Kerala tops Niti's SDG Index, Bihar worst performer

Agencies
December 30, 2019

New Delhi, Dec 30: Kerala retained the top rank while Bihar was adjudged as the worst performer in Niti Aayog's SDG India Index 2019, which evaluates progress of States and Union Territories on social, economic and environmental parameters, as per a report released on Monday.

According to 'SDG India Index 2019', Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have shown maximum improvement, but states like Gujarat have not shown any progress vis-a-vis 2018 rankings.

"Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 70. Chandigarh too maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 70.

Himachal Pradesh took the second spot while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana shared the third spot, the report said.

Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are the worst performing states in this year's Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"The United Nations' SDG target of 2030 can never be met without India... We are fully committed to achieving UN's SDG target," Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said at the launch of the report.

Speaking at the event, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said southern states have done well in health.

"West Bengal (rank 14) has also done well in Niti Aayog's SDG Index 2019, but given the education level(in the state), West Bengal should be in top 3 performing states," Kumar added.

According to the report, India's composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019 with major success in water and sanitation, power and industry.

However, nutrition and gender continue to be problem areas for India, requiring more focussed approach from the government.

The report said while three out of five states in the top spots perform equal to or better than the country average on 12 goals, the other two states do the same on 11 goals.

"Only three states were placed in the category of Front Runners (with a score in the range 65-99, including both) in 2018 - Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

"In 2019, five more states joined this league - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Sikkim and Goa, taking the total tally to eight," it noted.

With regard to poverty reduction, states which have done well include Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim.

On 'zero hunger' parameters, Goa, Mizoram, Kerala, Nagaland and Manipur were the front runners, according to the report.

The SDG India Index, launched last year by Niti Aayog with the help of United Nations took into account 16 out of 17 goals specified by the United Nations as SDGs .

The Index this year ranked states based on 54 targets spread over 100 indicators out of 306 outlined by the UN.

The first report, which was launched in 2018 had 13 goals and 39 indicators.

The year 2020 will be the fifth anniversary of the adoption of SDGs by 193 countries at the UN General Assembly.

The SDGs, constituted through an unprecedented consultative process, have 17 goals and 169 related targets to be achieved by 2030.

The SDGs are an ambitious commitment by world leaders which set out a universal and an unprecedented agenda which embraces economic, environmental and social aspects of the wellbeing of societies.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday met JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh here at Kerala House on Saturday.

This meeting comes at the backdrop masked mob violence by miscreants who entered the university campus recently and attacked the students and professors with sticks and rods.

"I thank the Kerela government for standing by us and extending solidarity. Its fight Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) shows how standing is standing for its secular ethos. Students Union takes the inspiration from this struggle," said Students' Union President in a statement after meeting Kerala CM.

She also thanked "the youth and comrades of Kerela" and quoted Pinarayi as saying, "go on we will take this fight ahead."

More than 30 students, including Ghosh, were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the case of violence in JNU had identified and released photographs of nine suspects, including that of Aishe Ghosh.

Earlier on Monday, Kerala CM had said that the "Nazi-style attack" on the students and faculty is an appalling display of intolerance running amok.

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News Network
August 3,2020

Indore, Aug 3: In a bizarre development, the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to an accused in a sexual harassment case on the condition that he will request the victim to tie a ‘rakhi’ on him with a promise to protect her “to the best of his ability for all times to come”.

Justice Rohit Arya on July 30 also ordered the man to pay Rs 11,000 to the complainant as a “customary ritual usually offered by brothers to sisters” on Raksha Bandhan and seek her blessings while visiting her with his wife and a box of sweets. “The applicant shall also tender Rs 5,000 to the son of the complainant for purchase of clothes and sweets,” the order said.

The court directed the accused to take photographs and receipts of payment made to the victim and her son, which should be filed through his lawyer for placing on record of the case before the Registry.

The victim, a resident of Ujjain district, had alleged that her neighbour, Vikram Bagri, entered her house and sexually harassed her on April 20. The police registered a case under Sections 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 354 (A) (Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The order said the man, in jail for more than two months, was released on bail, on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with “one solvent surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court, on the condition that he shall remain present before the court concerned during trial,” and comply with conditions under Section 437 (3) of CrPC, along with other conditions.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress leader Sachin Sawant on Thursday said that the same BJP who tried to pressurise government lawyers so that the accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case, Samjhauta express case can be let off are now demanding that there should be a re-investigation in the 26/11 terror attacks, this is the biggest irony.

"By demanding that the case be re-investigated the BJP which gave a ticket to Pragya Thakur who was accused in the Malegaon blast case, has insulted all those brave police, the army who fought bravely. BJP should apologise to all those people," he said.

"If the BJP were serious about re-investigating the case why didn't they do it when they were in power in the state and the Centre? Was the government sleeping for the last five years? asked Maharashtra Congress committee's general secretary, Sachin Sawant.

"Rather than this, the BJP should ask for a fair inquiry in the incident where a Kashmir police officer Davindar Singh was caught in the company of terrorists and also, the role of the Sangh Parivar in the Malegaon Blasts," said Sawant.

Sawant said that BJP has crossed all limits while lying and it has stooped to the lowest levels of political discourse and is not thinking twice before defaming the Opposition.

In the book written by the retired police officer Rakesh Maria doesn't have anything other than what was there in the charge sheet on Ajmal Kasab. In his confession, Kasab has said that he was given an ID card with a Hindu name and also a red coloured thread by the Lashkar-e-taiba.

Because of this forged identity, they would be able to dodge the police. All these details have been clearly mentioned in the Kasab's confession.

Maria has mentioned in his book that if Kasab was not caught alive, the media would have declared him as a Hindu. Maria hasn't said that there was any kind of government pressure or any other conspiracy behind it. He was only talking about the media and also given all the details in the charge sheet. The BJP is only using this as a political tool in their low-class politics.

The leader added that, "The letter written by BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar to CM Uddhav Thackeray has crossed all limits of lying. The Congress government in Maharashtra had formed a committee under retired home secretary Ram Pradhan to probe the 26/11 attack."

On the basis of an interview given by Ram Pradhan to a national daily on the 10th anniversary of the 26/11, he has levelled baseless allegations on former Central Home minister P Chidambaram, he added.

Bhatkhalkar in his letter has said that Chidambaram had asked Ram Pradhan to not to disclose the local connection that was found in the conspiracy. In fact, there is no such mention in the interview given by Ram Pradhan. Pradhan has said in the interview that Chidambaram wanted to see the report. Hence along with the report, some sensitive information was sent to the department separately and those were overlooked. After some time news related to David Headley had surfaced.

Ram Pradhan committee was not set up by the Centre but was set up by the state government and so it was not mandatory for the Centre to inform Ram Pradhan whether cognisance was taken regarding the sensitive information.

"In was during the Congress government that the first terrorist was caught alive due to the bravery of the police force and after following all the due procedures a verdict to hang him was given," said Sawant..

"Everyone has appreciated India's legal system in which even a terrorist was allowed to give his side," he added.

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