Kerala's Tirur betel leaf, Tawlhlohpuan and Mizo Puanchei from Mizoram, and Palani Panchamirtham, a temple 'prasadam' from Tamil Nadu have been awarded Geographical Indication tag.
The base will be used by carriers such as Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to operate 70-seater ATR aircraft to places such as Bengaluru.
Vaccinating all citizens above the age of 18 years against COVID-19 will cost Rs 67,193 crore, of which states together will incur Rs 46,323 crore, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said on Thursday. As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the country with alarming speed and severity, the government has announced a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination. Under this scheme, all persons above 18 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccine doses from May 1.
Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said that Rs 65,000 crore is required to help the poor affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdown. He also laid stress on the need to restart the economy while taking precautions.
The prospect of further falls in remittances is a hindrance for the Reserve Bank of India, as it seeks to bullet-proof the economy against sudden capital outflows
'Just keep telling people that we have fixed the Muslims, and they will not be bothered about their empty stomachs or empty wallets.'
'Mamata has used minorities only as her vote bank.' 'In her entire election campaign Mamata did not utter a single sentence against the RSS.'
Many states are open to the idea of petrol and diesel being brought under the goods and services tax (GST) regime - contrary to the perception that they are averse to it - but they want a concrete proposal, including a compensation mechanism, from the Centre. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra says while the issue can be discussed, the Centre may not be keen to bring the change because it earns "much more" from taxes on petrol and diesel. "(The peak rate of) GST is 28 per cent. Under the regime, the Centre would only get 14 per cent. "So, definitely, the Union government does not want GST on fuel. It is all lies. Currently, they are in a very cozy place," Mitra said.
For many, he is the Dhirubhai Ambani of Kerala. For others, he is the most influential Indian in West Asia. M A Yusuff is back in the spotlight after the controversy surrounding the UAE's reported offer of a Rs 7 billion aid package for flood-hit Kerala.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday strongly defended the three new agri laws saying their benefits have begun reaching 10 crore small farmers instantly, and condemned as 'very unfortunate' the Republic Day violence and 'dishonour' to the tricolour during the tractor parade by the protesting farm unions in New Delhi.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
She would be the first Indian to be occupying the coveted post at IMF after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a whopping 8.7 lakh expatriates from Kerala to return home, most of them from the Gulf, since last May, with a majority of 5.67 lakh citing job loss as the reason for it, according to official data.
'Modiji's programmes are efficient and with foresight, and needed for the country.' 'I also like his way of functioning. So, in whatever way I can, I would like to contribute.'
The BJP would want that by March 2022, when UP votes, the economy starts looking up and it heads into the polls with no other issue distracting from its main poll plank of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
'Just see what kind of political, social and economic impact it will have when the number of unemployed goes up four times in one year suddenly.'
'You can't take jobs to people, you have to take people to jobs.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha that is expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours, As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth Budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
'If you believe the Congress will win in 2024 because Modi is blundering from one monumental disaster to another, that means you are living in a fool's paradise.'
'The Modi government is about privatising profits and nationalising losses.'
Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have announced a lockdown of educational institutions, malls and other places that attract people in large numbers, even as some of them have been reporting increase in positive cases.
'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'
'I don't believe the talk of free will.' 'They are either forced to dress like this, or indoctrinated.'
This is because the bond market has factored in the Rs 4.88-trillion gross borrowing for April-September 2020.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will likely consider on Saturday a GST rate cut for Covid-19 relief essentials and drugs for treating the black fungus disease and might leave the vaccines untouched. The meeting is being held following a report submitted by a Group of Ministers (GoM) to the GST Council on Monday. The GoM, set up by the Council on May 28, was mandated to look at tax exemption and concessions on various Covid items including vaccines, drugs, and equipment.
India is going into the longest lockdown in the world, with the least amount of notice given to its people and the least preparation by its government.
Although the first woman to hold the position of chief economist at IMF, it would be wrong to see her appointment through the lens of gender
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Millions of people across the country stayed indoors on March 22, 2020 in an unprecedented and overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for the nationwide curfew. People used to come out briefly at 5 pm to show their gratitude to healthcare and other essential service providers with sounds of bells, conches and claps.
In a nearly 25-minute televised address to the nation, Modi said implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in its second phase and detailed guidelines will be brought out on Wednesday to ensure that outbreak does not spread to new areas.
'The administration started intruding into the kitchens and bedrooms of the local community.'
'For the first time in 50 years the people of Lakshadweep who have till now never raised their hands, got out on the streets and started raising their voices.'
As the world awaits the end of the global pandemic, rural Bengal might be witnessing a recession unfolding in bits and pieces. With factories and tea gardens closing down, agricultural income falling and storm Aila ravaging a large part of deltaic West Bengal in 2010, migration gradually became a norm.
The answer cannot be that we will beat the disease at the end of the 21 days. And the answer cannot be that it is to halt the spread because the spread is going to happen anyway, notes Aakar Patel.
'Saving our economy is a priority.' 'We have to save our people and save our country.'
'Premature lifting of the lockdown will spread the disease from asymptomatics, and those undetected, to the whole community, ushering in prolonged misery, preventable and avoidable deaths, famine and social unrest,' warns Dr Debashish Danda.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches played on Monday.
Sitharaman exhorted the states to work together with the Centre, stating that while the Union government sets the direction of economic growth, it is for the states to ensure effective implementation on the ground.
The total vehicle registrations in India fell by 29.85 per cent to 1,52,71,519 units in financial year 2020-21, the lowest in the last eight years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday. Total vehicle registrations were at 2,17,68,502 units in fiscal year 2019-20. All categories of vehicles, except tractors were in red in FY21 with two-wheeler (2W), three-wheeler (3W), commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) falling by 31.51 per cent, 64.12 per cent, 49.05 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively -- the lowest in last eight years and way below the FY13 levels, FADA said in a statement.
The Assam cabinet had on December 13 approved a proposal to close down all Madrassas and Sanskrit Tols (schools) however, the legislation brought in the assembly during the day did not contain anything related to the Sanskrit tols and the education minister also did not mention anything about it.
The leadership needs to put all other government business aside, control the pandemic and save human lives. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
