Page 22 - Social Issues
Union Cabinet, Union Council of Ministers meetings to be held tomorrow
The Union Cabinet will meet on Wednesday evening followed by a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers.It will be the first meeting of the new Council of Ministers after the general elections.In the first Union Cabinet meeting held on May 31 after Narendra Modi assumed office as the Prime Minister for a second term, approval was done for all land holding eligible farmer families to avail benefits under PM-KISAN scheme, under which income support of Rs 6,000 is granted in three installments.The Union Cabinet had also approved, in its effort to provide to universal social security, a new scheme which assures all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after attaining the age of 60 years.All small shopkeepers and self-employed persons as well as the retail traders with Goods and Services Tax (GST) turnover below Rs 1.5 crore and aged between 18 and 40 years can enroll themselves for the scheme.
At least seven dead as migrant boat sinks off Greek island
At least seven people died on Tuesday when a boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek island of Lesbos, the coastguard said. Assisted by an EU border patrol boat, the coastguard said it had rescued 57 people and is continuing to search for survivors. No information was given on the nationalities of the migrants. But a coastguard source said the dead were four women, a man and two young girls. More than 300 refugees and migrants have died this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration. Greece is hosting some 70,000 mostly Syrian refugees and migrants who have fled their countries since 2015, and crossed over from neighbouring Turkey. Under an agreement reached with the European Union in 2016, Turkey has made greater efforts to limit departures towards the five Greek islands closest to its shores, including Lesbos. That has led to a dramatic drop in the number of arrivals on Greek islands -- from 875,000 in 2015 .
BJP MP Virendra Kumar to be the Protem Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha
Virendra Kumar, a seventh time BJP MP from Tikamgarh constituency in Madhya Pradesh and a former Union Minister, has been chosen to be the Protem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.Usually, the senior-most member of the House is chosen as protem Speaker whose job is to oversee the oath taking by the newly-elected members and the election of a regular Speaker of the house.Kumar is likely to be administered the oath of office at the Rashtapati Bhavan on April 17, the day the newly-elected Lok Sabha commences its first session. On the first two day, the new MPs will take oath. The Election for the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha is scheduled to be held on June 19.Kumar was elected to 11th Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and became the member of Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare. Later he was re-elected to the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Lok Sabha continuously. He had served as member and Chairmen of various committees.He was also the Union Minister of State for Women and ...
Trump renews tariff threat against Mexico
US President Donald Trump has said that tariffs on Mexican goods "will be reinstated" if Mexico's Congress does not approve an immigration deal between the US and Mexico.
Mexico immigration deal 'significant win' for US: Pompeo
Defending the immigration deal the United States reached with Mexico, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Monday termed the agreement as a "significant win" for Washington and reflects "diplomacy at its finest.""Frankly, it reflects diplomacy at its finest. It shows the enduring strength, too, of the relationship between our two countries. It's a significant win for the American people," Pompeo told reporters at a press briefing.Reiterating US' stand on tough immigration, Pompeo said that migrants who crossed the southern border would be "rapidly returned" to Mexico and Washington will now have the "full-throttle" capacity to send asylum seekers back to Mexico."Those crossing the US southern border to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims. We've seen this before. We were able to do this to the tune of a couple of hundred people per day," he said."We now have the capacity to do this full throttle and engage this in .
(For Early Tuesday) Agri and rural ministry officials to meet FM on Tuesday
The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry officials who will be meeting the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for pre-Budget discussions on Tuesday are likely to seek more funds for Interest Subsidy for Short Term Credit to Farmers and for Market Intervention Schemes from what has been allocated to in the interim Budget.
Delhi govt likely to provide power subsidy to victims of anti-Sikh riots, says AAP MLA
Delhi government is likely to provide power subsidy to victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, AAP legislator Jarnail Singh said on Monday. He said all the victims will be covered by the scheme under which full waiver will be given if they consume up to 400 units of electricity. "Earlier, victims who lived in particular colonies were given the subsidy, but now even those who live at other places in the city will be included in it," said the Tilak Nagar MLA. A survey to identify eligible beneficiaries of the scheme has been undertaken by the Revenue Department of the government, said a senior official. The scheme will become operational after required amendments in the notification of the scheme for existing beneficiaries, he added.
UP: Transgenders beaten with lathis by police in Meerut
Police lathicharged a group of transgenders after they allegedly created ruckus inside Lalkurti police station here on Monday.A video clip of the incident shows policemen thrashing transgenders with their lathis.The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Meerut said, "Transgenders misbehaved inside police station premises so force was used to control them."The SSP added that "If the force used was more than required then a probe will be conducted."According to reports two groups of transgenders got embroiled in a verbal spat that escalated and police who were called in brought the transgenders to the police station where they allegedly created ruckus.
Woman, 3 children commit suicide in Jaisalmer
A woman and her three children allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a water tank in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan on Monday, police said. Rambha, 35, along with daughter Kamla, 10, sons Jabraram, 7, and Chagnaram, 4, jumped into the water tank located outside their home in Netasar village here, said SHO of Khetasar Police Station Vagat Singh. The bodies were handed over to family members after post-mortem, he said, adding, that the matter was being probed. The reason for the suicide was not clear, and no note has yet been found, Singh said. Rambha's husband was not home at the time of the incident, he said. Meanwhile, Rambha's brother has said the four could have accidentally fallen into the tank and that it was not a case of suicide, the official said.
Delhi's social welfare minister reviews pending projects
Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam Monday reviewed pending projects of his department and issued direction for expediting the work. The renovation of a beggars home at Lampur, aimed to decongest the Asha Kiran Complex for mentally-disabled persons, is stuck in limbo. Since the minister's last visit, the project has been pending with the Public Works Department. The minister Monday issued directions to expedite the work and complete it within the stipulated time. PWD officials gave a comprehensive powerpoint presentation for the Lampur project to the minister who asked them to submit the estimates within the next 10 days. "The department will approve the project once it gets the finance approval. The process of tendering will take place in the next few days," an official statement said. Pending projects related to construction of "old-age homes in Sector 4, Rohini," have been discussed in detail. All agencies have assured that all formalities and paper work will be ...
PM directs ministries to focus on 'ease of living' for common man
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday directed all ministries of the central government to focus on 'ease of living' for the common man and said the results of Lok Sabha elections have shown that people want to change "status quo". Addressing secretaries of all central ministries, the Prime Minister said the Lok Sabha election results show that the people have voted for "pro-incumbency", a statement issued from the Prime Minister's office said. The prime minister said that the Indian voter has outlined a vision for the next five years, and this is now an opportunity before the new government. He said that the huge expectations of the people should not be viewed as a challenge, but an opportunity for the government to achieve the targets. "He said the mandate reflects the will and aspirations of the people to change the status quo, and seek a better life for themselves," the statement said. Speaking of the demographic dividend, the Prime Minister said it is essential that the ...
2 transgender groups clash in Meerut, police use baton charge
Two groups of transgenders clashed in Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh on Monday over their area of operation, police said. The incident occurred in the afternoon when a group entered an area to collect 'badhai', a tradition where they sing, dance and offered money, and a rival group intervened. There was an argument that was followed by a clash over their area of operation, the police said. When the police reached the spot, there was a scuffle between the personnel and the transgenders. Police baton-charged the two groups to disperse them, an officer said. Nine transgenders have been arrested, the officer said.
Mali: 95 killed in overnight attack on ethnic Dogan village
At least 95 people were killed in an overnight attack by unidentified gunmen in a village inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group in central Mali on Sunday.The armed assailants set fire to the village and shot villagers as they sought to escape the flames, the mayor of Sangha commune told FRANCE 24.The death toll is expected to rise as 19 people are still missing following the incident.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. However, members of the Dogan and Fulani ethnic groups in the country often clash over access to land and water.In a similar attack earlier this year, at least 150 people belonging to the Fulani community were killed. The attack was reportedly carried out by the Dogan ethnic group. Nearly one-third of the victims were children.The Dogans accuse Fulanis of having ties to local jihadist groups, while Fulanis claim that Mali's army provides arms to Dogans to attack them.
27 pc interim relief to govt employees approved by AP Cabinet
: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Monday took some key decisions relating to the implementation of the ruling YSR Congress' electoral promises, even as it approved granting a 27 per cent interim relief to government employees pending the report of the pay revision committee. The interim relief, which will cost Rs 815 crore to the exchequer, will be granted from July 1 and benefit around four lakh state government employees. The newly-constituted Cabinet, at its first meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, agreed in principle to scrap the contributory pension scheme, a long-pending demand of government employees. Accordingly, the Cabinet decided to constitute a committee headed by the Finance Minister to look into various aspects related to scrapping of contributory pension scheme. Interestingly, the Chief Minister warned his Cabinet colleagues that they would be dismissed forthwith if they faced corruption charges. He also told the officials ...
BJP worker killed by unknown persons, brother alleges TMC goons responsible behind murder
A BJP worker was killed by unknown assailants here on Sunday night, which the brother of the victim has blamed on Trinamool Congress activists.The dead has been identified as Samtul Doloi, who works in a cycle repair shop.The incident took place last night when Doloi was closing his shop. Doloi's brother has alleged that he was murdered by workers of Trinamool Congress.He said that while his brother was closing his cycle repair shop, he was attacked by TMC workers who burnt the shop and murdered him in a field behind the shop.Doloi's kin protested against the murder by keeping the body on the road. They maintained that until West Bengal BJP unit president Dilip Ghosh came to the spot they would not cremate the body.
First meeting of new Andhra Cabinet takes key decisions
Huge hike in the salary of various categories of workers, 27 per cent interim relief to the government employees and implementation of cash assistance scheme for farmers were some of the major decisions taken at the first meeting of the new Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Monday.
Congress councillor attempts suicide at Ghaziabad municipal office
A municipal councillor of the Congress in Ghaziabad poured kerosene over herself in a bid to commit suicide in protest against alleged stepmotherly treatment by the BJP-ruled municipal corporation at its office on Monday.
Payal Tadvi Suicide: Judicial custody of 3 accused extended till June 21
A Mumbai court on Monday extended till June 21 the judicial custody of three doctors accused of abetting the suicide of their junior Payal Tadvi.District and Sessions Judge P Jadhav said that their bail plea will be heard only after the in-camera proceedings commence and also directed the court authorities to accommodate a camera to record the proceedings on the next date of hearing.The trio, Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal and Bhakti Mehre, who were booked under the charges of abetment of suicide and various provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, opposed the court's direction and created ruckus in the courtroom to show their resentment.Tadvi, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe community, ended her life in her hostel room at BYL Nair Hospital here on May 22, allegedly after facing harassment from her seniors due to her caste.The post-mortem examination report of Tadavi's death released on Wednesday revealed the evidence of a ligature mark on her neck.Under 'provisional ..
Big data to improve quality of macro-economic aggregates, says government
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on Monday it is proposing to establish a National Data Warehouse on Official Statistics which will leverage technology and use big data analytical tools to improve the quality of macro-economic aggregates.As all these reforms are an ongoing process, it is important that the readers and users understand and appreciate the limitations of data and the challenges in estimation, said the ministry.While undertaking these reforms, it is important to realise that newer data sets and survey results will invariably be used and it would be incorrect to comment that old processes were better than the new, it said."The reforms being undertaken in the ministry will lead to better data sets and better estimates in future. This will be duly deliberated on by the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) during the base year revision," the ministry said in a statement.Several economic commentators continue to raise questions
Doc suicide case: Bail plea hearing adjourned, accused break down in court
A special court extended till June 24 the judicial custody of three women doctors, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a junior colleague and passing racist slurs against her, and adjourned the hearing on their bail pleas. The accused, Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Meher and Ankita Khandelwal, broke down in the court saying they cannot stay in jail anymore after the court said it would hear arguments on their bail applications on June 17. The court extended for 14 days the jail custody of the three doctors, attached to the B Y L Nair hospital here, who were arrested on May 29 on charges of abetment of suicide of their junior colleague Dr Payal Tadvi. The trio said injustice has been meted out to them and pleaded the court to at least advance the hearing on their bail pleas. The accused have been booked under relevant section of IPC and under Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. PTI SP BNM .