Page 133 - Social Issues
Govt warns employees of 'consequences' if they go on strike on March 13
The Centre has warned its employees of consequences if they go on strike on March 13 to protest against the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Personnel Ministry has said in an order. It has been brought to notice that the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) has decided to organise dharna/demonstrations in front of Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, and across the country on March 13 in order to protest against the NPS, the ministry said. Citing existing rules, the order said instructions prohibit government servants from participating in any form of strike, including mass casual leave, go slow, etc., or any action that abet any form of strike/protest. "Any employee going on strike in any form would face the consequences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appropriate disciplinary action," it said. All officers have been requested to not sanction casual leave or any other kind of leave, if applied for, during the period of the proposed strike and ensure that the willing ...
Sri Lanka government boosts budget ahead of elections
Sri Lanka's government on Tuesday proposed increases in spending on public servants and incentives to boost agriculture and fisheries in a new national budget, which opposition lawmakers criticized as an attempt to attract voters ahead of a presidential election this year. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the basic salaries of public sector employees will increase by 107 percent from 2016 to 2020, and the government has allocated 40 billion rupees (USD 222 million) in the budget to pay the increased amount. They will also receive an allowance of 2,500 rupees (USD 14) starting July 1. The 3.15 trillion rupee (USD 17.5 billion) budget covers only eight months because of a political crisis that erupted last October, forcing the adoption of a four-month stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown. Presenting the budget in Parliament, Samaraweera also announced a decision to increase allowances for the military and police, concessionary loans targeting young people to ..
FDA chief Scott Gottlieb resigns
Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who tackled various health issues from youth vaping to opioid addiction, on Tuesday resigned from his post.The 46-year-old physician, millionaire venture capitalist and cancer survivor from Connecticut have decided to spend some time with his family, which consists of his wife and three daughters."It was a very hard decision," Gottlieb was quoted as saying during an interview with the Washington Post."This is the best job I will ever have. I'm leaving because I need to spend time with my family. I get home late Friday, work on weekends and come back to Washington on Sunday. I did the job 100 percent," Gottlieb added.The resignation of Gottlieb comes after reports of policy disagreement between the White House and the FDA chief.Citing Gottlieb's resignation, the US President tweeted, "Scott Gottlieb, who has done an absolutely terrific job as Commissioner of the FDA, plans to leave government service sometime next month.""Scott has helped us ..
Trump gives nod to new task force to prevent veteran suicides
President Donald Trump on Tuesday officially nodded for creating a new Cabinet-level task force, aimed at creating a road map strategy across all the provincial governments to prevent veterans' suicide.CNN quoted the White House describing the order signed by the US President as a "national call to action". The task force, led by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, has been provided a time of a year to submit its strategy on curbing veterans' suicide.The US President took to twitter saying, "Just a few moments ago, I signed an EO addressing one of our nation's most heartbreaking tragedies: VETERANS SUICIDE. To every Veteran-I want you to know that you have an entire nation of more than 300 million people behind you. You will NEVER be forgotten."During a signing event alongside administration officials and representatives from various veterans' groups, Trump referred to the veteran suicides as "a tragedy of staggering proportions"."Hard to believe an average of 20 veterans and ...
Japan renews commitment to work on women empowerment in India
Japan on Tuesday congratulated everyone on the occasion of International Women's Day and renewed commitment with India to work on the social issue of women empowerment. In a press statement released by the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi, Ambassador of Japan to India Kenji Hiramatsu said: "Empowering women has always been a dear subject to me. Japan is ready to continue contributing to the realisation of a 'society where women shine' in India. With our efforts, Japan is hoping to help increase choices for girls and women so that the social advancement of women will be attained.""I wish you all to renew our commitment to working together on this special issue on this special day," the Ambassador added."As a career diplomat, I always attach importance to concrete actions and outcomes. That is why I was driven to launch the World Assembly for Women (WAW!), just before assuming the post of Ambassador of Japan to India. WAW! will mark its fifth anniversary this year and has established ...
HP Inc India inks pact with AP govt for Centre of Excellence
: HP Inc India Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) and Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) to build a Center of Excellence for additive manufacturing, powered by HPs 3D printing echnology. HP Managing Director Sumeer Chandra signed the MoU with AP CEO J K Kishore in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, a company release said here. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) is part of the state governments effort to accelerate adoption of 3D printing in various industry sectors like automotive, aerospace, defence, consumer goods, healthcare, apparel and construction. It will be equipped with HPs cutting-edge 3D printers that can handle short run production and functional prototyping. HP will be the key knowledge provider for this initiative and bring in its global 3D printing expertise to support various training programs that will be conducted at the CoE. Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society ..
Manipur CM hails Modi for his welfare schemes
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh Tuesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his vision for the welfare of the people particularly the needy. Modi has started many new schemes like the Ayushman Bharat health scheme, the Ujjwala scheme, homes for all for the welfare of the people, Singh said here. The chief minister claimed that the BJP government at the Centre under Modi will win the coming Lok Sabha elections. He said the whole world is with India in its fight against terrorism due to the active foreign policy followed by Modi government. The chief minister Tuesday launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana (PM-SYM) pension scheme for workers of the unorganised sector in the state. He also inaugurated 19 projects worth Rs 39.58 crore and laid foundation of 28 projects amounting to 184.45 crore. Singh said which government which will complete two years on March 15 has started a number of schemes for the welfare of the people of the state including those
Pope Francis to visit Morocco, conduct mass
Pope Francis will visit Morocco at the end of the month and conduct mass on March 31 in the presence of 10,000 people, many of them migrants, church officials said on Tuesday.
Rajasthan will become best state in healthcare: Gehlot
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said that he wanted Rajasthan to become the country's best state in healthcare. Speaking at a programme here, Gehlot said that the government was committed for providing better health services and will fulfil its promise to introduce right to health for everyone in the state. He also said that there was a need for an authority to regulate medical services in private hospitals. "The government's thought is for providing better healthcare services. The government will soon bring legislation for right to health," he said. Gehlot said that the earlier Congress government had introduced free medicines scheme which had benefitted a large number of people but the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had "weakened" it. No government scheme which benefits people should be discontinued, he said. The chief minister was speaking at the inauguration of Sri Ram cancer and super speciality centre of Mahatma Gandhi hospital here. Health ...
CBI books excise official for submitting fake caste certificate during appointment
Nearly 32 years after joining the Central Excise Department through the staff selection commission, the CBI has booked an officer for allegedly furnishing a forged caste certificate with his application form, officials said Tuesday. The agency initiated an FIR after a preliminary enquiry was registered in December last year, they said. The case pertains to Manoi Kumar, who joined the service as an upper division clerk through a 1987-advertisement issued by the staff selection commission (SSC), they said. The inquiry, initiated nearly 32 years after his induction into the department, showed that Kumar, a resident of Bhagalpur in Bihar, had submitted incorrect information to get the benefit of reservation in scheduled caste category. It is alleged that he dishonestly and fraudulently managed to get himself appointed as an upper division clerk in the Central Excise Department and misled others to believe that he belongs to the scheduled caste category by providing a fake caste ...
JK Guv, Union minister launches PM-SYM scheme in Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik and Union minister Jitendra Singh Tuesday launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) scheme, a pension scheme for unorganised sector, at a function here. Lauding the initiative of the Union government in conceptualising this scheme, Malik described it as a significant step towards benefiting the workers in the country's unorganised sector. The governor, on the occasion, announced that the first month installment on behalf of registered beneficiaries would be contributed by the state government. Noting that the scheme has been launched with the highly-laudable objective of providing social security coverage to labourers and workers in the unorganised sector, Malik said his administration would make the best possible effort to ensure that benefit of the newly-launched scheme reaches every eligible beneficiary in the state. The Union minister described the PM-SYM as a 'mega pension yojana' having potential to bring social ...
Teen fined for World Cup threats against Swede Durmaz
A court in Sweden on Tuesday fined a 17-year-old for threatening Swedish footballer Jimmy Durmaz during the World Cup after he committed a foul that paved the way for a German victory. Durmaz was subjected to thousands of abusive comments on his Instagram account after his foul led to a free kick that handed Germany a 2-1 victory in the 95th minute in the group stage. Sweden nonetheless progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament in Russia. Durmaz, a Toulouse TC winger born in Sweden to Assyrian parents who emigrated from Turkey, said at the time his family and children had also been threatened. The Swedish football federation reported the abusive comments, including many racist remarks, to police, and prosecutors singled out three posts in particular, all written by youths. The first youth received a formal warning from the prosecutor while the second accepted a fine without a trial. The third, the 17-year-old convicted Tuesday, went to trial because he rejected the charge of
218 cases of hate crimes reported in India in 2018, UP tops chart: Amnesty
Over 200 alleged cases of hate crimes were reported in 2018 against people from marginalised groups, especially Dalits, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number of such incidents for the third consecutive year, Amnesty India said in a new report on Tuesday. Amnesty India, releasing data recorded on its website, Halt the Hate', said hate crimes were reported against people from marginalised communities, which includes Dalits and Adivasis, members of racial or religious minority groups, transgender persons and migrants. The website relies on cases reported in mainstream English and Hindi media. In 2018, the website documented a total of 218 incidents of alleged hate crimes. Of these, 142 were against Dalits, 50 against Muslims, and eight each against Christians, Adivasis, and transgender persons. There were 97 incidents of assault and 87 cases of killings. Forty incidents were reported where women from marginalised groups or transgender persons faced sexual violence, Amnesty ...
Mobile data rates cheapest in India, costliest in Zimbabwe: Study
Riding the popularity of ultra cheap data packs offered by Reliance Jio, which has amassed 28 crore subscribers in a short time, India has emerged as the country that provides mobile data at the lowest rate in the world, a new study says.
SC issues notice to Centre on plea against Citizenship Bill
The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the Centre on a fresh plea challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued notice on the plea filed by Assam State Jamiat Ulama E Hind and ordered its tagging with similar pending petition of "Nagarikatwa Aain Songsudhan Birodhi Mancha" (Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill). "Issue notice. Tag with Writ Petition ... ," the bench said. The apex court had on February 27 issued notice on the plea filed by Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill which had sought to declare the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 and the Foreigners (Amendment) Order as "discriminatory, arbitrary and illegal". Prior to this, it had decided to keep the plea pending saying that it would be taken up "only after the Citizenship Act Amendment Bill, consideration of
Let next govt take decision on urban policy framework: Yechury tells Urban Affairs Minister
The CPI(M) has urged the Centre to allow the next government to take a decision on the country's new urban policy instead of trying to push it through, days after the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs released its first draft of the National Urban Policy Framework (NUPF). In a letter to the Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the deadline of March 10, 2019 for consultations was a highly exclusive planning format where a large number of people, groups working on urban affairs will not be able to participate. "This is also a period when the general elections are about to be announced and soon we shall have the Model Code of Conduct in place. In such a background, I suggest you to sincerely not just postpone the date of the deadline, rather allow the new government to take the call on the urban policy framework as the mandate is desired by the people of the country," he said in the letter. Yechury also said that urbanisation policies .
Police files case after temporary Shiva temple comes up in Agartala graveyard
Police have lodged a case after a complaint was filed by a graveyard committee here alleging an illegal temple has been set up on a land being used as a burial ground, officials said Tuesday. Officials said the temple is illegal and police have deployed security personnel at the spot in South Joynagar area of Agartala, the capital city of BJP-ruled Tripura. Tahar Miah, secretary of the South Joynagar Kabarstan Suraksha Committee, said the temporary Shiva temple was built there on the eve of Maha Shivaratri to grab the land used as a graveyard by the minority community for the last 70 years. "We have sought help from the police to ensure that our burial spot is not affected, since any ownership otherwise could not be proved in the court of law. We want the entire land to be handed over to us," said Miah, who lodged the complaint on Monday. Pradip Das, a local, claimed before a group of visiting journalists that a part of the land belonged to him and "forced burial" had started there ...
Maha man kills self; kin claim he did it for Matang quota
A 35-year-old man allegedly committed suicide Tuesday in Maharashtra's Beed district and his kin claimed he took the step as he wanted reservation for the Matang community, police said. Sanjay Dnyanoba Taktode, a resident of Salegoan in Kaij, over 380 kilometres from here, allegedly jumped into a pond near the Bindusara river, an official said. His body had been fished out and a bag containing his mobile phone, Aadhaar card and other documents was recovered from the spot, the official informed. According to Taktode's relatives, the deceased had demanded quota for the Matang community, to which he belongs, and had written about it on Whatsapp and Facebook and also made a video clip before allegedly committing suicide, the official said. The official said an accidental death report had been taken and further probe was on to ascertain why he took this step.
Fleets are the way towards popularisation of electric vehicles: Anand Mahindra
For Mahindra group, from whose stable electric luxury supercar Battista is being rolled out, the path to mass adoption of electric vehicles will be through fleet such as Ola, according to the group's Chairman Anand Mahindra. At present electric vehicles (EVs) are out of reach of price sensitive buyers, specially in India, but the usage of such vehicles by fleet operators will help in achieving economies of scale in the industry and ultimately help in reaching personal mobility, Mahindra told PTI here in an interview. Speaking at the sidelines of the 89th Geneva International Motor Show, he also said the group is also working on how to bring its GenZe electric scooters to India as it would be "too expensive" for the market there currently. "Right now the break even for electric cars applies more to cars that are used much more. The more you use the electric cars the better your payback," he said. Welcoming the Rs 10,000 crore FAME II scheme under which four-wheeler electric vehicles ...
CM launches Shram Yogi scheme in U'khand
Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Tuesday launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojana (PM-SYM) in the hill-state, officials said. Terming the national pension scheme for workers and labourers of unorganised sector as another step by the Centre to empower the poor, Rawat distributed PM-SYM pension cards to fifteen beneficiaries. Under the scheme, announced in the interim budget in February and launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, labourers in the unorganised sector will get a monthly pension of Rs 3000 after the age of 60. "Ninety per cent of labourers work in the unorganised sector. The prime minister has shown how much he cares for them by launching a scheme like this. He has always thought about the poor, farmers and labourers," he said. Ayushman Bharat, Kisan Samman Nidhi, toilet for every home, Jan Dhan Yojana are all schemes which will directly benefit the poor, Rawat said. This is also keeping in with the philosophy of raising the ...
