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Indian Army to acquire six Heron unmanned drone from Israel to keep surveillance on China

By
The Commune
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As news of China’s People’s Liberation Army reinforcing its positions in eastern Ladakh has emerged, the Indian Army could soon get six Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) on lease from Israel.

Heron is a multi-role drone, with mission endurance of around 30 hours and a range of over 1,000 kilometer and this drone which could also be easily armed will be deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to monitor Chinese activities in areas along the frontier.

This drone is designed to carry out various strategic missions, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance, and is equipped with Satellite Communications for Beyond Line of Sight ranges.

The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force already operate a large fleet of Heron drones, which are currently being upgraded with the latest systems, including new communication links.

Because the existing fleet of Heron drones does not have a satellite communication link technology, two drones are launched with a time gap to ensure that surveillance data collected by the first one is relayed back to base through the second drone in case of long-range missions, a report says.

After the new Defence Acquisition Procedure was unveiled by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in September 2020, for the first time the Indian Army will be leasing an important defense platform.  

The Indian Navy has already leased and operates two non-weaponised General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from the US which were handed over at the peak of the standoff in Ladakh last year.

As of now, they are being operated by the Navy from the Arakkonam naval air station in Tamil Nadu for surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence gathering in the Indian Ocean.

There is also a strong indication, India may also acquire 30 Predator armed drones from the US through the US Foreign Military Sales route and the lead agency for this procurement, the Indian Navy is likely to approach the Defence Ministry to get in-principle approval.

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On Karunanidhi’s birthday, #HBDFatherOfCorruption crosses 3 lakh tweets

By
The Commune
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On the occasion of the birth anniversary of late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, the hashtag “#HBDFatherOfCorruption” started trending from the evening of June 2 and had been a top trend on June 3.

From the DMK’s side the hashtag “#KalaignarForever” was being used to commemorate the late leader’s birth anniversary.

This has turned out to be an yearly Twitter war between the supporters and rivals of the DMK.

The hashtag #HBDFatherOfCorruption” had crossed more than 3 lakh tweets.

However, many netizens alleged that DMK’s political consultancy firm I-PAC had used its influence to bring it to number two spot in the trending list when #HBDFatherOfCorruption had surpassed 1.2 lakh tweets.

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Late in the night, the hastag had crossed 3 lakh tweets.

The DMK under Karunanidhi is guilty of several other corruption charges and failures. The party was part of the biggest ever corruption case in the history of India – 2G spectrum case. Karunanidhi in order to save his seat, went soft on the UPA government headed by its alliance partner Congress, by organizing lip service protests while thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka were killed in the civil war in Sri Lanka. He is said to have undertaken the ‘fastest fast’ by starting the fast after breakfast and ending it before lunch.

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55 crore beneficiaries in May and about 2.6 crore beneficiaries in June received free food grains under PMGKAY

By
The Commune
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The Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution Sudhanshu Pandey today briefed the media persons about the progress of food grains distribution under PMGKAY-III and One Nation One Ration Card scheme.

Speaking about the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana” (PM-GKAY III), the Secretary said that more than 63.67 Lakh MT foodgrains (i.e. around 80 % of total PMGKAY allocation for May & June 2021) have been lifted by States/UTs from FCI depot. Around 28 Lakh MT foodgrains have been distributed by 34 States/UTs to around 55 Crore NFSA beneficiaries for May 2021 and around 1.3 Lakh MT foodgrains have been distributed to around 2.6 Crore NFSA beneficiaries for June 2021, after following due COVID protocols.

Furthermore, he added that as on 03.06.2021, under National Food Security act, foodgrains have been distributed to around 90% &12 %of NFSA beneficiaries for May and June 2021, respectively, incurring a food subsidy of more than Rs. 13,000 Crore for May and June 2021. The food subsidy incurred for PMGKAY, so far, is more than Rs. 9,200 Crore for May and June 2021.

Sudahanshu Pandey said that the Department is continuously reviewing the scheme and pursuing with States/UTswho are taking steps to give wide publicity about PM-GKAY III through publicity in print/ electronic media & display of banners at Fair Price Shop etc.

Emphasising the importance of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC), Secretary, DFPD shared that it is an ambitious plan and endeavour of the Department to introduce the nation-wide portability of ration cards under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

He said that at present, a monthly average of about 1.35 Crore portability transactions are being recorded under ONORC plan (including intra-state transactions). Further, a total of nearly 27.8 Crore portability transactions have taken place all across States/UTs since the inception of ONORC plan from August 2019, out of which almost 19.8 Crore portability transactions have been recorded during the COVID-19 period i.e., from April 2020 to May 2021.

Given the potential of One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan to ensure the access to NFSA foodgrains to Migrant NFSA beneficiaries during the COVID-19 crisis, this department has been continuously pursuing with States/UTs through VC meetings/advisories/letters etc to implement the programme to its full potential by proactively reaching out to the migrant beneficiaries.

These States/UTs have been requested to undertake wide-spread publicity and awareness of the ONORC plan, 14445 toll-free number and ‘Mera Ration’ Mobile application that was recently developed by Department in association with NIC for the benefit of NFSA beneficiaries, specifically the migrant NFSA beneficiaries, in ten different languages viz. English, Hindi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati& Marathi. Efforts are afoot to include more regional languages in the ‘MeraRation’App, going forward.

While answering to one question about reduction in edible oils duty, Secretary Pandey said that the edible oil prices have already started coming down in international market and there is a 15 to 20 % shrink in demand. He said prices are continue to decline further and this trend is showing in international market too. Since, the softening of oil prices is happening and as trend shows it will continue, so there is no need to reduce the duty, he further added that the Government is reviewing the situation every week.

In reply to another question, Secretary DFPD said that in view of the COVID scenario, coverage of all eligible persons from most vulnerable & economically weaker sections of population (i.e. street dwellers, rag pickers, hawkers, rickshaw pullers, migrant labours etc.) under National Food Security Act is the foremost priority of this Department. As the operational responsibilities of identification of eligible persons/households under NFSA and issuance of ration cards to them through continuous review, rests with States/UTs. He said that the Department has issued instruction to all States/UTs on 02nd June, 2021 to launch a special drive to proactively issue NFSA ration cards to such persons without ration cards from above such categories by utilizing the available coverage under their overall NFSA limits. Out of total NFSA coverage limit of 81.35 Crore, a gap of nearly 1.97 crore can be also utilised by States/UTs for this purpose.

(Published from PIB)

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DMK office bearer harasses wife asking dowry, wife catches him red-handed having illicit relationship

By
The Commune
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Sundar, 39, hails from RS Nagar in Pichanurpet near Gudiyatham in Vellore district. He is the Deputy Organizer of the DMK Vellore District Student Council. He also runs a finance company and a shoe factory.

He and Vidya, 33, of Pachaiyappan Nagar in Nellorepet near Gudiyatham, have been in love for more than 10 years and got married in 2014. The couple even have 3 children. However, from the day of marriage, Sundar has been harassing his wife by asking for dowry.

Moreover, Sundar has had frequent disputes with his wife over his illicit relationship with several women. Because of the frequent fights, Sundar stopped coming home for many days. He also threatened to kill his wife if she complained at the police station or to anyone else. 

When Vidya had inquired about Sundar not coming home and went to see with her family to another house where he lives, Vidya was shocked to find that he was with another woman.

Later, Vidya registered a complaint at the All Women Police Station in Gudiyattam and a case has been registered An FIR has been filed and investigations are on-going.

(With inputs from News J)

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Congress leaders ate from same plate kept for RaGa’s pet dog: Assam CM recollects that fateful meeting

By
The Commune
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The newly-elected Chief Minister of  Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma of the Bhartia Janata Party (BJP) in an interview  to the Indian Express made some revelations about how Congress leader Rahul Gandhi treated colleagues in his party. 

Sarma began by saying he is grateful to Congress party scion Rahul Gandhi for ignoring him and shunting him out of the Congress party because if that had not happened he would have never become the Chief Minister of Assam.

Speaking to Indian Express, Assam Sarma said, “I am grateful to Rahul Gandhi. I would not have become the Chief Minister of Assam and served the state, had he not shunted me out of the Congress party. So, if I am today in this position, that also because of its famous meeting and also because of the fact that Rahul Gandhi did not appreciate I being in the Congress party”.

He then told the story of his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, who instead of paying attention to a senior state leader was busy playing with his pet dog ‘Pidi’ during the run-up to the 2016 Assam assembly polls.

Sarma was categorical when he said, Rahul Gandhi was more interested in playing with his dog than discuss Assam’s problems. He said that after waiting for long he left the party to join the BJP and ensured it had the majority in Assam 2021 assembly election.

He also said that it was not just him but several Congress leaders who had to endure the indifference, humiliation and arrogance from the Gandhi family.

Sarma then narrated a particular incident in detail where he revealed that senior Congress leaders like former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi ate biscuits from the same plate from which Rahul Gandhi’s dog ‘Pidi’ had eaten. 

In his interview to the Indian Express Sarma said, “We were served with tea and biscuit, the dog went up to the table and picked up one biscuit from the table. Rahul looked at me and smiled at me. I was thinking why he is smiling, I was waiting for Rahul Gandhi to press the calling bell and ask someone to change the plate.”

“After some time, I saw Congress leaders Joshi, Gogoi all taking the biscuits from the same plate and started eating. I was not a frequent visitor, and then I realised that this is normal for everybody as it happens in every meeting. That day I decided that enough is enough and decided that I cannot stay with that person (Rahul Gandhi),” added Himanta Biswa Sarma, narrating the experience from the infamous meeting.

After that humiliating encounter with Rahul Gandhi, Sarma said that the infamous meeting was not a standalone event that showcased the apathy of the Gandhis and several meetings that were held for over a year in the run-up to the 2016 Assam elections.

During that time Sarma held several meetings with Sonia Gandhi, her gatekeeper Ahmed Patel, and other Congress leaders but he had to resign after the ‘Pidi’ episode.

Even then Sonia Gandhi asked him to meet Rahul Gandhi one more time and respecting her wishes Sarma met Rahul Gandhi once again but decided to not say anything more about that meeting in public as it was “very, very disgusting”.

“If I raised some issue in the meeting, Rahul Gandhi would say, “So What?” His typical answer for every statement was the same. I was there for 20 minutes with him, and I heard the word “So What?” more than 50 times. It is a feudal culture,” Sarma noted.

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Samajwadi MP says India is facing natural calamities and Covid as BJP is messing with Islamic Sharia law

By
The Commune
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Samajwadi Party MP from Moradabad, S T Hasan has said that the devastation caused by recent cyclones and the Covid-19 pandemic as a result of ‘aasmani aafat’ (divine disaster) because the Bhartia Janata Party (BJP) government at the centre has been messing with the Islamic Sharia law during the 7 years of its rule.

This outrageous statement was made by the Moradabad MP when he said, “The BJP government in the last seven years has tampered with the Islamic Sharia law. They have passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which is against Muslims. We have also witnessed two storms wreaking havoc in a matter of just 10 days. Thousands of people have died due to the coronavirus outbreak. If the ones on the earth do not do justice, then the ones above take charge and deliver justice.”

Hasan then said that the state’s BJP government “total failure” to provide the people of the state with an opportunity to perform the last rites of those who died of Covid-19.

“Has anyone ever seen dead bodies of human beings being abandoned and dogs feeding on them? Where else in the world are bodies thrown in rivers instead of being cremated? Cremation grounds facing shortage of wood for funeral pyres? What kind of government do we have?” he asked.

On drawing a link between government decisions and natural calamities, Hasan said: “We Indians are a very religious lot and strongly believe that some supernatural being exists which controls the world and imparts justice.”

Reacting to Hasan’s remarks, UP’s Minister for Minority Affairs, Mohsin Raza described Hasan’s approach who happens to be a doctoras similar to that of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

“It is more than clear from his statements that people like him do not have faith in the Constitution of the country. They want Samajwadi Party to form the government and introduce Sharia law thereafter. Their language is identical to the IS. Such people only believe in Sharia law.

“The problem of Hasan and Samajwadi Party leaders is that Holi is being celebrated in a big way in Barsana and for them, CAA being introduced is injustice and so is abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir,” Raza added.

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Reliance Industries to pay salary of deceased employees for 5 years

By
The Commune
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In a noble gesture during a very difficult time, the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries has announced that it will pay the same last drawn salary of its employees who succumbed to Covid-19 for the next five years.

The salary will be credited into the account of the next of kin of the deceased employees’ dependants, Livemint has reported.

Also, Reliance is providing three months’ salary as an advance in case of emergency and has taken the responsibility to fully fund tuition fees, hostel and books expenses of all children of the deceased employees until they complete their bachelor’s degree.

The company has also decided to pay 100 per cent premium required for hospitalisation coverage of the dependants including his or her spouse, parents, and children, and the workforce which is not on the payrolls of Reliance will be paid ₹10 lakh in case of a Covid-19 related death.

Tata Steel had earlier announced it will keep paying the salary of its Covid-19 related deceased employees to their dependant till the former’s retirement age.

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Nestle ‘admits’ that Maggi is indeed bad for health

By
The Commune
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Nestle has recently come out and admitted that Maggi is indeed harmful to health. Nestle, which has set up production facilities in various parts of the world, is often embroiled in controversy over the quality of its food products.

Meanwhile, its officials have recently submitted a study on the quality of food products produced by the company. It said 60% of the company’s Maggi noodles, including ice cream, were unhealthy. The report came as a shock to all the consumers who have been consuming these instant noodles for decades. Nestle, has acknowledged that more than 60 per cent of its mainstream food and drinks products do not meet a “recognised definition of health” and that some of the categories of products “will never be healthy no matter how much they renovate”, a Financial Times report said quoting a Nestle document.

In addition to this, Nestle has stated that it is examining the nutritional value of its products and will make changes to prepare them with health and taste, as it is a health issue. Meanwhile, India is the company’s 11th largest market in terms of gross consumption and revenue generation.

Notably, Maggi was banned in India in 2015, after failing the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s standards for its impermissible levels of MonoSodium Glutamate (MSG) in its products.

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124 year old lady gets vaccinated in J&K, wins hearts online

By
The Commune
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124-year-old Rehtee Begum in Baramulla became one of the oldest people in the country to receive their vaccine jabs, as Jammu and Kashmir implemented their door-to-door vaccination drive. Since the mountainous terrain offers challenges in terms of internet connectivity, the government has taken steps to perform door-to-door vaccination.

On one such drive on Wednesday, 124-year-old Rehtee Begum got her first vaccination jab. Her picture immediately went viral after the Department of Information and Public Relations, Jammu and Kashmir Government shared it on their official Twitter handle.

Since there are no official records confirming her age, there is no definitive proof about her age. According to Guinness Book of World Records, Japanese woman Kane Tanaka is currently the oldest person living at an age of 118. If her family’s account of her age is to be believed, Rehtee Begum is the oldest surviving person in the world.

In order to ensure 100% vaccination, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has left no stone unturned and has initiated a door-to-door vaccination drive to vaccinate every household. They have also set up mobile vaccination camps at several places in the state. The priority list that has been issued by the government includes shopkeepers, street vendors, people related to the tourism and hotel industry, lawyers, journalists, specially-abled people, orphans, widows, and Government employees on COVID duties.

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Turning job seekers into job creators, Startup India achieves major milestone

By
The Commune
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As on June 3, 2021, 50,000 startups across have been recognized as startups under the Startup India initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), of which 19,896 have been recognized since April 1, 2020.

Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 January, 2016. The initiative is intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) acts as the nodal Department for the Startup initiative.

With the launch of the Startup India initiative, recognized startups have now spread across 623 districts. Each State and UT has at least one startup. 30 States and UTs have announced specific Startup Policies to support startups. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have the greatest number of startups.

It took only 180 days to add the last 10,000 startups, as compared to 808 days for the first 10,000 at the beginning of the initiative. 743 startups were recognized in 2016-2017, in the first year of the initiative, which has now increased exponentially to over 16,000 startups being recognized in the year 2020-2021.

The recognized startups have contributed significantly to job creation, with 5,49,842 jobs reported by 48,093 startups with an average number of 11 employees per startup. About 1.7 lakh jobs were created by recognized startups in the 2020-2021 period alone.

The sectors that had the maximum registered startups were ‘Food Processing’, ‘Product Development’, ‘Application Development’, ‘IT Consulting’ and ‘Business Support Services’. The leadership teams of 45% startups have a women entrepreneur.

“Funding opportunities to startups have been enhanced through the Fund of Funds Scheme with an overlay of INR 10,000 crore and the recently launched Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with an outlay of INR 945 crores. Multiple programs conceived and implemented by DPIIT  -National Startup Awards, State Ranking Framework, Global VC Summit, Prarambh: Startup India International Summit – have provided the ecosystem an opportunity to engage with multiple partners, get recognized for their contribution and showcase the work that is being done. DPIIT will continue to engage with multiple stakeholders to address the growth opportunities and challenges in the ecosystem, helping the Indian startup ecosystem reach greater heights.”, the press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry read.

(Published from PIB)

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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