Slum households in urban areas decreasing: Study

Maharashtra Tops The List With 38% Of Country’s Share

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

New Delhi: The latest National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report shows that the number of slum households in urban areas is coming down. The survey, conducted between July and December 2012, projected total slum dwellings at 88 lakh, compared to 1.3 crore households in 2011. 
    The survey findings showed that across the country, 70.8% of households cited better accommodation as the main reason for which they moved out of slum/squatter settlement whereas 11.7% identified proximity to the place of work as the main reason. 
    The report showed that while Maharashtra had the maximum share — 38% of the country’s slums households, Andhra Pradesh had 18%. 
    The sample survey has estimated that there are about 33,510 slums located in urban areas. While 41% of these slum colonies are notified by the local authorities, majority are yet to be notified. 
    The NSSO data projects that most of the slum household have come up in the notified colonies. The NSSO covered 881 slums in a total of 3,832 urban blocks across all states and Union territories and found that at an all-India level, the average slum size was estimated at 263 households. 
    A slum has been defined as “any compact settlement with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together, usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions, provided at least 20 households lived there.” 
    While the survey findings point to how government agencies have a huge task ahead to make these residential blocks livable, it has indicated how the ground situation has improved to some extent with the improvement in power supply, drainage, garbage disposal and other facilities. 
    The report says that 93.5% of slums have power supply and 71% have access to drinking water. Similarly there has been improvement in drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, primary education and medical facilities ranging between 15% and 45%, compared to what the situation was like five years ago. 
    Pointing to how big the sanitation issue is in the case of rural areas, the NSSO data projects that as many as about 60% rural households do not have access to toilet facilities. 
    However, the record is better when it comes to urban India where only less than 9% of the population still lack the facility.

Source::: The Times of India, 26-12-2013,p.12,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/26&PageLabel=12&EntityId=Ar01200&ViewMode=HTML

Armyman’s ‘second wife’ to get pension

Manish Raj TNN 

Chennai: Can a “second wife” be given pension even if the marriage is not legally valid? Yes, if she is declared the legitimate heir of her deceased husband, said the southern bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal here. 
    Gottala Mary Bharathi moved tribunal after the Army denied her family pension following the death of her ex-serviceman husband Gottala Jagannadha Rao. In her submission, Bharathi said Rao retired from the Army as naik in 1989 after 15 years of service. When he was in the Army, he got married and then went for a “customary divorce” five years later. The divorce was in the form of a mutual agreement as per “community and caste customs in the presence of village elders”. 
    Soon after his retirement, he married Bharathi and they lived together for 21 years. They also had a daughter. Before his death in 2010, Rao made a will bequeathing pension and other benefits to Bharathi. When she approached the Army for family pension, her claim was rejected on the grounds that a decree of divorce from a court of law terminating Rao’s first marriage was not provided. 
    In her petition, Bharathi said she had filed several petitions and affidavits to prove she was the legal wife of Rao. The zilla sainik welfare officer and the pension adalat, too, had recommended to the Army Air Defence Records (AAD) to include her name as the beneficiary, she said. But AAD had insisted on a decree of divorce.


Source::: The Times of India, 26-12-2013, p.12,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/26&PageLabel=12&EntityId=Ar01205&ViewMode=HTML

State lost more than 2,100 sq km of forest area in past 2 decades

Madhavi Rajadhyaksha TNN 

Mumbai: Maharashtra has lost a staggering 2,116 sq km of forest area or an equivalent of three Tadoba forest reserves in the span of two decades, reveals a report tracking climate change in India released recently by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. 
    The state has also gained 5,030 sq km of forest cover in the period covered by the report (1987-2011). However, forest cover is not the same as forest area; mapped by satellite imaging, it includes zones such as rubber and teak plantations which do not deliver the ecological benefits that natural forests do. 
    The Centre’s report warns that forest loss tilts the ecological balance, contributes to climate change and man-made carbon-dioxide emissions and reduces carbon stock. 
GREEN ALERT Loss in forest area in Maharashtra (1987-2011) is 2,116 sq km The state has lost an equivalent of three Tadoba forests since ’87 It has gained 5,030 sq km of forest cover between 1987-2011 National policy says one-third of India’s geographical area should be forest. Currently it is about 17% Loss of forests hits water reserves and air quality 
Experts Say Green Cover Converted Into Agri Land 
    Maharashtra 
has lost a mind-boggling 2,116 sq km of forest area in the last 20 years. D Stalin of voluntary organization Vanashakti said much of the forest loss in the state is owing to sustained conversion of forests into agricultural land such as sugarcane plantations. “Developers have taken over environmental issues. The loss of forests compromises the state’s water security,” he said. 
    Maharashtra already has the highest number of polluted rivers in the country—28—and such deforestation further affects the 
capacity of the groundwater to absorb and store water, Stalin pointed out, adding that denuding natural green reserves also results in rising temperatures or global warming. 
    Environmentalist Debi Goenka believes the depleting forest area is a cause for worry especially in the context of the increasing population. 
    “Forests are the most efficient converters of carbon dioxide into oxygen. It is time we start acknowledging that they are not a luxury but a necessity. The loss of forest area only reiterates there is no political will to protect forests or wildlife,” Goenka said, citing how similar apathy was shown in the planning of the Navi Mumbai airport. 
    The rapid takeover of forest lands for development, be it roads, power plants or airports, comes despite the existence of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, that imposes strict restrictions on dereservation of forests. States are also given funding for regeneration of forests under the National Afforestation Programme. 
    Stalin said the government must rethink its forest compensatory policy and emphasized the need to regenerate forests and not merely compensate the loss of natural reserves with plantations. 
    Chief forest conservator NVasudevan said the national policy has underlined the need for one-third of the total geographic area to be forest. 
    “Forests currently make up about 17% of total area in the country, which we need to take up to 33%. The solution may not necessarily be to declare more land as forest areas but to encourage citizens to plant trees or take measures such as greening of wastelands,” he said. 
HOW DIMINISHING FORESTS AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT 
    Forests are considered ‘lungs’ of the earth as they absorb carbondioxide and replenish oxygen in the environment. Forest loss aggravates pollution 
    Denuding of forests leads to a rise in temperatures and global warming 
    Forest areas act as a check on soil erosion, regulating rainfall and helping to conserve ground water 
    They are also reserves of raw materials such as wood, lumber and paper, the absence of which has effects on human and animal life 
WHY FOREST COVER MAY NOT HELP Forest cover mapped by the Forest Survey of India doesn’t distinguish between the origin of tree crops, whether natural or man-made. Forest cover could thus include rubber or sugarcane plantations which do not provide the oxygen-replenishing benefits of natural tree cover 
TIMES VIEW : Constantly diminishing forest area is a ticking time bomb and it’s imperative the government realises this. Denudation of forest cover cannot be blamed on the irresponsibility of a few; it’s rather the work of an organised, well-networked mafia, which only concerted effort and monitoring by government agencies can thwart. The sooner they get their act together, the better it will be for Maharashtra.

Source::: The Times of India, 26-12-2013, p.08,   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/26&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00306&DataChunk=Ar00800&ViewMode=HTML

e-Governance: Soon, SMSs to be allowed as docu proof

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

New Delhi: An online authentication project of the Union government would enable SMSs to be used as documentary proof for various registrations and payments. 
    The project, which has been in the core development stage for the past six months, is likely to be rolled out by June next year. This could be a big step towards e-authentication services in the country. 
    “Look at how the railways have done it. When you are travelling, your PNR code on SMS is valid proof instead of the paper. We need more services along the same lines,” said J Satyanarayana, secretary of the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY). He was speaking at an event for an overview of the national mobile governance initiative on Monday. The DeitY is an agency of the ministry of communication and information technology. The SMS authentication is part of the e-Pramaan project, which has an overall outlay of Rs 23 crore. 
    The levels of authentication will vary from user ID and passwords to biometric authentication, depending on the level of security required for these services. 
    Officials see a roadblock before these services take off in their entirety — the legal recognition of SMSs. Satyanarayana suggested bringing them under the IT Act. 
    “For mobile messages to be accepted for commercial and legal purposes, they need to have a legal status. For example, if you have a caste certificate with a code on SMS, it should be acceptable,” he said, pointing out that there are currently around 950 million mobile subscriptions in the country.


Source::: The Times of India, 24-12-2013, p.6,   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/24&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00604&ViewMode=HTML

Only 10 Indian names among top 100 BRICS universities

dna correspondent @dna

New Delhi: In a reflection of the country’s higher education scenario, only 10 Indian institutions feature among the top 100 institutions in BRICS nations and other emerging economies in a recent survey. Panjab University, at 13, has got the best rank among Indian universities with 40.2 points, followed by six IITs, Jadavpur University (47) and Aligarh Muslim University (50) figuring in the top 50 list. The only other institution figuring in the list is Jawaharlal Nehru University at 57th rank with 25.3 points. The Times Higher Education BRICS and Emerging Economies Rankings 2014 powered by Thomson Reuters includes only institutions in countries classified as “emerging economies” by FTSE, including the “BRICS” nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The study used the same methodology as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, covering all core missions of a world-class university — teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook — based on 13 carefully-calibrated performance indicators. Interestingly, 23 universities from China figure in the list, including the first two slots: Peking University is ranked number one with 65 points and Tsinghua University comes second with 63.5 points. The University of Cape Town in South Africa is rated three with 50.3 points. Also, 23 universities from Taiwan figure in the top 100. In a similar ranking of Universities at Asia level, only three Indian institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee, figure in the top 100. While the horizon gets broader at world level, no university from India figures in the list of top 200 institutions around the world. Panjab University is the first Indian institution ranked at 239th position at the global level. Source::: DNA, 23-12-2013, p.10,  http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=57129&boxid=32753&ed_date=2013-12-23&ed_code=820009&ed_page=10

Sec 377 bares contradiction between legal system, reality

‘SC Upheld Law That Cannot Be Implemented’

Anahita Mukherji TNN 

Mumbai: The Supreme Court verdict upholding an archaic British law criminalizing homosexuality has resulted in the legal equivalent of an Alice-in-Wonderland situation. 
    As of today, according to the law of the land, homosexuality is a crime that carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. So, how come all those who are gay and have spoken openly about it in the newspapers, on TV and out on the streets in protest against the SC judgment, have not been immediately arrested for practising sexual acts that are against the law? After all, they have admitted to a ‘crime’ that carries a life sentence. 
    The absurdity of the situation shows the clear contradiction between the ground reality of modern India and a legal system that’s stuck in nineteenth century Britain. Legal experts say the contradiction shows the manner in which India’s legal system is devaluing itself — for why have laws you know you are not going to implement at all times? How can there be any police discretion when it comes to dealing with an “offence” under the IPC that carries a life sentence? 
    “The prevailing situation is one which no society that is governed by the rule of law should tolerate, namely, of a law which ought not to exist on the statute book, but which does, and yet one that is not enforced, except selectively, capriciously and in a cloak and dagger manner, to terrorize, victimize and humiliate LGBTs, rather than to really enforce the law,” says Navroz Seervai, senior advocate at the Bombay high court. He feels it is absurd to suggest that homosexuality between consenting adults should carry the same extreme penalty as murder. 
    Feminist and lawyer Flavia Agnes feels Section 377 is a provision of the law that is virtually written to be violated. Asha Bajpai, dean, Centre for Law and Society, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, feels the court has upheld a law that cannot be implemented. 
    “This reflects a situation, where the law is repealed by people’s behaviour, with a social movement and majority opinion rendering a law non-implementable,” says Colin Gonsalves, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court. He believes this is the reality of mass resistance to a bad law. “The police realize that if they were to implement a bad law, they would get it in the neck,” said Gonsalves. He likens the current situation to Mahatma Gandhi making his own salt — an act of defiance against British imperialism. Section 377 has no place in a civilized, modern, democratic and liberal society — one that values and respects basic human and fundamental rights, says Seervai. “The law is antiquated and a relic of a long past colonial era, and should have been repealed or struck down by the courts years ago. It is potently unconstitutional, being violative of articles 14 and 15 (equality) and articles 19 and 21,” he says. 
Verdict disappoints judge who decriminalized LGBTs 
    TIMES NEWS NETWORK New Delhi: Law Commission chairman and former Delhi high court chief justice A P Shah, who had delivered the historic judgment on Section 377 of the IPC decriminalizing gay sex, has expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court verdict setting aside his order and recriminalizing samesex relationships. “My first feeling was deep sadness about the LGBT community… I was disappointed,” Justice Shah said in an interview to a TV channel on Sunday. 
    Justice Shah said he had thought his judgment would be sustained. “Given the subject matter of the appeal, I thought that our views would prevail,” Justice Shah said, commenting on the SC order. 
    The government on Friday filed a review petition against the SC verdict on Section 377. The SC verdict had upheld the legality of section 377 of the IPC, which provides for imprisonment with up to a life term. 
    In another interaction with a newspaper, Justice Shah said the British, who had introduced Section 377 as they feared “their army and daughters would be tainted by Oriental vices”, had repealed it in their own country. Their judicial committee recommended that “for consenting adults, it should not be a crime”. 
    Justice Shah defended his judgment saying gay sex by consenting adults was not a crime in all of Europe and the US. On the issue of morality, the Law Commission chairman said what was envisaged in the Constitution was not popular morality. 
    “Probably, public morality is the reflection of the moral normative values of the majority of the population, but constitutional morality derives its contents from the values of the Constitution,” he said.

Source::: The Times of India, 23-12-2013, p.8,    http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/23&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00800&ViewMode=HTML

Don’t burden your parents’ finances

Youngsters sometimes lean too much on their parents for financial support. Here’s how to ease your parents’ burden in these times of rising expenses

Sakina Babwani 

    Ask a B-school aspirant, ‘Who will pay for your education?’ In most cases, the answer will be ‘My parents, who else?’ It’s also likely that parents will foot the wedding bills of their 30-something children. Unlike in the West where people become independent as soon as they cross their teens, Indians never stop de pending on their parents. It is assumed that parents are duty bound to fund all the needs of their children even if it is at the cost of their own requirements. 
    A survey by HSBC shows that one out of every two retirees is funding his children’s needs (see graphic). In fact, 44% of the retirees who had not saved enough gave this as a reason for the shortfall. “Funding dependants in retirement is more common in India than the global average, with 52% funding their children even though they have retired,” notes the study 
    So deeply ingrained is this attitude that par ents consider themselves failures if they are not able to pay for their kids’ higher education, marriage and homes. “Children seldom think of financing their own needs. Only in rare cir cumstances, if parents are low-income earners do children look for alternate sources to achieve their goals,” says Sumeet Vaid, founder, Ffree dom Financial Planners. 
    But this overburdening can wear out parents financially, especially those who belong to the sandwich generation. Such parents not only have to take care of their children’s needs, but also of their own parents, who typically have no source of income and depend entirely on them. Our story tells you how to lessen the fi nancial burden for your parents by saving and investing for your goals on your own. It will act as a breather for your parents, who can focus on their retirement planning by not having to save for you. Here are some tips that will not only ease your parents’ load but also make you financially independent. 
TAKE AN EDUCATION LOAN Till about a decade ago, school fees and related costs were within manageable limits. Now, however, studying in a public school can skew the household budget. An Assocham study says that the average annual cost of a schoolgoing child has risen almost three-fold from 34,000 in 2005 to 94,000 in 2011. According to an ET Wealth estimate, urban middle class parents spend close to 55 lakh on raising a child from cradle to college, and education expenses account for nearly 45% of the total cost. 
    If they have already spent so much on your education, is it fair to expect your parents to arrange funds for your higher education? In stead, you can opt for a loan with your parent as a co-borrower. You can typically take a loan of up to 10 lakh for studying in India and up to 20 lakh for studying abroad. The interest rates on education loans range from 10% to 18%, depending on the bank and the type of course applied for. The good part is that the interest you pay on the loan is fully tax deduct ible, so your effective rate of borrowing comes down. The tax breaks are available for up to eight financial years. 
    Student loans are quite comprehensive as they typically cover costs of admission, tuition boarding and books. You can start repaying the loan after you get a job or after six months of completing the course, whichever is earlier However, do remember that if you don’t get a job or default on the payment, your parent, who is the co-borrower, will have to repay the loan 
START SAVING AND INVESTING The biggest thrill of earning money is the financial independence that comes with it. You don’t need permission from anybody before buying that slick new smartphone or that expensive dress you have been eyeing for weeks Instead, you just swipe that small piece of plas tic in your purse and purchase it. Would it not be great if you could extend this independence to larger items, such as funding your wedding or buying a house? Yes, it is difficult to build a corpus that runs into lakhs of rupees when you barely make 30,000 a month. 
    However, large corpuses are not built in a day. It requires discipline and patience. If you diligently invest a portion of your income every month, you can build a sizeable portfolio in a few years. For example, even a modest in vestment of 3,000 a month in a plan that grows at 12% annually would grow to 2.18 lakh in three years. In five years, it would grow to 4.12 lakh. Mumbai-based Akash Bhatia has learnt the art of investing even before he has started earning. “I started by investing a portion of my pocket money in stocks. Though I made a few mistakes, today I am sitting pretty on a corpus of 2.5 lakh,” says the 22-year-old MBA student who has been investing steadily for the past four years. In fact he was able to pay his course fee of 1 lakh from his own investments. 
    However, experts believe that stocks are not the best investment option for newbie investors “You can start with a recurring deposit and then move to mutual funds through the SIP route. Ideally, direct equity investment is for someone who has the time to devote to indepth research and analysis,” says certified financial planner Jayant Pai. If you haven’t started earning and your pocket money is too low, consider taking up a part-time job. It will not only help you earn some money but you will gain practical experience, which could prove invaluable in your career. 
SHARE HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES If you are living with your parents, it’s only fair that you contribute to the household expenses Your parents may not ask you to contribute and even dissuade you from doing so, but given that they are close to retirement, you should shoulder a significant burden of the monthly household expense. Remember, if you allow your parents to save more for their retirement, it will lessen your own burden when they stop working. 
    Paying rent to your parents is perhaps the most tax-efficient way of contributing to the expenses. If your employer offers you a house rent allowance as part of your compensation you can claim exemption for the rent paid. How ever, this is possible only if the property is reg istered in the name of your parent. The owner will be taxed for the rental income after a 30% deduction. So, if you pay your father a rent of 3 lakh a year ( 25,000 a month), he will be taxed for only 2.1 lakh. 
    It gets better if the property is jointly owned by both parents. Then you can divide the rent between them so that the tax liability is split between them. If their income exceeds the basic exemption limit, you can help them save tax by investing in their name under Section 80C op tions, such as the Senior Citizens’ Saving Scheme, five-year bank fixed deposits or tax saving equity mutual funds. 
    Pune-based IT professional Satyam Chawla lives in his father’s house and pays him rent while his own residence has been rented out “In this manner, not only is my father finan cially independent, but I can take care of him as well,” he says. 
    Some parents may not agree to take money from their children. So, the helping hand will have to be subtle. Buy health insurance for them which is a real need for people heading for retire ment. It also helps you save tax. Up to 15,000 paid as premium for the health insurance of parents can be claimed as a deduction under Section 80D. If any of the parent is a senior citizen, the deduction is higher at 20,000. This is over and above the 15,000 deduction for your own family. Also, this deduction is available ir respective of whether parents are financially dependent on the taxpayer or not. 
BE OPEN TO REVERSE MORTGAGE If your parents are asset-rich but cash-poor, re verse mortgage can unlock the value of their property. In such an option, the bank pays a monthly amount to the owner of the house. With each payment, the bank’s ownership of the prop erty increases. After the death of the owner, his legal heirs can either repay the loan, along with the interest, or let the bank sell the property. The bank deducts the borrowed amount from the sale proceeds and give the balance to the heirs The option of reverse mortgage is only available to senior citizens and they should be living in the house. 
    Reverse mortgage is a good way of earning an income by unlocking the value of real estate without selling it. But many youngsters oppose any such move by their parents because it im poses a liability on them. They don’t realise that the property is not being sold but is only par tially mortgaged. Even if the parents take a monthly income of 20,000 from the bank, it will take them 4-5 years to rack up a loan of about 12 lakh. However, it will allow the parents to live a life of dignity and financial freedom. 
    Be open to the idea of reverse mortgage and explain the concept to your parents. A small tip it’s good to involve all the stakeholders in such discussions lest a sibling feels that you are try ing to sell the property. 
The four biggest expenses for parents & how you can help YOUR EDUCATION You can jointly take an education loan for your higher studies and repay it after you start earning. 
YOUR MARRIAGE Both partners can save for this goal. You can also take a personal loan so that your parents are not burdened. 
BUYING A HOUSE You can be a co-borrower if they take a loan or pay them rent if you stay with them. This gets you tax benefits as well. 
THEIR RETIREMENT While parents may not expect the children to fund their retirement, you can take health insurance for them. This also attracts a tax benefit.

Source:::: The Times of India, 09-12-2013, p.20,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/09&PageLabel=20&EntityId=Ar02000&ViewMode=HTML

73-year-old Tamil Nadu librarian donated Rs 30 crore to the uneducated poor 

TN activist Palam Kalyanasundaram remained a bachelor so that he could dedicate his life to the poor.

Thin, frail, emaciated and sporting a shy smile, Palam Kalyanasundaram looks like your next-door neighbour’s old, but affectionate grandpa. Once you get to talk to him, the fire and determination in him shines forth through his words. He speaks in a childlike manner, and his voice, too, is high-pitched, but as you listen, you are awestruck at the yeoman service he has done for humanity. He has received several awards and has donated Rs 30 crore of prize money he got from these honours.

Born at Melakarivelamkulam in Thirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kalyanasundaram lost his father at a very young age. It was his mother who inspired him to serve the poor.

A will to serve humanity has been 73-year-old Kalyanasundaram’s guiding principle throughout his life. A gold medalist in library science, he also holds a masters degree in literature and history. During his 35-year-long career at Kumarkurupara Arts College at Srivaikuntam, he diligently and willingly donated his salary month after month towards charity and did odd jobs to meet his daily needs. Even after retirement, he worked as a waiter in a hotel in exchange for two meals a day and a meagre salary so that he could continue to donate to orphanages and to children’s educational funds.

He was amply rewarded for his service to humanity. The Union government acclaimed him as the best librarian in India. The International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, has honoured him as one of the ‘noblest of the world’ and the United Nations adjudged him as one of the most outstanding people of the 20th century. He also received Man of the Millenium award and Life Time of Service Award from Rotary Club of India in 2011.

“People think that I started doing charity when I was young by donating clothes and helping people study, and they attribute it to a public cause, but I insist it was for a private one. The place where I lived was a tiny village with no provision for roads, buses, schools, electricity, and there was not even a shop to buy a matchbox from. I had to walk 10km to school and back and walking all that way alone can be a pretty lonesome experience. Hence, I had this thought that if I could motivate most of the children to come with me to school, it would be great fun as well.”

Kalyanasundaram says with a twinkle in his eye. “In those days, children could not afford to pay school fees which were around Rs5. I offered to pay their school fees, got them books and clothes as well.”

Kalyanasundaram says money does not impress him at all. “One can get money in three possible ways. First, through earnings; secondly, through parents’ earnings, and thirdly, through money donated by someone. But there’s nothing more fulfilling than being able to donate money for charity out of your own earnings.”

Palam Kalyanasundaram lives a simple life all on his own in a small house in Saidapet, Chennai. He never married for the simple reason that he did not want to spend all that he earned on charity. Even today, he comes to office at Adyar regularly and does whatever he can for the uplift of the underprivileged people.

Source | http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-73-year-old-tamil-nadu-librarian-donated-rs-30-crore-to-the-uneducated-poor-1928555

1 in 6 juveniles held on serious charges

A Selvaraj TNN 

Chennai: At least four juveniles are arrested on criminal charges every hour in India and nearly one in six is accused of serious crimes. As the Centre toys with a proposal to treat juveniles accused of heinous crimes on a par with adult offenders, statistics for 2012 show that there was a 15% increase in the number of minors arrested in comparison to the previous year. However, any change in the existing law will not have any effect on those already facing charges. 
    According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 30,766 juveniles, including 1,532 girls, were arrested in 2011. The number increased to 35,465, which included 1,672 girls, in 2012. There has also been a 15% increase in the number of juveniles charged with heinous crimes like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape – from 4,938 in 2011 to 5,703 in 2012. There was no separate data for those in the age group of 16 to 18. In both the years, the juveniles charged with serious crimes accounted for more than 16% of those arrested. 
    Madhya Pradesh topped in the list with 5,970 juveniles being arrested in 2012, closely followed by Maharashtra with 5,931 arrests. Tamil Nadu came eighth with 1,577 juvenile offenders, including 72 murder suspects. Of the total juvenileoffenders, 1,213 were arrested on murder charges, 1,305 on 
rape charges and 1,088 for attempt to murder. 
    A proposal by the government seeks to treat juveniles above 16 and accused of serious crimes under the Indian Penal Code sections applicable to adults. But any change in law in this regard will apply only to future cases, say experts. “Any criminal law enacted will be treated as prospective and not retrospective. This amendment will not affect those arrested earlier on similar charges,” said former Madras high court judge K Chandru. He also voiced his opposition to amending the law. 
    “The act cannot be enacted based on one or two incidents. The juveniles in the age group of 16 to 18 really need care and protection,” he said. 
    As per the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, boys under 16 and girls under 18 were treated as juveniles. The act was amended in 2000, as per the standards prescribed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, 1985 (the Beijing rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (1990), thus increasing the juvenile age limit for boys to 18. Justice (retd) Chandru said the law cannot be changed further because India is signatory to all these conventions and rules that govern the juvenile justice system. 
    He said many juveniles indulge in criminal activities due to poverty. “The juveniles with least monitoring fall into bad company and get involved in criminal activities. They should be reformed and brought back into society. The government should take proper care of them and provide education. Child labour should be eliminated,” he said. 
    Former Juvenile Justice Board member T Alagappan said, “There are several reasons why juveniles take to crime. Dropping out from schools, lack of supervision by uneducated parents, large families with low income, bad neighbourhood, drug addiction and peer influence are some of the main reasons.” 
    Amending the law will deny juveniles between 16 and 18 years protection of the Juvenile Justice Act. The women and child development ministry’s proposal is likely to leave the decision on whether the crime should be treated under IPC provisions to the Juvenile Justice Board, which will be expected to evaluate the evidence, the heinousness of the crime and other parameters like previous behaviour and socio-economic and psychological conditions of the accused.

Source::::: The Times of India, 04-12-2013, p.15,    http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/04&PageLabel=15&EntityId=Ar01500&ViewMode=HTML

Found: User guide for weapons used in the Mahabharata Shyam PV TNN  Thiruvananthapuram: Ever wondered how our mythological superheroes operated deadly weapons such as the brahmastra, agneyastra, varunastra and the nagpash?      A manuscript found from the collections of an ayurvedic practitioner, Ashtavaidyan Vaidyamadham Cheriya Narayanan Namboodiri, who passed away recently, clearly mentions the mantras to use these weapons and many more. The 63-folio manuscript in palm leaves, believed to be rewritten about 120 years ago, is the only manuscript retrieved so far in the country that explains the use of the weapons mentioned in the Mahabharata with around 48 well-described mantras.      “It was Cheriya Narayanan Naboodiri’s wish to digitize all his manuscript collections – 1,300 bundles – for the benefit of researchers, students and future generations. The particular manuscript was noticed while we were digitizing the collections using the most reliable method, reprography,” said A R Krishnakumar, project manager at Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences.      Krishnakumar is part of a team from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts , New Delhi, that has been given the responsibility of digitizing all the manuscripts available with public and private parties in the country.      “People may wonder why the manuscripts should be digitized. It is because they would throw light on our history, culture, customs and ancient religions besides giving information on the environment, health and science of ancient times,” said Krishnakumar. Source:::: The Times of India, 02-12-2013, p.09,   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/03&PageLabel=9&EntityId=Ar00901&ViewMode=HTML