On March 27, the Centre had permitted EPFO subscribers to withdraw non-refundable advance not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowances for three months.

NEW DELHI: Around 78 per cent of the total Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) claims during the lockdown period were made by those earning less than Rs 15,000 a month, data from the Union Labour Ministry has revealed.

According to the data, a total of 1.04 crore claims were settled during the lockdown of which around 81 lakh were of those subscribers whose monthly wage was below Rs 15,000.

On March 27, the Centre had permitted EPFO subscribers to withdraw non-refundable advance not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowances for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount in the members’ EPF account, whichever is less. The concession was granted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The subscribers were facilitated to submit online claims and the services of EPFO also has been integrated and offered through UMANG app. The entire payment to subscribers is done electronically through Nation Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) system,” a statement from the ministry stated.

China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, got only 27 votes and could not even cross the half-way mark and also failed to get the required majority of 28 votes.

UNITED NATIONS: In a significant victory, India got elected as Member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focussed on gender equality and women empowerment, beating China in a hotly-contested election.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The 54-member ECOSOC, holding the first plenary meeting of its 2021 session in the General Assembly Hall on Monday, held elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category with Afghanistan, India and China in the fray.

Afghanistan, which is led by Ambassador Adela Raz at the UN, garnered 39 votes and India got 38 votes of the 54 ballots cast.

China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, got only 27 votes and could not even cross the half-way mark and also failed to get the required majority of 28 votes.

India beat China in the hotly-contested election to the prestigious UN body in the year when the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, that was held in Beijing in 1995, is being commemorated around the world.

It is highly notable and telling that China lost the election to the UN’s principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment when the silver jubilee anniversary of the landmark Beijing conference on women is being commemorated and of which China takes a lot of ownership on.

The election result is being seen as sending a strong signal about China’s own record of women’s equality and empowerment.

India’s Permanent Mission to the UN worked tirelessly for the hard-fought election, reaching out and sensitising all Member States, sources said.

India and Afghanistan will join Argentina, Austria, Dominican Republic, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Turkey and Zambia, which were elected by acclamation, to the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning from 2021-2025.

India’s election win at the CSW is highly significant as it comes on the eve of India gearing up to sit at the UN Security Council high table as non-permanent member for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.

Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women Lakshmi Puri congratulated the Indian Mission and Ambassador Tirumurti on the election win.

The Commission on the Status of Women is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In 1996, ECOSOC expanded the Commission’s mandate and decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.

Bachchan demanded the government to provide protection and put a ban on the unending bashing being faced by members of the film industry.

NEW DELHI: Veteran actor and Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday charged that the film industry was being defamed and slammed those from the entertainment industry indulging in it, saying they are biting the hands that feed them.

Though Bachchan did not take any names, her remarks come a day after BJP’s Lok Sabha MP and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan said there was problem of drug addiction in the film industry and also actor Kangana Ranaut’s recent remarks calling Bollywood a “gutter”.

Through a Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, Bachchan said the entertainment industry was being flogged by social media and asked the government to protect and support it.

Without taking names, the Samajwadi Party MP said she completely disagrees with those who called the entertainment industry a “gutter”.

“People who have made a name in this industry have called it a gutter. I completely disagree and I really disassociate,” she said.

In a reference to Kishan’s statement in Lok Sabha on the alleged Bollywood drug cartel, Bachchan said she was “really embarrassed and ashamed.”

“Jis thali mein khate hai Usme chhed karte hai. Galat baat hai,” she said referring to a popular Hindi proverb that means to bite the hands that feed you.

“I was really embarrassed and ashamed that yesterday (September 14) one of our members in the Lok Sabha, who is from the industry, spoke. I am not taking names. It is a shame,” she said.

She said the entertainment industry in the country provides direct employment to 5 lakh people daily and indirect employment to 5 million people.

“At a time when the financial situation is in a depressing state and employment rate at the worst levels, in order to divert the attention of people, we are being flogged by social media” and there is no support from the government, she said.

Bachchan said the government should come forward and support the entertainment industry.

“I hope the government tells these people who have made their earning, name and fame in this industry to stop using such language,” she said.

“There are people in the entertainment industry who are some of the highest taxpayers (in the country). They are still being harassed,” she said.

The government, she said, must stand by the entertainment industry.

“I think the government must stand by the entertainment industry because it always comes forward to help the government in whatever good work it takes up. They come and speak for them, they support them. If there is a national calamity, they come forward, they give money and their services,” she said.

“I think it is very very important that the government must support this industry and not kill it.

Just because there are few people, you cannot tarnish the image of the entire industry,” she said, adding the industry brings international name and recognition besides a base for political ambitions.

She went on to say that all kinds of promises are made to the entertainment industry but it has never got its due.

“Sir, I get very worked up and very emotional. I have too many things to say but you are not giving me enough time and opportunity,” she told Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

“I need protection, the industry needs the protection and support of the government,” she added.

Tsering, who is also BJP president for Ladakh, gave the information about his COVID-19 test in a tweet and said his health is fine but was advised ‘quarantine’.

LEH: BJP leader and Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal tested positive for coronavirus on Monday on a day he took part in a series of activities, including a 25-km cycling event led by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Tsering, who is also BJP president for Ladakh, gave the information about his COVID-19 test in a tweet and said his health is fine but was advised ‘quarantine’.

He urged all those who had come in contact with him over the last few days to go for self-isolation and undertake COVID-19 test.

Officials said Rijiju, who arrived here on a visit, was among others received by the Ladakh MP at the Leh Airport on Sunday.

He participated in the ‘Fit India Cyclothon’ led by the Union minister in Leh on Monday morning.

Local cycling associations and many enthusiastic sports persons also attended the cycling event which is a part of the month-and-a-half long ‘Fit India Freedom Run’ from August 15 to October 2, the officials said.

Tsering had cycled at an altitude of 2,600 metres above sea level to encourage people to be healthy and fit by including physical activities and sports in their daily lives.

The Lok Sabha member had also attended the function with Rijiju who laid the foundation stone of a synthetic track and AstroTurf for football in Open Stadium, near Spituk and Gymnasium Hall in Leh.

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur, Chief Executive Councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, Gyal P Wangyal and senior civil and police officers besides sports persons had also attended the function.

Ladakh has recorded 40 COVID-related deaths — 17 in Leh and 23 in Kargil — since the outbreak of the pandemic in March.

The virus caseload stands at 3,345, of whom 73 per cent patients have been cured, while the remaining 869 are undergoing treatment.

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is widely hailed as a Socialist who remained unblemished even as the RJD leadership was mired in scams and controversies.

NEW DELHI:  Over the past few years, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, one of the last true Socialists, was aghast at the scale of money power influencing elections and deeply pained at the spectacle of dynasties holding the reins of the political outfits born out of the social justice movement. 

Even in his last days, as he battled deteriorating health conditions, Raghuvansh Babu, concern for the people of Bihar was agitating his mind. At 74, Singh passed away at AIIMS-Delhi on Sunday after a prolonged illness. 

Just four days ago, he had sent his resignation to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, of whom he had been a long associate, pained as he was at the party’s heir apparent ignoring his role in building it.   

Sharp and witty, as parliamentary debates were a testimony, Singh served five terms as a Lok Sabha MP from Vaishali in Bihar.

He was one of the rare few who could question even Lalu, and yet, was held in high esteem by the former Bihar chief minister.

The mathematician-turned-politician is widely hailed as a Socialist who remained unblemished even as the RJD leadership was mired in scams and controversies. In critical situations, he showed a sense of exasperation to resign from the RJD, only to be turned down by party chief.     

A few months ago, Singh was full of vigour, going ballistic against the scale of money poured in the electioneering and dynasties derailing the politics of social justice.

Sharing anecdotes with this reporter during the Budget session of Parliament, Singh remarked, “Politics now is not for people like me. From where can I arrange so much of money needed to contest elections? Even party workers now are used to being paid richly in times of elections.”

Leaders across the party lines remember Singh for shaping up the grand architecture of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act — now MGNREGA — cutting through the bureaucratic maze to give the UPA an electoral template to retain power in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

He was Union Minister for Rural Development in UPA-I. Singh had a long stint in the Bihar state legislature before he moved to national politics. He was impatient with the alibi of rules for not implementing decisions, saying they work in the government to get works done and not give excuses.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday came out in support of Sitaram Yechury and others named in the supplementary charge sheet in the Delhi riots case and accused Delhi police of bringing the criminal justice system to ridicule.

The opposition party said the BJP has “stooped to a new low” in its attempt to suppress peaceful dissent against its policies.

“Delhi police have brought the criminal justice system to ridicule by naming Mr Sitaram Yechury and many other scholars and activists in a supplementary charge sheet in the Delhi riots case,” Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted.

He questioned how “if an accused (Gulfisha Fathima) mentions a name in her statement, that person will be named as an accused in the charge sheet”.

“Has the Delhi police forgotten that between the Information and Charge Sheet there are important steps called Investigation and Corroboration,” he asked.

Other than Yechury, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, economist Jayati Ghosh and Delhi University professor Apoorvanand figure in the supplementary charge sheet.

However, Delhi police have clarified that they have not filed a charge sheet against them and underscored the difference between naming someone as an accused and mentioning a name due to allegations.

Chidambaram said he was glad that former police officer Julio Ribeiro has “upbraided” the Delhi police for its “biased handling” of the Delhi riots case.

“Will the Delhi police listen to this iconic police officer,” he asked.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said, “The BJP has reached new lows in its attempt to suppress peaceful dissent against its policies which have torn the socio-economic-politico fabric of this nation.”

“The misuse of Delhi police to choke voices like Sitaram Yechury and others is shameful and highly condemnable,” he said.

Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said, “This is worse than atrocious. I am in full solidarity with those chargesheeted. They are greater desh bhakts than the fraudulent ones in power now.”

Party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “If speaking truth to power is a crime, If exposing circle of hate is a crime, If standing up to rioters is a crime, If being righteous & just is a crime, Then, each one of us must be booked, chargesheeted & jailed. Only then will my Country survive. Jai Hind.”

Petrol price in the national capital fell to Rs 81.86 a litre from Rs 81.99 per litre. This is the second reduction in rates in three days.

NEW DELHI: Diesel price on Saturday fell below Rs 73 a litre mark while petrol saw a second reduction in rates in six months, according to state-owned fuel retailers.

While petrol price was cut by 13 paise per litre on Saturday, diesel rates dropped by 12 paise, price notification of state-owned fuel retailers said.

Petrol price in the national capital fell to Rs 81.86 a litre from Rs 81.99 per litre. This is the second reduction in rates in three days.

Petrol price was for the first time cut in six months on September 10 when rates were reduced by 9 paise a litre.

Diesel price fell to Rs 72.93 per litre in the national capital from Rs 73.05. Diesel rates had seen their first reduction since mid-March on September 3. Since then, rates have fallen by 63 paise.

The September 3 was the first reduction in diesel price since mid-March when Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) froze rates for 82 days to adjust a record hike in excise duty on auto fuels against falling benchmark cost.

Diesel rates had gone up by Rs 12.55 a litre between June 7, when oil firms resumed revising prices in line with cost, and July 25.

Diesel price has remained unchanged in the country since July 25, except in Delhi where a reduction in VAT lowered the rate by Rs 8.38 per litre.

Petrol price went up by Rs 9.17 per litre between June 7 and June 29 before hitting a pause. The revision cycle again started on August 16 and rates have gone up by Rs 1.51 since then.

In all, the petrol price has risen by Rs 10.68 since June 7. State-owned fuel retailers revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the preceding 15 days.

GUWAHATI: A war of words has broken out between allies BJP and National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya over alleged misappropriation of Central funds.

The fight has come to such a pass that the BJP threatened to pull out of the NPP-led ruling alliance. The BJP, a constituent of the ruling alliance, has two MLAs and one of them is a minister.

BJP alleged that funds, allocated to Garo Hills Autonomous District Council and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council by the Centre under Special Assistant Grant for the development of under-developed areas, had been misappropriated in the names of ghost bridges, footpaths and repair works of official buildings and guest houses. The NPP rules both the councils.

Demanding a CBI probe in the matter, BJP state president Ernest Mawrie said they would not tolerate any “corrupt practices”.

“We will raise the matter with the state government. If it fails to take cognisance of it, we will be left with no choice but to pull out our support,” Mawrie threatened.

The NPP dared the BJP to withdraw from the coalition. NPP state unit president WR Kharlukhi said the BJP appeared headed towards a “tin-pot dictatorship”.

“If he (Mawrie) is so convinced that we are corrupt, why don’t they pull out of the alliance? They could have discussed the matter within the alliance instead of going to the media,” he said. Meghalaya is the second state in the Northeast where the relationship between the two parties has soured.

In June, all four NPP MLAs in Manipur had pulled out of the BJP-led government. They had returned to the government when the party’s central leadership, including Amit Shah, assured them that their grievances would be addressed.