NEW DELHI 25 AUGUST 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24 facebook/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard BITTEN BY THE BUG https://epaper.morningstandard.in Paint and Pain in Hurt’s Locker The Malayali on a High in Poland PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE THE ROCKSTAR WORKOUT EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Ravi Shankar Ajai Sahni Anu Aggarwal Dispelling the Colonial Hangover The Sisterhood of Grieving Hearts Debashis Chatterjee Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Anuradha Goyal ‘I Feel Like an Outsider’ SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Racket, the Inner Deceiver offer by Pension wrinkles off in new scheme Loadedsupport PDP to UPS will benefit as many as 23 lakh govt employees who joined service under National Pension System M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi PROPERTY ANGLE AMID ongoing protests by the non-BJP ruled states regarding the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday approved a Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), designed to offer guaranteed pension benefits, family pensions, and a minimum assured pension for government employees. Under this new scheme, the government will ensure that employees receive a pension equivalent to 50% of their salary The government’s contribu. tion to the pension scheme has increased from 14% to 18.5%. This newspaper had earlier reported that the new pension scheme will be based on Andhra Pradesh’s guaranteed pension scheme, under which, pension- ers receive 50% of their last drawn basic salary along with dearness allowance or DA. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the scheme will benefit 23 lakh Central government employees and will be implemented on April 1, 2025. It will allow employees the flexibility to choose between the National Pension System (NPS) and the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). This choice will be final for both current and future employees. The UPS guarantees government employees a pension equal to 50% of their average basic salary from the last 12 months preceding retirement, provided they have completed a minimum of 25 years of service. In the event of the pensioner’s death, their family will receive NRI shot at in front of family in Amritsar SALIENT FEATURES 50% of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months prior to superannuation upon minimum 25 years of service Assured family pension @ 60% of pension of the employee immediately before her/his demise Assured minimum pension of `10,000 on retirement after minimum 10 years of service E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram Junior doctors protesting outside the RG Kar Medical College demanding justice for a trainee doctor whose body was found on the premises on August 9 | EXPRESS Former principal of RG Kar, 6 others take lie detector test A day after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra raised allegations of sexual misconduct against the Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman, demands mounted from various corners — political parties, Left-leaning cultural leaders, film personalities and youth organisations— for Ranjith’s resignation. Hectic parleys are being held as the government buys time to ensure a safe exit for the academy chairman. Top government sources said that the ball is now in the court of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. On Saturday, the government found itself in a tight spot after THE CBI on Saturday re-registered a case against Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital here over financial irregularities, after taking over the probe from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the directions of the Calcutta High Court. Ghosh resigned as principal of RG Kar two days after a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor’s body was found inside the seminar hall of the college on August 9. Hours later, he was appointed as principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, drawing adverse reactions from all quarters. The high court directed the CBI to submit its progress report on the investigation within three weeks and scheduled a followup hearing on September 17. In a related development, the CBI subjected Ghosh and four other doctors to a lie detector test. The four doctors had dinner with the victim on August 8. Ghosh arrived at the CBI’s office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake in the morning for the ninth day consecutive day and was taken for the test, the officials said. , The CBI also conducted a polygraph test of Sanjoy Roy and another friend of Roy Curiously the probe agency’s note to the . , trial court seeking judicial custody of Sanjoy Roy makes no mention of gangrape or possible involvement of more than one person in the August 9 crime. Healthcare services continued to be affected for the 16th consecutive day at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors refused to withdraw their ceasework protest. Senior doctors attended to patients at the emergency services at government hospitals. Sreelekha Mitra said that she would not come to Kerala leaving her work in Bengal and file a complaint. She asked the govt to take up the matter on her behalf. EXPRESS READ Shah: Maoists to be eliminated by ’26 Home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the fight against outlawed CPI (Maoist) is in its final stage and the Naxal menace will be eliminated from the country by March 2026. Shah announced this after chairing the review meeting of the inter-state coordination committee in Raipur. P7 Terrorist attacks poll picket in J&K, killed FUTURE TENSE Heavy rush at Kanpur Central Railway Station as candidates arrive for the UP police recruitment exam on Saturday | PTI One year on, Kuno cheetahs to be set free into the wild NAMIBIAN and South African cheetahs housed in big enclosures at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park since last year’s monsoon following the death of three cheetahs, are set to be released into the wild again after the present rainy season is over. The release will be in phases. Out of the 25 cheetahs, including 12 adults (one male adult is already in the wild) and the 12 cubs currently housed in enclosures, the adults will first be released into the wild, possibly in October, as the monsoon mostly withdraws from ‘Govt must take it up’ AFTER the National Conference and the Congress finalised pre-poll alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, PDP chief and former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday released her party manifesto and said that she would extend complete support to the alliance if it accepts her agenda, including peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue and restoration of Article 370 and 35A. “The PDP will not fight the Assembly elections just for the seats. We will extend our complete support to the alliance formed by NC and Congress if they agree to follow our party’s agenda, which includes the resolution of the Kashmir issue and restoration of Article 370,” Mehbooba told reporters. She said that power and seats don’ t matter for the PDP “If the party’s agen. da is accepted, we will extend our support to the alliance in J&K.” When asked whether she We will extend our complete support would align with the BJP as to the alliance the party had done after 2014 formed by NC and Assembly polls, the PDP Congress if they chief asserted that “there is agree to follow our party’s agenda, no possibility of PDP alignwhich includes the ing with the BJP .” resolution of “We had aligned with the Kashmir issue and BJP government in Delhi restoration of and not with the BJP in 2015 Article 370 with a condition that they Mehbooba Mufti would not tinker with Article 370. Till the coalition government was there, Article 370 was not touched. We had formed the alliance to save Article 370 and now there is no Article 370,” she said. She has been very critical of the reading down of Article 370 and was among the top leaders booked under the stringent PSA. NC and Congress leaders did not contact the PDP leadership, which was also interested in the alliance, before finalising the pre-poll alliance. The PDP has been weakened after its alliance with BJP for 2014 Assembly polls. S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata PHASED RELEASE E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhopal The Unified Pension Scheme ensures dignity and financial security for government employees, aligning with our commitment to their well-being and a secure future Narendra Modi Cultural Minister Saji Cheriyan defended Ranjith, saying he’s a brilliant director and the probe will be conducted if there’s a formal complaint. Though he later made a U-turn by posting a “corrected” statement, the damage was already done. Women’s Commission chairperson P Sathidevi, however, said a written complaint was not necessary to take action in cases of sexual harassment. She said the panel would seek a report from the government CPI leader Annie Raja sought immediate removal of Ranjith from the post. Chalachithra Academy member N Arun said t h e y e x p e c t g ove r n m e n t intervention. NC-Cong alliance F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar Kerala Chalachitra Academy chief accused of harassing Bengali actor H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh AN NRI, who returned from the US about a month back, was shot at by two assailants at his house in an Amritsar village on Saturday in front of his family members, police said, adding that the two fled after their pistol jammed. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras inside Sukhchain Singh’s house. The CCTV footage shows two armed men entering Sukhchain’s house and firing at least three shots at him. His mother, his second wife and two children can be seen crying and pleading for mercy from the assailants. The family members reportedly told the police that the pistols being used by the assailants got stuck forcing them to flee. Singh was hit in the head and neck and was rushed to a private hospital. The family members told the police that five months ago, Sukhchain was threatened in a dispute involving the family of his first wife who had allegedly died by suicide. Singh’s mother and second wife reportedly told the police that Singh’s first wife was behind the attack. Sukhchain had recently bought a luxury car worth `1.5 crore. The attackers entered his home on the pretext of enquiring about his car’s registration certificate.Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harpal Singh said a case of attempt to murder was lodged against five people, who reportedly belong to the family members of Sukhchain’s first wife. 60% of the pension amount that was being disbursed at the time of passing. The scheme guarantees employees a minimum monthly pension of `10,000 after retirement, provided they have completed a minimum of 10 years of service. All schemes will be adjusted for inflation. A lump sum will be given at the time of superannuation, in addition to gratuity Employees will . get 1/10th of their monthly salary (plus pay and DA) for every six months of completed service. This lump sum will not affect the amount of the guaranteed pension. The provisions of the UPS will also apply to employees who have already retired under the NPS. Retirees will receive arrears for the previous period, along with interest. large areas of MP by then. At present, a Namibian male Pawan aka Oban is in the wild. “The cheetahs will be released in the wild in phases and the male coalitions could be the first ones to be released in the forest after the monsoon is over,” Rajesh Gopal, who heads the Cheetah Project Steering Committee told this newspaper over phone on Saturday . The two male coalitions currently in the enclosures are Prabhas and Pavak and Agni and Vayu. They are likely to be the first ones to be released in the free ranging forests. “Subsequently, the other adults will be released into the wild in phases. The mothers and their cubs, however, will be released into the wild in or after December,” Gopal added. The decision to release the cheetahs was taken following the recent visit of Rajesh Gopal and an NTCA member to the KNP. The team was satisfied with the arrangements there, including the prey base availability. Also, the animals have been administered vaccines to safeguard them against disease and given prophylactic medicine to prevent infection. In 2023, the cheetahs were initially released into the wild but were brought back to their enclosures by August after the death of three — a female named Tbilisi (from Namibia) and two South African males, Tejas and Sooraj due to septicemia. Septicemia occurs when bacteria enters the bloodstream and spreads. The condition arose from wounds under the cheetahs’ winter coats on their backs and necks, which became infested with maggots and led to blood infections, according to the government’s annual report. A terrorist was killed during an exchange of fire with CRPF personnel deployed at an Election Commission-directed check post in Baramulla district on Saturday, officials said. The incident took place at 3 pm near a veterinary hospital in the Watergam area of Sopore in Baramulla district. P8 ‘Unauthorised’ property of actor Nagarjuna demolished S B A C H A N J E E T S I N G H @ Hyderabad THE Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) razed the highprofile N-Convention Centre, owned by actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, early Saturday morning. Located in Khanamet village, the centre was constructed in the Full Tank Level (FTL) and the buffer zone of Thammidi Kunta lake. The structure, spanning 3.3 acres of the lake’s areas, was reportedly erected without the necessary building permission. The convention centre, known for its state-of-art infrastructure and technology, has been a focal point of controversy for over a decade due to its location in the lake’s FTL and buffer zone. Calling the action unlawful, Nagarjuna said it was patta land and added not “even an inch of tank plan is encroached”. “It is a building built on a private plot. Stay was also granted on previous illegal notice for demolition,” he wrote on ‘X’. HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath said there were “no stay orders from any court”.
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