Page 373 - Social Issues
CPI-M opposes triple talaq ordinance, says it's 'undemocratic'
The CPI (M) Thursday termed the ordinance on triple talaq as an "undemocratic step", saying it cannot be accepted and Parliament should adopt a revised legislation. The party said the BJP has brought out the ordinance so as to serve its political interests. The CPI (M) Politburo said the ordinance promulgated by the government is "uncalled for" and is motivated by considerations other than that of the welfare of Muslim women. "The triple talaq bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha and requires a full discussion including reference to a select committee. The ordinance is an undemocratic step bypassing Parliament," an official statement of the party said. "The ordinance on triple talaq promulgated by the Centre is uncalled for and motivated by considerations other than that of the welfare of Muslim women. The triple talaq Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha and requires a full discussion including reference to a select committee," tweeted Sitaram Yachury, the party's general secretary. The .
Promotion of institutional births helped achieving 'historic' under-5 mortality rate in India: NGO
The government's initiatives to promote institutional births, scaling up newborn care at home and strengthening of immunisation services are the key initiatives credited for achieving "historic" under-five mortality rate in India, according to an NGO. According to a new report by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, under-five mortality rate in India was recorded below one million in 2017 for the first time in five years and the under-mortality rate was estimated to be same as the global average. Dr Gagan Gupta, chief of health at the UNICEF, said India is making good progress in combatting reasons leading to infant deaths through a number of government-led initiatives. "About 18 per cent of children born globally are from India," he added. The main reasons behind infant deaths remain to be lack of access to water, sanitation, proper nutrition or basic health services, Gupta said. "This is also the first time that the number of deaths under five is ...
Activists of upper caste bodies stage protest against SC/ST Act
Activists from various upper caste organisations on Thursday protested against the amended SC/ST Act.
MHA creating emergency response support system to check crimes: Rajnath
The Home Ministry is in the process of creating an emergency response support system to check crimes and is implementing a special project in eight cities for women safety, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Thursday. Launching two portals on women safety, Singh said a national mission for better synergy among central ministries, states and other stakeholders on the issue will play an active role in setting 1,023 fast track courts. "The task of creating an emergency response support system at a national level based on a helpline number 112 is rapidly progressing. Safe city project approved in eight cities for women safety is also going on," he said. The home minister said the government was moving forward towards further reinforcing women security through the national database on sexual offenders and the cybercrime reporting portal. "We have made a different division in the MHA, prioritising women safety. I am confident that these online tools will help the officer prove successful ...
Goa panel advises against 'Momo Challenge'
The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Thursday urged the state Education Department to initiate awareness programmes in order to prevent children from participating in the lethal "Momo Challenge," an online game.
World Bank, Bangladesh sign $50m deal to improve Rohingya healthcare
The Bangladesh government on Thursday signed a $50 million grant financing agreement with the World Bank to improve the country's services to cater to the health, nutrition and family planning needs of the Rohingya refugee population.
Maneka takes officials to task over cases of child abuse
Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi Thursday took state representatives and central bureaucrats to task, in the presence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, over rising number of sexual assault cases in children's shelter homes. Speaking at the launch of a national registry of sex offenders, Gandhi pulled up representatives of those states which did not respond to a letter sent by her ministry on procurement of 'rape kits', a specially-designed kit which helps carry out immediate medical investigation into sexual assault cases. How many rape kits have been procured so far? she asked the officials at the function, which was attended by Union Ministers of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and top officials of the ministries of home and women and child development. Top police and civil officers of the states attended the event via video conferencing. "Twenty to 30 per cent of sexual assaults take place in shelter homes. .
Health min partners Dell, Tata Trusts for screening and management of non-communicable diseases
The Union Health Ministry Thursday roped in Tata Trusts and Dell for a technological platform on nationwide prevention, control, screening and management of non communicable diseases (NCDs). The number of deaths due to NCDs has increased from 37.9 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per cent in 2016. The NCD screening programme is aimed at addressing hypertension, diabetes, oral, breast and cervical cancers and covers all men and women over the age of 30 years. The programme is one of the modules in the government's ambitious Ayushman Bharat's Comprehensive Primary Healthcare (CPHC) initiative, which is currently being deployed in about 200 districts across the country, a Health Ministry statement said. "Through implementation of the software, it will also be possible to track health trends across the country," it said. While the global IT giant Dell has developed the technology solution, Tata Trusts is providing deployment support for the programme. The software application will help in ...
Portal for lodging complaints on online child pornography, sexual abuse cases launched
The Centre Thursday launched a portal where citizens can file complaints about circulation of child pornography, sexually explicit materials and online sexual abuse, leading to automatic registration of FIR and action against the offenders. The portal 'cybercrime.gov.in' was launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. This will not only help the victims and complainants but also civil society organisations and responsible citizens to anonymously report complaints pertaining to child pornography, child sexual abuse material or sexually explicit material such as rape and gang rape, Joint Secretary, Home Ministry, Madan M Oberoi said. The cyber crime prevention against women and children (CCPWC) portal is convenient and user friendly. It will enable complainants to report cases without disclosing their identity, he said. Complainants can also upload the objectionable content and URL to help police in the investigation. The complaints registered through this portal will be handled by police .
Pakistani court orders separate rooms for transgenders in hospitals
A court in Pakistan has ordered all state-run hospitals across the Punjab province to ensure separate rooms for the transgender community, the media reported on Thursday.
J-K govt rolls out group mediclaim health insurance scheme for employees
Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday rolled out the group mediclaim health insurance scheme for employees, pensioners and accredited journalists in the state. Principal Secretary Finance Navin K Choudhary said the scheme is mandatory for government employees including employees of PSUs, autonomous bodies and universities while it will be optional for pensioners and other categories of employees and accredited journalists. The scheme shall come into effect from October 1, 2018, for a period of one year and is extendable annually for three years based on satisfactory performance of the insurer, he said. Choudhary said the policy has been tied up with Reliance General Insurance company on an annual premium of Rs 8,777 and Rs 22,229 for employees and pensioners, respectively. The policy will provide health insurance coverage of up to Rs six lakh per employee or pensioner per annum along with his or her five dependent family members on floater basis. He said the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi .
Attappady tribals on literacy path; over 2500 pass exam
Over 2,500 tribals of Attappady region, one of the most backward settlements of Kerala, have passed the literacy examination conducted by the state government with an aim to bring the marginalised to the forefront of the society. As many as 1,975 women were among the total 2,553 people who passed the literacy-cum-equivalency exam of the Kerala State Literacy Mission (KSLM) there, official sources said. Eighty eight year-old Pappa was the oldest among the total 2,624 leo-literates who had taken up the test held at three village panchayats in Attappady in northern Palakkad district recently. The Literacy Mission had recently rolled out three literacy-cum-equivalency programmes in tribal belts across the state, especially in Wayanad and Attappady regions, with focus not just on literacy but also on social security of the inhabitants. The 100-mark exam had three parts-reading, writing and mathematics. The minimum pass mark is 30. The new textbooks, based on which the exam ...
Richa Chadha faces racism in Georgia
Indian actress Richa Chadha on Thursday took to Twitter to share her experience of meeting a "racist officer" at passport control while exiting Georgia.
Muzaffarpur case: SC says facts "very disturbing", asks for probe against former minister
The Supreme Court Thursday termed as "very disturbing" the facts emerging from CBI's probe into the Muzzafarpur shelter home sexual abuse case and asked the Bihar Police to probe the alleged recovery of large quantity of ammunition from former state minister Manju Verma and her husband. Manju Verma had resigned as the Social Welfare Minister in the Bihar government following the Muzzafarpur case where several women were raped and sexually abused, after it came to light that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to prime accused Brajesh Thakur several times between January and June this year. The apex court, which observed that CBI's probe in the case seemed to be on track, said it was not clear whether illegal arms were also recovered from the possession of the Vermas and the matter needed to be looked into by the local police. Taking note of the facts emerging from the two status reports filed by the CBI, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that Thakur ...
3 hurt in court shooting leave hospital; gunman identified
Three civilians wounded when a gunman opened fire outside a crowded courtroom have been released from hospital, officials said Thursday. The three were taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, following Wednesday's shooting in southwestern Pennsylvania's Fayette County. The two men, ages 35 and 47, and a 39-year-old woman were all released Wednesday night, the hospital said. The gunman, Patrick Dowdell, 61, of Masontown, was shot and killed by a German Township police officer. Another officer who was wounded, Masontown police Sgt R Scott Miller, was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Dowdell entered the lobby in Masontown around 2 pm Wednesday with a handgun drawn and opened fire, authorities said. He had been due in court on charges related to domestic violence. Miller first encountered Dowdell and was injured when he exchanged gunfire with the shooter. When Miller took cover, Fayette County prosecutor Richard Bower said, the gunman fired shots ...
CBI arrests 4 over shelter home rapes in Bihar
The CBI on Thursday arrested four persons including an Assistant Director of the Social Welfare Department in Bihar in connection with its ongoing investigation into the shelter home rape case in Muzaffarpur of the state.
Maneka expresses concern over sex crimes in shelter homes
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi Thursday expressed concern over sexual assaults in children's shelter homes and increasing incidents of NRI grooms abandoning their brides. She asked the police force to keep a close eye on such crimes and the arrest of culprits. Speaking at an event, where a national registry of sex offenders was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Gandhi pulled up representatives of the states which did not respond to a letter sent by Women and Child Development Ministry asking how many 'rape kits', a specially-designed kit which helps carry out immediate medical investigation into sexual assault cases, were procured by them. "Twenty to thirty per cent of sexual assaults take place in shelter homes. In Muzaffarpur in Bihar, the head of a shelter home allegedly sexually assaulted several children, but he was not arrested immediately. There was a tunnel from the shelter home to his residence. That means the crimes must have taken place in his residence. I appeal
Muzaffarpur shelter home assault case: Govt official among 4 detained by CBI
The CBI has detained four persons including an official of the social welfare department of Bihar in connection with alleged sexual abuse of minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, officials said Thursday. The sexual assault of 34 girls over a period of time in the government-funded shelter home came to light after a social audit was conducted by the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences. During her inspections, Rosy Rani, assistant director in the social welfare department between 2015-17, was informed by the victims about the abuse but she did not take any action, they said. The agency has detained Rani, and staff members Guddu, Vijay and Santosh of prime accused Brajesh Thakur, whose NGO ran the shelter home, they said. They said the case pertains to The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and Rani allegedly did not act in spite of receiving complaints from the minor girls who were facing sexual abuse at the centre and hence she may be face charges of ...
Indian woman duped USD 33,000 by 3 men in NZ, facing deportation for violating visa norms: report
A woman Indian IT professional in New Zealand was allegedly duped by three men who took 33,000 dollars from her in return for work visas for jobs that did not exist, and is now facing deportation for violating visa norms, according to a media report Thursday. Damanpreet Kaur said she paid two men over 18,000 dollars for a work visa and job last year and later 15,000 dollars to a Hamilton man for the same, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported. She said that she had received a one-year open work visa after completing an IT course in Auckland in March 2016, but after it expired she had trouble getting a two-year work visa. Kaur, in March 2017, was approached by two men who offered her an IT job in an internet cafe in Tauranga if she paid them 50,000 dollars. They said the job would get her a work visa and help her to eventually get a residence visa. Tauranga is most populous city in the the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's fifth largest city. A ...
Community engagement key to combat human trafficking: Envoy
British Deputy High Commissioner of Kolkata Bruce Bucknell has advocated for community engagement and coordination between authorities to address social evils such as human trafficking. Speaking at a district-level meeting at Barasat in North 24 Parganas, around 25km from here, Bucknell said Wednesday he was pleased to see administration officials engaging in dialogue with NGO workers to end the menace. Assistant Superintendent of Police, North 24 Parganas, Avijit Banerjee, the chairman of West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chakraborti, and Deputy Commander of Border Security Force, Nizammudin, were among those who attended the meeting. The British diplomat expressed hope that events, such as the one held Wednesday, will empower people to work with authorities in addressing the issue of human trafficking. "All members of the community need to come together to end human trafficking and exploitation," Bucknell said. The coordination meeting,
