Shrimp farmers seek MSP for tiger prawns
E. Yashwanth Kumar, President of the Association, said, 'As the prices of tiger prawns have been declining in the recent times, the government should offer the MSP to protect the farmers. On the other hand, the cost of aqua chemicals had increased since Covid times and the government must bring it down.'
The government has already announced to decrease the aqua feed rate at ₹9 per kg. This must be implemented from July 1, he said.
The association members further demanded that the government offer power supply at ₹1.50 per unit to the ponds irrespective of their location in aqua zone or non-aqua zone. They also sought transformers to free power supply that had been extended till 2019.

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Mint
7 hours ago
- Mint
Maldives' Muizzu calls India ‘closest, most-trusted ally', PM Modi stresses ‘friendship first': Top points
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on two-day visit to the Maldives, on Monday assured India's continued support to the island nation in strengthening its defence capabilities. PM Modi and the Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu also addressed a joint press meet where PM Modi the growing security cooperation between the two nations reflects the depth of their trust. Among other things, PM Modi also announced major financial commitment to the island nation saying India will provide a line of credit of $565 million to the Maldives. The prime minister also handed over 72 vehicles and equipment for use by the Maldives National Defence Force. 'India-Maldives relations are centuries-old. We are neighbours, partners and true friends who stand together in times of need. Like I said earlier too, Maldives holds a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' is not just diplomacy but a relation of deep affinity.' 'We are both partners of the Global South. Whether it is Infrastructure or Capacity Building, India has been a true partner and companion at every turn of Maldives' development journey. Now we should move forward on trade, security, and sustainable development.' 'It is an honor for me to attend as the Guest of Honour on the 60th Independence Day of the Maldives. I express my gratitude to the President for this invitation. And on behalf of all Indians, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the people of the Maldives.' 'Mutual cooperation in the field of defense and security is a testament to mutual trust. The Defense Ministry building, which is being inaugurated today, is a concrete structure of trust. It is a symbol of our strong partnership.' 'To give a new flight to our development partnership, we have decided to provide a 'line of credit' of 565 million dollars, which is approximately five thousand crore rupees, for the Maldives. This will be used for projects related to the development of infrastructure here, in line with the priorities of the people of the Maldives.' 'Built with India's cooperation, four thousand social housing units will now become a new beginning for many families in the Maldives. They will be new homes. The Greater Male Connectivity Project, Addu road development project, and the redeveloped Hanimaadhoo International Airport will transform this entire region into a significant transit and economic hub.' 'India is the closest neighbor of the Maldives. The Maldives holds an important place in both India's 'Neighbourhood First' Policy and MAHASAGAR vision.' 'India is also proud to be the most trusted friend of the Maldives. Be it a disaster or a pandemic, India has always stood by as the 'First Responder'. Whether it is about providing essential commodities or managing the economy post-Covid, India has always worked together.' 'On behalf of all Indians, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the President and the people of Maldives on the historic 60th anniversary of independence.' 'On this historic occasion, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the President for inviting me as the Guest of Honour.'
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Business Standard
8 hours ago
- Business Standard
Funds released for MGNREGS see decline despite higher Budget allocation
The overall funds released under MGNREGS have gone down over the last five years, even as the allocations in the Budget have gone up, information given by the government in the Rajya Sabha showed. According to a written reply by Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan to a question by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, the year of the Covid lockdown 2020-21 saw many migrant workers return to their native villages and ₹1,11,170.86 crore was released under the rural job scheme, the highest in the five-year period. At the Budget Estimate stage at the beginning of the financial year, ₹61,500 crore was allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In 2021-22, ₹98,467.85 crore was released under the scheme, against a Budget Estimate of ₹73,000 crore, while in 2022-23, ₹90,810.99 crore was released, well over the estimate of ₹73,000 crore when the Union Budget was announced. In 2023-24, ₹89,268.30 crore was released under the scheme, against a Budget Estimate of ₹60,000 crore. In 2024-25,₹85,838.76 crore was released under the scheme, which was less than the Budget Estimate of ₹86,000 crore at the start of the fiscal year, a first in five years. The funds released for the MGNREGS have declined every year since it peaked in 2020-21, as per data provided by the minister. Paswan, in his reply, said that in the financial year 2025-26 (as on July 22), 99.79 per cent of the eligible rural households have been offered employment. The minister also stressed that the allocation of ₹86,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25 was the "highest ever allocation for the scheme at the Budget Estimate (BE) stage since inception". "In the financial year 2025-26, the government has retained this allocation at ₹86,000 crore, ensuring continued support for the scheme," he said. "The Government of India is committed to strengthening and supporting Mahatma Gandhi NREGS to ensure livelihood security for rural households through sustainable employment opportunities," Paswan added. As of July 21 this year, 3.83 crore households availed employment and 106.77 crore person-days have been generated under the scheme, he said in a written reply to another question. In another written reply, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that ₹44,479.79 crore has already been released to states/UTs this financial year, out of which ₹36,616.99 crore is for payment of wages. He said all pending liabilities of wages for FY 2024-25 have already been released at the beginning of FY 2025-26.


Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
History writing must go beyond textbooks
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released the long-awaited social sciences textbook for Class 8, for a captive readership from Ladakh to Pondicherry. Coming up with a textbook is a long haul. First, identify the author/authors. After a lot of 'research', the book is drafted, approved, and published. Then, parents buy these and teachers select 'important' sentences that the students commit to memory. At some stage, these will have to be regurgitated in the exams. Why then so much discussion on the book, not by children, parents, or school teachers, but by university teachers and public intellectuals? Because groups of the latter on either side of the debate believe such books are endowed with the power to leave an imprint on readers' minds. But, the power of a history textbook is not in the statistics relating to people killed in battles and buildings destroyed — it is in the manner in which change is conveyed. History is dauntingly difficult to write, unless you take refuge behind obscure abstractions. I recall a conversation from decades ago, in 1986. I was talking to a gentleman, whom I had just informed that I taught history. We discovered we were the same age, and had been in Class IV in 1952. Suddenly, he got animated and asked me whether I remembered the textbooks we had read. A competition of recollection followed. We had both enjoyed British history and been bored by Indian history — the texture of the books, the illustrations, the narrative. We were not a whit less patriotic for that. We both realised that the history of any country, like a play or a novel, can be conveyed either with beauty and even humour, or in a dull and lifeless manner. The NCERT textbooks of 2005 factored in anecdotes and cartoons, only to have the cartoons and illustrations ignored in the classroom and, later, deleted from the books. Teaching history can be such fun if we let the children fully interact with the teacher on the subject. A public school teacher in England, on the first day of teaching 10-year-olds about the Norman conquest of England, asked them kindly if they had any questions. A little fellow stood up. 'Please, sir, did the Anglo-Saxons wear gloves?' The Cambridge graduate did not know the answer. In the last 20 years, there has been a wonderful revolution in India — a blossoming of books for children, many of the stories situated in the past. Can't the NCERT have the courage to open up textbooks to competition from young historiographers? One of my students, Subhadra Sengupta, cruelly felled by Covid, had a massive fan following. Her delightful historical novels were despite her lack of attentiveness in class! There have been many writers who wrote history for children — Charles Dickens (A Child's History of England), Jawaharlal Nehru, while in prison (Letters from a Father to a Daughter). The world knows EH Gombrich, the art historian, but it was only in 2005 that his first book, written in 1936 in German, was translated into English, as A Little History of the World. He had written it when he was 26, in six weeks, with energy, humour, and imagination. I am sure we have many chhupa Gombriches in our country, who can relieve tired and solemn middle-aged writers of the burden of communicating with the young. Narayani Gupta is a Delhi-based historian. The views expressed are personal.