ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Monetary Allowance for Widows of Gallantry Awards Recipients
Recipients of the gallantry awards are entitled to the monetary allowance as per the letter of 1972 of Ministry of Defence , superseded by letter in 1995 of the MoD, which have been revised from time to time. As per the existing condition for grant of monetary allowance, the allowance shall be admissible to the recipient of the award and on his death to his widow lawfully married by a valid ceremony. The widow will continue to receive the allowance until her re-marriage or death. The payment of the allowance will, however, be continued to a widow who re-marries the late husband’s brother and lives a communal life with the living heir eligible for family pension.
(Representations were received from various quarters to remove the condition of the widow’s remarriage with the late husband’s brother for continuation of the monetary allowance.
This issue was considered by the Government of India and it has now been decided to remove the condition of the widow’s remarriage with the late husband’s brother for continuation of the monetary allowance vide MoD letter dated November 16, 2017.
The revised condition for grant of monetary allowance for recipients of gallantry awards is as under:-
The allowance shall be admissible to the recipient of the award and on his death to his widow lawfully married by a valid ceremony. The widow will continue to receive the allowance until her death.
MJPS/NA/DK/HS
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras says, efforts are on for early completion of 19 Mega Food Parks in the country
Says, there is huge scope for Mini Food Parks in North Eastern Region& in North Bihar
Shri Paras takes tour of the Ministry and interacted with Senior officials and staff
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras today said that efforts are on for early completion of 19 Mega Food Parks in the country, which are under various stages of implementation. He said, the primary objective of this scheme is to provide modern infrastructure facilities for the food processing along the value chain from farm to market.Ministry has accorded final approval to 38 Mega Food Parks and in-principle approval to three Mega Food Parks in the country. Out of these, 22 Mega Food Park projects have been made operational. He was speaking to the media after taking extensive tour of the Ministry and interaction with Senior officials and staff. Secretary, Food Processing Industries Ms PushpaSubramanyam accompanied the Ministerduring the formal tour and interaction.
The Minister said that efforts are also on to boost value addition in 22 perishables like Mango, Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Carrot, Cauliflower, Beans etc identified by the Ministry to supplement the income of farmers.Government has announced expansion of scope of “Operation Greens Scheme” from Tomato, Onion & Potato  to 22 perishable products, in the budget speech for 2021-2022.Shri Paras said, there is huge scope for Mini Food Parks in North Eastern Region and in North Bihar.
Shri Paras said that he will be visiting Bihar on 20th of this month and will also conduct an on-the spot assessment of Mega Food Park at Mansi in Khagaria district of Bihar, which he said is 70 percent complete. The Minister will also meet Bihar’s industry minister Shahnawaz Hussain to assess the progress of mega food park at Motipur block of Muzaffarpur district, approved by the Centre in April this Year. He said, the Food Parks will help the farmers of the region growing Litchi, Makhana, Banana, Potato and Maize in large quantities and will provide fresh employment opportunities to women and youth of the area.
Shri Paras informed that that National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021 has been notified after its passage from Parliament in the just concluded session. He said, with this, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Kundali  and Indian Institute of Food Processing TechnologyThanjabur  under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries have become Institutions of National Importance .
Shri Parasexpressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, for this landmark step, which will provide these Institutes Greater Autonomy, so that they can start new and innovative courses, as well as help them to attract excellent faculty and students.
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SNC/TM/RR
(Visitor Counter : 2232
Special Service and Features
Chennai Air Customs seizes 2.293 kgs of Gold worth Rs.1.21 Crore
Based on intelligence, two male Indian passport holders who arrived from Dubai in Flight No. EK-542 on 6.5.23 were intercepted. On search of their person, 1 Gold cut bit and 3 bundles containing gold in paste form were found concealed in the body of one passenger and 1 Gold Chain and 2 pouches containing gold in past form was found concealed in vest of other passenger. Upon extraction, two gold ingots of 24K purity weighing 1089 grams and 1020 grams, gold cut bit weighing 94 grams and gold chain weighing 90 grams were recovered. Total gold weighing 2.293 Kgs valued at Rs.1.21 Crore was recovered and seized under the Customs Act, 1962.
Both the passengers had been arrested and later released on bail. Further investigation is under progress.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Sexual Abuse Cases of Children Reported Online
The number of child sexual abuse cases reported from March 2020 onwards on various platforms is as under:
- As reported by National Crime Records Bureau , the total number of child pornography/rape and gang rape complaints lodged in the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal  from 01.03.2020 to 18.09.2020 is 13244.
- As reported by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights , information of 420 cases of child sexual abuse has been received by NCPCR from 1st March, 2020 till 31st August, 2020 via online portals, helplines and other media.
- As reported by Childline India Foundation , 3941 calls have been received by CIF regarding child sexual cases from 1st March, 2020 to 15th September,2020.
“Police” and “Public Order” are State subjects as per Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Action in cases of child sex abuse is taken by concerned Law Enforcement Agencies  as per the extant provisions of law.
The Central Government has taken several measures to fast track investigations in cases of child sexual abuse. These steps include mechanism for online reporting of child sex abuse cases, accessibility of reported incidents to concerned Law Enforcement Agencies , improving cyber forensic facilities, training of Law Enforcement Officers/Judges/ Public Prosecutors, spreading awareness etc.
The Government implements a scheme for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts  for expeditious trial and disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act. As on 26.08.2020, there are 597 FTSCs functional out of which 321 are exclusive POCSO courts.
Section 43 of the POCSO Act provides that the Central Government and every State Government shall take all measures to give wide publicity to the provisions of the Act. In accordance with this, the Government has taken various steps from time to time to create awareness of the provisions of the POCSO Act through electronic and print media, consultations, workshops and training programmes with stakeholders concerned.
Various other steps taken include sending messages through telecom service providers, messages through Government’s twitter handle @CyberDost, conducting cyber awareness programmes in different cities, radio spots/jingles on FM Radio, publishing of handbook for Adolescents/Students, and introduction of a chapter on cyber security in CBSE syllabus etc.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights  and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights , who are mandated to monitor the implementation of the POCSO Act, have developed and circulated information, education and communication  material on POCSO Act and that is available on www.ncpcr.gov.in.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Khadi Store Locator App Launched
The Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises , Shri Giriraj Singh chairing the 9th meeting of National Khadi and Village Industries Board, in New Delhi today.
The 9th National Board of Khadi and Village Industries Commission  met today in New Delhi. The Minister of State for MSME, Giriraj Singh chaired the meeting. The Minister launched a mobile phone application for locating 4,000 Khadi stores in the country. There are more than 8,000 Khadistores in India, the rest of stores will also be available on the store locater by the end of this month. This was informed by Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman KVIC in the board meeting today.
The Chairman further said that KVIC expects to surpass the sales target of Rs. 5,000 crore by the end of 2017-18. KVIC is also setting up export cells to promote overseas sales of Khadi products in order to make Khadi an international brand.
The Khadi and Village Industries products are manufactured by about 7 lakh privately owned household units which are funded through schemes like the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme .
Ministry of Defence
RRM Inaugurates Armed Forces Veterans’ rally
The 3rd Armed Forces Veterans’ Day is being celebrated with military fervour and gaiety all around the country. The showpiece event, a Veterans’ Day Rally, was held at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt here today. It was inaugurated by Raksha Rajya Mantri Dr Subhash Bhamre.
Addressing the veterans, Dr Bhamre said, “No words can describe your selfless devotion to duty and the sacrifices made by each one of you. I can say it with conviction that it is only due to our formidable Armed Forces, each and every citizen of ‘India’ today feels safe and has confidence to face the world with pride.”
The RRM reflected on the measures taken by the Government towards ex-servicemen welfare and rehabilitation. He extolled the strong bonds between servicemen and Veterans and the continued contribution of Veterans towards nation building.
Complimenting the Armed Forces for organising such events Dr Bhamre said, “Today’s warrior is tomorrow’s Veteran and what an example being set up by Services in ensuring every possible step to ensure wellbeing and enhanced satisfaction level among its Veterans. I am definitely proud of this initiative of the Armed Forces, which is very much in line with the customs and traditions of our great Country.”
The guests of honour at the rally were the three Service Chiefs and ex Service Chiefs. Around 2,000 Veterans attended the rally. It was a unique event since the Veterans were from all the three services. The bonhomie and camaraderie between the three services was reflected in the enthusiasm of the Veterans, many meeting friends from the other service after many years of retirement.
The day is celebrated as Armed Forces Veterans’ Day in the country to commemorate the superannuation of first C in C of our Armed Forces, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who retired from service on 14 January 1953. The day is being observed in more than 10 locations in the country.
The celebrations in Delhi was held under the aegis of Directorate of Indian Army Veterans. It commenced with a solemn wreath laying ceremony where floral wreaths were placed by Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman, COSC Lt Gen P S Rajeshwar representing the serving community, three star rank retired officers from the three services and Sub Maj rank JCOs from the three services which represented the Veterans community.
A number of stalls were set up by CGDA, banks, pension agencies, ECHS, KSB and Organisations involved in Veterans welfare of the three services, which was appreciated by the Veterans.
Nampi/DK/Rajib
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Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
In a major step towards achieving ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, Union Minister Shri Ram Vilas Paswan inauguratesinter-State portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra
(In a major step towards achieving the objective of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan today inaugurated the inter-State portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra. This will enable beneficiaries from either States’ cluster to avail the benefits accruing to them under the National Food Security Act from any of the two States.
Addressing the media after inaugurating the inter-State portability Shri Ram Vilas Paswan said that today marks the beginning of National level portability of Ration Cards which has begun with the two States’ clusters.Shri Paswan further stated that after leveraging the progress under Computerization scheme, 11 States/UT of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura have implemented the intra-State portability of ration card holders to lift the entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop within their State.Further, it is envisaged that the inter-State portability shall be introduced in the 11 States having already implemented intra-State portability by 1st January 2020.
Shri Paswan further added that all other States/UTs having attained requisite readiness for inter-State portability, shall be integrated in a phased manner. Thereby, enabling nation-wide portability of ration card holders to receive subsidized foodgrains under NFSA from anywhere in the country by 1st June 2020. The Union Minister said that this initiative shall be very helpful for the large migratory population of the country who migrate from one part of the country to other in search of job/employment, marriage, or any other reason and find difficulty in accessing subsidized foodgrains in the present system.
To sustain the reforms brought in by the ongoing scheme of ‘End-to-End Computerization of TPDS Operations’ and to introduce new reforms, the Department of Food & Public Distribution, is targeting implementation of nation-wide portability in distribution of subsidised foodgrains to the beneficiaries without the need of obtaining a new ration card under ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ System.
Installation of electronic Point of Sale  devices at Fair Price Shops  is the main enabler of portability of ration card holders, supported by the biometric/Aadhaar authentication.More than 4.1 lakh  ePoS devices are already operational across the country. 25 States/UTs have either completed the installation in all FPSs or having significant progress in this area. Further, more than 85% ration cards  in the country have been seeded with the Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries.
Ministry of Tourism
Union Minister of State for Tourism Shri Ajay Bhatt reviews the activities and status of the Central Institutes of Hotel Management
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Defence Shri Ajay Bhatt reviewed the activities and status of the Central Institutes of Hotel Management on 6th July, 2022, in hybrid mode. Shri Gyan Bhushan, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Directors of National Council for Hotel Management, Noida and HoD of IHM, Pusa, representing the principal were present physically.
The meeting started with a welcome addressed by Shri Gyan Bhushan Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism. Shri Bhushan also gave a brief presentation about the Academic programs run by the Institute. Both the Principals of IHM were given an opportunity to brief on the Academic program run by institute. Faculties position, admission position, placement position and the activities undertaken as per instruction of Ministry of Tourism.
Shri Ajay Bhatt lauded and encouraged the academic performance and ranking of the IHMs, nationally and globally. He also congratulated all the Institutes and conveyed his best wishes for the valuable contribution of IHMs in Nation Building. Shri Ajay Bhatt highlighted the other activities undertaken by the IHMs under EBSB, AKAM, and Yoga Dayand also appreciated the active participation of each institute even during the pandemic situation.
With the strong hope Shri Bhatt mentioned that the admission and the financial strength of the Institutes will be improved in coming future. Adding to this he also motivated all the Principals to continue the good work with the same spirit.
NITI Aayog
EAC-PM releases a detailed analysis on robustness of India’s GDP estimation methodology
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister today released a detailed notetitled ‘GDP estimation in India- Perspectives and Facts’. The note can be accessed at http://eacpm.gov.in/reports-papers/eac-reports-papers/.
The note provides a clear rationale for India’s switch to an improved GDP estimation methodology in January 2015. The new methodology that uses 2011-12 as the base year includes two major improvements, a) Incorporation of MCA21 database, and b) Incorporation of the Recommendations of System of National Accounts , 2008. This change was in line with other countries that have changed their methodologies in line with SNA 2008 and revised their respective GDP figures. On an average, real GDP estimates saw an increase of 0.7% among OECD countries.
As mentioned in EAC-PM’s press release dated 12 June 2019, the note also provides a point-to-point rebuttal to a recently published paper titled ‘India’s GDP Mis-estimation: Likelihood, Magnitudes, Mechanisms, and Implications’ by Dr.Arvind Subramanian. The primary contributors to the note, namely BibekDebroy, Rathin Roy, Surjit Bhalla, Charan Singh and Arvind Virmani reject Dr. Subramanian’smethodology, arguments and conclusions on the basis of academic merit and grasp of Indian realities. The note provides detailed evidence that indicates that Dr. Subramanian has cherry-picked a few indicators and performed a rather unconvincing regression analysis to prove his hypothesis that India’s GDP was over-estimated post 2011-12. For instance, the note highlights the absurdity in Dr. Subramanian’s paper that selectively ignores tax data based on the argument that the period post 2011-12 witnessed “major changes in direct and indirect taxes”. Interestingly, Mr. Subramanian’s analysis ends on 31st March 2017, while the only major tax change  was introduced on 1st July 2017. In totality, the note highlights eight clear points with supportive facts and arguments that debunk Dr. Subramanian’s paper in entirety.
The note concludes with the point that India’s GDP estimation methodology is by no means a perfect exercise and the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation is working on multiple aspects to improve the accuracy of economic data. However, the direction and pace of improvement is commendable and as of today India’s GDP estimation methodology is at par with its global standing as a responsible, transparent and well-managed economy. If anything, the weakness of Dr.Subramaniam’s attempt to suggest that the growth numbers are over-estimated confirms that the estimation process is robust to spurious criticism. Going forward, Indian National Income Accounting is bound to change for good and an important step in accomplishing that will involve criticism from experts and academics.But the country’s interests are not served by imparting sensationalism through negativity that questions the credibility of the system.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID - 19 Vaccination Update - Day 430
India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 181.52 Crore
More than 27 lakh Vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm
More than 32 lakh Vaccine Doses administered to 12-14 age group so far
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 181.52 Crore  today. More than 27 lakh  Vaccine Doses have been administered till 7 pm today. More than 32 lakh  vaccine doses have been administered to 12-14 years age group so far. More than 2.18 Crore  Precaution Doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries  for COVID vaccination have been administered so far. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight.
The cumulative coverage of vaccine doses, segregated based on population priority groups, is as follows:
|
|
Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
10403109
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
9991646
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
4368728
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
18412239
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
17490715
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
6683104
|
|
Age Group 12-14 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
3236418
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
56286476
|
|
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
35781567
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
553865292
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
460121989
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
202625134
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
183938763
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
126651525
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
114570180
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
10818759
|
|
Cumulative 1st dose administered
|
|
971480193
|
|
Cumulative 2nd dose administered
|
|
821894860
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
21870591
|
|
Total
|
|
1815245644
Today’s achievement in the vaccination exercise, segregated by population priority groups, is as follows:
|
|
Date: 21st March, 2022 
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
60
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
888
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
8951
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
65
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
1572
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
16431
|
|
Age Group 12-14 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1430043
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
70024
|
|
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
247277
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
68142
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
542149
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
10106
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
127042
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
6830
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
82305
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
95242
|
|
Cumulative 1st dose administered
|
|
1585270
|
|
Cumulative 2nd dose administered
|
|
1001233
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
120624
|
|
Total
|
|
2707127
The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
GAIL starts India’s maiden project of blending hydrogen into CGD network
Gas Authority of India Limited has commenced India’s first-of-it’s-kind project of mixing hydrogen into natural gas system at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The hydrogen blended natural gas will be supplied to Avantika Gas Limited, one of GAIL’s Joint Venture  Company with HPCL, operating in Indore.
In line with the National Hydrogen Mission, GAIL has started hydrogen blending as a pilot project to establish the techno-commercial feasibility of blending hydrogen in City Gas Distribution  network. This project marks the stepping stone of India’s journey towards hydrogen based and carbon neutral future.
GAIL started injection of grey hydrogen at City Gate Station , Indore. This grey hydrogen would subsequently be replaced by green hydrogen. GAIL has already obtained necessary regulatory permissions to commence the project. GAIL has also engaged domain experts to carry out the impact assessment of blending of hydrogen in natural gas.
GAIL has always been committed to the growth of a gas-based economy in India and to India’s vision of a greener and cleaner environment. As our country is moving forward with ambitious goal of achieving a carbon-neutral and self-reliant future, this project is a significant step in that direction.
It is expected that this pilot project would help in creation of a robust standard and regulatory framework in India to cover the aspects of injecting hydrogen into natural gas. This will pave the path for carrying out more similar projects in India.