Islamabad: Amid reports of corruption, Pakistan has digitized flood relief assistance and distribution activity in a bid to ensure transparency.
It will now be operated digitally with the Digital Flood Dashboard as per the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reported Geo News.
The digital dashboard will keep the general public informed about foreign flood relief being received and distributed among victims. The decision was made in a meeting chaired by the premier on Saturday.
The latest technology is used in creating a digital flood dashboard to provide all details about relief activities and receipt and distribution of goods and assistance.
The prime minister also announced that the financial aid audit for flood victims would be conducted by the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) and the world's reputable audit firms to ensure transparency, reported Geo News.
He also reviewed the restoration of services in affected areas and called for expediting the rehabilitation of roads, bridges and power supply. He directed the provision of basic necessities of life to the victims.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail has said the government had provided Rs 70 billion for the relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected people, reported Geo News.
Talking to the media Ismail said that another Rs 50 billion would be provided to the affected people. He said that every penny received from abroad would be audited internally and externally. He also said that 33 million people were living under the open sky.
"The prime minister would soon hold meetings with industrialists and business people," he said, adding that APTMA had deposited Rs 400 million into the Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund and it would donate another Rs1 billion, reported Geo News. Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique expressed gratitude to all countries that have helped Pakistan in its time of difficulty. APTMA leader Dr Gohar Ejaz said that the association would also donate 150,000 ration bags to flood victims, reported Geo News.
Meanwhile, the death toll from floods in Sindh surged to 621 as 12 more people died during the last 24 hours on Sunday. As floods swept away the Chak-Nizam bridge, the first defence line of Dadu, authorities Sunday launched Plan B under which a dyke is being constructed along the embankments of the Burda Canal to protect the city.
Heavy machinery is being used to build a dyke up to 15 feet high, authorities said, adding that flash floods from the Manchar Lake had breached the Dadu ring bund, posing a threat to the city, reported Geo News. The water level in Manchar Lake, the nation's largest freshwater lake, is continuously rising. Rising floodwaters have washed away the first defence line of the city of over one million people, forcing the administration, backed by army troops, to strengthen the remaining embankments.
Thousands of people have been lodged in tents or are waiting for shelter under open skies along the main highway that leads to Hyderabad. Either side of the highway could be seen inundated by floodwater for miles.
Hundreds of citizens were seen leaving the city on mini-trucks, vans and rickshaws. Many others along with their livestock were also spotted trudging along the road under the baking sun, reported Geo News.
The huge flooding also forced the administration to shift nearly 400 prisoners from the Dadu district jail to the Hyderabad prison.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, taking notice of a possible threat to a 500KV grid station in Dadu from floods, directed for utilisation of all resources to protect the grid station.
He directed civil and military high-ups to immediately save the grid station from being affected by floods, the PM Office media wing said. —ANI

Amid reports of corruption, Pakistan has digitized flood relief assistance and distribution activity in a bid to ensure transparency.

Pakistan Digitizes Flood Relief Assistance To Bring Transparency

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the development works and programmes of all the departments at the Vikas Bhavan Auditorium of Pauri district on Monday.
He instructed officials to complete the work keeping in mind transparency, speed and foresight.
After extensive discussion with the officers, representatives and local people, the Chief Minister talked about making proposals for development works with everyone's participation and implementing them. He instructed the Drinking Water Corporation and Jal Sansthan to check once again the capacity and status of drinking water schemes so that there is no shortage of drinking water in the coming summer.
He directed the forest department to pay compensation to humans and livestock in case of wildlife attack through the suo moto process so that the affected people do not have to run unnecessarily.
The Chief Minister instructed to cross-verify the newly made ration cards in a proper way and to make those who are really entitled according to the standard. He instructed Commissioner Garhwal and District Magistrate to provide proper benefits of the schemes of the government to the people, to implement the development works at a fast pace and with transparency and to make the complexity of public services easy. During this, the Chief Minister also released the tourism calendar based on the tourism theme of the district.
"It is our effort that how the hilly areas become partners in the development of the state, we are working seriously on this. Along with this, we are working on priority for the maximum benefit of the youth, women, poor and deprived," he said.
A presentation was also given on innovative works like Chanting, District Collectorate, Heritage Building and Ganga Museum.
Along with this, a presentation of the district sector and state sector, centrally funded and externally aided scheme was also given and a review meeting was held. —ANI

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the development works and programmes of all the departments at the Vikas Bhavan Auditorium of Pauri district on Monday.

Complete Work With Transparency, Speed And Foresight: CM Dhami Reviews Development Programmes In Uttarakhand

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that his government has given jobs to over 5.5 lakh youth in the last six years with complete fairness and transparency.
While handing over appointment letters to newly appointed officers of various departments through the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission examination, the CM said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'mission rozgar' is going to give wings to the dreams of the youth."
"43 candidates from the Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Coaching Scheme have been selected in the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission," CM added.
On the one hand, while the state's recruitment process for government services is underway, youth are also finding work in the private sector, he added.
During this, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the 'e-adhiyachan portal'. Congratulating the 500 newly appointed officers on behalf of the state government, CM Yogi said that Uttar Pradesh has taken a new leap in 6 years.
"Six years ago, these same youths were dealing with an identity crisis. These youths no longer hesitate to speak out about their home state in any other state across the country." Yogi said.
The Chief Minister went on to say that this is the same state where the mafia used to dominate development work.
"The recruitment and transfer process was shuffled like a house of cards. This is the same state where riots used to occur every third day, and investment did not come. Investors began to close their businesses and leave the state," he said.
He added that no one thought Uttar Pradesh would ever improve, but the picture has changed.
Yogi further stated, "Change is now visible in every part of the village and city. The youth power that was forced to migrate is now gaining respect in their home state, and a new picture is emerging in front of all of us."
Stating that in the last six years, the government has been successful in providing employment to more than 1.61 crore youth, Yogi said, "More than 60 lakh young entrepreneurs have been supported to start their startups, their businesses. They are currently doing an excellent job." He said that the government expects the selected candidates to keep in mind that the public benefits from their efforts. "The coming ten years of government service will prove to be the basis of your work. If you conduct yourself in accordance with public sentiments during these years, people's trust in you will increase," said Yogi.&nbsp;
—ANI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that his government has given jobs to over 5.5 lakh youth in the last six years with complete fairness and transparency.

PM Modi's 'Mission Rozgar' To Provide Wings To Youths' Dreams: CM Yogi

San Francisco: Meta-owned WhatsApp has announced new security features to the platform, including -- Account Protect, Device Verification, and Automatic Security Codes, which the company will be adding in the coming months.

Now, the company will double-check that it's really you when you switch your WhatsApp account to a new device -- using the 'Account Protect' feature.

"From now on, we may ask you on your old device to verify that you want to take this step as an extra security check. This feature can help alert you to an unauthorised attempt to move your account to another device," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.

To counter the growing menace of mobile device malware and its implications for personal privacy and security, the company has introduced a new feature called 'Device Verification'.

This feature will add checks to help authenticate your account -- with no action needed from you -- and better protect you if your device is compromised, which will let you continue using WhatsApp uninterrupted.

Under 'Automatic Security Codes', the company is rolling out a security feature based on a process called "Key Transparency" that allows you to automatically verify that you have a secure connection, meaning you are chatting with the intended recipient.

When you click on the Encryption tab under a contact's info, you'll be able to verify right away that your personal conversation is secured. IANS

WhatsApp's new security feature to double check if it's really you

New Delhi: While discussing the Chabahar port for the first time at a joint working group meeting, India and the Central Asian countries reaffirmed their commitment to upholding international standards, transparency, local priorities, financial sustainability, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in their connectivity initiatives.
The remarks were made during a meeting that India hosted on April 12 and 13 in Mumbai, and they were referenced in a joint statement that was released on Friday.
In light of the landlocked nature of Central Asian countries and the absence of overland connectivity with India, the statement said that participants at the meeting recognised the importance of further developing regional connectivity to enhance trade and commerce between India and the Central Asian countries.—Inputs from Agencies

While discussing the Chabahar port for the first time at a joint working group meeting, India and the Central Asian countries reaffirmed their commitment to upholding international standards, transparency, local priorities, financial sustainability, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in their connectivity initiatives.

Connectivity projects should respect all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity

New Delhi (The Hawk): Future historians will record that during the last 9 years as Prime Minister, while Shri Narendra Modi sought to institutionalise the government recruitment process by introducing the practice of holding regular Rozgar Melas and bringing in reforms like abolition of interviews to ensure transparency in recruitments, on the other hand he simultaneously awakened the nation to alternative means of employment outside government through his boost to the StartUp movement resulting in 300 times rise in the number of StartUps to nearly 1 lakh in this country, more than 100 Unicorns and India ranking 3rd in world's StartUp ecosystem.  At the sametime, PM Modi never misses a chance to remind the youngsters taking up a new vocation, inside or outside the government, about the critical role destined to be played by them in the Amritkal over the next 25 years in the run-up to India@100 in 2047. Rozgar Mela is a step towards fulfillment of the commitment of Prime Minister Modi for employment generation in the country. The Rozgar Mela is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in National Development directly. Since its inauguration on 22nd October 2022, the Rozgar Mela has been organized in six tranches across the nation, resulting in the distribution of over 4.25 lakh appointment letters to deserving candidates. The sixth tranche was organized on 13th June 2023 in 43 different locations nationwide. The recruitment process for these positions is carried out through transparent and time-bound procedures conducted by esteemed recruitment agencies such as the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), and others. The newly appointed candidates, representing the diverse talent pool from across the country, will join various government departments and positions, including Financial Services, Posts, School Education, Higher Education, Revenue, Atomic Energy, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Railways. To further enhance the skills of the government employees and to provide an ecosystem of training architecture where a public servant can upskill himself as per the requirements of his role, the Prime Minister had rolled out Mission Karmayogi initiative. This online platform offers numerous e-learning courses accessible on various devices, enabling flexible learning for the candidates. Already, more than 5 lakh karmayogis from different government departments have enrolled on the capacity building portal. Keeping in mind the needs and requirements of new recruits, Hon'ble Prime Minister has recently launched Karmayogi Prarmbh, an online module on igotkarmayogi portal where more than 400 e-learning courses have been made available for 'any where any device' learning format. The courses cover essential topics such as understanding motivation, prevention of sexual harassment, code of conduct for government employees, self-leadership, effective communication, stress management, as well as beginner courses on Microsoft Excel and Word. By empowering the workforce with these vital skills, the Government aims to enhance individual and organizational effectiveness, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. In addition to the successful Rozgar Mela and the Karmayogi Prarambh initiative, DoPT has undertaken several reforms to streamline and ensure transparency. Notable reforms include the discontinuation of interviews for Group C and Group D level posts, switchover to computer-based exams for improved efficiency and the introduction of self-attestation. The Modi Govt's commitment to the welfare of weaker sections is evident through initiatives like providing ex-servicemen with multiple opportunities to avail themselves of the benefits of reservation and ensuring the implementation of reservation provisions for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities.  While the government continues its endeavors to provide employment opportunities in the public sector through the Rozgar Mela, it is also actively engaged in stimulating employment generation in the private sector. Initiatives such as the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan, expansion of national highways and airports, development of metro rail networks and waterways, promotion of startups, rural road connectivity, renewable energy capacity, and promotion of domestic manufacturing under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat campaigns, are significantly contributing to the creation of employment opportunities. PM Gatishakti National Master Plan has been formulated to expedite infrastructure projects, while the expansion of the national highway network and industrial corridors are expected to create numerous job prospects. The number of airports and metro rail networks has significantly increased, and waterways development, start-up growth, rural road connectivity, renewable energy capacity and digitization efforts have further bolstered employment opportunities. PM Modi's commitment to harness the dividend of youth asset in contemporary India continues to reflect in each successive initiative undertaken by him.

Future historians will record that during the last 9 years as Prime Minister, while Shri Narendra Modi sought to institutionalise

'Rozgar Mela' Institutionalises Government Recruitment Based On Merit And Transparency

Mumbai: The Congress on Thursday reiterated its demand on the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after the Adani Group found itself entangled in a fresh allegation brought forward by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a charge denied by the group.
Addressing a press conference here, ahead of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive alliance (INDIA) bloc third meeting, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “In November 2014 in Australia’s Brisbane 9th G20 Summit took place. And there Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the G20 that there should be international support to fight the black money, against those accumulating black money and those who are behind the money laundering, shell companies across the country and the tax heavens. And he demanded that the G20 need to show its strength.”  Referring to the G20 being held in India, Ramesh, who is also the party’s communication in-charge said that after nine days 18th G20 summit will take place in Delhi and today in all the newspapers whether its from the US, UK and Indian national newspapers an expose has appeared that how a favourite friend of the Prime Minister has used the shell companies.
“And All the rules and regulations of SEBI were neglected and bypassed,” the Congress Rajya Sabha MP said.  He further said that former party chief Rahul Gandhi will address an important press conference at 5 p.m. Thursday and will speak in detail about the same.  Ramesh further said that from January 28 till March 28 the Congress asked 100 questions to the Prime Minister.  “And we raised three questions everyday and asked him to break his silence. We demanded that rules and regulations were bypassed and there was no transparency in investment and shell companies were used. “And Rs 20,000 crore was found in shell companies of Adani group and there is no information of that. Rahul Gandhi spoke about it in Lok Sabha on February 7 and a few days later he was disqualified as an MP. Rahul Gandhi suffered for four months as he remained disqualified,” Ramesh said. The Congress leader also said, “We had demanded for a single thing that is the formation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). “There is only one way to know the truth, that is JPC and we reiterate the demand of JPC. This proves one thing that our institutions have failed, rules flouted and law is being bypassed. This is happening despite the government knowing all this, and we are demanding for a JPC and a probe starts,” he added. The remarks came after the OCCRP report alleged that “opaque” funds were used to funnel substantial investments into the publicly traded stocks of the Adani Group, purportedly masking the involvement of business partners associated with the Adani family. The Adani Group has rejected the OCCRP report alleging stock manipulation. “We categorically reject these recycled allegations. These news reports appear to be yet another concerted bid by Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report. In fact, this was anticipated, as was reported by the media last week,” the Group said. “These claims are based on closed cases from a decade ago when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) probed allegations of over invoicing, transfer of funds abroad, related party transactions and investments through FPIs. “An independent adjudicating authority and an appellate tribunal had both confirmed that there was no over-valuation and that the transactions were in accordance with applicable law. The matter attained finality in March 2023 when the Supreme Court of India ruled in our favour. Clearly, since there was no over-valuation, there is no relevance or foundation for these allegations on transfer of funds. “Notably, these FPIs are already part of the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). As per the Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, there is no evidence of any breach of the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements or manipulation of stock prices,” it added. As per the report, exclusive documents obtained by OCCRP and shared with the Guardian and Financial Times, including files from multiple tax havens, bank records, and internal Adani Group emails, shed light on that very matter. These documents, which have been corroborated by people with direct knowledge of the Adani Group’s business and public records from multiple countries, show how hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded Adani stock through opaque investment funds based in the island nation of Mauritius, the report said. —IANS

The Congress on Thursday reiterated its demand on the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after the Adani Group found itself entangled in a fresh allegation brought forward by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a charge denied by the group.

Cong reiterates demand for JPC after fresh revelations on Adani Group

New Delhi: In its performance audit report on the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed that six states and one union territory (UT) had not adopted the whistle-blower policy.  The audit noted that Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu had not adopted the Whistle-blower Policy, as per the CAG report on AB-PMJAY.  The report further said due to the non-adoption of the policy, the stakeholders involved in the scheme were deprived of the mechanism for complaining regarding the cases of corruption, medical and non- medical frauds, etc.
"The NHA (National Health Authority) while accepting the audit observation, replied (in August 2022) that states would be pursued to constitute these committees at the earliest and necessary directions would be issued for the implementation of whistleblower policy within defined timeline," the CAG report said.  It added, "NHA issued the PMJAY whistle-blower policy as a step towards strengthening transparency and accountability in the implementation of PMJAY."  The primary objective of the policy was to establish a mechanism to receive complaints relating to disclosure on any allegation of corruption, medical and non-medical fraud, etc., against any stakeholder involved with the implementation of PMJAY and to inquire or cause an inquiry into such disclosure and to provide adequate safeguards against the victimisation of the person making such a complaint, the report further said.  The AB-PMJAY provides a health cover up to Rs five lakh per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation services.  It provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiaries at the point of service -- hospital.  The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said it was examining in detail the recommendations of the CAG performance audit report on AB-PMJAY.
—IANS

In its performance audit report on the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed that six states and one union territory (UT) had not adopted the whistle-blower policy.

CAG flags Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY for not having whistle-blower policy

New Delhi: <span style="color: rgb(53,53,53);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 14px;font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji;">The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR against K.C. Joshi, the Chief Material Manager of Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur , for allegedly demanding a bribe from the owner of a private firm in exchange for not cancelling his tender.
A senior CBI official said that they received a complaint from Pranav Tripathi regarding the bribery demand by Joshi. Tripathi, the proprietor of Sukti Associates, registered his firm on the GEM portal. He supplies products and services to Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur and other government departments through his company.
Tripathi won a tender for the supply of materials from the Store Depot, Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur, in January 2023, which was valid until 15.01.2024, with a payment of Rs 80,000 per truck per month.
"Joshi, who is responsible for such matters, wrote to cancel the registration of Tripathi's firm on the GEM portal and threatened to cancel ongoing tenders if a bribe was not paid," read the complaint.
The CBI verified the complaint, which prima facie substantiated the allegations. Consequently, the CBI filed an FIR under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
—IANS

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR against K.C. Joshi, the Chief Material Manager of Northeastern Railway Gorakhpur

CBI files FIR against Railway official for 'demanding bribery'

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Thursday announced that case details of the Supreme Court will be made available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) on a daily real-time daily basis.
"At a click of a button, you can access statistical information relating to institution, disposal and pendency of cases,” he said.
CJI Chandrachud said that onboarding on NJDG portal is under the top court's open data policy to bring transparency and accountability in the judicial domain.
In July during vacation, the disposal was 5,500 as opposed to 3,315, he said, adding that there are less than 100 cases pending before 2000.
Under the new initiative, Supreme Court case data for both civil and criminal cases may be analysed based on the age of the case to generate case management reports.
NJDG is an online platform under the eCourts Project already having a database of orders, judgments and case details of District &amp; Subordinate Courts and High Courts.
—IANS

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Thursday announced that case details of the Supreme Court will be made available on

SC real-time data will reflect on National Judicial Data Grid: CJI

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence has emerged as the leading ministry amongst a total of 56 ministries and departments participating in the Government eMarketplace (GeM), holding the top position in both order value and order quantity.
Ministry of Defence said that since its inception, the Ministry has contributed significantly to the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of GeM, which has reached an impressive Rs 73,225.30 crore as of September 12, 2023.
The Defence Ministry official said that in the current financial year, the procurement through GeM has already reached an impressive Rs 18,790.60 crore as of 12 September.
The order value of the Ministry in fiscal year 2022-23 was Rs, 28,732.90 crore, while it amounted to Rs 15,091.30 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22. Under the aegis of the Department of Defence Production, the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) had sold Goods and Services worth Rs 2,642.66 crore on GeM in FY 2022-23, MoD official added.
The official said that the significant milestone of procuring goods and services worth over Rs 18,000 crore, underscores an outstanding average daily order value of Rs 109 crore in the current financial year. The remarkable achievement in the current fiscal results from the active participation of more than 19,800 buyers across the country, collectively placing over 3 lakh orders.
The Ministry of Defence's contribution to the overall GMV of GeM has consistently remained strong, standing at approximately 15 per cent since its inception and increasing to 16 per cent for the current financial year.
Furthermore, since inception, out of the 17,026,945 orders placed on GeM, the MoD has played a significant role, accounting for nearly 28 per cent of a total of 4,761,585 orders, the defence ministry official said.
According to the MoD, the GeM was started in August 2016 to revamp the old tender process and bring greater probity and transparency in government procurement through digitisation. In the last seven years since its inception, the MoD has been committed towards the digital drive.
The MoD’s impressive procurement through GeM underlines the platform’s effectiveness and efficiency in facilitating transparent and streamlined procurement operations.
The widespread embrace of GeM by various defence entities further underscores its success in simplifying and enhancing the overall procurement landscape, the official added.
—IANS

The Ministry of Defence has emerged as the leading ministry amongst a total of 56 ministries and departments participating

MoD top procurer on GeM with procurement of Rs 18,790cr

New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an inquiry into the alleged request for CRPF personnel to guard Tamil Nadu BJP chief Anamalai’s slippers.&nbsp;
In a letter to Shah, Tagore said that he was writing to express his deep concern and seek a clarification regarding a recent incident of CRPF personnel being requested to provide security for the slippers of BJP Tamil Nadu president Annamalai.
He said that the matter came to his notice through various media reports, and “I believe it raises important questions about the appropriate use of security resources and personnel”.
“As a concerned citizen and a MP, I firmly believe in the importance of ensuring that our law enforcement agencies, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), are deployed judiciously and effectively to maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law. However, I am puzzled by the decision to assign CRPF personnel to protect personal belongings, such as slippers,” he said.
Hitting out at the Home Minister, Tagore said, “Can you confirm whether CRPF personnel were indeed deployed to provide security for Annamalai’s slippers as reported in the media? What was the rationale behind this deployment? Was there a specific threat or security concern associated with Mr. Annamalai’s slippers that warranted such an allocation of resources?
He questioned if there was any standard operating procedure or guidelines when making the decision to assign CRPF personnel to this task? If so, could you please provide details on these procedures? And how many CRPF personnel were involved in this assignment, and for what duration were they deployed to protect the slippers.
He also asked if it was common practice to assign CRPF personnel to protect the personal belongings of public figures or individuals, or was this an exceptional case and what measures are in place to ensure that the deployment of CRPF personnel aligns with their primary mission of maintaining public safety and national security?
“I believe that addressing these questions will not only provide transparency on this specific incident but also contribute to a broader understanding of the proper utilization of our security forces,” he said.
“I request a prompt response to this inquiry to clarify the circumstances surrounding the deployment of CRPF personnel for the security of Annamalai’s slippers,” Tagore added.
—IANS

Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an inquiry

'CRPF personnel guarding TN BJP chief's slippers', Congress demands inquiry

London: The Chinese short-video making app TikTok has been fined 345 million euros ($379 million) by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for failing to keep kids’ data safe on its platform.
The fine, under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was announced in relation to TikTok’s processing of personal data relating to child users of its platform.
TikTok was found to have violated eight articles of the GDPR. As part of the inquiry, the DPC also examined certain of TikTok’s transparency obligations, including the extent of information provided to child users in relation to default settings.
The Irish data watchdog now requires TikTok to bring its processing into compliance by taking the action specified within a period of three months.
TikTok said in a statement that it “respectfully disagrees with the decision, particularly the level of the fine imposed”.
“The DPC’s criticisms are focused on features and settings that were in place three years ago, and that we made changes well before the investigation even began, such as setting all under 16 accounts to private by default,” the company added.
Elaine Fox, TikTok’s head of privacy in Europe, argued in a blog post that the company addressed safety concerns prior to the DPC’s investigation, such as setting accounts of users aged 13-15 private by default.
The DPC probe focused on a five month period (July 31, 2020 to December 31, 2020), looking at whether TikTok complied with its obligations under the GDPR in relation to its processing of personal data relating to child users.
The probe was initiated in the context of certain platform settings (including public-by-default settings; and settings associated with the “Family Pairing” feature); as well as examining age verification as part of the registration process.
—IANS

The Chinese short-video making app TikTok has been fined 345 million euros ($379 million) by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC)

TikTok fined $379 mn for failure to keep children’s data safe in EU

Kolkata: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has filed a petition under the Right to Information Act, 2005, on the amount spent from the state exchequer on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s ongoing Dubai and Spain visit to scout for investments.
The LoP has also sought information on the outcome of the trip and the actual achievements in roping in investment through that overseas trip, Adhikari has himself informed through a message on his X (formerly Twitter) wall on Thursday.
According to him, there had been some public hue and cry regarding the chief minister’s 11-day trip to the United Arab Emirates &amp; Spain.
“Especially, it has been an issue of public debate that, who accompanied her and in what capacity. Also, the expenditure of this ‘Official’ trip and the amount spent on her entourage is a matter of public concern as the People of West Bengal have every right to know how much purse strings were loosened by the cash-strapped Directorate of Treasuries and what has been achieved ultimately by spending such money,” the LoP claimed in his message.
So, he added, as a responsible leader of the opposition, he had sought some essential information regarding the chief minister’s 11 day trip to the United Arab Emirates &amp; Spain which began on September 12, 2023. The chief minister is supposed to come back to the country on September 23, the day after the special session of the Parliament will end.
—IANS

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has filed a petition under the Right to Information Act

Bengal LoP files RTI seeking information among CM’s overseas tour

Bengaluru: The Income Tax (I-T) department on Wednesday initiated raids at more than ten corporate companies here for allegedly evading taxes and submitting wrong inputs.  According to sources, simultaneous raids are being conducted in C.V. Raman Nagar, Bagmane Tech Park, Hulimavu, besides other locations.  Before conducting the raids, the officials learned that the said companies were adopting fraudulent ways to evade taxes. They also came to know that the companies were maintaining two sets of documents to mislead the I-T department. More details are yet to emerge regarding the raids. An official statement is also awaited. —IANS

The Income Tax (I-T) department on Wednesday initiated raids at more than ten corporate companies here for allegedly evading taxes

Tax evasion: I-T raids at more than 10 corporate companies in B’luru

New Delhi: Adani Group stocks rallied up to 20 per cent on Tuesday after the Supreme Court on November 24 reserved its order in the Adani-Hindenburg case.  Adani Total Gas is up 19 per cent, Adani Energy is up 17 per cent, Adani Green is up 14 per cent, Adani Power is up 13 per cent, Adani Enterprises is up 10 per cent.  The court said that the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cannot be expected to follow what newspaper reports have said in order to make its findings.  The Chief Justice of India also expressed displeasure over the use of information from reports by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Hindenburg Research by the petitioners.  The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta brought new facts regarding the OCCRP report to the notice of the Supreme Court.  As per the Solicitor General, when the SEBI wrote to the OCCRP seeking details and documents relied upon by the organisation while making the allegations against the Adani Group in the August 31 report, the OCCRP did not share the details of the allegations and said that they could instead be obtained from an NGO in India, which had provided it the information.  As per the Solicitor General, this NGO is run by Prashant Bhushan.  During the hearing, the Solicitor General of India informed the Court that investigation in 22 out of the 24 cases relating to allegations against the Adani Group were over.  "For remaining two, we need information from foreign regulators etc. and some other information. We have been in consultation with them. Some information has come but that is where we are not in control of the time limit for obvious reasons...," he said.
—IANS

Adani Group stocks rallied up to 20 per cent on Tuesday after the Supreme Court on November 24 reserved its order in the Adani-Hindenburg case.

Adani Group stocks zoom after SC hearing

Los Angeles: In a big move towards transparency, streaming service Netflix has come out with viewership statistics for over 18 thousands titles for a six month period with "The Night Agent", a spy series, topping the top-20 chart with 812.1 million hours views.
In its first “What We Watched” report, covering the period between January to June 2023, Netflix disclosed the viewership data for both original and licensed content, encompassing about 99 per cent of all viewing on the streaming platform.  No Indian show or movie made it to the top-20 list.  "The Night Agent" was followed by season two of "Ginny &amp; Georgia" with 665.1 million hours and Korean drama "The Glory" with 622.8 million hours.
Series "Wednesday", which was released in November 2022, ranked fourth at 507.7 million hours of viewing. The top 10 titles included -- "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story", "You" season four, "La Seina del Sur" season three, "Outer Banks" season three, "Ginny &amp; Georgia" season one and "FUBAR" season one.  The company also revealed that about 55 percent of viewing was for originals and 45 percent was for licensed shows and films.  From the licensed shows, "Suits" had a combined 599 million hours of viewing worldwide on Netflix across all nine seasons.
Netflix said it will begin sharing bi-annual reports, which will rank almost all of its shows and movies by amount of hours viewed over the past six months.  "Over the last 16 years of streaming one constant has been people asking for more viewing information," Netflix co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos said on a call with journalists.  "It is a comprehensive deep dive into what people are watching on Netflix around the world and it is an important milestone for our industry," he added.
The company, Sarandos said, has been getting "increasingly transparent about what people are watching on Netflix".  "In November 2021, we started publishing our Top 10 lists and our Most Watched Titles across film and television as well as our Most Popular list. We also privately share title information with our creators. But we wanted to go even further," he said.  Netflix had attracted criticism for not sharing the viewership data, especially during the twin strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
The call for transparency from streamers was among the contentious issues flagged by the two guilds.  However, Sarandos said Hollywood strikes had nothing to do with the streamer's decision to share viewership numbers.  "This has been on a continuum for several years. So this is not driven by anything differently than that. I think it’s really important, that’s why I did say earlier, that lack of data, lack of transparency, the unintended consequence was this kind of mistrust, this environment of mistrust around the data.  "So this is probably more information than you need, but I think it creates a better environment for the guilds, for us, for the producers, for creators and for the press,” the co-CEO said.
—PTI

In a big move towards transparency, streaming service Netflix has come out with viewership statistics for over 18 thousands titles for a six month period

Netflix comes out with viewership numbers, releases data for 18,000 titles

Baghdad: Iraqi authorities said the voter turnout for the provincial elections, which were held after a gap of 10 years, stood at 41 per cent.  According to the Independent High Electoral Commission, around 6.6 million out of more than 16 million eligible voters cast their votes during voting on the Monday and early balloting on December 16, reports Xinhua news agency.  Voting was held in 15 of the country's 18 provinces, excluding the three provinces in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.  The eligible voters chose 285 new members for the provincial councils from 5,901 candidates.  "The commission prepared well to ensure the transparency of the elections by installing 112,000 surveillance cameras at polling stations," Hassan Hadi Zayer, a member of the media team of the electoral commission, told Xinhua at a polling centre in Baghdad.  Samir Abdul-Samad, a 45-year-old government employee, said, "I participated in the elections to make a change to our life and get rid of corruption so that we can get better services, because our suffering from lack of public services is great."  He said his motivation to participate in the local elections was the hope for a better future, "we cannot keep our hands tied and must contribute to changing the current situation for the better".  The turnout in the provincial elections could have been even higher had it not been for the boycott of prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who officially withdrew in 2022 from the political scene after a lengthy political deadlock over cabinet formation.  On Monday night, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani congratulated the Iraqi people for the success of the provincial elections, calling the polls "a step toward the administrative decentralization and support to the civil peace and stability".  The last provincial elections in Iraq were held in April 2013.
—IANS

Iraqi authorities said the voter turnout for the provincial elections, which were held after a gap of 10 years, stood at 41 per cent.

Voter turnout in Iraq provincial polls hits 41%

London: An EU report on Maldives' 2023 presidential elections reveals concerning tactics used by the ruling coalition, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC). The report points to the deployment of anti-India sentiments and disinformation strategies during the electoral campaigns, as disclosed by the European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) following their observations during the September 9 and 30 elections.  The coalition's campaign was observed to revolve around instilling fears of Indian influence within the nation, using derogatory language and spreading anti-Indian sentiments. The EU EOM highlighted instances of misinformation attempts online to amplify these sentiments, including concerns about the presence of Indian military personnel in the country.  Furthermore, the report shed light on the lack of transparency in political fundraising and financial expenditure, as well as the media's political biases and potential information manipulation on social media platforms.  The election, in which incumbent president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sought re-election, ultimately saw Mohamed Muizzu from the Opposition PPM-PNC coalition emerge victorious with 54 percent of the votes.  While acknowledging the well-administered nature of the elections by the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM), Chief Observer Nacho Sánchez Amor emphasized certain shortcomings. These included the underrepresentation of women in both the political competition and election administration, alongside prevalent issues like vote-buying and misuse of public office.  The EU EOM outlined 20 recommendations in their report aimed at enhancing future elections in Maldives. These suggestions encompass initiatives for fact-checking to counter misinformation and measures to promote greater female representation in public and political spheres.  The report surfaces amidst a recent controversy involving India summoning the High Commissioner of Maldives over derogatory posts made by three deputy ministers following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshwadeep. The Maldives government clarified that these remarks were personal and did not reflect official government views.
—Input from Agencies

Discover EU findings on Maldives' 2023 elections: Anti-India sentiments, transparency concerns, and gender representation in politics.

EU Report Highlights Anti-India Sentiments during Maldives' 2023 Presidential Elections

Islamabad: Voting concluded across Pakistan on Thursday in an election marred by sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil terror attacks.
The polling started at 8.00 am and continued without any break till 5.00 pm. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable a total of 128,585,760 registered voters to cast their ballots.  The time for voting ended but the people present inside the premises of the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes.  There were reports of voting process facing delays at certain polling stations across the country and at least one terror attack on security forces performing election duties that killed four policemen.  The ballot boxes would be unsealed in the presence of the agents of various candidates present inside the polling stations, and counting would be done in the supervision of the presiding officer of each polling station.  The presiding officer would prepare the result and announce it publicly. He would also paste the copy of the result on the main gate of the polling station and then also transmit the same to the returning officer through the Election Management System. The returning officers would tabulate the result of constituencies and announce the final result.
It is believed that results would start pouring before midnight and most of the results would be available by the morning. The first result is expected after 6.30 pm.  Countrywide disruption of cellular and internet services during polls irked the political parties and cast doubts on the transparency of the voting process.  Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across the country.  With former prime minister Imran Khan in jail, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is tipped to emerge as the single largest party in the elections.  Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates are contesting the polls independently after the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the election commission to deprive his party of its iconic election symbol cricket 'bat'.  Pakistan’s more than two-decades-old fight against terrorism is also unravelling as the rebels have resurged since 2021 after the Afghan Taliban came to power.  The new government will find it tougher to deal with the militancy by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch nationalists.
—PTI

Pakistan election marred by violence and disruptions. Imran Khan's absence, PML-N's lead, and terrorism resurgence shape the uncertain political landscape.

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