NEWS

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from potential buyers to acquire a 76 per cent stake in the debt stricken national airline. This move appears to be a step closer to privatizing state-run Air India.
The government plans to sell the stake in the airline on the condition that its control will vest with Indian entities and the brand name Air India is retained. It will also sell 100% of its low-cost international carrier Air India Express Ltd and a 50% stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd, an airport ground-handling joint venture. Out of the 24% stake the government will be left with in Air India, it will offer employee stock options to the airline’s employees.

NEW DELHI: For the development of underdevelopment 101 districts of the country NITI Aayog has come up with a mechanism under which these districts termed as 'aspirational' would be competing with each other in terms of performance. These districts will be ranked on 49 parameters based on various data points.
The 49 indicators on 81 data points will cover five development areas of health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure.  From the beginning of next fiscal year from April 1, this real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing.

NEW DELHI: The government in all likelihood to file review petition in the Supreme Court against the apex court’s decision to ban automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases for suspected offences against underprivileged communities as the law ministry on Wednesday cleared the ground for it.
The law ministry’s advice came hours after Prime Minister NarendraModi met a delegation of BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ministers and members of Parliament who said after the meeting that they had been assured that the BJP-led NDA government would stay at the vanguard of efforts to uplift the Dalits. Opposition members led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi met President Ram NathKovind on the same issue.

NEW DELHI: Giving thumps down to India’s ambition to reach out to new allies, India appears to have lost ground in Seychelles. India and the Seychelles signed a revised agreement two months ago for the building of military infrastructure on Assumption Island but Seychelles’ opposition has refused to allow it to be ratified by their Parliament.
Seychelles president Danny Faure acknowledged the opposition to the agreement and announced he would not present it to the national assembly in April as planned. He said he had been told that he had been told by the leader of the opposition, Wavel John Charles Ramkalawan and ruling party members that they would not allow the agreement to go through "in its present form". Faure was in India recently to participate in the inaugural summit of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).