India’s income tax website revamped with new design

Income Tax Department said it has revamped its website, soon after implementing mega changes to the income tax e-filing website, incometax.gov.in. The new website, which will be available on incometaxindia.gov.in, has been designed with a user-friendly interface, value-added features, and new modules, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said. “This website serves as a comprehensive […]

Vodafone Idea to become a Govt company with 36% stake

Vodafone Idea will issue around 16 bln shares to Government of India in lieu of interest payments arising out of its decision to defer the payment of spectrum and other regulatory fees by four years, thus making the government the biggest shareholder in the company. The move, subject to valuation confirmation by government agencies, will […]

MP, Maharashtra worst at managing H1N1 in India

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have the dubious distinction of being the worst states for H1N1 patients in India. Not only do they have relatively high number of patients, but your chances of making it alive as an H1N1 patient are also the lowest in India in these states. Other states — Gujarat, Rajasthan and […]

Center consults UPSC on ‘lateral entry’ for private citizens

The central government has consulted the Union Public Service Commission on the plan to recruit private citizens into the higher judiciary. The UPSC is tasked with recruiting officer-level employees of the Union. The center seems to be trying to clarify whether there is a legal requirement to involve the UPSC the latest move. “Advice of […]

Smriti Irani says no salary till Prasar Bharati agrees to performance targets

Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani today said her ministry has not released funds for the payment of salaries to the employees of India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati because the ministry and the organization have not been able to agree on a set of performance parameters for the broadcaster to achieve. Irani said the memorandum […]

India could ban junk food and cola ads on children’s TV

The government  of India is exploring ways to ban the advertising of junk foods and soft drinks on television channels targeted at children, junior minister for information and technology Rajyavardhan Rathore told the parliament today. Rathore said intimations in this regard will be sent to television channels soon, and the idea was to discourage children […]

Govt to give subsidy of Rs 2.5 lakh per flat; free land to builders

Central Government will give up to Rs 2.5 lakh as interest subsidy for people who take home loans to purchase their house under the Pradhan Manthri Awas Yojana, said Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. He also revealed plans to hand over government land to private builders as part of the scheme. […]

Supreme Court dismisses Center’s reasons for not appointing Lokpal

The Supreme Court has dismissed the government of India’s stand that it cannot appoint the Lokpal as there was no leader of the opposition. The court’s decision came on a bunch of petitions seeking the appointment of a Lokpal is likely to lead to the first ever appointment of an anti-corruption ombudsman in the country. […]

Govt likely to intensify efforts to create All India Judicial Service

Despite setbacks and opposition from both state governments and the judiciary, the central government is not ready to give up the proposal to set up an all India service for recruitment of judges modeled on the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service. The idea was officially endorsed five years ago when a committee […]

Govt to strengthen official email service to lure employees from pvt providers

Government of India is overhauling its email system in an effort to encourage government officials to use only their official email accounts for official purposes, the IT department said. At present, many government officials use private email services such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail, even for official and semi-official communications, putting government data at risk. […]

Trademark registration up three fold in India

The number of trademarks awarded by the India’s Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has jumped threefold this financial year, according to data obtained from the Patent Office. A total of 2.11 lakh trademarks were registered in India in the first eleven months of the year beginning April 2016, compared to just 65,045 in […]