Mumbai Mar 27 PTI Ahead of the two-day nationwide strike called by trade unions on March 28-29 the Maharashtra government on Sunday invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act MESMA barring employees of state-run electricity companies from joining the protest Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut confirmed the invocation of MESMA According to government sources electricity consumption in Maharashtra has already gone up at present and there is also a coal shortage in the state Staging a strike at this juncture will cause inconvenience to farmers industries and the people in general the sources said The government has so far ensured that there is no load shedding in Maharashtra despite the coal shortage and financial concerns However if the strike happens at this juncture it will result in load shedding The government does not want this to happen People should not be inconvenienced and hence MESMA has been invoked in the state today the minister said Sources also said that the government is open to talking with representatives of unions of employees attached to the states power companies like Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company and Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company over their concerns The employees are against the alleged privatisation of power companies in the state and therefore want to join the nationwide strike called by the trade unions Issues can be resolved through dialogue Why go on strike then the sources asked PTI ENM NSK NSK

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI Ahead of his visit to Italy and the UK to attend the G20 meet and COP-26 World Leaders Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that in Rome he will hold discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic while in Glasgow he will highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon spaceIn his departure statement Modi said he will be visiting Rome and the Vatican City from October 29-31 at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi following which he will travel to Glasgow the UK from November 1-2 at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris JohnsonIn Rome I will attend the 16th G20 Leaders Summit where I will join other G20 leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic sustainable development and climate change Modi said noting this will be the first in-person summit of the G20 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemicIn the early hours of Friday Modi embarked on the visit with his office tweeting a picture of him boarding a plane for Italy to participate in the G20 Rome SummitIn his statement before leaving he said the meeting will allow the G20 to take stock of the current global situation and exchange ideas on how the grouping can be an engine for strengthening economic resilience and building back inclusively and sustainably from the pandemicDuring my visit to Italy I will also visit the Vatican City to call on His Holiness Pope Francis and meet Secretary of State His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin Modi saidThe prime minister said on the sidelines of the G20 Summit he will also meet with leaders of other partner countries and review the progress in Indias bilateral relations with themFollowing the conclusion of the G20 Summit on October 31 Modi said he will depart for Glasgow to attend the 26th Conference of Parties COP-26 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCCI will be participating in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled World Leaders Summit WLS on 1-2 November 2021 along with 120 Heads of StatesGovernments from around the world he saidIn line with our tradition of living in harmony with nature and culture of deep respect for the planet we are taking ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy energy efficiency afforestation and biodiversity he assertedNoting that India is creating new records in a collective effort for climate adaptation mitigation and resilience and forging multilateral alliances Modi said India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy wind and solar energy capacity At the WLS I will share Indias excellent track record on climate action and our achievements he saidIn a tweet Modi said over the next few days he would be in Rome the Vatican City and Glasgow to attend important multilateral gatherings like the G20and COP26There would also be various bilateral and community-related programmes during this visit he saidThe prime minister said he will also highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience-building measures mobilization of finance technology transfer and the importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growthCOP-26 will also provide an opportunity to meet with all the stakeholders including leaders of partner countries innovators and inter-governmental organisations and explore the possibilities for further accelerating our clean growth Modi added PTI ASK NSD NSD

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI Ahead of his visit to Italy and the UK to attend the G20 meet and COP-26 World Leaders Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said in Rome he will hold discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic while in Glasgow he will highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space In his departure statement Modi said he will be visiting Rome and the Vatican City from October 29-31 at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi following which he will travel to Glasgow the UK from November 1-2 at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson In Rome I will attend the 16th G20 Leaders Summit where I will join other G20 leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic sustainable development and climate change Modi said noting that this will be the first in-person summit of the G20 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic He said the meeting will allow the G20 to take stock of the current global situation and exchange ideas on how the grouping can be an engine for strengthening economic resilience and building back inclusively and sustainably from the pandemic During my visit to Italy I will also visit the Vatican City to call on His Holiness Pope Francis and meet Secretary of State His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin Modi said On the sidelines of the G20 Summit the prime minister said he will also meet with leaders of other partner countries and review the progress in Indias bilateral relations with them Following the conclusion of the G20 Summit on October 31 Modi said he will depart for Glasgow to attend the 26th Conference of Parties COP-26 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC I will be participating in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled World Leaders Summit WLS on 1-2 November 2021 along with 120 Heads of StatesGovernments from around the world he said In line with our tradition of living in harmony with nature and culture of deep respect for the planet we are taking ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy energy efficiency afforestation and biodiversity he asserted Noting that India is creating new records in collective effort for climate adaptation mitigation and resilience and forging multilateral alliances Modi said India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy wind and solar energy capacity At the WLS I will share Indias excellent track record on climate action and our achievements he said The prime minister said he will also highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience building measures mobilization of finance technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth COP-26 will also provide an opportunity to meet with all the stakeholders including leaders of partner countries innovators and inter-governmental organisation and explore the possibilities for further accelerating our clean growth Modi added PTI ASK SMN SMN

New Delhi Sep 28 PTI Ahead of the crucial bypoll in Bhabanipur from where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting a BJP delegation met the Election Commission on Tuesday and sought a series of measures to ensure free and fair elections as it accused the Trinamool Congress of using violence against its supporters The BJP urged the EC to impose Section 144 a prohibitory order against gathering of five or more persons on September 30 the polling date and deployment of central forces for its compliance Union ministers Bhupender Yadav Anurag Thakur and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were among the members of the delegation that met the EC Yadav hit out at the TMC government in the state and accused it of resorting to violence to target its rivals and referred to the alleged attack on its leader Dilip Ghosh by TMC workers to slam the party In its submission to the EC the BJP has also demanded that patrolling be intensified and area domination by security forces doneIt has also sought deployment of at least 40 companies of central armed police forces in Bhabanipur to ensure that every booth is covered by them Local state police or home guards should not be given any poll duty it said The Commission must issue appeals to the general public and particularly the voters of the area of the steps that it has taken to ensure safety of voters and arrangements made for a fair poll as they needed to be reassured of their safety it said Citing the COVID-19 situation and cases of post-poll violence against political workers in the state the BJP has also urged the Commission to ensure that no political party representative sits inside the booth PTI KR DV DV

Jammu Sep 16 PTI Ahead of the festivals of Navratri and Diwali Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who is also the chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board SMVDSB on Thursday released a 20-gram silver souvenir coin depicting the goddess officials saidHe released the coin at the 68th meeting of the SMVDSB at the Raj Bhavan here they saidPrior to the release of the 20-gram coin the SMVDSB had developed gold and silver coins weighing 2 grams 5 grams and 10 grams depicting the idol of Mata Vaishno Devi according to the officialsThe rates of the coins depend on their weight and the prevailing gold and silver rates These coins are available at souvenir shops at Bhawan Jammu Airport Katra and Vaishnavi Dham in Jammu the officials saidSinha also inaugurated a digital library established at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Spiritual Growth Centre Katra The initiative is aimed at making the process of looking for information in books easier they saidWhile chairing the meeting of the shrine board the LG also reviewed the pilgrim-centric infrastructural facilities put in place by the boardHe emphasised the need for extending the best possible facilities to the pilgrims in sync with the emerging requirements and with a special focus on cleanliness and hygiene PTI AB DIV DIV

New Delhi Aug 30 PTI Ahead of the Goa assembly elections the Congress on Monday appointed Alexio Sequeira as the working president of the partys state unit while Girish Chodankar will remain its presidentFormer chief minister Luizinho Falerio has been appointed chairperson of the election co-ordination committee and M K Shaikh its convenorGoa goes to polls early next year to elect its 40-member assembly and the Congress seeks to wrest control of the state from the BJPCongress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for the continuance of Girish Chodankar as the president Goa Pradesh Congress Committee GPCC and Digambar Kamat as the CLP Leader of Goa a statement issued by the party saidThe Congress president has also appointed Alexio Sequeira as the working president of the GPCC with immediate effect it saidReginaldo Lourenco has been appointed chairperson of the campaign committee for the state while Sangeetha Parab has been made its co-chairpersonFrancisco Sardinha has been made the chairperson of the finance committee and Pramoda Salgaocar its co-chairperson the statement said Ramakant Khalap and Elvis Gomes have been made chairperson and co-chairperson of the manifesto committee while Chandrakant Chodankar and Martha Saldanha have been appointed as chairperson and co-chairperson of the publicity committee of the GPCC it saidPTI SKC ANB ANB