Dismissing rumours on the social media, the Reserve Bank on Monday said all notes including those with scribbling will continue to be legal.
“As I understand, one of the topics trending on Whatsapp is the statement that at the end of the year notes with writing will not be accepted. This is absolutely false. Those notes continue to be a legal tender,” RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said in an audio message.
“RBI has had the policy in the past of disfigured note being withdrawn from circulation to be replaced by clean notes. That does not mean that they are not legal tender, they can be used everywhere, they can be accepted everywhere. There is no terminal date for acceptance, so please disregard those rumours, they are not correct,” he said.
RBI denied having issued a communication circulating on the social media alerting members of public that banks will not accept currency notes with scribbling on them from January 1, 2016.
All currency notes issued by it are legal tender and banks and members can freely and without fear accept them in exchange for good and services, RBI said in a statement.
RBI also stated that in pursuance of its clean note policy, it keeps requesting banks and members of public not to write on the currency notes it defaces them and reduces their life.
The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition filed by renowned singer Lata Mangeshkar challenging Maharashtra government’s decision to declare Jayprabha Studio in Kolhapur, owned by her, as a heritage structure.
A division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka noted that Kolhapur Municipal Corporation had shown negligence in completing the process of declaring the studio as a heritage structure and therefore the state government appointed an officer to complete the process.
“…This step of the government (to appoint an officer) is completely legal,” said the bench.
The government had, on December 29, 2012, passed an order declaring the studio as a heritage structure. Mangeshkar moved the court against the decision, saying that due to the heritage status, the studio could not be renovated, rebuilt or repaired.
She was given no notice before declaring the studio as a heritage structure as required under Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, the petition contended.
The singer bought the 13-acre plot, where the studio stands, from renowned Marathi filmmaker Bhalji Pendharkar in 1959. Pendharkar had bought the land from the erstwhile princely state of Kolhapur on the condition that it would be used for building a film studio.
Mangeshkar’s lawyer argued that to date no heritage conservation committee had been constituted for Kolhapur city either by the civic body or by the deputy town planning director.
As per the regulations for the conservation of heritage buildings, such a committee should have been constituted first, Mangeshkar’s lawyer contended.
He also pointed out that on one hand the corporation said the building was dilapidated and therefore should be demolished while on the other hand it also said the studio was a heritage structure and could not be demolished.
Even as Rahul Gandhi’s claimed that he was stopped from entering the Vaishanvite monastery in Assam, the head of Barpeta Satra on Monday dismissed Congress VP’s claims and said that there was no RSS agent in the religious place.
Rahul claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam, saying this was BJP’s style of politics which was “unacceptable”.
Rahul was interacting with reporters while taking part in a protest by the Congress outside Parliament House over the law and order situation in Punjab.
“When I went to Assam I wanted to visit a temple in Barpeta district. And at the temple the RSS people they stopped me entering the temple. This is the way the BJP operates. They made the woman there stand in front of me and told me that I cannot enter into the temple,” he said, and asked, “Who are they to stop me?”.
“There is no RSS agent in the Satra. It is a religious place and only religious activities are undertaken here. Where does politics come into the Satra?,” Sarma said while speaking to reporters. The women here are simple people and they come twice a day for participating in the community prayers in the Satra.
“They were only waiting at the Satra gate to see Rahul Gandhi. They do not know anything about politics,” Sarma said.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had alleged on Sunday that the BJP and RSS conspired to stop Rahul Gandhi from entering the temple, as he faced questions on how Mr. Gandhi was barred in a state ruled by his own party.
The Congress leader reportedly planned to begin a padyatra or march on Friday after praying at the temple, but was allegedly not allowed to. Reports suggested that local people were upset that Mr. Gandhi had not visited the temple.
“The RSS and BJP orchestrated the gathering that blocked Rahul Gandhi’s entry into the temple. We have ordered an inquiry. The state government and administration didn’t want a disturbance as thousands were there for Mr. Gandhi’s yatra,” said Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi, the son of the Chief Minister.
Coast Guard DIG B K Loshali has been sacked following a Board of Inquiry over his comments that contradicted the government’s stand on the sinking of a Pakistan fishing boat last year.
“He was dismissed from services after the Board of Inquiry found him guilty of all the charges on Saturday. The inquiry was conducted by a panel of senior DIG (Deputy Inspector General) rank officers for over three months,” said a senior Coast Guard official.
On eve the of New Year last year, a Pakistani fishing boat said to be carrying explosives was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard off the coast of Gujarat, but the vessel exploded and caught fire before sinking along with four occupants.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said the “circumstantial evidence” indicated that the Pakistani boat had suspected terror links.
Dismissing claims that the occupants of boat were smugglers, the Minister had said he would classify them as “suspected or possible terrorists” since they had committed suicide after being intercepted and added that they were in touch with Pakistani maritime officials, “army and international contacts”.
While the government has claimed that the Pakistani boat had been set on fire by its crew, Loshali told an audience of Coast Guard and Larsen & Toubro officials on February 15 that he had ordered to blow off the boat, which was a major embarrassment for the government as well as the Coast Guard.
On “31st December night. I was there at Gandhinagar, and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani,” Loshali had said.
Following this, the government had removed Loshali from the position of Chief of Staff, North West and attached him to the force’s Gandhinagar-based regional headquarters.
A Board of Inquiry at Mumbai was also constituted to look into the matter, which probed the matter for over three months and court martialed him.
In a barbaric incident, Communist Party of India (Maoist) beat a four-month-old boy to death and then buried the body infront of the baby’s mother in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.
“The Maoists have killed a four-month-old child by brutally beating it with sticks. The child’s father has lodged a complaint with the Gangaloor police. The incident has exposed the brutal and real face of Maoists,” Bastar Inspector-General of Police SRP Kalluri said.
However, some media reports said that the Maoists hit the infant with a rod and buried the body near their camp.
It was a revenge killing as the infant’s father, Tati Aayatu, his wife, daughter and kid were kidnapped by the Maoists. When Aayatu managed to give the Maoists a slip, it enraged them greatly and they took brutal revenge by killing the baby, that too in front of his mother.
The Police have registered a case against three accused Dula Oyam, Masa Tati and Mangu. They have been booked under Sections 34, 302 and 363 of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, school students today took out rallies protesting against the shocking incident.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh on Sunday said substantial efforts have been made to tackle red menace in Chhattisgarh and Naxalism issue will be resolved considerably in the next three years.
“Substantial efforts have been made to wipe out Naxalism from the state and the issue will be solved to a certain extent in Bastar and other insurgency-hit areas in the next three years,” Singh told said.
The Delhi High Court on Monday came down heavily on the Railways over the demolition drive in Shakur Basti that left hundreds homeless in the capital city.
Terming the incident as “inhuman” the High Court said that Railways had not learnt lessons from past mistakes.
Hearing a PIL filed by Congress leader Ajay Maken, the court observed that the Railways was in a hurry to demolish the shanties in Shakur basti.
The apex court further observed that Shakur Basti demolition drive by Railways left lives of many in danger and that one child also died.
The high court bench further asked the counsel whether a survey was done and proper rehabilitation arrangements were made before the demolition drive. To which the counsel was unable to give a reply.
The court also issued notices to the Railways, Railways Police, DUSIB seeking information over the demolition drive.
It also sought details of the Basti residents and directed government agencies to make a coordinated action plan for rehabilitation. The court asked all agencies to distribute blankets, food and medicines.
“As per report from Northern Railway, the child alleged to have died during the encroachment removal drive, had expired much before the encroachment removal had commenced, as confirmed from Delhi Police records,” Suresh Prabhu said.
Describing the encroachment on rail land as “safety hazards”, the minister said “These encroachments have become source of impediment in development of new passenger terminal and other infrastructural facilities at Shakurbasti.”
A six-month-old child was found dead on Saturday in Shakur Basti after being suffocated under a heap of clothes. This lead to the Delhi government blaming the Railways for the death. However, the Railways has denied that the death was a result of the demolition drive.
The Central government on Monday sought the extention of observation home stay of the juvenile convict in December 16 gangrape case.
While urging the Delhi High Court to extend the convict’s detention, the centre said that several mandatory requirements are missing from the post-release rehabilitation plan of the juvenile convict.
Meanwhile, the court has reserved its order on Subramanian Swamy’s plea against the juvenile’s release after hearing the Centre’s submission.
The next hearing in the case is on Dec 20.
The case pertains to a brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, 2012.
Six persons, including the juvenile, had brutally assaulted the victim, who died a few days later in a hospital.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had issued notice to Centre in response to a petition from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy.
The court had asked Centre to file its reply in a sealed envelope about Swamy’s plea that the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya gangrape case should not be released.
Swamy had said that the juvenile is an animal and should be denied freedom.
The average banknote, an indispensable necessity, is found to be home to “thousands” of bacteria. The combination of its widespread use and constant exchange, however, make paper currency a likely agent for disease transmission, as currency notes contact with toxic elements like blood, fungus, sewage, drugs and unknown substances.
Studies described “unhygienic habits” like tucking notes inside socks and shoes or lubricating fingers with saliva for counting lead to transmission of diseases. Currency samples collected from random spots, including street vendors, grocery shops and canteens across Delhi in sets of Rs.100 and Rs.20, the most and least circulated denominations, were tested. The study confirmed the presence of drug-resistant germs along with “bacterial and viral species”. Contamination is also traced to dust, soil and water.
Sneezing, coughing droplets and touching of tainted hands results in contagion of currency. An individual living in insanitary conditions having unhygienic habits befouls the notes, which act as a vehicle delivering virus to pollute the hands of the next user, causing cross contamination. Studies also indicate that the age of the notes and the material that was used to produce them influence the depth of defile. Various microbes associated with tuberculosis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, peptic ulcers, throat infections and lung disorders had been identified on damaged/soiled notes.
The most common infection persists on surfaces for months and can be continuous source of transmission. Paper currency serves as an ideal breeding ground for microbes for several reasons. Apart from offering more surface area for the organic debris to collect, certain segments like “folds” and “deliberate depressions or projections”, specially designed as a security measure, serve as settling sites for both organisms and debris, which extends the longevity of the microbes.
The shoddy currency-handling culture is widespread, where many do not carry money in wallets, and squeezing of bills is a common sight. Psychologically, people find it hard to associate negative traits such as ill-health with money, which is linked with an individual’s pride and success. We may recognise that money collects germs, but we do not connect disease or illness to the handling of money.
Many western countries have replaced paper currency with plastic bills. Modern polymer banknotes were first developed by Reserve Bank of Australia in 1988, and they even survive a spin in washing machine. Advocates of plastic notes claim that plastic bills would be “safer and cleaner” and insist that they last three-fold longer, conducive to the exchequer. They are nonporous and do not absorb water/sweat, retaining a tendency to “unfold” themselves. No note is counterfeit-proof, but polymer notes, having an average life span of about five years, is more expensive to copy. In Britain, one in seven notes was found to be contaminated with some faecal organism. Plastic notes will be introduced in UK in 2016.
Harmful germs found on counting machines and currency chests environment, pose risk to customers and bankers alike. While ATMs are sullied due to their vast contact by multiple users, many food outlets rely heavily on cash transactions. In Feb. 2014, the Centre announced that one billion plastic notes of Rs.10 denomination would undergo a field trial in five cities selected for their geographical and climate diversity, which include Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar. Barring glitches, it will be replicated all over.
Notes in banks/post offices should be disinfected and quarantined by ultraviolet and chemical means, before being circulated, as the issue is a major health concern worldwide. It’s hard to imagine a cashless future, despite the fanciful prospect of digital growth. The World Bank says that, on an average, only 50 per cent of adults worldwide even have a bank account. Hence, it’s time to pioneer plastic notes and dump the flax.
Actress Eva Longoria is engaged to her beau Jose Antonio Baston after two years of the pair being romantically linked.
Sharing a photograph featuring the couple kissing, Longoria wrote: “Ummmm so this happened….#Engaged #Dubai #Happiness (sic).”
In the shared image, which was taken at a desert, the “Over Her Dead Body” actress can be seen flaunting a huge ring on her left hand as she passionately kisses Baston, a television professional with whom she has been in a relationship since 2013.
The proposal comes as a surprise, since the 40-year-old actress had ruled out walking down the aisle for a third time, saying last year: “Marriage and kids are not on the horizon.”
She split in 2011 from French basketball player Tony Parker to whom she was married for four years and before that, she had eloped with actor Christopher Tyler in 2002. The marriage broke up in 2004.
However, Longoria said that Baston makes her happier than ever before.
“I’m truly in love, mostly… every moment we get to spend together is a blessing. People want a secret to looking good, but there isn’t one. I’m in love, that has a lot to do with it,” she said.
“I take good care of myself, it’s no secret, I eat a healthy diet and I exercise,” Longoria added.
Alicia Vikander thinks social media is too “stressful”.
The ‘Danish Girl’ star admits she once tried to use Facebook and Twitter to update people on her career but gave up after two weeks because there was too much “pressure”.
She said: “I tried it once for two weeks but I felt this constant pressure to post. I was so stressed.”
The 27-year-old beauty also opened up about being photographed wherever she goes, admitting she finds it “strange” but doesn’t want to complain because she gets to do a job that she loves.
She added: “There’s nothing to them: I’m just buying a book and meeting a friend for coffee. It’s just very strange. And it’s hard to say anything’s tough when you’re getting to make a career out of what you love most, but I don’t think that’s anything you can be used to.”
And Alicia insists she would rather be “mysterious” than live her life fully in the spotlight.
She shared to the Observer newspaper: “I like mystery. I like not knowing about my favourite actresses and actors. I love seeing Meryl Streep up there and knowing so little about who she is outside of what she’s playing on screen…
“I guess it’s become another character, a role in a way, for actors to play – this version of themselves to present to them. But it is a made-up idea of who you are.”
