Odisha CM inaugurates World Skill Centre

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Odisha CM inaugurates World Skill Centre

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday inaugurated the World Skill Centre (WSC), a premier advanced skill training institute, here.

It has been set up at a budget of nearly Rs 1,342.2 crore.

World Skill Centre is being modeled around leading TVET Institute, ITE (Institute of Technical Education) Singapore and seeks inspiration from World Skills, Russia, and GIFTS (Global Institute for Transferring Skills), South Korea, said a statement.

WSC is established under the Odisha Skill Development Project assisted by the Asian Development Bank with ITE Education Services (ITEES), Singapore as the knowledge partner.

Inaugurating the centre, the Chief Minister said, “Odisha has made rapid strides in skill development in the last five years. We have created new avenues for our youth to compete with their counterparts anywhere. Our aim is to meet their aspirations, to make them globally employable.”

He also said that the state government is intensely investing in the future of youth by creating infrastructure and mechanisms for making them future-ready.

“WSC will significantly accelerate this endeavor by providing advance skill training to our youth and prepare them for competing at a global level,” he added.

Subroto Bagchi, Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) highlighted the achievements of “Skilled-in-Odisha” during the last five years and emphasized the need to expand skill development efforts to the next level, reaching every village.

He emphasized the need for a holistic approach in providing better opportunities for skill development to make the children aware of career choices and youth globally employable.

He also said that the state will create Odisha Skill Vision 2030 and the same will guide future efforts of all implementing departments.

World Skill Centre would run long-term manufacturing and services programs as a finishing school for the best among the ITI and Polytechnic students as well as serve as a center for capacity building for ITI and Polytechnic teachers.

The World Skill Centre is going to be the nodal agency for preparing Odisha’s youth for the World Skills Competition. The other key role for WSC will be to act as the center for industry partnerships and a landing point for industries in Odisha for their employment needs.

Finally, the World Skill Centre will be the nodal agency of the state for the state chapter of world skills and will prepare Odisha’s youth for global glory.

Centre doing injustice to Telangana, alleges KTR

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Centre doing injustice to Telangana, alleges KTR

Continuing his attacks on the Centre, Telangana’s industry minister K. T. Rama Rao said on Friday that it has been doing injustice to Telangana since its inception.

Though Telangana has been performing well in all the sectors, the Centre neither supported the state, nor allotted funds for projects.

Rama Rao stated this while addressing the annual meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana Council.

KTR, as Rao is popularly known, mentioned that revolutionary policies like TS-iPASS succeeded in attracting major investments to the state. Through this policy, 15,000 companies were set up, creating about 15 lakh jobs in the region. A total of about Rs. 2,00,000 crore investment was brought to the State through TS-iPass. Many states have emulated this policy, he added.

“In the past six years, the Telangana Government has received recognition from across the world for its innovative and progressive policies. Though many global companies in IT, Pharma, Life Sciences, Aerospace and Defence sectors have invested in Telangana, the Centre never encouraged the State,” said KTR.

He pointed out that Telangana has been among the top states in the Ease of Doing Business ranks consecutively for the past six years. The state has topped the GSDP growth in the country.

KTR, who is the son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, said that whenever union ministers come to Telangana, they praise the welfare and development of the state but never give funds.

He alleged that BJP-led NDA Government failed to fulfill the assurances given to Telangana under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Promises made to Telangana such as setting up a steel plant, a railway coach factory and educational institutions have been completely ignored. The Centre has once again demonstrated its opposition to Telangana when it announced that establishment of Kazipet Railway Coach Factory is not even necessary.

Apart from this, the Centre is not responding to the requests of Telangana to strengthen the railway network which is vital for industrial development. The construction of eight railway lines is already pending while the survey of another three lines is also yet to begin.

Despite the Telangana government’s assurance about providing all kinds of assistance, there is no response from the Centre on setting up the Bayyaram Steel Factory.

KTR, who also holds the portfolio of information technology, said the Centre also canceled the Information Technology and Investment Region (ITIR) for Hyderabad which was sanctioned before the formation of the state. This has stifled the growth of the IT industry, investments, and job creation.

Though there was an overwhelming response to the two electronic manufacturing clusters (EMCs) set up in Hyderabad, the Centre has not yet decided on Telangana’s request of setting up an additional EMC.

With an ambitious goal of making the country’s pharma and life sciences sector to a global level, Telangana initiated the Hyderabad Pharma City project, the largest single pharma cluster. However, there is no support from the central government which adopted the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat,’ slogan. The Centre did not respond to Telangana’s repeated requests for fund allocation of Rs 3,900 crore for Pharma City infrastructure, he said.

The Central Government, instead of extending help to Pharma City, introduced a new scheme called Pharma Park Scheme which created unnecessary competition among 19 states and wasted valuable time, he alleged.

Despite having an excellent aerospace and defense ecosystem in Hyderabad, Telangana has not been allotted any of the Defence Industrial Corridors initiated by the Centre. “Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh, which has no ecosystem, has been given a defense corridor. This proves that the BJP Government is giving priority to politics over industrial development. Repeated requests to allot the Defence Industrial Corridor to Telangana, which has all the infrastructure, were ignored.”

The Centre had announced a Mega cluster policy under which the Telangana Government requested assistance in developing Kakatiya Mega Textile Park but there was no response.

He pointed out that the Centre never responded when asked for setting up a dry port in Telangana. In spite of not having a seaport, Telangana’s export rate is more than the national average. When compared to 2019-20, Telangana in 2020-21 has seen 15.5% growth in exports. Telangana plays a key role in exports, yet the center remained unwilling in setting up a dry port.

Grand alliance releases partial list of candidates for Bengal polls

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Grand alliance releases partial list of candidates for Bengal polls

Hours after Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced her party’s candidates’ list for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, the grand alliance comprising Left Front, Congress, and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) on Friday announced its first list of candidates for the first two phases of West Bengal Assembly elections, to be held on March 27 and April 1.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that the alliance has arrived upon a seat-sharing agreement to counter both the state’s incumbent Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming state Assembly polls.

Bose, however, did not disclose the candidates’ names for three seats, including the high-profile constituency in East Midnapore’s Nandigram, along with Egra and Pingla in West Midnapore, saying the names have not been finalized yet for these three seats.

“The names of Congress candidates in the alliance will be announced by the party high command in Delhi,” said senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya.

The ISF is also expected to release its candidate list in the next two-three days.

Earlier in the day, Trinamool Congress had released its full list of 291 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.

West Bengal will go to the polls in eight phases between March 27 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

Naidu prays for universal well-being at Tirupati temple

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Naidu prays for universal well-being at Tirupati temple

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and his family visited Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh on Friday and offered prayers for peace and universal well-being.

“Naidu prayed for the peace, prosperity, and well-being of the people in India and the world,” said a statement released from his office.

He offered prayers with folded hands at the golden ‘Dwaja Stambham’ (sacred column) donning a traditional lungi.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer, Jawahar Reddy, and senior temple priest, Dollar Seshadri, were present with the Vice-President during his visit.

Naidu’s family was taken around the temple by the officials and explained the significance of some ancient carvings on a wall inside the temple complex.

Later, Reddy and Seshadri presented Naidu and his family with a picture of the deity.

Naidu was accompanied by his wife Usha Naidu and other family members, who all posed for a group photograph later.

After completing his temple visit, he left for Surat in Gujarat.

Karti urges TN Cong to field Priyanka from Kanyakumari LS seat

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Karti urges TN Cong to field Priyanka from Kanyakumari LS seat

Karti Chidambaram, a Lok Sabha Congress Member of Parliament from Sivaganga, has requested the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee to field Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, which would be going to the polls along with the state Assembly elections on April 6.

In a letter addressed to Tamil Nadu state Congress Chief KS Alagiri, Karti said Priyanka will be a good choice for the Kanyakumari constituency and her candidature would increase the winnability of the party candidates throughout south Tamil Nadu.

The by-election to the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the death of H. Vasanthakumar owing to Covid-related illness. Vasanthakumar had trounced Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan by a margin of 3 lakh votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Karti in his letter said Priyanka’s candidature from Kanyakumari would not affect her performance as the Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and instead her presence in the Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu would increase the stature of the party in the Lower House.

AICC General Secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, while speaking to IANS said, “I have yet to check this request. It is for the party-state unit to communicate to the national leadership as Priyanka Vadra is an AICC General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. Once I have seen the request, we will discuss this at the highest level and then make a decision.”

Karti is the son of former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and a leader of the Congress from Tamil Nadu.

No such group as G-23, all united under Sonia: Cong leaders

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No such group as G-23, all united under Sonia: Cong leaders

Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily has rejected any group called G-23, saying the party is united under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership.

“The Congress is one,” he said when asked about the G-23, a group of dissenters in the party who had sought a complete revamp of Congress in a letter to interim party president Sonia Gandhi in August last year.

Incidentally, former Karnataka Chief Minister Moily was one of the signatories of the letter written to Sonia Gandhi.

Speaking to reporters, Moily said, “There is no such thing called G-23. The Congress is united under Sonia Gandhi who always listens to people’s grievances.”

The Congress is facing a difficult time as the party seems to be divided after some prominent leaders wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping reforms in the party.

Another Congress leader, Sandeep Dikshit, said, “There is no group in the party and I am not in touch with the leaders who had assembled in Jammu recently.”

Many Congress leaders have said that their only motive is to strengthen the party in the country.

The Congress, which is gearing up to face elections in five states/UT, has advised these leaders to join hands to defeat the BJP, and now all eyes are on the soon-to-be-announced list of star campaigners of the party.

Many of the Congress leaders who had signed the letter in August last year have either been adjusted in the party or have been assigned some important task, such as Prithviraj Chavan getting appointed as screening committee chairman for Assam or Moily getting appointed as election management in-charge for Tamil Nadu.

However, the situation is still far from normal in the party despite Congress holding many rounds of meetings since August last year. The disgruntled leaders say that they want elections from the block to the CWC level.

Mamata releases list of Trinamool candidates, will contest from Nandigram

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Mamata releases list of Trinamool candidates, will contest from Nandigram

Setting the stage for a high-octane political battle, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Friday released the candidate’s list for 291 assembly seats in the state. The remaining three seats in Darjeeling will be contested by Trinamool allies. The party will not be putting up candidates there, she said.

“Only Trinamool Congress can take Bengal to new heights,” Banerjee said.

Adding star power to the list, the Trinamool chief accommodated a slew of Bengali film and television industry representatives in the party candidates list for the upcoming state assembly polls.

The Trinamool chief also announced that she will be contesting from East Midnapore’s Nandigram seat. “I will contest from Nandigram. I keep my promises,” she said while releasing the list here at her Kalighat residence, urging people to have faith in her.

The list of 291 TMC candidates included 50 women, 42 Muslim candidates and a slew of Bengal’s Tollywood celebrities who had joined the Trinamool bandwagon recently.

Banerjee said that she will contest from East Midnapore’s Nandigram this time. “I am going to Nandigram on 9th March. On 10th March, I will file the nomination at Haldia,” she said.

State power minister and Trinamool Congress veteran Sovandeb Chatterjee will contest from the Bhawanipore seat as Mamata chose to contest from Nandigram. Ex-Trinamool councilor Debashis Kumar will contest from Rashbihari seat, in place of Chatterjee.

The Trinamool supremo also fielded actor Kanchan Mallick, who had joined the Trinamool Congress a few days back, from Hooghly’s Uttarpara, actor Chiranjeet Chakraborty will contest from Barasat, Soham Chakraborty from Chandipur, director Raj Chakraborty from Barrackpore, actress Sayantika from Bankura, June Malliah from Midnapore Sadar, Sayani Ghosh from Asansol-South, cricketer Manoj Tiwari from Howrah’s Shibpur, Lovely Maitra will contest from Sonarpur South and Kaushani Mukherjee from Krishnanagar-North assembly constituency.

“I have given importance to young people this time while choosing the name of candidates. They all are young people. We have given assembly poll tickets to eminent personalities from the field of arts, sports, media, and culture,” Banerjee said.

She said that as many as 23-24 existing Trinamool legislators have been dropped from the candidate list owing to age-related issues and other reasons.

Former Congress leader and Jadavpur University professor Om Prakash Mishra will contest from Siliguri on a Trinamool ticket.

Banerjee also thanked Tejashwi Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren, and Shiv Sena for extending their support to the Trinamool Congress in the upcoming state assembly elections.

West Bengal will go to polls in eight phases between March 27 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

AAP again exposed on farm laws issue: Punjab CM

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AAP again exposed on farm laws issue: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for once again exposing its “true colors” on the issue of the farm laws and the farmers’ agitation by walking out of the House before the resolution seeking repeal of the legislation was put to vote.

In a statement issued here, the Chief Minister said that the party had never been truly concerned about protecting the farmers or their interests, and its leadership again proved itself to be an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with whom AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was colluding against the agitating farmers.

Amarinder Singh, who had earlier in the House shown to the members a copy of the Delhi gazette notification implementing one of the three farm laws, reiterated that the party was cheating the farmers with its false propaganda in their support.

The fact is that they have repeatedly backstabbed the farmers, and have done so ago, he said, recalling AAP’s earlier U-turns also on the issue in Punjab.

In the House earlier, AAP members had rushed into the well before staging a walk-out, alleging that the Chief Minister was a member of the high-powered committee set up by the Centre on agricultural reforms and hence party to the decision on the farm laws.

Even though the Chief Minister himself made it clear that he was not present at any meeting of the committee, where his minister Manpreet Badal had attended one meeting while another was participated by an officer and Manpreet also categorically stated that the state government was not aware of the Ordinances, the AAP chose to create a ruckus in the House on the issue.

It was evident, Amarinder Singh said later, that the AAP was not interested in the truth but wanted to continue with its malicious agenda of spreading misinformation on the issue.

As pointed out by Manpreet Singh in the House, the Chief Minister said that all the minutes of the committee meetings were available as the state government had placed them in the House.

Further, at both the meetings held after Punjab was included in the committee following his letter to the Centre, his government had categorically cautioned the Centre against tinkering with the minimum support price (MSP) in any way, he added.

Politics aside, let’s be one united voice for Andhra: Nara Lokesh

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Politics aside, let’s be one united voice for Andhra: Nara Lokesh

Amaravati, March 5: In an impassioned appeal to political rivals in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary and former minister Nara Lokesh called for “unity and one united voice while fighting for the states causes” at the national level.

“We will fight in the state politically, but when we go out, let us be with one voice. It is our state, we have to take care of our state,” appealed Lokesh at a fireside chat with youngsters in Vijayawada on Thursday.

The TDP general secretary said that he will stick to this one united voice idea and abide by it.

“As a former minister I have offered also, any help that I can do to promote Andhra Pradesh, I will always be there. Political apart, we will always work together,” Lokesh noted.

However, as a party, he said that they will continue to fight in the state.

A statewide bandh (strike) protesting Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) privatization is underway on Friday. The YSRCP government in the state has endorsed the day-long bandh call.

Meanwhile, a youngster questioned Lokesh as to who is the IT minister in AP or if the state really has one?

“Is he (IT minister) doing any work in the state? What is he doing? Are any industries being brought to the state? We do not have any worthwhile industries in the state. We have only one steel plant which is also being privatized,” he lamented with Lokesh.

In reply, Lokesh mocked “if people do not ‘know’ who the IT minister was then what could he talk about”.

“God knows what the minister is doing. The steel plant is making losses because capacity addition has happened. When there is capacity enhancement, there will be losses for 4 – 5 years. It is common for heavy industries,” observed Lokesh.

He said it is a wrong move to privatize the steel plant which made profits for 15 years and losses for just four years.

TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu hit Kurnool roads on Thursday to campaign for the forthcoming urban local bodies elections.

He wore a Muslim cap to strike a chord with the minority community in the town while campaigning.

Gold smuggling case accused names Kerala CM in dollar hawala

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Gold smuggling case accused names Kerala CM in dollar hawala

Thiruvananthapuram, March 5: Hours after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Central agencies, a statement given by the gold smuggling case prime accused — Swapna Suresh to the Customs Department — surfaced on Friday, which said ‘Vijayan had a role in dollar smuggling’.

In her statement recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, and the 164 statement (given before the Magistrate) which was filed by the Customs on Thursday before the Kerala high court, she said that Vijayan has close connections with the previous Consul General of the UAE and illegal monetary transactions were carried out.

The statement says: “Her close connection with the Chief Minister and his principal secretary and a personal staff was also revealed by her. She has also stated with clarity about the smuggling of foreign currency at the instance of the Chief Minister and the Speaker with the help of the Consulate. She has also clearly stated about the improper and illegal activities of three Ministers of the State cabinet and the Speaker. She has further stated about the involvement and the kickbacks received by high-profile persons from various deals.

“She has stated that she is aware of all these transactions and was a witness to the same as she is well versed in the Arabic language and hence was forced to act as the translator between the above said persons and the persons of Middle East origin in all their crucial interactions. The role of the former principal secretary (M.Sivasankar) in acting as the link between the high profile politicians of Kerala and the UAE Consulate officials as well as some others and in coordinating the illegal financial dealings under the cover of various activities and projects of the state government was also revealed by her,” said the statement of the Customs which is before the high court.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said Vijayan has no moral right to continue as the Chief Minister.

“Just look into this statement, it was done a few months back and when the probe was about to reach Vijayan, everything came to a standstill and this is because of the secret relations between the BJP and the CPI-M. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Vijayan has to quit and cannot remain in that post even for a minute,” said Chennithala.

Senior Congress legislator P.T. Thomas, known for his tirades against Vijayan inside and outside the Assembly, said it’s a shame which has fallen on our state.

“It would be the first time that a Chief Minister of any state in the country is being named in dollar smuggling and the only option before him is to quit,” said Thomas.

Incidentally, this revelation has come at a time when Vijayan was leading the state committee meeting of his party at the state party headquarters, here preparing the final list of his party candidates numbering around 90 seats of the 140-Assembly seats.

2.1 million Covid vaccines to arrive in Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan

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2.1 million Covid vaccines to arrive in Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that the Covid vaccination drive is going on well and 3.47 lakh doses have been given, while a fresh supply of 2.1 million doses is arriving in the state.

“By now 3.47 lakh health professionals have taken the vaccine besides 1.14 lakh officials who are getting ready for assembly election duty, 91,916 front line Covid warriors and from Monday onwards 30,061 people in the above 60 age category have also taken the vaccine,” said Vijayan to the media.

He also pointed out that the ICMR has given the green signal to Bharat Biotech’s – Covaxin which is believed to be effective even against the Covid variant that was found in the UK.

“The Covid spread in Kerala has come down and if one were to compare the total Covid positive case at present which stands at 45,995, was around the same, during last September. Likewise if one compares it to the figure a month back, today it’s 30 percent less,” added Vijayan.

He also pointed out that in the coming days more and more Covid vaccination centers would be opened and people can do online registration, while spot registration at vaccine centers would also be available.

Shah meets PM Modi ahead of BJP CEC meet

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Shah meets PM Modi ahead of BJP CEC meet

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the crucial Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the BJP to discuss the names of party candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam.

Modi is also expected to attend the CEC meeting at the party headquarters here on Thursday evening along with Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and other senior leaders. The CEC is a body that decides who the candidates will be for the different constituencies in the poll-bound states.

It has been learned that the BJP leaders will go into a huddle to finalize the first list of candidates for 60 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal that will go to the polls in the first two phases. The first two phases of polling in Assam and West Bengal will be held on March 27 and April 1.

The elections in West Bengal, poised to be a stiff contest between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, will be held in eight phases, beginning with 30 seats on March 27. The votes will be counted on May 2.

According to sources, the CEC is likely to discuss the party candidates for 86 seats in Assam where polls will be held in the first two phases. The third and final phase of polling in Assam will be held on April 6. The results will be out on May 2.

Dharmendra Pradhan reiterates request for OBC quota in Odisha

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Dharmendra Pradhan reiterates request for OBC quota in Odisha

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi, March 4 : Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday reiterated his request to the Odisha government to implement reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and educational institutions, and for Socially Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in educational institutions in the state.

“I had written letters to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking reservations for OBCs in government jobs and educational institutions and for SEBCs in educational institutions in Odisha. However, my request for 27 percent reservation for socially and economically backward classes in government jobs and educational institutions in Odisha has remained unaddressed to date,” Pradhan told Odisha media in New Delhi.

Notably, the state government is set to begin a survey of backward classes based on the social and educational status.

“The current move for enumeration of SEBCs comes across as a dichotomous and dilatory step trying to mask the extant policies of the Odisha government denying reservations for OBCs and SEBCs categories,” he added.

He further said that the state government has access to its own SEBC list as well as OBC list of the Centre, which can be used for providing appropriate reservations in the field of education.

The Minister said backward classes constitute a considerable portion of the total population of Odisha.

“There are more than 210 communities identified as SEBCs in Odisha. Most of them are suffering from the twin curses of poverty and illiteracy. Even after 30 years of a provision for reservations under Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution for such communities, the state government is not providing any such reservations to OBCs in government jobs as well as in educational institutions,” said Pradhan.

“At the cost of reiteration, IAagain urges the Chief Minister to accede to my request of providing higher reservations to OBCs in public employment and educational institutions and for SEBCs in educational institutions on an immediate basis,” said Pradhan.

Surge in active Covid cases in Telangana

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Surge in active Covid cases in Telangana

Hyderabad, March 4: The number of active Covid cases in Telangana continues to be on rise as the state recorded fewer recoveries than the new infections during the last 24 hours.

According to the daily media bulletin released by the health department on Thursday, the state added 36 active cases during the period. The total number of active cases now stands at 1,948 including 835 who were in-home/institutional isolation.

The state reported 152 new cases during the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative tally to 2,99,406.

Two more persons succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 1,637.

The fatality rate remained 0.54 per cent against the national average of 1.4 per cent. While 44.96 per cent of the deaths occurred due to Covid, 55.04 per cent had comorbidities.

Greater Hyderabad saw maximum number of cases at 25 followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (11) and Rangareddy (10). No new cases were reported in four districts while in the remaining 27 districts the daily count was in single digit.

A total of 114 people recovered during the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative recoveries to 2,95,821. The recovery rate stands at 98.80 per cent against the national average of 97.1 per cent.

The health authorities conducted 41,201 tests during the same period. As many as 36,003 samples were tested in government labs, 5,198 in private labs.

According to the director of public health and family welfare, cumulative number of tests rose to 88,42,852.

Samples tested per million population climbed to 2,37,583. The daily testing target for the state is 5,600 as per the WHO benchmark of 140 tests per million per day.

Over 92 per cent of the beds in hospitals treating Covid cases remained vacant. As many as 8,217 beds out of 8,577 beds in 62 government hospitals were vacant. Similarly, in 216 private hospitals 6,885 out of 7,638 beds were vacant.

PM stresses on synergy between colleges, universities

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PM stresses on synergy between colleges, universities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday emphasized the need for better synergy between colleges and universities and directed for the implementation of all the provisions of the National Education Policy from pre-nursery to Ph.D. “quickly”.

The Prime Minister expressed his views while addressing a webinar on effective implementation of Budget provisions regarding the Education sector, saying, “the Budget will be of immense help in this regard.”

The Prime Minister pointed out that to build a self-reliant India, confidence of the youth of the country is equally important and said that confidence comes only when the youth have complete faith in their education and knowledge.

He said that confidence comes only when they realize that their studies are giving them the opportunity to do their work and also the necessary skills.

Modi said that the new National Education Policy has been made with this thinking and stressed the need to “implement all the provisions of the National Education Policy from pre-nursery to Ph.D. quickly”.

The Prime Minister said the second biggest focus after health in this year’s budget is on education, skill, research, and innovation and at the same time pushed for “a better synergy between colleges and universities of the country”.

Noting the emphasis placed in this budget on skill development, up-gradation, and apprenticeship, the Prime Minister said this budget has further expanded the efforts made to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capabilities over the years.

As a result of these efforts, he said, today “India has come in the top three countries in terms of scientific publications, number of Ph.D. scholars and start-up ecosystem”.

“India has joined the top 50 ranks in Global Innovation Index and is continuously improving. New opportunities are growing for the students and young scientists with the constant focus on higher education, research, and innovation.”

The Prime Minister said for the first time, the focus is on issues ranging from Atal Tinkering Labs in schools to Atal Incubation Centres in higher institutions.

“A new tradition of Hackathons for start-ups has been created in the country, which is becoming a huge force for both the youth and industry of the country.”

He informed that through the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovation, more than 3,500 start-ups are being nurtured. Similarly, under the National Supercomputing Mission, three supercomputers: Param Shivay, Param Shakti, and Param Bramha have been established in IIT BHU, IIT-Kharagpur, and IISER, Pune.

The Prime Minister said with the thinking that restricting knowledge and research is a great injustice to the country’s potential, many avenues in sectors like space, atomic energy, DRDO and agriculture are being opened for talented youth.

He said for the first time, the country has met the international standards related to Metrology which leads to R&D and improving our Global Competency a lot.

“Geo-spatial data has been opened up recently and this would lead to immense opportunity for the space sector and the youth of the country. The entire ecosystem will benefit immensely.”

Informing that a National Research Foundation is being built for the first time in the country, the Prime Minister said 50,000 crore rupees have been allocated for the project which aims at strengthening the governance structure of the research-related institutions and will improve linkages between research and development, academia and industry.

Cong admits 1975 Emergency ‘error’, now BJP’s turn: MVA

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Cong admits 1975 Emergency ‘error’, now BJP’s turn: MVA

Mumbai, March 3 (IANS) Lauding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s candid admission, that the Emergency imposed 45 years ago was a mistake, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) jumped to its feet and said “now it’s the turn of the ruling party at the Centre to own up its mistakes”, here on Wednesday.

State Congress President Nana Patole, Nationalist Congress Party Spokesperson and Minister Nawab Malik, Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari and Samajwadi Party state President Abu Asim Azmi made near-identical demands from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Gandhi’s surprise statement on Tuesday.

Patole said that the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has owned up that the 21-month long Emergency imposed in 1975 was a ‘mistake’.

“Now, will Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP also admit that the 2002 Gujarat riots were a blunder and own up their responsibility?” Patole demanded.

Malik said that after the Congress’ submission that somehow the Emergency was not the right step, it’s now the turn of the BJP to reciprocate and accept its own mistake of the Gujarat riots.

“Earlier, the Congress had even apologized for the anti-Sikh riots (1984) in Delhi and now they feel imposing the Emergency was wrong They are attempting to improve upon their mistakes. When will the BJP similarly admit and apologise for the Gujarat riots,” Malik asked.

Welcoming Gandhi’s assertion, Tiwari, accorded a Minister of State status, said that it was a magnanimous gesture on the part of the Congress and its time for BJP to follow suit in a democratic spirit.

“Not only should Modi say sorry, he should also make suitable amends towards all the affected people, if necessary, even resign to prove his sincerity The Congress has realized and trying to erase its past errors, the BJP must also do the same to improve its credibility with the masses,” said Tiwari.

Azmi said that the BJP has become a ‘Bharat Jalao Party’ and it is engaged in blatantly destroying the country on all fronts daily in the past 7 years.

“They must categorically apologise for the Gujarat riots, plus the manner in which minorities are being targeted, for the lynchings of Muslims, Dalits and other poor people, for the harassment of ‘love-jihad’ the list is long,” said Azmi.

The ruling parties’ reactions came after Gandhi – in conversation with Cornell University’s economic Kaushik Basu – termed the Emergency imposed by the then PM Indira Gandhi, as a ‘mistake’.

“I think that (the Emergency) was a mistake. Absolutely, that was a mistake. And my grandmother (Indira Gandhi) said as much.”

However, he also added that there was a fundamental difference between what happened during the Emergency which was wrong, and what is happening in the country currently.

Tweaking the Congress’ ears further, the SP leader (Azmi) said merely admitting mistakes or saying sorry after the irreparable damage wreaked for past errors or horrors, is not enough, and they (Congress) must go a step further to promise that such things will not recur in future.

“There were many riots even during the Congress rule, they failed to protect the Babri Mosque, and committed other atrocities against minorities or deprived sections of the society The Congress should categorically assure that if they return to power, they will not repeat such things and help to improve the lot of the downtrodden,” Azmi said grimly.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant takes first jab of Covid-19 vaccine

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Goa CM Pramod Sawant takes first jab of Covid-19 vaccine

Panaji, March 3 (Telugubullet) Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday was administered the Covid-19 vaccine at the Sanquelim primary health centre in North Goa.

Speaking to reporters after he was administered the vaccine, Sawant said that the vaccine is safe and no case of adverse side-effect has been reported in Goa.

“My father has also taken the vaccine. The vaccine is safe. The PM has taken it himself. Being a frontline worker and doctor by profession, I had registered for the vaccine previously. The doctor called me today informing me that it was my turn,” 47-year-old Sawant said.

“Now that I have taken the vaccine, more people in Goa will have the confidence to get themselves vaccinated,” the Chief Minister also said.

“There was no pain and no reaction in the half an hour window period. If there is a side effect, they have given tablets to counter it. It is safe, everyone should take the vaccine,” Sawant said while commenting about his experience with the vaccination shot.

World Wildlife Day: PM, VP stress on protection of animals

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World Wildlife Day: PM, VP stress on protection of animals

New Delhi, March 3: As World Wildlife Day is being observed, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed to ensure the protection of animals and preserve forest and safe habitats for them.

In a tweet, the Vice President said: “On this World Wildlife Day, let us all put in dedicated efforts to save and preserve the wildlife and create greater awareness on the need to maintain a healthy ecological balance on our planet.”

Prime Minister Modi saluted those working towards wildlife protection on World Wildlife Day and tweeted: “Be it lions, tigers, and leopards, India is seeing a steady rise in the population of various animals. We should do everything possible to ensure the protection of our forests and safe habitats for animals.”

World Wildlife Day is observed annually on March 3 to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s flora and fauna.

The day is about raising awareness about wildlife and educating the people about the diversity and importance of flora and fauna across the world.

Three Kerala Ministers take Covid vaccine jabs

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Three Kerala Ministers take Covid vaccine jabs

Three Kerala ministers, including Health Minister K.K. Shailaja, on Tuesday, received the coronavirus vaccination jabs during the ongoing second phase of the vaccination drive being held nationwide.

The coronavirus vaccine is now available to all persons who are 60 years and above as well as those in the age group of 45-60 years with comorbidities.

Shailaja along with State Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan received their jabs at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital here while Ports Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally got inoculated at a state-run hospital in his hometown Kannur.

Shailaja was accompanied by her husband for the vaccination.

“The vaccination is going smoothly in Kerala at nearly 1,000 centres. We are planning to have more centres which would include mass vaccination centres so more people can take the vaccine jabs without much delay. At present, more than four lakh people in the state have taken the vaccine and there have been no adverse reports of any complications due to the vaccine. All persons have to register themselves first and then proceed to take the vaccine,” said Shailaja.

All three ministers were kept under observation for half-an-hour after receiving the vaccine shots.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is likely to take the vaccine jab on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram.

Priyanka Gandhi plucks tea leaves, interacts with tea garden workers in Assam

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Priyanka Gandhi plucks tea leaves, interacts with tea garden workers in Assam

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra plucks tea leaves and interacts with tea garden workers in Assam’s Biswanath, photos and videos shared today on the Twitter show.

Dressed in a saree, Ms. Gandhi, 49, was equipped for the task with a basket on her back balanced by a band on her head. She had a scarf on her head on which the band was strapped on.

She was also armored with an apron at her waist as she took on the job.

At the tea estate, Priyanka also interacted with the workers to “understand their worries and apprehensions, their hopes and aspirations.”

After her visit to the tea garden, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that she will not forget the love she got from the workers.

“The life of tea garden workers is full of truth and simplicity and their labor is valuable for the country. Today, I talked to them about their work and the well-being of the family and realized the difficulties of their life. I will not forget the love I got from them,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet.

 

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