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Vizag becomes a fully energy efficient railway station, to save lakhs of rupees in costs

OpIndia Staff
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Vizag becomes a fully energy efficient railway station, to save lakhs of rupees in costs

Vizag or Visakhapatnam Railway Station has become a fully energy efficient railway station, making it the first one to be so in the Waltair railway division. Following this achievement, the station has been classified in the A1 Category of energy efficiency. This has mainly been achieved by replacing the conventional light with light-emitting diodes (LED) and making use of solar energy.

These include generating 1000 KWp On-Grid power via rooftop Solar Photo Voltaic systems. These systems have been set up on four buildings namely, electric Loco Shed, Diesel Loco Shed, Divisional Railway Hospital and the Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) office. In total, about 3,360 solar panels have been used for this project.

A total area of 16,250 square metres has been utilised atop of vacant rooftops. In total, these panels would generate a whopping 3,600 units of energy per day.

The solar grid is part of a PPP partnership which will take care of its operations and maintenance for the next 25 years. The project has cost about 8 crores. As per Mukul Saran Mathur, the DRM of Waltair, this energy efficiency will save about Rs 3.17 lakh per year, by reducing the load on railways’ power grid.

In December it was reported that the Kacheguda Railway Station, which falls under the South Central Railway (SCR), had become India’s first energy efficient ‘A1 category’ railway station. Some of the measures it undertook include, replacing 1,312 lights with LEDs and switching over to energy efficient Brushless DC Electrical (BLDC) motors fans for 370 ceiling fans. This was expected to reduce costs by about Rs 14.08 lakh per year.

In recent days, the railways have undertaken other pro-environment measures. This includes converting a diesel powered locomotive into an electric one by using indigenous technology. This task was completed in a record time of two months.

The intent of the railways to move towards a greener future was evident back in 2014 when it was reported that, Centre of Railway Informatics System (CRIS) had developed a web based Electrical Energy Management System called “RAILSAVER”. This was pegged as a useful tool for the Indian Railways to reduce its carbon footprint.

Times of India repeats the brazen lies of Congress without basic fact checking

Ashutosh Muglikar
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Times of India repeats the brazen lies of Congress without basic fact checking

In what could be a possible hitjob the ‘Times of India’ indulges in trickery to misguide its readers. An article appears in the backdrop of a fierce twitter batter between BJP Karnataka Twitter ID and Karnataka CM Siddaramaih. The Twitter fight started after Congress President Rahul Gandhi brazenly accused that “BJP government has ‘waived off’ loans worth Rs. 2.5 Lac crores of 15 rich people in the country.”

Aside from the fact that the amount of this lie has been increasing exponentially with every election from 1,10,000 crores in Bhiwandi, to 1,30,000 crores in Gujarat to now, 2,50,000 crores in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi, the ‘yuva neta’ seemingly doesn’t even know the basic difference between a Write off and a Loan Waiver. Perhaps, this would help.

What is a Write off V/s Loan Waiver?

As per RBI guidelines and the policy approved by Bank Board(s), non performing loans including those where full provisioning has been made in the Bank Balance Sheet on completion of four years, are removed from the Balance Sheet of the bank concerned. This is, inter-alia, done for tax benefits and capital optimization. The borrowers of such loans continue to be liable for repayment. This mere accounting entry is called as “Loan Write off”

In simpler terms Balance Sheet shows the position of asset and liabilities of an entity. Loan given out by a bank is an asset for the bank and liability for the borrower. When the loan becomes a ‘Non Performing asset’ and the bank does not “write off” the same, then asset side of the bank continues to show the wrong position of the state of affairs. Further, the bank will also have to book interest on the loan as an income and even pay Income tax on that amount meanwhile the loan is not being recovered as of that moment. Hence to avoid these issues the loan is ‘written off’ and for all practical purposes, the recovery procedure continues. Loan write off does not mean it is not recovered or that the person liable to repay his loan is let off the hook.

Whereas Loan Waivers are cases where governments pay the amount owed by say farmers on their behalf to the bank. It is pertinent to note that the Banks have no right to waive off any loan. It is the government which decides to pay on behalf of farmers. Banks get the full amount back from the government treasury. Only farmer loans are waived off. No corporate loans have been waived off.

Fake News by Times of India

The Fake news by Times of India begins with the headline itself. It says that Siddaramaiah makes BJP “admit that loans to industrialists were written off”, giving the impression to the reader that somehow, the distortion being peddled by Congress and the muddying of definition between loan waiver and loan write off is true.

The BJP Karnataka handle made a pertinent point differentiating between loan write off and loan waiver. It even mentioned that the loans were “written off” which means that they will be recovered.


This was of course spun all over against by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah to conflate the meaning of the two terms and reiterate the lie that farmers loans should be ‘waived off’ just like Industrialists loans have been waived off, implying, that the industrialists don’t have to repay the waived off loan, which we now understand is a lie.

The Times of India article uses this tweet as a basis for their headline saying “Siddaramaiah made BJP admit that loan to industrialists was written off”.


Even though this is fairly clear and established fact, many commentators and politicians alike keep repeating this same lie to every few months to gain political mileage. The Times of India article also plugs tweet by Salman Anees Soz which is a complete distortion.


I had explained this fallacy earlier. For example, for SBI Financial Year 2014-2015, the recovery of written off loans was about 12% and for FY 2015-2016 it was about 14%. This doesn’t mean that the rest of the loans couldn’t be recovered or the banks had stopped trying to recover those loans. Therefore, Salman Soz is wrong and worse, Times of India is way off the mark for taking his lies and distortions as the gospel truth.


While the opposition has turned lying into a habit, one wonders what editorial standards are being followed by Times of India to further such blatant distortions as the gospel truth to its readers. One wonders on whose behest is this being done and how far will the media go with their lies.

‘Janeudhari’ Rahul Gandhi adds a ‘secular’ twist to his Sringeri Mutt visit

OpIndia Staff
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‘Janeudhari’ Rahul Gandhi adds a ‘secular’ twist to his Sringeri Mutt visit

The  Karnataka elections are fast approaching and Congress President Rahul Gandhi has begun his temple visit spree with much fanfare. Yesterday the ‘janeudhari youth icon’ visited the Sringeri mutt in Chikmagalur district. Rahul Gandhi even donned the traditional attire of dhoti and shalya when he reached the temple town yesterday.


Rahul Gandhi met Bharti Tirtha Swamy, the Sankaracharya of the Mutt and interacted with students of the Dakshinamaya Veda Pathshala. His visit was termed symbolic by many as his grandmother Indira Gandhi too had visited the Sringeri Mutt and Saradamba Temple before the 1978 by-polls. Indira Gandhi had won the by-polls and it had revived her political career after the blow of emergency.

While in the Saradamba Peetha, Rahul Gandhi was reportedly informed that Tipu Sultan had helped the temple during its hour of crisis. Rahul Gandhi then proclaimed Tipu Sultan a symbol of communal harmony. KPCC spokesperson K Diwakar stated that Rahul inquired about Tipu’s connections with the temple and when he was told about a letter the Muslim ruler wrote to the then seer and some donation he provided he was impressed.

In another attempt at the strategy of soft Hindutva, Rahul announced his party’s government will take all possible steps to promote the ancient Sanskrit language and manuscripts. He also promised a dedicated institute for Sanskrit.

Rahul’s Tipu hailing was criticised by many in the social media.


Tipu Sultan’s atrocities and forceful conversions during his rule are widely discussed among historians and his suggested ‘secular’ credentials have been criticised. The Congress government in Karnataka was also widely called out for celebrating Tipu’s birth anniversary last year. At a time when Congress is trying its hands at soft Hindutva, one wonders whether Rahul Gandhi really means these “temple visits” considering that during one such visit this time, he was seen praising a murderous tyrant who converted and killed Hindus.

Karnataka’s moment of reckoning is here

Ullas
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Karnataka’s moment of reckoning is here

The Lingayat – Veerashaiva issue in Karnataka is the scandal of 2018. The ramifications are deep and severe – be it in the realm of politics or for the society in general. 2018 state elections may just witness one part of it. If the Central government approves the recommendation by the Siddaramaiah government, the Hindu backbone is effectively broken. Here’s why:

Definition of “Minority”:

It is general understanding, though people may disagree with the degree, that Congress is the party for minorities. Some people consider only Muslims to be minorities, some consider Christians, and the interpretation varies. By pushing the Lingayat – Veerashaivas into the minority category, the Congress wants to effectively usurp the core vote bank for the BJP. Let’s say in 2024, god forbid, if Rajdeep Sardesai analyzes Karnataka politics – he will shamelessly include Lingayat – Veerashaiva with Muslims. Though both groups have no common political interests today or maybe even in 2024. This will re-define the narrative and include Lingayats in the Congress vote bank.

Breakdown of Temples:

One of the key observations made by the Siddaramaiah government is that Lingayats – Veerashaivas (L-Vs) are not Hindus. In Mumbai-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions, Lingayat – Veerashaiva is a big chunk of the population and are devotees of various important temples like Mantralaya, Shrishaila and Tirupati in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Likewise, there are various Mathas that are important in Karnataka. By declaring Lingayat – Veerashaiva as non-Hindus, they will now be gradually ostracized by various temple management. This will lead to building more and more temples and places of worship for this new religion. The Congress party that always had an eye to loot the donations from temples, will now have a field day. This will result in the Congress lackeys having more and more say in these new places of worship. So another avenue for Congress to loot donations given by “bhakts” to the temples.

New Seers:

It is common knowledge that one small section of seers belonging to the Lingayat community supports the decision taken by the Siddaramaiah government. If approved by the Centre, these seers who now have a respectable position will become the “numero uno” within the new religion. If this proposal is rejected, they end up being nowhere. So, it is in their interests to fan emotions and ensure unrest with regards to this issue. Smart political management will be vital, in case BJP returns to power in the state.

Short-Term Politics:

Apart from Siddaramaiah, a couple of Congress MLAs are said to have a big hand in this decision: Vinay Kulkarni and M B Patil. These MLAs were elected in the Lingayat – Veerashaiva dominated areas in 2013, primarily due to vote split by the erstwhile KJP. Now with BS Yeddyurappa back in the BJP fold, these Congress MLAs are in vulnerable position for re-election. By engineering this split, they and many Congress MLAs in the Mumbai-Karnataka region are trying to break the Lingayat – Veerashaiva unity and support for BJP.

The initial response and observations on the social media give an indication that majority of people are against this move by the Siddaramaiah government.

By the looks of it, BJP has only one option in this situation. PM Narendra Modi must go to North Karnataka during the campaign season and effectively do a Rahul Gandhi – tear up the document given the Karnataka government in full public view and vouch for the unity of Lingayat – Veerashaiva people and re-affirm that they are Hindus. Of course, that is an ideal scenario, which we can no longer expect from the statesman Modi. But, any indulgence or tinkering with this decision will signal the end of BJP in the short term.

The tragedy of our times is that in its effort to fight BJP and ensure its own survival, Congress has taken the “secular” word too seriously. To such an extent that they are trying to create and push more and more people into the secular category. One must not mistake it to be a political gimmick. A well thought out plan is in the works. This has the bearings of long-term gains for the Congress party and its secular allies. It must be seen if India will entertain such machinations to ensure the return of the Gandhi clan.

Enforcement Directorate attaches property worth Rs. 68 lakh of Maoist leader

OpIndia Staff
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Enforcement Directorate attaches property worth Rs. 68 lakh of Maoist leader

In a bid to crack down on the financial resources of the Maoists in Bihar, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Monday has attached property of family members of notorious Maoist leaders Pradyuman Sharma and his brother Pramod Sharma, to the tune of Rs. 68 lakh. Pradyuman, who is wanted in 51 cases carries a reward of Rs. 50,000 declared by the Bihar government.

Pradyuman is alleged to be the commander of the Bihar-Jharkhand zone and has gained Rs. 45 lakh through extortion in order to ‘secure’ finances for his children’s education. According to ED, his brother, Pramod, is alleged to be secretary of the CPI (Maoist)’s Banawar sub-area zonal committee, and has been accused of using the illegal funds to enrol his son and daughter in coaching institutes across Kota and Patna.

The agency has provisionally attached the duo’s immovable and immovable assets and is scrutinizing their assets on the basis of 67 FIRs and chargesheets filed. The contractors who are accused of collecting levies and laundering cash on the behalf of Pradumn Sharma are also being investigated.

Earlier in February, the ED had attached property worth Rs. 86 lakh of top Maoist leader Vijay Yadav aka Badka Bhaiya, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Yadav was allegedly in-charge of Madhya Zone of Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee of CPI (Maoist). The investigation was initiated on basis of more than 88 FIRs and chargesheets filed against him.

CPIM challenges Abhishek Singhvi’s nomination in the Rajya Sabha, claims nomination papers forged

K Bhattacharjee
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CPIM challenges Abhishek Singhvi’s nomination in the Rajya Sabha, claims nomination papers forged

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has challenged Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s Rajya Sabha nomination from West Bengal. The CPI(M) has alleged that his nomination papers are forged and will approach the Election Commission to disqualify his nomination.


Earlier today, Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, had alleged that the Congress had bowed down to the RSS.


The Left has been an ideological supporter of the Congress party since decades. The conflict regarding Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s nomination appears to be a case of friendly fire in a state where the CPI(M) earlier enjoyed complete domination over its opponents. The TMC had earlier announced their support to Abhishek Singhvi for the Rajya Sabha election.

Investor Mahesh Murthy who claimed to be pro-women, booked in second sexual harassment case

OpIndia Staff
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Investor Mahesh Murthy who claimed to be pro-women, booked in second sexual harassment case

Angel Investor Mahesh Murthy has seen his reputation go from bad to worse after he was booked in a second sexual harassment case on Monday. This comes after he was arrested in February for sexually harassing a 32 year old woman. He was later granted bail in this matter by a court.

Murthy a venture capitalist is also known for being an investor in Left leaning self-proclaimed ‘media watchdog’, Newslaundry.

In the current case, a 41 year old woman approached the Bandra police on Monday, with the allegation that he sexually harassed her about 14 years ago. As a result of which an FIR was registered under section 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertain to sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman.

The woman has alleged that Murthy inappropriately touched her at a meeting in a Bandra coffee shop in 2004.

As per reports, this incident has come to light following the first victim coming out with her allegations which prompted others to do the same. It also claimed that the victim had first approached the Khar police station following which the case was transferred to the Bandra police station.

Murthy in his defence has called the allegation as completely false. He also claimed that he had sued her for these “defamatory claims” about a year back, following which he supposedly got a favourable stay from the Bombay High Court.

Incidentally the saga involving Mahesh Murthy dates way back.

In January it was reported that Murthy was booked under sexual harassment charges, after the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote to DGP, Maharashtra, requesting personal involvement in the case. Prior to that in October, technology website FactorDaily’s founder had accused Murthy of regular sexual misconduct.

Considering all this, in what might be a classic case of hypocrisy, Murthy has been seen taking pro-women stances on Twitter when it comes to topics like objectification and being preachy about their issues.

Journalist associated with channel which live telecast 26/11 attacks calls for ‘retribution’ against ISIS

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist associated with channel which live telecast 26/11 attacks calls for ‘retribution’ against ISIS

While we mourn the killing of 39 kidnapped Indians by the hand of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in Mosul, NDTV journalist Vikram Chandra called for ‘retribution’ for the killings.


NDTV was one of the channels which was telecasting the 26/11 attacks for which the Supreme Court pulled up the electronic media for putting national security in jeopardy. Interestingly, Vikram Chandra has never said a word against the enemies within, like violent Islamist outfit PFI or youth from Kerala joining ISIS. Perhaps a ‘retribution’ against this could work, like speaking up against radical Islamist terror outfits within India.

Chandra got called out for his misplaced sense of vengeance and his own lack of responsible behaviour to curb Islamic terrorism within India.


The hypocrisy of Chandra also got called out.


And some even had genuine suggestions which could be starting point of such ‘retribution’.


Someone even had a genuine question on what exactly can we do in a country torn by war and terrorism?


To which, Chandra responded by referring to ISIS as ‘criminal gang of thugs’.


Is he asking India to go to war with ISIS? Is he baying for the blood of misguided Muslims who just want to establish their caliphate? Especially since little over two years back, Chandra was debating if ISIS is even a threat to India.


Having said that, seeing a journalist associated with NDTV asking for ‘retribution’, however misplaced it may be, it is a still a good sign.

WikiLeaks Cable reveals massive corruption in then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Government

OpIndia Staff
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WikiLeaks Cable reveals massive corruption in then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Government

A cable from the American embassy in New Delhi to the Secretary of State of the USA in 1976 published on WikiLeaks is expected to send shock-waves across the country as it reveals the extent of corruption prevailing in the country during the Congress regime. The cable reveals that the corruption files were kept in the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s office and no major figure could be charged without her approval. It also says that bribery that involved contributions to the Congress party were considered acceptable.

The cable also reveals that Sanjay Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, offered his assistance to the British Aircraft Corporation through the Maruti company, which is addressed as a firm “controlled” by Sanjay Gandhi. The cable also mentions one Civil Aviation Minister who was paid a bribe by an Indian manufacturer for a particular contract.

The cable mentions that the bribe collected mostly went to the party funds minus a commission for the collector. The Congress party is referred to as the ‘United Givers Fund’. The cable also touches upon the havoc wreaked by the ‘License Raj’. It says, “For every document which requires three signatures when one would have been sufficient there are three bribes instead of one.” It also mentions the prevalence of corruption across all spheres of life, from booking a train ticket to securing a seat at the hospital. The author also makes a pertinent observation, “One could easily come to the cynical conclusion that there is a direct and positive relationship between laws against corruption and the extent of corruption itself, i.e., each such law only means that there are more people to bribe.”

The cable also mentions a World Bank Official telling an Embassy Official that he had never seen a case where the original low bidder was awarded a contract. “The World Bank requires the award of contracts to the low bidder but repeated tenderings combined with specification changes are instituted by the GOI until the appropriate bidder becomes low bidder as well,” says the cable. It is also mentioned that punishments for those who take bribes for the Congress are “rare” but should the bribery involve a politician from the opposition camp, then it usually involves strict punishment.

The now unclassified cable reveals that the American official observed that the massive corruption perpetrated by the then Congress government benefited the rich while the poor suffered as a consequence. Reading the communication, one gets the impression that the huge corruption underway in the country during the second term of the UPA government was hardly anything new but merely a continuation of the decades-old legacy of the Indian National Congress.

The cable was recently brought to light by rebel Congress leader, Shehzad Poonawalla on Twitter.

BJP tears into Congress over its alleged links to controversial data collecting agency

OpIndia Staff
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BJP tears into Congress over its alleged links to controversial data collecting agency

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday led the BJP’s charge by tearing into the Congress party over its alleged links with the controversial data collecting agency Cambridge Analytica.

We had reported a few days back that Facebook had suspended Cambridge Analytica over it obtaining information of Facebook users without their approval. This issue has since then snowballed into a big controversy, which includes people advocating the social networking website’s boycott.

The Congress party too has been dragged into this controversy owing to the party allegedly being involved in talks with the firm to seek its help in winning elections, ahead of the Gujarat polls last year. The ambiguity over the party’s relations with Cambridge Analytica led to the speculation of the party actively seeking its controversial services.

The BJP has now openly made this a political issue with its senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad not holding back in his attack.

Terming Cambridge Analytica as Congress’ “Bhramhastra”, Prasad in his conference questioned whether the Congress was trying to employ illegal schemes like data manipulation and data theft while raising the point about alleged links between the party and the data agency. Taking it further he also questioned the magnitude of data of Indians which has been shared with the agency.

Other allegations raised by Prasad pertained to the agency seeing an alleged tool in corruption and sex workers to achieve its goals.

While bringing in the angle of alleged electoral influencing by the firm during the Brexit polls and US elections, Prasad decided to make his attack about, “free and fair elections in India and democratic values of the country”.

He thus went on to assert that the misuse of Social Media including Facebook would neither be permitted nor tolerated. This line might raise speculations whether the Modi government is planning on launching an official investigation into possible malpractices by Cambridge Analytica in this country.

Interestingly while the press conference was playing out, the head of Congress’ social media team decided to come out and outright deny allegations of the party’s involvement with the agency:


Randeep Surjwala said, “Indian National Congress (INC) or the Congress president (Rahul Gandhi) has never used or never hired the services of a company called Cambridge Analytica. It is a fake agenda and white lie being dished out by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.”

Congress rebel leader Shehzad Poonawalla, in turn, accused Surjewala of lying and tweeted an email copy where Ovleno, associated with Cambridge Analytica, through one Amrish Tyagi had approached him for working with Congress and Rahul Gandhi.


This raises the question as to why did the Congress party wait for so many days before denying the links when it could have simply killed the matter by issuing this “clarification” the day Cambridge Analytica ran into fresh trouble.

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