New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned the Chief Secretaries and Finance Secretaries of states and Union Territories which are defaulting on the implementation of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission’s (SNJPC) recommendations.

In its order, a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, noted that many states and UTs have failed to implement the revised pay scale and retiral benefits for judicial officers.

The bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said that the directions issued by the apex court should be complied with by August 20 this year and Chief Secretaries and Finance Secretaries of all the defaulting states and UTs will personally remain present before the court on the next date of listing.

The Supreme Court had ordered to implementation of the proposals of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission, chaired by former apex court judge Justice P.V. Reddy on the revision of pay and pension for judicial officers, with effect from January 1, 2016, after a plea was filed by the All India Judges Association for the constitution of the All India Judicial Commission to review the service conditions of the judges of the district judiciary.

In its decision, the top court had said: “The work of a judge cannot be assessed solely in terms of their duties during court working hours. The state is under an affirmative obligation to ensure dignified conditions of work for its judicial officers and it cannot raise the defence of an increase in financial burden or expenditure.”

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 11 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that she will separately meet Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during her two-day trip to Mumbai to attend the marriage function of industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s son Anant Ambani.

“I will meet Uddhav Thackeray, whom I have not met for quite some time, there tomorrow. I will have political discussions with him. I will also go to the residence of Sharad Pawar and meet him. I heard that Akhilesh Yadav will be there. I will also meet him. I will be coming back to Kolkata on Saturday,” she told media persons while leaving for Mumbai.

However, she did not specify the subjects of her discussion with the three other regional party leaders.

The Chief Minister lambasted a section of the media for allegedly creating negative propaganda against her party by bringing some old videos regarding mob violence just before the bypolls for four Assembly constituencies in the state on Wednesday. “This was done deliberately to create false propaganda before the polls. Even an event of 2021 was highlighted. I might adopt legal steps against such things,” she said.

–IANS

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Gurugram, July 11 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini met Yuzvendra Chahal, a member of the T-20 Cricket World Cup winning team in Gurugram on Thursday.

The Chief Minister congratulated the cricketer on winning the T-20 World Cup and wished him success in his future endeavours.

The Chief Minister also honoured Chahal at the PWD Rest House in Gurugram by presenting him with an Idol of Lord Krishna and a shawl. The Chief Minister adorned Chahal with a medal and expressed his delight, encouraging him to continue bringing glory to Haryana both nationally and internationally.

Chief Minister also announced plans to soon organise a felicitation ceremony for Paralympic athletes and other sportspersons who have made Haryana proud.

He emphasised that Haryana is a land of athletes who consistently excel in international sports, enhancing the nation’s reputation worldwide.

Interacting with the Chief Minister, Chahal shared that he has been playing cricket as a bowler for many years. He shared that although his family hails from Jind, they have been residing in Gurugram for the past four years.

Notably, officers present apprised the Chief Minister that Yuzvendra Chahal is the only athlete to have represented India in both chess and cricket. He has competed in the World Youth Chess Championship and plays as a leg-spin bowler for the Indian cricket team.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Union Minister for Petroleum and Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri hailed a study by the State Bank of India (SBI), which claimed that as many as 12.5 crore jobs were created in the Indian economy during the fiscal years of 2014-24, marking a four-fold jump from the 2004-2014 period, which saw the creation of about 2.9 crore jobs.

He also expressed happiness over the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) registering a total employment generation of about 20 crore in the small scale industry, as per data shared by the Udyam portal.

Notably, the post-2014 period, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the first time, has been described by the BJP as an era of high-growth when the country jumped from the 11th fastest-growing to 5th fastest growing nation and also a period when slew of reforms unshackled the economy from various restraints.

The ten years from 2004-2014, under UPA-I and UPA-II also saw above 8 per cent economic growth.

However, multiple scams coupled with policy paralysis overshadowed the growth markers in this decade.

Hardeep Puri said that the mushrooming of jobs and employment opportunities in the 2014-24 period is a commendable move and expressed hope that similar job numbers will reflect in government data, in the next few years.

He said that the Indian economy was moving at a trailblazing speed, heading towards the $5 trillion mark and hence there was a need to commensurate growth with skilled manpower.

He also addressed the shortage of skilled manpower and said that it was a matter of worry that top human resource was being tapped by multinational firms from the Gulf or Europe.

He said that many of the highly-trained people were absorbed by these MNCs, creating a shortage back home.

Quoting a top industry captain, the L&T chairman, the minister said that there was shortage of about 45,000 skilled workers and this was apparently one of the reasons for projects not getting completed on time.

Further recalling his experience as the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs in Modi 2.0, he said that he used to connect with CREDA and other organisations on how to retain the skilled and semi-skilled labour and also on cultivating a fresh batch of trained professionals.

“When you advertise for skilled labour, you get minimal applications but there are lakhs of applications in the unskilled category,” he recalled.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday said that the “Wagh Nakh” or the tiger claws used by Shivaji during the historic battle and for the defeat of the Bijapur Sultanate’s General Afzal Khan in 1659, will be brought from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to India.

“The “Wagh Nakh” will be kept in the government museum at Satara on July 19 where the Sambhaji, the descendants of Shivaji and the chieftains will visit,” the minister said in the Assembly.

The minister said that during his visit to London last year, he had signed an agreement to bring the tiger claws for a three-year exhibition.

“These tiger claws after they were transported from India to London and were exhibited in 1875 and 1896. The state government had sent its communication to the museum when it agreed to give tiger claws for a period of one year for the exhibition. However, after the state government’s fresh efforts, the museum has agreed to give tiger claws for three years,” the minister said.

He said that the “Wagh Nakh” is a source of inspiration and energy for the people.

On the authenticity of tiger claws, the minister said only one historian has questioned but by and large, the government’s move has been welcomed by the people.

“Many devotees of Shivaji demanded that the encroachment near Afzal Khan’s grave be removed. On November 5, 2022, it was decided to demolish it. The encroachment was removed on November 10, 2022,” the minister said.

He said that then the devotees of Shivaji gave information to the state government about tiger claws currently housed in London’s museum.

“The state government made correspondence with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also with the UK Prime Minister and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The government has inked a MoU with the museum to bring back tiger claws for three years for a historic exhibition,” the minister said.

–IANS

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