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Imran Khan’s interview video preceding his arrest is edited and shared as signs of physical torture in jail - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 17, 2023
A video featuring former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan speaking with a damaged eye is being shared on social media claiming that he was physically tortured in jail. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals show former Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan being physically tortured in jail.
Fact: The video was originally filmed during Imran Khan’s interview with a news channel preceding his arrest on 05 August 2023. The viral video is edited wherein his eyes are shown closed as a sign of physical torture.  Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Relevant keyword searches led us to related posts on Twitter (here and here). The viral video featured a URL of a Pakistan-based media channel named “We News.” Further keyword searches on their YouTube channel led us to the original video where Imran Khan was interviewed about the elections and the government.
The viral video is cropped by different timestamps from the original longer version and altered. Moreover, the original video of Khan talking about the government was published on 01 August 2023. Various news reports (here and here) show that Khan was convicted by the court on charges of corruption linked to the state gift repository and was arrested on 05 August 2023.
It is also clear from the original video that Khan’s eyes were not closed and that the viral video was altered with his eyes closed. A comparison of the original and edited version of the footage can be seen below.
To sum up, Imran Khan’s interview video preceding his arrest is edited and shared as Imran Khan was tortured in jail.


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In 20 years, India’s Average Life Expectancy at birth has improved from 60.7 years to 68.7 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 19, 2019
Life Expectancy at birth has increased from 60.7 years to 68.7 years in
the 20-year period from 1994 to 2014. However, India still has a long way to go
to attain SDG targets for parameters like IMR, MMR that influence life
expectancy
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 12 July 2019, presentednumbers related to life expectancy in India as a response to the question raised in the Lok Sabha. In this story, we take a closer look at the numbers and region wisetrends.
What is Life Expectancy at birth?
The main purpose of calculating the average life expectancy at birth isto ascertain the overall mortality level of a population. The number, as perthe World Health Organisation (WHO) definition, shows the average number of years that a new born infant is expected to live if
the current mortality rate continues to apply. This measure is also used tocalculate the Human Development Index.
India ranks 125 out of
183 countries in terms of Average Life Expectancy at birth
The global average life expectancy at birth in the year 2016 was 72 years as per  the WHO. Also, India currently ranks 125 of 183 countries inthe world.
In India, during the 20-year period from 1994 to 2014, the life expectancy has improved substantially- from 60.7 years to 68.7 years, an increase of 13%. Further, it is clear from the data that life expectancy of females has always been higher than that of males. The life expectancy of males has increased from 60.1 to 67.4 years during this 20-year period while that of females has increased from 61.4 to 70.2 years over the same span. In other words, the life expectancy of males and females has increased by 7.3 years and 8.8 years respectively.
The ministry has attributed this to a combination of reduced infantmortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR), increased immunisationagainst infectious diseases in childhood. In addition to this, improved housingconditions, sanitation, and access to education, better public healthfacilities, growing incomes and trend to have smaller families have also beenhighlighted as the reasons for this improvement.
Kerala has the highest
life expectancy of 75.1 years while UP has the least- 64.8 years
Looking at the figures from each state for the period 2012-16, Keralahas the highest life expectancy at 75.1 years. The least is that of UttarPradesh where the life expectancy is only 64.8 years. Only six states- Kerala,Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have theaverage life expectancy greater than 72 years, the global average. Since 1992,the average life expectancy of each state has improved, but by varied rates.
The Southern states
have topped the list all through
In general, the Southern states have much better life expectancycompared to the other states. Kerala had the highest life expectancy allthrough. In fact, Kerala has the highest life expectancy of the totalpopulation as well as for females at 77.9 years, for the period 2012-16. Delhileads with the life expectancy for males at 72.7 years during this period. Forthe period 2012-16, Uttar Pradesh has the lowest life expectancy for femaleswhereas Chhattisgarh is at bottom of the list in the case of males.
IMR, MMR and Under five
Mortality Rates improve, but a long way to go to reach SDG targets
The WHO defines Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) as the probability of the infant dying between birth and one yearof age as against 1000 live births. Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is measured as the number of maternal deaths that occur for every100,000 live births. The Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) is used to express the probability of dying between birth andattaining five years of age as measured against 1000 live births.
The trend of the above mentioned rates in India from 1990 till thelatest available data up to 2015 is in the following graph. All these threerates (IMR, MMR & U5MR) have improved substantially in the last 25 oddyears. All these rates influence average life expectancy. As can be seen fromthe data, improvement in these rates has resulted in an increase in the lifeexpectancy. Further, census reports of the earlier yearssuggest that the literacy level has also increased simultaneously from 1991 to2011 by 41.8%.
Still a long way to go to reach SDG targets
The Sustainable Development Goal 3 aimed at ensuring good health and well-being of people of all ages hastargets to be achieved by 2030, one of which is to reduce the global MMR to lessthan 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. Another target aims at ending allpreventable deaths of new born infants and bringing down the Neonatal MortalityRate to 12 per 1000 live births by 2030, while the Under-five Mortality Ratealso needs to brought down to at least 25 per 1000 live births.
As is evident from the  historical data, while India has made progress over the last few decades, a lot more needs to be done in the next 10 years, at a greater pace, if we are to reach the SDG targets.
Featured Image: India’s Average Life Expectancy at birth

source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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In 2013, the number of reported ‘Rape’ cases in India was 33707, not 1638. 2018 NCRB data is yet to be released. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 5, 2019
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the number of rape cases increased from 1638 (in 2013) to 3051 (in 2018). The post does not mention about any state and questions Modi for the increase in the number of such cases. So, the reference region is considered to be the whole country. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
In India, the number of reported rape cases increased from 1638 (in 2013) to 3051 (in 2018).
Fact: According to the National Crime Records Bureau report, the number of reported rape cases in India in 2013 was 33707, not 1638. Also, the data is not available for the year 2018. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) releases data on the number of rape cases reported in India. It has released the data only till 2017. The latest report (‘Crime in India – 2017’) was released in October 2019. So, the number of rapes cases registered in 2018 in India cannot be ascertained.
Also, according to the ‘Crime in India – 2013’ report, in 2013, the number of reported rape cases in India was 33707, not 1638.
The number of reported rape cases in India in each year over the decade (2008-2017) can be seen in the below graph:
A detailed article by Factly on the number of rapes reported and the conviction rate can be read here.
To sum it up, the number of reported rape cases in India in 2013 was 33707, not 1638. There is no NCRB data available for the year 2018.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: December 5, 2019


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In 2017, most Prisoners escaped from Gujarat while most Jail breaks took place in West Bengal
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 22, 2019
The
Prison Statistics report of the NCRB provides data on various facets of the
prison system in India. As per the 2017 report, 378 prisoners escaped from
custody. 95 of them escaped in Gujarat while 48 in Uttar Pradesh. On the other
hand, 10 of the 15 jail breaks reported in 2017 took place in West Bengal.
Most of us watch jailbreakscenes in movies in awe where the hero or villain tricks the guards andescapes. Have you imagined that jail breaks do happen in real life? Everthought how it is that the inmates escape in spite of the tight security andround the clock surveillance?
Annually, a fewhundred offenders manage to escape Indian jails. However, some of them arecaught and arrested again. In the Prison
Statistics of India, the annual reportreleased by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), data on jail breaks andescapes is provided every year since 2004. This story takes a closer look atthe numbers presented in the Prison Statistics report of 2017.
What is the difference between Police custody and Judicial
custody?
Section 167 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure lists the provisions forholding a person in custody. Both police
and judicial custody have the objective ofkeeping the suspect/accused under the supervision of police in order to preventthem from committing further crimes or escaping or tampering with evidence whilethe investigation is under progress. However, in police custody, a policeofficer detains an offender or a suspect on his/her own call. A judicialcustody is said to have taken place if the detention is as per the orders ofthe magistrate and the accused is usually lodged in jail.
378 prisoners escaped from lawful custody in 2017
Number ofprisoners who escaped while under judicial custody and police custody have been recorded separatelyin the report. In 2017 alone, a total of 378 prisoners have escaped. Of this,163 have escaped from police custody and remaining from judicial custody.
Uttar Pradesh accountedfor 24% (39) of the prisoners who escaped from police custody. Punjab reported10% (17) of escapees from police custody while Andhra Pradesh reported 9% (15)of the total. Apart from these states, in terms of numbers, Kerala, Tamil Naduand Maharashtra have reported more than 10 escapees from police custody alonein 2017.
Gujarat alone accounted for 62% of the escapees who
escaped from outside the prison premises
In the year 2017, 215prisoners escaped from judicial custody. 70 of them escaped from inside theprison premises while the remaining 145 escaped from outside the prison. Atotal of 9 each from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan had escaped from inside theprison premises.
Gujarat aloneaccounted for 90 escapees out of the total 145 reported to have escaped fromoutside the prison premises in 2017. This amounts to 62% of total escapees fromoutside the prison. 11 escapees were reported from West Bengal under thiscategory.
Maximum number of escapees were reported from Gujarat
followed by Uttar Pradesh
In terms ofstate-wise numbers, 95 prisoners in Gujarat were reported to have escaped, thehighest for any state.  Uttar Pradesh(48) with half the number of escapees compared to Gujarat came in second inthis aspect. These two states alone accounted for 38% of the total escapeesreported in India in 2017.
44% of the escapees were re-arrested in India in 2017
Only 168 of theescapees out of the total 378 have been re-arrested in 2017. The maximum numberof re-arrest of escapees has been reported in Gujarat. If we look at the rateof re-arrest in India, only 44% of the escapees have been arrested again.  Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have re-arrested 92%each. (By rate, we refer to the percentage of escapees arrested in a state
divided by the total number of escapees in the state)
Number of inmates escaping prisons in declining
If we look at thetrend in the number of escapees since 2004, it is evident that the number isfalling gradually. However, the number was exceptionally high in 2007 and then 2016.The number of re-arrests has not seen any significant difference. The highestrate of re-arrest recorded so far is in 2017.
Inmate-Staff ratio is very high in Uttar Pradesh
The number ofinmates each correctional staff attend is high in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.While in Uttar Pradesh each correctional staff has to attend to 48,191 inmates,in Gujarat each staff has attend to 13,011 inmates. In the remaining states,the numbers are much smaller.
Uttar Pradesh alsohas a high inmate- staff ratio. There are 14 inmates per prison staff in UttarPradesh which is twice the national average of seven (7) inmates per prisonstaff.  The maximum number of inmates inIndia are in the prisons of Uttar Pradesh.
Two thirds of the total jail breaks in 2017 were
reported in West Bengal
Resorting toforcible means to escape prisons which result in injury, are the category ofcrimes recorded under the head of jail
breaks. A total of 15 jail breaks wererecorded in 2017, 10 of which were reported in West Bengal. One incident ofjail break was reported from each of the states- Gujarat, Haryana, HimachalPradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
One death due to clashes was reported in Goa
Out of the total88 incidents
of clashes reported in jails in2017, 35 were from Bihar and 19 from Delhi. 11 such incidents were reportedfrom Punjab as well. These clashes have even resulted in a death of an inmatein Goa, the only death reported across the country in such clashes. Apart fromthis, 181 inmates and 23 jail personnel have been injured in these clashes. 81cases of injury were reported in Delhi followed by Bihar with 37 cases. Goareported 23 cases. These three states together have reported 69% of the total injurycases.

created: November 22, 2019


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In 2017, President of India’s daughter was moved from cabin crew to ground duties at Air India for security reasons - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 7, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the TATA authorities recently transferred the President of India’s daughter, who was working as a flight attendant in Air India, to internal affairs, for security reasons. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: TATA authorities recently transferred the President’s daughter to internal affairs, for security reasons.
Fact: President of India’s daughter, Ms. Swati Kovind was a cabin crew in Air India. She worked in Boeing 787, Boeing 777 flights before being deputed with Air India’s integration department in 2017, for security reasons. TATA group completed the purchase of Air India from Government of India and took over the management and control of the airline in January 2022. So, TATA authorities couldn’t have transferred the President’s daughter for security reasons as she was deputed earlier in 2017 itself. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched on google about President Ram Nath Kovind’s daughter, we found several news reports from 2017 which say that the President’s daughter was moved to ground duties at Air India for security reasons.
President of India’s daughter, Ms. Swati Kovind was a cabin crew in Air India. She worked in Boeing 787, Boeing 777 flights before being deputed with Air India’s integration department in 2017, for security reasons.
TATA group completed the purchase of Air India from the Government of India and took over the management and control of the airline in January 2022. So, TATA authorities couldn’t have transferred the President’s daughter for security reasons as she was deputed earlier in 2017 itself.
To sum it up, the President of India’s daughter was moved from cabin crew to ground duties at Air India in 2017 for security reasons.


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In 2018, Electoral Bonds worth ₹1056 crores were purchased
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 9, 2019
2018 was the first year when electoral bonds were made available for purchase. Data from 2018 suggests that bonds worth ₹1056 crores were purchased & about 1% of them were not encashed.
The Electoral Bonds were first announced in the 2017-18 budget and the scheme was subsequently notified in January 2018. Factly had earlier written about the bonds, their impact on transparency etc. 2018 was the first year when these bonds went on sale. Data obtained from State Bank of India (SBI), the authorized bank to issue electoral bonds, suggests that bonds worth ₹1056 crores were purchased in the year 2018 out of which bonds worth ₹11.2 crores were not encashed.
Six Cycles & ₹1056 crores worth bonds purchased in 2018
In the year 2018, electoral bonds were on sale in six cycles (in March, April, May, July, October & November). The bonds were available for purchase only in 4 cities in the March cycle and were made available in 11 cities for the next 3 cycles. This was extended to 29 cities for both the October & November cycles. In 5 of these 6 cycles, bonds worth more than ₹100 crores were purchased. Most bonds were purchased in October 2018, i.e., bonds worth ₹401.7 crores were purchased in the October cycle.
Close to 60% of the bonds purchased in Mumbai & Kolkata
Of the 12 cities (states) where electoral bonds were purchased in the year 2018, close to 60% of the bonds by value or ₹614 crores were purchased in Maharashtra & West Bengal alone. Of the other states, more than ₹100 crores worth bonds each were purchased in New Delhi & Telangana. These 4 states together accounted for more than 80% of all the bonds purchased in 2018.
Data from the six cycles of 2018 indicates no demand for lower denomination
Data from the 6 cycles of 2018 clearly indicates that there is no demand for bonds of lower denomination. In terms of value, bonds of  ₹1 crore denomination accounted for  ₹950 crores or 89.9% followed by bonds of  ₹10 lakh denomination that accounted for  ₹105.7 crore or 10%. Together, they accounted for over 99.9% of total value of bonds purchased in 2018. Even in terms of the number of bonds purchased, 2007 out of the 2134 or 94.1% of the bonds purchased till date are in the denomination of  ₹10 lakh and  ₹1 crore.
Electoral Bonds have to be encashed within 15 days
As per the notification of the electoral bond scheme, purchased bonds can be encashed only by an eligible political party by depositing it in their bank account. The scheme guidelines also mention that the amount not encashed within fifteen days will be deposited by SBI to the Prime Minister Relief Fund.
27 bonds worth ₹11.2 crores not encashed till date
As per data shared by SBI in response to multiple applications under Right to Information (RTI), a total of 27 bonds were not encashed by political parties in the year 2018. This could also mean that the ones who purchased these 27 bonds may not have donated them to any political party. In terms of denomination, 14 bonds in the denomination of ₹1000, 2 bonds in the denomination of ₹10 lakh and 11 bonds in the denomination of ₹1 crore were not encashed. Together, bonds worth a total of ₹11.2 crores were not encashed.  Thus this amount must have been deposited to the Prime Minister Relief Fund by SBI.
Close to 80% of the bonds encashed in Delhi
As per the data shared by SBI, close to 80% of the bonds by value were encashed in Delhi. Of the ₹1056 crores bonds purchased in 2018, ₹820 crores were encashed in Delhi followed by ₹95 crores in Hyderabad and ₹69 crores in Bhubaneshwar. In Kolkata, bonds worth ₹49 crores were encashed. Though most bonds (worth ₹383 crores) were purchased in Mumbai, only ₹10 crores were encashed there, which is less than 1% of the total purchase value. Not a single bond was encashed in Chennai, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Jaipur & Raipur where multiple electoral bonds were purchased. In terms of value, 78.5% of the bonds were encashed in Delhi while around 9.1% were encashed in Hyderabad followed by 6.6% in Bhubaneshwar and 4.7% in Kolkata.  Such disproportionate encashment in Delhi suggests that majority of these bonds were donated to national political parties and not regional parties whose offices are usually not in Delhi. This was proved true in 2017-18 when 95% of the purchased electoral bonds went to the BJP.

created: January 9, 2019


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In 2018, OMCs increased the price of Petrol 140 times & Diesel 142 times
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 1, 2018
Data compiled from the website of IOCL reveals that the price of petrol increased 140 times in 2018 while it decreased or remained the same 132 times. In the case of diesel, the price increased 142 times.
The continuous increase in the prices of petrol & diesel has affected every section of the population. One of the reasons for the increase in prices is the reluctance of both the central & state governments to reduce taxes. Factly had earlier written about the taxation structure on petrol & diesel as well as the increase in tax revenue of governments.
Data compiled from the website of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), one of three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), reveals that the price of petrol increased 140 times in 2018 while it increased 142 times in the case of diesel.
Deregulation of Fuel Prices
Until 2010, the government used to regulate the price of petrol & diesel. Government used to compensate the OMCs for any shortfall because of the subsidised price. In June 2010, the then UPA government decided to deregulate the price of petrol, making the price market determined based on the crude oil price of Indian basket and other factors. The price of diesel was completely deregulated in October 2014, after the NDA came to power. The OMCs used to revise the prices every fortnight (on the 1st & 16th of every month) till June 2017. From June 16th 2017, the OMCs are revising the price of petrol & diesel on a daily basis.
Price of Petrol increased by more than 16% in 2018
Daily price data of petrol is compiled from the website of IOCL, the largest of all the OMCs, for the four metro cities. Analysis of this data shows that the price of petrol increased by at least Rs 12 in each of the four metros between January & September 2018. The greatest increase was observed in Chennai where it increased by Rs 14.27 during this nine-month period.In terms of percentage, the price in Chennai increased by 19.67% during this nine-month period, the highest for any metro. An increase of at least 16% was observed in the price of petrol in each of the four metros. During the same period, the price of crude oil (Indian Basket) increased by about 20%.
Price of Diesel increased by more than 22% in 2018
Daily price data of diesel is compiled from the website of IOCL, the largest of all the OMCs, for the four metro cities. Analysis of this data shows that the price of diesel increased by at least Rs 14 in each of the four metros between January & September 2018. The greatest increase was observed in Chennai where it increased by Rs 16.18 during this nine-month period.
In terms of percentage, the price in Chennai increased by 25.72% during this nine-month period, the highest for any metro. An increase of at least 22% was observed in the price of diesel in each of the four metros. During the same period, the price of crude oil (Indian Basket) increased by about 20%.
OMCs increased the price of Petrol & Diesel at least 140 times this year
Between January & September 2018, data suggests that the price of petrol increased 140 times in 2018 in Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai where as it increased 141 times in Kolkata. On the other hand, in 2018, the price decreased or remained the same 132 times in Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai. In the case of Diesel, the price increased 143 times in Kolkata and 142 times in other metros.
Featured Image: Petrol and Diesel price increase

created: October 1, 2018


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In 2018, there is almost a 30% increase in the number of cases pending for more than 3 years with the Police
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 6, 2020
In an earlier story, it was observed that close to a quarter of the crimes are being disposed by the police due to lack of evidence. Data from NCRB’s 2018 CII report further indicates that there is almost a 30% increase in the number of cases pending with the police for more than 3 years.
An earlier
article of Factly analysed the status of disposal of cases inthe year 2018 at the level of Police. Over the years, the number of cases thatpolice deal with (both disposed & pending) has increased. As noted in theprevious article, it is concerning that close to 25% of the cases are disposedby police due to lack of evidence.
Oncea FIR is filed, the process at the police end includes – investigation of thecase and based on the investigation, either proceed with the charge sheet forfurther trial in the court or close the case by filing a Final report.
Thetimelines for each of these processes varies and this has a direct impact on thependency of cases with the police. This story examines the timeline of thecases that are pending with the police at various stages and also analyses thevariations based on nature of the such cases.
Around
26% of IPC cases are pending for more than one year with the Police
Asper NCRB’s
Crime in India (CII)-2018 report, there areover 12.39 lakh pending IPC cases with the police. Of these, nearly 43% i.e.around 5.3 lakh cases are pending from less than 6 months while another 31% ofthe pending cases are pending between 6 months and a year.
Morethan a quarter of the pending IPC cases at the end 2018 are pending for over ayear.
Ofthese, 2.58 lakh cases are pending between 1-3 years while a sizeable number ofcases i.e. more than 65 thousand cases are pending for more than 3 years.
Number
of IPC cases pending for more than 3 years increased in 2018
Ashighlighted in the earlier story, the total number of cases pending with thepolice at the end of 2018 has reduced compared to that of the previous year.
Amongthe cases
in 2017, there were around 5.08 lakh cases that were pending forless than 6 months while this increased to 5.3 lakh cases in 2018. Meanwhile, thenumber of cases whose pendency is between 6 months to a year has reduced in2018 compared to that of previous year.
However,the number of cases pending for more than one year has increased. In 2017, around3.15 lakh IPC related cases were pending for more than a year with the police whilethis increased to 3.24 lakhs in 2018. Among these, the number of cases pendingfor more than 3 years has increased substantially from around 51 thousand bythe end of 2017 to around 65 thousand by the end of 2018, an increase of nearly28%.
Kidnapping,
Forgery & Fraud cases are pending for a longer time
Amongall the crimes pending investigation at the end of 2018, IPC crimes such asHurt, Theft, Forgery, Cheating & Fraud, rash driving etc have the highestnumber of pending cases.
However,among these major crime heads, most of the cases relating to Hurt and rashdriving are pending for less than a year.
Outof the 1.59 lakh cases pending at the end of 2018 and relating to ‘Hurt’,around 80 thousand cases are pending for less than 6 months and another 48thousand are pending between 6 months to a year. Out of more than 30 thousandcases pending investigation for more than a year, only around 4 thousand casesare pending more than 3 years.
Meanwhile,1.79 lakhs out of 2.31 lakh cases relating to ‘Theft’ are pending investigation for less than a year, with around 50thousand cases pending for more than a year. Of these nearly 9.9 thousand casesare pending for over 3 years.
Casesrelating to IPC crimes of ‘Forgery, Cheating & Fraud’ have the highestnumber of cases pending investigation for more than 3 years with around 13thousand cases. These cases form nearly 10% of the 1.3 lakh such cases pendingwith the police. Around 40 thousand cases are pending for more than 1 year butless than 3 years.
Nearly35% of pending cases under ‘Kidnapping & Abduction’ are pending for over ayear i.e. around 23 thousand out of the nearly 67 thousand pending cases.
Increase
in the share of SLL crimes pending investigation for more than one year
Bythe end of the
year 2017, there were around 4.3 lakh crimes under SLL (Special& Local Laws) which were pending investigation with the police.  Of these, around 93 thousand were pending formore than a year i.e. 21% of the total pending SLL cases.
Atthe end
of 2018, the total number of pending cases under SLL havereduced to 4.03 lakhs. However, the number of cases under SLL crimes pendingfor more than a year increased to 1.06 lakhs i.e. 26% of all SLL cases. Morespecifically, the number of cases pending for over three years has increased by54%. By the end of 2017, these long pending cases (more than 3 years) were12,781 which increased to 19,729 by the end of 2018.
Amajor contributor towards this increase are the cases booked under variousLiquor and Narcotic Acts, especially State Prohibition Acts where in the numberof pending cases for more than three years increased from 74 by end of 2017 to2945 by end of 2018.
Increase
in the time taken by police for filing Charge sheet in IPC crimes
In
2017, police filed charge sheets in 21.47 lakh IPC cases whichfell to 21.38
lakhs in 2018.
Thetime taken to file the charge sheet has increased for 2018 compared to that ofthe previous year.
Thenumber of cases charge sheeted within 3 months has reduced from 12.25 lakhs in2017 to 11.57 lakhs in 2018. While there is a fall in both scenarios wherecharge sheet was filed ‘within 2 months’ and ‘from 2 to 3 months’, the major fallwas observed in the case of the former. The police could file charge sheet in IPC cases within 2 months forabout 6.39 lakhs in 2018 compared to 6.87 lakhs the previous year 2017.
Amongthe various IPC cases, there is across the board increase in the number of casesin 2018 where charge sheet was filed after 3 months. In 2017, charge sheet wasfiled after 2 years in more than 28 thousand cases which increased to more than33 thousand in 2018.
Thereduction in the number of cases charge sheeted in shorter duration pointstowards possible delays in investigation and administrative lapses. At the sametime, increase in charge sheeting the long pending cases is a positive sign.
Mostof the cases booked for ‘Rash driving’ are charge sheeted in a short periodwhile those booked for ‘forgery, cheating & fraud’ take longer periods forthe charge sheet to be filed.
Theimprovement in charge sheeting the long-standing cases is also seen in SLLrelated crimes. There were around 74 thousand cases pending for more than twoyears that were charge sheeted in 2017 which increased to around 86 thousandcases in 2018.  68% of the SLL cases werecharge sheeted within 3 months in 2018 compared 76% in 2017.
Increase
in number of IPC cases for which Final Reports were submitted in a short
period.
Thecases which are charge sheeted move to courts for trial. On the other hand,there are cases which are closed by the police itself by filing the finalreport. As observed in the earlier story, a major portion of cases were closeddue to lack of sufficient evidence.
Outof the total IPC cases in which the final reports were filed by the police in2018, final report was filed in 20% cases ‘within 2 months’, in 21% of thecases ‘between 2-3 months’ and in 26% of the cases ‘between 3-6 months’.  This share of the timeline categories in 2017was 21%, 18% and 23% respectively. There is a substantial increase in 2018, inthe proportion of cases where the final report was filed ‘between 2-3 months’and ‘between 3-6 months’.
Quickfiling of final reports was observed prominently in the case of ‘theft’.  In 2017, nearly 63% of the cases relating totheft were disposed within 6 months by filing final reports while thisincreased to 71% in 2018. The number of cases in which final reports were filedfor ‘theft’ also increased from 4.34 lakhs in 2017 to 5.05 lakhs in 2018.
Hurt,Kidnapping and Abduction, Rash driving , cruelty by husband or relatives are theother crime heads for which the Final Reports were filed in a shorter time during
2018.
Increase
in number of final reports file for SLL crimes pending for over a year
Meanwhilethe number of crimes under SLL in which final reports have been filed  are more evenly distributed among differenttimelines both for 2017 and 2018.However, a sharp increase is observed in filing of final reports for SLL casesthat were pending between 1-2 years i.e. 13 thousand in 2017 to 27 thousand in2018. A major chunk of these cases is under ‘Electricity Act’.
Thereis also an increase in immediate disposal of cases by filing final reports. SLLcases for which final reports were filed within 2 months increased from nearly30 thousand in 2017 to 37 thousand in 2018. Even in this instance, the increasecan be attributed to the quicker disposal of SLL cases under ‘Electricity Act’.
Increase
in disposal of cases pending since longer period of time as well as new cases
Asfar as the time taken for the police to disposal of cases i.e. either by filinga charge sheet or a final report, a general increasing trend is observed in disposalof cases pending for a longer time.
However,in terms of new cases, there is an increase in number of Final reportssubmitted in a short time, but the case isn’t the same for charge sheetingwhere there is a fall in cases disposed in a shorter time.
While early disposal of cases is appreciated, the context of maximum number of final reports being filed due to ‘lack of evidence’, indicates a trend of hurriedness among the law enforcement authorities to close the cases quickly without proper investigation. In the earlier story, it was observed that a major portion of such closed cases relate to ‘theft’, indicating that the culprits are never brought to justice in those cases.
Featured Image: Number of cases pending with the police

created: February 6, 2020


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In 5 years, more than fourfold increase in the number of pending Cyber-Crime cases
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 24, 2020
Cyber-crime investigation and the related legal framework are at a nascent stage in India. The NCRB data indicates that in 5 years between 2014 & 2018, there has been a fourfold increase in the number of pending cases in the courts as well as with the police.
Cyber-crime investigation and the related legal framework are at a nascent stage compared to most of the other crimes. It is all the truer in the case of India. Inclusion of provisions in IPC (Indian Penal Code) and SLL (Special and Local Laws) for crimes relating to the cyberspace is also relatively a recent development.
There are challenges not only in the identification and reporting of a cyber-crime but also in the investigation and disposal of such crimes.
In an earlier story of Factly, data relating to the cases of cyber-crimes registered and the types of such offences were analysed. This story is an analysis of the status of the cyber-crime cases and their disposal.
Increase
in the number of cases Pending Investigation by Police
As highlighted in the earlier story, the number of cyber-crime cases registered annually is on the increase. However, the number of cases disposed of by the police annually is relatively low and as a result, the number of cases pending under various stages of investigation is increasing every year. An increasing number of pending cases are being carried forward to the following year.
Theannual increase in the pendency has been specifically high in 2017 and 2018.
The Pendency percentage, defined as the share of total cases that are pending investigation at the end of the year out of the total cases under investigation (includes – cases from the previous year, new cases in current year & cases re-opened for investigation), has also increased considerably in 2018. The pendency stood at 65.1% in 2018 compared to that of 61.7% in 2017.
Apart from higher pendency of cases, a major portion of the cases disposed of by police are the ones whose investigation was closed, and the charge sheet not filed for further process.
Lack
of evidence is main reason for closure of cases by Police
Out of 17,378 cases that were disposed of by police in 2018, a total 7,234 have been charge-sheeted and in 10,092 cases were closed by submitting the final report. ‘Cases True but Insufficient Evidence or Untraced or No Clue’  is cited as the major reason for closing the case by police with 8,604 cases being closed with this reason. This is also the main reason for closure of the cases by police even during the earlier years – 7,333 in 2017 and 1,749 in 2016.
A further 1,024 casesof cyber-crime were closed by the police citing ‘Cases Ended as Mistake of Fact or of Law or Civil Dispute’.
Charge
sheeting rate slightly improved in 2018
The charge sheeting rate (defined as the share of cases which have been charge-sheeted out of the total cases disposed of by the police) for cyber-crimes in 2018 was 41.6 %, better than that of 2017 when it was 37 %. However, this slight improvement is after a continuous fall over the previous three years. In 2014, the charge sheeting rate was 57%, prior to the slide in subsequent years.
Cyber-crimes booked under section of the IPC and SLL have better charge sheeting rates when compared to that of cases under IT Act.  In 2018, 39.4% of cases booked under IT Act were charge-sheeted, whereas it is 45.3% and 70.1% for cases under IPC and SLL respectively. Similar trend was observed even in the previous years. However, it has to be noted that the number of cases booked under IT Act is more than the ones booked under IPC and SLL.
Higher
pendency in cases relating to Identity theft and Cheating
In2018, 85.4% of the cases booked for ‘Identity Theft’ are pending i.e. a totalof 8649 of the cases 10,124 cases to be investigated in the year. Further, 4332cases out of total 5865 related to Cheating are pending investigation i.e.73.9%.
Amongother major crime heads, 64.8% of the crimes related to ATM fraud, 55.6%  for crimes related to ‘publication/transmissionof obscene/sexually explicit act in electronic form’ are pending investigationby police.
More
than fourfold increase in the pendency in Courts
During 2014,  2116 new cases were sent to the court for trials which increased in the subsequent years – 3206 (2015), 3712 (2016), 5180(2017) and 7234 (2018).  However, the number of cases in which the trial was completed has not increased proportionally. In fact, in 2017, trial was completed in only 674 cases, less than the number in 2016.
Bythe end of 2018, a total of 18,966 cases of cyber-crimes were pending at thetrial stage, which is more than a fourfold increase compared to the number ofcases pending for trial by the end of 2014, when it was just 3,957.
Sharp
increase in the number of Convictions in 2018
Amongthe cases of cyber-crimes that have completed trial in courts, the number ofcases which have resulted in acquittal has been proportionately higher than theones that resulted in a conviction.  Evenin 2018, the number of cases that resulted in a conviction is less than theones that ended in acquittal. However, the difference between these two figureshas significantly reduced compared to that of previous years. The number of convictionsin cyber-crime cases in 2018 was 495, highest during the 5-year period of2014-18.
Pendency,
an issue with both the police and the courts
The cases pending investigation with police and pending trial with courts have increased over the years. Both have increased more than fourfold between 2014-2018. While the increase in the number of new cases could be one of the contributing factors, data indicates that lower disposal rate is the prime reason for increasing pendency in cyber-crime cases.
A majority of the cases that are being disposed of by police are due to lack of evidence and the majority of the ones disposed of by the courts are resulting in acquittals. More granular data related to reasons for acquittal as well as pendency in courts can provide more insights on this dismal state of affairs.
Featured Image: Pendency in Cyber-Crime cases

created: January 24, 2020


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In India, from 1951 to 2011, Muslims did not increase from 3% to 21% and Hindus did not decrease from 93% to 77% - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 19, 2019
Various versions of Muslim population growth in India are often created to flare up the communal tensions in the country. Currently, a post is being shared by many users on Facebook with a claim that, in India, while the Hindu population got reduced drastically, the Muslim population increased from the time of partition. Whereas, in Pakistan, the Hindu population reduced drastically from the time of partition. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
At the time of partition, in India, the Hindu and Muslim populations were 93% and 3% respectively. Currently, the proportions are 77% and 21% respectively. In Pakistan, the Hindu population reduced from 23% (at time of partition) to 2% (now).
Fact: The numbers given in the post are not true. In India, while the Hindu population decreased from 84.1% (1951) to 78.3% (2011), Muslim population increased from 9.4% (1951) to 14.2% (2011). In Pakistan (West Pakistan, then), Hindu population was just 1.6% in 1951. Hence the claims made in the post are FALSE.
While the post tells about the proportion of Hindus and Muslims in India and proportion of Hindus in Pakistan at the time of partition, there are no official population numbers for the year 1947 in both the countries. There are some estimates on the migration of people from both the countries at the time of partition but the official Census numbers were given by the countries only in 1951.
Hindu and Muslim Population in India:
The Census numbers on the proportion of various religions in the total population, for the years 1951 and 2011, can be found in the ‘Handbook on Social Welfare Statistics – 2018’, released by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. According to the numbers given in the handbook, while the Hindu population decreased from 84.1% (1951) to 78.3% (2011), the Muslim population increased from 9.4% (1951) to 14.2% (2011). The numbers given in the post does not match with the official numbers.
Hindu Population in Pakistan:
While the post shows that the Hindu population in Pakistan was around 23% at the time of partition, the Hindu population in Pakistan (West Pakistan, then) was 1.6% in 1951 (1951 Census numbers were found in the book – ‘Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia’ by Bina D’Costa). According to the 1998 Census, the Hindu population was 1.6% in 1998. No official numbers on Hindu Population for recent years was found on the internet. Also, note that in 1971 East Pakistan got separated from West Pakistan to form Bangladesh, which had higher Hindu proportion than West Pakistan.
To sum it up, in India, from 1951 to 2011, Muslims did not increase from 3% to 21% and Hindus did not decrease from 93% to 77%
Did you watch our Facebook live on Fake News (Misinformation)


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What’s wrong with ‘Electoral Bonds’?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2019
Following the Supreme Court’s interim directions on ‘Electoral Bonds’, there has been an intense debate about Electoral Bonds. Latest data from SBI shows that in March 2019, more than 77% of the electoral bonds were redeemed in Delhi.
The Supreme Court (SC) had recently passed interim directions on the issue of ‘Electoral Bonds’ that mandates political parties to disclose in a sealed cover to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the names of donors of these bonds by 30 May, 2018. Latest data from SBI reinforces the fact that some parties could be the receiving disproportionate amount of electoral bonds compared to others. (Watch this video to learn more about the Political Funding in India)
The March 2019 story
Electoral Bonds were on sale for the first 15 days of March 2019 at the 29 SBI branches across the country. As per data shared by SBI in response to an application under RTI,  a total of 2742 bonds were purchased in 11 branches (states) across the country, amounting to Rs. 1365.69 crores. To put this amount in perspective, the amount of electoral bonds purchased in March 2019 is more or less equal to the amount of bonds purchased in the previous 7 phases till January 2019. In those 7 phases, 3071 bonds worth Rs. 1407.09 crores were purchased.
National Parties, the principal beneficiaries
As per the guidelines of the scheme, no political party can have more than one current account in   SBI for the redemption of these bonds. So it is natural that the national parties maintain such a current account in Delhi while the regional parties in the respective state capitals.
In March 2019, more than 77% of the bonds redeemed in Delhi
The data from the SBI makes it amply clear that national parties are the principal beneficiaries of the electoral bond scheme. While more than 1/3rd of the bonds in March 2019 were purchased in Mumbai, only 3.4% were redeemed in Mumbai. Hyderabad, where almost 18.9% of the bonds were purchased in March 2019 saw only 10.4% bonds being redeemed. On the other hand, only 13.2% of the bonds were purchased in Delhi while 77.4% of the bonds were redeemed from there. It can be concluded that all of this 77.4% must have gone to the national parties. Going by the past data of 2017-18, the BJP could have been the biggest beneficiary even in 2018-19.
Purchased in 11 States, Redeemed only in 5
The data also indicates that while bonds were purchased in 11 different states in March 2019, they were redeemed only in the 5 states of New Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha & West Bengal. It has to be noted that the  first phase of elections were held on 11th April 2019 in about 20 States/UTs while the bonds were redeemed only in 5.


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In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha elections, BJP candidate Rajendra Pandey did not lose by a margin of one vote in the Jaora constituency - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2023
A screenshot of an election result is being shared on social media claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Jaora constituency in Madhya Pradesh lost the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections by just one vote. The election result image shared in the post indicates that BJP candidate Rajendra Pandey is trailing behind Congress candidate K. K. Kalukheda by a margin of one vote. Sharing the picture, the post urges everyone to participate in the election and vote for BJP for a non-corrupt government. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: BJP candidate from the Jaora constituency in Madhya Pradesh lost the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections by just one vote.
Fact: In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections, Rajendra Pandey, the BJP candidate, secured a win against Congress candidate K. K. Singh Kalukheda in the Jaora constituency. Rajendra Pandey won against K. K. Singh Kalukheda with a margin of 511 votes in the Jaora constituency. The screenshot shared in the post does not show the final result of the Jaora constituency in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On observing the photo shared in the post carefully, one could see a header, “Counting in Progress”, above the statistical data. On searching for the details of the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Election results, we found the constituency-wise final election results in the ‘2018 Vidhan Sabha Elections Result Book of Madhya Pradesh’ document published on the ‘Chief Electoral Officer Madhya Pradesh’ website.
According to the details provided in the document, in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections, BJP candidate Rajendra Pandey emerged victorious against Congress candidate K. K. Singh Kalukheda in the Jaora constituency. Rajendra Pandey, who contested on the BJP ticket, secured 64,503 votes, while K. K. Singh Kalukheda garnered 63,992 votes in the Jaora constituency of Madhya Pradesh. Rajendra Pandey won by a margin of 511 votes against K. K. Singh Kalukheda in the Jaora constituency.
According to reports, there have been at least two instances in the past where an individual won a legislative seat by securing just one more vote than the runner-up. However, it is important to note that Rajendra Pandey did not lose the Jaora constituency to K. K. Singh Kalukheda, as indicated in the post. The 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections took place on 17 November 2023, and the counting is scheduled for 3 December 2023.
To sum it up, BJP candidate Rajendra Pandey did not lose the Jaora constituency by a margin of one vote in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Elections.

created: November 28, 2023


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In the Asian Athletics Championships Final, Gomathi wore the torn shoes because they were her lucky shoes. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2019
A post is being shared by many people on Facebook with a claim that Athlete Gomathi ran her final race in Asian Games with torn shoes and the government is not helping her. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Gomathi from TN won gold for India in Asian games wearing two different torn shoes because she can’t buy one and the government is not helping her.
Fact: She won the gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships, not in the Asian Games. She has herself clarified that she wore the torn shoes in the finals because they were her lucky shoes, not because she can’t buy new ones. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When searched for the news on Google, it is found that Gomathi Marimuthu won the gold medal for India in 800 metres in the Asian Athletics Championship 2019, held at Doha. So, it was not at the Asian Games, as claimed in the post. Also, in an interview published in the SPORTSTAR article, she clarified about the recent controversy on her shoes. She said, “I have heard this so many times (the shoe issue). It is not like that. The pair I wore during the race were lucky ones. I am very sentimental about that pair so I used it for the final.” So, it was not that she could not buy a new pair; she wore the torn shoes out of sentiment.
Also, in an interview given to ‘THE HINDU’, her mentor Francis Mary also commented on the issue saying, “Since the pair was two years old, she had stitched and used them. There are sentiments attached to it. We have ordered a new pair. It is yet to reach her.”
To sum it up, in the Asian Athletics Championships Final, Gomathi wore the torn shoes because they were her lucky shoes.


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In the image, the man seen touching the feet of Nithyananda is not Amit Shah - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 9, 2019
A post with a photo is being widely shared on Facebook claiming that it shows Amit Shah touching the feet of Nithyananda. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
Image of Amit Shah touching the feet of Swami Nithyananda.
Fact: In the image, the man seen touching the feet of Swami Nithyananda is Jagdishwar Goburdhun, the High Commissioner of Mauritius in India. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image is subjected to Google reverse image search technique, many search results were obtained. Among them, the search result of ‘Nithyananda.org’ had the same photo in its gallery dated July 9, 2017. That photo is one among the set of photos that show  Nithyananda with the High Commissioner of Mauritius in India – Jagdishwar Goburdhun. So, in the image, the man seen touching the feet of Swami Nithyananda isn’t Amit Shah.
The same photo can also be seen in another article, and the information in the article corroborates that the man seen along with Swami Nithyananda is Jagdishwar Goburdhun (High Commissioner of Mauritius in India).
To conclude, in the image, the man seen touching the feet of Swami Nithyananda is not Amit Shah.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: December 9, 2019


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In the Karnataka elections, BJP lost 5 seats with a margin of less than 2000 votes, not 99 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 15, 2023
In the wake of the recent Karnataka elections, a social media post that claims BJP lost 58 seats by a margin of 2000 votes & 41 seats by a margin of 1000 votes, thus a total of 99 seats with a margin of less than 2000 votes is being widely circulated. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: In Karnataka elections, BJP lost 58 seats by a margin of 2000 votes & 41 seats by a margin of 1000 votes.
Fact: In the recently held Karnataka elections, there are only 12 such constituencies, where the margin of the winning candidate is below 2000. While the BJP won 7 of these 12 seats, the Congress party won the remaining five seats. This implies that the BJP lost only five seats in this election by a margin of less than two thousand votes. Further, BJP did not lose any seat with a margin between 1000-2000 votes. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the recently held Karnataka elections, Congress with 135 seats passed the majority mark and is yet to form the government. Whereas the ruling BJP had to settle with only 66 seats. However, contrary to the viral claim, BJP did not lose as many seats as claimed in the viral post, by a margin of less than 2000 votes.
According to the Election Commission of India, in the recently held Karnataka assembly elections, there are 12 such constituencies, where the margin of the winning candidate is below 2000. These constituencies can be viewed in the below chart.
While the BJP won 7 of these 12 seats, the Congress party won the remaining five. This implies that the BJP lost only five seats in this election by a margin of less than two thousand votes. Moreover, in all these five constituencies BJP lost by a margin of less than a thousand votes.
Additionally, there are eleven such seats, where the winning margin is between 2000-3000 votes. In these eleven seats, the Congress party has won six, BJP has won three and JD(S) won the remaining two.
To sum it up, in Karnataka 2023 elections, BJP lost only 5 seats with a margin of less than 1000 votes, and no seat with a margin between 1000-2000 votes.


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In last 16 years, 1/3rd of Rice & Wheat was procured by Government
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 1, 2020
The farmer distress in the country is largely on account of not getting a remunerative price for their produce. Restrictions imposed by APMC laws; exploitation of middlemen are also a reason. What reform measures has the central government announced as part of the COVID-19 package?
In an earlier explainer, we looked at what APMCs are, why they were formed, and the role they play. However, even though the APMC laws on paper may appear to be favourable to the farmers, it obliquely imposes restrictions on farmers. In this story, we take a look at the issues in APMC laws and the amendments brought about by various governments to cope with the current crisis.
Green revolution brought about a massive change in the agriculture sector. Use of machinery, high yield varieties of seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation together resulted in substantial growth in production of rice, wheat, and other agricultural products. Even though after independence, the need for a favourable environment to safeguard the interests of farmers was realized, majority of the farmers do not enjoy the fruits of their hard work, let alone profits even today. Limited marketing platforms and middlemen hegemony in mandis has led to farmers earning a low price for their produce.
FCI procured less than one-third of farmer produce in the last 16 years
Procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other agencies of state governments is one place where the farmers get to sell their produce at the Minimum Support Price as announced by the Government of India. Yet, these agencies have together procured only about 26% of wheat and 31% of rice produced between 2002-03 and 2017-18, as per Standing Committee on Agriculture’s 2018-19 report. The remaining 69% rice and 74% wheat was sold in the outside market where there is exploitation.
The APMCs provide infrastructure for marketing and sale of agriculture produce. Under these APMC law, Principal Market Yards, Sub- Market Yards, and Purchase Centers are set up in different places. Only a total of 6,630 APMC markets were present across 27 States/UTs. States of Kerala, Bihar, Manipur, Sikkim, and Mizoram do not have any APMC market.
Farmers have to travel longer to sell their produce due to shortage in APMC markets
As per the Parliament standing committee report on ‘Agriculture Marketing and Role Of Weekly Gramin Haats’, released in January 2019, the average distance between two APMC markets was also found to be highly variable, ranging from 6km in Punjab to almost 60km in Meghalaya. On an average, the distance at a national level was about 12km. The area covered by each APMC market also followed a similar trend, ranging between 116 sq.km in Punjab to 11,215 sq.km in Meghalaya. The national average stood at 496 sq.km. What this means is that an APMC market in India covered 496 sq.km area on average, equivalent to more than four times the area of union territory Chandigarh. This uneven spread of APMC markets is in contradiction with recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers’ report published in 2006 which stated that a regulated market should be available for farmers within a radius of 5km corresponding to a market area of 80 sq.km. If the recommendation of the Commission is to be followed, then India will need 41,000 markets, which is more than 6 times the current number.
APMCs infrastructure requires modernization
One of APMCs major role is to provide necessary infrastructure to farmers for the sale of produce. Despite this, it was found out that many markets lacked the basic facilities and infrastructure. As per the standing committee report, only 83% of the markets had godowns. Cold storage facilities were available in merely 15% of the regulated markets. Only 49% of the markets had weighing facilities as per a survey conducted in 2015.
Implementation of APMC Act has also been reported to have its own lacunae. The report states that in most of the states, these committees are dominated by politicians and traders and not by farmers. Even though market fees and commission charges must be levied on traders as per the law, it was observed that the amount was collected from the farmer. In some states, as per the APMC Act adopted there, market fee is collected even if the trade transaction took place outside the market yard, while in some other states, market fees was charged up on bringing the produce to processing units. Some states had made trade transaction outside market yard illegal. To sum it up, farmers are forced to bear extra charges for selling their produce, travel longer, and have been given no choice (less competition) as the loopholes in the law are being exploited by other stakeholders.
Bureaucratic procedure, multiple charges & licenses are hindrances
Cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, just like in the case of other sectors, is also evident here as per the standing committee report. For trading in multiple APMC markets, farmers are to take multiple licenses in addition to the multiple market fee that is charged on same commodity even within the state. It is also mandatory for the farmers to sell their produce through specified channels only. They are not allowed to sign contracts with manufacturers or processors. Corruption, monopoly of traders and middlemen due to lack of competition continue to act as hindrances to farmers.
Though the government defended itself in front of the standing committee by stating that the 2017 model law addresses these shortcomings, many states are yet to adopt the law and many of its provisions. Debate on whether the APMC law needs to be repealed have been rekindled yet again amidst the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
Government has announced measures for Agricultural Marketing
Within a week of the first lockdown, the central government launched new features in the e-NAM (electronic – National Agriculture Marketing) website such as contactless remote bidding and mobile based any time payment so that the farmers need not go to banks and mandis often. This was aimed at ensuring social distancing and safety of farmers.  Later, an advisory was issued to states to limit their regulations under the respective APMC Acts. States were also advised to facilitate direct marketing of agriculture produce, permit direct purchase from farmers, FPOs, and Co-operatives by bulk buyers, retailers, and processors.
Policy reforms in APMC, Essential Commodities Act, and contract farming are part of Atmanirbhar Bharath Abhiyan
Under Atmanirbhar Bharath Abhiyan announced as a part of the COVID-19 relief measures, certain reforms in the agriculture sector were also announced. These include formulation of a central law which would provide adequate choices to the farmers to sell their produce at attractive prices. The government announced that it will also ensure barrier free inter-state trade and lay out a framework for e-trading of agricultural produce. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 will also be amended so that farmers can have better price realization on their produce such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onions, and potatoes. Facilitative legal framework to enable farmers to directly engage with processors, large retailers, exporters, etc. in a free and transparent manner will also be created. The reforms will also enable outside agencies procure produce from farmers directly without any intermediaries.
Multiple states have relaxed regulations in their APMC Acts
The COVID-19 induced crisis is being used by the central government to push some long pending reform measures. However, since Agriculture & Markets are in the state list of the constitution, how will these reforms override the power of states to make legislations in these areas remains to be seen. Through the COVID-19 crisis, the states ruled by the opposition have complained about centralization of power against the principles of federalism.
The BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat have also passed ordinances to relax regulations under the APMC laws following the Centre’s advisory.
Madhya Pradesh has promulgated an ordinance which allows a principal or sub- market yard in every market area managed by APMC, or a private market yard held by a licensed person, and electronic trading platforms, like Gujarat and Karnataka. A Director of Agricultural Marketing will also be appointed by the state government for regulating the activities of market yards and online platform.
Gujarat has allowed the state government to declare the whole state as a unified market area through a notification.  The ordinance also provides for the grant of a single unified trading license, valid across all market areas in the state. Karnataka has also announced abolishment of penalty on those who use any place for trading notified agricultural products. Uttar Pradesh has exempted some fruits and vegetables from the provisions of the Act which will permit farmers to sell these products without paying mandi fees. Market fee collection has been suspended in Tamil Nadu while Uttarakhand has removed mandi fees and development cess on fruits and vegetables.
Featured Image: APMC laws


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In the last 19 years, more than 50% of the FDI to India was through Mauritius & Singapore
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 1, 2019
In Part-2 of this series, we look at the source of FDI inflows to India,
the trend in disinvestment/repatriation of FDI etc.
In the earlier article,  we looked at the differentsectors that receive the FDI in India and the trend over the years. In thispiece, we look the source countries of these FDIs and the trend in net FDI.
The government of India makes constant changes to the FDI policy and the FDI in any sector are subject to these restrictions.  The amount of FDI from a particular sourcecountry to India is dependent on multiple reasons. A greater share of FDI comesfrom countries which are traditionally considered tax havens. FDI from asource also depends on the kind of tax avoidance treaties India signed with these countries.
DTAA as an Incentive to encourage FDI
Governments use various incentives to encourage investors to invest inthe country and boost the FDI inflows. DTAA or Double Tax Avoidance Agreementis one such incentive, whose main aim is to promote investment by eliminatingdouble taxation. Having a DTAA in place would ensure that there is clarity onhow the cross-border income earned would be treated by both the countries andhow it would be divided between them. This would avoid double taxation on thesame income.
India currently has DTAA with more than 90 countries. The first DTAA was signed with Egypt in 1969.  While, DTAA is seen as anencouragement, concerns are raised about misuse of them for round tripping,money laundering, tax avoidance etc. This is especially the case with countrieslike Mauritius, Cyprus, Singapore etc. which are known to be tax havens. Government of India’s White Paper on Black Money, tabled in Lok Sabha in 2012, and “Report of Joint Committee On Stock Market Scam and
matters relating there to” havehighlighted and discussed these issues.
The Government of India has amended the treaties with Singapore, Mauritius and Cyprus in the year2016.
Mauritius, Singapore and Japan are the leading sources of FDI for India
Mauritius is the leading source of FDI in India, with this small islandcountry accounting up-to 32% of the total inflow in the country from April 2000 to March 2019. Singaporeon the other hand accounts for 19% of FDI during this 19-year period. Together,these two countries have accounted for over 50% of the FDI into India duringthis 19-year period. Japan, Netherlands, UK & USA are the other countriesthrough which higher FDI flows into our country. In the recent times (in 2018-19),however, Singapore has overtaken Mauritius as the top investing country with highestFDI.
As already highlighted, Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore had favourabletax regulations and were considered as tax havens. Netherlands and UnitedKingdom also have lower tax rates and hence these countries are the source ofhighest FDI into India. Even if the parent country of the investing company isin a different country, the FDI is routed through one of these countries.
Japan although not a tax haven, has higher volumes of FDI inflow intoIndia. Japan ranks third in the overall volume of FDI received in this century(since 2000). The investments from Japan are into diverse fields like retail,textile, banking, food & beverages, consumer durables etc.
Singapore, Netherlands and USA show an increasing trend over the decade
with FDI from Cyprus going down
Singapore was the largest source of FDI in the year 2018-19 with $16,228 million followed by Mauritius ($8084 million), Netherlands($3870 million) and USA ( $3139 million). Mauritius, which has traditionally beenthe top investing country FDI has ceded space to Singapore in 2018-19. Beforethis, even in 2015-16, Singapore was the top investing country.
Netherlands has consistently increased its FDI in India over the decade.For the FY 2009-2010 the FDI inflow of Netherlands was $899 million and hasincreased incrementally every year to $3,870 million for 2018-19.
UK had a peak year in 2011-12 secondonly to Mauritius but over the years has a relatively lesser share of theannual FDI inflow. Japan is a consistent contributor to FDI with not muchvariance in the annual FDI inflows into India, with a peak year in 2016-17 with$4,709 million in FDI that year.
USA also has a consistent increase inits FDI investment into India, especially after a lean period during 2012-14.On the contrary, Cyprus which is known tax haven, has seen a significantdecrease over the decade. The investments from Cyprus in 2009-10 were to thetune of $1,627 million which has gradually come down to $296 million. Thedecline began from FY 2012-13.
Recent years have also seen a rise in
Disinvestment decreasing the net FDI
FDI is a two-way street. While there is scope of FDI inflow into thecountry, chances are that the investments could leave the country as well. Thiscould be either to recoup or withdraw the investments made, back to the countryof origin or due to the investment being made by domestic investors intooutside countries.
The outflow of investment can either be (i) outbound FDI i.e. the FDIbeing invested by Indian investors in other countries and (ii)Disinvestment/repatriation. Disinvestment refers to taking back the investmentsbeing made in a country back to the original country. Simply speaking, it isabout pulling back the investments made.
While the FDI inflows have increased over the years, the Net FDI has been on adeclining trend recently.
Net FDI can be understood using this simple formula:
Net FDI = Gross FDI Inflows – FDI outflow – disinvestment/repatriation
A major contributor towards the fall in Net FDI isdisinvestment/repatriation. Over the last five years, the disinvestment/repatriationhas increased from $5284 million in 2013-14 to $21544 million in 2017-18. Thishas affected a negative trend in the Net FDI.
There could be multiple reasons for the disinvestment/repatriation. Thesecould include non-favourable conditions in the invested country (in this caseIndia), more favourable factors in other markets etc. Outbound FDI whereIndians invest in other countries could be a result of favourable markets inother countries, which encourages the domestic investors to invest in othercountries rather than within India.
Sustained
favourable environment in India can help to increase the Net FDI
A favourable business environment, relevant FDI policy changes and other economic incentives like DTAA, Tax rebates etc. may be necessary for boosting FDI inflows. The World Investment Report (2018) notes that new investment restrictions or regulations in 2017 mainly reflected concerns about national security and foreign ownership of land and natural resources. It also notes that several countries are considering tightening investment screening procedures. While this may not be the case for India, the repatriation/disinvestment is a cause for concern.
Featured Image:FDI Inflows to India

created: August 1, 2019


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In the original photo, it is Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait, not Babur’s portrait, behind Rahul Gandhi. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 6, 2020
A photo is being widely shared on Facebook claiming that Rahul Gandhi has a portrait of Mughal Emperor Babur behind him at the Congress Party’s headquarters. But, FACTLY has found the photo to be photoshopped. In the original photo, a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi can be seen behind Rahul Gandhi. The original photo was taken in 2017 at the Congress Party headquarters when Rahul Gandhi had filed nomination for the election of ‘Congress President’.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. News article – https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rahul-gandhi-congress-president-post-nomination-papers-sonia-gandhi-1099673-2017-12-04
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In the photo, the man seemingly trying to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi isn’t Motilal Vora - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 4, 2019
On Facebook, posts with a photo of a man seen bending to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi has gone viral. In the post they went on to write, “This picture has really pained me. I know RG is a man who with values and respects the elders. But what can he do when a 90 year old man Motilal Vora Ji bows down to touch his feet….unfortunately such is the person who is now the interim working President of AICC…” Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
90-year-old Motilal Vora trying to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi.
Fact: The man seemingly trying to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi is Chhattisgarh Congress leader Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo ( popularly known as TS Singh Deo). Hence, the claim made in the post stands FALSE.
When you go through the comments section, a certain user commented saying the man isn’t Motilal Vora but Chhattisgarh Congress Minister TS Singh Deo.
When the photo in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search, many articles were found to be written around December 2018.  It is also known that this photo is also in circulation since December 2018 with the claim ‘did TS Singh Deo touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi’. “India Today” has written a fact-check article on it. So, the person seemingly trying to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi is Chhattisgarh Congress leader Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo (TS Deo), not Motilal Vora. In fact, Quint published a story in 2018 and updated it now providing a different version of this story  that TS Singh Deo bent to pick up a thread and not to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi.
Multiple versions were found about this picture. According to a local newspaper, “Patrika“, TS Singh Deo has bent to pick a thread that had fallen near Rahul Gandhi’s feet. When India Today contacted TS Deo regarding the truth of the photo, he has given self-contradicting statements. At one instance he said that the photo was a morphed one. In another instance, he said he bent down to pick a napkin from the floor. But no such napkin can be seen in the photo. FACTLY tried to find any supporting video that would help us to ascertain the true version of the photo, but we couldn’t find it. Instead, FACTLY found a video that shows TS Sigh Deo after taking oath as a cabinet minister of Chhattisgarh government has tried to touch Rahul Gandhi’s feet on the dais but he was stopped by Rahul from doing so.
In the post, it is also alleged that Motilal Vora was chosen as the Congress Interim President, but there is no official declaration regarding the same. A senior leader has said to ANI News that the news is incorrect.
Senior Congress Source to ANI: Rahul Gandhi continues to be Congress President till the time Congress Working Committee accepts his resignation. Reports of Motilal Vora as Interim Congress President are incorrect. pic.twitter.com/mm8r2f5Qoq
To summarise, the man seemingly trying to touch the feet of Rahul Gandhi isn’t Motilal Vora.
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In the video, the AMU students weren’t chanting ‘Hinduon ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki chaathi par’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2019
A video is being widely shared on Facebook saying that the students of a university were chanting ‘Hinduon ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki chaathi par’ slogans. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
In the video, the students chanted the slogans ‘Hinduon ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki chaathi par’ (Graves of Hindus will be dug on the chest of AMU).
Fact: In the video, the students chanted ‘Hindutva ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par’ (The grave of Hindutva will be dug on the land of AMU). The slogans were against Hindutva, not the Hindus. So, the claim is FALSE.
In the video, the students can be heard chanting ‘Hindutva ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par, Savarkar ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par, BJP ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par, Brahmanvaadh ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par, Jaathivaadh ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki dharthi par’ (The grave of Hindutva will be dug on the land of AMU, the grave of Savarkar will be dug on the land of AMU, the grave of BJP will be dug on the land of AMU, the grave of Brahminism will be dug on the land of AMU, the grave of Casteism will be dug). So, the students in the video raised slogans against Hindutva, not the Hindus, as stated in the post.
On YouTube, the same video with the date of upload as 14 December 2019, can be seen with the title ‘Aligarh Muslim University (Amu) slogans against BJP, Hindutva and Veer Savarkar’.
To conclude, in the video, the AMU students weren’t chanting ‘Hinduon ki kabr khudegi, AMU ki chaathi par’.
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created: December 16, 2019


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In the video, the old Brahmin wasn’t threatened by the mob. He was dancing voluntarily at an event - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 29, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post with a video of an old Brahmin dancing and are alleging that the mob seen in the video was humiliating him by making him remove janeu (sacred thread generally worn by Brahmins) and dance after stripping his clothes. In the post, they went on to write that this incident has taken place in South India and such is the situation of the Congress-led states. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
In the video, the mob has humiliated the old Brahmin by making him remove his janeu (sacred thread generally worn by Brahmins) and dance after stripping his clothes
The old man has voluntarily danced at an event held to honour Tamil Nadu social activist and politician E.V. Periyar Ramaswamy. So, the claim that he was humiliated by a mob in South India stands FALSE.
When we tried to verify the claim made in the post, it was found that a Tamil fact-checking website “You Turn” has already written a fact-check article on the video when it went viral with a different claim in Tamil Nadu.
When searched on YouTube, the full video (1min37secs) of the clipped video (10secs) put in the Facebook post was found on YouTube. It was uploaded by a YouTube channel “Karuppar Koottam” on June 24, 2019.
In the original video, the old man was dancing when the crowd present around him were holding black flags with the photo of Periyar Ramasamy. At around 1:14, the old Brahmin can be seen adjusting his janeu, interacting with the drummers and shaking hands with them. In the entire video, the old Brahmin has his janeu on his body.
When fact checking website BOOM contacted the YouTube channel ‘Karuppar Koottam’, they were told- “This rally which was organised by People’s Forum was held at the Periyar statue on May Day near Sankara Mutt Temple. It was a bit surprising at first seeing the old man come and look at the Periyar statue, our companions cheered and applauded when he started dancing.”
To summarise, in the video, the old Brahmin wasn’t humiliated by the mob. He was dancing voluntarily at an event.
Update:When Factly approached ‘Karuppar Koottam’ channel for the story behind this video, they shared with us their recent YouTube video explaining its background story.  As per it- “Every year,a rally was organised by ‘Makkal Manjal’ Organisation that works on the principles of Ambedkar and Periyar. Last year on May day, when this rally reached Periyar statue near Shankar Mutt, an old Brahmin man joined it voluntarily, praised Periyar Statue and danced in front of it. No one has forced him to do so.”
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In the West Bengal Police Sub Inspector recruitment 2019, not only Muslims, Hindus were also selected. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2024
A post accompanying a list of selected candidates in West Bengal police Sub Inspector recruitment 2019 is widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that not a single Hindu was selected and all those selected were Muslims. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: In West Bengal Police Sub Inspector recruitment 2019, no Hindu got selected, all the selected candidates are Muslims.
Fact: The viral list shows only the candidates selected under the OBC-A category in West Bengal police Sub Inspector recruitment 2019. West Bengal has a total of 80 sub-castes under the OBC-A category, of which 72 sub-castes belongs to the Muslim religion. Therefore, the majority of those selected under the OBC-A category are Muslims. Hindus constitute the majority among those selected under other different categories (OBC-B, SC, ST, UR) in this recruitment. Furthermore, Hindus outnumber Muslims in the total selection in this recruitment. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we visited the West Bengal police website and found that the West Bengal police recruitment board has released the results related to Police Sub Inspector (Armed (AB) & Unarmed (UB)) Recruitment Notification 2019 on 18 June 2021. The details of the candidates selected in this recruitment are made available on the West Bengal Police website as per the categories (OBC-B, SC, ST, UR) in which they were selected. Although the list in the post is related to these results, it is only a list of 50 people who were selected under the UB category in OBC-A category.
Although there are no details about the religion of those selected in this list, if we observe their names, it is understood that many of the candidates who were are Muslims. This is because, in the state of West Bengal, a total of 80 sub-castes are classified under the OBC-A category. Out of these 80 sub-castes, 72 (90%) sub-castes belong to the Muslim religion and only 8 sub-castes belong to other religions. Due to the presence of a large percentage of Muslim castes in the OBC-A category, most of the selected candidates in the UB category under the OBC-A category are Muslims.
When we look at the names of those selected in other categories (OBC-B, SC, ST, UR) in both Armed (AB) and Unarmed (UB) sections, we can observe that the majority of them belong to the Hindu religion. Moreover, considering the overall selections in this recruitment, Hindus outnumber Muslims. From this, it is evident that Hindus were also selected in the sub-inspector recruitment 2019 in West Bengal.
Later in 2023, the West Bengal Police recruitment board released results related to recruitment to the Post of Sub-Inspector / Lady Sub-Inspector of Police notification – 2020. When we examine these results, we can observe that the majority of the selected candidates are Hindus. Recently, the West Bengal Police recruitment board has released various notifications that include vacancies for all categories (OBC-A, OBC-B, SC, ST, UR).
To sum it up, in the West Bengal Police Sub Inspector Recruitment 2019, not only Muslims but Hindus were also selected.

created: February 2, 2024


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ఈ వీడియోలో టీడీపీ అధికారంలోకి రాగానే శిలువ వేసేస్తాం అంటూ క్రైస్తవులను బెదిరిస్తున్నది టీడీపీ నాయకుడు కాదు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 28, 2023
తెలుగు దేశం పార్టీ అధికారంలోకి రాగానే క్రైస్తవులందరికీ శిలువ వేసేస్తాం అని టీడీపీ కార్యకర్త బెదిరిస్తున్నట్టు ఉండే ఒక వీడియో సోషల్ మీడియాలో విస్తృతంగా షేర్ అవుతోంది. వీడియోలో మాట్లాడుతున్న వ్యక్తి మెడలో పసుపు కండువా, వెనకాల టీడీపీ పోస్టర్ చూడొచ్చు. ఈ కథనం ద్వారా ఆ వీడియోకు సంబంధించిన నిజమేంటో చూద్దాం.
క్లెయిమ్: తెలుగు దేశం పార్టీ అధికారంలోకి రాగానే క్రైస్తవులందరికీ శిలువ వేసేస్తాం అని టీడీపీ నాయకుడు బెదిరిస్తున్న వీడియో.
ఫాక్ట్(నిజం): ‘Rmkr Pegs’ అనే ఒక యూట్యూబ్ ఛానల్ నడుపుతున్న వ్యక్తి వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ ప్రభుత్వం వివిధ వర్గాలకు సంబంధించి అమలు చేస్తున్న పథకాల ఆధారంగా వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ పార్టీకి అనుకూలంగా/టీడీపీని వ్యంగంగా విమర్శిస్తూ ఈ వీడియోను రూపొందించాడు. ఐతే వివిధ వర్గాల వారు టీడీపీపై విద్వేషం పెంచుకునేలా కావాలనే వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ నాయకుడు మన్విత్ కృష్ణారెడ్డి ఈ వీడియోను రూపొందించారని టీడీపీ విమర్శించింది. కావున పోస్టు ద్వారా చెప్పేది తప్పు.
వైరల్ వీడియో తెలుగు దేశం పార్టీ అధికారంలోకి రాగానే క్రైస్తవులందరినీ ఇబ్బంది పెడతామని చెప్తున్న వ్యక్తి నిజానికి టీడీపీ కార్యకర్త కాదు. ‘Rmkr Pegs’ పేరుతో యూట్యూబ్ ఛానల్ నడిపే ఒక యూట్యూబర్ ఈ వీడియోను రూపొందించాడు.
ఈ వీడియోకు సంబంధించిన సమాచారం కోసం యూట్యూబ్‌లో వెతకగా ‘Rmkr Pegs’ ఛానల్‌లో వైరల్ వీడియోకు సంబంధించిన 18:25 నిముషాల పూర్తి ఫూటేజ్ మాకు దొరికింది. ‘TDP Leader Press Meet’ అనే టైటిల్‌తో ఈ వీడియోను అప్లోడ్ చేసాడు.
చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు & సైకిల్ గుర్తు ఉన్న ఫ్లెక్సీ ముందు, మెడలో పసుపు కండువా వేసుకుని కూర్చుని, టీవీ ఛానళ్ల ముందు తెలుగుదేశం పార్టీ నాయకుడు మాట్లాడుతున్నట్టుగా ఉన్న ఈ వీడియోలో ఆ యూట్యూబర్ టీడీపీను వ్యంగంగా విమర్శించాడు.
వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ ప్రభుత్వం వివిధ వర్గాలకు సంబంధించి అమలు చేస్తున్న పథకాల ఆధారంగా వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ పార్టీకి అనుకూలంగా/టీడీపీను వ్యంగంగా విమర్శిస్తు ఈ వీడియోను రూపొందించాడు. ఈ క్రమంలోనే క్రైస్తవులను ఉద్దేశించి ‘టీడీపీ అధికారంలోకి వస్తే క్రిస్టియన్స్ అందరికీ శిలువ వేసేస్తాం’ అనే వ్యాఖ్యలు చేసాడు. ఈ ఛానల్‌లో ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ రాష్ట్ర రాజకీయాలపై అనేక వీడియోలు ఉన్నాయి.
ఐతే ఈ వీడియో సోషల్ మీడియాలో వైరల్ అవడంతో టీడీపీ నాయకులు దీనిపై తీవ్రంగా స్పందించారు. వివిధ వర్గాల వారు టీడీపీ పార్టీపై విద్వేషం పెంచుకునేలా కావాలనే వైఎస్ఆర్సీపీ నాయకుడు మన్విత్ కృష్ణారెడ్డి ఈ వీడియోను రూపొందించారని టీడీపీ నాయకుడు వర్ల రామయ్య అన్నారు.
చివరగా, ఈ వీడియోలో టీడీపీ అధికారంలోకి రాగానే శిలువ వేసేస్తాం అంటూ క్రైస్తవులను  బెదిరిస్తున్నది టీడీపీ నాయకుడు కాదు.


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In this video, Jitendra Singh is lacing up his own Shoe, not Rahul Gandhi’s - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 22, 2022
In the context of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan, a video is being shared on social media claiming that Congress leader & former union minister Jitendra Singh had tied Rahul Gandhi’s shoelace during the Yatra. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Congress leader Jitendra Singh tying lace of Rahul Gandhi’s shoe at Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Fact: Video of the same incident taken from another angle shows Jitendra Singh tying lace of his shoes, not Rahul Gandhi’s. Another photo before this incident shows Jitendra Singh walking with undone shoelace. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and found a video and image of same incident captured from another angle. Here, visuals show Jitendra Singh pausing for a while and tying his own shoelace in front of Rahul Gandhi.
When BJP’s Amit Malviya shared the same video with this claim, Jitendra Singh clarified that he is tying his own shoelace and not Rahul Gandhi’s. He further asked Malviya to delete the tweet and apologise to Rahul Gandhi or else face legal action.
As incharge of ruling BJP’s National Info Dept your tweet is a complete lie and defamatory.
The fact is that after being pointed out by Rahul ji upon my request he paused briefly so that I could tie my own shoe laces.
Delete the tweet and apologise to RG or face legal action
To sum it up, Jitendra Singh is lacing up his own Shoe, not Rahul Gandhi’s.

created: December 22, 2022


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In this video, Putin did not talk about the issues of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan’s request for money - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 3, 2022
A video of Vladimir Putin is being shared on social media with a claim that he said – “I clarified during my speech at UNSC that Gilgit-Baltistan should be part of India. Russia does not support Pakistani initiative to create Gilgit as provisional province……PM Khan asked for money. He wanted to send some Islamic Jihadis here……”. In the video, Putin speaks in Russian. However, the imposed subtitles on the video show the claims made in the post. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Putin talking on the issues of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan’s request for money.
Fact: In the video, Putin spoke about the recent sanctions imposed by the Western countries on Russia. There was neither a mention of Pakistan nor Gilgit-Baltistan. The subtitles do not convey the actual meaning of the words spoken by Putin in Russian. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The logo of ‘Россия 24’ can be seen on the posted video. So, when searched for the video on the YouTube channel of ‘Россия 24’ with some keywords, the same video was found to be uploaded on 28 February 2022 with the title – “Putin called a meeting on economic issues” (translated into English). While the audio is the same, the subtitles (auto-translation of the video) were different from the video in the post.
Various reputed new agencies have posted the same videos with the proper translation of Putin’s statements. They can be watched here, here, and here. He spoke about the recent sanctions imposed by the Western countries on Russia. There was neither a mention of Pakistan nor Gilgit-Baltistan.
Also, there are no news reports of Putin making those statements. However, when Pakistan PM Imran Khan met Putin recently, it was reported that Khan raised the issue of Kashmir before him. In February 2022, the ‘Russian Embassy in India’ said – “the Russian official position on the issue of Kashmir and Russia’s principled stance on non-interference in bilateral disputes remain unchanged. The solution should be found between India and Pakistan only, and it should be based on the achieved agreements, including the Simla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999.”
To sum it up, in the video being shared on social media, Putin spoke about the recent sanctions imposed by the Western countries on Russia, not on the issues of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan’s request for money.


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In which Railway Zone are most number of ticketless passengers found?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 6, 2017
Close to 1.9 crore railway passengers were found to be travelling without a proper ticket in 2015-16. Most such passengers were caught in the Northern & South Central zones though these zones do not account for the highest passenger traffic.
Ticketless travel on Indian Railways if detected results in a penalty. In 2015-16, close to 1.9 crore passengers were detected to be travelling without a ticket or an improper ticket.  This figure is less than 0.5% of the total originating passengers in 2015-16. But which zone contributes to most such ticketless passengers?
Northern & South Central on the top
Of all the zones in the Indian Railways, most number of ticketless passengers were caught in the Northern zone in each of the last four years. The Northern zone is closely followed by the South Central and the Central zone. In 2015-16, together with western zone, these four zones contributed close to 47% of all such ticketless passengers who were caught. The total number of ticketless passengers detected by the Railways has increased from 1.46 crore in 2013-14 to 1.89 crore in 2015-16, an increase of close to 30% in 3 years. In 2016-17, the number of such passengers has already touched 1.85 crore (till Feb 2017). It has to be noted that neither the Northern nor the South Central zone figure in the top four when it comes to total passenger traffic.
More than Rs 800 crore realized in each of the last two years
As per data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha, more than Rs 800 crore was realized in dues from these ticketless passengers in each of the last two years (2015-16 and 2016-17). The average realization per ticketless passenger is slightly more than Rs 450. Among the various zones, the highest realization of dues was in the Central zone in each of the last 4 years. In 2015-16, more than Rs 100 crore was realized in dues in each of  the three zones of Central, Northern & South Central.
So what is the Railways doing to reduce these numbers?
According to what the government said in the Lok Sabha, 19.7 lakh checks were conducted between April 2016 and February 2017 in all the zones to detect such ticketless passengers. The government has also approved a proposal for ‘Automated Gate Based Ticket Checking System’ trial in two stations at a cost of Rs 4.16 crore.
As per an answer given to a Lok Sabha question, the Indian Railways is taking the following steps to discourage ticketless travel.
Featured Image: Ticketless travel


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Inaccurate figures shared as population growth rate of various religions in Kerala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 18, 2021
A post claiming that, while the Muslim population is growing at the rate of 25% in Kerala, followed by Christians at 20%, the growth rate of Hindu population is at 3%. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Population growth rate in Kerala: Hindus- 3%, Muslims- 25%, Christians- 20%.
Fact: Muslim population grew at 15.8% during the period 1991-2001 which declined to 12.83% during the period 2001-2011. The Christian population in Kerala grew at a rate of 7.7% during the period 1991-2001, whereas for the time period 2001-2011 their population grew at a meagre  rate of 1.38%.  Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
As per 2011 census data, the total population of Kerala state is 3.34 crores. Of this, the Hindus are 1.82 crores which constitutes about 54.73%. Muslims constitute about 26.56% with a population size of 88.73 lakhs. The Christians constitute about 18.38% of the total population with a population size of 61.41 lakhs.
In Kerala, as per the census data, rate of population growth of these three major religions declined during the period 2001-2011 census compared to 1991-2001 census. The rate of growth of the Hindu population for the period 1991-2001 was at 7.3% which declined to 2.2% during the period 2001-2011. Muslim population grew at 15.8% during the period 1991-2001 which declined to 12.83% during the period 2001-2011. During the period 1991-2001 Christian population in Kerala grew at a rate of 7.7%, whereas for the time period 2001-2011 their population saw a meagre growth rate of 1.38%. Although Muslim population witnessed the highest growth rate for consecutive decades compared to Hindus and Christians, the Muslim population did not grow at 25% as claimed in the post.
To sum it up, inaccurate figures are being shared as population growth rate of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in Kerala.

created: February 18, 2021


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Inaccurate information related to new COVID-19 vaccination policy is being shared - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 2, 2021
A post sharing some of the guidelines of the new COVID-19 vaccination policy of India which are set to be effective from 01 March 2021 is being shared across social media platforms. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: New COVID-19 vaccination guidelines of India.
Fact: According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Private Hospitals functioning as CVCs may recover a charge subject to a ceiling of Rs. 250 per person per dose. Also, the ministry did not stipulate that 40% of vaccinations would be allotted for pre-registered and 60% would be reserved for walk-ins (on spot). Further, along with Aadhar and PAN card photo identity documents like passport, voter id, driving license, etc. can also be used at the time of registration. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On 27 February 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced the expansion of the vaccination program to all citizens above 60 years of age and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities effective from 01 March 2021. Accordingly, a user manual for registration & appointment for vaccination , guidance note for CO-WIN 2.0 , list of CGHS empaneled hospitals and list of Ayushman Bharat PMJAY empaneled hospitals were uploaded on the website. Let’s take a look at few misleading claims mentioned in the post regarding the new vaccination policy below.
Charge of vaccine is Rs. 500:
As per CO-WIN 2.0 guidance vaccination is free of charge at govt health facilities, whereas private health facilities charge for vaccination at a rate decided by the GoI from time to time.
According to a press release by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported by PIB ‘Private Hospitals functioning as CVCs may recover a charge subject to a ceiling of Rs. 250 per person per dose’. This establishes that the charge of vaccine in private health facilities is not Rs. 500 as claimed in the post. The total cost for two doses is, however, Rs. 500.
40% Vaccinations would be for pre registered and 60% will be reserved for Walk- ins :
According to CO-WIN 2.0 guidance vaccination slots are classified as Reserved slots and Open slots.
Reserved slots are further classified as:
Open slots- ‘slots open for online appointments by general public’.
According to this document, the proportion of mobilization slots will be decided by the respective state governments whereas the number of open slots for a session will be worked out by subtracting the number of reserved slots from the CVC (COVID-19 vaccination centre). Also, the document nowhere stipulates that 40% of vaccinations would be allotted for pre-registered and 60% would be reserved for walk-ins (on spot).
Voters card/ Pan card for Registration:
Following Photo Identity Documents can be used by citizens for availing online registration.
a) Aadhar Card/Letter
b) Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC)
c) Passport
d) Driving License
e) PAN Card
f) NPR Smart Card
g) Pension Document with photograph
To sum it up, inaccurate information related to new COVID-19 vaccination policy is being shared.


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Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Scheme for Inter-Caste Marriages
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 8, 2017

created: December 8, 2017


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Incident of accidental firing by a police officer is falsely shared with a communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2020
A post with a video in which a woman can be seen taking a bullet fired by a police officer during a tussle is being widely shared across social media platforms giving the incident a communal colour. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Delhi police personnel shot a Muslim lady.
Fact: A police constable was manhandled by a group of people while settling a parking dispute and in an act of self-defence, the constable fired four rounds to the ground, one of which deflected and hit a woman in her foot. As per the FIR registered against the group for obstructing a police official in discharging his duties, none involved in the incident is a Muslim. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Google search with relevant keywords led us to couple of news articles which reported the incident. According to one such news article, the incident took place on 25 November 2020 in Delhi’s Rohini area when a police constable was settling a parking dispute. The article further reported the DCP telling the newspaper that the constable was manhandled by a group of people who were involved in the parking dispute, and in an act of self-defence, he had to fire four rounds to the ground, one of which deflected and hit a woman in her foot.
Another news article which reported the incident also said the same. However, in none of these news articles, the incident was reported as one of a communal nature. Further, an FIR was registered against the group of people who obstructed the police official in discharging his duties. Even the FIR says that the constable fired the rounds in an act of self-defence. Also, as per the FIR, none of the people involved in the incident is a Muslin. All these establish that the incident has been given a communal colour whereas in reality, the incident has nothing with the religion of the victim.
To sum it up, an incident of accidental firing by a police officer is being passed off giving it a communal colour.

created: December 23, 2020