Page 48 - Centre

Issue of FCA, FRA clearances to be taken up with Union govt: Himachal CM

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday said his government would take up with the Centre the issue of delay in obtaining Forest Conservation Act (FCA) and Forests Rights Act( FRA) clearances so that developmental projects in the state do not get delayed. Presiding over a forest department meeting here on Tuesday, he said the state government is committed to maintain a balance between development and environment. But development projects of utmost importance like heliports, electric vehicle charging stations and day-boarding schools are affected by the delay in getting FCA and FRA approvals, a statement issued here said. Directing the forest officers to expedite FCA and FRA cases, he said officers will also be held accountable for delays. Earlier, presiding over the 11th meeting of the Himachal Pradesh State Board for Wildlife, Sukhu urged the department to explore tourism potential of activities like water sports and hot air balloon operations in Pong Dam

112,000 daily wage earners committed suicide in 2019-21: Govt to Lok Sabha

A total of 1.12 lakh daily wage earners committed suicide in three years -- 2019 to 2021, Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav said in Lok Sabha on Monday, quoting reports of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Yadav said 66,912 housewives, 53,661 self-employed persons, 43,420 salaried persons and 43,385 unemployed persons also committed suicide during the period. As many as 35,950 students and 31,839 persons engaged in the farming sector such as cultivators and agricultural labourers also committed suicide in three years -- 2019, 2020 and 2021, he said during the Question Hour. The minister said that according to the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008, the government is mandated to provide social security to workers in the unorganised sector, including daily wage workers, by formulating suitable welfare schemes on matters relating to life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, and any other benefit as may be determined by the ...

Sebi probing Hindenburg Research allegations against Adani Group

SC hearing: Govt agrees to form expert panel to strengthen regulatory regime

March heat to shape up wheat output this year in North India: Experts

A significant drop in per hectare yields of wheat for second year this year due to unusually high temperatures could have an impact on Centre's annual wheat procurement plan

Popularisation of millets to boost income of small, marginal farmers: Govt

The government on Saturday said popularisation of millets in the country will lead to increase in the income of small and marginal farmers and urged international organisations, academia and hotel industry to revive the forgotten glory of "miracle millets". The year 2023 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of the Millet, following a proposal by India, which wants to position itself as a global hub for millets. Several initiatives are being undertaken in this regard. Addressing 9th International Chefs Conference organised by the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations here, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said millets are considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa. In India, millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples. "Millets are important by virtue of its mammoth potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers' incom

Govt working to level number of medical UG, PG seats in 4 yrs: Health min

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the government was working to equal the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats within four years so that all MBBS graduates can pursue PG courses. Speaking at the 11th annual conference of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian origin (GAPIO) here, he also invited healthcare professionals from the Indian diaspora to invest in research and open hospital chains in the country with "assured business." More than 70 countries will sign hospital-to-hospital, country-to-country and country-to-hospital MoUs at the 'Heal In India, Heal By India' expo to be held in April-May this year, he said. "When we open a dispensary, we also need doctors. Eight years ago, India had 51,000 MBBS seats. Today, we have 1,00,226 under-graduate seats, and post-graduate seats grew from 34,000 to 64,000," the minister said. "We have set a target to make the number of MBBS UG and PG seats equal so that all our doctors get the ...

Women should be centre of decisions for future-ready society: Smriti Irani

Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said women have to be at the centre of any discourse and decision for a future-ready society. Speaking at the G-20 Empower Inception meeting, the women and child development minister said India is keen to play a key role in finding pragmatic global solutions for the well-being of all and, in doing so, manifest the true spirit of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family). Irani particularly emphasised the scale of India's self-help group (SHG) story and highlighted the importance of women's leadership at the grassroots levels and efforts towards ensuring the availability of banking and financial services to every woman. "If you want to get your future right, if you want to be future-ready, make sure that women are at the centre of the discourse and that women are at the centre of your decisions," the minister said on the first day of the two-day meet. Besides, she also cited the quest for gender justice in India through a gender inclus

India's toy exports touch Rs 1,017 cr during Apr-Dec in FY23: Govt data

The country's toy exports have touched Rs 1,017 crore during April-December period this fiscal, according to the government data. In 2021-22, the exports stood at Rs 2,601 crore. "Made in India toys continue to tap global markets! India's toy exports rose to more than 6 times in April-December 2022 as compared to the same period in 2013," commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet. During April-December 2013-14, the shipments were at Rs 167 crore. The government is taking steps to promote domestic manufacturing and exports of toys from the country and reduce imports from countries like China, which are of low quality. In 2018-19, toys worth Rs 2,960 crore were imported into India. With the philosophy of 'vocal for local', the government took several steps to promote indigenous toys designed on Indian culture and history. The overall import of toys in India reduced by 70 per cent to Rs 870 crore in 2021-22. In February 2020, import duty on toys was raised from 20

Over 13,500 houses connected with running water taps in Kargil: Centre

More than 13,500 households have been connected with functioning water taps under the centrally-sponsored Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Kargil district of Ladakh, an official spokesman said on Saturday. The information was given at a meeting chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Wani as he reviewed the progress on JJM projects in the district, the spokesman said. "Till January 2023, as many as 13,506 households have been connected with FHTCs in Kargil. In 2019, before the start of JJM, only 1,610 households in the district had tap water," the spokesman said. He said that in the meeting the officials reviewed the status of JJM scheme and discussed strategy for "improving Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) coverage, installation of solar water heaters in schools, 100 per cent saturation of villages, and availability of material." Wani also reviewed the physical and financial progress on all JJM projects in the district, and tap connection in .

Govt to start digital philately exhibition through reels: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Department of Posts will start a Digital Philately exhibition where it will show reels or short videos about stamps on social media platforms, Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. During the inaugural session of the five-day National Philatelic Exhibition, Amritpex 2023, the minister said that the digital exhibition will start within 20 days. "We will start Digital Philately Exhibition where information about one stamp per week will be shown on reels," Vaishnaw said. He said that the short video will be made available on Sunday or Monday of every week to show information about stamps. "We will start this within 20 days,' Vaishnaw said. The last National Philatelic Exhibition was organised in 2008. The exhibitors at the event are selected from across the country and the winners at the national exhibition are selected for participation in international philately competition. Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said that the postal

17.64% of exclusive POCSO cases reported conviction: Centre tells Lok Sabha

Conviction was reported in nearly 18 per cent cases in which the accused were booked under the The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the government told Lok Sabha on Friday citing a third party evaluation. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also said fast track special courts have disposed of more than 1, 37,000 cases up to December, 2022. "As per third party evaluation conducted by National Productivity Council, 17.64 per cent of exclusive POCSO cases reported conviction." Regular review meetings have been conducted by the Department of Justice to expedite the robust implementation of the scheme including establishment of remaining fast track special courts.

Public feedback invited on fact check by PIB to boost due diligence: MoS IT

The proposal of fact check by government's media arm Press Information Bureau under the IT Rules has been made with a view to strengthen the due diligence by intermediaries and public feedback has been invited on the same, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said with the expansion of the Internet and more and more Indians coming online, the number of Indians exposed to false and untrue or misleading information available on the Internet has also grown. He said that the centre under Information Technology Act, 2000, has made the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) which cast specific obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to observe due diligence while discharging its duties. The due diligence under the rule includes making reasonable efforts by the intermediaries to check their users from

Average price of wheat flour rose by 31% in 2018-22 period: Centre

Average price of wheat flour rose by 31 per cent and mustard oil by 71 per cent between 2018 and 2022, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Friday. In a written reply, the government shared the average retail prices of about two dozen essential commodities. According to the data, wheat prices rose by 25 per cent since 2018 while the rates of rice increased by 23 per cent in the last five years. In a written reply, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti shared the "year-wise all-India average retail prices of 22 commodities, including atta (wheat flour), rice, onion and potato for the last five years". The minister noted that the government takes various measures from time to time to augment domestic availability and stabilise the prices of essential food commodities. "These steps, inter-alia, include releases from the buffer to cool down prices, imposition of stock limits, monitoring of stocks declared by entities to prevent hoarding as also requis

Centre, probe agencies not going for big fish of global drug syndicates: SC

The Supreme Court Friday said the Centre and investigating agencies are not arresting big fish who are members of international drug syndicates but catching small fish like agriculturists and someone standing at a bus stand in NDPS cases. The remarks of the top court came on a bail plea of an accused who was arrested after opium was found in his fields and has served more than five years in jail. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said, "We must say that the Government of India and the investigating agencies are not arresting big fish. Why don't you go after international drug syndicates? Try to catch them. You are only catching small fish like agriculturists, someone standing at bus stand or other places." The top court was hearing the bail plea of Sabir who was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after opium of commercial quantity was recovered by the police from his agriculture lands. Additiona

Centre says media council may not be desirable; Parl panel makes fresh push

The government has told a parliamentary committee that it "may not be desirable" to set up a unified media council as each media platform was unique and distinctive in its own way with a self-regulatory mechanism, prompting the panel to make a fresh push for such a framework with statutory powers to enforce advisories. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by Shiv Sena member Pratap Jadhav, had suggested to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to have a media council, contending that there were limitations in enforcement of advisories issued by the Press Council of India and News Broadcasting Standards Authority. In an action-taken report on the subject 'Ethical Standards in Media Coverage', the committee said it had opined that the ministry should explore the possibility of establishing a media council encompassing print, electronic and digital media which should be equipped with statutory powers to enforce its orders wher

India's technical textile exports grew 28.4% in 2021-22: Govt to Lok Sabha

In view to boosting the technical textiles sector in the country, the government has set up the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) for a period of 4 years with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crores

OBC appointments in jobs above 27% during 2014-21: Centre to Rajya Sabha

The data on government positions has been collated from information uploaded by different ministries and departments on the Representation of Reserved Categories in Posts and Services (RRCPS) portal

Govt does not interfere with, control social media intermediaries: MoS IT

The government neither controls social media intermediaries nor casts any fetters on the freedom of expression of their users, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that the IT Rules, 2021, cast specific obligations on the intermediaries that no intermediaries shall violate the rights accorded to citizens under the constitution. "The government does not interfere or control social media intermediaries and also does not cast any fetters on freedom of expression on their users. The IT Rules, 2021, casts specific obligations on the intermediaries that no intermediaries shall not violate the rights accorded to citizens under the Constitution," the minister said. He said that the government's objective is to ensure an open, safe, trusted and accountable internet for citizens. In response to a question of whether the government proposes to appoint an officer to hold the accountability o

India ranks first, contributes 24% of global milk production: Govt to LS

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala told Lok Sabha that India is the highest milk producer in the world contributing 24 per cent of global milk production

NEET PG 2023: Govt extends internship deadline for candidates to Aug 11

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday decided to extend the last date of internship completion for to be eligible for NEET PG 2023, to August 11