West Bengal Youth Congress workers on Saturday showed BJP President Amit Shah black flags as he stepped outside the airport here ahead of his high-voltage rally in the city.

A group of bike-borne Youth Congress workers waved the black flags before Shah’s convoy outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport and shouted slogans against him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the police could remove them from the spot.

Some Congress activists also claimed that there was a nexus between the BJP and West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress and raised slogans like “Modi-Didi bhai bhai”.

Ahead of Shah’s rally in central Kolkata’s Mayo Road, Trinamool Congress supporters observed Condemnation Day in parts of the state to raise its pitch against the publication of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

Reacting to the TMC protest, BJP leader and Union Minister Babul Supriyo accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party of destroying the state’s culture and the future of Bengal’s youth.

“Politics is fine but they (Trinamool Congress) are turning it into an ugly spat. Trinamool has further worsened the situation in Bengal in the name of ‘Poriborton’ (change) from the 34 years of Left rule.

“This should not continue. The massive turnout in today’s rally shows that the youth of Bengal are eagerly waiting for the message of Amit Shahji,” said Supriyo, who came to the city to attend Saturday’s rally.

More than 31 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers have benefited under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question on Thursday.

“More than 21 lakh beneficiaries were enrolled under PMMVY – Common Application Software (PMMVY-CAS) for receiving maternity benefits under the scheme during the financial year 2017-18,” she said.

Under the scheme, pregnant woman and lactating mother apart from regular government employees are entitled to receive Rs 5,000 and the remaining cash incentive of Rs 1,000 for maternity benefit is given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery.

The scheme aims at providing partial compensation for wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.

Karnataka is rushing Rs 10 crore worth relief materials to the neighbouring flood-hit Kerala following heavy monsoon rains, said an official statement on Thursday.

“Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy directed state Chief Secretary T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar to rush relief materials and a team of doctors to Kerala, reeling under heavy rains and flash floods,” said the statement.

On Kerala’s request, the state government has also agreed to release 75,000 cusecs of water from Kabini reservoir in Mysuru districts to tackle the flash floods caused by excessive backwaters across the border in Kerala.

As one of the tributaries, Kabini originates in the Waynad district and flows eastward to join the Cauvery river at T. Narasipura in Karnataka.

“Kumaraswamy also called on his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan and discussed the flood situation in that state. He also offered more relief material and aid to the affected people across the state,” added the statement.

Toll in the rain-related incidents rose to 24, with large-scale damage reported from various parts of the southern state.

Idukki, Malappuram, Palghat, Kozhikode, Wayanad and parts of Kannur are the worst-affected districts in coastal and north-eastern areas of Kerala.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to give a permanent solution to the woes of distressed farmers, said Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Dr. G Parameshwara at Circuit House on Friday, August 10th.

Addressing media persons he said, “Farmer suicides are a major concern for the government. Hence, we decided to waive off farmers’ loans. It is our responsibility to stop farmers from taking the extreme step. It is sad that PM Modi has failed to solve farmers’ problems. He could not take a decision to waive off loans of farmers in nationalized banks. The state government is planning to waive off loans in nationalized banks too.”

“The schemes launched by the previous Siddaramaiah-led government will continue to function. Karnataka is called as a progressive state and we want to give good governance. From 2008 to 2013 BJP ruled the state and was a corrupt government and no development took place. If they come back to power, we will go back to that same old situation,” he pointed out.

“We have our own analysis as to why we won less number of seats,” replied the DCM regarding MLC Bhoje Gowda’s statement that it was his personal opinion that the Congress lost because of anti-Hindutva policies.

To a question on Congress alliance with JD(S) for the local body polls, he said that there will not be any alliance in the local body polls. The state government will deport Bangladeshis and Africans who are staying illegally in the state, he added.

The state government is contemplating on introducing pant and shirt uniform for policewomen instead of saree, informed the DCM.

Number of colleges, however, has dropped from 1,025 to 893 in a year: Survey
Over the years, Bengaluru has had many avatars — from being known as a pensioner’s paradise to emerging as the country’s IT and startup capital. Now, Bengaluru is well on its way to becoming an education hub with 893 colleges, the maximum in any city across the country, as per the All-India Survey on Higher Education compiled by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Bengaluru has the highest number of colleges in the country
This is the second year that Bengaluru (Urban) has topped the list. However, the number of colleges in Bengaluru this year has seen a decline: in its 2016–17 report, the survey noted that there were 1,025 colleges.

Some of the other ‘districts’ that have secured the top spots in the survey are Jaipur (558) and Hyderabad (472).

Citing Bengaluru’s cosmopolitan culture as a huge draw, M.S. Thimmappa, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, said students from other parts of the country and abroad want to study in the city. However, he expressed concern over the quality of education being imparted.

“Too many colleges have come up, and many have been established with inadequate infrastructure. Management thinks that they can develop the colleges once students pay the fees. But these colleges end up getting very few students, they can’t sustain themselves in the long run, and shut down,” he said.

This could explain the drop from 1,025 colleges in the city to 893 in one year.

In terms of density

In terms of college density, which is defined as the number of colleges per lakh eligible population (in the age group 18 to 23), Karnataka tops the list with 51 colleges per lakh population. The State has a total of 3,593 colleges, including government, aided and private ones.

Although States such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have a larger number of colleges, the college density to eligible population ratio is lower than that of Karnataka’s.

The survey notes that Uttar Pradesh, which has 6,922 colleges, has 28 colleges for every one lakh population. Similarly, Maharashtra has 4,314 colleges — 33 colleges per lakh population.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra on Friday called for heightened security on both the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in the state.

The decision came after Vohra chaired a high-level security meeting at the Raj Bhawan here.

A spokesman for the Governor said that Vohra called for real time coordination and synergy between the various security force agencies and the civil administration.

“The Governor reiterated the importance of maintaining sustained and close watch on the situation on ground and laid stress on uncompromising adherence to procedures which guard against collateral damage while delivering effective counter militancy responses,” the spokesman said.

“Considering the pattern of attempts at infiltration in the past four weeks, he laid stress on the need for heightened vigil along the IB and LoC and ensuring the safety of protected persons and the security of all important establishments and installations.”

The meeting also discussed security of the Amarnath Yatra and the need to provide a safe environment for the upcoming elections to urban local bodies and panchayats in the state.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on phone and took stock of the flood situation in the state, besides assuring him of all central help.

“Spoke to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and discussed the prevailing flood situation in the state. I have assured of all possible assistance from the Centre to the state government,” Rajnath Singh tweeted.

The Minister said that “relief and rescue operations are going on and the Ministry of Home Affairs is closely monitoring the situation”.

In Kerala, large areas have been inundated by floodwaters, claiming 27 lives in the last 48 hours, due to heavy rain and landslides. Several Kerala districts have been receiving heavy rains since Wednesday. Till Thursday, 24 people had died, while three more deaths were reported on Friday.

Earlier, the Union Minister told the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour that the Central government was aware of the crisis in Kerala and it was ready to provide any assistance needed by the state.

The Minister also said that he had sent Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to Kerala a few days ago to take stock.

After the July floods, Rijiju toured the flood-hit districts. The Centre had then approved Rs 80 crore for the state.

According to Kerala Power Minister M.M. Mani, who hails from Idukki, so far three sluices of the Idukki dam had been opened till Friday.

The Army is involved in rescue and relief as well as damage-repair exercises in Idukki, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

In a statement, the Home Ministry on Thursday said it was sending four National Disaster Response Force teams to Kerala and that an inter-ministerial Central team was also visiting the flood-affected areas.

Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday staged a sit-in near the Chairman’s podium demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal finalized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with France.

As soon as the Upper House passed the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 at 3.45 p.m., and Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu took up another bill, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma stood up and demanded to know about the notice he had given for a discussion on the Rafale issue.

“Chairman, sir, this morning I had given a notice under Rule 267 for discussion on the Rafale deal, demanding a JPC in the Rafale deal. This House has to take it up. It could not be taken up in the morning, thanks to the election of the Deputy Chairman. But this issue needs to be discussed in this House,” Sharma said.

However, Naidu said he had “not permitted it”.

The Congress MPs trooped around the Chairman’s podium and started shouting slogans. The MPs then sat down in the well and continued their sloganeering, demanding a JPC probe into the deal.

Meanwhile, the House discussed and passed the National Sports University Bill, 2018, and the Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 amid the din.

The Congress MPs continued their protest for more than an hour and dispersed only after the House was adjourned for the day around 5.15 p.m. after taking up Special Mentions.

The monsoon session of Parliament concludes on Friday.