Page 37 - Central Government

Centre and state govt trying every possible help: Thakur on Himachal rains

The state is continuously witnessing a disastrous situation with flash floods during this year's monsoon season causing unprecedented damage to both lives and assets in Himachal Pradesh

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India's deprived do not want freebies, but ask for 5 things from govts

Good politics can be good economics if evidence-based feedback become the basis of public policy

Heartless govt: Oppn lashes out at govt over Manipur during no-trust debate

Echoing the refrain, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule demanded the resignation of the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh for failing to rein in the runaway violence

Without explanation for Ordinance, govt cannot proceed with bill: AAP MP

Union Home Minster Amit Shah is set to move the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Rajya Sabha today

Centre may hike dearness allowance by 3% to 45% for its 10 mn employees

The central government is likely to increase the dearness allowance (DA) for its over one crore employees and pensioners by three percentage points to 45 per cent from the existing 42 per cent as per the agreed formula for the purpose. The dearness allowance for employees and pensioners is worked out on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) brought out by the Labour Bureau every month. The Labour Bureau is a wing of the Labour Ministry. Talking to PTI, All India Railwaymen Federation General Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra said, "The CPI-IW for June 2023 was released on July 31, 2023. We are demanding a four percentage point hike in dearness allowance. But the dearness allowance hike works out to be a little over three percentage points. The government does not factor in hiking DA beyond the decimal point. Thus DA is likely to be increased by three percentage points to 45 per cent". He further explained that the expenditure department of the Fina

Govt should announce objective criteria for importers of computers: GTRI

With India imposing import curbs on laptops and computers, the government should take steps such as announcing objective criteria for importers to seek licence for inbound shipments of these items to meet domestic demand, trade think-tank GTRI said on Friday. On August 3, the government said importers of these goods have to seek licence/permission from Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for imports. PCs, laptops, and tablets connect us to the world of education, business, entertainment and everything else. The government must take all steps to avoid short supply and market disruption. One way is announcing objective criteria that will constitute the basis for the grant of licence, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) co-founder Ajay Srivastava said. In similar cases earlier, criteria like past performance have been used for granting licences. He said the government may inform all firms of their next year's annual import eligibility in terms of the number of units and va

After days of disruption, govt reaches out to Oppn to end RS logjam

After days of disruption in Parliament over the Manipur issue, the government and the Opposition on Thursday made attempts to break the deadlock and are discussing a middle path to find a solution. The Parliament has witnessed 11 days of disruptions with the Opposition demanding a discussion on the Manipur violence with a statement from the prime minister in both houses. With the stalemate in Parliament over Manipur persisting, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi reached out to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders to break the logjam in the Rajya Sabha. The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive. Both the government and the Opposition are hopful of a resolution on the Manipur issue with a debate likely to take place in the Upper House next week. Government sources said they are working on resolving the demands raised by the Opposition and Home minister Amit Shah may reply to t

Govt to bring payment security mechanism for large-scale e-bus rollout

The government will come out with a "payment security mechanism" to support large-scale rollout of electric buses as it eyes a major transition towards green public transport across the country, Tarun Kapoor, advisor to the Prime Minister at the PMO, said on Thursday. He also emphasised on the need to bring down the cost of electric vehicles to accelerate their adoption. While the government will continue to provide subsidies like those being offered under the FAME-II scheme because the price difference is huge and it has to be bridged, "we have to look at ways and means to bring down the price also, because government subsidy cannot be forever", he said, while addressing an Assocham conference on electric mobility here. Kapoor highlighted the need to be "a little more serious" in battery manufacturing "because we can't depend on imports". He said while China has taken the lead on lithium-ion batteries, India can catch up very fast and the government is looking at the entire ...

Govt, parties should be questioned for rubber-stamping forest bill: Ramesh

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said questions should be asked of the government and parties that "rubber-stamped" the "insidious" Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, asserting that securing the rights of forest dwellers will be a long struggle. Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, after a brief debate, amid protests by opposition members and a walkout by them over the Manipur issue. The bill seeks to exempt land within 100 kilometres of the country's borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that "many environmentalists who by no means are bhakts have criticised the Opposition for having boycotted the Rajya Sabha when the amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which many have been agitating against, were being discussed yesterday". "Let me clarify: The

36 govt websites faced hacking incidents in first six months of 2023

As many as 36 websites of ministries and departments under the central and various state governments faced hacking incidents in the first six months of 2023, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Cyber security watchdog CERT-In tracked these incidents. According to data shared by Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Lok Sabha, a total of 1,12,474 cyber security incidents have been tracked by CERT-In. "The government is continuously engaged in formulating policies and setting technical standards in the cyberspace to holistically ensure accessible internet and to mitigate threats & vulnerabilities in the cyberspace," Chandrasekhar said in a written reply. As per the data, 36 websites of ministries and departments under the central and various state governments faced hacking incidents. The minister also shared that over 4.29 lakh cyber security incidents pertaining to financial institutions occurred in the first half of 2023.

Parental consent for love marriages: Gujarat CM says, will look into issue

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that his government will carry out a study on the proposal "if the Constitution does not become a hindrance"

Double-engine govt in Manipur not doing anything to stop violence: Baghel

According to him, it is the Central government's failure even if China is behind the unrest

Centre working in biased manner: Pilot on PM Modi's visit to Rajasthan

Furthermore, speaking on the BJP's demand to unveil the 'red diary', Pilot said, BJP has no issue left to talk about. They failed at the Centre. They failed in Rajasthan as the opposition

Central govt allots Rs 363.14 crore to Manipur for projects under MDoNER

Regular meetings with the state governments/implementing agencies (IAs) are being held to monitor the progress of the projects, including pace of expenditure

Govt withdrew DNA Bill as it didn't want elaborate safeguards: Congress

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged on Tuesday that the BJP-led government does not want adequate safeguards in DNA technology and that is why it has withdrawn the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 from Parliament. Ramesh said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi quietly withdrew the Bill from the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill was examined in detail by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which suggested a number of important amendments to ensure that the provisions in it were not misused or abused, the Congress leader said. A few members had submitted notes of dissent as well, he pointed out, adding that the committee's report was submitted on February 3, 2021. "Now the Modi government says most of the provisions of the Bill have already been made part of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 and hence the DNA Bill is not required. "Actually, the real reason is that the Modi government did

G20 destinations have put India on global tourism map: Govt in parliament

G20 meetings in India have fostered collaboration among governments, private sector and other stakeholders, and locations hosting these events have "attracted global attention and put India on the global tourism map", the Parliament was informed on Thursday. In a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said infrastructure has been upgraded at host cities and various initiatives have been taken up for building the capacity of stakeholders for successful conduct of events. He was asked in a written query as to whether the government has made any assessment of the impact of the G-20 Summit to be held in India, on the tourism sector of the country. "No formal assessment of the impact has been done but G20 meetings have resulted in increased visibility of prominent tourist destinations of India," the minister said in his response. "During India's G-20 Presidency, more than 200 meetings are planned at over 60 locations across the country. All th

Sharad Pawar demands immediate steps from govt to restore peace in Manipur

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday demanded that the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Home Ministry immediately take necessary steps to restore peace in Manipur, after shocking visuals emerged of two women being paraded naked in the strife-torn state. Quoting Dr B R Ambedkar, Pawar in a tweet said, "Without humanity, your glory is worthless." Distressing to see disturbing visuals from Manipur specially the atrocities against women, which is "despicable", he said. "It's time to unite, raise our voices, & demand Justice for the people of #Manipur. Home department along with PMO need to immediately take necessary action to restore peace in Manipur," Pawar tweeted. His daughter and NCP's working president Supriya Sule also said the situation in Manipur demands immediate action. "Shocking visuals from #Manipur - sickening, disgraceful, and utterly inhumane treatment! The situation demands IMMEDIATE action!" the Lok Sabha member said in a tweet. "Let's raise our voices and ...

Three central govt teams to visit Himachal to assess losses due to floods

Speaking to ANI Jagat Singh Negi said, Tomorrow three central teams are reaching Chandigarh, they will be visiting Mandi, Kullu and Rohru areas of Shimla district

Govt announces DA for these central government employees, details inside

As per the notification of the Department of Public Enterprises, the rates of DA payable to the executives of CPSEs holding board-level posts have changed