Itanagar, July 24 (IANS) The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has passed a Bill to curb irregularities and unfair means in various public examinations held in the state.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday (July 19) tabled the “Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures to Prevent Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2024,” which has strict provisions for punishment like imprisonment and penalties, debarring of candidates from appearing in recruitment examinations as well as attachment and confiscation of property.

The Bill has a provision for special courts for the speedy trial of such offences.

It incorporates stringent penalties and imprisonment with the imposition of a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.

Chief Minister Khandu said that it is a good initiative to curb the malpractice of paper leaks during examinations.

He added that the law would ensure a free and fair selection process for all posts under the Arunachal Pradesh government and detect malpractices.

The state was marred by the leak of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper in 2022.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are probing the question paper leak, which happened ahead of a written examination for recruitment to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) conducted by the APPSC on August 26-27, 2022.

Many government and APPSC staff were suspended and more than 50 government employees were arrested in connection with the paper leak.

–IANS

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Bhubaneswar, July 24 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for laying special focus on the development of the tourism sector in Odisha in Budget 2024-25 presented in the Parliament on Tuesday.

“I am thanking PM Modi and FM Sitharaman on behalf of the people of Odisha for laying special emphasis on the development of the tourism sector in Odisha and making arrangements to provide necessary financial assistance in the current budget. The tourism sector along with wildlife, marine resources and development of temples will contribute significantly to Odisha’s economic development. Odisha tourism will become a centre of attraction,” CM Mohan Majhi wrote on X.

Welcoming the Budget, Deputy CM Pravati Parida on Tuesday described the budget as revolutionary. She said special emphasis has been laid on the women and the tourism sector in Odisha.

On the other hand, former CM and Leader of Opposition, Naveen Patnaik termed the budget as “anti-Odisha”. He alleged that Odisha and its people were completely neglected by the NDA government.

“BJP has put special category status in their manifesto as a promise to the people of Odisha. However, the promise has not been considered for Odisha. Whereas, special packages allocating crore of funds have been announced for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Along with this, the demand of Odisha for the revision of coal royalty which has been pending for years with the central government and being rejected because of which the state will lose thousands of crores of revenue every year,” Patnaik said in a video message.

He further added that lots of big promises in different sectors were made to the people of Odisha by the leaders of BJP during the election campaign, especially on agriculture, MSME and industry but there is no mention of any promise being fulfilled in the budget.

Patnaik said today the most serious issue being faced by the common public is inflation, price rises and unemployment. This budget doesn’t have any considerable intervention to address the two major issues.

Meanwhile, all the nine BJD MPs in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday walked out of the house when the Union Budget was being laid, protesting the “continued neglect of Odisha” in the Union Budget.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, July 24 (IANS) BJP MP and former Karnataka Cabinet minister K. Sudhakar on Tuesday said that the announcement in the Budget to convert the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway to a 12-lane expressway will boost the regional economy.

Speaking to the media, Sudhakar said: “The expansion of the Bengaluru-Hyderabad Highway to a 12-lane expressway will boost the economy in the region and will specifically benefit my constituency, Chikkaballapura.

“When I recently met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and requested to take up this project, he immediately agreed and promised to take it up soon. I thank Gadkari ji for the announcement of this project in the Budget.”

Sudhakar further said that the Union Budget clearly reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for Viksit Bharat where the farmers prosper, poor lead a life of dignity, the middle class get the due for their hard work and Indian enterprise gets a boost.

“The Budget has laid out a clear roadmap to build on the momentum gained in the last 10 years. This is truly a Budget of hope and empowerment. PM Modi has always put national interests before political interests,” he said.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, July 24 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday evening that he will not take part in the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on July 27.

Calling the Union Budget 2024-25 “discriminatory” and “dangerous”, the Congress had also said on Tuesday evening that the party’s Chief Ministers — Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Sukhvinder Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) — will not attend the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on July 27.

Taking to X, Siddaramaiah said, “Despite my earnest efforts in calling for an all-party meeting of MPs in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka’s essential needs, the Union Budget neglected our state’s demands.”

“Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also attended the meeting, has ignored the concerns of the people of Karnataka. We don’t feel Kannadigas are being heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting,” he said, adding, “We have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27 as a mark of protest.”

The Chief Minister said that even the farmers’ demands to approve the Mekedatu and Mahadayi projects have been ignored.

“There was no attempt to rectify their sin of reducing funds to our state under various categories. Funds for Metro and other infra projects are still a distant dream,” he said.

“The Prime Minister is unable to look at states other than Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. We hope the people of our state stand with us in our fight for justice,” the CHief Minister added.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, July 24 (IANS) Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a Budget for the youth of future India.

Speaking to the media, he said it is a development-oriented Budget for a developed India.

“In the budget, Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been allocated to the agriculture sector, Rs 1.5 lakh crore for employment and skill development, the amount for loan under the Mudra scheme has been increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1 lakh crore has been allocated for rural development, and 3 crore houses will be provided to the poor,” he said.

“The Budget has specifically focused on giving importance to small industries in the manufacturing sector and facilitating significant growth in the service sector. Efforts are being made to further strengthen the country’s economy by investing more in these three sectors,” Bommai said.

The plan to introduce special laws for women’s empowerment is a positive development, he said.

“The electricity sector has been given more importance, with a focus on renewable energy. The Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Yojana aims to provide free electricity to around one crore people, and already one lakh people have registered for the scheme,” the former Karnataka CM said.

“Measures have been taken to attract more foreign direct investment, reduce government debt, and bring significant changes in the coming days. This budget is indeed the youth budget for the future of India,” he added.

–IANS

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