Latest news with #ChandraSekhar
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Skill development vital for women's empowerment: Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar
Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar on Saturday (August 9) emphasised that women's economic self-reliance is a key driver of national development, and skill development, particularly in trades like tailoring, not only provides employment but also nurtures creativity. Speaking at the inauguration of a women's tailoring training programme in Guntur, Mr. Chandra Sekhar said the integration of Central schemes such as the Vishwakarma Yojana and Mudra loans with the State government's free sewing machines and training programmes is creating new avenues for women entrepreneurs. He stressed that mastering modern designs, marketing techniques, and digital tools would enable women to compete in global markets. He urged women's self-help groups to explore opportunities in customised wedding and festive wear, tie-ups with fashion design firms, eco-friendly product manufacturing, and home-based tailoring services. Collaborations with local fashion influencers, seasonal and culture-based designs, use of organic fabrics, and partnerships with fashion colleges for design and marketing knowledge were among his recommendations. Highlighting the need for financial literacy, digital skills, and business management, the Minister encouraged the use of digital apps for measurements and quality control, while also promoting export-focused production. He said perseverance and innovation could transform Guntur into a hub for creative industries, adding that MPs could facilitate bank loans if needed. Guntur East MLA Mohammad Naseer and Deputy Mayor Shaik Sajeela were among those present at the event.
The Hindu
06-08-2025
- General
- The Hindu
SCoR GM leads Swachh Bharat drive
General Manager of South Coast Railway (SCoR), Sandeep Mathur, participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign at East Point Colony, on Wednesday, reaffirming the commitment to maintain railway premises free from plastic waste, garbage, and filth. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is being observed across Indian Railways from August 1 to August 31, 2025, with the objective of fostering a culture of cleanliness among the workforce. Mr. Sandeep Mathur led the cleanliness drive at the East Point Colony, along with officers, staff, Railway Protection Force personnel, and Swachh Sewaks. During the event, the General Manager administered the Swachhta Pledge to railway officers, staff, and Swachh Sewaks, encouraging them to uphold cleanliness standards and take active roles in the Swachh Bharat Mission initiatives. Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) of SCoRB Chandra Sekhar along with other senior officials participated in the event. Mr. Sandeep Mathur underlined the importance of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in eliminating single-use plastics, promoting scientific waste disposal, and enhancing public awareness and participation in creating a cleaner and healthier environment.
Hans India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Centre okays Market Intervention Price for Totapuri mangoes
Vijayawada: Against the backdrop of falling price of Totapuri variety of mangoes assuming political colour, the Centre has approved Market Intervention Price for the produce which will be a major relief for farmers. The ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare issues orders, approving Price Deficiency Payment (PDP) under Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for Totapuri market mango season 2025-26. Minister of state for rural development and communications, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for approving PDP under MIS. This will cover 1.62 lakh tonne mangoes with Market Intervention Price (MIP) of Rs 1,490.73 per quintal. The Centre and state will pay MIP on a 50:50 basis. The farmers will get direct benefit transfer support. 'This move will safeguard farmers against price crashes, ensure fair returns, and strengthen rural livelihoods,' said Chandra Sekhar. He told media persons in Delhi on Tuesday that the state government has already released Rs 260 crore to pay an extra Rs 4 per kg to Totapuri mango farmers facing a crisis due to a sharp fall in prices. The Centre on Tuesday issued orders to reimburse Rs 130 crore out of Rs 260 crore announced by the state government. Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and state agriculture minister K Atchannaidu had requested the Centre in this regard. Chandra Sekhar said that for the first time, the Centre has announced MIS for mangoes. He said a huge drop in the market price of Totapuri mango this year caused huge losses to farmers. He hoped that the Centre would continue the support under MIS in future, if necessary. The state government last week permitted the Director of Horticulture and Sericulture (DoH and S) to procure 6.5 lakh tonnes of the Totapuri variety for the current season to provide the growers a remunerative price. This will ensure a minimum procurement price of Rs 12 per kg. While pulp processing companies are contributing Rs 8 per kg, the government is providing the remaining Rs 4. The move is expected to help the farmers in sustaining mango cultivation in the combined Chittoor district and preventing distress sales.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Over 75% BSNL mobile towers upgraded to 4G in Hyderabad, says Telecom official
BSNL has claimed that over 75% of its mobile towers across Hyderabad have already been upgraded to 4G, with work in progress to cover the remaining and further allotment of 2,430 sites for new sites is under planning, said principal general manager M. Chandra Sekhar. This upgrade ensures that BSNL mobile users experience seamless 4G connectivity city-wide, he said and also noted the public sector telcom body's ongoing commitment to developing indigenous 5G technology, which will soon be rolled out to the public, he added. He was speaking at the strategic partners business development meeting with key franchisees involved in mobile business and Telecom Infrastructure Providers (TIP) catering to FTTH services for the Hyderabad region recently. The transmission network in Hyderabad has also been upgraded to the advanced MAAN (Metro Aggregation Access Network), enabling higher bandwidth availability in both 4G mobile and FTTH (Fiber to the Home) services to urban and Bharatnet services to rural areas, he said. The recent commissioning of an International Gateway (IGW) here has eliminated the need to route traffic through Chennai and in significantly enhancing internet speeds and latency performance, said Mr. Chandra Shekar. He announced a significant reorganisation of the Hyderabad Business Area, with the creation of Operational Area-3 (OA-3) headquartered at Lingampally. It is aimed at tapping into high-potential zones, including Gachibowli, Lingampally, Nanakramguda, and Kondapur, with a particular focus on catering to the connectivity needs of high-rise buildings and developing urban clusters. The BSNL official also reminded about the recent launch of Q-5G services in Hyderabad by chairman and managing director Robert J. Ravi, marking the introduction of India's first indigenous Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution. This service is tailored to deliver high-speed enterprise internet connectivity, a critical move for the digital transformation of local businesses.
The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Union Government comes up with an AI-based app that helps prevent potential financial risks online
The Union Government has come up with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) application to help users prevent potential financial risks online. To create awareness about fraudulent transactions, spam and fraud calls, an innovative feature, Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), has been developed and successfully tested, according to Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar. In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu at his camp office, near here, Mr. Chandra Sekhar said, 'The FRI AI app will enable us to profile people based on their historical activities and the complaints that have been received by the police, banks and other institutions. There are 500 institutions in our digital intelligence platform. We take all that data and we indicate whether that person is a very high risk for fraud, or high risk, or medium risk for fraud,' said Mr. Chandra Sekhar. The government had already run the FRI pilot project with two financial entities — PhonePe and SBI — where two lakh high-risk transactions had been blocked in two weeks. 'When you initiate a transaction to a potential fraud, this app will alert you with a message — this person is a high likely a fraud — to make sure that you verify before sending money. This AI-embedded app is working with 99% predictability. Now, we are going to deploy this platform in all the financial institutions. And, the security aspect is being reviewed every two weeks,' he added. Sanchar Saathi This apart, a 'Sanchar Saathi' mobile app was built by the Union Government in 20 languages. It was designed to arrest spam calls, identify lost mobiles, and report fraud calls. 'The app is already launched in English language and will be made available in other languages in a couple of weeks,' he said. The government was also focused on developing its own technology for telecommunications, and it had already achieved a significant progress in terms of last mile connectivity. 'Ranging from high-speed cable network to telecom towers every nook and corner, there is gigantic effort by the government in the past three years for a giant leap in communications,' Mr. Chandra Sekhar said. Shearing details, he said there would be revival and rejuvenation of India's national telecommunications company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), with best standards possible. 'The BSNL has turned around, and we are also working on change of culture. So far, it has only 2G and 3G, we now started launching 4G, as decided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build indigenous 4G technology,' he said. 'Private companies have been using imported technology for 4G or 5G. As long as you have money, you can purchase and install the technology, that is an easy project. But, at BSNL, we want to use our own 4G, which has started three years ago. It is a collaboration between private Tejas Networks, TCS and C-DOT, which is a Government of India organisation. The C-DOT has written the software, Tejas developed hardware and TCS integrated all of these,' he said. 'The BSNL is the one executing the entire project. So, whatever the private players have done in 30 to 40 years, our people have to do it in two to three years, which is the challenge,' said Mr. Chandra Sekhar. Over 1,00,000 towers of 4G had been installed in the last one year to take the initiative forward. As part of rejuvenation, over ₹600 crore worth new batteries, generators and other equipment was procured. 'For BharatNet, we tendered 16 packages to lay ₹1.4 lakh crores worth cables across India. At least in half of circles, the work has started. The initiative facilitates high-speed Internet and TV at ₹400 per household, and there is ₹10,000 subsidy on the upfront cost,' the Union Minister said.
