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.
For the first time, the government on Wednesday delegated financial powers for capital procurement projects worth up to Rs 200 crore to armed forces officials below the level of vice chiefs to help them meet emerging security challenges, officials said.
The PM launched the multi-disciplinary sporting event through a video conference facility.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government is working out a new Bill on cryptocurrency which will be placed in the ongoing session of Parliament after approval of the Union Cabinet. The ongoing winter session is scheduled to end on December 23. Replying to a series of questions in the Rajya Sabha, she said the new Bill takes into account the rapidly changing dimensions in virtual currency space, and incorporate features of the earlier Bill that could not be taken up.
The Kerala high court on Monday dismissed petitions filed by Kerala government and others challenging the Centre's decision to lease Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Adani Enterprises.
A day after unprecedented violence in Delhi during the tractor parade, the government on Wednesday said it has never stated that the doors for dialogue with farmers are closed and stressed that it will inform whenever the decision is taken for fresh talks.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday is learnt to have cleared a bill on electoral reforms, including the one to link electoral roll with Aadhaar on a voluntary basis to root out multiple enrolments.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 76,000 crore policy boost for semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country in an bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production. Announcing the decision of the Cabinet, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw observed that electronics plays an important role in everyday life, and semiconductor chips forms a crucial part of electronics. Outlining the details of the scheme, he said the Rs 76,000 crore programme has been approved for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the participation of the private sector in the entire range of space activities, including planetary exploration missions, Union minister Jitendra Singh said. The newly-created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) will provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure, Singh, who is the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, said.
A formal decision is expected to be announced next week after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Sonowal, a law graduate, is considered to be a rarity -- an honest politician who also worked to unite different communities with his oft-repeated lines 'Barak-Brahmaputra-plains-hills'.
The HYV describes itself as "a fierce cultural and social organisation dedicated to Hindutva and nationalism". Alongside cow protection, its stated objectives are "complete abolishment of the differentiation between touchable-untouchable and high-low, promote the harmonious development of society".
The Union Cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss the Telangana crisis in detail and the government is expected to announce a time-bound programme for the formation of a separate state, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions to improve the domestic supply and control prices, which touched Rs 100 per kg earlier this month.
Bharti would visit the site after the official ceremony.
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
Notwithstanding Andhra Pradesh assembly's rejection of Telangana bill, a Group of Ministers on Tuesday cleared the draft legislation to be placed before the Union Cabinet on Thursday to pave the way for its tabling in Parliament.
FDI is a major driver of economic growth and a source of non-debt finance for the economic development of the country. The government has put in place an investor-friendly policy on FDI, under which investment up to 100 per cent is permitted on the automatic route in most sectors/ activities. At $ 64.37 billion, FDI in 2018-19 is the highest ever investment received for any financial year.
JD-U national president RCP Singh reacted with a sense of vindication to the developments in the party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan, whose son has been left cornered in a revolt led by the former's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras and supported by four other MPs, including nephew Prince Raj.
The move will benefit 50 lakh (5 million) employees and 30 lakh (3 million) pensioners.
"In view of the crisis arising out of Covid-19, it has been decided that additional instalment of dearness allowance payable to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to central government pensioners due from January 1, 2020, shall not be paid. "The additional instalment of DA and DR due from July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, shall also not be paid," the department of expenditure said in an office memorandum.
The government on Wednesday permitted NRIs to invest up to 100 per cent stake in disinvestment-bound Air India. The decision comes at a time when the government has sought preliminary bids for 100 per cent stake sale in the national carrier. "Today's decision on Air India is one milestone decision where NRIs... will get permission to invest 100 per cent in the airline," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at a briefing about the Union Cabinet's decision.
The government on Wednesday said that all urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will come under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, a development aimed at providing comfort to depositors and prevent repeat of PMC Bank like scams. The President of India will promulgate an ordinance to this effect, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
He later had tea served in 'kulhad' with minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and paid Rs 40 for two cups.
New ministry will bring much-needed transparency in the functioning of the cooperatives, which so far have been riddled with allegations of political interference and mismanagement.
If AAP dominates both state and local elections, the move for unification may become the illness for the BJP instead of the medicine it was supposed to have been.
The change in leadership at the railway ministry comes at a time when the national transporter is grappling with low passenger earnings even as it is trying to increase freight loading and open up its doors to private investment. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge from Piyush Goyal who got the railway portfolio in 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modii dropped Suresh Prabhu from the Union Cabinet. Completing freight corridors, negotiating land for the bullet train, and speeding up monetisation plans would be some of the major focus areas for Vaishnaw.
Our last mile delivery stood out, she said, and promised that programmes will be accelerated and red tape will be reduced.
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.
Paswan, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the country who had been a part of several governments headed by rival parties, died on Thursday at the age of 74.
Shah said that the NPR will not affect the nationality status of any citizen of the country.
Pressure mounted for the removal of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday as more instances of impropriety tumbled out amidst talk of a reshuffle of the Union cabinet in which beleagured Law Minister Ashwani Kumar may be shifted to a different portfolio.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is determined to implement the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project despite the Centre's indifference.
Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and the party's chief whip in the Upper House Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government is throttling the voice of the Opposition leaders to prevent them from raising issues of public importance.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy convened an emergency meeting at 11.30 am on Friday with ministers, members of Parliament, members of Legislative Council and members of Legislative Assembly from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema to discuss the developments following the Union Cabinet's approval of bifurcation of the state.
Two days after it was cleared by the Union Cabinet, an ordinance on sexual violence against women under which rape that leads to death of the victim can now attract death penalty was on Sunday promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
'As long as Rane is the point-person, the Sena will never revive its partnership with the BJP.'
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 'Mission Karmayogi', dubbed as the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative, aimed at capacity building of government employees to make them more "creative, proactive, professional and technology-enabled". The core guiding principles of the competency-driven programme will be to support a transition from "rules based to roles based" HR management to prepare the Indian civil servant for the future, according to a government statement.
The top court directed the Secretary of the Union water resources ministry to personally appear before it on May 14 with a draft of the Cauvery management scheme to implement its verdict on water sharing between four states including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
A top Home Ministry official said no note has been prepared yet to be placed before tomorrow's scheduled meeting of the Cabinet to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
