Whispers Forum

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had long back flagged “undertaking important banking sector reforms and public listing of general insurance companies” as an area where significant reforms need to be undertaken. Since he has already announced possible disinvestment plans for the insurance companies, it may be worthwhile to focus on the areas that need attention in the banking sector.
Ashok Rastogi
DEBATE (2) Banking Reforms
Of late, there have been some seesaw movements in the banking sector and it has been appearing in the headlines for the wrong reasons. First, according to the ‘Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India‘ released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last fiscal, the consolidated balance sheets of the banking sector grew at a meagre pace. There have been decelerations in growth in loans and advances as well as in deposits of public sector banks (PSBs) which needs to be corrected on top priority.
Rakesh Virmani
Why can’t Army construct bridge in Mumbai ?
Indian Railways does a lot for the Indian Army. Concessional tickets, reserved accommodation and carries tanks, guns and ammunition on a regular basis. As per rules for construction of road over bridge the Railways and State Governments are required to incur 50% each of the cost. If the State Government does not give money, then how can Railways construct one. For political reasons you do not allow the railways to gather actual cost from the passenger and then you expect Railways to make profit. If army can construct a bridge during the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, then why can't they be made to do so in Mumbai. If they have the know how, then why it should not be utilized. They are in any case going to be paid for the job. As it is the country has not fought any was after 1971. We need to keep the army men busy and not make them lethargic. Construction activity in the Army is carried out by the MES (Military Engineering Service and also called Money Earning Service).
BBS
Army has full-fledged Military Engineering Service
Apropos A K Saxena's remarks. FYI, Army has full-fledged Military Engineering Service which can undertake construction works of specialised nature. So any construction will be done by Engineering Service of Army.
Jayant

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Board governance in Public Sector banks remains weak even though non-performing assets (NSAs) are rising alarmingly. To fix these systemic problems, the framework for governing PSBs must create an arm’s-length distance between the government and the bureaucracy, on the one hand, and the government and the PSBs on the other.
Micky Manchanda
Air pollution - we debate more, take no action
You know what many of us are yearning for these days. Fresh air. How we have sullied this God's gift and today are gasping for breath in this gas Chamber in which those living in Delhi and other places in NCR are badly caught. There seems to be no serious effort by any one to tackle this emergency problem which is "critically endangering ' the lives of the people. A serious situation has to be met with equal seriousness. Pollution in Beijing is equally bad but as reported the Chinese have taken several steps like closing the factories, banning the use of cars in certain areas etc. to lower its level. In Delhi while schools have been shut till Sunday to save the children from bad air, the offices and all other establishments except the essential ones should also have been closed for two days . Absence of vehicles on the roads could help in restoring the air quality. Drastic problems need drastic remedies. It seems however we debate more and take no action. Even on odd even scheme the discussion has been going on. Meanwhile citizens suffer .
Aarti Khosla

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
This is trial and error method. They are trying for reforms and can be corrective.
D P Devgan
DEBATE (2) Banking Reforms
Talk to any banker, they are not happy with the merger of banks.
A Banker
Govt should review policy of manning CBI
It is high time that Government reviews its policy of manning CBI. The existing policy of manning the posts in CBI exclusively by Police officials(barring a few officers from I.Tax/customs) has failed. Majority of cases handled by CBI are documents based; it requires special aptitude to read and sift through papers. Unfortunately most of the Police officials are not adapt in it. CBI is a premier National institution. Government should consider recruiting people from various Government services and private organisations for appointment in CBI. They should be recruited after putting them through Psychological Tests.
S Gopal
Date with RTI
It would be prudent to put the names and aadhar number of the beneficiaries of all the schemes on internet. It would ensure that the beneficiaries are real persons and would also point to any duplication in the system. It would prove to be a simple and effective system to end discretion and bring about transparency in the working of administration.
Ghanshyam Uppal

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
There has been no substantial banking reforms initiated so far to make banking more efficient. Reforms to review the progress of reforms in banking and to consider further steps to strengthen the banking system in light of changes taking place in international financial markets and the experience of other developing countries.
Abdullah Faheem
“ Don’t Insult Indian Army ”
Media reports of Mumbai's Elphinstone footbridge being rebuilt by Indian army, is disturbing. Who is firing the shot, one wonders ?
Is the railway’s civil wing not considered professionally competent?
Are the Railway minister, CRB and engineers not confident to execute their mandated functions.?
Why not complete the promised investigations on a war footing , check culpability and punish the guilty ? It does not take a rocket science.
But, don't belittle the Indian army. Its contribution during the floods, earthquakes and other emergencies must be gratefully recognised.
It should be left to prepare for a two-front war with China and Pakistan
A K Saxena ( A retd civil servant)

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Though the reform proposals underlying Indradhanush for the public sector banks (PSBs) were announced in August 2015, few tangible steps have been taken since then. This Budget did nothing to alleviate concerns that grand announcements are not being followed up with ample action. The Indradhanush set of reforms was based on the P J Nay ak committee report, which had noted the need for reforming the governance in boards of PSBs. This need remains as boa rds of most PSBs lack the requi red sense of purpose in being able to provide oversight to steer the banks through their present difficulties.
Rajesh Shrivastava
Former Manager, UPFC
Innocent prayer for Swachh Amritsar
It was in the year 2005 that the national scheme of Bharat Nirman was formulated and implemented. Punjab having fancy for catchy names and slogans also brought in Punjab Nirman policy with eye on the 2007 Assembly poll. People know better about the success or failure of Punjab Nirman, but Punjab speedily slided downhill consistently .On 15 August 2014, PM announced the colossal and ambitious scheme of Swachh Bharat to be launched on October 2,2014, birth anniversary of the father of Indian nation. Many practical people were sceptical of the success of the scheme looking at its enormity and the nature of the people to forget the events after their pompous and grand inaugurations and as the days are passing their doubts have proved well-founded. Punjab had also launched Swachh Bharat scheme . The districts have been following suit by naming the scheme after the name of the respective district e.g. Swachh Amritsar for Amritsar district, but over the period ,it has been observed that it has added to the dirt and squalor rather than reducing it visibly. This exercise of advertisements, in news papers, broom wielding powerful politicians and news crazy social working groups half-heartedly supported by media, is being repeated every year around the birthday of the father of the nation.
Recently, my four years old maternal grandson came to Amritsar to live with us for a fortnight. He had to be taken to the park regularly, on the both sides of which there were huge piles of garbage. He would innocently ask me, ''Nani ma, yahan itna ganda kyon hai?'' I would fumble for the answer and he would say, ''yahan safai kyon nahi hoti''? I did not have ready- made answer to it ,but still I tried to explain to him, and say, ''Bete,jo committee hai uss ke mulazam apna kaam nahi karte.'' I knew he had not understood whatever I had said. He would say, ''Agar woh home work nahi karte tto un ko ddant nahi parhti? ''At this i would speed up my pace to avoid answering his further innocent queries. But he would say,'' Zara batana nani maa,kyon safai nahi hoti''. I would heave a sigh of relief, when he runs up after the football without asking me anything further. He would play for sometime and then come running to me to ask as to why so many pictures of a bespectacled man have been hung there in the park and would ask what was written beneath these pictures. I would tell him that he was a big man ,he was telling people to keep the park clean and also keep the country clean.He would always say to it that he had not understood .''Zara samjhana nani maa!''He would repeat.,
''Yeh aenak wale uncle kaam kyon nahi karte,park mein yeh board laga ke aur ganda kar diya.'' These remarks always astonished me.
One day i was taking him to Golden Temple. On the way he had to pass through the overflowing sewer water of a choked sewer and many small heaps of garbage. He asked me ,''Yeh ganda paani kahan se aaya/''I tried to explain to him that the sewer was choked. To this he said ,''samajh nahi aaya, zara samjhana''. I tried to divert his attention by referring to a beautiful hoarding. But instead of looking at the hoarding, he looked at the placards and said, ''Oh! park wale .uncle, yeh yahan kaise aa gaye, samjhaane aaye, khud kaam nahin karenge ?''.I could not give him the exact answer and reached Golden Temple. I always told him that whatever he would ask for in prayer from Guru ji,Guruji would fulfill his wish. But he should pray for good of everybody. He would always say yes to it. After offering our obeisance, while we were in parkarma, he asked me to wait. He sat down crossed legged , eyes closed, arms on the knees with thumbs and first fingers making circles. He continued in this position for a minute. He would often do that at home also. I asked him as to what prayer he had made. He said,''Meine Baba ji se bola hai, saare shehar ko saaf kar do.'' At home I kissed him for this.
Ranking or no ranking, Amritsar is one of the dirtiest Indian cities. Rather than aspiring for becoming smart, it should aim at being clean with basic civic amenities first.
Hardish Kaur Sandhu, Amritsar.

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
It is easily understandable why some bank officers are feeling uneasy. Acting in collusion with some politicians and some rogue bureaucrats, these bank officials made lots of money , never thinking that they may be investigated. Many of them helped money launderers during the demonetisation, to convert black money illegally. The government should take drastic action against these officials, and quickly, otherwise the impact would dissipate. They played a high risk, high gain game. So now with change of circumstances, they should pay the price. If they played at the instance of rogues and made easy money, they would have evaluated the risks also! So now they cannot take take any plea , of political coercion then. With security of job, unlike private sector, they chose to connive , and played fraud.
S Chatterjee
Kaaliarthavyavastha in ICU
The Opposition, led by politicians of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, CPI, CPM, RJD, SP, BSP and others have been in drool & gloom since “Notebandi”, aggravated by GST and plan to start a nationwide agitation against it from 8th November 2017. The day happens to be the first anniversary of the demonetization of 500 & 1000 rupee currency notes on 8th Nov 2016. The grand opposition wants to observe it as a black day! Observing black day for striking effectively at the black money is nothing short of black humour! The opposition charges that Notebandi and GST have adversely affected the country’s economy and sent it to the ICU. In reality, the black money economy has been in the ICU since last year. All operations of the parallel economy, run by the parallel government, generating black money larger in size compared to the revenues accruing to the public exchequer came to a sudden halt. It was a disaster they could never imagine as they had become accustomed to the corrupt ways of the system created by the black money, stressing all white money operations. The real estate business provides a telling illustration: the ratio between white to black money dealings in the real estate sector was 90:10 some 50 years ago but reached 40:60 by 2014. All conceivable kind of black money went into the real estate sector. Properties were bought in the name of the investor or some proxy to escape tax laws and investigation agencies. Bribe, extortion, ransom, smuggling, drug peddling, robbery, conning, betting, spying, contract killings, speculation and hundreds of other shady deals generated money in tonnes. Even the quantum of bribes rose from a humble few thousands to crores! Industry could get power to run its plants if 80% profits were given to the politicians and bureaucrats. The Narendra Modi government pursued doggedly transparency and made its intent clear by auctioning national assets like spectrum, mines and all government purchases. It was just the opposite of what the kaaliarthavyavastha was used to; Modi’s initiatives affected its health. Duplicate and fraudulent PAN cards numbering 11.35 lakhs have been deactivated. Unless black money operators are at it no citizen would take more than one PAN. Removing bogus beneficiaries of government subsidies saved Rs. 57,029 crore. Even if each swindler got Rs 1500000 (fifteen lakh), it would mean a fiercely loyal brigade of 3,50,000 followers to stage a Black Day. Schemes like MGNREGS will throw up disturbing figures of bogus muster rolls in lakhs. Even the educated class had taken to corrupt means of doing business in India: more than 2,00,000 fake companies have been deregistered. The nexus of corrupt business-Babu-Neta-CA has exploited the common man for 70 years and Narendra Modi has been able to rein them only partially. Even then they are crying foul, holding protest rallies, agitations, media & SM campaigns unabashedly. They have the cheek to observe 8th November as Black Day! This is what has exactly happened: the kaaliarthavyavastha or the black money economy has been admitted in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for care & rehabilitation. It has the slimmest chances of improvement in its health. That is the reason for so much desperation on the part of its mentors, Gurus, Acharyas, leaders, middlemen and others as 2019 is not very far. Unless revived, it is likely to need intensive critical care and be moved to the ICCU. Black Day is an exercise in reviving it before Narendra Modi cashes on the success of notebandi & GST. There is an attempt to portray these two game changing initiatives of a transparent government as failures and anti-people. They call it a failure affecting the economy, fall in GDP numbers and loss of jobs against all logic and rationale. The black money operations do not qualify to be categorized as GDP or jobs. It means the earlier data was inflated because of their inclusion. Once the black money operations ceased, the real economic data exhibits the true heath of the economy. The data post notebandi and GST is very encouraging as it has registered satisfactory growth rate. It is sturdy, sustainable and healthy growth. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2018 says it all: India has moved from position 130 in DBP report for 2017 to 100 for 2018. It has caused total black out for the opposition who have termed the report “fixed”. Since the Congress and its allies were experts in fixing deals, they think Prime Minister Narendra Modi has risen so high in stature that he can influence even the World Bank and get a favourable report from it. Are they complimenting Modi or expressing heartburn? The opposition can’t impose its negative ideas on the masses, who understand the nuances better than they imagine. It is time for the opposition to learn a few lessons in socialism, patriotism and economic development from the new era of socialism launched by prime minister Narendra Modi. The old socialist misconceptions, cobwebs and blinkers need to be removed at once if the opposition leaders want to usher in a new and revised socialist era in India. The outdated tools of militant socialism of wasting time, resources and manpower in holding demonstrations, organizing protest rallies, gheraos, tool down, pen down and chakkajam need to be junked. Holding demonstrations against black money operations, improved tax collection methods or observing black day indicate how awfully these parties are still caught in the time warp and want the people of India also to remain trapped with them. With advancements in AI (Artificial Intelligence) revolutionary disruptions are going to take place globally in the field of production, distribution and employment, which would need enlightened leadership. The older generation will become unproductive and out of synch with the market scenario. Who will need politicians of so many parties in that situation? Crowds for political rallies are provided by contractors on payment these days unlike the decades of the 1940s, 1950s etc. The opposition parties should stop contributing to the making of the economy sick and start working hard and honest to contribute their share to the real GDP. They can’t go on amassing wealth without working hard. Even if not yet proved corrupt, the wealth of more than 95% politicians in India have increased to several millions as reported by them to the Election Commission. Where from have they acquired so much wealth? They should not dream of another run of the black economy. They should help bury it. The opposition parties and not the voters need to correct vision and course. Observing Black Day against demonetisation & GST is counter Transparency & GST Revolution. It would be better for them to join the revolution or they will be wiped out in 2019.
M L Gupta
Stupid decision
Deploying School teachers for religious work is a stupid decision. My impression is that there are large number of BJP/RSS members who are against PM-as he is taking strict action against corrupt people. These people are not able to make illegal money and hence are indulging in acts which bring bad name to the party. So this action of Harayana Government is an outcome of this anger.
S Gopal

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
There is panic in top banking circles because of the Government move. In a top level meeting of bankers in Mumbai, several bankers informally said that they now want a change in the Government. Reason is obvious.
M G Raghuvanshi
“ School Teachers as Priests ”
Haryana has a penchant for cheap publicity. It has continuously been in the news, of late, all for the wrong reasons. The latest news about 100 Haryana government school teachers, doubling as ‘ Pandit jis’ or ‘ pujaris’ after they were officially assigned extra duties at hindu temples in Yamunanagar district in addition to teaching.
Over 100 teachers were roped into religious duties like tying the thread, distributing prasad at the annual temple festival. They were also tasked by the district magistrate with the job of counting of cash offerings by the devotees at the four-day "Kapal Mochan" festival in Yamunanagar.
The news is not only ludicrous but bizarre, too. Worse, hell broke loose when a majority of teachers failed to show up for the Priest training sessions. All were issued show cause notices by the district education officer to explain why action should not be taken against them for non-compliance of orders.
School teachers were also recently ordered in Haryana to keep all night vigils on stubble-burning, a major environmental problem in the state and the adjoining Punjab . All after their day’ labour in schools.
The school teachers are also roped in for enumeration job in connection with Census besides election duties. The Kerala cops also perform temple duties without full uniform and bare footed at Sabarimala for months. In a state where over 50 percent population are communism- believers, they control the crowd of devotees. All these are fine in lieu of officially assigned work.
But, deploying Haryana school teachers on priestly duties inside the sanctum sanctorum, is un-heard of. Reprehensible and illegal, too. One cannot be forced to enter any place of worship against his/her wish on religious duties in a secular country. All at the cost of State’s exchequer. The protests by school teachers against DM seem justified. But, what else could the poor DM do against the wishes of political masters and their VVIP style of functioning. Schools are not Gurukul Ashrams or Madrassas
A K Saxena ( A retd civil servant )

The appellant sought information with regard to Chief Minister Relief Fund such as the complete list of funds, contribution received on account of NCT of Delhi, Chief Minister Relief Fund between the financial year 2013-16 and the list of beneficiaries to whom money was paid. The PIO argued against the disclosure of identity of the beneficiaries as the same may prejudice the privacy of the individual concerned and depict him/her in a position which is looked down upon by society. The CIC ruled that the names of beneficiaries as well the amount disbursed should be intimated to the appellant and found no impediment in placing the aforesaid data in public domain as well. The CIC observed that the names of beneficiaries and financial aid disbursed cannot be denied to the legislature and hence, the same doesn’t attract Section 8(1)(j).
Comments
The recipients of state aid cannot claim privacy as regards the benefits received by them and to ensure transparency in exercise of discretion by the authority, such data should be proactively disclosed by the public authority.
Citation: Mr. Aseem Takyar v. Chief Minister’s Secretariat GNCTD in F. No.CIC/LTGSE/A/2017/135671 and F. No.CIC/FDEPT/A/2016/304308, Date of Decision: 31.10.2017
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION – LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Only the next Union Budget will reveal how much of banking re-capitalisation took place. The budget estimates will provide a clear idea on the resources the Government utilised to re-capitalise banks.
Sanjeev Kumar Singh
Wailing foundation stoneS
The Assembly elections held some months back in the five states, had set in motion the foundation/Inaugural stones laying spree, before the imposition of the model code of conduct .Thankfully the new govt in Punjab has taken notice of this wasteful exercise and have resolved to restrict it substantially. The foundation stones laid before the last elections still remain at the stage where these were laid ,not a brick added thereafter. The public expects the miracle of the completion of the promised projects. Many such stones of the previous elections are still mocking at the gullible public, which had been cheated and deceived repeatedly with the foundation stones
, The saying goes, ''In most of Indian cities, there are more auto-rickshaws than human beings and there are more foundation stones than the streets, roads and buildings'' In all these cities and rural areas the foundation stone platforms are noticeable in large numbers. About five months back, i saw a foundation stone in a very popular and historical park, which was 12 feet wide and 6 feet high, and it mentioned about three hundred characters, who were associated with the foundation stone laying ceremony. The inscription was thankfully not legible because of the constant excreta of the birds on it. Some thoughtful civic body officials have demolished and removed it now, giving the area much better and cleaner look. Foundation stone laying urge is the off-shoot of self importance and ego of the VIPs, and succumbing to traditions of sycophancy of the subordinates. It is sort of compulsion for the politicians to show their importance to the supporters and a occasion for the subordinates to keep the political bosses busy and happy. A good foundation laying ceremony ensures safe passage to the main organiser. However the interest of the foundation laying dignitary wanes immediately after the ceremony, most of the time.
There are thousands of foundation stones in the cities, where the work was never carried out, there are thousands other, which cover the open space and have become the eye sore of the citizens. There are some very small parks, where the number of foundation stones cross double digits. In one such park,there were 14 such stones, outnumbering the grown up tree .In Nawanshahr distt, there was a Deputy Commissioner, who never laid the foundation stone and instead always got a small and graceful religious ceremony performed at the time of inauguration.
In a Municipal Corporation city, there was a Commissioner, who was stopped from laying any foundation stone by his seniors. His development vision prominently displayed his hunger for seeing foundation stones with his name boldly engraved therein. The Mayor was very close to CM, so he had arm-twisted him not to venture forth for any publicity. Unable to suppress his urge to lay foundation stones outside, he laid the foundation stone of a room for his buffaloes at his residence, where incidentally i was also present. There was a divisional commissioner, who asked the deputy commissioner, a night before the foundation stone ceremony that the name of his wife should also be inscribed on the foundation stone, since she would accompany him. The deputy commissioner could not comply with this Nadarshahi order, in spite of his best efforts to do so and paid the price by getting lukewarm annual confidential report . One of my colleagues, who had penchant for laying foundation stones, once asked me as to how many foundation stones I had laid in the career. I politely told him that I even do not get my name inscribed on such stones, when my seniors lay them. He gave me a contemptuous frown of considering me a worthless fellow. He could not restrain his boasting instincts and told me that he had laid 124 foundation stones. Once, it so happened that Principal Secretary PWD fixed the date of inauguration ceremony of a widened and upgraded important state highway with the CM.I told him that such a stone laying ceremony of the road had already been performed by the former CM. However, the most hilarious and ludicrous solution to the problem was provided by the local MLA, to the Principal Secretary. The ceremony was performed at the other end of the road. Such foolish innovations are hall -mark of the vain-glorious and meaningless regimes. This highly wasteful and ostentatious ceremony, which entails dilution of probity, should be given burial once for all. Thousands of houses can be constructed for the poor in the country with the debris of the foundation/inaugural stone platforms .It would also clear many obstructions and eyesores permanently. It is to be seen how long the regime resists the temptation of these age-old ceremonies
Surinderjit singh Sandhu, Amritsar

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Recapitalisation of banks that have lost their capital due to NPA's and indiscriminate lending euphemistically referred to as market-based lending is no reform. Nor does it mean following a package of recommendations given by the favorite consultants who may consult on any subject from heart surgery to legal reforms without practical knowledge of the field. In the context of the PSUs it would mean
!. Appointment of persons as directors with professional competence with known integrity as independent directors and removing all the nodding directors like Joint Secretaries and Ministers Chamchas unless the JSs have professional knowledge of finance.
2. Large loans should be extended only after a thorough professional analysis of the outcome of the loans taking into account likely market and economic developments and the capacity to meet the interest and repayment liabilities.
3. Officers who do the analysis must express their clear views in support or against the loan irrespective of any political or other considerations and these officers should be insulated against prejudicial treatment.
4. A monitoring unit manned by professionals in the bank should follow up on loan utilization and recommend releases of installments only after field inspection and market analysis. These officers become personally liable for misreporting.
5. Banks should notify large loans approved in their websites.
6. Bank managers in whose jurisdiction the loanee falls must visit project site or do personal verification if lending is against stocks held in warehouses as these are the common deception points when lending is done against non-existent stocks of materials o without any progress in the field.
7. An independent audit unit should be created under the chairmen of banks authorised to visit the large loanees and ascertain the utilization of loan and capacity of the loanee to repay.
M. R. Sivaraman, IAS, Former ED, IMF
Is there anyone in charge ?
I wonder daily when i have to pass through DND Flyway on way to Delhi and back. From the time Allahabad Court removed the toll collection from this road it has become a hellhole made worse by the an SDMC booth put up by the contractor to collect toll on their behalf from commercial vehicles entering Delhi. Traffic does not move or moves at a snail's space. A distance which just took 30 minutes when the jam is not there now takes more than an hour. Forbidding the Noida toll Bridge Company from collecting toll on a plea of small time politicians in league with some Residents' welfare Associations the court ignored the repercussions of such a step. More than 400 persons losing their jobs, maintenance of the road, taking care of the breakdowns and smooth flow of traffic. With the toll company staff gone if a vehicle breaks down no one is there to help in removing it on one side. The other day one came across a terrific traffic snarl. On crossing the same it was found a Wagon R stalled just in the middle of the road and a young couple desperately pushing it on one side with the help of a commuter. I hope the Apex Court where the appeal is pending against the Allahabad High Court Order for the last one year takes note of all these factors. These days our Courts are adding to citizens' travails rather than resolving the same.
Aarti Khosla

DEBATE (1) Banking reforms
Bank re-capitalisation has everything to do with fiscal deficit. The Government needs to make public the fiscal deficit percentage which would provide some idea on how banking reforms would progress in the coming years.
Ambresh Kumar Singh
Court ruling on unborn child
Does an unborn child have the right to life? A recent court ruling reported in the media lays down a new law which defies all tenets of natural justice. The question which seems to have escaped the court’s attention is whether an unborn child has the natural right to be born, brought up and live a normal life? Can a pregnant adult woman abort the child without the unborn child’s consent, arbitrarily, at will, whimsically and in a fit of temper? Even if the personal laws applicable in the matter or the medical advice were to be kept out of the discussion, can it be justified purely on the basis of the extant law of the land? As far as is known, there is no law in India on the subject. As happens in the case of legislative vacuum, it is an instance of legislation by the court. Neither the Law Commission of India nor the parliament had deliberated on the subject. Can such an act of killing an unborn human child be justified on the basis of the right of an adult woman alone? Is the right of an adult woman not pitted against the right of the unborn child, living and growing in the secure environs of a womb? What relevance is there of “human rights” or inhuman acts in the light of such a right to throw out the unborn? A marriage metamorphoses two individuals into one couple, where they dissolve their individual identities and acquire a new identity of a couple. It is during their single identity that the unborn child enters their life. Both have the same rights on the unborn, as does the unborn over both of them in all matters embracing affection to property. The unborn child is an invaluable joint asset of the couple. The seed can’t be reduced to nothingness, as even animal, horticulture and crop seeds (e.g. GM seeds) carry premium value. The human seed is decidedly more valuable than all other species. It is almost simultaneously that the seed starts pulsating in the womb. The unborn plays in the womb, smiles, eats, enjoys, tries to break the enclosure by kicking it, turns upside down or sideways. Suddenly the mother decides to abort her/him. It is murder. She has no right to kill the unborn. The court has ruled that an adult woman has an “unimpeachable right to give birth or terminate pregnancy”.
M L Gupta
What about the bureaucrats who really prostrate and stoop before the Parliamentarians for their personal gains.
BBS
‘Ae meri topi palat ke aa’
In film Funtoosh, debonair and lively Dev Anand sings the song and calls back his magically dancing and eluding hat 'Ae meri topi palat ke aa'. About quarter of a century ago, a very reputed leader and a veteran freedom fighter, who was religiously dressed in white and wearing kishti topi as a headgear had confessed to an interviewer on television, ''There were times when everyone respected us for wearing this dress and now this dress has become so dreadful that it terrifies the onlookers and they feel like running away from us ,hammen iss dress mein dekh ke hi humse bhagna chahte hain.''That leader ,who had sacrificed a lot for the freedom of the country was feeling the pulse of the people,because of the degradation of the ethics and the values, once practiced by the wearers of this dress. In the year 1976,Smt Indira Gandhi, the then PM, came to Malerkotla, to preside over the function of total electrification of Punjab villages.I was on duty at the helipad. I did not see many kishti topis before her arrival,though white turbaned men could be seen in large numbers. As soon as madam's helicopter was in sight, many white caps could be seen. Hans Raj Sharma,and Chowdhary Gurmel Singh, who were to receive her along with Giani Zail Singh ,very deftly brought out their neatly ironed topis from their pockets and were in full party dress to receive her. In Amritsar Sh Sadhu Ram sharma ,the then president of the Amritsar district congress and who had close resemblance to Sh Morarji Desai,was always immaculately dressed wearing congress cap and seen walking along with his cycle, in the Amritsar streets. Similarly Sh Gian Chand Kharbanda always wore this cap and used to walk in Amritsar streets even as a minister in early 1970s.Slowly and slowly the political people discarded this symbol of fight against Britishers' oppression.
Surinderjit Singh Sandhu

DEBATE (1) Banking Reforms
Banking reforms will have bad effect on the economy of the country. It is already crippled.
Girja Shankar
DEBATE (2) Banking reforms
The biggest hurdle in banking reforms is weeding out the corrupt in this section who have encashed demonetisation.
Lalit Shastri
Thanks for RTI judgment
Thanks for the RTI judgment. As a CPIO, I have felt constrained on many occasions to provide the reply within the time limit of 30 days. The RTI Act is silent about whether any extension can be given in deserving cases. This judgment provides a support to all those like me who wish to provide the information but are restrained by conditions which are beyond their control. I was earlier advised not to give an interim reply, but with this judgment, I think there would be little difficulty with a part reply.
Subodh K Sahai
Who will run MCI?
MCI: Kal, AAJ aur KAL will be run by Ketan Desai. There is no replacement for him. Even top offices can't do anything about this.
Alok