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Part-2: How much of the Rice & Wheat produce in the country is procured by the Government?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 6, 2020
In part-1 of this series, we looked at FCI’s food grain procurement numbers. In this concluding piece, we look at FCI’s procurement numbers compared to the overall food grain production in the country.
In the Part-I of this series on analysis of FCI’s food grain procurement, we looked at FCI procurement system along with volume of procurement by FCI & state agencies for Paddy & Wheat.  In this story we take delve further into FCI’s procurement of food grains and how does it compare with overall production of food grains in the country.
Just over 1/3rd of Rice & Wheat produced in the country is procured by FCI
Apart from procuring food grains to ensure food security, another key objective of FCI is to provide price support to the farmers. As discussed in earlier stories, Minimum Support Price (MSP) is set by the government to ensure the farmers get a minimum price on selling their produce without being exploited.
FCI’s procurement policy states that procurement at MSP is open ended i.e. whatever produce is offered by the farmers (provided it is within the stipulated timelines and meets quality standards) is purchased at MSP by government agencies.
However, the procurement numbers for Rice and Wheat over the last five years indicate that the share of procurement is only around 1/3 of the total produce.
In 2016-17, the total production of Wheat was 922.88 Lakh Tons (LT) of which 22.62 LT was procured i.e. 24.88% . The volume procured and the share of procurement registered a sharp increase the next year (2017-18), with the trend continuing in the subsequent year. A dip in 2019-20 was followed by an increase in the volume and share of procurement in the current Rabi Market Season (RMS 2020-21).
For RMS 2020-21, 364.55 LT of wheat was procured out of 1062.09 LT produced i.e. 34.32%.
It needs to be noted that while the trend of procurement varied over the five-year period, the production has consistently increased year on year.
Meanwhile, the share of procurement of Rice (paddy) by FCI & assigned State agencies has increased from 32.77% to 40.61% during the five-year period 2015-2020.
For the Marketing Season 2015-16, 342.18 LT of rice was procured out of 1044.08 LT produced i.e. 32.77%. The volume of rice produced also increased consistently every year. Apart from a dip in 2017-18, even the share of procurement out of the total production has increased yearly.
Procurement targets set by the government are significantly lower than the production
Prior to the start of the yearly Marketing Seasons (Kharif & Rabi), the Government of India sets the procurement target for the season. These targets are set to ensure that the government would be able to procure food grains needed for food security. The procurement targets set for both Rice as well as Wheat are only around 1/3 of the total production.
Through the five-year period of 2015-20, the procurement target for wheat set by the government increased from 305 LT to 357 LT. During the period, production increased from 889.38 MT to 1035.96 MT. During these 5 years, the greatest estimated target compared to production was in 2019-20 with 34.46%.
Similarly, even in the case of Rice, the targets set by the government hovered between 30-40% of the production in the respective years. The procurement target increased year on year except for 2019-20, where in it decreased to 416 LT compared to 448 LT in the previous year. Similarly, the target fell to 35.41% of the production compared to 38.5% the previous year.
It is evident that the estimated targets are substantially lower compared to the production. The procurement targets are primarily to ensure that the food grains required for food security initiatives are procured. However, as indicated earlier, one of the  main objectives of FCI is also to provide an option for the farmers to get right price for the produce and not get exploited.
With the yearly targets not going beyond 1/3 of the production, 2/3 of the produce is left to the mercy of outside buyers. As a result, though MSP is notified by the government, it is actually helping only 1/3 of the farmers.
Actual Procurement is still less than the target fixed at the beginning of the year
The trends of last few years suggest that the actual volume procured is less than the target fixed for most of the marketing seasons.
Wheat is procured in the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS). During the five year period of 2015-20, with the exception of 2018-19, the procurement of Wheat FCI has fallen short of the set target every time.  However, the situation has improved over the years. In 2015-16, only 75.19% of the target was procured. This  has improved in the subsequent years.
In recent years, FCI has managed procure Rice as per the determined targets over two seasons. Data indicates that every year, there is a shortfall in procurement target in every Kharif season which is compensated by the procurement in the Rabi season. This makes up for the shortfall. Hence the procurement of Rice during the last 5 years
Government has to take measures to ensure price security to the entire produce
The shortfall in actual procurement compared to the targets set by the government indicates that FCI is not able to even procure the 1/3 of the total produce. This could be because of multiple factors like lack of awareness, lack of facilities and other conditions for procurement.
The data does indicate that the situation has improved over the last few years, which could be due to the efforts made in increasing the number of procurement centres and making them more accessible.
However, this improvement is not even across the states. In case of Wheat, while Punjab and Haryana exceed the targets, other states like U.P, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have consistently not met their state level procurement targets.
In case of Rice, A.P and Telangana are among the major states whose short fall during Kharif results in the procurement targets not being met during that season, which is later covered by the procurement during Rabi.
There is a need to understand the state level differences and challenges in procuring the food grains and address them accordingly to ensure that at least the targets set for procurement are met.
Apart from this, the question of why the government does not increase its procurement target also remains. The challenge in selling the food grains  after procurement is cited as a reason for conservative procurement targets despite higher production year on year.
At the end of the day, the procurement targets and their achievement do not comply with the open policy of FCI to buy whatever produce is brought in by the farmers and to provide them with price security.
Featured Image: FCI’s procurement numbers


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Part-2: Number of Farmers enrolling under PMFBY decreases over the years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 9, 2019
In part-2 of this
series on PMFBY, we look at the trend in season wise enrolments, outstanding
claims among other things.
As is known widely,  agriculture is the primary sector of the Indian economy that contributes around 16% of the nation’s GDP. Also, agriculture and allied sectors together is the source of livelihood for 52% of the Indian population. It also is the primary source of income for the majority of the rural households. It is in this context that Crop insurance plays a major role in mitigating the losses incurred due to the vagaries of nature.
The NDA government launched the Pradhan Mantri
Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in 2016 by combining the existinginsurance schemes to help the farmers cope with crop failure. In an earlier story, we explained thescheme in detail. This story explores the trends in farmer enrolment, claimspaid and claim ratio.
Insurance
Coverage – From 405.5 lakh farmers in Kharif 2016 to 338.4 lakhs farmers in
Kharif 2018
In Kharif 2016, when the PMFBY andRWBCIS were introduced, a total of 405.5 Lakhs farmers got insurance coverage.This number further came down to 350.2 lakhs in Kharif 2017 and 338.4 lakhs inKharif 2018. It should be noted that enrolment in the scheme is mandatory forthose farmers who have availed crop loans from a public financial institution.The following chart shows the number of farmers who have enrolled in PMFBY. Thedata reveals that the number of loanee farmers has decreased by 29.5%, from289.2 lakhs in Kharif 2016 to 203.9 lakhs in Kharif 2018. Meanwhile, the numberof non-loanee farmers, those who have the option of voluntary enrolment hasincreased from 101.3 lakhs in Kharif 2016 to 120.6 lakhs in Kharif 2018- anincrease by 19%.
Total
number of farmers who have enrolled in PMFBY has increased in case of Rabi
In the case of Rabi crop season, the total number of farmers who have enrolled in the flagship scheme has gone up every year. From 169.5 lakhs in 2016-17 to 175.3 lakhs in 2017-18 to a high of 216.4 lakhs in 2018-19, the enrolment in the scheme has increased by 27.6% since inception of PMFBY. It can be seen that while the enrolment of loanee farmers went up by 5% in 2017-18, the number of non-loanee farmers who enrolled under PMFBY went down by 2.6% in the same period. However, for 2018-19 Rabi season, the number of non-loanee farmers enrolled has increased by 159% compared to the previous year while the number of loanee farmers has further come down by 8.6%. Overall, both in the case of Kharif & Rabi, the enrolment of loanee farmers has come down over the last 3 years.
Non-loanee farmers’ enrolment in RWBCIS has witnessed an increase of 50%
In the case of RWBCIS, the enrolment of all farmers has plummeted over the years for Kharif crops despite the increasing enrolment of non-loanee farmers by 50%, 1.2 lakh in 2018 as compared to 0.8 lakh farmers in 2016. This is in contrast to the enrolment pattern observed in the case of Rabi crops. In the case of Rabi crops, the total number of enrolled farmers has increased from 5.6 lakh in 2016-17 to 5.7 lakh in the following year and to 7.1 lakhs in 2018-19 resulting in a total increase by 27%. While the number of loanee farmers enrolled under RWBCIS has remained the same in Rabi 2017-18 and 2018-19, the number of non-loanee farmers who enrolled themselves has witnessed an increase of 350%.
More
farmers are borrowing money from non-institutional sources
From the data thus far, it is clearthat more and more non-loanee farmers are availing the scheme compared to theloanee farmers who must compulsorily enrol themselves in the scheme. This canalso mean that more farmers are opting out of financial institutions to borrowmoney and instead are borrowing from other sources such as moneylenders. Whatdiscourages the farmers from availing loans from financial institutions couldbe the ability to repay in case of one bad season. Financial institutions likethe public sector banks usually do not give fresh loans if there is anoutstanding amount.
Gross
premium is increasing irrespective of the number of farmers
From the data, it is evident that the gross premium is increasing despite a decrease in the number of enrolled farmers. Gross premium is the total premium paid by farmers, state and central governments. While in the case of Kharif crops, the number of farmers enrolling has dropped from 405 lakhs to 338 lakhs in three years, the premium amount has increased from Rs. 16,026 crores in 2016 to Rs. 20,663 crores in 2018. In other words, the number of farmers enrolled has fallen by 17% while the gross premium has increased by 29%. The area of land insured for Kharif crops has also dwindled during the same period- from 383.4 lakh hectares in 2016 to 340.8 Lakh hectares in 2017 and to further 315.1 lakh hectares in Kharif 2018.
How much do the
Insurance companies pay in settlement of claims?
Claim ratio is calculated as the ratio of estimated claim to gross premium paid. It can also be understood as the percentage of gross premium that is being claimed. In other words, this is the amount paid in settlement for every 100 rupees of premium collected. For Kharif crops, the percentage was 66% in 2016 which went up to 94% in 2017 and again has come down to 74% in 2018. In the case of Rabi crops, in 2016-17, the claim ratio was as high as 102% which fell to 66% in 2017-18 and is at 16% in 2018-19.
Claims
are not being settled on time
26% of the estimated claims for Kharif2018 and 52.5% of estimated claim for Rabi 2018-19 were pending as of Augustthis year. Claims worth Rs. 445 crores are still pending from Rabi 2017-18. Thisshows that the claims are not being settled on a timely basis. The data clearlyshows that the delay in the disbursement of claims is still persistent. Eventhe governments are delaying the payment of their share of premium which isaffecting the farmers.
The data compiled is through a response to an RTI is up to 05 August 2019, and hence, the data for Rabi 2018-19 is provisional.
Featured Image: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

source: news-factly

created: October 9, 2019

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Part-3: Only about 10% of the SRTUs are profitable
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 29, 2019
In the third &
final part of the series on SRTUs, we look at the financial performance. While
revenues of SRTUs have increased over the years, the costs have increased at a
greater rate resulting in increased losses. Less than 10% of the reporting SRTUs
make profits.
Debates on whether or not SRTUs need to beprivatised are frequent because of the incessant losses faced by them everyyear. There are multiple factors such as increasing fuel prices, vehiclemaintenance charges, operational charges, staff payments and more whichcontribute to these losses. Delay in governments’ reimbursement and subsidiesalso add to the existing negative balance sheet of SRTUs.
This story is the third & finalpart of the series on SRTUs which looksat the financial performance of SRTUs in India between 2009-10 and 2015-16based on the reports published by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways(MoRTH). You can read the previous stories here & here.
Total revenue generated by SRTUs has gone up by
96% in six years
Total revenuegenerated by SRTUs include both traffic and non-traffic earnings. While trafficearnings are from ticketing, non-traffic earnings consist of income generatedthrough advertisements, sale of scrap, subsidies and other similar sources. Trafficearnings or the income earned through passengers make up a large portion of therevenue of SRTUs. The total revenue made by SRTUs has consistently increasedover the years. It can also be observed that the average income earned by aSRTU has increased consistently.
Total revenue of reporting SRTUs hasalmost doubled from ₹ 26,342 crores in2009-10 to ₹ 51,748 crores in2015-16, an increase of 96.4%. One of the reasons behind this is the growingnumber of buses under SRTUs, that is, rise in the total number of governmentbuses which was already discussed in the first part.
Increased costs add to the woes of SRTUs
Concomitantly, it is evident from thedata that the total costs (expenditure) incurred by SRTUs has shot up. Duringthe same period, the costs have more than doubled from ₹ 31,079 crores in 2009-10 to ₹ 64,377 crores in 2015-16. Total cost incurred by SRTUs include operatingcosts and non-operating costs. Expenses on fuel, lubricants, different parts ofbuses such as tyres, tubes and spare parts which are required for running busesare covered under operating costs whereas interest, depreciation, tax, rent andother expenses which do not directly affect the daily operations come undernon-operating costs.
Total Expenditure of SRTUs up by 107%
Operating costs make up forapproximately 73% of the total expenditure while non-operating costs constitutethe remaining, around 27%. In the six-year period from 2009-10 to 2015-16, thetotal expenditure has gone up by 107%. Of the total expenditure incurred, thelargest amount has been on staff- approximately 40% of the operating cost. Thisis followed by expenses on fuel and lubricants.
Until 2014-15, the percentage of totaloperating cost which was spent on staff was between 39% and 40.5%. In 2015-16,about 45.2% of total operating cost was spent on staff. The cost incurred onstaff expenses increased by 4.7% in 2015-16.
Net loss of SRTUs has continuously increased
The expenditure of SRTUs has increased at a greater rate than the revenues, resulting in the increase in net loss over the years. From a net loss of ₹ 4,737 crores in 2009-10, the net loss of SRTUs has increased to ₹ 11,350 crores in 2015-16, which is an increase of close to 140% indicating that much needs to be done to make them profitable entities.
Only about 10% of the SRTUs are profitable
Hardly 10% of the SRTUs which havereported to MoRTH make a profit while the remaining (close to 90%) face losses.  Until 2015-16, the maximum number of SRTUswhich earned a profit in a financial year was five. This number increased to 7in the year 2015-16. In other words, 7 SRTUs reported profits in 2015-16, whichis the highest for any financial year during the period of consideration.
Only PUNBUS SRTU in Punjab managed to earn a profit in 2013-14. PUNBUS has earned profits since then. PUNBUS has over 1212 buses with an average age of 7 years. There are no over-age buses as per the 2015-16 performance report. The staff bus ratio is 2.78 and staff productivity is more than 100 kilometres per bus per day.
Since the number of SRTUs which reportevery year is different, the percentage of SRTUs earning profits and facingloss is given in the chart below. In 2015-16, Delhi TC faced a loss of ₹ 3,411.09 crores which accounted for 30% of the net loss of allSRTUs. Every year Delhi TC reports the highest loss of all SRTUs.
Telangana SRTC has also been continuously reporting losses. In 2014-15, TSRTC ended up with a net loss of ₹ 401.4 crores which increased to ₹ 701.82 crores in the following year 2015-16 resulting in a 75% increase in the net loss.
What should be
made to make SRTUs profitable?
It is true that public transportundertakings make travel by buses simpler, convenient, cheap and reducetraffic. Every nook and corner of the country is connected with public buses.
From the data in the MoRTH reports andthe issues discussed in these stories, it is pretty evident that ‘publictransport’ (buses) is highly unsustainable. While profit making is not the primarymotive of SRTUs, measures need to be taken in order to sustain the services.Policy interventions are necessary to make bus operations more effective. Bestpractices can be implemented from PUNBUS such as using newer buses and reducedoperating cost which has generated profits continuously for three years. SRTUsalso need to focus on the issues faced by common public such as frequency ofbuses, connectivity and punctuality.
SRTUs serve a very important public purpose which indirectly helps development, economy among other things. Hence it is important that governments also extend support to make SRTUs more efficient & sustainable.
Featured Image: LOVEofZ [CC BY-SA 4.0]

created: October 29, 2019


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Part-3: Public & Private Insurance Companies in implementation of PMFBY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 11, 2019
A total of 18
insurance companies are empanelled to implement the PMFBY. Of these, 5 are
public sector companies and the rest are private companies. How do the public
& private companies compare with respect to premium, claim settlement ?
In the previous story on Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), we looked at in detail, the number of farmers enrolling under the scheme and their variation with seasons. The numbers related to claims were also looked into. In this story, we look at the insurance companies, claim settlements made by them and if there is any difference between claim settlements by private and public sector insurance companies.
Five
public general insurance companies and eight private general insurance
companies have been empanelled under PMFBY
A total of 18 general insurance
companies have been empanelled for implementing thescheme in the states which have opted to be a part of PMFBY. Of the 18 companies, 5 are publicsector insurance companies while the remaining 13 are private companies. As perthe scheme guidelines, it is the responsibility of the state government to findinsurance companies in their state for implementation of the scheme. The stategovernments invite tenders from both public and private companies to implement PMFBY.The selection of companies is done based on the lowest bidder.
Public
companies paid claims worth 93% of gross premium while private companies paid
only 76% in 2017-18
In 2016-17, a total of Rs. 22,010crores gross premium was paid to the insurance companies. Premium collected byprivate and public sector insurance companies was more or less similar in2016-17 with private companies collecting a premium of Rs. 114 crores more thanpublic sector ones. In the same year, the total claims paid amounted to 75.5%of gross premium. While private companies paid claims worth 71.4% of thepremium, the public sector companies paid 80% of the gross premium. In thesubsequent year, 2017-18, it was observed that Rs. 25,481 crores were the totalgross premium collected. Private companies accounted for 47% of the grosspremium and the remaining 53% was with the public companies.
In 2017-18, the private companies paid claims amounting to 76% of gross premium collected whereas the public companies paid claims worth 93% of the gross premium resulting in a total of 85% claims compared to the premium amount. Data for 2018-19 shows that 57.6% of the total gross premium collected was with the private companies as compared to 42.4% with their public counterparts. The claims paid in 2018-19 amounted to 41.2% of premium in total. Private companies in 2018-19 paid claims which is 36.4% of gross premium paid while the public companies have paid claims equal to 47.8% of the gross premium. Since the data for 2018-19 is still provisions, these numbers are on the lower side.
Claim
ratio is greater for public companies as compared to private general insurance
companies
In this context, claim ratio refers the percentage of estimated claim against gross premium. Claim ratio was observed to be greater for public insurance companies than that for the private insurance companies. It is also evident from the chart that claim ratio is greater for Rabi crops.  The data for Rabi 2018-19 is provisional.
Claim ratio was found out to be the highest in 2016-17 for New India Assurance which is a public insurance company when it touched 259%. This was followed by TATA AIG General Insurance, a private insurance company, whose claim ratio was as high as 119%. Not far behind, Universal Sompo General Insurance was next in line with a claim ratio of 117%. In the following year, 2017-18, six insurance companies had a claim ratio of above 100%. These include three public companies- Agriculture Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance, and three private companies- ICICI Lombard General Insurance, IFFCO Tokio General Insurance and TATA AIG General Insurance. But in general, as noted in the chart above, the claim ratio for public companies is generally higher than the private companies.
Agriculture
Insurance Company of India has the largest share in gross premium collected
In the year 2016-17, 87% of the premiumwas with only 7 insurance companies which include 2 public companies. In2017-18, 89% of the premium was with 9 companies which also include four publiccompanies except Oriental Insurance. In 2018-19, 94% of the premium was with 13companies. Every year, Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC), a public sectorinsurance company, which covers the largest number of farmers in the world hasbeen at the top with the maximum premium even though an annual decline in thepremium amount is witnessed. In 2016-17, AIC’s share amounted to 42% of thetotal premium. In the consecutive years, this fell to 31% in 2017-18 and 26% in2018-19. Similar is the case with other public insurance companies exceptOriental Insurance. A general declining trend in premium share is observedbetween 2017-18 and 2018-19 for public companies.
Number
of private insurance companies which have more than Rs. 1500 crore collected as
premium is increasing every year
Among the private companies, ICICILombard General Insurance has consistently had premium above Rs. 2000 crores ineach of the years from 2016-17 to 2018-19. (highest in 2017-18 and 2018-19among private companies). Though the total amount of premium has increasedannually, the share of premium for ICICI Lombard among all private companieshas decreased from 21% in 2016-17 to 16% in 2018-19. This is because everyyear, more and more private insurance companies are crossing the Rs. 1500crores mark in terms of premium collected. While only 2 companies had crossedthe Rs. 1500 crore mark in 2016-17, in the subsequent year, 2017-18, 3companies had crossed the mark. In 2018-19, a total of 7 private companies and2 public companies have crossed the mark. HDFC Ergo General Insurance, RelianceGeneral Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance are three other privatecompanies who have managed to get premium above Rs. 1000 crores in each of thethree years.
Government
of India targets to cover at least 50% Gross Cropped Area under PMFBY
The government has set a target to cover a minimum of 50% of Gross Cropped Area under PMFBY.  Various measures such as spreading awareness, providing aid to states to encourage them to adopt the scheme and reducing the premium rate for farmers have also been taken in order to attain the target.
Inadequate payments, delay in payment,unrealistic crop damage assessment, discrepancy in crop yield data are some ofthe shortcomings identified in theimplementation. Meanwhile, as of 30 June 2019, 102 court cases havebeen filed by farmers and farmer organisations against insurance companies andgovernments for varied reasons including claim settlement.
The erratic weather conditions are only increasing by the day, impacting crop yields. Hence, it is necessary that the government addresses the issues faced by the farmers and resolve them immediately and ensure effective implementation of the scheme.
Featured Image: Implementation of PMFBY

created: October 11, 2019


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Ideosync Weekly Fact-Check Podcast - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2024


text:
Pass by catastrophe is an urban legend; Universities do not award graduation degrees to all students at the time of catastrophe - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 21, 2022
A social media post accompanying a screen shot which claims that ‘if a university burns down or is destroyed otherwise, all the current students immediately graduate with a bachelor’s degree’. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘If a university burns down or is destroyed otherwise, all the current students immediately graduate with a bachelor’s degree.’
Fact:  There are no reports of universities awarding degrees to all the students at the time of any catastrophe. Further, researchers and academicians have also rubbished the claim and described the claim as an urban legend. However, there are instances of universities providing some relief to students by reducing the course work in such cases. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The screen shot shared in the post actually shows Google search results for a query, which goes like ‘what happens if a university burn….’.
The first result carries a Wikipedia link with a title ‘Pass by catastrophe’ and the wiki snippet displayed is in line with the claim made in the post. However, upon clicking the link the wiki page features content which contradicts the claim.
This Wikipedia page describes the ‘pass by catastrophe’ as an academic urban legend and also give examples of this particular urban legend. Further ,the Wikipedia page states that urban legend expert Jan Harold Brunvand rubbished the claim.
Similar legends have been doing rounds on internet for years, primarily in US. However, we could not find any reports or official information in support of this claim. In fact multiple reports have rubbished the claim, after speaking to researchers and academicians.
‘Jan Harold Brunvand, a researcher, investigated the Pass by Catastrophe claims but could not find any post-secondary educational institution that had such a rule’, reported one such article.
Whereas spokesperson of University of Cape Town, speaking to a news agency has categorically stated that ‘this is definitely an urban legend. No matter what happens, students have to earn their degree by passing the exams’.
There are also examples of universities acting contrary to the claim made in the post. Tulane University in New Orleans was devastated by hurricane Katrina in 2005, however, the university did not allot degrees to all the students but cancelled the particular semester and encouraged its students to take up classes in other universities.
Similarly, in the case of Virginia tech shootings, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University did not allot graduation degrees to students, but provided some relief by reducing the course work.
To sum it up, no, universities do not award graduation degrees to all students at the time of catastrophe. Pass by catastrophe is an urban legend.


text:
Indian Passport Statistics (2013-14) - Infographic - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 17, 2015
Here is a quick look at the Indian Passport Statistics. The data on number of passports issued in 2013-14 reinforces the popular belief that a lot of Keralites travel abroad. Kerala stands second in terms of passports issued for every 1000 people while Goa stands first.

created: February 17, 2015


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Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has not yet received approval from Ministry of AYUSH for its COVID-19 medicine - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2020
An image of a letter written by AYUSH Ministry to ‘Patanjali’ MD Acharya Balakrishna is doing the rounds on social media claiming that the Ministry has approved ‘Coronil’ medicine. Recently ‘Coronil’ and ‘Shwashari’ were  launched by Patanjali’ claiming it to be an Ayurvedic cure for treating COVID-19. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Letter showing AYUSH Ministry approval for Patanjali’s COVID-19 medicine ‘Coronil’.
Fact: In the letter, it is nowhere mentioned that AYUSH Ministry has approved Patanjali’s medicine ‘Coronil’ as a cure for treating COVID-19. The ministry said that they will evaluate the research related documents submitted by Patanjali regarding  ‘Coronil’. The letter was also posted by Patanjali MD Acharya Balakrishna on his social media accounts but he did not mention anything about getting approval. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On 23 June 2020, ‘Patanjali’ launched the medicine ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ claiming it to be an Ayurvedic cure for treating COVID-19. But AYUSH Ministry asked ‘Patanjali’ to stop advertising the medicine as a cure for COVID-19 as it does not know the facts related to the claim and details of the studies carried out to test the new medicine. The Ministry asked Patanjali to provide the names and compositions of the preparations being claimed as cures for COVID-19, details of the sites where the research was carried out, protocol followed, the sample size used, the clearance obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) to conduct the research, registration with CTRI and the results data of study.
In the letter seen in the post, the AYUSH ministry wrote to ‘Patanjali’ MD Acharya Balakrishna acknowledging the receipt of the documents it had asked for. In the letter, the ministry said that it will evaluate the studies of ‘Patanjali’ regarding the medicine ‘Coronyl’. It is nowhere mentioned that the AYUSH Ministry has approved Patanjali’s medicine ‘Coronyl’ as a cure for treating COVID-19. The letter was also tweeted by ‘Patanjali’ MD Acharya Balakrishna on his social media accounts but he did not mention anything about getting approval.
.@moayush के विवाद की पूर्णाहुति!
The resolution of AYUSH controversy, finally! @yogrishiramdev pic.twitter.com/TkZGkghWiQ
To sum it up, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has not received approval from Ministry of AYUSH for its COVID-19 medicine ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’.
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Pawan Kalyan's life story is not included in the 10th class English book by Karnataka state government - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 10, 2020
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that the Karnataka state government has added the life story of the President of Janasena party and Tollywood Movie actor, Pawan Kalyan as a lesson in the 10th class English textbook. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Karnataka State government has added the life story of the President of Janasena party and Tollywood Movie actor, Pawan Kalyan as a lesson in the 10th class English textbook.
Fact: Karnataka State government has not added Pawan Kalyan’s life story as a lesson in the 10th class English book. The page which has Pawan Kalyan’s photo is taken from a 5th class English book called ‘Together with Expressions English Multiskill Coursebook’ by ‘RachnaSagar’ publications. However, the book doesn’t have any lesson about Pawan Kalyan’s life. Even Pawan Kalyan’s name is not mentioned in the book. In a lesson titled ‘Movie Making’, the book included a photo of Pawan Kalyan holding a movie clap just as a representational image. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the internet about the information shared in the post, no information about Karnataka State government’s inclusion of Pawan Kalyan’s life story as a lesson in the 10th class English book was found. Also, when searched in the 10th class English book related to Karnataka state syllabus, no details related to Pawan Kalyan were found.
In the posted video, a page with Pawan Kalyan photo can be seen. When searched on Google using the words from that page, it was found that a school from Bhopal uploaded that book on their website. However, currently, the school’s website is not functioning. Through the information available on Google cache of this page, the names of chapters in the book were found. From that information, when searched on Google, it was found that a school in Haryana had uploaded full details about that book on their website.
Based on that information, we came to know that the page with Pawan Kalyan’s photo was taken from a 5th class book called ‘Together with Expressions English Multiskill Coursebook’ by ‘RachnaSagar’ publications. However, the book doesn’t have any lesson about Pawan Kalyan’s life story. Even Pawan Kalyan’s name is not mentioned in the book. In a lesson named- ‘Movie Making’, the book included a photo of Pawan Kalyan holding a ‘movie clap’ with the caption ‘Taking a ‘take’ of a scene’. This picture is just used as a representational image to indicate how a ‘take’ is captured.
To sum it up, Karnataka State government has not included Pawan Kalyan’s life story as a lesson in the 10th class English book. His picture is included in a ‘Movie Making’ lesson of a 5th class textbook as a representational image of ‘take’ captured during a shoot.
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Payment Aggregators & Payment Gateways under RBI’s Regulatory Supervision
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 26, 2020
With increasing number of digital
transactions, the reliance on payment aggregators & payment gateways is
more than ever. The RBI has recently issued guidelines for regulating both
Payment Gateways & Payment Aggregators.
On 17 March 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)issued Guidelines on Regulation of Payment
Aggregators (PA) and Payment Gateways (PG). In this article, we take a quicklook at the RBI guidelines and understand the ensuing changes for users.
From now on, payment gateways & aggregators suchas Paytm, Pay Pal, Mobikwik, Razorpay, PayU, CCAvenue etc. will be regulated byRBI to ensure the safety of all our online transactions. The guidelines havebeen issued under Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act
2007 and shall come into effect from April 1, 2020.
In common parlance, PGs are entities that providetechnology infrastructure to route and facilitate processing of an onlinepayment transaction without any involvement in handling of funds. PAs areentities that facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept variouspayment instruments from the customers for completion of their paymentobligations.
In its earlier notification and discussion paper, RBI had taken intoaccount the important functions of these intermediaries in the online paymentsspace. The Discussion Paper, released on 17 September 2019, also explored theavenues of regulating these intermediaries by proposing different approaches. Inview of their role in handling funds, it has been decided to regulate inentirety the activities of PAs as per the guidelines and to provide baselinetechnology-related recommendations to PGs.
What do the guidelines prescribe?  Guidelines at a glance: (i) For PAs, theguideline mandate PAs to obtain authorisation from the RBI and prescribesdetailed technology and operational guidelines such as merchant onboarding,data sovereignty, customer data access, audit obligations, etc.  (ii) For PGs, baseline technology-relatedsecurity recommendations have also been made for optional adoption.
Applicability: PAs and PGs.
Exemptions: Bank PAs, cash on deliverye-commerce model.
Authorisation: Entities which want toundertake Payment Aggregation and Payment Gateway activity should be a companyincorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956/2013. Existing non-bank PAshave to obtain authorisation from the Department of Payment System andSettlement, RBI by 30 June 2021. PGs do not require authorisation but arerecommended to comply with guidelines issued by the RBI on ‘Managing Risks andCode of Conduct in Outsourcing of Financial Services by banks’ and baselinetechnology requirements.  Furthermore,e-commerce marketplaces providing PA services would be separated as an entityand would be identified as technology service providers or ‘outsourcingpartners’ for banks or non-banks.
Compliance: The Know Your Customer(KYC)/ Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating Financing of Terrorism guidelinesissued in the ‘Master Direction – Know Your
Customer Directions’ shall apply to all entities.
Capital requirements: Existing PAs to achievea net worth of INR 15 crores by 31 March 2021 and a net worth of INR 25 croresby the end of the third financial year, i.e., on or before 31 March 2023, andshall be maintained at all times thereafter. New PAs to have a minimum networth of INR 15 crores at the time of application for authorisation and shallattain a net worth of INR 25 crores by the end of the third financial year ofgrant of authorisation. This shall be maintained at all times thereafter.
Merchant, onboarding and settlement: PAs shall undertakebackground and antecedent check of merchants to ensure that such merchants donot have any malafide intention. Non-bank PAs shall maintain the amountcollected by them in an escrow account with any scheduled commercial bank. Theobligation to settle a transaction has been clearly outlined in the guideline.
What is in it for users?
Continuation of existing PAs: RBI has permittedcontinuance of operations by existing PAs until authorisation.
Customer Grievance: PAs are directed to putin place a formal, publicly disclosed Customer Grievance Redressal and DisputeManagement Framework. A Board approved policy for customer grievance(comprising disposal of complaints/ dispute resolution mechanism/ timelines forprocessing refunds, etc.), merchant onboarding, information security, etc., tobe put in place.  PAs shall appoint aNodal Officer responsible for regulatory and customer grievance handlingfunctions, details of whom shall be prominently displayed on their website.
Security incident reporting: Security incidents/card- holder data breaches to be reported to the RBI within the stipulatedtimeframe.
Cyber security audit and reports: PAs shall carry out andsubmit quarterly internal and annual external audit reports to the IT Committee;bi-annual Vulnerability Assessment/ Penetration Test reports; PCI-DSS,including Attestation of Compliance and Report of Compliance.
Data sovereignty: A strong risk management system is necessary to meet the challenges of fraud and ensure customer protection. PAs shall take preventive measures to ensure storing of data on infrastructure that does not belong to external jurisdictions. PAs are also required to put in place adequate information and data security infrastructure and systems for the prevention and detection of frauds.
Featured Image: Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators


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Paytm’s free bus ticket to Ayodhya offer is capped at 1000 users; the offer is over now. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 22, 2024
In the context of Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s inauguration ceremony, which is being held today, i.e. 22 January 2024, a video is doing the rounds of social media claiming that the digital payments application Paytm is offering free bus tickets to its users travelling to Ayodhya. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Paytm offers a free bus ticket to its users travelling to Ayodhya with the promo code BUSAYODHYA.
Fact: Although this is a legitimate offer by Paytm, which reportedly started on 19 January 2024, the number of users that can avail of this offer has been capped at 1000, and currently, it is no longer available as 1000 tickets have already been booked. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we first searched the internet with relevant keywords, leading us to multiple news reports (here, here, and here) on such an offer released by Paytm.
Witness the event the whole country is talking about!
Use the promo code ‘BUSAYODHYA’ and get a FREE bus ticket to Ayodhya!🤩🚌
Book your tickets now – https://t.co/yEQk8MXmYj#Ayodhya #Free #FreeTickets #Bus #AyodhyaRamMandir #Travel #PaytmKaro pic.twitter.com/933bFYv2Ny
We learned from the reports that this offer has a condition that only the first 1000 users can avail of this free bus ticket to Ayodhya using a promo code which reads ‘BUSAYODHYA.’
We tried booking a ticket to Ayodhya from the nation’s capital, New Delhi, to check if the offer still exists. But, when we tried to avail of the offer using the promo code ‘BUSAYODHYA,’ we received a message saying that ‘..the first 1000 users have already availed the free ticket offer..’ This makes it clear that the viral video gives the users partial information about the offer and skips the terms and conditions of the offer, which is vital information in such cases.
To sum up, Paytm’s free bus ticket to Ayodhya offer is no longer available; it is only for the first 1000 users who book the ticket.

created: January 22, 2024


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Pen is mightier than the Sword: RTI Success Story - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2015
15 students studying in the Government primary school in Vailpoor, Nizamabad district of Telangana did not receive the promised scholarship amount from the Labour welfare department for the academic year 2011-12.  (They are children of Beedi workers and as per government norms, they are given Rs 1000/- per year as scholarship).  While parents and students were disheartened and worried about it, a little crusader did something that surprised everyone.
9-year old Manoj, studying in class 4 decided to find out why the money was not given. He submitted an RTI application asking the same. He asked the Labour welfare department to furnish the details on why the amounts were not sent and if they were going to be sent, what was the time. He also requests them to state the reasons if they do not plan to send the scholarship amounts.
At a time when many of us crib about lack of transparency and inefficient functioning of the government, Manoj has set an example. He has not only reminded us that we should seek and utilize our rights but also the need for all of us to wake up and do something about our problems as individuals, as a society and as a country.
10 of the 15 students received their scholarships and Manoj was informed about it through a letter from the department. Next time we have a problem on our hand, lets think of Manoj and follow his example.
(Please read a similar RTI success story on Mamata here)

created: January 8, 2015


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Pendency of close to 90% in cases
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2018
As per the NCRB records, more than 90000 cases registered under POCSO were pending at the end of 2016. In that year, trial was complete in only 10884 such cases with a conviction rate of 29.6%, much less than the conviction rate of all IPC crimes.
The government issued an ordinance the other day amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act. The ordinance seeks to enhance the quantum of punishment for perpetrators of sexual crimes against children in addition to imposing new timelines for investigation and trial of such cases.
More than 30000 cases being registered under POCSO
Every year, more than 30000 cases are being registered under various sections of POCSO with majority of them being Child rape incidents. In 2014, out of the 34449 cases registered under POCSO, 13766 were cases of Child rape (40% of all the cases). In 2015, 10854 child rape cases were reported out of the total 34505 cases registered under POCSO. In 2016, cases of Child rape accounted for a whopping 55% of all the cases registered under POCSO.
In each of these years, the number of cases in which trials were completed was around 10000. Trials were completed in 7487 cases in 2014, 10498 cases in 2015 and 10884 cases in 2016.
Huge Pendency & relatively low conviction rate
Even in those cases in which trials were complete, the conviction rate in the cases registered under POCSO was much less than the overall conviction rate in case of all IPC crimes. In 2014, it was 30.4% against 45.1% for all IPC crimes. In 2015, the conviction rate of cases under POCSO improved to 36.3% against 46.9% for all IPC crimes. In 2016, the conviction rate in cases registered under POCSO was down to 29.6% while it remained at 46.8% for all IPC crimes.
The low conviction rate is coupled with a high pendency of cases. By the end of 2016, more than 90000 cases registered under POCSO were pending for trial. At the current pace, it is going to take many years before the pending cases are cleared.
What does the Ordinance seek to do?
The ordinance enhances the punishment for rape of a child under 12 years of age to a minimum of 20 years which may extend to life imprisonment and even death. In the case of gang rape, the minimum punishment is life imprisonment which may extend to death penalty. The ordinance also seeks to set a timeline of 2 months for completion of investigation and two months for trial.
Will these changes help?
The changes proposed in the ordinance have to be complemented by reforms and efficiency both in the police & the lower judiciary. As per information shared by the government, there are more than 20% vacancies (against the sanctioned strength) in the police force across the country. Further, many states have failed to implement the six directions of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh & others that were aimed at police reforms. Additionally, more than 20% of the posts are vacant in the lower judiciary. Unless there is a concerted effort by the Central & State governments to address these issues, there may be significant improvement in the situation.


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Pending Government Assurances in the Lok Sabha at 30%
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 17, 2019
Citizens often complain that Political Parties fail to keep up the promises made during election campaign and in party manifestos. Data reveals that it’s not just the promises made to citizens, Governments often fail to implement assurances made in the Parliament as well. About 30% of the assurances made during the 16th Lok Sabha are still pending while this number stands at 7.1% for the 15th Lok Sabha.
One of the common complaints with political parties is about their broken promises. Citizens vote in anticipation of those promises being implemented, but realize that some of these promises are not kept. If you felt that citizens are the only victims, think again. Data available on the Parliament website reveals that 7.1% of the assurances made by ministers on the floor of the house, during the 15th Lok Sabha(2009-2014) are still pending. For the current or the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019),  29.6% of the assurances made are still pending. On the other hand, about 27.5% of the assurances made by this government in the Rajya Sabha still pending. (Note: Data used for this analysis is taken from the websites of the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha on 16th January 2019)
What are Assurances?
While responding to questions in the House or during discussions on Bills, Resolutions, Motions etc., Ministers on several occasions give assurances, undertakings or promises to consider a matter, take action or furnish information later. These are termed as assurances as per parliamentary procedures. Some of the following are examples of assurances made to the house.
Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances & the Process
In order to ensure that these assurances are implemented in a reasonable timeframe, the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha have constituted a Committee on Government Assurances. These committees are established to institutionalize the procedure for dealing with these assurances. The broad process followed  is described below.
Status of Assurances made during the UPA (14th & 15th Lok Sabha)
The data for the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09) is not completely available. The available data shows that 23.1% of the assurances made during the 14th Lok Sabha are still pending. Out of the 160 assurances for which the data is available, 37 are pending while 85 are fully implemented. Twenty three (23) assurances have been dropped.
In the case of the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), 7.1% of the assurances made are still pending. Out of the total 5812 assurances given, 5047 are fully implemented, 294 are dropped and 413 are still pending.  More than 50% of the assurances are pending in two (2) different ministries, i.e., Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Ministry of Skill Development.
What about the Current Lok Sabha?
In the current or the 16th Lok Sabha , 30% of the assurances are still pending. While the assurances made during the last few sessions may take time for fulfillment, it is surprising to note that at least 40% of the assurances made during each of the sessions from January 2017 are still pending. Out of the 4989 assurances made so far, 3380 are fully implemented, 87 are dropped and 1478 are pending. The data for the current session will be available after the conclusion of the session.
Department wise in the current Lok Sabha
In the 16th or current Lok Sabha, at least 50% of the assurances made are pending in five (5) different ministries. At least 60% assurances are pending in 2 different ministries. Less than 20% of the assurances are pending in only 16 of the 58 ministries.  More than 100 assurances each were made by 17 different ministers while 14 ministries made less than 30 assurances each.
The lone assurance given by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the current Lok Sabha was dropped by the committee in June 2016. The assurance was dropped since the PMO responded to the committee saying such mechanism was being discontinued.
Incidentally, in the 15th Lok Sabha also, there was one assurance from the PMO that was dropped.
What about Rajya Sabha?
About 6% of all the assurances given till date (since the 1990s) are pending the Rajya Sabha. Out of the 17325 assurances made so far, 15107 are fully implemented, 1180 are dropped and 1038 are pending.
Though Rajya Sabha is a permanent house, the percentage of pending assurances given during various governments reveals an interesting trend. The percentage of assurances pending (of those assurances made during respective governments) in the Rajya Sabha is less than the pendency in Lok Sabha for each of the last three governments.

created: January 17, 2019


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People below age 20 or above 50 more susceptible to Fake News: Factly -IAMAI study - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 22, 2019
An extensive survey based study titled, ‘Countering Misinformation (Fake News) in India’ by Factly & Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) found that people below the age of 20 or those above the age of 50 are most susceptible to be swayed by fake news. The report was released yesterday.
The report has three main components:
Web Survey
The following are the key observations based on the analysis of the survey responses
Semi Structured Interviews
76 interviewees from the Technology & Internet Service Providers, Government officials, Law Enforcement , Media & Influencers, Fact Checkers, Academia Political Parties were contacted. Out of the 76, thirty (30) of them gave consent to be interviewed.  Below are some highlights from these interviews:
Recommendations
The report contains an exhaustive section on recommendations drawn from the best practices across. The recommendations are provided for a variety of stakeholders.
For Government – Policy & Regulation
For Technology Platforms
For Media
For Academia, Civil Society & Discourse
The full report can be accessed here.

created: February 22, 2019


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People breaking TV sets after India’s loss to Pakistan in 2017 is being linked to India’s recent loss in the T20 World Cup - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 5, 2021
A post with a photo is being widely shared claiming that a UP boy had broken four TV sets after India’s loss to both New Zealand and Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The post even claims that the 17-year-old boy broke the TV sets after seeing the match. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a UP boy breaking four TV sets after India’s loss to both New Zealand and Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Fact: The photo is from Ahmedabad and not from UP. The photo shows a person breaking a TV after India’s loss to Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final of 2017. There are no recent reports of a UP boy breaking four television sets after India’s loss to both New Zealand and Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a tweet by BombayTimes with the same image was found. The tweet was made on 18 June 2017, where it says that TV sets were broken on the streets of Ahmedabad after India’s loss to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final of 2017.
TV sets broken on the streets of Ahmedabad after India's defeat by Pakistan in the #CT2017Final #IndVsPak pic.twitter.com/Nhtwyutk8i
We found news reports which carried similar photos and reported the same incidents in 2017. Unable to chase 339, India was bowled out for just 158 in the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2017. After the loss, some people in Ahmedabad broke their TV sets on the streets, as seen in the photo. Some people have even burnt posters of the players.
There is a video published by ‘News18 Virals’ of people in Bihar breaking a TV after India’s defeat to Pakistan in the recent T20 World Cup. However, there are no recent reports of a UP boy breaking four television sets after India’s loss to both New Zealand and Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
To sum it up, a photo of people breaking TV sets after India’s loss to Pakistan in 2017 is being linked to India’s recent loss in the T20 World Cup.

created: November 5, 2021


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People do not get ₹5 upon returning an empty bottle, they get their deposit amount back. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 12, 2024
A post claiming that people receive Rs. 5 for returning an empty water bottle in Ayodhya is being widely shared across social media platforms. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: People receive Rs.5 for returning an empty water bottle in Ayodhya.
Fact: The Kabadiwala, in partnership with Ayodhya Nagar Nigam to promote a litter-free Ayodhya, has implemented a program known as the Deposit Refund System (DRS). Under this initiative, consumers are required to pay an additional Rs. 5 as a deposit when purchasing items like beverages and chip packets, which come with QR codes. Upon returning these empty containers with QR codes to a designated collection point, The Kabadiwala executives will scan the QR codes on the empty bottles or packets and refund the consumers their deposit. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. During this search, we found a post on X(Twitter) by The Kabadiwala. According to this post, The Kabadiwala along with the Nagar Nigam Ayodhya to keep Ayodhya Clean had started a scheme, if people return the empty bottle at the refund center of The Kabadiwala they will get their ₹5 deposit back.
In Ayodhya, if you return the empty bottle at the refund center you will get ₹5 deposit back.
This is an initiative by @TheKabadiwala along with the Nagar Nigam Ayodhya to keep Ayodhya Clean. They named this drive #RamBhoomiSwachhBhoomi !!@anandmahindra @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/Q3x25qA6b3
To know more about this, we checked The Kabadiwala website. According to the information available on their website, The Kabadiwala, in collaboration with Ayodhya Nagar Nigam to reduce plastic waste in Ayodhya and make it litter-free, has introduced an initiative called the Deposit Refund System (DRS). The Deposit Refund System promotes recycling by imposing a refundable deposit of Rs. 5 on beverage containers such as plastic bottles and chip packets purchased by consumers. This means that consumers need to pay an additional Rs. 5 on the original price of these products with QR codes. Upon returning these empty packets or bottles with QR codes to a collection point, The Kabadiwala executives will scan the empty bottles or packets’ QR codes and reimburse consumers their deposit.
A news report regarding the segregation and recycling of dry waste by The Kabadiwala in Ayodhya can be seen here. According to this report, Prime Minister Modi mentioned this Bhopal-based startup’s work in the 97th episode of his radio show ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
To sum it up, people do not receive Rs. 5 upon returning an empty bottle; instead, they will be refunded the deposit or the additional money paid on the original price.

created: February 12, 2024


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People from Unani’s scientific personnel list targeted for AYUSH-Patanjali ‘Coronil’ issue - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 30, 2020
A list of Muslim names is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the persons in the list belong to the Scientific Panel at the AYUSH ministry which decides the research and approval of medicines. It is being claimed that they (Muslims) are the reason for the denial of permission to Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine by the AYUSH Ministry. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
The names of Muslims in the AYUSH Ministry’s Scientific Panel who were responsible for the denial of permission to Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’.
Fact: The names given in the post are taken from the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) website which deals with the Unani Medicine whereas the Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ is reportedly an Ayurvedic medicine. Also, the Press Information Bureau has clarified that there is no such scientific panel in the Ministry. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the image posted, it can be seen that the names were taken from the ‘Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM)’ website. The names were taken from the ‘Scientific Personnel’ list on the CCRUM website. CCRUM is a research council under the AYUSH Ministry which deals with the Unani Medicine (‘Unani Medicine is a form of traditional medicine practiced in Middle- East and South-Asian countries. It was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians sometime during the eighth century’). But Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ is reportedly an Ayurvedic medicine. There is a separate research council for Ayurvedic Medicine – ‘Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS)’, under the AYUSH Ministry.
Also, the Press Information Bureau has clarified that there is no such scientific panel in the Ministry.
दावा: एक ट्वीट में आरोप लगाया गया है कि आयुष मंत्रालय के वैज्ञानिक पैनल के कुछ व्यक्ति, कोरोना की एक कथित दवाई की स्वीकृति पर रोक लगा रहे हैं।#PIBFactCheck: @moayush में ऐसा कोई वैज्ञानिक पैनल नहीं हैं। pic.twitter.com/2iDRqOGRCf
In his recent tweets, Acharya Balkrishna (M.D. of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd) has said that the controversy has been resolved and they have submitted the necessary documents to the Ministry. The tweets can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, people from Unani’s scientific personnel list targeted for AYUSH-Patanjali ‘Coronil’ issue.
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People whose mother tongue is Telugu
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 30, 2018


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Per Capita Water Availability down 70% in 60 years - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2016
Various parts of the country are facing a severe water crisis. Data reveals that the crisis is getting worse by the day. The per capita water availability in the country has come down by 70% in 60 years from 1951 to 2011. Even the 2011 survey by the Central Ground Water Board indicates that ground water is over exploited in one out of every six assessed units.
Various parts of the country are reeling under a severe drought and a water crisis. Data also reveals that the situation is getting worse by the day. The per capita water availability in the country has come down 70% from 1951 to 2011, in a span of 60 years. While growth of population is one of the reasons for this, the over exploitation of ground water coupled with lack of harvesting is making matters worse.
Requirement would reach 1447 BCM by 2050
The average annual water availability in the country has been assessed as 1869 billion cubic meters (BCM). The total water requirement for various uses like agriculture, industrial and domestic uses etc. in the country has been assessed by the ‘Standing Sub-Committee for Assessment of Availability and Requirement of Water for Diverse Uses in the Country’ to be about 813 BCM, 1093 BCM, and 1447 BCM by the year 2010, 2025 and 2050 respectively. However, the National Commission for Integrated Water resources Development has assessed that with achievement of the desired level of efficiency, the water requirement by the year 2010, 2025 and 2050 will be about 710 BCM, 843 BCM and 1180 BCM respectively. Bulk of this requirement would be for irrigation. As per the Central Water Commission, only 1123 BCM of water is utilizable out of the available water including surface and ground water resources.
Per Capita Water Availability in 2011 is 1545 Cubic Meters
The per capita water availability in the country is reducing due to increase in population. The average annual per capita availability of water taking into consideration the population in various census has come down 70% from 1951 to 2011, in a span of 60 years. The per capita availability of water as per 1951 census was 5177 cubic meters. This is down to 1545 cubic meters as per 2011 census. As per the 2001 census, it was 1816 cubic meters. It has continuously decreased owing to the increase in population.
What is an over exploited area?
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) categorizes various assessed units into Over-exploited, Critical etc based on the stage of ground water development and the long-term trend of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels. The stage of ground water development is a ratio of Annual Ground Water Draft and Net Annual Ground Water Availability in percentage. Present stage of ground water development in the country is 58%. The following are the four categories as defined by CGWB based on the criteria mentioned above
One in every Six assessed blocks is over exploited in ground water
The latest assessment of Dynamic Ground Water Resources was carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and the State Governments in 2011. Out of 6607 assessed units (Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas) in the Country, 1071 units falling in 16 States and 2 UTs have been categorized as ‘Over-Exploited’. 217 assessed units are ‘Critical’ and 697 are ‘Semi-Critical’. In other words, one out of every six assessed units is over exploited while 3 out of every 10 assessed units are not safe. Overall, 30% of the assessed units are in over-exploited, critical or semi critical state.
Delhi & Rajasthan at the top of Ground Water Exploitation
Within the states, 92.6% of the assessed units in Delhi are in over-exploited, critical or semi critical state. Rajasthan is a close second with 88.9% of the assessed units in such a state. In both Punjab and Haryana, more than 80% of the assessed units are in such a state. More than 30% of the assessed units are not in a safe state in 10 of the states. In Bihar, only 2.1% of the assessed units are in such a state while in Odisha, all the 314 assessed units were found to be safe.
Featured Image: By Daniel Bachhuber


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How are the Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha performing? - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 17, 2015
The President of India nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha on the advice of the Government of the day. The nominated members are supposed to be experts in certain fields and are expected to add value to the legislative process. But are the nominated members performing their duty?
The Rajya Sabha or the Upper House has 12 nominated members. These members are nominated by the President on the advice of the government of the day. Article 80(3) of the constitution of India authorizes the President of India to nominate a maximum of 12 members to the Rajya Sabha and the members nominated shall have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of Literature, Science, Art & Social Service.
There are 10 nominated members presently
Presently there are 10 nominated members. Four of them were nominated in 2010, five of them in 2012 and one in 2014. Two of the nominated members are lawyers, two are artists, one is a cricketer, one is an educationalist, one is an industrialist, one is a theatre personality and two of them belong to the Congress Party.
This story tracks their performance in terms of attendance, participation in debates, questions asked, MPLADS spending & the amount of expenditure incurred on them in the form of salary & allowances.
Attendance in the House – Rekha & Sachin Tendulkar hardly attend the house
Bhalchandra Mungekar has the highest attendance with 89% followed by Mrinal Miri & K T S Tulsi (88.5%). K Parasaran has 81% attendance. Mani Shankar Aiyar has 76% attendance. Anu Aga has 66.5% attendance followed by B Jayashree & Javed Akthar. The worst performers in attendance are Sachin Tendulkar (5.5%) and Rekha (5.1%).
Number of Questions Asked – Five of them score a duck
As on date, Bhalchandra Mungekar asked the highest number of questions (272), followed by Mani Shankar Aiyar (178). Five members did not ask a single question till date (K Parasaran, Rekha, Anu Aga, B Jayashree & Javed Akthar). K T S Tulsi asked 19 questions, Mrinal Miri asked 11 questions. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar recently started asking questions and has asked seven questions till date.  Both the politicians have done much better than the others.
Participation in Debates – Politicians again in the front
The data on debates is available only till the 233 session (till December, 2014). As per the available data, both the Congress politicians are leading even in debates. Bhalchandra Mungekar participated in 60 debates while Mani Shankar Aiyar participated in 65 debates. Three of the nominated members haven’t participated in a single debate (Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha & B Jayashree). The rest of the five member’s participation in debates is limited to single digits.
MPLADS Spending
Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for, works to the tune of Rs.5 Crores per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. The Nominated Members of the Rajya Sabha may select any Districts from any State in the Country for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme.
Under MPLADS, the role of the MP is limited to recommendation of works. Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the District Authority to sanction, execute and complete the works recommended by the MP within the stipulated time period. The data used for the analysis is sourced from the MPLADS website as of 15 December, 2015.
Since the MP only has a recommendatory role, the analysis only looks at the amount entitled to the MP, amount available to spend and the amount recommended for works.
The amount entitled is not always equal to the amount available to spend since the release of funds is governed by certain rules. Fresh release of funds is subject to the furnishing the utilization certificate of the previous installments. Hence a greater amount is released by the government provided a greater amount is recommended by the MP and spent by the district authority.
While there is not much of a difference in the entitlement of a MP, the amount available varied between various MPs. Mani Shankar Aiyar,  B Jayashree & Bhalchandra Mungekar had the highest amount available (more than 20 crore each) while K Parasaran, Rekha, Anu Aga & Sachin Tendulkar had less than 10 crore rupees available. Bhalchandra Mungekar recommended the highest amount for works (28.03 crore) followed by Mani Shankar Aiyar (27.13 crore). Four of the ten MPs had recommended works amounting to more than 20 crore. Sachin Tendulkar recommended works amounting to 14.95 crore. The other four MPs recommended works amounting to less than 10 crore each. The MPLADS details of K T S Tulsi were not available on the website.
Expenditure Incurred on Salary & Allowances – Bhalchandra Mungekar way ahead
The Rajya Sabha website has details of expenditure incurred on Salary & Allowances of MPs from August 2013. Each MP is entitled to the following,
Except K T S Tulsi, all the other MPs were in office since August 2013 (26 months).  K T S Tulsi received the least amount since he started receiving his salary only from March 2014. Of the others, the highest expenditure was incurred on Bhalchandra Mungekar (more than a crore rupees), followed by B Jayashree (78 lakh rupees). The difference in the expenditure is only because of the TA/DA since all other components are fixed for every MP. It could be that the particular MP has attended the house more often than others and has travelled extensively than others. In the case of Bhalchandra Mungekar, his attendance is the highest and hence it is only natural that he receives the highest amount of daily allowance.
An expenditure of 36.18 lakh was incurred on Sachin Tendulkar while an amount of 44.14 lakh was incurred on Rekha. More than 60 lakh was incurred on both Javed Akthar & Mani Shankar Aiyar.

created: December 17, 2015


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Performance Report of the 15th Loksabha MPs - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 13, 2015
Parliament is the house of our elected representatives and thus is the seat of Democracy of our nation. Parliament has been entrusted mainly with three responsibilities which can briefly be outlined as follows:
Active participation of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the proceedings of house is therefore crucial in the fulfilment of Parliament’s responsibilities. For enabling this active participation, few parliamentary procedures are in place. Three of the important parliamentary procedures where MPs can actively participate are;
The analysis presented here gauges the performance of MPs floor of the house. This is done on the basis of their use of these three parliamentary procedures i.e. asking questions, taking part in debates and introduction of private member bills.
These procedures have been specifically chosen as the parameters to determine MPs performance as they give a fair indication of their inclination towards participation in parliamentary functioning & decision making. Also the ‘introduction of private member bills’ category tells us about the capability of MPs to suggest solutions to the problems and not just raise issues or point fingers at the ruling party.
Analysis of the data: Top performing MPs are listed down category wise along with the party they belong to and the constituency they represent. Apart from listing down these MPs, some interesting insights are also part of the analysis.
PARTICIPATION IN DEBATES
Participation in these debates represents the MP’s interest in various issues of concern. It also gives us a fair idea of  his active participation in decision making & corrective action which is the precisely the job entrusted to him. Below is the list of 10 MPs who have been part of most number of debates:
It is to be noted that
ASKING QUESTIONS
Asking questions is a clear evidence of the efforts put by MPs in addressing issues and initiating discussions in the Parliament. Many important issues see the light of the day through the process of questioning ultimately leading to solution or corrective government action.
Below is the list of 10 MPs who have asked the most number of questions in the 15 Lok Sabha
It is to be noted that
INTRODUCTION OF PRIVATE MEMBER BILLS
Private Member Bill is a provision in our constitution that enables MPs who are not ministers to present a bill in the Parliament. Our wise constitution makers foresaw the importance of giving every MP an equal chance to come up with solutions to problems. Below is the list of 10 MPs who presented the most number of private member bills during the 15 Lok Sabha.
It is to be noted that 370 MPs never presented a Private member bill and 114 MPs introduced at least one private member bill.
THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE
It is also pertinent to look the worst performers in the three categories.
Following is the list of 17 MPs who have never asked any question, never taken part in a debate and never introduced a private member bill.
It is also to be noted that
Overall Numbers
It has been found that a total of one lakh forty thousand two hundred two hundred and fifty five (1,40,255) questions were asked in the fifteenth Lok Sabha. On an average, each MP asked two hundred and fifty (250) questions. Of special interest to us should be the number of private member bills which were six hundred and fifty two (652) on the whole and 1.3 bills on an average by each MP. None of these were passed.
Analysis of the three parameters for the recognised national parties of the 15th Lok Sabha
To understand the performance of a party, we took the six national parties and analysed their performance in the three parameters chosen. All the MPs belonging to a party were grouped together for the analysis.
Note: Total & Average number of Debates has not been calculated since debates could involve two or more MPs. Aggregation of the debates would result in repetitive counting of participants.
It is to be noted that
On further analysis of the MPs education & background, we found some interesting trends.
Data Source: The data has been collated from the Lok Sabha Website.
Check out the Infographic presenting the Top Peformers of 15th Lok Sabha here.

created: February 13, 2015


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Persons in this photo are wrongly represented as Indira's father-in-law Yunus Khan, and husband Feroze Khan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 8, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media that the people in the photo are
Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Indira’s father-in-law Yunus Khan, and Indira’s husband Feroze Khan. Let’s fact-check the extent of truth in the post.
Photo of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Indira’s father-in-law Yunus Khan and Indira’s husband Feroze Khan.
Fact: Persons to the left of Indira Gandhi in the photo are Nicholas Roerich (Russian Artist) and Yunus Khan (Freedom Fighter), not Indira Gandhi’s father-in-law, Yunus Khan. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the posted photo was reverse searched using ‘Yandex’, the same photo was found on the ‘Alamy’ digital stock website. The person who is seen next to Indira Gandhi as per this website is Nicholas Roerich. Nicholas Roerich is a Russian artist. According to an article written by ‘The Week’,  the name of Indira Gandhi’s father-in-law is ‘Faredoon Jehangir Ghandy’.
It can be seen from the ‘Yunus Khan’ Wikipedia website that the person who is seen next to Nicholas Roerich in the photo is Yunus Khan. However, he is not Indira Gandhi’s father-in-law as said in the post. Further information about Yunus Khan can be found here. The photo of Indira Gandhi’s husband, Feroze Gandhi, can be seen here.
Another photo of Nehru, Indira, Nicholas Roerich and Yunus Khan can be seen here.
To sum it up, to the left of Indira Gandhi in the photo are Nicholas Roerich (Russian Artist) and Yunus Khan (Freedom Fighter).
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Petrol Price Breakup in India - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 5, 2015
Here is the detailed explanation of Petrol Price breakup in india. The Infographic explains the petrol price breakup starting from the price of crude oil till it reaches to the end consumer including the various components of pricing.
Note: The data is as on March 1st, 2015.


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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was not arrested by the FBI on 05 November 2021 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 8, 2021
A post with a website link is being widely shared on social media claiming that the CEO of Pfizer had been arrested by the FBI and charged with Fraud. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla arrested by the FBI and charged with fraud on 05 November 2021.
Fact: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was not arrested by the FBI on 05 November 2021. In fact, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla made a couple of television appearances on 05 November 2021, the very same day he was claimed to have been arrested. According to Snopes, the website which claimed that the CEO was arrested, “publishes a mix of news commentary and conspiratorial hoaxes”. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When one opens the link provided in the post, an article can be seen which claims that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was arrested on 05 November 2021. We could not find any credible evidence to conclude that say Pfizer CEO was arrested by the FBI and charged with fraud. If such a prominent person were to be arrested, it would have been reported by almost every media house.
In fact, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla made a couple of television appearances on 05 November 2021, the very same day he was claimed to have been arrested. Albert Bourla spoke to CNN about a new pill developed by Pfizer to combat COVID-19. Albert Bourla made an appearance on CNBC as well.
Snopes had written a fact-check article debunking the same claim that Pfizer CEO was arrested. Snopes says that the article from the website link is not a genuine news article. Snopes says that the website named the Conservative Beaver publishes conspiracies. “The Conservative Beaver publishes a mix of news commentary and conspiratorial hoaxes. For example, it previously published a fictitious story claiming that actor Alec Baldwin had been arrested in a child-pornography case. This is false.”
To sum it up, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was not arrested by the FBI on 05 November 2021.

created: November 8, 2021


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Pfizer CEO received his second dose of ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’ COVID-19 vaccine in March 2021 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 9, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Pfizer CEO has not been fully vaccinated. The post even claims that the CEO of Pfizer had to cancel a planned trip to Israel because he was not fully vaccinated. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: CEO of Pfizer is not fully vaccinated and had to cancel his trip to Israel.
Fact: The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, was fully vaccinated in March 2021. He received the second dose of the ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’ COVID-19 vaccine in the month of March 2021 itself. The news of Albert Bourla’s Israel visit cancellation for not being fully vaccinated was published prior to this in early March 2021. In an interview to CNBC Television in December 2020 when asked about vaccine hesitancy, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla replied that one needs to ‘trust science’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet regarding Pfizer CEO’s vaccination, a tweet by the CEO was found. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla’s official Twitter account made this tweet on 11 March 2021 confirming that he had received his second dose of vaccination. According to the tweet, the CEO of Pfizer had received the second dose of the ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’ COVID-19 vaccine in the month of March 2021 itself. There was news (07 March 2021) back in early March when Albert Bourla’s Israel visit was cancelled because he was not fully vaccinated but this was before he took his second dose of vaccination.
Excited to receive my 2nd dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech #COVID19 vaccine. There's nothing I want more than for my loved ones and people around the world to have the same opportunity. Although the journey is far from over, we are working tirelessly to beat the virus. pic.twitter.com/ES05WPBLJA
In an interview with CNBC Television in December 2020, when asked about vaccine hesitancy, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla replied that one needs to ‘trust science’. He even said that he would wait his turn to receive the vaccine after frontline workers and seniors had a chance. He received his second shot of the vaccine in March 2021, according to his Twitter account.
To sum it up, Pfizer CEO received his second dose of ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’ COVID-19 vaccine in March 2021.

created: August 9, 2021


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Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine (vaporizer cartridge) in this photo is a fake one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 22, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (vaporizer cartridge), which is made in China. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (vaporizer cartridge) which is made in China.
Fact: The Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is given as a shot in the muscle of the upper arm, not inhaled as vapour.  The ‘Pfizer’ company has clarified to Reuters that the vaporizer cartridge is fake. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched about the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, it was found that Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is given as a shot in the muscle of the upper arm, not inhaled as vapour. But the product given in the photo mentions that it is a vaporizer cartridge. Also, two doses of the vaccine are given to people.
Nothing was mentioned on the Pfizer’s website regarding the COVID-19 vaccine being manufactured as a vaporizer cartridge. Only information with respect to BNT162 COVID-19 vaccine (which is given as a shot) was found on their website.
Also, ‘Reuters’ has reported that the Pfizer has confirmed to them by email that the vaporizer cartridge is fake. It has also reported – ‘the real vaccine is being made using Pfizer and BioNTech’s combined manufacturing network in Germany, Belgium and the United States’. More information regarding the manufacturing and delivery network of Pfizer’s vaccine can be found here and here. FACTLY has also written to Pfizer and this article will be updated with their response.
To sum it up, the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (vaporizer cartridge) in the photo is a fake one.

created: December 22, 2020


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PGDM admissions to be made based only on the Student performance in the following examinations
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2017
AICTE’s new regulations for institutions offering the PGDM course mandate that the admission has to be strictly based on performance of students in any of the six All India tests. The regulations also mandate complete refund of fees to students who withdraw admission before 30th June every year.
All Management Institutions offering the ‘Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)’ can make admissions based only on the student performance in the six All India tests as per new regulations notified by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The AICTE has now notified ‘All India Council for Technical Education (Norms and Standards for the conduct of Post Graduate Diploma in Management) Regulations, 2017 that seek to properly regulate the institutions offering the PGDM course.
Admission to be based only on these six All India tests
AICTE seeks to set the standards for academic calendar, admissions, AICTE model curriculum and fees refund through these new regulations.
The new regulations make it clear that the PGDM Programme shall not be for a duration of less than 21 months. In addition, the regulations mandate that the academic calendar for admission of students shall be from 01st March to 30th June every year.
The new regulations mandate that the admissions to PGDM course shall be made only from the candidates qualified from anyone of the following six All India tests.
The candidates for admission have to be shortlisted based on the overall rank of candidates computed based on the following components & their weights.
Regulations mandate complete transparency in the process
The institutions have to publish the information regarding the names of the admission tests from which the candidates are selected for admissions, the weightage of scores of the various components of the admission process in their website and admission brochure well before the admission process is initiated.
The institution also has to inform AICTE and clearly display on the institution’s website the eligibility criteria, selection procedure and the merit list of the candidates who have applied for the programme. The selection of the candidates has to be strictly based on merit.
Complete Refund if the withdrawal of admission is before June 30th every year
The regulations give the institutions the freedom to devise their own curriculum for PGDM Programmes as long as they conform with the model curriculum framed by AICTE.
The institutions are also mandated to publish the details of the fees being charged on their web-site and in the admission brochure. They also have to refund the entire fees collected after deducting an amount Rs 1000 as processing fee to the students withdrawing admission before 30th June every year. The institution also has to return the certificates to the students withdrawing admission before the last date.
Featured Image: PGDM admissions

created: December 16, 2017


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Phony website in circulation as the 'US Diversity Visa Lottery' registration portal - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2021
A link is being shared on social media claiming it to be the online registration portal for the American visa lottery which is offered under the diversity immigrant visa program.  Let’s fact-check the veracity of the website.
Claim: Website link for American visa lottery registration.
Fact: This is a phony website. The official websites of the US government end with ‘.gov’. Further, the domain of the website provided in the post is registered in April 2021. As far as the Diversity Visa lottery is concerned, ‘dvlottery.state.gov’ is the only website where an individual can register their applications. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Diversity Visa Program:
Each year, America’s Department of State conducts a random selection of Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants, based on allocations of available visas in each region and country, from all registered entries. Some people call this program the “visa lottery.” The winners, picked at random, win the chance to apply to become lawful permanent residents.
Accordingly, the Department of State publishes detailed instructions for entering the DV Program every year. Anyone who wishes to apply should submit their application electronically on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website during the specified registration period. It is noteworthy to mention that this website does not become active for submitting an entry until the date and time specified on the DV Instructions.
Further, as per the ‘Whois.com’, the domain of the web address provided in the post is registered in April 2021 in Iceland. This proves that the website provided in the post is nothing but a phony website, as the domain address is different from an actual US government website. Also, US government official websites end with ‘.gov’.
In the wake of fraudulent incidents where scamsters are tricking people using phony websites regarding the diversity immigration visa program, US Federal Trade Commission has categorically stated that ‘The only place to enter the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery is dvlottery.state.gov.’
The US Embassy in Sweden has also reiterated the above-mentioned points regards Diversity Visa Lottery scams. More information regarding the Diversity Visa frauds can be obtained from here.
To sum it up,  a phony website is in circulation as the US Diversity Visa Lottery registration portal.


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Photo captured during a protest in Bangladesh is shared as that from Kerala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 15, 2020
Photo of a mob with sticks in hand is doing rounds on social media claiming that it is of a mob attack in Kerala. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Mob protesting with sticks in the streets of Kerala.
Fact: The photo was taken in 2013 during a protest in Dhaka demanding new blasphemy law. So the photo has nothing to do with any incident in Kerala. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we subjected the photo to reverse image search technique, a tweet with that photo was found. The tweet was made by ‘Taslima Nasreen’ and she mentioned that the photo belonged to Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh! pic.twitter.com/HtXFNZOTJN
Taking it as a clue, when we searched using keywords, a similar photo of a mob holding sticks in their hands was found. As per the description, the photo is of a protest in Dhaka in 2013 demanding a new blasphemy law. When we looked for news reports about the protest, an article of ‘Daily Mail’ was found. In the article, it is mentioned that thousands of Islamists had taken to streets in Dhaka demanding new blasphemy law in the country. It was also reported that activists of ‘Hefajat-e-Islam’ group have blocked several roads in Dhaka during the protests.
With the above information, when we searched with keywords on ‘Alamy’ photo stock, a similar photo the one posted but taken from a different angle was found. Another similar photo taken from a different angle can be seen here.
‘The Quint’ has also debunked this claim earlier which can be read here.
To sum it up, photo captured during a protest in Bangladesh in 2013 is shared as the one from Kerala.
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Photo captured on the day of Janata curfew is falsely linked to Solar Eclipse - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 24, 2020
Photo of a road captured at two different times is widely shared on social media. While the part with heavy traffic is claimed to be captured during the times of Coronavirus, the other part with empty roads is attributed Solar Eclipse day on 21 June 2020. Let’s verify the claims about the time when the photo was captured.
Photo comparing traffic on a road during the time of Coronavirus and Solar Eclipse day.
Fact: While the part of the photo showing heavy traffic was captured on 5 February 2020, much before the spread of COVID-19 in India, the other part showing empty roads was shot on 22 March 2020, the Janata Curfew day where a Nationwide curfew was imposed by the Government of India. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, it is found out that these photos were shot and published by a Bangalore based photographer Manjunath Kiran. To show the impact of Janata curfew in Bangalore, he shared these two different instances of traffic in Bangalore. These photos illustrate that a Busy traffic area in Bangalore was seen deserted during the day of Janata curfew. On 22 March 2020, a complete Nationwide Janata (civil) curfew was imposed by the Government of India as a precautionary measure to control the spread of COVID-19 in India.
To sum it up, photos shared in context of Janata curfew were falsely illustrated as phobia in public about Solar Eclipse.
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Photo from a film is being falsely shared as a child from Jat community shot in the chest in 2016 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 4, 2022
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that a child from the Jat community had been shot in the chest in 2016. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a child from Jat community shot in the chest in 2016.
Fact: The photo is from the screenshot of a film named, ‘Mamlakat al-Naml’ (Kingdom of Ants) which was released in 2012. The movie was directed by Tunisian Chawki Mejri, based on the ‘Palestinian cause.’ Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, the photo of the same child was found in the screenshot of a YouTube video. The YouTube video uploaded on 10 April 2016 is a film named, ‘Kingdom of the Ants’, which is a movie directed by Chawki Mejri, based on the ‘Palestinian cause.’
‘Mamlakat al-Naml’ (Kingdom of Ants) is a film that was released in 2012. According to an article, “Mamlakat al-Naml is about a family struggling to survive on land being carved up piece by piece and a dream that is crushed night after night.”
In 2016, the Jat community in Haryana had protested about reservations in Jobs and colleges under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. The agitation then had turned violent, and many people were killed. However, this photo of a kid being shot in the chest is not from that agitation.
To sum it up, a photo from a film is being falsely shared as a child from the Jat community shot in the chest in 2016.

created: February 4, 2022


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Photo from Bangladesh is shared as visuals of Muslims offering Namaz on a road in India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 21, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of thousands of Muslims offering Namaz on a road in India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of thousands of Muslims offering Namaz on a road in India.
Fact: This photo shows an old incident of thousands of Muslim devotees offering prayers at the Bishwa Ijtema, an annual pilgrimage in Tongi, Bangladesh. This photo has nothing to do with India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found shared on the Instagram handle of Ratan Dhar, a photographer based in Bangladesh. He described it as visuals of a Muslim gathering during the Bishwa Ijtema festival in 2019. Bishwa Ijtema is a pilgrimage event that is being held annually near the bank of the Turag river in Tongi, Bangladesh. Ratan Dhar shared the same photo on his website.
On observing the photo carefully, we could see the text ‘BRTC’ written on the bus seen in the photo. On comparing the photos of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) double-decker bus with the bus seen in the photo, it can be confirmed that the bus seen in the photo belongs to the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation. The same photo was found published on the ‘Alamy’ website with a description, “Muslim pilgrims pray at the Bishwa Ijtema in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bishwa Ijtema is the largest Islamic congregation of the world”.
Several Bangladesh-based news portals published articles reporting the Bishwa Ijtema annual event held in 2019. They can be seen here and here. The ‘Dhaka Tribune’ had published a similar photo as shared in the post while reporting the 2019 Bishwa Ijtema event. There are several instances of Indian Muslims offering Namaz on public roads. Articles that reported such instances can be seen here and here. But the photo shared in the post does not show a Muslim gathering in India.
To sum it up, an old photo of a Muslim gathering in Bangladesh is shared as visuals of Muslims offering Namaz on a road in India.

created: December 21, 2021


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Photo from Bihar is portrayed as West Bengal farmers expression of gratitude towards PM Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 8, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the expression of gratitude from West Bengal farmers towards PM Narendra Modi. Photo of farmers arranging paddy samplings in a formation that reads ‘BJP मोदी’ is shared in this post. In the context of mixed opinion from the farmers on the three new Agriculture bills passed by the Modi government, this post is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of West Bengal farmers arranging paddy saplings in the formation that reads ‘BJP मोदी’.
Fact: The photo shows Bihar farmworkers arranging paddy saplings as the expression of their support towards PM Narendra Modi and BJP ahead of the Bihar elections. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in the news gallery article published by ‘Outlook India’ news website. In the description of the photo, it is mentioned that the farmworkers in Kaimur district of Bihar put paddy saplings in the formation that reads ‘BJP MODI’. It is mentioned as the farmworkers expression of their support to PM Narendra Modi and BJP ahead of the Bihar election polls. Photo is credited to PTI in the article.
The same photo with a similar description found in the news gallery article published by ‘One India’ news website. In the article, it is mentioned that this incident took place on ‘12 July 2020’ at Kaimur district of Bihar.
West Bengal is the only state that is not implementing PM-Kisan Yojana that gives 6000 rupees annually to farmers. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar blamed West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for 10 Lakh Bengal farmers not getting PM-Kisan benefits. Following the Agriculture amendment bills passed in Lok Sabha, West Bengal witnessed protests as well as the counter-protests from the farmers and political parties.
To sum it up, three months old photo from Bihar is falsely portrayed as the expression of gratitude from the West Bengal farmers towards PM Narendra Modi.

created: October 8, 2020