Direct cash transfer of LPG subsidy from June

New Delhi : In a move to plug distribution leakages the government will start direct transfer of cash subsidy on cooking gas (LPG) in 20 districts from June 1.

Launching the scheme here Wednesday Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily said 7.6 million consumers in 20 districts like Mysore, North Goa, Pondicherry, Mandi and Hyderabad, will get Rs.435 in their back accounts each time they book an LPG refill.

The consumers then will have to buy cooking gas at the market price which is twice the subsidised price in Delhi of Rs. 410.50 for a 14.2 kg cylinder.

'We are ready to launch the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG all over the country but we want to see the results of the roll-out in these 20 districts,' he said.

The 20 districts selected have high penetration of the Aadhaar unique identification (UID) number project.

While 89 percent LPG consumers have UID numbers, the government will give a three-month grace period to those still without Aadhar numbers in these districts to get the UID number and seed it with their bank accounts, where the cash subsidy has to be transferred.

From September 1, only consumers having Aadhaar linked bank accounts will get cash subsidy, while the rest will have to buy LPG at market price, Moily said.

The government anticipates a saving of Rs. 8,000 to Rs.10,000 crore per year in LPG after the scheme is rolled out all over the country.

The government had in January launched the DBT scheme whereby government benefits like pensions and scholarships are directly transferred to beneficiaries.

Currently, consumers are entitled to nine 14.2 kg cylinders of LPG at subsidised rates in a year.

The 20 districts where the DBT for cooking gas is being launched include Anantpur, Chittoor, East Godavari and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi and Una in Himachal Pradesh, Mysore and Tumkur in Karnataka, Pathanamthitta and Wayand in Kerala, Wardha in Maharasthra, Pondicherry, and SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar in Punjab.

Direct cash transfer of LPG subsidy from June

New Delhi : In a move to plug distribution leakages the government will start direct transfer of cash subsidy on cooking gas (LPG) in 20 districts from June 1.

Launching the scheme here Wednesday Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily said 7.6 million consumers in 20 districts like Mysore, North Goa, Pondicherry, Mandi and Hyderabad, will get Rs.435 in their back accounts each time they book an LPG refill.

The consumers then will have to buy cooking gas at the market price which is twice the subsidised price in Delhi of Rs. 410.50 for a 14.2 kg cylinder.

'We are ready to launch the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG all over the country but we want to see the results of the roll-out in these 20 districts,' he said.

The 20 districts selected have high penetration of the Aadhaar unique identification (UID) number project.

While 89 percent LPG consumers have UID numbers, the government will give a three-month grace period to those still without Aadhar numbers in these districts to get the UID number and seed it with their bank accounts, where the cash subsidy has to be transferred.

From September 1, only consumers having Aadhaar linked bank accounts will get cash subsidy, while the rest will have to buy LPG at market price, Moily said.

The government anticipates a saving of Rs. 8,000 to Rs.10,000 crore per year in LPG after the scheme is rolled out all over the country.

The government had in January launched the DBT scheme whereby government benefits like pensions and scholarships are directly transferred to beneficiaries.

Currently, consumers are entitled to nine 14.2 kg cylinders of LPG at subsidised rates in a year.

The 20 districts where the DBT for cooking gas is being launched include Anantpur, Chittoor, East Godavari and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi and Una in Himachal Pradesh, Mysore and Tumkur in Karnataka, Pathanamthitta and Wayand in Kerala, Wardha in Maharasthra, Pondicherry, and SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar in Punjab.

Kerala Police to raise Anti-Terror Squad

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police will soon raise a new Special Forces battalion to deny left extremists and religious fundamentalist outfits from using the State's remote terrains for recruitment, indoctrination and martial training.

An Additional Director General of Police will have operational control of the 626-man unit to be named the Kerala Anti-Terror Squad (KATS). Expertise in unconventional jungle warfare based on guerrilla tactics will be the unit's chief strength. Its primary task will be to dominate remote terrains likely to be used by armed radical elements, fugitives from law, marijuana growers, smugglers, hooch distillers and spirit hoarders.
The squads will report to the government on issues, social and material, that can lead to alienation and radicalisation of such people, including the urban poor, so that the State can take pre-emptive action through accurate targeting of subsidies and welfare measures. The squad members will be trained to administer primary health care and impart basic education and living skills to remote dwelling people.

Kerala Police to raise Anti-Terror Squad

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police will soon raise a new Special Forces battalion to deny left extremists and religious fundamentalist outfits from using the State's remote terrains for recruitment, indoctrination and martial training.

An Additional Director General of Police will have operational control of the 626-man unit to be named the Kerala Anti-Terror Squad (KATS). Expertise in unconventional jungle warfare based on guerrilla tactics will be the unit's chief strength. Its primary task will be to dominate remote terrains likely to be used by armed radical elements, fugitives from law, marijuana growers, smugglers, hooch distillers and spirit hoarders.
The squads will report to the government on issues, social and material, that can lead to alienation and radicalisation of such people, including the urban poor, so that the State can take pre-emptive action through accurate targeting of subsidies and welfare measures. The squad members will be trained to administer primary health care and impart basic education and living skills to remote dwelling people.

No arrest for posts on social sites without permission: SC

New Delhi : The Supreme Court today said that no person should be arrested for posting objectionable comments on social networking sites without taking prior permission from senior police officials.

The apex court, which refused to pass an order for a blanket ban on the arrest of a person for making objectionable
comments on websites, said state governments should ensure strict compliance of the Centre's January 9 advisory which
said that a person should not be arrested without taking permission from senior police officials.

'We direct the state governments to ensure compliance with the guidelines (issued by Centre) before making any
arrest,' a bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra said.

It said the court cannot pass an order for banning all arrest in such cases as operation of section 66A (pertaining
to objectionable comments) of the Information Technology Act has not been stayed by the apex court which is examining its
constitutional validity.

In view of public outrage over people being arrested for making comments or liking posts on Facebook, Centre had on
January 9 issued advisory to all states and UTs asking them not to arrest a person in such cases without prior approval of
a senior police officer.

The advisory issued by the Centre says that, 'State governments are advised that as regard to arrest of any person
in complaint registered under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, the concerned police officer of a police
station may not arrest any person until she/he has obtained prior approval of such arrest from an officer, not below the
rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP) in metropolitan cities or of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) or Superintendent of Police (SP) at district level, as the case may be.'

The apex court was hearing an application seeking its direction to the authorities not to take action for posting
objectionable comments during the pendency of a case before it pertaining to constitutional validity of section 66A of the
Information Technology (IT) Act.

The section states that any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or communication device, any information
that was grossly offensive or has a menacing character could be punished with imprisonment for a maximum term of three
years, besides imposition of appropriate fine.

The petition was also filed regarding the arrest of a Hyderabad-based woman activist, who was sent to jail over her
Facebook post in which certain 'objectionable' comments were made against Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and Congress MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan. After filing of the petition, she was released by a district court at Hyderabad.

Jaya Vindhayal, the state general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), was arrested on May 12 under
section 66A of the IT Act for the 'objectionable' post. According to the police, she had also allegedly distributed pamphlets making objectionable allegations against Rosaiah and Mohan before posting the comments online. 

The matter was mentioned before the bench by law student Shreya Singhal, seeking an urgent hearing in the case, saying
the police is taking action in such matters even though a PIL challenging validity of section 66A is pending before the apex
court.

She had filed the PIL after two girls--Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan--were arrested in Palghar in Thane district
under section 66A of IT Act after one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it. PTI

No arrest for posts on social sites without permission: SC

New Delhi : The Supreme Court today said that no person should be arrested for posting objectionable comments on social networking sites without taking prior permission from senior police officials.

The apex court, which refused to pass an order for a blanket ban on the arrest of a person for making objectionable
comments on websites, said state governments should ensure strict compliance of the Centre's January 9 advisory which
said that a person should not be arrested without taking permission from senior police officials.

'We direct the state governments to ensure compliance with the guidelines (issued by Centre) before making any
arrest,' a bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra said.

It said the court cannot pass an order for banning all arrest in such cases as operation of section 66A (pertaining
to objectionable comments) of the Information Technology Act has not been stayed by the apex court which is examining its
constitutional validity.

In view of public outrage over people being arrested for making comments or liking posts on Facebook, Centre had on
January 9 issued advisory to all states and UTs asking them not to arrest a person in such cases without prior approval of
a senior police officer.

The advisory issued by the Centre says that, 'State governments are advised that as regard to arrest of any person
in complaint registered under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, the concerned police officer of a police
station may not arrest any person until she/he has obtained prior approval of such arrest from an officer, not below the
rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP) in metropolitan cities or of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) or Superintendent of Police (SP) at district level, as the case may be.'

The apex court was hearing an application seeking its direction to the authorities not to take action for posting
objectionable comments during the pendency of a case before it pertaining to constitutional validity of section 66A of the
Information Technology (IT) Act.

The section states that any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or communication device, any information
that was grossly offensive or has a menacing character could be punished with imprisonment for a maximum term of three
years, besides imposition of appropriate fine.

The petition was also filed regarding the arrest of a Hyderabad-based woman activist, who was sent to jail over her
Facebook post in which certain 'objectionable' comments were made against Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and Congress MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan. After filing of the petition, she was released by a district court at Hyderabad.

Jaya Vindhayal, the state general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), was arrested on May 12 under
section 66A of the IT Act for the 'objectionable' post. According to the police, she had also allegedly distributed pamphlets making objectionable allegations against Rosaiah and Mohan before posting the comments online. 

The matter was mentioned before the bench by law student Shreya Singhal, seeking an urgent hearing in the case, saying
the police is taking action in such matters even though a PIL challenging validity of section 66A is pending before the apex
court.

She had filed the PIL after two girls--Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan--were arrested in Palghar in Thane district
under section 66A of IT Act after one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it. PTI

Four Indian Americans charged with healthcare fraud

WASHINGTON: Four Indian Americans, including a physician and three co-owners of a health clinic from Chicago area, have been charged with healthcare fraud estimated to be running into millions of dollars. Federal law enforcement officials said three Indian Americans Ankur Roy, Akash Patel and Dipen Desai owned and operated Selectcare Health Inc., that provided outpatient physical and respiratory therapy in Park Ridge and Skokie. They have been charged with submitting more than $4 million in false billings to Medicare between March and July 2011. Each of them has been charged with six counts of healthcare fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury last Wednesday and unsealed on Tuesday. Another Indian-American, Doctor Nalini Ahluwalia, has been charged with one count of violating the anti-kickback law for allegedly receiving USD 1,000 in exchange for referring two patients to a home healthcare agency in August 2012. Charged in a complaint filed in US District Court, she will be ordered to appear on a date to be determined, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Roy, 36, of Miami was arrested Tuesday in South Florida, while Patel (33) of Morton Grove and Desai (33) of Chicago will be ordered to appear for arraignment on a later date in US District Court in Chicago. According to the indictment, Roy, Patel and Desai submitted false claims to Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield on behalf of Selectcare patients for respiratory therapy services that were never provided. The alleged false billings sought reimbursement for services purportedly provided on days that Selectcare's sole respiratory therapist was not working.

Four Indian Americans charged with healthcare fraud

WASHINGTON: Four Indian Americans, including a physician and three co-owners of a health clinic from Chicago area, have been charged with healthcare fraud estimated to be running into millions of dollars. Federal law enforcement officials said three Indian Americans Ankur Roy, Akash Patel and Dipen Desai owned and operated Selectcare Health Inc., that provided outpatient physical and respiratory therapy in Park Ridge and Skokie. They have been charged with submitting more than $4 million in false billings to Medicare between March and July 2011. Each of them has been charged with six counts of healthcare fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury last Wednesday and unsealed on Tuesday. Another Indian-American, Doctor Nalini Ahluwalia, has been charged with one count of violating the anti-kickback law for allegedly receiving USD 1,000 in exchange for referring two patients to a home healthcare agency in August 2012. Charged in a complaint filed in US District Court, she will be ordered to appear on a date to be determined, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Roy, 36, of Miami was arrested Tuesday in South Florida, while Patel (33) of Morton Grove and Desai (33) of Chicago will be ordered to appear for arraignment on a later date in US District Court in Chicago. According to the indictment, Roy, Patel and Desai submitted false claims to Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield on behalf of Selectcare patients for respiratory therapy services that were never provided. The alleged false billings sought reimbursement for services purportedly provided on days that Selectcare's sole respiratory therapist was not working.

Subsidy for consumption upto 120 units

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state cabinet Wednesday decided to continue giving subsidy for domestic consumers consuming power upto 120 units. The subsidy will continue in the renewed tariff hike. The government also decided to continue giving financial aid of Rs 25 cores to the electricity board. Also an extra amount of Rs 10 crores would be given to the KSEB.

Instead of Justice P A Muhammed Committee, a panel led by James will observe admissions to self-financing colleges.

The cabinet decided to extend the tenure of PSC ranks lists to four and a half years.

N Radhakrishnan has appointed as the new health secretary.

Congress MLA gets life term for abduction, murder of niece's lover

RANCHI: Congress MLA Sawna Lakra and three others were on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment by a local court in a case of kidnapping and murder of a youth who was in love with Lakra's niece.

District and Sessions Judge S S Kazmi had convicted Lakra, his bodyguard Janak Mahato, driver Gopi Kashyap and his associate Dinesh Lakra in the abduction and murder case of Avinash Tiwari on Monday.

Kazmi pronounced the quantum of punishment on Wednesday.

Avinash, who was in love with Lakra's niece, had gone missing on way from Garhwa to Ranchi by train on April 24, 2011.

After his bullet-riddled body was recovered from a forest at Karra in Khunti district three days later, Avinash's father lodged an FIR against the MLA of Khijri and the other three.

Lakra was against the relationship between Avinash and his niece and their decision to marry.

The MLA surrendered to the court on May 24 that year after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him.