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Senior IPS officer R A Chandra Sekhar has been appointed as Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat, according to a personnel ministry order. Sekhar, a 1991-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Kerala cadre, is currently serving as special director in the Intelligence Bureau. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Sekhar's appointment as Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat, with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post on or after August 1, 2025, the order dated June 14 said. Sekhar will take over the new role after the superannuation of incumbent Harinath Mishra end of next month, officials said. The Secretary (Security) is the administrative head of the Special Protection Group (SPG) that provides security to the prime minister and members of his immediate family residing with him at his official residence. In an another order, Special Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sunil Kumar Jha, has b
Delhi cabinet on Tuesday approved a subsidy of Rs 30,000 on the installation of 3 kW rooftop solar panels, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said. The minister said the cabinet also approved the procurement of litter machines, anti-smog guns, mechanical road sweepers and water sprinklers as part of its pollution control measures. Sirsa said, "Now the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has approved a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per kilowatt more which comes around to Rs 30,000." The central government provides a subsidy of Rs 78,000 for installing rooftop solar panels under PM Surya Ghar Yojana. Sirsa also said that the government will tie up with banks so that people can get easy loans on installation charges for solar panels. People will not have to spend any money from their packet and will save Rs 4,200 per month, he added.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is understood to have deliberated on the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday amid speculations about India's possible retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in view of its cross border linkages. The CCS meet was held at the prime minister's Lok Kalyan Marg residence, a day after he held a meeting with the top military brass and accorded operational freedom to the armed forces on the "mode, targets and timing" of India's response to the April 22 attack that killed 26 people. It was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, people familiar with the matter said. There is no official word yet on the CCS, held against the backdrop of growing indications of a retaliation against Pakistan. It was the second meeting of the CCS after the Pahalgam attack. In the first meeting on April 23, it decided a raft of punit
Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday said the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will take a call on the demand of several opposition parties, including the Congress, for a special session of Parliament over the Pahalgam terror attack. Meghwal, who is a state minister in the parliamentary affairs department and also holds the independent charge in the law ministry, told reporters that the decision of the CCPA, which takes a call on convening the session, will be conveyed once it decides. The Union Cabinet is meeting on Wednesday. Several opposition leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a session of Parliament to present a collective resolve following the April 22 terror strike which left 26 people, mostly tourists, killed. At the press conference, Meghwal slammed Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over a picture showing one-half each of B R Ambedkar's and the former Yadav'
The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Thursday approved the recommendations of a sub-committee led by Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan on the operation of homestays in the state, and decided to notify the Himachal Pradesh Homestays Rules, 2024. According to the new provisions, preference will be given to bonafide Himachalis, while the requirement to obtain no objection certificates (NOCs) from the HP Pollution Control Board, local bodies or any other department has been waived, an official statement said. The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also decided to extend the special relief package given to the disaster-hit areas in 2023 to people affected by natural disasters at Samej and Rampur in Shimla district, Jaun-Bagipul and Nirmand in Kullu district, and Tikkam Thalu-Kot in Mandi district during this year's monsoon, in which more than 30 people lost their lives with several still missing. Under the special package, the affected families will receive enhanc
The Union Cabinet approved on Friday the 26.463-km Rithala-Kundli corridor of the Delhi Metro's Phase-IV project that will further enhance connectivity between the national capital and neighbouring Haryana. The entire stretch will comprise 21 stations, all of them elevated. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project is scheduled to be completed in four years from the date of its sanction. This line will be an extension of the operational Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda)-Rithala (Red Line) corridor and will boost connectivity in the northwestern parts of Delhi, such as Narela, Bawana and parts of Rohini. The completion cost of the project is Rs 6,230 crore.