Home Blog Page 943

Letters to the Editor: 28 October, 2019

October 28, 2019

Black Diwali in the offing

Several of my friends have lost their jobs. Many of my friends hard earned money is blocked in PMC and other cooperative banks that have gone bust. Inflation is at its peak as even tomatoes and onions are being sold for the price of apples. Dry fruits are available at over Rs.1000 a kg and sweets have only gone dearer over the years. Pollution levels have risen at all time high and diseases are on the rise on account of it. Most sectors are in the doldrums and economy is sinking each day.

‘Black Diwali‘ is in the offing and the mood is sombre all around. Government should wake up from its slumber and take tough measures that are beneficial for the country. Fraudsters who have looted bank money should be targeted so that banks get their loaned money back which in turn can be returned to depositors. Investment in infrastructure and other sectors would create jobs for the people. Health welfare scheme would benefit the poor. Hope the government is listening and are drawing a plan that would end our troubles in the days to come.

S.N. Kabra

BJP and opposition should learn lessons from by poll results

The NDA led by the BJP and the opposition have lessons to learn from the by poll results. A little bit of overconfidence and assertiveness plus matters regarding the handling and meddling of economics has clearly jolted the strong NDA juggernaut. The results were not like what the NDA expected. They have to urgently stitch up the tears as the results obviously shows that the voters are keenly observing the movements of the government. The ruling party will have to fulfill the hopes and promises given by them to the people at a war footing. They ought to prove that the strong leadership at the helm is ready to serve the people. As for the opposition a strong helmsman is the need of the hour. The by poll result, especially in Haryana, shows that people are ready to support if they find the opposition is united and ready to voice for the people. The ” cliff hanger” in Haryana and the “neck to neck” competition in Maharashtra shows this. Voters have started to show their likes and dislikes and that too diligently while choosing their candidate.

M Pradyu

BCCI has more choice of selecting wicketkeepers

The BCCI Chairman of Selectors has recently opined regarding ‘moving on’ with respect to selection of MS Dhoni into the squad after the successful stint in the recently concluded World Cup tournament. The statement comes at a time when Indian cricket team is now well equipped with three wicket-keeping talents namely Wriddhiman Saha, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. The squad as announced for the upcoming India Bangladesh series consists of wicketkeepers selectively for Tests, ODIS and T20s only revealing abundant talent choice, indicating a full platter in BCCI’s hands.

The decision to leave the matter of retirement to MS Dhoni by BCCI is a mature and humble move with the respect to the player’s stature. Such a practice has been followed by the selectors since many years while expecting a clear formal intent from the senior players either to continue or retire early. However as there is a lot of opportunities arising across all the levels of Indian cricket including Zonal Cricket and IPL, BCCI now has more choices while selecting a wicket keeper to the squad under the current situations.

The announcement of Indian squad for the upcoming Indo-Bangla series, has enabled a wide spectrum of opportunities in different formats for all the three wicket keepers selected by BCCI. Thus BCCI has now a platter full of opportunities regarding the choice of wicket keeping and number 4/5 position in the Indian team.

Varun Dambal

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

Green crackers-Stroked down by the buyers this Diwali

Mohsin Siddiqui

October 26, 2019

The firecracker industry is estimated to be worth Rs 20,000 crore, a quarter of which comprises imports from China. Sivakasi town in Tamil Nadu, the biggest cracker producer in India, manufactures fireworks worth around Rs 4,000 crore.

Green crackers failed to impress the buyers this Diwali. The ‘Green Crackers‘ was launched by the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to get rid of air pollution, flopped to attract the buyers because of the cost factor.

The Central Electro-Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) developed less polluting, quieter but brighter firecrackers. Yet, the cracker industry is not impressed, because it pinches their pocket. While CECRI, which is one of the research institutions under CSIT, worked on different chemical formulations for crackers, another CSIR arm, the Central Electronics Engineering Research (CEERI), Pilani, Rajasthan, worked on ‘electronic crackers’, which can produce sounds and lights without fire.

Berchmans Institute of Management Studies told AfternoonVoice, “Dust secretion comes down by 60 per cent if green crackers are used. This formulation was developed for use in sparklers such as ‘flower pots’ and ‘sparkling wire’. It is not only safe but has no side effects adding to pollution.”

Dinkar Vanjare, the firecracker shop owner in Kandivali said, “ Green Crackers are very costly and not affordable for commoners’ budget, moreover the choices too are limited. Fast-selling cracker, are ‘atom bomb’, Sutli Bomb and various other lightning crackers that are in affordable budget, people have their own speculations that is the reason green crackers miserably flopped. Looking at the population, not even 10 per cent people have purchased green crackers.”

CECRI developed a chemical cocktail that uses urea and hexamine instead of sulphur. The decibel level drops to 103-109, compared with 119-125 in the conventional ‘atom bombs’. The institution worked with the industry to develop green crackers. Krishna Fireworks of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) was deputed to work with CECRI.

K Mariappan, General Secretary of the Association, said the industry was clearly not impressed with CECRI’s green crackers. While Vijaykant of Krishna Fireworks said the adoption of CECRI’s green crackers was, at best, a long way away.

Green crackers with 30 per cent fewer emissions is now available in the market, the step will help control pollution as well as take care of people’s sentiments.

With the menace of pollution and would help the fireworks industry which was facing closure after the Supreme Court in 2018 banned conventional firecrackers that have high emission levels and allowed only those that conform to permissible smoke and noise levels.

Lack of awareness among buyers flopped Green Crackers

Vaidehi Taman

October 26, 2019

After Supreme Court mandated their use, the government launched ‘green crackers’ as a low-pollutant alternative but Green crackers failed to grab market due to lack of awareness among buyers, shortage of supply, lack of variety and implementation challenges dampen the sale of environment-friendly fireworks. In the absence of high-quality holograms and lack of advanced security features in the green crackers, they will have a tough time identifying duplicate ones.

Though there are permanent shops selling crackers round the year, they are less in number and every year the Delhi police issue temporary licenses to people to sell crackers on the two days of Diwali. After the strict guidelines of the Supreme Court on green firecrackers, there is a significant fall in applications for temporary licences for firecrackers and explosives. In 2016, there were 968 licences granted for sale of firecrackers and in 2017 it was capped at just 500 temporary licences. In 2018, conventional firecrackers were banned but green firecrackers were not available. This year in 2019, around 50 licence holders will be allowed to sell firecrackers for two days on Diwali. Due to strict norms and dip in supply of firecrackers from manufacturers, there is significant downfall in applications for licence.

Very few people know that there is no blanket ban on crackers. Green crackers do not contain harmful chemicals that would cause air pollution. Components in firecrackers are replaced with others that are “less dangerous” and “less harmful.” The scientists at Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) invented this.

Crackers are available in the market, the festive season has run into several dampeners and implementation challenges — from the lack of multiple varieties to a shortage of crackers and difficulty for the police in identifying green crackers. It wasn’t an overreaction. Barium, used as an oxidizer and to emit green light, is a crucial component of crackers. Due to its low prices and ready availability, it is used across a range of products, including ladi, anaar and chakkars. A ban on barium indirectly meant a ban on nearly three-fourths of the crackers produced.

The use of crackers on Diwali is so widespread enforcement authorities simply can’t keep up with the violations. The Delhi Police arrested 300 people for violating the SC’s ban on commercial crackers last year. Yet, air pollution levels in the city exceeded 66 times the safe limit.

Media reports this year suggest traditional firecrackers are being sold in shops across the country, including banned items like ladis and barium formulations. PESO has ratified only four varieties of green crackers till date. A PESO official, on the condition of anonymity, explains that they are guided by considerations of the festive season and workers’ livelihood.

When the fireworks industry shut shop last year, the official says, there were protests across Tamil Nadu. In Sivakasi, reportedly, nearly 4,000-5,000 people surrounded the sub-collector’s office on one occasion. According to this official, the state and Union governments and agencies like Neeri “banded together” and claimed to have found a solution.

Firecracker Industry that provides livelihood to thousands of people from underprivileged section of our society may have thought, such a ban is definitely going to affect them. In fact, this one particular aspect is never given its due weightage while making decisions. A ban on Victoria (a type of horse carriage) in Mumbai led to destruction of livelihood for around 200 families. Something similar happened when SC banned Jallikattu. A happy animal at the cost of livelihood of humans is not such a great practice for our country. Our recent position (100 out of 119 countries) in Hunger Index indicates how critical it is to save livelihoods of people in our country.

Effectiveness of such a ban is rarely have any notice, in a region with numerous industries and millions of personal and commercial vehicles, crackers on Diwali couldn’t be a major factor behind pollution. Add to it the burning of crop fields in nearby states (Haryana and Punjab) and the contribution towards air pollution by Diwali crackers will even be lower. Banning them isn’t really going to achieve much. Unless SC is making its decision in a vacuum, it has to know that such a decision will be read through religious lenses. Judges in the past have taken cognizance of the social realities and have weighed them in their past decisions. Such a decision, when its impact on curbing pollution could be symbolic at best required greater scrutiny and even greater care. The ban is on sale not on bursting the crackers. In Mumbai it is really not difficult to get firecrackers. Overall a decision which have looked too deeply into the technical issues of air/noise pollution and seemed to have completely overlooked the big picture.

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

PMCB, yet another banking disgrace!

C S Krishnamurthy

October 26, 2019

The Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank is the latest in a spectacular drumbeat of banking malfeasance. Alas, the heart-rending tale is a 51-year old man, whose savings of Rs.90 lakhs is trapped with the scam-ridden PMC bank, died of heart-attack after participating in a protest by the bank customers who were fighting to get back their deposits. The depositors’ money is scapegoat for the impostures of unscrupulous bank executives and fraudulent borrowers.

The multi-crore loot in the cooperative bank scam, which lent Rs 6,200 crore to real-estate developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd., is a stunning 70 per cent of the bank’s loan book. While the HDIL has since filed for bankruptcy, the crisis yet again proves Indian banks are ‘sitting ducks’ when it comes to recovery of big-ticket loans. It isn’t just HDIL, we have seen Kingfisher, Winsome Diamonds, and several others. While not all Non-Performing Assets are frauds, most of the banking frauds pass through the NPA stage.

Who is responsible?

Apparently, the top management blatantly derided regulations that debar such a large exposure to a single sector, in this case, real estate, let alone to a single unit. A naked conflict of interest, the Chairman of PMC Bank, Waryam Singh, was on the board of directors of HDIL till 2015. How no one noticed? Did multiple checks and balances fail? Even after the whistle-blower report reached the RBI, the limiting withdrawals took a few days to be put in place, by which time, a few large depositors had already made massive cash withdrawals. Why the leading regulator responds only after the event? True, supervision cannot work miracles, but the central bank could have done better. These scams show how quickly trust can vanish.

While the number of bank frauds detected rose by 45 per cent in FY19 compared to FY09, the average fraud amount has increased from Rs.0.4 cr. in FY09 to Rs.10 cr. in FY 19. Over 6,800 cases of bank fraud involving an unprecedented Rs.71,500 cr. was reported in 2018-19, a narrative citing RBI said.

Are auditors clean? When fraud is discovered within a business, the initial response is “How could that have happened?” And if audited financial statements were issued, the question is, “Why didn’t the auditors have a clue?” These two posers ask whose task it is to prevent and detect fraud. Are the auditors duty-bound to unearth accounting fraud? When external auditors do not exercise due-diligence to examine the financial reports, the risk of failure to detect any ongoing fraud increases manifold. The internal audit function should include fraud risk management in its scope, instead of employing the forensic audit, which is more a post-mortem exercise.

Once fraud is detected (which itself takes about 4/5 years), banks generally desist from revealing to others unless mandated by law or if their loss need to be reported in their financial statements. Most investigations do not reach the public domain.

What is worrisome is the large ‘internal control’ gaps that are being increasingly manipulated by fraudsters. Cost-cutting exercise, leading to fewer resources monitoring controls, are perhaps feeding fraudsters to be more active than earlier. Do banks have trained staff to identify financial fraud risk areas?

Why defraud?

Why do people, who seem doing well in the corporate world, cheat? For instance, Ramalinga Raju founded the Satyam Computers with the dream of capturing software market. However, greed got the better of him…. Instances galore, where the rich and famous played the con game.

To cheat is a sixth-sense that some find it compelling and short-cut to success. A few repent later. But when they cheat, they persuade themselves that they were absolved of their actions.

A Tamil proverb says that a man who collects honey will always be tempted to lick his fingers. Banks all the time deal with money, a temptation is, therefore, obvious. Though not all cheat, the challenge is to sift the bad from the rest.

Protect the whistle-blower

Some women employees of the PMCB reportedly played the whistle-blowing role. As credit department staff, they were aware of the “ghost” accounts through which loans were extended to at least 44 borrowers linked to HDIL. The 21,000 fictitious accounts never passed into the bank’s core system, a similar move to the PNB-Nirav Modi scam.

Most employees seem reluctant to report about irregularities, feel it is not incumbent upon them to provide tip-off, which leads to known instances of fraud remaining unreported. Employers should use open-dialogue in the workplace. Motivate whistle blowing by protecting the anonymity of the whistle-blowers, ensure fair treatment of their complaint, implement a reward mechanism and securely blow the whistle, especially where fraud involves a boss or senior colleague.

There is no single-window remedy. Rather, the pace of new threats is not going to slow down. Meanwhile, it’s the customers, investors and tax-payers who will carry the ‘cost’.

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

How to fight plastic menace?

Rajesh Choudhary

October 26, 2019

Doctors of Tamil Nadu removed 52 kg of plastic from the stomach of a cow in Chennai recently. This innocent cow had consumed vast quantities of plastics waste and it posed a threat to its life. It is an example of the harm caused by the indiscriminate use and disposal of plastics. It highlights the gravity of plastic menace in the country. This news went viral on social media and internet.

Just a week ahead of this surgery, Prime Minister Narendra Modi collected plastic bottles on the sea beach of Chennai during Chinese President Xi Zinping’s visit to the city. That is why PM Modi had urged people to stop using single-use plastic bags in his address to nation from the rampart of the Red Fort. In his Independence day speech, he said that schools, colleges, municipalities, urban bodies and gram panchayats can collect single-use plastic bags from their areas and from October 2, 2019, we can take up the task of phasing out the use of single-use plastic bags in a big way. PM Modi urged industrialists of the country to invest in recycling single-use plastic. He asked shopkeepers to use cloth bags.

It is not just mute animals that suffer. Even the oceans and forests have become a mass dumping yard for plastic. About 80 per cent of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from land. 73 per cent of beach litter worldwide is plastic. As per expert, one in three leatherback sea turtles have been found with plastic in their stomachs. At least 267 different species have been affected by plastic pollution in the ocean. According to the United Nations, ingestion of plastic kills 10 lakh marine birds and 1,00,000 marine animals each year. The river Ganges alone took 1.15 lakh tonnes of plastic into the ocean in 2015. It is second only to China’s Yangtze. 90 per cent of plastic polluting oceans is carried by 10 rivers in the world. These rivers are the Yangtze, Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Hai He, Pearl, Amur, Mekong, Nile and the Niger.

We can see plastic waste on sea beaches of Mumbai and sea shores of other coastal cities of India. There are many social activists who have dedicated their lives to clean sea beaches. In spite of this, plastic menace is not decreasing. We can see lot of plastic bags and bottles in sea water on Juhu Chowpatty and other beaches of Mumbai. These plastic bags and bottles are in sea for very long period. Since plastic is not biodegradable, it decays very slowly polluting soil and water. Therefore, sea water of Mumbai’s coastal areas are full of micro plastics. Sea fishes eat these plastic particles which harm them. These fishes are caught and sold in the market. Ultimately, human eats them and suffers.

The Maharashtra government on March 23, 2018, banned the manufacture, usage and sale of plastic bags. Many people approached Bombay High Court against this. High Court instructed to give proper time for its implementation. The state government gave the manufacturers, distributors, and consumers a period of three months to dispose their existing stock and come up with alternatives to plastic usage. From June 23, 2018, government authorities started penalising people caught using plastic products.

Environmentalists welcomed this decision but the plastic industry slammed the government and termed the plastic ban as retrograde step. Due to huge dependence of industry on plastic and lack of alternatives its success became doubtful. In beginning, this ban was effective. The BMC officers raided shopkeepers and seized large amount of plastic bags. They levied heavy fine on these shopkeepers and individuals caught with plastic bags. But after two-three months, they stopped taking action against guilty persons. With passage of time people started using plastic bags openly.

In India, per capita plastic consumption was at 11 kg in 2014-15, which was less than half the global average of 28 kg. India’s plastic recycling rate is 60 per cent. It is three times higher than the global average of 20 per cent.

It is remarkable that plastic starts degrading after 700 years and only fully degrades in 1000 years. This means that all the plastic that has ever been produced has not degraded yet. Since the 1950s, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide. Plastic bags remain toxic even after it breaks down. It doesn’t biodegrade, it photo-degrades. It means that after it degrades, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits of itself and contaminates the environment.

Mumbai-based lawyer and social activist Afroz Shah, who is engaged in minimizing plastic pollution in Versova beach, motivates people for cleaning project waste. But there are very few people like him. Problem of plastic waste is enormous. Their efforts fall short. Therefore, government should make effective law to control plastic menace. There is urgent need to launch mass awareness programme about plastic, its bad effects and remedy. Unless everybody is not educated about plastic pollution and its harm, we cannot control plastic menace effectively.

Surprising facts

160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second
A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute
Only 1 to 3% of plastic bags are recycled worldwide
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes

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.

Pankaja Munde flopped

Suraj Chandran

October 25, 2019

Outgoing BJP minister Pankaja Munde who lost election to her estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde in Parli is seen as a big setback for the saffron party. Pankaja Munde belongs to Vanjari community and she represents them. Her father Gopinath Munde had worked for the welfare of the community and had earned a lot of goodwill but Pankaja was unable to carry his legacy forward.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to NCP leader and advocate Majeed Memon he said, “Pankaja is outgoing minister. Since she is Gopinath Munde’s daughter, last time she won election easily. She had to face challenge from Dhananjay Munde. Despite having support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah Pankaja lost, it is a huge setback for BJP. In Maharashtra Pankaja Munde and Udayan Raje’s defeat is a big jolt for the BJP.”

Somehow her politics has gone on Raj Thackeray way. Raj Thackeray’s MNS had won few seats and was appreciated by the people but he did not take steps to expand the party in hinterland. Raj took voters for granted and rested on his past laurels.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “Residents of Parli did not like Pankaja Munde’s work. On the other hand, people like Dhananjay Munde’s work hence he emerged victorious. Pankaja’s name was involved in scam. Whereas Dhananjay Munde remained connected with the masses and worked for their welfare which resulted into his victory.”

People turned up in huge numbers to hear Thackeray’s speeches but those were not translated into votes for his party. The same thing happened with Pankaja Munde. She was the Rural Development and Women and Child Development Minister in the government of Devendra Fadnavis. If a Pankaj would have properly utilised this opportunity and connected with villagers then it would have done wonders for her.

BJP worker Avdhut Wagh said, “Pankaja Munde’s defeat is a shocking news for us. We will look into the reasons behind Pankaja’s defeat and next time BJP’s candidate will win from that constituency. Chief Minister will decide whether to allot ministry to Pankaja.”

However, after allotment of the portfolio her name cropped up in various scams. She is also very arrogant. On the other hand, her cousin Poonam Mahajan has become silent after she was given ministerial charge. Earlier, she used to be a loudmouth and used to say whatever comes to her mind. But once portfolio was assigned to her, she became very silent and she is growing. Also, she earned the goodwill. On the other hand, Pankaja Munde was loudmouth and failed to discharge her duties amicably.

Pankaja may be making tall claims about the work done by her but voters are not pleased with her. She also became aware that her opponent was nobody but her family member.

She belongs to Munde dynasty and she is liked by people just like her father. Dhananjay Munde also belongs to the same Munde family and Gopinath Munde was very close to him. Once upon a time, Dhananjay Munde was also in BJP.

There are several equations which are going against Pankaja and she is responsible for her defeat. She should have performed her work instead of being a part of all controversies.

BJP has a tendency to allot ministry to those leaders who have lost election. There are several examples like Arun Jaitley and Smriti Irani. Speculation is rife that Pankaja would be rewarded with some ministry to please the Vanjari community.

Rise and fall of Pankaja Munde

Vaidehi Taman

October 25, 2019

Pankaja Munde belongs to the Munde dynasty. Late Gopinath Munde, who was one of the major politicians in BJP, left a lot of followers that look at the Munde family with high regards. His dynasty right now represents the lower caste communities and thereby holds a lot of influence in Maharashtra. The just-concluded Maharashtra assembly elections witnessed members of powerful families turning against each other. One such battle was within the family of BJP leader late Gopinath Munde. Contesting from Parli assembly constituency, Gopinath Munde’s daughter and sitting MLA Pankaja Munde was pitted against her own cousin Dhananjay Munde from NCP, thinking that the Modi-Shah rallies will do all magic. But the ground reality is that, Pankaja failed to take people into confidence. She became motor-mouth, over ambitious and thought of only her growth than the ministry she was allotted. Her father Gopinath Munde most popular leader in Maharashtra was called as a ‘Lokneta‘(People’s leader). In 2014, Modi waves were at peak and death of Gopinath turned to be sympathy voted for Pankaja. But in 2019, this was reality check, she went on humiliating her own cousin pressing all kind of charges but he dignifiedly handled the humiliation and made sure his win. When you fail to take right advantage of power, you would be dumped any moment by people, she was the Minister of Rural and Women, Child Development in the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet. She failed to become good politician and remained as ‘businesswoman’ in the Sugar Factory sector & Bank sector.

In June 2015, the opposition party Indian National Congress accused her of being involved in the Chikki scam, alleging that she had flouted norms by clearing the purchase without floating tenders. Munde rejected the accusations of corruption, arguing that a policy for an online tendering system was not in place when she commissioned the purchase. Helpless Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also defended her, stating that in April his government introduced the norm of inviting e-tenders, two months after Munde cleared the contracts. After a few days, Anti Corruption Bureau, Maharashtra gave a clean chit to Pankaja Munde in connection with the Rs 206 crore Chikki scam alleged by the opposition and said that the tender was given in compliance with the court’s rules, with no facts in this regard. She also got a huge reprieve, as the snacks supplied to schools were found unadulterated and fit for consumption by two government labs. Since Munde took ministry she was in news for one on the other reason. Initially, she was claiming for CM post but her that ambition was put in cold storage.

Meanwhile, taking action against Munde would mean losing Vanjari community vote and thereby spoiling BJP’s image. Even if she might have done corruption, BJP wouldn’t have to worry many abilities on given opportunities. Most people in Maharashtra know BJP also indulges in corruption but all they want is development at the same time. And the party in whole is capable enough of covering their lacuna by diverting real issues. Munde losing elections is a blessing in disguise of BJP and especially Devendra. So what is the better option losing face and being anti lower caste or hiding the scam while being talked about their corruption only in silence? The latter is better for them.

Munde’s selfies with dried-up lakes proved that she has not sensitised her to the gravity of the drought situation. She asserted that water meant for industries could continue to flow to the breweries because industries have their allocations. But what happens when people don’t get enough water to drink even during normal times? Munde’s excuse for her selfies is that she was taking photos to show how the drought has affected the region. In which case, as anyone with a smartphone knows, the camera must be aimed at the affected area – the subject of the photo – and not at the person shooting the photo with broad smile. The lady ought to know that her argument can be categorised as bunkum. The irony here was that she was the minister for water resources. The people were not in a mood to forgive and hence she lost. They forgive not just these VIPs but also the brazen stealing of water from right in their midst by others with political clout. Tolerance, verging on a fatal acceptance of their situation, is at the heart of it all – something the politicos exploit to their advantage. They know India would never have its Arab Spring. After initial assessments of the scarcity conditions, lawmakers need not visit villages and talukas. All they need to do is ensure that solutions are quickly found and implemented. If the state was really focused on solving the problem, today BJP could have retained some rural seats. BJP MLA Subhash Deshmukh and local legislator Amit Deshmukh, son of late Vilasrao Deshmukh were provided with lot of water but commoners had no water to drink. Yet, the BJP government had stayed silent on catching culprits. Pankaja Munde could have used such situation by solacing people towards creating political goodwill. She had well amount of her father’s supporters. Today Pankaja not failed herself but failed her father and most importantly the voters who once trusted her the most.

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

Minor girl raped by Private jeep driver at Palghar

Web Team

October 25, 2019

The Palghar police have registered a case against the driver of a private jeep for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at Mokhada town in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.

According to police, the incident took place on October 19, when the victim, who is a resident of Kurudpada, was travelling in a private jeep, commonly used by locals in the area.

Police said, instead of stopping the vehicle at Kurudpada, the accused, Dileep Bhore allegedly dropped the other passengers in the vehicle first, and then stopped the jeep at an isolated road.The accused then allegedly forced the minor girl out of the vehicle took her to a field nearby and raped her. The victim was traumatized by the act

On Thursday, the victim filed a complaint at the police station.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) has been registered against the alleged accused. Public Relations Officer (PRO) Hemant Katkar said, that no arrest has been made so far.

Shall Indian policymakers at all learn anything from Bangladesh and Nepal?

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

October 25, 2019

According to the latest edition of the “South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De) Centralization Work”, Bangladesh’s economy would grow at a faster pace than India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives and Afghanistan, and the country has already emerged as the second fastest-growing economies in South Asia, meaning, Indian Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s economic policies are gradually failing as he and his party cronies are more inclined into political tamasha [political caricature] than successfully doing something in recovering Indian economy from the faster pace of decline which is combined with the deepening of the unemployment crisis.

Amongst the South Asian country, Pakistan being a terror-patron nation, which has been mostly ruled either by military junta or Islamists, really has a slim chance of becoming a prime choice of foreign investors, as no one actually would put their money into the land of Islamist and jihadist thugs. In my personal opinion, Pakistan’s economy will continue to decline until the nation comes to the realization of adopting a secularist approach by sending their jihadist, Islamist and Sharia mindset into the morgue.

But of course, the current condition of India’s economy and jobs market is a matter of grave frustration, especially because of its size of the population as well as geographic vastness. Policymakers in Delhi may sooner or later feel challenges posed by those economically disadvantageous states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Northeastern states, etc., where poverty and unemployment are reaching an alarming level. If this cannot be stopped now, India may ultimately witness independence movements in those economically struggled states. Especially the situation will be even vulnerable with the case of Tamil Nadu, where radical Islam and jihadism have been expanding its wings very fast. According to my personal understanding being an expert on counter-militancy, within the next 10-15 years, Tamil Nadu will ultimately declare separation from India and proclaim as another Islamist state – much worse than Pakistan.

As I have mentioned in the first paragraph, Bangladesh and Nepal are estimated to grow much faster than India in 2019, while the pace will continue to get faster in the coming years. According to the World Bank, the overall growth in South Asia would slow down in 2019 in line with the global downward trend. But this is not going to happen in the case of Bangladesh and Nepal.

Growth in South Asia is projected to fall to 5.9 percent in 2019, down 1.1 per cent points from April 2019 estimates, casting uncertainty about a rebound in the short term.

In India, domestic demand has slipped, with private consumption growing 3.1 per cent in the last quarter from 7.3 per cent a year ago, while manufacturing growth plummeted to below 1 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 compared to over 10 per cent a year ago.

Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region said, “Declining industrial production and imports, as well as tensions in the financial markets reveal a sharp economic slowdown in South Asia.”

He said, “As global and domestic uncertainties cloud the region’s economic outlook, South Asian countries should pursue stimulating economic policies to boost private consumption and beef up investments”.

In Bangladesh, the real GDP growth is estimated at 8.1 per cent in 2019, up from 7.9 per cent in 2018, and the country’s growth is projected at 7.2 per cent in 2020 and 7.3 per cent in 2021.

The garment industry of Bangladesh has benefitted immensely from the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China.

Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia Region said, “In general, what we see in high-frequency data is that Bangladesh is doing better than the rest of the region, especially India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. We see that in industrial production, we see that in exports”.

In contrary, India’s economic growth is projected to fall to 6.0 per cent this fiscal year. Growth is then expected to gradually recover to 6.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2021 and to 7.2 per cent in the following year. Meaning, Indian economy will ultimately lag behind Bangladesh for sure and it will also lag behind Nepal.

China behind Bangladesh and Nepal’s prosperity?

For past few years, Nepal has already deepened its relations with China, which has helped this land-blocked nation to witness such tremendous economic growth. It is well anticipated that relations between Kathmandu and Beijing will continue to grow further in the coming years. One of the key factors of Nepal’s inclination towards China is because of India’s decade-old hostility and hegemonic tendencies. A similar reason is applicable to the growing relations between Bangladesh and China. Under the magnanimous statesmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has not only been succeeding in combating terrorism and militancy, but it also has been successful in continuing its economic boom. Sheikh Hasina has put special emphasis on improving the country’s infrastructure and connectivity and by joining Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), within the next ten years Bangladesh will have connectivity with African and European nations, which ultimately will help in further boosting its export market.

In my personal opinion, while we certainly should put emphasis on maintaining friendly relations with India, it is equally essential for us to put importance on our relations with China as Beijing has already been proved as the most dependable and trusted economic partner of Dhaka.

A comparison between Indian and Chinese economy

Indians have a wrong perception thinking they are economically and militarily mightier than China. While the World Bank has already provided specific data showing India lagging behind Bangladesh and Nepal, it is rather foolishness to compare an economically struggled India with an economic giant like China. Let’s get some facts. According to the Fortune 500 list, 129 Chinese companies are amongst the top companies in the list, which is followed by 121 companies from the United States. Back in 1999, China had just 8 companies on this list.

Amongst the financial institutions, The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) occupies the top position, which is followed by China Construction Bank Corporation, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China. There isn’t any of the Indian financial institutions in the top-10 list. Meaning, India has nothing to boast of being “a strong economy”.

India in fact, is struggling to hold its position as a developing nation although the ground reality says, it actually is an under-developed poor country.

And to compare the military might of China and India would be simply foolish.

Shall Indian policymakers come to sense?

In my opinion, there is no possibility of either India getting rid of the culture of filthy politics nor the politicians learning any lesson seeing the speedy growth of the neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal. At the same time, since 2014 in particular, India has been witnessing the rise of radical Hindutva, where religious hatred, fanatism, extremism and even Hinduist Kurush [jihad] forces. Members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its political and ideological cohorts are increasingly becoming active in transforming India into the epicenter of religious extremism.

Under such a situation, it is difficult for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull the lever of religious extremism, which he had actively encouraged and promoted for past many years. Instead, Prime Minister Modi will push ahead his agenda of transforming a secularist India into the land of radical Hinduists madness, which may ultimately pave the path to a volatile and unexpected consequence.

(Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a multi-award-winning journalist and editor of Blitz.)

Diwali: A festival that unites all communities

Vinod Dixit

October 25, 2019

Diwali, the festival of lights, is a time of celebration and a time for reflection. It also coincides with the heart-warming practice of exchanging sweetmeats with neighbours, friends and extended family. This kind act is to strengthen bonds with neighbours, friends and relatives. It brings the community together. It also inculcates in participants the sense of joy associated with giving. And by doing it in times of joy, such as Diwali, it strengthens our inclination to give others in times of need. It brings together people of all religion to enjoy the celebration.

Diwali is not just about illuminating houses and paths. Persons must ignite the divine light within and let its radiate outward, so that it touches all those we come across.

Diwali is celebrated for many reasons; but the most commonly known reason is to celebrate the day Sri Rama, Sitaji, and Lakshman returned from their exile of 14 years in the forest – symbolizing a win of goodness over evil. By Hindu calendar, it also marks the start of the New Year calendar. In fact, Diwali is considered so auspicious that it is celebrated with families and friends over five days. The Sanskrit word “Deepavali” means “an array of lights” and signifies the victory of brightness over darkness. It means a row of lights and indeed illumination forms its main attraction.

Dhanteras festival has got its name from two words ‘Dhan’ meaning wealth and ‘Teras’ that means thirteenth. The auspicious occasion of Dhanteras holds an important place in business community of India and celebrated with utmost divinity and enthusiasm. Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, luxury, beauty, fertility, and auspiciousness holds the promise of material fulfillment and contentment. In many households, gold and money is worshipped with reverence; new account books are opened in business houses for the new fiscal year and old ones wound up. Many Hindus would have already cleaned their place of abode which according to tradition welcomes the goddess of wealth which is also associated with the festival.

Historically, the origin of Diwali can be traced back to ancient India, when it was probably an important harvest festival. The excitement and celebratory spirit that Diwali brings is unmatchable. Celebrating Diwali with friends and family has its own charm. Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains in India and around the world, is dedicated to the triumph of goodness over evil and knowledge over ignorance. It honours the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, and the legend of Rama and Sita. Festivities include decorating houses and public spaces with thousands of lights, candles and colourful designs. Fireworks, family gathering and gift giving also form part of the celebrations. The Hindu festival signify the victory of good over evil. During this tenure, thousands of years ago Hindus saw return of Lord Rama back in the princely state of Ayodhya after crushing Ravana in Sri Lankan area. The battle was iconic, mammoth and involved good forces of heavenly bodies, supernatural spirits and blessings of mother goddess – Durga over powerful demonic forces of Ravana and his associates.

The growing ethnic and cultural diversity of Hindu religion throughout the world provides the opportunity to participate in the celebrations and rituals of Diwali festival that enhances the feelings of being part of a close-knit group of Indians. Most Diwali celebrations around the world focus on family and friends and it is a time to reflect on the past and envision for a future, perhaps, in a world where people live together in harmony.

Outside India also, as Diwali approaches, people clean their home to escape bad luck in the upcoming year and families gather for a feast and stay up late, celebrating with the help of crackers and sweets. They believe that the Hindu goddess of good luck visits homes that are brightly lit. Children make “diyas” which are small clay lamps to light and bring the good luck goddess to their home so they can receive new clothes and toys.

The Hindu festival signifies the victory of good over evil. During this tenure, thousands of years ago Hindu’s saw return of Lord Rama back in the princely state of Ayodhya after crushing Ravana in Sri Lankan area. The battle was iconic, mammoth and involved good forces of heavenly bodies, supernatural spirits and blessings of mother goddess – Durga over powerful demonic forces of Ravana and his associates.

Let us enjoy our life and always remember “Life comes once only. No retake/replay/rewind/once more. One should enjoy it. Be happy and keep others happy too.”

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

1...942943944...5,590 Page 943 of 5,590