BJP gains edge in RS, still lacks majority

June 12, 2016

New Delhi, Jun 12: The current round of Rajya Sabha biennial elections to 57 seats have given the ruling NDA an edge over opposition UPA, but it still lacks the majority it needs to push crucial legislations and may have to depend on regional parties who remain key players.

rajyasabhaRegional players have 89 members. Their combined strength remains unaltered after the elections. The Samajwadi Party now has 19 members, with a gain of four seats, while JD-U and RJD have a combined strength of 12. The Trinamool Congress and AIADMK too have 12 members each, followed by BSP (6), CPI-M (8), BJD (7) and DMK (5).

After the elections, in the House of 245, the NDA has raised its tally by 5 and now has 74 members. The UPA, on the other hand has 71 members, with its tally down by three.

On June 3, 30 candidates were elected to the Upper House unopposed. The NDA then had managed to add 11 of its members (BJP 7, TDP 2, Shiv and Shiromani Akali Dal one each) in their Rajya Sabha tally.

The House also has 12 nominated members.

The UPA could send five members to the Upper House (Congress 4 and NCP 1) unopposed. The other parties -- JD-U (2), RJD (2), AIADMK (4), DMK (2) and BJD (3) -- were able to send 13 members to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.

In yesterday's election held to the remaining 27 seats, BJP won 12 seats -- two in Haryana, one in UP, four in Rajasthan, two in Madhya Pradesh, one in Karnataka and two in Jharkhand.

Congress, on the other hand, won six seats -- one each in UP, MP and Uttarakhand and three in Karnataka.

Out of 11 seats in UP, the SP won seven seats, BSP 2, BJP and Congress one each.

In the Rajya Sabha bypoll necessitated following the demise of sitting Congress member Praveen Rashtrapal from Gujarat in May, BJP wrested the seat.

With regional players remaining crucial in passage of key legislations, government may now to seek their support to pass reform bills like GST.

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Agencies
May 23,2020

New Delhi, May 23: India will try to restart a good percentage of international passenger flights before August, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday, three days after announcing resumption of domestic flights from May 25.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"I am fully hopeful that before August or September, we will try to start a good percentage of international civil aviation operations, if not complete international operations," Puri said during a Facebook live session.

"I can't put a date on it (restarting international flights). But if somebody says can it be done by August or September, my response is why not earlier depending on what is the situation," he said.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Washington, Feb 16: India and the United States share "unshakeable" ties, said US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS), Alice Wells, on Sunday, adding that the upcoming visit of President Donald Trump will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

"The U.S. and #India enjoy a close partnership that grows stronger day by day. Together, we are breaking records. For example, we welcomed a record number of Indian exchange students to the US last year and hope to receive even more this year," said Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in a tweet attributed to Alice Wells.

"The ties between our countries are unshakeable, and we look forward to an even warmer relationship as @narendramodi hosts @POTUS later this month," it added.

Trump will pay a two-day state visit to India from February 24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region and plays an increasingly prominent role on the world's stage. The U.S. looks forward to partnering with #India at every step of the way, " Alice Wells further said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Trump is expected to attend an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the ''Howdy Modi'' function that was addressed by the US President and PM Modi in Houston in September last year. Trump is slated to pay a two-day visit to India from February 24.

During the visit, Trump, who will be accompanied by First Lady Melania, will attend official engagements in New Delhi and Ahmedabad, and interact with a wide cross-section of the Indian society, the MEA said in a statement.

The announcement of Trump's first official visit to India was earlier made by the White House on Monday, which, in its statement, said that the US President and Modi had agreed during a recent phone conversation that the trip will "further strengthen the United States-India strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people".

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Agencies
April 27,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27: Over 1.5 lakh Non-Resident Keralites (NRK)s, stranded in various countries, have registered online for returningto the state, once the Centre gives the nod and air services resume

The Norka (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) department had commenced the registration process at around 6pm on Sunday and within an hour 25,000 had registered, government sources said.

Till Monday morning, over 1.5 lakh NRKs have registered, the maximum is from UAE-- over 60,000.

The aged, pregnant women, children, critically ill patients, those with expired visas and those who had gone abroad on visiting visa are among thelarge numbers of people who are waiting to return.

Those wanting to return, have to get themselves tested for COVID-19 in the respective countries, where they are and register after getting a negative certificate for the infection.

Theregistration is for arranging quarantine facilitiesin the state, if necessary, and not for getting any priority on flight bookings,the sources said.

After the NRKs register themselves, the government would draw up a list on how to bring them back as per priority.

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