New Delhi, Dec 12,2024: The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the ‘One Nation One Election’ Bill, evoking sharp reactions from Opposition parties which dubbed it as an attempt to damage federalism.
The proposed law provides for holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and the state assemblies in the first phase while covering the local bodies in the second stage.
The clearance by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet paves the way for the bill’s introduction in Parliament shortly.
The ‘One Nation One Election’ tops the agenda of the Modi government which has vowed to implement it in its current term.
The government had in 2023 set up a committee under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to suggest how elections to the Lok Sabha, Assemblies, and municipalities could be held simultaneously.
In September this year, the Union Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Kovind panel which advised holding simultaneous elections subject to nationwide consensus on the proposal.
Reacting to the Cabinet decision today, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “The Union Cabinet has approved introducing the draconian ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’ in Parliament. This impractical and anti-democratic move will erase regional voices, erode federalism, and disrupt governance. Rise up INDIA! Let us resist this attack on Indian Democracy with all our strength!”
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the grand old party’s views on the subject had been forcefully articulated by its President Mallikarjun Kharge on January 17.
“Nothing has happened since then to modify them,” he stated.
Calling it impossible, Kharge had said that the move would require consensus of Parliament.
“A reform of this scale cannot be imposed unilaterally; it demands a broad consensus,” the Congress President had said earlier.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee vehemently opposed the proposal.
“The Union Cabinet has bulldozed their way through with the unconstitutional and anti-federal One Nation, One Election Bill, ignoring every legitimate concern raised by experts and opposition leaders. This is not a carefully-considered reform; it’s an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India’s democracy and federal structure. Our MPs will oppose this draconian legislation tooth and nail in Parliament. Bengal will NEVER bow to Delhi’s dictatorial whims. This fight is about saving India’s democracy from the clutches of autocracy!” she posted on ‘X’.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also opposed the move and said, “They have the majority, they can take any decision…This is their agenda. They will work on their agenda, we will work on our agenda.”
New Delhi, Nov 26,2024: The existing PAN (Permanent Account Number) card holders are not required to apply for new PAN under the upgraded system (PAN 2.0) which has been approved by the central government, apex direct tax policy-making body Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25, 2024 approved the Income Tax Department’s PAN 2.0 project aimed at upgrading the existing PAN system and making it more user-friendly.
The CBDT said in a press release on Tuesday that the PAN 2.0 project aims to streamline and modernize the process of issuing and managing PAN and TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), making it more user-friendly and efficient.
“The existing PAN card holders are not required to apply for new PAN under the upgraded system (PAN 2.0),” the CBDT said in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) released today.
The apex direct tax body said that with an existing PAN database of 78 crore PANs and 73.28 lakh TANs, the PAN 2.0 project addresses the requirements of taxpayers, focusing on consolidation of multiple platforms/portals and efficient services to PAN/ TAN holders.
Currently, PAN-related services are spread across three different platforms. With the implementation of PAN 2.0, all these services will be integrated into a single, unified portal.
“This one-stop platform will handle comprehensively issues/matters related to PAN and TAN, including application, updates, corrections, Aadhaar-PAN linking, re-issuance requests, and even online PAN validation,” the CBDT said.
It added, “By doing so, the Income Tax Department endeavours to simplify processes, eliminate delays, and improve grievance redressal mechanisms.”
New Delhi, Nov 23,2024: The National Cadet Corps (NCC), will celebrate its 76th raising day with traditional fervour on Sunday.
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh laid wreath and paid homage to the fallen heroes on behalf of the entire NCC fraternity at the National War Memorial, India Gate, here, an official statement said on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Defence Secretary said that NCC has made commendable efforts in increasing the strength of cadets by three lakh and will be touching the strength of 20 lakhs in coming years.
He emphasised the role of NCC in the Viksit Bharat Campaign, a pivotal initiative by the Government of India.
Singh said, “NCC continues its relentless efforts, towards moulding the present day youth into responsible citizens of tomorrow in order to achieve the objective of ‘Yuva Shakti – Viksit Bharat’.”
Cadets, besides participating in march past and cultural activities at various cities, ‘Blood Donation Camp’ are also being organised. The quantum of blood donation this year is likely to exceed the mark of 50,000 blood units donation achieved last year.
Apart from this, various social activities and cultural awareness programs are being organized like tree plantation drive, cleaning of statues, swachhta hi sewa, nasha mukti abhiyaan and others.
United Nations, Nov 22,2024: UN humanitarians said on Thursday that evacuation orders and air strikes forced more than 880,000 people from their homes in Lebanon, with more than 500,000 of them fleeing into Syria.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said those remaining in Lebanon face deteriorating food security.
The International Organisation for Migration reported that more than 880,000 people were displaced within the country, including more than 20,000 migrants who have been forced to flee both their homes and workplaces.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that more than 500,000 people left Lebanon for Syria and that more than half of them were children. UNHCR is supporting them, among others, by providing psychosocial support to help them deal with trauma and emotional impact of displacement.
OCHA reminded that civilians must be protected regardless of their choice to stay in their homes or to flee.
The office also said the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warn that food security in Lebanon is expected to worsen.
“The ongoing escalation of conflict since September 2024 has severely disrupted supply chains, and deepened food insecurity, which now affects more than 1.2 million people,” WFP and FAO said.
“With nearly a quarter of the Lebanese population already suffering from inadequate food consumption, the situation is set to deteriorate further as food prices remain high.”
As an example, OCHA said WFP used 12 convoys to deliver food to more than 65,000 people, mostly in South and Baalbek-Hermel governorates, since September of this year in response to the challenging food security situation.
SYDNEY, Nov 21,2024: Australia’s centre-left government on Thursday introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for social media platforms for systemic breaches.
Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date.
The proposals are the highest age limit set by any country, and would have no exemption for parental consent and no exemption for pre-existing accounts.
“This is a landmark reform. We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
The opposition Liberal party plans to support the bill though independents and the Green party have demanded more details on the proposed law, which would impact Meta Platforms’
But Albanese said children will have access to messaging, online gaming, and health and education related services, such as youth mental health support platform Headspace, and Alphabet’s
The Albanese-led Labor government has been arguing excessive use of social media poses risks to physical and mental health of children, in particular the risks to girls from harmful depictions of body image, and misogynist content aimed at boys.
A number of countries have already vowed to curb social media use by children through legislation, but Australia’s policy is one of the most stringent.
France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15 but users were able to avoid the ban with parental consent. The United States has for decades required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13.
“For too many young Australians, social media can be harmful. Almost two-thirds of 14 to 17-year-old Australians have viewed extremely harmful content online, including drug abuse, suicide or self-harm,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told parliament on Thursday.
The law would force social media platforms, and not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure the age-verification protections are in place.
The proposed law will contain robust privacy provisions, including requiring platforms to destroy any information collected to safeguard the personal data of users, Rowland said.
“Social media has a social responsibility … that’s why we are making big changes to hold platforms to account for user safety,” Rowland said.