If UP is defecation-free in 10 years, I will accept Sai Baba is alive: Ramesh

September 18, 2012

ramesh

New Delhi, September 18: “If Uttar Pradesh becomes open defecation-free in 10 years, I can accept that Sai Baba is alive,” Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said expressing doubts about the state achieving the complete Nirmal status in next 10 years.

Mr. Ramesh, who is also the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, also said the issue of sanitation should become a “political agenda” in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to execute the Government’s declared policy that India will be made open defecation free by 2022.

“In Haryana, out of 6,700 Gram Panchayats, 1,700 have become Nirmal Gram Panchayat. The way the programme is being run in Haryana is encouraging. The Chief Minister has assured me that by 2014, all the Gram Panchayats will be Nirmal Gram Panchayat. In Himachal Pradesh, I expect that by March 2013, all the Gram Panchayats will be Nirmal Gram Panchayat.

Vigorously pushing the agenda of sanitation, he said “an army of volunteers” comprising the three crore members of women self-help groups, over 8 lakh ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) volunteers and 13 lakh anganwadi workers to spread the awareness of hygene through the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan campaign in rural areas of the country.

The Minister said he was trying to “de-bureaucratise” the sanitation movement and make it a national movement.

“There is too much bureaucratic movement right now. How to make it a people’s movement? How to make it a national obsession? That is what my concern is,” Mr. Ramesh said.

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News Network
May 2,2020

New Delhi, May 2: With 2,293 new cases in the last 24 hours, the highest number of cases in a single day, India's COVID-19 tally reached 37,336 on Saturday, including 1,218 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
As many as 71 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Out of the total number, 9,951 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

In the state of Maharashtra, the number of coronavirus positive cases has crossed the 10,000-mark with at least 485 deaths.

The positive cases in Maharashtra has reached 11,506, including 1,879 discharged cases.

After Maharashtra, Gujarat has the most number of COVID-19 cases (4,721). The state has reported 236 deaths, while 735 people have been discharged.

The Centre on Friday extended the ongoing nationwide lockdown for two more weeks with effect from May 4 till May 17 while allowing different sets of relaxations in red, orange and green zones.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Sopore, Jul 1: Police rescued a three-year-old boy from getting hit by bullets during a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan and a civilian lost their lives after terrorists fired upon a CRPF patrolling party in Sopore.

Two of the injured CRPF jawans are known to be in critical condition. Three CRPF personnel were also injured in the attack, as per CRPF.

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May 13,2020

New Delhi, May 13: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address a press conference in New Delhi at 4 pm on Wednesday.

The information regarding the press conference by the Union Finance Minister was given through a tweet by the Ministry of Finance today morning.

Sitharaman's press conference comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced USD 265 billion fiscal stimulus to deal with COVID-19 situation in the country. The package is the second largest in Asia after Japan.

"I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.' The announcements made by the government over COVID, decisions of RBI and today's package totals to Rs 20 lakh crore (USD 265 billion). This is 10 per cent of India's GDP," the Prime Minister said in his address to the nation on Tuesday.

"This economic package is for our small-scale industries, MSMEs, which are the means of livelihood of crores of people and is the strong base of our resolve for self-reliant India. To prove the resolve of self-reliant India, the emphasis has been given on land, labour, liquidity and laws, in this package," he added.

The PM had also said that the economic package is for "the country's workers, farmers, who are working hard day and night for the countrymen in every season. This economic package is for the middle class of our country, who pays tax honestly and contributes to the development of the country."

He had announced that the fourth phase of the nationwide COVID-19 induced lockdown would be in "new form with new rules."

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