SCALE OF INEQUALITY Income Group Average Avg income (K) Wealth Share (%) 2,34,551 Average wealth (K) 1922 Share (%) 13,49,029 Bottom 50% 71,163 15.0 1,73,184 6.4 Middle 40% 1,65,273 27.3 9,63,560 28.6 Top 10% 13,52,985 57.7 87,70,132 65.0 Top 1% 53,00,549 22.6 54,141,525 40.1 *As of 2022-23 tirupati l thursday l march 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Source: World Inequality Lab Cash, liquor, drugs worth `3.39 cr seized after MCC came into force CEO says 46 volunteers, contract staff have been removed; 385 FIRs registered in 3 days E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Wednesday said cash, narcotics and other valuables worth `176 crore have been seized during extensive searches from January 1. In the three days after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force, cash, liquor and drugs worth `3.39 crore were seized, he said, at a press conference at the State Secretariat. Clarifying that participation of government employees, contract staff and volunteers in political programmes is against MCC guidelines, Meena said that 46 volunteers and contract employees have been removed based on complaints, and crim- express read Thunderstorms likely in Uttarandhra today Visakhapatnam: Under the influence of a trough, several parts of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP) region experienced moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Wednesday. According to the latest forecast by the IMD Amaravati Centre, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are expected at isolated places over North Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on Thursday | P4 CEO Mukesh Kumar Meena addressing a press meet at State Secretariat; a vehicle being checked by police at the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada | Prasant Madugula inal cases were also registered against some of them. Asserting that steps are being taken for effective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, Meena said that 385 FIRs have been registered for violation of MCC in the past three days. Noting that efforts are being made to ensure that there is no repolling in the upcoming elections, the CEO said that some violent incidents took place in Giddalur, Allagadda and Macherla recently . He said that the SPs of Prakasam, Nandyal, and Palnadu districts will be coming to his office on Thursday to explain the reasons for the untoward incidents. Noting that complaints have been received regarding the security lapses at the public meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Palnadu, he said the issue will be dealt with by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Stating that Section 144 is in force in the State, he said prior permission should be taken for any programme through the Suvidha app. So far, as many as 393 applications have been received, Meena said. Action would be taken on the complaints lodged through the CVigil app within 100 minutes of receiving the complaint, the CEO said and mentioned that 1,173 flying squads are working for the purpose. Out of the 1,307 complaints received, 74% of them have been resolved so far, he noted, adding that efforts are being made to resolve at least 95% of complaints reP4 ceived through CVigil. 13% of national income pocketed by the top 1% 1982 6.1% of national income went to the top 1% 2022 * 22.6% of national income with top 1% Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday used the o p p o r t u n i t y o f g re e t i n g Vladimir Putin on his re-election as Russian President by nudging him during their telephonic conversation to resolve the ongoing Ukraine war through dialogue and diplomacy. He had a similar message for Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy in his sepa- rate conversation with him. “I spoke with President Putin and congratulated him on his re-election and also agreed to work together to further deepen and expand India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Par tnership in the years ahead,” Modi said. “Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the consistent and dynamic development of mutually beneficial ties in trade, economy, energy, and Narendra Modi Vladimir Putin Vlodomyr Zelenskyy transport,” a Russian readout of the call said. “An exchange of views was also held on a number of issues on the international agenda, in particular ■ ‘Inequality today worse Petitions in SC than under British Raj’ as govt notifies D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi India is more unequal now than it was under the British rule, says a paper released by Paris-based World Inequality Lab. The report, co-authored by Nitin Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi, also recommends a 2% super tax on the net wealth of the wealthiest families to generate resources for public investment. The report says top-end inequality peaked between 2014-15 and 2022-23, driven by wealth concentration. By 2022-23, India’s top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) were at their highest historical levels. For context, the US’s top 1% income share was 21%. The report cautions such high levels inequality could trigger concentration of income and wealth, which could in turn negatively influence the society and the government at large. To arrive at these conclusions, the inequality report has taken into consideration the national income accounts, wealth aggregates, tax tabulations, rich lists, and surveys on income, consumption, and wealth. The report calls for a restructuring of India’s tax system to account for both income and wealth. It also stresses on the need for generating resources for investments in health and education to enable the common man to benefit from the ongoing wave of globalisation. The government should tap India’s wealthiest families to generate resources for public investments, it says, adding that India’s 167 wealthiest families in 202223 would yield 0.5% of national income in revenues. Modi nudges Putin, Zelenskyy to resolve conflict through talks Y e s h i Se l i @ New Delhi CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ in the context of the situation around Ukraine,” the Kremlin’s statement said. President Putin conveyed his wishes to Modi for the successful conduct of the upcoming parliamentary elections. Modi is one of the few world leaders who have congratulated Putin for his re-election. Speaking to Zelenskyy, Modi assured India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, guided by its “people-centric” approach. The prime minister reiterated India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. Zelenskyy thanked India for its support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, humanitarian aid, and active participation in Peace Formula meetings. The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the partnership in various spheres. fact check unit ahead of polls Rak esh ku mar & Parvez sulta n @ New Delhi Ahead of the general elections, the gover nment on Wednesday notified the Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau to monitor content on social media tied to the Centre. The unit was notified under the 2021 IT Rules. According to the new regulation, if a government information is misrepresented on any online platform, the fact-checking unit will flag it. Social media platforms and other online intermediaries will then decide on taking down the content. If they refuse to drop the content, they risk losing the protections granted under Section 79 of the IT Act. This section provides immunity to online platforms from content posted by users and third parties. The notification comes a week after the Bombay High Court rejected a petition filed by Editors Guild of India and others against the fact checker. They argued that the regulations could lead to censorship of free speech in the country . The Editors Guild has now filed a petition before the Supreme Court. “We remain opposed to it because I don’t think that in a democratic country like us, the government alone can’t decide what is fake information,” said Editors Guild general secretary Ruben Banerjee. Political satirist Kunal Kamra, too, has moved the SC.
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