Page 35 - Central Government

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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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