Page 176 - Social Issues

NHRC notice to TN, police chief over complaints of sexual abuse of minor girls at shelter home

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government and the state's police chief over the rescue of 15 girls from a shelter home in Tiruvannamalai following complaints of sexual abuse against its incharge, officials said Friday. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that this is not the single incident of its kind which has come to its notice. The commission said its has "taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that 15 minor girls have been rescued from a shelter home in Tiruvannamalai district following complaints of sexual abuse against the incharge of the home". "The incharge of the shelter home has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The rescued girls have been shifted to a government facility and further investigation in the case is underway," the NHRC said. The commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, amounts to violation of human rights of the girls. Accordingly, it has issued

Citizenship bill won't violate provisions of Assam Accord: Sonowal

Asserting that provisions of the Assam Accord will not be violated by the Citizenship bill, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday claimed "unnecessary social disturbance" was being created over the bill ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Replying to the debate on Governor's speech during the ongoing Budget Session of Assam Assembly, Sonowal said no one in the state should feel threatened as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not take any decision to hurt the emotions and interests of the North-East region or Assam. "It is not right to unnecessarily create social disturbance ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Polls will come and go, but we will not harm the indigenous people," Sonowal said "All are 100 per cent safe here. We will continue to work for the people of Brahmaputra and Barak valleys," he added. Talking about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the chief minister asserted it is not true that the Assam Accord will be violated if the bill was implemented. "Many people are giving data ..

Jaitley rejects criticism over tax sops, farmer income scheme

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday rejected criticism of the interim Budget as election-oriented, saying all the announcements like income scheme for farmers and direct tax changes as "urgently needed" at the moment which would also boost the economy through higher consumer spending.

Populist budget and along expected lines; industry in Karna

: Industry in Karnataka termed the union budget presented by finance minister Piyush Goyal a populist budget ahead of Lok Sabha election and said it was along expected lines. The Chief Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,welcomed the budget saying "it is an election year Budget that expectedly has something for everyone, from farmers to traders, workers in the unorganized sector to the salaried middle class." She said the income tax relief would boost urban demand and the assured income support programme for small farmers would lead to revival in rural consumption, both of which augur well for overall economic revival. In a statement, she hailed the pension scheme for the unorganised sector workers, saying it would provide a social security net for nearly 10 crore Indians and bring them under a registered jobs database. Shaw expressed disappointment over the absence of any additional allocation for healthcare or incentives for Science and Technology. For ...

Agri Min hails 'historic' budget, blames Cong for farm crisis

Terming the budget for 2019-20 as historic, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh Friday said it was taking a little longer to resolve farmers' problems due to the wrong policies of the previous Congress governments. "Since the past 48 years only slogans were raised for farmers and poor...only one family gained strength during this period," the minister told reporters here. "It is because of the wrong policies of the Congress governments in the past that it is taking long to resolve the problems of farmers but the Central government is committed to double the income of farmers by 2022," he said. He also blamed the Congress for farmer suicides. To a question on decrease in farmers' income, he said the Centre has brought many revolutionary schemes but global slowdown and dip in inflation at the domestic level has led to this. On the budget, he said it is for the first time since Independence that over 12 crore marginal farmers will get annual assistance of Rs 6,000.

Opposition Cong, TDP say union budget 'low on substance'

The opposition Congress and TDP in Telangana termed the Union Budget as low on substance, while the ruling TRS said the announcement of cash dole for farmers was an "imitation" of its 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme with slight modifications. AIMIM also claimed that the new 'Kisan Samman Nidhi' scheme is inspired by the farmers' investment support scheme being implemented in the state. "Loan waiver is what they (farmers) are asking for, (there is) government debt, private debt. At the end of the day, a farmer has to be debt free. The Rs 6,000 (to be paid a year in three instalments) will not help them to be debt free," AICC spokesperson Sravan Dasoju told PTI. Though the NDA government talked a lot about the hike it made in the Minimum Support Price for farmers, the increase did not meet what the BJP had promised in 2014, he alleged. The farmers would not be able to buy fertilisers and seeds with this amount, Dasoju claimed. TDP Politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy alleged .

All small spas in Goa will be shut down, Public Health Act to be amended: Minister

All spas which operate within 10 to 20 sq. mts will be closed down and no such spa will be given permission to operate until the state Public Health Act is amended, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Friday.

Budget proposals to help put more money into pockets of small taxpayers: ICAI

The Budget proposals on the personal taxation front would put more money in the pockets of small taxpayers and increase their purchasing power, chartered accountants' apex body ICAI said Friday. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, also a chartered accountant, presented the Interim Budget for 2019-20 on Friday. "Overall, the Budget proposals on the personal taxation front would put more money in the pockets of small taxpayers and increase their purchasing power. In short, it is a progressive budget from a chartered accountant FM," Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) President Naveen N D Gupta said. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) President Ranjeet Pandey said the Budget tries to benefit all the three constituents of the economy -- the labourers, the salaried and the business. Meanwhile, budget carrier SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said the finance minister has managed to do something for a large cross-section of society -- middle ...

Guj HC asks seeks FIR against police for assaulting agitators

The Gujarat High Court Friday directed a magistrate's court in Bhavnagar district to register FIRs against policemen accused of brutally thrashing villagers who were agitating against limestone mining. Justice Sonia Gokani asked the Judicial Magistrate at Talaja to lodge first information reports against all the police officers accused of custodial torture of 54 persons, including women, from Bambhor village. The HC passed the order after going through medical reports and statements given to the magistrate by the victims. The villagers have demanded that a committee be formed to investigate the violence, and Bhavnagar District Superintendent of Police P L Mal be suspended. The high court will hear the case next on February 11. The villagers alleged in the petition that Bhavnagar Police arrested around 90 people for taking out a peaceful march against limestone mining by a private firm at Bambhor village on January 2. Around 50 to 70 male police personnel from Datha Police Station beat

Seven trafficking victims rescued from Delhi, NCR area

Seven children of Jharkhand's Khunti district, victims of trafficking, were rescued from Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), an official release said here Friday Six out of the seven rescued children are girls, it said. The seven children went to Delhi through placement agency and were working as domestic help and were being exploited, it said. The release quoted Nodal Officer Kalanath as saying that the Integrated Rehabilitation cum Resource Center (IRRC), Delhi and Khunti escort team, rescued the children and sent them to Jharkhand. Jharkhand government will provide benefits and assistance under social security schemes and will provide employment with skill development.

Unnecessary disturbance being created over Citizenship bill: Sonowal

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday said "unnecessary social disturbance" was being created in the state over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 before the Lok Sabha polls. No one should feel threatened as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not take any decision to hurt the emotions of the people of the northeast or the interests of Assam, he said replying to the Governor's speech during the ongoing budget session of Assam assembly. "It is not right to unnecessarily create social disturbance... Polls will come and go, but we (Assam govt) will not harm the indigenous people," he said. "All are 100 per cent safe here (in Assam). We will continue to work for the people of Brahmaputra and Barak valleys," he added. Criticising the ongoing protests against the bill in the state, Sonowal said, "You (protestors) can definitely talk and debate the Citizenship Bill, we will listen." "But you do not have the right to take to the road, disturb peace and affect livelihood of the ...

Threshold on taxing post office, bank deposit interest hiked to Rs 40,000

Casting its net for votes as widely possible for the coming general elections, the Modi government on Friday offered various tax sops for the middle class that would effectively take those earning up to Rs 9 lakh annually outside the tax net, including raising the threshold limit for taxing incomes earned by small savers.

Riyadh drops death penalty for woman activist: rights groups

Saudi Arabia is no longer seeking the death penalty against woman activist Israa al-Ghomgham, who has been in jail since December 2015, rights groups said Friday. Riyadh has faced increasing pressure over the detention of Ghomgham for her involvement in anti-government protests in the east of the kingdom. "News that Saudi Arabia's authorities have dropped their outrageous call for Israa al-Ghomgham to be executed comes as a huge relief," said Amnesty International's Middle East campaign head Samah Hadid. However, "she is still facing a ludicrous prison sentence simply for participating in peaceful demonstrations," she added. There was no official Saudi comment on her case. Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has charged four other rights campaigners alongside Ghomgham, accusing them of inciting mass protests in mainly Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled country's Eastern Province. Hadid urged Saudi prosecutors to "immediately drop their call for the death penalty" against the four other ...

Meghalaya CM hails Union budget, but opposition Cong flays it

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma praised the interim budget presented in Parliament by acting Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday whereas the Opposition Congress termed it a populist budget. One of the most striking proposals of this budget is the allocation of Rs 6000 for the farmers who hold below two hectares of land area, Sangma told PTI. He said in Meghalaya, 96 per cent of the farmers hold land below two hectares and therefore, will be eligible to take support under this scheme of the Prime Minister Kisan Yojana. Broadly, this should be the most beneficial to the whole of the north eastern regions farmers, he said. Sangma is in the national capital leading a delegation of political party leaders from the NE region to drum up support to exempt the region from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The Chief Minister also welcomed the creation of a separate department for fisheries. He said, Since the whole of the north east and especially ..

Odisha CM gives 2.5 out of 10 to Interim Budget

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday gave 2.5 out of 10 to the Interim Budget.

Indeed a budget for the people, of the people: Prabhu

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Friday hailed the Budget for 2019-20, saying it has focused on people, progress and prosperity. "Indeed a budget for the people, of the people!. Focusing on three main components of our glorious nation - people, progress and prosperity. This budget will move us towards #NewIndia by 2022," Prabhu said in a series of tweets. He said this Budget has shown the government's commitment and dedication in ensuring that welfare reaches every home, section of society, and industry. "Youths are the strength of India!. Our government aims to harness their potential through #SkillIndia Training over 1 crore youth and helping them earn a livelihood," Prabhu added. However, there was no major announcement to boost the country's exports. Making a big populist push in its final Budget before elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government Friday exempted people with an earning of up to Rs 5 lakh from payment of income tax, announced an annual cash ...

Defence budget pegged at Rs 3.18 lakh crore

The defence budget was increased by 6.87 per cent to Rs 3.18 lakh crore against last year's allocation of Rs 2.98 lakh crore, notwithstanding expectations of a major hike when China and Pakistan were bolstering their military capabilities. Out of the total allocation, Rs 1,08,248 crore has been set aside for capital outlay for the year 2019-2020 to purchase new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware. Last year, the government allocated Rs 93,982 crore as capital outlay. The defence ministry said the total allocation of Rs 3,18,931 crore in defence budget is an increase of 6.87 per cent over revised estimate of Rs 2,98,418 crore for 2018-19. The total outlay does not include Rs 1,12,079 crore set aside for payment of pensions. "The allocation for capital expenditure is totally inadequate given the kind of modernisation our armed forces are envisaging," said Dr Laxman Behera of Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis. Behera said the defence budget is around 1.44 per .

10 children rescued from traffickers in Delhi

Ten children trafficked from Jharkhand's Khuti district to New Delhi have been rescued, an official statement said on Friday.

TN CM says budget 'good,' Oppn dubs it as mere poll promises

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Friday welcomed the interim Union budget,saying it is "good" and would help improve the livelihood of the poor and common people, while the opposition dismissed it as a "poll manifesto." "I congratulate Piysh Goyal," Palaniswami said and added that it has met the expectations of the farming sector, middle class and the housing and construction industry. He welcomed the government's vision for the next decade, and the assured income support to the small and marginal farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. Citing measures like the three per cent interest subvention to farmers pursuing animal husbandry and fisheries, he such such steps would help growth of the primary sector (agriculture) and allied areas. A separate department for fisheries, Rs 3,000 pension plan under the 'Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan' for the unorganised sector workers and increase in allocation for social welfare projects and in areas, including

Rajnath dubs Interim Budget historic, development friendly

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday welcomed the interim Budget as "historic" which he said is not only "development friendly" but also pays special attention to the middle class, farmers, workers in unorganised sector and the other vulnerable sections of our society.