New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The Centre on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that it was not considering setting up of a media commission as recommended by a parliamentary panel to check irregularities in print electronic and digital platforms Noting that media was gradually losing its credibility and integrity the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology had in December 2021 recommended setting up of a Media Council with statutory powers to check irregularities in print electronic and digital platforms Responding to a query raised in the Upper House of Parliament Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the government regularly meets stakeholders for policy formulation The government regularly holds consultations with stakeholders and utilises datainformation available from various sources for policy formulation building strategies etc The setting up of a Media Commission is not considered necessary at present Thakur said in a written response The parliamentary committee headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in its Twenty-Seventh Report had suggested the creation of a media commission comprising experts for wider consultations amongst the interested groupsstakeholders to evolve a consensus on setting up of Media Council The Committee had said the commission will look into all the complex issues concerning the media and submit its report to the Committee within six months of its inception PTI AG AG AQS AQS

New Delhi Mar 22 PTI The Centre has allocated Rs 80 crore in 2021-22 as relief assistance to the Sri Lankan Tamils living in camps in India and an amount of over Rs 78 crore has already been released the government informed Parliament on TuesdayIn a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra said the relief includes cash assistance subsidised rice free clothes utensils cremation grants and infrastructure facilities at the campsUnder the scheme Rs 80 crore has been allotted for 2021-22 So far Rs 7482 crore has been released to Tamil Nadu government the minister said PTI ACB RC

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI The Centre on Thursday said Indian passengers from Ukraine can return via Qatar with aviation industry experts stating that civilian flights will restart from Ukraine only when its airspace opensCurrently 20000 Indians mostly students are stranded in UkraineSince the Ukrainian airspace is closed due to the Russian military offensive it is currently not clear how they are to travel from Ukraine to Qatar to take Qatar-India flights which are operating normallyThe authorities of the eastern European country issued a NOTAM notice to airmen Thursday morning stating that civilian flights within Ukraine are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviationThe Indian Embassy in Qatar said on Twitter Government of India Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed passengers traveling from Ukraine to travel by transit under India-Qatar bilateral air bubble arrangement This means that the passengers coming from Ukraine to Qatar will be able to board flights operating between Qatar and India PTI DSP TIR TIR

New Delhi Jan 31 PTI The Centre on Monday extended work from home arrangement for 50 per cent of its employees below the level of Under Secretary till February 15 according to a Personnel Ministry orderPersons with disabilities and pregnant women employees would continue to be exempted from attending officesThe Personnel Ministry had on January 3 issued an order allowing work from home 50 per cent of employees below the level of Under Secretary till January 31 because of the rise in Covid casesIn an order issued on Monday extending the arrangements till February 15 it said Central government officers and staffers will have to follow staggered timing -- 9 am to 530 pm and 10 am to 630 pm -- to avoid overcrowding in officesPhysical attendance of government servants below the level of Under Secretary shall be restricted to 50 per cent of the actual strength and the remaining 50 per cent shall work from home A roster may be prepared accordingly by all the departments concerned it had saidAll officers of the level of Under Secretary and above are to attend office regularly the order statedPersonnel Ministry also extended the suspension of biometric attendance for the employees till February 15It had earlier this month suspended the marking of biometric attendance for all its employees till January 31 as a precautionary measure to check the spread of COVID-19 PTI AKV NSD

Kolkata Jan 30 PTI The trade union wing of the West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress on Sunday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of restricting jute bag usage for packaging of foodgrains to promote plastic materials Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress also alleged that the restrictive policy is part of the Centres anti-Bengal conspiracy to ruin the jute sector in the state Ultimately gunny bag usage will be stopped and replaced by plastic materials It is the BJP-led governments blueprint to promote plastics INTTUCs state president Ritabrata Banerjee told PTI The Centre however approved reservation norms for mandatory use of the golden fibre in packaging for the Jute Year 2021-22 in November 2021 The norms provide for 100 per cent reservation for foodgrains and 20 per cent for sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags West Bengal Labour Minister Becharam Manna had earlier said the Centre did not pay heed to the Mamata Banerjee governments advice to relax a cap on raw jute price Jute mill sources also claimed that the central government has fixed the raw jute price and procurement rate of finished gunny bags while no restriction was clamped on the use of high-density polyethylene HDPE bags or plastic materials even though there was a sharp price rise of these items The government has estimated 12 lakh bales of HDPE bags for the Rabi crop season 2021-22 a jute mill owner said A plastic bag is cheaper but can only be used once while jute bags are expensive but can be reusable thus making the environment-friendly packaging material cost-effective in the long run he said The jute commissioner has fixed raw jute price for mills at Rs 6500 per quintal while traders are offering the commodity at Rs 7000 and above according to industry sources This has led to a shortage of raw jute for manufacturing of hessian bags and closure of mills Around 60000 labourers have lost their jobs the mill owner claimed The Centre put the cap on raw jute price to stop hoarding of the commodity but the move has failed to ease market price of the material he added PTI BSM BDC BDC

Kohima Jan 26 PTI The Centre is considering Nagalands demand of removal of AFSPA from the state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said on Wednesday expressing hope for a positive decisionAddressing the Republic Day function at the Civil Secretariat here Rio said the Special Investigation Team SIT formed to probe the killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Mon has made good progressWe are taking every measure to lessen the pain of the family members who lost their near and dear ones as well as of all those who suffered injuries he saidWe are sure that justice will be delivered to the families he addedFollowing the Mon killings the state cabinet decided to take up with the Centre the immediate repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA 1958 while a resolution was passed in the assembly on December 20 in this regard Rio saidThe state government has taken up with the Centre the matter of removal of AFSPA from Nagaland he saidThe central government is considering the matter and we are hopeful of a positive decision soon Rio said Maintaining that negotiations between the Naga Political Groups and the Centre over the political issue have been going on in a cordial atmosphere to find a solution the chief minister said all MLAs have come together and formed an opposition-less government to convey to the negotiating parties that the state expects an honorable inclusive and acceptable solutionWe will continue to facilitate and be hopeful of an early solution he saidRio said ensuring good governance and bringing it to the doorstep of every person has been the endeavor of his governmentWe took another step towards this end by creating three new districts Tseminyu Niuland and Chumoukedima in December 2021 and Shamator District in January 2022 he said The chief minister urged the people to continue adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour as he took the booster dose of vaccine just after the functionRio said Nagaland which is nearing six decades as a state has been capably marching shoulder to shoulder with all the other states of the Union and contributing in strengthening the nationDespite the call for non-participation in the Republic Day celebrations by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organisation and the Naga Students Federation over the Mon killings the celebrations went off peacefully an official saidAltogether 13 marching contingents from different security forces and NCC participated in the Republic Day paradeSeveral awards were presented during the function while cultural performances by TaFMA Department of Women Resource Development 37th Battalion of BSF and troupes of Angami Rengma Lotha and Sumi enthralled the gathering PTI NBS SOM SOM

New Delhi Dec 30 PTI The Centre is in the final stages of developing a system to capture the data of homeless and the destitute having no ration cards so that the benefit of subsidized foodgrains can be extended to them also Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Thursday Currently the government supplies highly subsidized foodgrains at Rs 1-3 per kg to over 81 crore people having ration cards through public distribution system PDS as part of the National Food Security Act NFSA Over and above the subsidized foodgrains the government during the pandemic is supplying free foodgrains to NFSA beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana PMGKAY This scheme has been extended multiple times and is now valid till March 2022 Since homeless and the destitute have no ration cards in the absence of an identity card or residential address they are not covered either under NFSA or PMGKAY Asked about steps taken to cover this segment of the population the Secretary said Very much that process is on and the development of a system is in the final stages and then it will be put to trial The new system being developed is basically to capture all homeless shelterless destitute who might not have ration cards he said during a virtual media briefing State governments have not either issued them the ration card for reasons of lack of identity or lack of home address he said and added all these issues will get addressed Another Food Ministry official said states have lifted 1121 lakh tonne of foodgrains in the current 2021-22 fiscal year for distribution to people not covered under NFSA State governments purchased over 11 lakh tonne of foodgrains under the Centres open market sale scheme OMSS in 2021-22 he said Further the official said state governments have managed to cover so far only 7971 crore poor people out of the total 81 crore beneficiaries covered under NFSA State governments have been asked to immediately reach out to the remaining 16 crore identify them and bring them under the ambit of NFSA he said With states lifting grains via OMSS the quantity of wheat and rice sold via this scheme has increased to 7144 lakh tonne till December 29 this year as against 2071 lakh tonne in the year-ago period Besides states private companies and organizations have purchased the grains via OMSS taking advantage of the liberalized policy introduced this year to offload the surplus stocks of wheat improve domestic availability and ease out storage crunch he added PTI LUX ANU ANU

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI The Centre on Friday imposed stock holding limits on soyameal which is used as a raw material in the poultry feed industry till June 2022 to curb hoarding as well as check price rise The limits will be in place till June 30 2022 and an order in this regard was issued with effect from December 23 an official statement said Besides the government has notified an order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare soyameal as an essential commodity up to June 30 2022 by amending the Schedule of the Essential Commodities Act 1955 Soyameal processors millers and plant owners can hold a maximum stock of 90 days production and they are required to declare the storage location Government-registered trading companies traders and private chaupals can hold a maximum stock of 160 tonne with a defined and declared storage location If stocks held by legal entities are higher than the prescribed limits then they have to declare the same on the food ministrys portal httpevegoilsnicinsoyamealstocklogin and bring it to the prescribed stock limits within 30 days of the issue of the notification It should be ensured that soyameal stock is regularly declared and updated on the portal the statement said The data on the portal will be regularly monitored and any follow-up action will be taken by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying The above measures are expected to stop any unfair practices like hoarding black marketing etc in the market having the potential to hike the prices of soyameal the statement said The stock limits have been set in consultation with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying The notification of soyameal as an essential commodity would empower the Union government and all StatesUTs to regulate production and distribution of soyameal The move will help to curb unfair market practices and enhance the availability of the commodity for consumers like poultry farm and cattle feed manufacturers the statement said PTI LUX RAM

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI The Centre on Friday imposed stock holding limits on soyameal which is used as a raw material in the poultry feed industry till June 2022 to curb hoarding as well as check rise in domestic prices The limits will be in place till June 30 2022 an official statement said Besides the government has notified an order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare soyameal as an essential commodity up to June 30 2022 by amending the Schedule of the Essential Commodities Act 1955 Soyameal processors millers and plant owners can hold a maximum stock of 90 days production and they are required to declare the storage location Government-registered trading companies traders and private chaupals can hold a maximum stock of 160 tonne with a defined and declared storage location PTI LUX RAM

New Delhi Nov 30 PTI The Centre on Tuesday said as many as 40 civilians were killed and 72 were injured in terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir till this month in 2021Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that a total of 348 security personnel and 195 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in last five years in terror-related incidentsIn 2021 till November 15 altogether 40 civilians were killed and 72 others were injured he said in a written reply to a questionRai said 40 civilians were killed in 2017 39 each in 2018 and 2019 and 37 in 2020He said 80 security personnel were killed in 2017 91 in 2018 80 in 2019 62 in 2020 and 35 in 2021 so far PTI ACB TIR TIR