Annamayya (Andhra Pradesh) [India] August 23 (ANI): A retired teacher from Andhra Pradesh lost around Rs 21 lakh from her bank account after receiving a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on Monday.

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 15 (ANI): Reiterating the commitment to welfare and development agenda, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that decentralisation of development besides laying a strong foundation for the betterment of future generations has been the policy of his government which has ushered in revolutionary changes during the last three years.

Chandigarh Mar 31 PTI Haryana Agriculture Minister J P Dalal on Thursday launched the portal of Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojana Under this scheme farmers will be compensated for the damage caused to their crops due to adverse weather and natural calamities he said He said that adverse weather and natural calamities like hailstorm adverse temperature frost flood cloudburst breakage of canaldrain water logging high wind velocity and fire which cause crop loss were included in this scheme Dalal said that 21 crops are covered under this scheme-- 14 vegetables tomato onion potato cauliflower peas carrot okra bottle gourd bitter gourd brinjal green chilli capsicum cabbage radish 2 spices turmeric garlic and five fruits mango kinnow berry guava lychee The minister said the Haryana Government will promote organic farming in a big way to enhance the income of farmers For promoting this it has been decided to create a separate wing in the Agriculture Department This wing will pay special attention to the quality and increase the productivity of food grains in the state Besides this for farmers a training programme would be chalked out and separate clusters will also be formed he said after launching the portal of Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojana The minister also said that farmers of the state would also be encouraged for diversification of crops According to an official statement Dalal said that the Yojana will be optional for all those farmers who will get registered under Meri Fasal Mera Byora Under the scheme the sum assured will be Rs 30000 per acre for vegetables and spices and Rs 40000 per acre for fruits The farmers contributionshare will be only 25 per cent of the assured amount which is Rs 750 per acre in vegetables and Rs 1000 per acre in fruits he said The Agriculture Minister said that the compensation has been divided into four categories 25 per cent 50 per cent 75 per cent and 100 per cent Dalal informed that Rs 10 crore will be kept by the government as initial capital for the scheme Compensation amount will be based on survey Monitoring of the scheme review and resolution of disputes will be done through the state-level and district-level committees constituted under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana he said He said that the State Government is committed to implement farmer friendly schemes and policies PTI SUN MR MR

Kolkata Feb 28 PTI A special NIA court here sentenced a man on Monday to five years in jail for smuggling fake Indian currency notes an official said The court also imposed a fine of Rs 40000 on Ketabul S K of West Bengals Malda district after convicting him of the relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code the official of the premier investigation agency said The case was originally registered in West Bengals Murshidabad district in July 2018 following the seizure of the FICN having a face value of Rs 192000 the official said The NIA had re-registered the case in August 2018 and filed charge-sheets against three accused in October 2018 and December 2018 the official said Two accused were already convicted earlier in December 2021 the official added PTI CPS SKL RAX RAX

New Delhi Dec 25 PTI The Delhi governments Anti-Corruption Branch has arrested the public health inspector of North MCD for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 175000 for providing a health trade licence to run a spa here officials said on Saturday The action was taken against Harish Kumar the public health inspector after the spa owner approached the Anti-Corruption Branch on Friday Our team was dispatched immediately to Kumars house who is an employee working as the public health inspector Karol Bagh Zone Health department of North MCD where he was caught red handed while accepting Rs 40000 as an initial instalment for providing a health trade licence to the spa said SK Gautam special commissioner of police Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government A case was filed against him under Section 07 POC Prevention of Corruption Act on Friday and further investigation was underway he said PTI AMP SNE SNE

New Delhi Dec 21 PTI Toll revenue of the NHAI will soar to Rs 140 lakh crore per annum in the next three years from Rs 40000 crore per annum currently Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday Addressing an event here the Road Transport and Highways Minister said that there is a huge opportunity for investors in Indias infrastructure sector as the traffic density is rising every year Our state-owned NHAIs current toll income is Rs 40000 crore It will rise to Rs 140 lakh crore in the next three years he said Inviting investments in the infrastructure sector Gadkari said that size of Indian economy is rising so naturally internal rate of return on infrastructure projects is also rising The Union minister said conciliation committees should decide cases related to road infrastructure projects within three months as delay in the decision making process results in higher costs For faster settlement of claims through conciliation and reduce liabilities the National Highways Authority of India NHAI has rigorously started the process of conciliation by constituting three Conciliation Committees of Independent Experts CCIE of three members each These committees are being headed by retired officials from the judiciary senior experts from public administration finance and the private sector Making a strong case for accelerating the bankruptcy resolution process Gadkari said no purpose is served if the financial matter is held up at courts and tribunals for a longer time We need to change our thinking about the issues concerning bankruptcy of companies as there are business cycles and all defaults are not frauds Gadkari who is known for his frank views on any issue said Referring to the delay in getting completion of bankruptcy related cases the road transport and highways minister said the bankruptcy tribunal NCLT is facing shortage of judges When a patient is serious he needs to be treated immediately There is no point in giving oxygen to a patient after he is dead Similarly in case of financial disputes the matter has to be resolved fast and not delayed as is happening at NCLT he said Gadkari said he would like to set up a committee under a retired judge to find out why the state-owned NHAI lost arbitration appeal cases in the Supreme Court SC in the last five years The minister said he would penalise those who are responsible for mindlessly filing appeals in the Supreme Court in arbitration awards which have gone against PTI BKS CS MR MR

New Delhi Nov 30 PTI Chaos erupted in a courtroom in Delhis Tis Hazari court on Tuesday with lawyers chanting slogans and standing atop tables and chairs as they awaited the pronouncement of order on sentencing in an assault case in which Delhi High Court Bar Associations DHCBA ex-President Rajiv Khosla is a convictKhosla was convicted last month in an assault case for criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt to complainant Sujata Kohli who was a lawyer at Tis Hazari court at that time She went on to become a judge in the Delhi judiciary and retired as a District and Sessions Judge last yearCourtroom number 38 where Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gajender Singh Nagar presided saw lawyers chanting shame shame shame and saying that the judge was working under pressure and favouring Kohli Pass the order We want to hear it yelled out one lawyer Police personnel also stood outside the courtroom for securityFew lawyers also climbed on the top of the tables and chairs in the jam-packed courtroom to hear the arguments between the counsels of both the convict and victim During the proceedings Kohli asked the judge Why is he Khosla being allowed to enter the court with a crowd He is here with hundreds of lawyers The convict is again and again reflecting that he has no regard for rule of law He loves to abuse the courtThe former judge who appeared through the video conference said that Khosla used unparliamentary language against the court and the judges post-judgement of his conviction Advocate Birender Sangwa representing Khosla however rebutted This court was favouring the complainant in all manner She took undue advantage of her position after becoming the judge Sangwa claimed that his client Khosla neither used unparliamentary language in the court nor threatened her or tampered with the witnesses Khosla has earned the goodwill he told the courtAfter the argument and chanting of more slogans the judge directed Khosla to pay a total compensation of Rs 40000 to the state and the victim He said that in default of these payments Khosla will undergo simple imprisonment of 30 days The judge further said that even though the convict assaulted a lady bar member in the presence of a number of lawyers he does not deem it fit to send him to imprisonment as he is not convicted in any other case and is a senior citizen After the pronouncement of the order lawyers chanted slogans of Vakeel Ekta Zindabad and Rajiv Khosla Zindabad and applaudedKhosla was convicted on October 29 in the assault case for offences punishable under Sections 323 voluntarily causing hurt and 506 criminal intimidation of the India Penal Code IPC The maximum punishment under these Sections entails a jail term of up to two yearsThe allegations against Khosla were that in July 1994 when he was the Secretary of Delhi Bar Association DBA he asked Kohli to join a seminar and on her refusal threatened her that all facilities from the Bar Association would be withdrawn and she would be dispossessed of her seat as wellKohli had filed a civil suit on August 1 1994 seeking injunction but despite that her table and chair were removed from their spotJust before the civil judge hearing her suit could inspect the spot Khosla along with a mob of 40-50 lawyers allegedly surrounded her she allegedAccording to her complaint Khosla pulled her hair dragged her twisted her arms uttered filthy abuses and threatened herWhile the incident took place in August 1994 the case came before the court in July 1995PTI AAK RKS RKS

Mumbai Nov 25 PTI The Mumbai police have arrested two of the four accused involved in allegedly abducting and threatening a businessman at gunpoint in Shivaji Nagar locality an official said on Thursday The incident took place on Monday when Sharafat Ali was allegedly abducted from suburban Govandi by four men who forced him into a car and took him to a commercial premises he owned the official said The accused allegedly put a gun to the victims chest and demanded Rs 2 lakh cash and Rs 40000 per month as protection money he said Ali managed to flee and lodged a complaint with the Shivaji Nagar police following which the police managed to apprehend two of the accused while the hunt for two more is underway the official said An offence has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC Arms Act and Mumbai Police Act he added PTI ZA ARU ARU

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI The Centre on Thursday released the balance Rs 44000 crore to states as loan to compensate for the GST shortfall taking the total such amount to Rs 159 lakh crore this fiscal This release of funds as back-to-back loans is in addition to the bi-monthly GST compensation being given out of cess collection The 43rd GST Council meeting on May 28 2021 had decided that the Centre would borrow Rs 159 lakh crore in 2021-22 and release it to states and UTs with legislature on a back-to-back basis to meet the resource gap due to the shortfall in compensation on account of inadequate amount collected in the GST compensation fund This amount is as per the principles adopted for a similar facility in the last fiscal 2020-21 where Rs 110 lakh crore was released to states The Ministry of Finance has released Rs 44000 crore today to the States and UTs with Legislature under the back-to-back loan facility in lieu of GST Compensation the ministry said in a statement The ministry had on July 15 and October 7 released Rs 75000 crore and Rs 40000 crore respectively to the states With the release of Rs 44000 crore on Thursday the total amount released in the current financial year as back-to-back loan in-lieu of GST compensation is Rs 159 lakh crore the statement added This amount of Rs 159 lakh crore is over and above the compensation in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore based on cess collection that is estimated to be released to statesunion territories with legislature during this financial year The sum total of Rs 259 lakh crore is expected to exceed the amount of GST compensation accruing in FY 2021-22 the ministry added The Rs 44000 crore being released now is funded from the Government of India securities issued in the current financial year at a Weighted Average Yield of 569 per cent No additional market borrowing by the central government is envisaged on account of this release It is expected that this release will help the StatesUTs in planning their public expenditure among other things for improving health infrastructure and taking up infrastructure projects it said PTI JD ABM ABM

Chandigarh Sep 22 PTI The Haryana government has decided to cover farmers growing horticultural crops under Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima scheme A decision to this regard was taken in a meeting of the state cabinet held here on Wednesday evening under the chairmanship of Chief Minister M L Khattar The Cabinet has accorded its approval for the implementation of Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana MBBY - an assurance-based scheme to compensate crop losses due to adverse weather and natural calamities for farmers growing horticulture crops an official statement said Horticulture growers face huge financial losses due to various factors biotic factors that include losses due to sudden outbreak of crop diseases insect-pests infestation and abiotic factors like untimely rainfall hailstorms drought frost extreme temperatures it said The Department of Horticulture has examined various crop insurance schemes covering horticultural crops and felt the need that a new scheme is required to cover crop loss due to natural calamities and adverse weather conditions This scheme has been designed as Horticulture Crop Assurance Scheme and named as MBBY with the aim to encourage farmers to cultivate high-risk horticulture crops The parameters like hailstorms frost rainfall flood fire etc which lead to crop loss have been taken under the scheme A total of 21 vegetable fruit and spice crops will be covered under the scheme Under this scheme farmers need to pay nominal Rs 750 for vegetable and spice crop and Rs 1000 for fruit crops against a sum assured of Rs 30000 and Rs 40000 respectively The claim compensation will be based on survey and extent of loss in four categories of 25 per cent 50 per cent 75 per cent and 100 per cent The scheme will be optional and will cover the entire state Farmers will have to opt for this scheme while registering their crop and area on Meri Fasal Mera Byora MFMB portal Season wise crop registration period will be fixed and notified from time to time The scheme will be implemented at Individual Field that is crop loss assessment will be done at the individual field level the statement said A seed capital of Rs 10 crore will be kept by the State Government State and District Level Committees under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana PMFBY will monitor review and resolve the disputes at State Level as well as District Level PTI SUN VSD MR MR