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Time of India
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Call for official celebration of VP Singh's birth anniv
1 2 Lucknow: A demand was made to officially observe former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's birth anniversary by the govt, similar to celebrations for other former PMs and CMs. The appeal was made by general secretary Mandal Masiha VP Singh society, Abdul Naseer while chairing a programme organised to commemorate VP Singh's 94th birth anniversary in the city on Wednesday. Naseer urged the central and state govts to implement all recommendations of the Mandal Commission in full. Chief guest, former minister and Mohanlalganj MP R K Chaudhary said: "Singh's historic work on social justice must be enforced completely. Today, democracy is in danger, and it is our collective responsibility to protect it. Parliament is the temple of democracy and the Constitution, not the Sengol, should be its centrepiece." Speakers stressed that representation—not just reservation—is necessary across all sectors, including top-level services, private jobs, ownership, contracts and leases.
Indian Express
14-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
To fix accountability for Air India tragedy, the right questions must be asked
By Jitender Bhargava Thursday's Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad is troubling for multiple reasons. More than 250 people are reported to have lost their lives, including more than 20 on the ground. Different nationalities were involved, reportedly including 53 British nationals. The tragedy took place during the day and was repeatedly shown on television. The fact that Air India has had a relatively good safety record of late has made the tragedy even more shocking. This is also the first time that a Dreamliner 787-8 has been involved in an accident. It appears that between the takeoff and the crash, the pilot simply had no time. Pilots receive rigorous training to deal with a variety of situations. They are trained to land in an area free of houses and buildings if the aircraft faces a snag during takeoff. The pilot in charge of the ill-fated 787-8 had 8,000-plus hours of flight time. Situations such as the one that arose on Thursday are also a part of the simulation training that pilots undergo. But the time available to the pilot and the buildings just below the aircraft seems to have made it impossible for him to steer the passengers to safety. Civil aviation rules state that airports should be planned at a distance from buildings. Increasingly, however, cities are getting closer and closer to airports. The losses on the ground have made the tragedy even more heart-rending. Almost every aircraft accident is followed by a familiar knee-jerk response — that flying is unsafe. But an airline should not be judged by a one-off accident. International safety standards — measured via accidents per million passengers, per million takeoffs and landings — are the right way to gauge the record of an airline. Where does Air India stand in this respect? Its records show that it is as safe as most other airlines. Its trustworthiness should not be judged by Thursday's incident. Differentiating between the airline's record when it was run by the government and after Tata assumed control is also not the right way to look at the accident. What matters is not the age but the airworthiness of an aircraft. The government has done well to issue directions pertaining to the inspection of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, including a review of take-off parameters. This will inspire some confidence in the public which may been shaken by the crash. In February 1990, an A320 was involved in a gruesome air crash in Bengaluru that claimed the lives of 92 of the 146 people on board. Then-Prime Minister V P Singh ordered the grounding of all A320 Airbuses. Such en masse grounding shouldn't be repeated after Thursday's tragedy unless Boeing issues an advisory. Let Boeing take a call. For several reasons, the tragedy has acquired a global dimension. With an increase in the number of flights and passengers in the past few decades, global safety standards have vastly improved. Thursday's incident will, therefore, be analysed threadbare. It will not be the Indian government alone that decides the course of the investigation. Representatives of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Boeing, and the US's Federal Aviation Administration are likely to be involved in the probe. Officials of the US National Transportation Safety Board could also be part of the investigation committee. That also means the probe could be a long-drawn-out affair. But we should be patient. The involvement of multiple authorities is likely to make the investigation more thorough and its findings could hold lessons for the aviation industry at large. Many are jumping to hasty conclusions — theories like the tragedy being caused by a bird hit are being floated. The details will soon emerge because the black box has been recovered. They will be investigated, not just by Air India, but by all the concerned agencies, to ensure that there is no cover-up. That said, there are questions to be asked. What was the traffic record of the aircraft? Did it experience problems in the past? The aircraft's and the airline company's records can help us gauge flaws, if any. Complaints about the airworthiness of an aircraft are usually directed to the DGCA. The agency then sends a show-cause notice to the airline. We need to study not just the notice but the airline's response. We often read about airline companies being fined by the DGCA. However, does fining mitigate the safety risk? Does the authority follow up and ensure the safety violations are addressed? The probe into Thursday's tragedy must answer such questions. If any of the agencies involved — Air India, DGCA, Boeing — is found culpable, their accountability should be fixed. Accountability on all fronts demands a thorough investigation. That would ensure a proper closure for the families of those who lost their lives. A thorough probe would be the best tribute. The writer is former executive director, Air India
Hans India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
A uniform 10% EWS quota across states is quite contentious
The Union Government has been implementing a fixed 10 per cent reservation quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS), exclusively for the general category (GC) population (castes other than SCs/STs/OBCs) in line with the 103rd Constitution Amendment Act in 2019. When it was challenged, the Supreme Court (Janhit case) upheld it in 2022. Most state governments began implementing a 10 per cent EWS quota, irrespective of the percentage of the GC population, which varies from state to state. Ironically, reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs vary across states. Such universality in the EWS quota is QUITE contentious. There are also other contradictions regarding the policy basis of this specific provision. Initial attempts: The quota for EWS began after overcoming the hurdles posed against its implementation in 1989. The then prime minister V P Singh proposed a five to 10 per cent EWS quota. However, this did not materialise. Subsequently, the P V Narasimha Rao government took the initiative forward and in 1991 mandated implementation of 10 per cent EWS quota and 27% OBC quota. The Supreme Court, however, struck down the EBC-quota in the Indira Sawhney case (1992) while upholding the Mandal Commission's recommendation of 27 per cent OBCs quota. The reasons cited was that the EWS quota was made purely on an economic-criterion, which has been contended in the judicial scrutiny of OBCs reservation in various occasions. A further, 10 per cent EWS quota exceeds the 50 per cent ceiling laid down by the apex court (Balaji and other cases). Commission and Amendment: The UPA government in 2006 constituted a S R Sinho Commission to study economic backwardness among the general category (GC) population and recommend specific policy provisions. In its 2010 report, the panel suggested an economic criterion for identifying EWS in the GC population- all persons in BPL families and those with annual income below the non-taxable income tax slab. The NDA Government considered the Sinho Commission report and brought in the 103rd Constitution Amendment Act 2019. When it was challenged in the Janhit case, the Supreme Court in 2022 upheld the 10 per cent EWS quota, following which the Centre laid a less than Rs eight lakh income-criterion for identifying the EWS eligible among GC population. Subsequently, the Union Government's Expert Group retained the criterion. Pending the final verdict, the apex court permitted the criterion. Contradictions: Certain contradictions persist in the implementation of 10 per cent EWS quota. Firstly, its policy basis is itself contradictory; study, methodology and procedures. Kaka Kalelkar chaired the first Commission for Backward Classes (1953-55) and identified BCs on the basis of four indicators-social status, education, government employment and participation in industry, trade and commerce). The B.P. Mandal chaired the second commission (1979-80) devised a three-dimensional (social, education and economic) 11-indicator criterion for identifying backward classes. The thrust was on social, educational and economic dimensions of backwardness. The Mandal Commission conducted a massive survey across 405 districts, including in urban areas. Concomitantly, many state-level committees and commissions for BCs contemplated a rigorous criterion in identifying backward classes. In contrast, the Sinho Commission solely relied on economic criteria without such rigorous study and methodology. Its recommendations are based on its visits to states and Union Territories and interacting with officials and functionaries implementing the welfare policies, experts and civil society organisations. When they were contested, the judicial proceedings did not validate the methodology and procedures conducted for the commissions and committees. In all previous verdicts, the economic-criterion has been contended the most in identifying BCs. However, there is a marked difference vis-à-vis the Sinho panel report. Secondly, the EWS quota exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling is allowed while strictly restricting the SC/ST/OBCs reservation to 50 per cent. The SC/ST quotas are fixed in proportion to the population share in states. Hence, a space for the OBCs reservation quota, at the Centre and in states, is the balance. The OBCs quota is adjusted for the creamy-layer among the OBCs. The OBCs' creamy-layer criteria differ across the Centre and states. In contrast, EWS quota at the Centre and in states is not bound by the above limitations. Of course, exclusion of GC creamy layer benefiting from EWS quota is applicable on the Rs eight lakh income criterion, the basis of which is again contentious (verdict pending). The 10 per cent EWS quota across states shall also follow the same creamy layer criterion. It is not subject to varying income levels across states and differences between the Centre and states. Thirdly, the uniform 10 per cent EWS quota is contentious as the population of SCs, STs and OBCs varies across states. Neither is the EWS quota adjusted to the GC share in a state, nor the EWS creamy-layer income to the state income. When the Centre's 27 per cent OBCs quota is not mandatory across states, then why should the 10 per cent EWS quota be? For instance it makes sense if Uttarakhand implements the 10 per cent EWS quota as more than a quarter of its population come under the GC category, which is not the same case as regards other states, in proportionate terms. BCs are the losers: The OBCs are the losers. Each social category is entitled to equal opportunity. Following democracy's basic principle of proportionate representation, quota should be earmarked in accordance with the population share in the states. The Constitution has ensured that reservations are near to the population share of SCs and STs. However, most Indian states have OBCs that are in excess of 50 per cent of their state population. The OBC quota is around 32 per cent. In many states, around 10 to 15 per cent of the population are in the GC bracket. Quota is earmarked for all the four mutually exclusive social categories-SC/ST/OBC/GC. However, the difference between reservation quota and population share of each indicates it is the highest for OBCs and hence their relative deprivation is higher. As a result, EWSs in GCs are safeguarded more than OBCs, who are historically deprived. (The writer is Associate Professor and Coordinator (Research Cell on Education), CESS, Hyderabad
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
BLW wins top honour in Loco Cab Design at MSG meet
1 2 Varanasi: The concept and design of the loco cab developed by the Banaras Locomotive Work (BLW) was adjudged the best at Loco Cab competition organised as part of the two-day 42nd Maintenance Service Group (MSG) meeting that concluded on Saturday. The event, hosted at BLW, focused on the maintenance, technical upgrades, and design innovations aimed at improving the efficiency and driver-friendliness of electric locomotives. In the competition, BLW won first prize in the production unit category, while in the zonal railway category, the Lallaguda Shed of South Central Railway and Royapuram (RPM) of South Railway jointly secured the first position. The second prize was awarded to Kanpur, Ajni, and Waltair Sheds jointly. The third prize was given to DDU, Hubli, and Vadodara Sheds jointly. BLW General Manager Naresh Pal Singh congratulated the participants of the Loco Cab competition, in which loco cab interiors were designed with participation from 14 electric locomotives from zonal railways and production units across the country. The evaluation was based on driver cab convenience, design, and efficiency. A special exhibition showcasing innovations for the convenience and safety of loco pilots was also organised. Additional Member (Traction), Railway Board VP Singh mentioned that new locomotives will be equipped with AC and urinals, and these features will soon be added to older locomotives as well. Comfortable seats like those in Vande Bharat trains, LED headlights, and electric wipers will be installed in new locomotives. The goal is to install the 'Kavach' safety system in about 10,000 locomotives by December 2025. He also announced that two-bedroom facilities are being developed in railway rest houses for running staff. He mentioned that with the completion of 100 years of electric traction, the electrification of 100% of railway tracks nationwide will be achieved by the end of this year, leading to a surge in demand for electric engines. To meet this demand, production units and sheds are being rapidly expanded. The meeting included extensive discussions on technical problems in electric locomotives, potential solutions, and innovations to enhance driver convenience.
News18
21-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
National Anti-Terrorism Day 2025: Why It Is Observed On May 21?
National Anti-Terrorism Day 2025: In a bid to aware the youth about terrorism and the cult of violence, the National Anti-Terrorism Day is observed on May 21 every year. The day also commemorates the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated on May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur village near Madras, now Chennai. Following his demise, the Anti-Terrorism Day was established by the VP Singh government in memory of Rajiv Gandhi and to educate people about the adverse effects of terrorism and violence in society. Read along to know more about the history of Anti-Terrorism Day and its significance.
