Page 34 - Central Government

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

7th Pay Commission: Central government approves 4 per cent hike in DA

Cabinet approves to increase dearness allowance by 4 per cent for all the central government employees and pensioners. The DA has been increased to 46 per cent from 42 per cent

Centre grants 30-day non-productivity linked bonus to employees for FY23

Finance ministry sets monthly emolument ceiling at Rs 7,000 for ad-hoc bonus calculation

Govt making 'cheap attempt' of using Army for its publicity: Congress

The Congress on Monday accused the government of making a "cheap attempt" of using the Army for its political publicity and sought President Droupadi Murmu's immediate intervention in the matter. The party's remarks come in the wake of claims made in a media report that the Army would help publicise government schemes across the country. Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the Army belongs to all and has never been made a part of the country's internal politics. "After facing failure on inflation, unemployment and all other fronts during the last nine and a half years, the Modi government is now making a very cheap attempt to get its political publicity from the army. This attempt to politicise the army is a very dangerous step," he said in a post in Hindi on X. "We request President Droupadi Murmu ji, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, to intervene in this matter and direct the Modi government to immediately withdraw this wrong step," the

Modi govt will not remain in centre after 2024: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin

"After the 2024 elections, the Modi government will not remain in the centre. INDIA alliance is not just an election alliance but a policy alliance"

Accountability of railway ministry, central govt should be fixed: Kharge

Mallikarjun Kharge further requested the Congress workers to provide all possible help to the victims

Bombay HC slams Centre's ease of doing biz, says mindful of cases' pendency

The Bombay High Court recently took a dig at the Central government's "ease of doing business", and said while it was mindful of the pendency of cases in courts, it was the government that was by far the largest litigant and the one that most often sought adjournments. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata, which was on October 5 hearing a petition filed by one Ramkali Gupta in 2016 over property-related issues, said it was no stranger to repeated assertions from the Union government regarding the pendency of cases and impediments allegedly caused by the courts. The bench in its order said it was shocked to note that Gupta's petition has been pending for seven years and that since June this year, the plea has been adjourned at the request of the Union government so that the additional solicitor general could appear. We are equally mindful, and we are constrained to say this, that we are no strangers to repeated assertions from the Union government itself regardin

Sikkim flash floods: MoS Ajay Mishra meets CM Tamang, assures Centre's help

MoS Mishra is on a two-day visit to Sikkim to take stock of flash flood-affected areas

Entire liquor scam false, not even a penny changed hands: CM Kejriwal

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Rouse Avenue Court sent Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to remand till October 10, 2023, in connection with the now scrapped Delhi excise policy or liquor scam case

Govt begins kharif paddy procurement; purchases 1.22 mn tonne so far

The government has started procuring paddy and about 12.21 lakh tonne of the grain has been purchased from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) so far, according to the food ministry. Paddy worth Rs 2,689.77 crore has been procured from 99,675 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana at MSP, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The harvesting of kharif paddy, which has been sown on a slightly higher area of 411.96 lakh hectare this year, started last week. Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have undertaken procurement at MSP to create a buffer stock as well as protect the interest of farmers. The ministry is targeting to procure 521.27 lakh tonne in the current season as against the actual purchase of 496 lakh tonne in the year-ago season.

Cong cites RBI data to claim most Indians facing extreme financial distress

The Congress on Thursday alleged that a vast majority of Indian families are facing "extreme levels of Modi-made economic distress" with rise in inflation and debt and a decline in household savings. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared an article on X which claimed that the Reserve Bank of India's recently released data on household financial assets and liabilities "paints a disquieting picture of a contraction in savings, in the context of a slowdown in incomes." In his post, Ramesh said, "Some fresh and concerning analysis coming out of the RBI's data: In addition to household savings rates now at historic lows, income growth adjusted for inflation over the past four years is the slowest in the past 40 years!" Other key findings inform that net household financial savings have reduced by a fifth in Fiscal Year 2023, while non-housing borrowing has doubled in FY 2023 which is most likely debt taken on to finance consumption, the Congress general secretary said. "This

Govt firmly committed to rooting out terrorism, says HM Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Narendra Modi government is firmly committed to rooting out terrorism from the country. Shah also said Prime Minister Modi's vision is behind the policy of zero tolerance for terrorism adopted by the country. The home minister said this ahead of an anti-terror conference that he will inaugurate here. "The Modi government is firmly committed to rooting out terrorism from our country. Will inaugurate the '3rd Anti-terror Conference' hosted by @NIA_India in New Delhi today and illustrate Modi Ji's vision behind the policy of zero tolerance for terrorism adopted by our nation," he wrote on X.