News and Views

Listen to Prime Minister Modi speaking of Blue economy, maritime security and human resource in Seychelles

Listen to BJP MLA Vipul Goel speaking about the cost of the biggest Indian flag unfurled in Faridabad.

Dalit activist and writer Prof. Kancha Ilaiah says the cow is not indigenous to India. The Aryans got them to India as food. It is the buffalo which actually belongs to India and if anything should be preserved. Yet, as Prof. Ilaiah says, it is the buffalo which faces discrimination: just because it’s black.

Racism aside, has the Maharashtra Government thought of how the poor will be affected by this ban? Tribals, dalits and poor Muslims all rely on beef which provides them with a cheap protein. And what about those in the leather trade? How will they earn a living?

On the credit roll of his immensely popular satire, he always called himself the ‘Misdirector' of Flop Show – that was Jaspal Bhatti, who made you laugh, and was always ready to laugh at himself. Today is his birth anniversary. Whether it was onion prices, malfunctioning government hospitals or red tape messing up the life of an aam aadmi, Jaspal Bhatti’s spoofs always had us in splits. They were simply produced, but the quality of the humor always top notch. He and his tiny ensemble of actors put out ‘Oolta Pulta’, the Flop Show on Doordarshan for years over almost 3 decades.

In 2013, Bhatti was honoured with the Padma Bhushan. Few would know that he actually studied to be an electrical engineer. Luckily he found his true calling in writing and performing satire. As he became an institution in Chandigarh, Jaspal Bhatti set up an actors’ training school and production studio in Chandigarh called "Joke Factory".

During elections Jaspal Bhatti was always expected to take to the streets with his satire. Over the years he floated ‘parties' like Hawala Party, Suitcase Party, Recession Party and just like his satire the symbols were related to opium, drugs and alcohol of which he claimed 'there will be no shortage’ if his ‘party' is voted to power.

His wife and co-star Savita Bhatti, says that in his personal life he was a quiet man. His comedy came from his observations of life and people around him.

The BJP wants changes in the Land Acquisition Bill which was first passed by the UPA government in 2013. Opposition had raised hue and cry in the Parliament over it.

In the Parliament Prime Minster Modi spoke and reminded the Opposition that when the Land Acquisition Bill was tabled under the UPA regime BJP was with the Government on it without any ‘ifs and buts’.

Shias are a minority in Pakistan. Over the years they have been targeted as sectarian violence has been on the rise. Reports released by Human Rights of Pakistan goes on to prove this. Between 2012 and 2013, 850 Shias were killed.

Balochistan which has the highest Shia population witnessed a loss 200 lives in 2013 alone.

Shia Muslim cleric Sadiq Kalbe say - Pakistan has made a mockery of religion. And where there is the rule of Mullahs innocent lives will be lost. The solution to the violence will only happen when the last Shia will die in Pakistan.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must see the Budget as a means towards womens’ empowerment.That’s what former Delhi Secretary, Shailaja Chandra feels. She says that the Budget could systematically cater to women from all sections of society. Ms Chandra suggests that career oriented women, have good education but lack financial knowledge and expertise. The government could help them to grow as entrepreneurs with budgetary support, softer loans, tax deductions and allowances.

Women who are educated but are not working, for them the Government can systematically make provisions to support and incentivise home-based enterprises, even facilitating on-line services managed from home.

Programmes targeting the poorest sections of society, should have specific provisions for women, and money allocated accordingly among the concerned departments, such as the Women and Child Ministry, Health Ministry or HRD.

Both Central and State Government run welfare schemes for women but there is too much paper work, red tape, and corruption that prevents benefits from actually reaching women. Ms Chandra feels that ‘delivery’ of budgetary benefits to women should be a goal in itself.

Ownership of property is the key to everything, if women have the Right to Property, immediately their status will increase. For this to happen Ms Chandra suggests that Capital Gain Tax should be lowered if the property is owned by women.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has advised users not to pick unknown calls with the codes +92 (Pakistan) and +375 (Belarus). If you have a missed call from these numbers never call back. Calling back will lead to 50 to 100 rupees deduction from your call balance.

"Please call me back, this is urgent." Such messages should also be ignored from +92 (Pakistan) and +375 (Belarus).

The Quint spoke to service providers to find out if they are aware of 'One Ring Scam' and the TRAI guild lines.

Airtel customer care was confused and didn’t have a clear answer. Vodafone had its team working on the issue.

Neither service provider are sending out SMS’s or calling customers to inform them.

This podcast is issued in public interest by The Quint.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has promised to keep the cost of testing for Swine Flu at 4500 rupees or less in the national capital. But has he managed it? We spoke to a few laboratories in Delhi and found out that the average cost of a Swine Flu test is indeed Rs. 4500. But one chain charges Rs. 5000 while smaller labs charge a commission to get the test done.

Our new censor board chief, Pahlaj Nihalani, no stranger himself to suggestive scenes in his own movies, believes only in ‘healthy films with a strong social message’. Nihalani even said recently that former censor board chief Sharmila Tagore started the trend of films with bad language when she cleared Omkara in 2006.

But as we hear from actor Anushka Sharma in The Quint podcast, bad language is all about context. Sharma should know because she is producing NH 10, which has plenty of cursing.

And if Mr Nihalani is so concerned about those gaalis everywhere, we urge him to look at the language our politicians use, like what former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said.

It’s all in the podcast. But if you’re like Mr Nihalani, we advise caution before you click on the link.