The Indian Contract Act, 1872 determines obligations of the parties to perform or offer to perform respective promises unless such performance is dispensed with or excused under the provisions of the Act, or of any other law.

As informed by the Law Commission of India, in order to protect the consumers, the Law Commission in its Report No.199 titled ‘Unfair (Procedural and Substantive) Terms in Contracts’ recommended that the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 need not be disturbed.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has come into force w.e.f. 20^th July, 2020 and has replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. As provided in the new  Act unfair contract means a contract  between a manufacturer or trader or service provider on one hand and a consumer on the other, having such terms which cause significant change in the rights of such consumer, including the following, namely:—

(i)  requiring manifestly excessive security deposits to be given by a consumer for the performance of   contractual obligations; or

(ii)      imposing any penalty on the consumer, for the breach of contract thereof which is wholly

disproportionate to the loss occurred due to such breach to the other party to the contract; or

(iii)     refusing to accept early repayment of debts on payment of applicable penalty; or

(iv)     entitling a party to the contract to terminate such contract unilaterally, without reasonable cause; or

(v)      permitting or has the effect of permitting one party to assign the contract to the detriment of the other party who is a consumer, without his consent; or

(vi)     imposing on the consumer any unreasonable charge, obligation or condition which puts such consumer to disadvantage;

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution, Shri DanveRaosahebDadarao in Lok Sabha today.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today said that the common man in Kashmir is tired of terrorism and is becoming increasingly aspirational for himself and for his children.

Delivering the 1st edition of “Kunwar Viyogi Annual Memorial Lecture” of the University of Jammu on the subject “Way Forward Post Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir”, Dr Jitendra Singh said that terrorism is in its last phase in Jammu & Kashmir and terrorists on the run are hitting soft targets. He said, things are changing for the better each day and hoped for a new beginning from the next season.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that in the 2nd term of the Modi Government, the Prime Minister had called upon to give J&K similar kind of attention and focus as was given to North-East. He said, after a very long gap, there is almost equal distribution of Central resources in Jammu and Kashmir Divisions.

Referring to his speech in Parliament during abrogation of Article-370 last year, when he described it as a miscarriage of history and anomaly of the Constitution, Dr Jitendra Singh said that what was supposed to be a temporary feature remained permanent for 70 years. He said it was the vision and strong will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the historic wrong was undone.

He said even the prophets of doom were proved wrong that abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A would lead to bloodshed and violence. On the other hand, the UT of J&K witnessed the most peaceful festive season be it Holi, Muharram, Eid, Diwali, Republic Day or Independence Day.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the people of the UT are realizing that in the name of special status and self-rule, it was in fact continuation of dynastic rule of three generations and autonomy was denied at the grassroots level by not holding panchayat elections. He said, panchayat elections were held under the new dispensation of LG in J&K, thus empowering the local people.

Describing the Jammu & Kashmir Domicile Rules Notification as the dawn of a new era for Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Jitendra Singh said that history will vindicate us and prove that this course correction was in keeping with the principle of equality and the norms of a healthy democracy. He said that three generations of people in Jammu & Kashmir had been denied the right to live with justice and dignity. He said, the West Pakistan Refugees and displaced persons from PoJK have been restored their legitimate rights and a discrimination of several decades has been undone.

Recalling that two Prime Ministers of India, I.K.Gujral and Dr. Manmohan Singh, came from Pakistan,Dr Jitendra Singh quipped, they would not have become Prime Ministers if they had chosen to settle in J&K because of the discriminatory law. He also added that it is an irony that All India Services Officers, including IAS and IPS, who devoted 30 to 35 years of their life to serve in Jammu & Kashmir were, at the end of the day, after superannuation, asked to pack up, leave and look for a place elsewhere to settle. This was, he said, quite in contrast to the arrangement in several States and UTs where the All India Service officers of State Cadre are not only allowed to settle but are also provided plots of land for the same. He said the same is the case for teachers, doctors and other professionals.

Dwelling on the administrative outcomes, Dr Jitendra Singh said that post 5th August,2019, Transparency, Digitization and Accountability has increased and said that the Centre is assisting the Union Territory Government of Jammu & Kashmir to establish Grievance Portal in each of the 20 districts of the UT. He said that citizen centricity in Governance has become a new norm. Similarly, several of the stalled developmental projects in the irrigation, power and other sectors have started seeing the light of the day after remaining in cold storage for more than 30-40 years, he added.

On the cultural outcome, Dr Jitendra Singh said by making Dogri an official language, another anomaly was done away with. He said that people are gradually coming out of slavish, slack and selfish mind-set, and becoming part of the new milieu.

In his address the Vice Chancellor of University of Jammu, Professor Manoj Dhar praised the Union Minister for his passion for growth and development of Jammu and Kashmir and that of Dogri Language. He informed that a full-fledged Department of Dogri is functional in the Jammu University and soon a “Centre of Excellence” will be established for promotion of Dogri language, culture and heritage.

Professor Monika Sethi, Head of Department of English under whose aegis the webinar was organized along with Ayushman Jamwal, senior editor of News18 took part in the programme.

The Government has taken a number of initiatives to provide psychosocial support during COVID-19.

These initiatives include:

1. Setting up of a 24/7 helpline to provide psychosocial support, by mental health professionals, to the entire affected population, divided into different target groups viz children, adult, elderly, women and healthcare workers.
2. Issuance of guidelines/ advisories on management of mental health issues, catering to different segments of the society.
3. Advocacy through various media platforms in the form of creative and audio-visual materials on managing stress and anxiety, and promoting an environment of support and care for all.
4. Issuance of detailed guidelines by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru- “Mental Health in the times of COVID-19 Pandemic – Guidance for General Medical and Specialized Mental Health Care Settings”.
5. All the guidelines, advisories and advocacy material can be accessed on Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website under “Behavioural Health – Psychosocial helpline” (https://www.mohfw.gov.in/).
6. Online capacity building of health workers by NIMHANS in providing psychosocial support and training through (iGOT)-Diksha platform.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

“Public Health and Hospitals” being a State subject the primary responsibility of implementation of various health care schemes including National Health Mission lies with respective States.

The Ministry is continuously monitoring the implementation of their National Programmes & giving the required guidance to States/ UTs from time to time. States/UTs are being provided required technical and financial assistance for managing the COVID-19 Public Health Challenge from time to time.

All the States/ UTs are provided with necessary financial support under India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package, with flexibility to use the resources based on their context and priorities. During FY 2020-21, funds of Rs 4256.81 crore have been released to the States/ UTs as on 10.09.2020.

“Public health and hospitals” being a State subject, the primary responsibility of ensuring the availability of doctors at public health facilities lies with the respective State governments.

To address the healthcare challenges, particularly in rural areas, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 to supplement the efforts of the State/UT governments to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to all those who access public health facilities. Currently, NRHM is a sub-mission of National Health Mission (NHM).

NHM support is provided to States/ UTs for setting up of new facilities as per norms and upgradation of existing facilities for bridging the infrastructure gaps and to fill up the vacancies of Human Resource on contractual basis based on the requirement posed by them.

The States are also encouraged to adopt flexible norms for engaging specialists for public health facilities. These include ‘contracting in’ and ‘contracting out’ of specialist services and engaging specialists outside the government system for service delivery at public facilities under NHM.

States have also been allowed to offer negotiable salaries to attract Specialists including flexibility in strategies such as ”You quote, we pay”.

Financial support is also provided to States for providing hard area allowance, performance-based incentives, providing accommodation and transport facilities in rural and remote areas, sponsoring training programmes, etc to engaged human resources to address the issue of shortage of doctors and specialists in the public health facilities.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

The utilization of immunization services slowed down at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, but coverage has improved subsequently because of series of measures been taken.

To restore universal immunization, following steps were taken by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) during COVID-19 pandemic:

• States/ UTs have been provided with a series of guidelines for delivering immunization services as well as Reproductive, Maternal, New born, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services in the midst of COVID 19 pandemic. The same have also been reiterated in video conferences with the states/ UTs. Guidelines are also uploaded on Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) website for wider dissemination.

Regular reviews are being held with the States/ UTs to discuss challenges being faced during the pandemic and the necessary measures taken to ensure immunization services.Appropriate communication material has been developed and shared with the States and UTs for addressing vaccine hesitancy and strengthening routine immunization during COVID-19 pandemic.Supply chain of vaccines and other logistics has been ensured during COVID-19 pandemic.

As per Health Management Information System (HMIS) 37,49,939 children were fully immunized in rural areas from April- June 2020 whereas 46,75,437 children have been fully immunized in rural areas during same period last year.

After each immunization session, due list of beneficiaries is prepared to track and trace individuals who have missed their regular vaccine including individual, who have missed vaccination due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has hailed the passage of two crucial Bills on agricultural reforms by Parliament today. Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Amit Shah, in a series of tweets, said, “The passage of these bills reflects PM Modi ji’s unwavering resolve towards the overall development of our farmers and strengthening of the agriculture sector. This is the beginning of an unprecedented era of development in India’s agriculture sector.”

Shri Amit Shah said, “People who kept farmers in darkness and poverty for decades by indulging in vote bank politics are today again trying to provoke & mislead them by opposing this historic decision, which is taken by Modi govt in the interest of the farmers. I want to assure my farmer brothers that if anyone thinks of their best interest then it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji.”

The Union Home Minister said, “These agriculture reforms of the Modi govt will liberate our farmer brothers from the clutches of middlemen who have deprived them of their dues.”

“Through these agriculture reforms, farmers will be able to fetch the right price for their produce by selling it anywhere they want, this will lead to an increase in their income,” said Shri Amit Shah.

“Even after this decision, the system of MSP will remain in place and government procurement will also continue,” he added.

The Rajya Sabha passed The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 today. Both Bills had already been passed by the Lok Sabha.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers’ produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

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As informed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), disposal of bio-medical waste including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit worn by healthcare professionals as well as general public became a challenge during the on-going Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.        

Public Health’ being a State subject, information relating to increase in COVID-19 cases among individuals employed in garbage collection and disposal, due to mismanagement in disposal of bio-medical waste including PPE kit etc., is not centrally maintained.

As per Bio-medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rule, 2016, waste generated from Healthcare Facilities is required to be treated and disposed as per provisions under said Rules. CPCB has also prepared guidelines, which gives guidance on Handling, Treatment & Disposal of bio-medical waste in line with provisions under BMWM Rules, 2016.          

Further, CPCB issued separate guidelines for ‘Handling, Treatment & Disposal of bio-medical waste generated during Treatment/Diagnosis/Quarantine of COVID-19 patients’ which gives guidance on management of COVID-19 related bio-medical waste including used masks and gloves. These guidelines were initially issued on 19.03.2019 and later revised on 17.07.2020.

As per CPCB Guidelines, used PPEs like face shields, goggles, hazmat suit, plastic coverall, used masks, head cover, shoe cover etc. generated from COVID-19 isolation wards at Healthcare Facilities shall be segregated and
sent to Common Facilities for
disposal as per Bio-medical
Waste Management Rules, 2016 (BMWM Rules). However, used PPEs like masks and gloves generated in Common Households, Commercial Establishments, Institutions, etc., are required to store separately for minimum 72 hours for disposal along with solid waste after cutting or shredding. Such shredded used masks from household can be collected as dry solid waste by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

Guidelines issued by CPCB have been circulated to all stakeholders and specific Directions were also issued by CPCB to all State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) to ensure compliance.

The following additional measures have been taken by CPCB for improvement of management of bio-medical waste during COVID-19 pandemic:

1. In order to monitor COVID-19 related bio-medical waste, CPCB developed COVID-19 waste tracking App named “COVID19BWM”. Both Android Mobile and Web versions of software application were designed for waste generators, CBWTF Operators, SPCBs/PCCs and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). 1^st version of the App. has been introduced and a demonstration was given to SPCBs/PCCs and other stakeholders in May, 2020. SPCBs and CBWTFs were directed to ensure usage of Tracking App. CPCB vide it’s letter dated 21.07.2020 issued Show Cause Notice to 106 CBWTFs for not using the COVID19BWM tracking App.
2. Directions under section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act were issued in July, 2020 to all the SPCBs/PCCs to ensure compliance to CPCB guidelines for effective management of bio-medical waste. However, CPCB has also created separate page on its website for dissemination of awareness on management of COVID-19 related waste, including safe disposal of masks and PPEs by general public.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

For appropriate management of COVID-19 cases, Government of India has advised State governments to setup a three-tier arrangement of health facilities exclusively for COVID.

These are-

(i) COVID Care Center with isolation beds for mild or pre-symptomatic cases;

(ii) Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC) with oxygen supported isolation beds for moderate cases and

(iii) Dedicated COVID Hospital (DCH) with ICU beds for severe cases.

In order to prevent cross infection from COVID cases to those being admitted for non-COVID illness, these beds shall not be put to use for treatment of patients other than COVID.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India followed a graded approach and has guided states for accordingly expanding COVID-19 dedicated hospital infrastructure. The states were advised to plan for the requisite number of isolation, oxygen supported and ICU beds, based on the prevalent and expected case growth rate.

As per the information provided by the States/ UTs on the Covid-19 Portal, State-wise details of Hospitals, beds in COVID dedicated facilities (Government and Private both) as on 18^th September 2020 is given at Annexure. However, as the situation is dynamic, the bed utilization position changes day-to-day.

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As per the latest HIV estimates report (2019) of the Government, India is estimated to have around 23.49 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in 2019. The HIV epidemic has an overall decreasing trend in country with estimated annual New HIV infections declining by 37% between 2010 and 2019.

HIV infection in India is mainly caused by engagement in high risk behaviours. The main high-risk behaviours identified for HIV infection in India includes unprotected heterosexual behaviour, unprotected homosexual behaviour, and unsafe injecting drug use behaviour.

There are no dedicated hospitals for the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients. However, under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) of the Government, as on July 2020, there are 570 Anti-retroviral treatment (ART) Centers and 1264 Link ART Centers.

State/UT-wise details of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2018 and 2019 as per the latest HIV estimates report (2019) is at Annexure.

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Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi has a scheme Survey, Research, Documentation, Dissemination & Publication which has the objective of preserving recordings of different arts forms, for the purpose of research and dissemination. Under the said scheme, Akademi provides grant to individuals and arts and cultural institutions for research work and documentation of various dance forms of the country.

Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi organized Festivals all over the country, gives grants-in-aid for research, documentation, and publishing in the performing arts; organizes and subsidizes seminars and conferences of subject specialists; documents and records the performing arts for its audio-visual archive.

The scheme “Festival, Workshop & Exhibition” is designed to support festivals both at the regional and national levels to present classical, traditional, tribal and other forms of Indian performing arts under the aegis of the Akademi, in order to preserving art tradition in live practice,and for developing technique and creative process through performance and workshop, by holding and supporting music festivals, Seminars & Workshops &Exhibitions etc. The Akademi has brought into limelight unknown and rare art forms and many artistes who are performers of outstanding merit, as also younger generation of performing artists. The opportunities and scope for in-depth documentation of various arts and artistes brought together on the occasion of the above events are utilized for optimum artistic results.

This information was given by the Minister of State (I/c) of Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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It is better to fix a problem when it is small than to wait and let it become a bigger problem.A Stitch in Time Saves Nine is a wise saying. This phrase refers to a hole in a cloth. This hole would certainly get bigger if not fixed in time. It means that a timely effort that will prevent more work later. It certainly means prevention is better than cure. Furthermore, this important phrase tells us procrastination is a bad habit. Hence, if a problem exists, then one must fix it immediately. If not fixed in time, then even more problems can arise.It is an idiom, which is a phrase whose symbolic or intended meaning is different from the literal meaning of the words themselves.Historians believe it first appeared in print in 1732 in Thomas Fuller’s Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British. Of course, if Fuller considered this saying to be a proverb in 1732, it was probably around for many years before that.In our life, it is always wise to remember that a stitch in time saves nine. This famous proverb reminds us that any task we perform in our life, if done properly will be established easily. We should be sincere and punctual in performing our tasks as planned. A small lag in any process might lead to great complications and lead to failure in nay task we take up in our life. If we work hard and execute our actions in a smart way, we can complete any task within the anticipated time. Instead of performing a task without proper planning, organized plan of any task would avoid repeating the same process again and again.

This phrase not only relates to our personal issues but also connects to the common or social problems existed in this world and we are becoming the part of these social issues in some protocols like:
In our nearby areas, many under age children are employed as child labour but we just ignore or stay away of it, sometime we employ children under age for house hold activities.Same like, at many places girls child are killed before birth which is a crucial crime and the worst part is that the guilty and the victims are one of us and we just silently watch this crime happening in our country.The third social problem of dowry system is thriving in this country among us but again we become the part of such marriages.

According to many successful individuals, time is money. This precious blessing of time is very limited. There are only 24 hours in a day. Also, the average human life expectancy probably ranges from 80 to 90 years. This certainly means that one can’t afford to waste time at all. Hence, “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” avoids wastage of time.

Another advantage of this concept is less effort. This is due to early dealing with a problem. Dealing with a problem early requires a certain amount of effort. However, with delay the problem becomes ugly. Now to rectify this even more difficult problem means much more effort. So, following “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” saves effort.

People use “a stitch in time saves nine” to express that it’s better to spend a little time and effort to deal with a problem right now than to wait until later, when it may get worse and take longer to deal with. Many believe procrastination — putting off doing something until later — creates more work in the long run.

Although no one knows for sure who came up with this saying or what significance stitches or the number nine have, many people believe it was started by mothers weary of mending their children’s clothing.

The phrase thus might be stated more clearly as, “One stitch, in time, saves nine stitches,” meaning that mending a tear right away would only require one stitch instead of the 10 stitches necessary later if the tear goes unfixed and worsens.

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” has another advantage. It is better decision making. Following this concept means that a person has sufficient time to handle a problem. Therefore, a person can prepare solutions efficiently. In contrast, a person who delays problems will have a shortage of time. Consequently, this person would become stressful and nervous. Due to this, poor decision making would result.

When we do not focus on a task and just try to complete it without an objective, we end being a failure. The main essence of success lies in planning what we do before starting the task. If we do not plan our day/any task we will end up performing actions that would require repetition of the same task again and again. This reminds us of another famous saying ‘Haste Makes Waste’. We also should remember that “Time and Tide Waits for No Man”. So if we keep delaying our tasks with imperfections, we will miss to obtain the targeted results on time.Sincerity in what we do helps us focus on a task till it is completely successfully. Hard Work accompanied with smart work lets us to complete the task as planned in shorter time. Being Punctual helps us to complete our tasks on time. If we try to inculcate these habits in our day to day life, we can be successful without any hindrances in between and gain attraction in any big crowd.

So… little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.

The Election Commission of India is going to organize  an International Webinar on 21^st September 2020, on the Theme ‘‘Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting  Elections during COVID-19 : Sharing Country Experiences’ on its completion of one year of Chairmanship of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).

2. The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) is largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) worldwide. At present A-WEB has 115  EMBs as Members & 16 Regional Associations/Organisations as Associate Members.  ECI has been very closely associated with the process of formation of A-WEB since 2011-1    ECI hosted   the 4th General Assembly of A-WEB on 03 Sep 2019 at Bengaluru and took  over as Chair of A-WEB for 2019-2021 term. 

3. In accordance with the decision taken at the Extraordinary meeting of the A-WEB Executive Board held at Bengaluru on 02 Sep 2019,  an India A-WEB Centre  has been established at New Delhi,  for world class documentation, research and training for sharing the best practices and capacity building of officials of A-WEB members.     ECI has provided all the resources for this Centre.  A number of initiatives, led by  Shri Sunil Arora, Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of India and Chairperson, A-WEB are being taken under the aegis of India A-WEB Centre.

4. This is the first Webinar being held by the India A-WEB Centre.   Over 120 delegates from 45 countries across the world (viz.   Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of  Congo, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz Republic,  Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Tonga, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Zambia) and 4 international organizations (viz. International IDEA,  International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and European Centre for Elections)   are going to participate in the Webinar.   

5. The India A-WEB Centre   has, in a very short period of its existence,  come out with two very useful publications viz. ‘Brief Profiles of the Countries, member EMBs and Partner Organisations of A-WEB’  and ‘COVID 19 and International Election Experience’ which will be released at the Webinar for the benefit of the entire A-WEB community.   The Centre is going to bring out a number of publications and documents, including a world class quarterly ‘A-WEB India Journal of Elections’.  A brochure on the Journal is  also being released at the Webinar.       

6. At the Webinar, presentations will be made by participating EMBs and organisations.  Session I which will be chaired by Shri Sushil Chandra, Hon’ble Election Commissioner will include presentations by Fiji, Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan  as well as International IDEA and A-WEB  where these EMBs and organisations are going to   share the   challenges faced as well as their experiences  and perspectives for  holding elections during COVID 19.   Session II, which will be chaired by Shri Rajiv Kumar, Hon’ble Election Commissioner will have presentations from  South Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Malawi and IFES.

7. It is hoped that interactions and discussions at the International Webinar on 21 Sep 2020 will provide a good opportunity to all the participants to exchange ideas and learn from each others’ experience of holding and managing elections in challenging times of COVID 19 pandemic to ensure free, fair, transparent as well as safe elections. 

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Contingency planning is not just about major natural calamities and natural crisis but it can also mean the problems such as loss of data, staffs and customers related to the company or any other business relationships. So it is very much important to conduct contingency planning a routine part in your business.

In this article, we together will explore the key elements of contingency planning in business so that there is a backup option, which your things turn out wrong. So without any further roll, let’s begin.

You must conduct a risk assessment

Contingency planning is one who response to high risk. But in some cases it may be safer and even cost-effective to tackle.

Conduct a risk assessment to avoid any kind of risk. Prepare a risk probability chart to analyse the impact of each risk. These are best way to determine the impact.

What does a contingency plan cover?

A well and good contingency plan prevent your business from ‘going under’ when any unexpected things occur. So it is must to prepare a good contingency plan.

Below are some of the key elements of contingency plans. Scroll it down to read.

1. Scenarios: You should always refer to your risk assessment chart and select the most damaging scenario and you plan accordingly to recover from it. Always aim to include a broad range of scenarios like- structural problems of your business premises, absence of staffs for a long time and many more.
2. Triggers: Try to figure out the exact cause you will put your contingency plan into action. One or each incident can also have multiple triggers which will initiates a different part or angle of your plans.
3. Who to inform: You have to identify the people whom you need to about what is happening. These may include employees, suppliers, customers and mass media public, as it appropriate. You must be aware of your legal obligations and it must reported to the proper authority whenever needed.
4. Identity your main responsibilities: You must be responsible for defining who is most responsible for each element of the contingent plan and who will in-charge at each stage and step and what you expect them to accomplish.
5. Timeline: Create a your own timeline- what things you need to do first within the first hour of day, week. You must implement the plan in a proper manner. Also mention details of when you would expect regular and normal business and what will signify that your organization is prepare for it.

Developing your contingency plan for your business

Whenever you create or develop your contingency plan for your business, you must remember that your main and first objective is to maintain or restore critical business operations. So you have to keep a deep look at how these situations may affect by each scenario. Be aware of know on effects and crisis.

Keep it a simple fluid language

When you prepare your contingency plans, you must use simple and fluid language. You do not know who will read and implement it, so it is better to keep the plans for your business in a plain and lucid language. This will help to keep your plans relevant without forming any changes in personnel.

How to maintain your contingency plans for your business

The simplest and easiest way to maintain your contingency plans for your business is to review and update regularly, if you want to remain useful and credible. Keep a back- up plan, so if there any occur of problems you can check the back-ups in your convenient time.

This pandemic COVID-19 has shed light on the importance of business and its supporting communities. Observing the success of corporate social responsibility from the beginning of lockdown session, there are many business leaders, are now trying to consider that their company should support charitable for the very first time.

Here are certain tips how entrepreneurs can launch charitable partnership which will support their company values, ethics and resonate with customers, employees, stakeholders and the media.

Read down this article to find the tips. So without further delay lets dive into the main content.

1. You have to consider and communicate about your business’ ethics and values: CSR is very much increasing now-a-days and it has a deep-rooted connection of the customers’ emotions with the particular brand. There are many entrepreneurs who set up their business with a good ‘purpose’ and effectively has a good CSR policy, which helps a lot in gaining customers. These CSR campaigns can actually help you to get in touch or communicate your business’ ethics and values to mass customers and it provides you the opportunity to gain customers loyalty towards a brand. But make sure that these initiatives coincide with the corporate social values and norms and goal of your company. It increases company engagement and staff retention in a particular company.
2. You cannot be one dimensional in business: To create a proper culture of giving from recruitment time to the retirement time, it is very important to keep in mind that you must involve your employees from the get-go or the very first of job. This will enable you to retain a good bonding or partnership with your staff and it will also the help the employees to connect with and they will be exited to get support throughout their job life and career. Community Grants Programme is a program which encourages housing and charity projects which actually provide support for local communities. Motivate your staffs so that there is job satisfaction among the staffs. This helps to create and maintain the future relationship with the staffs or employees.
3. Know and create your business strategy: When you much focusing on the potential partnership, you must consider the importance of charities which will complement your business’ goals and outlook. If you have your business on a very large scale, you might approach your local community foundation for guidance and for your concern. It will guide you with links of different charity services. It will help to create and secure your funds and how to make use of that fund effectively.

So now you know that these are the certain steps that you must follow to launch charitable partnership. These certain small tips are really helpful to create excitement among the employees and stakeholders and your customers. Just launch an exciting CSR strategy. To avoid being side-lined, all you need to do is make the jump at the right time.

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