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The fancy words you see on the number plates of vehicles is illegal
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 8, 2015
VIP Culture is a hot topic for discussion these days. From primetime debates on television to online petitions, it is being discussed like never before. VIP culture is evident in both the use of fancy lights on motor vehicles & also the use of various words on number plates. The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 and the subsequent rules define the list of people entitled to use the lights, while, the use of any words on the number plate other than the registration number is not valid.
Down with VIP culture seems to be the theme of the season. From primetime debates on television to online petitions, discussion about VIP culture has occupied center stage. Nowhere is the VIP culture more evident, than with the beaming lights on the vehicles in the convoy of various officials & politicians. Not just lights, we often come across fancy words on the number plates. But according to the Motor Vehicles Act and the subsequent rules, using any word on the number plate, other than registration number, is not authorized and is illegal. Even with the use of red & blue beacons on the top of vehicles, there are clear rules and the directions by the Supreme Court.
The Red & Blue Beacons
Section 108 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 clearly defines the usage of Red, White & Blue Lights on top of Vehicles. In other words, not everyone is authorized to use the red light on top of the vehicle. This can be only be used by a vehicle carrying high dignitaries. The list of high dignitaries has to be defined by the Central and State Governments. Apart from these, ambulances are allowed to use the blinker type of red light.
Apart from the red light, the relevant section also defines the use of blue light with flasher. It can be only used by the vehicles escorting high dignitaries as specified by the respective governments. Vehicles designated for emergency duties such as the Police department etc are allowed to use multi colored red, blue & white light.
Gross Misuse of the Provision
Various state governments misused this provision by including all & sundry in the list as specified in section 108. The Supreme Court dealt with this issue in a Special Leave Petition (SLP) 25357/2010. The court in its judgment in December, 2013, held that the powers granted to the central & state governments to define a list of high dignitaries is valid. At the same time, the court also said that the list can contain only the holders of those posts, positions and offices specified in the Constitution. The court also directed the States & Union Territories not to enlarge the scope of the term “high dignitaries” beyond what is prescribed. Thus the states were given 3 months time to come up with a new list that conformed to these guidelines. The court also stated that these lights can only be used while the specified dignitary is on duty, otherwise it has to be covered with a black cover.
Following this order, various states modified the list of dignitaries who are authorized to use either red or amber light. States like Maharashtra, Delhi modified their lists accordingly.
Who can use the Red light then?
The Central Government has defined a list of high dignitaries who are authorized to use the red light via notifications issued in 2002 & 2005. Holders of the following posts are authorized to use the red light
Red light with flasher on the top front of vehicle, while on duty anywhere in the country
Red light without flasher on the top front of the vehicle, while on duty anywhere in the country:-
Various states have defined their list of high dignitaries. Check out the relevant state list for more details.
What about the use of words on the Number Plate?
We often find various words used on the number plate like advocate, doctor, government vehicle, judge etc. Section 50 & 51 of the Motor Vehicles act clearly prohibit use of any such words on the number plate except for the registration number.
The Hyderabad Traffic Police had issued instructions to check various vehicles for these violations.
Next time you find someone using such unauthorized names, make a complaint with the Traffic Police. Remember Section 50 & 51 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

created: September 8, 2015


text:
FAQs - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2024

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


text:
Fareed Zakaria’s analysis of the Indian economy from April/May 2023 passed off as one after the G20 summit - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 14, 2023
As the G20 summit held in India ended on 10 September, a video is being shared extensively on social media in which the Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria of CNN is seen giving his take on the Indian economy. It is being claimed that Zakaria made this analysis in his CNN TV show “Fareed Zakaria GPS” after the G20 summit. Let’s find out the facts behind this claim.
Claim: After the G20 summit, Fareed Zakaria made comments on the Indian economy on his show.
Fact: This analysis was released in April 2023 after Zakaria visited India. In this video, he shared his opinion on the three revolutions that helped India’s economy surge. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
Firstly, based on the logos appearing on the viral news clip, we observed that it is from a TV show titled “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN. Taking this as a hint, we performed a keyword search on the internet, leading us to the same news report uploaded on Fareed Zakaria’s Facebook page on 1 May 2023.
The same video was also found on CNN’s website, and the content from the video was presented by the journalist Zakaria as an opinion piece (published on 18 April 2023) in the Washington Post.
Reportedly, he visited India in April 2023, after which he shared his thoughts on Indians being “excited about the future.” This analysis was on the Indian economy and the three revolutions, according to him, that fueled the surge. This has nothing to do with the G20 summit India hosted on 9-10 September 2023.
To sum up, this news clip of Fareed Zakaria’s analysis of the Indian economy from April/May 2023 passed off as one after the G20 summit.

created: September 14, 2023


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Farmer Suicides in 2018 at 12-year low says NCRB.How reliable is data?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 4, 2020
NCRB’s 2018 report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides’ reveals that the number of farmer suicides is at a 12-year low in 2018. But how reliable is NCRB data? Do we have enough data to understand the problem in its entirety?
Vast majority ofrural Indian population is still dependent on agriculture. The ongoingagricultural distress has taken a toll and it is evident from the large numberof farm related suicides over the last two decades. Unsustainable agriculture,indebtedness and climate change driven weather patterns have only exacerbatedthe problem.
The National CrimeRecords Bureau ( NCRB’s)report on ‘Accidental
Deaths and Suicides in India’has revealed that the number of farmer suicides has dropped in 2017 and 2018.But does the data give an actual picture of the reality?
Suicides in agricultural sector reach a 12-year low in
2018
According to the data reported in the NCRB report, suicides in the agricultural sector in India reduced to 10,655 in 2017 and 10,349 in 2018. The number of suicides in 2018 is the lowest in the 12-year period starting in 2006.
The number ofsuicides reduced by 6.2% in 2017 compared to the year before. However, thereduction in 2018 was only 2.9%. In 2017 & 2018, suicides of those in theagricultural sector as reported by NCRB accounted for 8.2% and 7.7% respectively,of the total suicides recorded in India.
NCRB presents dataon farmer suicides in terms of farmers/cultivator and agricultural labourers.Farmers or cultivators are those whose profession is farming whereasagricultural labourers are those who work in the farming sector or in otherwords, they earn income from agricultural labour activities.
Around 56% of the suicides in the sector are of ‘farmers
or cultivators’
Since 2016, thepercentage of farmers/cultivators who committed suicide revolved around 56%while the percentage of agricultural labourers who committed suicideconstituted the remaining 44%. In 2017 and 2018, female farmers made up for 5%of the total farmer suicides. In the case of agricultural labourers, around 11%of the reported suicides were of female labourers. In 2017, one transgenderlabourer was also reported to have committed suicide.
Proportion of suicides by farmers owning the land they
cultivate has increased in the last three years
Based on landownership, there are two types of farmers or cultivators- those who cultivateon their own land and those who cultivate on leased land or other’s land. Whilethe numbers show a decline in number of farmer suicides, proportion of farmersuicides who owned the land they cultivated has increased from 84% in 2016 to 87%in 2017 and 88% in 2018. Of the incidents reported, around 4.8% of the farmerswho had owned the land they cultivated and 9.4% of those who did not own werefemales.
Maharashtra continues to account for one-third of the Farm
related suicides
State-wise analysis of these suicides reveals that Maharashtra continues to account for more than one-third of the cases reported across the country. Karnataka (23%) has reported the second-highest number of incidents followed by Telangana (9%). Ten states with the maximum number of suicides in 2018 accounted for more than 95% of the suicides in the country.
Of all thesuicides across the country, 39% of the farmers/cultivators suicides werereported in Maharashtra and 24% in Karnataka. 99% of the suicides reported inTelangana were that of farmers/cultivators. In smaller states such as Mizoramand Manipur, all the cases reported were that of farmers/cultivators.
In the case of agricultural labourers, 38% of the incidents were in Maharashtra, 23% in Karnataka and 9% in Tamil Nadu. More than 98.5% of the suicides in the farming sector in Tamil Nadu were that of agricultural labourers. Same is the case in Kerala, Gujarat, Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir. All the cases of suicides reported in the farming sector in Haryana (104), Jharkhand (58), Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland were that of labourers.
21% of all the suicides in Karnataka are Farm related
Analysis of the proportion of suicides of those in the agricultural sector compared to the total number of suicides in a state shows that 21.5% of the suicides in Mizoram were farm-related. However, the total number of suicides in Mizoram was only 79.  Of the bigger states,  suicides in the farming sector accounted for 20.8% of the total suicides in Karnataka followed by 20% in Maharashtra and 18.8% in Punjab.
The states ofBihar, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have reported zero suicidesof farmers or agricultural labourers in 2018.
Are NCRB’s numbers reliable?
While the suicidedata of NCRB is the only comprehensive source of such information, questionsregarding the reliability of the data remain.
For instance,Odisha reported ‘zero’ suicides of farmers and agricultural labourers in both2017 & 2018. However, if one goes by the answer provided by the Governmentof Odisha in the state assembly, the numbers look different. As per thisanswer, during the financial years up to March 2019, a total of 38 cases offarmer suicides were reported in Odisha. These numbers were presented in the state
assembly by the agriculture ministry in July2019. In 2016-17, 16 cases were reported. In  2017-18, 20 cases were reported and in2018-19, 2 cases were reported. The government also added that none of thesecases were due to financial burden or crop loss.
It has to be notedthat the numbers reported by NCRB do not consider reasons for suicide. Hencethere appears to be a clear conflict in the case of Odisha.
From 2016, NCRB has omitted certain key data on Farmer
Suicides
Based on Odisha’s example, the possibility of underestimation of such suicides cannot be ruled out. Also, NCRB collects data from the State/UT Police and compiles the data. From the 2016 report onwards, NCRB has omitted key sections related to farmer suicides from the ADSI report. These include causes of farmer suicides such as personal issues, health issues, financial problems, or crop-related issues; landholding size such as marginal, small, medium, and large farmers.
Study by ISEC in 2017 classified reasons of farmer
suicides
A study on farmer suicides was conducted by the Institute for Social And Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru in 2017 across 13 major states in the country which reported a high number of incidents. This study was commissioned by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
As a part of thestudy, about 528 victim households were surveyed. The study classified causesof suicide into three main categories namely- social causes, farming relatedcauses and debt related causes. The study recorded debt related issues, farmingrelated issues and social causes separately for each of the suicide cases.
Under farmingrelated causes, expectation of non- institutional credit was identified to bethe reason behind 37% of incidents and failure of rain was the reason behind36% of the incidents. Institutional loans were the reason stated by 44% of thehouseholds surveyed.  Social issuesinclude alcoholism and drugs, illness, daughter’s wedding, fall in reputation,family disputes and more. Alcoholism and drugs were reported in 26% of thecases. The study mentions that the act of committing suicide was a combinationof several cumulative causes which can be grouped into social, farming and debtrelated. Or in short, there can be multiple reasons that might have led tosuicide.
Multiple schemes rolled out for Farmers
Since agriculture is a state subject, the implementation of programs falls under the purview ofstate government. There are many schemes rolled out by governments for the welfareof farmers. States like Telangana, Odisha etc. have rolled out directinvestment support to farmers. The Government of India is also doing the sameunder PM-Kisan. In addition, central government has floated the Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana for comprehensiveinsurance coverage for crops, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana for promotingorganic farming, Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan to ensureremunerative price for products, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, a pensionscheme for small and marginal farmers.
Need
for more granular real-time data & mitigative measures
While the centralgovernment and various state governments are implementing multiple schemes forfarmers, there is a need for more granular real-time data for one to understandthe problem of farmer suicides in its entirety. Detailed reasons & profileof those committing suicide have to be captured to understand the extent &the underlying cause of such suicides. Mitigative measures should flow fromthese identified reasons.

created: February 4, 2020


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Farmers and officials clash over Ambala bridge, erroneously linked to farmers' protest - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 27, 2024
A viral video depicts a group of men engaged in a heated discussion about money, accompanied by a claim that it portrays protesting farmers quarrelling over fund distribution. The video is being shared, casting the ongoing farmers’ protest in a negative light, suggesting they are paid protesters. In the footage, an elderly man in a yellow turban can be heard accusing the other person of corruption, prompting an aggressive response and a threat to leave the meeting. In this article, we fact-check the assertions linked to the video.”
Claim: Video depicting protesting farmers quarrelling over money. They are paid protestors.
Fact: The video captures a confrontation between farmers and NHAI officials regarding the construction of a bridge in Ambala. Farmers have accused the officials of corruption, citing that the bridge was built one meter below the designated height. This incident occurred well before the start of the current farmers’ protest. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The viral video indeed captures farmers engaged in a heated argument over funds. However, it is unrelated to the ongoing farmers’ protest. Furthermore, the footage portrays farmers drawing attention to corruption in the construction of a bridge.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the screenshots from the viral video, we discovered a few social media posts featuring the same visuals predating the commencement of the current protest on 13 February 2024 (here & here). This suggests that the video is unrelated to the farmer’s protest.
Based on the interactions in the comments section of these posts, it is clear that the individual engaged in the argument is the farmer’s leader Gurnam Singh Charuni. Following this lead, a search on Gurnam Singh Charuni’s social media accounts led us to discover extended footage of the argument, which was posted on 31 January 2024.
The accompanying description of the video suggests that the argument revolves around the construction of a bridge, which was allegedly built one meter below the required height. And that the farmers’ leader accused NHAI officials of corruption in connection with this matter.
For additional clarification, Aaj Tak conducted a phone interview with Gurnam Singh Charuni, in which he clarified that the issue concerns the construction of a bridge between two villages in Ambala. Initially planned to be three and a half meters high, it was built at a height of two and a half meters, with one meter of soil saved. He stated that his protest pertained to corruption regarding this matter and emphasized that it was unrelated to the farmers’ movement.
To sum it up, a video depicting a dispute between farmers and officials regarding a bridge in Ambala has been erroneously associated with the farmers’ protest

created: February 27, 2024


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Fast Track Courts might help reduce Pendency in Courts – But are the Governments Interested?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 12, 2015
Huge Pendency in courts is a major bottleneck in providing timely justice to victims. More than 3 crore cases are pending across all the courts in the country. More than 2/3rd of these cases are pending in the lower judiciary. Establishment of Fast Track Courts in the year 2000 was a step in the right direction. But data indicates that most states have discontinued the FTCs once the central government stopped funding in 2011.
According to estimates, more than 3 crore cases are pending across all the courts in the country. Close to 2/3 of these cases are more than 3 years old and more than 2/3 of these cases are pending in the district & sub-ordinate courts. ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’ is used whenever there is an undue delay in disposal of cases. As Factly reported earlier, our prisons are also overcrowded, thanks to the slow pace of our judiciary. But data suggests that Fast Track Courts (FTCs) might help in bringing down pendency, provided the governments are interested.
Establishment of Fast Track Courts (FTCs)
The Eleventh Finance Commission recommended the creation of 1734 Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in the country for disposal of long pending cases in Sessions courts and other courts. The FTCs were established to expeditiously dispose of long pending cases in the Sessions Courts and long pending cases of under trial prisoners. The term of the Fast Track Courts which were recommended by the Eleventh Finance Commission ended on 31st March, 2005. Based on the directives of the Supreme Court of India, the Government accorded its approval for the continuation of 1562 FTCs that were operational as on 31st March, 2005 for a further period of 5 years i.e. up to 31st March, 2010 with a provision of Rs. 509 crores. The scheme was further extended for a period of one year i.e. up to 31st March, 2011. It was then decided that there would be no central funding to FTCs beyond 2011.
Fast Track Courts were meant to expeditiously clear the large scale of pendency in the district and subordinate Courts under a time-bound programme. A laudable objective of the five year experimental scheme was to take up on top priority, the cases involving under trials. Under the government’s action plan, the fast track courts would take up as their next priority, cases pending for two years or more, particularly in which the accused persons had been on bail.
Appointment of Judges
The idea was to establish an average of five FTCs in each district, with priority accorded to those states & districts with large pendency. The scheme envisaged the appointment of ad hoc judges from among retired sessions judges, judges promoted on ad hoc basis etc. Selection of judges was to be done by the High Courts. As per the plan, the fast track courts were required to dispose of 14 trial cases and/or 20 to 25 criminal/civil cases every month.
Number of FTCs
A total of 1734 FTCs were approved in 2000 following the report of the 11 Finance Commission. Out of this, only 1562 were functional by 2005, the year when this experimental scheme was supposed to end. The central government in 2005, decided to continue its support for the 1562 functional FTCs for the next 6 years (till 2011). By the end of 2011, only 1192 FTCs were functional. This is also the year when the central government stopped financial support to the FTCs. The states were supposed to continue FTCs with expenses met from their own funds. As expected, not many states were interested and more than 60% of these FTCs were closed down. As per the latest available data , only 473 FTCs are functional in the country.
Within states, Uttar Pradesh was approved the maximum number (242) of FTCs in the year 2000. This number came down to 153 in 2011 and is currently at 80. Maharashtra also had just 51 FTCs in 2011 compared to the approved number of 187 in 2000. But the number has since increased to 80. In Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal & Gujarat, more than 50% of the FTCs functional in 2011 are still functioning. In the other bigger states of Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan, not a single FTC is functioning as on date.
Performance of these FTCs
Since inception, close to 36 lakh cases were transferred to the FTCs out of which, close to 30.7 lakh have been disposed. About 5.3 lakh cases are still pending with FTCs. FTCs have disposed more than 80% the cases transferred to them.
More than a lakh cases were disposed by the FTCs in 11 states. In eight of these 11 states, more than 1.5 lakh cases were disposed. Most number of cases were disposed by FTCs in Gujarat (4.3 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (3.8 lakh), Tamil Nadu (3.7 lakh) and Madhya Pradesh (3.2 lakh). Strangely, the data indicates that not a single case has been transferred to the FTCs in Uttar Pradesh since inception. The year wise disposal details are not available to be able to make an analysis of the efficiency of the FTCs.
Is it expensive to setup & run the FTCs?
The total amount of central grants released to states for FTCs since inception is more than 870 crore rupees. This is an average of 80 crore per year. Even if the states have to match this amount and bear the entire expenditure by themselves post 2011, the fund requirement is less than 0.01% of the budget of most states. Hence funds are not at all an issue if the state governments were interested.
In its judgment in the Brij Mohan Lal case, the Supreme Court has endorsed the position of the Central Government and held that the continuation of FTCs is within the domain of the States with their own funds. As noted earlier, some states have continued support for FTCs while others did not.
What is the Current Status?
In the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices held in April 2013, it was resolved that the State Governments, in consultation with the Chief Justices of the respective High Courts, take necessary steps to establish suitable number of FTCs to expedite cases relating to offences against women, children, differently abled persons, senior citizens and marginalized sections of the society, and provide adequate funds for the purpose of creating and continuing them.
The 14th Finance Commission has also endorsed the proposal of establishing 1800 FTCs for a period of five years for cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children, disabled and litigants affected with   HIV AIDS and other terminal ailments and civil disputes involving land acquisition and property/rent disputes pending for more than five years at a cost of Rs.4144 crore. The 14 Finance Commission has suggested that, half of the grants-in-aid to the States/UTs be utilized for setting up of the FTCs.
States have to properly utilize the amount earmarked by the 14 Finance Commission for the establishment of FTCs if pendency in lower judiciary has to come down substantially. Until then, Justice will be delayed.
Feature Image Source: Gpics at English Wikipedia [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

created: October 12, 2015


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FASTag is now active in over 70% Toll Plazas on National Highways - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 21, 2016
The Electronic Toll Collection program of NHAI, FASTag can now be used in over 70% of the toll plazas on national highways across the country. The NHAI is also offering cash back of 10% on all toll payments using FASTag in 2016-17 as an incentive to encourage its use.
The Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) program, FASTag of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is now active in over 70% of the Toll Plazas on National Highways. 273 toll plazas on National Highways are now enabled to accept ETC through FASTag. The NHAI is also offering cash back of 10% on all Toll payments using FASTag in 2016-17.
FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it. It is affixed on the windscreen of a vehicle and enables one to drive through toll plazas. FASTag has a validity of 5 years from the date of purchase and users need to recharge or top up as per requirement. FASTag offers the convenience of cashless payment of toll fee with nation-wide inter-operable Electronic Toll Collection Services.
The NHAI is promoting FASTag underscoring the following advantages
The NHAI is also citing the environmental, social and economic benefits of using FASTag.
Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program with help from Toll Plaza operators, FASTag Issuer Agencies and select banks.
Any user who wishes to enroll may visit any of the Point of Sale (POS) locations at Toll Plazas or Issuer Agencies to get a FASTag account created. For getting a FASTag account, customer needs to submit a copy of the following documents along with the application for FASTag
FASTag has onetime fees of Rs 200 (a refundable deposit) for a car. Different vehicle types have a different fee. Once the account is purchased, standard instructions must be followed for affixing the FASTag.
FASTag can be recharged by making payment through cheque or online through Credit Card/ Debit Card/ NEFT/ RTGS or through Net Banking. FASTag account can be recharged up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh from a minimum of Rs 100.
FASTag users have to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) for crossing the toll plazas. Toll Plazas may have a dedicated FASTag lane or provision for validating FASTag through a handheld reader.
The dedicated lanes will be marked and boards/screens will be displayed with the FASTag logo about 70m from the toll plaza.
User will receive an SMS with requisite details to his registered mobile number as soon as the toll transaction takes place. The monthly pass facility is specific to each toll plaza. One can call customer care of the participating bank / issuer agency for further details. Once an account is purchased, users can login to their online account to check the balance etc.
The toll operators have also been given a standard operating procedure for smooth passage of FASTag vehicles through toll plazas. Users can go through the FAQs posted on the NHAI website for more details.
Featured image: By Rsrikanth05 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons


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FASTag transactions can only be done by NPCI certified merchants; This scam video is scripted - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2022
A video is being widely shared on social media claiming that devices like smartwatches are being used to swipe money from FASTags on vehicles. The video shows a boy scanning the FastTag sticker with his smartwatch while pretending to be cleaning the windshield of a car. This post claims it is a new scam of stealing money from the FASTags using smartwatch devices. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a FASTag scam showing smartwatches scanning FASTags and swiping money from them.
Fact: The alleged scam shown in the video is not true. The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) FASTag operates only for person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. No person-to-person (P2P) transactions are facilitated through the NETC FASTag Network. No unauthorized devices can initiate financial transactions on NETC FASTags. The NPCI, PIB and Paytm have issued statements clarifying that the information spread by this viral video is not true. The video shared in the post shows a scripted drama published and then deleted by a Facebook page named ‘BakLol’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) FASTag Ecosystem is built on a four-party model including NPCI, Acquirer Bank, Issuer Bank and Toll Plazas. Generally, toll plazas, parking plazas and other merchants registered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have the authority to scan FASTags and withdraw money. NETC FASTag operates only for person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. No person-to-person (P2P) transactions are facilitated through NETC FASTag Network.
Further, every merchant (Toll & Parking Plazas) onboarded by NPCI is Geo-located and allotted a unique Plaza code. No unauthorized devices can initiate financial transactions on NETC FASTags.
When this viral video went viral on social media, NPCI issued a press note and clarified that the information spread by the video is baseless and false. NPCI stated that no such fraudulent financial transactions on FASTags can be executed by unauthorized devices through open internet connectivity.
The Paytm and NETC FASTag have also issued statements clarifying that the viral video was spreading misinformation regarding the FASTag transactions.
PIB through a tweet confirmed that the viral video is fake and clarified that no such financial transactions on FASTags can be done using unauthorized devices.
A #viral Video claims that devices like watches are being used to swipe the #Fastag on vehicles, leading to fraudulent deduction of money from prepaid wallets.#PIBFactCheck:
▶ This Video is #FAKE
▶ Such transactions are not possible
▶ Each Toll Plaza has a unique code pic.twitter.com/n7p01AXF4A
Viral Video:
When we searched for the details of this viral video, we found that this video was first published by a Facebook page named ‘BakLol’ on 24 June 2022. However, the video was later deleted from this Facebook page. The archived version of this Facebook post can be seen here.
This Facebook page regularly shares scripted videos for entertainment. Some of the other scripted videos that featured the same persons in the viral video can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, unauthorized devices other than the NPCI-certified merchants cannot initiate transactions through FASTag scanning.


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FCI has been storing food grains in private warehouses for many years - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2021
A post saying ‘Modi government has awarded Adani the contract to store food grains for 30 years by leaving out the FCI’ is going viral on social media. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Modi government has awarded Adani the contract to store food grains for 30 years by leaving out the FCI.
Fact: A resolution was made to involve private parties in investment, construction, and operation of godowns and silos in National Policy on Handling, Storage and Transportation of Food grains-2000. Accordingly, FCI has invited global tenders as the central government wouldn’t invite tenders directly in this regard in 2003 and subsequently, the Adani group was awarded a contract to build storage facilities back in 2005. In line with the 2000 policy, FCI has introduced Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme in 2008 which facilitates private participation in building and operation of food grain storage facilities. Since then many private companies alongside with Adani group have been awarded contracts to construct and operate godowns and silos. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
‘In order to reduce storage and transit losses of food grains at farm and commercial level, to moderate the system of handling, storage and transportation of the food grains procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and to bring in additionality of resources through private sector involvement’ in 2000, the then government has approved a National Policy on Handling, Storage and Transportation of Food grains. In view of modernization and up-gradation of bulk grain handling infrastructure, a resolution seeking private sector participation in developing infrastructure related to building handling, storage, and transportation under different PPP models was made under this policy. Accordingly, private players were allowed to build storage facilities in which food grains procured by the government will be stored and in return, they will be entitled to storage charges.
According to Private Entrepreneurs (PEG) Scheme which was introduced in 2008 in line with the 2000 policy, a private player who invests in the construction of godown under PPP model would be assured by the FCI of at least 10 years hire as a return for investment. Further, for investing in the construction and operation of steel (modern) silos, the private party would be guaranteed by FCI of hiring their silos for 30 years.
Generally, the central government under Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme does not invite tenders directly from private parties for the construction and operation of godowns but invites through FCI. FCI usually invites tenders from private parties under different models mentioned below.
In line with the 2000 policy, FCI inked a deal with Adani’s Agri logistic company in 2005 for creation of 5.5 LMT of storage capacity. News article regarding this can be read here.
Further, under the same scheme, information related to FCI assigning tender to few other private companies alongside Adani’s company between 2016-2020 can be found here. It is noteworthy to mention that as per this information provided by FCI, Adani’s Agri company was not among those companies who were given a contract in 2020.
Further, when the news in the post went viral, Adani company issued a clarification saying that in compliance with the 2000 policy, FCI had invited tenders to build silo grain storage infrastructure in 2003 and subsequently Adani group was awarded a contract in 2005. The project was commissioned in 2007 for a concession period of 20 years. Also to put things into perspective they have categorically stated that ‘Adani Agri Logistics Ltd. (AALL) was established in 2005 much earlier than the ruling government came into power’. With all these, we can conclude that the Adani group is into godown construction and operation since 2005 much before the enactment of new farm laws and that the central government does not invite tenders directly in this regard but through FCI. It is also clear that the practice of involving private players in the storage of foodgrains is not new.
In the light of the ongoing farmers protest over the newly enacted farm laws which allow for contract farming, posts like these are being widely shared across social media with misleading claims.
To sum it up, FCI is storing food grains in private godowns for many years.

created: January 8, 2021


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Features of the new 50 Rupee Note
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 2, 2017
Here is how the new 50 Rupee Note looks like. More details here: https://www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in/rupees-fifty.aspx

created: September 2, 2017


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Features of 200 Rupee Note
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 1, 2017
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Rs 200 note recently. Here is how it looks like More information here: https://paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in/rupees-two-hundred.aspx

created: September 1, 2017


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Feeding caricatures of Modi and Rahul on the TIME magazine cover are fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 27, 2019
Two similar images with different claims are being widely shared on Facebook. One image has a cartoon with Modi’s face on it while the other image has a cartoon with Rahul’s face on it. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in these posts.
The archived version of the posts can be found here and here.
Rahul on the cover of TIME magazine. The cartoon represents Rahul feeding Pakistan by giving donations to terrorist organizations.
The image has been edited. The original cover has a lady cartoon which is replaced by Rahul’s face in the post. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Modi on the cover of TIME magazine. The cartoon represents Modi feeding Media with donations to keep them in line.
The image has been edited. The original cover has a lady cartoon which is replaced by Modi’s face in the post. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the images posted on Facebook are run through Google Reverse Image search, the original photo of the cartoon can be found in the search results. It can be seen that the original cartoon was drawn by Horsey in 2012 for the Los Angeles Times.
After observing the photo, when searched for ‘Time cover on corporate campaign donations’’ in Google, the original Los Angeles Time article can be found in the search results. It can be concluded that both the images being shared by several groups are fake and have been edited to serve their propaganda.
Finally, the posts with feeding caricatures of Modi and Rahul on the TIME magazine cover are fake.


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Felicitation video of an e-commerce associate is portrayed as that of Hathras rape victim - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 6, 2020
A post is being shared on social media claiming it as the past felicitation video of Hathras rape victim. In the post, it is claimed that she was felicitated for being the topper in her studies. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Felicitation video of Hathras rape victim.
Fact: The video in the post shows ‘Safe Shop India’ e-commerce company associate being felicitated by her company staff. It has nothing to do with the Uttar Pradesh Hathras rape victim. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, similar visuals of a group of men and women greeting a woman were found in a video posted by a YouTube user on ‘20 February 2020’. This video is uploaded on YouTube with the title ‘Mrs. Naziya Mam Diamond Lady Safe Shop India’. Similar visuals found in another video, describing the woman as Naziya Begum of ‘Safe Shop India’. On searching for further information using these keywords, a video posted in the ‘Safe Shop India’ official Facebook page was found about the success story of their Associate Naziya Begum. The same woman in the post can be seen in the video describing her success story in ‘Safe Shop India’ company.
‘Safe Shop India’ is an e-commerce company which sells fashion, health and Lifestyle products. Other Videos of ‘Safe Shop India’ staff greeting Naziya Begum by bowing down in front of her and offering flowers can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, the video of ‘Safe Shop India’ e-Commerce company associate is falsely portrayed as the Hathras rape victim.

created: October 6, 2020


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Fictional character ‘BJP MLA Anil Upadhyay’ revived with a new set of posts on social media - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2020
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that BJP MLA Anil Upadhyay is involved in the incident seen in the video. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video of BJP MLA Anil Upadhyay shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi.
Fact: There is no BJP MLA with the name – ‘Anil Upadhyay’. Many random videos are being posted on social media falsely attributing them to a fictitious character – ‘BJP MLA Anil Upadhyay’. In the video posted on social media, the woman shooting at Mahatma Gandhi’s effigy is Hindu Mahasabha National Secretary Pooja Shakun. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Through reverse image search, the same video was found to be uploaded by ‘Times of India’. As per the news video, the woman seen shooting the effigy of Mahatma Gandhi is Hindu Mahasabha National Secretary Pooja Shakun. She was later arrested by the UP Police for her actions.
When searched on the ‘My Neta’ website about ‘Anil Upadhyay’, it was found that there is no BJP MLA with the name – ‘Anil Upadhyay’. But there were two persons with that name- one is Dr. Anil Upadhyay, a leader from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Rajasthan and the other is Anil Kumar Upadhyay, an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh.
Another image (archived) showing a semi-naked man groping a woman is also being shared claiming that the man in the photo is BJP MLA, Anil Upadhyay. But as we have found earlier, there is no BJP MLA with the name ‘Anil Upadhyay’.
Earlier, when several other videos claiming to be related to ‘BJP MLA Anil Upadhyay’ were shared on social media, FACTLY has debunked them through this fact check.
To sum it up, the woman shooting Mahatma Gandhi’s effigy in the video is Hindu Mahasabha national secretary Pooja Shakun. Also, there is no BJP MLA with the name ‘Anil Upadhyay’.
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Fictional story from ‘Kushwant Singh’s Joke Book 9’ is edited and shared as a story narrated by Vajpayee in UN - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 23, 2022
A post is being shared on social media claiming it as former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s speech about the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Organisation (UNO).  This post claims that when Vajpayee was sent as India’s representative to the UN during the PV Narasimha Rao led government, Vajpayee expressed his views by narrating a short story of Rishi Kashyap. According to the post, a Pakistan delegate had objected to Vajpayee’s story and admitted that Pakistan was not at all in existence during Rishi Kashyap’s visit to Kashmir. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Former Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s speech about the Kashmir issue at the United Nations organisation.
Fact: The post shared is an edited fictional story published in ‘Kushwant Singh’s Joke Book 9’. This fictional quote of an Indian politician narrating Rishi Kashyap’s story in the UN was contributed by a New Delhi man named Vipin Buckshey. This story has nothing to do with Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the details of the claims made in the post, it is found out that P. V. Narasimha Rao led Congress Government had sent Atal Bihari Vajpayee to lead the Indian delegation to the 1994 Geneva session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR). The Vajpayee led Indian delegation had successfully thwarted the UN Resolution against India on Kashmir Issue. However, it is nowhere reported that Vajpayee had narrated the story of Rishi Kashyap while addressing the UNHCR. A few responses of the Indian delegation at the 1994 Geneva session of the UNHCR can be seen here, here, and here.
When we searched for the details of this story shared in the post using keywords, it is found out that this story was re-created by editing a fictional joke published in ‘Kushwant Singh’s Joke Book 9’. The link to ‘Kushwant Singh’s Joke Book 9’ in different e-commerce websites can be seen here and here.
This fictional story was contributed by New Delhi based Vipin Buckshey. The screenshots of this fictional story published in the ‘Kushwant’s Singh Joke Book 9’ can be seen below.
To sum it up, a fictional story from ‘Kushwant Singh’s Joke Book 9’ is edited and shared as Vajpayee’s speech in United Nations in the 1990s.


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Fight with Husband, not hunger: The reason behind UP woman throwing her five children in the river - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 13, 2020
The news that a woman threw her five children into the Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district is being shared widely on social media. It is being claimed that she threw her children because they had no food to eat during the current lockdown. Let’s analyze the claim made in the post.
A woman in UP threw her five children into the river as they had no food to eat during the current lockdown.
Fact: While it is true that a woman in UP had thrown her five children into the river, it is not due to the unavailability of food. The Bhadohi Police has clarified that the woman took such a drastic step after she quarrelled with her husband, not because of hunger. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The news – ‘No food during lockdown, mother throws 5 children into river’ was first published by ‘IANS’ (archived), which was later carried by other news agencies like ‘Outlook’ (archived), ‘Business Insider’ (archived) and India TV (archived)
Also, multiple people on social media [Prashant Bhushan (archived), Ashok Swain (archived), Rohan Gupta (archived). Brijesh Kalappa (archived) and Saba Naqvi (archived)] have tweeted the Outlook article with the same claim.
When we searched for more information on the incident, it was found that the Bhadohi Police has rubbished the false claim and clarified that the incident is not related to hunger. The woman threw her children due to a fight with her husband and out of mental stress.
@bhadohipolice मंजू देवी अपने पति के विवाद एवं मानसिक तनाव के कारण अपने पांचो बच्चों को गंगा नदी में डुबो दिया। मंजू देवी से पूछताछ की गई जिसमें पुलिस अधीक्षक भदोही द्वारा दी गई बाइट। pic.twitter.com/ThjyIHu6LW
The Bhadohi Police has also tweeted the woman’s video, where she mentions the fight with her husband.
@bhadohipolice मंजू देवी ने अपने  05 बच्चों को भूखमरी के कारण गंगा नदी में नहीं डुबाया है।अन्य कारण द्वारा घटना को अंजाम दिया गया है। मंजू देवी के बयान से स्पष्ट है कि भूखमरी के कारण बच्चों को नदी में नहीं डुबाया गया है।@Uppolice @adgzonevaranasi @digmirzapur pic.twitter.com/1vcMow8Kqh
The Bhadohi Police, in response to a tweet about the authenticity of the confession by the woman in police custody, has tweeted images of the food items present in the woman’s house.
मंजू देवी ने अपने  05 बच्चों को भूखमरी के कारण गंगा नदी में डुबो देने की बात गलत है मंजू देवी के घर में पर्याप्त मात्रा में खाद्य सामग्री थी। @Uppolice @adgzonevaranasi @digmirzapur pic.twitter.com/ZFNutl7Qy7
In order to check the authenticity of the claims made by the Bhadohi Police, with the available details of the children and the woman, when FACTLY looked for the ration details of the family on the Uttar Pradesh’s NFSA website, it was found that the family has taken a ration of 14 kg rice and 21 kg wheat on 08 March 2020 as per the NFSA norms.
To sum it up, fight with the husband, not hunger, is the reason behind UP woman throwing her five children in the river.
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Figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the Petrol price are wrongly quoted in the post - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 7, 2019
A post with the figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the petrol price at a petrol bunk is being shared widely on Facebook. When one goes through those details, one can find that in the petrol price, the State tax is almost twice that of the Central tax. Let’s check the authenticity of those figures.
Figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the petrol price. In the petrol price, the State tax is twice that of the Central tax.
Fact: In the post, the figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the petrol price are wrongly quoted.  The Central tax isn’t Rs 13.50. In the past five years, on an average, it is between Rupees 19 and 20. Dealer profit isn’t Rs 4.25, on an average, it is Rs 3.57. Also, the State tax isn’t twice that of the Central tax. So, the claim is FALSE.
When googled to know the details of various taxes that make up the petrol price at a petrol bunk, the ‘Petrol Price Buildup’ put on the website of Indian Oil Corporation Limited was found. The details of it can be seen in the below image. But those details are of Delhi, where the State government levies a tax of 27% on petrol.
In India, the tax levied by each state government is different and those tax rates can be seen on the website of ‘Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell’ of the Central government. As on November 1, 2019, the tax rates levied by some governments in their respective states are as follows-
Andhra Pradesh: 31% VAT + Rs.2/litre VAT,
Telangana: 35.20% VAT
Chattisgarh: 25% VAT + Rs.2/litre VAT
Manipur: 25% VAT
Andhra Pradesh:
Chattisgarh:
Manipur:
From the above details, one can find that the figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the petrol price are wrongly quoted in the post. Also, in the petrol price, the State tax isn’t twice that of the Central tax.
To conclude, in the post, the figures of various taxes and dealer profit that make up the petrol price are wrongly quoted.
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created: November 7, 2019


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Parliament Review: Finance Bill (2022) is passed after discussion on allocation for various Ministries
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 28, 2022
During the second week of the budget session of parliament after the monthlong break, there was extensive discussion on the demand for grants of various ministries for 2022-23. The discussion culminated with the passage of the Finance Bill (2022). Here is a review of the second week of the second leg of the budget session.
The Budget session of the Parliament began on 31 January 2022 and is expected to go on till 8 April 2022. The first leg of the Session went on till 11 February 2022 following which there was a break for about a month during which the Standing Committees examined budgetary allocations for various Ministries and Departments. The second leg of the session began on 14 March 2022.
The second week of the second leg of the budget session began on 21March 2022. The discussions during this week were about the demand for grants of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways, Commerce and Industry, and Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The second week ended with the passage of the Finance Bill 2022, with amendments.
Key Developments
The second week began with the continuation of discussion on the demand for grants of various ministries. Most of the ministries have tabled their demand for grants during this week and were accordingly discussed. The business of the Rajya Sabha started with the Finance Minister responding to the debate on the Appropriation Bill(No.2) & (No.3), 2022, claiming that all dues to states till February 2022 have been cleared by the Centre. The following days saw huge protests by the opposition over the hike in fuel prices. The Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi spoke about the issue of nutrition among the children and suggested the government restart mid-day meals. She stressed upon the importance of Anganwadi network in ensuring the nutritional needs for the children. The Rajya Sabha on 24 March saw the External Affairs Minister Jaishankar briefing about India’s stance on Russia-Ukraine war in six principles. On the final day of the second week, discussion on Finance bill 2022 took place, where questions relating to the legality of the cryptocurrency were raised.
Bills introduced and passed
The Appropriation Bill, 2022 which provides for the authorization and appropriation of certain funds from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the financial year 2022-23 was introduced in the Lower House on 24 March 2022. It was also passed by the Lower House on the same day. The Finance Bill, 2022 was also passed on 25 March 2022 with a total of 39 amendments. It marks the completion of budgetary exercise for 2022-23.
Another bill that was introduced in the Lok Sabha, but is yet to be passed is the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. As per the objects & reasons, this bill seeks to enhance transparency and better delivery of civic services by integrating and unifying the existing three Municipal Corporations into a single entity. This is also aimed at achieving optimal utilization of resources and to ensure a mechanism for strategic and synergized planning, as per the statement of objects & reasons.
Reports tabled
The reports on the ‘Demands of Grants for 2022-23’ were tabled by various ministries including Chemicals and Fertilizers, Communications, information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, Energy, Finance, Commerce, Coal, Mines, Steel, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, External Affairs, Water Resources, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing, Housing and Urban affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice. All these reports can be accessed from here.
Apart from this, the standing committee on Coal, Mines and Steel submitted a report on the ‘Development of Aluminium and Copper industries in India’. It apprised of the existing industrial potential of these two minerals. The committee noted that out of the 3896-million-ton bauxite resources, only 656 million tons are under proven and probable category, with the rest remaining unexplored. It asked the ministry to initiate measures to make the best use of available natural resources and to remove the constraints in this process. It also made a note on the per capita consumption of aluminium and copper of 2.5kg and 0.6kg respectively against a global average consumption of 11kg and 3.2kg. Accordingly, the committee suggested the ministry hold deliberations and consultations with all the stakeholders to improve the growth and scope of these industries. The ministry is asked to apprise of the steps taken to the committee.
The Committee on External affairs tabled a report on the ‘COVID-19 pandemic, global response, India’s contribution and way forward’ in the Rajya Sabha. The committee appreciated the government’s efforts to increase the vaccination coverage. The committee also suggested the government come up with more awareness campaigns through print and electronic media about the vaccines to remove the vaccine hesitancy. The Committee advised the government to be cautious about the future pandemics and come up with a proper national policy on combating viral and other diseases that have the potential to transform into a global pandemic. The ministry of Labour and Employment has informed the committee to expand the scope of the definition of ‘inter-state migrant worker’.
When asked about the National data base on workers, the committee was apprised that such a database was going to be launched soon, which will help all stakeholders in tracking their movement and to initiate any welfare schemes accordingly.
The Standing committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas has tabled a report on ‘National Gas Grid including PNG and CNG.’ The committee appreciated the efforts of the government in the direction of increasing the share of natural gas in primary energy mix from the current 6.2% to 15% by 2030. It also lauded the government for ensuring the equitable availability and distribution of natural gas across the country by way of laying pipeline network under the Natural Gas Grid. It suggested the government take adequate measures to remove bottlenecks and constraints so that these infrastructural projects are not delayed.
Action taken report by the government on the observations/recommendations of the committee on Power in its seventh report was also tabled in this past week. The committee expressed satisfaction on learning that an expert committee was constituted to prepare a draft National Electricity Policy. It is expressed happiness that a scheme for reduction of AT&C losses, ‘Revamped Reforms Based and Results Linked Distribution Sector’ was proposed. Under this scheme, 25 crore smart meters with 10 crore prepaid meters are proposed to be installed by 2023.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice expressed displeasure over the government’s inaction towards the appointment of chairperson and members of Law commission of India.
Questions and Answers
A question was raised in the Lok Sabha on whether the Government had plans to introduce a Solar waste handling Policy anytime soon. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Power responded that since the bulk of solar power capacity is installed post 2010, the quantum of solar panel waste is not expected to be significant till 2035, given the average life span of 25 years for solar panels. Additionally, the ministry also informed about the draft report of the committee constituted by NITI Aayog to study and formulate a strategy to create of circular economy of solar panels.
Another question was asked if the government intends to formulate a food park policy. The Ministry replied that it is already implementing a scheme for Mega Food parks and a scheme to create and improve the agri-processing clusters’ infrastructure. The Mega food park scheme is discontinued with effect from 01 April 2021, while the liability for existing projects remains.
In response to a question raised on status of implementation of Smart Cities Mission (SCM), the Ministry of Housing Affairs replied that a total of Rs. 29,213.6 crores have been released, while Rs. 25,177.6 Crores has been utilized till 04 March 2022. The scheme guidelines provide for the provision of an average of Rs.100 crores per city per year for a period of five years. A total of 100 cities were selected in five phases (20 from January-2016, 13 from May-2016, 27 from September-2016, 30 from June-2017 and 10 from January-2018). However, though the cities selected in 2016 completed five years, the expected amount is not released for few cities.
The Civil Aviation Ministry in the Rajya Sabha mentioned that six airports (Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Mangalore) have been privatized in 2020-21, and an amount of Rs. 331 crores have been paid to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) by these airports as per passenger fee till January 2022. Additionally, the ministry detailed out the list of airports that are earmarked for asset monetization from 2022 to 2025 as a part of the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP).
In an important question about the linkage of Aadhaar Card with Voter ID, the Ministry of Law and Justice held that though the Election Commission of India initiated a program under National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme in 2015 , it was eventually stopped because of the Supreme Court Judgement on Aadhaar usage. However, the Ministry appears to be motivated to link both these cards in the future to facilitate the single entry of any elector in the electoral roll.
Featured Image: Parliament Review


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Fire accident at a railway station from West Bengal is shared as Visuals of violence at Mira Road railway station. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 25, 2024
On the eve of the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya on 22 January 2024, tensions escalated between two groups during a Ram Mandir rally in Naya Nagar, Mira Road, Mumbai, on the night of 21 January 2024. In this context, a video depicting a fire at a railway station is widely circulating on social media with the claim that it is from Mira Road railway station, Mumbai, and urging people not to visit. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video depicting Mira Road railway station being set on fire.
Fact: Western Railways provided clarification regarding the viral video, refuting false news, and confirming that no such incident occurred at Mira Road station. The viral video depicting fire at a railway station is from West Bengal, and dates back to April 2023. Various news agencies reported that this incident happened in Santhoshpur railway station in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. There are no news reports about any such fire at the Mira Road railway station. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We conducted a relevant keyword search regarding the viral claim and found a tweet by Western Railway on 24 January 2024. In the tweet, they responded to a similar post through their official X handle, refuting the false news and confirming that no such incident took place at Mira Road station. They also shared a visual from the Mira Road station for further clarification.
This is fake news. The situation at Mira Road station is normal.
Later, we conducted a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the viral video to learn more about the viral video. This search led us to a YouTube video published by Sangbad Pratidin, a Bengali News channel, on 06 April 2023 which reported the same video with the description “Massive fire break out in Santoshpur station”.
Several other reports regarding this incident can be seen here & here. According to the Times of India, a massive fire broke out at Santhoshpur railway station in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on 06 April 2023, in the evening around 5.30 pm when it was crowded with passengers waiting for trains. No casualties were reported at the time. Several small shops on the railway station platform were destroyed in the blaze. From this information, it is evident that the incident is from Bengal, which was not recent and doesn’t show the Mira Road railway station.
We also searched on the internet regarding this incident; however, we could not find any news reports indicating that Mira Road railway station was set on fire and a curfew was implemented. According to an India Today report, Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police have issued an order, instructing group administrators on instant messaging and social media platforms to ensure that no jokes, videos, or other forms of content related to clashes are forwarded, aiming to maintain communal harmony.
To sum it up, the viral video depicting a fire at a railway station is from West Bengal, not Mira railway station in Mumbai, and it dates back to April 2023.

created: January 25, 2024


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Fire accident video from Aurangabad in 2016 is being falsely shared as a ‘Fire accident in Khammam’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 29, 2019
A post with a video of a fire accident is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the accident took place at Diwali Cracker stalls in Khammam. Let’s try to analyze the extent of truth in the post.
Video of a fire accident at Diwali crockery stalls in Khammam.
Fact: The video in the post was related to a fire accident at Aurangabad in 2016. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google about the Khammam fire accident mentioned in the post, news related it was found to be published by many prominent Telugu news organizations [hmtv (archive), Namaste Telangana (archive), Vaartha (archive), One India Telugu (archive)]. These articles also have used the same video and photos from the post.
But, some users on Facebook commented that it was an old video and the incident didn’t take place in Khammam. Other users commented that the incident took place at Aurangabad in 2016. ‘ANI’ news organization also first tweeted saying that the incident happened in Khammam, however, it later retracted its tweet saying its an old video.
RETRACTION: Upon further review, this video was an old story which was played out yesterday, therefore we retract it. ANI apologises for this error. https://t.co/mZqvgctpaU pic.twitter.com/HoauoZc5vk
When searched on Google related to the ‘Aurangabad 2016 firecrackers accident’, many videos related to the 2016 accident were seen in the search results. The same video in the post was aired on YouTube in 2016 by ‘Mango News’. Articles published by various newspapers related to the incident can be read here and here.
When Factly contacted Khammam Police, they confirmed that no such fire accident took place in Khammam and the video in the post is Fake.
To summarize, a video of a fire accident at Aurangabad in 2016 is being falsely shared as that of a fire accident in Khammam.
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created: October 29, 2019


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Fire Accidents caused an average of 62 deaths per day in the last 5 years - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 13, 2016
The National Crime Records Bureau Data indicates that a total of 113961 people lost their lives due to Fire Accidents from 2010 to 2014. This is an average of 62 deaths a day. Maharashtra alone accounted for 24293 deaths or 21.3% of all the deaths due to fire accidents.
The temple fire in Kollam that claimed more than 100 lives has renewed focus on fire accidents. The data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that fire accidents of all types caused more than 1.13 lakh deaths from 2010 to 2014, at a staggering average of 62 deaths per day.
More than 1.2 lakh fire accidents from 2010-2014
The NCRB collates this data in its annual report ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’. Various un-natural causes of death are listed in this report and cases of fire accidents and related deaths are also captured by the NCRB. Between 2010 and 2014, a total of 1.21 lakh fire accidents of various types took place in the country claiming more than 1.13 lakh lives.
The only silver lining of the data is that both the number of accidents and deaths is steadily coming down in the last few years. From 26025 fire accidents in 2010, the number of accidents has come down to 20377 in 2014, a drop of more than 20%. The number of deaths on the other hand came down from 24414 in 2010 to 19513 in 2014, a 20% drop.
Other Causes are the reason for most accidents
The NCRB categorizes deaths due to fire accidents into four broad groups. Deaths caused by Electric Short Circuit, by Fireworks, by Gas Cylinder/Stove Burst and by any other cause.  From 2010 to 2014, the number of deaths due to Electric Short Circuit was about 7743 or 7% of all the deaths. The number of deaths due to firework accidents like the one in Kollam was 1630 or just 1% of the total deaths. 17% or 19491 deaths were caused by burst of Gas Cylinder/Stove. Three fourths (75%) or 85081 deaths were caused by other reasons like fire in buses, trains, buildings etc.
More than 65% of the victims are Women
In each of the five years from 2010 to 2014, the percentage of women victims was more than 60%. For all the five years, the number of women victims was 75039 or 65.8% of all the deaths. The number of male victims on the other hand was 38917 or 34.2% of all the deaths. This percentage of women victims was as high as 66.6% in 2010.
More than half the deaths from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat & Tamil Nadu
Four states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu accounted for 54% of all the deaths or 61540 deaths from 2010 to 2014. Most number of deaths took place in Maharashtra (24293) accounting for 21.3% of all the deaths. Madhya Pradesh accounted for 15093 deaths while Gujarat accounted for 11738 deaths. Tamil Nadu was the only other state with more than 10000 deaths.
Featured Image: By Brad Gillette  [CC BY 2.0]


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Five among the top ten states where the cost of petrol is high are ruled by BJP and its allies - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 23, 2021
A post comparing petrol prices in BJP ruled states with those in non-BJP ruled states is being shared on social media platforms with a claim that petrol prices in BJP ruled states are lower compared to non-BJP ruled states. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Petrol prices in BJP ruled states are lower compared to non-BJP ruled states.
Fact: While it is true that the BJP-ruled states mentioned in the post are among those states in the country where the price of litre petrol is low,  there are few BJP-ruling states where the price of litre petrol is high among all the states in the country. Five (Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Karnataka, Bihar) of the top ten states in the country where the price of litre petrol is high are ruled by the BJP and its allies. Prices of petrol in BJP ruled states, where it is low, are compared to those non-BJP ruling states where the prices of litre petrol are high. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
As per the prices of litre petrol at retail outlets of IOCL outlets across the cities as of 22 February 2021, the cost of litre petrol is highest in Bhopal, capital of a BJP ruled state at ₹ 98.6/Ltr, whereas Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Mumbai (Maharashtra) both non-BJP ruled states stood at second and third position with the cost of litre petrol standing at ₹ 97.10/Ltr and ₹ 97/Ltr. The cost of litre petrol is least at ₹ 84.15/Ltr in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh a BJP ruled state.
While it is true that the BJP-ruled states mentioned in the post are among those states in the country where the price of a litre petrol is low, there are few BJP-ruled states where the price of litre petrol is high among all the states in the country. To be specific, five (Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Karnataka, Bihar) of the top ten states in the country where the price of litre petrol is high are ruled by the BJP and its allies. From this, it is evident that price in BJP ruled states, where they are low, are compared to those non-BJP ruled states where the prices of litre petrol are high.
It is noteworthy to mention that in the recently proposed 2021-22 budget, central government has introduced agriculture and development cess of Rs. 2.5/Ltr on petrol and Rs. 4/Ltr on diesel. Consequent to the imposition of Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on petrol and diesel, the Basic excise duty (BED) and Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) rates have been reduced proportionately so that consumer does not bear any additional burden. However, this move will affect the states’ revenue as reduced excise duty implies a decrease in states’ share in the central excise duty.
FACTLY has earlier debunked a similar claim related to petrol prices when it was shared on social media, this article can be read here. Few more fact-check articles related to petrol can be read here and here.
In the wake of rising petrol prices in recent times, posts like these are being shared with misleading claims on social medial platforms.
To sum it up, five among top ten states where the price of litre petrol is high are ruled by BJP and its allies.

created: February 23, 2021


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Five day working week for banks from 1 January 2024, is not yet approved by Ministry of Finance - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 11, 2023
A post being shared on social media claims that the Cabinet has approved an amendment to the Negotiable Instrument Act, and that Banks can now have five five-day working week, slated to be effective from 1 January 2024. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Cabinet approved for five day working week for banks from 01 January 2024.
Fact: Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, on whether the Indian Banks Association (IBA), a representative body of all banks in India, has demanded the implementation of a five-day work week, minister of state for finance Bhagwat Karad said the IBA had indeed submitted a proposal to this effect. The finance ministry’s reply did not indicate whether the demand has been accepted or whether it could be anytime in the near future. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon searching for the information related to the viral post, we came across the question asked in the Rajya Sabha dated 05 December 2023, regarding five-day work plan in nationalised banks. In response, the Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the IBA had indeed submitted a proposal to declare all Saturdays as holidays.
The finance ministry’s reply did not indicate whether the demand has been accepted or whether it could be anytime in the near future.
As per news reports (here, here), the finance ministry reply did not indicate whether the demand has been accepted or whether it could be anytime in the near future. If accepted, the move may come with extended hours during the five-day working week.
To sum it up, the post claiming that the Union Cabinet approved five-day working week for banks from 01 January 2024 is false.

created: December 11, 2023


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SRS baseline survey
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 15, 2016
The Registrar General of India (RGI) recently released the Baseline Survey results of the Sample Registration system. Among many interesting insights, it is known that 42.7% of the households in the country still use firewood for cooking.
The Registrar General of India (RGI) has recently released the Baseline Survey 2014 results of the Sample Registration System (SRS). The SRS is a large-scale demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of birth rate, death rate and other fertility & mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels. The baseline surveys also include other data points.
What is SRS?
SRS was initiated on a pilot basis by the RGI in a few selected states in 1964-65. It became fully operational during 1969- 70 with about 3700 sample units. The field investigation consists of continuous enumeration of births and deaths in selected sample units by resident part time enumerators, generally anganwadi workers & teachers, and an independent survey every six months by SRS supervisors. The data obtained by these two independent functionaries are matched. The unmatched and partially matched events are re-verified in the field and thereafter an unduplicated count of births and deaths is obtained. The sample unit in rural areas is a village or a segment of it, if the village population is 2000 or more. In urban areas, the sampling unit is a census enumeration block with population ranging from 750 to 1000. At present, SRS is operational in 8854 sample units (4,962 rural and 3,892 urban) spread across all States and Union territories.
Here are five interesting insights from the Baseline Survey results of the SRS 2014.
More than 10% male smoke, drink alcohol and chew tobacco
Smoking was prevalent in 11.4% of the male population among those aged 15 years and above as of 1 January 2014. Among the female, this was only 0.7%. About 10% of the male aged 15 years and above drink alcohol, 10% chew paan while 10.7% chew tobacco. Among various groups, the highest prevalence of smoking was in Scheduled Caste (SC) male at 16.3% while the highest prevalence of drinking alcohol was in Scheduled Tribe (ST) male at 18.2%. Among women, STs had the highest prevalence of all the mentioned habits.
Among various age groups, the highest prevalence of smoking and drinking alcohol among male was in the 45-59 age group, while in the female, it was in the 60+ age group.
Only 89% of the sample units in Rural India are connected by a pucca road
Out of all the surveyed units in Rural India, only 89% were connected by a pucca road while 4.2% units were more than 5km away from a pucca road. Among the states, the pucca road connectivity was lowest in West Bengal (73.4%) followed by Jharkhand (73.6%). Only Delhi & Telangana have 100% pucca road connectivity for all the surveyed units. Jammu & Kashmir had 13.3% units that are more than 5km away from a pucca road, the highest for any state. This is also the only state with more than 10% units that are 5km away from a pucca road.
Close to a quarter units in the rural areas have to walk more than 5km for a bus
Only 62.2% of the surveyed rural units were connected with a bus stop, while 23.6% units had a bus stop more than 5km away. Among the states, only 7.2% of the surveyed units had bus stops in Uttar Pradesh, the lowest for any state, followed by Uttarakhand (18.5%) and Jharkhand (18.7%). Telangana was again on the top with 98.3% of the surveyed units connected by a bus stop. Among the states, more than 90% of the surveyed units were connected by a bus stop in only the four southern states of Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In Uttar Pradesh, the nearest bus stop was more than 5km away for 62.2% of the surveyed units.
Only 17% of the rural units are connected with a railway station
Out of the surveyed rural units, only 17% were connected with a railway station while 77.9% of the units were more than 5km away from the nearest railway station. Among the states, Maharashtra was on the top with 69.8% of the surveyed rural units being connected with a railway station. Only in Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab & Telangana, more than 50% of the surveyed units were connected with a railway station. In Madhya Pradesh, 95.8% of the surveyed units were more than 5km away from a nearest railway station, the most for any state. In six of the surveyed states, more than 90% of the units were more than 5km away from a nearest railway station.
42.7% of the surveyed households still use firewood for cooking
Of all the surveyed households, 42.7% of them still use firewood for cooking, the most for any form. LPG is used by 38.1% of the households followed by Cow Dung Cake that is used by 9.4% of the households. Crop Residue is used by 5.9% of the households. Among states, firewood is used by 80.8% of the surveyed households in Chhattisgarh, the most for any state. 72.1% of the households use firewood in Odisha followed by Madhya Pradesh (70.6%). In Bihar, only 8.5% of the households use LPG while 41.2% use Cow Dung Cake. 22.8% use crop residue and 26.1% use firewood for cooking in Bihar. 97% of the households use LPG in Delhi, the most for any state followed by Telangana (75.9%).
Featured Image:  By Michael Foley


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Old photo shared as imposter dressed in Sikh attire after participating in farmers’ protest. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 12, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows an imposter dressed in Sikh attire who participated in farmers’ protest but forgot to remove his headgear during the namaz in a mosque. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of an imposter dressed in Sikh attire doing namaz after participating in farmers’ protest.
Fact: The posted photo is old. The photo is being shared on the internet at least from January 2016. It is not related to the current farmers’ protest. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found to be posted in 2016 on the ‘Sikh Awareness’ website. From the photo, it can be seen that the photo was posted on Facebook.
When we searched on Facebook with keywords and time filter, it was found that many people have posted the same photo in January 2016. So, the photo is not related to current farmers’ protest. No credible information was found regarding the man in the photo.
To sum it up, at least 5-year-old photo is shared as an imposter dressed in Sikh attire doing namaz after participating in farmers’ protest.

created: January 12, 2021


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Flags seen in this rally of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are not Pakistani National flags - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 29, 2020
A video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s rally is doing the rounds on Facebook claiming that Pakistan national flags were waved during that rally. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video showing Pakistani national flags being waved at a rally of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Fact: The flags seen in the rally of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are not Pakistan national flags. In the Pakistan national flag, along with a green field with a large white crescent and star, at the hoist end, there will be a vertical white stripe. But the flags seen in the video do not have any such vertical stripe. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we subjected the screenshots of the video to reverse image search technique, the same video was found on the Facebook page of Ashok Gehlot. The video was posted by Ashok Gehlot in November 2018 and states that Gehlot had flagged off a procession in Jodhpur organized on the occasion of Milad-un-nabi. The video posted by Gehlot is much clearer and it can be seen that the flags seen in the rally have a green field with a large white crescent and star on them. Those flags are Islamic flags, not Pakistani national flags. For a Pakistan national flag, along with a green field with a large white crescent and star, at the hoist end, there will be a vertical white stripe. Several photos of the Pakistan flag can be seen on ‘Alamy’ stock photo website.
To sum it up, flags seen in the rally of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are not Pakistani National flags.
Did you watch our new video?


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Flexi-Funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes will now be 25% of the total allocation
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 13, 2016
The NDA government has rationalized the existing Centrally Sponsored Schemes into 3 groups with varying features. It has now raised the flexi fund component in CSSs from 10% to 25%.
Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) are the schemes initiated by the various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India. These schemes are usually implemented by the respective State/UT governments. As per the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, State Governments will now have 25% of the total allocation under CSSs as Flexi-Funds to customize the programs to local needs.
Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs)
After the NDA came to power in 2014, the 66 existing CSSs have been rationalized and categorized into 28 Umbrella schemes. These 28 umbrella schemes are categorized into the three following groups
The 66 existing CSSs have been rationalized
The various existing CSSs have been included into one of these groups while some of the CSSs are dropped. Only six CSSs are now part of the Core of the Core Schemes including the MGNREGS etc. For the Core of the Core Schemes, the existing funding pattern will continue.
Core & Optional Schemes
There are 20 core schemes and these schemes will have compulsory participation by the states. The funding pattern for the 20 core schemes will be the following
There are only two optional schemes and the participation by states in these schemes is optional. These two schemes are the Border Area Development Program (BADP) and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission.
Release of Funds
The release of funds to the states would be based on the furnished Utilization Certificate of the penultimate installment. There will also be quarterly release of funds and expenditure would be tracked Public Financial Management System (PFMS). The PFMS will be integrated with the State Treasuries in 2016-17.
Flexi –Funds now at 25%
The concept of flexi funds was first introduced in January 2014 during the UPA government. It was stipulated back then that the Central Ministries should provide 10% of their budget under CSSs as a Flexi-Fund, except for those schemes which emanate from legislation like the MGNREGS.  Based on the recommendations of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers, the NITI Aayog has raised the amount of flexi funds from the current 10% to 25% for States and 30% for UTs. This would be applicable to all CSSs except to those that emanate from legislation like MGNREGA or schemes where a whole or substantial portion of the allocation is flexible.
The flexi funds were introduced with the following objectives
The states that wish to avail of the flexi fund facility should constitute a State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) to sanction projects or activities under the flexi fund component.
The guidelines by the government have made it clear that the Name, Logo & the Acronym of any CSS must be retained even for flexi fund component as well. If the states change any of these, the guidelines state that the central contribution will cease.
The flexi fund will still be a part of CSS and can be operated at the level of scheme, sub-scheme and its components. It cannot be operated at the Umbrella scheme level like for eg., Primary Education as a whole. It is also made clear that the flexi funds should not be used to substitute State’s own programs or any project related expenditure. It should also not be used for construction/repair of offices/residences of government officials, general publicity, purchase of vehicle/furniture for offices etc.
The guidelines also talk about web-based reporting of the use of flexi funds along with pictures and sharing of good practices for greater transparency & learning.

created: September 13, 2016


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Flipkart is not offering free Mi-11 Lite mobile phones on its 15th anniversary - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 26, 2021
Update (15 November 2022):Another post is being shared claiming that Flipkart is offering iPhone for just Rs.499/. However the link shared in the post is doesn’t represent Flipkart’s official website, and is a fraudulent one.
A message is being circulated on social media with a claim that the e-commerce company ‘Flipkart’ is offering free Mi-11 Lite mobile phones on its 15 anniversary. This post claims that Flipkart is conducting an online survey to gift free Mi-11 Lite mobiles on the occasion of its 15-anniversary celebrations. In a similar context, multiple users are sharing a purported website link to participate in the survey. Let’s verify the claims made in these posts.
Claim: Flipkart is offering free Mi-11 Lite mobiles on the occasion of its 15 Anniversary.
Fact: Flipkart e-commerce website is not conducting any online contest to gift free Mi-11 Lite mobiles. Flipkart has not announced any such offer on any of its social media handles or its official website. The website that is conducting an online survey in the name of Flipkart is a fraudulent one. Flipkart  has clarified that the offers mentioned other than on the Flipkart website are fake. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether the ‘Flipkart’ e-commerce company has conducted any such contest offering free Mi 11 Lite mobile phones, we could not find details of any such offer on the Flipkart website. Flipkart has not announced any such offer on its Twitter and Facebook handles. As of now, Flipkart had not offered free mobile phones by conducting an online survey. If Flipkart has announced any such offer, several news websites would have published articles on it. But, we could not find any article reporting this offer from Flipkart.
The purported online website link (https://jollyvacuum.xyz/) shared by multiple users is not the official website link of Flipkart (https://www.flipkart.com/). This fraudulent website that conducted an online survey in the name of Flipkart is now removed from the internet.
When we reached out to Flipkart officials regarding this message circulating on social media, they clarified that the offers mentioned other than on the Flipkart website are fraudulent ones. Flipkart assured that they are taking legal action against those fraudulent websites sharing these fake offers on the internet. Flipkart has emphasized that these are fraudulent websites offering fake offers on their website.
FACTLY had earlier debunked similar fake offers that were attributed to different companies, these can be read here and here.
To sum it up, Flipkart e-commerce company is not offering free Mi-11 Lite mobile phones on its 15 anniversary


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Fluorosis in India - Top 10 States Affected - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 9, 2015
Fluorisis is the deadly disease caused by intake of fluoride in drinking water. Close to 1% of population is affected by Fluorosis in India. Yet, close to 75% of the funds under the National Program for Prevention & Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF) are unspent.


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Fluorosis: Significant progress in the last 10 years, thousands still susceptible
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 29, 2020
Data recently provided by the government in Lok Sabha indicates that the number of fluoride affected habitations have decreased by almost 80% in the last 10 years. Five-states make up for more than 80% of the affected habitations as on date. Despite the significant progress, thousands are still susceptible to the disease and there are 1.2 million suspected cases of fluorosis in the country.
Fluoride is beneficial to humans when consumed at optimum levels as it helps prevent dental caries. However, exposure to fluoride in high concentrations frequently results in damage to the bones and teeth of humans apart from the other ill effects, such as crippling, staining and pitting of teeth. The disease caused by excess exposure is known as Fluorosis and is mainly of two types- Dental Fluorosis and Skeletal Fluorosis. As the names suggest, Dental Fluorosis is when the tooth enamel is damaged and Skeletal Fluorosis is when the bones are affected. Excessive fluoride accumulates in bones and causes the bones to weaken. Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable to the condition. If detected at an early stage, the condition of the child can be reversed. But, in extreme cases, the person might even lose their ability to move.
Both natural and human activities release fluoride into the atmosphere
Consumption of water with high concentration Fluoride has been identified to be the major cause of the disease. Naturally, weathering of rocks rich in Fluoride ends up in the groundwater, mainly in arid and semi-arid regions. At the foot of high mountains and in areas where the sea has made geological deposits, the concentration of Fluoride is generally higher. Apart from this, emission of fly ash and use of phosphate containing fertilizers which also end up in water sources result in contamination of the water bodies. Other industrial activities such as cement production and aluminium smelting, also release fluoride into the environment.
Fluoride consumption through water is the prominent cause of the disease in India
Fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries, which lie in the natural Fluoride belts- one that stretches from Syria through Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Sudan and Kenya, and another that stretches from Turkey through Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, northern Thailand and China. There are similar belts in the Americas and Japan. In India, presence of excessive fluoride in drinking water is the main cause of the disease. However, in parts of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, industrial fluorosis is also evident.
17 states in India have been affected by Fluoride contaminated drinking water
As per the latest data presented in the Lok Sabha in September 2020, a total of 5,485 habitations across 17 states are affected by fluoride contamination in drinking water across India. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the desirable limit of fluoride is 1 part per million or 1 milligram per litre. Nearly 54% of these affected habitations are in Rajasthan (2,956). In each of the five states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab, more than 200 habitations were affected and these states together account for almost 83% of the habitations affected by fluoride contamination, as of September 2020. The data is self-reported by various state governments.
In the last 10 years, the area affected by contamination has reduced
On a positive note, there has been a decline in the number of habitations affected by fluoride in drinking water in 2020, as compared to the same in 2010 and 2015. In the year 2010, a total of 26,131 habitations were affected which dropped to 13,440 in 2015 and further down to 5,485 in 2020. The number of states affected has also decreased from 20 (excluding Telangana in 2010) to 17 during the same period.
Many states have shown a considerable improvement during this period. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Gujarat are among those states which have reported a steady decline over the years. Meanwhile, the states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Jharkhand have shown a mixed trend with a decline in 2020.
Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat reported zero fluoride affected habitations in 2020
The three states of  Telangana, Gujarat & Uttarakhand which reported fluoride affected habitations in 2015 have now reported that no habitation is fluoride affected in their respective states. The 2020 data indicates zero affected habitations in these states. Cabinet Minister of Telangana, K T Rama Rao tweeted how Telangana successfully managed to eliminate Fluorosis in the state through Mission Bhagiratha, a program to provide safe and sustainable piped drinking water to every household. Telangana reported 967 fluoride affected habitations in 2015 which is now down to zero.
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu, which had reported only 20 affected habitations in 2010 has now in 2020 reported 236 fluoride affected habitations. Even in Punjab, the number has gone up from 7 in 2010 to 257 in 2015 and 211 in 2020. In Chhattisgarh, the number of habitations went up from 18 in 2010 to 788 in 2015 and fell to 154 in 2020. Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir have also reported an increase during this period.
Karnataka accounts for lion’s share of fluorosis cases in India
The number of suspected cases of Fluorosis reported across states shows that Karnataka accounts for nearly 60% of the dental fluorosis cases at the community level in India. It also accounts for more 72% of the skeletal fluorosis cases reported at the community level and 77% of the dental fluorosis cases at the school level across the country. Almost 27% of the dental fluorosis cases and 14% of the skeletal fluorosis cases at community level have been reported in Rajasthan. Moreover, both these states have witnessed an improvement in number of suspected cases as compared to the 2019 data published in the National Health Profile. The data is based on diagnosis activities conducted as part of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF).
National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis was launched in 2009
In the year 2009, Government of India rolled out a national programme for the prevention and control of fluorosis (NPPCF). The plan has targeted around 200 districts across 17 states by focusing on diagnostic activities, treatment, and rehabilitation at village and district level. Under the programme, the central government extends financial and technical support to States to strengthen their healthcare systems based on the requirements submitted by the States in their Programme Implementation Plans.
Apart from this, the program also aims to educate and create awareness about fluorosis and build capacity for prevention, diagnosis, and management of the cases. Projects at the community level such as ensuring safe drinking water have also been rolled out in different parts of the country. Provision of safe drinking water coupled with nutrition supplements helps children fight fluorosis. Effective measures under the existing program are necessary since thousands of people in the country are still susceptible to the disease.
Featured Image: Fluorosis Cases

created: September 29, 2020


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FM Nirmala Sitharaman did not say, “We do not use US dollars. Why worry about Rupee vs. Dollar?” - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2022
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented  – “My family buys groceries and other things with Indian rupees, we don’t use US dollars. Why should we be concerned about dollar value then?”. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented  – “My family buys groceries and other things with Indian rupees, we do not use US dollars. Why should we be concerned about dollar value then?”
Fact: No such comments have been made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The picture in the post was taken from her speech in Lok Sabha on 04 December 2019. She did not make such statements in Lok Sabha on that day. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet if Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made such comments, no relevant sources were found. If she had made such statements, all reputed news agencies would have reported about it. But we found no such reports.
The picture in the post was taken from her speech in Lok Sabha on 04 December 2019. The ‘Text of Debate’ of that day can be read here. She did not make such statements in Lok Sabha on that day. It was on that day Nirmala Sitharaman said that she doesn’t eat much onion.
Also, the Press Information Bureau has clarified – “No such Statement has been given by the Finance Minister”.
A picture of Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman is being circulated on social media giving a statement on the value of Rupee and Dollar.
#PIBFactCheck:
▶ This Claim is #Fake
▶ No such Statement has been given by the Finance Minister. pic.twitter.com/PDIp9ktSfU
To sum it up, FM Nirmala Sitharaman did not say, “My family buys with Indian rupees. We do not use US dollars. Why should we worry about Rupee vs Dollar?”.