Page 16 - Centre

India aims to commission new research station in Antarctica by 2029: Rijiju

India aims to set up a new research station in Antarctica near the Maitri station in the eastern part of the icy continent by 2029, Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said the site for the new research station -- Maitri-II -- has been identified and a preliminary topographical survey for the approach road is underway. The existing Indian research station -- Maitri -- is very old, the minister said, adding that it is imperative to build a new research station. The proposed project envisages adherence to environmental protocols for Antarctica and improving the quality of Indian scientific research in the southernmost continent. India has been operating the Bharati research station in the Larseman Hills area -- a 40 square kilometre ice-free region along the south-eastern shore of the continent -- since 2012. Bharati is about 3,000 kilometres away from Maitri, which was commissioned in 1989. Sharing the different

Centre to add 270 mn additional beneficiaries to Ayushman Bharat by Jan 26

To reach its target of including 550 million people, the government plans to cover 270 million additional beneficiaries in just over a month

HC asks Centre to consider representation for linking property with Aadhaar

The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre to consider as representation a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black money generation, and 'benami' transactions. A bench of justices Rajiv Shakdher and Girish Kathpalia said these are policy decisions and courts cannot ask the government to do this. It said the representation shall be decided by the government within three months. "How the courts can get into all this. These are policy decisions, how the courts can tell them to do this. Prima facie, what I don't understand is that these are the areas we don't have the complete picture or data, what are the various aspects that may emerge... Best is to let them treat it as a representation and let them decide," Justice Shakdher said. The court was hearing a petition by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who said it is the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize ...

Govt tables Telecommunications Bill 2023 in Parliament: Check details

The Centre will take temporary possession of telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety, under the Telecommunications Bill, 2023

49 Oppn MPs including Tharoor, Abdullah, & others suspended from LS

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal brought the motion to suspend the members

Centre's guidelines on new Covid-19 variant implemented in MP: CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said his government has implemented guidelines issued by the Centre in connection with a new variant of COVID-19, amid an uptick in the viral infection cases in some states. Yadav on Monday night visited Hamidia Hospital, the largest state government hospital in Bhopal, to take stock of the arrangements. "The health department is working with full efficiency to deal with COVID-19 as well as all other diseases," Yadav told reporters after visiting the medical facility. "We have implemented guidelines issued by the Centre regarding a new variant of COVID-19 in the entire state," he said. Yadav said the country got victory over the pandemic earlier also under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CM also interacted with the attendants of patients during the visit to the hospital. On Monday, the Centre asked states and Union Territories to maintain constant vigil amid the rise in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the first

BJP glorifying perpetrators of rape, turning Kashi into mall: UP Cong chief

The Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai has accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of "glorifying" perpetrators of rape and also turning Kashi into a shopping mall. Interacting with reporters at Mahadeva Mela here on Sunday, he said the BJP MLA from Duddhi was already facing trial for rape under the POCSO Act when his party gave the ticket to fight the polls and become a legislator. "This shows the BJP's thinking towards women. The perpetrators of rape are being glorified in the BJP government. The victim got justice from the court," the UP Congress chief said. An MP-MLA court of Sonbhadra on Friday sentenced BJP MLA from Duddhi assembly constituency Ramdular Gond to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh which will help in the victim's rehabilitation. Rai, who along with Congress office-bearers attended the closing ceremony of the Mahadeva Mela and performed Jalabhishek at Lodheshwar Mahadev ...

Volkswagen India onboards Centre's Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar scheme

Automaker Volkswagen India has partnered with Centre's Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar scheme to offer its products to personnel of central security agencies and their families. Under this initiative, Volkswagen India is making its entire range of cars available to beneficiaries of the KPKB scheme across the country. The KPKB scheme was launched as a welfare initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2006. It caters to serving and retired members of the Central Armed Police Forces and their families. Aimed at enhancing the accessibility of its portfolio of cars, this new initiative enables beneficiaries to experience world-class mobility with an even more reasonable price tag, the company said in a statement. Volkswagen retails the mid-size sedan Virtus, sports utility vehicle Taigun, and its premium SUV Tiguan in India. Some of the security forces covered under the scheme include the Border Security Forces, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, and ..

21 companies bid for Centre's incentives to manufacture electrolysers

Reliance Electrolyser Manufacturing, Adani New Industries, L&T Electrolysers and Bharat Heavy Electricals are among 21 companies that have bid for government's incentives to set up 3.4 GW of annual capacity for manufacturing electrolyser, a critical component required for hydrogen production. According to an official statement, the bids came in response to a tender by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) inviting players for setting up 1.5 GW manufacturing capacity for electrolyser manufacturing. Bids for electrolyser manufacturers were invited on July 7 this year. On July 10, state-owned SECI also invited bids for selection of green hydrogen producers for setting up production facilities of 4,50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Scheme (Mode-1-Tranche-I). The SECI statement showed that 21 firms have bid for incentives for setting up 3.4 GW of electrolyser manufacturing capacity annually against 1.5 GW on ...

EC writes to Centre seeking to vet NCERT social science textbooks: Report

The EC has been engaging in correspondence with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) since 2016 over its plan to recommend changes to textbooks

Centre allows notified pvt exploration agencies in mineral blocks auction

The mines ministry on Friday said it has permitted notified private exploration agencies to participate in the auction of critical and deep-seated mineral blocks explored by them. The development will attract bigger mining companies in the exploration arena and is likely to encourage junior mining companies from around the world to come to India and take up exploration projects with National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding. The ministry further said it has also launched a new scheme to directly sanction projects for exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals to notified private exploration agencies (NPEAs). This new scheme will help bring new technologies in the field of exploration. The decision to allow NPEAs to directly submit projects in Ministry of Mines will help cut delays in sanction of projects as well as fast-track execution of projects. The move aims at giving a fillip to exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals. "Ministry of Mines has launched a

Govt using space tech to track multiple projects, boost development: BJP

The government has used space technology to boost development by tracking a host of projects, the BJP said on Friday, noting that ISRO has conducted twice as many satellite launches since 2014 than it did during the 10 years before that. India's space economy is now worth USD 8 billion and it employs 45,000 people, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said here. Puri also expressed confidence that the sector will reach USD 100 billion in the next 15 years and its global share will zoom to 10 per cent from the current two per cent. Speaking to reporters, Puri credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for using space technology to track a host of projects related to urban development, infra work and MNREGA and said it has boosted growth. The opening up of the space sector has led to 195 start-ups in the field, with Indian satellite manufacturing now worth USD 3.2 billion in one year, he said. India now ranks fifth among space-faring countries to have end-to-end technology, the ...

Centre launches new car programme for safety rating of passenger vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways stated that the programme shall be applicable on type approved vehicles of category M1, manufactured or imported in the country on or after October 1, 2023

Prevail upon Lanka to secure release of 45 fishermen, TN CM tells Centre

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin requested the Centre on Thursday to immediately take up through appropriate diplomatic channels the apprehension of fishermen from the state with Sri Lanka and secure the release of 45 fishermen and 138 boats. Expressing "a deep sense of anguish" on yet another incident of apprehension of six Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy on December 13, he said this was the third such occurrence in a week. "Six fishermen from Jegathapattinam fishing harbour, Pudukkottai district, who ventured for fishing in a mechanised fishing boat were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their fishing boat," the Chief Minister said in a letter to Union External Affairs Minister C Jaishankar, a copy of which was made available to the media here. He said the Sri Lankan Navy continued to infringe upon the traditional rights of our fishermen, and their frequent arrests have jeopardised the livelihoods of the fishermen and have instilled fear and panic in the ..

Kerala govt moves SC over Centre's interference in the state's finances

The Kerala government suffered a cumulative expenditure loss or resource deficiency of Rs 1.07 trillion over FY 2016-23

Delhi BJP MLAs allege that AAP govt is running away from debates

Ahead of the winter session of the Delhi assembly later this week, BJP MLAs on Wednesday alleged that the AAP government was running away from debates on issues related to the people of the city. No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the charge. There are eight BJP MLAs in the 70-member House as against AAP's 62. At a joint press conference here, Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that the Kejriwal government in the last four years did not allow notices of the BJP legislators over issues related to Delhi. He claimed that his party's MLAs have given notices for debates on issues like the poor condition of transportation, compensation to farmers, pollution in the Yamuna, old age pension and non-issuing of ration cards. The winter session of the Delhi Assembly will begin on Friday. Apart from tabling revised estimates of the budget, debates on different issues are likely in the House during the two-day session. Bidhuri also char

Bengal CM Banerjee seeks audience with PM to press for state's dues

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she has sought an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the demands for the financial dues which the Centre owes to the state. Banerjee told reporters at the Bagdogra airport near Siliguri in north Bengal that she will be visiting the national capital and sought an appointment in any of the three days between December 18 and 20. "I will go to Delhi accompanied by few MPs of the party this month and have sought an audience with the Prime Minister to press for the state's dues which the Centre owes to us," she said. "I have sought an appointment with the Prime Minister in any of the days on 18, 19 and 20th of this month," she added. Banerjee said that the Centre is collecting GST from the state but not sharing the proceeds. "Many of the funds which the state is eligible for getting under various central schemes like MGNREGA are also not forthcoming. The state is being deprived of its financial dues from the ...

Centre allocates Rs 81 cr for education, health infrastructure in Tripura

This financial sanction will pave way for crucial infrastructure projects, including the construction of a science building at MBB College and a women's hostel at Gandatwisa Government Degree College

U-WIN in pilot phase, no plan to share data with pvt cos through API: Govt

The U-WIN portal is presently under the pilot phase of implementation and there are no plans to share data with private companies through API (Application Programming Interface), Parliament was informed on Friday. The U-WIN portal is linked with the Co-WIN portal and the beneficiary records from Co-WIN can be accessed through U-WIN using the registered mobile number for facilitation of registration of children, Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The U-WIN portal only captures the vaccination status and does not create an electronic health record of the patients. "A security audit of the U-WIN portal has been completed by the CERT-In empanelled agency as per the mandate of the government of India to ensure data protection. The U-WIN portal is presently under the pilot phase of implementation and there are no plans to share data with private companies through API," Baghel said.

Guidelines on search, seizure of digital devices of journalists soon: Govt

The bench, however, questioned the two-year delay by the govt since the filing of the petition before it and said, "When did we issue notice? Some time frame has to be followed. Two years have passed"