during the farmers' tractor parade, thousands of security personnel had been deployed at several border points.
The minister also hoped that a resolution should be reached before the year ends and asserted that the Modi government is committed to address all genuine concerns of the farming community.
The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, has extended its support to the call for Bharat bandh on December 8 by farmer groups protesting against three recent farm sector laws.
No one's quite sure on the retail FDI issue in this regard, after the new Rajasthan and Delhi governments cancelled the approvals given by their predecessors
The government will use the Supreme Court order calling the 2005 deal between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and privately-owned Devas Multimedia a fraud, to counter seizure of its properties, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday as she launched a blistering attack on the Congress for handing over airwaves used by the defence to the private firm for pittance. "It is a fraud of Congress, by Congress (and) for Congress," the minister told reporters as she read out paragraphs from the Supreme Court's January 17 decision allowing winding up of Devas Multimedia because of the fraud.
Out of the 745 gardens in Assam, which accounts for over 55 per cent of total tea production, an alert has been sounded for 88 gardens, while for West Bengal, out of the 377 gardens, 65 have been cautioned.
Congress leader Jitin Prasada joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, in a boost to the saffron party as it works to strengthen its social coalition ahead of assembly elections in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh early next year.
Expressing displeasure over a tweet posted by a media organisation which falsely claimed that Chief Justice of India N V Ramana had met the kin of victims of Lakhmipur Kheri violence, the Supreme Court on Friday said it respects the media and their independence but this is 'not at all fair.'
"The question of entering into Delhi is a law and order matter and will be determined by the police," the bench said.
The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed in violence during a farmers' protest, with a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.
The Bill to amend the Bureau of Indian Standards Act has been passed.
Embargo on imports from a neighbouring country would send a chilling signal to foreign investors who look for transparency and companies with manufacturing units in India had requested the government to publish any change in port policy "to provide the business community with the visibility they need to function", says United States-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
The FIEO on Thursday reiterated that the Customs authorities at several ports in India had ordered a sudden examination of Chinese consignments without any official word from the government, and this may have led to the Chinese retribution.
Several trains were cancelled, highways and key roads blocked and many thousands stranded for hours on Monday as a nationwide 10-hour shutdown against the Centre's three agri laws disrupted lives across parts of India, particularly in the north.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Union minister Piyush Goyal for his remarks that Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee is "Left-leaning", saying "these bigots are blinded by hatred" and have no idea what a professional is.
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.
Tomar said the union leaders kept insisting on repeal of the three farm laws, but the government side tried to explain them the benefits of the Acts and sought to know specific problems faced by the farmers.
BKU (Bhanu) president Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh told reporters he was deeply pained by whatever happened during the tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.
He maintained that the laws were for their benefit and then apologised to people of the country, adding that the government could not convince a section of farmers despite its clear heart and clean conscience.
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.
But we have enough stacked up for another 2-3 months. We have come prepared for a long haul, Gurjaint Singh from Panipat said.
Wearing garlands, the farmer leaders, who had called for observing 'Sadbhavana Diwas' (Harmony Day) on Saturday after the immense outrage over violence by protesters during their Republic Day tractor rally, sat on the dais during the fast, as crowds of supporters swelled, especially in Gazipur where the Bharatiya Kisan Union is leading the protest.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
With the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Amazon's proposal will now be vetted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the commerce ministry.
From the rollback of customs duty on key electronic components to fast tracking delivery of goods imported from China, players are looking for incentives on several counts.
The farmers threatened to intensify their agitation and block more roads if the government did not accept their demand.
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani on Thursday submitted to the Election Commission that she did not complete her graduation from Delhi University.
Later, Sitharaman's office clarified that the FM had already met the industrialists, experts, and economists during the pre-budget consultations.
From the Republic Day violence to Lakhimpur Kheri incident and terms such as 'toolkit' and andolanjeevi entering the Indian political lexicon, it was controversies galore during the year-long farmers' movement against the contentious agri laws.
Schools and colleges are set to reopen on Monday in three adjoining districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur after remaining closed for nearly ten days in view of the monsoon fury.
They said that they will completely block the Chilla Border between Delhi and Noida on Wednesday to press for their demands, adding that farmer unions are not running away from negotiation, but the government has to pay heed to their demands and come forward with concrete proposals.
BJP leaders from a dominant farming community in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh held separate meetings on Wednesday to chalk up an outreach to members of the Jat community and caste councils (khaps) to counter the narrative against the Centre's three farm laws.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is in India this week and is expected to meet top government functionaries, business leaders and SMBs.
Over 1.4 lakh jobs are estimated to be created between March 2019 and March 2021 in various central government departments, according to the Union Budget presented on Monday. The strength of government establishments was 32,71,113 as on March 1, 2019, which is estimated to increase to 34,14,226 by the first day of next month - an increase of 1,43,113, it said. The budget documents have given a break-up of the jobs estimated to be created in central government departments between 2019 and March 2021.
