India’s first coronavirus death confirmed

A 76-year-old man who died in Karnataka while being treated for suspected coronavirus has become India’s first COVID-19 fatality with his samples taken earlier confirming the infection, the state government said. Confirming that the man was a positive patient for coronavirus, Health Minister B. Sriramulu tweeted that necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol were being taken. A senior health ministry official said that the death of the man, who had visited Saudi Arabia from January 29 to February 29, “is confirmed to be caused due to co-morbidity and has also tested positive for COVD-19”. The official said the man had reached Hyderabad on February 29 and proceeded to Kalaburagi in Karnataka.

India provides rice to flood-hit Madagascar

India handed over 600 tonnes of rice to Madagascar on March 12 for victims of the January flood which left 26 dead and 92,000 affected in the east African island nation. Indian Ambassador Abhay Kumar handed over the consignment of rice to Madagascar Foreign Minister Tehindrazanarivelo Djacoba at a function held at the Port Antsiranana. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Shardul arrived in Madagascar’s Port Antsiranana on March 10 carrying 600 tonnes of rice. This was the Indian government’s second delivery of relief materials for the Madagascar flood victims. It was also the biggest relief load ever carried by any Indian warship. Kumar said the rice was brought to Madagascar in a warship, the fastest way relief could be delivered “by us for our brothers and sisters in the Indian Ocean”.

‘Rs 1.83 tn spent on MGNREGA in 2017-20’

Expenditure under MGNREGA almost   doubled to Rs 1.83 lakh crore during 2017-18 to 2019-20 as compared to the 2011-12 to 2013-14 period, the government said in the Rajya Sabha. Replying to a query, MoS (agriculture) Parshottam Rupala said the government has spent “Rs 1,83,000 crore in the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 which is double the amount of Rs 92,483 crore spent in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14”. He said there are provisions of providing wages in case of delays in assigning work or delays in payment to beneficiaries. Earlier, MoS (rural development) Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said 526.97 lakh households were provided employment in the current fiscal up to March 9 as against 603.81 lakh households demanding employment under the scheme.

Parliament approves Vivad Se Vishwas Bill

Parliament on March 13 approved a Bill that will provide an opportunity to taxpayers to settle their tax disputes by paying just due taxes with complete waiver of interest and penalty by March 31. The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill was passed by a voice vote and returned by the Rajya Sabha as it was a money Bill. It was approved by the Lok Sabha on March 4. The finance minister pointed out that some members had raised issues on the Bill and asked how can the Central Board of Direct Taxes issue a circular on the scheme before passage of the Bill in Parliament. “There is no breach of privilege,” she said. As many as 4.83 lakh direct tax cases worth Rs 9.32 lakh crore are locked up in various appellate forums such as Commissioner (Appeals), ITAT, High Courts, Supreme Court and Debt Recovery Tribunals.

J&K revokes PSA against Farooq Abdullah

The Jammu & Kashmir administration has revoked the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, a five-time parliamentarian and a member of the current Lok Sabha, with immediate effect. According to an order issued by the Union Territory’s home secretary Shaleen Kabra, the PSA ordered by the district magistrate of Srinagar on September 15 and subsequently extended for three months on December 13, stands revoked. Abdullah was under preventive detention since August 5 last year, the day the Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu & Kashmir. He was the first chief minister against whom the PSA was invoked. He was booked under ‘public order’ of the PSA, a provision that allows authorities to detain a person for three months without trial. This can be extended up to two years.

Kuldeep Sengar gets 10-year jail term

Disqualified UP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was on March 13 handed down 10 years rigorous imprisonment, besides imposition of a fine of Rs 10 lakh, by a Delhi court for the death of Unnao rape victim’s father in custody, saying “no leniency” can be shown for killing a family’s “sole bread earner”. Sengar, who has already been sentenced to the “remainder of his natural biological life” for raping the minor Unnao girl, was stripped of his membership on February 25 as the lawmaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly following his conviction in the rape case. The court, which did not hold the accused guilty of murder under the Indian Penal Code, awarded maximum sentence for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder to convicts under section 304 of the IPC after holding that there was not intention to kill.

Panel seeks hike in MPLAD fund allocation

A parliamentary panel has pitched for up to three-fold hike in fund allocation for the MPLAD scheme from the current Rs 5 crore in view of inflation and higher such allocations for MLAs. The allocation under the scheme has not been revised for a long time and is therefore long overdue, it stated. It noted that the budget estimates (BE), revised estimates (RE) and actuals of 2018-19 was at Rs 4,859 crore, Rs 4,928 crore and Rs 4,897 crore, while that of 2019-20 stood at Rs 5,231 crore, Rs 5,231 crore and Rs 3,469 crore respectively. It said that the substantial difference between the actuals of 2019 (Rs 3,464 crore) and BE of 2020-21 (Rs 5,444 crore) stands at a staggering Rs 1,979.82 crore, which suggest that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is unable to absorb the allocated funds.

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