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UPA మరియు NDA ప్రభుత్వాలలో జరిగిన ఉగ్రవాద దాడులను పోలుస్తూ ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలలో ఎటువంటి నిజం లేదు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 29, 2019
UPA ప్రభుత్వంలో కంటే NDA ప్రభుత్వంలో ఎక్కువ ఉగ్రవాద దాడులు జరిగాయని మరియు ఎక్కువ మంది సైనికులు చనిపోయారని సీ.పీ.ఐ(ఎం) లీడర్ సీతారాం ఏచూరి ప్రజాశక్తి వార్తా పత్రికలో రాసినట్టు ఉన్న ఒక పోస్ట్ ని ఫేస్బుక్ లో చాలా మంది షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఆ పోస్ట్ లో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో విశ్లేషిద్ధాం.
క్లెయిమ్ (దావా) 1:  UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో 109 మరియు 626 ఉగ్రవాద దాడులు జరిగాయి.
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో ఉగ్రవాదానికి సంభందించి 1763 మరియు 1219 సంఘటనలు జరిగాయి. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పింది అబద్ధం.
కేంద్ర హోం శాఖ వారు రిలీజ్ చేసిన 2013-14 వార్షిక రిపోర్ట్ ప్రకారం, UPA ప్రభుత్వ హయంలో (2009 నుండి 2014 వరకు) ఉగ్రవాదానికి సంభందించి 1763 సంఘటనలు జరిగాయి. అదే NDA ప్రభుత్వంలో (2014 నుండి 2018 వరకు) ఉగ్రవాదానికి సంభందించి 1672 సంఘటనలు జరిగాయి. కావున ఉగ్రవాదానికి సంభందించి జరిగిన ఘటనల సంఖ్య పోస్ట్ లో తప్పుగా ఇచ్చారు.
క్లెయిమ్ (దావా) 2: UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో 139 మరియు 483 మంది సైనికులు చనిపోయారు.
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో  252 మరియు 350 మంది సైనికులు చనిపోయారు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలు అబద్ధం.
కేంద్ర హోం శాఖ రిలీజ్ చేసిన 2013-14 వార్షిక రిపోర్టు ప్రకారం, UPA హయంలో (అంటే 2009 నుండి 2014 వరకు) 252 మంది సైనికులు చనిపోతే; NDA హయంలో (2014 నుండి 2018 వరకు) 350 మంది సైనికులు చనిపోయినట్టు లోక్ సభ సమాధానం లో చూడవచ్చు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలలో నిజం లేదు.
క్లెయిమ్ (దావా) 3: UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో 12 మరియు 210 మంది పౌరులు ఉగ్రవాద దాడుల్లో చనిపోయారు.
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో  183 మరియు 134 మంది పౌరులు ఉగ్రవాద దాడుల్లో చనిపోయారు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలు అబద్ధం.
కేంద్ర హోం శాఖ రిలీజ్ చేసిన 2013-14 వార్షిక రిపోర్టు ప్రకారం, UPA హయంలో (అంటే 2009 నుండి 2014 వరకు) 183 మంది పౌరులు ఉగ్రవాద దాడుల్లో చనిపోతే; NDA హయంలో (2014 నుండి 2018 వరకు) 134 మంది పౌరులు ఉగ్రవాద దాడుల్లో చనిపోయారని లోక్ సభ సమాధానం లో చూడవచ్చు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన సంఖ్యలు తప్పు.
క్లెయిమ్ (దావా) 4: UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో పాకిస్తాన్ వైపు నుండి కాల్పుల ఉల్లంఘన సంఘటనలు 563 మరియు 5596 జరిగాయి.
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): UPA (2009-14) మరియు NDA (2014-19)  ప్రభుత్వాలలో పాకిస్తాన్ వైపు నుండి కాల్పుల ఉల్లంఘన సంఘటనలు 628 మరియు 4370 జరిగాయి. కావున పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలు అబద్ధం.
సౌత్ ఆసియన్ టెర్రరిసం పోర్టల్ (SATP) వారు తమ వెబ్ సైట్ లో ప్రచురించిన సమాచారం ప్రకారం, UPA ప్రభుత్వ హయంలో లో 628 కాల్పుల ఉల్లంఘన సంఘటనలు జరిగితే NDA ప్రభుత్వ హయంలో 4370 కాల్పుల ఉల్లంఘన సంఘటనలు జరిగాయి. కావున పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలు తప్పు.
పైన వివరణ లో ఉపయోగించిన సంఖ్యలు అన్ని కేవలం జమ్మూ కాశ్మీర్ లో జరిగినవి మాత్రమే తీసుకోవడం జరిగింది , ఎందుకంటే ఆ రాష్ట్రం కి సంభందించిన డేటానే ప్రభుత్వ రిపోర్టుల్లో వివరంగా దొరుకుంతుంది. కేవలం అవి తీసుకుంటేనే పోస్ట్ లో ఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యల కంటే ఎక్కువగా వస్తున్నాయి, కాబట్టి వాటి ప్రకారమే పోస్ట్ లోని సంఖ్యలు తప్పు అనే నిర్ధారణకు రావొచ్చు.
చివరగా, పోస్ట్ లో UPA మరియు NDA ప్రభుత్వాలలో జరిగిన ఉగ్రవాద దాడులను పోలుస్తూఇచ్చిన సంఖ్యలలో ఎటువంటి నిజం లేదు.


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"UPA conducted Surgical strikes and Air strikes without even informing Army" is a satirical post by a Parody Account - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 5, 2019
A post is being shared by many users on Facebook claiming Rahul Gandhi has commented that UPA government also conducted Surgical strikes and Air strikes but didn’t disclose to anyone, not even to Army and Airforce. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post
Rahul Gandhi: “Surgical strikes and Air strikes happened during UPA government but we didn’t disclose to anyone, not even to Army and Airforce”.
The source of the information being posted by many users on Facebook is a parody account which posts satirical and parody content. So, the claim made is FALSE.
When searched for the statements made by Rahul Gandhi on Google, a link to ‘Limes of India’ post can be found in the search results. The description of the account on Twitter shows that the account is 100% Fake, Satire, Parody and all tweets are fake. So, the content of the tweets should not be taken seriously.
Rahul Gandhi said in a public interaction meeting during the Rajasthan Assembly Elections that the UPA government also conducted Surgical strikes but did not disclose the information to the public. But, he did not say that the UPA government conducted strikes not even disclosing it to Army and Airforce.
Finally, Rahul Gandhi’s statement which was twisted by a parody account is being shared on Facebook as his statement and there isn’t any truth in these posts.

source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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UPSC Civil Services Exam: No difference in Attempts & Age criteria based on Religion - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 14, 2020
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that Hindus can give only six attempts in UPSC Civils Services Examination whereas Muslims can give nine attempts. It is also being claimed that the maximum age limit for Hindus is 32 years whereas it is 35 years for Muslims. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
For writing the UPSC Civil Services Exam, the age-limits for Hindus and Muslims are 32 years and 35 years, respectively. Also, the number of attempts are six and nine, respectively.
Fact: There is no such discrimination between Hindus and Muslims in the eligibility criteria for writing the UPSC Civil Services Exam. No religion-based criteria are found in the official notification of the exam. There are only caste-based differences in the eligibility criteria. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for the aforementioned differences in the official notification of UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020, no such religion-based differences were found. There is no mention of religion in the eligibility criteria. But there are some caste-based differences in the eligibility criteria. Also, there are few other exemptions but they are not based on religion.
Caste-based differences in the eligibility criteria can be seen in the table below:
Some sects/groups of Muslims are also in the Central list of OBCs. So, Muslims and Hindus, who are in the OBC list, can attempt the exam nine times and have the age-limit up to 35. So, the aforementioned criteria are not limited to OBC Muslims only. The Muslim castes/communities placed in the Central list of OBCs with respect to Telangana can be seen below:
The image in the post is from a program telecast by ‘Sudarshan News’. The related video can be watched here. In the video, the anchor mentions that the Muslims taking reservation benefits have the age-limit up to 35 and are getting 9 attempts.
To sum it up, there are no separate eligibility criteria based on religion in the UPSC Civil Services Examination.

created: September 14, 2020


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UPSC topper Shruti Sharma is not the daughter of Sudarshan TV's Suresh Chavhanke - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 31, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Sudarshan channel Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke’s daughter has secured the top rank in the UPSC examination by studying at Jamia Millia University. The post alleges that Suresh Chavhanke makes hate speeches and creates hatred among Hindus and Muslims but sends his daughter to an Islamic University to become a topper. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Suresh Chavhanke’s daughter has secured the top rank in the UPSC examination by studying at Jamia Millia University.
Fact: The photo shows Shruti Sharma, the topper of the Civil Service Examination 2021. Shruti Sharma’s father is Sunil Dutt Sharma, who is an architect and runs a construction consultancy firm in Delhi. Shruti Sharma is an alumnus of St. Stephen’s College of Delhi University and she prepared for the Civil Services Exam at Jamia Millia Islamia Residential Coaching Academy (RCA). Shruti Sharma is not the daughter of Suresh Chavhanke. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched for the details of the claims made in the post, we found that the woman seen in the image is Shruti Sharma, the topper of the Civil Service Examination 2021. Shruti Sharma emerged as the topper, securing an All-India Rank (AIR) of 1 in the Civil Service Examination 2021.
A few photos of Shruti Sharma posing along with her family members can be seen here, here, and here. As per the reports, Shruti Sharma’s father is Sunil Dutt Sharma, an architect who runs a construction consultancy firm in Delhi. Sunil Dutt Sharma reportedly also runs a school in Basta.
Shruti Sharma is an alumnus of St. Stephen’s College of Delhi University and joined the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) to pursue her post-graduate degree. Shruti Sharma prepared for the Civil Services Exam at Jamia Millia Islamia Residential Coaching Academy (RCA). News reports on RCA members honouring Shruti Sharma can be seen here and here. Shruti Sharma is not related to journalist Suresh Chavhanke.
A few pictures of Suresh Chavhanke with his family members can be seen here, here, and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that Shruti Sharma is not related to Suresh Chavhanke, the Editor-in-Chief of the Sudarshan channel.
To sum it up, UPSC topper Shruti Sharma did prepare for the Civil Service Exam at Jamia Millia University, but she is not the daughter of Sudarshan TV Head Suresh Chavhanke.

created: October 31, 2023


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UPSC topper Utkarsh Dwivedi was not a corporal in the Indian Air Force; he did not take up any job after his graduation - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 2, 2022
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Corporal Utkarsh Dwivedi cracked the recently held civil services exam with an all-India rank five. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Utkarsh Dwivedi who bagged fifth rank in Civil Services Examination 2021 was a Corporal in the Indian Air Force.
Fact: Utkarsh Dwivedi bagged fifth rank in the Civil Services Examination 2021. He did not take up any job after his graduation from VIT, as his focus was only on the UPSC preparation. However, he was offered a job at a PSU named Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN). Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Utkarsh Dwivedi bagged fifth rank in the Civil Services Examination 2021. When we searched online about the UPSC topper Utkarsh Dwivedi, we found an article in India Today. In the article, he clearly mentions that he did not take up any job after his graduation from VIT, as his focus was only on the UPSC preparation. However, he was offered a job at a PSU named Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN).
There were other interviews and mock interviews (here and here) where Utkarsh Dwivedi mentions that he did not do any job after his graduation. In this mock interview, when asked whether he took up any job after graduating, he answered ‘no’. When asked about the reason for this decision, he replied that he ‘wanted to go for the civil services immediately after his graduation’ as he ‘did not want to waste a single day to do a thing’ that he did not want to do.
To sum it up, UPSC topper Utkarsh Dwivedi was not a corporal in the Indian Air Force; he did not take up any job after his graduation.


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‘Urbancroptc.org’ is a dubious organization and the ‘central government job offers’ from them are fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2019
A screenshot of an offer letter from ‘Urbancroptc.org’ was received on FACTLY’s WhatsApp helpline number. The sender asked us to check the authenticity of the letter as they were issuing the job offers in the name of Agriculture Ministry, Government of India. Another screenshot was also received where a job applicant was complaining in a consumer complaint forum (complaint 1 and complaint 2) that he paid money to ‘Urbancroptc.org’ and received an offer letter, but they are not responding to his calls thereafter. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the offer letters being sent in the name of Agriculture Ministry.
Central government jobs available under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Scheme by Urbancroptc.org, which works with the Agriculture Ministry.
Fact: There is no central government scheme with the name, ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Scheme’. There is a scheme called ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’ but it comes under the Ministry of Rural Development and guarantees only unskilled work for a specific period (at least 100 days) in a financial year, not for 14 years. Also, there are a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes in the offer letter and on the company’s website. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Scheme:
In the offer letter, it can be found that ‘Ministry of Agriculture’ was written on the letterhead. But, the Agriculture Ministry in India is called as “Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”, not “Ministry of Agriculture”. It was also written in the letter that the salaries and other benefits to the selected candidates would be provided under the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Scheme’ for fourteen years. So, when you search for the scheme, it was found that there is no scheme with that name. There is a scheme called ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’ but it is under the Ministry of Rural Development and guarantees only unskilled work for a specific period (at least 100 days) in a financial year for people in rural areas, not for 14 years.
Company:
In the offer letter and on the company’s website, it can be seen that there are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors.  No genuine reputed company, which works with the government, will have such errors.
The Company Registration Number is also given in the offer letter at the bottom. So, when searched for the company on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website with the name ‘urbancroptc’, it was found that no such company was registered with the government.
Also, none of the phone numbers and social media hyperlinks given on their website are working. The address of the office is given as ‘3 Floor-Kohinoor Plaza-Mumbai’, which does not exist and is a modified version of the name of an iconic building – ‘Kohinoor Square’ (Mumbai).
FACTLY has also contacted relevant officials in the Ministry and the screenshots of the letter were sent to them. This article will be updated once they respond.
To sum it up, ‘Urbancroptc.org’ is a dubious organization and the‘central government job offers’ from them are fake.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Indian Rivers?

created: September 5, 2019


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US Congress Representative portrayed as New Zealand PM greeting for Janmashtami - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 18, 2020
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as that of the New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern greeting video on the occasion of Janmashtami festival. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern greeting video on the occasion of Janmashtami festival.
Fact: Video in the post shows US Congress Representative of Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard, speaking about the importance of Bhagavad Gita on the occasion of Janmashtami festival. It has nothing to do with New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, we found out that it is US Congress Representative Tulsi Gabbard who was speaking about the importance of Bhagavad Gita in the video. This video was found in the official youtube channel of Tulsi Gabbard.
She published the same video on her twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. It can be seen here, here and here. Articles related to this greeting video can also be seen here and here.
To all celebrating around the world, I want to wish you a very Happy Janmashtami! May we always be blessed with remembrance of Sri Krishna, His unconditional love, and His transcendental appearance in this world. Jai Sri Krishna! #HappyJanmashtami #KrishnaJanmashtami pic.twitter.com/gh69gw5Xe4
When we searched for greeting video posted by New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, we did not find any greeting video on the occasion of Janmashtami by Jacinda Ardern.
To sum it up, video of US Congress representative Tulsi Gabbard is falsely portrayed as that of New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern greeting on the occasion of Janmashtami.
Did you watch our new video?


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US President Joe Biden did not tweet addressing PM Modi as a world leader - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 22, 2021
A screenshot of a tweet purportedly made by the United States President Joe Biden is being shared on social media stating that Joe Biden addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a world leader while thanking him for his greetings on him becoming the 46 US President. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Joe Biden’s tweet addressing  PM Narendra Modi as a world leader.
Fact: This tweet is not posted from the account of the new United States President Joe Biden. Joe Biden did not respond to the greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi till now. The user name of the account that made this tweet is different from the one of Joe Biden’s official Twitter handle. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On 20 January 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulations to Joe Biden for being sworn in as the 46 President of the United States. As of now, Joe Biden has not responded to this tweet from Narendra Modi. No such tweet was found in the tweets made from the personal and official Twitter handles of Joe Biden.
My warmest congratulations to @JoeBiden on his assumption of office as President of the United States of America. I look forward to working with him to strengthen India-US strategic partnership.
On observing carefully, it is found that the username visible on the tweet is different from the user name (@JoeBiden) of Joe Biden’s personal Twitter handle.  Further, one can notice that there is no verified symbol on the Twitter account mentioned in the post.
To sum it up, this tweet addressing PM Narendra Modi as a world leader is not posted from the official account of the US President Joe Biden, but from a parody account.

created: January 22, 2021


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US Vice President Kamala Harris did make a Tweet mentioning her meeting with PM Narendra Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 28, 2021
A screenshot of a tweet made by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is being shared on social media claiming that the US Vice President Kamala Harris had not made any tweets regarding her recent meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the tweet, Subramanian Swamy pointed out VP Kamala Harris tweeted about her meeting with an African head of state but not regarding her earlier meeting with Narendra Modi. Sharing the screenshot of Kamala Harris’s tweet mentioning her meeting with the Zambian President, another post claims that Kamala Harris had given priority to Zambian President rather than Narendra Modi. On 23 September 2021, PM Narendra Modi met the first Indian-American Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, marking the first in-person meeting of Modi and the highest-ranking Indian-American in US history. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: US Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted regarding her meeting with Zambian President but ignored tweeting her meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Fact: US Vice President Kamala Harris did make a tweet mentioning her meeting with Narendra Modi, on 24 September 2021. VP Kamala Harris met Narendra Modi a day after she met Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema on 22 September 2021. This is the reason why Kamala Harris first tweeted regarding the meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema before tweeting about Narendra Modi’s meeting. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether US Vice President Kamala Harris had made any tweet regarding her meeting with the Indian PM Narendra Modi, we found that VP Kamala Harris had made a tweet on 24 September 2021, mentioning her meeting with PM Narendra Modi. Sharing the clip of her meeting with Modi, Kamala Harris tweeted, “I met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the United States and India. Working together, we can make progress on important global issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic, to the climate crisis, to strengthening and defending democracy”.
I met with Prime Minister @NarendraModi to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the United States and India. Working together, we can make progress on important global issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic, to the climate crisis, to strengthening and defending democracy. pic.twitter.com/pjLsDF1JXk
While it is true that US Vice President Kamala Harris first tweeted about her meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, it is not true that Kamala Harris’s meeting with Narendra Modi had taken place before her meeting with the Zambian President. VP Kamala Harris met Narendra Modi on 23 September 2021, a day after she met Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on 22 September 2021.  ‘The White House’ official press release briefing the US Vice President Kamala Harris’s meeting with Zambian President Hichilema and India PM Narendra Modi can be seen here and here.
Also, ‘The White House’ YouTube channel had published the live videos of Vice President Kamala Harris’s meetings with Hakainde Hichilema and Narendra Modi. They can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that US Vice President Kamala Harris made a tweet regarding her recent meeting with Narendra Modi, and also, it is confirmed that Kamala Harris’s meeting with Zambian President took place a day before she met Narendra Modi.
To sum it up, US Vice President Kamala Harris did make a tweet mentioning her meeting with PM Narendra Modi.

created: September 28, 2021


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Number of US Student Visas issued to Indian Nationals in 2018 is the lowest in 5 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 9, 2019
The number of Non-Immigrant US visas issued to Indian Nationals increased by 4 times between 1997 and 2018.  However, the total number of such visas in 2018 has marginally decreased compared to 2017. On the other hand, the number of student visas has come down by more than 40% between 2015 & 2018.
Data from the US Department of State indicates that student visas to Indian nationals decreased by more than 40% between 2015 & 2018 while the total number of non-immigrant visas has decreased marginally in 2018 compared to 2017. (Note: The US Department of State releases data for every fiscal year which follows an October to September cycle. For FY18, the cycle would be October 2017 to September 2018. The years referred to in this story are all fiscal years)
More than half the Visas issued to Indian Nationals are B-1 & B-2
The following are some of the common visa categories in which visas are issued.
Business Visa (B-1): Consult with business associates, attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference, settle an estate, negotiate a contract etc.
Tourism & Visit (B-2): Tourism, vacation (holiday), visit with friends or relatives, medical treatment, participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations, participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests etc.
Temporary Work Visa (H-1B): To work in a specialty occupation. Requires a higher education degree or its equivalent.
Dependent Visa (H-4): A dependent visa issued to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders.
Student Visa (F-1): To enter the USA to attend university or college.
Intracompany Transfer (L): To work at a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the current employer in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring specialized knowledge.
The above categories of visas accounted for more than 90% of the Non-Immigrant visas issued to Indian nationals between 2007 and 2018. More than 57% of the visas issued are in the B-1,2 categories. H-1B accounted for 12.8% of all the visas while more than 9.8% of the visas were in the H-4 category. The student visas (F-1) accounted for 5.5%.
Non-Immigrant Visas increased by 4 times in 22 years, decreased marginally in 2018
The total number of nonimmigrant visas issued to Indian nationals has increased by almost 4 times in the last 22 years, from 1997 to 2018. From 2.49 lakh non-immigrant visas in 1997, the number crossed 1 million in 2017 and it remained at more than a million even in 2018. In fact, the number of visas has more than doubled between 2009 and 2017. Except for the decrease in 2002, 2005, 2008 & 2009, the number of nonimmigrant visas issued to Indian nationals has increased every year between 1997 & 2017. In fact, the number of nonimmigrant visas issued increased by over 70% between 2012 and 2015, during Barrack Obama’s second term as the POTUS. However, there has been a marginal decrease in these visas from 1.009 million in 2017 to 1.006 million in 2018.
Trump effect is real – Student Visas down 40% in 4 years
The impact of Trump’s presidency is most evident in the number of student visas issued by the US.  The number of student visas (F-1) to Indians decreased by more than 40% from 74831 in 2015 to 42694 in 2018. Even globally, the number student visas issued by US decreased by close to 40% between 2015 & 2018.
But this is not the only time that the number of student visas to Indians has decreased. In 2002, in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the number of student visas decreased by over 15%. The year 2009 also saw a huge reduction in the number of student visas to Indian nationals. The number of student visas in that year decreased by more than 25%. In fact, Barrack Obama’s first term as the POTUS coincided with the worst times for student visas to Indians. The number of student visas decreased from 36149 in 2008 to 23446 in 2012. Surprisingly, Obama’s second term was the best ever for Indian students. The number of student visas increased almost 3 times from 23446 in 2012 to 74831 in 2015. Since then, the number has only decreased every successive year. In the last 4 years, the number has decreased from 74831 in 2015 to 42694 in 2018.
Chennai US consulate issued the most Visas in the last 10 years
US Consulates in New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata & Mumbai issue US Visas. The consulate in Hyderabad started issuing visas in 2009. In the period between 2007 and 2018, the Chennai consulate issued almost a third or 32.14%  (25.26 lakh) of all the non-immigrant visas issued in India. The consulate in Mumbai issued 28.5% (22.42 lakh) of all the visas. The Delhi consulate issued 20.2%  (15.9 lakh) visas followed by Hyderabad consulate which issued 14.33% (11.26 lakh) visas. The consulate in Kolkata issued only 4.77% of all the non-immigrant visas issued between 2007 and 2018, the least of all the issuing offices in India.


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USA & UK release Comprehensive Data on COVID-19 deaths, India needs to follow suit
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 11, 2020
It is now common knowledge that the elderly & those with co-morbid conditions are more vulnerable to COVID-19 related complications. The USA & the UK have been releasing comprehensive data on COVID-19 deaths in their countries along with the causes for these deaths, including details on other co-morbid conditions. India needs to follow suit and release such detailed data at the earliest.
Since the first death due to COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China during January’2020, there have been more than 9.08 lakh deaths reported across the world as caused due to COVID-19. However, all these recorded deaths are not exclusively due to COVID-19.
Death often is the result of a combined effect of two or more related or independent conditions. One condition may lead to other conditions that prove to be fatal. There could be a new condition that might aggravate an existing condition, resulting in death.
COVID-19, which is currently spread across 215 countries in the world is an infectious disease which is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.  As per World Health Organization (WHO), the infection causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in most of the affected people. However, it could be more serious in the elderly or those already suffering from medical conditions like – respiratory diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer etc.
Hence, while COVID-19 by itself might not be fatal, it might aggravate a pre-existing condition which would ultimately result in the death of the infected person. COVID-19, being a new disease, it is important to understand the impact of the disease on the infected population to be able to ascertain and develop strategies to control the infection as well as mitigate fatalities.
Therefore, recording the relevant information about causes of death in patients infected with COVID-19 i.e. co-morbidities, would offer insights in understanding COVID-19. This information can help in identifying infection patterns at both micro and macro level and plan interventions accordingly.
Codes for standardized recording of COVID-19 related deaths  introduced by WHO
The observed cases of COVID-19 present a wide range – from mild to severe to fatal depending on the severity of the infection and co-morbid conditions. COVID-19 is reported to cause pneumonia, cardiac and intra vascular related complications, ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) etc. which may lead to death.
Further, patients with pre-exiting conditions like Asthma, cancer, heart diseases etc. have higher risk of developing respiratory infections and complications in a COVID-19 positive individual. But they might not have directly contributed to the death due to COVID-19 or only a few of many co-morbid conditions might have caused the death.
Hence it is important to identify and clinically record the exact reason for a death. Identifying the patterns of the infection and death is possible only through a standardized recording of the disease and the death.
Therefore, WHO has introduced standard codes to record COVID-19 related cases & deaths. There are two codes introduced as part of ICD-10 (10 version of International Code of Diseases)
The two Codes represent two broad categorizations.
Based on the symptoms and presence of Co-morbidities, the confirmed cases that are coded under U07.1 are further classified into three different groups.
For any suspect and probable cases, code U07.2 is used. These cases are those where there is a probability of infection, but which is not yet confirmed i.e. coming in contact with an infected person, history of travel etc. In these cases, apart from the code for COVID-19, codes which are related to the symptoms needs to be recorded.
As per WHO, both these categories (i.e. U07.1 & U07.2) can be used for cause of death coding.
This information would help in determining if COVID-19 as an underlying Cause of Death. The rules which are applied in determining the single underlying cause of death is same as the one currently followed for influenza.
In USA, Influenza & Pneumonia followed by Respiratory failure are the top co-contributing causes for COVID-19 related deaths.
Apart from being the country with the highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases, USA also has the highest number of COVID-19 related deaths with around 1.95 lakh deaths, a fatality rate of nearly 3%.
USA’s Centres for Disease Controls & Prevention (CDC) furnishes a weekly update with the details of the causes of COVID-19 related deaths along with other information such as age, geographical location etc. , which provides useful insights on the spread of COVID-19 infection.
As per the latest update on 05 September 2020, out of the total COVID-19 related deaths, only 6% of the deaths have COVID-19 mentioned as the only cause of death. The rest of the deaths have other health conditions as a contributing cause. As per CDC, each death has on an average 2.6 additional conditions listed as causes of death.
Therefore, a single death can have multiple causes of death. Hence, in the data provided, CDC cautions against aggregation of the causes of death figures as there is scope of multiple count of the same death.  However, as per the information provided, the greatest number of deaths list ‘Influenza & Pneumonia’ as one of the top contributing causes of death with more than 74 thousand cases mentioning it as a cause.
From a broad categorization, health conditions that are related to respiratory diseases are the top contributing causes for COVID-19 related deaths, followed by causes that are related to circulatory diseases. There are multiple causes listed under these both diseases.
Respiratory Failure, another respiratory related cause is the second major cause followed by Hypertensive Diseases (Part of Circulatory related conditions).  Diabetes, Cardiac arrest, ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome) etc. are among the other major health conditions that are listed as co-morbidities for COVID-19 related deaths in USA.
Information on Contributing Co-morbidities for COVID-19 deaths not available in India
In accordance with the guidelines for COVID-19 related codes issued by WHO, Government of India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW) has also issued guidelines about recording of COVID-19 related deaths. These guidelines provide the required information for identifying and recording the cause of death in COVID-19 cases.
As highlighted in the guidelines issued by WHO, COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death needs to be ascertained, as well as any symptoms and co-morbidities accompanying COVID-19 infection and deaths ought to be clearly coded and apt description provided.
The guidelines, prescribe the usage of E-Mortality (e-Mor) portal to record COVID-19 related deaths. Based on these directions from MOHFW, it can be presumed that WHO’s codes and guidelines are being followed or supposed to be followed in India to record COVID-19 related deaths.
However, no such information is available in the public domain even though the MOHFW provides daily updates on COVID-19 situation in the country.
We tried accessing the data of COVID-19 deaths in other countries, in line with USA and found that U.K also publishes the data, albeit not as detailed as USA. We could not find similar information for other countries, at least on their official portals.
While, respiratory related diseases are considered to be major contributing factors (as seen in case of USA), it cannot be ascertained if the same trend prevails in India as well in the absence of detailed data.  With India currently leading the daily numbers for COVID-19 positive cases as well as deaths, India specific information on the health conditions/comorbidities for COVID-19 related deaths on the lines of the USA & UK could provide useful insights and help governments plan necessary interventions.
Featured Image: COVID-19 deaths

created: September 11, 2020


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User Development Fee at Airports
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 5, 2016
User Development Fee (UDF) is one of the many fee and tax paid by air passengers. UDF is charged at various airports and the rate of UDF varies from airport to airport based on various factors. Delhi airport charges the highest UDF for domestic passengers while Hyderabad airport charges the highest UDF for international passengers.
Air Tickets have become off late become expensive on account of various taxes and fee. One such fee is the User Development Fee (UDF). It is charged at various airports for both arriving and departing passengers. Here is a short guide to the current UDF charges at various airports across India.
What is UDF?
User Development Fee (UDF) is levied at the Indian airports under Rule 89 of Aircraft Rules, 1937 as a measure to increase revenues of the airport operator. The UDF is levied to bridge any revenue shortfall so that the airport operator is able to get a fair rate of return on investment. The quantum of UDF varies from airport to airport. The rate of UDF at airports is determined by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) for major airports and by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for non-major airports.
Delhi is the only Airport that collects UDF from both arriving & departing passengers
Of all the airports, Delhi is the only airport that collects UDF for both arriving as well as departing passengers. All other airports collect UDF only for departing passengers. The approving authority for UDF at Delhi airport is the AERA. The UDF charges at Delhi airport are the following. Please note that Service Tax is applicable on these rates.
UDF at other Airports
As mentioned earlier, no other airport collects UDF for arriving passengers. The UDF charges at various airports excluding service tax for departing passengers are the following.
Featured Image sources: By Adrian Pingstone [Via Wikipedia Commons] & Boarding Pass


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Is using the phrase ‘Republic’ a violation of the law?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 26, 2017
BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy shot off a letter to the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting about the use of the phrase ‘Republic’ by Arnab Goswami’s new media venture. But is it legal to use this phrase?
BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy shot off a letter to the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting about the use of the phrase ‘Republic’ by Arnab Goswami’s new media venture. In his letter, he mentioned that the use the phrase ‘Republic’ by Arnab Goswami’s new media venture will be a violation & a direct breach of “The Emblems & Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of 1950.”  But is it really a breach of the law?
The Emblems & Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of 1950
The act was passed in 1950 to prevent the improper use of certain emblems and names for professional and commercial purposes. The act prohibits any person from using certain names & emblems as listed in the schedule of the act for the purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession, or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark or design. However, the central government can issue permission in certain special cases.
The act also prohibits registration of any company, firm or any other organization with the restricted names. The penalty for contravention of the act is a mere five hundred rupees. The central government is authorized to add as many items to the schedule as it deems fit. The following are some of the items listed in the schedule.
With time, more names were added to the schedule. The current list of prohibited names include International Civil Aviation Organisation, Interpol, World Meteorological Organisation,  Tuberculosis Association of India, International Atomic Energy Agency, Ashoka Chakra, Dharma Chakra, Rama Krishna Math, Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, The Bharat Scouts and Guides, International Olympic Committee, National Youth Emblem, Auroville, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Sri Sathya Sai, National Human Rights Commission etc.
Using the phrase ‘Republic’ may not be a violation of the law
Subramanian Swamy’s letter objects to the use of the phrase ‘Republic’, listed in the sixth point of the schedule. But the prohibition may not be really about the phrase alone, but usage of ‘Republic of India’ as a whole.
In fact, as per data available on the website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), there are 25 companies that have the phrase ‘Republic’ in the name of the company. Some of these companies were registered as late as in the 1950s. The companies range from Engineering to Cargo to Films to Healthcare to Sports, Fashion etc.
The act also mentions that “the words such as ‘India’,. ‘National’ or ‘State’ may not be allowed in the name of a body engaged in commercial, semi-commercial activities in public dealings or for products being marketed if the consumer is likely to gather a misleading impression that the organization has been sponsored by the Government”. There is no express prohibition on these words and the individual cases are dealt by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MoCA). MoCA clears names and issues no-objection certificates regularly. MoCA also objects to certain names. But it is highly unlikely that the use of the phrase ‘Republic’ will be objected to.
Featured Image: Use of the phrase ‘Republic’

created: January 26, 2017


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Using the infrared thermometer on the forehead will not harm the glands in the head. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 9, 2020
A video of Khurshed Batliwala, in which he claimed – ‘Using infrared thermometers on the forehead to check the temperature of the body can harm the organs in the head’, is being shared on social media. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video of Khurshed Batliwala claiming that using the infrared thermometer on the forehead can harm the organs in the head.
Fact: Infrared thermometers are not harmful to the organs in the head. The infrared thermometer will not cause any damage to the organs in the head or in the body because the measurement is done by the absorption and detection of infrared energy radiated by the human body; not vice versa. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched if infrared thermometers are harmful to the organs in the head, an article published by the ‘CGTN’ in February 2020 was found in the search results. In the article, it is mentioned that – ‘the infrared thermometer, takes one’s temperature by sensing the infrared energy radiated by the human body, as all materials emit infrared energy when the temperature is above absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). The process won’t cause any damage to the human body because the measurement is done by the absorption and detection of infrared energy’. In the same article, an infographic comparing the different types of thermometers can be found. Also, Feng Luzhao, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said – ‘Infrared thermometers work by receiving the thermal radiation emitted by humans, not vice versa. Using infrared thermometers is not harmful to the eyes and body’.
When the same message went viral in Malaysia, the Malaysian government has issued a statement against the false message, which can be read below.
Also, no such side-effects from using infrared thermometer are mentioned on the ‘US FDA’ website. The ‘Poynter’ has published an article in July 2020 that the same message went viral in various countries and many fact-checkers across the world have debunked it.
Khurshed Batliwala has written on his official Facebook account that he ‘holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics from IIT Bombay. He is an Art of Living faculty for 20+ years’. He has not mentioned that he is a professor at IIT Bombay.
To sum it up, using the infrared thermometer on the forehead will not harm the organs in the head.

created: September 9, 2020


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Uttar Pradesh accounted for 45% of all illegal weapons seized in the country in 2015
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 10, 2017
As per the annual Crime in India report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), more than 50000 fire-arms each were seized in the country in 2014 and 2015 under the Arms act. Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 45% of the seized fire-arms in the country.
Possession of a fire-arm or ammunition without a valid license is an offence under the Arms Act. The police can seize any such illegal fire-arm or ammunition and book a case against the possessor as per the laid down procedure. They can also seize licensed fire-arms under other provisions of the act. The details of all such seizure cases and the amount of arms seized under the Arms Act is compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in their  annual ‘Crime in India’ report. The NCRB started collecting this data only in 2014 and hence data before 2014 is not available at a central place.
More than 50000 fire-arms seized in the country in 2014 & 2015
As per the NCRB report, more than 53000 fire-arms were seized under the arms act in 2015 while more than 51000 cases of seizure were reported. In 2014, more than 55000 cases under this act were registered and a similar number of fire-arms were also seized. Both in 2014 & 2015, crude & country made arms accounted for the bulk of the seizures. Licenced or factory made fire-arms were the lowest in terms of the seizures. Seized arms include AK47/56, Pistols, Carbine, Revolvers, Guns, Rifles and country made weapons etc. More than one lakh number of ammunition was seized in 2014 while this number went up to more than three lakh in 2015.
The Police also makes seizures under the Explosives Act. In 2014, 3843 cases of seizure of explosives were reported. This number increased marginally to 3571 in 2015. The seized explosives include Detonators, RDX, TNT, Gelatin Sticks, Grenades, Landmines, IEDs etc.
Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh account for 60% of the seizures
It is not the left wing extremism (LWE) or maoist affected states that top the list of seizures. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh together account for more than 60% of all the seizures in the country both in 2014 and 2015. Add Rajasthan to this list, the percentage goes over 70%. More than 24000 fire-arms were seized in Uttar Pradesh in both 2014 and 2015. Compared to this, the number of fire-arms seized in all the South Indian states put together was less than 1000 in both 2014 and 2015. More than 1000 fire-arms were seized in eight (8) different states in 2014 and seven (7) different states in 2015.

created: February 10, 2017


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UP, Chhattisgarh, J&K account for 3/4th of all the Police Firing Incidents between 2009 & 2013
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 14, 2015
We looked at the number of incidents of Police Firing in the country and details of casualities in the previous article. Here is an analysis of incidents of Police Firing in various states from 2009 to 2013.
Incidents of Police Firing
The incidents of Police Firing are not consistent throughout the country. Few states have greater incidence of Police Firing. From 2009 to 2013, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir alone account for more than 74% of the total incidents of Police Firing in the country. It was as high as 84% in 2010. All the other states put together had less than 26% of the firing incidents. The protests against land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh, Maoist problem in Chhattisgarh and the internal strife in Jammu & Kashmir could be the reasons for the high incidence of Police Firing in those states. But 3/4 of the Police Firing incidents in just 3 states is very revealing. There have been more than 600 incidents of police firing in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 and in Jammu Kashmir on 2010. On average, there has been more than one incident of police firing every day in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 & 2010.
Civilian Deaths
There is no visible correlation between the number of incidents of Police Firing & the corresponding number of Civilian deaths in various states. Though Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh & Jammu Kashmir account for close to 75% of the total Police Firing incidents, the number of civilian deaths in these three states is only 47% of the total civilian deaths.
The ratio of number of civilian deaths to number of incidents of police firing reveals some interesting trends. For instance, while Bihar had only 13 incidents of firing in the 5 years, it resulted in 17 deaths with more than one civilian death on an average per firing. Chhattisgarh had 613 incidents of firing that resulted in only 39 deaths. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Jammu Kashmir do not figure in the top five. Though states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & West Bengal had relatively lesser number of incidents of firing, the ratio is higher for these states.
Policemen Deaths
It is equally important to look at the death of Policemen in these incidents of firing. Almost 39% of the total deaths in these incidents are that of the Policemen. From 2009 to 2013, 447 policemen lost their lives in police firing incidents. More than 1/3 of these policemen are from Chhattisgarh. 154 Policemen lost their lives in Chhattisgarh in these 5 years. It is indicative of the fact that most of the firing incidents in Chhattisgarh involved the Maoists. The second highest number of Police casualities was in Maharashtra. 72 policemen lost their lives in Maharashtra out of which 53 were killed just in 2009. Most of these deaths were in anti Maoist operations. 60 Policemen were killed in Jammu & Kashmir in these 5 years. Bihar is in the first place in both the ratio of civilian & policemen deaths compared to the number of incidents of Police firing. This indicates the serious nature of firing incidents in Bihar.
Data Source: Crimes in India, National Crime Records Bureau


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UV Creations, the producers of Radhe Shyam, did not tweet announcing the postponement of the movie’s release in AP to 23 March 2022 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 11, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that UV Creations had tweeted announcing the postponement of Radhe Shyam’s release in Andhra Pradesh to 23 March 2022. The photo of the purported tweet is being shared through the post. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: UV Creations tweeted announcing the postponement of Radhe Shyam’s release in Andhra Pradesh to 23 March 2022.
Fact: UV Creations never made any such tweet. Further, the author of the viral post, in the comments section, conveyed that the post was shared as a joke. Radhe Shyam was released today i.e., on 11 March 2022, even in Andhra Pradesh Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
In the post itself, the author of the post says, ‘see the comments.’ In the comment section below the viral post, the author mentions that the post was shared as a joke. However, some believed that the post was real and started sharing it.
When one skims through the official Twitter handle of UV Creations (the producers of Radhe Shyam), nowhere was the purported tweet found. In fact, the profile picture of the Twitter handle itself mentioned that the movie was set for a worldwide release on 11 March 2022.
Earlier, Radhe Shyam was postponed multiple times because of COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns and safety guidelines issued across the country. However, Radhe Shyam was released today i.e., on 11 March 2022. In fact, a few days earlier, the Andhra Pradesh government issued orders revising its earlier cap on movie prices. Prabhas later thanked the AP CM via his official Facebook page for the revised ticket prices.
To sum it up, UV Creations, the producers of Radhe Shyam, did not tweet announcing the postponement of the movie’s release in Andhra Pradesh to 23 March 2022.


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Vaccination Certificate is wrongly shared as Death Certificate with PM Modi’s image - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 21, 2021
A photo accompanying a post is claimed to be an Online Death Certificate containing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Online Death Certificate is branded with PM Modi’s image.
Fact:  The photo accompanying the post contains a COVID-19 vaccination certificate, not a death certificate. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search of the image is performed, it takes us to a news article, where the same image is available. The image available here is of a better resolution. On observing carefully, one can easily realize that it is a provisional certificate for COVID-19 vaccination. As per the article, taking a dig at PM Modi for the increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country, Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik demanded that if Modi’s photo is printed on vaccination certificates, then his photo should also be put on death certificates. The inclusion of PM Modi’s photo on vaccination certificates has been a controversy from the beginning.
According to the image, the vaccination of the person was done in Delhi. The image has the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the exhortations in English (“Together we will defeat Covid-19”) and Hindi (“davai bhi aur kadai bhi”, “medicines as well as rigour”).
Hence, the photo accompanying the post is not an online death certificate, but a COVID-19 vaccination certificate with the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


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Vaccination for COVID-19:Less than 10% received at least 1 dose in 6 States
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 1, 2021
While more than 21 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country, this constitutes only 12.4% of the population that received at least one dose and around 3.3% that received both doses. There are stark differences in vaccine coverage across states. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Assam with a combined population of more than 50 crores have given at least one dose to less than 10% of the population.
Vaccination for COVID-19 began in India on 16January 2021. The first phase included Vaccination for Health workers & Frontline workers. Later, in the second phase, vaccination was opened for Senior citizens over the age of 60. With the start of the second wave and increased spread of COVID-19 infection, the vaccination was made available firstly for those above 45 years and later to those in the age group of 18-44.
As per the latest update provided by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), around 16.86 crore persons received at least one dose of the vaccine. A total of 4.45 crore received both doses as of 31 May 2021. Overall, 21.31 crore doses have been administered in the country till 31 May 2021.
However, this constitutes only around 12.4% of the total population. Furthermore, only around 4.45 crores have received the second dose. While the Central Government has stated that the target is to achieve complete vaccination by the end of December 2021, the current numbers indicate that there a long way to go to achieve the stated target. Numbers also indicate varied performance in vaccine administration across the states making it a more challenging task.
In this story, we take a detailed look into the status of Vaccination across various States/UTs in the country and in different age groups.
Methodology: The population considered for the analysis is the Projected Mid-year population of states as of 01 October 2020, provided by the Central Government in one of its recent updates. The age-wise data considered is based on the 2011 Census. Since the latest age-wise data is not available, the growth rate of population is calculated by comparing States’ population as per the 2011 Census with the Mid-year projection in 2020, and this growth rate is used to project the latest age-wise data using the numbers from the 2011 Census.
Among the large states, only Delhi & Kerala have administered at least one dose to more than 20% of their population
Among the States/UTs with over one Crore population, only Delhi and Kerala have managed to administer at least one dose to around 20% of the population.  The other states that have administered at least one dose to more than 20% of the population are the smaller States & UTs.
In terms of absolute numbers, Maharashtra has administered at least one dose to 1.77 crore persons, which constitutes around 14.3% of the population of the state.  While Uttar Pradesh has administered at least one dose to 1.45 crore persons, it ranks the least in terms of the share of the population administered at least one dose with 6.33%.
Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal & Madhya Pradesh are among the highly populated States which have a lower share of its population administered at least one dose. These states largely contribute towards the overall lower vaccination coverage at a national level.
Less than 2% of the Population in Bihar & Uttar Pradesh have received both doses
As highlighted earlier, 12.4% of India’s population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The share of the population that has received both doses is much lesser at 3.3%.
An analysis of the states indicates that many of the states are doing better than the national average in terms of providing both doses. However, the performance of few large states is bringing down the national average.
In Uttar Pradesh, only around 1.5% of the population has received both doses while in Bihar, it is only 1.45%.  Both Kerala and Delhi have vaccinated more than 5% of the population with both doses. While few other states fare better than Andhra Pradesh in administering at least one dose, Andhra Pradesh is doing better in terms of the population that has received both doses at 4.72%. Gujarat fares better with 18.4% of the population receiving at least one dose and 5.93% of the population receiving both doses.
About 62% of the population above 60 years has received at least one dose
After the Health Care & Front-line workers, senior citizens above the age of 60 years were given priority in vaccine administration. Data from across the country shows that about 62% of the population who are above 60 years have received at least one dose.
Among the larger states, Rajasthan was able to administer at least one dose to more than the projected population above 60 years. Gujarat & Chhattisgarh have administered at least one dose to more than 90% of their Senior citizens above the age of 60 years, as per the latest projected population figures.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh has administered at least one dose to only about 34% of the population in this age group. Punjab & Bihar are the other large states which have administered at least one dose to less than half of the population in this age group.
As highlighted earlier, the age-wise population projection is based on the growth rate calculated from the Central Government’s projection of the overall State population (compared to the 2011 Census). Hence, the projected numbers could vary from the actual population in these age groups and that is the reason the coverage is more than 100% in some states/UTs.
Most of the large States have administered at least one dose to less than 50% in the 45-60 age group
In wake of the second wave of COVID-19 infection in the country, all those between the ages of 45-60 years were permitted to get vaccinated. Prior to that, those in this age group and suffering from co-morbidities were also allowed along with the 60 + age group.
However, the proportion of those who received at least one dose in this age group is much less than in the 60 + year age group. Data shows that only about 38% of the population in this age group has received at least one dose.
Among the large states, Chhattisgarh has administered at least one dose to around 73% of its population in this age group. Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan & Gujarat are among the other states which have managed to administer at least one dose to more than half the population between 45-60 years.
In the rest of the large states, more than half of the population in this age group is yet to receive their first dose. Only about 1/3rd of the population in this age group received at least one dose in Bengal, while in the case of U.P, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu, this is less than 25%.
Need to step-up pace in major states
The Centre has recently opened up vaccination for all adults above 18 years. However, the data shows that only around 6% of the population in the 18-44 age group received at least one dose. Multiple factors like scarcity of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy, etc. are contributing to the low coverage.
In its latest update on 31 May 2021, the Central Government has stated that more than 23 crore doses were provided to the States so far and that around 1.75 crores are still available with the States. While the number looks huge, the coverage in terms of population that received at least one dose is only around 14% so far. Even in the 60+ age group, close to 38% of the population is yet to receive a single dose even after four months of the rollout. Few States with a large population like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu are bringing down the national average with their poor performance
There is also a need to understand the reasons behind the supply & availability of vaccines in states. For instance, as per an update on 11 May 2021, Uttar Pradesh had received around 1.5 crore doses, which is only around 7% of its population. On the other hand, Gujarat had received 1.48 crore doses whose population is less than 1/3rd the population of U.P. In other words, the supply of vaccines for Gujarat as a share of the population was thrice that of U.P.
Though various parameters are taken into consideration by the Central government including the severity of the COVID-19 infection, wastage, speed of administration, etc., such stark differences in supply are strange. There is a dire need to re-look at the allocation & ensure some form of equitable distribution across states. Unless a certain threshold in each state is vaccinated, the country might experience further waves of COVID-19 which can then spread from one state to another.
In addition to distribution, the other big issue is the availability of vaccines. We had earlier written about the current procurement and the estimated demand in various age groups. Unless there is a huge ramp-up in the production & procurement of vaccines, it will be difficult to cater to the demand. Such scarcity will eventually discourage people from taking the vaccine.
Special focus is needed to counter vaccine hesitancy among the rural & vulnerable population, especially in the wake of multiple reports from states like the U.P. Adequate infrastructure to administer the vaccine should also be made available.
In the next story, we look at more granular data i.e., vaccination across the various districts to understand the trends in more detail.
Featured Image: Vaccination for COVID-19


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VAHAN Database – Vehicle information available in the public domain
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2020
After the recent Delhi riots, there were unsubstantiated allegations that people used the VAHAN database of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to identify & target vehicles belonging to people of a particular community. But what is this VAHAN database? What kind of information is available in the public domain?
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) allows people tocheck the registration status of vehicles in the Vahan website andapplication. Upon entering a vehicle’s registration number, one can get ownershipdetails of the vehicle including name of the owner etc. There were allegations on social media that the rioters in Delhi used thisprovision to target a certain religious community by burning the vehiclesbelonging to them.
Vahan and Sarathi are applications created by MoRTH in 2011 under the Nationale-Governance Policy. They are designed, maintained, and supported by theNational Informatics Centre. Vahan is a data repository of all vehiclesregistered in the country while Sarathi consists of computerized data on DrivingLicenses in India. MoRTH also has an application called, mParivahan,through which one can get instant access to information, services andutilities. As on 12 March 2020, as per Vahan website, there is a total of 285,768,212digitized vehicles. That is, data of more than 28.5 crore vehicles is available in Vahan website and application.
Bulk data sharing by government is based on National
Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy
The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy is India’s policy for sharing data by the governmentin the open formats. The policy makes it easier to share data and increase itsaccessibility for social, economic, and developmental reasons. It is clearlymentioned that only non-sensitive data will be available. As per the policy,all departments and ministries must make a list of datasets which areconfidential in nature and may pose a threat to national security if they areplaced in the public domain. Vahan and Sarathi databases are supposed to be sharedin conformity with this policy.
The following information can be obtained in the VAHAN application andwebsite when one inputs the registration number of the vehicle.
The last but four alphanumeric characters in the Chassis number andEngine number are hidden in the display.
Allegations that rioters in Delhi used government’s
application to target cars of one community
The allegation on social media was that the attackers made use of theapplication, in order to identify vehicles belonging to Muslims and then burntthem down. However, there is no concrete evidence to back this claim. Followingthis claim, an NGO has written to the government asking it to stop public access of VAHANdata.
State specific websites also provide details on vehicle registration and driving license
In addition to VAHAN,  multiple statesalso have their own websites which provide access to vehicle details. But thedetails that need to be entered (input) and information that is displayed vary.The transport department’s webpage of most of the states- Jharkhand, HimachalPradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, WestBengal, and Delhi redirects the user to the MoRTH’s Vahan website.
Only Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,Punjab, Telangana, and Tripura have their own websites to search for vehicleregistration details. In the following table, the information required (input)to access the required data in the respective state websites have been listed.
Applicant’s basic details are recorded in Karnataka before providing details on vehicle registration
In Karnataka, citizens can get vehicle owner’s information from ‘Karnataka One’ centersin the state. To get an extract of the registration certificate of the vehicle,one must provide the registration number of the vehicle. They will receive thename of owner, RTO code and vehicle chassis number. A nominal amount must bepaid by cash to retrieve RC extract. Currently, the charges are Rs. 18. Detailsof applicant such as name, contact number, and address will be recorded.
Madhya Pradesh’s website even reveals address of
vehicle owners
Madhya Pradesh’s website reveals lot more information about the registeredowner like
The websites of Kerala, AP, and Chhattisgarh, like inthe case of the VAHAN,  provide detailsof registration, tax related information, vehicle’s model and type, manufacturer,financier, and NOC. Kerala’s website gives more specifications of the vehiclesuch as body type and capacity. Andhra Pradesh gives only the last five digitsof Chassis number and Engine number whereas Kerala government does not give outthe Chassis number.
Thus, the level of display & amount of information available in thepublic domain is different in different states. While registration number ofthe vehicle is easily available from the number plates, which are visible toall, government can restrict access to the data by asking for Chassis number orEngine number which, in most cases, will be available only with the vehicleowner. Even though states like Telangana and Tripura have tried to restrictaccess, the requisite data of these states is also available in the nationallevel portal.
It is also true that in the case of certain classes of vehicles likecommercial vehicles with permits,  schoolbuses, ambulances etc., information has to be available in the public domain.
In March 2019, MoRTH announced policy on bulk sharing
of Vahan and Sarathi database
On 08 March 2019, in a step towards monetization of data, MoRTH released an advisory that bulk data collected under Vahan andSarathi pertaining to Vehicle License and Driving License respectively will beshared at specified rates. MoRTH, in the advisory, mentioned that theincreasing demand for this data can be met with the help of this policy. Commercialorganizations and individuals could avail the data for Rs. 3 crores andeducational institutions and researchers could avail the same for Rs. 5 Lakhsin 2019-20. From 2020-21, an annual increase of 5% in the price will beapplicable.
Government has earned a revenue of Rs.65 crores by
selling data in three months
As of July 2019, as per the answer provided by the Minister of Road Transport in the Rajya Sabha,  governmenthad the data of about 25 crore vehicle registrations and approximately 15 croredriving license records, from the sale of which the government had earned arevenue of Rs. 65 crores. Further, 32 government entities and 87 privateentities had access to this data.
Possibility of misuse of this data cannot be ruled out
The data available in the public domain is helpful for people who wishto buy second-hand vehicles as they can cross check details and validate itshistory. It will also be beneficial for insurance companies in the claim process.In the case of school buses, the fitness certificates would be handy forparents to cross check the fitness of the vehicles.
However, there are contrarian arguments about the possible misuse ofsuch a database. In fact, the Ministry itself has acknowledged the possibilityof triangulation in the policy. The advisory also lists the action takenagainst the violator which is a ban from accessing the data for three years.
India does not have a data protection law yet
It is important that government takes the consent of people beforeexposing their data in the public domain. One should also remember that Indiadoes not have a data protection law yet. The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2019. TheBill has been sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for further deliberations.
In July 2019, FACTLY wrote to MoRTH to understand more about the datasharing policy. However, despite multiple follow ups, MoRTH hasn’t responded tothe below questions.
ORF has published a detailed assessment of the policy
A detailed assessment of Bulk Data Sharing Policy was published by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in December 2019. ORF made a slew ofrecommendations regarding this policy.


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Valid Pollution Certificate is not mandatory to claim accident insurance - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 4, 2022
A post is being shared on social media claiming that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) passed a law allowing insurance companies to decline accident claims from those who do not possess a Pollution under Control (PUC) certificate on the day of the accident. This rule would be effective from 1 November 2022 as per the claim. Let’s fact-check this post through this article.
Claim: Effective from 1 November 2022, any accident claim will not be entertained if, on the day of the accident, vehicle does not have a valid Pollution under Control (PUC) certificate.
Fact: On 20 August 2020, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) issued a circular to insurance companies asking them to collect a valid PUC certificate from the insurers during the renewal of their policy. This is as per the directions given by the Supreme Court of India in 2017. IRDAI released another circular on 26 August 2020, after they observed media reports misrepresenting the earlier circular. In this, IRDAI  clarified that not holding a valid PUC certificate is not a valid reason for denying any claim under a motor insurance policy. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon doing a keyword search on the internet , we came across few media reports (here, here and here) from August 2020 regarding a circular released by IRDAI.
Reportedly,  IRDAI issued a circular to the insurance companies to comply with the Supreme Court of India’s direction (also read) to ensure that the vehicle must have a valid PUC certificate at the time of renewal of motor vehicle insurance. The circular which was released on 20 August 2020 by IRDAI can be read here.
Upon noticing misinterpreted news reports about the circular, IRDAI released another circular six days later on 26 August 2020. In this circular, they said ‘..there are some misleading media reports to the effect that if there is no valid PUC certificate at the time of accident, claim under a motor insurance policy is not payable.’ IRDAI clarified that IRDAI clarified that not holding a valid PUC certificate is not a valid reason for denying any claim under a motor insurance policy. This circular can be read here.
To sum up, this post falsely claims that a law which does not allow insurers to claim accident insurance if they do not have a valid PUC Pollution Under Control certificate is passed by  IRDAI.

created: November 4, 2022


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Modi gifts to Obama
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 20, 2015
Exchanging gifts is a common practise in diplomacy when leaders go visiting or meet leaders of other countries. Different countries have different rules with respect to the gifts received. In India, these gifts go to the Toshakhana or given to the receipient based on certain rules.
The President of the United States (POTUS), Barack Obama was the guest for this year’s Republic day ceremony. Obama’s three day state visit to India was in the news for more than diplomatic reasons. In January this year, the Delhi high court asked the Center, the Delhi Government and also the Delhi police to retain thousands of CCTV cameras installed for the security of POTUS even after his visit for the safety of women.
Quite a few Indian Citizens were disturbed by this gesture by the Government installing thousands of CCTV cameras for the security of POTUS while it seems to have done precious little after multiple incidents of rape in the capital city. They filed multiple applications under the Right to Information (RTI) act seeking details about the expenditure on the visit and also details of gifts given to Obama.
RTI queries asking for details of total expenditure on the Visit of POTUS
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) received as many as 13 RTI applications till date asking for the details of total expenditure on the visit of POTUS. Some of them asked cost of installing CCTV cameras, cost for security, cost for accommodation of the POTUS & his staff. And interestingly, these applications came from across the country. The applications came from citizens living in New Delhi, Puducherry, Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar & Uttar Pradesh. All of them sought more or less the same information, i.e., the expenditure incurred on POTUS visit to India. And the MEA had a standard answer to all these applications. That it did not have any such information on the expenditure incurred.
What about the value of the Gifts?
All the more interesting is the MEA’s response to applications that sought the information on the value/cost of the gifts presented by Prime Minister Modi to POTUS & his spouse.
In a standard response, MEA replied “The Prime Minister of India presents gifts, as per the laid down norms, to various foreign dignitaries. Information sought by you relates to value/cost of the gifts presented by the PM to the US president and family. However, disclosure of this information may prejudicially affect India’s relations with the concerned foreign State. Exemption is, therefore, sought under section 8(1) (a) RTI act 2005, wherein no such information as may prejudicially affect India’s relations with a foreign State need be disclosed”
It is amusing that the Government of India believes that revealing the value of the gifts presented by the PM would affect India’s relations with the USA. Amusing because of two reasons, one the MEA itself has a policy of public disclosure where it discloses the assessed value of the gifts received by the PM, the external affairs minister & other officials.
Secondly & more importantly, the USA definitely does not believe that disclosing the details & value of the gifts presented by foreign dignitaries affects the relations with any foreign state. They have a policy of disclosing the details (including the value) of the gifts received by federal officials including the President. According to the disclosure by US Department of State, below is the list of gifts with value presented by the Indian Prime Ministers to the POTUS & his spouse. The details are available only from 2002 to 2013.
Sources: Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, US Department of State.


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goods produced by Prison inmates
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 27, 2016
The data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that close to 2.6 lakh prison inmates were trained in various trades between 2010 and 2014. The value of goods produced by inmates across the country crossed Rs 150 crore for the first time in 2014.
Reformation of the inmates is one the primary objectives of imprisonment. Towards this end, training of prisoners in various vocational skills has received a lot of importance in almost all the States/UTs. These training programmes provide opportunities for the prison inmates to engage themselves in fruitful pursuits during the term of their sentence in jails. Training for prison inmates helps the prisoners learn skills which would enable them to follow a vocation after their release from the jail. As per the latest NCRB data on prisons, the value of goods (gross sales) produced by inmates across the country crossed Rs 150 crore rupees for the first time in 2014.
The NCRB releases an annual report ‘Prison Statistics India’. The report contains various statistics related to prisons in India. The data for the report is collected from Prison Headquarters of all States and UTs.
Close to 2.6 lakh inmates trained between 2010 and 2014
As per the NCRB figures, a total of 259773 inmates were trained in various trades between 2010 and 2014. The inmates were trained in seven major trades and other minor trades.  Of the major trades, most inmates were trained in weaving followed by tailoring, carpentry and agriculture respectively. In these five years, most inmates were trained in 2013 (63977).
Except in 2010, more than 70% of the inmates trained in agriculture were from Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. The number of inmates trained in other major trades was evenly distributed. In 2014, the most number of inmates were trained in Punjab (11344) followed by Rajasthan (8251) and Madhya Pradesh (7563). These three states accounted for close to 40% of all those trained in 2014.
Value of good produced crossed Rs 150 crore in 2014
The value of goods produced by inmates crossed Rs 150 crore for the first time in 2014. The value of goods produced increased by more than 85% in the five year period from 2010 to 2014.
Of the various states and UTs, the value of goods produced by inmates in Tamil Nadu was highest (36.97 crore) in 2014.  In the five year period from 2010 to 2014, the value of goods produced by inmates in Delhi was about Rs 94 crore, the highest from any State/UT.
Value of goods produced per inmate in Kerala is more than 8 times the national average
The value of goods produced per inmate increased from Rs 2171 in 2010 to Rs 3628 in 2014, an increase of more than 67%. The value of goods produced per inmate in 2014 was more than Rs 10000 in only Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh and Delhi. The value of goods produced per inmate in 2014 was more than the national average in 8 States/UTs. Except in 2010 and 2011, the value of goods produced per inmate was highest in Kerala. In 2014, the value of goods produced per inmate in Kerala was Rs 30285, more than 8 times the national average.
Featured Image: Prison Inmates


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In value terms, more than half the property stolen in India is from Maharashtra - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 3, 2016
The NCRB Crime in India report for 2015 indicates that a total of 6.25 lakh cases of property related offences were registered in India. The total worth of the property stolen stood at Rs 8210.4 crore with more than half of it stolen from Maharashtra.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the Crime in India report for the year 2015 recently. According to this report, Rs 8210.4 crore worth property was stolen in the country in the year 2015 with Maharashtra alone accounting for more than 50% of the value of the property stolen.
In the year 2015, a total of 6.25 lakh cases were registered against property related offences across the country. More than 3/4 of these crimes are related to Theft, about 18% are related to Burglary and about 6% are related to Robbery. The rest of the cases are related to Dacoity. Within the States and UTs, Delhi reported the highest number of such cases. In fact, 1 out of every 5 such cases reported in the country was from Delhi. In 2014, Delhi accounted for only 15% of the total cases. Maharashtra reported more than 87000 such cases. Delhi & Maharashtra together reported close to 1/3 of all such cases reported in the country in 2015. Ten States/UTs reported more than 20000 such cases each while 10 other States/UTs reported less than 1000 such cases each. Out of the bigger states, Kerala & Punjab reported a lower number of such cases. Among the States, Sikkim reported only 220 such cases in 2015.
In 2015, a total of Rs 8210.4 crore worth of property was stolen in the country. The value of the property stolen increased by more than 3 times between 2005 and 2015. More than half (55.2%) was stolen from the state of Maharashtra alone followed by Delhi (8.8%). In 2014, Maharashtra accounted for less than 40% of the worth of total property stolen. In 7 different states, more than 3% of the total property was stolen. In 19 States/UTs, less than 1% of the total property stolen was stolen. The average value of property stolen per case was highest in Maharashtra among the states with more than 1000 such registered cases. The average value of property stolen per registered case in Maharashtra was Rs 5.19 lakh followed by Rs 4.85 lakh in Meghalaya. The average value of property stolen per case was less than a lakh in 23 States/UTs. The All India average stood at Rs 1.3 lakh per case. Among the bigger states, the average value of property stolen was lowest in Bihar & Jharkhand.
In 2015, only 16.4% of the stolen property was recovered across the country. Among the states, Tamil Nadu was on the top recovering almost 2/3 of the value of the stolen property followed by Telangana that recovered 58%. Only 12 States/UTs recovered more than 40%, while 8 States/UTs recovered less than the national average of 16.4%. In Maharashtra, only 5% of the stolen property was recovered.

created: September 3, 2016


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Value of Trade with Pakistan lower than that with Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 27, 2016
As per the data shared in the Parliament, India’s trade with Pakistan is a meager 0.4% of India’s total global trade. It is also less than the value of trade with other neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka.
Amidst growing tensions in India – Pakistan relations in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack, there have been calls for complete shutdown of trade & other relations with Pakistan. As per data available with the government, the total value of India’s trade with Pakistan was about $ 2.61 billion in 2015-16, which is 0.4% of the India’s total  global trade in that year. Value of trade with Pakistan is less than the value of India’s trade with the other neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka.
India’s exports to Pakistan increased by 17% in 2015-16
Among the major neighbours, India’s exports to Pakistan are the least. In 2015-16, the value of India’s exports to Bangladesh was more than $ 6 billion, to Nepal was $ 3.9 billion, to Sri Lanka was $5.3 billion and to Pakistan was $ 2.2 billion. During the last 4 years, India’s exports to Pakistan was highest in 2013-14 ($ 2.27 billion) and was least in 2014-15 ($ 1.85 billion). However, India’s exports to Pakistan in 2015-16 increased by about 17% compared to 2014-15. Except to Pakistan, India’s exports to Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka declined substantially in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15.
India’s overall trade with Pakistan improved in 2015-16, but still less than other neighbours
While trade with all other countries substantially decreased in 2015-16, India’s trade with Pakistan increased by more than 10%. To put in context, India’s global trade came down by 15% in 2015-16. In 2015-16, India’s trade with Bangladesh decreased by 4.4%. It decreased by over 15% with Nepal and there was a 19% decline in trade with Sri Lanka.
India’s exports to Pakistan increased in 2015-16 largely on account of close to 3 times increase in the export of cotton. The export of cotton increased from $ 200.22 million in 2014-15 to $ 782.34 million in 2015-16. There was also a substantial increase in the export of Pearls, Cereals, fiber, rubber etc. At the same time, there was a substantial decrease in the export of waste from the food industry, from $ 159.08 million in 2014-15 to $ 12.71 million in 2015-16.
On the other hand, India’s imports from Pakistan have been fluctuating. The value of imports stood at $ 541.87 million in 2012-13 and in 2015-16, it came down to $441.03 million. India’s major imports from Pakistan include mineral fuels, fruits & nuts, salt, raw hide etc.
Trade with Pakistan is a meager 0.4% of India’s global trade
The total value of India’s trade with Pakistan in 2015-16 is a meager 0.4% of India’s total global trade. While the share of exports is 0.8% of global exports, the share of imports is a mere 0.1% of the global imports in 2015-16. The share of trade with Pakistan hasn’t changed much in the last few years. It ranged between 0.3% and 0.4% of India’s total global trade.
Featured Image: India Pakistan Trade

created: September 27, 2016


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Varaha sculpture from the Balasore’s Jagannath temple built in 2015 shared as a thousand year old sculpture - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 7, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as a picture of thousands of years old sculpture depicting lord Vishnu’s Varaha avatar lifting the round-shaped earth. Sharing the sculpture picture, this post claims that the ancestors of the Sanatana Dharma determined the shape of the earth thousands of years even before the world got to know that the earth is round.
Claim: Picture of thousands of years old sculpture depicting Lord Vishnu’s Varaha avatar lifting the round-shaped earth.
Fact: The photo shared in the post shows a sculpture carved on the walls of Shree Jagannath Mandir in Balasore, Odisha. The construction of this temple began in 2009 and was inaugurated four and a half years later in 2015. Renowned architect and Padma Vibhushan Raghunath Mohapatra was the chief architect of this temple. The photo shared in the post does not show thousands of years old Varaha sculpture. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found published by a user of the Amino social media application. This user described it as the Varaha avatar statue mounted on the wall of Emami Jagannath Mandir. A few other social media handles also clarified that the picture shows a Varaha statue constructed inside Emami Jagannath Mandir in Balasore, Odisha.
When we searched to find sources of this sculpture using this information, we found the same Varaha sculpture pictures in the ‘Google Maps’ Images of Balasore’s Shree Jagannath Mandir. They can be seen here, here and here. Videos published by a few vloggers have also shown the same sculpture on the walls of Shree Jagannath Mandir in Balasore.
According to the information provided on Balsore’s Shree Jagannath Mandir website, this temple was constructed by the Emami Group of Industries in Balasore. Renowned architect and Padma Vibhushan, Raghunath Mohapatra, was the chief architect of this temple construction. The construction of this temple began in 2009 and was inaugurated four and a half years later in 2015. According to the news reports, the Emami Group constructed this temple with a cost of 17 crore rupees.
To sum it up, a photo showing the varaha sculpture inside the Jagannath temple in Odisha that was inaugurated in 2015 shared as a picture of thousand of years old sculpture.

created: November 7, 2022


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Varanasi Councillor's abduction by locals in 2020 is now being shared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 5, 2022
A video through a post is being shared widely on social media claiming that a group of people abducted their ward councillor for not visiting their ward after getting elected. Let’s fact-check the claim made in this post.
Claim: A group of people abducted their ward councillor for neglecting the issues, and not visiting the ward after getting elected.
Fact: This incident took place in November 2020 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The Councillor for Ward No. 79 of Varanasi Municipal Corporation was unable to resolve the sewage water-logging issue in Ambiya Mandi. As a result, locals abducted the councillor and demanded the instant resolution of the issue. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We ran the reverse image search of the screenshots from the viral video and found some posts with other descriptions too. They can be seen here and  here. Several media reports regarding the same incident can be found here, here, and here.
According to these reports, the incident took place in November,2020 in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The restrained person is identified as Tufail Ansari, Councillor of ward No. 79 of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation.
What actually happened?
There had been severe water logging issues in the streets of Ambiya Mandi (an area under Ward No. 79) for the past 2-4 months due to improper sewage water management. Despite several complaints, the issue was still unresolved. The enraged locals abducted Tufail Ansari, while he was roaming in the streets and made him sit in the middle of the sewage water by tying him to a chair for almost an hour. They raised slogans against the local administration for its negligence in solving problems.
In this video, we can see the visuals of locals talking to media about the same issue and the clip of Tufail Ansari being tied to chair, surrounded by sewage water. Moreover, the elections for Varanasi Municipal Corporation were held in 2017 and next elections will be in 2022. So, the Councillor was clearly not campaigning for the upcoming elections.
To sum it up, Varanasi Councillor’s abduction by locals in 2020 is now being shared with misleading narrative


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Here is what various Parties told the Parliamentary committee on Women’s Reservation
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 22, 2017
Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to get the Women’s reservation bill passed in the Lok Sabha. When the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2008 and subsequently referred to a Parliamentary standing committee, this is what various political parties told the committee.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 that sought to amend the constitution to reserve seats for women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly of every State was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in May 2008. It was subsequently referred to the departmental standing committee on Law & Justice that submitted its report in December 2009. Most of the political parties conveyed their stand on this issue in writing to the standing committee. Here is what the major political parties told the committee.
What did the bill say?
Among other things, the bill sought to do the following
The committee invited comments from various quarters including the political parties. Below is a gist of what major political parties told the committee.
BJP
Congress
CPI (M)
BSP
AIADMK
CPI
DMK
INLD
IULM
JD (U)
NCP
RJD
SP

created: September 22, 2017


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Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra is alive; It is ‘Black Friday’ actor Jitendra Shastri who passed away on 15 October 2022 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2022
A post is being shared on social media claiming that veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra, popularly known as ‘Jumping Jack’, has recently passed away. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra Kapoor has passed away.
Fact: Bollywood actor Jeetendra Kapoor is still alive and continuing as one of the Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms Limited. It is the ‘Black Friday’ fame Jitendra Shastri who passed away recently on 15 October 2022. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra Kapoor was dead or alive, we could not find any news report confirming the his death. If Jeetendra Kapoor had recently passed away, it would have been widely reported. 80-year-old Jeetendra Kapoor published his last Instagram post on 03 November 2022. Jeetendra Kapoor’s children Ekta Kapoor and Tushar Kapoor also did not announce the death of their father recently on their social media handles. According to IMDB and other film websites, Jeetendra Kapoor is still alive and running a production company Balaji Telefilms Limited, along with his daughter Ekta Kapoor. Jeetendra Kapoor is still continuing as one of the Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms Limited.
Expressing his sadness over the passing away of veteran Telugu Superstar Krishna, on 15 November 2022, Jeetendra Kapoor told media, “Krishna and his brother Hanumantha Rao were the producers of the majority of my Hindi remakes of their Telugu films. Their Padmalaya Studios produced my Takkar, Himmatwala, Justice Choudhary , Mawaali, Qaidi, Kaamyaab, Hoshiyar, Pataal Bhairavi,etc. In fact from the fifteen films Padmalaya produced in Hindi, eleven starred me. Toh aana jana laga rehta tha. I remember meeting Krishna and Bhabhi in Hyderabad in the 1960s when I wanted to do a remake of his blockbuster Gudachari 116”. Further, Jeetendra Kapoor thanked Krishna for bringing the espionage genre to Indian cinema and said that Farz wouldn’t have happened if Krishna had not done Gudachari.
It is Jitendra Shastri, an actor who played popular characters in the ‘Black Friday’ film and Mirzapur’ series, who had passed away on 15 October 2022. Several news websites published articles reporting the death of Jitendra Shastri.
To sum it up, veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra Kapoor is still alive and is continuing as one of the Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms Limited.

created: November 16, 2022


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Vian Dakhil's Interview is being misrepresented as an account of Israeli Woman released by Hamas - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 26, 2023
A video is making rounds on social media platforms where a woman allegedly speaks about her distressing experiences. The accompanying claim suggests that the woman in the video is an Israeli released from Hamas captivity, sharing her harrowing ordeal. In this article, we are going to fact-check this claim.
Claim: The video shows an Israeli woman, recently freed from Hamas captivity, recounting her experiences.
Fact: Contrary to the claim, the woman seen in the video is Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi Iraqi Member of Parliament, recounting the gruesome atrocities committed by the Islamic State terrorists in an interview she gave in 2017. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To learn more about the viral video, a reverse image search was conducted on some keyframes of the video. This procedure led to news articles (here, here, and here) dating back to 2017 that identified the woman in the video as Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi Iraqi MP.
News portals like the Independent reported her disturbing claims made in an interview with the Egyptian news channel Extra News. These accounts described how the Islamic State terrorists in Iraq fed a baby to her mother and violated a ten-year-old girl, leading to her death in front of her family.
On further search, we found that Hamas released two women they held captive on humanitarian reasons and poor health grounds. You can watch the interview of one of the persons here.
To sum up, the viral video shows Vian Dakhil’s Interview,  the Yazidi Iraqi Member of Parliament, recounting the gruesome atrocities committed by the Islamic State terrorists, not the account of an Israeli Woman released by Hamas.

created: October 26, 2023


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Are you a victim of 'Online Bank Fraud'?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 3, 2017
Are you a victim of ‘Online Bank Fraud’? This video in partnership with Nyaaya explains the options available for a citizen in case of a fraud.


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Video being shared as ‘Rohingya Muslim receiving a pension in disabled quota’ is not related to India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 24, 2019
A post with a video is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that it shows Rohingya Muslims who illegally infiltrated into India and receiving a pension in disabled quota have been exposed. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Video of Rohingya Muslims who illegally infiltrated into India and receiving a pension in disabled quota being exposed.
Fact: The video is from 2009 documentary of a Pakistani journalist exposing fake beggars in Pakistan. So, the claim is FALSE.
When searched on YouTube with the text ‘Fake beggar exposed’, many search results were obtained. The video in the post was found among those search results. But no information was found from that video. When that video is fragmented using ‘InVid’ plugin and keyframes were subjected to reverse image technique, the complete video of the one posted is found in the search results. That video was uploaded on 25 January 2009, and had the title ‘Rachyal Reports – Beggers (1)’. Arshad Rachyal is the former President of ‘Pakistan Press Club UK’. In that video, Rachyal can be seen exposing beggars faking as disabled. From the description, it was found that the video was shot in Pakistan. More videos from the documentary of Rachyal exposing fake beggars in Pakistan can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a video from Pakistan is being shared as ‘Rohingya Muslims who illegally infiltrated into India and receiving a pension in disabled quota have been exposed’.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: December 24, 2019