Page 131 - Social Issues

Cabinet okays continuation of National AIDS Control Programme-IV

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the continuation of the National AIDS Control Programme-IV (NACP-IV) beyond the 12th Five Year Plan for a period of three more years.

Health scheme for ex-servicemen extended to WW II veterans

Facilities of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) were on Thursday extended to over 43,000 individuals including World War II veterans, Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs), Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) and early retirees.

Modi govt stands for 'insaaf and imaan': Naqvi

Criticising the Opposition for trying to "confuse" people, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Thursday their attempts will not affect the credibility of Modi government's agenda which is based on development and not vote-bank politics. Naqvi said the government's agenda is "inclusive growth" and it stands for "insaaf (justice) and imaan (honesty)". The minority affairs minister was addressing representatives of the minority community at BJP's pre-poll programme 'Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat, Modi Ke Saath'. "Some political parties and people are involved in a criminal conspiracy to confuse citizens. Modi government's agenda of inclusive growth is not about vote-bank politics, but a draft of development," he said. People will give a befitting reply to opposition parties in the coming Lok Sabha election, the senior BJP leader said, expressing confidence that the BJP will win a comfortable majority. Highlighting the government's welfare schemes for minorities, Naqvi said the policy of ...

Firmenich Extends Global Family-Friendly Parental Leave for Men and Women

/ -- Extended gender-neutral program recognizes all types of family through childbirth & adoption Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, is significantly extending its paid leave for all new mothers and fathers around the world. Launched on International Women's Day, the gender-neutral parental program, offers a global minimum of 16 weeks fully paid leave[1] for the primary caregiver, as part of the company's commitment to offer a family-friendly environment, with equal opportunities for all. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/798187/Firmenich_Logo.jpg ) "We want to make Firmenich the best place to work, and the most family-friendly company, in our industry and a big part of this is encouraging a culture where both men and women can thrive," said Gilbert Ghostine, Chief Executive Officer. "Our extended parental leave is designed to support all of our colleagues, regardless of their gender or how they became a parent, so that together they ..

A New Exploratory Study Highlights the Gap in Understanding Backlash Against Girls' Expression of Agency in India

/ -- Denial of entitlements is the most common form of backlash by way of withdrawal from school, programs or outdoor sports and others Dasra, a strategic philanthropy organization, today launched the report 'Action Reaction: Understanding and overcoming backlash against girls' exercise of agency in India'. Members of Dasra's Community of Practice, a national network of adolescent-focused non-profits from across 25 states in India, discussed the need for a better understanding of backlash in early July 2018. Since then, Dasra has undertaken a pilot study to better understand the extent to which backlash prevails and the nature and patterns of backlash that follows girls' exercise of agency, with over 70 youth-serving organizations via an online survey. In view of the absence of previous research on the issue of backlash against girls, this pilot study was undertaken among youth serving organisations, and probed the organisation's familiarity with incidents of backlash, rather than ...

Bullying boss reduces employees' productivity

If you are a bullying boss, your employees are more likely to be less committed to their work, take longer breaks or come in late without notice, finds a study.

Plea in HC against bar on 80 pc disabled persons from admission to medical courses

A plea in the Delhi High Court on Thursday sought setting aside of last month's government notification which bars people with more than 80 per cent disability from being admitted to medical courses. The Medical Council of India (MCI) however informed a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao that it has taken some decision on the issue which would be communicated to the court. Advocate T Singhdev, appearing for MCI, said the central government had asked the MCI to look into the matter after which it has taken some decision and it will be communicated to the court on March 12. The bench listed the matter for further hearing on March 12. Mohd Shaloo, having a benchmark disability of 90 per cent, challenged the February 4 notification which made him ineligible to study medical course (NEET-PG, 2019). The petition, filed through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, said the decisions of MCI's board of governors and medical counselling committee to make Shaloo ineligible to ...

Uttarakhand CM launches free milk scheme for anganwadi children

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana here Thursday, under which 2.5 lakh children at 20,000 Anganwadi kendras in the state will be given 100 ml milk twice a week for free. Flavoured, sweet, skimmed milk powder will be made available to the 20,000 Anganwadi kendras across the state under the Amrit Yojana, Rawat said. "Healthy children alone can make the country's future healthy and secure," the chief minister said. Speaking at the launch event, state Co-operative Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said the scheme was a big gift for the children. Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Development Rekha Arya termed it as a major step towards fighting malnutrition in the state. As many as 18,000 children suffer from malnutrition in Uttarakhand, she said.

First US female fighter pilot says she was raped by officer

Republican Senator Martha McSally, the first US female fighter pilot to fly in combat, has said that she was "preyed upon and raped" by a superior officer while she served in the Air Force.

DCW to come up with women manifesto for political parties: Maliwal

The Delhi Commission for Women will make a manifesto by next week on issues faced by women and send it to political parties to include in their agenda, DCW chief Swati Maliwal said. Maliwal told reporters that there is a need to understand the extent to which women are suffering and in view of the upcoming elections the DCW will be coming up with a women manifesto. "I will try to meet all political party heads and urge them to include it in their agenda and work on the issues in case they get elected," Maliwal said. She said the DCW will be meeting with experts for the women manifesto and come up with it by next week. She also advocated for sending rape cases involving MPs and MLAs to fast-track courts. "Such (rape) cases involving MPs and MLAs should be sent to fast track courts and thoroughly probed. If they are proven guilty, the hardest punishment should be given to them," she said, in response to a question on her reaction over the alleged involvement of AAP MLAs in rape cases. A

Police foil Dalit woman's suicide attempt in UP

Police thwarted the suicide attempt by a Dalit woman opposing the alleged construction of a cow shelter on her allotted land in Shamli district, officials said Thursday. Sudesh (30) came to the collectorate on Wednesday and started pouring kerosene on herself, but the police stopped her, Parul Choudhary, incharge, Women Police Cell said. The woman alleged that the district administration had started building the cow shelter on her land without her consent, police said. Meanwhile, the administration has directed to halt the construction activities till further orders.

Woman kills self, son in Jharkhand

A woman committed suicide by hanging herself along with her five-year-old son after a fight with her mother-in-law in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Thursday, police said.

Explosions near Kabul political gathering

Several explosions were heard on Thursday near a large political gathering of the Shia minority Hazara community in the Afghan capital, the media reported.

Delhi's unauthorized colonies: Cabinet nod for panel to suggest process for conferring ownership

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Centre Thursday approved a proposal to constitute a committee to recommend process for conferring ownership or transfer rights to residents of unauthorized colonies in Delhi. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Cabinet approves proposal to constitute a committee to recommend process for conferring ownership or transfer rights to residents of unauthorized colonies in Delhi," the government said in a statement. There are over 1,650 unauthorised colonies in the national capital where migrant population plays a vital role in deciding the fate of any political party during elections.

Gender pay gap still high, women in India earn 19 pc less than men: Report

Gender pay gap is still high in India, as women in the country earn 19 per cent less than men, and wage inequalities in favour of men are present in all the relevant sectors, a survey said Thursday. According to the latest Monster Salary Index (MSI), the current gender pay gap in India stood at 19 per cent where men earned Rs 46.19 more in comparison to women. The median gross hourly salary for men in India in 2018 stood at Rs 242.49, while for women it stood at around Rs 196.3. According to the survey, the gender pay gap spans across key industries. IT/ITES services showed a sharp pay gap of 26 per cent in favour of men, while in the manufacturing sector, men earn 24 per cent more than women. Surprisingly, even in sectors like healthcare, caring services, and social work, men earn 21 per cent more than women, even as notionally these sectors are more identified with women, the survey said. Financial services, banking and insurance is the only industry where men earn just 2 per cent ..

Max Life Insurance's survey pegs 'India Protection Quotient' at a mere 35

Max Life Insurance, one of India's leading private life insurers, has revealed that Indians are grossly under-prepared to cope with the financial instability caused by life events. As per their survey titled 'India Protection Quotient (IPQ)', urban India stands at a poor Protection Quotient of 35 on a scale of 1-100. Conducted in association with Kantar IMRB, the survey employed a three-dimensional approach to determining policyholders' level of protection, by evaluating their life insurance ownership, awareness levels and mental preparedness around protection.It was administered to 4,566 respondents, of different demographics and age groups across 15 metropolitan and tier 1 cities in India. The survey divulges some thought-provoking findings of the state of financial protection in the country as well as the triggers that determine people's attitudes, behaviours and apprehensions towards life insurance. Term Insurance, despite being the most fundamental and cheapest form of financial .

Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong granted extended stay

Two Saudi sisters marooned in Hong Kong after fleeing their family have been granted an extended stay in the city until next month, their law firm said Thursday, as they urgently seek sanctuary in a third country. The siblings are the latest example of Saudi women escaping the ultra-conservative kingdom only to find themselves stranded in foreign cities and making public appeals for their safety. The young women, aged 20 and 18, said they made a break from an abusive family during a holiday in Sri Lanka last September, with the intention of heading for Australia. But they only made it as far as Hong Kong. The two women -- who use the aliases Reem and Rawan -- said they were intercepted at the airport by Saudi consular officials and their air tickets cancelled. The pair, who entered Hong Kong as visitors, also had their passports revoked, leaving them stranded in the southern Chinese city. Their stay was due to expire on the last day of February, their lawyer Michael Vidler had ...

Two children die as migrant boat sinks off Greek island

Two children were among three people who died early Thursday when a migrant boat sank near the Greek island of Samos, the coastguard said. At least 12 people including one more child are believed to have been in the boat. The two young boys died shortly after being rescued, while the body of a man was recovered shortly afterwards, the coastguard said. More than 200 refugees and migrants have died in 2019 while trying to cross the Mediterranean, the majority headed to Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration. Greece is hosting over 70,000 mostly Syrian refugees and migrants who have fled their countries since 2015. The island of Samos, in the eastern Aegean Sea near the Turkish coast, has one of the country's most congested camps, with some 4,000 people crammed into a facility originally built to house fewer than 700. Conditions at Greek island camps have been repeatedly criticised by rights groups. The Greek government says the problem is partly caused by a ...

Republican Senator raped while serving in military

A Republican Senator has revealed that she had been "preyed upon and raped" by a superior officer while she served in the military.

Twitter too harsh at times in banning accounts: Dorsey

Twitter has been too harsh at times when it comes to banning accounts in the wake of alleged political bias, harassment, hate speech or other policy violations on its platform, CEO Jack Dorsey has admitted.