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Pay panel a vote magnet? Congress trying to woo middle class

September 26, 2013

Pay_panelNew Delhi, Sep 26: The Congress trumpeted the constitution of seventh pay commission as another of its welfare measures in line with land and food bills, in what appeared a thinly-veiled attempt to milk the olive branch to government employees at the upcoming state and Lok Sabha polls.

The surprise decision on the pay commission targetting middle-classes comes on the back of legislations to win over the poor and the sudden urgency in Congress establishment to facilitate new alliances: clear evidence that the ruling party has hit poll mode.

The belief is that tough reforms are over for good in UPA-2 and the ruling camp would try the time-tested sops to win electoral favour.

Not surprisingly, Congress patted the leadership for bringing the pay panel just ahead of festivals while slamming NDA for not doing so in 2003 when the sixth commission was due. "It has brought happiness to lakhs of people," AICC spokesman Raj Babbar said, adding it would benefit 80 lakh people.

With the Centre having rushed to pass the land and food bills as 'aam aadmi' sops earlier, the Centre has now picked on middle classes -- the pay panel coinciding with assurance from petroleum minister Veerappa Moily that there would be no hike in petrol prices.

The importance of the new step in bolstering urban constituencies is evident from how AICC general secretary Ajay Maken first made the demand for pay panel in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this March. His New Delhi constituency, populated by government servants, is especially susceptible to such overtures.

Besides the electorate, rural and urban, Congress has moved with alacrity to woo regional satraps -- the Cabinet on Tuesday passed an ordinance to save convicted MPs from disqualification, aimed at appeasing Lalu Prasad who faces a final verdict in the infamous fodder scam on September 30.

The Centre's hidden hand is seen in the sudden softening of enforcement agencies facilitating the bail for YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy: an olive branch to the rebellious Reddy.

Many believe that Bihar may also get the tag of "backward state" ahead of polls that would open up the Congress option with JD(U) in the crucial state.

The urgency in Congress ranks appears to stem from the realisation that 2014 as well as end-year assembly polls would be a tough test. The decision on pay panel seems an acknowledgment that Delhi polls may be a challenge this time.

Observers say that central pay panel also has an effect on state employees since it brings pressure on the states governments to follow suit. The public employees and teachers are believed to play a big role in influencing the opinion of voters.

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News Network
June 6,2020

United Nations, Jun 6: The COVID-19 pandemic, which has presented challenges for several nations, could be an “opportunity” for India to speed up the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary healthcare, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.

WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was responding to a question on the COVID-19 situation in India, where the number of coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly. India went past Italy on Friday to become the sixth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic.

India saw a record single-day jump of 9,887 coronavirus cases and 294 deaths on Saturday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,36,657 and the death toll to 6,642, according to the health ministry.

"Of course COVID is very unfortunate and it's challenging for many nations but we need to look for opportunities too. For instance for India, this could be an opportunity to speed up Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary health care. I know there is a very strong commitment from the government to speed up the implementation of Ayushman Bharat and with primary healthcare and community engagement, I think we can really turn the tide,” Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest health insurance scheme and was launched by the Narendra Modi government in 2018. Last month, Modi had said that the number of people who have benefited from the scheme crossed the one crore-mark.

The scheme aims to cover more than 500 million beneficiaries and provide coverage of Rs 500,000 per family per year.

Referring to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, Ghebreyesus added that “using and speeding up what has started could actually help in India and that's what WHO was very appreciative by the way when Ayushman Bharat started. And this could be a very good opportunity actually to test that and speed up and use it to really fight this pandemic.”

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News Network
April 5,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 5: Eight more COVID-19 positive cases were reported from Kerala on Sunday, four among whom attended the Tablighi Jamat congregation in Delhi and six people were cured, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

With this, the total number of affected people under treatment in the state has gone up to 256, she said.

"Out of the eight cases, five are from Kozhikode, and one each from Pathanamthitta, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

In the case of Kozhikode, four out of the five returned from Nizammuddin meet and one from Dubai.

As of date, 10 people who had returned from Nizammuddin in Delhi have been tested positive," the minister said in a release

A total of 314 cases have been reported from Kerala so far and 56 people have been cured, she said

"We have sent 10,221 samples for testing," she said.

A total of 1.58 lakh people are under observation in the state, out of which 776 are in isolation wards in hospitals.

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Agencies
August 8,2020

New Delhi, Aug 8: Former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday said that it is unfair and unfortunate to blame the pilots or the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the Kerala place crash which took place on Friday evening.

"It is very unfortunate and unfair when experts come under television channel and they try to put blame on the Airports Authority of India or the pilots. Airport authority in an institution which has had survived various tests of time for the last 65 to 70 years, or pre-independence, so it is unfair to blame them," he said.

While speaking to news agency, Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the 737 Boeing aircraft is reliable and the pilots were experienced, and it was wrong to blame them.

He further said that there are many possibilities on what could have happened, and said, "It is an accident and we need to find the facts."
Rajiv Pratap Rudy also expressed his deepest condolences to the family members of those who lost their lives in the plane crash. "This accident is terrible and heart-rending. 

I offer my deepest condolences to the family members of the captain and first officer, and the families of passengers who died and were injured," he said.

At least 18 people died when a plane carrying 190 passengers came from Dubai met with an accident at Karipur airport in Kozhikode on Friday evening, as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"Eighteen people, including two pilots, have lost their lives. It is unfortunate. 127 people are at hospitals, others have been released," said Puri on the Air India Express flight that crash-landed on Friday evening.

Air India Express Dubai-Kozhikode IX-1344 flight, carrying 190 people on board from Dubai under the Vande Bharat Mission, skidded off the runway at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode at 7.41 pm on Friday in which several people sustained injuries.

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