New Delhi: The Centre has decided that states/UTs will ensure capturing of attendance for all the works (except individual beneficiary scheme/project) through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
This digitally capturing of attendance for all worksites is in place from January 1, 2023.
As per information given by Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, in a written reply in the Lok Sabh on Tuesday, the ministry has been providing training to the states/UTs to ensure smooth transitioning to NMMS app as and when requested by the states/UTs.
The technical issues being faced are taken up with the NIC, Rural Development, on a real-time basis. The new provisions/suggestions requested by the states/UTs are being incorporated. All the issues concerning the NMMS application are reviewed and resolved from time to time.
The NMMS application has been modified to capture a second photograph just after four hours from the uploading of attendance and first photograph. It has eased out the specific time point requirement for capturing the attendance and photographs. The morning attendance along with the first photograph can be captured in offline mode and be uploaded once the device comes in network.
In case of exceptional circumstances due to which attendance cannot not be uploaded, the District Programme Coordinator (DPC) has been authorised to upload the manual attendance.
The reply said that all states/UTs are using the NMMS app for capturing the attendance for eligible worksites. So far, no specific issue related to non-use of NMMS App due to non-availability of smartphone has come to the notice of the ministry.
As per Section 19 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, “the state government shall, by rules, determine appropriate grievance redressal mechanisms at the block level and the district level for dealing with any complaint by any person in respect of implementation of the scheme and lay down the procedure for disposal of such complaints”.
Bloomberg earlier reported the outcome of Davila’s rulings.
The case was the first to challenge a consumer tech deal from the FTC under Chair Lina Khan — the influential antitrust thinker whom Biden nominated to one of the most powerful corporate watchdog jobs in the federal government. The hearing was closely watched in tech and legal circles as a key test of the FTC’s authority under Khan to pursue alleged anticompetitive conduct using aggressive, largely untested legal theories.
The sealed rulings late Tuesday night from Davila came more than a month after a seven-day hearing, which culminated in Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand in a San Jose, California, federal courtroom to defend the deal.
An administrative trial is currently set to start Feb. 13 and the FTC will also need to decide whether to move forward with that case as well.
Meta originally announced the $440 million deal in late 2021 to purchase Within. The announcement came a day after the company changed its name from Facebook as part of its pivot toward the metaverse. The FTC sued to block the deal in July, arguing that Meta is trying to dominate the nascent virtual reality market through acquisitions rather than boosting competition by attempting to build its own product.
Meta is by far the dominant player in the consumer virtual reality market, with a roughly 85 percent market share for the first three quarters of 2022 according to data from research firm International Data Corporation. ByteDance’s Pico headset was a distant second with about 7.5 percent, and at the hearing the FTC used Meta’s current dominance as evidence of its ability to lock up the market. Meta countered that the industry is still in its early stages, pointing to companies including Apple and Google that are still developing competing products, and the coming rollout of Sony’s new headset this year.
Tuesday’s ruling isn’t the final word on the deal, however. The FTC went to court only to pause the deal while its challenge to the case in its own in-house administrative court plays out. Only a federal judge has the authority to block or pause a merger, but the FTC could choose to continue its case.
If it does, it will be fighting an uphill battle. Any ongoing efforts by the FTC will likely center on unwinding it at a later date, a much more difficult proposition than blocking it in advance. And while Davila’s ruling isn’t binding on the FTC’s in-house judge, Michael Chappell, it will likely weigh heavily in any decision he would make.
The agency typically abandons a merger challenge if it loses the initial preliminary injunction in federal court. If the FTC does continue its case and wins, Meta can then appeal to the FTC commissioners, followed by a federal appeals court of its choice.
Meta also has a pending petition seeking to recuse Khan from the administrative case. In Khan’s role as chair she will act as both prosecutor and judge, and Meta argues that her past statements and work on a Congressional antitrust investigation of the company should disqualify her from participating.
Meta had said throughout the hearing that if the FTC won this first round, the companies would abandon the deal.
FTC lawyers at the December hearing sparred in court with a number of Meta witnesses — including Zuckerberg and one of his top deputies, Andrew Bosworth — over whether the company planned to build or acquire most of the apps that would go on its virtual reality platform, and how essential fitness services are to its ability to gain traction in the metaverse. The FTC’s case hinged largely on whether Meta would have competed in the market if not for the acquisition.
According to previous trial testimony, Meta had a project, code-named “Operation Twinkie,” to partner with fitness equipment maker Peloton and build out its own virtual reality product.
The FTC put much weight on a March 2021 email from Zuckerberg to Bosworth and others, in which the Meta CEO said a partnership with Peloton for a virtual reality game “sounds awesome! I’d love to make that happen. Let me know how I can help.” Meta maintains it never seriously considered entering the market on its own, and the Peloton partnership fizzled out before it broached the idea with the connected bike maker.
The FTC, in a separate case, is attempting to unwind Meta’s 2012 and 2014 purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp — and the agency said it is challenging the company’s strategy of buying existing companies, rather than competing against them. That case was filed during the Trump administration.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
It’ll be Harris’ second go in front of the conference, taking place Feb. 17-19.
Just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion, Harris will get a chance to update transatlantic-minded officials and experts on the progress the U.S.-led Western resistance has made and potentially preview further steps. Ukraine, for instance, has made no secret about its desire to field fighter jets, including F-16s, from the United States.
Last year, the vice president gave a well-received speech just five days before Vladimir Putin sent his forces across the border into Ukraine. Harris, echoing her boss’ sentiments, vowed that the United States would stand up for Kyiv and the broader transatlantic alliance under such dire circumstances.
“If Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States, together with our Allies and partners, will impose significant and unprecedented economic costs,” she said.
A White House official said there’s no travel to announce for the vice president.
The news of Harris’ involvement in the event comes as rumors grow that Biden might make a visit to Europe in commemoration of the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House has yet to confirm any discussions of such a trip, let alone say that a flight over the Atlantic is officially on the schedule.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan” continued to rake in big numbers at the global box office as the film’s worldwide collection on day two reached Rs 219.6 crore, the makers announced on Thursday.
According to production house Yash Raj Films (YRF), the SRK-Deepika Padukone starrer raised Rs 113.6 crore in worldwide gross on day two of its release. The film’s opening day figure was Rs 106 crore.
In the domestic market, the film’s net day two collection stood at Rs 70.5 crore (Rs 82.94 crore gross). The film’s Hindi version amassed Rs 68 crore in net earnings, with its dubbed formats bringing in additional Rs 2.5 crore. “Pathaan” was also released in Tamil and Telugu on Wednesday.
With its day two haul, the movie created another record — first Hindi film to breach the Rs 70 crore net collection on a single day.
Internationally, the film earned Rs 30.70 crore gross.
The Siddharth Anand directorial, which faced boycott calls over the song “Besharam Rang”, marks Shah Rukh’s return to movies after a gap of over four years. His previous film was 2018’s “Zero”.
“As an industry, we are rejoicing today. This is the most important sentiment emerging out of Pathaan’s success. All of us at Yash Raj Films are grateful for the incredibly humbling support from media, audiences and the industry towards ‘Pathaan’.
“It is this unanimous love for the film that has resulted in Pathaan shattering all existing records and creating new ones. We are happy that the film has entertained everyone in such an immersive manner,” Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films, said in a statement.
With its record haul in the first two days of its release, “Pathaan” has exceeded the expectations of the industry experts who were banking on the action spectacle to bring some cheer in the industry after a series of box office duds.
“Pathaan” is the fourth film in producer Aditya Chopra’s ambitious spy universe, following Salman Khan’s “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) and “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017), and “War”, featuring Hrithik Roshan (2019).
The movie follows the titular spy Pathaan (Shah Rukh) who comes out of exile to stop terrorist group Outfit X, led by Jim (John Abraham), from launching a debilitating attack on India.
“Pathaan”, which according to YRF has broken some 21 box office records, also has a guest appearance by Salman as fellow spy Tiger.
New Delhi: Vistara, a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, has reported a net profit (excluding unrealized foreign currency loss and non-operating income) for the quarter that ended December 2022.
The airline crossed the $1 billion revenue mark and remained EBITDA positive in the current fiscal year and reported break-even for the first time in the quarter.
Vistara on Monday said that it delivered remarkable results for the first time since its inception in 2013.
The airline achieved its highest-ever domestic market share of 10.4 percent in July 2022 and maintained its position as the second-largest domestic airline in India since then, flying more than 11 million passengers in the calendar year 2022.
Vistara also registered an 11 percent year-on-year growth in the member base for its frequent flyer program, Club Vistara.
Vistara grew its international network by over 180 percent in 2022, by adding seven additional routes including three new destinations (Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat).
It also grew its domestic network by over 50 percent, by adding six new routes including two new destinations (Coimbatore and Jaipur).
For the quarter that ended December 2022, the airline grew its capacity by 37 percent and passengers by 47 percent compared to the same period last year.
The airline recorded the second-highest on-time performance at four key metros and over 85 percent domestic load factor for most of the year in 2022.
This year, Vistara became the only Indian airline to be featured in Skytrax’s list of the World’s Top 20 airlines.
The airline currently has over 5,000 employees and operates close to 8,500 flights per month.
Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, of Vistara, said: “With significant network and fleet expansion and sustained growth over the last few months, 2022 has been a phenomenal year for Vistara in terms of our operational and financial performance. Each member of the Vistara family is incredibly proud of our collective achievements in an extremely challenging business environment that included the third wave of the pandemic and escalating costs. We are now aiming for higher goals as we enter the next phase of our growth journey.”
Vistara has augmented its operations from its hubs in Delhi and Mumbai and currently operates more than 75 and 50 daily domestic departures from the two cities, respectively.
With the delivery of 10 aircraft and the re-delivery of eight aircraft, the airline expanded its fleet size to 53 in 2022, said the airline.
New Delhi: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will hoist the national flag at party headquarters in Srinagar at the culmination of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on January 30, with all Pradesh Congress Committee offices following suit in solidarity with the Yatra.
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after having covered 3,970 km, 12 states and two Union territories.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra has received an overwhelming response from millions of people and has spread Rahul Gandhi’s message of love and unity among citizens of the country. The tremendous support from all sections of the society and heartfelt involvement of the people has made this a historic Yatra and a game changer in Indian politics,” he said in a statement.
Venugopal said to mark the culmination of Yatra, Gandhi will hoist the tricolour at PCC headquarters of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar at 10 am on January 30.
“As desired by the Congress president, all Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs), District Congress Committees and Block Congress Committees will also hold flag hoisting functions at the same time on January 30 at their respective party offices or important sites in solidarity with the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.
The Congress has also invited 23 political parties to participate in the Yatra on the concluding day as a mark of opposition solidarity.
I’m going to disappoint you with my terribly proletarian tastes. If I was to be hanged in the morning, which is quite possible, I would have beans on toast. Because I love that and I have that on a Sunday very regularly because it just makes me happy. I’ve tried to be much more adventurous over the years, but I’m basically working-class, proletarian filth and it’s very hard to eradicate some of those things.
I was a vegetarian for 15 years and I stopped about 2000, a year after The League of Gentlemen was first on TV. Even though things had got so much better for vegetarians, I remember sitting somewhere in Soho and looking at this menu and there were three things I could eat. And I just thought: “Fuck it!” So I had some chicken and it was incredibly bland and I thought: “I’ve blown it, I’ve wasted 15 years of proper abstinence for this bland chicken!” Then the next day I had a bacon sandwich and everything was all right.
I’m a hopeless cook. Terrible. I can make quite a good chilli and I do like doing a lamb tagine with apricots. But I’ve also got a kind of anti-Midas touch: I can take the most exotic ingredients in the world and make them bland.
I’m really genuinely terrified that we are losing for ever the caff. And I mean that very specifically: the caff not the cafe. This is a campaign I would like to get started. I was in town a couple of weeks ago for a meeting, I was a bit early, and I absolutely couldn’t find anywhere that wasn’t Pret. I don’t even mean an amazing greasy spoon. I mean literally somewhere that did egg and chips and a cup of tea. They are genuinely vanishing and it’s such a shame because there’s nothing like them.
An army marches on its stomach, and that’s very much true with a film crew. I’ve often seen it, you can get a mutinous film crew because they don’t like the catering. They just start disappearing at lunchtime, and go to the pub and get something there. And if you’ve lost them, there’s something very wrong. Once I was directing something in the middle of a heatwave and I sent someone out to get as many ice lollies as we could find in this scarce environment. Oh my God, what a difference it made to everyone’s mood!
I vividly remember asking for a steak tartare and asking for it to be well done. Because I had no idea; it was just some words I’d heard in a James Bond film or something.
Again, going back to my roots, I’m a very fast eater. And it’s a problem. I have to consciously slow down. I think it’s because we all ate very quickly when I was a kid, because well, my dad would nick it if we didn’t. But it casts an interesting shadow, even when you’re trying to enjoy a meal. I’m in the middle of a conversation, and I look down and I’m nearly finished and everybody else is just talking: “Oh no, I’ve done it again!”
One of the funniest experiences of my life was when my partner and I went to Paris many years ago. We decided to stay at the George V and really push the boat out and, insanely, to eat in the hotel restaurant. The service was suffocatingly good, when there’s like 13 people to show you to your table. And in a very English way, you just start clenching up because it’s not fun. Anyway there was so little food that when we eventually fled – and I think we did flee – we went round the corner straight away and had an omelette because we were hungry! And it was £500 each for this tiny meal. Oof, it was a lesson, a lesson.
My favourite things
Food Italian food, overall, is my favourite. I’m very fond of all kinds of pasta dishes and there’s something about the simplicity of the Mediterranean diet that really ticks all my boxes. Maybe it just goes back to my prole roots.
Drink Sauvignon blanc, chilled. On the right day, I don’t think there’s anything quite like it.
Place to eat Katsuya in Los Angeles. They do a spicy tuna, it’s the most delicious thing. You know that feeling when you have chocolate, and you don’t really want to swallow it, you just want to let it stay in your mouth? It’s like that.
Dish to make I make quite a good chilli, and I enjoy the process of it. Following a recipe is not beyond anyone, but I just never seem to do it. It’s the risk, isn’t it? If the evening meal is depending on you, it’s not the time to take risks.
Mark Gatiss stars as Larry Grayson in Nolly on ITVX in February. He is directing The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre, London, and from next month The Way Old Friends Do at the Birmingham Rep. He will star as John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre from April
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
