Page 182 - Social Issues
Equipments worth Rs 700 crore distributed to differently-abled since 2014: Kovind
The condition of the differently-abled persons were so dismal that till 2014 only 56 camps were organised where they were given assistive aids, President Ram Nath Kovind said Thursday, while highlighting the series of initiatives taken by the Modi government for their welfare. "After formation of my government in 2014, following the vision of Atal-ji, efforts were made with full sensitivity to solve the problems of Divyangjans," Kovind said while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament. Around 1,000 government buildings and more than 650 railway stations have been made fully accessible for the persons with disabilities under the Accessible India campaign to help them commute with ease, Kovind said. "If our Divyang brothers and sisters are provided assistance to ameliorate their physical difficulties, they can achieve new heights on their own. With this in mind, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment established by Atal-ji had started the tradition of organising camps to ...
Sikkim has over 4.23 lakh electors
The total number of electors in Sikkim stood at 423,325 as per the final electoral roll published here on Thursday, said Chief Electoral Officer R. Telang.
NDA's Interim Budget on Friday likely to offer some hope and relief
With the Lok Sabha elections only a few months away, the NDA government will present its Interim Budget on Friday amidst a lot of hopes and expectations from across the spectrum of society-right from the common people to industries.The Interim Budget for 2019, the last financial exercise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Central government before the General Elections, will be presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday at 11 am.If some relief in income tax exemption to the salaried and middle-class people is expected, there is a hope that the Central government may come out with some 'concrete' measures to combat the problem of unemployment, which rose to 45-year high during 2017-18 as per the assessment of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).At present, there is an exemption from paying personal tax on an income up to Rs 2.5 lakh, while income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh attracts five per cent tax. A 20 per cent tax is levied on the income in ..
er FM flays Ayushman health scheme, flaunts state scheme
Flaying the union government's ambitious Ayushman Bharat health insurance,Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac Thursday said it was a financial burden on the state and quoted from Aesop's fables to describe it as a "mountain giving birth to a mouse". The phrase suggests that the result or achievement is less than claimed or promised to be. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, a cover of Rs five lakh per family would be provided every year to over 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Isaac said while the whole credit for the scheme goes to the Centre, it was a 'complete financial burden' on the state government. "Comprehensive Health Security Scheme was announced in the previous state budget. But it could not be implemented. It is because, consequent to the announcement of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme of Rs five lakh (per family) in the Central budget, we were waiting for its criteria. When details of the scheme came out in October, it was
In Switzerland, lingering wage gap becomes harder to explain
ZURICH (Reuters) - The stubborn difference between what men and women earn in Switzerland is becoming harder than ever to explain since the turn of the millennium, the government found.
Mizoram sends 30 employees to chennai for de-addiction training
In an ambitious move to combat drug menace in the border state, the Mizoram Government has sent 30 employees of various de-addiction centres in the state to a training-cum-rehabilitation centre in a Chennai-based hospital-cum-research institute for a nine-day intensive training, an official release said on Thursday.
Sikkim has 4,23,325 voters: CEO
Sikkim has 4,23,325 voters after addition of 16,012 electors during the summary revision of electoral rolls, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R Telang said here Thursday. The CEO told a press conference that the total electors/voters in the state as on date is 4,23,325 which includes 2,16,222 male voters and 2,07,103 female voters. Telang said two persons are from the third gender and 2,000 voters have identified themselves as PWD or Persons with Disabilities during the summary revision of electoral rolls held during the month of September and October 2018. The CEO said that since the population profile of Sikkim is young, maximum voters fall within the age group of 18 to 45 years. He informed that there will be 567 numbers of polling stations for the upcoming general elections, which includes 51 Sangha polling stations. A soft copy each of the final electoral roll was handed over to representatives of recognised political parties by the CEO. Telang said that there ...
Woman attempts suicide after SHO scolds her
A woman consumed rat poison in a bid to commit suicide after the SHO of Kavi Nagar police station scolded her for accusing teachers of a school of harassing her son, police said on Thursday. Doctors said she was in a stable condition.
Cong did nothing for minorities: Amit Shah
Keeping up its tirade against the Congress, BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had ensured the development without appeasement of all poor and the minorities, while pointing out that the exit of Congress rule saw an end to communal riots in different states.Addressing BJP minority morcha event in New Delhi, Shah said, "...Jaise jaise Congress aur uske kul ke sarkare samampt hoti gayi desh me dange bhi samapt hote gaye... (As the rule of the Congress and its governments petered out there was also a cessation of riots).""For 55 years the same family of Congress ruled the country but did nothing. I want to ask those who indulge in politics of appeasement, about what you did for the minorities despite ruling for decades? The BJP believes in the development of everyone, including minorities," he said.Taking a dig at former prime minister Manmohan Singh's much talked 'minority have first right' statement, Shah said, "Those who used to ...
'All protection to Telugu students against whom charges in
: The state government advisor on Non resident Telugu Affairs Thursday assured all protection to those Telugu students against whom charges in the alleged fraudulent immigration scandal in USA are found to be false. "We don't have full information as yet on the charges they are facing,but if the allegations against them are false, we will provide all required help to protect them," V Ravi Kumar told reporters here. "There are over two lakh Telugu students in the US but only 600 are facing a problem now," he said. Kumar said a helpline has been opened at the NRT office here (number 0863-2340678) to offer help to parents of students facing trouble in the US. He said students need to take adequate precautions while enrolling in the US universities and seeking immigration to avoid problems. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society Thursday said it would extend required assistance to the students concerned. The Society asked parents of the students not to panic ..
Poor across all religion benefited under Modi govt; no major riot happened in BJP-ruled states: Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Thursday said the Modi government has ensured welfare of poor irrespective of their religious background and asserted that no major communal riot has happened in the states where his party is in power. Speaking at the inaugural session of the BJP minority wing's national convention, Shah took a dig at the Congress, saying those who claimed that minorities have the first right on the country's resources did nothing for them. "There were people who used to say that minorities have first right on the resources of the country but they did not give them that right. Whereas we believed that poor have the first right on the country's resources and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government ensured this by providing benefits to all poor irrespective of their religion," Shah said. Taking on the opposition, Shah questioned why minorities are lagging behind despite the fact that those people who kept "appeasing minorities" ruled the country for nearly five ...
With polls around, President talks about contentious legislations
Clearly with elections looming large, the Modi government on Thursday set out its agenda for the short period ahead by indicating that it will push for the contentious triple talaq bill and the Citizenship amendment Bill in the Budget session of Parliament even as it described the passage of the law providing for 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections as "historic".
VVIP chopper case: Delhi court grants 4 days ED custody of Dubai-based businessman
A Delhi court Thursday granted Enforcement Directorate (ED) four days custody of Rajeev Saxena, a Dubai-based businessman wanted in the VVIP chopper case. The ED sought eight days custody of Saxena before special judge Arvind Kumar, who allowed the agency to interrogate him for four days. During the hearing, Saxena's lawyer claimed that his client was suffering from cancer. The agency, however, said that this was needed to be verified. Saxena was picked up by Dubai authorities early Wednesday in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers money laundering case and deported to India in the evening.
It could be a please-all budget on Friday
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will present the Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha on Friday that could virtually be a full-fledged budget of the Modi government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in which tax sops for the middle class and the corporates could be expected along with a relief package to address agrarian distress and the stressed small scale industry sector.
Death toll at 52 after migrant boats sink off Djibouti
The death toll from the sinking of two boats carrying migrants to Yemen from Djibouti rose to 52 on Thursday, the UN migration agency said, appealing to regional leaders to take action to stop such tragedies. Rescuers working in Djibouti's northeastern Obock region continued to recover bodies on the Horn of Africa nation's coast following the capsiSing of the two boats earlier this week. The sinking of the vessels, which survivors say were mostly carrying Ethiopians, is the latest tragedy to occur on the risky route used by African migrants seeking work in the Middle East. "No human being deserves such plight. It is up to actors and leaders working across the region to prevent such tragedies which take innocent lives," Lalini Veerassamy, chief of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Djibouti, told AFP. The figure of 52 is up from a previous toll of 43 on Wednesday. Veerassamy also revised downwards the number of survivors to 15 from 16, citing an error in
Triple talaq bill aimed at liberating Muslim women from life of fear: Prez
The triple talaq bill is aimed at liberating Muslim women from a "life of fear", President Ram Nath Kovind said Thursday. Addressing a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget session, he said the government is "striving hard" to get the bill passed by Parliament. "With a view to liberate our Muslim daughters from a life of fear and anxiety and to provide them with equal right to lead their lives at par with other daughters, my government is striving hard to get the triple talaq bill passed by Parliament," he said. In December last year, a fresh bill, to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in Lok Sabha to replace an ordinance issued in September. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 has superseded an earlier bill passed in the Lok Sabha and pending .
No major communal riot in BJP-ruled states: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Thursday said the Modi government has ensured welfare of the poor irrespective of their religious background and asserted that no major communal riot has occurred in states where his party is in power. Speaking at the inaugural session of the BJP minority wing's convention, Shah said his party is committed to the welfare of the people irrespective of their religion and took a dig at the Congress, saying those who claimed that minorities have the first right on the country's resources did nothing for them. He also referred to the Modi government's push for the passage of Triple Talaq Bill, which calls for imprisonment for Muslim men accused of instant divorce, and said it is meant to give justice to Muslim women. The school dropout rate of Muslim girls has fallen to 32 per cent from 72, he said, adding that the government's schemes to connect the poor with power and LPG connections has benefitted Muslim women as well. The "'waqf mafia" looted waqf board's land ..
Mizoram sends drug rehab staff to Chennai for 9-day training
As part of its initiative to combat substance abuse, the Mizoram government Thursday sent 30 staff members of various de-addiction centres in the state to a well-known rehabilitation centre in Chennai for nine-day intensive training. The 30 chosen members would receive lessons and guidance in clinical duties and medical and psychological handling of patients at TTK Hospital in Chennai, an official statement said. The ruling MNF, as promised in the poll manifesto, was determined to eradicate the problems of drug addiction in the state, it asserted. A detailed road map has been prepared to build new de-addiction centres, while strengthening the existing ones, the statement maintained. "More such steps would be taken in this direction in this northeastern state, where drug addiction has become a serious problem coupled with the spread of HIV/AIDS," it added. At least 1,504 people, including 171 women, have died due to drug abuse in Mizoram since 1984, according to ...
Strike paralyses normal life in Manipur
A 24-hour strike on Thursday called by 72 civil organisations in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, paralysed normal life across Manipur, police said.
Govt has focused on Divyangjan, youth, poor: President Kovind
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday asserted that the current government has launched several schemes for the welfare of the poor, youth and also for the specially abled.Addressing both the houses of Parliament a day ahead of the interim budget, President Kovind said that the government understands the pain of the poor and know how healthcare expenses can make a poor man, poorer."My government understands this and started Ayushman Bharat Yojana. In the last four months, more than 10 lakh poor people have availed health benefits in hospitals under this scheme. Under 'Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana', 4,900 Jan Aushadhi centers have already been opened in more than 600 districts. More than 700 different medicines are being dispensed at low cost in these centres."Elaborating upon welfare schemes that are important for maintaining good health, the President emphasised on the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan."Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, more than 9 crore toilets have been ...
