Page 3 - Central Government

SC agrees to Reliance plea for conciliation with Centre in KG basin dispute

The Supreme Court has agreed to a fresh request from Reliance Industries Ltd to resolve the Krishna-Godavari basin gas migration dispute amicably with the Centre. A bench of Chief Justice of India and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of mentioning by senior advocate Kapil Sibal. Sibal told the court that a plea for conciliation has been made, after which Attorney General R Venkataramani said the government is willing to consider the request. The top court agreed to adjourn the hearing to the third week of July after Venkataramani said the government was not averse to exploring the bilateral dispute resolution process. "We will be most happy if the dispute is resolved through conciliation. If you come out with a settlement, we will dispose of the appeal," the CJI said. On May 20, the apex court had declined a submission by Reliance Industries to put the hearing in the Krishna-Godavari basin gas migration dispute on hold for the time being as the company and t

SC seeks Centre's response on plea to ban child employment in orchestrax

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, child rights body NCPCR, and the NHRC on a PIL seeking an absolute ban on the employment of children and adolescents in orchestras, dance troupes, massage parlours, and spas. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of the submissions of senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for child rights collective 'Just Rights for Children Alliance' (JRCA), and issued the notices to Union ministries of labour and law and justice. Phoolka argued that minor girls aged 10 and 11 years were being employed in orchestras and dance bars. "For spas and massage parlours, some states have made rules of 18 years as the minimum age," he said. Terming the situation "serious", the bench also issued notices to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the PIL. "Issue a writ of mandamus or appropriate directions ..

Govt asks Delhi Gymkhana Club to vacate premises by Jun 5 for defence needs

The Centre has asked Gymkhana Club in Lutyens' Delhi to hand over its premises by June 5, citing that the land was required for strengthening defence infrastructure. The order, which was issued by the Land and Development Office under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, stated that the land is essential to fulfil urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public interest project. "The premises shall be taken over by the Land & Development Office on June 5," the order stated.

PM Modi distributes 51,000 appointment letters for govt jobs at Rozgar Mela

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually distributed appointment letters for central government jobs to more than 51,000 youths at a 'Rozgar Mela'. Since the inception of 'Rozgar Mela', around 12 lakh recruitment letters have been issued through 18 such events held across the country. Addressing the function, Modi said, "Today is a very important day for thousands of youths across the country. Today, more than 51,000 young people have received appointment letters for government jobs." Today, all the recruited youths are becoming key partners in the country's journey of development. In railways, banking, defence, health, education and many other sectors, all the youths are about to take on new responsibilities, he said. "In the coming years, you all are going to play an important role in fulfilling the resolve for a developed India. For this achievement, I congratulate you, as well as your family members, very warmly," he said. The prime minister said India's youth are ..

Govt defends ₹8,415 crore Yes Bank AT1 bond write down before Supreme Court

The Centre argued before the Supreme Court that the Rs 8,415-crore AT1 bond write-down was necessary to protect depositors and preserve financial stability

A look at India's measures to cushion oil shock amid soaring prices

From curbing gold imports and raising fuel prices to tightening currency-market rules, authorities have stepped up efforts to conserve dollars, with the rupee hitting a new low Tuesday

Govt weighs $1 bn aid for private electric buses, trucks amid energy crisis

Centre is accelerating efforts to cut fossil-fuel dependence after supply disruptions linked to the West Asia crisis

No parity between Agniveers, regular soldiers on pensionary benefits: Govt

The Union government has informed the Bombay High Court that Agniveers are not "similarly situated" as regular soldiers and hence, cannot claim parity in pensionary benefits for their next of kin in the event of death in action. In an affidavit filed last week against a petition by the mother of a deceased Agniveer, the Centre argued that the differentiation is constitutionally valid, as the Agnipath scheme is a short-term engagement designed for present-day national security needs. The government filed its affidavit in response to a petition by Jyotibai Naik, mother of Agniveer Murali Naik, who was killed in cross-border shelling in Jammu & Kashmir during Operation Sindoor in May last year, seeking benefits similar to those of regular soldiers. The petition, filed last year through advocates Sandesh More, Hemant Ghadigaonkar and Hitendra Gandh, stated that the Centre's Agnipath scheme creates an "arbitrary" distinction between Agniveers and regular soldiers, and questioned the ...

Centre notifies changes to Citizenship Rules; focus on OCI registration

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday notified changes to the Citizenship Rules, 2009, introducing a digital shift across various processes for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders and citizenship applications. In a gazette notification published on Thursday, the government has added a specific proviso for citizenship applicants involving children that "the minor child cannot at any time hold the passport of any other country while also holding the Indian passport". The Citizenship Rules, 2009, allowed a person to submit an application for the registration of the birth of his minor child born outside India to the Indian consulate in the country where the child was born, together with a declaration that the child does not hold a passport of any other country. The changes, known as the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, introduce a slew of online initiatives for OCI cardholders, including a digital application and renunciation process. All applications for card registration an

Centre proposes rules to allow higher ethanol-blended fuels in vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said the draft includes provisions for E85 fuel, a blend of ‌85% ethanol with petrol, and E100, which would allow vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol

IDBI Bank disinvestment process to continue: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman says IBA committee will look into issues of distribution tieups of banks for third-party products

Centre refutes fertiliser shortage claims; urea stocks steady at mid-April

India has urea stocks of around 6.73 million tonnes, against last year's 6.80 million tonnes

Centre relaxes wheat procurement norms for Punjab for 2026-27 season

As per the new parameters, FCI will now accept wheat with 70 per cent lustre loss and 15 per cent shrivelled grains in Punjab, as against the existing quality standard of 6 per cent shrivelled grains

Govt should cap product testing charges under quality control order: GTRI

The government should cap testing charges for routine industrial products as high costs to comply with the quality control orders (QCOs) may impact the country's manufacturing and small importers, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. While the QCO policy aims to improve product quality and consumer safety, the pace of expansion is putting pressure on testing infrastructure and has created significant compliance bottlenecks for MSMEs, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. "India's expanding quality control regime is imposing such high testing and certification costs that many MSME importers may be pushed out of business, leaving the market increasingly dominated by large importers," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. The charges arise under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under which foreign manufacturers of products covered by India's Quality Control Orders have to obtain BIS certification before exporting to ...

Govt amends pricing norms for low-grade iron ore to boost steel supply

The government on Tuesday announced the amendment of rules to revise the pricing norms for low-grade iron ore, a move aimed at curbing wastage and enhancing utilisation of such reserves to ensure a steady supply to the steel industry. The move is expected to bring low-grade resources into viable use, addressing depletion of high-grade deposits and promoting mineral conservation through scientific mining practices. "The Ministry of Mines has notified the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 on 10th April, 2026, providing the methodology for publication of average sale price (ASP) of Haematite Iron Ore below the threshold value, including for Banded Haematite Quartzite (BHQ) and Banded Haematite Jasper (BHJ)," an official statement said. The amendment provides a framework for pricing iron ore with iron (Fe) content below the threshold level of 45 per cent, including Banded Haematite Quartzite (BHQ) and Banded Haematite

Govt notifies CAPF (General Administration) Act after President's assent

The government on Thursday notified the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Act, 2026, after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the "umbrella law" that will regulate recruitment, deputation, promotion and other conditions of service for the officers of the CAPFs. All CAPFs -- the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) -- are governed by their respective Acts. The rules under these Acts govern the recruitment and conditions of service for 'Group-A' general duty officers and other officers and members of the CAPFs. The new Act provides that 50 per cent of the posts will be filled through deputation from the Indian Police Service (IPS) in the rank of an inspector general and a minimum of 67 per cent of the posts through deputation in the rank of an additional director general. The posts in the ranks of special ..

Draft IT rules amendments not linked to recent takedowns: MeitY Secy

Takedown and blocking powers are already provided for under the existing provisions, and the proposed amendments to the IT rules are not linked to content takedown actions, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said on Tuesday. He said the proposed amendments do not give the government wider powers nor expand those, and are "merely clarificatory in nature". Fielding a question on the significant rise in blocking action seen over the last three-four months, Krishnan attributed the increase to synthetically-generated content. "There has been a sudden explosion across the board.... This is not to do with any one political party.... So, a sudden explosion of so-called 'deepfakes' has meant that further action has been taken," he said at a media briefing. To a question on whether there will be a provision for giving specific reasons behind recent takedowns of certain posts, Krishnan asserted that "these changes (IT rule amendments) have nothing to do with what are the takedowns...." Takedowns hap

Govt likely to extend timeline for stakeholders' view on IT rule tweaks

Extension may allow industry, civil society and individuals more time to respond to proposed changes bringing independent news and current affairs creators under regulatory oversight

No funds disbursed under ₹24K cr solar PLI scheme till Feb: Govt tells LS

Solar equipment manufacturers have not received any funds under the Rs 24,000-crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for them till February-end, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, is implementing the PLI Scheme for High Efficiency solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore. Under the scheme, letters of award have been issued for setting up 48,337 MW of fully/partially integrated solar PV module manufacturing capacity, Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The minister said as on February 28, 2026, no funds have been released under the scheme, as it provides for the release of PLI to successful bidders a year after commissioning of the manufacturing projects awarded under the scheme. Until now, this one-year post-commissioning period has not been completed in respect of the projects awarded under the scheme, he stated. Under the

More ministries may get powers to order removal of online content

Government may amend Section 69(A) of the IT Act to empower key ministries to issue emergency content takedown orders, expanding powers beyond MeitY