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Assistance to Civilian Victims of Terrorist/Communal/LWE violence increased to Rs 5 lakh
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 14, 2016
The MHA has increased the financial assistance under the scheme for assistance to civilian victims of terrorist/communal/LWE and other violence to Rs 5 lakh. Those killed in cross border firing and Mine/IED blasts are also eligible to receive assistance under this scheme.
The Ministry of Home Affair (MHA) has recently issued revised guidelines of the ‘Central Scheme for assistance to Civilian Victims/Family of Victims of Terrorist/Communal/LWE violence and Cross border firing and Mine/IED blasts on Indian territory’. The assistance amount under this scheme has now been increased to Rs 5 lakh from the earlier Rs 3 lakh for non SRE states.
What all incidents does this scheme cover?
The initial guidelines of this scheme were issued in 2008. Those guidelines only covered the victims of Terrorist/Communal/Naxal violence. The revised guidelines now replace Naxal violence with Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence. It has to be noted that the definition of the LWE violence has remained the same as the Naxal violence even in the revised guidelines.
The only other change in the revised guidelines is the inclusion of victims of both Cross Border Firing & Mine/IED blast incidents. In the guidelines, Communal violence is defined as planned and organized acts of violence by members of one community against member of another community. Terrorism violence also includes militancy and insurgency related violence.
Who is eligible to receive Assistance under this scheme?
The scheme is applicable in cases where the victim has lost his/her life or is permanently incapacitated (defined as 50% or above). In the event of death or permanent incapacitation, the surviving spouse would be extended the financial assistance. If both the husband and wife die in the same incident of violence, the family members would be entitled to the assistance.
The assistance would be extended under this scheme even if the victims have received ex-gratia or any other financial assistance from any government except under this scheme. Even the Next of Kin (NoK) of government employees would also be eligible to receive the assistance. Foreign nationals are also covered under the scheme while the perpetrators of violence or their family will not be entitled to any assistance. It has to be noted that there is no income criteria to be  eligible under this scheme.
What is assistance offered?
The assistance under this scheme includes the following
Process of Application
The eligible claimants should file their claims in a prescribed  proforma within 3 years of the relevant incident. The time limit could be relaxed in deserving cases. The claim has to be submitted to the District Collector. The claim would then be verified by a district level committee headed by the collector. The committee would look into the relevant police records/FIRs, death and post mortem certificate in the event of death and medical certificate in the case of permanent incapacitation. The medical certificate has to be issued by the District Medical Officer and it should be shown that the victim has suffered more than 50% disability of a permanent nature.
The district committee has to make a recommendation within 15 days of the receipt of the claim. The District Collector can also recommend assistance under this scheme with suitable justification. The processing of the claim has to be completed within 3 weeks including the recommendation of the committee. If the claim is approved, the District Collector issues the sanction order on behalf of the state government. While issuing the cheque or crediting the amount, the Collector must give standing instruction to the bank that no premature withdrawal of this amount is allowed. The assistance released by the states will be reimbursed by the MHA on a half-yearly basis.

created: October 14, 2016


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Assyrian art shared as a 5000-year-old representation of ancient Indian swimming with a life tank - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 19, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the 5000-year-old representation of an ancient Indian while swimming with a life tank in water.  Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: 5000-year-old picture of ancient Indian swimming with a life tank.
Fact: The sculpture photo shared in the post is an Assyrian art painted during 865 BC – 860 BC. This sculpture is at least 2,900 years old and has nothing to do with India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in a tweet posted by a user on Twitter. In the tweet, he mentioned it as the picture of an Assyrian soldier swimming across the river using inflated animal skin as a buoyancy aid. When we searched for more reliable sources using these keywords, we found that the same sculpture photo exists in the British Museum. The British Museum website mentioned this photo as the Assyrian art painted during 865 BC – 860 BC. So, this sculpture is at least 2,900 years old and has nothing to do with India.
We can find information about this sculpture in the ‘The Ancient Assyrians’ book.
According to ancient texts, the Assyrian empire lived in the Middle-East area of Levant.
To sum it up, the sculpture photo shared in the post is at least 2,900 years old and has nothing to relate with India.

source: news-factly

created: January 19, 2021

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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At the current rate, it will take at least 10 more years for disposal of pending cases in District Courts - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 28, 2015
The data of pending cases in the lower judiciary is hard to get by. The recently launched National Judicial Data Grid (NJGD) portal is a very important first step in that direction. The data available in the portal indicates that more than 2 crore cases are pending in the district courts as on date. More than 2/3rd of the pending cases are criminal in nature while the rest are civil in nature. At the current rate, it might take more than 10 years for the pending cases to get cleared.
High levels of pendency has been plaguing the judiciary in the country.  Both the higher and the lower judiciary are grappling with this issue of pendency for quite some time now. While the data on pendency at the Supreme Court & the High Court level is available in some form, the data on pendency at the district court level has not been easily available. The recently launched National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is a good first step in that direction. The data on pendency, nature of pendency in all the district courts of the country is now available in the public domain. The portal has data on 15,342 judges in 459 districts across the country as on 27 September 2015.
Overall Pendency
The total number of pending cases, in all the district courts, as on 27 September, 2015 is more than 2 crore. While 67 lakh of these are civil cases, rest of the 1.34 crore are criminal cases. The number of pending criminal cases is twice the number of pending civil cases.
Situation in the States
In the states, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of pending cases with 46.73 lakh followed by Maharashtra at 29.57 lakh. The other states in the top six are Gujarat (20.83 lakh), West Bengal (13.83 lakh), Bihar (13.41 lakh) & Rajasthan (12.55 lakh). The top three states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra & Gujarat account for more than 48% of these pending cases.
In the states, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of pending civil cases with 12 lakh followed by Maharashtra at 10.4 lakh. The other states in the top six are Karnataka (6.16 lakh), Gujarat (5.89 lakh), Tamilnadu (5.4 lakh) & West Bengal (4.32 lakh). In fact, these states and Rajasthan together account for more than 70% of the total pending civil cases.
As far as pending criminal cases is concerned, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number again with 34.7 lakh followed by Maharashtra at 19.16 lakh. The other states in the top six are Gujarat (14.95 lakh), Bihar (11.15 lakh), West Bengal (9.52 lakh) & Rajasthan (8.5 lakh). In fact, these states along with Odisha & Rajasthan account for more than 80% of the total pending criminal cases.
Nature of Pending Cases
Out of the 2 crore pending cases, more than 10% are pending for over 10 years while 18% are pending between 5 and 10 years. About 30% are pending between 2 and 5 years while the remaining 41.6% are pending for less than 2 years. In other words, 3 out of every 10 pending cases are more than 5 years old.
There are wide variations within states in the nature of pending cases. For example, 24% of the cases pending in Gujarat are over 10 years old, while this percentage is less than 1% for states like Kerala, Punjab and Haryana etc. In 15 states, more than 50% of the pending cases are less than 2 years old.
What about the last month?
The NJDG portal has data as on date and also has data for the last month (August 2015). More than 5.24 lakh cases were filed last month while 6.87 lakh cases were disposed last month. The four states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka & Haryana account for more than 50% of the all the cases filed and disposed. More than a lakh cases were filed in Maharashtra last month.
In states like Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal & Maharashtra, the number of cases filed was more than the number of cases disposed in the last month.
How many more years to reduce pendency to Zero?
While the data for one month is not representative of the entire year, August was a normal month without any major court holidays. If the rate of filing and disposal in August is taken into consideration, then it would take little more than 10 years to clear all pending cases at an All India level. While civil cases might take 17 years to get cleared, the criminal cases might take a little more than 8 years.
Within states, there is again a wide variation in the rate of disposal. Six states (Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Jammu & Kashmir) would never be able to clear the pending cases given their performance in August. Nine states including Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana would be able to clear the pending cases in fewer than five years. Odisha might take more than 36 years to clear all pending cases given the current rate.
The NJDG Portal
The NJDG portal is a very important first step in making data of the lower judiciary available in the public domain. It has data & information up to the individual case level including the list of hearing dates, copy of the order etc. The only glitch in the portal is availability of data for more months (archival data). The portal should have historic data and not just data for the last month. And if the government wants people to do more analysis and help identify the bottle necks in the lower judiciary, the data has to be open in the true sense.
Data Analysis by Suman Kalyan

created: September 28, 2015


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At which stage are cases pending in Indian courts?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 21, 2019
Pendency of court cases
is a major issue plaguing the judicial system in India. There are different
stages that a civil & criminal case goes through before a judgment is
pronounced. Here is a look at the various stages and the pendency at these
stages.
Indian judicialsystem is fraught with a high volume of pending cases. There are nearly 3.1
crore cases pending in District and Taluka Courts of India. Further, nearly 44 Lakh court
cases are pending in the high courts. In an earlier
article, this issue of pendency of cases in the lower courts was discussed,especially with regards to the age of the cases, reasons for pendency and typeof cases that are pending in the courts.  The delay in delivering a judgement and tobring a closure to the case, has a great bearing on the efficacy of the justicesystem in India.
Apart from the reasons for the pendency in courts, understanding the various stages of the court proceedings and identifying the bottle necks would help focus on specific issues. In this story, the typical flow of civil & criminal cases is discussed along with the stages at which the cases are stuck as per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal.
Stages of Court
Proceedings vary with the type of Case
There arevarious types of Civil and Criminal cases that are filed in courts based on thetype of court. These could be writ petitions, appeals, special leave petitionsetc.
The Civil case
A typicalprocess flow of a civil case would be like in the following illustration.
The civil case is initiated by a person or entity (referred to as Plaintiff), when they feel that a legal obligation is not met by another person or an entity (referred to as Defendant). The court after reviewing the suit filed, issues a summon for the defendant to appear in front of the court. The Defendant can defend their case against the evidence presented (written statement stage). When there is a difference between the claims of the plaintiff and the defendant, an issue arises. In further stages of the proceedings, evidence is collected and submitted in the court, which is cross-examined.
After the crossexamination, there would be further hearing in court. The Judge, based on theevidence presented and the facts of the case can proceed with the judgement. Theparties involved in the Civil case have an option to appeal the judgement inhigher courts, else the case comes to a closure with execution of the decreeprovided by the court.
The Criminal
Case
The flow of proceedingsin a criminal case varies from a Civil case and is illustrated in the followingdiagram.
Filing a FirstInformation Report (F.I.R) initiates a criminal case. The Law enforcementauthorities are required to carry on an investigation in view of the F.I.R. Acharge sheet is then filed against the accused. If there is substantialevidence proving that the accused has committed a crime, the charges are
framed. The evidence is presented by the prosecution in the court of law, whichcan be cross examined by the advocates of the accused. The statement of
the accused is taken, which is the account of the accused in light of the evidencebeing presented against.
This statementalong with any new evidence provided by the Defence is cross examined. Afterfurther trial and arguments in the court, the judge can proceed to deliver thejudgement. The sentence can be argued upon. The judge hears these arguments andcan revise the punishment after which the final judgment with the Punishment isdelivered. Even in a criminal case, the accused has an option to approach thehigher courts with an appeal.
While the processlooks pretty straight forward, there are multiple stages in between wherein thecases get stalled for a longer period of time or it involves back and forthmovement of the cases between multiple stages.
Collection of
evidence and Appearance in court are the stages with the highest pendency
Data as per NJDG (NationalJudicial Data Grid) portal shows that nearly 39% of the total cases (Civil andCriminal) are pending at the Evidence/Hearing stage of the case. While another41% of the cases are stuck in the initial stages (Appearance, Service of noticeetc.).
In the civil cases, a major portion of pendency (46%) is in the stage of Court hearings which includes – collection and presentation of the evidence, the arguments for and against the case filed etc.  Of all the cases that are pending at this stage, nearly 39% of the cases are pending for evidence. Civil cases are filed by a person or entity, stating that another person or entity has not complied with the law. However, as the numbers indicate, a good portion of them remain pending for lack of substantial evidence.  Another 39% of the cases pending at this stage are due to delays with Court Hearing. High number of pending cases causes delays in securing a court hearing, and as highlighted earlier, lack of evidence or objections regarding the evidence would result in postponement of the court hearing to a later date.
Apart from 24% of the total civil cases pending in the initial stages, a further 18% of the cases are pending due to issues with compliance and the steps involved.
In pending criminal cases, nearly 48% are pending in the initial stages of – Appearance and Service. Within this, nearly 57% of the cases are pending due to non-appearance of the parties in the court. Mistakes in the court notices (date of hearing, time etc.), delays in travel, ill-health, mistakes by attorney, counsel being busy in other courts are cited as reasons for the non-appearance of the defendants.
Among the pendingcriminal cases, nearly 36% of the cases are pending at the trial stages (Evidence,Argument & Judgement). Approximately 61% at this stage are pending due tolack of substantial evidence. Another 13% of the cases are pending at thehearing stage, wherein arguments are made by counsel of the parties involved.
Lack of support
mechanism and excessive workload on the judge main causes for pendency in
cases.
Legal expertshave cited various reasons for pendency in court cases at different stages.
Featured Image: Cases pending in Indian courts


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Atal Bihari Vajpayee never made this purported statement about Privatization - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 9, 2022
A post is being shared on social media with a newspaper clip about the privatisation of Indian railways. The Hindi text in the paper clip translates to ‘109 trains will go into private hands.’ It also quotes the former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, indicating that the former PM was against the privatisation. The statement attributed to him in the viral post when translated to Hindi reads , “History is witness that the only reason for selling the heritage of a country is the inefficiency of the government of that country, such governments should be thrown out‘ Let’s fact-check this post through this article.
Claim: Former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s quote which shows he is against privatization of the government assets.
Fact: In July 2020, the Indian railways invited a ‘Request for Qualification’ (RFP)’  for private participation for passenger train operations on 109 pairs of routes. The private entity shall pay fixed haulage and energy charges to the Indian Railways and provide a share in the gross revenue. In May 2022, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ruled out the privatization of railways. As far as the quote attributed to Atal Bihar Vajpayee in the post, we did not find any credible source to prove that he made that statement. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A keyword search on the internet regarding 109 trains going into private hands, we found a few news reports (here and here) from 2020 regarding the same. Reportedly, ‘The Ministry of Railways has given invitation to private parties to run passenger trains on 109 routes.‘
Piyush Goyal, the then railway minister then tweeted a press release saying, ‘Railways invites Request for Qualifications for private participation for passenger train operations on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains. This initiative will boost job creation, reduce transit time, and provide enhanced safety & world-class facilities to passengers.’
According to the press release, the private entity shall pay fixed haulage and energy charges to the Indian Railways and provide a share in the gross revenue. It was nowhere mentioned that the government would completely sell railways or these trains to private entities who win the bidding. They shall only be responsible for procuring, financing, operating and maintaining the trains.
Railways invites Request for Qualifications for private participation for passenger train operations on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains.
This initiative will boost job creation, reduce transit time, provide enhanced safety & world-class facilities to passengers. pic.twitter.com/uG2dhdbG3b
On reverse image search of the post’s image, we found a tweet from 2020 which contained the full paper clipping of this news item. From the email in the byline, the news clipping seems to be from ‘Peoples Samachar’ and is also about the same tender that the Indian Railways has called for. We could not find the original newspaper clipping. On further search about the privatization of Indian railways, we found that in May 2022, the railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ruled out the privatization of Indian Railways. News reports regarding this can be read here and here.
प्राइवेट हाथों में जाएँगी 109 ट्रेनें  :
मैं देश नहीं बिकने दूँगा अभियान जारी है ……. pic.twitter.com/gAkHDsKF1z
To find out if Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India, had made the statement, ‘History is witness that the only reason for selling the heritage of a country is the inefficiency of the government of that country, such governments should be thrown out-.‘, we searched the internet with relevant keywords. But the search has not led us to any credible source that confirmed Vajpayee making this statement.
During the tenure of Vajpayee as the Prime Minister of India, in three terms between 1996 to 2004, the Indian government made disinvestments in India’s public sector entities. Through disinvestments, the government sells its shareholding in public sector enterprises. You can see these details here.
In April 2000, Vajpayee, in his address at the conference of chief executives of public sector enterprises, said, ‘ To those who unthinkingly criticise our disinvestment policy, I have this to say: Ours is a well thought out strategy to revitalise the public sector by bringing in competition, granting greater operational flexibility, reducing surplus manpower and upgrading technology.’ He further said ‘I would urge everybody, especially workers, to dispel unfounded fears about the effects of disinvestment. We are fully aware of the legitimate and reasonable interests of employees, and we are committed to protecting them.’  You can read his full speech here and watch a video of this event here. A few articles on disinvestments during the Vajpayee-led- NDA government can be read here and here. All this proves that he was not against privatization.
To sum up, Atal Bihari Vajpayee never made this purported statement about selling the heritage of a country.

created: November 9, 2022


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Decoding travel patterns of domestic tourism in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 8, 2016
Decoding travel patterns of domestic tourists in India

created: December 8, 2016


text:
ATM లో CANCEL బటన్ రెండు సార్లు నొక్కడం గురించి RBI ఎటువంటి సమాచారం ప్రకంటించలేదు. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 16, 2019
ATM నుండి డబ్బు డ్రా చేసేటప్పుడు పాటించవలసిన ముఖ్యమైన చిట్కాను ఇటీవల RBI ప్రకటించించింది అంటూ ఈ మధ్య ఫేస్బుక్ లో ఒక పోస్ట్ చాలా షేర్ అవుతుంది. ఆ పోస్ట్ ప్రకారం మనం డబ్బు డ్రా చేసయడానికి ATMలో card insert చేసేకంటే ముందు CANCEL button ను రెండు సార్లు press చేస్తే, ఎవరైనా మనయొక్క PIN Number దొంగిలించడానికి ఏదైనా setting చేసివుంటే అది cancel అయిపోతుంది మరియు మన PIN number భద్రంగా వుంటుంది అని ప్రచారం అవుతుంది. ఆ పోస్ట్ లో ఎంత వరకు నిజముందో తెలుసుకోవడానికి ప్రయత్నిద్ధాం.
ఆ పోస్ట్ యొక్క ఆర్కైవ్డ్ వెర్షన్ ఇక్కడ చూడవచ్చు.
ATMలో card insert చేసేకంటే ముందు CANCEL button ను రెండు సార్లు press చేస్తే, ఎవరైనా మనయొక్క PIN Number దొంగిలించడానికి ఏదైనా setting చేసివుంటే అది cancel అయిపోతుంది
RBI అటువంటి చిట్కాను ఎక్కడా ప్రకటించలేదు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన సమాచారం లో ఎలాంటి నిజం లేదు
RBI వెబ్సైటు లో ATM వాడుకకి సంబంధించి చాలా సమాచారాన్ని ఇచ్చారు. కానీ అందులో ఎక్కడ కూడా పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పినట్టు CANCEL బటన్ ను రెండు సార్లు press చేస్తే, ఎవరైనా మనయొక్క PIN Number దొంగిలించడానికి ఏదైనా setting చేసివుంటే అది cancel అయిపోతుంది మరియు మన PIN number భద్రంగా వుంటుంది అని చెప్పలేదు. అలానే పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన సమాచారం, ఇమేజ్ వాళ్ళ ఫేస్బుక్ మరియు ట్విట్టర్ ఖాతాలలో కూడ ఎక్కడా పెట్టలేదు.
ఇలాంటి తప్పుడు సమాచారమే భారత్ మరియు ఇతర దేశాలలో ఇంతకు ముందు చాలా సార్లు ప్రచారం జరిగింది అని Snopes మరియు Africa Check  ప్రచురించాయి.
చివరగా, ఇలాంటి చిట్కా RBI చెప్పలేదు మరియు పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన సమాచారం లో నిజం లేదు.


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Attack on two men is falsely shared as an assault on Haryana MLA - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 19, 2020
Video of a mob attacking two persons in  office is being circulated on social media with a claim that Haryana MLA assaulted by the public for not doing his work properly. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Video of a Haryana MLA being assaulted by the public for not doing his work properly.
Fact: Video shows a personal conflict that took place between two groups in Malak village of Haryana. While some villagers went to the Electricity Department office to file a complaint, a mob suddenly entered the office and attacked the villagers. The Person assaulted in the video is not a Haryana MLA. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of screenshots in the video, we found a screenshot of this video in an article published by ‘ANI’ news website on ‘23 July 2020’. In the article, it is mentioned that incident was related to a personal conflict between two parties in Munak village, Haryana. While some villagers went to the Sub-Divisional-office (SDO) to file a complaint on a power line that was laid under their farmland, a mob suddenly entered the office and started beating the villagers. Police identified the five people involved in this violence through the CCTV footage at the SDO office. Three persons were arrested and case has been registered against five people who involved in this violence at the Electricity office in Munak.
‘Times of India’ and ‘India TV’ news websites also published the same video, with a description that 2 men were brutally beaten by goons at SDO office in Haryana’s Munak. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a personal conflict between two parties in Haryana is falsely portrayed as an assault on a Haryana MLA.
Did you watch our new video?


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Audio clip of a phone conversation between two individuals discussing ‘complete lockdown’ of the country is ‘fake’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2020
An audio clip of a phone conversation between two individuals discussing the ‘complete lockdown’ of the country has gone viral on social media. During the conversation, a person who claims to be a friend of a brother of World Health Organization-India Director says that the Government of India will announce the shutdown of the country in the coming days from 15 April to 15 June. Let’s check the authenticity of the audio clip.
Audio clip of a conversation claiming that Government of India will announce shutdown of the country in the coming days from 15 April to 15 June in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.
Fact: PIB debunked the audio clip of the phone conversation discussing ‘complete lockdown’ of the country from 15 April to 15 June as ‘fake’. WHO India has also confirmed that the audio is fake. So, the claim is FALSE.
During the conversation in that purported phone call, a person who claims to be a friend of a brother of World Health Organization India Director says that WHO has instructed the Indian Government to announce Section 144 in two of the Rajasthan cities – Jaipur and Udaipur. He continues to say that the WHO’s instruction was to shut the movie theatres, malls till April 15 but the Government has said that, at once, if the shutdown is put in place to such an extent, then people will get panicked and so it issued orders for the shutdown of movie theatres and malls only till 31 March. The person then says that as the number of Coronavirus cases in India is rising, the country is moving to high risk and there would be a complete shut down in the country from 15 April to 15 June except for Police and hospitals. He then advises the person on the other side of the call to hoard the stocks of food and medicines for the coming one and a half months to two months to meet the needs during the shutdown.
When searched on Google to check if the Government of India is going to announce any such shutdown of the country from 15 April to 15 June in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak, a facebook post by ‘PIB’ in this regard was found. In the post, ‘PIB’ has debunked the message in the audio clip and clarified that the audio clip claiming to be a conversation between two individuals mentioning the ‘complete lockdown’ of the country as ‘totally fake’.
In a conversation with Prasar Bharati News Services, World Health Organization, India has termed the audio as completely fake and that the audio falsely attributes such statements to WHO Director in India. WHO also clarified that it’s India wing is not headed by a woman, as claimed in the audio clip.
Additionally, while the audio falsely attributes such statements to have come from WHO Director in India, WHO India has clarified, "There is no such post in India. WHO India is headed by Representative to India, who is NOT a woman, as said in the audio clip."
To summarize, PIB debunked the audio clip of a phone conversation between two individuals discussing ‘complete lockdown’ of the country as ‘fake’.
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Audi’s old ad photo is shared as a real incident where a cheetah refused to race with dogs - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 2, 2022
A photo is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows a real incident where a cheetah refused to race with dogs. The post also claims that the race coordinator said to the people – “Sometimes trying to prove that you are the best is an insult”. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo shows a real incident where a cheetah refused to race with dogs.
Fact: The posted photo shows an old advertisement of Audi – “The Audi S4 Quattro. Nothing to prove”. Also, there are several instances where a cheetah raced with a dog. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the posted photo was run through Google Reverse Image search, many similar images were found in the search results. The same photo was found on several websites with the following description – “The Audi S4 Quattro. Nothing to prove”. Those websites can be found here, here, and here. The photo reportedly shows an old advertisement of Audi.
Also, there are several instances where a cheetah raced with a dog. Some of those reports can be seen here, here, here, and here.
To sum it up, Audi’s old ad photo is shared as a real incident where a cheetah refused to race with dogs.


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A new Audit report rips apart the functioning of Censor Board
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 6, 2015
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), commonly known as the Censor Board is often in the news for wrong reasons from appointments to certification of films. In a latest audit report of Censor Board’s Mumbai office, the Director General of Audit (Mumbai) slammed the functioning of the Censor Board and raised many important issues.
What is Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or the Censor Board?
Films are publicly exhibited in India only after their certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or more commonly known as the Censor Board. The members of the panel are appointed by the Central Government by drawing people from different walks of life. At present, films are certified under 4 categories: U, UA, A & S.
The CBFC has nine regional offices, one each at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Cuttack & Guwahati.
Audit Report of CBFC Mumbai Office
The Director General of Audit (Mumbai) conducted an audit of the Censor Board’s Mumbai office for the period from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2015. The report became public through a reply sent to RTI activist Vihar Durve from Pune. This new audit report raises some important issues about the basic functioning of CBFC. From financial irregularities to irregularities in certification of films, the audit report is a tell all on what is wrong with the Censor Board. Below are some of the important issues raised in this report.
Incomplete Data Entry of Historical records despite spending a huge sum for digitization
The audit report mentioned that the data entry and digitization of historical records is incomplete despite spending a huge sum of about 190.18 lakh rupees. These records have to be preserved by the board as per the public records act and also to answer queries under the RTI act. The board holds more than 4 lakh counterfoils of censor certificates and more than 60 lakh pages of feature film files. It also has about 37000 pages of Censor Certificate Issue Register and other records totaling to about 75000 pages.
It is worth noting that the Central Information Commission (CIC) had directed the board to put information relating to certification, minutes of meeting etc. on its website by 1 June, through an order in March 2015. This order is yet to be complied with.
The Audit felt the need for Digitization of the records at the earliest as it found that CBFC lacked control in terms of physical management of Data. The audit report made an observation that the records were maintained in ‘pathetic’ infrastructural facilities. There is no Fire-warning system installed in CBFC’s premises and no training has been imparted to the concerned staff responsible for record keeping.
By the end of Mar 2012, data of nearly 1,10,000 films had yet to be digitized which is 45% of the films. In other words, 55% of the work was completed in 2.25 years while the original plan was to complete this entire work in 3 years. Though computerization, up gradation of application software, website of CBFC were all part of the 12 Five year plan, there has been no concrete plan to take this forward. The Audit report found the whole process of digitization in jeopardy despite spending 1.9 crore rupees.
Disparity in issuance of certificates & Non-observance of time limit for certification process
Rule 41 of the Cinematograph rules prescribe the following time limits for the certification process:
The total time limit prescribed for the certification process, from the date of receipt of the application to the date of the issue of the certificate is 68 days (with cuts) and 40 days (without cuts). The audit report found that certificates were issued to films in violation of these guidelines.
The Audit team conducted a test check of 55 of 99 cases of the films for which CBFC issued certificates within 7 days. From the detailed analysis of the trends in issue of certification of films, it was observed that the board scrutinized the application on the date of receipt of application and referred the films for examination by the Examination Committee (EC) within 2-7 days from the date of receipt of application. EC examined the films within the same period and cleared the films for certification without any cuts. Board issued the certificates on the same day or on the subsequent day of clearance by EC.
The certificates for the films like “Mhais (Marathi), “Taptapadi ( Marathi)” and “498A The Wedding Gift”, “Tendlya Nighala Oscarla (Marathi)”, “Lucky De Unlucky Story (Punjabi)”, “Mazha Mee ( Marathi)”, “Ashiqui Not allowed(Punjabi)”, “Ek Villain ( Hindi)”,” Bhopal A Prayer For Rain (Hindi)”, “Khairlanji Chya Mathyawar (Marathi) were issued by the CBFC Board within 2 to 3 days of the receipt of the application and they were cleared without any cuts.
The report mentioned that the examination of the film in a short time of 2-7 days even though time limit of 68 days prescribed in the Cinematograph (Certification) Rule, is indicative of the non-following of the due procedure and therefore the chances of bias or favoritism cannot be ruled out by ignoring others in the queue.
Audit conducted a test check of 30 out of 79 cases in which CBFC took more than 100 days for issue of certificates. In the case of a film ‘Mafia (Bhojpuri)’ CBFC took 351 days to issue film certification after the film was examined by EC instead of required time of 8 days. In case of the film Zilla Chhapra (Bhojpuri)” it was observed that CBFC Board took 342 days from the date of examining the film by EC with cut as against the required time of 68 days.
It was also noted that CBFC gives higher priority under the category of Theatrical films compared to the Video Films category which is a violation of Section 4 of the Cinematography Act and Rule 41 of the Cinematography rule.
The audit report concluded that due diligence has not been followed in observance of time limits as prescribed. It was clearly visible that in some cases a minimum period of 2-3 days was taken whereas in some other cases, films were dragged on inordinately (for more than a year) and these were approved without cuts. Ideally, there should have been a system of ‘First come first serve’, barring very few cases where scrutiny of further committees is inevitable. The report also concluded that the rules for time limit seem to be highly compromised giving enough scope for favoritism.
Multiple Certificates to Imported Films
Audit scrutiny revealed that CBFC issued certificates to the applicants for Video Films imported into India without obtaining the certified copy of the imported license and without custom clearance permit.
In a test check of 12 cases, it was noticed that CBFC issued more than one certificate for a single film even though the category, language, title and name of the producer of the film was the same.
In case of two films “Death Race” & “When Trumpets Fade” the certification was issued from the Chennai office initially. Even after issuance of certificates by Chennai office, the application for the same title, language and category was received in the Mumbai Office and without ascertaining the checks, the certificate for the same film was again issued by the Mumbai office. This indicates the weak inter control mechanism in the office of CBFC for tracing the records of film certifications.
Also, the audit found instances where the CBFC has been revalidating its earlier issued censor-certificates without any verification of the original rights of the film or surrendering of the original censor certificate.
Fabrication of false documents & Favoritism
Vijaya Chawak, Secretary to Chairperson was found to have issued certificates to two movies, which were earlier, rejected or refused by the Examining and Review Committees. As per the official records, two movies naming ‘Gabriel (English)’& ‘Three Can Play That game (English)’ were examined by J.S.Mahamuni and S.G.Mane. However, CBFC issued certificate was showing that V.K.Chawak examined the movie. These movies were neither re-applied nor assigned to Chawak.
The Ministry of I&B advised CBFC to prepare charge sheet against Chawak since the charges were grave, including fabrication of false documents and favoritism. However, no action has been taken as of April 2015. In fact Chawak is still involved in the examination work of the films which is violation of the Central Vigilance Commission’s guidelines.
No Digital Projection systems/ Digital Theaters in any offices of the CBFC
During the years 2011-12 to 2014-15, a total of 3699 certificates were issued in the category of digital films in all the nine regional offices including Mumbai. The Regional Offices of CBFC is presently screening the films by going out to the producer chosen location, as there are no Digital Theaters/ Projection Systems available in any of the CBFC offices.
CBFC thereby is also not able to levy the screening charges from the producers, which led to the loss of revenue to the extent of Rs.31.07 lakh. These charges are calculated at an average of 120 minutes of film for Rs.840 per film. CBFC responded that the ministry has written to all the State Governments to provide space in Government Buildings but it has not received any response so far in this matter.
Conversion of “A” category Films into “UA” & “U” without supporting any law
During the test check of records, it was observed that CBFC converted 172 “A” category certified films into “UA” category and 166 films of “UA” category to “U” category during 2012-15 without any supporting law or provision in the Act to do so.
The Audit report pointed out that the CBFC has issued guidelines without any authority or legal backing and the practice of conversion of film from one category to another without supporting law is a very serious and highly objectionable matter.
Lackadaisical approach of CBFC and Ministry of I & B
In February 2012, Ministry of I&B on the advice of Planning Commission accepted the proposal for ‘Up gradation, Modernization and Expansion of CBFC and Certification Process.’ The objectives for this initiative were to:
Ministry of I&B approved the said scheme in June 2013, 16 months from the date of acceptance of the proposal.
CBFC then took 18 months for holding a meeting to discuss the modalities for the RFP (Request for Proposal). Decision was taken in the meeting to rope in a specialist in the field of computer software to study the requirements and finalize the RFP.
CBFC did not initiate any action for appointing the specialist as decided in the meeting. But, made procurements worth Rs.114.16 lakh required for Up gradation of Application software without appointing the specialist in the field.
Audit report slammed that the lackadaisical approach of CBFC and Ministry of I&B that led to not starting the Up gradation as of April 2015 despite incurring an expenditure of Rs.114.16 lakh on procurement.
Non-Revision of Fees & Cess
The audit report raised the issue of non-revision of certification fee since 2007 and Cess since 2001. The audit report felt that a periodic revision of fee is necessary to meet the expenditure of the office. Hence the non-revision of fee for 7 years and cess for more than 12 years was not desirable. This issue was also raised in the previous audit report and the board responded that it would be attended to on priority.
It is to be noted that the CBFC was not able to recover the arrears in cess (2003-2005) worth Rs.7.5 Lakh based on its reply to the department in Nov 2011. Also, they had a loss of revenue of Rs 91.80 lakh due to delay in recovery of cess on imported films dubbed into Indian languages b/w 2005-2009.
Scrutiny of records revealed that the CBFC collected Rs.2,80,90,000 towards CWWC (Cine Workers Welfare Cess) as against the total cess of Rs.3,45,80,00 during the financial year of 2013-14, which resulted into short collection of cess by Rs.64,90,000. The CWWC is to be collected as per the Cine workers welfare Cess act of 1981.
Other Financial Irregularities
Audit scrutiny of the records revealed that the CBFC collected revenue of Rs. 2,71,90,050 under CWWC (Cine Workers Welfare Cess) for the period from April 2014 to March 2015 but only deposited Rs. 2,58,70,050 to the Ministry of Labour. This resulted in short remittance of CWWC by an amount of Rs.13,20,000.
The report also found serious lapses such as Non-deduction of TDS that caused a loss of Rs.9.12 Lakh to the exchequer.
The Audit report also mentioned that Travel Allowance (TA) bills were reimbursed without proper accompanying documentation. TA bills of the former & current Chairperson of CBFC were cleared without submission of the boarding pass. Similar issue was noted in the case of other reimbursements including that the CEO.
Non-reconstituting the Advisory Panel hampering the work of Regional Offices
Audit revealed that, the Advisory Panel members of the Regional Offices of CBFC were last reconstituted by the Ministry of I & B in January 2012. After removal of some members who served for more than two consecutive terms, the panel as of July 2014 consists of 274 members. No certification work was done at Kolkata, Bangalore, Cuttack and Guwahati as sufficient panel members were not available for constituting the examination Committees and Revising Committees for conducting the screenings. Hardly 40-50 % members are active and available for examination of films. The remaining were either not interested or perpetually not available. Thus, due to insufficient panel members, the regional offices of CBFC did not constitute any committee for examining films, which hampers the certification works at the Regional offices.
PS: The Audit report also observed that the CBFC did not take the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan seriously and waste material like old files etc were just dumped in the balcony premises.
Featured Image Source: By Central Board of film certification, India (Film Certificate) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


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Australian Ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull hasn’t made any comments about Modi’s victory in the 2019 elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 24, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post alleging that Australian ex-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that if Narendra Modi wins 2019 elections, India would become a developed nation by 2024. Let’s try to analyze the veracity of the comments put in the FB post.
Malcolm Turnbull has said that if Narendra Modi wins 2019 elections, India will become a developed nation by 2024.
Fact: Malcolm Turnbull has never made such comments either during any of his visits to India or on any social media platforms. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
When Twitter Advanced Search was conducted to check if any such comments were made by Turnbull, no relevant tweet was found. There are also no statements made by Turnbull about Modi’s win in 2019 during any of his visits to India and no such news found anywhere.
Finally, Australian Ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull hasn’t made any comments about Modi’s victory in the 2019 elections.


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Australia’s original name is not Asthralaya; its name originated from the Latin word “Australis", which means “southern” - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 15, 2022
Multiple posts (here, here) have been shared on social media which claim that Australia was originally called Asthralaya. Factly has also received a request on its WhatsApp tipline number (+91 92470 52470) to verify the authenticity of the claim. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Australia’s original name originated from Asthralaya.
Fact: According to the national library of Australia, English explorer Matthew Flinders used the name Australia to describe the continent on a map. Australia was called as ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ for centuries. Terra Australis Incognita means ‘unknown Southern land’, Australis is a Latin word meaning Southern. There is no evidence that supports the claim that Australia was once known as ‘Asthralaya’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To know the origins and the history behind the name of Australia, we looked for official government sources. In an article titled ‘How was Australia named?’, the National Library Of Australia wrote that the land in the Southern Hemisphere was known as ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ for centuries. ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ means ‘unknown southern land/ unknown south land’. Australis is a Latin word meaning Southern.
Matthew Flinders who was the first person to circumnavigate the continent, was also the first person to suggest the name ‘Australia’ on a hand drawn map in 1804.
In the introduction to his book ‘A voyage to Terra Australis’, he wrote: ‘Had I permitted myself any innovation upon the original term, it would have been to convert it into Australia; as being more agreeable to the ear, and as an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth.’  Flinders map/charts accompanied his book are together known as ‘General Chart of Terra Australis or Australia.’  Governor Macquarie of New South Wales was the first person to use the word Australia after he received a copy of Flinders book. By the end of 1820s, the southern continent was commonly referred to as ‘Australia’
We searched the internet with relevant keywords to know more about the claim that Australia was once known as Asthralaya. According to a story by nriafffairs.com, Hindu spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that, during the Mahabharatha period, Australia was known as Asthralaya, which means armoury. A video of him saying this is available on YouTube, which can be watched here. We did not find ‘Asthralaya’ mentioned in any of the official sources of the Australian government which explain how Australia was named.
To sum up, Australia’s original name is not Asthralaya; its name originated from the Latin word “auster”, which means “southern wind.”

created: September 15, 2022


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Automatic Payments: A Smart and Convenient Way to Manage Your Regular Payments in New Zealand - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 7, 2022
In the fast-paced world we live in today, managing our finances efficiently is crucial. One of the most effective ways to stay on top of your regular payments in New Zealand is by utilizing automatic payments https://newzealandpayments.co.nz/automatic-payment/. This innovative method simplifies financial management, ensuring your bills are paid on time while minimizing the hassle of manual transactions. In this article, we will delve into the benefits of automatic payments, how to set them up, and why they are a wise choice for New Zealanders seeking convenience and peace of mind.
Setting up automatic payments in New Zealand is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:
In New Zealand, where the cost of living can be high, and time is a precious commodity, automatic payments make for a smart and convenient choice. They offer a hassle-free way to stay on top of your financial obligations, helping you avoid late fees and maintain a positive credit history. Moreover, this method promotes financial discipline by ensuring that you allocate funds for essential bills.
Automatic payments are also a secure option, as transactions are processed electronically through reputable financial institutions, reducing the risk of payment mishaps or fraud. With the ability to set up automatic payments for various types of expenses, you can streamline your financial management and simplify your life.
In conclusion, automatic payments have become an indispensable tool for individuals and families in New Zealand who seek a more convenient and stress-free way to manage their regular payments. By leveraging this technology, you can enjoy punctuality, convenience, and financial discipline, all while contributing to a greener environment. So, why not take advantage of this smart and efficient method to simplify your financial life and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with it? Set up automatic payments today, and watch your financial management become more manageable than ever before.
notionvc: 94f1549a-7d71-48d5-a0f6-6e5fb1d09616

created: November 7, 2022


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On average, Boat mishaps claimed more than 700 lives annually between 2001 & 2015 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 16, 2018
Andhra Pradesh witnessed another boat accident where 7 people are still missing. Last year, more than 20 people lost their lives in a boat mishap in Andhra Pradesh. The data available with NCRB indicates that more than 10000 people lost their lives in boat mishaps between 2001 & 2015. Four states account for more than 50% of these deaths.
Seven (7) people including six children are reported to be missing after a boat carrying them capsized in the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. In 2017, twenty-one (21) tourists lost their lives in a boat mishap in the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh. Mr. K. J. Alphons, the Minister in charge of Tourism of the Government of India had written to the Chief Ministers of all the states in 2017, requesting them to put in place a protocol to prevent such incidents in the future. Data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that more than 10000 lives have been lost in boat mishaps in the 15 years between 2001 and 2015. The Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) reports for the year 2016 & 2017 are yet to be released by the government.
Most such incidents occurred in 2008 & 2009
A total of 8772 incidents of boat mishaps were reported between 2001 and 2015 resulting in the death of 10580 people as per the ‘Accidents & Suicidal Deaths in India (ADSI)’ report of the NCRB. The year 2008 saw the greatest number of such incidents at 847. More than 700 such incidents were reported only in two other years, 2009 & 2010. After 2010, the number of such incidents decreased continuously till 2014 when only 180 incidents were reported. The number of such incidents again increased in 2015 when 315 incidents were reported. More than 900 people lost their lives in each of the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.  More than 800 lives were lost in two other years (2006 & 2011). The least number of reported incidents & deaths was in the year 2014. On average, more than 700 people lost their lives annually in boat mishaps between 2001 & 2015.
More than 70% of the victims are Male
Of the more than 10000 people who lost their lives between 2001 & 2015, more than 70% are male. Between 2001 & 2015, 7710 male and 2870 female lost their lives in boat mishaps. The proportion of male deaths was more than 70% in every year except in 2004.Four (4) states accounted for more than 50% deaths
The four states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar & Chhattisgarh together accounted for more than 50% of the deaths due to boat mishaps between 2001 & 2015. Uttar Pradesh topped with 1753 deaths followed by 1665 in Madhya Pradesh and 1216 in Bihar. These are the only three states with more than 1000 deaths each in the 15-year period. There are more than 500 deaths each in seven (7) states and more than 200 deaths each in fifteen (15) states.
Of all the states, only Sikkim did not report even a single death because of a boat mishap in these 15 years.  Himachal Pradesh & Nagaland reported a death in only one out of these 15 years. In thirteen (13) of the states, at least one person died due to boat mishap in each of the 15 years. The Union Territories did not report even a single death in two out of the fifteen years.


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Average days of employment per household under MNREGA less than 50 in 2020-21
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 9, 2021
There has been an exponential increase in the number of person-days generated under MNREGA in the first ten months of 2020-21 compared to the same period in 2019-20. However, data indicates that this increase in person-days of employment has not resulted in the increase in average days of employment per household which still remains below 50.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, which is popularly known as MNREGA, is a social security scheme implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development together with state governments. The scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year, to adult members in a rural household who are willing to do unskilled manual work at a fixed minimum wage.
At least 100 days of employment must be provided to unemployed volunteering adults in rural households
Section 3 of the Act states that ‘the State Government shall provide to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work not less than one hundred days of such work in a financial year’. What this means is that every state government must provide work of at least 100 days during a financial year, to every household where the adults register themselves to avail of employment under the scheme. An additional fifty days of wage employment is also provided over and above the 100 days in notified drought-affected areas or areas affected by natural calamities on the recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture. Every Scheduled Tribe household in a forest area who have no other private property except for the land rights provided under the FRA Act, 2006 are also entitled to the same.
Number of person-days of work has increased exponentially in 2020-21
In an earlier story by Factly, it was observed that there is an exponential growth in the person-days generated under MNREGA in 2020-21. It was observed that the person-days generated in the first 10 months of 2020-21 was about 46% more than the person-days generated during the same period in 2019-20.
Average days of employment provided per household is less than 50
While the mandate is to provide at least 100 days of wage employment per household whose members are willing, the data available on the official portal reveals that the average days of employment provided per household is less than 50.
As per the data on the MNREGA portal, each household has received work for only less than half the stipulated number of 100 days on average in 2020-21 and even in earlier years. The average days of employment per household have been calculated by dividing the total number of person-days generated in a year by the number of households that have been provided employment in that year. For instance, in 2019-20, over 265.3 crore person-days were generated and over 5.48 crore households were employed resulting in an average of a little more than 48 days of employment per household.
The average days of employment provided per household for the financial year 2016-17 was 46 days and for 2017-18 were 45.7 days. Between 2016-17 and 2019-20, the average days of employment were the highest in 2018-19, when it just crossed 50. However, in 2019-20, this dropped to 48.4 days. In the current financial year 2020-21, with less than 2 months left in the year, the average number of days of employment per household is close to 46. This implies that even if all households are given employment for the remaining days (which is unrealistic) in the ongoing financial year, still the legal mandate of 100 days cannot be achieved.
Mizoram reported the highest number of days of employment per household in 2020-21
Going by the same formula used previously, data for the ten-odd months of 2020-21 (until 08 February 2021) indicates that Mizoram reported the highest number of days of employment per household with an average of 89 days followed by Tripura with 64.5, Ladakh with 61.6, and Meghalaya with 58.5. Among the larger states, Madhya Pradesh reported the greatest average number of days per household with 57.6 days. Other larger states with an average of more than 50 days per household include Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, and Himachal Pradesh. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have also reported a greater number than the national average of 46 days of employment per household in 2020-21.
On the lower side, the states of Punjab, Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, have so far provided less than 40 days of employment per household. The states of Punjab and Haryana have reported the highest average number of days of employment per household in 2020-21 during the five-year period of 2016-17 & 2020-21.
Substantial increase in person-days of employment generated in certain states
In the previous story, it was observed that the state of West Bengal had generated 39.97 crore person-days of work between April to January of 2020-21, the highest in India during that period. West Bengal has also reported more than double the number of person-days compared to the same period in 2019-20. Other states which have reported a significant increase in MNREGA employment in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20 are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand. This can be attributed to the reverse migration that took place because of the nationwide lockdown. Also, a large section of people in these states lost their jobs/work and turned to MNREGA for employment.
With respect to the number of households registered under the scheme, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Manipur were among those that had reported a greater increase in the number of households receiving employment under MGNREGA during the first ten months in 2020-21 compared to the same period in 2019-20.
Number of days of employment per household has not increased with the demand for work
Despite the increased demand for employment in 2020-21, the number of days of employment per household has not gone up. As of February 2021, in the six states of Bihar, MP, Odisha, UP, Jharkhand, and West Bengal- which reported a substantial increase in the demand for employment under MNREGA in terms of person-days generated in 2020-21, the average number of days of employment per household continues to remain low, far from the mandatory 100 days.  Both MP and Odisha have reported the greatest average number of days of employment per household in 2020-21 during the given five-year period starting 2016-17.
On the other hand, in the states of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh that reported only a marginal increase in person-days in the ongoing financial year, the average number of days of employment per household has also remained low with no improvement.
Increase in person-days of employment is due to increase in households registered for MNREGA
Though there are two odd months left in the financial year, there may not be a significant rise in the number of days of employment generated per household if the trend of the last 10 odd months continues. What is evident from the state-wise data is that more households have registered under the scheme in 2020-21 as a result of which person-days of employment has increased. However, the increase in person-days has not resulted in an increase in the average number of days of work per household.
Government should focus on providing the mandatory 100 days of work
As per the Union government’s budget for 2021-22, the allocation for MNREGA is lower than that of the revised estimates for 2020-21 which implies that the government is anticipating a return to normalcy and that the dependence on MNREGA might come down. Even if the overall demand for MNREGA falls, the governments should ensure that the increased person-days should result in a greater number of days of employment per household. What is clear is that increasing the number of days of employment that can be provided to 150 does not benefit many since the stipulated 100 days is also not being provided to most households.
Featured Image: MNREGA employment

created: February 9, 2021


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Average Value of Assets owned by SC & ST Households is half the National average
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 2, 2017
The 70th round report of NSSO on household assets & indebtedness was released recently. The average value of assets for SC & ST households is almost half the national average and almost 1/3rd the asset value of those in the ‘Others’ category
The latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report on ‘Household Assets & Indebtedness among Social Groups’ was released recently. This report is part of the NSS 70 round and has data from the survey done in the year 2013. The survey findings indicate the average value of assets (AVA) of SC/ST households is almost half the national AVA.
Other Households have the highest AVA
For the purpose of this round of survey, both physical and financial assets owned by households as on 30 June 2012 were taken into account. Land, building, livestock, agricultural implements and machinery and transport equipment were considered as physical assets while household durables were kept outside of the list of physical assets. Further, shares and deposits, etc., cash and kind dues receivable except bullion and ornaments (gold & jewelry) were considered as financial assets.
It is observed from the data that SC & ST households are far behind the ‘Others’ both in urban & rural areas in their AVA. In fact, the AVA of SC & ST households is almost 1/3 of the ‘Others’ in both urban & rural areas. The AVA for ST households was almost half the national average (when all the groups are considered) in both urban & rural areas. The AVA is lowest for SC households in urban as well as rural areas. For both STs and Others, the AVA in urban areas is more than double the AVA in rural while for SCs & OBCs, the AVA in urban is around 60% more than in rural areas.
Share of Land highest across Social groups
Except for ‘Others’ in urban areas, ‘Land’ accounted for the highest share in assets for all the social groups both in urban and rural areas. ‘Building’ was the next. ‘Land’’ and ‘building’ accounted for nearly 90% of all assets for all social groups in both rural & urban areas. The share of ‘Land’ in assets was the lowest for SC households in rural areas. The share of land for SC households in rural areas is almost 15% less than the share of land for ‘Other’ households. The share of building in rural areas for both SC & ST households was higher than ‘Others’. The share of building was lower than the share of land for only ‘Others’ in urban areas with building accounting for 51% of the asset value. The share of other assets was nominal for all the social groups.
Only 3% of SC & ST households in the richest 10% in rural areas
As per the report, as many as 91% of SC or ST households were in the category of ‘8th decile or less’ in terms of AVA. In other words, only 9% of the SC or ST households are in the richest 20% in terms of AVA. This is very less when compared to 23% for OBCs and 30% for ‘Others’. The situation is more or less similar in urban areas.
The difference is starker in the richest 10%. Only 3.5% ST and 3% SC households belonged to the richest 10% class whereas the 18% households of ‘Others’ were in the richest 10% in rural areas. In urban areas, only 2.4% of the SC households and 5.3% ST households belonged to the richest 10%.
More than 30% of all the households are indebted
31.4% of all the rural households reported they were in debt and the average amount of debt being Rs 103000. Only 16.9% of the ST households reported they were in debt while the number of indebted households was more than 30% for all the other social groups. The average of amount of debt in urban areas was Rs 378000 and 22.4% of the urban households were indebted.
Featured Image: Assets owned by SC & ST Households

created: January 2, 2017


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‘Aysha Renna’ – A new target for the fake news peddlers - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 17, 2019
Some photos are being shared on social media claiming that Aysha Renna has been protesting in different states on different dates. The dates and places are also given in the post. Aysha Renna is a Jamia student who has gained media attention when she and her friend, Ladeeda Sakhaloon, saved a friend and media journalist, Shaheen Abdullah, from police lathi-charge during the recent anti-CAB/CAA protests. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photos of Aysha Renna protesting in different states on different dates.
Fact: All the protest photos of Aysha Renna in the post were taken in New Delhi. Also, some of the dates do not match with the original dates. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo 1: Taken on 16t December 2019, not on 12th December.
The image was posted by Barkha Dutt on her Twitter handle on 16 December 2019. It was taken after the video of Aysha protecting Shaheen from police lathi-charge (on 15 December) went viral. Barkha Dutt’s interview with Aysha can be watched here.
In a viral video from #Jamia we saw two young women save a male friend from police lathis by giving him cover. We also saw the same women standing atop a roof raising hands in another viral image. I meet Ladeeda Farzana & Ayesha Renna, sheroes of Jamia & Shaheen whom they saved pic.twitter.com/q8qfvIDMFT
Photo 2: Taken at Jamia in New Delhi on 12th December
2019, not in UP on 13th December.
The photo can be found in an article published by the ‘Outlook’. In the article, it can be found that the photo was taken in the Jamia Campus (New Delhi) on 12 December. So, the photo was not taken in UP on 13 December.
Photo 3: Taken in New Delhi on 13th December 2019, not in Bengal on 14th December.
The same image can be found in an article by Mumbai Mirror regarding the protests by the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi on Friday (i.e. 13th December 2019). So, the photo was not taken in Bengal on 14 December.
Photo 4: Taken in New Delhi on 15th December 2019.
The date and location given for the photo in the post are correct. In the ‘First post’ article, it can be read that the incident happened in New Delhi on Sunday (i.e. 15th December 2019).
So, it can be concluded that all the protest photos of Aysha Renna in the post were taken in New Delhi. Also, some of the dates do not match with the original dates.
Another post (archived) with similar claim and three photos with different dates is being shared on social media. It is being claimed that the three photos in the post are taken on three different dates i.e. on 13, 14 and 15 December.
All three photos in the post were taken in New Delhi. While two photos in the post were taken on December 13, one photo was taken on 15 December 2019. The sources for the photos can be found here, here and here.
Also, a user has posted a photo (archived) of Rahul Gandhi with a girl and claimed that the girl in the photo is Aysha Renna.
It was found that the girl in the photo with Rahul Gandhi is not Aysha Renna. She is Safa Febin, the student who translated Rahul Gandhi’s speech. The speech can be watched here.
To sum it up, a lot of fake news is being spread on social media in the name of ‘Aysha Renna’.
Did you watch our new Episode of the PAUSE series?

created: December 17, 2019


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Ayushmann Khurrana performed "Dil Dil Pakistan" along with many other Indian songs like “Chak De India”. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 27, 2024
A video of Ayushmann Khurrana singing “Dil Dil Pakistan” with the Pakistani flag displayed in the background is going viral on social media with the claim that he is the biggest hypocrite, willing to do anything for money, and lacks ethics and values. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video depicting Ayushmann Khurrana singing “Dil Dil Pakistan” song.
Fact: Ayushmann Khurrana sang this song during a concert held in Dubai in 2017. In the concert, Ayushmann Khurrana not only sang ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ but also performed many Indian songs like ‘Chak De India’. However, only the ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ segment of this video is being circulated on social media with a misleading narrative. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To learn more about the viral video, we performed a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a YouTube video published by Selfie Tv on 20 November 2017, featuring a longer version of the same video with the description “Ayushman Khurana giving tribute to all Asian countries through his Punjabi singing in Dubai.” Upon careful observation, it becomes evident that Ayushmann Khurrana sang various songs during this performance, dedicating songs to the audience from different parts of India by mentioning names Punjab, UP, Bengal, and South India. In one segment, he performed the “Dil Dil Pakistan” song as a tribute to his Pakistani fans present at the concert. Later, he asks all the Indians present in the concert to dance, as he sings “Chak De India” song, after this song he concludes his performance.
Ayushmann Khurrana had also tweeted on his official Twitter (X) handle regarding this Dubai concert in 2017 and posted a video clip of his performance along with his brother Aparshakti Khurana (here & here).
Thank u Muscat ✌ Dubai tomo. 27th Oct with my band @AyushmannBhava. Venue – The tennis stadium. Shukran 🙏🏻 (styling credit @ishabhansali_ ) pic.twitter.com/jSaBtdzVGq
When you sibling goes berserk with you onstage. @Aparshakti #dubai #gig pic.twitter.com/e7IHt42kXX
We also came across a news report from Gulf News about this concert. According to the report, Ayushmann Khurrana, along with his brother Aparshakti Khurana and Pakistani singer Ali Zafar, performed at the MTV India Unplugged concert at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on 27 October 2017. The report mentioned that Ayushmann Khurrana surprised everyone by dedicating the song “Dil Dil Pakistan” to his fans from across the border. He concluded his performance with the song “Chak De India”.
To sum it up, Ayushmann Khurrana performed “Dil Dil Pakistan” along with many other Indian songs like “Chak De India”.

created: January 27, 2024


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Azerbaijani man arrested in Portugal due to a confusion between Pomegranate and Grenade was later released - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 9, 2023
A video recently circulating on social media claimed that an Azerbaijani man with an Israeli passport attempted to blow up a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal. This fact-check article aims to reveal the truth behind these allegations.
Claim: A Muslim man from Azerbaijan holding an Israeli passport tried to blow himself up at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal with a grenade.
Fact: An Azerbaijani tourist, using a translation app, accidentally translated “pomegranate juice” to “grenade” in Portuguese, leading to confusion and him being briefly detained by police. and Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
We conducted a reverse image search with keyframes from the video to uncover the facts behind this viral video. This led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) featuring similar screenshots from the video. Interestingly, the details in these reports contradicted the claims in the viral post.
According to these reports, a tourist from Azerbaijan who spoke Russian attempted to order pomegranate juice at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal. He used a translation app to communicate his order, which unfortunately translated his request in Portuguese to “grenade”. This misunderstanding led to the man being briefly handcuffed by the police. However, upon realising there were no weapons or threats involved, the police released the man.
Further research led us to more news articles (here and here) that confirmed the story. The video making rounds on social media misrepresents an innocent tourist’s translation mishap as a thwarted bombing attempt.
To sum up, the video claimed to show an attempted bombing in Lisbon, Portugal, is not an act of terrorism but rather a translation blunder made by a harmless tourist.

created: November 9, 2023


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B17/ Laetrile/Amygdalin తో క్యాన్సర్ నయం అవుతుందని అనడానికి ఎటువంటి శాస్త్రీయ ఆధారం లేదు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 27, 2019
క్యాన్సర్ అనేది వ్యాధి కాదు, కేవలం ఒక విటమిన్ లోపమేనని చెప్తూ ఒక పోస్ట్ ని ఫేస్బుక్ లో ఇరవై నాలుగు వేల మందికి పైగా షేర్ చేసారు. పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన విషయాల్లో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో విశ్లేషిద్ధాం.
క్యాన్సర్ అనేది వ్యాధి కాదు. అది కేవలం B17 విటమిన్ లోపం మాత్రమే. కావున B17/ Laetrile/Amygdalin తో ఆ లోపాన్ని పోగొట్టుకోవచ్చు.
Fact: Laetrile ని క్యాన్సర్ వ్యాధికి కొంతమంది వాడుతారు కానీ దాని వల్ల క్యాన్సర్ తగ్గుతుందని లేదా తగ్గిందని అనడానికి  ఎటువంటి శాస్త్రీయ ఆధారం లేదు మరియు ఎక్కడా రుజువు కాలేదు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పింది తపు.
పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పినట్టు నిజంగా కేంబ్రిడ్జి విశ్వవిద్యాలయం కి చెందిన ప్రొఫెసర్ నందితా డిసౌజా ‘క్యాన్సర్ అనే పదం ఒక పెద్ద అబద్ధం’ అని చెప్పిందా అని గూగుల్ లో వెతకగా, అసలు ప్రొఫెసర్ నందితా డిసౌజా కి కేంబ్రిడ్జి విశ్వవిద్యాలయానికి సంబంధం లేదని తెలుస్తుంది. తను ‘The Insititute of Cancer Research’ (University of London) లో రేడియోలగిస్ట్ గా పనిచేస్తుంది. తను కేంబ్రిడ్జి విశ్వవిద్యాలయం లో చదివినట్టుగా కానీ, పనిచేసినట్టుగా కానీ తన ప్రొఫైల్ లో రాసి ఉండదు. అంతే కాదు పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పినట్టుగా తను అన్నట్టు ఇంటర్నెట్ లో ఎక్కడా కూడా లేదు. ఇంకా చెప్పాలంటే తను పనిచేసేది పోస్ట్ లో వ్యతిరేకించిన ‘క్యాన్సర్ అనే వ్యాధి’ చికిత్స మీద.
పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పినట్టు కాన్సర్ వ్యాధిని B17 తో నయం చేయొచ్చు అని కొన్ని పుస్తకాలు వచ్చాయి కానీ నిజంగా క్యాన్సర్ అనేది కేవలం B17 విటమిన్ లోపమా? B17/ Laetrile/Amygdalin తో ఆ లోపాన్ని పోగొట్టుకోవచ్చా? అని గూగుల్ లో చూడగా, ఈ విషయంపై కొన్ని రీసర్చ్ ఆర్టికల్స్ సెర్చ్ రిజల్ట్స్ లో వస్తాయి. వాటిలో B17/ Laetrile/Amygdalin తో క్యాన్సర్ నయం అవుతున్నట్టు ఎటువంటి శాస్త్రీయ ఆధారం లేనట్టు మరియు ఎక్కడా రుజువు కానట్టు ఉంటుంది.
రీసర్చ్ ఆర్టికల్:
Cancer Research, UK:
National Center for Biotechnology Information, US:
అంతే కాదు, రెండేళ్ళ క్రితమే ఈ విహాయం తప్పు అంటూ Snopes వారు ఆర్టికల్ కూడా రాసారు. చివరగా, B17/ Laetrile/Amygdalin తో క్యాన్సర్ నయం అవుతుందని అనడానికి ఎటువంటి శాస్త్రీయ ఆధారం లేదు మరియు ఎక్కడా రుజువు కాలేదు.
ఏది ఫేక్, ఏది నిజం సిరీస్ లో మా వీడియోస్ మీరు చూసారా?


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Baba Ramdev’s images from Dehradun hospital are being shared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 9, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post with a photo of Baba Ram Dev alleging that he got operated in a foreign hospital. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
Ramdev Baba got operated in a hospital in Germany.
Fact:  The photo in the post is the one taken when Ramdev Baba broke his 9-day long fast at a Dehradun hospital in 2011. So, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image search, it was found in an article of ‘First post’ published on June 13, 2011. Baba Ramdev had been on a hunger strike since 4th June 2011 demanding the then government for a tougher anti-corruption law and for the return of black money stashed away abroad. On 13th June, though he didn’t get any assurance from the Centre on his demands, he broke his fast in the presence of spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
To sum it up, Baba Ramdev’s images from Dehradun hospital are being shared with a misleading narrative.


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Babar Azam did not make any statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 31, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Pakistan Cricket team captain Babar Azam has praised the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring spectators to support their team during their matches in Chennai. The purported statement of Babar Azam thanks the local government for making their team feel Chennai as their home ground and states- “Even if we had the India Pakistan match here in Chennai, I’m sure we would have had equal support matching Indian supporters. We thank the local government for their support.” Babar Azam, Pakistan captain.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A purported statement of Babar Azam thanking the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring spectators in support of Pakistan during their matches in Chennai.
Fact: Babar Azam did not make any such statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for allegedly sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai. Addressing the post-match press conference after the Pakistan vs. South Africa match in Chennai, Pakistan’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur praised the exceptional training facilities and the enthusiastic crowd in Chennai. Neither Babar Azam nor Mickey Arthur had spoken anything about sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai.  Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched to check whether Babar Azam had made any such statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for allegedly sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai, we could not find any news report confirming such a statement from Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
During the post-match press conference after the loss to Afghanistan in Chennai on 23 October 2023, Babar Azam said that the defeat hurt them and expressed his disappointment over bowlers not taking the wickets in the middle overs and teammates not showing attitude while fielding. However, Babar Azam never spoke about the Tamil Nadu government or sponsoring supporters for their matches in Chennai. The statements of Babar Azam during the post-match interviews after the matches with Afghanistan and South Africa can be seen here and here.
Pakistan’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur, while addressing the post-match press conference after their loss to South Africa on 27 October 2023, said that the training facilities and the crowd in Chennai were outstanding. Although there were many pictures showing supporters wearing Babar Azam jerseys during Pakistan matches at Chennai stadium, there are no reports on the Tamil Nadu government sponsoring supporters for Pakistan during their matches in Chennai.
To sum it up, Babar Azam did not make any statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai.

created: October 31, 2023


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Ban on hijab in government educational institutions is still in place in Karnataka - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 13, 2022
A social media post claiming that ‘college in Karnataka repealed dress code, and now students will be able to attend the class wearing hijab’ is being circulated widely. The claim in the viral post is being perceived as dress code being banned in the entire state and now that students can attend the classes with hijab. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Colleges in Karnataka repealed dress code, and now students will be able to attend the class wearing hijab.
Fact: Karnataka government did not repeal dress code in educational institutions. Thus the ban on hijab in government institutions is still in place. As far as the private institutions are concerned, these institutions do not come under the purview of the earlier government order banning religious clothing in educational institutions. And hence, allowing students with hijab or repealing dress code is their prerogative. However, except for couple of institutions, there are no reports of private institutions all together repealing dress code.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Lately, neither the Karnataka government nor the consortium of private colleges in the state took any such decision to repeal the dress code in the colleges. If indeed any such decision was taken, the media would have reported it. However, we could not find any such reports.
However, as per news reports, back in February, a couple of private colleges in Madikeri and Mysore repealed the dress code and allowed the Muslim girl students to attend the classes with hijab. Most likely, news reports like these could be the source for the viral post and this could have been misinterpreted as a blanket exemption on college dress code.
However, it is noteworthy to mention that the government’s earlier order banning religious clothing in educational institutions where there is a prescribed uniform in place, is limited only to government institutions and private institutions do not come under the purview of the order.
Thus, private institutions are entitled to have their own say in allowing students with hijab. Moreover, except for a couple of above-mentioned institutions, we could not find any recent reports of private institutions implementing a blanket exemption on dress code.
In other words, the ban on hijab in educational institutions is still in place as far as the government institutions are concerned. In fact, few Muslim students abstained from appearing for the pre-university exams held in the last week of March 2022 as the ban on hijab is still in place (here & here).
To sum it up, the ban on hijab in government educational institutions is still in place in Karnataka.


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Bangladesh artist Ayesha Sultana’s biography falsely linked to Lakshadweep activist Aisha Sultana - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 15, 2021
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Lakshadweep activist and Malayalam filmmaker Aisha Sultana’s birthplace is Jessore district in Bangladesh. Also, this post claims that Aisha Sultana had completed her college education at Beaconhouse National University in Pakistan.  Lakshadweep police had recently filed a sedition case against Aisha Sultana for her ‘Bio-weapon’ remarks. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Lakshadweep activist and Malayalam filmmaker Aisha Sultana is a native of Bangladesh and she completed her college education in Pakistan.
Fact: Malayalam filmmaker Aisha Sultana is a native of Chetiath island in Lakshadweep, not from Bangladesh. The information shared in the post is the biography of Bangladesh-based artist, Ayesha Sultana. Dhaka resident Ayesha Sultana investigates space, vision, and form through her drawings, paintings, and sculptural constructions. Lakshadweep activist Aisha Sultana had clarified that the social media posts linking her birthplace to Bangladesh as spreading false news. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the biography of Lakshadweep activist and Malayalam filmmaker Aisha Sultana, we found several news articles with the biography of Aisha Sultana. They can be seen here and here. These articles mentioned Aisha Sultana as a native of Lakshadweep’s Chetiath island in India. Though we could not find the education details of Aisha Sultana, there is no official source to confirm that she got graduated from a college in Pakistan. The official social media handles of Aisha Sultana can be seen here and here.
Aisha Sultana through a Facebook post clarified that the viral social media posts linking her birthplace to Bangladesh are fake news.
When we searched to check whether any other person with the same biography exists in Bangladesh, we found that the information shared in the post is the biography of Bangladesh-based artist, Ayesha Sultana. According to her biography, she was born in Jessore district of Bangladesh, in 1984. Ayesha Sultana had completed her post-graduation diploma in Art Education from Beaconhouse University in Lahore, Pakistan.
Ayesha Sultana investigates space, vision, and form through her drawings, paintings, and sculptural constructions. The portfolio of Ayesha Sultana can be seen here. From all these, it can be concluded that the information shared in the post shows the biography of Bangladesh-based artist Ayesha Sultana, not the biodata of Lakshadweep activist Aisha Sultana.
To sum it up, the biography of Bangladesh artist Ayesha Sultana is falsely linked to Lakshadweep activist Aisha Sultana.


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Bangladeshi army training video is being shared as ‘Humiliation of Indian soldiers at the hands of Chinese troops in Ladakh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 30, 2020
A video clip is being shared on social media claiming that it shows humiliation of Indian soldiers at the hands of Chinese troops in Ladakh. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video of Indian soldiers being humiliated by Chinese troops in Ladakh.
Fact: The video is of a training exercise of Bangladeshi army men. So the video has nothing to do with Chinese troops or Indian army. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video are subjected to reverse image search technique, a longer version of the clip was found. The video had the title ‘Bangladesh Army’s hard training situation.আর্মির ট্রেনিং বিশ্বজুড়েই ভয়ংকর।বাংলাদেশ আর্মি ট্রেনিং’ and was uploaded on YouTube on ‘03 October 2019’. Other search results saying the video to be of ‘Bangladesh army training’ can be seen here, here and here. In the video, there are many clues to conclude that men are not being tortured. All through the video, it can be observed that there is no resistance from the soldiers who were tied and being gagged. At a few instances, soldiers can also be seen smiling during that activity.
Also, when we compare the insignia (1,2) of the soldiers in the video with that of Bangladesh soldiers, it is confirmed that the soldiers belong to the Bangladesh army.
To sum it up, Bangladeshi Army training video is being shared as ‘Humiliation of Indian soldiers at the hands of Chinese troops in Ladakh (Occupied Kashmir)’.
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Bank Accounts opened in India: Comparing UPA vs NDA-1
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 5, 2015
Financial Inclusion is the latest buzzword, thanks to the ‘Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)’. This is a national scheme for Financial Inclusion launched by the BJP led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government at the center in 2014. The scheme was announced on the Independence Day of 2014.
Since then, NDA leaders have been talking about this scheme as a game changer in financial inclusion on a scale that the country has never seen. The number of accounts opened as part of PMJDY also made it to Guinness records for most number of accounts opened in a week. As on 04 April, a total of 12.54 crore bank accounts were opened as part of this scheme.
The Congress leaders have also been vocal in hitting back at the government by saying that the financial inclusion scheme during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime did equally well and it was the previous NDA regime that did very poorly in this aspect. We decided to dig out the numbers for both NDA- 1 (from 1998 to 2004) and for UPA (2004-2014). Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has numbers only up to 2013. Hence the numbers presented in this article are only up to 2013.
Number of Deposit Accounts & Credit Accounts opened in Scheduled Commercial Banks
For all scheduled commercial banks, an average of 95 lakh new deposit accounts were added per year during the NDA-1 regime while an average of 5.87 crore new deposit accounts were added per year during the UPA regime. In other words, the average number of new deposit accounts added per year during the UPA regime is 6 times the average number of new deposit accounts added per year during the NDA-1.
Similar trend is seen in new credit accounts as well. For all scheduled commercial banks, an average of 21 lakh new credit accounts were added per year during the NDA-1 regime while an average of 61 lakh new credit accounts were added per year during the UPA regime. In other words, the average number of new credit accounts added per year during the UPA regime is 3 times more than the average number of new credit accounts added per year during the NDA-1.
Clearly, UPA had done far better than NDA-1 when it comes to opening new bank accounts. This could be because of host of reforms & initiatives introduced since 2005 to foster financial inclusion. In fact, close to 14 crore new deposit accounts were opened in 2012-13(10 crore in rural & semi urban) while 9 crore were opened in 2011-12.
Growth in Rural Vs Urban Accounts
For all the scheduled commercial banks, the data for number of deposit accounts by group of population is maintained by the RBI. For this analysis, Rural & Semi Urban are grouped together while Urban & Metro areas are grouped together. The average growth of deposit accounts in Rural & Semi-Urban areas is greater than the Urban & Metro areas during the UPA regime while it is the opposite during the NDA-1 regime. The pro-poor image of the UPA is probably justified by these numbers. While Rural & Semi-Urban deposit accounts grew by an average of 2.1%, the Urban & Metro deposit accounts grew by an average of 2.8% during the NDA-1 regime. During the UPA regime, the average growth of Rural & Semi-Urban deposit accounts was 13.9% while it was 11.5% for the Urban & Metro deposit accounts. Even with respect to credit accounts, the average growth rate during the NDA-1 regime was 4% while it was 9.3% during the UPA regime.
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Bank Frauds involving ATMs & Cards increase, amount involved decreases
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 13, 2020
With ever increasing digital transactions, the number of cases of fraud involving ATMs, cards, online banking have increased in the last few years. However, the total amount involved in such fraud cases has decreased.
The most common banking services have been made simple, accessible and convenient thanks to Automated Teller Machines or ATMs, debit & credit cards which are ubiquitous now. At the same time, a substantial number of fraud cases are reported every year despite RBI issuing guidelines from time to time to prevent such fraud. Remember banks urging customers to change their debit and credit cards to EMV cards in 2018?
In 2018-19, cases of Robbery & Theft at ATMs
increase by 70%
Sections 392 to 398 of the Indian Penal Code define theft, robbery, burglary and dacoity differently. RBI has been maintaining data of incidents in ATMs under these heads only since the fiscal year 2017-18.
It was reported that incidents pertaining to theft, dacoity, burglary and robbery in ATMs in the last two financial years have gone up from 303 cases in 2017-18 to 515 in 2018-19, an increase of 70%.  The amount involved in these incidents was Rs.11.2 crores in 2017-18 and Rs. 25.5 crores in 2018-19.
Haryana accounted for the maximum number of such incidents with 9.6% of the total in 2017-18. In the subsequent year, Maharashtra accounted for 13% of the cases reported, the largest for any state. However, in terms of the amount stolen, Rs. 3.74 crores (14.6% of the total) was reported to be stolen in 2018-19 from Karnataka, the highest for any state.
In the currentfiscal (2019-20), as on 30 September 2019, 238 such cases had already beenreported in the first six months.
In April 2019, RBIissued a circular to banks recommending a few additional
measures to enhance security at ATMs. Theseinclude increased surveillance and grouting of ATM to solid structures such aswalls and pillars.
Cases of fraud involving ATM cards and online banking
have also risen
Meanwhile, data oncases of fraud with respect to ATM cards and online banking worth at least one lakhrupees each have also increased in the last three years.
In 2016-17, a total of 724 cases involving ATM cards and online banking frauds (of more than a lakh rupees) were reported. This rose to 911 cases in 2017-18 and further to 980 cases in 2018-19. In spite of the increase in the number of cases by 7.5%, people lost Rs. 65.26 crores in 2017-18 and only Rs. 21.36 crores in 2018-19, showing a decline in the amount involved.
In the first six months of the current financial year of 2019-20, 586cases are already reported.
Number of fraud cases
increased by 50%, while the total amount decreases
Irrespective of the amount involved & the type of case, a total of 34,791 fraud cases involving Rs. 168.99 crores and 52,304 cases involving Rs.149.42 crores in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively, were reported according to RB (card related & online banking). It is observed that the amount involved has reduced despite the increased number of cases by almost 50%.
The same four states account for the greatest number
of cases of fraud
In every year forthe last three years, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of casesrelated to fraud involving ATM cards and online banking. Throughout theseyears, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka continue to report large number of casesalong with Maharashtra. Data for 2019-20 is available only up to 30 September2019.
Most number of fraud cases reported in SBI in 2019-20
In 2019-20, almostone-third of the cases were reported in State Bank of India. ICICI Bankaccounted for more than 11% of the cases. HDFC and Kotak Mahindra were also hitsignificantly by bank frauds in the current as well as previous financialyears.
RBI keeps issuing instructions to prevent such frauds
RBI, in
2015, directed banks to report the casesof fraud to law enforcement agencies and take appropriate actions to recoverthe money lost in fraud. In unauthorised transactions due contributory fraud,negligence or third party breach, RBI notified that customers will have zero liability if they notify the bank within three working days. Banks should also take immediate action to ensure safety in ATMs and provide customer channels such as toll free numbers, SMS, e-mailand more, which function throughout the day for customers to report cases ofunauthorised transactions. In December 2018, RBI mandated that debit and creditcards had to be converted to EMV cards with PIN for safety reasons.
In addition tothese measures, RBI also conducts awareness campaigns under ‘RBI Kehta hai’ tospread awareness on safe digital banking.
A few importanttips include the following.
What should one do in case of a fraudulent transaction using debit card/ credit card/ online banking?
As soon as a person gets to know that some suspicious transaction has taken place in their account, they must notify the bank immediately. The bank must resolve the complaint within 90 days. For more details, one can give a missed call on 14440 to complain.
Featured Image: Bank Frauds in India

created: January 13, 2020


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Bank Losses due to Frauds close to ₹ 70000 Crore in 5 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 20, 2018
Government data indicates that bank losses due to frauds were to the extent of ₹ 70000 crore in the 5-year period between 2012-13 and 2016-17. Nirav Modi’s case involving a total amount of ₹  11000 crore is more than the extent of loss PNB reported in the 5-year period.
After the $1.77 billion fraud surfaced in the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the focus has shifted to such frauds in various banks. Data  shared by the government  in the Rajya Sabha indicates that the extent of loss to scheduled commercial banks because of frauds involving ₹ 1 lakh & above, was close to ₹ 70000 crore between 2012-13 and 2016-17.
Frauds increase by 20% in 5 years
The total number of active frauds in 78 scheduled commercial banks, involving ₹ 1 lakh & above, increased from 4235 in 2012-13 to 5076 in 2016-17 as per the  data shared  by the government in the Rajya Sabha.
SBI & ICICI report more than 2500 frauds each during this period
Out of the 22949 frauds reported by the 78 scheduled commercial banks during this 5-year period, SBI & ICICI Bank reported more than 2500 fraud cases each. HDFC bank with 1146 cases was 3rd  in the list. Bank of Baroda & Axis Bank were the only other banks that reported more than 1000 cases each. Punjab National Bank reported 942 fraud cases during this period.
Loss to Banks close to ₹ 70000 crore in 5 years
As per the data shared by the government, the extent of loss to the 78 scheduled commercial banks due to these frauds is  ₹ 69770 crore in these 5 years. The extent of loss increased by about 70% between 2012-13 and 2016-17. The extent of loss was more or less close to ₹ 17000 crore in each of the 3 years starting from 2014-15.
PNB lost the most amount in these 5 years
Of the 78 banks whose data was shared by the government, Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) loss was close to ₹ 9000 crore in these 5 years, the highest for any bank. Nirav Modi’s case involving a total amount of ₹ 11000 crore is more than what PNB has reported in this 5-year period. SBI loss was ₹ 6228 crore followed by Bank of Baroda whose loss was ₹ 4412 crore. The extent of loss was more than ₹ 1000 crore for over 20 banks.
Maharashtra tops in the number of Bank frauds
Maharashtra, whose capital Mumbai is regarded as the country’s financial capital, has reported the most number of  bank fraud cases  between April 2013 and June 2016. Maharashtra reported 1279 fraud cases followed by  Uttar Pradesh where 1069 such cases were reported. Delhi is the only other state with more than 1000 reported fraud cases during this period. The total amount involved in these frauds was also highest in Maharashtra (₹ 13,164 crore) followed by ₹ 9129 crore in West Bengal. Sikkim reported only 257 cases, but the amount involved was ₹ 1335 crore. A total of 9 states reported fraud cases where the total amount involved was more than ₹ 1000 crore during this period.

created: February 20, 2018