Holds talks on national policy draft on agriculture: Punjab minister

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Monday held deliberations with officers on the draft of the national policy framework on agricultural marketing and decided to call a meeting with farmers and other stakeholders within this week.

Khudian, along with Additional Chief Secretary Anurag Verma, Chairman of Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission Sukhpal Singh, Secretary of the Punjab Mandi Board, Ramvir, asked the department officials to call a meeting with representatives of farmers, agriculture experts and other stakeholder immediately to analyse and consult on the draft policy shared by the Central Government.

He further said that the draft policy needs thorough analysis and consultation with stakeholders as it could have serious implications for the state and its farmers.

He said the Agriculture Department has already shot a letter to S.K. Singh, Deputy Agriculture Marketing Adviser and Convener of the Drafting Committee of the Central Government to give at least three-week time to send comments on the draft policy.

Reaffirming the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led state government’s unwavering stand for the betterment and welfare of the state farmers, the Agriculture Minister directed the officials to conduct an in-depth study of the draft policy to ensure that not a single point should be left unconsidered, which could further prove to be dearer to the farming community in the short run or in the future.

He also asked the officials concerned to lay a special focus on concerning issues such as minimum support price (MSP), market fee to further strengthen the Mandi Board in general and the state’s agriculture marketing infrastructure in specific, besides ensuring a safe environment that can safeguard farmers’ interests from big corporates.

The high-level meeting was also attended by Director (Agriculture) Jaswant Singh, Head of the Department of Economic and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Jitender Mohan Singh and senior officials of the Mandi Board and the Agriculture Department.

–IANS

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Govt launching 3 apps to protect consumers in digital marketplace

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) The Department of Consumer Affairs will launch the ‘Jago Grahak Jago App,’ ‘Jagriti App,’ and ‘Jagriti Dashboard” for public use on Tuesday to mark National Consumers Day.

An official statement on Sunday said that through these initiatives, the Department endeavours to create a transparent and fair digital marketplace where consumers can make informed decisions without being tricked or coerced. Consumers will also be educated about their rights.

“The Apps would considerably enhance the capability of the CCPA in taking suo motu action to protect consumers against dark patterns,” the statement explained.

The ‘Jago Grahak Jago App,’ provides essential e-commerce information about all URLs during a consumer’s online activities, alerting them if any URL may be unsafe and requires caution. Meanwhile, the ‘Jagriti App,’ allows users to report URLs where they suspect the presence of one or more dark patterns declared illegal. These reports are then registered as complaints to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for possible redressal and subsequent action.

Additionally, the CCPA is being strengthened with the ‘Jagriti Dashboard’ which is used to generate real-time reports on e-commerce URLs for the presence of dark patterns, enhancing the capability to monitor and regulate online consumer interactions effectively.

This solution will aid the CCPA in identifying dark patterns, speeding up the resolution of consumer disputes and go a long way in curbing practices that are detrimental to consumer interests, it said.

As part of the government’s broader strategy and ongoing efforts to strengthen consumer protection in the digital era and curb unfair practices in e-commerce and online services, the Central Consumer Protection Authority notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns in 2023 and specified 13 dark patterns, namely: False urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements and Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares.

The three apps are part of an intelligent cyber-physical system, which operates in real-time and runs on the Airawat AI Supercomputer under the National Supercomputing Mission for AI and Data Analytics. This innovative system analyses existing text and design elements on e-commerce platforms to determine whether they are being used to influence consumer psychology, the statement explained.

CCPA had earlier issued notices to IndiGo Airlines and BookMyShow under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for alleged Misleading Advertisement/Unfair Trade Practices in the form of deceptive design patterns. After the CCPA intervention both companies had taken corrective measures to give consumers a fair deal.

–IANS

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Veteran actor Mohan Babu booked for attempt to murder

Hyderabad, Dec 12 (IANS) Police have booked an attempt to murder case against veteran Tollywood actor Mohan Babu for attacking a television journalist at his residence recently.

Rachakonda Police, which earlier registered a case under Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 118 (1) (causing hurt with dangerous weapons or substances), has added Section 109 (attempt to murder).

Police said that after taking the legal opinion they added Section 109 to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Pahadi Shareef Police Station.

The FIR was registered on a complaint by M. Satyanarayana, a reporter of Telangana news channel TV9.

Mohan Babu attacked the TV reporter when the latter had gone to his residence in Jalpally to cover the ongoing dispute between him and his actor son Manchu Manoj.

Journalists had staged protests on Wednesday, demanding the police book an attempt to murder case. They had also demanded an apology from Mohan Babu, who is also a former Member of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Mohan Babu remained in hospital. He was admitted on Tuesday night with high blood pressure and anxiety.

He could not appear before Rachakonda Police Commissioner, who had served notices to him and his two sons. The senior actor approached Telangana High Court, which exempted him from appearance till December 24.

Mohan Babu’s elder son and actor Manchu Vishnu on Wednesday termed the Tuesday night attack on the journalist unfortunate. He claimed that the act was not deliberate. He said that their father came before the media by doing ‘namskar’ but when a mike was put close to his mouth, he attacked on an impulse. He assured all help to the family of the injured journalist.

Manchu Manoj, who is locked in a bitter fight with his father, said that he was apologising to the media on behalf of his father. He said the media persons came under attack while supporting him.

The injured reporter stated in his complaint that when Manchu Manoj and other journalists went into the house on the invitation of Manchu Manoj, Mohan Babu confronted them aggressively, used abusive and foul language, grabbed the mike and attacked him with the mike. This resulted in severe head injury.

The incident occurred when Manchu Manoj broke the gate to enter the house after an argument with the bouncers deployed there. Along with Manoj and his private security men, some journalists also entered the house.

When the TV 9 reporter asked a question to Mohan Babu about the dispute with his son, he got enraged, grabbed the mike and attacked the reporter with the mike. The journalist collapsed on the ground. The bouncers drove all the journalists out of the house.

The injured reporter was admitted to a hospital in Shamshabad. According to doctors, he has suffered three fractures in zygomatic bone (cheekbone) and needs plastic surgery.

–IANS

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