Government responsible for farmer suicides due to microfinance harassment: Mukhyamantri Chandru
Bengaluru: Aam Aadmi Party’s state president, Dr Mukhyamantri Chandru, has held the Karnataka government directly responsible for the rise in farmer suicides caused by illegal practices of microfinance institutions. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he urged immediate and stringent legal action against such entities.
Dr Chandru stated that these illegal microfinance companies, with the alleged support of local politicians and the police, are operating outside the purview of RBI regulations and Indian laws. They are accused of using criminal tactics, including unlawful recoveries, threats, and public humiliation, to enforce repayment of exorbitant interest rates. This, he said, highlights the failure of the state police department.
He further criticised local cooperative societies for not providing low-interest loans to farmers, claiming they are under the control of influential local politicians. On the other hand, government schemes meant to provide financial assistance for crop losses have not reached farmers effectively. This has forced many farmers to turn to illegal microfinance institutions, creating an environment that drives them to take extreme steps, he added.
Dr Chandru expressed disappointment over the inaction of the state police and the central Enforcement Directorate (ED). He alleged that if strict action had been taken against these companies earlier, hundreds of farmer lives could have been saved. Instead, the government and opposition have been busy with baseless political blame games, which have now led to these tragic suicides.
He demanded that the government immediately implement strict legal measures against these financial entities and recommend action by the ED. He also stressed the need for urgent measures to prevent further exploitation and suicides among farmers.
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Govt clears procurement of ammunition for Pinaka rocket systems
New Delhi (PTI): The government is learnt to have cleared a proposal to procure ammunition for Pinaka multi-launch rocket systems at a cost of Rs 10,200 crore, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on January 13 said that two Pinaka contracts -- one for high explosive pre-fragmented ammunition and another for area denial munitions -- are set to be inked before end of the current fiscal.
The people cited above said the procurement has been given the required go ahead.
The two types of ammunition are being procured for around six Pinaka regiments that the Army plans to deploy to bolster its combat prowess along the northern frontier with China.
The Army already has four regiments of Pinaka rocket systems.
While the Pinaka MK-I rocket system has a range of around 40 km, the Pinaka II variant can hit targets at a distance of 60 km.
The Army is enhancing the combat prowess of its artillery units along the frontier with China by procuring an array of weapons systems including an additional batch of 100 K9 Vajra howitzers, swarm drones, loitering munitions and surveillance systems.
