Funds for minority welfare up by 74 percent

September 24th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa has requested the central government for early release of central funds to carry out various tribal welfare activities in the state, according to an official statement here Thursday. "Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria at New Delhi Thursday and requested early release of central grants of Rs.

September 16th, 2009 Gabelli Funds increases stake in ViacomRYE, N.Y. — GAMCO Investors Inc., which administers the Gabelli Funds family of mutual funds, Wednesday reported that it had increased its ownership in Viacom Inc.

August 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the government was fully committed to the well-being of the minorities and had started many schemes for their welfare. We do not subscribe to the view that to take special care of the deprived sections of the society amounts to appeasement.

July 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Thursday told parliament his ministry has a mechanism to regularly monitor the progress in implementation of various development schemes for the minorities undertaken by the government. "Review of progress of implementation of the schemes is done through periodic review meetings and through the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation," Khurshid said in the Lok Sabha.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Monday said the home ministry had issued guidelines to address communal issues. "Guidelines on communal harmony have been issued by the ministry of home affairs, Khurshid told the Rajya Sabha while replying to a question related to the steps taken by the government to address the socio-political issues of the minority community.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Monday told parliament that the government is committed to establishing an Equal Opportunity Commission and is examining the recommendations of the expert group regarding its structure and functions. "An Equal Opportunity Commission will be set up by the government.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has increased the budgetary allocation to the minority affairs ministry by Rs.740 crore for the year 2009-10 to address the educational and economic backwardness of the Muslim community, Minister Salman Khurshid said Monday. "The plan provisions for the ministry has been enhanced from Rs.130.89 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.500 crore in 2007-08, Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09 and Rs.1,740 crore for the year 2009-10, Khurshid told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Funds for the ministry of minority affairs has been hiked from Rs.1,000 crore to Rs.1,740 crore to implement projects for the welfare of the minorities, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced Monday. "The plan outlet in the ministry of minority affairs has been enhanced from Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09 to Rs.1,740 crore for 2009-10, registering an increase of 74 percent.

July 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - Mutual funds have been barred from charging an entry fee on investments from Aug 1, India's market regulator said in a late evening announcement Tuesday. Mutual funds can, however, levy a "a maximum of 1 percent of the redemption proceeds" when an investor exits from the scheme, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said.

April 29th, 2009 EU lays out new rules for hedge fundsBRUSSELS — The European Union is proposing new rules extending oversight for the euro2 trillion hedge fund and private equity fund industry. The European Commission says the new rules will require registration for funds managing more than euro100 million of assets — covering just 3 percent of hedge fund managers dealing with 9 percent of assets in EU-based funds.

April 27th, 2009 TV ownership no bar to welfare, says MalaysiaKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — An official says Malaysia will scrap a rule that denies government welfare to poor people if they own a television set or cable connection at home. Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil says the Welfare Department would introduce a "more effective and realistic" system for providing aid.

April 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Animal rights activists across the world have a reason to smile as the European Union (EU) is pushing for the inclusion of animal welfare standards in the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) multilateral trade negotiations. 'Inclusion of animal welfare standards in the WTO agenda is urgently needed to effectively enforce animal standards worldwide, and to improve the appalling condition of slaughter houses in many countries including India,' Citizens for Animal Rights (CAR), a city-based organisation, said in a release here.

April 8th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Wednesday rejected allegations by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi that the state government had misused funds provided by the central government under various welfare schemes. 'The allegations by the Congress MP Gandhi against Chhattisgarh for misuse of central funds lack facts,' Singh told a press conference at the state's northern city Ambikapur.

March 31st, 2009 RAIPUR - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was committed to poor people and worked for their welfare, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government. Addressing an election rally in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon town, some 75 km from capital Raipur, the young Congress leader said: 'It's (the UPA) the government of poor people and common masses unlike the NDA government that overlooked them'.

February 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - More than 75 percent of cess collected by state governments from developers in the past six years, meant for welfare measures for construction workers, remain unutilised, says a report by an industry lobby. 'Of Rs.1,353.92 crore (Rs.13.54 billion) collected, a meagre Rs.305 crore (Rs.3.05 billion) has been utilised for intended purposes,' according to the Real Estate and Construction Committee of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).