National News
Haryana in debt trap of over Rs 2.29 lakh crore
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Every child born in Haryana is saddled with a debt of Rs 1 lakh. This is true with the estimated total debt on the state increasing to over Rs 2.29 lakh crore.
The main opposition Congress, which was at the helm for a decade till 2014, has been blaming the BJP-JJP government for pushing the state into debt and taking it towards bankruptcy.
As per official figures, the state’s debt was Rs 70,931 crore in 2014-15 when the BJP assumed power in the state for the first time.
In the current fiscal, it is expected to touch a whopping Rs 229,976 crore by the end of this fiscal.
As per budget estimates of 2021-22, the debt to GSDP ratio is estimated at 23.27 per cent in 2020-21, while it was 16.23 per cent in 2014-15. For the next fiscal, it is estimated at 25.92 per cent.
Leader of Opposition and two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told IANS that the BJP-JJP government is taking the state towards bankruptcy.
“That is why the debt figures were not clearly stated in the last budget speech. As per our estimations, the total debt has increased to Rs 2.25 lakh crore by March 2021,” he said.
Opposing the steep hike in development charges in areas falling under the civic bodies, Hooda said the Congress would question the government on issues of corruption, debt and unemployment in the upcoming Budget session of the Assembly.
He said the state had a debt of about Rs 70,000 crore when the BJP took over the reins of the state after the 2014 Assembly elections. Before handing over the helm several projects of national importance were commissioned by the Congress government.
“In the past seven years, the debt has increased to Rs 2.5 lakh crore,” said Hooda, adding no major project was established. “Where have these thousands of crores gone?”
According to Hooda, under the Congress government Haryana had become number one in per capita income, investment and generating employment.
“The neglect of 52,000 anganwadi workers is a living example of the negative thinking of the BJP-JJP government towards the daughters. Women workers say the government is not implementing the announcement made by the Prime Minister on September 10, 2018, to increase the honorarium of workers by Rs 1,500 and for helpers by Rs 750,” he said.
A revenue surplus state till 2008-09, Haryana has consistently been in deficit after that. In 2016-17, the debt burden was Rs 124,935 crore.
In 2017-18, the interest payments were pegged at Rs 11,257 crore — up from Rs 9,616 crore in 2016-17. In 2015-16, it was Rs 8,284 crore.
CRISIL’s last year study of the top 18 states, including Haryana and Punjab, says the aggregate indebtedness of states, measured by debt to gross state domestic product (GSDP), is expected to remain elevated at 33 per cent this fiscal, despite the post-pandemic recovery bolstering the shrinking revenue graph.
The ratio had risen to a decadal high of 34 per cent last fiscal. Sticky and elevated revenue expenditure and the need for higher capital outlay will keep borrowings up this fiscal, it adds.
For the rising financial debt, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, is blaming the Congress government for leaving behind a debt liability of Rs 98,000 crore.
“In 2014, when the BJP assumed power the state had a debt of Rs 98,000 crore, while the Opposition used to claim it to be Rs 61,000 crore,” he told the media on February 23.
Also he defends by saying the loan liability is increasing because the capital expenditure (money spent on creating assets) is also increasing.
“When the BJP came to power in 2014-15, a debt of Rs 27,860 crore of power distribution companies was included in the government’s debt under the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana. For this reason, the total debt has increased. When the Congress tenure ended, the debt liability was Rs 70,900 crore. If the loan amount of Rs 27,860 crore taken by power discoms is added, the total debt is Rs 98,000 crore,” Khattar said.
He said revenue collection had dipped during the coronavirus period and an additional expenditure of Rs 1,500 crore was incurred.
Blaming the BJP-JJP government for the monstrous cycle of a huge debt, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The BJP-led government has increased the state’s debt from Rs 68,000 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore in seven years of its rule.”
Officials said the outstanding debt by the end of Khattar’s maiden term from 2014 to 2019 was Rs 185,463 crore.
While presenting the budget in March 2021, Khattar said the debt liability of the state is likely to go up to Rs 229,976 crore as on March 2022 from Rs 199,823 crore as on March 2021, constituting 25.92 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP).
National News
AAP Leader Atishi Seeks Meeting With Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Over ₹2,500 Aid For Women
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New Delhi: AAP leader Atishi has sought a meeting of AAP MLAs with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to discuss the Rs 2,500 monthly aid to women promised by the ruling BJP earlier during the assembly poll campaign.
In a letter to Gupta on Saturday, Atishi questioned why a scheme on the financial aid to women was not approved in the new government’s first cabinet meeting when the prime minister had promised it in an election rally.
Gupta and her council of ministers were took oath of office on Thursday, following a victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the assembly polls held earlier in the month.
AAP won 22 seats in the polls, Atishi’s Kalkaji constituency being one of them. The BJP was well clear of the majority mark in the 70-seat assembly with 48 seats.
Atishi, the chief minister in the previous AAP government, sought an appointment to meet the CM on February 23, along with her party MLAs.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an election rally in Dwarka on January 31 promised Delhi’s mothers and sisters that the scheme for Rs 2,500 monthly payment would be passed in the first cabinet meeting after the BJP formed the government.”
The first cabinet meeting of the BJP government was held on February 20 but the scheme was not passed, she said, adding that the women of Delhi who believed “Modi’s guarantee” are feeling “betrayed”.
BJP leaders, including the CM Gupta, have asserted that the scheme will be implemented from March as was promised by the party.
National News
MLAs spend night in Assembly; Cong to stage protests across Rajasthan today
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Jaipur, Feb 21: The political deadlock in Rajasthan has intensified following the suspension of six Congress MLAs, who in protest, spent the night inside the Assembly, continuing their demonstration. Now, the Rajasthan Congress has announced statewide protests on Saturday over the MLAs’ suspension and over the snide remark on late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the House.
During the agitation, they recited Ramdhuni in the House.
The suspension was imposed on Friday after the MLAs moved toward the Speaker’s dais in protest against Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot’s remarks about late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Despite late-night discussions between government representatives and senior Congress leaders, no resolution was reached.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, Food Minister Sumit Godara, and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham met with senior Congress MLAs in the Leader of Opposition’s chamber, but negotiations ended in a stalemate.
In view of the deadlock, the Rajasthan Congress has announced statewide protests on Saturday.
As part of the agitation, party workers will burn effigies of the minister in all districts to express their opposition to his remarks and the suspension of their legislators.
Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, after the failed discussions, reiterated the Congress’ stance, saying, “Our position is clear. The talks were conducted in a positive atmosphere, but the government remains stubborn. This is like a thief scolding a police officer. We stand firm on our demand.”
With no resolution in sight, Congress MLAs have set up sleeping arrangements inside the Assembly. Since the House is in recess over the weekend, the protest is expected to continue until Monday when proceedings resume.
The controversy erupted on Friday during the Question Hour when Minister Avinash Gehlot referred to Indira Gandhi as “your grandmother” while discussing a government scheme.
Congress MLAs stormed the Well of the House in protest, leading to a heated exchange. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel defended the term, stating that “grandmother is a word of respect.” However, tensions escalated, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the session multiple times.
Speaking outside the Assembly, Minister Patel remarked, “Our ministers were answering effectively with factual responses. But MLA Rafiq Khan dismissed them as baseless, which led to objections from our side.”
With no compromise in sight, the political standoff is expected to continue, keeping the Assembly in turmoil in the days ahead.
Education
20-Year-Old Indian Student Wins Global Memory Championship 2025, Recalls 80 Numbers In 13.5 Seconds
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New York: Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian student, has won the Memory League World Championship 2025 by memorising the order of 80 random numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds.
Memory League World Championship is an intense online competition.
According to the Memory League website, Rajakumar is ranked No 1 with a score of 5,000.
Rajakumar memorised 80 numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds during the championship held recently.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Rajakumar is a student of Puducherry-based ManakulaVinayagar Institute of Technology.
Speaking to The New York Times on his technique and strategies of memorisation, Rajakumar said,”Hydration is very important because it helps your brain. When you memorise things, you usually subvocalise, and it helps to have a clear throat.”
“Let’s say you’re reading a book. You’re not reading it out loud, but you are vocalising within yourself. If you don’t drink a lot of water, your speed will be a bit low. If you drink a lot of water, it will be more and more clear and you can read it faster,” he said.
Rajakumar said he was crying when he achieved the feat.
“They give you 80 random numbers that they display on a screen. You have to memorize all of those numbers as fast as possible, then click a button and a recall sheet appears. I wrote down all of the 80 digits — and I got them all right. My fastest time to memorize 80 random digits in this World Championship was 13.5 seconds, so almost six digits per second,” he to the newspaper.
He said after the completion of college, he would try to be a memory trainer and create a memory institution in India to teach other people these techniques.
“My goal is to make it big,” he said.
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