Page 111 - Social Issues
Over 90% first-time voters to cast ballot: Twitter India
Over 90 per cent of first-time eligible voters are expected to vote in the upcoming elections, a Twitter India survey revealed on Wednesday.
Divorce, abortion non-negotiable: Italian Deputy PM
Rome, March 26 (IANS/AKI) Divorce, abortion and women's rights are "not up for discussion", far-right Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday, signalling there would be no change to Italy's abortion laws.
Unemployment, religious nationalism top poll issues
Rising unemployment and nationalism on religious lines are the two key issues bothering citizens ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, revealed a survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS and the Azim Premji University.
19 housing societies get notices for denying membership rights
The sub-registrar of societies in Vasai division has served notices to 19 co-operative housing societies for allegedly not admitting non-Catholics as their members or allowing them to buy flats. These co-operative housing societies are a part of the Citizen Housing Complex at Naigaon in neghouring Palghar district. The sub-registrar served the notices after receiving a complaint that these housing societies were preventing non- Catholics from renting, purchasing flats or becoming members. The sub-registrar has sought their replies and warned them of action under the Maharashtra Co-Operative Housing Societies Act, 1960, if the complaint is found to be true. The 19 societies that received the notices consist of a total of 57 wings, having 912 flats and were constructed almost 15 years ago. "I came to know from my friends that since the last 15 years, when this housing complex came up, only members of the Catholic community get entry into the society. "People belonging to ...
Teacher jailed for sexual abuse ends life in prison
: A 21-year-old undertrial allegedly committed suicide in the central prison here, jail officials said Monday. The prisoner, working as a PT master in a private school here, was lodged in the jail on March 23 after he was booked under the POCSO Act for allegedly sexually harassing a girl student at the school, they said. On Sunday night, he attempted suicide by hanging himself in the toilet, they said. The other prisoners alerted the jail staff, who immediately shifted him to a state-run hospital where the doctors declared him dead, they added.
Cong challenges PM Modi to clarify stand on its minimum income scheme
The Congress on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clearly spell out whether he supports its scheme of giving Rs 72,000 annually to each of five crore poorest families in the country, and accused the BJP leadership of opposing the proposal. At a press briefing, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said women heads of five crore poor families will get the amount directly in their bank accounts under Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme. According to estimate, implementation of the scheme will require Rs 3.6 lakh crore annually, and the Congress is yet to clarify how resources will be generated to implement the scheme. Surjewala said 'Nyay' is not a "top-up scheme" and modalities for its implementation would be worked out once the party assumes power, adding the party was working on finances for the scheme. Party leaders said Nyay is not a work-oriented scheme like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment programme and money will provided directly into the bank .
Delhi BJP accuses Cong, AAP of violating model code of conduct
The Delhi unit of the BJP Tuesday accused the AAP and the Congress of violating the model code of conduct and sought action against them. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta urged the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi to ensure that strict action is taken to discourage frequent violations of the code. He alleged that the Congress has released a "highly objectionable video" on its Twitter handle on March 22, in which they had used "abusive language for the prime minister". "The video is full of lies, distortions; half-truth and a tell-tale sign of the low levels Congress is ready to stoop to mislead the public. The use of abusive language is done in the video and it should have no place in the process of elections in a democratic set up," he said, adding that he lodged a complaint with the Delhi poll body. On Monday, Gupta had lodged a complaint with the office of Delhi chief electoral officer over Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's letters "aimed at winning ...
Cong's surgical strike on poverty: Rahul Gandhi on promised minimum income for poor, says Rajan consulted
Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the minimum guaranteed income promised by the Congress to the poorest of poor is a "surgical strike on poverty" for which former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was also consulted even as the party maintained it is not a "top-up scheme". The Congress also announced that women from poor families will get Rs 72,000 per year directly in their bank accounts as part of the party's income supplementing scheme and asked whether the BJP was opposed to the idea. The proposal is not a work-oriented scheme,it said. According to Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, the party has already worked out the finances for the 'Nyunatam Aay Yojana' (Nyay) that will entail a total expenditure of Rs 3.6 lakh crore. The scheme was unveiled by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress president, on Monday However, the BJP latched on to Surjewala's remark that the poll promise was not a "top-up scheme" to claim 'volte-face' by the Congress. "Classic Congress style volte-face within 24 hours.
Jobs, healthcare, drinking water top priorities for voters: Survey
Better employment opportunities, better healthcare and drinking water are the top priorities for the voters at the all-India level, as per a survey by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). According to the All India Survey 2018, in all the 10 areas that were the priority for the voters, the government's rating was "below average". "The significance of better employment opportunities as voters' highest priority has increased by 56.67 per cent from 30 per cent in 2017 to 47 per cent in 2018. At the same time, the performance of the government on this issue declined from 3.17 to 2.15 on a scale of five," the ADR survey noted. The three main objectives of the ADR survey were to identify voters' priorities on specific governance issues, voters ratings of the government's performance on those issues, and factors affecting the voting behaviour. According to the survey, better employment opportunities (46.80 per cent), better healthcare (34.60 per cent) and drinking water (30.50 per ...
IRIM hosts 5th award function of India Green Manufacturing Challenge
International Research Institute for Manufacturing (IRIM) hosted 5th Edition of its flagship Annual award function for the India Green Manufacturing Challenge (IGMC) on 22nd June 2019 at ITC Grand Chola, Chennai for recognising the Best Green Manufacturing Processes deployed by the Leaders of the Indian Manufacturing Sector.India Green Manufacturing Challenge (IGMC) is an award platform that assesses and evaluates the units which exhibit sustainable Green Manufacturing Processes on their journey to inclusive growth. The winners of the award are the companies who have exhibited excellence in the adoption of Green Processes beyond the standards and have established a new benchmark for others to follow.Among the 52 companies awarded, Welspun India Ltd - Anjar Plant and UPL Limited, Ankaleshwar bagged the top award along with Reliance Industries Limited - Hazira, Cummins among others winning Special Awards.Anand Louie, Director - IRIM welcomed the gathering with an address towards the ...
Nepal inks labour pact with Japan
Nepal and Japan have signed a labour agreement under which migrant workers from the Himalayan kingdom will be employed in the far east nation in 14 sectors, including industrial, nursing, construction and sanitation. The pact was signed on Monday by Ram Prasad Dahal, acting Secretary in the Labour Ministry, and Masamichi Saigo, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal. The agreement will come into effect from April 1. As per the deal, a separate unit under the Department of Foreign Employment will be set up in coordination with the Japan government. The new body will work on the modality of recruitment of Nepali workers by Japanese employers. Both the governments will form a joint technical team that will finalise the number of workers to be recruited and the process of their recruitment, officials said. The new unit will also finalise the benefits to be granted to workers. However, the cost a worker needs to bear to go to Japan is still under discussion. As per ministry officials, Nepal has ...
PM Modi weakened all pro-poor schemes: Rahul Gandhi
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of opposing and weakening all schemes that helped the poor, and said his party's newly launched Nyay income guarantee scheme is not a free gift but justice for them.
WIAA's 'Women's Rally to the Valley' to be held on April 7
An all-woman car rally will be organised on April 7 with an aim to push for legislation and policies for women's empowerment and their working rights. The Western India Automobile Association's (WIAA) annual 'Women's Rally to the Valley' will be held on April 7, it was announced here Tuesday. Making the announcement at a media briefing, WIAA executive chairman Nitin Dossa claimed this will be an all- woman car rally where besides drivers, the marshals and officials who are part of the event will be women. Even the medical doctors and surgeons, who will be at the rally, will be women, said Dossa, who was flanked by Smita Dandekar, Chairperson, Women's Rally, and a participant, Sneha Sharma, at the press meet. This TDS (Time-Distance and Speed) rally is entering its sixth year and would be flagged from Worli in South Mumbai at around 7 AM,it was announced. The rally will culminate at the Aamby Valley, a township near the famous hill station of Lonavala in Pune ...
Implementation of Cong's minimum income scheme may not be an easy task: experts
Congress President Rahul Gandhi's minimum income scheme, aiming to lift five crore families or 25 crore people out of poverty, reflects a commitment to social security, but financing it may be an uphill task, said several leading economists and social scientists. Gandhi on Monday, announced that under 'Nyay' -- an acronym for Nyuntam Aay Yojana, Rs 72,000 will be given to the poorest families every year if his party returns to power, while calling it a final assault on poverty. Nyay would require run up an annual bill of Rs 3.60 lakh crore, or around 1.7 per cent of GDP, which, for 2019-20, is pegged at 210 lakh crore. The Congress is yet to spell out how resources will be generated to implement the scheme amid concerns that its implementation may not be fiscally prudent. "NYAY reflects a welcome commitment to social security. The soundness of this proposal, however, depends on how it is to be financed and how the poorest 20 per cent are to be identified. Hopefully, the proposal will .
Trump administration wants all of 'Obamacare' struck down
The Trump administration has told a federal appeals court it wants the entire Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare," struck down. In a filing Monday with the New Orleans court, the administration said the entire law should be struck as unconstitutional. It's rare for the Justice Department to decline to defend a federal law, but President Donald Trump has long unsuccessfully sought to repeal the 2010 health care statute. In June, Trump administration lawyers stopped defending key parts of the law, including its guaranteed access to health insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions. But the administration had said that the rest of the law could stay. Millions of people benefit from the ACA's taxpayer-subsidized private insurance plans, but enrollment is declining. The Justice Department is expected to elaborate on its position in a brief to the appeals court. In a letter, it said the appeals court should affirm a December decision by US District Judge Reed O'Connor ..
Bengal records a rise in 'others' category voters
Of the 6.97 crore registered voters in West Bengal, the number of transgender voters enrolled in the 'others' category of the electoral list has risen by 927 since the 2014 general elections.
Minimum income guarantee scheme will cover over 20 crore poor people: Mir
JKPCC chief G A Mir Tuesday said 'minimum income guarantee scheme' announced by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be the biggest direct benefit scheme in the world covering over 25 crore poor people. In a big poll promise that he described as a "groundbreaking" measure to end poverty, Gandhi Monday said 20 per cent families in poorest of the poor category will be given Rs 72,000 each annually as a minimum income. Praising Gandhi for his announcement, Mir said over 5 crore families in poor category will be covered with a monthly wages of Rs 6000. "It will cover poorest 20 per cent of population of the country. The money would be given to a woman head of the family", he said. The Congress state chief said that if the party comes to power at the Centre, it will pass women reservation bill to empower women in the country. Mir alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has continued UPA made social development schemes with change of "names and commas". "All the social .
Niti Ayog, ABB organise workshop on AI for MSMEs
Niti Aayog and ABB India Tuesday organised a workshop to discuss regulatory and financial concerns relating to adoption of Artificial Intelligence and automation technology by MSMEs. The workshop on manufacturing in the age of Artificial Intelligence was held here where industry and policymakers discussed various aspects of AI and automation adoption. "At ABB Ability Innovation Center we have brought all stakeholders of MSME value chain to identify the roadblocks they face in growth, be it in business models, financing or skilled labour, and together find ways in which we can address the same using tools ranging from policy to technology. "As India gets recognized as a global hub for AI technologies and Industry 4.0 reshapes global manufacturing in the coming decades, we look at companies like ABB with a legacy of global technology leadership to lead this revolution by enabling our vibrant MSME base," said Anna Roy, Senior Adviser, Niti Aayog. The workshop deliberated upon exploring ..
92,600 Afghan refugees return home in 2019: UN
Over 92,600 Afghan refugees have returned from neighbouring countries Pakistan and Iran since January this year, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Tuesday.
'NYAY to be surgical strike against poverty', says Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that a "surgical strike" against poverty will be carried out through minimum income guarantee "nyuntam aay yojana (NYAY)" promised by him if his party is voted to power at the Centre."In the 21st century, India will define a 'minimum income line' and no one should live below this line. With this intention, we came up with NYAY. It will be a 'surgical strike' against poverty in the country. If the Narendra Modi government can give money to the rich, we can do it for the poor. 20 per cent of the poorest families of the country will be entitled to up to Rs 72,000 per year," he said at a rally here.Accusing BJP of adopting an anti-poor approach, Gandhi said that the ruling party at the Centre wanted to "destroy the poor", while Congress wants to "destroy poverty"."I guarantee you that through NYAY scheme, I will bring justice to the poor and give them their due. I will make sure that every poor family has the money in the bank account. BJP ..