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Have you seen a funnier response to a RTI application than this one?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 2, 2017
To disclose the office address, pincode & phone number that were already present on the letter head, a customs official in Chennai wanted the RTI applicant to sign a MoU &  Non-Disclosure agreement to disclose these details.
Common sense is sometimes very uncommon. That is what Mr C J Karira realized after filing an application under RTI with the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).  There cannot be a funnier response than this to a RTI application.
What kind of information was sought from CBEC?
Mr Karira sought the following information from the head office of CBEC.  Among other things, he sought the addresses of all field offices of CBEC along with official telephone numbers and email addresses.
It has to be noted that all the information sought by him should have been proactively disclosed as per section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) act. Ministries & Departments of both the Central & State Governments that have field offices at state & district levels usually disclose the details of the officers responsible for implementing the RTI act etc. at the field level, on the department’s main website. For instance, Postal Department has all such details on the main website. Similarly, the Income Tax department also has these details on the main website.
How did CBEC respond?
Even the CBEC has some of these details on the main website. The easiest way to respond to the RTI application would have been to provide the URL that has these details. In addition, it could have also provided the missing details if any. Instead, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of CBEC transferred the application to all the sub-ordinate offices across India. Can there be a greater waste of public money (read postal & other charges)?
Response from the Office of Commissioner of Customs in Chennai is the BEST
To disclose the office address, pin code, office telephone number and office email id, the CPIO from the Office of Commissioner of Customs in Chennai wanted Mr. Karira to first sign a MoU as per the ‘Data Sharing Policy’ of CBEC as well as sign a ‘Non-Disclosure Agreement’ before disclosing such information.The funniest part is that the official letter head on which the reply was sent already had the office address, pin code, office telephone number. For something that is already there on the CBEC website and on the official letter head, the official wanted the applicant to sign a MoU & a Non-Disclosure agreement.
What is problematic with this response?
The Chennai official’s response is problematic for multiple reasons. It goes onto corroborate the experience of some RTI applicants who found a set of bureaucrats to be with a closed mind-set & do not wish to be open & transparent.
The information sought by the applicant has to be provided as per the provisions of RTI act since the RTI act overrides any other law regarding the disclosure of information. The official can only refuse to provide information citing any of the exemption clause in Section 8 of the RTI act. The official should not even have referred to the ‘Data Sharing Policy’ in this case.
Even if he had to, it is amply clear that the official hasn’t read the ‘Data Sharing Policy’ of CBEC. The policy clearly demarcates ‘Sensitive’ & ‘Non-Sensitive’ data. Among other things, the policy says that data which is mandated by statute, other Acts in force are to be categorized as non-sensitive. It also goes onto say that data placed on CBEC’s website in compliance with the RTI Act also will be treated as ‘Non-Sensitive’. The address & other details as requested by Mr. Karira are clearly ‘Non-Sensitive’ in nature since they are already on the website and also mandated by the RTI act. Instead, the official treated this information as sensitive and wanted the applicant to sign a non-disclosure agreement.While this sheer waste of time & money for both the government and the applicant can’t be ignored, the bigger issue is the closed mind-set of such officials in a world that is becoming more open by the day.

created: October 2, 2017


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Seizure of Fake notes in 2018: The number for ₹ 2000 decreases while for ₹ 500 increases
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 17, 2020
The NCRB’s ‘Crime in India’ report provides data on volume & amount of the fake currency seized in the country. The 2018 data indicates that the number of fake ₹ 2000 notes seized has decreased while it has increased in the case of ₹ 500 notes.
Addressingthe nation on the eve of announcing
demonetization, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that terrorismacross the border is being funded by Fake currency notes and that there havebeen many instances where fake currency of the then high value notes of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 were seized. Curbing fake currency was one ofthe stated goals of demonization.
Factlyhad done a story earlier on the impact of demonetization, as part of which details of fakecurrency post demonetization based on RBI’s
Annual Report was also discussed.
Apart from the newly introduced high value currency of ₹ 500 and ₹ 2000, large number of counterfeit notes of lower denomination like ₹100 were also identified. The numbers reported by RBI are those notes which have been identified in the Banking system. The RBI annual report also reports numbers for the financial year (from April to March).
On the other hand, the NCRB (National Crime Reports Bureau) annual ‘Crime in India’ report provides details of the cases registered in the seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes(FICN).  Unlike FICN in the banking system as reported by RBI, the NCRB data provides details of the fake currency seized across the country by law enforcement agencies. The NCRB’s 2018 report was recently released.
Itis to be noted that counterfeiting currency is a punishable offence underIndian law. Sections
489 A to 489 E of Indian Penal Code lay down these provisions.
Highest
number of cases in 2018 registered in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal
Asper the data provided in NCRB-2018
report, a total of 914 FIRs were registered across all Indiain 2018 related to seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes. There were a total of1002 accused in these cases.
Highestnumber of cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh (206 FIRs in which 68 wereaccused). While West Bengal has the second highest number of FIRs with 158, ithas the highest number of accused in these cases with 187. Among the otherstates, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have higher number of FIRs with 72 and 67 respectively.
Thenumber of FIRs registered have come down over the past three years.  In 2016, there were 1172 FIRs while in 2017the number was 978. The number of accused was also higher in 2017 and 2018 with1107 and 1046 respectively.
Number
of Incidents reduce compared to 2014
Priorto 2016, the number of FIRs filed and the number of accused in counterfeitingcases were not provided in the NCRB data. However, the reports for 2014 and2015 included the incidence of the such crimes. In 2014, the number ofincidents of counterfeiting currency/bank notes was 1667 which fell over thesubsequent years until 2017.  Theincidence of cases was 1662, 1443 and 1144 for 2015,2016 and 2017 respectively.However, the incidence of counterfeiting of currency/bank notes increased marginallyin 2018 to 1233.
In 2018, highest
volume by value of FICN seized in Delhi
Whilethe highest number cases were filed in UP for 2018, Delhi which had reportedonly 38 FIRs, recorded the highest value of FICN seized with ₹ 3.63 crores. A total of more than ₹ 17.95 crores worth of fake Indian currency was seizedin 2018 across the country.
InTamil Nadu, fake notes worth of more than ₹ 2.84 crores were seized, followed by West Bengal where₹ 2.11crores were seized.  Other states wheremore than one crore worth of fake notes seized include :  Karnataka (₹ 1.71 crores), Uttar Pradesh (₹ 1.33 crores), Gujarat (₹ 1.23 crores), Maharashtra (₹ 1.15 crores) and Andhra Pradesh (₹ 1.13 crores). Mizoram, which is one of the smallerstates in India and has only 4 cases filed in 2018. But the fake currency worth₹ 73.7 lakhswere seized here in 2018.
Major share
of amount seized in Delhi consists of demonetized ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes.
Asignificant portion of the amount seized in Delhi during 2018 are thedemonetized ₹1000 and ₹500 notes. A total of  13,138 fake notesof ₹ 1000 and afurther 13,596 fake notes of older ₹ 500 were seized in Delhi. Delhi also recorded thehighest number of fake ₹100notes with more than 31 thousand such notes. In Gujarat, more than 14000 fake ₹100 notes were seized.
Amongthe new notes that were released post demonetization, most fake notes of ₹ 2000 denomination were seized in Tamil Nadu (morethan 12000).  West Bengal, Delhi andKarnataka are among the other states where a significant number of ₹2000 notes were seized in 2018.
Amajor portion of fake currency seized in Mizoram are the new high value noteswith 3494 of ₹2000 denomination and 764 notes of ₹ 500 denomination.
Relativelyfewer fake notes of the new ₹500denomination, released post-demonetization, were seized in 2018.  The highest number of such fake 500 Rupeenotes were seized in Gujarat followed by Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka.
80,000 + counterfeit
high value notes of ₹ 2000 & ₹ 500 seized in 2017 & 2018
RBIreleased the new ₹500 and ₹2000 currency notes as the high value denominations after demonetization.
Inthe year 2017, nearly 75 thousand counterfeit notes of ₹ 2000 denomination were seized. This number reduced in2018 to nearly 55 thousand such fake notes. The number of counterfeit notesseized of the new ₹500denomination was 8879 in 2017 which increased by nearly three times in 2018 when26 thousand such fake notes were seized.
Thenew notes were released during November 2016 post demonetization, and it is importantto note that within the remaining two months of 2016 i.e. November and December2272 counterfeit notes of ₹2000 were seized.
Amongthe other new notes issues by RBI, 155 counterfeit notes of ₹ 50 were seized in 2017 which increased to 5215 in2018.
Value
of Fake Currency seized higher in 2017 & 2018
Inthe two years post demonetization, the total value of FICN seized was ₹ 17.95 crores  in 2018 and ₹28.1 crores in 2017.
Althoughthe total value of fake notes seized in 2018 is less than that of 2017, thevalue in both these years is greater than the value of fake notes seized in2016 and before. The data as per NCRB report does not specify the details ofthe value seized post demonetization in 2016 and in the 10 months prior to it. However,the total fake currency seized in 2016 was worth ₹ 15.92 crores. The value in 2016 was significantlyhigher than the value of 2014 and 2015 which was ₹3.03 crores and ₹ 90.6 lakhs respectively.
Higher
number of FCIN seized of the new currency notes does not meet one of the
purposes of demonetization.
Whilethe value of FICN seized during 2017 and 2018 is higher than earlier, it isalso significant to note that a major share of this value includes the newnotes of ₹2000and ₹500. Thisis similar to the trend observed from the numbers reported in RBI’s annualreport. Factly had earlier noted that the number of fake notes detected in thebanking system of the new currency increased
in 2018.
Thegovernment has maintained that the new notes were introduced with high securityfeatures to prevent counterfeiting. However, the increasing volume of counterfeitnotes of the new currency is a cause for concern. It has to be noted that the numbersindicated in the NCRB reports are only those which have been seized by lawenforcement agencies and where a case has been filed.  The estimate of the total volume of such notesin circulation is not known.

source: news-factly

created: January 17, 2020

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Select images from different SCO summits are shared to compare Manmohan Singh & Narendra Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 20, 2022
A collage of images is being shared on social media claiming it as the difference in priority or respect given to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and PM Narendra Modi at international summits. Comparing a picture of Manmohan Singh standing in the middle of world leaders with another picture of PM Modi standing at the corner end of world leaders, this post refers to Manmohan Singh as a stronger Prime Minister when compared to Narendra Modi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Difference in standing positions of former PM Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi at the International summits which reflects their strength.
Fact: The two photos shared in the post are true and were shot during two different Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summits held in 2013 and 2022. During the recent SCO summit held in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, Narendra Modi was seen standing in the centre position while posing for another group photo. Also, during many international summits, Manmohan Singh was seen standing at the corner or back while posing for a group photo along with world leaders. The post shared selective images to portray Narendra Modi as a weaker Prime Minister than Manmohan Singh. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Photo 1:
On reverse image search of the photo, the same photo was found published on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) website. The MEA and a few other news websites described it as a group picture taken during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in September 2013, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. A group picture taken during the 2009 SCO summit can be seen here.
Though he was not seen standing near at the corner positions in SCO summits, in a few other major international summits, Manmohan Singh was also seen standing at the corner or near to the corner positions. A few of those pictures can be seen here, here and here.
Photo 2:
This photo shared in the post was taken during the recent SCO summit held in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand on 16 September 2022. The photo does show Narendra Modi standing in the left corner in a group photo. But in another picture taken during the same SCO summit in Samarkand, Narendra Modi was seen standing at the centre position along with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This picture was credited to Associated Press.
At many international summits, Narendra Modi was seen standing in the centre position in group photos of world leaders. They can be seen here, here and here. Selective images of Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi are being shared in the post to portray Manmohan Singh as the stronger Prime Minister compared to Narendra Modi.
To sum it up, select images from different SCO summits are shared to portray Manmohan Singh as a stronger Prime Minister compared to Narendra Modi.

created: September 20, 2022


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Selective excerpts from Amit Shah's speech taken out of context, falsely suggesting party's apathy towards Manipur - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 26, 2024
A viral video features Union Home Minister Amit Shah discussing Manipur, with claims suggesting he expresses his party’s stance on the violence in the region. Shah is heard stating in the video, “Our concern lies not with Manipur but with elections. We are not concerned with democracy, our party lacks principles. In politics, our sole focus is winning elections.” This article aims to fact-check the claim associated with the video.
Claim: Amit Shah – Our party prioritizes elections over concerns for Manipur.
Fact: In August 2023, during a debate on the Delhi services bill, Amit Shah directed these remarks towards the attitude of the opposition alliance. Shah emphasized that the opposition’s main priority was to protect their coalition rather than prioritize democracy or the welfare of the nation. The incomplete speech of Amit Shah has been taken out of context, falsely implying that he admitted his party’s lack of concern for Manipur. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
While the viral video does capture Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks made during a parliamentary discussion, it is important to note that Shah did not articulate his party’s position on the violence in Manipur. Instead, he made these statements to illustrate the attitude of the opposition alliance.
A relevant keyword search on YouTube led us to Amit Shah’s parliamentary speech where he delivered these remarks. In August 2023, during a discussion on the ‘Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023’, Amit Shah made these statements, taking a dig at the opposition alliance and highlighting their attitude.
The bill was intended to substitute an ordinance issued for managing the transfers and appointments of senior officers within the Delhi government. Nonetheless, the opposition alliance voiced opposition to the bill and eventually staged a walkout from parliament. It is in this backdrop that Amit Shah made these remarks, elucidating the stance of the opposition alliance, suggesting that their coalition would disintegrate once the bill is enacted.
Shah asserted that the opposition’s primary concern was safeguarding their alliance rather than upholding democracy or the nation’s welfare. He highlighted their absence during the passage of other bills and insinuated that the bill in question threatened their ally, AAP, suggesting that Kejriwal would distance himself from the opposition once the bill passed. At the 12-minute mark in the video, Amit Shah can be heard saying the words as in the viral video.
A loose translation of Amit Shah’s Hindi speech conveys the sentiment: “Once the bill to disrupt the alliance emerged, they conveniently forgot about Manipur, democracy, and even the riots. Everyone has gathered and is proclaiming in front of the 1.3 billion people that we are not concerned about Manipur, but about elections. Democracy doesn’t concern us, our party lacks principles. We are in politics solely to win elections.”
Other news reports covering Amit Shah’s statements can be accessed here and here. Therefore, it can be inferred that an incomplete video of Amit Shah’s speech has been taken out of context, falsely suggesting that he conceded his party’s indifference towards Manipur while prioritizing elections.
To sum it up, selective excerpts from Amit Shah’s speech are taken out of context, falsely suggesting the party’s apathy towards Manipur.

created: February 26, 2024


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Self Sufficiency in Petroleum Products at a 7 year low
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 15, 2017
India’s self sufficiency in petroleum products reached a seven year low in 2016-17. From 25.04% in 2010-11, it reached 17.92% in 2016-17. South India is at the top in per capita sales of Petrol, Diesel & LPG.
Petroleum products such as LPG, Diesel & Petrol are used by most Indians every day. Even industry uses certain petroleum products. Over the last 7 years, India’s self sufficiency in petroleum products has gone down from 25.04% in 2010-11 to 17.92% in 2016-17.
Diesel is consumed the most
The following petroleum products are consumed in India.
From the data available with the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), LPG, Petrol & Diesel make up for more than 60% of the consumption of all petroleum products in India. All the other products together make up the remaining 40% of which Naphtha & Petroleum Coke are consumed the most. As expected, consumption of Diesel accounts for almost 40% of all petroleum product consumption since most of the public transport (and transport of goods) runs on Diesel. Proportion of diesel consumption increased from 40.8% in 2009-10 to 44% in 2012-13. Since then, it has been steadily decreasing and went below 40% for the first time in 2016-17. On the other hand, the proportion of petrol has increased from 9.3% in 2009-10 to 12.3% in 2016-17.
Self Sufficiency at a 7 year low in 2016-17
While it is a known fact that imports account for bulk India’s oil needs, the self sufficiency of India in petroleum products has been steadily decreasing. Self sufficiency is calculated by taking the total indigenous production as a percentage of total domestic consumption. From 25.04% in 2010-11, it has come down to 17.92% in 2016-17. In 2009-10, the self sufficiency was 22.7%.
The decline in self sufficiency is on the account of increasing consumption and a stagnated domestic production. The total domestic production stood at 34.8 million metric tonnes in 2016-17, less than what it was in 2010-11. On the other hand, the total domestic consumption increased from 141 million metric tonnes in 2010-11 to 194.2 million metric tonnes in 2016-17.
Region wise Sales – West & South India on Top
If region wise sale of petroleum products is considered, then the sales in the North are highest followed by West, South, East and North East in that order. The sale in the North is highest because North comprises of a large number of states as per the PPAC classification. The sale in the North is almost 15 times the sale in the North East and twice the sale of East & North East Combined.
But when it comes to per capita sale of petroleum products (Total Sale/ Population as per 2011 Census), the Western region comes on the top followed by the South. The per capita sale of petroleum products in both the West & South are substantially higher than the national average while the North is only slightly higher than the national average. The per capita sale in the East & North East is almost half of the national average.
While the West leads in terms of per capita sales of all petroleum products, it is South India that leads in the per capita sales in each of LPG, Petrol & Diesel. In 2016-17, the per capita petrol sales in the South is almost 50% more than the national average and 3 times the per capita sales of petrol in the East.
State wise Sales –Maharashtra tops in sales, Haryana in per capita sales
In terms of absolute sales, Maharashtra recorded the highest sale of petroleum products in 2016-17 followed by Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka in that order.  Though Haryana is a smaller state compared to the other states, it is in the seventh place in terms of the sale of petroleum products. Of the bigger states with more than a crore population, Haryana even tops the list in per capita sales of petroleum products. Chandigarh had the highest per capita sales in LPG in 2016-17 where as Goa topped in the case of per capita Petrol & diesel sales.
Featured Image: By Pp391 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

created: September 15, 2017


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Railways now change the rules for availing the Senior Citizen Concession & Quota
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 10, 2016
After modifying the cancellation rules & child concession, the Indian Railways has now modified the rules for those availing the senior citizen quota and concession. Those found to be misusing the quota & concession from 1st February, 2016 will be charged a penalty in addition to charging the difference between the normal & concessional fare.
Like in other public services, the Indian Railways also extend certain facilities to senior citizens. These facilities are extended to men who are a minimum of 60 years and women of minimum 58 years of age. They are granted concession in fares of all classes of trains. The concession is 40% of the fare for men and 50% of the fare for women.
Other Facilities extended to Senior Citizens
Instances of misuse of the Quota & Concession to Senior Citizens
As per the current system of booking, no proof of age is required at the time of purchasing tickets. However, during journey the senior citizen is required to carry prescribed documentary proof issued by any Government agency showing their age or date of birth. In case the senior citizen is not able to produce the requisite proof of age during the journey, he/she is charged the difference of fare (between full fare and concessional fare). Apart from this, Senior citizens are also provided a facility to get confirmed lower berths under Senior Citizen Quota.
The Indian Railways found instances of misuse of both the concession and quota in the following ways.
The new rules have a provision for Penalty
The Indian Railways has now modified the existing rules governing the Senior Citizen travel. The broad changes that will come into effect from 1 February, 2016 are the following.
The Railways has also instructed its ticket checking staff to be patient and tactful while handling such passengers to avoid any complaint regarding any harassment.
Featured Image:
By Jaaron95 (Photo taken during my rail- fanning session.) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Senior Couple by Milton Raposo C. Rêgo Jr. from the Noun Project

created: January 10, 2016


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Senior Most MPs (Members of Parliament) - Infographic - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 4, 2015
The ‘Bujurg’ of Indian Politics. Among those who served 5 terms or more in the Lok Sabha since independence, 45% are from the Congress, 21% from the BJP & 11% are from the left parties. Indrajit Gupta is the Senior Most MP in India followed by Vajpayee, P M Sayeed & Somnath Chaterjee. What is your take on the ‘Young Vs Old’ debate in politics? Let us know.

created: January 4, 2015


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Sensationalizing Celebrity Suicides – A Global Problem
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2020
The coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in some sections of the Indian media once again exposed the utter disregard of official guidelines. Sensationalizing celebrity suicides seems like a global problem. Here is a look at what the guidelines say and global experience.
The recent death and reported suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has received a lot of media attention and was discussed extensively on social media platforms. On 14 June 2020, the actor was found dead at his home in Mumbai. The provisional post-mortem report suggested that the death was caused due to asphyxia i.e. death due to suffocation, as per media reports.
Mumbai police, who are investigating the matter has confirmed it as a case of suicide. News and opinions about ‘Depression’ being a possible reason for suicide is being widely circulated across various media platforms. However, any information regarding this is speculative and in-conclusive, as there is no official statement in this regard from the authorities.
The coverage of this incident in certain media has come for criticism from multiple quarters of the society. Ranging from the headlines of shows, information & speculation being discussed, interviews with grieving family of the victim etc. have been considered to be insensitive and not as per the journalistic ethics.
But is there a defined code of conduct for media while covering cases of suicide? The story looks at the existing guidelines in India and across the world and how some media houses violated these guidelines.
Press Council of India adopted guidelines for newspaper and news agencies in 2019
On 13 September 2019, the Press Council of India adopted guidelines on the reporting on Suicides.
These guidelines were based on the WHO report – ‘Preventing Suicide- A Resource for Media Professionals Update 2017’.  These guidelines specify the activities that Newspapers and News agencies need to refrain from while reporting cases of suicide.
The underlying motive of these guidelines is to not sensationalise any case of suicide and to keep it a low-key affair. This extends to not giving a prominent place in the news bulletins to being cautious with the language being used.
WHO Guidelines are part of a larger worldwide initiative for prevention of suicide
World Health Organization (WHO) identifies suicide as a major public health problem which requires special attention.  It further notes that the factors which contribute to suicide and its prevention are complex and based on evidence, it can be stated that media has an important role to play.
WHO has collaborated with International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) in developing the guidelines for media professionals in dealing with suicide cases. Evidence suggest that vulnerable individuals are prone to be influenced and tend to engage in imitative behaviours when they come across reports of suicide.
Review of studies indicate that the imitative suicidal behaviour varies over a period of time. It tends to be at peak during the first three days and levels off by a period of two weeks, and in few cases lasting longer. Research studies indicate that the tendency of imitative suicide gets amplified when:
Hence WHO advocates exercising caution when reporting suicide. However, WHO recognizes that fact that sometimes suicide does need to be reported in view of the news worthiness associated with it and hence suggests guidelines to ensure that the reporting is accurate, responsible and ethical.
Apart from WHO, various charity and volunteering organizations that work in the domain of suicide prevention and support have put out directives to media about their responsibilities in wake of any suicide, most of this based on their real time observations and experiences.
Samaritans is one such charity organization who are involved in providing emotional support to those who are in emotional distress or are at risk of suicide. Based on their own research and understanding, they have put out guidelines and supporting fact sheets for media’s reference.
International media has also resorted to sensationalism and excessive coverage
In view of the guidelines issues by WHO, various Media & journalists networks and resources have put in efforts to educate and sensitize journalists regarding the coverage of suicides.  However, time and again there have been instances of media resorting to sensationalizing and providing excessive coverage of incidents of suicides, especially high-profile suicides.
A report by BBC, highlights the excessive coverage of suicide of famous Actor and comedian Robin Williams by various media including newspapers and television channels. It points out the elaborate details provided in a few  newspapers regarding the method of committing suicide. The BBC report also highlights the issues relating to the headlines in newspapers covering the incident. CNN had highlighted that, although media did improve over the period of time in the way it reports suicides, in this specific incident there have been instances of excessive speculation. A report in the Time indicates that there has been a spike in suicide deaths after the incident involving Robin Williams, with research studies supporting it.
Comparatively, media’s reaction and coverage has been more subdued and in lines with the ethical guidelines when reporting a recent suicide incident relating to a celebrity – suicide of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington , in 2017.
Need for stricter action on noncompliance of guidelines
The coverage of recent suicide case in India, by various news channels indicates clear breach of multiple guidelines. Speculation, insensitive and sensational headlines, intruding the privacy of the bereaved family and interviewing them with unnecessary questions, explicit details etc. are few of the evident violations. Especially, Hindi vernacular media is seen to be more at fault with the English media being comparatively restrained.
The guidelines issued by WHO are more of a reference for the media to follow and are not binding. Depending on the local conditions, each country is required to develop its own set of guidelines that are more relatable. However, in most of the countries including the developed nations, these guidelines serve as a referential purpose and are not enforceable. The professionalism and adherence to ethics of various media houses, and the environment within the country influence the adherence to the same.
Since adulation of celebrities is commonplace in India, the Press Council & the government must ensure strict enforcement of the guidelines. This could go a long way in sensitizing people about suicide and why not to resort to such extreme step.
Featured Image: Sensationalizing Celebrity Suicides


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Serum Institute of India's donation to Prudent Electoral Trust is being attributed to its Electoral Bonds purchase - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2024
Several posts (here, here & here) accompanying a screenshot of a report showing funds transferred from Prudent Electoral Trust to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are widely circulating across social media platforms. The claim associated with the post alleges that the Serum Institute of India (SII) donated around Rs. 50.02 crores to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in August 2022 via electoral bonds, purportedly explaining why the Serum Institute was the only company allowed to produce vaccines, and the only company from which the government procured the COVID-19 vaccine. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Serum Institute of India donated Rs. 50.02 crores to the BJP through Electoral Bonds in August 2022.
Fact: The viral screenshot shows a report published by Reuters on 14 March 2024, which details the funds received and disbursed by the Prudent Electoral Trust during 2022-23. According to this report and data on the ECI website, SII donated Rs. 52.25 crores to the Prudent Electoral Trust in August 2022, and a cheque for the same amount was immediately issued to the BJP by the Prudent Electoral Trust. The company did not donate Rs. 52.25 crores via electoral bonds. The graphic actually depicts money transferred to the BJP through an electoral trust. According to reports and data available on the CDSCO website, the government has approved vaccines from other manufacturers along with SII’s vaccines, and the government has also procured vaccines from other manufacturers. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We have noticed that the screenshot of the viral report in circulation carries a text stating, “Money which companies gave to Prudent Electoral Trust was disbursed to the BJP almost immediately,” attributed to the news agency Reuters. Building on this information, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet and found the full report published by Reuters on 14 March 2024, under the headline, “Obscure trust links India’s top businesses with Modi’s election war chest.”
According to this report, the Prudent Electoral Trust managed to raise about $272 million since its creation in 2013. The trust has donated around 75% of that amount to the BJP. While Prudent does not disclose how donations made by individual corporate donors are distributed, Reuters used public records from 2018 to 2023 to track flows from some of India’s largest companies. ArcelorMittal Design, Engineering Centre Private Limited, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, and Bharti Airtel are among the companies that donated large sums of money to Prudent. The Prudent Trust, in turn, issued cheques for the respective amounts to the BJP immediately after receiving them as per the report. This report further stated that donations received from the Serum Institute of India (SII), DLF Ltd, and Essar Group were moved to the BJP soon after Prudent received them. The viral screenshot is from this report published by Reuters, showing the quick transfer of funds from Prudent Electoral Trust.
This electoral trust data is available on the website of the Election Commission of India (ECI). According to data available on the ECI website, the Prudent electoral trust received Rs. 363.16 crores during the financial year 2022-23. This data shows that SII indeed donated Rs. 50.25 crores to the trust in three installments in August 2022, and a cheque of the same amount was issued to the BJP on 18 August 2022.
Electoral Trusts:
According to a report available on the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) website, electoral trusts are established by companies with the objective of distributing contributions to political parties. The ‘Electoral Trusts’ scheme was introduced by the Congress-led UPA-2 government on 31 January 2013, specifying the procedure and eligibility for registration of Electoral Trusts. These trusts were required to distribute 95% of their total income to eligible political parties. They also maintain a list indicating the contributors and recipients of contributions. This Electoral Trusts scheme is distinct from the electoral bonds scheme introduced by the BJP-led Central government in 2019, as the names of donors in the latter are kept completely anonymous. More information regarding the difference between these two schemes can be found here.
To learn more about various claims regarding the SII vaccine, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. We found a Lok Sabha response dated 23 July 2021, which addressed a question regarding details about the approved COVID-19 vaccines in India, along with a chronological account of their approval. According to this response, SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, along with three other COVID-19 vaccines, received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situations. In addition to these vaccines, CDSCO has also received four applications from other vaccine manufacturers for approval for restricted use in emergencies, which are currently under CDSCO scrutiny.
Subsequently, we also searched the website of CDSCO for information on COVID-19 vaccines available in India. This search revealed an additional list of 16 other COVID-19 vaccines approved by CDSCO for restricted emergency use, in addition to SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. Both SII’s and Bharat Biotech’s vaccines also received approval for manufacturing, sale, or distribution within India.
According to reports, the Government of India has also procured vaccines from other manufacturers like Bharat Biotech (Covaxin), Biological E Limited (Corbevax), and Zydus Cadila (ZyCov-D), in addition to Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield.
To sum it up, a screenshot of a report is being shared with a misleading claim that it depicts the amount donated by SII to the BJP via electoral bonds in 2022.


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Petrol Pump dealer services
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 8, 2016
All petrol pumps of the public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have to adhere to the Marketing Discipline Guidelines. They are supposed to provide certain services and amenities to the citizens free of cost.
The last decade and a half has seen tremendous growth in the number of retail outlets, more commonly known as the petrol pumps across the country. The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have formulated detailed ‘Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDGs)’ to be followed by all the retail outlets of the OMCs. The guidelines also specify penalties for non-adherence among other things. But what exactly are the services & amenities to be provided by the petrol pumps?
Major Services & Amenities to be provided by the petrol pump dealers
With respect to the toilets, dealers are mandated to check daily and ensure
A Maintenance sheet is also to be maintained and displayed.
What happens if these are not adhered to?
In case of violations like overcharging, the following action would be initiated.
The following penal action would be initiated if during an inspection the toilet is found to be not clean or water is not available or latch on the toilet door is not available/not working.
In case of other violations like not providing air, Telephone, first aid box, non-maintenance of complaint book etc, the following action would be initiated.
Featured image: Indian oil retail outlet


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Services to be provided at every Petrol Pump free of cost - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 15, 2016
All petrol pumps of the public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have to adhere to the Marketing Discipline Guidelines and they are supposed to provide certain services and amenities to the citizens free of cost. Read more about the MDGs here
This video is made in partnership with Inshorts, India’s highest rated news app. You can download the Inshorts app on the Play Store or the App Store


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Seton Hall University's Core Curriculum Explores Diverse Religious Texts, not just Bhagavad Gita - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 19, 2023
A post circulating on social media claims that all students studying Business Management at Seton Hall University in the USA are obligated to study the ancient Hindu Scripture Bhagavad Gita. Further, the post also questions the absence of a similar course within the Indian educational system. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: All students studying Business Management at Seton Hall University in the USA are obligated to study Bhagavad Gita.
Fact: ‘The Journey of Transformation,’ the first course in Seton Hall University’s core curriculum, includes not only the Bhagavad Gita but also religious texts from diverse traditions such as Christianity, Hebrew, Greek, and others. Furthermore, it is evident that the Bhagavad Gita has been integrated into the curriculum of various Indian universities and is also referenced in NCERT textbooks at the school level. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Upon conducting an internet search to gather more information, we discovered media reports (here & here) regarding this matter. According to these reports, Seton Hall University, a prominent Catholic university located in New Jersey, made the study of the Bhagavad Gita compulsory for all students starting in 2008. The university aimed to introduce a transformative course that would profoundly impact the character and lives of its students.
During this process, a member of the core curriculum committee, Professor A. D. Amar, an Indian American, advocated for the inclusion of ancient philosophies alongside biblical teachings. Professor Amar proposed incorporating the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita into the curriculum. After considering various suggestions, the university decided to integrate the study of the Bible (specifically the Gospels), the Bhagavad Gita, and Dante’s The Divine Comedy into the core course.
Presently known as ‘The Journey of Transformation,’ this course serves as the inaugural component of Seton Hall University’s core curriculum. It encompasses religious texts from multiple traditions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Hebrew, Greek, and others.
Contrary to the claim made in the post, it is worth noting that several Indian universities have already introduced the Bhagavad Gita into their curriculum, offering diploma courses, certificate programs, and more. Additionally, the Government of India informed Parliament in 2021 that references and content from the Bhagavad Gita were already included in various textbooks published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at the school level.
To sum it up, ‘The Journey of Transformation,’ the first course in Seton Hall University’s core curriculum, includes not only the Bhagavad Gita but also religious texts from diverse traditions such as Christianity, Hebrew, Greek, and others.


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Several news agencies have reported that Rahul Gandhi was given blessings by the seer of Sringeri mutt - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 4, 2022
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the seer of ‘Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham’ denied blessings to Rahul Gandhi and then Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for their alleged anti-Hindu stance. They met the mutt seer in March 2018. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham’ seer has denied blessings to Rahul Gandhi and then Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for their alleged anti-Hindu stance.
Fact: No such denial of blessings by the seer was reported by any reputed news agency. In fact, several of them reported that Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah were given blessings by the seer on their visit to the mutt. It was also reported that the mutt seer has gifted a photograph of Rajiv Gandhi (when he visited the mutt) to Rahul Gandhi. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, many news articles with similar photos were found in the search results. It was found that the photo was taken in March 2018 when both Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah, along with other leaders, visited the Sringeri mutt. ‘Karnataka Congress’ and Siddaramaiah have tweeted the photos and wrote about the visit to the mutt. In the tweet made by the ‘Karnataka Congress’, it can be read that the leaders received the blessings of the seer.
ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ರಾಹುಲ್ ಗಾಂಧಿಯವರು ಚಿಕ್ಕಮಗಳೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಶ್ರೀ ಶೃಂಗೇರಿ ಮಠದ ಜಗದ್ಗುರುಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ಭಾರತಿ ತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿಗಳವರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದ ಪಡೆದರು. #JanaAashirwadaYatre #RGInKarnataka pic.twitter.com/qZ8L1rncJp
The denial of blessings by the seer, as mentioned in the post, was not reported by any reputed news agency. In fact, several of them reported that Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah were given blessings by the seer on their visit to the mutt. Some of those news articles can be read here and here.
Also, it was reported that the mutt seer has gifted a photograph of Rajiv Gandhi (when he visited the mutt) to Rahul Gandhi.
Several reputed news agencies have also published articles on the conversation between the mutt seer and Rahul Gandhi, which can be read here, here, here, and here. None of them mentioned the claims made in the post.
To sum it up, several news agencies have reported that Rahul Gandhi was given blessings by the Sringeri mutt seer. So, there is no truth in the claims made in the post regarding the denial of blessings by the mutt seer to Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah.

created: February 4, 2022


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Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka & West Bengal face a severe shortage of IPS Officers
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2015
The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the three All India Services constituted under Article 312 of the Constitution of India. They provide senior leadership to the police force. For quite some time now, the IPS has been facing a severe shortage of officers. As on 01st January, 2015, there is a shortage of 19% of IPS officers against a sanctioned strength of 4754.
The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the three All India Services constituted under Article 312 of the Constitution of India. The IPS officers provide senior level leadership to Police Forces both in the States and at the Centre. The Service is organized in 24 State cadres, reviewed after every 5 years. The sanctioned strength of the IPS officers is 4754 as on 1 January, 2015. Against this sanctioned strength, only 3848 officers are in position, resulting in a shortage of 19%.
The IPS Recruitment – Three different modes
The recruitment for IPS is done through the following three different modes
To fill up vacancies, the batch size of the direct recruits has been increased to 150 from 2009. Besides the direct recruits, a total of 441 State Police Service Officers have been inducted into the IPS from 2012 to 2014. The Limited Competitive Examination is mired in controversy and a large number of Court Cases have been filed challenging this mode of recruitment.
Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka & West Bengal face a severe shortage
Against the sanctioned strength of 4754, there are only 3848 officers in position (including all modes of recruitment), resulting in 19% vacancies. Within states, Odisha faces the most shortage with 42% (79 posts are vacant against a sanctioned strength of 188). Jammu & Kashmir faces a one-third shortage of officers. Karnataka & West Bengal face close to 30% shortage. Uttar Pradesh faces a one fourth shortage. North Eastern states like Nagaland & Manipur also face a severe shortage.
The largest cadres face varying degrees of shortage. Uttar Pradesh faces a 1/4 shortage while West Bengal faces about 28% shortage. Maharashtra faces about 20% shortage. Madhya Pradesh faces only 16% shortage. The AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) faces around 18% shortage. A total of 14 cadres face a shortage less than the national average while the remaining face a shortage greater than the national average.
Is the recruitment process in line with the Vacancy Position?
The numbers for direct recruitment & promotion indicate that the process of recruitment does not necessarily follow the vacancy position. States like Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir & Karnataka have had very low recruitment despite a high vacancy percentage while states like Rajasthan Bihar & Madhya Pradesh have had high recruitment despite lower than average vacancy percentage.
S No
(2011 to 2013)
(2012 to 2015)
01-01-2015
The Kamal Kumar Committee Report found the process of fixing cadre strength as Unscientific
A committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Kamal Kumar was tasked with coming up with a recruitment plan for the IPS. The committee submitted its report outlining the recruitment plan from 2009-2020. The committee found the following to be some of the causes for shortage of the IPS officers among others.
The committee recommended the following measures for reducing the shortage of IPS officers.
Featured Image: Sardar Vallabhbai Patel National Police Academy for representation purposes only.

created: December 23, 2015


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Sex Ratio at Birth: NFHS & SRS report different numbers across States
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 9, 2021
Data from the recently published NFHS-5 report indicates that the All-India sex ratio crossed 1000 for the first time. Data also indicates an improvement in sex ratio at birth. However, the SRS reports present different numbers. Here is a review of this divergence.
The key findings of Phase-II of the fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), covering 14 states/UTs were released recently by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The findings of NFHS-5 in respect of 22 States & UTs covered in Phase-I were released in December 2020. The second phase of the survey, covering the states of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and others was held during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey is significant as it provides some of the most critical information on the demographic, health, nutrition, and socio-economic status of people in the country. The findings of the survey help in monitoring the progress, ascertaining the progress with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals, identification of the areas that require intervention, and in decision-making & policy formulation.
For the first time, the number of women is more than the number of men, according to NFHS-5
Numerous media reports have stated that the findings of the survey point towards a demographic shift in India. This is because, for the first time in the country, ever since the NFHS survey exercise began in 1992, the proportion of women in the country was higher than that of men. The sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the population. For every 1000 men, there were 1,020 women at an All-India level, as per the findings of NFHS-5. The sample size of the NFHS 5 survey is 6.1 lakh households.
The ratio is an important social indicator that helps measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and females in a society at a given point in time. According to NFHS-5, the sex ratio was more than 1000 in 23 states and UTs. In other words, there were more women than men in these 23 states while the sex ratio was below 950 in 6 states/UTs including Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. As per NFHS-4 carried out in 2015-16, the All-India sex ratio was 991. A total of 18 states/UTs had a sex ratio of more than 1000 in the previous survey while Haryana and Delhi reported a sex ratio of less than 900 in NFHS-4.
The sex ratio has increased by 29 points from NFHS-4
Compared to NFHS-4, the sex ratio has increased by 29 points in a period of around 5 years. Across states, this difference in sex ratio varies by 165 points in Lakshadweep, 72 points in Kerala, and more than 50 points each in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi. On the other hand, the sex ratio fell by 38 points in Himachal Pradesh, while in Ladakh and Kashmir, the sex ratio fell by 29 and 23 points respectively.
TFR has dropped to below replacement level
Another important finding from the NFHS-5 is about the Total Fertility Rate (TFR). TFR is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman if she experiences the current fertility pattern throughout her reproductive span (15-49 years).
As per NFHS-5, the All-India TFR reduced from 2.2 to 2.0 which is below the replacement level of 2.1. This is because, a TFR of less than 2.1 implies that a woman has an average of two children over a lifetime and that the existing generation of people will get replaced over the years, without any substantial increase in population. If the Fertility rate further declines, the population will also decline over years. Despite the reduced TFR, the child sex ratio indicates that the probability of survival of a male child is more than the female.
Sex ratio at birth improved from 919 in NFHS-4 to 929 in NFHS-5
The sex ratio at birth is the number of females per 1,000 males born in the last five years. This is a very vital indicator to understand the underlying abnormalities which are leading to an imbalanced sex ratio. If the sex ratio at birth improves, then it would surely lead to an increase in the overall sex ratio in each age group. As per NFHS-5, the sex ratio at birth has improved from 919 in NFHS-4 to 929 in NFHS-5, an increase of 10 points. Except for Tripura, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep, all states and UTs have a child sex ratio of less than 1000.
The difference in sex ratio at birth in NFHS-4 & NFHS-5 reveals a huge difference
Comparison of the sex ratio at birth in NFHS-4 & NFHS-5 reveals a huge difference across states. Delhi has reported improvement in the child sex ratio from 812 to 923, an increase of 111 points. The sex ratio at birth in Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, and Puducherry have also increased by more than 100 points. In Kerala, the ratio fell by 96 points and in Tamil Nadu by 76 points.
The sex ratio at birth has gone up by only 1 point as per SRS
While there is a significant increase in sex ratio at birth between NFHS-4 & NFHS-5, the findings of the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) reveal a different trend. The SRS is a dual record system. Continuous registration and half-yearly retrospective surveys are conducted and are matched & corrected. SRS (2016-18) is the latest report, the sample of which covered 8847 units that had a total population of over 80 lakhs. According to SRS (2016-18), the sex ratio at birth was 899, up only 1 point from 898 reported in SRS (2014-16).
The magnitude of difference within states is much lower in SRS than in NFHS
Across major states, the sex ratio at birth ranges from 840 females in Uttarakhand to 958 females in Chhattisgarh per 1000 males, as per SRS (2016-18). Among states, the difference reported in the 2 years between SRS (2014-16) & SRS (2016-18) ranges from an increase in sex ratio at birth by 29 points in Assam and 21 points in Jammu & Kashmir to a fall of 13 and 15 points respectively in Odisha and Delhi. The magnitude of difference in sex ratio at birth for states is lower in SRS as compared to NFHS. However, both NFHS and SRS have pointed towards a decline in sex ratio at birth in Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha, and Bihar whereas an improvement was witnessed in West Bengal, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana.
On the other hand, both the reports show different trends in Karnataka, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, UP, HP, Delhi, and Uttarakhand. For instance, in Delhi, the ratio improved by 111 points as per NFHS while it fell by 13 points as per SRS.
NFHS findings are only indicative
The numbers presented in the NFHS reports are the results of the survey conducted in around 6.1 lakh sample households from 707 districts of the country that covered over 7.24 lakh women and 1.02 lakh men. While the findings provide important insights, the numbers are only indicative since they are based on a sample and not on the entire population. While the sex ratio crossing 1000 is an important milestone, it may not represent the actual picture on the ground.
Furthermore, the figures are based on the number of males and females who were present in the household on the last night of the survey. On the other hand, the SRS findings based on a larger sample size show a lower difference in the sex ratio.
Census-2021 will provide more reliable data
The decadal Census is the most reliable source of demographic details of the population since it involves the collection of data from each and every household.  As per Census 2001 and 2011, the sex ratio in the country has improved from 933 to 940 (by 7 points in 10 years) while the Child sex ratio dropped from 927 to 919 (by 8 points), the lowest since Independence. While there could be an improvement on both these indicators in Census-2021considering the increasing awareness and numerous campaigns & schemes launched in the last decade. However, one must wait till the Census 2021 results are published to know the real picture.  Till then, the NFHS findings & any future SRS report are the only latest data available.
Featured Image: Sex Ratio at Birth

created: December 9, 2021


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Shah Rukh Khan denies rumours of his involvement in Qatar's release of Indian Navy veterans - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 15, 2024
Following Qatar’s release of eight ex-Indian Navy personnel who were previously imprisoned on espionage charges, several videos and posts are circulating widely on social media, alleging that Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan was involved in facilitating the release of Indians from Qatar. Let’s verify the authenticity of such claims.
Claim: Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan was involved in facilitating the release of 8 Indian Navy veterans from Qatar.
Fact: Shah Rukh Khan’s manager issued a statement on his behalf, firmly denying Khan’s involvement in this matter. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Firstly, we found that these suppositions were based on a tweet (archived) by BJP Leader Subramanian Swamy. On 13 February 2024, Swamy stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take Shah Rukh Khan to the Gulf country along with him, claiming that Shah Rukh Khan intervened to secure the release of the Indian Navy veterans from Qatar jail after the Indian government failed to do so.
Modi should take Cinema star Sharuk Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene , and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers.
When these rumours spread widely, Pooja Dadlani, who has been working as a manager of Shah Rukh Khan for over a decade, issued a statement (archived) on his behalf, firmly denying Mr Khan’s involvement in this matter and emphasizing that the execution of this successful resolution solely rests with the Indian government officials.
A post shared by Pooja Dadlani Gurnani (@poojadadlani02)
These rumours gained traction because of Shah Rukh Khan’s recent visit to Qatar. During his visit, he met the Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and was the guest of honour at the Asian Football Confederation final match held on 10 February 2024. However, as clarified by the actor’s team, these speculations are baseless.
To know the timeline of the 2023 Qatar espionage case, visit here.
To sum it up, Shah Rukh Khan denies claims of having a role in Qatar’s release of Indian Navy veterans.

created: February 15, 2024


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Shahdara DCP Amit Sharma who was injured in Delhi riots is alive - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 27, 2020
A message that DCP Amit Sharma who was injured during CAA clashes in Delhi lost his life, is making viral on social media. Let’s check the authenticity of the message.
DCP Amit Sharma who was injured during CAA clashes in Delhi  lost his life.
Fact: DCP Amit Sharma who was injured during CAA clashes in Delhi is not dead. He is safe and out of danger. So, the claim is FALSE.
Shahdara DCP Amit Sharma was injured during CAA clashes in Delhi on 24 February 2020. When looked on Google for the health status of DCP Amit Sharma, a tweet by ‘ANI’ on 25 February 2020 was found. As per the tweet, DCP Amit Sharma who was injured during clashes has regained his consciousness and is now safe and out of danger.
Also, as per the ‘ANI’ article dated 26 February 2020, Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to the family of injured DCP Amit Sharma and inquired regarding his health status.
Jitender Sharma, a journalist, has also posted the recent picture of DCP Amit Sharma in the hospital. It can be seen here.
To summarize, Shahdara DCP Amit Sharma who was injured during CAA clashes in Delhi is not dead. He is safe and out of danger.
Did you watch our new video in the DECODE series?

created: February 27, 2020


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Sharad Pawar said his vote went to BJP on an EVM at a presentation, not in the General Elections-2019 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook by many people with the claim that Sharad Pawar said that his vote went to BJP when he pressed his party symbol on the EVM. The netizens are trolling the leader with a logic that there was no BJP candidate in the constituency where Pawar voted. Let’s try to analyze the claims in the post.
Sharad Pawar said that his vote went to BJP when he voted for his party. But Pawar voted in a constituency where there was no candidate from the BJP.
Fact: Sharad Pawar said that his vote went to BJP when he voted for his party on the EVMs at presentations in Hyderabad and Gujarat. He was not talking about his vote in the actual elections. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Not only users on Facebook, but also the official handle of BJP Karnataka has tweeted the same thing about Pawar. In the tweet, they also accused Pawar of telling lies.
The tweet also has a link to a New18 article with the title: “‘Saw My Vote for NCP Get Cast to BJP’: Sharad Pawar Raises Concern Over Use of EVMs”. So, the reasoning in the tweet was made based on the title of the article. But in the full article of News18, it can be found that Pawar said that in the conferences at Hyderabad and Gujarat when he voted on his party’s symbol, the vote went to BJP. So, he was referring to EVMs at conferences, not the EVM at the General Elections-2019. Pawar’s statements can be also found in a tweet on his official Twitter handle
To sum it up, Sharad Pawar said his vote went to BJP on an EVM at a presentation, not in the General Elections-2019.
Did you watch our Facebook live on Fake News (Misinformation)


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Share of Private Sector bank credit to Sensitive Sectors increased over the last few years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2021
Capital Market, Real Estate & Commodities are treated as sensitive sectors because of the inherent risks in fluctuation in prices. Data from the RBI indicates that the share of advances to these sectors of the overall credit has increased from 18.5% in 2014-15 to around 24% by the end of 2019-20. At the same time, share of private sector bank credit to these sectors increased over the last few years at the expense of public sector banks.
On 29 December 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its annual publication “Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India: 2019-20”, which offers insights into the activities of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs).
Among the information published in this report is the data relating to liabilities & assets, income & expenses, advances, etc. relating to the banks. One such key information provided is the information about ‘Exposure to Sensitive Sectors” i.e., the credit extended by Scheduled Commercial Banks to sensitive sectors.
The RBI categorizes three sectors as Sensitive sectors – ‘Capital Market”, “Real Estate” & “Commodities’”.  As per the “ Report on Trend & Progress of Banking in India 2019-20”, it is noted that Banks’ exposure to the Capital Market & Real Estate is considered as sensitive in view of the inherent risks in fluctuation in prices.
The report further states that the lending to these sectors has decreased, especially by the PSBs (Public Sector banks) as a precautionary measure due to excess leveraging of the corporates. The report highlights that there was a steep fall in credit extended to real estate in 2019-20, while there is an increase in the credit exposure in Capital Market.
This report was released prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hit India and hence its impact on credit exposure to sensitive sectors was not visible. Its impact for 2020-21 will only be known later in the year.
In this story, however, we take a look at the trends in credit exposure over the past few years based on RBI’s “Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India: 2019-20”.
Increase in the volume of advances extended to Sensitive Sector though growth rate declines
A review of the data since 2005 (as of 31st March of the year), indicates that there has been a consistent year-on-year (YoY) increase in the volume of the advances extended to the sensitive sectors. As per this data, the advance extended for 2019-20 was around 15 times that of the amount in 2004-05. However, the rate of growth has not been even and there have been variances in the margin of growth, with few years recording lower growth than the previous year. As of 31 March 2020, the total advances extended to sensitive sectors was Rs. 24.67 lakh crores i.e., an 8.3 % increase from the previous year. In the previous two years, the growth rate was 12.7% (2018-19) & 14.2% (2017-18).
These vagaries are influenced by different rends observed in the three sectors, especially that of Capital markets & Real Estates.
The more recent trends over the two years show a decline in the growth rate. The decline in the growth rate is majorly influenced by the decline in advances to the Capital Market Sector, in 2019-20, which was less than the amount by the end of 2018-19. A YoY decline in the volume of advances extended to the Capital market Sector was also seen in 2011-12.
However, the volume of advances to the Real Estate sector is much higher than the Capital market, and thereby the increase in advances to this sector has a greater influence on the overall advance to sensitive sectors.
Advances to Capital Market Sector by Public Sector Banks have declined
The overall lending to the Capital Market Sector fell during 2019-20 compared to the previous year. This is mainly due to the decline in the advances made by public sector banks. In fact, the credit advances by public sector banks over the past two years have been on a decline, bucking a trend of Y-o-Y increasing credit to Capital Markets by the PSBs since 2012-13.
On the other hand, private sector banks continue to extend increased advances to this sector in continuation of the trend observed since 2012-13. After overtaking PSBs in the volume of credit advances made to this sector in 2013-14, the private sector banks have consistently provided more credit.  However, the growth rate for 2019-20 has been less than earlier and could indicate an early sign of even the private banks reducing their credit advances to Capital Markets.
After an increase during the four-year period from 2015-2019, there is a decline in the credit extended by foreign banks to capital markets in 2019-20.
There is a more than double-digit growth in the credit advances made by small finance banks YoY since these banks started providing credit in 2016-17.
Share of Private Sector banks advances to Real Estate sector is increasing
Advances extended to the real estate sector comprise the major portion of the loan advances made to sensitive sectors. The trends of this sector have a significant bearing on the advances to the entire sensitive sectors.
The volume of the total advances made to the real estate sector has consistently increased YoY. As of 31 March 2020, Rs. 23.34 lakh crores worth of loan advances were provided by all the banks towards this sector compared to Rs. 21.37 lakh crores by the end of 2018-19.   Unlike the negative growth in PSB lending seen for Capital markets in 2019-20, the loan advances extended by both the PSBs and private banks have increased consistently YoY since 2004-05.
However, there are variances in the growth trends for public & private sector banks. After recording only around 5% growth rate in 2018-19 compared to 12% earlier, the public sector lending has again seen an increase with around 9% growth.
On the other hand, after a period of impressive growth rates (ranging from 18% -27%) during the period 2012-2019, the growth rate of loan advances to real estate by private banks was only around 10% in 2019-20.
However, all through the period, there is an increase in the share of private-sector lending to the real estate sector at the cost of PSB lending. PSBs still have the major share of total loan advances made to the real estate sector with 55.3% of the advances as of 31March 2020.
Meanwhile, after a high in 2018-19, the advances by foreign banks to real estate has seen negative growth in 2019-20.
Further, in accordance with the restrictions placed by RBI on advances against the Commodities sector, there have been no loans extended to the Commodities sector since 2010-11.
Share of advances to Sensitivity Sectors increased in the last five years
A comparison between 2018-19 & 2019-20 in terms of the proportion of lending to Sensitive sectors out of the total lending, shows a marginal variation, indicating that the overall growth in lending to sensitive sectors (including sector-wise and bank type-wise) is in proportion to the overall lending trends by these banks.
For 2018-19, lending to sensitive sectors constituted 23.5% of the total lending, while for 2019-20 it is 23.9%, a marginal increase. Bank type-wise comparison between the years also indicates no major change for public & private banks. Meanwhile, there is an increase in the proportion of loans extended by Small Finance Banks.
In 2014-15, loans to sensitive sectors comprised only 18.5% of the total loans extended in that year, indicating an increase in the credit exposure to the sensitivity sector over the past 5 years. An increase in lending is generally identified with an increase in demand for investment in housing & real-estate, which in turn is attributed to improving the financial situation. An increase in the advances to the real estate sector in 2018-19 is attributed to the government’s initiative for affordable housing under PMAY and RBI’s initiative to expand the eligibility of housing loan limits.
On the other end, as the definition of Sensitivity Sector indicates, these sectors are more prone to fluctuations and a decline in the economy could have an adverse effect on the recovery of the credit extended to these sectors. While the decreasing growth rate of PSB lending to these sectors shows prudence and caution, the increase in private sector bank lending to these sectors is a cause for concern.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, it is to be seen if the growth in credit to these sectors remains the same.
Featured Image: Private Sector bank Credit to Sensitive Sectors

created: February 2, 2021


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Sharukh Khan has not asked the Modi government to pay attention to Rohingya Muslims - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 2, 2020
A post claiming that Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan has made a statement regarding Rohingya Muslims is being shared on social media. The statement is as follows- ‘Modi government should also pay attention to Rohingya Muslims. Otherwise, people will lose faith in the government’. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Sharukh Khan has urged the Modi government to pay attention to Rohingya Muslims for people not to lose faith in the government.
Fact: Shahrukh Khan hasn’t made the mentioned statement. Information from no credible source was found which confirms that the comment was made by him. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google to check if Shahrukh Khan has made such comments, no result with relevant information was found. If he had really made such statements, owing to their sensitivity, they would have been reported by all the major newspapers and channels in India. But no news agency has reported anything about Shahrukh Khan making such a statement.
On performing a Twitter advanced search on the official Twitter account of Shahrukh Khan with the text – ‘मोदी सरकार रोहिंग्या मुसलमानों पर भी ध्यान दे,नहीं तो लोगो का सरकार से विश्वास उठ जाएगा’, it was found that he hasn’t tweeted anything about it. Also, no information was found regarding  ‘orientaltimes.in’ (the news portal that appears in the viral post). The website is not available at the time of writing this article. One of its archived pages can be found here.
To sum it up, Shahrukh Khan has not made a statement about the Modi government’s help to Rohingyas Muslims. It is being falsely attributed to him.
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Shashi Tharoor didn’t say that he will even hit the Shivling with a chappal, if needed, to oust Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 26, 2019
An Instagram post is being shared with the picture of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleging that he had made controversial statements regarding ousting of Modi. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Shashi Tharoor had said that he would even hit a Shivling with a chappal, if needed, to oust Modi.
Fact: Shashi Tharoor quoted the Shivling statements as said by an unnamed RSS source to a journalist of ‘The Caravan’. Those were not his personal remarks. Also, those quoted statements are twisted in the post. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
On doing Google Reverse Image search, the picture in the post was found in an article of ‘Loksatta’. In the article, an ANI tweet with the video of Tharoor’s speech during Bangalore Literature Festival-2018 was embedded. If we go through that video, we can clearly listen Tharoor saying, “There’s an extraordinarily striking metaphor expressed by an unnamed RSS source to a journalist, that, Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling, you can’t remove him with your hand & you cannot hit it with a chappal either.” These are not the personal remarks of Shashi Tharoor as claimed in the Instagram post. Also, the quoted statements are twisted in the post.
To sum it up, Shashi Tharoor didn’t say that he will even hit the Shivling with a chappal, if needed, to oust Modi.


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Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisting BJP flag at Panchayat Chalo campaign is 2018 linked to Republic Day - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2022
Update (14 August 2022):
The same video is being shared again claiming it to be from ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign as part of the ‘Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav‘ and criticising Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for hoisting the BJP flag while national anthem was sung. However, as explained below, the video is from a 2018 incident where Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisted BJP flag and recited the National anthem at Panchayat Chalo campaign programme.
Published (29 January 2021):
A video is being shared on social media claiming that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisted the BJP flag instead of the National flag during the 2021 Republic day event. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisted BJP flag on Republic day.
Fact: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisted this BJP flag at “Panchayat Chalo” campaign organized at Chhattarpur district in Madhya Pradesh. This incident took place on 14 May 2018. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots shared in the video, similar visuals are found in a YouTube video posted on 17 May 2018. In the description of the video, it is mentioned that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recited National anthem after hoisting the BJP flag at the Panchayat Chalo campaign program in Chhattarpur district, Madhya Pradesh. A Journalist shared the same video in his tweet reporting that Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan degraded the National flag by reciting the National anthem after hoisting BJP flag. He mentioned that this incident took place at the Chalo Panchayat campaign program at Khajua village near Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
@BJP4India एमपी में चलो पंचायत अभियान के तहत खजुराहो के पास ग्राम खजुआ में @ChouhanShivraj ने बीजेपी का झंडा वंदन किया और राष्ट्रगान गाया गया…क्या अब तिरंगे की जगह बीजेपी के झंडे को देश में फहराया जाएगा और राष्ट्रगान होगा? pic.twitter.com/QXjPLZ6e0b
When we searched for other sources using these keywords, we found an article published by ‘The Free Press Journal’ website on Shivraj Singh Chouhan reciting the National anthem after hoisting BJP flag. In the article, it is reported that this incident took place at Panchayat Chalo campaign program held at Raj Nagar in Chhattarpur district on 14 May 2018. Reporting the same, another news website published an article on this incident. From all these pieces of evidence, it is concluded that the video shared in the post is not from the 2021 Republic day celebrations.
When we searched for the Republic Day event attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, we found that he hoisted the national flag at Rewa city in Madhya Pradesh. News articles and videos reporting this event can be seen here, here, and here. The live visuals of the event can also be found on the official Twitter account of CMO Madhya Pradesh.
मुख्यमंत्री श्री @ChouhanShivraj गणतंत्र दिवस के अवसर पर रीवा में आयोजित समारोह में प्रदेशवासियों को संबोधित कर रहे हैं। #RepublicDay2021 https://t.co/2fLTrVZox9
To sum it up, 2018 video of Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisting BJP flag at Panchayat Chalo campaign programme is being linked to 2021 Republic Day event.


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Shooter Shreyasi Singh is falsely portrayed as the daughter of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 7, 2020
A post is being circulated on social media claiming that veteran Congress leader & former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh’s daughter Shreyasi Singh joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Shreyasi Singh’s photo while she was joining BJP is shared in the post. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s daughter joined BJP.
Fact: Photo in the post shows Former Union Minister Digvijay Singh’s daughter Shreyasi Singh, not the Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s daughter. Late Digvijay Singh was the member of Union cabinet under the Governments of Chandrashekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Shooter Shreyasi Singh has no relation with the Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the relevant information regarding these allegations made in the post, several articles that published about shooter Sheyasi Singh joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were found on the internet. They can be seen here and here. In these articles, they mentioned shooter Sheyasi Singh as the daughter of Former Union Minister late Digvijay Singh. Digvijay Singh was a politician from Bihar and the former leader of Janata Dal JD(U). He was a member of the Union cabinet under the Governments of Chandrashekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Veteran Congress leader, former Madhya Pradesh CM and current Rajya Sabha Member Digvijaya Singh has no daughter with the name Shreyasi Singh. He has no relation with the shooter. Digvijaya Singh on his Facebook post clarified that Shreyasi Singh is not his daughter and all these claims of his daughter joining the BJP are fake. His tweet on the same can also be found here.
दिग्विजय सिंह के घर में सेंध, BJP में शामिल हुई बेटी – madhya pradesh former cm rajya sabha mp digvijay singh daughter shreyasi singh joins bjp – AajTak
आजतक फेक न्यूज़ चला रही है। क्या मैं  उन पर मानहानि का दावा करूँ? श्रेयसी सिंह मेरी पुत्री नहीं हैं। https://t.co/u0M1fVzdP6
To sum it up, Former Union Minister Digvijay Singh’s daughter Shreyasi Singh is falsely portrayed as the daughter of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.

created: October 7, 2020


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As Supreme Court steps in, more than 22000 crore meant for construction workers welfare remains unspent
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 17, 2017
In 1996, two acts were passed to promote the welfare of building and construction workers. These acts mandated constitution of construction workers’ welfare boards at the state level and collection of 1% Cess on cost of construction. The cess thus collected is to be spent by these boards to extend various welfare schemes to the registered construction workers. More than 22000 crore collected in the name of these workers remains unspent.
Government of India brought  ‘The Building And Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act’ in 1996 to levy and collect 1% to 2%  cess on the cost of construction incurred by builders to augment the resources of the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards. These boards are constituted in every state under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act of 1996. As of October 2016, more than Rs 22000 crore collected in the name of the construction workers welfare remains unspent.
What are these Boards for?
As per the provisions of the act,  every building & construction worker registered as a beneficiary with the board is entitled to avail benefits under various schemes formulated by the respective state Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. These welfare schemes vary from state to state. For E.g., in Andhra Pradesh, the welfare board provides the following benefits for the registered construction workers
Similarly, the Odisha board also extends different benefits. These benefits are extended to all those who are registered with the boards as a construction worker.  A person employed to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire in connection with any building or other construction work is defined as a construction worker. Various categories of workers come under the definition of construction works and they are entitled for all the benefits under the Act.
How many workers are registered with these Boards?
A total of 2.15 crore construction workers are registered across the country with these boards as of December 2015. The detailed state wise breakup of the registered construction workers is available only up to 31st December, 2014. According to the available state wise data (up to December 2014), Madhya Pradesh leads this list with 24.9 lakh registered workers followed by Tamil Nadu (23.97 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (17.97 lakh), Kerala (16.87 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (10.91 lakh). Big states like Bihar, Gujarat, and Jharkhand have fewer numbers of workers registered with the respective boards. Not a single worker is registered in Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, & Lakshadweep. Fewer than 1000 workers are registered in Goa, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh & Nagaland. It is widely believed that not more than 40% of the total construction workforce is registered with these boards because of reasons like lack of awareness, stringent rules like age, 90 days of work etc.
How are these boards funded and how to they spend?
The State and the local governments collect the cess and then transfer the amount to these boards. Till October 2016, , a total of Rs 28,455 crore  has been collected by the various states.  Out of this amount, the state boards spent a meager Rs 6097 crore. This is just 21% of the total cess collected. Over Rs 22000 crore remains unspent. Only 13 States/UTs have spent more than a third of these funds. Only Kerala state welfare board spent more than 90% of cess collected for this purpose. Eight (8) States/UTs spent more than half the amount of collected cess. About 19 States/UTs have spent less than 20% of the total collected cess.
The data indicates that some of the states that collected the highest amount of cess spent the least on the welfare of the construction workers. Maharashtra collected a total of Rs 3800 crore, but spent just 6% of this amount on the welfare of workers. Similarly, Karnataka collected Rs 3626 crore, but spent just 6% of this amount. Uttar Pradesh (19%), Haryana (7.5%), Delhi (11.4%), Madhya Pradesh (35%), Tamil Nadu (34%) are also in the list. A total of 12 states collected more than Rs 1000 crore rupees each. These 12 states collected about 79% of the total cess collected in the country and together spent just 20% of the amount collected.
Labour Welfare an empty talk?
This indifference is seen across party lines and in various states. Gujarat that has been ruled by the BJP for close to two decades has spent only 2.5% of the collected cess. States like Maharashtra that have been ruled by the Congress till recently have fared no better. The only exception seems to be Kerala.
The Central Government says it has been constantly reminding the State governments and State Welfare Boards to take steps to accelerate registration of construction workers, collection and utilization of cess. But despite all this talk, there is hardly any progress on ground
Supreme Court steps in
The Supreme Court while hearing a PIL (WP (Civil) 318/2006), recently mentioned that these facts are quite startling. The court directed every state government to intimate the total amount of cess collected till March 2017 to the CAG. The court also directed that the cess collected by various state & local governments, but not transferred to the board should immediately be transferred to the board. The CAG on its part has highlighted the laxity of the various welfare boards in registering workers and spending the amount meant for them.


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Shraddha’s murder case accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala is a Muslim, not a Parsi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 17, 2022
Following the arrest of Aaftab Amin Poonawala over the murder of Shraddha in South Delhi, a social media post is being widely shared claiming that Aaftab belongs to the Parsi community. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Shraddha’s murder accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala belongs to Parsi community.
Fact: FIR lodged at Mehrauli Police station and voter ID details of Aaftab and his family members, indicate that Aaftab belongs to the Muslim community. Moreover, in 2014, when a user asked about Aaftab’s religion on Instagram, Aaftab clarified that he is a Muslim. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched for the social media accounts of Aaftab and came across his Instagram account by the name ‘thehungrychokro’. From this account, he posted his selfie on 05 April 2014. On 10 October 2014, a user(@zloymom) asked Aaftab whether he is a Hindu or Muslim. On the same day, Aaftab clarified that he is a Muslim.
Also, according to the FIR (No.0659) filed at Mehrauli’s police station on 10 November 2022, Shraddha’s father statement reads, “In 2019, My daughter (Shraddha) told my wife that she was in live-in relationship with Aaftab Amin Poonawala, but my wife and I did not agree to this because I am a Hindu whereas he (Aaftab) is a Muslim and inter-religion/inter-caste marriage was not acceptable in our circles”
The FIR copy. #Aftab #Shraddha pic.twitter.com/QNU128wdz5
We also accessed the voter ID details of Aaftab and his family members available on Maharashtra CEO’s website. Their names are as follows:
Based on these details, we can conclude that Aaftab belongs to the Muslim community, and is not a Parsi.
To sum it up, Shraddha’s murder case accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala is a Muslim, not a Parsi.

created: November 17, 2022


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Shutting down of Gita Press in Gorakhpur is old news, which has been resolved - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 9, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post with an image that has a text alleging that ‘Gita Press’ in Gorakhpur is on the verge of a shutdown due to financial constraints. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
‘Gita Press’ in Gorakhpur is on the verge of a shutdown due to financial constraints as reported by Zee News.
Fact: In 2015, Zee News has reported regarding the shutdown of ‘Gita Press’ due to protests by its employees, which was later on resolved. But the same news of shutting down the press as reported by Zee News is doing rounds again. The management of Gita Press has issued clarification terming them as rumours. So, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
In the post, it was claimed that the news regarding the shutdown of the press was reported by Zee News. When searched on YouTube about this issue, the video was found and and it was uploaded on August 27, 2015. When googled for Gita Press shutdown issue, an article in Business Standard was found. In 2015, employees working in the press had protested for not getting their salaries and other facilities.  This was later on resolved by the management and the services of the press resumed. In recent years, the same news of shut down as reported by Zee News is doing rounds again. So, the management of Gita Press has issued a clarification terming the news regarding the shutdown of press due to the financial crisis as rumors.
To sum it up, the 2015 reporting by Zee News about the shutdown of Gita press is now doing rounds as the fresh news.


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ఫోటోలో ఉన్న మొక్క పేరు ‘Sikkim Rhubarb’. దాన్ని 400 సంవత్సరాలకి ఒకసారి కాదు, ప్రతి సంవత్సరం హిమాలయాల్లో చూడవొచ్చు. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 6, 2019
హిమాలయాల్లో 400 సంవత్సరాలకి ఒకసారి కనిపించే మహామేరు ఆర్యపుష్పం ఫోటో అంటూ ఒక మొక్క ఫోటోని సోషల్ మీడియాలో కొంత మంది షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఆ పోస్ట్ లో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో విశ్లేషిద్ధాం.
400 ఏళ్ళకి ఒకసారి హిమాలయాల్లో కనిపించే ‘మహామేరు ఆర్యపుష్పం’
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): ఫోటోలో ఉన్న మొక్క పేరు ‘Rheum Nobile/ Sikkim Rhubarb/Noble Rhubarb’. దాన్ని హిమాలయాల్లో ప్రతి సంవత్సరం చూడవొచ్చు. కావున పోస్ట్ లో చెప్పింది తప్పు.
పోస్ట్ లోని ఫోటోని గూగుల్ రివర్స్ ఇమేజ్ సెర్చ్ లో వెతకగా, అదే ఫోటో అమెజాన్ వెబ్ సైట్ లో కూడా ఉన్నట్టు తెలుస్తుంది. ఆ మొక్క పేరు ‘Rheum Nobile/ Sikkim Rhubarb/Noble Rhubarb’ అని అమెజాన్ వెబ్ సైట్ లో ఉంటుంది.
ఆ మొక్క పేరుతో గూగుల్ లో వెతకగా, ‘Flowers of India’ వెబ్ సైట్ సెర్చ్ రిజల్ట్స్ లో వస్తుంది. ఆ వెబ్ సైట్ లో మొక్క గురించి మరిన్ని వివరాలు చూడవొచ్చు. హిమాలయ లోయల్లో ఈ మొక్కలను చూడవోచ్చని తెలుస్తుంది. అంతేకాదు, ప్రతి సంవత్సరం జూలై-ఆగష్టు మధ్యలో ఈ మొక్కకి పూలు ఉంటాయని ‘Plants for a future’ వెబ్ సైట్ లో చూడవొచ్చు.
‘మహామేరు ఆర్య పుష్పము’ పేరుతో హిమాలయాల్లో పుష్పాలు ఉన్నట్టు ఎక్కడా కూడా సమాచారం దొరకదు. అంతేకాదు, వేరే ఫోటో ఒకటి పెట్టి ఇలానే పోస్ట్ చేసినప్పుడు, అది తప్పు అని ‘FACTLY’ రాసిన ఆర్టికల్ ఇక్కడ చదవొచ్చు. ఇంతకు ముందు కూడా ‘నాగపుష్పము’ అని చెప్తూ ఒక సముద్రపు జీవి ఫోటో వైరల్ అయినప్పుడు ‘FACTLY’ రాసిన ఫాక్ట్-చెక్ ఆర్టికల్ ఇక్కడ చదవచ్చు.
చివరగా, ఫోటోలో ఉన్న మొక్క పేరు ‘Sikkim Rhubarb’. దాన్ని 400 సంవత్సరాలకి ఒకసారి కాదు, ప్రతి సంవత్సరం హిమాలయాల్లో చూడవొచ్చు.
ఏది ఫేక్, ఏది నిజం సిరీస్ లో మా వీడియోస్ మీరు చూసారా?

created: November 6, 2019


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Simulated video clip falsely shared as visuals of NRF fighters striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 7, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of National Resistance Front (NRF) forces striking down Pakistan fighter jets at Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. Some of the mainstream Indian news channels have also published the same video with a similar claim. In the wake of the ongoing conflict between Taliban fighters and NRF forces at Panjshir, this video is being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of NRF forces striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir valley, Afghanistan.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows a simulation clip created using the ARMA 3 video game software. This video has nothing to do with the ongoing conflict between the Taliban and NRF forces at Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, similar visuals were found in a video published by a YouTube channel named Saionji Rei, on 22 August 2020. This video was uploaded on YouTube with the title, “A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog Thunderbolt CRAM Sius”. The description of the video stated it as a simulation video clip created using the ARMA 3 video game software. Saionji Rei YouTube channel had shared multiple other simulated clips created using the ARMA 3 software. They can be seen here and here.
ARMA 3 is a virtual reality-based military tactical shooter video game. This game was developed and published by Bohemia Interactive through the Steam distribution platform.
Earlier, when similar simulated clips of ARMA 3 software were shared as the visuals of the Israel Air Defence system destroying Palestinian missiles, FACTLY published fact-check articles debunking those claims. They can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, a simulated video clip is falsely shared as the visuals of NRF fighters striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir.

created: September 7, 2021


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Simulated video game clips shared as visuals of Israel air defence system destroying Palestinian missiles - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2021
Multiple videos are being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Israel air defence system destroying the Palestinian missiles in the air. They can be seen here and here. Another video is shared claiming it as the visuals of Palestinians firing missiles at Israel. In the wake of the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and Palestine, these posts are being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claims made in these posts.
Claim: Videos sharing the visuals of Israel air defence system destroying Palestinian missiles.
Fact: The first two videos show video game simulation clips created using the ARMA 3 video game software. The last video shows the Russian military launching hundreds of missiles during a war game held in 2018. These videos have nothing to do with the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and Palestine. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video-1 (archived):
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals is found uploaded on 22 July 2020 by a YouTube channel, ‘Compared Comparison’. This video was uploaded with the title, ‘ArmA 3 – Counter-Rocket Artillery Mortar System in Action – Shooting Down Jets – Phalanx CIWS – Sim’. ‘Compared Comparison’ YouTube channel shares modern and realistic cinematic war films using Arma 3 video game software. This YouTube channel had shared multiple other simulated video clips that were created using the Arma 3 video game software. They can be seen here and here.
ARMA 3 is a virtual reality-based military tactical shooter video game. This game was developed and published by Bohemia Interactive through the Steam distribution platform.
Video-2 (archived):
On reverse image search, a video with similar visuals is found uploaded on 29 January 2021 by a YouTube channel, ‘Compared Comparison’. This video was uploaded with the title, ‘ArmA 3 – MiG-29 in Action vs C-RAM – Phalanx CIWS – C RAM – Tracer Firing – Simulation’. The description of the video stated it as a simulated video game clip created using the ARMA 3 video game software application.
Video-3 (archived):
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals is found in an article published by ‘The Sun’ news website, on 14 September 2018. This article reported it as the visuals of a large military exercise conducted by the Russian Defence Forces in September 2018. Russian military forces had reportedly launched hundreds of missiles during their largest war game held on 14 September 2018.  A few other news articles published on this military exercise can be seen here and here.
Amid the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and Palestine, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups had reportedly fired more than 2300 rockets at Israel.  Israel Defence Forces had announced that their air defence missile system, Iron Dome had successfully intercepted 90% of the rockets fired by Palestinian militant groups. Israel’s Iron Dome defence system is specifically designed to neutralise the rockets or missiles aimed at Israel. The videos shared in the posts have nothing to do with Israel’s Iron Dome air defence missile system.
To sum it up, simulated video game clips are being shared as visuals of Israel air defence system destroying the Palestinian missiles.


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Simulation video falsely shared as recent volcanic eruption in Indonesia - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2020
A post with a video claiming to be that of the underwater volcanic eruption in Indonesia is doing rounds on social media. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video of a recent volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Fact: The video is actually a simulation created by Victoria University back in 2017 as part of a research project to show the magnitude of destruction caused in case of an active supervolcano erupts. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the screenshots of the video in the claim led us to an article dated 11 Oct 2017 which reported the same video. According to the article, the footage was actually of a simulation created in 2017 as part of a research project carried out in Victoria University, New Zealand. The simulation video is created to show the level of mass destruction which could be caused in the event of the undersea supervolcano eruption. Also, according to the article the video was intended to simulate the view from an Auckland living room. With this, we can conclude that the video in the post is no way related to the recent volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
On 10 August 2020, Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano has erupted engulfing the villages in the vicinity in ash. News articles which reported this can be read here and here and video related to this can be seen here. In the wake of this incident, an old simulation video claiming to be that of the Sinabung volcanic eruption is being shared by many social media users.
In a nutshell, simulation video created by Victoria University back in 2017 is being shared as that of the recent volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
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