Infamous for witchcraft killings, Jharkhand has earned the disrepute of having the highest percentage of underage girls getting married, according to the latest demographic sample survey by the union home ministry.The percentage of girls getting married before attaining majority is as high as 5.8 in Jharkhand, according to the survey brought out by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.''The percentage of females who got effectively married before reaching 18 years of age is 1.9 at the national level and varies from 0.0 in Kerala to 5.8 in Jharkhand,'' the survey said.In Jharkhand, child marriages accounted for 7.3 per cent of marriages in rural areas and three per cent in urban areas, it said.The Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report contains estimates of various demographic, fertility and mortality indicators based on the data collected through one of the largest demographic surveys in the world covering about 8.4 million sample population.The survey was conducted in 2020 and the report was published late last month.Jharkhand and West Bengal are the only two states in the country where more than half of the women are married before attaining the age of 21 years.The survey said that while 54.9 per cent of girls are married in West Bengal before attaining the age of 21 years, the figure for Jharkhand is 54.6 per cent as against the national average of 29.5 per cent.Meanwhile, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32 people were killed on allegations of practising witchcraft in Jharkhand in 2015, 27 in 2016, 19 in 2017, 18 in 2018, and 15 each in 2019 and 2020.Jharkhand was in the limelight recently after a minor girl was set ablaze for spurning the advances of a man. The main accused had allegedly poured petrol on the girl from outside the window of her room when she was sleeping and set her on fire on August 23. The teenager succumbed to her injuries four days later and the accused and the man who had supplied petrol to him were arrested.Another 14-year-old tribal girl, allegedly sexually exploited by a man on the pretext of marriage, was found hanging from a tree in Dumka on September 2. Her mother had claimed that she was raped and killed and the accused has been arrested.The two incidents are being probed by the National Commission for Women and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.A teenage girl fell victim to an acid attack and was sent to AIIMS in New Delhi by the state government for better treatment.

 NEW DELHI: With less than a month until CJI UU Lalit’s retirement and two of the five-member Supreme Court Collegium opposing a proposal to recommend four new judges, including a Supreme Court lawyer, to the top court via written note rather than a formal meeting, Chief Justice of India U U Lalit is said to have written to them again, requesting reconsideration of their position.

The names recommended by Lalit to the four other members are three sitting HC chief justices (Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Manipur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar) and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan. Senior Advocate KV Vishwanathan would go on to become the CJI in August 2030 if his name is recommended by collegium and cleared by the government.

Last week, Lalit in an unprecedented move, had initiated the proposal for the appointment of SC judges by writing a letter to the fellow members in the Collegium, Justices DY Chandrachud, SK Kaul, S Abdul Nazeer and KM Joseph, requesting them to grant their consent to the names proposed by him. 

The letter which was received by the judges on Saturday, according to people aware of the development, pointed out that the names that were being proposed were deliberated upon in previous Collegium meetings. The letter was written after the Collegium meeting which was scheduled for September 30 and could not take place due to unavailability of Justice Chandrachud who held the court till 9:10 PM.

The meeting which was scheduled for September 30th was supposedly Lalit’s last collegium meeting SC went into recess for Dussehra break and will reopen on October 10 and the one month mark would prevent Lalit is set to retire on November 8, 2022 from making recommendations for judicial appointments due to the appointment process for his successor being in gear. 

On receipt of the letter, according to the sources the two collegium members, while strongly objecting to CJI’s move, had said that appointment to the high constitutional office and as judges of the highest court should never be done through circulation. According to reports, the two members objected only to the manner in which the recommendations were initiated, not to the merits of the individuals recommended. A fourth judge was said to be away and said that he would respond when he returned. 

Further, according to sources familiar with the development, SC collegium headed by CJI UU Lalit in a first had decided to start evaluating judges based on their performance before recommending their elevation to the top court. On September 26, the Collegium recommended to the Centre elevation of Bombay HC’s Chief Justice Dipankar Datta as SC judge. 

CJI Lalit, who is set to retire on November 8, has very little time on his hands. The government writes to the outgoing CJI about a month before his retirement, and the CJI, in turn, recommends the name of the most senior judge as the successor. When a new name is proposed, the incumbent CJI usually refrains from making decisions on judicial appointments and instead defers to the new CJI.

 BENGALURU: A 65-year-old man has been arrested by the RT Nagar police for attempting to kill his 88-year-old mother at her house over a property issue. The woman — Catherine D’Cruz — has four children of whom two are staying abroad, one unmarried daughter resides in an ashram and the accused — John D’Cruz — is the eldest of them.

John stays on the first floor of the same building in RT Nagar II Block and is a retired public sector employee. Catherine had given the house to the accused. Despite getting property worth a few crores of rupees,  John was upset with his mother as he was unable to take possession of it while she was alive. Catherine had serious health issues because of her age.

Since she had problems in breathing, she was on regular oxygen support. She also had to be provided regular treatment which had irked John. One of her other sons had arranged for a caretaker to look after his mother.

John is alleged to have forcibly removed the oxygen mask while attempting to kill his mother last week. The caretaker immediately called the police control room. John has been arrested on charges of attempting to kill his mother and has been remanded in judicial custody.

After barging into the house, John is alleged to have sent the caretaker out of the home and attempted to kill his mother. After the caretaker reported the matter to the police, the jurisdictional RT Nagar police who rushed to the spot rescued Catherine. The victim in her statement to the police narrated the harassment by her eldest son. Based on her statements, the police arrested him and lodged him in Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons,” said the police. A case of attempt to murder under Section 307 of the IPC has been registered against John.

 NEW DELHI: Hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global alert over four India-made cough syrups linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSO) launched an urgent investigation into the matter.

The cough syrup by New Delhi-based Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals is not sold in India but is being exported.

The WHO on Wednesday flagged four "contaminated" and "substandard" cough syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited - whose two manufacturing units are based in Haryana, while the corporate office is in Pitampura, New Delhi. WHO said the company, whose website is now unavailable and phones not reachable, failed to guarantee their safety.

The world body also said the syrups have been "potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children.”

The four cough and cold syrups are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. To date, these four products have been identified in The Gambia but may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions, the WHO said.

Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. Harmful effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury, which may lead to death.

Officials said CDSCO has already undertaken an “urgent investigation” into the matter with the Haryana Regulatory Authorities, where the manufacturing units are located, immediately after receiving communication from WHO.

"The CDSCO, while responding to WHO, within an hour-and-a-half, took up the matter immediately after that with the concerned State Regulatory Authority, under whose jurisdiction the drug manufacturing unit is located. Further, a detailed investigation was launched to ascertain the facts or details in the matter in collaboration with the State Drugs Controller, Haryana," the officials added.

"WHO has been requested to share at the earliest with CDSCO the details on the labels and products," the sources said, adding that they have also sought information on certificates of analysis to be shared with India. Preliminary investigations showed that the company held manufacturing permission for these products and exported them to The Gambia.

Officials also said that importing countries must test products on quality parameters before releasing the batches in the market for sale. "It is a practice that importing countries first test the quality parameters and then allow its usage after they are satisfied," official sources added.

According to Rajeev Singhal, General Secretary of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists, the company is not selling cough syrups in the domestic market.

"The company doesn’t market in India; they are only in exports. We have also asked the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) if they need to give us any instructions which need to be conveyed to our 9 lakh chemists. We will not allow such medicines to be sold in India," he told The New Indian Express.

Dr Viranchi Shah, President Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), said that the pharma company is not a member of IDMA. "It is a serious issue. We are waiting for the investigation to know what went wrong. We had not heard of this company and their operations," he said. 

The company was started in 1990.

Dr Pawan Kumar, General Paediatrician at Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Delhi, said oral administration of Diethylene glycol could result in renal and neurological toxicity.

"Diethylene glycol is a colourless chemical with a sweet taste that’s toxic when ingested by humans. It's a solvent for water-insoluble drugs and chemicals, and it's used to make products such as cigarettes, antifreeze, lubricants, brake fluids, cosmetics and wallpaper strippers," the doctor said.

He added that because of its toxicity, it's not allowed in food or drugs. "But because of its solubility, some drug makers have inappropriately substituted it for nontoxic ingredients, such as glycerin, in pharmaceuticals such as cough syrups and acetaminophen," he said.

The WHO has warned that using these cough syrups may result in severe injury or death, especially among children.

The WHO issued the alert after medical authorities in The Gambia detected an increase in cases of acute kidney injury among children under five in late July. The government has since then suspended the use of all paracetamol syrups and has urged people to use tablets instead. The sale of products made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals has also been banned.

WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said: "The loss of these young lives is beyond heart-breaking for their families."

RAIPUR: The Dashaanan (ten-headed demon Ravan) has to be fully burnt, not partially. Blasting out the main face won’t simply do: That’s the rule for Chhattisgarh government employees tasked to finish off the Ravan effigy. Any violation can invite suspension, which a grade-3 employee realised when all the ten heads of the “evil” survived despite firecrackers doing their job. 

Rajendra Yadav works in the municipal corporation of Dhamtari, about 90 km south of Raipur. He was on Thursday suspended for a job “badly done.” When the effigy of Ravan was burnt to symbolise the triumph of good over evil, all his ten heads remained unscathed on Wednesday, drawing the curiosity as well as the fury of a section of spectators assembled to watch the annual spectacle. Soon, the matter went up to the civic body authorities. 

A day after, the municipal corporation suspended Rajendra, apparently holding him accountable for gross negligence in the “killing” of the demon king.  After all, so much effort had gone into the preparation of the effigy with a provision to facilitate its complete burning in a ritual called ‘Ravan Dahan’.

“For the Dussehra Utsav, grave irresponsibility has been committed by Rajendra Yadav while getting the effigy of Ravan ready. His act has brought disrepute to the image of the municipal corporation. Keeping the carelessness during his duty in view, he has been suspended with immediate effect,” said the suspension order that carried the signature of commissioner Vinay Poyam.

The commissioner later told this paper that he was on leave and that the decision was taken by Padamwar, the executive engineer of the corporation. Despite repeated attempts, the engineer couldn’t be reached for comment.

‘Disrepute to image’
In his suspension order effective immediately, Dhamtari commissioner  cites “grave irresponsibility” commited by the official that has “brought disrepute to the image of  the civic body”. 

Kevadia (Gujarat), Oct 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India has the potential to lead the fourth industrial revolution and the government has worked on reforms to make the country a manufacturing hub of the world.

He said that the fourth industrial revolution is as much about new technology, as it is about innovative thinking.

"Due to various factors, India may have missed being a part of earlier industrial revolutions. But India has the potential to lead Industry 4.0, because, for the first time in recent history, we have many different factors like demography, demand and decisive governance coming together," he said through a message.

Mumbai, Oct 7 (PTI) The front portion of the Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express train, which was damaged after hitting some buffaloes in Gujarat, has been replaced here by the railway authorities, an official said on Friday.

The nose of the newly-launched Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express train had suffered damage after it hit a herd of buffaloes around 11.15 am on Thursday near Ahmedabad, when the train was on its way to Gandhinagar.

"The nose cone cover of the train's driver coach along with its mounting brackets was damaged in the cattle-hit incident. However, the vital parts of the train remained unaffected. The damaged nose cone was replaced at the Coach Care Centre in Mumbai Central," Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of the Western Railway said.

The nose cone was made up of FRP (fibre-reinforced plastic).

The incident had occurred between Vatva and Maninagar areas of Ahmedabad, but the train had covered the distance to Gandhinagar Capital station and back to Mumbai Central without the panel on Thursday.

"The nose cover is designed to absorb the impact without transmitting the same to the functional parts of the train. Therefore, it is sacrificial by design and hence replaceable," Thakur said.

He said that a sufficient quantity of nose cones is kept as a spare.

"The damaged nose cone was replaced with a new one at the Mumbai Central depot in no time during the maintenance and the train was put back to service without any extra down time. The train departed from Mumbai today without any inconvenience to the passengers," he added.

The Western Railway is taking all necessary action to prevent such incidents in future, he said.

The indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high speed train, the third service under the Vande Bharat series, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 30 from Gandhinagar Capital and it started the commercial run from the next day. PTI

Chennai, Oct 7 (PTI) Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has favoured limiting the term of office for state presidents in the party and called for Congress to be revived and re-energised to take on BJP in the 2024 general elections.

Denying rumours that he may opt out of the presidential race due to meagre support, Tharoor said he was very much in the fray and has been receiving support from various quarters.

"My message is revive the party, re-energise it, empower workers, decentralise authority and be in touch with the people. This, I believe will make Congress politically fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the 2024 general election," Tharoor said during his interaction on Thursday with media persons at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters.

Stating that he has respect and great regards for party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, Tharoor said the contest was friendly based on different approaches to face the BJP and not ideological, as both hailed from the same party.

"We need to reform the way our party functions. We need to bring young people in the party and give them real authority. At the same time, we should give greater respect to hardworking and long-serving karyakartas," he said releasing his poll manifesto.

Decentralising powers, strengthening party at the booth level, utilising general secretaries for nation building activities while dispensing their services as state in-charges, and trusting state presidents by giving them a free hand in decision making besides limiting their term of office, are among the 10 points highlighted in the manifesto.

"We need to reiterate the core convictions of the Congress. We are the party of inclusive India, a party that believes in equal rights and is against oppression. This is the idea we stood and fought for and we must reiterate it," he said.

If elected as president, he has promised to revive certain institutions like the parliamentary board.

The manifesto focuses on the need for the Congress to return to the ethos of social work, Tharoor added.

"The party is not a machine to fight elections once in five years, but it should live along with and serve the people... we should connect with the people and work with them," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

Popular connect with people is fundamental and this was being illustrated by the successful Bharat Jodo Yatra of party leader Rahul Gandhi, he said.

Tharoor also said he was getting enormous amount of feedback from ordinary party workers, especially the youngsters.

He said it was very gratifying for him that the youth who are the future and also the majority in our country, back him in the polls. Those aged 35 years and below account for 65 per cent of our population. "It is their country, this is a young India," he said.

"I want Congress to be the party of young India. I want to represent the aspirations, dreams and hopes of young India, just as (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi attempted to do 40 years ago and succeeded in his initiation of telecom and IT revolution. We too have to now move forward to seize the opportunity available to young India. I am very happy to have the support of the young people," he said.

Responding to a question, Tharoor replied that the party has a successful alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu and it enjoyed good ties with the state government. PTI 

The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche.

Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar breaks down as he recalls the events of Tuesday. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. ''Within seconds, everything was enveloped by a thick cloud of snow,'' he tells PTI. Kumar was among the 14 injured mountaineers brought down by rescuers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) basecamp and admitted to the district hospital on Wednesday. Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the site, according to NIM, with the toll likely to increase as search and rescue operations continue for the missing mountaineers.

''There were 42 climbers in the team, including 34 trainees. I was leading them. Instructors Savita Kanswal and Naumi Rawat were behind me while the rest followed them. Just then, the avalanche hit and buried everything under thick snow within seconds,'' he said. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche. ''As I was ahead of the rest, I hung on to the left of the crevasse. When the snow began to settle, I undid the ropes and started to rescue my teammates. The other instructors also joined in,'' he added. In the absence of proper tools, it took them two hours to remove the snow. Those who could be spotted were pulled out. Despite their efforts, 29 team members were stuck inside the crevasse, the instructor said. This was, however, Kumar's second close shave in the past 12 years. In 2010, when he was posted at the Gulmarg branch of Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports, he was part of a 250-member team caught in an avalanche. While he escaped unscathed, 18 trainee climbers died in that incident. ''But the avalanche near Draupadi Ka Danda-II was much bigger,'' he said. NIM has been conducting training expeditions at the peak since 1975. The peak is named after Draupadi, a character from the Hindu epic 'Mahabharat', as it is believed that the Pandavas ascended to heaven from the site, former Char Dham Development Council vice-president Surat Ram Nautiyal said. Villagers of Bhatwari still worship the peak by conducting pujas on the banks of Kheda tal, a lake in the foothills.

 India’s services sector activity slumped in September to a six-month low, majorly by a substantial easing in demand amid high inflation, according to a private survey.

The S&P Global India services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.3 in September from August's 57.2.

Despite staying above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the fourteenth straight month - the longest stretch of expansion since October 2016 - the index fell to its lowest since March.

"The Indian service sector has overcome many adversities in recent months, with the latest PMI data continuing to show a strong performance despite some loss of growth momentum in September," noted Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Although the new business sub-index, a measure of demand, cooled significantly to its lowest since March it was above 50 for the fourteenth month in a row.

International demand, which has not revived since the onset of the pandemic, remained sub-50 amid global woes although the drop in September was the weakest since January.

Demand slowed as firms raised their prices for a nineteenth month as they faced higher energy, food, labour and material costs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised interest rates by 190 basis points since May to stem inflation and offset some of the effects of aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve hikes that have weakened many currencies, including the rupee.

Foreign reserves in India have declined by nearly $100 billion to $545 billion after the RBI tried to shore up the rupee. They were expected to fall to $523 billion by year-end, a Reuters poll found.

"Currency instability poses renewed inflation worries as imported items become more costly, and undoubtedly means that the RBI will continue hiking interest rates to protect the rupee and contain price pressures," added De Lima.

"An upturn in inflation could damage consumer spending, dampen business confidence and test the resilience of the Indian service sector in the coming months."

Hiring in the sector continued for the fourth month but fewer jobs were created compared to August.

The silver lining was the future activity sub-index, which measures optimism, that rose to its highest in almost eight years, giving hopes of brighter growth.

The overall S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index slowed to 55.1 from 58.2 in August as both manufacturing and services sectors cooled on falling demand.