Archives for October 2022

SANIKERE (CHITRADURGA DT): Tuesday was Rahul Gandhi’s day with women — common workaday sorts like teachers, labourers and waste pickers — and interactions with them left the Congress leader impressed. Listening to their daily struggles and domestic issues, he exhorted them to be “lionesses of their homes”.  ADVERTISEMENTAds by 

Lakshmi Devi, a guest teacher in a government school in Kudligi who was born without hands, stunned Rahul with her determination to carve a life for herself. She adapted herself to write with her feet and excelled in studies, and then pursued her DEd. Rahul admitted that he could never have achieved what she had, if he was similarly challenged.

Listening to their viewpoints and wisdom was truly inspiring, he said, and added that he would do his best to address their issues. Rahul interacted with women labourers of MGNREGA, Anganwadi workers, Asha volunteers, waste-pickers and beedi rollers. Kotramma, a MGNREGA worker from Hagari Bommanahalli, explained that work was limited to 100 days per family, and wages fixed at Rs 309 a day. She demanded that the workday cap be raised to 200 days per person, and daily wages to Rs 600, to counter rising prices.
Bhagyamma, an Asha worker in Hulikunta village, said she served as a bridge between the community and healthcare sector. Her earnings were based on an incentive system with no stability, and she not paid on time, she said.

Leela, an Anganwadi worker, said salaries had not been increased in a long time and they had no job security. Jabeena Khanam, a beedi roller from Davanagere, complained that her wages are lower than that fixed by the government. She wanted better living conditions and healthcare and demanded that a Development Board be set up for them.

There was also a long discussion on domestic violence. Almost 80 per cent of the women confessed they were subjected to domestic violence by their drunk husbands. They said they were running their own homes and sending children to school, while their husbands spent their earnings on gambling or alcohol. The women wanted liquor to be banned.  

To this, Rahul proclaimed that they should become lionesses. He stated that women should come together to stop domestic abuse and that banning liquor comes with its own set of problems.

NEW DELHI: India and the UAE discussed a mechanism for carrying out bilateral trade in national currencies on Tuesday. This was among the discussions that took place in the 10th meeting of the India-UAE high-level joint task force on investments

Referring to the ongoing discussions between the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of the UAE on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as a common digital payments platform, both sides agreed to continue discussions.

The meeting, held in Mumbai, was co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. “In the previous meeting of the Joint Task Force, we had decided to fast-track negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and we finalised the agreement in unprecedented 88 days. I am sure the discussions we had today on mutually beneficial areas like food security and bilateral trade in national currencies will also see a similar thrust from both sides,” Goyal said. The India-UAE relations are witnessing unprecedented momentum. “We have many opportunities for cooperation and increasing investments, especially in key sectors such as infrastructure and technology, especially fintech,’’ Goyal said.

The Joint task force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the UAE and India. This was the first meeting of the Joint Task Force since the signing of the CEPA and unveiling of the Joint UAE-India Vision Statement in February 2022. “Since the previous meeting of the Joint Task Force in October 2021, several significant milestones have been reached that serve to cement the close, growing and strategic relationship between India and the UAE,” said Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Meanwhile, during the course of the meeting, discussions also took place on ways to enhance bilateral investments in key sectors of food security, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and technology.
The UAE agreed that the Department of Economic Development of Abu Dhabi will explore this area of cooperation with the counterparties in India in order to agree to a mutually beneficial implementation approach. Both sides reviewed the status of the negotiations of the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty. Twelve rounds of negotiations have so far been conducted.

NEW DELHI: Telecom major Jio’s 5G network has shown top median download speed of close to 600 megabit per second, while Bharti Airtel’s network has posted top speed of about 516 mbps, broadband speed research firm Ookla said in a report on Tuesday.

The report, based on the data collected from Speedtest Intelligence, showed 5G speed variation between low double-digits (16.27 Mbps) to 809.

94 Mbps, which the firm said is indication of ongoing network calibration for the 5G service.

While the 5G services were officially launched on October 1, Ookla has taken measurements since June 2022.

“In Delhi, Airtel reached nearly 200 Mbps median download speed at 197. 98 Mbps while Jio almost broke 600 Mbps (598.58 Mbps) in June 2022,” the report said.

This means a two-hour high definition movie which is generally around 6 GB file size can be downloaded in 1 minute 25 seconds and a 4K movie in about 3 minutes at a top speed of 600 mbps.

Bharti Airtel has started rolling out 5G services in eight cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi.

Jio has started beta trials in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi. Airtel’s network showed top median speed of 516.57 mbps in Varanasi.

In Kolkata, operators’ median download speeds varied the most since June 2022 — Airtel’s median download speed was 33.83 Mbps compared to Jio’s 482.02 Mbps.

In Mumbai, Airtel reached 271.07 Mbps median download speed as against Jio’s 515.38 Mbps.

In Varanasi, Jio and Airtel achieved closer parity, with Airtel achieving a 5G median download speed at 516.57 Mbps while Jio’s network recorded median download speed of 485.22 Mbps since June 2022.

The 5G services will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years — Jio promises to do that by December 2023 and Bharti Airtel by March 2024.

According to the Speedtest Global Index, India ranked 117th in the world for mobile download speed at 13.52 Mbps in August 2022.

The Ookla report said the new 5G results show that 5G speeds are far superior than India’s existing network.

It added that there is a need to approach these early results with caution, and 5G devices are already showing they can achieve much faster speeds, at least under artificial controlled testing circumstances.

Among Speedtest users, Jio recorded the largest increase in 5G-capable devices (67.4 per cent), followed by Airtel (61.6 per cent), and Vi India (56 per cent), the report said.

AHMEDABAD:  Those who have looted India will have to return what they have seized, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in Gujarat’s Jamkandorna town of Rajkot district. Addressing a rally ahead of the state Assembly polls due this year-end, Modi added that those who don’t respect Sardar Patel should have no place in Gujarat

He also responded to the accusations of the Opposition over misuse of central agencies, saying, “If the government takes action against corrupt people, they defame government institutions. Whatever they have looted has to be returned to this country.”

He added: “If the government acts against the corrupt, a group shouts against us. Should I not act against those involved in looting people? I continue to work despite criticism. I have your blessings.”  The PM also asked BJP workers and supporters to be aware that Congress has stopped abusing him and is “working silently” to capture rural votes. 

“The Congress seems inactive in Gujarat, but it is silently organising group meetings in villages. We need to remain alert even if they do not do rallies, sabhas or press conferences. I know this as it’s being controlled by those who are known to conspire against Gujarat from Delhi,” Modi said. 

He also hit out at being defamed by the Opposition. “They have suddenly gone silent. They have outsourced the contract of creating a ruckus and abusing me to others,” Modi said. “In the last 20 years, those who were against Gujarat left no stone unturned to defame the state. They hurled choicest abuses against me, including calling me ‘Maut ka saudagar’.” He also recalled how his journey started from Rajkot. Modi won his first election as an MLA from Rajkot (west) seat in 2002.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is set to become the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi proposed the name of Tharoor for the post. Curiously the party leadership has proposed Tharoor as chairman of a Parliamentary panel at a time when the diplomat-turned-politician is set to take on Sonia Gandhi’s confidante Mallikarjun Kharge in the party presidential election.

Sources said that when the panel post fell vacant, Sonia had checked with party senior leaders including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on whether Tharoor would be willing to take up the same. The leaders in turn consulted Tharoor and confirmed that he had no qualms in this regard. Tharoor was recently removed by the Union Government as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT.

The chairmanship of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers is among the very few panels allotted to the Congress party. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh will continue as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology. Another senior leader Abhishek Singhvi will continue as the chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Commerce.

Will follow party principles: Kharge
PATNA: Congress presidential poll candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday asserted that the party’s ‘big’ leaders and delegates fielded him in the elections and said that he would carry forward the party’s principles if elected to the post. Kharge reached the state capital to seek the support of Congress delegates and later told newspersons at the state party headquarters, Sadaqat Ashram, that the agenda fixed by Congress leaders in Udaipur this year would be his election manifesto. He said that it was decided to give 50 per cent seats to youths. “I will implement the decisions taken at the Udaipur convention,” he added. ENS

HIRIYUR: She is a doctor who has been staying in New York for the last 20 years. A non-political person, she was motivated to take part in Bharat Jodo Yatra as she felt that the country was losing its peace and tranquility. Dr Sneha Reddy, who hails from Bengaluru, says, “After coming to know about Bharat Jodo Yatra by Rahul Gandhi through the media, I immediately decided to join it. Now, I am walking every day, meeting new people and understanding the country well.”ADVERTISEMENTAds by 

Talking to TNIE while walking along with other yatris, 50-year-old Dr Reddy said, “Even though I stay in far away New York, I keep a close track of what is happening in India, more importantly Karnataka. I found that the peace and tranquility that prevailed in the country was fading away fast and it was heart-wrenching. It was at this point that I decided to walk for the country. I landed in India and started walking from Kanyakumari. I will go till the end and be part of the yatra till Kashmir. Rahul’s Yatra has been received well by the people of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This will bring a change in society.”

She starts her journey every morning at 6.30 and interacts with people and children who are taking part in the yatra. “I have decided to go to Kashmir. It is to ensure that the country will return to normal. Every day, I walk 20 km. I am non-politic. Participating in the yatra has brought me happiness,” she added.

She said the common man in the country is frustrated and the healthcare system is not up to the mark. The government should provide better care, she added. “My perception about Rahul Gandhi was different, but it changed after I interacted with him. He is a great leader who is fit and fine. He can steer the country towards equality,” she added. Dr Reddy completed her studies in Bengaluru and has been staying in the US for the last 20 years.

DEOGHAR: A minor girl was allegedly gang raped by five people in front of her mother in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district, a police officer said on Monday.

Two persons have been detained in this connection thus far, and a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up by the Deoghar Police to look into the matter, the officer said.

The girl and her mother, residents of Dumka district, were returning home from a function in Deoghar on Sunday when they came under attack in Madhupur area, said Sub-divisional Police Officer B Rout, quoting the FIR filed in the case.

Her mother filed the police complaint on Monday, following which the two were detained.

According to the complaint, five people on two motorcycles waylaid the two of them, and then took her daughter aside by force.

When the mother tried to stop them, she was beaten up and the girl was then raped in front of her, the complaint stated.

Deoghar Superintendent of Police (SP) Subhash Chandra Jat said the girl underwent a medical test, reports of which were awaited.

The police identified the accused and were on the lookout for the other three, he added.