writingonblog uncensored: Central excise official, wife jailed in disproport...

writingonblog uncensored: Central excise official, wife jailed in disproport...: Chennai: A Central Excise official and his wife were ordered to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs 10,000 each ...

Central excise official, wife jailed in disproportionate assets case

Chennai:

A Central Excise official and his wife were ordered to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs 10,000 each in a Disproportionate Assets case

A special judge for CBI court in Coimbatore sentenced K Subramanian, then Assistant Commissioner, Central Excise and his wife Kasthuri to undergo three years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs 10,000 each in a Disproportionate Assets case. 

The Court has also ordered to confiscate the Fixed Deposit of Rs 18 lakh held by the accused.

CBI had registered a case against K Subramanian, Assistant Commissioner, Central Excise and his wife Kasthuri on the allegations that, K. Subramanian, while functioning as Superintendent in Central Excise during 2003 to 2005 and Assistant Commissioner, Central Excise during 2006 to 2007 had acquired assets in his name and in the name of his wife to the tune of Rs.54.64 lakh (approx) which was disproportionate to his known sources of income. 

A charge sheet was filed against K. Subramanian and Kasthuri 

writingonblog uncensored: Budget has a rural tilt as Rs 2.87 lakh crore is e...

writingonblog uncensored: Budget has a rural tilt as Rs 2.87 lakh crore is e...: New Delhi; M ajor focus on agriculture and farmers’ welfare, massive mission to provide LPG connection to poor households, a new hea...

Budget has a rural tilt as Rs 2.87 lakh crore is earmarked for panchayats

New Delhi;

Major focus on agriculture and farmers’ welfare, massive mission to provide LPG connection to poor households, a new health protection scheme, increased outlay for infrastructure,  Rs. 2.87 Lakh crore Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities, setting up of 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes and incentives for jobs creation are major highlights of the General Budget 2016-17 presented in Lok Sabha by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 

Announcing a number of new schemes and increasing the allocation in various sectors Jaitley underlined that the Government is firm on its course towards fiscal consolidation without compromising on its development agenda. He said 3.5% fiscal deficit is targeted for FY 2016- 17.

Stating that the IMF has hailed India as a ‘bright spot’ amidst a slowing global economy, the Finance Minister said the growth of GDP has  now accelerated to 7.6%  compared to the last three years of the previous Government when growth had decelerated to 6.3% . 

He said this was accomplished despite two consecutive years of monsoon shortfall of 13% compared to normal rainfall in the last three years of the previous Government.  He added that the country’s external situation is robust and the Current Account deficit has declined from 18.4% billion US dollars in the first half of last year to 14.4 billion this year.

While cautioning about the risks of further global slowdown and mounting turbulence, he said this complicates the task of economic management for India. He said the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17 have been and will be extremely challenging for Government expenditure. He said the next financial year will cast an additional burden on account of the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission and the implementation of  Defence OROP. 

Stating that the Government has to prioritise its expenditure, Jaitley said the Government wants to enhance expenditure in the farm and rural sector, the social sector, the infrastructure sector and provide for recapitalisation of the banks.

The Finance Minister said that the Government will undertake three major schemes to help the weaker sections. He said the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has already been announced. The farmer will pay a nominal amount of insurance premium and get the highest ever compensation in the event of any loss suffered. Jaitley announced a health insurance scheme which will protect one-third of India’s population against hospitalization expenditure.  He also announced that the Government is launching a new initiative to ensure that the BPL families are provided with a cooking gas connection, supported by a Government subsidy.

Jaitley said the Government will undertake significant reforms such as the enactment of a law to ensure that all Government benefits are conferred upon persons who deserve it, by giving a statutory backing to the AADHAR platform. He added that significant changes will be brought in the legislative framework relating to the transport sector so as to free it from constraints and restrictions. 

Other important reforms, the Finance Minister announced included incentivizing gas discovery and exploration by providing calibrated marketing freedom; enactment of a comprehensive law to deal with resolution of financial firms; providing legal framework for dispute resolution in PPP projects and public utility contracts; undertaking important banking sector reforms and public listing of general insurance companies and undertaking significant changes in FDI policy.

The Finance Minister said the agenda for the next year will be to ‘Transform India’ in this direction. He highlighted that the budget proposals are built on this transformative agenda with nine distinct pillars which include: Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; Rural Sector; Social Sector including Healthcare; Education, Skills and Job Creation; Infrastructure and Investment; Financial Sector Reforms; Governance and Ease of Doing Business; Fiscal Discipline and Tax Reforms.

Jaitley announced that the Government will reorient its interventions in the farm and non-farm sectors to double the income of the farmers by 2022. 

He said total allocation for Agriculture and farmers’ Welfare is Rs. 35,984 crore. Stating that the ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’ has been strengthened and will be implemented in mission mode, he said 28.5 lakh hectares will be brought under irrigation under this Scheme. He also underlined that the implementation of 89 irrigation projects under AIBP, which have been languishing will be fast tracked.

The Finance Minister announced creation of a dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund in NABARD with an initial corpus of about Rs. 20,000 crore. To achieve all these, a total provision of Rs. 12,517 crore has been made through budgetary support and market borrowings in 2016-17. He also said, simultaneously a major programme for sustainable management of ground water resources has been prepared with an estimated cost of Rs. 6,000 crore and proposed for multilateral funding. The Minister said at least 5 lakh farm ponds and dug wells in rain fed areas and 10 lakh compost pits for production of organic manure will be taken up by making use of allocations under MGNREGA.

Jaitley said the Soil Health Card Scheme will cover all 14 crore farm holdings by March 2017. He said 2,000 model retail outlets of fertilizer companies will be provided with soil and seed testing facilities during the next three years.

The Finance Minister announced that the allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been increased to Rs. 19,000 crore and it will connect remaining 65,000 eligible habitations by 2019.

In the budget special focus has been given to ensure adequate and timely flow of credit to the farmers. Against the target of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in 2015-16, the target for agricultural credit in 2016-17 will be an all-time high of Rs. 9 lakh crore. To reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers, a provision of Rs. 15,000 crore has been made in the BE 2016-17 towards interest subvention.

The Finance Minister informed that for effective implementation of Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs. 5,500 crore have been provided in the Budget 2016-17. He said to make dairying more remunerative to the farmers, four new projects will be taken up: First the ‘Pashudhan Sanjivani’, an animal wellness programme and provision of Animal Health Cards (‘Nakul Swasthya Patra’); Second , an Advanced breeding technology; Third,  Creation of ‘E-Pashudhan Haat’, an e market portal for connecting breeders and farmers; and Fourth, a National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds. These projects will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 850 crores over the next few years.

Regarding rural sector, Sh. Jaitley announced that a sum of Rs. 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities. It will translate to an average assistance of over Rs. 80 lakh per Gram Panchayat and over Rs. 21 crore per Urban Local Body.

Sh. Jaitley said every block under drought and rural distress will be taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission. He announced allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore for MGNREGS. He said 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission.  

He declared that the Government is committed to 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018. Regarding Swachh Bharat Mission, Sh. Jaitley said Rs. 9,000 crore has been provided for it. He said a new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India will cover around 6 crore additional households within the next 3 years. 

In order to develop governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Minister announced a new scheme namely ‘Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan”, for which Rs. 655 crore is being set apart. For rural development as a whole, Rs. 87,765 crore have been allocated.

The Finance Minister announced a massive mission to provide LPG connection in the name of women members of poor households for which Rs. 2000 crore have been earmarked. This will benefit about 1 crore 50 lakh households below the poverty line in 2016-17. The Scheme will be continued for at least two more years to cover a total of 5 crore BPL households.

Jaitley also announced a new health protection scheme which will provide health cover up to Rs. One lakh per family for economically weak families. For senior citizens of age 60 years and above belonging to this category, an additional top-up package up to Rs. 30,000 will be provided. In order to make quality medicines available at affordable prices, 3000 stores under Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2016-17. He said that a ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’ will be started to provide dialysis services in all district hospitals.

In the area of education, the Finance Minister said allocation under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be increased. 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened in the remaining uncovered districts over the next two years. In order to empower Higher Educational Institutions to help them become world class teaching and research institutions, an enabling regulatory architecture will be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions. The Finance Minister said that the Government has decided to set up a Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) with initial capital base of Rs. 1,000 crore.

The Finance Minister while laying emphasis on skill development said the Government wants to bring entrepreneurship to the doorsteps of youth through Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes will be set up for which Rs. 1700 crore have been set aside.

Jaitley said that in order to incentivize creation of new jobs in the formal sector, the Government will pay the Employee Pension Scheme contribution of 8.33% for all new employees enrolling in EPFO for the first three years of their employment. This will incentivize the employers to recruit unemployed persons and also to bring into the books the informal employees.

The Finance Minister laid special emphasis on Infrastructure and Investment. He said the process of road construction has speeded up. An allocation of Rs. 55,000 crore in the Budget for Roads and Highways has been proposed which will be further topped up by additional Rs. 15,000 crore to be raised by NHAI through bonds. 

The total investment in the road sector including PMGSY allocation would be 97,000 crore during 2016-17. He said together with the capital expenditure of the Railways, the total outlay on roads and railways will be Rs. 2,18,000 crore. He said 10,000 kms. of National Highways are expected to be approved in 2016-17. He further said abolition of permit-raj will be the medium term goal. The Government will enact necessary amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act and open up the road transport sector in the passenger segment. Jaitley said, an enabling eco-system will be provided for the States which will have the choice of adopting the new legal framework.

In the port sector, the Finance Minister said the Sagarmala Project has already been rolled out. The Government is planning to develop new greenfield ports. The work on National Waterways is also being expedited. He said Rs. 800 crore has been provided for these initiatives.

In the Civil Aviation Sector action plan is being drawn up to revive unserved and underserved airports. There are about 160 airports and air strips with the State Governments which can be revived at an indicative cost of Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 100 Crore each.

In the power sector, he said the Government is drawing up a comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years to augment the investment in nuclear power generation.

To augment infrastructure spending further, the Government will permit mobilization of additional finances to the extent of Rs. 31,300 crore by NHAI, PFC, REC, IREDA, NABARD and Inland Water Authority through raising of Bonds.

The Minister announced reforms in FDI Policy in the areas of Insurance and Pension, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Stock Exchanges etc.  He said 100% FDI will be allowed through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India. The Minister said a new policy for management of Government investment in Public Sector Enterprises, including disinvestment and strategic sale has been approved.

Jaitley announced a number of financial sector reforms. A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms will be introduced as a Bill in the Parliament during 2016-17. He said the RBI Act 1934 is being amended to provide statutory basis for a Monetary Policy Framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2016. A Financial Data Management Centre will also be set up.

Expressing concern over problem of stressed assets in Public Sector Banks, the Minister said several steps have been taken in this regard. He said to support the banks, an allocation of Rs. 25,000 crore is being proposed towards recapitalization of Public Sector Banks.

Stating that the Government is giving unparalleled emphasis to good governance, Jaitley said a task force has been constituted for rationalization of human resources in various Ministries. He added a comprehensive review and rationalization of autonomous bodies is also underway. The Minister said a bill will be introduced for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies Benefits and Services by using the Aadhar framework. He said it is proposed to introduce DBT on pilot basis for fertilizer in a few districts across the country. The Minister said automation facilities will be provided in 3 lakh Fair Price Shops by March 2017.

Jaitley announced that “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” programme will be launched to link States  and Districts in an annual programme that connects people through exchanges in areas of language, trade, culture, travel and tourism.

On the fiscal situation in the country the Minister said the prudence lies in adhering to the fiscal targets. Consequently, he said, the fiscal deficit in RE 2015-16 and BE 2016-17 have been retained at 3.9% and 3.5% of GDP respectively.  He added a redeeming feature of this year’s Budget is that the Revenue Deficit target has been improved upon from 2.8% to 2.5% of GDP in RE 2015-16.

The total expenditure in the Budget for 2016-17 has been projected at Rs. 19.78 lakh crore, consisting of Rs. 5.50 lakh crore under Plan and Rs. 14.28 lakh crore under Non-Plan.

Chennai Corporation to digitally map the city

Chennai:

Information on basic civic amenities available in the city will be at the fingertips soon for Chennaiites.A Digital Map of the city in the form of a mobile application will be a one-stop resource for the common man to find out the status of civic activities like garbage disposal, vaccinations camps, desiltation work on waterways etc . 

The Greater Chennai Corporation during its budget session on Friday announced that it will be mapping several of the city's resources through this app - canals, waterways, streets, garbage disposal vehicles, along with some of its services, via a digitized map. It is learnt at being a people-friendly app, this could make the GCC work transparent. 

This map, which can be accessed by the general public will throw live updates on the status of their civic infrastructure like streetlights, garbage disposal process, status of desilting waterways etc.

Some of the core utilities that the Digital Mapping facility promises at the outset, according to the Mayor Saidai Duraisamy are - traffic mapping, asset management and public infrastructure monitoring which will be done by a team from Anna University and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

This will be the first of its kind map from the State that will live track city infrastructure and amenities, after the few crowd-sourced online maps made by techies cropped up in the city during the recent floods, to locate and mark a location or detail.

Initially the peoject was likely to be launched in November last year, however due to the rains the project was delayed  This would be a single base map of Chennai which will include the extended areas and it will have several layers.The app wold be either developed either by National Informatics Centre or Anna University. Even IIT is in the reckoning.

writingonblog uncensored: Dedicated Chennai-Delhi freight corridor to cut d...

writingonblog uncensored: Dedicated Chennai-Delhi freight corridor to cut d...: C Shivakumar Chennai: The dedicated freight  corridor from Chennai to  Delhi would not only open a  sea route for traders in the  no...

Dedicated Chennai-Delhi freight corridor to cut down cost by 20 to 30pc

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

The dedicated freight corridor from Chennai to Delhi would not only open a sea route for traders in the north but would also cut down the cost of transporting goods from Chennai by 20 to 30 per cent.

Interestingly, this would be the first time southern region would have such a long distance freight corridor, says Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) chairman Rafeeque Ahmed.

While Rafeeque Ahmed feels that auto component manufacturing sector in Chennai and northern India would benefit more, Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary general K Saraswathi feels that the proposal to have a new freight corridor between Delhi – Chennai is going to open up the market for Tamil Nadu Industries and is likely to reduce the transaction cost. 

Rafeeque says that it would those industries which are situated in the middle of the corridor like in Bhopal or Nagpur stand to benefit immensely.

“They would have access to sea route through a dedicated freight corridor and the movement of goods from the sea and from land would be fast,” he added.

Saraswathi said that the cement and engineering sector which did not have direct access to northern states would benefit immensely.

Interestingly, industry is of the opinion that the dedicated freight corridor should have been in place long time ago. It is the only dedicated corridor linking south to north,” said Rafeeque.

Meanwhile, Railway sources refused to divulge details about the frieght corridor project. “The freight corridor would have a dedicated line,” said a senior railway official, adding that the project is still in the initial stage.

But who would fund the project. Interestingly, Japan is providing aid for the construction of Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (DFCP) linking Delhi and Mumbai. 

When Express asked Senior representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency Ichiguchi Tomohide on whether JICA would extend aid for the dedicated corridor project linking Chennai and Delhi, Tomohide said that, “JICA will consider if official request is made.

writingonblog uncensored: 'Auto Rail Hub’ to ease road congestion

writingonblog uncensored: 'Auto Rail Hub’ to ease road congestion: Chennai: The traffic congestion on  arterial roads of Chennai  would soon ease as Indian  Railways is planning to make  the city a  ‘ A...

'Auto Rail Hub’ to ease road congestion

Chennai:

The traffic congestion on arterial roads of Chennai would soon ease as Indian Railways is planning to make the city a ‘Auto Rail Hub.’

This would mean that cars which were ferried through huge container trucks would now be transported through rail. The move comes as the city is emerging as top 10 global automobile manufacturing centres with an installed capacity to produce 1.3 million cars and about 3.6 commercial vehicles each year. 

The chairman and managing director of Kamarajar Port M D Bhaskarachar welcomed the move to make the city a ‘Auto Rail Hub.’ 

Currently, both Kamarajar and Chennai Ports are exporting around 4.1 lakh cars a year. The move to transfer the cars through the rail container rakes would reduce the cost as well as time,” said Bhaskarachar.

Interestingly, Indian Railways is planning to transfer the cars from the yard in Wallajahbad to Ennore and Chennai Ports and has been inspecting the sites at both the ports. It is learnt that Chengalpattu-Tambaram line would be used to transfer the cars  through rail line. There are also plans to develop Chengalpattu-Wallajahbad-Arakonam line in the future.

B Vimal, traffic manager, Chennai Port said that Chief commercial manager of Indian Railways has visited Chennai Port to find whether it is feasible for the port to handle the car container rakes. 

Interestingly, 18 months ago there had been a trial conducted from Thiruvallur station to Chennai Port using the car rakes of Indian Railways, said Vimal.

“During that time, it was found feasible. But the issue was the distance from which the car companies have to transfer the cars to Thiruvallur station. Wallajahbad freight terminal is quite advantageous as most of the car companies are located near that area,” he said.

The idea is that the cars would be unloaded by the car manufacturers at the yard in Wallajahbad. The yard has a capacity of 5,000 cars. From there, the cars would be transported to the port using the rail link.

M S Arun, Chairman of National Association of Container Freight Station has welcomed the move stating that it would save nearly 10 hours while moving the car containers through rail

writingonblog uncensored: Economically weak students can now hope for US deg...

writingonblog uncensored: Economically weak students can now hope for US deg...: C Shivakumar Chennai: Students from economically weaker sections in the city now have a chance of studying in the United States under E...

writingonblog uncensored: Economically weak students can now hope for US deg...

writingonblog uncensored: Economically weak students can now hope for US deg...: C Shivakumar Chennai: Students from economically weaker sections in the city now have a chance of studying in the United States under E...

Economically weak students can now hope for US degree

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Students from economically weaker sections in the city now have a chance of studying in the United States under Education USA Opportunity Fund programme.

The scheme, which is being launched in India for the first time, would target those students who excel in the academics but are economically poor to pursue their education.

Interestingly, the USIEF had already screened 50 students in the city of which 35 have applied. “We are soon going to shortlist the eligible students,” said Meera Seshadri, senior advisor, United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF).

However, she did not give out details on how many students would be eligible for the scholarship. “They would be selected for pursuing their undergraduate course during August 2017. The scholarship was available for other countries. This is the first time India has been included in the programme,” said Meera.

She said that this year the focus is only on Chennai and soon the programme would be expanded across the state. Interestingly, it is not the XIIth standard students who are being targeted. “We are looking at XIth standard student,” Meera said. The programme is yet to be given the due publicity, she added.

To a query on whether there is any income criteria for selecting the students from economic poor section, Meera said that though there is no criteria, USIEF would do background check before selecting the students.

“We are targeting matriculation school students under Samacheer Kalvi programme,” says Meera. To a query on how to upgrade their English skills, Meera said that USIEF has already started mentoring classes for the 35 students. Besides Chennai, USIEF is also tragetting students in other four centres --- Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata..

She said those selected (who are likely to be awarded full financial aid from US colleges and universities) would get up-front costs of obtaining admission, such as testing, application fees, or airfare.

Earlier, reacting to a query on deportation of nearly 400 Indian students from United states, US consul general Philip A Min said that they were not deported. He also refused to elaborate further stating that it is the prerogative of US Homeland security.

He said that in the year 2014-5, a total of 1.32 lakh students from India are studying in the United States. This is 29.4 per cent up from what was in the previous year. After China, India is the second leading place of origin for students coming to United States.

Regional officer of USIEF, Maya Sundararajan told Express that this year from July to December they had received 13,500 queries fro parents and students to pursue studies in United States.

“There is also a shift in preference. Usually it was engineering but now more students are preferring Arts and political Science,”: said Maya

589 cases pending with CVC

New Delhi:
A total of 589 cases are pending for examination in the Central vigilance Commission.

In addition, in 35 cases comments on CBI investigation reports are awaited from the Departments or Organizations and in 953 cases further clarifications are awaited from the Departments or Organizations.

Further, during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 a total of 4801, 5867 and 4604 cases respectively were disposed-off by CVC.

The Government has taken several steps for quick disposal of pending cases. DoPT conducts quarterly meeting with CVC, CBI and other Central Government Ministries to monitor pending cases of sanction for prosecution and check delay in sanction for prosecution. A Committee chaired by Secretary (DoPT) also monitors the status of cases of sanction for prosecution on quarterly basis and takes necessary steps to resolve delayed cases expeditiously.

Amendment in Atomic Energy Act

New Delhi:
The Government has amended sections 2 and 14 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 through the Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which would enable Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to form joint venture companies with other Indian public sector units to meet the additional funding requirements for further expansion of our nuclear power programme, while simultaneously exercising Government control over such joint venture companies. The said Bill was passed by Parliament in the Winter Session of 2015 and enacted on December 31.

The security of nuclear power plants is governed by detailed codes and guides prescribed by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). AERB has rigorous process for reviewing safety and security aspects of nuclear power projects through multi-tier reviews, apart from periodic regulatory inspections, to ensure adherence to these requirements.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha today

writingonblog uncensored: BSNL to roll out 4 wifi hotspots in city by end o...

writingonblog uncensored: BSNL to roll out 4 wifi hotspots in city by end o...: C Shivakumar Chennai: While private telecom players  are betting on 4G, Chennai  Telephones Bharat Sanchar  Nigam is eyeing to set u...

BSNL to roll out 4 wifi hotspots in city by end of Feb; 25 more by March

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

While private telecom players are betting on 4G, Chennai Telephones Bharat Sanchar Nigam is eyeing to set up Wifi hotspots in the city and has commissioned a survey in 29 areas in the city.

“We completed the survey in four areas. These include Bus stand near Flower Bazaar, a prominent park near Mylapore, government offices near K K Nagar and Vandalur Zoo,” said Chief general manager of Chennai Telephones BSNL S M Kalavathi.

The wifi hotspots would be operational by this month while the remaining 25 areas would be up and running before March end.

These wifi hotspots would cover a radius of 200 metres and the speed would be more than 8 to 10mbps per second. Interestingly, Chennai Telephones has planned to have the wifi hot spots in and around the city after the success of having it installed in Mahabalipuram. 

Currently, the public sector unit is targeting the areas where the public movement is more.

“We had a good feedback from Mahabalipuram and thought of replicating it in the city,” said Kalavathi. She also said from next financial year, BSNL would be setting up wifi hot-spots in malls, coffee shops and places where the public movement is more.

To a query on the total investment in setting up wi-fi hotspots, Kalavathi refused to provide any details. “We have tied up with QuadGen Wireless Solutions for setting up and operate Wi- Fi hot spots at public places . We will be sharing revenue with them,” she added.

Meanwhile, those who had been blaming BSNL of poor 3G connectivity have something to cheer for as state telecom major is setting up nearly 350 towers to boost 3G connection. “Till now we have completed the work in 15 towers. Some of the areas include Wall Tax Road, Pattalam, and Kellys,” said Kalavathi.

writingonblog uncensored: Tamil Nadu preparing for new tenancy Act

writingonblog uncensored: Tamil Nadu preparing for new tenancy Act: Chennai: Now your rentals could soon  be governed by new tenancy  act which is likely to be  implemented through a new  legislation ...

Tamil Nadu preparing for new tenancy Act

Chennai:

Now your rentals could soon be governed by new tenancy act which is likely to be implemented through a new legislation in the state, according to housing secretary D P Yadav.

Speaking after inaugurating three-day Fairpro Expo here on Friday, Yadav said that the current State Rent Control Act will undergo change with the government in principle accepting the model tenancy act.

It is learnt that the state has to comply in amending the Rent control act by 2019. The move by state comes in the wake of The Task Force on Rental Housing, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation suggesting rental housing as sustainable option for housing for the low income group and economically weaker sections household that have annual income less than Rs 1 lakh and between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakhs respectively.  

Yadav also highlighted a huge demand in the affordable housing sector. “The demand is nearly 90 per cent in this sector  and it is a challenge. We do not have easy, clear cut solutions to it. Cost of the technology, construction material, cost of land are the real issues,” he said.

He stressed the need to involve developers to increase the stock of affordable housing, be it in houses developed by slum clearance board or increasing the rental housing so that every citizen entering the city has a house either rental or ownership based.

He also stressed that CREDAI has to do more advocacy to ensure people buy only genuine properties. “More number of small builders have to be lured into CREDAI to ensure buildings are constructed as per the regulations and norms,” he added.

Comparison of Rent Control Act with Model Tenancy Act of Union Govt:

Model Tenancy Act of Union Govt:

1. All rental agreement to be made only by mutual consent

2. Rent as agreed in rent agreement to be charged

3. Tenant’s right to possession only during lease period extendable upto a maximum of 6 more months

4. Rent to be renewed at periodic intervals

5. 3 months rent as advance

writingonblog uncensored: Indigo Airlines has been preferred choice for one...

writingonblog uncensored: Indigo Airlines has been preferred choice for one...: Chennai: Domestic Airlines carried a  total of 76.55 lakh  passengers on January this  year as againt 62.45 lakh  during the correspondi...

Indigo Airlines has been preferred choice for one third of domestic passengers

Chennai:

Domestic Airlines carried a total of 76.55 lakh passengers on January this year as againt 62.45 lakh during the corresponding period last year thus registering a growth of 22.58 per cent.

Of the total 76.55 lakh passengers, Indigo Airlines alone ferried a total of 27.26 lakh passengers followed by Jet Airways (14.32 lakh) and Air India (12.23 lakh). Interestingly Indigo alone has the market share of 35.6 per cent and is way ahead of all airlines.

Air India had a growth of 4.98 per cent in passenger traffic while the private carriers had a growth of 26.61 per cent.

However, Spicejet has the highest passenger load factor of 92.1 per cent when compared with other airlines. However, the passenger load factor during january decreased compared to previous month mainly due to the end of tourist season.

Interestingly, a total of 823 complaints have been registered against the airlines. As per data available, the number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of January has been 1.1. Air India topped the list by registering 2.8 complaints per 10,000 passengers.

The majority of complaints (30.5pc) against airlines was due to flight issues while 28.7pc pertain to customer service issues. A total of 22.4pc is related to baggage problems while 6.2 per cent pertain to refund of tickets issue.

Meanwhile, while fog has been a major issue in operating the flights during January, it is learnt that cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines was only 1.10 per cent. With the least being Jetlite (0.23pc).

However, Jet airways and Jet lite top the list when it comes denying boarding to passengers due to various reasons. A total of 660 passengers were denied boarding in Jet airways while 431 passengers in Air India. Surprisingly, Air India has a maximum of 83,265 passengers who were hit due to delay in arrival or departure of flights by more than two hours.

It is learnt that airlines have doled out Rs 40.09 as compensation for denying boarding to 1,102 passengers. It has also given Rs 40.58 lakh as compensation to 11,247 passengers who were affected due to cancellation of flights. A total of Rs 114.09 lakh was given to 1.16 lakh passengers who were affected due to delay of their flights.

Factfile (Jan 2016)

Total domestic passengers: 76.55 lakh

Airlines Growth: 22.58pc

Air India: 4.98pc

Private Carriers: 26.61pc

Complaints against all airlines: 823

Compensation: 

Cost due to Denied boarding: Rs 40.09 lakh.

Cost due to Cancellations: Rs 40.58 lakh

Cost due to Delays: Rs 114.09 lakh