Aarey Colony : After taking charge as the chief minister on November 29, Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government, had announced stay on construction of the metro car shed project in the colony, a prime green lung of the city. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray now announced cases registered against green activists who tried to stop felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony will be withdrawn.
Bullet Train: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a review of all on-going development projects in the state, including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. The bullet train project has faced stiff opposition from farmers and tribals whose lands are to be acquired.
NRC: Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Monday set a 2024 deadline for implementing the hugely divisive National Register of Citizens across the country, asserting ‘each and every’ infiltrator will be identified and expelled before the next general election.
Nirbhaya Fund: Expressing serious concern over incidents of sexual violence against women, the National Human Rights Commission on Monday issued notices to the Centre and all states and UTs seeking reports on the standard operating procedures to deal with such cases and use of the Nirbhaya Fund. The Commission observed that the largest democracy in the world, which has adopted the longest written constitution and has a rich cultural heritage of gender equality, is today being criticised for having the ‘most unsafe environment for women’.
CAG: Indian Railways has the worst operating ratio in the last ten years at 98.44% and its revenue surplus has decreased by more than 66% from Rs 4,913 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 1,665.61 crore in 2017-18, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India noted in report tabled in Parliament Monday. “The Operating Ratio of 98.44 per cent was the worst in the last ten years. Indian Railways, in fact, would have ended up with a negative balance of Rs 5,676.29 crore instead of surplus of Rs 1,665.61 crore but for the advance received from NTPC and IRCON. Exclusion of this advance would otherwise have increased the Operating Ratio to 102.66%,” the CAG noted.
CBI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against two postal department officials in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 100 under the guise of service charge from a commission agent.
Slow GDP: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey while speaking during a debate on the decline in GDP growth in the Lok Sabha downplayed the role of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in determining the state of the economy, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday said in Parliament the parameter shouldn’t be treated as gospel like the “Bible or Ramayana” as it won’t be of much use in the future.
Electronic Cigarettes: Parliament on Monday passed a bill which seeks to prohibit the production, trade, transport, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the country. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019, was passed in Rajya Sabha with voice vote. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this month.
The government had issued ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in September this year. The new law would replace the ordinance.
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Direct Tax: Gross direct tax collection increased by 5 per cent till November, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday as she allayed fears of corporate tax reduction impacting revenue collection. Replying to a debate on Taxation Law Amendment Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha, the minister categorically said there is no decrease in direct tax collection.
Jewar airport: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday recommended the selection of Zurich Airport International AG as the developer for the Jewar airport, touted to be the biggest airport in India by a key panel, officials said.