LPG subsidy directly in bank accounts from Oct 1

New Delhi : The government plans to provide subsidy to 14 crore LPG subscribers directly in their bank accounts from October 1, using the Aadhaar payment platform. 

The government, official sources said, has decided to launch 'Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for LPG throughout the
country tentatively from October 1'.

'This (transfer of LPG subsidy) would require a much larger number of beneficiaries to be covered for opening of
bank accounts and linked to Aadhaar and banks have been asked to get ready for the launch,' said one official.

A consumer will have to get his or her bank account seeded with Aadhaar number for getting the LPG subsidy. The
annual subsidy per consumer is estimated at Rs 4,000. The supply of subsidised LPG cylinder has been capped at 9
cylinders per year for a consumer.

While about 32 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued by UIDAI, only 80 lakh bank accounts have linked to the unique
identity numbers so far.

Under a pilot project for LPG subsidy transfer, 20 districts in the country will be covered by May 15.

While the exact procedure to transfer the subsidy is being worked out, sources said subscribers will have to buy
the LPG bottle at prevailing market price (currently Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi) and subsequently the subsidy
amount will be transfered to the bank account.

The Finance Ministry has asked the public sector banks to speed up the process of linking accounts with Aadhaar.

The government expects that the DBT will eliminate all ghost LPG connections and diversion of cylinders.

Under the DBT scheme, subsidies and other benefits are transfered directly into the Aadhaar linked bank account of
the beneficiary.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Petroleum
Minister Veerappa Moily and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh would review the DBT scheme with state officials on
Monday. PTI

LPG subsidy directly in bank accounts from Oct 1

New Delhi : The government plans to provide subsidy to 14 crore LPG subscribers directly in their bank accounts from October 1, using the Aadhaar payment platform. 

The government, official sources said, has decided to launch 'Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for LPG throughout the
country tentatively from October 1'.

'This (transfer of LPG subsidy) would require a much larger number of beneficiaries to be covered for opening of
bank accounts and linked to Aadhaar and banks have been asked to get ready for the launch,' said one official.

A consumer will have to get his or her bank account seeded with Aadhaar number for getting the LPG subsidy. The
annual subsidy per consumer is estimated at Rs 4,000. The supply of subsidised LPG cylinder has been capped at 9
cylinders per year for a consumer.

While about 32 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued by UIDAI, only 80 lakh bank accounts have linked to the unique
identity numbers so far.

Under a pilot project for LPG subsidy transfer, 20 districts in the country will be covered by May 15.

While the exact procedure to transfer the subsidy is being worked out, sources said subscribers will have to buy
the LPG bottle at prevailing market price (currently Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi) and subsequently the subsidy
amount will be transfered to the bank account.

The Finance Ministry has asked the public sector banks to speed up the process of linking accounts with Aadhaar.

The government expects that the DBT will eliminate all ghost LPG connections and diversion of cylinders.

Under the DBT scheme, subsidies and other benefits are transfered directly into the Aadhaar linked bank account of
the beneficiary.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Petroleum
Minister Veerappa Moily and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh would review the DBT scheme with state officials on
Monday. PTI

Uproar in Parliament; House adjourned till noon

New Delhi : The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were again disrupted Monday, losing the crucial question hour, as opposition members created a ruckus over the contentious issue of coal blocks allocation.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned minutes after the day's proceedings began at 11 a.m. as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members advanced to the speaker's podium demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the issue.

Speaker Meira Kumar's efforts to calm BJP members proved futile and she adjourned the house till 12 noon.

The speaker is holding an all-party meeting to break the logjam.

Disruptive scenes were witnessed in the Raya Sabha too, where BJP members shouted slogans against the prime minister.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house till noon.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath appealed to the opposition to allow the house to function.

Both the houses have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that it will not let parliament function till Manmohan Singh resigns over the alleged involvement of his office in the irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

Uproar in Parliament; House adjourned till noon

New Delhi : The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were again disrupted Monday, losing the crucial question hour, as opposition members created a ruckus over the contentious issue of coal blocks allocation.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned minutes after the day's proceedings began at 11 a.m. as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members advanced to the speaker's podium demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the issue.

Speaker Meira Kumar's efforts to calm BJP members proved futile and she adjourned the house till 12 noon.

The speaker is holding an all-party meeting to break the logjam.

Disruptive scenes were witnessed in the Raya Sabha too, where BJP members shouted slogans against the prime minister.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house till noon.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath appealed to the opposition to allow the house to function.

Both the houses have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that it will not let parliament function till Manmohan Singh resigns over the alleged involvement of his office in the irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

Teachers' training has almost collapsed'

New Delhi : A shortage of nearly a million teachers is affecting implementation of the Right to Education Act in India. Compounding this is the lack of government-run training institutes which forces aspirants to go to private insitutions, with the result that just a fraction manage to clear the eligibility test.

The Right to Education Act lays down strict guidelines on the student-teacher ratio, as well as on training, according to which the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) should be 30:1 in primary classes and 35:1 in upper primary classes.

According to a District Information System for Education (DISE) report, in 2011-12 only 34.12 percent of primary school teachers were graduates, while a meagre 17.05 percent teachers were post-graduates.

National convener of RTE Forum Ambarish Rai said the problem is that there are no proper institutions for training teachers.

'There is a huge shortage of teachers, and the RTE mandates appointing trained teachers to fill the gap by 2015. However, the question is: Where will these teachers be trained,' Rai asked while speaking to IANS.

'Teachers' training has almost collapsed. Today, teachers' training is being provided by private companies, but the teachers trained by them are not even able to clear the teachers qualification exam,' he said.

In 2012, more than 99 percent of those who appeared for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) failed the exam. The competency test, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was taken by 795,000 aspirants last year.

Training of teachers is the mandate of The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) formed in 1995. But the council could not perform any impressive task in imparting teachers' training, says Delhi University Department of Education professor Krishan Kumar.

'Teachers' training has become an ill sector. The training institutes are in ICU, it is like a situation of helplessness,' Krishan Kumar told IANS.

He said the status of a teacher has been degraded with many north Indian states hiring ill-trained teachers on contract, as adhoc or 'para-teachers'.

'In the entire Hindi belt, there is a new phenomena of hiring para-teachers. There is a massive movement going on with teachers across states agitating and protesting on issues like regularisation of jobs and better salaries, but it is not being highlighted by the media. North India has forgotten its teachers,' Krishna Kumar said.

The appointment of lower-paid contract teachers is leading to attrition of talent from the field, he added.

A sample survey by NGO Right to Education Forum revealed that para-teachers now constitute a major chunk in many states.

In Bihar, 50 percent of schools have para-teachers, in Andhra Pradesh the figure is 44 percent and in Jharkhand it is 37 percent. Karnataka (28 percent), Uttar Pradesh (23 percent) and West Bengal (21 percent) also have a large number of para-teachers.

The study also says that one out of 10 teachers are sub-contract or proxy teachers who come in place of government-appointed teachers by bypassing the selection process and with no vetting of their qualifications.

These proxy teachers constitute a substantial chunk in Himachal Pradesh (15 percent), Jharkhand (12 percent), Manipur (9.4 percent), Tamil Nadu (9.6 percent), Karnataka (7.6 percent) and Maharashtra (6 percent).

Experts say the only way to improve the situation is through restructuring the training of teachers.

'There is need to regulate and evolve a methodology for teachers' training,' said Rai.

He said that recruitment was the second major issue dogging implementation of the RTE as a large chunk of teachers were on contract, while the RTE mandates appointing permanent teachers.

'We have disrespected the teachers' profession. If we start making teachers count the population for the census and work for elections, we are degrading their status. Their dignity is challenged,' Rai added.

Teachers' training has almost collapsed'

New Delhi : A shortage of nearly a million teachers is affecting implementation of the Right to Education Act in India. Compounding this is the lack of government-run training institutes which forces aspirants to go to private insitutions, with the result that just a fraction manage to clear the eligibility test.

The Right to Education Act lays down strict guidelines on the student-teacher ratio, as well as on training, according to which the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) should be 30:1 in primary classes and 35:1 in upper primary classes.

According to a District Information System for Education (DISE) report, in 2011-12 only 34.12 percent of primary school teachers were graduates, while a meagre 17.05 percent teachers were post-graduates.

National convener of RTE Forum Ambarish Rai said the problem is that there are no proper institutions for training teachers.

'There is a huge shortage of teachers, and the RTE mandates appointing trained teachers to fill the gap by 2015. However, the question is: Where will these teachers be trained,' Rai asked while speaking to IANS.

'Teachers' training has almost collapsed. Today, teachers' training is being provided by private companies, but the teachers trained by them are not even able to clear the teachers qualification exam,' he said.

In 2012, more than 99 percent of those who appeared for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) failed the exam. The competency test, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was taken by 795,000 aspirants last year.

Training of teachers is the mandate of The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) formed in 1995. But the council could not perform any impressive task in imparting teachers' training, says Delhi University Department of Education professor Krishan Kumar.

'Teachers' training has become an ill sector. The training institutes are in ICU, it is like a situation of helplessness,' Krishan Kumar told IANS.

He said the status of a teacher has been degraded with many north Indian states hiring ill-trained teachers on contract, as adhoc or 'para-teachers'.

'In the entire Hindi belt, there is a new phenomena of hiring para-teachers. There is a massive movement going on with teachers across states agitating and protesting on issues like regularisation of jobs and better salaries, but it is not being highlighted by the media. North India has forgotten its teachers,' Krishna Kumar said.

The appointment of lower-paid contract teachers is leading to attrition of talent from the field, he added.

A sample survey by NGO Right to Education Forum revealed that para-teachers now constitute a major chunk in many states.

In Bihar, 50 percent of schools have para-teachers, in Andhra Pradesh the figure is 44 percent and in Jharkhand it is 37 percent. Karnataka (28 percent), Uttar Pradesh (23 percent) and West Bengal (21 percent) also have a large number of para-teachers.

The study also says that one out of 10 teachers are sub-contract or proxy teachers who come in place of government-appointed teachers by bypassing the selection process and with no vetting of their qualifications.

These proxy teachers constitute a substantial chunk in Himachal Pradesh (15 percent), Jharkhand (12 percent), Manipur (9.4 percent), Tamil Nadu (9.6 percent), Karnataka (7.6 percent) and Maharashtra (6 percent).

Experts say the only way to improve the situation is through restructuring the training of teachers.

'There is need to regulate and evolve a methodology for teachers' training,' said Rai.

He said that recruitment was the second major issue dogging implementation of the RTE as a large chunk of teachers were on contract, while the RTE mandates appointing permanent teachers.

'We have disrespected the teachers' profession. If we start making teachers count the population for the census and work for elections, we are degrading their status. Their dignity is challenged,' Rai added.

Woman files plea in SC against sexual harassment

NEW DELHI: A woman has filed a plea in the Supreme Court alleging that she had been sexually harassed by her husband and some of the officers of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi.

She sought a CBI probe in the incident and said that she will not get justice in the probe conducted by the navy.

The complainant is a woman from Orissa. She alleged that her husband Lt Ravi Kiran and in laws are continuously harassing her in the name of dowry.  She also alleged that her husband had forced her to sleep with his colleagues and senior officials.

Police had registered a case against navy officials Ashok Okte his wife Prema Okte, Lt Ajay Krishnan, commodore Anand, Lt Isho Chandra and Deepak Kumar.

Woman files plea in SC against sexual harassment

NEW DELHI: A woman has filed a plea in the Supreme Court alleging that she had been sexually harassed by her husband and some of the officers of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi.

She sought a CBI probe in the incident and said that she will not get justice in the probe conducted by the navy.

The complainant is a woman from Orissa. She alleged that her husband Lt Ravi Kiran and in laws are continuously harassing her in the name of dowry.  She also alleged that her husband had forced her to sleep with his colleagues and senior officials.

Police had registered a case against navy officials Ashok Okte his wife Prema Okte, Lt Ajay Krishnan, commodore Anand, Lt Isho Chandra and Deepak Kumar.

Statement of NSS will destroy communal relations, says ET

MALAPPURAM: The statement of NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair will destroy the communal relations of the state, said E T Muhammed Basheer, a member of the executive panel of the Muslim League.

The state government is not conducting the developmental works on the basis of communal relations.  It is not correct to divide the leaders of the UDF on the basis of community, he said.

NABARD to allow Rs. 500 crore for beginning three Medical Colleges

THIRUVNANTHAPURAM: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has decided to allow a package of Rs. 500 crore to Kerala government for the construction of three Medial Colleges at Kasaragod, Konni and Idukki.

The NABARD will, at first, allow Rs. 96 crore. The state government, after acquiring land and preparing primary sketch, had sought financial help from NABARD.

The government’s plea was approved considering that no medical college was started in the government sector since 1983.