Piyush Goyal gets additional charge of Finance Ministry, may present Budget
Arun Jaitley, in US for medical treatment
New Delhi, Jan 23: Piyush Goyal is likely to present the interim Budget on February 1 as he was Wednesday given the additional charge of finance ministry as Arun Jaitley is in the US for medical treatment, sources said.
Jaitley has undergone surgery at a hospital in New York on Tuesday and has been advised at least two weeks rest by the doctors, sources said. Jaitley, who had travelled to the US on January 13, has undergone tests for soft tissue cancer this week.
Ahead of the interim budget scheduled to be presented on February 1, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has been given additional charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs ministries.
An official release from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday said the President, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, directed that during the period of Jaitley's indisposition, the portfolios of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Corporate Affairs, held by him, be temporarily assigned to Goyal, in addition to his existing portfolios.
Goyal is likely to present the interim Budget, according to sources.
The budget comes ahead of the general elections and the government is expected to make some key announcements, including relief package for farmers, poor and sops for middle-class.
Jaitley has been designated as a minister without portfolio during the period of his indisposition or till such time when he is able to resume his work as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Corporate Affairs.
Rajya Sabha Member Goyal also holds the coal portfolio.
This for the second time that Goyal has been given the additional charge of the Finance Ministry.
In May last year, Goyal was given the additional charge of the ministry after Jaitley underwent a kidney transplant surgery.
Later after a gap of four months, Jaitley resumed the office of the Finance Minister.
Jaitley had also undergone a bariatric surgery soon after the BJP government came to power at the Centre in 2014. The surgery, to treat weight gain that he suffered because of a long-standing diabetic condition, was first performed at Max Hospital, but he then had to be shifted to AIIMS because of complications.
The ruling BJP has recently appointed Jaitley as in-charge of publicity for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Jaitley, a senior member of the ruling party, has presented five budgets of the current regime.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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