1) Soap cos want to stick to Rs 10 MRP by reducing contents
It refers to news-item regarding soap-manufacturing companies desiring to stick to Rs 10 tag of Maximum Retail Price by cutting the weight of soap-cake because of regularly increasing the cost of raw-materials like palm-oil. Presently Rs 10 MRP price-barrier accounts for 35-40 per cent of total Rs 15,000 crores soap-market.
But any such system ultimately harms the consumers, because of different companies having different weight-slabs for same MRP. The idea should be that consumers may compare effective prices per unit of the commodities by looking at shelves at stores. Practically no consumer judges effective price per unit by seeing the pack-size and MRP printed on packs. Another example is cow-milk marketed by Mother Dairy and Amul where Amul devised anti-consumer practice by having 400-ml pack to compete with 500-mltrs pack of Mother Dairy.
Department of Consumer Affairs should amend the rules whereby it may be compulsory to pack all commodities in true metric-spirit in units of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 gms or mltrs or ltrs or kgs or units only so that consumer may judge comparative prices of a commodity marketed by different companies. Any liberty to pack in units other than suggested ones gives manufacturers cheat consumers through gimmick packaging. Even drug-manufacturers cheat consumers through gimmick packaging by packing commonly advertised medicines like cough-lozenges in eight per strip rather than normal 10 because of consumers judge prices per strip without realising a number of lozenges per strip.
– Madhu Agrawal
2) Fine on doctors for poor handwriting
It refers to Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court imposing fine on three doctors for illegible hand-writing on injury-reports submitted before the High Court. It is for central and state governments to take a clue from the High Court order and issue necessary directives that at least new-generation medical-practitioners may issue computerised prescriptions. An exemption may be for aged ones not familiar to use computers.
Rather the Union Health Ministry can take initiative to develop three different types of soft-wares one each for hospitals, medical-practitioners and pathological laboratories where every patient may get a unique registration-number by any private or government hospital, medical-practitioner and pathological laboratory where complete past medical history of a patient for that particular hospital, medical-practitioner, and pathological-laboratories may be readily available if possible even by opening website through unique ID and password. All prescriptions and medical-reports may thus be printed through computers eliminating the system of hand-written prescriptions or medical-reports.
The system will be useful for states like Delhi where patients are provided free medicines and tests in government-hospitals under Delhi government. Then there will be no need to get prescriptions photo-copied or slips prepared manually for medicines or investigations by additional staff deployed for the purpose.
– Subhash Chandra Agrawal
3) One more victory of justice
Finally, the truth came to the light when the Delhi High Court on Monday set free journalist and social activist Gautam Navlakha from house arrest, quashing a local court order granting transit remand to the Maharashtra police to transfer him to Pune in connection with Bhima Koregaon violence case. Really, its victory of justice and truth and it exposes Maharashtra’s Police real face and supports all the people who are standing against these house arrests of the activists from the beginning. The verdict is as it was expected because the case was based on no evidence it was just an effort to spread the frightening and fear among the people. I request judiciary to give some stick instructions to the police departments to stop such harassment and arrests because they put the innocent people in great troubles in this way.
– Mohd Usmani
4) Qureshi’s remarks are condemnable
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made at the United Nations that terrorists behind the 2014 attack on a Peshawar school were “supported” by India. This remark shows Pakistan’s government’s failure to eradicate terrorism and extremism from the country. It has been well said “a poor work man blames his tools”, so Pakistan should pay a close attention to control its internal terrorism. This remark also shows that Pakistan’s new government is not serious to consolidate its relationship with India. So, why the new elected Prime Minister Imran Khan always talks for a better relationship between both the countries. It is totally condemnable that Pak blamed India in at UN for Peshawar school attack.
– Mohd Faheem
5) Is team India really prepared to win next year’s World Cup!
Our cricket team is ill-prepared for next year’s ODI World Cup as we even struggle to beat teams like Bangladesh and Afghanistan. India won the Asia Cup beating Bangladesh but of the last ball which speaks poorly of the men in blue who seems to be having ‘Blues’ due to their overconfidence and lacklustre approach as most players prefer to show their talent in IPL where they make the big bucks. We have the talent but the motivation to perform seems to be missing. IPL has messed up players approach totally as our team plays even Tests and ODI’s like T-20.
Mental approach is important to win big tournaments and past greats like Kapil Dev and Tendulkar should be asked to spend some time with the boys so that their attitude undergoes a change to face tough teams like Australia and others in tournaments like the World Cup. We have the talent and skills to win next year’s World Cup but the boys shaken confidence can be built if they start believing in themselves that they can win!
– S.N.Kabra
6) Cruel and guilty UP police
There are two back to back incidents where UP police were found cruel and guilty. Firstly, they were caught beating and slapping a woman for making love with a Muslim, and now UP cop guns down Apple Executive just on refusing to stop. Why is UP police committing a crime so daringly? Have they been given full authority from high command to shoot or slap any one? Even women constable is doing such heinous acts with her same gender? Why? This shows diktats of the UP police, which is a serious matter, rather threat to law and order. The government must take severe actions against the culprit policemen because those who are supposed to quash the crimes from society, if they themselves will indulge in crime, it means UP is not safe for common people.
– MQ Qasmi
7) Sabarimala verdict will end inequality and discrimination
Upholding the right of women of all ages to worship in places of their choice, and the decision of opening the doors of the famed temple of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala, Kerala, to women in the menstruation age also, is a logical and rational judgement. Though it contradicts religious beliefs but in the veil of religion, you cannot play the game of discrimination with women. Obviously, this is a custom in the personal law which is derogatory to fundamental rights and it should be quashed and scrapped. To tell the truth, according to me this is not even a religious belief because no religion teaches prejudice against women and in every religion right to worship is equally available to men and women, these old customs are man-made archaic laws, based on inequality, which never should be allowed in such a democratic country. I see eye to eye with Justice Chandrachud’s statement that this ban was actually a form of untouchability. However, I am happy with the Apex Court’s verdict that is exclusion on the grounds of biological, physiological features like menstruation is unconstitutional and discriminatory. It will help to eradicate inequality and discrimination based on gender from our society.
– Qeyamuddin
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)