Page 28 - Indian Government

India to showcase digital initiatives under e-governance to world: Official

Union Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma on Wednesday said the G20 presidency will provide India an opportunity to showcase its digital initiatives under e-governance to the outside world. Speaking at the two-day silver jubilee edition of national conference on e-Governance here, Sharma, Secretary for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said many countries in the world are looking at India, which has successfully implemented various e-governance initiatives. The conference, "Bringing Citizens, Industry and Government closer", was organised by the department of administrative reforms and public grievances in association with MeitY and Jammu and Kashmir government. "India is taking over the G20 presidency, which is a historic moment for the country and all of us. During the presidency tenure, the country will host about 200 events in 32 sectors at 55 locations, a couple of which will be held in Jammu and Kashmir," Sharma said. He said states and the Union territori

India considers selling small stakes in its mammoth coal, zinc miners

The government is looking to sell 5%-10% in Coal India Ltd, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd via the so-called offer-for-sale mechanism

SC issues notice to Centre on pleas seeking recognition of gay marriage

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and Attorney General R Venkataramani on two pleas by gay couples seeking a direction that their marriage be recognised under the special marriage law. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli heard the brief submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi before issuing the notices on the pleas. Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Liberty to serve the central agency. Notice be also issued to the Attorney General for India, the bench said. The pleas sought direction seeking recognition of the marriage of two gay couples under the the Special Marriage Act. One plea was filed by gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang who live in Hyderabad. The second plea was filed by gay couple Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj. They seek a direction that the right to marry a person of one's choice be extended to persons belonging to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and Queer). The plea sa

RBI MPC blames global factors for high inflation in letter to Centre

The war in Ukraine and resultant spurts in energy and food costs, and supply disruptions caused by the pandemic are among main reasons cited by RBI for high inflation

India's actions guided by essence of human equality: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday said India doesn't believe in a world order where a few are considered superior to others and asserted the country's actions are guided by the essence of human equality and dignity that is part of its ancient ethos. In his address at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2022 held here, he also said India has always seen security and prosperity as a "collective pursuit" of the entire humankind. "It is my firm belief that if security becomes a truly collective enterprise, then we can think of creating a global order that is beneficial for all of us," Singh said. The defence minister said that now "we require to elevate the paradigm of collective security" to a level of shared interests and shared security. "India believes in a multi-aligned policy which is realised through diverse engagements through multiple stakeholders so that views and concerns of all can be discussed and addressed for prosperity for all," Singh said. To talk of the ...

Union labour ministry summons Amazon India over recent layoffs by company

The Union Labour Ministry has summoned Amazon India to appear before the deputy chief labour commissioner in Bengaluru in connection with the alleged forced terminations by the company

Centre to launch month-long campaign against gender-based violence today

The Centre is set to roll out a nationwide campaign on Friday to sensitise women, especially in rural areas, about gender-based violence and make them aware of various institutional mechanisms available to help them. 'Nai Chetna', the month-long campaign envisioned as a 'Jan Andolan' (people's movement), will be launched by Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh at an event here to mark International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. "It is sad that a large number of men and women still consider gender-based violence normal. Such a perspective needs to be changed. "To bring the change, we are going to start a month-long campaign against gender-based discrimination and violence with a focus on rural areas," Rural Development Ministry Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha told reporters on Thursday. "It is a people's campaign, triggered and mobilised by the (Union) government. The idea is to bring the issue of gender-based violence in focus and make women .

EC appointment case: 'Hold your mouth', Centre's lawyer tells the SC

The Supreme Court questioned the "haste" and "tearing hurry" in appointing Arun Goel as Election Commissioner

India receives wide praise at UNSC for counter-terror leadership

India has received wide praise for its leadership of the UN Security Council and for guiding the adoption of the Delhi Declaration on fighting terrorists using emerging technologies

One who wants to serve country will never become Agniveer: Akhilesh Yadav

Raking up the Agnipath scheme once again, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the one who wants to serve the country will "never want to become Agniveer"

Mystery of the missing millions: Why UN projects higher India population

Its estimate of India's population by the end of the decade is 41 mn higher than TGPP's 1.47 billion

Delhi HC stays govt order limiting use of herbicide glyphosate for 3 months

Directs Centre to review decision with all stakeholders in the interim and come out with a solution

Received 55,497 requests for user data from Indian government: Meta

India with 55,497 requests was once again second only to the US in terms of asking Meta to provide user data in the first half of this year

India addresses food security in Yemen by prioritising wheat exports

Highlighting India's humanitarian assistance to Yemen, India's representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi took steps to address food security in Yemen by prioritizing wheat exports

1.6 mn jobs being generated by Centre every month: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Highlighting the Centre's efforts in creating employment opportunities, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that about 16 lakh jobs are being generated every month by the central government

India's digital personal-data protection bill puts privacy at risk

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill is a more forceful attempt to legislate a Chinese-style surveillance state in the world's largest democracy

Govt preparing 'coking coal mission' to diversify raw material sources: Min

The government is preparing a 'coking coal mission' to diversify the sources of key steel making raw material, for which the country is heavily dependent on imports, according to Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The mission is part of the government's efforts to reduce dependence on imports for coking coal and increase use of locally available coal in the steel making through gasification process, the steel minister told PTI in an interview. "We (the government) are in the process of making it (coking coal mission). It is the coal ministry's purview," Scindia said in response to a question on the government's initiative towards increasing the availability of raw material in the country. India imports around 90 per cent of its coking coal requirement. The coal produced within the country has high ash content, the minister said. Coal with high ash content is not suitable for steel making through the blast furnace route. "So what we are looking at through the coking coal mission

Congress slams govt over rise in NPAs, questions 'unbridled powers' to PSBs

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that NPAs have risen by 365 percent under the Modi government and questioned why "unbridled powers" were being given to PSU banks to "sell off assets at throwaway prices". Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said 38 wilful defaulters have fled the country after swindling banks and asked the government on its plans to bring them back. She claimed that the BJP does not contest elections on issues or its report card but on the face of the prime minister, and said it must answer questions on the rise in non performing assets (NPAs) and loans being written off. "The BJP or the prime minister never contests polls on issues and seeks votes on its report card as they never work. Every election is being contested on the personal background of the prime minister. But, who will answer as to why big haircuts are being given by banks," she told reporters at a press conference. The Congress leader said 61 percent of the fiscal deficit can be funded by this writ

Panel may recommend 28% GST on online gaming, tweak in calculation method

Currently, online gaming attracts 18 per cent GST. The tax is levied on gross gaming revenue, which is the fees charged by online gaming portals

India's big plans for cleaner aviation fuel face a string of hurdles

in Dehradun, scientists are working with partners including Boeing Co. to get global approvals for their biofuel, which is made from waste cooking oil and the seeds of plants