Page 33 - Central Government

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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Govt rolls out mandatory norms for helmets for police, water dispensers

The government has issued mandatory quality norms for helmets for police force, bottled water dispensers, and door fittings to curb the import of sub-standard goods and boost domestic manufacturing of these goods. Three separate notifications -- Helmets for Police Force, Civil Defence and Personal Protection (Quality Control) Order, 2023, Bottled Water Dispensers (Quality Control) Order, 2023, and Door Fittings (Quality Control) Order, 2023 -- were issued in this regard by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on October 23. Under these orders, items cannot be produced, sold, traded, imported and stocked unless they bear the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark. These orders will come into force with effect from six months from the date of publication of the notifications, the DPIIT said. In order to safeguard the domestic small/micro industries, ensure smooth implementation of the QCO and ease of doing business, relaxations have been granted to ...

PM Modi reviews progress of 8 key projects worth around Rs 31,000 crore

PRAGATI is an ICT-based multi-modal platform for pro-active governance and timely implementation, involving the central and state governments

Coming generations won't forgive them: Oppn on replacing India in textbooks

Labelling the move as a "political decision", Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "It is unfortunate that an India Vs Bharat narrative is being put forward."

Govt may space out stake sale in Hindustan Zinc for 'best possible options'

Earlier this year, Hindustan Zinc said it could create separate legal entities for its zinc and lead, silver, and recycling businesses to help capitalise on 'distinct market positions'

Govt plans to register only India-made solar panels under ALMM: RK Singh

The government is planning to register solar panels made up of only domestically manufactured cells, wafers and polysilicon under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers in the next 3-4 years. Minister for New and Renewable Energy RK Singh has also asked the concerned officers of his ministry to prepare a policy in this regard. ALMM was introduced by the government to boost domestic manufacturing of solar panels. The modules with less efficiency are removed from the ALMM, the minister said. "We will evolve our policies. We will only protect those modules, which are made-in-India cells. In one or two years, we will bring such a policy. Then again, after 1-2 years, we will bring a policy that wafers and polysilicon should also be made in India. "We only register those players under ALMM whose cell, wafers and polysilicon are India-made," Singh said. The move will help in real 'Make-in-India'. The government will not promote the import of components of solar panels in the next

Top 5 government schemes for startups in India to support entrepreneurs

The government has started several schemes to help budding startups and entrepreneurs grow businesses in India successfully. Here is the list of the top 5 government schemes for startups in India

NLC India exploring possibility of mining critical minerals, says CMD

NLC India Ltd is exploring the possibility of mining critical minerals, including lithium, and will participate in the auction of the blocks once they are on offer, company's CMD Prasanna Kumar Motupalli said on Friday. The statement comes at a time when the government is in the process of auctioning critical minerals. In an interview to PTI, Motupalli said,"NLC India has core competence of mining. We have been doing the mining operations since 1967 so we want to use this core competence in critical minerals also." "We are exploring the possibility and viability of the projects and we will certainly desire to enter into that area because that is going to be an area of future. So we are exploring all the possibilities to ensure that mines are taken," he explained. The core business of state-owned NLC India is coal and lignite mining and power generation. "We are exploring all the possibilities and the critical mineral blocks auction is yet to come. So once it will come we will chec

Centre extends restriction on export of sugar beyond October: Govt order

Government sources told Reuters in August that the South Asian country would ban mills from exporting sugar in the season beginning October

Union Cabinet hikes dearness allowance, approves PLB for rail staff

The last revision of the dearness allowance was undertaken on March 24, 2023, and was effective from January 1, 2023