Govt to launch e-Shram portal on August 26

A total of 626 people including 228 Indian citizens have been evacuated from  Afghanistan till now. Addresses media over Afghanistan evacuation operation, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the number of Afghan Sikhs who have been evacuated is 77. The Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for carrying out rescue operations. The Minister also said that the Afghan evacuations should not be politicised. He said India will always support persecuted minorities. 

-BJP President J P Nadda has criticized the  Congress  for the remarks made  by its leaders in Punjab on Kashmir and Pakistan.In  a tweet, Nadda demanded  the topmost national leadership of the Congress to state clearly whether they support the remarks on Kashmir and Pakistan made by Congress leaders in Punjab. He said, silence on the matter by the party  will be seen as implicit support to such objectionable remarks.The BJP Chief said that the recent comments by Punjab Congress leaders, who enjoy the patronage of the topmost state leadership as well as the High Command in Delhi, are reprehensible.He said, they are repeatedly making irresponsible statements that have grave implications on national security.Later addressing media on the issue, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has termed the remarks made by Malwinder Singh Mali and Pyare Lal Garg , who are the advisors of Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu as unfortunate. Patra demanded the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to make the stand of his party clear on this issue.

-Government will launch e-Shram portal - National Database on Unorganized Workers (NDUW), on August 26. Unveiling the logo for the E-Shram portal, Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadavsaid that targeted identification of the unorganized workers was a much needed step. He said the portal will be the national database of nation builders, the ‘Shram Yogis’, and help take welfare schemes to their doorstep. Yadav said targeted delivery and last mile delivery has been a major focus of the schemes of government and the E-Shram portal is another key step towards that. All trade union leaders extended their full support for the successful launch and implementation of the e-shram portal. The Union Minister thanked the union leaders for their valuable and constructive suggestions and emphasised that they have a key role towards speedier registration, implementation at field level and taking the portal to the unorganized workers.

-With a view to provide succour to poor women borrowers who are not able to return the loan amount of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), the Assam government signed an MOU with Microfinance Institutions for implementation of Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme 2021  in Guwahati on Tuesday. Altogether 38 MFIs and banks signed the MoU with the state government, which will remain in force till 31st March, 2023.Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam government in its first cabinet meeting formed a committee to fulfil its election promise of waiving micro-finance loan to provide succour to poor women who are not able to return the loan amount.Stating that upto June, 2021 there were 14 lakh microfinance borrowers in the state, the Chief Minister informed that the new scheme would involve Rs. 12,000 crore credit portfolio, out of which Assam  government would be required to expend around Rs. 7,200 crore.

-National Security Adviser Ajit Doval hosted the 11th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives Responsible for National Security through video conferencing on Tuesday. India holds the Chairship of BRICS this year which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the BRICS grouping. The meeting of the High Representatives took place before the Summit Meeting of Leaders of the BRICS Nations that India will host this year, under the Chairship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The meetings of the High Representatives Responsible for National Security have emerged as an important platform for exchange of views on political and security issues among BRICS countries.The meeting reviewed the regional and global political and security scenario with particular reference to current developments in Afghanistan, Iran, West Asia and the Gulf and emerging threats to national security, such as Cyber Security.