“The proposal is being scrutinised for the possibility of inclusion in the Budget speech,” said a senior official of the Rural Development Ministry, which administers the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). If the proposal is announced, the Ministry will then move the Cabinet to approve the increase in pensions, said …

Chief Justice Gogoi, however, had heard a petition filed by Mr. Verma against the latter’s ‘overnight’ divestment from office on October 23-24 last year even though the CJI was a member of the high-power committee. Chief Justice Gogoi had authored the judgment for the Bench allowing Mr. Verma to return …

In an unprecedented move, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to hold its Cabinet meeting on the ghats of the Sangam during the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The city was renamed Prayagraj last year. While an official announcement has not yet been made, a senior …

RTI activists filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Monday alleging that the appointment of former Law Secretary Suresh Chandra as a member of the Central Information Commission was done “in complete violation of the prescribed process”, as he had not applied for the post. As The Hindu reported …

In the backdrop of the controversy over the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, a 1998 opinion by the Supreme Court may shed light on the questions raised by the episode. The objections against are not merely over seniority, but extends to questions about the Collegium dropping the names of two …

The Election Commission on Monday said it was examining the option of taking legal action on the claims made at a press conference in London that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used by the electoral body could be hacked and that the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were rigged. Syed Shuja, …

A CBI officer, who was part of a probe team investigating an FIR against former Special Director Rakesh Asthana, on Monday challenged his transfer to Andaman and Nicobar Islands immediately after M. Nageshwar Rao took over charge as CBI Director. A.K. Bassi had been earlier transferred to Port Blair in …

In spite of a ban on the import of plastic waste into India, the influx of PET bottles has quadrupled from 2017 to 2018 thanks to legal loophole, says a Delhi-based environmentalist organisation, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch (PDUSM). “Indian firms are importing plastic scraps from China, Italy, Japan and …

The Centre on Monday contended before the Madras High Court that a recent amendment to the Constitution providing 10% reservation in jobs and higher education to ‘economically weaker sections (EWS)’ in the open competition category, was “not a communal reservation” aimed at the so called “forward castes.” Appearing before a …

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has joined his Assam counterpart Sarbananda Sonowal in defending the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and said “people with vested interests” have been misinterpreting it to create confusion. Mr. Khandu heads a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Arunachal Pradesh, while Mr. Sonowal leads a coalition …

Indian and Pakistani officials are expected to meet next month to discuss a “draft agreement” on the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab, sources confirmed. The meeting follows the Pakistan government’s announcement that it had shared the draft of the agreement, to be signed by the two governments, for “facilitation of (Indian) …

The Centre on Monday dismissed the charge made in the Supreme Court that it had “abandoned” the operations to rescue the miners trapped in a flooded Meghalaya rat-hole mine since December 13, even as the State said the “bodies of the remaining miners are behind the body detected on January …

As the general elections are fast approaching, the State Cabinet is likely to roll out Rythu Raksha scheme, on the lines of Rythu Bandhu being implemented in Telangana, for providing input assistance to farmers at the rate of Rs. 10,000 per acre. It was discussing the modalities till late in …

In a move that will have far-reaching political implications, the State Cabinet decided to give 5% quota for Kapus and another 5% to the economically backward classes among the forward castes, at its meeting held on Monday. However, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu favoured further deliberations and then tabling it …

Ahead of the 2019 election, the Rural Development Ministry has proposed that the monthly pensions of the elderly poor, disabled and widows be increased from the current Rs. 200 to Rs. 800. For those above the age of 80, the proposal is to increase the pension from Rs. 500 to …

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Monday recused himself from hearing a petition challenging the appointment of M. Nageswara Rao as interim CBI Director and ordered the plea to be placed before a Bench led by the number two Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Sikri, on January 24. Justice …