Kolkata Apr 26 PTI The Jute Commissioners Office JCO which is under attack from various quarters for unavailability of raw materials at the price fixed by the government on Tuesday said it continues to safeguard farmers interests but cannot allow illegitimate gains for a section of players in the industry by revising the price capThe JCO which looks after orderly development and promotion of the industry in India also stated that no decision was made as of now to alter the raw jute price fixed at Rs 6500 per quintal amid allegations that mills are not getting the golden fibre below Rs 7000 per quintal amid the bumper crop of 90 lakh bales in the 2021-22 seasonNo farmer or farmers body has complained about price fixation If relaxed it will have illegitimate gain for a certain section of the industry Jute Commissioner Moloy Chakraborty told a press conference hereHe denied allegations of neglect of West Bengals jute industryBJP MP Arjun Singh whose constituency Barrakpore has 20 jute mills had on Monday slammed the central government for neglecting the states jute industry He also supported ruling TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees demand for removal of the price cap on raw jute to current market-driven prices to support farmersThere is a lot of misinformation around Almost 95 per cent of farmers are marginal and they have already diluted their produce The majority of the raw jute is now with traders and middlemen Chakraborty saidHe said that the raw jute price was fixed at Rs 2000 over and above the minimum support price MSP of Rs 4500 per quintal and it is quite reasonable for the farmersTo a question on de-hoarding of the golden fibre the jute commissioner said it is up to the state agencies to step up their action State enforcement officials claimed that the JCO has not been able to provide a verified jute traders list yetAfter Chakrabortys press conference Arjun Singh claimed that the JCO painted an untrue picture to satisfy his bosses by ruining the future of millions of workers and farmers Several jute mills have downed shutters in the past few months reportedly due to unavailability of raw jute at the price fixed by the JCOThe claim that the state government had earlier accepted Rs 6000 per quintal rate is false as it was temporary because the price had shot up to Rs 9000 per quintal due to Amphan calamity in 2020 the BJP MP asserted in a statementEarlier this month Trinamool Congress Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Ray sought the intervention of the Centre to resolve the jute crisis claiming that 60000 workers have lost their jobs following the closure of 15 jute mills PTI BSM PNT NN NN

Kolkata Apr 20 PTI Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd on Wednesday said the company will commence its 20th manufacturing unit in West Bengal and is in the process of commissioning a green building in Rajarhat area which will house its information technology arm ITC InfotechSpeaking at the inaugural session of Bengal Global Business Summit BGBS 2022 ITC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri said the journey of investment in the state will continueOver the last few years we invested nearly Rs 4500 crore in the state and all these projects are already implemented These included food processing facilities he said adding that the company now has 19 manufacturing units in the state with nine of them producing ITCs agri-based food processing productsThe company will set up a new state-of-the-art personal care products manufacturing unit at Uluberia in Howrah which will be its 20th facility in the state he saidLand for this project has been acquired and construction is expected to start soon Puri said He claimed that ITCs business and value-chains provide sustainable livelihood to over 22 lakh peopleThe new hotel property ITC Royal Bengal is a tribute to the City of Joy and has redefined the Kolkata skyline he added PTI DC BSM BDC BDC

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 3 (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs has given a nod to the formation of Village Defence Groups (VDGs) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 21 (ANI): The Indian stock markets benchmark Sensex closed 149 points down in volatile trading on Monday amid negative cues from the global equities.

Noida Dec 18 PTI Plots worth Rs 4500 crore for NOIDAs Sports City were allotted to entities who did not meet the technical eligibility criteria of stipulated net worth turnover or past experience a Comptroller and Auditor General CAG of India report revealedThe CAGs performance audit report on Land Acquisition and Allotment of Properties in New Okhla Industrial Development Authority NOIDA Uttar Pradesh government which was tabled in the Assembly on Friday also flagged that the Sports City scheme was launched without approvalsNew Okhla Industrial Development Authority NOIDA in deviation from its primary mandate of development of an industrial township allotted four plots measuring 3344 lakh sqm during 2011-16 for the integrated development of four sports cities to hold marquee sports events like National Games Commonwealth Games and Asiad Games it notedThree golf courses of nine holes each and one international cricket stadium were envisaged in the sports cities along with infrastructure for other games the report statedAt the time of the launch of the first sports city scheme in 2008 there was no category of sports city in the Master Plan-2021 It was included in Master Plan-2031 which was approved by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2011 the audit showedThe envisioned sports city infrastructure necessitated detailed specifications for the facilities with the involvement of serious developers for executing the projects However NOIDA failed to lay down any specifications or parameters for the level of intended sports infrastructure the CAG notedThe technical eligibility criteria specified for the developers were based on real estate development rather than the development of sports infrastructure it addedMoreover the technical eligibility criteria of the net worth of Rs 80 crore to Rs 125 crore was also not commensurate with the value of the sports city plots which ranged between Rs 837 crore and Rs 2264 crore it saidThe lacunae in policy were further accentuated by failures in due diligence In three out of four allotments plots worth Rs 4500 crore involving an area of more than 25 lakh sqm were allotted to ineligible entities who did not even meet the technical eligibility criteria of stipulated net worth turnover or past experience the auditor noted as it flagged deficiencies in screening and allotmentsThe actions of NOIDA concerning the Sports City have essentially entailed approval for and development of residential or group housing projects with scant focus on the primary goal of creating a world-class sporting infrastructure it remarkedResultantly no sports facility has been developed in these Sports City plots so far December 2019 even after eight years of the roll-out of the initial schemeThere is a clear case for responsibility to be fixed by the government for the actions on part of NOIDA which has effectively sealed the possibility of creation of a Sports City of international standards as was envisaged the report statedAccording to the report the Sports City scheme provided for land use of a minimum of 70 per cent for recreational or sporting use and the rest of the area was allowed for residential commercial and recreational useThis translates into dedicating 559 acres out of the 798 acres proposed allotment in the four plots earmarked for the development of Sports CityThe condition of the brochure also provided that without obtaining completion certificate the lessee shall have the right to sub-divide the allotted plot into suitable smaller plots as per planning norms of NOIDA only for the area available for residential and commercial use it addedThe auditor observed that despite the condition of sub-dividing the plots into smaller plots for area available for residential and commercial use only NOIDA approved during the period 2012 to 2017 sub-division of the entire plot which violated the underlying theme as well as the approved conditions of the brochureAs such any sub-division should have been approved for only 30 per cent of the land which was to be used for residential and commercial developmentThus against the area of 10032579 sqm 24790 acres eligible for sub-division the entire area of 3344193 sqm 82634 acres was sub-divided into 81 parts against the conditions of the scheme The 559 acres of land earmarked for sports infrastructure was in effect sub-divided into 34 sub-divisions it added PTI KIS NSD

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 18 (ANI): Uttarakhand government has increased a hike in the 'Andolankari pension' for those who were jailed or injured while participating in agitations for the formation of the state in 2000.

New Delhi [India], December 10 (ANI): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Civil Aviation has taken serious note of the mismanagement of the crowd at airports across the country including Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Ahmedabad Oct 26 PTI Gujarat minister of state for home Harsh Sanghvi on Tuesday held a meeting with senior officials after police personnel used social media and their kin resorted to sit-ins and rallies to demand a pay hike Brajesh Kumar Jha Inspector General of Police Administration said the minister met senior officials during the day adding that information on grade pay for police have been sought from other states He however said as per primary information available to him no state pays Rs 4500 as grade pay to their police personnel In the meeting it was also discussed as to what action should be taken against police personnel who are taking to social media forums instead of using appropriate committees to put forth their demands he said Personnel from constable to assistant sub inspector ranks are demanding a hike in their grade pay with their kin taking out rallies and holding sit-ins in different cities including Gandhinagar and Surat on Tuesday Personnel are demanding a hike in their grade pay to Rs 2800 for constables Rs 3600 for head constables and Rs 4400 for assistant sub inspectors and have taken to social media platforms to press for their demands They are also demanding fixed 8-hour shifts pay leaves as per the Seventh Pay Commission and permission to form a union A constable was on Monday detained from the Secretariat in Gandhinagar for holding a sit-in protest while a woman constable threatened a hunger strike but the matter was resolved a Navrangpura police station official said Parties like the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are backing the protesting police personnel and have asked the BJP government in the state to be sympathetic to their demands Congress leader Paresh Dhanani wrote to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and said police should be given all facilities and grade pay in line with what other government employees were getting PTI KA PD BNM BNM BNM

New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): Aryan Khan. who was arrested in connection with the drugs-on-cruise case, spoke to his parents Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan via video call from inside Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail on Friday, informed jail officials.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 14 (ANI): Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan's son Aryan Khan has received a money order of Rs 4,500 in Arthur Road prison, where he is lodged in connection with the Mumbai cruise drug raid case, said jail superintendent Nitin Waychal on Thursday.