New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted last opportunity to the Centre and Opposition parties to file their responses on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for directions to prohibit the use of the acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) by opposition political alliances.

The Delhi High Court refused to prepone hearing in the PIL against the opposition political parties using the acronym INDIA while hearing the petitioner’s application seeking an early hearing of the matter in view of the general election schedule notified by ECI.

The first phase of voting for the 2024 general elections is on April 19.

The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora gave the one last opportunity to file the replies, saying “it would try to hear and dispose of the matter on April 10”.

Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI), in its reply to the Delhi High Court, said that it can’t regulate political alliances while responding to a plea against the use of the INDIA acronym for the alliance of opposition parties.

“The answering respondent (ECI) is constituted under Article 324 of the Constitution of India for superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of all elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice President,” the ECI stated.

The authority of the answering respondent is to be exercised in accordance with the law passed by Parliament, albeit the answering respondent has the authority to regulate matters concerning elections in the absence of any contrary law in force, the poll panel said.

“The answering respondent has been vested with the authority to register associations of bodies or individuals of a political party in terms of Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (the “RP Act”),” it added.

Political alliances are not recognised as regulated entities under the Representation of People’s Act or the Constitution.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had sought a response from the Centre, the ECI and several opposition political parties on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for direction to opposition political parties against the use of the acronym INDIA for their political alliance.

The court also sought responses from opposition parties named in the petition.

Petitioner Girish Upadhya, through Advocate Vaibhav Singh, stated that several political parties are using the national flag as the logo of their alliance, which is a further strategic move to attract and gain sympathy and votes from innocent citizens and as a tool to give a nudge or a spark that may lead to political hatred, which eventually will lead to political violence.

The plea alleged that political parties are using the acronym INDIA with malicious intent which will only act as a factor for “diminishing the goodwill of our great nation i.e., India (Bharat), not only in our country but also on various international platforms”.

The plea stated that if the term INDIA is used by the Indian and International Media as an acronym but not in its full form (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) it will create a sense of confusion among innocent citizens if the alliance i.e. INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) is defeated or loses the general election of 2024 then it would be projected as India as a whole is defeated, which will hurt the sentiment of innocent citizens of the country again which may lead to political violence in the country.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Centre has approved a 4% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), bringing the total DA to 50% of the basic salary for central government employees and pensioners. This decision also includes a 25% increase in transport, deputation, and canteen allowances.

The move, announced by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in a press conference, is expected to benefit 49.18 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. Considering both DA and DR and the increase in other allowances, it’s going to cost the exchequer an estimated Rs 15,000 crore for January and February in the fiscal year 2024, reported The Hindu.

As part of the revision, various allowances such as Housing Rent Allowances (HRA), Children’s Education and Transport Allowances, and gratuities will see an increase based on the formula recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. Employees and pensioners will receive arrears for January and February, along with the revised rates for March.

The revision in DA and DR, based on the Consumer Price Index – Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), occurs twice a year. The first revision, effective from January 1, is usually announced just before Holi, with the second revision, effective from July 1, decided before Durga Puja.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal did not confirm whether the DA and DR reaching 50% would trigger a merger into the basic salary, but he acknowledged that other allowances would increase with this revision. Similar increases for state government employees are anticipated following this announcement.

For HRA, the country is divided into three categories – X, Y, and Z. The revised rates for X, Y, and Z categories are now 30%, 20%, and 10%, respectively. For instance, with a minimum basic salary of Rs 18,000, the new HRA will be Rs 5,400, Rs 3,600, and Rs 1,800, respectively.

The increase in DA will also impact transport allowances, daily allowances, hostel subsidies for children’s education, and retirement gratuity. The DA reaching 50% will also benefit Chairpersons and Members of select regulatory bodies, increasing their monthly remuneration by 25%. 

How is DA calculated?

DA is calculated using the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI), which tells us how the prices of everyday items change over time.

Here’s how it works:

Check the AICPI: Look at how much the prices have gone up or down, based on what people pay for groceries and services. The Labour Ministry provides this number.

Pick a Time Period: Depending on whether you work for the Central government or the Central public sector, choose a specific time, like the average prices over the last 12 months for government employees or the last three months for public sector employees.

Do the Math: Plug the AICPI into a formula to calculate how much extra money you should get. 

DA calculation for central government employees

DA% = ((Average of AICPI (Base Year – 2001=100) for the past 12 months -115.76)/115.76) *100

For central public sector employees

DA% = ((Average of AICPI (Base Year – 2001=100) for the past 3 months -126.33)/126.33) *100

The percentage you get is the extra amount added to your salary to help you keep up with the higher costs of things around you.

Raipur:

 Accusing the BJP-led government at the centre of misusing its power as well as central agencies, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday alleged that the central government will immediately take action against him on getting an opportunity.

CM Bhupesh Baghel said, “They are not getting any chance (to arrest me); otherwise, are they going to leave me? They are misusing their powers.”

CM Baghel expressed this while speaking exclusively with ANI in Raipur on Friday in response to a question about whether he feels that ED would arrest him as the central agency had held bureaucrats and raided the addresses of people close to him.

Dubbing the action carried out by the ED in the recent past as a part of the conspiracy, the CM said that they (BJP) do not have any programmes or schemes to attract the public, so they are constantly trying to defame the state government.

“They (referring to the opposition BJP in the state) are no longer capable of fighting. Being in power for 15 years, they got used to availing themselves of the benefits of privileges and are now not in the state to fight. Therefore, they are indulging in defaming the government and yet to prove anything,” said the CM.

Terming the raids carried out by the central agency in Chhattisgarh on rice millers (on Friday) as a move to impact the paddy procurement drive, which is scheduled to commence from November 1, the CM said the action was done to defame the Chhattisgarh government.

“They have stooped so low to gain power that they are not even thinking about the financial loss of farmers,” said the CM.

The Election Commission has announced that the first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh will be held on November 7, and the remaining 70 seats in Chhattisgarh will go to polls on November 17.

Polls will be held in Mizoram on November 7, Chhattisgarh on November 7 and November 17, Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 25 and Telangana on November 30.

The counting of votes will take place on December 3 in all the states. Of the five states, polling in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases.

The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with the announcement of poll dates. The elections to five states are crucial as they are being held months before the Lok Sabha elections in April-May next year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Central government on Tuesday has revived the Diwali bonus for its employees belonging to group C and Group D and certain categories of group B.

In an office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure under the Finance Ministry said the employees Group C, D and contractuals will get bonus this year, subject to fulfilling certain conditions of service.

The maximum limit for payment of bonus under these orders will be Rs 7,000 monthly salary, it said.

The bonus will also be applicable to eligible employees of central paramilitary and armed forces.

The central government has approved a Diwali bonus for Group C and non-gazetted Group B rank officials, including paramilitary forces, with a maximum limit of Rs 7,000. (n/1) pic.twitter.com/IK0if6Swxh

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 17, 2023

According to the order, employees who were in service as on March 31, 2021, and have rendered at least six months of continuous service during 2020-21 fiscal year would be eligible for this ad hoc bonus.