Fragile-Five: Penny wise, Rupee foolish

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January 12, 2020

With 2020 already set in, Indians are anxiously waiting for this year’s budget. On this occasion, both the BJP and Prime Minister have called for suggestions as to how should the budget be presented and in what form. The main concern is to know how the nation’s economic standards can be elevated from the present fragile state.

As we all know, the previous budget session ended up publicising bahi-khata and promising to deliver this year. There seems to be lack of innovative ideas to divert one’s mind. Taking a reality check, Modi has invited public participation.

In 2013, Fragile-Five was the term coined by BJP for the economy during the Congress regime. That time, the status of the economy was almost low and these five countries in order were Brazil, India, Indonesia, Africa and Turkey. And the point to be noted here is today’s much focused, much targeted and much politically baked Pakistan was not in this list. People comment on Manmohan Singh inspite of the fact that India was in a better position with economic slowdown and with this point somehow there were many forces that tried to topple the Congress. The prime minister aspirant Narendra Modi was at good best mocking Manmohan Singh for this and various reasons. Soon after results Modi took over as PM and gave illusionary hopes to the people. But unfortunately, the popularity of Modi could not bring aspired and most required change to the Indian economy.

Facing another downfall and apparently more serious than ever, there are talks about India returning back to Fragile Five and that too on a number one position. The financial conditions of India is at outrageous level. Many think tanks, economists and market surveyors’ reports regarding comparatives of economic state on Fragile-Five during Narendra Modi’s regime and Manmohan Singh regime are simply rejected. Including BJP leaders like Subramanian Swamy and financial experts of this country believe, that after Arun Jaitley there is no one in the party who is capable enough of handling the financial portfolio. The lack of experience of Nirmala Sitharaman is criticised by her own husband.

Even Subramanian Swamy expands his vocal cords time and again on the ailing economy and asks BJP to allot him the said portfolio for enhancing the financial economic standard of the country. Though he might be good at economy, BJP always feels threatened by him due to his vocal criticism. Now you will question, why is he entertained in the party?

The reason is simple, his frequent attacks on the Congress and Sonia Gandhi have benefited the BJP. Moreover, as being into the party, he will not be a bigger threat than in opposition. Maybe it’s the ideology which has kept them together.

Now debate is all about India’s economic slowdown and BJP glorifying the fact by providing misguiding statements.

The Fragile-Five club was coined to refer to excessive dependence of these countries on investment from outside to fund their economic growth. This is where India’s current slowdown is different from the fragile-five phase. India has received foreign investment to the tune of 27.2 billion in the first half of 2019, the government said in the last week of December 2019. The problem is that the domestic investment has been sagging. Back then, fiscal deficit of the central government was at 5 per cent and combined fiscal deficit was at about 8 per cent of the GDP. Currently, fiscal deficit of the central government is less than 3.5 per cent of the GDP. Consolidated fiscal deficit is likely to remain around 6 per cent of the GDP. However, Fitch Ratings in November said that the consolidated fiscal deficit may be around 7.5 per cent of the GDP which is a cause of serious concern. Current account deficit, foreign exchange and health of the rupee were other concerns when India was clubbed in the fragile-five club. Back then, the current account deficit was 5 per cent of the GDP. Today, it is much better in number.

For the September quarter, the current account deficit was below 1 per cent of the GDP. It was 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2018-19. The current situation is, however, not a good news as it is not because of spurt in export but declines in imports on account of low consumption and demand in the country. Foreign exchange reserve is good and at an all-time high. This is why India is confident of comfortably bracing the US-Iran tension. Rupee was a concern then and it remains a concern now as well. In 2019, rupee breached 72-mark against dollar on a few occasions. Looking at the larger picture, the state of Indian economy still remains sound. But creating demand, employment, consumption and fixing the issues of manufacturing and construction sectors remain a challenge for the government. Anyway, India is heading to the Union Budget 2020 and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for suggestions from you in case you have some ideas to turn Indian economy towards a better position. So, what are you waiting for? There are many options available on micro blogging and social media to connect and suggest.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Processions cause inconvenience to citizens

By

M Pradyu

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January 12, 2020

Right from the time the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament and the President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the amendment Bill, there has been umpteen protests from various political and community factions and parties, thanks to some political leaders and parties who misinterpreted the Act and instilled wrong notions in the people just for the sake of vote bank and for their vested interest. Things have turned violent as the youth from some universities too started getting involved in the protests and processions.

Meetings and political processions have become a daily routine in almost every town and city of the nation and in places like Kerala and West Bengal things have become worse as these have started to cause inexplicable problems to the common man. Processions and rallies have become a nightmare for the citizens and in cities like Kerala’s Kannur which is a highly political and volatile region, such processions and rallies have started to make life terrible and severe.

Processions are conducted in many such towns during peak hours in the evening completely disrupting smooth traffic and public life. Cities and towns witness at least five to six processions daily, most of which occur in the evenings and sometimes in the mornings and at noon according to the wish and will of the people behind the rallies. This results in heavy traffic- jams with vehicles stranded in long queues. Normally, during such processions, vehicle owners try to take a ‘short cut’ creating more traffic problems. By the time the procession reaches its destination or meeting place, heavy traffic congestion’s are created throughout the route covered.

Hapless passers-by get stranded on either side of the road unable to cross the procession. Ambulances, businessmen, vehicles heading to railway stations, airports, hospitals and other places get caught in processions which are sometimes long and sometimes short. Even a handful of political activists marching on the main road create untold misery to the people.

If the political neta’s who are behind these processions think that it is their ‘right’ to show their ‘might’ on the road by conducting such demonstrations, then they are wrong for they don’t have the right to disrupt smooth public life and let them realise that instead of creating an impression in the heart of the people, they are only inviting hatred, wrath and aversion of the people. It is high time the authorities concerned, political organisations and factions rethink and put an end to this perennial problem.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 12 January, 2020

By

Web Team

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January 12, 2020

1Balance in inoperative bank-accounts

Huge balance is lying in inoperative accounts in banks with even many account-holders having forgotten about their bank-accounts. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced Know-Your-Customer (KYC) forms which has been made mandatory also for closing such inoperative accounts. Such cumbersome practice not only is causing difficulty to account-holders wishing to close their inoperative accounts, but also creating a big loss of man-hours of bank-employees apart from unnecessary data-entries and record-keeping. Frauds are reported through some bank-employees misappropriating funds in such inoperative accounts where amount is large.

RBI should direct all banks to close all accounts not operated for say last three years, and send the remittance through pay-orders by Speed Post at last known addresses of account-holders at least for accounts having balance of say rupees ten thousand or less. In case of return of Speed-Post envelopes, formalities like of KYC form and succession-certificates etc may be required. For amounts bigger than rupees ten thousand, account-holders should be informed about their existing balance and to approach banks either to make accounts operative or close these in a time-bound period after which all such balances should be transferred to Depositor-Educative-Awareness-Fund (DEAF). With private sector dominating banking sector, public-money lying in inoperative accounts must not be allowed to be retained by banks.

Frequent change of account-numbers by banks should be prevented by making it mandatory for all banks to allot 15-digit account-numbers. Confusing and frequently changing account-numbers result in bouncing of electronic fund-transfers.

Madhu Agrawal

2FM should not oblige stakeholders with tax cuts

The government’s estimate of 5 per cent GDP growth seems to be realistic though the stock markets may not like it. Everybody is aware of the challenges surrounding the international environment and most global economies including India are going through a stress. Middle East crisis and crude prices rising can act as speed breaker and business leaders will have to show their acumen to not just cut wasteful costs but optimise production and up the growth rate.

The Union Budget is round the corner and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should not oblige stakeholders with tax cuts that further puts a burden on the economy. Citizens too should not ask for concessions in an environment that is tough but work harder to contribute to India’s economy the fruits of which would be borne in future years. India as a nation should grow up and people should not waste their energies in protests as well as violence but work in right earnest for the growth of the nation.

S.N. Kabra

3Frequent-Flyers-Points should be credited to government accounts

Various airlines-companies give Frequent-Flyers-Points (FFP) to their customers for promoting their sales and clients, which when accumulated provide passengers even free air-travel. There is a large section of people including Parliamentarians, government-employees and others who frequently fly at expense of central and state governments or their undertakings. All airlines-companies should be asked to compulsorily open Frequent-Flyers-Accounts in names of central and all state governments where only FFPs may be credited for air-tickets purchased or reimbursed at public-expenses.

FFPs on air-tickets purchased directly at public-expenses can be credited directly to such opened government-accounts for crediting FFPs. In case of reimbursement later by governments, reimbursement may be allowed only when traveller gives certificate or proof of getting FFPs credited in government-accounts. All travel-expenses at public-expense must be put on websites of respective public-authorities.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

4IRCTC should start Digital Signature Certificate authentication

Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is issued by competent certifying authority to validate a person’s identity and authenticate the user. DSC is widely used to affix digital signatures to important and sensitive documents and also validates the user’s identity. The Certifying Authority issues three types of DSC namely Class 1,Class 2 and Class 3. Whilst Class 1 is a common authentication tool, Class 2 and Class 3 come with added layer of security and is issued to specific persons like directors, managers etc.

Further IRCTC is suggested to initiate Class 1 Digital Signature Certificate authentication as a mandatory requirement even for single users to book rail tickets on its website/mobile application. It is given to understand that IRCTC has already mandated possession of Class 3 DSC for rail travel agents to book e-tickets. The Class 1 DSC otherwise authenticates a registered user’s complete name and email id, which is a pre-requisite for online rail ticket bookings. Such an enhanced security feature can be enabled by IRCTC to streamline rail ticket bookings, prevent duplicate/dubious registrations and thus ensure a secure and hassle free e-ticket booking facility.

Varun Dambal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Aam Aadmi Party all set to retain power

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 10, 2020

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may come back to power in the ensuing Delhi Assembly elections, according to a Delhi poll tracker. If elections are held today, AAP will win 59 seats, while the BJP which is a distant second would get just eight seats. Arvind Kejriwal had appealed to voters of Delhi to vote for the AAP if they are convinced that the party had done work in the last five years. The party had undertaken various developmental works done like providing free water, no hike in school fees, cheaper electricity. The Delhi CM believes that all these aspects are enough for AAP to retain power in Delhi. If Kejriwal’s development plank works, AAP will be re-elected for the second time despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity among core BJP voters.

When we spoke to Ruben Mascarenhas, national joint secretary of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) about the party’s chances of retaining power in Delhi he said, “Absolutely, if you see the recent CAG reports, it says that not only we have performed well but we are actually the only state that has posted profit of Rs 3000 odd cores. For the first time in a state history we introduced free transport for the women folk. This has not only increased the participation but also has given economic freedom.”

When AV asked him that BJP and Congress have not announced their Chief Ministerial candidate but AAP has projected Kejriwal again for CM’s post he said, “We asked right now the Delhi Government is working on top speed. And it is only sensible to let Kejriwal continue to take the scale of Delhi government to more heights. BJP doesn’t have a vision for India and especially for Delhi because it is very evident by their work. On the other hand, the Congress party has lost its foothold in Delhi. We are in direct competition with BJP.”

The Congress is predicted to get three seats in the Delhi assembly elections. However, if one focuses on seat projection, the AAP may get as much as 60 seats. The projection range for the BJP, which is going all out to come back to power in Delhi after nearly two decades, is between three and 13 seats. On one hand, AAP has Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Ministerial candidate on the other hand BJP still is facing leadership crisis in Delhi, they don’t have proper face to project as CM candidate. Gone are the days when people can vote in the name of Modi. The Congress too doesn’t have a Chief Ministerial face. BJP relies on the swing in Purvanchali vote division among Punjabis and steadfast hold on upper caste-baniya combine. The Congress banks on slum voters and Muslim voters.

Delhi voters gave its vote to Modi for the power in the Centre but when it comes to Delhi, they are very much happy with the present government. Meanwhile, chances for the Congress to score a duck cannot be wished away. The seat projection for the grand old party in the national capital is between zero and six seats. AAP is likely to perform best in the outer Delhi area where it is likely to score a perfect 26. It is projected to get 17 seats in central Delhi area and 16 seats in the trans Delhi zone. The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to the polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP had swept the Delhi Assembly polls by winning 67 out 70 seats while the remaining three seats went to the BJP in 2015. The Congress which had headed three successive governments under Chief Minister Sheila Dixit failed to make any impact in polls.

Aam Aadmi Party will come back on issues of bijli, paani and sadak

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 10, 2020

Wining or losing elections depends on we, the voters. It depends upon literacy rate, as more literate people are aware about what’s going around us, what is better and what is worse. They usually do not get polarised in the name of casteism, religion, by following which some national parties usually wins the polls. The 2020 parliamentary elections won’t be a cakewalk for the BJP. The AAP party in Delhi gave an extraordinary performance and people are happy with the Kejriwal government. AAP is a new party. It lacks in experience, lacks in funds, lacks in big names in the party except one or two and still by standing in front of the big players like BJP-Congress they proved their mettle. Today, the AAP has earned lots of popularity and support from people. Despite the hurdles from the Central Government and other agencies, the AAP government has determinedly still managed to deliver for the people of Delhi especially for the lower and middle-class. They have done a tremendous job in the field of water, electricity, education and health which have largely benefited the public.

Moreover, the current sealing and demolition drives spearheaded by the BJP have negatively impacted its own image in Delhi. The Congress may become the main opposition party. Of course, the AAP has done a good work in the field of education and health especially mohalla clinic of international acclamation, free ride for ladies in DTC buses, underpass construction for commuters and vehicles from DND flyover to Ashram chowk, surplus revenue, improvement results in government schools, 24×7 free electricity up to 200 units and 50 per cent up to 400 units, free water up to 20000 litres, building of new roads, adding of new DTC buses, extension of the metro route, providing piped water, more than 1.4 lakh CCTVs, construction of class rooms and many more. These are the basic tasks done by the party which may boost up their voting share for further continuation of five years. Whatever Congress does in Delhi, there are very less chances for its survival in the present time. BJP has no credible leader in Delhi who can be projected as its CM face. The basic services given by AAP government are helping the lower class or the lower middle-class and the upper class but the upper class doesn’t care about these facilities. The upper middle-class is supporting Modi as they are seeing the trips and trade of Modi ji which is good but only when you have a house, electricity, water, roads etc. But this section constitutes a very little percentage in Delhi’s population and so the vote bank still lies with commoners. Looking at the overall scenario, one can see AAP winning and Kejriwal’s report card is the best example for its victory.

The spectacular victory of AAP in Delhi in 2015 was due to the total transfer of Congress votes to the AAP. BJP had retained its vote bank of 32 per cent, whereas Congress votes came down to 9 per cent which helped the AAP vote has zoomed up to a share of 54 per cent and 67 seats. In case if the Congress would have improved its share to 20 percent, the fight would have been neck-to-neck and the AAP may just scrape past. The party has done a fair job in making the life of a common man at ease. The BJP does not have a concrete agenda of how they will take things forward; they are just playing a card of hate politics and either criticising opposition or claiming the good work. The reasons behind it is that the AAP has many leaders of high integrity and the best among them is Arvind Kejriwal. After a long time, India has produced a leader of such calibre, qualification and integrity. AAP came up with innovative ideas like door step delivery of 40 important goods, 1 crore compensation to martyrs, homeguards in buses.

Delhi Assembly election is a closely contested three-dimensional political battle. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, has everything at stake in the Delhi Assembly election for this is the only place where it is in power. Stakes are not high for the BJP as it has failed to make a comeback in Delhi since 1998. The Congress, which formed three consecutive governments in Delhi under the late Sheila Dikshit can practically claim victory if it dampens BJP’s chances of return to power in Delhi. Despite officially saying that it is contesting to come back to power, every Congress leader in Delhi knows that their claim is unrealistic given its ground strength. Surveys too indicate that Kejriwal is taking his AAP to power for the second time but with reduced strength in the Delhi Assembly. The AAP is officially aiming to win more than 67 (its 2015 tally) of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly election. However, if one factors in the AAP’s performance in the Lok Sabha election, this target looks extremely ambitious. But then voters across India have shown different preferences in national and local elections. Kejriwal seems to be wary of the Modi wave and has tried not to target the prime minister in person. In many elections in the past, when Modi was made the subject of personal target, he has turned the scale in his favour. The AAP leadership including the Chief Minister has stayed away from launching personal attacks on Modi and have rather focused on showcasing their work for the public and achievements instead. The Congress is in tatters in Delhi. The district units of the party had been fighting openly till recently. The party has failed to enter into an alliance with the AAP that has noticeable support on the ground. The deal failed during the Lok Sabha election which the AAP leadership suspected would be a cakewalk for the BJP and had approached Rahul Gandhi, then Congress president for a tie-up.

The Congress’s performance in Delhi in the Lok Sabha election is said to have surprised even some within the party hierarchy. The party finished second in five of the seven constituencies pushing the AAP to a distant third. But recent surveys show that people have clear preferences for Delhi Assembly election with no regards for the Lok Sabha election trend. Still, the Congress is expected to do well in areas where anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests were intense. The visits by Congress leaders such as Salman Khurshid to protester’s camps have generated a lot of goodwill for the Congress particularly among Muslim voters who are dominating voters in five constituencies and may influence electoral outcome on 5-10 other seats. If the Congress actually makes inroads in such areas and manages to get some hold back in constituencies dominated by slums and unauthorised colonies, there may be a surprise in store in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election. Delhi’s electorates are sharply divided among certain categories of Purvanchalis, Punjabis, Muslims, upper caste-baniya combine and slums. They have traditionally been voters to one party or the other. The AAP broke this pattern in 2015. And one can expect the same in 2020 too.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Major fire breaks out at cloth factory in Bhiwandi, 4 fire tenders are on spot

By

Hema Singh

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January 10, 2020

A massive fire broke out at a cloth godown in Bhiwandi area in Thane district on Friday. As per a report, 4 fire tenders are on the spot to douse the blaze. No casuality has been reported so far.

Maharashtra: Fire breaks out at a cloth godown in Bhiwandi. 4 fire tenders present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/TNBe1ACExZ

— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020

The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. More details are awaited.

Read comic books for a better way of understanding life

By

M Pradyu

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January 10, 2020

Many years ago, there was a time when children used to rush to the portico to get a grab of the daily newspaper and briskly skip the pages to see a page meant especially for them (the page which transported the kids of that generation to the world of their favourite comic character who appeared in comic strips).

It was a pleasure for the kids to know the latest crisis and conflict and the way in which their favourite hero escaped from deadly traps and hard core villains and get ready to move on to the next episode. This was the time when Mandrake the magician with his macho pal Lothar thrashed, bashed and crushed the evil doers and it was a time when Phantom the ghost who walks- simply pulped even the most dangerous of the bad men with his brain and brawn!

It was a time when Superman and Batman not to forget our Spiderman who mesmerised the kids with their stunts and miraculous escapes from deadly villains! And of course a set of other heroes like Zorro, Green Lantern, Captain America, Tarzan and of course the rib ticklers Disney’s Uncle Scrooge, Mickey and Donald and their big family who showed the generation the path to real enjoyment, a path to a world of do good and be good and inculcating in the young minds that “the right always triumphs.’’

I remember when I was in class four I wrote a letter to Mandrake to come and save me from some class bullies! Whether the letter reached his house in ‘’ Xanadu’’ God alone knows! But that was the influence that comics had in the hearts of our generation sans Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the whole bunch of social media network that has simply imprisoned the hearts of today’s children.

Time has changed. It is only with awe and bewilderment that one can watch the way in which cyber technology is creating rapid ripples in our day-to-day life. Gone are the days of the comics, the television and the play stations. Now it is the age of Direct to home digital viewing, 3D TV’s, LCDs, Androids, Ipads and a hundred and one other e-gizmos, apps and online games!

Technology has improved our lifestyle, enhanced our knowledge, promoted and redefined our sociability. Now, glance through the pages of any daily, tune into any channel or click any e-gadget that supplies day to day happenings –violence, bloodshed, riots, murders and all sorts of evils that dominate the scenario and that too aided by technology. It poses a question-how and why –in this modern cyber age era, does technology turn fatal. It turns fatal when one forgets oneself ….and when one forgets one’s culture and heritage and of course the values of love, peace and harmony. It is here that I would like to mention the contribution made by Late Sri Ananth Pai (uncle Pai), the pioneer of Indian comics or better known as the creator of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle.

The teens of the 1970s and the 80s can never forget the pleasure they had while browsing through the pages of those colourful comic books. Ananth Pai created those books in order to show the young Indians the route to their roots after sadly noting the ignorance of the teens regarding their great Indian culture and heritage. He proved that reading not only refreshes, it even moulds an individual’s character and thereby the society. Reading has the power to take the young and the old back to their great culture, tradition and heritage. Inculcating the habit of reading, leads to creativity and high thinking and it is here that I would like to say that reading, especially comic books does give many benefits to young minds.

I remember my childhood days, when I used to spend hours together at the very famous old book market road adjacent to the Corporation clock tower in Coimbatore city, browsing through comics of all hues and sizes, foreign and desi and packing them home to add up to my collection of comics. Thanks to my parents who only encouraged me to read comics.

Many criticise the habit of comic book reading saying that it is gaudy, fictitious and time killing. I remember an English teacher of our days in my school in Coimbatore distributing comic books during our library and free periods and encourage us all to tell the stories to our classmates. Now, as an English teacher, I do realise that my teacher was only trying to enhance our reading and speaking skills in a very entertaining and novel manner. As a senior teacher, I have realised that comics are perfect vehicles that ignites young readers to improve imagination and artistic skills. Comics also help to increase the vocabulary through the connection between words and images. They are useful for English language learners. It develops appreciation for different literary styles, teaches positive messages and opens the readers mind to new ways of story telling, imagination and artistic talent. So next time if you find children engrossed in the pages of comics books or are found browsing one or hiding a bunch of these ‘’funnies’’ as they are called, it is better not to chide them but encourage them to read the books provided they are reading good content, language and a child friendly image packed book with understandable dialogues. Truly these books are free of toxic which sadly is high in most of the e-entertainment found today and readily accessible to innocent minds. Let comics guide them to a better way of understanding life, literature and language.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Is it time for Dhoni to hang his boots?

By

Jayanthy Subramaniam

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January 10, 2020

We all expect retirement of M.S. Dhoni from all forms of the game. This debate has raised many questions as he was India’s prolific run getter in one day matches. Dhoni was speculative about his retirement but the selectors ignored him and he could not get a call for the home series against South Africa and West Indies. He had said not to ask him questions about his international future till January 2020 during an interaction with the press last year. While India’s selectors have indicated that they are moving on and have put their faith in Rishabh Pant in T20 cricket, Dhoni’s game sense, acumen and unmatched reflexes as a wicket keeper continue to make a case for him.

No one will voluntarily retire from the cricketing field as the stakes are very high and the players get huge amount of money if they are able to get a central contract in any of the three categories. Thus the long list of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan now people are taking about Dhoni’s retirement from all forms of cricket. It is time for Indian players to perform or perish and not bask in the past glory all the time.

BCCI President Ganguly said he will speak to selectors about the former captain’s future. Former India skipper Dhoni, 38, has been away from international cricket since India’s exit from the World Cup after losing the semi-final clash to New Zealand. Significantly, the former Indian captain’s retirement from international cricket has been a matter of debate in recent times with every cricketer giving their views. Incidentally, Dhoni kicked Ganguly out of the Indian side when the wicket keeper batsman was leading the team in all the three formats.

In 2008, Dhoni had not picked Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in the ODI squad for the tri-series in Australia, forcing Ganguly to return home when the Test-match leg of that tour ended. Now after 11 years, the tables have turned to some extent, with Ganguly in a position to influence the final stages of Dhoni’s career, which began in spectacular fashion on his watch.

Ganguly has always maintained that Dhoni would need to be clear about the road ahead and communicate that to the team management led by Virat Kohli, the captain, and Ravi Shastri, the head coach, and most importantly the selection panel. Now, bitter pill called retirement is to be administered soon and it is better to quit when people ask why and not quipped Why Not?

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 10 January, 2020

By

Web Team

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January 10, 2020

1Yesudas: The celestial singer

The “Gana Gandharvan” or celestial singer of Indian film music Dr KJ Yesudas ,as he is called, will turn 80 on 10th January this year. The iconic playback singer and Carnatic vocalist has rendered more than 80,000 songs ( that include filmi, light music, devotional etc) in various languages including Malayalam,Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and many Indian languages in a career that spans for six decades. He had to face a lot of odds in his early years before becoming one of the most sought-after playback singer in Indian film industry. He started his career with the song in “Kaalpadukal “composed by South Indian music Maestro MB Sreenivasan in 1961.Then onwards there was no looking back as the legendary singer teamed with prominent music directors like G Devarajan , M S Baburaj, Salil Chaudhari ,MS Viswanathan ,Ilaiyaraaja and Hindi music film directors like Khayyam, Bappi Lahiri, Ravindra Jain and others and came out with beautiful evergreen soul lilting numbers. Music is his life and soul and his commitment to carnatic classical music makes him a singer par excellence. He has sung in all the Indian languages except Punjabi, Assamese, Konkani and Kashmiri. He has sung even in English,Malay ,Russia, Arabic and Latin.

A recipient of the great Padma Vibhushan, Yesudas has won eight national awards 43 state awards and five film awards and many others including the 1999 UNESCO honorary music and peace award and the CNN IBN outstanding achievement award. Be it spiritual, filmi, carnatic, folk or western he renders any number with elan. His famous “Harivarasanam” ,a devotional prayer song , is played every night at the famous Sabarimala temple before the closure of the temple .

Whoever can forget his Immortal Hindi numbers –Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara, Dil Ke Tukde, Aaj se pehle, Jaaneman Jaaneman, Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein, Kahan Se Aaye Badra and the Tamil numbers – En Iniya Pon Nilave, Senthazham Poovil, Devam Thantha Veedu and Amma Endralaikatha and the innumerable Malayalam hits and songs in the other languages making him a phenomenon and this mellifluous singer is truly a glowing star in the star studded Indian music galaxy. Here’s wishing him a long and healthy life.

M Pradyu

2Upgrade public transport

Parking fines being reduced to Rs. 4000 is a welcome move as the fines are not tools to generate revenue for any government but it is a move to impose discipline. Parking in a metropolitan city like Mumbai as well as the conditions of roads is a bigger challenge. Fines are a deterrent but facilities to are important if you expect citizens to follow rules and the law of the land.

Also, public transport too should be improved so that people do not have to use private cars. Metro would solve Mumbai’s traffic and parking problems in the years to come but one expects BMC to repair potholes and make roads fit for driving till that time.

S.N. Kabra

3Integration of helpline numbers into single number a right step

The recent move by Indian Railways to integrate all of its helpline numbers into a single number i.e. 138 is welcome. Services related to catering, passenger safety, security, medical emergency, vigilance, clean my coach and catering is now available with a dedicated helpline number-138. The move comes at a time when the common man otherwise faced confusions to reach out through multiple helpline numbers often leading to delay in services requested.

Further it is suggested to establish a grievance handling mechanism through its dedicated common helpline number. An effort is now required to gather necessary inputs directly from the passengers through telephone. The grievance mechanism may be integrated with IVRS facility to collect the inputs from the passengers directly over the telephone. The suggested move will help the passengers to report grievances very quickly, apart from the existing facility of Rail Madad application available to lodge online grievances.

Varun Dambal

4Deal is done chaos continue

Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi is trying to settle down, but the portfolio allocation brought the displeasure of many from Sena and Congress leaving NCP a safe bet in the Home Ministry formation. NCP got both Home and Finance departments and that put them in driver’s seat. The two other coalition partner members fume in silence missing a golden chance to get a ministerial birth. Whereas first time MLA got a ministerial birth despite showing inexperience and there is smoke in Maha Vikas Aghadi and that may turn to fire sooner or later. People waiting to get plum portfolios were disappointed and there is already threat of resigning the MLA post. The Shiv Sena list include CM Uddhav Thackeray’s son and blue eyed boy got the place of his choice. The tainted Ajit Pawar got the planning and finance after getting elected as deputy CM for the second time in a very short period.

Calicut Krishnan Subbu

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

2 men posing as RTI activists held for extorting money from sculptor in Santacruz

By

Hema Singh

-

January 10, 2020

The Mumbai police on Thursday arrested two men who were allegedly extorting money from a sculptor in Santacruz by posing as RTI activists of the H East ward.

According senior inspector of Vakola Police Station, Kailash Awhad, the duo demanded Rs 20,000 from the victim alleging that he was carrying out structural changes in his residence without the necessary permissions. The police arrested the accused people late on Wednesday night. The two have been identified as Dinesh Singh and Ramesh Pardeshi.

The complaint Mangesh Bhagat said that the accused men told him that they were RTI activists and would lodge a complaint to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if he failed to pay the said money. Bhagat told the police that he gave Rs. 4000 to them. However, after the duo continued to demand more money from him, he approached the police and filed an FIR against them.

The duo has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 384 (extortion).