The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was amended by Rajya Sabha after the house passed it on Thursday. This long-awaited amendment will give rise to an impressive package for working mothers in the country. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval to the bill on Wednesday. The government is of the view that the maternal care to the child during early childhood is crucial for growth and development of the child and here are some important things to know about the Maternity Bill 2016.
KRISHNA PUSHKARALU 2016 HAS A SPECTACULAR START
The much awaited Krishna Pushkaralu 2016 had a spectacular start earlier today in Andhra Pradesh. The 12 day river festival which takes place once every 12 years, saw the State Government taking many steps and making elaborate arrangements to handle the massive inflow of pilgrims from across the state and the country.
Overall, 156 Pushkar Ghats and 62 Pushkar Nagars have been set up in Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool districts and one lakh government officials have been roped in to ensure everything goes on smoothly. The launch of the pushkaralu in Vijayawada was a grand affair with the Chief Minister inaugurating the event. Spectacular lights lit up the Prakasam Barrage as the inauguration took place amidst grand fireworks display.
The Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu offered Harathi to the river at Sangam Ghat near Ibrahimpatnam.
Interestingly, the Kanaka Durga Temple authorities are not conducting VIP darshans this time; apart from feeding 25000 people for free on every day of the Pushkaralu. The temple will remain open for 22 hours every day for these 12 days.
15 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAJAGOPALACHARI
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was informally called as Rajaji and he was a prominent figure in India’s freedom struggle. Nicknamed as Mango of Krishnagiri, Rajaji was the last Governor-General of India. Here are some interesting facts about him:
1. EDUCATION AND LAW PRACTICE
After finishing law from the Presidency College in Chennai, Rajagopalachari began his law practice in Salem in the year 1900. Later, he went on to become the chairperson of the municipality of Salem in 1917 and served there for two years.
2. FORMATION OF TAMIL SCIENTIFIC TERMS SOCIETY
He formed an organization in 1916 that translated scientific terms of chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy and biology into simple Tamil word and it was named Tamil Scientific Terms Society,
3. JOINING INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
He joined Congress and as a legal advisor and defended Indian Independence activist, P. Varadarajulu Naidu against charges of sedition in 1917.
4. SALT MARCH
Rajagopalachari did a similar march to that of Gandhi’s Dandi March at Vedaranyam, near Nagapatnam in the then Madras Presidency and broke the salt law. He also became the Editor of Mahamta Gandhi’s newspaper, Young India.
5. CONGRESS WINNING ELECTIONS
Congress came to power in Madras Presidency after the elections in 1937. and Rajagopalachari became the first Premier of the Madras Presidency from the Congress party through elections.
6. ELIMINATING UNTOUCHABILITY
He gave life to the Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act under which Dalits and Shanars were allowed to enter temples, in 1939. This was a major turn in the country to abolish untouchability and caste prejudice.
7. GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA
In the absence of Lord Mountbatten, Rajagopalachari was chosen to serve as the last Governor-General of India, His tenure lasted for 2 years after Independence.
8. BENGAL PARITITION
During the crucial time of partition, he was made the Governor of West Bengal. His criticized Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and he wanted Bihar and Odisha to be a part of West Bengal. This triggered a lot of opposition from the people and the cabinet.
9. MADRAS CHIEF MINISTER
He sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madras in 1952. His idea of introducing Hindi as a mandatory language in schools was highly opposed by the people of Madras.
10. RESIGNING THE CM POST
Rajagopalachari had eventually resigned from the post of Chief Minister in 1954 and started mainstream writing. He went on to write a Tamil version of the Ramayana which was of course later published as Chakravarthi Thirumagan. The book won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil language in the year 1958.
11. THE ROLE OF A WRITER
Rajagopalachari was an accomplished writer who made significant contributions to Indian English literature and is also credited with composition of the song Kurai Onrum Illai set to Carnatic music.
12. THE KEEPER OF GANDHI’S CONSCIENCE
People often claimed that Rajaji was a favorite to both Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Rajagopalachari was described by Gandhi as the “keeper of my conscience”.
13. JOINING THE UNION CABINET
Nehru invited Rajagopalachari to join the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio where he served as a buffer between Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Patel.
14. HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER
After Sardar Patel’s death in 1950, Rajagopalachari was finally made Home Affairs Minister and went on to serve for nearly 10 months.
15. THE PASSING OF THE TITAN
In November 1972, Rajagopalachari’s health had begun to decline. Suffering from uraemia, dehydration and a urinary infection, Rajagopalachari died on 25th December, 1972 at the age of 94.
YOU CAN NOW ENJOY THE AERIAL VIEW OF KRISHNA PUSHKARALU
Adding to the grandeur of the Krishna Pushkaralu 2016, one more highlight has been added by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The launch of mobile application has been quite a delight for the pilgrims and now the Government is introducing a facility that will make the pilgrims enjoy the aerial view of the ongoing Krishna Pushkaralu in the state.
This aerial ride will give pilgrims a wonderful glimpse of Vijayawada, the capital region, the river, ghats and temples. The duration of this helicopter ride will be exactly 8 minutes in which boarding and de-boarding are included as well.
Pawan Hans Limited, a Government of India Enterprise, shall operate the chopper. The tickets are sold at the Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada on a first-come-first-serve basis with a fare of Rs. 1,999/- per head. This unique facility is available from 9am to 5pm every day until the 23rd of August. The 12-day mega event started on 12th August and will continue until the 23rd.
NATIONAL HIGHWAY SECURITY INSTITUTE WORTH RS. 800 CRORE WILL BE SET UP IN VIZAG
Highways in the state are all set to become safer as the road transport department is planning to set up high security surveillance system on the national and state highways across all 13 districts as part of its efforts to bring down road accidents.
According to the roads and buildings department, a total of 21 national highways including NH-16 (Chennai to Howrah via Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada) pass through the state covering all 13 districts with a length of 4,423 kms
As a part of this, a surveillance system for National Highways is going to be set up in Vizag. Cameras will be set up at traffic junctions including T-Junction, Y-Junction, Four-Arm Junction, Staggered Junction, Round About Junction and Manned Rail Crossing which are prone to accidents.
The State Road Transport Minister Siddha Raghava Rao visited Vizag yesterday to oversee arrangements of the National meeting on Highway security and he spoke to the media. Mr. Raghava Rao also said he will meet with Central Transport minister Nitin Gadkari and talk about this proposal and the necessary funds for it. As per reports in the newspapers, the state will set up the first of its kind National Institute of Road Surveillance, with a budget of Rs. 800 crore in Visakhapatnam.
Along with Nitin Gadkari, Transport ministers from all the states, Secretaries, Commissioners, few experts from America and Australia have already reached Vizag to attend this meeting. As an alternative for the increasing Traffic problems in the National Highway 5 in Vizag, tenders for highway extension from Anandapuram to Anakapalli are being called.