Page 37 - Social Issues
Roadmap for deal on taxing multinational firms ready: OECD
A total of 129 countries and territories have adopted a "Programme of Work" laying out a process for reaching a new global agreement for taxing multinational enterprises, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Friday.
With polls over, government releases report on unemployment, says, data comparison faulty
With Lok Sabha elections over, the government on Friday made public the Periodic Labour Force Survey report that placed the unemployment rate at 6.1 per cent for year 2017-18, which is set to be the highest in 45-years.However, government sources maintained comparing the recent jobs data with past data is faulty and foolish.The PLFS annual report placed the unemployment rate among men at 6.2 per cent and women at 5.7 per cent, combining both rural and urban areas and the overall rate at 6.1 per cent. The report prepared by agencies including the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Labour Bureau, Registrar General, and Census Commission.The report was carried by media in January but the government did not make it public apparently in view of the ensuing elections that led to a political furore. Opposition parties accused the government of suppressing inconvenient reports. Two expert committee members including the acting Chairman of the National Statistical Commission .
G20 digital tax takes step closer
Global efforts to impose a unified tax policy on Google, Facebook and other internet giants have cleared a major hurdle ahead of a G20 summit in Japan, officials said Friday. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that 129 countries had signed off on a roadmap to grab a fairer tax share of the companies' booming sales. "Important progress has been made through the adoption of this new programme of work, but there is still a tremendous amount of work to do as we seek to reach, by the end of 2020, a unified long-term solution to the tax challenges posed by digitalisation of the economy," OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said in a statement. The OECD said Gurria would seek the blessing of G20 finance ministers for the roadmap when they meet in the Japanese city of Fukuoka on June 8-9. That meeting is in preparation for a full G20 summit involving US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and their peers in Osaka at the end of June. The
Trump gets pushback on promise of new Mexican tariffs
In a surprise announcement that could derail a major trade deal, President Donald Trump says he is placing a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports, effective June 10, to pressure the country to do more to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants trying to cross the U.S. border. He said the percentage will gradually increase up to 25% "until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied." The decision showed the administration going to new lengths, and looking for new levers, to pressure Mexico to take action even if those risk upending other policy priorities, like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that is the cornerstone of Trump's legislative agenda and seen as beneficial to his reelection effort. It also risks further damaging the already strained relationship between the US and Mexico, two countries whose economies are deeply intertwined. Trump made the announcement by tweet after telling reporters earlier Thursday that he was planning "a major ...
Bonanza to farmers in first Cabinet; govt extends PM-KISAN, announces new farm pension scheme
In the first Cabinet meeting, the government Friday decided to extend PM-KISAN scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country costing Rs 87,000 crore a year and also announced over Rs 10,000 crore pension scheme for 5 crore farmers, thereby fulfilling the BJP's poll promise. Announcing the two key decisions, new Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Modi 2.0 government has announced the landmark decisions for the farming community in the first Cabinet meeting. "The Union Cabinet has approved to extend the ambit of the scheme by including all land holding eligible farmer families under the scheme, subject to the prevalent exclusion criteria," Tomar told reporters after the meeting. The Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Siddhi (PMKSS) was announced in the interim Budget under which the government decided to provide Rs 6,000 per year (in three equal instalments) to an estimated 12.5 crore small and marginal farmers holding land up to 2 hectares. "Now, the revised .
Order enquiry into Wayanad farmer suicide: Rahul writes to Kerala CM
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requesting him to order an enquiry into the 'suicide' of a debt-ridden farmer from Wayanad.Gandhi also urged him to extend financial support to the family of the deceased."I am deeply saddened by the suicide of VD Dinesh Kumar, a farmer in Neervaram, Panamaram Panchayat, Wayanad. On speaking with his wife Smt. Sujitha, I learnt that her husband had been under severe stress due to his inability to repay the loans he had taken and this pushed him to commit suicide," read the letter."Kumar's case isn't an isolated one. There has been a spate of farmers suicides in Wayanad, due to an inability to repay loans. What is disturbing is that while the government of Kerala has announced a moratorium on repayment of farm loans till December 31, 2019, yet farmers are still being pressurized and hounded by a loan collection agent," said Rahul Gandhi."I write to request you to order an enquiry, into the ...
Rahul writes to Kerala CM on farmer who committed suicide
A week ahead of his visit to Wayanad in Kerala, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday requested Chief MInister Pinarayi Vijayan to provide financial assistance to the family of a farmer who committed suicide allegedly due to non-repayment of loans.
Report: Zuckerberg security chief accused of misconduct
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's personal security chief faces accusations of sexual misconduct and making racist and homophobic comments, according to a report Thursday by a business news site. In a detailed article, Business Insider cited legal letters reportedly written by former employees of Zuckerberg's household staff. The letters reportedly described pervasive discriminatory conduct and severe levels of sexual harassment and battery, including racist and homophobic comments about members of Zuckerberg's staff and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The security chief, Liam Booth, is a former Secret Service officer, according to his LinkedIn profile, and has been with the family's charitable organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, since 2017. A spokesman from the family office of Zuckerberg and Chan said Booth has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of unspecified misconduct allegations. The spokesman said the office takes workplace misconduct complaints ...
Payal Tadvi suicide: 3 accused sent to judicial custody
A Mumbai court on Friday sent three women doctors arrested for abetting the suicide of medico Payal Tadvi to judicial custody till June 10.
MP to implement 'Right to Water': Minister
The Madhya Pradesh government is going to implement the 'Right to Water' to ensure availability of water to the people of the state for the whole year. Under the initiative, the government will provide a pre-decided quantity of water to any family.
Zuckerberg's security Head accused of sexual misconduct
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's Head of security Liam Booth has been accused of sexually harassing other household staffers and making derogatory racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic remarks about other staffers as well as Zuckerberg's wife Priscilla Chan.
ADB commits USD 350 mn loan for Chhattisgarh road improvement project
Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday said it has okayed USD 350 million loan for road project in Chhattisgarh. ADB has approved a USD 350 million loan to rehabilitate and upgrade state highways and major district roads in Chhattisgarh, which will improve connectivity and access to basic services and livelihood opportunities, it said in a release. Total project cost is USD 521.69 million of which the government will finance USD 171.69 million. Chhattisgarh is overwhelmingly rural (about 96 per cent of the area) rich in natural resources and a major producer of minerals such as coal and iron ore. However, according to the 2011 census, poverty levels were at about 38 per cent of the population, ADB said. A safe and efficient road network will significantly contribute to state's economy and development, and thus contribute to poverty reduction in the state, it said. "Chhattisgarh relies heavily on roads for the movement of people and goods, particularly in ...
Thawarchand Gehlot to lead the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry for second time
A prominent Dalit face of the BJP, Thawarchand Gehlot, who has been reassigned the portfolio of the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, is likely to take charge on Monday. The 71-year-old minister, during his tenure in the last government, had launched several schemes and programmes for the empowerment and welfare of the deprived sections of society as well as for the persons with disabilities and the elderly. Initiatives which stood out under his leadership include the passage of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill in Parliament and enforcement of the amended SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the passage of the long-pending Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill in Lok Sabha last year. Gehlot had revised the Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for SCs, by removing a mandatory norm for them to return to the country and work here after the completion of their studies. The ministry had also decided to bear the entire expenditure incurred by Dalit and ...
Education, employment, empowerment priority for Minority Affairs Ministry: Naqvi
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday said his ministry will work with the mantra of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas', and asserted that priority will be given to "3Es"-- education, employment and empowerment -- for development of minorities. Speaking to the media after taking charge of the ministry, Naqvi said providing quality education to minorities will be the ministry's priority. "3Es -- Education, Employment and Empowerment will be the priority to ensure socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities," he said. "Our commitment is to provide fruits of development to the last person of the society," Naqvi said. The Minority Affairs Ministry will launch a nationwide awareness campaign on a war footing to reduce school dropout rate among minorities, especially Muslim girls, he said. "Schools, colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, hostels, Sadbhav Mandap etc. will be constructed on a war footing in minority-concentrated areas across the country to ensure ..
Andhra's new government enhances social security pension
The new government in Andhra Pradesh on Friday issued an order enhancing social security pension for the elderly, disabled, kidney patients and others.
People working in fishing industry have poorest health: Study
New study found that people who work in the fishing industry have the poorest health among all the workers in England.The study was published in the journal 'Marine Policy'."Poor health outcomes among fishers extend beyond the risk of fatal accidents," said Dr Rachel Turner, Environment and Sustainability Institute on the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall."We found evidence of poorer general health and higher rates of illnesses or disabilities that can impede everyday life," added Dr Turner.University of Exeter researchers studied census data and found 2.8 per cent of fishermen and women reported 'bad' or 'very bad' health, and 10.3 per cent said their activities were limited 'a lot' or 'a little' by long-term illness.The census relies on people reporting information about themselves, and the data do not reveal the specific causes of the health issues highlighted in the new study.When adjusted to take account of other factors like age, health outcomes among fishers were
Help kin of farmer who committed suicide: Rahul to Kerala CM
Congress chief and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi urged Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to provide assistance to the family of a farmer, who committed suicide allegedly due to non-repayment of loans, and also conduct an inquiry into the matter. V D Dinesh Kumar, 53, died after consuming some poisonous substance, police said on May 25. His relatives said that financial burden had forced him to take the extreme step. Gandhi, in his letter to Pinarayi dated May 28, said he was "deeply saddened" by the farmer's suicide. He requested the state government to conduct an inquiry and extend financial support to the family. Police aid that Kumar had taken a loan of Rs 10 lakh from three banks and was reportedly facing recovery proceedings. "Kumar's case isn't an isolated one. There have been a spate of farmer suicides in Wayanad, due to an inability to repay loans," Gandhi had said in his letter. "What is disturbing is that while the government of Kerala has announced a moratorium on repayment .
Former first-class players request BCCI to revise their pension
Former first-class players including Sanjay Jagdale, Ashu Dani and Vinay Limba have approached the BCCI to raise their monthly pension by 50 percent. A monthly gratis is paid to cricketers who have played at least 25 first-class games by 2003-04, but the amount has not been revised since 2015 despite repeated requests to the Committee of Administrators (CoA). The affected players wrote to BCCI acting president C K Khanna, who, in turn, has requested the CoA to address the issue. "BCCI keeps the welfare of its cricketers in mind, and the former cricketers are reaching out to BCCI with a hope that the areas highlight by them will be looked into and implemented. "While discussions have been held over the revision of pension of retired international cricketers and domestic cricketers who played at least 25 first-class games by 2003-04 and that the amount was revised in 2015; the players are waiting for revision of pension," Khanna wrote in his e-mail to the COA. Players who have played ...
Bodies of farmer couple found in well, suicide suspected
Bodies of a farmer couple were found in a well at a village in Akola district of Maharashtra early on Friday, police said. Police suspect that the couple committed suicide by jumping into the well. The couple - Samadhan Varule (42) and his wife Bebitai (38) - had gone to their farm in Mahagaon village in Akot taluka on Thursday morning. When they did not return home till late night, a search was launched, police said. "During the search, their bodies were found in a nearby well this morning. It is suspected that they committed suicide, but a probe is being carried out to ascertain it," inspector Gyanoba Phad of Akot rural police station said. The couple has a daughter and a son, he said, adding that the financial condition of the family was not good. Akot taluka is currently reeling under drought.
HRW condemns France 'outsourcing' of IS trials to Iraq
Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned France's "outsourcing" of trials of Islamic State group suspects held in Iraq where seven of its nationals have this week been sentenced to death. Two of them have "alleged that they were tortured or coerced to confess", the New York-based watchdog said in a statement. "France and other countries should not be outsourcing management of their terrorism suspects to abusive justice systems," said HRW's acting Middle East director, Lama Fakih. "These countries should not be sitting idly by while their citizens are transferred to a country where their right to a fair trial and protection from torture are undermined." A Baghdad court sentenced a Frenchman to death on Wednesday for joining IS, bringing to seven the number of French jihadists on death row in Iraq. Yassin Sakkam was among 12 French citizens handed over to Iraqi authorities in January by a US-backed force which expelled the jihadist group from its last bastion in Syria. Sakkam's sentence ..
