Tag: fund

Modernising madrassas: Rajya Sabha turns down resolution seeking special fund

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New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Friday rejected a resolution which sought creation of a special fund for modernisation of madrassas in view of educational and social backwardness of Muslims, especially women.
The resolution was introduced by Indian Union Muslim League member Abdul Wahab in the Upper House of Parliament on February 10.
Speaking on the resolution, Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani said, “For me this resolution which casts aspersions of inequality…in fact reduces it to a slur on the basis of religion…I hope that this House unanimously rejects (it).”
“A new India cannot be broken down on the basis of religion. That is why…I would request…the entire House to unanimously reject this resolution so that we, who are building the new India under the leadership of the prime minister with the support of citizens, can build it on issues of inclusion, equity and equality,” she said.
The resolution was rejected by a voice vote amid a walkout staged by the Congress and other opposition parties.
Irani said the resolution states that Muslim women are not given the equal opportunity to get educated.
On the gender inclusion infrastructure fund proposed in the resolution, Irani said the new education policy takes care of the need for education of women as well as children. After three decades, India now has a new education policy, she said.
She said the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship caters to the need for skilling for a new India.

“The resolution seeks to cast aspersions on citizen and the Constitution alike. Through this resolution aspersions have been cast on one of the holiest of books…that our nation at large seeks to divide people on the basis of religion and deny access to a better life in the present and in the future to those who belong to minority communities,” she said.
BJP MP Ajay Pratap Singh opposed the resolution saying that the very constitution of the Sachar Committee was challenged in the Supreme Court.
He said it is not justified to implement the recommendations of a committee on which there is a big question mark.
The resolution sought to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee and other reports that have discussed the educational and social backwardness of Muslims.
It sought to reinstate and enhance all those scholarship and educational upliftment programme that aimed to improve the higher education participation of Muslims.
It sought to help madrassas to modernise with a special infrastructure fund.
It also sought to develop and implement special affirmative actions for Muslim women to improve their presence in central universities, institutes of national importance and their work participation.
It also sought formation of a commission to study the representation of Muslims in university spaces and in private and public jobs, and enactment of a legislation for prevention of atrocities against minorities of the country so as to build confidence amongst Muslims who are vulnerable.
Six private members’ resolutions were listed on the agenda of the House on Friday. However, five resolutions lapsed as the members who proposed them were not present to move them.
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#Modernising #madrassas #Rajya #Sabha #turns #resolution #seeking #special #fund
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
AP CID raids Margadarsi Chit Fund branches over financial irregularities

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Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Police CID has registered multiple FIRs against Margadarsi Chit Fund Pvt Ltd for a string of alleged irregularities, including diversion of depositors money into mutual funds and speculative markets for personal gain, an official said on Saturday.
Naming the chit fund’s chairman and media baron Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, company director Sailaja Cherukuri and the firm’s branch managers from various locations as accused, the CID termed the irregularities grave in nature.
Multiple CID teams swooped on Margadarsi branches in Visakhapatnam, Rajamundry, Eluru, Vijayawada, Guntur, Narasaraopeta and Anantapur, where searches are continuing.
“In view of the findings which are grave in nature, including the diverting of the subscribers money to mutual funds/speculative markets for their personal gains… the CID had immediately registered the cases and in pursuance of the FIRs, they commenced the investigation of the case,” an official said.
Non-payment of monthly subscriptions, illegal diversion of funds to the corporate office, non-disclosure of revenue and expenditure account and several other irregularities were named by the CID.
FIRs were registered on Friday under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Section 5 of Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act and Sections 76 and 79 of the Chit Funds Act.
As the regulating power of chit fund businesses, the Stamps and Registration Department started its search of Margadarsi branches in October and November, 2022 along with other such firms.
The CID had also raided the chit fund company’s corporate office in Hyderabad for three days last December, where it unearthed collections from branch offices being funnelled into the corporate office for onward investment into mutual funds which are contingent to risks in the capital markets.

Rao is an influential media baron with interests in multiple businesses, including owning the famous Ramoji Film City in the outskirts of Hyderabad metropolis.
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#CID #raids #Margadarsi #Chit #Fund #branches #financial #irregularities
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 12, 2023
Women’s Day: Rs 750 cr interest-free loans fund released for Telangana SHGs

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Hyderabad: On the occasion of Women’s Day, Rs 750 crore were released towards providing interest-free loans to women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in Telangana by the state government.
Urban development minister KT Rama Rao revealed that there are more than 1 lakh 77 thousand Self Help Societies in all the municipalities in the state, in which about 18 lakh people are still members and all of them will be useful for the interest-free loan funds released by the government on Monday.
“Of the Rs 750 crore released, Rs 250 crore would be extended to SHGs operating in municipal bodies (in 23 districts) and Rs 500 crore would be disbursed to SHGs operating in rural areas,” he added.
“Members of the women SHGs were maintaining financial discipline and were promptly repaying the loans to the banks,” KTR acknowledged.
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#Womens #Day #interestfree #loans #fund #released #Telangana #SHGs
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 7, 2023
JK Likely To Get US $100 Million Fund For Agriculture

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SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has cleared decks for USD 100 million support by International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) through implementation of Competitiveness Improvement of Agriculture and Allied Sectors Project (JKCIP).
Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, gave a green signal to propose the JKCIP to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) for financing through International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
JKCIP comprises of four components which inter alia includes value chain support with export focus, incubation and start-up support, support to vulnerable communities and project management. The project implementation would spread over 7 years (2023-2030) across all districts of J&K.
With an aim to contribute to the sustained increase in incomes of rural households by improving pre-production, production and post production verticals of agriculture the projects main objective is to improve the competitiveness of the farmers through a value chain approach with emphasis on export of high value agricultural commodities and development of business incubation centers and start-up support.
Atal Dullo, Additional Chief Secretary(ACS), Agriculture Production Department said the project is expected to have an overall positive impact on the growth of agriculture and allied sectors in JK, including export promotion of potential agricultural commodities and GGAP practices that would encourage export promotion like GI tagging, promotion of niche crops, certifications, quality control, laboratory/logistic support, branding facilities, marketing platforms and development of an organized value chain.
He further said that IFAD shall promote environmentally sustainable and climate resilient agricultural practices for the tribal and other vulnerable communities which inhabit some of the most vulnerable landscapes such as hillsides, rangelands, semi-arid and arid lands and rely on climate-sensitive natural resources to make a living .
With the implementation of JKCIP government is aiming to capture the opportunities in global trade by tapping the competitive advantage of Jammu and Kashmir’s agro-climatic diversity, monopoly in production of default organic crops (Walnut, almond, cherries), year-round vegetable production, niche crop advantage & pristine climate which catalyzes the opportunity to export high value agricultural commodities, a part of the government’s larger efforts to look beyond the objectives of Holistic Agricultural Development Plan (HADP).
Another major goal of the IFAD project is to establish incubation centers to undertake skilling of more than 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs targeted under HADP projects, besides giving adequate focus on extension of support for training of trainers, demonstration set ups, entrepreneurship development and facilitating partnership with research institutions like ICAR, NFDB, NDDB.

The project aims to create six mini-Centers of Excellences with 24 satellite centers for niche agri products and four mini-Centers of excellences for fruit and nut crops besides establishment of three export Hubs and two Business incubation centres.
Additionally, it aims to establish 60,000 integrated farming models for fringe and nomadic communities and establishment of 200 horticultural nurseries. The project would also undertake GI tagging, aggregation, processing and marketing of at least six agriculture and minor forest produce.

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#Million #Fund #Agriculture
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 1, 2023
‘Congress will set up National Election Fund’

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Raipur: The Congress’ draft political resolution has mentioned that it will replace the current system of Electoral Bonds which the party termed as fatally flawed and fully corrupt.
“The Congress will set up a National Election Fund to which all may contribute. During elections, funds will be allocated to political parties using transparent and fair criteria laid down by law,” the draft said.
It said that more than 14 recognised political parties, several eminent activists, and computer scientists have raised concerns about the efficacy of EVMs to the Election Commission, but have not received any response so far.
“When voters lose faith in the integrity of the electoral process, especially EVMs, our democracy hollows from within.”
The draft noted that the Congress would build the widest possible consensus with all like-minded political parties to take up the issue with the Election Commission.
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#Congress #set #National #Election #Fund

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 26, 2023
FreshToHome raises $104 mn led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund

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Delhi: Fresh fish and meat e-commerce platform FreshToHome on Tuesday said it has raised $104 million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round.
Existing investors Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital and others also participated in this round.
The funds will strengthen FreshTo’ome’s mission to make 100 per cent preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions of meat lovers”
“We are �ow a ‘Pro’icorn’ with operational profitability across the company. As we strive to offer more value to our farmers and fishers, customers, employees and investors, our focus is on profitability and sustainable value cre”tion,” said Shan Kadavil, CEO and Co-founder, FreshToHome.
New investors joining this round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka.
Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in more than 160 cities in India and the UAE and offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products.
“Our vision with the $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund is to empower the next generation of innovative, technology enabled companies led by visiona”y founders,” said its spo”esperson.
“We are excited to partner with FreshToHome for the next phase “f its growth,” the spokesperson added.

Two years ago, FreshToHome raised $121 million in its Series C rou’d, led by Dubai’s Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital a’d US Government’s development finance institution — DFC.
FreshToHome said that on a company-wide basis, it is now operationally profitable.
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#FreshToHome #raises #led #Amazon #Smbhav #Venture #Fund
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 22, 2023
Fund allocation for MGNREGA has not gone down: Sitharaman

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Bhubaneswar: The fund allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGA) has not gone down, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Friday, adding it is a demand driven scheme and as and when the demand increases, the Centre provides money.
Addressing a post-budget press conference here, Sitharaman said: “Budget time allocation is one thing… and the scheme itself is a demand-driven scheme, as and when demand increases, we provide funds for it. This has been done in the past years since 2014.”
“If you look into the past years, we have added some money in the supplementary budget for MGNREGA. Even during Covid pandemic, the allocation for the scheme had crossed Rs 1 lakh crore,” she said.
Notably, against Rs 73,000 crore allocation in the budget estimate (BE) of 2022-2023, the current allocation was reduced to Rs 60,000 crore.
Commenting on funding for procurement of wheat and rice, she said that the government has not brought it down at all.
Sitharaman said the total amount given to the farmers is very high as the minimum selling price has gone up.
“The total amount spent on procurement is at an all-time high now. You can be sure there is no coming down in these figures,” she said. The Minister also said there is no shortfall of funds for Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
Clarifying the allocation of Rs 35,000 crore made in the budget for energy security and transition, the Finance Minister said the money allotted to energy security and transition is not a subsidy.

It is for the transition from fossil fuels to green energy.
The fund is made to enable public sector oil company refineries to be upgraded to reduce their emissions and to make sure that our strategic reserves are all filled up adequately, she said.
When asked about the exposure of public sector banks to Adani Group companies, Sitharaman said: “SBI has already given a statement on its exposure. You have heard it from the horse’s mouth.”
She also said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) does not report each and every matter to the Centre.
“The matter is being heard in court today, so maybe it’s not right for me to comment,” she said.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan said a token amount of money has been provisioned in this budget for the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana because the scheme has reached its saturation. Target set by the ministry has been achieved, he added.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, said that Central PSU Nalco has not been listed for disinvestment.
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#Fund #allocation #MGNREGA #Sitharaman
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 17, 2023
‘PM CARES’ fund case: Delhi High Court posts hearing to April 20

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday adjourned hearing in a plea seeking a declaration of PM CARES Fund as “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, to April 20.
Due to the unavailability of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the matter was adjourned.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on December 31 told the High Court that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund is not a public authority according to the Right to Information Act, 2005 and not a “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, but a “public charitable trust”.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was dealing with a plea moved by Samyak Gangwal, seeking a declaration of PM CARES Fund as “State” under the Constitution. It would attract consequential directions for disclosing the Fund’s audit reports periodically, disclosing the Fund’s quarterly details of donations received, utilisation thereof and resolutions on expenditure of donations, it added.
The affidavit stated that the plea is based on “apprehensions and suppositions” and that a constitutional question should not be decided in a vacuum.
Filed by the Under Secretary of PMO to the court, the affidavit said: “This Trust is neither intended to be, nor is in fact owned, controlled or substantially financed by any government nor any instrumentality of the government. There is no control of either the Central government or any state governments, either direct or indirect, in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever.
“According to the affidavit submitted, the PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust accepting only voluntary donations and is certainly not the Centre’s business.
“PM CARES Fund does not receive funds or finances by the government,” it was mentioned.

However, counsel for petitioner Senior Advocate Shyam Divan had said: “High functionaries of the government like the Vice President had requested the Rajya Sabha members to make donations” and that “the PM CARES Fund has been projected as a government fund”.
In response, the PMO had argued: “The PM CARES Fund is administered on the pattern of Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) as both are chaired by the Prime Minister. Like the National Emblem and domain name ‘gov.in’ are being used for the PMNRF, the same are also being used for PM CARES Fund.
“The affidavit stated: “The composition of the Board of Trustees consisting of holders of public office ex officio – the Supreme Court, Union Home Minister, the Union Finance Minister, the former chairman of Tata Sons Ratan Tata, former Judge K.T. Thomas, and Former Deputy Speaker Kariya Mund” – is merely for administrative convenience and for smooth succession to the trusteeship and is neither intended to be nor in fact result into any governmental control in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever.
“Besides the declaration of PM CARES Fund as ‘State’ under the Constitution, Gangwal has also sought that PM CARES Fund should be restrained from using ‘PM’ in its names/ website, State Emblem, domain name ‘gov’ in its website and PM’s Office as its official address.
“On March 27, 2020, the trust deed of PM CARES Fund was registered as a Public Charitable Trust under the Registration Act, 1908 in New Delhi.
“Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and providing relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of PM CARES Fund was set up, the affidavit stated.
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#CARES #fund #case #Delhi #High #Court #posts #hearing #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 9, 2023
Siasat Millat Fund to organise 125th Du Ba Du program on Sunday

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Hyderabad: The 125th Du Ba Du Mulaqat Program organized by Siasat and Millat Fund will be held on Sunday, February 12, from 10 am to 4 pm at NS Palace Function Hall, Near Masjid Lal Bagh, Zinda Tilismat Road, Amberpet, Hyderabad.
Maulana Mufti Saadat Hussain, Muhammad Arif Hussain, Muhammad Abid Hussain, Muhammad Akbar Hussain, Owners of NS Palace will be the chief guests. Syed Tajuddin, President of Lalaguda Old Boys Association (LOBA), Muhammad Jahangir Secretary LOBA (Convener), Muhammad Usman, Organizing Secretary LOBA and others will also attend.
Parents and guardians are advised to keep additional copies of biodata and photographs of their loved ones for ready reference. Parents who are attending this program for the first time have to pay a registration fee of Rs. 500. A registration card will be issued for follow up visits at the office of the Siasat Daily on all working days between 11 am to 4 pm.
At this program there will be counters for graduates, postgraduate, MBBS, MD, BDS, pharmacy, diploma holders, late marriage, a separate counter for differently-abled will also be there. Online registration facility has been set up for parents who want to search alliance while sitting at home, a separate counter has been set up in the function hall.
More details can be obtained from the program coordinator Khalid Mohiuddin Asad on 9848004353-9391160364.
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#Siasat #Millat #Fund #organise #125th #program #Sunday
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 8, 2023
Rs 15,626 cr sanctioned under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund: Govt

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New Delhi: Loans amounting to Rs 15,626 crore have been sanctioned under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to create 21,380 infrastructure units at an aggregate investment of more than Rs 32,000 crore all over the country till January this year.
The Central Government is providing grants-in-aid to states to promote Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and to improve agriculture.
Ministry of Agriculture in a reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday said, “In order to increase agriculture productivity and export, various measures were taken by the government, including Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) which encourages farmers, agri-entrepreneur, start-ups, Farmer Producers Organization, SHGs etc to adopt innovation and farm mechanisation in Indian agriculture.”
Apart from bridging the infrastructure gap in Indian agriculture in a bid to curtail post harvest losses, boosting productivity through facilitating loans from lending institutions for activities like, organic inputs production, bio stimulant production units, nursery, tissue culture, seed processing etc, said the reply.
Other activities in the category of infrastructure for smart and precision agriculture aim at making this sector attractive for the new generation are: Farm/harvest automation, setting up of custom hiring centres, purchase of drones, putting up specialized sensors on field, block chain and AI in agriculture etc. Introduction of remote sensing and Internet of Things (IOT) such as automatic weather station, farm advisory services through GIS applications constitute other such initiatives. AIF also aims at improvising supply chain services that include creation of e-marketing platforms, said the reply.
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#sanctioned #Agriculture #Infrastructure #Fund #Govt
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023