Page 27 - Centre

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 ...

Centre mulls minor tweaking in PLI scheme, aims to boost manufacturing

Discussions underway regarding the potential need for slight alterations to the production-linked incentive scheme to improve its execution

Centre gives nod to change of names of four villages, 1 railway station

The central government has given its nod to change the name of a railway station in Odisha and four villages, three of whom belong to Rajasthan, officials said. The no objection certificate (NOC) has been given to change the name of revenue village "Khimawaton ka Khera" as "Khimsinghji ka Khera" in Kanod tehsil of Udaipur district, "Bengti Kala" village as "Bengti Harbuji' in Phalodi tehsil in Jodhpur district and "Bhundvaa" village as "Bhandavpura" in Sayla tehsil in Jalore district. All these villages belong to Rajasthan. The NOC has also been given to the change of name of 'Amanullapur' village as Jamuna Nagar in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district. The home ministry gave its nod to change of name of "Ratnagiri Road railway station" as "Udayagiri-Ratnagiri Road railway station" in Haridaspur-Paradip, in Khordha division in Odisha. The home ministry gives its consent to the change of name of any place or station after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department o

DPIIT to help states simplify provisions to facilitate ease of business

The Centre will help states in simplification, rationalisation or decriminalisation of provisions with a view to promoting ease of doing business and living in the country, a top government official said on Thursday. Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that Parliament passed a bill which seeks to promote ease of business by decriminalising minor offences through amendments in 183 provisions of 42 Acts. "We will do this in the future as well...We intend to follow with an inter-ministerial working group which will look at other provisions where further simplification, rationalisation or decriminalisation is possible and we are intending to do the same exercise at the state level by providing guidance to the states as well," he told reporters here. He said that there will be many more rounds of this exercise with the overall objective of promoting ease of doing business and ease of living. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment

Centre asks e-commerce platforms to stick to their business model

Draft e-commerce policy to be out in few weeks; stakeholder consultation process-led by Goyal held

MTNL, BSNL subscribers dropped due to lack of full-scale 4G: Centre

Government-owned telecom service providers MTNL and BSNL have seen a decline in the number of subscribers in the past three years because of "stiff competition" in the sector as well as lack of 4G services on a full scale, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said following a financial relief package from the Centre, BSNL and MTNL have been operationally profitable since 2020-21. "The reasons for decline in subscribers are lack of 4G services on a full scale and stiff competition in the telecom sector. In line with Atmanirbhar initiative of the government, BSNL has issued purchase orders for one lakh sites to roll out 4G services all over India in the next 18-24 months," Chauhan said. MTNL had 32.96 lakh subscribers for its wireless services in 2021, which declined 29 per cent to 23.5 lakh subscribers as of March 2023, according to the reply. BSNL also saw its subscriber count declining 12.6

SC directs Centre, states to ensure peaceful rallies against Nuh violence

The Supreme Court directed the authorities to video record the rallies held by VHP and Bajrang Dal in sensitive areas and preserve the footages

Govt forms panel to suggest ways to rationalising, right-sizing ICAR

The government has constituted a high level committee to suggest ways for rationalising and right-sizing of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). In a written reply to Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar replied in the affirmative when asked whether the government has constituted a high powered committee to restructure the ICAR to make the organisation stronger. The 11-member panel is chaired by Additional Secretary (Department of Agricultural Research & Education) and Secretary, Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the committee is to make recommendations for rationalisation and right-sizing of ICAR to transform it into a more dynamic, lean and efficient organisation, the minister informed.

Centre extends PM crop insurance scheme registration deadline: Official

The Centre has extended the deadline for registration under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), with the last date for farmers in Uttar Pradesh to enrol themselves being pushed to August 10, state officials said on Tuesday. The central government had earlier set July 31 as the last date for registration under the PMFBY but some states had urged it to extend the deadline so that more farmers could join the scheme, they said. In Uttar Pradesh, the deadline for registration under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) has been extended till August 10, a senior official of the UP Agriculture Department told PTI. According to an official of the Union Agriculture Ministry, the last date of registration under PMFBY has been extended to August 3 in Maharashtra, August 5 in Odisha and Assam, August 10 in UP and Rajasthan, August 15 in Goa, August 16 in Manipur, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The deadline has also been extended to August 7 in Meghalaya for ginger producers, the

Current law enough against GST evasion by offshore gaming platforms: FinMin

The finance ministry on Tuesday said there are sufficient enforcement provisions in GST laws to take action against offshore gaming platforms, which default in paying taxes. The GST Council on July 11 decided that online gaming is an actionable claim, like the lottery, on which a 28 per cent tax is to be levied. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha that some representations have been received from stakeholders that the council's decision will prompt online gaming platforms to shift to offshore locations. "Sufficient enforcement provisions exist to take action against offshore platforms, which do not pay prescribed GST," Chaudhary said in a written reply. The GST Council's decision to levy a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets on online gaming companies is based on the recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the issue. The council is scheduled to meet virtually on Wednesday to decide on the manner in which the supply value will be

Govt mobilises Rs 5.77 trn by issuing dated securities till Jul 31: FM

The government has mobilised a gross amount of Rs 5.77 lakh crore by issuing dated securities in the current financial year up to July 31, 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. It has raised a net amount of Rs 4.18 lakh crore through the instrument in the same period. Government borrowing is done through various sources, including dated securities, treasury bills, external loans and state provident funds. The central government has planned to raise net debt resources of Rs 17.99 lakh crore from various sources in 2023-24, mainly to finance its fiscal deficit, the finance minister said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. "This amount is about 40 per cent of the total net size of the Union Budget 2023-24 of Rs 45.03 lakh crore," she said. The government plans a gross market borrowing of Rs 15.4 lakh crore from dated securities in FY24. This is higher than the total borrowing of Rs 14.21 lakh crore in FY23. She said that borrowing by entities like the Nationa

Centre rolls out mandatory quality norms for smart meters, welding rods

The government on Tuesday said it has issued mandatory quality norms for smart meters and welding rods to curb the import of sub-standard goods and boost domestic manufacturing of these products. A notification in this regard was issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on July 14. These items cannot be produced, sold/traded, imported and stocked unless they bear the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark, the notification stated. Now, manufacturing, storing and sale of non-BIS certified products are prohibited as per the BIS Act, 2016. Violation of the provision of the BIS Act can attract imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for the first offence. In case of second and subsequent offences, the fine will increase to a minimum of Rs 5 lakh and extend up to 10 times the value of goods or articles. "These recently notified two new QCOs for smart meters and welding rods and electrodes will come into force from six months

427,000 undertrial prisoners lodged in jails as on Dec 31, 2021: Centre

As many as 4.27 lakh undertrial prisoners were lodged in jails in different parts of the country as on December 31, 2021, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra said the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles prison statistics reported to it by the states and Union Territories and publishes the same in its annual publication 'Prison Statistics India'. The latest published report is of 2021, the minister said. A total of 4,27,165 undertrial prisoners were lodged in the jails of the country as on December 31, 2021, he said in a written reply to a question. The minister said strengthening the criminal justice system, including making any new law on a subject and revision of relevant provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc., including on matters related to grant of bail, is a continuous process undertaken by the government from time to time. The Government of India has already initiated the process of a comprehensive .