NEW DELHI ,Nov 17,2020: India is considering a plan to allow up to 26% foreign direct investment from countries with which it shares a land border, including China, without government scrutiny for some sectors, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing government officials.
In April, India had stepped up scrutiny of investments from companies based in neighbouring countries, in what is widely seen as a move to stave off takeovers by Chinese firms during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Indian government’s April 17 notification had said investments from an entity in a country that shares a land border with India will require government approval, meaning they can not go through a so-called automatic route.
The Economic Times report said that a panel of top government officials was discussing various options on easing rules for investment from neighbours and a decision is likely soon.
The commerce and industry ministry did not immediately reply to an email from Reuters seeking comment.
Tensions between India and China remain high with tens of thousands of troops deployed along the remote Himalayan border, even as the two countries are formulating a plan to end months of military standoff.
New Delhi, Nov 16,2020: Supreme Court Judge UU Lalit on Monday recused himself from hearing pleas seeking action against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy over his “scandalising” remarks against the second senior-most judge of the Apex Court.
The Public Interest Litigations (PIL) came up before a Bench which also comprised Justices Vineet Saran and Ravindra Bhat, when Justice Lalit asserted, “As a lawyer, I had represented these parties in litigation. I cannot take up this matter. Let this matter be listed at the earliest before any other judge decided by the CJI.”
The Bench then recorded a short order, requesting Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde to list the case before an appropriate Bench.
The top court was to hear three petitions, jointly filed by advocates GS Mani, Pradeep Kumar Yadav and SK Singh, contended that Jagan Mohan Reddy is facing more than 20 criminal cases, including money laundering and corruption in the court which are very serious in nature.
The pleas also sought an explanation from Reddy for writing a letter to the CJI Bobde making “wild and reckless” allegations against Justice NV Ramana.
Nov 15,2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the “Statue of Peace” in Rajasthan’s Pali district via video-conferencing on Monday to mark the 151st birth anniversary celebrations of Jain monk Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj.
The 151-inch-tall statue is made of “ashtadhatu” (eight metals with copper being the major constituent) and is being installed at the Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Rajasthan’s Pali, an official statement said.
The saint, who lived during 1870-1954, led an austere life, working selflessly and dedicatedly to spread the message of Lord Mahavira, it said.
He also worked relentlessly for the welfare of the masses, spread of education and eradication of social evils, wrote inspiring literature (poetry, essays, devotional hymns and stavans) and gave active support to the freedom movement and the cause of the swadeshi, the statement said.
With his inspiration, more than 50 educational institutions of eminence, including colleges, schools and study centres, are operational across several states, it added.
Hyderabad, Nov 14,2020: Saturday marks the 12th Anniversary of Indian Flag landing on Moon.
Though people celebrate Diwali today, people after Sunset can locate three planets —Mars (in East) , Jupiter and Saturn (in South West Direction) as non-twinkling Star like objects.
Plaetary Society of India Director N Sri Raghunandan Kumar in a release e-mailed to UNI said 14th November is the day when in year 2008 The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) a lunar probe developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with Indian Flag etched onto it was released by ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 mission on to the surface of moon.
The Moon Impact Probe separated from the moon-orbiting Chandrayaan-1 on 14 November 2008 at 20:06 and crash landed, as planned, into the lunar south pole after a controlled descent.
He said Moon Impact Probe struck the Shackleton Crater of Southern pole of Moon at 20:31 on that day thus making India fifth nation to land its flag on Moon.
New Delhi, Nov 13,2020: A High Level Committee (HLC), under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved additional Central assistance of Rs 4,381.88 crore to six states under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to six states, which were affected by cyclone, floods, landslides during this year, the Home Ministry officials said here on Friday.
While the West Bengal gets Rs 2,707.77, the state of Odisha has been given Rs.128.23 crore for cyclone Amphan, Maharashtra gets Rs 268.59 crore to deal with the impact of cyclone Nisarga.
Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Sikkim have also been given central assistance to deal with the destruction caused by the floods and landslides during the South-West monsoon and Rs 611.61 crore for Madhya Pradesh, Rs 577.84 crore have been approved for Karnataka and Rs 87.84 crore for Sikkim.
Aftermath of the cyclone Amphan, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the affected states of West Bengal and Odisha on May 22 this year and as announced by the Prime Minister, the financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to West Bengal and Rs 500 crore to Odisha were released immediately on May 23.
In addition to this, the Prime Minister Modi had also announced Rs two lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured, which was over and above the ex-gratia provided through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the NDRF.
In all the six states, the Central Government had deputed Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after the calamities, without waiting for the receipt of Memorandum from the affected State Governments, a senior official in the Ministry said.
So far, in the financial year 2020-21, till date, the Central Government has released Rs 15,524.43 crore to 28 States from the SDRF, the official added.