FM hints at low tax rates Dr Jitendra to handover...
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DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 (PAGE 9) FM hints at low tax rates NEW DELHI, Dec 13: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today hinted at lower direct and indirect tax rates in the future as demonetisation results in higher tax revenues from unaccounted wealth com- ing into system. He also warned of a "very heavy price" that unscrupulous elements will have to pay for amassing large amounts of cash unlawfully, saying agencies are keeping a close eye on cash accumulations. The November 8 announce- ment by Government to demon- etise high value notes has in one stroke junked 86 per cent of the currency in circulation and holders of the discontinued notes can deposit them in banks before the end of the year and withdraw money in new curren- cy. The money being deposited has to be accounted for and taxes paid - 50 per cent on vol- untary disclosures of unac- counted money and 85 per cent for any failures. "So much money. Operating as loose cash in the system has today come into the banking system," he said. "It has to be accounted for. Where taxes have not been paid will now be recovered." Jaitley said future transac- tions would be substantially digital as India moves towards a less-cash society. "Once they are substantially digital they get caught in tax net," he said. "Therefore the future taxation level would be much higher than what is cur- rently being collected. This would also enable the Government at some stage to make taxes more reasonable which will apply to both direct and indirect taxes." Demonetisation together with other reforms, particularly the GST and the restrictions on cash spending subjected to PAN declaration, will bring down the levels of corruption in society, he said. "It is going to bring down cash transaction in society and it's going to bring down levels of evasion as far as taxation is concerned," he said. Jaitley said it has come to the notice of the Government that some unscrupulous people, including some in the banking system and others, have been trying to subvert the system once again and have accumulat- ed large amounts of cash unlaw- fully. "Obviously there is a breach of law in this and this is a step which hurts the economy. And therefore all agencies have an eye on this. They will investi- gate this matter and all those who are indulging in this mal- practice will have to pay a very heavy price for what they are doing," he added. (PTI) Standoff casts shadow over session NEW DELHI, Dec 13: An end to the ongoing impasse in Parliament remains elusive, casting its shadow over the remaining three days of the Winter session which will resume tomorrow after a four-day break amid divergent views of the Government and the Opposition on debate on demonetisation. While the government today again asked the Opposition to start debate on demonetisation, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said his party wanted the discussion last Friday itself but it was disallowed by the ruling side. He said leaders of Opposition parties will meet tomorrow morn- ing to decide their Parliament strategy. Congress sources said the Government has made no attempt to reach out to the Opposition to break the logjam. On the Government side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold meeting with key ministers before Parliament con- venes tomorrow morning to decide on their strategy. Both the Government and the Opposition, especially Congress and TMC, have stuck to their stand that the debate be held under a Rule that entails voting which the treasury benches have ruled out. On last Friday, Congress changed its stand and expressed readiness for debate under "no rule". However, the ruling side created ruckus and the debate could not take place. Pitching for a debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today urged the Congress and other opposi- tion parties to "rise above slo- gans..." as he urged them for a debate in Parliament. The Winter Session, which began on November 16, is sched- uled to conclude on Friday, with indications that it could be a vir- tual washou. Parliament has seen little transaction of any substantial business because of the Opposition ruckus over demon- etisation and some other issues. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha continued to be deadlocked over the way a debate should take place on demonetisa- tion announced by the Prime Minister on November 8. Ever since the session began, the Lok Sabha has managed to conduct only two legislative actions -- passage of Income Tax amendment bill and approval of Supplementary Demand for Grants -- that too amid din and without much debate. The Rajya Sabha has func- tioned normally only on the first day of the session when the debate on demonetisation was initiated and held for about 5 hours. (PTI) Valley Pandits ask Govt to come clear on rehab policy Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Non- migrant Kashmiri Pandits today asked State Government to come clear on their rehabilita- tion policy and demanded that they should be treated at par with displaced Pandits. Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK), which is apex body of non-migrant Pandits based in Valley, alleged that Government is showing no interest towards their rehabilita- tion even as a Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) was constitut- ed last year to look into their rehabilitation. The HWSK president, Chunni Lal, said that the inter- nally displaced Pandits have been running from pillar to post for several years but the succes- sive regimes have failed them. He said after setting up of the CSC headed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh last year, they were hoping that Government would take note of their problems and demands. "Nearly 700 Pandit families are living in Kashmir valley, who preferred to stay here dur- ing the peak years of turmoil in 1990. However, they left their ancestral homes and moved towards city and other town- ships in Kashmir. They are liv- ing in rented accommodations and paying huge amount of rent every month," said HWSK pres- ident, adding that the Government should at least pro- vide accommodation and jobs to these families. Chunni Lal informed that the verification for their rehabilita- tion was completed during the tenure of late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed but since then there has been no fur- ther development. The HWSK, which repre- sents 51 families, said they are not against the rehabilitation of migrant Pandits but the State and Central Governments should also take their care as well. "Out of 3000 jobs announced under Prime Minister's employment package, 300 were reserved for non- migrant Hindus but none of our youths have been appointed so far," he said. Appealing Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her deputy, Dr Nirmal Singh to rehabilitate the non-migrant Hindus on humanitarian grounds, the HWSK president said that they are facing multiple problems and are running from pillar to post since last two decades. Vodafone Executives displaying M-Pesa PAY solution for merchants and customers. Vodafone launches M-Pesa PAY Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 13: Vodafone India today announced the launch of Vodafone M-Pesa PAY, an easy and ready to use digital payment solution to enable merchants and retailers to receive payments from their customers without any exchange of cash. To start using this exceedingly friendly digital payment solution, retailers and merchants simply have to download Vodafone M- Pesa app and register for Vodafone M-Pesa PAYas a mer- chant. Once registered, they can notify individual customer to make the payment due. Customers just need to click on the notification and make pay- ment digitally using their M-Pesa wallet, bank account and debit or credit card in a completely seam- less, worry free and secure man- ner. Launching Vodafone M-Pesa PAY, Sunil Sood, MD & CEO at Vodafone India said, "The PM has set forth the vision of a Digital India and a less cash economy. As a responsible corporate citizen, we are fully committed to playing our role in fulfilling this vision. We started our journey towards enabling financial and digital inclusion in 2013 with the launch of Vodafone M-Pesa and have since made considerable progress by successfully establishing a franchise of over 8.4 million cus- tomers and nearly 1,30,000 out- lets across the country. With the launch of Vodafone M-Pesa PAY, we are accelerating this journey by creating a platform for mer- chants and retailers to easily embrace digital payments and also encourage their millions of customers to pay via digital cur- rency." Vodafone M-Pesa has pio- neered numerous digital payment initiatives in India while associat- ing with several Government ini- tiatives and developmental sector organizations. Users of Vodafone M-Pesa digital wallet enjoy a variety of benefits when they pay bills, shop and undertake select transactions. This includes up to 5% cash back for new customers for 3 months, attractive cash back offer of up to Rs 500 from shopclues.com on select merchandise, 0.75% cash back on payments made to pur- chase petrol and full talk time on Vodafone prepaid packs of select denominations. Further, person to person remittance (transferring money to a mobile number) and loading the wallet though any online mode - credit/debit card and internet banking is complete- ly free. NC leaders and workers during protest. NC stages massive dharna against demolition of Jammu school Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 13: National Conference staged a demonstra- tion against the decision of PDP- BJP Government over illogical and anti-student decision of demolishing a girls' dominated school in the old city, close to the Civil Secretariat, just to create parking slot. Leading the protesters, National Conference District President Jammu Urban Dharamvir Singh Jamwal described the measure as antithe- sis of "Beti Bachao, Beti-Padao" slogan of the BJP and said this exposes the party's hypocrisy. Jamwal assailed the insensi- tive and irresponsible decision of the Government and sought its immediate reversal, saying that the future of girls is involved. "At a time, the government ought to have provided incentives to girls for getting ornamented with edu- cation, it is punishing them by way of dismantling their temple of learning", he said, adding that this particular school caters to the academics of poor and weaker segments of society. He also described the expla- nation of the government that inmates of the school would be accommodated in other schools is absurd. "In fact, it needed to be developed as a model school in the heart of the city", he added. The students of the school also joined the protests and sought rollback of the decision for saving their academic career. Prominent among those who participated in the protests includ- ed Provincial Secretary Sheikh Bashir, Provincial President Women Wing, Satwant Kour Dogra, Co-Chairperson NC OBC Cell Abdul Gani Teli, Dilshad Malik, K D Singh, Rakesh Singh Rocky, Rashida Begum, Rohit Bali, Dalbir Singh, Reeta Gupta, Anju Grover, Pinki Bhat, Veena Oberoi, Manveen Kour, Sanjay Gupta, Ashok Kumar, Sucha Singh, Vikram Manhas, Sandeep Singh, Komal Manhas, Ritesh Koul, Amit Koul and others. Amita Chaturvedi, A K Kapoor and others during press con- ference at Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/Rakesh Mount Litera Zee School launches 1st school in Jammu Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 13: Mount Litera Zee School (MLZS) launched its 1st school at Tarore Bridge, Jammu- Pathankote National Highway. The launching of the school was announced by AK Kapoor, Chairman, Mount Litera Zee School, Jammu during a press conference. “MLZS is the fastest grow- ing chain of K-12 schools in India. MLZS Jammu aims to empower the children of the city with quality education along with exposure to world class facilities for an overall development. The school is affiliated to CBSE Board and is equipped with interactive classrooms with IWB (smart class), full size football field, cricket ground, basketball court, tennis court, fleet of buses among other facilities. The school has infrastructure to accommodate 600 students in the first year. With this launch MLZS aims at understanding a child’s talent, skills and capa- bilities to tap and hone them in the right direction”, Kapoor informed. The panel of advisory board setup for the first branch at Jammu includes Kuldeep Khoda, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, J&K, AQ Manhas, Retd IGP, Dr Minakshi Kilam, Director Internal Quality Assurance Cell, University of Jammu, PB Kapoor, Managing Director, MLZS Jammu, Prof Ramesh Chander, Principal, Government MAM College Jammu, Prof CL Chingloo, Retd Principal, Government College of Physical Education, Jammu, Dr RK Chrungoo, Prof Surgery, ASCOMS Jammu, Sheikh Altaf Hussain, Advocate, J&K High Court Jammu, RK Dhar, SSP (ACS) Jammu, Jia Lal Sharma, Retd Director Horticulture Jammu, Hardeep Aggarwal, Chartered Accountant, VK Sethi, Retd Joint Director School Education Jammu, Amita Chaturvedi, Regional Director, Zee Learn Limited, Poonam Kotwal, Teacher, Presentation Convent School Jammu, Rahul Kapoor, Secretary, MLZS Jammu and Ritesh Kapoor, Trustee. Kapoor said that they at MLZS, focus on holistic learn- ing of the child where technol- ogy and activities are embed- ded into the curriculum through their proprietary books, adding that this ensure that the child has fun as well as learns the subject conceptually making him a lifelong learner, who is trained to adapt and suc- ceed in life. “We are sure that we would achieve our goal of delivering good quality education to every child of the city. We look for- ward to work with the people of this city to make MLZS a beacon of excellence for the children of Jammu”, said Amita Chaturvedi, Regional School Director, Zee Learn Limited. Artists of Abhinaya Kala Manch playing Nukkad at Pouni. Nukkad staged at Pouni Excelsior Correspondent REASI, Dec 13: Abhinaya Kala Manch, Reasi, in collabora- tion with NABARD performed their Nukkad Natak “Nai Disha Nai Umang” in Main Bazaar, Pouni town in district Reasi. The play was performed in the presence of AEE, B K Raina and Advocate Sarver Mir. The street play written by Vishal Kathpal was directed by Shadab Khan. The play was based on NABARD schemes. The theme of the play remains that there is a farmer in a village who borrows money from the private money- lender for agriculture. But due to crop failure he is unable to return the borrowed amount and with the passage of time he is over bur- dened with the interest and com- pound interest applied by the moneylender over the money bor- rowed. Finding himself in a trou- bled situation farmer is pushed towards suicidal thoughts. His wife gets irritated by the farmer’s repeated suicidal threats and takes the matter lightly. Farmer feels helpless and finally attempts suicide. But the Sarpanch enters the scene at the right time and saves him. Trying to bring him out of the desperate situation, they all consult the mat- ter with a bank employee and a social worker as well namely Susheela Behen. She educates the farmer about various schemes run by the banks for the benefits of farmers and poor. She suggests him to take loan from the bank instead of private money lender and makes him aware of the schemes of the bank available for the farmers and for the agriculture and crop production etc. Finally the play concludes as after taking all these benefits the farmer becomes a happy man and his wife an educated lady. Charactres of the play repeat- ed the Slogan ‘Sahukaar se todo Naata, Bank me Jaake kholo Khaata’ so that more and more people get the benefits of the NABARD Schemes. Those who acted in different roles included Pritam Kumar as Dood wala, Anil Kumar as Sahukar, Rohit Kumar as Kisan, Hardeep Bhagat as Ram Singh, Barkha Thakur as Susheela Behan (Bank Employee), Alka Thakur as Kisan’s Wife, Shadab Khan as Narrator, Vishal Kathpal as Sarpanch. Music by Aasim Khan, Costume by M.Akram Khan. The audience responded very well by asking banking related questions after the play ended. Dr Jitendra to handover hutments to flood victims of Seri Tanda in January Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 13: Eleven one room hutments with sepa- rate kitchen and Verandah will be handed over to 11 flood affected families of Seri Tanda in Reasi district during January next year by Union Minister in PMO with independent charge of North Eastern States, Dr Jitendra Singh. The hutments were con- structed by Dr Singh in his capacity as MP of Kathua -Doda Lok Sabha Constituency from his MPLAD Fund and with the help and assistance of an NGO and philanthropist as well as local people especially Sarpanchs. Out of 11 individual hut- ments 10 have been completed while work is going on in anoth- er one, said Dr Singh. He said that the hutments were con- structed in a period of six months and the local people especially the affected families also cooperated and provided manpower for construction. Dr Singh said the bathrooms and toilets for the hutments will be constructed under Swatch Bharat Abhiyan soon. Twelve houses were totally washed away in the village due to flashfloods and landslides in September 2014 while some were damaged partially. Out of 12 fami- lies one family con- structed his house on his own while the 11 families were very poor and could not afford the same. Dr Singh took per- sonnel interest and roped in an NGO to construct the hut- ments for these poor families, said Sanjeev Sharma PRO of Union Minister for Kathua -Doda Parliamentary Constituency. He disclosed to oversee the progress of work in the area a three member team which besides, him included Anil Goel a well known social activist from New Delhi and Shiv Kumar Sharma secretary J&K Sports Council visited the vil- lage two days back and announced that the hutments will be handed over to the fami- lies by Union Minister next month. Sharma said this is for the first time in the State that any MP has taken initiative of con- structing the hutments for the people whose houses were dam- aged. Her said Anil Goel is the Coordinator for construction work and the work on construc- tion of bathrooms and lavatory blocks will be undertaken under Swatch Bharat Abhiyan. A hutment ready to be handed over to flood victims of Seri Tanda in Reasi next month. JKCCTU state president, Mohd Maqbool addressing press conference in Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/ Rakesh Govt pursuing anti-working class policies: Maqbool Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 13: The pres- ident , J&K Coordination Committee of Trade Unions (JKCCTU) and national secre- tary of All India State Govt Employees Federation (AIS- GEF), Mohd Maqbool has alleged that Central and the State Governments were pursuing the anti-working class policies. Talking to media persons here today, Mohd Maqbool strongly condemned the neo-lib- eral economic and anti-working class polices of the Government and demanded immediate imple- mentation of 7th Pay Commission report in the State. He described the present 7th Pay Commission as the worst ever in the history and described that employees were most unhappy over the hike recommended by the Committee framed for the purpose by the Central Government. This Committee has also recommended further job cut to the extent of 30 % which is unfortunate, he added. Maqbool said that the pres- ent Government is focusing on the casual and temporary type of jobs with no pension, adequate allowances and other service and social security benefits. There is no policy for the regu- larization of the daily wagers/ temporary/ casual/ need based workers and their exploitation is continued under the nose of Labour Department. There is sheer violation of Labour Laws and the much needed social security to the worker has been denied. Maqbool further demanded removal of pay anomalies of the clerical cadre, regularization of temporary/ casual/ contractual, Asha, Anganwadi workers, scarping of new pension scheme, enhancement of Medical allowance etc. He said that delay being caused by State Govt to implement 7th Pay Commission report is causing strong resent- ment among employees. The JKCCTU leader appealed all the employees' organizations of the State to come forward and prepare themselves to launch a united struggle for the burning demands of the employees. He said that on December 21, a united meeting of employees bodies will be held at Jammu to discuss next course of action. Senior members of JKCCTU Gurmeet Singh, Haji Gh Mohd, Ram Kumar, Farid Ahmed and Muneer Khan were also present. * Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com
Transcript of FM hints at low tax rates Dr Jitendra to handover...
DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 (PAGE 9)
FM hints at low tax ratesNEW DELHI, Dec 13:
Finance Minister ArunJaitley today hinted at lowerdirect and indirect tax rates inthe future as demonetisationresults in higher tax revenuesfrom unaccounted wealth com-ing into system.
He also warned of a "veryheavy price" that unscrupulouselements will have to pay foramassing large amounts of cashunlawfully, saying agencies arekeeping a close eye on cashaccumulations.
The November 8 announce-ment by Government to demon-etise high value notes has in onestroke junked 86 per cent of thecurrency in circulation andholders of the discontinuednotes can deposit them in banksbefore the end of the year andwithdraw money in new curren-cy.
The money being depositedhas to be accounted for andtaxes paid - 50 per cent on vol-untary disclosures of unac-counted money and 85 per centfor any failures.
"So much money. Operatingas loose cash in the system hastoday come into the bankingsystem," he said. "It has to beaccounted for. Where taxeshave not been paid will now berecovered."
Jaitley said future transac-tions would be substantiallydigital as India moves towards aless-cash society.
"Once they are substantiallydigital they get caught in taxnet," he said. "Therefore thefuture taxation level would bemuch higher than what is cur-rently being collected. Thiswould also enable theGovernment at some stage tomake taxes more reasonablewhich will apply to both directand indirect taxes."
Demonetisation togetherwith other reforms, particularlythe GST and the restrictions oncash spending subjected to PANdeclaration, will bring down thelevels of corruption in society,he said.
"It is going to bring downcash transaction in society andit's going to bring down levelsof evasion as far as taxation isconcerned," he said.
Jaitley said it has come tothe notice of the Governmentthat some unscrupulous people,including some in the bankingsystem and others, have beentrying to subvert the systemonce again and have accumulat-ed large amounts of cash unlaw-fully.
"Obviously there is a breachof law in this and this is a stepwhich hurts the economy. Andtherefore all agencies have aneye on this. They will investi-gate this matter and all thosewho are indulging in this mal-practice will have to pay a veryheavy price for what they aredoing," he added. (PTI)
Standoff casts shadow over sessionNEW DELHI, Dec 13:
An end to the ongoingimpasse in Parliament remainselusive, casting its shadow overthe remaining three days of theWinter session which will resumetomorrow after a four-day breakamid divergent views of theGovernment and the Oppositionon debate on demonetisation.
While the government todayagain asked the Opposition tostart debate on demonetisation,Congress leader JyotiradityaScindia said his party wanted thediscussion last Friday itself but itwas disallowed by the ruling side.
He said leaders of Oppositionparties will meet tomorrow morn-ing to decide their Parliamentstrategy.
Congress sources said theGovernment has made no attemptto reach out to the Opposition tobreak the logjam.
On the Government side,Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill also hold meeting with keyministers before Parliament con-venes tomorrow morning todecide on their strategy.
Both the Government and theOpposition, especially Congressand TMC, have stuck to theirstand that the debate be heldunder a Rule that entails votingwhich the treasury benches haveruled out.
On last Friday, Congresschanged its stand and expressed
readiness for debate under "norule". However, the ruling sidecreated ruckus and the debatecould not take place.
Pitching for a debate, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley today urgedthe Congress and other opposi-tion parties to "rise above slo-gans..." as he urged them for adebate in Parliament.
The Winter Session, whichbegan on November 16, is sched-uled to conclude on Friday, withindications that it could be a vir-tual washou.
Parliament has seen littletransaction of any substantialbusiness because of theOpposition ruckus over demon-etisation and some other issues.
Both the Lok Sabha and theRajya Sabha continued to bedeadlocked over the way a debateshould take place on demonetisa-tion announced by the PrimeMinister on November 8.
Ever since the session began,the Lok Sabha has managed toconduct only two legislativeactions -- passage of Income Taxamendment bill and approval ofSupplementary Demand forGrants -- that too amid din andwithout much debate.
The Rajya Sabha has func-tioned normally only on the firstday of the session when thedebate on demonetisation wasinitiated and held for about 5hours. (PTI)
Valley Pandits ask Govt tocome clear on rehab policy
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits todayasked State Government tocome clear on their rehabilita-tion policy and demanded thatthey should be treated at parwith displaced Pandits.
Hindu Welfare SocietyKashmir (HWSK), which isapex body of non-migrantPandits based in Valley, allegedthat Government is showing nointerest towards their rehabilita-tion even as a Cabinet SubCommittee (CSC) was constitut-ed last year to look into theirrehabilitation.
The HWSK president,Chunni Lal, said that the inter-nally displaced Pandits havebeen running from pillar to postfor several years but the succes-sive regimes have failed them.He said after setting up of theCSC headed by Deputy ChiefMinister Dr Nirmal Singh lastyear, they were hoping thatGovernment would take note oftheir problems and demands.
"Nearly 700 Pandit familiesare living in Kashmir valley,who preferred to stay here dur-ing the peak years of turmoil in1990. However, they left theirancestral homes and movedtowards city and other town-
ships in Kashmir. They are liv-ing in rented accommodationsand paying huge amount of rentevery month," said HWSK pres-ident, adding that theGovernment should at least pro-vide accommodation and jobs tothese families.
Chunni Lal informed that theverification for their rehabilita-tion was completed during thetenure of late Chief MinisterMufti Mohammad Sayeed butsince then there has been no fur-ther development.
The HWSK, which repre-sents 51 families, said they arenot against the rehabilitation ofmigrant Pandits but the Stateand Central Governmentsshould also take their care aswell. "Out of 3000 jobsannounced under PrimeMinister's employment package,300 were reserved for non-migrant Hindus but none of ouryouths have been appointed sofar," he said.
Appealing Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti and herdeputy, Dr Nirmal Singh torehabilitate the non-migrantHindus on humanitariangrounds, the HWSK presidentsaid that they are facing multipleproblems and are running frompillar to post since last twodecades.
Vodafone Executives displaying M-Pesa PAY solution formerchants and customers.
Vodafone launches M-Pesa PAYExcelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 13: VodafoneIndia today announced the launchof Vodafone M-Pesa PAY, an easyand ready to use digital paymentsolution to enable merchants andretailers to receive payments fromtheir customers without anyexchange of cash.
To start using this exceedinglyfriendly digital payment solution,retailers and merchants simplyhave to download Vodafone M-Pesa app and register forVodafone M-Pesa PAY as a mer-chant. Once registered, they cannotify individual customer tomake the payment due.Customers just need to click onthe notification and make pay-ment digitally using their M-Pesawallet, bank account and debit orcredit card in a completely seam-less, worry free and secure man-ner.
Launching Vodafone M-PesaPAY, Sunil Sood, MD & CEO atVodafone India said, "The PM hasset forth the vision of a DigitalIndia and a less cash economy. Asa responsible corporate citizen,we are fully committed to playingour role in fulfilling this vision.We started our journey towardsenabling financial and digitalinclusion in 2013 with the launchof Vodafone M-Pesa and have
since made considerable progressby successfully establishing afranchise of over 8.4 million cus-tomers and nearly 1,30,000 out-lets across the country. With thelaunch of Vodafone M-Pesa PAY,we are accelerating this journeyby creating a platform for mer-chants and retailers to easilyembrace digital payments andalso encourage their millions ofcustomers to pay via digital cur-rency."
Vodafone M-Pesa has pio-neered numerous digital paymentinitiatives in India while associat-ing with several Government ini-tiatives and developmental sectororganizations.
Users of Vodafone M-Pesadigital wallet enjoy a variety ofbenefits when they pay bills, shopand undertake select transactions.This includes up to 5% cash backfor new customers for 3 months,attractive cash back offer of up toRs 500 from shopclues.com onselect merchandise, 0.75% cashback on payments made to pur-chase petrol and full talk time onVodafone prepaid packs of selectdenominations. Further, person toperson remittance (transferringmoney to a mobile number) andloading the wallet though anyonline mode - credit/debit cardand internet banking is complete-ly free.
NC leaders and workers during protest.
NC stages massive dharna againstdemolition of Jammu school
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 13: NationalConference staged a demonstra-tion against the decision of PDP-BJP Government over illogicaland anti-student decision ofdemolishing a girls' dominatedschool in the old city, close to theCivil Secretariat, just to createparking slot.
Leading the protesters,National Conference DistrictPresident Jammu UrbanDharamvir Singh Jamwaldescribed the measure as antithe-sis of "Beti Bachao, Beti-Padao"slogan of the BJP and said thisexposes the party's hypocrisy.
Jamwal assailed the insensi-tive and irresponsible decision ofthe Government and sought itsimmediate reversal, saying thatthe future of girls is involved. "Ata time, the government ought tohave provided incentives to girlsfor getting ornamented with edu-cation, it is punishing them byway of dismantling their templeof learning", he said, adding that
this particular school caters to theacademics of poor and weakersegments of society.
He also described the expla-nation of the government thatinmates of the school would beaccommodated in other schools isabsurd. "In fact, it needed to bedeveloped as a model school inthe heart of the city", he added.
The students of the schoolalso joined the protests andsought rollback of the decisionfor saving their academic career.
Prominent among those whoparticipated in the protests includ-ed Provincial Secretary SheikhBashir, Provincial PresidentWomen Wing, Satwant KourDogra, Co-Chairperson NC OBCCell Abdul Gani Teli, DilshadMalik, K D Singh, Rakesh SinghRocky, Rashida Begum, RohitBali, Dalbir Singh, Reeta Gupta,Anju Grover, Pinki Bhat, VeenaOberoi, Manveen Kour, SanjayGupta, Ashok Kumar, SuchaSingh, Vikram Manhas, SandeepSingh, Komal Manhas, RiteshKoul, Amit Koul and others.
Amita Chaturvedi, A K Kapoor and others during press con-ference at Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/Rakesh
Mount Litera Zee Schoollaunches 1st school in JammuExcelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 13: MountLitera Zee School (MLZS)launched its 1st school atTarore Bridge, Jammu-Pathankote National Highway.
The launching of the schoolwas announced by AK Kapoor,Chairman, Mount Litera ZeeSchool, Jammu during a pressconference.
“MLZS is the fastest grow-ing chain of K-12 schools inIndia. MLZS Jammu aims toempower the children of thecity with quality educationalong with exposure to worldclass facilities for an overalldevelopment. The school isaffiliated to CBSE Board and isequipped with interactiveclassrooms with IWB (smartclass), full size football field,cricket ground, basketballcourt, tennis court, fleet ofbuses among other facilities.The school has infrastructure toaccommodate 600 students inthe first year. With this launchMLZS aims at understanding achild’s talent, skills and capa-bilities to tap and hone them inthe right direction”, Kapoorinformed.
The panel of advisory boardsetup for the first branch atJammu includes KuldeepKhoda, Chief VigilanceCommissioner, J&K, AQManhas, Retd IGP, DrMinakshi Kilam, DirectorInternal Quality AssuranceCell, University of Jammu, PBKapoor, Managing Director,MLZS Jammu, Prof RameshChander, Principal,Government MAM CollegeJammu, Prof CL Chingloo,Retd Principal, GovernmentCollege of Physical Education,Jammu, Dr RK Chrungoo, ProfSurgery, ASCOMS Jammu,Sheikh Altaf Hussain,Advocate, J&K High CourtJammu, RK Dhar, SSP (ACS)Jammu, Jia Lal Sharma, RetdDirector Horticulture Jammu,Hardeep Aggarwal, CharteredAccountant, VK Sethi, RetdJoint Director SchoolEducation Jammu, AmitaChaturvedi, Regional Director,Zee Learn Limited, PoonamKotwal, Teacher, PresentationConvent School Jammu, RahulKapoor, Secretary, MLZSJammu and Ritesh Kapoor,Trustee.
Kapoor said that they at
MLZS, focus on holistic learn-ing of the child where technol-ogy and activities are embed-ded into the curriculumthrough their proprietarybooks, adding that this ensurethat the child has fun as well aslearns the subject conceptuallymaking him a lifelong learner,who is trained to adapt and suc-ceed in life.
“We are sure that we wouldachieve our goal of deliveringgood quality education to everychild of the city. We look for-ward to work with the peopleof this city to make MLZS abeacon of excellence for thechildren of Jammu”, saidAmita Chaturvedi, RegionalSchool Director, Zee LearnLimited.
Artists of Abhinaya Kala Manch playing Nukkad at Pouni.
Nukkad staged at PouniExcelsior Correspondent
REASI, Dec 13: AbhinayaKala Manch, Reasi, in collabora-tion with NABARD performedtheir Nukkad Natak “Nai DishaNai Umang” in Main Bazaar,Pouni town in district Reasi.
The play was performed in thepresence of AEE, B K Raina andAdvocate Sarver Mir. The streetplay written by Vishal Kathpalwas directed by Shadab Khan.
The play was based onNABARD schemes. The theme ofthe play remains that there is afarmer in a village who borrowsmoney from the private money-lender for agriculture. But due tocrop failure he is unable to returnthe borrowed amount and with thepassage of time he is over bur-dened with the interest and com-pound interest applied by themoneylender over the money bor-rowed. Finding himself in a trou-bled situation farmer is pushedtowards suicidal thoughts.
His wife gets irritated by thefarmer’s repeated suicidal threatsand takes the matter lightly.Farmer feels helpless and finallyattempts suicide. But theSarpanch enters the scene at theright time and saves him. Tryingto bring him out of the desperatesituation, they all consult the mat-
ter with a bank employee and asocial worker as well namelySusheela Behen. She educates thefarmer about various schemes runby the banks for the benefits offarmers and poor. She suggestshim to take loan from the bankinstead of private money lenderand makes him aware of theschemes of the bank available forthe farmers and for the agricultureand crop production etc.
Finally the play concludes asafter taking all these benefits thefarmer becomes a happy man andhis wife an educated lady.
Charactres of the play repeat-ed the Slogan ‘Sahukaar se todoNaata, Bank me Jaake kholoKhaata’ so that more and morepeople get the benefits of theNABARD Schemes.
Those who acted in differentroles included Pritam Kumar asDood wala, Anil Kumar asSahukar, Rohit Kumar as Kisan,Hardeep Bhagat as Ram Singh,Barkha Thakur as Susheela Behan(Bank Employee), Alka Thakur asKisan’s Wife, Shadab Khan asNarrator, Vishal Kathpal asSarpanch. Music by Aasim Khan,Costume by M.Akram Khan.
The audience responded verywell by asking banking relatedquestions after the play ended.
Dr Jitendra to handover hutments to flood victims of Seri Tanda in January
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 13: Elevenone room hutments with sepa-rate kitchen and Verandah will
be handed over to 11 floodaffected families of Seri Tandain Reasi district during Januarynext year by Union Minister inPMO with independent chargeof North Eastern States, DrJitendra Singh.
The hutments were con-structed by Dr Singh in hiscapacity as MP of Kathua -DodaLok Sabha Constituency fromhis MPLAD Fund and with thehelp and assistance of an NGOand philanthropist as well aslocal people especiallySarpanchs.
Out of 11 individual hut-ments 10 have been completedwhile work is going on in anoth-er one, said Dr Singh. He saidthat the hutments were con-structed in a period of sixmonths and the local peopleespecially the affected familiesalso cooperated and providedmanpower for construction.
Dr Singh said the bathrooms
and toilets for the hutments willbe constructed under SwatchBharat Abhiyan soon.
Twelve houses were totallywashed away in the village due
to flashfloods andlandslides inSeptember 2014while some weredamaged partially.
Out of 12 fami-lies one family con-structed his houseon his own whilethe 11 families werevery poor and couldnot afford the same.Dr Singh took per-sonnel interest androped in an NGO toconstruct the hut-ments for these poorfamilies, saidSanjeev SharmaPRO of UnionMinister for Kathua
-Doda ParliamentaryConstituency.
He disclosed to oversee theprogress of work in the area athree member team whichbesides, him included Anil Goela well known social activistfrom New Delhi and ShivKumar Sharma secretary J&KSports Council visited the vil-lage two days back andannounced that the hutmentswill be handed over to the fami-lies by Union Minister nextmonth.
Sharma said this is for thefirst time in the State that anyMP has taken initiative of con-structing the hutments for thepeople whose houses were dam-aged.
Her said Anil Goel is theCoordinator for constructionwork and the work on construc-tion of bathrooms and lavatoryblocks will be undertaken underSwatch Bharat Abhiyan.
A hutment ready to be handed over toflood victims of Seri Tanda in Reasi nextmonth.
JKCCTU state president, Mohd Maqbool addressing pressconference in Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/ Rakesh
Govt pursuing anti-workingclass policies: Maqbool
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 13: The pres-ident , J&K CoordinationCommittee of Trade Unions(JKCCTU) and national secre-tary of All India State GovtEmployees Federation (AIS-GEF), Mohd Maqbool hasalleged that Central and the StateGovernments were pursuing theanti-working class policies.
Talking to media personshere today, Mohd Maqboolstrongly condemned the neo-lib-eral economic and anti-working
class polices of the Governmentand demanded immediate imple-mentation of 7th PayCommission report in the State.He described the present 7th PayCommission as the worst ever inthe history and described thatemployees were most unhappyover the hike recommended bythe Committee framed for thepurpose by the CentralGovernment. This Committeehas also recommended furtherjob cut to the extent of 30 %which is unfortunate, he added.
Maqbool said that the pres-ent Government is focusing onthe casual and temporary type ofjobs with no pension, adequateallowances and other serviceand social security benefits.
There is no policy for the regu-larization of the daily wagers/temporary/ casual/ need basedworkers and their exploitation iscontinued under the nose ofLabour Department. There issheer violation of Labour Lawsand the much needed socialsecurity to the worker has beendenied.
Maqbool further demandedremoval of pay anomalies of theclerical cadre, regularization oftemporary/ casual/ contractual,Asha, Anganwadi workers,scarping of new pension scheme,
enhancement of Medicalallowance etc. He said that delaybeing caused by State Govt toimplement 7th Pay Commissionreport is causing strong resent-ment among employees.
The JKCCTU leaderappealed all the employees'organizations of the State tocome forward and preparethemselves to launch a unitedstruggle for the burningdemands of the employees. Hesaid that on December 21, aunited meeting of employeesbodies will be held at Jammu todiscuss next course of action.
Senior members of JKCCTUGurmeet Singh, Haji Gh Mohd,Ram Kumar, Farid Ahmed andMuneer Khan were also present.
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