Mamata to provide financial assistance to Widows who lack support

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Kolkata, June 23 : As the world is observing International Widows’ Day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said her government is committed to the welfare of all our citizens.

Banerjee said her government is committed to providing financial assistance to widows who lack support.

Banerjee tweeted: “Today is International Widows’ Day. Our government provides financial assistance to widows who are residents of the State and lack support and care. We are committed to the welfare of all our citizens.”

International Widows Day is a United Nations ratified day of action to address the “poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries”.

Barala to complete the process of formation of frontal organizations advised Shah

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CHANDIGARH: BJP president Amit Shah on Friday asked the MPs and MLAs from Haryana to adopt at least one such constituency where the party has suffered defeat in the 2014 assembly elections with a narrow margin.
Shah, who chaired the first meeting of the Haryana BJP core committee in the wake of party’s preparation for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, asked state party chief Subhash Barala to complete the process of formation of frontal organizations and morchas within a month.

 

The meeting was held at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi.

Shah also directed Barala to ensure that the construction of district-level party headquarters is started as early as possible. Besides, he also directed the Haryana health minister for the opening of jan aushadhi kendras at sub-divisional level to ensure availability of essential drugs at controlled rates.

As the party is already faced with the pressure arising out of the demand for the other backward classes (OBC) quota for Jats, Shah also asked Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his team to run an extensive campaign to apprise the masses how Congress and its allies were opposing the statutory status for the National Commission for the Backward Classes (NCBC) and anti-poor stand taken by it.

Besides CM Khattar and Barala, prominent among those who attended the meeting included BJP general secretary Ram Lal, Haryana in-charge Anil Jain, state ministers Ram Bilas Sharma, Anil Vij, Captain Abhimanyu and O P Dhankar and Union ministers Krishan Pal Gurjar, Birender and Singh and Rao Inderjit Singh.

Sources said Shah also sought an update from the Haryana CM and ministers on the issue of spending of two days — Tuesday and Wednesdays — in office. He also asked for a report from Barala about performance of party office-bearers while directing the ministers to act as catalysts between the district administration and party workers during their stay in various districts.

Referring to party’s activities at booth level, the BJP president also asked Barala to direct block and district unit chiefs to spend maximum time in the villages and start gradation of booths as per the position of the party.

 

Truck skidded off a road, broke the railing and stood suspended between two railway over-bridges

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LUDHIANA: Traffic came to a standstill on National Highway-1, near Ladhowal, when a truck skidded off a road, broke the railing and stood suspended between two railway over-bridges.
The incident, which occurred early on Friday, caused a long traffic jam as rescue teams of the railway department came to lift the truck. The cranes blocked both the roads, leaving commuters hassled for over two hours. Some trains were also delayed.

It was suspected that truck driver Pargat Singh Brar, who escaped from the spot, fell asleep and lost control over the vehicle around 3am. The officials came to know about it only by 7am.

Commuters from Ludhiana to Jalandhar had to wait for hours to reach their destinations. Model Gram resident Himanshu Verma, who works at Lovely Professional University, said, “I travel daily by bus. Today when I reached near Ladhowal, I saw a huge traffic jam. After waiting for long when I got off the bus to check the matter, I came to know of the truck accident. The officials present at the spot said traffic would resume after the stuck vehicle was lifted.”

Samlara Chowk resident Abhishek Kanojia, who was traveling to Jalandhar by bus, said, “I have to reach office before 9am, but since 7.30am I am stuck in traffic. This is a national highway and such jams show apathetic attitude of the authorities. There should be at least a diversion to release congestion.”

Railway Protection Force in-charge inspector Pawan Kumar said, “On the basis of the registration number of the truck, its owner was contacted. The owner produced the driver before police and he was arrested. A case under section 154 (endangering safety of persons travelling by railway by rash or negligent act or omission) and 174 (obstructing running of train) of the Railway Act has been registered.”

LIC wants to buy an additional 43% stake in IDBI Bank

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State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has sought government approval to buy a controlling stake in troubled IDBI Bank Ltd, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The move will enable the insurance company’s entry into the Indian banking system.

LIC wants to buy an additional 43% stake in IDBI Bank for about Rs 10,500 crore. This would increase LIC’s total stake in the bank to 51% from 8%. The government stake in IDBI Bank increased to 85.96% from 80.96% after a preferential sale of shares by the bank to the government last month.

“The LIC board has already approved initiatives for taking controlling stake in taking over a bank. The specific proposal regarding acquisition of controlling stake in IDBI Bank shall be placed before the board after the approval of the government,” said the person cited above, requesting anonymity.

Any decision to sell the government stake in IDBI Bank will have to be approved by the cabinet.

IDBI has the highest non-performing asset (NPA) ratio among state-run lenders in India. India Ratings & Research Pvt. Ltd, the local unit of Fitch, downgraded IDBI Bank this month citing a sharp deterioration in asset quality.

The government has been trying to privatise IDBI Bank for the past couple of years in the wake of mounting losses and rising bad debts. IDBI Bank’s loss widened to Rs 8,237.92 crore in the fiscal year ended 31 March from Rs 5,158 crore in the previous year.

IDBI Bank’s gross NPAs almost doubled to Rs 55,588.26 crore during fiscal 2018, which is 32.36% of the bank’s gross advances made during the year.

“The financial projections and business plan will be drawn by the bank and the capital raising plan will be decided by the board of the bank,” said the person quoted above when asked about the possible course of action after LIC acquires controlling stake. “However, there is ample indication of a turnaround that the current management of the bank has put together,” he said.

Mint on 4 June first reported the government’s plan to sell its stake in IDBI Bank. The report said that the government was exploring a stake sale in IDBI Bank to a clutch of private equity investors as one of the options to slash its stake to less than 50%. IDBI Bank is not governed by the Bank Nationalization Act, making it easier for the government to divest control.

IDBI Bank has called its annual general meeting on 13 August. One of the items on the agenda is raising capital through various modes, including qualified institutional placements.

The government on 4 June named IDBI Bank’s managing director and chief executive officer M.K. Jain as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. State Bank of India managing director Balasubramanyam Sriram has been appointed the MD and CEO of IDBI Bank for three months.

The government has been pushing for consolidation of state-run banks to bring in synergies, reduce costs and create globally competitive banks.

Da-Bangg Tour 2018 Reloaded

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Salman Khan and his gang of friends, including the likes of Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah, Maniesh Paul and Sonakshi Sinha have taken over America, thanks to their Da-Bangg Tour Reloaded. The stars will be entertaining the American and Canadian audience over a period of two weeks.

June 22 marked the first performance of the tour, as Salman grooved with Jacqueline and Katrina, much to the delight of the audience. The show is being hosted by television personality and actor Maniesh Paul, who also provided quite a few moments of comic relief along with Sonakshi. The first show was held at Infinite Energy Arena in Atlanta. And from the videos and photos that have flooded the social media and various fan pages, one can safely assume that the audience, as well as the performers, had quite a blast.

Sunny Leone now joins Diljit Dosanjh in Arjun Patiala

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Sunny Leone now joins Diljit Dosanjh, Kriti Sanon and Varun Sharma in the quirky comedy, Arjun Patiala. Sunny, who has earlier made special appearances in the Shah Rukh-Mahira Khan starrer Raees and Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi’s period film Badshaaho, will perform a dance number in this one too.

A source close to the development informs that the actress will be grooving with Diljit to a sizzling dance track which will be shot in the first week of July over three days on a special set being put up in Mumbai. “It will be choreographed by Vijay Ganguly who is also working on the other songs in the film. The actresses’ look is currently being worked upon,” adds the source.

Diljit plays the protagonist, a policeman who is a laugh-by-minute character and Varun is his lackey with a sarcastic tongue, Onida Singh. Kriti is a scoop-hungry reporter with a TV channel while Zeeshan Qadri is the baddie with the phatka, School.

Producer Dinesh Vijan informed Mirror that Sunny’s character goes by the name of Baby Narula and is a beauty parlour owner, whom Arjun Patiala helps out. “In a special appearance, Sunny plays a small town beautiful and traditional Punjabi girl which is very close to what Sunny’s core is,” he maintained.

After shooting a long schedule in Chandigarh, the Rohit Jugraj directorial will wrap up with this song in Mumbai. It hits theatres on September 13.

Stalin along with 400 party workers detained

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DMK working President MK Stalin launched a scathing attack on government for arresting him after holding a protest in the state on June 22,218. The party is protesting as they believe that the governor Banwarilal Purohit is interfering too much in the administration of the state’s affairs. He also claimed that the ruling government headed by Edappadi K Palaniswami has taken this move after getting scared of revelations of its corrupt activities.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president MK Stalin has been detained by the local police along with 400 others for protesting in Chennai on June 22, 2018. According to a report, they were protesting against the detainment of 300 party cadres in Trichy also called Tiruchirappalli. These party workers were put behind bars after raising a black flag during Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s visit to the city a day recently. On a closer look, these DMK has been critical of the Governor’s interference in the administration of the state’s affairs. MK Stalin yesterday condemned the detainment of his party cadres.

According to a report, LG Purohit had visited Namakkal district in order to inaugurate PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat programme. While on his way to the inauguration event, scores of DMK supporters showed black flags and tried to disrupt the convoy.
Stalin later launched a scathing attack on the ruling government and justified his move by citing that even former prime minister Indira Gandhi too raised a black flag for marking a protest but was never detained by the authorities. Outraged by the move by the government, he also demanded a resignation of Banwarilal Purohit.

While addressing a press conference, MK Stalin and Sasikala nephew also slammed Tamil Nadu’s CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam for directing authorities to arrest him and his co-party workers. These people are afraid of their corruption case getting exposed in front of general public, added Stalin.
DMK had been protesting against the frequent review meetings being called by Tamil Nadu Governor and claimed that these meetings are a challenge to state’s autonomy.

History “Re-Written”

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The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) has made changes to content related to legendary Rajput queen Padmini in the latest edition of the Board’s Class XII history textbook.

Unlike last year’s textbook, in the 2018 edition of ‘Bharat Ka Itihas’ (History of India) the part dealing with queen Padmini has no mention of an alleged incident when Alauddin Khilji saw her reflection in a mirror.

The new edition of the book, distributed by the Rajasthan State Textbook Board, appeared in the market recently.

The changes come a year after protests against the Hindi film ‘Padmaavat’.

The story of Padmini is mentioned in the chapter ‘Mughal Akraman: Prakar aur Prabhav’ (Mughal invasion: Type an effects) under the section ‘Padmini ki Kahaani’ (story of Padmini).

Rawal Ratan Sinh

“Aath varsh tak ghera daalne ke baad bhi jab Sultan Chittor ko nahi jeet paaya to usne prastav rakha ki yadi ussey Padmini ka pratibimb hi dikha diya jaye to vah Delhi laut jayega (Even after laying siege to Chittor for eight years, when the Sultan couldn’t win, he proposed a that if he is allowed to see the reflection of Padmini, then he will return to Delhi),” the 2017 edition of the book said.

Thereafter, it stated, “Rana ne is prastaav ko swikar kar liya. Darpan me Padmini ka pratibimb dekhkar jab Alauddin wapis laut raha thha, us samay usne Ratan Singh ko qaid kar liye aur rihai ke badle Padmini ki mang ki (The Rana accepted this proposal. When Alauddin was returning after seeing Padmini’s reflection in a mirror, he captured Ratan Singh and asked for Padmini in exchange of his freedom).”

There’s no mention of this incident in the 2018 edition of the textbook.

“Aath varsh tak ghera daalne ke baad bhi jab Sultan Chittor ko nahi jeet paya to usne sandhi prastav ke bahane dhokhe se Ratan Singh ko qaid kar liye aur rihai ke badle Padmini ki mang ki (Even after laying siege to Chittor for eight years, when the Sultan couldn’t win, he captured Ratan Singh on pretext of an offer of truce),” reads the 2018 edition of the book.

In the latest edition, a line is added at the start of the topic, stating that the description of Padmini is according to the book ‘Padmaavat’ written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540.

To save 20 Billion units annually ministry suggests to keep AC temperature at 24 to 26 degrees

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The power ministry is considering making the default temperature setting for air conditioners at 24 degrees Celsius. Power Minister R K Singh, during a meeting on Friday, said the mandate will benefit consumers, both from a health and financial point of view. The ministry also wants AC manufacturers to add a label on the product indicating the optimum temperature setting for consumers. If the move is approved, it is likely to come into effect in a few months.

The ministry’s suggestion comes based on recommendations in a study conducted by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Its report suggests temperature settings to be in the range of 24 to 26 degree Celsius.

According to the ministry, the higher the temperature of the air conditioner, the lesser electricity consumed. This translates to saving at least six per cent of electricity consumed with an increase of just one degree in temperature. Singh explained, “Every one-degree increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6 per cent of electricity consumed.”

Further, the minister said it is both uncomfortable and unhealthy to be in colder temperatures. “The normal human body temperature is approximately 36-37 degrees Celsius, but a large number of commercial establishments maintain a temperature around 18-21 degrees Celsius. This is not only uncomfortable but is actually unhealthy,” Singh said. He pointed out that wearing warm clothing or using blankets in a colder temperature is a waste of energy.

Singh’s campaign, which promotes energy efficiency, is likely to result in substantial energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas emission.

According to BEE, only six per cent of households in the country use air conditioners. If all consumers adopt a default temperature setting, India could save 20 billion units of electricity annually.

The report states that the current estimate total installed air conditioner capacity is 80 million TR (tonne of refrigerator), which is likely to increase to nearly 250 million TR by 2030. Taking into account the huge demand, India can save around 40 million units of electricity usage per day.

he move towards making the default setting on air conditioners 24 degree Celsius will begin by issuing an advisory to all establishments and manufacturers, particularly airports, hotels, shopping malls, offices and government buildings. This will be followed by an awareness campaign, held over four to six months. The ministry will then gather feedback from the public before mandating a default setting.

This practice is followed in other countries, such as in Japan, where the government has regulated temperatures at 28 degree Celsius.

We are not averse to forming a coalition government with the CPM in the state: Mishra

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Being pushed to the margins, the West Bengal Congress unit has sent a report to the AICC proposing a 21-step approach to defeat the “TMC-BJP nexus” in the state, including an alliance with Left parties and the opening of common offices.

West Bengal Congress general secretary O P Mishra, who dispatched the report June 13, told media “We have sent the report to New Delhi and are awaiting a response. The main thrust of the report is to not only look at the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but draw a long-term plan to see how we can make a recovery in the 2021 assembly elections, defeat the TMC and come to power. We are not averse to forming a coalition government with the CPM in the state.’’

Last month, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had announced that his party intended to unite all non-TMC, non-BJP parties in the state. He said a decision had been taken after a meeting with all Congress MLAs and district leaders, and Mishra had been asked to draw up a plan of action. The report sent to the AICC is a result of that decision.

The 21-step approach proposes “central office points’’ in Kolkata, Asansol, Berhampore and Siliguri; dedicated website, Facebook page and Twitter handle for the political front; development of a 50,000-strong volunteer force, cutting across non-TMC, non-BJP parties, by October 2018 for the alliance work.

“The methodology may involve enlisting the support of 1,000 core political party activists distributed throughout the state, encouraging each of them to enlist 10 volunteers and then subsequently each of the 10,000 volunteers to help enlist 5 volunteers each. The volunteers may be supporters or sympathizers of any political party. Details related to enlisting and joining of volunteers and Dos and Don’ts related to them to be prepared in writing,’’ the report states.
Details of each volunteer is to be maintained in a centralised manner accessible to all parties and “work/activity’’will be given to each volunteer on continuous basis including pamphlet and literature distribution, collection of resources and visiting “victims of human rights violations, police excesses and those accused of false cases”.

Volunteers will also be engaged in booth-wise collection of organisation data and will, in turn, recruit volunteers at the booth level. The alliance, according to the report, will compile all “political and false police cases since 2011 throughout West Bengal against political activists/human rights activists/general public’’ and provide “dedicated financial resources for the legal and medical expenses of all victims of TMC’s physical attacks’’.

At the level of the state and central leaderships, Mishra’s report has proposed deliberations to draw up a common agenda between the parties as well as deliberations with trade unions, farmer organisations, student bodies as well as those of professionals such as doctors and teachers.

The plan also proposes that all cases related to the panchayat polls and pending cases of corruption against the state be fought together by these political parties. Alleging that there is a tacit understanding between the TMC and the BJP in West Bengal, Mishra says an alliance between the Congress and the TMC for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is not desirable. “A TMC-Congress-Left tie-up. This is problematic and has the potential to produce the opposite of the result anticipated. Such a formulation may even serve the BJP and may amount to ceding the Opposition space to BJP.”

He has alleged that the TMC’s objective to retain power, and shield its leadership from investigation, detention and conviction in corruption cases by the CBI in the Sarada and Narada scandals has made the party “compromise with the political interests of BJP in the state’’.

The report claims that the rise of the BJP in Bengal has been “artificial’’, and not organic. “In 2014, BJP had secured 17.2 per cent votes in the Lok Sabha elections — the highest ever vote share of BJP in the state. When Congress and Left political parties reached state-level electoral understanding and contested the 2016 assembly election, securing about 39 per cent vote share, BJP’s vote share was reduced by about 40 per cent, from the high of 17.2 to 10.5 per cent. The 6 per cent gap between TMC and Congress-Left combine resulted in a huge victory for TMC which secured 211 seats. TMC leadership realized that any further strengthening of Congress-Left combine would jeopardize their electoral success and hence decided to encourage BJP’s ‘rise’,’’ it claims.

“At the national level, in Parliament, TMC has given tacit and indirect support to BJP on a number of occasions through occasional but calculated abstention, not joining the other Opposition parties against the government on crucial issues and, more recently, by trying to subvert and weaken efforts at Opposition unity by flouting political formulations that may indirectly benefit the BJP’s quest for power in 2019 Lok Sabha election,’’ the report states.