Latest news with #CSS
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Puducherry CM Rangasamy makes case for U.T.'s inclusion in Finance Commission to NITI Aayog member
Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has reiterated the demand for Puducherry's inclusion in the Central Finance Commission (CFC) during a meeting with Arvind Virmani, Member of NITI Aayog, who called on him during a visit to the city. While no formal memorandum was submitted to the NITI Aayog body, Mr. Rangasamy utilised the occasion of the meeting to press for CFC member status citing the grave financial crisis in the Union Territory that impeded the development agenda of the NDA governments at the Centre and the Union Territory. The Chief Minister pointed out that Puducherry was missing out on a share from the divisible pool earmarked for States as it remained outside the purview of the CFC. With limited Central funds and scope for generating own revenue, especially after the establishment of a separate Public Account in 2007, the Union Territory was unable to fulfil its welfare commitments or undertake development projects, he said. Mr. Rangasamy also made the case for 100% funding for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), citing the drastic reduction of Central funds in the Union Territory's annual Budget outlay over the recent years. Speaker R. Selvam, Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan and A. Muthamma, Commissioner-cum-Secretary were present. AIADMK submits memorandum Meanwhile, the AIADMK urged the NITI Aayog to consider inclusion of the Union Territory in the Central Finance Commission and a reversion to the pre-2007 practice of the Union government fully financing the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. In a memorandum submitted to the visiting NITI Aayog member, A. Anbalagan, AIADMK secretary pointed out that Puducherry's exclusion from the CFC has constrained the funds available for implementing welfare schemes. Even the State's share of 40% to CSS could not be contributed by the Union Territory. Earlier, the CSS were fully funded by the Central government and there was no State share. But this system was changed and the Union Territories with Legislative Assemblies were required to make a contribution of 40% as State's share. 'This puts our Union Territory in a difficult position. We would request you to kindly arrange for revival of the old procedure of full funding by the Union government for Centrally Sponsored Schemes,' the memorandum said. It also pointed out that Puducherry had a legacy loan of around ₹2,600 crore when a separate Public Account was adopted for the Union Territory in 2007. Repeated requests to Union government by Puducherry administration to write off the legacy loan have only gone in vain. The AIADMK urged the NITI Aayog to facilitate the waiver of the loan. Though it is another matter that Puducherry had not conducted local body election since 2016, even if such an exercise were to be completed, the Union Territory could not get financial assistance from the Central government as it was not included in the CFC. Pointing out that even the newly-created Union Territory of J&K was included in the Finance Commission, the AIADMK felt that it was imperative to include Puducherry in the planning and fund devolving body to liberate the Union Territory from the acute fiscal crisis. The AIADMK also argued that the U.T.'s inclusion in the CFC would only enable the NDA government in Puducherry, which has been executing a number of welfare schemes for the betterment of the public, to fully align with the goal of making 'BEST Puducherry' as envisaged by the Prime Minister.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
IIT Bombay Launches Two Flagship Professional Certificate Programmes, Check Details
To address the growing demand for skilled professionals in the technology sector, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has launched two flagship Professional Certificate programmes-one in Software Development and another in Cybersecurity. These industry-aligned, hands-on programmes are being offered by the Trust Lab at IIT Bombay and are open to working professionals, faculty members, and students across India. Professional Certificate in Software Development Despite the booming demand for software developers, the industry continues to face a talent shortage. To help bridge this gap, the Trust Lab has introduced a flexible and application-focused certification in Software Development. The programme moves beyond theory and places emphasis on real-world skills through weekly lab-based exercises. Participants will begin with the fundamentals-UNIX, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript-and advance to full-stack development using PHP, MERN (MongoDB, React, and Django with React. The curriculum also includes modules on testing practices and CI/CD pipelines for cloud deployment. Future course expansions will cover cloud computing, system programming, and software engineering. Courses are offered individually, and learners must complete at least three within two years to earn the Professional Certificate. Each course has its own eligibility and evaluation criteria. There is no centralised admission; selection is based on academic transcripts, a statement of purpose, and recommendations. Professional Certificate In Cybersecurity As India's cybersecurity market-expected to reach USD 7.23 billion by 2029, this programme aims to bridge the significant skills gap in this field. The curriculum includes foundational concepts with practical skills in identifying threats, implementing defences, and responding to security incidents. Key courses include: Real World Cryptography (starting September 1, 2025): Covers encryption, digital signatures, secure key exchange, and more. Network Security (starting January 2, 2026): Focuses on key internet protocol layer attacks and modern network protection strategies. Each course is 12-14 weeks long, delivered online, and includes pre-recorded lectures, TA-assisted labs, and live tutorials on weekends. Participants can also attend physical classes and engage in activities on a campus. Eligibility and Fees Eligible applicants include: Industry professionals with a degree in engineering or computer science (3 or 4 years) Undergraduate (3rd/4th year) and postgraduate students Faculty in relevant disciplines Fee structure varies by course and participant category. For example, the fee for core software development courses is between Rs 19,000 and Rs 36,000, while for cybersecurity modules it ranges from Rs 36,000 to Rs 72,000. Learners pay per course and receive a certificate after each; the professional certificate is awarded upon completion of the required three courses within two years. Registration Deadline Registrations for both programmes close on August 25, 2025. For more details and to apply, interested candidates can visit the official IIT Bombay Trust Lab website.
Tom's Guide
7 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Google Gemini for Workspace has been exploited to send emails with hidden malicious messages
A flaw in Google Gemini for Workspace can be exploited by hackers to insert malicious instructions that could misdirect the AI tool and cause it to direct users to phishing sites. As reported by Bleeping Computer, this vulnerability works by creating email summaries that look entirely normal, but include malicious instructions or warnings that are hidden and automatically obeyed by Gemini when it generates a message summary. The process works by creating an email that holds an invisible directive for Gemini, by hiding instructions in the body text at the end of the message using HTML and CSS code then setting the font size to zero and the color to white. Since this additional text doesn't include any attachments or links, it won't be flagged or caught by the best antivirus software or email programs so it is likely to make it through to a potential victim's inbox. When a target opens an email, then requests that Gemini summarizes the contents, the AI program will automatically obey the hidden instructions that it sees. Users often put their trust into Gemini's ability to work with content as part of Workspace; the alert is considered a legitimate warning instead of a malicious injection. Similar attacks have been reported over the last year, though safeguards have been implemented in order to block the misleading responses, the technique has remained successful overall which is why it is still in use. Bleeping Computer says that when they asked Google about defenses to counter these types of attacks, a spokesperson referenced a blog post about prompt injection attacks and said that some of the mitigations are in the process of being implemented or are about to be deployed. Google also said it has no evidence that this attack has occurred in the wild. Figueroa, the manager at Mozilla's GenAI Bug Bounty Program who detected the flaw, offers a few ideas to prevent this threat: have security teams remove, naturalize or ignore content styled to be hidden in body text. Alternatively, implement filters that scan Gemini for urgent messages, URLs, phone numbers and flag those for additional review from users. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. For now though, you just need to be careful when having Gemini summarize your emails as you never know what could be hiding inside them. Hopefully, Google rolls out a fix for this new type of attack sooner rather than later.
Boston Globe
11-07-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Tired of hair tantrums? This Boston mom has a fix.
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sign up for Parenting Unfiltered. Globe staff Advertisement #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe * indicates required E-mail * She tried to cut the boys' hair herself in the family bathtub while they watched 'Paw Patrol.' This went poorly. She took them to walk-in, kid-focused franchises that didn't offer appointments, which ended in overstimulation and tears. 'It was traumatic. One person frankly just held my son's head down and started cutting his hair. We were treated like: 'Get in; get out,'' she says. 'In some of these places, it was just too much. It was sensory overload.' Pi finally took the tots to her own elegant grown-up salon, which was the last straw. 'It was fall, and so there were these beautiful handblown glass pumpkins everywhere. They almost broke them. It was horrific,' she says. Advertisement Danni Pi launched Mayne after too many stressful salon visits with her sons. Handout Pi saw an opportunity, and she had the right experience: She's the former chief operating officer of Rowan, a franchise dedicated to safe, kid-friendly ear piercing, done by nurses. Why not create the same stress-free concept, but for kids' tresses? 'My theory is: Parents today want more thoughtful, experience-driven services for their kids,' she says. 'We always greet customers by saying, 'What are we celebrating today?' Because we believe a haircut is a celebration. It's a milestone.' At Mayne, every kid gets a ribbon if they get their hair styled, or they can get their hair sprayed their favorite (washable) color. A nursing-friendly waiting area is stocked with toys, and there's a separate reading nook where families — even those without appointments, who just want to check out the space — can drop in to browse. 'One customer came in and had just had her third boy, who was literally 3 weeks old. She said, 'This is my first outing, and this space made it possible.' She was feeding her baby on our reading nook steps, and her two boys were getting cuts, and she was just ecstatic. It made me so happy. People see the value in it,' Pi says. As for the cuts themselves? Pi frames the experience like a first dentist appointment: ease in, and go slow. 'So many kids feel scared when they approach the idea of a haircut, especially a first haircut. Look at what pediatric dentistry has done in the last couple of years. They've built a whole experience around: stop by for your first appointment; not too much happens. You build a trust with your dentist, and from there, you can take the next step. In some ways, I mirror the service and the experience to be like that. We never force a kid to get a haircut,' she says. Advertisement If a kid is scared, they can leave: no charge. Otherwise, kids arrive and play for a bit, at a drawing table, in a play tent, or with a sensory-friendly toy bin. 'One of the things that we find is super helpful for kids who are fussy or squirmy, especially those who don't like the feeling of hair on their back, is to give them toys where they can focus on the sensory effect in front of them. We have a basket of little fish and dragons, held in a cup. It's one way to calm them down,' she says. Stylists greet kids on their knees, at eye level. Each appointment is booked for 35 or so minutes, enough time for squirming and negotiations. 'We feel like we're in this as a partnership, and we're making an investment in you coming back. So let them play; let them use the space as a reading space. Let them get comfortable in the space or with our stylist, and so the next time they come, they're a little more likely to be able to get that cut,' Pi says. (She recommends first-timers visit on a weekday, when they're less busy.) As for the styles: Stylists are trained in curly hair and braids, as well as color extensions and tinsel, plus stickier stuff: chlorine removal and conditioning for swimmers, plus detangling. They're also open for makeover parties. Good hair stylists are hard to find. Ones who like kids? Even tougher. Advertisement 'I felt that hair cutting and training — that is actually easy. But I was looking for someone who wanted to engage with kids to build their self-confidence and self-expression. And I've got to say: I met a lot of highly talented people who just didn't have that,' she says. 'You can't train people for that desire.' At Rowan, she recruited at nursing schools. This time, she recruited at beauty schools, wading through about 200 applications until she settled on three stylists. As such, current hours are somewhat limited: They're open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The salon is outfitted with stools where parents can sit next to their child; the stylist will show them each tool they plan to use before starting the process. 'If it's a water spray bottle, we will literally spray it on ourselves with the parents to show the kid: 'Hey, we know this is something you haven't seen before. This may be scary to you, but let me show you that there is nothing to be scared of,'' Pi says. Cuts are $45, geared to toddlers 9 months and up; subscriptions for a monthly cut are $30. Storytimes, hosted by stylists, are free. Storytime at Mayne. Handout 'We see it as a way to give the space back to the community a bit and to hopefully get kiddos to enjoy the space, to feel comfortable in the space, so when they're ready to get a haircut, we're already starting from step five instead of step one,' Pi says. Mayne, 24 Union Park St., Boston. 646-715-3194, Advertisement Kara Baskin can be reached at
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Why thousands of crores by governments remain unspent and what must change
Yadul Krishna is a policy economist and a legal fellow at Governance Innovation Labs. As the Parliamentary Secretary to a Rajya Sabha MP, he drafted "The Bhagat Singh National Urban Employment Guarantee Bill, 2022," successfully introduced in the 2022 Monsoon Session of Indian Parliament. He previously worked as a finance professional in an investment services company and was briefly a columnist with the British Herald. Krishna's writings on the economy and governance have appeared across the globe, with multiple translations into other languages and have been referenced in research papers and newspaper editorials. An alumnus of SRCC, he is currently pursuing law at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He tweets @Yadul_Krishna LESS ... MORE Despite rising allocations, India's development goals are being quietly derailed by an alarming pattern of unspent government funds across critical sectors. For the first time in India, the Union Budget 2025-2026 has disclosed the amount of total unspent funds available with the states and Union Territories, allocated to them under various centrally sponsored schemes (CSS). As of December 31, 2024, an estimated Rs 1.6 trillion allocated for these schemes was lying with the states. This is not a small amount, accounting for over 40 per cent of the annual expenditure under CSS. India's federal development model is built on the timely and efficient transfer of funds from the Centre to the states. These transfers, often tied to centrally sponsored schemes, are critical for ensuring uniform access to health, education, and infrastructure across a diverse and unequal federal landscape. However, the persistent underutilisation and lapse of centrally-allocated funds have become a recurring and deeply worrying pattern. Far from being a matter of bureaucratic oversight, these lapses represent a deeper malaise afflicting India's fiscal federalism—a combination of procedural rigidity, administrative inertia, and political friction between the Union and the states. The scale of unutilized funds over the past decade is staggering. Between 2014 and 2019, over Rs1.5 lakh-crore remained unspent. The Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) alone saw an unspent balance of Rs 1,734.42 crore during the 16th Lok Sabha—over twice the figure from the previous term. Despite a dip in allocation during the 17th Lok Sabha, largely due to the pandemic, utilisation rates have remained uneven and unpredictable. The core issue lies not merely in how funds are allocated, but in how they are absorbed. Utilisation Certificates (UCs), which are mandatory for the release of further tranches, are frequently delayed or inadequately furnished. As of March 2024, over Rs 5 lakh crore was locked due to pending UCs. Flagship schemes have not been immune. The National Health Mission (NHM), one of the most ambitious public health initiatives by the Centre, saw an average fund utilisation of only 55% across 29 states in 2023–2024. The total unspent central share balances under the Samagra Shiksha scheme from 2018–19 to 2022–23 amounted to approximately Rs 11,000 crore, even as schools across India lacked basic infrastructure. The reasons are manifold and blame lies on both sides. The Union government has, over the years, layered its funding protocols with increasingly complex guidelines. In the name of accountability, ministries insist on exhaustive documentation, multiple layers of approval, and compliance-heavy reporting, all of which delay the actual flow of funds. For example, over Rs 8,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in 2019-2020 remained unutilised, largely due to delayed approvals and procedural roadblocks. States, too, are complicit. Many lack the administrative capacity to absorb funds efficiently. Planning departments are understaffed, procurement processes are slow, and project implementation often lags due to corruption, red tape, and political indifference. In Madhya Pradesh, Rs 3,116 crore out of Rs 12,419 crore allocated under NHM between 2017 and 2022 was left unspent, severely impacting health service delivery. Similar patterns have been observed in schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), where delays in land acquisition and contracting have held up rural road projects, and in the Clean Ganga Mission, where a CAG report revealed that Rs 2,500 crore remained unutilised as of 2017. This persistent failure has disproportionately hurt critical sectors. The health sector, especially post-COVID-19, is in urgent need of capital infusion, yet fund lapses continue to delay infrastructure creation and human resource recruitment. In education, unspent allocations have led to inadequate classrooms, high pupil-teacher ratios, and poor learning outcomes. Rural development schemes like MGNREGA, which act as lifelines in economically fragile states, have seen funds lying idle even as wage payments remain delayed. Correctives must begin with transparency and real-time monitoring. There is an urgent need for digital public dashboards, AI-driven fund-tracking mechanisms, and automated alerts that flag potential underutilisation. States must be empowered, not merely held accountable. The Centre should invest in building administrative and financial planning capacities at the state level. Rather than punishing states for delays, it should create an enabling environment through technical support, capacity-building programmes, and streamlined fund release procedures. Equally important is the recalibration of incentives. States that demonstrate e fficient and timely fund usage should be rewarded with additional allocations or flexible spending norms. Public-private partnerships must be leveraged not just for financing, but also for improving last-mile delivery. In the long run, a transparent and participatory mechanism for monitoring fund utilisation—one that includes local bodies, civil society, and citizens—can help hold both Union and state governments accountable. India's development aspirations cannot afford to be hostage to bureaucratic gridlock and intergovernmental blame games. The cost of inaction is paid by the most vulnerable: those denied healthcare, children without access to schools, and workers left jobless due to stalled projects. Fixing the fund utilisation crisis is not just about financial efficiency, it is a moral imperative for a nation committed to inclusive growth. The time to act is now. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
