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25 lakh farmers’ loans would be waived by March 5: Kamal Nath

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 Nasheman News : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath here on Wednesday said despite the states finances not being in good shape, his government would fulfil its promise of loan waiver for farmers.

Taking part in a discussion on farmers’ issues in the Assembly, Nath said loans of 25 lakh farmers would be waived by March 5. He underlined that the state’s financial situation was not good but the government was committed to fulfilling the promise made to farmers. 

Responding to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s question why enough amount was not allocated for loan waiver in the state budget, Nath said it would be clear on March 5 how loans would be waived. 

The Congress has promised to waive up to Rs 2 lakh loans of 55 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh. The government has sought applications from the needy farmers in this regard.

Pakistani prisoner murdered in Jaipur jail

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Nasheman News :  A Pakistani prisoner in the Jaipur central jail was allegedly murdered by group of fellow prisoners on Wednesday after an argument over a TV programme, officials said.

The incident comes in wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama left 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers dead.

Inspector General, Jails, Rupinder Singh identified the prisoner as Shakarullah, alias Mohammad Haneef, 45, who was undergoing imprisonment after being convicted for spying.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police Lakshman Gaur, Shakarullah was killed after an argument over a TV programme with other prisoners turned violent.

Speaking to media, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Rajeev Swaroop also attributed the cause of the prisoner’s death to an argument. “At 1.20 p.m., nine prisoners were watching TV when they had a quarrel over a programme. As the tension escalated, Shakarulla was stoned to death,” he said.

The other prisoners at the spot were identified as Ajeet, Manoj, Kulvendra, Bhajan Meena, Haaji Khan, Mahesh, Nandlal and Mallaki. 

A case has been registered and investigations are on, Swaroop said, adding that there has never been any case of fighting among the 66 prisoners lodged in the same ward.

Asked about the formalities to be completed for sending back the body, Rajasthan’s Director General, Jails, N.R.K. Reddy said, “The post mortem will be conducted soon. The Home and the External Affairs Ministries have been informed about the incident. We are completing all formalities in this case.”

He said that Shakarulla was undergoing life imprisonment under being convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and had been imprisoned there since 2010.

Meanwhile, security for other Pakistani prisoners is being enhanced, a police official said. 

BJP coins ‘Namumkin ab mumkin hai’ slogan for 2019 polls

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Nasheman News :‘Namumkin ab mumkin hai’ (Impossible is possible now) will be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) major poll campaign tagline for the 2019 general elections. The BJP is seeking a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The message through the slogan is clear. The things that looked impossible during the 10-year UPA rule have been made possible in the five-year regime of Modi. At the campaign, the party would list the government’s achievements, like 10 per cent reservation for poor in general categories, affordable medicine scheme and low-cost insurance plans.

A website, “http://www.narendramodi.live”, dedicated to providing videos of the Prime Minister’s speeches at election rallies and official visits, on Wednesday posted four scuh videos with the tagline “Namumkin ab mumkin hai”.

These videos show how the Modi government has turned impossible things, like providing affordable medicine and quality healthcare, safety net through insurance at low premium, ensuring a facilitating environment for entrepreneurs and reservation on the economic grounds, have become possible.

In one such video, an elderly man claims reservations on economic grounds is impossible in India. Responding to it, a youth says, “Namumkin ab mumkin hai”. It has been done now.

In another video, a woman tells her husband he was being misled by someone that an accidental death or disability insurance cover worth Rs 2 lakh for an annual premium of Rs 12 only can be availed. “In Rs 12 you can’t even buy handkerchief and you are talking about insurance,” the wife says.

The husband responds, “Yes, it is possible”, referring to the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and the Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

The video also talks about an assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 for informal sector workers under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PMSYM) scheme.

Besides this, the BJP is already running a media campaign with slogan “Abki Baar, Phir Modi Sarkar (This time, again Modi government)”. In 2014, BJP’s “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar” campaign slogan had caught the imagination of common voters.

“Abki Baar Modi Sarkar” slogan was created by Ajay Singh, Spicejet promoter and once the OSD of late Pramod Mahajan. The BJP is also running different campaigns with slogans “Saaf Niyat, Sahi Vikaas”, “Kaho dil se NaMo phir se” and several others.

We are fighting for united India, but BJP wants to divide country: Mamata

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Nasheman News :  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the BJP is trying to “divide India” in the wake of Pulwama terror attack while she and other parties in the opposition alliance are fighting to keep the nation united.

Criticising incidents of violence against the Kashmiris in different parts of the country, Banerjee said action should be taken against the terrorists responsible for the attack in the Valley, but blaming an entire community or a state is not correct.

Banerjee also took a swipe at Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy for tweeting that he was “inclined to agree” to the appeal made by retired colonel of Indian Army to “boycott everything that is Kashmiri”.

Referring to a Kashmiri doctor in Kolkata, who was threatened by a group of people to leave the city a day after the Pulwama attack, Banerjee said her government has taken strong action against the offenders and provided adequate security to the Kashmiris residing here.

“In Kolkata only one incident happened. But we have taken strong action. We have provided all the security. The Kashmiris are all safe here. They are happy to stay here because it is a peaceful place,” she said.

She also revealed that the city police has been asked to take stringent action against the “BJP hooligans” who attacked city-based civil activists for taking out an anti-war rally on Wednesday.


Rahul sacks AICC secretary attached to Priyanka

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Nasheman News : A day after appointment as AICC secretary, attached to party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kumar Ashish was sacked from the position by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, here on Wednesday. He has been replaced by Sachin Naik.

Though no reason was cited for Ashish’s sacking by the party in its release, sources say his blotted past could have prompted the Congress President’s decision.

As a youth Congress leader in 2005, Ashish had been booked by the Patna police for alleged involvement in the Bihar board examination papers leak. Even then, he had been sacked by the party. 

As part of efforts to ramp up the party organisation in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had on Tuesday replaced AICC secretaries Prakash Joshi and Naseeb Singh with six new faces to assist party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

A party release said Zubair Khan, Kumar Ashish and Bajirao Khade would be party secretaries attached to Priyanka Gandhi, party in-charge of eastern UP.

Rana Goswami, Dhiraj Gurjar and Rohit Chaudhary were appointed secretaries attached to Scindia, in-charge of western UP.

Priyanka Gandhi and Scindia were appointed General Secretaries last month.

Flight cancellations affect Jan air passenger growth

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Nasheman News :India’s domestic air passenger traffic growth slowed in January as airlines cancelled flights due to reasons like weather related events.

According to industry observers, seasonal factors too contributed to slowing of growth rate in January to 9.10 per cent on the year-on-year basis.

In December 2018, the number of passengers flown by domestic airlines grew at 12.91 per cent, while in November it increased 11.03 per cent.

As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, last month passenger traffic grew to 1.25 crore from 1.14 crore in January 2018.

“Passengers carried by domestic airlines in January were 125.08 lakh against 114.65 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year, registering a growth of 9.10 per cent,” the DGCA said in its monthly domestic traffic report here on Wednesday.

According to the data, low-cost carrier SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) — a measure of capacity utilisation of the airline — at 90.9 per cent, followed by GoAir with 87.4 per cent, AirAsia India 88.4 per cent and IndiGo 86.4 per cent in January.

“In January, we recorded 90.9 per cent PLF. This is the 46th month in a row that SpiceJet, among the major scheduled carriers, has flown with the highest loads in the Indian skies,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet.

“Besides setting new benchmarks in global aviation, this record has helped us establish our pre-eminence as the most preferred airline, month-on-month,” she said.

“The January PLF has shown a decreasing trend compared with previous month due to the end of tourist season,” the DGCA said.

According to the data, GoAir led the industry with 75.9 per cent punctuality rate (on-time performance) at the four major airports of Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It was followed by Vistara (75.3) and IndiGo (69.2).

The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for January stood at 1.81 per cent. Also, 917 passenger-related complaints were received last month.

IndiGo led the industry with the highest market share of 42.5 per cent, followed by SpiceJet (13.3), Air India (12.2), Jet Airways (11.9) and GoAir (8.7).

AirAsia India had a market share of 5.3 per cent, followed by Vistara (3.8), JetLite (1.7) and Trujet (0.5).

“Both air traffic and fares were affected in January largely due to weather and operational factors. Unexpected cancellations of flights by airlines also led to a substantial hike (20-25 per cent) in the last minute domestic airfares,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO and Co-founder, ixigo.

Fares for major domestic sectors would continue to see an all-time high throughout February, which would further affect the passenger growth, Bajpai said. Travellers can avoid high prices this season by booking tickets, preferably, 15-30 days in advance, he added.

According to Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com: “The percentage of growth has been affected due to unprecedented flight cancellations by various airlines, impacting the overall capacity and market growth”.

“With January marking the end of the holiday season, there has been a dip in travel. But we expect a pickup in demand towards the end of February and March with the semester breaks in schools as well as long weekends like Maha Shivratri and Holi,” Dhall said.


Modi popular but will be tough for BJP to replicate 2014 in UP: Survey

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Nasheman News :Prime Minister Narendra Modi still remains popular with the masses but it would be difficult for the BJP to replicate its 2014 success in Uttar Pradesh, says a survey on the evolving political scenario in the state ahead of the upcoming elections.

The survey also says that the tension after the Pulwama terror attack will have a significant bearing on the upcoming general elections.

Released on Wednesday, the survey report by market research and brokerage firm CLSA says that the BJP would find it difficult to replicate its 2014 success, though it could still win over half of the Lok Sabha seats in the country’s most populous state.

“Our discussions with various politicians, including those of the BJP, indicate that the BJP would likely win 40-45 seats (out of 80) in UP, on the higher side against 73 back in 2014,” the report adds.

A CLSA team travelled across Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks to reach its conclusions. 

During the course of its survey, it also found that Modi still remains popular on the ground across different castes, a factor that could translate into more votes in the caste-sensitive state.

And in what may come as good news for the Opposition, the CLSA report says the entry of Priyanka Gandhi — which has already energised the Congress cadres — may hurt the prospects of the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party (SP-BSP) combine and give the BJP a tough fight. 

The SP and the BSP have joined hands to corner the Muslim and Dalit votes. 

“Though the alliance is a formidable opposition to the BJP, the entry of Priyanka Gandhi can still take away some of SP-BSP vote share. If not formal, at least, an informal alliance with the Congress will be required for the combine to work,” the CLSA report says.

The survey adds that a possible alliance of the SP-BSP with the Congress can turn the tables and limit the gains made by the BJP, preventing a clean sweep of sorts registered by the party in the last general elections.

“We understand that the SP-BSP might tie-up with the Congress, at least informally, which could possibly limit the gains for the BJP,” says the report.

There is also a possibility of disgruntled party workers from the SP and the BSP, after the two joined hands, shifting to the Congress, which might help the BJP. 

But CLSA says that cow vigilantism in the state has badly hurt farmer sentiments turning a large section against the ruling party. 

Vigilantism has prevented farmers from selling their cattle and the excess cattle are, in turn, destroying farm produce.

The confusion in the state and the emerging political scenario does not portent good for the markets. 

The CLSA survey says that in the short term, domestic equity flows will likely reflect these political uncertainties over the next three months, driving the market lower.

Modi may inaugurate PM Kisan scheme on Sunday

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Nasheman News : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the direct income support scheme – PM KISAN – on Sunday by releasing the first instalment to the beneficiary farmers, an official said.

Modi will address the two-day national conclave of the BJP Kisan Morcha on Sunday and later release the money – Rs 2,000 per land holding – electronically to the bank accounts of farmers, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, with the click of a button. 

The UP government is working on war-footing to upload details of eligible farmers on the central database by Friday.

The BJP government intends to ensure release of first instalment to all eligible farmers – small and marginal – before the model code of conduct kicks in. 

In the interim budget, the Modi government announced direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to 12.5 crore small and marginal farmers with land holding up to 2 hectares under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. 

India, Saudi Arabia condemn Pulwama attack, call for sanctioning of terrorists, organisations by UN

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Nasheman News : India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday strongly condemned the terror attack on Indian forces in Pulwama, called upon countries to renounce use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy and underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the United Nations.

The remarks on the UN sanctions regime during discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman comes two days after the joint statement issued during visit of the Saudi Arabian leader to Pakistan which had “underlined the need for avoiding politicisation of UN listing regime”.

Briefing the media following delegation-level talks between Modi and Salman here, Secretary (Economic Relations) T.S. Tirumurti said they expressed strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

India is keen to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations. JeM has cliamed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel. 

Asked how the remarks of the two leaders squared up with Saudi-Pakistan joint statement, Tirumurti said he did now want to comment on it, but “if you are really looking at politicisation, you know who is politicising it”. 

Tirumurti said the two leaders called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, cut off any kind of support and financing to terrorists from all territories against other states and bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice.

“The two leaders condemned in the strongest terms the recent terrorist attack on Indian forces in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. Both leaders called upon all countries to renounce use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. They called on states to deny access to weapons to commit terrorist acts against other countries. 

“Both leaders underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the United Nations. They called for concerted action by the international community against terrorism and early adoption of the UN comprehensive convention on international terrorism,” he said. 

Answering a query, he said the complicity of Pakistan in Pulwama attack was very much underlined. 

The official also said both sides agreed to set up a Strategic Partnership Council and Saudi Arabia will invest $ 100 billion in India in a range of areas. He said the two leaders agreed to constitute a comprehensive security dialogue at the level of NSAs. 

He said that Prince Mohammed appreciated “consistent efforts” by Modi since May 2014 including Prime Minister’s personal initiatives to have friendly relations with Pakistan”. 

“In this context both sides agreed on the creation of conditions necessary for resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan,” he said.

He also said that no mediation was offered by the Saudi authorities.

Tirumurti said that the Crown Prince highlighted extremism and terrorism as matters of common concern and expressed his determination to cooperate with India to fight this menace particularly through strong intelligence partnership.

“To enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts and benefit mutually in real-time intelligence sharing, the two leaders agreed to constitute a comprehensive security dialogue at the level of National Security Advisors and set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism.

On the defence front, they agreed to hold the first naval exercises at the earliest and expand defence relations in other areas like defence exercises, joint production, supply chain development,” he said. 

Tirumurti said the meeting was held in “an atmosphere of great warmth and friendship testifying to the close rapport between the two leaders”. 

He said the visiting leader conveyed his appreciation of the Indian model which signifies the ethos of inclusiveness, pluralism and tolerance. 

“Both sides agreed to set up a Strategic Partnership Council which will be guided by Prime Minister and the Crown Prince and will have ministerial representation covering all aspects of bilateral relations. This is an extremely important development in line with desire of Saudi Arabia to deepen partnership with eight strategic partners one of which is India.”

He said Modi welcomed the announcement of Crown Prince to invest $ 100 billion in India in a range of areas like energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing. 

“This is a clear reflection of confidence of Saudi Arabia in the vibrancy of Indian economy,” he said adding there was talk of realising untapped potential in trade particularly non-oil trade.

He said they expressed satisfaction at first joint venture in energy of a refinery and petrochemical project estimated at $ 44 billion and the prime minister welcomed Saudi Arabia’s participation in India’s strategic petroleum reserves.

Tirumurti said the two leaders agreed to increase the frequency of of direct flights of carriers India and Saudi Arabia by 3,84,000 seats per annum which will give a huge boost to tourism as well as large Indian community.

He said at India’s request, Saudi Arabia decided to increase haj quota from India to two lakhs. India, he said, has also decided to extend e-visa facilities to Saudi nationals. 

Tirumurti said Saudi Arabia also agreed to resolve issues related to Indian workers who are currently stranded in SA due to closure of one foreign country. 

The two leaders agreed to enhance maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean Region and agreed to cooperate along with other Indian Ocean rim countries in serving as the net security provider for IOR.

In a veiled reference to China’s ‘One Belt, One Road project’ which also includes China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Triumurti said both sides agreed that regional connectivity projects should be based on univsersally recognised international norms including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. 

The two leaders expressed serious concern over cyber terrorism and misuse of cyber space and said they will also work together to address the problems and issues of fugitive economic offenders. 

Answering queries, Tirumurti said Afghan situation was not discussed, but there was a discussion on areas relating to Middle East, Syria, Palestine.

Answering a query, he said the two sides agreed for comprehensive sanctioning of not only terrorists but terrorist organisations by the UN. 


25 lakh farmers’ loans would be waived by March 5: Kamal Nath

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Nasheman News :  Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath here on Wednesday said despite the states finances not being in good shape, his government would fulfil its promise of loan waiver for farmers.

Taking part in a discussion on farmers’ issues in the Assembly, Nath said loans of 25 lakh farmers would be waived by March 5. He underlined that the state’s financial situation was not good but the government was committed to fulfilling the promise made to farmers. 

Responding to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s question why enough amount was not allocated for loan waiver in the state budget, Nath said it would be clear on March 5 how loans would be waived. 

The Congress has promised to waive up to Rs 2 lakh loans of 55 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh. The government has sought applications from the needy farmers in this regard.


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