MAM
Vidya Balan brand ambassador for Samajwadi Pension Yojna
NEW DELHI: Indian film actress Vidya Balan has been made the brand ambassador for Samajwadi Pension Yojna or Samajwadi Pension Scheme by the Uttar Pradesh government aimed at empowering the State’s financially poor women.
“This (monthly) pension scheme is an important step towards women empowerment,” Balan said in Lucknow at a function organised by the State Government to announce this particular scheme and dwell on other pro-people government projects.
According to Balan, empowering women is relevant and important as womenfolk not only work for their own development, but also their whole family.
In the past also Balan had been roped in for various government initiatives at the both the Central and State levels, including those revolving around themes of importance of general cleanliness and having toilets in village homes.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, while expressing gratitude to Balan for agreeing to be associated with the scheme, said that as many more people know the film actress, the scheme is certain to get more exposure and become popular, especially in rural areas.
The Chief Minister added that he’s slowly learning the importance of effective PR activities and having celeb brand ambassadors for UP government’s initiatives, many of which, though benefitting the people, did not get the desired publicity in the media and elsewhere in the past.
Under the pension scheme the State government is proposing to directly transfer into the bank accounts of beneficiary-women of 55 lakh (550,0000) families a sum of Rs. 500 monthly.
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
