Karnataka budget: Rs 500/month to landless women farm labourers, free bus passes for women and girls
Bengaluru (PTI): Aimed at wooing women voters ahead of Assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday announced certain measures targeted at them including a scheme under which Rs 500 will be provided every month to landless women farm labourers.
He also announced free bus passes for women working in the organised sector and also school and college going girl students.
Presenting his government's last budget ahead of polls due by April-May, Bommai said, a new scheme called "Shrama Shakthi" is being launched under which a financial assistance of Rs 500 per head per month will be provided by the government to the landless women farm labourers through direct benefit transfer (DBT).
He said to enable women to start profitable home-based factories, free skill development training will be provided to one lakh women in the current year.
Noting that on the lines of 'Mathrupoorna' programme, eligible married women will be provided with mid-day meal and prophylactic IFA (iron folic acid) tablets in Anganwadis, for a maximum period of six months once in their lifetime, the CM said emphasis will be given to aspirational taluks under this programme.
Also proposing to provide free bus pass facility to all women working in the organised sector, he said, Rs 1,000 crore will be provided for this scheme which will benefit a total 30 lakh women.
Bommai further said, a decision has been taken to provide free bus pass facility to all school and college going girl students of the state at a cost of Rs 350 crore under 'Vidhya Vahini' Scheme. Eight lakh girl students will be benefitted by this scheme.
The monthly pension paid to victims of acid attack has already been increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000, he said.
Pointing out that the Karnataka State Finance Corporation is providing loan facility to women entrepreneurs in service sectors up to Rs two crore at an interest of four per cent, Bommai said it will be enhanced to Rs five crore.
In the current year, it is targeted to distribute a loan to the extent of Rs 1,800 crore at zero per cent interest rate to 45,000 Women Self-Help Groups, the Chief Minister added.
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People who criticise court vacations don't understand judges don't have holidays on weekends: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday said people who criticise that the apex court and high courts take long vacations don't understand that judges don't have holidays even on Saturdays and Sundays.
The observation came from a bench of justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said those who criticise that top court and high courts take long vacations does not know how judges work.
The issue of vacation came up after the apex court, which posted the West Bengal matter for arguments on Thursday, told both the sides that arguments be concluded before the apex court goes on summer vacation, which will commence from May 20.
"All those who criticise that Supreme Court and high courts are on long vacations, they don't know how judges work," Mehta told the bench when it was hearing a lawsuit filed by the West Bengal government that has accused the CBI of going ahead with its probe without securing the prerequisite nod from the state.
"People who criticise, they don't understand that we don't have holidays on Saturdays and Sundays. There are other assignments, conferences," Justice Gavai said.
Mehta, who was appearing for the Centre in the West Bengal matter, told the bench that judges of the top court deal with 50-60 cases on a daily basis and they deserve vacation.
"It is the toughest job in the country," senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was also appearing in the matter, said.
The bench said during vacations, the judges write judgements in cases heard by them.
"Long judgements have to be written during vacations," the bench observed.
It said the judgement in the matter can then be written during the summer vacation.
"People who do not know the system, criticises it," Mehta said.
