Page 3 - Government Of India

Amit Shah unveils policy to set up one cooperative unit in every village

The policy aimed to strengthen grassroots cooperative units and ensure inclusive growth, especially among villages, farmers, women, Dalits, and tribal communities

Jal Jeevan Mission hit by water scarcity, terrain, and fund delays: Govt

Water scarcity, difficult terrain, and delays in state funding are among the key hurdles slowing down the government's flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) that aims to provide tap water to every rural household, Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. The deadline of Jal Jeevan Mission was extended from 2024 to 2028 in the last budget. In a written response, Minister of State for Jal Shakti V. Somanna said several states have reported constraints such as lack of dependable water sources in drought-prone and desert regions, groundwater contamination, scattered rural habitations, and delays in obtaining statutory clearances. Rising construction costs and limited technical capacity at the local level have further impacted the pace of implementation, he said. Some states have also failed to release their matching share of funds on time, leading to bottlenecks in ongoing projects. To overcome these issues, Somanna said the Centre has launched initiatives like the Nal Jal Mitra programme to t

CAG loss estimate on BSNL-RJIL deal misread, correction done: MoS Telecom

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India estimates on losses to BSNL from Reliance Jio Infocomm was based on the misinterpretation of a clause on add-on technology, and it has been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The CAG report tabled in Parliament in April had said the government suffered a loss of Rs 1,757.56 crore as state-owned telecom firm BSNL failed to bill Reliance Jio for 10 years since May 2014 as per their agreement on passive infrastructure sharing. "BSNL has Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with M/s RJIL, for leasing of BSNL's tower infrastructure to install their equipment. There is no revenue loss to BSNL and government. The estimate of CAG was based on the misinterpretation of the clause of add-on technology, which has now been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner. BSNL has since raised the revised invoices from RJIL," Minister of State for Telecom, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in the Lok Sabha in

Railways gave 45% subsidy on passenger travel in FY24, says govt

The Indian Railways provisionally spent Rs 60,466 crore in subsidy, 45 per cent of the cost of passenger travel, in the financial year 2023-24, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave the information in response to the questions raised by several MPs on the recent rail fare hike. Vaishnaw said the Indian Railways provides affordable transportation service to more than 720 crore passengers and its fares are among the lowest in the world, even when compared with neighbouring countries. "The total amount of subsidy given in FY 2023-24 on passenger travel is provisionally estimated at Rs. 60,466 Crore. This amounts to a 45% subsidy on the cost of passenger travel," Vaishnaw informed the lower house in a written reply. He said the rail fares were "rationalized" with effect from July 1 this year after a gap of more than five years. "The increase in fares is very low, ranging from half paise per km to two paise per km for premium classes," h

BEML wins ₹185.65 cr order from govt for 79 indigenous bulldozers

State-owned BEML on Friday announced it has bagged a government order worth Rs 185.65 crore for supply of 79 units of bulldozers. The company has bagged the order from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), BEML said in an exchange filing. "BEML Ltd secures MoD order worth Rs 185.65 crore for the supply of 79 units of its flagship Power Angling & Tilting (PAT) bulldozers," it said. The new order follows the company's successful execution of an earlier contract for 66 bulldozers, all of which were delivered well within the stipulated timeline. "This order reinforces our steadfast commitment to the Government of India's 'Make in India' initiative and our resolve to equip the nation's armed forces with reliable, high-quality, and indigenously developed solutions," Shantanu Roy, Chairman & Managing Director of BEML Ltd, said. BEML, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, operates in three verticals - construction and mining, rail and metro, and defence and aerospace.

DFCCIL Exam City Intimation Slip 2025 released, admit card date out

The DFCCIL has released the exam timetable for the MTS, Executive, and other posts. The exam will be held on July 10 and 11 in multiple shifts. The admit cards will be out on July 7, 2025, at 11 am

Centre recommends 7 states to adopt common board after poor exam outcomes

The Ministry of Education has recommended seven states to adopt a common board for classes 10 and 12 after an analysis by the School Education Department flagged that these states accounted for 66 per cent of student failures last year, officials said. The seven states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. There are a total of 66 school examination boards in the country, including three national-level boards and 63 state-level boards (54 regular and 12 open boards), While the top 33 boards cover 97 per cent of students, the remaining 33 boards cover just 3 per cent of students. "Common board for class 10 and 12 is the way forward for ease of schooling. Not having a common board leads to poor academic outcomes. We have recommended these states to adopt a common board," School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said. A total of 22.17 lakh students failed Class 10, and 20.16 lakh failed Class 12 across the country in 2024. While the numbers hav

Govt proposes to repeal 141-year-old Explosives Act, 1884 to bring new law

The government has proposed to repeal the 141-year-old Explosives Act of 1884 and introduce a new law stating that the existing legislation is based on the old British pattern and is not adequately meeting the country's growing requirements. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has sought comments and suggestions from the general public, industry associations and other entities concerned on the proposal before July 17 this year. It said the Explosives Act, 1884 is a pre-constitutional act and it was comprehensively modified in 1978. Many large and small companies began to manufacture high explosives after independence. "It is observed that the Explosives Act, 1884, which is based on the old British pattern and is not adequately meeting the country's growing requirements and development in the explosive sector thereby resulted in difficulties for the industry," the DPIIT's note for public and stakeholder consultations said. To remove shortcomings in t

India declares Pakistani official persona non grata, second in a month

The Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission was issued a demarche to this effect today

Krishnamurthy Subramanian's termination was India's call, says IMF

Sources said the reasons for Subramanian's termination included alleged impropriety in using his position to promote and publicise his latest book India@100

Vodafone Idea to amend shareholders' pact to let promoters keep control

Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea on Friday said its board has approved an amendment in shareholders' agreement to enable promoters Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group to retain governance and management rights in the company notwithstanding the increased government's stake at 48.99 per cent. The company will convene an extraordinary general meeting on June 3 to seek shareholder's nod for the same, according to a regulatory filing. "The Board of Directors at its meeting held today i.e. on 2 May 2025 have inter-alia resolved to...amend certain clauses of the Shareholders' Agreement (to which the Company is a party) so as to modify, amongst others, the 'Qualifying Threshold' from 13 per cent to 10 per cent and, solely for this purpose, to disregard the equity shares originally issued to the Government of India," the filing said. Pursuant to the government increasing stake from 22.6 to 48.99 per cent in Vodafone Idea, the shareholding of the Aditya Birla group companies and the Vodafone grou

Bank of Maharashtra Q4 results: Net profit rises 23% to ₹1,493 crore

Total income increased to ₹7,711 crore during the quarter under review against ₹6,488 crore in the same period of the previous year

Improved prospects, attractive valuation for oil marketing companies

OMCs hold 45 days inventory priced at around $75 per barrel crude

Assam APSC recruitment 2025: Application invited online for 195 posts

Assam Public Service Commission has declared the online application window for Agricultural Development Officer posts under the state's Agriculture Department. Applications are accepted until April 17

Paytm, DPIIT partner to support fintech startups with mentorship & funding

This support initiative is aimed at fostering innovation and accelerating the growth of manufacturing and fintech startups in India

Govt opposes lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers, defends 6-year period

In this matter, the Supreme Court observed that there is an "apparent conflict of interest" in allowing a law-breaker to be a lawmaker

Govt offices in Delhi to stay closed on Feb 12 for 'Guru Ravidas Jayanti'

In honor of Guru Ravidas Jayanti, Delhi LG declares February 12 a holiday for all government offices, independent bodies, and public projects in the National Capital Territory of Delhi

Govt to share selected data, maps from PM Gati Shakti with pvt sector: FM

The government on Saturday announced to provide certain data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal to the private sector, a decision which could help them optimize last-mile delivery services and develop infrastructure-based applications. PM Gati Shakti national master plan initiative was launched in October 2021 for integrated and planned development of critical infrastructure projects to reduce logistics costs. "For furthering PPPs (public private partnerships) and assisting the private sector in project planning, access to relevant data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal will be provided," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. Using these data layers like track length details, railway stations, DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor), Good Sheds, national and state highways/ district layers, MMLPs (Multi Modal Logistics Parks), ware houses, existing airports from different ministries will help private sector to optimize last mile delivery services, ...

What is 'One Nation, One Time' and how will it benefit the country? Details

The Indian government has drafted comprehensive rules mandating use of Indian Standard Time (IST) across platforms to streamline timekeeping

Take decision on Balwant Singh's mercy petition by March 18: SC asks Centre

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to take a decision by March 18 on the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination case of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. "We are granting you time by way of a last chance. Either you take a decision or otherwise we will hear it on merits," a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre. The bench, also comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and K V Viswanathan, was hearing Rajoana's plea seeking directions to commute his death sentence to life term due to the "inordinate delay" in deciding his mercy petition. At the outset, Mehta referred to the sensitivity involved in the matter and said the mercy petition was under consideration. He requested the bench to grant six weeks time. Rajoana's counsel told the bench that he has spent around 29 years in jail. "We will hear it on merits on March 18," the bench said, adding, "By