Author: LokMarg

The Karnataka government has approved 60 industrial projects worth Rs 2,465.94 crore that would generate over 8,575 jobs in the state.

The 131st State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) meeting was held under the chairmanship of Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Murugesh R Nirani on Saturday.

The committee has considered and approved 10 important large and medium-size industrial projects with investments of more than Rs 50 crore. These projects worth Rs 1,522.33 are expected to create employment opportunities for 3,190 persons in the state.

As many as 49 new projects with investments of more than INR 15 crore and less than INR 50 crore were cleared at the 131st SLSWCC meeting. And these projects worth Rs 938.61 crore would generate jobs for 5,385 people in the state.

One more project worth Rs 5 crore investment was also approved. A total of 60 projects with investments of Rs 2,465.94 crore with employment potential for 8,575 people were cleared.

Earlier on March 5, the Karnataka Minister headed SLSWCC in its 130th meeting and had cleared 48 industrial projects worth Rs 2,062.21 crore with employment potential for 6,393 people.

The State government had also cleared industrial projects worth Rs 11,495.4 crore with the potential of creating over 46,984 jobs during the 58th State High-Level Clearance Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and vice chairmanship of Nirani on April 18, 2022. (ANI)

Punjab Police have so far arrested six persons who were allegedly involved in the Patiala violence that took place between the two groups outside the ‘Kali Mata Temple’.

Out of the six arrested accused, the key conspirator behind the Patiala clashes, Barjinder Singh Parwana was arrested by the police in Mohali today morning, said MS Chhina, IG-Patiala on Sunday.
“Barjinder Parwana, the main accused in the Patiala clashes, has been taken into custody by police from Mohali. A total of six accused have been arrested till now. The Chief Minister (Bhagwant Mann) has ordered strict action against anti-social and anti-national elements,” he told reporters.

He further said that Barjinder Parwana will be presented before a court to take the police remand.

“Police have also arrested Shankar Bhardwaj, who is Harish Singhal’s accomplice, and three more radicals have also been arrested. One other person, who posted the hate speech, was also arrested,” he stated.

The top police official also assured that no innocent will be harassed during the investigation but those involved will be arrested and chargesheets will be submitted against them.

“FIR has been registered against 25 people in the case so far. A man who was shot in the clashes is admitted to the hospital. The entire matter is being supervised by SSP Deepak Pareek,” the IG added.

Tension prevailed in Patiala after two groups clashed outside the ‘Kali Mata Temple’ on Friday, brandishing swords and pelting stones at each other, at a rally in which four people, including two policemen, were injured. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France during his three-nation tour to Europe will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Sunday.

PM Modi’s visit to France will be third on the list of the three-nation visit, which will also include Germany and Denmark. This visit comes a few days after Macron’s victory in the French presidential elections.
Speaking at a special briefing ahead of PM Modi’s three-nation tour, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary said PM’s visit to France will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections.

Kwatra, who was holding his first press conference, noted that France is an important partner of India in Europe and currently holds the EU presidency.

“President Macron has just won the elections. India-France friends and strategic partnership has seen a great momentum, thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron, as also their close friendship,” Foreign Secretary said.

“Prime Minister’s visit to France will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections,” he added.

Kwatra said both countries have continuously nurtured and delivered on the ambition of their strategic partnership, particularly in the area of clean energy and environment, people to people ties, digital and manufacturing in high-end sectors.

Answering a question on key areas of cooperation between the two countries, he said, “We’re aware that in space of strategic partnerships, India and France have a substantial and comprehensive partnership. Elements of this partnership extend to those parts which are our key priorities. Our focus is on co-designing, co-production and manufacturing in India.

PM Modi earlier today said that this visit will also give India and France the opportunity to set the tone for the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership.

“President Macron and I will share assessments on various regional and global issues and will take stock of ongoing bilateral cooperation. It is my firm belief that two countries that share such similar vision and values for the global order, must work in close cooperation with each other,” he said in his departure statement ahead of the three-nation visit.

The Prime Minister noted that his visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices.

“Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” he added. (ANI)

The daily COVID-19 cases in the country saw a dip as 3,324 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, 364 fewer than Saturday, taking the daily positivity rate to 0.71 per cent, the Union Health Ministry informed on Sunday.

India had reported 3,688 COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
The active caseload now stands at 19,092, which is 0.04 per cent of the total cases.

A total of 2,876 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,25,36,253. The recovery rate is 98.74 per cent

The country reported 40 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative death tally to 5,23,843.

The weekly positivity rate stands at 0.68 per cent. As many as 4,71,087 COVID samples were tested in the last 24 hours. A total of 83.79 crore tests have been conducted in the country so far.

As far as vaccination is concerned, 25,95,267 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered during this period. With this, the total number of vaccine jabs administered under the nationwide vaccination drive so far went up to 1,89,17,69,346. (ANI)

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the farmers’ unions will visit Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on May 5 to ensure justice for farmers who were killed in last year’s October 3 violence in the district.

“Farmer unions under the banner of SKM will visit Lakhimpur Kheri to ensure justice for the farmers who died during the violence last year there,” said Harinder Singh Lakhowal, General Secretary, BKU (Punjab) while addressing a press conference here.
He further informed that the farmers from other states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana will also visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

“Farmer leaders will depart from Punjab on May 4 and will join other farmers from Rajasthan, UP, and Haryana on the way to Lakhimpur Kheri,” he added.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3, 2021. Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra allegedly ran over the farmers who were protesting against the Centre’s three farm Laws. He was arrested on October 9 and granted bail in February 2022.

Ashish Mishra surrendered before the magistrate at the district jail last month, just a week after Supreme Court canceled his bail and asked him to surrender in a week. (ANI)

In a bid to avoid any untoward incident in the coming festivals, a complete curfew will be imposed in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh on May 2 and May 3.

“Eid prayers to be offered at home. Also, no event on Akshaya Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti will be allowed to organize in the district,” said Sumer Singh Mujalda, Additional District Magistrate, Khargone.
The city witnessed violence following a stone-pelting incident during a Ram-Navami procession on April 10.

The Additional District Magistrate further informed that relaxation will be given on May 1 between 8 am to 5 pm.

“Orders have been passed that shops will remain open and students going for exams will be given a pass. However, decisions can be altered if conditions demand,” said ADM.

In the violence that erupted on April 10, several people, including police personnel, were injured when groups of people pelted stones at each other during the procession.

The stone-pelting started at the beginning of the procession leaving around four persons injured, including a police inspector. (ANI)

The main accused and the key conspirator in the Patiala clashes, Barjinder Singh Parwana was arrested by police in Mohali on Sunday morning.

The accused was brought to Mumbai by Vistara flight at Mohali airport at 7.20 am. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Patiala team headed by Inspector Shaminder Singh arrested him at the Mohali airport.
Tension prevailed in Patiala after two groups clashed outside the Kali Mata temple on Friday, brandishing swords and pelting stones at each other, at a rally in which four people, including two policemen, were injured.

Police registered six FIRs and arrested three accused in connection with the violence yesterday, according to IG, MS Chhina.

“The 3 arrested accused are Harish Singla, Kuldeep Singh Danthal, and Daljit Singh,” Chinna added announcing the names of the arrested persons in the matter.

The IG also asserted that none of the accused in the matter will be spared and the ones with whatever connection with the incident will be arrested. (ANI)

The first solar eclipse of this year will be witnessed in some parts of the world on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

A solar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth, casting a dark shadow on the earth that can completely or partially block sunlight in some areas.
According to data released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is another occurrence of an astronomical phenomenon known as the Black Moon taking place. The Black Moon blocks sunlight for some time during the day.

TIME AND DATE OF ECLIPSE?

The first partial solar eclipse of 2022 will start at 12.15 am on May 1, 2022, according to Indian Standard Time (IST).

The maximum time for people of India will be around 2.11 am IST, but people living outside India can witness this phenomenon at 02:45 pm EDT and lasts till 04:41 pm EDT.

The eclipse will end at 04:07 am IST on May 1, 2022.

WHERE IS THE ECLIPSE VISIBLE?

The visibility of the Solar Eclipse can be observed in the locations that include parts of the southern hemisphere and those residing in South America, Chile, Uruguay, southwestern Bolivia, Peru, and specific areas of southwestern Brazil and Argentina. NASA has also confirmed the visualization over the South Pacific and parts of Antarctica.

HOW TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE ONLINE?

The Eclipse won’t be viewable in India, but you can watch the online streaming with NASA Orthographic Maps, Google Interactive Maps, and NASA Animations. (ANI)

Reiterating to fulfill the BJP’s poll promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that the state government will constitute a committee taking into consideration all the stakeholders and specialists.

Addressing the media during his Delhi visit, Dhami said, “We will soon constitute a committee on the Uniform Civil Code. After the committee is formed, we will take all the stakeholders and specialists into consideration who will prepare the draft. Based on the draft, UCC will be implemented in Uttarakhand.”
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. Notably, in BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.

Talking about the Char Dham Yatra verification drive run by the state government, Dhami said that it is being done to avoid any law and order problems because of the miscreants during the Yatra.

“We will run a verification drive in Uttarakhand because our state is the centre of religion, spiritualism and culture. It is the home of the Himalayas and Ganga. We also share two international borders and are peaceful. The law and order situation should not deteriorate,” he said.

“To make sure that this does not happen, we have run a verification campaign in which the names of numerous suspicious persons have emerged,” Dhami added.

Notably, the Yatra is scheduled to be held from May 3.

Amid the looming power crisis in various parts of the country, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that his government is constantly working to provide electricity to the people of the state.

“We are constantly working to resolve the issue of power crisis. We had improved the electricity condition in the previous weeks. We are working to make the situation right in Uttarakhand which is not right in the entire country. We are working on providing electricity to the people of the state,” he said.

Earlier today, a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts was held in New Delhi. Detailing the event, Dhami said that they received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We got the guidance of PM Modi. We are working well in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has become the first state to provide the facility of virtual hearing for the differently-abled ones who cannot reach the courts to record their statements,” he said. (ANI)