New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to provide 10 per cent reservation for constable vacancies within Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for ex-Agniveers. This decision was made on Thursday, with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Railway Protection Force (RPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) all implementing this reservation. Some forces will also offer short-duration training to ex-Agniveers before deploying them in border areas.

In a series of tweets, the Home Minister’s Office said: “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decides to reserve 10 per cent vacancies for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam Rifles for Agniveers, completing four years under the Agnipath Scheme announced by the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi”.

“The MHA also decides to give 3 years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in CAPFs & Assam Rifles. Further, for the first batch of Agniveer, the age relaxation will be for 5 years beyond the prescribed upper age limit.”

Director General of CISF, Nina Singh on Thursday announced that the organisation has finalized arrangements for recruiting ex-Agniveers. Ten per cent of constable positions have been reserved specifically for them. Ex-Agniveers will receive a relaxation in the Physical Efficiency Test, along with age concessions – five years for the initial batch and three years thereafter, as detailed by the DG.

She emphasised that CISF is committed to ensuring that ex-Agniveers derive maximum benefit from these provisions. The recruitment of ex-Agniveers is expected to bring capable, dedicated, and disciplined personnel into CISF, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. It also offers ex-Agniveers an opportunity to serve within CISF.

The BSF has also implemented similar provisions for ex-Agniveers, announced Director General Nitin Agrawal. He highlighted that ex-Agniveers have dedicated four years of their lives to service, demonstrating training and discipline. After receiving short training, BSF will deploy them along the borders.

He said: “We are eagerly waiting to recruit them. They will get 10 per cent reservation in the recruitment, and also age relaxation. For the first batch, the age relaxation is of five years while for subsequent batches, the age relaxation is of three years.”

SSB DG Daljit Singh Chaudhary said, There is a quota fixed for Ex-Agniveers in SSB. We have amended the recruitment rules accordingly. The first batch will be given an age relaxation of five years. And, there will be no Physical Efficiency Test for them.”

RPF’s DGP Manoj Yadava said, “For any recruitment in RPF, there will be a reservation of ten per cent for Ex-Agniveers. They will also get relaxation in age. The first batch will get five years of relaxation while it will be three years afterwards. There will also be no Physical Efficiency Test for them. We welcome Ex-Agniveers in RPF as it will further enhance the capabilities of the force.”

CRPF DG Anish Dayal Singh said that all arrangements have been made to recruit ex-Agniveers in CRPF. The recruitment rules have been accordingly amended. A reservation of ten per cent has been made for Ex-Agniveers. They will also get relaxation in age. The first batch will get five years of relaxation while it will be three years afterwards.

There will also be no Physical Efficiency Test for them. This is a welcome step for the force to recruit Ex-Agniveers as they are Army trained and have already served in the three services. They will bring dedication and discipline from day one, he added.

–IANS

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Hyderabad, July 11 (IANS) A city court on Thursday sent YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu to judicial custody for 14 days for vulgar and obscene comments on the father-daughter relationship.

Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau, which had arrested him in Bangalore on Wednesday, brought him to Hyderabad on a transit warrant and produced him before a magistrate at Nampally Criminal Court Complex.

After the magistrate remanded Praneeth to judicial custody, he was shifted to Chanchalguda Jail.

Praneeth (29), a native of Andhra Pradesh and resident of Hyderabad, is the main accused in the FIR registered by Telangana Cyber Security Bureau on July 7 after public outrage over inappropriate comments.

According to the Cyber Security Bureau, this case involves a group of individuals engaged in vulgar and obscene conversations about a father-daughter relationship on a YouTube podcast.

The FIR was registered under sections 67B (publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 294 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) of the Indian Penal Code, 79 of BNS (word gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) and 13 (c) (indecent or obscene representation of a child) of the POCSO Act.

Praneeth was absconding since the day the matter came to light and he was finally arrested on Wednesday.

Shikha Goel, Director of Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, said the efforts were on to apprehend the remaining accused.

The FIR was registered after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka promised action when actor Sai Dharam Tej reported child abuse online.

Sai Dharam Tej had expressed outrage on social media and urged the chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of both the Telugu states to demand necessary action to curb horrific acts like this in future.

Some other actors and people from various walks of life had also demanded action against those involved.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday asked the political parties to do self-introspection amid explosive and alarming salutation at all levels as democratic politics is witnessing a new low as amity is being lost due to adversarial and confrontational stance.

“It is apparent that presently all is not well with the functioning of our parliament and legislatures. These temples of democracy are suffering the sacrilege of strategised disruptions and disturbance. Dialogue amongst parties is missing. It is essential and there can be no escape,” the Vice President said.

He said that there has to be a friendly collaborative dialogue between all sections of the house, dialogue amongst the party is missing and the level of discourse the manner in which you address is nose-diving.

“Rather than being cordial, it is confrontational, with amiability being displaced by an adversarial stance. Democratic polity is witnessing a new low and there is stress and strain,” the Vice President said.

In his address to both houses of the Maharashtra Legislature, he said there is a need to strictly adhere to democratic values as well as parliamentary traditions in our legislatures.

“Decorum and discipline are the heart and soul of democracy. The strength of democracy lies in the diversity of opinions and the ability to find common ground through constructive engagement,” he said.

The Vice President said it is a system that thrives on dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation.

“Parliamentarians are not part of a debating society. They do not engage in who wins a debate because they are pursuing a common cause and therefore I strongly commend the parliamentarians and those in the legislature to contribute in humanity, in sublimity and in modesty,” he said.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 11 (IANS) West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said that he met the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and requested her to stop the “diversion” and “misappropriation” of the centrally sponsored schemes and welfare funds by the state government.

The LoP also handed over a communique to the Finance Minister where he gave details on how alleged diversion and misappropriation of the welfare funds are being done to delay the ensuing financial meltdown in the state.

“After the derailment of industrialisation combined with ‘dole politics’ and ‘vote bank politics’ West Bengal is heading towards widespread financial meltdown. The state is in a jobless pandemic. Now the fear is that the development and welfare funds meant for the people might get unethically diverted, delayed, mismanaged and misappropriated to somehow delay the ensuing financial meltdown in the state,” read the LoP’s letter.

In such a situation, Adhikari, added, in the letter, a close vigilance and scrutiny are needed to be maintained in the public interest so that the state government can be checked before “misuse” or “squander” of the funds.

Adhikari also met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and briefed him about the post-poll law and order situation in West Bengal.

“He enquired about the victims of the post-poll violence and extended full support regarding the abatement of the same. I handed over a USB drive to him, which contains video footage of the Chopra public flogging incident, Cooch Behar disrobing incident of a lady BJP minority morcha karyakarta, Bankra gang war between two factions of Trinamool Congress, and a Trinamool Congress panchayat member in Murshidabad roaming around with crude bombs and the Ariadaha incident,” Adhikari said.

–IANS

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Visakhapatnam, July 11 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said that Visakhapatnam will be transformed into a Fintech hub.

He also assured industrialists that the state government would provide them with better subsidies in the process of rebuilding the state.

The Chief Minister, who is on a visit to north Andhra, had a virtual interaction with National Council members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

He appealed to the CII representatives to become partners in the P4 (Public, Private, People’s Partnership) policy.

The Chief Minister announced that a meeting will be organised with the CII representatives in Visakhapatnam sometime this year.

He reiterated that his sole aim is building a poverty-free society. He told the CII representatives that the expertise will be sharpened among the youth through skill census following which the youth will get employment across the globe. “The reforms may do some damage politically, but I am confident that these reforms will certainly be of great help for the people,” he said.

Naidu said that when he became the Chief Minister for the first time of the combined Andhra Pradesh in 1995, the CII was a small organisation which has now grown to global level to influence all sectors across the world.

Pointing out that the reforms in the power sector were introduced first in Andhra Pradesh in 1998, he said that the Regulatory Commission too was formed for the first time in the country in Andhra Pradesh.

“We have introduced the first Emirates flight from Hyderabad to Dubai through Open Sky policy and also laid the foundation for Green Field airport in Hyderabad at that time. Bengaluru and Mumbai took up such projects later,” he said.

The Chief Minister stated that the public policy system and welfare should always be aimed at alleviating poverty.

“We all should work to achieve this,” he added.

Stating that he has short, medium and long-term policies for this, the Chief Minister sought their advice in which way to organise the government programmes.

“Give us guidance and we will move forward in that way by creating opportunities,” he said.

–IANS

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