(TOI) Alappuzha in Kerala is a “waste smart” city according to recent assessment by a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) team. Reason? It has managed to achieve 100% waste segregation in 12 of the city’s 23 wards. It doesn’t landfill, instead a majority of the households have biogas plants and composting systems. But as per the Centre’s recent Swachch Survekshan survey 2017, Alappuzha ranks at 380. The top three “cleanest” cities according to the Swachch survey—Indore, Bhopal and Visakhapatnam, have a centralized system of waste management. While these do have door-to-door waste collection and efficient transportation of waste, CSE points…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(FE) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday announced a slew of incentives for journalists, including a Rs 10,000 monthly pension scheme, for those who are above 60 years and have completed 20 years in the profession. He also announced a life insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh and a cashless mediclaim policy of Rs 500,000. The announcements were made by the Chief Minister at the “Swarna Jayanti Journalists’ Meet” in Panchkula near here. He said now media persons, who have completed five years in the profession, would be given recognition by the state government. He also announced that a…
(FE) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that poor performance by private investors and banks still remains a challenge for the Indian economy. “Despite Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming to India in large numbers, things are not working forcefully — investment in domestic industry is not satisfactory level. The condition is related to banks,” Jaitley told DD News in an interview here. The Minister said with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) heading towards the July 1 rollout and global growth showing positive trends, these two challenges have been overcome. “But there is a third challenge — to…
(PTI) A spontaneous shutdown was today observed in the Kashmir Valley following violent protests in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, even as a person was injured in Anantnag during clashes with security forces. Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests started at around 50 places, including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag in south Kashmir, the police said. A person in Mattan area in the district was injured during clashes with…
(ET) Three ONGC employees – Yogendar Garbiyal, N Jagoi and Rahul Jarngal — created history by summiting the Mount Everest (8848 metres) today under the guidance of Border Security Force (BSF) Assistant Commandant Loveraj Singh Dharamshaktu representing the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF). With this feat, ONGC has become one of the first corporates in the world to successfully scale the Everest. The ONGC Everest Expedition is a one-of-its-kind employee engagement initiative taken by ONGC, aong the largest oil and gas Exploration and Production companies in the world. The comoany said the Everest mission was a unique HR initiative of ONGC…
(AU) मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ ने शनिवार को यहां 1011 ग्राम पंचायतों से आए प्रधानों से नदी संस्कृति को पुनर्जीवित करने और गंगा की निर्मलता के लिए जन सहभागिता की अपील की।गंगा में मूर्ति विसर्जन न करने का संकल्प दिलाने के साथ ही आह्वान किया कि पौधे सरकार उपलब्ध कराएगी, आप सब एकजुट होकर नदी तटों पर सघन पौधरोपण अभियान चलाएं। ‘नमामि गंगे’ परियोजना का जिक्र करते हुए गंगा निर्मलता के लिए प्रधानमंत्री के प्रयासों की सराहना की।
(PTI) State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has said that producing natural gas is no longer a profitable business for the company as the government-mandated gas price is significantly below the cost of production. The BJP-led government had in October 2014 evolved a new pricing formula using rates prevalent in gas surplus nations like the US, Canada and Russia to determine rates in a net importing country. Prices have halved to USD 2.48 per million British thermal unit since the formula was implemented. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh K Sarraf said the company lost Rs 5,010 crore in…
(PTI) The Supreme Court today refused an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the recent incidents of caste violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district. A vacation bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha said there was no urgency and the petition may be heard after the court’s summer break. Gaurav Yadava, a lawyer, who had filed a PIL in his personal capacity, mentioned the plea for an urgent hearing, saying that the situation in the areas was “critical” and needed judicial intervention. Besides seeking an SIT probe into the recent violence…
(PTI) Keen to do business with Indian Railways, senior representatives of Talgo, the Spanish lightweight train coach maker, are likley to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Spain visit on May 30. In a three-phased trial conducted last year, Talgo trains clocked a top speed of 180 kmph on the Mathura-Palwal route and covered the Delhi-Mumbai distance in 11 hours 48 minutes. The meeting with PM seems to be crucial for Talgo as the Spanish company is keen to join Indian rail sector, sources in the government said. Modi is embarking on on a six-day tour to Russia, Germany,…
(PTI) Trustees of retirement fund body EPFO may approve a proposal tomorrow to reduce the mandatory contributions toward social security schemes run by it to 10 per cent for workers as well as employers. Presently, employees and employers contribute 12 per cent of basic wages each towards Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPF), Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) and Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI). The proposal to reduce the contributions by employers and employees to 10 per cent of basic wages, including basic pay and dearness allowance, is listed on the agenda for meeting of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)…