Police on Friday used tear gas to disperse Haryana farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab's border with the state where farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping since last week after their 'Delhi Chalo' march was halted by security forces.
The Indian government has appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends on February 28. Pandey's appointment comes at a time when the markets are experiencing bear pressure due to withdrawals by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Pandey has extensive experience in the finance ministry, having served as the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He also played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget and the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill. Pandey's appointment is for an initial period of three years.
Seasoned bureaucrat and a stickler for rules Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be at the helm of capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for three years. The 1987-batch Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Pandey, would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year term ends on Friday.
States are on track of fiscal consolidation with their total borrowings reaching Rs 5 trillion till October, which is 60 per cent of the projected borrowings of Rs 8.38 trillion till December 2024, according to data from official sources. Government officials said the lower-than-projected borrowings by states were a sign of prudent fiscal management by them. States announce their borrowing plans every quarter.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
Irrigation woes have contributed to the problem of stubble burning in the state, reports Sarthak Choudhury.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed the deadlock between the Punjab government and its governor over assent to bills passed by the assembly a matter of "serious concern" and said it is not happy with what is happening in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that India will soon create a comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure its borders. He highlighted the increasing threat posed by drones, especially along the India-Pakistan border, and emphasized a 'whole of government' approach to tackle this issue. Shah also spoke about the ongoing Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) and the Modi government's Vibrant Village Programme, which aims to develop and integrate the population of northern borders.
T Nanda Kumar, former food and agriculture secretary, shared his memories of working with former prime minister Manmohan Singh during some of India's most challenging times, highlighting Singh's compassionate leadership and commitment to ensuring food security for all Indians. Kumar recalled Singh's steadfast support during the 2008 global food crisis, where he championed a ban on non-basmati rice exports to secure domestic supplies. Singh's leadership, characterized by intellect and humility, left a lasting impression on Kumar, who considered him a mentor and guiding light.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
Currently, there is no Hindu temple in Narowal district, forcing the Hindu community to perform their religious rituals at home or travel to temples in Sialkot and Lahore.
'When I am working on a series, be it Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime or Kohrra on Netflix, I never take it for granted that we will be back with another season.' 'It's only at the end of the season that I ask myself if I still have it in me to take the story further and if I would like to meet the characters again.' 'If the answer is yes, then I find ways to make the journey exciting for myself, like taking Inspector Haathiram Chaudhary to Nagaland.'
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice in the post-lunch period on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the Bharatiya Janata Party's Ravneet Singh Bittu.
The BJP and Congress have called out the 'Delhi model' as a hoax, built on sustained propaganda when the ground reality is different.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
From highways connecting once-remote regions to aviation networks carrying millions, India's infrastructure story is one of transformation.
Despite the mediocrity at large, these films had me in raptures for the emotions they evoked within as a cheering audience, critic and cinephile.
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.
Not only chemists, but several known private hospitals are selling medicines at higher prices than MRP, said Singh, adding that the matter was not peculiar to Punjab, but afflicts the whole country.
But the atmosphere is now conducive for the Mahayuti to continue in power in Maharashtra thanks to the government's people-centric schemes, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is giving promises that it cannot execute, he said.
Chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states -- Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana's Revanth Reddy -- have announced they will not attend the NITI Aayog meeting over alleged bias against their states in the Union Budget.
The row over Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur's remarks in Lok Sabha escalated on Wednesday with the Congress submitting a notice to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting on 'X' a video that allegedly also contained expunged portions of Thakur's speech.
'When you watch Freedom At Midnight, I want you to feel like you are sitting on a ticking time bomb.'
As leaders in both the BJP and Congress concede, neither has within their parties a leader to match Arvind Kejriwal's charisma in Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not form the government on June 4 and said if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comes to power, the direction and fate of the country will change.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said elections keep happening but Parliament's Budget session is very important and urged all MPs to make it fruitful.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
In its first decision, the Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.
Coming Wednesday, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 2023 Union Budget - the last full Budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While India exited 2022 as a relatively bright spot in the global economy, the FM will endeavour to present a Budget that insulates India's economy against global headwinds and recession in advanced economies, while sticking to the path of fiscal consolidation. In this, she is being helped by her core team of trusted advisors.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
While no specific state-oriented sops were rolled out, a strong thread of political wellness ran through the Budget.
'The Railways decided to go for kavach three years back, but the progress has been very slow.'
Mann stares at a twin-headed monster: Resuscitating the state's debilitated public-sector enterprises and controlling the spiralling debt to keep the state machinery and his poll-fuelled populist schemes running.
The session will begin with President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha assembled together in the Central Hall and chambers of both the Houses in view of the COVID-19 situation.
Given the sheer size of the state, achieving a similar turnaround in Punjab as promised could be a different ball game altogether, reports Sai Manish.
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
'That's how big this taboo is.' 'It would be difficult for them to understand what I am trying to show with Jaggi.'
'Indian football needs to work together and move in the same direction.' 'Only then will the competition in India improve, and the Indian national team will improve.'
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