Explore Business Standard
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Rajasthan government on a plea challenging the validity of the provisions of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2025. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the state government seeking its response on the plea filed by the Peoples Union For Civil Liberties and others. The bench tagged the plea with separate pending petitions raising similar issue. Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh appeared for the petitioners. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that similar matters are pending before the apex court and this plea be tagged with them. The petitioners have sought a declaration that provisions of the Act are "arbitrary, unreasonable, illegal and ultra vires" the Constitution and also violative of Articles, including Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty). On November 17, the top court sought response from the Rajast
The Rajasthan government is set to bring an ordinance to amend the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act and the Rajasthan Municipalities Act to drop a provision that disqualifies individuals having more than two children from contesting panchayat and urban local body elections. An official said drafts of the proposed ordinance have been sent to the law department for vetting. After approval, the proposal will be placed before the Cabinet for its nod. Currently, these laws bar individuals who had a third child after November 27, 1995, from contesting elections for posts such as panch, sarpanch, up-sarpanch, panchayat samiti member, zila parishad member, pradhan, zila pramukh, councillor, chairperson or mayor. The disqualification clause is contained in Section 24 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act and corresponding provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act. The move is expected to benefit several leaders from both BJP and Congress. Once the amendment comes into effect, they will be able to cont
More than 1.56 crore voter enumeration forms have been distributed across Rajasthan in the first five days of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials said on Saturday. According to Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan, Barmer, Chittorgarh and Alwar districts have reported the highest distribution so far, while nine districts --? Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jhalawar, Hanumangarh, Sirohi, Kota, Balotra, Pali and Jaisalmer --? recorded less than 25 per cent distribution. Mahajan directed the district election officers in these regions to intensify efforts and ensure that the distribution percentage rises to at least 35 per cent by Sunday, noting that most voters are expected to be home during the weekend. The chief election officer added that under the SIR exercise, voters can also fill and submit their enumeration forms online. The Election Commission has provided this facility to make the process more accessible and efficient for public, he added.
The Rajasthan government on Monday announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the 15 people who died in the road accident in Jodhpur's Matoda area, officials said. The announcement was made by Additional District Collector Anjum Tahir at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital mortuary in the presence of family members of the victims and community representatives. "Each deceased person's family will receive Rs 10 lakh as compensation apart from Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. If three or more than three people in a family died, then a maximum of Rs 25 lakh compensation will be provided. The injured will receive Rs 2 lakh from the state government and Rs 1 lakh from the district administration," he said. Following the announcement, community leaders and family members of the victims ended their sit-in protest at the hospital, and the bodies were handed over to the relatives after postmortem examination. Fifteen people were killed and two othe
The Rajasthan government will observe a 'GST Savings Festival' from September 22 to 29 to spread awareness about the recent tax cuts, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said on Sunday. Addressing his cabinet ministers and other legislators through a video conference, Sharma said the GST rate restructuring will benefit all sections of society, be it farmers and industries, or the middle class. "This reform will make essential commodities more affordable, increase consumption, and benefit both consumers and businesses," Sharma said. The CM directed the public representatives to promote the campaign in their constituencies by engaging with traders and using hoardings, banners, and social media posts.
In a bid to promote clean energy production, the Government of Rajasthan led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has approved the allocation of land to state enterprise Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RVUNL) for the establishment of large-scale renewable energy-based production parks in Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts. Under this landmark initiative, land allocation has been approved in Jaisalmer for various solar parks with a combined capacity of 26,400 megawatts (MW), a statement said on Saturday. Similarly, the construction of solar parks with a combined 5,200 MW capacity has been approved in Bikaner, it said. In line with the state's goals of sustainable development and energy security, these approvals represent a major step towards enhancing Rajasthan's leadership in the renewable energy sector, it said. Commenting on this, the Chief Minister said this initiative will not only position Rajasthan as a front-runner in clean energy production but also generate substantial ...