Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the perpetual challenge before the government is to strengthen the agricultural sector. 

In an exclusive interview to All India Radio on the state of Indian Economy, Mr Jaitely said, one of the mechanisms to address the challenge should be to introduce measures on enabling farmers to earn more, make more investments in rural infrastructure like irrigation and provide purchase or income support to them. 

On Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday told reporters that his government will install a statue of the former prime minister in Patna. Though he did not offer details on what the height and cost of the statue are going to be, Nitish said a decision on its location will be taken soon.

Earlier today, Sadaiv Atal, a memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was dedicated to the nation. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who paid floral tributes to the former statesman at the memorial built near the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where his mortal remains were consigned to flames on August 17.

Vajpayee passed away on August 16 after a prolonged illness. He was cremated with full state honours.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and family members of Vajpayee also offered flowers at the lotus-shaped memorial. Sadaiv (always) Atal memorial will be managed by a trust headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. “Tributes to Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We reiterate our commitment towards creating the India he dreamt of,” Modi tweeted Tuesday.

Bharat Ratna and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday is being celebrated as Good Governance Day across the country today. Several programmes are being organised to mark the occasion. 

The Samadhi of Bharat Ratna and Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee - Sadaiv Atal was dedicated to the Nation today. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes at the Samadhi this morning. 

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, BJP president Amit Shah, several Union Ministers, family members of the late Prime Minister also paid their homage. 

Emphasizing Unity in Diversity, stones from various parts of country have been used in the construction of Samadhi near Rajghat in New Delhi. The central Samadhi platform comprises of nine square blocks, capped with a Diya in the center. The number nine holds significance and represents the navarasas, navaratras and navagrahas. 

The placement of the nine square Samadhi is in a circular lotus shaped pattern. The Samadhi has been completed by CPWD at a cost of over ten crore rupees and the entire cost of construction has been borne by the Atal Smriti Nyas Society.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India's longest rail-cum-road bridge - Bogibeel Bridge on the Brahmaputra in Assam today. He will also flag off the first passenger train over the bridge. The 4.9 kilometre long bridge has a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the top deck. The Bridge is situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh city in Assam. 

The Bogibeel bridge, constructed at an estimated cost of around 5,900 crore rupees, has a serviceable period of around 120 years. AIR correspondent reports that the rail link connects two existing railway networks running at south bank and north bank of the river.

Bogibeel bridge, Asia's second longest rail-cum-road bridge will be opened to traffic today.  his bridge will be the lifeline of the north eastern part of the country and will facilitate connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It will save a lot of time both in terms of road and rail travel. It will also reduce Delhi to Dibrugarh train-travel time by about three hours to 34 hours as against 37 hours presently. 

The bridge will enhance the national security of the eastern region by facilitating swift movement of defence forces and their equipment. It will also boost connectivity for around 50 lakh people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Talking to AIR, Chief Engineer of the project, Mohinder Singh said, the bridge is India's only fully welded bridge and 80 thousand tonnes of steel plates have been used. The iconic Bogibeel bridge is an architectural wonder and looks even more impressive as it spreads over the mighty Brahmaputra river.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gouda on January, 1997, while work commenced on 21st of April, 2002 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday rolled out several infrastructure and social sector projects in Odisha aimed at boosting job creation and living standards.

The projects have an estimated cost of ₹14,000 crore, including those inaugurated by Modi, besides some, for which work has commenced.

The Prime Minister said the projects will be in higher education, health, natural gas and roads, besides other social welfare projects. “All these will improve the quality of life in Odisha. The government has been giving priority to the balanced development of the country.”

The projects inaugurated include an Indian Institute of Technology at Bhubaneswar, set up at a cost of ₹1,260 crore, fulfilling a long-standing demand of the state. Modi also announced that work has commenced for an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.

The state will also get 1,150 health and wellness centres. Modi said the Centre is also making efforts on improving connectivity, which will improve business and trade activities. Work has commenced on a Rs4,000 crore pipeline project, he said. “Once the pipeline becomes operational, Odisha will become the petroleum hub of eastern India.”

Veteran CPM leader and former state commerce and industries minister Nirupam Sen — hailed as one of the architects of West Bengal’s industrial drive under late chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — passed way at a Kolkata hospital Monday after prolonged illness. He was 72.  The former CPM politburo member is survived by his wife, a son and daughter.

“Mr Nirupam Sen passed away at around 5.10 am after prolonged illness… he was suffering from pneumonia, leading to septic shock, causing multi-organ failure in a background of diabetes, hypertension, cerebral stroke and chronic kidney disease on maintenance haemodialysis,” a statement issued by AMRI Hospital, Salt Lake said.

Sen retired from active politics in 2013, when he had suffered a cerebral stroke. He had been on life support since after his health deteriorated in early December. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Saddened at the passing away of Nirupam Sen, former minister of West Bengal. Condolences to his family and well wishers.”

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury described Sen as a “dedicated Communist who devoted his entire life to the cause of the working class and the peasantry. He served in various capacities including as a member, politbureau and a senior minister in Left Front governments.”

On the eve of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday released a Rs 100 commemorative coin in the memory of the former premier.

Vajpayee’s long-time associate and BJP veteran L K Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah were also present at the event here.

The former prime minister died at the AIIMS in the national capital in August at the age of 93 following prolonged illness.

Addressing the gathering, Modi said he would go to Vajpayee’s memorial on Tuesday to reiterate his commitment to the ideology and path shown by the statesman. “Atal Ji wanted democracy to be supreme. He built the Jana Sangh. But, when the time came to rescue our democracy he and others went to Janata Party. Likewise, when the choice was between remaining in power or comprising on ideology, he left Janata Party and formed the BJP,” the prime minister said.

The Indian Railways has bagged 17 coveted and prestigious National energy conservation awards 2018, instituted by the Government of India, said a Railways statement, on Sunday. This is the highest number of awards bagged by a single organisation.

The statement said the awards were representative of the Railways’ continuous emphasis on energy efficient technologies and energy conservation measures. 

Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, congratulated the officials for the achievement and called upon the organisation to continue striving for more and more energy efficiency and conservation measures in railways, the statement said.

These awards are given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Ministry of Power to various institutions for adopting measures for reducing energy consumption and cost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the institution of a new national honour for national unity on the pattern of Padma Awards, an official statement said on Sunday.

The annual award will be given to an Indian who has contributed to national unity in any manner, it said, adding that the PM drew inspiration from Sardar Patel’s contribution towards unification of the country.

The announcement was made at the just-concluded annual conference of Director Generals of Police and Inspector Generals of Police held at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Gujarat, near the statue of Sardar Patel.

Modi also released a commemorative postal stamp on the National Police Memorial and a special issue of Indian Police Journal on police martyrdom, published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, it said.

India Inc on December 23 cheered the GST Council's decision to slash tax rates on 23 goods and services and said the move will push demand and boost the economy.

The council reduced tax rates on goods and services including movie tickets, TV and monitor screens and power banks, and exempted frozen and preserved vegetables from the levy.

The reduced rates are likely to come into effect from January 1, 2019, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council here Saturday.

Rajeev Talwar, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said consistent indirect tax revenue growth along with reduction in high GST rates indicate that tax base is widening and economic activity is expanding.

Ficci President Sandeep Somany said the GST Council has followed a pragmatic policy by bringing down rates gradually, taking into consideration the revenue realisation and affordability, and this will stabilise and strengthen GST further.

The 28 per cent slab is now restricted to only luxury and sin goods apart from auto-parts and cement -- the tax rate on which could not be cut due to high revenue implication.