Page 33 - Central Government

At IFFI, Centre enhances incentives for foreign film production in India

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Monday announced enhancing incentive for production of foreign movies in the country, hiking the limit for reimbursement of expenses incurred in the country as he inaugurated the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The move was aimed at attracting medium and big budget international film projects to India, he said while addressing a star-studded gathering after opening the 54th edition of IFFI at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium near here. The paradigm shift in incentivizing film production serves as a testimony to India's commitment and support for artistic expression and reinforces its position as a preferred destination for cinematic endeavours, Thakur said. The minister said last year at the Cannes Film Festival, the central government introduced an incentive scheme for production of foreign films in India, offering reimbursement of up to 30 per cent of their expenses incurred in the .

SC flags Centre's selective clearing of collegium recommendations

The Supreme Court on Monday flagged the issue of "pick and choose" by the Centre in clearing the collegium's recommendations for transferring high court judges and said this does not send a good signal. The court observed that of the 11 names of judges recommended by the collegium for transfer, five have been transferred but six are still pending -- four from the Gujarat High Court and one each from the high courts of Allahabad and Delhi. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said of the recently-recommended names for judgeship in high courts, eight have not been cleared and some of these judges are senior to those who have been appointed. "As per my information, you have issued transfer orders for five judges. For six judges, you have not issued. Four of them are from Gujarat. Last time also, I had said this does not send a good signal," Justice Kaul, who is also a member of the apex court collegium, told Attorney General R Venkataramani. Asserting that this

SC seeks responses from Centre, ED on Sanjay Singh's plea against arrest

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate on AAP leader Sanjay Singh's plea challenging his arrest and remand in a money laundering case related to alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti issued notice to the Centre and the ED, and asked them to submit their responses before December 11. The bench ordered that if Singh files a petition for regular bail in the interregnum, then it should be considered independent of the observation made in the Delhi High Court's judgement dated October 20. Singh, who was arrested on October 4 in the case, had moved the top court challenging the High Court verdict. In its order, the High Court had refused to interfere with his arrest in the case, saying it could not impute a political motive to a premier investigating agency in the absence of material on record. It had also said that Singh's was not a "prima facie case of no evidence at all". The ED's money

Telangana farmers wait for red gram board a year after receiving GI tag

It's been almost a year now since a local variety of tur dal (red gram) grown in the Tandur assembly segment, received the geographical indication (GI) tag. However, many farmers are still unaware of its significance, leaving aside taking advantage of it in the absence of a board which the ruling BRS (then TRS) promised during the 2014 poll campaign. The famous 'Tandur red gram' is the 16th GI product from Telangana. The Geographical Indication tag was granted in December 2022 to the Yalal Farmers Producers Company Ltd, which had applied for 'Tandur red gram' with the support of Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU). It is the first agricultural commodity in the state to get the GI tag. GI tag is a status given to a product belonging exclusively to a particular area. The quality, reputation and any other characteristics of that particular product is generally attributed to the geographical origin of the product. Tandur assembly segment, located 115 km

Centre closely monitors Mizoram as Myanmar violence triggers refugee influx

Myanmar's military junta is facing its biggest test since taking power in a 2021 coup after three ethnic minority forces launched a coordinated offensive in late October.

7th Pay Commission: After central govt, several states announce hike in DA

Several state governments announced a hike in DA by 3 to 4 per cent after the centre announced the decision for its employees last month. Here are the state-wise details about the DA hike

SC seeks Centre's reply on Tamil Nadu govt's plea over governor row

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre's response on the Tamil Nadu government's plea alleging delay by the governor in giving assent to bills passed by the state Assembly. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the Centre and sought the assistance of the Attorney General or Solicitor General in the matter. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 20. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, pointed out that 12 bills passed by the Assembly were pending with the office of Governor R N Ravi. The Tamil Nadu government urged the top court to intervene, alleging that a constitutional authority was consistently acting in an unconstitutional manner impeding and obstructing" the functioning of the state government for extraneous reasons. "Declare that the inaction, omission, delay and failure to comply with the constitutional mandate by the Governor of Tamil Nadu/first

Kharif crop prices will guide inflation fight in coming months amid polls

The ongoing elections in the three states could also be influenced if inflation rears its head again.

HC seeks Centre, Delhi govt view on PIL to distinguish religion from dharma

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and city government on a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the authorities to use the proper meaning of the term religion and not use it as a synonym of dharma in official documents. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted time to the governments to respond to the petition by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The petition also sought a direction to include a chapter on "dharma and religion" in syllabus of primary and secondary schools in order to educate the masses and control the religion-based hatred and hate speeches. There is a colonial mindset which is being continued, said the petitioner before the bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. In his petition, the petitioner asserted that dharma is not religion as the former is non-divisive, non-exclusive and transcends narrow boundaries of religion. If we try to define religion then we can say that religion is a tradition

Adhir Ranjan's jibe at PM as demonetisation exercise completes seven years

The Centre had on November 8, 2016, decided to cancel the legal tender status of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination currency notes with several objectives, including flushing out black money.

India's steel capacity crosses 161 MT mark, sector poised for growth: Govt

India's steel capacity has crossed 161 million tonnes and the industry is poised for continued growth, Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha said on Tuesday. As per the National Steel Policy, India has an ambitious target of installing 300 MT steel capacity by 2030. "We have already crossed 161 million mt of capacity, comprising 67 MT by blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BoF) route, 36 MT by electric arc furnace (EAF) and 58 MT by induction furnace (IF) route," Sinha said addressing the '4rth Indian Steel Association (ISA) Steel Conclave' event in the national capital. He further stressed that the steel sector in India is poised for continued growth. Sinha said, India is the world's fourth-largest automobile market, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8-10 per cent over the next 10 years. Moreover, the manufacturing sector saw a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8 per cent and this is driving demand for steel in both the sectors. The production-linked incentive scheme

Govt's opacity in appointing judges through collegium must go: Ex-SC judge

The government is more opaque than the collegium and this opacity of the executive in appointment of judges to higher judiciary has to go, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur has said. Lokur, who was part of the collegium during his judgeship days, batted for the existing collegium system of judges appointing judges in constitutional courts but acknowledged that it needed some changes for which discussions were necessary. The appointment of judges through the collegium system has often become a flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre, with the mechanism drawing criticism from different quarters. The former judge was responding to a query on non-elevation of worthy high court judges like Justice S Muralidhar, the former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, to judgeship in the Supreme Court. I have repeatedly been saying that the collegium system is the best available method of appointment of judges, but it needs some changes. This needs discussion.

DMK hits out at Centre as I-T raids continue on premises linked to EV Velu

Meanwhile, IT raids continued for the fourth consecutive day in the premises linked to Tamil Nadu, Public Works and Highways Department Minister EV Velu at Tiruvannamalai

Govt could discard proposed DESH Bill, amend SEZ Act: Details here

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is eager to permit units in these zones to sell in areas outside SEZs, called domestic tariff areas (DTA) without the payment of customs duties

Latest LIVE updates: Strong earthquake tremors felt across Delhi-NCR

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As stake value doubles, govt puts plans to sell ITC stock in cold storage

The Centre is getting around Rs 1,000 crore dividend annually from the cigarette-to-FMCG conglomerate for its 7.87 per cent stake

Where are your anti-collision devices: Adhir slams Centre over AP accident

He further said that the government is busy advertising the Vande Bharat but is overlooking the safety and security of Railways

Govt asks states not to impose tax/duty on power generation from any source

The central government has asked states that they have no power to impose any tax or duty on electricity generated from any source - coal, hydro, wind or solar and any such levy is illegal and unconstitutional. In a circular, the Union Ministry of Power on October 25, said it had come to the notice of the central government that some state governments had imposed additional charges on generation of electricity from various sources under the guise of development free/charges/fund. "Such additional charges/fees in the form of any tax/duty on generation of electricity, which encopasses all types of generation viz thermal, hydro, wind, solar, nuclear etc is illegal and unconstitutional," it said. Clarifying on the constitutional position, the ministry said the powers to levy taxes/duties are specifically stated in the VII Schedule. "List-II of the VII Schedule lists the powers of levying taxes/duties by the states in entries-45 to 63. No taxes/duties which have not been specifically ..

Centre has no concrete action plan to control pollution: AAP spokesperson

The AAP National Spokesperson said, "Currently, only the Kejriwal government in Delhi is taking strong measures to reduce air pollution by implementing winter and summer action plans

LIVE updates: Mobile internet ban in Manipur extended till Oct 31

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