Page 20 - Centre

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,

Centre ignoring Bihar's plea on PMAY-G, 13 lakh rural people waiting: Min

The Centre has not provided Bihar with fresh targets under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for the last three years, though around 13 lakh families are waiting for houses in the state, Rural Development Minister Sharvan Kumar claimed. He asserted that several letters were sent to Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh, urging him to allocate fresh target for Bihar, but the state did not get it for 2018-19, 2022-23 and 2023-24. The opposition BJP, however, accused the Bihar government of playing politics over the issue, and claimed that the state administration is not ready to submit work completion reports or fund utilisation certificates on time. Eligible beneficiaries get financial assistance from both central and state governments to build pucca houses in rural areas under the PMAY-G scheme. According to the Centre's notification, the PMAY-G aims to construct 2.95 crore houses across rural India to achieve the vision of "Housing for All"

Govt to soon roll out U-WIN portal for e-registry of routine immunisations

The government is set to launch 'U-WIN' portal, designed on the lines of COVID-19 vaccine management system Co-WIN, for maintaining an electronic registry of routine immunisations. The U-WIN programme has been designed to digitise the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) and it is presently being run in a pilot mode in two districts of each state and Union Territory. The platform will be used to register and vaccinate every pregnant woman, record her delivery outcome, register every newborn delivery, administer birth doses and all vaccination events thereafter, official sources told PTI. U-WIN, which will replicate Co-WIN, was launched on January 11 in 65 districts across the country. Vaccination records under UIP are being maintained manually as of now. So this will do away with the hassle of keeping a physical record. It will enable the digitisation of session planning, and updating vaccination status on a real-time basis, an official said. Presently, multiple vaccines and dos

Govt to tap districts for enhancing exports: DGFT Santosh Sarangi

Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi on Friday said that the government will go to the districts to enhance exports. Seventy districts in the country account for 80 per cent of the country's exports total exports, he told reporters at the Indian Chamber of Commerce here. In West Bengal, two districts - Darjeeling and Howrah have been identified for the purpose so far. Darjeeling for tea and Howrah for jewellery and engineering goods. Export plans for them have also been adopted, Sarangi added. "Districts have a huge potential for increasing exports. Only 70 districts account for 80 per cent of the total exports of the country," he said. DGFT, which is under the commerce ministry, formulates the country's trade policy and also implements it. Sarangi said India has a huge potential for export of electronic items, white goods and processed foods and with the kind of growth rates which the country is clocking for the last 15 years, it can aspire to become a ...

State's nod necessary for 'one nation, one election', says Kamal Nath

Amid reports of the Centre mulling over holding simultaneous elections, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said on Friday it is not possible to do so without taking the nod of state assemblies. The Centre has tasked former president Ram Nath Kovind with the responsibility of heading a committee to explore the feasibility of one nation, one election, opening the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with upcoming assembly elections in many states, including MP. There is a need for a constitutional amendment for it. Besides, it cannot be done by passing a bill in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, but it also needs to be ratified by the state assemblies, Nath told reporters when asked about his views on the concept of simultaneous polls. BJP-ruled states like Haryana and Maharashtra can pass a one-line resolution by the cabinet to dissolve their assemblies for holding elections with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan along with the Lok Sabh