Tag: Andhra

Andhra urges Centre to extend SC status to those converting to Christianity

[ad_1]
Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Friday passed two resolutions, one urging the Centre to include the Boya/Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes, and second to extend Scheduled Caste status to members of the community who converted to Christianity.
Earlier, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy assured the Assembly that the inclusion of the Boya/Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes would not affect the STs living in the agency areas in the state.
He sought to allay the fears that the inclusion of the Boya/Valmiki community people living in the Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, and Chittoor districts into the ST list will reduce the quota of the STs of the agency areas in government jobs or educational institutions as zoning system is in force as per the six-point formula.
The inclusion may have only negligible impact on the Group 1 jobs which come under the non-zoning category. It becomes negligible as only 386 Group 1 jobs were notified in the last 10 years and the 6 per cent reservation only amounts to a meager 21 or 22 posts, he said, adding it only means negligible.
The one-man Commission, headed by Samuel Anand Kumar, studied the social and economic conditions of the Boyas in the four districts and the ST Commission, also agreed with this assessment, said the Chief Minister.
Government jobs in the zoning system and districts constitute 99 per of the total jobs and the STs of the agency areas would suffer no loss because of the possible inclusion, he asserted, asking them not to believe the false propaganda being carried out in a section of the media on this.
He said the resolution was introduced in the House requesting the Centre to include the Boya/Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes as per the promise given to the community during his Padayatra.
On another resolution that sought approval of the House to request the Centre to extend Scheduled Caste status to members of the Scheduled Caste community who converted to Christianity, the Chief Minister said that the economic and social status of the people doesn’t change automatically just because they convert to another religion.

[ad_2]
#Andhra #urges #Centre #extend #status #converting #Christianity
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
Andhra Pradesh CM celebrates Ugadi in traditional style

[ad_1]
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife Y. S. Bharati Reddy on Wednesday celebrated Telugu new year Ugadi with traditional gaiety and fervour.
Sobhakrutu Nama Ugadi celebrations were held at the Chief Minister’s official residence. It was attended by several ministers, officials, leaders and well wishers.
The Chief Minister greeted all Telugu people and wished them good health and prosperity in the Telugu new year.
Dressed in traditional attire, the Chief Minister along with his wife greeted the guests.
He garlanded the statue of the former Chief Minister and his father Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
The couple offered prayers at the temples of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, Lord Ganesh and Tulasi before listening to the Panchanga Sravanam rendered by the renowned astrologer Kappagantula Subbarama Somayaji who predicted good rains, good governance and self-sufficiency in all prime sectors in the new year. Ugadi pachadi was served to the Chief Minister on the occasion.
The couple witnessed the dance dramas presented by Anand Sai group and Padmaja Reddy on the importance of Ugadi and administrative reforms in the State.
On the occasion, popular Annamacharya keertana ‘Nigama Nigamanta’ was rendered by Mayukh and the melody number ‘Kannulato Chusedi’ was sung by Vagdevi.

The couple felicitated vedic pundits, artistes and singers who participated in the celebrations.
The Chief Minister released the agricultural, horticultural, Silparamam and Ugadai calendars on the occasion.
[ad_2]
#Andhra #Pradesh #celebrates #Ugadi #traditional #style
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023
Andhra government issues gazette notification for new zone in Amaravati

[ad_1]
Amaravati: In a controversial move, the Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday declared a new zone R-5 in Amravati.
The state government issued a gazette notification to create an R-5 zone to provide houses to poor people over 900 acres.
The move has angered the farmers who are already protesting the decision of the state government to develop three state capitals.
Amaravati farmers’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) said the decision was taken without consulting the farmers. They plan to challenge it in the High Court.
It was in October last year that the government had amended the Amaravati master plan in order to provide houses to poor people over 900 acres of land spread across in four villages.
The farmers had challenged the amendment in the court and on the direction of the court authorities had organised a meeting in the villages. The farmers had totally opposed the order.
However, ignoring the objection of farmers the government has now gone ahead by issuing the notification.
Earlier efforts by the government to allot lands proved futile as pro-Amaravati farmers had filed a petition and the High Court cancelled the order. Following this, the YSRC government had amended the APCRDA Act to provide house sites.

The new zone-R-5-in the capital region will be within the boundaries of Krishnayapalem, Nidamarru, Kuragallu in Mangalagiri mandal, and Manddam and Ainavolu villages in Thullur mandal.
Amaravati farmers feel that the new zone will change the status of the capital region and affect their interests.
[ad_2]
#Andhra #government #issues #gazette #notification #zone #Amaravati
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
Andhra CM disburses Rs 699 crore for students’ education fee reimbursement

[ad_1]
Tiruvuru: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday released Rs 699 crore under a flagship government scheme for total fee reimbursement to eligible students studying a variety of courses.
As many as 9.8 lakh students pursuing ITI, polytechnic, degree, engineering, medicine and other professional courses will benefit from the Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme for the quarter October to December, 2022. Under the scheme, the fee of students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward classes, minorities, Kapus, economically backward classes and persons with disabilities (PwD) categories will be reimbursed. These funds will be directly credited into the bank accounts of the students’ mothers.
After disbursing the fees by clicking a button, the Chief Minister noted that the fate of the poor can be changed for better only through education.
Reddy pointed out that Jagananna Vidya Devena scheme was introduced with the single aim of offering higher education to poor students.
Till now, the southern state has transferred Rs 13,311 crore as part of this scheme and Vasathi Devena, with the former alone accounting for Rs 9,947 crore, benefiting up to 27 lakh students. Under Jagananna Vasathi Devena, the government provides for the hostel and mess charges of below poverty line (BPL) students.
“Today should be better than yesterday, tomorrow should be better than today and one should have the best future than a better tomorrow,” the Chief Minister said.
According to Reddy, only good education can guarantee the best future, leading to decent livelihood and life.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister held a meeting with senior officials to take cognisance of the quantum of crop losses suffered by farmers due to the recent untimely rains.

He instructed officials to start enumerating the losses immediately, including issuing directions to district collectors for completing this exercise in a week’s time and start helping the farmers.
[ad_2]
#Andhra #disburses #crore #students #education #fee #reimbursement
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
NIA court again summons Andhra CM Jagan in ‘Kodi Katti’ case

[ad_1]
Vijayawada: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Vijayawada on Tuesday directed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to appear before it on April 10 in a case related to a knife attack on him at Visakhapatnam airport four years ago.
During the previous hearing, the court had directed the Chief Minister to appear on March 14. He, however, did not appear.
Adjourning the case to April 10, the court asked the Chief Minister to be present on that day. Chief minister’s personal assistant K. Nageshwar Reddy was also directed to appear.
In earlier hearings too, the judge had observed that the victim too should appear before the court and record his statement.
The court on Tuesday examined CISF Assistant Commandant Dinesh Kumar, who was an eyewitness in the case, which is known as the Kodi Katti case.
The police handed over to the court a ‘kodi katti’ (knife used for rooster fights), another small knife, purse and cell phone.
Jagan Mohan Reddy was injured on his arm when a youth had attacked him with kodi katti at Visakhapatnam Airport on October 25, 2018. His security personnel had overpowered the attacker, later identified as J. Srinivas Rao, who was working at the airport canteen on a contract basis.
The then TDP government had handed over the case to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police but Jagan Mohan Reddy had refused to record his statement, saying he had no trust in agencies controlled by the state government.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had moved the state high court, seeking a probe by a central agency into the case. Based on the court direction, the Centre handed over the case to the NIA on December 31, 2018 and the agency registered the case on January 1.
The 32-year-old accused has been lodged in jail since then, waiting for the trial.
Last year, Srinivas’ 75-year-old mother Savithri had written to then Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana that the case be expedited or her son be granted bail.
[ad_2]
#NIA #court #summons #Andhra #Jagan #Kodi #Katti #case
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 14, 2023
Andhra CID produces skill development scam accused in court

[ad_1]
Amaravati: The Crime Investigation Department of Andhra Pradesh Police on Thursday produced GVS Bhaskar, an accused in the AP State Skill Development Corporation scam, in a Vijayawada court on Thursday, an official said.
Bhaskar, a former employee of Siemens Industrial Software, was arrested from Noida and brought to the state under a 36-hour transit remand.
“He (Bhaskar) prepared a fake DPR (detailed project report) with overvaluation, keeping a margin of more than Rs 200 crore out of Rs 371 crore (released by the state government),” the official said.
The skill development programme was envisaged under the then Telugu Desam Party government between 2014 and 2019.
According to officials, Bhaskar inflated the valuation of the project, which involved Siemens Industrial Software India and Design Tech Systems, to Rs 3,300 crore. However, the cost of Siemens Industrial Software India’s software was only Rs 58 crore.
Suman Bose, the then MD of Siemens Industrial Software India, and Design Tech System MD Vikas Kanwilkar allegedly met the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu for the project in 2014-15.
As part of the agreement, Siemens Industrial Software India and Design Tech Systems were to contribute 90 per cent of the funds for the programme with the balance 10 per cent coming from the state government.
However, neither company spent a single penny while the state government’s share of 10 per cent — amounting to Rs 371 crore — was allegedly misappropriated, the CID stated.

It is alleged that former special secretary to the state government Ganta Subba Rao and former IAS officer K Lakshminarayana had played key roles in the programme. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) identified Lakshminarayana as a close friend of Naidu.
CID officials claimed that the misappropriated money was funnelled into shell companies such as Allied Computers (Rs 60 crore), Skillers India, Knowledge Podium, Cadence Partners and ETA Greens.
According to reports, former finance secretary Sunita had objected to the release of funds but senior government officials overruled her.
When the CID contacted the German headquarters of Siemens, it clarified that Bose had acted on his own volition, which resulted in his services being terminated, the official said.
The Enforcement Directorate has also launched a probe into the alleged scam and has issued notices to 26 people.
[ad_2]
#Andhra #CID #produces #skill #development #scam #accused #court
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 10, 2023
Andhra Pradesh: Four tiger cubs in Vet hospital, search on for mother

[ad_1]
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Forest Department officials on Tuesday continued their efforts to trace the mother of four tiger cubs found near a village in Nandyal district on Sunday.
The month-old cubs have been kept at a veterinary hospital at Nallamalla Jungle Camp Bairluty where wildlife veterinarians are monitoring their health while forest officials continued their efforts for a second day to trace the mother.
The cubs are said to be doing well. Veterinarians from the S.V. Zoological Park, Tirupati were closely monitoring their condition by checking their vitals. The cubs were being fed with milk and water.
Forest officials attempted to leave the cubs near Atmakur forest on Monday night but with no trace of their mother in the vicinity, they dropped the plan and brought them back to the hospital.
As part of their efforts to locate mother tigress, the forest officials have installed camera traps.
Villagers found the cubs abandoned on the outskirts of Pedda Gummadapuram villagers in Kothapalli mandal (block). After waiting for a while to see if their mother turns up, the villagers shifted the cubs to a room in a farm to protect them from predators and informed the forest officials.
Divisional forest officer Alan Chong Teron and other officials reached the village and took custody of the cubs, who appeared weak.
The forest officials believe that the mother tigress may have lost her way after getting cubs near the village.

The officials said if the efforts to trace the mother tigress yield no result, they will consider shifting the cubs to SV Zoological Park to protect them.
Subscribe us on
[ad_2]
#Andhra #Pradesh #tiger #cubs #Vet #hospital #search #mother
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 7, 2023
American diplomat discusses India-US connections at Andhra University

[ad_1]
Amaravati: Political-Economic Chief of the US Consulate General Hyderabad, Sean Ruthe visited Andhra University on Monday to lead a discussion on US-India tech collaboration.
The discussion explored how both countries can work together through the recently established initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
Speaking at the event Ruthe said, “Few global issues are as critical as emerging technology and few relationships are as important as the US-India Strategic Partnership. So it’s natural that our two countries would team up to harness the potential of new and emerging technologies to bolster peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
He said US president Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022.
The initiative will elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions said the US diplomat.
“In January, the National Security Advisors of the United States and India met in Washington, DC to discuss opportunities for greater cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, co-development and coproduction, and ways to deepen connectivity across U.S. and Indian innovation ecosystems,” he said.
Monday’s discussion took place at the American Corner in Visakhapatnam. Hosted by Andhra University, the American Corner provides a space where Americans and Indians in Visakhapatnam can gather to discuss important political, economic, cultural, educational, and social trends in the United States and how those developments are shaping the U.S.-India partnership.

[ad_2]
#American #diplomat #discusses #IndiaUS #connections #Andhra #University
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 6, 2023
Paytm signs MoU with Andhra govt to empower millions of merchants, street vendors

[ad_1]
Delhi: One97 Communications Limited, that owns leading payments and financial services company Paytm, on Monday announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to drive initiatives in financial inclusion, public health and cyber security and empower millions of merchants, street vendors and hawkers in the state.
The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Andhra Pradesh ‘Global Investors Summit 2023’, in the presence of Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, IT, Electronics and Communications, state government and Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, Managing Director and CEO, Paytm.
“We are happy to partner with the government of Andhra Pradesh in their journey of sustainable development through inclusive growth. We are fully committed to driving financial inclusion at the last mile and this partnership is a step in that direction,” said Sharma.
“We will continue to empower the people of Andhra Pradesh by enabling lakhs of small businesses with mobile payments and access to various financial services,” he added.
Under the MoU, Paytm plans to empower merchants, street vendors and ‘ChiruVyaparulu’ (street hawkers) in the state to accept digital payments and provide them access to loans through its lending partners.
Paytm plans to extend its platform for providing e-government services, which will be conveniently accessible to all Paytm Super App users.
Additionally, the company aims to empower various state government departments to accept digital payments from citizens and businesses, thereby enhancing service delivery for the people.
The company proposed to also enable the digitisation of toll plazas across the state to accept payments digitally.

In the area of public health, Paytm proposed to collaborate with the State Health Authority in facilitating seamless OPD appointment booking at government and private hospitals under the forthcoming Unified Health Interface (UHI) programme.
Paytm also plans to conduct cybersecurity training for state police personnel and launch a joint campaign to raise awareness of cybersecurity best practices among citizens, particularly those residing in non-urban areas.
[ad_2]
#Paytm #signs #MoU #Andhra #govt #empower #millions #merchants #street #vendors
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 6, 2023
Demolition again in Andhra village, Jana Sena calls it political vendetta

[ad_1]
Amaravati: Tension once again gripped Ippatam village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday after municipal authorities resumed demolition, evoking strong protest from the local residents.
The authorities razed the boundary walls of 12 houses with bulldozers while police personnel were deployed in large numbers to prevent any untoward incident.
The police had also deployed personnel at the entry points into the village and were allowing people only after checking their identification.
The action by the municipal authorities angered the villagers, who alleged that they were being targeted. Ignoring the protest, the officials carried on with their work.
Tension mounted after the officials moved to demolish the house of Jana Sena Party’s village president Narasimha Rao.
After a huge protest by the villagers, the officials left after demolishing the boundary wall.
The villagers questioned the officials about what they intended to achieve by expanding the existing road when the village had no public transport facility.
Meanwhile, Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader N. Manohar termed the demolition as vendetta politics of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government.

He alleged that the ruling party is targeting the villagers just because they had given their land for a JSP meeting.
This is the second time that the municipal authorities have taken up demolition in the village.
In November last year, a few houses were demolished. Actor and JPS leader Pawan Kalyan had visited the village to show solidarity with the villagers.
He had alleged that houses of Jana Sena supporters were demolished.
He had alleged that the YSRCP government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy is targeting the villagers for giving their lands for holding Jana Sena formation day public meeting on March 14, 2022.
He said when the ruling party leaders were threatening people in Amaravati not to cooperate with Jana Sena for its public meeting, villagers of Ippatam came forward to give their lands.
[ad_2]
#Demolition #Andhra #village #Jana #Sena #calls #political #vendetta
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 4, 2023