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Manmohan lays stone for strengthening power grid
Mansarovar yatra to be easier |
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SC dismisses probe plea on Lalu’s daughter wedding
No compromise on Vande
Mataram: Advani
BSP suspends MP for favouritism
20 Lancers’ raising day golden jubilee celebrated
PM gives 10,000 houses to women workers
Make peace with PDP, Cong leadership tells Azad
Officials’ presence at SP function causes row
Left against Hooda govt’s “high-tech” city project
Andaleeb Sehgal moves SC for stay
of probe
Prof’s death: security for witnesses
Women groups evince keen interest in Udyog Mela
India continues hunt for uranium
EC likely
to close OoP cases NHRC for setting up panels in states
Quota can’t be enforced in one go: Arjun
Rajkamal Railway Board Member
Punjab, HP get awards
Narayan quits as NAC member
Non-Cong states take lead in job scheme
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Manmohan lays stone for strengthening power grid
Solapur, September 1 The Rs 5,222-crore project is the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI) strengthening scheme-II. Of the total amount, Rs 3,600 crore would be executed by power grid and the remainder Rs 1,622 crore would be generated from private players. The project would be completed by 2008-09 and facilitate the import of 4,000 MW power from the eastern and north eastern regions of the country to the central and western states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Singh said despite the western region being the most developed area of the country, it had faced severe power deficit in the past 10 years. With the new System Strengthening Scheme (SSS), electricity from the east, where it is in surplus, could be imported to the western areas easily, he added. The Prime Minister said in the next 25 years, expenditure on the electricity would increase by six times. “We have to ensure that the power generation should be increased from the targeted 1,20,000 to 8,00,000 MW,” he noted. He reiterated that the focus should be on generating electricity from other sources like hydroelectric, wind, solar and nuclear, apart from thermal production. Efforts were also being taken to have a national grid for the country where the electricity generation could be ensured at cheap rates. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the humanities building of Solapur University. — UNI
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Mansarovar yatra to be easier
New Delhi, September 1 According to Joint Secretary (Border Management) H.S. Brahma, the Centre has decided to make the 75-km stretch between Dharchula and Lipu Lake (Uttaranchal) a motorable stretch in next four years. At present, yatris intending to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have to reach Dharchula and then walk through the 75-km mountaneous and arduous stretch to reach Lipu Lake and then cross over to the Chinese side for the ultimate darshan. Every year this stretch witnesses minor to major landslides making it even more difficult for the yatris to undertake the yatra. It may be recalled that in 1998 some yatris, including Danseuse Protima Bedi, was killed and several others were stranded enroute due to a major landslide near Gunji. Meanwhile, sources said the Chinese side is not much enthusiastic about allowing pilgrims from Ladakh side as proposed by Jammu and Kashmir Government and the Gangtok-Nathula route as proposed by Sikkim Government even as New Delhi is pursuing the issue with Beijing. When contacted Mr P.K. Dhasmana, Additional DG (Operations) with ITBP, said motorable road will definitely attract more pilgrims to Mansarovar Yatra. At present, about 600 pilgrims undertake this arduous yatra every year for which all the necessary arrangements are put in place by the ITBP. Meanwhile, as part of its Border Area Development Plan, the Centre has proposed construction of 27 roads in five states bordering China to facilitate easy movement of people living in far-flung border areas. “Four roads each in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim, 11 in Uttaranchal and two each in Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (Ladakh side),” Mr Brahma said.
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SC dismisses probe plea on Lalu’s daughter wedding
New Delhi, September 1 A Bench comprising Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice D.K. Jain declined to entertain the petition filed by the Ashoka Hotel Mazdoor Janata Union seeking probe into huge payments made for the wedding at Hotel Ashoka in April. Realising that the Bench was not inclined to entertain its petition, union’s counsel D.K. Garg preferred to withdraw it. The union had sought inquiry into the expenditure claiming that around Rs 21 lakh were paid in cash to the hotel. Anguished by such petition, the Bench observed that the petitioners were treating the court as a police station.
— PTI
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No compromise on Vande Mataram: Advani
New Delhi, September 1 “There is a lot of debate these days that whether singing of Vande Mataram should be mandatory or optional... I believe that in India where there is so much diversity, there should be no compromising attitude towards nationalism,” Mr Advani said at a function held to mark the release of a book by party colleague Ram Naik. Endorsing the idea of singing Vande Mataram, the BJP leader said: “If you take up the issue of National Flag it is a national symbol. Can one think that respecting it can be option? This is not possible.” His comments comes a week after BJP President Rajnath Singh announced that the BJP would order compulsory singing of the national song in schools, if it was voted to power in Uttar Pradesh.
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BSP suspends MP for favouritism
Lucknow, September 1 Announcing the suspension of the MP from the primary membership of the party, the party chief said much against the principles of the party, Mr Isam Singh had been repeatedly approaching her to “bless” his son and daughter with vidhan sabha seats for the forthcoming election in Uttaranchal. “Rather than taking a cue from the founder of the party, Mr Kanshi Ram, who kept his family at a safe distance from his political life or from me, the MP continued to press the case of his children, Ms Mayawati alleged. According to her, when she refused to consider his request he became inactive in the party and started hobnobbing with other political parties who gave him some assurance”. Mr Isam Singh’s tenure in the upper house was to come to an end on November 25, 2008. He had earlier been an MLC in the UP vidhan parishad. After being re-elected as National President for a second term on August 27, Ms Mayawat had clearly ruled out the possibility of any member of her family being in the forefront of the party.
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20 Lancers’ raising day golden jubilee celebrated Jaipur, September 1 Formed by the amalgamation of 14th Murray's Jat Lancers and 15th Lancers in 1920, 20 Lancers was re-raised as an amoured regiment on July 10, 1956, by Lt-Col (now Major Gen) Umrao Singh, PVSM (retired). Having the honour of displaying exemplary valour in all wars since Independence, 20 Lancers wrote the saga of bravery during the battle of 'Chhamb-Jaurian' in the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Equipped with light tanks (AMX-13), the regiment offered a stiff resistance to the sophisticated medium tanks (Patton) of Pakistan, which earned it the title of "Saviours of Akhnoor". Presented with a guidon by the then President of India, Mr Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, on December 1, 1978, at Sangrur, the regiment has been bestowed with 10 "battle honours", one "theatre honour" and numerous gallantry awards. The highlights of the celebrations were gymkhana for serving and retired soldiers and their families, barakhana and a gong ceremony to dedicate a war memorial to every Lancer for having laid down his life in defence of the motherland. A sainik sammelan was held wherein a special first-day cover was released by a former Army Chief and Honorary Colonel of the regiment, Gen Shanker Roychowdhury, PVSM (retired). A special golden jubilee newsletter of the regiment was released by Major-Gen Umrao Singh, PVSM (retired).
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PM gives 10,000 houses to women workers
Solapur, September 1 Mooted by local CPM MLA Narsayya Adam, the project envisaged providing shelter to women “beedi” workers who were members of CITU, the party’s trade union wing. “We put together small sums of money over several years to pay our contribution of Rs 20,000,” said Ananda Redke, one of the beneficiaries. For Redke and thousands of others like her the wait was long as the process of obtaining central and state subsidies took several years. “There were gheraos in Parliament as Communist party MLAs and legislators from Maharashtra agitated for the central grant,” said activist Subodh More who had been working on the project. Finally, the Central Government clearance came through and most of the 10,000 houses were made ready for occupation. According to project promoters, each house cost Rs 60,000 to build with the state and Central Governments pitching in Rs 20,000 each. The project turned out to be an excellent example of public-private partnership with the local Pandhe Constructions Pvt Ltd adopting several low-cost methods of construction. According to company officials, cement blocks were constructed on the site itself with beneficiaries working on the construction. They were paid under the state government’s Employment Guarantee Scheme. Similarly, doors, windows and other fittings too were built by the beneficiaries themselves under the EGS. Each house, measuring 255 sq ft, is built on a 550-sq ft plot . The project is spread over 435 acres of land.
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Make peace with PDP, Cong leadership tells Azad New Delhi, September 1 Congress president Sonia Gandhi, it is learnt, does not agree with Mr Azad’s unspoken game-plan of severing links with the PDP and joining hands with the National Conference. She is keen on continuing its alliance with the PDP and has made it clear to Mr Azad and the state party unit that it should mend fences with the PDP at the earliest. The Congress today,therefore, sought to play down the controversy arising from the decision of coalition partner People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to demand the removal of its candidate Muzaffar Hussain Beig as Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress was quick to descirbe this as an internal matter of the PDP and dismissed reports of any threat to the Ghulam Nabi Azad government. The PDP is upset with Mr Azad after he refused to remove his Deputy Chief Minister belonging to the PDP. The Chief Minister is known to be close to Mr Beig and the PDP fears that Mr Azad is trying to weaken their party by engineering defections from their ranks. Distancing itself from the controversy, the Congress today maintained that it was the PDP’s prerogative to name the next Deputy Chief Minister and also to decide the allocation of Mr Beg’s portfolios. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi clarified that it was not the Chief Minister who would decide on the next incumbent for Deputy Chief Minister, adding that this decision rests solely with the PDP leadership. The PDP, it was stated, has not named its choice so far, though there are indications it may not name a Deputy CM at all. As reports of this latest stand-off reached Delhi, the Congress top brass went into damage control mode. Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni, who is still in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, is learnt to have spoken to Mr Azad and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti in an effort to resolve these misunderstandings between the alliance partenrs. Mr Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Ms Gandhi, was also in touch with the two sides. Party sources said the state coordination committee is likely to meet shortly to sort their pending differences, while leaders from both sides could subsequently meet in Delhi.
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Officials’ presence at SP function causes row
Lucknow, September 1 While UPCC president Salman Khurshid has written to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and Union Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachauri demanding action against the officials, BSP chief Mayawati today reiterated that the officials should have resigned before attending such a function. In separate letters, Khurshid charged the official machinery with becoming a “team of ruling party workers” under whom “free and fair poll to the Vidhan Sabha would not be possible”. Holding the three years Mulayam-led coalition’s “misrule” responsible for making senior officials forget the code of conduct, Ms Mayawati, however, refused to see a parallel between the function and senior bureaucrats attending her high-profile birthday bash. She clarified that the birthday party was a BSP function where anyone could have come to greet her. Even a writ petition questioning the role of the senior officials during her birthday function had been quashed by the court, she pointed out. On August 29, when the SP-led coalition government completed three years, the main “official function” was held at the state SP office where senior bureaucrats were in full attendance. The question of the presence of bureaucrats at the SP function also figured in the Vidhan Sabha. Raising the question on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha yesterday, Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari said the officers had set a wrong example by attending the function. It was in violation of the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules, and the code of conduct.
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Left against Hooda govt’s “high-tech” city project New Delhi, Sept 1 A delegation of CPI leaders, D Raja and Amarjeet Kaur met the Congress chief along with a large number of farmers from Sonepat demanded that the project be shifted to those regions in the state where barren lands are available. The state government has proposed to acquire 24,000 acres of fertile land in Sonepat and Panipat. “The area in question is highly fertile, yielding three crops annually and the farmers are producing foodgrains not only for the consumption in their own area but are the feeders for stocks of the government of Haryana and Punjab,” the CPI leader D Raja said. The reason cited by Haryana government that the location of Sonepat and Panipat including plenty of water is good to set up such a city is rather a better reason for the farmers not to be dislocated and displaced from there, he said. There are lots of pieces of land in other districts, which are barren and not under cultivation which could be procured for the purpose for building high tech city. There are pleas from the people of Rewari, Rohtak, Mahendergarh and Narnaul, who are wanting to have those projects in their areas. He said apart from farmers and their families, who number around one lakh, there are several thousands of people who have been staying in these villages for decades engaged as labourers in the fields and related activities. “When food security is a serious issue for the government, it is not at all advisable to displace the farmers and farming in such a fertile belt,” he said. Raja said the state government is not building rail or road infrastructure or industrial development that the land is being sought for. Acquisition of land for “high tech” city will “only be enhancing the interest of big builders lobby and elite and affluent would get the chance to live in high quality expensive flats with best of amenities their money can buy them,” he added.
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Andaleeb Sehgal moves SC for stay
of probe
New Delhi, September 1 Sehgal, filed a petition in the apex court challenging the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Excise Department on the basis of the Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority. Sehgal has questioned the legality of the findings of the Justice Pathak Authority, which in its report had said Natwar Singh had made recommendations in his favour. His main contention was that the inquiry authority had not given proper hearing to him. His petition is likely to be taken up for hearing on Monday. Sehgal, who runs a firm Hamdaan Exports, moved the apex court after his petition was rejected by the Delhi High Court prior to submission of his report by Justice Pathak Authority, alleging that he was not being properly head.
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Prof’s death: security for witnesses
Ujjain (MP), September 1 The security cover for Komal Singh Sengar, a peon of Madhav College, was enhanced with the deployment of three more guards. Sengar, who was earlier provided two guards, alleged that he was being “pressurised” to retract his complaint that led to the arrest of two top ABVP leaders for Sabharwal’s alleged murder. The police also provided protection to another peon, Manohar Singh Dodia, who said he had witnessed Sabharwal being assaulted by a group of ABVP workers after the student union elections in the college were cancelled on August 26 following allegations of irregularities. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leaders Shariranjan Akela and Vimal Tomar were yesterday arrested and remanded in police custody. Sengar said he had identified four persons who were part of the group that mobbed Sabharwal from photos shown to him by the police. Two of these persons had been arrested, he said. He, however, said he did not know if the four persons he had identified had actually assaulted Sabharwal. Both Sengar and Dodia said they were determined to testify in court regarding the assault on Sabharwal and would not be cowed down by threats. Meanwhile, the police arrested an NSUI worker for rioting during the college elections. Twentythree NSUI workers were earlier arrested on a similar charge and set free on bail yesterday. Sengar said there was a “threat to his life” and that he was being “pressurised” to withdraw his complaint to the police. “I can see my death before my eyes,” he said. Sengar claimed a group of 15-20 persons, including Tomar, came to the gate of the college and thrashed Sabharwal at the behest of Akela. Dodia said, “Everyone knows who was involved in the incident, but they are not coming forward. There were other nearly 25 persons present at the time. Meanwhile, colleges in Indore remained closed as part of a protest against the murder of Sabharwal orgainsied by the NSUI, whose workers staged dharnas at some places in the city.
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Women groups evince keen interest in Udyog Mela
Patna, September 1 Ms Chopra said this was evident from the queries from different parts of the country for the 11th Bihar Mahila Udyog Mela, which is run solely by women entrepreneurs. According to Ms Chopra, president of the Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh,she was getting business enquiries from states which had never participated in any business fair in this state before. Ms Chopra said the September 14 to 18 fair this year was to see participation from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra . It may be noted that till last year, the participation in the fair was by and large from Bihar,Jharkhand and West Bengal. But this year, entrepreneurs from Patiala, Haryana, Delhi, Lucknow, Pune and Andhra Pradesh, all of them coming for the first time,have confirmed their participation. Ms Chopra said, “It is not just about an individual’s enterprise. But these states would be sending clusters of women accompanied by a staff of the government as well.”
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India continues hunt for uranium
Mumbai, September 1 The country’s nuclear establishment is intensifying its search for uranium and even private players may be roped in though with limited a limited role, officials say. To begin with private players may be brought in for collecting and analysing data and even as providers of advanced technology to process uranium. However, the officials say there is little scope for private players to take up full -fledged mining and processing of uranium at present. At present the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd operates 16 nuclear plants with an aggregate capacity of 3900 MW. The nuclear establishment expects India’s existing uranium reserves to help generate just about 10,000 MW of nuclear power. The government’s target of 24,000 MW by 2020 would require fresh stocks of uranium. Apart from its existing uranium mine at Jadugoda in Jharkhand, India’s uranium hunt is opening up the earth in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya in the North East. “In the next two years new mines will open in Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh,” a senior official told this reporter. Incidentally, the quality of uranium ore in the country is quite poor and extraction of the metal is an expensive affair. Only in the Domiasiat region of Meghalaya is the top-grade uranium found in the country. About 10 grams of uranium can be obtained from 1 kg of ore. However, opposition from the state government and the environment lobby is said to be hampering uranium extraction in Meghalaya. But the government’s exploration efforts continue in the North-East.
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EC
likely to close OoP cases New Delhi, September 1 Congress president Sonia Gandhi had resigned from Lok Sabha following petitions seeking her disqualification for holding the post of chairperson of National Advisory Council. It was not clear whether the petition filed recently against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on charges of holding offices of profit as they were trustees of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation also came up for scrutiny during the meeting. Chatterjee, who is also Chairperson of the Santiniketan-Sriniketan Development Board, and SP MP Amar Singh, who is Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Council, are among the 40 MPs against whom disqualification petitions are pending on the ground they hold offices of profit. Recently, President A P J Abdul Kalam gave his assent to the controversial Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, a day after Parliament approved the setting up of a Joint Committee to define what constitutes such an office. The Presidential assent to the law with retrospective effect is expected to provide relief to these MPs. Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy had said earlier that EC would abide by the legislation in deciding on the petitions.
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NHRC for setting up panels in states New Delhi, September 1 In his opening remarks at the meeting of the NHRC with State Human Rights Commissions here on Friday, Justice Anand said five of the 16 state commissions were functioning without chairpersons. He expressed the hope that state governments would act with all sincerity in setting up the commissions. He said state governments need to appreciate that the state commissions act as facilitators and assist the government concerned in fulfiling their constitutional obligations for protecting and promoting human rights. On the latest amendment to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, Justice Anand said it had been passed by both Houses of Parliament and was waiting the assent of the President. He said one of the amendments in the bill would have a direct impact on the operational workload of the state human rights commissions. This relates to the transfer of any complaint before the NHRC to the Human Rights Commission of the state from where it has arisen. The Chairperson said this would undoubtedly increase the number of complaints to be redressed by the state commission.
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Quota can’t be enforced in one go: Arjun
Chennai, September 1
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Rajkamal Railway Board Member
New Delhi, September 1 Prior to this, he held the post of General Manager, Western Railway, Mumbai. Mr Rao has also held several key posts as Additional Member (Mechanical), Railway Board, Additional General Manager of South Central Railway, Secunderabad, Chief Mechanical Engineer of East Coast Railway, Bhubaneshwar, Chief Personnel Officer, South Central Railway, Secunderabad .
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Punjab, HP get awards New Delhi, September 1 President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presented the award to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at a function organised by India Today Group. Dr Kalam said such conclaves provided a healthy platform to objectively measure the socio-economic performance of the Indian states and would also enable them to overcome the impediments in the way of Mission Developed India -2020. Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged the best state in the country in primary health, education for the year 2005-06 by the magazine group in its annual survey. The state has been declared best in the country for achieving excess growth of its potential. It has registered 1.33 per cent higher growth in excess of its potential during the year 2005-06. The state has also been declared the fastest mover state in the consumer market, while it has achieved IInd position in investment environment budget & prosperity, consumer market, infrastructure.
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Narayan quits as NAC member
Hyderabad, September 1 The decision comes in the wake of his plans to launch a political party in Andhra Pradesh to work for heralding a new political culture and social equity. Dr Narayan, who is the national coordinator of “Lok Satta”, an NGO working in the area of democratic and electoral reforms, said he would continue “for a few more weeks” in the Second Administrative Reforms Commission to help finalize reports on civil services reforms, public order, local governments and ethics in governance. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the copies of which were released to the media here today, he said “I am resigning from the NAC on account of the demands of my political work. We are in the process of building a new political formation-Lok Satta Party-to pursue the goals in the electoral arena.” While thanking the Prime Minister for reposing faith in him and making him the member of NAC, Dr Narayan, however, felt that a broad political movement which can galvanize public opinion and prove electoral support for clean politics would generate forces for transforming our polity.
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Non-Cong states take lead in job scheme
New Delhi, September 1 Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan are among the top performing states in terms of providing benefit to people under NREGA. Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand are also among the front-ranking states in terms of numbers. Among the Congress-ruled states, only Andhra Pradesh has a sizeable number of beneficiaries under the programme, which promises unskilled employment to a rural household for at least 100 days in a year. The numbers may have to do as much with the number of districts covered in a state as with the keenness shown by a state government in implementing NREGA. The relative prosperity of a state and its minimum wages are also the contributing factors. Among states where only a few districts are covered under NREGA, the performance of Himachal Pradesh has been better. While 29,968 persons were provided unskilled manual employment in the state, 15,573 were provided employment in Haryana and 19,059 in Punjab by August 21 this year. Madhya Pradesh is at the top of NREGA states, having provided employment to 1.8 million people so far. Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh has provided employment to over 1.6 million people under NREGA, while Left-ruled West Bengal has provided employment to over 1.3 million people. Andhra Pradesh has the distinction of providing employment to all 7,55,861 persons who sought it under NREGA till August 21. Maharashtra provided employment to 1,83,075 persons under NREGA till August 21, which is comparable to Chhaittisgarh (1,62,480) and Gujarat (1,51,511). Gujarat has also provided employment under NREGA to all who sought it after obtaining job cards. According to officials in the Rural Development Ministry, over 8.8 million people have been provided employment under NREGA since its launch earlier this year.
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