Page 3 - Indian Government

Agitating ASHA workers in Kerala welcome Centre's reported incentive hike

The ASHA workers in Kerala who have been agitating for the last several months against the state government demanding a hike and post-retirement benefits, on Saturday welcomed the Centre's reported decision to increase their fixed monthly incentive. They said the union government's decision would be beneficial for over 10 lakh ASHA workers in the country. There are media reports that the Centre approved a proposal to hike the fixed monthly incentive of ASHAs from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 during the recent 9th meeting of the Mission Steering Group (MSG). The media also reported that the retirement benefits of the ASHA workers would be increased by the Centre, too. S Mini, state vice president of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA) whose members are carrying out the indefinite agitation in front of the Secretariat here, said they had already carried out two Parliament marches raising the same demand. "We welcome the union government's decision to increase the fixed monthl

TV Somanathan's missive urging officers to meet non-officials sparks debate

While most bureaucrats have welcomed the move, others have expressed cautious optimism. Ruchika Chitravanshi, Sanjeeb Mukherjee & Nivedita Mookerji report

We provided 40 mn houses- that's Japan's entire population: Jaishankar

If you look at the statistics of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna, more people than the population of entire Europe and America get nutrition support every month, EAM added

Banking, other services may be hit with trade unions on strike on Wednesday

On July 9, ten central trade unions will go on strike to protest against the government's failure to conduct the Indian Labour Conference for ten years and the imposition of four controversial labour

Govt officials acting on 'whims and fancies', X tells Karnataka HC

X Corp argues before the Karnataka High Court that arbitrary content blocking under Section 79 of the IT Act by government officers violates constitutional safeguards

Government proposes to open TRP market, invites public feedback by Aug 1

In a bid to encourage competition, the government has proposed to remove entry barriers for companies keen to foray in the sector of television viewership measurement ecosystem. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed amendments to the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies-2014 to ensure that the TRP system reflects the diverse and evolving media consumption habits of viewers across the country. The proposed changes include the deletion of key clauses 1.5 and 1.7 that earlier restricted cross-holdings between rating agencies and broadcasters, advertisers, or advertising agencies. The Ministry has invited feedback on the draft amendments by August 1 from viewers, broadcasters, advertisers or concerned citizens. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is the only agency providing TV ratings, but it does not track connected TV device viewership, despite it being a major trend. Currently, India has approximately 230 million television households.

Lt Gen DS Rana takes over as 23rd Colonel of Garhwal Rifles Regiment

Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command, Lieutenant General D S Rana has taken over as the colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles, officials said on Saturday. The ceremonial handing over of the baton took place at the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre in Lansdowne, Uttarakhand, amid full military honours, the defence ministry said. Lt Gen. Rana succeeds Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General N S Raja Subramani, as he assumes the mantle of the 23rd colonel of the regiment, it said. The ceremony celebrated the proud lineage, valour and time-honoured legacy of one of the Indian Army's most-distinguished infantry regiments, comprising 27 battalions, including a scouts battalion, the ministry said in a statement. During his tenure, Lt Gen. Subramani provided exemplary leadership and strengthened the regimental bond, upholding the highest standards of professionalism and camaraderie that define the Garhwal Rifles, it added. "Lt Gen. Rana, an accomplished leader and ..

Centre to hold meeting of state, UT cooperation ministers on June 30

The Centre will hold a meeting of Cooperation Ministers of all states and Union Territories on June 30 to discuss ways to strengthen the cooperative sector in the country. The 'Manthan Baithak' at Bharat Mandapam here will be chaired by Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. The meeting would discuss all major initiatives of the government, including establishment of 2 lakh new Multi-purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperative societies to strengthen last-mile rural service delivery. A key highlight will be the deliberation on the world's largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector. The meeting will serve as a platform to review progress, exchange views and chart the way forward to achieve the collective goal of strengthening the cooperative sector in the country, an official statement said. It aims to foster a shared understanding and develop a coordinated endeavour to advance the Prime Minister's vision of 'Sahkar Se Samrid

Meity on alert to find Indian data in global breach; asks Cert-In to probe

Meity had issued guidelines on cyber incident timelines in 2022

Operation Sindhu: 110 Indians evacuated from Iran land safely in Delhi

Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran in view of the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel

Five-year bond rally fizzles as yields price in rate cuts, focus shifts

The five-year bond is also trading 15 bps below the policy repo rate of 6 per cent, the deepest inversion in 11 years

Indian PC market to get a booster shot from Tamil Nadu's free laptop scheme

Industry experts say the million-unit tender is likely to give the personal computer market a good bump, but could push value down since the government will want a special prices for such a large orde

Govt cuts EV import tax for firms investing in local manufacturing

The application window for new government scheme will likely open within the next few weeks and will remain open for a minimum of 120 days

Not opting out of Centre's diplomatic mission, clarifies WB CM Mamata

Reaffirming her party's support for the Union government on matters of external affairs, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her party was not boycotting the Centre's multi-party diplomatic mission aimed at countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and would send its representatives once a formal request is received from the Centre. She stressed that the Centre should not decide which party sends whom as part of the delegation. "We were not contacted about this. Nowadays, they only inform the parliamentary party, not the main outfit. The parliamentary party cannot take policy decisions," the West Bengal Chief Minister said at Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal on a three-day official trip. "No request to send a representative's name for the outreach programme came to us. If it had, then of course we could have considered it. We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to count

Fact Check: Govt debunks Pak's claims of striking India's S-400 system

The Government of India issued a detailed report highlighting multiple instances of disinformation detected between May 8 and May 9

Do not travel to Pakistan: US government issues advisory to its citizens

This latest travel advisory for US citizens came after India launched strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan on Wednesday

Six month left, Krishnamurthy Subramanian's term cut short at IMF

Subramanian, who took up the IMF post in November 2022, represented India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. As of May 3, the IMF's website lists the position as vacant

'Pakistan has a past' admits Bilawal Bhutto, marked by waves of extremism

His remarks came shortly after Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also admitted that the country had supported terror groups in the past

India asks IMF to review loans to Pakistan after Pahalgam terror attack

This request comes after a deadly attack on tourists in Phalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which has made tensions worse between the two countries.

Rajesh Agarwal named next commerce secretary, to take charge in October

The government on Friday appointed 1994-batch IAS officer Rajesh Agarwal, additional secretary in the department of commerce, as the next commerce secretary. Agarwal, from Manipur cadre, has been named Special Secretary in the department. He will take over as the secretary after the retirement of Sunil Barthwal on September 30. "The officer will take over as Secretary, Department of Commerce... vice Shri Sunil Barthwal, IAS (BH:89) upon his superannuation on September 30, 2025," a government order said. Agarwal, the chief negotiator for the proposed bilateral trade agreement with the US, will be taking charge of the department at a time when global trade is facing a number of challenges due to the imposition of high tariffs by America and ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The imposition of these tariffs, particularly against China, has triggered a trade war between Beijing and Washington. Both are major trading countries of the world. While the US is India's largest tra