Vol V, Issue XV
01-15 November, 2020 Pages 16, Price Rs. 5/Faridabad (NCR)
Vol-V, Issue-XV, Published for the period 1-15 November, 2020. Printed & Published by Virender for and on behalf of Karamvir Kamal (Owner) from 2569, Street No. 2, Jawahar Colony, N.I.T, Faridabad, Haryana and printed at Joy Printers, 3G-142, N.I.T. Faridabad-121001, Haryana. Editor Karamvir Kamal* (responsible for selection of news under PRB Act 1867), Sub Editor Bhoomika Mohan. RNI No. HARENG/2016/67803. Executive Office: 431, Saraswati Vihar, Gurugram-122004, Haryana. Contact +91 9212 46 0446, 9899 73 1532, Email: asianchronicleindia@gmail.com, WWW.THEASIANCHRONICLE.COM | WWW.THEASIANCHRONICLE.IN
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The Yogic way of eating
Nothing signifies the importance of diet in our life than the saying- ‘You are what you eat’. In all kinds of physical activities, the ‘core’ of the body is em-
The Dawn of Authori- IBC (amendment) tarianism: A Fake ordinance, 2020: the News Perspective effectiveness of Recently on the 16thof Septemfalling economy’s ber, the Home Ministry was hielaman asked questions about the
NGT Bans Use And Sale Of Firecrackers In NCR
Why Indian women experience the pressure to get married You’ve probably rejected your mother's pleas a million times when it comes to ‘looking for
"Try and topple my government if you have the courage" Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
Political/ nation
Manikya Dheeren
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a blistering attack on the BJP, questioning the Hindutva of “clanging bells and utensils”, and daring the Modi regime to topple his government. “Since the day I became the CM, I have been hearing different dates on the toppling of my government. So far it hasn’t happened… if you have the courage… then go ahead and do it,” said Thackeray who heads a Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance in the state. He will complete a year in office on November 28. Thackeray was addressing the party’s annual Dussehra rally from the Veer Savarkar auditorium in Shivaji Park with limited attendance. The rally was shifted indoors keeping the Covid safety protocol in mind. Launching a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, during his speech at his first Dussehra rally after becoming the chief minister, advised his ally-turned-foe to protect their government as the mood of the people was turning against the Centre and that people would accept any alternative to the BJP. At the event held at Savarkar Memorial in Shivaji Park, Thackeray took on the BJP on several issues ranging from Hindutva, governance, Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, political mudslinging and personal attacks on his family and the Shiv Sena. A total of 50 people, including Thackeray family members, party ministers, leaders, MPs, legislators were present. “If your foundation stone has weakened, you have no culture, thoughts… nothing, then such a government will not last long. I again challenge you to topple our government, but
first protect your government. Because one day, people will look beyond you and say anybody will be fine, but not you. This thought has already started,” Thackeray said. “World over, the economy is disrupted and during such a time, if the BJP is interested in toppling governments instead of paying attention to the country’s economy, then I think, we are inviting anarchy…” Thackeray slammed the BJP for questioning the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva. He said his father Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva was not “clanging bells and utensils”. Thackeray’s sharp comment came after a standoff with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who questioned the chief minister’s stance on ‘Hindutva’ after he did not allow the reopening of religious places in the state. Thackeray quoted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s speech on
Sunday (1st Nov) morning in Nagpur and in an indirect reference to Koshyari said that the RSS chief’s followers do not understand the meaning of Hindutva. “Those who wear black caps on their head agree with what the Bhagwat has said about Hindutva in his speech or not… RSS chief said there are people who are creating doubts on Hindu, Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra. Who are these people? Do you know? Where do they live? ‘Hindutva this term has been made narrow by associating it with pooja’. Why don’t you reopen the temples? Have you abandoned Hindutva, become secular… Our Hindutva is not narrow, it is comprehensive,” he said. Thackeray quoted from Mohan Bhagwat’s Dussehra speech in which the RSS Sar Sanghchalak said praying in temples or performing poojas should not be equated with Hindutva. “All those writing letters to me
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should pay heed to Bhagwat first,” he said in a not-so-oblique reference to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s recent letter in which he questioned the Sena’s commitment to Hindutva while demanding that places of worship be reopened. Thackeray also slammed the BJP over its free vaccine promise to the people of Bihar if it retained power. “You are talking about giving free vaccines in Bihar. Is the rest of the country a part of Pakistan or Bangladesh?” Thackeray asked. Referring to the Sushant Singh Rajput case, Thackeray said that those “crying for justice for Bihar’s son” are “indulging in character assassination of Maharashtra’s son, (Aaditya Thackeray) and the Mumbai police.” “A lot of mudslinging was on the government, on our family and even on Aaditya. However, since we were clean we didn’t have to worry, but those indulging in these tricks stink of the cow’s urine,” said Thackeray. The CM said the Modi government hasn’t helped the state financially despite several natural disasters since June, and has also not paid Rs 38,000 crore worth of GST dues to the state. He urged CMs of all states to sink party differences and exert pressure on the Centre to undertake a comprehensive review of GST. Thackeray also asked if BJP has turned secular by allying with Nitish Kumar or has the latter turned pro-Hindutva. “We expected that Uddhav Thackeray would speak about his government’s performance in the last one year, but he spent his entire speech criticizing the central government and the BJP. He does not have anything to narrate even before his party workers,” said Keshav Upadhye, chief spokesperson, Maharashtra BJP, said in a series of tweets.
Schools are reopening but parents apprehensive of sending their children
TAC News: As the state government finally gave its nod to the reopening of the schools from November 1 for students of Classes X and XII, several parent bodies expressed unhappiness at the decision.The parent bodies have said that in times of a pandemic, online education was the best option while
adding that schools could have called some students to clear their doubts occasionally. “The government has also made it clear that schools won’t be held responsible if a student is tested Covid-19 positive. The schools are also not ready to take this responsibility. In such a situation, how can we send our kids
to schools,” asked a local who did not wish to be named. Parents have said that the government order does not specify if online classes will continue after reopening of schools or not. Notably, the schools had demanded the government to allow them to discontinue online classes within one week of reopening saying that they don’t have enough staff to run both online and offline classes.Parents cite transportation issues, fear of children gathering in groups and the spread of the coronavirus, as some of the reasons. “The COVID-19 cases have slightly come down in the district, but they have not yet come under control. So it is better to continue with the online classes for two more months. It may not be possible for the children to stay all the time with masks and not forming groups to discuss something,” said N. Ramesh, a parent from the city. A fresh survey by community
platform LocalCircles shows that at least 71% of the parents are not ready to send children to schools. And only 20% parents are willing to send them to school, drop of three percentage points from a month ago as fear of a covid infection grows. Since the Covid has wreaked havoc across the globe, parents are totally flummoxed about sending their wards to school despite the decline in ongoing cases. Undoubtedly, they want complete safety of their children and taking even a single risk may cost dear. Thus, there is no better solution than to let the homeschooling go on but in such a way that the monotonous online classes do not get under their skin. The infection is spreading so fast in the country that it took only 20 days for the number of infected to increase from 1 million to 2 million and as per the WHO guidelines, children fall in the high-risk category.Children if infected can be carriers of the virus and spread it to
other members of the family with grandparents being the most vulnerable as many families in India have a joint family structure. To majority of the parents, while it is important that children don't fall behind on their education, it is critical that their health doesn't take a hit, especially at a time when the long-term impact of COVID-19 is still unknown. The schools will open for students of two classes on November 2 as November 1 is a Sunday. It is worth mentioning here that the government order comes after several meetings were held between government officials, school managements, parent bodies, and other stakeholders. A senior official from the Education Department said that reopening of schools depends on the COVID19 situation in the State. However, the government would release proper standard operating procedure (SOP)
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
nation
Satellites to detect drug cultivation in Odisha
3
Odisha space agency moots use of artificial intelligence to detect cannabis cultivation
Nishica Choudhary
government is now planning to use high-resolution satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to auto detect the massive cannabis plantation for destruction. Cannabis means the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) as well as charas, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish. On average, 1,500 hemp plants can be
With illegal cannabis cultivation continuing to flourish in remote areas of the State, the Odisha Space Application Centre (OSAC) has proposed to help law enforcement agencies detect the activity using remote sensing and artificial intelligence technologies. Even as cannabis seizure in Odisha touches a record high with police alone seizing more than 1,100 quintal this year, the state
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grown in an acre. Upon harvesting, each hemp plant produces at least 500 gm of ganja. Locally, the ganja is sold at about 2,000 per kg. Odisha is one of the leading cannabis producing states in India. Now flush with success of rising seizures, Odisha is planning to use remote-sensing technology, machine-learning algorithm and artificial intelligence to destroy large swathes of cannabis plantations in Malkangiri, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kandhamal, Boudh, Rayagada, Gajapati, Angul and Nayagarh districts. Though more than four crore hemp plants, whose value is estimated at approximately Rs 34,000 crore, have been destroyed in the past five years, the plantation is still widespread in those districts. “Considering the increasing availability of both spatial and temporal resolution satellite images and advanced algorithms for image processing and spatial modeling, the system will be able to produce reliable geographic information for law enforcement agencies and public policy planning authorities to monitor the illegal plantation of cannabis,� OSAC said. Officers mentioned use of highresolution satellite tv for pc imageries at common intervals and
Considering the increasing availability of both spatial and temporal resolution satellite images and advanced algorithms for image processing and spatial modeling, the system will be able to produce reliable geographic information for law enforcement agencies and public policy planning authorities to monitor the illegal plantation of cannabis: OSAC
machine studying algorithms would auto detect the hashish plantation and assist elevate alerts for the authorities by way of a cellular software. The satellite tv for pc information would assist the authorities view the map of the entire state and administrative boundaries, marked with unlawful plantation websites. Aside from utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery, the federal government can also be planning to begin a citizen reporting module by which folks can take the pictures and movies of any unlawful plantation and report by way of the app. Odisha Police on Tuesday said it would further intensify action against drug trafficking and accel-
erate drive against brown sugar and ganja based on the satellite mapping data shared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The DGP said that action against drug trafficking remains among the top priorities of the Odisha government and the state police is determined to combat drug trafficking. The DGP said the state police for the last couple of years have been using ISROs data shared by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to launch a crackdown on illegal cultivation of ganja and poppy. The satellite mapping of Poppy cultivation has been stabilised in the last 10 years for which we are able to get accurate information. As the ganja (dry cannabis) mapping is a recent one, it will take some more time to get pinpoint data. On the inter-state ganja smuggling, the DGP said Odisha police has taken up the matter with the DGPs of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Cannabis is widely grown in forested regions of Malkangiri, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kandhamal, Boudh, Rayagada, Gajapati, Angul and Nayagarh districts. As many as 1,822 persons have been arrested and close to 50,000 kg of ganja seized in the past five years.
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issue
4
IBC (amendment) ordinance, 2020: the effectiveness of falling economy’s hielaman Abhishek Tripathi The pandemic has hit almost every sector of almost every country, from health to economy, everything shattered for a while. The loans that people took turned into bad debts, new businesses ran into losses. The GDP has over served the largest downfall. The government have taken several initiatives for safeguarding the interests of its citizens in the best possible way. The laws are adapted in the best suitable manner to deal with the situations and handle them carefully. The major change also occurred in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 which led to suspension and addition of various sections in the act. The aim was to look after the problems of the corporate debtors and keep a pause to the insolvency resolution process. The aftermath of making such changes will be noticed in the future.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016: A Positive Step
The introduction of IBC, 2016 was a replacement of the various laws used at the same time for dealing with the issues related to insolvency. Before the enforcement of this act, the other acts such as Companies Act, 2013, DRT Act, 2013 etc. these acts used to handle the situations according to the provisions mentioned under them. There was a codified law for dealing with the problems of insolvency in the country. The enforcement of IBC, 2016 had many benefits for the creditors and debtors. It aims at solving the problems of insolvency in the country through a single legislature. It repealed the Presidential Towns Insolvency Act, 1909 and Provincial Insolvency Act, 2020. Along with this, many amendments were brought to the other existing acts. In this way, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act, 2016 bought a single way to deal with the problems related to liquidation and insolvency of the corporates. The frauds of the corporate were also increasing and the act also deals with resolving such problems. This was the much-awaited insolvency liquidation procedure by the creditors. It became a more convenient way for the companies to complete their liquidation process and the recovery of loans by the creditors.
IBC Amendment Ordinance 2020: A gist
The main motive of the IBC was to reserve the rights of the creditors and to get away with the difficulties. The act formulated the provisions to look after the debtors, creditors and the problems between them. The problem of insolvency is neverending and this is the need for the act. However, every act needs an amendment which is done through judgements or according to the prevailing situations. The IBC Amendment Ordinance of 2020 was also put further to resolve the problems amidst pandemic. The sudden lockdown bought losses to almost every businessman and the stress between creditors and debtors increased. India faced a sudden lockdown in March and after that, it extended till a long period which has its effects till date. The Amendment Ordinance was promulgated in June 2020 which aimed at the suspension of some provisions over a while. The Sections were Section 7, 9 and 10 of IBC, 2016. Section 7 of the IBC, 2016 states that when there is fault on the part
of a debtor, either the creditor or the debtor himself can initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process regarding such corporate debtor. Section 9 of the act mentions the process of initiating a corporate insolvency resolution process against a debtor when he fails to make the payment within 10 days or the said date. It mentions the process and the other conditions regarding this. Section 10 also complies for the initiating the corporate insolvency process by an applicant by adjudicating authority. Along with the suspension of the sections, two new subsections were inserted through amendment ordinance. Section 10(a) and Section 66(3) are the two inserted sections. Section 10(a) states that notwithstanding anything in Section 7, 9 and 10 of the Act that no corporate insolvency resolution filing can be done for default arising on or after March 25, 2020. This will be applicable for six months or more, not extending more than a year, as may be notified on this behalf. Also, Section 66(3) states that no proceeding can be initiated as per Section 66(2) due to the suspension of Sections as mentioned in Section 10(a).
Ordinance vis-à-vis Pandemic
The suspension of the above-mentioned sections was the aim of the Amendment ordinance of 2020. The suspension of these sections means no initiation of the corporate insolvency process by any creditor or debtor for a specific duration. The reason for the same is to safeguard the interests of the people amidst pandemic keeping in mind the losses suffered by all. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) vide order dated 30-03-2020 in Suo Motu – Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 01 of 2020 held following and passed two orders which are as follows: One of the orders is that the timeline would not be counted amidst the pandemic for the completion of processes concerning corporate insolvency processes. Another order is that any order passed by the Appellate Tribunal Authority given under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 must be under stay till the order of next hearing. The order passed by the court paved away and hereby the changes were done.
The pandemic has affected the major firms by decreasing the need for their products and consumers. This has led to losses by unsold products and their damage. Also, the problem does not end here. It has disrupted the input and output system too. Due to this, many companies have the threat of being insolvent permanently. To take the debtors out of this problem and to have a bit lenient system for dealing with the situation, it was important to have an amendment in IBC, 2020. The amendment bought is much helpful in safeguarding the interests of the companies and debtors that are already in the loss. The main aim is to prohibit the initiation of the corporate insolvency process against the debtors. Section 10(a) also mentions that this is applicable for the defaults arising on or after March 25, 2020. This is because the whole country saw a massive lockdown after which people were stuck wherever they were. In this condition, it became almost impossible for the corporate debtors to repay the loans they took because no one was aware of the outbreak of the pandemic. The amendment also follows that a proceeding cannot be initiated against a debtor or a corporate that has been trading and carrying out business by fraud. This means that a person who has been indulged in fraud can carry it on if the default arises after March 25, 2020. This will lead to an increase in fraud in the market that too during a pandemic. The aftermath of the ordinance can be felt as the India Ratings and Research agency states that the nonworking assets that might be generated due to the lockdown from 500 major corporate will be approx. Rs. 67000 Crore. This will take outstanding loans in India up to more 18- 20%, which is not less. This is only a small example and a small factual representation of what is going to happen in the country. This will lead to the irrecoverable losses that will cause disadvantage to the corporate with no-fault.
Introduction of IBC (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020
The criticisms that the ordinance faced were not less in number and had loopholes that could lead to a downfall in the economy in a worse form. The introduction of the Second Amendment Bill in September
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
5 came with the clarifications. There was a lot of confusion in regards to Section 10(a) of the ordinance which was about to create a mess. In regards to this, the second Amendment provides for further explanation in the amended section. Section 10(a) of the Amendment Ordinance of 2020 provided for the prohibition of the initiation of the corporate insolvency proceedings. However, the Second Amendment Bill provides for an explanation to it. It explains that this section shall not apply to any default that arose before March 25, 2020. Though the bill was introduced for answering the questions related to the ordinance, the answers remain a myth. Section 66(3) which was introduced in the ordinance also remains in the bill. The main reason to bring this bill was to have changes in section 10(a). This bill hereby mentions the Ordinance as repealed and the acts that were initiated according to the ordinance will be
Government working to make India an automobile manufacturing hub in next 5 years: Nitin Gadkari
Rhythima Agrawal Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highway, said that the government is working towards making India a global automobile manufacturing hub in the next five years. The government is already making policies to support the industry, he added. Addressing the virtual 'Electric Mobility Conference 2020', organized by the FICCI Karnataka State Council, Gadkari said, "The future is very bright and India has the potential to become the largest Electric Vehicle (EV) market in the world as the government continues to push for EV adoption". He further added that Indian manufacturers could make efficient EVs that can not only create more jobs but also provide opportunities for exports. "E-Mobility is going to be the future mode of transport with greater efficiency and less impact on the environment. Import of crude oil and air pollution are two major concerns for the country. We need to have an integrated approach for EV," he added. While responding to a suggestion by Dr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited to put EVs under Priority Sector Lending, Gadkari assured of extending all necessary support. "I would suggest FICCI draft a note that I can propose to the Finance Ministry. I assure of my support in trying to get the same sanctioned," said Gadkari. He further urged FICCI and other stakeholders to come up with an integrated approach towards developing the EV sector in India. Referring to the NITI Aayog report, Gadkari said that India needs a minimum of 10 Giga Watt (GWs) per hour of cells by 2022, which will be expanded to 50 GWs by 2025. "We need to encourage the manufacturing of these cells in India. I urge the industry to think about manufacturing e-batteries in the country. We need to have a policy that promotes cost-effectiveness, and is import substitute, pollutionfree and indigenous," he emphasized.
issue
said to have taken place in respect to the new bill.
Removal of errors
After considering all the facts and issues, it is clear that the present code is creating problems rather than giving solutions. The best way to escape this is to bring some of the necessary changes in the code and to let the things function in a normal way. The changes that can be implemented are:
mThe sections that are creating confusion can be amended in a way to clarify to the people. Referring to Section 10(a), the “defaults” mentioned are creating confusions regarding the insolvency. mThe dates mentioned in the sections should be clarified to achieve the goal and to have a better idea of the condition of the corporate. mProper checking is needed to assure that
people are not committing fraud by taking the illegal support of the ordinance or the Second Amendment Bill. (The checking here means the losses that the companies have suffered or if the debtors are not in a condition to pay back the amount.) The government for achieving its aim should have bought changes in Section 240A of the code. This would have given support to the MSMEs and further have guided them in a good manner. The measures that were temporarily adopted might show permanent distress in the nation due to some of the small mistakes. This is important to make the changes that are needed to safeguard the rights. Conclusion The aim of providing rescue to debts in the times of pandemic has given rise to chances of having more debts in future. The downfall in the economy and the decreased rates of jobs are the signs of the problems that the cor-
porate sector is facing. Such consequences have given birth to an unwanted crisis concerning the lending of money. From the first ordinance to the Second Amendment Bill, the changes that have been brought to the act have created a series of miscommunication and confusion. The debtors and creditors have been led to the myth in which nothing is clear to them concerning the insolvency that has occurred. The corporate debtors that are leading business by fraud have been given unnecessary relaxations. The expectations from the ordinances have not been fulfilled and will come out as one of the bad decisions for the falling economy and the unwanted decrease in sales in the corporate sector. Abhishek Tripathi is a law Student at Lloyd Law College, Delhi NCR.
Schedule gone out of control, Delhi may soon be ‘coronavirus capital’: HC
Maithillee Zaveri
The Delhi High Court scrutinized the metropolis government stating that it has gone “completely out of control” over its dealing with the Covid – 19 epidemic & that Delhi was on it’s way to become the “corona metropolis of the state” as the third oscillation of contaminations in the metropolis continued to create a tocsin. While new diseases in the metropolis have been rising at a precipitous percentage, another stressing trend has transpired as demises & hospitalizations have started expeditiously climbing as well. Pursuant to Thursday’s report 66 individuals lost their lives due to the viral disease – the highest single - day demises in above four months. Delhi last transcribed 66 demises on June 27, a time when treatment conventions for Covid – 19 were still being evaluated. “ Delhi government has gone completely out of control on the widespread & is soon aiming to be-
come the corona metropolisof the nation much obliged to the number of cases rising up. Many declarations were made by the Delhi government that they are best selling in testing, but the number of cases has risen up. The government has innumerable answers to provide us,” a magistrate of equities Hima Kohli & Subramonium Prasad stated on Thursday. Several barometers now fortify the fact that Delhi is within the clutch of its third & worst oscillation of diseases yet. In the previous
week, there were 5,843 cases on median each day, the highest this number has been since the primary case was transcribed on March 2. Delhi now has 416,653 total diseases & 6,769 demises. The high court’s remark came amid a hearing on an assembly of supplications associating to the payment of compensations to the workers & ex – workers of the diverse municipal bodies. It is believed that Delhi government has taken the wellbeing of inhabitants for a toss, a situation which would be managed independently on November 11 when the magistrate hears an appeal by advocate Rakesh Malhotra, who had looked for increasing the tests in the metropolis. Most of the new cases of Covid – 19 are being declared from six regions – North, Central, North East, East, North West & South East – where the firmly rate stands between 12% & 14% stated Union Health serve Dr Harsh Vardhan after an evaluation of the circum-
stance in Delhi. This time around, the cases are being declared from middle remuneration districts. These are individuals who stayed at residences & remained in quarantine amid the lockdown,” stated Dr Puneet Mishra, lecturer of community pharmaceutical at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Delhi’s median seven – day positivity rate right now stands at 11.5%, as in opposition to the national median of 4.3%. Rigorous care unit beds are running out in metropolis hospitals, especially those at personal health centres. Above 73.5% of all the ICU beds reserved for the treatment of Covid – 19 in the metropolis were engaged as on Thursday evening, pursuant to the ‘ Delhi Corona’ app. CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday stated the government is working on expanding oxygen & ICU beds, & has extended to the Supreme Court to secure ICU beds in private wellbeing centres.
Loan moratorium: RBI urges Supreme Court to lift interim order banning declaration of NPAs
Ann Mary Philip
The RBI Thursday 5th Nov urged the Supreme Court to lift its interim order, which held that accounts not declared as non-performing assets till August 31 this year are not to be declared NPAs till further orders, saying it is “facing difficulty” due to the directive. In a relief to stressed borrowers who are facing hardships due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the apex court had passed the interim order on September 3. The counsel appearing for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told this to a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan which was hearing a batch of pleas relating to charging of interest on interest by banks on EMIs, which were not paid by the borrowers who availed of the loan moratorium scheme in view of the pandemic. “We are facing difficulty due to order banning declaring of NPAs,” senior advocate V Giri, told the bench while requesting it to lift the interim order. The RBI and the Finance Ministry have already filed separate additional affidavits in the top court saying that the banks, financial and non-banking financial institutions will credit into the accounts of eligible borrowers by November
5, the difference between compound and simple interest collected on loans of up to Rs 2 crore during the moratorium scheme period. Senior advocate Rajiv Dutta, appearing for one of the petitioners, told the bench that they are grateful to the Centre and the RBI for hand-holding small borrowers and said that his plea be disposed of.The counsel appearing for the Centre said that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who has to argue in the matter, was on his legs before a special bench of the apex court in another case. The bench said that it would take up the matter for hearing on November 18. The pleas pertained to charging of interest on interest by banks on EMIs which have not been paid by borrowers after availing the loan mora-
toriumscheme of RBI during March 1 to August 31. Earlier, the RBI had filed the affidavit saying that it has asked all banks, financial and nonbanking financial institutions to take "necessary actions" to credit into the accounts of eligible borrowers the difference between compound and simple interest collected on loans of up to Rs 2 crore during the moratorium scheme. The government had said that the ministry has issued a scheme as per which lending institutions would credit this amount in the accounts of borrowers for the six-month loan moratorium period which was announced following the COVID-19 pandemic situation. On October 14, the apex court had observed that the Centre should implement "as soon as possible" the interest waiver on loans of up to Rs 2 crore under the RBI's moratorium scheme and had said that the common man's Diwali is in the government's hands. The RBI had on March 27 issued the circular which allowed lending institutions to grant a moratorium on payment of instalments of term loans falling due between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, due to the pandemic. Later, the moratorium was extended till August 31 this year.
nation Villagers display daughters name on nameplates Rhythima Agrawal
Villagers in Uttarakhand are being encouraged to display daughters name on the nameplates of their house to raise awareness about the right of a girl child. Pauri district administration in Uttarakhand has launched an initiative named 'Ghar ki pehchan, nooni ku noo' (house in the name of a daughter). The Pauri district administration has launched the initiative to raise awareness about the rights of a girl child. Under this programme, villagers are being encouraged to put their daughter's names on the nameplates of their home. So far, around 100 families have already put up such nameplates. The officials said that another 50 families of Mathana village would also put their daughters' name on the nameplates of their house. "The role of women in the hill economy is extremely important. Such initiatives will not only motivate women but also encourage their men folk to undergo behavioral and societal changes." said, Ashish Bhattgain, Chief Development Officer of Pauri. Expressing satisfaction on the initiative, villagers said that in the hills, women play a vital role from feeding cattle to nurturing the family and taking care of the household chores. Bipin Chandra, a resident of a Mali village, said, "I have one daughter, Kashish, who is three-and-half-years old. Every time she sees her name on the door, she gets excited and says that she would add a "Dr" before her name when she grows up". The Pauri district administration is bearing the expense of adding the daughters' name with her male family members. Through this initiative, the administration is identifying blocks in villages where there is less awareness about the rights of a girl child. "Over 70 families in Budeshu village of Khirsu block, and another 45 in Malli village of Pauri district have come out in support of the initiative", said, Jeetendra Kumar, district probation officer. He further added that the villagers have understood that the nameplate is an identity given to a daughter. The villagers also hope that their daughters would get the same respect after marriage. The child sex ratio of the district declined from 930 in Census 2001 to 904 in Census 2011. Under the Centre's ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme, various schemes are being launched in Uttarakhand to raise awareness about the rights of a girl child amongst villagers. The state's overall child sex ratio stands at 963 in Census 2011, slightly better than 962 in 2010.
for adv 9212 460446
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
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NGT Bans Use And Sale Of Firecrackers In The NCR Region Till End November
Shubh Mathur
Owing to the rising cases of Covid, the National Green Tribunal, on Monday, imposed a total ban on the bursting of firecrackers in the NCR which will be effective from 9th November till midnight of 30th November. On November 6, Arvind Kejriwal had announced the ban on firecrackers in Delhi. The CM said, “Coronavirus cases have increased due to the festival season and pollution. It was decided to ban crackers in Delhi and ramp up medical infrastructure, among other measures.” The bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, NGT chairperson, clarified that the latest order will apply to all the cities in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November last year fell in the ‘poor’ and categories below it. “The cities/towns where air quality is ‘moderate’ or below, only
green crackers be sold, and the timings for use and bursting of crackers be restricted to two hours during festivals like Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas Eve etc., as specified by the state concerned. The NGT has also directed all states and Union territories to initiate special drives to curb air pollution in view of the potential worsening of Covid-19. Later, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also banned bursting of firecrackers in the city. However, the use of soundless crackers like “phooljhadi” and “anar” would be allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm on the eve of Diwali. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed that the air quality index in Delhi was recorder 469, indicating “severe” category of Air quality index. The AQI in the neighbouring cities of Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurugram also reached past 460.
What are Green Crackers?
Developed by CSIR (Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), green crackers are eco-friendly crackers that have reduced or absence of commonly used pollutants like aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate and carbon. They have potency to bring down the emissions by15 to 30% Any reading above 100 on a scale of 500 is progressive harmful for health, according to the agency’s readings. Every year, Delhi’s air quality worsens in October and November, primarily, due to burning of stubble in neighbouring states and firecrackers during the festive season are likely to aggravate the problem. Following the suit, state governments of Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Rajasthan have issued similar ban orders. Although the firecracker ban will be a boon for the environment, it can jeopardize the livelihood prospects of 8 lakh workers. “This year, we are estimating a
loss of close to Rs 800 crore. The two-month lockdown and decline in the number of orders have hurt us badly,” said Ganesan Panjurajan, director of Sony Fireworks, who is also the president of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA), the representative body of firecracker firms.
On November 4, the tribunal had issued notices to 18 states and UTs to ban the use of firecrackers in the season of Diwali.
First phase of Malabar exercise begins in Bay of Bengal Pratyasha Mohanty: The first phase of the 24th edition of the Malabar exercise among the navies of India, the US, Japan and Australia Kicked off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal today dated 3rd Nov 2020, in a reflection of growing congruence in strategic interests of the four nations.The first segment of the exercise started from Nov 3 to 6 while the second phase of the drill is scheduled to be held from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian sea. The exercise demonstrates highlevels of synergy and coordination between the navies of these four countries, officials familiar with the development said.Showcasing the countries’ resolve to support an open Indo-Pacific region, the exercise focuses on increasing the four countries’ cooperation in the area that has been witnessing increasing Chinese military aggression. Last month, India announced that Australia will be part of the Malabar exercise which effectively made it a drill by all four member nations of the Quad. The exercise is taking place at a time India and China are locked in a nearly six-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties. Japan, Australia and the US are also having friction with China in the last few months over a variety of issues. Phase-1 of Malabar 20 witnessed the participation of Indian Navy units with USN Ship USS John S McCain (Guided-missile destroyer), RAN Ship HMAS Bal-
larat (long range frigate) with integral MH-60 helicopter, and JMSDF Ship JS Onami (Destroyer) with integral SH-60 helicopter.Indian Navy’s participation was led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, and had destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, Off-Shore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj as participants. In addition, the Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters had also participated in the exercise. US Navy ship USS John S McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, Australian Navy's long-range frigate HMAS Ballarat with integral MH-60 helicopter and Japan Maritime Self Defence Force's JS
Onami, a destroyer, were among key platforms those were part of the first phase of the Malabar exercise, the officials said. According to the Ministry of Defence, the exercise is being conducted as a non-contact, at sea only in view of COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise will showcase the high-levels ofcoordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order. The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. Japan became a permanent member of the exercise in 2015. The annual exercise was conducted off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea in 2018 and off the coast of Japan in
2019. Australia last participated in such a drill in 2007. For the last few years, Australia has been showing keen interest in participating in the exercise.Defence and security ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years.In June, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support during an online summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. After the invitation to the drill, Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds CSC said the Malabar exercise marked a "milestone opportunity" for the Australian defence force and that it will showcase the "deep trust" between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work together on common security interests. The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China's increasing military muscle-flexing has become a major talking point among the leading global powers. The US has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China's growing assertiveness.
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
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issue
The Dawn of Authoritarianism: A Fake News Perspective Khushboo Agrawal
Recently on the 16thof September, the Home Ministry was asked questions about the steps taken to protect migrant labourers during lockdown in relation to the mass exodus of approximately 10 million migrant labourers soon after the announcement of lockdown by PM Modi. In his reply, the Minister of State of Home, stated that the government had taken necessary measures to protect the labourers and the panic was caused only due to the spread of “misinformation” regarding shortage of amenities which lead the labourers to scatter to their homes. The response of the government was a mere attempt to brush aside its under-preparedness in announcing the lockdown by labelling “misinformation” as the cause of the exodus. This is evident from the fact that the reply grossly misrepresents the ground realities of the lockdown. The fear of basic amenities did not arise from misinformation, reports of labourers surviving on salt and water surfaced by the second week of lockdown. It was only after a month and a half into the lockdown that the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package providing meals to migrant labourers was launched, by which time a majority of the migrant population had already migrated back to their villages. The government used the label of fake news to avoid taking any responsibility for its inadequate measures of protection and delayed response to the problems of the labourers. This “spreading fake news” charge is being used as a routine justification by authoritarian governments all over the world now in order to dismiss their responsibilities and silence any critiques of their government. Donald Trump has taken the credit of popularising this phrase of “spreading fake news” and has on multiple occasions slammed media organisations like CNN and the Times for publishing “fake news”, which in his definition is credible news which goes against his views. His authoritarian strategy of shutting down
any negative criticism towards him or his government for being “fake” is well known and has been taken up by various oppressive rulers around the world. World over, governments have been seen using the label of fake news to further their authoritarian interests in two ways. As shown in the beginning, one way is brushing aside the responsibility and accountability for their acts and the other way is through digital authoritarianism. Bashar al-Assad, the infamous President of Syria has been known for the worst human rights violations in modern history. Amnesty International published a report stating that the Syrian government is responsible for the oppressive killing of atleast 13,000 people in military prisons just between 2011 and 2015. Assad refuted the report as being “fake” and successfully evaded any responsibility or public accountability for the crimes committed by his government. Similarly, the Myanmar state government which has been accused of “ethnic cleansing” and assault over its Rohingya population has borrowed the label of fake news in order to deny even the existence of Rohingya communities in their country. When governments discredit reliable information, it creates an environment of confusion where
citizens no longer know which information to rely on or which news to believe in. People start questioning even objective reporting as false or politically motivated. This confusion obstructs the formation of strong opinions which is then ultimately reflected in people awarding these world leaders with continued positions of power in the subsequent elections. This way, a political party or government looking to discredit opposite view does not need to ban their speech to control opinion formation. Instead, what is required is an allegation of misleading information which makes it difficult for the ordinary citizens to keep an account of what is actually happening. One other way in which the fake news is being used as a tool by governments is digital authoritarianism. The control of what can be posted on digital media and social networking sites is dictated by the government policies which are deeply biased towards allowing publication of content favouring their own view. The long-serving president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Edrogan used the pandemic as an opportunity to take down opinions of dissent and opposition by cracking down the social media outlets and platforms used by opposing groups. Many countries like Vietnam and Singapore have enacted
very strict laws to “curb” fake news which give total control to the government to decide what information remains on social media and which posts need to be taken down. Through one of the longest internet shutdowns in any democracy, the Indian government has also successfully curbed dissent and committed gross violations of civil as well as political freedoms of its citizens in Kashmir. The repeal of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would have naturally sparked controversies and resulted in social media being flooded with opposition to the government’s unlawful authoritarian act. As a result, the repeal of special status was accompanied by a total internet ban. The purpose of this internet shutdown was stated to be an attempt “to curb misuse of data for circulation of provocative content or reduce rumours in terms of fake news”. But the real reason of the imposition of the shutdown was to carry out the authoritarian act of repealing a constitutional provision without giving any voice to the dissenters or the opposition in the region. With the voice of dissent supressed, the public in the rest of the country is only allowed access to information which represents the government’s version of the reality. Ultimately the media outlets with views different than that of the government shut out. The surviving media outlets only feed the readers information which matches their existing views. The readers are seldom challenged with information that opposes their views and when they are, the dubiousness regarding their reliability overshadows the importance of the information. This solidifies people’s existing views. As a result, when the leaders accuse others of spreading false news it is met with few reactions of opposition from journalists and activists. In today’s world it has been widely claimed that “social media should bear some blame for descent of the world into neo-fascism”. Ten years ago, this claim would have seemed absurd. This is because a decade ago, social media was widely regarded as a democratizing force due to the role played
by it in overthrowing oppressive governments during the Arab spring. A decade later, we are back at chasing the tail of the dinosaur with governments using social media for their authoritarian purposes. In this background, how can such usage of social media be reversed again to be used to strengthen democracies is a question that attains importance. With the government itself occupying the seat of the culprit, it is certain that no policies are to be issued for this cause. With any help from the government left out of question, a huge responsibility rests with the opposition and the civil society. The opposition parties need to understand these trends whereby the governments in power use the fake news label to further their authoritarian purposes. The working of this digital underworld needs to be extensively analysed and understood. The old ways of opposition would not work in this new age of digital media and new modes can be developed only with the understand of the digital underworld. With the informed opposition calling out the government for their authoritarian acts, the common citizenry would consequently be informed about the tactics employed by the governments. The role of the civil society in combatting this menace is also of utmost importance. A culture of informational literacy needs to be inculcated in the citizenry. There is a need for contested narratives to be identified and disputed facts to be checked in order to form a strong public opinion. The velocity and virality which form the forces behind social media today need to be replaced with verification and validation. The colleges and schools being the informational temples for the youth in the country can also play a role by training the higherclass students in inculcating the habits of contesting and questioning narratives rather than blindly following them in their everyday life. This will lead to formation of an informed citizenry, the backbone of any democracy, and help check the rise of authoritarian powers.
Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat wins third straight MMA title at ONE Championship
Mumbai: Former Indian wrestler and now a Mixed Martial Arts star, Ritu Phogat won her third consecutive MMA championship title in Singapore. 26-year-old Phogat defeated Cambodia's Nou Srey Pov with a technical knockout win in the second round. The match was part of ONE Championship’s ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX event that featured four exciting World Championship contests, broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Indian wrestling champion, also known as “The Indian Tigress”, put up an impressive victory over Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov by winning by a technical knockout after the referee stopped the contest two minutes and two
seconds into round two. Phogat dominated the first round, landing multiple takedowns
while doing damage on the ground in a dominant position. Phogat landed a pair of solid right hands before taking Nou down to the ground again in the second round, where she finished in top position with strikes. Commenting on her stellar performance, Ritu Phogat said, "It feels ecstatic to have a hat-trick in my MMA career with this win. Moreover, the hardships and challenges that I faced during to the pandemic have indeed paid off. I feel euphoric to be taking India to a new height in the MMA space and I cannot be more proud. I am grateful to my family, friends and fans back home who have rooted for me unwaveringly and have been ex-
tremely optimistic about my performance today. Lastly, I would also want to thank my coach who has played a significant role in my journey and whose strategies I have sworn by to defeat Cambodian champion Nou Srey Pov. I now look forward to the Grand Prix where I aim to own the world championship title." Talking about her performance, Cambodia’s Nou Srey Pov said, "I regret that I could not complete three rounds as per my plan. Ritu is too tough and much faster than me. I feel sorry for my Cambodian fans that I couldn't deliver a victory for them. However, I promise that I'll come back stronger than before."
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
lifestyle
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The Yogic way of eating medicinal properties and are considered Rajasika foods. mRely on local produce and ditch the expensive exotic food items. There has been an increasing craze to consume Quinoa, but it should be remembered that Rajagra(Amarnath) eaten on fortnightly fasts is an apt substitute. This way we not only feed our health but also our farmers.
Shubh Mathur
Nothing signifies the importance of diet in our life than the saying‘You are what you eat’. In all kinds of physical activities, the ‘core’ of the body is emphasized because it forms the central region from where the entire energy resides and gets distributed. We are living in an era when a plethora of diets- Keto diet, paleo diet, Lowcarb diet, Mediterranean diets flood the market only to confuse the weight watchers. Yoga has always been about simplicity and balance, and it is in these times that we require more than ever before. Thus, here is the Yoga’s take on eating that will blunt the edges of prejudice, assumptions and misinterpretation.
How much to eat?
The vital role of food
Taittirya Upanishad says, ‘You are born from food, subsists because of it and pass away into it (matter).’ It is important to note that Ayurveda and Yoga have different aims. Ayurveda is about health, freedom from diseases and longevity. Yoga upholds spiritual ascent as its highest endeavour and prohibits eating of flesh as it is against the fundamental principle of ahimsa (non-violence). According to Babeeta Chhabra, mentor at Sri Sri Ravishankar’s ‘The Art of Living’, “Yoga of Eating spans beyond just eating when
you are hungry for sustenance, but hinges upon the codes of ethics that govern a healthy, balanced mind, body and spirit. For me, it is simply an act of love, and in love, we cannot help but nourish the Self.” She adds that food has an intricate connection with the yogic concepts of Asteya (non-stealing) and Aparigraha (non-greediness). Eating junk food, non-vegetarian food or hoarding food is akin to
‘stealing’ one’s health from the body. mIn Yogic texts, the stomach is roughly divided into 4 sections- 2 are to be filled with food, one with liquid (buttermilk, or soup) and the last has to be kept empty. mSattivika foods- fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole local grains, cereals (unprocessed),
pulses and lentils should form the staples. Cow’s milk and its products are recommended, especially desi ghee. mShun the refined sugar and opt for natural unrefined sugars- jaggery, Stevia or molasses. While consuming honey, its authenticity has to be confirmed. mSpices such as turmeric, coriander, cumin and ajwain, cardamom and pepper are essential in small quantities. Onion and garlic have
freely moving about and mixing and mingling with fellow people.
Privacy is not surrendered in public
What to eat?
Right to Privacy
Claim Your Space With Pride
Right to life and personal liberty has been deeply ensconced in the constitution which has been widely interpreted by the Indian courts. Enshrined in Article 21, right to life, is fundamental to the dignity of an individual which includes all those aspects that make our lives more meaningful, complete and worth living.
Right to live with Human
Dignity
In Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India, the Supreme Court gave an entirely novel dimension to Right to life, stating that it is not just a physical right but includes in its ambit right to live with human dignity, and covers basic necessities like shelter, nutrition and clothing. It grants the citizens to freely express themselves through writing,
In a recent and hotly debated case of Justice K.S. Puttuswamy (Retd.) vs. Union of India and Other, the Supreme Court held privacy to be a fundamental right under the constitution of India. According to the court, privacy should exist at both levels- normative and descriptive. At a descriptive level, privacy refers to entitlements and interests which lie at the foundation of ordered liberty. At the normative level, privacy serves as the value upon which the guarantees of life, liberty and freedom are founded.
What Privacy includes-
mPreservation of personal intimacies, marriage and procreation and sexual orientation. mSafeguards against individual autonomy and the ability to decide on vital aspects of one’s life. mRecognition of pluralism of culture and protection of heterogeneity.
The Supreme Court added that by being in public place individual need not surrender his privacy, although the legitimate expectation of privacy may vary from intimate to private and to public.
Data Protection
The apex court also stated that in the information age, data privacy is in jeopardy. Hence, to ensure data protection, a robust regime has to be created keeping in mind legitimate concerns of the state as well as the user.
Right to die with dignity
Earlier the right to life under article 21 did not include the right to die. But later in Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug vs. Union of India, the Supreme Court permitted the use of passive euthanasia under exceptional medical circumstances. The court noted that the right to life and liberty guaranteed under article 21 is meaningless unless it encompasses within its
Yogi and mystic Sadhguru shares his two cents on this question and says- “You shouldn’t keep eating through the day. If you are below thirty years of age, three meals a day will fit well into your life. If you are over thirty, it is best to reduce it to two meals a day. Our body and brain work at their best only when the stomach is empty.” Science has found that when the stomach is empty, a hormone called Ghrelin is produced which stimulates and increases the performance of Hippocampus, the region in the brain that is responsible for analytical thinking, spatial analysis, memory and keeping us alert, agile and active. It does not imply that we do not eat, but that we should eat consciously. Yoga helps us understand the spiritual dimension of food. Food that we eat must be Shiva samprityam (that which can be offered to and pleasing to god).
sphere individual dignity. The major difference between active and passive euthanasia is that in active euthanasia something is injected to end the life of the individual concerned while in passive euthanasia nothing is done which could have saved the concerned man’s life.
Homosexuality: No more a crime
In 2018, the apex court quashed a British-era Section 377 which made gay sex a punishable offence. It heralded a new era in the domain of personal liberty and served as an opening for people to claim their space with pride in their personal zones. “Social morality cannot violate the rights of even a single individual,” said former CJI Misra and Justice Khanwilkar. Although gay sex is now a nonpunishable offence, same-sex marriage awaits legal recognition. The centre has taken a stand that samesex marriage ran contrary to several criminal and civil laws that recognize marriage between “biological man and woman” only.
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Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
book review
Dr. Smitha Chandrashekarappa
Children are receptive to everything they see and quick to learn. Above that, they are highly inquisitive by nature and want to know just everything. This is the reason that whatever they learn in the early stages of life gets imprinted in their minds for the rest of their lives. Most importantly, all that becomes their strongest memory and keep recalling things when they grow up or have some free time. Children’s books are written keeping this fact in mind, and that is why they are made colorful with lots of illustrations. Dr. SmitaChandrashekarappa writes her book, “In Search of a New Home in Space,” keeping all these facts and features in mind. The book serves as an adventurous and thrilling experience for young readers and a good story to become a memory of their childhood. The broad feature of the plot is the journey to the unknown and unseen realms of the universe, which most of us have only heard about or seen
In Search of a new home in space
in books. “In Search of a New Home in Space” may also prove helpful in enhancing the understanding of young children about space and related basic facts. The book has a fast-paced story that is easy for children to remem-
ber and they also get their scientific facts and knowledge clear through this search for a home. The featuring of the character of an alien as a character creates a spark in the imagination of young readers from the cover itself. The colorful cover
and the featuring of an alien traveling in a space ships prompts the young readers to get their hands on the book at once and read what the book has to say. After that, they are taken on a journey where, through the alien, they get to explore different planets in the solar system and also get familiar with the atmospheric conditions on them. It may not be easy to remember these little details for the young ones. Still, they will surely memorize by heart in the second or third reading if appropriately narrated with the necessary changes in speaking style, essential illustrations, their involvement, etc. The children are likely to have an enjoyable experience within the four walls and would feel like they have traveled space through one book. In this time, when children are not going to school, their hyperactive minds can be kept engaged and productive with the help of such books. Dr. Chandrashekarappa’s effort in this direction is praiseworthy. “In Search of a New Home in Space” is recommended to all parents who intend to make their children aware of the world around them and make facts permanent in their minds by the usage of appropriate materials. Reading such books is bound to provide a solid foundation for the future education of children. At the same time, the book can be enjoyed by all elders while teaching scientific facts to their children. The book is short, as per the need of children, it has fewer words, as per their retention power,
Yellow – The Verses Of Hurting And Healing Book Yellow – The Verses Of Hurting And Healing Author
Urja Joshi Publisher
Evincepub Publishing Author | Urja Joshi
Writing is the most powerful way to express oneself. It becomes all the more powerful when the author uses poetry form to express themselves. The same powerful expression is seen in Urja Joshi’s work, “Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing.” The book's title says a lot about it, yet the author keeps some meanings hidden, which can only be found out when the readers go through the verses. It is not necessary that
Reviewed By
Akhila Saroha
there can be only one manner in which a person can get hurt, but whoever goes through a tough time can read this attempt of Joshi and see the effects her words have. The poet gives a brief introduction to the work in the beginning. She clearly states that it is, “a book written and illustrated by author, which is for everyone. for those who believe in love and compassion and for those who don't. those who have healed and those who are still in process.” This is an indication that the book is not just a straight set of verses that the author has composed but rather a collection of words that are likely to have a profound effect on the lives of the readers. Joshi may have used lesser words on every page in her verses, but her thoughts are strong and speak to the readers without diversions.
it has more pictures, keeping in mind their cognitive abilities. Scientifically, it matches the abilities of children which makes it a recommended reading. Overall, “In Search of a New Home In Space” is a recommended book for everyone old or young. Grown-up readers may also find this book of their interest and pick it up for the young ones in their family. This book is also suggested to parents who want to initiate their children into the world of reading so that they can develop the habit of reading for a strong foundation for their future.
Book
In Search of A New Home in Space Author
Dr. Smitha Chandrashekarappa Published by
Evincepub Publishing
Reviewed By Akhila Saroha
To concretize her ideas, the author uses ample illustrations in “Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing.” These images may be simple in their making, but they are necessary to make the readers understand the poet's thoughts more closely. They also help the readers in connecting with the ideas in a more tangible way. To keep the readers connected throughout, the poet does not use any extraordinary language too. There is the ripeness of emotion, and it is conveyed through lesser and easy to understand words. The readers are already prepared that “Yellow” will be more like a journey that will make them sail through hurting and healing phases. What conspires in hurting and how an individual is affected by it, the author explores it all in her verses. Her writing style is not much like what readers would find these days; instead, the poet takes a form of writing where she uses fewer words to convey development in the life of a person. The version presented by the author may be from the viewpoint of a woman, but restricting the thoughts only to a woman would not be fair. The incidents and happenings that the author narrates are something that could occur in anyone’s life, whether it is a man or a woman. More or less, every person has gone through tough times where they have been hurt and are going through or have gone through the process of healing. Therefore, recommending “Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing.”to be read by all those who are going through ups and downs in life would not be wrong. At the same time, they would also get a share in the wisdom that the author has acquired through her experience or by observing others. But in short, it can be concluded that there will something to learn for one reader or the other once they take this book in their hands. This is what makes “Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing,” a recommended reading for the younger generation and those who are grown up and mature. The healing process is not something that can happen overnight. But, with the reading of “Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing,” the process may get some speed. The readers' experience would be no less than rising from the ashes like a phoenix where the author shares the secrets of healing and getting better with each passing day.
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
lifestyle
Clinico-psycho-social aspects of infertility
Infertility is a global health issue affecting approximately 8-10% of couples. It is a multi-dimensional problem with social, economic and cultural implication and defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. It may arise from genetic abnormalities, infections or environmental agents, delayed child bearing behavior and certain diseases. Among them endometrosis, estrogen dependent disorder causes 25-40% infertility in women and occur wide range of women fro pre-menarche to postmenopause and diagnosis have been made in women ranging from 12-80 years of age. It is defined as presence of an endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity having multifaceted pathology. Its pathology involve various factors like genetic predisposition, menstrual and reproductive fac-
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tors, life style factors such as smoking ,exercise and consumption of alcohol and caffeine. About a third of the time, infertility can be traced to the woman. Many infertile women in developing countries consider that, without children their lives are without hope. Our culture demands that for a woman to be socially accepted, she should have at least one biological child. Primary treatment involves removal or reduction of ectopic endometrial implants, restoration of normal anatomy, and hindrance of disease and alleviation of symptoms. Besides this, ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology), laproscopic surgery have been also used for management of endometrosis. The high-tech reproductive technologies have associated psychological and ethical issues that must be addressed by the infertile couple. Infertility counseling and support services are the well organized psycho-social approach to infertility. Psychosocial issues should be discussed by physician with the couples in every visit. Information material about the centre, procedural information, booklets or educational videos is provided. Presence at support groups will build up coping abilities. Psychotherapy and psychoso-
cial counseling are effective in minimizing negative outcome, clarifying life goals, context for support, advice and guidance will help live more satisfied and resource fully. (British council of Association of Infertility Counseling, 1999)The list of various counseling techniques are: Ventilation, explanation, reassurance, diversion by physical and mental activities, recreation, Yoga, improve problem solving skill, encourage health defense mechanism, suggestions, reinforcement, change of attitude and life style. If treatment has been unsuccessful, couples are faced with the decision to either continue treatments or make other choices. Choices include adaptation and child free. All of these options are difficult decisions. The early intervention and meeting with a specialist, infertile person will find answers and be able to realize your dream of having a child.
Dr. Sandhya, Sr.Resident, Dept.of Prasuti & Stri Rog, Institute of Medical Sciences Banaras Hindu University
Dr. O P Singh, Department of Orthodontics, BHU
How to live a less materialistic lifestyle
Simple, even if less glamorous, requires less maintenance, offers fewer distractions and uses less thinking. A simple lifestyle affords you the ability to focus your energies on your inner world.
Sapanpreet Adlakha Owning things becomes important when you have an internal void. When your internal world is deprived it is only natural to want to fill it with external things. Unfortunately, this is like filling a sieve with sand. The sand may fit in the sieve temporarily, but it will soon sift through the holes, leaving you empty again. Someone who has developed a healthy inner world would see possessions as neutral. This shift is more about attitude than specific actions.
Avoid the status game
Seek friends from all social layers. Don’t buy into the game that decides a persons worth based on their money or profession. I know people I would consider smarter and more enlightened who live on a fraction of the income that others do. Keeping pockets of connections within all levels separates you from the competitive aspects materialism brings.
Serve
Let go
Invest your energies into helping other people. I don’t view acts as being on a continuum from selfishness to selflessness, as acts that directly benefit me can benefit others as well. But even in that case, shifting your focus onto the needs of others can replace materialism
Buddhism teaches that attachment to things creates suffering. Again, this is all in the mindset. I’m not a Buddhist, but as I understand it, this doesn’t mean the only path to true happiness is to abandon everything. It simply means that you stop trying to hold on to all the things you own and the relationships in your life.
See wealth as a challenge not a result
Judge yourself by your ethics and your understanding
I view earning more money as an interesting and complex game.
Use money to free, not chain, yourself
When you have a larger income, don’t simply adapt by increasing your lifestyle. Instead work to create a buffer between
your income and lifestyle so you live below your means. This will give you more freedom to pursue goals and ideas that may not immediately contribute to your productivity.
Go basic
Simplify all your material possessions so they don’t consume your mental resources.
I’d be far happier with myself if I were poor but I understood the world and lived true to a system of ethics, than if I had the opposite. Don’t base your self worth on how much you’ve achieved.
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Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
nation
Chief Information Commissioner: Costly Downgrade
Nishica Choudhary
The government's decision to appoint new Information Commissioners opposed by the Congress in a dissent note has set up a new political flashpoint. Retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha is all set to become the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India. Journalist UdayMahurkar is likely to be named an Information Commissioner, they said, adding that the official process towards these appointments has been initiated. Despite strong objections from AdhirRanjan Chowdhury, the Opposition member in the high-powered selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Government is also learnt to have finalized the name of Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General SarojPunhani for the post of Information Commissioner. The President has approved the appointment of 4 information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and one of the serving commissioners has been appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner, as per media reports. Party sources said they were "appalled" that the selection committee had not given any basis for why these particular candidates were short-listed out of the 139 who applied for the CIC's post and the 355 who applied for the Information Commissioners' posts. The sources also alleged that Mr Mahurkar had not even applied for the position.A panel headed by the Prime Minister selects members to the top Right to Information (RTI) watchdog. The CIC had been functioning with only 3 commissioners and had been without a Chief since November 24, 2018. As per the RTI Act, the CIC is comprised of a Chief and upto 10 information commissioners. A PIL was
filed in the Supreme Court in April 2018 regarding the issue of nonappointment of information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (and state information commissions) and the lack of transparency in appointments. Mr Sinha, the Congress leader said, "lacks on-ground domestic experience and VanjanaSarna is the senior Information Commissioner in the commission". The DoPT also refused to release information on the search committee’s composition, meetings or criteria. “As the process of selection is yet to be completed, it would not be conducive to furnish such information in the manner it is sought. No such practice is followed in any other equivalent high level appointments of Government,” it said.
Central Information Commission
The Chief Information Commission (CIC) is the authorised body in India to act upon complaints received from individuals who have been unable to submit requests of information to a Central or State Public Information Officer due to either the officer not having been appointed, or the respective officer refused to entertain the application under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). The CIC was constituted with effect from 12th October 2005 under the RTI Act 2005. Its jurisdiction extends upon all central public authorities.
Composition
The CIC is headed by the Chief Information Commissioner. He/she is assisted by ten Information Commissioners. The Chief Information Commissioner holds the office for
Role of CIC
five years. The commissioners are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a committee comprising of: Prime Minister (Chairperson), Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
1. Order enquiry into any matter on reasonable grounds only. 2. Secure compliance of its decisions from any public authority. 3. Receive and inquire into a complaint from any person
The commission has the power to examine any record under the control of the public authority. All such records have to be given to the Commission during the examination and nothing shall be withheld.
During inquiries, the CIC has the powers of a civil court, such as the powers to: m Summon and enforce the attendance of persons, and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and produce documents or things m Require the discovery and inspection of documents m Receive evidence on affidavit m Requisition public records or copies from any office or court m Issue summons for the examination of documents or witnesses m Any other matter that may be prescribed
The CIC also submits an annual report to the GOI on the implementations of the provisions of the Act. This report is then placed before both the Houses of Parliament.
Qualifications
Qualification for membership to commission are People should person of eminence in public life with experience in field of law, science and technology, governance, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration. They should not be MP / MLA’s or connected to any political party, doing some business or holding office of profit. They hold office till age of 65 or 5 years. The information commissioner is eligible for post of chief information commissioner but can be in office for maximum 5 years including his tenure of information commissioner. The Commission is the highest appellate authority under the Right to Information Act, and consists of a Chief and up to ten Commissioners. It has been headless twice this year, due to a two month delay in appointing the last chief Bimal Julka, and another two month period since he retired at the end of August. It has not functioned at full strength for almost four years, and currently has only five Commissioners, leading to a backlog of almost 37,000 pending cases. According to sources, the other shortlisted candidates are all from a bureaucratic background, including former Defence Production Secretary Subhash Chandra, former Labour Secretary HeeralalSamariya, former MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Secretary Arun Kumar Panda, retired All India Radio News Director General Ira Joshi, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (DCAG) Meenakshi Gupta and former DCAG SarojPunhani. It is not known how many vacancies are being filled at this time.
Business activity picked up further in first week of Nov Digital village goals accomplished in all dists. in Assam
Business activity picked up further in the first week of November, carrying over the improvements seen across economic indicators in October, according to brokerage firm Nomura.The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) surged to yet another post-lockdown high of 85.8 for the week ended November 8, from 84.7 posted a week earlier, which was revised upwards from 84.4.The weekly tracker of indicators from mobility to labour participation had recorded 82.9 in the pre-lockdown week ended March 25. The improvements in the latest figures were led by a sharp pick up in power demand by 7.5% after posting a 2.3% contraction a week earlier, Nomura said in a note on Monday.According to Nomura, the positive start to the month was underpinned by the moderation in India’s pandemic curve, ongoing lockdown relaxations and festive demand. “If this trend persists over coming weeks, the outperformance in the monthly data in October availableso far may continue into November,” Nomura said. While mobility indicators continued to improve, retail and recreational mobility, which had previously driven the rise in overall NIBRI, had moderated during the week while the Apple driving index plateaued from last week’s levels, it said.A similar trend was seen in the labour participation rate shrinking to 40.2% from 41.2% a week earlier, it added.In order to assess
the consistency of the uptick, Nomura would be tracking whether the pandemic curve remains in check after the festive season and whether the final momentum to demand persists beyond the festive season and pent-up demand phase.
Regulating the spread of virus
India has tackled the Covid-19 crisis fairly well relative to its population with the number of actual cases 2.65 lakh lower than the estimated number of cases according to a State Bank of India (SBI) Research model based on data five months after the beginning of the unlock phase. States like Bihar and Jharkhand have managed the crisis well with a favourable difference between the two figures, the report released on Monday said.However, this trend was not consistent across the country with states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Maharashtra having a higher number of actual cases against the estimated figures, it said. As per the Economic times, a study of the data from 20 major states showed the estimated number of confirmed cases to be 84.5 lakh against the actual figure which stood at 81.8 lakh, indicating India had done a good job in controlling the spread of the virus, the report said.SBI Research estimated the pandemic to subside by February next year in India, but under the assumption that a second wave does not occur.
Guwahati: Assam has become the first state in the northeast to set up a digital village in all districts under the Digital India campaign. Digital Assam is an initiative by the Government of Assam to transform Assam into a digitally empowered social and knowledge hub. It has been envisaged to work on the lines of Digital India. In the first phase of the campaign, 700 villages will be digitalised across the country with digital banking, teaching and tele-medicine being the three major features. Stateowned e-governance entity CSC SPV (special purpose vehicle) under the Union ministry of electronics and information technology is playing a key role in implementing the mission. “A digital village has been successfully established in all 33 districts of the state during the pandemic situation. A majority of the state’s population resides in rural areas and has no access to modern technologies. It has created great disparities between rural and urban populations,” Gyan Doley, northeast regional head at Common Services Centres (CSCs), said. He added that despite being very talented, the rural population has always been deprived of all opportunities and avenues of development. In order to overcome these
challenges, the project digital village has been conceptualized as a one-stop service solution to empower rural hinterlands with an objective to connect digitally and deliver integrated benefits related to internet connectivity, education, skill, health, financial inclusion and sanitation to remove the digital divide and ensure comprehensive development. “In a digital village, citizens can avail various online services of the central and state governments, and private players alike. As the world faces one of its biggest health and humanitarian crises in the form of the Covid19 pandemic, India, too, has taken swift and strong measures to curb the spread of the virus. In these circumstances, digital platforms and services offered in a digital village have become critical,” Doley added. There are around 15,000 beneficiaries from the 33 digital villages of the state. The digital villages are positioned to be change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship, building capacities and livelihoods through community participation and collective action. In these digital villages, CSCs are creating awareness through financial inclusion awareness campaigns on useful and affordable products and digital payment tools, including kiosk banking, insurance and pension schemes.
Evaluation Is Key for good governance
opinion
Lalit Garg The criteria tomake power and society more humble is not issues or lobby, not rank or glory; only honesty and good governance is responsible to achieve a good society. To achieve this entire one should not compromise with honesty, because it is also a fact that nation, government, society, institution and constitution run in honesty, not false appearances, assurances and promises. While assuming power; every government makes claims of giving good governance, but in reality those claims do not go upright, proving to be blatant appearances. Good governance means better law and order, better infrastructure and services, good business and employment opportunities, equality in speech and action, civil safety and security, etc. All these things do not depend only on the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the citizens divided in favour or opposition, but on the scale of prosperity, security and peaceful living of civil life. Now-a-days, good governance and model-style evaluation of governments is not only done during elections but many national and international agencies have started evaluating this study. The main standards of such evaluation are what condition of the world, what state and city do the civic amenities. The agency called Public Affairs Centre of Bangalore has studied various states and union territories of India on public affairs and categorized them on the basis of the points that Chandigarh tops the level of good governance among union
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
territories. Among the states, Kerala is at the top and all the other states in the south are at the top, while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa are in the worst position. Uttar Pradesh is at the lowest rung. Just a few days ago, another agency had reported in its report that the conditions in Uttar Pradesh are better than all other states in terms of doing business. Similar contradictions may also arise in the case of some other states. Responsibility is necessary for good governance and its honest outcomes. But the irony is that the government neither carries out the responsibilities in a responsible manner nor carries out the obligations faithfully. Ignorance of obligation and honest outcomes is not as cruel as it is in the world. Good governance is established by overall effort. It can never be one-sided. It is not possible to make conditions for business in the state better by making flexible policies or by giving some temptation, but keep relaxing in cases of preventing crime and corruption. When good governance and prosperity are judged in a state, it is seen how the life of the people there is, how much public facilities-roads, hospitals, public transport, electricity-water, security-system are employed, health there, how are educational institutions? How comfortable are the farmers and shopkeepers there. How safe are women and people belonging to the weaker sections of society. How close the common people are to the administration. If there is a crime, how promptness is shown in the convictions of the culprits and how judiciously it is dealt with. The institute in Bangalore, which has released the latest report on good gov-
ernance in the states, also studied on the basis of equality, transparency, vigilance, development and continuity. The importance of these points can be understood. On the basis of these, it can be estimated that in the coming days, which states can contribute to the economic development of the country and how much. How much they can help in terms of sustainable development. Some people may argue that small states and union territories are small in size and have a small population, so they work better in terms of law and order and basic amenities, but Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan like Governments in large and densely populated states may face many difficulties. But this argument cannot be a way of avoiding responsibilities. Budgetary allocations are made to states according to their size and population, their income may also be considered higher than smaller states in the same proportion. In such a situation, if they are not able to do better at the basic level, then it will be called their failure. In the case of good governance, every backward state should take inspiration from better states than its own. For peaceful and good governance it is necessary that there should be at least government formalities in common life, laws should be reduced, and government departments should be at least. There are some states where there should be 20-25 government departments, but their number is more than 5060. There are many states where there are a lot of old and irrelevant laws. They are also a hindrance to good governance, and are complex for public life. In the ideal-governance system, the state
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governments should get rid of these useless laws. It is good that state governments also understand that they are suffering the most due to the existence of old laws in the working of bureaucracy. Regardless of the better policies of public welfare and development, if there is no government system to implement them properly then nothing is going to be achieved. State governments can make the lives of the common people happy by fulfilling their promises only by establishing good governance at every level. A major hurdle in the barriers of good governance is that governments do the work in a planned manner. Such governments start work first and make plans latest; they are surrounded by problems and difficulties layer by layer. Their hard work is not meaningful. Their resources are insufficient and they are unable to live up to the sentiments of the people even if they want to. As diseases enter the weak body, similarly weak planning and weak governance systems lead to many incurable diseases and they become a major obstacle to good governance. Those who capture power find their name, position and glory. Whereas the responsibilities and challenges are many times more than that. Such scenes are seen everywhere today, where there is a complete lack of imagination and creativity in planning and the goal stumbles upon itself. We have not learned regularity and will not learn. Nowadays there is another trend of issues. Which issue is of public interest, they have no meaning. Which is meant by selfishness? And the second wind which has come is to make lobbies, to form groups. Neither constitution nor obstructionism comes in it because "even thought" is such an open word that everything is hidden within it. Whether it is a small province or a large province, lobbying has been done in all the governance. The power which should be used in the interest of governance and society, seems in the wrong direction. The basic values of theory and order are sought to be charged at social, political and religious levels. Truth is covered or naked but not accepted. And those who follow the lamp of truth cast their own shadow on the way. And such people become an abuser in the name of good governance. Learn to behave decently by developing the tendency to consider the superiority of our authentic position and the honesty of responsibility above personal ego; otherwise it would not be surprising if the pawn bearer was beaten in this chessboard. Many people like to carry the disease instead of medicine for a long time, but do they not get destroyed while living? It is understandable to cool down 'kheer' but what is the meaning of freezing it till it becomes stale? It is necessary for an ideal governance system that those who lead the power today should not become consumers of the trust of the people, but to be the guardians.
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
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market
Positive Signs of Economy coming back on track
tion between poverty and population. Poor people have more children because the population increases then malnutrition also increases. The proportion of population growth is less in developed nations; the proportion of population growth is higher in underdeveloped and poor nations. There is a theme in ancient Sanskrit literature - poverty is unhappiness and the sorrow associated with it is the excess of children. The agony of impunity and the agony of childbearing - a man suffers from both sides. There can be many reasons for population growth, but the effect of the period and malnutrition - both of these become the most important causes of population growth. Today the situation would be very different if all the wealth of the world, all the resources were used
to eradicate poverty, but there were disruptions in between. The disruption of the corona is also a major impediment to the momentum towards eradicating poverty. Till now, the wealth was not used to make humans happy or normal, but in the manufacture of weapons of destruction. One nation became afraid of another nation. Arms race started. If you look at the data of a report of the UNO, you will know in which direction the energy and resources are going. Most of the world is spending every year on security. This expenditure is being spent not for human safety, but for its geographical security. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal states that people are forced to live in poverty, not due to any specific reason but because of various reasons. It is therefore necessary that not only the source of income is the cause of poverty but also food, home, land, health, security etc. also play a role in determining poverty. The main reason for poverty in India is increasing population, weak agriculture, corruption, conservative thinking, casteism, high status among rich and poor, lack of jobs, illiteracy, disease etc. India is an agricultural country with a large population dependent on agriculture; today the same farmers of the country are facing poverty. Due to poor agriculture practices and unemployment, people have to face shortage of food. This is the reason why inflation has also spread wings. Increasing population is also a major cause of poverty. The Central Government stated in the year 2012 that 21.9 percent of the population in India lives below
the poverty line. The 2011 report of the World Bank stated that 23.6 percent of India's population (about 276 million) has a purchasing power of $ 1.25 per day. Additionally, India has been ranked 97 in the International Starvation Index released in 2016. The average rate for developing countries was kept at 21.3 while this rate for India was 28.5 percent. It is a pleasure to have Indian-origin Abhijeet Banerjee selected for the Nobel Prize for contributing towards the alleviation of poverty. But the sad aspect is that most people of his own country are forced to live a life of poverty. India has been facing the cruelty of poverty for a long time. Poverty has spread throughout the country since pre-independence. So far, many plans have been made for the eradication of poverty, many efforts have been made,' Garibi Hatao' has become an election slogan and the election has been won. But even after all this, neither the condition of the poor improved nor poverty was eradicated. The truth is that instead of eradicating poverty, the number of poor in the country is increasing day by day. Poor was used as a vote giver to seize power, but after leaving power, he was left forever. Hence, the poor still stand where they were before independence. Even today, with the first rays of the morning, the crisis of bread, clothes and houses arise in front of the poor. Indeed, it is no less ironic that the future of the country, known as the ‘Sone Ki Chidiya', is starving due to poverty and becoming tarnished. The Narendra Modi government's plans for poverty alleviation and population control are showing some light.
gains enough momentum, they will be withdrawn. m Home loan interest rates are at a 15-year low. Coupled with the bottomed-out property prices and additional discounts and offers by developers, there are very real savings to be secured on life's most cost-intensive investment. m Far from being a temporary phenomenon, the COVID-19-induced work from home culture has become a mainstay for many companies who have discovered that employees can be as productive from home - if not more so - than in offices. Buying a home now, while the cost of acquisition is so low, allows buyers to secure larger homes into which home offices can be incorporated. m The property market is poised on the cusp of a full-fledged revival. Once the revival kicks in, property prices will harden and asset appreciation begins in all seriousness. While earlier predictions for this revival hovered between 18-24
months, the pandemic has accelerated the process. We can reasonably expect the market to turn the corner in 12-18 months. m Thanks largely to the pandemic, there is an extremely favourable confluence of buyerfavouring market circumstances. Such a confluence of factors is unlikely to repeat itself unless another event as disruptive as this pandemic strikes again. Given all the lessons learned by now and the fact that pandemics of such magnitude appear to have a 100-year cycle, most of today's buyers will hopefully not see such a time again in their lifetimes. m The pandemic has highlighted the deep cost of procrastination, and many aspiring homeowners now wish they had made a decision earlier. Our homes are our citadels - the only environments over which we can exert any real control. Rental homes do not permit their inhabitants any real control - the only way to ensure the complete safety of an
environment is to own it. m After a protracted period of financial upheaval, it has become necessary to revisit all expenses which represent undue pressure on personal finances. Living in a rented house is a recurring financial drain without returns on investment. Owning a home secures an asset which will appreciate in value over time and simultaneously eliminates recurring rental outgo. This is a timeless fact of life in India, which is why owning a home is such a source of comfort in the first place. m The best home options are being snapped up at a rapid pace. While there is no dearth of overall inventory, active homebuyers are zeroing in on quality projects by Grade A developers. The supply of such options is limited. A longer wait reduces the chance of securing a home that ticks all the boxes on location, amenities, high-grade construction – and, in the case of underconstruction projects, the options that will be completed fastest.
Lalit Garg
The news related to coronavirus infection has given some relief at the moment, but the danger has not been avoided, the signs are also clear. As far as its impact on society and economy is concerned, it may take a long time to recover from these. In particular, India's economy was already struggling to strengthen its position; the Corona epidemic has given it deeper wounds. Due to the worsening situation of India, there was a lot of infection here and the economy has been crippled due to very strict lockdown. Government and policy-makers may not publicly accept this, but this is the harsh reality. Many small units closed during lockdown still could not open. It cannot be said that all the people who have become unemployed in this area have got employment. But the fact of the moment is that conditions are not as bad now as they were five-six months ago. Accepting the truth of the Corona transition, the country has started to move forward, but there is still a long way to go. The October GST collection has reached Rs 1 lakh crore, which could be considered the biggest sign of the economy returning to track. Even more comforting is the news that the index of factory production has reached its highest level in more than a decade. According to the Nikkei Purchasing Manager Index, it has reached 58.9 in the month of October. If we look at this index, then it is right that the economy is back on track; all kinds of data in October are showing signs of positivity from the mar-
ket. The automobile sector figures have been so much better and surprising. Two-wheelers and car sales are holding high hopes. But it is necessary for the economy to keep pace on these tracks and move towards the destination. Our governments and financial institutions should leave no stone unturned in their efforts and lead the country towards overall development through strong economic policies. The harsh truth around the world is that policy-makers do not really know what to do. There is a similar situation in India to bring the economy back on track. Nevertheless, along with other efforts to strengthen India's current economy, there are four main points - to eradicate poverty, stop the growth of population, improve the environment and eradicate unemployment. There seems to be a close correla-
10 reasons to buy a home this festive season
The pandemic has highlighted the deep cost of procrastination, and many aspiring homeowners now wish they had made a decision earlier Most Indians do not need much convincing to buy a home. The desire for homeownership is hardwired into the Indian psyche and is also the basis of most families' financial planning. For such people, who represent a clear majority, the question is not if to buy a house, but when. So - why now, instead of later? m It is true that end-users shouldn't try to 'time' the real estate market, but it is quite evident that property prices are at their lowest best. There have been no changes in pricing on the primary (purchased new from developers) market for over a year. Even the pandemic hasn't caused them to reduce significantly as anticipated. Buying now equals buying at the lowest possible price. m There are a lot of options on the market, even in ready-to-move
Santhosh Kumar | Vice Chairman ANAROCK Property Consultants
properties. Moreover, prices of RTM properties are almost at par with under-construction homes in many areas. This has never happened before - and since developers have curtailed new supply, it is unlikely to happen again. Never have homebuyers had such a tempting choice range, at such low prices. m Developers have pulled out all the stops to attract buyers. Extremely lucrative offers have been rolled out for the festive season, many of which result in an actual reduction in the cost of acquisition. These offers come with an expiry date - when the housing market re-
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haryana
Newly built U-turn flyover on NH 48 e-inaugurated by CM
The newly constructed Uturn flyover near DLF Cyber City on National Highway No. 48 in Gurugram has been opened for vehicles on Haryana Day and was e-inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal through video conferencing from Karnal. Speaking on the occasion he said that by constructing this U-turn flyover, one more step has been taken towards making Gurugram free from traffic jam. While inaugurating this 3 lane U-turn flyover through virtual medium, Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that this flyover has been constructed at a cost of about Rs 52 crore and it will provide a big relief to the people of Gurugram and commuters coming from
outside. This will help in preventing traffic congestion and facilitate u-turn movement for vehicles coming from Delhi to Jaipur and will prevent accidents of traffic going to Udyog Vihar or Delhi from DLF Cyber City or Ambience Mall side. Besides, it will also help in reducing pollution caused by traffic jams and will save time of commuters. Extending greetings of Haryana Day to the people of Gurugram, the Chief Minister said that we are solving the traffic jam related problems of Gurugram one by one. First, the problems of IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower and Rajeev Chowk were solved by constructing underpasses and improving these road inter-
sections on NH-48, then a flyover was constructed at Hero Honda Chowk to make it jam-free. Now, Shankar Chowk has become traffi jam-free. He said that a four-lane U-turn underpass is being constructed on NH- 48 near Ambience Mall in Gurugram, which is in the final stages of its construction. The total estimated cost of both of these projects, that is, the U-turn flyover built near DLF Cyber City on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and the U-turn underpass being built near the Ambience Mall is Rs 122.16 crore. Out of these, U-Turn elevated flyover has been completed at a cost of about Rs 52 crore. The cost of the entire project is being borne by the NHAI and the state govern-
ment in 75:25 ratio. The Chief Minister said that work on various new projects is going on in Gurugram, such as the Dwarka Expressway, extension of metro service etc and such development numerous works are benefiting the increasing industrialization of Gurugram district. During the e-inauguration, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Project Director Mr Shashi Bhushan while welcoming the Chief Minister, apprised that the newly constructed U-turn flyover is 675 meters in length and 12.5 meters wide. He said that despite the challenge of Covid-19, the construction of this 3lane U-turn flyover has been completed within the stipulated period of 18 months.
Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, JP Dalal said that the policies and intentions of the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister, Manohar Lal in Haryana are to work for the development of the State. The opposition only wants to make media headlines and save face by misleading farmers in the name of the recently passed three agricultural ordinances which are actually in the interest of the farmers. Dalal said this while addressing a press conference here today. In response to a question, Dalal said that today, the
youth of the 21st century wants rapid development. He said that there has been unprecedented development in all the districts of Haryana falling in the National Capital Region. Two new national highways are being constructed in Gohana and Baroda, which will add a new chapter of development in these areas. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate will definitely win the By-election. He said that Baroda Vidhan Sabha constituency consists of 54 villages and it is a completely rural area. The people have blessed us. In response to a question regarding preparations for the session of Haryana Vid-
han Sabha starting from tomorrow, Dalal said that he is ready for discussions anywhere regarding the farmers and agriculture, whether it is the Vidhan Sabha or outside. On the possibility of bringing in Private Bill by INLD on Agricultural ordinances, Dalal said that the State Government is always ready to consider good suggestions in the interest of farmers. In response to another question, Dalal said that neither are the farmers going to face losses nor are the mandis being closed due to the new ordinances, only the middleman will face losses.
disorders of the body. He said that yoga brings skill in karma, so this training camp for teachers will be for one week, in which 2,200 teachers will be imparted yoga training in the first phase. He said that this is the ideal time
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HIPA commended for its efforts towards a low carbon dependent grid D.S Dhesi, Chief Principal Secretary to CM, Haryana has emphasised on the need for moving towards a low carbon dependent grid. He also complemented the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) for the efforts being made in this direction. Mr D.S Dhesi was speaking at the valedictory session of a five-day Skill Development Training Programme organised by the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) on 'Renewable Energy (RE) for Administrators' at Gurugram. The training programme focused on Solar Energy and on the economic use of Biomass like paddy straw (parali) etc was organised with the support of the Depart-
ment of New and Renewable Energy Haryana and Haryana Renewable Energy Development Authority (HAREDA). The training programme covered various topics including Renewable Energy (RE) options, their potential and limitations and why RE today is a viable option to the conventional sources. Other topics like Energy Security, Socio-Economic aspects like job creation, local solutions in Health and Agriculture were also discussed along with RE status, market trends, Maturity of Technology and Future Potential. About 60 officers from various Departments of the state government, including a few from Government of India participated in it.
Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal said that the State Government is taking every decision promptly in the interest of farmers. In this series, the power supply period for agricultural tubewells in two more districts viz. Palwal and Sirsa have been increased from 8 hours to 10 hours for the Rabi sowing season. Earlier 10 hours of power was being supplied for this purpose to Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Gurugram-I and Gurugram-II. Along with this, despite the price of sugar not being high enough in the market, it has been decided to increase sugarcane price by Rs 10 per quintal on the demand of farmers and now these prices
have increased from Rs 340 per quintal to Rs 350 per quintal which is the highest in the country. While interacting with media persons, the Chief Minister said that the opposition is using issues regarding farmers as political gimmicks while in actuality the government is doing everything in the interest of the farmers. In response to a question asked regarding the increase
of fees of MBBS, the Chief Minister clarified that the fees of MBBS which was earlier Rs 60,000 per year, has been increased to Rs 80,000 per year. He said that a bond of Rs 10 lakh will be filled by the students pursuing MBBS in Government Medical Colleges and this bond will be a pre-requisite for getting a government job. CM said that the Opposition is also spreading rumors about this, which is completely wrong. He said that in private medical colleges, fees of Rs 12 to 15 lakh are charged every year whereas in spite of increasing the fees in government colleges, the fee for the entire course of MBBS is only Rs 4 lakh.
to ensure that yoga is a part of every person's life. Ashtayoga, the action-reaction that connects the mind, soul and body, has been called yoga practice. He said that the United Nations has recognised Yoga and today 200 countries of the world are adopting Yoga. Yoga is popular across the world due to this. CM said that Yoga helps in keeping a person physically and mentally sound. In ancient times, when education was imparted in Gurukul, teachers and children were proficient in every type of yoga and carried it forward. It is only through yoga that one can overcome the stress and worries of life because moderation, tolerance is pos-
sible only through yoga. He said that competitions related to yoga will be organised from the block level to the state level. Elaborating on the importance of yoga he said that yoga brings efficiency in karma and makes the mind stable. The practitioner of yoga has also been called a yogi. Now, the time has come that every person should become a yogi and practices it. In this video conferencing, Education Minister Kanwar Pal who joined from Yamunanagar said that a healthy body has a healthy mind and soul. He added that Yoga is India’s identity. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Baba Ramdev for promoting Yoga
across the world. He also thanked Chief Minister, Manohar Lal for personally taking interest in spread of yoga education. He said that yoga is necessary to build the character of children. Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who joined the video conferencing from Panchkula thanked all the teachers as well as officers of the Education Department and the State Government for organising this event. Haryana Yog Parishad, Chairman Dr. Jaideep Arya said that the yoga culture has been strengthened through the constitution of Haryana Yog Parishad by the State Government and this will ensure further avenues for development of yoga.
JP Dalal backed BJP’s policies and leadership both at centre & in Hry Haryana govt. taking all possible measures to ease lives of farmers
1000 posts for yoga education approved and 600 gyms coming up in Haryana
CM Manohar Lal said that posts of around 1,000 AYUSH assistants have been approved so as to encourage yoga education across schools in the state. Besides, 560 gymnasiums have also been set up in the state so far and 600 gymnasiums will soon be set up. Chief Minister gave this information while addressing the Yoga Training Camp of the teachers of the Education Department through video conferencing from Panipat today. It was organised under the joint aegis of Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and Haryana Yog Parishad. This training programme will be functional at 6,000 schools in three phases wherein Yoga will be in-
cluded in the morning meetings. He said that practising yoga, exercise, pranayama have been very beneficial during the Corona period, likewise, yoga practice shall be continued to cure other
Faridabad (NCR) 1-15 November, 2020 www.theasianchronicle.com
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Sugar mills get crushing target of 754 Lakh quintal of sugarcane for 2020-21
Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, J P Dalal said that a target has been set to crush 754 lakh quintal of sugarcane for all sugar mills across the state for the crushing season 2020-21, which is comparatively high as compared to the previous crushing season 2019-20 in which about 702 lakh quintals of sugarcane was crushed. Besides this, directions have been given to all cooperative sugar mills of the state to start crushing work as per the scheduled date. J P Dalal was presiding over the meeting of the Haryana State Sugarcane Control Board here today. During the meeting, he was apprised that with a view to increase the sugar recovery percentage, directions have been given to Saraswati Sugar Mill of Yamunagar to comprehensively study all the reasons related to the ongoing sugar recovery percentage obtained by the cooperative sugar mill, Shahabad within two months. He further directed to submit suggestions for increasing sugar recovery percentage, so that necessary steps can be taken
to increase the sugar recovery percentage of other sugar mills of the state. In the meeting, he further informed that during the 202021 crushing season three co-operative sugar mills of the state, namely, Palwal, Meham and Kaithal have been directed to produce high-quality jaggery along with Sugar on trial basis, for which the outcome will be available by the end of December. Based on the obtained results, the Jaggery production can be started in other cooperative sugar mills as well. The Agriculture Minister said that the state government has provided subsidy amount through DBT to the farmers for fertilizers, seeds, medicines, etc to promote technique of ‘Wide Row Spacing’ for sugarcane cultivation. The grant amount is being provided to promote advance techniques in sugarcane cultivation which will increase the income of farmers. With the same objective, 13 sugarcane harvesting machines will be provided on subsidy by the state government to the farmers.
Head constable caught red handed taking bribe in Mundkati police station at Palwal
In its drive against corruption, the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB), Haryana managed to achieve significant success today when a team of SVB, Faridabad managed to trap an EASI and a Head Constable of Police Station Mundkati, District Palwal red handed while receiving illegal gratification of Rs. 80,000/-. A complaint was received from Smt.
haryana
Coming up soon District level farmer fairs at each Krishi Vigyan Kendra
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar has now decided to organize district level farmer fairs at each Krishi Vigyan Kendra after the Virtual Agriculture Fair. Through these fairs, farmers are being informed about crop residue management and are being given other information on subjects like crop diversification. In this series, on Friday, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Sadalpur organized a farmers’ fair in village Sahu. The fair was organized under the in-situ crop residue management project. Instead of burning crop residue, scientists insisted on mixing them in the ground. Farmers were also made aware of making more income by managing the crop residue properly. They were told that burning the stubble has adverse effects on life, environment and health of the land. Farmers can increase their income by preparing fertilizers and fodder by properly managing stubble. At the fair, information was given about suitable machines like rotavator etc. for mixing the stubble into the ground. He also called upon farmers directly sowing of wheat using zero drill and happy seeders so that instead of burning crop residues, they can be used in the land itself to increase fertility. More than 200 farmers from the surrounding village participated in the fair. During this time, stalls of other departments of crop residue management were also set up at the fair.
Munni w/o Jakir resident of Village Gurnawat, now Kunda Colony, Nuh that a case FIR No. 134/20 under section 3/8/13 Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan & Gausamvardhan Act has been registered against her son Ismail and two relatives namely Pappy and Rahis in Police Station Mundkati, Palwal. The Investigating Officer of this case namely HC Dharmender No. 431/PWL has demanded bribe of Rs. 80,000/through EASI Mohd. Ikbal No. 330/PWL of Police Station Mundkati in lieu of saving her son and relatives from legal action in above case. Taking cognizance of the matter, Inspector
Ambala Cantt to have a grant War Memorial for the First Battle of Independence To ensure that the genesis of the first war of independence which took place in Ambala is stamped in the memory of the youth of the state and to ignite in them the spirit of patriotism, Ambala Cantt will soon be having a grant War Memorial for the First Battle of Independence ‘Aazadi Ki Pehli Ladai Ka Samarak’ which will be unique in itself. The digital walk-through and interactive screens in the memorial coupled with traditional art will add to the magnificence of the monument. Haryana Home and Urban Local Bodies Minister, Anil Vij today held a meeting with officers of the concerned Departments and directed them to expedite the work of this project. He also directed to constitute a committee of historians who will authenticate the information which is to be displayed in this memorial. A detailed presentation in this regard was given by an Architect in the meeting. While giving the presentation the Architect said that among the attractive features of the war memorial include the audio-visual, short films, digital walk-through, 5-D auditorium of various events of the First War of Independence which will be displayed in the me-
Tribhawan Naraiyan of SVB, Faridabad after registering a criminal case trapped the above police officials red handed while accepting illegal gratification of Rs. 80,000/- from complainant Smt. Munni in the presence of Duty Magistrate Sh. Rohtash Kumar, Tehsildar, Palwal. The investigation of the case is in progress and the accused are being interrogated thoroughly. The State Vigilance Bureau, Haryana requests the general public to support the drive against corruption and inform the Bureau immediately, if any Govt. Officer/Official demands illegal gratification in lieu of Govt. work.
Exemption in electricity-duty under Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020
Deputy CM, Dushyant Chautala said that the State Government has decided to give exemption in electricityduty for 20 years under 'Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy -2020' (HEEP) to attract more industries in the state. Earlier this exemption was applicable only for 10 years, he added. Apart from this, those industries which will employ local youth will get a subsidy of Rs 48,000 per employee per year for seven years, he added. He further said that special measures are being taken in the direction of providing benefits to investors by giving them 100 percent investment subsidy in lieu of State Goods
and Services Tax. He said that the State Government has also planned to give special exemption in this policy to the industries for the management of residues of paddy straw and other crops so that along with being self-reliant in terms of electricity the country and state itself will be pollution-free. The draft of HEEP has been finalized and will soon be implemented in the state.
Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of Industries & Commerce and Labour & Employment Departments said this while presiding over a meeting regarding 'Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy -2020' with the concerned officers. Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, D.S. Dhesi, Principal Secretary Industries and Commerce Department, AK Singh and Director, Industries & Commerce Department, Saket Kumar, Additional Director, Wazeer Singh, OSD, Deputy Chief Minister, Kamlesh Bhadoo, and other senior officers were also present during the meeting.
Dushyant Chautala said that in the 'Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020' prepared by the Industries and Commerce Department, where on one hand suggestions have been taken from 151 industrial associations of the country, on the other, industrial policies of other states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, and Rajasthan were also studied to formulate the most apt policy for Haryana. The draft policy was uploaded into the public domain for about a month so that the stakeholders could study it and give their suggestions.
morial. Likewise, paintings of freedom fighters will also be on display at the memorial along with pre and post independence maps of the country. A separate gallery will be created for the freedom fighters from Haryana. The memorial will house a massive and attractive 210-foot-height tower, as well as a 20-foot high wall, where the names of the freedom fighters will be inscribed. The Memorial will have six lawns which will mention the names of the freedom fighters besides which a museum based on the history of Ambala and the freedom fighters of Haryana in the 1857 revolution is also being built. He said that five different buildings are being constructed, which include Interpretation Centre, Open Air Theatre, Auditorium, Museum and Memorial Tower. Other arrangements will be made along with the open air theater hall, food court, exhibition along with modern lift in the museum building. The open theatre located in the auditorium will house 20 different types of fountains, water curtains as well as two platforms and other seating arrangements. A spacious car parking and helipad are also being built.
Haryana moves a step forward towards cleaner environment Haryana has moved one step closer towards a cleaner environment, by making the pilot project to produce biofuel from sugarcane residue operational at Kaithal Cooperative Sugar Mill. While stating this here today, Cooperation Minister, Dr. Banwari Lal, said that the biofuel production plant would not only help augment the income of the sugarcane growers, but would also have a multitude of positive impacts on the environment. The plant would utilise bagasse (residue remaining after extraction) to produce biofuel briquettes, thus reducing waste and providing a cleaner alternative to stubble burning. The process would also utilise press mud, the rotting of which produces the distinct foul smell usually associated with sugar mills, to produce fuel and organic manure. This will thus ensure
better surroundings for people in and around the mills. While the biofuel briquettes and biogas could be used as an alternative to coal and charcoal in households, biogas could also be converted to bio-CNG, he added. Dr. Banwari Lal said that the processing equipment for the plant was built at a cost of Rs. 35 lakh in consultation with the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The machine is expected to pay for itself within three months, and start generating profit thereafter, he added. He said that after the success of the pilot project, biofuel production operations would be scaled up to other sugar mills as well. The National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, would prepare Detailed Project Report for this purpose.
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women
Why Indian women experience
the pressure to get married Shivani Shukla
You’ve probably rejected your mother's pleas a million times when it comes to ‘looking for rishtas’ aka marriage. Countless WhatsApp photos of guys, or a sud-
den, surprised meeting of the guy and his family, coordinated with your parents are not really common. Feeling pressurised to marry is one of the most common feelings that Indian women have to endure. Of course, it’s not the law but the society’s will.
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It is believed that it doesn’t matter if you are successful or not, getting married should be one of your main priorities. Countless women in India feel pressurised to marry and relate it to their selfworth. Society has proclaimed that women have to get married and carry on a family’s legacy because it’s all part of the culture. Generations of women have followed this principle of getting married early and have avoided their preferences and likes in many ways possible. However, if any women dared to follow their heart and decided to marry later, the over towering personality of the society looked down on these women, enough to make their confidence crumble. Society’s deep-rooted issues with women’s superiority have been there for centuries. Even if women were successful, they had to get married before it got difficult to produce babies. “Get married quickly, your biological clock is ticking,” is what all women hear when they reach their late 20s. As a result, after some time, dedicate themselves to finding a suitable groom to escape society’s judgemental clutches. They not only feel pressurised but also unknowingly develop wishes to get married. They feel that their self-worth is not measured by themselves or their success but by their marriage.
What is the right time to get married?
For Indian women, as per societal judgements and scriptures, the right time to get married is after you turn 25. Even if you fight off saying you have your life
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16 to live a little more, your parents are determined to get you married at least by 29. If you reach 30, there are constant worries how others will react! If you chose your career over your marriage, chances are that you’ll be forever labelled as a rebel. To escape from this, women restrain themselves and their wishes. But, no matter what, it’s really important to realise that the only right time to get married is when you want to. No pressure, no judgements, but only your decision. Marriage is a lifetime commitment and you should have a say in when or who you marry. There are countless duties and responsibilities that can seem suffocating and tiresome. Relentless pressure and crying from parents shouldn’t nudge you to get married as soon as you turn 25 or near your 30s. Parents and relatives fear that with time, men wouldn’t want to marry a woman who isn’t young.
"You'll be past your prime years." You family may pursue you with the intention of living a lavish and materialistic life, but if you don’t agree, you’ll be termed as a spoiled brat for not wanting lavishness in a marriage. You want someone with the same taste, comforting, familiar or someone who likes pineapple pizza as much as you like. The goal is to get married when you feel like it. With many social media stories and campaigns promoting women’s choices to be as equal to others, it’s still not too late to defy society and seek your heart out.
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