Letters to the Editor: 14 October, 2019

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October 14, 2019

It’s time to show respect to our pets and stray animals

We celebrated World Animal Day on October 4. I am sure some of us may not even be aware of this day. It is a reminder for us to treat our pets, and even stray animals with respect. But that’s not the case. If we look around on our highways, and even internal roads, all these are infested with stray cattle and dogs. That’s no way to show respect to these animals. It’s like we have disowned them. Animals enrich ourselves in ways we don’t even know.

Jubel D’Cruz

Take step to prevent suicides

It is high time the global community take serious of suicides and find immediate steps and execute actions so as to save precious lives which otherwise sadly are self destroyed. In India too the number of suicide cases are more than those happening due to accidents. It is also alarming to note that according to a survey in India, suicide was the leading cause of death among teens and those in their 20s and 30s. Suicides are committed irrespective of age and gender and the main factors that lead to such shocking self destroying tendencies is not only mental illness or depression but also due to personal, economical and social issues which if spotted, dealt and handled carefully and diligently would save so many lives The government should take necessary steps so as NGOs, mental health organisations and institutions are given necessary support so as to at least make individuals in distress get convinced that they can open up and get immediate advice and help. This definitely to an extent can win the trust of individuals and prevent many from committing suicides. Educational institutions and welfare organisations can also do a vital role in this matter.

M Pradyu

Old wine in new bottle

Sena Manifesto is nothing new and it is once again old wine in new bottle. In fact after the authorities hacked over 2000 trees at the Aarey Milk Colony Metro car shed site, Sena Chief was vehement about catching the murderers of the trees. But in the manifesto there is no mention about Aarey and it was surprising. By promising Re 1 medical facility and ten rupee meals, the government exchequer will face finance crunch in the future. It is a matter of convenience for political parties to change their statement according to situation and the people are not going to be benefited with these false promises much.

Nikhil Maniam

Stop mockery of poll process

It refers to data that a vast majority of 86-per cent candidates in 2019-elections to Lok Sabha lost security-deposits. Most of security-losing candidates know themselves even before filing nominations that they would be losing security. Many of such candidates are either vote-splitters or file nominations in hope of getting money from rival candidates to withdraw names in favour. Such mockery of poll-process must be stopped by making it one of the measures for much-needed and most awaited massive and consolidated poll-reform. Also all those getting votes less than NOTA should be disqualified for life to contest any election. Such a provision may pave way for an ideal two-party system which is essential for healthy democratic system.

A sitting MLA, MLC or MP must resign first from earlier seat before filing nomination for other. An MP may automatically lose membership of Parliament on taking oath as minister in a state. Likewise any state-legislator may lose membership on taking oath as minister at the centre. Legislators in states and centres may be disqualified for contesting elections for life in case of mid-term resignation from the legislative body. State-legislators and Parliamentarians must not be allowed to hold membership of civic bodies in tune with one-person one-post norm. Likewise elected representatives must not be allowed to hold party-posts simultaneously.

Madhu Agrawal

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

No child in pre-school should be made to take written or oral test: NCERT

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Web Team

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October 14, 2019

NCERT, Pre-school, Oral test, test, child, student, school test — Image Courtesy: Economic Times

No child in pre-school should be made to give any written or oral exam, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has said, terming it as a harmful and undesirable practice resulting from misguided parental aspiration.

According to the Council which is the HRD Ministry’s curriculum developing body, the purpose of evaluation at the pre-school stage is not to label a child as “pass” or “fail”.

“On no account, should children be made to take any form of test or examination either oral or written. The purpose of evaluation at the pre-school stage is not to label a child as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’,” a senior NCERT official said.

“Currently we have in the country, pre-school programmes ranging from those that put children to a dull and monotonous routine to those where children are exposed to structured formal learning, often in English, made to do tests and homework, and denied their right to play. These are undesirable further and harmful practice that results from misguided parental aspiration,” the official added.

The NCERT has listed do’s and dont’s on how assessment should be carried out and reported in pre-schools as part of its “guidelines for pre-school education”.

“Each child’s progress needs to be assessed on a continuous basis using different tools and techniques such as anecdotal records, checklists, portfolios and interactions with other children.

“The teacher should make brief written notes based on observations of children – how and where children spend time, their social relationships, use of language, modes of interaction, information about health and nutrition habits.

“Each child’s folder should be available for parents and children to view and should remain with the preschool until such time as a child’s transition to another preschool programme or in the primary school. All parents should receive a written and verbal progress summary report of their child at least twice a year,” the guidelines read.

The guidelines have also defined parameters for infrastructure, qualifications and salary for preschool staff, admission process and records and registers to be maintained, monitoring and supervision mechanism and importance of coordination and convergence with community and parents.

Will Supreme Court consider equal distribution of assets of husband and wife

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 14, 2019

Adv. Pratibha Bangera (Advocate and legal Expert in Divorce and Family law) stresses need for having guidelines for maintenance with our Editor-in-chief Dr Vaidehi Taman.

What does the statue say about maintenance in family matters?

Maintenance is a right of a married dependent spouse who does not have his or her own independent source of income. While the husband can ask for maintenance under any of the applicable law, it is also the duty of the husband to maintain his wife and children. Especially if the wife does not have an independent source of income.

What if the wife is a working woman is she still entitled to get maintenance?

A working woman is also entitled to get maintenance especially if she is taking care of the marital household and the children born from the marriage.

What is the biggest hurdle in maintenance cases these days?

There are no fixed Supreme Court guidelines on computation of income. While it is easy to establish a salaried person’s income and also attach property of husband’s assets if he owns it, the business man may manipulate his income and asset and show losses and this is the most challenging issue these days. Most importantly it is done to force the wife to agree for divorce in bargain. Till date there is no criterion or yardstick on how such amounts should be calculated uniformly all over the country. The disparity of income classes in the country has further made it difficult while deciding cases. While the very poor and affluent are standing before the same judge, decisions are made upon circumstances of the case and not the actual income capacity of the spouse or his capacity to pay.

Does duration of marriage make any difference to the amount granted by court?

Not really. If the husband has a source of income which can be proven (shown by husband) the wife may still win a good maintenance. The husband however can Appeal against any unjust order and ask for stay of such order and also ask for reduction of such amount granted.

What is interim maintenance amount granted by court?

The court takes into account duration of marriage, children born from such marriage, grounds on which the application for maintenance was filed, income of husband and similar factors and then passes decision. However there is acute need for such guidelines because lot of wives and mothers are waiting due to lack of court intervention even after order of maintenance is passed and are forced to apply for “distress warrant” to force the husband to pay by making him criminally liable to pay on time. Further the husbands may pay part of the amount of arrears and seek extension of time to pay the balance amount as most of the time such amounts are payable from date of filing of application. Since there are no strict guidelines to determine these amounts, or safeguard interest of the wife or even interest of the husband who may be innocent in some cases the need for guidelines is highest now,

Does the Indian woman feel victimized due to this?

The Supreme Court is likely to frame guidelines to establish “real income” as per “lifestyle and “standard of living” or “capacity” of the husband to pay. However there are no directions to lower court so far. A Reference Application to High court by any aggrieved wife may be required to be made to seek directions from Higher court or Supreme Court to give directions to lower court instead of taking matters for Appeal. These are matters which should be decided on highest priority.

How do husbands misuse and abuse process of law?

It is common practice to delay making payment on time or deny essentials such as rent or grocery or household essentials or also school fees in some cases. There are many such pending cases especially having a disturbing effect on the wife thereby driving her to such a point that she comes forth to settle matter as per conditions set by husband or agrees to settle for lesser amounts and agree to divorce.

Do women also misuse and abuse the legal system by making false claims? There have been classic cases where women have married and immediately filed repeated domestic violence cases with sole intention of extracting “alimony amount”. Even husband and family are sometimes scared and ashamed of such allegations and promptly pay off money to buy their peace of mind and give in to pressure tactics.

What about men who hide their income and refuse to pay the wife and children?

There is a likelihood that in future there may be mandatory guidelines to make it compulsory that all properties held by husband or wife may be considered as “marital property” and equally distributed among wife and children like it happens in several progressive countries. However this issue cannot resolve if the family in joint business in the affluent classes hide their real income and alienate the assets in jointly owned business. Supreme Court will have to consider this aspect because all businessmen communities in India operate in an entirely controlling fashion to deny supporting the “wife of their son”.

Real Estate in mess, Lodha group in trouble

By

Suraj Chandran

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October 13, 2019

Due to rising debt and falling sales, Macrotech Developers, formerly Lodha Group has laid off around 400 employees. The debt of the firm has crossed Rs 25,600 crore. However, the country’s largest realty firm said it had laid off employees after conducting their performance reviews. The retrenchments at the company promoted by Mumbai BJP chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha comes at a time when the economic growth has slumped to low of 6 per cent which has led many to fear if the spectre of job losses across sectors awaits next.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Mangesh Ambekar a broker from Smart Makaan he said, “Slowdown has not affected the real estate industry much. Actual buyers are coming to buy property. They derive benefit from the government sponsored housing projects.”

The Lodha group company was downgraded with a negative outlook by two global ratings agencies in August, Moody’s Investors and Service and Fitch Ratings on concerns of liquidity and falling sales. According to a recent ratings issued by India Ratings, a division of Fitch the gross debt of Macrotech rose 13 per cent to Rs 25,640 in FY 19.

Jayprakash Poojari broker from Square Properties said, “Slowdown has affected the real estate industry as sales have declined. Work has stalled. Builders have increased rates of properties and there is lack of buyers in the market. Situation will improve depending upon the policies framed by the government.”

With more than 37 under-construction projects across India and acquisitions on foreign shores as well, Macrotech employs over 3,700 people across India. In Mumbai also seen as country’s high rise capital the group has undertaken several projects in the luxury housing segment including World One Tower in Lower Parel. According to the group’s website it has so far constructed 54.77 million square feet of buildable area across various consumption segments.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants said, “The returns on investments in residential real estate have dropped from two or even three-digit values to low single-digit or, in many locations, even negative returns over the last few years. This naturally keeps investors at bay – and investors need to be in the driver’s seat for the market to revive. The ROI from housing currently clocks in at a meagre 2-3% even in the most favourable markets across Indian cities.”

“The company, across its projects gives direct and indirect employment to nearly 50,000 persons. These lay-off are a part of our annual performance appraisals,” a spokesperson said.

The impacted jobs include mid-to-junior level employees of the company and also contractual resources, sources said.

These mid-to-junior level employees and contract workers, including engineers, architects and sales people, were working at various projects, said the source.

The president of Association of Property Professionals, a forum of brokers, Ashwin Jain said lay-offs have become common in the realty space. He added there was an expectation that after the elections, things would get back to normalcy, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Lodha currently has nearly 42 under-construction residential projects, including The World Towers and Lodha Park, comprising several high rises in central Mumbai, as well as affordable housing project like the Palava City.

According to rating agency ICRA, central Mumbai alone has unsold inventory worth Rs 45,000 crore as of end June. In volume terms, the micro-market accounts for 32 per cent of the total unsold units in the megapolis.

Due to the prevalent market conditions, its second attempt to hit the capital market with Rs 4,500-crore IPO was deferred once again.

Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part II

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 13, 2019

The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2006 sets the legal age of marriage for women at 18 and for men at 21. The Adolescence Education Programme, which integrates life skills and HIV prevention into the school curriculum, has been adopted nationally, but as of 2011, seven states (Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) have refused or banned its implementation, citing cultural reasons. India’s abortion law is relatively progressive, permitting abortion for socioeconomic reasons; to protect a woman’s life or mental or physical health; in cases of rape, incest or foetal impairment; or if the pregnancy resulted from contraceptive method failure. A substantial minority of women are married before the legal age of 18. The higher legal age of marriage for men represents codified gender inequality that reinforces disparities in education and professional opportunities. Efforts to increase awareness of the law and its penalties, as well as legal support for young women can help to address this issue. The high level of unmet need for contraception among young married women indicates the importance of improving access to affordable, youth-friendly services so that young women are able to effectively plan their births and thus their lives. Given that fewer than half of secondary-school–aged women go to school, family life education programmes should begin in primary school and be made available outside of schools. These programmes should address topics that include stigma toward non-marital sexual activity, gender inequality and gender-based violence. State-level implementation of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services has been uneven. Evidence suggests that in many states, fears about privacy and judgemental provider attitudes prevent young people from seeking out the services they need.

Planned Parenthood is by far the nation’s largest abortion provider. Over the holidays, they conveniently and quietly published their annual report for 2016-2017. Last year, Planned Parenthood published their annual report months late – in May! An analysis of the 2016-2017 reports along with Planned Parenthood’s previous reports shows that Planned Parenthood is responsible for the deaths of over 7.6 million human babies. We know the Planned Parenthood number is likely low, in fact, pro-life journalists with the Media Research Center estimated in 2016 that Planned Parenthood had killed upwards of 7.5 million babies.

In the 2016-2017 fiscal year detailed in the report, Planned Parenthood performed 321,384 abortions. Last annual report (2015-2016), Planned Parenthood performed 328,348 abortions. The year before that (2014-2015) Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions.

Despite record income, non-abortion services are in decline, clients are abandoning them in droves, and dozens of facilities have closed. Meanwhile, abortions are holding steady at over 320,000 a year. Yet this report barely scratches the surface of the abortion giant’s troubles as it faces federal investigation for its role in the grotesque harvest and sale of aborted babies’ body parts for profit. Enough is enough. Community health centres vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide and offer comprehensive primary and preventative care for women and families. It is fortunate that we are seeing a decrease in abortions performed, but there is still much work to be done. According to its annual report, Planned Parenthood provided just 3,889 adoption referrals while performing 321,848 abortions. That’s nearly 83 abortions for every adoption referral. Planned Parenthood’s prenatal services decreased from 9,419 last year to 7,762 this year. For every prenatal service given, Planned Parenthood performed 41 abortions. Like past reports, this one also tried to sell the misleading idea that abortions make up only 3% of the services provided by the abortion corporation.

If you look at China, they are eating babies. On the menu of some exclusive Chinese restaurants is an item that goes by the name of Spare Rib Soup. Very expensive, it is usually served only in the back rooms to known customers, who are willing to pay to premium for this delicacy. So what is Spare Rib Soup?

Spare Rib Soup…. is actually a human soup, made from the bodies of aborted babies. The Chinese—at least some Chinese—as a rejuvenating potion, regards it. A kind of fountain of youth that will fix sagging wrinkles, grow back missing hair, and generally put a spring back in your step. There are several videos on youtube Planned Parenthood uses Partial-Birth Abortions to sell Baby Parts. They are very horrifying. People have stopped so low that they are eating babies.

There are several organisations that are harvesting and selling parts and pieces from aborted babies. There are many videos that explain importance of not crushing the organs so they “can get it all intact” will stay with you a long time.

Federal law prohibits the commercial trafficking of fetal tissue for profit and carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Also Read: Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part I

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

Decline of Indian National Congress in Maharashtra

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

Once again a curious election, littered with many dominating political parties, is going to take place in Maharashtra after few days. It is exciting that Maharashtra is going to witness a direct battle between two heavy-weights coalitions. The BJP and Shiv Sena are stretching on one corner, while the Congress and NCP are warming up on the other corner for a tough bout.

In this battle once again Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra’s tallest leader for nearly 50 years, is fighting hard to give his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) a new twist. This fight will be cut-throat for the Indian National Congress (INC) as the party is in declining position in the state–Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has a love-hate relationship with the Congress party that has seen many rise and fall post the state was formed in 1960. Indeed if there is one state that perhaps best demonstrates the decline of the Congress and the rise of the BJP, it is Maharashtra. Maharashtra is a state where a non-Congress opposition has never won a majority on its own.

The Congress party enjoyed a nearly unchallenged dominance of the state political landscape, until 1995 when the coalition of Shiv Sena and the BJP secured an overwhelming majority in the state, beginning a period of coalition governments. Shiv Sena was the larger party in coalition. From 1995 until 2014, the NCP and INC formed one coalition while Shiv Sena and the BJP formed another for three successive elections which were dominated by INC-NCP alliance.

But after Congress emerged as grand party in the state from a new low in the post-Babri period when a communally charged atmosphere eroded traditional vote banks, once again it was wiped out in the metropolis by the Modi wave in 2014.

There may be many factors for Congress decline in Maharashtra during its journey from the largest party of the state towards shrinking to the small one. It is true that politics has left its original sense particularly in last decade as religious polarization has been legitimised in today’s politics. So the Congress has a big challenge in this aspect to stand strong in this tough battle.

The disputes between Sharad Pawar and the INC president Sonia Gandhi also gave the party a big jolt as the state’s political status was upset when Pawar defected from INC which was perceived as the vehicle of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

The other factor is that social churning among non-Maratha OBC groups found more space within the BJP and Shiv Sena as the BJP put together an alliance of upper castes, the other backward class (OBC) and to some extent the Dalit to fight the Maratha-led Congress and NCP. One of the major factors particularly in 2019 assembly elections is Maratha leadership deserting the Congress for the BJP.

In the wake of this declining condition, it would not be a cup of tea for Congress to win the assembly elections of Maharashtra as it used to be in earlier a decade ago. Rather it would be a very tough fighting with its all opponent mainly with BJP which is the largest political party in the modern history of India.

So the Congress, before jumping into arena, has to recover its lost honour in the state realising the factors that pushed the party aside in the battlefield. It has to overcome all the causes and factors of its decline to contest the elections otherwise the end result is obvious that the BJP is rapidly dominating the entire country.

By Faheem Usmani Qasmi

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

Letters to the Editor: 13 October, 2019

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

Mariam Thresia is India’s ninth Catholic saint

With the canonisation of Sister Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan as a saint on October 13, 2019, India now has nine saints of her own. They are — St. Gonsalo Garcia, St. Francis Xavier, St. Alphonsa, St. John de Britto, St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal, St. Joseph Vaz, St. Mother Teresa and St. Mariam Thresia.

St. Mariam Thresia is Kerala’s fourth Catholic saint. The first three are St. Alphonsa, St.Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal. October 13 also happens to be the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima.

Jubel D’Cruz

Balance 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

Court-appointed arbitrators should be regulated

It is quite usual that retired judges of Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed arbitrators by courts, giving them much-much more income than they earn while their being judges in higher courts. There are reports that these arbitrators charge exorbitantly for each hearing. Even if all the concerned parties mutually agree for adjournment much before date of hearing, arbitrators insist on sending representation for adjournment on fixed date of hearing so that they may forcibly charge for a hearing held just for seeking adjournment. It has also been reported that after completion of hearing, arbitrators withhold their arbitration-award even for years. Any party approaching for an early arbitration-award, has to pay additional cost for doing so.

If these practices are true, then it is injustice and inhumanity on part of those minting money after their retirement from judicial posts. Arbitrators must be regulated from such malpractices and tactics of minting money, if so. They must give time-bound verdict after completion of hearing. There must not be any fees payable in case adjournments. To avoid extra number of hearings just for sake of money, there should be some maximum limit on number of hearings, after which no fees for hearing may be there for arbitrators.

Complete details of arbitration-fees earned by an arbitrator case-wise in a year mentioning also number of hearings conducted in each case should be made public by putting all details on websites of courts having appointed them arbitrators. There must be some maximum reasonable amount fixed for an arbitrator for a particular case. Money earned by way of arbitration must not exceed what they earned before retirement.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

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

World Bank cuts India’s growth projection to 6% in 2019-20

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

After a broad-based deceleration in the initial quarters of this fiscal year, India’s growth rate is projected to fall to 6 per cent, the World Bank said on Sunday. In 2018-19, the growth rate of the country stood at 6.9 per cent.

However, the bank in its latest edition of the South Asia Economic Focus said the country was expected to gradually recover to 6.9 per cent in 2021 and 7.2 per cent in 2022 as it assumed that the monetary stance would remain accommodative, given benign price dynamics.

World Bank’s Chief Economist for South Asia Hans Timmer said, “It’s still a fast-growing economy. So even with the recent slowdown, it has growth numbers that are higher than in most countries of the world. It’s still a fast-growing economy with a lot of potential.”

The report, which has been released ahead of the annual meeting of the World Bank with the International Monetary Fund, noted India’s economic growth decelerated for the second consecutive year.

In 2018-19, it stood at 6.8 per cent, down from 7.2 per cent in the 2017-18 financial year.

While industrial output growth increased to 6.9 per cent due to a pick-up in manufacturing and construction activities, the growth in agriculture and the services sector moderated to 2.9 and 7.5 per cent, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2019-20, the economy experienced a significant and broad-based growth deceleration with a sharp decline in private consumption on the demand side and the weakening of growth in both industry and services on the supply side, the report said.

Reflecting on the below-trend economic momentum and persistently low food prices, the headline inflation averaged 3.4 per cent in 2018-19 and remained well below the RBI’s mid-range target of 4 per cent in the first half of 2019-2020. This allowed the RBI to ease monetary policy via a cumulative 135 basis point cut in the repo rate since January 2019 and shift the policy stance from neutral to accommodative, it said.

The World Bank report also noted that the current account deficit had widened to 2.1 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19 from 1.8 per cent a year before, mostly reflecting a deteriorating trade balance.

On the financing side, significant capital outflows in the first half of the current year were followed by a sharp reversal from October 2018 onwards and a build-up of international reserves to $411.9 billion at the end of the fiscal year.

Likewise, while the rupee initially lost ground against the $(12.1 per cent depreciation between March and October 2018), it appreciated by about seven per cent up to March 2019, the report said.

“The general government deficit is estimated to have widened by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19. This is despite the central government improving its balance by 0.2 percentage points over the previous year. The general government debt remained stable and sustainable – being largely domestic and long term-at around 67 per cent of GDP, the report said.

According to the World Bank, poverty has continued to decline, albeit possibly at a slower pace than earlier. Between 2011-12 and 2015-16, the poverty rate declined from 21.6 to 13.4 per cent (USD 1.90 PPP/day).

The report, however, said disruptions brought about by the introduction of the GST and demonetisation, combined with the stress in the rural economy and a high youth unemployment rate in urban areas may have heightened the risks for the poorest households.

The significant slowdown in the first quarter of the fiscal year and high frequency indicators, thereafter, suggested that the output growth would not exceed 6 per cent for the full fiscal year, the bank said.

The report said the consumption was likely to remain depressed due to slow growth in rural income, domestic demand (as reflected in a sharp drop in sales of automobiles) and credit from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

However, the investment would benefit from the recent cut in effective corporate tax rate for domestic companies in the medium term, but also will continue to reflect financial sector weaknesses, the report said.

“Growth is expected to gradually recover to 6.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 7.2 per cent in 2021-22 as the cycle bottoms-out, rural demand benefits from effects of income support schemes, investment responds to tax incentives and credit growth resumes. However, exports growth is expected to remain modest, as trade wars and slow global growth depresses external demand,” the report said.

The main policy challenge for India is to address the sources of softening private consumption and the structural factors behind weak investment, the bank said.

“This will require restoring the health of the financial sector through reforms of public sector banks’ governance and a gradual strengthening of the regulatory framework for NBFCs, while ensuring that solvent NBFCs retain access to adequate liquidity.

“It will also require efforts to contain fiscal slippages, as higher-than-expected public borrowings could put upward pressure on interest rates and potentially crowd-out the private sector, it said.

According to the bank, the main sources of risk included external shocks that result in tighter global financing conditions, and new NBFC defaults triggering a fresh round of financial sector stress.

To mitigate these risks, the authorities would need to ensure that there was adequate liquidity in the financial system while strengthening the regulatory framework for the NBFCs, the bank added.

Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part I

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 11, 2019

Planned Parenthood is curse across the globe; you can read volumes on Google about the same, this not only disturbs mind but it forces us in soul searching.

6,29,000 girls (aged 0–6 years) are estimated to be missing in India every year.

The majority of them are aborted; others are killed, abandoned or neglected to death just because they are girls. The roots of this problem lie in a strong patriarchal society that has translated into an obsessive preference for sons and acumen against girls. Chances of survival for a second born girl after a first daughter are less if the family is well educated and rich. These families live in urban areas where they have access to ultrasound scans and can afford the price for the abortion. Although prenatal sex-detection and sex-selective abortion is illegal, many clinics provide these services. These days money speaks more than anyone and anything. In poorer communities, where there aren’t many ultrasound clinics, daughters are instead abandoned or killed after being born, or lost through neglect. There are several incidences in India where girl is dumped in dustbin, or thrown out of car soon after the birth.

With the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, abortion in India became legal up to twenty weeks and under specific conditions such as medical risk to mother. Gender-based abortions have been illegal since 1994 with the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. But breaking rules and law is not new to us. As many as laws are made, the errant of laws are in multiple numbers. This is an analysis of the problem from the inside, a research of reasons and related factors to draw a picture of the foeticide and infanticide in India. There are an estimated 2-10 times as many illegal as legal terminations, and sepsis resulting from abortions performed by nonqualified practitioners is a major contributor to maternal mortality. Continued reliance on illegal abortion is believed to reflect fear of surgery and anesthesia, a lack of access to abortion clinics, and social and cultural factors, especially a lack of confidentiality and privacy.

Planned Parenthood has been relentless in its efforts to kill babies in India since 1936. India continues to be the second largest country in the world,19 per cent of India’s population is in the 15-24 age group and over half a billion are under 25 years of age. This translates into a perfect opportunity for Planned Parenthood to turn a profit by selling abortion — the flip side of which is to push for more population control. Planned Parenthood targets the poor and vulnerable with “no refusal” and “free abortion” promotions.

The Family Planning Association of India is the founding member of IPPF. Similar to the strategic placement of Planned Parenthood facilities in black and Hispanic neighbourhoods in the United States, FPAI’s facilities in India are mostly placed in slums and other parts of the city — conveniently to prey on poor, innocent, and often illiterate women and children. According to its annual report, the Family Planning Association of India committed 165,955 abortions in the country in 2016 and 145,522 abortions in 2015. The organisation uses tactics to draw in vulnerable, impoverished women and girls, such as a ‘No refusal policy’ — meaning that they will not refuse to commit an abortion for any reason — and certain months in which they actually offer ‘free abortion service.’ This opens the door for the abortion facility to exert greater influence in a woman’s life with more contraception and sex education.

Lobbying for liberalising abortion is another important part of FPAI’s mission in India. The agency influences members of Parliament, pushing for amendments to the country’s existing abortion laws to expand legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks and to allow non-medical practitioners to dispense the abortion pill.

According to a recent report published in the Lancet Medical Journal, almost 16 million abortions were committed in India in 2015. This, along with the push for hormonal contraception, massive abortion epidemic has increased the risk of breast cancer epidemic and other health crisis for which the country is totally unprepared.

Son preference is deeply rooted in Indian culture and manifests in various ways, including sex-selective practices before birth and inequitable access to educational, social and economic resources for girls. Fifty-five per cent of women aged 15–19 disagreed with five out of five reasons offered for why a husband would be justified in hitting his wife. Three-fifths (60%) agreed that a wife is justified in refusing sex for the following reasons: knowing her husband has had sex with other women, knowing he has an STI, or feeling tired or not in the mood.

Among married 15–19-year-olds, only 40% reported that they had sole say over their own health care or made such decisions jointly with their husband; for the remaining 60% of married young women, their health care is not in their control.

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

Is Mumbai safe for foreign women?

By

Rajesh Choudhary

-

October 11, 2019

A Maharashtra Police officer, who was supposed to help and protect innocent persons, has been found committing serious crimes like repeatedly raping a Russian woman, threatening and cheating her, and preparing fake Aadhaar and voter ID cards. The Russian woman has lodged a complaint with the Chembur Police in this regard. She also accused him of committing double murder in front of her and burying their dead bodies near Pune.

It is worth mentioning that the officer in question has been identified as police inspector Bhanudas alias Anil Jadhav. The incidents of rape happened in Mumbai while he was posted here. He was last posted with Pimpri-Chinchwad police station in Pune. Currently, he is under suspension for accepting bribe. Jadhav was suspended last month. He has been arrested by the State Anti Corruption Bureau. Only after this, Russian woman dared to approach police and lodge a complaint.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Jayprakash Bhosale, Senior PI, Chembur Police station he said, “FIR was registered against Anil Jadhav yesterday night. He was in a relationship with the woman since 2003. The woman has alleged that Anil has married her. An investigation is going on.”

As per reports, Nitin Satpute, advocate of the victim, said that the Russian woman had come to Mumbai to act in Bollywood. When her visa expired in 2004, she contacted Jadhav for first time and asked for help in extending her visa. Jadhav took her passport and other documents. Later on, he claimed that the documents were lost. But he helped her in staying in India and made a duplicate passport and Aadhaar card in her name.

Criminal lawyer Pankaj Purway said, “Section 465, section 467, section 468 will be applicable for committing forgery. Section 494 and 495 will be applicable for fake marriage. Section 376 and 376 (C) will be applicable for rape committed by policeman. Prevention of corruption act will be applicable against the cop for indulging in corruption.”

After this, Jadhav started threatening to get her arrested for making a fake passport. One day in 2008, he spiked her drinks and raped her for the first time at a hotel in Chembur area. Later on, he repeatedly raped her on false promise of marriage, Satpute added.

The advocate further stated that when she got pregnant, Jadhav forced her to abort. In 2013, the victim shifted to Kharghar in Navi Mumbai and gave birth to a baby boy. She has a five-year-old son from Jadhav.

Satpute also said that when the victim was looking for work in Bollywood, Jadhav allegedly told her that he knew some film producers and can help her. After entrapping, he blackmailed her. Nitin Satpute said that Jadhav killed her brother when he came to India to check on her and buried his body near Pune.

DCP Pranay Ashok, the spokesperson for Mumbai police, said that it is very complicated case. Many incidents took place between 2004 and 2019.

All claims of Russian woman should be verified. But the primary complaint is of rape.

38-year-old Russian woman alleged that her passport is in possession of Jadhav. She said that Jadhav abducted her and threatened her to implicate her for fake passport and Aadhaar card. He also threatened to kill her if she denied to fulfill his demand for sexual favours. She added that Jadhav also helped her in changing her identity with the help of forged documents so that she could stay in India without any passport. She demanded that a strict action should be taken against Jadhav.

According to Praja Foundation report, in Mumbai the rape cases registered have increased by 83 per cent and molestation cases have risen by 95 per cent between 2013 and 2018. Many foreign women have been raped in the city. But the case of Russian woman questions the law and order of Mumbai and indicates that it is not safe for foreign women.