G20 podiumPeople’s prosperity through social schemes
Utkarsh means progress and prosperity in life. In this resolution of Amrit Kaal, the Bharuch administration of Gujarat set an exemplary example by completing 100 percent of the four major schemes of the state government in the district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the “Utkarsh Samaroh” organised on this occasion and reiterated the ‘Amrit Sankalp’, 100% coverage of beneficiaries means delivering to every creed and every section equally with Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas. No one should be left behind from welfare schemes for the poor. Utkarsh Samaroh is a testimony to the fruitful results achieved when the government sincerely reaches out to the beneficiary with a resolve.
Air India offers VRS, starts fresh hiring
MUMBAI: The Tatas have started fresh hiring for Air India and on June 1, the airline rolled out a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for some permanent employees – including cabin crew for the first time ever in the AI’s history – who are either over 55 years of age or have completed two decades of service. For certain cabin crew members and other sections of employees, the age to opt for VRS has been relaxed to 40 years
Hallmarking now must for all gold jewellery
NEW DELHI: Effective June 1, jewellers can only sell hallmarked gold jewellery, irrespective of its purity. This means that all gold jewellery items irrespective of their caratage have to be mandatorily hallmarked. Until now, gold hallmarking was allowed for six purity categories, namely, 14KT, 18KT, 20KT, 22KT, 23KT and 24KT. Thus, it was not mandatory to hallmark gold jewellery of other purity (say of 21KT or 19KT) before selling it. But, this rule has changed now.
Govt nods revised norms for MSE-CDP
NEW DELHI: The Government has approved revised guidelines of its key scheme for cluster development, Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSECDP), to be implemented during the 15th Finance Commission cycle – FY22-FY26. The office of the MSME Development Commissioner said consultations suggested simplification in the scheme guidelines so as to reduce layers of various processes and reduce the time required for project approval.
Common portal soon for all Govt schemes
NEW DELHI: To improve the easeof-living for common man, the Government is planning to launch ‘Jan Samarth’, a common portal for delivery of various schemes run by different ministries and departments. The new portal plans to initially onboard 15 credit-linked Government schemes. The offerings will be gradually expanded, depending on compatibility, as some of the schemes have involvement of multiple agencies.
Move to realign all Government awards
NEW DELHI: All ministries have been asked to review, rationalise and realign all their awards according to the larger vision of the Prime Minister to “transform the entire eco system of awards” conferred by the Government of India. A communication to this effect has been sent from the Ministry of Home Affairs to 53 ministries/departments on May 6, May 13 and May 17 and a meeting has been called for a review by the Union Home Secretary.
Govt plans portal on healthcare workers
NEW DELHI: To project India as a global source in the health sector, the Centre is developing an online repository of all categories of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists that will also mention the country where they wish to render their services. The portal, being developed by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, is likely to be launched on August 15, said media reports quoting official sources.
PM lauds prof for Ol Chiki work on statute
PURULIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his weekly ‘Mann ki Baat’ address on May 29, lauded the work of Purulia professor Sripati Tudu in transcribing the Indian Constitution into Ol Chiki. “I appreciate the thoughts and efforts of Sripatiji,” Modi said. The professor started the transcription of the 235-page book into the nearly 100-year-old script in 2019, and completed it last year. While the Ol Chiki script was created in 1925, the UGC decided to allow its use in colleges and universities only in 2013.
Govt withdraws UIDAI Aadhaar caution note
NEW DELHI: Aadhaar caught the Government on the wrong foot over safety concerns after a statement issued by the Bengaluru unit of the UIDAI – the agency that issues the 12-digit unique identity number – created a flutter when it asked people not to share their info with “unlicensed private entities” such as hotels or movie halls as it can be “misused”. The IT Ministry had to beat a hasty retreat, reassuring there are enough safeguards within the Aadhaar system, and asking people to continue to share the unique ID number.
Foreign defence firms face action over offset
NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Defence has decided to crack the whip to get top foreign defence companies to honour their offset commitments linked to multi-billiondollar contracts received from India. The MoD is preparing to issue a final warning to the defaulters with a message that if they do not deliver on their offset promise, the Government would be forced to bar them from any future bidding, said media reports quoting sources.
In-person meetings for US visa from Sept
NEW DELHI: The United States will resume routine in-person tourist visa appointments from September this year. The US Embassy on May 29 tweeted: “The US Mission to India is pleased to announce that we are resuming routine in-person tourist visa appointments in September 2022. Previously scheduled placeholders have now been cancelled.”
Sebi slaps Rs 1-cr penalty on IIFL
MUMBAI: Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on May 30 imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on India Infoline Ltd (IIFL) for alleged misutilisation of client securities. The amount has to be paid by IIFL within 45 days. The order came after Sebi conducted multiple inspections of the books of account of IIFL, now known as IIFL Securities Ltd, for the period April 2011 to January 2017.
Oxford University ‘cancels’ Agnihotri
NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri took to Twitter to appeal for support after he was allegedly ‘cancelled’ by Oxford University. The filmmaker, best known for his film ‘The Kashmir Files’ which released earlier this year, said in a video that he was invited by Oxford University in the UK to make an address on May 31. However, a few hours before the event, he was told there was a mistake and they would not be able to host him, he said.
