New Delhi, May 31: The cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy that proposes to abolish roaming charges on mobile phones and allow users to retain the same number across the country.
The cabinet approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, a senior minister told reporters after the meeting of the cabinet.
The NTP 2012 aims to provide free roaming to telecom users and allow them to retain the mobile number even outside their circles without having to pay any extra charge.
Dehradun, Jun 13: Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane on Saturday said the country is passing through difficult times and its safety and honour depend on the ability of its young officers as military leaders.
Addressing gentlemen cadets at the Indian Military Academy here as the reviewing officer of a passing out parade, Gen Naravane said they are being commissioned as officers into the army under the most daunting of circumstances and the high standards of their military training will help them overcome the challenges lying in store for them.
The parade saw a total of 423 cadets being commissioned into the army including 333 from the country and 90 from friendly foreign countries.
"These are difficult times for the country. Its safety, honour and respect depend on your abilities as military leaders. You have to live up to the expectations of your countrymen. You have to ensure that whatever you do is for their welfare," he said.
The army chief said there are no good or bad regiments but only good officers.
"Become one with your men. Win their trust and affection and they will win battles for you," Naravane said.
He asked the gentlemen cadets to throw themselves into their new role as commissioned officers with passion but also be compassionate towards their men.
"When the going gets tough and all seems lost, it is the spirit of your men that helps you win," he said.
He said the gentlemen cadets who are taking their first step as commissioned officers will have to make decisions in the tactical and operational domain as well as resolve ethical issues and they will have only their conscience to guide them.
"In such critical moments let the core values enshrined in the preamble of the constitution of India be your guiding light," the Army Chief said.
Asking them to rise above petty considerations of caste, creed and religion, he said the army does not discriminate.
Apart from containing the external threats, you may also have to defang internal forces out to destabilise the country.
He said the precise drill movements of the cadets had convinced him they will do their respective countries proud.
"In the autumn of your careers what will matter is not the position you finally attain but how honourably you have served your nation," he said.
In a message to the gentlemen cadets' parents, who were not allowed to attend the event due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Army Chief said, "Till yesterday they (gentlemen cadets) were your children but from tomorrow they will be ours."
He promised to be with them through thick and thin.
The parade looked slightly off-colour this time with the enthusiastic crowds of parents and some usual features missing like the showering of the drill square with flower petals by helicopters.
New Delhi, Jul 25: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of benefitting by making profits during the coronavirus-induced lockdown when people were in trouble.
He tagged a news report that claimed the Indian Railways was making profit by running 'Shramik trains' for transporting migrants during the pandemic.
"There are clouds of disease and people are in trouble, but one seeks to benefit -- this anti-people government is converting a disaster into profits and is earning," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
The news report claimed that the railways made a profit of Rs 428 crore by running Shramik special trains during the lockdown that transported migrants to their native places.
In another tweet, he lauded the efforts of the Himachal government in conducting a survey to select 'one district, one product', saying he had suggested this sometime back.
"This is a good idea. I had suggested it some time back. Its implementation will need a complete change of mindset," he said on Twitter.
He also tagged a report that stated the state Industries Department is conducting a baseline survey in all districts to select one district, one product for centrally-sponsored Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP).
New Delhi, Jan 10: One woman reported a rape every 15 minutes on average in India in 2018, according to government data released on Thursday, underlining its dismal reputation as one of the worst places in the world to be female.
The highly publicised gang rape and murder of a woman in a bus in New Delhi in 2012 brought tens of thousands onto the streets across India and spurred demands for action from film stars and politicians, leading to harsher punishments and new fast-track courts. But the violence has continued unabated.
Women reported almost 34,000 rapes in 2018, barely changed from the year before. Just over 85% led to charges, and 27% to convictions, according to the annual crime report released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Women's rights groups say crimes against women are often taken less seriously, and investigated by police lacking insensitivity.
"The country is still run by men, one (female prime minister) Indira Gandhi is not going to change things. Most judges are still men," said Lalitha Kumaramangalam, former chief of the National Commission for Women.
"There are very few forensic labs in the country, and fast-track courts have very few judges," said Kumaramangalam, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The rape of a teenager in 2017 by former BJP state legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar gained national attention when the accuser tried to kill herself the following year, accusing the police of inaction.
Five months before Sengar was convicted last December, the accuser's family had to be provided with security after a truck crashed into the car she was in, injuring her and killing two of her relatives.
A 2015 study by the Centre for Law & Policy Research in Bengaluru found that fast-track courts were indeed quicker, but did not handle a high volume of cases.
And a study in 2016 by Partners for Law in Development in New Delhi found that they still took an average of 8.5 months per case - more than four times the recommended period.
The government statistics understate the number of rapes as it is still considered a taboo to report rape in some parts of India and because rapes that end in the murder are counted purely as murders.
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