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The Centre on Friday launched the good governance week, an administrative outreach aimed at strengthening citizen-centric governance with a strong focus on grassroots delivery. Launching the initiative, Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Rachna Shah, released guidelines for the nationwide 'Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore' campaign. Shah said good governance week, observed annually around the birth anniversary of former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25, has over the years evolved from a commemorative observance into a focused and action-oriented governance initiative. She emphasised that good governance is reflected not merely in policies and institutional frameworks but in how effectively public services reach citizens and how responsively grievances are addressed. The Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore' initiative continues to form the core of the good governance week campaign, placing district administrations at the forefront of .
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday hit out at the BJP ahead of the Assembly session here, alleging that the party has abandoned its responsibilities as an opposition and was instead focusing only on trivial issues. Speaking to reporters on the premises of Suvarana Vidhana Soudha here, Kharge took a dig at the BJP for remaining silent on matters that fall under the purview of the central government. Responding to a question that the BJP was going to target the Congress government in the session, Kharge said, "Let them do it. They have abandoned their responsibilities as an opposition." "The MSP (Minimum Support Price) for maize was supposed to be given by the Central government. They are not asking about that. Similary, the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) for sugarcane is decided by the Centre," he said. Kharge further claimed that the Centre owed Karnataka significant dues, but instead the BJP was raising irrelevant issues. "They owe the state government Rs 13,000 crore
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday made it clear that the Centre was not considering any compensation to states for potential revenue loss arising from the latest Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate cuts, stressing that the impact will be shared equally and given the devolution of taxes, while the Centre's share will be even smaller. The opposition was putting pressure on the BJP-led central government, seeking compensation of potential revenue loss from GST rationalisation. Speaking at a BJP-organised discussion on GST in Kolkata, Sitharaman said that during the GST Council meeting, several states, particularly those governed by opposition parties, raised concerns over the proposal to reduce rates, and asked what would happen if they led to revenue losses and how that gap could be filled. Sitharaman said that in response, she had explained that there is "no donor-donee relationship" within the GST Council. "If GST is divided 50/50 between the Centre and the states
The Union Finance Ministry has notified Central GST (CGST) tax rates for goods, which will be effective from September 22. States will now have to follow suit and notify the State GST (SGST) rates to be levied on goods and services beginning Monday. Under GST, the revenues are shared equally between the Centre and the states. Effective Monday, GST will be a two-tier structure, wherein the majority of goods and services will attract tax of 5 and 18 per cent. A 40 per cent tax will be levied on ultra luxury items, while tobacco and related products will continue to be in the 28 per cent plus Cess category. Currently, Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied in 4 slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Besides, a compensation cess is levied on luxury items and demerit or sin goods. With the reduction in rates on most goods, the onus is now on trade and industry to pass on the benefit of these tax rate changes to consumers and align compliance in a timely manner. AMRG & Associates Senior
Senior IAS officers Pawan Kumar Sharma and V Lalithalakshmi were on Saturday appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner and Joint Secretary in the Vice President's Secretariat, respectively, according to an official order. Sharma is a 1999-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre and Lalithalakshmi is a 2008-batch officer of the West Bengal cadre. Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Defence Ministry, has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the government of India, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. The Centre also carried out a major Joint Secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, with 35 civil servants appointed to various government organisations. Aman Sharma, an Indian Postal Service officer of the 2002 batch, has been named as Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, the ministry order said. Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Tarun Kumar Pithode has been appointed as J