Page 12 - Central Government

TN CM Stalin urges Centre for release of 17 fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka

Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday apprised the Centre of the arrest of 17 Tamil Nadu fishermen and seizure of their two boats by Sri Lanka and called for quick steps for their release and the boats as well. Stalin, writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said that 17 fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested and their two mechanised fishing boats were seized by the Sri Lankan Navy on December 24, 2024. Also, Stalin brought to Jaishankar's notice, two separate incidents of attack on fishermen from Kodiyakkarai in Nagapattinam district by 6 unidentified Sri Lankan nationals on December 20. "In this outrageous incident, three out of six fishermen who sailed in two country crafts were injured and their belongings such as GPS equipment, VHF equipment, fishing net, mobile phone and their fish catch were robbed from their fishing boats by the attackers," the CM said in his letter. Such frequent arrests and attacks made the lives of fishermen, who depend solely on fishing in t

India's green book: Forest growth decelerates as tree cover rises

India's total forest and tree cover stood at 8,27,357 sq km in 2021-23, representing 25.17 per cent of the country's geographical area

Out of sync: Persistent mismatch between MGNREGA wage growth and inflation

Over the past few years, wage growth has consistently trailed both general and food inflation rates, with the exceptions of FY21 and FY24

Anti-Sikh riots: SC directs Centre to file fresh status report on trials

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to file a fresh status report within two weeks on the status of trials in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati to file an affidavit and permitted the petitioners in the case to file detailed objections. During the hearing, Bhati said recommendations of the special investigation team, set up by the top court, were carried out. A counsel appearing for one of the petitioners submitted there were some glaring instances in the SIT report and said 500 cases were clubbed in one FIR and the investigating officer could not probe them. "There were many instances where 498 cases were clubbed in one FIR and IO had to investigate all of them. Initially when the hearing began, the court felt that it should be confined to Delhi only. But we have done nothing about other states. We have given examples of Kanpur, Bokaro, etc., nothing has happene

Fadnavis' allegation on Bharat Jodo Yatra shows Centre's failure: Aaditya

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday claimed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's allegation made in the context of the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra showed the Centre's failure in not knowing about terrorists operating in the country. Fadnavis had on Thursday alleged that some organisations, which were declared as the frontal organisations of urban Naxals by the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra and the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre, participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Talking to reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Thackeray said the attack on the Congress's office in Mumbai came about after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers on Thursday vandalised a Congress office in Mumbai, claiming the grand old party had always insulted Ambedkar. A massive political row erupted on Wednesday after the Congress and other opposition parties launched an all-out attack on S

Draft Bill moots unregulated lending ban, up to 10-year imprisonment

The Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill calls for the CBI to handle probes in cases spanning multiple states or UTs

Judges' pensions as low as Rs 10,000: SC calls situation 'pitiable'

The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that pensionary benefits must be calculated based on the past drawn salary as a High Court judge, ensuring parity across the judiciary

Govt introduces ONOP bills, says they will be referred to House panel

Meghwal introduced the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill after a nearly 90-minute debate, followed by a division of votes. As many as 269 members voted in favour of the Bill and 198 against it

Simultaneous polls: Gains must be weighed against Constitutional concerns

The idea of holding simultaneous elections is not new for India. In fact, elections for many years after Independence were held simultaneously

Loan worth Rs 13,422 cr given to street vendors under PM SVANidhi scheme

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has disbursed 94.31 lakh loans amounting to a total of Rs 13,422 crore to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme till December 8, Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said that out of 94.31 lakh loans, 40.36 lakh loans have been repaid by street vendor beneficiaries. The micro-credit scheme for urban street vendors, which provides collateral-free loans up to Rs 50,000, was launched by the Narendra Modi government in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak. The minister said that no fraud-related complaints have been received against the agencies or companies disbursing loans under the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) scheme. "As on 08.12.2024, 94.31 lakh loans have been disbursed amounting to Rs 13,422.16 crore under the PM SVANidhi scheme. Out of 94.31 loans, 40.36 lakh loans have been repaid by street vendor ...

Atishi accuses Centre of settling Rohingyas in Delhi; Puri denies claim

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, accusing the BJP-led Centre of settling "a large number of illegal Rohingyas" in different parts of the city. With the AAP targeting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his tweets and claiming that settling these refugees here was a "conscious decision" of the BJP-led NDA government, the minister accused AAP of indulging in "politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths". In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February 2025, the ruling AAP and BJP have been hitting out at one another over the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi people staying in the national capital. The BJP has already complained to the Election Commission about illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis registered as voters in Delhi "at the behest of AAP". Citing two tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, Atishi alleged the Union government has settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in ...

Centre, Chhattisgarh committed to end Naxalism in state by March 2026: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government were committed to end the menace of Naxalism from the state before March 31, 2026. When Chhattisgarh becomes free of Naxalism, the entire country will get rid of the menace, Shah said addressing the President's Police Colour Award function at the police parade ground here. He said the Chhattisgarh police have made a significant achievement in the fight against Naxalism in the last one year. Shah also hailed the Chhattisgarh government's rehabilitation policy for Naxalites and appealed to them to quit violence and join the mainstream. The President's Colour is not just an award, it is a symbol of service, dedication and sacrifice and it reminds of the countless challenges that police have to deal with, he said. Shah expressed confidence that the Chhattisgarh police will discharge their responsibilities and will never step back from their duty. "I am confident that from tomorrow the jawans of ..

22,956 second appeals, complaints pending in CIC: Centre tells Parliament

A total of 22,956 second appeals and complaints were pending in the Central Information Commission (CIC) as on November 29, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. The total number of second appeals and complaints filed in the CIC during the period from 2021-22 to 2023-24 was 59,069, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. "As on 29.11.2024, total number of second appeals and complaints pending in CIC is 22,596," he said. Further, a total of 36,787 second appeals and complaints were returned by the CIC during the period from 2022 to 2024, the minister added. To a question on the number of vacancies in the transparency watchdog, Singh said "at present, the CIC comprises of Chief Information Commissioner and two Information Commissioners". According to section 12(2) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the CIC shall consist of the chief information commissioner and such number of central informati

SC flags absence of govt's lawyers, says it doesn't like summoning officers

Displeased over the repeated absence of the Centre's advocates in several cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it did not take pleasure in summoning government officers before it. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan on December 11 sought the presence of the director general of the Centre's Directorate General of Health Services while flagging the "casual approach" in a matter concerning admission of a medical aspirant belonging to persons with disability category. "The court does not take pleasure in summoning the officers to the court. However, when in spite of being duly served, the respondents do not put in appearance, we were compelled to do so," it said. On Thursday, both the officer and Centre's counsel additional solicitor general Vikramjit Banerjee appeared before the bench. "What is this? Notices are served and you don't even bother to appear," Justice Gavai said, "this is not happening for the first time. On many occasions, for the Union of India, nobod

Govt mandates use of locally-made solar cells from 2026 to curb imports

The government plans to increase its non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 GW by 2030 from about 156 GW at present

No land given to Waqf board by Centre since 2019, govt tells in Rajya Sabha

No land has been provided by the Central government to the Waqf Board since 2019, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry told Rajya Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to a question about the total area of land provided to the Waqf Board by the Central and state governments from 2019 till date, MoS Tokhan Sahu said land is a state subject and hence, no data of land provided by the state governments is available with the ministry. He, however, said as far as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is concerned, no land has been provided to the Waqf Board by the Government of India since 2019. In August, the government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and referred it to a joint parliamentary committee after a heated debate. The government asserted the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques while the opposition called it targeting of Muslims and an attack on the Constitution. Last week, Jagdambika Pal, the chairman of the joint parliamenta

Filling up of vacant govt posts continuous process: Centre on vacancies

Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts is a continuous process and details of vacancies are maintained by the respective ministries or departments, the Centre said on Thursday. Ministries or departments of the central government have been directed, from time to time, to fill up the vacant posts in a time bound manner, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha in a written reply. He was responding to a question seeking "details of the total number of vacancies in all central government ministries and departments to date, department-wise". "Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various ministries/departments is a continuous process. The details of vacancies are maintained by the respective ministry/department," Singh said. In response to another question, he said the contractual appointments in government departments are made by the individual ministries/departments strictly based on their requirements, in accordance with the provisions of Genera

Govt pledges to curb fraud in cooperative societies, says minister

The Modi government is fully committed to preventing frauds in cooperative societies and no culprit will be spared irrespective of their political affiliation, Minister of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal asserted in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Responding to supplementary queries during the Question Hour in the Upper House on the delinquencies in the multi-state cooperative societies, the minister said ever since this government came to power, several steps have been taken to stop fraud. Those who commit fraud, whether he is from this side or that side (pointing first towards the government and then the opposition), whether big or small, he will not be spared at any cost, the minister said. He said action is already on in this regard. After this government came to power and this ministry was formed, several stringent steps have been taken. If you say, I will discuss all that (with you), the minister added. He was responding after Congress MP from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil asked h

Centre clears Delhi HC Chief Justice's appointment as Supreme Court judge

The Centre on Tuesday notified the elevation of Delhi High Court's Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court. In a related post, Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Justice (independent charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal on X wrote, "In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India." Once he takes oath as judge of the top court, the working strength of the top court will rise to 33, one short of the sanctioned strength of 34, which includes the chief justice of India. The Supreme Court collegium on November 28 recommended the elevation of Justice Manmohan to the top court. The two vacancies in the apex court arose after retirements of Justice Hima Kohli and former CJI D Y Chandrachud. "Justice Manmohan stands at serial number 2 in the combined all-India seniority of high cour

HC asks Centre, Delhi govt for report on stocks of rare disorder injection

The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and Delhi government to file their reports on the status of stocks of Antihemophilic Factor injection, which is administered to persons suffering from a rare genetic blood disorder. The court asked the governments to also give their status reports on the existing supply chain system for all the hospitals under their administration and listed the matter on December 12. "The respondents are directed to file status reports with respect to the stock of the AHF injections, and the existing supply chain system for all the hospitals under their administration. The same be done within ten days," Justice Sanjeev Narula said in an order passed on November 28. The court was hearing a petition by several persons suffering from haemophilia disease, which is a rare genetic blood disorder. The petitioners submitted that the treatment for this disease is expensive and requires injections of Antihemophilic Factor (AHF). The said while the treatment for