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Students from Lovely Professional University (LPU), a private university based out of Jalandhar, Punjab, has conceptualised and designed the ‘Flying Farmer’, a drone that would be exclusively deployed in farming and field survey.

The wireless ‘Flying Farmer’, sensor device that would be used in mapping and survey of yields and biomass, the varsity said in a statement here on Friday.

It estimates the nutrient content of the soil to aid production growth and reduce crop damage.

Each drone can fly for 25 minutes on a full charge and the entire device cost between Rs 10,000 – 15,000.

45 students and 5 faculty members from the Electronics, Mechanical, and Agricultural Engineering department have been actively involved in developing this drone technology.

The ‘Flying Farmer’ is designed to solve two major agricultural issues faced by farmers – pesticide treatment and weed detection.

With rising labor costs and a shortage of labor, this drone technology would more useful for the agriculture to replace human intervention in delivering pesticide treatment, the statement said.

Pre-programmed drones would target specific farm areas and crops to deliver pesticides, avoiding wastage and over the use of pesticides besides human weed detection is inefficient and prone to error, leading to lower produce.

Drones, programmed with computer vision algorithms and infrared sensors can detect the exact position and nature of weeds and transmit information to the farmer for timely action.
The field trials conducted at LPU led to an improvement of 15-20 per cent in produce quantity.

Chancellor of Lovely Professional University, Ashok Mittal said, Drone-powered technology is already revolutionising agriculture, bringing precision to farming and allowing farmers to constantly monitor crop conditions.
We are proud of the level of innovation and thinking that has gone into this project and will continue to empower our students to create solutions for real-life problems.

The University will not file for a patent but instead, will open source the technology so that it can be inexpensively available to any farmer, anywhere.

The University leveraged an internal research grant of Rs 1.2 crore to develop the technology.

LPU School of Agriculture which is among the top Agricultural Science colleges in the country, is the first Indian Private University to be granted ICAR accreditation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

The University’s farmland is spread over 1000 acres where students from the Department of Agriculture can put their knowledge and understanding into practice.(UNI)

(UNI) Naked protest against Citizen Amendment Bill, 2016 continued in Assam with three protestors one of them completely nude staged protest in the front of the Assam Assembly today.
The protestors, who were participating in the renewed agitation called by the 70 organisations of the state, shouted slogans against the BJP-led NDA government for trying to pass the bill in Rajya Sabha. Policeman swung into the action and wrapped the protestors with blankets and took them away.

A dangerous deep freeze which has been blasting the Northeast and Midwest of US For a couple of days, where the record-breaking cold temperature is paralysing cities and communities has so far claimed 13 lives, including three in New York, Local media on Friday reported.

The freezing weather caused by the polar vortex in US expanded to New York State with snowfalls and strong wind gusts.
Two persons were killed while clearing the snow, whereas a man in Livingston County died as his vehicle hit a snowdrift and crashed.
The polar vortex descended on the United States on Tuesday, freezing much of the Midwest and New England region and affecting over 50 million people.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Ahead of the presentation  of the interim Budget for 2019-20, the Congress on Friday alleged that the government had ‘leaked’ its contents.In a tweet, just before the presentation of the Budget by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha,senior Congress leader Manish Tewari  alleged that a few points relating to the Union budget were leaked to the media personnel.

Posting a number of screenshots , Mr Tewari suggested that should the pointers mentioned in the images were to be part of the Budget, it can then be amounted to a ‘budget leak’.”These pointers are being Circulated to Media people by Govt Sources . If all this or substantive amount of these proposals find reflection in the budget would it not tantamount to a BUDGET LEAK ,” he tweeted.

The Opposition parties including the Congress had claimed that the government was trying to present a full fledged Budget instead of an interim budget, which is the usual case in the election year.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) In a clear move to woo the middle class voters in the run up to the general elections, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday enhanced the limit of individual income tax from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per annum.

Unveiling the Interim Budget for 2019-20, Finance Minister said the move will benefit three crore people from the middle class. After the new measure, those having an income of Rs 6.5 lakh annually will not have to pay any income tax provided they make investments.BJP wasted no time in welcoming the announcement.

“Major budget relief to middle class: Moderate taxation – High Compliance regime: Reducing tax burden on ordinary citizens – Tax exemption slab rises to up to 5 Lakh annual income,” BJP general secretary Ram Madhav tweeted.He also said that Budget announcement makes it clear that the Modi government has taken as “Big step” to arrest corruption in direct taxes establishment.He pointed out that the “Computerize system to be in place in next two years eliminating direct interference of officers and clients”.

(UNI) The “upsurge” in patent applications for devices and machines powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the last five years, suggests that it could soon revolutionise all areas of daily life far beyond the tech world, a UN report stated.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Technology Trends report, 50 per cent of all patents for AI – the replication of human intelligence by machines for use in industries such as transport and healthcare, for instance – have been published since 2013, adding up to more than 170,000 different patented ideas.

This followed on from an initial boom in AI scientific publications, which began in 2001.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry told journalists in Geneva the surge in patenting was “striking”, noting that AI research began in the 1950s. “But there has been a quantum leap since about 2013, so we’re dealing with what is happening right now in a very fast-moving field,” he insisted.

By number, patent applications for machine learning, indicate that this is currently the dominant application of AI; think of apps that include ride-sharing services to minimise detours.

The fastest-growing AI area is “deep learning”, however, which is used in speech recognition.

This saw a 175-per cent annual increase in patent applications from 2013 to 2016, far in excess of the 33 per cent average for all patents in the same period.(UNI)

Star Indian boxer M C Mary Kom on Thursday criticised some coaches for dragging the athletes in doping menace and advocated bringing coaches into the ambit of anti-doping awareness training imparted by National Anti Doping Agency.

The six-time world champion while speaking at at the closing ceremony of the National Conference on Anti-Doping here said, the coaches also need training and awareness about the prohibited substance, sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present on the ocassion.

“I am proud that I am a clean athlete throughout my career. This is because NADA people are after me all the time,” she said.

The Manipur boxer mother of three-children however, said that she remains alert all the time and takes even routine medicines after consultation with her doctor. The National Anti-Doping Agency should conduct surprise raids at the national camps frequently to clamp down on doping said the boxer.

“There are a lot of supplements and injections these days. I think surprise raids and checks at national camps and to the rooms of the athletes can catch these dopers.

“When some Indian athletes are caught for doping in international events, it affects every athlete of the country. The whole country is embarrassed.” (UNI)

Indian women’s ODI team skipper Mithali Raj on Friday became the first female cricketer to feature in 200 ODIs as she led her team out against New Zealand in the third and final match here.

So far, India have played a total of 263 ODIs and Mithali has featured in 200 of them.

Raj made her ODI debut on June 25, 1999. Of the 213 matches played by the team in the format, she has been a part of all but 13 of them.

Her international career has lasted 19 years and 219 days – and counting! That is the highest among all female players, and fourth-highest if the male cricketers are included. The three male players are– Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Javed Miandad.

This long career has brought her 6,613 runs, which include seven 100s and an incredible 52 fifties, the most recent of which she scored in the second ODI against New Zealand. Many of the Raj’s best knocks came at a time when the women’s game hadn’t reached the levels of professionalism that it now has, and before many of the games were on television – but as the sport has grown, so has her own game.

Mithali’s participation in her 200th ODI came a day after Rohit Sharma became the 14th Indian male cricketer to play 200 one-day internationals when he walked out to toss with New Zealand captain Kane Williamson at the same venue on Thursday.

India have already won the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. The Kiwi skipper Amy Satterthwaite elected to field after winning the toss. Raj scored 9 in 28 balls as India got off to a poor start and went 6 wickets down for 120 in the 35th over.(UNI)

The government on Friday announced an income support bonanza for farmers–Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi–under which Rs 6000 per hectare in a year will be deposited directly in the bank accounts of about 12 crore farmers in the country.

It also announced creation of a separate Department of Fisheries, taking it away from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

The Centre will bear the cost of the entire scheme PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Announcing this in the Lok Sabha while presenting the Budget for 2019-20, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said he was providing Rs 75,000 crore for the income support scheme and another Rs 20,000 crore in the Revised Estimate for the current year (2018-19) itself.

“This will pave the way for farmers to earn and live a life of respect and is towards out goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022,’ the Minister said amidst loud cheering from treasury benches.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen thumping his desk with a smile.

Mr Goyal said that the amount will be deposited in farmers’ accounts in three instalments in a year, of which Rs 2000 per hectare will be deposited right away. “This will help farmers with acquiring farm inputs such as quality seeds, irrigation, neem-coated urea and credit.’

The Minister also announced a raise in interest subvention of timely repayment of farm credit.

“Farm credit is Rs 11.68 lakh crore,’ he said recognising the good work done by farmers.

In keeping with the policy of the government, the Minister announced the formation of a Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog to upscale the production and productivity of cows.

An additional Rs 750 crore has been allocated for the National Gokul Mission.

Mr Goyal also announced “sustained and focused’ attention to the fisheries and animal husbandry sector that have grown.

Significantly, he announced an additional 3 per cent income sub-vention for farmers involved in fisheries taking the entire interest sub-vention upto 5 per cent, at par with crop loan discounts.

To make all farmers come under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, the government has simplified the forms, (UNI)

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday displayed his humility and faith in the age old Indian tradition when he touched the feet of senior lawmakers Nitin Gadkari, Shanta Kumar and Uma Bharati before presenting the Interim Budget.

Before the House proceedings began, as Mr Goyal walked in carrying the conventional brownish briefcase, he immediately touched Mr Gadkari’s feet as he took the seat next to Union Minister for Surface Transport.

Mr Goyal also went back for a while and bowed down before senior MPs Shanta Kumar and Uma Bharati.

Among the ruling bench, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were first to come and take their seat.

Interestingly, ‘former Trinamool MP’ Saumitra Khan, who last month joined BJP, was, however seated among the last rows behind Trinamool Congress lawmakers.

At times, he too was spotted thumping desks and joining the BJP members.

Before the proceedings began, BJP leader Kalraj Mishra was seen crossing over near the opposition benches and extendING greetings to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Piyush Goyal as an interim Finance Minister in view of illness of Arun Jaitley on Friday created a record for himself by presenting the interim Budget.

Mr Goyal’s tenure as Power Minister between 2014 and 2017 saw major transformation in country’s power sector including the fast-tracking of electrification of the nearly 18,000 unelectrified villages.

Earlier, beginning his speech, said he is “deeply conscious” of Arun Jaitley’s absence in the House and said he was sure all members would join him in extending speedy recovery to Mr Jaitley.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday presented the Budget for fiscal 2019-20 and highlighted various achievements and welfare measures undertaken by the Modi government during last four-and-half years and said “India is solidly back on track”.

Presenting his maiden and Modi government’s sixth Budget speech in the august Lower House of Parliament, Mr Goyal said the country will embark on a route to New India by the year 2022 when India completes 75 years of Independence.

Amid frequent thumping of desks including by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP patriarch L K Advani and Union Ministers among others but repeatedly yelling by Opposition members, Mr Goyal said the fiscal deficit has been brought down to 3.4 per cent in the revised estimate of 2018-19.

He said the government has also brought down inflation of essential commodities. “Hamari sarkar ney, kamar tod mehangai ki Kamar hi tod di (We have broken the very spinal cord of the inflation)”, the Finance Minister said adding in December 2018 – thanks to efforts made by the government the inflation rate was brought down to 2.19 per cent.

United Nations, Feb 1 (UNI) The crisis in Venezuela will not be solved by sanctions that “can lead to starvation”, a UN-appointed rights expert said.

Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, who reports to the Human Rights Council, issued the warning against the background of widespread suffering in the South American country, linked to spiralling economic woes and deep political uncertainty.

An estimated three million people have left the oil-rich country since 2015, while supporters of self-appointed interim President Juan Guaidó, continue to demonstrate against the government of the incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, who was re-elected last May amidst allegations of electoral irregularities and a widespread opposition boycott.

“Sanctions which can lead to starvation and medical shortages are not the answer to the crisis in Venezuela,” Mr Jazairy said in a statement, prompted by the imposition of sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company by the United States.

“I am especially concerned to hear reports that these sanctions are aimed at changing the government of Venezuela,” he added, while also noting his concern about reports of serious rights violations that include “the growing risk of violence and implicit threats of international violence”.

In a call for “compassion” for the people of Venezuela, Mr Jazairy, who is UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures, insisted that “precipitating an economic and humanitarian crisis…is not a foundation for the peaceful settlement of disputes”.

Such “coercion” by outside powers “is in violation of all norms of international law”, the rights expert maintained, before calling on the international community to engage in constructive dialogue with Venezuela to find solutions to problems that include hyperinflation and the fall in oil prices.

In a recent statement issued by the office of António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General urged parties to “lower tensions” in Venezuela and called for all relevant actors to commit to inclusive and credible political dialogue.

Concerned by reports of casualties during demonstrations and unrest in and around the capital, Caracas, the UN chief also called for a transparent and independent investigation of those incidents.

Last Saturday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in the country, in which the UN’s top political official said that dialogue and cooperation were vital to ending the crisis.

The meeting was requested late last week by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo following days of political unrest and deadly clashes in Venezuela between protesters and security forces.

The UN human rights office OHCHR reported on Tuesday, that at least 40 had been killed in the unrest, including 26 shot by pro-Government forces. More than 850 were detained following demonstrations in the past week, including 77 children.

“We must try to help bring about a political solution that will allow the country’s citizens to enjoy peace, prosperity and all their human rights,” Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under Secretary-General of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, urged the 15-member body.

Nearly all 30 million Venezuelans are affected by hyperinflation and a collapse of real salaries, Ms DiCarlo warned, citing shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies, along with a deterioration of health and education services and basic infrastructure such as water and electricity.

Mr Jazairy, urged all countries to avoid applying sanctions unless approved by the Security Council, as required by the UN Charter

Kolkata, Feb 1 (UNI) This year, the state government is organizing the Milan Utsav festival which will showcase some of the choicest foods from a wide range of cuisines in Kolkata. The food festival will be held from February 1 to 4 at Park Circus Maidan from 12 noon till 9 pm in the evening. The specialty of this food festival highlights the cultural confluence of various minority communities of Bengal. Cuisines of traditional specialties of different religious communities will be available at the festival.
The Muslim community is being represented by bakkarkhani, nihari, paya, nankhatai, kanji, biryani, kebab, etc.
The Christian community is being represented by cake, chicken and mutton roast, kopta curry, rose cookie, vindaloo, bread pudding, caramel custard, etc.
The Sikh community is being represented by makai ka roti, sarson ka saag, aloo paratha, muli paratha, fullgobi paratha, lassi, halwa, etc.
The Jain community is being represented by dhokla, khandui, unjiu, thepla, etc.
The Parsi community is being represented by dhansak, fish patia, papeta-par-eedu, dar-ni-pari, malido, lagan-nu-custard, etc.
The Buddhist community is being represented by Tibetan momo, various sweets, etc.
Apart from it being a food festival, a major attraction of the Milan Utsav is the presence of stalls for job fair, career counselling and job oriented counselling. Moreover, a health check-up centre is also being set up for the benefit of the visitors.

Panaji, Feb 1 (UNI) The Goa Legislative Assembly was adjourned sine die on Thursday after a brief session of three days.
A total of 419 Legislative Assembly Questions (LAQ), including 147 starred, 65 condolence messages, 11 zero hour mention notices and three calling attention notices were tabled during the three day session, which had commenced on January 29, 2018, with the customary address to the House by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
On second day of the session, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds finance portfolio, presented state annual budget for financial year 2019-20 and on the concluding day, the assembly passed the Vote on Account of Rs 8165.88 crore for five months.
During the brief session, eight bills were introduced and passed by the assembly.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) The National capital on Friday woke up to a cold morning with the minimum temperature settling at 11 degrees C, three points above season’s average.

Relative humidity at 0830 hrs was 93 per cent, as per the weatherman.

The sky is likely to be generally cloudy through the day with a a possibility of  light rain or drizzle, while maximum temperature is to hover around 21 degrees C, according to the Met office.

Air quality in the city was poor, while there was slight improvement in the index value that was 290 at 1000 hours.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature settled at 21.5 degrees C.

(UNI) en by Sky NewsA series of training exercises will be held in the United Kingdom in the coming days to prepare the nation’s armed forces to deal with potential consequences of a no-deal Brexit, in particular, a possible slowdown in the flow of goods across borders, local media said Thursday.

The UK Defence Ministry considers being prepared for a possible withdrawal from the European Union without a divorce deal as its “highest priority,” a senior defense official said in a letter se.
Operation Yellowhammer will reportedly involve 3,500 soldiers designated to assist with cargo at various ports of entry or be on standby in case of rapid deployment overseas.
The majority of these troops will help ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods if the nation fails to set the terms of withdrawal. The military has also agreed to make its infrastructure available for civil storage.

It is a celebratory time in the Kapoor house as the country’s most successful film and television producer, Ekta Kapoor welcomes home her beautiful newborn baby boy via surrogacy.

It is learnt that, Ekta Kapoor was extremely keen to carry her own child but that couldn’t be possible.

Dr Nandita Palshetkar, who guided Ekta throughout the process throws light on it and shares, “Ekta Kapoor came to me some years back to become a mother. We tried to help her get pregnant with multiple cycles of IUI and also multiple cycles of IVF. But we were unsuccessful. Hence we had to take help of the technique of surrogacy which we performed nine months back at our Bloom Ivf centre. Nine months later she had achieved success with the birth of a child on Sunday.’

The baby boy, who was born on January 27 has been named Ravie Kapoor after Ekta’s father’s name. It is for the first time that a female celebrity has chosen the route of surrogacy and become a single mom.

Sources close to Ekta reveal that, “She was keenly involved in the entire process. She would take constant updates about the mother and baby’s health at every stage from the doctor. It was her pure determination to become a mother that made this happen.”

A couple of years back, Ekta Kapoor’s brother, Tusshar Kapoor also became a father via surrogacy.

An ecstatic Ekta Kapoor shares, “By God’s grace, I have seen many successes in my life, but nothing beats the feeling of this beautiful soul being added in my world. I cannot even begin to express how happy my baby’s birth has made me. Everything in life doesn’t go the way you want it to but there are always solutions to those hiccups. I found mine and today I feel immensely blessed to become a parent. It is an emotional moment for me and my family and I can’t wait to begin this new journey of being a mother.”

She further adds, “I would like to thank Dr. Nandita Palshetkar under whose constant support and guidance, I was able to fulfil my dream.”

India’s Budget, due to be presented on Friday, could give some indication of the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation, which is one of the main sensitivities in the sovereign rating, says Fitch Ratings.

Higher pre-election spending could risk a second consecutive year of fiscal slippage relative to the government’s targets and would further delay plans to reduce the high general government fiscal deficit and debt burden.

The final budget for the fiscal year ending in March 2020 (FY20) will be presented soon after the next government takes office following general elections, which are due by May 2019.

Pressure for new expenditure to attract votes, particularly among rural and small-business owner voters has increased as polls have shown the ruling (BJP is becoming less assured of victory in the general elections.

‘The BJP has reportedly lost votes in some recent state elections due to rural distress and public concerns over job creation. Targeted cash programmes appear the most likely form of support, as they would avoid downside risks of alternatives, such as the farm loan waivers that undermined the loan repayment culture in the past,’ the report said.

Populist spending would aggravate fiscal pressures, which are already building due to revenue shortfalls so far in FY19.

‘We believe the central government may still be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of GDP for FY19, which would help support its fiscal credibility, although this may be achieved by deferring capital expenditure and postponing bill payments until after March,’ it said.

In any case, longer-term trends are more important to the sovereign rating profile.

Officially, the government still aims to adhere to a debt ceiling of 60 per cent of GDP by March 2025, as adopted under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

However, this would require significant and politically difficult fiscal consolidation.

The newly elected government’s final budget, likely to be presented around July, should provide more meaningful guidance on the medium-term fiscal outlook.

Fitch’s base-case scenario is that general government debt will remain close to 70 per cent of GDP in the next few years, which is almost double the ‘BBB’ median of 36.0 per cent and continues to constrain India’s sovereign rating (BBB-/Stable).

Indian budgets normally offer guidance on plans for structural reforms and tax changes.

‘The current government could choose in its interim budget to signal the reform direction it would adopt in a possible second term, but we believe it is more likely to include such plans in the final budget, in order to allow for negotiations between coalition members on more difficult or controversial proposals,’ according to the report.

The government’s reform efforts have led to a strong improvement in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking in recent years, but FDI inflows have remained roughly stable as a percentage of GDP over the past five years, as there are lingering difficulties, such as in enforcing contracts and the functioning of the labour market.(UNI)

Leading private sector bank HDFC Bank today organised its fourth Digital Innovation Summit in Ahmedabad of Gujarat.
The Summit is a platform for start-ups to showcase their innovations aimed at powering the bank’s next phase of growth.
At the summit held in Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad, 24 start-ups shortlisted from 151 applications presented their ideas to a jury comprising HDFC Bank’s top management, representatives of CIIE, and a partner start-up 91springboard. Three winners hand-picked by the jury will get a chance to deploy their solutions in HDFC Bank.
The Bank will help the identified start-ups evolve into a consumer-ready product. It’ll use its domain expertise to mentor start-ups on customer experience, reduce time-to-market and costs, among other domains. In turn, the entrepreneurs will get the Bank’s platform to test their ideas in the real world; and expert insights.
Overall, more than 150 entrepreneurs applied to participate in the summit. Their innovations have been in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics, and robotic process automation etc. These ideas were evaluated and shortlisted by a jury on the basis of four parameters: Uniqueness,Business Potential, Usability and Scalability and Compatibility with HDFC Bank’s business and technology platforms.

Attacking the Narendra Modi Government on the ‘leaked survey’ by the national sample survey office, which showed a surge in joblessness among youth in 2017-18, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said it was time for the Prime Minister to go.

In a post on social media,  Gandhi said, “NoMo Jobs! The Fuhrer promised us two crore jobs a year. Five years later, his leaked job creation report card reveals a National Disaster. Unemployment is at its highest in 45 yrs. 6.5 crore youth are jobless in 2017-18 alone. Time for NoMo2Go.’’

Gandhi also tagged a media report on his Twitter handle, which cited an NSSO survey which said the unemployment rate was highest in 45 years.

Earlier, AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala also alleged that the unemployment rate was at a 45-year high and said this was the reason why the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report on jobs was withheld. “This is why the members of National Statistical Commission resigned,” he claimed.

In a series of tweets, he said, “Modi ji, unemployment rate is at a 45-year high. This is why the NSSO report was kept under the wraps. This is why members of NSC resigned.”

“Promise of two crore jobs turned out to be a cruel joke. India does not want a government that has left the future of our youth in jeopardy,” Surjewala said on Twitter.

Reactuing on the report, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “If figs inconvenient, doctor them; if experts indep, make them lame duck & forced 2resign; if doctoring nt possible, change basis of calculation! Vive #bjp #Modi.”

In another tweet, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, “Modiji don’t torture Data! Release National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO’s) periodic labour force survey (2017-2018). Jobless Rate (2017-2018) Amongst Youth: Rural Male: 17.4 per cent Rural Female: 13.6 per cent Urban Male: 18.7 per cent Urban Female: 27.2 per cent Result of Pakordanomics?’’

As per a media report, the NSSO survey shows a surge in joblessness among youth in 2017-18.

According to the report, the country’s unemployment rate stood at a 45 year high of 6.1 per cent during 2017-18.

The report, published in an English daily, quotes the NSSO survey as saying that the unemployment rate in 2017-18 stood at its highest level since 1972-73- the period since when the jobs data is comparable.

The NSSO report says that the joblessness is higher in urban areas (7.8 per cent) than the rural parts (5.3 per cent) of the country.. Also, more people were withdrawing from the workforce as the labour force participation rate stood at lower level than the previous few years.(UNI)