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The Digitize India Platform (DIP) that used to provide part-time employment for digitising old documents was closed by the government in 2019 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 28, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming that the Government of India’s new Digitize India Platform (DIP) initiative is offering a part-time income of Rs. 5000 for digitizing the old government documents. This post claims that people with basic computer knowledge and holding Aadhaar card, bank account, internet access and a smart device can register in the program and earn part-time income by just working 2 to 3 hours for the government. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Government of India’s Digitize India Platform (DIP) is providing part-time income for digitizing old government documents.
Fact: The Government of India closed the Digitize India Platform (DIP) program on 30 March 2019, based on the Project Review Steering Group (PRSG) recommendations. Currently, the government is not running this DIP program for digitizing old government documents. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched to check whether the Government of India is running any such initiative providing part-time income for digitizing the government’s old documents, we found that the Government of India had launched the Digitize India Platform (DIP) in August 2015, under the Digital India campaign. The Digitize India Platform (DIP) is an initiative of the Government of India under the Digital India Programme to provide digitization services for scanned document images or physical documents for any organization. But the official website (archived) of the Digitize India Platform is not active now.
The main objective of this project is to provide an end-to-end workflow-based IT framework for the digitization of Government records to enhance service delivery to the citizen and to empower numerous self-identified volunteers, part-time workers, housewives, students and the general public. According to a report published by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, as on 30 November 2018, a total of 5.10 lakh contributors registered with DIP and reportedly over 1.06 crore documents and 3.19 crore snippets have been digitized.
But in the 2020-21 annual report published by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, the Government of India clearly stated that they closed the Digitize India Platform (DIP) on 31 March 2019, based on the recommendations of the Project Review Steering Group (PRSG). Currently, the government is not running the DIP program for digitizing old government documents.
To sum it up, the Digitize India Platform (DIP) that used to provide part-time employment for digitizing old documents was closed by the government in 2019.

created: September 28, 2022


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The Diminishing role of 'Independent Candidates' in Lok Sabha elections
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 23, 2019
In the recent Rajasthan Assembly elections, 13 independents won and prevented Congress from securing a majority on its own. But such a large number of independents winning in an assembly elections is becoming a rarity. In the Lok Sabha elections, their role is all but over. Here is a look at the numbers related to independent candidates in the various Lok Sabha elections
In the recent Rajasthan Assembly elections, 13 independents won and prevented Congress from securing a majority on its own. But such a large number of independents winning in an assembly elections is becoming a rarity. In the Lok Sabha elections, their role is all but over. Here is a look at the numbers related to independent candidates in the various Lok Sabha elections
Number of Independents contesting increasing over the years
The number of independents contesting the Lok Sabha elections has steadily increased starting from the first general election in 1951. In 2014, a total of 3234 independents contested the election. An overwhelming number of these independents forfeit their deposits every election. In 2014, 99.5% of these 3234 candidates forfeited their deposits. From 1951 to 2014, a total of 97.92% of the independent candidates forfeited their deposits adding credence to the charge that a large number of these candidates are non-serious candidates.
(Any candidate who secures less than 1/6th of the total valid votes polled in a constituency will forfeit the security deposit paid)
Independent Candidates & Success Rate
The ability of independent candidates to win an election always had a question mark and the numbers don’t prove otherwise. More than 30 independents won in each of the 1951, 1957 and 1967 Lok Sabha Elections. Their numbers have been decreasing ever since. This number hasn’t reached double digits after the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.
The increase in the number of independent and the decrease in the number of winners resulted in a dismal success rate for independents (Number of winners/Number of contestants). Their highest success rate was in 1957 when 8.7% of the independents won the election. In all the General elections since 1951, independent candidates could win only 3% of the total seats and their success rate  has been a mere 0.5%.
Independent Candidates & Vote Share
Independent Candidates polled more than 10% of the total valid vote in each of the first four general elections. After that, their vote percentage saw a steady decline and in 2014, they polled just 3% of the total vote.
What is it difficult for Independents now?
Local leaders or those who fought for local issues (with no political affiliation) had a good chance to win in the early years after independence. With time, the influence of money & political party have become more dominant compared to the years after independence. Today, a Lok Sabha constituency has an electorate of 15-20 lakh voters on average, spread across 7 odd assembly constituencies. To campaign & influence such a large population & geography requires both money & influence. Increasingly, only rich candidates with political backing are making the cut. While independents still win Assembly seats, their numbers are also decreasing in the assemblies. All in all, the influence & the role of independents in Lok Sabha elections has greatly diminished over the years.
What did the Law Commission Recommend?
Looking at the above numbers, it does look like the Law Commission got its recommendation right when it said that independents be debarred from contesting elections since it is not difficult to register a political party. In its 255th Report on Electoral Reforms, the Law Commission recommended that independent candidates be barred from contesting in Parliament & Assembly elections and that Section 4, Section 5 of the Representation of People’s Act be amended accordingly.
Even the 170th Law Commission report in 1999 had recommended debarring the independent candidates from contesting in elections. The reasons for these recommendations are manifold. The NCRWC (The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution) recommended the “discouragement” of independent candidates, who are often “dummy” candidates or defectors from their party or those denied party tickets. It is also argued that independent candidates are non-serious candidates with very little chance of winning. In the recent times, the practice of independent candidates with the same name as candidates from recognized political parties contesting elections to create confusion among voters, has increased.
The situation for truly independent candidates is not going to change unless there are accompanying electoral reforms that promise a level playing field along with checks & balances to prevent the non-serious candidates from contesting the election.

source: news-factly

created: January 23, 2019

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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The discrepancy in the votes was due to not clearing the votes from the mock poll - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 25, 2019
A post with a photo of EVM/VVPAT votes audit document is being shared by many users on Facebook with a claim that there is a discrepancy in the number of votes in EVM and VVPAT at a polling station in Andhra Pradesh. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the document in the post.
A audit document of VVPAT/EVM votes in a polling station at Mydukur Assembly Constituency in Andhra Pradesh shows a discrepancy of 14 votes.
Fact: The Returning Officer of the constituency clarified that the discrepancy is true and was due to non-clearance of votes, polled in the mock-poll conducted at 7 am on the polling day, from the EVM. Hence the claim made in the post is TRUE.
When the photo in the post is properly observed, it can be found that the discrepancy was reported at the polling station 63 in the Mydukur Assembly Constituency. To check the authenticity of the document in the post, FACTLY contacted the Returning Officer of the Mydukur Assembly Constituency, Mr. Satish Chandra. He said that the discrepancy in the number of votes in EVM and VVPAT is true. He clarified that it happened because the votes from the mock poll conducted at 7 am, before the voting began on the polling day, were not cleared by the Presiding officer from the EVM. So, the document in the post is legitimate. The returning officer also confirmed that counting agents of the parties accepted this and that a detailed report in this regard was sent to the office of the CEO, Andhra Pradesh.
For any additional information, the Returning Officer can be contacted through the phone number given on the website of Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh.
To sum it up, the discrepancy in the votes happened due to non-clearance of votes from the mock poll.
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The disease affecting tomato crops in Maharashtra is neither related to coronavirus nor harmful to humans - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2020
A piece of news telecasted by ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ regarding a new virus in tomatoes is being widely shared on social media. In the video, it can be seen that the anchor makes certain claims about the ‘Tiranga virus’, a new version of coronavirus and says it is found in tomatoes in Maharashtra. The news report claims that the virus is more dangerous than Coronavirus and can cause harm to humans. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Tiranga virus, a new version of Coronavirus found in tomatoes, is harmful to humans.
Fact: In another video, ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ has clarified that they do not claim that tomatoes have any connection with coronavirus. They also clarified that the new virus is not harmful to humans. While it is true that a disease/virus (which is being called as Tiranga virus) has affected tomato crops in Maharashtra, the claims regarding its harmful effect on humans and its connection to coronavirus have no basis. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the internet regarding the telecast of ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ on Tiranga virus, it was found that ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ has telecasted another news item on 15 May 2020 clarifying about the video it telecasted on 13 May 2020 (the video clip which is being shared on social media). In the video, ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ has clarified that they do not claim that tomatoes have any connection with coronavirus. They also clarified that the claim regarding the spread of the new virus to humans is false. While they claimed that they did not make the claims in an earlier video, the claims can be clearly seen in the video.
Various agriculture news portals have also clarified that there is no truth in the claims made by the ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ in its earlier video. A web news portal ‘Agri News Network’ has reported that Dr BNS Murthy (Horticulture Commissioner, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW)) has stated in its letter to TV9 that ‘though the fact is partially correct that the farmers are suffering due to a still unidentified cause (efforts are on in fast-track mode by national research institutions), the second part of the story that eating such fruits would cause much more complications than that of Coronavirus is absurd. As of date, no plant virus affecting plants has affected human beings as they lack the receptors for such an infection.’ Prithviraj Chavan, an MLA and former CM of Maharashtra, has also tweeted regarding the report by ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ on Tiranga virus.
The news reports regarding the new disease/virus (which is being called as Tiranga virus) and its effect on the tomato crops can be seen here, here, and here. But, none of them reported that the disease/virus can cause harm to humans.
To sum it up, the disease affecting tomato crops in Maharashtra is neither related to coronavirus nor harmful to humans.
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The ‘Drone’ boy in the photo is Harshwardhan Zala, not ‘Mohammad Zubair’. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 15, 2019
An image of a boy is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that his name is Mohammed Zubair and he invented a drone which can detect landmines. The claim goes onto say that the media isn’t showing him because he is a Muslim. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photo of Mohammad Zubair, who invented a drone which can detect landmines. Media isn’t showing him because he is a Muslim
Fact: The boy in the photo has invented a drone which detects landmines but the boy’s name is not ‘Mohammad Zubair’. He is Harshwardhan Zala. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image was run through the Google Reverse Image Search, a similar photo was found in an article published by the ‘Huffington Post’ in 2017. In the article, it can be read that he signed an ‘agreement worth Rs 5 crore with the Gujarat government for a laser drone which can help detect hidden landmines in war fields.” But, in the article, it is mentioned that his name is Harshwardhan Zala (not ‘Mohammad Zubair’). On searching with the name ‘Harshwardhan Zala’, various newspaper articles confirming his name as ‘Harshwardhan Zala’ can be found in the search results.
Also, recently, Friday Magazine has published his photo on its cover calling him the ‘Drone Boy’.
In this issue's cover, Harshwardhansinh Zala, an award-winning prodigy whose invention is helping save millions of lives. In an exclusive, the 'drone boy' talks about his creations and his dream project, nly in this new issue of @Friday_Magazine. Out tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/Le7k9WX2Bw
To sum it up, the ‘Drone’ boy in the photo is Harshwardhan Zala, not ‘Mohammad Zubair’.
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created: November 15, 2019


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ECI is seeking citizens recommendations to improve the electoral process
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 17, 2020
The Election Commission of India constituted nine working groups after the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections to identify areas of improvement in the electoral process. The groups have made 25 major recommendations. The ECI has now sought public opinion on these recommendations. Here is a snapshot of these recommendations.
Since theconduct of the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, there has been acontinuous evolution of the election process in India. Regulations aroundcurbing mal-practices, transparency in electoral funding, usage of technologyfor better & efficient conduct of elections including EVMs, SVEEP etc. are someof the many initiatives implemented by the Election Commission of India (ECI)over the years.
The 2019 General Elections are significant in terms of the scale as well as new measures implemented by the ECI. These include: C-Vigil app to report any malpractices, Voluntary Code of Ethics for Social Media, accessibility at every polling station etc.
Working
Groups formed to review and provide recommendations
Post the General Elections, the ECI decided to consolidate all the measures taken and the learnings in the conduct of these elections, to help facilitate improvement in future. Accordingly, a conference was organized in New Delhi on 03 June 2019 with the Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) of all States/UTs.
For thispurpose, nine working groups were formed, which constituted CEOs and EVIofficials. These working groups had different focus areas which includedaspects like – issues with Electoral Rolls, IT applications, SVEEP, PollingStation Management Electoral Reforms etc.
Each of theworking groups is headed by a senior official from the ECI. The groupsconsisted of CEOs of various states. As per the initial mandate, they wererequired to come up with their recommendations by August 2019.
Multipleactivities were undertaken to come up with recommendations. These include:
On 18 February  2020, the nine working groups presented their draft recommendations to the ECI. This was presented in a two-day conference organized in New Delhi.
25 major
recommendations presented for public review
The ECI has come with 25 major recommendations based on the recommendations by the working groups. These were placed in the public domain on 07 March 2020, with an invitation to citizens and stakeholders to come up with comments/suggestions.
Thedetailed recommendations placed in the public domain by the ECI are available
here. Here is a snapshot of the recommendations.
Sl. No
Recommendation
Details
1.
Single simplified form for all services to voters e.g. Registration, change of address, deletion of names etc.
The recommendation is to have a unified single form to be filled up by voters for various services, Instead of the multiple forms currently being used, like Form 1, Form 6, Form 6 (A), Form 7, Form 8, Form 8 (A) etc. This helps in avoiding confusion.
2.
Expanding the network and Electoral Service Centres (ESCs)/ Voter Facilitation Centres (VFCs) to streamline Electoral Services to citizens.
Increase in the number of centres where electoral services can be delivered. The proximity of the centres would help in better services to the citizens.
3.
Door-step electoral services to Persons with Disability (PwDs) and Senior citizens (80+ years).
Provision of Door Step services for PwDs & Senior Citizens in line with ECI’s ‘No Voter to be left behind’ Motto.
4.
Online registration of prospective voters at age of 17 years – registration facilities to be provided in schools and colleges.
Provide online registration facilities in Schools/colleges for prospective voters at age of 17 years.
5.
Preparing Electoral Roll of Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituency through online platforms of ERO Net.
Online platform for creating electoral rolls of graduates and teachers constituency instead of the current offline method.
6.
Revamping Booth Level Officer (BLO) System and appointing full time tech-savvy BLOs in a phased manner for services through handheld digital devices.
Develop dedicated BLOs with technical capabilities instead of relying on government functionaries at village/ward level who take up election duties beyond their regular duties.
7.
Provision of e-EPIC for voters.
Providing a e-version of Voter Id Card.
8.
Quarterly/six monthly qualifying date for voter registration instead of one annual date (1st January) as qualifying date.
The current provision has 1 January as the cut-off for calculating eligibility age. However individuals attaining 18 years later that year would lose out on voting in any election in the year. Suggestion is to have Quarterly or Half yearly cut-offs instead of Annual cut-offs.
9.
Modern online Election Planning Portal for ECI, State/UT or district levels.
Developing online planning portal to coordinate the election planning at ground level.
10.
Accessibility portal for providing speedy services to PwDs or Senior Citizens.
Dedicated Portal for Pwd and Senior Citizens.
11.
GIS based Electoral Atlas for mapping of Parliamentary Constituencies, Assembly Constituencies or Polling Stations for public information.
Make information accessible to public regarding the territorial/geographical boundaries of constituencies along with information about polling stations.
12.
Digital Election Calendar for information and schedule of Elections to public.
Creating digital platform for election calendar and election schedule will create more awareness to the public.
13.
Institutional Strengthening for outreach and information dissemination.
(recommendations 13- 18)
14.
Outreach & Information Dissemination via New Outreach Media
15.
Orientation Programme for Media Persons, Political Parties, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Facilitation of regular Orientation programmes for all the stake holder involved in election process.
16.
New Voting Methods
Identify and implement new voting methods to increase voter participation, also ensuring that the process remains secure.
17.
Print Media and Social Media regulation
Prohibit Print Media & Social Media akin to Electronic media during ‘period of silence’ under section 125 RP Act, 1951.
Include Print & Social media within ambit of section 126 of RP Act, 1951.
18.
Online nomination
Provision for online filing of nomination for Candidate in lieu of the current process where the candidate has to file the nomination in person before the returning officer.
19.
Cap on Political Party Expenditure
Levy a cap on expenditure of political parties for an election. ECI has earlier in 2015 has recommended Law Ministry to have a cap on the maximum expenditure of political parties.
20.
Integration of Citizen-facing services
To integrate voter registration process with services like Digi-Locker & Umang so that it is easy to upload necessary documents while registering.
31 March
2020 is the last date to send comments/suggestions
As mentioned earlier, the intent of placing these recommendations in the public domain is to seek comments and suggestions from the citizens. It is a good opportunity for the citizens to be involved in the process of bringing improvements to the electoral process. A strong democracy requires a transparent and well-functioning electoral process. Right from registering the voters to conducting the elections, the improvement made at each of these levels would help in improving the overall process.
Comments/suggestions can be sent on email to  coordination@eci.gov.in . The last date to send in the comments and suggestions is 31 March 2020.
Featured Image: Electoral Process improvements


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The Eight (8) Central Sector Schemes for the Education of Tribal Students - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 21, 2015
One of the Directive Principles of the state policy as contained in the Constitution of India is to promote the educational & economic interests of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Central Government currently runs eight (8) different schemes for the promotion of education of STs.
One of the Directive Principles of the state policy as contained in the Constitution of India is to promote the educational & economic interests of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Improving education levels is one of the high priority goals of the central government. Currently, there are eight (8) different central schemes for the education of STs in three different categories.
Umbrella Scheme for Education of ST Students
National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students
National Overseas Scholarship for ST students
Details of Various Schemes
Expenditure on these Schemes
The total expenditure on these 8 schemes is about 25 to 30% of the total budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Tribal affairs. Rest of the budgetary allocation is for Central Assistance to various state plans. Close to 70% of the total expenditure on educational schemes is incurred on the Post Matric Scholarships to ST students.
1036.84
Featured image: By Ekta Parishad (Ekta Parishad) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

created: December 21, 2015


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The elder boy in this photo is not 'Hope', the Nigerian child rescued from abandonment seven years ago. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 11, 2023
A collage of two photos featuring Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Loven is viral on social media. In one photo, she is seen serving water to a small boy; in the other, she is standing next to a relatively older boy. It is being claimed that a small boy named Hope, who was rescued by Anja several years ago, is the one featured in these photos, and now he is all grown up. Let’s verify this claim through this article.
Claim: Latest photo of Hope, the Nigerian child whom charity worker Anja Ringgren Loven rescued.
Fact: Although this small boy is indeed Hope, the elder boy seen in the collage is not him. His name is Prince, another boy rescued by Anja Ringgren. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To check the veracity of the claim, we looked at the photos posted by Anja on her Facebook and found out that the collage actually features two different boys.
The small child Hope, who was rescued by Anja seven years ago, is now ten years old. Anja posted Hope’s recent photo on Facebook in February 2023. You can see it in the following collage.
The older boy in the collage is Prince; he is 19 years old. Anja shared his pictures on her Facebook when he joined a University in April 2023. Clearly, two unrelated photos are being falsely shared in the viral post as a representation of the rescued boy Hope.
To sum up, the elder boy in this photo is not ‘Hope’, the Nigerian child rescued from abandonment seven years ago.


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The elderly couple being thrashed by the Pakistan Police in the video are not ‘Hindu’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 11, 2020
A video is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that it shows oppression on Hindus in Pakistan. In the video, an elderly couple can be seen thrashed by the Police. Let’s check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Video of a ‘Hindu’ couple being thrashed by the Police in Pakistan.
Fact: In the video, the elderly couple being mistreated by the Police are not ‘Hindu’. The video shows Muhammad Idrees and Naseem Bibi being thrashed by the Multan police for staging a protest outside the office of Multan Development Authority demanding compensation for the land the authority had bought from them. So, the claim is FALSE.
When searched on Google with keywords ‘Old couple beaten by Police’, an article of ‘GeoTv’ with a news video that had similar visuals was found. As per this article, in November 2017, an elderly couple Muhammad Idrees and Naseem Bibi were thrashed by the police outside the office of the Multan Development Authority for demanding compensation for the 500 acres land the authority had bought from them. There is no communal angle to the incident and also, victims are not ‘Hindu’. More information regarding the incident can be found here and here.
To summarize, in the video, the elderly couple being thrashed by the Police are not ‘Hindu’.
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The elderly man in this video neither insulted Akhilesh Yadav nor spoke about building a mosque - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 4, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows an elderly man insulting Akhilesh Yadav during his door-to-door campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The post claims that the elderly man sarcastically told Akhilesh to go and build a mosque, and no one from the neighbourhood will vote for him. It is being shared in the context of upcoming Assembly elections in the State. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of an elderly man insulting Akhilesh Yadav by saying – ‘Go and build a mosque, no one from the neighbourhood will vote for you’.
Fact: The video is not related to any recent election campaign of Akhilesh Yadav. The video is being shared on the internet at least since November 2019. In the video, the elderly man neither insults Akhilesh Yadav nor talks about building a mosque. He talks about machines (EVMs) getting tampered. He says that if machines (EVMs) are not changed, then the party will neither get any votes nor form the government. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet with relevant keywords, many similar videos were found in the search results. It can be seen that the video is being shared on the internet at least since November 2019. Some of the old posts can be seen here, here, and here. So, it is not related to any recent election campaign of Akhilesh Yadav. Also, on listening to the elderly man in the longer version of the video, one can understand that he talks about machines (EVMs) getting tampered with. The elderly man neither insults Akhilesh Yadav nor talks about building a mosque. He says that if machines (EVMs) are not changed, then the party will neither get any votes nor form the government.
The same was reported by ‘Media Halchal News’ YouTube channel in November 2019. The video can be watched here.
To sum it up, the elderly man in the video neither insulted Akhilesh Yadav nor spoke about building a mosque.

created: February 4, 2022


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The Election Commission is yet to announce the dates for the five state elections to be held in late 2023 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 25, 2023
Update (11 October 2023): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced assembly general election dates for the states of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana today. The press release can be downloaded here. The election schedule can be seen in the below tweet. The polling date for Rajasthan has been changed to 25 November 2023 from the earlier 23 November 2023 due to “largescale wedding/social engagement” on that day.
SCHEDULE for Legislative Assembly Elections of #MIZORAM, #CHHATTISGARH, #MADHYAPRADESH, #RAJASTHAN & #TELANGANA#ECI #AssemblyElections2023 #MCC #ElectionSchedule pic.twitter.com/BYgfPvA672
A notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI) is being widely shared claiming that the ECI has announced assembly general election dates for the states of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana. Let’s check the veracity of this information through this article.
Claim: The Election Commission of India has announced 2023 election dates for the states of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
Fact: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun the election process for the states of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana. But the election dates have not been announced yet. The ECI gave instructions to the election officials of the states regarding the expiry of the term of the legislature in the respective states, which were misinterpreted as election dates and shared on social media. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
As per news reports, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Rajasthan are scheduled to have elections this year (2023).  Hence, the Election Commission of India has begun the election process in these states. It is in this context that the ECI has issued orders to the Chief Electoral Officers of the respective states regarding the transfers and postings of officials in the five states where the elections will be held.
Copies of these orders have also been reported by several news organisations (here and here). What is currently going viral is the copy of the instructions sent by the ECI to these five states.
#Jaipur भारत निर्वाचन आयोग के आदेश का भ्रामक प्रचार @CeoRajasthan @DipuGoyal #RajasthanWithZee pic.twitter.com/o2hbbpec9k
But in this copy, the ECI has not announced the election dates of five states. The dates mentioned refer to the end of the term of the current legislature in these five states, which were mistakenly interpreted as the date of elections in the viral post. The term of the Mizoram state legislature will end in December this year, while the term of the other four states will end in January 2024.
Earlier, the ECI had issued instructions to the Chief Electoral Officers of these five states regarding the revision of voter lists in the states in the wake of the elections. But as of now, the ECI has not announced the election dates in these five states except that they have begun the election process. As the legislature has not yet been dissolved in these states, there is still time for the announcement of the dates.
To sum up, the expiry dates of the term of the legislature in five states released by the Election Commission of India are wrongly shared as the dates of election.


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The Election Commission suspends the recognition of P A Sangma led NPP
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 18, 2015
Political parties are supposed to submit their election expenditure statement within 75 days of the completion of a Assembly general election and within 90 days of the completion of the Lok Sabha General Election. The National People’s Party founded by former Lok Sabha Speaker, P A Sangma became the first political party whose recognition is suspended for failing to submit the election expenditure statement despite reminders.
While the Election Commission of India (ECI) is widely known conducting free & fair elections, it has always been in the dock for not taking action against candidates and parties who flout various laws. It is in this context, that the ECI’s action to suspend the recognition of the National People’s Party of P A Sangma assumes significance. It is for the first time that the recognition of a party has been suspended by the Commission.
The Supreme Court of India issued directions in 1996 in the case of ‘Common Cause Vs Union of India’ to the extent that the ECI has the authority and can issue directions to the political parties requiring them to submit details of the expenditure incurred by them in elections.
Following this order, the ECI had earlier issued instructions to all the political parties to file their election expenditure statement within 75 days in the case of a general election to an assembly and within 90 days in the case of a general election to the Lok Sabha.
The National People’s Party (NPP) was established by the former speaker of the Lok Sabha, P A Sangma in 2013. It contested the Meghalaya assembly elections in 2013 and won 2 out of 60 seats and close to 9% of the total vote share. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, P A Sangma won from Tura in Meghalaya. Hence the NPP was recognized as a state party in Meghalaya. (What is a recognized state party? Read here)
The ECI had issued instructions to all the parties to file their Lok Sabha 2014 election expenditure statement by 26 August 2014 (the end of the 90 day period). The ECI had issued two reminders to the NPP to submit the expenditure statement to which there was no response. Finally, the ECI issued a show cause notice on 17 March, 2015 to NPP asking them as to why action should not be taken under para 16A of The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 for failure to follow the lawful directions of the ECI.
What is Para 16A of The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order?
Para 16A of the said order empowers the ECI to suspend or withdraw the recognition of a recognized political party if the ECI is satisfied that a national party or a state recognized party has failed to follow its lawful instructions/directions.
The NPP on its part has asked for time from the ECI on receipt of the show cause notice and promised to file the expenditure statement by 15 April, 2015. The party asked for a further extension up to 15 May, 2015. Even after the revised timeline, the party did not honour the deadline.
The ECI in its order dated 12 June, 2015 suspended the recognition of NPP as a state party in Meghalaya as per para 16A for failure to follow its lawful directions. The order also asked NPP to show cause within three weeks as to why the recognition should not be withdrawn.
Suspension is not permanent withdrawal of recognition. It is only a temporary measure. The recognition of NPP can still be reinstated, provided the ECI is satisfied with the explanation of NPP. This action of the ECI is not only rare, but, the first of its kind in its history. Let’s hope the ECI uses the powers at its disposal more regularly.


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The enforcement of the coaching centre guidelines issued by the Central Government is to be done by State Governments - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 5, 2024
A video circulating on social media claims that the Ministry of Education has issued guidelines stating that students under 16 years old are not allowed to enrol in coaching institutions or receive home tuition. Non-compliance with these guidelines is said to be a punishable offence. These measures aim to tackle the rising cases of suicides and regulate the unchecked expansion of private institutions. The central government has mandated that each state government is required to implement these guidelines. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Ministry of Education has issued guidelines stating that students under 16 years old are not allowed to enrol in coaching institutions or receive home tuition. Non-compliance is said to be a punishable offence. The central government has mandated that each state government is required to implement these guidelines.
Fact: The Ministry of Education issued guidelines on 16 January 2024, stating that coaching centres are required to hire tutors with at least a graduation qualification. Enrollment of students under the age of 16 is prohibited. These measures have been introduced to address the increasing incidents of suicides and to control the unregulated growth of private institutions. However, these guidelines set by the Indian government will only be enforceable if individual state governments decide to adopt them. Moreover, these guidelines apply to institutions with an enrollment of over 50 students and do not extend to home tuitions with less than 50 children. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On performing a relevant keyword search regarding the claims made in the viral post, we found that the Ministry of Education issued guidelines on 16 January 2024, stating that coaching centres are required to hire tutors with at least a graduation qualification. Enrollment of students under the age of 16 is prohibited, and students can only be enrolled after completing their secondary school examination. These measures have been introduced to address the increasing incidents of suicides and to control the unregulated growth of private institutions. Non-compliance to these guidelines is a punishable offence.
However, these guidelines set by the Indian government will only be enforceable if individual state governments decide to adopt them since education is included in the concurrent list. Moreover, the guidelines specifically define that “‘coaching’ means tuition, instructions, or guidance in any branch of learning imparted to more than 50 students but does not include counseling, sports, dance, theatre, and other creative activities” In other words, these guidelines apply to institutions with an enrollment of over 50 students and do not extend to home tuitions or similar setups with fewer than 50 enrolled students.
Several news reports were also published, highlighting these guidelines (here and here).
To sum up, the enforcement of the coaching centre guidelines issued by the central government relies on state governments.


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The EVMs in the truck were being transferred to a training centre for training purposes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 22, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with the claim that a truck with EVMs is found moving in the vicinity of the strong room in Chapra. Let’s try to check the claim made in the post.
A truck with EVMs was caught roaming in the vicinity of a strong room in Chapra, Saran.
Fact: The EVMs in the picture were not used in the elections. They were being transferred from a warehouse to a training centre, where the counting agents will be trained for the counting day. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When searched for the news regarding the ‘EVMs in Chapra’ on Google, it was found that the Chief Election Officer, Bihar has already given a clarification on this issue through the official Twitter handle. A press release was tweeted by the CEO Bihar that the EVMs found in the truck were not the EVMs used in the election. They were being moved from a warehouse to a training centre, where the counting staff will be trained for the counting day.
Also, the official spokesperson of ECI, Sheyphali Sharan has tweeted the letter undersigned by the candidate’s agent at the strong room that the EVMs are safe and he is satisfied with the transparency in the process.
To sum it up, the EVMs in the truck were being transferred to a training centre for training purposes.
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The fact-check video of ABP News on a viral fake message has been trimmed to make another fake message - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 24, 2019
A post with a video of ABP news channel is being shared on Facebook with a claim that eating egg along with banana will lead to poisoning. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
ABP news reported that eating egg along with banana will lead to poisoning and death.
Fact: The fact-check video of ABP news on a viral message (‘Eating banana and egg together will lead to death’) has been trimmed to show the opposite. In the full video, ABP news channel explains the viral message at the beginning and later proves that message to be a hoax.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the video, a hashtag ‘#viralsach’ can be seen at the bottom. So, when searched with keywords ‘ABP news viral sach on eggs and banana’ on Google, the full-length video of the news reported by ABP news can be found in the search results. The video posted on Facebook has been taken from this video published by ABP news on March 15 2017 (YouTube) with the title ‘Viral Sach: Will you die if you eat egg and a banana together?’. This fact-check video of ABP news has been trimmed to show exactly the opposite of what ABP news tried to report. The total duration of the original video was around 5 minutes, in which the reporter reads the viral message at the beginning of the video and later, tries to debunk the fake news. But, only 30 seconds of this video, where the reporter reads the viral message, has been taken from the original video to show that the ABP news reported that  “You will die if you eat egg and banana together”. A fact-check video on a viral fake message has been turned into another fake news.
Will a person die if he eats egg and banana together? FACTLY has already written a fact-check article on a similar message in April. You can read that here.
To sum it up, the fact-check video of ABP News on a viral fakemessage has been trimmed to make another fake message.
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The fight during the Gadar 2 film screening in Bareilly was not instigated by the chants of "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 16, 2023
A video is being widely shared on social media claiming it is the visuals of a mob thrashing a man for making ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during the Gadar 2 film screening in a theatre. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a man being thrashed for making ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during the screening of Gadar 2 film.
Fact: The video shows a fight that escalated between intoxicated individuals during the screening of the Gadar 2 film at Prasad Cinema in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. While watching the movie Gadar 2, a spectator captured screenshots of a particular scene on his mobile phone. The light emitted by the mobile phone caused disturbance to other viewers, which led to an argument between two individuals, that eventually escalated into a fight in the theatre. The clash did not occur due to the chanting of “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched for the video using relevant keywords, a video showing similar visuals was found published by ‘Times Now’. This reported it as visuals of a physical altercation between spectators during the screening of the Gadar 2 film at the Prasads theatre in the Kotwali area in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. In the article, Times Now reported that Bareilly police had refuted the claims of “Pakistan Zindabad” being the cause of the fight and confirmed that the brawl erupted due to intoxication.
Reporting the details of this clash that took place during the screening of the Gadar 2 film, several news agencies published articles. They can be seen here, here, and here. All these news agencies reported that the altercation escalated between two intoxicated individuals during the Gadar 2 screening at the Prasads Theatre in Kotwali.
For further sources, we contacted Kotwali SHO Dharmendra Kumar. Speaking about the incident, Dharmendra Kumar said, “A spectator in the theatre took screenshots of a scene while watching the movie in the Prasads theatre. The light emitted from the mobile phone created a disturbance to other viewers which led to an argument, which eventually escalated into a fight. The viral social media claims of “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans being the cause of the fight is false.“
To sum it up, the fight during the Gadar 2 screening in Bareilly was not instigated by the chants of “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans.


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The first clip in the post shows a father’s act of filicide in Surat, not an alleged love jihad incident - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 31, 2023
Two videos depicting gruesome incidents of murder are currently circulating, claiming them to be instances of ‘love jihad’ incidents that occurred within a week in Delhi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of two murders, presented as occurrences of ‘love jihad,’ that happened in Delhi recently.
Fact: While the second clip shows the recent incident of a Muslim youth murdering his girlfriend in Delhi, the first clip depicts a separate incident where a Hindu father murdered his daughter in Surat, Gujarat due to a dispute over sleeping on the terrace. The first clip is not related to any communal or religious conflicts. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
An internet search with relevant keywords led us to a video of a news bulletin published by the ‘News 18 Gujarati’ YouTube channel on 22 May 2023. According to this news report, the viral footage depicts a man murdering his daughter in the Surat district of Gujarat on 18 May 2023.
Following the lead of this report, we further searched for information about the incident and found a media report by Indian Express and the First Information Report (FIR). According to these reports, Ramanuj Mahadev Sahoo (45) from Satyanarayan Nagar Society in Kadodara, Surat, had an argument with his wife Rekhadevi and their daughter Chandakumari (19) on Thursday night over sleeping on the terrace. Sahoo attacked Rekhadevi with a knife, injuring her right hand, and then stabbed Chandakumari multiple times, resulting in her death. Sahoo fled the scene but was later arrested from a friend’s room in Kadodara.
Likewise, the second clip depicts an incident that occurred in Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy area on 28 May 2023. The incident involved the brutal murder of a 16-year-old girl named Sakshi, by her boyfriend Sahil, who is 20 years old. The incident took place in full view of the public. Sahil has been apprehended by the police and an investigation is underway. (Due to the sensitive nature of the matter, FIR pertaining to this incident has not been made public yet).
To sum it up, the first clip depicts a disturbing incident in Surat, Gujarat, where a Hindu father killed his daughter, while the second clip portrays a Muslim youth murdering his Hindu girlfriend in Delhi.


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Amendments moved by the opposition in Rajya Sabha
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2016
It is very rare that Rajya Sabha passes an amendment to the motion of thanks to the President’s address since the ruling party usually has a majority in the upper house as well. But on five different occasions since independence, the Rajya Sabha passed amendments to the motion of thanks to the President’s address and two of the five occasions were in 2015 and 2016.
It happened again this year. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha(RS), Ghulam Nabi Azad pressed for an amendment to the motion of thanks to the President’s Address on 09th March, 2016. The amendment was eventually passed by the RS with 94 for and only 61 against the motion. This is only the 5th time that it has happened in the history of independent India. It has now happened twice in two years (2015 and 2016). It is interesting to note that President Pranab Mukherjee was the one pressing for an amendment on one of other three occasions. In four of the five occasions, a non Congress party was in power at the center. Here is the list all the five occasions.
First:  January 30th, 1980 when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister
Bhupesh Gupta, a five time RS MP from CPI moved an amendment to highlight that the President’s Address did not mention the attempts to engineer large scale defections in assemblies under the non-congress governments. The amendment was narrowly passed with 79 for and 75 against the amendment.
Second:  December 29th, 1989 when V P Singh was the Prime Minister
This was one occasion when a large number of amendments were passed. V P Singh was the Prime Minister leading the National Front Government. Six(6) amendments were passed in all. These were moved by Congress Rajya Sabha MPs Anand Sharma, Shiv Shanker & a nominated MP Madan Bhatia. The amendments were intended to highlight that the President’s Address did not mention the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid issue, Destabilization of state governments, amendment to the constitution to ensure ‘Right to Work’ as a fundamental right, Indo-Srilanka Accord, Government’s stand on Anandpur Saheb resolution, release of terrorists by the government in December, 1989.
Third:  March 12th, 2001 when A B Vajpayee was the Prime Minister
The current President of India, Pranab Mukherjee who was then a RS MP, moved an amendment to highlight that the President’s Address did not mention the issue of Government’s decision to sell out a Public Sector Unit (PSU) BALCO. This was during the first term of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) when A B Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The amendment was passed with 100 voting for and 64 against the amendment.
Fourth:  March 3rd, 2015 when Narendra Modi was the Prime Minister
RS MPs from CPI(M); Sitaram Yechury, P Rajeeve & T K Rangarajan moved this amendment that the President’s Address did not mention the failure of the Government to curb high-level corruption & to bring back black money. The amendment was passed with 118 voting for and 57 voting against.
Fifth:  March 9th, 2016 when Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha moved this amendment that the President’s Address did not mention that the government is  committed to securing the fundamental right of all the citizens to contest elections at all levels, including to Panchayats. This amendment was pressed in the light of amendments made to Panchayat laws in Haryana and other states mandating minimum educational qualification for contesting in Panchayat elections. The amendment was passed with 94 voting for and 61 voting against.
Source: www.rsdebate.nic.in


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The flag seen in this old video is not the national flag of Pakistan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 27, 2023
A video purportedly of a Congress rally in Rajasthan is being shared on social media with a claim that a Pakistani flag was waved in the rally. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows a Pakistani flag being waved in a Congress rally held in Rajasthan in 2023 during the Assembly elections.
Fact: The flag seen in the video is not the national flag of Pakistan. This is a video from 2018. When the same video went viral back then with a similar claim, Rajasthan Police dismissed the claim as false. Hence, the claim made in the viral post is False.
To learn more about the viral video, we performed a keyword search on the internet to check if any such incident was reported from Rajasthan recently. This search did not yield any credible evidence. Further, upon a closer inspection of the green flag seen in the viral video, we found that it is quite different from the Pakistani National flag (here and here).
You can see the difference between the both in the following collage.
A further search on the internet led us to a 2018 tweet by the Rajasthan Police who shared the same video in which they clarified that it is being falsely claimed that the video shows a Pakistani Flag waved in a victory procession of Congress. This makes it clear that an old video has been resurfaced now with the same false claim.
Alert 🚫🔊
This video 📽 circulating on #socialmedia claims that there is a Pakistan flag being waved in a victory procession of @INCIndia.
This is false and we request people not to get trapped by this ❌. We are trying to trace the mischief-maker.#FakeNews @SMHoaxSlayer pic.twitter.com/WDnABuJx2M
To sum up, this video does not show a Pakistani flag being waved at a Congress party rally in Rajasthan.

created: November 27, 2023


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The flooding video at Howrah bridge was not taken during Cyclone Fani - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 6, 2019
A video is being shared on Facebook with the claim that the video has been shot at the Howrah Bridge last week. In the video, it can be seen that the water is flooding the banks. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The flooding video was taken at the time of Cyclone Fani.
Fact: The video posted is an old video. It is not related to Cyclone Fani. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for ‘Flooding at Howrah Bridge’ on YouTube, a similar video can be found in the search results. But, that video was uploaded to YouTube on July 6th 2018. So, the video posted on Facebook is an old one and not related to the recent Cyclone Fani.
To sum it up, the flooding video at Howrah bridge was not taken during Cyclone Fani.


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The football ground in this photo is in Russia, not in Manipur (India) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 6, 2020
A photo of a football ground in the middle of the woods is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the ground is at Ukhrul in Manipur (India). Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Photo of a football ground at Ukhrul in Manipur (India).
Fact: The football ground in the photo is not related to India. The photo shows a football ground in Russia. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same picture was found to be uploaded by multiple users with the claim that the photo is related to a football ground in Russia. ‘The Sun’ has also published a similar image with the following description – ‘Soccer in the Woods – gives a birds-eye view of Meshchersky Park, a recreation area just outside Moscow.’
The posted image can be also found in the ‘Google Maps’ photos of the football ground at Meshchersky Park in Russia. Also, many stock photos and videos related to the same ground can be found on the internet which mention that the ground is in Russia.
To sum it up, the football ground photo from Russia falsely shared as a football ground at Ukhral in Manipur (Russia).
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created: August 6, 2020


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The former BJP-led Karnataka government also offered subsidized vehicles to religious minorities - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 13, 2023
A social media post accompanies a newspaper advertisement related to the Karnataka state minorities development corporation scheme, which offers subsidies for the purchase of vehicles. This advertisement is being shared with a claim alluding that the state government is offering such a subsidy scheme to Muslims and thereby appeasing the community. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Karnataka’s Congress government offering vehicle subsidy for Muslims and there by appeasing the community.
Fact:  Karnataka government is offering subsidies for purchase of taxi/goods vehicle/passenger autorickshaw. However, the scheme is applicable to all the religious minorities, not just the Muslims. Additionally, the earlier BJP government also implemented the scheme, and is not the initiative launched by the current Congress government. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
It is true that Karnataka’s Congress government is offering subsidies for the purchase of taxis/goods vehicles/passenger autorickshaws under the Swavalambi Sarathi scheme. Beneficiaries of the scheme will be provided with a subsidy of 50% of the value of the vehicle or a maximum subsidy of Rs. 3.00 Lakhs.
However, the scheme is not just confined to the Muslim community, but is applicable to all religious minorities. Further, under the Swavalambi Sarathi Scheme, the government is providing subsidies for buying electric vehicles to the unemployed youth of SC, ST, and backward classes also.
Moreover, the scheme was also implemented by the earlier BJP government and is not a new initiative of the current Congress government, as asserted in the viral post. Information related to the budget and the number of vehicles allocated under the scheme for the year 2021-22 can be viewed here.
Additionally, tweets (here & here) from the Department of Minority Welfare from 2021 and 2022 promoting the scheme confirm that it was operational during the previous government’s tenure.
Dear @ArfathH90252213
Yes sir, there is a subsidy of 75,000 rupees for the selected beneficiaries to purchase Taxi subsidy scheme.
Regards.
Smitha On behalf of KMDC
To sum it up, the former BJP-led Karnataka government also offered subsidized vehicles to religious minorities.

created: September 13, 2023


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The ‘Freedom of the City of London’ title conferred on Nehru in 1956 is an honorary one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 19, 2022
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that Jawaharlal Nehru took the citizenship of London in 1956. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Jawaharlal Nehru took the citizenship of London in 1956.
Fact: Jawaharlal Nehru was conferred with the ‘Freeman of the City of London’/‘Freedom of the City of London’ award in 1956. It is an honorary title. He did not renounce Indian citizenship and take the citizenship of England. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched with some keywords on the internet, the same video was found to be uploaded by ‘British Pathé’ with the title – “London Honours Two Great Premiers (1956)”. In the description of the video, the following can be read – “Two great Prime Ministers, Mr Nehru of India and Mr Holland of New Zealand, receive the freedom of the City of London at the Guildhall.” Similar videos of the same event can be seen here and here. The remarks made by Nehru after receiving the honour can be seen in the videos.
On 03 July 1956, several newspapers have reported about the honour conferred on Jawaharlal Nehru of India and Sir Sidney Holland of New Zealand. Some of those news reports can be seen here and here.
The details regarding the ‘Freedom of the City’ honour can be read here, here, here, and here. Some of the other recent recipients of the award are Lord Khalid Hameed and Sanjiv Chadha. It is an honorary title. In ‘The Times of India’ article, it can be read that– “It is believed that the first Freedom of the City of London was presented in 1237. The award was originally a working title which enabled recipients to carry out their trade. In contemporary society the award of Freedom of the City tends to be entirely ceremonial….” He did not renounce Indian citizenship and took the citizenship of England.
To sum it up, the ‘Freedom of the City of London’ title conferred on Nehru in 1956 is an honorary one.

created: September 19, 2022


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The ‘Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh (U.T.), India’ (@GB_Ladakh_India) profile on Twitter is not an official handle - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 13, 2020
A screenshot of a Twitter profile is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the official Twitter handle of ‘Office of the Union Territory of Ladakh’ has been renamed as ‘Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh (U.T.), India’. But, FACTLY has found that the Twitter handle (@GB_Ladakh_India) is not an official handle. The profile was created in May 2020 and it also has now removed ‘Official’ from its description (In the posted image, it can be seen that the profile description mentions that it is an official profile). Also, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that it is a fake handle and the UT of Ladakh has only two official Twitter handles – @DIPR_Leh & @InformationDep4.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. PIB Tweet – https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1260448160096419841
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The Woman in the photo is alive. She did not die fighting against the CAB in Assam. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 12, 2019
A photo of a woman is being shared widely on Facebook with a claim that she was martyred in the fight against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post
Photo of a girl who died fighting against the CAB in Assam.
Fact: Her name is Dirija Phukon. She is absolutely fine and alive. She has posted on her Facebook account asking people not to spread rumours about her death. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On one of the similar posts on Facebook, a user ‘Happy Saikia’ has commented that the girl in the photo is her sister and she is absolutely fine.
‘Happy Saikia’ has also posted the same photo on her Facebook wall with the description: ‘……Dirija is my sister and she is absolutely Fine. Please don’t spread rumours.”
When searched on Facebook for ‘Dirija’, a profile with the name ‘Dirija Phukon’ was found. In her profile, it can be seen that she is the one in the photo. Also, it can be found that she has posted on her wall refuting the claims that she has died and asking people not to spread the rumours.
Also, FACTLY hastried to contact her and this article will be updated after getting theresponse.
To sum it up, the woman in the photo is alive. She did not die fighting against the CAB in Assam
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created: December 12, 2019


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The girl in the photo was not holding a poster criticizing the ‘Shaadi Shagun’ scheme - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 19, 2019
An image of a girl is being shared on Facebook with a claim that she was holding a poster criticizing the ‘Shaadi Shagun’ scheme. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the image in the post.
The girl in the photo was holding a poster criticizing the ‘Shaadi Shagun’ scheme.
Fact: No, the girl was not holding a poster criticizing the ‘Shaadi Shagun’ scheme. The photo was taken in 2014 and the scheme was announced in 2017. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the image in the post was run through Google Reverse Image, it was found to be uploaded by a Facebook page called ‘Speaking Frame’ back in 2014 in an album with the title “Before judging US, JUDGE yourself!”. In the original photo, the girl was holding a poster which reads, “If a girl is in LOVE, it’s natural and it does not make her CHARACTERLESS”.
Also, when looked for the scheme ‘Shaadi Shagun’ on Google, it was found that the scheme was announced in 2017. The official press release of the government also mentions this in 2017.  So, it is clear that the girl’s photo was taken in 2014, much before the announcement of this scheme.
To sum it up, the girl in the photo was not holding a poster criticizing the ‘Shaadi Shagun’ scheme.
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The girl in this photo who lost her life to cancer is not South African cricketer David Miller’s daughter - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 9, 2022
A post is being shared on social media with a photo of South African cricketer David Miller with a young girl. The post claims that she is his daughter and has died of cancer. Let’s find out the truth behind this claim through this article.
Claim: South African cricketer David Miller’s daughter lost her life to cancer.
Fact: According to news reports, the little girl who lost her life due to cancer is Ane, who was a die-hard fan of David Miller. David Miller posted a video and a story about her demise on his Instagram page too. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We ran a keyword search on the internet about the claim and found news reports regarding the same. According to a report by Indian Express, Ane, who was a die-hard fan of David Miller, passed away due to cancer. One of the pictures in the article matches the picture in the viral post. A few other news reports on this incident can be read here, here and here.
David miller also posted a video on his Instagram with pictures of him and Ane titled ‘RIP you little rockstar💗Love you always!💗.’
A post shared by Dave Miller (@davidmillersa12)
He even posted a story in which he wrote, ‘Going to miss you so much by skut! The biggest I’ve ever known. You took the fighting to a different level – always incredibly positive and with a smile on your face,”
Sports writer Abhishek Kumar clarified that the girl who passed away due to cancer is not his daughter, but she is his fan.  ‘She is not his daughter guys. People are spreading this news as David Miller lost his daughter. She was his fan, a well wisher, whom Miller dearly loved. And she lost her battle to cancer,’ He wrote on his Twitter. CricTracker, a sports news website, also tweeted about this.
She is not his daughter guys.
People are spreading this news as David Miller lost his daughter.
She was his fan, a well wisher, whom Miller dearly loved.
And she lost her battle to cancer.#rip #davidmiller pic.twitter.com/IlJFX9gffA
To sum up, the girl in this photo who lost her life to cancer is not South African cricketer David Miller’s daughter.

created: October 9, 2022


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The Woman seen in the photo hugging Michelle Obama during a Graduation Ceremony isn’t her daughter - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 19, 2019
An old Facebook post is being shared again with the claim that, during a University’s Graduation Ceremony, US former First Lady Michelle Obama has hugged her daughter who wore a cap that had a quote by Prophet Muhammad printed on it. Let’s try to check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Michelle Obama’s daughter wore a cap printed with a quote by Prophet Muhammad on it during her Graduation Ceremony.
Fact: The woman hugging Michelle Obama, with a quote by Prophet Muhammad on her graduation cap is from Yemen named Orrubba, who graduated from ‘The City College of New York’ in 2016. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search technique, it was found in the Instagram account of Michelle Obama. It was posted in 2016 and from the description of the photo, it was found to be taken during the Graduation Ceremony of ‘The City College of New York’ in 2016.
Michelle Obama was found to have posted another photo of the woman whom she hugged (the woman holds the same cap and also has the same dark blue hijab over her head) in the Graduation Ceremony. By going through the description of the photo, it was found that she is from Yemen and her name is Orrubba.
Michelle Obama has two daughters Malia Obama and Sasha Obama. From an article published by the BBC in 2017, it was found that the elder daughter Malia has joined for Graduation course in Harvard University in 2017 and the other daughter, Sasha was still in High School.
To summarize, the woman seen hugging Michelle Obama during a Graduation Ceremony
with a quote by Prophet Muhammad on her graduation cap isn’t her daughter. She is from Yemen named Orrubba.
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The girl singing in the video is not Elvis Presley’s grand-daughter - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 10, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the girl singing in the video is Elvis Presley’s grand-daughter. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The granddaughter of Elvis Presley singing ‘It’s Now or Never’.
Fact: The name of the girl singing in the video is Angelina Jordan and she is not the grand-daughter of legendary singer Elvis Presley. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshot of the girl from the video was run through the Google Reverse Image Search, a link to a website with a similar image of the girl can be found in the search results. According to the ‘See it Live’ website, the girl in the video is Angelina Jordan, a 13-year-old singer from Norway. In the video, she was singing “It’s Now or Never” for a show at Fredricksten Castle in Halden, Norway. She was the winner of “Norway’s Got Talent” (Norske Talenter) in 2014. More information about her can be found on her website.
When checked for the names of grand-daughters of Elvis Presley, it was found that he did not have any grand-daughter with the name Angelina Jordan. He has three grand-daughters (Riley Keough, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood).
To sum it up, the girl singing in the video is not Elvis Presley’s grand-daughter. She is Angelina Jordan, a Norwegian singer.
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The girl was found missing at the Nagpur railway station in 2016 and later, she was reunited with her family. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 14, 2019
An image of a girl at a railway station is being shared on Facebook saying that she was found missing at the Hyderabad railway station. In the post, it was also being asked to share that information so that she can be reunited with her parents. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the claim.
Image of a girl found missing at the Hyderabad railway station.
Fact: The girl in the image is Avani and she was found missing at the Nagpur railway station in 2016. She was reunited with her family within minutes after the railway officials shared her picture on social media. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post was subjected to Google reverse image search technique, an ‘India Tv’ article was found in the search results. From the article, it was found that the girl in the image is Avani and she was found missing at the Nagpur railway station. In the article, it was mentioned that the girl was reunited with her family within minutes after the railway officials shared her picture on social media. This incident was found to have taken place in May 2016. The same information can also be read in the ‘Indian Express’ article that carried a story about the incident.
To conclude, the girl was found missing at the Nagpur railway station in 2016 and later, she was reunited with her family.
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created: November 14, 2019


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The gold statue of Prime Minister Modi was made in Gujarat, not in Saudi Arabia - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 13, 2023
A video showing a gold carving of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bust is being shared on social media claiming that the statue is installed in Saudi Arabia. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: PM Modi’s gold bust statue was made in Saudi Arabia.
Fact: A jeweller named Basant Bohra from Surat has carved a bust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, weighing 156 gm in 18-carat gold to commemorate the BJP’s victory in state Assembly elections in January 2023. The video in the post shows the same statue. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
A keyword search on the internet led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) which revealed that a jeweller named Basant Bohra from Surat has carved a bust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, weighing 156 gm in 18-carat gold to commemorate the BJP’s victory in state Assembly elections in January 2023.
ANI news reported an interview video of Bohra where he mentioned that ‘the statue weighs 156g, which was a reference to the 156 seats won by the BJP in the Assembly elections.’
To sum up, the gold statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was made in Gujarat, not in Saudi Arabia.


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The Government clarifies that ‘Service Charge is Voluntary’. How difficult is its implementation?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 4, 2017
The government has issued a clarification stating that paying ‘service charge’ levied by hotels/restaurants is purely voluntary and that consumers dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off. But its implementation on ground may not be easy.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India issued a press release clarifying its stand on ‘Service Charge’ collected by many hotels & restaurants. The ministry has also written to various state governments in this regard. While the ministry has clarified that service charges are discretionary/ voluntary and a consumer dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off, it might be difficult to implement in practice.
What does the law say about ‘Service Charge’?
Service Charge, unlike ‘Service Tax’ is not imposed and not collected by the government. Service charges are collected by restaurants on the services offered by them and are retained by them. In many restaurants, ‘service charge’ in the range of 5-20% is collected, which a consumer is forced to pay irrespective of the kind of service provided to him. Since this is not a tax or charge imposed by the government, charging of service charges by restaurants is not an offence under the Finance Act, 1994 and hence government cannot take any proactive action on hotels.
The government’s latest press release also made a mention of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The act states that a trade practice which, for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or the supply of any goods or for the provision of any service, adopts any unfair method or deceptive practice, is to be treated as an unfair trade practice. The act also states that a consumer can make a complaint to the appropriate consumer forum against such unfair trade practices. A complaint to the consumer forum can be made against any of the following
In other words, consumers who are not satisfied with the services can approach the relevant consumer forum for the deficiency in service.
What does the Government’s clarification say?
The government’s press release mentions that the ministry has called for clarification from the Hotel Association of India, which replied that the service charge is completely discretionary and should a customer be dissatisfied with the dining experience he/she can have it waived off. Therefore, it is deemed to be accepted voluntarily.
The ministry has written to the state governments to sensitize companies, hotels and restaurants about the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and also to advise them to disseminate information through display at the appropriate place in the hotels that the ‘service charges” are discretionary/ voluntary and a consumer dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off.
Is the implementation easy?
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha in November 2016, the government said that charging of ‘service charges’ by hotels and restaurants can be treated as ‘unfair trade practice’ if it is charged without the knowledge and consent of the consumers, against which a consumer can file a complaint in a Consumer Forum.
In other words, if the hotels are informing consumers and are displaying on their menu cards about the service charge, it may not amount to an ‘unfair trade practice’. In fact, the NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India)  issued a clarification in December 2016 that levy of ‘service charge’ is valid  and that many judicial pronouncements supported the levy of ‘service charge’.
While some cities like Chandigarh have issued clear instructions to hotels not to levy any service charge, the government’s latest clarification does not make it clear whether or not the hotels can levy service charge in the first place. It leaves it to the discretion of the customer whether or not to pay. Normally, most customers would want the service charges to be waived off and might say they are not satisfied with the service of the hotel/restaurant. It is equally possible that hotels/restaurants might not agree with the customer’s decision leading to a conflict. All these matters might then reach the consumer forum. In essence, the government’s clarification leaves scope for individual discretion and makes its implementation difficult in the absence of any objective parameters.
Featured Image: Service Charge is Voluntary

created: January 4, 2017


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The government holds control over the properties of people who migrated to Pakistan, not the Waqf board - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 1, 2022
A social media post claiming that the properties of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from India after 1947 are vested with the Waqf board, is being widely circulated. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Properties of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from India after 1947 are vested with the Waqf board.
Fact: It is the government that took control of those properties of those who migrated to Pakistan following the initial years of partition. Government compensated people who came back from Pakistan to India with these properties. Legislations like The Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 & 1952, The Evacuee Interest (Separation) Act, 1951 and The Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 facilitated for the compensation. Later on, the government renamed these properties as enemy properties following the Indo-Pak wars. Subsequent legislations like the Defence of India Act, 1962, The Enemy Property Act, 1968 continued with control of government over these properties. The 2017 amendment to the 1968 act has provided the government to seize these properties. In fact, in 2019, the government has sold few of these properties. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Following the partition of the country, the government of India has promulgated a few legislations to facilitate the rehabilitation of the displaced people and deal with the properties of the people who migrated from India to Pakistan. It is the government that took control over these properties through these legislations. Over the years, there has been a change in terminology in naming these properties. In the initial years after partition, properties of people who migrated to Pakistan were called evacuee properties and following the Indo-Pak war these properties were named enemy properties. These legislations that governed these properties are briefly discussed below as per the chronological order.
The Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 & 1952 :
These are the initial legislations (1950 & 1952 ) promulgated for the administration of evacuee properties and to compensate for the loss of those people who migrated to India from Pakistan. The 1950 act defines the terms ‘evacuee’, ‘evacuee property’.  Further, the Act establishes a custodian for the state and vests upon the custodian, the control over these identified evacuee properties.
Properties of those who migrated from India to Pakistan were taken over by the government and then handed out to those who were coming from Pakistan to India.
Further, The Evacuee Interest (Separation) Act, 1951, was enacted to expedite the division and separation of evacuees’ shares from the non-evacuees’ shares in joint or composite properties.
The Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act 1954:
This act provides for the acquisition of evacuee property by the government and the payment of compensation to displaced persons.
Defence of India Act, 1962 :
This act was framed as an emergency war legislation during the time Sino-India war. Rules framed in line with the Defence of India Act, 1962 vested the control of the immovable properties of those who opted for the Pakistan nationality with the government.
Enemy Property Act, 1968 :
Later on, the Enemy Property Act, 1968 enacted in wake of the 1965 India- Pakistan war, defined the term enemy property in line with the Defence of India Act, 1962. This act identified the properties of those who migrated to Pakistan & China following the India-China & India -Pakistan wars as enemy properties. The Enemy Property Act, 1968 further established a custodian and bestowed upon the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, the control over these properties.
Over the years, the act was amended a few times and the latest amendment passed in 2017 (The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016) has provided the government to seize these enemy properties. The amended Act further expanded the definition of the term ‘enemy subject’ and ‘enemy firm’ to include the legal heir and successor of an enemy, irrespective of their citizenship so as to guard the successors of those who migrated to Pakistan and China from claiming these properties.
In this regard, the amendment provided that enemy property shall continue to vest in the Custodian even if the enemy or enemy subject or enemy firm ceases to be an enemy due to death, extinction, winding up of business or change of nationality, or that the legal heir or successor is a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy.’
Thus from the above information, it is evident that it is not the waqf board, but the government had control over the properties of people who migrated to Pakistan are vested with the government. In fact, in 2019, the central government by amending the guidelines for disposal of the Enemy Property Order, 2018, sold a few of these properties and also allowed the state governments to put to public use some of the enemy properties (properties of those who migrated to Pakistan and China).
On the other hand, Waqf is the property given in the name of God for religious and charitable purposes. In legal terms, ‘permanent dedication by a person professing Islam, of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognized by the Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable’. However, there are no reports or evidence of the Waqf board taking control of the properties of people who migrated to Pakistan as claimed in the post.
To sum it up, the Government through Custodian of Enemy Property for India holds control over the properties of people who migrated to Pakistan, not the Waqf board.


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Amendments to the PDPP Act, 1984
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2015
The Union Home Ministry has proposed a set of amendments to the PDPP act, 1984 that seek to deter prospective violators from damaging public property during agitations and also make the office bearers of the organizations calling for such agitations responsible for any damage. These amendments follow the recommendations made by the Justice K T Thomas committee setup by the Supreme Court while dealing with a writ petition on this issue.
Damage to Public Property during violent protests is common place across the country. Public Transport Buses and other Public Property are the first victims during such protests. The government of India now proposes to the amend the ‘Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984’ (PDPP) to put in place proper deterrents so as to prevent damage to public property.
The History
Taking a serious note of various instances where there was large scale destruction of public and private properties in the name of agitations, bandhs, hartals and the like, suo motu proceedings were initiated by a Bench of the Supreme Court in 2007. The court appointed two different committees, one headed by former supreme court judge, Justice K T Thomas and the other headed by Mr. Fali S Nariman. The Justice K T Thomas committee made the following recommendations.
The court accepted these recommendations. The court also issued certain guidelines for effecting preventive action. It said, as soon as a demonstration is organized,
The other committee made recommendations for Police to enforce their duties and to the media.
Major Amendments Proposed
The Union Home Ministry has accepted the recommendations of the Justice K T Thomas committee and has proposed amendments to the PDPP act, 1984 to deter prospective violators from vandalizing and destroying public/private property during agitations and other forms of protests. The proposed amendments also seek to deter the office bearers of the organizations who call for this protests/agitation. In this regard, it has issued a circular on 20 May, 2015.
What can we do?
If any of us have any suggestions/comments on these proposed amendments, we can do so by 20 July, 2015. The suggestions/comments can be sent to Ministry of Home Affairs, CS Division, 5 Floor, NDCC Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi -110001. The suggestions can also be sent on email to dircs1-mha@mha.gov.in
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The Government of India did not introduce any law to end the insurance guarantee coverage for bank depositors - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 13, 2022
A collage of newspaper clippings is being shared on social media claiming that the Government of India is planning to end the insurance guarantee for the depositors saving their money in banks. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Central Government is planning to end the insurance guarantee for the money deposited in banks.
Fact:  The news clippings shared in the post were published in 2017 regarding, ‘The Financial Regulation and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017’ introduced by Government of India. While assuring that FRDI Bill does not adversely modify the earlier protections given to the depositors, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release clarifying that the FRDI Bill will provide additional protections to the depositors in a more transparent manner. Following the widespread criticism of its controversial provisions, GoI has withdrawn FRDI Bill in 2018. In February 2020, the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) raised the depositors’ insurance cover limit to 5 lakhs, which earlier used to be one lakh rupees. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the news clippings shared in the post, we found that these news clippings are being shared on social media at least since 2017. They can be seen here and here. On observing the clearer version of these news clippings, it is found that both these news clippings talk about the risks of depositors from the ‘The Financial Regulation and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017’.
देश की जनता से भाजपा सरकार ने पैसा बैंकों में जमा करा दिया है और अब पैसा वापसी गारंटी खत्म करने की योजना बना रही है सरकार
मतलब अब बैंक में जमा जनता के पैसे की वापसी की कोई गारंटी नहीं होगी
अजब गजब सरकार pic.twitter.com/h6DVVdUIOl
The Government of India introduced ‘The Financial Regulation and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017‘ in Lok Sabha on 10 August 2017.  The Joint Committee of Parliament was asked to consult stakeholders on the provisions of the FRDI bill and was asked to submit their report on the last day of the budget session, 2018.
Following the introduction of the bill, several news websites published articles reporting that bail-in-provision introduced in the FRDI bill empowers the proposed ‘Resolution Corporation’ to cancel the liability owed by the bank or change the form of an existing liability to another security. They can be seen here and here. An article published by ‘The Hindu’ in November 2017 states, “All of us are aware that money in a savings or fixed deposit account is a liability owed by the bank to its customer. The bank promises to repay the money when demanded by the customer. Since the customer has not taken any security from the bank when handing over his money, legally, the customer is an unsecured creditor of the bank. With a ‘bail-in’, the bank simply refuses repayment of a customer’s money or instead issues securities such as preference shares (with no guarantee of fixed dividends) to a customer. This is in lieu of his deposits which are then used for recapitalisation of the bank”.  All these articles reported that there will be no guarantee for the fixed deposit money because of the bail-in provision of the FRDI bill.
On 07 December 2017, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release stating that provisions of the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 were meant to protect the interests of depositors. A statement from the press release reads, “The provisions contained in the FRDI Bill, as introduced in the Parliament, do not modify present protections to the depositors adversely at all. They provide rather additional protections to the depositors in a more transparent manner”. In another press statement released by the Ministry of Finance in January 2018, the government emphasised that they will provide one lakh deposit insurance coverage as provided in the past.
Following the widespread criticism of its controversial provisions, GOI has withdrawn FRDI Bill in August 2018. On checking the status of the Bill on the Lok Sabha website, it was found that the Bill has been withdrawn. In February 2020, many news agencies reported an alleged statement made by the Finance Minister which read “We are working on the FRDI Bill, but not sure when it can get through the House”. But, in July 2020, it has been clarified by the ‘Ministry of Finance’ that ‘the Government has not taken any decision to reintroduce the FRDI Bill’. The tweets regarding this clarification can be found here and here.
In February 2020, the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) raised the limit of insurance cover for depositors in insured banks from one lakh to five lakh rupees. A statement issued by the RBI on 04 February 2020 reads, “ With a view to providing a greater measure of protection to depositors in banks the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, has raised the limit of insurance cover for depositors in insured banks from the present level of `1 lakh to `5 lakh per depositor with effect from February 4, 2020 with the approval of Government of India”.
To sum it up, old news clippings related to FRDI Bill withdrawal are shared claiming that the government is planning to end the deposit insurance guarantee.

created: September 13, 2022


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The Government of India did not notify any time-specific gadget scrapping policy - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2023
A video is being shared where the person in the video claims that the government came up with a new scrapping policy for mobile phones and other electronics. The video also claims that the policy specified a time period for using each electronic gadget after which these should be scrapped. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Government of India introduced a new scrap policy for mobile phones and other electronic goods.
Fact: Under the provision of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) of E-waste management rules, manufacturers, importers, and brand owners are required to collect and recycle old and discarded devices. The government has not specified a period for any gadgets to be discarded under EPR. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
With a relevant keyword search regarding the claim, we found that no such announcement was made by the Indian government lately. Subsequent research on the provisions related to electronic waste in India led to E-waste Management Rules. E-waste Management Rules, 2022 replaced by E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 by The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). It is an environmental regulation aimed at addressing the problem of electronic waste (here).
Extended producer responsibility is one of the central provisions of the rules where producers, manufacturers, and importers of electric equipment are supposed to manage the end-of-life disposal of their products. However, the government has not specified a period for any electronic gadgets mentioned, to be discarded under EPR.
To sum up, the Government of India did not notify any time-specific gadget scrapping policy.

created: September 21, 2023


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The Government of India does not offer a monthly sum of Rs. 3000 through the Rojgaar Sangam Yojana - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 30, 2024
A viral social media post claims that the Government of India is offering Rs. 3000 monthly under the Rojgar Sangam Yojana. The eligibility criteria include passing Class 12 and ensuring no family member holds a government job. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Government of India provides a monthly sum of Rs. 3000 through the Rojgaar Sangam Yojana. To qualify, individuals must have passed Class 12, and none of their family members should be employed in the government sector.
Fact: The scheme is not run by the government of India. It is a scheme under the Directorate of Training and Employment of the Labour Department in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The scheme aims to facilitate suitable employment opportunities that align with the academic qualifications of the candidates who register. There are no specific eligibility criteria or financial assistance provided under the scheme. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
While the post asserts that the Government of India introduced the Rojgaar Sangam scheme, the description provides a link to the Uttar Pradesh government’s program. On conducting a keyword search, we found that the scheme falls under the Directorate of Training and Employment of the Labour Department in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Further, there are neither eligibility criteria nor financial assistance mentioned on the website. Instead, the scheme aims to facilitate suitable employment opportunities that align with the academic qualifications of the candidates who register. Career guidance is also offered to job seekers. The Website of the Directorate of Training and Employment also mentions these services provided by the employment officers.
To sum up, the Government of India does not offer a monthly sum of Rs. 3000 through the Rojgar Sangam Yojana.

created: January 30, 2024


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The Government of India does not release crime statistics and tax-related data based on religion - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 22, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that a community that is 18% of India’s population (a reference to the Muslim population) is highly contributing to social evils. The post even claims that the community is responsible for 98% rapes, 95% robberies, 100% terrorism, 300% increase in population explosion, 800% use of government facilities, but only 0.1% tax contribution. According to Census 2011 data, the Muslim population in India is more than 14%. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Muslim population in India contributes to 98% rapes, 95% robberies, 100% terrorism, 300% population explosion, 800% use of government facilities, but only contribute 0.1% tax.
Fact: There is no evidence to show that Muslims in India carry out 98% rapes, 95% robberies, 100% terrorism, 300% population explosion, and use 800% of government facilities; but only contribute 0.1% tax to government. Government of India does not release crime statistics, and tax related data based on religion. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
CRIME:
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is the nodal agency for the compilation of crime statistics in India. These are not released religion-wise. NCRB released ‘Crime in India 2020’ report on its website. In the document, there is no reference to religion as a category for recording crime. In chapter 3- ‘Crime Against Women’ also, there is no reference to any religion.
Earlier, a viral claim that out of 84,374 rapes in 2016-18, 81000 were committed by Muslims, was debunked by Factly in 2019.
According to data compiled by the NCRB and updated till 31 December 2020, over 72% of undertrial prisoners are Hindu and nearly 21% are Muslims.
Tax Contribution:
There are two types of taxes; one is the direct tax, and the other is the indirect tax. The government of India does not release direct or indirect tax data based on religion. The Income Tax department releases the figures of direct tax collection, but these are also not based on religion. The methodology adopted in Income Tax Return statistics is also not based on any religion. The data related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) is also not based on any religion.
Earlier, a viral claim that, Sikhs contribute 33% Income Tax in India was debunked through a fact-check article by Factly in 2019. The direct tax collection data is not released based on religion.
To sum it up, the Government of India does not release crime statistics and tax-related data based on religion.


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The Government of India had not issued any notification regarding buying or selling of old currency notes/coins - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming that the government notified to buy three kinds of old Indian currency in exchange for money depending on the quality of the coin/note. The video also states that a government coin collector would exchange the currency with money in person.  Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Government of India notified on buying old currencies coins/notes for lakhs of rupees.
Fact: The Government of India did not release any such notification on the exchange of old currencies. In 2021, RBI cautioned the public against buying and selling old coins/notes and clarified that the central bank does not deal with such matters. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
With the relevant keyword search, we found news articles (here and here) with similar kinds of claims being circulated. On further investigation, we discovered that the Government of India had not issued any official notifications regarding the buying or selling of specific denominations of currency notes like the 5-rupee tractor note, 10-rupee black note, or 10-rupee Vaishno Devi note.
In fact, RBI issued notices regarding the same in 2021 stating that no such announcement for buying/selling of old banknotes and coins was made. Factly had already debunked a similar claim made regarding five and ten-rupee coins with Vaishnodevi engraved on them.
It’s important to note that while certain old or rare banknotes and coins may have collector’s value, the buying and selling of such items typically occur in the numismatic or collectors’ market rather than through official government channels. On the other hand, e-commerce sites like Indiamart, Coin Bazaar, OLX, etc. do brisk business in old coins and notes. However, these sites act only as a third party and are not responsible for any transactions or fraud in this business.
To sum up, the Government of India had not issued any official notifications regarding the buying or selling of specific denominations of currency.

created: September 5, 2023