Governance

Government is all set to walk away with the highest level of excise duty collection from the petroleum sector this year, even as fuel consumers continue to face persistent increase in petrol and diesel prices that has taken the retail prices to historic high levels across the country. In the nine month period of current fiscal ending December 31, 2020, Centre's excise duty collections from the petroleum sector has already touched Rs 2,35,811 crore-mark, much more than what it got in the full financial year 2019-20. At this pace, collections may well cross Rs 3 lakh crore for the very first time in FY21. Last fiscal, the Centre received Rs 2,23,057 crore as excise revenue from the petroleum sector. The numbers were even lower at Rs 2,14,369 crore in FY19. Only in FY17, excise collections remained firm at Rs 2,42,691 crore when the government raised excise duty taking advantage of low crude prices. Higher collections as taxes have come at a time when consumers are facing the ... » Learn More about Government gets tax-rich from oil sector, consumers bear brunt

Delhi government on Thursday decided that all vehicles hired by its departments will switch to electric mode within six months. The step was taken to promote the adoption of electric vehicles by setting an example. Every vehicle hired by Delhi government’s departments, autonomies bodies and grantee institutions under it will switch from petrol, diesel or CNG-run vehicles to electric ones. The government has also decided to gradually replace all its end-of-life vehicles with EVs and made these measures mandatory. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that it was chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s dream to make the city pollution free. “The decision that all government departments shift to EVs is a historic one,” he said, adding that Delhi will be the first capital in the world where all government departments switch to electric vehicles for road travel. “It is necessary to focus on the challenges related to a sustainable environment. Delhi government has prioritised the issue of ... » Learn More about Green foot forward: Only e-vehicles for Delhi government

The only feasible way to have a healthy banking sector could be making it mostly private, along with two or three large, better-run government banks, suggests T N Ninan. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/ Rediff.com Whether one likes it or not, Indian banking is headed the way of telecom and aviation. Private entities will walk away with the cream, leaving mostly unviable entities in the public sector. And all the king's horses and all the king's men will not be able to save Humpty Dumpty from this fate. The private banks have a better net interest margin (3.4 per cent vs 2.4 per cent for public banks); lower costs (a wage bill that is 8.7 per cent of income, compared to 13.8 per cent for public banks); and therefore continuing profitability even as public banks have lost money for the last five years. More losses will come when the pandemic-related moratorium and other shock absorbers are taken away. The government's banks can't change their cost and ... » Learn More about Time to privatise government owned banks

For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now India - 11,079,979 | World - 113,976,268 View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts #Corona Vaccine Second phase of vaccination drive: Gujarat allows paid shots #Corona Vaccine Coronavirus cases: India reports 16,488 new COVID-19 cases, 113 deaths in past 24 hours #Corona Vaccine We are together in this: PM Modi tells WHO chief #Corona Vaccine Welcome move, but India has not beaten us in vaccine diplomacy: China #Corona Vaccine 8-phase polls in WB: 3 ex-CECs say EC's decision must have been based on law and order situation assessment #Corona Vaccine Bharat Biotech signs pact to supply 20 mn doses of Covaxin to Brazil Just In 4 min ago Centre committed to strengthen connectivity, bring development in north-east region: Harsh Vardhan 29 min ago Rajasthan: Gehlot, Pilot put up united ... » Learn More about Corona vaccine price fixed at Rs 250 per dose in private hospitals

For Puducherry Updates Allow Notification For Daily Alerts Keep youself updated with latest Puducherry News Cancel OK #Puducherry Ahead of PM's visit, holiday declared for schools in Puducherry today #Puducherry Kovind accepts resignation of Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy and his cabinet #Puducherry Ahead of Puducherry floor test, 2 more MLAs quit; govt's strength drops to 12 #Puducherry 3 more Cong MLAs to quit in Puducherry, govt sure to lose trust vote: BJP #Puducherry Puducherry CM convenes meeting of Congress MLAs after Lt Guv's trust vote direction #Puducherry Puducherry governor orders floor test in the legislative assembly on Feb 22 Just In 6 min ago Co-WIN app: Here's how to download COVID-19 vaccination certificate 33 min ago Centre committed to strengthen connectivity, bring development in north-east region: Harsh Vardhan 58 min ago ... » Learn More about Litmus test awaits Congress in Puducherry polls

In order to nurture Hong Kong youth's sense of belonging to the motherland, the special administrative region is joining hands with Guangdong province to officially kick off three programs as part of the plan to essentially help talented Hong Kong youth take part in the big story unfolding across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. "The Bay Area is a natural place for our young people to venture into and take advantage of the golden opportunities, right under their noses, brought about by China's innovation and entrepreneurship," Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday. The ceremony－"Greater Bay Area: Starting Line to a Bright Future" with a theme of youth development－took place as a tribute to the second anniversary of the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The event witnessed the official launch of three programs spearheaded by the Guangdong and Hong ... » Learn More about HK youth encouraged to pursue their dreams in Greater Bay Area

Outdoor screens in Zhengzhou, Henan province — called "cinemas under the starry sky" — are delivering free films to residents, as part of an effort to enrich the culture and arts experience of the public. They're a key element of the China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival 2020, one of the most professional and authoritative movie events in the country. It kicked off in the city on Thursday night. Screens in more than 100 outdoor spaces show films at night from Wednesday to Friday, supported by the local government. The films include candidates for the 35th Hundred Flowers Awards this year, as well as previous winners. The outdoor cinemas have been set up on community squares, in parks and on college campuses, where renowned actors and actresses are invited to speak with the audience. Hu Xiaohan, an official from the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said at the opening ceremony that films capture the essence of historical eras and tell people's ... » Learn More about In Zhengzhou, movies meet starry sky

Role-model companies set to foster country's high-quality growth efforts China will accelerate the optimization of State capital and industrial restructuring during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) and create role-model companies to foster high-quality growth, senior government officials said on Tuesday. The government will promote the strategic reorganization and professional integration of centrally administered State-owned enterprises and divest their noncore, nonadvantageous and noncompetitive businesses during this period, said Hao Peng, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. "This will help deal with ineffective and low-performing assets, and speed up the digital and smart upgrading of China's SOEs," he said, adding the government will focus on strategic security, industrial advantages, national economy, people's livelihood, public services and other functions while restructuring State capital in the next ... » Learn More about State capital optimization gets impetus

New Delhi: In Unnao girls' death case, the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday (February 18) formed six teams to investigate the matter. Two girls of the same family were found dead in their agriculture field on Wednesday evening, while one other is in critical condition, said UP police. The Superintendent of Police of Unnao, Anand Kulkarni, has said that there were no injury marks on the bodies and that prima facie it appeared to be a case of poisoning. "As per investigation so far, statements of eyewitnesses and opinion of the doctor, a lot of froth was found at the spot. So, prima facie there are symptoms of poisoning. We're investigating the matter. Prima facie no injury marks found on bodies. Six teams formed for probe," Kulkarni was quoted as saying by ANI. The three girls were found unconscious, tied with 'dupatta' in the Baburaha village. While two of them were declared brought dead at the district hospital, the third, who was in a critical condition, was referred ... » Learn More about Unnao girls’ death case: No injury marks found on bodies, 6 teams formed to probe, says police

Noida: Even though schools in Uttar Pradesh reopened last week for classes 6 to class 8 but only 10 per cent attendance has been recorded in this period. It has come to notice that many patrons are still unwilling to send their children to school. The decision to let students attend classes is entirely upto the parents, according to guidelines by the state government. Though, it is come to the fore that people are still scared for their children and it has also affected school attendance. "We are not admitting any student into the classroom without the consent of the parents. At the same time, we are seeking the consent of all parents if any student falls ill during this time, or if he has any kind of infection then the school will not be responsible for it," Shivani Jain, President of All School Parents Association told The Times of India. "We have surveyed all the schools that have opened in the last few days. During this time, we found that only 5-10 per cent students ... » Learn More about Noida schools register 10% attendance in classes 6 to 8, parents scared to send their kids