Chargesheet filed against BJP MP Gautam Gambhir in cheating case

New Delhi, May 6: Around 39 crore people have received financial assistance of Rs 34,800 crore amid the COVID-19 lockdown under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) as on May 5, the government said in a statement.

These people received the assistance, which was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 to protect them from the impact of the lockdown due to COVID 19, via digital payment infrastructure.

The swift implementation of the free food grain and cash payment package under PMGKP is being continuously monitored by Central and state governments. Also, Fintech and digital technology have been employed for swift and efficient transfer to the beneficiary.

As per the data provided by the government, Rs 16,394 crore front-loaded towards payment of the first installment of PM-KISAN was provided to 8.19 crore beneficiaries.

Rs 10,025 crore credited to 20.05 crore (98.33 per cent) women Jan Dhan account holders as first installment and Rs 2,785 crore credited to 5.57 crore women in the second installment.

Further, Rs 1,405 crore was disbursed to about 2.82 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons and Rs 3,492.57 crore financial support was given to 2.20 crore building and construction workers.

Moreover, foodgrain has been distributed, covering 60.33 crore beneficiaries in all 36 Union Territories and states till April and 12.39 crore beneficiaries by 22 states/UTs for May. Pulses have been distributed so far to 5.21 crore household beneficiaries out of 19.4 crore such beneficiaries.

Over 5 crore cylinders have been booked under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and 4.82 crore free cylinders already delivered to beneficiaries.

While 9.6 lakh members of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken benefit of online withdrawal of non-refundable advance from EPFO account amounting to Rs 2,985 crore, 24 per cent EPF contribution transferred to 44.97 lakh employees account amounting to Rs 698 crore.

In the current financial year, 5.97 crore person's man-days of work generated under MNREGA scheme and Rs 21,032 crore were released to states to liquidate pending dues of both wage and material.

Insurance scheme for health workers in government hospitals and health care centres has been operationalised by New India Assurance covering 22.12 lakh health workers.

Tehran, Jun 29: Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly said Monday.

While Trump faces no danger of arrest, the charges underscore the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said Trump and more than 30 others whom Iran accuses of involvement in the Jan. 3 strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad face “murder and terrorism charges,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

Alqasimehr did not identify anyone else sought other than Trump, but stressed that Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after his presidency ends.

Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alqasimehr also was quoted as saying that Iran requested a “red notice” be put out for Trump and the others, which represents the highest level arrest request issued by Interpol. Local authorities end up making the arrests on behalf of the country that request it. The notices cannot force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, but can put government leaders on the spot and limit suspects’ travel.

After receiving a request, Interpol meets by committee and discusses whether or not to share the information with its member states. Interpol has no requirement for making any of the notices public, though some do get published on its website.

It is unlikely Interpol would grant Iran’s request as its guideline for notices forbids it from “undertaking any intervention or activities of a political” nature.

The U.S. killed Soleimani, who oversaw the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, and others in the January strike near Baghdad International Airport. It came after months of incidents raising tensions between the two countries and ultimately saw Iran retaliate with a ballistic missile strike targeting American troops in Iraq.