BIEAP will announce AP Inter Result today

Team TeluguBullet
-
0
BIEAP will announce AP Inter Result today

Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP) will announce AP Inter Result today. The Annual examinations in the state began in March but could not be concluded due to coronavirus outbreak and the remaining papers were finally concluded on June 3.

The board usually released Inter results in April but due to the Covid-19 crisis, the process was delayed this year. The result for Intermediate students in Andhra Pradesh will be released on the board’s official website and result portal. Students would need their hall ticket number to check their result.

Inter Admissions in Andhra Pradesh will be carried out in online mode from this year. The Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIE AP) had notified college management across the state in March this year that from 2020 academic session, admission to intermediate courses will be held through Computerized Automated Student Online Intermediate Admission System.

Students who pass in Intre 1st year will be promoted to Inter 2nd year and students who pass Inter 2nd year will become eligible for admission to degree college.Meanwhile, the Board of Secondary Education Andhra Pradesh (BSEAP) has announced the Class 10 or Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination will be held from July 10 to 17.

Need centralised digital platform for database of MSMEs: Report

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Need centralised digital platform for database of MSMEs: Report

As small businesses have been the worst-hit amid the lockdown and the government has come up with relief and liquidity measures, a report by CEEW and NIPFP has suggested that a centralized digital platform should be created for MSMEs in order to identify them, provide incentives and support them as per the requirement.

The report on jobs, growth, and sustainability, released on Thursday, noted that it is difficult for Central and state governments to provide financial and in-kind relief measures to MSMEs and their workers due to lack of identification and sector-wise association of MSMEs and their employees.

“We propose the creation of a nationwide, centralized digital platform, ‘MISHRII’ – MSME Information System for Holistic and Real-time Identification, Incentives and Support’,” it said.

The platform would collect data on the size, distribution, and economic contribution of MSMEs and their workers to the national output, and seed details such as occupation, days of employment and monthly income into their Aadhaar-linked profiles.

It should be linked with the GSTN and income tax databases and the banking network for direct benefit transfer (DBT), the report said.

Further, it also suggested the framing of a vulnerability assessment framework for MSMEs to efficiently target support measures by accounting for varying levels of vulnerabilities and sectoral nuances, resulting in ineffective use of government resources.

It said that there are major differences in the exposure to risk, profitability, and ability to quickly recover from setbacks for each MSME sector.

As a case study, the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) developed two-dimensional metrics to compare the relative vulnerability of MSME sectors across two parameters — economic importance and business risk.

According to the metrics, the most vulnerable sectors are textile manufacturing, chemical products, and metal products.

Suggesting the government to increase the capacity of the ‘SAMADHAAN’ system to expeditiously clear government dues to MSMEs, the report said that the government should prioritize clearing the receivables of all MSMEs who are long term suppliers with a good track record on a provisional basis.

This will reduce the number of cases that need to be addressed within the 45-day timeline, it said.

The government also needs to immediately issue a directive to the states to expand the capacity of the Micro and Small Enterprise Facilitation Councils (MSEFC) so that the resolution of the casescan be expedited.

Price fixing lawsuit in US against Sun Pharma, Aurobindo, Lupin

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Price fixing lawsuit in US against Sun Pharma, Aurobindo, Lupin

Sun Pharma, Lupin and Aurobindo Pharma are among the pharmaceutical companies named in a fresh suit filed in the US for price-fixing.

The lawsuit mentions 26 drug makers for alleged “conspiracy to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for generic drugs sold across the US”.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Twitter: “I’m filing a lawsuit with 51 AGs against executives & manufacturers of generic drugs for allegedly engaging in years of price-fixing & market manipulation of over 80 generic drugs. These companies put profits over public health & it’s time for them to be held accountable.”

The civil lawsuit, filed and supported by 51 Attorneys General of US states, lists 80 generic drugs, most of which belong to the topical dermatology segment. It also names Taro, a Sun Pharma subsidiary, as one of the three key conspirators, along with Sandoz (which acquired Fougera) and Perrigo, as these firms accounted for nearly two-thirds of generic topical volumes in US between 2007 to 2014.

The key allegation is collusion among competing generic drug makers to unlawfully allocate market share and fix prices of various drugs, in violation of the Sherman Act. It also extends the timeline further back to 2009, thus bringing in a longer period and, consequently, higher sales of manufacturers, into question.

According to a report by Credit Suisse, Aurobindo has been added as a defendant as one of the charged executives and one of the cooperating witnesses, who were earlier working with G&W and Fougera, respectively, had taken up employment at Aurobindo and allegedly continued their anti-competitive conduct.

For Lupin, only one drug has been charged while for Sun Pharma, three drugs have been listed. Among other Indian players, Glenmark and Wockhardt are included as defendants in the current lawsuit, the report said.

There are fresh charges against two more Taro executives. In addition to Ara Aprahamian, who is currently engaged in criminal litigation against US Department of Justice (DoJ) and was also named in an earlier lawsuit, the current filing also presses charges against Mitchell Blashinsky, former Vice President of Marketing for Generics at Taro, and Mike Perfetto, former Chief Commercial Officer at Taro. This is on account of the fresh evidence obtained in the current civil lawsuit.

The current lawsuit includes 39 drugs marketed by Taro, which are alleged to have benefited from a coordinated price increase. It lists multiple drugs, which have been included for the first time, thereby potentially increasing the risk of a higher penalty for Taro, the report said.

Aprahamian was arrested on February 4 and the criminal proceedings are currently going on. It is separate from this civil lawsuit, which in itself is a follow-up to two earlier civil lawsuits concerning generic price-fixing in the US. In a criminal investigation by DoJ, several generic firms, including Sandoz and Apotex, have already been settled and ex-Sandoz executive, Hector Armando Kellum, had pleaded guilty in February.

“Without taking into account new drugs named in the current lawsuit, we estimate that sales exposure of Taro is already more than $1billion. In March 2020, Sandoz entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and announced a penalty of $380 million on sales exposure of $500 million,” the report said.

Credit Suisse said its target multiples are based on Sun Pharma’s historical multiple averages (past five years), and assigning a higher multiple of 25x to the India business.

“We assign a lower multiple of 15x to US (ex-Taro) and other export markets, and also build in the risk of penalty from DoJ investigation against Taro (Sun Pharma’s subsidiary)”, it said.

The downside risks to the target price and neutral rating for Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd include: Sun Pharma is unable to shift Absorica market to the new lower-dose formulation (Absorica LD) before December, the Department of Justice investigation culminates in a large penalty, and a sharp increase in Sun Pharma’s tax rate.

AP cabinet sub-committee recommends CBI probe into TDP regime projects

Telugu Bullet
-
0
AP cabinet sub-committee recommends CBI probe into TDP regime projects

The Andhra Pradesh government has cleared the cabinet sub-committee recommendation for a CBI probe into several alleged irregularities that took place when the TDP regime was at the helm of affairs in the state.

The development comes in the backdrop of raging hostilities between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition TDP.

Briefing media after the cabinet meeting here on Thursday, Minister for Information and Public Relations, Perni Venkataramaiah, said that the cabinet sub-committee which studied the matter has submitted its report and recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the AP Fibernet (Optic Fibre Grid) project, and purchases made for Chandranna Sankranti Kanuka, Ramzan Tofa and Christmas Kanuka schemes.

The minister said that preliminary investigations found that a large number of irregularities, including nepotism, had occurred in the AP Fibernet Project. Apart from allotting the project to people who are not qualified for carrying out the project, corruption to the tune of Rs 700 crore has taken place in the project, he alleged.

The project had been allotted to Terra Software, a company owned by Vemuri Harikrishna Prasad, who is said to be very close to the TDP leadership.

“The contract was given to Terra Software setting aside the bid of a Central government institution, though it was the lowest bidder. Even during the distribution of set-top boxes, four companies were called and the government agreed to share the contract, but in reality only the Terra Sofware was given the entire distribution of work,” he said.

“Similarly, in welfare schemes like Chandranna Sankranti Kanuka, Ramzan Tofa and Christmas Kanuka, irregularities were found during the procurement of supplies, where nearly Rs 150 crore of corruption was identified in primary investigation. Purchases, including milk products, were made in an arbitrary manner and on all these irregularities, the cabinet has ordered for CBI enquiry for further investigation,” the minister said.

The last few days have seen the two principal political players in Andhra Pradesh targeting each other with claims and counterclaims. A couple of days back, the TDP had issued a charge sheet against the YSRCP government on completion of its first year in office.

Terror funding case: NIA charge sheets two NSCN-IM members

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Terror funding case: NIA charge sheets two NSCN-IM members

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against NSCN-IM ‘Kilonser’ (“Cabinet Minister”) Alema Jamir and her accomplice Masasasong Ao, accusing them of raising terror funds through a maze of bank accounts and business entities on behalf of their group.

Jamir alias Mary Shimrang was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on December 17 last year at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) domestic airport and an amount of Rs 72 lakh was seized from her.

The NIA later took over the case from Delhi Police.

A resident of Dimapur, Jamir and her associate Ao, who subsequently arrested by the NIA, had entered into a criminal conspiracy and directly raised, collected and layered terror funds through a maze of bank accounts and business entities on behalf of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah, the agency mentioned in the charge sheet filed before a special NIA court here.

Ao and other members of the group helped Jamir in extortion and channelization of terror funds and committed disruptive acts, the NIA said.

During the investigation, the NIA said, many incriminating articles such as prohibited ammunition, prohibited wildlife articles, documents pertaining to modus operandi of extortion by NSCN-IM, drones, satellite phones, documents connected with land deals and cash amounting to Rs 2.70 crore was seized.

“Further investigation continues.

“Jamir and her associates have been charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Arms Act 1959 and other various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Biden tells Facebook to change its political approach, company responds

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Biden tells Facebook to change its political approach, company responds

Facebook on Thursday responded to Joe Biden, former Vice President and Democratic Party candidate to run against Donald Trump, who circulated a petition and an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg to change the company’s approach to political speech.

The Biden campaign demanded that Facebook strengthens its rules against misinformation and to hold politicians accountable for harmful comments, reports The New York Times.

In a statement, Facebook said that we live in a democracy, where the elected officials decide the rules around campaigns.
“Two weeks ago the President of the United States issued an executive order directing Federal agencies to prevent social media sites from engaging in activities like fact-checking political statements. This week, the Democratic candidate for President started a petition calling on us to do the exact opposite,” said the social networking giant.

Bill Russo, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said: “Real changes to Facebook’s policies for their platform and how they enforce them are necessary to protect against a repeat of the role that disinformation played in the 2016 election and that continues to threaten our democracy today”.

“Folks, we saw in 2016 what can happen when social media platforms are left unchecked and allow disinformation to run rampant. It puts the very integrity of our elections at risk. We simply cannot let it happen again in 2020,” Biden tweeted.

“So far, Facebook has failed to enact any real reforms to stop the spread of disinformation on its platform. Time is running out. Today, we’re releasing an open letter demanding the company change its policies,” he added.

Facebook replied, saying that just as they have done with broadcast networks – where the US government prohibits rejecting politicians’ campaign ads – the people’s elected representatives should set the rules, and we will follow them.

“There is an election coming in November and we will protect political speech, even when we strongly disagree with it,” said Facebook that is facing criticism for not taking any action against Trump’s controversial posts on glorifying violence.

The Biden campaign urged its supporters to push the social media giant to strengthen its rules against misinformation and harmful comments.

Several former and current Facebook employees have criticized Zuckerberg over his inaction on controversial posts from Trump on glorifying violence, calling him to start fact-checking world leaders and labeling harmful posts.

Railways creates history, successfully runs double stack container trains in electrified territory

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Railways creates history, successfully runs double stack container trains in electrified territory

After conducting the successful trial run of double-decker freight trains on the newly-built Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district in December last year, the Indian Railways on Thursday created a world record by commissioning the first high rise Over Head Equipment (OHE) and successfully running double-stack containers in the electrified territory on the Western Railway.

The Railway Ministry in a statement said that Indian Railways created a new world benchmark by successfully running the first double-stack container train in high rise OHE electrified sections, which has a contact wire height of 7.57 meters.

It said that the operations successfully commenced on Wednesday from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat. “This tremendous achievement is a first of its kind in the entire world and will also boost the ambitious mission of Green India as a latest green initiative over Indian Railways,” it said.

“With this remarkable development, Indian Railways has proudly become the first Railway to run double-stack container train with high reach pantograph in high rise OHE territory,” it added.

The ministry said that the thrust of such kind of initiatives is on innovation, speed, and customization in freight operations. The Railway Ministry further said that in spite of the time that was lost under the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of novel coronavirus, the national transporter is focusing to surpass last year’s freight figures.

“From April 1 to June 10, Railways has transported 178.68 million tonnes of commodities through its uninterrupted freight trains operations across the country,” the ministry said, adding that from March 24 to June 10, more than 32.40 lakh wagons carried supplies to keep the supply chain functions.

It said that of these, more than 18 lakh wagons carried essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onion, fruits and vegetables, petroleum products, coal, fertilizers, etc. throughout the country.

Between April 1 and June 10, Railways loaded 12.74 million tonnes of food grains as compared to 6.79 million tonnes in the same period last year, it said.

Besides the freight train operations, the Railways from March 22 to June 10 operated 3,897 parcel trains of which 3,790 were time-tabled special parcel trains in which 1.39 lakh tonnes of consignment were loaded.

Kerala IT takes a beating, faces Rs 4,500 cr loss in Q1

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Kerala IT takes a beating, faces Rs 4,500 cr loss in Q1

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that the IT sector in the state has lost revenues to the tune of Rs 4,500 crore in the first quarter of the present fiscal, on account of the Covid pandemic.

He also pointed out studies conducted by the State Planning Board have now estimated a loss of jobs, to the extent of 26,000 direct jobs and 80,000 indirect jobs.

“To provide an impetus to the IT sector, what we have decided is to give a relaxation of rent for three months to companies operating from state-run IT parks and the companies can decide on which three months they would like in the present fiscal. Moreover, we expect to provide that in the next fiscal, there will be no normal annual escalation in rent,” Vijayan said.

As on date, the total IT software exports from Kerala is pegged at around Rs 20,000 crore from the three parks here, and at Kochi, and Kozhikode besides small other IT firms and start-ups across the state.

The total direct employment is around 1.10 lakh.

Vijayan also pointed out that he has assured the IT industry that if there are any outstanding payments from the state government to companies, they will be cleared at the earliest and the government will take up with banks on how best they can come to the help of such companies which require any working capital needs.

“Today the situation is that it is work from home for most IT companies. We have also suggested that there should be a new model ‘work near home’ units that has to be started. A ‘work-sharing bench’ also should begin and any IT company or even the government, if they need extra hands, should take from this work sharing bench. IT companies, when they get new projects, should first fill up vacancies from this bench and then only look for fresh appointments,” added Vijayan.

SC to pronounce order on MHA notification on full payment of wages during lockdown

Telugu Bullet
-
0
SC to pronounce order on MHA notification on full payment of wages during lockdown

The Supreme Court on Friday will pronounce order on a clutch of pleas by several companies including MSMEs challenging the MHA notification on full payment of wages to employees during the 54-day nationwide lockdown to contain the outbreak of Covid-19.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah will pronounce the judgment on the matter. On June 4, the Centre had informed the apex court that its March 29 notification on full payment of wages to workers by their employers during the lockdown was not unconstitutional. The Centre’s counsel contended it was a measure taken to prevent the perpetration of financial crisis within the lower strata of the society, laborers and salaried employees.

The Centre, in the affidavit filed, said the March 29 order was not a permanent measure, and it has already been withdrawn. “It is further emphasized and reiterated that the said directions (March 29 order) were issued by Union of India as a temporary measure to mitigate the financial hardship of the employees and workers especially contractual and casual during the lockdown period”, said the Centre.

The affidavit emphasized this measure was proactively taken to prevent the perpetration of financial crisis within the lower strata of the society, laborers and salaried employees. The MHA said the direction for payment of wages was in the public interest and was taken by the National Executive Committee under the pertinent provisions of the Disaster Management Act. Therefore, the National Executive Committee had full competence to issue the March 29 order.

The Centre said regarding the contention that the employers are not in a financial position to pay their employees and workmen, no material has been placed on record to establish this fact. “The petitioners-employers must be directed to furnish proof of their incapacity to pay wages and salaries in terms of the March 29 order, by placing on record their audited balance sheets and accounts”, said the Centre.

The affidavit, filed by the MHA, added that the March 29 order has outlived its life and adjudication of the same would only entail academic exercise, as it would not be in the interest of the public to seek recoveries of salaries to employees and workers for the 54 days. Therefore, the petition should be disposed of as being infructuous.

Scores of firms from across the states have moved the apex court challenging the March 29 order, which obligated employers to pay full wages to their workers during the period of the lockdown. The industries have challenged the MHA on the source of power to pass such directions and highlighted that financial burden cannot be put on the private firms when the companies are shut during the lockdown.

Gautam Buddh Nagar sees 28 fresh cases, DM writes to residents

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Gautam Buddh Nagar sees 28 fresh cases, DM writes to residents

While Delhi has been witnessing a spike in Covid-19 cases with the daily tally reaching almost 1,000, Noida has seen far less positive cases. However, on Thursday, the suburb witnessed 28 fresh cases which included an eight-year-old child.

Meanwhile, a 62-year-old man has succumbed, taking the total death toll to 11 in Noida.

The 28 fresh cases have been reported from across the Gautam Buddh Nagar district. Most cases have been reported from urban clusters. Thursday’s figures take the total active cases to 247 in the district while the number of total cured stands at 477.

The district has seen a total 795 positive cases so far, including 60 patients who were cross-notified to other districts of Uttar Pradesh and outside.

Among the fresh 28 cases, a case was reported from Sector 12, which has previously seen Corona positive cases. Other cases have been reported from Sector 25, 93, 73, 76, 45, 44, 27 among other sectors. An 8-year-old boy has also been tested positive from Noida Sector 66.

The 62-year-old who died was from Sector 25 and was suffering from bronchial asthma and hypertension.

Meanwhile, health camps were organized in 12 different sensitive places including Mamura, Nithari, Sarfabad and Harola villages.

Following the fresh cases, District Magistrate Suhas L.Y. wrote an open letter to the residents informing them about dos and don’ts. He also warned of the “challenge” lying ahead. He answered some frequently asked questions such as what to do if someone tests positive.

Delhi HC to hear issue of non-payment of doctors’ salaries on Friday

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Delhi HC to hear issue of non-payment of doctors’ salaries on Friday

The Delhi High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance of the non-payment of salaries to MCD employees, after observing various media reports claiming that the doctors at hospitals managed by the civic body are not getting salaries.

The matter will be taken up on Friday by a bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan and the court has issued notice to the Central and Delhi governments and the MCD.

The Resident Doctors’ Association of Delhi’s Kasturba Hospital had threatened to tender their mass resignations by June 16, due to non-payment of their salaries for the past three months. The 450-bedded Kasturba Hospital, near the Jama Masjid, falls under the ambit of the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

“This is to inform that the Resident doctors have not been salaried for the last three months. No, work, no pay. We are afraid that if we will not be paid by June 16, we will have to move for mass resignations,” said a letter sent to the Additional Medical Superintendent of the hospital.

The association said that the doctors, besides putting their lives at risk due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are unable to pay their rents, travelling expenses and are unable to buy essential commodities due to non-disbursal of salaries since March.

Seeking salaries “as soon as possible”, the letter, undersigned by Association’s General Secretary Dr Ratnesh Kumar Singh, further demanded assurances that regular salary payments will be made.

Maharashtra records new Covid-19 highs with 152 deaths, 3,607 cases

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Maharashtra records new Covid-19 highs with 152 deaths, 3,607 cases

For the second consecutive day, Maharashtra recorded new highs on the Covid-19 dashboard — 152 deaths and 3,607 cases — with the highest 97 fatalities for the second day running in Mumbai, health officials said here on Thursday.

The state’s death toll of 152 marks an increase of 3 over the previous high of 149 notched on June 10, with the month proving to be a nightmare with 3-digit death figures being notched almost daily.

The previous three-digit highs recorded in the state include 103 deaths (June 2), 122 (June 3), 123 (June 4), 139 (June 5) and 120 (June 6), 109 (June 8), 120 (June 9), 149 (June 10), and 152 on Thursday.

This comes to roughly one death every 9 minutes, and a whopping 150 new cases notched every hour in the state on Thursday.

Maharashtra has been recording 100-plus fatalities and new patients over 2K daily for the past 11 days.

With 152 fatalities, the state’s death toll has zoomed to 3,590 while the total number of Coronavirus patients increased from Wednesday’s 94,041 to climb to 97,648 on Thursday.

The health department said of the total number of cases declared till date, 47,968 are active cases, increasing by 1,894 over Wednesday’s 46,074.

Despite the gloomy data on the growing number of Covid-19 deaths and cases, the state continues to record a stunning recovery rate, standing today at 47.02 percent and a mortality (death) rate 3.07 percent.

Of the total 152 fatalities on Thursday, 97 deaths were recorded in Mumbai alone for the second day — taking the city death toll up from Wednesday’s 1,857 to 1,954 now, while the number of Covid-19 positive patients here went up by 1,418 cases to touch 54,085.

Besides Mumbai’s 97 deaths, there were 20 fatalities in Thane (Mira-Bhayander, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali), 8 each in Pune and Solapur, 6 in Aurangabad, 5 in Nashik, 2 each in Palghar and Latur, and one each in Ratnagiri, Hingoli, Jalna and Nanded.

The victims comprised 102 men — shooting above the 100-mark for the first time — and 50 women and nearly 70 percent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and asthma.

On the positive side, a total of 1,561 fully cured patients returned home on Thursday, taking the number of those discharged to 46,078.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope announced on Thursday that an additional 500 ICU beds will be made available at the Seven Hills and St. George hospitals in Mumbai within a week.

As the city continues to grapple with Covid-19, between 200 and 300 doctors from rural areas of the state will be brought to the city to help cope with the patients’ rush.

In a video-conference with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Tope urged the Centre to relax the stringent norms governing the containment zones from 28 days to 14 days to give relief to the police force.

Maharashtra now has 95 labs for Covid-19 tests, including 41 in the private sector, while the number of tests conducted to date is 609,317, of which 16 percent have returned positive.

The MMR continued to cause huge worries with the second-highest 199 new Covid-19 deaths, down by 3 over Wednesday, pulling up the toll to 2,457 and taking the number of positive cases to 73,242 on Thursday — the highest in the country.

Though trailing a distant third after MMR, Pune Division fatalities touched 594, besides 13,161 patients.

Since June 1, Thane district with 15,679 cases and 398 fatalities has zoomed past Pune district.

The next major region of concern is Nashik Division with 258 deaths and 3,722 positive cases, followed by Aurangabad Division with 133 fatalities and 2,835 cases, and finally Akola Division with 67 deaths and 1,530 cases.

There’s Latur Division with 20 deaths and 544 cases, Kolhapur Division with 27 deaths and 1,396 patients, and finally Nagpur Division with 14 deaths and 1,138 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home-quarantine increased from Wednesday’s 569,145 to 573,606 on Thursday, while those in institutional quarantine went up by 838 to 28,066 now.

In another relieving news for patients, there are as many as 75,493 beds currently available for Covid-19 quarantine in the state.

Telangana farmer gets over Rs 7 lakh power bill for lockdown period

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Telangana farmer gets over Rs 7 lakh power bill for lockdown period

A small farmer in Telangana’s Kamareddy was literally shocked to receive a power bill of over Rs 7 lakh for the lockdown period.

Three bulbs and two fans are all that G. Srinivas has at his house in Isrojiwada village and his average monthly power is Rs 500.

Srinivas had paid Rs 415 in February. He, however, could not pay the bills in March, April, and May due to the lockdown.

The employees of the power distribution companies visit the houses in the first week of every month to take the meter reading and generate bills based on the units consumed. However, this was not done for three months due to the lockdown.

With the easing of lockdown, the employees resumed meter reading and generating bills. Srinivas received a big shock when he was issued a bill of Rs 7,29,417.

While this may be a case of faulty reading going by the farmer’s monthly average bill, thousands of consumers across Telangana have not only received the shock in the form of inflated bills but have no option but to pay.

The domestic consumers were in for a shock last week when the staff visited their houses and served the bills for the total units consumed during the last three months. Many consumers have complained that they were charged 50 to 80 percent in excess over their average monthly bill.

Consumers say the bills were inflated as the charges were levied, based on the cumulative units for the entire period. Since the power distribution companies follow the slab system, the entire bill is calculated on higher tariff levels. This automatically led to a big jump in the bills.

The complaints have poured in from all parts of the state and cutting across all sections.

Energy Minister G. Jagadish Reddy himself said two MLAs and his secretary also complained of high bills but claimed that they were satisfied after his explanation.

The minister’s argument is that since people remained indoors during the lockdown period, there was an increase in power consumption.

According to him, electricity consumption during the summer goes up by 35 percent to 40 percent and this year. it had gone up by another 10 to 15 percent due to the lockdown.

Claiming that the bills were generated in a transparent manner, he denied that they are inflated.

While the minister claimed that the total units consumed were equally split into three months and the bills were not calculated based on the total units consumed during the period as a whole, the situation on the ground is different.

“We are billing the consumers based on the cumulative units for the entire period. This is what we have been told by the higher-ups,” an employee of an outsourcing agency of the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd (TSSPDCL) told IANS while taking a reading at a house in Toli Chowki area in Hyderabad.

The consumer, who used to get an average Rs 2,000 monthly bill during summer, was billed for over Rs 8,000 for three months.

The higher bills have caused concern among people already worried over the lockdown impacting their incomes.

The inflated bills have also sparked protests by the opposition parties, which alleged that the government is adding to the people’s woes. The main opposition Congress party had called for a march to the state secretariat on Thursday to lodge its protest. The police placed its leaders under house arrest to foil the protest.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties have also called for protest over the inflated bills.

‘Why ban Coca Cola, Thums Up?’: SC slaps Rs 5 lakh fine on petitioner

Telugu Bullet
-
0
‘Why ban Coca Cola, Thums Up?’: SC slaps Rs 5 lakh fine on petitioner

The Supreme Court on Thursday imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 5 lakh on a social worker who filed a plea seeking ban on sale and use of Coca Cola and Thums Up, claiming these soft beverages are hazardous to health.

The court noted that it is unclear why two specific brands were targeted in the petition.

Umedish P. Chavda had moved the top court seeking directions to prohibit the sale and use of Coca Cola, Thums Up beverages and also issuing notification apprising people at large not to drink and use it, as the same is detrimental to the cause of health.

A bench headed by Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi said: “We accordingly dismiss the petition and impose costs quantified at Rs 5,00,000 on the petitioner. The costs imposed shall be deposited in the Registry within one month and shall be disbursed to the Supreme Court Advocates-on Record Association. In default of compliance, the Registry shall place an Office Report for directions.”

The top court observed that the affidavit in support of the petition states that the contents of the petition are true to the knowledge and belief of the petitioner and the petition has been filed without the petitioner having any technical knowledge on the subject.

“The source of his assertions has not been substantiated. No justification or explanation is forthcoming during the submissions of S.P. Singh, senior counsel (for the petitioner) on why two specific brands, in particular, are chosen to be the target of the proceedings. The petition has been filed for extraneous reasons. The invocation of the jurisdiction under Article 32 is an abuse of the process,” said the bench.

After hearing the petitioner’s counsel’s argument on the matter, the top court said: “We have come to the conclusion that invocation of the jurisdiction under Article 32 is not a bona fide recourse to the jurisdiction in public interest litigation. Consequently, besides dismissing the petition, an order directing the imposition of exemplary costs is necessary.”

The petitioner has moved the top court seeking directions to the Centre to submit a complete analytical report and scientific approval by scientists in providing license of sale and use of liquid items like Coca Cola, and Thums Up.

No Need for panic over Delhi tremors: NCS Director

Telugu Bullet
-
0
No Need for panic over Delhi tremors: NCS Director

Director of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) has said there is no need for panic over the recent seismic activities in the Delhi-NCR region.

Director B.K. Bansal said: “However, it is important to undertake preparedness and mitigation measures to reduce the earthquake risk.”

Bansal was speaking at a meeting convened by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to discuss the various mitigation and preparedness measures to reduce the earthquake risk in the Delhi-NCR region.

The NCS Director said that given the seismic history of Delhi and its vicinity, the occurrence of minor earthquakes in Delhi-NCR is not unusual.

However, there is no proven technology in the world wherein earthquakes are predicted with certainty in terms of its location, time, and magnitude.

The NDMA has requested the states to ensure compliance of building bylaws to make upcoming constructions earthquake resilient and to avoid the addition of vulnerable building stock.

“Identify the vulnerable priority structures, especially lifeline buildings, and retrofit them,” it said.

“Private buildings should also be retrofitted to reduce the risk in a phased manner, wherever required. Conduct regular mock exercises to deal with earthquakes and come out with SOPs for immediate response after an earthquake,” said a government statement on Thursday.

It also called for undertaking public awareness programs on dos and don’ts with regard to earthquakes.

Bengaluru court rejects bail for anti-CAA student activist

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Bengaluru court rejects bail for anti-CAA student activist

A local court rejected the bail application of controversial student activist Amulya Leona on the ground that she may abscond if set free, a police official said on Thursday.

“The 60th city civil and sessions court judge Vidyadhara Shirahatti on Wednesday rejected Amulya’s bail plea fearing as she may flee if granted bail,” a police officer dealing with the sedition case against her said.

The 19-year-old activist was arrested on February 20 for shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans at an anti-CAA rally, organized by the Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Issai Federation in the city where AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad was present with others leaders.

Later, the police filed a sedition case against Amulya for indulging in anti-national activities and instigating her friends to stage protest rallies and demonstrations against the ruling BJP government in the state and at the Centre.

As the investigation into the sedition case was underway and a charge sheet is yet to be filed against her, the judge said the accused may participate in similar anti-national events, affecting peace and harmony.

The state police opposed Amulya’s bail in the Karnataka High Court on May 19, claiming she was influential and may threaten witnesses if set free from judicial custody.

TN corona count at 38,716; CM denies underreporting of deaths

Telugu Bullet
-
0
TN corona count at 38,716; CM denies underreporting of deaths

The Tamil Nadu health department said on Thursday that 1,875 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, while 22 persons have succumbed to the dreaded virus and 1,372 patients have been cured and discharged from the hospitals.

In a statement issued here, the health department said that 1,875 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the state’s tally to 38,716. The total number of active cases in the state stood at 17,659.

On Thursday, 16,829 samples were tested, taking the total to 6.55 lakh. The testing of 642 samples is under process. The number of infected children in the age group of 0-12 years has gone up to 1,999.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami ruled out any deliberate underreporting of Covid-19 death cases. He said there is nothing to hide and the death figures cannot be hidden.

Nevertheless, the work on the reconciliation of Covid-19 death figures in Chennai has begun with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

The move came following discrepancies noticed in the toll after it was estimated that deaths at individual homes due to the virus was perhaps going under-reported.

“An expert committee has been constituted and it will go into the details of the data submitted by the GCC,” T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, told IANS.

He said the members of the committee will get the data from GCC.

The GCC in its turn will be collecting the data from its burial grounds located in different parts of the city.

The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has also written to GCC to submit Covid-19 deaths from March onwards.

According to GCC officials, data from its burial grounds are being collected to check the Covid-19 toll so far.

While officials do not want to speculate on the number of unreported Covid-19 deaths in the city, there are reports that the number is over 250.

The health department has been announcing the death of Covid-19 patients who were admitted to hospitals — government and private.

However, the deaths that happened at homes due to Covid-19 symptoms were not included as they were not reported.

Officials said the difference in numbers may be due to the communication gap between the different agencies.

Selvavinayagam also said that if there are cases of non-reporting of Covid-19 deaths in other parts of the state, reconciliation of that data will also be done.

Officials said that underreporting of data in districts may not be there as the number of officially notified deaths are low.

They also said that there may be a time lag in reporting the Covid-19 death numbers by different government agencies.

Tamil Nadu has been claiming that the Covid-19 death rate in the state is about 0.8 percent.

If the said unreported Covid-19 deaths are to be added to the total tally, then there may be an increase in the death percentage.

AGR case: SC seeks payment plan from telcos, criticises DoT demand from PSUs

Telugu Bullet
-
0
AGR case: SC seeks payment plan from telcos, criticises DoT demand from PSUs

In relief for telecom companies grappling to clear the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed them to file affidavits on the time-frame and medium to ensure they clear the dues to the government, and also the security arrangements they can furnish.

A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer and M. R. Shah said: “Firstly, the reasonable time-frame, secondly, how to ensure the payment of the amount even within that time-frame and what kind of securities, undertakings and guarantees should be furnished to ensure that the amount is paid by the telecom service providers.”

The court noted that the telecom companies prayed for time to file a joint affidavit with respect to their proposal to secure the amount “which is to be paid under the orders passed by this Court”. “Let a joint affidavit be filed within five days from today. List the matters on June 18,” said the bench.

During the hearing, the Department of Telecom (DoT) informed the apex court the Central government has extensively examined the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter, and then it has come out with a bail-out package.

It will be difficult for companies to pay in one go, said the DoT.

At this, the bench queried Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the DoT: “What is the guarantee telecom companies will pay in that time-frame (decided by the Centre)?”

Justice Mishra said: “Every day, I think about how our judgment (AGR matter) has been used and misused.”

Mehta replied the government has examined the impact on the economy if telecom companies were to pay the entire amount in one go.

“Seeking all telecom dues in one go might create distrust among telecom service providers if some operators shut down the operation,” he argued. He also contended that if the court objected to the time-frame developed by the Centre, then it will adversely impact the telecom sector, affect the network and ultimately, the consumers will suffer.

The bench sought a time-frame from the Centre on the payment of the AGR dues. “What if one of the companies goes into liquidation, who will pay then?” queried the bench.

The top court also noted that the demand of Rs 4 lakh crore dues raised against PSUs like GAIL, Oil India Ltd, Powergrid, and Gujarat Narmada Valley Project was not reasonable.

“How the demand was raised on the basis of our judgment with respect to public sector undertakings when the licenses were different and the judgment never dealt with the issue of public sector undertakings and their agreements are quite different,” the bench asked the SG.

The bench noted that it is apparent that the licences are different and the October 2019 judgment, in this case, could not have been made the basis for raising the demand against PSUs. Even otherwise, the PSUs are not in the actual business of providing mobile services to the general public, added the bench.

“In the circumstances, let the Department of Telecom reconsider the demand that has been sprung, within three days from today, and on the next date of hearing report the compliance of the action taken on the basis of this order,” said the court.

Nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore dues have been calculated by the Central government, which is yet to be cleared by many telecom companies.

Vinny Arora: It is the age of digital medium

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Vinny Arora: It is the age of digital medium

After featuring in TV shows like “Saraswatichandra” and “Laado 2”, actress Vinny Arora is now seen in the web series, “Pati Patni Aur Woh”. She is excited to explore the new medium.

“We had shot for ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ in December 2018. It took a while to release but what better time than this, since everyone is home and free to watch,” she said.

On exploring the new medium, she shared: “It is the age of digital medium and I’m very excited to see myself on the new platform. Also, it’ll be interesting to know how it works since I’m new here.”

Talking about the show, she said: “The name is suggestive but the audience will have to watch and find out if I’m the ‘patni’ or ‘woh’. The character is the opposite of who I am as a person, so I guess it’ll be fun to watch.”

“This story takes a surprising turn eventually. That’s the part that interested me the most,” she added.

The series also stars Riya Sen and Anant Vidhaat.

Railways starts getting requests for Covid-19 isolation coaches

Telugu Bullet
-
0
Railways starts getting requests for Covid-19 isolation coaches

Finally, demand for isolation coaches prepared by the Indian Railways has started gaining momentum as the national transporter has received requests from Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi for the same.

The Indian Railways had transferred 5,231 coaches into isolation wards for novel coronavirus patients. In May this year, it was decided that these coaches will be stationed at 215 stations across the country.

A senior Railway Ministry official said on Thursday, “As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, few state governments have sent requisitions to the Indian Railways.”

The official said that the national transporter has received a request from Uttar Pradesh for stationing the isolation ward coaches at 24 stations in the state.

The official said that the Railways has also received requests for 60 isolation coaches to be a station at Secunderabad, Kachiguda nad Adilabad stations in Telangana.

The official further said that on the request of the Delhi government, 10 isolation coaches have been stationed at the Shakurbasti railway station.

On May 7, the Union Health Ministry had said that train coaches will be turned into coronavirus care centers and parked at 215 stations across the country as part of the preparation for a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country.

According to the Railway Ministry, these coaches can be used in areas where the state has exhausted the facilities and needs to augment capacities for isolation of both suspects and confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The Railway Ministry official said that out of 215 stations, the Railways will provide healthcare facilities in 85 stations. “In the rest 130 stations, states to requisition Covid-19 care coaches only if they are able to provide staff and essential medicines,” he said.

He said the railways has kept 158 stations ready with watering and charging facility and 57 stations with watering facility for the Covid-19 care centres.

1...1,6501,6511,652...2,191Page 1,651 of 2,191