Latest news with #RightToInformation
India.com
26-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Cash At Judge's House: SC Rejects Application To Reveal Report Of In-House Panel
Cash At Judge's House: The Supreme Court has rejected an application seeking a copy of the report of the court-appointed in-house panel, which was formed to enquire into the alleged cash recovery at the house of former Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. The application was filed under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, reportedly by an advocate from Maharashtra. This stems from the incident when a pile of burnt cash was discovered allegedly at the residence of Justice Varma in Delhi after a fire on March 14. Following the incident, a three-member committee was constituted to conduct an inquiry. According to the news agency IANS, the top court registry, the apex court registry, also refused to reveal a copy of the communication written by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna to the President and Prime Minister in this matter. After the allegations of cash discovery, Justice Varma was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. Earlier, the Supreme Court had informed in a statement that then CJI Khanna had written to the President and the PM, and forwarded the report of the three-member committee. "Chief Justice of India, in terms of the In-House Procedure, has written to Hon'ble the President of India and Hon'ble the Prime Minister of India enclosing therewith copy of the 3-Member Committee report dated 03.05.2025 along with the letter/response dated 06.05.2025 received from Mr Justice Yashwant Varma," the press release of the apex court said. Later, a two-judge bench of the apex court refused a plea seeking criminal prosecution of Justice Varma. "There was an in-house inquiry report. It has been forwarded to the President of India and the Prime Minister of India for action. If you are seeking a writ of mandamus, you have to first make a representation to those authorities before which the issue is pending," a bench headed by Justice Abhay S. Oka told advocate Mathews J. Nedumpara, as per IANS.
News18
26-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Supreme Court Junks RTI Plea Seeking In-House Inquiry Report On Justice Varma Cash Row
Last Updated: The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court rejected the application, filed by Maharashtra-based advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa. The Supreme Court has rejected an application under Right To Information (RTI) Act, seeking to make public the in-house inquiry committee's report linked with the alleged cash recovery from the house of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had forwarded the report along with a letter to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. The apex court has also refused to release a copy of that letter. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court rejected the application, filed by Maharashtra-based advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa, saying that the report cannot be provided in view of the decision in the Subhash Chandra Agarwal case. According to Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act, 2005, information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship is exempted from disclosure unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information. According to Section 11 of the act, third-party information is exempted from disclosure. 'The information cannot be provided in view of tests outlined by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 13.11.2019 passed in Civil Appeal Nos.10044- 45/2010 (СPIO, Supreme Court of India Vs. Subhash Chandra Agarwal, (2020) 5 SCС 481) viz. independence of judiciary, proportionality test, fiduciary relationship, invasion of the right to privacy and breach of duty of confidentiality etc. with reference to provisions of Section 8(1)(e) and Section 11(1) of the RTI Act, 2005," the Additional Registrar said in the reply as reported by Bar and Bench. The Supreme Court had ordered an in-house probe into the alleged discovery of half-burnt cash. Earlier this month, the committee submitted its report to the Chief Justice. 'The three-member Committee consisting of Mr Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Ms Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, constituted for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge, has submitted its report dated 03.05.2025 to the Chief Justice of India on 04.05.2025," said a release issued by the top court. While the preliminary report of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice and the response of Justice Varma, along with the photos and videos taken by the Delhi Police, were publicised by uploading them on the Supreme Court's website, the final iquiry report was not made public. (With inputs from agencies)
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
How Samsung and 20 others missed out on an ambitious incentives scheme
Jatin Grover The telecom products manufacturing scheme was expected to generate incentives claims of more than ₹ 12,000 crore. But that's not how it turned out. Top manufacturers such Samsung, HFCL Ltd, Netweb Technologies, Kaynes International, Optiemus unit GDN Enterprises and state-owned ITI Ltd have not claimed any incentives yet. Gift this article An ambitious scheme to boost local telecom manufacturing is still far from its target, four years after the government set aside ₹ 12,000 crore to get companies to build everything from network gear to set-top boxes. While beneficiaries of the scheme have sold goods worth over ₹ 80,000 crore during the period, incentive claims are still a fraction of the originalallocation. An ambitious scheme to boost local telecom manufacturing is still far from its target, four years after the government set aside ₹ 12,000 crore to get companies to build everything from network gear to set-top boxes. While beneficiaries of the scheme have sold goods worth over ₹ 80,000 crore during the period, incentive claims are still a fraction of the originalallocation. Top manufacturers such Samsung, HFCL Ltd, Netweb Technologies, Kaynes International, Optiemus unit GDN Enterprises and state-owned ITI Ltd have not claimed any incentives yet, as they either failed to start manufacturing or were unable to meet targets. The result: only a tenth of the incentives have been claimed by manufacturers so far. A Right To Information (RTI) request found that the scheme disbursed ₹ 1,162.04 crore by the end of FY25, against the ₹ 12,195 crore approved for five years. While 42 companies were shortlisted, only half claimed incentives. The scheme was introduced in February 2021 to incentivize the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes. According to industry executives, the reasons include weak order book and demand, competition within the segment and the inability to meet set targets of investments and sales. 'Missed opportunity' 'The reason why many players missed the opportunity is owing to the market structure compared to that of smartphone PLI," a consultant who works with companies said. Telecom PLI serves the B2B market where the companies already have fixed clients, while the more successful smartphone PLI serves the B2C market, the consultant said on the condition of anonymity. The smartphone PLI scheme has been among the government's most successful ones. On 17 April, electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X that in FY25, smartphone exports reached a record ₹ 2 trillion. Exports grew 55% in FY25. The telecom PLI scheme offers incentives of 4-7% of the incremental sales over the years. In the first, second and third years, MSMEs get a 1% higher incentive. 'Samsung has not started production and is meeting the equipment supplies to Indian telcos from imports," an industry executive aware of the matter said. The company did not respond to a query. HFCL's plan In February, domestic gear maker HFCL had said it expects to start claiming PLI incentives from FY26. PLI amount, we have still not been able to claim because…the amount of revenue we thought would come from telecom equipment, which will make PLI available to us would not be fulfilled during the current financial year. So, we expect to start claiming PLI from the next financial year," Mahendra Nahata, promoter and managing director of HFCL told analysts during an earnings call in February. 'If at all we are able to claim, this (PLI incentive) should be around ₹ 40-50 crore," Nahata added. On 1 November 2022, HFCL had said it would invest around ₹ 425 crore towards the development and manufacture of various eligible products under the PLI scheme. The company had said it was granted approval to avail of incentives up to ₹ 652.79 crore as part of the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme from FY23 to FY27. Companies approved under the scheme were allowed to choose a period of five consecutive years either from FY22 to FY26, or FY23 to FY27, to achieve the net incremental sales. Queries sent to the Union communications ministry which administers the scheme, as well as HFCL, Kaynes, Samsung, Optiemus, Netweb Technologies and ITI remained unanswered. 'Successful' A government official, however, claimed the scheme was successful. 'The targets are set by the firms themselves. If they have not claimed any incentives, they may not have met the sales or investment target. Despite that, they have contributed to the overall sales and exports of telecom equipment," the official said on the condition of anonymity, adding the government steadily disburses the amounts. The ministry's PLI dashboard showed that the beneficiaries under the telecom scheme have invested ₹ 4,139 crore and generated sales of ₹ 80,927 crore as of March end. The companies have generated a cumulative employment of 26,345. Tata Group company Tejas Networks, which designs and manufactures telecom equipment, won incentives of ₹ 345.27 crore for FY23, FY24, and FY25 so far, the highest among all the companies, the RTI document showed. The company has gained from BSNL's 4G rollout order, and also exports its products to 75 countries. Jabil Circuit India, which contract-manufactures for Ericsson and Apple, was the second in the list, claiming incentives of ₹ 236 crore, the RTI document showed. Right strategies Contract manufacturers such as Flextronics Technologies India, Foxconn's Rising Stars Hi-Tech and Syrma SGS, got incentives of ₹ 90.31 crore, ₹ 80.33 crore, and ₹ 53.3 crore, respectively. VVDN Technologies and Dixon Electro Appliances received incentives of ₹ 48 crore and ₹ 34.8 crore so far, according to the document. Also read: After a new lifeline, Vodafone Idea searches for a new CEO 'The success under the PLI scheme also depended on the right sales and investment strategies, which most medium-size companies have been able to meet. The government gave the companies a free hand to decide on the targets which, maybe, were overestimated by some companies," said Paritosh Prajapati, chief executive officer and founder of Sweden-based GX Group. The company is manufacturing routers, switches and other telecom equipment under the scheme in India and has received incentives of ₹ 20.9 crore. Prajapati said the focus will now shift to exports as companies have set up domestic bases. Exports By the end of FY25, total exports under the telecom PLI scheme were at ₹ 14,838 crore. Nokia Solutions and Networks India exported equipment worth ₹ 4,487 crore, followed by Jabil at ₹ 4,356 crore. Nokia, so far, has been able to get incentives of only ₹ 47 crore under the scheme. The company supplies 4G/5G equipment to telecom operators in the country and globally. US-based Commscope, which provides network infrastructure solutions, exported telecom equipment worth ₹ 2,882 crore under the scheme. Domestic players such as VVDN Technologies exported products worth ₹ 1,293 crore, followed by Syrma SGS at ₹ 583 crore and Tejas at ₹ 420 crore. Sanmina-Sci India, a subsidiary of US-based Sanmina Corp., exported ₹ 384 crore worth of telecom equipment. Notably, Jio is currently manufacturing its devices in India under Reliance Industries' joint venture with Sanmina. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had notified the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products in February 2021 with an outlay of ₹ 12,195 crore. The incentives for eligible companies were in the range of 4-7% based on incremental sales of telecom and networking products manufactured. For MSMEs, a 1% higher incentive was there in year 1, year 2 and year 3 of the scheme. In June 2022, the government amended the scheme to facilitate design-led manufacturing with an additional incentive rate of 1% over and above the existing incentive rates. A sum of ₹ 4,000 crore from the ₹ 12,195 crore was set aside for the same. The government also extended the tenure of the scheme from five years (FY22 to FY26) to 6 years (FY22 to FY27). Companies approved under the scheme were allowed to choose a period of five consecutive years either from FY22 to FY26, or FY23 to FY27, to achieve the net incremental sales for the incentive claim. Investments, however, are allowed till FY25 or FY26 depending on the base year chosen by the companies. The extension was given as many companies failed to achieve their production targets due to covid-related supply chain disruptions when the scheme came into effect. Topics You May Be Interested In
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
web: How Samsung and 20 others missed out on an ambitious incentives scheme
An ambitious scheme to boost local telecom manufacturing is still far from its target, four years after the government set aside ₹12,000 crore to get companies to build everything from network gear to set-top boxes. While beneficiaries of the scheme have sold goods worth over ₹80,000 crore during the period, incentive claims are still a fraction of the originalallocation. Top manufacturers such Samsung, HFCL Ltd, Netweb Technologies, Kaynes International, Optiemus unit GDN Enterprises and state-owned ITI Ltd have not claimed any incentives yet, as they either failed to start manufacturing or were unable to meet targets. The result: only a tenth of the incentives have been claimed by manufacturers so far. A Right To Information (RTI) request found that the scheme disbursed ₹1,162.04 crore by the end of FY25, against the ₹12,195 crore approved for five years. While 42 companies were shortlisted, only half claimed incentives. The scheme was introduced in February 2021 to incentivize the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes. Also read: Airtel, Google team up to counter Jio's free cloud blitz with 100 GB storage According to industry executives, the reasons include weak order book and demand, competition within the segment and the inability to meet set targets of investments and sales. 'Missed opportunity' 'The reason why many players missed the opportunity is owing to the market structure compared to that of smartphone PLI," a consultant who works with companies said. Telecom PLI serves the B2B market where the companies already have fixed clients, while the more successful smartphone PLI serves the B2C market, the consultant said on the condition of anonymity. The smartphone PLI scheme has been among the government's most successful ones. On 17 April, electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X that in FY25, smartphone exports reached a record ₹2 trillion. Exports grew 55% in FY25. The telecom PLI scheme offers incentives of 4-7% of the incremental sales over the years. In the first, second and third years, MSMEs get a 1% higher incentive. 'Samsung has not started production and is meeting the equipment supplies to Indian telcos from imports," an industry executive aware of the matter said. The company did not respond to a query. HFCL's plan In February, domestic gear maker HFCL had said it expects to start claiming PLI incentives from FY26. PLI amount, we have still not been able to claim because…the amount of revenue we thought would come from telecom equipment, which will make PLI available to us would not be fulfilled during the current financial year. So, we expect to start claiming PLI from the next financial year," Mahendra Nahata, promoter and managing director of HFCL told analysts during an earnings call in February. Also read: OneWeb seeks more time to meet satcom security norms as spectrum nears 'If at all we are able to claim, this (PLI incentive) should be around ₹40-50 crore," Nahata added. On 1 November 2022, HFCL had said it would invest around ₹425 crore towards the development and manufacture of various eligible products under the PLI scheme. The company had said it was granted approval to avail of incentives up to ₹652.79 crore as part of the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme from FY23 to FY27. Companies approved under the scheme were allowed to choose a period of five consecutive years either from FY22 to FY26, or FY23 to FY27, to achieve the net incremental sales. Queries sent to the Union communications ministry which administers the scheme, as well as HFCL, Kaynes, Samsung, Optiemus, Netweb Technologies and ITI remained unanswered. 'Successful' A government official, however, claimed the scheme was successful. 'The targets are set by the firms themselves. If they have not claimed any incentives, they may not have met the sales or investment target. Despite that, they have contributed to the overall sales and exports of telecom equipment," the official said on the condition of anonymity, adding the government steadily disburses the amounts. The ministry's PLI dashboard showed that the beneficiaries under the telecom scheme have invested ₹4,139 crore and generated sales of ₹80,927 crore as of March end. The companies have generated a cumulative employment of 26,345. Tata Group company Tejas Networks, which designs and manufactures telecom equipment, won incentives of ₹345.27 crore for FY23, FY24, and FY25 so far, the highest among all the companies, the RTI document showed. The company has gained from BSNL's 4G rollout order, and also exports its products to 75 countries. Jabil Circuit India, which contract-manufactures for Ericsson and Apple, was the second in the list, claiming incentives of ₹236 crore, the RTI document showed. Right strategies Contract manufacturers such as Flextronics Technologies India, Foxconn's Rising Stars Hi-Tech and Syrma SGS, got incentives of ₹90.31 crore, ₹80.33 crore, and ₹53.3 crore, respectively. VVDN Technologies and Dixon Electro Appliances received incentives of ₹48 crore and ₹34.8 crore so far, according to the document. Also read: After a new lifeline, Vodafone Idea searches for a new CEO 'The success under the PLI scheme also depended on the right sales and investment strategies, which most medium-size companies have been able to meet. The government gave the companies a free hand to decide on the targets which, maybe, were overestimated by some companies," said Paritosh Prajapati, chief executive officer and founder of Sweden-based GX Group. The company is manufacturing routers, switches and other telecom equipment under the scheme in India and has received incentives of ₹20.9 crore. Prajapati said the focus will now shift to exports as companies have set up domestic bases. Exports By the end of FY25, total exports under the telecom PLI scheme were at ₹14,838 crore. Nokia Solutions and Networks India exported equipment worth ₹4,487 crore, followed by Jabil at ₹4,356 crore. Nokia, so far, has been able to get incentives of only ₹47 crore under the scheme. The company supplies 4G/5G equipment to telecom operators in the country and globally. US-based Commscope, which provides network infrastructure solutions, exported telecom equipment worth ₹2,882 crore under the scheme. Domestic players such as VVDN Technologies exported products worth ₹1,293 crore, followed by Syrma SGS at ₹583 crore and Tejas at ₹420 crore. Sanmina-Sci India, a subsidiary of US-based Sanmina Corp., exported ₹384 crore worth of telecom equipment. Notably, Jio is currently manufacturing its devices in India under Reliance Industries' joint venture with Sanmina. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had notified the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products in February 2021 with an outlay of ₹12,195 crore. The incentives for eligible companies were in the range of 4-7% based on incremental sales of telecom and networking products manufactured. For MSMEs, a 1% higher incentive was there in year 1, year 2 and year 3 of the scheme. In June 2022, the government amended the scheme to facilitate design-led manufacturing with an additional incentive rate of 1% over and above the existing incentive rates. A sum of ₹4,000 crore from the ₹12,195 crore was set aside for the same. The government also extended the tenure of the scheme from five years (FY22 to FY26) to 6 years (FY22 to FY27). Companies approved under the scheme were allowed to choose a period of five consecutive years either from FY22 to FY26, or FY23 to FY27, to achieve the net incremental sales for the incentive claim. Investments, however, are allowed till FY25 or FY26 depending on the base year chosen by the companies. The extension was given as many companies failed to achieve their production targets due to covid-related supply chain disruptions when the scheme came into effect.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Deemed ‘unsafe' for National Museum antiquities, Red Fort barrack to now house new ASI museum
Declared 'unsafe' by the National Museum for its 'high-value objects' in 2023, a Red Fort barrack in Old Delhi is expected to house a new Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) museum instead, according to a recent decision by the Union Culture Ministry. The ASI Archives and Archival Museum of Archaeology, expected to be located at the barrack, CMP-A3, will house antiquities from the Central Antiquity Collection (CAC), on display at Purana Qila, nearly 8 km from the 17th-century Red Fort, since 1974. With over 3.5 lakh items, the CAC is the single-largest collection of antiquities in India. In response to an application filed by The Indian Express under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, documents shared by the Culture Ministry had revealed that the decision on the new museum was taken in August 2023 and that the same was recently conveyed to the ASI, which has uploaded a new office order on its website. Earlier allotted to the National Museum, the barrack, CMP-A3, was to display its 'Arms and Armour Gallery', and 'Anthropology Collection'. Despite the National Museum spending nearly Rs 35 crore on retrofitting the space, including getting new showcases and fixtures, among other items, between 2019 and 2023, an inspection had deemed CMP-A3 'unsafe' for its 'high-value objects'. Accessed under the RTI Act, a note dated July 27, 2023, by B R Mani, then Director-General, National Museum, states, '…the ceiling of the first floor still had leakage in spite of retrofitting carried out… The arrangement of lighting is very poor and either it is out of focus or focus is not on the objects in the showcases… The star objects from the National Museum's Arms and Armour collection, like those of Aurangzeb, Nadir Shah and Rana Sangram Singh-II, have been placed in the barrack, which has lost its strength due to the fact that these were constructed in 1870s and placing the star objects in such (a) building is dangerous for the safety of the historic Arms and Armours.' Mani, who retired last month, told The Indian Express, 'The barrack did not have proper arrangements for our objects, which is why we proposed that we should bring back our antiquities (from there). Some items from the National Museum were brought back but a few are still there.' On the ASI taking over CMP-A3 in its place, Mani's July 2023 note mentions Professor K K Basa, then Director-General, ASI, requesting the space for an ASI museum. A Culture Ministry communication dated August 11, 2023, signed by Bhoopendra Singh, Under Secretary, states, '(The) Barrack may be handed over to the ASI along with all the fixtures and showcases.' An office order dated February 24 this year, issued by Y S Rawat, Director-General, ASI, a copy of which is also available on the ASI website, states, '(The) Antiquity Section is instructed to take over the CMP (A3) Barrack, Red Fort, Delhi, from the National Museum.' Sources suggest that the CAC antiquities may be shifted there after the ASI takes possession of CMP-A3 officially and the National Museum moves its artefacts out of the Red Fort barrack. According to the ASI website, the CAC 'is a centre for the collection of explored and excavated pottery and other antiquities from various Excavation Branches and Circle Offices of the ASI… was created in the 1910s to mainly house the explored antiquities from Sir Aurel Stein's Central Asian Expedition (1906-1916). It was initially established in the main building of the ASI at New Delhi, which was later shifted to Safdarjung Tomb complex in 1958… presently housed in the premises of Purana Qila since 1974'. The CAC antiquities include stone and metal sculptures, coins, paintings, and ivory and copper artefacts, among others, dating back from the proto-historic to the modern period. Though the CAC antiquities at Purana Qila are sealed, they are opened occasionally on request by research scholars. The section where these artefacts are currently housed in the nearly 500-year-old Purana Qila has become decrepit. In comparison, their new home — the Red Fort barrack — was built by the British government after 1857. This is not the first time that the CAC antiquities will be moved to a new home. Nearly two years ago, in March 2023, it was decided to shift the CAC collection to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Institute of Archaeology in Greater Noida, nearly 40 km from Purana Qila. After a few big objects were moved to the Greater Noida institute, academics had raised concerns over the distance making access difficult for research scholars. Sources said these concerns were taken into consideration while deciding to shift the CAC artefacts to the Red Fort barrack. To a query on a timeline for moving these artefacts to the barrack, a senior Culture Ministry official told The Indian Express, 'Shifting of antiquities will take time since the process requires much delicacy and care.' Even as sources said the ASI is expected to take possession of the barrack soon, an ASI official adds, 'How can a barrack that is found unsafe for National Museum antiquities be considered safe for ASI antiquities? We will take possession of the barrack once our officials are satisfied with the space.' Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC's lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More
