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PAGES: 68 VOL.7 | ISSUE: 4, MAY, 2019
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VOL:7 I SSUE:4 I MAY, 2019 `30 Editor A Rammohan Rao
Special Correspondent D. Bal Reddy Correspondents Mallesh Babu Mandha Ravi Kumar G.P. Nagaraju
Reporters M.Praveen Kumar, P Vishnuvardhan Reddy Photographers M Vijay S Sridhar, Shair Ali Baig Cover & Layout T. Srinivasa Rao
General Manager Mohd Nizamuddin
Chief Executive (Marketing) Venkata K Ganjam (GK) Chief - Business & LifeStyle K. Bharath Reddy Marketing Associate M. Akhil Raj Shaker
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Address for correspondance: #3-5-890, Flat No. 203, Paras Chambers, Beside Telangana Tourism Bldg, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Phone: 98481 33363, 97011 41377. email: 24thenews@gmail.com thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Printed, Published And Owned By Ramya Sree , Printed At S.M.S. Press, H.No.11-38, Pragathi Nagar, P&T Colony, Saroor Nagar, Dist Ranga Reddy – 60, Published At The News Publications, H.No.334, B, Prajay Sai Gardens, Keesara Mandal, Dist - Ranga Reddy, Telangana Editor : A Rammohan Rao
EDITORIAL
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ny person, whether he is a small businessman or a middle-class employee while taking a bank loan for development activity would be sure of using it for his progress, reap the benefit and pay back the loan in time. But unfortunately, the same cannot be said about corporate companies every time. They come up with a project that may not give expected results or it may fail and the company would get into losses. They lose the amount invested or sometimes the project never takes off. The so-called project may be just on papers while the bank funds are syphoned off. Banks and their senior officers usually see these corporates as “valued” customers and are more than excited to offer them hundreds, even thousands of crores of rupees as loans. They sanction and disburse loans to well-known corporates without a second thought. It is a common practice in our country. But when a corporate company or businessman defaults, banks in most cases “patiently” wait for them to pay or reschedule the loan. Many times bankers plead with these defaulters to clear the dues but in vain. In all these cases banks do very little, while these sharks eat into large chunks of bank’s funds, comprising mostly the hard earned money collected from the general public as deposits. There are instances where Banks are alleged to be in ‘Deliberate deep slumber’ and prefer not to cause any inconvenience to their ‘Valuable’ corporate customers but invoking any penal clauses or acts that facilitate instant recovery. That is how the total non-performing assets of banks have risen to a whopping to ₹11.2 trillion by the end of FY18 itself. In spite of the pathetic financial conditions that they slide into, banks do not reveal the names of the defaulters who owe thousands of crores rupees to them. The defaulters either live “respectable” life as usual or silently leave the country. The scene is likely to change with the Supreme court’s recent verdict. The apex court has ordered the Reserve Bank of India to disclose the list of wilful defaulters and information related to them under the Right to Information Act. Revealing the names of wilful defaulters will force them to pay dues in order to protect their corporate image. It’s high time for bank managements to introspect and streamline their lending and discloser norms. They have to learn to be protectors of public money and human values. At least with the latest Supreme court orders, we can expect banks and their officers to get out their slumber and act on business tycoons and corporates who have remained large scale defaulters for decades and at the same time stop behaving like medieval mercenaries in the case of poor and middle-class customers who approach them for banking services.
Note: Focus/Infocus features are marketing initiatives, any legal disputes comes under the jurisdiction of courts in Hyderabad
(A Rammohan Rao) THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
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CONTENT
Stooping to Sexism, Misogyny & Crass contempt 8
Russia confers top civilian honour on PM Modi
Girls top at schools 25
20
Civil services exam toppers
Sunny Deol jumps the ‘Border’
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26
Where do you find information about a bunch of young professionals in their twenties? On social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, right? Wrong.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
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CONTENT
TIME’s 100 most influential people in the world Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and publicinterest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, are among the Indians...
Subsonic cruise missile: ‘Nirbhay’ successfully test fired
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RBI warns online users & banks: New type of 46 fraud through e-Commerce Scam The biggest threat to today’s digital natives (people constantly using their digital devices for shopping and banking) is a phishing scam.
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Willful defaulters names will come out now 40 48 Twelve reasons you will live a long life
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
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POLITICS
Bollywood actor in the election fray
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SUNNY DEOL JUMPS THE ‘BORDER’
The News Bureau
urdaspur Lok Sabha constituency is again witnessing glamorous election complain. It may be one of the least developed Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab but it does not lack a fascination for Bollywood bigwigs. Having elected actor Vinod Khanna as its Member of Parliament (MP) four times from 1998 to 2014, voters are now witnessing campaign by Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, the new film star the BJP has chosen as its candidate for the constituency. He has recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. the party fielded the actor from Gurdaspur seat. The development comes days after BJP chief Amit Shah met the actor in Pune. If reports are to be believed, Shah met the actor in a bid to convince him to contest from BJP for a Lok Sabha seat in Punjab. “He (Sunny Deol) understands the pulse of people and we are certain he will prove to be a strong leader,” said Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Addressing media, Deol said,” The way my Papa worked with and supported Atal Ji, I am here today to work with and support Modi Ji. My work will do the talking.” Notably, Sunny’s father and veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra was associated with the BJP in the past. His
step- mother Hema Malini is BJP MP from Mathura. Sunny Deol, whose real name is Ajay Singh Deol, 62, was born in Sahnewal near Ludhiana in October 1956. He has done blockbuster movies such as 'Border', 'Betaab', 'Gadar - Ek Prem Katha' and 'Ghayal', replaces former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Khanna, who died in April 2017. "We will not only get to see Sunny Deol but also the evergreen hero Dharmendra (Sunny's father), his brother Bobby Deol and other members of the film fraternity during the campaign," said Jugraj Singh, a youth from Gurdaspur town. Though Vinod Khanna had his own star appeal, his actor sons, Akshay Khanna and Rahul THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Khanna, gave it a boost during campaigning. He stormed the Congress bastion on his electoral debut in 1998, defeating five-time Congress MP Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder. Khanna remained popular in the constituency despite accusations of being away from the constituency most of the time. Strangely, even during Khanna's absence from the area, his wife Kavita worked extensively in Gurdaspur. Following his death, the BJP chose Swarn Singh Salariya, a Mumbai-based millionaire businessman, as its candidate for the October 2017 bypoll, over Khanna's widow, Kavita Khanna. Salariya lost the bypoll to Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar by over 1.93 lakh votes.
POLITICS
7
Priyanka Chaturvedi:
C
Women empowerment We need to walk the talk
THE NEWS BREAU
ongress national spokesperson and media cell convenor, Priyanka Chaturvedi, resigned from the party and joined the Shiv Sena. The development came two days after she expressed her displeasure with the Congress for reinstating some leaders who had misbehaved with her at a press briefing. Chaturvedi said, “I have always been vocal about women’s empowerment and safety. But I was trolled and abused. My family was threatened. I was sad when I saw a few party leaders attack me. They were suspended earlier by the party. But by reinstating them later, I felt let down. I realised that I will fail several women if I continue. On 17th April 2019, she posted on Twitter to express her dismay about UPCC (Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee) reinstating some party workers who were earlier suspended for their unruly behaviour with her. On April 19, 2019, she joined Shiv Sena in the presence Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray. At the time of joining Shiv Sena, she expressed to work as a common Shiv Sainik under the leadership of Uddhav Thackray. Chaturvedi has a significant presence in social media and is known for defending the policies of the opposition Congress party on Twitter. She criticized Modi for not calling out Smriti Irani on lying and filing a false affidavit of her
educational credentials. Further, She took a dig at Irani by singing a parody to the theme of Irani's previous TV serial "Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" as "Kyuki Mantri Bhi Kabhi Graduate Thi" She has also been a columnist for Tehelka, Daily News and Analysis and Firstpost. As a trustee of two NGOs, she works to promote children's education, women's empowerment and health. She also runs a book review blog which is amongst the top ten weblogs on books in India. Women are all the chatter this 17th Lok Sabha elections. The electric female voter turnouts, a surfeit of hype on women's representation from the BJP and Congress, and avant-garde electoral feminisation of the BJD and TMC. Not to mention the persisting public discourse around Mayawati, Mamata, Priyanka, and now, Priyanka. Serving first as General Secretary of the Youth Congress from North-West Mumbai, and later elevated to the post of AICC THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Spokesperson, Priyanka Chaturvedi's face, tone, and tenor became synonymous with the Congress, even as she gathered a the sizeable fan following. When she quit the INC on April 19 to join the Shiv Sena after nearly a decade in the grand old party, what followed was a deluge of predictable outrage from media and social media. Both yelled foul at the reversal of ideological positions. Shorn of coloured lenses, this actually reveals just how much of her political identity she had fused into her party positions, into her designated role, as would be expected of a superlative spokesperson. Indeed, the outrage only confirms just how convincing she was as a political communicator, with her audience. Despite this success, she neither secured a Lok Sabha candidacy, nor a state level leadership role in the Congress. "I know that after leaving this press conference, I will be trolled and attacked on Twitter, questions will be raised. But I can say confidently that I have taken this step after much deliberation," Priyanka Chaturvedi said. What is real though is that there is never a cent per cent alignment of anyone with any party, and everywhere is a compromise. Viewed as a career path, this is a politically astute gambit by Priyanka. She knows well her strength: a bold national voice in politics. And in a party like Shiv Sena, she can fill the gap of grassroots connect.
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POLITICS
Leaders election campaign
Stooping to Sexism, Misogyny & Crass contempt
A. RAMMOHAN RAO
“I brought her (Jaya Prada) to Rampur. You are a witness that I did not allow anyone to touch her body. It took you 17 years to identify her real face but I got to know in 17 days that she wears khaki underpants,” senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan Khan while addressing a campaign rally in Rampur.
“When he (Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan) assumed power, we thought he might do something like men. But he has become a senseless chief minister. Even a woman would have done better. He is worse than a woman,” Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran.
T
Mocked appearance “His (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s)face was not good” because of that his wife left him said Karnataka minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan
hese are few filthy fusillades, unparliamentary comments made by leaders on their political rivals during Lok Sabha election campaign. This election season has seen unprecedented personal attacks and insulting verbal attacks on women politicians. The recent
“underwear” remark by Samajwadi Party veteran Azam Khan against his one-time colleague, and now rival, Jaya Prada has shown how low Indian political dialogue can stoop in the election season with politicians cutting across party lines indulging in crass misogyny
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
and sexism. While politicians have never had any issue with making below the belt comments, the runup to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has seen some of them cross the “red line” more frequently. Interestingly, this election season has seen personal attacks
POLITICS and verbal volleys on women politicians as never before. From calling Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi“Pappu ki pappi” to stating that BJP made Hema Malini “dance” to get votes, the frequency of such remarks have only increased as the election fever heats up. The Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan leader had stoked a controversy with an “underpants” jibe against Jaya Prada, who is fighting the Lok Sabha election 2019 from Rampur parliamentary constituency against him. In the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP Uttar Pradesh vice-president Dayashankar Singh had created a storm for saying Mayawati’s behaviour was worse than that of a prostitute while accusing the BSP supremo of selling election tickets. Despite being sacked from all party posts for six years, he shared the stage with PM Modi at several election rallies and in 2018 was reinstated as vice-president of the party in Uttar Pradesh after BJP came back to power in the state. From her dressing sense to her looks — most of the sexist jibes have been directed at Congress’ new inductee and party general secretary in-charge Priyanka Gandhi. While BJP leader Mansukh Mandaviya said that having a nose like Indira Gandhi does not make Priyanka like her grandmother, Kailash Vijayvargiya said the Congress was relying on “chocolate faces” due to a dearth of candidates. Another BJP leader Harish Dwivedi questioned the sense of dressing of the Congress leader. “Priyanka Gandhi wears jeans and top in Delhi, but when she comes to rural areas she is clad in a sari and wears sindoor,” Dwivedi said.
However, such sexist remarks have not only been targeted at women politicians. Karnataka minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appearance and said his wife left him because “his face was not good”. Last month, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said PM Modi “sounds like a blonde”. “He has white hair. But he sounds more like a blonde,” he had said. Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran called Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan “worse than a woman”.Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too has not been spared, with Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran calling the CPI(M) leader “worse than a woman”. “When he (Vijayan) assumed power, we thought he might do something like men. But he has become a senseless chief minister. Even a woman would have done better. He is worse than a woman,” Sudhakaran said. Azam Khan has been booked for his derogatory remarks against Jaya Prada, the BJP leader and his rival in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur parliamentary constituency. Khan has also been asked by the National THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
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Commission for Women to explain his comments on Sunday, which were caught on camera, against the actor-turned-politician as the BJP and Congress sought action against him. Even though the Election Commission had set an example by banning Azam Khan from campaigning for three days for the “indecent and repugnant” remarks he made against Jaya Prada and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been booked for violating the model code after he referred to Azam Khan as “Mogambo”, it has been seen in the past that such deterrence hardly works in India’s charged political scenario. While in the past, attacks on rivals used to involve remarks on ideology, government policies or even one’s religion. But comments on appearance, sexism and misogynistic salvos seem to be the “new normal” in the latest political scenario. Insulting Prime Minister and Chief Ministers in not only degrade those posts but setting a new precedent which in future may boomerang on very leaders who indulged using filthy language on opponents.
10 POLITICS
This is how tainted
politicians get elected T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he governments in our country do not seem keen on reducing the number of candidates having criminal records. Seventeen years back Supreme Court directed that candidates must declare their financial and educational status and any criminal record while contesting elections. The judgment came in the Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR) and another in 2002. But that did not go down well with political parties. The Union government brought an ordinance to nullify it. Taking a strong stand, the apex court struck down the ordinance as unconstitutional. A study by ADR reveals an interesting fact that, between 2013
and 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave tickets to 47 candidates who declared cases of crime against women pending against them, topping the list of parties fielding candidates accused of having committed crime against women. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress were on the second and third spot, giving 35 and 24 tickets respectively. We often see reports in the media noting the rise of politicians having criminal cases pending against them. Besides this, we see people talking about the need to make politics free of candidates tainted with criminal records. Despite all the awareness and discussion, why do people still vote for such candidates? According to the study by
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
ADR, in relation to voting candidates with criminal antecedents, 36.67 per cent of voters felt that they vote for such candidates because they are unaware of his/her criminal records. The study showed that 35.89 per cent of voters were also willing to vote for a candidate with criminal records if the candidate had done good work in the past. Caste and religious considerations are also a key factor for 35.23 per cent of voters in choosing candidates with criminal records. In the opinion of 34.75 per cent voters, people vote for candidates with criminal records because they feel that the cases against such candidates are not of serious nature. Money, too, plays a very important role with 34.23 per cent voters accepting that generous spending in election campaigning by the candidate is one of the key factors. A large number of voters, 72.97 per cent knew that the distribution of cash, gifts etc. is illegal and 37.25 per cent said that they were aware of instances where such inducements were offered to voters in return of their votes. Although, 97.86 per cent, voters felt that candidates with criminal backgrounds should not be in Parliament or State Assembly, only 35.20 per cent knew that they could get information on criminal records of the candidates.
POLITICS 11
A
Donations to political parties 99.8% Electoral bonds are of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 1 crore
THE NEWS BUREAU
whopping 99.8 per cent of donations received by political parties was through electoral bonds of the highest denominations Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore between March 2018 and January 24, 2019. This revealing data was obtained under the RTI Act. Donors purchased bonds worth Rs 1,407.09 crore, of which Rs 1,403.90 crore were in the highest denominations of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore during the period. A Social worker Chandrashekhar Goud shared the data received from State Bank of India (SBI) through an RTI query. The donors bought 1,459 electoral bonds of denomination of Rs 10 lakh and 1,258 bonds of Rs one crore denomination. They purchased 318 bonds of Rs one lakh, 12 bonds of Rs 10,000 and 24 bonds of Rs 1000 denomination, according to the RTI reply. The BJP government has introduced three major changes since in the mechanics of political funding in India- political parties can now receive foreign funds; any company can donate any amount of money to any political party; and any individual, group of people or the company can donate money anonymously to any party through electoral bonds. All three provisions, it has been argued, instead of increasing transparency, have made the process even more opaque than earlier. Of
course, the government has finally yielded to the long-standing demand of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to lower the limit for anonymous cash donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000, but this provision, its critics argue, will not change anything on the ground. However, both the Congress and the BJP have benefitted from this year's Finance Bill, which made an amendment with retrospective effect to validate any foreign funds received by any political party since 1976. In 2014, the Delhi High Court had found both the parties guilty of accepting donations from a foreign company, in breach of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010, the newer version of the now repealed FCRA, 1976. The modification of the definition of a "foreign company" rendered the verdict null and void. With the amendment, the Modi government has ensured that funds received by political parties since 1976 cannot be investigated, a stand that has made even the EC uneasy. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Foreign funds in elections are a controversial issue across the world. In France, former president Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated over allegations that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi funded his 2007 campaign. The controversy over Russia influencing Donald Trump's presidential campaign in the US is one of the most recent ones. Fortunately, Indian elections have so far remained free of any known foreign influence, but there is no denying that money, especially unaccounted cash flowing from groups and individuals with business interests, has often played a sinister role in the campaigns of candidates. And, according to experts and the opposition parties, the removal of a cap on corporate donations and the introduction of electoral bonds have further strengthened corporate influence in political decisionmaking. Among the known sources of donations to parties, between 2012 and 2016, corporate contributions formed a staggering 89 per cent of the total funds.
12 COVER STORY
Twenty plus students committed suicide
INTERMEDIATE INTERMEDIATE
IGNOMINY!
BY D.BAL REDDY & A.RAMMOHAN RAO
S
uicides in a way are murders. Murders committed by people who hurt, insult, deprive, exploit few defenceless, innocent, weak individuals. This is true in the case twenty-one teenagers who took their lives for goof up of irresponsible government officials, politi-
cians. This is the latest human tragedy in Telangana state which attracted the attention of the country. Boys and girls who wrote Intermediate exams expected respectable marks and at least get through were given mark sheets which present them miserable failures. Because of this on one side a massive uproar has surfaced in Telangana with Hyderabad as a THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
centre and other side innocent teens in many districts have committed suicides. The government could not even respond for a full four days to this tragedy and officials in Board of Intermediate Education(TSBIE) hoodwinked that “..there were no mistakes.” The responsible BIE and Education department even to the extent that “..mistakes happen every year.”
As many as 3,82,534 students took the second-year exam, of whom 2,47,755 passed. Many students who scored over 90% in the firstyear exams were found to have completely failed the second-year tests. About 300,000 students of both years of study were ‘declared’ as failed. There were innumerable complaints of students being awarded zero, one or two marks in various subjects. A large number of worried students and parents stated that they were unable to apply for reverification, revaluation or recounting of answer sheets online as the website was not functioning. Some parents said their children are meritorious and expressed shock that they “failed” in the intermediate exams or had scored very less marks This has lead to students and their parents protesting over the alleged blunders committed by the Board. The protest has garnered an overwhelming amount of support from several quarters across the state. For days together huge gathering assembled near the Board premises in Hyderabad demanding justice for those declared ‘failed’ in the Intermediate exams. Many student unions both of Right and left wing have supported them and
This year Inter first and secondyear exams were conducted during February and March and the results were announced on April 18. Results announced by the TSBIE has shocked thousands of students with large-scale irregularities seen in the mark sheets. This year, a total of 4,09,133 students appeared for the first-year exam in regular format, of whom 2,47,407 passed. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
COVER STORY 13
gave it a shape of agitation. They also continued their agitation over the results debacle by staging a dharna outside the official residence and camp office of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao(KCR). They demanded action against the TSBE and officials responsible in a private agency with alleged political links with top TRS leader for the colossal blunder. Students questioned why no probe has still been ordered against the BIE. When mistakes were committed even during the evaluation process, ordering a probe only on Globarena Technologies doesn't make sense. An independent body should be formed and thorough inquiry is conducted. There is also a need to completely revamp the intermediate board they demanded. Meanwhile there were series of suicides intermediate first and second-year students in many districts of Telangana. After four days of agitation and suicides, the Chief Minister has reviewed the situation for about two-hour with senior officials and has announced free reevaluation for the failed Intermediate exams ordered that reverification be completed as early as possible so that students’ academic year is not lost. Students
14 COVER STORY
who have passed the exam scoring low marks can apply for a re-verification and re-count at a cost. “No student should resort to committing suicide as failing in the intermediate exam does not mean life has come to an end,” KCR said. But by the time CM could respond the state has witnessed 19 students ending their lives owing to the discrepancies from the Board. As parents and political parties hit the streets, protesting alleged bungling in the publication of intermediate exam results, the CM has also announced a committee to look into the matter. A threemember committee was appointed by Chief Minister KCR to look into the matter and suggest remedies has probed among other aspects if the Globarena Technologies, which provided technical and software support to TSBIE, carried out its functions as mandated in the agreement. The committee has submitted its report to state education secretary B Janardhan Reddy. In its report accepted the error in result process but said: "It’s magnitude, scale, and nature doesn't vitiate the result". It also accepted the fact that because of "bubbling error in the OMR sheet", correct marks were not awarded by the software. The protesting students and their unions stated that it was not
Inter students suicides
Tragedy thrusted upon
T
Sireesha
S. Jyothi
ragedy hit twenty plus families in Telangana. The whole of the state mourn for their loss of loved ones. Twenty-one teenage students have ended their lives after the release of the Intermediate results in the sate. Many more are in depression. These suicides have become the highest number of suicides recorded post-Intermediate results in the state over the past four years. In 2018, six student suicides were reported after the results were announced. Some of these students were those who expected to fare well but found that they had been given low marks, or were declared failed. In some cases, mark sheets show that they were ‘absent’. As the government muddling with the situation, students and opposition parties fighting for justice the families of these students are now ruing over what could have been. They are in deep sorrow and wishing things could have been different if people in responsible positions with concerned institutions behaved responsibly. Looking at the case of these nine students, one will agree with those parents. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Naveen
S. JYOTHI, (17): She was CEC stream student of Vivekananda Junior college in Chevelle. She was confident of results. But has failed in secondyear civics subject. Which she could not take. Jyothi set herself on fire. She dies while died on the way to Osmania hospital. Jyothi's family hails from Shabad Mandal, Warangal district. Her mother Lavanya said, “She could not take the low marks. She was very confident that she would top. I do odd jobs but wanted her to study.” Banoth Naveen (17): This inter the first-year student has jumped in front of a ‘running train on April 23 between Nekkonda Innekanti stations in Warangal Rural district. Naveen had failed in all subjects in the Intermediate first-year exams. Naveen has ended his life after his father refused to pay the fee for the supplementary examination. His father Venkanna, a farmer in Redlawada, Since he failed, his father asked him to come to the fields and work with him. This upset Naveen. “T reacted sternly after he told me that he had failed in all the subjects. I never expected that
Mithi
he would take such an extreme step. He argued with me but I asked him to go to work in our field. He left the house and did not return. I expected he would come home and I would have given him the money after getting an assurance that he would concentrate on his studies.” Sireesha( 17): First-year Intermediate student Sireesha from Danwada in Narayanpet district ended her life by immolating herself after dousing herself in kerosene. She was a BPC student. She went into depression after results were out as she failed in zoology. While she was alone at home she immolated herself after dousing herself in kerosene. As she could not bear the pain she jumped from the top floor and died on the spot. Mithi(17): Second interstudent has failed in two subjects. Was sure of getting through. When found failed in results announced she was deeply depressed. She has ended her life by hanging. T. Vennela, (18): She consumed rat poison and killed herself after learning that she had failed in two subjects in the first year. Her family is from ARP Camp, Yedappally father said, “She was an average student in
her studies. We didn’t expect her to take this extreme step. Dharma Ram, (17): A bright student, he was very confident of his performance but the low score in maths left him shattered. The results were declared at 5.30 pm on April 18. Two hours later, he jumped from the seventh floor of a building in Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad Ruchitha(17): She killed herself by hanging after she failed in two subjects. Ruchitha had got good marks in the Intermediate first year. She was expecting equally good marks. Her family is from Kamareddy district. Seeing that she had failed in two subjects she could not handle the fact and killed herself, he said. Arutla Anamika (16): She secured 80 per cent in Telugu in Class 10 but got 20 marks Intermediate first year. She committed suicide at her grandmother’s home in Bansilalpet, Secunderabad. \She was confident all the while. After the results, her family told her that they will apply for revaluation if she has doubts. She agreed. She scored well in the other subjects and her overall percentage was above 75. Bhanu Kiran (19): When his family members saw a fail mark on his marks list, they thought that something must have gone wrong with the paper correction and not with his performance. But Kiran has decided to end his life as his cousin had passed the exam. He was a sensitive teen. But they did not think that he would take the extreme step as he was a bright student. Kiran jumped out of a running train two days after the results were declared. He had gone to meet his cousin. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
COVER STORY 15
enough to bring relief to the parents and the students, further demanding the suspension of TSBIE Secretary A Ashok Kumar over the publication of error-ridden results. And they demanded that all students who apply for recounting and verification should be allowed without any fee. Pointing out that the Chief Minister's response came in after a week, they questioned as to why no probe has been initiated against the BIE. As distressed students, their parents continued their agitation opposition party leaders joined them. Students and parents staged a dharna outside Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence-cum-camp office of the CM, and demanded action against those responsible. It took 19 deaths and almost a week's time for the chief minister to take note of the issue that affected lakhs of students. Just announcing free re-evaluation will not bring any relief to parents and students or build their confidence in the current government or inter board said, parents Angry parents also organised protests in front of Globarena's office on Banjara Hills Road No 12 and asked how the firm could be so negligent and allow such errors to slip in. "Globarena along with the board officials has played with the
16 COVER STORY
lives of lakhs of students. If they were aware of the possibility of such errors cropping up, they should have resolved them before announcing the results instead of releasing them and creating unrest among students and their parents" said a parent who protested outside the Globarena office. A day after the committee submitted its report to the state government, the TSBE, which is at the centre of a row over goof-up in declaring results of the intermediate examination suspended a teacher and imposed a fine on another for giving a student '0' marks instead of '99'. But in spite of the three-man
committee clearly finding errors in inter results government not taking action on TSBE & Globarena lead to anger among students, parents. Opposition launches protest: The Opposition parties in including BJP, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party and Congress launched a protest against the state government on in the last week of April. The protest was organised after 21 students committed suicide in the state after failing in the intermediate exams. This has become the highest number of suicides recorded post-Intermediate results in the state over the past four years. In 2018, six student sui-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
cides were reported after the results were announced. While more than 1,000 leaders from various political parties, including L Ramana of TDP, Mohammed Ali Shabbir and V. Hanumantha Rao of Congress and M Kodandaram of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) were taken into preventive custody. An indefinite hunger strike was also launched by the BJP state unit chief K Laxman demanding judicial probe, removal of education minister Guntakandla Jagdishwar Reddy and sacking of secretary of Board of Intermediate Education. Just before we went press the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Telangana government over the reported goof-up in the intermediate exam results which allegedly led 18 students to commit suicide since March this year. The commission said it has taken cognisance on its own over media reports that 18 students, who had failed in the examinations conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education, have allegedly committed suicide amid massive protests in the state.
FOR THE PEOPLE 17
D. BAL REDDY
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Opportunism is thriving in elections
e Indians are rich in logic but why do we often fail to take the important issues to their logical conclusions? Look at the story of India’s past 70 years. It is going through a phase of intense trials. There are some who think that we wasted all these years, while others consider this period productive and fruitful. Debate and discussions are the essential elements of democracy but only if they reach some productive results. In fact, we were plagued by this disease right in the initial moments of independence on 15 August 1947. ‘The idea of India’ which was mentioned by Jawaharlal Nehru while giving shape to India’s independence was eclipsed by black fever the moment it came into being. Reason? No matter howsoever sentimental people are about the concept of nationalism in this diverse country when it comes to voting, they always choose their cultural identity first. Therefore, our elections have become deeply focused on castes, communities, languages, dialects and regions. During this election for the 17th Lok Sabha, you will find that all electoral equations are based on these very fundamental elements. Take for example the case of Shiv
Sena. It’s chief Uddhav Thackeray never let go of any opportunity to humiliate the BJP government in the last five years, but he also got the seats he wanted. The same story was repeated in Behar. Of course, BJP has no special affection for Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan of Bihar or Thackeray from Maharashtra. The underlying fact is the BJP wants to win as many seats as it can and it does not want to take any risks. Congress, the main rival of the BJP, made the same efforts but had to work harder. It faced no problems in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra but is now forced to contest alone in Uttar Pradesh, once its stronghold. In Bihar too, Congress had to cope with tantrums of old ally Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav. The Congress wanted to contest 11 seats while Yadav was ready to give eight seats at the most. Besides, he was leaving only those constituencies which, going by social equations, were not going to help the UPA much. Finally, Congress got nine seats there. Why do national parties prove to be so helpless? The answer is clear. Regional parties and personalities have given so much importance to regional or caste-based
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
aspirations that national parties are compelled to strike a compromise with them. BJP is contesting elections in the name of Narendra Modi while the Congress wants to move ahead under the patronage of the Nehru-Gandhi family. This tendency of electoral politics keeps making the dangers of political blackmailing denser after every election. The Congress party, which has had the longest stint in power at the centre under the leadership of Nehru and Indira always had the support of regional leaders, including K. Kamaraj, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, S. Nijalingappa, Ajay Kumar Mukherjee, Yashwant Rao Chavan and Devkant Barooah. It is another thing that such personalities faded gradually as the cult of hero worship started growing. Regional leaders of today are the successors of these very leaders but now they prefer to arrive at compromises with the national parties on their own terms instead of remaining under their influence. No one denies that every region should get representation in a pluralistic country, but when compromises are based on opportunism, they do not prove to be beneficial for democracy.
18 THE NATION
Yogi makes mafia dons lose clout in elections in UP F
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or the first time in perhaps four decades, criminals are taking a backseat in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and it is the Yogi Adityanath government that deserves credit for this. The crackdown on criminals by the Yogi government has forced a majority of the mafia dons to keep a low profile in the elections, especially after the daylight murder of mafia don Munna Bajrangi inside Baghpat jail in July last year.
BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said: "It is mainly due to the iron hand of the Yogi government that criminals have gone back into their shell. If they were earlier active in politics, it was because the then governments were encouraging them." While political parties are not exactly shying away from fielding candidates with criminal antecedents but they are certainly maintaining a distance from established mafia candidates. Erstwhile mafia don Hari Shankar Tiwari has given up on electoral politics due to advancing age but his sons Bhisham Shankar Tiwari and Vinay Tiwari are active in electoral politics. His sons are in BSP. Mafia don Mukhtar Ansari, presently a legislator in the state Assembly is keeping away from elections. Mukhtar Ansari is lodged in jail since 2005 on charges of the murder of a BJP MLA Krishnand Rai.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Mafia don Brijesh Singh, who is lodged in Varanasi jail, has also not made any efforts to field his relatives in the Lok Sabha elections. He has been maintaining a low profile since the Adityanath government came to power. A member of the UP Legislative Council, Brijesh Singh now avoids attending sessions of the state legislature too. Independent legislator and former Minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh a.k.a. Raja Bhaiyya, however, has floated his own party called Jansatta Dal and is fielding candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. Raja Bhaiyya was jailed under POTA in 2003 during the Mayawati regime. He served as Minister in the Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh governments and also in Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav governments. Mafia don Ateeq Ahmad, with 42 criminal cases against him, is also present in jail. His supporters are in touch with smaller parties. If he manages to get a ticket, he will contest from Allahabad. According to former Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh, Vikram Singh, who played a key role in the formation of the Special Task Force in the state in 1998, the increasing number of youth voters and the growing reach of social media has checked criminalization of politics in the state to a large extent. "Candidates are now required to declare their criminal cases and the information goes viral on the net within no time. This is serving as a deterrent," he said.
THE NATION 19
Plea in Supreme Court
Let women offer namaz inside mosques
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he country’s highest court is to hear about a petition pleading that Muslim women are allowed to enter and offer namaz inside mosques. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Yasmeen Zuber Ahmad Peerzade and her husband Zuber Ahmad Nazir Ahmad Peerzade. Moving the plea, the Muslim couple asked the apex court to declare the prohibition on entry of women inside mosques in the country as “illegal and unconstitutional” as it violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The petitioners added that “the act of prohibition of females from entering The mosque is void and unconstitutional as such practices are n o t
only repugnant to the basic dignity of a woman as an individual but also violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution” Pointing out that there was no mention of any gender segregation in either Quran or Hadith, the couple’s counsel Ashutosh Dubey said: “....such practices are not only repugnant to the basic dignity of a woman as an individual, but also violative of their fundamental rights...” The petition has arraigned the Union government, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Central Wakf Council, the Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs and All India Muslim Personal Law Board as parties to the case. The petitioners said that there were no records stating that the Quran and Prophet Muhammad opposed women entering mosques and offering prayers, and in fact, men and women have equal constitutional rights to worship, according to their beliefs. At present, women are allowed to offer prayers at mosques under the Jamaat-eIslami and Mujahid denominations but they are barred from mosques under the predominant Sunni faction, said the petition. The petition also mentioned that in
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
mosques where women are allowed, there are separate entrances and enclosures for worship for the two genders. The petition said that there should not be any gender discrimination at all and that all Muslim women should be allowed to pray in all mosques, cutting across denominations. The petition also alluded to the practice in Mecca, where “the faithful, both men and women, together circumambulate the Kaaba”. Besides, most sacred mosques in the world equally embrace both men and women, the petitioners said. To support their argument, the petitioners cited the recent Supreme Court judgement allowing the entry of women in Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple. “The the honourable court in the case of Sabarimala held that ‘religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women as it is against human dignity’. Prohibition on women is due to non-religious reasons and it is a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries,” the petitioners said A bench of Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer wanted to know if the protection of Article 14, that ensures equality before the law for all, also applies against individuals. The court sought to know if a mosque, temple or church can be treated as a state, adding that Article 14 refers to state action The bench was not satisfied with the replies by the counsel for the petitioners and made it clear that it was hearing him only because of the Sabarimala verdict. “The only reason we may hear you is because of our judgment in the Sabarimala temple case,” the bench said.
20 THE NATION
P
Russia confers top civilian honour on PM Modi
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rime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded Russia’s highest civilian award, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, for his efforts to promote the strategic partnership between Russia and India. This is his second international award this month, and the seventh since he assumed office in May 2014. Earlier this month, Modi was awarded the Zayed Medal — the United Arab Emirates’ highest civilian award — as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations. First established in 1698, the award was abolished under the Soviet Union but re-established in 1998. The Order was established by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a single class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit. Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order. Until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. During the monarchy, recipients of the Order of St. Andrew also automatically received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the White Eagle, the Order of St. Anne first class, and the Order St. Stanislaus first class. The first post-revolutionary presentation was to HH Prince Georgy Konstantinovich of Russia on attaining his dynastic majority in April 1923. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called is used to award prominent statesmen and public figures, eminent representatives of science, culture, the arts and various industries for exceptional services, for promoting the prosperity, grandeur and glory of Russia. The Order may also be awarded to foreign heads of states for outstanding service to the Russian Federation. The Order of St Andrew the Apostle is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures and representatives of science, culture, arts and various other fields for their exceptional service in promoting the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia, said the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. Among the foreign awardees are the President of China Xi Jinping, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Presi-
dent of the Republic of Azerbaijan Geydar Aliev. The External Affairs Ministry said the prime minister has been conferred the highest civilian award of Russia by presidential order. “The award signifies the special and enduring strategic partnership between India and Russia marked by exceptional warmth and friendship extending to our peoples,” it added Unlike the original Imperial institution, the modern Order does not have special robes nor strict rules regulating its wearing. The collar, the sash and the star of the Imperial Order was only worn with uniform or full evening dress; the insignia are nowadays may be worn on lounge suits and at least one recipient was seen wearing the order dressed in lounge suit without a tie, something that would be unheard of during the Imperial
THE NATION 21
era. The collar of the original Order was worn across the shoulders; modern recipients tend to wear it as a chain around the neck. The ceremony is usually held at the St Andrew Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, but given the elections in India, it is unclear when Modi will travel to Russia to receive the award. “Honoured to receive this prestigious award,” Modi tweeted in response.“I thank President Putin and the people of Russia. Foundations of IndiaRussia friendship is deep and the future of our partnership is bright. Extensive cooperation between our nations has led to extraordinary outcomes for our citizens… President Putin remains a source of great strength for the India-Russia friendship. Under his visionary leadership, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our nations has scaled new heights.”
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22 THE NATION
Unemployment major issue
Jobless says Modi can best deal with it
U
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nemployment is the biggest issue for the voters across the board. The job crisis has come back as the biggest issue as most voters had identified national security as their major concern in the surveys just after the air strike on Balakot in Pakistan. Unemployed across the nation are of the opinion that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the best bet to deal with the issue. The latest CVOTER-IANS poll tracker survey showed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is most preferred among the unemployed. The survey was carried out
across a wide cross-section of society from the unemployed to housewives, land-owning farmers, landless agricultural labour, government servants, private employees and self-employed. For obvious reasons, 34.8 per cent of jobless respondents identified unemployment as the most important problem. But 27.4 per cent of private employees, 25.5 per cent of self-employed and 20.5 per cent of housewives also said that unemployment was the main problem. Only 0.4 per cent of the unemployed said that national security was the main problem. In fact, national security gets less than one per cent traction
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
across various segments of society. But terror attacks continue to be a concern for 10.4 per cent among unemployed, 13.6 per cent landowning farmers saw it as a major issue and 14.3 per cent government servants saw it as the main problem. Apart from unemployment, family income and poverty are major issues for the jobless, housewives and landless labourers. The survey found that a majority of the unemployed youth who mention employment as their biggest concern identifies the BJP as the party that can best manage the issue. 42.1 per cent of the unemployed said they prefer the BJP.
GUEST COLUMN 23
DR TANGELLA SIVA PRASAD REDDY
Voters deleted. New voters 'restricted'. ‘Midnight polling’
T
Was TS Assembly elections ‘free & fair’?
his is the question haunting many in the state. It is likely as one witness the recent Assembly Elections held in December- 2018 & General Elections-2019 being held. The 324, People Representation Act, various Judgements by Supreme Court and some High courts have clearly mandated The Election Commission Of India(ECI) of its constitutional duties in conducting ‘A Free & Fair Election’ a vitality for any Democracy. Supreme Court's(SC) Intervention on 15/4/2019 reminding ECI of it's Constitutional Powers Vested in vis-a-vis ‘Free & Fair’ election -MCC(Model Code Of Conduct) is still in the public memory!. SC was very categorical & clear on ECI's vacillation in due discharge of its duties. Then, how Independent ECI is & Elections conducted are being-Free & Fair? In this context, we need to look at certain facts pertaining to constitutional violations in Telangana State Elections with pieces of legal evidence against ECI and
TCEO(Telangana Chief Electoral Officer) from September 2018 to date. Series of constitutional violations have begun well before Assembly elections held during December last year. First of it was preponing Telangana Assembly election process from 30th Nov. 2018 (Last Date for appeals) with Adult Franchise(New Enrollments) – 1st Jan. 2019(Implied that Final Electoral list will be in JanFeb,2019 & Elections in 2019!) to 25th Sept. 2018 by Deferring/Changing ‘Election Notification dated 1st Sept. 2018” by Telangana Chief Electoral Officer(TCEO) without any Constitutional Validation. A New Notification dated 8th Sept. 2018(Adult Franchise to 1st Jan 2018 from 1st Jan2019) has replaced 1st Sept. 2018 Notification. This decision affected the voting rights of Lakhs of Prospective new voters who attain 18years of age as on the first day of 2019. They have lost right of electing the representatives of their
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
choice & party to Constituent Assembly. Right to franchise thus selectively discriminated as eligibility was granted for parliament elections denying same to Assembly. Even Draft and Final Rolls were in question. Thus, even affecting verification of bogus votes. The entire process is restricted to a few weeks from 120 days and rolls allowing all eligible voters to exercise their Right to Franchise Jeopardised. Second Constitutional Violation: On Early Elections in 2018attributes inference to Election Commission Of India. Caretaker Chief Minister KCR also announce the details of the polling process by saying that notification will come in October-1st week & results in December 1st week alongside a schedule of 2 the tier election process in Madhya Pradesh. His confidence on early elections was evident in announcing Assembly Candidates and his election campaign from the first week of Sept. 2018 onwards. Chief Commis-
24 GUEST COLUMN
sioner-ECI on record condemned caretaker CM-KCR's attributes to ECI & stated that SC also held that Elections should be held within 6 months from the date of dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. In that case, too-Elections to Telangana Assembly should have been held in March- Aril,2019. Though ECI has condemned Caretaker CM himself deciding and announcing election date he finally preponed to December 2018. The ECI and TCEO silently went ahead with the election process. This was action advantaging party in power while depriving other parties in opposition & others. A party in ruling with all machinery at its disposal stood benefitted at the cost of a'Free and Fair’ elections. The ECI or TCEO did not cite any reasons vis-a-vis Constitutional Crisis nor Administrative paralysis in Telangana except advantaging the party in power in Telangana when the full tenure of 1st Telangana Assembly is to expire in 2019. Still, Electoral Process was curtailed & completed in few weeks from 4-5 months. This has resulted in unprecedented denial of voting rights & new enrollments to all eligible. All the while both TCEO/ECI exhorted that pool proof arrangements are in place Caretaker CM-KCR’s Voter Registration was there in two places is in public domain raising questions. TCEO Mr Rajat Kumar’s open admission on a live show on the day before polls and after polls is a clear indication of serious Constitutional Violations in conducting ‘Free & Fair Election’. If TCEO/ECI makes the public entire webcasting or video recording of all booths(as claimed by TCEO)for the truth to prevail.No complaints from the opposition were addressed
inspite of evidences-Hon’ble High Court had to intervene twice. On Polling Day (7th Dec. 2018) a large number of Voters did not find their names in the voters' list and were denied their right to cast vote across Telangana. Polling Percentages announced only after more than 24 hours after polls. Opposition Candidates request for VVPAT Counting or recounting & complaint on EVMs not registered by RO's, DEOs, TCEO. Discrepancies in votes polled & votes to be counted. Counting too with mobile like devices depriving & denying opposition candidates counting agents their right to understand the latest process. This no doubt is violation affecting Free & Fair election indeed. New Ministry Sworn In. Still, no Information on Action taken nor Any direction from ECI/TCEO. Vindication my complaint on constitutional violations TCEO, Rajat Kumar too acknowledges in public domain that many Eligible couldn’t vote. Off Late Shocking revelations of Mid-Night Mystery(a news story carried by a local daily) pertaining to events on(7th Dec 2018) Polling day has brought out some more constitutional violations to light and raised fresh doubts on free & fair elections. Polling percentages THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
have Sky Rocketed after 5 PM on Assembly elections on midnight of the polling day throughout Telangana. With details of 17A(voters) & 17C(EVMs) alongside Video Footages(Webcasting too) of respective polling booths would only bring out the truth. It is also needed to have forensic appraisals of the same-17A and 17C registers. Human Inventions pre-programmed for a specific purpose can parallel the human brain itself? 21 Opposition Political Parties petitioned ECI & as it was unrelenting had to approach SC on conducting Elections with Ballot Paper. There too ECI files an affidavit stating that counting of 50% VVPATs in each constituency takes 5-6 days. Then, how much time it used to take when Ballot Papers were counted before? If EVM is superior to a ballot paper-why should it take more time? What if it is delayed by a day or two in counting 100% VVPATs if at all- is it not in the interest of the people participatory democracy and free & fair elections. It’s high time democraticminded people, organizations and politicians start working to protect and help sustain the spirit of Constitutional Democracy. (The author is s Senior independent Journalist )
EDUCATION 25
Girls top at schools
Both in enrolment & dropouts rate I
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n India, 98% of primary schoolage girls were actually enrolled, as opposed to 97% boys, according to figures adjusted for 2009-18. The enrolment rate of girls is higher than that of boys in Indian schools at both primary and secondary levels. Worldwide, the rate of enrolment of girls is lower than that of boys at primary school, and equal at the secondary level. This emerges out of the newly released State of World Population 2019 report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), other findings of which were published last week. In India, 98% of primary school-age girls were actually enrolled, as opposed to 97% boys, according to figures adjusted for 2009-18. Worldwide, this compares with 90% female enrolment and 92% male enrolment, so that India’s gender parity index is 1.01 to the world’s 0.98. Data from the State of World Population 2019 report of the UNFPA.At the secondary school level, India’s female and male enrolment rates are lower than the worldwide 66% for both genders. However, India’s female enrolment (62%) is once again higher than male enrolment (61%), giving it a gender parity index (1.01) that is higher than the worldwide index of 1.0.Among India’s neighbours, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka score high in enrolment at both levels of school education.
The number of girls enrolling in schools has increased in the country, thanks to several schemes and better awareness, however, getting them to finish school continues to be a problem. Going by the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the number of out-of-school girls in India has gone down from 10.3 per cent in 2006 to 4.1 per cent in 2019. According to the latest Child Rights and You (CRY) report, however, only one in every three schoolgoing children in the country pass class 12 at an appropriate age. A World Bank report 2018 states that globally nine in 10 girls complete their primary education THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
(till class 5) but only three in four complete their lower secondary education (till class 10). In India, too, the highest drop-out rates are seen in classes 8 and 9 — around the age when a girl hits puberty. According to experts in the education sector, puberty makes a lot of difference for girl students. They say many parents do not feel comfortable sending their daughters to school after they hit puberty. Girls themselves are not comfortable either. This is because of the myths and social perceptions around it. Schools are often far away from home and many schools in rural areas do not have separate toilets for girls.
26 EDUCATION
Civil services exam toppers
EnginEErS. STUdiEd abroad. no SoCiaL MEdia. W
THE NEWS EDUCATION DESK
here do you find information about a bunch of young professionals in their twenties? On social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, right? Wrong. Most of the toppers of the UPSC Civil Services Examination held last year had one thing in common. They all stayed away from social media, to avoid “distractions” and stay focused on their preparation. Many of them even deactivated their social media accounts. So, at first attempt, it is difficult to find them online.“I considered it a waste of my time. I deactivated my Facebook and
Twitter accounts. I am on Instagram but checked it only rarely, and then too, I only connected with a few people close to me,” said Kanishak Kataria, the all-India topper from Jaipur.Fourth-rank holder Shreyans Kumat, also from Rajasthan, did the same. So did Srushti Jayant Deshmukh from Bhopal (Rank 5) and Varneet Negi from Bilaspur (Rank 13).Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur from Hubli, the topper from Karnataka with the all-India rank 17, did not even use a smartphone. “I now have a smartphone and started using it,” he told However, Tanmay Vashistha Sharma, a 26-year-old IPS officer who ranked 10th, said he used THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
some social media platforms. “Not Twitter, but I used Facebook to follow pages of newspapers. And also, YouTube — the Rajya Sabha proceedings on YouTube is very good for preparation for the civil services exam,” he said. Akshat Jain from Jaipur, who came second, said he used WhatsApp “only because there were study groups there”, and about five minutes of Facebook “for refreshment”. “I never posted anything. After long hours of studying, my five minutes of Facebook was only for refreshment,” he said. The toppers share another common link — at least 27 of the top 50 are engineers, including
EDUCATION 27
graduates from the IITs (five from IIT-Mumbai) as well as BITS-Pilani and NIT-Surathkal. Equally conspicuous is the absence of MBAs from the list. Also, many of them gave up their careers in the private sector to be a part of India’s administrative elite. Kataria, for example, worked with Samsung, in South Korea, for over a year. Kumat worked with Ernst and Young for a couple of years before deciding to prepare for the civil services examination. Also in the list are Namrata Jain (Rank 12), an electronics engineer from Maoist-affected Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. Pujya Priyadarshini (Rank 11) worked with Pricewaterhouse Coopers and is currently with the Reliance Foundation. Ankit (Rank 34), from Panipat, worked with Honda. And Tanmay Vashistha Sharma was with Goldman Sachs before deciding to join the administration. Varneet Negi was with Power Grid Corporation earlier. “But I resigned and decided to try
for the civils,” he said. Barring the engineers, the other toppers have a varied background. Junaid Ahmed, who came third, is from Aligarh Muslim University; Kerala topper Sreelakshmi R, with all-India rank 29, graduated from the London School of Economics; Priyadarshini, daughter of former MEA Secretary Dnyaneshwar Mulay, is an alumnus of Columbia University; Saloni Khemka from Bihar (Rank 27) studied philosophy at Bryn Mawr College in the US. There are at least two lawyers from the National Law University, Delhi Vaishali Singh from Delhi (Rank 8) and Rangashree T K from Tamil Nadu (Rank 50) — one from ILS Law College, Pune — Manisha Awhale (Rank 8). “I am going to be the first IAS officer from my village of Saikheda and the first woman IAS officer from my district,” said Awhale, from Washim district of Maharashtra. Atirag Chaplot from Udaipur THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
(Rank 15) is a chartered accountant; Rishita Gupta (Rank 18) is an English Literature graduate from Kirori Mal College in Delhi; Ankur Kaushik (Rank 37) is an amateur poet and an avid Quora user — he answers questions on UPSC preparations. Some are children of bureaucrats — Kataria’s father is an IAS officer posted in Rajasthan; Priyadarshini’s father was Secretary, MEA; Akshat Jain’s father is a CBI Joint Director while his mother is a senior IRS officer; Gunjan Dwivedi (Rank 9) from Lucknow is the daughter of a retired IPS officer; Deeksha Jain (Rank 22) from Delhi is the daughter of an IPS officer. Trupti Dhodmise (Rank 16), daughter of primary school teachers in Pune; Hemant Keshav Patil (Rank 39), an engineer and the son of a farmer from Palghar in Maharashtra; and Alok Kumar (Rank 41), from Sultanpur, who also hails from a farmer’s family.
28 EDU VOICE
PROF. G. NARSIMULU
Are TS universities losing relevance?
A
Educated turning unemployable
t the beginning of the new financial year 2019-20 it was bad payday for major universities in Telangana including Osmania University. The salaries to teaching and non-teaching and pensions were not paid up till 4th April 2019. After this, the university could able to mobilise internal funds and paid the salaries to the employees. It’s not a one-time problem or failure of university authorities. Every month they struggle to of paying staff salaries and meet the other expenditure for the smooth running of institutions. Difficulties for universities heads are because Telangana government is not providing block grants in time. It has become a constant struggle to mobilise funds to meet the salaries of the staff simply because the government is releasing only 60 to 75 per cent of the salary part and the rest of it has to meet the internal resources of the university. Asper UGC the thrust areas of the university include Teaching,
Research and Extension. The society will benefit new innovations and research outcomes from the universities. The students and teaching community will adapt to the nearby community to the university and provide knowledge to the deprived groups in society. The financial assistance given to the universities by the government is viewed as long term investments on Human Resource’s development. Every year the welfare states should allocate at least ten per cent of the budget to the education sector. But in reality, the allocation to education by centre and states never reached ten percentage in India. The new and progressive Telangana state is also not different. Moreover in Telangana state budget allocation at the beginning of the financial year and actual releases are very much different. The state government in Telangana aiming to provide free compulsory education from KG to PG for students from weaker deprived THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
and minority classes by establishing Gurukula schools and colleges and providing funds and encouraging students to acquire necessary skills and leadership traits. Whereas the higher education sector the government is not showing interest in providing funds and teaching and non-teaching staff in eleven state-funded universities. Asper the UGC a university is eligible to get funds from the central funding agency when it has sufficient teaching and non-teaching staff. But looking at the universities in Telangana one can find that there was no recruitment from last ten years, For example in prestigious Osmania University, is being run with just four to five hundred teaching staff when it is supposed to have 1200 staff as per UGC norms. The state council of higher education Telangana state submitted minimus requirement of the total teaching staff in all universities as identified to 1601. But the govern-
ment has sanctioned only 1061 in the year 2018 and issued a notification to that effect. The university wise breakup as follows; Osmania 415, Kakatiya 136, Mahatma Gandhi 34, palmuru 63 Sathavahana 59, Telangana 59, Dr Ambedkar 10, RGUKD 96, JNTUH 186 and JNTU FA 15. Due to administrative and technical problems the appointment to the universities are not yet completed so till now. The contract and part-time teaching staff are taking classes at present. Due to this conducive conditions of teaching, research and extension are confined only to records. For the next academic year 2019-20 the state council of higher education is conducting common entrance examinations for admissions into Postgraduates courses to all state universities. Osmania University is assigned to conduct common entrance. Looking at the intake of the students to the PG courses to newly started universities and Osmania and Kakatiya universities, since from the inception one can easily find the majority of the students hail from the weaker, deprived sections society and from rural areas. Most of them are firstgeneration students. The actual functions of these so-called institutions of government-funded could only produce Graduates and Post Graduates and looking at the competency level it was very poor compared to students from private universities. The more educated youth coming out from these universities are becoming unemployed and burden not only to the families but also to society. In the name Education the majority of the students are spending 20 to 24 yrs in school, colleges and universities. Without developing their competency, never bothering
to understand the needs of society and making them Post Graduates serving no purpose. The failure of educational institutes to provide necessary skills and revised curriculum to meet the needs of the society is a harsh reality. The productive age group of society become unproductive because of “DE LEARNING �activity carried over the years. In Indian society the illiterate could earn enough money to meet day to day expenses. Despite the lack of formal education, they are able to engage some legally remunerative activity. It’s painful to see the so-called educated person after 25 yrs of spending in university still depends on their parents to meet their personal expenses.The so-called education system in universities could not provide enough confidence to get a livelihood. It is seriously damaging the self-esteem of the young men and women who are real assets of the nation. Without addressing the field level problems in society and updating new knowledge and skills by the academicians in the universities there is no meaning to producing thousands of postgraduates without practical part of the knowledge.when we compare the higher education practices in western countries the curriculum is prepared to suit the individual student's needs as well as industry requirement and more practical oriented rather classroom activities. The teacher is always learner along with his students and no back door methods are used. Only merit and talent in western universities counted more than any other ways. The Indian students could find difficult to adjust the western education system during the first semester. Later they adjust new THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
EDU VOICE 29
curriculum and show their real talent and become member in the innovative team in the university. The youth in India and particularly Telangana is nowhere inferior to anybody. If the present youth in university campuses are oriented properly on the models of the western university the system, universities are provided qualified teaching staff and infrastructure, avoiding government intervention and giving full academic autonomous will bring good results. Then each course work can be made to include spending practical work related to village dimensions and grades will be included in each semester. It is high time that the policy makers, academicians, politicians in the new state of Telangana under dynamic chief minister K.Chandrashekar Rao(KCR) spare some time to look into the present functioning of the universities I am sure they will bring radical Changes. By involving industrialists and service businesses we can evolve courses with changes to suite ever changing needs of the market which can provide a livelihood to the students as well as create wealth for society. As Telangana government is placing high priority on departments which are not able to the expectations of the people of the state the policymakers and peoples representatives under chief minister KCR leadership should review the entire university system of education and bring radical changes or else down the lane state may have face serious loss of productive human resources. (Authour is Principal, Palamuru University College of education, Mahabubnagar Telangana state)
30 CONTROVERSY
dEnTiSTS To PraCTiCE ModErn MEdiCinE? A
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new controversy on the proposal to allow the dentist to practice modern medicine is browsing. It has been decided to explore the option of allowing dentists to practise family medicine/mainstream medicine following a bridge course. Accordingly, a meeting to discuss issues on leveraging dentists to provide primary health care thereby reducing the gaps of the current shortfall of doctors in the country is also planned. This proposal is facing stern opposition from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). All this has begun when India’s policy think tank NITI Aayog is now exploring the option of allowing dentists to practice family medicine through a bridge course. The proposal has already received a nod from Prime Minister Office (PMO) on 9 April 2019. After heated opposition over the government’s proposal to let AYUSH practitioners practise
modern medicine government is considering this proposal seriously. According to officials in the ministry of health and family welfare, the notion is to scale up the medical education in India. The Dental Council of India (DCI) argue that considering the B.D.S syllabus, course curriculum, the methodology of developing clinical skills during the training pattern of examination, there is no doubt that graduates are completely trained for dental /oral comprehensive health care. On the other hand IMA vehemently opposing the Government’s proposal of allowing dentists to practice modern medicine through a bridge course in order to tackle the shortfall of doctors in rural areas. IMA has alleged that idea of bridge courses and mid-level practitioners to fill the gap doctors in rural areas is a myth. “There is no shortage of doctors in the country. 63,250 MBBS graduates come out of 494 medical colleges of India. India has only 23,729 postgraduate THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
seats. The fact remains that the Government does not have the capacity to absorb rest of them," said Santanu Sen, National President, IMA. “Every year the unemployment amongst young medical graduates is a cause for great concern. The frustration of these youngsters with a decent undergraduate degree in medicine has to be addressed," he said. When the government proposed to let AYUSH practitioners practise modern medicine, under the National Medical Commission Bill 2017 a similar opposition from IMA and other doctors came up. “The government's attempts to provide half baked medical care to the citizens through mid-level practitioners are dangerous. The Government should give permanent postings to MBBS Graduates in the 1,50,000 wellness centres. Ad-hoc postings are unacceptable. This is nothing but a cruel exploitation of these hapless young graduates," said R.V. Asokan, Secretary General IMA.
ENERGY 31
Twelve more nuclear power plants in india soon I
Ensuring uninterrupted power supply
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ndia will soon have twelve more nuclear plants to improve the power situation and ensure there is a free flow of uninterrupted power supply for both industries and residential use. "Nuclear technology helps in betterment of lives through varied usages and is an irreplaceable source of clean, pollution-free energy," said KN Vyas, the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has announced the founder of Indian nuclear programme, Homi J. Bhabha, had envisaged that nuclear technology is going to be "very essential" and not just in the power sector but for other societal uses intended for betterment of life. When it comes to clean energy, there is no substitute to nuclear energy as it is sustainable and without interruption, one can have clean energy. The record run of Kaiga Nuclear Power Station, a small unit of the indigenously-developed 220250MW reaction has completed 962 days of uninterrupted run at about 99.3 per cent capacity is being presented as an example. DAE says the amount of electricity it has generated is "tremendous" The first stage of India's indigenous nuclear power programme has now attained maturity with 18 operating Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors
(PHWRs). Indian has participated in 11th International Forum AtomExpo 2019, sponsored by Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, held in Sochi, Russia, recently. The AtomExpo was held in Sochi with the motto this year being 'Nuclear
stature of the country in the field of nuclear technology. Vyas added that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sanctioned 10 PHWRs in fleet mode, besides plans afoot for constructing two light water reactors. Indian industry has gained a lot
for a better life', with over 3,600 participants from 74 countries in attendance, including new ones like Qatar, Bahrain and Nicaragua. "Peaceful atom is associated with all aims and goals for the UN Sustainable Development Program. The Forum became a space for discussing the latest technologies thus ensuring a base for the future of the planet," said Rosatom State Corporation Director-General Alexey Likhachev. In a message, Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded the AtomExpo in advancing the
through the process, nuclear energy and instruments require a guided and systematic way of manufacturing and quality assurance which raises the standard of the industry participating in the manufacturing of equipment, he added. Nuclear technology is not only intended for generating power, but is also useful for doctors and scientists and a huge improvement in technological innovations in the medical field has cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy feel better by up to 60 per cent.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
32 DEFENCE
Subsonic cruise missile: ‘nirbhay’ successfully test fired I
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ndia successfully test fired ‘Nirbhay’, the 1,000 km strike range sub-sonic cruise missile. It was off the coast of Odisha in the third week of April. Nirbhay cruise the missile is the country's first indigenously designed and developed long-range cruise missile. Nirbhay in Sanskrit means Fearless, is a long-range, all Weather. Subsonic cruise missile designed and developed in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO).The missile can be launched from multiple platforms and is capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. It is currently under development and undergoing six flight trials before. According to DRDO ‘Nirbhay’ missile has been developed at Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab under DRDO.The subsonic long-range land attack cruise missile can be equipped with a 300-kilogram warhead. Nirbhay, which is nuclear-capable, has the ability to reach speeds of 0.6-0.7 Mach. It also has the capability to strike land targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometres. It's powered by a solid rocket booster for taking off and when it reaches the necessary velocity and height, the Turbofan engine further manages its propulsion. A radio altimeter is used to determine its height, while an inertial
navigation system - which was developed by Research Center Imarat (RCI) - guides the missile. The missile is armed with a Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) based guidance, control and navigation system. It is also equipped with a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS)
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
and the GPS system. The missile weighs 1,500 kg with a width of 0.52 meters and has a wingspan of 2.7 metres. As per reports, the missile can also deliver 24 different types of warheads based on mission requirements. With two side wings, the missile is
capable of flying at different altitudes ranging from 100 m to 4 km above the ground and can also fly at low altitudes (like low tree level) to avoid detection by enemy radar. It will eventually, supplement the role played by Brahmos missile for the Indian Armed Forced by delivering warheads farther than the 450 km range of Brahmos. After the design was finalized, the technology required for the missile was developed ADE. It was integrated by R&D Engineers, Pune, a specialized arm of DRDO Indian private sector giant Tata has
built the vehicle that is the carrier/launcher for the Nirbhay system and is based on a "high mobility, all-terrain and all-wheel drive Tata LPTA 5252-12 X12 vehicle", developed in partnership with DRDO. The first test flight of the missile was planned in October 2012, but the launch was postponed to December owing to the changes being made to the launcher. V.K. Saraswat, Director General & Scientific Adviser of DRDO, later said that the missile would be tested in February 2013.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
DEFENCE 33
He said the delay was due to development of some processes. DRDO expected the missile to be ready for induction within 12 to 18 months after the February test. There were unconfirmed media reports that the missile would be scrapped due to multiple test failures but it was then reported that the project has been given an 18-month extension, till June 2018, to fix all outstanding issues. The surface version of Nirbhay missile was test fired for the first time on 12 March 2013 from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Balasore district of Odisha. The missile in its maiden flight was supposed to hit a static target situated 1000 km away in the Bay of Bengal. The missile took off from the launch pad successfully and reached the second stage of propulsion, travelling 15 minutes through its envisaged path at a speed of 0.7 match. After that, it veered away from its trajectory forcing the command centre to detach the engine from the missile midway into the flight. This was done to avoid the risk of the missile hitting the coastal areas. The missile was purposely destroyed in mid-flight. The test was a partial success as the missile took off, reached the second stage of propulsion, and travelled 30% of its range and completed most of the mission objectives, before deviating from its path. DRDO has detected the problem which was a faulty inertial navigation system and corrected the same in subsequent tests. After four more tests, the sixth successful trial took place on April 15th 2019. Traversing over 600 km, the test missile navigated waypoints located at altitudes of 5 metres to 2.5 km. DRDO clarified that all mission objectives were met.
34 DEFENCE
US defends ‘Mission Shakti’ I
India is concerned over 'threats' in space
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ndia is concerned about the "threats" it faces in space, the Pentagon has said, defending the country for acquiring anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test capabilities.On March 27, India achieved a historic feat by shooting down its own loworbit satellite with a ground-tospace missile, making the country a space power. India's unexpected launch of an anti-satellite missile test in March last week this year has sparked surprise (and some alarm) among international and aerospace-industry experts. The test's success makes India the fourth country capable of destroying an enemy satellite, after the U.S., Russia and China. After India's test, NASA termed as a "terrible thing" the country's shooting down of one of its satellites, saying it created about 400 pieces of orbital debris, endangering the International Space Station (ISS). NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine had said about 60 pieces were tracked and out of which 24 are going above the apogee of the ISS. Hyten advocated for the development of some kind of international norms of behaviour in space. Soon Pentagon has taken a practical view of the development. "The first lesson from the Indian ASAT is just the simple question of why did they do that. And the answer should be, I think to all the committee looking at it, is that they did that because they are concerned
about threats to their nation from space," US Strategic Command Commander General John E Hyten told members of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee. "And therefore, they feel they have to have a capability to defend themselves in space," Hyten told Senate Armed Services Committee while responding to a question from Senators on the need for India to do anti-satellite missile test, and the debris is generated in the space."And where those norms of behaviour should begin, in my opinion, is with debris, because as the combatant commander responsible for space today, I don't want more debris," said the top Pentagon commander An anti-satellite weapon, or ASAT, is anything that destroys or physically damages a satellite. That's the broad definition. ASATs
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
take many shapes, but the clearest examples follow kinetic-kill models, in which an object in space or on the ground is sent to collide with an orbiting satellite, destroying both object and target with the energy of the crash. But an ASAT doesn't need to be airborne. If the intent is to stop the transmission of information from the satellite to the ground, taking out the ground station achieves the same goal, without the space debris," JohnsonFreese said, Joan Johnson-Freese, professor of national security affairs at Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. A manoeuvrable satellite could be directed to smash into another satellite, too. A laser, if used to "temporarily dazzle or permanently 'blind' a satellite by destroying its sensors," would also be considered an ASAT weapon, she added.
BUSINESS 35
US Ed-TECh firM UdEMy EnTErS indian MarkET
O
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nline education is growing rapidly in the country. Many, especially ambitious students and young employees are preferring online mode to learn new – job oriented subjects and further their career. At the same time for middle-aged and some senior citizens, online education has become a place to upgrade themselves – pursue interests. With this new found interest of the various sections, India has become one of the best potential markets for online education. Now the country is going to witness the entry of a global platform called Udemy. The US-based firm will start its India operations with an employee hub in Gurugram. The local presence will enable the Naspers-backed company to continue enhancing and localising the student and instructor experi-
ence. According to the company’s CEO Gregg Coccari, Udemy’s rapid growth in India is a testimony to the level of demand from students, instructors, and companies for affordable skills training. The marketplace for learning and teaching online, Udemy globally covers more than 30 million students and 42,000 instructors under its network. Apart from regular courses, Udemy provides subscriptionbased e-learning programs in faculties such as Business, IT &Software, Design, Marketing, Photography, Music among several others. Udemy for Business is specifically designed for organisations that are looking to continually invest in their workforces. It counts Booking.com, Publicis Sapient, Pinterest, and Adidas as its client. The content is available in the downloadable format in over 50 THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
languages on the web, on a mobile device, Apple TV, and through Chromecast. Founded in 2010 Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, Ireland, Turkey, and Brazil. So far, the company has raised over $173 million from the likes of Naspers, MHS Capital, Insight Venture Partners Norwest VP Stripe Capital. The last institutional round for Udemy came in June 2016 when it raised $60 million led by the South African tech giant. In India, Udemy will be competing with another Naspersbacked company -Byju’s. The edtech unicorn has gained worldwide popularity and has been regarded as the world’s most valued firm in this space. Apart from Byju’s, Udemy will be competing with Coursera, UpGrad, Udacity and others.
36
BUSINESS
TiME’s 100 most influential people in the world Mukesh Ambani, Arundhati Katju, Menaka Guruswamy
R
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eliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and publicinterest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The Time 100 Most Influential People 2019 list was released
Wednesday, naming the world’s most influential pioneers, leaders, titans, artists and icons of the year. The list includes Indian-American comedian and TV host Hasan Minhaj, US President Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, iconic golfer Tiger Woods and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Writing the TIME 100 profile for Ambani, Anand Mahindra, chairman of business conglomerate THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
the Mahindra Group said Ambani’s father Dhirubhai was a visionary in Indian business, whose Reliance Industries conglomerate pioneered ways of targeting global scale. “But Ambani’s vision is now even more ambitious than that of the father whose blessings he unfailingly invokes at the launch of each initiative,” Mahindra wrote adding that the scale of his Reliance Jio mobile-data network, which has already connected over 280 million people in India with low-cost 4G is
BUSINESS 37
“impressive by any standard.” Mahindra cites Ambani’s promise in 2003 through an advertising tagline that his company would “put the world in the palm of your hand”. “It won’t be long before he delivers on that promise,” he said. Award-winning actor Priyanka Chopra wrote a profile for Katju and Guruswamy, the pioneering women who led from the front in the fight to ensure equal rights for the LGBTQ community in India and were among the lead lawyers representing gay petitioners to have the ban on consensual gay sex struck down in the country. “Arundhati and Menaka have helped take a giant step for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s largest democracy. In their committed fight for justice, they have shown us that we as a society must continue to make progress, even
after laws are changed, and that we must make an effort to understand, accept and love,” Chopra said. The Supreme Court of India struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in a unanimous vote in September 2018. The outdated legacy of the British colonization of India, Section 377 rendered all sexual activities “against the order of nature” punishable by law. Chopra said the “landmark judgment”, overturning a 157-year-old law, was the outcome of a long-term campaign orchestrated by two “amazing” public-interest litigators, Katju and Guruswamy. In a profile for Minhaj, host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah wrote that five years after he first met Minhaj in 2014, “Hasan is still as fresh-faced as ever, but his voice booms across screens around the THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
world, thanks to his groundbreaking Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.” “We’ve needed Hasan’s voice since Donald Trump came down that golden escalator and turned immigrants and Muslims into his targets,” Noah said, adding that Hasan’s show ‘Patriot Act’ is the manifestation of Hasan’s “whip-smart commentary, charisma and sincerity. It’s also a consistent reminder that Hasan is America. And America is Hasan.” The illustrious list also includes US Open winner Naomi Osaka, actor Mahershala Ali, Oscarwinning actor Rami Malek, former first lady Michelle Obama, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Oscar-winning singer and actor Lady Gaga, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, Special counsel Robert Mueller and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
38
BUSINESS
organics food trade I
new standards in the offing THE NEWS BUREAU
n a bid to maintain good health, Manohar Naidu a software professional working in Madapur and his teacher wife, Shakti Naidu both turning 40—have decided to bring some changes in their lifestyle and food habits. The couple has not only joined a gym to lose weight but has also completely switched to organic foods—ranging from organic fruits, vegetables, pluses to organic rice. Earlier they use buy vegetables from a local vendor. But now, they order vegetables and fruits from websites that sell organic stuff. Even in grocery stores too, their first preference is organic foods now. The Naidu family is not the only one undergoing this kind of transformation. Ananya Reddy, a yoga and fitness trainer, also
ensures that she buys all her vegetables and fruits from a local farm in Shamshabad, which claims to be organic and supplies produce across Hyderabad - Cyberabad. Because of an emerging class of relatively affluent customers like Naidu who have increasingly started to prefer grocery items that are deemed safe and healthy, organic food is a booming business. The market is niche and most Indians are still price conscious. But there is already a significant amount of money at play—with the organic foods market projected to hit ₹10,000 crore by 2020, according to an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) report. Given that the term ‘organic’ attracts premium pricing, there are huge incentives to game the system and sell pretty
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
much anything under the umbrella term. But the era of Wild West in the organic realm may be coming to an end. On 1 January 2019, India joined a group of roughly 50 countries which mandates clear and legible consumer-friendly labelling for organic products. Henceforth, no person will be able to manufacture, pack, sell, market or otherwise distribute or import any organic food unless they label the package with complete and accurate information regarding the organic status of the product. Also, any such product should carry a government quality assurance mark and the new Jaivik Bharat logo, which is meant to distinguish organic products from non-organic ones. The regulations, which were pending for nearly 2 years, could transform a nascent and important market segment in significant ways. Beyond the slew of businesses which sell organic products, the country also has an estimated 800,000 organic farmers—the largest in the world. “The rules will regulate the organic food market in India as manufacturers will have to follow stringent regulations now onwards," said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Things will take some time to settle down though, cautioned Agarwal, since not many people know about the new logo and the online sale of organics is still a big question mark.
ECONOMY 39
50 lakh jobs lost after note ban
A
youth worst hit!
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round 50 lakh people lost their jobs since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government launched demonetisation in November 2016, an Azim Premji University report has revealed. The latest report on jobs has come at a time when employment is one of the biggest issues in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Contrary to the BJP-led government's promise of providing over 1 crore jobs, the 146-page research report says that though 50 lakh people lost jobs between 2016 and 2018. However, no direct relationship could be established between job loss and demonetisation, the report. It also says the higher educated people are the most unemployed in India, with the majority of them in the age bracket of 20-24 years. The report was formed using data from the Consumer Pyramids Survey of the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIECPDX) to understand the employment situation between 2016 and 2018. CMIE-CPDX, a nationally representative survey,
covers about 160,000 households and 522,000 individuals. The report says unemployment, in general, has risen steadily after 2011. "Both the PLFS and the CMIE-CPDX report the overall unemployment rate to be around 6 per cent in 2018, double of what it was in the decade from 2000 to 2011." It added that women were much more affected than men when it came to jobs with higher unemployment rates and lower labour force participation rates. "Among urban women, graduates are 10 per cent of the working age population but 34 per cent of the unemployed. The age group 20-24 years is
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
hugely over-represented among the unemployed. Among urban men, for example, this age group accounts for 13.5 per cent of the working age population but 60 per cent of the unemployed," says the report. The report reveals that the less educated (and likely, informal) workers have also seen major job losses and reduced work opportunities since 2016. Citing the report, the Congress party has hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of employment. Former finance minister P Chidambaram, in a series of tweets, said that the report by Azim Premji University was "another confirmation that lakhs of jobs were lost after demonetisation". He said: "PM claims there is no unemployment in India. This is the problem if the PM will fly around the world but will not drive on the roads of India or walk on the streets of small towns and villages."
40 ECONOMY
SC gives an ultimatum to RBI
Willful defaulters names will come out now R
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eserve Bank of India now has to disclose the list of willful defaulters and information related to them under the Right to Information Act. Along with it has also to disclose inspection reports of banks. The Supreme Court in last week of April has ordered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)to this extent. The RBI is “duty bound under the law" to disclose information sought under the RTI Act, the apex court of the country has said. The court also ordered the RBI to “withdraw its disclosure policy", which it said is in violation of an
order passed by the court in 2015 directing the central bank to disclose information under the provisions of the RTI Act. The Supreme court gave the RBI “one the last opportunity" to comply with the orders. “Any further violation shall be viewed seriously," said the bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah, who warned that the central bank could face contempt proceedings if it failed to furnish the information. The latest order is part of longrunning attempts to extract financial information in the backdrop of mounting bad debts at banks, with THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
the RBI resisting such attempts and bankers worrying about the potential impact on financial stability. Banks’ total non-performing assets amounted to ₹11.2 trillion in FY18. In January this year, the top court had issued a contempt notice to the RBI on a petition filed by RTI activists Subhash Chandra Agrawal and Girish Mittal, who said the central bank had failed to disclose information they had sought on its annual inspection reports of banks. They claimed former RBI governor Urjit Patel had “willfully" not complied with an order of the top
court dating back to December 2015. Back then, the Supreme Court heard the complaints of a batch of transferred cases from different high courts under the case name of Jayantilal N. Mistry and others, to whom the RBI had similarly denied information sought under the RTI Act. These petitioners had sought copies of RBI’s inspection reports of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India between April 2011 and December 2015. But the central bank said such information was exempted under section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act and section 45NB of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Ruling on the matter in December 2015, Supreme Court judge M.Y. Eqbal rejected RBI’s defence of “economic interest" and “fiduciary relationship". The court observed that the RBI is a statutory regulatory the authority which oversees the functioning of the banks and the information about the banks is with it only by virtue of its nature as a statutory authority. The court had held that the RBI is accountable to the general public and cannot withhold information under the defence of “trust" with the financial institutions. An RBI spokesperson said the central bank does not have any comment to offer at the moment. “Typically bank inspection reports are not made public. The report is a comprehensive assessment of banks as an entity. Various thoughts can be taken out of context and could lead to wrong conclusions. That is a danger," said R. Gandhi, former RBI deputy governor. RBI is empowered under section 35 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to conduct an annual inspection of all commercial
banks—public, private and foreign. It conducts an on-site inspection of all banks once a year. RBI officials visit the head offices and branches of banks to inspect the books. Currently, the annual inspection is based on a Risk-Based Supervision method which focuses on “evaluating both present and future risks, identifying incipient problems and facilitates prompt intervention/early corrective action". It covers financial position, the functioning of the board and various links of the bank, details of assets and liabilities, treasury management, asset liability management, liquidity operations, para-banking activities, etc. Earlier RBI used to follow the CAMELS approach— capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earning, liquidity and system and control. The content of the annual inspection report is discussed with the head of the particular bank before finalization. The final report
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
ECONOMY 41
is then shared with the banks to enable them to take corrective steps. In 2011 the Central Information Commission said the public has the right to know how banks are functioning since significant amounts of public funds are kept in banks. Former CIC Shailesh Gandhi had directed the RBI to disclose the names of banks that had been penalized or served show-cause notices. However, the central bank defended its stance on the grounds of protecting fiduciary and commercial interests. In November 2018, the CIC served a show-cause notice to then RBI governor Urjit Patel for “dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgement on disclosure of wilful defaulters’ list. The CIC has also asked the Prime Minister’s Office, the finance ministry and the RBI to make public a letter written by former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on bad loans.
42 TECHNOLOGY
6 engines & 385-foot wingspan
ThE worLd'S biggEST PLanE T
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he world’s largest aircraft took off over the Mojave Desert in California in the second week of April. The first flight for the carbon-composite plane built by Stratolaunch Systems Corp, started by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, as the company enters the lucrative private space market An enormous aircraft, with a wingspan that stretches nearly 400 feet across, took to the skies on Saturday. With more engines than you could count on one hand, the plane, called the Stratolaunch-is the biggest in the world (if you’re measuring by wingspan). Someday, if all goes according to plan, it could serve as an airborne launching pad for rockets that could then heft satellites into orbit. The idea is
that a rocket would hitch a ride under the centre wing of the plane, and take off from there at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The maiden flight of the weird bird lasted over two hours. It eventually came down for a safe landing on a runway in Mojave, California. Here’s what to know about the Stratolaunch, by the numbers. 385 feet is the wingspan of this massive aircraft. For comparison, that’s over 100 feet longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747-800, the aircraft that will constitute the nextgen Air Force One. It’s also over 100 feet wider than the wings of an A380, the largest passenger plane in the sky—and a craft that Airbus will stop making. Remarkably, if you put three Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (the planes currently grounded by THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Boeing) wingtip to wingtip, the Stratolaunch would still be wider. It’s also 25 feet longer than a football field, which might help you picture just how giant it is. The plane’s length, from tip to tail is 278 feet. is just a little bit longer than a Boeing 747-800. That’s about as long as 18 Toyota Corollas parked bumper to bumper. Thrust to propel the plane into the air comes from half a dozen engines made by Pratt & Whitney—they’re the same type of engines you could find on a Boeing 747. Three engines attach to one outer wing, and the other three are on the other outer wing. The inner, or centre, the wing is for the craft’s payload. Six engines are a lot. Commercial aircraft, even longdistance wide-body planes like the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350, gener-
TECHNOLOGY 43
ally only have two. When you sit in a commercial plane, you’re in the part of the craft called the fuselage. This strange plane has two, 95 feet apart, allowing for that big centre wing space between them. Wondering where the pilots sit in such a weird-looking flying machine? They’re in the cockpit, which is located in the right fuselage. The height of its two tails is 50 feet. While that may seem like a lot— and it’s certainly taller than the tail of a 737—it’s not insanely high for a big plane. A 747-800’s tail is taller, and so is the tail of an Airbus A380. Thirteen lakh pounds is the maximum weight that this bird can weigh at take-off. That includes the payload, which can be as much as 500,000 pounds. The plane itself weighs in at 500,000 pounds, too.
(when calculating the total take-off weight, we need to take fuel into account, too.) All of that means that the aircraft can carry the weight of about 175 Toyota Corollas. While the plane is on the ground, it needs to roll, and does so on more than two dozen wheels, twenty-eight to be specific. That’s six more than you’d find on a giant double-decker A380. The plane is built from composite materials, but also makes use of more traditional aircraft parts, such as “proven 747 engines, avionics, landing gear and flight controls,” according to Stratolaunch. The Stratolaunch hit a top speed of 189 mph during this test flight, which lasted 2.5 hours on Saturday. So what’s it like to fly this beast? The pilot, Evan Thomas said in a press briefing that the flight was THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
“smooth.”We saw a few little things that were off-nominal, but really for a first flight, it was spot on,” he added. He also noted that the plane is “very complex,” but that’s its systems “ran like a watch.” So what’s next? The plane has safely flown—it reached an altitude of 17,000 feet—but it’s unclear when it might fly again, with or without a rocket payload. “What a fantastic first flight,” Stratolaunch Chief Executive Officer Jean Floyd said in a statement posted to the company’s website. “Today’s flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground-launched systems,” he has announced. The flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground-launched systems, Floyd said.
44 ENVIRONMENT
The effects of toxic air in cities
Choked the life around the world T
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he hazards of air pollution have been the subject of several studies, which have found it responsible for millions of deaths every year and linked it to strokes, heart attacks and various diseases. Now, London-based American journalist Beth Gardiner puts together the story of air pollution’s effects on people in cities around the world. Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution is a chronicle of Gardiner’s travels around the world, from Washington to London to Poland’s coal heartland to New Delhi. In a lively report from Delhi, a
megacity with perhaps the dirtiest air of all, she shows how, after initial success in the early 2000s with the introduction of compressed natural gas for motor vehicles, Indian authorities have repeatedly struggled and failed to tackle the air pollution that is now at crisis levels. Some measures have penalised the poor and vulnerable without substantially reducing emissions. Meanwhile, emissions from coal-fired power plants persist almost unchecked. Gardiner is nuanced but sharp in her judgments. She is concerned with the particularities of real lives as well as the particulates that often blight them. You couldn’t ask for a
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
better guide for non-specialists and concerned citizens Along the way, Gardiner not only meets some of those suffering because of air pollution, besides researchers and campaigners, but also look at political decisions and economic forces that have kept so many of us breathing dirty air. In the United States, for example, she examines how the Trump administration’s policies have begun to undo the regulations that had helped reduce pollution, putting decades of gains at risk. Making a case for the rules that protect the air, Choked argues that we hold the power to build a cleaner, healthier future.
RESEARCH 45
Gagandeep Kang 1st woman
Indian scientist in the Royal Society
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iologist Gagandeep Kang became the first Indian woman to be inducted as Fellow of the Royal Society in its 359 years of history. Gagandeep, known for her the interdisciplinary research of enteric infections among children, has played a significant role in developing indigenous vaccines against rotavirus and typhoid. The 57-year-old researcher is a part of the list which includes CanadianAmerican mathematician of Indian origin Manjul Bharghava who is Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University in the United States. Gagandeep, a professor at Vellore’s Christian Medical College is on a sabbatical. She is currently working as executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) in Faridabad. It is an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.“Gagandeep Kang is investigating the complex relationships between infection, gut function and physical and cognitive development, and seeking to build stronger human immunology research in India. She has established strong training programmes for students and young faculty in clinical translational medicine aiming to build a cadre of clinical researchers studying relevant problems in India,” her profile on the Royal Society website reads.
Kang is a leading scientist in India and her main research focus is on viral infections in children and the testing of rotaviral vaccines. With over 300 scientific research papers, she serves on the editorial boards for several journals. She is also a member of several review committees for national and international research funding agencies, and on advisory committees which are mainly related to vaccines. Since 2015, Kang also chairs the WHO SEAR's Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group. Gagandeep Kang has received some other prestigious awards during the last 13 years. Startingwith Woman Bioscientist of the Year in Fellow, Royal College of Pathologists, London in 2008. In 2016, the prestigious Infosys Science Foundation awarded Gagandeep Kang in the Life Sciences category for her pioneering contributions to understanding the natural history of rotavirus and THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
other infectious diseases that are important both globally and in India. Few other Indian scientists were also elected to Royal Society Fellows in 2019. They are Gurdyal Besra: Bardrick Professor of Microbial Physiology and Chemistry, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham. Manjul Bhargava: R Brandon Fradd Professor of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, Princeton University.Anant Parekh: Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford.Akshay Venkatesh: Professor, School of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced The study, US. “It is our Fellowship that has remained a constant thread and the substance from which our purpose has been realised: to use science for the benefit of humanity. “ Venki Ramakrishnan Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan, who is the president of the Royal Society, announced the fellowships of the distinguished scientists."This year's newly elected Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society embody this, being drawn from diverse fields of enquiry - epidemiology, geometry, climatology - at once disparate, but also aligned in their pursuit and contributions of knowledge about the world in which we live, and it is with great honour that I welcome them as Fellows of the Royal Society," he added.
46 CYBERCRIME
rbi warns online users & banks: T
new type of fraud through e-Commerce Scam
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he biggest threat to today’s digital natives (people constantly using their digital devices for shopping and banking) is a phishing scam. There have been multiple such threats discovered recently, which even forced RBI to issue a directive against such malware. Now, another way of phishing has reported. A businessman from New Delhi has reportedly lost Rs 2.5 lakh to a fraudster after his mobile phone was compromised by malware. This is the newest online shopping scam allegedly affecting smartphone users in the country. The malware gets installed on a target device through a text message being sent to the user. In the case of this businessman who was scrolling through an ecommerce website to buy furniture for his office, the victim got lured to the scam by looking at an attractive deal on the platform. The victim was told that the seller is a retired defence personnel. The fraudster reportedly agreed to sell listed products at a far lesser price than previously listed in the deal. The fraudster then insisted on payment being made at the earliest in order to get the deal. Once the deal was agreed, the victim got a text message on his phone. The text message reportedly
contained words like ‘Add UPI money’, ‘Successful money transfer’ and had a link to a website. When the victim clicked on the link in the text message, the fraudster is believed to have gained remote access to the phone. Once gaining access to the victim’s phone, the fraudster got access to the victim’s mobile phone and was able to initiate bank transactions. RBI warns against AnyDesk app: The Reserve Bank of India, in an unprecedented move, has issued a warning for all the users of online banking services in the country. The warning notes that if you are suggested to download an app named “AnyDesk” through any of THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
the social media platforms or any other channel then do not download the application. The RBI warns that downloading this app could result in your bank account becoming empty within minutes. The warning comes as the app becomes circulated more frequently among media platforms and other channels in the country. According to media reports, AnyDesk is a software that can take control of your bank account and do transactions on your behalf through a mobile or laptop. The warning also coincides with an alert issued by RBI, where it alerted banks about potential fraudulent transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It said
that the cautionary notice was issued since it had seen rising numbers of fraud using the UPI platform. The central bank, in its notice, informed the commercial lenders that a mobile app named “AnyDesk” was being allegedly used to target the mobile phone of banking customers. The alert regarding AnyDesk was issued by the cybersecurity and IT examination cell of the Reserve Bank of India. The warning also added that once the app is downloaded on a mobile device, it seeks permission to access control of the device like other applications. However, when the user grants permission to the device, AnyDesk app allegedly starts to steal confidential data on the phone. It does so by generating a 9digit app code on the user’s device and reportedly calls the users for
the code in the name of the bank. Once the code is found, the hacker gains control to the user’s device and can initiate a transaction. The notice issued by RBI is not just limited to mobile payments done using UPI but also applies to other forms of mobile payments. Meanwhile, AnyDesk has clarified that there are apps similar to “AnyDesk” that also help provide remote access to the devices of other users. It issued a statement saying, “It is rather unfortunate that AnyDesk has been used by scammers who convinced trusting users to give them access to their device and then defraud them. AnyDesk has been engineered in Germany and has a reputation of being an exceptional remote access software used by millions to legitimately connect to devices around the world. AnyDesk was abused by individuals to steal from users who
women lead to change
Collective for participation in politics
A
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new collective of women known as Thulya Prathinidhya Prasthanam was established. It is meant to ensure that women and men are represented equally on the political front. The collective was inaugurated at the Sahitya Akademi hall in Thrissur. Almost all political parties of the country are focusing on issues that concern women and are advocating equality. However, it is only time that will hold testimony to the changes that are being promised.
One of the conveners, KM Rema said that following change in dynamics of the representation of women in Kerala, they decided to step in and make a change. Rema believes that women have been sidelined by the political partied time and again. Fueled by the fact that no political party in Kerala allotted more than two seats to women for the upcoming election, Rema said they have decided to bring a change. Another convener, Hema Joseph said that the Women's Reservation Bill which gives 33
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
CYBERCRIME 47
did not understand the need to keep their access codes as safe as they do their personal data. AnyDesk is an exceptionally secure software for remote connections, using banking-level security and encryption protocols. We work closely with the authorities to combat any fraud that we encounter and we are also working to educate users about how to properly secure their computers. Specifically, we urge our users to not share access codes to their devices with people they do not know. We regret the recent incidents and we empathize with the victims. We would like to urge users to exercise the same level of caution that they do with their banking and personal data or their email or Facebook login information. If you have any questions or would like further clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact us.” per cent reservation to women in the Parliament and the state assemblies still stands stagnant in the pipeline. Despite constant protests in the past, not much was done to help the cause. The collective intends to create pressure on the right authorities so that women get equal representation. Rema added that she is herself acquainted with women who have been cornered by the male force in their political parties. She hoped that female political leaders who have been overshadowed by men in their parties will join their collective. Women empowerment and issues regarding women safety have been a major part of political campaigns this year.
12 48
HEALTH
Twelve reasons you will live a long life
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edia reports, health columns regularly highlight increasing cases of cancer, diabetes, organ failure. Going through them not only cautions us but also cause fear of falling prey to those diseases. But your odds of living longer are higher than previous generations, mostly by virtue of being born in a time where advanced medical treatment is able to keep us healthier longer. To maximize your chances of seeing triple digits, there are a few things you can do. As you work hard to build your business and care for your family, it’s equally important that you put work into maintaining your body. But how can you know if you’re doing what it takes to extend your life? Here are 15 signs you’re likely to live well into old age.
1
. You exercise: There’s no shortage of studies showing exercise reduces health problems and leads to longevity. The question is exactly what type of exercise you should do? Some studies show running lengthens life and others show that in excess, running can actually shorten a person’s life. The key to success with any kind of exercise appears to be moderation. Too much exercise can do more harm than good, experts say.
which tells participants to eat until they are 80 per cent full. The key to living longer may be in simply eating less food at each meal.
4
. You’re happily married: Several studies have found that marriage benefits a person’s longevity, including one Duke University study that suggests individuals who have never married are twice as likely to die prematurely. However, this benefit has also been witnessed in men more than women. Some experts believe that women are more likely to form supportive relationships outside of an intimate relationship, giving them some of the same benefits they might also have gotten from being in love.
2
. You have the right personality: How would others describe you? One study found that men who were described as conscientious and open to experiences were more likely to live longer, while women who were agreeable and emotionally stable tended to have longer lives.
5
. You eat the right foods: What you put in your mouth each day could more directly
3
. You don’t overeat: In many families, children are rewarded for eating every last morsel. However, Japanese people who live to be 100 often engage in a practice called Hara Hachi Bu, THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
HEALTH 49
impact your lifespan than you realize. Several foods have been linked to longer life, including foods with omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
6
. Your mom was young when she had you: If your mother was under the age of 25 when she had you, your likelihood of living to 100 is significantly higher than if she was 25 or older. Scientists believe this could relate to the quality of a mother’s eggs when she’s younger as opposed to older.
7
. You have children: If you think your children are taking years off your life, stop worrying. Studies have found that dads are less likely to die of heart disease than childless men. For moms, the key to a long life could be in the number of children they choose to have. One study found that not only do moms live longer than childless women but the more children they have, the longer their life expectancy.
8
. You stand: If you sit at a desk all day, the key to lengthening your life could be one of those standing desks. Research indicates that standing has the effect of lengthening a person’s telomeres, which cause cells to die when they get too short.
9
. You floss: Flossing doesn’t just shorten your dental visits. It also can lengthen your life. Some say regular flossing can add up to six years to a person’s life. By removing particles from between your teeth, you’ll help reduce the risk of bacterial infections that can lead to deadly diseases.
10
. You know how to manage stress: Stress is very detrimental to a person’s health. For busy professionals, it’s important to find methods to cope with stress, whether through activities like meditation or through simply taking time to do what you enjoy.
11
. You sleep: Perhaps equally beneficial, and more fun than exercise, is sleep. Eight hours of sleep per night can stave off serious illnesses and lead to a longer, healthier life.
12
. You volunteer: Giving back to your community can be beneficial to you, as well. Studies have found that volunteerism lengthens a person’s life as long as the activities have the right motives behind them. For best results, your volunteer efforts should be motivated by altruism or a desire for a connection with others.
By living well and spending time with others, you’ll enjoy a longer, happier life. Start slowly by making small changes in your life and you’ll likely find healthier behaviours are easier than you’d imagined. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
50
HEALTH
Adverse eects of drugs
Advisory leaets to be incorporated
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he Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has written to all state drug regulators to direct manufacturers of certain antibiotics and anti-psychiatric drugs to include their new recorded adverse effects in the leaflets inside the package to promote patients' safety. The aim is to make the patients and doctors aware of the new adverse reactions of certain drugs which are prescribed frequently for certain conditions and also to stop indiscriminate use of such medicines. The move comes following a report of by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) which collected and analysed reports of adverse events associated with the use of certain drugs and then based on scientific findings sent recommendation to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization for regulatory intervention. "The National Co-ordination
Centre or Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, functioning at IPC Ghaziabad, has forwarded their recommendations based on adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports on certain medicinal products with an objective to prescribe information leaflet change from Indian database and promote patient safety," the official said. The recommendations were then deliberated in the subject expert committee's meeting at CDSCO headquarters which reached a decision that safety warnings mentioning the new side effects of certain drugs should be included in the packages. According to the letters sent by DCGI, commonly used antibiotic like Cefotaxime was found to be causing angioedema -- rapid oedema, or swelling, of the area beneath the skin or mucosa -- while the use of Cefixime leads to rapid development of sterile pustular lesions, fever and leucocytosis. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Ofloxacin, another antibiotic which useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections were found to be developing StevensJohnson Syndrome, a rare and lifethreatening skin reaction. Quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder was stated to cause urinary incontinence while Sodium valproate primarily used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and to prevent migraine headaches were found to be causing gum hyperplasia -swelling and bleeding in the gums. The drug packages already have leaflets mentioning their side effect. But in the letter, the DCGI has asked the drug regulators in the states and Union Territories to direct the manufacturers of these drug formulations under their jurisdiction to incorporate the new recorded adverse drug reactions in the leaflets inside the package.
POPULATION 51
indians stopped growing taller
Children may no longer outgrow parents
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hat Indians are among the shortest people in the world is now already well established, but could Indians, contrary to the global trend, be getting even shorter? Between the two most recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), Indian men on average were 1cm shorter, while Indian women remained roughly the same height. The biggest fall in male height came brought out by the NFHS-IV in 2015 -16 was in Karnataka, followed by Jharkhand and Haryana. In aggregate terms, the decline in height falls within sampling errors, but at the least, there is no evidence of an increase in height. In the previous decade (1995-96 to 2005-06), average male height grew 0.5cm but six states saw a fall in their average height, according to NFHS data. In both the earlier decade and
the latest decade, the greatest increments in female height were in Kerala. The biggest improvement in male height in the late 90s and early 2000s was in Kerala, while in the most recent decade, it was in Himachal Pradesh. The shortest Indians—men in Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand— are shorter than the average national height of men of comparable age in any country in the world. The tallest men, meanwhile—those in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala—are taller than the average male height in at least 30 countries. The shortest Indian women—those in Meghalaya, Tripura, Jharkhand and Bihar—are as short as the shortest women in the world, those in Guatemala and the Philippines. The tallest Indian women—those in Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala and Haryana—are taller than those in over 40 countries. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Seen over time, Indians are undoubtedly taller than they were a century ago. Indian men born in 1896 were on average 1 cm taller than Chinese men and 2 cm taller than South Korean men. But at best, improvements in child stunting have not been fast enough to match India’s pace of growth, and at worst, Indians have finished growing taller far earlier than expected In India and Bangladesh in South Asia, the rise in adult height seems to have plateaued at best, and this plateau has been hit at much lower levels of height than in East Asia. Indians are not growing much although they are still 5-10cm shorter than Japan and South Korea were at the plateau. In fact, in the NCD-RisC database (the historical dataset created by a global team of researchers for the study), the height of Indian men has slightly declined every year from the mid80s, starting from the cohort born in 1984, men who would today be 35 years old. Female height was still growing slowly. Genes contribute to only a small portion of adult height, while environmental factors including mother’s health, infant and child nutrition, sanitation and environmental pollution explain the bulk of the difference in growth in height between groups, research has shown. In India, forward caste men are the tallest, and scheduled caste and scheduled tribe men the shortest.
52 LIFESTYLE
Safety Apps which can protect
Virtual bodyguards for the woman I
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ncreasing numbers of crime in many parts of the country against women has planted seeds of fear in the minds of people. These fears ultimately result in the imposition of deadlines and strict rules which every woman has to comply with, willingly or unwillingly. Instead of bringing confidence in a young woman, these rules gradually turn them into meek beings incapable of facing the outside world. To alleviate fears of family members and to help a woman move around with confidence, entrepreneurs have rolled out apps for women’s safety. Here are TEN such apps, which will act as a security guard for the woman, protecting them in every situation:
1. EyEwaTCh SoS for woMEn
Eyewatch SOS for Women captures audio and video of the user’s surroundings and sends it to the registered contacts along with an alert message. This app has been praised for high location accuracy, functioning without GPRS and Safety confirmation feature. On reaching the location safely the user can inform their near ones by pressing the I am Safe button. It is available on the Google Play store and iTunes.
2. SPoTnSavE fEEL SECUrE
Labelled as one of the most advanced safety application, SpotnSave Feel secure sends an alert message along with the location to the pre-selected contact in every two minutes. In case the user does not have access to the phone, she can make use of
the wristband, which comes with the app and press button given on the band. This works via Bluetooth in the same way the phone does. This app is available on Google Playstore and iTunes.
3. igoSafELy
iGoSafely sends alert messages, emails and/or GPS position to emergency contacts on activation. The app keeps on sending messages, every minute unless the alarm is turned off using the secret disarm code. Along with that iGoSafely sends a thirty-second audio recording captured by the phone's microphone. It can be activated by shaking the phone or simply by removing the headphones.
4. SMarT 24 7
Safety 24X7 is an app, which helps the user to call the police by pressing the panic button. Additionally, an option of calling some pre-designated contact is available THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
on this app. In the case of non-functioning of GPRS, location is sent via SMS. Along with providing features like tracking, customer care and chat, this app also clicks photos and records audio-video of situation. It is available on Google Playstore and iTunes.
5. bSafE
bSafe is an all in one safety app for woman providing varieties of features. It has bSafe alarm which sends the exact location and audio-video of the surrounding areas to the contact previously selected by you. Another feature ‘Follow me’ enables virtual tracking of the user via GPS tracking, until you reach the situation. Fake call feature in this app allows you to fake call to escape from some unpleasant situation and ‘timer alarm’ helps you to set an auto alarm to keep your guardian informed about your whereabouts. This app is available on Google Playstore and iTunes.
6. ShakE2SafETy
This app sends an emergency SOS message or makes a call instantly to the previously selected numbers after pressing the power button four times or after shaking the phone. Shake2Safety works without internet connection and even with the locked screen. This app is also useful for reporting cases of robbery, accident or natural disaster.
7. TrakiE
Trakie enables you to get all the real-time information about the movement, location, battery percentage, signal strength and speed of travelling of your close ones. Along with providing all these features, the app also allows the user to chat with their contact. Registration of genuine and au-
LIFESTYLE 53
thentic numbers is possible through this app as it is verified through OTP and SIM serial number.
8. My SafETyPin
If you are stuck in a crossroad, then My SafetyPin app acts as your guide in choosing the best and safest route. On entering an unsafe location, this app gives alerts and you can invite family or friends to track you. Safety of an area is measured using various parameters like public transport, visibility, security etc. My SafetyPin app is available on Google Playstore and itunes.
9. CiTizEnCoP
By using this app, any citizen can report criminal cases or illegal activity in their area anonymously. Cases of lost or stolen articles can also be reported by calling the police. CitizenCop app creates a safety zone for a woman through what it calls eLakshmanRekha and provides several features like live tracking, emergency calls and SOS alerts. All android phone users and iPhone users can download this app through Google Playstore and iTunes respectively.
10. ChiLLa
A woman unable to press the button of her phone while facing some problem can activate Chilla app by shouting loudly. On activation, this app sends an alert message to the woman’s guardian. Apart from this feature, Chilla app sends alert messages to pre-configured contacts on pressing the power button five times. It can be downloaded from Google Playstore and iTunes.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
54 LIFESTYLE
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Priyanka
‘Beauty of the year’
ou might be a Priyanka Chopra Jonas fan or not, but there’s no denying that she is one of the most beautiful women in the world. When the actress smiles, she breathes life into a room. Her dressing style has redefined our wardrobes. Priyanka oozes of the boss lady vibes every time she walks into a room. Turns out, we aren't the only ones who feel so. People magazine is also not denying that PeeCee is one helluva beautiful star. Thus, Priyanka has been awarded the Beauty of the Year by the international magazine. With oodles of confidence and a ‘world is my oyster’ attitude, this lovely lady has achieved major milestones in her acting career, both in Bollywood and Hollywood. Over the years, she has also turned into a bonafide fashion icon, enthralling her followers with her beauty and style. Recently, The actress was awarded the title as part of their Beautiful Issue. The actress, who made headlines for her wedding to Nick Jonas and her work throughout 2018, spoke to the outlet and revealed the secret behind her beauty. The actress said that she has realised looks aren't everything. She said. "In the world, we live in, the standard of beauty is not really real. And that’s something that we have done to ourselves.” The diva added, "I think I realized what all it takes to actually look the way we do on magazine covers and the work we do. That’s when I realized looks aren’t everything, it’s the confidence with which you walk into a room, it’s the ability to do your job to the best of your capabilities.” Speaking about her beauty routine, she said, "The way that I take care of my skin is to make sure to moisturize every day. I take off all my makeup before I go to bed, and it doesn’t have to be really difficult. I think hydration is extremely important, drinking as much water as you can. That is truly the elixir of life.” PeeCee also shared her vision for the future with the magazine. She said she wants to focus on building her brand and become an “extremely glamorous old lady, who will always have an opinion on everyone. I’ll be super fun and yeah, [mine] will be the house everyone will want to come to." Other than People – the magazine that covered her lavish wedding to Nick Jonas in an extensive spread – Priyanka has appeared on the cover of numerous international magazines. The latest one being Vogue’s Netherlands edition. where she looked surreal in her bridal gown. She shared the cover on Instagram with the caption, “My fairytale. Thank you @nlvogue for making me your first cover girl of the Love & Wedding issue.”
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
LIFESTYLE 55
Sai Pallavi rejects ad deal of Rs 2 Cr.
No fairness cream Ad. That's it!
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ndia as a country is obsessed with fair skin and is the best country for skin whitening brands to endorse their beauty product playing on this irrational hysteria. Not only do fairness creams sell in abundance in our country but there are several Bollywood celebs who proudly endorse these brands and are indirectly promoting racism in the country. Stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Yami Gautam, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham are seen as the faces of these popular fairness creams. But there is also an entire breed of Bollywood stars who understand the responsibilities that accompany their public persona and said not to endorse fairness products. Sai Pallavi, who was recently seen in Malayalam film Athiran opposite Fahadh Faasil has reportedly turned down a fairness cream brand endorsement deal
worth Rs 2 crore. Sai Pallavi is riding high with her recent hits – Athiran and Maari 2. But more than her films, the actor is making news for a huge endorsement deal which she rejected. As per reports, the star has turned down a fairness cream brand that approached her for a commercial, offering a whopping Rs 2 crore. Sai, reportedly, refused to endorse the brand because she barely uses cosmetics. The actor is known for using minimum make-up on-screen and even flaunting her non-perfect skin unabashedly. Earlier some more film stars have condemned fairness cream endorsements. Esha Gupta turned down an offer to endorse a fairness cream. She was quoted confirming the same in an interview where she said, “I don’t know why we are so obsessed with the colour ‘white’, and why we give it so much importance. We can’t let a child grow up confidently if we discriminate against him or her on the basis of his or her skin colour.” Anushka Sharma swore to never endorse a fairness product after she refused a popular brand “I would not endorse products that propagate racist and sexist (beliefs)….and propagate social taboo. I don’t want to endorse products that propagate fair skin and all. I will not propagate anything that says this is right or wrong,” she said in an interview. Randeep Hooda was offered an endorsement for a fairness cream for men, but he said that he does not understand or endorse the obsession with fairness. He also said that beauty is not all about fair skin. It's really just about two things: People's prejudice towards darker skin-tones must go away. People with a darker complexion should have no reason to feel ashamed of it, think less of themselves, or be driven by external/indirect influences into unhealthy selfloathing. It requires people to open up their minds and understand. It requires promoting a healthy bodyimage. It requires friends, family, teachers, and guardians to educate their children better.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
56 PRIDE GRABBER
PridE Land grab goES UnChECkEd
for TS CoPS,
Sanobar baig iS
abovE Law
P
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ride India – the real estate firm owned by Abdul Haleem Baig, popularly known as Sanobar Baig – appears to have attained notoriety in land grabbing, thanks to the tacit support he and his associates enjoy from the powers that be. Pride India, along with sister concern Dream India began its activities on the outskirts of Old city and gradually spread its tentacles to four corners of the city. One might think what the big deal is if a real estate firm grows from rags to riches. Hold on! You need to know more. Most of the lands that Pride India converted into real estate ventures are allegedly either grabbed or in disputes. Pride India’s owner Sanobar Baig is booked in number of criminal cases for his alleged illegal activities. Yet, he runs his alleged illegal empire with the support of authorities and political executives. He is facing charges of trespass, fabrication of documents, fraudulent registration of lands, grabbing of
government and private lands, threatening, assault and even smuggling of gold from Gulf countries to Indian cities, particularly Hyderabad. His name figures as prime accused in FIR Nos.113/2017 and 646/2017 of Kukatpally police station, FIR Nos. 254/2018, 414/2018, 465/2018, 90/2019 of Chandrayangutta police station, FIR No.410/2018 of Pahadisharief police station, FIR No.124/2018 of Begumpeta police station and FIR No.141/2019 of Golconda police station. These are only some of the numerous cases booked against Sanobar Baig. One more known case of land grabbing allegedly by way of resorting to forgery and fabrication has been registered at CCS. He is accused of committing the offenses to grab 32,406 square yards of land at Tolichowki in Shaikpet. Shaik Nowhera of Heera Retail (Hyderabad) Private Limited has filed the case claiming that she is the owner of the land. Despite having such huge number of criminal cases against THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
him and also accused of running an alleged gold smuggling racket, Sanobar Baig continues to enjoy influences at high places and carries out the alleged illegal activities unabated. He is seen brushing shoulders with influential politicians including the TRS working president K T Rama Rao. Sanobar Baig is seen sharing dais with the high profile leader of the ruling party at a programme appears to have been organized by the Pride India. Rumours are flying thick in Telangana that Sanobar Baig is above the laws such as PD Act despite figuring in numerous criminal cases, thanks to the political protection he is being given. It may be recalled reports were published in these columns in the past also describing the illegal activities of Pride India. In the past revenue authorities had directed the Badangpet Nagar Panchayat to stop all development activities taken up by Pride Hills – a venture of Pride India Group on the land in survey No.90 of Balapur village to an extent of 170.39 acres – because
the real estate company had neither taken any permission from the competent authority nor did it pay land user charges at the rate of nine percent on the prevailing market price forthe purpose of conversion of the land use from agriculture tonon-agriculture. However, the real estate company did not stop alienating the lands. Instead, it increased its advertisement campaign and even included the photographs of the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in its hoardings installed at that point of time at all prime locations across the city. Also, it had stepped up its advertisement campaign in the media. In fact, sources say, Pride India has the blessings of a local political party which hobnobs with the powers that be in the state and enjoys enormous amount of influence on the administration. It is alleged that Pride India Group had demolished an age old Qutb Shahi mosque located on the land in Sy. Nos. 97,98 and 99 in Balapur village and grabbed Wakf property to develop a real estate venture. The Wakf Board, under pressure from the leaders of the
PRIDE GRABBER 57
said political party, entered into a compromise with the demolishers, much against the Islamic principles. With the officials concerned reluctant to take stern action, Pride India allegedly continues selling government, wakf and private lands allegedly on the strength of forged and fabricated documents and making huge money without paying a penny in taxes. Even the income tax authorities have not bothered to verify the transactions
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
related to Pride India, which run into crores of rupees. In addition to these activities, Sanobar Baig is said to be involved in smuggling gold from Gulf countries in association with a notorious criminal who has the blessings of a local political party. It seems the ruling TRS and the administrative machinery, which boasts of not sparing the wrongdoers and criminals, are very comfortable in accommodating Sanobar Baig for obvious reasons.
58 CROOKED COPS
Businessperson alleges police excesses
Seeks action against Task Force DCP and others
F
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or the last few years, one rhetoric, at least when it comes to the police department, is being played out that the police department has become people friendly. However, here is a businessperson with his version of police excesses against him and some others, which casts a shadow on the honesty and functioning of the task force of Hyderabad city police. Ramesh Gardas of Old Bowenpally in Secunderabad claims himself as a victim of the deputy commissioner of police, north zone task force, Radhakishan Rao and Inspector K Nageshwar Rao. In a petition recently submitted
to the Central Bureau of Investigation, copies of which were sent to the director general of police, home secretary of Telangana and the Hyderabad city police commissioner, Ramesh, who is into real estate and alkaline water business for over two decades, said that he was whisked away by task force sleuths Shravan and Yadagiri on August 7, 2018 and taken to task force office forcibly. He further alleged that he was surprised to see one Hari Gopal, who worked as a freelancer for his real estate business, inside the task force office. “I was subjected to physical and mental torture threatening that I would be implicated in number of cases if I failed to arrange Rs 2 crore as bribe to the
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Inspector Nageshwar Rao and DCP Radhakishan Rao,” he said in the representation. Ramesh further writes in the representation that the task force sleuths summoned two persons – Varakala Balraju and Vemuri R. Gupta – and instructed them to file false complaints against him with the Bowenpally police and in different police stations apparently anticipating trouble for illegal detention. “Since I refused to heed to their illegal demands, I was implicated in some cases accusing me of running crypto currency business,” Ramesh said in the representation adding that he never knew or saw the complainants earlier. He also alleged that the task force sleuths
carried out searches at his house for days without any warrant of search and took away documents, electronic articles, vehicles and other valuables worth over Rs 40 lakh on the ground of seizure. The task force sleuths also made him sell the gold idols of deities from his pooja room to fulfill their demand for bribe, Ramesh said in his representation. However, task force sleuths have shown merely Rs 9.40 lakh as recovery whereas the actual seizure was worth several lakhs of rupees, Ramesh said and also alleged that the task force sleuths destroyed the evidence of illegal searches by taking away the digital video records from his house. Ramesh further alleged that the task force DCP got implicated him in multiple cases in different police stations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as he could not extort Rs 2 crore as bribe. “After detaining me in illegal custody for over two weeks, I was produced before the court on August 25, 2018 and threatened to implicate my family members in the cases if I reveal to the court about the illegal detention and extortion of money,” Ramesh said in the representation. In his representation, Ramesh said that the task force subjected him to mental torture by taking him into custody for further questioning due to which his health deteriorated and the prison authorities admitted him to Osmania General Hospital where he was treated in Intensive Care Unit for 12 days. Contending that the mandate of task force is to find terrorists, rowdy sheeters and anti-social elements, Ramesh said there is a special team in the Central Crime Station to deal with white collar frauds. However, the task force
CROOKED COPS 59
under the stewardship of Radhakishan Rao is more interested in white collar cases purely because they only want to extort money and not serve the society by strictly conforming to their job chart, he said. Ramesh said in the representation that while he had been struggling to rebuild his business ever since his release on bail on November 18, 2018, the task force sleuths headed by Radhakishan Rao in collusion with Bowenpally police station Inspector, D Rajesh have been threatening him with detaining him under PD Act if he failed to pay the bribe of Rs 2 crore as demanded by them during his illegal detention. “I have been appearing before the courts in connection with the false cases filed against me and striving to rebuild my business. But the task force sleuths and Bowenpally Inspector are harassing me like anything due to which I am fed up and made up my mind to fight for justice,” Ramesh said in the representation. To substantiate his allegations against the task force DCP, Ramesh referred to an instance wherein THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Radhakishan Rao was suspended for allegedly demanding bribe from one Yamjala Sridhar Reddy in 2007 due to which the man committed suicide. “Radhakishan Rao was the ACP at Malkajgiri when this happened. A case was registered against him in June 2013 and he was suspended in this matter,” he said. Ramesh alleged that Radhakishan Rao is helped by police officials K Nageshwar Rao, Shravan Kumar, Srikanth, Chandrakanth, Ratnam, Upender, Suraj, Vivek, Yadagiri, Mohan, Sandeep and others in the illegal detentions and extortions. He urged the top officials to order an enquiry by the CBI or any other specialized agency to probe the excesses unleashed by Radhakishan Rao and his team. Apart from the representations, Ramesh is also moving the appropriate courts personally, while some others allegedly implicated in the false cases filed against him have initiated steps to file cases against the socalled complainants in the alleged false cases registered against Ramesh and his associates.
60 CRIME & JUSTICE
rtd. hC judge ramamohana rao
booked in a dowry case
A
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retired judge, who served at the Hyderabad and Madras High Courts, was booked by the police in Hyderabad for allegedly harassing his daughter-in-law for dowry and assaulting her last week. The complainant, 30-year-old Sindhu Sharma, had approached the Central Crime Station in the city and alleged that Justice Nooty Ramamohana Rao, his wife, Nooty Durga Jaya Laxmi and their son, Nooty Vasista, had repeatedly harassed her, allegedly over dowry, and also physically assaulted her. Ramamohana Rao was a senior judge, who was transferred from the Hyderabad High Court in 2016 and had retired in August 2017 while serving at the Madras HC. He had also served at the Madurai bench of the HC for a brief period. The complainant's uncle, Srinivas alleged, "The wedding took place in 2012. They were continuously harassing her and demanding dowry from then itself. Over the last two years or so, it escalated with the family beating her mercilessly, and putting her through mental torture." On April 20, the family allegedly thrashed Sindhu to such an extent that she had to be rushed to a hospital."They took her to Apollo hospital in Jubilee Hills and seeing her injuries, the doctors insisted on a medico-legal case (MLC)," Srinivas said. A copy of the MLC shows
doctors stating that there were nail abrasions over the chest, suggesting that someone had scratched her, besides abrasions in other parts of her body. The doctors also noted that there were bruises over the right shoulder and right forearm. "After she was admitted to the hospital, she regained proper consciousness and called her parents and me around midnight, saying that she had been beaten up. After 1 am, a Sub Inspector from the Jubilee Hills police station visited the hospital and took down her statement, but she could not recollect events properly as she was under mental duress," her uncle said. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
She was later discharged and taken to her parents’ house at Uppal by her family, where she is currently recovering. "They have also snatched her two children; one is a three-year-old girl while the other is a one-and-a-half-year-old infant," the complainant's uncle alleged. The woman's family also alleged that complaints were filed in the past and repeated attempts at counselling by the police also did not yield any results. The two families also attempted to work out an amicable solution, but in vain, following which the woman's family decided to opt for legal recourse. Meanwhile, a case has been registered under IPC sections 498A (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 406 (Criminal breach of trust) and 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt) and Section 6 of the Dowry Prevention Act against the three accused. Retired judge’s family has claimed it was a ‘private matter.
COPS & CROOKS 61
Cracks appear in nayeem’s family!
A
P VISHNUVARDHAN REDDY
More skeletons to tumble out of closet
fter his death at the hands of police in 2016, gangster Nayeemuddin aka Nayeem seems to be still haunting the real estate business and some police officers, thanks to the alleged cracks within his family over sharing the ill-gotten wealth. Recently, Telangana cops arrested some associates of the slain gangster along with his widow and another relative in connection with couple of illegal land deals. Police sources say that Nayeem had acquired through dubious methods huge assets in different parts of the state but most of the assets were registered in the name of benamis the details of which were known completely only to Nayeem. However, sources say that each of Nayeem’s trusted associates including his family members knew about some assets acquired by the gangster during his lifetime. Now that he is no more, some members of the gang chose to go with Nayeem’s sister while others chose to back his widow. In this backdrop, an internal war is said to have begun between the two groups because of which even some police officials having nexus with them also started taking sides. Moreover, both the groups seem to be in the mood to make money by selling away the assets acquired by Nayeem but not known to everybody. This rivalry in the family appears to have come in handy for the SIT probing Nayeem related cases. The rival groups are giving tip-offs to the cops about any attempt by the rival group to alienate the assets acquired by Nayeem, sources said. It is due to this reason police could arrest two gangs of Nayeem in the recent times in which his family members were also present. Though this is a welcome development, it is giving sleepless nights to some police officials who have developed nexus with Nayeem’s gangs. Weeks after the death of Nayeem in an alleged police encounter in Mahbubnagar district, five police officials were suspended, while an oral enquiry was
Nayeem’s wife Hasina Begum with gang members
ordered against 16 police officials for their alleged unholy nexus with the gangster. It may be recalled that the then CID additional superintendent of police, Maddipati Srinivasa Rao, assistant commissioners of police, Chintamaneni Srinivas of CCS and M Srinivasa Rao of Mir Chowk division, Inspectors Masthan Vali of Sangareddy and Raja Gopal of Kothagudem were among those who were suspended. Similarly, oral enquiry was ordered against three deputy superintendents of police – M Sai Manohar, G Prakash Rao and Venkat Narsaiah and one inspector Venkaiah. Further, charge memos were issued to 16 police officers for their alleged links with Nayeem. Subsequently, some more officials were suspended for their unholy nexus with Nayeem. But many others, who played a safe game and did not come to light, are now worried a lot in view of the turf inside the family. Since the rival groups are leaving no chance to ensure damage to the other side, there is every chance that they may reveal the names of police officers and even some politicians who have helped them in the past and helping them now, which may result in more skeletons tumbling out of the closet. In fact, sources say that the department wants to put an end to the probe into Nayeem related cases because it is causing more embarrassment to the department than the criminal gangs.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
62 ENTERTAINMENT
Shilpa and Raveena
‘Super’ heroIneS come TogeTher
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W
hat happens when two superheroines from the 1990s come together on a reality television show? Apart from going down memory lane, you get to see and enjoy the camaraderie of two beautiful ladies with perfect dressing. This is what happened when Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon got together on the sets of Super Dancer, a show in one of the national entertainment channel. Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon come together on the sets of Super Dancer has impressed. They were in their gorgeous traditional outfits While Shilpa Shetty was summer-ready in a floral lehenga. Raveena Tandon looked striking in a red ruffle sari. The Jewellery, make-up and hair were also done really well and it complemented their looks. Full points for that! Super Dancer is an Indian Hindi kids dance reality television series, which airs on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Entertainment Television Asia. This has completed two seasons and the third season has just begun. The series is produced by Ranjeet Thakur and Hemant Ruprell for their production house Frames Production. The show Super Dancer - Dance Ka Kal aims to find a kid prodigy who has the potential to be the future of dance. The kids are aged between 4 and 13 years of age. They are not only required to have 3Ds of dancing - Desire, Discipline and Determination - but also should be a keen learner, adaptable to all dance styles and circumstances and should be a passionate dancer with a unique personality. This show is seen as an opportunity for every kid to hone their talent and dancing skills. After the initial auditions and mega au-
ditions, 12 Super Dancers are selected to be competing for the title of Dance Ka Kal (future of dance). They are each paired with one choreographer (Super Guru) who has a unique style similar to theirs. These Super Gurus train them, choreograph acts for them and also perform with them. The Super Dancers perform on Saturdays and along with their choreographers on Sunday. The performances are voted by the audience every week on the website or the SonyLiv App. On the basis of the number of votes, one kid is being eliminated every week. The show has 3 judges. Shilpa Shetty along with Anurag Basu and Geeta Kapoor has taken that responsibility. Each of these judges has been a part of both the seasons of the show. The production house has retained all the 3 judges for the third season of the show.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
StateS 63
TTd deposited in various banks
Lord of seven hills has 9259 kg gold! T
BY P.RAMAMOHAN REDDY
irumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has total deposits of 9259 kilos Gold in a various nationalized bank. This includes 5387 kilos in State Bank of India (SBI), 1938 kg in Indian Overseas Bank(IOB), 1381 kg in Punjab National Bank (PNB) and 553 kg of mixed gold in TTD treasury. This is the first time the total Gold deposits belonging to Lord Sri Venkateshwara was made public. This information was revealed by TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal. Recently while speaking to media to assure that there is nothing to worry about 1381 kilograms of gold belonging to Lord Venkateswara which was caught by election authorities in Tiruvallur district of Tamilnadu he has given the details of Gold deposits. TTD executive officer Anil Kumar
Singhal asserted that the 1381 kg of Gold including interest, which was deposited in Punjab National Bank (PNB) in 2016, has reached TTD treasury safely on 20 April. The EO has tried to allay fears on the safety of TTD gold from the minds of devotees. The executive officer said the state government of Andhra Pradesh has issued a government order on 1 April in the year 2000, to deposit surplus gold in nationalized banks under the Gold Deposit Scheme. Later in 2015, the RBI has brought in Gold Monetisation Scheme in the place of Gold Deposit Scheme. The total deposits of TTD Gold include 5387 kilos in State Bank of India (SBI), 1938 kg in Indian Overseas Bank(IOB), 1381 kg in Punjab National Bank (PNB) and 553 kg of mixed gold in TTD treasury.
Gold in boxes
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
Following the guidelines of Medium Term and Long Term deposits are given by the Government of India, TTD deposited gold in the respective banks. The GoI gives 1.5% on handling charges and 1% commission to banks. The handling charges are towards the gold purity testing, refining, transportation, storage and other costs being incurred by banks. "Hence it is clear that the total responsibility of handing over of Gold to TTD in Treasury at Administration Building, Tirupati lies purely on PNB as per guidelines," Anil Kumar said. The EO further said, "TTD has deposited 1311 kilos of Gold in PNB on 18 April 2016 for a period of three years. The deposit maturity date was on 18 April 2019 which was fixed three years ago itself. Accordingly, TTD has addressed PNB on 27 March to handover Gold to TTD with interest on 1381 kg on the maturity date. As per TTD is request the PNB has handed over the gold to TTD on 20 April. The gold while being transported, was seized by the election authorities. EO made it clear that "TTD has no responsibility in regard to the gold and TTD never claimed this gold by election authorities. TTD officials including vigilance department bear no responsibility in this regard."
64 LIFE STYLE
how to be happy at work & @ home? T
BY: RAMMOHAN APPARASU
hese three lessons are true for every person who wants a long, happy, and satisfying career. But it’s very hard to put that advice into practice. It took me the last six years of my thirty odd years journalist career to figure that out. And I still have to remind myself that life is bigger than work. Almost everywhere that I’ve worked in the past, there was a “perception is reality” culture. That means looks are more important than reality. In other words: The person who’s in the office the longest appears to be the hardest worker. Now, that may be true. But that’s not what matters. We all know that the only thing that counts is results. However, we collectively insist on looking at vanity factors like participation in meetings, hours spent at the office, and how fast people respond to emails. It’s pathetic. At a family business,
a team of professional run consultancy – service companies encourage everyone to leave when they are done for the day. It’s because we have realized that focusing on priorities is a much better metric than only looking at the hours' someone works. And still, people find it uncomfortable to say, “I’ve finished my top priorities, I’m going home.” I get it. When you work in a group, you don’t want to make others feel bad or that things are unfair. But think about why you’re working in the first place. You’re there to contribute. To the company you work for or your own company. Working too long is unproductive Now, I’m sure people love to be in your presence for 10 hours a day, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick around so long that you become unproductive. Because that’s one of the main reasons we’ve stopped working standard 9 THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
or 10 hour days. It’s useless. There’s a large body of research that proves working long hours is counterproductive. Regardless of our reasons for working long hours, overwork does not help us. For starters, it doesn’t seem to result in more output. In a study of consultants by Erin Reid, a professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, managers could not tell the difference between employees who actu-
LIFE STYLE 65
ally worked 80 hours a week and those who just pretended to. While managers did penalize employees who were transparent about working less, Reid was not able to find any evidence that those employees actually accomplished less or any sign that the overworking employees accomplished more. Considerable evidence shows that overwork is not just neutral — it hurts us and the companies we work for. Numerous studies by
Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and her colleagues (as well as other studies) have found that overwork and the resulting stress can lead to all sorts of health problems, including impaired sleep, depression, heavy drinking, diabetes, impaired memory, and heart disease. Now you get the idea? That’s why my first rule of work is this: Leave On Time Recently I was chatting with a THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
senior Lifecoach about how great it is to love your job. He said: “I’ve never had a job in my life that I didn’t love. It’s one of the most gratifying things in life.” But like my mother always says, “too much of a good thing becomes bad.” I believe that’s the same with work. Now, I’m not talking about intensity. Please don’t get me wrong, I work till hard. Always have done. But now just don’t go on for too long.
66 LIFE STYLE
The art of working hard is knowing when to quit. But as the senior Lifecoach told me, that’s very hard: “My biggest problem was that I worked too much. I left the house at 10 AM and came back 11 PM. That’s too much.” You must protect yourself against too much work. And it’s straightforward. Just leave the office on time. Whether you love your job or not — it doesn’t matter. When it’s time to go home, GO! No one needs you to be at the office 24/7. Only your ego does. Honestly, the office will be here tomorrow. Your co-workers will still
be alive. Your company will not go bust. Work is about achieving results. If you can’t do that in 6–8 hours a day, you’re not effective. So instead of working overtime, read a book on personal effectiveness or get yoga - mediation training. Leave your work at work But don’t just go home and take your work with you. That defeats the whole purpose. No one thinks it’s cool when you’re fixing next day’s appointments or closing deals on the phone at dinner. You’re also not doing yourself a service by continually THE NEWS YOU LIKE | MAY 2019
thinking about work when you’re at home. Relax a bit. Play some time with your kids or if they are grownup talk to them about their studies – hobbies – friends. Take the kids for a walk. Cook dinner for your spouse. Whatever. Look, living a happy life is very simple. It’s all within our control. We can decide what makes us happy. We can choose to change to be happy. I have pasted Rumi’s quote on my WhatsApp mobile app to remind me of that: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” To be frank very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within ourselves, in our way of thinking. We all know that money, success, fame, or recognition, by themselves, don’t make us happy. And yet, we work too much to obtain those things that don’t even make us happy in the first place. So why do we keep working too much that it hurts us? It could be our ego. Maybe we just can’t help ourselves. It’s different for every person. Personally, I don’t care about the reason. All I know is that too much work has a negative impact on the quality of our lives and work. What matters is that we protect ourselves from our own stupidity. We’re just like kids. We need rules to live happily and safely. That’s why the first rule of work is that we leave the office on time. The second rule is that we don’t take our work home. And the third rule? Let’s not worry about that for now. We’ll get to that another time. It’s time for me to leave my home office room and to go home to call my daughter studying at GFS university in Gujrat.
The News You Like May, 2019
RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-5-2019)