WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR BRS ACCUSES CONG OF TRYING TO DEMOLISH KALESHWARAM VERDICTS KEEP COMING, SO DOES TRUMP P4 P7 SENSEX 73,095.22305.09 NIFTY 22,198.3576.30 ` vs $ 82.891 PAISE ‘YOU NEED ‘HUNGER’ TO EXCEL IN TEST CRICKET’ STITCHED TOGETHER P6 GOLD 64,210.00 P12 SILVER 74,000 Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 31 °C and 22°C respectively. CM sets deadline for Centre to clear housing scheme dues RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 80.850.25 Miss Banerjee said state government will build houses for 11 lakh beneficiaries after 1 April WEATHER Max. 72% Min. 61% Max: 31.3°C SUN RISES 05:59 hrs MOON RISES 20:50 hrs Min: 22.5°C SUN SETS 17:39 hrs MOON SETS 07:59 hrs TEMPERATURE DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY PURULIA, 27 FEBRUARY day after the Bengal government started the disbursement of the pending wages of the 100days MGNREGA job card holders, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday set a deadline of 1 April for the Central government to clear the old dues of the PM AwasYojana beneficiaries in the state. She said that if the Centre does not meet that deadline, her government will fund the housing scheme for 11 lakh beneficiaries. Already 11 lakh people have registered but the actual figure could go up to 16 to 17 lakh, the CM added. She was addressing a meeting on the outskirts of Purulia town today, effectively launching her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections a few days before the visit of PM Narendra Modi in the state. “Many people have started getting their wages for the 100-days job scheme and others will get A New Moon on 10 March THUMBNAILS People pay tribute to the statue of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad on his death anniversary, at Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj on Tuesday.. ANI Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar appointed Chairperson of Lokpal: The President on Tuesday appointed Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Chairperson of the Lokpal. Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi were named as judicial members of the Lokpal in a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique issued this evening. Mr Sushil Chandra, Mr Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey will be non-judicial members of the anti-corruption ombudsman. it in the next few days in their bank accounts,"she added. The central government figure for the 100days MGNREGA scheme in Bengal was 21 lakh workers, but her government has found names of 50 lakhs people as job card holders after scrutiny, she said. “PM Narendra Modi has to give answer to these 50 lakh people of the state why he has not disbursed their wages,” she said. The chief minister announced that one family member of people who died in wild animal attacks will get jobs in the state forest department. Around a 1,000 people will benefit, Miss Banerjee said, adding that such employees would get a consolidated salary of Rs.12,000 per month. Wooing the farmer community, she announced that the food and supplies department will directly purchase paddy from the doorstep of farmers. Besides, a big market will be set up in each district of the state where the products of women Self Names of Team Gaganyaan revealed STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 27 FEBRUARY he names of the four prospective astronauts for India’s first manned space mission, Gaganyaan, were announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. They are Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla. Their names were announced for the first time by Mr Modi during his visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre ( VSSC) in Thiruvanathapuram on Tuesday. T The Gaganyaan Mission is India's first human space flight programme for which extensive preparations are under way at various ISRO centres. Mr Modi formally introduced the chosen quartet at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre ( VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram and awarded them astronaut wings. These individuals have undergone rigorous training at Bengaluru's astronaut training facility, marking a significant milestone in India's space exploration journey. The Prime Minister said that they are four individuals that encompass the aspirations of 1.4 billion people in the country. “India's success in the space sector is sowing the seeds of scientific temperament in the country's young generation," Mr Modi said in his address at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. "As India is set to become the top3 economy of the world, at the same time the country's Gaganyaan is also going to take our space sector to a new height." Group Captain Nair, a native of Kerala’s Thiruvazhiyad, is a Category A flying instructor and test pilot with approx 3,000 hrs of flying experience, and has commanded a premier fighter Su-30 squadron. During their 18-month training programme in Russia, Nair supervised the group of pilots chosen for the Gaganyaan mission. MHA to notify CAA rules before enforcement of MCOC NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to announce the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 regulations prior to the enforcement of the model code of conduct, sources said. The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants - including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians - who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.Sources privy to the development told the ANI that "the regulations for the CAA could be announced anytime before the enforcement of the model code of conduct". There is a possibility that the code of conduct might be in place in AGENCIES March. CMYK Help Group can be sold. She has also said that SHG women can apply for a credit card of Rs 5 lakhs. Addressing the Mahato community in the Jungle Mahal districts and particularly in Purulia, CM Mamata Banerjee said that a survey will be conducted soon of the Mahato community by her government, but it is the Centre which gives the Scheduled Caste status. This was a long-standing demand of the people belonging to the KurmiMahato community of Jungle Mahal and they have been agitating on this issue for a long time. She also informed the district administration that she will not tolerate any irregularities in disbursement and allotments of caste certificates to tribals. The tribal community has also been agitating on this issue. The chief minister also said that she will write to the Centre demanding the recognition of the Sarna religion. Miss Banerjee inaugurated the Panagarh Industrial Park set up by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation in West Burdwan on 1,466 acres of land and the Shyam Steel Plant in Raghunathpur, set up on 600 acres of land at a cost of Rs.1500 crores. Investments amounting to Rs 9,668 crores have been announced in the Panagarh Industrial park and Rs.4500 crores in three phases in the Shyam Steel Plant in Raghunathpur. These two projects will directly give jobs to over 12,000 people. Cross-voting in Himachal RS polls, BJP candidate Mahajan wins seat STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SHIMLA, 27 FEBRUARY Following cross-voting by some ruling MLAs in Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan has won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state. The cross voting has placed the Congress government in the state in a precarious situation. According to sources, there has been cross-voting as three independent MLAs and six Congress MLAs are said to have voted for the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, Harsh Mahajan. Congress had fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi as their candidate. The BJP is said to have moved the Congress MLAs and the three independent MLAs to a hotel at Panchkula in the neighbouring state of Haryana after the voting. Meanwhile, a video has also surfaced on social media of the Congress MLAs being brought to PWD Rest House, Panchkula in vehicles. (DETAILS ON P5)
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