Tag: coroanavirus

  • PM Modi to launch digital payment solution e-RUPI

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch e-RUPI, a person and purpose specific digital payment solution, on Monday via video conferencing, his office said.

    Underlining that Modi has always championed digital initiatives, the Prime Minister’s Office said over the years, several programmes have been launched to ensure that the benefits reach its intended beneficiaries in a targeted and leak-proof manner, with limited touchpoints between the government and the beneficiary.

    The concept of electronic voucher takes forward this vision of good governance, it said. In its statement, the PMO said e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

    It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries, the statement said.

    The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider, it said.

    It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

    The statement said e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface. It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed.

    Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary, the statement said.

    The PMO said it is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.

    It can also be used for delivering services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child welfare schemes, TB eradication programmes, drugs and diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertiliser subsidies etc.

    Even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes, the statement said.

  • Lakshadweep filmmaker faces sedition case for ‘bio weapon’ comment over spread of COVID-19

    By PTI
    KOCHI: Lakshadweep Police on Thursday booked filmmaker Ayesha Sulthana on sedition charges following a complaint by a BJP leader that she spread false news about the spread of COVID-19 in the union territory during a TV debate.

    The complaint was filed by the BJP’s Lakshadweep unit president Abdul Khader.

    Sulthana hails from Chetiath island in Lakshadweep.

    According to the FIR lodged by the Kavaratti police, a case under sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 B (hate speech) of the Indian Penal code has been registered against the filmmaker.

    Aiysha Sultana, budding filmmaker, booked under sedition charges. Crime: Dared to describe admin policy a bio-weapon . Reason: Laccadives did not have a single case of Covid for a year until admin removed mandatory quarantine for travellers. Now Covid rages. Some sedition indeed! pic.twitter.com/oZU9m7hBGX
    — Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) June 11, 2021

    In his complaint filed with the Kavaratti police on Wednesday, Khader said Sulthana, during a debate in a Malayalam TV channel, had alleged that the Central government used biological weapons for the spread of COVID-19 in Lakshadweep.

    The BJP leader, in his complaint, has alleged that Sulthana’s was an anti-national act, which tarnished the ‘patriotic image’ of the central government.

    He sought action against her.

    Earlier in the day, the BJP staged a protest in the islands seeking action against the filmmaker.

    The Lakshadweep-based model and actor Sulthana has worked with several Malayalam filmmakers.

    Lakshadweep has been witnessing protests by various political parties since the administration started implementing reform measures in the islands.