Public Policy

When you get your first salary, it’s time to apply your mind towards choosing the right savings option for a better life You’ve bagged a plum offer and salary credits from your employer have just begun to fatten up your bank balance. What should your first steps be, in the …

UGC may allow multiple degrees simultaneously Students might soon be able to pursue multiple degrees simultaneously from different universities or the same university, with the University Grants Commission (UGC) studying the feasibility of the idea. The UGC has set up a panel headed by its Vice Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan for …

Lucknow will host the 11th biennial edition of DefExpo from February 5 to 8, 2020, the Defence Ministry announced on Sunday. “The main theme of DefExpo India-2020 will be “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub” and the focus will be on “Digital transformation of defence’,” the Ministry said in a …

Use of estimated figures in place of reported numbers affected the final score of certain States An analysis of the NITI Aayog’s “Healthy States, progressive India” report released on June 25 shows that the usage of estimated figures in place of reported numbers, to calculate certain health indicators, has adversely …

RTI enquiry reveals poor representation Scientists from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are grossly under-represented in scientific institutions funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), a Right To Information query by a researcher has found. Several of these institutions just about meet the government prescribed criteria for reservation …

Government has already givenin-principle nod The Army’s attempt at major restructuring will begin with the draft government sanction letter (GSL) for reorganisation of the Army Headquarters (AHQ) expected by the month-end, Army sources said. The AHQ restructuring is the first of the four studies being undertaken as part of the …

He directs tahsildar to grant land for Mangaluru facility Lokayukta P. Vishwanatha Shetty on Saturday said he will recommend to the State government to pay wages to residents of the homes of the destitute who work, on the lines of paying wages to prisoners in central prisons. He was speaking …

Ruckus prevents debate in Lok Sabha A new Bill that seeks to empower the transgender community and another legislation to crack down on Ponzi schemes were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday amid protests from Opposition members over the Karnataka political turmoil. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, …

Dedicated teams to conduct inspection Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil on Friday directed the Mangaluru City Corporation to impose a hefty fine on owners of under-construction buildings, commercial complexes, and other public places found lacking in vector control. Mr. Senthil said teams dedicated to vector control will be visiting under-construction buildings, …

Bimonthly course on introspection opened to Madhya Pradesh public at Rs. 200 per session Happiness is a universal virtue worth acquiring. It must be shared, and learning to embrace it collectively can be much more invigorating, so believes the Madhya Pradesh government. Soothing the tempers of government officials since 2017, …

Cabinet nod for National Medical Commission Bill The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, proposed to be introduced in the current session of Parliament, proposes to replace the Medical Council of India with the National Medical Commission to over see medical education in the country. Under the Bill, the National Medical …

Shah defends not filing appeal Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday defended the decision not to file an appeal against the acquittals in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case, stating that the chargesheets filed under the UPA regime did not have any substantial proof. Replying to a debate in …

Agriculture Minister tells Lok Sabha Promising to create a new breed of “smart farmers by introducing smart farming”, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that the government was open to improving its welfare schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for crop insurance. …

Rail lines to boost rail connectivity in U.P., Assam The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved three new railway projects, with a combined investment of over Rs. 6,000 crore, giving a boost to rail connectivity in Uttar Pradesh and Assam. The three projects — an 81.17 km new …

Amendment restricts AAI from fixing tariffs for private airports The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008, whereby the Airports Authority would not determine tariff structures in the case of privatised airports as that was part of the bid …

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019, for establishing a Central University and Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” assured the House that the universities would be set up in the next four years. The Lok Sabha had cleared the Bill …

Flags ‘gap’ in efforts to prevent disease Almost 20 million children missed out on potentially life-saving vaccinations last year, the UN said on Monday, as surging measles cases highlighted “dangerous” gaps in efforts to shield children from preventable illness. Last year, 19.4 million children were “not fully vaccinated”, the World …

However, Mr. Goyal made it clear that the procurement of propulsion equipment or complete trains should be done in accordance with the ‘Make in India’ policy. The move follows a row over India’s first semi-high-speed Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express and the decision to stop production of the train …

‘There should be no imposition of any language nor should there be opposition to it’ Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has underlined the importance of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in educational institutions, at least at the primary level. He was delivering the inaugural address of the golden jubilee …

Following application to revoke registration of potato variety used for Lays chips Food and beverage giant PepsiCo India has been slapped with a notice from a Central agency under the Agriculture Ministry regarding an application to revoke the registration of its potato variety used to make its trademark Lays chips. …