Government Policy

Colombo’s seafront is lit up. Fairy lights, reindeer, and Christmas trees dot the stretch that leads to the Presidential Secretariat, the colonial-era building that served as the Parliament until the early 1980s. On the steps before its 14 giant pillars, a choir sings popular carols — an initiative of the …

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its latest report about cancer management, prevention and diagnosis, recommended that the government institute a ban on the sale of single sticks of cigarettes. It also recommended that the government increase taxes on all tobacco products and utilise the acquired …

TRIPLE-TEST RULE FOR OBC QUOTA IN POLLS As the clamour for a caste census grows across India, with several States looking to introduce reservation for the Backward Classes in urban local body polls, the judiciary, over the course of 2022, has established time and again that caste population surveys conducted …

Inviting the world to make use of the ‘India Stack’ (India’s set of open APIs and digital public goods) and announcing that India would soon also similarly open up its telecom stack,launched the ‘Stay Safe Online’ campaign and the Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) programme. These were lauded by G-20 Sherpa …

The practice of civil society organisations using representative visuals for fundraising activities concerning development issues such as malnutrition now faces new scrutiny, with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issuing a directive to non-governmental organisations (NGO) not to depict vulnerable children. A 2013 campaign by a U.K.-based …

The 7th edition of the India Water Impact Summit concluded on 17th December 2022 after 3 days of fruitful deliberations on important aspects of water conservation and river rejuvenation, with special emphasis on revival of small rivers for the protection of large basins. On the third and final day of the 7th India …

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong earlier today. The meeting marks the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council, which was formally inaugurated in 1972. Hailing the contribution of NEC in the development of the North East region, Prime Minister …

The President of India, DraupadiMurmu, and the Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, have weighed in on the surpassing significance of the separation of powers in the Indian Constitution. However, both did so in different ways, in substance and style. Wise counsel In her valedictory address on November 26 to the …

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that India has achieved significant progress since Independence on various health indicators. He was delivering the 10th convocation address of the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in the city. Mr. Naidu said that with successive governments according high priority to health …

The draft rules that would govern wages, including norms for minimum wages and fixing floor-level wages, were published by the Union Labour and Employment Ministry on Friday, leading some workers’ unions to raise concerns about the potentially low floor wages. As part of its labour law reform agenda, the Narendra …

Those who were left out will be covered, says Minister The second round of the Centre’s flagship urban development schemes — the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) — were being considered and could be rolled out in 2020, Union Minister of State …

After the Balakot air strikes in February, the Army fast-tracked procurement of 155-mm Excalibur precision-guided ammunition from the U.S., and it has recently been inducted. The ammunition gives the artillery guns extended range and the ability to hit targets with very high accuracy, sources said. “The need for precision-guided munitions …

Mahatma’s dream of ‘Clean Bharat’ fulfilled by government, he says On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the country open defecation-free, claiming success for the government’s initiative under which every household now apparently has access to a toilet. “I am satisfied …

It encourages centralisation and commercialisation: Yechury The draft National Education Policy contravenes the Constitution and the federal system, according to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In a letter to the Human Resource Development Minister on Saturday, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury called for the complete withdrawal of the chapter …

Centre to set service terms of panel Amid protests by the Opposition parties, a Bill to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act and give the Union government the power to set the service conditions and salaries of Information Commissioners was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Bill …

Higher fees only for NRI category: HC Frowning upon the practice of private medical colleges charging exorbitant fees from students gaining admission under the management quota, as compared to those admitted under the government quota, the Madras High Court held that there should not be any differentiation in the fee …

Home Minister Amit Shah will head a reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on Air India disinvestment and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been dropped from the panel, sources said. The panel, which is to work out modalities for the sale of Air India, will now have four Ministers — …

Allows govt. to borrow Rs. 98.18 lakh crore for 2019-20 The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Appropriation (No.2) Bill-2019 allowing the Union government to withdraw Rs. 98.18 lakh crore from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet its expenditure during 2019-20. The Bill, moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, …

Exports to Iran may touch 30 mn kg Tea Board of India is planning to set a floor price for the sale of tea at auctions. It is also planning to take about 100 million kg of tea away from India’s output basket in a bid to prop up the …

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has requested the Centre to withdraw the 10% customs duty imposed on newsprint, uncoated paper used for printing of newspapers and lightweight papers used in magazines. In a statement, INS said on Monday that newspapers and magazines were already reeling under severe financial pressure due …