Page 34 - Centre

Centre's approval sought to appoint PK Gupta as Delhi's new chief secretary

The AAP government has sought the Centre's approval to appoint 1989 batch IAS officer PK Gupta as the new chief secretary of Delhi, officials said on Thursday. Gupta is currently serving as additional chief secretary at the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Delhi government. The present Chief Secretary of Delhi Naresh Kumar is due to retire later this year, they said. The proposal regarding appointment of Gupta was sent from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to LG VK Saxena for concurrence of the Centre. The move comes days after the Delhi government was given executive power in services matters, including transfer and posting of officers, in an important verdict by the Supreme Court.

Govt expects Reserve Bank surplus to easily surpass Budget targets

Arora pegged the government's budgeted expectation just from the RBI dividend at Rs 38,000-40,000 crore for FY24, which is set to be easily crossed now

Advocate K V Viswanathan's name recommended by Collegium to become 58th CJI

Justice MR Shah and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari demitted office within a span of last two days, bringing the strength of the top court to 32 judges

Jharkhand BJP to campaign from May 30 to showcase Centre's achievements

The BJP in Jharkhand on Tuesday decided to organise a month-long mega public outreach campaign from May 30 on the occasion of completion of nine years of the NDA's rule at the Centre. The decision to launch 'Mahasampark Abhiyan' was taken at a working committee meeting of the state BJP here in Ranchi. The BJP-led central government, in the last nine years, transformed the country into a self-reliant one and helped flourish its economy, the party's state president and MP Deepak Prakash said. BJP workers will undertake the campaign to reach out to the people to make them aware of the achievements of the Centre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said. They are gearing up to ensure that BJP candidates win all the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Prakash said. People of Jharkhand want to "get rid of corruption and appeasement policies of the state government", he said. BJP's Jharkhand in-charge and MP Laxmikant Vajpayee urged workers to go to the doorstep of every house and con

Centre, state tax officers launch drive to identify fake GST registration

With GST evasion crossing over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2022-23, Centre and state tax officers have initiated a two-month long special drive to identify fake GST registration and nab offenders. The GST Policy Wing had earlier this month written to Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Tax highlighting that fake/ non-genuine registrations are being used to fraudulently pass on input tax credit to unscrupulous recipients by issuing invoices without any underlying supply of goods or services or both. "This menace of fake registrations and issuance of bogus invoices for passing of fake ITC has become a serious problem, wherein fraudulent people engage in dubious and complex transactions, causing revenue loss to the government," the Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) had said. Currently, there are 1.39 crore businesses registered under Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was implemented on July 1, 2017. The government has been using robust data analytics and artificial intelligence to

Centre, state govts working towards taking technology to farmers: Tomar

Highlighting the importance of technology in the farm sector, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said the Centre and various state governments are working towards taking technology to small farmers. Speaking after inaugurating EEI Golden Jubilee auditorium at Extension Education Institute (EEI) here, he said, "It is also needed today as to how do we link technology in agriculture sector in a big way." While big farmers in the country have access to resources, including technology and Krishi Vignan Kendras, it is the responsibility of the Central and state governments to reach the small farmers who do not have access to technology and others. "That's why the Central and state governments are working towards how digitalisation of agriculture can be increased and how to reach common farmers through digital activities," he said and added that the need of the hour is to see how every useful technology reaches the farmers. Tomar, who cited the examples of PM-Kisan

Need to promote innovations useful for defence, civil sectors: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that institutions need to promote innovation which is not only useful for the defence industry but also for civilian purposes

Centre to monitor progress of startups funded by it: Jitendra Singh

The government has proposed the setting up of a mechanism to oversee the nurturing and progress of startups as their numbers have risen to more than a lakh, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. He said such a mechanism will closely follow the growth of Startups, see how to sustain them so that they do not lose out, especially those that have received technical and financial support from the Government. Singh was addressing the valedictory function and Awards Ceremony of the National Technology Week Exposition at Pragati Maidan here. The minister said over the years start-ups have witnessed a shift from IT to Biotech and Earth Sciences as new opportunities have opened in Oceanography. He also debunked myths surrounding startups. "One is age factor, I have seen a scientist setting up a startup after retirement; second is higher qualification, you just need to be an innovator, having an inherent quest for creativity," Singh said. Principal Scientific Adviso

10 Kuki MLAs from NDA coalition ask Centre for separation from Manipur

Ten tribal MLAs belonging to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group in Manipur have urged the Centre to give their region a separate administration in the wake of recent violent clashes between the Meiteis and tribals. Of the 10 legislators, 7 belong to the BJP, two are from Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) and one is an Independent. The two KPA and independent MLAs are also part of the NDA led by the BJP. As the state of Manipur has miserably failed to protect us, we seek from the Union of India a separate administration under the Constitution of India and live peacefully as neighbours with the state of Manipur, the MLAs said in a statement on Friday. The legislators alleged that violence was perpetrated by the majority Meitei community and was tacitly supported by the BJP-run state government. "The unabated violence that began on May 3, 2023, in Manipur perpetrated by majority Meiteis tacitly supported by the Manipur Government against the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zorni hill tribals has already ...

Central govt should increase import duty on Apple from 50 to 100%: Rathore

Himachal Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore on Friday said the central government should increase the import duty on Apple from 50 to 100 per cent to protect farmers. The statement came days after the government banned the import of apples if their imported price is less than Rs 50 per Kg. Rathore, in a statement, maintained that the apple growers are not getting remunerative prices because apple is being imported in large quantities from other countries. "BJP leaders should...urge him (the Prime Minister) to increase the import duty from 50 to 100 per cent," he added. The Himachal Pradesh BJP on Tuesday hailed the central government's decision to ban the import of apples if their imported price is less than Rs 50 per kilogram, saying it will benefit the apple growers in the state. The state BJP had raised the issue with the Centre many times, and finally, the government has accepted the suggestion, former chief minister and BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur said in a statement. Th

Delhi govt moves SC saying Centre not initiating transfer of services secy

The Kejriwal government removed the Secretary of the Delhi government's Services department on Thursday evening

Centre, Delhi government need to cooperate with each other, says SC

The Centre and the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) government share a unique federal relationship and they need to cooperate with each other to enhance the spirit of federalism and democracy, the Supreme Court said on Thursday. Observing that NCTD is not subsumed in the unit of the Union merely because it is not a State', a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said principles of federalism and democracy are interlinked and work together in synergy to secure to all citizens justice, liberty, equality and dignity and to promote fraternity among them. The people's choice of government is linked with the capability of that government to make decisions for their welfare, it said. "In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Union of India must exercise its powers within the boundaries created by the Constitution. NCTD, having a sui generis (unique) federal model, must be allowed to function in the domain charted for it by the Constitution. "T

Several states oppose validation for same-sex marriage: Centre tells SC

The Centre Wednesday told the Supreme Court it has received responses from seven states on the issue of same-sex marriage and the governments of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Assam have opposed the petitioners' contention seeking legal validation for such wedlock. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that states like Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Sikkim have said the issue needed a "very intense and expansive debate" and they would not be able to submit their responses immediately. The Centre had, in an affidavit filed in the apex court earlier, said it had issued a letter on April 18 to all states inviting comments and views on the "seminal issue" raised in these petitions. "At the outset, I had said that we have written letters to the state governments. There are seven responses, I am not reading them, from Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Sikkim

Govt to set up task force for land governance in North-Eastern states

A task force will be set up for land governance in the North-Eastern states, the Union Rural Development Ministry said on Wednesday. The decision was taken at the recently concluded National Conference on "Land Governance in North Eastern States" held in Guwahati, Assam on May 3-4. The territorial and autonomous district councils in the states of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya held that digitisation and modernisation of land records is essential for development in the region. Deliberations in the first-ever such national conference included sessions on current state practices and modernisation of land records, land governance assessment framework and a session on customary and indigenous laws, current practices and new initiatives and role of survey of India in land records modernization. While the initiatives of computerisation and digitisation of land records and maps have shown good progress in the rest part of Assam, it was seen that there are serious gaps in the areas .

Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on PIL for QR codes on medicines, cosmetics

The court asked the authorities to file their response to the PIL and posted the matter for next hearing on August 16

SC concerned over loss of life, Manipur to step up relief after violence

Concerned over the huge loss of life and property, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Manipur government to step up relief and rehabilitation efforts for those hit by ethnic violence in the north-eastern state, besides protecting places of worship, many of which were targeted during the mayhem. While listing out steps taken to deal with the situation, the Centre told a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that no untoward incidents have been reported in Manipur in the last two days and the situation there is gradually returning to normalcy. More than 50 people have been killed in violent clashes between the tribals living in the Manipur hills and the majority Meitei community residing in the Imphal Valley over the latter's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Over 23,000 people have been rescued and sheltered in military garrisons and relief camps. Terming the aftermath of the violence humanitarian issues, the apex court emphasised that due arrangements

NESO urges Centre to help in evacuating people stranded in Manipur

The influential North East Students' Organisation (NESO) on Saturday urged the Centre to immediately intervene in evacuating people of different states of the region stranded in violence-hit Manipur. In an open letter to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, NESO secretary-general Mutsikhoyo Yhobu said the apex students' body of the region is deeply perturbed over the prevailing situation in Manipur, which has left many people from other states stranded and in need of immediate evacuation. In view of the prevalent law and order situation in Manipur wherein regular air services have been disrupted, it appealed to the Union ministry for immediate intervention to schedule chartered flights for evacuation people to their respective states. Stating that many people have lost their documents in the ongoing arson and violence, NESO appealed to the authorities concerned to sympathise with them and consider other means of identification.

Centre denies flights' request to evacuate Mizoram residents from Manipur

A senior Mizoram official on Saturday claimed that the Centre has turned down the state's request to provide flights to evacuate its residents stranded in violence-hit Manipur. The Mizoram government has urged both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to charter flights for the stranded people hailing from the northeastern state, he said. "The Centre turned down our request, and so has a private airline (to evacuate people of Mizoram stuck in Manipur)," the official told PTI. The Centre is yet to make a comment on it. Hundreds of people, mostly students, were reportedly stranded in Manipur following violent clashes between tribals and people belonging to the majority Meitei community, which has displaced thousands and resulted in the loss of lives of at least 54. Meanwhile, Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana convened a meeting with officials on Saturday to review the measures being taken to evacuate people from Manipur. He said the state government is m

Centre-State tussle over funds casts a shadow over Rajasthan OPS move

The Gehlot govt has announced OPS for its employees and has also asked the Centre to release the Rs 39,000 crore accumulated under the new pension scheme in the account of Rajasthan govt employees

Same-sex couples: Govt to explore administrative steps to address concerns

The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a committee headed by the cabinet secretary would be constituted to explore administrative steps for addressing some concerns of same-sex couples without going into the issue of legalising their marriage. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which is hearing a batch of pleas seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage, that the government is positive about the suggestion for exploring administrative steps in this regard. He told the bench, which also comprised justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, that this will need coordination between more than one ministries. On the seventh day of hearing in the matter, Mehta said the petitioners can give their suggestions on the issue of exploring what administrative steps can be taken in this regard. While hearing the matter on April 27, the apex court had asked the Centr