Jaipur: Beneficiary farmers of PM Kisan Scheme will have to get their bank account e-KYC verified by February 10, an official said.

It has been made mandatory for the beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Scheme before February 10, 2023, for e-KYC, linking bank account with Aadhaar and direct benefit transfer to bank account for the next installment transfer, Meghraj Singh Ratnu, the state nodal officer of the scheme said.

He said that instructions have been given by the Government of India in this regard.

In a statement, Ratnu said that by January 2023, 67 per cent e-KYC and 88 per cent bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar by the beneficiaries of this scheme in the state. In the state, about 24.45 lakh beneficiaries are yet to get e-KYC done and 1.94 akh beneficiaries are yet to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar.

He said that the beneficiaries who have not yet got e-KYC done and have not linked their bank account with Aadhaar, they must get it done before February 10. India Post Payments Bank has been authorized for the purpose.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of reference to the Sikkimese-Nepalese as “people of foreign origin” from its January 13 verdict on tax exemption in Sikkim, following a plea by the Centre and others for modification.

The remark made by the top court in its verdict had sparked protests in Sikkim, with the Sikkimese-Nepalese community taking strong objections over it.

A bench of justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna modified its verdict while hearing the Centre’s plea along with petitions filed by Sikkim and private parties seeking modification of the remark.

The top court initially agreed to remove the part “the persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like the Nepalese”.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the bench that the entire sentence be deleted.

The bench then agreed to remove the part “namely the Bhutia Lepchas and the persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like the Nepalese”.

It said that the error has crept in because the original writ petitioners have made more than 25 amendments to the petition but this fact was not brought to the notice of the court.

Mehta requested the court to clarify that the judgement has not touched upon the aspect of Article 371F of the Constitution which deals with special provisions with respect to Sikkim.

The bench, however, said that such a clarification is unnecessary as Article 371F was not a subject matter of the case.

In its January 13 verdict, the top court had said, “Therefore, there was no difference made out between the original inhabitants of Sikkim, namely the Bhutia-Lepchas and the person of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like the Nepalese or persons of Indian origin who had settled down in Sikkim generations back”.

Justice Nagarathna, who had penned down the January 13 verdict on behalf of the bench, dictated the modification order, “It is to be noted that in the said writ petition there was an amended writ petition filed pursuant to an application filed. Unfortunately, counsel for the writ petitioners did not bring to the notice of this court the substantial amendments brought”.

The bench further said, “It was their (counsel) duty to bring to the notice of the court about the fact. Now miscellaneous applications have been filed seeking corrections as if an error has occurred on the part of the court. However, after having heard the counsel for respective parties, we think it is just and proper to correct words in certain paragraphs of the judgement”.

On January 13, the top court had ruled that the exclusion of a Sikkimese woman from exemption allowed under the Income Tax Act merely because she has married a non-Sikkimese man after April 1, 2008 is “discriminatory and unconstitutional”.

Asserting that a woman is not a chattel and has an identity of her own, a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna had said that no justification has been shown to exclude a Sikkimese woman from such exemption.

“Apart from the above, the same is clearly hit by Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The discrimination is based on gender, which is wholly violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

“It is to be noted that there is no disqualification for a Sikkim man, who marries a non-Sikkimese after April 1, 2008. As rightly submitted, a woman is not a chattel and has an identity of her own, and the mere factum of being married ought not to take away that identity”, the bench had said.

Article 14 relates to equality before law, while Article 15 forbids discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and Article 21 provides for the right to life and personal liberty.

The top court had said to deny the benefit of exemption under Section 10(26AAA) of the Income Tax Act to a Sikkimese woman, who marries a non-Sikkimese after 2008, “is arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India”.

Under Section 10(26AAA) of the IT Act, the income of a Sikkimese individual arising either in the state of Sikkim or by way of dividend or interest on securities is not to be included in total income for tax calculation.

The top court’s verdict had come on an appeal filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and others seeking the striking down of Section 10(26AAA) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, more particularly, the definition of “Sikkimese” in Section 10 (26AAA) to the extent it excludes Indians who have settled in Sikkim prior to the merger of Sikkim with India on April 26, 1975.

Mangaluru: A middle-aged couple from Kerala allegedly died by suicide inside their lodge room at Falnir in the city on Wednesday, police sources said.

The deceased are identified as Ravindra (55) and Sudha (50) from Taliparamba, Kannur district, Kerala.

The two had checked into the hotel on February 6 and were last seen by the hotel staff on Tuesday night. As they did not come out of the room since then, the hotel staff informed the police.

The police who opened the door found the couple hanging. It is learnt that Ravindra was a textile businessman. The reason for the couple taking the extreme step is not yet known, the sources said.

New Delhi: The Animal Welfare Board of India has issued a notice appealing to people to celebrate “Cow Hug Day” on February 14 to spread “positive energy” and encourage “collective happiness”, officials said on Wednesday.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 every year.

“All cow lovers may celebrate February 14 as Cow Hug Day keeping in mind the importance of mother cow and make life happy and full of positive energy,” read the notice issued by the board under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The notice further said hugging cows will bring “emotional richness” and increase “individual and collective happiness”.

It also mentioned that Vedic traditions are almost on the “verge of extinction” due to the “progress of West culture” and that the “dazzle of western civilisation has made our physical culture and heritage almost forgotten”.

The notice has been issued with approval of the competent authority, the officials said

New Delhi: A belligerent Rahul Gandhi Tuesday led a blistering opposition attack in Lok Sabha over the Hindenburg report, claiming that the meteoric rise in Gautam Adani’s fortunes happened after the BJP came to power in 2014 as he rose in the global rich list from the 609th to the second spot eventually.

The Congress leader’s remarks drew a sharp response from the treasury benches, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju asking him not to level “wild allegations” and to furnish proof of his claims.

Outside Parliament, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Rahul Gandhi of making baseless, shameless and reckless allegations and charged that the Congress and the Gandhi family were involved in “big scams” that “tarnished” the image of the country.

Speaker Om Birla disapproved of the Congress leader displaying certain pictures in the House.

“If you show posters, they (BJP) will show posters of the Rajasthan chief minister (with Adani). Parliament is not for these things,” Birla said.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha as the first Opposition speaker, Gandhi made a barrage of allegations against Modi.

He asked how much money Adani has given to the BJP in the last 20 years, including through electoral bonds.

Speaker Birla asked Gandhi to focus on the President’s address.

“There should be a case study on Adani by business schools such as Harvard, on how the relationship between business and politics works, India is a case study,” Gandhi said.

He also hit out at Modi for slamming the Opposition over its criticism of the Rafale deal by allegedly overlooking the capabilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

“Yesterday, the prime minister said at HAL that we hurled wrong allegations. But in reality, HAL’s contract of 126 aircraft went to Anil Ambani, who then went bankrupt,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi, who just completed his over 4,000-km Bharat Jodo Yatra, said people asked him how Adani got into so many businesses and succeeded.

“From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, we have been hearing one name everywhere ‘Adani’. Across the entire country, it’s just ‘Adani’, ‘Adani’, ‘Adani’…,” Gandhi said.

He said that during the yatra people also asked him how Adani’s net worth increased from USD 8 billion to USD 140 billion between 2014 and 2022.

“In 2014, he was in 609th spot on the list of richest people and climbed to the second spot,” the former Congress chief said.

Gandhi also raised the issue of the report by US-based Hindenburg Research, saying it alleged that Adani has shell companies abroad.

Pointing out that Adani works in strategic sectors, he said the government must find out about these shell companies as to who controls them as this is a national security issue.

The Opposition has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation made by Hindenburg Research against Adani’s companies that triggered an unprecedented stock crash. The group has denied the charges.

Gandhi alleged that the government tweaked rules in favour of Adani and said the clause that no one without any prior experience would be involved in the development of airports was done away with.

“This rule was changed by the government and Adani was given six airports. After that India’s most strategic, profitable airport, Mumbai Airport, was taken away from GVK using agencies,” he alleged.

“The result is 24 per cent of India’s air traffic and 31 per cent of air freight passes through Adani’s airports,” Gandhi said.

The treasury benches repeatedly asked Gandhi to authenticate his claims, saying that such allegations cannot be levelled against the government without documentary evidence.

“Adani never made drones while HAL used to do it and other companies do it. They have four defence firms and had not done this work before, small arms, sniper rifles, all are made by Adani,” he said.

Adani group has a 30 per cent market share in the airports business and also controls 90 per cent of Israel-India defence cooperation, he claimed.

“I was asked by the people during the Yatra as to why LIC’s money is being put into the Adani group. They also asked why LIC’s funds are being put in Adani’s shares, which are volatile,” he said.

Participating in the debate, Gandhi also questioned the Agniveer scheme for recruiting defence personnel claiming that youths aspiring to be in the army were not on the same page as the government on the scheme.

Senior officers have said the scheme will weaken the army and it came from outside the Army, from the RSS and Home ministry, he claimed.

“They said that the Agniveer scheme came from outside and (National Security Advisor) Ajit Doval had forced it on the forces,” Gandhi said, evoking objections from the treasury benches which claimed that the official’s name should not be taken.

He said the main concerns of the people such as unemployment and price rise were not even mentioned in the president’s address.

Speaker Birla said that comments should not be made outside the House that mics are turned off, to which Gandhi said, “It is the reality that you do turn off the mics.”

Congress and its leaders were involved in all big scams which tarnished the image of India, he alleged.

Jodhpur : A group of villagers in Rajasthan’s Jalore district allegedly caught a man who had come to visit a girl, tied him to a tree, thrashed him and poured urine into his mouth, police said on Tuesday.

They have detained six people after a video of the assault surfaced on social media. They also slapped a case against the man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the police, the victim had allegedly come to meet a girl in a nearby village on Sunday night. He was caught and beaten up brutally after being tied to a tree by the villagers and family members of the girl.

On receiving information, the family members of the man also reached the spot and pleaded the mob to spare him. But the villagers poured urine into his mouth before letting him off with a warning, they said.

SP (Jalore) Harshvardhan Agarwalla said a video of the incident went viral on Monday.

“Though nobody came forward to file an FIR, we have identified and contacted the victim and took an FIR from him,” said Agarwalla.

Six persons in connection with the incident have been detained, he said.

The girl he had gone to meet has also filed a complaint against him under the POCSO Act, Agarwalla said, adding that further investigation will be initiated after her statement is recorded.