Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high value cash withdrawals as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles.Presenting the maiden budget of Modi 2.0 government in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman, the first full-time woman Finance Minister, proposed measures to ease liquidity crisis facing shadow banking sector (NBFCs) and providing Rs 70,000 crore capital to public sector banks while…

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The government Thursday pegged the growth rate for the current fiscal at 7 per cent, marginally up from the five-year low of 6.8 per cent recorded in the previous fiscal. According to the Economic Survey for 2018-19, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha, “real GDP growth for the year 2019-20 is projected at 7 per cent reflecting a recovery in the economy after a deceleration in the growth momentum throughout 2018-19.” The fiscal deficit estimate for 2018-19 has been retained at 3.4 per cent of the…

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India has asked Pakistan from time to time to take steps to protect and promote safety, security and well-being of its minority community, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said it is the responsibility of the Pakistani government to discharge its constitutional obligations towards its citizens, including those from the minority communities. “Based on reports of atrocities on minorities in Pakistan, the government has, from time to time, taken up the matter with the…

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The AN-32 plane of Indian Air Force that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh killing all 13 personnel on board was completely airworthy, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Rajya Sabha on Monday.He also said that the accident rate per 10,000 flying hours in the Air Force has come down from 1.04 in 1999 to 0.33 currently.Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, he termed the accident as unfortunate but made it clear that there was no problem with the airworthiness of the aircraft.He informed the House that a total of 13 people…

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday reminded people of the Emergency and urged them not to take democracy “for granted”, saying in day-to-day life, it is difficult to savour the joy of democratic rights, unless they are snatched away.In his first ‘Mann ki Baat’ monthly radio address after returning to power, he said everyday when one gets to eat food on time, one doesn’t realize what hunger pangs are. “Similarly, in day-to-day life, it is difficult to savour the joy of democratic rights, unless they are snatched away. During Emergency, every citizen…

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Home Minister Amit Shah Friday accused the Congress of terrorism in Kashmir and responsible for the state’s current situation, alleging that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s decisions were behind India losing one-third of its territory to Pakistan.He was replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the resolution to extend President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir for another six months from July 3.Shah alleged that the policies of previous Congress governments widened the wedge between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the country.He said his government is making…

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The Congress on Wednesday said in Rajya Sabha that the idea of “one election, one face, one ideology” is not acceptable to India and asked the BJP to desist from “dividing the country for votes”.Congress leader Anand Sharma, while speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, also urged the ruling party to recognise the efforts made by previous governments since independence and not disregard them. “Don’t divide the country for votes. This is a very dangerous trend,” Sharma told the BJP in Rajya Sabha.Rejecting…

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said those who were imprisoned during the Emergency will be provided pension and a citation.Speaking in the state Assembly during the Question hour, Fadnavis said “pension was an honour more than money” for those who served jail term during the Emergency.”Many people refused the pension. But some are still poor who lost jobs after being arrested for no fault of theirs,” he noted.Earlier, Minister of State for Relief and Rehabilitation Madan Yerawar, while responding to a question by NCP member Ajit Pawar, said…

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Mushrooming of shops selling airguns in Mount Abu, the sole hill station of the desert state of Rajasthan, has not gone down well with animal activists who have demanded a ban on their sale to protect wildlife. Located at a height of 1,220 meters on Aravali mountain range in Sirohi district, the tiny hill station, which is home to rich wildlife, draws numerous travellers and nature lovers from various parts of the country. The tourists have easy access to air pistols and air rifles, prominently sold in the municipality area. Apart…

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 Madhya Pradesh former chief minister and BJP vice president Shivraj Singh Chauhan Sunday asserted his party is not dislodging anyone but it cannot do anything if the state government “falls due to infighting” within the Congress.Chauhan, who was here during the weekend to address the district-level and regional-level heads of BJP’s membership drive, said this when he was asked whether the BJP will form government in Madhya Pradesh before the assembly elections are held.”Now, if the Congress (government) falls due to infighting in the party, then we cannot do anything.…

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