In a bid to ensure there is no delay in payments to be made to farmers during the upcoming rabi season commencing from 1 April 2021, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced that about 9 percent interest (bank rate plus one percent) would be paid to the farmers if their payments are delayed. The payments would be made directly to the verified accounts of farmers.

The Chief Minister said this while presiding over a review meeting of officers engaged in the upcoming procurement season held toon Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala was also present at the meeting.

“Farmers must receive payment of their procured produce within a stipulated time period. Any delay in payment would not be tolerated. Responsibilities should be fixed to ensure that farmers are timely paid,” said the CM.

During the meeting, the Haryana CM also reviewed the arrangements being made for the smooth procurement of crops and directed the concerned departments and procurement agencies to ensure that farmers do not face any inconvenience while selling their produce in different mandis across the state.

“Hassle-free and timebound procurement should be ensured by making scheduling plans in advance so that farmers do not face any problems,” directed Manohar Lal.

He also said that in view of the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases, like last year, the required number of procurement centres should be increased to ensure hassle-free procurement. Procurement of wheat and mustard would commence on 1 April, while the procurement of other crops would commence on 10 April. Timely identification of places required for setting up these procurement centres should be done at the earliest, also said the CM.

The Chief Minister, while giving directions regarding the strengthening of the mandi system, further said that along with making timely arrangements for the availability of labourers in the mandis, an adequate number of weighing scales, gunny bags, sewing machines, etc, should also be ensured.

During the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary, Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Anurag Rastogi, apprised the Chief Minister that this time the payment module has been made a part of e-Kharid and several banks will be empanelled for this purpose. Rastogi also shared the advance directions regarding timely lifting of the crops, smooth functioning of the procurement process and ensuring that no arhatiya or farmer faces any problems.

Concerned over the rise in Covid-19 cases in schools, the Telangana government has announced temporary closing down of schools till further orders. The state’s Education Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy made the announcement in the Assembly. She said that the government decided to shut down schools in the interest of the health of the students and teachers and also keeping in view the requests from parents.

The minister said: “The decision was taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The orders will apply to all government and private educational institutions, hostels and residential schools. Online classes will be conducted for students”. Sabita Reddy pointed out that Covid cases are on the rise in neighbouring states like Maharashtra. Parents of students in Telangana were also worried over the situation and the government received requests to shut the schools. More than 200 students, teachers and other staff of various residential schools in Telangana have tested positive for Covid-19 over the last one week.

People have been advised to cooperate with the measures being taken by the state government to contain the spread of Covid-19 cases, by duly following the safety precautions, including wearing masks, observing physical distance and other precautions like washing or sanitising hands at regular intervals.

Delhi University’s ‘Bharati College’, a premier college for women, has tuned 50. Located in a serene and scenic campus, Bharati College celebrated its golden jubilee year. The college caters to about 2,000 students.

As part of the golden jubilee celebration, a programme called “Utkarsh” was organised. Professors, students and other employees of the college expressed their views online during this programme. Bharati College was initially opened in Karol Bagh area, but later on it was shifted to Janakpuri in West Delhi.

Principal of the college, Dr Rekha Sapra said that Bharati College is one of the best colleges of Delhi. She said that students of this college have achieved respectable jobs and big posts. Dr Sapra further stated that she wants the college to get new heights.

The chief guests of the function were Dr Kulvinder, retired deputy secretary of UGC, and Dr Kanwarjeet Kaur, retired principal of Mata Sundri College For Women. Both are alumnae of this college.

In an important development, four new courses were also launched on this occasion. These courses are English journalism, Psychology, Mathematics and Social Science.

The college provides several facilities to the girls coming from rural areas so that they can make progress in various fields. An alumna of this college has become Miss Earth 2018. The coordinator of IQAC Dr Nandini Sen and its member Dr Sangeet Dwivedi also shared their views with the audience. The college was established in 1971.

The West Bengal BJP on Tuesday released what could be its final list of candidates for the Assembly polls. Interestingly, actor Mithun Chakraborty’s name was missing in the list of 13 names.

From Rashbehari, the seat many believed Mithun would fight, the BJP has fielded Lieutenant General (retired) Subrata Saha. The prestigious south Kolkata seat was believed to have been kept for the actor ever since he shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BJP’s mega rally in Kolkata on 7 March.

Mithun, however, is scheduled to campaign in Nandigram on 30 March for Suvendu Adhikari. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to be present at that roadshow.

Former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri, fielded earlier from Alipurduar in North Bengal and then replaced, is back as candidate from Balurghat.

A key change in the list released on Tuesday pertains to Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district where the new candidate is Subrata Thakur. He is the brother of Shantanu Thakur, the BJP MP representing the Matua community, believed to be upset with the party for failing to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and lifting the uncertainty over their citizenship.

Speaking at a rally in Lumding of Hojai district, Singh said, “Earlier our PM was mocked by being called a ‘chaiwala’. Today, the same people are selling and plucking tea leaves.” “The real ‘chaiwala’ has brought them to tea gardens. But be careful, real and certified ‘chaiwala’ is with us,” he added.

Recently, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a visit to the poll-bound state and spent time with tea estate workers at a tea garden in Biswanath district. Dressed in a saree and balancing a basket on her back, the 49-year-old Congress leader was also seen plucking tea leaves.

Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi, also in his recent visit to Assam, promised that his party would provide a daily wage of Rs 365 for tea workers. It is the same amount BJP promised to tea workers previously but failed, he claimed.

Assam assembly elections will be held in three phases—27 March, 1 April and 6 April. Counting of votes will take place on 2 May. 

The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka on the eve of Bangladesh’s 50th Independence Day on 26 March as the ‘honoured guest’ will not only be a diplomatic tour but also a bridge of the cultural connect of the two countries.

PM Modi is slated to travel to Bangladesh on 25-26 March for the second time since 2015, his first-ever foreign tour after the Covid-19 pandemic. PM Modi’s visit to Dhaka will be in connection with three epochal events—Mujib Borsho (birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman); 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and India; and 50 years of Bangladesh liberation war, reported eureporter.

Bangladesh-India relations are multifaceted in nature and rooted in a shared history, geographical proximity and commonality in their cultures. The emotional bonds stemming from the contribution of India towards the liberation of Bangladesh remain a dominant factor in the country’s political, social and cultural web.

Louis Auge, in an article in eureporter, states, “Economically and commercially, the two countries are becoming increasingly closer. Besides, the dependence of Bangladesh on the common river waters remains an ever-present reminder of the umbilical links between the two countries.”

Economic relations between these two countries have over the last couple of years become multifaceted, embracing trade transactions, joint ventures, transit facilities and transport development.

Bangladesh is the recipient of India’s largest-ever financial assistance. Prime Minister Modi, during his last visit to Dhaka (June 6-7, 2015), had announced that India would provide Bangladesh a Line of Credit of two billion USD. The credit carries the lowest ever one per cent interest rate with a repayment period of 20 years and a five-year grace period.

These credit lines are used by Bangladesh to complete its 14 infrastructure and transport projects. Out of these 11 projects are in the railways’ sector for the supply of locomotives, tank wagons, flat wagons and brake wagons to Bangladesh, as per eureporter.

The private sector initiative comes in parallel to the Indian government’s effort to bolster relations with Bangladesh. 38 Indian investments had been registered with the Board of Investments (BoI) in Bangladesh for about USD 183m in the preceding years, writes Auge.

Major Indian companies such as Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Marico, Godrej, Venky’s Hatcheries, Parle Products, Forbes and Marshall have invested in Bangladesh in the recent past. At the Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit held in Dhaka in 2016, two big industrial groups of India, Reliance and Adani, committed to making huge investments in Bangladesh to the tune of $1,100 crore.

Moreover, Dhaka’s average economic growth rate has been over 7 per cent for the last couple of years, thereby attracting Indian investment. The middle class is rising steadily and creating demand for consumer goods and services. The country has also graduated as a developing nation.

Further, the recent virtual summit between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and PM Modi while inaugurating ‘Maitri Setu’ (Friendship Bridge) on 9 March, has shifted the focus on regional connectivity. ‘Regional connectivity is not only strengthening friendship between Bangladesh and India but also proving to be a strong link of business’, Hasina had remarked. PM Modi also expressed the view that connectivity between Bangladesh and India will prove to be very important for the north-east region of India and Bangladesh trade as well.

Auge also focussed upon security aspects and said that Bangladesh-India relations have never been better. Bangladesh has already addressed major issues that remained matters of concern from India’s security point of view for a long period. Bangladesh has handed over to India a large number of North-East Indian insurgents who had been camping and executing anti-India operations from Bangladeshi soil. Bangladesh government did this even though there was no extradition treaty between the two sides. Anup Chetia, a major United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) insurgent and a constant headache for the Indian security establishment, has also been handed over to India by the country.

The exchange of enclaves and the long-standing border disputes were also solved and the Indian Parliament showed a rare gesture of good-will when both houses of the Indian Parliament unanimously voted to ratify the Mujib-Indira accord of 1974 agreeing to exchange adversely located enclaves and demark the boundaries, reported eureporter.

Meanwhile, Teesta river water sharing continues to remain a nagging problem. PM Modi has indicated that the problem will be resolved during this tenure.

With ANI inputs