Tag: Assam

Parl panel raps labour ministry for non-optimal use of funds | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has asked the labour ministry to look into the reasons for not being able to ensure optimal utilisation of funds made available during the coronavirus-induced pandemic. The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour on the Demands for Grants for 2021-22 was tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The panel said though the ministry’s expenditure for the current fiscal was bumped up on account of the newly-launched Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), the government could only spend about 52.8% of the funds till February 15.
The report also said two new schemes, the PMGKY and Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) were launched with the intention to cater to the needs of people during the pandemic and emphasised that the ministry must make “accurate budgetary estimates” before seeking supplementary allocations.
“The scheme wise analysis of utilisation of funds for 2020-21 (up to February 18, 2021) revealed that the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and PMGKY are the only schemes which recorded expenditure to the extent of 100% and 109.62%, respectively vis-a- vis RE whereas for most other schemes, the percentage of utilisation has been to the extent of 70-80%,” the report said.
In case of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) and Social Security Schemes for Tea Plantation Workers in Assam, utilisation recorded was as low as 24.52% and 30% respectively.
The committee also pointed to the government’s failure to meet physical targets of key schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhaan Yojana (PMSYM) where against a target of enrolling 2 crore new beneficiaries, only 1.18 lakh were enlisted. The National Pension Scheme for Traders, Shopkeepers and Self-Employed Persons scheme suffered similarly, with only 6,213 beneficiaries enlisted against a target of 50 lakh.

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Congress only showed dreams of development in Assam; promises fulfilled by PM Modi: Irani | India News – Times of India

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SIVASAGAR: Union minister and senior BJP leader Smriti Zubin Irani said here on Saturday the opposition Congress only showed dreams of development during its regime in Assam, but the promises were fulfilled after the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre.
Addressing her second rally during the day ahead of the state assembly elections, the Union textiles minister alleged that the Congress “looted public money” and did not undertake developmental works in Assam during its regime in the state.
“Congress had ruled Assam for years and showed dreams of development. However, development works started only when Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014,” she said.
Irani, also the minister of women and child development, said funds will continue to come from the Centre, but it will reach the people through the state exchequer if there is a government of the BJP in the northeastern state.
“One Congress leader had said only 10 paise reach the people for every rupee released by the Centre. That means the leader also accepted that Congress workers and local activists looted public money,” she added.
The Union minister asserted that no one has dared to touch the taxpayers’ money after Modi came to power at the Centre.
Taking a dig at the “mismanagement” in the Congress party, Irani said, “Their leaders don’t see eye to eye. Two leaders in that party cannot take a decision, and they allied with an outfit which is destroying Assamese culture.”
Irani said the Congress could not even construct toilets for poor people but is promising to build colleges and universities.
“There was a mistake last time, it should not happen this time,” she said, referring to the Congress’ victory at the Sivasagar constituency in the 2016 Assembly polls.
Irani was in Sivasagar, which is going to poll on March 27, to campaign for BJP candidate Surabhi Rajkonwar.
Rajkonwar is pitted against jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi and Congress leader Subhramitra Gogoi.

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Assam Assembly Elections: BJP Releases List of 70 Candidates; CM Sonowal to Contest from Majuli

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The BJP on Friday released its first list of 70 candidates for the Assam assembly polls and announced that allies Asom Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal will contest on 26 and eight seats respectively. Party general secretary Arun Singh told a press conference that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Majuli and minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from Jalukbari, constituencies these two top BJP state leaders currently represent in the 126-member assembly.

Besides Sonowal and Sarma, leaders of the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People’s Party Liberal were also present at the press conference. The BJP in the first list has replaced 11 sitting MLAs with new faces, Singh said.

The three-phase Assam assembly polls will be held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. In the first phase, 47 constituencies will go to polls, in the second phase, polling will be held in 39 constituencies and in the third phase, polling will be held in 40 constituencies. The BJP central election committee had met here on Thursday to finalise these names.

The saffron party is pulling out all the stops to retain power in the state where it had formed government for the first time in 2016.

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Assembly Election 2021 News Live Updates: TMC Meet Underway, All Eyes on Bengal for Candidates List

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The UDF and the LDF in Kerala are in the last state if seat sharing talks. In Tamil Nadu the DMK will declare likely declare its first list on March 10.

The Trinamool Congress Elections committee will be held at chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence on Friday.

Meanwhile the BJP held meetings on Thursday to decide on their candidate for the polls. News18 learnt that the BJP is unlikely to field any MPs for these polls.

The BJP will also hold a meeting at their Hastings office in Kolkata at 5 pm on Friday even as their star candidate, a TMC turncoat, Suvendu Adhikari addresses a public meeting in Panskura.

The BJP on Thursday urged the Election Commission to remove “political appointees” from various boards of administrators in civic bodies appointed by the West Bengal government, saying it appointed the same representatives who had completed their term of five years in blatant violation of constitutional and legal provisions. A BJP delegation, including Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, two party general secretaries Bhupender Yadav and Kailash Vijayvargiya, Om Pathak and Sanjay Mayukh, submitted a representation to the poll watchdog, asking it to take necessary steps for ensuring free, fair and transparent assembly elections in the state.

Special observer for the elections in West Bengal Ajay Nayak and police observer Vivek Dubey are supposed to arrive in Kolkata on Friday to overview preparedness for the polls.

In Assam too, the BJP is likely to announce a list of candidates on Friday

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Over 1.8 crore vaccine doses administered in India | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 1.8 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
These include 68,53,083 healthcare workers (HCWs) who were administered the 1st dose, 31,41,371 HCWs who were given the 2nd dose, 60,90,931 frontline workers (FLWs) who were given the 1st dose and 67,297 FLWs (2nd dose), 2,35,901 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st dose) and 16,16,920 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.
Nearly 14 lakh (13,88,170) vaccine doses were given on Thursday, Day-48 of the vaccination drive (March 4)
The ministry said 10,56,808 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 16,081 sessions for 1st dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 3,31,362 HCWs and FLWs received 2nd dose of vaccine.
The 10,56,808 beneficiaries include 6,15,903 people aged over 60 and 92,109 individuals aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st dose)
Six sates, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, MP and Delhi, have reported high daily new cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said underlining 84.44% of the new cases reported in a span of 24 hours (16,838) are from these six states.
Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 8,998. It is followed by Kerala with 2,616 while Punjab reported 1,071 new cases.
Eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases, the ministry highlighted.
India’s total active caseload stands at 1.76 lakh (1,76,319) which comprises 1.58% of India total infections.
The ministry said that Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have shown a reduction in the active cases in a span of 24 hours.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat display a rise in the active cases during the same time period.
Showing the change in number of active cases for states in the last one month, the ministry said Kerala, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are the top 5 states showing a decline in active cases in the last one month, while Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi are the top 5 states showing a rise in active cases.
The ministry said 20 states and UTs have less than 1000 active cases. Arunachal Pradesh reported only 2 active cases.
The Cumulative Positivity Rate of the country shows a continuous decline and stands at 5.08%
Eight states display a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average (2.09%). Among them, Maharashtra stands out with a weekly positivity rate of 10.38%.
The ministry said 113 deaths were reported in a day.
Six states account for 88.5% of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (60). Punjab follows with 15 daily deaths. Kerala reported 14 deaths.
Eighteen states and UTs have not reported any Covid-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours. These are A&N Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Dadara and Nagar Haveli, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

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In a ‘first’, Himalayan serow spotted in Assam

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A Himalayan mammal, somewhere between a goat and an antelope, has been confirmed as the newest creature to be spotted in Assam.

A couple of nature guides had spotted the Himalayan serow, a goat-antelope, in the 950-sq. km. Manas Tiger Reserve on December 3. The animal — a high-altitude dweller usually found 2,000-4,000 metres above sea level — was seen being chased by wild dogs.

“We have now confirmed the animal as the Himalayan serow, spotted close to the border with Bhutan in Manas’s Bansbari-Mathanguri forest. The sighting augurs well for the health of the tiger reserve,” Anindya Swargowari, additional principal chief conservator of forest for areas under the Bodoland Territorial Council, told The Hindu on Tuesday.

He said the serow has been spotted for the first time in the tiger reserve or anywhere else in Assam, but “this does not mean the animal never visited our forests before”.

According to Mr. Swargowari, the sightings of rare animals and birds in Manas is an outcome of better access to remote parts of the protected area where extremists and hunters once ruled.

“There are chances of more faunal species, found in the higher reaches, being spotted in the park.”

The Reserve is contiguous with the 1,057-sq. km. Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.

After the serow, a medium-sized mammal with a large head, long and coarse hair and mule-like ears, the black-necked crane was sighted in Manas.

A pair each of such cranes was sighted on January 10 and February 18. The Buddhists revere the bird that nests in the Tawang region.

Officials in Manas said the critically endangered white-bellied hero was also seen a few weeks ago in the Latajhar area of the park.

In February, birders had sighted the colourful Mandarin duck in the Maguri-Motapung wetland near eastern Assam’s Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. This duck was last spotted in Assam 118 years ago.

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