The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01.07.2023 representing an increase of 4% over the existing rate of 42% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate against price rise. This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.12,857 crore per annum. This will benefit about…
Author: Amit Bhanot
Manufacturing Today GAIL India, and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) plan to invest Rs 3,095 crore ($371.90 million) in their Odisha-based fertiliser joint venture, Talcher Fertilizers, with each holding a 31.85 per cent stake. The infusion aims to enhance the plant’s capacity to reduce India’s reliance on imported urea fertilisers, necessitating a federal cabinet approval for Coal India due to investment limits. The project cost escalation underscores efforts to boost domestic fertiliser production amidst significant imports, while responses from involved entities are awaited.
ICIS India’s Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) expects to begin trial runs at its 49,000 tonne/year second generation (2G) ethanol plant by December 2023, with commercial output expected by March next year, a company source said on Thursday. “This biorefinery is the first in India to use bamboo as feedstock,” he said, adding that once commissioned, the plant will contribute to India’s objective of achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. In addition to ethanol, the biorefinery will also produce 16,000 tonnes of furfural and 11,000 tonnes of acetic acid annually. Furfural can be converted into a variety of solvents,…
BT Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), one of India’s largest state-owned oil companies, has adopted blockchain technology to streamline its purchase order systems and to prevent forgery in the process. The PSU has partnered with Zupple Labs, an Indian Web3 start-up. In this partnership, Zupple Labs would help HPCL to issue tamper-proof digital purchase orders to its vendors via LegitDoc, which will be instantly verifiable on the NEAR blockchain. HPCL noted in its announcement that this initiative is aimed at curbing forgery of purchase orders, making it easier for vendors to avail of trade finance via collateralization, proof of turnover,…
Bizz Buzz The central government has reduced the windfall tax on domestic crude oil with effect from October 18 from Rs12,200 a tonne to Rs9,050 in its fortnightly review which will benefit upstream oil companies, including ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL). The windfall tax on petroleum crude was raised to Rs12,100 a ton from Rs10,000 with effect from September 30 as oil prices at the time had soared to $95 a barrel. Oil prices came down but have started heading north again in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The windfall tax on aviation turbine fuel has also been…
PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 511 rural skill development centres in the name of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan in Maharashtra on Thursday via video conferencing. The PMO said in a statement that these centres are being established across 34 rural districts of Maharashtra. They will conduct skill development training programs across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to the rural youth, it said.
DC The finance ministry on Monday said that the fourth G20 finance ministers & central bank governors (G20 FMCBG) meeting would strengthen multilateral development banks or MDBs to address shared challenges of the 21st Century. Besides, the global economy and crypto assets would be top agenda in the upcoming meeting, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday in Morocco. Having ironed out issues over language around the Russia-Ukraine war, another highlight of the final meeting of FMCBG could also be the first communiqué of this group under India’s presidency instead of a chair statement. As per the finance ministry’s statement,…
HT The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is banking on collective leadership, the reach, effectiveness and success of its large welfare schemes, and an aggressive electoral campaign built around Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prevent the outcome of the upcoming polls in five states from being a repeat of 2018 when it suffered a setback, losing power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It did not have much to show for in Telangana and Mizoram where it won a seat each, although its ally the Mizo National Front won 26 of the 40 seats to form government in the North Eastern…
The Print Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and the Congress on Tuesday paid tribute to Mulayam Singh Yadav on his first death anniversary. To mark the day, the Samajwadi Party organised blood donation camps and several other programmes across the state, and distributed fruits among the poor. In Saifai, the party’s chief Akhilesh Yadav, MP Ramgopal Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and other senior leaders paid tributes to Mulayam Singh Yadav at his ‘Samadhi Sthal’. Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X, said, “Those who reside in the hearts of people, they don’t go anywhere even…
DC In order to appoint a new chairman of the nation’s biggest state-owned oil retailer, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the Centre has constituted a three-member search-cum-selection committee, which will be headed by the government head-hunter Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) chairperson, including the oil secretary as a member. However, no timeframe has been set for the selection of the new IOC head, according to the government. As per an official order issued on October 7, former Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) chairman MK Surana is the third member on the committee. “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved…