Page 46 - Centre

Twitter did not appear before Review Committee over takedown orders: Centre

The Central government on Monday submitted its arguments against the petition challenging the blocking orders filed by Twitter in the Karnataka High Court. Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan placed the arguments before the single judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit. On behalf of Twitter, senior advocates Arvind Datar and Ashok Haranahalli had presented the arguments in December 2022. The arguments for the Central government was delayed due to time sought by the Centre's counsels. The ASG informed the court on Monday that Twitter had not appeared before the Review Committee to challenge the blocking orders but instead approached the High Court. The Central government submitted details of the responsibilities of intermediaries like Twitter and the difference between the laws regarding intermediaries in India and the United Kingdom. The court was also given details of the account holders whose Twitter handles were blocked for objectionable content. The format of the

LIVE: Need constant vigil on northern, western borders, coastline: Rajnath

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Centre authorises states to conduct Aadhaar authentication of prisoners

The Centre has authorised state governments to carry out Aadhaar authentication of prison inmates on a voluntary basis so that they will be able to get health care, skilling, vocational training, interview with relatives and legal aid, among other services. In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said the decision has been taken after it was authorised under Rule 5 of the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, for the targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services. The Aadhaar authentication will be carried out on the prison inmates on a voluntary basis using Yes/No authentication facility for delivery of various benefits or facilities to which they are entitled, such as correctional reform measures, health, skilling, vocational training, interview with relatives, legal aid, etc, the notification said. The prison authorities of the states and Union Territory administrations shall adhere to the ...

Extra 1 mn tonnes sugar exports possible if output meets estimate: Govt

India, the world's second largest sugar producing nation after Brazil, has a cushion to export an additional 1 million tonnes of the sweetener if the domestic output reaches an estimated 33.6 million tonnes this year, a senior food ministry official said on Monday. The government will take a call next month on allowing more quantities of sugar exports, after assessing domestic production, he said. Sugar availability is comfortable in the country and as a result wholesale and retail prices of the sweetener are on a decline in the last one month. The food ministry has allowed 6 million tonnes of sugar exports for the current 2022-23 marketing year (October-September). India exported a record 11 million tonnes of sugar in the previous year. "More exports are possible and we have a cushion for exports of additional one million tonnes, suppose the overall production reaches the estimated 33.6 million tonnes this year," the official said. Sugar production has already reached 24.7 milli

Violence against women a hidden issue in country: Rahul at London event

Rahul Gandhi, during an interaction with the Indian diaspora in London, said that he found during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that the main issues in the country are price rise and violence against women

Govt nod to nano liquid DAP important to make farmers' life easy: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the government's approval to nano liquid DAP fertiliser, saying it was an important step towards making life easier for farmers. Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the government has approved the launch of nano liquid DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser for the benefits of farmers and making the country self-reliant. Tagging Mandaviya's tweet on the approval by the government, Modi said in a tweet in Hindi, "An important step towards making life easier for our farmer brothers and sisters." In another tweet, responding to the tweet threads by Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism, Shripad Y Naik, Modi expressed happiness on the construction of National Waterways-68 that has reduced the distance between Panjim to Vasco in Goa by 9 km and the journey can now be completed in just 20 minutes. Modi said that the connectivity between Panjim to Vasco in Goa will provide

Centre saved $27 bn in schemes using DBT method: Economic Affairs secy

India saved over USD 27 billion in key central government schemes through direct benefit transfer as it is swift and eliminates corruption, Ajay Seth, Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs said here on Sunday. Delivering his keynote address at the second meeting of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, Seth said Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), created by India is inherently scalable, interoperable, innovation-friendly, and inclusive and has completely transformed government to people, people to people and people to business interactions. And since the transfers are all direct, end to end, and swift, there is little scope for corruption and leakages and removal of duplicate/ fake beneficiaries. In our own experience, DBT has entailed a saving of more than USD 27 billion just across key central government schemes, the official said. In India, DPI enabled DBT emerged as a boon in providing succour and relief to millions of citizens whose livelihood was impacted. T

Centre should increase Delhi's share of water, says Saurabh Bhardwaj

AAP's national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, who will soon be joining the Delhi cabinet as a minister, said that the city's population has risen manifold since 1994 but its water share has remained unchanged and asked the Centre to increase it. Bhardwaj said the priorities of the AAP government are infrastructure and providing clean water to the residents in Delhi, apart from education and health. "We are trying to beautify stretches of Delhi with street furniture and creation of walking and sitting spaces. At 10 places, one-kilometre-long stretches have been redeveloped. Now the plan is to extend it to the rest of Delhi," he told PTI in an interview. Bhardwaj, who is also the vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, said they have promised that before the next election, Yamuna will be cleaned. "The sewage that goes into Yamuna we will trap it and through different sewage treatment plants and release clean water into the river. Human waste flows into drains from all unauthorised ...

Centre to daily monitor revenue receipts, expenses to check fiscal deficit

From March 1 onwards, the finance ministry has begun monitoring of revenue receipts like tax collections and even expenses, to control fiscal deficit in the current fiscal

'Chhattisgarh govt to carry out survey of beneficiaries for housing scheme'

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said if the Union government did not conduct a survey of eligible beneficiaries for a housing scheme, the state government will carry it out itself. Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor's address in the Legislative Assembly, Baghel said his government was committed to provide pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries. The motion of thanks was passed after discussion. The last Census took place in 2011 and it was necessary to collect information about the changes in the lives of common citizens so that eligible beneficiaries could get the benefit of welfare schemes, the chief minister said. The Union government should ascertain the details of constructed pucca houses, toilets built under the Swachh Bharat mission, benefits under the Ujjwala gas Scheme, 'doubling' of farmers' income, household electrification and the status of employment of beneficiaries of skill development programs in the last 12 ..

Centre to focus on holistic development of Kerala, says Mandaviya

The Union govt has given special focus on holistic development of Kerala, based on the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishvaas, Sabka Prayaas, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

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