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Paternity leave is like Holiday for men:Maneka Gandhi

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that she really doesn't see the point in bringing a law which mandates paternity leave since men in India are likely to use it as a holiday instead of taking care of their children. She said that men in India do not utilise their existing leaves in order to take care of their child. She added that paternity leave can be considered only once the woman goes back to work after 26 weeks of leave. I will be happy to consider this proposal, but it will just be a holiday for me, he won’t do anything, said Maneka. In light of the recent move to increase maternity leave from the existing 12 weeks to 26, women rights activists and parliamentarians have called for the government to consider paternity leave so that men do their bit in raising infants, and to break the prevalent notion that taking care of children is first and foremost the mother's responsibility. According to a notification issued in the late ’90s under the Central Civil Services Leave Rules, men in government service biological as well as adoptive fathers can take 15 days of paid leave, which they are allowed to merge with any other leave. There is no legislation mandating compulsory leave for fathers in the private sector, with many companies granting paternity leave for a week or two at the most. “If men gave me one iota of hope by taking sick leave for child care, then yes, we can think of mooting a proposal for paternity leave,” Maneka said. It is also argued that only increasing maternity leave will further bias employers against hiring women.

‘Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit’ says Probe Panel

In a significant development in the controversy, the one-man judicial commission, set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to probe the circumstances leading to Rohith Vemula’s suicide at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) in January this year, has said that the 26-year-old research scholar did not belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. According to reports the one-member Commission has submitted its report to UGC officials, though there was no official confirmation. According to a report the former Allahabad High Court judge A K Roopanwal has submitted his report to the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the first week of August, in which he made these observations. The establishment of Vemula’s caste status is important because Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and HCU vice-chancellor Appa Rao were named in an FIR lodged by the police under the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act for abetting his suicide. Reached for comment, Roopanwal did not deny submitting the report, but said, “I cannot answer your questions. Please direct all your questions on the contents of the report to the government.” Roopanwal’s report was expected on August 1 but it was ostensibly delayed over fears that it may have derail the Parliament session. Rohith Vemula’s brother Raja, however, rejected the observation of the judicial commission, stating that the family ‘lived like Dalits’ and were brought up among Dalits. He claimed that the family had been discriminated against all their lives.

Feel like crying says Bihar CM

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the flood situation in Bihar, one of the worst-hit states in India. Apprising the PM about the present flood situation in the state in which 95 lives have been lost, Nitish said that Bihar had suffered immensely because of the floods in the northern and southern parts of the state. Nitish said that at least 28 districts in the state were hit severely by the floods.“The very serious condition that we see today never occurred earlier. The only way to get rid of this is through desiltation. There is a need for national silt management policy,” he was quoted by news agencies as saying. He also expressed concerns that the Farakka barrage in West Bengal had led to silting in the Ganga and exacerbated the floods in Bihar. After meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar said he feels like “crying” over the condition of the River Ganga, which has affected 22 lakh people in Bihar, and killed 22 in the last three days. The Chief Minister of Bihar said that his state has received 14% less rain than is standard for the monsoon; the devastation, he said, is man-made. While UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh remain the worst hit states, water has started receding in Gujarat and Rajasthan, raising the hope that normalcy will be restored quickly in these states. The rescue operations are underway in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

India 7th wealthiest country in the world

According to a report by New World Wealth, India was ranked 7th, ahead of Canada ($ 4,700 billion), Australia ($ 4,500 billion) and Italy ($ 4,400 billion), which came in at 8th, 9th and 10th slots, respectively. The United States has topped the list with a total wealth of($48,900 billion), while China stands second and Japan third. The U.S is the wealthiest in the world in terms of total individual wealth held ($ 48,900 billion) while China stood second and Japan third, with total individual wealth of $ 17,400 billion and USD 15,100 billion, respectively. India came 7th on the list with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion (nearly Rs 372.5 lakh crore). India’s ranking as one of the wealthiest countries in the world is largely because of its population. "Australia's ranking is impressive, considering it only has 22 million people living there," the report explained. In terms of Dollar wealth growth, China has been the fastest growing wealthiest country over the past 5 years. On India, the report stated, “Australia and India also grew strongly and India, Australia and Canada have just overtaken Italy over the past 12 months.” Germany is 5th with $ 9,100 billion) followed by France (6th, $ 6,600 billion). Wealth refers to net assets of a person and includes all their assets property, cash, equities and business interests the report said, adding that it excludes government funds from its figures.

Rajnath Singh on a 2 day visit to J&K

Home minister Rajnath Singh will visit Kashmir on Wednesday for the second time in a month as the Centre stepped up efforts to end seven weeks of violence that has left 67 dead and over 10,000 injured. He will undertake a two-day visit to the Valley to meet various stake-holders who wish to discuss the issues within the framework of the Constitution. His schedule includes meetings with J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, governor NN Vohra, top officials of the state government and security forces, representatives of various political parties as well as civil society delegations that may include school managements and Kashmiri Pandits. “There will be no separate invitation for the separatists, but if they want to come and talk to the Home Minister, they are welcome. The talks will take place within the constitutional framework. He will be staying at the Nehru Guest House and anyone who wants to meet him can come there,” said a senior Ministry official. Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials from the ministry are expected to accompany Rajnath Singh to the valley. The visit comes as relative calm prevailed in parts of Srinagar on Tuesday, after which the government lifted curfew from the uptown areas of the city from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the first time since July 9 when violent unrest erupted in the valley after killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani. The focus of Singh’s visit, said home ministry officials, will be on quick employment generation through skill development schemes such as Udaan and Himayat and also through recruitment in paramilitary forces and India Reserve battalions.

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Italy

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck central Italy early on Wednesday, leaving buildings in ruins and areas without power near the epicentre Rieti. The US Geological Survey said the quake hit near the town of Norcia in the region of Umbria at 3.36am. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude at 6.1 and said the epicentre was north-east of Rome, near Rieti. The quake was felt as far away as Rome, about 150km away from the epicentre, as homes in the historic centre swayed about 3.30am local time. Police have confirmed that an elderly couple was killed in the disaster after their home collapsed. Witnesses told Italian media that many buildings had collapsed in villages close to the epicentre of the quake. Residents of Rome, 170km (105 miles) from the registered epicentre, were woken by the quake, which rattled furniture and swayed lights in most of central Italy. A 5.5 magnitude aftershock hit the same region an hour after the initial quake. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s spokesman said the government was in touch with the country’s civil protection agency and following the situation closely. In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the same region and killed more than 300 people. The earlier earthquake struck L'Aquila in central Italy, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the latest quake.

Those who lost lives in Kashmir, part of us: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, at a meeting with a delegation led by former J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah, expressed ‘deep concern and pain’ over the prevailing situation in Kashmir. The delegation called on the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation in the Kashmir valley. The delegation included CPI-M MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, state Congress president GA Mir, senior leaders of the National Conference and some Independent MLAs. The delegation submitted a memorandum to PM Modi seeking an immediate ban on the use of pellet guns in the state. They further requested the Prime Minister to initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders in the Valley immediately. “Those who lost their lives during recent disturbances are part of us, our nation. Whether the lives lost are of our youth, security personnel or police, it distresses us,” a government statement quoted Modi as saying at the meeting. The Prime Minister's statement indicates that the government may be considering some political initiative on Kashmir where the over-five weeks long agitation has left some 68 people dead in clashes between pro-freedom protesters and security forces. "We need to find a permanent and lasting solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution," the Prime Minister said. Modi emphasised on the need for all political parties to work together to find a solution to the problems of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said.

Indian Athlete affected with Zika Virus in Rio?

The threat of Zika virus was looming over the Olympics taking place at Rio. There have been pleas to shift the location of the games at the last moment because of the virus threat but the games still went on as officials made it clear that it is safe to be held there. But now it comes to light that Indian middle-distance runner Sudha Singh, 30, has been diagnosed with viral infection in Bengaluru after returning from the Rio Olympics 2016 on Saturday, with the possibility of her contracting the Zika virus not being ruled out. Singh, who returned to India on Saturday, complained of fever, joint pain and fatigue. She was first admitted to treatment at Sports Authority of India. However, when her blood pressure fell drastically, the authorities rushed her to a hospital. She had participated in the steeplechase competition. Ms Singh's blood samples have been sent to a virology institute for Zika testing. Doctors say they want to be extra cautious since she was in Brazil where the virus is a major concern. "It is probably just a viral infection but as protocol, we are investigating to rule out Zika," said Dr SR Sarala, a senior scientific officer at the Sports Authority of India. Her blood samples are likely to be sent to a virology institute in Pune on Monday to check for Zika, the fear of which caused many athletes to withdraw from the Rio Games. Sudha is currently being treated in an isolation room in the Bengaluru hospital. Marathon runners OP Jaisha and Kavita Raut, who were Sudha's roommates in Rio, are also said to be showing milder symptoms of a viral infection. The Sports Authority wanted Jaisha in hospital too but she went home to Kerala.

Cash transactions above 3Lakhs to be banned by Govt

In order to crack down on the black money trail in the country, the Government is looking at banning cash transactions above 3 Lakhs. A ban on cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh will ensure that credit or debit cards are used to make large payments which will ensure that the transactions are recorded and can be tracked easily. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money had recommended ban on cash transactions of above Rs 3 lakh and restricting cash holding with individuals to not more than Rs 15 lakh to curb illegal wealth in the economy. The SIT headed by Justice (Retd) M B Shah, had earlier submitted its fifth report to the Supreme Court on July 14 on methods to curb black money in the economy. “Having considered the provisions which exist in this regard in various countries and also having considered various reports and observations of courts regarding cash transactions the SIT felt that there is a need to put an upper limit to cash transactions,” an official statement had said. Also, cash withdrawal of more than Rs 3 lakh from any bank account in a day should consider as a suspicious activity and the concerned bank should report it to Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) & the concerned Income-tax Department, it had said. he government also recently did away with transaction charges on payments made to it by credit or debit cards, to push the use of plastic money. It wants to make India into a cashless economy too, soon.

Kejriwal: AAP does not have money to fight polls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while speaking to a group of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes members in South Goa, Kejriwal said, "It would look odd but it is true that despite a one-and-half year of governance in Delhi, AAP does not have money to fight election. I can show you my bank account, even the party does not have money." "When we contested in Delhi, it is the people who fought the election. AAP is a platform for everyone to fight for their better future," Mr Kejriwal said, explaining that in Goa too, his party would bank on the support of local people. However, contrary to Kejriwal's claims, facts speak otherwise. Going by the Election Commission, the AAP is the fourth largest political party in the country in terms of receiving contributions. In the financial year 2014-15, it received contributions worth Rs 37.45 crore. Only three parties - and all of them national ones -had received larger contributions than the AAP. The BJP, with 437.35 crore is at the top, followed by the Congress (Rs 141.55 crore) and the NCP (Rs 38.82 crore). This is third visit of Mr. Kejriwal to poll-bound Goa. His first visit was in May last when he addressed a huge rally in the city here wherein he announced that the party would contest the next Assembly elections in the State. During his second visit in June, he held dialogue with fishermen, small hotel owners and youth and claimed that the party would win 35 of the 40 seats in Goa.

Flipkart co-founder's big revelation

It is natural to see the top brass of a company shares their stories of laurels they received for their outstanding work. And very rare to see the same people speak out about the reasons for their demotion or removal from the company, especially when it happens because of their performance at work. But Flipkart's co-founder did just that. To reassure Flipkart employees that everyone is judged by the same standards, co-founder Sachin Bansal revealed to them that he was removed as CEO because of "performance" issues. Bansal's disclosure, made at a town-hall meeting at the company's headquarters in Bengaluru on Friday, comes after India's largest e-commerce company said last month that it was laying off at least 300 people who were non-performers, leading to concerns and questions among employees. The co-founder admitted the company had missed financial targets in recent months, prompting an overhaul of its top rungs, according to employees who attended the meeting. "The townhall that we conduct regularly is one of the pillars of this culture of openness...Anybody is free to ask any question, challenge existing norms and hold the leadership accountable for business and organisation metrics," said a source from the firm to a news channel. Last month, Flipkart announced that it was buying fashion site Jabong for $70 million.

Indian athlete at Rio left unconscious for 3Hrs

In a shocking incident of sports officials failing our Olympic medal probables, it has come to light that our athletes were left thirsty and fainted at the finish line. India’s national record holder in marathon O P Jaisha’s Rio timing was 2 hours 47 minutes. Her timing for the same event in Beijing Worlds last year was 2 hours 34 minutes. Why such a difference you would think. The reason is marathon runners who run for 42 kilometres need water to keep hydrating. For this purpose, Olympic officials set up water stations at every 2.5 kilometres. At every 2.5 kms, other countries were giving their runners all these things while our Indian desks were empty with just the flag and the country’s name on it. While India’s workstations had been erected, the officials manning them were nowhere to be found, meaning that the only way the marathoner had access to water was at the Rio official refueling centers. Those were located every 8km, which meant she would have had only five chances to hydrate and reenergize through the 42.195 km track. This reflected clearly in her performance the runner, who set a time of 2:34.43 at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last year, finished 13 seconds past that mark in Rio, at 2:47:19. Jaisha collapsed at the finish line, and lay unconscious for 3 hours. Even at the end of the race she was taken off by Rio medical officials, with Indian officials unavailable to know of her condition or attend to her.

Will find better coach than Gopi says Telangana Dy CM

Olympic Silver medalist PV Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand have come back home to a roaring welcome. In the middle of the grand welcome, the Telangana Deputy Chief Minister has made a controversial statement while talking about Sindhu and Gopichand. In a shocking statement, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali has said that even though Pullela Gopichand was a very good coach, the government will find a better coach for ace shuttler PV Sindhu. While talking about the champion, Ali praised Gopichand but said that the government will find a better coachto train the 21-year-old, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to bag a Silver medal at Rio Olympics 2016. After winning a billion hearts from Brazil, PV Sindhu on Monday arrived to a hero’s welcome at Hyderabad International airport. Amid scenes of jubilation and loud cheers from scores of people, Sindhu, accompanied by coach Pullela Gopichand. “We are very happy to receive Sindhu. The CM has arranged a very good reception for her, we will go to Gachibowli (stadium) from here and then we will disperse from there”, said PV Sindhu’s father.

MP cops carry CM on arms in flood hit area visit

Various parts of Madhya Pradesh have been hit by floods recently and the Chief Minister of the state has gone on a visit to the flood hit areas. And an image of the Chief Minister being carried in arms by his security men to cross a water-logged stretch during his visit to a flood affected area went viral on Sunday. In another picture, he is seen walking barefoot through mud while his aide is carrying his white sneakers. When asked to explain the incident, an official in the chief minister’s office said may be some overzealous security personnel lifted him. But according to reports the collector and local police chief decided to carry him as they could not risk him getting hurt or being bitten by snakes. More than 100 villages in Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh have devastated by floods. Chouhan first reached Satna by train on Saturday night and met flood-hit families there. He went to a shelter home and interacted with people and assured of support. Chouhan has toured three flood-affected districts of Panna, Rewa and Satna where incessant rain has claimed 15 lives and left many homeless. Nearly 100 villages in these districts have been devastated by the floods. “I surveyed the flood affected areas in Panna city. The villages of Gadhokhar, Kamtana, Singhori have been affected and I’ve provided support to the villages, the leader tweeted.

PV Sindhu gets a grand welcome at Hyderabad

The first woman to have won an Olympic Silver medal, PV Sindhu has come back home to a rousing welcome from friends, family and fans at her hometown Hyderabad. Her arrival along with her coach Gopichand this morning at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was awaited by thousands, who were there with bated breath waiting to catch a glimpse of her. She was greeted by her parents – P V Ramana and P Vijaya alongside top politicians. Many people lined up along the 30 km route from the airport towards Gachibowli stadium, where the Telangana government has organised a gala felicitation in honour of the star shuttler. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh sent top ministers to greet Ms Sindhu at the airport in the capital they currently share. While Sindhu's mother P Vijaya is from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, her father PV Ramana is from Adilabad in Telangana. “This is an unforgettable day. We take this opportunity to once again thank Gopi and his support staff and the millions of Indians who were praying for her success,” said Sindhu's father, Mr. Ramana. The Telangana government will give her a cash reward of 5 crore, a residential plot in Hyderabad and have offered her a job. The Andhra Pradesh government too has offered Sindhu a job and will give her a cash reward of 3 crore and a residential plot in the new capital city Amaravati.

The amazing story of the Gopichand’s Academy, Hyderabad.

Gopichand’s Badminton Academy, which is located at Gachibowli, Hyderabad, contributed towards the London Olympics in the year 2012. The academy also helped P.V Sindhu to grab the silver medal. Most of us don’t know the inspiring story behind the formation of the Badmintion Academy. The story can be explained with the help of the following milestones which helped in the formation of the academy. In the year 2003, Gopichand was awarded with five acres of land by the AP government. The land has been offered at lease for 45 years at a nominal rate. In the same year, Gopichand spoke with Yonex for the sponsorship and he also wanted a foreign coach’s involvement. In the year 2004, after formulating the plans for the badminton academy, Gopichand approached Nimmagadda Prasad to raise money for the formation of the academy. Mr. Prasad immediately offered US$500,000 and gave his assistance so as to raise an additional amount of US$ 2 Million. Nimmagadda Prasad as well as Gopichand found a great difficulty in raising the additional amount and over the time, Mr. Prasad increased his contribution to US$ 1.25 Million. Gopichand could gather US$1.75 Million only including other donations and his wife who is a former Olympian supported Gopichand as well as contributed to the effort of securing the monetary support. The project was completed at the cost of US$2.5 Million in the year 2008 after mortgaging Gopichand’s home to raise the additional amount for the venture. After sending the common wealth sports team to this academy for training, the government increased the daily fee per player from US$5 to US$20. The construction of Gopichand’s badminton Academy had been modeled after Prakash Padukone’s Badminton Academy which is located at Bangalore. The players like Srikanth Kadambi, Gurusai Dutt, Parupalli Kashyap, Arundathi Pantawane, Prannoy Kumar, Saina Nehwal and P.V Sindhu are from Gopichand’s Badminton Academy. Players from India can perform wonders if the government of our country can extend their helping hand, in providing infrastructure facilities as well as better training facilities, to the people like Gopichand.

In 2yrs, 2000 dropoIITs, IIMs

Getting into an IIT or an IIM is a dream for many. And the number of people attempting to get into the prestigious institute is growing by the day. But not all who join these institutions complete their courses. At least that is what the recent reports suggest. About 2,000 students dropped out of IITs and IIMs in the last two years, data from the institutes show. "Most of those who leave the course are those pursuing PhDs," said IIT-Bombay director Devang Khakhar. PhD dropout numbers are not so much about performance as the punishing tenure of the course. Academic attrition is the highest at IIT-Delhi with 699 students dropping out between 2014 and 2016. It is followed by IIT-Kharagpur (544) and IIT-Bombay (143). The number of dropouts at IIMs seems to have risen over the years. While 37 students dropped out between 2003 and 2005, the number rose to 69 between 2006 and 2008.It touched 104 between 2014 and 2016. "Poor academic performance is one of the reasons," said an IIM-Calcutta faculty member. The six-year-old IIMRaipur saw the highest dropouts (20) in the last two years.

3yrs Jail & 3Lakhs fine for Torrent users

The Government has banned thousands of torrent websites in India for a while now, but according to reports, you can now get three-year jail sentence as well as a fine of Rs 3 lakh for trying to visit such URLs. This is just for viewing a torrent file, or downloading a file from a host that may have been banned in India, or even for viewing an image on a file host like Imagebam. You don't have to download a torrent file, and then the actual videos or other files, which might have copyright. According to the report, if you visit a blocked torrent site or URLs, you will be shown the following warning: "This URL has been blocked under the instructions of the Competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of upto Rs. 3,00,000/-. Any person aggrieved by any such blocking of this URL may contact at urlblock@tatacommunications.com who will, within 48 hours, provide you the details of relevant proceedings under which you can approach the relevant High Court or Authority for redressal of your grievance."

Kerala- India's first open defecation-free’ state

Come November, Kerala will be decalred India's first 'open defecation-free’ state. Kerala will be among the most populous states in the country with the completion of 1.90 lakh toilets in its 941 village panchayats by this November. Suchitwa Mission, the state nodal agency for sanitation, is implementing the plan which has a total outlay of Rs 308 crore. Executive Director of Suchitwa Mission, K Vasuki said that the target is to construct around 1.90 lakh toilets across the 941 Gram panchayats in the state Kerala. The construction of 35% of toilets has already been completed and work of nearly 70,000 is under construction. "Though it was a challenging task, we are committed and confident that the state would achieve the new milestone by this November," Vasuki.

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