Page 42 - Centre

156 critical infra-gaps identified for intervention under PM Gati Shakti

As many as 156 critical infrastructure gaps to ports and for movement of bulk commodities such as coal, cement, fertilizers and foodgrains, have been identified for intervention under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, an official statement said on Saturday. The PM Gati Shakti programme was launched by the government on 13th October 2021. So far, 44 Network Planning Group meetings held at the central level, wherein 66 major infrastructure projects worth Rs Rs 5 lakh crore, have been evaluated, the commerce and industry ministry said. The Network Planning Group (NPG) is constituted under the initiative. "156 critical infrastructure gaps to ports and for movement of bulk commodities such as coal, cement, fertilizers and foodgrains, have been identified for intervention," it said. To facilitate wider adoption of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, a series of regional workshops are being organized across all states/UTs. These workshops aim to bring more vigour and build synergy amo

Centre allows NTPC to invest over 30% of its networth in NTPC Green Energy

The central government on Friday allowed state-owned power giant NTPC to invest more than the ceiling of 30 per cent of its networth in its subsidiary NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL). NTPC's net worth stood at Rs 1.28 lakh crore, as per its annual report for the financial year 2021-22. This assumes significance given the NTPC's ambitious target of 60 GW of renewable energy by 2032. Presently, the maharatna central public sector undertakings require approval of the Union Cabinet to invest an amount more than 30 per cent of its net worth. "Cabinet approves exemption to NTPC Ltd from the extant guidelines of delegation of power to Maharatna CPSEs for making an investment beyond the prescribed limit in NTPC Green Energy Ltd," an official statement said. It has also exempted NGEL's investment in NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) and its other JVs/subsidiaries (joint ventures), subject to a ceiling of 15 per cent of its net worth beyond the monetary ceiling of Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 7,500 cror

HC seeks RBI response on PIL to probe Yes Bank transfer of assets portfolio

The Delhi High Court Friday sought response of the Centre, RBI and SEBI on a PIL seeking to form a committee of experts to investigate the transfer of a stress asset portfolio of Rs 48,000 crore from Yes Bank to JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company. In his PIL, former Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy sought to direct the Union Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to formulate comprehensive guidelines in accordance with recommendations of the committee to check any such future agreements/ transactions and to regulate the arrangements entered into between banks/ NBFS or other financial institutions and Assets Reconstructions Companies (ARC). A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, which did not issue formal notice on the plea, asked the authorities to file their responses within four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on July 14. It also asked Yes Bank Ltd and J C Flowers

Centre, Delhi govt to help pay DMRC award money it owes to DAMEPL: HC

The Delhi High Court Friday directed the Centre and the city government to attend to the request of DMRC for extension of sovereign guarantees or subordinate debt to enable it to make payment of dues of an arbitral award passed in favour of Reliance Infrastructure-owned Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited. The high court said the decision has to be taken by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Delhi government within two weeks and if the permission is accorded to the DMRC, it will deposit the entire amount payable under the award along with up-to-date interest within a period of one month. "If the Union ministry or Delhi government decline the request for providing sovereign guarantees or subordinate debt, the Union ministry shall forthwith or at the end of two weeks revert and repatriate all monies received by it from DMRC post March 10, 2022 so as to ensure that the credit balance of the DMRC, total project and total other funds reflects the balance as it

Twitter a foreign entity, can't seek protection under Art 19: Centre to HC

The Centre has submitted to the Karnataka High Court that microblogging platform Twitter cannot take protection under Article 19 of the Constitution which ensures freedom of speech and expression

Joshimath crisis handled well with Centre's cooperation: Uttarakhand CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday said land subsidence in Joshimath was a challenge for the government but it was efficiently tackled with active cooperation from the Centre. He also said the state government's budget 2023-24 is based on the BJP's vision document for 2022 assembly polls and will pave the way for building a strong and prosperous Uttarakhand. Joshimath was a challenge but we got active cooperation from the Centre. The prime minister personally monitored the situation taking regular updates. We have made a provision of Rs 1,000 crore for Joshimath in the budget," Dhami said addressing the assembly during the budget session. He said a study of the carrying capacity of Joshimath and similar other places, which are not founded on solid rocks, will be conducted. Taking a dig at the opposition for calling the budget "hopeless" he said, "You have to have hope in your heart to see hope in anything." "We have recorded an increase of 10 per cent in p

As Covid cases spike, Centre asks six states to keep a strict vigil

Among the states, Maharashtra has reported a rise in weekly cases from 355 to 668

Govt has no central data on heart attack, cancer, HIV: MoHFW to Rajya Sabha

Heart diseases contributed 28.1% of the total deaths in India, in 2016 compared to 15.2% in 1990

97% licences granted to MSMEs among toy-making units, says Centre

As many as 97 per cent licences have been granted to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) among toy manufacturing units by the government

Centre to cut imports of non-essential items to raise domestic production

The government is undertaking an exercise to cut imports of non-essential goods with a view to enhancing domestic production of those items, an official said on Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the commerce ministry has provided product-wise import figures to all the ministries. "We are asking the different ministries that they should analyse that data and they should look at data from the angle that which imports are essential and which are non-essential," he told reporters here. The ministries would look at issues like if those goods are being manufactured in India and if there is sufficient capacity for those products. "If there is a sufficient capacity within the country and still it is being imported, then we are trying to educate that it can be substituted by the domestic manufactured product," he said. "What we are saying is that if our domestic maker is capable of producing the same kind of quality with the same price then obviously that should be ...

Rules to regulate e-pharmacies need some more time: Centre to Delhi HC

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare draft rules were challenged in the plea to further amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules

Govt to form high-level committee to fast-track infra along China border

The government on Tuesday decided to set up a committee of secretaries to fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects along the border with China. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Singh called for expediting all pending projects on top priority, stating that a "whole of nation" approach should be adopted in matters of national security, the defence ministry said. The meeting was attended by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Railways, Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Power Minister RK Singh, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami and Ladakh Lt Governor Brig BD Mishra (Retd), Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Army Chief Gene Manoj Pande and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane were among those who attended the ...

Not in favour of setting up Fiscal Council, Centre tells Rajya Sabha

The central government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha said that it is not in favour of setting up a Fiscal Council as was suggested by the different Finance Commissions. The 15th Finance Commission had suggested to the centre to set up an independent Fiscal Council with powers to access records as required from the Union as well as the States. Similar suggestions were made by the 13th and the 14th Finance Commissions. Disagreeing with the suggestion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Upper House said the "institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the National Statistical Commission, the Finance Commission, etc. perform some or all of the roles proposed for the Fiscal Council by different Finance Commissions on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM)." The finance commissions wanted the centre to set up the Fiscal Council to assess and monitor fiscal policy, effective implementation of fiscal rules and ..

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Govt has no proposal under consideration for creating new states: MoS Home

Centre has no proposal under its consideration for bifurcation of any state even though demands are received from various individuals, organisations, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said.

Govt does not agree with World Press Freedom Index: Anurag Thakur

The government does not subscribe to the views and country rankings of the World Press Freedom Index, published by foreign NGO Reporters Without Borders', Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Thakur said the government also does not agree with the conclusions drawn by this organization for various reasons including very low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy and adoption of a methodology which is questionable and non-transparent. "In pursuance of its policy to uphold the freedom of press, the government does not interfere in the functioning of the press," the minister said in response to a question by YSRCP member Adala Prabhakar Reddy. He said the Press Council of India (PCI), a statutory autonomous body, has been set up to preserve the freedom of the press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country. PCI considers complaints filed 'by the .

425 court cases registered in last 3 years under PCPNDT Act: Govt

A total of 425 court cases have been registered in the last three years under the Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said a total of 90 appeals have been filed against the acquittals by the authorities and 3521 ultrasound machines have been sealed and seized so far for offences committed under PCPNDT Act. Besides, a total of 125 ultrasound machines have been released during trials in the country, Pawar said in a written reply.

9.55L TB patients adopted under Centre's Ni-Kshay Mitra initiative: Govt

Around 9.55 lakh out of the 9.69 lakh consented tuberculosis patients have been adopted till March 9 under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. With the goal of achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global targets, the National TB Elimination programme implements key activities, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply. The activities include state and district specific strategic plan for targeted interventions in high-burden areas, provision of free drugs and diagnostics to TB patients, including for drug-resistant TB, and active tuberculosis case-finding campaign in key vulnerable and co-morbid populations, the minister said. It also include integration with Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres to decentralize screening and treatment services closer to the community, private sector engagement, scale-up of molecular diagnosti

Bhopal gas tragedy: SC dismisses Centre's plea for additional funds

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Centre's curative plea seeking an additional Rs 7,844 crore from the Union Carbide Corporation's (UCC) successor firms to extend higher compensation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy that killed over 3,000 people and caused environmental damage. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said there was no rationale by the Centre to rake up the issue two decades after the settlement. The top court said that a sum of Rs 50 crore lying with the RBI for the victims shall be utilised by the Union of India to satisfy pending claims of victims. "We are unsatisfied with the Union of India for not furnishing any rationale for raking up this issue after two decades...We are of the view that curative petitions cannot be entertained," the bench said. The bench also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwar had on January 12 reserved its verdict on the Centre's curative plea. Th

Goa govt to hold meeting on H3N2 influenza as directed by the Centre

The Goa government will hold a high-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss monitoring of seasonal influenza subtype H3N2 as directed by the Centre, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said. He said the government will ensure that the directives of the Union Health Ministry are strictly implemented. Goa has not reported any confirmed H3N2 cases so far this year. I will be addressing a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) in the presence of the Health Secretary, officials from the Health Department and Goa Medical College and Hospital to discuss monitoring of the Influenza A virus subtype H3N2, Rane tweeted on Monday night. He said directives of the Union Health Ministry will be strictly implemented and a review meeting will be held once a week on the same. The Union Health Ministry had issued directives to various states regarding the H3N2 virus.