New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The government has taken various steps to support the growth of a gas-based economy, which include augmenting the availability of LNG for various sectors, open general licensing (OGL) and others, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.”Demand of natural gas in the country is met through domestic production of natural gas as well as import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),” Minister of State of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.Eig…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued a strong rebuttal to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “vote theft” in Karnataka, asking him to give a complaint on oath or stop misleading citizens.Issuing a “Fact Check” on the allegations made by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the ECI also circulated a format for a declaration on oath which Gandhi could use for filing a complaint related to allegations he made about the 2024 Lok Sabha ele…

Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, again questioned whether the Election Commission of India (ECI) had any authority to direct the Trinamool Congress government to suspend any state government employee, who has been appointed as election officer, as the polling dates for the state had been announced and the model code of conduct was in place. The questions raised by the Chief Minister on this decision came in reaction to the ECI’s directive to the West…

Agartala, Aug 7 (IANS) The Tripura High Court has asked the Registrar Judicial to conduct an inquiry about the grant of bail to six murder accused by the Additional District and Sessions Court in south Tripura district’s Belonia, despite rejection of their bail application by the high court, a senior lawyer on Thursday said. Justice Biswajit Palit of the high court also served notices to the six murder accused, directing them to explain why their bail should not be cancelled.The six accused we…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena on Thursday highlighted the importance of sports in mental and physical well-being, urging citizens to join efforts to maintain public facilities created by government agencies.Inaugurating DDA’s Mini Sports Complex in Sukhdev Vihar, Saxena said, the new facility is “in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide ease of living and to promote healthy lifestyle”.The complex is spread across the area of 7,552.636 sqm a…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has approved 1,601 projects under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), for which grants-in-aid to the tune of Rs 6,411.61 crore have been disbursed as of June 30, benefiting over 34 lakh farmers nationwide, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.The PMKSY scheme aims for the overall development of the food processing sector in the country. Under the PMKSY, financial assistance in the form of grants-in-aid is provided…

Raipur, Aug 7 (IANS) With a goal and vision to make the youth employment-ready and self-reliant, the State Bank of India Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) has begun a 35-day program for the unemployed youth in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district of Chhattisgarh. The month-long program being run from a college hostel building in Tikarkala, Gaurela, seeks to train the youth, men as well as women, by skilling them in beauty parlour work.The training programs are being run free of cost an…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) India has taken the right stand by choosing to defend its national interests, even in the face of growing pressure from the United States, Prabhash Ranjan, Professor at OP Jindal Global University, said on Thursday as tensions between India and Washington escalate over tariffs and trade negotiations.Speaking exclusive to IANS on the tariffs imposed by the US — including a 25 per cent duty followed by another 25 per cent — allegedly in response to India’s oil trade wit…

Bengaluru, Aug 7 (IANS) The Congress-led government in Karnataka has decided to hold a special cabinet meeting on August 16 to take a decision on the the matter of internal reservation.Addressing a press conference, after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil stated: “The state government has appointed a commission headed by retired High Court judge H.N. Nagamohan Das to study the internal reservation among Scheduled Castes. The commission has sub…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) While US President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on India’s exports, this is expected to impact only 4.8 per cent of the total goods and services exports of the country worldwide, which surpassed a record $820 billion in 2024-25, according to official estimates.The 50 per cent tariff being imposed by the Trump administration will be applicable only to exports worth $40 billion to the US, a senior official said.Besides exports worth more …