Page 15 - Centre

India launches a single-window portal for medical devices management

The Drugs Controller General of India said that the National Single Window System (NSWS) has been established as a 'genuine single-window system which acts as a one-stop shop for all approvals'

Govt extends PLI scheme for auto sector by a year with 'partial amendments'

The Ministry of Heavy Industries on Monday announced the extension of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components by one year with "partial amendments". This decision has been made after receiving the approval of the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS). "In pursuance of the approval of EGoS, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has made partial amendments in the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the Automobile and Auto Component Industry and Guidelines of the Scheme. These amendments, effective from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, aim to provide clarity and flexibility to the scheme," an official statement said. Under the amended scheme, the incentive will be applicable for a total of five consecutive financial years, starting from the financial year 2023-24. The disbursement of the incentive will take place in the following financial year 2024-25. The scheme also specifies that an approved applicant will be eligible for

Himachal govt issues notification to grant ST status to Hatti community

The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday issued a notification granting Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to the Hatti community of Sirmaur district's Transgiri area. Members of the community, who reside in 154 panchayats of the area, had been demonstrating against the state government over not implementing the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Act, 2023, and notifying the community as ST. After a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told a press conference that the state government had sought a clarification from the Centre regarding scheduled castes status among the Hatti community in September last year after the law department raised some objections. "I was in continuous touch with Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he said. "I had promised that a notification would be issued in this regard within 24 hours after the clarification is received and the promise stands fulfilled in 10 hours," Sukhu said, adding that he would go to Nahan on January 3

Three groups join for talks with Centre to Naga Political Issue's solution

Three Naga groups have come together and decided to pursue negotiations for a solution to the decades-old Naga Political Issue with the Centre jointly. The decision was taken on Saturday during a meeting attended by leaders of the three groups -- National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) led by Akato Chophy, NSCN led by Khango and Naga National Council (NNC) led by Z Royim. All three are splinter groups. "The three groups have come together to have a joint political venture in 2024," said Akato, while addressing journalists after the meeting here in the presence of leaders of the other two groups. Asked if they have already approached the Centre with their decision to hold a dialogue, he said, "We have made separate approaches in the past but now we will make a joint effort on the Naga issue." Akato also affirmed that they would be holding a dialogue separate from the negotiations being held by the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPGs) with the Centre.

AAP vs BJP after Delhi, Punjab tableaux rejected for Republic Day parade

Delhi Art, Culture and Languages Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday said the BJP-led central government rejected the tableaux of Delhi and Punjab for the Republic Day parade to "exact revenge on the AAP", which governs the national capital and the border state. Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said the Centre has rejected Delhi's tableaux for three consecutive years now. The last time Delhi's tableau featured in the Republic Day parade was in 2021. It showcased the Shahjahanabad redevelopment project, according to officials. Bharadwaj said Delhi's tableau this year would have showcased schools in the city and the mohalla clinic model. "The tableau of Delhi, which is the capital of the country, was rejected by the Centre. Its tableau was rejected for the 2022 parade and then for the 2023 parade and now it has been rejected again for the 2024 parade," the minister said. The theme of the Republic Day parade was "Nari Shakti" in 2023 and "Viksit Bharat" for 2024, he said. "

ULFA signs peace accord with Centre, Assam govt to join mainstream

The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Friday signed a peace accord with the central and Assam governments agreeing to shun violence and join the mainstream. The agreement, signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, came after 12 years of unconditional negotiations between the ULFA faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa and the government, officials said. The peace pact is expected to end decades old insurgency in Assam. However, the hardline faction of the ULFA headed by Paresh Baruah is not part of the agreement. Baruah is believed to be residing at a place along the China-Myanmar border. The ULFA was formed in 1979 with the demand for a "sovereign Assam". Since then, it has been involved in subversive activities that led to the central government declaring it a banned outfit in 1990. The Rajkhowa faction joined peace talks with the government on September 3, 2011, after an agreement for Suspens

Congress will undertake caste census after coming to power at Centre: Rahul

The Congress will undertake caste census after coming to power at the Centre, said party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. Addressing a huge rally in Maharashtra's Nagpur on the occasion of the Congress' 139th foundation day, he said unemployment in the country has reached its highest point in the last 40 years. He said his party will undertake caste census after returning to power at the Centre. Speaking at the event, named 'Hain Tayyar Hum', where the Congress kickstarted its campaign for next year's Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi said there is a battle of two ideologies in the country. "Unlike the BJP, even a junior Congress worker can question and disagree with top party leaders, he said. Vice chancellors are being appointed not on the basis of merit but because they belong to a particular organisation, he said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and many top party leaders from Maharashtra and other states took part in the event, while its former president Sonia Gandhi and gen

Centre's rejection of Delhi govt's R-Day tableau political move, says AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday accused the BJP-led Centre of scuttling the Delhi government's plans of showcasing its health and education models at the Republic Day parade by rejecting its tableau in a political move. Addressing a press conference, the party's chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said the government was not provided any reason for the exclusion. "This decision is driven by politics. The Delhi government wanted to showcase its education and health model at the Republic Day parade. But Delhi and Punjab tableaux were excluded from selection," she alleged. Kakkar also claimed that the tableaux of BJP-governed states like Assam, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh have been given opportunities to showcase their tableaux continuously for the last five years. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday slammed the BJP for not including the state's tableau in the Republic Day parade, calling it a step towards removing the word Punjab from the national anthem. "If the

Good Governance Day: Govt launches new features on Mission Karmayogi portal

The Centre will launch curated training programmes for government employees on Good Governance Day on Monday, an official statement said. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is going to celebrate Good Governance Day on December 25, the statement issued on Sunday said. Singh, the Union Minister of State for Personnel, will launch three new features on the iGOT (integrated government online training) Karmayogi platform: My iGOT, blended programmes, and curated programmes, it said. My iGOT delivers targeted training courses on the home page of individual officers that directly address the unique capacity-building needs of the officer as identified in the capacity-building plan for their ministries/departments thereby facilitating a highly personalised, focused and targeted capacity-building experience, it said. More than 28 lakh users have onboarded the platform till now with about 830 high-quality e-learning courses being made available on the platform, said the statement

Centre issues Rs 5,488 cr additional instalment of tax devolution to Bengal

West Bengal has received Rs 5,488.88 crore as additional instalment of tax devolution by the Centre. On Friday, the Centre had disbursed Rs 72,961.21 crore to all states as tax devolution for funding various social welfare measures and infrastructure development schemes. This comes in addition to the tax devolution instalment due to states on January 10, 2024, the government said. The Centre disburses tax devolution funds in 14 yearly instalments. In the latest allocation, Uttar Pradesh received the largest share at Rs 13,088.51 crore. This was followed by Bihar (Rs 7,338 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 5,727.44 crore), West Bengal (Rs 5,488.88 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 4,608.96 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 4,396.64 crore) and Odisha ( Rs 3,303.69 crore).

Centre releases additional Rs 73k crore tax devolution to states

Money released for financing social welfare measures and infrastructure development: Finance Ministry

India aims to commission new research station in Antarctica by 2029: Rijiju

India aims to set up a new research station in Antarctica near the Maitri station in the eastern part of the icy continent by 2029, Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said the site for the new research station -- Maitri-II -- has been identified and a preliminary topographical survey for the approach road is underway. The existing Indian research station -- Maitri -- is very old, the minister said, adding that it is imperative to build a new research station. The proposed project envisages adherence to environmental protocols for Antarctica and improving the quality of Indian scientific research in the southernmost continent. India has been operating the Bharati research station in the Larseman Hills area -- a 40 square kilometre ice-free region along the south-eastern shore of the continent -- since 2012. Bharati is about 3,000 kilometres away from Maitri, which was commissioned in 1989. Sharing the different

Centre to add 270 mn additional beneficiaries to Ayushman Bharat by Jan 26

To reach its target of including 550 million people, the government plans to cover 270 million additional beneficiaries in just over a month

HC asks Centre to consider representation for linking property with Aadhaar

The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre to consider as representation a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black money generation, and 'benami' transactions. A bench of justices Rajiv Shakdher and Girish Kathpalia said these are policy decisions and courts cannot ask the government to do this. It said the representation shall be decided by the government within three months. "How the courts can get into all this. These are policy decisions, how the courts can tell them to do this. Prima facie, what I don't understand is that these are the areas we don't have the complete picture or data, what are the various aspects that may emerge... Best is to let them treat it as a representation and let them decide," Justice Shakdher said. The court was hearing a petition by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who said it is the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize ...

Govt tables Telecommunications Bill 2023 in Parliament: Check details

The Centre will take temporary possession of telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety, under the Telecommunications Bill, 2023

49 Oppn MPs including Tharoor, Abdullah, & others suspended from LS

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal brought the motion to suspend the members

Centre's guidelines on new Covid-19 variant implemented in MP: CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said his government has implemented guidelines issued by the Centre in connection with a new variant of COVID-19, amid an uptick in the viral infection cases in some states. Yadav on Monday night visited Hamidia Hospital, the largest state government hospital in Bhopal, to take stock of the arrangements. "The health department is working with full efficiency to deal with COVID-19 as well as all other diseases," Yadav told reporters after visiting the medical facility. "We have implemented guidelines issued by the Centre regarding a new variant of COVID-19 in the entire state," he said. Yadav said the country got victory over the pandemic earlier also under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CM also interacted with the attendants of patients during the visit to the hospital. On Monday, the Centre asked states and Union Territories to maintain constant vigil amid the rise in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the first

BJP glorifying perpetrators of rape, turning Kashi into mall: UP Cong chief

The Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai has accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of "glorifying" perpetrators of rape and also turning Kashi into a shopping mall. Interacting with reporters at Mahadeva Mela here on Sunday, he said the BJP MLA from Duddhi was already facing trial for rape under the POCSO Act when his party gave the ticket to fight the polls and become a legislator. "This shows the BJP's thinking towards women. The perpetrators of rape are being glorified in the BJP government. The victim got justice from the court," the UP Congress chief said. An MP-MLA court of Sonbhadra on Friday sentenced BJP MLA from Duddhi assembly constituency Ramdular Gond to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh which will help in the victim's rehabilitation. Rai, who along with Congress office-bearers attended the closing ceremony of the Mahadeva Mela and performed Jalabhishek at Lodheshwar Mahadev ...

Volkswagen India onboards Centre's Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar scheme

Automaker Volkswagen India has partnered with Centre's Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar scheme to offer its products to personnel of central security agencies and their families. Under this initiative, Volkswagen India is making its entire range of cars available to beneficiaries of the KPKB scheme across the country. The KPKB scheme was launched as a welfare initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2006. It caters to serving and retired members of the Central Armed Police Forces and their families. Aimed at enhancing the accessibility of its portfolio of cars, this new initiative enables beneficiaries to experience world-class mobility with an even more reasonable price tag, the company said in a statement. Volkswagen retails the mid-size sedan Virtus, sports utility vehicle Taigun, and its premium SUV Tiguan in India. Some of the security forces covered under the scheme include the Border Security Forces, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, and ..

21 companies bid for Centre's incentives to manufacture electrolysers

Reliance Electrolyser Manufacturing, Adani New Industries, L&T Electrolysers and Bharat Heavy Electricals are among 21 companies that have bid for government's incentives to set up 3.4 GW of annual capacity for manufacturing electrolyser, a critical component required for hydrogen production. According to an official statement, the bids came in response to a tender by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) inviting players for setting up 1.5 GW manufacturing capacity for electrolyser manufacturing. Bids for electrolyser manufacturers were invited on July 7 this year. On July 10, state-owned SECI also invited bids for selection of green hydrogen producers for setting up production facilities of 4,50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Scheme (Mode-1-Tranche-I). The SECI statement showed that 21 firms have bid for incentives for setting up 3.4 GW of electrolyser manufacturing capacity annually against 1.5 GW on ...