Page 132 - Social Issues

Poverty reduced in India but divisive policies undermining growth: UN human rights chief

While admitting that poverty has fallen in India, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelet cautioned that divisive policies will undermine the country's economic growth.

Richa Chadha lends support to LGBTQ initiative

Actress Richa Chadha will inaugurate an LGBTQ medical clinic, thereby extending support to the community.

After shoe fight with party MP, BJP MLA stages protest

BJP MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel who got into a fist fight with MP Sharad Tripathi during an official meeting, on Wednesday sat on protest at the District Magistrate office here.However, Baghel claimed that his protest is not against Tripathi but against the administration which resorted to baton-charge on BJP workers. "We had an altercation over the placement of names on foundation stone of a road project. We have no demands, but administration baton-charged BJP workers with lights switched off, I am sitting in protest against that. We are not protesting against Sharad Tripathi" said BJP MLA Rakesh Singh BaghelBoth MP and the MLA from BJP on Wednesday came to blows during a meeting to discuss developmental projects here. Initially, both of them had a verbal argument over the placement of names on a foundation stone of some development project.However, the argument soon turned ugly as the two leaders got into jostling, pushing each other and ultimately fisticuffs. Tripathi hit Baghel with .

Bolsonaro criticised over obscene video on Twitter

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has provoked controversy by posting an obscene video of two revellers at Carnival, saying he wanted to reveal the truth about the festival.

Panel set up to finalise draft of law on Buddhist marriages

The Maharashtra government has prepared a draft of the proposed Buddhists Marriage Act 2017 that proposes the processes to be followed by the community during their wedding ceremony with traditional rituals. The social justice department has formed a five-member executive committee under Dinesh Waghmare, principal secretary (social justice), to finalise the draft of proposed Boudha (Buddhists) Marriage Act 2017. The draft, however, makes no mention of aspects like divorce, maintenance or property issues and does not have clear guidelines on inter-caste marriages. A senior official from the social justice department said the government had published the draft on its official website, but the response elicited was "very poor". The state government on Tuesday issued a government resolution, appointing the executive committee under the principal secretary to study, to take a review and finalise the draft before convert into an act. A committee led by C L Thool, former judge ..

Over 1 lakh new voters joined electorate in Gautam Buddh Nagar till Jan 31

Around 1.3 lakh new voters have been registered in the past one year, taking to nearly 15 lakh the number of people eligible to cast their vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the district administration said Wednesday. Noida, Jewar, Dadri, Khurja and Sikandrabad are five assembly constituencies that constitute the Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha seat, with the latter two geographically falling in Bulandshahr district, it said. The details on election preparations were shared by District Magistrate Brajesh Narain Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vaibhav Krishna. Till January 31, 1.3 lakh new voters were registered in the last one year. The total voters in Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida, Jewar, Dadri) stood at 14.98 lakh, Singh said, adding that if Khurja and Sikandrabad were also added the number would reach around 22 lakh. He said the process of revising the voters list was underway and the number of voters can go up. Singh identified three major ...

Dhangars in Maharashtra to get benefits of tribal schemes

The Dhangar community will get benefits of the schemes launched by the tribal development department of the Maharashtra government, said state minister Vishnu Savra Wednesday. Savra, the minister for tribal development, clarified that the existing reservation and funding of schemes will not be reduced and asked the tribals not to fall for any "mischief" over the issue. The Dhangar (the shepherd) community has been for long agitating for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. A cabinet sub-committee, under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and comprising nine ministers, was set up on March 1 this year to study the problems and demands of the Dhangar Community. A meeting of the sub-committee was held on March 2 and a report on the community's socio-economic status submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was discussed. "The sub-committee has decided to send this report to the Advocate General seeking feedback regarding legal proceedings (on demand for ST status)," the ..

Government honours 30 women for impacting reforms via social media

Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday felicitated as many as 30 women, who have been driving social reforms via social media.

Finland begins planning 'no means no' rape law

Finnish officials have begun work to bring the country's sexual assault legislation into line with international standards, by defining rape as sex without consent, the country's justice minister said on Wednesday. Although considered one of the world's most gender-equal societies, Finland has come under fire for its legal definition of rape which requires a victim to prove violence was used, or that they were in a state of fear and helplessness. "In January I decided that the justice ministry will begin a total reform of rape legislation," Justice Minister Antti Hakkanen said during an event hosted by the rights group Amnesty International. "The legislation will be clearer than it currently is, and brought up to date, in part, by strengthening the legal role of consent," Hakkanen said. The proposal for the new law will come before parliament some time during the coming four-year parliamentary term, the justice ministry said. Anger at Finland's record on tackling sexual crimes came to

World Bank to give Rs 2,200 cr for Andhra healthcare project

The World Bank will provide Rs 2,200-crore loan to Andhra Pradesh for a project aimed at strengthening the state's overall healthcare systems.

HC notice to TN govt over reservation policy for transgenders

The Madras High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a PIL seeking horizontal reservation for transgenders and intersex people in government jobs. The division bench of justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, before which the PIL by Grace Banu Ganesan came up, directed the special government pleader Manoharan to get suitable instructions instructions from the state government and posted the matter to March 21. Referring to a Supreme Court judgement, the petitioner submitted that horizontal reservations for transgenders should be provided and implemented by the state government. Horizontal reservations are reservation within reservation or special reservation like for females, physically challenged persons, ex-servicemen etc. Alluding to another apex court order in National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) case, the petitioner said non-recognition of the gender identity of transgenders denies them equal protection of law, thereby leaving them extremely .

Centre issues guidelines to states on regulation of 'retirement homes'

With senior citizens projected to form nearly 34 per cent of the population of the country by the end of the century, the Centre has issued guidelines for regulation and redevelopment of "retirement homes" to protect their rights and address their special needs, the government said Wednesday. According to a statement, a task force for constant dialogue with states and other stakeholders will be constituted by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry to ensure implementation of these guidelines. Developer can build and manage the 'retirement homes' or engage a 'service provider' or 'retirement home operator' for management of these homes, the guidelines say. They say that such service providers will be required to be registered with appropriate state authorities. "The model guidelines provide for disclosure of technical skills of the service provider at the time of executing the 'Agreement to Sale' in the form of a 'Tri-Partite Agreement' to be executed among the developer, ...

West Bengal only state that did not participate in cleanliness survey

West Bengal is the only state which did not participate in the central government's cleanliness survey, a senior government official said on Wednesday. In 2017 as well, the Trinamool Congress-ruled state had not participated in the survey. "Today, the results of cleanliness survey were announced. The entire country was eagerly waiting for the results. West Bengal is the only state which has not participated in it," the official said. Indore was adjudged India's cleanest city for the third straight year in the cleanliness survey (Swachh Survekshan 2019), the results of which were released on Wednesday. The second and third positions in the category were grabbed by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Mysore in Karnataka. Indore has retained the cleanest city ranking among 4,237 cities.

PM claims credit for completing projects in Karnataka

Accusing the Congress of delaying infrastructure projects and development schemes in Karnataka's northern district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday claimed credit for completing them during the last five years.

Indian commits suicide in the UAE

A 32-year old Indian national, who worked at an educational institution in the UAE, was found dead after he allegedly committed suicide here, a media report said on Wednesday. Shibin Thomas, who hailed from Kerala was associated with the administration of the city's Jumeirah college and was found dead on Monday in the institution's stationery stockroom, the Khaleej Times reported. A witness, who knew Thomas and works with the same educational institution, said that he saw the body hanging when he was passing by the stationary stockroom on Monday morning. "Upon the discovery of his death, students were promptly sent home and the Dubai Police were called on to the scene," the report said. While the police started investigation over the reason behind the suicide, Sijo, a cousin of the deceased said that Thomas did not appear to be in depression when he met him last. "I am not aware of any reason for him to commit suicide. ... All our relatives are following the developments closely. Let .

Radcliffe calls for tighter transgender rules to avoid 'manipulation'

British women's marathon world record holder Paul Radcliffe has warned of potential "manipulation" in top-level sport unless tighter rules are applied to transgender women. International Olympic Committee guidelines state that athletes who transition from male to female should be allowed to compete without undergoing sex reassignment surgery but need to demonstrate their testosterone level has been below a certain level for at least a year. The debate about whether it is fair for transgender women to compete in women's sport has come into sharp focus since a row developed between transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon and former tennis player Martina Navratilova. "Right now, transgender women are not a threat to female sport," Radcliffe told BBC Sport. "But you would be naive if you thought that, by not putting in any rules, it couldn't come to that at some point in the future. "People will manipulate this if there is an opening there to make money and win medals and we've seen the ...

'Womanifesto' released ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Creation of one crore jobs for women in the next five years, ensuring their participation in peace making process and in decision-making bodies dealing with environment, providing 33 per cent tickets to women candidates are some of the points raised in a 'Womanifesto' released by women's organisations on Wednesday. Ahead of the International Women's Day on March 8, the National Alliance of Women's Organisations released the 'Womanifesto' for consideration of all political parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "National and regional parties need to give more tickets to women candidates in order to increase their number, and thereby influence policies that reflect women's holistic development," Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research said. Some of the other demands laid down in the manifesto include providing free sanitary napkins to girls in schools and free treatment of rape and acid attack victims in all hospitals. "All houses should be registered in the name of .

Farmer suicides: Kerala CM asks banks to stop loan recovery

Following a series of suicides by debt-ridden farmers in Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday asked banks to halt recovery proceedings on loans taken by them in line with the moratorium announced by the government. In a meeting held with the representatives of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) here, he said the state government had announced a slew of relief measures, including extending till December 31 the moratorium on repayment of all loans taken by farmers. Vijayan also requested the banks to have an empathetic approach towards farmers and understand the difficulties faced by them due to the recent floods and the resulting crop loss, Chief Minister's Office said here in a statement. "Considering the situation, the banks should cooperate with the state government completely. In view of the moratorium, there should be no recovery procedures or other such actions," he said, adding no banks should be allowed to violate the order. Asking the banks not to deny ...

'Ayushman Bharat on its way to become world's largest free healthcare scheme'

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that Ayushman Bharat or Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY) is well on its way to become the world's largest free healthcare scheme."In just over 5 months of its launch #AyushmanBharat #PMJAY is well on its way to become the world's largest free healthcare scheme with - 2.2 crore people issued e-cards and over 14 lakh people treated," he tweeted.This flagship programme of the central government will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.PMJAY will provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service. There is no cap on family size and age as well as restriction on pre-existing conditions.The health scheme targets the poor, deprived rural families and identified the occupational category of urban workers' families as per the latest ...

Bisexual women, homosexual men have multiple sexual partners: Study

Older women, who are sporty or bisexual, are more likely to have a higher than average number of sexual partners in a lifetime compared to their female peers, says a new study.