Time to honour the battles of Indians with disabilities

Glaring deficiencies caused inconveniences to these voters in the poll-bound states. Several polling booths in Telangana were not disabled-friendly either. The Election Commission had announced special guidelines to encourage disabled voters. Yet, there was a lukewarm response to the 'Chunavana' app, which sought to encourage differently-abled voters to book transportation online in order to go out and vote in Karnataka. The number of EVMs with Braille were insufficient, as were wheelchairs and other basic amenities. There are numerous other instances of initiatives aimed at the differently abled faltering. 'Sugamya', an app that seeks to provide welfare services to senior citizens and differently-abled people, is not functioning properly. The campaign to press for equal opportunities and rights has taken a back seat and access to education, employment, health and commerce remains unsatisfactory.Tellingly, the Indian media have remained indifferent to the plight of this marginalized segment that constitutes 2.21 per cent of the population, even though the fourth pillar of society has the responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the socially and economically backward. The coverage of issues concerning people with special needs is sporadic. Disability makes it to the pages mostly in the month of December because of International Day of Persons with Disabilities that falls on the third of the month. Even then, events, rather than the violation of rights for the differently abled, are prioritized. It is pertinent to mention that a report by Human Rights revealed that sexual assault of the differently abled are seldom talked about in the media.An additional problem is the lack of training and sensitivity among journalists who report on disability. This is manifest in the insensitivity of the language - 'blind', 'lame' or 'deaf and dumb' - that is used in stories on disability. Differently-abled women from villages suffer from a double invisibility - for being women from India's hinterland. Incidentally, the Press Council of India apparently does not have a specific guideline when it comes to covering disability. Even though India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Indian media are not paying attention to the directives brought out by the International Labour Organization while reporting on disability .The media should adopt a holistic approach when it comes to covering or discussing the needs and rights of the differently abled. Such an approach could foster a spirit of inclusion and ensure that India meets its SDGs in the days to come. 1677331 Dailyhunthttps://www.sbnation.com/users/zeekrpheek

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Imran Re-engages India and us

But the initial foray has been anything but reassuring, if not outright frustrating to him. His initiative on reactivating the Kartarpur border crossing with India and ensuring a visa-free entry into Pakistani territory for Sikh pilgrims to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib did force New Delhi to reciprocate-in fact, pre-empt the Pakistani move. However, the gambit didn't quite go the full length as Imran may have hoped for. Imran may have been overly sanguine about melting the long frost in relations between the two countries. His optimism gushed from his belief that he was unlike his predecessors in power. He wasn't a traditional politician with little else but politics under his belt. He had a constituency among the Indians because of his previous career in cricket, which made millions in India his fans. He stood a better chance than them to cut the Gordian knot with India. Imran wasn't alone in that rosy assessment of his chances with India. The Indian journalist Barkha Dutt shared his optimism. Writing in the Washington Post after her visit to the Kartarpur Corridor's foundation-laying ceremony on the Pakistani side, she said: "If there is to be even incremental progress between the two nuclear-armed nations. Khan is presently India's best bet." That the Modi government isn't inclined, at present, to bet its money on Imran is frustrating to the Pakistani PM. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj lost no time in dousing cold water on any expectations in Pakistan that Imran's Kartarpur initiative would lead to early resumption of the long-stalled dialogue with India. Sushma was brutally frank in telling Pakistan that Kartarpur or no Kartarpur, her government wasn't going to rush into talks with Imran's Pakistan. So a reality check hasn't taken long to sink in with Imran. India will not play ball with Pakistan because Modi sarkar has all its energies riveted on the upcoming elections in India, a few months from now. A South Asian cold war with a 'nettlesome' Pakistan will be a good card to wield in the election campaign. As the going gets tough for its prospects to gain another five years in power, the BJP may well have concluded that normalcy with Pakistan will not be an election-winning ploy. Imran must wait for the impending 2019 election outcome to rekindle any hope of a breakthrough with India. But serendipity may have suddenly brightened up chances of administering a healing touch to Pakistan's frustratingly long-moribund, roller-coaster relations with Washington. It would be an understatement to say that since Donald Trump's innings started in Washington, Pakistan has had one humiliation and frustration after another with his administration. It was only last month that a Twitter-addicted Trump administered another tongue-lashing to Pakistan. In a tweet out of the blue he accused Pakistan of being ungrateful and not doing "a damn" for Washington in return for billions poured into its coffers. But unlike his predecessors in power-who mostly meekly lumped Trump's brazen insults and slurs-Imran refused to buckle under Trump's verbal assault and gave it back, straight out, to him in his own medium. In several of his own tweets, Imran told Trump that Pakistan on his watch will do what was good for Pakistan and not what may please others.Although Imran denied in a recent interview with the Washington Post that he was in a Twitter war with Trump, his standing up to Trump's bullying seems to have paid off, handsomely. Trump has unexpectedly decided to sue for peace with Imran. In a letter to him-which took Pakistani and American pundits by surprise-Trump has sought Pakistan's help to find a negotiated end to the Afghanistan imbroglio. He has asked Imran to help by prevailing upon the Taliban to engage themselves in a dialogue to bring the long-festering episode to an end. Zalmay Khalilzad, Trump's point man for Afghanistan, has visited Islamabad thrice in recent weeks to get Pakistan completely on board in the bid to get the Taliban fully engaged in the peace process. Pakistan is ready to use its influence with the Taliban to further peace prospects in Afghanistan. But Imran would play ball on a wicket that doesn't bruise Pakistan's self-respect. In his Post interview, he minced no words in telling Trump and his power brokers that Pakistan will not be a "hired gun." Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has added another dimension to it: He would like to have India also involved in the peace process as a "shared responsibility" of regional countries. To the naysayers, Pakistan may seek to kill two birds with one stone. But the realists see a genuine effort by Imran to re-engage both India and US, constructively. It may not be a bad wish. Dailyhunthttps://vimeo.com/user91674555/about

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Bitter war of words between government, Opposition in Lok Sabha over Rafale deal

In an embarrassment to the Modi government, its ally Shiv Sena also supported the Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal. Following Gandhi's hard-hitting attack on the government, Jaitley led the government's charge in a counter-attack as he referred to alleged defence scams during the Congress rule and said the "conspirators" of past defence scams had the "audacity" to target the Modi dispensation. He also ruled out a JPC probe, a demand made by most Opposition leaders including Gandhi, saying there was no need for it as the Supreme Court had already satisfied its "conscience" on the issue. Targeting Gandhi, the BJP leader said he would have played in the lap of 'Q', an apparent reference to Ottavio Quattrocchi -- allegedly involved in the Bofors case. Jaitley also mentioned the recent disclosure allegedly made by AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel and referred to terms like "Mrs G" and "the Italian lady" and "her son" to attack the Congress leadership. Attacking Gandhi, he said, "There are some people who have a natural dislike for the truth. Every word spoken for the last six months on this subject, including in this House (by them), are false. He has a legacy of speaking falsehood." The House also witnessed high drama after Gandhi sought the speaker's permission to play an audio tape, purportedly of a Goa minister, on the Rafale deal. Jaitley said the tape was "false and fabricated", asking Gandhi if he could authenticate it. He might have to face a privilege motion and even expulsion if it turned out to be fabricated, the BJP leader added. Amid an uproar, which caused a brief adjournment of the House proceedings, Gandhi said he would not play it and authenticate it, prompting Jaitley to say that he was "scared" as he knew it was false. "This man lies and lies repeatedly," Jaitley said. The speaker also disallowed Gandhi's request to play the clip. Gandhi claimed the BJP members were "terrified" of the clip, in which Goa minister Vishwajit Rane purportedly told someone that former defence minister Manohar Parrikar had a Rafale file in his bedroom. Rane had already termed the tape "fabricated", Jaitley said. In his speech, Gandhi referred to Modi's comments in an interview that no personal allegation was levelled against him in the matter and said this was not true as the "entire nation" was asking him a direct question on the Rafale fighter jets deal. "He (Modi) spoke for 90 minutes in a staged interview but still did not answer questions on the Rafale issue. He does not have the guts to come to Parliament and confront questions (on Rafale) and hides in his room," Gandhi said. "We demand a JPC probe into the matter. There is no reason for the BJP leaders to feel afraid. The country will get to know that Modi put Rs 30,000 crore in the pockets of 'double A'. The contract was snatched from the HAL (a government-run unit)," Gandhi said. "Double A" was an apparent reference to Anil Ambani, whom Gandhi repeatedly referred to in his speech before the speaker asked him not to name him as he was not a member of the House. The Congress leader described Ambani as a "dear friend" of Modi and a "failed businessman". His defence firm was registered only 10 days before it got the offset contract from Rafale, a French firm, Gandhi said, alleging corruption in the Rs 58,000-crore deal. Hitting back, Jaitley said, "It is a tragedy that the grand old party, which was headed by legends in the past, is now headed by a gentleman who does not have basic understanding of combat aircraft. " The Congress felt that since "its hands are already soaked in corruption", it had to "manufacture" a lie to defame the Modi government which had a clean record. "Remember the JPC on Bofors it said the kickback were winding up charges it whitewashed corruption," Jaitley said, rejecting the JPC probe demand. The JPC often worked on partisan lines and could not investigate fairly, he added. The finance minister noted that the price of the "bare aircraft" was revealed and the price of the "weaponised" version could not be told as it would help India's adversaries. He also asserted that the bare aircraft was nine per cent cheaper than the one negotiated by the UPA and the weaponised version was 20 per cent cheaper. Mentioning alleged defence scams during the Congress rule, Jaitley, in a repartee, quoted from a James Bond movie which, he added, the Congress president must have seen. "In the movie, Bond says if it happens for the first time then it is happenstance, if it happens twice it is coincidence and if it is thrice then it is conspiracy. The Congress president is doing the same," he said. Jaitley also recalled a famous British sitcom to mock the UPA's indecisiveness on the Rafale deal. Dailyhunthttp://www.tripntale.com/profile/130975

Two from Bengaluru drown in Kapila river

Australian university ties-up with ICAR, 13 state agriculture varsities to double farmers' income The collaborations will aim to leverage research and innovations that may help Indian farmers double their income by 2022. The WSU has already partnered with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and 13 state agricultural universities as part of a new initiative designed to combat global food security issues presented by climate change. The research will focus on the areas of protected cropping and related aspects of horticulture and agriculture, as well as collaborative teaching and learning. "India and Australia share some challenges in building a protected cropping industry - so we will have similar research questions," WSU VC told PTI. The two countries share similar climates. We have monsoonal areas, very arid areas - the challenges of broad agriculture are similar in many ways, Glover said. However, Glover points out that India has an added complexity. "About 99 per cent of Indian farmers have less than five hectares of land," he said. "Work is going on in Pune to identify the range of recommendations to double the income of the small farmers particularly. It is those with small holdings - less than a hectare - that are struggling to earn a living," he added. WSU is working with ICAR on a bee-keeping project that involves women. "Bees are very important to the environment, to pollination, for crops and biodiversity of the planet. There are ways to develop an economic base from bee-keeping," Glover said. Certain varieties of bees are crucial to protected cropping - as pollination inside the greenhouse is challenging. Currently, both India and Australia uses hand pollination, an expensive and time-consuming process, Glover said. "Touching on bee-keeping is one element of bringing a diversification of revenue into the community. By introducing more crops, and adding livestock small farmers can better manage the volatility in the climate and market," he said. With ICAR and the state universities across the country, WSU will work to up-skill industry and train early career academics through joint research training programs in horticulture and agriculture. "Collaborative research between ICAR and WSU will bring together researchers, academics and students from partnering institutions and provide them with a platform to benefit from mutual expertise," said Trilochan Mohapatra, director general of ICAR. Latest Videos The network includes top state agricultural universities of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Kashmir, West Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. According to Glover, support of local agricultural institutes is essential in helping farmers adopt new methods and approaches to farming. "The students in these universities often come from families involved in agriculture. It provides an opportunity to influence the families to adopt successful agricultural strategies," Glover said. The collaboration will equip students of various academic backgrounds to bring about new innovations in the field of agriculture and crop protection. Dailyhunthttps://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/user/profile/415825.page The three stepped into the river at about 9.50 am. One among them could not withstand the strong current of the water and was washed away. The two others tried to rescue him. However, they too could not withstand the force of the water. Vinod, who somehow managed to raise an alarm and a person nearby pulled him to safety. However, the two others were not lucky. While the bodies of Tiwari and Chakravarthy was fished out late evening. Dailyhunthttps://www.avitop.com/cs/members/meekneekitto.aspx

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Barcelona on alert after US warns of possible terror attack on Christmas

"We take all threats seriously, all of them are investigated," he added, without giving further details. Top-selling Spanish newspaper El Pais, citing anonymous police sources, said the authorities were looking for a 30-year-old Moroccan man with a licence to drive buses. Barcelona-based daily El Periodico de Catalunya said Catalan regional police had circulated an internal note that the man could try to drive a bus into crowds in Barcelona. Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for the regional police force in Catalonia did not confirm police were seeking a Moroccan man but said a "temporary reinforcement of security measures in areas of high concentration of people" was in place. Spain has kept its terrorist alert unchanged at the second-highest level despite the US State Department warning, although security measures were boosted in December for the Christmas holiday period, a Spanish interior ministry spokesman said. On August 17, 2017 a van rammed into crowds on Barcelona's tree-lined Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people. The 22-year-old Moroccan driver then stole a car after killing the driver and fled. Several hours later five of his accomplices mowed down pedestrians on the promenade of the seaside resort of Cambrils south of Barcelona before stabbing a woman to death. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Spain's deadliest in over a decade. Dailyhunthttp://www.jthink.net/jaikozforum/user/profile/97633.page

PM, junk your Exam Warriors

The Prime Minister said in a staged interview that nobody was pointing fingers at him. The whole country is directly pointing fingers at you. Questions are about your conduct," Rahul said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.On a day Congress members were seen flying paper planes that often landed on BJP ministers' desks in the House, Rahul led the charge and the government found itself deserted by even some allies when it resisted calls for a fair probe.Later, Rahul told a media conference: "It is very interesting the Prime minister thinks questions on Rafale are about somebody else. Which world does he live in? It is about you, Mr Prime Minister."He added: "The PM is involved in corruption. Chowkidar chor hai. Let us not believe in what the Congress is saying. Let us have a JPC (joint parliamentary committee). Modi can hide but the truth can't be suppressed."Modi was not seen in the Lok Sabha, leaving it to Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, to defend the government. Nothing prevents Jaitley from speaking in the lower House. But Trinamul MP Saugata Roy pointed out that although the NDA has 300 MPs in the Lok Sabha, it had to ask a member from the upper House to speak on the Rafale deal in the lower House. Jaitley is a Rajya Sabha member and a former defence minister.Rahul lamented that the Prime Minister did not have the guts to come to Parliament and was hiding in his room to evade questions. The Congress leader asked some specific questions:How was the deal negotiated after eight years of hard work changed?Did the Indian Air Force ask you to change the deal and purchase 36 aircraft instead of 126?Is there an objection by defence ministry officials to the increase in the benchmark price mentioned on the files?Is there a file noting (by a defence ministry official) asking the Prime Minister's Office not to interfere?Jaitley did not respond to the specific questions but cited the Supreme Court judgment to claim a clean chit, questioned Rahul's ability to understand issues of national security and insisted that the price difference is because of weaponisation of the fighter aircraft.BJP members clapped the loudest when Jaitley said: "When he was young, was he playing in the lap of Q?" The reference was to Ottavio Quattrocchi, the middleman in the Bofors deal.On Wednesday night, Rahul tweeted: "Tomorrow, the PM faces an Open Book #RafaleDeal Exam in Parliament.Here are the exam questions in advance:Q1. Why 36 aircraft, instead of the 126 the IAF needed?Q2. Why 1,600 Cr instead of 560 Cr per aircraft.Q4. Why AA instead of HAL?Will he show up? Or send a proxy?"The "Missing Q3" was held back but later revealed "on popular demand". "Q3: Modi Ji, please tell us why Parrikar Ji keeps a Rafale file in his bedroom & what's in it?"Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley used the Supreme Court judgment as a shield and tried to embarrass the Congress by referring to cases like Bofors, Agusta and National Herald. He rejected the need for the JPC, arguing that a partisan body cannot investigate and overrule the findings of the Supreme Court.Arguing that the Supreme Court had spoken on every aspect of the deal, which should be taken as the last word, Jaitley said: "The court is satisfied with the procedure. They also asked for pricing details to satisfy their conscience and ruled that they should not get into this after reading what the government supplied in the sealed envelope. I can say with fear of contradiction that the basic price of per aircraft is 9% less than the UPA deal and weaponised aircraft is 20% cheaper."Jaitley's target was clearly Rahul as he alleged that "the conspirators of defence deals" were trying to invent evidence to tarnish the Modi government.Jaitley added: "This family understands the arithmetic of money but not national security. It is a pity that the party which was led by legends is now being led by someone who understands nothing. He doesn't know a bare aircraft is just a flying equipment and a fighter aircraft needs weaponry and avionics." Dailyhunthttp://www.penninetroutfarmandfishery.co.uk/UserProfile/tabid/61/userId/1759827/Default.aspx

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to meet MSME representatives

report put out by Kotak Institutional Equities said that the overall exposure of banks and NBFCs is Rs 13 lakh crore (of loans up to Rs 25 crore) of the overall Rs 23 lakh crore MSME portfolio.A note from Icra estimated that MSME loans under the forbearance stood at less than Rs 10,000 crore as on September 30, 2018.Analysts expressing bewilderment over the bailout plan for MSMEs, which stood in stark contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stand that his government would not step in to bailout farmers who have been similarly plagued by loan distress.In its note, Kotak Institutional Equities said the forbearance comes as a surprise move as the lenders are not witnessing any build-up of stress in the segment. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das is set to meet representatives of micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) next week even as the representatives from the sector have expressed dissatisfaction with the restricted conditions attached to the one-time loan restructuring scheme announced by the central bank on Tuesday.The MSMEs are demanding that the scheme should be extended to cover firms that are not registered under the goods and service tax (GST).RBI governor Shaktikanta Das tweeted: "Will hold meetings with MSME associations and representatives of NBFCs next week."Das had earlier met the heads of various PSU and private sector banks.The RBI also said it will form an expert committee to identify the issues and propose long-term solutions for economic and financial sustainability of small businesses. The panel will be headed by U.K. Sinha, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, according to a press statement published on the central bank's website. Das's meeting with MSMEs could see their representatives raking up the issue of exclusion of non-GST registered units from the restructuring scheme."The borrowing entity should be GST-registered on the date of implementation of the restructuring," the RBI had said while citing the conditions of the mechanism. "It would have been far more effective if the scheme covered all MSMEs, GST-registered or not, as a large number of units are adversely affected due to delays in payments owing to stressed economic conditions as a result of the twin shocks of demonetisation and GST," Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises secretary-general Anil Bhardwaj said. Dailyhunthttps://justpaste.it/3yk3c