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Indians married before the age of 18
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2016
The Census office released the census 2011 data on age at marriage by category of economic activity. More than 10 crore Indians were married before the age of 18, which is 18.5% of the total persons (workers & non –workers).
The Census office released the Census 2011 data on Age at Marriage by Category of Economic Activities. The data includes age at marriage for various categories of workers from Urban & Rural India including various States/UTs. As per the data, more than 10 crore persons were married before the age of 18, which is 18.5% of the total workers and non-workers. Close to 30% of female (workers & non-workers) and 6.3% of the male (workers & non-workers) were married before the age of 18.
12.5% of all the workers married before the age of 18
Out of the 30.52 crore workers as counted by the 2011 Census, 22.55 crore are male and 7.97 crore are female.  About 3.82 crore of all the workers were married before the age of 18 (12.5%). Majority of the workers (71.5%) were married between the ages of 18 and 27. Close to 2% of all the workers were married after the age of 34 while 4.3% of all the workers did not state their age at marriage.
Among female workers, more than 31% of them were married before the age of 18 while only 5.8% of the male workers were married before the age of 18. Close to 3/4 of the female workers were married between the ages of 14 and 21 while only 38% of the male workers were married between those ages. Only 5% of the female workers were married after 25 years, while 22.7% of the male workers were married after this age.
29% of the female non-workers were married before the age of 18
The census 2011 counted a total of 24.28 crore non-workers out of which 20.81 crore are female and the remaining 3.47 crore are male. More than 26% of all the non-workers were married before the age of 18, which is more than twice the percentage of total workers who were married before the age of 18. Close to 63% of all the non-workers were married between 18 and 27 years while 6.8% of the non-workers were married after 34 years.
Among the female non-workers, close to 29% of them were married before the age of 18 while the corresponding percentage for male is 9.1%. Surprisingly, the percentage of female workers married before the age of 18 is more than the percentage of female non-workers married before the age of 18.
More than 20% of the rural persons married before the age of 18
Of the total 35.43 crore rural persons (workers and non-workers), about 7.29 crore (20.5%) were married before the age of 18. About 69% of them were married between 18 and 27 years while the rest of them after 27 years. Most of them were married between the ages of 20 and 21.
About 15% of the urban persons were married before the age of 18
Of the total 19.37 crore urban persons (workers and non-workers), about 2.87 crore (14.9%) were married before the age of 18. About 66% of them were married between 18 and 27 years while the rest of them after 27 years. Most of them were married between the ages of 20 and 21.
Featured Image: Child Marriages


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10 Deadliest Terrorist attacks in India in the last 25 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2015
LUDHIANA – PUNJAB (1991):
In two major terrorist attacks on trains in Ludhiana district of Punjab, 74 passengers were killed and 46 others were injured. The first incident took place about 2 kms towards Ludhiana from Baddowal Railway Station. The 2nd incident took place at Railway Station in Qila Raipur.
MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA (1993):
The city of Mumbai was rocked by a series of Bomb explosions within a span of two and half hours (1.30pm to 4pm ) on March 12, 1993. The explosions were caused at Commercial Centers and other landmarks of Mumbai like Air India building, Stock Exchange building, Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, Hotel Airport Centaur, Plaza Theatre etc. Besides, hand grenades were also thrown at Hindu Fishermen Colony in Mahim and Sahar Airport, Mumbai. The incidents were an outcome of a criminal conspiracy, in which 257 persons had lost their lives and 713 others sustained injuries. The conspiracy was hatched by Dawood Ibrahim in conjunction with Pak establishment.
AKSHARDHAM – GUJARAT (2002):
The Akshardham Attack was a terror attack at the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar, in 2002. Two terrorists attacked the temple complex killing 31 people.  The National Security Guards ended the siege by killing both the attackers. 71 others were injured in these attacks.
DELHI (2005):
The Delhi blasts occurred in October 2005. There were three explosins in Paharganj, Sarojini Nagar and DTC Bus at Govindpuri. Official figures indicate a death toll of 50 and 105 people sustained injuries.
MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA (2006):
A series of seven bombs exploded in local trains of Mumbai in a period of 11 minutes. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers. A total of 187 people were killed and 817 others sustained injuries. In 2015, 12 people were convicted in this case.
SAMJHAUTA BLASTS (2007):
An explosion occurred in two unreserved coaches of Samjhauta/Attari Express at Diwana near Panipat. The Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi and Lahore. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana station. 68 people were killed and 15 others sustained injuries. Among the killed were Indian & Pakistani Citizens including a few policemen.
HYDERABAD – TELANGANA (2007):
Two bombs were exploded within a 5 minute period in Hyderabad. These blasts took place in the busy Lumbini Park & a local eatery Gokul Chat. Two other bombs were diffused. 44 people died and 52 sustained injuries.
JAIPUR – RAJASTHAN (2008):
The 2008 Jaipur blasts were a series of nine synchronized bomb blasts that took place within a span of fifteen minutes at various  locations in Jaipur, A tenth bomb was found and defused. Official figures indicate that 64 people were killed and 140 others sustained injuries.
AHMEDABAD – GUJARAT (2008):
The Ahmedabad blasts were a series of 18 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, within a span of 70 minutes. According to official figure, 57 people were killed and 150 suffered injuries. These blasts were similar to the ones in Bengaluru, a day before.
MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA (2008):
In November 2008, 10 Pakistani members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant organisation, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai.The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday, 26 November and lasted until Saturday, 29 November 2008, killing 175 (including 9 terrorists) people and 291 others sustained injuries. The only terrorist who was caught alive, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was executed in 2012.

source: news-factly

created: November 16, 2015

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


text:
Burning cow ghee does not produce oxygen; it rather consumes oxygen and releases greenhouse gases - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 10, 2023
Update (10 January 2023):
Another post is being shared on social media claiming that burning of cow ghee produces 1 tonne of fresh oxygen. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Burning cow ghee produces 1 tonne of fresh oxygen.
Fact: Burning cow ghee does not produce oxygen; it rather consumes oxygen and releases greenhouse gases like CO. Industrial techniques used in the oxygen generation like Cryogenic Distillation, Vacuum Swing Adsorption do not use cow ghee. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Combustion is a chemical reaction between substances (cow ghee in this case), usually including oxygen and accompanied by generation of heat and light in the form of flame. This process also releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO) along with water (HO) in the form of vapour.
Fuel (Cow Ghee) + O2 -> CO2 +   H2O
Cow ghee is the complex lipid of glycerides (majorly triglycerides), free fatty acids, phospholipids, sterols, sterol esters, fat soluble vitamins, carbonyls, hydrocarbons, carotenoids. There is no evidence that burning of any of these substances release oxygen. As of now, oxygen used for medical and industrial purposes are produced by the processes of Cryogenic Distillation, Vacuum Swing Adsorption etc.
Published (23 April 2021):
A video accompanying a social media post claims that, on burning 10 grams of ghee during a yajna, 1 ton of oxygen would be produced. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: 10 grams of ghee can produce 1 ton of oxygen during yajna.
Fact:  10 grams simply cannot generate 1 ton (1,000 kilograms) of anything. It is completely against the laws of physics. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
10 grams simply cannot generate 1 ton (1,000 kilograms) of anything in any manner. This would violate the Conservation Laws in physics.  A conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves over time. In this case, the property being the mass of ghee, which is only 10 grams cannot give a product after a reaction, more than 10 grams. Hence, producing 1 ton oxygen from 10 grams ghee is impossible.
An article published by The Hindu also debunks the claim made in the post.
By further search on the claim, one could see a Facebook post by Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan, a scientist. She explains that ghee being made up of fatty acids, if burned in fire will consume oxygen and not release oxygen. Hence, the possibility of oxygen being generated does not arise.
To sum it up, 10 grams of ghee is not going to produce 1 ton of oxygen during Yajna. The claim is totally against the laws of physics

created: January 10, 2023


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(10 October 2022) Government Data Roundup: QES, Index of Eight Core Industries, Public Debt Management report, Envi Stats India 2022 among the data released recently. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2022
In the thirteenth edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), Index of Eight Core Industries for August 2022, Public Debt Management report for the quarter of April-June (Q1 of FY 22-23), Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers – August 2022, Results of Forward-Looking Surveys by RBI, India Productivity Report by RBI, Envi Stats India 2022, among others.
The thirteenth edition of the fortnightly government data roundup covers the Fourth Round (January-March,2022) of Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), Index of Eight Core Industries for August 2022, Public Debt Management report for the quarter of April-June (Q1 of FY 22-23), Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers – August  2022, Results of Forward Looking Surveys by RBI, India Productivity Report by RBI, Envi Stats India 2022 Volume II Environment Accounts, and State-wise and Item-wise Value of Output from Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (Year: 2011-12 to 2019-20).
In addition to these reports, some quick highlights of this fortnight are as below:
The 6th India Mobile Congress was officially opened by the Prime Minister, who also introduced 5G services in India. Speaking to the group, the prime minister declared that the arrival of 5G signals the beginning of a new era for the nation. India will actively participate in the creation and application of the technology and Future wireless technology design and related production will be heavily influenced by India.
Brief about the report/data:
The Area Frame Establishment Survey (AFES) and the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) are the two components of the All-India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES). The former applies to businesses with 9 or less employees, while the latter applies to businesses with 10 or more workers. The QES, which is a component of the AQEES, was introduced in April 2021 to collect crucial data regarding employment & related variables in the organised sector of the economy. In each quarter, information is being collected from about 12,000 establishments. The first such report for the period April-June 2021 was released in the month of September 2021.
Key Highlights:
Brief about the policy:
Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) is a production volume index that evaluates the performance of each core industry, both individually and collectively. Due to their significant influence on other industrial activities as well as general macro-economic activity, these sectors are known as core industries. These industries in the order of their weight in the index are Petroleum Refinery Industry (28.04%), Electricity (19.85%), Steel (17.92%), Coal (10.33%), Crude Oil (8.98%), Natural Gas (6.88%), Cement (5.37%), and fertilizers (2.63%). These sectors account for a combined 40.27% of the weighted average of all the items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
The compilation and releasing of the index are done by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, and Industry.
Key highlights:
Brief about the report:
The Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC), Budget Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance has been releasing a quarterly report on public debt management since April through June (Q1) 2010–11. The report contains details on many aspects of debt management and provides an assessment of the public debt management and cash management operations during the quarter.
Key Highlights:
Brief about the report:
The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers is compiled each month by the Labour Bureau, an associated office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, using retail prices gathered from 317 markets dispersed across 88 industrially significant centres in the nation. On the last working day of the next month, the index—which is compiled for 88 centres and All-India—is released. This press release contains the index for the month of August 2022.
Key Highlights:
Brief about the report:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) carries out a series of forward-looking surveys on a regular basis before making any significant macro decisions to find out more about how consumers, businesses and other stakeholders feel about the current economic situation and expectation for the future. These surveys are useful in and of themselves because they give decision-makers and other economic actors more qualitative information on the business sentiment that might be influencing business circumstances and actions, even for the foreseeable future.
Key Highlights:
Brief about the report:
The India Productivity Report is a thorough analysis of productivity dynamics in Indian industries, principally using the India KLEMS database. The India KLEMS project, which adheres to the World KLEMS and EU KLEMS standards, offers a database on capital, labour, and intermediate inputs together with total factor productivity, making it easier to compare India’s productivity trends with those of other major players in the world. It is crucial in determining how productivity, factor accumulation, and structural change affect the Indian economy.
Key Highlights of the report:
Brief about the report:
An international statistical standard called the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) integrates economic and environmental data using a systems approach to calculate how much the environment contributes to the economy and how much the economy affects the environment.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) has the responsibility of ‘Developing Environment Statistics and Development of Methodology, Concepts and Preparation of National Resource Accounts for India’. The Ministry has worked to expand the range and depth of environmental accounts. Fifth in the series, this paper covers Energy Accounts, Solid Waste Accounts, Wetlands including Mangroves and Estuaries, Fish Provisioning Services, Forest Ecosystems Accounts, and Species. Richness of Species on the IUCN Red List
Key Highlights:
Brief about the index:
Over the years, National Accounts Division (NAD) has gathered a sizable body of data during the investigation and creation of estimates of national income related macro-aggregates emanating from agriculture. It became necessary for a domain-specific publication to provide a lengthy time-series of data on ‘Gross Value of Output’ (GVO) for the items belonging to the agricultural and related industries in one location because it would be laborious to include all these details in the annual National Accounts Statistics (NAS). Information on GVO of Agriculture and related industries is provided in the current report for the years 2011–12 to 2019–20, both at current and constant (2010-11) prices.
Key Highlights:

created: October 10, 2022


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10 routes account for close to a third of all Domestic Air Traffic
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 10, 2017
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) releases both domestic and international air traffic reports every month. According to these reports, the domestic air traffic has been increasing continuously & reached 998.9 lakh in the year 2016. The total domestic air traffic is slated to cross 1000 lakh (10 crore) in 2017. The top 10 routes account for more than 30% of all the domestic air traffic.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) releases both domestic and international air traffic reports every month. DGCA provides information about traffic in various routes in these reports. Currently, the total domestic air traffic is more than 90 lakh passengers every month with more than 300 routes.
Domestic Air Traffic crossed 1 crore passengers in May 2017
The total domestic air traffic in 2015 stood at 810.7 lakh which increased to 998.9 lakh in 2016, an increase of close to 25%. The total domestic air traffic is slated to cross 10 crore in the year 2017 with the first seven months accounting for 657.2 lakh passengers.The monthly domestic air traffic figures followed more or less a similar trend each year. The passenger figures dropped in February compared to January in every year. The figures increased continuously till May again to drop in June. The total number of domestic air passengers crossed 100 lakh (1 crore) for the first time in May 2017.
10 routes account for close to 30% of all Domestic Air Traffic
Between April & December of 2015, the top 10 routes accounted for 195 lakh domestic passengers, which is more than 30% of the total domestic air traffic during that period. The busiest route is the Mumbai – Delhi route, from the financial capital to the administrative capital. Delhi-Bengaluru had the 2nd most number of passengers during this period. Each of the top 10 routes accounted for more than 10 lakh passengers during this period. Mumbai was a part of 6 of the top 10 routes while Delhi was a part of five of them.In the year 2016, the top 10 routes remained more or less the same except for Delhi-Pune which made its way to the top 10 pushing Mumbai-Hyderabad out of the top 10.In the first seven months of 2017, Mumbai-Hyderabad was back into the top 10 while Mumbai-Ahmedabad was out of the top 10.
There are more than 10 Routes with less than 100 passengers in a month
Except for January 2017, there were a minimum of 10 routes with less than 100 passengers in the entire month till July 2017. There were less than 1000 passengers in more than 20% of all the routes in most months while there were less than 10000 passengers in more than half the routes. Goa-Tirupati was one of the common routes with less than 100 passengers in the month. The routes with less than 100 passengers a month were spread across the country and not specific to a region. Some of these routes are new ones introduced as a part of the UDAN scheme.

created: November 10, 2017


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10 years on, number of Operational CSCs reaches 2 Lakh
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 25, 2016
Common Service Centers (CSCs) were initiated by the UPA government in 2006 with an aim of bridging the digital divide. As of 31st March 2016, close to 2 lakh CSCs are operational in the country with most of them in Uttar Pradesh.
The Common Service Centres (CSCs) were planned to bridge the existing digital divide by providing individual access to the internet and computer devices for the citizens in rural India. CSCs were envisioned to be well equipped ICT enabled centres enabling universal access to a host of eServices for citizens. The Phase I of CSC Scheme was launched in September 2006, during the UPA regime and the target was to cover all 6 lakh census villages by one lakh CSCs, as per 1:6 ratio equitably spread across rural India. As of 31 March 2016, close to 2 lakh CSCs are operational in the country with 36% of them in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Services offered by CSCs
The following list of services are planned to be made available through the CSC network. CSCs in different states may offer only a few out of following.
G2C Services (Government to Citizen)
B2C Services (Business to Citizen)
Educational Services
Financial Inclusion Services
Other Services
CSCs are run by the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) selected by the relevant state and district agencies. The VLEs receive at least 80% of the income from the commission on various transactions. Preference is given to Women in the selection of VLEs. As of March 31 2016, 23245 Women VLEs are operating the CSCs across the country.
Close to 2 lakh CSCs operational in the country
As per the information shared by the government in the parliament, close to 2 lakh CSCs are operational in the country as on 31 March 2016. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of operational CSCs followed by Maharashtra. Six states have more than 10000 operational CSCs while 12 states have more than 5000 operational CSCs. Goa does not have a single CSC. Of the bigger states, Telangana, Karnataka, Assam, Punjab and Kerala have less than 5000 operational CSCs.
The average annual commission earned by a VLE is Rs 6141 in 2015-16
As per government data, a total of Rs 122.40 crore was earned as commission by the VLEs across the country in 2015-16. In terms of absolute amount, VLEs in West Bengal earned the highest commission in 2015-16 (Rs 13.61 crore) though the number of operational CSCs in West Bengal is only a fifth of the number in Uttar Pradesh. Other than West Bengal, only the VLEs in Uttar Pradesh earned more than Rs 10 crore as commission. But Uttar Pradesh is second from the bottom of all the bigger states when it comes to average commission per VLE in 2015-16. VLEs in Uttarakhand earned the highest average of Rs 32820. VLEs from only 7 states earned an average of more than Rs 10000 in annual commission while VLEs in twelve states earned less than Rs 5000 in annual commission. VLEs in states with the most CSCs (Uttar Pradesh & Maharashtra) earned the least average annual commission in 2015-16.
CSC 2.0 aims to reach all the Gram Panchayats by 2019
CSC phase two also known as CSC 2.0 aims to reach all the 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) by the end of 2019. More than 50000 GPs would be covered in Uttar Pradesh and more than 10000 GPs would be covered in each of the six other states.
Featured Image: CSC by Lingaraj33


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10 years of RTI – What ails the implementation? - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 23, 2015
Right to Information has completed 10 years. But what has been the experience of these 10 years? Where is the implementation failing?
October 12, 2015 marked the 10 anniversary of the implementation of the Right to Information Act (RTI) in the country. Enacted in 2005 as an implementation of the election promise of the UPA-1, the RTI act has since caught the imagination of citizens from across the spectrum like no other act has done in the history of Independent India. One major reason for whatever success it has seen is the ease of use. Unlike filing petitions in courts or applications to government departments, RTI application is way simpler to file. On this 10 anniversary, it’s a good time to look at the implementation and what needs to be done further to improve the implementation.
Awareness of the RTI act
The success of any law depends on efficient implementation which in turn depends on the awareness levels in citizens. According to a study done by RTI Assessment and Advocacy Group (RaaG) in 2013, the awareness levels about the act are still poor. Not more than 35% are aware of the act in rural areas and about 40% are aware of the act in urban areas.
One of primary reasons for the lack of awareness is the lack of publicity by the governments both at the center & the states. The publicity for the RTI act was never on par with other welfare schemes. For e.g., a scheme like the Jan Dhan Yojana is known to most people, because the government ensured that the information reached the beneficiaries through various platforms. Similar promotional activities are essential for the awareness of RTI act. While the central government does telecast a few advertisements, the state governments have been least interested. Dedicated RTI Programs like Janne ka Haque on Doordarshan should continue. Information flow in most rural areas of the country happens through teachers. Hence a lesson on RTI should be included in the higher classes so that both teachers & students learn about it. It is also heartening to note that the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will start a Certificate & Diploma course on the RTI act. TV & Radio are two essential media that the government must utilize.
Utilization of the RTI act
As per estimates, about 40 lakh RTI applications are filed in the country every year in both central & state governments. This is still less than 0.5% of the entire population in the country. While the adoption has been higher in the urban areas, it is still low in the rural areas. Another major concern in the utilization of the RTI act is the issue of Gender. The RaaG study found out that a mere 8% of all the applications nationally were women. This ratio was abysmal in states like Rajasthan & Assam (4%) and Bihar (1%). It is surprising that the adoption is very low by women and there has been so scientific understanding of these abysmal numbers.
The bias in the utilization of the RTI act is also seen in the Rural –Urban divide. Hardly 1/4 of all the applicants are rural while the rest 3/4 are Urban. This is particularly important when close to 69% of the Indian population lives in rural areas as per the 2011 Census.
Special emphasis by the government both in respect of Women & Rural areas is the requirement of the day. The government could use the lakhs of self help groups in the villages as a medium to spread awareness about the act.
How are people using it?
Another interesting aspect of the 10 years is the way people are using this act. Broadly speaking, citizens are using this act in three ways,
Though there are certain cases where the RTI act is being used as a tool for blackmail or for settling personal scores, these are negligible in number.
The Supply side issues
It cannot be denied that the government brought in the RTI act in 2005 without putting the adequate infrastructure or planning in place. Even till today, the continuous rise in the number of applications and other problems related to the supply side can be largely attributed to this lack of preparedness and lack of intent. Most Government officials at all levels look at the RTI act as an unnecessary burden on them and hence the least interest to implement the same. Some of the major issues that still stand unresolved are
Information & Record Management: Despite numerous initiatives, the record management in the government departments is in shambles. It gets worse as you go down the government hierarchy. Finding a record in a Mandal/Block level office is like navigating a maze. Unless there is proper record management, finding a record and providing information within the stipulated 30 days is going to be very difficult.  Hence computerization of all records has to be done on war footing and all these records should be indexed so that they are searchable.
Implementation of Section 4: The people who drafted the RTI act were very pragmatic in including Section 4 in the RTI act. The idea was that proactive disclosure of the most important information by government machinery would reduce the need for citizens to separately seek information. Most studies confirm that more than 50% of the applications filed under the RTI act ask for information that should have been disclosed under Section 4. And more than 60% of the government offices do not have any kind of physical disclosures. Even in places, where the disclosure is made, the information is outdated. Like it is emphasized by a sub-committee of Information Commissioners, section 4 implementation is going to be a crucial piece in the success of the RTI act.
Working of the Information Commissions
The Information Commissions were envisioned as the watch dogs in the implementation of the RTI act. 10 years later, the commissions seem to be going the way of the Judiciary in terms of pendency. As on date, more than 35000 appeals/complaints are pending with the Central Information Commission. At the current rate of disposal, it might take a long time before these are cleared. By the end of 2013, close to 2 lakh appeals/complaints were pending in 23 different commissions. Close to 3 lakh appeals/complaints are being received in all the commissions in the country while only half of them are disposed every year. Coupled with the pendency is the lack of imposition of a penalty. In more than 90% of the cases analyzed by the RaaG study, penalty was not imposed where it was supposed to have been imposed. Unless the commissions buckle up and start working effectively, they might become the Achilles heel in the implementation of the act. At the same time, the government should make the process of selection of Information Commissioners more transparent. Close to 60% of all commissioners in the country are retired civil servants.
Performance of the Central Information Commission (CIC)
Attacks on Activists
Though the government does not have any official data on the number of attacks on citizens who used RTI, there have been quite a few cases where people were killed. Unless the whistle blower protection act is implemented by notifying the rules, things will not change on ground. There has to be a concerted effort by both central & state governments to prevent such attacks.
For RTI to reach its true potential, there is an urgent need to address the issues mentioned above. It is on the citizens to push the government.

created: October 23, 2015


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10 years on, only 5 Chief Minister Offices (CMOs) have made proactive disclosures under RTI
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 17, 2015
The RTI act is now 10 years old. One of the most important provisions of the act is the proactive disclosure under Section 4. Even after 10 years, the PMO & several CMOs are guilty of not making proactive disclosure on their websites.
The Right to Information Act (RTI) has completed 10 years and even the Prime Minister acknowledged its role in bringing about a transformation in governance. One part of the RTI legislation that hasn’t attracted enough attention by the government is the Section 4 disclosures. Despite repeated reminders by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), many government departments are yet to implement Section 4 of the RTI act in Toto. Section 4 of the RTI act mandates government departments (public authorities) to proactively disclose certain information, so that the need for filing an application would come down. Some of information in Section 4 is immensely helpful to the common man. On the 10 anniversary, Factly analysed the Section 4 disclosures made by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the various Chief Minister Offices (CMOs) since they are the highest seats of power in the country.
What about the PMO?
The PMO has a dedicated RTI page on the portal. This page has the following major details
It has some other information and the information is available both in English & Hindi. But the Section 4 disclosures are absent even on the PMO website.
The CMOs
Factly has analysed the CMO websites of  29 States & 2 UTs (Delhi & Puducherry) that have a CM. Following aspects were analysed for these 31 States/UTs
Dedicated Website for the CMO
Out of the 31 States/UTs, only 20 (65%) of them have a dedicated website for the CMO. Surprisingly 11 (35%)  States/UTs do not have a dedicated website for the CMO including states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Some CMs have personal websites, but do not have an official website for the CMO.
It is surprising that even in this age of Digital India, the Chief Minister, who is the executive head of the state, does not have a dedicated website.
RTI related information on the dedicated websites
Out of the 20 States/UTs with a dedicated website, 12 (60%) of them do not have any information on RTI. States like Gujarat, Sikkim, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana are part of this list.
Only 8 states (40%) have RTI information on the CMO website namely Jammu &   Kashmir,   Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka & Kerala.
RTI related information of the CMO on the Government Websites
Even taking those states into consideration that do not have a dedicated website for the CMO, only 14 (45%) of them had RTI details of the CMO on the official government website. In other words, 6 states that did not have a dedicated website for the CMO still had RTI details of the CMO in some other government website.  Out of the 14 States/UTs with RTI details, only 9 of them (29%) had details of the Public Information Officer (PIO) and the Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO), the nodal officers in charge of RTI implementation in government departments.
Proactive Disclosure of the CMO
Only 5 States (16%) had proactive disclosure of the CMO, on the website, as mandated under Section 4 of the RTI.  These five states are Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only in one out of every 6 States, the CMO has made proactive disclosure as mandated by the RTI act even after 10 years.
Within these five states, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab CMOs have made their disclosure only in English. In Maharashtra, the disclosure was made only in the local language. In Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the disclosure was made in both English & the local language.
Which State does best?
The CMO of Uttar Pradesh does best as far as RTI disclosure is concerned. The disclosures are detailed and are available in both English and Hindi. In the other 4 states that have made proactive disclosure of the CMO, some of the details are outdated.
What does this mean?
It is disappointing to note that the highest seats of the power (PMO & CMOs) are themselves guilty of not implementing the RTI act. They are expected to stand as the right example to other departments and not the other way. We only hope that the PMO and the CMOs take this exercise seriously and make the full proactive disclosure at the earliest.

created: October 17, 2015


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100 డాలర్ నోటు పై అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం ముద్రించలేదు. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 17, 2019
అంబేద్కర్ గొప్పతన్నాన్ని గుర్తించిన అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం, తమ నోట్ల పై అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని ముద్రించారని చెప్తూ ఒక ఫోటతో కూడిన పోస్ట్ ని కొందరు ఫేస్బుక్ మరియు వాట్స్ ఆప్ లో షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఆ పోస్ట్ లో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో విశ్లేషిద్ధాం.
అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం వాళ్ళ 100 డాలర్ నోటు పై ముద్రించారు.
100 డాలర్ నోటు పై ఉండే బెంజమిన్ ఫ్రాన్క్లిన్ ఫోటో తీసి అంబేద్కర్ ఫోటో పెట్టారు. ప్రతి 100 డాలర్ పై బెంజమిన్  ఫ్రాన్క్లిన్ న్ని తప్ప ఎప్పుడూ కూడా అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం ముద్రించలేదు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో పెట్టింది ఒక ఎడిటెడ్ నోటు.
అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం ముద్రించే నోట్ల పై వివరాల కోసం గూగుల్ లో వెతకగా, అమెరికా లో ముద్రించే నోట్ల పై అవగాహన కోసం పెట్టిన ఒక వెబ్ సైట్ (‘U.S. Currency Education Programme’) సెర్చ్ రిజల్ట్స్ లో దొరుకుతుంది. ఆ వెబ్ సైట్ ప్రకారం 100 డాలర్ నోట్ డిజైన్ ఇప్పటివరకు నాలుగు రకాలు ఉన్నాయి. అన్ని డిజైన్లల్లో బెంజమిన్ ఫ్రాన్క్లిన్ చిత్రపటమే ఉంటుంది. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పినట్టుగా అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం తమ 100 డాలర్ నోటు పై ముద్రించలేదని తెలుస్తుంది.
అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటమే కాదు మనకు కావాల్సిన వారి ఫోటోలు 100 డాలర్ మీద పెట్టెలా చాలా వెబ్ సైట్లు ఇంటర్నెట్ లో ఉన్నాయి. ఆ వెబ్ సైట్ లల్లో ఉండే 100 డాలర్ నోటు మీద కోడ్ చూస్తే పోస్ట్ లో పెట్టిన నోటు మీద ఉన్న కోడ్ నెంబర్ల తో మ్యాచ్ అవుతాయి. కావున పోస్ట్ లో పెట్టింది కూడా అలా ఎడిట్ చేయబడిన ఫోటోనే.
చివరగా, అంబేద్కర్ చిత్రపటాన్ని 100 డాలర్ నోటు పై అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వం ముద్రించలేదు. అది ఒక ఎడిటెడ్ ఫోటో.
ప్రతి వారం, మేము ‘ఏది ఫేక్, ఏది నిజం’ అనే తెలుగు యూట్యూబ్  షో చేస్తున్నాం. మీరు చూసారా?


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More than 100 toll plazas on National Highways are within 60 km of another toll plaza
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 27, 2017
Do you know that a toll plaza in Gujarat is just 1.2 km away from another toll plaza? There are more than 100 toll plazas in the country that are within 60 km of another toll plaza.
The government has been earning close to Rs 7000 crore in each of the last two financial years through user fee at toll plazas on various national highways. As per the data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha, more than 100 toll plazas are within 60 km of another toll plaza.
What is the significance of 60km?
As per Sec 8(2) of the National Highways Fee (Determination of rates and collection) Rules, 2008, a toll plaza cannot be established in the same direction within 60km of another toll plaza. But there are the following exceptions to this rule.
And as per government data, more than 25% of all the toll plazas on national highways are within 60 km because of these exceptions.
22 toll plazas within 30 km of another toll plaza
Among the 130 toll plazas that are within 60 km of another toll plaza, five are within 5km of another toll plaza. 22 toll plazas are within 30 km of another toll plaza. 63 toll plazas are within 50-60 km of another toll plaza. Most such toll plazas (34) are within 50-55 km of another toll plaza.
Most such toll plazas in the Lucknow region
Among the various regions, the Lucknow region has 21 such toll plazas followed by the Jaipur region with 19 and the Mumbai region with 16. Among the 23 regional offices of the National Highways, 15 of them have at least one toll plaza within 60 km of another toll plaza. Nagpur and Guwahati regions have only one such toll plaza each. Six different regions have 10 or more such toll plazas each.
A toll plaza in Gujarat is just 1.2km away from another toll plaza
Among the various regions, the Jaipur region has 8 such toll plazas with 35 km of another toll plaza. Among the 5 toll plazas that are within 5 km of another toll plaza, one each is in the Nagpur, Kolkata & Gujarat region while the rest two are in the jaipur region. In fact, a toll plaza on the Ahmedabad – Vadodara section is just 1.2 km away from another toll plaza.
More than 70% of these toll plazas are on highways either built or operated by private players while the rest are on publicly funded part of the national highways.


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10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in Delhi is a joint effort by multiple agencies including Central and State govt. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 29, 2020
A lot of posts are being widely shared on social media attributing the success of setting up a 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in Delhi to different parties. While some have posted that the facility was built by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (under the Central Government), the others have posted giving the credit solely to Aam Aadmi Party (the State Government). Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in Delhi is built by ITBP (Central Government)
Claim 2: 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in Delhi is built by Kejriwal (State Government)
Fact: The facility is a joint effort by the State Government (all administrative support and facilities like water and sanitation), Central Government (ITBP – nodal Agency to operate the Centre. More than 1000 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedic Staff of ITBP and other CAPFs to be deployed), Radha Soami Satsang Beas (provided the campus, other infrastructure and assistance including food) and many other agencies like Indian Railways (provided bedsheets and pillow covers), Sleepwell mattress company (provided mattresses), etc.  So, the credit needs to be given to all the participating agencies. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When searched for the information on the Centre, a tweet by ‘District Magistrate South Delhi’ regarding the 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre was found. In the tweet, it can be read that around 2000 beds are ready in the facility and the District administration had thanked ITBP, Radha Soami Satsang Beas and other sponsors & donors for their generous support. Talking to ANI, South Delhi District Magistrate BM Mishra said, ‘Radha Soami Satsang Beas centre will be a #COVID care centre with 10,000 beds out of which 10% will be oxygenated beds. We are working on its air conditioning. The cardboard beds are lightweight, reusable and have 2 years of warranty’
2000 beds of District South’s10000-bedded Sardar Patel #COVID Care Centre & Hospital ready to #takecare of its patients. Sincere thanks to ITBP,Radha Soami Satsang Beas and so many sponsors & donors for generous support! #Covid_19 #TogetherWeCan #IndiaFightsCorona #HealthForAll pic.twitter.com/RB2l65zlcq
Raghav Chadha (AAP MLA and Vice-Chairman -Delhi Jal Board) has tweeted that this COVID Centre is a perfect example of partnership between Kejriwal Government, Central Government and Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Also, in an interview to ‘ABP News’, he said, ‘This is the biggest Joint Venture Of Delhi And Central Govt’ and also, talked about providing clean water to the facility by the Delhi Jal Board.
Radha Soami Satsang Beas Covid Centre is a textbook example of perfect partnership among:
1. Kejriwal Govt: carrying out all managerial, administrative & engineering works
2. Central Govt: providing medical personnel via ITBP
3. Radha Soami Satsang Beas: providing the facility pic.twitter.com/GEAuNn6U3e
In one of his tweets, Delhi CM Kejriwal has also acknowledged the contribution of multiple partners.
देश की सेना, डाक्टर्ज़, सामाजिक संस्थाएँ, केंद्र सरकार और दिल्ली सरकार – सभी दिल्ली के लिए एकजुट होकर काम कर रहे है। मुझे पूरा यक़ीन है हम सब मिल कर कोरोना को हराएँगे। इन कठिन परिस्थितियों में दिल्ली सरकार और दिल्ली के लोगों की मदद करने के लिए शुक्रिया https://t.co/7jS2zAjgMU
In an article published by DD News on its website, it is mentioned that ‘ITBP was tasked by the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide medical staff and support to the  Covid Care Centre at Radha Soami Satsang Beas Chattarpur, New Delhi as a Nodal Agency to operate it. The Delhi Government has been providing all administrative support while the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Chattarpur has been providing the campus, other infrastructure and assistance including food.’ Talking to media, Kishan Reddy (BJP MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs) said that Indian Railways has provided 30,000 bed-sheets and pillow covers and Sleepwell mattress company has provided mattresses to the COVID Care Centre. So, there is a contribution from multiple agencies. No single agency or government can take the sole credit for the establishment of the COVID Care Centre.
To sum it up, 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in Delhi is a joint effort by multiple agencies including Central and State govt.
Did you watch our new video?


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1098 నెంబర్ బాధ లో ఉన్న వీధి పిల్లల సహాయార్ధం నెలకొల్పిన ఉచిత టెలి-హెల్ప్ లైన్ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 12, 2019
‘మీ ఇంట్లో ఎప్పుడైనా పార్టీ, ఫంక్షన్ జరిగితే ఫుడ్ ఏమైనా మిగిలితే 1098 నంబరు కు ఫోన్ చేయండి. వాళ్ళు వచ్చి ఫుడ్ తీసుకెళ్తారు.ఇది  చైల్డ్ హెల్ప్ లైన్ నంబరు’ అంటూ కొంతమంది ఫేస్బుక్ లో పోస్ట్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఈ పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పిన విషయంలో  ఎంతవరకు నిజం ఉందో విశ్లేషిద్దాం.
1098 హెల్ప్ లైన్ కి కాల్ చేస్తే పార్టీలో /ఫంక్షన్ లో, ఇంట్లో మిగిలిపోయిన తిండి పదార్ధాలను తీసుకెళ్తారు.
1098 నెంబర్ బాధ లో ఉన్న వీధి పిల్లల సహాయార్ధం ‘చైల్డ్ లైన్ ఇండియా ఫౌండేషన్’(CIF) వారు నెలకొల్పిన ఉచిత టెలి-హెల్ప్ లైన్ సర్వీసు. కావున, పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పింది తప్పు.
‘పార్టీ, ఫంక్షన్ లో ఫుడ్ ఏమైనా మిగిలితే, 1098 నంబరు కు ఫోన్ చేయండి. వాళ్ళు వచ్చి ఫుడ్ తీసుకెళ్తారు’ అంటూ గత కొన్ని సంవత్సరాలుగా సోషల్ మీడియాలో ఈ వార్త సర్క్యూలేట్ అవుతోంది. కానీ 1098 నెంబర్ బాధ లో ఉన్న వీధి పిల్లల సహాయార్ధం చైల్డ్ లైన్ ఇండియా ఫౌండేషన్(CIF) వారు 1996లో నెలకొల్పిన ఉచిత టెలి-హెల్ప్ లైన్ సర్వీసు. 1098 హెల్ప్ లైన్ పై తప్పుడు ప్రచారం విస్తారంగా జరగడంతో CIF వారు తమ వెబ్సైటు లో ఒక నోటీసుని కూడా పెట్టారు. నోటీసులో, ఇటువంటి వార్తలు ఈమెయిల్స్  లో  ప్రచారం అవుతున్నాయని, అవి నిజం కాదని చెప్పారు.  దీనికి కారణం ఈ వార్త భారతదేశంలో ‘WhatsApp’  ప్రవేశించడానికి ముందు నుండి ప్రచారంలో ఉండడం కావొచ్చు.
చివరగా, 1098 నెంబర్ బాధ లో ఉన్న వీధి పిల్లల సహాయార్ధం నెలకొల్పిన ఉచిత టెలి-హెల్ప్ లైన్.
ఏది ఫేక్, ఏది నిజం సిరీస్ లో మా వీడియోస్ మీరు చూసారా?


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‘1098’ is not a Helpline to pick up the food leftovers, but a Helpline service for the Street Children in distress - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 7, 2019
A WhatsApp message is being shared widely saying that PM Modi has announced a Helpline service- ‘1098’ that picks up the leftover food from functions, parties, homes etc., and feeds the hungry children. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in this WhatsApp forward message.
The message that ‘Helpline-1098’ is meant to pick up food leftovers from functions, parties, homes etc., and are used in feeding the hungry children is doing rounds since the past many years and is again being shared on Facebook.
PM Modi announced a Tele-helpline service ‘1098’ for picking up food leftovers from functions and parties.
Fact: Helpline service ‘1098’ is a free Tele-helpline launched by CHILDLINE India Foundation(CIF) in 1996 to rescue the street children in distress. Hence the claims made in the message stand FALSE.
The message that ‘Helpline-1098’ is meant to pick up food leftovers from functions, parties, homes etc., and are used in feeding the hungry children is doing rounds since the past many years. But actually, it is a free Tele-helpline launched by CHILDLINE India Foundation(CIF) in 1996 to rescue the street children in distress. Given the extent of spread of this fake message, the CIF has put a notice on its website “childlineindia.org.in” clarifying the public that its helpline is only meant to protect and take care of the street children in distress and have nothing to do with the collection of food leftovers. In the notice, it was mentioned as “chain mail circulating”, perhaps because this news might have been in circulation much before the entry of WhatsApp messaging application into India.
To sum it up, ‘1098’ is not a Helpline to pick up the food leftovers, but a Helpline service for the street children in distress.
Did you watch our Facebook live on Fake News (Misinformation)


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(11 September 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports by Ministry of Jal Shakti, Finance, RBI, MoSPI Among Those Released Recently - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 11, 2023
In this 37th edition of fortnightly government data roundup, we look at the 6th Census report on Minor Irrigation (MI) Schemes by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, 5th Annual Advanced Pricing Agreement(APA) report by Ministry of Finance, All-India House Price Index(HPI) for Q1:2023-24 by RBI, and Estimates Of Gross Domestic Product For The First Quarter (April-June) 2023-24 by Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.
Among the monthly reports, CPI for Industrial workers, and Combined Index of Eight Core industries were released. The explainer on key price indices can be read here.
Key statistics from these reports are as below.
6th Census Report on Minor Irrigation (MI) Schemes
Brief about the report:
An accurate and reliable database for minor irrigation schemes is crucial for efficient planning and policymaking within the water resources sector. To achieve this goal, the Indian government had been conducting surveys of minor irrigation schemes. So far, five such censuses have been carried out, corresponding to the reference years 1986-87, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2006-07, and 2013-14, respectively. Additionally, the 6th minor irrigation census, referring to the year 2017-18, has been completed in 32 states and union territories.
Key findings of the report:
5th Annual Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) report
Brief about the report:
The Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) program by the CBDT is a leading effort aimed at fostering a tax environment in India that is welcoming to investors and avoids adversarial situations. Ever since its launch, the Indian APA program has played a substantial role in advancing the Indian government’s goal of making it easier to conduct business. The reports provide essential information and figures regarding the APA program. This information encompasses the distribution of applicants by industry sector, the types of transactions addressed, and the transfer pricing methods utilized, among other details.
Key highlights of the report:
All-India House Price Index (HPI) for Q1:2023-24
Brief about the report:
The Reserve Bank created a quarterly House Price Index (HPI) for ten significant cities, namely Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, and Kochi. Using these individual city indices, an overall House Price Index is also compiled that reflects the housing price trends across all of India. The Aggregate House Price Index is calculated as a weighted average price index utilizing the Laspeyres’ method, with the base year being 2010-11.
Key highlights:
Estimates of Gross Domestic Product for First Quarter (April-June) 2023-24
Brief about the report:
The Quarterly GDP Estimates are generated using the benchmark indicator approach, which means that they rely on quarterly data from the previous year (referred to as the benchmark year) and extrapolate it using relevant indicators that represent sector performance. These estimates are constructed by incorporating data collected from a variety of sources, including government ministries, departments, and private agencies, which provide valuable inputs for the compilation process. Total tax revenue used for GDP compilation includes Non-GST Revenue as well as GST Revenue.
Key highlights:

created: September 11, 2023


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11 Special Category States received Rs 975 crore in Industrial Subsidies in 3 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 29, 2016
The 11 Special Category States (SCS) received industrial incentives worth Rs 975 crore in the 3-year period between 2013-14 and 2015-16. The subsidy was given under two different schemes which are going to end in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Though the term Special Category States (SCS) is not very relevant post the 14 Finance Commission recommendations, certain Industrial subsidy schemes for the 11 SCS still continue. These schemes will expire in the coming two years. According to the data shared by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) in response to an application under RTI, the government of India has extended more than Rs 975 crore in various industrial subsidy schemes between 2013-14 and 2015-16 to these 11 SCS.
The Industrial Subsidy Schemes
The DIPP is currently implementing the following Industrial Subsidy schemes for the SCS states
States like Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were extended special industrial incentive packages in the past.
Rs 404 Crore released as Freight/Transport Subsidy in the last 3 years
A total of Rs 404.5 crore has been released under Freight/Transport subsidy scheme to the above mentioned states and areas between 2013-14 and 2015-16. Rs 220 crore was released in 2013-14, Rs 124.5 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 60 crore in 2015-16. Meghalaya received the greatest amount under this scheme which is Rs 255.7 crore. Most of this amount (Rs 187.66 crore) was received in 2013-14. Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Lakshadweep and Darjeeling district did not receive a single rupee in these 3 years under this scheme. Only three states (Assam, Meghalaya & Tripura) received incentives under this scheme in 2015-16.
Rs 571.9 crore released under NEIIPP in 3 years
Only 6 out of the 8 North Eastern states received subsidy amount under this scheme between 2013-14 and 2015-16. Manipur and Nagaland did not receive a single rupee in these 3 years. Rs 150 crore was released under this scheme in 2013-14, Rs 221.9 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 200 crore in 2015-16. Meghalaya received the highest amount in 2013-14 (Rs 116.84 crore), Assam in 2014-15 (Rs 134.02 crore) and 2015-16 (Rs 111.1 crore). Overall, Assam received Rs 277.69 crore in the 3-year period followed by Meghalaya (Rs 224.31 crore). Together, Assam & Meghalaya received 88% of the subsidy released under this scheme in the 3-year period.
Featured Image: Industrial Incentives

created: September 29, 2016


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CISF personnel
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 20, 2016
CISF started providing security cover even to private organizations following an amendment made to the CISF act in 2009. Currently, 1128 CISF personnel are deployed in 8 private organizations in 5 states.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) came into existence in 1969 with three battalions and to provide integrated security cover to the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Since then, CISF has grown to reach more than 1.4 lakh personnel today. Originally setup to provide security cover to public sector or government organizations, the CISF now provides security cover to private organizations as well. As per the latest data available with the government, CISF provides security cover to 8 private organizations and 1128 personnel are deployed in these 8 organizations.
CISF & its mandate
The CISF  was originally set up to provide security cover to various public sector organizations such as nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive Government buildings and ever heritage monuments. In 2009, an amendment was made to the CISF Act of 1968 to extend security cover to Public-Private joint ventures and Private establishments in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks. Since then the CISF has also been deployed for providing security cover to private establishments.
1128 CISF personnel deployed in 8 private organizations
As on date, 1128 CISF personnel are deployed in 8 different private organizations in five different states.  Three of these locations are in Karnataka, two in Gujarat and one each in Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttarakhand. Infosys locations in Bangalore, Mysore and Pune are secured by CISF. Tata Steel in Odisha & Tata’s Power plant in Mundra are also part of this list. The other organizations in the list include Reliance Industries in Gujarat, Electronic City in Karnataka and Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Foods in Uttarakhand. More than 1/3 of all the CISF personnel are deployed for providing security cover to  various locations of the IT giant Infosys.
The 8 organizations paid an average of 3.1 lakh per personnel in 2015-16
As per the rules, the cost of deployment of CISF personnel is borne by the private organization. As per data available with the government, a total amount of Rs 35.15 crore was received by the government in 2015-16 for deploying 1128 personnel. The average amount received per deployed personnel has increased from Rs 2.12 lakh in 2013-14 to Rs 3.11 lakh in 2015-16.
Infosys Pune paid the highest per capita amount in 2015-16
Among the various organizations, Infosys Pune paid the highest average amount for personnel deployed in 2015-16. It paid Rs 5.57 lakh on average followed by Reliance Industries which paid Rs 4.85 lakh. Tata Steel’s average payment is on the lower side because the CISF personnel were deployed only towards the end of 2015. Five of the eight organizations paid more than Rs 3 lakh per deployed personnel on average. Surprisingly, the payment made by Infosys was very different for each of the three locations. While it paid an average of Rs 5.57 lakh for Pune, it paid only Rs 2.36 lakh for Mysore and Rs 3.07 lakh for Bangalore.
Featured Image: Economic Times


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12 Busiest Airports in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 28, 2018
Source: 12 Busiest Airports in India


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(12 September 2022) Government Data Roundup: Crime in India, Accidental Deaths & Suicides, Prison Statistics, India’s External Debt among the data & reports released recently
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 12, 2022
In the eleventh edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover Crimes in India (CII), Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI), and the Prison Statistics India (PSI) released by NCRB, India’s External Debt (2021-22) among others.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs, released three important annual reports for 2021 that provide statistics pertaining to the law-and-order situation in the country. These are the Crimes in India (CII), Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI), and the Prison Statistics India (PSI) report. Apart from these three reports, this eleventh edition of Factly’s fortnightly government data roundup also covers the NITI Aayog’s progress report on the Poshan Abhiyan scheme, the Status Report on India’s External Debt 2021-22 released by the Ministry of Finance, and the Education Ministry’s survey on Mental Health and Well-being of School Students.
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and The Institute for Competitiveness released the Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100. The roadmap sets the premise for a transformed approach to augment India’s growth and enables India to become a high-income country by 2047 when India would celebrate 100 years of Independence. It envisions setting new guiding principles for the country’s growth journey over the following years and guiding different states, ministries, and partners in India’s growth to develop sector-specific roadmaps for achieving targeted goals. A 4-S principle has been suggested for the same.
• Prosperity growth needs to be matched by social progress
• Prosperity needs to be shared across all parts and regions of India
• Prosperity growth needs to be environmentally sustainable
• Prosperity needs to be solid and resilient in the face of external shocks
It noted that weak social progress, rising inequality, few job opportunities, rising geopolitical tension, and climate change were among the challenges India would have to deal with.
In addition to these, the quarterly reports like the – Estimates of Gross Domestic Product for the First Quarter (April-June) of 2022-23 and Periodic Labour Force Survey that were covered in our earlier stories, were also released in the last fortnight.
Crime in India 2021
About the report/data:
The Crime in India (CII) report has been published since 1954 and provides data & insights into various aspects of crimes, reflecting the overall state of law & order in the country. Data on various IPC Crimes, SLL Crimes, Crimes against women, children, SCs/STs, senior citizens, environmental offences, cyber-crimes, juveniles in conflict with the law, crimes in railways, terrorism, etc. is provided in the report, along with data on the disposal of these crimes by police and courts. Data is available at the national level, state level, and for metropolitan cities with more than 2 million population.
Methodology:
The data has been compiled by NCRB from States/UTs Police and CAPFs/CPOs for the calendar year 2021. It should be noted that data in the NCRB report is based on the ‘Principal Offence Rule’, which means among many offences registered in a single FIR case, only the most heinous crime (maximum punishment) will be considered as counting unit for the purpose of data collection. However, for crimes against children, women, SC/ST and a few other similar cases, the rule is not followed.
Key Highlights:
Significance:
Detailed recording of data pertaining to crimes makes it more comprehensive for parliamentarians, policymakers, researchers and others who use the data for policymaking, crime analysis, and designing mitigation strategies.
Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2021
About the report:
The report contains information on deaths due to accidents and suicides that took place in the country during the calendar year 2021. The deaths due to accidents have been classified into two broad groups – accidental deaths due to causes attributable to nature such as natural disasters, epidemics, etc. and accidental deaths due to causes not attributable to nature such as road accidents, building collapse, electrocution, etc. Age-group-wise and sex-wise details of victims are available in the report.
Methodology:
The information published in ADSI-2021 is a compilation of the information received from the States/UT Police. Hence the information is based only on the cases that are recorded by the police.
Key Highlights:
Prison Statistics India 2021
Brief about the report:
The annual Prison Statistics India (PSI) provides comprehensive statistical information on various aspects of prison administration in India such as type of jails & occupancy, types of prisoners & demography, Indian & foreign prisoners, releases, transfers, movements, rehabilitation, and welfare of prisoners, etc. The report contains information on prisons, prisoners, and prison infrastructure in India. Age-group-wise and sex-wise details of prison inmates are available in the report. The report was first published in 1995. It is based on the information produced by state prison departments.
Key Highlights:
India’s External Debt – A Status Report 2021-22
About the report:
The External Debt Management Unit (EDMU) in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, has released the 28th edition of the Status Report on India’s External Debt 2021-22. This Status Paper documents the position of India’s external debt as of end-March 2022. It presents an overview of India’s external debt focusing on the stock of debt, debt and valuation effects, debt in relation to GDP and foreign exchange reserves. It also gives information on the classification of India’s external debt and enumerates sovereign external debt in detail. The issues relating to debt service payments are also addressed in the report which also presents India’s external debt position from a cross-country perspective.
Key Highlights:
Preserving Progress on Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyaan in Pandemic Times
Brief about the report:
NITI Aayog’s “Preserving Progress on Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyaan in Pandemic Times” is the fourth progress report on the government’s flagship programme, the POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan, to draw national attention to and act against malnutrition, in a mission-mode, launched in 2018. The report assesses the implementation of the scheme and presents key recommendations to deepen India’s efforts to tackle malnutrition, focusing on the context of COVID-19. It also highlights key lessons learned by the implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan.
Methodology:
NITI Aayog collected information from State and Union Territories using two questionnaires to assess progress and implementation capabilities on infrastructure, human resources, training and capacity building, convergence, programme and output activities, service delivery by frontline workers (FLWs) during COVID-19 and the status of innovation and the flexi-plan for March and July 2020. A progress and implementation score framework was developed to assess the progress and capabilities of States and UTs using the data collected.
Key Highlights:
Featured Image: Government Data Roundup

created: September 12, 2022


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More than 12000 cases of Bank Fraud detected in the last 3 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 15, 2018
Punjab National Bank has just reported that it detected fraudulent transactions worth $ 1.77 billion. Government data on bank frauds indicates that more than 12000 such cases were reported between 2014-15 and 2016-17.
One of the major Public Sector Banks, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) has said in a regulatory filing that it has  detected fraudulent & unauthorized transactions  worth $ 1.77 billion. The statement also said that the matter has been referred to the law enforcement agencies. Data  shared by the government  indicates that there have been a total of 12,778 bank fraud cases in the 3 years between 2014-15 and 2016-17.
Fraud Classification in Banks
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued  detailed directions  about classification & reporting of fraud by all the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs).  As per these directions, frauds in banks have been classified into the following categories.
Banks have to report frauds  electronically  in a specific format to the Central Fraud Registry (CFR). CFR is a web-based and searchable database available to banks.
Guidelines for reporting Fraud
The RBI has also laid down the following guidelines for reporting incidents of fraud. Banks are directed to not only focus on recovery of the amount involved, but also ensure the guilty are punished.
More than 12000 cases of Fraud in 3 years
As per  data shared  by the government in the Lok Sabha, a total of 12,778 cases of fraud were reported in all scheduled commercial banks in the 3 years between 2014-15 and 2016-17. The Public Sector banks reported 8622 cases while the Private banks reported 4156 cases. The involvement of staff was reported in more than 13% of the fraud cases.In the 3 year period between 2014-15 and 2016-17, most cases of fraud were reported in the country’s largest bank, the State Bank of India. Four (4) Public Sector banks reported more than 500 cases each during this period while 15 banks reported more than 200 fraud cases each. Only Punjab & Sind Bank reported less than 100 fraud cases during this period.The government has  also informed  the Lok Sabha that action was taken against 5200 employees of the Public Sector banks for their involvement in fraud between January 2015 and March 2017.
More than 4000 cases of Cheque/Debit Card/Credit Card Frauds
In response to another question in the Lok Sabha, the  government informed  that more than 4000 cases of Cheque/Debit Card/Credit Card related fraud cases, each involving an amount of Rs One lakh and above have been reported by the banks between 2014-15 and 2016-17. The total amount involved in such frauds was close to Rs 200 crore. Among the states, the most such cases were reported in Maharashtra (1134), the only state to report more than 1000 cases during this period. Haryana, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka are the only other states to have reported more than 500 such cases each.

created: February 15, 2018


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‘123 countries’ mentioned in the post is about the reach of all of Bharath Biotech’s vaccines - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2021
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that 123 countries have ordered the COVID-19 vaccine from Bharath Biotech. India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine – COVAXIN has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV). Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: 123 countries have ordered COVID-19 vaccine from the Bharath Biotech.
Fact: Bharat Biotech did not mention anywhere about 123 countries ordering their COVID-19 vaccine. It just mentions that it has been approached by several countries across the world for the procurement of COVAXIN. ‘123 countries’ mentioned in the post is about the reach of all of Bharath Biotech’s vaccines. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched about the claim made in the post, no credible data regarding the orders from 123 countries for Bharath Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine was found. ‘123 countries’ mentioned in the post is about the reach of all of Bharath Biotech’s vaccines. On Bharat Biotech’s website, it is mentioned – “We have been at the forefront in delivering >4 billion doses of vaccines to 123 countries”.
Bharat Biotech did not mention anywhere about 123 countries ordering their COVID-19 vaccine. It just mentions that it has been approached by several countries across the world for the procurement of COVAXIN. Under the ‘Global Acceptance of COVAXIN’, Bharat Biotech website mentions – ‘Clinical trial in Bangladesh to commence soon. Supplies from the government to government in the following countries to take place: Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bahrain, Oman, Maldives and Mauritius.’ The news reports regarding the government sending vaccines to different countries can be read here and here. In a press release, Bharat Biotech has announced that it has signed an agreement with Precisa Medicamentos for the supply of COVAXIN to Brazil.
Also, when a similar post went viral with the claim – ‘190 countries have pre-booked the Bharat Biotech COVID-19 vaccine that India has developed’, FACTLY has debunked the claim and written a fact-check article, which can be read here.
To sum it up, ‘123 countries’ mentioned in the post is about the reach of all of Bharath Biotech’s vaccines.

created: February 2, 2021


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125 illegal Kidney transplants of this murderer doctor are falsely linked to COVID-19 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 6, 2020
A thumbnail photo of a ‘Times of India’ article is being shared on social media with a claim that the Delhi Police has arrested a doctor who killed 125 patients on the pretext of COVID-19 for their kidneys. It is also mentioned that the doctor has killed the patients and fed them to crocodiles. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Delhi Police arrested a doctor who killed 125 patients on the pretext of COVID-19 for their kidneys and fed the patients to crocodiles.
Fact: It is true that the Delhi Police arrested the doctor (Devendra Sharma) shown in the picture. The doctor was a serial killer and was allegedly involved in various criminal activities including around 125 illegal kidney transplants during the years 1994-2004. He was arrested in 2004 and was in Jaipur jail till January 2020, when he was granted parole. But he absconded at the end of his parole in February 2020. Later, he was arrested by Delhi Police in July 2020. The COVID-19 angle to his crimes is false as his alleged 125 illegal kidney transplants were during 1994-2004, almost 16 years before COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched for the article mentioned in the photo, it was found that the ‘Times of India’ has recently published the mentioned article. In the article, it was mentioned that the man in the photo is Devendra Sharma, an Ayurvedic practitioner. It can also be read that he was a serial killer and was allegedly involved in various criminal activities including around 125 illegal kidney transplants during the years 1994-2004. He was arrested in 2004 and was in Jaipur jail till January 2020, when he was granted parole. But he absconded at the end of his parole in February 2020. Later, he was arrested by Delhi Police in July 2020. The summary of his life events can be found in the ‘Times of India’ article. But, the COVID-19 angle is not mentioned anywhere in the article.
In the ‘Indian Express’ article, it can be read that the police officials have said ‘during interrogation, he disclosed that from 1994-2004, he got more than 125 kidney transplants done illegally for which he was paid Rs 5-7 lakh each’. The officials have also said ‘the doctor and his associates used to hire taxis and kill the drivers at a secluded place. They used to dump the bodies on the way to Aligarh in Hazara canal, Kasganj, which had crocodiles, and hence there was no chance of retrieval’. So, the alleged 125 kidney transplants were not during COVID-19 times. There is no COVID-19 link to his murders. Multiple news reports regarding Devendra Sharma can be read here, here and here.
To sum it up, the alleged 125 illegal kidney transplants of this murderer doctor during 1994-2004 have been falsely linked to COVID-19.
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created: August 6, 2020


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(13 February 2023) Government Data Roundup: Union Budget, Economic Survey, NITI Aayog Reports on ITIs & ULBs Among The Data/Reports Released Recently - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 13, 2023
The 22nd edition of the fortnightly government roundup covers the union budget 2023-24, economic survey 2022-23, reports, consultation papers released NITI Aayog and TRAI.
In this 22 edition of Factly’s Fortnightly Government Data Roundup, we look at the key reports released in the fortnight from 27 January to 9 February 2023. These include the Union Budget 2023-24 and Economic Survey for 2022-23, reports released by NITI Aayog, and a Consultation Paper released by TRAI.
Union Budget 2023-24
Brief about the report
Article 112 of the Constitution of India states that a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for a financial year needs to be laid before both the houses of the Parliament. The legislation refers to the Union Budget as ‘Annual Financial Statement’. Before the beginning of the next financial year (01 April), the budget is required to be passed by the parliament. Thus, every year, the parliament session in the month of February is dedicated to the annual Union Budget and is thus called the budget session. A detailed explainer by Factly on the process behind the preparation of Union Budget can be accessed here.
In the ongoing budget session of the parliament, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget for 2023-24. This would be the NDA Government’s last full budget before the 2024 elections.
Key takeaways from the Union Budget 2023-24
While announcing the Budget, the finance minister emphasized that Indian economy is on the right track, and despite a time of challenges, heading towards a bright future. She listed seven priorities of the Union Budget and that complement each other and act as the ‘Saptarishi’ guiding the nation through the Amrit Kaal. They are Inclusive Development, Reaching the Last Mile, Infrastructure and Investment, Unleashing the Potential, Green Growth, Youth Power, and Financial Sector.
Some of the key achievements of the government as mentioned in the annual budget are listed below.
Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, Agriculture Accelerator Fund, Digital public infrastructure for agriculture, Sickle Cell Anaemia elimination mission, and PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) are some of the initiatives planned to be launched.
Some amendments with respect to direct taxes are given below.
With respect to indirect taxes, proposed amendments have been listed below.
Legislative changes in Customs Act, Customs Tariff Act, and CGST Act have been proposed too.
Economic Survey 2022-23
Brief about the report
Published annually by the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Survey is a report that reviews the performance of the Indian economy in the last financial year. It is usually presented by the finance minister in the Parliament a day ahead of the Union Budget. This year’s Economic Survey is significant as it captures the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war that started while the pandemic started receding, as well as India’s recovery following the pandemic.
Key Highlights
Consultation paper on ‘Regulating Converged Digital Technologies and Services –Enabling Convergence of Carriage of Broadcasting and Telecommunication’
Brief about the report
Over the years, technological advancements have resulted in the convergence of devices, services, and networks. Factors such as efficient utilization of resources, increased level of competition, more innovative user applications and technological developments are driving convergence, which has been beneficial to various stakeholders. Technological convergence not only enables possibility of delivering a broader set of products, but also benefits through lower entry barriers, promotion of competition, lower cost equipment, quicker market response, and new business opportunities. However, there are challenges too.
The paper deals with the issue of regulating converged digital technologies upon enabling convergence of carriage of broadcasting and telecommunication services and seeks views of the stakeholders on changes required, if any, in legal, administrative, and licensing framework to deal with them. It has flagged issues like standards and technical license conditions from a policy perspective.
The last date for submission of comments is 27 February 2023 and for counter comments is 13 March 2023. The Comments and counter-comments may be sent to advbbpa@trai.gov.in.
Transition to accrual accounting: Models and learnings for Urban Local Bodies
About the report
The Indian Government comes up with initiatives to improve the financial reporting in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) which include linking grants with accounting reforms among other things. Recently, the 15th Finance Commission recommended the online availability of unaudited annual accounts of the previous year and audited accounts for the year before previous year as an entry-level condition (amongst other conditions) to avail grant. In this context, the Committee on Public & Government Financial Management (CP&GFM) of ‘The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’ (ICAI) along with ICAI Accounting Research Foundation and NITI Aayog undertook this research study.
The study looks at the reforms in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu apart from Cantonment Boards. The status of the reforms and a comparison of the implementation of the same across the said states has been presented in the study.
Key highlights from the report
Transforming Industrial Training Institutes
About the report
The report by NITI Aayog highlights transformative ideas for revamping the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) ecosystem in the country. ITIs are vital for vocational training in India. Every year, lakhs of students enter the nearly 15,000 odd ITIs and many of them join the trained workforce of the country. Numerous initiatives have been taken by the government to revamp the same. However, underutilization, low quality in training and faculty, and poor infrastructure continue to affect the employability of the students.
Key Highlights
The study presents a comprehensive set of recommendations to transform ITIs, through a seven-pronged approach pertaining to changes in administration, curriculum, financing, reporting, monitoring, resource mobilization, and student support services.
Some of the recommendations put forth in the report are the following.

created: February 13, 2023


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(13 March 2023) Government Data Roundup:Reports By NSSO, MoSPI,etc
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2023
The 24th edition of the fortnightly government roundup covers reports released by NSSO, MoSPI, TRAI, Ministry of Finance among others.
The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) carried out the Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS) covering the entire country in its 78 round. The primary objective of the MIS was to collect data for the generation of some important national indicators of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in the last fortnight. In this 24 roundup of the Fortnightly Government Data Roundup, along with the NSS report, we also look at the key findings of reports released by MoSPI, TRAI, and the Finance Ministry in the last fortnight.
Report on Multiple Indicator Survey, 2020-21
About the report
Every year, the National Sample Survey Office carries out surveys across the country and publishes reports on various sectors such as health, housing, agriculture, consumer expenditure, education, and drinking water, among others. The latest survey was on multiple indicators to estimate India’s progress with respect to Sustainable Development Goals. The survey was initially planned to be conducted during the period January and December 2020, but the fieldwork was extended further till August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are broadly 10 sections in the report, viz.
Methodology
The whole of the Indian Union was surveyed except for some villages of Andaman and Nicobar Islands which were difficult to access. In this survey, two-stage stratified sampling was used, where First Stage Units (FSU) were villages/sub-units (SUs) in rural areas, and Urban Frame Survey (UFS) were blocks/SUs in urban areas. The FSUs were allocated to States and UTs in proportion to the population as per Census 2011. The Second Stage Units (SSUs) were households in both rural and urban areas. The selection of FSUs and SSUs was done by simple random sampling without Replacement.
Key findings
Some interesting numbers revealed by the report include
Apart from the NSS survey reports, the Ministry of Finance, TRAI, and MoSPI released some reports in the last fortnight. The details of some of these reports have already been discussed in previous editions of the government data roundup by Factly.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
Report on Drive Tests in 20 Cities: Every quarter, TRAI conducts drive tests in different cities to assess the network quality provided by cellular mobile telephone service providers for voice and data services. For the quarter ending September 2022, the tests were performed in 20 cities. All the TSPs had met the Drop Call Rate (DCR) benchmark of 2% in Alappuzha, Vadodara City & Nearby area, Kota City and Nearby Area, Guntur, Anantapur, and Ahmedabad-Vadodara Highway NH-8. In Devanagere, BSNL 2G, BSNL 3G, and VIL 4G failed to meet the benchmark. Reliance Jio, Vodafone India Ltd, and Airtel failed in the quality of the 4G Network in Guwahati.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
The reports released by MoSPI include the following.
Monthly GST Revenue Collections and the Monthly Review of Accounts of Union Government of India
The Ministry of Finance released the Monthly GST Revenue Collections and the Monthly Review of Accounts of the Union Government of India through a press release.
Featured Image: Government Data Roundup


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(14 August 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports by MoSPI, CAG
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2023
In this 35th edition of the fortnightly roundup of government data, we look at some of the reports and data released by MOSPI regarding Crop Statistics, MOSPI’s report of Twenty Point Programme, Standing Committee Reports and CAG Audit Reports.
Twenty Point Programme – Annual Report 2023 & Progress Report 2022-23
About the reports
The Twenty Point Programme (TPP) is a package of government programs, with the aim of improving the quality of life in rural areas. The program includes a range of schemes related to poverty alleviation, employment generation, education, health, housing, and environmental protection. It was initially launched in 1975 and restructured in 1982, 1986, and 2006. The Programmes and Schemes under TPP-2006 are in harmony with the priorities contained in the National Common Minimum Programme, the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, and the SAARC Social Charter. It has 20 Points covering 65 items. These 65 items coincide with various programmes and schemes of the government which are administered by the Central Nodal Ministries/Departments and by and large are implemented through the State Governments/UT Administrations.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) monitors the performance of the TPP based on reports received from state governments and central nodal ministries. The management information system relating to Twenty Point developed by the Ministry consists of a monthly Progress Report (MPR) and yearly Review of the Programme, Pointwise, Item-wise, and State-wise.
Recently, MOSPI released its yearly review reports of TPP -2006. The Two reports are:
Highlights
Review of Crop Statistics System in India – 2017-18 and 2019-20
About Review of Crop Statistics System in India
The agriculture sector has a vital role to play in Indian Economy. Hence there is a need for timely, reliable, and comprehensive statistics on area under crops and crop production. The field Operations Division (FOD) of the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI has the responsibility of guiding the States in developing suitable techniques for obtaining reliable and timely estimates of area and yield rates. It is also responsible to ensure the adoption of Uniform concepts, definitions, and procedures in the collection of crop area and yield-related statistics. It keeps a constant watch on the quality of Crop Statistics through the Scheme for Improvement of Crop Statistics (ICS).
The scheme ICS was taken up in the year 1973-74 with the objective of pointing out, through the Join efforts of NSO and State governments, the deficiencies in the system of crop statistics. Sample checks on area enumeration and area aggregation are carried out in a sample of about 10 thousand villages in each season and conduct around 32 thousand crop-cutting experiments in a year.
Based on the findings of the ICS scheme, NSO (FDO) releases a publication – Review of Crop Statistics System in India.
MOSPI has recently released the 43 & 45 editions for the years 2017-18 and 2019-20 respectively.
Review of Crop Statistics System in India (2017-18)
Review of Crop Statistics System in India (2019-20)
Consolidated Results of Crop Estimation Survey on Principal Crops
About Consolidated Results of Crop Estimation Survey on Principal Crops
Estimates of yield rates of principal food and non-food crops are obtained on the basis of crop-cutting experiments conducted in the majority of States/UTs under the National Programme of Crop Estimation Surveys (CES). In this process, certain vital micro-level details relating to the conduct of crop-cutting experiments for the estimation of crop yield are also captured.
The analysed results of CES are consolidated and brought out by NSSO (FOD) in their annual publication titled ‘Consolidated Results of Crop Estimation Survey on Principal Crops.’
MOSPI has released two editions i.e., 70 and 71 for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Consolidated Results of Crop Estimation Survey on Principal Crops (2017-18)
Consolidated Results of Crop Estimation Survey on Principal Crops (2018-19)
Standing Committee Reports
Various Standing Committee Reports were submitted during the Monsoon Session of 2023 in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Reports include Ecosystem of Start-ups to benefit India, Development of Trade and Industries in North-eastern Region, 353 report on Issue of Fixing of Airfares, Judicial processes and their Reform, Thirty Second Report of the Committee on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Forty-seventh Report of the Committee on the subject ‘Review of the functioning of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), The Forty-Eighth Report of the Committee on “Citizens’ Data Security And Privacy, etc. Details of these reports can be read in our Parliament reviews here and here
A few of the other Standing Committee Reports include:
Audit Reports by CAG
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has released various Audit reports over the last fortnight. A few of these reports are:
Featured Image: Government Data Roundup


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These are the 14 designs of ₹10 Coins that are valid currently
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 9, 2018

created: February 9, 2018


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‘15వ దలైలామాగా పుట్టపర్తి సత్యసాయి విద్యార్థి’ అంటూ వస్తున్న వార్తల్లో నిజం లేదు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 15, 2019
15వ దలైలామాగా భారతీయుడినే ఎంపిక చేసిన ప్రస్తుత 14వ దలైలామా అంటూ ఫేస్బుక్ లో కొందరు ఒక పోస్ట్ ని షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఆ పోస్ట్ లో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో విశ్లేషిద్ధాం.
15వ దలైలామాగా పుట్టపర్తి సత్యసాయి విద్యార్థి దావా వంగ్డి ని ఎంపిక చేసిన ప్రస్తుత 14వ దలైలామా.
15వ దలైలామాగా ఇంకా ఎవరిని ఎంపిక చేయలేదని 14వ దలైలామా ఆఫీసువారు FACTLY కి తెలిపారు. కావున పోస్ట్ లోచెప్పింది అబద్ధం.
15వ దలైలామాగా భారతీయ విద్యార్థి దావా వంగ్డి ఎంపిక అయినట్టు సోషల్ మీడియా లో పోస్ట్ లే కాదు, వివిధ ప్రముఖ వార్తాపత్రికలు కూడా ప్రచురించినట్టు చూడొచ్చు. (ఈనాడు, సాక్షి, 10టీవీ, టీవీ5, టీవీ9, మైక్ టీవీ)
పోస్ట్ లోని విషయం గురించి కేవలం ఇరు రాష్ట్రాలలోని తెలుగు వార్త పత్రికలు మాత్రమే ప్రచురించాయి. 15వ దలైలామా ఎంపిక అయినట్టుగా మిగితా వార్తాపత్రికల్లో ఎక్కడ కూడా దొరకలేదు. కావున 15వ దలైలామా ఎంపిక మరియు ఫోటోలోని అబ్బాయి గురించి తెలుసుకోవడానికి ప్రయత్నిద్దాం.
ఫోటో లోని అబ్బాయి ఎవరు?
ఫోటోలోని అబ్బాయి పేరు దావా వంగ్డి (పోస్టుల్లో కూడా ఇదే పేరు ఉంటుంది). వెస్ట్ బెంగాల్ లోని డార్జిలింగ్ కి చెందిన ప్రేమవంగ్డి మరియు పంజూరాయ్ ల కుమారుడు. 2016 లో దావా వంగ్డి ని ‘ద్రాక్త్సే రిన్పోచే’ అనే బౌద్ధ గురువు యొక్క అవతారం (మళ్ళీ పుట్టడం) అని 14వ దలైలామా గుర్తించినట్టు ‘జీ న్యూస్’ ఆర్టికల్ లో చూడవచ్చు. టిబెట్ బౌద్ధ మతంలో బౌద్ధ గురువులు చనిపోయాక మళ్ళీ ఇంకో అవతారంలో పుడుతారని నమ్మకం. కావున కేవలం దావా వంగ్డి నే కాకుండా ఇతరులను కూడా వివిధ  బౌద్ధ గురువుల అవతారాలుగా ఎన్నుకున్నట్టు ఇక్కడ మరియు ఇక్కడ చూడవచ్చు. దావా వంగ్డి ని ‘ద్రాక్త్సే రిన్పోచే’ అవతారం గా గుర్తించినట్టు వివిధ వార్తాపత్రికల్లో చదవచ్చు.  కానీ తననే ఇప్పుడు 15వ దలైలామా గా ఎన్నుకున్నట్టు తెలుగు వార్తాపత్రికల్లో తప్ప ఎక్కడా కూడా సమాచారం లేదు.
15వ దలైలామా ఎంపిక: 14వ దలైలామా vs చైనా
చైనా ప్రభుత్వం వారు మాట్లాడుతూ 15వ దలైలామా ని చైనా లో నుండే ఎంపిక చేయాలని, భారత ప్రభుత్వం ఈ ప్రక్రియ లో కలగ చేసుకోవద్దని చెప్పినట్టు ‘The Hindu’ ఆర్టికల్ లో చదవచ్చు. అంతేకాదు, 15వ దలైలామా ఎంపిక కి చైనా ఆమోదం తప్పనిసరని తెలిపారు. 2011 లో 14వ దలైలామా మాట్లాడుతూ టిబెట్ ప్రజలు మరియు టిబెట్ బౌద్ధ మతం పాటించే ప్రజలు ఒకవేళ 15వ దలైలామా ఎన్నిక కోరుకుంటే, ఎంపిక ప్రక్రియ ను దలైలామా గాడెన్ ఫోద్రాంగ్ ట్రస్ట్ కి చెందిన అధికారులకు అప్పగిస్తానని తెలిపినట్టు దలైలామా అధికారిక వెబ్ సైటులో చూడవచ్చు. అంతే కాదు, పునర్జన్మ మరియు అవతారాలను నమ్మని చైనా కమ్యూనిస్ట్లు దలైలామా ఎన్నిక ప్రక్రియలో కలగచేసుకోవడం సరికాదని తెలిపారు.
14వ దలైలామా 2019 మార్చి లో మాట్లాడుతూ తదుపరి దలైలామా భారతదేశం నుండి కూడా ఉండవచ్చని తెలిపరు. కానీ, ఇండియా నుండి ఒకరిని ఎంపిక చేసినట్టుగా ఎక్కడా కూడా తెలుపలేదు.
15వ దలైలామాగా దావా వంగ్డి  ఎంపిక జరిగిందా?
15వ దలైలామా ఎంపిక గురించి తెలుగు వార్తాపత్రికల్లో వచ్చిన విషయం గురించి దలైలామా ఆఫీసు వారికి FACTLY ఈ-మెయిల్ చేయగా, వారు ఈ వార్తల్లో ఎటువంటి నిజం లేదని తెలిపారు. అలానే, పుట్టపర్తి సత్యసాయి స్కూలు వారికి కూడా FACTLY ఫోన్ చేయగా, వారి నుండి ఎటువంటి స్పందన లేదు.
చివరగా, ‘15వ దలైలామాగా పుట్టపర్తి సత్యసాయి విద్యార్థి’ అంటూ వస్తున్న వార్తల్లో నిజం లేదు. 15వ దలైలామాగా  ఇంకా ఎవరిని ఎన్నుకోలేదు.
ఏది ఫేక్, ఏది నిజం సిరీస్ లో మా వీడియోస్ మీరు చూసారా?


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(15 August 2022) Government Data Roundup: Recommendations of the Working group on Digital Lending, multiple standing committee reports among the data & reports released recently
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 15, 2022
In the ninth edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover RBI’s report of ‘Recommendations of the Working group on Digital Lending – Implementation’, Survey of Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Mutual Fund Companies – 2021-22, the ‘Internet in India’ report by IAMAI, and multiple standing committee reports among others.
In the ninth edition of the fortnightly government data roundup, we look at RBI’s report of ‘Recommendations of the Working group on Digital Lending – Implementation’, Survey of Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Mutual Fund Companies – 2021-22, and the ‘Internet in India’ report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and KANTAR.
In addition to the above reports, we look at a few important Parliamentary Standing Committee reports that were tabled in the recently concluded 2022 monsoon session. These include action taken reports by the Government on
Brief about the report/data:
Designing and delivering credit services through the digital mode has become more pronounced through the innovations & the use of technology in the financial sector. However, like all innovations come with a new set of risks, digital lending also has some risks, which if unmitigated erodes public trust in the financial system. Accordingly, the RBI had set up a working group on ‘digital lending including lending through online platforms and mobile apps’ (WGDL)’ in January 2021. The working group submitted its report, and it was placed in public domain. The current press release is regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the report.
Key Highlights:
Recommendations accepted wholly by RBI are:
Recommendations accepted in-principle which require further examination:
Recommendations for consideration of the Government of India
Brief about the study:
This survey by the RBI is used to collect basic information regarding the asset management companies (AMCs) and mutual fund companies pertaining to the assets and external liabilities. This is important to collate and compile basic statistics regarding the performance of the financial system. The data released is only at the aggregate level and utmost secrecy is maintained regarding the institution-wise data.
Key highlights:
For Mutual Funds (MF) companies
For Asset Management Companies
Brief about the report:
In light of the government’s strong promotion of the idea of a digital economy worth USD 1 trillion, digital services have become significant for the nation. Government programmes like e-governance promotion and the Digital India initiative have made it possible for the Internet to expand throughout society. The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which was founded in 2004, is a young and active association that speaks for the entire spectrum of digital enterprises in India. Internet in India by IAMAI and its associated institution is a comprehensive outlook of the internet penetration in India.
Key Highlights:
Brief about the report:
The COVID-19 epidemic is one of the biggest public health crises the world has ever seen, and it is having unheard-of severe effects on our social lives, economics, and health. The parliamentary standing committee chose and decided to examine the subject “Availability of medicines and medical devices for COVID management” on a priority basis because foolproof measures are required to ensure the availability of medicines and medical devices to the people of all regions of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Highlights:
Key Highlights:
Key Highlights of the report:
Key Highlights of the report:
Featured Image: Government Data Roundup


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'15 feet snake covers the statue of Buddha'? No, the snake was digitally created - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 14, 2021
A video accompanying a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that a 15 feet snake surrounds the statue of Buddha every year during rains. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: 15 feet snake covers the statue of Buddha every year during the rains.
Fact: When observed clearly, the eyes of the snake in the video are glowing in red indicating it to be a digitally created one. Multiple older uploads mention that a boy from Sri Lanka has used technology to create Muchalinda cobra shown in the video. As per Buddhist mythology, Muchalinda is the name of a naga, a snake-like being, who sheltered Buddha from rain for seven days while he was deep in meditation. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search was done on the screenshots of the video, we found a YouTube video uploaded on 13 May 2017 with the same exact visuals. This video is titled ‘Sri Lanka Buddha on snake Gautam Buddha’, and the channel’s name is ‘Sangha Tv’. Taking a cue from the video that it was from Sri Lanka, we searched for videos of snakes covering Buddha in Sri Lanka. We found several videos with similar visuals of snakes covering Buddha, which can be seen here, here, and here.
Taking a cue from the videos of snake covering Buddha in Sri Lanka, we found ‘Muchalinda Nagadaranaya’ being frequently used in those videos. Upon simple google search of the word ‘Muchalinda Nagadaranaya’, we found a YouTube video with same visuals published on 13 May 2017 with the title, ‘A boy from Sri Lanka uses robot technology to create the Muchalinda cobra’, the description of the video says that this video was a Muchalinda Nagadaranaya with robot technology. Muchalinda is the name of a Naga, a snake-like being, who protected the Gautama Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment.
The words seen in the initial part of the video seem to be written in Sinhala and appear to represent the word ‘Muchalinda Nagadaranaya’ as translated from Sinhala.
Also, when observed clearly, the eyes of the snake in the video are glowing with red light and the sounds, lighting used in the video is seen to be typical of an artificial setting seen in other Muchalinda Nagadaranaya videos on YouTube, rather than in an original setting.
To sum it up, a digitally created snake surrounding Buddha’s statue is being shared as visuals of 15 feet snake covering the statue of Buddha every year during the rains.