Chennai Mar 28 PTI Tamil Nadu recorded 33 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday thereby taking the total to 3452714 so far With no death today the fatalities remained at 38025 Sixtyone patients got discharged today Cumulatively the number mounted to 3414323 according to a bulletin of the Department of Health here The active cases including isolation declined to 366 from 394 recorded a day ago Chennai is the lone district among the 38 to record 16 new cases Of the 38 11 saw either one or two new infections The total recoveries in the city increased to 741831 while the active cases remained at 131 The positive cases stood at 751030 the bulletin said PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Mar 23 PTI A case of sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman in Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu has been transferred to the Crime Branch- CID for investigation and the DGP of the State has been told to monitor the investigation and ensure filing of the charge sheet in two months Chief Minister of the State M K Stalin said on Wednesday The CB-CID superintendent Mutharasi has been named as special officer The charge sheet will be filed within 60 days and those responsible for the crime will be produced before the Special Court for maximum punishment said the Chief Minister said When the issue was raised by the Leader of the Opposition AIADMK K Palaniswami in the Assembly Stalin said I have directed the DGP to directly monitor the case Unlike the Pollachi sex scandal during the AIADMK regime investigation will be proper and justice will be delivered at the earliest This case would be an example of instant justice and be a lesson to those who commit such crimes he said Just wait and see how this government will ensure justice to the victim he said The Chief Minister claimed police swung into action and arrested four people within 24 hours of receiving a complaint Four juveniles also involved in the crime were sent to the borstal school after producing them before court he said Referring to the Sathuvachari case he said the police arrested five people in connection with the sexual assault of a doctor after receiving her complaint said the Chief Minister When Palaniswami tried to raise an issue after the Chief Ministers statement Assembly Speaker M Appavu declined further discussion In protesting Palaniswami accompanied by the AIADMK members walked out of the House PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Mar 18 PTI The work to identify eligible beneficiaries of the assistance to women heads of families is on in full swing and the scheme in that regard would be implemented when the financial situation of Tamil Nadu improves Finance Minister of the State Palanivel Thiaga Rajan told the Assembly on Friday Providing the assistance of Rs 1000 to women heads is one of the poll promises of the DMK which stormed to power in 2021 The Minister said the scheme would be designed in such a manner that the benefits reach the deserving Based on this I assure you that this scheme will be implemented when the financial situation improves as a result of the various initiatives being taken by this government Thiaga Rajan said while presenting the Budget for 2022 - 23 He said Chief Minister M K Stalin has fulfilled many of the promises such as reduction in Aavin milk price waiver of loans for self-help groups and provision of pass for free travel on government buses with the intent that the advancement of women is advancement of the State The Chief Minister has instructed us to take all necessary steps to fulfil the next major commitment which is to grant basic income to women he said Implementing the scheme was difficult in the first year of the DMK rule owing to the precarious financial position he said However Id like to inform this august House that work is in full swing to identify the eligible beneficiaries from various databases and design the scheme in a manner that the benefits reach the deserving said Thiaga Rajan He said the DMK assumed office last year when the second wave of the coronavirus was five times more than that of the first wave Yet the Chief Minister fulfilled five major election promises on his first day in office and subsequently formulated a vision document for this government which intends to fulfil the remaining commitments in the manifesto the Minister said and added that the government would continue to fulfil its promises at an unprecedented pace The promises included many announcements made in the Budget session last year PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Mar 18 PTI In a move to encourage more girls to pursue and complete higher education without financial constraints the Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced a monthly deposit of Rs 1000 in the bank accounts of girl students Approximately six lakh girls can benefit by this move Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan told the Assembly An amount of Rs 698 crore is allotted for this scheme he said while presenting the Budget for 2022 - 23 As per the announcement all girls from classes 6 to 12 in government schools would be paid the Rs 1000 till the uninterrupted completion of their undergraduate degree diploma and ITI courses The students would be eligible for this scheme in addition to other scholarships the Minister said Recognising the low enrolment ratio of girls from government schools in higher education the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme is being transformed into Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme he said The implementation of the existing schemes of EVR Maniammaiyar Memorial Widows Daughter Marriage Assistance Scheme Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Memorial Inter-Caste Marriage Assistance Scheme Annai Teresa Orphan Girls Marriage Assistance Scheme and Dr Dharmambal Ammaiyar Memorial Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme would continue without any change said the Minister PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Mar 18 PTI The Tamil Nadu Budget for 2022-23 presented on Thursday has disappointed the people as there was no announcement on the much-expected waiver of educational loan and the government has deferred its assurance of providing Rs 1000 aid to woman head of a family former Chief Minister and co-coordinator of AIADMK K Palaniswami said and stated that the DMK regime appears to depend entirely on borrowings to run the government Though life returned to normalcy with industrial activity revving up and revenue through registration and transport departments increasing post-pandemic the government continues to borrow Palaniswami said During the AIADMK regime the pandemic caused havoc and there was a lull in industrial activity The revenue declined as a result but now things have become normal The revenue is increasing and strangely even the borrowings he told reporters outside the Assembly after staging a walkout from the Assembly along with the AIADMK members The borrowings ought to decrease with a rise in revenue but the DMK government borrowed Rs 228 lakh crore since it came to power This shows its way of functioning Palaniswami said and stated that the previous AIADMK government borrowed Rs 485 lakh crore in 10 years along with Rs 1 lakh crore debt left by the DMK when it demitted office in 2011 But the DMK government borrowed Rs 108 lakh crore in 2021 - 22 and totally Rs 228 lakh crore in two years he said The government plans to borrow Rs 120 lakh crore during 2023-24 fiscal Palaniswami said When the AIADMK was in power the government borrowed for capital expenditure Palaniswami who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said that despite the Centre and nearly 25 State governments reducing the price of petrol and diesel the Tamil Nadu government has not effected a cut in the fuel price PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Feb 19 PTI Calling for a course correction in lifestyle and also ensuring a work-life balance for peoples wellbeing Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said spirituality is important in maintaining mental health Religious leaders should take the message of spirituality to the youth and the masses and help them overcome their problems in these stressful times he said He suggested people take up meditation exercise and yoga to deal with stress and said I firmly believe that spirituality is essential to discover ones inner strength and mental peace In this regard I urge religious leaders to take the message of spirituality to the youth and the masses Inaugurating the fifth global convention on Bhagavad Gita organised by the Centre for Inner Resources Development CIRD on Mental Harmony virtually from here the Vice-President stressed the need to translate the universal message of the Gita into as many languages as possible for the benefit of the entire humanity The distilled wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for the benefit of entire humanity and efforts should be made to translate the message into as many languages as possible so as to enhance the reach of this work he said Even though the message of the Gita is thousands of years old it can never lose its importance Today more than ever in a complex and interconnected world the timeless message of the Gita remains relevant as people face numerous challenges and obstacles in their lives he said Stating that mental stress is becoming an all-pervading phenomenon in modern times he called for greater awareness and attention on the critical health issue and said top priority should be accorded to address issues relating to mental health in a holistic manner He regretted that awareness on mental health remained low in India and said there was stigma associated with it The pandemic added to the woes of the people We must be willing to have public conversations about the importance of mental health and eradicate the stigma associated with it Naidu said and called upon popular personalities from diverse fields to create awareness among people on the public health issue Expressing concern over instances of students ending their lives unable to cope with the stress caused by the pressures of studies the Vice-President said parents and teachers could play an important role in counselling students motivating them to face adversity fearlessly and to do their duty diligently without worrying about the result This is the essence of the teaching of Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Gita he said Educational institutions could opt for in-house counsellors to help students overcome stressful situations and the governments could ensure compliance he suggested while appreciating the Centres announcement on launching a national tele-mental health programme to provide 24x7 free counselling to people This is an important step towards ensuring the mental well-being of people especially those living in remote areas while ensuring their anonymity he said Swami Bhoomananda Thirthaji founder of Narayanashrama Tapovanam and visionary behind global Bhagavad Gita conventions Swami Nirviseshananda Tirthaji of Narayanashrama Tapovanam Justice Indira Banerjee of the Supreme Court Swamini Ma Gurupriya of Narayanashrama Tapovanam Pankaj Bhatia president CIRD-NA and Dr Ravi Jandhyala vice-president of CIRD-NA were among those who attended the event PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Jan 18 PTI A leopardess and a lion died in a squeeze cage at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park popularly known as Vandalur zoo near here when the veterinarians were taking COVID-19 samples from the animals a senior official said on Tuesday The leopardess Jaya aged 18 apparently died due to difficulty in breathing while the five-year-old lion Vishnu died of oesophageal problems a senior official at the zoo told PTI The deaths occurred on Monday when the veterinarians were taking samples of the animals after nearly 70 staff of the zoo showed symptoms of coronavirus and were quarantined Though the staff has already been quarantined we suspected that the animals too would have been infected So we decided to perform the swab test on the animals the senior official said Animals too face health issues similar to humans Last year a lioness Kavitha 23 which was suspected to have died of coronavirus suffered from cancer the official said PTI JSP NVG NVG