Whispers Forum

US President Donald Trump’s sudden new $100000 H-1B visa fee announcement followed by American companies snipping off the holidays and calling back the employees on leave to India on a short notice was a shocker. In fact it seems that the move was purposefully done at a time when most Indians are back home for festivities and pre-wedding season preparation. But what is even more pathetic is that our so called ‘Influential American Indians’ like the Google & Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Thomas Kurian who leads Google Cloud, CEO Adobe Shantanu Narayen and many others succumbed to the dictate and sent emails to their employees urging them to return immediately. Couldn’t these and similar influential Indian personalities including former Vice President Kamala Harris, members of the U.S. House of Representatives-Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, and Shri Thanedar utter a single word leave alone raise their voice.
Tyaga Roy

The changes brought in by Mr. Donald Trump are likely to impact India in a very major way. Lots of scientists and engineers who would go on visas to the USA and send back remittances to India are unlikely to do so now. More Indians are likely to come home or stay in India looking for domestic jobs. Coupled with high tariffs that make our exports uncompetitive, Mr. Trump is trying to hurt the Indian economy in a major way. In addition, he is giving hints that the USA is likely to shift strategically to Pakistan. However, Mr. Trump is underestimating Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is a very astute politician. He has already started redefining India's strategic alliances. He is looking for alternative markets. The GST cuts are likely to give domestic consumption a boost. Now, there is a need for improving employment and growth. One way is to resurrect the public sector. However, management control will have to be flexible and not subordinated to Ministries. Another way is to improve medical tourism. Let India become a hub for medical tourism. Hospital care is good and affordable in India. Set up hospitals catering to foreign nationals in SEZs. Land can be provided cheaply to these hospitals without EWS beds. Let these hospitals pay income tax on their profits at a higher rate and let there be no exemption from Income Tax to them. Government can also allow those who were working on visas in the USA to rent infrastructure in SEZs. They can run their own companies that can be given single window clearances for their companies in 24 hours. Extra infrastructure can be constructed in SEZs for both offices/ factories and residential units for such eligible persons. What Mr. Trump is trying to do to India may just backfire and boost India's way to becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Vijay Kumar

The appellant sought the enquiry findings in relation to the complaints filed by her and her husband. The Respondent stated that it has been informed to the Appellant that since a court case filed by her is pending before the Court of Law, therefore, inquiry in her complaint was put on hold awaiting the final verdict of the law. The Appellant contended that the information has been wrongly denied on the ground that matter is sub-judice before Court of Law. She contended that no stay order has been granted by the Hon’ble Court for non-disclosure of any information and the subject matter before Court of law relates to pay fixation while she through instant RTI application sought action taken report on her complaint of harassment by the concerned teacher. The CIC held that the initial denial of information by the PIO on the plea that the matter is sub-judice before the Hon’ble Court of Law was inappropriate more particularly when such information as sought by the Appellant is regarding her own complaint which she has every right to know. The CIC observed that the only pertinent exemption from disclosure appears to be with respect to the names and identifying particulars of the persons which may be reflected on the noting/comments/reports/statements on the relevant information sought for and cannot be divulged considering the exemption of Section 8(1)(j) and Section 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act. The PIO should have redacted the personal information of other third-party officers by invoking the provisions of Section 10 of RTI Act. The PIO was directed to provide a revised categorical reply intimating the broad updated outcome of Appellant’s complaint to her and also advised to exercise due diligence in future while responding to the RTI Applications.
Comments
The matter being sub-judice is not a valid ground for denial of information as per the provisions of the RTI Act unless there is an express injunction order passed by the Court prohibiting disclosure as clearly defined in Section 8 (1)(b) of the RTI Act.
Citation: Seema Gupta v. Office of the Deputy Director of Education, File No: CIC/DIRED/A/2024/609275; Date of Decision : 25.08.2025
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Vishakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books PIO’s Guide to RTI and Right to Information – Law and Practice. Her weekly article is being published since 2008 on this site. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and third party audit to individuals / organisations. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation at the link https://www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday, discussing the upcoming GST 2.0 reforms set to take effect on September 22, 2025. Following points were highlight
- GST Reforms: The new system simplifies the tax structure into two main slabs: 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate reserved for luxury goods. This will reduce taxes on approximately 375 goods and services.
- Savings: The combined effect of income tax exemptions and GST rate cuts is expected to save citizens over ₹2.5 lakh crore in a year.
- Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi emphasized the importance of self-reliance and urged citizens to buy "Made in India" products, promoting domestic manufacturing and industries.
- GST Bachat Utsav: The Prime Minister announced a "GST Bachat Utsav" (GST Savings Festival) starting from September 22, which coincides with Navratri celebrations. This initiative aims to boost consumer spending and economic growth.
- Benefits: The reforms will make daily essentials cheaper, benefiting the poor, neo-middle class, and middle class. The reduced GST rates will apply to various products, including food items, medicines, and electronics.
NN

In his independence day address to the nation this year, PM Modi flagged the issue of ‘obesity as a major health challenge for India and appealed to reducing cooking oil consumption by 10%’. The observation went largely un-noticed by the media. It is time to pause and ponder over PM’s appeal that merits serious consideration.
Statistically, as per WHO, one out of eight people in the world is living with obesity. Worse, worldwide, adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990 and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. An alarming trend especially in India, where people are avid foodies. In India, the edible oil import of palm,soyabean and sunflower oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil come to 16 million tonnes per annum for meeting domestic demand.The import needs to be reduced to save on foreign exchange. This would, no doubt, hit the importing firms. But, the health of the people cannot be ignored.
Also, for public well-being, medical advice needs to be meticulously followed. The cardiologists advise against consuming high- calorie, deep-fried snacks to combat the rising obesity that raises blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other parameters beyond permissible limits.So, let us avoid consuming deep-fried samosas and the sugar-loaded jalebis. If we do not correct ourselves now, then we are complicit.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

There are demands for a caste census in India. This is done with the hidden agenda of increasing reservations in government jobs (and education) so that open competition and merit are killed to nurture vote banks. Many corrupt dynasts support such a step because they feel such a stand may bring them back to power. But why are such exercises confined to services? There should be a caste census of criminals in the country. This will disclose which castes have the most criminals and which have the least. This will show how and which dominant castes are dominating political life through criminalization of the polity. There should also be a caste census of public representatives from the panchayat level to Parliament. This will give a real reflection of how powerful which caste is. Then we can think of giving reservations in the political arena to those castes which are least represented. There should also be a caste census of the armed forces. Those castes who do not join the armed forces in proportion to their population should have to join the armed forces commensurate to their proportion in the population failing which their reservation benefits in services and education should be reduced. There should be a caste census of contractors, transporters, hoteliers, businessmen, industrialists. Those castes who do not have representation proportionate to their population should be given reservations in government tenders and contracts. There should be a caste census of cattle owners. Those castes who do not own cattle wealth should be given reservation benefits in the dairy industry and animal husbandry departments. The cattle should be distributed evenly in proportion to the population of each caste to ensure that the benefits of animal husbandry reach all castes. There should also be a caste census of all those who were hanged, jailed or punished by the British for participating in the freedom struggle. Those castes who do not have representation in proportion to their population in the shaheeds and freedom fighters should have reduction in their reservation quotas. Further, so called Minorities cannot have any castes since there is no varna system in these religions. As it is they have ruled the country for a thousand years of foreign rule. The practice of giving reservations to religions other than Hindu on the basis of caste by calling them OBC to nurture vote banks is totally unreasonable and should be done away with. This will also allow us to arrive at the real number of actual OBCs. As it is, the populations of these religions are included in OBCs to artificially inflate their figures and nurture
Vijay Kumar

Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) is a social phenomenon where people who achieve notable success are resented, criticized or cut down by others. The term is metaphorical in the sense that in a field of poppies, the tallest ones are cut to make everything even symbolizing how individuals who rise above the rest are targeted by way of criticism, undermining or exclusion. Their achievements might be downplayed, they may be socially isolated or their ambition might be called arrogance. The story of Tall Poppy says the original tall poppies bloomed in the garden of Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome who is said to have symbolically decapitated the tallest poppies to show that powerful enemies should be defeated by killing their leaders.
The effects of TPS on work performance have been studied extensively. In a New Zealand study of prominent entrepreneurs, nearly all reported encountering the syndrome. Athletes also report being targets. One Australian study found that high performing student athletes were often victims of bullying. A Japanese saying ‘the nail that sticks out gets hammered down’ captures the idea that people should not be conspicuously different. Despite being fictitious, some rules dictate that ‘you are not to think you are anything special’ and ‘you are not to imagine yourself better than we are’. That reminds me of the experience during my own diplomatic service where some seniors would almost always undermine junior’s work and even during meeting junior will hardly be allowed to speak or present himself. Some such irritating terms used by seniors to rebuke a junior are ‘Keep your nose down; who gave you the right to think; keep your head down’, etc. The basic work is done by juniors and only the grammatical errors or little correction for name-sake is what is done by seniors. The original work is always the difficult one and pointing out deficiencies is always an easy task.
Many people might face the silent wrath of those who resent their success and undermine them. It can be said as Success-shaming which often takes the form of downplaying someone’s achievements or attributing them to luck rather than hard work or talent. Silence or fear of drawing attention can lead people to hide their success that is not sharing achievements, underplay wealth, avoid letting people know about business ownership, etc.
In contrast, Americans favor rewarding tall poppies more strongly than other countries. This aligns with the ethos of the ‘American Dream’, a cultural narrative that champion ambition and status-seeking and the full-throated celebration of personal success. In our age of self-promotion, with social media sites devoted to not-so-humble bragging, fast we are becoming immune to the tall poppy syndrome. We are becoming more comfortable about standing out, thanks to the social media.
If you are experiencing TPS and are worried about how to deal with it then stay grounded, that is, do not let criticism undermine your confidence. Try to set boundaries, meaning limit interaction with toxic people as far as possible. Encourage a culture where success is celebrated, not punished. Most importantly, find your tribe, viz., surround yourself with people who uplift and inspire you.
Subbiah Sridhar

There is a trend nowadays amongst fresh entrants to the Services to try to enhance their image. So, most of the younger civil servants join social media and start building their image. Most of them try to portray that they have faced a lot of struggle and like to show themselves as authors, poets or sportspersons, etc. All through the history of the Services, the hard working students from diverse backgrounds have joined the Services. Some came from dirt poor backgrounds, most from lower middle class roots; most faced struggles. Only thing is there was no social media, nor any desire to make their achievements seem larger that they actually were. In the interest of society at large and the Services in particular, the young entrants should be mentored to quietly do their work and involve themselves fully with the onerous task of nation building like their predecessors rather than wasting their time and energy on making themselves larger than life on social media. After all, civil servants are not in show business nor are they in politics. Then why these tendencies?
Vijay Kumar

Three registered post envelopes were returned to the sender (District Judge) without being delivered. With reference to three registered postal envelopes which were returned without affixing any remark on the envelopes, the appellant requested to provide the reasons for return. The Department of Post submitted that the three registered articles, referred to in the RTI application, were returned with remarks “receiver not at address”. Further, it was submitted that the reply sent in response to the RTI application was inadvertently sent at the incorrect address, hence, could not be timely delivered. However, on receipt of the return mail, they rectified the address and communicated the information to the appellant on 09.02.2024. The CIC observed that the respondent initially replied on 14.12.2023 but the same was not delivered timely to the appellant due to incorrect address. The CIC accepted the clarification provided by the PIO that the delay in response to the RTI application was inadvertent and had occurred on account of incorrect address being mentioned in the dispatch letter. Holding that due information has been furnished and the delay caused on the PIO’s part does not appear to be deliberate, the CIC disposed the appeal.
Comments
If the delay in reply by the PIO is unintentional and due to an inadvertent error, there is no penal liability as there is no malafide denial of information.
Citation: Sardar Ajit Singh v. Department of Posts, Second Appeal No. CIC/POSTS/A/2024/112391; Date of Decision: 11.07.2025
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Vishakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books PIO’s Guide to RTI and Right to Information – Law and Practice. Her weekly article is being published since 2008 on this site. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and third party audit to individuals / organisations. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation at the link https://www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Skyscanner's 2025 Travel Trend Report reveals some exciting insights into Indian travelers' behavior and preferences.
1- Increased Spending on Flights : 86% of Indian travelers plan to maintain or increase their spending on flights in 2025, indicating a strong appetite for global travel.
2- Unique Experiences Over Cost: While cost remains a consideration, with 65% monitoring hotel prices and 62% checking flight fares, there's a growing inclination towards unique experiences.
3- Top Destinations: Shillong, India, and Baku, Azerbaijan, have emerged as favorites, with Shillong's Cherry Blossom Festival being a major draw. Shillong has been ranked as India's most-searched travel destination in 2025, surpassing popular spots like Goa and Manali.
4- Travel Preferences: The report highlights the appeal of Shillong's scenic charm, cultural landmarks, and outdoor activities like trekking and exploring the Laitlum Canyons and Umiam Lake.
5- Travel Trends: Skyscanner's report also notes that travelers are seeking relaxation getaways and international trips to bucket-list destinations, with city breaks gaining popularity as people regain confidence in visiting urban areas.
Overall, the report suggests that Indian travelers are looking for memorable experiences and are willing to spend on flights to achieve that.
Deepa Jain