Tag: Government

Prev Govts Were Insensitive, Disrespectful Towards Tribals, Poor: Modi

By LokMarg

While not naming the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused previous governments at the Centre of disrespecting the tribal communities and the poor.

Speaking at a public meeting in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi said, “Previous governments were insensitive and disrespectful towards the tribal communities and the poor. We saw how several parties reacted to a tribal woman becoming the President.”
“When the Central Tribal University was opened in the Shahdol division, they (the Congress) named it after their family. However, the Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) government made a welcome departure from this tradition when it named Chhindwada University after the revolutionary, Raja Shankar Shah. We also named the Patal Pani Station after Tantia Mama (revolutionary Tantia Tope),” he added.

Emphasising the importance of schools and colleges in tribal areas, PM Modi said, “I know the importance of schools and colleges in tribal areas. That’s why our government gave tribal children the opportunity to avail residential education in more than 400 new Eklavya schools. As many as 24,000 such students are studying in such schools in Madhya Pradesh alone.”

He also started the distribution of about 3.57 crore Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards in Madhya Pradesh.

“Our government is working not only to reduce the risk of diseases but also the expenditure incurred on them. We brought the Ayushman Bharat Yojana to reduce the medical expenditure of the poor. The Ayushman Card will guarantee our poor free medical checkups worth Rs 5 lakh,” PM Modi said.

He further claimed that 1 crore people in Madhya Pradesh have already received Ayushman Bharat cards.

PM Modi also paid floral tributes before a bust of Rani Durgavati at the launch of the National Sickel Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission in Shahdol.

“October 5 will mark the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati. The government will celebrate this day across the country. A film based on her life will be made and a silver coin commemorating the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati will also be launched,” PM Modi said.

He informed further that the government will also launch a postal stamp of Rani Durgavati. “We will launch a campaign to take her life story to every house in the country. Madhya Pradesh will touch new heights of development,” PM Modi said. (ANI)

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petrol and diesel lok Sabha

Pakistan: Govt Hikes Petrol Levy By 5 PKR Per Litre

By LokMarg

The Pakistan government on Saturday hiked the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol by 5 Pakistani Rupees (PKR) from 50-55 PKR per litre, Pakistan-based Geo News reported on Saturday.

The latest hike comes a day after the 3 billion USD staff-level agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund.
The PDL on petrol has been imposed from the start of the new fiscal year, ie Saturday.

Moreover, the ministry said there would be no increase in the development levy on high-speed diesel (HSD), which is Rs50 per litre.

Earlier, on Friday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that diesel prices had been increased by Rs7.50 for the next fortnight; however, he said petrol prices would remain the same.

“There has been no increase in the price of petrol,” said Dar in a late-night press conference.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance has warned of challenges originating from uncertain external and domestic economic environments, including higher inflation and external debt repayments, due to lesser foreign exchange inflows, according to Geo News.

The ministry, in its monthly outlook bulletin, projected that the inflation for the month of May will remain in the range of 34-36 per cent.

“Pakistan’s economy experienced 0.29 per cent provisional GDP growth in the fiscal year 2022-23 on account of many challenges emanating from the uncertain external and domestic economic environment,” the ministry said.

Pakistan and the IMF on Friday reached a long-awaited staff-level agreement (SLA) on a 3 billion USD “stand-by arrangement” (SBA), the global lender announced.

“I am pleased to announce that the IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on a nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion or 111 per cent of Pakistan’s IMF quota),” Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan, said in a statement.

He added, “The new SBA builds on the authorities’ efforts under Pakistan’s 2019 EFF-supported programme which expires end-June. This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to consider this request by mid-July”.

The deal comes after an eight-month delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.

According to Geo News, the federal government has taken a slew of policy measures since an IMF team arrived in Pakistan earlier this year, including a revised 2023-24 budget last week to meet the lender’s demands.

Other adjustments demanded by the IMF before clinching the deal included reversing subsidies in power and export sectors, hikes in energy and fuel prices, jacking up the key policy rate to 22 per cent, a market-based currency exchange rate and arranging for external financing.

It also got Pakistan to raise over 385 billion rupees (USD 1.34 billion) in new taxation through a supplementary budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year and the revised budget for 2023-24.

The painful adjustments have already fueled all-time high inflation of 38% year-on-year in May, as per Geo News. (ANI)

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Bihar Police lathi charge on Ctet aspirants

Bihar Police Lathi-Charge Protesting CTET Aspirants

By LokMarg

Bihar police on Saturday lathi-charged Central Teachers’ Eligibility Test (CTET) aspirants as they protested against the state government in Patna over the ending of the domicile rule.

The protesting aspirants are demanding the implementation of a domicile policy in recruitment.
“A case will be registered against the protestors. They are taking to the roads causing traffic jams, stopping school students and causing damage to the property,” Nurul Haque, DSP Law and Order Kotwali said.

He further said, “They will have to go to jail for this. The police are removing them using lathis to control them.”

Earlier on Tuesday, after a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the state government announced that eligible candidates from all states can apply for teaching jobs in the state’s government-run schools.

Before implementing this, there was a rule which mandated that applicants with the domicile of Bihar could only apply for teaching jobs in the state’s government-run schools. (ANI)

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Canada Paying Publishers Law

Google To Remove News From Search Results In Canada Over Paying Publishers Law

By LokMarg

Google, on Thursday, announced that it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news, and discover products after the government passed a bill, which requires online platforms to pay news publishers takes effect in the country.

In a statement, Google said Canada’s Bill C-18-Online News Act, which was passed last week, “remains unworkable”.
“We have now informed the Government that when the law takes effect, we, unfortunately, will have to remove links to Canadian news from our Search, News and Discover products in Canada and that C-18 will also make it untenable for us to continue offering our Google News Showcase product in Canada,” Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Google & Alphabet, said in a blog.

He further added, “We’re disappointed it has come to this. We don’t take this decision or its impacts lightly and believe it’s important to be transparent with Canadian publishers and our users as early as possible.”

The decision comes after the Canadian Government’s contentious C-18 legislation passed Parliament last week. The bill has been criticized by tech giants like Meta and Google who say it’s unfair to impose what amounts to a tax on links.

Google also stated that they support Canadian journalism.

Pointing out its work in Canadian news service, Google said that last year, the company linked to Canadian news publications more than 3.6 billion times — at no charge — helping publishers make money through ads and new subscriptions. This referral traffic from links has been valued at USD 250 million CAD annually.

Kent Walker also stated that ever since the Government introduced C-18 last year, Google has shared its experiences in other countries and has been clear that unworkable legislation could lead to changes that affect the availability of news on Google’s products in Canada.

“Last week, just as the Bill was approaching final passage and Royal Assent, the Government agreed to discuss the possibility of addressing some of the most critical issues, which we welcomed. In that discussion, we asked for clarity on financial expectations platforms face for simply linking to news, as well as a specific, viable path towards exemption based on our programs to support news and our commercial agreements with publishers,” he said.

“While we appreciate the Government’s acknowledgment that our concerns were reasonable and confirmation that the law will not apply until they adopt implementing regulations, they have not provided us with sufficient certainty that the regulatory process will be able to resolve structural issues with the legislation (such as forced payment for links and uncapped financial liability),” he added in his blog.

Earlier, Meta Platforms announced that it will end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada after the country’s Parliament approved legislation designed to compel internet giants to pay publishers, Al Jazeera reported.

“Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act taking effect,” Meta said in a statement afterward. (ANI)

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Karnataka Free Bus Ride For Women

Karnataka Launches Free Bus Travel Scheme For Women

By LokMarg

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday launched free travel scheme for women in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) under ‘Shakti Yojana’.

The free travel for women in KSRTC and BMTC buses was part of the Congress manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Karnataka Transport Minister, Ramalinga Reddy briefed people about the Shakti Yojana Scheme.

The Minister said that the smart cards for free bus travel would be granted after three months.

“Three months will be there to apply for the smart passes. Smart passes will not breach any privacy. People in rural areas can reach out to help centres for those who dont have access to online mediums. The government is launching the Shakthi scheme today,” he said.

Reddy also added that the aim of the Shakthi scheme was to prioritise the easy and safe travel of women commuters.

“The ease of travel for women is the priority,” the Minister said

On the occasion of the launch of the free bus service, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala took to Twitter and asserted that Congress fulfilled its commitment to offer free bus travel.

“Shakti’ – the Congress Guarantee rolls in Karnataka today – Guaranteeing free travel in buses to Women across the State. Congress is truth! Congress is commitment! Congress stands with people,” tweeted Surjewala.

Karnataka Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa expressed his happiness on the launch of the Shakti Scheme and said that all the schemes promised by Congress in the state would have been implemented by August 15.

“We are very happy we are launching Shakti for all women of all ages. We have already started executing one by one. By August 15, all schemes will be implemented. We will start delivering as we promised,” he said.

The Minister also stated that the Congress manifesto promised the provision of buses for the state’s children and that more buses will be introduced.

“I have got 1.20 crore children upto 12th standard. I want them to avail of this service. In our manifesto, we had promised this. We will be adding more buses. Our target is 15,000 buses. We want them to avail all facilities,” said the Education Minister.

Amid the launch of the Shakti Yojana Scheme, a mixed reaction has come to the fore from the people of Bengaluru.

The majority of the women expressed their delight and said that providing free bus transportation to women will benefit everyone.

However, others said that offering free bus travel would make people lazy.

“I do not need a free ride on a government bus. Now they have put some other conditions for it. I am against it,” said a woman commuter. (ANI)

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