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Mullaperiyar dam: Jayalalithaa questions Centre for entertaining Kerala's request

June 11, 2015

Chennai, Jun 11: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has questioned the Centre for "entertaining" Kerala's request for approving environment study to construct a new dam at Mullaperiyar in her state, saying it was in contravention to the Supreme Court order.

JayalalithaaIn a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said the approval of Terms of Reference to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar, was in "gross violation" of a Supreme Court order on this issue.

She also sought Modi's intervention in the matter.

In a letter dated June 10, Jayalalithaa said this was in "violation of the Constitution Bench Order of the Supreme Court," as Kerala was seeking Centre's approval" for the Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of the new dam in place of the existing structure.

Kerala's act was in "utter contempt" of the May 2014 Supreme Court order which had held that the existing Mullaperiyar Dam was structurally, hydrologically and seismically safe and had "negatived in unequivocal terms, the offer of Kerala for the construction of a new Mullaperiyar Dam", she said.

Kerala's review petition on this issue had also been dismissed and a "finality" reached on the matter but the state government was "seeking to subvert" the apex court order by "stealth", seeking approval of the Terms of Reference to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment study, she said.

The Tamil Nadu government's interlocutory application in Supreme Court seeking to restrain Kerala from conducting the study was scheduled to come up next month, Jayalalithaa said in the letter which was released by the government today.

At this juncture, it was "understood" that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, had, in a meeting, examined the Terms of Reference suggested by Kerala for conducting the study for construction of a new Mullaperiyar Dam, she said.

She said the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, has informed vide the Press Information Bureau's press release dated 4.6.2015, that no approval has been granted for carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of a new Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki District of Kerala.

However,".... I would like to point out that the very fact of entertaining the Government of Kerala's request and considering the same by the Government of India for approving the Terms of Reference to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the construction of a new dam is itself a gross violation of the Decree and Order of the Supreme Court dated 7.5.2014."

"In fact, the Government of India should have desisted from entertaining and considering the proposal and ought to have remitted the proposal back to the Government of Kerala," she said.

Under "these circumstances", Jayalalithaa sought Modi's personal intervention, requesting him to instruct the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change and its agencies, "to desist from entertaining and considering the proposal of Kerala government in future and also to negative to the proposal and return it to Kerala."

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Agencies
February 6,2020

New Delhi, Feb 6: Unemployment rate in the country as per a new survey was 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Labour Santosh Gangwar said the government is conducting a new Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) with new parameters and bigger sample size, and its results cannot be compared with previous surveys in this regard.

"As per the new Periodic Labour Force Survey being conducted by the government, the labour force participation is 36.9 per cent and the rate of unemployment for 2017-18 is 6.1 per cent," he said.

Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister said the report of this survey is very different than the surveys conducted in previous years.

This survey is not comparable to previous surveys, he said, adding it was an attempt to provide authentic data with the new survey conducted through the Ministry of Statistics.

"We are focusing on infrastructure development and ease of doing business and India's position in the world has improved. India has improved its position to 63rd rank now in 2019 against 196 in previous years," he said.

"Our government is very conscious of creating employment opportunities and is running such programme which generates employment.

"The way our government is functioning, employment opportunities are being created and the youths are getting jobs also," the minister said.

Gangwar said the government has stopped the previous survey as the sample size was low and an attempt is being made to improve the data by adding various parameters and provide more authentic data.

The minister said it will take time for collection of data as households have to be visited on the ground for authentic data collection in rural areas also.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Mumbai, Jul 30: Counterfeiting incidents have increased 24 per cent in the country in 2019 over the previous year, creating an over Rs 1 lakh crore hole in the economy, according to a report.

The report also said counterfeiters are having a free run due to the pandemic-driven disruptions to organised supply chains and the resultant spike in consumer demand.

According to the report by ASPA, a self-regulated industry body of anti-counterfeiting and traceability solutions providers, counterfeiting has risen steadily in the last few years, and exploiting the pandemic as a cover for their activities.

Between February and April 2020, over 150 incidents of counterfeiting cases were reported, mostly about fake PPE kits, sanitisers and masks taking advantage of the high demand for these products, it noted.

"There was a 24 per cent increase in counterfeiting in 2019 over 2018, leading to the loss of more than Rs 1 lakh crore to the overall economy," said Nakul Pasricha, president of Authentication Solution Providers Association.

The association works with global authorities like the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau of the Interpol, and domestic industry lobbies like Ficci, he said.

Counterfeiting is a universal issue and is 3.3 per cent of global trade, according to the OECD data, impacting social and economic development across the world.

The report lists the currency, FMCG, alcohol, pharma, documents, agriculture, infrastructure, automotive, tobacco, lifestyle and apparel, as the 10 sectors impacted most by counterfeiting.

Among these, currency, alcohol and FMCG continue to be the top three sectors with the highest counterfeiting in the last two years. The FMCG sector is most vulnerable, as counterfeit incidents rose 63 per cent between 2018 (79) and 2019 when the reported cases jumped to 129.

Within the states, the fakers have a free run in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand, calling for urgent actions to frame anti-counterfeiting policy measures.

According to the report, UP continues to be on top followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and together these three states represent almost 45 per cent of all counterfeiting reported in the last two years.

What is more alarming is that counterfeiting is not limited to high-end luxury items today, as common everyday items as fake cumin seeds, mustard cooking oil, ghee, hair oils, soaps, baby care vaccines and medicines are aplenty in the markets.

"There is an urgent need for building and nurturing authentication ecosystems in the country with the active involvement and active participation of all stakeholders," said Pasricha.

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News Network
July 17,2020

New Delhi, Jul 17: With the highest single-day spike of 34,956 cases, and 687 deaths, India's COVID-19 positive cases crossed the 10 lakh mark on Friday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total positive cases stand at 10,03,832 including 3,42,473 active cases, 6,35,757 cured/discharged/migrated and 25,602 deaths, according to the Ministry.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the infection -- has a total of 2,84,281 COVID-19 cases and 11,194 fatalities.

While Tamil Nadu has a tally of 1,56,369 cases and 2,236 deaths due to COVID-19.
Delhi has reported a total of 1,18,645 cases and 3,545 deaths due to COVID-19. 

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