Election Commission warns Oil Minister Veerappa Moily not to announce policy decisions during Gujarat elections

December 13, 2012

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New Delhi, December 13: The Election Commission warned Oil Minister Veerappa Moily for making policy announcement on increasing the subsidised cooking gas cylinder cap from six to nine a year.

Conveying its strong displeasure to Mr Moily through a letter, the panel said his announcement is a clear violation of poll code and asked him to be circumspect in future. Mr Moily had sent an explanation to the Election Commission earlier in the day on why he had announced that the government may increase the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders families are entitled to ahead of the elections in Gujarat. The poll panel met today evening and discussed Mr Moily's letter.

Yesterday, the Election Commission reprimanded Mr Moily for violating the model code of conduct by announcing a decision that could influence voters. The union minister had said that the government was considering raising the cap on discounted gas cylinders from six to nine per year. The Commission yesterday held an emergency meeting and ordered the government not to implement any new decisions till elections are completed.

In his response sent today, the minister said, "There has been widespread demand from all sections of society particularly women, including political parties cutting across party lines, both inside and outside the Parliament to increase the cap in supply of domestic LPG cylinders. ..the Government is yet to take a decision on the matter. As such my response to media queries explained above should not be treated as an announcement regarding the decision of the government."

In September, in an attempt to reign in massive subsidy bills, the government said that families would get six subsidized cooking gas cylinders a year. The reform was among three new policies that led to Mamata Banerjee exiting the Prime Minister's coalition, leaving the government in a minority.

The move has upset not just the opposition but the Prime Minister's Congress party as well, with many leaders pointing out that the new policy, likely to upset voters, comes just as important states are choosing their next government.

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News Network
March 2,2020

New Delhi, Mar 2: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a curative petition filed by convict Pawan Kumar Gupta who was sentenced to death in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said that no case is made out for re-examining the conviction and the punishment of the convict.

Other members of the bench were justices Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

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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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News Network
June 27,2020

Hyderabad, Jun 27: Ahead nurse working with a state-run hospital here died on Friday while undergoing treatment for COVID-19, a hospital official said.

The nurse, who was due to retire this month-end, tested positive about 10 days ago, he said.

The woman, who had been on medical leave for about 20 days, is suspected to have contracted the virus when she attended a private function in a neighbouring district, he said.

She was treated at the hospital for two days after she was found positive for COVID-19.

However, she was shifted to another government hospital as the symptoms continued unabated and sugar levels were high, he said.

The woman, who had comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension, died today.

Meanwhile, about 20 healthcare personnel, including doctors and paramedical staff, have so far tested positive for COVID-19 at the state-run Gandhi hospital, according to a hospital official.

He also said that there are around 50 patients whose family members have not come forward to take them home though the patients can be in home quarantine.

Family members have cited reasons such as residents not allowing a positive patient to return to the villages and presence of children at residences, for not taking them home, he added.

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