Karnataka cabinet modifies Gruha Jyothi Scheme rules
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has announced a key modification to the rules governing the Gruha Jyothi scheme, which provides free electricity for consumption up to 200 units. The government has decided to eliminate the 10% additional subsidy on average usage and instead introduce an allocation of 10 extra free units, irrespective of usage, up to the 200-unit limit.
Under the previous system of the Gruha Jyothi scheme, the state government determined free electricity by considering the consumer's average usage over the past 12 months. An additional 10% was then added to arrive at the entitled free usage.
With the latest decision, the 10% additional units have been removed, and consumers will now receive 10 extra units of free electricity, regardless of their usage, up to a maximum of 200 units.
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For example, if a consumer's average usage is 80 units, they will now be entitled to free usage of 90 units. Similarly, if a consumer's average usage is 165 units, they will receive free electricity for 175 units. The implementation of this new rule is expected to commence with the bills generated in February.
While this adjustment benefits consumers using below 100 units, it poses a disadvantage for users consuming above 100 units. Energy Minister KJ George stated that the government would incur an additional cost of Rs 500 to 600 crore due to this modification.
The 'Gruha Jyothi' scheme is one of the five guarantees implemented by the Congress-led government in the state, aiming to provide free electricity to eligible households. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the scheme in August last year in Kalaburagi.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
