Budget 2018-19

  Two South Florida men have pleaded guilty in Ohio to leading a nationwide scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $35 million in COVID-19 relief loans Two South Florida men have pleaded guilty in Ohio to leading a nationwide scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $35 million in  COVID-19 relief loans .James Stote, 55, of Hollywood, Florida, and Phillip Augustin, 52, of Coral Springs, Florida, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Akron, Ohio, federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to court records. They each face up to 20 years in prison. While many businesses in our communities relied upon relief funds to keep their doors open and employees paid, these defendants profited off a scheme that stole millions of taxpayer dollars intended for struggling businesses and spent it lavishly on themselves, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement. According to court documents, Stote and Augustin led a group that ...

  Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar, who had courted controversy by saying “enjoy rape when it is inevitable”, apologised for his ‘off the cuff remark’ Senior  Congress MLA  and former Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, who had courted controversy by saying “enjoy rape when it is inevitable” inside the Karnataka Assembly, apologised for his ‘off the cuff remark’ on Friday. “I would like to express my sincere apologies to everyone for the indifferent and negligent comment I made in today’s assembly about ‘Rape!’ My intention was not trivialise or make light of the heinous crime, but an off the cuff remark! I will choose my words carefully henceforth!” Ramesh Kumar tweeted. During the discussions on rain and flood related damages in the  Karnataka assembly  on Thursday, many MLAs wanted to speak to highlight the plight of people in their constituencies. Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri found himself in a fix as he wanted to wind up the discussion at the earl...

  The world famous Saibaba Temple at Shirdi in Ahmednagar is all set to receive Union Home Minister Amit Shah . The world famous S aibaba Temple  at Shirdi in Ahmednagar is all set to receive Union Home Minister Amit Shah who arrives on a two-day visit to Maharashtra starting Saturday, officials said here on Friday. A trust official said Shah is likely to take ‘darshan’ of Saibaba Samadhi Temple prior to the pre-noon ‘aarti’ to ensure there is no disturbance to the regular devotees who throng here from all over the country daily. The trust is planning to felicitate the Union Home Minister — who has been a frequent visitor to the temple in the past — in Maharashtrian traditions with a shawl, coconut, Saibaba’s ‘vibhuti’ (holy ash) and a miniature statue of the saint revered by all communities. Several other engagements are lined up for Shah in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmednagar during his trip. Besides the  Shirdi Temple , Shah — who is also the Union Cooperatives Minister — will...

  Amid the Omicron scare, the Mumbai police have said prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144 will be imposed in the city from December 16 to December 31 Amid the Omicron scare, the Mumbai police has said prohibitory orders under CrPC  section 144  will be imposed in the city from December 16 to December 31, a period covering Christmas and New Year eve, banning large gatherings as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. They also said only people up to 50 per cent of the capacity at a venue will be allowed to attend any event and organizers of programmes should be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. An order imposing section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) within the Mumbai commissionerate limits from Thursday was issued by the deputy commissioner of police (operations) on Monday. The section prohibits the gathering of five or more persons at one spot and holding of public meetings, among other things. According to the order, people have to fo...

  Employees of public sector banks went on two-day strike against the move to privatise public sector banks impacting normal banking operation across the country Employees of  public sector banks  (PSBs) on Thursday went on two-day strike against the move to privatise public sector banks impacting normal banking operation across the country. Many branches across different parts of the country were shut as the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) had given two day strike call. As a result, services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals might be affected due to the strike. But ATMs are expected to function as usual. Public sector lenders, including State Bank of India, had informed customers that services in their branches might be affected due to ...

  Research shows that the number of air quality monitors in India per million people is lower than other highly populated countries. This prevents it from gauging the true extent of various pollutants With its size, population and aggravating air pollution, India needs 1,600 to 4,000 air quality monitors but has only 804 as of September 16, 2021, most of which are concentrated in urban areas, shows research. This, experts say, prevents India from knowing the true extent, scale and geographical spread of various pollutants, and limits the government’s ability for preventive public health measures. India has nine of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, but with 200 particulate matter (PM) 2.5 monitoring sites in operation during the 2010-2016 period, India’s air quality monitor density–about 0.14 monitors per million people–is below China (1.2), the United States of America (3.4), Japan (0.5) and Brazil (1.8), according to research from 2019. As a consequence, India does not acc...