Category: Services

Theories of Punishment in Indian Penal Code,1860

Introduction

Punishment is the sanction imposed on an accused for the infringement of the established rules and norms of the society.

Objective

The object of punishment is to protect society from mischievous and undesirable elements by deterring potential offenders, by preventing the actual offenders from committing further offences and by reforming and turning them into law abiding citizens.

Types of Theories

  1. Deterrent Theory
  2. Preventive Theory
  3. Retributive Theory
  4. Reformative Theory
  5. Multi Approach Theory

a) Deterrent Theory: According to this theory, the object of punishment is not only to prevent the wrong-doer from doing a wrong second time, but also to make him an example to others who have criminal tendencies. Salmond considers deterrent aspects of criminal justice to be most important for control of crime. Deterrent punishment is likely to harden the criminal instead of creating in his mind a fear of law. Hardened criminals are not afraid of imprisonment.

b) Preventive Theory: According to Paton:’The theory concentrates on the prisoner and seeks to prevent him from offending again in the future. The death penalty and exile serve the same purpose of disabling the offender’. Critics point out that preventive punishment has the undesirable effect of hardening first offenders, or juvenile offenders, when imprisonment is the punishment, by putting them in association of hardened criminals.

c) Retributive Theory: In primitive society punishment was mainly retributive. The person wronged was allowed to have revenge against the wrong-doer. The principle of ‘an eye for an eye’, ‘a tooth for tooth’, was the basis of criminal administration. According to Justice Holmes: ‘It is commonly known that the early forms of legal procedure were grounded in vengeance’. The advocates of this theory plead that the criminal deserves to suffer.

d) Reformative Theory: According to this theory, the object of punishment is reformation of criminals. The object of the punishment should be to reform the offender. The criminal must be educated and taught some art and craft or industry during his term of imprisonment, so that he may be able to lead a good life and become a responsible and respectable citizen after release from jail.

e) Multi Approach Theory: In fact, a perfect system of criminal justice could never be based on any single theory of justice. Every theory has its own merits and every effort should be made to extract the good points of each and integrate it so that best of all could be achieved. Punishment should be proportionate to the nature and gravity of the crime. The object of any concession given to an offender should be to convince him that normal and free life is better than life in jail.

In California, Argo AI may now provide public rides in its self-driving vehicles.

Argo AI, the Ford and VW-backed autonomous vehicle technology firm, has received a permit in California that will allow it to provide free rides in its self-driving vehicles on public highways.

According to the accepted application, the California Public Utilities Commission gave the so-called Drivered AV pilot permit earlier this month. It was published on its website on Friday, a little over a week after Argo and Ford revealed plans to debut at least 1,000 self-driving cars on Lyft’s ride-hailing network in a variety of locations over the next five years, beginning with Miami and Austin.

The authorization, which is part of the state’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot, adds Argo to a small but increasing group of businesses looking to go beyond standard AV testing — a hint that the industry, or at least some companies, are getting ready to go commercial. Since 2019, Argo has been testing its self-driving technology in Ford cars in Palo Alto. In California, the company’s test fleet consists of around a dozen self-driving test vehicles. In addition to Miami, Austin, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and Detroit, it has autonomous test cars.

Aurora, AutoX, Cruise, Deeproute, Pony.ai, Voyage, Zoox, and Waymo have all been granted licences to participate in the CPUC’s Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot program, which necessitates the presence of a human safety operator behind the wheel. This permission does not allow companies to charge for rides.

Cruise is the only business that has obtained driverless authorization from the CPUC, allowing it to transport people in its test cars without the presence of a human safety operator.

Obtaining a Drivered authorization from the CPUC is only the first step on the road to commercialization in California. Before charging for rides in robotaxis without a human safety operator behind the wheel, the state needs firms to clear several regulatory barriers from the CPUC and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, each with its tiered system of licences.

The DMV is in charge of regulating and issuing licenses for autonomous vehicle testing on public roads. The DMW issues three types of permits, the first of which allows businesses to test autonomous vehicles on public roads with a safety driver. This basic testing authorization is held by more than 60 businesses.

The next permission allows for driverless testing, followed by a commercial deployment permit. Permits for driverless testing, in which no person is behind the wheel, have become the new benchmark and a need for firms looking to start a commercial robotaxi or delivery service in the state. The DMV has issued autonomous permits to AutoX, Baidu, Cruise, Nuro, Pony.ai, Waymo, WeRide, and Zoox.

Nuro is the only person who has gotten deployment permission from the DMV. Nuro may now deploy on a commercial basis thanks to this permission. Nuro’s trucks can only carry freight and not passengers, allowing the firm to avoid the CPUC approval procedure.

Meanwhile, in May 2018, the CPUC approved two pilot projects for autonomous vehicle passenger transportation. The Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service Pilot program, which Argo just obtained, permits firms to run a ride-hailing service utilizing autonomous vehicles as long as they adhere to certain guidelines. Companies are not permitted to charge for rides, and a human safety driver must be present at all times. Additionally, specific data must be provided quarterly.

The second CPUC pilot will allow Cruise to launch an autonomous passenger service in June 2021.

It’s worth noting that getting to the holy grail of commercial robotaxis necessitates obtaining all of these permissions from the DMV and CPUC.

Digital Banking

Digital Banking has completely changed the way we bank in today’s times. With Digital Banking, you can transact with higher speed, ease and convenience.

What is Digital Banking? 

In simple terms, Digital Banking means availability of all banking activities online. Here, you have the luxury to freely access and perform all traditional banking activities 24*7 without having to personally go to a bank branch to get your work done. Some of the major online banking activities include-

(1) Money Deposits, Withdrawals, and Transfer
(2) Checking/Savings Account Management
(3) Applying for Financial Products
(4) Loan Management
(5) Bill Payment
(6) Account Services

Many banks also offer other integrated services like investing in Mutual Funds and other investment options online. Thus, making Digital Banking a widely used concept.

Digital Banking in India

Digital Technology has drastically changed the way banks interact with us. Similarly, it has completely changed the way we transact and interact with the bank. This is especially true in the case of a booming technological and financial economy like India, where more and more people are being connected to Digital Banking Platforms with each passing day. 

With Digital Banking you can perform every transaction, from start to end in a seamless, secure manner. You can withdraw money, deposit money, apply for loans, invest in Mutual Funds- all at a click of a button.

With the introduction of mobile banking you can perform transactions on the go. Mobile banking is a convenient and easy way to finish your transactions. For example, you can do over 125 transactions through HDFC Bank’s mobile banking app. 

The latest addition to mobile banking feature is the Mobile Banking LITE app.The HDFC Mobile Banking app can work without an internet connection, italso doesn’t take up too much space and is quick to install over slow connections. It’s a safe and secure way of making transactions on the go.

Digital Banking services are offered by all major retail banks in the country today and have, in fact, become an integral part of their services. So, one can now bank from the ease of one’s home, with the convenience of smartphone screens.

(1) Indian Financial System Code (IFSC)
The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) is an 11-character code in alphanumeric format to uniquely identify all bank branches within the NEFT, RTGS, and the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) network within India. This code is printed on every cheque leaf in your personal or company chequebook. To transfer funds to an account electronically, the receiver must share his IFSC code as it identifies the receiver bank and branch.Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a technology used to verify the legitimacy or originality of paper documents, especially cheques. A special ink sensitive to magnetic fields is used in the printing of certain characters. Every bank branch has a unique MICR code, which helps the RBI speed up the cheque clearing process, with MICR readers.

(2)Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a technology used to verify the legitimacy or originality of paper documents, especially cheques. A special ink sensitive to magnetic fields is used in the printing of certain characters. Every bank branch has a unique MICR code, which helps the RBI speed up the cheque clearing process, with MICR readers.

(3) Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)
Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) is another method of transferring funds from one bank account to another. It is most often used to pay regular bills (telephone, mobile, credit card, electricity, etc, to make EMI payments (Personal, Car, Home Loan), and SIP investments. This is done by invoking the auto debit facility. ECS is also used by entities for payment of salaries, pensions, distribution of dividend interest etc.

(4) Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
Since NEFT may not be available for use on weekends and bank holidays, you could try using IMPS or Immediate Payment Service. The service is available 24X7. The minimum transfer value is Rs 1 and the maximum value is Rs 2 lakh.
But to use this service, you will need to register via your bank and provide the mobile number and MMID of the beneficiary as IMPS transfer can also be done through mobile phones. Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) is a seven-digit unique number issued by the bank.

(5) National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)
The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system allows individuals, companies, and other entities to transfer funds electronically from one bank to another within India. Normally, funds from the remitting bank will be sent to the RBI within three hours of the transaction. However, the time taken to credit the beneficiary bank’s branch account depends on how long it takes the bank to process the transaction. It should be noted that NEFT operates only during business hours on weekdays. NEFT transactions cannot be done on Sundays, bank holidays, and second and fourth Saturdays of the month. The minimum transfer value is Rs 1 and there is no upper limit.

(6)Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Another method for transferring money electronically, from bank to bank, within the Indian banking system is Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) scheme, where the minimum amount for each transaction is Rs 2 lakh and there is no upper limit. The beneficiary account receives the money immediately.
The RTGS system is primarily meant for large value transactions.With effect from 00:30 hours on December 14, 2020, RTGS facility is available round the clock on all days i.e. 24 hrs. India one of the few countries to operate the system 24×7. This comes within a year of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) operationalising NEFT 24×7. NEFT is the popular mode for small-value transactions. RTGS, which started on March 26, 2004 with a soft launch involving four banks, presently handles 6.35 lakh transactions daily for a value of Rs 4.17 lakh crore across 237 participant banks. The average ticket size for RTGS in November 2020 was Rs 57.96 lakh, making it a truly large-value payment system. RTGS uses ISO 20022 format which is the best-in-class messaging standard for financial transactions. The feature of positive confirmation for credit to beneficiary accounts is also available in RTGS.
Earlier, the RBI had decided not to levy charges on transactions through NEFT and RTGS in order to promote digital transactions, and had asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers. The RBI used to levy minimum charges on banks for transactions routed through RTGS and NEFT. Banks, in turn, levied charges on their customers. RTGS is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers, while NEFT is used for fund transfers of up to Rs 2 lakh.
It should be noted that NEFT, RTGS and IMPS impose transaction fees in slab rates.

(7) Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)
SWIFT is an acronym for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is an internationally recognised identification code forbanks worldwide, and is usually used for international wire transfers. Only those banks that are SWIFT-enabled can take part in this system. In EU nations SWIFT is also known as BIC or Bank Identification Code. When dealing with international transfers also be aware of IBAN or International Bank Account Number. IBAN (International Bank Account Number) appears in bank statements and the bank’s online systems. IBAN and BIC (Bank Identification Code ) contain your bank account number and sort code written in an internationally recognised format. All these numbers can make your wire transfers happen quickly and securely.

Internet and Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank of India

Statement of Facts

  1. On 5th April,2018 Reserve Bank of India issued a press release raising the concern about the consumer protection from trade of virtual currencies. They were of the view that trading in virtual currency also referred as crypto currency are prone to hacking and therefore would lead to money laundering, terrorist activities, etc. In this view RBI asked the banks to not to deal with the transactions related to the trading of virtual currency.
  2. The services which RBI directed the bank not to deal with were – maintaining the accounts, registering, trading, settling, clearing, giving loans against virtual currencies, accepting virtual currency as collateral, opening accounts of exchanges dealing with them and transfer of sale/purchase of virtual currencies.
  3. The matter was challenged by Internet and Mobile Association of India. The Supreme Court of India allowed the petition on the ground of proportionality. Earlier in 2013 the Reserve Bank of India do issued a public caution to the traders and holders of virtual currency in context with the legal and security related risks associated with it.

Issues Raised

  1. Whether the Reserve Bank of India had the jurisdiction to disallow the trade of virtual currency?
  2. Whether the Respondent had the powers to regulate virtual currency as they were not equivalent to money or legal tender?
  3. Whether the circular which was issued by the RBI was proportional?

Critical Analysis of the Case

A step in the right direction was taken by the Supreme Court of India, in the judgment of Internet and Mobile Association v. RBI. The court quashed the circular of the RBI that directed financial agencies to disocciate themselves from entities involved in virtual trading or transactions relating to VC’s. Some of the concerns that led to the issuance of circular include the anonymity of the transactions and the protection of investors when dealing in cryptocurrency. The major apprehension of the RBI was the inherent difficulty in tracking the source of money which has led to an increase in the number of cryptocurrency scams in the country. Still a very volatile technology, we have not had enough discussion around its shortcomings, leading to an adverse preference of this technology in the monetary circuit.

The Petitioner relied on the case of MS Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner, which led that there was an express prohibition of any authority to do anything which may improve its case. The contention of the petitioners rested on the premise that denial of banking services to those activities of trade recognized by law, would be extremely disproportionate, leading to the violation of extremely disproportionate, leading to a violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. Therefore, an understanding of whether there was an infringement of this constitutional right was necessary and to this end, the court relied on the case of Md. Yasin v. Town Area Committee, which makes it amply clear that the right under article 19(1)(g) would be affecyted “In effect and in substance” when there is a complete stoppage of a particular business activity, owing to a certain measure that was undertaken. In Keshavlal Khemchand and Sons Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India, the court pointed out that “Reserve Bank of India is an expert body to which the responsibility of monitoring the economic system of the contry is entrusted, under various enactments like the RBI Act, 1934, the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.”

The judgement of the court has started an effective discussion on lines that were never traversed before, and while that is indeed commendable, we need to look ahead and anticipate the potential risks on the economy. With that in mind, VC’s promise a more feasible future, especially in this era where people are connected through technology in ways previously unimaginable. Various stakeholders have posted many suggestions, particularly with regarding to creating a model that can monitor and regulate crypto currency, without bringing a blanket ban of the same, which ought to be considered by the government in the light of pending bill. What we need to do is find a balance and not discourage startups from adopting this technology, and if this is ignored, India could be handicapped from exploring opportunities that crypto currencies have to offer. Instead of shying away from addressing these concerns, we need to be proactive and have a structured policy in pace to assuage any potential concerns in the future.

Billionaire Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Plans Ultra-Low Cost Airline

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is planning on having 70 aircraft within four years for a new airline he wants to set up in India on optimism more people will travel by air.

Mr Jhunjhunwala, who is considering investing $35 million and would own 40% of the carrier, expects to get a no-objection certificate from India’s aviation ministry in the next 15 days, he said in a Bloomberg Television interview Wednesday.

The ultra-low cost airline will be called Akasa Air and the team, which includes a former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc., is looking at planes that can carry 180 passengers, he said.

It’s a bold bet by Mr Jhunjhunwala, who’s known locally as India’s Warren Buffett, in a market that has seen some airlines collapse in the face of intense fare wars and high costs. Still, what was once the world’s fastest-growing aviation market holds an allure and Jhunjhunwala is looking at opportunities to woo flyers with a brand new carrier offering low fares.

“For the culture of a company to be frugal you’ve to start off fresh,” Mr Jhunjhunwala said. “I’m very, very bullish on India’s aviation sector in terms of demand.”

Even before the pandemic, airlines in India were struggling. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., once the country’s second-largest domestic carrier, ended operations in 2012, and Jet Airways India Ltd., which was recently approved to fly again, collapsed in 2019.

While demand for air travel has been hit globally, India’s aviation industry is at greater risk of delayed recovery as the threat of a third wave of infections looms. Airlines are feeling the impact.

Vistara, which Singapore Airlines Ltd. jointly owns with conglomerate Tata Group, is in discussions with Boeing Co. and Airbus SE to delay aircraft deliveries and make changes to the payment timetables. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, reported a wider-than-anticipated loss as Covid disruption crimped its revenue.

That’s not deterring Mr Jhunjhunwala, who according to Forbes has an estimated net worth of about $4.6 billion.

“I think some of the increment players may not recover,” he said. “I’ve got some of the best airline people in the world as my partners.”

Twitter will pay hackers to discover biases in its automated picture cropping after being accused of doing so.

Twitter is running a competition in the hopes of finding biases in its picture cropping algorithm, and the best teams will get cash awards (via Engadget). Twitter hopes that by allowing teams access to its code and picture cropping model, they will be able to identify ways in which the algorithm might be detrimental (for example, cropping in a way that stereotypes or erases the image’s topic).


Those that compete must submit a summary of their results as well as a dataset that can be put through the algorithm to show the problem. Twitter will then give points depending on the kind of damages discovered, the potential impact on people, and other factors.


The winner team will get $3,500, with $1,000 awards granted for the most creative and generalizable results. On Twitter, that figure has sparked some debate, with some people arguing that it should include an extra zero. For example, if you discovered a bug that allowed you to execute activities for someone else (such retweeting a tweet or picture) via cross-site scripting, Twitter’s standard bug bounty programme would pay you $2,940. You’d make $7,700 if you could find an OAuth flaw that allowed you to take over someone’s Twitter account.


Twitter had already conducted its own study into its image-cropping algorithm, publishing a paper in May that looked at how the system was biassed in the wake of claims that its preview crops were racist. Since then, Twitter has mainly abandoned algorithmically trimming previews, but it is still utilised on desktop, and a good cropping algorithm is a useful tool for a firm like Twitter.


Opening a competition allows Twitter to receive input from a much wider group of people. For example, the Twitter team had a meeting to discuss the competition, during which a team member stated that they were getting queries about caste-based biases in the algorithm, something that software developers in California may not be aware of.
Twitter is also searching for more than simply unintentional algorithmic bias. Both deliberate and unintended damages have point values on the scale. Unintentional harms are cropping behaviours that may be abused by someone publishing maliciously created photos, according to Twitter. Intentional harms are cropping behaviours that could be exploited by someone posting maliciously intended images.


The competition, according to Twitter’s announcement blog, is distinct from its bug bounty programme; if you submit a complaint regarding algorithmic biases to Twitter outside of the competition, your report will be closed and tagged as not applicable, the company warns. If you’re interested in participating, visit the competition’s HackerOne page to learn more about the rules, qualifications, and other details. Submissions are open until August 6th at 11:59 p.m. PT, and the challenge winners will be revealed on August 9th at the Def Con AI Village.

NYAY- CAN IT ELIMINATE POVERTY?

The Nyuntam Aay Yojana is a social welfare program that was a proposed by the Indian National Congress in its 2019 general election manifesto. According to The economic times NYAY is “yet another welfare program for India, but one that is between promising the moon and simply loony”.

Under this scheme, bottom 20% poorest families who are earning less than Rupees 12,000 per month will get Rupees 6000 per month directly transferred to their bank accounts.

NYAY promises annual income transfers of ₹72,000 to each of the poorest five crore families comprising approximately 25 crore individuals. If implemented, it will cost the exchequer ₹3.6 lakh crore per annum.

UPSIDE:

  • It helps poor people in providing nutrition and education.
  • It follows direct cash transfer which eliminates fake beneficiaries.
  • The money will be transferred to the women of the family which will in turn help in empowering women.

LOOPHOLES:

  • Spending money on development is much more effective than giving out cash directly.
  • Inflation may rise.
  • This scheme should not be as a permanent scheme. If it is, the whole purpose of eliminating poverty will be defeated.
  • There is no incentive to work. And hence NYAY can make people lazy and may stop them looking for work.

If it is targeted well, and if leakages are avoided, NYAY can bring at least a few people out of poverty. There are more issues that remain unanswered.

Well there isn’t a definite answer weather it can end poverty or not, but it is in the hands of every individual to kick poverty out of our country as well as the whole world.

Poverty is not like cancer where every cell must be removed or will come back. Whereas we can consider it like , being overweight or obese. The hard and slow process; victories are partial, sometimes you regress. But keeping up the fight you can definitely succeed. So just working towards poverty each and every day we can eventually overcome it.

How Do I Choose Between Medication and Therapy?

In the last couple of weeks, there have been some big announcements from the medical and mental health communities about the wisdom of using drugs over behavioral methods for various disorders. The meds vs. therapy debate has been an active one for a number of years.But these days, some experts and organizations are questioning, more and more, whether popping pills should really be our go-to treatment, based on the literature. And it seems that for some that have historically used meds as the first line of treatment, the evidence for behavioral methods has mounted to the point where recommendations have shifted in their favor. At least for some things.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Whether you’re leaning toward therapy, medication, or a combination, knowing that a reliable pharmacy partner is part of the care network can bring added reassurance. Many people now use online tools to locate a specialty pharmacy near me, ensuring they can quickly connect with professionals who understand their unique health needs. Therapy or medication? In both children and adults, evidence-based psychosocial therapies have been shown to work for a broad range of mental health disorders, as well as for many life problems. The same can be said for the effectiveness of some medications. The information below is intended to help parents/caregivers choose between treatment options for their child or adolescent, and to decide whether therapy and medication should be combined for the most effective treatment.Medications, psychotherapy and their combination have been shown to help people with emotional or behavioral problems. Different kinds of problems, however, will respond differently to various treatments; therefore, choosing the right treatment can be complicated. Your choice of treatment should be based on the best available scientific evidence, as well as your own willingness to try these treatments and to stick with them. Whatever the choice, these discussions should be reviewed with your physician, psychologist or mental health professional. Here are some things to consider:

Best Evidence

  • For depression, two kinds of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy, as well as antidepressant medications, have been shown to be helpful. There is some evidence that combining psychotherapy and medications may be more effective than either treatment alone. People who are suicidal may need to be treated in a hospital.
  • For anxiety disorders, cognitive-behavioral therapy, antidepressant medications and anti-anxiety medications have all been shown to be helpful. Research generally shows that psychotherapy is more effective than medications, and that adding medications does not significantly improve outcomes from psychotherapy alone.
  • For alcohol and drug use disorders, cognitive-behavioral therapy and environment-based therapies, as well as 12-step support programs, have been shown to be helpful. People with severe substance use problems may also benefit from the addition of certain medications that reduce cravings or intoxication effects.
  • For eating disorders, medical management may be necessary to maintain physical safety. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and antidepressant medications have all been shown to be helpful, and some evidence suggests that combining psychotherapy and medications may be more effective than either treatment alone.
  • For schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, most people will require treatment with antipsychotic or mood-stabilizing medications. Research suggests that adding cognitive-behavioral or family psychotherapy to the treatment can improve functional outcomes.
  • For problems with parenting, marriage or adjustment, psychotherapy is usually the first recommendation. This treatment can help you build skills and respond more appropriately to stressors.

Personalizing Your Treatment

  • Different people respond to treatments differently. Therefore, if one treatment does not help, try adding the other. Research shows that psychotherapy can be helpful even for people who do not respond well to medications.
  • Psychotherapy and medications both require that you stick with the treatment. Results usually do not happen overnight. Therefore, only start a treatment if you are willing to continue it long enough for it to help you.
  • You will be most likely to stick with a treatment if it makes sense to you. Therefore, it’s important that you discuss the treatment thoroughly with your doctor, and that the treatment is explained in a way that you can understand.
  • When in doubt, ask your doctor. He/she can inform you of the best evidence and make a specific recommendation for your condition.

Bad Bank

Have u ever heard of bad bank? Well, in this article we will know about what bad bank is and how is it taking shape in India. 

So to start over, A bad bank is a financial entity that was formed to purchase the risky loans and other illiquid assets of another financial institution. The company with many nonperforming assets will sell them to the bad bank at market value. The goal of Bad Bank is to bring financial stability to the banking industry. It would store bad loans for public sector banks, which will be offered to investors at a discount which will eventually assist banks in cleaning up their balance sheets. 

Recently, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, has announced the establishment of a bad bank in the nation. Sitharaman said in her budget address that an Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and an Asset Management Company will be established to manage the bad debt of public sector banks such as the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and others.

However, Experts were perplexed by this because IBC known as insolvency and bankruptcy code was considered to be pretty efficient in settling problematic debts. But the government was concerned about delays and low asset realization under the IBC. Furthermore, the loans were offered at steep discounts. The assets were liquidated in some circumstances. There were also issues regarding the public sector bank’s(PSB) lack of cooperation. 

So, to consolidate and take over the current stressed debt, an ARC and AMC will be established. It will then manage and sell the assets to Alternative Investment Funds and other potential buyers in order to realize their full worth. To put it another way, it will store bad loans for public sector banks, which will subsequently be sold to investors at a lower cost which will aid in the cleaning up of the balance sheet and will eventually lessen the financial burden of future capital requirements. So, India’s bad bank is now taking form. With the formation of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd, the much-anticipated wait for the “Bad Bank” came to an end. 

Given its size and development potential, the Indian economy will experience a steady supply of distressed assets. When the one-time loan arrangement finishes, Covid-19 will be a source of concern for many businesses. For public sector banks, the existing portfolio of problematic loans is a major source of concern. As of September 2020, the banking system’s total gross nonperforming assets (NPAs) accounted for 7.5% of the entire loan book. 

This is anticipated to rise to 13.5 percent by March-September this year, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Moreover, Many people believe that running a bad bank successfully necessitates a variety of factors. One, it must be for a defined purpose and include a time limit. For instance, Sweden AMC, supported by the government, recovered over 90% of bad loans in six years in the early 1990s. However, the Chinese AMC, which is supported by the government, failed to deliver. Now it’s up to NARCL, private ARCs, and IBC to preserve the value of stressed assets by restructuring and resolving them in a timely manner.

The Violence of Development: Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021

ABOUT LAKSHADWEEP

Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory of India and covers an area of 32 sq. km. It has 36 islands out of which 10 are inhabited. The island is directly under the control of Central Government through an administrator. It has 3 main group of islands:

  • Amindivi Islands (Northernmost Island)
  • Laccadive Islands
  • Minicoy Islands (Southernmost Island)

It has tiny islands of coral origin and are surrounded by fringing reefs (hence called as Atoll). The capital is Kavaratti, which is the principal town of the UT and the Pitti Island (uninhabited) has a Bird Sanctuary.

The island has a population of 64,429 (according to Census of India, 2011). More than 93% of the population is indigenous and are Muslims. Because of the populations economic and social backwardness, the entire population is classified as Scheduled Tribes and there are no Scheduled Castes in the UT. The main occupation of the people is fishing, coconut cultivation and coir twisting. And tourism is an emerging industry. Under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) of India, the entire island was declared as an Organic Agricultural Area.

WHAT IS LDAR 2021 ?

The latest Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021, for the creation of a Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA) which will be the administrative body for the island and will pan the development of the island.

PROVISIONS

  1. CONSTITUION OF LAKSHADWEEP DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY : The LDAR empowers the government to be identified as the administrator of the island and has the power to constitute Lakshadweep Development Authority. The authority will plan the development of any area in the island, which could be identified in a bad layout or in obsolete condition. This authority has power to prepare land use pans, zonation’s of land uses, indicate areas for different types of development etc. And only Cantonment areas are exempted from this.
  2. Definition of ‘Development’: Development is defined as the process of carrying out of building, engineering, mining, quarrying or other operations, in, on, over or under land, cutting of a hill or any portion thereof or the making of any material change in any building or land or in the use of any building or land.
  3. LEGAL PENANLTIES: As per the DDAR, the development plan will not be questioned by anyone, either before or after being approved. It empowers the administering body to forcibly relocate or remove residents or citizens from their own property for carrying out any developmental activity. It establishes penalties for those who will violate the laws. Such as imprisonment for obstructing the development plan’s work or workers.
  4. FEES FOR CHANGING ZONES: It stipulates that islanders and citizens must pay a processing fee for changing zones, which implies that localities will be paying fees to gain approval for altering or changing zones as per the development plan as well as for permission to develop their own land.

CRITICISMS

Following concerns were raised by the people of Lakshadweep:

  1. VIOLATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS : The LDAR provides the Government and Development Authority constituted by Government, the supreme powers to acquire, alter and transfer the properties owned by the residents of the island which violates the fundamental rights of the residents of Lakshadweep as guaranteed in Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
  2. INTERESTS ON REAL ESTATE : Many residents have been suspecting and fearing that LDAR might seeking real estate interests to usurp the small landholdings and properties owned by the native islanders. There have been proposals of bringing “Transferable Development Rights” to the island which has raised another major concern and fear among islanders for being migrated forcefully.
  3. FORCIBLE RELOCATION AND EVICTION: The LDAR has given the power to relocate people for development plans has become one of the major concerns and issues. According to the regulations provided, the owner has to develop his holding as per the plan prepared by the authority or else they will be penalized in case of non-compliance with the regulation.
  4. ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS: Lakshadweep is a part of coral ecosystem and it has inherited this cultural and ecological uniqueness as well as fragility. This ecosystem can get destroyed easily if the development activities around them are not regulated. The regulations which provide the government supreme powers for acquiring and developing land can be disastrous for this ecosystem.
  5. THREATEN THE CULTURE AND LIFE: The island is very vulnerable to destruction and any further large-scale infrastructural development can have large ecological and social footprint which can negatively affect the potentiality and sustainability of the area as well as the life forms present in the island.
  6. IGNORES PEOPLE’S NEEDS AND GEOGRAPHICAL REALITIES: Lakshadweep has unique geography, ecology and culture and for protecting and preserving this uniqueness it is important to limit the development activities in the island. The LDAR tries to expand the road connectivity ignoring the geographic conditions of the island and the interests of the people. And the LDAR has also provided the regulation that no one can raise or question the strategies or actions provided by the development authority, before or after being approved. This shows that the needs, interests and concerns of the people are undermined.
  7. VIOLATES THE OBJECTIVES OF LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 2013: The Act promotes the consultation with institutions of self-government and Gram Sabha’s, local people and tries to have a transparent and informed process for land acquisition.

ENGAGING CONTENT WRITING TIPS ON AFFILIATE MARKETING

People who are flourishing as an industrialist thinks of a way to grow their business. The best way is to look for an alternate income. An alternate income doesn’t mean starting a new business but, a way of finding customers and supporters.

The best way to earn money is affiliate marketing. If you don’t have an idea on affiliate marketing, have one now. With affiliate marketing, the customer buys the product, the company gets a new customer and the affiliate also gets a commission. Marketing products is an effective way to increase product sales.

So, the content you provide must be engaging that the readers can read and get clarified with their doubts. Here are some tips to write engaging content for affiliate marketing.

10 TIPS TO WRITE ENGAGING CONTENT FOR AFFILIATE MARKETING:

1. UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT:

     Affiliate marketing is a marketing strategy that makes the product owner earn money by letting on third persons sell or promote their products. The third person is an affiliate. An affiliate promotes the products through blogs, articles, social media platforms, and other possible ways. An affiliate finds the product he likes, promoting it to others, and earns commission by selling it.

Here, this is the basic concept of affiliate marketing. Understanding the concept and using your own words to write the article. Understanding is the basic step in writing engaging content. Without understanding, you can’t write a reader-friendly article.

2. DO RESEARCH:

     For writing an article, you should do research and make notes of the key points you searched. Use advanced search options and avoid the sites with mistakes. The information you gather through research should be reliable.

     The quality of your content relies on the research make. You should do extensive research and follow the content path.

3. INVOLVE PUBLIC OPINION:

     One should know people’s feedback on a product and need to know what they feel about the product. Keep yourself in their shoes and note the pros and cons of a product. An affiliate should gain trust by making people satisfied with the product. By doing so, the people will feel the product you recommend will be trustworthy.

     A writer should include a public opinion on the product and write content based on those opinions. A reader should think the writer cleared all their doubts and queries about the product. The content you write should answer the questions which people search for.

4. ADD RELATED DATA:

     Adding data to content makes readers interested in your article and will read it. Add data and statistics related to the product. Data can be attracted more by people than a word or sentence. Data and statistics have a sight of attraction towards the people. Try to add data related to the product and make the content engaging and reader-friendly.

15 Best Affiliate Marketing Networks in India in 2021

5. USE SIMPLE KEYWORDS:

     Always remember  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and keyword search play an important role in affiliate marketing. It is not enough just to publish your content on an affiliate website but should also increase web traffic.

You should know the basics of SEO and keyword search which help in increasing web traffic. One must know what keywords people would search for a related topic and use those keywords. Understand how the keyword you use intends the keyword search and analyze it.

For example, A person searches for “How to start a vlog” for content you want to create. A vlog means a video log or video blog where people post their short videos. What the person’s intent behind the search will induce the direction of your article. Whether the person wants to start an individual vlog? Or he wants to know the steps in the vlog? This will lead to a search accordingly.

One fine idea is to search for the keyword yourself in the search engine and get to know more about it. Use anchor phrases that are not wordy or spammy.

6. DRAFT QUALITY CONTENT:

     As we know, content marketing is one of the best ways to advertise a product. Write more simply so that people can understand your thoughts easily. The quality of the content lies in its originality. Try to use your own words to draft it. The content you provide must answer the question “how to” because people search for the sample or product review before buying it. So, your content must clear all the doubts and queries of the reader.

Focus on the main theme of the content. The content you provide must be trustworthy and should be reader-friendly. Writing the content with good English and using simple keywords can make the content engaging. The content you draft must be unique that express your company’s personality.

7. ADD PROPER AFFILIATE LINK:

     Affiliate links help in increasing the online performance of an industrialist. If you want to add some affiliate link, take some time and research it properly. Because affiliate marketing is based on the concept of sharing and publish online platforms.

The content you write must attract the target audience. Furnishing high-quality content will help you to attract the target audience which involves the adding of proper affiliate links. Provide some information about the affiliate link you provide.

For example. High ticket affiliate marketing will be the best one for a beginner affiliate. It is a program that provides commission per referral. This high ticket affiliate marketing will allow you to earn more without any effort from your side. Provide some information about the affiliate link you provide. Promoting high ticket affiliate products is one of the most profitable affiliate programs nowadays.

8. USE SIMPLE ENGLISH AND SHORT PARAGRAPH:

     The content you draft must not be too wordy.

  • Use simple English to draft the content and make it reader-friendly.
  • Avoid the use of passive voice, use active voice instead.
  • Avoid overuse of prepositions.
  • Use contradictable words or sentences.
  • Use a shorter paragraph than a longer one. Because people will like it when it’s simple and understandable. Using longer paragraphs may irritate the readers to finish it.

9. BE SINCERE:

     Be sincere while writing the content. Don’t make up a story that people will buy your product. When you are true, people will always buy the product you recommend. So, give your true research ideas and visual treat. If you find any fault in the product you recommend mention it in your article.

Give the positive as well as the negative feedback of the product. In this way, people will feel your article trustworthy. If the article only has positive views and no negative views, it will make people not trust your article. So, be true to the people and yourself.

10. PROOFREADING:

     Proofreading is a way to correct the errors in the article you drafted. The article may have grammatical errors, punctuation errors, etc. So, take proofreading seriously while writing an article. Proofreading is important because, if the article you drafted is published online and contains some errors, it will influence your career.

Proofread your content with the help of some error-checking tools such as Grammarly etc. Check your content before publishing it. It is important to produce an article without any errors in it.

These are some tips to write engaging content for affiliate marketing. However, affiliate marketing is the best way to earn money without any effort. Just follow the tips and make your content engaging. Then what are you waiting for? Start writing your content soon. Affiliate marketing is a money-making side in which its price will rise to $16 billion in 2021.

Read more;

Jhunjhunwala plans to have 70 planes in four years of airline

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is planning on having 70 aircraft within four years for a new airline he wants to set up.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Jhunjhunwala, who is considered to be investing 35 dollar million and would own 40% of the carrier, is expected to get a no-objection certificate from the aviation ministry in the next 15 days, he said in an interview on wednesday.

The ultra low cost airline will be called Akasa Air and the team, which includes a former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc is looking at planes that can carry 180 passengers, he said.

Its a bold bet by Jhunjhunwala, who’s known locally as India’s Warren Buffett, in a market that has seen some airlines collapse in the face of intense fare wars and high costs.

Still, what was once the world’s fastest -growing aviation market holds an allure and Jhunjhunwala is looking at opportunities to woo flyers with a brand new carrier offering low fares.

Photo by Alexander Mils on Pexels.com

All of these facts, however, do not prevent Jhunjhunwala from investing in the aviation industry, as he is well-versed in the reality of doing business in this area. “I believe some of the increment players will not recover,” he remarked, but he praised his partners, saying, “I have some of the best airline people in the world as my partners.”

Jhunjhunwala is investing $35 million in Akasa and expects the Aviation Ministry to provide a no-objection certificate (NOC) soon. A fleet of 70 planes is planned. The new arrival into India’s aviation sector comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant influence on the industry.

Reference

http://www.moneycontrol.com

http://www.hindustantimes.com

http://www.timesofindia.com

THE JOURNEY OF PURI TOWARDS FIRST CITY TO PROVIDE 24 X 7 CLEAN WATER

Puri is one of the major heritage cities of the country and every year more than 2 crore tourists visit every year. And this month the city earned an unique distinction of becoming the first Indian city to provide 24X7 pure drinking water. This is the landmark achievement for the city and state and is one of the major contributors for enhancing the status of sanitation and hygiene in Puri, Odisha. The city has become the first city to offer safe drinking water directly from taps to the residents and the tourists visiting the city every year and now has joined the group of global metropolitans like London and New York for providing safe drinking water.

The government launches “Sujal: Drink from Tap Mission” which has the goal of providing all time safe drinking water to all the residents and people visiting the cities directly through taps. The city has fulfilled and achieved the credentials of the ambitious mission and has achieved the goal of the mission. The 24 hour drink from tap facility provides water which can be used directly without filtration for different purposes such as drinking, cooking etc. This move is beneficial for the 2.5 lakh people residing in the city and the 2 crore tourists visiting the city every year. And the people don’t need to carry water bottles with them and can directly rely on the taps. This type of facility is present in very limited number of cities globally and Puri has established its place. Furthermore, the state government had installed 400 water fountains in different locations of the city with the aim of reducing the reliance and usage of plastic bottles in Puri. This will eventually reduce the amount of plastic wastes being can be reduced.

The government uses 5T initiative for increasing the efficiency and effectivity of the services being delivered across the city. The Chief Minister of the state emphasized on the linkage between safe drinking water with health, living standards and the economy, thereby, urging the people not to waste or pollute water. Transparency, teamwork, technology, time-frame and transformation form the 5Ts which has been adopted by the government for improving its governance. The budget for drinking water has been doubled in 5 years from Rs 200 crore to Rs 4000 crore thereby making the city the first heritage town in the country to get this facility. It is expected that the initiative will have great contribution in reducing the amount of plastic wastes generated. It is estimated that the amount of plastic waste being generated by the city will reduce by 400 tonne per annum. 1100 Stand posts were already present in the city and the state government has established additional 110 modern public stand posts along the Grand Road (Badadanda) and nine by the sea beach area have been installed. Old stand posts are being replaced with steel pipes and taps and at present 36 MLD clean water is being supplied everyday in the city. About 135 – 140 liters of drinking water per head per day is being provided to the residents everyday.

CONCEPT OF INTERNET

As the internet turns 50, experts weigh future advances and emerging issues | Network World

The INTERNET is a ‘network of networks’ that links computer systems around the world . It allows communication across networks , i.e., communication can take place between one network and another . This allow people to have access to information from different Web sites , locations and machines . It virtually makes accessible a sea of information and a nearly worldwide audience at the click of a button.

It was the Sputnik’s launch and the subsequent cold war , space race and the development of ARPANET (Advance Research Projects Agency NETwork ) in 1950 , that led to the establishment of the internet. However , it actually gained momentum in the 1980s when ARPANET was used by the National Science Foundation to connect the five supercomputers at its regional centres . Thus emerged a high speed Internet service that enabled access to many universities , networks , bulletin board systems , commercial online services and institutions . The decade closed with the introduction of the World Wide Web or WWW , which proclaimed the emergence of an independent platform of communication that was further augmented by a relatively easy-to-use and pleasant graphical interface .

Important Features

Some of the facilities that are available on the Internet are as follows :

  • World Wide Web : The Internet application that is currently drawing maximum attention is the WWW . It has dramatically influenced the online world and continues to grow in popularity .
  • Direct Communication : Through e-mail , messages can be sent to or received from any part of the world within a few minutes.
  • Round-the-Clock Availability : Information on the Internet is available to users 24 hours a day .
  • Wide Area Networks : Using the Internet , organizations can collect and compile information from offices spread over large geographical areas .