Page 9 - Government

Professionals registered on MCA21 portal to have single ID, says govt

The government has started the process for deactivating multiple login IDs that are in the name of a single company secretary, chartered accountant or cost accountant on the MCA21 portal, which is the platform for submitting statutory filings under the companies and LLP laws. In this regard, the corporate affairs ministry has issued a circular and professionals, who are having multiple IDs, need to get approval from their respective apex institutes for deactivating the IDs so that there is only one ID for one user, according to officials. Professionals refer to company secretaries, chartered accountants and cost accountants. The move comes as Version 3 (V3) of the portal is being operationalised. Under V3, a professional can have only one login ID whereas in V2, multiple IDs were allowed. For instance, a company secretary having multiple log IDs on the MCA21 portal need to get approval from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for deactivating the multiple IDs. In

Govt reduces price of subsidised tomato to Rs 70 from Rs 80 per kg

The Union government has reduced prices of subsidised tomatoes to Rs 70 per kilogramme from Thursday from Rs 80 per kg now to provide relief to common man from high retail prices. The Centre is selling tomatoes to people at a subsidised rate of Rs 80 a kg in Delhi-NCR and some other key cities through the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). The all-India average retail prices of tomatoes is ruling at nearly 120 per kg, although the key kitchen item is selling as high as Rs 245 per kg at some places. In the national capital, the rate has come down to Rs 120 per kg. "The Department of Consumer Affairs has directed NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at retail price of Rs 70 per kg rate from July 20, 2023 in view of the declining trend in tomato prices," an official statement said. The tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED had been retailed, initially, at Rs 90 per kg and then reduced to

Data protection bill: Govt mulls exempting startups from data sharing rules

Only government-notified data fiduciaries and data processing entities will be exempted when it comes to data collection and data sharing

Average tomato prices in Delhi drop to Rs 150 per kg, says govt data

Tomato prices in the retail markets of the national capital declined to an average Rs 150 per kg on Monday from Rs 178 per kg on Sunday, according to the government data. However, e-commerce players such as Amazon, Big Basket and Otipy are selling tomatoes at Rs 170-190 per kg in Delhi-NCR. Blinkit is selling at Rs 138 per kg. The Centre is selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 80 per kg in Delhi-NCR and some other cities through the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). As per the data compiled by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the all-India average retail prices of tomatoes was Rs 120.29 per kg while the maximum price was Rs 237 per kg at Hapur. The minimum retail price was Rs 47 per kg while the modal price was Rs 120 per kg. Among other metros, tomatoes were selling at Rs 155 per kg in Mumbai, Rs 132 per kg in Chennai and Rs 143 per kg in Kolkata. In Delhi's Paschi

Govt orders inspection of Byju's amid financial, corp governance concerns

The corporate affairs ministry has ordered an inspection of the books of BYJU'S, a senior government official said on Monday amid the edtech major facing multiple headwinds, including delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues. The inspection of Bengaluru-based Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand BYJU'S, will be carried out by the ministry, which is implementing the companies law. The ministry decided to carry out the inspection after taking note of the developments, including that the company has been unable to finalise its financial statements and that its auditor has resigned, the official told PTI. Earlier this month, the ministry asked the office of the Regional Director in Hyderabad to conduct an inspection of the company, which is registered in Bengaluru, the official said. The official also said that further course of action will be decided after receiving the inspection report. A query sent to BYJU'S seeking ..

Netherlands' coalition govt collapses over disagreement on asylum policy

The government was formed a year-and-a-half ago, but parties have been diametrically opposed to migration policy, said the report

Govt to set its own standards on artificial sweeteners: FSSAI advisor

The IARC report is expected to come out on July 14, a development that could have a far-reaching impact on the consumption of low-sugar beverages and foods

Steps initiated for delivering of citizen-centric services: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said the government has initiated steps for ease of governance to facilitate delivery of citizen-centric services for the common man's welfare. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has launched Mission Karmayogi and mid-career training programmes that are aimed at training officers for the priorities of Amrit Kaal and equipping them to contribute to the making of an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' with the optimum use of new technology, he said. Addressing the inaugural session of the 49th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) here, Singh said the government has initiated steps for the ease of doing business and ease of governance to facilitate delivery of citizen-centric services for the welfare of the common man. The minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions said the government amended the Prevention of Corruption Act i

Govt constructing expressways with investment of Rs 4.5 trn: Gadakri

The government is constructing several greenfield expressway projects totalling 10,000 km across the country at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Monday. The road, transport and highways minister said the road network is being set up under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has generated more than Rs 70,000 crore through various models of financing and the amount will be utilsed to build highway projects, he noted. "The government has conceptualized Bharatmala Pariyojna of 65,000 km of highway development across the country. The phase 1 road network is of 34,800 km... We are constructing 10,000 km of greenfield expressways at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh crore," he said addressing an event on 'Management Development Program on Infrastructure Financing' organised by IIM Kozhikode. According to the minister, India's total National Highway (NH) network has increased from 91,000 km in 2014 to nearly 1.45 lakh km at ...

UCC draft ready to be submitted to govt, says panel head Ranjana Desai

Draft of the proposed Uniform Civil Code for Uttarakhand is complete and would soon be submitted to the state government, Justice (retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai said on Friday. Desai, who heads the committee of experts set up by the Uttarakhand government last year, said the panel has drafted the code taking into account all shades of opinions and looking into various statutes and uncodified laws, including the statutory framework in select countries. "It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that the drafting of the proposed uniform civil code for Uttarkahnd is now complete," Desai told a press conference here. "The report of the committee along with the draft code would soon be printed and submitted to the government of Uttarakhand," she added.

GST an engine for driving consumption, helped household save on bills: Govt

Goods and Services Tax (GST) has acted as an engine for driving domestic consumption and helped households save on monthly bills since its implementation six years ago, the government said on Friday.. Giving a comparison of the tax rates of various goods pre and post-GST rollout, the government said from streamlining processes to boosting investments, GST has been a catalyst for progress. "The implementation of GST has made it easier for taxpayers to comply with tax law and this can be seen in the fact that the number of registered taxpayers has increased from 1.03 crore that enrolled into GST by April 1, 2018 to 1.36 crore by April 1, 2023," the office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted. A nationwide GST, which subsumed 17 local levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT and 13 cesses, was rolled out at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017. Under GST a four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low rate of 5 per cent tax on essential items and a top rate of 28 p

Made effort to remove India from UN report on children in armed clash: Govt

The government was consistently making efforts to exclude India from the UN's annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, the Women and Child Development Ministry has said after the country did not feature in the report for the first time since 2010. The United Nations has removed India from its annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them. In a statement, the Women and Child Development Ministry said, "The ongoing engagement of the Government of India with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General sped up after an inter-ministerial meeting in November 2021." The meeting was attended by Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development Indevar Pandey, Ministry of External Affairs, Permanent Mission of India at New York, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and the UN officials in New Delhi. The m

Uttarakhand CM lays foundation for Aroma Park in Kashipur, allots plot

The Uttarakhand government implemented the Aroma Park Policy 2018, under which 46 industries related to aroma and perfumery are being established in Sidkul Kashipur

Negotiating with Centre for rice for Anna Bhagya scheme: K'taka CM

A day after the Centre refused to give rice to Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the state has invited quotations from three central agencies to supply rice for the Anna Bhagya scheme offering five kg extra rice to the BPL families. He said the negotiations for prices were underway with these agencies. He also slammed the Centre for refusing to provide rice to his government for the scheme which is one of the five guarantees, that was supposed to start immediately after the Congress came to power in Karnataka. "What we have done is we have sought quotations from the National Consumers' Cooperative Federation (NCCF), Kendriya Bhandar and National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED). They have given us quotation," the Chief Minister told reporters. He said, "We are negotiating with them. Today the negotiations will happen. After that we will get to know the quantity, quality and price of rice will be decided." When asked about purchasing from t

Coal Ministry nod to hike in wage of Coal India non-executive employees

The Coal Ministry has said it approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for non-executive employees of Coal India Limited. The agreement provides for a 19 per cent of minimum guaranteed benefit from July 1, 2021, on emoluments - basic, Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA), Special Dearness Allowance (SDA) and attendance bonus besides a 25 per cent increase in allowances. In a communication to Coal India, the ministry said, "The MoA (memorandum of agreement) for NCWA-XI as signed by Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Limited and trade union representatives, has been confirmed." The agreement was reached in May by the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI)-XI consisting of representatives of CIL management, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), five central trade unions - BMS, HMS, AITUC, CITU and Indian National Mine Workers' Federation (INMF). The agreement will benefit around 2.81 lakh employees of CIL & SCCL who ...

Mandatory footwear quality standards to come into force from July 1

It was also informed that the BIS has revised five standards on footwear specifications, and the industry has been given an additional time of six months till January 1, 2024, to comply with the QCOs

I have very good working relationship with govt: Bengal Governor Bose

West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said he has an "excellent working relationship" with the Mamata Banerjee government despite "agreements and disagreements." Bose said there have been discussions between him and the state government on sensitive issues, but every time they were held "respecting each other's turf". In an interview with PTI at the Raj Bhavan, Bose said his primary goal is the welfare of West Bengal's people and he never faced any hurdles from the state government. "I have a very good working relationship with the state government. There can be agreements and disagreements. There can also be divergence of interests and priorities. That's what keeps the government going. We discuss sensitive issues but always maintain the Lakshman Rekha' and never try to redraw it," Bose said. The 'Lakshman Rekha', as depicted in the Ramayana, is a line drawn by Lakshman around their dwelling where he was staying with his elder brother Rama and sister-in-law Sita in th

Govt may come out with logistics cost estimate by Sept: DPIIT Official

The government is working on a framework to assess the logistics cost in the country and is expected to get a realistic estimate by September, a senior DPIIT official said on Friday. At present, the government is going by certain estimates, which suggest that India's logistics cost stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product). Special Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sumita Dawra said that the government is coming out with its logistics cost framework. The framework would include elements of this cost and how to measure that. "So our framework is being done with the help of our technical partner and it's almost done. But then we have to calculate and I think by the month of September, we will have realistic logistics costs in the country. We will define what are the components and we will have our own estimates," she said while speaking at CII's conclave on trade facilitation. Logistics cost plays a ke

Govt should scrap anti-tobacco warning rules for OTTs: Prahlad Kakkar

The government should scrap the amendment made to display anti-tobacco warnings on content on entertainment apps as it is impractical to implement the rule, advertisement guru Prahlad Kakkar said on Friday. The health ministry on May 31 notified amendments in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023. The rule mandates the inclusion of anti-tobacco health spots, warnings and disclaimers by publishers of online curated content or OTT Platforms in audio-visual programmes depicting the use of cigarettes and tobacco products. "I think it is impractical. I do not think it is applicable or effective or practical. There is no question of rolling back. it is about scrapping," Kakkar said during a panel discussion organised by a think tank. He said that the rule has been made to curtail OTT platforms. Kakkar alleged the government of adopting double standards and s

Govt's relationship with media platform is simply via prism of laws: MoS IT

The government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and therefore there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said. The platforms have to respect the Indian laws, the Minister of State for IT and Electronics asserted. Chandrasekhar, who was speaking at the inaugural edition of FinancialExpress.com's Digital Bharat Economy Conclave 2023 on Wednesday, made it clear that the government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and thus there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other. "But we certainly and consistently ask from these platforms to respect the Indian laws," he said. The minister also rebuffed claims of an alleged data breach of the CoWin platform (the Covid vaccination portal). "I would like to emphasise that there was no breach of the CoWin