Mangaluru: AAP protesters ask MCC to form ward committees

Udupi, Jan 9: State Revenue Minister R Ashoka said on Wednesday that the state government is embarking on a novel method to ensure that social security schemes were available to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps.

Speaking after inaugurating the Mini Vidhana Soudha here, he said government will look into the Aadhaar number and income certificates to decide the eligibility of the beneficiaries. The initiative will help the poor to access welfare schemes without any hassles.

The initiative will be launched as a pilot project in Udupi district. Later, the project will extend to other districts in a phased manner. In Udupi district, 30,000 beneficiaries have been identified. The government has set aside nearly Rs 7,000 crore for social security schemes. The initiative will not only eliminate middlemen menace but will help the government save Rs 1,000 crore.

Bengaluru, May 18: Indian food delivery startup Swiggy said on Monday it would lay off 1,100 employees, or nearly 14% of its workforce, to cut costs, as a weeks-long nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak hits demand for online food ordering.

The company, backed by South African internet giant Naspers, also said it will scale down adjacent businesses and has already shut several of its cloud kitchens - facilities that only cater to takeaway orders - temporarily or permanently.

“The core food delivery business has been severely impacted and will stay impacted over the short term, but is expected to start growing again after that,” said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and chief executive at Bengaluru-based Swiggy.

Swiggy, one of India’s best known startups, is among many that are laying off employees and reshaping their business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced 1.3 billion Indians indoors and crippled business.

India is currently under a two-month lockdown, and though several curbs are being eased, public places such as restaurants remain closed, hurting restaurants themselves as well as companies such as Swiggy and main rival Zomato.

Bengaluru, May 13: The Karnataka Common Entrance Test (K-CET) 2020 will be held on July 30 and 31.

The test, earlier as scheduled to be held on April 22, 23 and 24, was postponed due to COVID-19 crisis and the nation-wide lockdown.

Now, considering the dates for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) dates announced by the Union government, the state government has announced the revised dates on Wednesday.

Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan announced this in a press conference. The test will be held online, the minister said. 

For CET 2020, over 1.90 lakh students registered for admission to undergraduate engineering, B Tech, Architecture, Agriculture and veterinary science courses.

Home quarantine for repatriated pregnant women, children, senior citizens if they test covid-19 negative 

The Union Health Ministry has revised its discharge guidelines for COVID-19 patients, stating that only those with severe illness need to be tested (through a swab test) and a negative report needs to be obtained before discharge.

The latest guideline adds that other categories of patients, including very mild, mild, pre-symptomatic and moderate cases, need not be tested before discharge.