Page 295 - Social Issues
Naveen Patnaik announces free smartphones for women SHGs
Aiming to digitally empower the women in the state, Odisha government will provide smartphones to around 70 lakh women under Mission Shakti programme, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Wednesday.Addressing Women Entrepreneurship Sectorial session during Make in Odisha Conclave, Patnaik said that the state government will provide free smartphones to around 70 lakh women working with the six lakh Self Help Group(SHGs) across the state."Women empowerment is something that is very close to my heart, no household, no society, no state, and no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women," Patnaik said."Our women have come a long way and the next ceiling to be broken is the digital one, my govt is aware that digital empowerment will further accelerate the socio-political and economic empowerment of women" the Chief Minister added.Mission Shakti was launched in 2001 as a project aiming economic empowerment of women through self-help groups and providing them bank loans at .
Dutch activists lose bid to ban blackface Christmas character
A Dutch court Wednesday slapped down a bid by an anti-discrimination group to ban the "racist characteristics" of a traditional Christmas-time blackface character, whose appearance sparks a yearly controversy. The group calling itself the Majority Perspective last week asked judges to make sure the character of Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, the jolly helper of Saint Nicholas, displays "no racist characteristics" during his traditional "arrival" in the country on Saturday. "The judge did not approve the Majority Perspective foundation's application," the Haarlem District Court said in a statement. Black Pete's character is usually performed by an adult with a blacked-up face, wearing an afro wig, earrings, gaudy costume and red lips -- a costume that has increasingly come under fire for being a racist stereotype. Critics say the costume is a reminder of the era when the Netherlands exploited slaves, notably in Suriname. The judge however "is of the opinion that the foundation ambushed ...
Maratha quota: Backward Classes Commission to submit report
The Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission is likely to submit its report on social and economic conditions of the Maratha community, which has been demanding reservations, to the state government Thursday. Government sources said that commission chairman Justice (retired) N G Gaikwad will submit the report to the state Chief Secretary D K Jain in a sealed cover. Speaking to reporters in Akola district, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government will complete all legal formalities by the end of November to grant Maratha community a reservation. A senior BJP minister said the government had requested the commission to submit its report by November 15 and had provided additional manpower to enable it to complete the report in time. A two-week winter session of the state legislature is scheduled to start in Mumbai from November 19. Sources said that the commission went through two lakh memorandums, surveys of about 45,000 families and empirical data on ...
Focus on under-nutrition among children at meet on nutrition challenges
The third National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges meet which was held here on Wednesday focused on under-nutrition among children, anaemia and diarrhoea and newer strategies to be brought in under Poshan Abhiyaan to tackle and eradicate them.
NE students to hold anti-Citizenship Bill rally in New Delhi
An umbrella organisation of major students unions of the Northeastern states on Wednesday announced that it would hold a rally in New Delhi to press for its demand for withdrawal of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. The rally would be organised in New Delhi at the beginning of the parliament session NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa said. The North East Students Organisation (NESO) accused the central government of threatening the identity, language and culture of the indigenous people of the NE states through the Bill. The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Bill, 1955 seeks to grant citizenship to people from minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 even if they don't possess any proper document. A large section of people and organisations in the Northeast have opposed the bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of ..
PHE daily wagers meet governor, highlight their demands
A delegation of agitating Public Health Engineering (PHE) daily wagers Wednesday met Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik here and highlighted their demands including release of pending salaries and regularisation of their services, an official spokesperson said. The delegation led by their president Tanveer Hussain met Malik at the Raj Bhavan here and requested him to expedite the process for regularisation of casual, seasonal, consolidated and other workers of the PHE department, the spokesperson said. They also demanded regular payment of monthly wages which are pending for several months and amendment in the government order as some conditions stipulated for regularisation cannot be practically completed, he said. He said the governor assured the delegation due examination of its demands. The PHE workers took out a massive rally on Monday and threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands were not met.
Bangladesh set to repatriate Rohingya despite security concerns
Bangladesh on Wednesday was preparing to go ahead with the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who last year fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar, despite concerns over their safety.
Priyanka joins hands with Facebook
Actress Priyanka Chopra has partnered with Facebook India for a live event called #SocialForGood to spread awareness on issues like mental health, cyber bullying and women entrepreneurship.
Rapid growth in arrival of foreigners with e-visa; USD 137 mn collected as fees till Oct this year
Over 1.7 million foreigners visited India with e-visa last year and the number of tourists availing the popular scheme this year is likely to cross two million mark, officials said Wednesday. USD 105,558,496 has been received as e-visa fees in 2017 by the government and USD 137,527,270 (Rs 993 crore approx) till October 31 this year. The number of foreigners who visited India with e-visa has gone up from 447,000 in 2015 to 1.7 million in 2017. The figure for 2018 is 1.87 million till October 31 this year and it may touch two million mark by the end of the year, a Home Ministry official said. The e-visa facility now covers practically all the countries of the world, 166 as of now, and foreigners can arrive at any of the designated 26 airports and five seaports in India without interacting with any official before checking in at the immigration counter. Under the e-visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorising him or her to travel to India after it has been approved. The ...
Reservation to eligible castes be given on basis of population size
An organisation representing the Teli community Wednesday pitched for reservation to eligible castes on the basis of their population size. Bhartiya Tailik Sahu Rathor Mahasabha also demanded the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre to give right to the people to forgo reservation benefits. Eknath Bawankar, the vice president of the organisation, at a press conference here claimed there are 35 crore people in the country who belong to the other backward castes(OBC) category, out of which 14 crore are from the Teli community. He said the organisation will launch a campaign to pitch for its demands all over the country.
Won't leave state if not allowed to enter Sabarimala temple: Trupti Desai to Kerala CM
Trupti Desai, founder of Bhumata Brigade, has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stating that she would not leave the state if she were not allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple.Seeking security for her visit to Sabarimala temple on November 17, Trupti in a letter to Kerala CM Vijayan has threatened to "not leave the state till the time she along with her delegation is not allowed to enter the shrine. Desai has said that she would be visiting the shrine with a delegation of six other women."It may be noted that, unless we do not worship at the Sabarimala temple by entering into the sanctum sanctorum, we will not return without worshiping God. We would never leave Kerala," she stated in the letter. She has further urged the government to arrange a vehicle for her delegation and bear the expenses of their stay as well. "Our fight for the entry into the Sanctorum of the temple is for the right of gender equality. This is not a fight against any religion or against ...
Children must be saved from violence every day, every minute: Satyarthi on Children's Day
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi said Wednesday children should be saved every day from violence and fear as even a single moment lost in one's childhood is an irreparable damage to humanity. On Children's Day, he asked people to come together to make India safe for children by protecting them from rape, trafficking, slavery and all forms of exploitation. "Just one day in a year cannot be Children's Day. Every day, every hour and every minute, we must save our children from fear and violence," Satyarthi said in a tweet. "Even a single moment lost in one's childhood is irreparable damage to the entire humanity. Even if one child lives in fear we all live in fear. Let's come together to make India safe for children by protecting them from rape, trafficking, slavery and all forms of exploitation. Let us all work towards making child friendly society, economy and faiths," he tweeted. Satyarthi along with his team of Beti Bachao Andolan (BBA) activists Wednesday launched the first trailer .
WCD Ministry issues advisory on handling of abuse cases in child care institutions
The Women and Child Development Ministry Wednesday issued an advisory on handling of child abuse cases in shelter homes, giving the district magistrate the power to take immediate direct charge of an erring institution. The advisory was issued after several reports of abuse of children at child care institutions surfaced recently. "In the case of abuse and disruption of service delivery to the vulnerable children living in the institutional care, it is the prime responsibility of the government to take immediate action for ensuring protection and well-being," the two-page advisory stated. Noting that disruption of service delivery and welfare measures in the institutional care amounts to failure in delivering assigned duties by the child care institutions as well as child welfare committees, the ministry said the district magistrate may "immediately assume the direct responsibility of these institutions". The advisory also said that children who have been abused must be provided ...
Missing Chinese university alumni spark outcry
Students and alumni of several Chinese universities are sounding the alarm over the apparent detention of more than a dozen young labor activists who have been missing since the weekend. The Jasic Workers Support Group said in a statement late Tuesday that three recent graduates of the elite Peking University have been taken away by authorities. According to the statement, eyewitnesses saw one person being "kidnapped" on the Beijing campus, while others in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai disappeared last Friday. They were involved in a coalition, led by young Marxist activists, that was founded this summer to show solidarity with factory workers at Jasic Technology, a welding equipment manufacturer in southern China.
Guj: Woman sexually assaulted, thrown out of moving car; succumbs to injuries
A 28-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted and thrown out of a moving car, following which she died of her injuries at a hospital in Gujarat's Surendranagar district, police said Wednesday. The incident occurred Tuesday morning when the victim, who worked as a nurse, was on her way to the Sayla Community Health Centre (CHC), located around 125 km from here, to report to work, an official of the Sayla police station said. While she was heading to the CHC from Vata Vachh village, a man, identified as Shantubhai Darbar, offered her a lift in his car, the official said. "After she took the lift, the accused allegedly assaulted her sexually. When she resisted his move, the man thrashed her and threw her out of the moving car. She fell on the road and received head injuries," he said. The woman was taken to the Sayla CHC, where she died Tuesday night while undergoing treatment, the official said. A hunt was launched for the accused and an FIR registered against him under Indian ...
China tech factory conditions fuel suicides: study
Difficult working conditions including punishment for minor offences and high staff turnover in Chinese factories that feed the global electronics supply chain contribute to employee suicides, a study published on Wednesday said. The study by the Hong Kong-based Economic Rights Institute, which supports fair economic development, and labour rights group Electronics Watch looked at 167 cases of attempted or completed suicide as well as public displays of suicidal intent in China since at least 2010. The study found that factors contributing to such cases included supervisors ignoring employee stress, punishment for minor workplace offences, denial of bonuses promised by recruiters, and anxiety over job security in factories with high staff turnover. "Employee suicide in the Chinese electronics sector reflects the repression of workers' collective voice," report author Dimitri Kessler of the ERI said. Researchers arrived at the results after analysing suicide cases, conducting surveys ..
Bangladesh official: Rohingya repatriation ready to begin
A Bangladesh official says authorities are ready to begin repatriating more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar from where more than 700,000 have fled violence since last year. Bangladesh's repatriation commissioner Abul Kalam said Wednesday that 30 refugee families would be transferred Thursday at the Gundrum border point near Cox's Bazar, where refugees have been living in cramped camps. Kalam says the UN refugee agency is verifying the repatriation process. According to a UN-brokered deal with Myanmar and Bangladesh, all repatriations must be voluntary. Foreign leaders have criticised Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week in Singapore for her handling of the ethnic crisis that led to the Rohingya exodus.
Maratha reservation issue: State panel to submit report tomorrow
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission will submit its observation on the eligibility of the Maratha community for reservation in education and jobs to the state government on Thursday.The report will further be submitted to the Bombay High Court, based on which a decision will be taken on the issue.The upper caste Maratha community, constituting 33% of the caste-conscious state, had been agitating since last year for demanding reservation in jobs and education in the aftermath of the agrarian crisis in the state.The protests took a violent turn on August 9 and as many as 194 people were arrested by the Pune Police for rioting and arson.Apart from demanding a decision on their demands at the earliest, the community members sought a waiver of farmer loans, justice in Kopardi rape case and a solution to unemployment.
Over 8,400 hate crime incidents reported in US in 2017: FBI
Over 8,400 hate crime incidents - including 24 against Sikhs, 15 against Hindus and over 300 against Muslims - were reported in the US in 2017, according to an FBI report. The report released on Tuesday is topped with 1,678 hate crimes committed against the Jews. In all, as many as 8,437 hate crimes were recorded in the year 2017. Nine anti-Buddhist hate crimes were also registered last year, the report said. According to the report, a total of 24 anti-Sikh, 15 anti-Hindu and 314 anti-Muslim hate crimes were reported in the US. The Sikh Coalition, a community-based organisation that defends Sikh civil rights, said that in 2017, it received 12 anti-Sikh hate crime cases and tracked a total of 24 anti-Sikh hate-related incidents nationwide. "This figure alone is under representative of the problem since many individuals impacted by hate do not report the incidents. "For the reported cases to law enforcement, a historical challenge is that agencies routinely fail to identify bias during
Drug peddler among five detained in Rajouri
Five persons, including a suspected drug peddler, have been taken into preventive custody in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said Wednesday. Payar Hussain, a resident of Kote Dabbar village, was detained in Nowshera area of the district and lodged in district jail, a police spokesman said. Hussain is a notorious drug peddler cum addict and has been detained under various sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) including 107 (security for keeping peace), 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences and 110 (security for good behaviour from habitual offenders), the spokesman said. Hussain was taken into preventive custody on the basis of an order issued by the executive magistrate. Four more persons - Yasir Lone, Munawar Farooq, Waqar Ahmad and Rishab Sharma - were detained in Rajouri town under various sections of the CrPC, the spokesman said.
