Day: September 2, 2020

Rape.

What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?
Today am going to talk about something really common thing which is been happening around since we created all sort of barriers. RAPE .
The whole thing becomes like this evil enchantment from a fairy tale, but you’re made to believe the spell can never be broken. Rape case is just common thing in your country. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2018 annual report, 33,356 rape cases were reported across India in 2018. Out of these, 93.9 % of cases were committed by someone known to the victim. India has been characterised as one of the “countries with the lowest per capita rates of rape. Every fourth rape victim across the country in 2018 was a minor, while more than 50 per cent of them fell in the age category of 18 to 30 years, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. In practice the standard for what constitutes rape is set not at the level of women’s experience of violation but just above the level of coercion acceptable to men. It already is bigger than everything else. It lives in front of me, behind me, next to me, inside me every single day. My schedule is dictated by it, my habits by it, my music by it. After the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case in 2012, the national capital was shamed again with similar torture being meted out to a 12-year-old girl after she resisted her rapist. The ghastly incident took place in Peera Garhi area of Paschim Vihar on Thursday. The girl was stabbed multiple times with a air of scissors by the alleged rapist.The minor girl is now battling for life at the (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Th crime took place when the girl was alone at her home. Police have arrested one person in the case on Thursday evening. According to police, the accused is a drug addict. The man also spent jail time in other criminal cases and was recently released on bail. Citing sources in the victim’s family, the report said that the girl has suffered serious injuries in her private parts and intestines. The girl also suffered fractures in the head and hips. Investigators claim that the girl fought the attacker until she fell unconscious. The chief minister of delhi personally visited the victim but no news channel is the covering report. After all news channel is only worried about the TRP. AND THE HEADLINES ARE “ ACTOR AMITAB BACHAN WALKED HIMSELF AND HE HAD HEALTHY BREAKFAST” “ACTOR KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN SON TAIMUR WAVED TO OUR REPORTED”
According to several search engines the 1st rape case was The Mathura rape case, an incident of custodial rape in India on 26 March 1972, wherein Mathura, a young tribal girl, was allegedly raped by two policemen on the compound of Desaiganj Police Station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
The question is who is responsible for these crimes? Who created these barriers which stop women to raise their voice against these crimes? It already is bigger than everything else. It Women were scared to fight for themselves. Combat and rape, the public and private forms of organized social violence, are primarily experiences of adolescent and early adult life. And the only solution to stop these crimes is to come together and be a backbone of women and break all the barriers to empower women.

Mass Extinctions: The Troughs of Biological Evolutionary History

With 2020 turning out to be a very abysmal year, complete with natural disasters and pandemic, I’m positive that many of us, at some point in time, have heard, seen or shared jokes about how the ‘end’ is approaching. Though it doesn’t intimidate our dear Earth,as it already has some experience in witnessing the wiping out of most of the life forms, then, in habitation. Infact, this occurrence, known as mass extinction, has been a part of evolutionary history for several times. So, now the question arises; who, when, how and also, how many times? Let’s find out.

Introduction

Earth is believed to be approximately 4 billion years old, which gives ample time to geological and biological evolution. The compilation of all those changes and evolutions structure the present day Earth, aside the anthropogenic modifications. And some of the major events of the evolutionary history of Earth are mass extinction. That’s right. Even the destruction of species after species has contributed to the shaping of Earth’s present. 

The Catastrophes: Mass Extinction

Extinction is a natural phenomenon that takes place due to changes in the environment. Complete disappearance of a species is its extinction. A species is a group of organisms with similar biological, physiological and anatomical characteristics and which can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. The species which cannot adapt with the environmental changes, cannot evolve with subsequent reproduction or cannot reproduce fast enough to keep up with the decline of their population, perish and become extinct. 

A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance. It is estimated that 99.9% of all species that ever habituated Earth are now extinct.

Mass extinction is referred to as the event which results in the simultaneous extinction of a large number of species present on Earth. These events resulted in severe reduction in the number of organisms in a short amount of time and also decreased the speciation. Hence, the rate of reproduction slowed down, and eventually led to the extinction. It is identified by sharp change in diversity and abundance of organisms.

Mass extinction has some special characteristics:.

  • It took place over a short span of time and were quite intense
  • It was a global phenomenon and included a large diversity of organisms
  • Extinctions were believed to be more severe in case of marine organisms
  • It is considered that plant species are more resistant to extinction than animals.

Mass extinction evidences can be found in fossils trapped in rocks and rock layers, which had been deposited on Earth’s surface for billions of years. On the basis of the incomplete fossil records, 5 major mass extinctions have been identified. In the descending order of age, they are:

  1. Ordovician- Silurian Mass Extinction/Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (450-440 million years ago) at Ordovician-Silurian transition

In May 2020, studies suggested that due to global warming, caused mainly due to volcanism and anoxia, killed off 27% of all families, 57% of all genera and 60%-70% of all the species.49-60% of marine genera and nearly 85% of marine species were eliminated. There were two main causal events. In terms of percentage of genera becoming extinct, these are regarded as the second largest of the five major extinctions.

The LOME is considered to have occurred in two distinct pulses, one at the boundary of the between Katian and Hirnantian stages of the Late Ordovician Period. The second pulse occurred in the later half of the Hirnantian stage, and is associated with intense worldwide anoxia(oxygen depletion) and euxinia (toxic sulfide production), persisting through the Rhuddanian age of Silurian period.

The other plausible causes that were/are debated are glaciation, toxic metal poisoning, gamma-ray burst and weathering

  1. Late Devonian Mass Extinction (375-364 million years ago) near the Devonian- Carboniferous transition

A prolong series of extinction resulted in elimination of 19%of all families, 50% of all genera and at least 70% of all species. It might have lasted for as long as 20 million years.The beginning and end of this period is marked by Kellwasser event and Hangenberg event respectively. According to Late Devonian sedimentary records, it was a period of several environmental changes, which might have directly affected biodiversity and caused extinction. Evidence of rate of carbon burial shooting up and widespread anoxia at ocean bottoms have been discovered. Possible triggers of these changes are:

  • Asteroid impact 
  • Supernovae event, which lead to drastic drop in atmospheric ozone ultimately resulting in genetic material damage due to UV rays.
  • Plant evolution and expansion
  • Weathering due to plant evolution, which caused drastic changes in nutrients cycles. That, in turn, led to deposition of surplus nutrients in water bodies, leading to eutrophication and subsequent anoxia.
  • Reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide, again due to evolution of plants
  • Magmatism
  1. Permian Triassic Mass Extinction/ Great Dying (252 million years ago) at Permian-Triassic transition

It is considered to be the most severe extinction in the evolutionary history of Earth. About 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates went extinct. In case of insects, 57% of all biological families and 83% of all genera faced extinction.

Evidence of about 1 to 3 pulses/phases of extinction are identified. The potential causes that had been identified include:

  • Meteor impact event(s)
  • Massive volcanic eruptions
  • Climate changes due to large production of methane
  • Sea level changes
  • Increasing anoxia
  • Increasing aridity
  • Hydrogen sulfide emission
  1. End Triassic Mass Extinction (201 million years ago) at Triassic-Jurassic transition

 In marine biodiversity, a whole class(conodonts) and 23-24% genera went extinct. The terrestrial organisms which suffered extinction include archosauromorphs (excluding crocodylomorphs, pterosaurs) and some dinosaurs went extinct. Groups like aetosaurs, phytosaurs etc., which were previously abundant, went extinct. The Jurassic age saw a diverse evolution of dinosaurs and  pterosaurs.

The possible causes of this mass extinction include:

  • Gradual climate change, sea-level fluctuations or a pulse of oceanic acidification, decreasing diversity of land biomes
  • Trend of increasing aridification
  • Drop in sea level
  • Extraterrestrial causes; includes impact from an asteroid or comet
  • Volcanic eruptions
  1. Cretaceous Tertiary Mass Extinction (65 million years ago) at Cretaceous-Paleogene transition 

This extinction is responsible for about 80% of all species of animals, including all the dinosaurs and many marine invertebrates. It also includes a range of fishes, mammals,pterosaurs and plesiosaurs, amongst other groups of animals. The main trigger for this extinction is considered to be asteroid impacts. This period recorded several large asteroid impacts.This hypothesis is further solidified by unusually high levels of iridium in the rocks of that period, which is usually not available on the surface of earth. 

As the after effect of this extinction,’impact winter’ was set into motion. Due to all the ash, dust and other matter that were dispersed in the atmosphere due to the asteroid impacts, blocked out sunlight for a long period of time.As a result, plants could not effectively perform photosynthesis, and keep up the oxygen level in the atmosphere. It also resulted in shortage of food for animals. The worst hit animals were the dinosaurs, due to their massive size.The smaller animals, on the other hand, strived with storage food and lesser oxygen, and thrived after the danger passed.Other calamities induced were tsunamis, earthquakes and increased volcanic activities.

Apart from these, scientists have identified several other minor extinctions, with the help of fossil and petrological records. 

Holocene Extinction: Living through History

At present, we are living through an extinction referred to as Holocene extinction or Anthropocene Extinction, which is considered to be the sixth major mass extinction. It is, needless to say, majorly a result of human activities. The current rate of extinction of species is 100 to 1000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction. The direct causes include hunting, deforestation, pollution, introduction of non native species in various diverse geographical regions etc.

If this doesn’t give mankind the wakeup call that it direly needs, I don’t know what would.

Websites referred:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction

Self-Improvement

Priya Yadav,
Self-Improvement is the improvement of knowledge, status, or character through one’s own efforts. It is the quest to improve oneself in every aspect of life. By self-improvement, we make our life better in a way that makes it easier for us to reach our goals. It brings self-confidence, our attitude towards life changes and we lead a successful life. Self-improvement is a regular process, obviously, it takes time to see results and we cannot be made better in a day, so it can be possible by following self-improvement tips daily.

Stay away from Negative People
We all must have often heard that positive living and thoughts are very important in life to make us a better person, but negative people obstruct this and that is why it is said that one should always be with positive people. The main reason for this is that when you live with negative people then you’re thinking also becomes like them.
Face your fear
To improve yourself it is the most improvement that you face your fears, as long as your fears are not overcome till then you cannot become a better, so it is very important to deal with your fear. Because fear stops a person from moving forward.
Learn to believe in yourself
To do any the task in life is very important to have faith in yourself first. If you didn’t believe that you can do that, then you will not able to do that, so learn to believe in yourself.
Admit your Mistake
It is important to accept your own mistakes because you cannot make yourself a better person until you accept your mistakes. Everyone makes some mistakes in their life, but if you want that you did not make it again, so for this you will first have to rectify your mistake, which will help you to become a good person.
Every day learn something new
When in your daily life, you stick to something that gives you comfort in life, then it becomes a barrier for you to develop yourself. That is why it is very important that every day you learn something new to improve yourself.

Was Lockdown a success?

Are indians stupid ??
In India the police were beating up the people roaming outside on the street!!  You must’ve heard it and seen it on whatsapp as well .
What do you think was right or wrong ? but the bigger question is WHY ??
Why do the police have to do this ? It has been more than 3 months since the county was in lockdown  . I  myself had not gone out of my house in the time span of 3 months and I was losing my mind ! Being jailed at home was difficult but that did not mean one can go down and play or go for a walk every evening in the colony . How does it matter ? Nobody was infected in my society after all , How does it matter? I have a strong immune system ,How does it matter ? I am washing my hands every time! This thinking is DANGEROUS and this small mindset is a big side effect.  Before we find a cure to the virus , we need to cure our mindset first !!  

When the lockdown was announced  the situation in delhi was very bad ,where thousands of workers started going back to their villages . Somebody had  spread this rumor that  buses are coming from UP to take them home whereas till that time there was no official announcement  .Because of this rumor there was chaos during lockdown . Who was responsible for this chaos – The virUS or US ? At Least 22 migrants lost their lives not because of the virus but because of the thought process and the shut down . THE LOCKDOWN WAS NECESSARY BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY where people prefer meeting their friends ,roaming on bikes even during a lockdown . Lockdown was for  those people who lack common sense !

Were we that stupid that when we were asked to sit at home for  a day and come just to the balcony, Then at 5pm people came out from their houses  and started playing garba on street. Are we  that stupid that people thought a religion can save us from a panedemic ? People started  spreading rumors like this while being at home. I  can’t imagine what they would do if they were out of their houses .Stupid people spread  fake news during a crisis !! and because of rumores like this so many states suffered. Because of these people it was impossible to make a policy that  protects us from the virus  and protect the people and their jobs as well. 
There’s only one cure for this mindset – a big heart .
On the other hand people understood the importance of lockdown ,many people kept politics aside and did what they could do at their level .People took care of their family ,Many people had helped a lot so the people had no savings .

But after all these pros and cons of the lockdown , the last important thing is that yes lockdown was a success as india was named in one of the country who were dealing with this crisis in a very good manner and was recognised by WHO as well for controlling the pandemic very well  in lockdown , so yes the lockdown was a success .  

Surveillance and Privacy

The debate on Surveillance and Privacy has become an indisputable component of all environments. While some degree of surveillance has always existed, in the last few decades it has expanded due rise of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Surveillance practices particularly in technologically advanced societies have increased because of use of ICTs.

What is Surveillance? Surveillance can be understood as any focused attention on personal details. This could be for the purpose of influence, management, or exercising control. Besides those who may be suspects (owing to their record of alleged offences), the everyday lives of ordinary people like workers, travelers etc find that their personal data is of high interest to others.

Everyday life may now appear less private, and ordinary people might feel that they are more vulnerable to control, due to the use of searchable databases, for categorizing and profiling where deep rooted questions of power are also involved. A lot of scholars have suggested that what exists now is an increased need for ethics of information in an era where we are witnessing intensifying surveillance. This is also because life chances and choices are likely to be negatively affected by the judgments made on the basis of such data, which means that surveillance is deep rooted in basic questions of social justice and freedom.

ICTs are being used to increase the power, reach, and capacity of surveillance systems. The most controversial element in this regard is the processing of personal data for the purposes of control, in order to influence or manage population. Sociologist Gary T. Marx coined the term ‘surveillance society’ back in mid-1980s. Later historians remarked that surveillance societies were becoming ‘information societies.’ Gilles Deleuze went on to suggest that we all now live in societies where cameras, personal identification numbers (PINs), barcodes are all used to determine which opportunities will be open, and which will be closed to whom in daily life.

The idea of a surveillance society gains credence by the fact that in ordinary everyday life, not only are people themselves constantly being watched, they are also willing to use such technical devices to watch others. For instance, there are plenty of domestic technologies in the market that provide video camera protection to homes and offices, such as CCTV which is now common in schools, colleges, work places etc.

What becomes important here is that in most cases, surveillance is already known about by those whose data are stored, manipulated, processed in many other ways. Sociologist David Lyon gave the example of those buying houses, they are already aware that checks will be made on them. Similarly, video surveillance cameras are visible on the street and generally speaking, people are aware that they exist. Another example being that Internet users are aware that their activities are traceable.

Thinkers recognize that Surveillance has been expanding since the start of the twenty‐first century particularly in an international response to global terrorism and now more recently to tackle the global pandemic. What it is evident is that surveillance is now much more internationally networked because of ICTs. This has inevitably led to several debates on the breach of privacy.

Reference- https://panoptykon.org/sites/default/files/FeedsEnclosure-oxford_handbook_3.pdf

Battle with the wild!…

“Hold on! Hang in there. Don’t move. I’ll help you”.Ronnie shouted.
Ronnie and michael came for an adventure trip in amazon jungle along with their friends. But before they could begin the hike, their helicopter crashed. None of their friends could survive, but Ronnie and Michael jumped with parachutes at the right moment so they survived. But Michael couldn’t make it to the ground, his parachute got stuck in the trees and now he was hanging up there.
Ronnie threw a rope to Michael and somehow he managed to bring him down. Both were very tired, with bruises on their body, totally devasted by what happened with their friends. Michael’s leg was cut at places while coming down. Michael and Ronnie were college friends with newly grown mustache, average physique who came here just to have fun with their friends, but destiny had some other plans.
They were active trekkers and hikers but with all the required equipments but here they had nothing. They were stuck in a dangerous forest without anything to help. They sat still without uttering a word for few hours. Then finally Ronnie spoke up,”Look Michael, I know we are at heavy loss but it’s only two of us right now and we need to survive, so let’s forget everything happened”. Michael agreed with him but both of them didn’t know how to survive. They only saw such situation in TV programme but now it was in reality. It was getting dark, so they decided to light up fire. They tried wood friction technique but it didn’t work.But they kept on trying it for a hour. Finally they built a fire. They had nothing to eat, no bed to sleep on but a strong hope to survive. They climbed up a tree and slept on the branches. The night was filled with voices of wild animals.
When they woke up in the morning, Michael was bit gloomy but Ronnie was full of energy. He had only one thing in mind, that’s to survive and get back home safe. Ronnie removed his shirt and made a fishing net out of it. Ronnie went to catch some fishes to eat while Michael was trying to figure out the way to get out of the jungle. Ronnie knew that there are crocodiles in the water but they had no choice. Ronnie brought some fishes to eat and they finished it within no time as they were very hungry. After having some food, they began their journey in north direction. Michael made a weapon using a stick and stone in case of emergency. They kept on walking but couldn’t find any human traces. They walked for a day but couldn’t find any human. As it was getting dark, they decided to halt. They built a temporary tent out of leaves and bushes on a branch of the tree. They lit up fire and went in their tent. When they were about to sleep, a snake came in front of Michael, it was a black mamba ready for attack. Michael got so scared that he couldn’t utter a word. He was shivering and his legs were shaking. Mamba made a move to bite, but before he could do that, Ronnie grabbed it and killed it with weapon. Michael gave a sigh of relief, but still he was shivering. Ronnie comforted him and then they went to sleep.
When they woke up in the morning, their bodies were full of mosquito bites and turned red. It was burning, they were unable to handle it. So they went to nearby pond to bath. After bath they drank water from the same pond. As they drank water from the pond, both of them started vommiting. The water was polluted. They were vommiting continuously and their bodies were getting dehydrated but they kept on walking. After a while, they found a waterfall. As the water was flowing, they knew it’s safe. So they drank water from the waterfall and continued walking, their bodies were about to give up but their courage did not. Now they could see houses of tribes at a distance. They were happy and relaxed thinking they’ll survive now. But then they noticed some movement in the bushes. There was something big there for sure. Michael spotted it and asked Ronnie to run. It was a tiger. As they started running, tiger started chasing them. While running, Ronnie fell down in a puddle and his leg got stuck there. He tried to come out but failed.Michael tried pulling him out but it wasn’t enough. Ronnie said, “Michael, Don’t think of me. You just go. Run away. Nothing will happen to me”. Michael wasn’t at all ready to leave him dying. But Ronnie forced him to leave. Michael ran away and the tiger came and killed Ronnie. Michael succeeded to escape and reached the tribal area. When he reached there, he sat down and started crying. He was blaming himself for Ronnie’s death. But now, he was the only one who survived the battle. He then came home and on the next day he was everywhere in the news telling the story of his survival.

“Hey Michael, wake up! It’s time to go. The amazon trip is on”, said Ronnie. Michael woke up with disgust, then he realized it was a just a dream but the real thriller is yet to happen!…

RAILWAYS to run special trains for JEE, NEET AND NDA candidates in Bihar

The Indian Railways has decided to run 20 pairs of special trains from September 2 to 15 for the convenience of the candidates appearing for JEE, NEET and NDA exams in Bihar, A day after the Railways permitted NEET and JEE candidates to avail special suburban services in Mumbai on exam days.

Announcing the move, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the facility will also be extended to students appearing for the National Defence Academy  (NDA) exam.

“Indian Railways has decided to run 20 pairs of MEMU / DEMU special trains from September 2 to 15 for the convenience of candidates joining JEE Mains, NEET and NDA in Bihar,” Goyal said in a tweet.

The East Central Railway said in a press release that, the station enroute will have unreserved ticket counters and tickets can also be bought on the UTS ( unreserved ticketing system ) mobile ticketing app.

On Monday, Goyal had said the students and one guardian each will be allowed to travel on the exam days and the admit card will act as their letter of authority.

Around 8.58 lakh candidates have registered for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main and 15.97 lakh students for NEET. These exams were earlier postponed twice in this pandemic.

While the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is scheduled to be held on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE-Main has been planned from September 1-6. The common NDA 2020 exam is scheduled to be held on September 6.

The Railways has suspended the passenger, mail and express train services from March 25 amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

The national transporter has started to run Shramik Special trains from May 1 to transport the stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and students.

The railways also started to operate 15 pairs of special air conditioned trains from May 12 and 100 pairs of Special time tabled trains from June 1.

Australia-India-Japan Economic Ministers’ Joint Statement on Supply Chains Resilience

Following is the text of the Joint Ministerial Statement adopted during the Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on supply chain resilience held on 1.9.2020

“1. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator the Honourable Simon Birmingham, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, His Excellency Piyush Goyal, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, His Excellency Kajiyama Hiroshi held a ministerial videoconference on September 1, 2020.

2. The Ministers reaffirmed their determination to take a lead in delivering a free, fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment and in keeping their markets open.

3.   In light of the COVID-19 crisis and the recent global-scale changes in the economic and technological landscape, the Ministers underscored the necessity and potential to enhance the resiliency of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region.

4.   Recognizing the pressing need for regional cooperation on supply chain resilience in the Indo- Pacific, the Ministers shared their intention to work toward the launch of a new initiative to achieve the objective through cooperation. They instructed their officials to promptly work out the details of the new initiative for its launch later this year. The Ministers noted the important role of business and academia in realizing the objective.

5.   The Ministers called for other countries in the region, which share the afore-mentioned views, to participate in the initiative.”

Indian Astronomers discover one of the farthest Star galaxies in the universe.

As a landmark achievement in Space missions, Indian Astronomers have discovered one of the farthest Star galaxies in the universe.

Sharing this information here today, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is a matter of pride that India’s first Multi-Wavelength Space Observatory “AstroSat” has detected extreme-UV light from a galaxy located 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy called AUDFs01 was discovered by a team of Astronomers led by Dr Kanak Saha from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics(IUCAA) Pune.

The importance and uniqueness of this original discovery can be made out from the fact that it has been reported in the leading international journal “Nature Astronomy” published from Britain. India’s AstroSat/UVIT was able to achieve this unique feat because the background noise in the UVIT detector is much less than one on the Hubble Space Telescope of US based NASA.

Dr Jitendra Singh has congratulated India’s Space Scientists for once again proving to the world that India’s capability in Space technology has risen to a distinguished level from where our scientists are now offering cues and giving leads to the Space scientists in other parts of the world. According to Professor ShyamTandon, the excellent spatial resolution and high sensitivity is a tribute to the hard work of the UVIT core team of scientists for over a decade.

According to Director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Dr Somak Ray Chaudhury, this discovery is a very important clue to how the dark ages of the Universe ended and there was light in the Universe. We need to know when this started, but it has been very hard to find the earliest sources of light, he said.

Pertinent to mention that India’s first Space Observatory AstroSat, which has made this discovery, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on September 28, 2015 during the first term of the Modi Government. It was developed by a team led by ShyamTandon, Ex Emeritus Professor, IUCAA with the full support of ISRO.

GST Revenue collection for August, 2020

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of August, 2020 is Rs. 86,449 crore of which CGST is Rs. 15,906 crore, SGST is Rs. 21,064 crore, IGST is Rs. 42,264 crore (including Rs. 19,179 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs.7,215 crore (including Rs. 673 crore collected on import of goods).

The government has settled Rs. 18,216 crore to CGST and Rs. 14,650 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of August, 2020 is Rs. 34,122 crore for CGST and Rs. 35,714 crore for the SGST.

The revenues for the month are 88% of the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from import of goods were 77% and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 92% of the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. It may also be noted that the taxpayers with turnover less than Rs. 5 crore continue to enjoy relaxation in filing of returns till September.

The chart shows trends in monthly gross GST revenues during the current year. The table shows the state-wise figures of GST collected in each State during the month of August 2020 as compared to August 2019 and for the full year

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry holds meeting with Senior officials of States to review the progress of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation India Limited (DFCCIL)

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry held meeting with the too officials of all the states through which the dedicated freight corridor would pass. The meeting was  was attended by all the top officials of Railways Board , DFCCIL including CRB and MD/DFCCIL,

Shri Goyal directed the DFFCIL management team and the States to take all possible steps to speed up the pace of works on all the  sections of the Western DFC (1504 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1856 route km) . In the review meeting , progress of each individual state was discussed in detail and instructions were given to ensure smooth progress by resolving all hindrances.

During the review meeting, progress made about acquisition of land and construction of road over bridges  ( ROBs )in the states were  discussed and resolved. State officials were asked to expedite the process of arbitration and enforce law if there were issues like obstruction of work in any patch of work.

In order to fast track the project, it was decided to hold regular meetings with all State officials on a daily basis if need be.

During the meeting, it was decided that strict monitoring of work in all sections to be done.

Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) is one of the largest rail infrastructure projects a (total length of 3360 route km) undertaken by the Government of India. The overall cost is pegged at Rs 81,459 crores. DFCCIL has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to undertake planning, development, mobilization of financial resources, construction, maintenance and operation of Dedicated Freight Corridors.

Supply of free food grains to about 95% of the total 2.8 Crore Migrants / Stranded Migrants estimated by States/UTs under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme

In wake of the situation created by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India in May, 2020 had announced a set of economic measures under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package (ANBP) to help mitigate the problems of the migrant workers across the country.

Pursuant to this, with an intent to help maximum number of migrants / stranded migrant persons, and all those who were neither covered under NFSA nor under any other State PDS scheme, all over the country to meet their food-security requirements amidst the crisis situation, hereafter  referred as ‘target group’, the Department of Food & Public Distribution on 15th May 2020 had liberally allocated a total quantity of about 8 LMT of food grains to all States/UTs which was communicated to all States/UTs under the “Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme (ANBS)” for free-of-cost distribution to all migrants / stranded migrant persons at a scale of 5 Kg per person per month for a period of 2 months i.e. 4 LMT each for the months of May and June 2020. This was subject to numbers of such ‘target group’ on the ground and this assessment was immediately made by the States and UTs by the end of May while going through the process of distribution.

The scheme had full in built flexibility to ensure that no deserving person was left out and accordingly, the on-ground responsibilities of identification of eligible migrants / stranded migrants and other needy persons and subsequently distribution of food-grains to them under this scheme was given to State/UT governments and all States/UTs were given complete freedom to issue their own guidelines and SOPs to districts/field level functionaries to identify any person who didn’t possess any central/state scheme ration card or was not able to access food-grains due to crisis.

Accordingly, rigorous efforts were made by the Food Departments of all States/UTs and many of them also collaborated with their counterpart Labour Departments, District Administrations, Civil Societies, Industrial Associations, NGOs and other welfare organizations to identify maximum of such migrants / stranded migrant persons anywhere in their State/UT in labour camps, construction sites, persons in transit, quarantine centers, shelter homes, etc. While the process of identification and distribution of food grains was steadily progressing, many States/UTs had informed that a majority of migrant persons have already left their States/UTs and may be having access to NFSA and PMGKAY food-grains in their respective State/UT where they may be having their ration cards. Thus, States/UTs collectively indicated a total population of about 2.8 Cr. such persons who could potentially benefit from the distribution of free-of-cost food-grains under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme (ANBS).

By the time assessment was made by States/UT of the magnitude of the ‘target group’, as a matter of abundant precaution, they had as per the reports available from FCI, by the end of June 2020, lifted a total quantity of about 6.38 LMT food grains. However, after assessment, the requirement was found to be about 2.8 LMT to serve approximately 2.8 Crore beneficiaries per month. As a result, no state government faced a situation where Central Govt was found under-catering to their requirement.

Again, taking a liberal and humane view, upon request of some State/UT governments, this Department extended validity of the ANBS i.e. the distribution period of the already lifted food-grains in balance with States/UTs up to the 31st of August 2020.

As per the reports available from States/UTs, a total quantity of about 2.65 LMT food grains has been successfully distributed under the scheme up to 31.08.2020 by all States/UTs combined, covering 2.35 Cr. persons in May 2020, over 2.48 Cr. persons in June 2020, about 31.43 Lakh persons in July 2020 and nearly 16 Lakh migrant persons in August 2020(About 2.65 Crore persons on an average per month for the months of May and June respectively). Therefore, having served all identified and deserving ‘target group’ the scheme has been very successful in serving about 95% of the total 2.8 Cr. migrants/stranded migrants’ population estimated by the States/UTs.

About 17 States/UTs were able to utilize 80% or more food-grains in relation to their assessment. The States/UTs are Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu And Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah said demise of former President, Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee is saddening for the entire country

Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah has said, “It is a matter of sadness and shock that Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee ji is not amidst us today.”

In his condolence message, Shri Amit Shah said, “For decades, Pranab da had been working true to his name in the horizon of Indian polity. He worked relentlessly to strengthen the nation. His immense contributions will never be forgotten”.

The Union Home Minister said, “As a Parliamentarian his speeches have given the nation an enriching debate, a new direction and a different point of view. Pranab da had mastered the art of keeping everyone together. When in government, he always worked with the opposition and while in opposition, he never shied away from playing the role of a constructive opposition. Whether he would frame the policy or strongly criticize its formulation, every occasion is testimony to Pranab Da’s acumen.”

“During his long and distinguished career, Pranab da left an indelible mark on many ministries including Finance, External Affairs, Defense and Commerce. Having made such a long unblemished contribution to public life, without committing even a single mistake, is itself perhaps a great achievement of Pranab Da,” said Shri Amit Shah.

Shri Amit Shah said, “By choosing Congress party as his medium of service, he made contributed invaluably to make Indian polity strong and take it in the right direction. I believe his contributions will be inspiring to all the youth aspiring for a political career.”

The Union Home Minister also said, that “When Pranab Da became the President of India, he left no stone unturned to uphold the dignity of the highest office of the land. Letting open the gates of Rashtrapati Bhawan to the common public is no mean feat. He brought prestige and great respect to the country with his practical nature, scholarly insight, knowledge of history, diplomacy and international affairs.

“Today Pranab Da is not amongst us; this will be an irreparable loss to all the citizens of the country and those are who working in public life. I believe, all aspiring politicians should minutely study Pranab Da’s life to learn how one can contribute to nation building by remaining non-controversial. May God give peace to his soul and his family the strength to bear this loss. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti”

Shri Piyush Goyal calls for taking the Indo-US trade to greater heights; says the two nations can be resilient trusted partners in the global value chain

The Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal has invited the US business and industry to work with their Indian counterparts to take the bilateral trade to greater heights. Addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) through a virtual conference today, ShriGoyal said that the two democracies share deep commitment with each other, at the Government, Business and people to people levels. Both countries believe in free and fair trade, and the US is India’s largest trading partner. He said that going beyond the trade, in this interconnected world, the two nations can be the resilient trusted partners in global value chain.

ShriGoyaloutlined to the members of USISPF about the steps being undertaken in the country, to facilitate industry and investments. He said that GIS-enabled land bank has been launched on pilot basis, with six states on board, which will help the investors in identifying the land and location. The Minister also mentioned about the single-window system for clearances, which is being developed in cooperation with various approving authorities and agencies at the Central, State and Municipal levels. On the issue of trade agreement between the US and India, ShriGoyal said India is ready to sign initial limited trade package, and it is upto the US to move ahead.

ShriGoyal said that the road ahead has challenges but also a number of opportunities.  He said that economic activity in the country had suffered due to pandemic but there have been indications of sharp revivals. Talking about the amount of freight carried by the Indian railways, he said thatit is 4% more in August 2020 than the corresponding period of 2019. Similarly, the exports which had reached 88% in July’20 compared to July’19, the momentum has gained further speed, and the August figures, which are being finalized, seem to be looking even better. If the data from the Oil and Gems/Jewelry sectors is excluded from the total exports, the upsurge will be even more.

The Minister said that the early and strong steps taken by India to check the spread of Covid has stood the country in good stead, as the fatality rate is less that 2% and the recovery rate is above 75%. The Minister said that despite large population, people of India showed great ability to adjust with the time. He said that the lockdown period was used by the country to strengthen the health infrastructure, and the stimulus/relief package has helped the people fight the pandemic. Lauding the role and leadership of the Prime Minister, the Minister said thatShriNarendraModi is always 2 steps ahead in his planning. He expressed the confidence that India will emerge victorious, make up for the lost time, and will be back on track to achieve $5Tn economy in next 5 years, and bring prosperity to 1.3 billion people of India.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on official visit to Russia from September 3-5

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh is visiting Moscow from September 3-5, 2020 at the invitation of Defence Minister of Russian Federation General Shergei Shoigu to attend the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member States in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of victory in the World War II. 

During his visit, Raksha Mantri is also scheduled to meet Defence Minister General Shoigu to discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest. 

India and Russia are privileged strategic partners. The present visit marks one of many high political level interactions, which the two countries engage in regularly.