Bangla committed to labour welfare

Bangla committed to labour welfare

Posted on March 29, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bangla Government, led by Mamata Banerjee, is committed to the welfare of labourers and workers in the State. Several schemes, such as Samajik Suraksha Yojana, have been launched.

Highlights of the Labour Welfare Department’s achievements

Samajik Suraksha Yojana

5 social security schemes for unorganised labour merged into one scheme – Samajik Suraksha Yojana – for effective implementation (effective from April 1, 2017)
As of October 2018, 1.01 crore workers covered under the Samajik Mukti Card Scheme
Rs 1,274.29 crore disbursed as benefit to workersSpecial benefit for female students

The Labour Welfare Department introduced a first-of-its-kind benefit in India for female students for pursuing undergraduate course or equivalent skill development course, with the granting of benefit based on the condition of the girl remaining unmarried. This serves the twin goals of enabling higher education for girls and preventing their early marriage.

Medical benefits for unorganised sector workers

Medical benefits enhanced from Rs 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 per year
Medical benefits for surgery made uniform for all workers, at the rate of Rs 60,000 per year

Yuvashree Scheme & other payments

Govt has disbursed financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month per person to 1 lakh jobseekers enrolled in the Employment Bank
Durga Puja and Eid ex-gratia payment made by the State Govt at the rate of Rs 1,000 per person per year
In financial year 2018-19, from April to October, 13,271 beneficiaries received a total of Rs 18.35 crore

State Govt launches Silpa Disha app for MSME sector

Posted on March 1, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The State Government has launched an app, Silpa Disha to enable communication between small investors and the State Government. The app is run by the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T) Department.

Importantly, communication here includes the conveying of any grievances that micro, small and medium enterprises might have. Through the app, the issues are submitted to the department and the MSME Directorate. The status of the issue submitted can be tracked with the help of a docket number.

The government has always been open about solving industry-related issues promptly, and this app is another example of that approach.

Grievances related to land, power, infrastructure, pollution certification and several more aspects can be submitted through Silpa Disha.

It is significant to note that around 100 questions, mostly related to land, have come through the app from across the State, which officials of the department and directorate have answered through the app.

As of now, questions are answered during working hours. However, soon officials would be appointed for a 24-hour query-solving system.

The app can be downloaded by clicking here

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Swasthya Sathi: Bangla beats Centre’s target by 28 lakh families

Posted on February 22, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

When the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bangla Government and the Central Government for family health insurance, for combining Swasthya Sathi and Ayushmaan Bharat, the target set was to enlist 1.12 crore families.

However, when the scheme started to be implemented, the Centre started sending letters to the families with the prime minister’s photo on the letters, despite the State’s Swasthya Sathi playing a crucial role in building up the number of beneficiaries.

This rightly prompted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to withdraw from the agreement and make the Bangla Government entirely responsible for the health insurance scheme. In terms of department, the scheme is run by the Health and Family Welfare Department.

Not only is the State entirely responsible for the scheme now, it has also increased the total number of beneficiary families to 1.5 crore, thus beating the Centre-set target by 28 lakh. There were already 54.76 lakh Swasthya Sathi beneficiary families in Bangla.

This has made the Bangla Government the first State Government to have so many families enlisted under a government health insurance scheme.

With the number of families increasing to 1.5 crore, the number of individual beneficiaries has now increased to about 7.5 crore. To pay the entire premium for these new families, the State Government would be spending more than Rs 850 crore additionally.

The benefits of Swasthya Sathi are available at 1,300 hospitals (including 745 private ones) registered under the scheme.

Another facility under the scheme, as part of the State Government’s efforts for the empowerment of women, is the providing of Swasthya Sathi smart cards to female members of the beneficiary families.

To know all the details regarding Swasthya Sathi, including how to get the smart cards, contact the nearest BDO or municipality office, or call the toll-free number, 1800 345 5384, or visit the website, swasthyasathi.gov.in.

Source: Bartaman

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Bangla Fasal Bima Yojana: State Govt to pay 100% of the premium

Posted on February 2, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Starting from the next financial year, that is, 2019-20, the State Government has decided to pay the full amount of the premium to farmers for the crop insurance scheme, Bangla Fasal Bima Yojana (BFBY). The full premium includes the Centre’s share, the State’s share and the farmers’ share.

This was announced recently during the course of a press conference by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Till now, the Bangla Government used to pay 80 per cent of the premium, that is, the State Government’s share and the farmers’ share.

Now, the State Government has decided that it would no longer take the help of the Centre as, despite paying the lion’s share, the Centre used to take all the credit by making it mandatory for the prime minister’s picture to be there on all promotional and other materials for the scheme.

The State Agriculture has already completed the procedures required for the new structure of the scheme. The State Government has also brought in certain changes to the scheme to make it more attractive for farmers so that more and more of them opt for it.

Farmers would now be able to get their crops insured against less earnings due to loss in production as a result of unfavourable weather or damages due to heavy rain, fire, lightning, storms, cyclones, typhoons, tornadoes, hailstorms, floods, droughts, and damages by insects and organisms like fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.

In recent years, among the help provided by the State Government to farmers include paying almost 30 lakh farmers about Rs 1,200 crore for damages to their crops due to floods and droughts, waiving off of the agricultural tax and mutation fee, and the latest, introduction of the Krishak Bandhu Scheme.

Source: Sangbad Pratidin

Bangla Govt ensuring farmers’ welfare with old-age pension

Posted on February 2, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Besides the recent announcements of the Krishak Bandhu Scheme and the full payment of subsidies for crop insurance by the State Government, and the earlier announcements of the waiving off duties on mutation and of agricultural tax, another announcement has been made – pension for farmers.

The pension amount would be Rs 1,000 per farmer.

Listed below are the rules for the pension, as recently published in a government advertisement:

Minimum age should be 60 years, and for differently-abled farmers, 55 years
Must be a resident of Bangla for the preceding 10 years
To be a farmer, must own a maximum of 1 acre, and to be a bargadar, must own a maximum of 2 acres, or can be a landless labourer
Should not have any other source of income or not have anyone to take care of
Should not be drawing any emoluments or pension through any other scheme of either the State or the Central Government

Bangla Govt committed to the welfare of the youth

Posted on January 11, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Swami Vivekananda always believed in the power of the youth. He laid a lot of stress on sports as an essential part of building character.

Today, January 12, marks the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Let us take a look at the achievements of the Youth Wing of the State Youth Services & Sports (YSS) Department.

Youth Hostels: 18 youth hostels renovated, 8 youth hostels constructed (all 26 now operational), 17 youth hostels under construction

Grants to clubs: More than 18,000 clubs and other organisations given financial assistance for sports activities and development of sports infrastructure since 2014-15

Distribution of footballs: Keeping the FIFA-U17 World Cup in view, 1.25 lakh footballs distributed to schools, colleges, universities and clubs

Development of playgrounds: Financial assistance given to 373 schools, colleges, universities and clubs for the development of playgrounds

Setting up of multigyms: Financial assistance given to nearly 3,000 schools, colleges, universities and clubs for setting up of multi-gyms

Setting up of mini indoor games complexes: Financial assistance given to more than 635 schools, colleges, universities, clubs and organisations for setting up mini indoor games complexes

Youth Computer Training Centres: About 1,000 Youth Computer Training Centres run across the state in collaboration with various private agencies

Vocational training: Placement-linked skill development programme organised with the assistance of Technical Education, Training & Skill Development Department; more than 4,000 candidates given training till now

Bangla Yuba Kendra: Organisation formed to create a healthy socio-cultural ambience; volunteers at the block, municipality and district levels maintain coordination with YSS Department for development of students and youths

Financial assistance for ex-Olympians: Pension of Rs 12,000 per month being given to four ex-Olympians of the State

Vivek Tirtha – A tribute to the great saint

Posted on January 11, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Vivek Tirtha, named after Swami Vivekananda, has been planned to be one of the premier institutes of the country, comprising of a centre for value education, a school of languages, a computer institute, a digital library and more. It is being set up in New Town. The formal name of the place is Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centre for Human Excellence and Social Sciences.

This top-class centre of education is being set up on land given by the Trinamool Congress Government. In fact, it was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had laid the foundation stone of the institute, on November 11, 2014, and had also named it ‘Vivek Tirtha’.

The project will cost about Rs 172 crore. Five acres has been allotted beside Eco Park.

The centre will have a 10-storey building to house the administrative office, seminar halls and an auditorium, with a capacity of 1,400. The main building will be designed after the Chicago Art Institute, where Swami Vivekananda had delivered his famous speech on September 11, 1893.

There will be four other buildings, to be named after four famous foreign disciples of Swami Vivekananda – Sister Nivedita, JJ Goodwin, Ole Sara Bull and Josephine McLeod.

An important feature of the programmes proposed to be offered by the Centre of Human Excellence include a retreat for professionals and people from all walks of life like sweepers, rickshaw pullers, labourers and shopkeepers. There will also be a course on citizenship training and value education for government and corporate employees. There will be courses on how to overcome fear and failure.

State Govt seeking applications for flats under Nijashree Scheme

Posted on November 20, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Government’s Housing Department is seeking applications for flats to be sold through its Nijashree Scheme. The lists of allottees would be determined through lotteries.

A concept of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the scheme seeks to provide houses to people in the middle-income range. This allotment would be the first of several allotments, and is meant for Asansol, Siliguri-Dabgram and Haldia.

There are two types of flats – 1 BHK and 2 BHK. The price, area and application fee are Rs 7.2 lakh, 378 square ft (sq ft) and Rs 2,500, respectively for the former and Rs 9.28 lakh, 559 sq ft and Rs 5,000, respectively for the latter.

The costs for land development, construction of roads and boundary walls, electricity lines and water supply system would not have to be borne by the buyers.

There are three primary requirements which need to be fulfilled in order to apply:

No flat in the applicant’s name or applicant’s family members’ names in the State

Applicant should be a resident of the district where the flats are located

Maximum monthly family income should be Rs 15,000 in order to apply for 1 BHK flat and Rs 30,000 for 2 BHK flat

To know the details, visit the website of the Housing Department or the office of the district magistrate or subdivisional magistrate.

Silicon Valley Hub of Bengal receives overwhelming response

Posted on November 4, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Kali Puja (Deepavali) has brought with it a tide of good news for the State’s IT sector. On Saturday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared on her Facebook page that the Silicon Valley Hub project of Bengal has received overwhelming response from investors.

The State Government had launched the Silicon Valley Hub on August 13, 2018 to attract even more investment in IT, ITeS and ICT, and also to build a world-class ecosystem for cutting-edge technologies and innovation in Kolkata.

“In just 2 months, out of 100 acres of land earmarked for the Hub, 4 major global IT companies, among others, have applied to set up new investments on 74 acres already,” the CM wrote.

Reliance Jio wants 40 acres to set up a state-of-the-art centre for IT-enabled telecom, big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). TCS wants 20 acres in the Hub which will add another 15,000 IT professionals to their current workforce plan of 58,000 in Kolkata. Capgemini has asked for 10 acres to start cutting-edge IT business in Kolkata. Sanjiv Goenka will start with 4 acres for his IT company, Firstsource Solutions to conduct global operations from Kolkata.

“There are other innovative entrepreneurs who have also sought to join this ecosystem. In the meantime, Genpact of GE Capital of USA, is investing Rs 300 crore in a massive expansion,” the CM added.

“Encouraged by this quick and warm response, I am planning to add another 100 acres to the Silicon Valley Hub of Kolkata,” Mamata Banerjee announced.

Trinamool hits the streets to protest against killing of Bengalis in Assam

Posted on November 2, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Five persons were shot dead in Assam’s Bishnoimukh village in Assam. The attack occurred near Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Tinsukia district around 7 PM on Thursday.

After condemning the attack, Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned if the killings were in retaliation to the National Register of Citizens in the state. Over 40 lakh people face deportation from India as their names were excluded in the final draft of the list published on July 30.

“Terrible news coming out of Assam. We strongly condemn the brutal attack in Tinsukia and the killing of Shyamlal Biswas, Ananta Biswas, Abhinash Biswas, Subodh Das. Is this the outcome of recent NRC development,” Mamata Banerjee said in a statement on Twitter.

“We have no words to express our deep sorrow to the grieving families. The perpetrators must be punished at the very earliest. The fifth victim in Tinsukia … Dhananjay Namashudra,” she added.

All India Trinamool Congress held protest marches across Bangla today to condemn these dastardly murders. A protest march was led by Abhishek Banerjee – MP and National President of Trinamool Youth Congress – from Jadavpur to Hazra.

Highlights of Abhishek Banerjee’s speech:

Yesterday we received the news of the brutal murder of 5 Bengalis in Tinsukia (Assam) at 10:30 PM. We had witnessed mass murders in the CPI(M) era. This incident is a stark reminder of those incidents.
We were instructed by our leader Mamata Banerjee last night itself from north Bengal at late night. Our workers received the news in the morning. We are thankful to all for this stupendous response in this short span of time.
When Afrazul was hacked to death in Rajasthan, Mamata Banerjee had instructed us to organise protests. We have hit the streets again today.
This is not a fight between Trinamool and BJP. This is not CPI(M) vs Trinamool. This is a fight to preserve the Bengali culture. This is fight for the right of Bengalis. This fight is against BJP’s politics of oppression and forcible occupation. We will work as per the directions given by Mamata Banerjee.
In the 80’s and 90’s, we had seen how CPI(M) used to kill farmers and then sermonise about their welfare. Now we are seeing so-called pro-Hindu BJP killing Hindus. ‘Hindu mere Hindu prem, BJP shame shame.”
During Left rule, they used to raise the slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ but discriminated among people based on political leanings. And now, BJP only says ‘Jai Shree Ram’ while fuel prices are skyrocketing.
The budget for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is a meagre Rs 200 crore. And they built a statue worth Rs 3000 crore. On the other hand, they are killing Bengalis in Assam.
Many people from other States live in Bengal in peace. They have never been discriminated against. This is the culture of Bengal.
Today, many of my minority friends finished their namaz and joined these protests against the brutal murder of ‘Hindus’ in Assam. This is culture of harmony in Bengal.
Yesterday we heard reports that ULFA was involved in the incident. Today they have given a statement that they have nothing to do with the incident. Who were those people in police uniform, who murdered those five innocent people?
There must be a free and fair probe into this incident. The investigation must be monitored by the Supreme Court.
The Chief Minister of Assam must resign. Why are Bengalis committing suicide in Assam? Why was a famous singer attacked for singing a Bengali song in Guwahati?
Mamata Banerjee has categorically said NRC will not be implemented in Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee inaugurated at least 100 Durga Pujas in Kolkata. Have you seen any single flex by BJP during Sharadotsav? No. Because they believe in north Indian culture, not Bengali culture.
More than 100 people died in the queues during demonetisation. Farmers were killed in police firing in Madhya Pradesh. More than 80 children died due to lack of oxygen at a hospital in UP. This is the example of governance by BJP.
They are bringing leaders from other States. They have no idea about Bengali culture and dream of ‘capturing Bengal’.
We believe in politics of courtesy. But if they try to disrupt peace in Bengal, we will not tolerate it.
Let them compete on the basis of facts and figures. Let us compare the progress made by Bengal versus that of Centre.
In the coming days, our slogan should be ‘Du hajar unish, BJP finish. BJP hatao, desh bachao’.