More than 58,000 veterans have failed to receive their pensions for April and they have promoted the defence ministry to intervene in the matter. They have requested the Centre to disburse their pending pension immediately. According to the ministry data, a total of 58,275 veterans have been devoid of their pension for the month of April. Reasons For Not Receiving Pensions The ministry said veterans did not receive their pensions due to not submitting their life certificates on the SPARSH platform. The cut-off date for submitting was March 31. Earlier, the last date for the mandatory submission of these certificates was November 2021, which was extended considering the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the ministry had directed the Defence Accounts Department to disburse the p...
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Prashant Kishor Turns Down Congress’ Offer To Join Party; Take A Look Back At His Association With Different Political Parties
Political strategist Prashant Kishor has turned down Congress’ offer to join as a part of its Empowered Action Group, dismissing the speculations regarding his possible entry into India’s grand old party. Reports suggest that the Congress party declined to give Kishor a free hand, despite acknowledging the need for a strategic transformation ahead of the 2024 general election. "I declined the generous offer of #congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections," Kishor said in a tweet. "In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added. A section of senior Congress leaders including Jairam Ramesh, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala
Read MorePrashant Kishor Declines To Join Congress Amid Party’s Reservations Over His Rejuvenating Plans
Political strategist Prashant Kishor has turned down the Congress’ offer to join the party as a member of its Empowered Action Group. Speculations were high that Kishor would join hands with the India’s grand old party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “I declined the generous offer of #congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms,” Kishor said in a tweet. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also announced Kishor’s decision to decline the offer to join the party. “Following a presentation & discussions with Sh. Prashant Kishor, Congress President has constituted a Em...
Read MoreUkraine Signs Legal Framework For Cryptocurrency After Receiving Millions Of Digital Donations
Ukraine has passed a law to legalise cryptocurrency in the country amid their high-tension confrontation with the Russian army against the invasion of their country. The bill to create a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry in Ukraine was adopted last month in their parliament. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it into law on March 16. This law will enable Ukrainian and foreign cryptocurrencies to exchange legally and allow crypto companies to open their bank accounts, according to Ukraine's digital transformation ministry. It determines the ownership, classification and legal status of virtual assets. “From now on, foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies. It is an important step towards...
Read MoreSexual Harassment Against Women In Workplace: Kerala HC Directs Film Industry To Follow POSH Act
Kerala High Court has urged organisations in the film industry on March 17 to constitute a joint committee to handle the sexual harassment cases against women pertaining to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The law, prevention of sexual harassment (POSH), was passed in 2013 by the Parliament and Kerala HC has ordered the film production units to follow it. The order came in the wake of public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Women in Cinema Collection (WCC) urging to set up a mechanism for grievance redressal in the body of Malayalam movie actors, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The POSH act is a broadened law of the Vishaka guidelines, that were laid down following a Supreme Court judgement in 1997...
Read MoreUP Election 2022: Officer Admits To “Lapse”, SP Shares Video On EVM Row
Samajwadi Party (SP) has tweeted a video where an election official was shown accepting there were "lapses" during the movement of electronic voting machines (EVM). The district commissioner of Varanasi Deepak Agarwal had accepted in front of the reporters that there was a lapse in following the protocol to move EVMs. He claimed that those voting machines were used for training purposes. "If you talk about the protocol for the movement of EVMs, there was a lapse in the protocol, I accept that. But I can guarantee you, it is impossible to take away machines used in voting," Agarwal said. According to sources, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered action against Agarwal over the issue. The SP chief and former chief minister of UP Akhilesh Yadav had earlier made a...
Read MoreWomen’s Day 2022: India Fails To Celebrate Womanhood, Fizzles To Criminalise Marital Rape
The term marital rape is self-explanatory which refers to non-consensual sexual intercourse of a man with his wife. However, the Indian judiciary fails to recognise this as a crime and protects a man from being prosecuted on charges of rape. "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape,” reads exception 2 of Section 375. This states that women in India are only protected when they are below 15 years of age, unmarried or separated. Either of the conditions has exceptions according to the Indian context. Criminalising marital rape has remained a burning topic in contemporary times as awareness around consent is increasing rapidly. Many are challenging marital rape more than ever. Amid growing conversati...
Read MoreThe stance of different parts of the world is being questioned almost two weeks after Russia began its military operation to invade Ukraine. So far, 9 out of 11 Southeast Asian nations have reprimanded Moscow for its impulsive action and called for peace during the UN General Assembly voting. However, a majority of nations from the region are tactically keeping themselves at arm's length from the crisis. Southeast Asian countries have participated in the resolution voting diplomatically. Russia's historic partners Vietnam and Laos have abstained. Singapore has rarely made decisions to impose sanctions on Russia. US's ally, The Philippines, has remained silent over the crisis situation. Call For Peace Without Taking Sides Leaders from many Southeast Asian countries have come forwar...
Read MoreExit Polls 2022: BJP To Record Clear Majority In UP, AAP In Punjab; Leaders Say Otherwise
The high-octave Assembly elections across five states have come to an end and the exit polls have been released. The polls have declared that BJP will win with a clear majority in Uttar Pradesh and AAP will surprisingly win in Punjab. In states such as Uttarakhand and Goa, the polls have predicted a neck-to-neck fight between BJP and Congress and the saffron camp is expected to make a clean sweep. The votes will be counted on March 10. Many have outrightly dismissed the exit polls. They are claiming that more often they go wrong and analysts and political leaders delivered their predictions. Activist and the co-founder of AAP Yogendra Yadav took to Twitter to congratulate Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. “The only firm conclusion that we can draw from exit polls so...
Read MoreManipur Elections: Nearly 77% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5 pm Amid Incidents Of Violence
Manipur recorded 76.04% voting till 5 pm on March 5 in the last phase of the Assembly elections. Some incidents of violence were reported from places before and after polling started. As many as two people were reportedly killed in the violence. One incident of killing was reported from Senapati district and the other in Thoubal district. The BJP candidate from the Karong seat reported the incident and said both were shot at "without proper reason." One of the killed was identified as Amuba Singh, who was a BJP worker. He was allegedly shot at by a Congress supporter. The election commission is waiting for a detailed report from the district election officer. The voting began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm on Saturday. The second and last phase of the election was conducted for 22 ...
Read MoreUkraine-Russia War: Indian Embassy Urges Stranded Students To Stay Inside, Centre Presses For Ceasefire
The situation of Indian students stranded amid continuous fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian forces has raised concerns for the Centre. The ministry of external affairs has urged students to stay inside and take safety precautions. In a message issued on March 5, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has assured students stranded in the northeastern city of Sumy that the authorities are looking for possible routes to evacuate them. "Discussed evacuation and identification of exit routes with all interlocutors including Red Cross. The control room will continue to be active until all our citizens are evacuated. Be safe, be strong," said the embassy. Around 800 students are stuck in Sumy and they have sent several SOS messages to get them evacuated as the city is being attacked....
Read MoreUP Assembly Elections: Political Heavyweights Round Up In Varanasi For Final Battle
The sweepstakes between the ruling BJP and the Opposition SP in Uttar Pradesh have reached their concluding stage. Both the parties are sparing no effort before the state goes to the polls in the final phase. The seventh phase in the UP Assembly election is important as one of the districts that will take part in the final round, Varanasi, belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency. PM Modi held a roadshow in Varanasi on March 4 to drum up support for the last time ahead of the last phase of the Assembly elections. He waved his hands from an open-roof vehicle as his convoy went past the crowd for three kilometres in the holy city. He garlanded the statues of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Madan Mohan Malviya. He also stopped for tea at a stall where he ...
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