News Analysis India

Tag: southern states

  • Impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra already being felt: Congress’ dig at PM’s visit to 4 southern states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress took a dig on Friday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to four southern states, saying the impact of the opposition party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is already being felt, but no antics can match the connection established with people by walking with and listening to them.

    Modi is on a two-day visit to the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from Friday, during which he would attend several events and launch development initiatives.

    Taking a dig at his visit, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the foot march taken out by the party from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir, is already being felt.

    It combines yearning and learning for sure https://t.co/SAWONcNbVc
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 11, 2022
    “PM is now on a 2-day visit of 4 South Indian states that the Yatra has been through. There will undoubtedly be big photo-ops for camera-jeevi. But no antics can match the connect from walking with and LISTENING to the people,” Ramesh said in a tweet.

    The impact of #BharatJodoYatra is already being felt. PM is now on a 2-day visit of 4 South Indian states that the Yatra has been through. There will undoubtedly be big photo-ops for camera-jeevi. But no antics can match the connect from walking with & LISTENING to the people.
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 11, 2022
    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, along with other party leaders and workers, embarked on the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanniyakumari on September 7.

    The yatra has traversed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is currently in Maharashtra.

    NEW DELHI: The Congress took a dig on Friday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to four southern states, saying the impact of the opposition party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is already being felt, but no antics can match the connection established with people by walking with and listening to them.

    Modi is on a two-day visit to the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from Friday, during which he would attend several events and launch development initiatives.

    Taking a dig at his visit, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the foot march taken out by the party from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir, is already being felt.

    It combines yearning and learning for sure https://t.co/SAWONcNbVc
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 11, 2022
    “PM is now on a 2-day visit of 4 South Indian states that the Yatra has been through. There will undoubtedly be big photo-ops for camera-jeevi. But no antics can match the connect from walking with and LISTENING to the people,” Ramesh said in a tweet.

    The impact of #BharatJodoYatra is already being felt. PM is now on a 2-day visit of 4 South Indian states that the Yatra has been through. There will undoubtedly be big photo-ops for camera-jeevi. But no antics can match the connect from walking with & LISTENING to the people.
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 11, 2022
    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, along with other party leaders and workers, embarked on the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanniyakumari on September 7.

    The yatra has traversed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is currently in Maharashtra.

  • Thin attendance of southern states at Niti Aayog meeting  

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi On Sunday saw thin attendance from the Southern states. Only Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy took part in the seventh Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog.

    Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao boycotted the meeting alleging that the Centre has disregarded the principle of cooperative federalism by meddling in the rights of states. 

    While Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin wrote to the Centre that he will not attend the meeting as Sunday marks the fourth death anniversary of his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai had to cancel his Delhi trip after testing positive for Covid-19 for the third time.

    At the meeting, the Kerala CM asked the Centre to desist from legislating on the items in the state list. “The Centre needs to address challenges of cooperative federalism,” said Vijayan adding that the legislation on subjects in the Concurrent List should be initiated only after adequate consultation with the states.

    Many Opposition states have been locking horns with the Centre over curtailing their rights and ‘bulldozing’ the federal structure.

    Vijayan also demanded that the Council review the imposition of GST on essential items and requested to continue the compensation to the states for another five years. He also sought the Centre’s intervention to lift the t restrictions issued on borrowing limits of states as the economy is yet to recover from Covid impact.

    ALSO READ | NITI meet: CMs of non-BJP ruled states ask Centre not to force its decisions, Telangana Finance Minister slams NDA

    NEW DELHI: The Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi On Sunday saw thin attendance from the Southern states. Only Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy took part in the seventh Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog.

    Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao boycotted the meeting alleging that the Centre has disregarded the principle of cooperative federalism by meddling in the rights of states. 

    While Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin wrote to the Centre that he will not attend the meeting as Sunday marks the fourth death anniversary of his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai had to cancel his Delhi trip after testing positive for Covid-19 for the third time.

    At the meeting, the Kerala CM asked the Centre to desist from legislating on the items in the state list. “The Centre needs to address challenges of cooperative federalism,” said Vijayan adding that the legislation on subjects in the Concurrent List should be initiated only after adequate consultation with the states.

    Many Opposition states have been locking horns with the Centre over curtailing their rights and ‘bulldozing’ the federal structure.

    Vijayan also demanded that the Council review the imposition of GST on essential items and requested to continue the compensation to the states for another five years. He also sought the Centre’s intervention to lift the t restrictions issued on borrowing limits of states as the economy is yet to recover from Covid impact.

    ALSO READ | NITI meet: CMs of non-BJP ruled states ask Centre not to force its decisions, Telangana Finance Minister slams NDA

  • Southern states with high Covid load drew maximum benefit of Ayushman Bharat, reveals RTI

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The central government had in the past one year spent Rs 2223.57 crore under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for Covid-19 treatments, tests with maximum beneficiaries coming from southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala as well as Maharashtra, reveals an RTI query.

    According to the RTI filed with the National Health Authority by activist Vivek Pandey, from April 2020 to first 2021, more than 6.05 lakh beneficiaries availed free Covid treatment under Ayushman Bharat scheme, while 17.73 lakh have been benefited with free testing.

    Karnataka government has so far the most number of beneficiaries – 1,62,050 who have received Covid treatment under the health scheme and has spent Rs 770.60 crore in the past one year, the highest amount authorised for the PMJAY. However, the state does not have any beneficiaries availing the scheme for Covid testing, revealed the RTI.

    An amount of Rs 413.98 crore has been spent by Andhra Pradesh for treatment of 1,54,760 Covid patients but like Karnataka, no Covid testing was conducted under the AB-PMJAY scheme in the past one year.

    Maharashtra has beneficiaries availing the scheme for the purpose of both testing (1,25,213) and treatment (1,61,234) and an amount of Rs 424.39 crore has been spent in one year.

    Out of 17.73 lakh testings conducted under the Ayushman Bharat, highest came from the state of Tamil Nadu where 15.84 lakh people have been benefited till first week of June 2021 and an amount of Rs 315 crore spent till now for the purpose. Around 10,370 have been treated for Covid under the scheme.

    Under the scheme, Kerala has been authorised so far Rs 181.05 crore for benefitting 34,755 people for Covid treatment and 33,951 for testing.

    States which have the most number of beneficiaries and spent more under PMJAY also have the highest Covid case load in the country.

    Maharashtra has so far registered 59.1 lakh cumulative cases followed by Karnataka (27.7 lakh cases), Kerala (27.3 lakh cases), Tamil Nadu (23.5 lakh cases) and Andhra Pradesh (18.1 lakh cases).

    Gujarat had utilised the health scheme only for the purpose of covid testing with 10,430 beneficiaries availing PMJAY and no treatment in one year.

    Uttar Pradesh, despite having a cumulative case load of 17 lakh Covid patients, has grossly under utilised the Ayushman Bharat scheme for treatment purpose. Uttar Pradesh has 1538 benefited for Covid testing and only 875 people availing the scheme for treatment purpose and spent Rs 1.51 crore in the past one year.

    Punjab has the lowest count in terms of beneficiaries under the scheme – only two have availed the scheme for Covid testing and no one benefited for treatment.

    Last year in April, the central government had announced plans to make the testing and treatment for COVID-19 available under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY). “The empaneled hospitals can use their own authorized testing facilities or tie up with an authorized testing facility. These tests would be carried out as per the protocol set by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and by private labs approved/registered by ICMR. Similarly, treatment of COVID-19 by private hospitals will be covered under AB-PMJAY,” said the government in a statement.

    AB-PM JAY is the flagship scheme that provides a coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

    “Due to ongoing covid 19 pandemic, people are facing financial crisis. This scheme was launched to provide free medication to poor people. Main reason to file this RTI is to get information about how many people have benefited from this scheme. People from only a few states benefited from this scheme while many other state governments failed,” said Pandey.

  • Bird flu: Madhya Pradesh govt bans chicken trade with some southern states

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government has banned chicken trade with a few southern states for a limited period in view of the bird flu outbreak in parts of MP, a government official said on Wednesday.

    The official, however, did not specify the states.

    In the morning, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed the bird flu situation in the state and directed officials concerned to take necessary preventive measures.

    Chouhan also directed the officials to step-up vigil at poultries in the districts where bird deaths have been reported.

    “As a precautionary measure, chicken trade with a few southern states will remain banned for a limited period,” a public relations department official said.

    “The ban is enforced as a precaution after reports of death of crows were received from Indore, Agar Malwa and Mandsaur,” he said.

    “There is no problem as such in the state.

    Precautionary measures have been taken, which include informing districts about the guidelines issued by the Centre,” the official said.

    After Indore, bird flu has been confirmed as the cause of mass death of crows in Mandsaur and Agar Malwa districts of Madhya Pradesh.

    During the review meeting in the morning, Chouhan directed officials to ensure that guidelines are followed and also asked the animal husbandry department and other allied agencies to remain alert.

    State Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

    On Tuesday, an official report confirmed bird flu as the cause of mass death of crows in Mandsaur and Agar Malwa districts, after Indore.

    Presence of H5N8 virus (a variant of avian influenza or bird flu) was found in the carcasses of crows in Mandsaur and Agar Malwa districts, an official said, citing test results of samples sent for laboratory analysis.

    A total of 155 dead crows in Indore have been found with the H5N8 virus since the pathogen was first detected in the state’s commercial hub a week back.

    Since December 23, 2020, about 400 avian deaths have been reported across 10 districts of Madhya Pradesh, the PR department official said.

    Apart from Indore, Agar Malwa and Mandsaur, samples of dead avians were collected from Ujjain, Sehore, Dewas, Guna, Shajapur, Khargone and Neemuch districts and sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for testing, the official said.

    Several states on Tuesday sounded an alert to contain the H5N8 strain of bird flu and sent samples for testing while Kerala began culling of chickens and ducks.

    Karnataka and Tamil Nadu stepped up surveillance and formed guidelines following the outbreak of the viral infection in neighbouring Kerala, where around 1,700 ducks have died due to the flu.