Venkaiah Naidu elected as India's next vice president

New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) NDA nominee M Venkaiah Naidu was today elected as India's next Vice-President, receiving an overwhelming two-third votes against opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The 68-year-old BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh got 516 votes out of the total 771 votes cast while Gandhi could only manage 244 votes. Of the total 771 votes polled, 11 were found to be invalid.

Although 785 MPs were eligible to vote in today's election, 14 MPs could not vote.

The strength of the electoral college comprising both elected and nominated MPs of the Rajya Sabha (RS) and the Lok Sabha (LS) is 790. There are two vacancies each in the LS and RS.

One BJP Lok Sabha MP is barred from voting following a judicial pronouncement.

"Coming from an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in Indian polity," India's vice president-elect told PTI.

"I am very humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support. I will seek to utilise the vice presidential institution to strengthen the hands of the president and secondly uphold the dignity of the Upper House," he added.

Naidu will be the 13th person to hold the second highest Constitutional post. By virtue of being the vice-president, Naidu will also preside over the Rajya Sabha as the Chairman.

In the 2007 VP poll, incumbent Hamid Ansari had polled 456 votes, Najma Heptullah 222 votes and Rashid Masood 075 votes.

In the 2012 polls, Ansari had bagged 490 and NDA nominee Jaswant Singh 238 votes.

With today's election, those holding the three top positions in the country --the president, the vice-president and the Prime Minister --come from the BJP.

Last month, Ramnath Kovind became the first BJP leader to win presidential poll defeating opposition's Meira Kumar.

Naidu will be the second BJP leader to become vice- president after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2002-2007).

A two-term BJP president, Naidu was also elected to the Rajya Sabha three times from Karnataka. He represented Rajasthan in the Upper House of Parliament before he was nominated to the vice president's post by the NDA.

Once an L K Advani protege, Naidu vigorously backed Modi for the prime minister's post before the 2014 elections.

He was minister for information and broadcasting and housing and urban affairs in the Modi government and earlier held the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio.

Fixation of Pension

In implementation of Government's decision on the recommendation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (7th CPC), orders have been issued vide Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare O.M. No. 38/37/16-P&PW(A) (i) dated 04.08.2016 for revision of provisions regulating pension/gratuity/ commutation of pension/family pension/disability pension/ex-gratia lump-sum compensation, etc. in respect of the employees retiring on or after 01.01.2016.v For revision of pension of pre-2016 civil pensioners, the 7th CPC recommended the following two formulations:

(i) Notional Pay of employees who retired prior to 01.01.2016 may be fixed in the Pay Matrix on the basis of the Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, by adding the number of increments he/ she had earned in that level while in service, to the minimum of the corresponding level in the matrix. Fifty percent of the total amount so arrived at shall be the revised pension.

(ii) The pension, as had been fixed at the time of implementation of the 6th CPC recommendations, may be multiplied by 2.57 to arrive at an alternate value for the revised pension.

7th CPC recommended that the pensioners may be given the option of choosing the formulation which is more beneficial to them. Orders were issued for revision of pension as per Formulation (ii) above vide Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare O.M. No. 38/37/16-P&PW(A) (ii) dated 04.08.2016 and the pension disbursing authorities were advised to make payment of revised pension accordingly without waiting for the revised pension payment authority. A Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare was constituted to examine the feasibility of Formulation (i). The Committee observed that Formulation (i) as recommended by the 7th CPC might be difficult to implement in a large number of cases and this method may also cause anomalies.

In implementation of the recommendations of the aforesaid Committee, orders have been issued vide Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare O.M. No. 38/37/16-P&PW(A) dated 12.05.2017. It has been provided that the revised pension/family pension w.e.f. 01.01.2016 in respect of all Central civil pensioners/family pensioners may be revised by notionally fixing their pay in the pay matrix recommended by the 7th CPC in the level corresponding to the pay in the pay scale/pay band and grade pay at which they retired/died by notional pay fixation under each intervening Pay Commission based on the Formula for revision of pay. 50% of the notional pay as on 01.01.2016 shall be the revised pension and 30% of this notional pay shall be the revised family pension w.e.f. 1.1.2016. Higher of the two Formulations i.e. the pension/family pension already revised in accordance with this Department’s OM dated 04.08.2016 or the revised pension/family pension as worked out by notional pay fixation method, shall be the revised pension/family pension w.e.f. 01.01.2016.

There were around 55.51 lakh pensioners/family pensioners (including defence pensioners/family pensioners) as on 31.03.2016. All Pension Sanctioning Authorities have been advised to accord top priority to the work of revision of pension and issue revised Pension Payment Authority in implementation of the above orders expeditiously.

There is no proposal for creation of any other organisation for pension related issues.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to question by Adv. Narendra Keshav Sawaikar and Shri P. Nagarajan in the Lok Sabha today.

No reduction in troops at Dokalam: India

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) India has not reduced its troops in Dokalam, senior government officials said today, rebutting China's claim that the number of Indian security personnel at the tri-junction has come down.

They also asserted that there was a "status quo" at the Dokalam for past six weeks.

The strong rebuttal came after Chinese foreign ministry issued a document today, saying the number of Indian troops was 40 by end of July from 400 in June.

"Over 400 people at one point, have put up three tents and advanced over 180 metres into the Chinese territory. As of the end of July, there were still over 40 Indian border troops and one bulldozer illegally staying in the Chinese territory," the document said.

Countering Chines contention, sources here maintained that around 350 Indian Army personnel have been in Dokalam for last six weeks after China tried to build a road in the area, triggering the standoff.

China also said that it has conveyed its firm stand to India that it must take "concrete actions" by immediately pulling back troops from Dokalam with "no strings attached" to resolve the current standoff.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last month had said that both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place.

India also conveyed to the Chinese government that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for it.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval was in Beijing last month to attend the BRICS NSAs meeting.

During the visit, Doval held bilateral meeting with State Councillor Yang Jiechi. Dobval and Yang are also Special Representatives of the boundary talks between the two nations.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said during his talks with Doval, Yang "urged India to respect China's territorial sovereignty, the international law and the basic rules governing international relations and immediately pull back the trespassing India border troops to the Indian side of the boundary with no strings attached.

WTO REGIME

The World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the rules of trade among nations, as negotiated and agreed among its member countries, and inter alia, also settles trade disputes between its members. Its fundamental principles include non-discrimination in trade matters, freer trade, predictability and transparency. Decision-making is largely based on the principle of consensus. However, the impact of the rules on different member countries and sectors would depend on several factors, both external and internal to a member country, and would consequently vary across countries. Negotiations in a multilateral forum such as the WTO require some give and take, so that the best possible outcomes are achieved. The Government is pushing for outcomes in the priority areas of India’s interest, such as in the area of agriculture negotiations. 

Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), for the year 2017-18, out of a total allocation of Rs. 1720.00 Crore Government has allocated an amount of Rs. 1069.87 Crore for pulses as central share to increase the production of pulses in the country. A programme on Additional Area coverage of Pulses is operational since 2013-14 under the NFSM to increase the production of rabi/ summer pulses through area expansion of rabi pigeon pea, gram, pea and lentil during rabi and, moong and urad during summer in NFSM-Pulses implementing States. 

The Government believes that a rules-based, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system is necessary for bringing transparency, equity and fair play into global trade relations. The multilateral trading system potentially offers a suitable institutional architecture for a developing country. While framing trade-related policies, the Government is mindful of the need to ensure that these are aligned with India’s obligations and commitments under various WTO Agreements. Internal economic and market reforms are an ongoing autonomous process based on national goals and priorities. These include strengthening and upgradation of trade-related infrastructure, steps to enhance the ease of doing business, steps to improve India’s export competitiveness and deepen engagements with new markets, deepen and widen the export basket and promote product standards, packaging and branding of Indian products. 

India has a long standing position on the need to prioritize the agreed mandate of the Doha Round, in particular, the Ministerial decision to find a permanent solution by December 2017 on public stockholding for food security purposes, which relates to protection of our food-grain procurement programme at Minimum Support Prices and subsidized distribution to economically weaker sections. The Government is committed to pursuing this issue in the WTO in order to take forward the mandate given in the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Conferences of the WTO in 2013 and 2015 respectively. India is seeking to implement the decisions on the issue through active and constructive engagement with Member countries. 

Further, India’s proposal for facilitating trade in services in the WTO was made with the objective of imparting much needed momentum to the discussion on services. The proposal provides a framework to address the various impediments to trade in services in a comprehensive and holistic manner. The proposal has been discussed in the relevant services bodies of the WTO. 

This information was given by the Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

Cong parades MLAs, claims BJP tried to bribe them

Bengaluru/Ahmedabad, Jul 30 (PTI) The Congress today paraded its 44 MLAs lodged in a resort on Bengaluru outskirts before media to scotch reports of disunity in their ranks, and accused the BJP of trying to poach them by offering a bribe of Rs 15 crore each to cross-vote in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Apparently rattled by the desertion of its six MLAs since Thursday, the party has shifted over 40 of them to the resort to keep its flock together ahead of the August 8 RS poll for which it has fielded Ahmed Patel, the high-profile political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The resignation by the six MLAs, including Balwantsinh Rajput, Congress chief whip in the Assembly, followed the exit of party stalwart and former chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela. The resignations brought down the Congress's strength in the Assembly from 57 to 51. Three of the six later joined the BJP.

Rajput, a relative of Vaghela, has now been fielded by BJP to take on Patel, who is seeking a fifth Rajya Sabha term.

"Our legislators have not come here to enjoy. We brought them here to save democracy as they were being poached by BJP, using money and muscle power," AICC Spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters at the resort as the MLAs sat behind him.

"BJP tried to buy 22 of our MLAs before the Rajya Sabha polls for cross-voting by offering them Rs 15 crore each," he alleged.

The BJP, however, rejected the allegation that it was behind Congress MLAs walking out of the party. Union minister Prakash Javadekar also wondered if Congress lawmakers quitting the organisation were "purchasable".

The BJP also took a swipe at Congress over the lavish stay of its MLAs at a resort when people were reeling under floods back home in Gujart.

There were reports that several MLAs supporting Vaghela, who has still not resigned from the Assembly, were among those staying at Egleton Golf Resort.

With 51 MLAs on his side, the Congress candidate would easily sail through the vote, but more desertions could put his chances into jeopardy.

The presidential election had seen cross-voting by Congress legislators with the joint opposition candidate Meira Kumar garnering votes of only 49 MLAs against the Congress's then strength of 57 in the state Assembly.

Gohil claimed Congress has the assured support of 60 MLAs and BJP should not even dream to get Patel defeated.

"We have 44 legislators here and we are also in touch with seven legislators, who are not here with us. A few others from other parties including NCP are also voting for us. In all, we have 60 legislators voting for our candidate," he asserted.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar rejected the charge of the BJP poaching and bribing Congress MLAs.

"Gujarat Congress leaders are levelling allegations at the BJP in Bengaluru. It is like a thief criticising a cop. If their leaders are leaving them, it has nothing to do with us," Javadekar told PTI in New Delhi.

He said those who quit the Congress included leaders like Vaghela, a former chief minister and the leader of opposition, its chief whip Balwantsinh Rajput and its spokesperson Tejashreeben Patel.

"They are all strong leaders. Nobody can purchase them.

The Congress should look inwards and think why such senior leaders are leaving it. The truth is that its only goal is to save Rahul Gandhi in the country and Ahmed Patel in Gujarat," he said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who reached flood- hit Banaskantha today, said the decision to fly Congress MLAs out of the state was taken by Ahmed Patel out of his "greed" to win the poll.

"Sonia Gandhi's love for her son Rahul has drowned the Congress across the country. Similarly, Patel's greed to save his Rajya Sabha seat will sink Congress in Gujarat," he said.

Rupani claimed Patel "forced" Congress MLAs from areas hit by floods to fly to Bengaluru.

Patel, who also visited flood-affected Banaskantha district today, mounted a counteroffensive against Rupani, alleging, "Our MLAs were forced to leave Gujarat as they and their family members were being tortured by the state government." 

The Congress heavyweight said before the MLAs from flood ravaged areas flew out of the state they had started relief camps and were still keeping a close watch on the situation from Bengaluru.

Of the total 11 RS members from the state, the term of three--Smriti Irani and Dilipbhai Pandya (both BJP) and Ahmed Patel--is ending on August 18. BJP has fielded party chief Amit Shah and renominated Union minister Smriti Irani for two seats and put up Balwantsinh Rajput for the third which is held by Patel.

Doval calls on President Xi along with other BRICS NSAs

 

Beijing, Jul 28 (PTI) National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other top security czars of the BRICS nations today called on Chinese President Xi Jinping, who praised their efforts in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation despite the vast geographical distance among the member nations.

The meeting comes amid a standoff between China and India in Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector.

After day-long deliberations over improving cooperation in a number of areas, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) NSAs met Xi and interacted with him.

Xi, in his address to the BRICS NSAs, praised them for building a mutual trust and cooperation among the member nations.

"Every minister has done a great job for improving our mutual trust and security cooperation. I sincerely thank for all your efforts," Xi who is heading the BRICS group this year said about the deliberations by the NSAs today on host of security related issues.

"I think the meeting was carried out well. In order to promote the strategic mutual trust of the BRICS countries, security cooperation, all of you have made a lot of effort," he said.

The BRICS cooperation has 10 years of history and the five-member group of emerging countries have carried on meaningful cooperation despite geographical distance and different political systems establishing a new type of international relations, the Chinese president said.

While the starting point of BRICS cooperation is in the economic and financial field in its first decade, in view of the complex international political and economic security situation, the member countries should expand cooperation with more people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges and coordinate on security issues, he said.

The BRICS NSAs meeting focussed on global governance, counter-terrorism, cyber security and energy security, international and regional hotspots, and national security and development.

China yesterday acknowledged that Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi met on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meet during which they discussed "major problems" in bilateral ties. However, China made no mention of the Doklam standoff.

Since the standoff began on June 16, China has been maintaining that there will not be a meaningful dialogue without the unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops.

In today's meetings, there were no hand shakes in front of the media between Chinese officials and the BRICS NSAs.

Consumer Grievance Redressal System in the Country

Under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, there is a three–tier quasi-judicial mechanism in place for redressal of consumer grievances. These are District Fora at the districts, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in States and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at the Centre.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission holds circuit bench sitting from time to time at different state capitals to expedite the process of adjudication.

As an alternative means of redressal, consumers can also lodge complaints with the National Consumer Helplines (NCH). There are around 250 companies which have partnered with NCH for redressal of consumer grievances. Complaints received against these companies are referred to them for redressal.

In terms of the BIS Act, 1986, the Bureau of Indian Standards has been established for the harmonious development of the activities of standardisation, and marking and quality certification of goods etc. The Bureau has powers to grant, renew, suspend or cancel a licence for use of the standard mark and inter alia, make inspections and collect samples to see conformity with the Indian standard as also whether the standard mark has been improperly used.

The Department has introduced Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 in the Lok Sabha in August, 2015, which contains a number of provisions for strengthening the consumer grievance redressal mechanism. A new BIS Act, 2016 has also been notified.

This information was given by Shri C. R. Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, today. 

Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister along with BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi as his deputy

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to seek trust vote on Friday

Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi administers oath to JD(U) National President Nitish Kumar as Bihar Chief MInister at Raj Bhawan, in Patna on Thursday. (Source: PTI photo)


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a major political victory on Thursday when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined forces with his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), further weakening the field of credible opposition candidates.

Kumar, once seen as a potential challenger in the 2019 general election, was sworn in as chief minister a day after quitting - ostensibly over a row with his coalition ally - and will govern with the BJP.

The sudden political realignment in Bihar, home to more than 100 million people, means that Modi's party now rules - either alone or in coalition - in 17 of India's 29 states, representing close to two thirds of India's 1.3 billion people.

Modi has led his party to a string of state election wins since he stormed to power in 2014, expanding the BJP's base across the northern heartlands and into the remote northeast, and cementing his claim to a second term.

"Modi's road to power in 2019 is smoother with Nitish on his side," said Sankarshan Thakur, an editor at The Telegraph newspaper and author of a book on Kumar.

What had been broken, he said, was not merely an alliance but an attempt at building a credible counter-narrative to Modi's "stunning grab on the national imagination" after 2014.

Bihar had been a rare blot on Modi's electoral record, after a three-party alliance led by Kumar handed the BJP a heavy defeat in late 2015.

Kumar's collapsed coalition, which included the once-mighty Congress party, held out the possibility that opposition leaders could form some sort of national bloc to fight Modi.

His return to the fold, having served as a minister in the last BJP-led government, underscores Modi's political dominance and tactical acumen in either defeating or co-opting his rivals.
Backing Modi


Kumar's abrupt resignation on Wednesday followed a row with his coalition partner, Lalu Prasad Yadav, a charismatic and colourful former chief minister of Bihar who has previously been jailed for corruption.

The resignation centred on a disagreement around the role of Yadav's son as a regional minister, but some analysts said Kumar, 66, clearly saw a better political future by cutting his losses and aligning himself with Modi.

"The BJP has its strategy in place and the systematic assault on Lalu's family in corruption cases by federal agencies was not a coincidence. It was all well-timed and planned to ensure Nitish gets a smooth exit to join hands with the BJP," said Shekhar Gupta, founder and editor-in-chief of The Print.

Bhupender Yadav, BJP national general secretary, denied the BJP was to blame for any fallout between Lalu and Kumar.

"We are proud of the fact that the BJP has been successful in defeating the corrupt political party and will be able to serve the people of Bihar," he said.

Kumar, who broke with the BJP before the 2014 general election, had in recent months begun openly to support some of Modi's policies.

In contrast with other opponents, he had backed the prime minister's shock decision in November to ban high-denomination bank notes to fight "black money" and threw his weight behind Modi's recent choice for India's new president.

Following the resignation, Modi quickly praised Kumar for fighting corruption in one of India's poorest states. The prime minister said on Thursday that he was "looking forward to working together for Bihar's progress and prosperity".

Kumar's regional JDU party and Modi's BJP have enough seats to secure a narrow majority in the state legislature, although Yadav's party is the largest. Yadav said he had the right to form the next government and accused Kumar of "surrendering as per needs".

The BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi will serve as Kumar's deputy in the state.

Amit Shah to contest Rajya Sabha polls from Guj

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) BJP president Amit Shah is set to make his debut as a member of Parliament with the BJP parliamentary board today announcing that he will contest the August 8 Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat.

Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.

Shah at present is an MLA from Gujarat, where BJP has a government.

Their names were announced by senior party leader J P Nadda after the meeting of the party panel.

The terms of nine Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat and West Bengal are ending on August 18. These include Irani, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien.

Out of the 9 retiring members, four are from the Trinamool Congress, two from the Congress, two from the BJP and one from the CPI-M.

The retirement of Ahmed Patel (Cong), Dilipbhai Pandya (BJP) and Irani (BJP) -- all from Gujarat -- is due on August 18.

The tenure of members from West Bengal -- O'Brien (TMC), Debabrata Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Pradip Bhattacharya (Cong), Yechury (CPM), Sukhenduhakhar Roy (TMC) and Dola Sen (TMC) ends on August 18.

Modi congratulates Nitish after resignation

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying in doing so he has joined the fight against corruption.

Immediately after Kumar announced his resignation, Modi tweeted: "Congratulations! Mr Nitish Kumar for joining the fight against corruption." 

"1.25 crore people are welcoming and supporting his honesty," he said in a series of tweets.

"For the bright future of the country, and especially Bihar, it is the need of the hour to rise above political differences and join the fight against corruption," Modi said.

Kumar today resigned as chief minister, citing differences with ally RJD over corruption charges against Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad.