Will make Delhi a WiFi city in a year, promises AAP ka CM Arvind Kejriwal

February 21, 2015

New Delhi, Feb 21: After a week in office, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said his government was going to cut power tariff and launch a free water scheme "very soon" in line with election promises made by Aam Aadmi Party.

WiFi KejriwalKejriwal said his government has already finalised a "blue-print" on issues relating to power and water which were focus areas for AAP during the election campaign while it willtake at least a year to make Delhi a "wi-fi city".

"Our team has rolled out a blue-print for electricity and water. I hope to give the good news to you all very soon to reduce the rates of power and water. We are working on the lines of our governance model that we followed during our 49- day stint," Kejriwal said.

The Chief Minister said his government was also working on implementing the poll promise of free wi-fi and added that it will take at least one year.

"A few days back, you all voted for us giving a heavy majority. Congratulations to you all. It's a big burden. It's a big responsibility. You all have very high hope. We are working round-the-clock. We are focusing on work and talking less," Kejriwal said.

He was speaking after inaugurating the annual Garden Tourism Festival at Saket in South Delhi. In its manifesto, AAP had promised to cut power tariff by 50 percent immediately after coming to power and said the rates will be revised based on the findings of an CAG audit which the Kejriwal government had announced during its first stint.

He said people of the city have lot of expectations from his government on the electricity and water issues and it was going to fulfil them.

The AAP in its manifesto had also promised 20 kilolitres (20,000 litres) of free water to every household per month. The previous AAP government had introduced the free water scheme but it was discontinued after it quit.

On wi-fi facility, Kejriwal said his government was working on it. "Even my children were asking when wi-fi will come. We are also working on it, but it would take some time.

It will not take five years. It should be done within a year." Resolving to come down hard on those involved in corruption, the Chief Minister said the level of graft has gone down after AAP government came to power.

"I have heard that the level of corruption has gone down after our government has taken guard. But we have to eliminate it. We are working on an anti-corruption helpline. When 2-4 corrupt people are punished, then corruption would come down.

It would be announced very soon. "So, we are going to give you the good news very soon -- launching of anti-corruption helpline, reducing electricity tariff and supplying free water," he said.

The Chief Minister said his government was working on "many fronts" including curbing inflation.

"We would tell only after doing some concrete work. Announcing something before doing the job is not fair. We will not be able to do it alone. Whatever, we will do. we will do with all your cooperation and due deliberations," he said.

On tourism, he said it would be his government's objective to make Delhi a hub for tourists from across the world.

"It would magnify, not only raise, stature of Delhi but it would also create job opportunities. We want to make Delhi a tourism hub for domestic as well as international tourists.

"I asked the officials of tourism department to prepare a roadmap and present it to me. I assure you that all the impediments would be addressed," he said.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 30: A 45-day-old baby boy, who tested positive for COVID-19 when he was 20-days-old, was discharged from a state-run hospital here on Wednesday after his full recovery.

The baby from Mahabubnagar, who contracted the infection from his father, was 20-days-old at the time of admission (on April 4), a COVID-19 bulletin said.

He was discharged after being cured, it said. The baby, probably the youngest to contract the infection in the country, was treated at the state-run Gandhi hospital in the city.

State Health Minister E Rajender expressed happiness over the baby being discharged after recovery.

An official release said 35 people were discharged today and 13 of them were children.

Those who were discharged thanked the doctors and medical personnel of the hospital and the minister has lauded the doctors and other medical staff for their efforts, it said.

Among those undergoing treatment at the hospital, 10 are being treated in the ICU.

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Agencies
June 2,2020

Lucknow, Jun 2: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday said protests in the US after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, is a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value.

She said this is also guaranteed by the India Constitution, but the governments don't follow it, resulting in the current plight of migrants workers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old restaurant worker from Houston, died in Minneapolis on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. Video footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck as he gasped for breath, sparking widespread protests across the US.

"Floyd's killing by police and the 'Black lives matter' agitation in the US have given a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value and it should not be taken for granted," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

"India's constitution guarantees independence, security, self-respect and pride and governments should give special attention to it. If it was followed, crores of migrants labourers would not have to witness such bad days," she added.

She also demanded better coordination between states to check the spread of coronavirus and said Centre should intervene.

"While coronavirus patients are rising, there is lack of coordination between states and with the Centre, and allegation and counter-allegations are going on and sealing of state borders is unjustified and it is weakening the fight against the virus.  The Centre should intervene," she said in a separate tweet.

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News Network
January 21,2020

Jan 21: Indian policymakers may make it easier for companies to tap foreign funding, as a prolonged cash squeeze makes it tough for firms to borrow at home.

Investors are speculating about potential steps Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could unveil when she presents the nation’s budget on Feb. 1. These measures may include freeing up firms to borrow at higher rates and offering tax breaks to global funds.

“The government will need to relax local rules to make it easier for Indian companies to raise debt overseas and tide over the funding crunch in the onshore market,” said Raj Kothari, London-based head of trading at Jay Capital Ltd. “At the same time, they need to ensure that the borrowers tapping offshore markets abide with stricter corporate governance so as to avoid further defaults.”

A prolonged crisis in India’s shadow bank sector and a pile of bad loans at traditional lenders is making it expensive for Indian companies, other than the best-rated firms, to access funding. The government has tried a series of measures to spur domestic credit, including providing so-called credit enhancement and allowing tiny firms to restructure debt.

Here are some steps Sitharaman may consider to spur foreign borrowing:

• She could raise the cap of 450 basis points above Libor, which limits overall foreign debt costs for Indian companies

• This could help lower-rated firms sell bonds abroad. Indian companies rated BBB currently borrow at more than 10%, about 3.8 percentage points more than their top-rated peers;

• Sitharaman could waive the withholding tax foreign investors need to pay on holdings of rupee-denominated debt sold by Indian companies abroad

• The waiver was offered between September 2018 to March 2019, but wasn’t extended as the highest global interest rates since the financial crisis deterred Indian borrowers. Since then, the three-month Libor has dropped by about 1 percentage point

• She could permit Indian property developers and housing finance lenders to sell overseas bonds for reasons beyond affordable housing projects

• New funding lines to the real estate sector, arguably ground zero of India’s economic slowdown, could help kickstart consumption and investment as the industry is the nation’s biggest job-creator.

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