QBullet: Omnipresent Amma, Govt’s Bad Debts, Garbage Wars and More

Read the top news and views of the day on QBullet.

File photo of the logo of the Reserve Bank of India. (Photo: Reuters)

1. Rs 1.14 Lakh Crore of Bad Debts: The Great Government Bank Write-Off

According to The Indian Express, bad debts shot up over three times from 2012. The report also says that 29 banks wrote off bad debts worth 1.14 lakh crores. The report quotes RBI’s response after an RTI was filed by the paper.

Asked about the details of the biggest defaulters, whether individuals or business entities, whose bad debts to the tune of Rs 100 crore or more had been written off, the RBI said: “The required information is not available with us.” Banks are required to report the bad debts on a consolidated basis, it said. 

Read the full report here.

2. Made in Head-En: Amma Finds Wedding Ambassadors

Supporters of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hold her poster. (Photo: PTI)

It was quite the surprise for 68 couples when they found out that they had to wear Amma stickers on their foreheads on Friday.

According to The Telegraph, the weddings took place at an event organised by the party in the run-up to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s 68th birthday.

After quick rituals at a temple in Udumalpet town, around 425 km from Chennai, the couples were taken to a community hall where they were seated to receive gifts and listen to speeches by party leaders. The crowning moment came when the newlyweds were asked to wear the golden cardboard headbands with a sticker showing Jayalalithaa’s smiling face pasted in the centre. 

Read the full report here.

3. Garbage Wars: AAP and BJP Should Run Delhi, Not Ruin It

The strike by sanitation workers in the national capital is leading to several problems. The fact that the city produces 10,000 tonnes of garbage and no cleaning means a stinky city is just the beginning of the problem.

According to Hindustan Times, the strike also includes thousands of teachers from municipal schools which now means that the students have no school which in turn means no free mid-day meal.

The strike also affects Delhi’s poor and very poor badly, whose need for healthcare and medical emergencies is met by six hospitals and 500 polyclinics and dispensaries run by the corporations, and whose 20,000 workers, including doctors, nurses and consultants, were also on strike for seven days before resuming work on the weekend. 

Read the full story here.

4. IAF Pilots Pop Pills to Get Fighting Edge

Indian Air Force pilots who need to undergo round-the-clock combat exercises, have a new Go/No-Go pills policy. According to The Times of India, these pilots are quickly popping pills to increase alertness levels and cognitive powers, among other things.

The ‘Go’ pill is Modafinil, which has gained currency in military aviation circles around the world for its alertness-enhancing and fatigue-managing properties. The ‘No-Go’ pill is Zolpidem, a sedative used to treat insomnia.

Read the full story here.

5. The ‘Lost Opportunity’ in Pathankot

The Hindu speaks with the NSG’s Director-General about the Pathankot operation. The NSG chief says that the force could have captured two of the involved terrorists alive while preventing the accidental death of Col Niranjan.

As soon as we placed the sensor [on one of the walls on the ground floor of the billet], a grenade was lobbed from inside. We presumed that one of the two terrorists was injured during the first few minutes as firing came from only one kind of weapon, which was a pistol. They did not use any other weapon like AK-47 but lobbed a lot of grenades. The man firing at us moved from one corner to another.

<b>RC Tayal, NSG Director-General</b>

Read the full report here.

6. The Villain in the Picture

Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani. (Photo: Pahlaj Nihalani’s Facebook page)

In an opinion piece in The Indian Express, AG Noorani argues that the CBFC is not just unconstitutional but also violates the basic Right to Freedom of Speech. The committee, headed by Shyam Benegal, that is expected to make suggestions to the Cinematographers Act is also not going to be much help, considering its limitations, Noorani writes.

The Centre can impose “president’s rule” on the Board by vesting in its hand-picked chairman or any other member the powers of the Board in relation to certification of films. The Centre wields uncontrolled revisional powers over everybody, including the appellate tribunal. It can uncertify a film already certified. 

Read the full piece here.

Also read: The Courts Can Tame the Censors, the Constitution Demands It

7. Stop the War: Parliament’s Budget Session Will Be Critical

File photo of Congress leaders at the Parliament complex. (Photo: PTI)

Political observers have one question on their minds right now. What will happen to the Budget session? There are high hopes, yet again, for the GST Bill. But with Modi and Rahul Gandhi taking potshots at each other when the former was in Assam, there are questions dangling over whether the Budget session is going to be a repeat of the Monsoon and Winter sessions.

According to an opinion piece in The Times of India,

We need a more mature politics of debate, rather than one of shutdown. Party interest cannot be greater than national interest. The PM’s broadside, which doesn’t augur well for the budget session beginning in two weeks, follows previously hopeful entreaties by finance minister Arun Jaitley that Congress would “see reason” on the crucial GST Bill as its original author, as well as “informal talks” between government managers and opposition leaders for the budget session’s schedule.

Read the full piece here.

Also read: Another Session of Parliament Ends With Business Unfinished

8. When Media Ignores Good Work Being Done

Hindustan Times has a heartwarming story about Punjabi folk in Britain who were among the first responders in the flood-hit areas.

The opinion piece talks about how, despite massive media coverage, the story of these young men and women got lost in the noise.

Political manipulation by media magnates explains some of the silence. Many use xenophobia to promote a wider agenda of isolation. Even The Times, under Rupert Murdoch, stokes fears about immigrants. But, this was not really racism. Ravi Singh of Khalsa Aid told me that he first encountered racism when he moved from a village in Punjab to Britain in the 1980s. “I don’t think the coverage was racist,” he said.

Read the full story here.

9. ‘We Contribute Equally – Differently-Abled Urgently Need Access, Education, Sensitivity’

The Times of India interviews Pratigyan Das, who topped the IAS exam in 2015. They speak about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to address the differently-abled people as ‘divyaangs’.

Accessible India is a very good move – accessibility is one of the biggest issues for the disabled. It’s even more difficult if they’re from a poor family. Not having accessible schools or transport makes education worse. Even if they go to school, when they realise their class is on the second or third floor and there’s no infrastructure or help, drop-outs begin.

<b>Pratigyan Das</b>

Read the full interview here.

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