Page 41 - Centre

Central govt IT system to start supporting email in Hindi in 2 years

All IT systems in the central government will start supporting email communications in hindi scripts in the next two years, a senior official said on Monday. While speaking at the Universal Acceptance (UA) Day curtain raiser event, Ministry of Electronics and IT Additional Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar said that the work has started to make 15 ministry's website UA-compliant and content on them is being made available in hindi. "Resolver to facilitate e-mail communications in local language script will be done over a period of 2 years. Initially it will support Hindi script and later other languages will be added," Kumar said. He said that the Centre is encouraging the state governments to provide content in the local languages. Global internet body ICANN has been supporting Universal Acceptance that aims to address issues around language barriers that check people from connecting to the internet. The internet has been dominated by the English language which prevents several non-Englis

Centre gets time from HC to reply on plea on approach to medical education

The Delhi High Court on Monday granted more time to several Union ministries to file their replies to a petition for the adoption of an "Indian holistic approach" in medical education and practice, instead of the "colonial segregated way" of having different streams of allopathy, ayurveda, yoga and homeopathy. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Datta gave six weeks to the ministries of health and family welfare, women and child development, home affairs and law and justice to file their responses to the petition. The bench listed the matter for further hearing on July 6. During the hearing, the counsel for the Union Ayush ministry said they have already filed their reply on record. "Reply has been filed by respondent no. 2 (Ayush ministry) only. Other respondents have not filed their replies. Let others also file it within six weeks," the court said. The petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay claimed that the adoption of a holistic approac

What is World Freedom Index and why Indian govt keeps rejecting its report?

India's position in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index dropped to 150 out of 180 countries, according to Reporters Without Borders

Centre developing 60 jetties along Ganga from Varanasi to Haldia: Minister

The Centre is developing 60 jetties on the banks of Ganga between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia in West Bengal, Union MoS for Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday. Inaugurating four such jetties on both sides of the river at Nadia's Kalyani and Tribeny in Hooghly district of West Bengal, he said the Centre was also developing 118 waterways in the country. "The 118 new waterways will reduce distance, lower transportation costs and benefit small traders, daily passengers and students. It will strengthen the economy," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focussing on the infrastructure development of the country which has been neglected for a long, he said. "We want the cooperation of the West Bengal government for infrastructure development as the state needs it," he said. Thakur said the four jetties he inaugurated were built at a cost of Rs 8 crore. He also initiated various development along the Ichamati river -- National Waterway 44, in the North 24

Previously neglected areas now role models for country, says Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh on Sunday said areas like border districts which were neglected earlier have now become role model for the country. He said bringing governance at the doorsteps of the people to the last man in the last queue is possible only under Narendra Modi whose endeavour, after being sworn in as the Prime Minister of India in 2014, has been to address the people's issues on the spot through 'public darbars' with district administration. The governance cannot be restricted to the district headquarters only and a departure from this practice was necessary so that people's issues could be addressed on the spot with district administration, Singh said at a 'public darbar' here. He asserted that development has reached the last man in the queue under PM Narendra Modi, and said the areas which were neglected earlier like the border districts under the previous governments have now become the role models for the country, the best example being the

Keep close watch on evolving etiologies: Centre issues advisory on Covid

The advisory has also flagged low level of testing by states and UTs and has said that testing levels are insufficient as compared to the standards prescribed by WHO i.e 140 tests per million

Govt hikes DA, DR for central govt employees to 42% of basic pay

The move will benefit about 4.8 million central government employees and 6.9 million pensioners. The decision will be effective from 1 January, 2023

Centre clears third electronics manufacturing cluster for Karnataka

The Centre has cleared the third electronics manufacturing cluster for Karnataka, which will be set up in the Dharwad district, Minister of State of Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. According to the documents shared by the minister on Twitter, the electronics manufacturing cluster (EMC) project will cover an area of 224.5 acre at a cost of over Rs 179 crore, comprising central financial assistance of over Rs 89 crore. "Today a new Electronics Manufacturing Cluster in Hubli Dharwad is also approved - further expanding Karnataka's leadership in Electronics," Chandrasekhar said in a tweet. The EMC will be spread over two villages of Kotura and Belura, covering an area of 88.48 and 136.02 acre, respectively. An official statement mentioned that the government expects the new greenfield EMC is likely to catalyse investments of over Rs 1,500 crore in the near future and generate employment for over 18,000 people. "9 companies and start-ups have already committed t

Bengal, Rajasthan among 9 states to withdraw general consent to CBI: Centre

Nine states, including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, have withdrawn general consent to the CBI to probe cases, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. According to Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) needs the consent from the respective state government for conducting investigation in its jurisdiction, he informed the Rajya Sabha through a written reply. In terms of the provision of Section 6 of the DSPE Act, 1946, a general consent to the CBI has been granted by state governments for investigation of specified class of offences against specified categories of persons enabling the agency to register and investigate those specified matters, said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel. Nine states -- Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal -- have withdrawn general consent to the CBI to investigate cases, he said.

SYL canal: SC tells Centre to play 'pro-active role' to resolve dispute

The Supreme Court on Thursday told the Centre that being the main arbiter in water dispute between two states, it is required to play a more "pro-active role instead of being a mute spectator" and asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to hold discussions to resolve the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute. During the hearing, the Punjab government told the top court that they have huge scarcity of water with water tables going down in the rivers and there is "no point building canals like a Taj Mahal", with no water flowing through it. The Haryana government, on the other hand, told the apex court that its people need water which comes from Punjab, which has to abide by the decree for construction of a canal in its jurisdictional area. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Aravind Kumar said, "We expect the endeavours of the States to sit together to still find a solution is the way forward and we call upon the States to hold meetings, not frequently

Parliament must function: Cong MP Tewari slams Centre over adjournment

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday hit out at the Centre over premature adjournment of the ongoing Budget session and said that it is the duty of the government to make the Parliament function

More than 2,170,000 EVs registered in India; Uttar Pradesh tops list

Over 2,170,000 electric vehicles registered in India, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 4,65,432 EVs, followed by Maharashtra and Delhi with 2,26,134 and 2,03,263 respectively, the government said

Centre releases guidelines for human-wildlife conflict mitigation

The 10 species-specific guidelines include, guidelines for mitigating human-elephant, -gaur, -leopard, -snake, -crocodile, -rhesus macaque, -wild pig, -bear, -blue bull and -blackbuck conflict

Naxal violence down by 77% over past decade: Center informs Lok Sabha

The violence perpetrated by Naxals has come down by 77 per cent in just over a decade while casualties of the security forces and civilians have also declined by 90 per cent, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the geographical spread of violence has significantly reduced and only 176 police stations of 45 districts reported Left Wing Extremism violence in 2022 as compared to a high of 465 police stations of 96 districts in 2010. "The number of LWE related violent incidents have come down by 77 per cent in 2022 in comparison to the high of 2010. The number of resultant deaths (security forces and civilians) have also reduced by 90 per cent from an all time high of 1005 in 2010 to 98 in 2022," he said replying to a written question. The minister said the decline in geographical spread is also reflected in the reduced number of districts covered under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme. Number of SRE districts reduced from 126

Clear all 'One Rank One Pension' dues by Feb 28 next year: SC tells Centre

The bench further added in three equal instalments by February 28, 2024, the dues should be paid to the remaining 10-11 lakh pensioners

Agriculture Min ropes in Nafed for promotion of govt's millets initiative

The Agriculture Ministry on Monday said it has roped in cooperative Nafed for promotion of the government's millets initiative at global scale, including installation of millet vending machines and setting up of an experience centre in Delhi-NCR. Nafed, which has entered into a MoU with the ministry in this regard, will set up a millet corner in Nafed Bazaar Retail Stores, install millet vending machines across Delhi-NCR, an official statement said. It will also establish a millets' experience centre at Delhi Haat, to promote nutritious millets and create awareness on the rich history of India through millet-based dishes. Nafed will extend marketing linkage to millets-centric startups, it added. "Nafed has entered into an MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture to extend its support to millets initiatives," an official statement said. India, the world's major millets producing country, is promoting millets as part of the International Year of Millets (IYoM) celebration this year. Tha

Yet to receive report from states on crop damages by untimely rains: Govt

The Centre on Monday said there has been some damage to the standing wheat crop in key growing states due to untimely rains and hailstorm, but it is yet to receive a ground report from the state governments. There is no concern about mustard and chickpea (chana) crops as most of it has been harvested. In the case of horticultural crops, localised hailstorms might have affected some crops like banana and potato, it said. For the last two days, many parts of the country have been receiving unseasonal rains, hail and heavy winds due to western disturbances. Wheat is the main rabi crop, harvesting of which has started in some parts of the country. Mustard and chickpeas are other major rabi crops. The government has projected a record wheat output of 112.2 million tonnes for the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). "There has been some damage. We have not received an assessment report on the extent of damage from the state governments," Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary told

SC refuses to accept Centre's sealed cover note on payment of OROP dues

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to accept the Centre's sealed cover note about its views on the payment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) arrears to ex-service personnel. We need to put an end to this sealed cover practice in the Supreme Court... This is fundamentally contrary to basic process of fair justice, said a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala. I am personally averse to sealed covers. There has to be transparency in court... This is about implementing orders. What can be secret here, the CJI said. The bench is currently hearing the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement's (IESM) plea over payment of OROP dues. The top court, on March 13, came down heavily on the government for "unilaterally" deciding to pay OROP dues in four instalments. The defence ministry has recently filed an affidavit and a compliance note in the top court, giving the time schedule for payment of the arrears of Rs 28,000 crore to ex-servicemen for years 2019-2

Centre, civil society continue to spar over manual attendance for MGNREGS

Civil society says getting manual attendance approved by district officers is tedious

Centre has sanctioned Rs 2,000 cr for Tripura under Jal Jeevan Mission: CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday said the Centre has approved Rs 2,000 crore for the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission to supply piped drinking water to households. Saha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for approving Rs 2,000 crore to implement piped water scheme. At present, 56 per cent households of the northeastern state have piped water facility and the state has a plan for water supply to all households. "I am glad to share that the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has approved Rs 2000 crore for Tripura under Jal Jeevan Mission 2023-24 and the fund is more than total of Rs 1,930 crore Tripura received in the last 3 years", he told reporters after attending a party programme at Rabindra Bhavan. "I wholeheartedly thanked PM Narendra Modi ji and Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ji for sanctioning the fund. This will ensure piped drinking water to more households", Saha said. Earlier, the