With Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking each Union minister to prove his/her mettle in terms of promoting digital payments, Social Justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, whose ministry is in charge of senior citizens’ welfare, has decided to help the elderly. The ministry has launched a massive campaign in coordination with its 500-plus NGOs to teach senior citizens across rural areas the basics of making digital payments with or without smartphones. Phase two of the plan would be tying up with residents welfare associations to reach out to the elderly in urban areas. Quoting Quotas Reservation is back in political discourse as Uttar Pradesh Assembly election draws closer. Leaders of various caste groups are now using it to get their share of the reservation pie. Besides demanding due representation for the Nishad community, an agitation programme organised by former BSP MP Narendra Kumar Kashyap on Monday saw demands for inclusion of 17 castes in the Centre’s SC list. Kashyap also demands identification of OBCs in six states where there are none at present, and increasing their percentage in 13 other states and Union Territories. The event saw the attendance of leaders from various political parties. “We have been ignored by political parties. This is a time to show our unity,” Kashyap said. In Defence Of Desi The RSS seems to be keen on the Defence Ministry giving a big push to indigenous firms and cutting down on imports. Bharat Niti, a right-wing think tank, is organising a daylong conference on “Defence Production — Self-Reliance and Beyond” to push the agenda. Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar have been invited to address the conference. Representatives of all Indian defence companies - such as Reliance, Tata, L&T and Mahindra and PSUs DRDO, BEL, HAL, etc - are likely to address the seminar. They hope such lobbying will push Indian products in the defence sector. Special Division After transferring special director R K Dutta from CBI to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Prime Minister’s Office had sanctioned additional staff for the newly carved out post by splitting internal security at MHA. Dutta has been made in charge of terror financing (CFT) division with an in Khan Market area of south Delhi. A director-level post for an IPS officer, along with four other staff members, has also been created. The CFT division was part of Internal Security and earlier reported to Special Secretary Mahesh K Singhla.
