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PAGES: 68 VOL.6 | ISSUE: 12, JANUARY, 2019
EDITORIAL EDITORIAL
VOL:6 I SSUE:12 I JANUARY, 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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e have entered the New Year. We all welcome 2019 with new hopes and expectations. Change for good is expected. Betterment is desired. This applicable both at individual and collective levels. At the end of the year, 2018 new governments have formed in five states including Telangana. While people in Hindi heartland voted with hope to have better, helpful administration, Telangana voters acted with gratitude and determination to protect their self-respect & pride. We all know that tomorrow is like today, just another day. Except that we work for positive change and betterment. Remember the lessons we have learnt and act by keeping them in mind. For this, we need to review yesterday and take care of today so that tomorrow will be closer to our dreams, desires. Once we turn back and see what we had achieved, past reminds us that there much to be done as yet. The year that has ended, no doubt was eventful. We as nation and state have had both achievements and heartbreaks. ISRO has made the country proud in racing into space like never before by launching satellites into orbits of service and strategic defence positions. The nation had embraced the Seven Sisters States of North East closely and won their hearts. Sportswomen, 'Magnificent' Mary Kom, 'Stupendous' PV Sindhu have created history in their respective fields. Indians, Indian origin citizens of many countries in the world have excelled in various fields. At the same time the perennial pains like burning issue of Kashmir, heinous abuse of women and children, caste based hatred continued. Corruption of pettyminded politicians, unscrupulous bureaucrats, greedy corporates eating away the fruits of progress & wealth of resources. Yet all is not lost. India as a democratic country has emerged strongly over the years. Despite its’ own internal and external limitations, we have a judicial system with sound foundations. Above all Indians have proven as resilient people. With these strengths, our country can and will march forward to a brighter future. We can hope and believe that the new year can be a step towards that. Wishing everyone the joy and magic of the new year & festive season!
Editor : A Rammohan Rao
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 | JANUARY 2019
4 CONTENTS
TS Assembly polls
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Gamble paid great dividends to KCR Gamble and gratitude paved the way. Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s supremo Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao’s gamble in going for early elections have paid rich dividends for the party. What the gratitude of masses in Telangana gave K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) got in the latest Assembly election: a second chance to rule the new state. In a furiously fought battle between Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) and Congress-led Pajakutami, ruling TRS won 88 (74 per cent) out of total 119 seats.
New surrogacy bill: Total security to surrogate mother
Semifinal duel ahead of 2019 Elections lead to 18 surprising results
After two years Lok Sabha has passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill. If it also gets a node of Rajya Sabha will put a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy in India. 25
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
CONTENTS
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Adults too need Vaccines 45 Five Assembly elections:
What do the voting data reveal?
Vaccines successfully protect children from diseases that are fatal early in life. But vaccines aren’t just for kids. Every year, thousands of adults in our country get sick and are hospitalized from vaccinepreventable diseases.
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Banda cheruvu is shrinking Land grabber ruling the roost
The results of elections in five states in December saw a spectacular change in the country’s political map. Three Congress chief ministers are now in. Though the Congress was booted out in Mizoram and TRS) registered a thumping conquest in Telangana...
Find a water tank. Start filling it with mud, rubble. Level it up and make residential plots for sale. This the modus operandi of land grabbers in Hyderabad and its surroundings.
The success of cinema & commerce cocktail 41 34 Top 10 fastest growing cities of the world All are in India
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
6 STATES
TS Assembly polls
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Gamble paid great dividends to KCR
BY: D. BAL REDDY
amble and gratitude paved the way. Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s supremo Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao’s gamble in going for early elections have paid rich dividends for the party. What the gratitude of masses in Telangana gave K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) got in the latest Assembly election: a second chance to rule the new state. In a furiously fought
battle between Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) and Congress-led Pajakutami, ruling TRS won 88 (74 per cent) out of total 119 seats. The Congress won 19 out of the 100 seats it contested. Its alliance partner, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), won two seats. The other allies, the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India (CPI) could not win any seats. Though of top leaders, TRS continuously expressed confidence
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
of coming back to power thumping majority few expected huge victory, giving the party a stupendous three-fourths majority in the assembly. The TRS has won crushing the Prajakutami, the Grand Alliance of four parties - the Congress, TDP, Telangana Jana Samithi(TJS) and the CPI. The main Opposition Congress and the BJP failed even to retain their seats and their already dwindling strength in the Assembly
STATES
has been reduced further. The vote share of Congress rose marginally from 25 per cent in 2014 to 28.4 per cent now (see table above), but its seat tally came down by two to 19. TDP’s vote share fell sharply with many of those who supported it in 2014 presumably shifting to TRS now, according to field reports. The Andhra settlers who voted for YSR Congress Party led by Jaganmohan Reddy last time too may have voted for TRS now. Many important alliance leaders were trounced or won by a whisker, while TRS candidates won with enviable margins. The campaign by BJP’s whos-who including Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath made little impact. The scale of KCR’s victory has made pointless any debate over whether BJP would divide the anti-incumbency vote in his favour. The BJP must now be content with just one Assembly seat instead of the five it won last time, though the Muslim
rabble-rousing outfit All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) retained its strength at seven seats. How did KCR made this magic and create history by winning even by going early elections? Voter choices are rarely determined by any single factor. Political pundits see many factors leading to TRS
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landslide victory. As they see voters gave KCR a second chance in a big way because they saw if they voted for him and doom if they backed for the alliance. What clinched the Telangana verdict was a positive vote by nearly half the voters. This is what is different about KCR’s victory at a time when negative voting against the incumbent is almost the norm in democracies worldwide, as is evident even in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and to some extent Madhya Pradesh in the current round of Assembly elections. In KCR’s case, the positive vote for him was only doubled by the negative vote against his rivals. The most novel scheme is the wellthought-out Rythu Bandhu, under which farmers get Rs 8,000 per acre for two crops a year. This is a surer way of ensuring that farmers have some money in hands than subsidising crops and promising MSP (minimum support prices). For every unfulfilled or partially fulfilled promise by KCR, there is a scheme that has already helped some people. And voters see in him a man who, if re-elected, will make good his unkept promises. Despite the plethora of populist schemes and development activities that KCR undertook, vast sections of Telangana’s people were disenchanted. The problem was that KCR promised too much and didn’t deliver all of it, which made many people see his performance as a glass-half-empty instead of a glass half-full. For instance, though the promise of providing drinking water to every household was largely successful, his promise to provide 550-square-feet twobedroom houses fell far short of expectations. Of the 2.5 lakh houses, fewer than 20,000 homes were al-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
8 STATES
lotted, though another lakh or so are still under construction. The scheme to provide free 24-hour electricity worked, but the farm loan waiver was only partially implemented. Though supplying sheep to shepherds was more or less a success, insurance for farmers is still to take off. Free doles make those benefitting from it happy, leaving those left out fuming, though KCR tried to ensure that every family profited from “at least three schemes”. But this was a risk associated with fighting elections with freebies. It’s never easy to satisfy huge populations. He has successfully achieved that. On the political arena despite publicly exuding confidence that Prajakutami was no threat. But KCR was clearly anxious by it. Before the alliance took shape, he saw his re-election as a one-way fight that was a mere formality, a confidence that had in the first place prompted him to go in for Assembly’s dissolution nine months before its term ended. In the middle majority of the media in the state, for TDP and it’s national president N.Chardrababu Naidu was darling for decades projected Prajakutmai has gained significantly and most likely to win. But in end, the fight did become almost a one-way affair, only because a large section of voters saw it as an alliance that is downright opportunistic, dishonest and, to use a cliché of the season, unholy. The idea of Naidu, whose TDP had been founded in 1982 to fight Congress, allying with that very same party didn’t go down with people. They also saw Congress leaders as no more than crocodiles who shed tears to lament KCR’s alleged non-performance. The campaign of Congress that it was the UPA 2 government led by it which had met the demand for the formation of separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 worked even less than it did in the last election. The Telangana sub-nationalism was bound to play its role in the election. TRS chief, in his own
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
STATES
Party wise votes and seats
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In this election, the TRS has significantly increased its vote share and seat share, while the united opposition has suffered huge losses. The combined vote share of the Congress, TDP, CPI, and TJS decreased from 40.46% to 32.69%. The TRS vote share increased from 34.04% to 46.86%. Party TRS
Congress TDP BJP
AIMIM
YSRCP
2014 Assembly Election Seats 63
2018 Assembly Election
Vote share % Seats 34
88
15
14.5
2
7
3.7
21 5
3
inimitable style, not only managed to show his political rivals in poor light but also succeeded in convincing voters to support his party. His constant refrain during most of his meetings, besides the references to his government’s various welfare schemes and development projects, was: “Do you want to become slaves of Amaravati and Delhi?” usually followed by, “Vote for the self-rule of Telangana.” Another impact making point KCR put across to the people with great success was that if the Congress-
25
19
7
1
3.4
-
7
Vote share % (initial estimates) 46.9
28.4 3.5 7.1
2.7 -
led People’s Front was voted to power, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu would command the alliance. Then the people will be forced to travel to Amaravati to get any clearances for any projects or for any development works. During some of his campaign meetings, the TRS chief flashed his little finger and said: “Congress leaders seek permission from the high command in Delhi even for this (attend a nature’s call). Congress some leaders are also of the opinion that these allegations
of over dependency on high command and Chandrababu’s interference have worked against Prajakutami. They say many within his party believe the alliance with the TDP did more harm than good. Some of them said to have cautioned against forging an alliance with the TDP. They explained that the people of Telangana are still opposed to Naidu because of his opposition to Telangana’s creation. But it was the high command’s decision to go for the alliance. It was initially thought that TDP president’s campaign would help attract votes of the (Andhra) settlers. Now they feel the party should have contested the elections alone. Yet it’s difficult to say that Telangana pride alone turned the poll into an easy victory for TRS. That’s simply because even in the flush of emotions over the birth of the new state in 2014, both Congress and TDP did better in the last election than in the current one. And the backing KCR received even in areas where large numbers of Andhra-origin people live too goes to confirm that it was his government’s past performance and expectations from it in future that became the single most significant contributor to his victory. Telangana now presents a new model of politics and development for India.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
10 STATES
‘Hospitals in Telugu states washing hands of hygiene’ H
THE NEWS BUREAU:
and hygiene is a simple and low-cost measure to reduce healthcare-associated infection yet it has always been a concern in low as well as high resource settings across the globe. Poor hand hygiene during intra-partum(from the onset of labour through the delivery of the placenta) and newborn care may result in sepsis, which is a major cause of death among newborns and puts a financial burden on already strained families. Washing one’s hands are arguably the most basic of personal hygiene measures, but unfortunately, this step seems to be often ignored at newborn care units and labour rooms, putting at risk the immunity of babies already suffering from poor health. Each year, hundreds of millions of patients are affected by Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) worldwide. An estimated 7 of every 100 hospitalized patients in developed and 10 in 100 in low and middleincome countries acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection causing a major mortality and financial burden. A study by Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) found hand hygiene compliance in hospital wards at specialised newborn care
units (SNCU) and neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to be as low as 23 per cent. The report also states healthcare workers coming in direct contact with blood and bodily fluids in newborn care units have a compliance of 14 per cent. The adherence to hand hygiene is much lower in government hospitals -- a shocking 12 per cent, whereas in private hospitals it was
Stockholm. Dr Samiksha Singh, associate professor at Indian Institute of Public Health blamed the abysmal figures on the absence of strict regulation and the non-availability of wash areas and alcohol-based hand sanitisers at hospitals. But the biggest issue is attitude problem because in many places it was observed that even when hand wash facility or the hand sanitisers were
an unsatisfactory 44 per cent. The study titled ‘Hand hygiene in hospitals: an observational study in hospitals from two southern states of India’ was conducted at 52 secondary and tertiary hospitals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by researchers from PHFI in association with researchers from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Karolinska Institutet,
available, staffers would forget to use the facility. Someone senior in the unit can on a regular basis monitor how many in the newborn care units are following hand hygiene rules. SNCUs and NICUs have babies who are pre-term or immuno-compromised — already struggling to survive, poor hygiene can make them even more vulnerable.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
THE NATION 11
Punjab gave women their due
50% reservations in Panchyath bodies
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THE NEWS BUREAU:
hen women in whole country is waiting for rightful reservation for in Parliamanent and their respective state Assemblies, Punjab has taken leap forward. The Punajab has not only decided to reserve 50% posts in Gram panchayaths and Zilla parshaths but the state Assembly has passed an unamimous resolution urging Central Government to enact Women's Reservation Bill to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in both Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. The Punjab Cabinet during it meeting in 3rd week of December has decided to extend the enhanced 50 per cent reservation for women in the matter of rotation for the office of the panchayat sarpanch to the office of the chairperson of panchayat samitis and zila parishads. The ordinance was submitted to Governor of Punjab V P Singh Badnore within seven days of the Cabinet’s grant of approval. As per the ordinance, the principle of rotation for the purpose of reservation of offices would commence from the first election to be held after commencement of the Act. The state government, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, had enhanced reservation for women in these bodies from 33 to 50 per cent last year. The cabinet has now approved amendments to the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act,
1994 and the Punjab Reservation for Office of Sarpanches and Gram Panchayats and Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishad Rules, 1994. Following the publication of the census, the number of directly elected members, chairmen and vice chairmen of panchayat samitis and rotation for reservation of seats and offices for different categories will be determined on the basis of the population of the panchayat samiti area at the census, and rotation of seats and offices will be made at the time of every general election. This rotation would be subject to conditions that determination of number of seats and offices will not affect existing the composition of the panchayat samitis until the expiry of the term of office of elected members.In accordance with the principle of rotation, reser-
vation in subsequent elections will start from the first non-reserved constituency in this roster in the order Scheduled CasteScheduled Caste WomenWomen. Two days before state cabinet decision on women reservations in Panchayath Raj bodies in second week of December, the Punjab Punjab Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to enact Women's Reservation Bill to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in both Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies by voice vote. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. While moving the resolution during the winter session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Singh pointed to the previous Congress government's decision to reserve 50 per cent seats for women in Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat Raj Institutions and urged the Centre to hasten the enactment of this bill. "The Bill would ensure greater equity and balanced representation for both men and women in the national electoral process and decision making. This would fulfill a legitimate and long pending demand of women to ensure their empowerment," he said.Singh said the Congress government had ensured passage of the earlier Bill in the Upper House but it had lapsed in the Lok Sabha due to the indifferent attitude of the opposition.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
12 COVER STORY
Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika
The queen of controversies? THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
COVER STORY 13
A
A.RAMMOHAN RAO
fter not-so-smooth sailing, the film on iconic Indian warier queen Lakshmibai is getting ready for release. Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming film, Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, is scheduled to release on 25th January. The trailer of "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi" was launched on December 18. Its makers said it is a visual spectacle. The film will portray the journey of India's fiercest warrior queen, Rani Lakshmibai will be released the film in Tamil and Telugu also to capture pan-India markets. The three-minute-long trailer revealed that the 31-year-old Kangana, who played the titular role in the film, is undoubtedly brilliant as the feisty Rani Lakshmi Bai. The trailer begins with an introduction to the storyline of Rani Laxmi Bai's biopic - in the absence of a ruler, Jhansi appears to be in great peril with the East India Company attempting to seize Jhansi. The trailer then offers a snippet of Kangana as the fierce Manikarnika, who soon wins over all of Jhansi with her warmth, unbeatable skills as a warrior and ideologies. "Kanyay kaise kalaiyaan ghumate hai, main dikhati hun," Manikarnika utters at the beginning of the trailer while challenging a group of sword fighters. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
14 COVER STORY
The intriguing trailer also has glimpses of Manikarnika's wedding to Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar (played by actor Jisshu Sengupta) and her naming ritual that followed. Manikarnika was assigned the prestigious title of Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi. The story then takes an interesting turn as the trailer portrays Rani Lakshmi Bai's heart-wrenching transformation from a young widow to a warrior queen, who is determined to serve the people of Jhansi with every drop of her blood and sweat. As in the trailer of Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi we can be sure that the full-length film also features stunning war sequences between Rani Laxmi Bai and the East India Company. Rani Lakshmi Bai shines brightly in the pages of Indian history as one of the early freedom fighters of India. She trained and headlined an army of women against the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, of Baahubali fame, Kangana Ranaut as Rani Laxmibai (Manikarnika aka Manu)Manikarnika also has actors Atul Kulkarni as Tatya Tope,Jisshu Sengupta as Gangadhar Rao,Ankita Lokhande as Jhalkaribai,Yash Tonk as Rao Tula Ram, Richard Keep as General Hugh Rose,Suresh Oberoi as Bajirao II, Danny Denzongpa as Ghulam Ghaus Khan,Vaibhav Tatwawaadi as Puran Singh,R. Bhakti Klein as Lord Canning, Mishti as Kashibai, Unnati Davara as Mundar, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sadashiv, Nihar Pandya as Pran Sukh Yadav, Taher Shabbir as Sangram Singh, Nalneesh Neel as Teer Singh. Kangana Ranaut hopes that her THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
film gets a solo release at the box office last week of this (January) month. There were reports that Hrithik Roshan starrer "Super 30" is running behind its due schedule since the time the film's director Vikas Bahl's name cropped up in sexual harassment cases and therefore, the film will not be able to release on January 25 along with Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi. Kangana says, "Our film has a patriotic theme so, that date is very important for us and we will be very happy to have a solo release on that day." This film said to be is on a huge scale so there are lots of VFX involved in the film. Recently when asked how the post-production work of the film is going on, Kangana said, "Actually, we were feeling that we are in a war zone because the post-production of the film is taking place. But the film Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi is from the beginning was on the war zone. making headlines for all the wrong reasons. From its directors to its actors, people are leaving the film midway making it difficult for the film to release on the scheduled date. First Its producer Sujay Kutty has been sacked. It reported that the budget of Manikarnika has suddenly increased from Rs 70 crore to Rs 100 crore, and thereafter, Zee Studios business head Sujay Kutty was sacked from the company for giving green light to the project to go on floors. Apparently, the extended budget is being used for the reshoot of the scenes that Kangana is directing. After that budget further increased to 125 crores. Manikarnika caught itself in controversies when a clipboard with Kangana Ranaut's name in place of the director started making rounds on the internet. Later it was
COVER STORY 15
Back screen warriors & Supporters of Manikarnika Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi is the real-life story of the warrior queen. She was the first woman in history to fight against the British and started the first war for Independence. The 22-yearold queen refused to cede Jhansi to the British. Dressed as a man, she fought a fierce battle and was killed in combat but her inspiring life story and fight against the British is an inspiring tale of bravery, valour and women's strength that has inspired generations after her and will inspire generations to come. Directed by: Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi Kangana Ranaut Produced by: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain, Nishant Pitti Screenplay & Story by: K. V. Vijayendra Prasad Written by: Prasoon Joshi (Songs & dialogues) Narrated by: Amitabh Bachchan Music by: Songs: Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Background Score: Sanchit Balhara, Ankit Balhara Cinematography: Kiran Deohans. Gnana Shekar V.S. Edited by: Rameshwar Bhagat, Suraj Jagtap Duration: 173 minutes Language: Hindi-Telugu-Tamil Budget: 125 crore Production Company: Kairos Kontent Studios Distributed by: Zee Studios Release date: 5 January 2019 THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
16 COVER STORY
revealed that director Krish has started shooting for NTR biopic and Kangana is just helping with the patchwork. Later actor Sonu Sood walked out of the film and Kangana cited that he left because allegedly he did not want to work under a female director. Sonu however, said that he opted out of the project because of the scheduling conflict. Earlier, Kangana stirred controversy for hijacking Simran's writing credits from its original screenplaywriter Apurva Asrani. Recently Allegations Non – payment of dues to certain technicians. Last year days after film writereditor Apurva Asrani accused her of taking the “screenplay and dialogues’ credit” for Hansal Mehta’s Simran, filmmaker Ketan Mehta has sent a legal notice to the Queen star for “hijacking” one of his most ambitious film projects, Rani of Jhansi: The Warrior Queen. He said that since 2015, he was in contact with Kangana for the project. I was sharing research material and several drafts of the script with Kangana and she was actively participating. “ we have worked on the project for two years and how all of a sudden everything happened.” he said. In 2017 Ketan Mehta has filed a complaint with Economic Offences Wing (EOW) that his script was used for the movie. After enquiring the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has closed complaint filed by director In. As part of the enquiry conducted by the unit's general cheating department, all material related to the film was taken from Mehta and even the statements of various people were recorded. The producers of the movie had also submitted their script and other material. Finally the EOW has closed the case THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
saying everyone knows about the story of the Queen of Jhansi, as it's there in History textbooks and the allegations could only be proved if the dialogues, scenes and sets were the same as mentioned in Mehta's script, but in this case, it wasn't. Soon after Kangana Ranaut took megaphone in her hands ‘to help with the patchwork’ senior Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, who was acting as ‘Sadashiv’ silently quit Manikarnika. Kangana Ranaut alleged that he didn’t want to work under a female director on Manikarnika. She said “Sonu vehemently denied to work under a woman director, which is kind of amusing because Sonu is a dear friend and I have even launched the music of a film that he produced on his request, even though the team suggested that they have full faith in me, it seems, Sonu had neither dates nor faith.” Kangana took the reins of Manikarnika from director Krish Jagalamudi for patchwork shoots of the film. It has been reported that she will shoot almost 70% new footage for the film as Krish is busy with his other project, NTR biopic. For the reshoots, Kangana has roped in actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in place of Sonu. Sonu has reacted sharply to Kangana’s accusations that he didn’t want to work under a female director on Manikarnika. He said the problem isn’t that he doesn’t want to work under a female director but something else. “I never said that I don’t want to work with a female director, The gender of the director is not the issue. Competence is. Let's not confuse the two. Because I have already done a movie with a female director (Farah Khan, Happy New Year) I only said I can’t be working with
COVER STORY 17
two directors on one set.” He lashed out at Kangana for making these statements. “Kangana constantly playing the woman card, the victim card and making this entire issue about male chauvinism is ridiculous. So I will always maintain that stand and in a span of all these years, whatever films I have done, 80-90 movies, I have worked with one director at a time. So that is my stand and I will always stick to it,” he said. Controversies continued to chase Kangana’s film. Allegations Non – payment of dues to certain technicians emerged against the producers. Denying the reports, Ranaut clarified in a statement, “I’ve been informed about it. There’s nothing as such and it’s just a dispute with a vendor where they don’t think that they should pay as much as the vendor is demanding for,” she said. However, Kangana agreed that film technicians and labourers deserve to properly remunerated. “Being a technician is devalued. I want to venture into writing and direction and jobs which are for the unsung heroes. But when injustice happens, it can’t be tolerated,” says the actor turned director. Finally, Kangana Ranaut had a sigh of relief. Despite the controversies surrounding Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, she has managed to wrap up the historical when the final scene of the biopic was shot in October. Kangana took over the project after director Krishna Jagarlamudi. With the change in cast, exhausting schedules and reshooting, she has survived the odds. She wrapped up the schedule in 45 days. The film is scheduled to be released due date on January 25, due to the legacy of Queen of Jhansi.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
18 THE NATION
Semifinal duel ahead of 2019 Elections lead to surprising results A
THE NEWS BUREAU
ll India Congress Committee(AICC) President Rahul Gandhi had a very special birthday. He has hard-earned a gift for not only him self but the Congressmen all over the country something to be cheerful. Exactly a year after he has taken over the reins of Congress, on December 11, 2017, he along his trusted leftenants revived the fortunes of the grand old political party. The prevailing sentiment of scepticism - even ridicule outside the party, and nervous selfdoubt within suddenly vanished.
With two Hindi heartland states Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in his pocket and a photo-finish win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajiv Gandhi has not only erased the taunt of a “Congress-Mukth Bharat”, but could give his party and the opposition some real impetus going into a crucial Lok Sabha election year. All these days the key question around Rahul Gandhi was that of winnability. A more than honourable show in a direct fight with the formidable BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has settled that. That the Congress alliance with the Telugu Desam THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
Party(TDP) backfired in Telangana, or that its last holdout in the Northeast too has fallen, with the MNF taking Mizoram, receded in importance in this big picture. The vote share figures brought cheer to the party. In Chhattisgarh, where it won a surprise 68/15 landslide despite the lack of a clear leader and a tripartite field, the Congress got 43.1 per cent votes, up from 38.37 per cent in 2014 and 40.29 per cent in the 2013 state polls. Three-time CM Raman Singh suffered a resounding fall, taking the BJP from 41 per cent in 2013 to 33 per cent now. That’s
even more dramatic if you take the high of 49 per cent in 2014, the Lok Sabha tally was a 10/1 knockout in favour of the BJP. In Rajasthan the swing is much greater. The BJP fell from an astounding high of 55 per cent in 2014 and 45.2 per cent in 2013 to 38.8 per cent. The Modi wave had been an out-and-out tsunami then, taking all 25 Lok Sabha seats from the state. On the other hand, Congress improved from 33.1 per cent in 2013 and 34 in 2014 to 39.3 per cent now. A more modest gain than was predicted earlier. That was expected closer to polling due to the duality in leadership in the shape of Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot, bad candidate selection and rebels queering the pitch. The 99/73 seat tally reflected this less-than-emphatic vote shift. This more shaky field may see Gehlot being favoured as CM candidate, because of his greater perceived capacity to handle the many independents. On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh saw a real razor-edge fight. The Congress boosted its share from 36.4 per cent in 2013 to 41 per cent, but that only brought it neck-and-neck with the 41.1 per cent that three-time CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan retained, even while sliding from 44.9 per cent. The 114-109 break-up of seats, In Telangana, the TRS retained power with a bigger mandate, but the Congress improved its vote share from 25.2 per cent to 28.4 per cent. Mizoram is the only state where the Congress lost its vote share and the BJP gained. However, the winner is a third player, the Mizo National Front,
THE NATION 19
which returns to power with a clear majority of 26 seats out of 40. In the final analysis, farm distress, the pain of demonetisation and GST, the anti-incumbency fatigue against BJP CMs, all contributed. Shivraj has to be credited for giving the fight of his life against what seemed to be a losing game. Rahul has shown he has it in him to take on Modi-Shah’s formidable election machinery. Assembly election results were not up to expectations BJP. Party has announced that it will be undertaking an analysis of the factors responsible for the defeat in the five states, including the Hindi heartland. The BJP’s electoral rout in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Telangana have set the stage for a gruelling battle of the ballot between a possible Congress-led front headed by Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ledNDA. The latter’s attempt to come
to power for a second term looks like an uphill task in view of the changed arithmetic in the five states after Assembly election results. BJP leaders blamed the poll defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on anti-incumbency factor and denied that ‘double anti-incumbency’ did the party. When it was pointed out that election results were likely to translate into the Congress possibly gaining 43 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they say all elections were a challenge and Congress had claimed that it would win Uttar Pradesh assembly polls but could win only seven seats. They are insisting that the voting pattern in Lok Sabha is always different from assembly polls Inside the party, the discussions are focused on the possible adverse implication of the assembly elections results on the party’s prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. However, on outside party leaders are asserting by saying that assembly elections should not be linked to Lok Sabha poll. They also denied that it would be Modi versus Rahul in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. And pointed out that the Congress which was in power in Mizoram since the time of Rajiv Gandhi suffered defeat in the state as also in Telangana. If these assembly elections results were to be converted into Lok Sabha seats then the Congress will be a net gainer of 46 seats, whereas the BJP tally would be reduced to just 25 seats, according to political analysts. That is likely to make the BJP’s goal of coming back to power in 2019 an uphill task.
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20 FOR THE PEOPLE
D. BAL REDDY
Reversal BJP fortunes: Is Congress gaining lost glory?
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ow unexpectedly the map of India looking different. Congress which till recent months was viewed as waning, suddenly raised like a phoenix. This looks surely opening a window of opportunity for the Congress and non-NDA opposition. From Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat the Hindi heartland gave Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) & its allies 226 seats out of total 273 seats in last (2014) general elections. Now three major states Rajasthan - Madhya Pradesh – Chhattisgarh have gone in favour of Congress. If the verdict in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are any indication people, in general, are changing their opinion. This along with the likelihood of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party coming together, there is a high possibility of the BJP losing 80 to 100 Lok Sabha seats in next (2019) Lok Sabha elections. The electoral success of a potential ally in Telangana and prospects of increasing the NDA tally in the northeast, West Bengal or Tamil Nadu can hardly account
for a fourth of the probable shortfall. The Congress’ success in Chhattisgarh is most glaring and evident. Here was a state where the grand old party did not have a strong regional satrap. With the great acceptability, the popularity of series of welfare schemes and the fight against Naxal violence made Chief Minister Raman Singh a clear winner. But voters thought differently and sent BJP in Chhattisgarh home. Many political pundits are of the opinion that sceTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
nario in the rest of India is changing and people in many parts of the country are likely to vote as Chhattisgarh voters did. May now it’s time for all those who believe in prime ministerial democracy or rely solely on a personality cult to rethink. Their model may not work in next (2019) Lok Sabha elections. The outcome also has a tremendous bearing on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. At a time when the young Gandhi has completed his first year in office as the party president, electoral success in Ra-
jasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh is an exceptional triumph. The BJP has been defeated when it’s the strongest, both in the terms of electoral successes and organisational network. Rahul Gandhi, as a team leader, has to thank his two trusted lieutenants — Sachin Pilot and Kamal Nath in Rajasthan and Jyotiraditya Scindia in Madhya Pradesh, respectively. A whole volume is required to essay their grit and hard work. Actually, both Pilot and Scindia are legitimate claimants for the chief minister's post. But Kamal Nath was made Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Jyothiraditya Scindia has satisfied himself with a cabinet berth. Sachin Pilot has to satisfy himself the second position as Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. As a relatively young AICC president Rahul Gandhi was expected to encourage hard working, impact-making young leaders. It must be remembered that Ashok Gehlot was recently appointed as AICC general secretary in-charge of the party organisation. The appointment is most important in the grand old party as its occupant is considered the most influential person after Gandhi. Gehlot has been given a task that would be put to the test in the general elections. But he was shifted to Rajasthan as Chief Minister. Kamal Nath, a senior-most parliamentarian in the 16th Lok Sabha, worked as a professional from the word go since his appointment as Madhya Pradesh Congress president in May. He was quick to reach out to around 65 state government employee unions and various social, religious and economic groups. Kamal Nath fielded a Sindhi candidate from Bhopal's
FOR THE PEOPLE 21
Huzur constituency, a first, resulting in the small community switching sides from the BJP to the Congress. A band of 500 dedicated personnel manned a parallel war room for social media outreach. This war room was in addition to the state Congress office, its election machinery and social media teams. To counter the RSS volunteers, Nath zeroed in on Anganwadi and Asha health workers. These teams, largely consisting of women volunteers, often travelled to neighbouring districts just to double check if Congress functionaries, candidates and others were doing their job properly. The feedback came regularly and course corrections were made. Some government employees unions said they would canvass for Nath if some transport was made available for them. Nath reportedly raised Rs 3-4 lakh. A Congress victory has definitely increased prospects of a Mahagathbandhan. A good showing in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has provided the Congress pole position within the Mahagathbandhan. A successful Mahagathbandhan against Modi requires the right equilibrium between a resurgent
Congress and a good showing by non-NDA regional satraps in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc. But ambitious anti-Modi players are unable to mix good chemistry and prudent arithmetic to edge out Modi regime in parliamentary polls. Meanwhile, the victorious K.Chanderashekar Rao, who took over as Chief Minister of Telangana has announced he will be working to bring Federal Front as an alternative to both BJP and Congress. To make more time to work on this he has appointed his son former cabinet minister of the state K.T.Rama Rao as Working President for ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS). Rahul Gandhi and Chandrababu Naidu’s attempts to have a state-wise Mahagathbandhan against Narendra Modi-led NDA may, however, see a negative effect now. In such a scenario, Mayawati-led BSP will be forced to play second fiddle to Rahul Gandhi, something the Dalit leader has been resisting strongly. The Congress success may possibly further alienating the BSP from Mahagathbandhan and pushing her in an anxious NDA stable.
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22 THE NATION All women political party launched:
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National Women’s Party aims 50% reservation
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ow India’s first all – women political party came into existence. The newly formed National Women's Party (NWP, was launched with the aim of ensuring 50 per cent representation for women in Parliament and other places. Inspired by the decades-old National Women's Party in the United States, A doctor and social activist, Swetha Shetty(36) took initiative and started this women's only party in the third week of December. At the launch of the party at Delhi Press Club, Shetty was accompanied by Ritu, an acid attack victim and Pooja, a domestic violence survivor, both hailing from Haryana. Shetty said while she was working with an NGO in Telangana, she worked upon the idea of starting a mass movement. The founder of NWP is says the party's goal was to represent "women" particularly the underprivileged who have suffered at the hands of system. Those who have run from office to office in expectation of some help to make their lives better and got nothing and those who suffered from domestic abuse or are struggling against the social establishment. "In a maledominated political system, an all women's party is important. Women and their issues are only raised during the mother's day, the women's day or during the election time. NWP will be a platform for
women to raise their voices." She says. According to the founder president of the party, actually they have started its groundwork in 2012. Now they have applied for registration with the Election Commission. Though no prominent names to mention, the party claimed it has the support of 1.45 lakh women members of Hyderabad-based Telangana Mahila Samiti, and their numbers are persistently increasing across India. Though Society consists of 50% women and 50% men, the women are unable to obtain opportunities in every sphere equal to men. In education and intelligences, women are in fore-front, but in respect of opportunities, they are behind. They want to make it a national movement and serve the original purpose women need higher commitment from the govTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
erning body. “For this need higher participation in the parliament to amend the laws for women welfare and progress," the party says. "In a male-dominated political system, an all women's party is important. Women and their issues are only once in while. NWP will be a platform for women to raise their voices." Shetty said. Reminding even in 2018, women rights are avoided she feels acute nee to be a part of the system to bring the change and invites all the women, who feel the party can be a platform to improve the condition of women in present time, to join it. the party will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and will support and seek backing from like-minded parties. She said that the party also welcomes political support from men, "if they agree with our ideology".
THE NATION 23
Pan-India emergency app
Special women safety feature added
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n increasing crime against women has planted seeds of fear in the minds of Indian 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. Government too is also working on these lines and launched singlenumber emergency mobile application added special women safety feature to it. Nagaland became the first state in the Northeast and second in the
country after Himachal Pradesh to launch a pan-India single-number emergency mobile application which will have a special women safety feature for immediate assistance from police and volunteers. The utilizes location-based services to assist the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)in locating the distressed caller. ERCs have been setup Kohima, the capital of Nagaland and in three district command centres in the state to offer unified emergency service. On receipt of an SOS from a woman, ERCs can dispatch the nearest response vehicle to the spot for assistance. Using the mobile app people will be able to receive immediate assistance from police, health, fire departments and other such agencies. The ERSS has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090) helpline
numbers to provide emergency services through the emergency number 112. The single number for various emergency services, which is similar to the 911, all-in-one emergency service in the US, will be gradually rolled out across the country. A 'SHOUT' feature has also been made available exclusively for women in the '112 India' mobile app which is connected to the ERSS. Women in distress will able to seek immediate assistance from nearby registered volunteers as well as from the Emergency Response Centre (ERC) by using the 'SHOUT' feature."This app will assist the first responders in locating and tracking the woman in distress using GPS for effective response," Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced recently. He said laws have been amended by making relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code harsher to ensure safety and security of women. The home minister said the Centre has taken various initiatives, including the creation of the helpline, besides a women safety division in the home ministry. Fasttrack courts have been established to deal with cases related to sexual assault and portals have been launched for a national database on sexual offenders and cybercrime, he added.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
24 THE NATION
Bill passed in Lok Sabha
Triple Talaq is a crime now
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nstant triple talaq will be illegal, void and person indulging can be awarded a jail term of three years. The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to this extent during last week of December. The law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat' and give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking "subsistence allowance" for herself and minor children. The
years and a fine. It would be a nonbailable offence. While the opposition parties said they want a parliamentary committee to scrutinise the bill, the government argued that the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment last year, had ruled instant triple talaq "unconstitutional" and "arbitrary". The government has made it clear that the law is about justice and respect for women and is not about any religion or community, he said, adding
woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue. Under the law, instant triple talaq in any form — spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp — would be bad or illegal and void. According to the law, which would be applicable to the entire country except for Jammu and Kashmir, giving instant talaq would attract a jail term of three
that the practice of instant triple has continued despite the Supreme Court order terming it void. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the bill is "divisive, discriminatory, unconstitutional and against the Muslim personal law" as he reiterated his demand for sending the bill to a joint select committee. The AIADMK also endorsed his views and staged a walkout. Opposing the bill, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi said, this bill is THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
in violation of our culture. "In Islam, marriage is a contract. Talaq is a violation of the contract. But, sending the man to jail is wrong. It will abandon the women," he said. in a scathing attack, textile minister Smriti Irani said it is shameful for everyone that 477 cases of triple talaq came to light after the supreme court verdict. She contested that even the Islamic jurisprudence says that Talaq-e-Biddat is a criminal offence. Asking why did the Congress not abolish triple talaq during its rule, she said had the Congress not diluted the Supreme Court order in 1986 law and abolished triple talaq during its rule, Shaiara Bano wouldn't have to knock the door of the Supreme Court. Further attacking the Congress, Irani said, The Opposition said that this is a contract between two adults, I want to tell them that contracts can’t be broken unilaterally. Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi defended a penal provision in the triple talaq bill, saying it is important to instil fear in the minds of those still practising it and rejected suggestions that it was against any religion. He said acts like murder are against the law but people still commit such crime and hence there is a provision for punishment. This is not to victimise anyone but to provide safety and protection to Muslim women. Now, the Bill needs to be passed by the Rajya Sabha.
THE NATION 25
New surrogacy bill
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Total security to surrogate mother
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fter two years Lok Sabha has passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill. If it also gets a node of Rajya Sabha will put a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy in India. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill disallows “commercial surrogacy”, where a surrogate mother would be paid for her services, and only legally permits “altruistic surrogacy”, where the surrogate mother must be a close female relative of either of two partners in a heterosexual marriage, and cannot receive any payment for her services. It also bars foreign nationals from using Indian surrogates. This Bill was ostensibly passed to prevent the exploitation of “poor” women. The bill is passed with the ob-
jective of preventing the exploitation of surrogate mother caused due to affordable commercial surrogacy arrangement in India which has made India a global commercial hub for surrogacy. According to this bill, only couples who are married for more than five years can undergo the surrogacy arrangement and the bill doesn’t incorporate homosexuals, transgenders, live-in-couple and a single person in the definition of intending parents. Critics of the bill are arguing that it is having many loopholes makes the arrangement of altruistic surrogacy very stringent. Highlights of Bill are: According to the bill, the intending couple must be Indian citizens and married for at least five years with at least one of them being infertile. Therefore, the bill bans any foreign
couple to undergo surrogacy process in India. The bill only permits surrogacy for couples where a woman can’t conceive a child. Therefore, surrogacy would not be allowed in cases where a woman has any medical condition which can not prevent her from giving birth. According to this bill, the surrogate mother must be a close relative of the intending couple who has been married and has had a child of her own. However, the bill doesn’t specify who all can come under “close-relative”. The bill restrains any consideration or payment given by the intending couple to the surrogate mother except the necessary medical expenses incurred during the pregnancy of the surrogate mother. Under this bill, the surrogacy clinics would be registered
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
26 THE NATION
and the national and state surrogacy boards would regulate the authorities for the practice. a surrogate child will be deemed to be the biological child of the intending couple. The bill purports the Central and State government to appoint appropriate authorities to grant eligibility certificates to the intending couples and the surrogate mother. However, the bill doesn’t specify the time limit within which such certificates will be granted. The bill restrains producing children for prostitution or any form of exploitation. What is surrogacy? Due to many medical reasons, some woman can’t carry a child. While adoption is one process where a couple can adopt a child but the couple who wants their children to be genetically related to them go for surrogacy as surrogacy is one such process where a child can be genetically related to the intending couple. Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby an intending couple commissions a surrogate mother to carry their child. A couple enters into surrogacy arrangement when due to medical impossibility a couple can’t procreate, or when pregnancy poses a greater risk to woman’s health, or when a man or woman lives alone or a homosexual couple wants to adopt a child. Surrogacy arrangement can be altruistic where there is no involvement of consideration and the intending couple doesn’t pay anything to surrogate mother except the medical expenditure incurred by the surrogate mother related to pregnancy whereas commercial surrogacy involves consideration given by couple to the
surrogate mother. India is known worldwide for its cheap and affordable surrogacy arrangement. The medical expenses that are incurred in India and the price paid to surrogate mother are way too less than that of any other countries in the world making India the first choice of any couple for surrogacy arrangement. Couples who can’t afford to have a child through surrogacy arrangement ends up
being in India due to affordability, thereby making India favourite destination for cheap and affordable surrogacy arrangement. But surrogacy arrangement poses some of the biggest legal and ethical issues on the rights of the surrogate mother, child and the intending couple. There are greater chances of exploitation of surrogate mother as in many cases the intending couple later denies to take the child resulting in the abandonment of the child and hardships THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
for a surrogate mother. In the landmark case of Baby Manji Vs UOI, where Baby Manji Yamada was a child born to an Indian surrogate mother for a Japanese couple, before one month from delivery the Japanese couple divorced. After that, it became difficult to determine the parentage and nationality of the baby. Neither the Japanese lady nor the surrogate mother
wanted to take the baby and Japanese man was denied to take the child by the Indian laws which had no provision for children born via surrogacy, finally, the baby was given to her grandmother. In such cases, it becomes difficult to decide parentage of the child and usually, commercial surrogacy poses such issues. Thereby, in light of such issues, the new surrogacy bill is passed but the bill has overlooked many objectives that surrogacy serves.
28 EDUVOICE
PROF. G. NARSIMULU
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Teacher education on the roller coaster
he new National Education Policy (NEP) is getting ready. K Kasturirangan committee would be handing over the draft NEP the Central government "anytime from now". The Central government had constituted this committee to prepare a draft for the new NEP 2017. Now the panel has prepared the draft of the policy which has five pillars namely accessibility, affordability, equity, quality and accountability according to Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. NEP is intended to give a new feeling and a new direction to our education system. The NEP is aimed at promoting education amongst the common people of the country. The policy covers elementary to college education in both rural and urban India. The first NEP was promulgated in 1968 by the government of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the second was during 1986 when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. It may not be an exaggeration to say that every party elected at centre and state for seven decades has attempted to leave its impact on the education sector. Their favourite educationalist and intellectuals were appointed to tinker
with the education system and suggest changes the education system as per whims and fancies of the party. With this Indian education system is not developed as per its unique needs. The whole exercise in like one step forward then one more step backwards. We may clearly see this in preparing teachers for schools, the teacher education all over the country. The progress and advancement of any nation greatly depend on the Education system. The change begins with how children are trained and what their contribution would be to various sectors in the country. The aims and objectives of Education are reviewed time to time and adopted new techniques and tools. During the early days, when needs were limited, informal education and non-formal systems were provided for the majority of the people whereas limited sections of the related community were imparted Vedic Education through Gurukul System. The elated community in the village used to provide the necessary information and skills to the entire village, the village economy was self-sufficient and its educational aspirations were limited. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
Now the society wants its people should have enough literature skills so that they compete and succeed. Literacy skills, as well as communication skills, are needed in modern society. In keeping the view of the requirement, every child should have necessary reading, writing and automatic skills and equip himself/herself with necessary competencies. In response to new aspirations, The National Council for Teacher Education(NCTE) was established to be an advisory body for the Central and State Governments on all matters pertaining to teacher education. The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action thereunder, envisaged a National Council for Teacher Education with statutory status and necessary resources as a first step for overhauling the system of teacher education. The National Council for Teacher Education as a statutory body came into existence in pursuance of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, in1995. The main objective of the NCTE is to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system through-
EDUVOICE 29
out the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of Norms and Standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. The mandate given to the NCTE is very broad and covers the whole gamut of teacher education programmes including research and training of persons for equipping them to teach at preprimary, primary, secondary and senior secondary stages in schools, and non-formal education, parttime education, adult education and distance (correspondence) education courses. It shall be the duty of the Council to take all such steps as it may think fit for ensuring planned and co-ordinated development of teacher education and for the determination and maintenance of standards for teacher education. To prepare the teacher for primary and secondary education with necessary skills the teacher education programmes namely Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education and Master of Education were introduced with foundation
courses like philosophical, sociological, psychological, social education and Indian Western view on teaching process for included and taught to the teacher educators. After the statutory body, NCTE came into existence, 4 Regional Offices spread over the country started giving permission to run Diploma in Education, Bachelor / Master of Education and Physical Education Courses with effect from 1996-97 onwards. More than 1000 institutions spread over India were offering these courses in Teacher Education. Out of the12 months duration of course, hardly 3-4 months’ classrooms were given and degrees were awarded. With less quality of teaching skills of these ‘Qualifide’ teachers, there is a negative impact on the Schools in the Government sector. There was an uproar in the public about the quality of Teacher Education programme. Taking note of negative results of the teacher education courses the Government of India appointed the
Justice Verma Commission (JVC) at the instance Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. Then NCTE notified revised Regulations and Norms and Standards at the end of 2014. Different Teacher Education Programmes were announced. With that came 15 teacher training courses with one year to four years duration. But in the name of quality of Teacher Education NCTE and Ministry of Education, Government of India are coming out frequent changes from 1 year to 2 years and proposed to change and now finally 4 years Integrated B.Ed. programme. Instead up bring overall changes in B.Ed. programme reintroducing four years Integrated B.Ed. the programme only stands as “Old Wine with New Label”. Marketing the Teacher Education Courses with new title will not serve the changed needs of India and it will not make any positive impact on School Education. Author is Principal at University College of Education, Palamuru University, Mahabubnagar
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
30 AGRICULTURE
Australian University to help Indian farmers double their income
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top University of Australia is planning to invest AUD 5 million as a part of cooperation with Agricultural Universities in India, to leverage research as well as innovations helping farmers in the country double their income by 2022. Western Sydney University (WSU) Vice Chancellor, Barney Glover said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to double the farmer’s income in the next five years. He, however, noted that achieving this target will need innovation and development, as well as grass root problem solving for farmers. However, he noted that achieving this goal will require innovation and development, as well as grassroots level problem solving for farmers. The Australian University has forged a joint venture with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and 13 state agricultural universities as part of a new scheme planned to fight global food security issues presented by climate change The research will basically concentrate on the areas of protected cropping and associated aspects of agriculture and horticulture as well as collaborative teaching and learning. Glover said, “Australia and India share some challenges in establishing a protected cropping industry thus we will have similar research questions”. He added that the two countries share alike climates. We have monsoonal areas,
very dry areas hence the challenges of broad agriculture are also similar in many ways. However, Glover pointed out that India has an added difficulty. He also informed that "Work is going on in Pune to identify the range of recommendations to raise the income of the small farmers mainly. Ninety-nine percent of Indian farmers have less than five hectares of land." Work is going on in Pune to identify the range of recommenda-
tions to double the income of the small farmers particularly. It is those with small holdings — less than a hectare — that are struggling to earn a living. To help the farming community diversify their revenue, WSU is working with ICAR on a bee-keeping project that involves women. Bees are very important to the environment, to pollination, for crops and biodiversity of the planet.”There are ways to develop an economic base from beekeeping," Glover said. Certain varieties of bees are crucial to protected cropping as pollination inside the greenhouse is challenging. Currently, both India and AusTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
tralia uses hand pollination, an expensive and time-consuming process. Touching on bee-keeping is one element of bringing a diversification of revenue into the community. By introducing more crops, and adding livestock small farmers can better manage the volatility in the climate and market. With ICAR and the state universities across the country, WSU will work to upskill industry and train early career academics through joint research training programs in horticulture and agriculture. The network includes top state agricultural universities of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Kashmir, West Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. According to Glover, support of local agricultural institutes is essential in helping farmers adopt new methods and approaches to farming. "The students in these universities often come from families involved in agriculture. It provides an opportunity to influence the families to adopt successful agricultural strategies," Glover said. The collaboration will equip students of various academic backgrounds to bring about new innovations in the field of agriculture and crop protection. "Collaborative research between ICAR and WSU will bring together researchers, academics and students from partnering institutions and provide them with a platform to benefit from mutual expertise," said Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of ICAR.
LITERATURE 31
First for an English author
Amitav wins ‘Jnanpith Award’
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oted English writer Amitav Ghosh becomes the first author in English to win India's foremost literary prize, the Jnanpith Award. Jnanpith Award is a literary award given to an author for ‘outstanding contribution towards literature.’ "Amitav Ghosh is a pathbreaking novelist. In his novels, Ghosh treads through historical settings to the modern era and weaves a space where the past connects with the present in relevant ways. His fiction is endowed with extraordinary depth and substance through his academic training as a historian and a social anthropologist," a statement from the Bharatiya Jnanpith read. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Jnanpith Selection Board chaired by eminent novelist, scholar and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray. Amitav Ghosh, born July 11, 1956, Calcutta (now Kolkata), the writer whose ambitious novels use complex narrative strategies to probe the nature of national and personal identity, particularly of the people of India and Southeast Asia. As a child, Ghosh, whose father was a diplomat, lived in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Iran. He received a B.A. (1976) and an M.A. (1978) from the University of Delhi; at about the same time, he also worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. He subsequently attended the University of
Oxford, where he received a PhD (1982) in social anthropology. Ghosh went on to teach at the University of Delhi, the American University in Cairo, Columbia University in New York City, and Queens College of the City University of New York, among other institutions. After a stint at Harvard University that began in 2004, Ghosh turned to writing full-time and split his time between the United States and India. His first novel; The Circle of Reason (1986), follows an Indian protagonist who, suspected of being a terrorist, leaves India for northern Africa and the Middle East. Blending elements of fable and picaresque fiction, it is distinctly postcolonial in its marginalization of Europe and postmodern in its nonlinear structure and thick intertextuality. The Shadow Lines
(1988) is a sweeping history of two families (one Indian and the other English) that are deeply shaped by events following the departure of the British from India in 1947. The Circle of Reason and The Shadow Lines, both written in English, were widely translated and gained Ghosh an international readership. The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium, and Discovery (1995) represented Ghosh’s first foray into science fiction; this densely layered novel offers an alternate history of the discovery of the parasite that causes malaria. His subsequent novels include The Glass Palace (2000), a familial history centred on Burma (Myanmar) between its occupation by the British in 1885 through its independence after World War II and into the late 20th century, and The Hungry Tide (2004), set in Bengal and featuring American and Indian characters. With Sea of Poppies (2009)—a novel that describes individuals on the Ibis, a ship on the seas of Southeast Asia carrying coolies (indentured labourers) and opium—Ghosh turned away from his earlier novels formal experimentation and toward a more traditional form of storytelling. Sea of Poppies was the first book in the Ibis trilogy, which takes place shortly before and during the first Opium War. The historical series also included River of Smoke (2011) and Flood of Fire (2015).
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
32 THE NATION
New sensor could stop elephant deaths on rail tracks
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lephant deaths on railway tracks may be averted in near future. A sensor built by a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) is being tested now. If all goes well, it may be installed along tracks frequented by elephants and prevent their cruel deaths. The Rajaji National Park is earmarked as the test deployment site. It is said to be the ideal place, kind of a controlled environment and good for experiments. It’s where trains are known to travel at the correct speed. Though there has been a buzz around the apparatus for years, it is only now that it has been slated for testing in real-life conditions.
“The sensors are yet to be installed. This was to be tested in the monsoon season. Since this monsoon has passed, we are waiting for the 2019 season. Our system is functional. We have tested it in a similar setting but not at the site,” said Subrat Kar , a professor at the department of electrical engineering at IIT-Delhi. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, India has lost nearly 100 elephants in trainrelated accidents in the last five years. Moving at a slow pace, along with their calves, they fail to respond quickly enough to avoid a train hurtling towards them. In 2018, 26 elephants have succumbed to such collisions so far, the most recent incident being in
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
Odisha’s Keonjhar, where an elephant was killed after being hit by a goods train. Kar has been working on building a sensor for close to a decade in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun and funded by the Railways and the Department of Science and Technology. So far Kar has tested the sensor only inside the IIT-Delhi campus and the results have been “satisfactory”. The sensor detects from a distance the movement of elephants through a number of in-built devices. Once it detects the movement of elephants, it sends a radio signal to the nearest station, which conveys the message to the driver to either stop or slows down the
train. “We will install sensors at sensitive spots, and not everywhere. There are known paths along which the elephants move, so we install sensors on these paths. The sensors detect them through body rays, cameras and vibration. Then we convey the information to the nearest station, and from there we convey the information to the train driver. “In the engine, there’s a box that signals the engine to stop. If this warning is given to the driver at least three kilometres before the train reaches the spot where elephants are expected to come in their way, he applies the brakes and slowly comes to a halt,” Kar explained. The success of this preventive measure depends on detecting the elephants much before the train
is there. Three kilometres before roughly translates to 3-4 minutes before. The various sensors in the device corroborate whether the moving animals are indeed elephants and not any other, like a tiger, which can cross the track without needing the train to be slowed down. A vibration detector, capturing heat rays coming from the animals, a camera to recognise the animals, and lasers—the sensor has these all. So instrument will have several sensors to detect the presence of animals. One sensor is used to check the outcome of the other sensor to corroborate the result. “We have our own radio network with the sensors,” Kar said. Although he has been working on the
THE NATION 33
device since 2008, things picked up pace only in 2014, when the Railways came up with Rs 30 lakh in funding. On its part, Indian Railways has employed a variety of methods to keep the elephant deaths in check. “Various measures have been adopted, jointly by the Railways and the forest department, to prevent elephant deaths on the tracks. These include signage on the tracks to pre-warn train drivers, speed restrictions in elephant corridors and deputing forest officials in the control room,” said a senior Railways official. All these measures are adopted at locations jointly identified by the forest department and railways in Assam, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Odisha.
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34 THE NATION
Top 10 fastest growing cities of the world All are in India
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he latest list of fastest growing cities includes 17 from India among the top 20 cities in the world. As per Global Economic Research. When it comes for economic growth, to these cities in India are set to dominate over the next two decades. Interestingly of the top ten cities, five are from South India. Among them, two cities are from Telugu states. While Hyderabad from Telangana at 4th
position, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh stands at 10th. Tamil Nadu has three cities - Tiruppur, Tiruchirappalli and Chennai - figure in the list at the sixth, eighth and ninth places respectively. Surat, a diamond processing and trading center in Gujarat, will see the fastest expansion through 2035, averaging more than 9 percent, Richard Holt, Oxford’s head of global cities research, wrote in a report. All of the 10 fastest growing over that period will be in India.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
HYDERABAD:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Hyderabad holds the 4th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economics Research. Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian territory of Telangana, essentially arranged in Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.47% per year between 2019 and 2035.
VIJAYAWADA:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Vijayawada holds 10th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the global economic research. There are numerous religious spots due to which this city is exceptionally well known. Vijayawada's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.16% per year between 2019 and 2035
THE NATION 35 SURAT:
Surat holds no. 1 rank in the list of fastest growing cities of the World, as per Global Economic Research. Surat is a jewel processing and exchanging center in the western territory of Gujarat. Surat's average growth is predicted to rise by 9.17% per year between 2019 and 2035.
AGRA:
As per Oxford Economic Research, Agra holds the second position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the World as per Global Economic Research. It is a popular tourist destination. Agra's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.58% per year between 2019 and 2035. BENGALURU: As per Oxford Economics Research, Bengaluru holds the 3rd position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economic Research. It
is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is some of the time alluded to as the "Silicon Valley of India" in view of its job as the country's driving data innovation exporter. Bengaluru's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.5% per year between 2019 and 2035.
NAGPUR:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Nagpur holds the 5th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economics Research. Nagpur is the third biggest city and winter capital of the Indian territory of Maharashtra. Nagpur's
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
36 THE NATION
average growth is predicted to rise by 8.41% per year between 2019 and 2035.
TIRUPPUR:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Tiruppur holds the 6th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economics Research. Tiruppur is a city in the Kongu Nadu, an area of the Indian province of Tamil Nadu. Tiruppur's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.36% per year between 2019 and 2035.
RAJKOT:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Rajkot holds the 7th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economics Research. Rajkot is the fourth-largest city in the province of Gujarat in India, after Surat, Ahmedabad, and Vadodara. Rajkot's average growth
is predicted to rise by 8.33% per year between 2019 and 2035.
TIRUCHIRAPPALLI:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Tiruchirappalli holds the 8th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the Global Economics Research. It is a state located in Tamil Nadu. This city holds a strong position when we see it from education purpose as it had many recognized institutes like Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Information Technology and National Institute of Technology. Tiruchirappalli's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.29% per year between 2019 and 2035.
CHENNAI:
As per Oxford Economics Research, Chennai holds the 9th position in the rundown of the top 10 fastest growing cities of the world as per the global economics reTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
search. Chennai is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai's average growth is predicted to rise by 8.17% per year between 2019 and 2035. While economic output in many of those Indian cities will remain rather small in comparison to the world’s biggest metropolises, aggregated gross domestic product of all Asian cities will exceed that of all North American and European urban centers combined in 2027. By 2035, it will be 17 percent higher, with the largest contribution coming from Chinese cities. Little will change at the top of the list of the world’s biggest cities between now and 2035. New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London will defend their spots as Shanghai and Beijing -- each boasting more than 20 million people -- surpass Paris and Chicago. Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Southern China will also make the top 10, crowding out Hong Kong.
THE NATION 37
Food product advertisements to become healthy
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hen a child or teen watches a television program, they are exposed to a variety of different advertisements related to toys, games, electronics, food and beverages. Some food and beverage advertisements are targeted to children selling products that are high in fat, sugar, and salt, (also know as HFSS products) which may include certain “junk� food, and soft drinks. Researchers found that about 40% of all the food and beverage ads children and teens see on TV are sweet and savoury snacks. These snacks include candy, cookies, snack bars, fruit snacks, chips, and crackers. Food companies invest in product advertisements for various audiences including children and teens. This raises concerns for some because studies have indicated that young children often have difficulty understanding the differences between television programming and advertisements, and they have a tendency to recall information from ads they have been exposed to. Some research suggests that food marketing advertising can affect food choice and eating be-
haviour, which could potentially increase the risk of being overweight or obese. In this background, India's apex food regulator has finalised norms related to claims and advertisements for food products. These regulations are aimed at establishing fairness in claims and advertisements of food products and will make food businesses accountable for their claims in advertisements in order to protect consumer interests, read a statement issued by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The new regulations will come into effect from July 1 new(2019) year. As per these regulations, firms running food businesses cannot use words or phrases such as natural, fresh, original, traditional, authentic, genuine, real on the food labels, barring some exceptions. Such restrictions are primarily aimed at restricting an open-ended use of these words by food businesses on frivolous grounds These regulations contain several sections detailing definitions; general principles for claims and advertisements; criteria for nutrition claims (including nutrient content or nutrient comparative
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
claims), non-addition claims (including non-addition of sugars and sodium salts), health claims (reduction of disease risk), claims related to dietary guidelines or healthy diets, and conditional claims. Advertisements of a food product that undermines the importance of healthy lifestyles or portrays the food product as a complete replacement of normal meal are not permitted. Also, food businesses will also be prohibited to advertise or make claim undermining the products of another manufacturer so as to promote their own food products or influence consumer behaviour. Many claims, listed in various schedules of these regulations with related criteria, are permitted to be made by food business operators without the need for seeking prior approval from the food regulator. However, other types of claims not standardised under these regulations may require approval from the Food Authority and should be supported with a sound scientific basis, the regulator said. Any person, including a third party, who puts out an advertisement or is a party to the publication of any misleading advertisement, not complying with these regulations, would be penalised with a fine extending up to Rs 10 lakh, as per Section 53 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
38 SOCIAL MEDIA
Government is planning to curb the misuse of social media apps & sites THE NEWS BUREAU
The government plans to amend the IT rules wherein social media platforms and messaging apps will be required to deploy tools to “identify” and curb unlawful content as well as follow stricter due diligence practices. IT ministry officials held a meeting in December third week with senior executives of WhatsApp, Google,
general elections in 2019. The government announced that it is committed to freedom of speech and expression and privacy of its citizens, amid criticism from certain quarters over larger implications of the amendments. The government had authorised ten central agencies to intercept data on any computer, a move that had triggered a political storm with Opposition accusing the Centre of trying
Facebook, Twitter and other companies to discuss the proposed changes in the Information Technology (IT) rules. Against the backdrop of mob lynching incidents triggered by rumours circulated on WhatsApp and other social media sites, the government has been exploring ways to curb misuse of such platforms. Besides, the effort is to tackle spreading of fake messages on social media ahead of the
to create a “surveillance state”. According to the draft amendment proposed to the IT rules, which pertain to social media and other online platforms with respect to content, automated tools will have to be deployed to identify and disable “unlawful content”. “The intermediary (social media platform) shall deploy technologybased automated tools or appropriate mechanisms, with apTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
propriate controls for proactively identifying and removing or disabling public access to unlawful information or content,” said the draft that has been placed on IT ministry’s website in December last week. Another change proposed is that the platforms would have to inform its users to refrain from hosting, uploading or sharing any content that is blasphemous, obscene, defamatory, “hateful or racially, ethnically objectionable”. Users would be asked to guard against hosting or sharing information that violates any law, deceives or misleads receivers about the origin of messages that are grossly offensive or menacing in nature, or those which threaten national security. The IT ministry is seeking feedback from the public on the draft amendments by January 15 before taking a final decision. The IT ministry asserted that the government does not regulate content appearing on social network platforms, although these companies are required to ensure that their platforms are not used to commit and provoke terrorism, extremism, violence and crime. It also cited recent instances of misuse of social media by criminals and anti-national elements that have brought new challenges to
law enforcement agencies. “These include inducement for recruitment of terrorists, circulation of obscene content, the spread of disharmony, incitement of violence, public order, fake news etc. “A number of lynching incidents were reported in 2018 mostly alleged to be because of fake news/ rumours being circulated through WhatsApp and other social media sites,” the ministry announced. Another proposed amendment is that platforms or intermediaries with over 50 lakh users in the country will be required to have a permanent registered office in India with a physical address. This is likely to impact most international social media platforms given that India is a key market for them. Besides, these platforms will have to appoint a nodal officer in India for round-theclock coordination with law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the rules, the draft said. As per the proposals, the intermediary, after a court order is communicated or being alerted by a government agency will have to remove or disable access “as far as possible immediately, but in no case later than 24 hours”. “When required by lawful order, the intermediary shall within 72 hours of communication, provide such information or assistance as asked for by any government agency or assistance concerning the security of the state or cybersecurity” as per the draft.
WHATSAPP CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT FAKE NEWS
Meanwhile, WhatsApp started to prevent misuse of its platform. The leading messaging App has launched its first-ever TV campaign in India as part of its efforts
to address the challenge of misinformation and pernicious rumours. The rumours spread on the popular messaging platform which has over 200 million users in India have been linked to several lynching incidents in the country, forcing the government to send a stern message to the company.Meeting WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels four months back, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the platform must comply with the law and take "suitable" steps to prevent its misuse. After that over the last several months, WhatsApp has made a series of changes including labelling forwarded messages to inform users when they have re-
ceived something not from their immediate contact and set a limit on how forwarded messages can be sent. The popular messaging platform earlier launched two phases of a radio campaign to create awareness among users. The first phase of the campaign was kicked off on August 29 with ads across 46 radio stations of the All India Radio (AIR) in states like Bihar, Jhark-
SOCIAL MEDIA 39
hand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The second phase of the campaign started on September 5 with radio ads across 83 AIR radio stations in Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. For the TV campaign, WhatsApp has worked with an Indian filmmaker to develop three 60 second films that each convey real scenarios about dangerous rumours that can spread among users. The Facebook-owned platform said that the films were made available on TV, Facebook and YouTube in nine languages. WhatsApp is working
on to build on this effort to prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls."We're humbled by the impact that WhatsApp had on people's ability to freely connect with their loved ones. We recognise at the same time connecting people can also lead to the spread of misinformation, which has to be confronted," said Bosco Zubiaga, who led the production of these films for WhatsApp.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
40 ENVIRONMENT
Recycling temple waste gets UN Climate Action Award A
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n Indian group which helps in collecting temple ceremonial flowers tossed into the Ganges and turning them into sustainable incense received a UN Climate Action Award. ‘Help Us Green’ is the group that gives marginalized women the chance to earn livelihoods and be respected in their communities by collecting these ceremonial flowers.‘Help Us Green’ was one among fifteen game-changing initiatives in 14 countries were honoured as winners of the award at a special ceremony at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in this Polish city in December first week. The Momentum for Change award, spearheaded by UN Climate Change, showcases some of the most practical and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change. This year's winning activities range from an
app that promotes the fight against food waste to a government that is taking 100 per cent responsibility for its greenhouse gas emissions. A UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) post says ‘Help Us Green’, which is based in four cities of Uttar Pradesh and got the award in the Women for Results category, is doing its part to clean up the Ganges by recycling flowers from temples and mosques. Over eight million tonnes of flowers are discarded in the river every year for religious purposes. This is contributing to the pollution of the Ganges, which provides drinking water for over 420 million people. ‘Help Us Green’ has come up with the world's first profitable solution to the monumental temple waste problem: Flower recycling. Women working with ‘Help Us Green’ collect floral-waste daily from temples. The waste is upcycled to produce organic fertilizers, natural incense and
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
biodegradable packaging material. Till date, 11,060 metric tonnes of temple-waste has been flower cycled and 110 metric tonnes of chemical pesticides that enter the river through temple waste have been offset. So is the income of 73 manual scavenger families has increased at least six-fold. A total of 365 families have been impacted by ‘Help Us Green’ through increased living standards and stable incomes. In the next two years ‘Help Us Green’, planning to expand to Bangladesh Nepal. By this, the group is aiming to provide livelihoods to 5,100 women and recycle 51 tonnes of temple waste daily.
EVENT 41
Indywood Film Carnival
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The success of cinema & commerce cocktail
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he much-anticipated entertainment fiesta of the year, Indywood Film Carnival was held at HITEX Convention Centre. The five days mega entertainment festival during the first week of December was held to accelerate the growth of Indian Film Industry through materialising big-budget movie projects, co-production ventures and B2B meet generating business worth Rs 500 crore. Indywood Film Carnival is a part of India joy- India’s biggest Media and Entertainment Expo. The fourth edition of Indywood Film Carnival (IFC 2018), a flagship venture of 10 billion USD Project Indywood, aims to elevate Indian cinema to an international level. IFC 2018 was a one-stop platform for showcasing the latest
technology and future possibilities in the entire spectrum of filmmaking, skill development, pre-production, production, technical support, post-production, distribution, marketing and release among others. “Our country is blessed with talented actors and technicians. The natural next step is to deploy these talents and concentrate on making movies which appeal to the international audience.” Said Sohan Roy, Founder Director of Project Indywood. He opined that ‘Baahubali’ is one such perfect example. The annual event could attract around 5,000 business delegates from nearly 100 countries. Business to the tune of Rs 500 crores is estimated to have generated by way of signing up of big-budget movie projects, co-production ventures and B2B agreements. Indywood
Billionaires Meet, Indywood Academy Awards, Indywood Telly Awards, Indywood Fashion Premier and All Lights India International Film Festival were organised as part of As part of IFC 2018. The flagship event of Indywood Film Carnival, All Lights India International Film Festival over 100 movies from nearly 50 countries were screened. Cinema lovers had a grand visual experience as PVR Inorbit Mall opened all its 4 theatre screens for the film festival. The films were screened in top quality screens with the famous PVR service experience offered in full. Around 16 movies were screened per day and the films included premieres of National and International Films. Feature films along with a long list of must-watch short films and documentaries from across the
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
42 EVENT
world were screened. Some of the most awaited films from the World Cinema and the movies from this year’s Oscar race too were also shown to film lovers. A tribute segment to the legendary Iranian director ‘Abbas Kiarostami’ was another highlight of the festival. The 3 days (Dec 3-5) event will be held at India’s top business expo venue, the HITEX Convention Centre, in the heart of Hyderabad. Indywood Talent Hunt was an international platform for youngsters to showcase their talents. The competitions were held in 28 categories including Advertisement/ promotional Video, Animation movie making, Children's Short Film, CSR Movie Making, DJ war, Documentary film, Drama, Dubsmash, Educational video, Film Quiz, Group dance, Indywood Vision, Model Hunt, Mono Act, More Events, Music Band, Music Production, Performance Art, Poster designing, Reporter/Journalist, RJ War, Short Film Making, Solo Dance, Solo Music, Still Photography and VJ war. Began last year(2017) Indywood Billionaires Club has emerged as the major highlight of Indywood Film Carnival. Since then IBC has turned out to be of prime significance as a body uniting India's greatest business tycoons to revolutionize the country’s entertainment Industry and is a part of the USD 10 Billion project, Indywood. Indywood recently launched its Kerala and Dubai Billionaires Club chapters. Hosted by this club. expo has introduced the Indywood Fashion Premier League (IFPL) this year. The Indywood Fashion Premier League is a professional fashion competition between 12 teams
owned by billionaires with business interests in the field of films and entertainment. It was held over 3 days. Indywood Fashion Premier League seeks to promote indigenous fashion and talent by commercializing India’s as yet untapped fashion sector and aims to brand the fashion industry of India globally using the country’s billion-dollar film Industry. It also aims to become India's No.1 fashion event in 5 years. The closing ceremony of All Lights India International Film Festival (ALIIFF) on the 5th day saw the prestigious Golden Frame Awards, which are presented to the best films shown at All Lights India International Film Festival
Abhishek Saha (India) was presented with NETPAC award for the Best Asian Cinema; The Best Debut Director award was presented to Nima Eghlime (Iran) for the film AMIR; and the Best Feature Film was presented to Octav directed by Serge Ioan Celebidachi (Romania) and PUPA directed by Indrasis Acharya (India). Besides the winners, there were honourable mentions were also declared during the award ceremony. In the category Best Short film, honourable mention was presented to Mashhad directed by Shabu Kilithattil (UAE), for the category Best Debut Director – Sudipta Chakraborty and Levon Haftvan
(ALIIFF). Now in its 4th edition, the award ceremony aims to reward, acknowledge and appreciate creative excellence in the world of cinema. The award for Best Student Short Film was presented to SAAD (calling) directed by Kunika Kharat (India); the award was Best Short Film was presented to The Domestic Fly directed by Aron Horvath (Slovenia); Best Documentary award was bestowed upon The Art and Lega Power directed by Richard Uyer Tumitho (Democratic Republic of Congo); TO LET directed by Chezhiyan Ra (India) was adjudged as the Best Indywood Panorama Film; Runaway by
were presented with honourable mentions for their performance in the movie Runaway (India) and Kupal (Iran) respectively. The Girl and the Picture directed by Vanessa Roth (USA) was also presented with an Honorable Mention in the category Best Documentary. The closing of ALIIFF at HITEX, Hyderabad was attended by eminent personalities from the film industry. Many have agreed with Sohan Roy, Founder Director of Project Indywood when he said: ” The movie industry will fetch huge gains if we increase the number of international projects by using advanced technology and worldwide distribution.”
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
THE NATION 43
Kerala leads in the south
4K lawmakers in criminal cases C
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riminals entering into politics in a big way is well known. How many of our lawmakers have pending criminal cases on them? The figure has come out recently before the highest court in the country. According to a report submitted by the Amicus Curiae to the Supreme Court, around 4122 cases are pending against sitting and the former Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) in the country. The report compiled by senior lawyers Vinjay Hansaria and Sneha Kalita. These cases pending against the current (2324) and former (1675) MPs and MLAs, with some cases pending for more than three decades. Bihar leads the country, with Kerala holding the second place and West Bengal the third. We have a total 780 Members parliament (MPs) in Lok Sabha and Rajyasabha. The number of MLAs in state Legislative Assemblies is 4120 These details came to light after the submissions were made during the hearing of a batch of petitions filed by lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay seeking to provide infrastructure for setting up Special Courts to decide on criminal cases against people's representatives, public servants and members of the
judiciary. During the hearing on November 1, a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice UU Lalit and Justice K. M. Joseph had sought detailed data on the pending criminal cases against leg-
tives The Central government has also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating the number of criminal cases pending against MPs and MLAs. The government
islators, in order to decide on the need to form more special courts for dealing with such cases. The court will hear the PIL filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a lifetime ban on politicians convicted in criminal cases besides setting up of special courts to expeditiously try such cases involving elected representa-
told the court that figures from 11 states had been received so far. Accordingly, 1,233 cases against MPs and MLAs have been transferred to 12 Special Fast Track Courts, and 136 cases have been disposed of. There are still 1,097 cases pending in courts across these 11 states. Bihar had 260 cases transferred to the special courts, of which 11
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
44 THE NATION
have been disposed of in the last six months while 249 cases are yet to be decided. West Bengal has been extremely sluggish in disposing of these cases. It had 215 such criminal cases pending against MPs and MLAs in March 2018 and not even one has been wrapped up till date. There was no information on the disposal of the 178 cases in Kerala. Delhi followed Kerala in the number of cases against lawmakers. It had 157 cases triable by a magistrate. Of these, 44 were decided in the last six months. There were 142 cases pending against MPs and MLAs in Karnataka. Of them, 19 have been decided. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had 64 pending cases while Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had 50 and 28 pending cases, respectively. Hansaria and Kalita’s report indicated the top court's order for deciding cases against the legislators within a span of one year of framing charges was hardly complied with. They also added that no follow-up action has been taken by the High Courts in this regard. Advocates also revealed that though as many as 12 special courts have been set up it has not been done in a uniform manner, based on the pending number of cases against the MLAs and MPs. They sought directions to the high courts for deciding on cases, held up due to interim stay, against MPs and MLAs within three months. The report suggested. that ‘it is submitted that the High Courts may be directed to assign criminal cases pending against legislators to a designated Sessions court and a designated Magistrate court in each district/sub-division which will try only these cases till such time cases against MPs/MLAs are disposed of’.
Telangana State Police has received two SMART Awards
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he initiative taken by Telangana State police has made national news. The department has received two awards Star of the Industry and Pride of the India awards. These awards were presented at a colourful function organised at New Delhi. Star of the Industry and Pride of the India Awards, in which the Telangana State Police have received two SMART Awards on 21st December 2018 at Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi for the following Awards: Best Smart City Surveillance initiative presented to Telangana State Police for Hyderabad City Police Surveillance Camera Project. TS Police has been at the forefront of Technology adoption in the Country. Best Smart Urban Traffic Initiative goes to Telangana State Police for Hyderabad Integrated Traffic Management System. Telangana State Police has rolled out Artificial Intelligence-based traffic Management in the Hyderabad City to provide best commute experience in the City. The Awards were received by Sri M. Narsing Rao, Inspector of Police, Hyderabad on behalf of Hyderabad City Police today. The State police also got awarded for the best smart urban traffic initiative for Hyderabad Integrated Traffic Management System. The police rolled out artificial intelligence based traffic management in the Hyderabad to provide best commuting experience. Inspector M. Narsing Rao THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
received the awards on behalf of the city police, Best smart city surveillance initiative award was presented to Telangana State police for Hyderabad city police surveillance camera project. TS police have been on the forefront in the country in introducing technology. Telangana Police has once again been adjudged the best state police in the country for their outstanding work in police verification and has achieved this distinction for the third consecutive year. While the national average for 2017-18 is 21 days, the average time taken by the Telangana Police to complete Passport Police Verification during the same period is just four days. In addition, this year, Regional Passport Office, Hyderabad, has also stood first in overall performance among Category A (issuing more than 5 lakh passports annually) Offices, he said. To further simplify and streamline police verification process, the External Affairs Ministry has recently asked all State/UT Police authorities to limit passport verification to criminal antecedents of the applicants, he said. The ministry has also approved the integration of 'VeriFast' application used by Telangana Police for passport verification with the Passport Seva System and the process is likely to be completed by end of this month. This is expected to further reduce the time taken for police verification in Telangana state.
THE NATION 45
Five Assembly elections:
What do the voting data reveal?
D.BAL REDDY & A.RAMMOHAN RAO
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he results of elections in five states in December saw a spectacular change in the country’s political map. Three Congress chief ministers are now in. Though the Congress was booted out in Mizoram and Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) registered a thumping conquest in Telangana, the attention of the media mainly focused on the three North Indian states because of the straightforward BJP vs Congress contests in all three. These results were significant,
especially because the Congress managed to come to power in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh after 15 years of BJP rule. But they were also being viewed through the prism of general elections, which are due in 2019. From this lense, the results were something of a semi-final, suggesting that the BJP’s North Indian supremacy is not as secure as many expected and that the Congress, as well as the wider Opposition, may be able to give it a fight. The results have brought out some of the important developments in voters mood. These basic
facts can throw light on the path to next (2019) general elections to Lok Sabha. For the first time since 2014, a huge section of the Hindi belt flipping to the Congress. With that saffron shrunk on the map of India. The Congress had recovered from historic lows and how the BJP has lost significant seat share in the Hindi states. BJP’s losses may have been higher in rural and agriculture-dominated areas, its popularity has dropped across various demographics and urban areas too. When the demand for women reservation in Parliament and state Assemblies is receiving more support only
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46 THE NATION
fewer women Members of Legislative Assembly found a place in the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assemblies. This was partly because of poor distribution by the parties. If one goes deeper into results and has a look at what the statistics from the results were telling us some more interesting patterns can
be seen. The BJP actually got more votes in total than the Congress in Madhya Pradesh but pulled in fewer seats, a phenomenon that does not happen often in India. the party lost the election despite securing 47,827 more votes than the Congress, which has formed the government in the state. In terms of percentages, the BJP’s vote share THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
was 0.1 per cent more than the Congress, yet it won 109 seats, five less than that the Congress at 114. Seven seats were won by non-Congress, non-BJP candidates. Out of these, two were won by the Bahujan Samaj Party, one by the Samajwadi Party and four by independent candidates. The BJP was the runner-up in six out of seven
seats and the Congress was nowhere in the picture. The BJP witnessed larger reverses in constituencies with a larger share of farmers. Farmer unrest and low food prices are taking their toll. In 2013, the BJP swept the assembly elections in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This
marked the beginning of the Modi wave which catapulted the BJP to a clear majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress won only three seats out the 65 Lok Sabha seats in these three states. Things look drastically different after the 2018 results. The Congress has made a strong comeback, sweeping Chhattisgarh and also winning in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. These three are among the top four performances of the Congress in terms of improvement in seat share between assembly elections held before and after the 2014 polls. The Congress’ ascent has come at a huge cost to the BJP. On the whole BJP seat share has come down significantly in the three Hindi belt states. BJP’s losses may have been higher in rural and agriculturedominated areas. The BJP has suffered heavier blows in rural constituencies than urban ones. Farm discontent and rural distress seem to have caught up with the BJP, which had promised to double farm incomes if it came to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in terms of vote share, the decline for the BJP has been even across the rural-urban divide. The BJP’s rural vote share has declined 4 percentage points to 32% in 2018, even as its urban vote share has declined 4.5 percentage points to 34%, compared to five years ago. There was also variation across states. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP suffered a 6 percentage point loss in the urban vote share while the loss in rural vote shares was limited to 3 percentage points between 2018 and 2013. In contrast, BJP’s rural losses were significantly greater in neighbouring Chhattisgarh where they lost 8 percentage points of the rural vote share.
THE NATION 47
Upper castes still dominate the Hindi belt. Caste has been a leitmotif of Indian elections throughout history, and this time was no different. The Congress seems to have benefited from the controversy over the dilution of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, aimed to protect the scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) from harassment. The BJP has borne the brunt of both upper caste groups, who hold the party responsible for failing to dilute the Act and the resentment of SCs and STs who perceive the party as not being protective enough of their interests. The Congress seems to have capitalized on the resentment among both these groups. They secured victories in more reserved seats and performed better in non-reserved seats with significant SC/ST populations. Of the 36 general seats with an SC/ST population greater than 40%, the Congress won 21 seats, more than double the seats the BJP managed (10). The question of jobs, which the BJP-run Centre has not been able to provide, which may be responsible for much of the unhappiness with the party. Because of this BJP suffered a bigger dip in its strike rate in urban seats than rural seats in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Even in Rajasthan, the BJP’s strike rate in urban areas has gone down by 32 percentage points. Rural distress is not the only factor generating headwinds for the BJP now. This increases the significance of the employment debate under the present government. While private sources such as Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy paint a grim picture, the government has been citing numbers such as Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
48 THE NATION
enrolment statistics to paint a rosy picture on the job front. Interestingly, the Reserve Bank of India’s consumer confidence survey, which is conducted in urban areas, has been showing a weakening perception around employment and income prospects in the recent period. Whether or not there is a public admission, there is bound to be a rethink in the government about the employment scenario in the country. Growing urban discontent will also be more difficult to handle as traditional stimulus mechanisms such as higher Minimum Support Prices and debtwaivers cannot be exercised effectively in cities. National leaders have always played a prominent role in state elections, often holding rallies and public meetings in states to mobilize party workers, criticize the opposition and, ultimately, woo voters. Some political observers have compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign rallies
and the constituency visits by Congress President Rahul Gandhi. And they are of the opinion that Rahul Gandhi had been much more active on the campaign trail and that his speeches were indeed starting to make more of an impact. Ahead of these assembly elections, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress president, traversed the five states on behalf of their parties. In the two-month period before voting in three Hindi heartland states where BJP and the Congress were the main competitors, Narendra Modi attended 29 rallies covering 53 constituencies. Rahul Gandhi was even more active, speaking at 56 rallies covering 67 constituencies, data sourced from party statements and news reports show. In the 42 constituencies visited only by Rahul Gandhi, a little less than half elected the Congress, while in the 29 constituencies just visited by Modi, a third elected the BJP. However, seat vic-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
tories could be a result of other factors beyond just the presence of a national leader The national elections next year will be its acid test. Between them, the five states, which went for polls in December contribute 83 seats to the Lok Sabha. Assuming the trends of end-2018 hold till mid-2019, the Congress is set to gain 30 seats in these five states, while the BJP is set to lose 33. Examining the results of the 2013 assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, we find a broad correspondence in assembly election results and Lok Sabha election results across states, barring Chhattisgarh. Chattisgarh saw a close contest between the Congress and the BJP in end-2013 but in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won handsomely. The other big gainer could be the TRS which won 11 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, and following a dominant victory in these elections, is on track to secure 15 seats in 2019.
ENVIRONMENT 49
S
Hi-tech transplantation of trees
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aving mature specimen trees is of real value from aesthetics, instant gratification, and environmental impact standpoints. Few organizations in the country are able to successfully transplant trees, which have been over 50 years old, of heights varying between 30 to 50 feet, with a survival rate of more than 70%. As cities grow, we need to have wider roads, flyovers and apartment complexes. With many state governments struggling to relocate trees in the wake of massive infrastructure development in metros, the demand for tree transplantations services has increased. But the high cost and low survival rates is posing the challenge. To overcome this limitation a trucks
company has come forward with a hi-tech solution of ‘tree transplantation’. Volvo Trucks has pioneered the solution to relocate trees and make infrastructure development environmentally sustainable. It has already transplanted at least 3,000 trees across India. The whole idea is to institutionalise the process of tree transplantation. The company say it has three such comprehensive truck units and are planning to invest in three more. The company has established such tree transplantation truck units (Rs 4 crore per unit) across the country with agencies like Coal India, NTPC, state governments and expertise from Institute of Wood Science (IWST), Bengaluru. IWST provides the knowledge about which tree
species should be planted. Their solution specialises in transplanting trees which are between 10 and 20 years of age and 15-20 inches diameter as the maximum amount of carbon sequestration is done by the tree at this stage. After the transplantation, the soil at the new site is regularly monitored to check for chances of drying out It takes about 2-3 days of planning and organizing. If done adhering to scientific methods, the time taken may go up to 2-3 weeks. The root ball needs to be taken care of and packed perfectly. Once the tree has been extracted, it needs to be planted as soon as possible. . Mulching, fertilizer treatment, pruning, mechanical support and other protection measures are adopted post transplantation. The survival rate is 80 per cent.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
50 HEALH
Higher-status people are more likely to whine
M
THE NEWS BUREAU
oney and education confer plenty of advantages in life, and research has long shown that people who have them live healthier, longer lives and tend to have more stable, less monotonous jobs. But they also report feeling a lot more stress at work than people with lower salaries and fewer degrees, a study found. To measure stress levels during the work day, Penn State University researchers gave 122 workers living in a northeast US city Palm Pilots to carry with them on the job. Several times a day, the handheld computers prompted them to rate how stressed and how happy they felt. The idea was to measure stress in real time, rather than ask people at the end of the day when other factors such as commutes or family obligations might influence their stress levels. People with higher incomes and levels of education reported being about 28% more stressed and 8.3% less happy overall than workers with lower incomes and levels of education did, according to Matthew Zawadzki, now a professor at the University of CaliforniaMerced, who wrote the study with Penn State professors Sarah Damaske and Joshua Smyth. In addition to reporting being more stressed and less happy from moment to moment, those higherstatus workers -that is, those in the top fifth of a combined measure of
income and education, tending to earn at least $100,000 (approx. Rs 66.85 lakh, as on Wednesday) a year -also reported having more trouble meeting the demands of their jobs. “These individuals who report higher stress are probably individuals who simply have more authority or decision-making duties than others,“ said University of Toronto
get to work,“ said Damaske. She and her coauthors found in a 2014 study that people with lower incomes tended to report more stress at home than at work the opposite of what higher-income people reported. Stress and happiness are also pretty subjective feelings, and people express their moods and deal with stress in different ways.
sociology professor Scott Schieman, who was not involved in the study but called it “important“ research. The study's results certainly don't mean low-status workers have it easier. Obviously, low-status jobs can create all sorts of problems for workers, such as making it more difficult for them to pay bills.“Even though that's caused by work, maybe it's a stressor you can leave behind for the moment when you
Could it be that higher-status people are just more likely to whine when things don't go their way? More research is needed, Damaske said, but the study contains a clue: In addition to answering questions, the subjects also submitted saliva so her team could measure their levels of the stressrelated hormone, cortisol -and those levels didn't indicate significantly more stress among better-paid workers.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
HEALH 51
Cure blood-related disorders with umbilical cord blood
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he concept of cord blood pool banking is gradually developing in India. Growing evidence that Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant (UCBT) is one of the major treatment options for various genetic and blood-related diseases has lead to this. Doctors say that over ninety-five percent of blood-related disorders can be treated using umbilical cord blood (UCB) from a donor. Keeping this in mind, a cord blood bank has introduced the first Family Umbilical Cord Blood Pool Banking concept in the country. MyCord, a vertical of CelluGen, a government-licensed cord blood bank, advocates that each UCB unit is privately banked and stored as part of a pool, thereby providing an easy access to patients to the best-matched cord blood unit. "The idea behind the 'Family Cord Blood Pool Bank' is
to create a balance between insufficient cord blood units in public banks and the utility of stored blood units in pool banks for allogeneic use with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing," Lalit Jaiswal, the director of CelluGen said. Prior to cord blood storage HLA typing is done to find the compatible cord blood unit at the time of requirement. Storing cord blood units without HLA typing renders them ineffective for use by others. Even doctors advise parents looking for umbilical cord blood banking to consider pool banking, which allows access to others' cord blood units when needed. In most blood-related disorders, UCBT is recommended to be that of another person (allogeneic) and not your own (autologous). This is because the genes which caused the disorder are present in the cord blood. So for treatment, one re-
quires a healthy cell and not a mutant one. Government bodies have regularly been updating their recommendations on umbilical cord blood banking. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines of 2007 and 2012 state, use of stored umbilical cord blood for self-use is practically nil. Its 2017 guideline says, ‘So far there is no scientific basis for preservation of cord blood for future self-use and this practice, therefore, raises ethical and social concerns.’ As compared to the western countries, the number of UCB transplants performed in India has been very low. This is mainly due to the high cost and insufficient compatible UCB units in public banks. MyCord, by introducing the concept of Family Cord Blood Pool banking, will in a real sense provide protection from bloodrelated disorders.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
52 HEALH
Adults too need Vaccines Here is why & when you need them
THE NEWS BUREAU:
Vaccines successfully protect children from diseases that are fatal early in life. But vaccines aren’t just for kids. Every year, thousands of adults in our country get sick and are hospitalized from vaccinepreventable diseases. Getting vaccinated will help you stay healthy, so you’ll miss less work and also have more time for your family and friends. And did you know that when you get vaccinated, you also help protect your family? Someone may ask “ I’ve gotten all my childhood vaccines. Why do I need more?” Medical experts say
PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE
that adults need vaccines for several reasons. For example, Some vaccines are recommended only for adults, who are more at risk for certain diseases like shingles. Protection from childhood vaccines wears off over time so you need additional doses of certain vaccines to stay protected. You may not have gotten some of the newer vaccines that are now available. Some viruses, like the virus that causes the flu, can change over time. You may be at increased risk for diseases based on travel plans, your job, or health conditions. How do I know which vaccina-
The pneumococcal vaccine protects the vulnerable against pneumonia, meningitis and other infections that can lead to hospitalization and death. Who needs the pneumococcal vaccine? Everyone ages 65 and older should have this vaccine. Adults who are active smokers or have a chronic medical condition such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, COPD, etc., also need the pneumococcal vaccine. When to get yours: You’ll need two shots, the PCV13 at age 65 and the PPSV23 one year later. If you’re an active smoker or have a chronic medical condition, ask your doctor if you need the pneumococcal vaccine prior to age 65.
FLU SHOTS
tions I’ve had and which ones I need? To find out which vaccinations you’ve had, you’ll need to find your vaccination record. Your vaccination record is the history of all the vaccines you’ve had as a child and as an adult. To find your vaccination record Ask your parents or caregivers if they have your vaccination record. If you can’t find your record, ask your doctor whether you should get some vaccinations again. Learn more about vaccination records. Family medicine physicians emphasise this. One expert gives outlines the vaccines adults should plan to get:
Good evidence reveals the flu vaccine’s power against sickness and death from influenza and its complications. Who needs a flu shot? Everyone 6 months of age and older need the flu vaccine. It’s especially important for those with chronic illnesses (like asthma, COPD, diabetes and heart disease) and those aged 65 and older. They are more at risk for serious consequences and hospitalization is higher. How often we should get this vaccinated? Be sure to get your flu shot every year, preferably before the flu season begins in September - October. For those 65 and older, the high-dose vaccine offers extra protection. In areas where more people are immunized, we see fewer flu deaths among the elderly, the immunocompromised and the young.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
HEALH 53
TETANUS BOOSTERS
The tetanus vaccine guards against a bacteria whose toxin painfully contracts muscles throughout your body. It is often combined with other vaccines. Adults need regular tetanus boosters, added to diphtheria vaccine, as Td. Anyone with a severe or dirty wound or burn also needs immunization. Women need tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine with every pregnancy. When to get yours? Td boosters are given every 10 years throughout adulthood. At least one of these boosters should be the Tdap, which also protects against pertussis. Diphtheria can be life-threatening. While pertussis is annoying for adults, it is deadly for infants. Every adult who will be around newborns especially dads should be up-to-date with their Tdap vaccine.
HEPATITIS VACCINES
The hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses attack the liver. Vaccination prevents serious infection and, in hepatitis B, liver scarring and failure, cancer and death. Who needs hepatitis vaccines? Healthcare workers and others exposed to body fluids, through which hepatitis spreads, need the hepatitis B vaccine. Travellers may also need the hepatitis A vaccine. Vaccinating children against hepatitis A and B is now routine. But the Hepatitis B vaccine is available for all age groups. Getting one type of hepatitis won’t protect you against other types. While hepatitis A usually resolves on its own, hepatitis C is as serious as hepatitis B. However, hepatitis C lacks a vaccine. Will you be going overseas on a cruise, travelling with a chronic illness or with children, or providing disaster relief? Check the CDC website to discover which vaccines (hepatitis A and B, typhoid, malaria, etc.) you’ll need for that part of the globe.
SHINGLES VACCINE
The shingles vaccine increases your odds for avoiding a very painful rash. If you do get shingles, the vaccine slashes its severity as well as the risk of developing ongoing nerve pain (post-herpetic neuralgia). Your risk of shingles rises with age, so adults age 60 and older should get the vaccine. A new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, was approved in 2017. This twoshot series, given two to six months apart, provides more protection than the one-time vaccine was prescribed earlier. Anyone who’s had chickenpox can develop shingles. Not sure whether you’ve had it? The CDC says 99 per cent of those 40 and older have had chickenpox whether they recall it or not. If you’ve never had chickenpox, the shingles vaccine protects against this disease as well.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
54 INVESTIGATION
Banda cheruvu is shrinking
Land grabber ruling the roost F
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ind a water tank. Start filling it with mud, rubble. Level it up and make residential plots for sale. This the modus operandi of land grabbers in Hyderabad and its surroundings. As part of undived Andhra Pradesh majority of water bodies in the state capital and Ranga Reddy district have vanished. Huge colonies have come up. This kind of activities encouraged by politicians and not prevented by government officials had caused irreparable damage to the pearl city and its suburbs. Even after Telangana state formation govt. Departments and their officers are continuing same attitude towards valuable water bodies. A big water tank, Banda Cheruvu in Malkagiri is the latest victim. The irony is grabbers assisted, protected, encouraged by officers and staff of very government. ‘The News’ magazine’s investigation has revealed apathy of irrigation – revenue - police department’s officials and land grabber’s dangerous ability to manage them. The Banda Cheruvu is in survey No. 412 and 413 of Malkajigiri village, in RR district. The total is of the water tank is 103 acres. Part of this water tank and area in it FTL (full tank level) is grabbed and residential colonies are coming up. Because of this continuous illegal filling and land grabbing the Banda
Mohammed Raeesuddin
Cheruvu tank is now reduced to 39 acres. The main person accused in this illegal activity is Mohammed Raeesuddin, a resident of RTC colony at Moula Ali area. This known landgrabber who claims to be a Congress party leader and his THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
henchmen now dumping rubble into tank bed from the northern side of the Banda cheruvu to fill up tank bed and level it to convert the land into plots for sale. They have erected there a tinned site office too. Local MRO is toled to related to the land grabber and according to sources, he is also the partner in these illegal land dealings. Though concerned Tahasildar has already issued prohibitory orders to SubRegistrar Malkagiri and officers directing (Letter No.B/1925/2012 dated 20th Nov. 2012) them not register any deed in the said survey numbers, the notorious land grabber with help of ‘friendly’ officers – staff is able to sale the plots get them registered. Being a witness to filling of the precious water body within Greater
Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) purview and unabated illegal plotting a businessman residing at Shivanand Nagar nearby Moulali have had complained local authorities. As they have failed to stop the illegal filling of Banda Cheruvu and plotting he has made representations(dated 24.09.2018) to The Chief Engineer Irrigation & CAD department, The Executive Engineer North Tanks Division, The District Collector Medchal Malkagiri, The Commissioner of Police Rachakonda Commissionerate. As even appraising them all about entire illegal activity of land grabber yielded no results he has finally filed a writ petition (WP.No.3722 of 2018) in Hight court. High court bench led by Justice P.Naveen Rao, who heard the petition has given clear order for protecting Banda Cheruvu Though honourable high court specifically ordered neither revenue department nor irrigation department officials showed any interest in taking action to protect the valuable sikam land those two survey numbers. They have erected fencing for other parts of Banda Cheruvu and survey and simply left vulnerable sikam land to grabbers. The petitioner has now started filing Contempt petitions on concerned authorities. The police response to this illegal activity is cool. When filed a complaint quoting High court order and Government's prohibitory orders Malkajigiri station police have registered a criminal case(FIR No:740/18) and left it there without any action to prevent land grabbers activity. Taking inspiration from this reluctance of police to stop criminal activity the land grabber freely engaging compressors to blast stones in the land,
earth movers and road rollers to prepare plots for sale. Part of the land which was covered by huge rocks and sheetrock was cleared using explosives, compressors. Even when complained about hevy machine usage with photographic evidnec police did not confecicated them. In spite of the prohibitory orders in GoMS No: 647 and by
honourable High court order through IA No: 1&2 of 2018 in WP 37223 of 2018 directing sub-registrar, Malkajigiri “Not to entertain deed of conveyance for registration of lands covered by survey numbers 412 and 413 in Malkajigiri village and Mandal’ no government department and officials have initiated any action, taken steps to protect the valuable Band Cheruvu sikam, the land grabber without any hesitation is dividing the land in prohibited survey numbers into residential plots and selling them to innocent purchasers and successfully getting them registered. The sub-registrar Malkajigir has registered many documents in the land in prohibited survey numbers. This being done in collusion with the land grabbers of extraneous amounts. For example, four ‘plots’ (No.s: 7591/18,
INVESTIGATION 55
7755/18, 7756/18 and 7757/18) in said land were registered in recent months. Recently after the concerned Sub registrar was traped by ACB and suspension the land grabber started using new method to cheat buyers and sale land illegally as plots. For this he is seigning agreements and collecting huge amounts of money.
It is observed that in spite of many FRI’s pending against him the notorious land grabber who is known among local people as ‘ Zameer chor’ is still roaming free as none of the concerned authorities has taken stringent action to curb grabbing of precious lands. The powerful ‘Telangana Prevention of Dangerous activities of bootleggers & land grabbers Act and Preventive Detention(PD) Act. As we have the judiciary sensitive to social and environmental problems, some untiring activists among commons citizens to fight, such issue are will coming to larger public attention. But until concerned authorities act upon the court's orders, implement acts the unscrupulous people will continue theirillegal anti-public activities. Pathetic condition of beautiful Banda Cheruvu case is no different.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
56 SPORTS
Wins BWF World Tour Finals
Sindhu Scripts History I
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ndia’s star shelter PV Sindhu broke her finals jinx with a historic triumph at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World
Tour Finals. She has also made history by winning as the first Indian to win the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals tournament. Sindhu came up against a familiar foe in Nozomi Okuhara in THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
the title clash but unlike her previous meetings, the Indian superstar showed much more patience in her gameplay against the Japanese. Playing her third successive season-ending finale, Sindhu, who
had lost in the summit clash to another Japanese, Akane Yamaguchi, to settle for a silver in the last edition, prevailed in this time in a match that lasted an hour and two minutes. Dubbed a bridesmaid after
falling short of gold on a number of occasions, Sindhu finally broke her jinx, let out tears of relief and joy, and sunk to her knees. "It is a great feeling to end the year on a high. Winning the BWF World Tour Finals and being the first Indian to do so is a very special feeling", said a delighted Sindhu. She feels that the BWF World Tour finals win will answer her critics. Sindhu had a tough time this year, unable to win even a single tournament but the Indian shuttler was in top form and ended the season-finale unbeaten. In both games, Sindhu made a fast start but Okuhara managed to stay within touching distance. The 23-year-old Indian has suffered numerous heartbreaks in finals of tournaments in recent years. She took home the silver after losing to Spain's Carolina Marin at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She suffered more heartbreaks at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games this year and has also twice lost in the final of the World Championships and was runner-up in last year's season finale. The world number six, renowned for her never-say-die attitude, put all her past disappointments behind her in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, beating the fifth-ranked Okuhara in straight games in the women's final that lasted just over an hour. With winning the BWF World Tour Finals, national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has now set his eyes on ending the 18-yearold wait for an Indian to become an All England champion next year. Gopichand was the last Indian to win the All England Championship in 2001, achieving the coveted feat after 21 years of Prakash Padukone’s 1980 title. “It has been quite a while since we have won
SPORTS 57
the All England Championship. It will be almost 20 years since Prakash sir won and then I won the Championship so I hope this time it doesn’t take so long,” Gopichand said. He says for them 2020 would be a big one, and then 2022, so basically the Commonwealth, Asian Games and the Olympics are the big events. But Gopichand and Sindhu have kept the All England will be the target next year. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu was born in Hyderabad to P. V. Ramana and P. Vijaya. Both her parents have been national level volleyball players. Her father, Ramana, who was a member of the Indian volleyball team that won the bronze medal in 1986 Seoul Asian Games, received the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his contribution to the sports. Sindhu has an elder sister, P. V. Divya, who was a national-level handball player. However, she was not interested in pursuing professional sports and became a doctor. Though her parents played professional volleyball, Sindhu chooses badminton over it because she drew inspiration from the success of Pullela Gopichand, 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion. She eventually started playing badminton from the age of eight. Sindhu first learned the basics of the sport with the guidance of Mehboob Ali at the badminton courts of Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications in Secunderabad. Soon after, she joined Pullela Gopichand's Gopichand Badminton Academy. Gopichand, her coach once said that "the most striking feature in Sindhu's game is her attitude and the never-say-die spirit." After joining Gopichand's badminton academy, Sindhu won several
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
58 SPORTS titles. In the under-10 years' category, she won the 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category and the singles title at the Ambuja Cement All India ranking. In the under-13 years' category, Sindhu won the singles title at the Sub-juniors in Pondicherry, doubles titles at the Krishna Khaitan All India Tournament, IOC All India Ranking, the Sub-Junior Nationals and the All India Ranking in Pune. She also won the under-14 team gold medal at the 51st National School Games in India. Sindhu came to international attention when she broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 at the age of 17. In 2013, she became the first ever Indian women's singles player to win a medal at the Badminton World Championships. In March 2015, she is the recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri. Her silver medal win in the women's singles event of the 2016 Summer Olympics made her the first Indian shuttler to reach the final of an Olympics badminton event and the youngest Indian to make a podium finish in an individual event at the Olympics. She is among the top five shuttlers in women's singles category. She became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, and one of the two Indian badminton players to ever win an Olympic medal – other being Saina Nehwal. Sindhu won silver in Women's singles at Commonwealth Games 2018. She was also a silver medalist at the 2017 BWF World Championships and 2018 BWF World Championships, now BWF World Championship consecutively.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
FITNESS 59
12 Steps to manage your weight Practice these simple, everyday food and fitness smarts to keep your hardfought new weight.
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ou've just lost weight and you don't want to see that number go back up on your scale. Although gaining the weight back might feel inevitable, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, a recent analysis by the National Weight Control Registry found long-term weight maintenance is possible, if you follow these key behaviours. Below, 12 tricks from dietitians and successful dieters who were able to lose any weight and keep it off. Build more lean muscle. Maintain, or even increase, your metabolism by continuing to build lean muscle. "Muscle has a higher metabolism than fat does," explains Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian
at Houston Northwest Medical Center. If you don't yet train with weights, add this type of exercise to your overall program now. If you do, increase the amount of weight you're working with to keep yourself challenged. Fight off hunger with more filling foods. A three-year University of Pittsburgh study of 284 women between the ages of 25 and 45 found that those who avoided weight gain the best were the ones whose meals kept them feeling full. "Keeping that feeling of fullness can be done with foods high in fibre — think fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein," says Jenna Anding, PhD, RD, of the
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
department of nutrition and food science at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Avoid temptation. The University of Pittsburgh study also found that women who best controlled their weight were good at resisting the temptation to binge on forbidden treats. This doesn't mean never indulging in a gooey dessert again, but rather picking — and limiting — your moments. There are many ways to avoid daily temptations, including planning ahead when eating out, eating out less, and banning your worst weaknesses from the house. Count calories. Another hallmark of successful weight mainte-
60 FITNESS
nance, according to the University of Pittsburgh study, is regularly counting calories. Use a journal such as My Calorie Counter to keep a running total throughout the day if that helps you keeps track of calorie consumption. In the weightcontrol survey, the women who were most successful at less than 1,800 calories a day and limited fat intake. Plan your meals in advance. A maintenance diet has a lot of the same components as a weight-loss diet. Having a meal-by-meal plan that you can stick to, although it has more calories than your diet plan did, can act as a guide to keep you on track. Consider adding minutes to
every day. Measure your portions. According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) study of more than 4,000 U.S. adults, the biggest factors in success were measuring portions and fats, the most caloric foods, in particular. This doesn't mean you have to carry a food scale everywhere you go, but using it as often as possible at home will teach you how to eyeball portion sizes at restaurants and immediately know how much to eat, and how much to take home in a doggie bag. Weigh yourself daily. The same CDC study reported that people who weigh themselves once a day are twice as successful at keeping off lost weight as those who don't
your exercise plan. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week, but emphasize that the more you exercise, the better able you are to maintain a weight loss. Participants in the weight control survey walked for at least 60 minutes daily — or burned the same calories with other activities — so aim for 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity
step on the scale as often. Daily weigh-ins, which can be discouraging when you're on a diet, can be a boon during maintenance; they let you see, and stop, any slow creep upward as soon as it happens. Include dairy in your diet. According to a study of 338 adults, those who ate three or more servings of low-fat dairy daily were more likely to keep off the weight THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
than those who ate one serving or less. For women, in particular, this has the additional benefit of improving bone health. Let your plate be your guide. When you can't count calories or measure portions accurately, Banes recommends using the "plate method" as a way to control the amount you're eating. A great tip for dieters, it works just as well for people on a maintenance plan. Simply put, when you serve yourself using this method, at least half your plate should be vegetables and the remaining space should be divided evenly between lean protein and whole grains. If you go back for seconds, limit yourself to vegetables, fruit or low-fat dairy. Watch less TV. In the National Weight Control Registry Survey, dieters who watched fewer than 10 hours of TV a week were more successful in maintaining weight loss than those who spent more time vegging out in front of the tube. And less TV time might have other benefits, too, an analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health found that too much TV can raise your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and death. Eat breakfast. They call it the most important meal of the day for a reason. In the survey, women who regularly ate breakfast were more successful with long-term weight loss than those who skipped the first meal of the day. It’s best to eat similar healthy choices regularly (think oatmeal,yogurt, and fresh fruit) and always start out with a good breakfast to avoid splurging or overeating on special occasions. Now that you know the secrets to long-term weight-loss success, get started with your weight management program today!
THE NATION 61
Women pilot percentage in India twice that of world I
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndia not only has the highest percentage of women airline pilots in the world, but the percentage of women pilots in India is more than double the global average, according to latest data released by International Society of Women Airline Pilots. According to the latest statistics, the percentage of women airline pilots in the world stands around 5.4%. In India, the percentage of women pilots currently is 12.4 %. India employs a total of 8,797 pilots of which 1,092 are women and 385 of these are female captains. Globally, the total number of airline pilots is over 1.5 lakh of which only 8,061 are women and 2,190 are women captains. According to the latest data, Delhi-based regional carrier Zoom employs the highest percentage of women pilots in the world, at 30%. Of the 30 pilots it employs, nine are women. But the big numbers are with Indi-Go, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and Air India. IndiGo has the second highest percentage of women pilots at nearly 13.9%. Of the 2,689 pilots that IndiGo employs, 351 are women. Of the 1,867 pilots in Jet Airways, 231 are women (12.4%). SpiceJet has 853 pilots of which 113 are women (13.2%), while Air India, country’s pioneer in employing women pilots, has 1,710 pilots of which 217 are women pilots (12.7%). In fact, IndiGo and Jet Airways are the only two carriers in the world, other than US-based carriers
like United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Southwest, where the number of female captains is currently in three digits. At 299 female captains, United Airlines employs the largest number of women commanders in the world. After United Airlines comes American Airlines with 152 women commanders, and Southwest with 121. In India, IndiGo has 118 women commanders and Jet Airways 100. However, the percentage of women pilots in USbased carriers is just above the global average. Only 7.5% of pilots employed by United Airlines are female, while for Delta the percentage is 4.7.
Some Indian airlines have crèches, which enable both women and men to strike a balance between their early parenthood responsibilities and professional obligations. In addition to the mandatory maternity leave policy, it offers flexibility to women pilots to continue working (excluding flying duties) during their maternity, which benefits them in two ways: first, airlines give an office duty allowance which is separate from the standard salary, and second, this enables women pilots to constructively stay engaged with the profession in spite of having to take a break from their flying duties.
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62 DEFENCE
Rafale deal
BJP-Congress battle continues dispite SC Judgement E
THE NEWS BUREAU:
mpowerment of defence forces with adequate technology and material support is a matter of vital importance. The Supreme Court made it amply clear while refusing to interfere with the government decision to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. The apex court noted that the procurement of the Rafale jet, which has been sought to be challenged, has its origins in the post-Kargil experience which saw a renewed attempt to advance the strategic needs of India's armed forces. In its judgement, a bench headed by Chief
Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said judicial scrutiny of the Rafale deal has to be done keeping in view that "adequate military strength and capability to discourage and withstand external aggression and to protect the sovereignty and integrity of India, undoubtedly, is a matter of utmost concern for the Nation." The bench added that It will not be correct for the Court to sit as an appellate authority to scrutinize each aspect of the process of acquisition. In a relief to the BJP government led by Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court dismissed the pleas challenging the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
Rafale jets saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making the process" warranting setting aside of the contract. The deal is estimated to be Rs 58,000 crore (USD 8 billion). The deal had come under political scrutiny in India and in France after the Opposition questioned how Reliance Defence was signed on as the offset partner by weapons manufacturer Dassault Aviation when the Anil Ambani-owned company had no relevant experience. The bench said it has "studied the material carefully" on the deal and also had the benefit of interacting with senior Air Force Officers
of petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the Narendra Modi government’s controversial purchase of Rafale fighter jets from French firm Dassault Aviation.
BJP AND CONGRESS AT WAR ON RAFALE EVEN AFTER SC VERDICT
on a different aspect and there is no occasion to really doubt the process of procurement and pricing. While noting that joint exercises have taken place and "there is a financial advantage to our nation", the bench also arrived at the findings that "the need for the aircrafts is not in doubt". The bench, which was of the view that "the quality of the aircraft is not in question," further said: "Our country cannot afford to be unprepared/underprepared in a situation where our adversaries are stated to have acquired not only 4th Generation but even 5th Generation Aircrafts, of which, we have none." The order came on a batch
Highest court order on Rafal deal has little impact on waring opposition and ruling parties. They continued the political battle on this defence deal. Shortly after a threejudge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected a bunch of petitions seeking a courtmonitored probe into the controversial fighter jet deal, the top guns of BJP addressed various press conferences to come down heavily on Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his campaign against the government and the Prime Minister. attacked Rahul Gandhi for his campaign of "lies" and demanded an apology to the nation. Responding to that Gandhi hit back saying the nation knew that there was "corruption" in the deal and repeated his jibe that "watchman is a thief" who helped a private industrialist. BJP leaders said now that the Supreme Court has given its judgement, all debate should end. In both Houses of Parliament which were disrupted on the issue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanded that Gandhi should apologise for throwing "false" allegations. In Rajya Sabha, Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley challenged the Congress for a debate on the issue. BJP President Amit Shah held demanded that Gandhi apologise to the nation for his "brazen lies" accusing the government and said he should also disclose the source of information for his attacks.
DEFENCE 63
Gandhi, who has spearheaded an attack on Rafale, also accused the government of telling "lies". He raised questions over the statement that a parliamentary committee had examined the pricing details of the Rafale deal and asserted that there was no such meeting. He attacked Modi and persisted with demand for a JPC which, he said, would expose the "lies". Supreme Court gave judgement and I want to read three lines from it. 'The pricing details have, however, been shared with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the report of the CAG has been examined by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).' is the foundation of the judgment," Gandhi said. Citing the Supreme Court judgement that referred to a parliamentary committee having examined the price details of the fighter jet, he said no such meeting was held. Former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan expressed shock and disappointment over the verdict and said it "neither addressed the documented facts nor dealt with their main prayer seeking an investigation into the deal to purchase the French fighter jets". While Gandhi and his party leaders demanding the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), maintaining that it can alone bring out the truth, the government and the BJP leaders rejected it. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have rejected the Congress' demand for a JPC probe into the Rafale aircraft deal. They said the Congress should come and debate in the House instead of disrupting it.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
64 STARTUPS
Want to be an Entrepreneur? Here is How to start your first company
S
THE NEWS – BUSINESS DESK
tarting your own company is a fine goal to have in life. You’ll be told you cannot, that is too much of trouble for you to indulge in, that there is too much risk, and how your day job brings you a secure salary at the end of the month. But, if you know this is what you want, don’t back off and don’t get discouraged. If you were a 9-to-5er, they’ll say you couldn’t keep your job. If you were a housewife, they’ll say you are not domesticated enough. But by now, you already know that people will always tell you, that you cannot. March right ahead and form your own company. Because you can. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, or cannot achieve. Just don’t allow it. It’s wrong. It’s so wrong. Be what you want to be — and prove them wrong. Here is a little help from us. These are the most important tips you can use to turn entrepreneur and start your own company:
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
When people have told you that starting your own business is tough, they weren’t wrong! It is very diffi-
cult and a lot of work goes in before actually starting the company. First, accept that what you are about to do is not going to be easy. Working in a cubicle where someone else takes the decision, is easy. Starting your own company needs every iota of confidence, resilience and motivation that is in you, maybe even a little bit borrowed. Do this only when you are ready and sure, just having a brilliant business idea won’t take you ahead.
ASSESS YOURSELF
None of us is superhuman and even if we push ourselves, there is only so much a person can do. Now, don’t see this as a negative aspect. The positive side to this is assessing and being aware of what you can do, and what you might not be comfortable with, or able to. This puts you on the forefront because you will not walk with your strength and depend less on your weaknesses.
IDENTIFY YOUR MARKET
Look at the supply and demand; find out if people really do want your product. Apart from the size of the potential market, what is also important is to know if it is a shortterm demand or a permanent THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
demand. Will people enjoy your services or will they want to try it out once out of curiosity. Your business will be your source of income to knowing the market and its demographics to understand if this source of income will be long-term or temporary/seasonal.
EVALUATE THE MARKET
Don’t do something just because everyone is doing it. First, your concept should be different. Only then can you attract more customers. Go through its pros and cons and check out its plausibility.
STARTUPS 65
be. Insure your premises and everything valuable the business will own. Yes, this is important. The cost might pinch you now, but you can sleep peacefully knowing everything is covered.
ADVERTISE
Can you make a profit out of selling this concept? Will there be a demand of the concept forever? Because short-term demand won’t fill your bank account for very long. Once you have done this, identify your market. Evaluate all available markets and understand which one works the best for you.
HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN
Our advice is, write it down. Make it professional and businesslike with – mission, vision, target, and cost of operation, financial projections and miscellaneous infor-
mation. Set accomplishment goals which you will set for your business to achieve and write it down. Make sure that when you are filing your returns at the end of the year, you also tally stats with your ultimate business goals.
FIND INVESTORS
Investors are needed to help you fund your company unless you are planning to use your own life’s savings. If you are getting an external investor, make sure they share the same passion about the business and are not in it merely for the profits. And always remember that your investors automatically get a say in the works of your company. Hence sharing passion and goal is important because otherwise ideas and egos will clash.
GET THE LEGALITIES SORTED
Everything should be on paper, including the kind of ownership of the company. Make sure that the papers are checked by a good lawyer because any loophole might get you into trouble.
FORMALITIES
Now, decide upon a name for your business and register it. Find out what your tax obligations will
Once all this has been sorted, you will need to advertise your business. You have two options of going about with it. If you have ample advertising funds, go for traditional advertising. Book slots in newspapers, magazines, websites and even television. Or alternatively, advertise your website on social media. This is a pretty effective way of advertising as your reach out is huge and you can directly target your specific audience.
PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY
A website is a good idea to promote your business. Instead of having to tell prospective clients everything about your business, maybe multiple times in a day, wouldn’t it be great if your website did the talking? Just give them your visiting card and point the URL to them. Cool, right? Now to have an impressive website is important. It’s okay if it is minimal. Since your website’s content will be doing the talking/advertising on your behalf, ensure that it is top-notch. Not only should the content be good, but it should also be error-free, crisp and to the point. The above are the few basics you need to carefully do when starting a company. There are many more big and small steps which make up the entire process, so go slow and take every step with a good amount of thought. Once the company is set and functional, you can sit back and breathe! All the best! Remember, you can do this.
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66 SPIRITUAL
YOGI ASHWINI
O
Makar Sankranti
ur entire life is linked to two energies – that of sun (surya) and of moon (chandra). Surya is the devta of gyan. Its shakti is Gayatri ji, the source of all other shaktis in Creation. Sanatan Kriya details the surya sadhna, through which one experiences the energy of sun and its true character is revealed to the practitioner. For general understanding, it is enough to know that the sun is closely linked to our lives. The importance of sun can be gauged to an extent from the role it plays in the physical creation – plants use sunlight to make food and in turn provide nourishment to all beings on earth, the water cycle, the winds, the ocean currents all are regulated by the heating effect of the sun, the planets are held in their respective orbits because of attraction of the sun, it is sun that brings the change in day and season. Having studied the sun for many years now, I can say with certainty that surya sadhna is highly potent practice, which if performed properly, under the guidance of a guru, bestows a practitioner with phenomenal glow and attraction of the sun, reveals to him/her the deepest secrets of creation and unlocks the doorways for interaction with devs and devis. Youth, beauty, radiant body and complexion and magnetism to draw all that
one is desirous of towards him/her, are just some of the by-products that come with regular practice.The vedic rishis would perform penance for decades together to achieve this state, the process has been simplified in the kaliyug, given the deterioration of human beings. It is the easiest for a being
of kaliyug to access these energies, for in present times, even small acts of sadhna and seva bear manifold results. With every change in yug, there is a shift in the tilt of earth’s axis. As a result, there is also change in the various shaktis governing creation. It is the tilt in earth’s axis that causes the apparent movement of sun from north to south (solistices) crossing the equator twice in a year (equinoxes). Makar Sankranti marks the day when sun appears to enter the zodiac of makar (CapriTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | JANUARY 2019
corn). Traditionally, the day coincided with the northward movement of sun having reached its southern most point, the phenomenon known as uttarayan in vedic philosophy. It was an extremely potent day, marking a transition in energy. According to vedic tradition the six months of uttarayana are a single day of the gods; the six months of dakshinayana are a single night of the gods. In Mahabharata, Bheeshma Pitamaha, chose to leave his body for the heavenly abode on it this day since it marks the onset of auspicious time. However due to the change in yugas, there has been a shift in date. While Makar Sankranti has moved to January 14th – 15th, uttarayan is observed on earth close to December Third week, as experienced by surya sadhaks at Dhyan Ashram across the world. The science of yog is a science of experience, the vedic seer had experienced the shakti of sun and so gave us the relevance of makar sankranti. In the absence of guru and gyan, one often takes to rituals and customs having little or no understanding of the science behind them. It’s a very powerful science based on vedic principles, correct practice of which gives phenomenal glow and siddhis to the practitioner.
The News You Like January, 2019
RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-1-2019)