Day: February 4, 2020

Exemptions for UPSC staff, poll chiefs to go

Source: hindustantimes.com

The budget says that these exemptions should be done away with by April 2021 for not just Election Commission members but also members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

One of the proposals of the union budget presented on Saturday is to do away with tax exemptions that election commissioners enjoy. These perks, which are equivalent to those offered to Supreme Court judges, are on the value of rent-free accommodation, conveyance allowance and medical allowance.

The budget says that these exemptions should be done away with by April 2021 for not just Election Commission members but also members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

“This tantamounts to altering conditions of service with retrospective effect and that too in the Finance Bill,” an an Election Commission member said on condition of anonymity,

The budget document calls for amending the EC Act of 1991 which entitles members of the Commission to these perks.

It also proposes that Section 10 of the Income-Tax Act, 1995 which offered tax exemption to perks to the UPSC chairman and members should be completely done away with.

Clause 45, was inserted by the Finance Act, 2011; it also applies to the retired chairman or members of the UPSC and said that allowances shouldn’t be included in computing their total income.

“If the government thinks they can get rich by doing away with these tax exemptions then good luck to them,’’ said a former Chief Election Commissioner, also on condition of anonymity.

These allowances and perks include value of rent-free official residence, value of conveyance facilities including transport allowance, sumptuary allowance and the value of leave travel concession provided to a serving chairman or member of UPSC and members of their family.

In the case of retired chairman and members of the UPSC, the notification states that allowances such as a maximum sum of ~14,000 per month for defraying services of an orderly and for meeting expenses incurred towards a sectorial assistant on contract basis and the value of residential telephone free of cost will be exempt from income tax for the purpose of clause (45) of section 10 of the act.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission was on Saturday allocated ~269 crore in the Union Budget under the ‘Election’ head as compared to ~255.46 crore last year when the Lok Sabha elections were held.

A senior Law Ministry officer and a former Election Commission functionary explained that the amount allocated to the poll panel would also be used for “book adjustments” for expenditures incurred in holding of LS polls and other elections.

In the previous budget, the Law Ministry was allocated an additional sum of over ~666 crore for conducting the Lok Sabha elections which were held in the summer of 2019.

AIPH University Annual National Workshop on Public Health to be inaugurated by Principal Secretary Nikunja Bihari Dhal

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in

Bhubaneswar: In light of the current global health emergency due to the Novel Corona virus, Odisha’s first Public Health University is organizing a one-day National Workshop on Role of Public Health in state’s development. In the workshop being held at its city campus in Pahala, eminent public health & development experts will come together to deliberate on different aspects of public health education, research and policy and its implications for health and development. Principal secretary Health Nikunja Bihari Dhal will inaugurate the workshop and eminent environmentalist Prof Radhamohan will be felicitated. Prof Radhamohan has been awarded with Padmashri by Government of India for his contribution to state’s development.

In the technical session, presentations will be made by Dr Narendra Kumar Jena, Head of Emergency Medicine, Minakshi Mission Hospital Madurai on Coronavirus crisis & its management, Healthcare Management expert Mr Keerti Pradhan will discuss role of academia in preparing public health professionals and former world bank senior finance officer Mr Binod Nayak will discuss on role of microfinance in public health delivery. The session will be chaired by Mr Vivekananda Patnaik, IAS who is a member of board of governors of AIPH University.

In the post-lunch session, a panel discussion would comprise of eminent panelists such as Dr Omkar Mohanty, former vice chancellor of BPUT, Prof Lalu Mansinha, emeritus professor of University of Western Ontario, Prof Luna Samant, Dean of School of Biological Sciences of Ravenshaw University, Dr Priyadarshan Patra, Dean of Research, Xavier University and Dr Srijit Mishra, Director Nabakrushna Choudhury Center for Development Studies.

The workshop will also be addressed by Prof Pinaki Panigrahi, founder-president of AIPH University and eminent researcher at Georgetown University in USA. The deliberations of the workshop with key recommendations will be submitted to the state government.

Bihar Board 12th Exam 2020 to begin today, BSEB implements strict measures to counter cheating, mal-practices

Source: jagranjosh.com

Bihar Board 12th Exam 2020 Begins: Bihar Inter Board Exam 2020 will officially begin today across the state, as per the official exam datesheet released earlier. Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has put in place strict measures for the BSEB Intermediate Exam 2020 which is commencing today for the 12th Class students. According to the official statistics shared by the Bihar Board, nearly 12.5 lakh students from across Bihar will appear for Intermediate Board Exam 2020 today. In line with this, to ensure fair exams to avoid any incident of cheating or mal-practices; the Bihar Board has put in place strict security measures and supervision at examination centres.

Strict Security Measures to Counter Cheating

In the past, Bihar Board has had to face several embarrassing situations wherein instances of mass cheating, malpractices and such other irregularities during BSEB Inter Exam have been reports. Taking cognizance of this and to ensure that no such incident takes place during this year’s exam; BSEB has put in place strict security measures and supervision at the exam centres across the state. Students appearing for the Bihar 12th Board Exam 2020 will have to go through frisking and detailed checking by examiners before being allowed into the examination hall. On similar lines, Bihar Board has also deployed CCTV vigilance and videography of students at various places including the exam classrooms where they would be appearing for the exam.

Exam Day Instructions for Students

Students appearing for the Bihar 12th Board Exam 2020 must note that the in line with the strict security checks, they are required to report to their assigned examination centre in advance. At the entrance point, they will be checked thoroughly including frisking by examiners, so taking any electronic devices or books is completely prohibited to the examination hall. Students are also advised to carry the BSEB 12th Admit Cards 2020 to the exam hall and make sure that the details provided on it are correct. Bihar Inter Board Exam 2020 will be held in two shifts i.e. morning session from 9:30 AM to 12:45 PM and the afternoon session starting from 1:45 PM to 5 PM. Students for morning batch are required to report before 9:15 and afternoon batch latest by 1:30. Entry after this would not be allowed.

Rs 15 lakh promise: PM Modi, Amit Shah face charges of cheating, dishonesty in Ranchi court

Source: indiatoday.in

The complainant HK Singh, an advocate, has filed a case against PM Modi and Amit Shah, accusing them of cheating people by promising to credit Rs 15 lakh in every person’s bank account if they come to power.

district court in Ranchi has started proceedings in a case where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have been accused of cheating and dishonesty. The third accused in this case is Union minister Ramdas Atawle.

The complainant HK Singh, an advocate at the state high court, has filed a case against PM Modi and Amit Shah, accusing them of cheating people by promising to credit Rs 15 lakh in every person’s bank account if they come to power.

The complaint was lodged under sections 415 (cheating) and 420 (dishonesty) of the Indian penal Code, alongwith section 123(b) of the Representation of the People Act.

The court proceedings in the case started today.

HK Singh said in 2019 Home Minister Amit Shah said the government introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) because it was one of the main promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

“Why was the promise on CAA delivered but the promise on crediting Rs 15 lakh in each person’s account, a promise made in BJP manifesto, not honoured?” HK Singh asked.

He argued that the Representation of the People Act says false promise cannot be made to seek votes. “It amounts to fraud with the people,” HK Singh said.

The case will come up for hearing next on March 2.

However, HK Singh’s claim that the Rs 15 lakh promise was part of BJP’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha election is contrary to facts. The manifesto does not promise this.

Meanwhile, last Saturday, the court had asked HK Singh how this matter falls under Ranchi jurisdiction and why did he not file a case earlier considering that the alleged promise was made in 2013-14.

Speaking to India Today TV, HK Singh said, “Even I feel duped and so do many others by the cunning deceit of BJP leaders. They cannot have double standards. If they can deliver their promise on CAA, then they should also deliver on the Rs 15 lakh promise.”

Reacting to the developments, the Congress said people are fed-up with the lies told by the BJP. Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey said, “People are fed-up with the lies told by BJP leaders, including PM Modi. Now, people have started reacting and are expressing their anger against the fraud and baseless assurances given by the BJP.”

On the other hand, the BJP rubbished the allegations as a “publicity stunt”. BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said filing a case after six years is nothing but a “cheap publicity stunt”.

“What BJP leaders, including PM Modi and Amit Shah said, is in the public domain. They never promised that all account holders will get Rs 15 lakh. They (Opposition and the petitioner) will understand the meaning of BJP leaders’ words if they try to read between the lines,” Shahdeo said.

Jharkhand vibes in Gujarat

Source: telegraphindia.com

Jharkhand’s colours and culture served as a confluence for the east and west traditions of India at one platform in Ahmedabad recently.

Organised by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Kalamandir, in Jamshedpur and Virasat Trust in Hazaribagh, the Jharkhand Festival with a tagline “Chalo Fariye Jharkhand Amdavadma” was a three-day affair from January 31 to February 2 at Natarani Amphitheatre in Ahmedabad’s Darpana Dance Academy.

This was the first Jharkhand Fest organised in Gujarat.

A team of more than 60 artists, social activists and experts from Jharkhand were a part of the festival.

From Jharkhandi food — jil peetha and dhuska — to painting demonstration and workshops on sohrai and pyatkar, the fest was a new experience for the Gujarati community.

“The idea was to know other states. Jharkhand is unexplored. We in Ahmedabad know about Maharashtra and even the Northeast but if you ask someone in Ahmedabad about Jharkhand, I wonder if you will get a reply despite the fact that the state is so rich in culture and has had its share of struggles to get its own identity. We not only did a lot of publicity for masses to walk in and experience the state culture but we also enjoyed researching about it,” said Priyakshi Agarwal, from the marketing and logistics department of Natarani Amphitheatre.

“The response was positive. For many it was a first-time experience. Even the participating artists were happy to have performed and participated in this unique three-day fest,” said Amitava Ghosh, co-convenor, Intach, Jharkhand.

Keerthi Ranasinghe-ex-Nalandian cricketer cum basketball player

Source: dailynews.lk

His father was the first cricket captain of Christian College Kotte(now known as Sri Jayawardenepura Maha Vidyalaya) in 1919. He and his elder brother were boarded at this famous old school, which had the best hostel in that era and the Principal was E.D. Thambimuttu and a few other distinguished educationists. The proper etiquette was instilled into young Keerthi Ranasinghe from his early days.

He was a versatile sportsman, a basketball player of no mean repute who represented both Sri Jayawardenepura and Nalanda College and a handy opening bat who played for Nalanda and Colombo North in the zonal tournaments.

I met Keerthi at a function to felicitate the famous coaching guru Nelson Mendis, and his mannerisms stood apart from the rest of us, I wondered whether it was his early upbringing at Christian College Kotte , which laid the foundation to this gentle character. He left our shores early and worked in the middle east for forty long ears as a Telecom Engineer.

Ranasinghe was a good basketball player even at the age of 12 yrs. His hand eye coordination was such that, he took to the game of cricket with ease. He played for the first eleven and got two centuries, against Piliyandala Central and Dharmasoka Ambalangoda. Late Gerry Gooneratne was coaching Christian College and Nalanda College. Meanwhile his shooting capacity was spotted by Late Gunapala Wickremaratne the principal at Ananda Sastralaya then,as a result Keerthi was recommended to Nalanda College and was drafted into the Nalanda College first eleven in 1966. As a fresher that year he got a 50 against St Thomas’s out of a total of 140,Keerthi had to encounter a star studded bowling line up together with the sideways breeze which was a nuisance.

The Big Match that year is etched in my memory due to two significant things, one was that I captained Ananda and the other was that I trapped their king pin at that time Late Anura De Silva into popping a catch to the covers, he was 99. Keerthi was involved in a fifty run partnership with Doolwela, Keerthi’s contribution was a brisk 22, in the second innings he was unfortunately yorked by a brilliant yorker from Late P. Dayapriya.

In the inter zonal tournament in 1966, Keerthi opened with Felix Dias and his contribution was 21, where as Dias hammered 134. In the same year Colombo North against Central Zone Ranasinghe’s useful contribution was 37.

After his school career he joined Post and Telecommunications Department and in a game against Department of Heavy Equipment and Machinery, Ranasinghe whacked 192 runs enabling Telecom to win by an innings and 124 runs, this was in 1978 January.

Sports writer ‘SEA ROM’ wrote to the ‘Daily Mirror’ under the caption ‘go man go’ in 1966, He stated that Gratian Amerasinghe a former coach of Sri Jayawardenepura ,mentioned that he had high hopes on young Ranasinghe to prop up the underdogs Nalanda in the Public Schools Senior Basketball Tournament.

Keerthi made some interesting comparisons of Two Anura’s, De Silva and Ranasinghe.Keerthi stated that Late Anura De Silva was a class apart as an All Rounder and it was rather unfortunate that he had to curtail his career. According to Keerthi ,Anura Ranasinghe was the more disciplined of the two and his talent as an all -rounder was not far behind De Silva.

Fast forwarding to the current affairs in Cricket, Keerthi agreed that there was no dearth in talent but hiccups occur at the best of times. He was away from Nalanda cricket activities for about 30 years due to his work s a Telecom Engineer, on his return to the island he is back in action being a member of several cricket committees at Nalanda.

Keerthi mentioned that he was invited recently when Nalanda recruited a new coach, and the others in that committee were Jayantha Seneviratne, Roshan Mahanama,Asanka Gurusinghe and Bandula Warnapura.

He was also the cricket secretary of The Old Nalandians Sports Club.

Ranasinghe lives with his wife at Kelaniya and has two daughters and one son, who went to St Josephs. It was a pleasure interviewing Keerthi Ranasinghe a man of gentle demeanor.

Unexplored tourism spots of Kozhikode to be mapped soon

Source: thehindu.com

District panchayat to take appropriate measures for their development

In an attempt to develop small tourism destinations and promote such spots under various responsible tourism projects, the Kozhikode District Panchayat is planning to map and video-document details of unexplored locations in all the 70 grama panchayats in the district.

To begin with, a meeting of all grama panchayat representatives will be held at Nalanda Auditorium here on February 5. Officials of the Tourism Department also will attend the meeting.

Five members from each of the 70 grama panchayats will present details of attractive and less explored tourism spots in their respective areas. The present condition of such spots as well as feasible development projects for such regions will also be presented to Department, besides including them in the proposed video-documentation project.

As of now, there is no such comprehensive video record or destination map available featuring the unexplored or hidden tourism destinations in the district. The plan of the district panchayat is to fast-track the mapping and video-documentation work and present it before the authorities concerned. If the grama panchayats themselves are able to do it, the district panchayat will extend all possible financial and technical support.

According to District Panchayat President Babu Parassery, there are several such hidden locations in the district which can emerge as popular destinations with plenty of self-employment opportunities for local residents. “Oloppara was one such location earlier identified by local bodies and was later promoted to the status of a quickly growing destination for eco-tourism lovers. The change is visible right in front of our eyes now,” he pointed out.

“For the growth of local tourism destinations, we are also ready to explore public-private partnership in possible areas. The district panchayat authorities will visit the locations to study the scope of development and adopt appropriate measures for their development,” said Mr. Parassery. According to him, the possible village tourism destinations can be even linked in the future to offer attractive sightseeing packages to tourists.

The district panchayat has a list of the yet-to-be explored eco-tourism spots, which will be covered first by the video-documentation and mapping project. The list includes locations suitable for introducing boating facility, handicrafts demonstration, and farm stay. Conducting tourism festivals in such locations to attract sightseers is also part of the new initiative to be implemented under the Responsible Tourism concept.