The government is likely to increase allocation to the Ministry of Woman and Child Development (WCD) in Budget 2017, a 20% increase from last year.
It will use a part of the funds to launch a maternity benefits programme, which will include all families living below the poverty line. Pregnant women will be provided with nutrition, free health check-ups and cash benefits.
“We are universalising maternity benefits for all BPL families. And for this, extra allocation will be made for the ministry of WCD, which will be responsible for rolling out this scheme,” a finance ministry official said on the condition of anonymity. “The allocation to the ministry of WCD is likely to be increased by 20%, so that the new maternity care scheme can be rolled out.”
Over half a lakh women die in India every year after childbirth, mostly due to malnutrition-related diseases. Chronic hunger compounds the problem further.
“It is in these cases that nutrition, timely health check-up and additional cash can help pregnant women fight preventable diseases,” said an official involved in developing the scheme, who did not wish to be named.
In budget 2016, the total allocation to the ministry of WCD was ₹17,408 crore. This included ₹413 crore for funding the national nutrition mission, which addresses maternal and child malnutrition.
At present, the government looks after pregnant women in what are called the high-burden districts of India, which are defined by their backwardness and lack of basic facilities. But the new scheme will be for all BPL families across the country, another ministry official said.
The scheme reinforces the Modi government’s focus on woman and child development. Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a 15.3% increase in planned expenditure in last year’s budget towards initiatives in agriculture, health and woman and child development. Since coming to power in 2014, most of the government’s schemes have focussed on women and children. These include beti bachao beti padhao, LPG connections to women, and even Stand Up India, which was aimed to promote entrepreneurship among women and backward classes.
Islamabad, Dec 8 : The World Bank has cancelled a USD 100 million loan to Pakistan for a natural gas efficiency project due to no progress in achieving the development objectives and a lack of interest on the part of the gas distribution company.
The project, which was to be carried out by Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) in its distribution areas in Karachi, interior Sindh and Balochistan, was aimed at enhancing the supply of natural gas by reducing physical and commercial losses of gas in the pipeline system.
A World Bank report said the failure of the project led to its closure and, as a result, the levels of unaccounted-for gas (UFG) remained high while continuing to drain the precious natural resource, Dawn reported.
Illegal connections, one of the drivers of UFG, were increasing at a rate faster than the countervailing reduction of technical losses.
Justifying its rating of “unsatisfactory”, the World Bank report said it should have exercised caution and not proceeded with a project that did not receive sustained interest from the board and management of SSGC, which had insufficient ownership in the project.
Against the original commitment of USD 200m, the bank had disbursed only USD 0.25m.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas was keen on the reduction of UFG, which was on the rise at the time of the project preparation and increased further during the project implementation phase.
Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had imposed a penalty on gas companies for UFG beyond the benchmark of 4.5 per cent.
Bureaucratic processes within SSGC also contributed to procurement delays and bid expiration. The SSGC management attributed the failure of the project to the procurement process.
Most of UFG comes from dilapidated or deteriorating pipelines, leaking joints, gas theft in the form of tampered-with metres, illegal connections and malfunctioning metering equipment.
The World Bank undertook a strategic review of the project, which identified strong implementation challenges with no progress towards achieving the development objectives of the project as well as no disbursement against project-related activities.
New Delhi : Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off Rs 1.54 lakh crore of bad loans between April 2013 and June 2016, Parliament was informed today.
During 2013-14, all PSBs written off Rs 34,409 crore non-performing assets (NPAs). The amount increased further to Rs 49,018 crore in the following year.
Banks wrote off NPAs of Rs 56,012 crore during 2015-16, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
He further said that Rs 15,163 crore write-off of NPA has taken place during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Replying to another question, Gangwar said, there were 661 NPA accounts above Rs 100 crore amounting to Rs 3.78 lakh crore from public sector banks as on March 31, 2016.
As on September 30, gross NPAs of public sector banks rose to Rs 6,30,323 crore as against Rs 5,50,346 crore by June end.
This works out to an increase of Rs 79,977 crore on quarter on quarter basis.
He further said that the government has taken sector-specific measures (infrastructure, power, road textiles, steel etc) where incidence of NPA is high.
He listed measures like enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and amendment of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (SARFAESI) and the Recovery of Debt due to Banks and Financial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act aimed at improving resolution or recovery of bank loans.
Besides, he said, RBI has come out with a number of tools such as corporate debt restructuring, formation of Joint Lenders’ Forum, strategic debt restructuring scheme and sustainable structuring of stressed assets to fight NPAs.
At least 18 people died and dozens were feared trapped in rubble after a strong earthquake struck off Aceh province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday, officials said.
“Eighteen have died so far, based on data from the hospital. Some of the fatalities are children,” Said Mulyadi, deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya, the region hit hardest by the quake, told AFP.
The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit just north of the small town of Reuleuet, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. There was no tsunami alert.
New Delhi : Tasmania-based Women’s Legal Service in collaboration with TRS Law Offices (India) has launched a website for women in the country to educate them about their legal rights.
The website, www.girlsgottaknow.in, has different heads such as relationship, employment, partying, renting, money and others.
“Women’s Legal Service Tasmania is excited to be collaborating with TRS Law Offices and see this as a fantastic opportunity not only to see an innovative Tasmanian project adapted to Indian market, but to play a small but supportive role in the huge work being undertaken in delivering information to the young women of India,” Susan Fahey, CEO of Women’s Legal Service Tasmania, said.
She said the project has been supported by the Australian Government.
Talish Ray, a partner with TRS law offices, said it would be an opportunity to educate women in an accurate and focused manner.
“It is available on the Internet as a comprehensive resource in a format that would engage the audience,” Ray said.
“Under every section a brief description about the situation, and legal options available are mentioned. Indian women have got least legal knowledge and this unawareness, often does them more harm than good,” a press release issued by the law office said.
Islamabad, Dec 3 : The US House of Representatives has passed a defence bill that pledges USD 900 million in economic and other assistance to Pakistan, a significant portion of which is dependent of a Pentagon certification that the country is taking demonstrable steps against the dreaded Haqqani Network.
The US National Defence Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2017 was passed in the House of Representatives yesterday.
The bill limits the overall amount available for reimbursement to USD 1.1 billion, of which USD 900 million is available for reimbursement to Pakistan.
It extends Congressional notification and certification requirements regarding reimbursements to Pakistan. The bill specifies that certain reimbursements to Pakistan are ineligible for a national security waiver unless Department of Defense makes specified certifications regarding the activities of Pakistan with respect to the Haqqani Network.
According to Dawn newspaper, the bill conditions USD 450 m from this assistance to a certification.
This year the amount was USD 300 million, which was not released after Defence Secretary Ashton Carter refused to certify in Pakistan’s favour.
The bill is schedule for a vote in the Senate next week. Since it is a consensus bill, it is unlikely to face any opposition.
The bill notes that the United States and Pakistan continue to have many critical shared interests, both economic- and security-related, which could be the foundation for a positive and mutually beneficial partnership.”
In a conference report, which combines the House and Senate versions of a legislation, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain had underlined the importance of a continued relationship between the United States and Pakistan.
He noted that the bill “refocuses security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests”.
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Gambia’s president of 22 years acknowledged his election defeat on state television Friday night, vowing to step down hours after news of the results prompted thousands to celebrate in the streets in an unprecedented display of disdain for his rule.
With cameras rolling, Yahya Jammeh called the winner, opposition coalition leader Adama Barrow, on a mobile phone to praise the election and vow not to contest the result.
“Allah is telling me my time is up and I hand over graciously with gratitude toward the Gambian people and gratitude toward you,” Jammeh said.
It was a stunning turn of events in a country where critics have long alleged votes are rigged. Just five years ago, Jammeh said he could stay in power for a billion years.
According to the electoral commission’s tally, Barrow received 45 percent of Thursday’s vote compared to Jammeh’s 36 percent.
Many Gambians stayed up all night Thursday listening to the radio and tallying results as they were read out constituency by constituency.
Once the results were announced on Friday, some tore down posters of Jammeh as the military stood by. Men in pickup trucks rode through the streets of Banjul screaming “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
For the tens of thousands watching abroad from political exile, it was a day they thought might never come.
Speaking by phone from Washington, Gambian activist Pasamba Jow said the election was a “great victory” for the country and the entire African continent, though he anticipated a “difficult task of rebuilding our country and healing our nation.”
Nevertheless, Jammeh had projected confidence, saying his victory was all but assured by God and predicting “the biggest landslide in the history of the country” after he voted.
New Delhi, Dec 2 : Citing constitutional compulsion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today sought to drive home the point that the Goods and Services Tax has to roll out before September 16 next year as the existing indirect taxes will come to an end by then and it would not be possible to run the country without revenue collection.
He made a pitch for widening the tax base, saying efforts are on to make taxation process far simpler and make rates more reasonable.
For instance, he said, the GST Council is deliberating on ways to reduce the taxation process, including assessment by tax officials.
“Today, each person gets assessed thrice, in each of the three taxations (including VAT and central excise). Now, you will only be assessed once and what one authority assesses, others will have to accept that assessment,” he said.
Terming GST as a game changer, Jaitley said: “The Constitution does not permit delay in GST implementation. The government notified GST on September 16 and the constitutional amendment itself says the current indirect tax system can continue for one year, after which the GST has to come.”
So, if as on September 16, 2017, there is no GST, then there is no taxation in the country, he reasoned.
“So, you have a constitutional compulsion to have a Goods and Services Tax in place before September 16 (2017), otherwise the country doesn’t run, and the tax is absolutely essential. Therefore, our intention is it gets implemented from April 1, 2017, that was the original intention,” he said.
Jaitley made the point that states should not oppose every reform for the sake of opposition because that makes investors wary.
“The states must welcome the decision and I can only tell you, if some states are seen as opposing every reform, then investors in the country and the ones coming from outside, must decide which are the states they want to invest in,” he cautioned.
“So, if your state is seen on the wrong side of the reform, then investors are going to be very wary of those states.