No essential service or benefit like medical facility, school admission or ration through PDS can be denied for want of the biometric national ID, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has clarified in a statement.
UIDAI has asked government departments and state administration “to ensure that no essential service or benefit shall be denied to a genuine beneficiary for the want of Aadhaar whether it is medical help, hospitalisation, school admission or ration through PDS”.
“There are exception handling regulations issued by UIDAI vide its circular dated 24th October 2017, which must be followed to make sure that no beneficiary is denied of benefits for the want of Aadhaar,” it reportedly said.
UIDAI said it has taken a serious note of some of the reported cases where want of Aadhaar had resulted in the denial of essential services like hospitalisation or medical help.
“While real facts behind such claims of denial are being investigated by the concerned agencies and strict action will be taken in case denial has occurred,” it said.
UIDAI reportedly said Aadhaar is meant to bring transparency and accountability in public service deliveries through effective use of technology and it should not be misused and made an excuse to any denial in the services.
The Cabinet Secretariat had on December 19 last year issue instructions that bonafide beneficiaries are not deprived of their due benefits as alternative provisions have been made in the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the reports highlighted.
The statement said UIDAI is again writing to Chief Secretaries of all the states/UTs to ensure that Section 7 of Aadhaar Act, 2016 is implemented in its true letter and spirit for all the schemes so that no denial happens due to want of Aadhaar.
Section 7 of Aadhaar Act 2016 has provision for no exclusion – no denials.
“Aadhaar enables people to establish their identity so that they receive their entitlements and exercise their rights without any fear of being excluded. However, there have been some media reports that some service providers are denying essential and other services for want of Aadhaar. Such violations are punishable under respective laws of the land. Under no circumstance, anyone can be denied a service just because he/she doesnt have an Aadhaar,” the statement said.
If one does not have Aadhaar or if Aadhaar online verification is not successful due to some reason, the agency or department has to provide the service using alternate means of identification and recording them in exception registers, which should be audited periodically by the higher authorities, reported news agencies.
“If any official of a department denies a service for the lack of Aadhaar or lack of successful verification due to technical or any such reasons, a complaint should be lodged with the higher authorities of those departments for such unlawful denials,” it added.
No essential service can be denied over Aadhaar, clarifies UIDAI
Kerala best in health, Uttar Pradesh worst: NITI Aayog report
While Kerala has emerged as the top performer in NITI Aayog’s latest Health Index report, Uttar Pradesh does the worst among Indian states, a government report has pointed out.
Punjab and Tamil Nadu were also among top rankers in the report which has, for the first time, attempted to establish an annual systematic tool to measure and understand the heterogeneity and complexity of the nation’s performance in the health sector.
Uttar Pradesh, however, was among the three states that showed the best annual improvement after Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir in indicators such as Neonatal Mortality Rate, Under-five Mortality Rate, full immunisation coverage, institutional deliveries, and People Living with HIV (PLHIV) on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), the report pointed out.
According to the report — released by Amitabh Kant (CEO of NITI Aayog), Preeti Sudan (secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) and Junaid Ahmad (country director, World Bank) – Manipur registered maximum incremental progress in indicators such as PLHIV on ART, first trimester antenatal care registration, grading quality parameters of Community Health Centres, average occupancy of key state-level officers and good reporting on the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
The next report will be released in June this year and district hospitals too would be ranked. “We would rank 730 district hospitals based on their performance. We want to encourage the good performers and name and shame those who aren’t,” said Kant.
Lakshadweep showed the highest improvement in indicators such as institutional deliveries, TB treatment success rate, and transfer of National Health Mission funds from the state treasury to implementation agency.
“Kerala ranks on top in terms of overall performance but sees the least incremental change as it had already achieved low levels of Neonatal Mortality Rate, Under-five Mortality Rate and replacement level fertility, leaving limited space for any further improvement,” noted the report.
“Common challenges for most States and Union Territories include the need to focus on addressing vacancies in key staff, establishment of functional district cardiac care units, quality accreditation of public health facilities and institutionalisation of human resources management information system. Additionally, almost all larger states need to focus on improving the Sex Ratio at Birth,” said Kant.
This Index is expected to nudge states towards further achieving a rapid transformation of their health systems and population health outcomes.”
Mandir-Masjid case will be treated as pure land dispute, says apex court
The Supreme Court has made it clear to parties before the Allahabad High Court in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute said that it will deal with the instant matter as a “pure land dispute” and indicated that impleadment applications of those which were not before the High Court would be dealt with later.
Rejecting a lawyer’s contention in the case that the matter involved the faith of crores of Hindus, the bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer said: “We can’t address these kind of arguments. We are treating it as a land dispute. There are appeals and cross-appeals.”
To another lawyer, who was representing 32 activists and wanted to implead in the matter since they were “very concerned about the outcome of the case”, the bench said “applications for impleadment and intervention shall be considered at the appropriate time”.
The special bench, asking parties to file in two weeks English translation of documents exhibited by them, said that it would hear the appeals on March 14 and clarified that it never intended to hear the case on a “day-to-day basis”.
The bench, also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, said it will deal with the instant matter as a “pure land dispute” and indicated that impleadment applications of those which were not before the High Court would be dealt with later, reports said.
The top court said the excerpts of vernacular books, which have been relied upon in the case, be translated in English and be filed within two weeks from February 8.
The apex court also directed its Registry to provide copies of video cassettes, which were part of high court records, to parties on actual cost, the reports pointed out.
The special bench of the apex court was set up following 14 appeals filed against the high court judgment delivered in four civil suits.
A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
Adhyatmik's godman asked to let parents meet inmates and remove ViswaVidyalaya tag
In a case related to the bogus godman Virender Dev Dixit case, the Delhi High Court on February 8 has given order to Dixit and his ashram to allow the parents to meet their girls and women illegally confined in all the centers.
The meeting should be facilitated with the permission from SHOs of the concerned areas, the court has directed.
The Acting Chief Justice, Geeta Mittal also directed the ashram to “prohibit from using the expression ViswaVidyalaya in the institution’s name” in any manner as it doesn’t comply with the norms of UGC Act 1956.
The UGC, in its letter to the ashram, had objected the use of ”ViswaVidyalaya” in Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya on January 29.
“The institute has been propagating itself as a ViswaVidyalaya, attracting large number of people. Several allegations related to irregularities in the ashram have also surfaced which is being investigated by the CBI,” said the court.
The next date of hearing is due on March 15.
TMKOC's Tanuj Mahashabde tries to revive Bhagavata Mela
Tanuj Mahashabde aka Mr Krishnan Iyer of Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC) is treading the path which others have abandoned. He is all up to resuscitate life into an ancient classical dance – “Bhagavata Mela” from “Kuchipudi” which is ironically on the throes of death.
According to few historians, after Mughal’s invasion of Andhra Pradesh, this form of art had lost royal patronage. Thus, there witnessed en mass migration of artists and dancers from there to deep-south at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur was ruled by Maratha kings then who were great patrons of arts, dance and music. Under them, this art flourished.
Recently, this classical art form witnessed slow-death once again, majorly due to youngsters’ penchant for Bollywood kind of melody.
History says that the form of art was mostly practiced by Brahmins – where the male artist used to play the characters of female too. The play portrays dialogues by artists which are synchronized with traditional Indian dance- mudras or hastas.
Tanuj Mahashabde shares his experience in theatre and his Bhagavata Mela with Harsh Pancholi.
Excerpt:
How did you enter the world of Arts and Theatre?
After completing my education in Marine Electronics, I was not interested to get an engineer’s job as most of my colleagues were doing then. It’s my hobby from my childhood to be an actor. Initially, my parents were against my decision to pursue acting, directing and writing, but somehow I managed to convince them. Today they feel proud of me.
Please share something about your journey portraying Vidhushak in Bhagavata Mela.
This is a Marathi play performed by people from Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) – in the diameter of Temple. Well, talking about my journey; I first stumble on Indu Raman Ji (Bharat Natyam Expert) who taught me the dance form and believed that I can perfectly play the role of Vidhushak. Performing the play in Mumbai and creating the atmosphere of Thanjavur was really a challenging task (he gasped). The experience of theatre, and especially essaying Vidhushak in Bhagwata Mela (where expressions are considered immutable part of this art form) -has helped me a lot in TMKOC.
As far as the commercial aspect is concerned, the production cost for such shows are too high. So, commercially it is not viable – but culturally it is greatly applauded.
What is your take on this fading talent of Bhagavata Mela?
It is true that such type of talent is vanishing nowadays in the country, but in Thanjavur, it is still celebrated during various festivals. The uniqueness is that the people there get education in the Tamil language. Despite having their mother tongue in Tamil, they portray the play in the Marathi language with an accent of Sanskrit and Konkani languages. Apart from that – the most challenging part is when a male person has to play female here. It happened to be quite awkward for me several times in rehearsals when my partner (male) was acting as a female.
How important is for an artist to have a theatre background before debuting in Bollywood or Television?
Well, that is all about destiny and luck. But, for me theatre remains an institution to achieve success. But that really doesn’t mean that someone can’t be successful if he\she is not a theatre artist. Theatre helps in honing your footwork, eye-contact and confidence, which are prerequisite for an actor.
I hail from Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and the population there speaks chaste Hindi – which the entertainment industry really expects from an artist. There is no doubt that regional artist is superb in their own way on stage – but when talking about national level – an artist should be absolutely perfect in Hindi and Urdu languages.
For me, the knowledge of Hindi and Urdu language helped me a lot in acting (Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah) and writing scripts.
Are there any other renowned actors whom you know have performed in Bhagavata Mela?
I have just heard about the great actress Jaya Pradha who has also performed in Bhagavata Mela.
Being a Marathi Brahmin, how challenging was for you to perform dance and convey a message to the audience?
Traditionally, this Thanjavur art is performed by Brahmins, and being a Marathi Brahmin, I was tempted to do this. But nowadays, people from other castes, too, act in such plays. Even my co-stars were not Brahmins – but they accepted the challenge and performed immaculately on the stage.
When did you perform last on stage?
I performed TMKOC play on a stage which was directed by my co-star Dilip Joshi (Jheta Lal). That was the last stage performance of mine. We performed the play in Ahmedabad, Gujarat – in those days when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of the state. Now, due to tight shooting schedules, I’m not able to perform on stage. Frankly speaking, I really want to perform back onstage and will surely do this in future.
Any message to new theatre artist and your fans.
Develop command over different languages; do theatres a lot which is actually an institute to hone your writing, directorial or acting skill. I thank my fans for loving and supporting my character as Krishnan Iyer in TMKOC since almost a decade.
Congress seeks Rafale deal details; govt says disclosing it may affect security
While Congress has dubbed the Rafale fighter aircraft deal as the “biggest scam” of the Modi government and sought a white paper on it, the Defence Ministry has called the allegations “unfounded”
The demand to disclose details of the Rs 58,000-crore deal for 36 Rafale jets such as its value was “unrealistic” as doing so might compromise India’s national security, the ministry said.
The Congress has demanded that the prime minister make a clarification on the issue, as other opposition parties took the ruling dispensation to task on several other issues.
“This government is playing with the security of the country. And one instance is the Rafale deal… It is the biggest scam. There is complete non-transparency,” said senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
He claimed various rules and regulations of defence acquisition were violated while doing the deal.
“Defence Minister has refused to disclose the details. The deal has left more questions than answers. It is time for prime minister to answer these questions and the government should bring a white paper on the deal,” he added.
In a statement, the defence ministry said the earlier UPA government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament questions, in keeping with confidentiality requirements.
Giving an item-wise cost and other information would reveal details about weapons systems and customisation of the jet, it said, adding that the government was bound by the confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact in not sharing details of the deal.
The government said “doubts” were sought to be created about the contract and insisted that the deal secured by the government was better in terms of capability, price, equipment and delivery than the one “notionally” negotiated by the UPA regime in a process which it could not conclude even in 10 years.
“Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France. This would normally not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on a serious matter of national security,” the ministry reportedly said.
Supreme Court is not garbage collector, Centre told
Slamming the Centre for filing an 845-page affidavit containing incomplete information about solid waste management across the country, the Supreme Court has said that it is not a “garbage collector”.
Refusing to take the affidavit on record, the apex court reportedly said, “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to impress us? We are not impressed. You are trying to dump everything on us. We are not going to accept it.”
A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said, “Don’t do this. Whatever junk you have, you dump it before us. We are not garbage collectors. Be absolutely clear about this.”
The bench directed the Centre to file a chart within three weeks indicating whether the states and union territories have constituted state-level advisory boards in accordance with the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, reported new agencies.
It also reportedly directed the government to state in its chart the date the advisory boards were constituted in the states and UTs, names of members of the boards and also details of any meetings conducted by them.
At the outset, the counsel appearing for the Centre said they would file an 845-page affidavit in the matter during the course of the day. However, when the bench posed certain queries, the counsel was unable to answer them properly.
The counsel informed the court that they have received information from 22 states about constitution of state-level advisory boards and have compiled data received from the respective states.
“There is no point in filing affidavits if they contain nothing. We are not taking this affidavit on record… You have not seen it and you want us to see this affidavit,” a PTI report quoted the bench as observing.
The court had on December 12 last year asked the Centre to follow up on the matter of solid waste management with all states and UTs and furnish details before it.
The court had earlier expressed grave concern over the deaths due to vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya and said lack of waste management was the cause of several lives being lost across the country.
It referred to the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and said the duties of various ministries, like the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Urban Development, were specified in it, media reports said.
In 2015, the apex court had on its own taken cognisance of death of a seven-year-old boy due to dengue. He had been allegedly denied treatment by five private hospitals and his distraught parents subsequently committed suicide, it was pointed out.
Nuclear capable Agni-I missile successfully test-fired
With a strike range of over 700 km from a test range off the Odisha coast, India has successfully test-fired its short-range nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-I.
According to defence sources, the indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile was launched as a part of a periodic training activity by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army to consolidate operational readiness.
The state-of-the-art missile was launched around 8:30 am from a mobile launcher at Pad 4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the Dr Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, the sources reportedly said.
Describing the trial a “complete success”, they were quoted as saying that all the mission objectives were met during the test.
“The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships right from its launch till the missile hit the target area with pin point accuracy,” a PTI reported quoted the sources as saying.
The sophisticated Agni-I missile is propelled by a solid rocket propellant system and is equipped with a specialised navigation system that ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of precision, they reportedly vsaid.
The missile, which has already been inducted into the armed forces, has proved its performance in terms of range, accuracy and lethality, the sources said.
Weighing around 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I can carry payloads up to 1,000 kg and is capable of hitting a target beyond 700 km. The missile is also capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the reports pointed out.
The Agni-I was developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in collaboration with the Defence Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) and the Research Centre Imarat (RCI). The missile was integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.
Alleged use of common syringe infects 21 with HIV in UP
A quake has been booked over the alleged use of a common syringe to administer injections that has made at least 21 people infected with HIV in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district.
According to chief medical officer Dr SP Chaudhary, the matter came to light after the health department launched an investigation following reports of “high number of HIV cases” in the area.
“Seeing the high number cases, the health department constituted a two-member committee which visited various settlements of Bangarmau to investigate the reasons behind the spike,” he was quoted as saying.
Chaudhary reportedly said the team visited Premganj and Chakmirpur areas of Bangarmau and filed a report, based on which screening camps were held at three places (in Bangarmau) on January 24, January 25 and January 27.
“In the camps, 566 people were examined of whom 21 were found to be infected with HIV,” a news agency quoted the chief medical officer as saying.
He said that the investigation also found that quack Rajendra Kumar, living in a neighbouring village, had used a single syringe for injection in the name of cheaper treatment. “This was the reason behind the significant rise in the number HIV cases.”
A case against the quack has been registered in Bangarmau police station, the chief medical officer said. He said the patients have been referred to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centre in Kanpur.
ART consists of a combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to maximally suppress the HIV and stop its progression. ART also helps prevent onward transmission of HIV, he said.
Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh, meanwhile, said, “We are investigating the matter and a thorough mapping is being done. Anyone who sells injections without a proper license will be investigated.”
CBI seizes documents linked to AAP leader Satyendar Jain from Rishiraj’s residences
Property documents, bank deposit slips of about Rs. 2 crore allegedly related to Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, and companies where he was a director, were recovered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during searches.
Sources said that the documents were recovered during searches at the residences of Delhi Dental Council Registrar Rishiraj, who was arrested on Saturday in a separate case.
Rishiraj and N Pradeep Sharma, a lawyer for the council, were arrested on Saturday night while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs. 4.7 lakh from a doctor, latest news reports pointed out.
Later, during the searches at the residence of Mr Rishiraj, the agency recovered the property documents in Satyendar Jain’s name at Karala village, cheque books in the name of the AAP leader, his wife Poonam and JJITL estate private limited, sources reportedly said.
“The CBI has registered a case…on the allegations of demanding bribe from the complainant for getting him favourable order from the Delhi Dental Council and also for extending help in further legal proceedings in his matter,” CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal reportedly said.
He was quoted as saying that the CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting the bribe from the complainant.
According to reports, IDBI bank slips showing deposits worth Rs. 2 crore in the name of Mr Jain’s companies in 2011 were also found during the searches.
“…Three property documents including two sale deeds of land measuring 12 Bigha 2 Bishwa and 8 Bigha 17 Bishwa at Karala village, Delhi; one power of attorney for land measuring 14 Bighas in the village (were found),” CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said in a statement.
He reportedly said one deposit slip book of a bank containing counter foils detailing deposits of approximately Rs. 2 crore during 2011 in the name of Mr Jain and companies he was serving as a director at, and in the name of his family members were also recovered.
Besides, 41 cheque books in his name, his wife’s name and in the name of a private estate firm were also found, he added.
The CBI also claimed to have recovered half-a-kilogram of gold and Rs. 24 lakh in cash but it is not clear if these are also linked to Mr Jain who is the Delhi minister for Power, PWD and Health, reported a news agency.
The sources said the agency will soon be calling the minister for seeking his explanation on recoveries.
PTI quoted the sources as saying that they believe that these documents could have been shifted to the premises of Mr Rishiraj for safe-keeping and to escape the CBI searches in August last year in connection with alleged corruption cases against the minister.
Last year, the agency had booked Satyendar Jain in a case related to disproportionate assets, reports pointed out.
