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GST Rates Unchanged for Phones, TVs, and Fridges; Media Outlets Mislead Public - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 5, 2023
A post shared on social media claims that mobile phones, TVs, and refrigerators have become cheaper due to a reduction in the GST rate from 31.3% to 18% by the Government of India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Mobile phones, TVs, and refrigerators have become cheaper due to a reduction in the GST rate from 31.3% to 18% by the Government of India.
Fact: The government of India has not made any official announcement regarding the revision of tax rates on the mentioned household items. The tax rates that were fixed on 01 April 2023 remain unchanged to date.  The current GST rates for mobile phones, televisions (below 32 inches), and refrigerators are 18%. The last revision of these rates occurred in 2020 for mobile phones (from 12% to 18%), in 2018 for refrigerators and televisions (up to 32 inches) (from 28% to 18%). Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
According to the official website of the GST Council, on 01 July 2017, GST laws were implemented in India, replacing a complex web of central and state taxes. The Indian GST system categorizes goods and services into different tax slabs, which include 5%, 12%, 18%, and a maximum of 28% as opposed to the 31.3% mentioned in the viral post. To commemorate the 6th anniversary of the implementation of GST, a GST Day event was celebrated in Delhi on 01 July 2023. Addressing the gathering, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the advantages of GST for the people of India by comparing the taxation on various goods before and after the introduction of GST.
The Ministry of Finance’s official Twitter handle earlier shared the same information but did not explicitly refer to it as the comparison of the tax rates pre- and post-GST periods. Instead, they used the terms “earlier” and “now.” This terminology led social media users to believe that the government reduced GST rates on the mentioned household goods.
With reduced taxes, #GST brings happiness to every home: Relief through #GST on household appliances and mobile phones 👇#6YearsofGST #TaxReforms #GSTforGrowth pic.twitter.com/6qbdaERpzp
Furthermore, media outlets such as Zee News, ABP Live, News18, Jagran, India TV, etc, based on the aforementioned tweet, published articles claiming that the government had indeed lowered the GST rates on these items.
However, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, responsible for administering indirect taxes in India, has effectively addressed the confusion through its official Twitter handle. They posted the tax rates on various household items before and after the implementation of GST, providing clear information.
With reduced taxes, #GST brings happiness to every home: Relief through #GST on household appliances and mobile phones.#6YearsofGST pic.twitter.com/JzMGqZjFSA
It is important to note that the GST Council has not made any official announcement regarding the revision of tax rates on the mentioned household items recently. The tax rates that were fixed on 01 April 2023, remain unchanged to date. According to the CBIC website, the current GST rates for mobile phones, televisions (below 32 inches), and refrigerators are 18%. The last revision of these rates occurred in 2020 for mobile phones (from 12% to 18%), and in 2018 for refrigerators and televisions (up to 32 inches) (from 28% to 18%).
To sum it up, the government of India has not reduced the GST rates of TVs, Mobile phones, and Refrigerators recently.


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Who is guarding our International Borders? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 18, 2016
Who guards India’s International Borders? The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), commonly known as the Paramilitary forces, guard the six different international borders. The Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border  Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles (AR) are involved the border guarding duties.
Guarding the International borders is the foremost task of the security agencies. In our country, the international borders are guarded by the Central Armed Police Forces along with the Army in certain places. The Central Armed Police Forces are more commonly known as the paramilitary forces and come under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Guarding the International Borders with Six Countries
India shares its borders with six different countries; Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh & Myanmar. These six international borders are guarded by different paramilitary forces. Both the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders are guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF). The Indo-China border is guarded by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a specialized mountain force. Both the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders are guarded by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), while the Indo-Myanmar border is guarded by the Assam Rifles (AR).
Borders are not Uniform
The Government informed the Rajya Sabha that the International borders are not uniform in character and have different physical features, terrain and climate conditions along with different threat perceptions. The number of personnel required to guard the borders varies from border to border and sector to sector.
The deployment of Border Guarding Forces in the international borders is reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with Border Guarding Forces from time to time.  Recently, BSF has deployed 18 additional companies on international border in Punjab.
Central Armed Police Forces are also deployed in LWE affected States
The Government also informed the Rajya Sabha that a  total of 116 battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are currently deployed for assisting the State Governments in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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A Guide to the new Passport Rules - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2016
The Ministry of External Affairs has announced various modifications to the passport rules aimed at easing the process of issue of passport. Many new rules for various sections of society are also announced.
The Government has announced new passport rules aimed at simplifying and easing the process of issue of passport.  The new passport rules also simplify the process of application for single parents, orphaned children, sadhus etc. The changes have thus been notified.
Eight (8) different documents will now be accepted as proof of Date of Birth (DOB)
As per the existing provisions of the Passport Rules, 1980, all the applicants born on or after 26 January 1989, mandatorily submit the Birth Certificate as the proof of Date of Birth (DOB). The government has now decided that applicants can submit any of the following eight (8) documents as the proof of DOB while submitting the passport application.
Simplified rules for various sections of society
A three-member Committee with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child Development was constituted to examine various issues pertaining to passport applications where mother/child has insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned in the passport and also relating to passport issues to children with single parent and to adopted children. The Report of the Committee has been accepted by the Minister of External Affairs. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the following changes in the passport rules are being made for various sections of society.
Provision for Single Parents: The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of father or mother or legal guardian, i.e., only one parent and not both. This would enable single parents to apply for passports for their children and to also issue passports where the name of either the father or the mother is not required to be printed at the request of the applicant.
Number of Annexures reduced: The total number of Annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been brought down to 9 from the present 15. Annexes A, C, D, E, J, and K have been removed and certain Annexes have been merged.
Only Self Declaration from now on: All the annexes that are required to be given by the applicants would be in the form of a self-declaration on a plain paper. No attestation/swearing by/before any Notary/Executive Magistrate/First Class Judicial Magistrate would be henceforth necessary.
No affidavit or Marriage Certificate required for married applicants: Married applicants would not be required to provide Annexure K or any marriage certificate.
Name of Spouse not required for separated/divorced applicants: The Passport application form does not require the applicant to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons. Such applicants for passports would not be required to provide even the Divorce Decree.
Provision for Orphaned children: Orphaned Children who do not have any proof of DOB such as Birth Certificate or the Matriculation Certificate or the declaratory Court order, may now submit a declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letter head of the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant.
Children not born out of a wedlock: In case of children not born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only Annexure G while submitting the passport application.
For domestically adopted children: In case of issue of passport to in-country domestically adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed would no longer be required. In the absence of any deed to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming the adoption.
Government Servants without a NOC: Government servants, who are not able to obtain the Identity Certificate (Annexure-B)/ No-Objection Certificate (Annexure-M) from their concerned employer and intend to get the passport on urgent basis can now get the passport by submitting a self-declaration in Annexure-‘N’ that he/she has given prior Intimation letter to his/her employer informing that he/she was applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.
For Sadhus/ Sanyasis: Sadhus/Sanyasis can apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual Guru mentioned in the passport application in lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document such as Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India, PAN card, Aadhar Card, etc wherein the name of the Guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).

created: December 23, 2016


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Gujarat AAP MLAs switching sides won’t affect the party’s bid for National Party status - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2022
Amid speculation that the majority of the five newly elected AAP MLAs in Gujarat may join the BJP, a video is being shared on social media claiming that if these MLAs switch sides, then AAP will not be recognized as a National Party. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Aam Aadmi Party will not get the National Party status if its MLAs in Gujarat switch sides.
Fact: According to the ‘The Election symbols (Reservations and Allotment) Order, 1968’, the national party status will not get affected  because people leaving the party post-election does not actually count. They are elected on a particular party’s ticket and that will count towards their poll performance. So, it will not affect their recognition (as a state or national party). Similarly, in the case of a party, which does not have the required number of legislators to form a government, and gets MLAs from other parties, its poll performance does not improve. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A registered political party is accorded the status of a recognized state or national party as per the criteria listed in ‘The Election symbols (Reservations and Allotment) Order, 1968’. For any political party to be eligible for recognition as a State Party in a state, it must satisfy any of the five conditions listed below.
AAP is already a state party in Delhi (62 seats with 53.57% votes), Punjab (92 seats with 42.01% votes), and Goa (2 seats with 6.77% votes). With the recent Gujarat Assembly elections where AAP secured 05 seats with a 12.92% vote share, AAP qualifies for the status of a State party in Gujarat by fulfilling conditions (I) & (V) of rule 6A. Also, for any political party to be eligible for recognition as a National Party in a state, it must satisfy any of the three conditions listed in the below image:
Since AAP will now be a recognized state party in four states, as per rule 6B (iii), AAP will be recognized as a National Party by the Election Commission of India. Even if the AAP MLAs in Gujarat switch sides, it won’t affect AAP’s ‘National Party’ status as per rules 6C & 7 of ‘The Election symbols (Reservations and Allotment) Order, 1968’. The same is confirmed by Election experts in an interview with PTI saying, “The national party thing should not get affected at all because post-election people leaving (party) does not actually count. They are elected on a particular party’s ticket and that will count towards their poll performance. So, it will not affect their recognition (as a national party)”.
To sum it up, Gujarat AAP MLAs switching sides won’t affect the party’s bid for National Party status.

created: December 16, 2022


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Gujarat & Delhi account for more than 50% of the Fake Currency seized in the country
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 12, 2019
The
NCRB’s Crime in India report provides data on the Fake currency notes seized by
various law enforcement agencies. As per data of the 2017 report, the value of
fake currency seized across the country has increased by more than 70% in 2017.
Gujarat & Delhi still account for more than 50% of the fake currency seized
in the country.
There seems to be no end to the debate over whether or not fake currency circulation has decreased post-demonetisation. While a definitive answer is difficult, the data from various sources like the RBI & NCRB could give us some insights.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles data on the number of ‘Fake Indian Currency Notes’ (FICN) seized every year in its annual Crime in India report.
The Crime in India report of 2017, released recently is the first publication of the bureau which covers one full year’s fake currency-related details after the ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes were demonetized in 2016.
The figures presented in 2016 have already been analysed by Factly in an earlier story. This story focusses on the 2017 figures and comparison with 2016 data.
Counterfeiting currency notes is criminalised under
Section 489 of IPC
Counterfeitingcurrency notes is a crime under Section 489 of the Indian
Penal Code. Possession, productionand usage of counterfeit notes can result in severe punishment up to life termimprisonment along with a hefty fine.
Face value of fake notes has increased by 76.4% since
demonetisation
In 2017 alone, fake currency worth ₹ 28.1 crores were seized. In other words, an average of 975 fake notes worth ₹ 7.69 lakhs were confiscated per day in 2017. On the other hand, the value of fake currency seized in 2016 was ₹ 15.9 crores. Thus, the value of fake currency seized in 2017 is 76.4% more than the value of FICN seized in 2016. NCRB included fake currency seizure-related data in its report only since 2016.
₹ 2000, ₹ 1000 & ₹ 500 notes together account
for 95% seized FICN
Fake ₹ 2000 notes with aface value of ₹14.9 crores were seized in 2017, constituting 53% of the FICN seized in 2017.  FICN of ₹ 1000 accountedfor 23% of the total amount or ₹6.57 crores. It has to be noted that ₹ 1000 notes are no longer consideredlegal tender. Fake notes of the old ₹ 500 denomination, worth ₹ 5.14 crores werealso seized in 2017.  All these notestogether were worth ₹26.69 crores and accounted for 95% of the total value of FICN seized in 2017.
Number of fake 2000 notes increased substantially
The maximum numberof counterfeit notes seized in 2017 were that of the old ₹ 500 notes followedby ₹100 notes. However, the number of fake ₹ 500 notes (old& new) came down by 28.6% while number of fake ₹ 100 notesincreased by 55% compared to 2016. There was also a substantial increase in thenumber of fake ₹2000 notes seized in 2017, when close to 75000 such notes were seized. Sincethey were introduced only in November 2016, the real impact of the fake noteswas seen in 2017.
Delhi and Gujarat accounted for maximum number of fake ₹ 1000 & ₹ 2000 notes
In terms of numberof notes, a total of 3,55,994 notes were seized in 2017 of which counterfeitsof old ₹500 notes were more than a lakh. Gujarat accounted for the maximum number offake ₹2000 notes seized. A total of 41% of the fake ₹ 2000 notes were seizedin Gujarat. Delhi accounted for 61% of the fake old ₹ 1000 rupees notesseized.
Gujarat and Delhi account for 53% of the volume &
56% of the total face value of fake notes seized
The maximum numberof fake currency notes were seized in Gujarat. A total of 80,519 notes summingup to ₹9 crores were seized in Gujarat. In Delhi, 1 lakh notes worth ₹ 6.78 crores wereseized. Together, Gujarat and Delhi contribute to 53% of the notes seized and56% of the total value of such notes. In fact, the total value of fake notesseized in these two states in 2017 is almost equal to the total amount seizedin 2016. Even in 2016, the two states together accounted for 54% of the totalFICN seized. No fake notes were seized from Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim.
Face value of FCIN seized
in Mizoram has shot up by 17 times
In Gujarat, the amount seized has shot up by 279% while in Delhi, it increased by 20%. Uttar Pradesh where the third highest amount of fake currency was seized in 2017 has seen an increase in seizure by 472% (5.7 times) compared to 2016. Of the top ten states with highest amounts seized, West Bengal and Karnataka have recorded a decrease in the amounts seized by 16.8% and 33% respectively. In Mizoram, the number of fake notes seized, and the amount increased by more than 10 times. Compared to ₹ 3.73 lakh fake notes seized in 2016, the value of fake notes seized in 2017 went up to ₹ 71.13 lakh in the case of Mizoram. Even in Kerala, the value of fake notes seized has increased by 6.5 times.
Discrepancy between data
shared by Government in 2018 & the NCRB data
As per Factly’s article published in 2018 which analysed the data of FICNpresented in Lok Sabha in February 2018, based on NCRB, a total of3,06,808 fake notes were seized across the country after demonetisation(between 09 November 2016 and 31 December 2017). The total amount seized hasbeen reported as ₹21.54 crores while the NCRB report states the same as ₹ 28.1 crores for only 2017. About 39,604 fake notesof 2000 denomination were reported to have been seized during the same periodas per the Lok Sabha answer. But, as per NCRB report of 2017, in 2017 alone, morethan 74,000 fake 2000 notes were seized. In Gujarat itself more than 30,000 suchnotes were seized. There are many such discrepancies between the data presentedin the Lok Sabha and the NCRB report published recently. The time period whichhas been covered in the Lok Sabha answer is more than that covered in the NCRB2017 report. Yet, the total face value of seized notes is lesser. It ispossible that the data presented in the Lok Sabha was provisional, but thegovernment has to explain the discrepancies.
RBI also publishes data on Fake Currency
The Reserve Bank of India also publishes data on fake currency in its annual report. The RBI has issued detailed guidelines for the detectionand impounding of fake notes and the process to be followed by banks and otheragencies.
The data in the NCRB report and the one published by RBI varies because theRBI data pertains to fake notes detected at RBI as well as banks and does not includecounterfeit notes seized by the police and other enforcement agencies. Also,the RBI data pertains to a financial year while the NCRB data pertains to thecalendar year.
According to RBI data, a total of 6.32 lakh counterfeit notes weredetected in financial year 2015-16, 7.62 lakh in 2016-17, 5.22 lakh in 2017-18and 3.17 lakh in 2018-19.

created: November 12, 2019


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Gujarat police arrested these two young men for performing a bike stunt, not the Uttar Pradesh police - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 13, 2022
Recently, a video of a bike stunt performed by two youths went viral on social media. This video shows one boy riding a motorcycle while the other was sitting on his shoulder and posing with a pistol in his hand. In this context, a couple of images are being shared on social media claiming that UP police officials caught both these young men and taught a good lesson to them. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: UP police arrested the two young men who performed dangerous bike stunts carrying a pistol in public.
Fact: The incident shared in the post took place at Armoli village in Surat, Gujarat. Surat Police arrested both the young men and filed a case against them. The pistol carried by one of them was found to be a lighter. Gujarat Minister Harsh Sanghavi too confirmed the arrest of these two young men through a tweet on 02 January 2022. This incident has nothing to do with the UP police. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photos shared in the post, similar bike stunt visuals were found in an article published by the ‘Zee 24 Kalak’ new channel on 02 January 2022.  This article reported that this bike stunt of two young men carrying a pistol in their hands had taken place in Surat. A few YouTube channels mentioned these young men as famous TikTokers from Surat city in Gujarat.
Reporting the complete details of the incident, the ‘Navabharat Times’ news channel published an article on 03 January 2022. This article reported that the incident had taken place at Armoli village near Surat city in Gujarat. With a hint of the visible bike number plate in the viral video, Surat police reportedly caught both these young men. According to the details reported in the article, the two young men who performed this bike stunt are identified as Nagajan Odedara (26) and Bharat Ghadvi (21). The pistol carried by one of them was found to be a lighter. Following the arrest, Gujarat police officials released the picture of these two young men apologising for their actions. Reporting this picture, several news websites have published articles. They can be seen here and here.
Gujarat Minister Harsh Sanghavi through a tweet confirmed the arrest of these two young men. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the pictures shared in the post are related to a recent incident in Gujarat, not related to Uttar Pradesh.
we have caught them. Video is of 14th December & pistol seen in video is lighter. We r very serious on such offences. https://t.co/MLduvebWdd pic.twitter.com/hhTErAcr60
To sum it up, these young men in the picture were arrested for performing a bike stunt carrying a pistol in Gujarat. It is not related to Uttar Pradesh.

created: January 13, 2022


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Guwahati High court did not grant bail to a rape accused just because he is a talented student - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 27, 2021
A post claiming that Delhi High Court through a judgment has allowed IIT students to rape whoever they want is being shared widely across social media platforms. The post further claims that the court assured that they would not be jailed for doing so.  let’s fact-check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Claim: Delhi High Court through a judgment has allowed IIT students to rape whoever they want.
Fact: While granting bail to a rape accused, the Guwahati High court (not Delhi High court) remarked that the accused is a talented student pursuing a technical course and could be state’s asset. However, the court also laid emphasis to other factors like completion of the investigation, no possibility of the accused tampering with the evidence if granted bail. Further, it is noteworthy to mention that the court felt there is a clear prima facie case as alleged against the accused. However, multiple news agencies highlighted the judges remarks regarding the academic profile of the accused over other factors, which led to the misinterpretation of the judgement. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The Guwahati High Court recently granted bail to an IIT Guwahati student who is accused of raping a girl student from the same institute earlier on 13 August 2021. ‘However, as the investigation in the case is completed and both the informant/victim girl and the accused are the state’s future assets being talented students pursuing technical courses at the I.I.T., Guwahati, who are young in the age group of 19 to 21 years only and further, they are being hailed from two different states, continuation of detention of the accused in the interest of trial of the case, if charges are framed, may not be necessary. A perusal of the list of witnesses too, cited in the charge-sheet, this Court finds no possibility of the accused tampering with their evidence or influencing them directly or indirectly, if released on bail’, the court opined after hearing from both the sides.
Even though the court granted bail to the accused, it is noteworthy to mention that the court felt there is a clear prima facie case as alleged against the accused. This judgment of the Guwahati High court is being wrongly shared as if the Delhi court delivered the judgment.
While granting bail to the accused, many other factors like completion of the investigation, no possibility of the accused tampering with the evidence, or influencing them directly or indirectly if released on bail were considered by the court. In addition, the court weighed in on another factor that the accused being a talented student pursuing a technical course could be the state’s asset. In fact, the court mentioned both the victim as well as the accused as state’s assets.
However, multiple news agencies (here & here) which reported the judgement highlighted only the judge’s comment of hailing the accused as a state’s asset over other factors. This led to the misinterpretation of the judge’s remarks like in the case of viral social media post, claiming that the court blatantly supported the rape accused taking his academic record into consideration, which is not the case in reality.
To sum it up, Guwahati High court did not grant bail to a rape accused just because he is a talented student.


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Hair loss is a multifactorial condition requiring personalized diagnosis and treatment based on the underlying cause - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2024
Numerous videos (here, here, here) endorsing herbal hair oils are circulating extensively on social media. These videos claim that the use of such herbal hair oils can significantly enhance hair growth by reducing hair fall, controlling dandruff, and preventing the greying of hair. Some videos even assert that these products deliver 100% results within a short time. Let’s examine the validity of these claims.
Claim: Herbal hair oils can significantly enhance hair growth by reducing hair fall.
Fact: While some studies suggest natural oils can nourish hair, these were conducted on healthy individuals, implying that oils alone won’t solely boost hair growth. Hair loss is multifactorial, requiring treatments tailored to the specific cause. A balanced diet, hygiene, and proper hair care are also vital for hair growth. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Firstly, we visited the website selling these products. According to the site, the primary ingredients used in these products include Bringaraj, Brahmi, Hibiscus, Jatamansi, Cuscus, Fenugreek, and small onions, among others. The site also claims that the products have Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certification.
We verified this by checking the GMP website to see if the company offering these products is indeed GMP Certified. However, no such company was listed in the GMP Database. We then sought out research on the ingredients mentioned in these herbal products. We found that while some ingredients have primary research backing their efficacy, others have limited research, and some are known to potentially cause side effects if used without proper medical advice.
According to Harvard Medical School, hair loss can range from mild hair thinning to total baldness. Hair can fall out for various reasons, including drug side effects, prolonged illness, hormonal changes, symptoms of medical illness, genetic factors, and ageing. While some of these causes are temporary and treatable, others are permanent and may not be treatable with medications alone. Regardless, the treatment should be based on the underlying condition causing the hair loss.
Some studies (here and here) suggest that applying different kinds of natural oils to the hair can improve hair health by providing nourishment and moisturization. However, these studies were conducted on healthy individuals without any severe hair-related issues.
Moreover, while hair growth is influenced by various factors like nutrition and genetics, merely applying hair oils or combinations of oils will not solely promote hair growth. A balanced diet, good hygiene, and a proper hair care routine are also crucial for hair growth. Since hair fall treatment is based on the underlying cause, which varies from person to person, it is best advised to consult a medical professional as some of the ingredients in these products may have side effects on certain individuals.
In conclusion, while some hair oils may enhance hair health, applying hair oil alone will not significantly reduce hair fall. Treatment should be based on the underlying causes.

created: January 11, 2024


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How much Subsidy does the Government extend to Haj Pilgrims?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 16, 2018
Debate on secularism in India is probably incomplete without the reference to subsidies extended by the Government to various religious activities of citizens. The subsidy extended to Haj Pilgrims is one such direct subsidy. Based on a Supreme Court order in 2012, the Government of India has been steadily decreasing the amount of subsidy extended to the Haj Pilgrimage and announced that no such subsidy will be extended this year.
Debate on secularism in India is probably incomplete without the reference to subsidies extended by the Government to the religious activities of citizens. The subsidy extended to Haj Pilgrims is one such direct subsidy. Now that the government has announced that no subsidy will be extended to Haj pilgrims, here is a look at the past numbers.
The Haj Pilgrimage
Haj pilgrimage is organized annually during which Muslim pilgrims visit Makkah, Mina, Arafat, Muzadalifa and Madinah in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia allocates a quota to each country on the basis of one pilgrim for every thousand of the Muslim population of the country. Haj pilgrims either undertake pilgrimage through Haj Committee of India (HCOI) or the Private Tour Operators (PTO).
Number of Pilgrims
Between 2012 & 2017, a total of 6,71,388 Muslims have gone on Haj pilgrimage through the Haj Committee of India (HCOI) and  2,12,490 through Private Tour Operators (PTOs). The total number of pilgrims was close to 1.7 lakh in 2012 and had dropped to around 1.36 lakh in 2013. The quota remained at 1.36 lakh till 2016. In the year 2017, the quota increased to 1.7 lakh pilgrims. In 2017, there is an increase both in the quota of HCOI & PTOs.Which State sends the most Haj Pilgrims?
The state wise breakup of Haj Pilgrims who go through the PTOs is not available. But the state wise quota of Haj Pilgrims who undertake the pilgrimage through HCOI is available with the government. The state wise quota is decided on the basis of Muslim population of a state and the availability of applications. Hence states with a large Muslim population send the most number of Haj Pilgrims every year. Uttar Pradesh sends the maximum number of Haj Pilgrims every year followed by West Bengal & Maharashtra. In the six years from 2012 to 2017, Uttar Pradesh sent more than 1.62 lakh pilgrims, which is about 24% of the total number from India. The four states of UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra & Kerala account for close to 50% of the HCOI quota. Only these four states sent more than 50000 pilgrims each between 2012 & 2017. Of the bigger states, Punjab sent the last number of Haj pilgrims.
What kind of support does the Government Provide?
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) coordinates the Haj arrangements, in consultation with Haj Committee of India (HCOI) and Consulate General of India (CGI), Jeddah. MEA also sends 546 officials on deputation every year that include Coordinators, Assistant Haj Officers, Haj Assistants, Doctors & Para-medical staff for rendering assistance to the Haj pilgrims.
The Consulate General of India, Jeddah arranges for temporary Tents in Mina, sets up Dispensaries, Branch Haj Offices, arranges ambulances and other local transport for the Haj pilgrims with the approval of the MEA. Medicines and medical equipment are supplied by MEA to Consulate General of India, Jeddah to meet the medical requirements of Haj pilgrims. During Haj 2016, medicines worth Rs. 1.5 crores were supplied.
Ministry of Civil Aviation supervises the Air Charter operation during Haj period and deploys officials for support in Saudi Arabia to assist in embarkation and disembarkation of pilgrims.
What is the total subsidy amount?
Ministry of Civil Aviation provides subsidy for air travel to the pilgrims through the Haj Committee of India. The actual airfare differs based on the embarkation point.  The total subsidy amount as per data shared by the government Rs.837 crores in 2012. It has decreased to Rs 405 crore in 2016.The Haj pilgrims pay for the expenses incurred on air passage, accommodation, local transport within Saudi Arabia and food in Madinah etc. Haj Committee of India meets the costs of the Haj pilgrimage through the payments made by the pilgrims. No other external grant is provided by the Ministry of External Affairs to Haj Committee of India.
The Supreme Court has directed in 2012, that the subsidy on air travel should be phased out in ten years. In this judgment, the Supreme Court observed that the subsidy amount was increasing every year. The subsidy provided by the government increased from Rs 10.51 crore in 1994 to Rs 837 crore in 2012.The Supreme Court directed the government to phase out the subsidy and eliminate it in 10 years quoting from the Holy Quran that only those who afford should go on the Haj Pilgrimage.  The court also observed that this amount could be better utilized for the upliftment of the Muslim community.
In the same case, the court passed another order in July 2012 in which the number of Haj seats under VIP quota (Discretionary quota) to dignitaries has been restricted to 500 seats in the following manner.
Featured Image: Ali Mansuri [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

created: January 16, 2018


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Jan Aushadi Generic Drug Stores of the Government are not functioning - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2015
Generic Drugs are the lifeline to many poor patients who cannot afford the cost of the branded drugs. As a part of its mandate to promote Generic Drugs, the department of Pharmaceuticals of Government of India had launched the Jan Aushadi scheme and opened Jan Aushadhi Generic Drug Stores (JAGDS) across the country. But due to variety of reasons, more than 46% of these stores are now non-functional.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with Central Pharma Public Sector Undertakings (Government of India), had launched the Jan Aushadhi scheme to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses. Jan Aushadhi Generic Drug Stores (JAGDS) have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.
Generic drugs have the same efficacy and therapeutic value as that of branded medicines. But, the cost of generic medicines is much lesser than their branded equivalent. The quality, safety and efficacy of medicines are ensured by getting each batch of medicines procured from CPSUs as well as private suppliers tested from NABL approved laboratories and conforming to the required standards before the same are supplied to the JAGDS.
Two categories of JAGDS are allowed as per government policy
In terms of financial assistance, a margin of 16% on the sale price is built in the MRP of each drug. In addition, the stores are eligible for one time financial assistance up to Rs. 2.00 lakh as establishment cost and up to Rs. 50,000/- as one time start up cost for purchase of computer hardware etc. There are also other incentives.
The stores sell generic drugs and the list of drugs available along with the price of each drug is updated on the Jan Aushadi website.
As on date, the government has opened 175 such JAGDS across 16 states/UTs. Out of these 175 stores, 81 are non-functional due to various reasons. In other words, more than 46% of these stores are non functional.
As far as individual states are concerned, highest number of stores were opened in Rajasthan (53) and all of them are non-functional now. 24 stores each were opened in Punjab & Jharkhand where 3 and 9 stores are non-functional respectively. All the stores opened by the government are functioning in states like Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir & Madhya Pradesh. In Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh & West Bengal, all the stores that were opened are currently non functional.
These stores are closing down for a variety of reasons, most of which are to do with respective state government policies. The reasons include
The Government has also conducted a review of performance of JAGDS through the Public Health Foundation of-India (PHFI). PHFI in their report observed that reasons responsible for the poor performance were, over dependence on support from State Government, Poor Supply Chain management, Non- prescription of Generic Medicines by the doctors, State Governments launching free supply of drugs and Lack of awareness.
The Government proposes to open more JAGDS all over the country. Originally, it was proposed to open at least one JAGDS in each district of the country. Under the New Business Plan, 3000 stores are proposed to be opened till the end of 12th Plan period (2012-2017).
The government has also launched a National Toll free helpline 1800-180-8080 for dissemination of information on generic versions with same drug compositions.
But unless there is active co-ordination and co-operation between the Central & State Governments, it is difficult to see the targets being achieved and these stores running successfully.


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Half of the Top 20 Cleanest cities are from Maharashtra & Gujarat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 16, 2016
The Union Ministry of Urban Development released the  results of ‘Swachh Survekshan-2016’. Out of 73 cities surveyed in 2016 for cleanliness, Mysuru was ranked the cleanest city followed by Chandigarh, Tiruchirapalli, NDMC and Visakhapatnam in the top five. Half of the top 20 cleanest cities were from Maharashtra & Gujarat.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) released the rankings of the ‘Swachh Survekshan-2016’ survey, ranking cities on the basis of cleanliness. A total of 73 cities were surveyed, 53 of those with a population of over 10 lakh and the 22 other state capitals with not so much population. Mysuru from Karnataka topped the rankings followed by Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli. Half of the top 20 cleanest cities in this survey belonged to Maharashtra & Gujarat. Noida & Kolkata were not part of this survey.
Each city was evaluated for a total of 2,000 marks out of which 60% were assigned for solid waste management related parameters, 30% for construction of toilets and 5% each for city level sanitation strategy and behavior change communication.
Quality Council of India  conducted the survey and the survey team visited 42 locations in each city covering areas like railway stations, bus stations, religious places, major market places, planned and unplanned residential areas including slums and toilet complexes.
15 of the 73 cities which scored more than 70% of the total marks were categorized as Leaders and 20 cities with scores in the range of 60%-70% as Aspiring Leaders. Those with scores in the range of 50%-60% are the cities that need to accelerate their efforts and cities who scored below 50% are named Slow Movers who need to work harder to improve Sanitation.
Out of the 73 cities surveyed, 10 of them are Maharashtra, 7 from Uttar Pradesh, 5 from Gujarat and 4 each from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh & Delhi. All the four municipal corporations in Delhi were considered as separate cities for the survey. Out of the large states, only 2 cities were from West Bengal, 1 city was from Bihar.
Out of the 73 cities, 15 scored more than 70% marks, 20 scored between 60% and 70%, 18 of them scored between 50% and 60% and the remaining 20 cities scored less than 50% marks.
Both Gujarat & Maharashtra had two cities each in the top 10 while both the states accounted for 50% of the cities in the top 20. Delhi’s NDMC is at the fourth spot and Visakhapatnam from Andhra Pradesh occupied the 5 spot. Surat & Rajkot from Gujarat were at the 6 and 7 spot while Gangtok from Sikkim occupied the 8 spot. Pimpri-Chinchwad occupied the 9 spot followed by Greater Mumbai at the 10 spot. The last two spots were occupied by Asansol in West Bengal & Dhanbad in Jharkhand. Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha was in the bottom 10.
Out of the 73 cities surveyed, 32 have improved ranks since the last survey in 2014 including 17 from the North, 6 from the West, 5 from the South and 2 each from the East and North-East. The Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said that is a clear evidence of enhanced efforts being made by the northern cities towards sanitation and new cities challenging the domination of cities from the South and the West among top clean cities.
Of these 32 cities that improved their rankings, 10 cities increased their ranking by more than 20 positions. Some of the top movers are Allahabad (improved by 45 ranks), Nagpur (40), Visakhapatnam (39), Gwalior (34), Bhubaneswar(32), Hyderabad(31), Gurgaon(29), Vijayawada(23) and Lucknow (23).
Top 10 cities who moved down in ranks in 2016 i.e top 10 bottom movers are: Jamshedpur, Kochi, Shillong, Chennai, Guwahati, Asansol, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Kalyan Dombivili and Nashik. While Jamshedpur moved down this year by 53 ranks, Nashik slipped by 23 ranks.
Featured Image: pibphoto

created: February 16, 2016


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Hamza Bendelladj is still alive. The person in the photo is not him - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2019
A post with a photo is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that the person executed in the photo is Hamza Bendelladj who hacked banks and donated that money to Africa and Palestine. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the post.
Photo of Hamza Bendelladj, who was executed for hacking 217 banks and stealing 4000 million USD, which was donated to Africa and Palestine.
Fact: The photo is not of Hamza Bendelladj, he is still alive.  The photo is of Majid Kavousifar who was executed for killing a Judge in Iran. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched in Google for ‘Hamza Bendelladj’, an article published by ‘Al Jazeera’ was found. From the article, it is understood that the information in the post about Hamza Bendelladj is true, however, he was not executed. According to the article, Hamza Bendelladj is an Algerian hacker who hacked over 200 banks and donated millions of dollars to Palestinian charities.
There were also rumors that he was sentenced to death for his crimes by the US court, however, these rumors were denied by US authorities. Moreover, a US ambassador to Algeria commented that the computer crimes are not charged with the death sentence.
When the photo in the post was reverse image searched using Google, an article published by Reuters was found. According to the article, the person in the photo is Majid Kavousifar.  Majid Kavousifar and Hossein Kavousifar were executed for killing a Judge in Iran. Hence, the photo in the post is not of Hamza who hacked over 200 banks and donated millions of dollars to Palestinian charities, but it is of Majid Kavousifar.
To summarize, Majid Kavousifar’s execution photo for killing a judge in Iran is shared as that of Hamza Bendelladj in the photo is not Hamaza Bendallaz, he is still alive.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: October 10, 2019


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Handloom Sector in Union Budget 2015-16: Analysis - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 17, 2015
Arun Jaitley has presented his second budget for the year 2015-16, in the Parliament. He was quite worried about fiscal space, consciously reduced. Unfortunately, the same conscious did not increase his understanding of the tremendous fiscal constraints being faced by handloom weavers. Instead of responding with a good and sumptuous budget allocation, cruelly, budget for handloom weavers has been slashed by almost Rs.118 crores. The big question is, will this budget increase the prospects of handloom sector? Will this bring succor to the economic conditions of handloom weavers?
Following is the table of allocations, in comparison with previous two budgets:
BJP Manifesto – Only Talk
BJP Manifesto, and the election-eve speeches of their leaders, has promised inclusive development, sabka saath sabka vikaas. Arun Jaitley’s budget has not included handloom weavers. Handloom sector which provides employment to more than 1 crore people gets a paltry Rs.446.60 crores. This is in fact a reduction of 21 percent over the previous year.
BJP Manifesto promised to strategically develop labour intensive manufacturing. Per capita spending of the government on handloom sector, a labour intensive textile manufacturing section, spread all over India, does not exceed Rs.500. But, it is ready to spend Rs.1,000 crores on Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU). Government’s target of encouraging self employment would have been reached with smaller investments in handloom sector. Thousands of handloom weavers are becoming poorer by the day, as their wages are not increasing.
Big Promise, Tiny Deliverance
BJP Manifesto promises to “augment their traditional artisanship and entrepreneurial skill, which are a backbone of our cottage and small-scale industry – strengthening these sectors through better market linkages, branding and access to credit.” However, no proposals have been made to support beleaguered sections of society, who have been toiling for generations. Handloom weavers have been demanding for long for provision of access to low interest credit. Presently, to produce handloom products, they are borrowing money at exorbitant interest rates, ranging from normal to the bizarre, from 14 percent to 60 percent.
Previously, a Loan waiver package of Rs.2,205 crores included in the 2012-13 budget. This is a huge scale down from Rs.6,800 crore package. However, implementation levels did not exceed Rs.291 crores. Government could not reach the needy handloom weavers to relieve them of debt burden.
Debt burden on individual handloom weavers has been for multiple reasons over which they do not have any control or say. Cost of living has increased in the last fifteen years steadily, and tremendously over the last few years, generously aided by inflation and under regulation of basic food commodity prices. Cost of raw material, especially cotton and silk yarn have also gone up. Prices of yarn have been climbing continuously. Silk has been climbing rapidly in the last four years. With competition, from cheap and fake handloom products, wearing them down, handloom weavers had no way to increase their incomes to respond to raising costs of living and raw material prices.
Further, the most critical component of their production, working capital flows are drying up from ‘traditional sources’ and institutional mechanisms. NABARD the only comparatively cheap source of finances for handloom sector has drastically reduced its exposure. With the result, handloom weavers were forced to find ‘expensive’, private sources of finances. Interest rates at this level usually are higher and are not regulated. Lack of awareness, exploitative conditions compounds the misery caused by high interest rates.
In this scenario, loan waiver was a necessity and a requirement. Governments have telescopically reduced their response in this regard. From a NABARD estimation to Planning Commission estimates to government allocations to actual disbursement, entire route of government doles has failed handloom sector and handloom weavers.
In 2013-14, a paltry Rs.157 crores was allocated. Expenditure in the same year has exceeded this allocation reaching Rs.269.79 crores. In 2014-15, no allocation has been done for this critical support. By this year in 2015-16, government seems to have completely forgotten the need of the handloom weavers, in this regard.
Only three Schemes, Tall Claims
BJP Manifesto promised that schemes will be drawn for skills upgradation and enhancement of business opportunities for handloom weavers. Instead of drawing and adding schemes, which respond to their distressed situation, handloom weavers are now staring at further reduction in existing schemes.
For the past few years, under the guidance of Planning Commission, government has been reducing the number of schemes in handloom sector, reportedly based on a NIMSME study report. I have not seen report yet. From 12 schemes, they were reduced to six, and in the year 2014-15, the schemes are four. In 2015-16, there is further reduction to only 3 schemes.
Less Allocation and Lesser Expenditures
A Parliamentary Committee has squarely asked the Ministry of Textiles to improve its working culture, in order to increase expenditure as allocated. With no allocation in 2011-12 and 2012-13, for Comprehensive Handloom Development Scheme, an expenditure of Rs.139 crores was shown in 2012-13. However, in 2013-14, Rs.107 crores was allocated for this scheme and Rs.115.90 crores were spent. In 2014-15 and 2015-16, there is no allocation. With such discontinuity, one would wonder how this scheme is helpful for the sector. There is a huge atmosphere of adhocism in the Ministry of Textiles towards handloom schemes. There is no serious, transparent and accountable process of scheme formulation, development, implementation and review.
Overall, allocations are decreasing, revised later, expenditures are depressing and the administration remains nonchalant to the conditions of handloom weavers. Comparatively, allocations for other sub-segments of Indian textile industry which is automated, modernized, mechanized, is getting attention of government budget allocations, fully.
Allocation trends:
There is nothing to be elated about handloom allocations, before and also in 2015-16.
In 1997-98, handloom sector was allocated Rs.203.50 crores, which in the next year decreased to Rs.151.60 crores. In 1999-2000, this allocation reached a lowest of Rs.138.30 crores. In 2014-15, the allocation has reached Rs.620.51 crores. It is further reduced to Rs.446.60 crores in 2015-16.
However, between 1997-98 and 2015-16, over a 19-year period, it is obvious that handloom sector did not receive allocations based on the dire situation of handloom weavers. Be that as it may, handloom allocations have not increased even as per minimum 10% inflationary increase is quite worrisome.
As the above graph shows, actual allocations (brown line) have always been below the year-on-year inflationary allocation is done for handloom sector. That is, if a mere 10% addition is done to the previous year allocation; actual allocation for most years is below that. On the other hand, taking 1997-98 allocation of Rs.203.50 crores as the base, and one keeps on adding 10% increase every year, handloom allocations should have been much higher year (as the third line in red suggests).
Continuing with the above, total allocations for handloom sector for the 19-year period is Rs.8,342.69 crores. If the loan waiver allocation for 2012-13 is removed, it would be Rs.6,137.69 crores. Similarly, totaling the year-on-year inflationary increase comes to Rs.8,641.70 crore. However, the total inflationary increase (with 1997-98 as base year) is Rs.10,207.37 crores. Thus, with or without loan waiver, allocations have not been commensurate even with the inflationary needs.
Conclusion
Allocations for handloom sector have been fluctuating, wildly without any rhyme, reason or accountability over the past 19 years. There is no continuity. Schemes are introduced and withdrawn. Implementation has been shoddy. Expenditure is low, even though the allocations are pittance. There is no proper need assessment for handloom sector. Not even single paisa has reached handloom weavers. Handloom funds are being soaked up by institutions, employees, corruption, bad planning and low commitment.
Problems for handloom sector in budgetary allocations stems out of the perspective of Union Textile Ministry, framed as they are in Planning Commission approaches and lobbying by anti-handloom sector groups. In general, Ministers for Textiles are from either Gujarat or Tamilnadu, which boosts the prospects for exporters, spinners and textile mill lobbying. Even Secretaries have been pro-modern textile industry lobby.
Advocates for handloom sector are divided, and do not represent themselves as a lobby in the corridors of Textile Ministry. Handloom weavers themselves are unorganized, and they have ceased to be a vote bank. For this reason, governments have been bold in denying higher allocations even in the elections years. At the same time, business lobby has become stronger and stronger. Handloom weavers are still hanging on, only because of their sacrifices.
Featured Image Source: Saraswati Kavula


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What happened in the constituencies where VVPAT was used in UP?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 18, 2017
BSP Supremo Mayawati has alleged that EVMs were manipulated in the UP elections. But in 20 constituencies of UP where an additional transparency measure like the VVPAT was used, the BJP has done much better than in the rest of the state like it did in the previous two elections.
In response to the allegations made by the BSP supremo Mayawati about the possible manipulation of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission of India (ECI) put out a detailed note about the issue. Among other things, the note talks about the technical security of EVMs and concludes that there is no merit in the allegations that EVMs can be manipulated.
Allegations on EVMs are not new
The allegations over the credibility of EVMs is not new. Multiple cases have been filed by various parties and individuals in High Courts and the Supreme Court. In fact, there was a group of people who came together to expose the vulnerability of EVMs about 8 years ago. A book was also written about the alleged security flaws in EVMs by GVL Narasimha Rao, who is currently a spokesperson of the BJP. Incidentally, the foreword of this book was written by L K Advani. The book also has a message from N Chandrababu Naidu, the president of the TDP.
Towards using VVPAT units with all EVMs
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy also filed a case in the Supreme Court on the issue of EVMs. The SC in its verdict had directed the ECI to gradually move towards the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system and also directed the government to provide the required financial assistance for procurement of VVPAT units for EVMs. VVPAT adds an additional layer of transparency where the voter can see a print out his voting choice once the button is pressed on the EVM.
Where were VVPAT units used in UP?
The ECI in its notification for the 5 state elections announced that VVPAT units will be used in 76 assembly constituencies across the 5 states covering 11514 polling stations. VVPAT units were used in all 40 the constituencies of Goa, 4 in Uttarakhand , 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 4 in Manipur and 8 in Punjab.
In Uttar Pradesh, VVPAT units were used in the following 20 constituencies in the 2017 assembly elections.
Profile of these 20 C
These 20 constituencies are traditional BJP strongholds. Even in the 2012 assembly elections where the BJP won only 47 seats across the state, it had won 11 out of these 20 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP swept these assembly segments winning all 20. In the 2017 assembly election, the BJP won 17 of these seats and the SP won the remaining 3.
What about the vote share?
The BJP’s vote share in these 20 constituencies was around 32% in 2012, which increased to 55% in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In 2017,  BJP’s vote share slightly decreased to 49.8%. BJP’s vote share in these 20 constituencies was always higher than its overall vote share in the state of UP. In 2012, the BJP’s vote share in the whole of UP was 15%, less than half its vote share in these 20 constituencies. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share in these 20 constituencies was 13% more than its vote share in the state. This trend continued in 2017 also where its vote share in these 20 constituencies was 10% more than its vote share in the state.
The BSP’s vote share in these 20 constituencies on the other hand decreased from 19.47% in 2012 to 13.95% in 2017. The combined vote share of SP & the Congress in these constituencies in 2017 was almost 33%, around 5% more than their combined vote share in the state.
What does it mean?
VVPAT adds an additional layer of transparency to the EVMs. Hence the results in these 20 constituencies should set the tone for the overall trends.  In these 20 constituencies where the VVPAT units were used in 2017, the BJP as usual has done much better than its overall performance in the state. There is nothing unusual about the results in these 20 constituencies meaning the allegations about manipulation of EVMs may be unfounded.


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Haryana court issued arrest warrant against Journalist Deepak Chaurasia for airing doctored videos of a minor girl - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 14, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that journalist Deepak Chaurasia was arrested under the charges of raping a minor girl. The post shared a video showing a group of people accusing Deepak Chaurasia of ruining the life of a 9-year-old girl. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Journalist Deepak Chaurasia was recently arrested on the charges of raping a 9-year-old girl.
Fact: Lately, the POCSO court in Gurugram issued an arrest warrant against Deepak Chaurasia in a 2013 case for allegedly airing morphed and tampered videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family and linking the same to a sexual assault. A warrant of arrest was issued against Chaurasia for 03 March 2023. The arrest warrant was not issued on the charges of raping a minor girl. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
When we searched to check whether anchor Deepak Chaurasia was recently arrested on the charges of raping a minor girl, we found a tweet made by the ‘Live Law’ legal news agency regarding an arrest warrant issued against Deepak Chaurasia in a 2013 case. The ‘Live Law’ tweet states, “A court in Haryana has again issued a warrant of arrest against Journalist-News Anchor Deepak Chaurasiya (@DChaurasia2312 ) in a 2013 case for allegedly airing ‘morphed, edited & obscene’ videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family and linking the same to a sexual assault case.”
A court in Harayana has again issued a warrant of arrest against Journalist-News Anchor Deepak Chaurasiya (@DChaurasia2312) in a 2013 case for allegedly airing 'morphed, edited & obscene' videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family and linking the same to a sexaul assault case. pic.twitter.com/2LgMM8UYoF
On 07 December 2023, the POCSO court in Gurugram issued a non-bailable warrant against Journalist Deepak Chaurasia after he failed to appear before the court on the day of the hearing (04 February 2023), due to a pre-scheduled interview with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. An earlier judgement and interim orders issued in this case had clearly mentioned Deepak Chaurasia as one among the 8 accused who were charge-sheeted for allegedly airing morphed and tampered video of a 10-year-old girl and linking the video to the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. An earlier arrest warrant issued against Deepak Chaurasia in this case, in November 2022, can be seen here.
The petitioner in the FIR accused journalists Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi and a few other journalists from ‘India News TV’ and ‘News Nation’ of airing a tampered and distorted video of his 10-year-old niece. The petitioner accused these news channels and journalists of projecting his niece in an obscene and vulgar manner and of misreporting his wife as an immoral sex trafficker named Shilpi. The petitioner did not accuse Deepak Chaurasia of raping his 10-year-old niece. Deepak Chaurasia is not yet arrested and is still running ‘Kasam Samvidhan Ki’ show on ‘Zee News’ channel.
To sum it up, the Gurugram POCSO court issued an arrest warrant against Deepak Chaurasia on the charges of airing doctored videos of a minor girl, not on the charges of raping a 9-year-old girl.

created: February 14, 2023


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Has Demonetization achieved its goal of less-cash Economy?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2019
Has currency
made a comeback into the economy? What is the currency in circulation & how
does it compare to pre-demonetization levels?
During hisfirst tenure as the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi made an announcement
regarding demonetization on 08 November 2016. With this announcement, ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 currency notes ceased to be legal tender effectivefrom midnight of 08 November 2016.
In his speech, thePrime Minister has listed out various reasons for taking this step. During theensuing period, the government, through the ministers kept announcing multipleobjectives of demonetization.
One of the more prominent objectives highlighted by the government and around which initiatives driven are around building a ‘Cashless Economy’. The then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also tweeted that cancellation of the ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 currency notes will advance India into a cashless economy. Arun Jaitley later went onto clarify that ‘cashless economy is actually a less-cash economy as no economy can be fully cashless’.
In this story, we review the current circulation of cash in the economy after nearly 3 years of demonetization and see if we have had progress towards less-cash economy.
Reducing the
circulation of cash in the economy and encouraging digital transactions
During his address to
the nation on 08 November 2016, the Prime Minister highlighted the followingpoints as being the broad reasons for taking such a step.
The government has on its end took initiatives to incentivize people to opt for digital transactions. The reasons stated in the prime ministerial address and the further actions from the government indicate the intent of the government to move the economy towards a less-cash society.
More cash
currently in circulation than prior demonetization
At the end of October 2016, i.e. prior to demonetization, the total currency in circulation was ₹ 17.77 lakh crores, out of which only ₹ 0.75 lakh crores were with the banks and the rest of ₹ 17.02 lakh crores were with the public.
After demonetization,the currency in circulation fell to ₹ 11.88 lakhcrores in Nov’16 and further to 9.43 lakhs in Dec’16. Since then the amount ofcurrency in circulation has shown a gradual growth in the following months.
The below graphillustrates the currency in circulation a month prior to demonization and for aperiod of 6 months after demonization.
By the end of2016-17, the Currency in circulation was ₹13.35 lakh crores and by the end of next year by March 2018,  the total currency in circulation had gone upto ₹ 18.29 lakh crores which is slightly more than the currency incalculation prior to demonetization.
By the end of 2018-19, the value of currency in circulation has increased to ₹ 21.36 lakh crores.
As per the latest
numbers (as on 13 September 2019) the total value of currency in circulationstands at 22.02 lakh crores.
Though theincrease in the absolute value of cash in circulation is linked to the increasein the size of the economy, the currency to GDP ratio has also increased in thelast few years as is explained further in this story.
Increase in amount of High-value currency
The currency of higher value prior to demonetization was the old ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 which were rendered to be no more legal through demonetization. The rationale behind this being that higher value notes are an easier means of facilitating corruption and for hoarding of black money.
In the same speech, it is specified that in view the necessity for currency notes of higher value, new ₹ 500 and ₹ 2000 notes were introduced. It was also mentioned by the Prime Minister that RBI would be making necessary arrangements to limit the share of these notes of high denomination in the total currency in circulation.
The limitation in the share of high-value currency notes is to avert a similar situation that existed prior to demonetization.
In RBI’s Annual Handbook
of Statistics on Indian Economy, the report on Notes and Coins
in Circulation provides details of the coins and notes of different monetary values incirculation. As per the report, the value of ₹ 500 currency notes by the end of 2015-16 was ₹ 7.85 lakh crores. The immediate effect of demonetization was reflectedin 2016-17 where the value of these notes went down to ₹ 2.94 lakh crores.
However, the value of ₹ 500 currency notes in circulation has increased in the subsequent years with ₹ 7.73 lakh crores by the end of 2017-18 and ₹ 10.75 lakh cores by the end of FY 2018-19.
As for ₹1000 currency note, the value was ₹ 6.32 lakh crores by the end of 2015-16. Post demonetization, ₹ 2000 currency note was released. By the end of 2016-17, the total value of ₹ 2000 currency note in circulation was ₹ 6.57 lakh crores higher than the total value that ₹1000 note in circulation by the end of previous year 2015-16. By the end of 2018-19, the total value of ₹ 2000 notes in circulation is ₹ 6.58 lakh crores. This is because the government has literally stopped the printing of the ₹ 2000 note.
The total amount of high-value currency (₹ 500 & ₹ 1000 currency notes) by the end of 2015-16, prior to demonetization was ₹ 14.17 lakh crores or about 86.4% of the total currency in circulation. Post demonetization the total amount of high-value currency fell to ₹ 9.6 lakh crores only to increase in the subsequent years. The total amount of high-value currency (₹ 500 and ₹ 2000 currency notes) in circulation by the end of  2018-19 was ₹ 17.34 lakh crores or 82.2% of the total currency in circulation.
Currency-GDP ratio has increased in the last two years
In one of thestatements issued post demonetization, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated that the Currency-GDPRatio of India is 12% at the time of demonetization, while in developedcountries it is around 4%. Lower currency-GDP ratio is cited as one of theobjectives to be achieved out of demonetization.
As per RBI data, the currency to GDP ratio was 12.1% for 2015-16. Post demonetization, this ratio decreased to 8.7% for 2016-17. However, in the ensuing two years, the Currency-GDP ratio has increased to 10.7% and 11.2% for 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. Though is still less than 12.1% pre-demonetization, the continuous increase of this ratio is a concern. However, the RBI’s annual report for 2018-19 paints a positive picture of this scenario and noted that, ‘in spite of currency in circulation growth of 16.8% for the year as a whole, the currency-GDP ratio remained lower than 11.6-12.2 per cent observed during 2011-2016, perhaps indicating decline in cash intensity of the’.
Increase in
Fake notes of new currency
To counter theuse of fake notes which sponsor terrorism was one of the reasons provided fordemonetization in Prime Minister’s address to the nation on the eve ofdemonetization.
In thiscontext, ₹ 500 note with a new design and a new ₹ 2000 note was released by RBI.
The data as per RBI
annual report, shows an increase in the fake currency of these two currency notes.
In 2016-17, 199new design ₹ 500 notes were identified as fake as per RBI data. Thisnumber has increased to 9,892 and 21,865 in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively inthe case of ₹ 500 notes.
Similarly, inthe first year (2016-17) of introduction of ₹ 2000 note, 638 pieces were identified as fake. The number has furtherincreased to 17,929 and 21,847 fake notes in the subsequent two years.
While the total value is still less & negligible, it needs to be noted that these are the notes which have been identified by banks as fake. It does not indicate the quantum of fake notes of new currency in the economy.
Objectives of demonetization from a cash perspective not yet achieved
Reduction in the utilization of cash and driving the country towards a cash-less or less-cash economy was one of the key stated objectives of demonetization. However, the increased amount of the currency in circulation, as well as the higher Cash-GDP ratio, indicate the reality being different from the objective.
Furthermore, high-value currency was cited to be an encouraging factor for corruption and hence the withdrawal of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes which formed nearly 86% of the currency in circulation at the time of demonetization. However, the amount of new high-value notes has also increased over the three years and now form nearly 82% of the total currency in circulation.
Furthermore, the past two years have also seen an increase in the number of fake currency notes detected of the two new currency notes of ₹500 and ₹ 2000.
Though allthese numbers are still less than the pre-demonetization levels, if this levelof growth continues, we might reach the pre-demonetization levels in the nextfew years.
Hence, theobjectives of demonetization at least to the extent of the less cash economy isyet to be achieved.


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Has India’s Forest Cover increased over the years?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 24, 2019
A recent NASA study highlighted the increase in green cover in both
India & China. But is the increase in India’s forest cover due to
afforestation or increase in intensive cropping?
NASA had recently released satellite pictures and results of a study which highlights the enhanced green foliage of India and China andstated that the two of the world’s most populous countries were at theforefront in ameliorating the green cover. This is in direct contradiction to thegeneral conception of degradation of forest resources as a result of overexploitation and large population.
As per this study, about 42% of the contribution to the green cover inChina has been through the implementation of programs aimed at conservingforests and expanding them in an attempt to curb soil erosion, reduce airpollution and bring down the effects of climate change. An approximate of 32%and 82% of the difference in greenery in China and India respectively have beenattributed to the intensive cultivation of food crops to feed the growingpopulations of the two countries. Despite there being not much of a differencein the area of land under cultivation since 2000s, both these neighbouringcountries have managed to increase their green foliage as well as the foodproduction.
While this might sound good to the ears, there are a lot of complexitiesaround this.  For instance, intensivecropping in India where the irrigation requirements for agriculture are mainlymet through extraction of groundwater resources will end up in the depletion ofthe ground water resources. This can have serious implications on the greencover and environment in the future. In this story, we look at the data about India’sforest cover and the agriculture intensity.
Difference between Forest Cover and
Forest Area
The data on forest cover & forest area is compiled by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) in the biennial Indian State of Forests Report. As per this report, ‘forest cover’ includes all the land in the country where the density of tree canopy is greater than 10% projected vertically on the horizontal ground within a minimum areal extent of one hectare. It should be noted that no distinction is made here on the grounds of land ownership, legal status and the origin of the tree crops. In other words, only the green cover is recorded in the satellite as forest cover; be it private plantations or dense foliage in private abandoned land. It also does not take into consideration those stretches of land that has been statutorily notified as forest by the government but, does not have adequate green canopy.
Forest areaon the other hand is used to refer to those geographical areas of land whichcome under the management of the forest department such as reserved forests,protected forests and unclassified forests as mentioned under the provisions ofthe Indian Forest Act, 1927. This considers the legal status of the land. The categorisationmade by the government is based on various factors in order to ease thegovernance.
India ranks 10th in the
world in terms of the forest and tree cover
In terms offorest & tree cover, India ranks 10th in the world with 24.39% of the country’s geographical area underforest & tree cover. As per the government’s press release, this is despiteIndia accounting for only 2.4% of the global surface area. Further, the pressrelease states that the cover sustains the needs of 17% of global humanpopulation in addition to 18% of the global livestock population.
The total forest cover of India has witnesseda gradual increase since 2001. Over the span of 16 years, there has been anincrease of 32,735 square kilometres, about 4.8%. While this is the case withthe forest cover in the country, the extent of forest area has been waveringexcept for the phase from 2007 to 2011. The forest area has shot up in 2003 andcame down in 2005. This discrepancy can be associated with the variation inrecording of data in Karnataka. The scenario in 2013, where there has been aslight increase is because of the categorisation of more land under forest areaby the forest department. There has been a sharp fall by over 7,255 square kilometresin 2015. A major contributor to this fall is Mizoram, where the land underforest area has come down from 16,717 square kilometres to 5,641 squarekilometres- an abrupt decline to one third of the original area. In the sameyear, Mizoram faced the largest number of forest fire incidents in the country-a whopping 2,468. Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area- 94,689 squarekilometres, which constitutes 12.3% of the total forest area of the country. Thesame state has the largest forest cover in the country as well- 77,414 squarekilometres which again contributes to a little less than 11% of the totalforest cover. When expressed as the percentage of forest cover in terms ofgeographical area of the state, Lakshadweep tops the list with 90.33% forestcover.
The data fromthe FSI clearly indicates that while the forest cover has increased by around5% in the last 17 years, the forest area has marginally reduced. This is inline with the NASA finding that the increase in green cover in India is largelydue to intensive cropping.
Total forest cover of India by around 5% in the last
17 years
As per FSI, the forest cover is classified into the following on thebasis of the tree canopy density:
Non forest is another category which includes all the land that do notfall in the above categories including water.
A class wise look into the segregation of forest cover reveals that there has been a substantial increase of 79.87% in the category of Very Dense forests in the last 12 years. Even Open Forest areas and Scrub have increased by 4.1% and 19.5% respectively. Meanwhile, the area under Moderately Dense Forest has come down by 24,329 square kilometres. As of 2017, Very Dense Forests constitute 3% and Scrubs constitute only 1.4% while Moderately Dense and Open forests constitute 9.38 and 9.18 % of the total geographical area. Non forests comprise of 77.1% of the total geographic area in the country.
The total forest cover of India including mangrove forest area hasincreased by around 5% in the last 17 odd years and there has been proportionaldecrease in the total Non-Forest area.
Overall cropping intensity in India is up from 131% to
142% in 14 years
There has been a notable increase in the annual cropping intensity in India over the years, to feed the large population. The reportreleased by NASA has also highlighted this fact.
Cropping intensity refers to the raising of a number of crops (totalcropped area) from the same field during an agriculture year. In spite of thefluctuation in some years, the overall cropping intensity has gone up from131.1% in 2000-01 to 142% in 2013-14,  anincrease of 10.9% in 14 years. It has to be noted that the increase in croppingintensity happened when the area under cultivation has remained more or lessthe same (around 140 million hectares) during this period.
About 43% of the land area  inIndia is under cultivation. It should be kept in mind that, despite there beingmore agricultural land, cultivation does not take place everywhere. The productionof grains, fruits, pulses etc. have increased over the years and these cropshave added to the green foliage as reported by NASA.
Forests have a wide plethora of services and values associated withthem, be it social, cultural, scientific or economic and therefore contribute enormouslyto the human population. Though the green/forest cover has increased, it has tobe remembered that the loss in natural vegetation and damages inflicted uponthe biodiversity and the environment still need to be looked into. Thesustainability of the agriculture also remains a question mark. One of thetargets of the Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land aims at promoting the implementation of sustainable management of alltypes of forests. It also stresses on halting deforestation and adhering tomeasures to restore degraded forests while substantially increasing afforestationand reforestation at the global level.


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Are Voters preferring NOTA? - Part 1 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 13, 2018
None of the Above (NOTA) was first introduced on the EVMs following a Supreme Court Judgment in 2013. Since 2013, NOTA was used in elections to 31 assemblies and the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Has the NOTA vote share increased since 2013? Has the introduction of a symbol in 2015 made any difference?
None of the Above (NOTA) was introduced as the last entry on the EVM after the names of all contesting candidates, following a Supreme Court (SC) judgment in 2013. Since then, NOTA vote share is only 1.18% of the total votes polled in 32 elections.
What is NOTA?
The basis for NOTA is rule 49-O in the ‘Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961‘.  If a voter decides not to vote for any of the contesting candidates, his/her name will be  duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A along with the voter’s signature. An entry to the effect ‘refused to vote’ is also made in the list. It has to be understood that the total count of 49-O has no impact on the eventual results. Even if the total number of voters who opted for  49-O exceeds the maximum votes polled for any candidate, it does not make any difference. The candidate who receives the maximum vote is still declared as the winner. This rule is only to express dissatisfaction with the contesting candidates.
This rule was challenged in the Supreme Court (SC) saying it violates the secrecy of voting since the presiding officer knows who opted for this rule. The SC, in its judgment in the year 2013, declared that this rule indeed violates the secrecy of voting and directed the Election Commission (ECI) to provide a NOTA option on the EVM.
Following the SC judgment, the ECI introduced the NOTA option on EVMs starting October 2013. The rules applicable for 49-O would also be applicable in the case of NOTA as far impact on results are concerned. Thus, NOTA is only a way to express rejection/dissatisfaction with the existing candidates and does not in anyway impact the result. In September 2015, the ECI also announced a dedicated symbol for NOTA on the EVM.
No substantial increase in the NOTA vote share
Elections were held to Assemblies of 31 states and the Lok Sabha since the introduction of NOTA in 2013. Out of the 32 elections, 15 were held before the ECI introduced the dedicated NOTA symbol and 17 were held after the introduction of the NOTA symbol in 2015. In the 15 elections held between 2013 & 2015 (when NOTA was available on the EVM without a symbol), NOTA vote share ranged from 0.4% in Delhi (2015) to a highest of 3.07% in Chhattisgarh (2013). The average NOTA vote share in these 15 elections was about 1.15%.
The NOTA symbol was first used in the Bihar elections of 2015. Out of the 17 elections held since then, NOTA vote share was more than 1% in 9 of the elections and less than 1% in the remaining 8 elections. The highest vote share of 2.48% for NOTA was registered in the Bihar elections of 2015. The average vote share after NOTA symbol was introduced is 1.27%.
Continuous decrease in NOTA Vote share
The NOTA vote share has been continuously decreasing each year. Before the symbol was introduced in 2015, the vote share for NOTA decreased from 1.96% in 2013 to 0.4% in 2015. After the symbol was introduced in 2015, the NOTA vote share decreased from 2.48% in 2015 to 0.89% in 2018. The data clearly shows that awareness about NOTA  is not widespread and hasn’t resulted in voters choosing NOTA.
Read Part 2 here


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Hate Crime in America: White Offenders and Racial Bias
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 27, 2017
The killing of an Indian Engineer in Kansas City has renewed the debate on hate crime in the USA. Contrary to popular perception, more than 50% of the offenders of Hate Crime in the USA are White.
San Francisco: On Wednesday (22nd February, 2017), two Indian engineers and an American were shot at a bar in Olathe, southwest of Kansas City. The shooter has been identified as 51- year old Adam Purington and the incident is currently being investigated by the FBI as a suspected hate crime. One engineer identified as Srinivas Kuchibhotla was pronounced dead after sustaining bullet injuries and the other two victims are out of danger. Purington has been charged for one account of first-degree murder and two accounts of premeditated attempted murder by the courts.
Adam Purington (Source: ABCNews)
What is Hate Crime?
Any crime that were motivated in whole or in part by a bias against the victim’s perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or disability is categorized as hate crime. The FBI publishes an annual report which has data on the number of incidents, offenses, victims, and offenders in reported crimes.
Hate Crime in USA
This incident brings us to a very critical point of understanding hate crime in the United States. Data by the FBI indicates that hate crimes with racial and religious motives have been consistently decreasing in the United States from 2008 to 2014. Considering that data for the year 2016 is unavailable, between 2005 -2015, 2008 reported the highest number of hate crime incidents & offences in the United States with 7883 incidents and 9168 offenses and decreasing thereafter. The new upward trend seems to be beginning in 2015 with more hate crime incidents being reported and coincidentally President Donald Trump began his election campaign in 2015. One has to wait for the 2016 data to understand whether the 2015 increase is just coincidental or not.
Who committed these Offences?
Like in Adam Purington’s case, White Americans have committed the highest number of hate crimes and not African- Americans as it is portrayed and perceived in popular culture like films, TV and media representation of crime. In 2015 alone, 48.4 % of hate crime offenders were white and 24.3 % were Black or African American. Since 2005, White Americans made up for more than 50% of the hate crime offenders almost every year. The percentage of black offenders of hate crime that was around 20% till 2011 continuously increased to reach around 24% in 2015.
So, contrary to perception in countries like India, it is the white americans who commit most of these hate crimes and  not the black americans, like they are stereotyped in popular culture and in movies.
What is the motivation behind the attacks?
According to the FBI, the bias or motivation for these hate crimes has steadily remained the same all through the years. The biggest bias or motivation in these hate crimes has been Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry, followed by religion and sexual orientation.
Within racial attacks, the most bias has been reported as anti-African-American, largely perpetuated by white people. Hate crimes with a bias against Asian population including Indians have remained between 2-2.5 % of total crime per every year for all the five years.
Attacks with sexual orientation motivation have been consistent with the largest bias against the LGBT community.
Among religious attacks, the highest have been with an anti-Jewish sentiment, followed by anti-Islamic/Muslim bias. In what should be considered a red flag, hate crimes with anti-Islamic/Muslim bias soared in 2015 to 301 individual incidents from 178 in 2014 indicating a probable bout of Islamophobia.
Looking ahead
With America reeling under a new civil rights chaos, the big picture seems to be only getting worse. The President Donald Trump’s election campaign that received support from hate groups like the KKK has led to a situation where minority groups are increasingly living under fear being attacked. The President’s inappropriate comments on Immigrants, Muslims and LGBT have only exacerbated the situation. His first new days in office have been busy with executive orders against these communities and have created an atmosphere of mistrust, hatred and uncertainty towards immigrant & minority populations.


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Have Government Assets (Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles) decreased by 55% from 2013-14 to 2014-15? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2016
The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) of 2003 and subsequent rules mandated the Central Government to disclose a statement of assets of the Central Government with every budget. It is observed that the Government Assets (Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles) decreased by 55% from 2013-14 to 2014-15, as per the asset registers presented during budget.
The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) of 2003 mandated significant changes to the disclosures made by the Central Government while presenting the annual budget. To ensure greater transparency in the fiscal operations, the Central Government is to publish a statement of assets with every budget in a prescribed format. The statement of assets for 2013-14 and 2014-15 indicate that government assets (Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles) have decreased by over 55%. Could this be a case of typographical error?
Statement of Assets
The statement of assets is to be submitted with every budget in a prescribed format. It has to include both physical and financial assets. Physical assets include Land, Buildings, Roads, Bridges, Irrigation Projects, Power Projects, Capital Projects, Machinery & Equipment, Office Equipment and Vehicles. Financial assets include Equity Investments, Loans & Advances and other Financial Investments.
The following rules have to followed while declaring the cost of these assets
Cost of Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles reduce by 55%
A close look at the statement of assets made during the 2015-16 budget and 2016-17 budget reveals a reduction of 55% in the cost of Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles.
While it is entirely possible that slight variation could be because of reconciliation, the variance in case of Land, Office Equipment & Vehicles cannot be explained by reconciliation. In the case of Office Equipment & Vehicles, the variance was more than 10 times and 20 times respectively. The cost of Land decreased from 219404 crore at the end of 2013-14 to 130376 crore at the beginning of 2014-15. The cost of Office Equipment decreased from 40731 crore the end of 2013-14 to 3694 crore at the beginning of 2014-15. Similarly, the cost of Vehicles decreased from 43554 crore the end of 2013-14 to 1769 crore at the beginning of 2014-15.  The variation in all the other physical assets was more or less within the reconciliation limits. It is to be noted that such wide variance was not observed between 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The media also highlighted this during the 2015-16 budget, that vehicles were worth more than roads, bridges and irrigation projects combined.
Could this be a case of typographical error or oversight? Only the government can answer this question.
Featured Image: [By Diego Delso], [CC BY 3.0]


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Have you been denied Boarding despite arriving in time? Here is the Compensation you are entitled to
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2018
Airlines frequently overbook to compensate for cancellations and no show passengers. But if any passenger has been denied boarding despite arriving in time, the rules mandate that certain compensation be paid to the passenger. In 2017-18, as per government data, more than 28000 passengers have been denied boarding.
Airlines frequently overbook (more than the capacity of the aircraft) to compensate for cancellations & no show passengers so that flights do not depart with unoccupied or empty seats. This also results in certain passengers being denied boarding despite arriving in time. The Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) detail out the facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights. Here is what a passenger is entitled to.
What does ‘Denied Boarding’ mean?
The Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) have various sections and each section has multiple series and parts. Section-3, Series-M, Part-IV of the CAR is about the  ‘Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights‘. These have been recently amended in 2016.
As per these rules, denied boarding is defined as ‘refusal to carry a passenger holding confirmed ticket on a flight although he/she has presented himself/herself for boarding within the time specified by the airline, except where there are reasonable grounds to refuse carriage such as reasons of health, safety or security, or inadequate travel documentation’.
What can a passenger do if he/she is denied boarding?
The rules specify the process to be followed if the number of passengers who have reported for the flight within the time is more than the number of seats available. According to these rules, the airlines must first ask for volunteers to give up their seats to make them available for others in exchange for benefits/facilities that the airline may offer.
Further, if the boarding is denied against the will of the passenger, the airline will not be liable to pay any compensation if an alternate flight is arranged that is scheduled to depart within one hour of the original schedule departure time of the initial reservation. For any delay exceeding this, the airline is liable to pay compensation as below.
The rules also define the process if the passenger has a connecting flight on the same or different airline.
More than 28000 denied boarding in 2017-18
As per DGCA data, more than 28000 passengers were denied boarding in 2017-18 and they were paid a total of Rs 24.53 crore in compensation. More than 2000 passengers each were denied boarding in six months while less than 2000 passengers each were denied boarding during the other six months.
More than 70% of those who were denied boarding were passengers of Jet Airways. SpiceJet accounted for 19% of such passengers while Air India reported 9% such passengers. Together, these three airlines accounted for 99% of the passengers who were denied boarding.


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Have you heard of the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh(JSK) or the National Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF)?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 26, 2015
Have you heard of the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh(JSK)? This is a fund setup by the government of India to promote schemes & practices to stabilize population in some of the most populous states. Prerna & Santhusti are the flagship schemes under this fund. Data indicates that there is little awareness of the existence of these schemes.
It would not be an exaggeration to say, that any discussion on India‘s problems would be incomplete without the mention of the population. Hence ‘Population Stabilization’ or ‘Family Planning’ has been on the government’s priority list for a few decades now. The Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK) or the National Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF) is an effort in that direction. The data on funds utilized in JSK indicates that there is very little awareness about its schemes.
Background
The Government of India had set up a National Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF) in the year 2004-05 with a one-time grant of Rs.100 crore in the form of a corpus fund. This is now known as Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK). To empower the NPSF, Government of India has set up Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK).  This is an autonomous body and can take all the policy related decisions. It can raise contributions from organisations and individuals that support population stabilisation. JSK implements two schemes, namely, Santushti and Prerna.
PRERNA
In order to help push up the age of marriage of girls and space the birth of children in the interest of health of young mothers and infants, JSK launched PRERNA, a responsible Parenthood Strategy in seven focus states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
The strategy recognizes and awards couples who have broken the stereotype of early marriage, early childbirth and repeated child birth and have helped change the mindsets of the community.
The important conditions for any couple to be eligible under this scheme are
The couple will get an award of Rs.10,000 if it is a Boy child or Rs.12,000 if it is a Girl child. If birth of the second child takes place after  at least 3 years of the birth of first child and either parent voluntarily accept permanent method of family planning within one year of the birth of the second child, the couple will get an additional award of Rs.5,000/- (Boy child) / Rs.7,000/- (Girl child). The amount of award is given in the form of National Saving Certificate (NSC). The scheme is meant only for BPL families.
If the girl gets married after 19 years and if the first child is born after at least 2 years of marriage
In addition to the above, if the birth of the second child takes place after at least 3 years of the birth of first child and either parent voluntarily accept permanent method of family planning within one year of the birth of the second child, then the couple gets a total of
The funds released & number of couples awarded in the last 4 years under this scheme clearly shows that the scheme is not well publicized. From 2010-11 to 2012-13, more than 1500 couples have been awarded under the scheme with a total expenditure of 77.4 lakh rupees. In 2013-14, the expenditure went up to 37.57 lakh rupees. But the number of couples awarded is not available.
SANTUSHTI
Santushti is a scheme of Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK) for the highly populated states of India viz Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh & Odisha.  Under this strategy, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh, invites private sector gynecologists and vasectomy surgeons to conduct sterilization operations in Public Private Partnership mode. According to this Scheme,   an accredited private Nursing Home/ Hospital can sign a tripartite MOU between the State Health Society, accredited private health facility and JSK. Upon signing the MOU the private hospitals/nursing homes shall be entitled to incentive by JSK whenever it conducts 10 or more Tubectomy/Vasectomy cases in a month. The accreditation is done by the district and approved by the State Health Society.
The following are the features of this scheme
The funds released and the number of sterilizations conducted is again a testimony of the lack of awareness of the scheme. More than 12 thousand sterilizations took place from 2010-11 to 2012-13. The only silver lining is that the expenditure is rising every year indicating an increase in the awareness.

created: September 26, 2015


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HDFC Bank Official has clarified that this message is wrongly attributed to the Bank’s MD Aditya Puri - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2020
A message is circulating on social media with a list of points purportedly from an interview of HDFC bank’s Managing Director Aditya Puri. The message claims that Mr. Puri has said India will survive and be victorious in the crisis due to COVID-19. FACTLY has found a series of tweets posted by Neeraj Jha, Head of Corporate Communication –  HDFC Bank, regarding the viral message. Jha, in one of his tweets, clarified that while few of the points in that message were from Puri’s recent interviews, the bulk of the points in it were wrongly attributed to him. Jha asked social media users to exercise caution while circulating such content. In another tweet, Jha asked social media users to follow official channels for authentic updates. He asked them to refer to the bank’s website- ‘www.hdfcbank.com’ and official Twitter handle- ‘@HDFCBankNews’ for all interviews of Mr. Puri.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. Head of Corporate Communication – HDFC tweet  – https://twitter.com/NeerajHDFCBank/status/1252783777333444608
2. Recent interview of Aditya Puri – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wH8IuPEVOI
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