Month: May 2022

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said that the government is ready to hold dialogue provided Naxalites have faith in the Constitution.

Interacting with media persons in Pratappur, Baghel said, “The schemes of the state government being run in the Naxal-affected areas are winning the hearts of the tribal population. Now they are demanding to build roads and open camps. With the effective implementation of state government policies, the Naxal activities are confined to a few pockets in Chhattisgarh.”
“Naxalites should express their faith in the Constitution of India, and then we are ready to talk with them on any platform,” he emphasized highlighting the state government’s welfare schemes in Naxal-affected areas

Chief Minister Baghel was felicitated by media persons today for the decisions taken by the state government in the interest of the journalists. The Chief Minister announced the approval of Rs 10 lakh for ‘Patrakar Bhawan’ at Pratappur. It is worth mentioning that the state government has hiked the monthly pension for senior journalists under the ‘Senior Journalist Samman Nidhi’ from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. The age limit for the same has also been reduced from 62 years to 60 years. Besides, the limit of financial aid given to journalists under ‘Patrakar Kalyan Kosh’ has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh.

Similarly, new accreditation rules for journalists have been enacted, in which a provision has been made to give accreditation to journalists of TV channels, web portals, news magazines and news agencies. The accreditation quota for media institutions has been almost doubled. In a first, a provision has been made for accreditation of block-level journalists as well. A provision has also been made for providing financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of journalists who died due to COVID-19. The validity period of accreditation has been increased from one year to two years. (ANI)

Taliban has issued a decree ordering the Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa at public places, adding that if violated a male member of the family will be improsned for three days.

Furthermore, if the woman found guilty again, her guardian will be sent to court for further punishment.

Moreover, female public employees will be fired if they do not wear hijab. Morover, male employees in government offices will be suspended from their jobs if female members of their families do not wear hijab.

Taliban today issued a decree ordering the Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa in public.

Though the decree is new, the Taliban have been forcing women to cover themselves up since returning to power in August. Earlier, the Taliban’s religious police put up posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up.

Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice pasted the poster on cafes and shops. The posters had an image of the face-covering burqa. Along with the picture, a message on the poster read, “According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear the hijab.”
Taliban during its regime in the 1990s made it mandatory for women to wear a burqa. Women in Kabul already cover their hair with headscarves, though some wear modest western clothing. However, outside Kabul burqa remained common, as per the media outlet.

Now, the Taliban with this new decree is enforcing every woman in Afghanistan to wear the all-covering burqa. Last year in December, the Taliban issued another repressive directive that Afghan women seeking to travel long distances by road should be offered transport only if accompanied by a male relative.

Moreover, the worldwide condemnation of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had heightened after the Taliban decided to close all secondary schools for girls. Several activists and political parties have urged the Taliban to reconsider the ban on secondary schools for girls.

Psychologists have said that the Afghan girl students above grade six, banned from going to schools by the Taliban, are undergoing mental stress due to this move. According to HRW, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as well. Reports suggest that women and girls facing violence have no escape route. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on Saturday.

He observed that the implementation of NEP 2020 in the two years since its launch has seen many initiatives being unrolled to achieve the objectives of access, equity, inclusivity and quality, as laid down under the policy. From special efforts to track out of school children and bring them back into the mainstream, to introduction of multiple entry and exit in higher education, many transformative reforms have been initiated that will define and lead the progress of the country as we enter the ‘Amrit Kaal’, read a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Prime Minister was apprised that the work of formulation of National Curriculum Framework, under the guidance of the National Steering Committee, is in progress. In school education, initiatives like quality ECCE in Balavatika, NIPUN Bharat, Vidya Pravesh, examination reforms and innovative pedagogies like Art-Integrated Education, toy-based pedagogy are being adopted for better learning outcomes and holistic development of children.

He observed that a hybrid system of online and offline learning should be developed to avoid overexposure of technology of school-going children.

The databases maintained by Anganwadi centers should be seamlessly integrated with the school databases as children move from Anganwadis to Schools. Regular Health check-ups and screening for children in schools should be carried out with the help of technology. Emphasis should be laid on use of indigenously developed toys to develop conceptual skills in students. He also suggested that secondary schools with science labs should engage with farmers in their area for soil testing to create awareness about soil health.

Prime Minister was also informed that the guidelines for Multiple Entry-Exit for flexibility and lifelong learning, along with the launch Academic Bank of Credit on Digilocker platform will now make it possible for students to study as per their convenience and choice. In order to create new possibilities for life-long learning and centrally involve critical and interdisciplinary thinking in learners, UGC has published guidelines according to which students can pursue two academic programmes simultaneously.

The National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) is also at an advanced stage of preparation. UGC is revising the existing “Curriculum Framework and Credit System for Undergraduate Programme” in alignment with NHEQF.

Online, open and multi-modal learning have been promoted vigorously by both schools and higher education institutions. This initiative has helped in reducing the learning loss due to the Covid 19 pandemic and will contribute greatly in reaching education to remote and inaccessible parts of the country. SWAYAM, DIKSHA, SWAYAM PRABHA, Virtual Labs and other online resource portals have all seen sharp rise in the hits and student registrations. These portals are providing study materials in multiple Indian languages including sign language and in audio formats for the visually impaired.

In addition to the above, UGC has notified Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Programmes Regulations under which 59 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are offering 351 full-fledged Online programmes and 86 HEIs are offering 1081 ODL programmes. The permissible limit of online content in a programme has also been raised to 40 per cent.

In order to encourage an ecosystem of Start-up and Innovation, 2,774 Institution’s Innovation Councils have been set up in HEIs in 28 States and 6 UTs. Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievement (ARIIA) aligned with NEP has been launched in December, 2021 for creating a culture of research, incubation and start-ups. 1438 institutions participated in ARIIA. 100 Institutions have been funded by AICTE with industry participation for Idea Development, Evaluation and Application (IDEA) Labs for Experiential learning rather than rote learning.

Stress is being paid to multilinguality in education and testing to ensure that lack of knowledge of English does not impede the educational attainment of any student. With this objective in mind states are publishing bilingual/ trilingual textbooks at foundational level and content on DIKSHA platform has been made available in 33 Indian languages. NIOS has introduced Indian Sign Language (ISL) as a language subject at the Secondary Level.

NTA has conducted the JEE exam in 13 languages. AICTE has developed an AI-based translation App and study material is being translated into Indian languages. Technical Book Writing is being undertaken in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Engineering Courses are being offered in 6 Indian Languages in 19 Engineering Colleges across 10 States from 2021-22. Provision of additional 30/60 supernumerary seats in regional languages and upto 50% of sanctioned intake in regional languages has been made by AICTE.

Indian Knowledge System is being promoted as per recommendations of NEP 2020. An Indian Knowledge System (IKS) cell has been established in AICTE and 13 IKS Centres have opened across the country.

The meeting was attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education (MoE) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State in MSDE, Subhash Sarkar, MoS, MoE, Annapurna Devi, MoS, MoE and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh MoS, MoE and MEA, Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Advisor to PM, Chairman UGC, Chairman AICTE, Chairman NCVET, Director NCERT and other senior officials from Ministry of Education. (ANI)

Amid the row over the survey of Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are trying to rekindle the era of hatred as the one in the 1990s.

Addressing a gathering here, Owaisi said, “Government of India and Uttar Pradesh government should have told the court that Parliament passed The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. It stated that no religious place, as it existed on August 15 1947, will be disturbed. They should have told Court. The central governmnet knows that when the Babri Masjid Civil Title judgment came, it linked the 1991 Act to the basic structure of the Constitution.”

It was the constitutional duty of the government to tell the court that what they were doing is wrong. But since they do politics of hatred, they stayed silent. BJP should say if they accept Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. “It is BJP and Sangh that are focussing on this matter. They are trying to rekindle the era of hatred as the one in the 1990s,” he said.

Earlier, the AIMIM chief criticized the local court order and said the order to survey Gyanvapi Masjid at Varanasi is a violation of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

“This order to survey Kashi’s Gyanvapi Masjid is open violation of 1991 Places of Worship Act, which prohibits conversion of religious places. SC in Ayodhya judgement had said the Act protects ‘secular features of Indian polity which is 1 of basic features of Constitution,” he tweeted.

“Unfortunate that the Court is blatantly defying the SC. By this order, the Court is opening the path for the bloodshed of Rath Yatra and anti-Muslim violence of 1980s-1990s,” he added.

There has been a protest over the survey of several deities, including Shringar Gauri, located in Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple premises and the Gyanvapi Masjid complex.

Court-appointed official and a team of lawyers conducted an inspection at Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi on Friday in connection with a plea seeking access to a Hindu temple behind it. The survey and videography at the mosque also continued today. (ANI)

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that the loudspeaker issue in Maharashtra is over and called upon the Centre for a policy for the country.

“I think the issue of loudspeakers is over … work will be done according to law …There is peace in Maharashtra, some people were trying to spoil the situation in the state but they have been given a befitting reply. There should be a policy for the whole country regarding the use of loudspeakers at religious places,” Raut said while speaking to reporters.
Alleging that attempts are being made to “divide the Hindu society”, the Shiv Sena leader said that the people of the community are also unhappy since the temples have also stopped using loudspeakers for ‘Aarti (prayers)’.

On the contrary, the Pune unit of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has said that it will play Hanuman Chalisa in front of the police stations across the city if loudspeakers are not removed from mosques.

The MNS demanded assurance in writing from the Maulvis of the mosques to stop praying using loudspeakers to maintain the law and order in the city.

“We are not against azaan (call for prayers) but we are adamant that it should not be done on loudspeakers. The Maulvi of all these mosques should inform us in writing through the police that they have removed or stopped ‘azaan’ on loudspeakers, so that the law and order shouldn’t be disturbed,” the letter written by the party Pune unit to the CP of the city said.

The MNS chief Raj Thackeray had held a rally in Aurangabad on May 1 and lambasted the ruling Uddhav Thackeray-led government on the issue of loudspeakers. He had set a May 3 deadline for the removal of the loudspeakers from mosques. He had also threatened that “his party workers would play Hanuman Chalisa with double the volume of ‘Azaan’ (Muslim prayers) in front of the mosques if the state government doesn’t act within the deadline”.

At the end of the deadline, numerous MNS workers were detained for allegedly trying to put up loudspeakers outside mosques to play Hanuman Chalisa. (ANI)

Mike Hagerty, who featured in ‘Friends’ as one of the character actors, is no more.

As per Variety, Mike passed away on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 67. The unfortunate news was shared by Bridget Everett, who played Mike’s on-screen daughter in ‘Somebody Somewhere’, via her Instagram on Friday.

“With great sadness, the family of Michael G. Hagerty announced his death yesterday in Los Angeles. A beloved character actor, his love of his hometown of Chicago and his family were the cornerstones of his life. Mike, a devoted husband, is survived by his wife Mary Kathryn, his sister Mary Ann Hagerty, her wife Kathleen O’Rourke, and their daughter Meg. He will be sorely missed,” Bridget’s post read.

The cause of the death is not known yet.

Mike played Mr. Treeger, the superintendent of the apartment complex that the majority of the main cast lived in. He was also a main cast member on Fox’s ‘The George Carlin Show’ and on HBO’s ‘Lucky Louie’. (ANI)

Saturday morning turned out to be special for VicKat’s fans as Katrina Kaif turned up the heat on social media by sharing a lovey-dovey picture with her husband Vicky Kaushal.

Taking to Instagram, Katrina dropped the image in which she is seen holding Vicky in her arms while enjoying some pool time.

“Me and mine,” she captioned the post, adding a string of white heart emojis.

The particular image is definitely a feast for the eyes as the couple look extremely hot while flaunting a steamy pose.

Katrina is seen sporting a white swimwear while Vicky opted for a shirtless look. The couple’s glimpse from their pool time has garnered a lot of likes and comments.

“Hotness pesonified,” a social media user commented.

“Oh my God! Can’t take my eyes off you guys,” another one wrote.

Vicky and Katrina tied the knot at Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan on December 9, 2021.

Currently, the two are busy working on their projects. Katrina is shooting for ‘Mery Christmas’. On the other hand, Vicky has director Anand Tiwari’s yet-to-be-tiled film in the pipeline. (ANI)

Singer and actor Shehnaaz Gill, posted a couple of photos with Brahma Kumari Shivani on her Instagram account on Saturday.

The Bigg Boss star, who travelled to Gurgaon for the launch of one of Brahma Kumari’s campaigns, has shared photos from the event. Shehnaaz is dressed in an all-white Anarkali suit with a turquoise blue coloured dupatta.

Posing with Brahma Kumari Shivani, she wrote, “soulsisters” and dropped some heart emoticons.

Fans and admirers poured in with heart and fire emoticons, expressing their appreciation for both of them, and one social media user even added, “Two strong women in one frame.”

Shehnaaz’s close friend and late actor Sidharth Shukla, who was also a disciple of the spiritual organization, was the one who introduced her to it. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered his condolences to the families of the deceased in the Indore fire and Mathura expressway car accident, and wished the injured a quick recovery.

“The fire incident in Indore, Madhya Pradesh is very sad. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Along with this, I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured: PM @narendramodi,” tweeted Prime Minister’s office today.
The prime minister also expressed his grief at the loss of lives in the road accident on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

“The road accident in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this accident. With this I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” the prime minister’s office tweeted.

As many as seven persons were charred to death after a massive fire broke out in a double-storey building in Indore’s Swarna Bagh Colony in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

According to preliminary information, the blaze is suspected to have been triggered by an electric short circuit, Indore Police Commissioner Harinarayan Chari Mishra, who was present at the site, told ANI.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also condoled the loss of lives in the Indore fire.

“The sad news of the untimely demise of many precious lives in an accident due to a short circuit in Swarn Bagh Colony of Indore was received today. I pray God to give place to the departed souls at his feet and give strength to the family members to bear this deep sorrow and to give speedy recovery to the injured,” the Chief Minister tweeted.

The state has announced ex-gratia of Rs4 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

Seven people died and two were injured in an accident on the Yamuna Expressway this morning. Police said the deceased were returning to Noida from Hardoi after attending a marriage function when their car collided with another vehicle at 5 am.

“Among the seven killed, three were women and three were men. One child also died. Another child and a man are hospitalised,” Mathura’s Superintendent of Police said.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed grief over the road accident and said his government would provide adequate treatment to those injured. (ANI)