'Digital India' eliminated middlemen, empowered citizens: Modi
New Delhi, June 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his flagship programme "Digital India" helped citizens by eliminating middlemen and promoted 4Es -- Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Empowerment.
"We launched Digital India with a very simple focus -- to ensure more people can benefit from the joys of technology, especially in rural areas," he said while interacting via NaMo App with the beneficiaries of government's flagship schemes across the country.
To make this possible, the government worked on a holistic policy consisting of connecting villages through optical fibre, educating citizens digitally, providing service delivery through mobiles and promoting electronics manufacturing.
This was his sixth outreach with the beneficiaries of government schemes through video conferencing.
The event was streamed in social media site Facebook to over 50 lakh beneficiaries, including those from common service centres, NIC centres, National Knowledge Network, BPOs, mobile manufacturing units and MyGov volunteers.
Modi stated that the initiative had brought about a movement for digital payments, thereby eliminating the concept of middlemen.
"Due to technology, railway tickets can be booked online, bills can be paid online... all this brings great convenience. We ensured that the advantages of technology are not restricted to a select few but they are there for all sections of society. We have strengthened the network of Computer Science Corporations (CSCs)," he said.
Various provisions like online payment of bills, including BHIM App, online booking of railway tickets and electronic delivery of scholarships and pensions to bank accounts, had greatly reduced the hassles of common people, Modi added.
Modi said Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) had provided digital skill and training to 1.25 crore people, out of which 70 per cent of candidates were from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities.
He also said the scheme had been a major tool in bringing digital transformation in rural areas, and in the North-East.
"Under our North-East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS), we are not just providing employment to youth in cities but also in the Northeast. The India BPO promotion scheme and a separate BPO promotion scheme for the Northeast is creating new opportunities relating to the sector," he added.
He said the Digital India had transformed the BPO sector as it had now spread to small towns and villages, creating employment opportunities.
Modi said that the Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) scheme was launched to promote electronic manufacturing in India and it would provide employment to close to six lakh people.
India has 120 mobile phone manufacturing factories now compared to just two such units in 2014, he said, adding it had offered direct and indirect employment to more than 4.5 lakh citizens.
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Row over students having beard resolved amicably in govt college in Karnataka, says authorities
Hassan (PTI): A row over students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in a government nursing college in Karnataka having long beard has been sorted out amicably, an official of the institute said on Sunday.
The issue came to light when the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the "significant challenges" faced by the students at the college at Holenarasipura in Hassan district.
The issue was amicably solved after the students agreed to comply with the directions of the college management, said Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences director Dr Rajanna.
There are about 40 Kashmiri students in the college who alleged that they were facing "significant challenges". They communicated their concerns to the Srinagar-based Jammu and Kashmir Students Association.
"It has come to our notice that over two dozen Kashmiri students at the college are facing significant challenges due to restrictive policies concerning their personal appearance," the association said.
The college administration has reportedly been compelling the Kashmiri students to either trim their beards to a ‘01’ trimmer length or be clean-shaven before they could be allowed to participate in college activities or enter the premises, particularly for clinical duties, the association wrote to the CM.
Students who have beards are being marked absent during clinical duties, impacting their academic records and attendance, it alleged.
"The right to personal appearance, including the choice to grow a beard, is fundamental aspect of an individual's freedom and identity," the association said.
"No student should be subjected to such discrimination or forced to compromise their beliefs and practices to access education. Such actions not only infringe upon the rights of these students but also create an atmosphere of fear and exclusion, which is detrimental to the spirit of education and democracy," it added.
However, Dr Rajanna rejected the association's charges.
"These students have mistaken the instruction given about the untidy dress and keeping a long beard. During the clinical process they were instructed to keep their dress neat and trim their beards," he told PTI.
Rajanna said that when he came to know about the issue, he had discussed with the students, who later agreed to come with a neat dress, to be punctual and to keep the beard trimmed.
"The issue is now resolved. Right now there are 40 students. The students are happy in their hostels. The faculties and principal have visited their rooms and counseled the students," he explained.
