Category: NATIONAL NEWS

With his government fighting for survival following the resignation of 16 Congress-JD(S) MLAs, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy sought to know on Thursday why should he step down from the post.“Why should I resign? What is the necessity for me to resign now?,” Kumaraswamy shot back to reporters here, amidst the speculation that he could put in his papers in the wake of the crisis that has pushed his coalition government to the brink of collapse.He recalled that in 2009-10, 18 MLAs, including some ministers, had “opposed” the then chief…

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A Bill to set up an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised domestic and international arbitration was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) Bill, 2019, seeks to replace an ordinance issued in March this year by the previous government.It provides for setting up of an independent and autonomous body for institutional arbitration.Besides, it would acquire and transfer undertakings of the International Centre For Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) to the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) with effect from March 2 this year.Replying to…

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Drought is a real problem in India as 60 per cent of its agriculture is entirely dependent on monsoon because of no irrigation facility, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said Tuesday, urging people to make efficient use of water to save land from degradation.He made the statement at a press conference here with United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, where he said India will host the COP-14 of UNCCD from September 2-13 in Noida.Javadekar said he was “very happy” that India will host COP-14 from September 2-13.…

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Karnataka minister and Independent MLA H Nagesh on Monday resigned and withdrew support to the H D Kumaraswamy-led government, delivering another blow to the shaky JD(S)-Congress coalition ruling the state. Nagesh, who was recently inducted into the government as small scale industries minister, met Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan here and submitted his letter of resignation and also “unequivocally” extended support to the government of BJP, if called for by the governor. The Congress-JD(S) coalition government, which is on the brink of collapse, could suffer another jolt with…

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Fourteen MLAs of the ruling JD(S)-Congress alliance in Karnataka have submitted their resignation to the Speaker, putting a question mark on the survival of the 13-month-old government.If the resignations are accepted, the wobbly ruling coalition will lose majority in the 224-member Assembly as its strength will come down to 104. The crisis, which had been brewing ever since the BJP swept the parliamentary polls in the state, deepened as 13 Congress and JD(S) MLAs reached the Speaker’s office to put in their papers and later met Governor Vajubhai Vala at the…

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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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