PM Modi Interacts With Indian Diaspora From Laos, Receives Blessings By Buddhist Monks

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PM Modi Interacts With Indian Diaspora From Laos, Receives Blessings By Buddh...

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Indian diaspora upon arrival in Vientiane. He greeted Indian community members as they were excited to meet him outside the hotel in Laos.

Vientiane [Laos], Oct 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Indian diaspora upon arrival in Vientiane. He greeted Indian community members as they were excited to meet him outside the hotel in Laos.

Several dignitaries, including Laos' Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Education and Sports, Governor of Bank of Laos and Mayor of Vientiane were present to welcome PM Modi.

PM Modi is scheduled to be in the country for a two-day visit. He will be participating in the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summit. His visit is significant as this year marks a decade of India's Act East Policy.

After touching down at Vientiane, PM Modi interacted with the people of the Indian diaspora at Hotel Double Tree. He received a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora and a Bihu performance was held for him by enthusiastic dancers who were lauded by the Prime Minister for their performance.

He also joined the prayers held by the Buddhist monks of the country. In a post shared on the social media platform, X, the Ministry of External Affairs shared Buddhist monks of Laos blessing the PM. This was hosted by senior Buddhist monks of the Central Buddhist Fellowship Organization of Laos led by Mahaveth Masenai, the revered abbot of Si Saket temple in Vientiane. Shared Buddhist heritage represents is another important part of the close civilizational bonds between India and Laos.

🇮🇳-🇱🇦| Millennia of enduring bond of shared heritage.

PM @narendramodi participated in a blessing ceremony by senior Buddhist monks of 🇱🇦. pic.twitter.com/UVasHC2RmO — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 10, 2024

The PM also saw the conservation projects taken by India in Laos for the preservation of historic temples in the country. The Archeological Survey of India is working together with the Government of Loas for the preservation of Laos' temple such as Vat Phou.

Prime Minister Modi also witnessed an episode of Lao Ramayan - called Phalak Phalam performed by the prestigious Royal Theatre of Luang Prabang. Ramayan continues to be celebrated in Laos, along with several other facets of Indian culture and tradition that have been practised and preserved in Laos for centuries.

PM Modi is visiting Laos at the invitation of Laos's Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

India has routinely assisted Loas in various developmental projects such as LIEDC (Lao-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre) set up in November 2004, trains Lao entrepreneurs for setting up small and medium scale business,

Quick Impact Projects, Lines of credits worth over 230 million USD and a thriving bilateral trade of over 100 million USD are other important ventures of the collaboration between the two countries.

The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation is another important element of India's Act East Policy as well as PM Modi's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region.

India and Laos have historical and civilizational links reflected in common heritage of Buddhism and Ramayana. Bilateral relations with Laos are friendly and were established in 1956.

He will be participating in the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summit. His visit is significant as this year marks a decade of India's Act East Policy. (ANI)

Odisha Govt Issues Guidelines For ‘Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana’

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, Oct 10: The Odisha government has issued operational guidelines for the implementation of Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana which aimed to check the drop-out rate among the students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes studying in Class 9 and 10 in government and aided schools across the state.

The students belonging to the Scheduled Tribe community in Odisha will be provided with one-time financial assistance of Rs 5,000 under this flagship scheme of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

As per the resolution issued by the Odisha SC and ST Development department, a good number of tribal students are getting enrolled at the elementary level in the state.

However, high dropouts are also being noticed among the tribal students after class 8 and class 10 causing less enrollment in Secondary and Higher Secondary levels, respectively.

In order to reduce the dropout rate, and to encourage Scheduled Tribe (ST) students to pursue higher education without any major hindrance, the state government has launched "Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojna".

Under this scheme, ST students passing out from Class 8 and joining in Class 9 and similarly from Class 10 to Class 11, will receive a onetime incentive amount of Rs 5,000, the resolution issued on Wednesday read.

The department also noted that the ST students getting benefits under any other scholarship schemes are also eligible to avail the incentive amount under the Sahid Madho Singh Scheme.

It also asserts that this one-time financial aid will help in increasing the enrollment status in Class 9 and Class 11 in different government and government-aided institutions.

As per the guidelines, "Under the scheme, eligible ST students after completing their Class 8 and Class 10 and soon after taking admission into Class 9 and CIass 12, respectively, will be provided with Rs 5,000 as a one-time incentive amount as Haath Kharcha. The incentive amount will be provided after enrollment in the respective classes, ensuring that student is attending classes regularly after enrollment".

This financial aid will help the tribal students meet expenses for their incidental requirements. (IANS)

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Centre Releases Rs 8068 Crore As Tax Devolution to Odisha; Total Rs 1.78L Crore To States

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

New Delhi, Oct 10: In a bid to enable states to boost development and capital spending, the Centre on Thursday said it has released tax devolution of Rs 1,78,173 crore to state governments, as against the normal monthly devolution of Rs 89,086.50 crore. The released tax devolution includes Rs 8,068 crore for Odisha.

It includes one advance instalment, in addition to the regular instalment due in October.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh (Rs 31,962 crore), Bihar (Rs 17,921 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 13,987 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 11,255 crore), West Bengal (Rs 13,404 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 10,737 crore), Odisha (Rs 8,068 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 7,211 crore) and Telangana (Rs 3,745 crore) were the top receivers.

“This release is in view of the upcoming festive season and to enable states to accelerate capital spending, and also finance their development/welfare related expenditure,” according to a statement by the Union Ministry of Finance.

The central government will transfer Rs 23,48,980 crore to states and union territories in FY 2024-25, an increase of 11.9 per cent over the actuals of 2023-24.

Devolution to states from the Centre's tax revenue is estimated to be Rs 12,47,211 crore in 2024-25, an increase of 10.4 per cent over the actuals of 2023-24.

In FY 2023-24, according to the actuals, devolution to states is estimated to be Rs 1,08,046 crore more than the budget estimate of Rs 10,21,448 crore (an increase of 10.6 per cent).

In June this year, the BJP-led NDA government released an additional instalment of devolution of taxes, cumulatively amounting to Rs 1,39,750 crore. The Centre in February had released Rs 1.42 lakh crore in tax devolution to the states, supplementing the Rs 72,961 crore disbursed earlier in the same month.