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Mint looks at the pros and cons of all three: It is a new hybrid pension scheme for government employees that, like OPS, guarantees an assured monthly pension of 50% of their last drawn salary before superannuation while retaining the contributory element of the NPS. The employee contributes 10% of their salary while the government puts in 18.5%. It factors in inflation through dearness allowance hikes.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) combines the best aspects of both the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the National Pension System (NPS). It brings together OPS features like assured pensions, inflation-linked adjustments, family pensions, and a guaranteed minimum pension. Meanwhile, it retains the NPS's provision for employee contributions towards their pension fund.

BJP on Sunday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to bring a unified pension scheme for central government employees and hit out at the Congress, asking why it has not implemented its promise of bringing back the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh and other states where it is in power. Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters here, senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his U-turn jibe at the Centre and said Prime Minister Modi is «sensitive» to public issues and takes decisions in public interest after careful consideration. The Modi government does not take «ad-hoc decisions», the former Union minister said and asked Kharge to tell the nation why his party has taken a «U-turn» on its poll promise of implementing the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana after coming to power in these states. «The Congress has made the old pension scheme a massive issue in Indian politics over the last two years. So much so that the Congress made even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announce during elections in Himachal Pradesh that the party will implement the old pension scheme in the state if voted to power,» Prasad said

OBC and Dalit religious mutt heads have thrown their weight behind Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he battles political and legal attacks over allotment of plots to his wife in Mysuru. About a dozen Swamis met the CM at his official residence in Bengaluru in a public demonstration of their support, seeking to send a message to the BJP & JDS as well as to the Congress leadership that their communities were with Siddaramaiah. The Opposition BJP and JDS which have been on a warpath with the ruling Congress demanding the CM’s resignation.

tourist taxi operators attached to the Manohar International Airport at Mopa in North Goa have decided to continue their agitation, despite an assurance from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for a high-level meeting with them on Monday. Amit Sawant, one of the taxi operators' leaders, told PTI that they welcomed the CM's assurance about a meeting on Monday, but asserted that the strike will continue till their demands are met. The tourist taxi operators, protesting since Thursday, have pressed for six demands, including stoppage of «illegalities» in the transportation business and the withdrawal of the counter of app-based cab aggregator Goa Miles at the airport. The protesters were seen camping near the Shree Bhagwati temple at Pernem throughout the night on Friday, their second day here since they went on a strike.

Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India by purchasing Made-in-India products and allowing Indian companies to open in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. He also said that Ukraine is also willing to establish companies in India. Zelenskyy held a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv, where he was asked if Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India and buy Made-in-India products.

Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here on Friday, he first shook hands and immediately gave him a warm hug. The hug to the top leader of the war-torn country came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraine's arch enemy Russia, President Vladimir Putin. During a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the 'embrace' in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modi's meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. «In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of our's. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy,» Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned in as many words about Modi's embrace of Putin a few weeks ago.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore potentially running out of food and oxygen during their extended stay in space. Initially slated to return after just eight days, their mission has been delayed by more than two months due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. With these delays, the question of whether they have sufficient supplies to last until their safe return has come to the forefront.

Qatar reports of seizure of copies of the Guru Granth Sahib, and is according high priority to the matter. «We have seen reports regarding the Guru Granth Sahib seized by the Qatari authorities and the demand of their release by the Sikh community,» External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. He said the government has already taken up the matter with the Qatar side and the Indian embassy in Doha has kept the Sikh community in the Qatari capital abreast of the developments. «It is important to note that two Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib were taken by Qatar authorities from two individuals/groups who were charged for running religious establishment without approval of the government of Qatar,» Jaiswal said.

Playing with Reality: How Games Shape Our World. By Kelly Clancy. Riverhead Books; 368 pages; $30. Allen Lane; £25 In 1824 Prince Wilhelm of Prussia asked for a demonstration of an elaborate game he had heard about from his military tutor.

«The S&P is still above 5600, has rebounded almost every single thing that it has lost that day. So, I think the more that we get clarity on this type of data, then the more that we are going to see markets factor in more than 100 basis rate cuts by the end of the year,» says Nadia Elbilassy, Sr Market Analyst, Equiti Group. Now, dovish minutes really coming in from the Fed, decreased risks to inflation, labour markets are also at a better place is a sense that seems to be coming out. So, are the markets then factoring in one cut and what do you really make of the minutes? Nadia Elbilassy: Yes, markets are pricing in by 60% that we are going to see a 25 basis point rate cut in September and 30% 50 basis point. So, there is still a division, but it is definitely lower than the past few months, especially after the very weak NFP payrolls that we saw.

trigger the crash. However, experts have assured users that this issue does not pose any security threat.

strike was called off after the Supreme Court made an impassioned appeal to the protesting medics to resume work and directed the Centre to provide safety measures to them. Following the call of strike by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), the PGIMER authorities said it will resume all the elective services with immediate effect. The registration of old and new patients in all the outpatient departments (OPDs) will be done from 8 am to 11 am from August 23 onwards, said a PGIMER statement.

Nitish Kumar have assured the Muslim bodies that their parties would oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. His remarks came at a joint press conference of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi and other Muslim organisations where they asserted that they will launch a nationwide movement if the proposed legislation is not withdrawn and exhaust all measures within the ambit of law. «We have met various opposition parties. We also met Chandrababu Naidu, who assured us that 'we will oppose this bill'. We met Nitish Kumar yesterday and he also assured us that 'we will oppose this bill'. Tejashwi Yadav has also assured us that his party would oppose the bill. Uddhav Thackeray has made a statement that he would not allow anyone to lay a hand on the Waqf and Tamil Nadu Chief minister M K Stalin has also said he would oppose,» Rahmani said. Specifically asked about the details of the meeting with Naidu and Kumar, Rahmani did not give a direct answer and said the Muslim organisations want all secular parties, including the BJP allies, to support their stand in view of justice and secularism.

Media investor Edgar Bronfman Jr. raised his offer to take control of CBS parent Paramount Global to $6 billion, according to people familiar with his proposal, potentially upsetting the company’s plan to merge with independent producer Skydance Media.

FAIMA) on Thursday decided to end its 11-day strike, called to protest against the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, following «positive directions» from the Supreme Court. The apex court earlier in the day asked protesting doctors to resume work and assured them that no adverse action would be taken after they rejoin. "#FAIMA has decided to call off the strike following positive directions from the #Chief Justice of India. We welcome the acceptance of our prayers for interim protections and the necessary steps to enhance security in hospitals. United, we will continue to fight legally," FAIMA, an umbrella body of doctors, said in a post on X. The move comes soon after several resident doctors' associations (RDAs) called off their strike over Kolkata incident, following an appeal from the Supreme Court.

Aurobindo Pharma subsidiary Eugia Pharma Specialities, which manufactures sterile injectables, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has raised "data integrity" issues at the company's Unit-3 facility at Pashamylaram near Hyderabad in Telangana. The letter, issued on August 15, was later made public by the USFDA, which stated that there was failure to ensure the accuracy of data in records for both production and process simulations, i.e. media fills. Media fill is a microbiological test to help prevent contamination during drug production. «Your procedure requires testing of all (b)(4). While you documented testing of all of the (b)(4), your operators did not test all of the (b)(4) used during manufacturing of sterile injectable drug products,» the USFDA stated.

Mahua Moitra launched an attack on BJP by claiming that ED and CBI are only for opposition and opposition ruled states. The jibe is in connection to the recent Kolkata rape-murder trajedy that sent shockwaves across the nation. In the early stages, Calcutta High Court had transferred the investigation to federal probe agency, CBI from Kolkata police. «Why isn’t Maharashtra Governor flying to Delhi? Why is this not handed over to @CBIHeadquarters

Taiwan's Bestec Group has proposed to set up a manufacturing unit near Bengaluru at an investment of Rs 200 crore. Industries Minister MB Patil announced this after he met Bestec Group chairman Mike Chen and vice chairman Teresa Dong on Tuesday. The minister assured that the government would provide full support to facilitate the company's plans.

Supreme Court is expected to hear a suo motu case, on a priority basis, related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata amid the ongoing nationwide doctors' strike over it, on Tuesday. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which had taken cognisance of the incident, has kept the matter on top of the cause list for hearing at 10:30 am on August 20, 2024. The case, officially titled "In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issue," has drawn nationwide attention. Furthermore, the Supreme Court's intervention is seen as significant, particularly because the Calcutta High Court has already handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday highlighted the plight of gig workers and asserted that the Congress governments in states would make concrete policies to solve their problems while the INDIA bloc would strive for ensuring their nationwide implementation. Gandhi made the remarks on X, where he posted a video of a recent ride he took in a Uber cab and the interaction he had with the driver. «Low income and inflation ruining lives — this is the plight of India's gig workers! In discussion with Sunil Upadhyay ji during a Uber ride and then, after meeting his family, took stock of the problems faced by gig workers such as cab drivers and delivery agents in the country,» the former Congress chief said in Hindi on X.