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Madurai Bar Council Advocates Write To Collegium In Support Of Victoria Gowri

By
The Commune
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On Friday, more than 100 advocates from the Madras high court’s Madurai bench wrote to the Supreme Court collegium in support of the recommendation to appoint advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a Madras High Court judge. The representation is also signed by some Senior Advocates like K. Balasundharam, K.P.S.Palanivel Rajan and S. Srinivasa Raghavan, the President of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court Bar Association.

The advocates wrote to the collegium after a group of Chennai-based lawyers urged President Droupadi Murmu to reconsider the collegium’s recommendation to elevate Gowri. The advocates claimed that Gowri, as a BJP leader, gave several anti-minority speeches.

The advocates stated in their representation to President Murmu on Friday that Gowri, who is currently working as an assistant solicitor general of India at the Madurai bench, has worked hard and contributed to the upholding of the law. Several advocates who worked directly as members or office-bearers of political parties have been appointed as judges across India, and many have been appointed judges of the Madras high court despite being district secretaries or office-bearers of Tamil Nadu’s leading political parties.

The collegium was pleased to recommend her name based on input from central and state government agencies. A group of advocates from various political parties is attempting to interfere with the administration of justice and the appointment of judges for no reason other than political animosity. This should be avoided at all costs.

According to the advocates, it is important to note that in the past, many advocates with political affiliations were appointed judges and performed their duties well and impartially. It is also assumed that Gowri will perform her duties as a judge.

“We humbly request to reject the claim of a group of lawyers to withdraw the recommendations of the collegium relating to the appointment of Mrs. L. Victoria Gowri.”, the representation reads.

“It is to be considered that based on the inputs from the state and the central government like Special Branch Police, Intelligence Bureau, and as well from the candidates, the Hon’ble Collegium was pleased to recommend her name. Now without any valid reasons, except political vendetta and political animosity, a group of advocates belonging to some political factions is directly trying to interfere with the administration of justice and administration of judges.”, the representation says.

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“PTR Targets Brahmin Women Journalists”: Independent Journalist Alleges

By
The Commune
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Independent journalist Sandhya Ravishankar has leveled serious allegations against Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, including being a racist and casteist.

In her interview with the Youtube Channel Pesu Tamizha Pesu, she said, “I released a report based on my field research on the 40 constituencies a few months before the May 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. PTR and I had a good relationship until the report was released. I was the first to interview PTR for the Huffington Post, even before he was announced as a candidate for the 2016 election, because he had a solid background as an investment banker and wanted to do something for Tamil Nadu politics. He used to respond to my messages.”

She added, “However, he was dissatisfied with the survey’s findings in the southern region, particularly in the DMK Poongothai Aladi Aruna constituencies, where people said they would vote for the BJP instead of the ADMK and DMK. It all started after that.  Then we did another article on the Pollachi incident, where we interviewed a victim who claimed that she was not sexually abused, but that several others were. PTR used a line from the story out of context to claim that we were supporting the Pollachi rapists. PTR even referred to me as an apologist of Pollachi rapists. Despite my efforts to explain, he ignored me and began targeting me. He even blocked me after calling me a scum.”

She further said, “Later, he was regularly targeting Malini Parthasarathy (of The Hindu group). PTR will not talk about what Malini madam says; instead, PTR will target her caste. If you disagree with my viewpoint, you can disregard it by blocking me. Why is he referring to us as cultists? If we look at the pattern of attack by PTR, we can see that he only targets Brahmin women journalists. It started with me, then Malini Parthasarathy, who is constantly targeted by PTR, and recently Chandra Srikanth of Moneycontrol, who is not even a reporter in Tamil Nadu.”

She went on to say, “When Karunanidhi was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, he never abused a journalist, despite that many negative articles were written about him by the journalists.”

She asked sternly, “How many times you know PTR has called Malini Parthasarathy a ‘Cultist’. Can we call him ‘Pannaiyaar’ if he refers to us as ‘cultists’? Will PTR call Malini a cultist if she is born in Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe? If PTR is offended by our viewpoint, he should inform us politely. Who gave him the authority to abuse us? Is this the Dravidian model? As English journalists, Malini, Chandra Srikanth, and I have a better vocabulary than PTR. Do you want us to descend to PTR’s level?”

She further added, “There is a problem with his upbringing, in my opinion. Being in a powerful position, how dare he speak like that? Because of his feudal mindset, he used filthy words against everyone. People say that he studied in the US. Will the US finance minister speak like PTR? PTR is in a respectable position. He must not act like an IT wing troll.”

She ended by saying, “PTR has no right to talk about me. He knows absolutely nothing about me. He is unaware of my family or my difficulties. How dare he say such a thing? I raised the issue with international press organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists. As women in this field, we already face numerous challenges. Nobody paved the way for us. we fought and we have come up. A state finance minister doing this is setting a bad precedent. Only someone with a fascist mentality would do it.”

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Farmers’ Monthly Income Jumps To ₹10,218 In 2018-19 From ₹6,426 In 2012-13: NSO Survey

By
The Commune
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National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducted a Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households during NSS 77th round (January 2019- December 2019) with reference to the agricultural year July 2018- June 2019 in the rural areas of the country. Similar survey was also conducted during 70th round by NSO. As per result of SASs, the average monthly income per agricultural household during 2012-13 and 2018-19 is given below.

PeriodAverage Monthly Income (in ₹)
2012-13

(70th Round)

 6,426
  2018-19

(77th Round)

10,218

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 3 February 2023.

(Published from PIB)

Pak-Origin British Islamic Preacher Violates Indian Visa Norms By Indulging In Mass Religious Preaching, Complaint Filed

By
The Commune
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A complaint has been filed against a Pakistani-origin UK citizen named Muhammad Saqib bin Iqbal Shaami alias Saqib Iqbal Shami, for alleged anti-India activities and violating Indian visa norms by indulging in mass religious preachings.

Also known as Saqib-Ul-Qadri Shami, he is touring India and organizing Islamic religious events in various cities. As a part of his schedule, he will attend a massive religious event in Azam Jahi Mill Grounds, Warangal as a chief guest and principal speaker on 4 February 2023.

He had participated in a mass Islamic religious event at Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh on 2 February 2023.

In his social media post he termed it as the “biggest political, cultural, social & Islamic gathering of all time”.

In another social media post, Saqib Iqbal Shami revealed that he has a residence in Karachi, Pakistan. According to Legal Rights Protection Forum, he is possibly holding Pakistan citizenship parallelly. “If this is the case, it is a matter of grave concern for India’s safety, security and sovereignty.”, the organization working in the area of national security said.

LRPF in its complaint note that he is interfering in Indian internal policy matters. He is one among the 120 Islamic scholars from the United Kingdom who wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing dissatisfaction and displeasure over the abrogation of Article 370.

“Given the above circumstances and the most serious matter, we humbly request you to take preventive steps to stop his event scheduled in Warangal and take action against him and the sponsors/organisers of the event under relevant sections of the Foreigners Act, 1946. We also request you blacklist him to prevent his further entry into India.”, LRPF said in its complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in its reply under the Right to Information Act, has made it clear that the Government of India does not issue visas to religious preachers who desire to visit India to participate in religious campaigns and religious activities.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its another RTI reply, vide File No. RTI/46/2015-F-1 dated 2 October 2015 stated that there is no visa category for foreign nationals intending to visit India to attend religious program, and foreign nationals entering India on the strength of a Tourist Visa are not allowed to preach and propagate his religion in India.

A tourist visa can only be used for non-business purposes, such as tourism or visiting family and friends. Even if one holds a missionary visa, the person cannot use it for proselytizing activities and can only join a missionary organization approved by the Government of India for which the organization must receive a certificate indicating it is compliant with the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act.

Later, on several occasions, the same has been reiterated by the Ministry of Home Affairs that foreigners are not allowed to be involved in Tablighi or religious activities in India.

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DMK Govt’s Plan For Pen Statue Draws Flak As Govt Fails To Pay Salary Of Aided School Teachers 

By
The Commune
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The DMK government’s plans to erect a pen statue for the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi has drawn criticism from all quarters, even while the DMK government has delayed the payment of salary to government-aided school teachers in many districts, leaving many wondering where the money for the statue will come from when they don’t have money to pay salaries.

According to reports, the salaries of many Tamil Nadu government-aided school teachers in many districts have not been credited to their bank accounts for three days since the start of the month.

Many government-aided schools operate in the same manner as government schools throughout Tamil Nadu. The monthly salary is usually credited to each teacher’s bank account on the last day of the month.

However, government-aided school teachers in many districts have been affected as their salaries have not been credited to their bank accounts for three days since the start of this month. Protests have also been announced in some districts.

A government-aided teacher said,”Every month, the principals will post the salary list for the teachers on the Finance Department’s IFHRMS website. From the 16th to the 28th, they will upload it. However, the salary list of government-aided school teachers could not be uploaded after January 16. The Finance Department’s website refused to accept it. We immediately informed the education authorities about this. We have been insisting on this since the day this problem arose. They took no action. It is not known if there is a problem with the digital platform or if the government has not allocated funds.”

The teacher added,”Only the monthly salary we can cover the family’s expenses; in particular, the EMI for each bank loan taken. If the installments are not paid by the due date, penalties will be levied. Apart from that, every teacher has many problems including medical expenses. We have not received our salary this month, and we are very disappointed.”

It is noteworthy to mention what Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan who is also the Minister for Human Resources Development, had said on 2 February 2023 while speaking at an event on political strategy.

Answering a question whether it is fulfilling to be an economic expert or an MLA or a Minister, Palanivel Thiagarajan noted that while as MLA he was able to be transparent and communicate to the people about the work done, there are some constraints as a Minister.

“It is harder to measure the work done by an Opposition MLA. But at the same time, I was named in Junior Vikatan as a best performing MLA and in some awards ceremony I was honoured as one of the top 10 MLAs. Six months once, I went door-to-door, explaining the details about what I did and did not – how many schemes I fulfilled, where all the constituency development funds were spent, how many complaints were received and addressed. I was happy that I was able to bring in that kind of professionalism and transparency as an MLA. But today I have responsibilities as a Minister.”, he said.

Palanivel Thiagarajan further said “I have the exact opposite problem of being an MLA. Because, the results are coming out excellent. Far better than what I expected, with the support of my Chief Minister, we are able to bring reforms and bring out excellent outcomes. The only problem is…whatever we do, we take 100-200 initiatives, that is why the results are coming, nothing falls from the sky, nothing in life comes free like that. However, we’re not able to openly tell which initiatives, reforms, G.O, new systems, new restrictions, are bringing these outcomes. We’re not able to tell because we can achieve it only if we do it like inserting a pin inside a banana. If we tell openly, we will face a lot of opposition. We will face a volley of questions like ‘why is this happening?, these things should not be done,’ despite doing it democratically and the results showing up. Since we don’t want to create enemies unnecessarily, we’re underplaying it and going by the model of ‘let the results speak for themselves’.”

In this situation where teachers of government-aided schools are yet to get their salaries, the DMK government has announced plans to erect a pen statue for former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi inside the sea. This has sparked public outrage, particularly given the Tamil Nadu government’s inability to pay the salaries of government-aided school teachers.

Social media users have also circulated information from the ‘White Paper on Finance of Tamil Nadu’ released by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, who stated that every household in Tamil Nadu has a debt burden of ₹2,63,976. They questioned whether the pen statue was necessary given the state’s poor financial situation.

(With inputs from Vikatan)

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Rabid Dravidian Stockist Journo Asks Brahmin Lady To Quit Media Industry Alleging Brahmins Are Overrepresented

By
The Commune
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In yet another instance of spewing venom on the Brahmin, a Dravidian Stockist journalist known for anti-Brahmin verbal abuse has said that Brahmins should not enter the media industry alleging that they are disproportionately represented in journalism.

The video which went viral was shared by the director and actor Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, who was a guest on the Tamil Youtube channel run by one Karikalan who has peddled hate against Brahmins several times.

In the video shared by Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, the anchor Karikaalan can be heard saying, “All over India, 85% of the people who occupy the media industry are Brahmins. The data was released by Oxfam and Newslaundry.”

Karikaalan asked, referring to Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, a Brahmin, “Why did you enter the media industry when you are already a director, actor, and producer?”

Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, surprised to hear this question, inquired, “Are you asking why I entered the media industry?” Karikaalan replied, “Yes, I am referring to you (Brahmins). Why are you trying to rob others of opportunities by entering all fields? Let someone else (from a different caste) fill Lakshmi Ramakrishnan’s position in the media industry.”

Lakshmi Ramakrishnan wondered aloud, “Should I give up?” Karikaalan replied, “Yes, you should give up for others.”

Karikaalan further argued to Lakshmi Ramakrishnan,”Why don’t you give up, since your community has occupied the position for 2000 years?”

Lakshmi Ramakrishnan responded nonchalantly, “How can you tell me that I should not work in the media because I am of a certain caste? It is a ridiculous argument to ask me to leave the news industry because I am a Brahmin.”

Instead of asking questions to the guest, the Dravidian Stockist journo attempted to put his words and thoughts in the mouth of the guest, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, throughout the interview. He was employing the same “Brahmins have oppressed others for 2000 years” trope peddled by ‘Periyarist’ (follower of anti-Brahmin demagogue EV Ramasamy Naicker) and other Dravidian Stockists.

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Adiyogi Ratham In Erode, Thousands Have Darshan

By
The Commune
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The Adiyogi Ratham, which started its journey from the Velliangiri foothills in Coimbatore, is traveling through various villages in Erode. Thousands had the opportunity to have a darshan and receive the grace of Adiyogi in the vicinity of their homes. Thenkailaya Bhakti Peravai conducts the yatra annually before the Mahashivratri festival, allowing people unable to visit Adiyogi in Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore to witness and receive the grace of Adiyogi in their villages.

The chariot is currently traveling in all four directions of Tamil Nadu. The Yatra is planned in a way that the five Adiyogi Rathams, which will travel twenty-five thousand kilometers spanning 30 districts in Tamil Nadu, culminate their journey in Coimbatore on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri.

One of these Rathams reached Erode district on the auspicious day of Pongal. After traveling through various villages such as Pariyur, Soorampatti, Kodumudi, Perundurai, Bhavani, Anthiyur, Appakudal, and Koogalur, it reached Gobi on the 1st of February. The people performed Arati as the Ratham traveled through various streets. From Gobi, the Ratham will be traveling to villages such as Kodiveri, Arasur, Perundurai, and Bangalapudur and will remain in the Erode district till the 10th of February. After that, it will return to Coimbatore.

The Yatra extends the invitation to people to attend the Isha Mahashivratri celebrations that will be happening at the Velliangiri foothills and at the Linga Bhairavi temple in Gobi on Feb 18th.

The 112-foot Adiyogi situated at the foothills of the Velliangiri hill in Coimbatore is an expression of gratitude to Adiyogi Shiva, the first Yogi, who transmitted the science of Yoga to his seven disciples, the Saptarishis. Recognized as the world’s largest bust sculpture by the Guinness World Records, the face of Adiyogi is 112 feet high, representing the 112 ways he offered for one to attain well-being and one’s Ultimate nature. Consequently, thousands of people from all over the world visit Adiyogi every day to seek his blessings.

(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)

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Myanmar-Backed Islamist ARSA Terrorists Entering India Say Reports

By
The Commune
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As part of a secret plot of the Myanmar authorities, guerilla trained members of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) are entering India and joining local jihadist outfits in Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and northeastern provinces with the notorious agenda of spreading jihadist terror. According to a credible source, members of ARSA, who are infiltrating inside India are also being guided by Pakistani spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), who are trying to use them in executing terrorist plots jointly with militancy groups in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Until recently it was perceived by most of the counterterrorism experts and critics of Myanmar authorities that Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) was a pro-Rohingya terrorist entity. But recently it has been exposed that leaders of ARSA, including its founder Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi are under monthly payroll of the Myanmar government.

According to media reports, several front-ranking leaders of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), including its kingpin Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi are in fact paid agents of Myanmar military junta and been on monthly payroll, with the main assignment of sabotaging return of Rohingyas to Myanmar. With this mission, Jununi and other key members of ARSA are targeting and killing pro-repatriation Rohingya leaders inside Rohingya camps in Bangladesh. These lapdogs of Myanmar military junta also are running campaign with the goal of convincing Rohingyas to give up their decades-old demand of getting legal status in Myanmar. In addition to paying monthly stipend, Myanmar’s military junta is helping members of ARSA in running illegal Yaba trade, while Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi alone gets 20 percent of the total income generated from drug trade. With this income, Jununi has purchased properties in Pakistan and also has established two medium-range industrial projects in Pakistan’s Karachi province.

It may be mentioned here that Ataullah Jununi was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a migrant family, who had fled the religious persecution in his native Rakhine State in Myanmar (also known as Arakan, Burma) sometime in the 1960s, At an early age, Ataullah’s family moved to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he was enrolled in a madrassa. In his later years in Mecca, Ataullah served as an imam to the Rohingya diaspora community of around 150,000. According to think-tanks Ataullah Jununi and several members of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) maintains deeper connections with Afghan drug lords, while they also enjoy discreet relations with Buddhist leaders in Myanmar as well as officials of Myanmar’s intelligence agency.

Although Myanmar authorities are aware of the fact that Ataullah spent six months training in modern guerilla warfare under the Taliban in Pakistan; they succeeded in hiring him and few other key figures in ARSA by giving them offer of huge financial benefit. It is even learnt that the Myanmar military junta has allocated a large land to Ataullah Jununi, where he currently is running a Yaba manufacturing factory.

With the uncertainty of returning Rohingyas to Myanmar, there already are signs of spread of militancy activities amongst the Rohingyas. According to media reports, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army or ARSA, which was formerly known as Harakahal-Yaqin has succeeded in recruiting more than two thousand Rohingyas as members of this jihadist outfit, while there are approximately 150 females in it. ARSA has been increasing number of recruits, while a section of the Rohingya jihadists are trained by Pakistani spy agency Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) within the mountainous areas in Nepal. For years, ARSA has been receiving fund from several countries including Turkey, Iran and Qatar, while it already has aligned with several militancy outfits including Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Sources said, under direct patronization of the Myanmar military junta, members of ARSA are already taking secret preparation of establishing their total control over Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh and finally proclaim it as an ARSA Caliphate.

Back in 2021, a vernacular news portal in its report claimed, it has received video statement of several ARSA members who have claimed Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh as “part of Arakan”. They said, Rohingyas will permanently stay in Cox’s Bazar and ultimately take control of the area.

According to media reports, under direct patronization of Myanmar’s military junta, ARSA has taken over control of Yaba pills (a type of drugs also known as methamphetamine and captagon pills), are has been trafficking consignments of this drug to a number of Middle Eastern nations, Thailand, India, Philippines, Japan and South Korea with the direct help from mafia don Dawood Ibrahim’s infamous D Company as well as Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas. Generally, the consignments of Yaba pills are sent from Myanmar via various shipping lines in concealed consignments to the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, wherefrom these are later re-routed to Middle Eastern nations, particularly Saudi Arabia.

Yaba has one too many nicknames to keep up with, but this little red tablet, regardless of its name, was outlawed in Thailand in the early 1970s.

Otherwise known as the madness drug or Nazi speed, is a combination of a number of stimulants. The two main substances that make up the drug are caffeine and methamphetamine, otherwise known as crystal meth.

During the recent years, use of yaba has become rampant in a number of countries including Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, while it has massive demand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has been mainly pushing yaba pills inside Saudi Arabia mostly by hiding inside various edible and non-edible consignments, including fruits and vegetable. Hezbollah also started sending yaba to South American nations, mainly, Mexico and Colombia. According to media reports, during the recent months mega-terror outfit Hamas has also aligned with Iranian proxy network, joining hands with Hezbollah and Houthis. It is anticipated, Hamas too has joined the multi-billion-dollar narco-trade.

A source claimed, the number of ARSA girls and women in various brothels in India are on rise, while a significant number of the ARSA female terrorists are also entering Indian brothels under the disguise of sex workers.

Another credible source said, Rohingyas are also trying to increase their presence within various parts of India, especially Jammu, Kashmir and West Bengal. They are seeing the current West Bengal government, which is led by Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress as “friendly force”, which has mostly been ignoring the case of increase in the number of Rohingyas in West Bengal.

The disturbing news about recruiting of Rohingyas by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) within Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, particularly Cox’s Bazar district and Myanmar’s state-owned mobile phone company MPT’s installation of towers within Bangladesh-Myanmar borders are certainly matters of gravest concern. Bangladesh’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies should now take immediate steps in dismantling the existence of ARSA within the Rohingya camps and launch massive drives against use of MPT mobile phone SIMs inside the country.

This article was originally published in Hindu Post and has been republished here with permission.

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DMK Govt Issues Guidelines For Pension Scheme Of Members Of Christian Welfare Board, Hindu Munnani Opposes For Using Tax Payers Money

By
The Commune
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Guidelines for the implementation of various welfare benefits implemented on behalf of the welfare board for preachers and workers working in churches have been released by the MK Stalin-led DMK government.

According to the DMK government, the board members’ welfare scheme will take effect on May 25. Preachers, educators, singers, cemetery workers, Christian orphanage workers, leprosy rehabilitation home workers, workers without a regular monthly salary, and church workers between the ages of 18 and 60 can apply to join the welfare board, says the DMK government’s guidelines.

Applications for membership on the welfare board can be obtained from District Backward and Minority Welfare Officers, and those interested should obtain a certificate from the parishes where they work and apply.

According to the guidelines, the identity card will be issued to those who have registered, and the membership registration period is five years, which must be renewed every five years.

The guidelines said that the registered members should apply to the District Backward and Minority Welfare Officer in the prescribed form along with suitable evidence for welfare assistance. Board members can get an old age pension if they complete seven years of continuous service and attain the age of 60 years. However, a person under the age of 60 who is unable to work due to illness is exempt from the above-mentioned condition and can still receive an old-age pension.

However, the Hindu Munnani condemned the DMK government’s policy of providing pensions to Christian preachers and workers. In a tweet, Hindu Munnani state spokesperson and Chennai city president AT Elangovan questioned the DMK government, asking, “Why should tax money, paid primarily by Hindus, be used for a minority pension scheme?”

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Budget 2023: A Balanced And Prudent Budget For India’s Growth Story

By
Anand Krishna
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The Union Budget for 2023–24 has been presented and largely meets expectations. Given that this was the final full budget before next year’s general elections, the challenge for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was to strike a balance between populism and prudence. But keeping away the populist moorings to give out freebies before the national election the Modi government has stuck the right note to present a budget that is both balanced and prudent. In this context, this article will look into why Budget 2023 is not a ‘battle line’ drawn before the election but a visionary document keeping up with the government’s trend to put India on the path of long-term growth.

The Budget FY24 will be known for the government walking the talk to the tone of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas mantra. In continuing the earlier years’ themes, the Budget integrates various social schemes to create a holistic effect- enabling a ‘domino effect’. It will be also known as a continuation of previous budgets- setting the country on a stable path even amidst Covid and war woes.

‘Shining Star’ In A Slowing World Economy

In a difficult global macroeconomic backdrop, continuing impetus on capital expenditure the finance minister announced a significant jump in planned CAPEX to ₹ 10 lakh crores. It should help further improve India’s prospects of continuing to be outshining with strong GDP growth numbers with 10.5 percent FY24 nominal GDP estimates set out. This further helps in job creation across infrastructure, railways, power, and among others. India remains a ‘stable ship’ amidst a turbulent economic environment in the ‘sub-continent’. All of our subcontinent neighbors are reeling from the turbulent economic situation, Afghanistan is in utter chaos, Sri Lanka is in meltdown and Bangladesh is suffering strains due to runaway inflation, declining forex reserves, and social unrest. Even when the EU (3.5%), USA (2.9%), and China (3.4%) are slowing down, but even amidst this India is expecting to maintain a growth rate of 7%. The budget 2024 takes on to focus this key vision of outperforming global peers to take the top spot in the race to be an economic superpower.

Keeping The Scales Of Revenue And Deficit In The Balance

A 45-trillion-rupee ($550 billion) budget spending plan seeks to narrow the budget gap to 5.9% of the gross domestic product in the fiscal year starting April from 6.4% of GDP this year. This was made possible as the government set a target to increase tax collection by nearly 12% to 23.6 trillion rupees next fiscal year. The narrower deficit forecast ‘underscores the government’s commitment to longer-term fiscal sustainability’. Tax collections in 2022-23 are on course to better their own projections. During the April-November period of the current financial year, gross tax revenue registered a growth of 15.5% year-on-year. Net tax revenue to the center after the assignment to states grew by 7.9% on a year-on-year basis in the first eight months of 2022-23. Budget 2023 takes a leap in reducing India’s fiscal deficit while maintaining robust revenue growth.

Infrastructure: The Building Block Of ‘New India’

Infrastructure is the foundation of long-term economic development and this budget sets out to do just that. Over the last three years, and particularly after the pandemic, the government has consistently hiked the allocation for capital spending. Capital spending has a much higher multiplier effect – 2.5x – and hence adds more to economic output than revenue expenditure comprising salaries, pensions, interest payments, etc. In just three years, the capital expenditure outlay has more than doubled to ₹10 lakh crore (over 3% of the GDP) from ₹4.39 lakh crore in 2020-21. This is an acknowledgment that the strategy of higher government spending to draw in private sector investment is yet to show results; in other words, the government needs to continue to spend a lot more on infrastructure to crowd in the private sector. Complementing the Centre’s CAPEX push, Sitharaman has allowed states to raise up to ₹1.3 lakh crore through 50-year interest-free loans. The effective capital expenditure (which includes grants to states) is budgeted at ₹13.7 lakh crore for the next year, almost 13 percent higher than in 2022-23These budget provisions build on the government’s National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) combined with other initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme to augment the growth of infrastructure sector. The vision of the government is in tandem with building a new India with a ‘visible and credible’ infrastructure.

The Pro-Poor Tool Called Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

Linking the poor to benefits has been continued in this budget. Since DBT started using technology ₹26.5 lakh crore has been transferred for central programs. It has also helped the center to save about ₹2.2 lakh crore as of March 2021 by removing the names of 9.4 crore fake beneficiaries across databases. India’s vision to step up for the poor has been inspiring for the whole world within the span of the past decade, the DBT has already expanded from 24 schemes in 43 districts to 200 central schemes and over 2,000 state government schemes pan India. The number of central schemes rose to 426 in the year 2019-2020, when more than ₹3,81,000 crore was transferred to 144.7 crore beneficiaries, helping provide relief to those whose livelihoods were impacted. The number of schemes fell to 316 in 2020-21, and 313 in 2021-22, but the funds transferred rose to over 5,52,00 crores (179.9 crore beneficiaries) and over 6,30,000 crores (179.9 crore beneficiaries), respectively. In FY 2022-23, as of 5th Jan 2023, over ₹3,80,000 crore has been distributed to 159.5 crore beneficiaries for 310 programs. The DBT scheme has enabled the accurate identification and targeting of beneficiaries and made it easy to avail of services through online applications. It ensures transparency in the transfer of funds as well and has eliminated the existence of middlemen and agents, thus curbing leakages in the delivery process. India’s DBT implementation has won praise from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as well as many other international organizations, for efficiently providing support to the underprivileged sections of society.

Keeping 2024 Election Out Of The Picture

The budget scores high on multiple parameters: it has steered clear of pre-election populism, played the right counter-cyclical role, and continued fiscal consolidation, all the while staying the course on long-term reforms. The absence of outright populism has been the essence of the budget. The budget tends to look beyond the 2024 elections. Many opposition parties are giving to the idea of ‘populism’ to win over votes. This has been evident from the restoration of schemes such as ‘OPS’ by opposition-ruled states. In this context, budget stands as a ‘shining star’ amidst a galaxy of not-so-development-friendly ‘populistic’ and ‘opportunistic’ politics. Thus, the budget clearly set out a new perspective for India to carry on the path of growth in the future.

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