Ø First-time legislator Manohar Lal Khattar, 61, is set
to become the 21st Chief Minister of Haryana. Mr. Khattar, a Punjabi, pipped
other aspirants to the post owing to his RSS background and proximity to top
BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit
Shah. He was unanimously elected leader of the BJP’s 47-member legislature
group on Tuesday, following which he and senior BJP leaders met Governor Kaptan
Singh Solanki and apprised him of the decision. The swearing-in will be held at
the Tau Devi Lal stadium in Panchkula on October 26. Mr. Khattar from Rohtak
won the Karnal seat by a margin of 63,773 votes.
Ø Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has rolled
out reforms aimed at the efficient management of government expenditure through
speedy project approvals, decentralisation of more financial powers to
Ministries and reduced transaction costs. The Finance Ministry estimates that
the resultant savings on time and cost overruns could lift the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth by 0.5-1 percentage point. The administrative Ministries
are beginning to take advantage of the new rules that have been in place for
about a month now. These Ministries have got a four-fold increase in the powers
for approving expenditure without seeking the Finance Ministry’s nod. The
Secretary of an administrative Ministry can now approve schemes and projects
that cost up to Rs. 100 crore, up from the present Rs. 25 crore. The Union
Cabinet’s approval will be needed only for those that cost more than Rs. 1,000
crore, not Rs. 300 crore.
Ø India received the most number of votes in the
Asia-Pacific group of the U.N. Human Rights Council, winning a second consecutive two-year term at
the world body. Official sources said this was a reflection of India’s standing
in the world. India was a committed supporter of the U.N. human rights system
and would continue to work towards strengthening of the Council. 162 of 190
countries voted for India. Three other countries including Indonesia,
Bangladesh and Qatar were elected.
Ø Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar
Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for
killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Ø A web portal that will contain digitised
content from museums across the country was launched on Tuesday by Shripad
Naik, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism. The
Ministry of Culture plans to digitise the collections of all museums under its
control as well as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
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