Raipur: Chhattisgarh health department has taken action against five private hospitals for allegedly overcharging patients during treatment under a government scheme, officials said on Wednesday.
Out of the five hospitals, fines in the range of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh have been imposed on four medical facilities and three of them have also been de-empanelled from the scheme.
Another hospital faced only de-empanelment action, they said.
The action against these healthcare facilities – four located in capital Raipur and one in Bilaspur district – was taken on Tuesday after irregularities were found during an audit of the hospitals empanelled under ‘Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna Dr Khoobchand Baghel Health Sahayata Yojna’, the officials said.
The recent audit unearthed irregularities and it was found that extra money was charged from patients in Ramakrishna CARE Hospital, Anjali Nursing Home, Maher Hospital and Shah Nursing Home located in Raipur and Shri Balaji Hospital in Bilaspur, following which the state health services director ordered action against these facilities, a statement issued by public relations department said.
A penalty of Rs 6.16 lakh has been imposed on Ramkrishna CARE Hospital in Raipur while the same amount has to be reimbursed to the patients from whom extra money was charged for treatment, it said.
Besides, Anjali Nursing Home was fined Rs 3 lakh, Maher Hospital Rs 5 lakh and Shah Nursing Home Rs 3 lakh and all three were also de-empanelled from the scheme for one year, the statement said.
The empanelment of Shri Balaji Hospital in Bilaspur was suspended for a year, the statement said.
In case of any difficulty faced by patients during the treatment in hospitals registered under the scheme, the patients or their relatives can directly complain on the health department’s toll-free numbers 104 or 14555, it added.
Archives for February 2023
Lotus will bloom everywhere in Telangana: Modi
Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took apparent potshots at the ruling TRS in Telangana, saying it has ‘betrayed’ the people and asserted the ‘Lotus will bloom’ everywhere in the state.
The PM’s statement comes ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections in the state, where the BJP is seeking to challenge the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS.
The political party on which Telangana had a lot of faith has betrayed the people, Modi said without naming the TRS and added signals are indicating that Lotus will bloom in the state.
Modi landed here this afternoon to dedicate to the nation a fertilizer plant at Ramagundam in the state, besides inaugurating and laying foundation stone for multiple development projects.
“In the recent times, whatever bypolls were held, the message is loud and clear that the sunrise is not far. Darkness will vanish. Lotus will bloom everywhere in Telangana,” Modi said.
“The party on which the Telangana people had a lot of faith, the same party betrayed Telangana. But friends, when the darkness looms large from all four sides, Lotus will start to bloom, he said, alluding to the BJP’s symbol.
“Now Telangana people want a government that works for all the families of Telangana instead of a single family,” Modi said indirectly referring to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
“They want a BJP government,” Modi said.
He said he could see the lotus blooming in Telangana, referring to his party’s recent prospects in various bypolls. The party had won two Assembly by-polls in the last two years, besides putting up a good show in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections earlier.
Superstitions are being practiced in the city, known for its information technology presence, he said and opined that superstitions decide the governance, in what seemed to a veiled reference at the Chief Minister.
He further said the state government and its leaders here keep doing injustice to Telangana’s capacity and its people’s talent.
Referring to the recent Munugode bypoll, Modi said the BJP workers together forced the entire state administration to focus on a single election. The ruling party won the seat by a little over 10,000 votes.
No tax on income up to Rs 7 lakh, standard deduction allowed under new tax regime
New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced no tax for those with annual income of up to Rs 7 lakh under the new tax regime but made no changes for those who continue in the old regime that provides for tax exemptions and deductions on investments and expenses such as HRA.
In what is being seen as push for salaried class taxpayer to switch to new tax regime where no exemptions on investments is provided, the finance minister in her budget for 2023-24 allowed a standard deduction of Rs 50,000 under the new regime.
The old tax regime provides for a similar deduction and no tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh.
Also, the basic exemption limit has been raised to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh. A Rs 2.5 lakh basic exemption limit is prescribed in old tax regime.
The move will lead to a saving of Rs 33,800 for those earning up to Rs 7 lakh annually and opting for new tax regime. Those with income up to Rs 10 lakh would save Rs 23,400 and Rs 49,400 saving would accrue to those earning up to Rs 15 lakh.
For high salary people, Sitharaman also reduced surcharge from 37 per cent to 25 per cent for high net worth individuals with income above Rs 2 crore.
This would translate into a saving of around Rs 20 lakh for those having a salary income of about Rs 5.5 crore.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said currently individuals with total income of up to Rs 5 lakh do not pay any tax due to rebate.
“It is proposed to increase the rebate for the resident individual under the new regime so that they do not pay tax if their total income is up to Rs 7 lakh,” Sitharaman said, adding that the number of slabs would be reduced to five.
Under the revamped new tax regime, no tax would be levied for income up to Rs 3 lakh. Income between Rs 3-6 lakh would be taxed at 5 per cent; Rs 6-9 lakh at 10 per cent, Rs 9-12 lakh at 15 per cent, Rs 12-15 lakh at 20 per cent and income of Rs 15 lakh and above will be taxed at 30 per cent.
“I propose to extend the benefit of standard deduction to the new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of Rs 15.5 lakh or more will thus stand to benefit by Rs 52,500,” Sitharaman said.
Deloitte India Partner Neeru Ahuja said that the tweaks made in the new tax regime clearly indicates that government wants salaried class to shift to the new regime, under which exemptions cannot be claimed.
“Usually salaried individuals save to claim benefit of tax deductions. The tweaks in the new tax regime in Budget are aimed at getting people out of that mindset. The government is indicating that the new tax regime is here to stay and may be the only option going forward,” Ahuja said.
The government in Budget 2020-21 brought in an optional income tax regime, under which individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) were to be taxed at lower rates if they did not avail specified exemptions and deductions, like house rent allowance (HRA), interest on home loan, investments made under Section 80C, 80D and 80CCD. Under this, total income up to Rs 2.5 lakh was tax exempt.
Currently, a 5 per cent tax is levied on total income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, 10 per cent on Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh, 15 per cent on Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, 20 per cent on Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh, 25 per cent on Rs 12.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, and 30 per cent on above Rs 15 lakh.
The scheme, however, has not gained traction as in several cases it resulted in higher tax burden.
With effect from April 1, these slabs will be modified as per the Budget announcement.
India beat NZ by 168 runs in 3rd T20I, clinch series 2-1
Ahmedabad: India beat New Zealand by 168 runs in the third and final T20 International to win the series 2-1 here on Wednesday.
Electing to bat, India posted a massive 234 for 4, riding on Shubman Gill’s (126 not out) maiden T20I ton, and then shot New Zealand out for 66 in 12.1 overs.
Daryl Mitchell top-scored for New Zealand with 35.
Hardik Pandya grabbed four wickets for 16 runs while Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Mavi and Umran Malik took two wickets apiece.
Brief Scores:
India: 234 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 126 not out, Rahul Tripathi 44, Hardik Pandya 30; Daryl Mitchell 1/6).
New Zealand: 66 all out in 12.1 overs (Daryl Mitchell 35; Hardik Pandya 4/16).
Budget is like ‘seedless peanut,’ says Karnataka Congress
Bengaluru: Terming the Central budget as a seedless peanut’, the Congress in Karnataka on Wednesday claimed that it has nothing to offer to the people, especially for the State.
In a set of tweets, the party came down heavily on the ruling BJP in the State for “not getting Rs 23,000 crore for the Upper Bhadra project as it settled for a mere Rs 5,300 crore,” as announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget.
It also took a dig at the budget for “doing nothing” for farmers in Karnataka.
“The Central government’s budget is like a “seedless peanut”! This budget is similar to the ‘white crow’ called ‘Rs 20-lakh crore package’!”
There is no hope for the youth who are desperate for employment, the Congress alleged.
It also flayed the BJP at the Centre for “not coming out with any action plan to control price rise.”
“The Central government has belied the expectations of people who were hoping that their suffering will reduce,” the party said.
The Congress slammed the Karnataka unit of the ruling BJP which it said calls itself a “double- engine government”.
It sought to know why Karnataka got “nothing” in the Central budget and why only a “meagre” Rs 5,300 crore has been allocated for the Bhadra Upper Bank Project, which requires Rs 23,000 crore.
It also wondered why Mekedatu and Mahadayi schemes did not find any mention.
The party also took a dig at the budget for not mentioning anything about the capital- intensive suburban rail project in the State.
“The deadline for the work of the suburban train is coming to an end. For the Rs 18,000- crore project, a paltry sum has been allocated, which shows the Centre’s callous attitude towards Karnataka. BJP definitely has no intention of completing it within the stipulated time- frame,” the party said.
Alleging that Karnataka ranks second in farmer suicides among States in the country, the party asked the BJP State unit as to “what was there for the farmers of the State in the budget.”
“Farmers’ problems will not be solved by catchy terms like agriculture digitisation’. The Prime Minister does not seem to know the fact that crops cannot be grown with digital technology!” the Congress said.
Mukesh Ambani is richest Asian as Adani tumbles out on Hindenburg row
New Delhi: Ports-to-energy tycoon Gautam Adani has tumbled on the world’s top billionaire ranking and is no longer the richest Asian or Indian.
Rival business magnate Mukesh Ambani, who was richest Indian before Adani’s eye popping gains in company stock prices catapulted him to top spot in April last year, has regained that position.
Adani, who ranked third richest in the world on the Forbes billionaire list just a week back, dropped to 15th position on Wednesday as his group stock continued to tumble in the aftermath of a damning report by a US short seller.
Ambani with USD 83.7 billion wealth is ranked No.9 on the list, according to Forbes website.
Adani, who has seen all of the USD 44 billion wealth gain he made last year vanish in one week, was ranked on 15th position with USD 75.1 billion wealth.
Since US-based short-seller Hindenburg in its January 24 report alleged that the group was “engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”, Adani companies have lost USD 90 billion market value.
Adani group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. It called the Hindenburg report baseless and has threatened to sue the short seller.
The drop in rank comes a day after the Adani group managed to muster support from investors for a Rs 20,000 crore share sale for flagship firm Adani Enterprises despite the trading price of the stock being lower than the offer price.
Shares of Adani Enterprises plunged 30 per cent on Wednesday while Adani Power fell 5 per cent, Adani Total Gas slumped 10 per cent and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone dropped 20 per cent.
Adani Total Gas, a joint venture with France’s TotalEnergie, has been the biggest casualty of the short seller report, as it has lost about USD 27 billion in market capitalisation.
K’taka HC gives Bengaluru Metro two weeks to respond on pillar collapse accident
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday ordered issuing of notices to Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and others in a public interest litigation taken on its own over the death of two persons due to the collapse of an under-construction metro pillar here.
The BMRCL was given two weeks’ time to respond to the court.
The state government, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the BMRCL chief engineer and Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited are the other respondents in the case.
The High Court had initiated the suo-moto (on its own) PIL on January 13 following the death of software engineer Tejaswini and her two-year-old son when the pillar pier collapsed on the two-wheeler they were travelling in, near Hennur main road in the city on January 10.
The division bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty heard the petition that the court had itself directed the Registrar General to initiate.
While initiating the PIL earlier this month, the High Court had said it was taking cognisance of news reports about the incident. “These news items prompted us to take cognisance of the incident referred to wherein there is an unfortunate death of a lady and toddler son at the condition of roads, the issue raises concern and question for the public at large.”
Meanwhile, the BMRCL had suspended three engineers and issued notices to its contractor Nagarjuna Construction Company. The police had booked nine persons including officials of BMRCL.
Scandal-hit BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi holds long meeting with CM Bommai
Bengaluru: A day after accusing Congress state president D K Shivakumar of being involved in a conspiracy behind the sex scandal that led to his resignation as minister in 2021, BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi on Tuesday held a lengthy discussion with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, sources said.
Jarkiholi had on Monday demanded that the sex scandal case should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation as a “big racket” is involved in which politicians and bureaucrats are honey trapped and blackmailed.
Calling for the arrest of the young woman in the case and her accomplices including two people from Mandya, the BJP MLA had charged that Shivakumar was behind the scandal.
“Today, Ramesh Jarkiholi had a long meeting with the Chief Minister. He met him at his residence for 10 minutes, then travelled with him in the flight till Hubballi,” sources close to the Chief Minister told PTI.
The sources also said the meeting revolved mainly around the sex scandal and the alleged role of Shivakumar and a few others from Belagavi district.
Jarkiholi had insisted that the case should be handed over to the CBI for thorough investigation. It was not clear whether the Chief Minister heeded to the demand.
In a press conference on Monday, Jarkiholi had claimed that there are at least 120 sleaze video clippings available involving various officers and politicians who are being blackmailed.
He said the issue is very serious and the government should get it investigated by the premier investigation agency.
Another senior Executive of NDTV resigns after 23 years of service, second big resignation today
New Delhi: The series of resignations at the Adani-acquired NDTV doesn’t seem to halt at the moment as another senior executive of the channel Kawaljit Singh Bedi announced his resignation on late Tuesday evening.
The announcement came hours after reports of the Executive Editor of the channel Nidhi Razdan’s resignation came out.
In a tweet, Bedia wrote “You and I have memories. Longer than the road that stretches out ahead. 23 years and some change. Time to say goodbye. Thank you @ndtv”
NDTV has been marred with a series of resignations ever since the Adani group took over the channel earlier in December last year.
Journalist Ravish Kumar and NDTV Group president Suparna Singh are among others who quit. NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy also left the company’s board in December 2022.
On December 30, the Adani group said it has acquired a 27.26% equity stake in NDTV from the Roys, founders of the news broadcaster. A week before that, the NDTV board also appointed two nominee directors of the richest Asian Gautam Adani-run conglomerate on the board – Sanjay Pugalia and Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan.
Uma Bharti links crime against women in MP to drinking
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Uma Bharti
Bhopal: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Uma Bharti on Tuesday sought to link rise in cases of crime against women in Madhya Pradesh, ruled by her party, to consumption of alcohol and pushed for converting liquor outlets which are being operated in violation of rules into cow shelters.
Ending her four-day-long stay at a temple in Bhopal, Bharti announced the launch of “Madhushala Me Gaushala” (cow shelters in place of liquor outlets) programme in support of her demand for a “controlled” liquor policy in the state.
On Saturday afternoon, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister reached a temple located near a liquor shop in Ayodhya Nagar trisection of the state capital and announced she will stay there till January 31, awaiting announcement of a new liquor policy by the government.
She ended her four-day-long stay at the temple on Tuesday as the state government has delayed its liquor policy announcement.
Addressing the media here, Bharti claimed a liquor shop located near the famous Ram Raja Sarkar temple at Orchha in Niwari district, located around 350km from Bhopal, was illegal.
“Without waiting for the liquor policy, I will start converting liquor shops, which are being run in contravention of rules, into cow shelters,” she said.
Bharti said she has told people to arrange 11 cows to be put up outside the “illegal” liquor shop in Orchha.
“Will see who dares to stop me… will feed these cows and arrange water for them at the liquor shop,” said the former Union minister.
Governments are being formed in the name of Lord Ram, but a liquor shop has been allowed to come up near the Ram Raja Sarkar temple in Orchha, she said.
Quoting an unnamed report, Bharti said the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh is leading in crime against women and liquor consumption was one of the reasons for this disturbing trend.
Bharti said the BJP is winning elections due to the “magic” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“People have the choice to elect good or bad people in a democracy When one has a choice between bad and very bad, the people elect the bad, which is not an achievement… Forming a government is not a big deal but the big thing is to develop a healthy society and ensure protection of women and the future of children,” the BJP leader maintained.
She alleged a section of the BJP has been trolling her over her drive against liquor consumption and linking it to her political ambitions.
Bharti said she has held the post of CM, served as a Union minister and now only the position of Prime Minister is left to be achieved, but very few politicians can occupy that top office.
“Will I get that post (of PM) due to liquor prohibition agitation? A section of the BJP is spreading such things,” she said.
Bharti also threatened that she will start now revealing what the ministers, MPs and MLAs talk to her during as such people are continuously meeting her.
The senior BJP leader said during a meeting with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the latter agreed to her suggestion to come out with a “controlled” liquor policy.
Earlier, addressing a gathering, Bharti claimed women don’t want schemes like the recently announced Ladli Bahina Yojana (targeted at women from financially weaker section) but they instead want a controlled liquor policy.
Bharti said women roam freely at night in Gujarat like “lioness of Gir” and eat ‘bhelpuri’ (a street snack) at midnight because prohibition is in force in the adjoining state.