Page 20 - Centre

'Will withdraw plea from SC if guv gets pending RDF released by Centre'

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday said the state government will withdraw its petition in the Supreme Court on the pending rural development fund (RDF) if the governor gets it released from the Centre. Cheema was responding to Governor Banwarilal Purohit's letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday in which he had stated it would be appropriate to wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on the state government's plea. Chief Minister Mann, in a letter on Thursday, had asked the governor to take up the issue of the pending RDF worth Rs 5,637.40 crore with the president and the prime minister. The state government had moved the Supreme Court in July on the RDF issue. On the governor's statement that the state's debt rose by Rs 50,000 crore under the AAP dispensation, Cheema asked him not to talk about debt as it was inherited from previous governments. Responding to the governor's response on the RDF issue, the finance minister said the Punjab governmen

BJP struggles in Rajasthan due to lack of public connection: Sachin Pilot

Congress leader Sachin Pilot criticises the central government for playing 'hide and seek' with Women's Reservation Bill, says there was already consensus

New Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar unveiled, to be awarded on National Space Day

The Centre on Thursday unveiled a new set of national awards in science, technology and innovation, called the 'Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar', and scrapped nearly 300 awards by various science departments. An official statement said the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar will be one of the highest recognitions in science, technology and innovation, to be given across four categories -- Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and Vigyan Team. Scientists will be selected across 13 domains by a committee headed by principal scientific advisor to the government. "People of Indian Origin staying abroad with exceptional contributions benefiting the Indian communities or society shall also be eligible for the awards," it said. The Vigyan Ratna award will recognise lifetime achievements and contributions in any field of science and technology while the Vigyan Shri will acknowledge distinguished contributions. All the awards will carry a citation and a medal. The Shanti Swarup

LS adjourns till Sept 20 after Centre introduces Women Reservation Bill

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. The bill has been named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam

We are not going back to licence raj, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

In an exclusive interview, Sitharaman says focus is on sunrise sectors, job creation

Govt announces licensing policy for opium poppy cultivation for 2023-24

The Union Government on Thursday announced the annual licensing policy for crop year 2023-24 for the cultivation of opium poppy for farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh

Centre working on developing electric highways, says Nitin Gadkari

The government is working on developing electric highways as it is economically viable, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Gadkari has earlier said that making India's first electric highway between Delhi and Jaipur is his dream. "My idea about the electric highway is that NHAI will give right of way...Today, I had a discussion with the Power Ministry, I am trying to get electricity at the rate of Rs 3.50 per unit, otherwise, the commercial power rate is Rs 11 per unit," Gadkari said at the ACMA annual session here. The minister noted that it is easy for the power ministry to give electricity to a government company at a cheaper rate. "Electric highway is very very economically viable...I will give all the rights to private sector investors who are going to invest (in the electric highway project)," he added. Gadkari further said that electric cable construction will be executed by private investors and NHAI will charge an electric tariff j

'Guj sought Rs 700 cr from Centre after Biparjoy but got nothing till July'

The Gujarat government sought compensation of Rs 700 crore from the Centre towards the damage caused by cyclone Biparjoy in June but didn't receive any grants as of July 31, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel told the assembly on Wednesday. Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall on the Gujarat coast on June 16 accompanied by heavy rains. It ripped through Kutch and parts of the Saurashtra region, with wind speeds going up to 140 kmph resulting in trees and electricity poles getting uprooted. During question hour on Wednesday, Congress MLA from Vav in Banaskantha district, Geniben Thakor, asked if the state government had sought any grant from the Centre in view of the damage caused by cyclone Biparjoy in June. In his written response, the chief minister, who handles the Disaster Management portfolio, said the state government submitted a memorandum to the Centre on June 18 seeking Rs 700.42 crore as compensation towards the damage caused by the cyclone. Patel stated the state government has no

Govt exploring legal options against 2 cos for non-compliance with FAME II

The government is exploring legal options against electric two-wheeler companies for not complying with the FAME II scheme norms, according to a senior government official. The Centre has sought Rs 469 crore from seven electric two-wheeler makers for claiming incentives while not complying with the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme norms. The government is seeking a refund of incentives from Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Ampere EV, Revolt Motors, Benling India, Amo Mobility, and Lohia Auto. As per the official, notices have been sent to the companies, and so far, only Revolt Motors has offered to refund the amount. "We have sent them notices. So far, only Revolt has offered to pay...others have not responded," the official said. He noted that the deadline is almost over, and next week, the government will be making some decisions. "We are examining legal options," he said when asked about action being considered by the government. An ...

Special session of Parliament: All about the agenda, history and overview

Just a month after the Monsoon Session of Parliament ended, the Centre has called for a special session of Parliament from September 18 to September 12

Heavy Industry ministry's special cleanliness campaign yields Rs 5.7 cr

A special campaign by the Ministry of Heavy Industries led to revenue generation of Rs 5.71 crore through scrap disposal sale of 53,796 files, the Centre said on Tuesday. The cleanliness drive, -- part of a nationwide cleanliness drive -- was carried out at 101 identified sites of various units of the CPSEs and autonomous bodies (ABs) under Special Campaign 2.0 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries from October 2 to 31, 2022, which led to the weeding out of 52,445 files. In addition, 1,351 physical files were weeded out resulting in freeing the space by 12,349 sq.ft. as efforts under Special Campaign 2.0 were continued post-campaign through November 2022 to August 2023. The campaign focused on disposal of pendency, achieving space management, and making the Ministry and its Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and Autonomous Bodies (ABs) across the country more efficient.

Waste to wealth: Centre eyes Rs 1,000 crore revenue from scrap disposal

The Centre is eyeing a whopping Rs 1,000 crore revenue from scrap disposal after the completion of the third edition of its 'Swacchata' campaign next month, a senior official said. Speaking to PTI, V Srinivas, Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), said the Central government is deeply committed to institutionalising 'swachhata' (cleanliness) and minimising pendency in all its departments. The 'special campaign 3.0', third phase of the 'Swacchata' drive, will be conducted from October 2 to 31 in all departments with a focus on outstation offices having a public interface. "The success of the 'special campaign 2.0' was institutionalised with all ministries or departments conducting the Swachhata campaign for three hours per week throughout the year. Over 100 nodal officers implemented the campaign," said Srinivas, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre. Since the conduct of the 'Swacchata' campaign 2.

Governer Bose writes confidential letters to Centre, West Bengal govt

A day after West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu accused him of trying to "destroy" the higher education system in the state and running a "puppet regime" in universities, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday warned of a much bigger action at midnight. As the clock was nearing midnight, a Raj Bhavan official said Bose had "signed two confidential sealed letters", one for the state secretariat, Nabanna, and another for the Centre. On the content of the letters, the official said "it would be disclosed later". "The governor signed two confidential letters tonight, one meant for Nabanna and the other for Delhi," the official added. "You will come to know the content of the letters later," the official told PTI, hinting that the subject could be on the recent war of words between the governor and the state government. Incidentally, Bose signed the letters a couple of hours after holding an elaborate meeting with chief secretary HK Dwivedi at Raj Bhavan. The topic of the meeting,

Govt discusses 2 new criteria for import of information technology hardware

Move to link import value of companies' domestic manufacturing and exports

Heavy industries' ministry scraps human safety tests for EV batteries

The ministry's testing parameters were more stringent than the MoRTH norms and required checks at three levels - the cell, battery management system, and the battery pack

Doesn't behove Centre to change names with political motives: Sukhbir Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said it does not behove the Centre to "change names with political motives" at a time when the country is hosting a G20 summit. The government should focus on development and not create divisiveness in society, Badal said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. His reaction came after a massive furore erupted over invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out by President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India' with the opposition alleging that the Modi government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name. "It does not behove a Union govt to change names with political motives at a time when it is hosting the #G20 summit. How will the world perceive a country which is indulging in such political stunts," Badal asked in his post on X. "What India needs is respect for all. We will be a strong nation if there is respect for all ...

'President of Bharat': Congress slams Centre over President's dinner invite

The G20 dinner invites sent in the name of "President of Bharat" instead of "President of India" sparks controversy

AIPEF terms Centre's coal import-related directives an additional load

Power engineers' body AIPEF on Monday termed the Centre's import-related directives for the thermal plants as an "additional load" on the coal-fired power units. The Union Ministry of Power has issued a directive that all thermal power plants of state governments, central government and the private sector should import 4 per cent of coal by March 2024 to meet the shortage of coal in thermal power plants running on domestic coal, the All India Power Engineers Federation said in a statement. The Centre has said that in view of the increased demand for electricity, there is a gap of 2 lakh tonnes per day in August between the consumption and supply of coal in domestic coal-fired thermal power plants, it added. As per the order, "the reason for not getting adequate coal to the thermal power plants is due to the constraints of the Railways and in such a situation, putting an additional load of imported coal on the thermal power plants of the state is not appropriate," AIPEF said. AIPEF

Centre to soon come up with PLI scheme for basic chemicals: Mandaviya

The Centre will soon come up with a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for basic chemicals for the promotion of the overall chemical sector, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said here on Saturday. Mandaviya also said that his ministry has been working on an international-standard drugs and cosmetic bill which will be introduced in the Cabinet in a month's time before being passed in Parliament. He was addressing members of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The government's PLI scheme is aimed at improving the cost competitiveness of domestically manufactured goods and enhancing domestic capacity and exports. "If we support basic chemicals, then agrochemicals and pharma chemicals, all types of chemicals will become cheaper to make. So, in a short time, we are coming up with a PLI scheme for basic chemicals. It will be useful to promote the chemical sector, he said. Basic chemicals, produced in large quantities, are usually sold within the chemical industry

Centre holds review meet on PM GatiShakti adoption in States, UTs

In a bid to promote wider adoption of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry held a review meetings with States and Union Territories on August 31 to monitor and extend support for efficient and effective utilization of their State Master plan (SMP) portals for infrastructure planning and implementation.The review meeting that was chaired by the Special Secretary in the DPIIT Sumita Dawra was held for the Western and Central Zones States/UTs of India. Representatives from several states and union territories including, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh attended the meeting.Special Secretary (Logistics) during the meeting stressed the importance of utilising the GatiShakti NMP/SMP portal and adopting a 'whole of government' approach for infrastructure and social sector planning. During the conference,