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Exaggerated figures are being shared as data showing the deaths of Palestinians in the war with Israel. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 13, 2023
A post with data is being shared claiming it to be the data pertaining number of deaths of Palestinians by Israelis recorded by the United Nations. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The image shows the details of the deaths of Palestinians released by the United Nations.
Fact: Based on UN OCHA data on Palestinian fatalities due to conflict between Israel and Palestine, the claimed figures are found to be Misleading.
On a relevant keyword search based on the claims made in the post, we found the data published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA). We found that the claimed numbers are exaggerated on comparing two sets of details.
Subsequent research on the methodology that was followed by the organization, we found that the data was collected by field staff following the review and verification of the details. Only the casualties based on direct confrontations are taken into account.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), as elsewhere around the world. OCHA advocates for effective and principled humanitarian action.
To sum up, exaggerated figures are being shared as data showing the deaths of Palestinians in war with Israel.

created: October 13, 2023


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Except for one, none of these statements on the Indian economy were made by Morgan Stanley - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 5, 2021
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that a few statements regarding India’s economy and PM Modi were put out by Morgan Stanley Research. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Statements made in Morgan Stanley Research praising India’s economy and PM Modi.
Fact: Except for one statement on India’s GDP reaching $6 trillion by 2027, none of the statements in the message was made by Morgan Stanley. The ‘$6 trillion GDP’ statement was also made by Morgan Stanley in a report published in 2017 i.e., much before the COVID-19 crisis. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched about the message given in the post, it was found that the same message is being shared on the internet at least since 2018. So, the post is old and the statements in the message are not regarding the current economic situation in the country. Some of the old posts can be seen here and here.
There are multiple statements in the post. Let us check one-by-one and verify if Morgan Stanley has made those statements.
‘PM Modi has not borrowed even $1 from the World Bank in the last 3 years’?
We could not find any evidence to suggest that Morgan Stanley has made the above statement. Let us also verify if the statement in itself is true or false. When searched on the World Bank website about the loans taken by India, it is found that India also took loans during the period 2014 – 2020, under various categories for different central and state projects from the World Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and IDA (International Development Association).  The year-wise break-up of the lending for the period 2012-20 can be seen below.
Recently, the Indian government borrowed from the World Bank for ‘Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Emergency Response’. So, it is not true that the Modi government has taken zero loans from the World Bank.
‘In the next 10 years, India’s GDP would surpass $6 Trillion’?
When we searched on the internet, it was found that the Morgan Stanley made the above statement in its report – “India’s Digital Leap: The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Opportunity” published in 2017. The full report can be read here. So, it is much before COVID-19 crisis affected the economy.
Forbes Magazine said, “India’s Economy to rise manifold only because of Modi”?
We could not find any evidence to suggest that Morgan Stanley or Forbes has made the above statement regarding India’s economy. An article published by Forbes with the title – ‘India: What’s Going On With Modi’s Economy?’, in January 2020 can be read here.
In ‘Economic Growth’, India has moved up 31 places to be ranked 40 amongst 137 listed countries?
There is neither such ranking (solely on ‘Economic Growth’) where India is ranked 40 nor Morgan Stanley made the above statement. India is ranked 40 among 137 countries in ‘The Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 edition’. It improved its ranking by 31 places from the 2014-15 rank of 71 (out of 144 countries). So, the given rank improvement was related to competitiveness index, not economic growth, and the improvement was between 2014-15 and 2017-18. In ‘The Global Competitiveness Report 2019’, India ranked 68 out of 141 countries.
To sum it up, except for one, none of the statements in the message on Indian economy was made by Morgan Stanley and the content of some of the statements is also false.

source: news-factly

created: January 5, 2021

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Except one, no other photo is related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 14, 2019
A post with some photos is widely being shared on social media with a claim that they are Babri Masjid (Ayodhya) photos. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Babri Masjid photos.
Fact: Only one of the pictures is related to the Babri Masjid. Other photos are related to various other buildings. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo 1:
On doing Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in an article by ‘The Wall Street Journal’ on Ayodhya. The description of the photo reads, “A photograph of the Babri Masjid from the early 1900s”. So, the photo is related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Photo 2:
On doing Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found on the Haryana Tourism website. On the website, it can be found that the photo is related to ‘Kabuli Bagh Mosque’ (Panipat). So, the photo is not related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Picture 3:
On doing Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in the articles published by India TV (Archived), Bloomberg-Quint (Archived) and Telangana Today (Archived). It can also be found that the ‘Quint’ has made an infographic and a video on Ayodhya with the same picture.
But, the same picture was also found with the title: ‘Jama Masjid, Kalaburagi Fort (Karnataka)’, on the Britannica website. So, when searched with the keywords on Google, a similar photo was also found on the Alamy website with the following description: ‘Kalburagi fort, view of Jamia Mosque, Gulbarga, Karnataka’. It can be concluded that the photo is not related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Picture 4:
On doing Yandex Reverse Image Search, a colored-photo of the same monument was found on a travel website. On that website, it was found that the photo is related to ‘Ibrahim Rouza, Bijapur (Karnataka)’. Similar photos can be also found on the ‘Flickr’ when searched with the keywords ‘Ibrahim Rouza Arches’. So, the photo is not related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Picture 5:
On doing Yandex Reverse Image Search, a similar photo from another angle was found on the ‘Archnet’ website. On that website, it can read that the photo was taken in the ‘Yeşil Cami’ mosque (Turkey). A similar colour photo taken recently can be found on the ‘Shutterstock’ website. So, the photo is not related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
To sum it up, except one, no other photo is related to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: November 14, 2019


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Excerpt from European Karate Championship is passed off as Pakistan defeating Israel at Tokyo Olympics - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 9, 2021
A post accompanying a video of an athlete taking down his opponent with just one kick in a karate match is being shared with a claim that the video shows a Pakistani athlete taking down his Israeli opponent in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a Pakistani athlete taking down his Israeli opponent in a Karate match in Tokyo Olympics.
Fact: The video is an excerpt from the European Karate Championship which was held in the month of May 2021. The athlete who fell down represents Montenegro, whereas the other athlete represents Russian Federation. Further, as far as Tokyo 2020 Olympics are concerned, there is no representation from both Pakistan and Israel in the field of Karate. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
This video actually shows a Karate match between Russian Federation and Montenegro during the European Karate Championship which was held in the month of May 2021, much before the start of Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Google search with relevant keywords yielded the full video from which the viral excerpt is extracted. This video is available on World Karate Federation official YouTube channel. As per the description, the video shows European Karate Championship.
In the YouTube video between 1:46:10 to 1:46:26 duration, we can spot the same visuals shared in the viral post. However, as per the details overlaid on the video regarding the countries these athletes represent, the athlete who fell down represents Montenegro, whereas the other athlete represents the Russian Federation.
Further, according to the information provided on the official website of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, there is no representation either from Pakistan or from Israel as far as Karate is concerned. Further, Pakistan has representations only in 6 categories and Karate is not one of those. Details of the athletes representing both these countries in different categories and the schedule of the events can be seen here and here. Hence, this information confirms that the viral video has nothing to do with either Pakistan or Israel.
To sum it up, an excerpt from European Karate Championship is passed off as Pakistan defeating Israel at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

created: August 9, 2021


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An excerpt of an emergency landing of a plane from a video game is passed off as a real incident - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2021
A post accompanying a video of an emergency landing of an airplane with its front feel resting on a pickup truck plying on a road is going viral on across social media platforms. The caption with the video reads ‘this is how lives of 300 passengers are saved’ insinuating that the video shows a real incident. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of an emergency landing of a plane with its front wheel resting on a pickup truck plying on a road.
Fact: The video is actually an excerpt from a video game named GTA5. Multiple video game enthusiasts have uploaded the same clip on YouTube clearly mentioning that the clip is an excerpt of a video game. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Scrolling down through the comment section of the video, we can see that many users have commented that the video is an excerpt from ‘GTA 5’ video game. Taking a cue from this, further search on YouTube with relevant keywords yielded few videos that published footage from GTA5 game uploaded by gaming enthusiasts. In one such video which has garnered more than 90 million views, we can clearly find the exact visuals of the emergency landing of a plane with its front wheel resting on a pickup truck plying on a highway after it caught fire mid-air. The video is titled ‘GTA5 – Giant Air Plane “Emergency Landing” on Highway — Two Engines Failed — (This is GTA5 game)’ and is uploaded on YouTube on 09 February 2019.  By observing this video, one can easily identify that it’s not a real incident.
The exact video clip is also uploaded by another user on YouTube with a title ‘GTA5 – Giant Air Plane “Emergency Landing” on Highway — Two Engines Failed — (This is GTA5 game)’. By all these, we can infer that the video is actually an excerpt from a video game called GTA5. In fact, if any such incident of such magnitude indeed happened, media would have reported the visuals. However, we could not find any such media reports that published the same visuals.
To sum it up, the excerpt of an emergency landing of a plane from a video game is passed off as a real incident.


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Currently, Excise Duty on Diesel is more than 4 times of what it used to be in 2014
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 9, 2017
Central Excise duty on diesel has increased by over 380% since the BJP government came to power in 2014. During this period, excise duty on petrol increased by over 120%. The revenue through central excise duty on petrol & diesel has more than tripled between 2013-14 and 2016-17.
Retail selling price of Petrol has crossed Rs 70 in most states while the price of Diesel is close to Rs 60. Prices of Petrol & Diesel have always been an important part of the public discourse on price rise. Data shared by the government indicates that the excise duty on diesel increased by over 380% since the BJP came to power while it increased by over 120% in the case of petrol. Central government revenue through levy of excise duty on petrol/diesel has more than tripled in the three year period between 2013-14 and 2016-17 owing to this increase in tax rate.
Excise Duty on Diesel increased from Rs 3.56 to Rs 17.33 in 3 years
The excise duty on unbranded diesel was Rs 3.56 per litre on 1st April, 2014 just before the BJP came to power. The excise duty on unbranded petrol was Rs 9.48 per litre on the same date. Since then, it has been revised 11 times during the last 3 years. From Rs 3.56 per litre, the excise duty on diesel increased to Rs 17.33 per litre, an increase of over 380% in 3 years. In the case of petrol, it increased from Rs 9.48 per litre to 21.48 per litre. On four different occasions, the excise duty on diesel was increased by Rs 2 or more per litre, while it was increased by Rs 2 or more per litre on three different occasions in the case of petrol.
Even States increased VAT/Sales Tax on Petrol & Diesel
It is not just the central government that increased the excise duty, even state governments have increased VAT/Sales tax on petrol & diesel in the last 3 years. The VAT on diesel was more than 20% in only 10 states in April 2014, where as in August 2017, the VAT on diesel is more than 20% in 15 different states. The VAT on diesel was highest of only 25% in Chhattisgarh in April 2014, where as in August 2017, the highest was 31.06% in Andhra Pradesh.  The VAT on petrol was at least 25% in 17 different states in April 2014. In August 2017, it is at least 25% in 26 different states. The VAT on petrol was highest of 33.06% in Punjab in April 2014 where as in August 2017, the highest was 48.98% in Mumbai.
Revenue through Excise Duty has more than tripled in 3 years
Central government’s revenue through excise duty on petrol & diesel has more than tripled from 2013-14 to 2016-17. From Rs 77982 crore in 2013-14, the excise duty collection on petrol & diesel more than tripled to Rs 242691 crore in 2016-17.  The VAT/sales tax collection on petrol & diesel increased only marginally in the states. From Rs 129045 crore in 2013-14, it increased to Rs 166378 crore in 2016-17. Though VAT on both petrol & diesel has increased in percentage terms in many states in the last 3 plus years, the VAT revenue in states has not increased proportionally. This is because the base price of petrol & diesel has substantially decreased in the last 3 years on account of reduction in global crude oil prices.
Only 6 States earn more than 10000 crore through VAT on Petrol & Diesel in 2016-17
Of all the states, Maharashtra earns the maximum revenue through VAT on petrol & diesel. Maharashtra has consistently earned more than Rs 19000 crore since 2013-14. In 2016-17, the total revenue collection in Maharashtra reached Rs 23160 crore. Only four states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu) have earned more than Rs 10000 crore through VAT on petrol & diesel in each of the years since 2013-14. In 2016-17, six (6) states earned more than Rs 10000 crore each on revenue through VAT.
The total contribution of petroleum products to the central & state exchequer has crossed Rs 5 lakh crore in 2016-17. Out of the 5 lakh crore in 2016-17, central excise duty and state VAT account for more than 4 lakh crore.
Featured Image: Excise Duty on Diesel

created: September 9, 2017


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Exit Poll survey by PARC predicting YSRCP win is Fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 13, 2019
After the successful completion on the Phase 1 of General Elections 2019, few exit polls are doing rounds on social media. One such survey by PARC (Political Analysis & Research Center) is predicting YSRCP party win in Andhra Pradesh State Assembly elections. Let analyse the details of this survey.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
PARC Exit Poll survey of Phase 1 2019 General Elections in India
Firstly, Election Commission of India in its press note released by  on 8th April 2019, notified that no exit polls to be published between 7.00 A.M. on 11.04.2019 (Thursday) and 6.30 P.M. on 19.05.2019 (Sunday). Secondly, no organization by the name PARC was found on the internet with the given address and there was no response to phone calls to that number. So, the claim about Exit Poll results in the post is FALSE.
The rules regarding the publishing of exit polls are included in the section 126A of THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1951. The rules clearly states the no person shall conduct exit poll or publicize the result of  any exit poll by any means during the period notified by Election Commission in this regard.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) in this regard notified that
the period between 7.00 A.M. on 11.04.2019 (Thursday) and 6.30 P.M. on 19.05.2019 (Sunday) as the period during which not exit poll shall be conducted and publicized by any means.
When searched for any organization by the name PARC (Political Analysis & Research Center) as shown the social media post exists in New Delhi, we couldn’t get any results on Google search or on Social Media. The contact number mentioned in the exit poll document isn’t working and there wasn’t any response to our email addressed to parcindia@gmail.com. It’s very unlikely that a well know organization would be using gmail as their email domain rather than their own name. All this evidence along with ECI guidelines cast serious doubts about the existence of any such organization and their exit poll.
Hence, the exit poll results of the phase 1 of General Election 2019 by PARK are deemed False.


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Exorcism video from Bangladesh shared as visuals of a non-Muslim woman being forcefully converted to Islam - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 11, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is the visuals of a woman being forcefully converted to Islam. Sharing the video, the post states that ‘The Kerala Story’ movie depicts the true incidents of love jihad and forceful Islamic conversions happening in the country. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a non-Muslim woman being forcefully converted to Islam
Fact: The video shared in the post shows old visuals of a peer or Muslim priest performing exorcism on a Muslim woman in Bangladesh. The video does not show the forceful Islamic conversion and it has nothing to do with India. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video shared in the post, screengrabs from the video were found in a BlogSpot article published in June 2021. This article shared the screengrabs reporting that a video showing exorcism in Bangladesh was misinterpreted on social media as the visuals of forceful Islamic conversions. On searching for further details using these keywords on the internet, an extended version of the video was found published by many YouTube users in 2019. They can be seen here, here, and here.
In 2019, when a user tweeted the same video mentioning it is the visuals of a Hindu woman being forcefully converted to Islam in Bangladesh, a user in response to the tweet said, “I speak Bengali. It is my native language. The video is an exorcism video.” Sharing a YouTube link to the extended version of the video, the user tweeted, “The woman is Muslim and supposedly attacked by a Hindu Jinn. Though the entire event is outrageous, this is not a case of forced conversion.”
Bangladesh-based fact-checking site ‘Rumor Scanner’ published a fact-check article related to the viral video in January 2022. This news site confirmed it is the video of a peer or Muslim priest performing an exorcism on a Muslim woman in Bangladesh. The peer thought the possessor inside the woman was a non-Muslim, and to convert the jinn to Islam, the Muslim priest taught Kalima to the so-called Jinn in the possessed woman and took a statement of being converted to Islam inside from her.
To sum it up, an exorcism video from Bangladesh is shared as the visuals of a non-Muslim woman being forcefully converted to Islam.


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Citizens Expenditure in Private hospitals is 4 times the expenditure in Public hospitals - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2016
The 71st survey report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on Health in India reveals that the amount spent on hospitalization in private hospitals is almost 4 times the amount spent on hospitalization in public hospitals.
The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) recently released the 71 round report on ‘Health in India’. The report is based on surveys done between January and June of 2014. According to this report, in rural areas, an average of Rs 5636 was spent on hospitalization in public hospitals while Rs 21726 was spent in private hospitals.  The amount spent in private hospitals is 4 times the amount spent in a public hospital. The report also mentions that 20% of the childbirths in rural areas were at home or any other place during a reference period of 365 days. In urban areas, only 11% of the child births were at home.
Average expenditure for non-hospitalized treatment is Rs 509 in rural areas
It is observed that on an average, a higher amount is spent in urban areas on non-hospitalized treatment of one ailment than in rural areas. The difference is more than 100 rupees. An average of Rs 502 was spent by a male in rural areas while Rs 683 was spent by his urban counterpart. An average of Rs 515 was spent by a female in rural areas while only Rs 604 was spent by her in urban areas. The difference between the urban and rural expenditure was least in the case of female.
72% of the expenditure on Medicines in Rural areas
Out of the total expenditure on non-hospitalized treatment per ailment in rural areas, 13.6% was spent on doctor’s fee, 71.6% on medicines and 14.8% on others including diagnostic tests. In the urban areas, 15.6% was spent on doctor’s fee, 68% on medicines and 16.4% on others including diagnostic tests. A greater percentage was spent on both doctor’s fee and others in the urban areas compared to the rural areas. On the other hand, a greater percentage was spent on medicines in rural areas compared to the urban areas.
Average expenditure on hospitalization in urban areas was Rs 10000 more than in rural
The average expenditure on hospitalization in the rural areas was Rs 14935 which is almost Rs 10000 less than the average expenditure of Rs 24436 in urban areas. The overall expenditure on hospitalization was Rs 18268 for the reference period. In both urban and rural areas, average expenditure on male patients was substantially more than the average expenditure on female patients.
Average medical expenditure in Private hospitals almost 4 times the expenditure in public hospitals
In the rural areas, an average of Rs 5636 was spent on hospitalization in a public hospital while the corresponding expenditure in a private hospital was almost four times this amount at Rs 21726. A similar trend was observed even in the urban areas. While Rs 7670 was spent on an average for hospitalization in public hospitals, Rs 32375 was spent in a private hospital. Average expenditure incurred for treatment for female was lower than male in both from public and private hospital. This was true even in the case of non-hospitalized treatment.
20% of the Childbirths in Rural areas were at home
In the reference period of 365 days, 56% of the deliveries in rural areas were at a public hospital, 24% in a private hospital and the remaining 20% at home or other places. In the urban areas, 42% of the deliveries were in public hospitals, 48% in private hospitals and the remaining 10% at home or other places. In 2004 (NSSO 60th round) these percentages for child-births at home were 65% in rural areas and 26% in urban areas. It appears that in the last 10 years, a substantial shift towards institutional delivery has happened both in the rural and urban areas.
Featured Image: Hospital


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Expenditure per Prison inmate
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 20, 2016
As per the Prison Statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the expenditure per inmate has increased by over 50% in the five years between 2010-11 and 2014-15. More than 50% of the expenses were on Food in each of these five years.
As reported by Factly earlier, the Indian prisons are overcrowded and have an occupancy ratio of close to 120%. With more inmates being added to jails every year, the expenditure on inmates is also rising. As per the data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the average annual expenditure on a prison inmate has increased from Rs 19447 in 2010-11 to Rs 29538 in 2014-15. It has to be noted that Prisons is a state subject and are managed by the state governments.
The NCRB releases an annual report, ‘Prison Statistics India’. The report contains various statistics related to prisons in India. The data for the report is collected from Prison Headquarters of all States and UTs.  The report contains information on the following.
Age-group-wise and sex-wise details of prison inmates are also available in the report.
Number of inmates in prisons is increasing
In the last 5 years, the number of inmates in prisons has increased by over 13%. From 3.69 lakh inmates by the end of 2010, the total number of inmates in prisons across India went up to 4.18 lakh by the end of 2014. In the same time, the capacity of prisons in India has increased from 3.2 lakh in 2010 to 3.56 lakh in 2014. The occupancy ratio was over 100% in each of these years. In 2014, the occupancy ratio was 117.4% while it was 115.1% in 2010.
Average expenditure per prison inmate increased by over 50%
As per the NCRB annual reports, the annual expenditure per inmate on various heads like Food, Clothing, Medical, Vocational/Educational & other welfare activities has been on the rise. The average expenditure per inmate has gone up from Rs 19447 in 2010-11 to Rs 29538 in 2014-15. This is an increase of over 50% in five years. While the number of inmates in prisons has only increased by about 13%, the average expenditure has gone up by more than 50%.
More than half the expenditure is on Food
Of the average expenditure per inmate, more than half is spent on food. However, the percentage share of food expenses per inmate decreased from 62.2% in 2010-11 to 56.8% in 2014-15. The per capita food expenditure increased from Rs 12100 in 2010-11 to Rs 16769 in 2014-15. After food, it is medical expenses in the list of defined expenses. Expenses on clothing are third followed by expenses on vocational/educational activities. The least amount is spent on welfare activities. Other expenses (not defined) also account for a substantial share. In 2014-15, the expenditure on food was Rs 16769 followed by Rs 1329 on medical expenses. Clothing expenses were Rs 462 and Vocational/Educational expenses were Rs 280 followed by Rs 245 spent on welfare activities. Other activities accounted for Rs 10453 in 2014-15.
Average Expenditure per inmate highest in Delhi
Of all the States and UTs with more than 1000 inmates, the highest expenditure per inmate was in Delhi in four the last five years. In 2014-15, the expenditure per inmate in Delhi was Rs 85193, close to three times the national average. Delhi was closely followed by Telangana with an expenditure of Rs 81550. The only exception was in 2013-14 when the expenditure per inmate was highest in Jammu & Kashmir. Of the States & UTs with more than 1000 inmates, food expenses per inmate were highest in Jammu & Kashmir followed by West Bengal & Jharkhand in 2014-15.  Even in 2013-14, the food expenses per inmate were highest in Jammu & Kashmir.
Featured Image includes an image By Biswarup Ganguly (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons


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Explainer: All about FASTag and implementation issues
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 5, 2019
FASTag
is going to become mandatory at all NHAI toll plazas from 15 December 2019. What
all do you need to know about FASTag?
What are the implementation issues? Here is a detailed explainer.
The Ministry ofRoads Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has made it mandatory for highway motorvehicle users to adopt Fastag for the payment of tolls across the country. The date of implementation hasbeen deferred to 15
December 2019. The Electronic TollCollection (ETC) system has been rolled out by the National Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) to reduce the traffic congestion and allow smooth movement oftraffic on highways by digital toll collection.
Media reported about a recent study by a start-up which estimated that fuel, man-hours andcarbon emissions worth more than Rs.10,000 crores is lost every year due totraffic congestion at toll plazas.
This storyexplains what Fastag is and how it works along with the implementation issues.
Use of Fastag is mandatory from 15 December 2019
MoRTH issued anotification on 02
November 2017 that all vehicles (M andN categories) being sold since 01 December 2017 should be affixed with Fastagon the windscreen as per the government’s specifications.This was the government’s first move towards digitising toll collection. It hasnow been made compulsory for all four wheelers, old & new.
How does Fastag work?
FASTag acts as a transponderand operates on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The operationis similar to that of smart cards used in metros. The tag should be secured inthe centre of the windscreen of the vehicle. As the vehicle crosses boombarrier, a device scans the tag and money gets deducted automatically from theholder’s account. SMS notification will be sent to the registered mobile numberfor every transaction.
Where is it issued?
Fastags are available with 22 certified banks, Amazon, Paytm, petrol pumps and at some PoS locationssuch as highway counters and RTOs. Till 15
December 2019, MoRTH has announcedthat the tags will be given free of cost at the NHAI
PoS counters. For purchasing tagsonline through Amazon or banks, one has to pay Rs.100 in addition to therefundable security deposit of Rs. 200. The tags which are purchased from banksdo not allow the customer to link it to any account of their choice. It will belinked to the account one holds in that bank.  The tags have a validity of five years.
What are the documents required to purchase?
To purchase tags,one will have to submit the Registration Certificate of vehicle (RC), KYCdocuments (ID Proof), along with a passport size photograph of the owner. Fortags purchased online, upon downloading the MyFastag application (Android), onehas to fill basic personal details and that of vehicle.
How to recharge?
The account linkedto the tag can be a savings account or a prepaid account. If a prepaid accountis used, it should be recharged as and when required using Debit card/ CreditCard/ NEFT/ RTGS and internet banking. In case of savings bank account, moneyis automatically debited from the account for recharging the tag. Minimumrecharge amount is Rs.100 and maximum is Rs. 1 Lakh. In addition, customersshould also pay a convenience fee based on the transaction value.
What if one does not have Fastag?
Those who do notpossess Fastag will have to use a separate lane and pay twice the actual toll amount if they drive through a Fastag lane. Hybrid lanes oneither side of the highway (left extreme) will be allotted for those withoutFastag.
Helpline number 1033 for customers announced by
Ministry
For assistancewith respect to neutral Fastags, customers can call the helpline
number 1033. For assistance in case ofFastags issued at banks, each bank has a separate Customer Care number aslisted below.
Moreinformation including that related to issuers and location is also available inthe My
Fastag application. Standard OperatingProcedures for road users issued by the Ministry is available here.
TheSOP to be adhered to by toll operators can be accessed here.Monthly passes and concessions for those staying near toll plazas are alsoavailable. Answers to some frequently
asked questions are also available onthe NHAI website.
More than 70 lakh Fastags
sold as on 27 November 2019
Asper the press
release on 27 November 2019, more than 70Lakh Fastags were already issued. On 26 November 2019 alone, more than 1.35Lakh tags were issued. On an average, in July 2019, around 8000 tags were soldevery day. This increased to a daily average of around 35,000 tags in November2019.
Multiple issues in the
implementation
Whilethe government has been stressing on how Fastag would avoid tailgating andensure seamless movement of vehicles at toll gates, the scheme has also beencriticized for multiple implementation issues.
Oneis that there is no
standardisation in initial top up(threshold) purchase in banks. Furthermore, there is no portability in thesense that Fastag purchased from one bank cannot be recharged through otherbanks or wallets.
Thescheme has also been criticised for being favourable to banks for the high Merchant Discount Rate. If the scheme is about makingseamless traffic movement at toll plazas resulting in the reduction of requiredhuman resources, the benefit should be passed onto the road users. On thecontrary, consumers are forced to pay an extra convenience fee whenever theyrecharge the Fastag wallet.
Onthe implementation side, possibility of technical glitch such as multipletransactions cannot be ruled out which might result in a long list ofgrievances.  It is also not clear as towho all will have access to the transaction data that can become a valuableresource for multiple players.

created: December 5, 2019


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Explainer: All about the Bharat Ratna & Padma Awards
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 6, 2019
Government
of India confers four different civilian awards. Here is an explainer on what
they are, who are they given to and award trends so far.
Civilian awards are conferred by the Government of India to honour and recognise thecontributions of Indian citizens in various fields. The highest civilian awardin India is the Bharat Ratna. This is followed by Padma Vibhushan, PadmaBhushan and Padma Shri in the same order. These awards are announced on the eveof Republic Day every year. No distinction is made on grounds of religion,race, gender or sex. The awards are conferred by the President of India inceremonial functions held at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award conferred
in India
Bharat
Ratna was constituted in 1954. This awardis conferred to individuals as a ’recognition of their exceptional service/
performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.’ This isthe highest civilian award that is conferred by the Government. Earlier, thosewho contributed towards advancement of science, art and literature, and publicservice were given prominence. However, this was later extended to any field ofhuman endeavour.
A maximum of only three Bharat Ratnas can be conferred
annually
For Bharat Ratna,recommendations are made by the Prime Minister to the President. There is noformal recommendation for this award. The recipients of the award receive acertificate signed by the President of India, called ‘Sanad’ along with amedal. No monetary grant is awarded. The maximum number of Bharat Ratna awardsthat can be conferred in a year is three.
Of the total 48 Bharat Ratnas conferred till date,
only five recipients were female
A total of 48awards have been conferred till 2019. In 1954, Nobel Laureate Sir C V Raman,India’s first Vice President Dr S Radhakrishnan, and founder of SwatantrataParty C Rajagopalachari were conferred with Bharat Ratna. They were the first recipients of the award. Former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was the firstfemale recipient of this honour. She was conferred with the award in 1971. Tilldate, only five women have received this award. Mother Teresa, Lata Mangeshkar,M S Subbalakshmi and Aruna Asaf Ali are the other female recipients.
Nobel Peace Prizewinner, Nelson Mandela, often referred to as the ‘Gandhi of South Africa’, KhanAbdul Gaffar Khan of Pakistan, who is widely known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’, andMother Teresa are the only three Non- Indian citizen recipients. However,Mother Teresa became a naturalised citizen. Though Amartya Sen & PanditRavi Shankar are of Indian origin, they were given the award as being Citizenof UK & USA respectively.
In 2019, formerPresident, Pranab Mukherjee, Bhupen Hazarika and Nanaji Dheshmukh wereconferred with the award.
Bharat Ratna awardees are extended certain benefits
and facilities
As per the HomeMinistry’s table
of precedence, the recipients ofBharat Ratna are at 7A. This means that the recipients of Bharat Ratna areabove state chief ministers and governors in protocols for official functionsoutside their respective state. They are also issued a diplomatic passport.
Factly’s earlierstory on benefits extended to Bharat Ratna recipients is available here.
Padma awards were renamed in 1955
Until 1955, BharatRatna and Padma
Vibhushan were the two civilian awardsinstituted by the Indian government. Padma Vibhushan had three categories-Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. However, since 1955, these awards wererenamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shri. These awards have been announcedsince then every year except during 1978, 1979 and 1993 to 1997.
Government servants except doctors and scientists are
not eligible for Padma awards
Padma Vibhushan isawarded for ‘exceptional and distinguished service’ while Padma
Bhushan is awarded for ‘distinguishedservice of a high order’. Padma Shri is awarded for ‘distinguished service’. Theawards will be conferred to those who have distinguished themselves in theirrespective fields such as Art, Literature, Education, Social Work, Science,Public Affairs, Medicine, Engineering and any other field. There must be anelement of public service in the achievements of the person who is beingnominated for these awards. Government servants including those working inPublic Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are not eligible for the awards except fordoctors and scientists.
Padma awards committee received almost 50,000
recommendations in 2019
The Ministry ofHome Affairs invites recommendations online every year between 01 May and 15 September. Thousands of recommendationsare received from various sources such as ministries, institutes, ministers,MPs as well as private individuals. These are placed before the Padma
Awards Committee.  A total of 49,992 recommendations were received by the committee in 2019.
Prime Minister constitutes the Padma awards committee
Padma AwardsCommittee for 2019 was headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes HomeSecretary, Secretary to the President and four to six other eminentpersonalities. The committee then makes recommendations on the basis of lifetime achievements of the nominees. There is no rigid criterion for selection.However, the committee is supposed to look for public service achievements ofthe nominees and not just their excellence in the field.
On selection ofcandidates, investigating bodies of the government verify the candidates inorder to check whether their character and past actions are honest andlegitimate. Finally, the list is sent to the Prime Minister and President forapproval. The names of awardees are published in the Gazette of India.
Only a maximum of 120 Padma awards can be conferred
each year
The Padma Awardeesare given a certificate and a medal (and a replica). They are not given anygrant and do not get the benefits like Bharat Ratna awardees. A maximum of only120 awards can be conferred each year excluding those conferred posthumouslyand those awarded to foreigners.
112 Padma awards were given in 2019 of which 21 were
for women
A total of 112 awards including 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri awards were approved by the President in 2019. Only 21 of them (19%) were female and 1 was transgender. Around 11 awardees were Foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and OCIs. As of 2019, 24% of all Padma awards conferred to sportspersons were conferred to cricketers.
Three awards weregiven posthumously. Usually, the awards are not conferred posthumously. Only insome highly deserving cases, if the demise is recent, the government confersthe award.
To confer a higherPadma Award, a minimum period of five years should have been completed sincethe receipt of the previous award. Relaxations are made in exceptional cases.
Factly had earlier
analysed the Padma awards data to concludethat more Padma Shri awards are conferred during election years to the Lok Sabha.

created: December 6, 2019


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Explainer: All about the RBI’s ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ Scheme
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 29, 2021
Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 was launched on 12 November 2021. In this article, we look at the significance of changes brought about by this integrated scheme.
Strong impetus for integrated existing Ombudsman Schemes
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 (RB-IOS) aims to resolve customer grievances in relation to services provided by all entities regulated by the RBI in an expeditious and cost-effective manner. The Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 integrates the existing three Ombudsman schemes of RBI namely,
These three Ombudsman schemes covered Banking, NBFCs, and Digital Transactions separately. In addition to integrating the three existing schemes, the Scheme also includes under its ambit Non-Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks with a deposit size of ₹ 50 crore and above. The Scheme adopts the ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach by making the RBI Ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral.
The three abovementioned ombudsman schemes evolved over different periods of time and contained different grounds of complaints and different compensation structures. This led to uneven redress across customers of different financial entities, resulting in unequal treatment of aggrieved customers. Therefore, there was a strong impetus for integrating the existing ombudsman schemes into one and centralising the receipt and initial processing of complaints to impart process efficiency.
In fact, the present Integrated Scheme was prepared on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee (Internal Working Group) set up by RBI to review the existing Ombudsman Schemes. One of the most prominent recommendations made by the Committee was the convergence of the existing Ombudsman Schemes.
One portal, one email, one address
The ‘One-Nation Ombudsman’ is based on one portal, one email, and one address for the customers to lodge their complaints. The complaints under the Scheme made online shall be registered on the portal (https://cms.rbi.org.in). Complaints in electronic mode (e-mail: CRPC@rbi.org.in) and physical form, including postal and hand-delivered complaints, shall be addressed and sent to the place where the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre of the Reserve Bank is established, for scrutiny and initial processing. A Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre has been set up at RBI, Chandigarh for receipt and initial processing of physical and email complaints in any language (Reserve Bank of India, 4th Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh – 160017 in this format).
Additionally, a Contact Centre with a toll-free number – 14448 (9:30 am to 5:15 pm) – is also being operationalised in Hindi, English and in eight regional languages (Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu) to begin with and will be expanded to cover other Indian languages in due course. The Contact Centre will provide information/clarifications regarding the alternate grievance redress mechanism of RBI and guide complainants in the filing of a complaint.
Single point of reference for all complaints against any Regulated Entity (RE)
According to RBI, it will no longer be necessary for the complainant to identify under which scheme he/she is filing the complaint with the ombudsman.
Previously, the customers were required to file complaints under the correct scheme, depending on the Regulated Entity (RE). The complaints had to be filed with the correct ombudsman office, based on the territorial jurisdiction with reference to the branch of the RE being complained against, failing which the complaint would get rejected.
For instance, the non-maintainable complaints formed a sizeable portion of the complaints received during 2019-20. It was observed that complaints were disposed of as non-maintainable largely due to the following reasons.
The current Integrated Scheme addresses this concern by integrating all REs into one scheme with a single point of reference for all complaints.
Deficiency in service included as a ground for complaints
The Integrated Scheme defines ‘deficiency in service’ as the ground for filing a complaint, with a specified list of exclusions. Therefore, the complaints would no longer be rejected simply on account of “not covered under the grounds listed in the scheme”.
Previously, one of the primary concerns was the lack of maintainable grounds on which the consumer could challenge the actions of a regulated entity at the ombudsman or rejection of the complaint on technical grounds.
The Committee (Internal Working Group) set up by RBI to review the existing Ombudsman Schemes is also recommended to increase transparency and consumer awareness.
To achieve that, it suggested to broad-base the grounds of complaints and incorporate only a detailed ‘negative’ or ‘exclusions’ list for rejection of a complaint. The current Integrated Scheme addresses this by including a wider definition of deficiency of services.
Reduction in TAT and cost-free redressal
The time taken in resolving the complaint was also an area of concern. The Committee recommended a reduction in the turnaround time (TAT) for complaint resolution to 30 days in a phased manner over a period of two years.
The current ‘Integrated Ombudsman Scheme’ will provide cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied within a period of 30 days by the regulated entity.
In other words, the customers can escalate complaints to the Ombudsman if the financial institution fails to address the complaint within 30 days. Even when customers are not satisfied with the resolution offered or explanation given by the financial institution, they can approach the ombudsman.
No limit on the disputes brought before the Unified Ombudsman
There is no limit on the amount in a dispute that can be brought before the Ombudsman for which the Ombudsman can pass an Award.
However, for any consequential loss suffered by the complainant, the Ombudsman shall have the power to provide a compensation up to ₹ 20 lakh, in addition to, up to ₹ One lakh for the loss of the complainant’s time, expenses incurred and for harassment/mental anguish suffered by the complainant.
The Scheme document also specifies that the RBI may, if it considers necessary in the public interest to do so, publish the report and the information received from the Ombudsman in consolidated form or otherwise.
A regulated entity has no right to appeal when an Award is issued by Ombudsman
Another key feature of the scheme is that the Regulated Entity will not have the right to appeal in cases where an Award is issued by the ombudsman against it for not furnishing satisfactory and timely information/documents.
The current Integrated Scheme prescribes a 15-days’ timeline for the REs to furnish information/documents to the office of the Ombudsman. By non-furnishing timely and satisfactory replies/documents, REs will lose the right to appeal in cases where an award is issued by the ombudsman against them.
Additionally, the responsibility of representing the regulated entity and furnishing information in respect of complaints filed by customers would be that of the ‘Principal Nodal Officer’ in the rank of a ‘General Manager’ in a Public Sector Bank or equivalent.
The RBI has published a list of entities covered under the new integrated scheme on the CMS portal. In addition, it has also published a list of entities not covered under the new scheme.
With the growing prominence of digital payments, the current ‘Integrated Ombudsman Scheme’ may come to the rescue of customers more efficiently. A grievance redressal mechanism that promotes financial consumer protection will boost customer confidence in the country.
Further Information: Complaints of the customers of entities not yet covered under the RB-IOS (Urban Co-operative Banks with deposits of less than ₹ 50 crores, NBFCs with assets of less than ₹ 100 crores, Housing Finance Companies, Core Investment Companies etc.) are handled by the Customer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs). The process of filing complaints with CEPCs is the same as under RB-IOS.
Featured Image:  One Nation One Ombudsman

created: November 29, 2021


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Explainer: All about the ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension’ Scheme
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 15, 2020
Every year on 15 August, the country remembers the great sacrifices of the freedom fighters. As a token of respect for their contribution, the central government had launched a pension scheme ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY)’ in 1980. Here is all about the scheme.
After decades of struggle, India was declared independent from the British on 15 August 1947. The struggle for freedom was long and was a result of sacrifices of many freedom fighters. Every year on 15 August, the Independence Day is religiously celebrated across the country, which however has been scaled down this year because of the pandemic. As the country remembers and pays tribute to the great sacrifices of freedom fighters on the occasion of 74 Independence Day, this story looks at the schemes and facilities provided by the Indian Government to the freedom fighters and their families.
Source: knowindia.gov.in
Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme was launched in 1972
A central scheme was introduced in 1972 during the silver jubilee year of independence which grants pension to freedom fighters and their eligible dependents if the freedom fighter had already expired. Later in 1980, it was liberalized and renamed as Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, and made effective from August the same year. In 2017, when the 12 Five Year Plan ended, the NDA government approved the continuation of the scheme after renaming it as Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) up to 2020. The monthly pension is considered a token of respect for the contribution of freedom fighters in the national freedom struggle. Various State wise pension schemes also exist for freedom fighter pensions.
Forty movements/mutinies have been recognized for award of pension
A list of forty movements/mutinies have been recognized for award of pension under the scheme- Kuka Namdhari Movement of 1871, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919, Quit India movement of 1942, to name a few. The latest to be added to this list are Hyderabad Liberation Movement and Goa Liberation Movement. The following persons are eligible for the Samman Pension Scheme-
Other than pension, host of other facilities are extended to these beneficiaries
In addition to the pension, the freedom fighters & their eligible dependents are also provided with some other facilities by the Government of India namely,
The Pension amount is reviewed periodically
The amount of pension is reviewed periodically. Currently, the amount of pension payable is given in the table below.
In addition to the pension amount, facility of free travel by air for Ex- Andaman freedom fighters or their widows to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, once a year, along with companion is extended.
Periodically, the rate of pension is reviewed. When the scheme was launched in 1972, the pension amount was ₹ 200 per month. The pension amount is not taxable.
Over 1.71 lakh beneficiaries have benefitted from the scheme so far
As on 31 March 2019, over 1.71 lakh freedom fighters and their eligible dependents have been sanctioned pension under this scheme. In the 15-year period from 2004-05 to 2018-19, around 2300 new beneficiaries have been approved pension under the scheme. The total number of beneficiaries since the introduction of the scheme went up from 1,69,331 in 2004-05 to 1,71,631 in 2018-19.
However, this does not mean that all 1.71 lakh beneficiaries are currently drawing pension. Many of them may have expired or their dependents are no longer eligible under the prescribed criteria. As of 31 March 2017, only about 37,356 persons were drawing pension under the scheme including freedom fighters and their dependents. This number reduced to 30,798 by November 2018. The current number could be much lesser.
On the other hand, as of January 2018, a total of 12,657 freedom fighters were availing the pension and as on 12 July 2019, the number of freedom fighters currently drawing pension has gone down to 9,689.
Government of India spent close to ₹ 11000 crores on the pension scheme in the last 16 years
The total expenditure of the Central Government under the SSSY scheme between 2004-05 and 2016-17 is ₹ 8670 crores. It was estimated that the expenditure would be ₹ 750 crores in 2017-18, ₹ 825 crores in 2018-19, and ₹ 907 crores in 2019-20. Together, the expenditure would come to around ₹ 11,000 crores in in the 16 years between 2004-05 and 2019-20.
Apart from the pension scheme, the government had also incurred expenditure on free railway passes of ₹ 261 crores in the period between 2004-05 and 2016-17. Further, the government also spent ₹ 2.1 crore on the freedom fighter home in Delhi during the same period. There was zero actual expenditure on free railway passes in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Bihar and Jharkhand have the greatest number of beneficiaries
State-wise data of the number of beneficiaries (as of March 2019) indicates that the erstwhile Bihar which includes the present-day Jharkhand also had the highest number of beneficiaries with close to 25,000 followed by West Bengal with over 22,500 beneficiaries. Together with these states, the present-day Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana account for more than 57% of the beneficiaries reported until March 2019. There are over 22,468 beneficiaries under Indian National Army.
The pension is liable to cancellation if false information is provided
To avail the scheme, the applicant must submit proof of claim of suffering along with an application form and other required documents to the Chief Secretary of the concerned state government or UT administration and Deputy Secretary of Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The application is then verified. To rule out the possibility of fake claims by family members, an affidavit along with joint photograph of spouse as well as unmarried daughters should be furnished before issuing the formal pension.
The sanctioned pension will be cancelled or modified without prior notice if it was sanctioned on false ground/ information. It will also be cancelled if the recipient is found indulging in anti-social activities over a long period for which he/she has been convicted more than once.


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Explainer: All about the US Presidential Election
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 19, 2020
The US Presidential election is due for later this year. With improved ties between India & the US, the interest in the 2020 US elections is more than ever. But how does the election for the US President take place? Here is a detailed explainer.
Everyleap year not only marks the global sporting spectacle of Summer Olympics butalso is the year of United States of America’s (USA) Presidential Elections. ThePresident of USA serves for a 4-year term and barring the first election in1789,  the US presidential electionscoincided with the leap year.
Theglobal standing of United States and the soft power it holds makes USpresidential election a keenly watched event with considerable internationalimpact. In the last two decades, the relations between India & USA haveimproved and many Indian expats are in influential positions in the USA. Allthese developments have ensured that the 2020 US Presidential election will bea keenly watched one in India.
Whilethe actual election is scheduled for 03 November 2020, there is a frenetic pre-electionactivity that is already being witnessed in the early months of this year,especially with the Democratic Primaries. The entire idea of an extensive pre-electionactivity across the country to seek party’s nomination as the Presidentialcandidate does look alien from an Indian context.
So,what are the primaries? How does USA elect its president? Does it have anysimilarity with the election process in India?  We explore these and related aspects regardingUS Presidential elections in this explainer.
Only
a natural born US citizen can become President of USA
Onehas to be a natural born US Citizen to be able to become the president of USA.A natural born citizen refers to anyone who is a Citizen of USA at the time ofbirth.
Two
phases in the US Presidential Election cycle
The presidential
election process in United States takes place in two phases.The first phase of voting is to determine the party’s nominee for president.This happens through caucuses and primaries that take place across thedifferent states. The second phase is the general election, which takes placeon a designated day (03 November for this year’s election) across the country.
Primaries
and Caucuses determine the nominee of various parties
Thepolitical landscape of United States is dominated by two political parties, the Democratic
Party and the Republican Party.  During the initial phase of the electoralprocess, both the parties go through Primaries and Caucuses to elect their nomineewho would be contesting on the party ticket for the post of President of UnitedStates (POTUS).
Thepresident is restricted to two terms in office as per the 22nd amendment of US Constitution.
Inmost cases, the current President who is serving his/her first term is theparty’s nominee to run for the president.  In such a case, the primaries of that party arenot a much-contested event.
Caucuses
& Primaries
Caucus& Primary are two ways by which different states elect the nominee for thepresidential contest. Caucuses are organized by political parties. These are held atcounty, district and precinct levels where the participants divide themselvesinto groups according to the candidate they support. Each of the group givespeeches, discuss and try to influence others in respect to the support oftheir candidates.
Onthe other hand, in a primary election, individual voters are required to go torespective polling booth and cast their vote. The voting is done through asecret ballot. The way these primaries are conducted are subject to respectivestate laws and vary from state to state. Broadly there are two types ofprimaries, closed & open. Some states follow a semi-open system as well. Inthe closed ones, only the voters registered with a particular party can vote inthe primary. This deters voting by members of other party or individualunaffiliated voters. In the open primary, all the registered voters as well asunaffiliated have an option to choose the primary of any party to vote.
Thefollowing table shows which of the states follow the Caucus and which onesfollow the primary model. There could be minor changes to these depending onthe party.
The
conduct of Primary elections varies from state to state
Winningthe primary elections is a key step for any candidate to gain the nominationfor presidential election. These primaries are organized by respective statesand local authorities.
Eligible candidates can nominate themselves to contest in the primary elections.
The primaries are conducted on
different dates with traditionally New Hampshire being the first state to conductprimaries. Based on the votes polled by each of thecandidates,  delegates are awarded to thecandidates. The rules for awarding the delegates differ for Democratic andRepublican parties and from state to state. Democrats usually use aproportional method while it is more varied among the states in case ofRepublican primaries.
In thecase of a caucus, the votes at the end of the caucus determine the number ofdelegates won by the candidates. The election season generally kicks off withIowa Caucus.
Number ofdelegates won by members in both the primaries & caucuses are known aspledged delegates, which means they have to vote for the candidate that won, atthe national convention.
Primaries for State
Elections
Inaddition to the presidential election primaries, the state level elections inthe USA also follow a primary system. There are 6 different
types of primaries opted by each of the states withLouisiana and Nebraska having their own way of conducting primaries as far asstate level elections are concerned.
Who are Super Delegates?
Apartfrom the pledged delegates that are awarded to the contesting candidates ofboth the parties through primaries and caucuses, each of the parties also have somethingknown as ‘Super Delegates’. These super delegates are higher rankingofficials of the respective parties and are generally unpledged to any of thecandidates prior to National Convention. They have the option to vote duringthe National Convention to determine the Presidential Nominee
Thecriteria vary between Republican & Democratic Party.
The National
Convention to choose the nominees
TheDemocratic National Convention  (DNC) isan event in which delegates of the Democratic Party choose the party’s nomineesfor president and vice president. For any candidate to win the democratic partynomination, they will need 1,991 of the 3,979 pledged delegates at the DNC. Ifnone of the candidates wins the required number of pledged delegates, then thesuper delegates come into picture. More about how this works can be read here.
For 2020,Democratic Party has banned the voting of Super Delegates at the first round ofthe national convention. In other words, they come into picture only when acandidate does not have the required number of pledged delegates. This change ismade in view of the criticism that voting of Super Delegates favours thetraditional candidate.
On theother hand, any Republican party candidate needs 1276 of the 2550 pledgeddelegates to win the nomination.
The National
Convention is organized by each of Democratic and Republican party tofinalize on the Presidential Nomination of their party. As per the generalrules,  the clear-cut winner of theprimaries who could have received the highest number of delegates from theprimaries wins the nomination. Hence the National Convention becomes a platformto officially ratify the presidential candidate of the respective party.
If thereare multiple rounds of voting was required during national convention todetermine the presidential candidate, such a National Convention is called as “Contested
Convention”.  Once a candidatereceives the presidential nomination from the Party, he/she can choose theirVice-Presidential nominee, colloquially referred to as Running Mate.
President
gets elected through the Electoral College
Unlikethe other elections in the United States, the President does not get electeddirectly through the popular vote. An Electoral College determines thewinner in the presidential race.
TheElectoral College is considered to be a compromise between the propositionof  electing through popular vote andelection by Congress.
Article
II of the constitution refers to ‘Electors’, although there is no mentionof Electoral College in US Constitution. This is further supported by 12th Amendment.
TheElectoral College consists of 538 members. The number of votes
allocated (electoral college members) to each state is proportional to thepopulation of the respective state. A candidate should receive minimum 270Electoral college votes to be the winner. The number of electoral collegemembers from each state is in the map below.
What is
the Election Process?
(Reference: How to Become President of United States –Infographic)
The one
who wins the Popular vote may not always be the winner
One ofthe drawbacks in the electoral college system is that it is possible for acandidate to win the popular vote across the country but still lose thepresidential election because of the electoral college system.
Forinstance, in the 2016
presidential elections, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote acrossthe country with 48.18% votes while Donald Trump polled 46.09%.
Thoughthe difference in popular vote was more than 2%, Donald Trump won convincinglythrough the electoral college system by winning 304 electoral college votescompared to 227 for Hillary Clinton.
Similarly in the year 2000, Democratic candidate Al Gore won the popular vote while Republican George W.Bush won the Electoral College.


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Explainer: All that you need to know about ‘Vaccine Wastage’
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 14, 2021
The Union Government has multiple times referred to ‘Vaccine Wastage’. But what exactly is ‘Vaccine Wastage’? How does it occur? Is there a way to prevent it? How is Wastage factored in for supply estimates? This explainer has all the answers.
One of the key measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken the world is vaccination. Vaccination is not only known to help reduce the severity of the disease but also prevent transmission. However, the shortage of vaccines is a problem that many countries are grappling with because of the sheer volume of the vaccines required to protect the entire population. Though production capacities are being maximized in order to ensure an adequate supply of COVID-19 vaccines, the task is herculean since billions of people have to be vaccinated in the shortest possible time as COVID-19 has already claimed about 3.8 million lives globally as of 09 June 2021.
Along with supply-side issues, ‘Vaccine Wastage’ is another problem that countries have to deal with since such wastage has to be factored in forecasting needs. Though some wastage is inevitable in any vaccination program, that too in such a large-scale vaccination effort like COVID-19, reducing the wastage holds the key.
The Indian Health Ministry made wastage of vaccine, one of the criteria for allocation of vaccines to states. Time and again, health officials  and even the Prime Minister have called for avoiding the wastage of vaccine doses. But what exactly is vaccine wastage? How does it occur and how can wastage be minimized? We look at all such issues in this explainer.
Some Vaccine wastage is inevitable
Vaccine wastage is the sum of vaccines discarded, lost, damaged, or destroyed. It takes place through loss by use, decay, erosion, or leakage or wastefulness. It is an expected component of large vaccination drives as it cannot be avoided. However, if the wastage is high, it will have repercussions on the costs as a significant portion of immunization program costs is that of vaccines. High wastage results in excessive demand and this pose a challenge when production is limited as the demand cannot be met easily as is happening in the case of COVID-19. People will have to wait longer, and the government will have to spend more on vaccine procurement and supply chain in case of increased wastage.
Vaccine estimation is based on ‘Vaccine Wastage Rate’
During procurement of vaccines from the manufacturer, an estimated wastage is also considered as vaccine coverage should not get jeopardized. It is important to calculate the wastage rate as it helps in reducing stock-outs and over-stock. Further, estimations also aid in choosing appropriate vaccine presentation & immunization session size and preparing a supply chain infrastructure accordingly. Globally, the vaccine wastage rate is used for estimating the number of vaccine doses to be procured.
Vaccine wastage is directly related to vaccine usage. Vaccine usage is calculated as the proportion of vaccine issued which is administered. The vaccine wastage rate is defined as ‘100 minus the vaccine usage rate’ as per the WHO definition.
Vaccine Wastage Factor indicates how much additional vaccine should be ordered
The wastage rate is used to determine the ‘wastage factor’ which is necessary to accurately plan vaccine needs. The vaccine wastage factor indicates how much additional vaccine should be ordered in order to allow for the given wastage rate and is calculated as 100 divided by the vaccine usage rate.
The ‘Vaccine Wastage Factor’ gives the authorities a fair idea of the additional doses to be ordered in order to cover the target population.
10% programmatic wastage of COVID-19 vaccine is taken in India
According to the Health Ministry’s guidelines on COVID-19 vaccination in India, the vaccine requirement will depend on the phase of vaccination and will also be impacted on the type of vaccine used in each phase for the next dose, considering the non-interchangeability of multiple vaccine types. India’s monthly COVID-19 vaccine requirement is estimated as-
COVID-19 Vaccine required for 1 month = [(Total population to be covered in the relevant catchment area (state/ district/ block/ sector) x % of the population to be covered in this catchment area/no. of months of the campaign) x 2 doses x Wastage Multiplication Factor (WMF).
A Wastage Multiplication Factor (WMF) of 1.11 has been taken, assuming an allowable programmatic wastage of 10%. That is,
WMF = Wastage Multiplication Factor = 1.11 for COVID-19 Vaccine;
WMF = 100/(100 – Wastage) = 100/(100-10) = 100/90 = 1.11.
The Union Government is estimating the vaccines required considering at least 10 percent of programmatic wastage. This implies that if 100 vials are needed, the stock demand will be 110 vials under the assumption that 10 vials may get wasted. The wastage rate assumed for vaccines against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT), Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis-B, and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine is also 10%, while that for BCG vaccine is 50%.
Vaccine wastage can occur in opened and unopened vials
A broad categorization of vaccine wastage based on occurrence is wastage in ‘opened’ vials and in ‘unopened’ vials. For instance, expiry of vaccine, exposure to heat, breakage, freezing, missing inventory, and theft are wastage that can take place in ‘unopened’ vials and mainly occurs at different levels- in all storage facilities, during delivery/transportation, and at the service level. Wastage in ‘opened’ vials may happen when the remaining doses in the opened vial are discarded at the end of a session, or if the number of doses drawn from the vial is lesser than what can be drawn, or if the reconstitution practices are poor, or based on the individual’s reaction to the vaccine & if more doses are required to vaccinate the individual.
Doses remaining after a certain time of opening the Vial should be discarded
With respect to COVID-19 vaccination, for instance, a vial of Covishield vaccine has to be used within a fixed time period, that is, four hours as per MoHFW’s guidelines (about 6 hours when kept between 2ºC and 8ºC, according to WHO). Each vial has 10 doses of vaccine and so, if 10 people are not available to take the vaccine in the stipulated time period, the leftover doses get wasted. This is a major problem in areas where the vaccine hesitancy is high as all opened multidose vials should be discarded at the end of the immunization session or within six hours whichever comes first, according to MoHFW.
Proper planning, training of healthcare staff, and improved logistics are the need of the hour
Inadequate planning, lack of experience or adequate training for vaccinating staff, poor cold storage and transportation facilities, and population turnout at vaccine facilities are some of the major factors that contribute to vaccine wastage. These are preventable and hence taking the necessary measures to address these problems will help reduce vaccine wastage. Proper planning like usage of vials with earlier expiry date first, and mobilization of people for the vaccination drives at the local level, the opening of vials when the adequate number of beneficiaries are present, giving requisite training to the healthcare workers on drawing and injecting of vaccines, maintenance of cold chain systems and careful transportation, and reducing vaccine hesitancy through addressing concerns of people & misinformation, are some measures which can be taken to address wastage.
Vaccine Vials contain extra doses
In multi-dose vials, there can be a difference between the number of doses indicated on the vaccine label and the actual number of doses that can be withdrawn. This filling of extra dose of vaccine in each vial is done to facilitate administration of the correct number of doses. Judiciously withdrawing accurate vaccine doses from the vial after having withdrawn the indicated number of doses can help administer more doses. This is because overfill for a 10-dose vial can range from 16% to 24% (or 0.58 to 0.62mL fill-volume for a 0.5mL dose) which makes it possible to withdraw 11 or 12 doses of 0.5 mL from a 10-dose vial when a low dead space syringe (space between syringe hub and the needle is limited) is used. However, it is recommended that if an entire accurate dose cannot be withdrawn from a vial, residuals from different vials should not be combined. Furthermore, pre-loading of syringes is not recommended. An accurate vaccine dose must be drawn and administered immediately only when one is ready to vaccinate.
Kerala reported negative wastage by drawing the extra doses
For instance, healthcare workers in Seoul’s National Medical Center of South Korea have inoculated 629 people with 90 vials of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as compared to 540 people possible by extracting the extra dose from each vial.
Similarly, in India, the state of Kerala had administered 7.42 million doses though the government had received only 7.34 million doses of vaccine, according to the Chief Minister’s tweet on 04 May 2021, because of extracting the extra dose from the vials.
Kerala has received 73,38,806 doses of vaccine from GoI. We've provided 74,26,164 doses, even making use of the extra dose available as wastage factor in each vial. Our health workers, especially nurses have been super efficient and deserve our wholehearted appreciation!
Reducing wastage and in fact extracting extra doses from a vial is critical in countries like India where a huge population has to be inoculated and in times when the supply is limited.
Featured Image: Vaccine Wastage


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Explainer: All you need to know about the ‘D-Voter’
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 10, 2020
D-Voter or a Doubtful voter is a term that was often discussed in the context of the NPR & NRC exercise. But who is a D-Voter and what does this mean? Here is a detailed explainer.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world,the government of India postponed the first phase of Census 2021 and NPR updation until further orders. The first phase of Census wasoriginally scheduled to take place between April and September, this year.
The NPR exercise has been opposed as it is considered as being a preludeto the preparation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) throughout the country. The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 combined with NPR and NRC has been criticizedby many as an attempt by the BJP led government to exclude Muslims from NRC, asa result of which protests erupted in different parts of the country opposingCAA, NRC, and NPR.
The debate around NPR continued to take place in the parliament duringthe budget session that commenced on 31 January 2020 and continued till23 March 2020. The second session was curtailed because of COVID-19.
Home Minister stated in Rajya Sabha that no documents
need to be furnished for NPR
During a heated debate on NPR exercise in the Rajya Sabha on 12 March 2020, the HomeMinister, Amit Shah stated that no documents will be required for NPR. Further,he also stated that no one will be declared a ‘D-Voter’ even if they fail toproduce papers. One can give whatever information they have and leave the otherquestions blank. But, what does D- Voter mean? Who falls under this category?These questions and more, are discussed in this story.
Who is a D- Voter?
D- voter is the acronym used for ‘doubtful voter’. Those persons whosecitizenship was doubtful or was under dispute were categorized as ‘D- Voters’during the preparation of National Register of Citizens in Assam.
However, ‘doubtful voter’ or ‘doubtful citizenship’ have not beendefined in the Citizenship Act, 1955 or the Citizenship Rules of 2003. The Citizenship Rules, 2003 was framed under theprovisions of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003. The rules framed in 2003 listout the steps to be followed for the preparation of National PopulationRegister (NPR) and the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). Under subsection 4 of section 4 that deals with the preparation of NRIC, it has beenonly mentioned that details of individuals whose citizenship is doubtful willbe entered by Local Registrar with ‘appropriate remark in the populationregister for further enquiry’.
Once a family or an individual is marked as doubtful citizen(D-Category), they are then informed in a specified pro forma as soon as theverification process comes to an end. They are also given a chance to be heardby Sub- district or Taluk Registrar of Citizen Registration before arriving ata final decision on whether their name will be included in the register. TheRegistrar has time of 90 days to finalize his findings and justify it.
Cases are referred to foreign tribunals for confirmation
The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) considers the verification report. If the Registration Officer feels that the person isnot an Indian citizen, then the case is referred to Superintendent of Policewho refers it to the Foreigners Tribunal for its opinion. The Foreigner tribunals are setup underthe Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964. Based on the tribunal’s decision, the Officer mustadd or delete the names of doubtful citizens.
However, there is no mention on what grounds an individual will beconsidered a doubtful citizen. It can also be seen that the entireresponsibility to carry out the task is that of local officers. Possibility ofmisuse of power by these officers cannot be ruled out. Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies which give their opinion onwhether a person is a foreign individual as per the provisions of Foreigners Act, 1946 and Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983. The IMDT Act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005 as the act and its rules were  violation of Article 355 of the Constitution which bestows the Union toprotect states against external aggression and internal disturbances. The actwas also considered the biggest hurdle for identifying and deporting illegal migrants inAssam by the apex court.
What happened in Assam?
Classifying individuals as doubtful voters took place in Assam duringthe revision of electoral rolls in 1997 by the Election Commission of India. Asmany as 3.13 Lakh persons were marked doubtful in the draft voters list. Later,in the electoral rolls, they were marked as doubtful voters even after localverification. As of October 2019, as per a Lok Sabha answer, there were around 1.13 Lakh people marked asD-Voters in Assam, of which more than 70,000 were females. Currently, there are100 Foreigners Tribunals in Assam that deal with cases under Foreigners Actand that of D- voters. These Foreigners Tribunals are comprised of judges andadvocates.
A total of 4.68 lakh cases were referred to Foreigners Tribunals in Assam was as of October 2019. More than 1.14 Lakhpersons were declared as Indian citizens by these tribunals. A further 1.29Lakh individuals were declared foreigners by the tribunals. No child wasdeclared a foreigner. A total of 4 Bangladesh nationals and 2 Afghan nationalswere deported as of December 2019.
What happens if one is categorized as a doubtful
voter?
Doubtful voters are not eligible to cast their vote in elections astheir Indian citizenship is not confirmed. They are also barred from contestingelections in the country. The marking as doubtful voter is a temporary measureand cannot be prolonged. A decision in a definite period of time must be taken.If the person is found to be an illegal migrant or a foreigner, they are sentto detention camps and deported depending on the documents presented. Thereare six detention centres in Assam with a capacity to hold more than 3300 persons.
D- Voters also havethe option to apply and get their names included in NRC. They will be includedonly after they get clearance from the Foreigners Tribunals and their names areremoved from electoral rolls under the ‘D’ category.
States put on hold NPR exercise because of additional
controversial questions in the NPR form, as per reports
Reports suggest that states such as West Bengal and Kerala had put their NPR exercise on hold. This was because of the addition of controversial questions in the NPR form. Some questions included as per reports are place of last residence, mother tongue, Aadhar number, date and place of birth of father and mother, mobile number, Indian passport, and Voter’s ID. NPR updation exercise was planned to be conducted along with the exercise for the 2021 Census.
Featured Image: D-Voter


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Explainer: All you need to know about the new ‘Bharat’ or BH Series for Vehicle registration
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 7, 2021
The Government of India recently issued a notification for the new ‘Bharat’ or BH series for vehicle registration which is meant to reduce the difficulties of people who frequently get transferred or move from one state to another. Here are all the details of the new series and issues to watch out for.
Recently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) introduced a new registration mark for vehicles – Bharat Series or the ‘BH’ registration series to ensure seamless transfer of personal vehicles across states. A vehicle registered in the BH series will not have to re-register when the vehicle shifts from one state to another. As per the current rules, if a person relocates to another state, they must re-register their vehicle within 12 months in the state if the vehicle is registered in another state. These new rules will be effective from 15 September 2021.
What is the new notification of MoRTH about?
Through a notification issued on 26 August 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 which shall come into effect from15 September 2021. The new rules will be called the Central Motor Vehicles (Twentieth Amendment) Rules, 2021. The amendment has been made to make the process of re-registration of vehicles when relocating to another state, a hassle-free process by introducing the Bharat series, or the BH series. With the BH series registration mark, one will not be required to re-register their vehicle upon relocation to another state. However, the change in the state must be informed to the registering authority within 30 days, if relocating. This facility will be particularly helpful for those individuals who are frequently transferred to other states or union territories within the country.
Who are eligible for the new BH registration?
The BH registration will be available on a voluntary basis for anyone who is an employee of Central Government or State Government, or Central or State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and Defence Personnel. In the case of the private sector, employees of those companies/organizations which have their offices in four or more States/Union territories are eligible to avail of the new registration mark. However, they will have to fill up ‘Form 60’ at the time of application for the registration. The ‘Form 60’ is a working certificate in which the company/organization declares that the applicant is working for them and that they have offices in at least 4 states/UTs. For government/PSU employees, valid employment ID/proof must be furnished. Apart from these, the sale certificate, insurance certificate, proof of address, and temporary registration must also be furnished at the time of registration.
What is the format for the BH series registration mark?
Upon verification of the ID Proof or Form 60, the registration mark will be generated randomly through a computer portal. The format for the BH series registration mark is YY BH #### XX where YY is the Year of first registration, BH is the Code for Bharat Series, #### is the four-digit number which will be randomly assigned by the computer portal ranging from 0000 to 9999, and XX are two letters of the English Alphabet which will follow the A, B, C…. sequence and then AA to ZZ sequence. It will be written on a black on white background, just like the number plate of private vehicles seen on road.
How much tax will be levied?
The Motor Vehicle Tax will be levied by the States/UTs at the time of registration and will be calculated electronically through a portal based on the invoice price of the non-transport vehicle excluding the GST. The Motor Vehicle Tax varies from 8% to 12% for petrol vehicles. The price slab and tax levied is given in the following table. For Diesel vehicles, a 2% extra charge will be levied. For Electric vehicles, 2% less tax will be charged.
How will the tax be collected?
The owners of vehicles registered under the BH system will be levied Motor Vehicle Tax electronically through a portal for two years or in multiples of two. After the fourteenth year from the date of first registration, the Motor Vehicle Tax will be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.
The formula for calculation of the Motor Vehicle Tax for two years is
How about for vehicles that do not have BH registration mark?
The above-discussed rules are applicable only for those vehicles which will bear the BH registration mark. For other vehicles, the rules have not been changed. Those who do not have the BH registration mark are permitted to keep the vehicle for a maximum period of 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered.
If they wish to keep the vehicle for a longer period, the vehicle has to be re-registered in the relocated state within the stipulated 12 months period for which a no-objection certificate must be obtained from the parent state. This is mandatory for the assignment of a new registration mark in the new state. The new state would then assign a new registration mark after the road tax is paid on a pro rata basis. Then, the owner must apply for a refund of the road tax in the parent state also on a pro rata basis. This is because, while registering a vehicle, the owner pays a road tax upfront for a period of 15 years in the state where was the vehicle was first purchased. So, when relocating within these 15 years, they will have to pay the tax for the remaining period in the new state and can collect the refund from the parent state for the leftover period. The refund process also varies from state to state.
What about the implementation?
This move is helpful to people who frequently get transferred or move to a new state by reducing the need for visits to the RTO office for re-registration. Further, it has also made the process online which also relieves people from dealing with excessive administrative procedures. It centralizes the system of re-registration of vehicles when relocating between states.
However, the implementation on the ground remains to be seen as the modalities of payment of motor vehicle tax every two years are not specified yet. Since the motor vehicle tax goes to the state governments, this could be a sticky issue if owners do not pay on time. Since the motor vehicle tax is an important revenue source for the states, how the state authorities force the owners to pay every two years remains to be seen. In the case of e-Challans issued for violating traffic rules, not everyone regularly pays the penalty amount. Police officers make people pay all the dues during inspections of vehicles plying on roads. One has to wait for the actual implementation to understand how this plays out.
Has the issue been raised before?
In 2014, a Bengaluru resident started an online campaign ‘Drive without borders: one nation – one road tax’ demanding uniform tax for all passenger vehicles pan India, abolishment of Lifetime tax and start taxing period as per the convenience of people, and establishment of a system which automatically transfers the remaining road tax between the states upon relocation. The campaign began following the Karnataka government’s move making it mandatory for vehicles from other states to pay the Lifetime tax levied by the Karnataka government if the vehicle has been plying continuously in Karnataka for more than 30 days.
Featured Image: BH Series for Vehicle registration

created: September 7, 2021


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Explainer: Are Medicine prices controlled in India?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 29, 2019
Are Medicine (Drug)  prices controlled in India? Is there any government scheme that provides medicines at subsidized cost to all the citizens? Here is a detailed explainer.
Every year in India, the increasing expenses on healthcare impoverish about 75 million families. This was stated by Mansukh L. Mandaviya, the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers while answering a questionin the Lok Sabha. With constant efforts being made across the globe to make healthcare universal and accessible for everyone, many policies are devised by governments and related agencies in order to ensure universal & affordable health care for all. One major step towards achieving this goal is to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on healthcare by the citizens. Increasing the number of Public Health Centres, improvement in the quality of services, introduction of health cards and insurance schemes and providing medicines at subsidised rates are some of the measures taken. In this article, we throw some light on whether medicine (drug) prices are controlled in India and the difference between generic and branded medicines. We also discuss the government scheme being implemented in India for providing generic medicines to citizens, and the statistics related to this.
How are branded and
generic medicines different?
Generic medicines are those medicines which are equally effective as thebranded ones and are equally safe. What makes them different is that genericmedicines are unbranded and are priced much lower than their brandedequivalent. This is because generic drug manufacturers need not opt forclinical trials, advertising and marketing of their drugs. Since, there may be morethan one company producing the same medicine, competition exists and hence theyare forced to sell at a lower price. This is the case in India. Variations interminology exist in different countries.
According to the National Health Portal of the Government of India, India’s supplies 20% of the global genericmedicines by volume. India is also becoming a leader in the generic drugs market worldwide. While this is the case in the global scenario, let’s take a look at whatis happening within the country.
How are the prices of
generic drugs fixed in India?
In our country, pricing of drugs is monitored and regulated by theNational Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), in the Ministry of Chemicals& Fertilizers. NPPA fixes the prices on the basis of Drugs (Price Control) Order of 2013 (DPCO) and the provisions mentioned in DPCO. The ceiling price of ‘scheduledformulations’ whether branded or generic, is fixed by NPPA (excluding tax). Medicinesshould not be charged above this limit. Drugs are continuously added to thelist of scheduled formulations. All such scheduled formulations and theirceiling price can be searched online on the NPPA website.
In the case of non-scheduled formulations (those that are not part of DPCOSchedule-1), there is no such ceiling price applicable. However, not more than10% increase in Maximum Retail Price per annum is permitted as per DPCO.
Under the PMBJP Scheme, generic medicines are made
available at 50-90% cheaper than the original price
The Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India, referred to asBPPI, launched a scheme, Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana(PMBJP) in order to ‘bring down the
healthcare budget of every household by providing quality generic medicines at affordable
prices.’ The generic medicinessold under this scheme are usually cheaper by 50% to 90% of the average priceof the top three brands of the corresponding medicine. Even though it wasinitially launched in 2008, the scheme started gaining momentum in 2015 and hasbeen implemented more effectively since then.
5028 Janaushadhi stores
are now open across the country
The first Janaushadhi
Kendra was opened in 2008 atAmritsar in Punjab. The original mission was to open at least one such kendrain every district of the country. As per the government’s assessment, thescheme really didn’t take off because of a limited portfolio of medicines coupled with chronic stock-outs. Anew strategic action plan was prepared and approved in 2015 to achieve theoriginal objectives.
During the first term (2014-19) of the BJP led NDA government, a total of 5028 Janaushadhi stores were opened in 5 years. In the financial year 2014-15, only 14stores were opened. In the following year, 154 stores were opened of which 108were opened in Chhattisgarh alone. In the subsequent years of 2016-17, 2017-18and 2018-19, 725 stores, 2264 stores and 1871 stores were opened respectively.
The maximum number of stores are in UttarPradesh (807), followed by Tamil Nadu with 498 stores. Gujarat and Karnatakaare next in the list with 475 stores each and Kerala with 450 stores is in thefifth place.  Sikkim, Meghalaya, Andamanand Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu and Goa have less than 10stores each. In Lakshadweep, the medicines are directly procured from BPPI andprovided to the people free of cost. Collaboration with the Indian Railways inopening stores in railway stations is also being considered by the Ministry.
The list & address of all the functional stores can be accessed online. The list of all theavailable generic medicines and their price can also be accessed online from the schemewebsite.
6.6 crore rupees was spent on the publicity of the scheme
in the last financial year
Publicity plays a pivotal role for the success of the scheme sincepeople have to be aware of the presence of such stores and the availablemedicines. Over the last five years, as per the data provided by theMinistry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the amount spent on the promotion of thescheme has increased manifold. The graph depicts the trend. Starting with ₹ 0.52 crores in2014-15, an amount of  ₹ 6.6 crorerupees has been spent on the publicity in 2018-19.
As per the latest available information, a total of 714 medicines and 53surgical items are available in these stores as of July 2019. An additional 24medicines and 90 items will be available soon. A total of 900 medicines and 154surgical and consumable items are part of the basket under the scheme asper the latest available data.
In January 2019, the government also presented estimates that approximately ₹ 1668 crores has been saved by citizens of the country since the inception of thescheme.
Lack of awareness among general public is still an issue
Latest government data indicates that the total turnover of all the stores in 2018-19 was only ₹ 315.7 crores, which is less than an average of  ₹ 10 lakh per store per year. This is because of huge lack of awareness amongst the general public. The lack of measures to monitor whether doctors prescribe such generic medicines is another criticism of the scheme.
Featured Image:Medicine prices controlled in India