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As Left decides to wait and watch, NCP hints at backing Pranab

May 5, 2012

President_PollNew Delhi, May 5: Left parties on Friday decided to watch the unfolding scenario before finalising their stand on the presidential election, even as sources in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) indicated that the party preferred Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the All-India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party met here for informal discussions and decided to initiate consultations with secular parties in the Opposition before taking a stand.

“The Left parties held a preliminary discussion on the… presidential election. It would be better if there is a wide agreement on a candidate… The Left parties decided to consult… other secular Opposition parties before taking a final stand…,” a joint statement said.

The meeting came hours after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat met Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh. The latter met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.

“The bottom line is everybody has decided to wait and watch,” a senior Left leader told The Hindu. The four parties decided to meet again later this month. After discussions among themselves and outside, it was concluded that it would be better to wait for the Congress to come up with a proposal.

General secretaries of the Left parties Prakash Karat, S. Sudhakar Reddy, Debabrata Biswas and T.J. Chandrachoodan, and senior leaders A.B. Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury, S. Ramachandran Pillai and D. Raja attended the meeting.

Informed sources said while Mr. Mulayam Singh indicated that no names were suggested to him by the Congress, Ms. Banerjee told him that while consultations should continue, it was too early to take up individual names for consideration.

After the meeting, Mr. Bardhan told journalists, “We have not zeroed in on any name… Do not try to impose any name on me,” he said, when asked whether the Left parties would back Mr. Mukherjee.

Besides the Samajwadi Party, the sources said, the Left parties decided to consult the Biju Janata Dal, the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (Secular).

BJD leader and MP Bharatruhari Mahtab said while the party was discussing the issue with its MPs, it would take a formal view only after the Congress proposed a name. “Time has not yet come to take a firm view.”

A senior NCP leader said both the UPA and the NDA did not have the numbers to get their choice of candidates elected and would have to depend on allies.

The party believed that the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and other non-political candidates were out of the contention.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday lowered interest rate on provident fund deposits to 8.5 per cent for the current financial year, said Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Thursday.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest on EPF for 2018-19 to its around six crore subscribers. The decision was taken at a meeting of the the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision making body -- the Central Board of Trustee.

"The EPFO has decided to provide 8.5 per cent interest rate on EPF deposits for 2019-20 in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) meeting today," Gangwar told reporters after the meeting here.

Now, the labour ministry requires the finance ministry's concurrence on the matter. Since the Government of India is the guarantor, the finance ministry has to vet the proposal for EPF interest rate to avoid any liability on account of shortfall in the EPFO income for a fiscal.

The finance ministry has been nudging the labour ministry for aligning the EPF interest rate with other small saving schemes run by the government like the public provident fund and post office saving schemes.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest to its subscribers for 2016-17 and 8.55 per cent in 2017-18. The rate of interest was slightly higher at 8.8 per cent in 2015-16.

It had given 8.75 per cent rate of interest in 2013-14 as well as 2014-15, higher than 8.5 per cent for 2012-13.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has won from New Delhi assembly seat. He polled 46,758 votes, which is 61.1 per cent of total votes polled in the high profile constituency.

Kejriwal defeated Sunil Kumar Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who polled 25,061 votes, which is 32.75 per cent of total votes polled. Congress candidate Romesh Sabhawarl could get only 3,220 votes.

So far, the AAP has won 55 seats and is leading on seven seats. The BJP has won seven seats and is leading on two. The Congress is nowhere in the reckoning.

As per the details on the website of Election Commission of India at 8.27 pm on Tuesday, the AAP has secured 53.60 per cent votes, BJP 38.49 per cent, BSP 0.71 per cent, CPI 0.02 per cent, CPI-M 0.01 per cent, Congress 4.27 per cent, JDU 0.90 per cent, LJP 0.35 per cent, NCP 0.02 per cent, and NOTA 0.46 per cent.

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Agencies
May 19,2020

Lucknow, May 19: The administration of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) has ordered a probe into the cardiac procedure conducted on a corona positive patient in the hospital.

The patient underwent a cardiac procedure without being tested for corona before the surgery. He later tested positive for COVID-19, leading to panic among the staff and other patients.

The medical staff that came in contact with the patient were quarantined on Monday while the area was sanitized.

As per orders from the State Medical Education Department, even in emergency cases, patients are to be screened for Covid-19 before procedures are done.

According to the SGPGI administration, the incident took place late on Sunday night.

In an official statement, director, Prof R.K. Dhiman said, "The 63-year-old patient was a case of complete cardiac blockage and needed an urgent temporary pacemaker. The patient was admitted to the holding area of the institute and later shifted to the MICU for permanent pace making."

He said that when the patient's corona status was found to be positive on the Hospital Information System, she was shifted to the Rajdhani COVID Hospital.

The Director said, "Though the involved areas have been sanitized and healthcare workers were quarantined as per protocol, a probe has been ordered to investigate the lapses."

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