Mangaluru Udyoga Mela for unemployed youth on Nov 19, 20

Bengaluru, Jan 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed states, which have not enrolled with the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana (PMKSY), saying that such petty politics has done great damage to the farming community.

"I expect that in the new year, those states which are not associated with the Kisan Samman Yojana will at least become a part of it this year," the Prime Minister said at a function in Tumakuru where he disbursed Rs 12,000 crore to six crore beneficiaries under the government scheme in one-go.

Also, he gave away the Krishi Karman Award to the selected farmers and distributed fishing equipment to the chosen ones on the occasion. Modi said political considerations by the state governments in implementing the PMKSY has caused severe loss to the poor farmers.

"Such politics has never strengthened the farmers. Our government understood your (farmers') needs, requirements and your aspirations and accordingly tried to implement the schemes," said Modi.

He further said his government never saw agriculture in fragments but in its totality. Claiming his government has ensured that the entire money reached the poor beneficiaries, Prime Minister hit out at the previous governments, when middlemen ruled the roost.

"There was a time when a rupee was rolled out (by the government) for the poor person, only 15 paise would reach him. The middlemen would pocket the remaining 85 paise. "Today, whatever money is dispatched from Delhi, the entire amount directly reaches the bank account of the beneficiary," he said.

He told the gathering about the various initiatives taken by his government to improve the agriculture sector such as completing the pending irrigation schemes, soil health card and 100 per cent neem-coating in urea.

Due to the initiatives of the government, agriculture production has gone up, he said. Speaking about measures in the fisheries sector, the Prime Minister said the sector has been promoted in the villages, financial help given to fishermen, modernisation of boats and building fisheries-related infrastructure have been done.

Bengaluru, Apr 17: Forty-four new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the State till now, said Karnataka's Health Department on Friday.

"44 new COVID-19 cases reported in the State from 5 pm Thursday to 5 pm on Friday. The total number of positive cases in the State is 359 including 13 deaths and 88 discharges," said the Health Department.

Meanwhile, a meeting was convened to review the situation on the rising cases of coronavirus in the State. According to Karnataka Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the meeting was attended by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Home Minister Basavaraja Bommai, Health Minister B Sriramulu, and Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan.

The CMO said: "Earlier we used to do 500 tests per day. Now we are doing 2,000 tests. The suggestion was made to take care of the people who are in the ICU to prevent death. It was suggested and planned to work out a protocol for the treatment of COVID-19 patients all over the state."

The meeting also stressed the need for plasma treatment. Experts opined that people having influenza-like symptoms like fever, cold, breathlessness, etc., need to get tested for COVID 19.

The CMO said: "Officers were directed to conduct tests of the people with influenza-like symptoms in the districts where nil cases have been reported. ICMR has issued circular to set up two labs in each district and one lab in each medical college. In this direction, efforts are being made to set up 10 more labs in the State by the end of April."

"It was also decided to be prepared for treating an increased number of patients after relaxing in lockdown. It was also decided to issue guidelines to companies that would start working after relaxing lockdown. It was also decided to appeal to people to download Arogya Setu App. We will meet on April 21 again to decide further course of action," added the CMO.

United Nations, Jul 25: UN report on terrorism has warned that there are “significant numbers” of ISIS terrorists in Kerala and Karnataka, noting that the al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent terror group, which reportedly has between 150 and 200 militants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, is planning attacks in the region.

The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities said that the al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under the Taliban umbrella from Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.

“The group reportedly has between 150 and 200 members from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan. The current leader of AQIS is Osama Mahmood…, who succeeded the late Asim Umar… AQIS is reportedly planning retaliation operations in the region to avenge the death of its former leader,” it said.

According to the report, “One member state reported that the ISIL Indian affiliate (Hind Wilayah), which was announced on May 10, 2019, has between 180 and 200 members”.

It said that there are “significant numbers of ISIL operatives in Kerala and Karnataka states.”

In May last year, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terror group claimed to have established a new "province" in India, the first of its kind announcement that came after clashes between militants and security forces in Kashmir.

The dreaded terror outfit, through its Amaq News Agency, had said that the Arabic name of the new branch is "Wilayah of Hind" (India Province).

A senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer had rejected the claim.

Previously, ISIS attacks in Kashmir were linked to its so-called Khorasan Province branch, which was set up in 2015 to cover "Afghanistan, Pakistan and nearby lands".