Page 40 - Centre

Mizoram distributes property cards under Centre's SVAMITVA scheme

Mizoram on Monday distributed Property Cards under the Centre's Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) Scheme, an official statement said. Land Revenue and Settlement minister Lalruatkima handed over property cards to 420 beneficiaries - 254 and 166 in Tachhip and Phulpui villages in Aizawl district, the statement issued by state's Information and Public Relations department said. The minister said that the property card is similar to the Land Settlement Certificate (LSC) as it provides rural people the legal ownership of their residential lands. It will also enable the beneficiaries to use their residential properties as financial assets for taking loans and other financial benefits like compensation, it said. SVAMITVA, a Central sector scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2021. It is being implemented under the joint initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, state's

Centre unveils initiative to upgrade analytical instrumentation facilities

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday launched an initiative to provide financial support for the upgradation and maintenance of analytical instrumentation facilities (AIFs) created under the ministry's support. The Support for Up-gradation Preventive Repair and Maintenance of Equipment (SUPREME), a first-of-its-kind programme by the government, extends financial support for repair, upgradation, maintenance, retrofitting, or acquiring additional attachments to increase functional capabilities of existing analytical instrumentation facilities. Such facilities at institutions recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) are eligible to apply for grants under SUPREME. Addressing the 'Vishwavidyalaya Anusandhan Utsav 2023' here, Singh also announced a special drive for start-ups and research and development activities for universities of the northeastern region, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in addition to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, ...

Centre to release new Rs 100 coin to mark 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat'

'Mann Ki Baat 100' in Devnagri will be written above the microphone image and below the image the same will be inscribed in English

Centre should take points by Satya Pal Malik seriously: Subramanian Swamy

Former Union minister and BJP veteran Subramanian Swamy said on Saturday that the Centre should take whatever former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik had said in connection with the Pulwama terror attack seriously.

Misleading information has potential to fan separatist push: Central govt

False and misleading information has the potential to fan separatist movements and intensify social and political conflict, the Central government told Bombay High Court on Friday while responding to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's petition challenging an amendment to the Information Technology Rules. Citing a study, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), further said false news travelled six times faster than the truth, necessitating the 2023 amendment to the IT Rules. It, however, said that the impending fact check unit may only direct removal of false or misleading information pertaining to government policies and programmes, and not any satire or artist impression. Kamra, in his petition, claimed that the new rules could potentially lead to his content being arbitrarily blocked or his social media accounts being suspended or deactivated, thus harming him professionally. The stand-up comedian has sought the court to declare the amended rules as ...

HC reserves verdict on Twitter plea against govt's account blocking order

Twitter challenged the government orders claiming that they are arbitrary, and procedurally and substantively not in consonance with Section 69A of the IT Act

Jaishankar's 4-nation visit to Central and Latin America begins today

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is on a four-nation Central and Latin America visit beginning today.The EAM will make official visits to Guyana (April 21-23), Panama (April 24-25), Colombia (April 25-27) and the Dominican Republic (April 27-29), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.The EAM will visit the Caribbean nation, Guyana from April 21-23, where he will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers.He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, Hugh Hilton Todd which will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries. The EAM's visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM)) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers, according to the MEA official press release.Following his visit to Guyana, Jaishankar will

States to establish 100 food streets across 100 districts: Centre

The Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has written to the states and Union Territories to develop 100 food streets in 100 districts across the country. The initiative is being taken up as a pilot project to create an example for other such streets to come up across the country to ensure safe and hygienic food practices. The project aims to encourage safe and healthy practices among food businesses and community members, thus reducing foodborne illnesses and improving overall health outcomes, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. In a letter to the states, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi highlighted that "easy access to safe and hygienic food is vital for the good health of citizens". "Safe food practices not only promote the 'eat right campaign' and food safety but will improve hygiene credibility of local food businesses, boost local employment,

Centre to enable Aadhaar authentication by entities other than govt depts

The Ministry for Electronics and IT proposes to amend the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance Rules, 2020 for this purpose

Centre stalling govt recruitments in Delhi, says Saurabh Bharadwaj

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday accused the Centre of stalling government recruitments in the national capital for the last nine years. Bharadwaj's remarks came after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena handed over appointment letters to nearly 1,500 newly recruited Delhi government employees, including 324 school principals and 500 fire fighters. Raj Niwas officials rubbished the charges, saying that the AAP dispensation never put up demands for filling up vacancies. "The Education Department or any other department of GNCTD never ever put up demands for filling vacancies despite huge, glaring and long pending vacancies. They always preferred ad hocism aimed at favouritism by appointing thousands of employees on contract, in gross violation of procedures, manuals and court orders," a Raj Niwas official said. However, Bharadwaj, who is also the Services Minister, said the officers of the Services Department have on several occasions straight up refused to place on record t

Include provisions to protect rights of outsourced staff: Govt to states

The Centre has asked states to incorporate certain provisions in the contracts of outsourced workers to protect their rights amid concerns about underpayment of wages and other benefits. The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently incorporated six statutory obligations on GeM (Government e Marketing) portal in the contract of hiring manpower through outsourcing agencies in Government of India offices in order to protect the interest of the contractual workers, a labour ministry statement said. Of late in a letter addressed to Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all States/UTs, Union Labour Secretary Arti Ahuja has expressed concern about the underpayment of contractual workers engaged in State/UT offices through outsourcing agencies due to unauthorized deduction in wages of such workers made by the manpower hiring agencies. Further, she also expressed concern of the delayed payment of monthly wages to such workers by the agencies and low deposit of EPF (Employees Provident Fund

Same-sex marriage: Centre files fresh affidavit in SC, seeks states' views

Centre has said that the matter falls within the legislative domain, and thus views of all states and UTs are also necessary

NHRC notices to govt on deaths of inmates at pvt drug de-addiction centres

The NHRC has issued notices to the Centre, states and the Union territories over reported deaths of inmates due to "torture" at private drug de-addiction centres, the rights panel said on Tuesday. It has sought reports within four weeks on de-addiction centres presently available with the government sectors and if there are any rules or regulations framed under the NDPS Act to regulate the centres, besides other information. Reportedly, a 24-year-old man was beaten to death by the people running a de-addiction centre in Chandramani area of Dehradun, Uttarakhand on April 10, the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement. Prior to this, the Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of two similar incidents at de-addiction centres in Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, and the reports have been sought, it said. The NHRC has "taken suo motu cognisance of a media report of yet another death of an inmate at a private drug de-addiction centre - which is the third such incident

Centre launches scheme to promote tribal products of Northeastern region

Union Minister Arjun Munda said that through TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation), the scheme aims to empower individuals to become self-employed and self-reliant

Bilkis case: Govt may seek review of order on production of remission files

The Centre and the Gujarat government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that they may file a plea seeking a review of its March 27 order asking them to be ready with original files on the grant of remission to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. A bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna questioned the paroles granted to 11 convicts during their incarceration period and said the gravity of the offence could have been considered by the state. It said, "A pregnant woman was gang-raped and several people were killed. You cannot compare victim's case with standard section 302 (murder) cases. Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder. Crimes are generally committed against society and the community. Unequals cannot be treated equally." "The question is whether government applied its mind and what material formed the basis of its decision to grant remission," the bench said, adding, Today it is Bilkis but tomorrow it can

As mercury soars, Centre issues guidelines for workers during hot summers

Amid the intense heatwave that many areas across the country are grappling with, the government has issued a health advisory for the workers to keep themselves protected in this scorching heat

Hear objection on pleas seeking validation of same-sex marriages: Centre

The Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing arguments on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, with the Centre insisting its preliminary objection on whether the court can at all go into this question or it would be essentially for the parliament to go into it be heard first. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud told Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that the nature and tenability of the preliminary objection will depend on the canvass the petitioners open up and the court wants to have a view of their argument. Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, the petitioners can advance their submissions on what they want and also an overview confined to the preliminary objection raised by him. "I am sorry Mr solicitor, we are in charge, the CJI told Mehta, adding the court will hear the petitioners' side first. "You cannot dictate how we will

Delhi HC asks Centre to respond to plea for linking property with Aadhaar

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to file reply on a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black money generation, and 'benami' transactions. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Yashwant Varma granted four weeks to the ministries of Finance, Law, Housing and Urban Affairs and Rural Development to file their responses to the petition. The bench, which orally observed that it a good matter and let replies come, listed the matter for further hearing on July 18. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma along with Central government standing counsel Manish Mohan, representing the Centre, termed the issue as an important one. Petitioner and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay said it is the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize 'benami' properties amassed by illegal means to give a strong message that the government is ...

Delhi CM Kejriwal claims Centre targeting him for public welfare schemes

A day after he was questioned by the CBI in the excise policy case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday accused the Centre of targeting him and his government for providing several welfare schemes, including free electricity and good health facilities, to the people of the capital. Speaking at the one-day session of the Assembly, Kejriwal again questioned the education qualification of the prime minister without naming him. The session passed a resolution attacking the prime minister and the BJP. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have long tried to contain the fast rise and expansion of the Aam Aadmi Party and growing popularity of its national convener Arvind Kejriwal," the resolution stated. Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena had earlier flagged "procedural lapses" in calling of the session in a note to the chief minister and suggested against doing so. During his speech, Kejriwal alleged that demonetisation was implemented to end corruption and terrorism, but the .

Fill vacancy in National Commission for Scheduled Castes expeditiously: SC

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to ensure that vacancy in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes is filled on an expeditious basis. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala noted the submission of the Centre that there is one vacancy in the Commission. "The Union of India shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the composition of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes is completed on an expeditious basis," the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Ambedkar Association for Development seeking to fill appointments to the post of Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson and Member of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes within a stipulated period. BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla is the chairperson of the Commission. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is an Indian constitutional body established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Schedule