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RBI withdraws Directions issued to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra

Written By Unknown on Senin, 13 April 2015 | 23.07

RBI withdraws Directions issued to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra - Moneycontrol.com
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Apr 13, 2015, 07.40 PM IST | Source: RBI

RBI withdraws Directions issued to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra

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RBI withdraws Directions issued to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra

RBI withdraws Directions issued to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra

The Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn the All Inclusive Directions issued on January 29, 2015 to Kisan Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit, Parbhani, Maharashtra with effect from close of business as on April 09, 2015.

The withdrawal of Directions is in exercise of powers vested in the Reserve Bank under sub section (2) of Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Cooperative Societies). A copy of the Order is displayed on the bank's premises for perusal by interested members of public. The bank will continue to undertake regular banking business hereafter.

Alpana Killawala
Principal Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2014-2015/2163

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23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

DSP BlackRock Balanced Fund announces dividend

DSP BlackRock Balanced Fund announces dividend, the record date for dividend is April 17, 2015.

DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund has announced dividend under regular plan-dividend option & direct plan-dividend option of DSP BlackRock Balanced Fund, an open ended balanced scheme. The record date for declaration of dividend is April 17, 2015.

The quantum of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit will be Rs 0.80 per unit under each plan as on the record date.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lakhvi release: India should be composed collected

R Jagannathan
Firstpost.com

The release of 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is not something we should keep wringing our hands in despair about. Pakistan is never going to bring him to justice for the simple reason that he is a creation of the core Pakistani state – which is not civil society, but the army and the ISI.

The right response from India should be composed and collected, and run something like this: "While we are saddened by the release of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the man responsible for the killings of around 170 people in Mumbai in 2008, we acknowledge that the task of making him to pay for his crimes is currently that of Pakistan, in whose territory the 26/11 terrorist plot was hatched and master-minded. The evidence for his conviction for the crime of terrorism lies both in Pakistan and in India. If Pakistan wants to convict Lakhvi, it can find the evidence at home since the LeT, of which Lakhvi is commander, is based there. Preventive detention of Lakhvi without looking for and providing local evidence will always be subject to court scrutiny. We are thus not surprised that a court has set him free. India, for its part, will focus on bringing him to justice�in India, whenever possible, as we have the evidence to nail him. India is always willing to provide the evidence to Pakistan, as we have done in the past. We will continue to talk to the government of Pakistan consistently and continuously to get justice done."

India should accept that no court in Pakistan can keep a man in jail forever purely on the basis of preventive detention laws. And Lakhvi has spent nearly six or seven years in jail - with special privileges, including conjugal rights. This has been done largely for global optics, to show its US patron that it is hard on terror, when the reality is that Pakistan is mollycoddling the anti-India group of terrorists. Keeping Lakhvi in jail through political pressure is pointless. Ask yourself: if Lakhvi is a creation of the Pakistani state, why would the mere fact of his being in jail limit his ability to plot terror? Lakhvi can direct his next terrorist operation against India from prison, and he will even have plausible deniability on it. His alibi will be that he could not have plotted any terror since he was already in custody!

In fact, we should forget about getting the Pakistanis to nail him and instead find a way to nab him and bring him to justice�in India�- even if it takes five years to launch a covert operation for this. If nothing else, we should quietly leak stories suggesting that India has sent two assassination squads led by disaffected Baloch and Sindhi rebels to capture or kill him on our behalf. Let Lakhvi spend his remaining years worrying about his life instead of living it up in a fake prison.

The one thing we should not do is keep bringing up Lakhvi's bail with Pakistan - which unfortunately we have done in a kind of Pavlovian response to his release yesterday (10 April). Nothing pleases the Pakistanis more than India displaying its impotence about 26/11's chief perpetrator.

The kneejerk political reaction to the Pakistani recalcitrance would be to suspend talks - but we should never do that. We should instead give Pakistan that privilege by persisting with talks all the time and frustrating them by yielding nothing substantive in these sessions. The sole purpose of talk is optics and more talk - to show the world we are reasonable people. Consider how long China has prolonged border talks without allowing any forward movement. Sometimes talk may yield results – in the form of easier visas, or more trade, but reciprocity should be the name of the game. Talking does not mean conceding more to Pakistan than what they are willing to concede to us. Talks will succeed only when the will of the Pakistani state to support terrorism against India is sapped or defeated. But there is no sign of that at all.

So, talk we must, even if we achieve nothing. In fact, we should use the Lakhvi release to launch the next round of talks where we can focus on terrorism and present our evidence again – but with the full knowledge that nothing will come of it.

Remember Salman Bashir, former Pakistani ambassador to India? When he was foreign secretary, he had contemptuously dismissed the dossiers we presented on 26/11 as mere "literature." Nothing thrills a Pakistani more than putting us down. So we should not give them further pleasure on this score.

The problem is we have allowed the Pakistanis to play the game their way – which is to keep lying and pretending they want a good relationship with us, and all that stands in the way is the Kashmir issue. We start believing that "this time it is different", and we end up signing worthless agreements in Shimla, Lahore and Agra, which finally end in the dustbin. Pakistan talks only if it is in a difficult situation (9/11, 26/11), and once the immediate peril has passed, it reverts to its old jihadi strategy.

To be sure, India is not the only one making the same mistakes repeatedly. The US too has been led up the garden path by Pakistan, but the difference is we are next-door. America does not usually have to pay too high a price for its mistakes. We do. The idea that Pakistan is somehow an ally in the war on terror, and also a victim, has been repeatedly bought by foolish bureaucrats in the US state department – as evidenced in the recent decision to offer nearly USD 1 billion in military aid to buy attack helicopters and missiles. Are missiles going to be used against the Taliban or India?

The truth is Pakistan will not end its antagonism of India even if we offer them a deal on Kashmir . As C Christine Fair, author of a book on Pakistan's army, said in an interview to The Times of India last year, "Pakistan is an ideological state. The Kashmir issue is not causal, it's symptomatic. If there were to be any kind of negotiation on Kashmir that gives up any inch of territory, it is not going to fix the situation."

In a more recent post , Fair notes that the Pakistanis have managed to paint themselves as victims of terror and suckered the US government to pour even more money into that terror headquarters. She notes that in return for nearly $31 billion in aid and transfers to Pakistan since the early 2000s, all the US got in return was the deaths of thousands of American, allied and Afghan soldiers and civilians due to covert Pakistani support for violent Islamic jihadis and the Taliban.

Terrorism is official state policy in Pakistan. She writes in a recent blog: "This sort of behaviour has become Pakistan's standard operating procedure. Since 1947, Pakistan has used Islamist militants in an effort to wrest Kashmir from India. It has used Islamist militants in Afghanistan since 1974, if not earlier. Since 1990, Pakistan has introduced extremely lethal groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT, now operating under the name of its above-ground wing Jamaat-ud-Dawa, JuD) and Jaish-e-Mohammad into the Kashmir theatre and elsewhere in India. Since 2002, according to the Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland, these two groups have killed more than 1,132 persons and injured more than 2,423 in about 162 attacks."

Fair, in fact, points out that Pakistan has developed tactical nuclear weapons not to defend itself, but to deter India from any kind of short-term reprisals when the next major terror attack is unleashed by the likes of Lakhvi and Masood Azhar. Put another way, it means Pakistan's nuclear strategy is to�enable terrorism, not defend the country.

It is time we woke up to this reality. Our simple Pakistan policy should be four-fold: talk, plot, defend, wait. We should�talk�endlessly and use soft words to describe the possibility of solving all our mutual issues, including poverty, terrorism, etc. We should�plot�more covert operations and gather intelligence in Pakistan, and especially against the likes of LeT and Lakhvi. We should�defend�ourselves as best we can against terrorism - but it will never be foolproof. And we should�wait. Give Pakistan 15-20 years and its blind hatred of India can only lead to some form of self-destruction.

As counter-terrorism expert Ajai Sahni wrote in Firstpost last month : "From a geo-strategic perspective, as far as India is concerned, Kashmir is a holding operation, even in the absence of an effective competitive strategy. If India holds on to Kashmir for another 15 or 20 years, Pakistan will destroy itself, even without India doing anything substantial to secure this end."

We should wait for Pakistan to self-destruct – unless, through an unexpected miracle, it corrects itself and truly wishes peace. But when 9/11 did not change Pakistani attitudes, I would not bet even one paisa on this possibility.

Let's be clear. We have no stake in keeping Pakistan united when the Lakhvis, the LeTs, the Jaishes and the Taliban are busy rending it apart. A Lakhvi outside jail won't be able to plot any more anti-India terror than what he could have done anyway from jail.

We will serve our own interests better if we let Pakistan implode under the weight of its own contradictions. Lakhvi will get it there faster.

The writer is editor-in-chief, digital and publishing, Network18 Group


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Centre must push ahead for Pandits to return to Kashmir

R Jagannathan
Firstpost.com

The issue of the return of the Pandits to Kashmir Valley more than 25 years after their ethnic cleansing by rabid fundamentalists has moved centrestage, with both Centre and state making positive noises about it. Actually, there is no time like the present for a return of the Pandits to their homeland, with a PDP-BJP government in place that represents both Muslims and Hindus.

But the window of opportunity is narrow. Twenty-five years is a long time in exile. One generation - possibly one-and-a-half - has come into being, and possibly has no sentimental links to the Kashmir Valley that was their parents' home. So, if justice is not done now, it may never be done at all. Wait another decade, and there will be no older generation Pandit left to rehabilitate.

This may be what Pakistan wants, and what the separatists may also not mind, but that is precisely why the Modi government should push ahead immediately with their rehabilitation on the basis of a workable compromise. Delay suits no one but the Pakistanis and the ISI.

As things stand, despite the fact that no Kashmiri group opposes the return of the Pandits to the valley, consensus breaks down on the question of how: should they be invited back to live in (or near) their old homes with their Muslim neighbours, or in hermetically sealed clusters.

No party actually wants a Pandits-only cluster - and with good reason. A purely Hindu enclave in a largely Muslim valley is like an open invitation to jihadi targeting even while reducing the Pandits to a ghetto-like existence estranged from their old neighbours. It is not worth returning to a communally-polarised Kashmir. The purpose of the Pandits' return should, apart from doing them justice, should be to make the valley secular again. This can't happen without the Pandits.

It is interesting that all Kashmir-based parties made references to Israel and Palestine when opposing the Pandit cluster idea. The problem though is in their understanding of where the parallels lie. The Israelis have built settlements in Palestinian areas, and most separatists see this as the situation they want to avoid. They don't want Pandit settlements in their land.

But the real point is this: the Pandits are the Palestinians of Kashmir Valley. They are the ones on whose land fundamentalist forces encroached and drove them out. It is the Muslims of the Valley who need to see themselves as aggressive Israelis in this case.

It is worthwhile analysing the various players and what they may really want in this situation.

One, Pakistan and the ISI would not want the Pandits to return for the simple reason that the secular character of Kashmir will work against their ideology of religion-based national identity The fewer the Pandits in the Valley, the more it is possible to paint India as an occuptation force in Kashmir. Also, the ISI can hope to prise a portion of Kashmir away from India only if it can maintain a constant insurgency there. So they will do everything to prevent the Pandits from returning.

Two, the pro-Pakistani separatists, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who wants Kashmir to be an Islamic state, are the elements to watch. Their gameplan is similar to Pakistan's even though they want the Pandits to live like intimidated minorities among them - like Hindus in Pakistan. They would probably prefer the Pandits to live as Koranic "dhimmies" (protected minorities in an Islamic state and, effectively, second class citizens), but without having to pay "jiziya". Their ambivalence towards the Pandits' return was on display today in Yasin Malik's stone-throwing protests.

Three, the mainstream political parties want the Pandits to return and live in their old homes, but beyond opposing ghettoes they are not clear how they will actually facilitate the return of the Pandits in peace and amity. The mainstream parties - essentially National Conference and PDP - live in fear of both the separatists and Pakistan, and do not have the gumption to provide an acceptable solution to the Pandits. Or else they would have come up with ideas of their own by now.

Four, the BJP wants the Pandit vote and will not mind having a Hindu cluster in the Valley. But with the party now in alliance with the PDP in a coalition government, it may accept the idea of mixed Pandit-Muslim clusters. The BJP's actual position is confused and still evolving.

Five, the Pandit-based political outfits like Panun Kashmir would like an autonomous Hindu enclave - which is not going to happen. Ordinary Pandits are not sure they want to live like prisoners in a Hindu ghetto.

Is there a compromise possible?

The way ahead could lie in developing Pandit-based clusters right in the places where they lived earlier - next to their Muslim neighbours - with Muslims also being allowed to take up flats or residence in these hybrid clusters. Young Muslims moving out of ancestral homes nearby may like this option, but how this is to be done should be an individual choice.

Unobtrusive security will be critical in the initial phases of this resettlement, and this security will have to come from the local police and residents themselves, with the army or CRPF providing only covert support from a distance.

A political understanding between all Kashmir-baed parties - both mainstream and separatist - guaranteeing the safety of the Pandits is vital. If the separatists don't play ball on this, the idea won't fly - and they will stand exposed as nothing more than rank communalists.

But one objective must be clear to everybody: the return of the Pandits, in separate or mixed enclaves, is non-negotiable, never mind what Pakistan wants. The only issue on the table is how, and with what assurances and compromises, this should be done. This ethnic cleansing has to be reversed at any cost. The time to deliver a modicum of justice to the Pandits is now.

The writer is editor-in-chief, digital and publishing, Network18 Group


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

5 risks investor faces in risk-free fixed income investing

Fixed income investments are exposed to risks such as credit risk, inflation risk, market risk among others.

Image

Nitin Vyakaranam
ArthaYantra

Many of us believe that there are a few 'Risk-Free' investments available in the market. It is a myth that investing into these risk-free instruments would yield us good returns without taking any risk. If we search the term 'risk-free' interest rate on internet, it shows us a definition which says "risk-rree interest rate is the theoretical rate of return of an investment with no risk of financial loss".

We believe that fixed income investments like PPF, FD, RD, and government bonds instruments provides us risk-free returns. This is because we profoundly trust banks and government which ensures their credibility and returns. To an extent these facts are right but there is an element of risk in these investments which should not be ignored by the investors.

Here are some of the risks that an investor has with the risk-free investments:

1) Credit Risk
Credit risk may arise when the investment issuer defaults in paying debts. Default can happen due to consistent losses by the organization which result in non-payments of interest, wages or in banking terms 'insolvency'. If such risk happens then recovery of the principal amount invested would be difficult. However, this kind of risk is very less likely to happen in India where banks have strong fundamentals.

2) Market Risk
This risk can happen in government bonds. Risk occurs due to demand and supply gap. Government bonds are traded in the market and their values would largely depend on investor sentiments. Only thing that is secured in the bonds are regular payment of interest. Principle amount invested in the bonds would be subjected to the market price which is driven by the buyer and sellers of the bonds.

3) Inflation Risk
Risk-free instruments have fixed rate of returns and have a long-term period of investing. During this tenure of investing the returns are always subjected to risk which is due to the inflation in the economy. Higher inflation rate would impact the real rate of returns in the investment (Real Rate = Returns – Inflation) which is anyways not very high under normal circumstances. For example : A fixed deposit having a returns of 9% per annum would have a real rate of return of just 1%, if the inflation is at 8% per annum. In case of inflationary market this real rate may go below zero which indicates negative growth of investments.

4) Liquidity Risk
Fixed income securities may give pre-defined returns but due to long-term nature of the investment (PPF, Government Bonds) it becomes difficult for the investor to withdraw the investment before the maturity period. This causes liquidity risk to an investor, as withdrawal costs him to lose some of his principal amount. This mostly happens in government bonds, where the bonds are purchased for long-term and are not available for redemption before it matures.

5) Interest Rate Risk
Interest rate is an ideal indicator of the inflationary trends and economic growth in the country. This interest rate indirectly affects the fixed income investments as it changes as per the inflation rates. If there is an increase in inflation then interest rate would also increase which will reduce the net yield from these fixed income securities and vice versa.

Conclusion
For investors with low risk appetite, it would be a logical choice to go for fixed returns investment options. However, care should be taken to keep the above risk factors in mind before choosing the investment option. Also, it would be prudent to keep in mind that there is nothing like "Risk-Free" when it comes to investments.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Modi's Germany visit to open new avenues: Baba Kalyani

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, discusses what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Germany visit means to India Inc.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend a community meeting in Berlin hosted by the Indian ambassador. Earlier in the day Modi laid out the red carpet for German investors, promising a "predictable, stable and competitive" tax regime as he pitched his 'Make in India' agenda. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge , discusses what the development means for India Inc.

Below is the transcript of Baba Kalyani interview with CNBC-TV18's Sanjay Suri.

Q: At the Hannover Messe we have had the political speeches. What could be their fallout for industry we will hear from Baba Kalyani.

A: I think it has been a perfect venue to communicate India's new aspirations, specially the whole "Make in India" programme. I think Prime Minister Modi has communicated this extremely well at the Hannover Messe to the German industry, to the German government, to the German politicians and of course to the Indian industry that is present here.

Q: Any indication of the fallout? Of course it is early days but any indication that you are seeing?

A: From whatever private discussions that I have had with a number of my friends in the Germany industry, they are impressed, they are motivated. Nobody is going to jump in and open the floodgates and I don't think that is desirable. However, I think everybody is going to start looking at India in a new and a different way. Everybody is going to start looking at which areas they could invest in whether it is infrastructure, power. There was a lot of discussion on power and infrastructure. The Germans very rightly believe that unless you have high quality and 100 percent power you really can't develop business. Unless you have good quality of infrastructure you really can't make business productive.

Q: What about defence production, that should be an area that you should tell us more about?

A: Defence production was not on the discussion table from a business to business area right now. I think that is going to be discussed from what I hear in Berlin at a government to government level and I think some policy decisions on this might come out after tomorrow after which I think Indian business will engage with the German counterparts who are engaged in defence.

Q: We have had the Rafale deal which we are told is an of the shelf sale, whatever that may mean, but will there be a fallout benefit for Indian industry from it?

A: The most positive part of that is somebody has started making decisions and I think that is what in India we were lacking, decisions were not being made. I think the Prime Minister has made the right decision. I think Indian Air Force needs fighter jets. Their inventory of aircrafts has depleted quite a lot. So, it is a good thing. Now is this going to be the end game in itself? No. This is the beginning of creating a large aeronautics industry in India and I think as some weeks and months go by we will hear the contours of what this will bring to industry.

Bharat Forge stock price

On April 13, 2015, Bharat Forge closed at Rs 1309.45, down Rs 22.55, or 1.69 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1362.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 401.25.


The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 27.26 per share as per the quarter ended December 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 48.04. The latest book value of the company is Rs 115.67 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 11.32.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rajan has to lower rates to drive investments: Chidambaram

Higher interest rates are the single biggest impediment to investments--- believes finance minister Arun Jaitley's predecessor P Chidambaram. He also cautioned the government against targeting growth rate of over 8 percent saying it could be inflationary.

Higher interest rates are the single biggest impediment to investments--- believes finance minister Arun Jaitley's predecessor P Chidambaram. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, the former finance minister added that the RBI is right in being cautious over rate cuts. He also cautioned the government against targeting growth rate of over 8 percent saying it could be inflationary.

Below is the transcript of P Chidambaram's interview

Q Is the RBI governor looking at easing rate cycle?

A I don't think Raghuram Rajan is on an easing cycle; he wishes to get on to that cycle but is waiting for more data. He is right, we need to see how the monsoon turns out, it is very critical; the monsoon that should break out in end May and early June is very critical. We need to see how the kharif crop turns out. But going forward he is obliged to ease the interest rates; interest rates have to move down because that is the single biggest factor that is inhibiting investment.

Q. Will the government achieve its growth traget this fiscal?

A. 7.5 percent is achievable. It could be a few basis points above 7.5 percent, closer to 8 percent; but I can't see how it can be more than 8 percent. In fact, I would caution them not to attempt anything more than eight because then that becomes a bit inflationary.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tata Equity P/E Fund announces dividend

Tata Mutual Fund has announced dividend under Tata Equity P/E Fund - Plan A (Dividend Trigger Option A-5%) & Tata Equity P/E Fund - Direct Plan (Dividend Trigger Option A-5%). The record date for declaration of dividend is April 17, 2015.

The amount of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit will be Rs.0.60 per unit under each plan.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Net Neutrality: Battle to 'save the Internet' heats up

Manu Kaushik

The case for net neutrality has slowly but firmly attained critical mass and entered the mainstream consciousness supported by politicians and celebrities like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Digvijay Singh, Shahrukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar tweeting their support for a free internet.

The debate caught public imagination especially after an AIB video explaining net neutrality went viral on the web to the extent that Facebook had to take it off after it's algos decided the video was spam. But the video was restored shortly, say reports. The video has already been viewed by over 1,141,503 just two days after being uploaded.  

Celebrities weighed in and the hashtag #SaveTheInternet and #NetNeutrality began trending on Twitter. The hastag was viewed by more than 19.5 million unique users worldwide, half of which were original posts and the other half retweets. The hashtag "SaveTheInternet" reached 19,509,175 (the number of unique users that saw the tweet related to the hashtag).

Concerns regarding a potentially biased Internet came to surface after e-tailer Flipkart signed a deal with Airtel to be featured on its marketing plan -- Airtel Zero. Airtel says through this platform, it will allow consumers to access applications "free of cost."

Why then anybody would need to fight off a plan (Airtel Zero) that aims to make web cheaper or in this case "free of cost"? For the simple reason it discriminates between the apps and services it has signed a deal with and leave out others, thereby giving itself the power to dictate the flow of internet traffic.

In the deal, Flipkart has essentially agreed to buy data from Airtel on behalf of its potential customers in order to provide its app for free. This means that users get to access the Flipkart app for free on Airtel zero platform while they still will be incurred data charges for accessing for example peer websites such as shopclues.com or a start-up, which doesn't have the financial heft to strike such deals with telecom companies.

Telecom companies will be able to regulate what users access online, the way they access it and in what quantum, if this were to become a norm. The news website medianama.com was among the few that spotted the potential harm this might lead to and built a campaign around it.

Websites like Savetheinternet.in and netneutrality.in (created by reddit user: ishan001) are at the frontline of the battle along with the activist community on Reddit India. The topic "Fight for Net Neutrality: The way forward" is ranked highest on Reddit India homepage.

In the discussion threads, online activists discussed ways to increase the reach of the campaign by means of  memes and infographics . One came up with a plan: users should down-rate Airtel and Flipkart apps on Google Play and Apple App store.

The telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has come up with a consultation paper inviting comments from general public on whether telecom companies be allowed to charge users separately for accessing services such as Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp among other social media and messaging apps (called 'OTT' or Over the Top Services in technical jargon).

Apparently, telecom companies such as Airtel are perturbed at heavy profits these OTTs are making, riding on their airwaves and infrastructure, which they say involve heavy capital infrastructure and maintenance cost. They also allege losing call and messaging revenue to OTTs such as WhatApp and Viber.

The above two issues are collectively pose a grave threat to the concept of Net neutrality, say activists. The moderators of the above discussion thread and Medianama.com have collated answers and made TRAI's questionnaire of 20 questions (spread over 118 pages) easier to understand.

They have also urged visitors to mail their responses to TRAI keeping netneutralityindia02@gmail.com in the bcc (option is given to the user to edit the collated answers). Over 1 Lakh emails have been sent to TRAI via this method.

Currently, there is no law to enforce net neutrality but one Redditer--Karan Shah, has taken it upon himself to fill the gap. He has come up with " Guidelines on the Net Neutrality and Internet Traffic Management Act, 2015 ."

"There are literally no guidelines on this issue. The act which should ideally cover these things dates to 1885, a time we didn't even have internet! Therefore, the idea is that there should be some guidelines. TRAI has come up with a paper on this very issue, but the paper is largely biased towards the telecom players and thus the campaign was launched so that TRAI could be told that Net Neutrality matters. In line with what all major developed countries have ruled: the ideal internet should be neutral, like how we buy electricity: You would wonder how consumers would react if the electricity discom started selling fan pack, tube light pack, CFL pack, etc? Right now, just this is happening, in the virtual world," said Shah.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt notifies new law on judges' appointment

Government today brought into force a controversial law to appoint members to the higher judiciary, two days before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court hears a clutch of petitions challenging the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act.

Government today brought into force a controversial law to appoint members to the higher judiciary, two days before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court hears a clutch of petitions challenging the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act.

The notification bringing into effect from today the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act along with a Constitutional Amendment Act (99th Amendment Act) to give constitutional status to the new body was issued by Department of Justice in the Law Ministry.

A bunch of petitions moved by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association ( SCAORA), Bar Association of India and some individual lawyers challenging NJAC and the Constitition amendment will come up for hearing before the Constitution Bench on Wednesday.

Functionaries in the Law Ministry said with the notification, technically the collegium system has come to an end. But, at the same time, they said the new body may take some time to come into into being.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now have to call Chief Justice of India H L Dattu and Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of single largest opposition party in Lok Sabha, to nominate two eminent persons to the NJAC.

The NJAC will have to ratify the rules governing its functioning in the first meetings before they are notified. The draft rules are ready with the government.

Under the collegium system, which came into existence in 1993 after a Supreme Court judgement, five top judges of the apex court recommend transfer and elevation of judges to Supreme Court and 24 High Courts.

The government can return the recommendation to the collegium under this system. But it has to accept the recommendation if it is reiterated by the collegium.

The collegium system had come under fire for lacking transparency by politicians and some eminent jurists, who contended that judges appointing judges without any say of the Executive has led to complaints of nepotisim and favouritism.

But successive CJIs have defended the system saying it has stood the test of time and was working without any hitches.


23.07 | 0 komentar | Read More
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