Author: Aruna Sharma

(NDTV) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has asked all government departments to prioritise the use of local products in state projects after domestic companies objected to a global tender by the railways ministry seeking tonnes of steel rails. The steel and rail ministries have been at loggerheads over the state-run network’s decision to buy rails from overseas, despite assurances of supply from local companies Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Jindal Steel and Power. The steel ministry says the tender goes against the “Make in India” manufacturing push championed by PM Modi, who is under pressure to create jobs…

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opened its account in the civic elections. Huma Khan of AAP defeated the SP candidate from Sahaspur Nagar Panchayat in Bijnor, Reports Aruna Sharma  in Governance Democracy&Politics (GDP), December Issue  Independent candidate Nadira Khatun, a woman, won the corporator seat from ward 68 in Gorakhpur where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had cast his vote. It was reserved for women. BJP’s Maya Tripathi lost the seat to an independent candidate. However, the BJP has won 27 seats, the maximum in Gorakhpur. It is followed by 18 won by Samajwadi Party (SP) and two each won by…

(LiveMint) Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the government’s financial position was under control despite a blip in economic growth rate seen in the June quarter ahead of goods and services tax (GST) rollout in July. The minister said fiscal deficit was under control and that the government will maintain its glide path for narrowing the gap between receipts and spending that is met through borrowing. Current account deficit, which narrowed in the September quarter to 1.2% of gross domestic product, too is under control, the minister told Lok Sabha while replying to a discussion on the second supplementary demand…

(BS) In the long-pending tender issued by the Gujarat government for wind power projects discovered a new low tariff of Rs 2.43 per unit. Leading players, including Actis Energy fund-backed Sprng Energy quoted Rs 2.43/unit, French electric company ENGIE, UK’s EDF Energy, Gujarat based K P Energy and Powerica Limited, which quoted Rs 2.44/unit for different capacities, were declared winners. Gurgaon-based ReNew Power quoted Rs 2.45 per unit as the winning bid for 200 MW but will get 17.9 Mw as the bidding follows bucket fill method. Sprng was allocated 197 Mw. Capacity of 75 Mw was kept aside for a public sector utility to…

(FirstPost) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched victory in Himachal Pradesh by a convincing two-thirds majority, winning 42 out of 68 seats. But it lost the one seat that really mattered: Sujanpur constituency, where the party’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal was contesting against Congress’ Rajinder Rana. The BJP doesn’t usually name its chief ministerial candidate before an election unless it’s the incumbent party. For instance, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Yogi Adityanath were named chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh only after the election results had been announced in favour of BJP. Even in Maharashtra, the party contested the Assembly elections…

(DJ) जीएसटीएन के पोर्टल में तकनीकी खामियों को दूर करने के लिए सरकार की कोशिशें धीरे-धीरे रंग ला रही हैं। इसका संकेत इस तथ्य से मिलता है कि समय पर जीएसटी रिटर्न दाखिल करने वाले कारोबारियों की संख्या लगातार बढ़ रही है। नवंबर के लिए करीब लाख कारोबारियों ने जीएसटीआर-3बी दाखिल किया है। जीएसटी में पंजीकृत कारोबारियों को हर माह इस रिटर्न फॉर्म को भरना होता है। नवंबर महीने के लिए यह रिटर्न भरने की अंतिम तारीख दिसंबर थी। सूत्रों के मुताबिक नवंबर में 80.69 लाख कारोबारियों को जीएसटीआर-3बी दाखिल करना था। इसमें से करीब 61 प्रतिशत ने यह फार्म…

(LiveMint) Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has won a $2.25 billion outsourcing contract, the largest ever bagged by an Indian information technology firm, from television ratings measurement company Nielsen. The deal marks the renewal of TCS’s engagement with Nielsen, which first awarded a $1.2 billion, 10-year contract to the Mumbai-based company in 2007. In 2013, the deal size was more than doubled to $2.5 billion and extended by three more years until 2020. The renewal of the deal is considered a shot in the arm for Rajesh Gopinathan, who took over as chief executive officer in February after his predecessor N.…

(AU) संयुक्त राष्ट्र में बृहस्पतिवार को भारत ने कुछ सदस्यों पर निशाना साधते हुए कह कि वे सतही राजनीति और रणनीति आतंकवाद के खतरे को समझने में नाकाम हो रहे हैं। भारत का निशाना स्पष्ट रूप से चीन और पाकिस्तान की ओर था।  संयुक्त राष्ट्र में भारत के स्थायी प्रतिनिधि सैयद अकबरुद्दीन ने कहा, आतंकी नेटवर्क सीमा पार से काम करते हैं। नफरत की विचारधारा फैलाने के लिए धन जुटाते हैं, हथियार खरीदते हैं और समूह के लिए काम करने वालों की भर्ती करते हैं। अकबरुद्दीन ने संयुक्त राष्ट्र में अंतरराष्ट्रीय शांति और सुरक्षा की समकालीन चुनौतियों पर हुई खुली चर्चा के दौरान…

(TOI) Union petroleum ministerDharmendra Pradhan on Thursday urged his cabinet colleague and Union tourism minister KJ Alphons to fast-track some tourism projects in Odisha proposed by the state government. “Five additional projects have been submitted by the state government for consideration under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. I urge your ministry to fast-track the same in the interests of promoting tourism in Odisha,” stated Pradhan in his letter to Alphons.