Connect with us
Tuesday,26-November-2024
Breaking News

National News

Punjab Budget to be presented on March 10

Published

on

 Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government will present its Budget for financial year 2023-24 on March 10 as the Budget session of the 16th Punjab Assembly will be held from March 3 to March 24, it was announced on Tuesday.

This was decided at a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister here.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office said the Cabinet authorised the Governor to convene the session, as per Article 174 of the Constitution.

As per the schedule, the budget session will commence on March 3 at 10 a.m. with Governor’s address followed by obituary references at 2 p.m.

The motion of thanks and discussion on Governor’s Address will take place on March 6, while the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for year 2021-22, presentation of supplementary grants for 2022-23 and Appropriation Bill on supplementary demands for grants for 2022-23 will be held on March 7, followed by legislative business.

Non-official business will be held on March 9 and Budget estimates for year 2023-24 will be presented before the House on March 10, followed by general discussion on the budget.

The general discussion on the Budget estimates for year 2023-24 will resume at 10 a.m. on March 11 till its conclusion and voting.

Non-official business will be conducted at 10 am on March 22, followed by the legislative business on March 24 after which the House will be adjourned sine-die.

The Cabinet also gave ex-post-facto approval to the officers committee constituted by the Finance Department to formulate the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the implementation of the old pension scheme in Punjab.

With a view to provide houses at affordable prices to the lower income group in the state, the Cabinet also gave green signal to notify the Affordable Colony Policy, 2023.

The Cabinet also gave nod to convert 101 temporary posts of District and Sessions Judge or Additional District and Sessions Judges into permanent posts to strengthen the judicial system.

National News

Constitution Day 2024: Video Shows Rahul Gandhi Leaving Without Namaste To Murmu, BJP Claims ‘He Insulted Tribal President’

Published

on

Constitution Day 2024: Video Shows Rahul Gandhi Leaving Without Namaste To Murmu, BJP Claims 'He Insulted Tribal President'

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi came under fire on Tuesday (November 26) for what is being called his avoidance of greeting President of India Droupadi Murmu. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seized on to the incident that took place in Parliament of India and has now alleged that Gandhi did not greet President Murmu because she hails from tribal community.

The video, now being shared by BJP leaders and netizens alike, shows part of the proceedings of Constitution Day ceremony in the parliament. The ceremony kickstarted the year-long celebration of 75 years of adoption of Constitution of India. The constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949.

In the video, President of India Droupadi Murmu, flanked by other dignitaries like Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla greet those present for the ceremony. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alongwith Rahul Gandhi are among the leaders given place on the dais.

In the video, all leaders including Rahul Gandhi, can be seen greeting those in the audience but Gandhi is then seen breaking away from the group while everyone greets the president, apparently as a courtesy. Gandhi, moving away from the group of leaders, stops at a point to look back but doesn’t greet the president.

BJP’s Amit Malviya posted the video and had a strong reaction for Gandhi.

Malviya’s post had a lot of comments.

One of those who commented said that Rahul Gandhi’s actions were not a power move but he did what he did as he did not have a clue about what was happening.

‘Ye nahi sudharne wala…’ said another user.

At the time of publishing of this story, there was no reaction from Rahul Gandhi’s official handle on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

It wasn’t immediately verifiable if Rahul Gandhi greeted the president off-camera.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

President Droupadi Murmu Pays Tribute To 26/11 Martyrs, Reiterates India’s Commitment To Fighting Terrorism

Published

on

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu paid tribute to the martyrs of the 26/11 attacks on Tuesday.

“On the anniversary of cowardly terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, I join the entire nation in paying homage to the bravehearts who lost their lives and expressing solidarity with their families,” said the President in a post on X.

She also reiterated India’s commitment to combat terrorism.

“A grateful nation salutes its valiant security personnel who made ultimate sacrifice while protecting our people. It is also the day to reiterate that India remains firmly committed to defeating terrorism in all its forms,” the post added.

Union Ministers Amit Shah & Rajnath Singh Pay Their Tribute

Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh also paid tribute to the security personnel who died during the attacks,

“Terrorism is a blot on the entire human civilization. The Modi government’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against terrorism has been appreciated by the entire world and today India has become a world leader in anti-terrorism initiatives,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s post said.

“We remember, and we will never forget those wounds,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s post said.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal Remembers Sacrifice Made By The People

Union Minister Piyush Goyal also remembered the sacrifice made by the people in a post on X.

“Respectful salute to the brave soldiers, policemen and innocent citizens who made the supreme sacrifice to protect the motherland in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack. Their bravery, sacrifice and martyrdom will always be remembered,” the post said.

About 26/11 Terror Attack

Today is the 16th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, a series of coordinated terror attacks at the Taj Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, Mumbai Chabad House, Nariman House, Cama Hospital and Metro Cinema by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.

Notably, at least 174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreigners, were killed and more than 300 injured in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.

The ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists came to Mumbai via the sea route from Pakistan and carried out the attacks.

Continue Reading

International News

Bangladesh High Court orders high-level probe into power deals with Adani group amid supply cuts

Published

on

Bangladesh’s High Court ordered the formation of a high-level enquiry committee comprising international energy and law experts to reevaluate all electricity-related agreements with the Adani group, The Business Standard, a local news portal, reported on Tuesday, November 19.

The bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury has reportedly ordered the cabinet secretary to form the committee within a month and submit the report to the court in the next two months. 

Adani Power shares closed 0.47 per cent lower at ₹524.10 on Tuesday’, compared to ₹526.60 at the previous market close. 

The court, while hearing a petition, asked why instructions should not be given to cancel the uneven agreements made with the Adani group. It also asked for the documents related to the signing of the deal within a month.

Barrister M Abdul Qayyum, representing the petitioner, filed the writ in the High Court asking for the cancellation of all electricity deals with Adani group. Adani signed the 25-year power purchase agreement in 2017; at that time, no imported coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh, as per the report.

Adani’s Bangladesh power supply

Adani group’s Bangladesh power is supplied from Jharkhand’s 1,600 MW power plant. The cost of power is $0.1008 per unit or Tk12 per unit, a Bangladesh Power Development Board official was quoted as saying in the report.

This rate is 27 per cent higher than the rate of India’s other private producers and as much as 63 per cent more than the Indian state-owned plants. 

After Adani Power cut the Bangladesh power supply by half over the unpaid dues, the company also set a deadline of November 7 to switch off the flow of electricity if there was no clarity on the settlement of the outstanding amount.

Bangladesh reportedly owes Adani almost $850 million. Adani group later clarified that it had not demanded the full payment in seven days, as per the report.

Shortage of Power

Bangladesh continues to face a shortage of electricity, increasing the risk of blackouts, even after making a partial payment to Adani group, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday. 

Adani Power has received a letter of credit for $170 million, easing pressures from lenders, reported the agency, citing two people aware of the development. The partial payment doesn’t resolve the crisis, but the company won’t halt supplies for now, pending talks with the lenders of the Godda thermal plant in Jharkhand, the officials said. 

“Payments should have been made by this time,” Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said in a phone interview on Friday as per the report. The central bank “issued an instruction for the payment”, Mansur had said earlier this week.

The Adani electric supply accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Bengladesh’s total supply. The power company reduced its supply further to 500 megawatts on Thursday after cutting it to 700 megawatts earlier, as per the data collected from Power Grid Bangladesh cited in the news report.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending