Only 51 days of work per household given under MNREGS in 2018-19

Govt said the total number of individuals who worked under the scheme in 2015-16 was 72.2 million

Only 51 days of work was provided per household across the country in 2018-19 as against 100 days mandated in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Centre said on Tuesday. While the Centre said the number of beneficiaries and budgetary allocation towards the rural employment scheme have increased over the years, the rural development ministry is struggling to meet the targets of the prime minister’s housing for all scheme for rural areas.

According to Rural Development Minister Narendra Tomar’s reply in the Lok Sabha, under the PM Awaas Yojana (Grameen) — restructured from the erstwhile Indira Awaas Yojana from April 1, 2016 — as many as 198,608 houses have been constructed as on November 15 against the target of 527,552 houses.

The minister said total 1,98,136 houses have been completed in Phase I (2016-17 to 2018-19) against the target of 327,552 houses. In Phase II (2019-20 to 2021-22), a mere 472 houses have been completed against the target of 200,000 houses.

On the MNREGA, in a reply to a question by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pritam Munde, the minister said the scheme is demand-driven. He said the Centre is engaged with state governments to set up systems to ensure the provision of work according to demand, transparency and accountability, and also take steps to create awareness about the scheme. According to the data, Mizoram topped the list providing 92 workdays, followed by West Bengal (77 workdays) and Kerala (66 workdays)…

India opts out of RCEP; PM Modi says key issues remain unresolved

Fifteen other nations, however, went ahead with the deal after the conclusion of the summit in Bangkok, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The government on Monday said India will not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal, adding that doing so would adversely affect the national interest.

This was a nod by the government to concerns raised by domestic industry and farmers, most of whom had opposed the pact, fearing it would lead to uncontrolled dumping by China. “India conveyed its decision to not join… (There are) significant issues of core interest and the impact it would have on the livelihood of vulnerable sections. India has participated in good faith in the RCEP discussions and had negotiated hard with a clear-eyed view of our interests,” said Vijay Singh Thakur, secretary (east), Ministry of External Affairs, in Bangkok.

She added that not joining the pact was the right decision at the moment. Fifteen other nations, however, went ahead with the deal after the conclusion of the summit in Bangkok, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Participating countries have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their market access issues,” said the joint statement issued after a meeting of RCEP leaders. The deal is now being scrubbed for legal issues. Negotiations, started in 2012, will now culminate in a final deal being signed by 2020, it added.

The RCEP nations have also left the door open for India — the largest untapped consumer and industrial market — in the bloc. “All RCEP countries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues,” the joint statement added. But Modi informed the other leaders that the deal in its current form “does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles of the RCEP”.

How election handouts threaten Modi govt’s plan to curb budget deficit

Speculation is mounting of possible cash handouts to farmers and tax exemptions to shore up voter support ahead of polls due by May

Lok sabha Elections 2019: Less than a month before India’s budget, risks are growing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will miss fiscal targets for a second year in a row as it gives into populist pressures before a high-stakes election.

Speculation is mounting of possible cash handouts to farmers and tax exemptions to shore up voter support ahead of polls due by May. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost control of key states in provincial elections last month.

Economists at Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. and Kotak Securities Ltd. predict a fiscal gap of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year through March, compared with a targeted 3.3 percent. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to give a budget speech on Feb. 1.

“Increased spending on direct benefits to farmers would make achieving fiscal deficit targets even more challenging,” said William Foster, a senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service in New York, citing the limited scope for the government to increase its revenue resources in the near term.

Read More:  Business Standard or BS

Another farmer protest: UP union gears up to block Delhi highways on Jan 10

The Bhartiya Kisan Union will be blocking the Delhi-Dehradun highway to demand loosened restrictions on diesel and the payment of sugarcane dues

Business Standard: The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) will be blocking the Delhi-Dehradun highway in a few places around Muzaffarnagar on January 10. The Uttar Pradesh-based farmer organisation claims that the government has not fulfilled any of the demands that it raised on October 2 when its followers descended upon Delhi. The protests led to violence on the borders of Delhi, as the farmers were not allowed to enter the capital.

“None of those demands has been met,” said Rakesh Tikait, BKU national spokesperson.

In response, the BKU – founded by the farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait – has announced that it will block the busy Delhi-Dehradun highway. They also intend to stop construction work around Khatauli, as they claim that farmers have not been compensated for the land that was acquired from them.

Click Here : Farmers Protest

“It has been more than two years since tahe land was acquired from farmers. But the farmers are yet to be compensated. We will stop construction activity in the Khatauli by-pass region where this land was acquired till the farmers are compensated in full,” said Tikait.

The BKU also wants to stop all government vehicles on the highway, find out their age and write it on these vehicles. “We know that many government buses and other vehicles are more than ten years old. Why are they not being taken off the road? Why does this rule not apply to them?” Tikait said.|Read Source: BS

1984 anti-Sikh riot case: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to surrender today

On December 22, the Congress leader filed an appeal in the Apex Court, after the High Court dismissed Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender

BS: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has to surrender before Karkardooma Court or Tihar jail authorities here on Monday. In view of this, HS Phoolka, one of the petitioners in 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, has appealed to the victims of the riot to not go to the court on Monday.

In a statement, Phoolka said: “It is apprehended that Sajjan Kumar might try to create disturbances around the court tomorrow, to use as an excuse not to surrender and ask for an extension. I request 1984 Sikh genocide victims not to go to the court tomorrow. He has not got any relief from the Supreme Court. So, he has to surrender.” Speaking to ANI, Phoolka said: “He simply has to go to the court tomorrow and surrender. If he does not do that, then on January 1 the police will have to take him in custody and send him to Tihar Jail. This is a very big victory for the entire nation, as a mass murderer is going to be punished after years.”

On December 22, the Congress leader filed an appeal in the Apex Court, after the High Court dismissed Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender. The court, while awarding him a life sentence, had directed him to surrender by December 31 and also levied a fine of Rs 5 lakh on him. In his plea, he had sought 30 additional days to surrender, on account of settling family affairs with regard to property and inheritance…

Click Here: Business Standard 

India lodges protest with Pak over harassment of officials in Islamabad

There were reports that pro-Khalistani banners were shown to the Indian pilgrims in Pakistan

Latest News : India Friday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the alleged harassment of Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad and the denial of access to Indian Sikh pilgrims visiting that country.

The Ministry of External Affairs said consular officials of the Indian High Commission were “harassed and denied access” to meet Indian pilgrims at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib and Gurudwara Sacha Sauda on November 21 and 22.

It said the access was denied despite the Pakistan Foreign Ministry granting them prior travel permission.In a statement, the MEA said India has also expressed grave concern at the reports of attempts being made during the ongoing visit of the Indian pilgrims to Pakistan, “to incite communal disharmony and intolerance and promote secessionist tendencies with the objective of undermining India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

There were reports that pro-Khalistani banners were shown to the Indian pilgrims in Pakistan.It said Pakistan has been called upon to take all measures to not allow its territory to be used for any “hostile propaganda” and support for “secessionist tendencies” against India.

IAF's chopper crashes near Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang, 7 personnel killed

The crash of the Mi-17 V5 took place at around 6 am when it was on a maintenance mission

Seven defence personnel were killed after an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

Tawang district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Meena said the chopper crashed around 6.30 a.m. killing all the seven people on board.

The chopper was on a routine Air Maintenance Mission, Meena quoted a Defence officer as saying.

The crash site is located at some four-to-five hours drive from Tawang. "It is a forested area," Meena said adding that the bodies are being brought to the helipad near Tawang.

"We are told that there were no civilians and all were defence personnel," he said.

Earlier in July an Indian Air Force chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.

The frequently changing weather condition in Arunachal Pradesh makes flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past.

The then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state in 2011.

RBI removes walls between e-wallets, soon a Paytm user can transact with a MobiKwik user

Inter-operability to help players increase business

 

 

 

economy news: To make the use of digital cash more prevalent and convenient, a digital wallet user would soon be able to accept cash from the user of another Ewallet, because of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tweaking its guidelines.

 

For example, a Paytm wallet user would soon be able to accept cash from a PhonePe wallet user.

 

Opening up the strings of digital wallets, the RBI on Wednesday said it would issue revised directions by October 11 to allow “inter-operability” among prepaid payment instruments (PPIs). These include digital wallets, prepaid cash coupons and prepaid telephone top-up cards. PPIs are a substitute for paper currency.

 

It is expected that PPIs can inter-operate within six months of the revised directions, the RBI said in its “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies”.

 

ALSO READ: RBI pauses, revises growth forecast down sharply

 

The RBI said the feedback received was examined and it was decided to rationalise the operational guidelines with a view to encouraging competition and strengthening security of operations, besides improving customer grievance redressal mechanisms.

 

The first guidelines for issuance and operation of PPIs came in April 2009 with the objective to create an ecosysmte. In March, the RBI asked for feedback on the PPI industry. At present, two people using the same digital wallet can do transactions; in less than six months, people using digital wallets from different companies would be able to send and receive money from each other. Read More

Modi govt's approach U-turn may hurt 'Make in India' drive

GE won a $2.6 billion contract in 2015 to supply 1,000 diesel locomotives

 

Astonishment arrangement shifts, for example, an obvious U-turn over a train manage General Electric, hazard undermining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lead 'Make in India' activity, which plans to make a huge number of employments and lift development, industry officials say.

GE won a $2.6 billion contract in 2015 to supply 1,000 diesel trains - the greatest direct interest in India by a U.S. firm and the primary arrangement granted to a remote firm after India permitted 100 percent outside interest in its railroads - part of endeavors to upgrade its squeaking, pilgrim period foundation.

Be that as it may, the railroads service said a week ago it wouldn't require diesel after all - planning to save money on fuel and support costs - and proposed GE might need to make electric motors.(economy news)

Electric motors are typically utilized for traveler trains, while diesel is utilized for cargo. Around 25-30 percent of India's trains are diesel-engined.

The approach move could cost New Delhi in remuneration - GE is as of now constructing an industrial facility for the diesel locos - yet administrators and financial specialists say it is additionally an essential test for a legislature that requirements remote speculation to make occupations and reboot development in front of a 2019 general race...Read More

From Amma to Indira canteens: Playing the subsidised food card for votes

'To a man with an empty stomach food is god', the Mahatma had famously remarked

 

economy news: In an effort to consolidate urban vote base, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier this month opened over 100 Indira canteens in Bengaluru, which would offer subsidised food for the urban poor. The canteens, modelled on the Amma canteen that brought back the late J Jayalalithaa into power in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, offer breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch and dinner at Rs 10, with each outlet to serve around 500 people at a time. This writer discusses how political parties have time and again played the subsidised food card to satiate the hunger for votes.

The late H N Bahuguna was once asked by one of his close associates what two things he would do if he becomes the Prime Minister. The veteran leader had replied that one thing he would certainly do was to ensure that the price of bread is brought abysmally low so that no one would go to bed hungry.

That was sought to be done in urban Karnataka with the launch of the Indira Canteens in Bengaluru earlier this month with much fanfare by Rahul Gandhi who is seeking to seize the initiative in the poll-bound state to retain power amid times of crisis for the grand old party.

No doubt that it is a desperate measure to attract the urban poor, but it also signals a fight back at a time when Congress has lost from almost all major cities including the four metros in the Narendra Modi surge in the last Lok Sabha elections. Bengaluru was no exception.

Karnataka is the last bastion of the Congress being the single largest state it has in its kitty when its footprint has drastically dwindled and the last victory it witnessed was in Punjab recently after many a defeat in several states since 2014.

The move has also come at a time when the Narendra Modi dispensation is at its zenith with BJP for the first time able to install its men in four top constitutional positions -- the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker. Loyalists of Modi are beating the drums of TINA—There Is No Alternative-to the Leader....(Read more)

Don't intend to alter food habits: Modi govt after ban on cattle slaughter

Harsh Vardhan's remarks come amid protests over ban on sale of cattle for slaughter at open markets

The government does not want to "alter" the food habits of people and put businesses in this sector to trouble, Union minister Harsh Vardhan said.

His remarks come amid protests over the notification issued by his ministry on the sale of cattle for slaughter at open markets across the country.

"We drafted the rules after the Supreme Court directive. Following this, the notification was put in the public domain for a period of one month.| economy news

"Some suggestions came and were incorporated into the rules. Our intention behind issuing the rules is not to alter the food habits of people in anyway. We also do not have any intention of putting businesses of any kind to difficulty," the environment minister said.

The row over beef eating and cattle trade has led to protests in several states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Vardhan said suggestions "are coming in and if anybody has any reservations, they can send it to the ministry and these suggestions will be looked at objectively.

"Now the matter is again in the Supreme Court," he said.

The Madras High Court had on May 30 stayed for four weeks the enforcement of the contentious notification.

The order had come on a petition challenging the bar as inimical to personal liberty, people's rights to livelihood and an encroachment into matters that are within the domain of the states.

 

'South Tibet': China claims stake over Arunachal Pradesh, renames 6 places

China has for the first time announced 'standardised' official names for six places in Arunachal

 

#LATEST| Upping the ante, China has for the first time announced "standardised" official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh, days after it lodged strong protests with India over the Dalai Lama's visit to the frontier state.

The state media here said the move was aimed at reaffirming China's claim over the state . China claims the state as 'South Tibet'.

"China's ministry of civil affairs announced on April 14 that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of six places in 'South Tibet', which India calls 'Arunachal Pradesh', in accordance with the regulations of the central government," state-run Global Times reported today.

The official names of the six places using the Roman alphabet are Wo'gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bumo La and Namkapub Ri.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). While China claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, India asserts that the dispute covers Aksai Chin area which was occupied by China during the 1962 war.

The two sides have so far held 19 rounds of talks with Special Representatives to resolve the boundary dispute.

China's move comes just days after the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh , which was seventh since he fled from Tibet through Tawang and sought refuge in India.

During the 81-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader's Arunachal Pradesh visit, China had warned India that it will take "necessary measures" to defend its territorial sovereignty and interests.

ALSO READ:  US Denounces North Korea's Weapon Test, Assures Full Support To Japan

Commenting on the standardisation of the names of six places, Chinese experts said that it was a move to "reaffirm the country's territorial sovereignty to the disputed region", according to the daily.

"The standardisation came amid China's growing understanding and recognition of the geography in South Tibet. Naming the places is a step to reaffirm China's territorial sovereignty to South Tibet," Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic studies at Beijing's Minzu University of China, was quoted as saying.

Xiong said that the legalisation of the regions' names is a part of the rule of law.

"These names have existed since ancient times, but had never been standardised before. Therefore, announcing the names is like a remediation," Guo Kefan, a research fellow at the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, said.| read more...

Aadhaar can be hacked, data leaked, Modi government finally admits

A letter written by the government confirms the data has been leaked online

 

How safe are your biometric data? With Aadhaar, you have given your fingerprints and iris scans to the government. This clearly gives an individual a 'unique' identity. But what if the details of your Aadhaar get leaked? In the recent past, there have been several cases of UID data being compromised with. While the government has constantly denied any possibility of a compromise, The New Indian Express published on Friday a report on how the NDA government has acknowledged that personal identity of individuals, including Aadhaar number and other sensitive information, has been leaked to the public domain.

A letter written by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which the Express claims to have accessed, confirms that data, which the government has been cautiously guarding, has been leaked online. “There have been instances wherein personal identity or information of residents, including Aadhaar number and demographic information and other sensitive personal data such as bank account details etc. collected by various Ministries/Departments... has been reportedly published online and is accessible through an easy online search,” Archana Dureja, a scientist in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, wrote on March 25.

 Jaitley maintained that the only way to prevent hacking is to strengthen the firewalls. “Technology always is a learning experience,” he added.

 

On March 5 the Ministry of Electronics and IT issued a statement assuring that personal data of individuals held by UIDAI is fully safe and secure.

 

With over a billion Indians possessing an Aadhaar card in 2017, data theft issue can turn into a mammoth crisis for Modi government that has been aggressively pushing for its adoption across services and platforms and for the citizens who have linked their bank accounts and other sensitive information with it......(READ MORE)

 

 

 

Snapdeal orders mass lay-off; FreeCharge to be sold for $300 mn

Founders forego salary

Once a success story of the burgeoning start-up ecosystem, Gurgaon-based online marketplace Snapdeal on Wednesday said it would cut more jobs, stop paying its founders and sell its digital wallet FreeCharge.

Co-founder Kunal Bahl, in an email to employees on Wednesday, finally accepted tough decisions— including letting go of people and a full pay cut for him— are being taken. It has also put on sale FreeCharge and is in talks with Naspers, the South Africa-based internet group, to sell it for $300 million.

“We are combining teams, reducing layers, eliminating non-core projects and strengthening the focus on profitable growth. Sadly, we will also be saying really painful goodbyes to some of our colleagues in this process. This is, by far, the hardest decision we have ever taken,” said Bahl.

Though the company refused to divulge the exact number of people to be sacked, sources close to the development said 800 employees would be laid off over the next few days. Sources confirmed 100 were asked to go on the day itself, within a few minutes of Bahl’s email.

“By the time we finished reading the mail, HR (human resource) called us to their office. They said we would get three months of severance pay. We said yes, as that was the only option on the table,” said an employee who was sacked on Wednesday.

According to sources, employees from marketing, ad-tech, category, digital marketing, engineering team, catalogues, have all been asked to leave. Bahl and his co-founder Rohit Bansal said they will not take pay henceforth.

Read Full Story >>>

Some of Delhi govt's major initiatives could not succeed due to its constant run-ins with the Centre

As the Arvind Kejriwal government completes two conflict-ridden years in office tomorrow, some of the key poll promises made by AAP remains unfulfilled while realistic actions on the ground are seen in areas of education, health and drinking water.

The AAP, which stormed to power in February 2015 with a stunning performance of winning 67 out of 70 seats is yet to implement some of its key schemes including Wi-Fi in public zones, installing 10-15 lakh CCTV cameras across Delhi, bringing a law for devolution of power to mohallas and setting up subsidised canteens.

The AAP had promised to significantly improve the public transport but the Kejriwal dispensation could not add even a single bus to the existing fleet of the DTC. There was no progress toward fulfilling the promise of ensuring last mile connectivity.

The party had mentioned in its manifesto that eight lakh jobs will be created during the government's tenure but nothing concrete has been initiated on this front.

Some of the major initiatives of the AAP government could not see light of the day due to its constant run-ins with the Centre which adversely affected overall governance of the city.

However, newly appointed Lt Governor Anil Baijal has given indication he is ready to adopt a cooperative approach in dealing with the AAP government so as to ensure speedy implementation of developmental initiatives.

The acrimonious relations between AAP government and Centre peaked when the CBI, dealing a major blow to the Kejriwal dispensation, arrested the then Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Rajendra Kumar, along with four others, in a corruption case in July last year.

The arrests triggered a political firestorm with Kejriwal training guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on virtually every issue, deepening the rift between the two sides.

The impact of this confrontation was quite visible on the governance structure.

The pace of work by the government got affected when former LG Najeeb Jung in August last year set up a panel to examine over 400 files pertaining to Delhi government's decisions notwithstanding Kejriwal's strong objection.

The panel headed by former CAG V K Shunglu submitted its report last month wherein it pointed out many discrepancies by AAP government.

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