Page 22 - Centre

SK Hynix denies negotiation, collaboration with SRAM & MRAM for chip plant

South Korea-based SK Hynix on Monday said that the company neither had any negotiation with SRAM & MRAM Group, nor has any plans to collaborate with it for a semiconductor manufacturing or testing unit in India. UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group chairman Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani had told PTI that his company is in an advanced stage of discussion with semiconductor makers SK Hynix and GlobalFoundries to collaborate for its proposed chip manufacturing plant and a testing facility in India. Hiranandani had said that his group will hold a majority stake in the joint venture and the application to seek the Centre's approval for the project will be submitted within a week. However, SK Hynix denied any negotiation, collaboration with SRAM & MRAM Group. "SK Hynix haven't had any negotiations with SRAM & MRAM Group and therefore, do not have any plans to collaborate with the company on a chip manufacturing plant and testing facility in India," SK Hynix said in a statement. SK Hynix ..

Centre directs banks to work in tandem on loans scheme for street vendors

Union MoS for Finance Bhagwat K Karad on Saturday asked banks and civic bodies to work in collaboration with each other to achieve the goals of the PM SVANidhi scheme, which was launched to help street vendors get easy loans. Chairing a regional-level meeting to assess the progress of the scheme in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, Karad asked civic bodies to review the applications returned by banks and resubmit them after rectification. He also asked the civic bodies to work in a 'camp mode' and mobilise fresh applications to achieve the targets in a time-bound manner. Karad encouraged civic bodies to intensify their efforts with innovative strategies to enhance the digital onboarding of street vendors, a statement said. He emphasised on improvement in profiling of the scheme's beneficiaries and their families to facilitate their linkages to various central welfare schemes, it added. The meeting was attended by representatives of the state governments, commissioners of .

Centre does 'politics of development': Mandaviya hits back at Tejashwi

Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the Modi government believes in "politics of development" and not "politics in development" while urging Bihar minister Tejashwi Yadav to provide suitable land for the construction of AIIMS in Darbhanga. The comments come after Yadav, who holds the health portfolio in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 'safed jhooth' (blatant lie) in his address earlier in the day when he spoke of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the north Bihar district of Darbhanga. "It is an outright lie on part of the PM to have made a mention of AIIMS at Darbhanga, which is yet to be constructed. He reminds me of Union Home Minister Amit Shah who some time ago boasted of Purnea airport, which is far from functional, as one of the achievements of the government," Yadav told PTI video. "The fact is, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had taken the initiative for AIIMS, Darbhanga and a piece of land, suitab

Health ministry proposes separate post for medical devices controller

Specific provision for recall of drugs and devices; penal provisions for substandard drugs

11 industrial corridors being developed across the nation, says Centre

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has sanctioned and released funds amounting to Rs 9,899.89 crore for the industrial corridor project

Ministry set to implement two production-linked incentive schemes

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is set to implement PLI scheme for automobile and auto components (PLI Auto), and PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) (PLI ACC)

AAP questions Centre over discrepancies in Ayushman Bharat data by CAG

Questioning the Centre over the discrepancies in the database of the Ayushman Bharat scheme by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the AAP on Friday asked whether the government will initiate any probe into it. "The Centre formed the AB-PMJAY scheme to carry out a scam. But there won't be any investigation," chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said addressing a press conference. "The CAG report has highlighted irregularities. I want to ask whether a probe will be ordered in this," she said. "The health scheme of Delhi government that has no restrictions should be implemented across the country," she added. The CAG has highlighted discrepancies including invalid names, unrealistic dates of birth, duplicate health IDs and unrealistic family sizes in the database of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Ineligible households were found registered as PMJAY beneficiaries and had availed the benefits ranging between Rs 0.12 lakh to Rs 22.44 crore under the scheme,

Govt to release buffer onion in open market to keep prices under check

The government on Friday announced it will release onion from its buffer stock in the targeted regions with immediate effect to ensure prices remain under check till the new crop arrives from October onwards. The government is exploring multiple options for disposal of onion: e-auction, e-commerce as well as through states at discounted rates via retail outlets of their consumer cooperatives and corporations, it said. The government has currently maintained 3 lakh tonnes of onion under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to meet any exigencies, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season. As per the government data, onion prices have started inching up slightly as all-India retail price of the key kitchen staple was available at Rs 27.90 per kilogramme on August 10, higher by a little over Rs 2 per kg in the year-ago period. "We will release onion from the buffer stock immediately," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. The modalities for the disposa

Centre says 'not feasible' to change age-limit for civil services aspirants

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said it has not been found feasible to consider any change in the existing provisions regarding number of attempts and age-limit in respect of the civil services examination. The civil services examination (CSE) is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in accordance with the CSE rules notified by the government, the minister of state for Personnel said. "Based on the judgments passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the writ petitions filed by some CSE candidates and in light of the views expressed by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee, the matter has been duly considered in the Department of Personnel and Training and it has not been found feasible to consider any change in the existing provisions regarding number of attempts and age-limit in respect of the CSE," Singh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. He said the dates and the places for conducting the preliminary examination and mai

Centre moves bill to drop CJI from poll officers' selection process

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, has been listed for introduction in the Rajya Sabha

Farmers, workers protest against Centre's 'pro-corporate policies'

Farmers, agricultural labourers and industrial workers on Wednesday took part in a nationwide protest organised by different organisations against the "pro-corporate policies" of the BJP-led government at the Centre, said an outfit of cultivators which participated in the agitation. The protest coincided with the 81st anniversary of the Quit India movement. The agitation's slogan was "Corporate Looters, Quit India, Quit Agriculture. In an official release here, Ashok Dhawale, president, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said lakhs of peasants and workers came out on the streets to send a resolute message against the "corporate-communal nexus". Demonstrations and rallies were held across the country by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (JPCTUs). The AIKS, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and All India Agricultural Workers' Union (AIAWU) coordinated the programme. Rallies were taken out in Churu (Rajasthan), Bhiwani (Haryana), Solapur and

Govt says no plan formulated to phase out old coal-based power plants

The government on Tuesday said it has not formulated any plan to phase out old coal-based thermal power plants in the country. India has set an ambitious energy transition programme, which includes having 500 GW of renewable energy capacity, by 2030. "No Sir, Central Electricity Authority vide an advisory dated January 20, 2023 suggested that no retirement or repurposing of coal-based power stations will be done before 2030 considering the expected energy demand scenario and availability of capacity in future," Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He was replying to a question on whether the government has formulated any plan to phase out the old coal-based thermal power plants in the country, including in Odisha. Singh said that operators of thermal power plants were also advised implementation of Renovations & Modernisation (R&M) and Life Extension (LE) of their units for running up to 2030 and beyond or operating in two-shift mode to facilitate ..

Youth Congress holds protest in Delhi over Manipur violence, inflation

The Indian Youth Congress on Tuesday held a protest against the Centre over several issues, including the violence in Manipur, inflation and unemployment. Scores of Indian Youth Congress leaders and activists gathered at Jantar Mantar for a 'Sansad gherao' protest with posters and raised slogans against the Centre. The protesters were led by the organisation's national president Srinivas BV. Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera, Alka Lamba and Supriya Shrinate, were also present at the protest. "This is a call to save Manipur from the violence that has been unleashed under the nose of the BJP government," the protesters said. Shrinate said the "truth cannot be hidden" for long and added that "Manipur's voice will soon echo in Parliament". More than 160 people have been killed in the ethnic clashes in Manipur since May 3.

Laptop, tablet sales surge amid concerns over shortage, price rise

On August 3, the government had announced that a licence will be required for import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one-personal computers, ultra-small factor computers and servers

Govt wins numbers game as Delhi services Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod

NDA: 131, INDIA: 102; voting was the first show of strength of Oppn bloc

Centre working on digital registry for organ donation to streamline process

An official was quoted as saying by Mint that the donation registry is aimed at revamping NOTTO under the National Organ Transplant Progamme (NOTP) 2.0

Centre suggests public servants to use Gati Shakti approach to plan infra

The centre has suggested public servants in states to use PM Gati Shakti approach for planning modern infrastructure specially in districts, an official statement said on Saturday. The approach and use of the PM Gati Shakti was discussed during a web-based seminar hosted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on August 4. Secretary, DPIIT, Rajesh Kumar Singh laid emphasis on crucial need for the administrators and public servants to understand the concept and uses of PM Gati Shakti approach in building world class infrastructure for the country. More than 250 participants with senior most officers from 27 Central Training Institutes (CTIs) and about 34 State Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) participated in the webinar. "Detail Route Survey done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas used to take 6-9 months to prepare 46 reports. However, with the NMP through electronic Detailed Route Survey (eDRS), the reports are now created in a few

Centre extends deadline for track and trace system for pharma exports

The extension applies to both Small Scale Industries (SSI) and non-SSI manufactured drugs

'Early elections needed in J&K amid ongoing human rights violations'

Notably, up until June 2023, J&K has been denied the right to representation for five years

Data Protection Bill moots power to Govt to get info from entities, Board

The data protection bill introduced in Parliament on Thursday enables Government "to call for information" from data protection board, data collecting entities or intermediary, and safeguards the Centre from legal proceedings for "action taken in good faith" under the provisions of the legislation. After two or more instances of norm violation by a data collection entity, the Government on the advice of Data Protection Board, can direct blocking access to information in the interest of the general public, according to the provisions of the Bill. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday. "...after giving an opportunity of being heard to that Data Fiduciary, on being satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, in the interests of the general public, for reasons to be recorded in writing, by order...direct any agency of the Central Government or any intermediary to block for access by the public or cause to be blocked for access by the ...