Page 43 - Centre

Kapil Sibal tears into Centre, claims misuse of anti-defection law

The anti-defection statute, which was brought into force in 1985, was made stricter in 2002 to prevent political switchovers

Stress fund SWAMIH to help complete 80,000 homes in next 3 yrs: SBICAP

The government-backed stress fund for realty sector 'SWAMIH' has helped in completion of 20,577 homes so far and another 80,000 units will be delivered in the next three years. SBICAP Ventures is managing the SWAMIH (Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing), which was set up in 2019 by the government to complete stalled projects. The total size of the SWAMIH Invest Fund-I is Rs 15,530 crore, out of which Rs 10,000 crore has been infused by the Centre. Addressing realtors' body NAREDCO's conference on real estate, Irfan A Kazi, chief investment officer of SWAMIH Investment Fund, SBICAP Ventures Ltd, on Friday said about Rs 10,000 crore has been sanctioned so far and Rs 5,000 crore is still left. He highlighted that the SWAMIH fund has helped in completion of 20,577 housing units across 26 projects. The total funding in these projects were to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore. Kazi said the target is to complete about 80,000 homes over the next three years. He highlighted that

Govt to bring law to curb child abuse material on internet: Minister

The government is working on a Digital India Act to incorporate new rules for stopping internet-aided circulation of illegal, criminal and child sexual abuse material, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said on Friday. Addressing a conference on 'Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)', hosted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at the Vigyan Bhawan here, the minister of state for electronics and information technology, said this will make internet service providers (ISPs) and other intermediaries more accountable for hosting offensive content. He said the existing Information Technology Act does not address the challenges of the present times. "Hence, the government formed the IT Rules, 2021, and amended it in 2022 to make intermediaries liable, and it is also proposing to bring a digital technology law," Chandrashekhar said. The minister said the government is committed to encouraging the use of internet by people as a tool for their empowerment but it also wants it to be

Centre to get industry partners under SAMARTH scheme for skill development

The government plans to rope in more industry partners to increase the pace of training under its flagship SAMARTH scheme for skill development in the textile sector, a senior official said on Friday. The government aims to make the country's textile sector worth USD 250 billion by 2030 from USD 150-155 billion at present. "To have this kind of growth, it is extremely important that we also have a skilled manpower available," Textile Secretary Rachna Shah said. Addressing a press conference here, she said that more than 85 per cent of the 1.5 lakh beneficiaries trained so far under the scheme are women. Over 70 per cent of the beneficiaries trained in organised sector courses have been provided placement, she added. "Out of the skilling target of 3.47 lakh beneficiaries allocated so far, 1.5 lakh beneficiaries have been provided training," she said. The SAMARTH scheme is being implemented till FY2024 ending March next year. To continue with the momentum of the scheme and to incr

Centre committed to making policies for self-reliant India: Subhas Sarkar

Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar Friday said that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is committed to create systems, processes and policies aimed at developing a self-reliant country. Interacting with students from other states who are in Arunachal Pradesh as part of Yuva Sangam' in Namsai district, Sarkar said that the idea of a sustained and structured cultural connection between the people of different regions was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yuva Sangam' under Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' is a programme launched by the Centre with focus on conducting exposure tours of youth between the eight northeastern states and other states of the country, an official communiqu said. Addressing the students, the minister said because of this initiative they were in the beautiful state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is full of diversity. During their tours, they will have a multi-dimensional exposure under five broad areas Paryatan' (tourism), parampara' ...

Centre fixes wheat procurement target at 34.15 million tonnes for 2023-24

The government has fixed a wheat procurement target of 34.15 million tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year starting April, higher than 18.79 million tonnes purchased in the previous year. The target was fixed in the meeting of state food secretaries held alongside state food ministers' conference here to discuss procurement arrangements. The meeting was chaired by Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra. Out of the total wheat procurement target for the 2022-23 marketing year (April-March), Punjab will aim to procure 2.5 million tonnes wheat, Haryana 1.5 million tonnes and Madhya Pradrsh 2 million tonnes, the food ministry said in a statement. Wheat procurement had declined last year due to a fall in domestic production and higher exports. However, the government has projected a record wheat production at 112.18 million tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) as per the second estimate of the agriculture ministry. Besides wheat, the government has also fixed rabi (winter) rice procureme

It's amazing DMRC, formed by two govts, has no money: Delhi High Court

Attaching DMRC's assets for award will bring Delhi to a halt, Centre tells HC

Centre suspends FCRA licence of think tank CPR amid I-T searches

According to the report, officials said that CPR's licence was revoked recently over non-compliance with FCRA norms.

Top headlines: Apple creates new jobs, India's derivate bond trade at risk

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Advertisement disclosures should be displayed prominently, says govt

The Centre on Monday said disclosures in advertisements should be displayed prominently and not in the form of hashtags or links, in the interest of consumers. Virtually delivering a keynote address at an event organised by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in Mumbai on Monday, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh also stressed the importance of conducting social media advertising responsibly at a time when there are 50 crore social media users in India. There is a need for influencers and celebrities to disclose any material connections with advertisers that may affect the credibility of their representation, Singh said. "Disclosures must be hard to miss and not mixed with a group of hashtags or links," he noted. For endorsements in pictures, the secretary said disclosures should be superimposed over the image, and for endorsements in videos, disclosures should be made in both audio and video formats. In live streams, disclosures should be continuously ...

Keeping tabs: Centre mulls cybersecurity test for public CCTV buys

Railways seeks Niti Aayog intervention, citing national security

Vedanta-Hindustan Zinc deal worry may hit divestment plan for FY23

Centre's opposition to the Vedanta-HZL deal is on account of valuation and the deal being a related-party transaction

Bengal govt to get Rs 2,400 cr from Centre under Samagra Shiksha Mission

Sources from the state education department said after every Union budget the Centre discusses with the state governments on the allocations under different centrally-sponsored schemes

Development of Karnataka top priority of Centre, state govt, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the development of Karnataka has been a top priority of the ruling BJP whereas those running the previous dispensations in the state used to divert its money outside. He also said his government has worked for India's progress by taking along traditions as well as technology. "There was a time when people after forming government in Karnataka would take its money outside. Today, the country's money and resources are honestly directed towards Karnataka's development," he said after inaugurating the "Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava" cultural festival here. Today the development of Karnataka is a top priority for the country and for the government of Karnataka, he said. The prime minister said the state annually got Rs 11,000 crore between 2009 and 2014 when the Congress-led UPA was in power, while it has risen to Rs 30,000 crore under his government. While the state received a total of only Rs 4,000 crore for railway projects in the five

Centre releases Rs 22.20 cr for treatment of patients with rare diseases

The Union Health ministry has released Rs 22.20 crore for 134 patients undergoing treatment for rare diseases at eight designated hospitals since the guidelines for providing financial aid to such patients were issued last August. On May 19, the ministry increased the financial support from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for patients belonging to all categories of rare diseases, and on August 11 issued guidelines to grant financial aid to such patients under the National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021. According to officials, the number of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) designated for treating those with rare diseases like Gaucher Disease, Tyrosinemia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and others have also been increased from eight to eleven. The 11 CoEs are AIIMS, New Delhi, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting an

Centre's wheat procurement to be normal next season: FCI chairman

According to FCI data, the corporation has so far managed to sell roughly 1.8 mt of wheat, of the earmarked 3 mt, in the first three auctions that are about 60 per cent of the allocated quantity

Centre approves order for mandatory certification of cotton bale

The government on Wednesday said it has approved the Quality Control Order for mandatory certification of cotton bales to augment the supply of good quality cotton to the textile industry. The decision was taken at the fifth interactive meeting with the Textile Advisory Group here on Tuesday evening to review the progress of initiatives for cotton value chain. Minister for Textiles and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal presided over the meeting. He pointed out that the quality of Indian cotton fibre is beneficial for farmers and industry both. He approved the Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales under specification No. IS12171: 2019-Cotton Bales to augment supply of good quality cotton to the textile industry, an official statement said. The minister stressed that branding of Indian cotton will add great value to the entire cotton value chain from farmers to end users. The Cotton Corporation of India and TEXPROCIL signed an MoU on December 15, ...

Centre to auction lithium reserves found in Jammu by June: Report

The discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of the metal in Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir has made India the seventh-largest holder of lithium reserves

Punjab govt to ask Centre to regulate prices of non-scheduled medicines

The Punjab government will soon write a letter to the Centre to bring the prices of non-scheduled medicines under control, according to a decision taken at a meeting convened by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Tuesday. The move is aimed at stopping the fleecing of the public due to the exorbitant rates of medicines, an official statement said. Sandhwan said that drug price fixing is the central government subject and "licensed loot of patients has been legalized in the current system". "Finding an immediate solution to this very sensitive issue of the people's lives is the need of the hour. The Union government should immediately look into this matter and amend the law so that patients' loot could be stopped at once," he said, as per the statement. During the meeting, MLAs, health experts, doctors and representatives of various NGOs spoke about the actual rate and maximum retail prices of the medicines, showing the difference in prices of up to 90 per cent along with

Govt to offload 2 million tonnes more wheat in open market to cool prices

The proposal to add wheat stocks in the open market was taken by a group of ministers, sources said