Sep 15 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Law on sexual harassment at workplace boosts lawyers' biz

NamrataSingh

Mumbai:





Enterprising lawyers and gender equality experts have spotted a business opportunity in the new law against sexual harassment of women at work.With the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013 raising major concerns about corporate liability and a potential threat to reputation on noncompliance, organizations are turning to the pros.
This new breed of consultants helps companies with gender sensitization training, removal of unconscious biases among employees, and getting a clear understanding of the law — for a stiff fee, of course.
“In-house legal teams and HR may not have the necessary training and understanding to handle cases. Also, these require a lot of time and effort,” said Devika Singh, who found ed Cohere which specializes in issues like sexual harassment and workplace discrimination. Cohere’s client list includes banks, pharmaceutical firms, manufacturers, insurance companies and MNCs.
Nirmala Menon, founder of Interweave, a Bangalorebased consultancy that helps corporates with diversity-inclusion solutions through policy formulation and workshops for employees, says she has been getting requests from corporates to help them do the right thing. Lack of awareness about what consti tutes sexual harassment is the biggest hurdle, she says.
“Gawking, leering, innuendos or dirty jokes are still not seen as harassment,“ says Menon. So, she helps employees understand the nuances. Managers are told to look out for behaviour that could spell trouble later. “If people are cracking off-colour jokes in office, it is better to spot it early and warn them of the risks,“ says Menon.
Rainmaker, an online learning and content firm, has developed an anti-sexual harassment training solu tion called WorkSafe which is a hybrid of online and in-person training.
Given some high-profile cases of sexual harassment (like Phaneesh Murthy and Tarun Tejpal of Tehelka) in the recent past, the dominant fear among organizations is loss of reputation, which can have a bearing on profitability and share prices. Better than tarred reputations and a financial fallout, companies are focusing on prevention.
Which is why Alex sees this as a multi-million dollar opportunity . Depending upon the number of employees a corporate has, myLaw.net charges firms anywhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. Rainmaker has already tied up with 25odd companies and is hopeful of taking the number to 100 by the end of next year.
(With inputs from Sandhya Soman) For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com





PM Narendra Modi recalls Swami Vivekananda's message of Universal Brotherhood

New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has recalled Swami Vivekananda`s message of universal brotherhood, delivered in his soul-stirring address at World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on 11th September 1893.

"Through his address, Swami Vivekananda drew the entire world`s attention to our Nation`s rich history and strong cultural roots," the Prime Minister said.

""Sisters and brothers of America"…with these words of Swami Vivekananda, India`s message of universal brotherhood reverberated across the world," Shri Narendra Modi said. 

"There are 2 images of 11th September - one of the trail of destruction in 2001 and the other - the message of Swami Vivekananda in 1893. Had we followed Swami Ji`s message, history would never have witnessed such dastardly acts as we saw on 11th September 2001 in USA," the Prime Minister said.

"Let us remember the words of Swami Vivekananda and dedicate ourselves to furthering the cause of unity, brotherhood and world peace," the Prime Minister said.

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Sep 13 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

`India has 2nd-most child marriages in South Asia'

UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES





India had the highest number of unregistered children under age five between 2000 and 2012 and the second-highest number of child marriages in South Asia, according to a UN report which said the country still needs to improve immunisation coverage and stop gender-based sex selection.The report, Improving Children's Lives, Transforming the Future -25 years of child rights in South Asia, by the United Nations' children agency UNICEF analyses the progress made over the last quarter century on key issues that directly affect the lives of children in the region.
The highest rate of child marriage is in Bangladesh, where two out of every three girls marry before age 18, followed by India, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Almost half of all girls in South Asia marry before the age of 18. One in five girls are mar ried before the age of 15. These are the highest rates in the world.
In India, 43 per cent of women aged 20-24 were first married by the age of 18 between 2005-2013. Girls with no education are 5.5 times more likely to marry or enter into union as those with at least 10 years of education.
On gender-biased sex selection, the report said the practice is more prevalent in the west and northwest part of the country. The child sex ratio, which is the number of girls per 1,000 boys, among children aged 0-4 in India was 924.
The report also highlighted the impact of chronic malnutrition on children in South Asia, with nearly 40 percent of all under-fives suffering from stunted growth.

Sep 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

JUST IN JEST! - From `Ladies First' To First Ladies





Women aren't the power behind the throne, often they're beside or on it

Thanks to the feminist demand for a level playing field, the old-fashioned chivalrous courtesy of `ladies first' whether extended as an invitation to enter a room first, or take precedence on the lifeboats of a sinking ship ­ is increasingly being viewed as male condescension towards the so-called `weaker sex'. This token of male patronage is deemed to be part and parcel of a patriarchal society in which women who try to wear the pants are described as `bossy', while men who do the same are looked up to as `Boss'.In a reversal not just of words but of roles, the term `ladies first' is fast changing to First Ladies, suggesting that whether in the corporate world or in the political realm, women are often not just the power behind ! the metaphorical throne but are right beside it, if not on it. India has its share of both business and political czarinas. But the spotlight is currently on the First Lady from China whose impending visit is causing a stir.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping makes an official passage to India he is likely to be accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, who is widely regarded in her country as being more famous than her husband. Thanks to the huge fan following she has gained as a renowned singer, a talent that elevated her to the rank of a senior officer in the People's Liberation Army. Though the Chinese songstress need not necessarily call the tune on the home front, during her visit she will receive star billing along with her spouse. The official chorus of `HindiChini, bhai-bhai' could find a counterpart in the unofficial refrain of `Chini-Chini, Xi, Xi'.
The Chinese First Lady has already been compared with her American counter part Michelle Obama, whose current popularity rating in the US tops that of her husband. Barack is being barracked because he's seen as irresolute about policy on embattled West Asia, among other issues.
First Ladies have been known to make their partners and colleagues play second fiddle. It was famously said of Britain's `Iron Lady', Margaret Thatcher, that she was `the only man in her cabinet', a left-handed compliment that might equally have been applied to Israel's Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi.
Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law, who is said to have inherited some of the mannerisms and not a little of the populist ideology of the older Mrs G, declined to be a prime minister and chose instead to be an accomplished puppet-master, who wielded power by proxy. After the last general elections, with both the sun and the Son seemingly having set on Congress, perhaps it's time for India's so-called First Family to bring forth another First Lady . And Priyanka needn't even wait for someone to say `ladies first'.

Sep 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

My name is Khan and I am a Hindu, say many in this UP village

Ishita Mishra

Agra TNN





If there is one place in India that just doesn’t get the idea of ‘Love jihad’, it is Khera Sadhan in Agra. And that’s because of its peculiar history. During the rule of Aurangzeb (1658-1707), villagers there were asked to either convert to Islam or leave their homes. Faced with such a threat, almost all of them changed their religion then. After Independence, a group of local leaders exhorted the townsfolk to go back to Hinduism. Some did, others didn’t. But religion since then hasn’t mattered to the people here.“Why should it?” asks Vikram Singh, a Thakur in the village of about 10,000 roughly 50 km away from Agra. “That’s why I don’t understand this ‘love-jihad’ nonsense.
My mother Khushnuma is a Muslim, my father Kamlesh Singh a Thakur. My sister Sita is married to Inzamam and my wife Shabana is thinking of naming my newborn Santosh.” The tolerance of each other’s faith and an inherent secularism that has to be seen to be believed has endured. Today in Khera Sadhan, it is common to have a family of four brothers with two of them Hindu, two Muslim. Or have a husband who doesn’t care about the religion of his wife, or her children for that matter. Here, Muslims worship in temples and Hindus go to the dargah. Eid and Diwali are both sacrosanct.
Ask 55-year-old Shaukat Ali and he will tell you that he recently arranged for his youngest brother Raju Singh to marry Lajo, daughter of Sunil Thakur and Reshma.
The wedding ceremony will be attended by Shaukat’s brothers Rizwan Ali and Kishan Singh. The nikah will be held at a temple.
“We are amazed when we hear stories of people fighting about inter-faith unions,” says Salim Thakur, a Geeta and Quran by his bedside.
“My neighbour and first cousin Love Kush Singh has been offering Eid prayers in the village mosque for as long as I can remember.” Not all, though, are happy. Some say those in nearby villages make fun of them for being neither here nor there. “They say we are confused and ride two boats at the same time,” says a villager Karim Singh.
What is `love jihad', asks home minister
At a time when the issue of `love jihad' has emerged as a major polarizing factor in Uttar Pradesh, Union home minister Rajnath Singh chose to steer clear of the debate.
“What is love jihad?“ he asked reporters on Friday, feigning ignorance about the issue that ended up as a campaign tool in the run-up to the September 13 bypolls to 10 assembly constituencies in the state. The smile on Singh's lips, as he spoke, suggested that his silence on `love-jihad' was not unintentional.
Even after the reporters referred to some statements by BJP leaders asking Hindu girls to stay away from Muslims to draw his reaction on “love-jihad“, all Singh said was that “he needed to understand its definition“.





Sep 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

China to invest $100bn in India over 5 years

Piyush Pandey

Mumbai:





Chinese president Xi Jinping will bring along with him $100 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore of investment commitments over five years during his upcoming India visit next week. This is nearly thrice the $35 billion secured by PM Narendra Modi during his Japan trip.Xi will land in Gujarat on September 17 -Modi's birthday -following his visit of Tajikistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Liu Youfa, China's consulgeneral in Mumbai, told TOI, “On a conservative estimate, I can say we will commit investments of over $100 billion during our President's visit next week. These will be made in setting up industrial parks, modernization of railways, highways, ports, power generation, distribution and transmission, automobiles, manufacturing, food processing and textile industries.“ The Chinese consul-general's statements coincide with Modi's call for world class infrastructure projects after his review of major infrastructure sectors on Friday . The government also announced new projects worth Rs 9 lakh crore in energy, power, and roads.
China will initially invest $7 billion in industrial parks in Pune and Gandhinagar.“The Pune industrial park -spread across 5 square kilometres with an investment of $5 billion -will be for automobiles that will employ one lakh people and manufacture 1.5 lakh speciality vehicles.The Gujarat industrial park will be for manufacturing power equipment. China is also working on setting up an industrial park in Tamil Nadu for the textile sector and another one for the food processing sector,“ said Liu.
Chinese investments in industrial parks are just the tip of the iceberg as Chinese firms are eyeing over $50 billion worth of investments in modernization of the Indian railways and running bullet and hi-speed trains in India.Modi on Friday said that the railways have been granted clearance for 100% FDI, and therefore it should come up with a comprehensive plan for facilitating FDI in the sector.
“The first bullet train project was given to Japan, which was a government decision. We are optimistic of building India's next bullet train in India. Besides bullet trains, we want to connect the cities with high-speed trains with speed of 160 kmhr. We will also look at modernization projects of Indian Railways across the country ,“ said Liu.
China is willing to invest another $50 billion in roads, ports and the NDA government's ambitious river-linking plan. “India has over 600 reservoirs that need dredging work to provide better irrigation systems for the farmers.We are looking to work on that. Besides, our major thrust will be on construction of roads and ports,“ said Liu.
On Friday , road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced the launch of new roads and highways projects this year worth Rs 2 lakh crore.
Power minister Piyush Goyal said that $100 billion of investments are likely to flow into India's renewable sector in the next four years. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while meeting Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said that Odisha alone will receive about Rs 1 lakh crore worth of investment in the next five years in petrochemicals, oil & gas pipelines, LNG & LPG terminals, and strategic oil reserves to make it the `energy gateway' for eastern India.
The Chinese president is coming with a delegation of over 100 business heads, including those from China Harbour, China Railway Construction Group and Huawei, among others, and will address a business gathering of over 400 Indian CEOs in Delhi.The big four Chinese banks -Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank and the Agriculture Bank of China -are also coming with the delegation to give billions of dollars in loans to Indian infrastructure projects to be done in joint venture with Chinese firms.
“All major JV projects will be funded by Chinese banks.Major corporate houses like Tatas, Infosys, Reliance and Essar have already taken loans from these banks and the funding will only increase,“ said Liu. TNN

Sep 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

3% quota for disabled must in govt jobs: SC

New Delhi





The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to ensure 3% reservation for differently-abled persons in all category of government jobs, including in appointments and promotions to IAS.Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general Pinky Anand argued that reservation could not be given for promotion to Group A and Group B category .Dismissing the Centre's plea challenging a Bombay HC order, a bench headed by CJI R M Lodha said the government was taking a narrow view of appointment and “frustrating the reservation policy“ and legislation passed to benefit the disabled. P 12