Reportage
Budget 2022: Focus on e-services in rural areas, optical fibres in all villages by 2025
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that contracts for laying optical fibres in all villages will be awarded under ‘Bharat Net project’ in 2022, 2023. The project is likely to complete by 2025.
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Budget 2022: No changes in personal income tax slabs, GST ‘buoyant’ despite COVID19 pandemic
The Finance Minister also proposed a reduction in corporate surcharge and said that the transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent.
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Budget 2022: Digital university to be set up; focus on developing e-content and digital teachers, said FM Sitharaman
In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government has proposed to set up a digital university to provide access to world class quality universal education. Additionally, One Class One TV Channel programme of PM eVidya to be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. More details here.
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Union Budget 2022: FM Sitharaman announces tele-mental health programme; 2 lakh anganwadis to be upgraded
A national tele-mental health programme will be launched for mental health counselling in India amid the pandemic. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced to upgrade 200,000 anganwadi centres across the country.
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Budget 2022: Focus on organic and natural farming; 2023 as the year of millets, increase oilseeds production
The Indian government has been promoting safer agricultural practices and the Union Budget 2022 will focus on organic farming and natural farming. The government will also stress on domestic oilseed production to reduce edible oil imports, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech.
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Ken-Betwa project and five river linking projects find mention in FM Sitharaman’s Budget 2022 speech
These river linking projects are being strongly opposed by the environmentalists who claim linking of these rivers will be disastrous as it will affect the local ecology and destroy the rivers. But the government claims these projects will enhance water security.
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Rs 60,000 allocated to Har Ghar Jal scheme in Union Budget 2022: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
3.8 crore households are to be covered under the central government’s piped drinking water scheme in financial year 2022-23.
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Union Budget 2022 LIVE UPDATES: Drones to be used for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, while sharing his views about the upcoming Budget, told the press outside the Parliament: “The Finance Minister will present an inclusive Budget in line with each and every sectors’ needs. It will be benefiting everyone…all sectors (including farmers).”
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Union Budget 2022-23: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leaves for Parliament, budget speech at 11 am — WATCH here
In a marked departure from the past budgets, sweets were provided to the core staff due to the “lock-in” at their workplaces, instead of a customary Halwa ceremony held every year in consideration of the ongoing COVID19 pandemic situation and the need to observe health safety protocols, the ministry said.
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Delhi’s anganwadi workers go on indefinite strike. What are their demands?
Hundreds of anganwadi workers assembled near Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to demand an increase in honorarium, facilities such as pension, insurance, and the status of a government employee. They claimed they were yet to receive the increment announced in 2018, but the Delhi government had deducted money from their honorarium and increased their workload.