A bill seeking to extend the facility of proxy voting to overseas Indians, on the lines of service voters, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The draft law also seeks to make the election law gender neutral by replacing the term wife with spouse to benefit service voters.

According to the provisions of Representation of the People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017 introduced by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lower House, overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote in India, can now appoint a proxy voter to cast their votes.

As of now, overseas Indians were free to cast their votes in the constituencies where they were registered. But, according to the draft bill, they would now be allowed to use the option of proxy, which till now was only available to service personnel.

An expert committee of the Election Commission working on the issue had in 2015 forwarded the legal framework to the law ministry to amend the electoral laws to allow overseas Indians use proxy voting. Unofficial data with EC shows that only 10,000 to 12,000 overseas voters have exercised their franchise because they do not want to spend foreign currency to come to India and vote.

The bill said the necessary provision of coming to India to cast ballot caused &quot;hardship&quot; to overseas electors. Another provision in the amendment bill relates to spouses of service voters. As of now, an army man&#39;s wife is entitled to be enrolled as a service voter, but a woman army officer&#39;s husband is not, according to the provisions of the electoral law.

But the draft bill proposes to replace the term wife with the spouse, thus making the provision gender neutral.

Members of the armed forces, central armed police forces, personnel of state police forces posted outside their state and employees of the Centre posted outside India are eligible to be enrolled as service voters.

The wife of a service voter, if she is residing with him, is also entitled to be enrolled as a service voter in the constituency specified by that person. But children and other relatives residing with a service voter cannot be enrolled as service voters, according to EC website.

The draft law also seeks to make the election law gender neutral by replacing the term wife with the spouse to benefit service voters

A bill seeking to extend the facility of proxy voting to overseas Indians, on the lines of service voters, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The draft law also seeks to make the election law gender neutral by replacing the term wife with spouse to benefit service voters. According to the provisions of Representation of the People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017 introduced by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lower House, overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote in India, can now appoint a proxy voter to cast their votes. As of now, overseas Indians were free to cast their votes in the constituencies where they were registered. But, according to the draft bill, they would now be allowed to use the option of proxy, which till now was only available to service personnel. An expert committee of the Election Commission working on the issue had in 2015 forwarded the legal framework to the law ministry to amend the electoral laws to allow overseas Indians use proxy voting. Unofficial data with EC shows that only 10,000 to 12,000 overseas voters have exercised their franchise because they do not want to spend foreign currency to come to India and vote. The bill said the necessary provision of coming to India to cast ballot caused "hardship" to overseas electors. Another provision in the amendment bill relates to spouses of service voters. As of now, an army man's wife is entitled to be enrolled as a service voter, but a woman army officer's husband is not, according to the provisions of the electoral law. But the draft bill proposes to replace the term wife with the spouse, thus making the provision gender neutral. Members of the armed forces, central armed police forces, personnel of state police forces posted outside their state and employees of the Centre posted outside India are eligible to be enrolled as service voters. The wife of a service voter, if she is residing with him, is also entitled to be enrolled as a service voter in the constituency specified by that person. But children and other relatives residing with a service voter cannot be enrolled as service voters, according to EC website.

Draft bill allowing overseas Indians to appoint proxy voters introduced in Lok Sabha

The claim made in a new show of a US science channel that the &#39;Ram Setu&#39; - a land bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka - is man-made and not natural has reaffirmed the stand of the BJP on the issue, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

He also hit out at the previous UPA government for filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the belief that the land bridge was built by Lord Ram to reach then Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, as depicted in the epic Ramayana.

&quot;Those who filed the affidavit should explain now. The research has supported what the BJP has been claiming all along...The setu is part of our cultural heritage,&quot; Prasad told reporters here.

In a promo for its upcoming show, the channel quotes an archaeologist that the rocks on top of sand pre-date the sand.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/us-tv-show-suggests-that-ram-setu-was-man-made-26581">US TV show may suggest the Ram Setu was man-made</a>

&quot;This is what the BJP has been saying all along,&quot; Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said.

The Ram Setu, also known as Adam&#39;s bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island off the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off Sri Lanka.

The first mention of the &quot;bridge&quot; was made in the Indian epic the Ramayana, which says the bridge was made by Hanuman and his monkey army under the guidance of the Indian god Ram.

According to the research by the American scientists quoted by the channel, the stones forming the &quot;bridge&quot; are nearly 7,000 years old whereas the sand on which they rest is only 4,000 years old.

&nbsp;

He also hit out at the previous UPA government for filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the belief that the land bridge was built by Lord Ram to reach then Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, as depicted in the epic Ramayana.

The claim made in a new show of a US science channel that the 'Ram Setu' - a land bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka - is man-made and not natural has reaffirmed the stand of the BJP on the issue, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday. He also hit out at the previous UPA government for filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the belief that the land bridge was built by Lord Ram to reach then Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, as depicted in the epic Ramayana. "Those who filed the affidavit should explain now. The research has supported what the BJP has been claiming all along...The setu is part of our cultural heritage," Prasad told reporters here. In a promo for its upcoming show, the channel quotes an archaeologist that the rocks on top of sand pre-date the sand. Also read: US TV show may suggest the Ram Setu was man-made "This is what the BJP has been saying all along," Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said. The Ram Setu, also known as Adam's bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island off the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off Sri Lanka. The first mention of the "bridge" was made in the Indian epic the Ramayana, which says the bridge was made by Hanuman and his monkey army under the guidance of the Indian god Ram. According to the research by the American scientists quoted by the channel, the stones forming the "bridge" are nearly 7,000 years old whereas the sand on which they rest is only 4,000 years old.

US channel's finding on Ram Setu reaffirms BJP's stand: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

The BJP stuck to its stand Monday on the meeting between Congress leaders and Pakistani officials.&nbsp;

&quot;Congress must come out with detailed facts what transpired in that meeting and what was the necessity of having it in present circumstances,&quot; Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.&nbsp;

&quot;Yesterday they were in denial about it and today instead of accepting it as a misadventure, they try to blame those raising the issue,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

He also added that &quot;Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position.&quot; That &quot;They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan&#39;s role in instigating terrorism in India and continued to engage with them (Pak).&quot;

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Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position. They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan&#39;s role in instigating terrorism in India &amp; continued to engage with them (Pak) : FM Arun Jaitley <a href="https://t.co/pACCscylnq">pic.twitter.com/pACCscylnq</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940229926548004864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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He also added that &quot;Former PM Manmohan Singh has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/no-one-can-lamely-question-my-public-service-manmohan-to-modi-on-pak-meddling-allegations-26463" target="_blank">issued a statement</a> asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that (the) Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it.&quot;&nbsp;

Prime Minister Modi had referred to the meeting while campaigning in Gujarat. He said the meeting had been attended by Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and former Vice-President Hamid Ansari.&nbsp;

He said that the day after the meeting former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a &quot;neech&quot; person, and alleged that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-claims-pakistan-trying-to-influence-gujarat-elections-26391" target="_blank">Pakistan was interfering</a> in the Gujarat elections.&nbsp;

News reports however have since said that the dinner meeting, hosted by Aiyar, was also attended by, among other, a former Indian Army chief.&nbsp;

The former Army chief, Deepak Kapoor, has said on record that the only thing discussed at the dinner was India-Pak relations.&nbsp;

And that Gujarat was not brought up.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged, while referring to the meeting, that Pakistan was meddling in the Gujarat elections

The BJP stuck to its stand Monday on the meeting between Congress leaders and Pakistani officials. "Congress must come out with detailed facts what transpired in that meeting and what was the necessity of having it in present circumstances," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. "Yesterday they were in denial about it and today instead of accepting it as a misadventure, they try to blame those raising the issue," he added. He also added that "Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position." That "They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan's role in instigating terrorism in India and continued to engage with them (Pak)." Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position. They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan's role in instigating terrorism in India & continued to engage with them (Pak) : FM Arun Jaitley pic.twitter.com/pACCscylnq — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017 × He also added that "Former PM Manmohan Singh has issued a statement asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that (the) Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it." Prime Minister Modi had referred to the meeting while campaigning in Gujarat. He said the meeting had been attended by Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and former Vice-President Hamid Ansari. He said that the day after the meeting former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a "neech" person, and alleged that Pakistan was interfering in the Gujarat elections. News reports however have since said that the dinner meeting, hosted by Aiyar, was also attended by, among other, a former Indian Army chief. The former Army chief, Deepak Kapoor, has said on record that the only thing discussed at the dinner was India-Pak relations. And that Gujarat was not brought up.

BJP sticks to guns, Jaitley says Congress must come out with detailed facts on Pakistani meeting

As the polling for the first phase of Gujarat assembly election is about to start, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday expressed confidence about BJP&#39;s historic win.

Prasad said, &quot;The BJP will score a historic win. There will be three reasons of BJP&#39;s victory. The work of BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s leadership and his popularity and the way Congress insulted Modi. People of Gujarat will take revenge of this.&quot;

Reacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi&#39;s barb on BJP&#39;s manifesto, Prasad said the Congress has never fulfilled the promises made in its manifesto.

&quot;Congress releases manifesto but does not work whereas BJP works. If we had promised anything, be it electricity, water supply or development, we fulfil it. We are aiming for better,&quot; he added.

Rahul had alleged that Prime Minister Modi was silent about the future of Gujarat while slamming the ruling BJP for delaying the release of its manifesto.

Eighty-nine assembly constituencies are going for polls in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray.

The second phase will be held on December 14 for 93 assembly constituencies while counting of the votes will be done on December 18.

The crucial elections are being seen as prestige battle for BJP, which has been ruling the state for last 22 years, and a litmus test for the Congress.

Reacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's barb on BJP's manifesto, Prasad said the Congress has never fulfilled the promises made in its manifesto

As the polling for the first phase of Gujarat assembly election is about to start, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday expressed confidence about BJP's historic win. Prasad said, "The BJP will score a historic win. There will be three reasons of BJP's victory. The work of BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and his popularity and the way Congress insulted Modi. People of Gujarat will take revenge of this." Reacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's barb on BJP's manifesto, Prasad said the Congress has never fulfilled the promises made in its manifesto. "Congress releases manifesto but does not work whereas BJP works. If we had promised anything, be it electricity, water supply or development, we fulfil it. We are aiming for better," he added. Rahul had alleged that Prime Minister Modi was silent about the future of Gujarat while slamming the ruling BJP for delaying the release of its manifesto. Eighty-nine assembly constituencies are going for polls in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray. The second phase will be held on December 14 for 93 assembly constituencies while counting of the votes will be done on December 18. The crucial elections are being seen as prestige battle for BJP, which has been ruling the state for last 22 years, and a litmus test for the Congress.

BJP will score a historic win: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Constitution of India also known as the &quot;Supreme law of India&quot;&nbsp;lays down the framework of the political principles and duties of the government institutions.&nbsp;

It establishes constitutional supremacy, overriding parliamentary supremacy.&nbsp;

Adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26,&nbsp;1949, it came into effect on&nbsp;January 26, 1950.

With the adoption of the Constitution, India ceased to be a dominion of the British rule.

The adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950, made India a &quot;sovereign democratic and republic&quot;.&nbsp;

However&nbsp;one of the amendments made to the Constitution&nbsp;changed its description&nbsp;from &quot;sovereign, democratic republic &quot; to &quot;sovereign socialist secular democratic republic&quot;.

The Indian Constitution underwent a major amendment during the emergency.

The Congress headed by Indira Gandhi enacted the Forty Second amendment,&nbsp;officially known as The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976.

The amendment brought changes to almost all parts of the Constitution.&nbsp;

It reduced the power of the Supreme Court and High Court. The political sovereignty was transformed into parliamentary sovereignty.&nbsp;The Prime minister&#39;s office was given all the powers. Parliament got unrestrained power whereas the democratic right of the country was challenged.

However the change from&nbsp;&quot;sovereign, democratic republic&quot;&nbsp;to &quot;sovereign socialist secular democratic republic&quot;, is one of the most controversial changes made to the Indian Constitution.&nbsp;

The words socialist and secular is not going down well with many BJP and Hindutva forces.&nbsp;

The BJP bases its argument on the fact that the amendment was passed without any debate as almost all the opposition MPs had been imprisoned during the introduction of the amendment.&nbsp;

The government on Republic Day in 2015 published an advertisement where the Preamble was without the words &quot;secular&quot; and &quot; socialist&quot;.

The advertisement drew a lot of ire from the opposition.

The&nbsp;Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore then defended the move stating that they advertised the picture of the first Preamble used during the adoption of the Constitution.&nbsp;

While Home Minister Rajnath Singh&nbsp;attacked the Congress saying that the BR Ambedkar had never thought the necessity to incorporate it in the Preamble as these two words were part of the Constitution. It is inbuilt in the Indian system.&nbsp;He also said that the two words were the most misused terms of the Indian Constitution and that there have been instances of tension in the society.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut bluntly stated that the word should be removed because the country belongs to Hindu as quoted by The Hindu.

The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also called for a debate on whether &quot;secularism&quot; and &quot; socialism&quot; should be included in the Preamble.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The words socialist and secular is not going down well with many BJP and Hindutva forces

The Constitution of India also known as the "Supreme law of India" lays down the framework of the political principles and duties of the government institutions. It establishes constitutional supremacy, overriding parliamentary supremacy. Adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, it came into effect on January 26, 1950. With the adoption of the Constitution, India ceased to be a dominion of the British rule. The adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950, made India a "sovereign democratic and republic". However one of the amendments made to the Constitution changed its description from "sovereign, democratic republic " to "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic". The Indian Constitution underwent a major amendment during the emergency. The Congress headed by Indira Gandhi enacted the Forty Second amendment, officially known as The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. The amendment brought changes to almost all parts of the Constitution. It reduced the power of the Supreme Court and High Court. The political sovereignty was transformed into parliamentary sovereignty. The Prime minister's office was given all the powers. Parliament got unrestrained power whereas the democratic right of the country was challenged. However the change from "sovereign, democratic republic" to "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic", is one of the most controversial changes made to the Indian Constitution. The words socialist and secular is not going down well with many BJP and Hindutva forces. The BJP bases its argument on the fact that the amendment was passed without any debate as almost all the opposition MPs had been imprisoned during the introduction of the amendment. The government on Republic Day in 2015 published an advertisement where the Preamble was without the words "secular" and " socialist". The advertisement drew a lot of ire from the opposition. The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore then defended the move stating that they advertised the picture of the first Preamble used during the adoption of the Constitution. While Home Minister Rajnath Singh attacked the Congress saying that the BR Ambedkar had never thought the necessity to incorporate it in the Preamble as these two words were part of the Constitution. It is inbuilt in the Indian system. He also said that the two words were the most misused terms of the Indian Constitution and that there have been instances of tension in the society. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut bluntly stated that the word should be removed because the country belongs to Hindu as quoted by The Hindu. The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also called for a debate on whether "secularism" and " socialism" should be included in the Preamble.

The 'secular' and 'socialist' Indian Constitution

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday that the government was in the process of appointing the highest number of high court judges in a single year, breaking the 30-year-old record of 126.

&quot;In 2016, about 126 High Court judges were appointed which is a 30-year-old history. But this year, we will cross the 126 mark,&quot; said the union minister, who was attending an event at the Odisha Law academy here.

The minister&#39;s reply came after a media person queried him on the one-day strike declared by the Orissa High Court Bar Association.

The association has announced a one-day strike, to be held on Friday, after an HC judge was transferred despite the court being short of nine judges from the sanctioned strength of 27.

According to reports, the Supreme Court collegium would soon take a call on appointing 40 new judges to nine courts.

Earlier on November 4, the Supreme Court appointed three new judges for the Jharkhand High Court and one judge for the Tripura High Court.

The collegium, comprising of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, and Justices J&nbsp;Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi, had discussed the reports of the intelligence bureau and the state government for the appointments.

The Supreme Court collegium would soon take a call on appointing 40 new judges to nine courts: Reports

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday that the government was in the process of appointing the highest number of high court judges in a single year, breaking the 30-year-old record of 126. "In 2016, about 126 High Court judges were appointed which is a 30-year-old history. But this year, we will cross the 126 mark," said the union minister, who was attending an event at the Odisha Law academy here. The minister's reply came after a media person queried him on the one-day strike declared by the Orissa High Court Bar Association. The association has announced a one-day strike, to be held on Friday, after an HC judge was transferred despite the court being short of nine judges from the sanctioned strength of 27. According to reports, the Supreme Court collegium would soon take a call on appointing 40 new judges to nine courts. Earlier on November 4, the Supreme Court appointed three new judges for the Jharkhand High Court and one judge for the Tripura High Court. The collegium, comprising of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, and Justices J Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi, had discussed the reports of the intelligence bureau and the state government for the appointments.

Govt will appoint highest number of high court judges this year: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, the country&#39;s second-highest law officer, resigned today for &quot;personal reasons&quot;.

The office of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received his resignation letter today.

While Kumar confirmed to PTI that he had resigned, sources close to him said it was for &quot;personal reasons&quot;.

He was appointed solicitor general in June 2014 after the Modi government came to power. His second term as solicitor general was renewed recently.

There was speculation a few months ago that the Supreme Court collegium was considering his name as a judge of the apex court.

Recently, Mukul Rohatgi had written to the government that he was not interested in a second term as attorney general. Senior lawyer K K Venugopal was appointed as new attorney general.

Country's second highest law officer Ranjit Kumar resigned today as solicitor general for 'personal reasons'

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, the country's second-highest law officer, resigned today for "personal reasons". The office of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received his resignation letter today. While Kumar confirmed to PTI that he had resigned, sources close to him said it was for "personal reasons". He was appointed solicitor general in June 2014 after the Modi government came to power. His second term as solicitor general was renewed recently. There was speculation a few months ago that the Supreme Court collegium was considering his name as a judge of the apex court. Recently, Mukul Rohatgi had written to the government that he was not interested in a second term as attorney general. Senior lawyer K K Venugopal was appointed as new attorney general.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar resigns

The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with Aadhaar, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.

&quot;It would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing,&quot; he said after inaugurating the Haryana Digital Summit-2017 here.

&quot;I have already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence would be set in motion soon,&quot; he said.

Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information -- which includes iris scan and fingerprints -- is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure.

&quot;If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am a male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. It does not have details like names of my 
parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income or health records.&nbsp; 
 
None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card,&quot; he said.

He added that &quot;Aadhaar is a digital identity&quot; which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics and there are laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar.

The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state&#39;s Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain, were also present at the Summit, organised by the state government.

Prasad said the Central government had selected 48,000 seats in BPO industries in small cities of the country.

Asking the chief minister to promote BPO industry in cities like Rohtak and Jhajjar, he gave the assurance that his ministry would support the state government in this regard.&nbsp;

The Electronics and Information and Technology Minister said the purpose was to avoid the menace of multiple licensing

The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with Aadhaar, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "It would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing," he said after inaugurating the Haryana Digital Summit-2017 here. "I have already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence would be set in motion soon," he said. Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information -- which includes iris scan and fingerprints -- is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure. "If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am a male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. It does not have details like names of my parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income or health records. None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card," he said. He added that "Aadhaar is a digital identity" which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics and there are laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar. The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state's Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain, were also present at the Summit, organised by the state government. Prasad said the Central government had selected 48,000 seats in BPO industries in small cities of the country. Asking the chief minister to promote BPO industry in cities like Rohtak and Jhajjar, he gave the assurance that his ministry would support the state government in this regard.

Government to soon link driving licence with Aadhaar: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni&#39;s personal details were erroneously made public by the agency which helps the Unique Identification Authority of India&nbsp;implement the Aadhaar programme, NDTV reported.

Dhoni&#39;s personal details&nbsp;were made public by CSC e-governance services after it tweeted the cricketer&#39;s application form along with a photograph of the cricketer having his fingerprints scanned.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Former India Cricket Captain <a href="https://twitter.com/msdhoni">@msdhoni</a> updated his Aadhaar details with a home visit by a CSC VLE. A fan moment for Ahsan Ali. <a href="https://twitter.com/rsprasad">@rsprasad</a> <a href="https://t.co/bMc3YZQENT">pic.twitter.com/bMc3YZQENT</a>
&mdash; CSCeGov (@CSCegov_) <a href="https://twitter.com/CSCegov_/status/846731585097416704">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The matter was brought to the notice of union law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad by Sakshi Dhoni, wife of MS Dhoni.

The minister replied asking if any personal details were divulged.

But Sakshi replied with more information explaining the entire situation to which he said strict action would be taken against the guilty.&nbsp;

She later thanked the minister for his prompt reply.

The tweet was later removed.

The Aadhar scheme has been shrouded in controversy regarding the safety of personal data.

The government recently made it mandatory for everyone to have an aadhar&nbsp;number for the filing of income tax returns.

(WION) &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

The agency tweeted a picture of Dhoni, and his application form with his personal details on it

Former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni's personal details were erroneously made public by the agency which helps the Unique Identification Authority of India implement the Aadhaar programme, NDTV reported. Dhoni's personal details were made public by CSC e-governance services after it tweeted the cricketer's application form along with a photograph of the cricketer having his fingerprints scanned. Former India Cricket Captain @msdhoni updated his Aadhaar details with a home visit by a CSC VLE. A fan moment for Ahsan Ali. @rsprasad pic.twitter.com/bMc3YZQENT — CSCeGov (@CSCegov_) March 28, 2017 × The matter was brought to the notice of union law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad by Sakshi Dhoni, wife of MS Dhoni. The minister replied asking if any personal details were divulged. But Sakshi replied with more information explaining the entire situation to which he said strict action would be taken against the guilty. She later thanked the minister for his prompt reply. The tweet was later removed. The Aadhar scheme has been shrouded in controversy regarding the safety of personal data. The government recently made it mandatory for everyone to have an aadhar number for the filing of income tax returns. (WION)

Dhoni's personal details tweeted by agency updating his Aadhaar

In a reply to the opposition in India, the BJP said that the government was eager to hear Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi&#39;s &quot;scholarly&quot; arguments on demonetisation.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke about the Congress&#39; poor show in by-poll results, which were announced yesterday. Instead of forming a&nbsp;human chain outside the Parliament they should produce a &quot;chain of speakers&quot; inside and start a debate, he said.

&quot;The government is very keen to hear Rahul Gandhi&#39;s scholarly arguments. Rajya Sabha witnessed a debate on November 17 and Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma besides BSP&#39;s Mayawati spoke. What happened now that they are running away from a debate. They realise that the country is not appreciating their arguments,&quot; DNA reported Prasad as saying.

Meanwhile, there were reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the Rajya Sabha tomorrow.&nbsp;

Prasad said that over Rs 7 lakh crores have been deposited in banks and it may lead to lower interest rates and other benefits to the masses.

Opposition parties today came together to protest against demonetisation outside Parliament, with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi describing it as the world&#39;s &quot;biggest impromptu financial experiment&quot; and said they are firm on their demand for a JPC probe into the &quot;scam&quot;.

&quot;Our demand is that PM represents the country and he should come to Parliament and sit through the entire debate and hear us out and the other opposition leaders,&quot; Gandhi said.

&quot;We feel there is a scam behind this decision. We feel he informed his own people before and the opposition is firm that it wants a JPC,&quot; he said.

He added that the decision has hit the fishermen in Bengal and Kerala and other places.

(WION with inputs from DNA)

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Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today lashed out at the opposition saying it should debate in Parliament instead of protesting outside

In a reply to the opposition in India, the BJP said that the government was eager to hear Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's "scholarly" arguments on demonetisation. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke about the Congress' poor show in by-poll results, which were announced yesterday. Instead of forming a human chain outside the Parliament they should produce a "chain of speakers" inside and start a debate, he said. "The government is very keen to hear Rahul Gandhi's scholarly arguments. Rajya Sabha witnessed a debate on November 17 and Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma besides BSP's Mayawati spoke. What happened now that they are running away from a debate. They realise that the country is not appreciating their arguments," DNA reported Prasad as saying. Meanwhile, there were reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. Prasad said that over Rs 7 lakh crores have been deposited in banks and it may lead to lower interest rates and other benefits to the masses. Opposition parties today came together to protest against demonetisation outside Parliament, with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi describing it as the world's "biggest impromptu financial experiment" and said they are firm on their demand for a JPC probe into the "scam". "Our demand is that PM represents the country and he should come to Parliament and sit through the entire debate and hear us out and the other opposition leaders," Gandhi said. "We feel there is a scam behind this decision. We feel he informed his own people before and the opposition is firm that it wants a JPC," he said. He added that the decision has hit the fishermen in Bengal and Kerala and other places. (WION with inputs from DNA)

Demonetisation: Government ready to hear 'scholarly arguments' of opposition

Around 50 companies including global banking institutions like the World Bank, Deutsche Bank and Barclays have expressed their eagerness to be associated with the centre&#39;s postal payments bank initiative, Indian minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday. 
 
&quot;We will begin postal payments banking service from September 16, wherein 1.3 lakh postmen will be given hand-held devices, a moving ATM (automated teller machine) to provide banking services, insurance, money-order, as well as third-party service,&quot; the Information technology minister said after inaugurating an incubation centre at the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) here. 
 
Some 50 companies, including World Bank, Deutsche Bank, Swiss Bank, Barclays, want to be associated with us,&quot; said&nbsp;India&#39;s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader. 
 
In June, the Indian cabinet had cleared the proposal for postal payments banks with a corpus of Rupees&nbsp;800 crore. The proposal is to set up 650 branches of postal payments banks.&nbsp; 
 
Prasad said his ministry is taking up several initiatives to use IT and related services to improve the services, and asked IT experts to use government services through the STPI to innovate in this direction.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We will also begin the virtual classroom facility so that we can use technology to offer better education through virtual classrooms. As a pilot project, 3,500 government schools will be given the facility, of which 770 schools are from (western) Gujarat,&quot; he added. 
 
The minister also spoke about the government&#39;s initiative to set up BPOs (business process outsourcing units) in smaller centres in the country. 
 
&quot;We have started BPO scheme to encourage small centres for call centres, BPOs. We started 48,000 call centres/BPOs and will provide a subsidy of Rupees&nbsp;1 lakh to call centres in smaller centres. We are creating a platform across the country for that,&quot; Prasad said, adding, &quot;IT applications will be used for pensioners, distributing scholarships. We want to make India the IT power hub of the world.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Prasad later visited Bardoli, a city in western Indian state of Gujarat, from where the Indian freedom fighter Sardar Patel had started his historic &#39;Satyagrah&#39; against the British rule. 
 
The minister took a dig at the grand old party&nbsp;Congress for 41-year delay in conferring the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of Republic of India, upon Sardar Patel. 
 
&quot;Sardar Patel died in 1950, and was conferred Bharat Ratna in 1991. Rahulji (Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi) and Soniaji (Congress chief Sonia Gandhi) must answer as to why they took 41 years for this. Neither has a single family made India independent, nor has a single family been behind taking the country forward,&quot; he said.

(PTI) 
 
 
 
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'Some 50 companies, including World Bank, Deutsche Bank, Swiss Bank, Barclays, want to be associated with us,' Ravi Shankar Prasad said

Around 50 companies including global banking institutions like the World Bank, Deutsche Bank and Barclays have expressed their eagerness to be associated with the centre's postal payments bank initiative, Indian minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday. "We will begin postal payments banking service from September 16, wherein 1.3 lakh postmen will be given hand-held devices, a moving ATM (automated teller machine) to provide banking services, insurance, money-order, as well as third-party service," the Information technology minister said after inaugurating an incubation centre at the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) here. Some 50 companies, including World Bank, Deutsche Bank, Swiss Bank, Barclays, want to be associated with us," said India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader. In June, the Indian cabinet had cleared the proposal for postal payments banks with a corpus of Rupees 800 crore. The proposal is to set up 650 branches of postal payments banks. Prasad said his ministry is taking up several initiatives to use IT and related services to improve the services, and asked IT experts to use government services through the STPI to innovate in this direction. "We will also begin the virtual classroom facility so that we can use technology to offer better education through virtual classrooms. As a pilot project, 3,500 government schools will be given the facility, of which 770 schools are from (western) Gujarat," he added. The minister also spoke about the government's initiative to set up BPOs (business process outsourcing units) in smaller centres in the country. "We have started BPO scheme to encourage small centres for call centres, BPOs. We started 48,000 call centres/BPOs and will provide a subsidy of Rupees 1 lakh to call centres in smaller centres. We are creating a platform across the country for that," Prasad said, adding, "IT applications will be used for pensioners, distributing scholarships. We want to make India the IT power hub of the world." Prasad later visited Bardoli, a city in western Indian state of Gujarat, from where the Indian freedom fighter Sardar Patel had started his historic 'Satyagrah' against the British rule. The minister took a dig at the grand old party Congress for 41-year delay in conferring the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of Republic of India, upon Sardar Patel. "Sardar Patel died in 1950, and was conferred Bharat Ratna in 1991. Rahulji (Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi) and Soniaji (Congress chief Sonia Gandhi) must answer as to why they took 41 years for this. Neither has a single family made India independent, nor has a single family been behind taking the country forward," he said. (PTI)

Global banking institutions keen on tie-up with postal bank initiative: India's IT minister