26 Fellows of Zakat India Foundation clear UPSC exams
New Delhi: When the results for the UPSC exams came out on Friday, it was a proud moment for Zafar Mahmood, President of the Zakat Foundation of India and everyone associated with the organisation. Out of the 990 successful candidates, 26 owed all their achievements to the efforts of the Foundation, which had funded almost all their hostel and tuition fees to help them prepare for the exams.
Talking to Twocircles.net, Mahmood said people have realised that this is the only way to reclaim their rights.
“This mission is continuing since last 10 years and we are thankful to Allah that we were able to make a difference. The number of students who are also qualifying the exams is also seeing an increase in last few years which is a good news for the community,” he told TwoCircles.net.
The Fellowship is given to students after conducting a written test and an interview held in Delhi.
Once selected, the Foundation provides a hostel in Delhi at a subsidised rate of Rs 2,000 per month and pays up to 90% of the tuition fees that the students need to pay for IAS coaching.
The candidates are also provided the joint guidance and supervision of Zakat Foundation of India, Aishabai Trust and Interfaith Coalition for Peace in order to help them properly prepare for the Preliminary, Mains, and Interview for Personality Test for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. People who wish to apply for the scholarship to prepare for UPSC exams to be held in 2018 can visit this page for more information.
Also, continuing its legacy of providing quality coaching to students, 25 students from Jamia Millia Islamia Residential Coaching Academy also made their entry into the civil services. Last year, 27 students had cleared the exams.
Courtesy: TwoCircles.net.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
