The Union Cabinet recently approved a Bill to set up a Development Finance Institution, Finance Minister announced. The Minister said the government had mentioned in the Budget that it would be setting up a national bank for funding infrastructure and development activity. As of December 2019, she said, there were over 6,000 brownfield and …

The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 that increases the time period within which an abortion may be carried out. Opposition MPs said the Bill still did not give women the freedom to decide, since they would need a nod from a medical board in the case of …

Recently, a research team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has developed a new method for efficient removal of heavy metals from water Background: Several methods like chemical precipitation, ion exchange, adsorption, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, solvent extraction, and electrochemical treatment have been used to remove heavy metals from contaminated water. Many …

Recently, the central government introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991. It aims to “further define the responsibilities of the elected government and Lieutenant Governor (LG) in Delhi”. Provisions of the Bill: …

Indian Navy has placed orders for following indigenous aircraft and submarines:- (1)      Aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) (i) 12 Dorniers (ii) 16 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH MK III) (iii) 8 Chetak helicopters (2)      Submarines: Six Scorpene class submarines are being built by Mazagon Dock and Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under Project-75. There …

To meet the aggressive target of raising around Rs 2.5 lakh crore through asset sales, the government has lined up plans to monetise assets including roads, electricity transmission, oil and gas pipelines, and telecom towers, sports stadia, among others. The assets shortlisted come under the purview of eight ministries. Alongside these core sector …

Meghalaya has registered the highest increase in MGNREGS wages — a jump of Rs 23 from Rs 203 in 2020-21 to Rs 226 — for 2021-2022, while there has been no increase in Kerala and Lakshadweep, according to the “state-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers” notified by the Ministry of …

India needs to bring CNG under the GST regime and tackle challenges such as high vehicle cost and limited boot space for the growth of the natural gas vehicle market, according to a report by Nomura Research Institute Consulting & Solutions India. Report: The report on ‘natural gas vehicle (NGV) market’ stated that the CNG …

Britain wants to expand its influence among countries in the Indo-Pacific region to try to moderate China’s global dominance, a document laying out post-Brexit foreign and defence policy priorities said recently. The document sets out a planned increase of Britain’s nuclear warhead stockpile by more than 40% to weigh against evolving global security …

Three decades after it was enacted, significant amendments have been proposed to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, bringing contradictions between the Central and Delhi governments to the fore once again. Contrary to the spirit of the constitution: Some experts were of the opinion that the new Bill …