Mumbai Much-Much!!!

Cyrus Mistry’s family biz in web crisis

2020-02-07T15:10:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI: Ousted Tata Sons’ chairman Cyrus Mistry has apparently fallen flat on his nose after questioning the Tatas on corporate governance as his family run Shaporji Pallonji has caught itself in a web of violations.

“It is a typical case of the pot calling the kettle black,” said market observer Arun Kejriwal, director of KRIS. “Mr Mistry, you must look within your business before pointing out an accusing finger at anyone,” Kejriwal. “Three fingers point to yourself,” he said quoting an old Hindi adage.

In his clever machination, Mistry said “Globally, and including in India, Company Law has evolved to protect the rights of minority shareholders and strengthen corporate governance”. This statement falls flat when one analyses Mr Mistry’s family run business where all principles are thrown to the wind, the analyst said.

Mr Mistry is yet to prove himself as an industry leader independent of his ‘Tata’ identity though he is certainly a heir to a fairly large, family run business enterprise. Since Shapoorji Pallonji group consists of mostly private, unlisted companies, their governance structure is inherently opaque.

The recent developments around the IPO of ‘Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited’ (S&W), of which Sapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt. Ltd (SPCPL) is the principal promoter, speak volumes of the group’s ethical business practices, he said.

One of the stated objects of the offer was that the promoters (who were selling their shares in the IPO) shall utilise the proceeds to fund “full repayment” of the loans due to the company (S&W) “within 90 days” from the date of the listing. The listing took place on August 20, 2019.

The total outstanding amount payable by the promoters as on the date of listing was Rs. 2,563 Crores which they had promised to repay in full within 90 days i.e. by November 20, 2019. However, this promise was not kept. Just 4 days before the deadline, SPCPL requested the Board of S&W to agree on a revised payment schedule. As on December 31, 2019, the loan repayment schedule has been revised and an amount of over Rs. 1600 Crores is still outstanding, he pointed out.

What is even more flagrant is the fact that the risk (of ‘promoters’ defaulting on their commitment) was not stated clearly in the risk factors and was instead mentioned using the euphemism of “related party” transactions leaving the investors to guess, and miss in the fine print, a risk that was directly related to the promoters, he said.

The current share price of S&W is in the range of a little over Rs. 300 per share. The erosion in share price is over 50% within weeks of listing.

Snakes creep into homes in Navi Mumbai as hills, mangroves are destroyed

2018-05-10T18:43:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI: A live cobra surfaced in a residential society compound at Nerul in Navi Mumbai recently giving rise to concern over safety of children playing in the area.

“It is not uncommon for snakes to surface particularly during their breeding time as reptiles look for safe zones to lay eggs,” said Ulhas Thakur of Indian Herpetological Society.

Thakur, a resident of Nerul, said he gets frequent calls during the monsoon. But of late his phone started ringing in summer as well with people calling about snakes in their areas. “Recently, we saved a python in Nerul,” he said.

The residents of Anandvan Society of Nerul’s sector-4 got panicky when they found a snake crawling in their compound. They quickly called in the snake catchers. “The society has the details of Friends of Snakes (Sarp Mitra) as we come across serpents quite often,” said a resident.

Asked for the reasons for snakes creeping into residential areas, Thakur said: “They come out because we have destroyed their habitat.” Earlier, snakes used to be part of the wildlife in the forests on the Parsik Hills. These have been destroyed by reckless quarrying. “Even the blasting of the hills scares away the snakes,” he explained.

Nandakumar Pawar, director of environment NGO Shri Ekavira Aai Pratishtan (SEAP) pointed out that another natural habitat of snakes and rats, the mangroves, are being systematically destroyed around MMR. The dumping of debris along the coastline has been going on so rampantly that mangroves will soon be relegated to history books, he said.

The surfacing of snakes has also brought into sharp focus the recent social communication campaign #BoomCityDoomCity undertaken by the communication professionals body Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) to save hills and mangroves in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

“The campaign is to remind the people that we should not play with the nature. The affects will be disastrous,” said PRCI governing council chairman B N Kumar.

World Environment Day will be observed on June 5 and PRCI plans to do aggressive campaign to spread awareness about maintaining ecological balance.

SAT holds Nirmal Kotecha guilty, spares family

2018-05-03T17:56:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has partly set aside a SEBI order in the Nirmal Kotecha case.

The whole time director of the market regulator SEBI had earlier held Kotecha and his family members guilty of violating SEBI Act and regulations framed thereunder.

SAT, while hearing an appeal against the SEBI order, held Nirmal Kotecha guilty, but set aside the order against his family members - Veena Kotecha, Manilal Kotecha, Viral Doshi among others.

The SAT order said: “It is not in dispute that by an order dated March 22, 2018 the WTM of SEBI has held that Nirmal Kotecha is guilty , but none of the appellants are held to have any role in that violation. In these circumstances, findings recorded in the respective orders that each appellant had aided and abetted Nirmal Kotecha in violating the SEBI Act and PFUTP Regulations cannot be sustained and are set aside to that extent.”

SAT Order further added that: “all the appeals are disposed of in the aforesaid terms with no order as to costs.”

For more details, please contact Aditya Bhansali of Mindspright Legal at +919324220250

#BoomCityDoomCity - Thank You Mid-day

2018-04-22T21:22:00.000+05:30

#BoomCityDoomCity: Thank you Gulf News

2018-04-22T12:28:00.001+05:30

INDIA

Mumbai’s construction boom sparks fears for environment

Concerned citizens are raising an alarm over environmental dangers being faced by the city

Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent

16:14 April 21, 2018

Mumbai: Rampant destruction of mangroves along Mumbai’s coast and reckless quarrying of hillsides in Navi Mumbai are converting the boom in Mumbai and its neighbouring suburbs into an environmental doom, said environmentalists.

https://m.gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/mumbai-s-construction-boom-sparks-fears-for-environment-1.2209167

WOW! Danish Siddiqui bags Pulitzer

2018-04-17T19:29:00.000+05:30

Mumbai Press Club has expressed its happiness over Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui winning the Pulitzer.
Danish has brought us laurels by winning Pulitzer Prize for international reporting and photography. Danish, the first Indian photojournalist to win Pulitzer, was part of Reuters team that walked away with the coveted prize on Monday, said Club secretary Dharmendra Jore .
The Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, recognized Reuters in international reporting for exposing the methods of police killing squads in Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, and for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Sharing his happiness with us, Danish said, “I hope our pictures and this recognition in the form of Pulitzer will be able to make a positive difference to the Rohingya crisis which is far from over. I feel honoured as its the first time an Indian photojournalist has been awarded Pulitzer."
For details: Please check this link

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pulitzer/reuters-wins-pulitzers-for-philippines-reporting-rohingya-photography-idUSKBN1HN2PY

Thank you Times of India!

2018-04-15T12:11:00.000+05:30

Bring Petrol & Diesel under GST

2017-06-25T13:41:00.003+05:30

Why can't we bring petrol and diesel prices under GST?

At present, a central excise duty of 23% and State VAT of 34% is levied on petrol and diesel. Thus, the total tax works out to 57%.

If these essential products are brought under GST , the maximum tax will be only 28%. This means the prices of petrol and diesel can come down by almost 50%.

The people and the economy at at large will be benefited as it will have a positive, cascading effect.

We request you to consider this immediately and make it part of the midnight announcement of July 1

https://www.change.org/p/the-finance-minister-of-india-bring-petrol-diesel-under-gst?recruiter=29763990&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Greens’ plea to CM to ban Parsik Hill plunder

2017-06-06T16:41:00.000+05:30

· #IamParsikHill – IamDying campaign reaches crescendo

MUMBAI: In a World Environment Day development, environment activists have stepped up their campaign to save Parsik Hills from reckless blasting in the name of quarrying and appealed to Chief Minister Mr. Devendra Fadnavis to immediately ban plundering of the hill range in Navi Mumbai.

“The decades-long quarrying has caused irreparable damage to the environment and the once picturesque hills,” said Mr. Nanda Kumar Pawar, director of the NGO Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP).

Stating that “we cannot stand as mute witnesses to the rampant, careless and criminal destruction”, he said SEAP is planning to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking to ban quarrying at Parsik Hills.

He, along with other eminent environmentalists, was addressing a media seminar at Mumbai Press Club on the occasion of the World Environment Day, today, as part of a social communication campaign, #IamParsikHill and IamDying, by Public relations Council of India (PRCI) - the premier national body of PR, media, advertising, HR professionals and mass communication academicians and students.

“Hills are national heritage and nobody has any business to destroy them,” Mr Pawar said lending support to PRCI initiative. “It is a worthy cause and quarrying is worrying," Mr. Pawar said.

Pointing out that quarrying destroys bio diversity, forests and destroys the water table, Mr Stalin D, Director of NGO Vanashakti, said: “The Parsik hill range has the potential for an excellent venue for eco-tourism and adventure sports. Please save these beautiful forested hills from reckless destruction.”

The dust pollution created by quarrying poses great health hazards for the citizens of Navi Mumbai, he said adding that the Chief Minister must ban quarrying at Parsik Hills immediately.

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call during his latest Mann Ki Baat broadcast to follow the Environment Day-2017 theme ‘Connecting People To Nature’, PRCI has embarked on the campaign to focus attention on the destruction of nature which is also harming the people, said council national president B N Kumar.

Apart from launching the communication across social media, PRCI also initiated an online petition on change.org platform addressed to the Chief Minister and posted hard-hitting short videos on youtube.

Per media reports, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) itself has said that the air pollution levels in the areas around stone crushers of quarries are a hundred times the acceptable levels.

The Parsik Hill quarries were allotted to some people decades ago as part of CIDCO’s compensation package for those who surrendered lands for the development of Navi Mumbai. But response to an RTI application by Mr Pawar now shows that most of the quarry owners are either politicians or enjoy political patronage.

He, therefore, felt that banning of quarries would not adversely impact the Project Affected People (PAP).

Late Shiv Sena supreme had in June 1997 ordered a ban on quarrying at Parsik Hills during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance rule. But later, the blasting of the hills resumed with seeming vengeance.

A cursory look at the hills from Sion-Panvel highway shows the pathetic condition of the plundered hills along Thane-Belapur Road where forests have disappeared due to quarrying.

The NGT is hearing a PIL against quarrying and its ruling is slated for July 19. Quarry owners have, meanwhile, stopped their operation as the Thane district collector stopped collecting royalty. The collector, however, permitted three quarries.

Irrespective these developments, environmentalists have vehemently argued in favour of keeping Parsik Hills free of further destruction even as Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has begun to work on a tripartite deal with revenue and forest departments to develop a stretch of the hills as Green Tourist destination

#IamParsikHill -IamDying

2017-06-01T16:25:00.001+05:30

Please open this link and sign the petition to save environment

https://www.change.org/p/the-chief-minister-of-maharashtra-iamparsikhill-iamdying-ban-quarrying-now?recruiter=29763990&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Destroying Nature, Harming People! Who Cares for Environment Day?

2017-05-28T12:53:00.000+05:30

“Connecting People to Nature”- Are we?

By B N KUMAR

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi just pointed out in his latest edition of Mann Ki Baat broadcast, June 5 is being observed as World Environment Day and this year’s theme for the event is: Connecting People to Nature”.

The UN says on its web site, the theme “urges us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it.” “It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship.”

Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate full well their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation.

Nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms. Like clean air, they are often taken for granted, at least until they become scarce. However, economists are developing ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth of many so-called ‘ecosystem services’, from insects pollinating fruit trees to the leisure, health and spiritual benefits of a hike up a valley, the UN says explaining the Day and the theme.

So far, so good!

Now let’s take a look at the Indian scenario and I would like to focus on Navi Mumbai, my Karm Bhoomi, where I am living for well over four decades. Can we fund fun here? The answer is a vehement no!

The once picturesque Parsik Hills are being systematically destroyed in the name of quarrying. Decades ago, the Government took over lands from farmers, fishermen and salt pan workers (called agris) and handed over to the city planner and developer CIDCO for development of Navi Mumbai. CIDCO allotted pieces of Parsik Hills to few project affected people, popularly known as PAPs, for quarrying. It was a win-win for both CIDCO and as the former needed stones for urban development and the latter compensation for losing their sources of income.

The quarrying, however, did not stop with licensed areas. Many recklessly plundered the hills to such an extent that the scene shocked not only the silent suffererers of Navi Mumbai, but then Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

Thackeray, who used to frequently travel on the Sion-Panvel Highway, stopped on a Monday morning on Turbhe flyover from where one could get a clear view of the destruction of the nature. In an impromptu move, Thackeray drove to CIDCO Bhavan at CBD Belapur and summoned the Sena-BJP alliance CM Manohar Joshi there.

In the presence of Joshi, government and CIDCO officials, Thacheray addressed a Press Conference instructing the government to ban Navi Mumbai quarrying with immediate effect.

Local media has been reporting about the health hazards of quarrying which caused tremendous air pollution. In fact, a survey done by the micro-biology department of Modern College, Vashi, showed that over 60% of school children in Turbhe suffered from respiratory diseases. This was attributed mainly to air pollution.

Recently, The Hindustan Times reported that Maharashtra Pollution Control Board officials confirmed that pollution levels in the area (Navi Mumbai) were a major concern. “Our sub-regional officers are investigating as we have received many complaints from locals,” said Anil Mohekar, regional officer, MPCB.

Quarrying that was stopped on the order of Bal Thackeray, was subsequently resumed and the blasting of the Parsik Hills continued unabated.

A PIL has been filed some time ago with the National Breen Tribunal (NGT), Pune, which has called for affidavits from several stake holders including the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, CIDCO and the Collector. All eyes are now on BGT which is scheduled give its verdict on July 19.

A petition addressed to CM on change.org is also being initiated by socially concerned citizens.

One hopes that the state government will act in right earnest and checks the plundering of Parsik Hills which face the imminent danger of vanishing if reckless quarrying continues.

Aren’t we destroying the nature and harming of people instead of connecting people to nature?

You decide!

Sharad Pawar is Padmavibhushan!

2017-01-25T17:45:00.003+05:30

Padma Awards 2017 announced

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. This year the President of India has approved conferment of Padma Awards to 89 persons as per the list below. The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. 19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 5 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 6 Posthumous awardees.

PADMA VIBHUSHAN

Sl. No	Name	Field	State
1.	Shri K J Yesudas	Art-Music	Kerala
2.	Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev	Others-Spiritualism	Tamil Nadu
3.	Shri Sharad Pawar	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
4.	Shri Murli Manohar Joshi	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
5.	Prof. Udipi Ramachandra Rao	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
6.	Late Shri Sunder Lal Patwa (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Madhya Pradesh
7.	Late Shri PA Sangma (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Meghalaya

Padma Bhushan

Sl. No.	Name	Field	State
8.	Shri Vishwa Mohan Bhatt	Art-Music	Rajasthan
9.	Prof. (Dr.) Devi Prasad Dwivedi	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
10.	Shri Tehemton Udwadia	Medicine	Maharashtra
11.	Shri Ratna Sundar Maharaj	Others-Spiritualism	Gujarat
12.	Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati	Others-Yoga	Bihar
13.	H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Foreigner)	Literature & Education	Thailand
14.	Late Shri Cho Ramaswamy (Posthumous)	Literature & Education –Journalism	Tamil Nadu

Padma Shri

Sl. No	Name	Field	State
15.	Smt. Basanti Bisht	Art-Music	Uttarakhand
16.	Shri Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair	Art-Dance	Kerala
17.	Smt. Aruna Mohanty	Art-Dance	Odisha
18.	Smt. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan	Art-Cinema	Karnataka
19.	Shri Sadhu Meher	Art-Cinema	Odisha
20.	Shri T K Murthy	Art-Music	Tamil Nadu
21.	Shri Laishram Birendrakumar Singh	Art-Music	Manipur
22.	Shri Krishna Ram Chaudhary	Art-Music	Uttar Pradesh
23.	Smt. Baoa Devi	Art-Painting	Bihar
24.	Shri Tilak Gitai	Art-Painting	Rajasthan
25.	Dr. Prof. Aekka Yadagiri Rao	Art-Sculpture	Telangana
26.	Shri Jitendra Haripal	Art-Music	Odisha
27.	Shri Kailash Kher	Art-Music	Maharashtra
28.	Smt. Parassala B Ponnammal	Art-Music	Kerala
29.	Smt. Sukri Bommagowda	Art-Music	Karnataka
30.	Shri Mukund Nayak	Art-Music	Jharkhand
31.	Shri Purushottam Upadhyay	Art-Music	Gujarat
32.	Smt. Anuradha Paudwal	Art-Music	Maharashtra
33.	Shri Wareppa Naba Nil	Art-Theatre	Manipur
34.	Shri Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary	Civil Service	Telangana
35.	Shri T.K. Viswanathan	Civil Service	Haryana
36.	Shri Kanwal Sibal	Civil Service	Delhi
37.	Shri Birkha Bahadur Limboo Muringla	Literature & Education	Sikkim
38.	Smt. Eli Ahmed	Literature & Education	Assam
39.	Dr. Narendra Kohli	Literature & Education	Delhi
40.	Prof. G. Venkatasubbiah	Literature & Education	Karnataka
41.	Shri Akkitham Achyuthan Namboothiri	Literature & Education	Kerala
42.	Shri Kashi Nath Pandita	Literature & Education	Jammu & Kashmir
43.	Shri Chamu Krishna Shastry	Literature & Education	Delhi
44.	Shri Harihar Kripalu Tripathi	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
45.	Shri Michel Danino	Literature & Education	Tamil Nadu
46.	Shri Punam Suri	Literature & Education	Delhi
47.	Shri VG Patel	Literature & Education	Gujarat
48.	Smt. V Koteswaramma	Literature & Education	Andhra Pradesh
49.	Shri Balbir Dutt	Literature & Education-Journalism	Jharkhand
50.	Smt. Bhawana Somaaya	Literature & Education-Journalism	Maharashtra
51.	Shri Vishnu Pandya	Literature & Education-Journalism	Gujarat
52.	Dr. Subroto Das	Medicine	Gujarat
53.	Dr. (Smt.) Bhakti Yadav	Medicine	Madhya Pradesh
54.	Dr. Mohammed Abdul Waheed	Medicine	Telangana
55.	Dr. Madan Madhav Godbole	Medicine	Uttar Pradesh
56.	Dr. Devendra Dayabhai Patel	Medicine	Gujarat
57.	Prof. Harkishan Singh	Medicine	Chandigarh
58.	Dr. Mukut Minz	Medicine	Chandigarh
59.	Shri Arun Kumar Sharma	Others-Archaeology	Chhattisgarh
60.	Shri Sanjeev Kapoor	Others-Culinary	Maharashtra
61.	Smt. Meenakshi Amma	Others-Martial Art	Kerala
62.	Shri Genabhai Dargabhai Patel	Others-Agriculture	Gujarat
63.	Shri Chandrakant Pithawa	Science & Engineering	Telangana
64.	Prof. Ajoy Kumar Ray	Science & Engineering	West Bengal
65.	Shri Chintakindi Mallesham	Science & Engineering	Andhra Pradesh
66.	Shri Jitendra Nath Goswami	Science & Engineering	Assam
67.	Shri Daripalli Ramaiah	Social Work	Telangana
68.	Shri Girish Bhardwaj	Social Work	Karnataka
69.	Shri Karimul Hak	Social Work	West Bengal
70.	Shri Bipin Ganatra	Social Work	West Bengal
71.	Smt. Nivedita Raghunath Bhide	Social work	Tamil Nadu
72.	Shri Appasaheb Dharmadhikari	Social Work	Maharashtra
73.	Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal	Social Work	Punjab
74.	Shri Virat Kohli	Sports-Cricket	Delhi
75.	Shri Shekar Naik	Sports-Cricket	Karnataka
76.	Shri Vikasa Gowda	Sports-Discus Throw	Karnataka
77.	Smt. Deepa Malik	Sports-Athletics	Haryana
78.	Shri Mariyappan Thangavelu	Sports-Athletics	Tamil Nadu
79.	Smt. Dipa Karmakar	Sports-Gymnastics	Tripura
80.	Shri P R Shreejesh	Sports-Hockey	Kerala
81.	Smt. Sakshi Malik	Sports-Wrestling	Haryana
82.	Shri Mohan Reddy Venkatrama Bodanapu	Trade & Industry	Telangana
83.	Shri Imrat Khan (NRI/PIO)	Art-Music	USA
84.	Shri Anant Agarwal (NRI/PIO)	Literature & Education	USA
85.	Shri H.R. Shah (NRI/PIO)	Literature & Education-Journalism	USA
86.	Late (Smt.) Suniti Solomon (Posthumous)	Medicine	Tamil Nadu
87.	Shri Asoke Kumar Bhattacharyya (Posthumous)	Others-Archaeology	West Bengal
88.	Dr. Mapuskar (Posthumous)	Social Work	Maharashtra
89.	Smt. Anuradha Koirala (Foreigner)	Social Work	Nepal

The above details are also available on MHA website, mha.nic.in, and padmaawards.gov.in

Avoid social media shocks - Follow simple rules, says Maha Govt

2016-12-02T19:55:00.003+05:30

Social media is becoming integral part of one's life and what you post becomes reflection of you/your organization. Unauthorized access to the social media accounts by threat actors like hackers or other adversaries, at times may result in public embarrassment, reputational damage (Personal/Organizational), Law & Order situation etc.

How to avoid Social Media Shocks!

Following is the advisory issued from the office of Sp.IGP Cyber & PAW, Brijesh Singh, IPS – Govt of Maharashtra - to help you keep your Social media account safe:

1. Enable login verification (e.g. two factor authentication). This is the single best action you can take to increase your account security immediately.

2. Use a strong password (with numbers, characters, capitals, non dictionary word) that you don’t reuse on other websites/accounts. Change your password on a periodic basis (at least once a month).

3. More the number of people having access to your company’s social accounts, greater is the chance that those accounts may be compromised. Use social media management system where you can grant your employees access to your social accounts without disclosing sensitive account information to them.

4. Use a password manager to make sure you’re using strong, unique passwords everywhere.

5. Social media accounts are sometimes handled by multiple users. If the feature of authorizing each post is available, enable them.

6. While using your social media accounts from public computers, do take care to log off on use. Preferably do not login from public computers (cybercafes, Airport terminals).

7. Avoid using social media accounts containing personal information from public WiFi.

Call to book Breach Candy Club 'Scamsters'

2016-11-15T17:01:00.000+05:30

• Crores of rupees misappropriated, say many members
• Dethroned chairman Dipesh Mehta ran Club as his 'fiefdom'
• Mehta’s bid to paint Europeans Vs Indians racist angle demolished
• Members up in arms against his series of misdeeds, corruption

MUMBAI: A strong plea has been made to the Mumbai Police Commissioner to take criminal action against two heavy weights who perpetuated a scam running into crores of rupees and a series of misdeeds at Breach Candy Swimming Bath Trust, better known as Breach Candy Club in South Mumbai.

An earlier complaint against dethroned purported chairman Dipesh Mehta and his henchman Lalit Agrawal has been pending with the Joint Police Commissioner (crime) and now members want the investigation to be looked into again and action to be taken against the duo and all those responsible for the unprecedented scam in any registered charitable trust, says leading lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, who is a member of the Club and leading the fight for justice.

An enchanting view of Breach Candy Club

"It appears that in a complaint of forgery, criminal breach of trust and destruction of records, filed by some members against Dipesh Mehta and Lalit Agrawal and others on the managing committee at the time, a Chargesheet has been only Lalit Agrawal, which is much to the members ire," he said.

The genesis of the scam dates back to four years ago when Dipesh Mehta has been brought into the Club as a Legal Advisor to liaison with the BMC. Mehta subsequently manipulated and morphed his way to come on to the Managing Committee and later become Chairman of the Club, usurping all powers and run the affairs in a bizarre manner, members say. This despite the fact that the Constitution of the Club never doesn’t permit it. Even worse was that, if anyone raised their voice, they would be threatened to lose their membership.

The membership fee was then raised from Rs 7 lakhs to Rs one crore and Mehta’s committee enrolled members at their whims and fancy, by a manipulative web of using old forms of pending applicants, to accommodate new applicants willing to jump the queue in lieu of underhand monies. Whats even worse is, during their reign – Dipesh Mehta was Chairman and Lalit Agrawal was Member of Ballotting Committee, when the Dipesh is found to be not even a member of the Club and Lalit Agrawal’s membership form is prima facie found to be forged. In another shocking departure from usual procedures (don’t hold your breath because this is only one of many) there appear to be no balloting committee meeting minutes, when all these new members seem to have been taken in. The fact that there was a 50% jump in the membership amply proves this.

Mahesh said some of the series of misdeeds perpetuated by Mehta and Co include: causing a loss of Rs 22 crore in just three years, manifold rise in expenses, bid to carve out an acre of the Club plot in an apparent bid to hand it over to a developer, collection of crores of rupees as membership fee and appointment of key senior employees who would carry out his orders. Additionally, it seems Mehta’s Legal Firm (Dipesh Mehta & Associates) were also paid legal fees by the Club and some of his secretaries were made members whilst other juniors were on the Club payroll month on month. Again, why did this happen? It seems asking these questions is just taboo!

Mehta tried to take shelter under his claim that he was being opposed by a section because he was not of European origin. But then again, in an email of 27 January 2009, when some persons ask Dipesh Mehta (who has become Chairman by then) if Indian Nationals can be accommodated on the Managing Committee, he flatly refuses saying it would need an amendment to the Constitution of the Club. This is the same person who is now screaming ‘racism’ as his only card.

Members who opposed Mehta and his misdeeds sought to dispel his theory and pointed that it was a myth propagated him. “In fact, both European and Indian members are unitedly fighting the battle against the scam,” said one businessman who has been the member since 1972.

Mehta and his Committee had not filed audited reports with the Charity Commissioner for three years and the membership records are not traceable.

Mehta took away the sensitive original documents of the Trust from the custodian HSBC Bank on the pretext that the Bank could not preserve them and with the criminal intension of getting transferred the title of the Trust property. He subsequently kept them with IL&FS after some members smelt the rat and raised a hue and cry, it is alleged.

Mehta also allegedly threatened the Club staff with dire consequences if they opposed or spoke against him and several criminal complaints have been filed against him with the police.

When all of this was noticed, the members called for an Extraordinary General Meeting on 21 October 2013 and – by following the procedure in the Constitution – voted Mehta and his Committee out and voted a New Managing Committee in. Yet, these persons did not relinquish charge and so the New Managing Committee had to file a case in the Mumbai High Court. After a long drawn legal battle (in which again shockingly Dipesh and gang bled the Club’s coffers to fund the litigation of over 5 Crores whilst members pooled in their resources) the Mumbai High Court passed an Order on 29 October 2015 vindicating the stand of the New Managing Committee and holding that Dipesh and gang were validly removed, Mahesh said.

Not to miss one important detail in this myriad twists and turns of the scam, during the time that the case was being heard in the Mumbai High Court, in November 2014, one of Dipesh’s associates on the Managing Committee Mr. Vikram Malik filed an affidavit placing on record an entirely new Constitution of the Club, a Constitution in which he alleged that – all the provisions that Dipesh and gang were in violation off – had actually been deleted in the Original records and did not exist, but that no one had ever realized these deletions from 1967 till 2014 – but eureka Dipesh and gang had realized it and so therefore, by a stroke of good there was no illegality that Dipesh and gang had committed. Through their own diligence and common sense, the New Committee was able to explain and show to that the deletion marks on the Original Records was the handiwork of an interested person and thus the original records were intentionally tampered.

Of course, in its Order, Justice Gupte of the Mumbai High Court had come down heavily on the fact that the original records seemed to have been prima facie tampered with and, whilst not expressing any final opinion on who tampered with it, held that the law presupposes that a presumption ought to be against the person who would benefits from such illegal act of tampering.

Moreover, the fact that Dipesh and Lalit could not even prove their primary membership of the Club was found to be a telling factor.

Inevitably, Dipesh and gang appealed the Order and the matter is pending in the Appeal.

During the pendency of the Appeal and as a stop gap arrangement for a few months while the Appeal is heard,

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur appointed a three member administrative - retired Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna, former Bombay High Court Judge R Y Ganoo and a senior partner from Ernst & Young – to look after the day-to-day affairs of the Club.

The Club was formed in 1878 and reserved only for Europeans till much after the Independence. In 1967 the Bombay City Civil Court allowed a new constitution where Indians and other nationals were allowed to be Members, but management was to be retained by Europeans as per the terms of the Principal Indenture for which the Trust was founded.

Hello CM, Wanted: War Memorial in Mumbai!

2016-10-30T13:12:00.000+05:30

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat Message dedicating this Diwali to soldiers defending the country’s borders amid tremendous odds, a national body of communication professionals has launched a campaign for a War Memorial in Mumbai.

“The financial capital, which also houses the Western Naval Command, is out to have a permanent War Memorial. Several people from Maharashtra have also sacrificed and continue to do so for the nation,” said B N Kumar, national president of Public relations Council of India (PRCI), and a trained war correspondent.

“This is part of our series of social communication endeavours and we are keen to communicate to all concerned to work on a War Memorial in Mumbai,” said PRCI chairman emeritus and chief mentor M B Jayaram.

“Recently, we have seen a war memorial in Dharamshala which is a huge tourist draw and serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by our soldiers. It was heartening to see many tourists saluting the soldiers and taking selfies and posting them on the social media,” Kumar said.

PRCI will tweet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others and seek people's support for the memorial.

PRCI said part of one of the mills lands could be used for the war memorial. Or between the State government and CIDCO, they could look at a suitable place in Navi Mumbai.

The War memorial can house war planes, battle tanks, and artillery guns, apart from plaques highlighting some sacrifices and achievements.

This can also inspire the youth to join the armed forces which offer adventurous life and are one of the large employers with pretty decent salaries and perks and even post-retirement benefits.

New ‘local’ Rly station near Panvel soon ?

2016-10-25T11:39:00.002+05:30

· Suresh Prabhu responds to Sena MLA Barne’s demand for Bhingarwadi station

MUMBAI: Hopes of a new suburban railway station near Panvel on the trans-harbour line of the Central Railway have soared with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu positively responding to Shiva Sena MP Shrirang Appa Barne’s demand for it.

Mr Barne, MP from Maval Lok Sabha constituency, has been representing to Mr Suresh Prabhu a new suburban station at Bhingarwadi on Panvel-Karjat line to serve the commuting needs of eleven villages which have been unserved by rail service so far.

Barne says people from the eleven villages under his constituency – Khanavali, Poyanje, Bhingarwadi, Bhingar, Shedung, Vardoli, Bherle, Belavali and Machiprabal – have been facing innumerable difficulties in the absence of a railway station close to them.

In his latest letter to the Minister, Barne pointed out that Panvel-Karjat section has just three stations – Vchikale, Mohope and Chawk. Moreover, Mohope is a crossover and never operational as a station since the station is inaccessible by road.

He, therefore, suggested station at Bhingarwadi which is reachable by a 60 mtr wide road that passes under the rail line, connecting the national highway. It is also accessible by the surrounding 11 villages.

Mr Prabhu as initially responded to Barne stating that the proposal was being examined and subsequently he informed that the Chief Commercial Manager of Central Railway has been asked to study it and report urgently.

Mr Barne said with the connectivity from Bhingarwadi the people of his constituency coukld become part of the rapid urbanization that has been talking place in this area. The national common goal of affordable housing could be effectively met with peripheral developments like suburban rail connectivity, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, a Central Railway committee report has said the traffic on the Central Railway has been rising at 4% a year where as it is falling by 1% annually due to the real estate boom in Central suburbs. The pressure on CST-Panvel section is more than that of CST-Kalyan line.

The committee of Railway officers, civic administrators and public representatives which has gone into rising trend of deaths on tracks has highlighted the need for acquisition of 150 new trains, increasing the frequency of trains, stabling lines (parking places for trains) at Panvel, Thane and Kalyan. It particularly stressed on the need for induction of ten new rakes in trans-harbor section since no addition has been made during the last ten years.

The report pointed out Navi Mumbai and its surrounding areas have since emerged as the new realty destination, thanks to the infrastructure boom in the area.

The committee has been appointed at the instance of Mr Prabhu himself who was moved by a video clip showing the falling of a youth from a speeding train that went viral. The panel admitted that ten people die daily on an average on the Central Railway’s suburban section and another ten get seriously injured.

The committee suggested a Rs 21,000 crore makeover plan for the Central Railway whose new General Manager Mr Akhil Agrawal said the report is being studied. He said the Central Railway is looking for constructing stabling lines in areas like Thane, Kalyan and Panvel since space is a major constraint in Mumbai city.

The report - which has been signed by MPs Rajan Vichare, Poonam Mahajan and Arvind Sawant, apart from S K Sood, (then General Manager of Central Railway), Ketan Goradia (Commuters Association), L R Nagwani (NGO), Ajoy Mehta (BMC Commissioner) and E Ravindran (Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Commissioner) - is now placed on the CR website.

Deaths on CR Tracks: Can Be Explosive by 2030!

2016-10-07T19:57:00.000+05:30

Ten people die daily & ten get seriously injured

Central Railway Panel suggests Rs 20,000 cr makeover Plan

Focuses on Parking for Locals at Panvel, Thane, Kalyan

Underground loop at CST, off Pdemelo Road

MUMBAI: Twentyone year old Bhavesh Nakhate wouldn’t have risked his life to catch a crowded train and precariously hang on to the coach’s handles had he known that there was another train in just two minutes.

But unfortunately, there was no train in two minutes and Bhavesh had to take that particular ‘local’ at Dombivali on his way to CST. Many people were hanging on to the train and there was someone who was shooting the journey on his mobile from inside. Suddenly, you see Bhavesh slipping away between Kopar and Diva. Thud. He falls and he was dead. The video clip went viral creating a sensation in social media.

Moved by this, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered both Central and Western Railways to study the accidental deaths and come out reports to improve the situation.

The Central Railway came out with a report which, when implemented, could convert the suburban into Metro like services with two-minute headway.

The situation with the existing stock can be “explosive” by 2030 as the number of casualties will multiply manifold due to open doors on the trains, the committee cautions and stresses that CR trains need air-conditioning and door closures much before the Western Railway

The committee which had four MPs - Kirit Somaiya, Rajan Vichare, Poonam Mahajan and Arvind Sawant – apart from S K Sood, (then General Manager of Central Railway), Ketan Goradia (Commuters Association), L R Nagwani (NGO), Ajoy Mehta (BMC Commissioner) and E Ravindran (Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Commissioner).

The committee members deliberated and finally signed a big report which is now placed on CR website.

http://www.cr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1455618669775-Report%20on%20Review%20of%20Rising%20Trend%20of%20%20Accd%20Deaths%20in%20BB%20sub%20sys.pdf

The “Report on Review of Rising Trend of Accidental Deaths in Mumbai Suburban System” comes out with a Rs 20,000 crore makeover plan for CR including.

Some pointers from the report are:

· Purchase of 150 new trains

· Door closures and A/C trains

· Additional platforms and stabling lines (parking for trains) at CST, Thane, Kalyan and Panvel

· Disaster management plan

· ROBs, fencing of tracks and so on

· Committee discusses at length on the lack of parking places for trains which creates congestion (drag) on the system and leads to delays in train running.

· Committee suggests ways to increase frequency of trains at two minute intervals by providing for loops, stabling lines etc.,

· Underground loop at CSR and stabling lines at Thane, Kalyan and Panvel discussed.

· Thane, KDMC and BMC commissioners were also on the committee and signed the report.

· The situation with the existing stock can be “explosive” by 2030 as the number of casualties will multiply manifold due to open doors on the trains, the committee cautions and stresses that CR trains need air-conditioning and door closures much before the Western Railway

· To be fair to CR, the committee recognises the fact that CR works at 400+% capacity on normal days and at times even exceeds 800+% capacity and calls for additional exclusive platforms to handle suburban trains, new trains to bridge the gap, and stabilizing lines to help double the services.

· The panel envisages that half of the projected investment is to go for acquiring new rakes, while the stabling lines or parking places for trains to reduce piling up of rakes – akin to bumper-to-bumper road traffic - will be developed on self-financing basis.

· Discussing the pressure on the existing system, the committee notes that at CST as many as 584 trains terminate and turn back in 20 hours. Similarly, 395 trains terminate at Thane, 256 at Panvel, 194 at Kalyan, 181 at Vashi, 72 at Karjat, 34 at Kasara and 30 at Khopoli.

· This leads to a drag on the rail network and leads to piling up of trains approaching these stations – CST, Kalyan, Panvel in particular – which in turn causes delays.

· To reduce this congestion and to improve efficiency of the network, the committee discusses at length proposals to construct auxiliary platforms and lay stabling/loop lines. The stabling lines and loops – proposed at CST, Kasara, Thane, Kalyan, Vashi and Panvel - will free the platforms and allow smooth flow of traffic since the rakes do not have to turn back as is the case now at most terminal stations.

· CR has stabling lines for about 120 trains, and the facility is being increased to accommodate another 29 trains. However, stabling lines for another 150 rakes needs immediate attention, the committee says.

· With the fate of CST-Panvel elevated corridor unclear and considering the rapid growth on the section, the committee says the only way to is CBCT or Communication-Based Train Control which can reduce the headway from four minutes limit of existing signaling system to two minutes.

· Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment for the traffic management and infrastructure control.

· The Committee notes that the introduction of CBTC, at a cost of Rs 800 crores, can lead to requisition of 35 rakes and as many stabling lines in Panvel-Roha and Panvel-Karjat sections. This should be done immediately under MTP by the Railways and the Government of India.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently promised to take up the CBTC issue with the Railways.

CR GM Akhil Agrawal also promised to study the report and he also indicated that the Railway is looking beyond Mumbai City for parking places in places like Thane, Kalyan and Panvel.

With Suresh Prabhu himself taking keen interest in the suburban services, one hopes to see some action on this important report.

Prabhu was in Mumbai recently appreciating the beautification of 36 railway stations under Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan campaign.

Hope he will also focus on Beauty With Safety and Punctuality.

Sahara says it deposited more than Rs.14,000 crores with SEBI

2016-07-17T17:30:00.000+05:30

Saharasri offers gratitude to all who stood by Sahara in difficult times
Sahara has already deposited more than Rs.14,000 crores with SEBI, but in the last 43 months, SEBI has repaid only around Rs.50 crores to the esteemed Investors, of course after verification all these monies shall come back to Sahara

Mumbai, July 17, 2016:‘Saharasri’ Subrata Roy Sahara, Managing Worker and Chairman, Sahara India Pariwar,culminates his gratitude journey today at Mumbai. ‘Saharasri’ Subrata Roy Sahara had commenced the ‘Abhaar Yatra’ – an emotional gratitude journey to offer his thanks and appreciate the unprecedented support extended by crores of esteemed members, associates and over 12 lakhs workers of Sahara India Pariwar. During his journey which started on 27th May, 2016 from Hyderabad he travelled across India including cities like Vijayawada, Raipur, Nagpur, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Ranchi, Varanasi, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

While addressing the meeting of over five thousand managers, here at MumbaiSaharasri said, “I feel utmost proud to see the faith shown by you which has always been the real strength of Sahara India Pariwar.” The event saw the emotional outburst of many workers who were reduced to tears on seeing Saharasri among them. People wanted to touch him and shake hands with him, or take hisphotographs.
He further emphasized, “Sahara India Pariwar has always had absolute faith in the Indian Judiciary and we strongly believe that justice may get delayed for various genuine reasons but will prevailand it does, in the end and same will happen in Sahara SEBI case as well.”

Police ‘brutality’ on Canadian bizman: NHRC notice to 13 cops, 2 lawyers

2016-03-18T17:13:00.000+05:30

Cops raid Arnool Jamal’s room in wee hours in August 2013

MUMBAI: Acting on a complaint of a Canadian businessman of harassment by Mumbai police, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has served notices on 16 people, including four senior police officers, five constables and two lawyers.

This may be the first time that as many as 13 police personnel from Mumbai police have been served NHRC notices. They have been given four weeks time to respond to the notice, as per information posted on NHRC web site.

The complainant, Alnoor Jamal, a Canadian senior citizen of Indian origin, in a strongly worded complaint raised issues of extreme high handedness and police brutality on part of the officials of Mumbai police, who on the instructions of Shobhit Rajan, a local real estate businessman, and his two local lawyers swooped down on him and his indisposed wife at 0130 hours on August 29, 2013 at his hotel room in South Mumbai.

In his petition to the NHRC, Jamal named senior officers ACP Shivajitrao T Kolekar (Bandra Division), Police Inspectors Vikas Daulat Sonavane, Bapurao Narayan Pawar and Chagan Raghunath Jadhav and PSI Cellists Baptist D’mello (of Khar Police Station) and Lawyers Vibhav Krishna and Maurya of lawfirm M/s Juris Concillis.

Jamal said the entire police action is recorded on CCTV of the hotel and he cited hotel staff as the witness to the episode as the latter was present with him throughout.

He urged NHRC to take suitable legal action be taken against all responsible.

Jamal had earlier petitioned the PMO who had referred the matter to the Maharashtra Government for inquiry.

The genesis of the case goes back to Jamal’s complaint against Rajan of indulging in criminal activities, including fraud, misrepresentation, money laundering, and direct theft from this joint venture company.

Jamal told NHRC that on Shobhit Rajan’s instructions, officers of Khar and Marine Drive Police Stations “have displayed high level of corruption, complete lack of accountability and professional ethics, and defiance of law. The police apparatus has allowed itself to be miss-utilized by Mr. Shobhit Rajan who in cohorts with unscrupulous lawyers have displayed wanton and complete disregard for the rule of law.”

“They intimidated and threatened my wife aged 62 and me and coaxed us to settle our disputes with Rajan on his terms or face immediate arrest after barging into the privacy of my hotel room,” he said.

Alnoor Jamal and Shobhit Rajan have several disputes in respect of Parke Davis property now called Rajaskaran Tech Park (Logitech Park). Jamal claims that Shobhit has used his muscle power by using his lawyers and police machinery as tools to intimidate Jamal into settlement.

"The depravity of these policemen was brought out in the report of October 18, 2013 prepared by the Senior Police Officer, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone XI, Mumbai, Mr. Cherring Dorje. In spite of this Report, the local Indian authorities have refused to take any action against any one of them" he said in his plaint to NHRC.

Parts of Dorji’s report accessed by us, finds these policemen guilty of serious misconduct and recommends severe punishment. "The audacity of the police and especially the lawyers Vibhav Krishna and Maurya forcefully entering the privacy of a hotel room in the dead of the night where my wife and I were resting is unheard off even in remote Africa. I'm surprised such lawyers are given licenses by the bar council of India. They have acted like criminals"

Earlier, Supreme Court had dismissed Shobhit Rajan's petition challenging the Bombay High Court Order that quashed all cases against Alnoor Jamal's uncle Nazir Mussa, a UK based businessman, who was wrongly implicated in a criminal case by Shobhit Rajan.

Jamal said Mussa was forced to suffer the ignominy of imprisonment of nearly a month before he was granted bail by Bombay High Court which later was found to be a frivolous case and accordingly quashed and set aside by the High Court and then by the Supreme Court. Mussa, he said, was picked up the police from the CCI Club of Mumbai, when he was playing cards, even though he had nothing to do with the dispute.

Concept PR wins multiple new mandates, ramps up teams across verticals

2015-10-19T14:38:00.002+05:30

· Clients encompass genomics, sports, realty and BFSI

MUMBAI, October 16, 2015: Concept PR, part of India’s largest independent communication group Concept, is on a high growth path and has signed up a series of new clients and has started ramping up operations.

The agency’s new client acquisitions, in the face of multi-agency pitches, include the sports portfolio of IDBI Federal Life Insurance, spanning cricket, grassroots football and distance running, realty giants, K Raheja Corp, Sheth Corp and Century Real Estate, India’s first e-ticketing company Kyazoonga, telecom major Matrix Cellular that provides telecom solutions for Indian travellers going abroad, and MedGenome & Manipal Hospital in the healthcare sector.

Aggressive growth - Ashish Jalan

“We are happy that our teams have been doing well and winning businesses across verticals, from genomics, e-commerce, telecom to healthcare to sports and BFSI. These wins underline the core strength of our consultancy, which is to craft strategies that enhance a client’s desired image while delivering quantifiable benchmarks. We are on road to aggressive growth and are ramping up our teams across cities,” said Ashish Jalan, Director and CEO, Concept PR.

Some other companies who signed up contracts with Concept PR in the recent past include ThatsPersonal.com - India’s leading adult health and wellness e-commerce site, Groupe SEB - world leader in small household equipment, Tookitaki - a decision support system ( DSS ) company head-quartered in Singapore, and SciGenom Research Foundation, a not-for-profit organization working to promote science in India through research and education.

Concept PR, with 10 owned offices and effective service network covering the length and breadth of the country, services clients across verticals such as BFSI, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Healthcare and Pharma, Sports and Lifestyle, IT, Telecom, Legal and Tax, apart from handling pre-IPO build up, IPOs and road shows.

The company also has dedicated Digital Communication and Investor Relations teams.

Concept PR is a part of India’s largest communication group: Concept. The much awarded public relations consultancy is powered by over 250 professionals having offices in 10 cities and an associate network of 36 representatives.

The consultancy is a major player in BFSI, Infrastructure & Real Estate, Engineering Power, Oil & Gas, IT & Telecom, Media, Entertainment & Sports, Education, Healthcare and Diversified Corporates.

Concept PR also has a full-fledged Digital Communications and Investor Relations practices with a sizable and growing clientele.

IDBI Federal ties up with Cricket Association of Bengal

2015-10-14T18:54:00.000+05:30

IDBI Federal Life Insurance will sponsor all age group teams from the CAB for various domestic cricket tournaments, including Ranji matches.

Kolkata, 14^th October 2015: IDBI Federal Life Insurance has announced its partnership with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to strengthen state’s cricket endeavors. Sourav Ganguly at the helm of affairs as the youngest ever president and taking charge of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), has already created a roadmap to reinvigorate the state’s cricket dynamics. And with this association, the Vision 2020 project will establish to hone meritorious talent and develop them into high-class players to play for the national side.

Speaking on this association, Sourav Ganguly, President - the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) said, “Bengal cricket in the last couple of years has been making steady efforts to build a supply line of national team players. The most significant of these projects is the ‘Vision 2020’ which has in its fold eminent cricketers like VVS Laxman, Muttiah Muralitharan, TA Sekhar to change the face of Bengal cricket. We are glad that IDBI Federal Life Insurance understands the importance of such initiatives. Like us, they too believe, the assurance and support it needs to hone upcoming cricketers. I would like to thank IDBI Federal Life Insurance for coming forward and partnering with us to continue making this a grand success.”

On this occasion, Vighnesh Shahane, CEO of IDBI Federal Life Insurance said, “Sports has always been a force for good. IDBI Federal Life Insurance’s vision is to inspire positive change that helps people shape a better future and live their best lives. Bengal cricket is going through dynamic changes and the different projects that the association has undertaken just add to the vibrant spirit of the game. We are happy to be a part of the CAB’s ambitious journey- it promises to bring about positive changes for the game of cricket at the national as well as international levels. I am confident that this association will be a stepping stone for the stars of tomorrow. We are truly excited about this collaboration and would like to thank the CAB for selecting us as their partners in this journey.”

IDBI Federal Life Insurance will sponsor all age group teams from the CAB for various domestic cricket tournaments, including Ranji matches.

Born reporter Olga Tellis hits half century in journalism

2015-08-11T15:27:00.001+05:30

Olga Tellis paying tributes to S M Gothoskar

Olga Tellis, Consulting Editor of the The Asian Age, has just completed 75 years, and has hit OVER a half century in journalism. One of the best political reporters, she chased and tracked down important breaking stories and interviewed everyone who mattered in the political firmament – Sharad Pawar, George Fernandes, Datta Samant, etc. Reporting for magazines like ‘Sunday’ and the ‘Sunday Observer’, she rose to be a pioneer in the interview format.

Later in her career she shifted to business journalism, and took up the assignment of Business Editor of ‘The Asian Age’ where she continues now as 'Consulting Editor'. When asked how long she will continue in journalism, she said: “Forever, if my employees so wish… I don’t know anything else.”

“This is truly rare landmark of over 50 years of journalism and the Press Club-Mumbai will felicitate her with on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 3.00 PM.

To mark the event there will be a short discussion on: ‘Journalism: Then and Now’ featuring two long-time associates of Olga – Arun Sadhu, freelance journalist and writer, and Dinkar Raikar, Chief Editor of the Lokmat Group, says Gurbir Singh, Press Club Chairman.

PRCI calls for justice for Misbah Quadri

2015-05-30T11:51:00.002+05:30

MUMBAI, May 30, 2015: Public relations Council of India (PRCI), the premier body of PR practitioners across the country, has taken serious note of the injustice meted out to Ms Misbah Quadri, a young PR professional who has been denied rental accommodation in Mumbai on religious grounds.

PRCI president (national executive) B N Kumar said in a statement that “We are shocked that Misbah was denied accommodation on religious grounds. It is absolutely ridiculous that in a secular and democratic country she was asked to sign a note saying that she won’t the builder or broker responsible if she is harassed because she is a Muslim.”

PRCI has also sent an email to Mumbai Police Commissioner Mr Rakesh Maria requesting to conduct a high level and thorough inquiry into the incident that violates the constitutional rights of an individual. “We have full faith in Mumbai police,” he said.

“We express solidarity with Ms Quadri and hope that the police will conduct quick investigation and ensure justice to her,” Kumar said.

Prannoy Roy blasts ‘ghastly tsunami’ of tabloid journalism

2015-05-01T14:51:00.002+05:30

· NDTV Co-founder says credibility of TV news channels is at stake

· Equals eye-ball chasers to ambulance chasers

· Calls for stricter anti-defamation laws and speedy legal process

· Receives Life Time Achievement Award @ Press Club-Mumbai’s national media awards

MUMBAI, May 1, 2015: Blasting the trend of ‘tabloidisation’ of Indian news channels, veteran anchor and NDTV co-founder Dr Prannoy Roy has called for stricter anti-defamation laws.

Referring to the increasing levels of sensationaliation of news among English and even Indian language TV news channels, Dr Roy cautioned that the ‘ghastly tsunami’ of tabloid journalism will spell death knell for the electronic medium and as it impacts credibility of news reporting.

He was speaking at The Press Club-Mumbai’s national media awards event last night acknowledging the Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed on him.

Dr Roy stunned the audience when he cited the example of a woman news anchor of a Hindi channel who annolunced: ‘break ke baad, rape story’.

Interestingly, Dr Roy’s critical comments come close on the heels of Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash’s statement at a Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) event at New Delhi where the latter expressed concern at inadequate self-regulatory mechanism among media houses and their race for TRPs. Mr Prakash suggested that the Press Council must be empowered with strong legal provisions to deal with all media, including TV news channels.

Dr Roy went a step ahead and said there should be stricter anti-defamation laws than what they are today. But he hastened to add that this aspect should be dealt by legal machinery and judiciary. The government should have no role at all, he emphasized.

“Indian media thrives on punishment-free environment,” the veteran news anchor said and opined that journalists are getting slack. It will be tough to recover once they lose credibility and the recent political developments amply demonstrated this, he said.

He felt that the current legal framework is inadequate to deal with defamation cases which keep piling up and prosecution taking years and years.

Pointing out that the news channels are adopting the tabloid culture apparently to capture eyeballs, he equaled eye-ball chasers to ambulance chasers – a term used for lawyers who seek business at accident spots and hospitals.

Continuously harping on tabloidisation of TV journalism, Dr Roy felt that the advertisers are also equally to blame for encouraging sensationalism. Advertising planners must build an element of ‘quality-with-credibility’ in their spends while they too chase eyeballs to capture the viewers’ attention, he said.

In this context, he pointed out that NDTV does not practice tabloid journalism and that the channel won the coveted Most Trusted Media House award for the second year in succession.

He cautioned the young journalists against getting “too close to the sources”. This could also impact credibility as there is a danger of the news story emanating from such ‘sources’ getting coloured.

Dr Roy strongly batted for Net Neutrality, but said the culture of “unrestricted anonymity” of posting on social media is a big threat to the society. Promoters of social media sites should build in a technology structure to raise alarms when the anonymous people post comments that could hurt religious or cast sentiments of the people that could lead to violence and communal disturbances.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who was the chief guest at the event, suggested that media houses should work on ‘Making News’ while chasing ‘Breaking News’. A lot of positive news left uncovered in this new trend, he said.

The union government, he said, is committed to freedom of press and that at no stage does it want to suppress dissent. In a vibrant democracy like India, media has to be anti-establishment to ensure proper checks and balances, he said.

The showstopper of sorts for the evening was interesting panel discussion – “Celebrating the Voice of Dissent- participated by senior journalists Shekhar Gupta, former Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express and Srineevasan Jain of NDTV and Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook. The discussion was moderated by Sachin Kalbaug, the Editor of Mid-Day.

The media professionals expressed concern at some politicians turning ‘mini dictators’ and trying to threaten the freedom of speech.

During the awards event, Dr Roy was felicitated with the Life Time Achievement Award by the Railway Minister, along with CEO of Star TV Uday Shankar and Mumbai Press Club President Prakash Akolkar.

Dr Roy was chosen for the award for the yeomen service that he had done for TV journalism – and he was selected from a shortlist of senior editors by a survey among 200 journalists all over India, and a final unanimous consideration by the Managing Committee of the Mumbai Press Club. The previous recipients of Lifetime Achievement award were late Vinod Mehta, Kuldip Nayar, N Ram, and Mrinal Pande.

The RedInk awards – into its fifth edition - was held at the Jamshed Bhabha Auditorium of the National Centre for Performing Awards at Nariman Point here, which among others was attended by crème da la crème of Indian journalism. Top media practitioners across the country were present at the glittering event, which this time around was themed ‘Celebration of Dissent’.

The evening started with two-minute silence to mourn the death of thousands of people in a devastating earthquake in Nepal and parts of India including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

“The journey of the RedInk awards in the last five years has been thrilling. We started with two categories and today we have close to a dozen categories. It has grown in size and has been appreciated across the country. This year, we have received 800 plus entries and that speaks for itself,” Press Club Chairman Gurbir Singh said.

The RedInk Award for Journalist of the Year, instituted for the first time, has gone to Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV for his consistent investigative work epitomized in his series ‘Truth versus Hype’ and other programmes. Similarly, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, was selected as the Impact Editor of the Year for his ability to capture eyeballs and expand audience reach with his ‘News Hour’ show.

Scroll.in was be awarded the ‘Best News Start-Up of the Year’ for scaling up its influence rapidly as an alternative source of news and features.

Besides, nearly 20 journalists were given awards for their best stories in print and TV – which was judged by an elite panel of judges for categories including Business, Crime, Environment, Health & Wellness, Human Rights, Lifestyle & Entertainment, Politics, Science and Innovation, Sports and The Big Picture.

Star India is the Presenting Partner for Mumbai Press Club Redink Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2015. The awards partners are Aditya Birla Group, Indiabulls Housing, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Seven Hills Hospitals, Lunkad Investments and JSW Steel.

Winners of Mumbai Press Club Redink Awards 2015 are:

BUSINESS:

Print Mr Dinesh Narayanan, The Caravan Magazine

Television Mr Dibang,ABP News

CRIME

Print Ms Leena Reghunath, The Caravan Magazine & Mr Vinod Kumar Menon, Mid Day

Television Mr Tarun Nangia & Mr Dipu Rai,Zee Business

ENVIRONMENT

Print Mr Sharad Vyas, Mid Day

Television Mr Umesh Kumavat, ABP News & Mr Rajat Singh, Aaj Tak

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Print Mr Johnson Poovanthuruth, Deepika & Ms Nikita Saxena, Caravan

Television Ms Vrushali Purandare, TV -9

HUMAN RIGHTS

Print Mr Salil Tripati, The Caravan Magazine

Television Mr Shams Tahir Khan, Aaj Tak

LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT

Print Mr Tanul Thakur, The Big Indian Picture

Television Mr Jujhar Singh, NewX

POLITICS

Print Mr Dinesh Narayanan, The Caravan Magazine

Television Mr Jitendra Dixit, ABP News

SCIENCE & INNOVATION

Print Mr Shamsheer Yousaf, Fountain Ink Magazine

SPORTS

Print Mr Rahul Bhatia, The Caravan Magazine

Television Ms Suprita Das, NDTV

THE BIG PICTURE

Winner Mr Hari Adivarekar, Yahoo Originals

Runner-up Mr Hemant R Padalkar, DNA

IMPACT EDITOR OF THE YEAR : Mr Arnab Goswami Times Now

NEWS START-UP OF THE YEAR : scroll.in

JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR : Mr Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV

LIFE-TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : Dr Prannoy Roy, NDTV

Affordable housing: Maha to ease rules, wont mind criticism, says Fadnavis

2015-04-22T19:45:00.001+05:30

· CM calls upon developers to work towards ‘Housing For All by 2022’

· NAREDCO Conclave helps focus on key issues of real estate sector

· Ministers, developers focus on transparency, quick decisions

MUMBAI, April 22, 2015: Promising that the new housing policy of Maharashtra will be pro-people, Chief Minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis today said his government will amend rules and regulations to facilitate execution of affordable housing for the millions of people across the State.

Delivering the keynote address at the day-long conclave - ‘Vision Maharashtra – Housing for All by 2022 - hosted by NAREDCO (National Real Estate Development Council), Mr Fadnavis called upon the developer community to work closely with the government and build low cost houses for the poor and lower middle class.

“We have taken the issue very seriously and are committed to implement it,” he said and declared: “We will make the laws flexible and I am ready to face criticism.”

He admitted that cumbersome laws and taxation must go to help developers but ultimately this should lead to affordable housing. In this context, the new development control rules (DCR) for Mumbai will ensure that the discretionary powers of officials are reduced to the minimum and the entire process becomes transparent.

Referring to the just trashed DP (development plan) for Mumbai, Mr Fadnavis said it had large scale and blatant errors and provisions that would help only few individuals. He asked the BMC to rectify the mistakes and publish the DP again.

CM Fadnavis being felicitated at NAREDCO Conclave

He clarified that till the pendency of the new plan, the old plan of 1991 would be in force. The government , however, adhere to the principle of following “strictest of the two” (old and new) rules and ensure that no one takes undue advantage.

About the Pune DP, which has been pending for eight years, he said a three-member committee has been appointed to expedite the process of finalising it.

Mr Fadnavis announced that the State government came out with the Right To Service Act to ensure transparency in various government departments to provide proper services in proper time at a proper cost. Every department has to notify the services it provides and the cost etc., The Act will also have provisions for legal recourse if people do not get proper services.

NAREDCO President Sunil Mantri said the government’s target of housing for all by 2022 is a gigantic task. “We from developer’s side would like to commit ourselves to do whatever possible to ensure that the target is met,” Mr Mantri said and called for making the housing policy conducive to development and not an obstacle.

Stressing for housing reforms, Mr Mantri called for single-window system of clearances and easy finance for developers and home buyers. Housing sector is highly labour intensive; he said and pointed out that it is capable of generating thousands of jobs and ensuring wellbeing of several families.

Mr Mantri suggested that to ensure speedy execution of projects, the government could accept the approvals by architects and give adhoc approvals within 72 hours of submission of plans. He also called for increased FSI for Affordable Housing and other reforms which could not only create housing stock but lead to additional revenues to the government and municipal corporations.

State Housing Minister Prakash Mehta proposed that the government could reduce premiums to be paid on FSI and TDR and make lands available to developers who in turn could give a certain percentage of buildings free of cost to the government. The Government would in turn sell them at low cost to the poor and the money thus recovered would wipe out the Rs 3.5 lakh crore financial burden the government has inherited from the previous regime.

He said the government is keen to create green channels for speedy clearances of housing projects meant for the poor.

State Finance Minister Mr Sudhir Mungantiwar said the government will do the walk-the-talk and talk only what can be implemented.

The government will also focus on developing infrastructure. The 3000 KM long state highways will be developed into national highways.

He called upon the developer community to join the government in building new Maharashtra. The government will effectively use technology to check corruption by minimising the human interface for clearance of plans.

Industry Minister Mr Subhash Desai congratulated the CM for scrapping the Mumbai Development Plan (DP). He stressed the fact that BMC should be the nodal agency to coordinate between various authorities such as PWD, MMRDA, MHADA, Railways, Airport authority in the development process of Mumbai. This would result in uniformity of thought and process in the overall interest of the City.

Mr Desai also called upon developers to build houses for the economically weaker sections and the low income groups.

The day-long conclave, in which several Maharashtra Ministers and government officials participated, was aimed at finding solutions to the vexed issues of affordable housing. KPMG in India was the knowledge partner.

The conclave addressed various issues in order to overcome the housing deficit in the State and strategies and action plan to augment supply of housing stock especially targeting the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) segments where the shortage is as high as 96%. Creating a sustainable frame work and mechanism to take care of mis-match between demand and supply in future was also discussed at the conclave.

Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman - Conclave Committee, NAREDCO said, “The process of bringing housing to one and all can only become a reality with the active participation of all government bodies, developers and policy makers. NAREDCO provides a perfect platform for bringing together all stake holders to ensure the realisation of dreams of millions of people to have homes of their own.”

Arvind Mahajan, Head, Infrastructure and Government Services, KPMG, the knowledge partner of the Conclave, said in his presentation that Maharashtra would need 100 lakh houses by 2022 with 50 lakh each from rural and urban areas. This would require an investment of 215 billion dollars.

KPMG recommends that the state government should focus on a four-pronged strategy: development of new economic centres, strong transport infrastructure, conducive business environment and rejuvenating the existing cities.

NAREDCO is under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Over 600 delegates from all over the country participated in the conclave including representatives of the Central and State governments, State Development authorities and Housing Boards, besides real estate promoters, developers, banking and housing finance institutions, foreign direct investors, private equity players and town planners.

Several corporate honchos from the construction and urban infrastructure industries, urban planners, top developers, private equity firms, housing finance companies and banks also joined and shared their thoughts at the conclave.

About NAREDCO:

National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) was established as an autonomous self-regulatory body in 1998 under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India. It is in this year that the Government of India redrafted the National Housing & Habitat Policy, giving due importance to the Housing and Real Estate sector, thereby declaring housing for all citizens by the year 2010. The Indian housing and real estate sectors and the allied industries hailed the establishment of NAREDCO, as the apex national body for the real estate industry and visualized it as a single platform where Government, industry and public would discuss various problems and opportunities face to face which would result in speedy resolution of issues. It was formed with the mandate to induce transparency and ethics in real estate business and transform the unorganized Indian real estate sector into a matured and globally competitive business sector.

The National Real Estate Development Council strives to be the collective force influencing and shaping the real estate industry. It seeks to be the leading advocate of developing standards for efficient, effective, and ethical real estate business practices, valued by all stakeholders of real estate sector and viewed by them as crucial to their success. NAREDCO works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of real estate industry in India, partnering industry and government alike through advisory and consultative processes.

About KPMG in India

KPMG in India is the Indian member firm of KPMG International and was established in September 1993. It strives to provide rapid, performance-based, industry-focused and technology-enabled services, which reflect a shared knowledge of global and local industries and its experience of the Indian business environment. KPMG in India provides services to over 2,700 international and national clients in India and has offices in Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

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Affordable housing: Maha to ease rules, wont mind criticism, says Fadnavis

• Crores of rupees misappropriated, say many members
• Dethroned chairman Dipesh Mehta ran Club as his 'fiefdom'
• Mehta’s bid to paint Europeans Vs Indians racist angle demolished
• Members up in arms against his series of misdeeds, corruption

Ten people die daily & ten get seriously injured

Central Railway Panel suggests Rs 20,000 cr makeover Plan

Focuses on Parking for Locals at Panvel, Thane, Kalyan

Underground loop at CST, off Pdemelo Road