Will Jerome Mathew Get A Lesser Sentence Because He Killed Neeraj Grover In The Heat Of The Moment?
A man can kill another without it being murder. For centuries, criminal law has grappled with situations where death is caused in the heat of the moment or under grave and sudden provocation. The consensus has been that this kind of slaughter is not the same as a cold-blooded, well-thought-out murder. It is what lawyers call “culpable homicide not amounting to murder’’ and is the last refuge of every accused in a murder trial.
This legal point will be of special significance in the case of high-profile trials such as the Neeraj Grover murder case in Mumbai and the Arushi murder trial in Delhi once they begin.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) lays down exceptional circumstances under which the accused is said to be guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and let off with only seven to ten years’ as opposed to death or a life behind bars. Death caused under grave and sudden provocation or in a sudden fight are two of the most common mitigating circumstances that are cited in defence. As far back as 1864, an accused called Zalim Rai was acquitted of murder after the judge held that he had killed in a fit of passion during a sudden quarrel.
What the courts consider is whether or not the totality of circumstances that led to the killing were provocative. Adulterous intercourse has been found to be a mitigating factor which an accused can plead to escape conviction for murder. In 1989, the Supreme Court gave the benefit of doubt to a man called Ajit Singh who found his wife and neighbour in a compromising position and fired at them, killing both. In a similar case, the Madras high court dropped the murder charges against a man who killed his wife and her paramour when he found them lying together in his house almost naked.
Whether it was the intention of the accused to kill the victim in the first place or not also plays an important role in determining whether or not his crime can be termed a murder. In 1879, a snake charmer, in an attempt to show off his skills, placed a poisonous snake on the head of a spectator, who promptly died after the snake bit him. The court, however, ruled that the snake charmer was guilty only of culpable homicide as he had no intention to kill the man. The test of “grave and sudden’’ provocation, say lawyers, is whether a reasonable man, belonging to the same class of society as the accused, and placed in the same situation would be so provoked as to lose his self-control. In 1966, the Kerala high court said that a killer husband could be said to have lost all self-control when his wife threatened to leave him forever without any prior reason and removed the ‘thali’ from her neck and threw it in his face.
However, when a man has had sufficient time to cool down and still goes ahead and kills, his act is considered a deliberate one and he must suffer the consequences. As was found by Amarjeet Singh who shot dead a man for molesting his sister. He first fired two shots and then reloaded and fired a third. The Rajasthan high court said in 1996 that the act of reloading showed that not all the shots could have been fired in the heat of the moment and held him guilty of murder.
The law books say that anger is a human frailty and thus crimes committed by an enraged person must not be treated at par with that executed by a cold-blooded criminal. There is no better illustration of this than the case of Shivalangiah from Karnataka, who, on a sudden impulse, squeezed the testicles of another man causing shock, cardiac arrest and sudden death. The Supreme Court in 1988 said that Shivalangiah’s deed amounted only to causing “grievous hurt’’ and not murder because he could never have imagined that his act could possibly lead to death.
Duo remanded to police custody
A magistrate’s court on Thursday remanded Jerome Mathew and Maria Susairaj to police custody until June 3 in the Neeraj Grover murder case. The duo was produced before magistrate A R Sawant Waghule in Esplanade Court amid protests by mediapersons who were not allowed inside the courtroom by policemen on duty.
The entire court appearance for Mathew and Susairaj lasted barely ten minutes. Their faces were covered to protect their identities. Mathew was dressed in a light green T-shirt and dark trousers while Susairaj wore jeans and a multi-coloured top
Kartikeya I TNN
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Can management gurus manage?
BUSINESS school professors make a living out of teaching management. Should we presume, therefore, that they know how to manage? Many people seem to think so.
R Gopalakrishnan of Tata Sons mentions some paradoxes he has come across (ET, May 19). A professor who specialises in conflict management happened to be going through a divorce. A professor of behavioural science simply could not get along with his colleagues. It seems legitimate to ask: what business do these people have to teach anything to others?
One could easily extend this logic to other faculty. Those who teach investment management ought to become billionaires by playing the market. Faculty who specialise in leadership should be automatic choices for the director’s post — if not the prime minister’s. Marketing faculty should be able to market themselves very well — some at least should become famous “brands” themselves.
Professors who teach innovation should be flooding their institutions with breakthrough ideas. Anybody who teaches a course in business ethics should be a saint. And, of course, the combined wisdom of faculty should be producing B-schools that are paragons of sweetness and harmony. We know otherwise: managing a B-school or any collection of academics, for that matter, is the ultimate administrative nightmare.
Is something wrong here? Not really. Peter Drucker, the greatest of management gurus, once confessed that he would make a poor executive — he simply could not delegate although preaching delegation came easily to him. The gap between theory and practice is vast and it is not confined to management. Literary critics don’t make great writers themselves nor art critics great artists. A dance or music teacher may not be able to perform on stage himself or herself. There are great sports coaches who have never made it to the highest levels themselves.
Alright, Mr Gopalakrishnan seems to say, B-school faculty cannot manage but at least B-schools can do a better job of teaching management. How? One solution he proposes is that “staffing of teachers at institutes should have more of them who have practised and practitioners who can teach”.
This sounds eminently sensible until one gets down to practising it. Take the first part of the solution, having faculty who have been managers. Many B-school faculty, who have corporate experience, would readily admit that this experience adds little value in the classroom. I have been a banker and I teach a course in banking at IIMA. I can’t say that my experience as a banker adds an awful lot.
As for practitioners coming into the classroom, the experience has not been a very happy one. Yes, practitioners offering a session or two in a course can be useful. But there are not many instances of practitioners making a success of a whole course on their own. This is because teaching, like any other craft, has its own discipline which is acquired only over time. Structured learning is not something that many practitioners are equipped to provide.
One is also not clear what is meant when people talk of bringing the “real world” into the classroom. A big chunk of coursework at B-schools comprises basic tools and techniques. These are best taught by academics. What they provide the student is an analytical way of looking at issues that managers face in their working lives.
B-schools have tried to bring in “real world” issues through the case study method. This involves going into a firm and documenting a particular problem and ways in which it was handled. The case is discussed in class and alternative approaches are discussed. Indian firms can help out by simply being open to cases being written about them the way firms in the US are.
When practitioners talk of B-schools missing out on “real world” issues, what they often have in mind are organisational and interpersonal issues — team building, motivation, leadership, etc. Whether these can be taught at all in a classroom has been debated. B-schools have experimented with ways of teaching these, not always with conspicuous success. Can practitioners do a better job? Perhaps. But, as always, seeing is believing.
B-schools are at the receiving end of endless sermons from practitioners on how they need to get their acts together. For a change, here are a couple of suggestions on how practitioners might contribute. One, please go through the course outlines of a B-school and tell us: a) what new courses are worth offering; b) how the content and pedagogy of existing courses might be changed in order to better reflect the “real world”.
Two, identify, say, 25 aspects of an important theme that Indian businesses are facing, namely, the challenge of globalisation. Offer these aspects to B-schools for case writing. Let Indian managers show that when it comes to improving the quality of management teaching in the country, they are willing to walk the talk.
• Many a B-school faculty, with corporate experience, would admit that it adds little value in the classroom
• B-schools have tried to teach ‘real world’ issues, not always with visible success
• Let Indian managers show that when it comes to improving the management teaching, they are willing to walk the talk
R Gopalakrishnan of Tata Sons mentions some paradoxes he has come across (ET, May 19). A professor who specialises in conflict management happened to be going through a divorce. A professor of behavioural science simply could not get along with his colleagues. It seems legitimate to ask: what business do these people have to teach anything to others?
One could easily extend this logic to other faculty. Those who teach investment management ought to become billionaires by playing the market. Faculty who specialise in leadership should be automatic choices for the director’s post — if not the prime minister’s. Marketing faculty should be able to market themselves very well — some at least should become famous “brands” themselves.
Professors who teach innovation should be flooding their institutions with breakthrough ideas. Anybody who teaches a course in business ethics should be a saint. And, of course, the combined wisdom of faculty should be producing B-schools that are paragons of sweetness and harmony. We know otherwise: managing a B-school or any collection of academics, for that matter, is the ultimate administrative nightmare.
Is something wrong here? Not really. Peter Drucker, the greatest of management gurus, once confessed that he would make a poor executive — he simply could not delegate although preaching delegation came easily to him. The gap between theory and practice is vast and it is not confined to management. Literary critics don’t make great writers themselves nor art critics great artists. A dance or music teacher may not be able to perform on stage himself or herself. There are great sports coaches who have never made it to the highest levels themselves.
Alright, Mr Gopalakrishnan seems to say, B-school faculty cannot manage but at least B-schools can do a better job of teaching management. How? One solution he proposes is that “staffing of teachers at institutes should have more of them who have practised and practitioners who can teach”.
This sounds eminently sensible until one gets down to practising it. Take the first part of the solution, having faculty who have been managers. Many B-school faculty, who have corporate experience, would readily admit that this experience adds little value in the classroom. I have been a banker and I teach a course in banking at IIMA. I can’t say that my experience as a banker adds an awful lot.
As for practitioners coming into the classroom, the experience has not been a very happy one. Yes, practitioners offering a session or two in a course can be useful. But there are not many instances of practitioners making a success of a whole course on their own. This is because teaching, like any other craft, has its own discipline which is acquired only over time. Structured learning is not something that many practitioners are equipped to provide.
One is also not clear what is meant when people talk of bringing the “real world” into the classroom. A big chunk of coursework at B-schools comprises basic tools and techniques. These are best taught by academics. What they provide the student is an analytical way of looking at issues that managers face in their working lives.
B-schools have tried to bring in “real world” issues through the case study method. This involves going into a firm and documenting a particular problem and ways in which it was handled. The case is discussed in class and alternative approaches are discussed. Indian firms can help out by simply being open to cases being written about them the way firms in the US are.
When practitioners talk of B-schools missing out on “real world” issues, what they often have in mind are organisational and interpersonal issues — team building, motivation, leadership, etc. Whether these can be taught at all in a classroom has been debated. B-schools have experimented with ways of teaching these, not always with conspicuous success. Can practitioners do a better job? Perhaps. But, as always, seeing is believing.
B-schools are at the receiving end of endless sermons from practitioners on how they need to get their acts together. For a change, here are a couple of suggestions on how practitioners might contribute. One, please go through the course outlines of a B-school and tell us: a) what new courses are worth offering; b) how the content and pedagogy of existing courses might be changed in order to better reflect the “real world”.
Two, identify, say, 25 aspects of an important theme that Indian businesses are facing, namely, the challenge of globalisation. Offer these aspects to B-schools for case writing. Let Indian managers show that when it comes to improving the quality of management teaching in the country, they are willing to walk the talk.
• Many a B-school faculty, with corporate experience, would admit that it adds little value in the classroom
• B-schools have tried to teach ‘real world’ issues, not always with visible success
• Let Indian managers show that when it comes to improving the management teaching, they are willing to walk the talk
Don’t let rules ruin your life!
ASMALL story. A man was addicted to smoking cigarettes. He asked for my help. “Master, please help me quit smoking. I don’t know how I became addicted. Please help me.”
I asked him, “How did you start smoking?”
“Master, I never wanted to smoke. In fact, I hated that smell,” he said. “One day I was talking to my friend on the street. My friend was smoking a cigarette. My father saw us from a distance. He thought I too was smoking. When I went home, he started yelling and shouting at me. He did not listen to me. Then I decided, how does it matter if I smoke now? I have already been punished for it. So, I started to smoke.”
We all get a thrill, a feeling of adventure, satisfaction in doing what we are not allowed to do. When we are asked not to do something, we feel a strong urge to do it. We feel a kind of joy and satisfaction doing it. This is the basic tendency of every human being.
When there is a strict rule, we always try to work around it and go beyond it. How many of us overspeed until we see a cop? We say no to our parents to prove that we are now grownups. We think that we become a man, an adult when we say no. Adults have the power and authority to veto anything by saying no. By saying no, we assume that we also have become adults.
We feel that as long as we say yes, we are children. We feel that we are not mature. When we say no, we think, we assume, that we have become adults. We think that we have matured. This is the basic tendency of every human being.
In western countries, that is why there are so many rebellious groups, gangs and other problems. These people develop a deep satisfaction and taste in saying no. They think it is an expression of self esteem. It is not; it is an emotional illness. Saying no is also an addiction. It is an addiction to one’s identity. It is an addiction to rebelling without reason. It is anotherway of expressing your ego.
In the ’70s in the US and many other western countries a counter culture developed. That counter culture such as the hippie movement in western USA was a rebellion against society. So long as you are working against something you are likely to get nowhere. You need to work towards something to get somewhere.
Go beyond rebelling against rules. Understand why the rule was created. Work towards that understanding. Then you can either follow the rule or bend the rule or break the rule without guilt, fear or anger
PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA
I asked him, “How did you start smoking?”
“Master, I never wanted to smoke. In fact, I hated that smell,” he said. “One day I was talking to my friend on the street. My friend was smoking a cigarette. My father saw us from a distance. He thought I too was smoking. When I went home, he started yelling and shouting at me. He did not listen to me. Then I decided, how does it matter if I smoke now? I have already been punished for it. So, I started to smoke.”
We all get a thrill, a feeling of adventure, satisfaction in doing what we are not allowed to do. When we are asked not to do something, we feel a strong urge to do it. We feel a kind of joy and satisfaction doing it. This is the basic tendency of every human being.
When there is a strict rule, we always try to work around it and go beyond it. How many of us overspeed until we see a cop? We say no to our parents to prove that we are now grownups. We think that we become a man, an adult when we say no. Adults have the power and authority to veto anything by saying no. By saying no, we assume that we also have become adults.
We feel that as long as we say yes, we are children. We feel that we are not mature. When we say no, we think, we assume, that we have become adults. We think that we have matured. This is the basic tendency of every human being.
In western countries, that is why there are so many rebellious groups, gangs and other problems. These people develop a deep satisfaction and taste in saying no. They think it is an expression of self esteem. It is not; it is an emotional illness. Saying no is also an addiction. It is an addiction to one’s identity. It is an addiction to rebelling without reason. It is anotherway of expressing your ego.
In the ’70s in the US and many other western countries a counter culture developed. That counter culture such as the hippie movement in western USA was a rebellion against society. So long as you are working against something you are likely to get nowhere. You need to work towards something to get somewhere.
Go beyond rebelling against rules. Understand why the rule was created. Work towards that understanding. Then you can either follow the rule or bend the rule or break the rule without guilt, fear or anger
PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA
SUPERIOR’ITY COMPLEX
Handling a promotion efficiently requires a blend of soft skills, considerable planning and a vision.Funnels you through the success mantra.
Finally your hard work has received the much-deserving acknowledgement. You have been promoted! But are you prepared to handle it? Promotions come with their own share of hurdles. While you feel proud of your achievement, there may be others who envy you. With you getting promoted, it is obvious that your colleagues are likely to feel defeated. After all, not everyone gets a promotion. So while you celebrate your success, you also need to think and devise a success strategy to cope with your new responsibilities.
To begin with, win over those who feel they have lost.
BE ‘THE WINNER’
Being a leader demands a lot of soft skills. First thing is: avoid becoming ‘the boss’. While you scale the corporate ladder, it’s important to understand that you cannot play the game alone.
“Your success is subject to the cooperation you receive from your juniors,” points out Nithya Ramakrishnan, project manager in a call centre. The trick is then to keep them happy. It’s all about teamwork. “Bonding with your team is half the battle won. Although you are now positioned as their leader, it is important to make your team feel that you are still one among them,” chips in Praveena K, operations manager with a leading BPO.
Being in an authoritative position is a challenge especially if you are managing a team that you were yourself a part of. If you have associates, who were earlier your friends, now reporting to you ensure that you keep favouritism at bay. Now you are a step above the rest, and have to be fair to all. Do not burden yourself with past politics and make a new beginning.
STRIKE THE BALANCE
A promotion does not just mean more money and a more sophisticated designation – it entails more responsibility and work as well. Additional responsibilities and more work can disturb the balance. Remember, being a boss does not mean you are an encyclopedia. Seek help and advice whenever needed. You needn’t hesitate to approach even your juniors, as the urge to learn implies strength and not weakness.
Learn to manage the anxiety and handle the tasks assigned with care. There will be an inevitable change in perceptions, and you have to learn to handle it smartly. According to Rajiv Patial, an in-house corporate trainer with a media house, “Promotions, especially the first ones, always entail stress. There are plenty of things one needs to manage with people, work and time being the important ones. We have a counseling session for the newlypromoted employees, wherein we give them tips on how to work effectively in their new position.”
THE VISION
While all this time you were suggesting ideas – now is the time to implement. Have a vision and work towards it. Develop your individual style of managing the team. Plan out your moves carefully. Do not get over ambitious and set impossible targets for yourself and your team. Be careful while you take the first few steps or you are most likely to trip and fall.
MORE THAN SELF
According to Ramakrishnan, “Stepping into the shoes of a leader was not an easy task.Although promotions are necessary and we all look forward to it, in the initial few days I felt that life before my promotion was wonderful. I was part of a gang, who would hang around and have fun. Now there is a ‘code of conduct’.”
As Patial explains, “Learning to take responsibility for other’s work is also a task. Employees get frustrated when they are answerable to something that they haven’t done. New leaders are not used to taking responsibility for other’s actions.They find it difficult.” One needs to understand that being at a leader implies more than being what you are.
ON THE GO...
• Be a friend
• Avoid favouritism
• Be responsible
• Think beyond the mould
• Seek help
• Be practical
• Do not be over ambitious
• Work towards a vision
• Request training, if needed
Author
Shubha Subbaraman-
Finally your hard work has received the much-deserving acknowledgement. You have been promoted! But are you prepared to handle it? Promotions come with their own share of hurdles. While you feel proud of your achievement, there may be others who envy you. With you getting promoted, it is obvious that your colleagues are likely to feel defeated. After all, not everyone gets a promotion. So while you celebrate your success, you also need to think and devise a success strategy to cope with your new responsibilities.
To begin with, win over those who feel they have lost.
BE ‘THE WINNER’
Being a leader demands a lot of soft skills. First thing is: avoid becoming ‘the boss’. While you scale the corporate ladder, it’s important to understand that you cannot play the game alone.
“Your success is subject to the cooperation you receive from your juniors,” points out Nithya Ramakrishnan, project manager in a call centre. The trick is then to keep them happy. It’s all about teamwork. “Bonding with your team is half the battle won. Although you are now positioned as their leader, it is important to make your team feel that you are still one among them,” chips in Praveena K, operations manager with a leading BPO.
Being in an authoritative position is a challenge especially if you are managing a team that you were yourself a part of. If you have associates, who were earlier your friends, now reporting to you ensure that you keep favouritism at bay. Now you are a step above the rest, and have to be fair to all. Do not burden yourself with past politics and make a new beginning.
STRIKE THE BALANCE
A promotion does not just mean more money and a more sophisticated designation – it entails more responsibility and work as well. Additional responsibilities and more work can disturb the balance. Remember, being a boss does not mean you are an encyclopedia. Seek help and advice whenever needed. You needn’t hesitate to approach even your juniors, as the urge to learn implies strength and not weakness.
Learn to manage the anxiety and handle the tasks assigned with care. There will be an inevitable change in perceptions, and you have to learn to handle it smartly. According to Rajiv Patial, an in-house corporate trainer with a media house, “Promotions, especially the first ones, always entail stress. There are plenty of things one needs to manage with people, work and time being the important ones. We have a counseling session for the newlypromoted employees, wherein we give them tips on how to work effectively in their new position.”
THE VISION
While all this time you were suggesting ideas – now is the time to implement. Have a vision and work towards it. Develop your individual style of managing the team. Plan out your moves carefully. Do not get over ambitious and set impossible targets for yourself and your team. Be careful while you take the first few steps or you are most likely to trip and fall.
MORE THAN SELF
According to Ramakrishnan, “Stepping into the shoes of a leader was not an easy task.Although promotions are necessary and we all look forward to it, in the initial few days I felt that life before my promotion was wonderful. I was part of a gang, who would hang around and have fun. Now there is a ‘code of conduct’.”
As Patial explains, “Learning to take responsibility for other’s work is also a task. Employees get frustrated when they are answerable to something that they haven’t done. New leaders are not used to taking responsibility for other’s actions.They find it difficult.” One needs to understand that being at a leader implies more than being what you are.
ON THE GO...
• Be a friend
• Avoid favouritism
• Be responsible
• Think beyond the mould
• Seek help
• Be practical
• Do not be over ambitious
• Work towards a vision
• Request training, if needed
Author
Shubha Subbaraman-
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
600m-long Bandra Cable Stay Bridge
An aerial view of the 600m-long Bandra Cable Stay Bridge, a vital part of the Bandra Worli Sea Link, which will be connected on Wednesday. This is a significant stage of the sea link that is being built by Hindustan Construction Company, prior to the onset of the monsoon. The Cable Stay section will tower at a height of 126 mts (equivalent to a 43-storey building). It comprises 2,250 km of high strength galvanised steel wires which support the bridge weighing 20,000 tonnes. An engineering marvel, the Bandra Worli Sea Link is one of the most complex and advanced construction projects to be undertaken in India
Monday, May 26, 2008
UNRAVELLING THE WEB -CYBER FORENSICS
With the number of cyber crimes increasing by the day, there is an imperative need for authorities, which can police Internet activities. Take a look at a career in cyber forensics, which is still at a nascent stage in India
“They hack into computers and they cause this chaos” was one of the more memorable dialogues of the 1995 psycho-thriller The Net. At that time, hacking and the occasional computer virus was all the chaos cyber forensic experts had to worry about. But now, with Nigerian scams, online thefts, identity theft, false profiles and the everincreasing domain of pornography, the chaos is only increasing and proportionally, so is the demand for cyber forensic experts.
WHAT IS CYBER FORENSICS?
In Computer Evidence: Collection & Preservation, Chris LT Brown defined cyber forensics as ‘the art and science of applying computer science to aid the legal processes’. A simpler definition would be ‘the examination of computers, cyberspace and other electronic devices for evidence that might have forensic value’.
There are four basic steps that are followed in conducting a cyber forensic analysis: Identifying sources of digital evidence Securing and preserving identified evidence Analysing the evidence Documenting legally admissible evidence
SCOPE OF WORK
According to Rohas Nagpal, president, Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL), cyber forensics is a field that is just taking root in India, and has a tremendous potential for growth.
“As far as cyber crime investigation goes, there is tremendous scope. If you see the trend in the last couple of years, there have been thousands of cases registered and solved all over India,” opines RB Shriwastav, ex-ACP, Thane Cyber Cell. While there are no official records as to the number of cyber crimes committed in India, Sujeet Menezes, CEO, IBI Detectives Pvt Ltd, recalls a statistic which claims that in a two-year period from February 2000 to December 2002, Indian corporate and government websites have been attacked or defaced over 780 times.
Cyber forensic experts can find employment in both the public and the private sector. Public sector employment is limited to the police and other law enforcement agencies, with cyber crime departments in Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram. “In the private sector, there are great opportunities in IT and non-IT companies; and also, there are a lot of prospects for those starting out independent consultancies,” says Nagpal.
Some of the primary responsibilities for those involved with cyber forensics in the private sector are to guard against data theft, prevent penetration into the security systems, and stop hacking, virus and phishing attacks. While for those involved in cyber forensics in the public sector investigating violations of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (see box), are the primary responsibilities.
ELIGIBILITY
Even though cyber forensics is a highly technical and specialised discipline, there are no fixed educational qualifications required in order to pursue a career in this discipline. A graduate degree in any field, with some specialised training in computers and information technology is usually sufficient.
“I have personally seen constables who are graduates in various disciplines, and who with a little bit of training can solve almost every case,” says Shriwastav. He adds that practical knowledge and experience are the key factors that make a good cyber forensic expert.
Having knowledge of computer storage devices, operating systems, programming languages and software applications are also added bonuses that can only further the opportunities available to cyber forensic experts.
In addition, Shriwastav recommends that all professionals undergo refresher courses every six months in order to keep themselves updated with the latest trends in the field.
REMUNERATION
There are no industry standards at present to determine the salary and remuneration available to a cyber forensic expert, and therefore the salary is largely dependent on the experience of the expert and the requirement of the company that is hiring.
In the public sector, it is impossible to calculate the salary, as in addition to solving cyber crimes, most police officers end up solving physical crimes as well. In the private sector, however, Nagpal believes that the average starting salary could range from Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 6,00,000, per annum for a fresher, with an increment as the expert gains more knowledge and experience.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
“India is on the verge of a technology revolution and the driving force behind the same is the acceptance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its benefits, which has generated a large scope of cyber forensics to reduce its misuse,” feels Menezes. Although cyber forensics is still in the nascent stages in India, Shriwastav feels that India has so far been doing extremely well and will only continue to improve. “We have so many different types of crimes being committed every year, and it looks like it will only increase. The most common cases today are the Nigerian scams and the identity theft, but we don’t know how these cases will evolve over time. But one thing is for sure, we will be able to solve them,” he says emphatically.
INSTITUTES
Asian School of Cyber Laws, Pune
(Post Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law,
Diploma in Cyber Law, Cyber Crime Investigator, Cyber Crime Analyst)
Indian Institute of Information
Technology, Allahabad (2-year Master of Science in Cyber Law and Information Security)
Amity Institute of Behavioural &
Allied Sciences (Short-term course in
Cyber Crime and Computer Forensics)
CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIMES
Hacking: Hacking (or cracking) is unauthorised access or an illegal intrusion into a computer system and/or network. Every act committed towards breaking into a computer and/or network is hacking. Hackers generally write their own programs or use ready-made software to access computer systems/networks.
Child Pornography: Child pornography is an offshoot of pornography, but is considered a more serious crime under the Information Technology Act (2000). Paedophiles are increasingly using the internet to reach and abuse children sexually. The easy access to the pornographic contents readily and freely available over the internet lowers the inhibitions of the children.
Cyber Stalking: Stalking refers to repeated acts harassment or threatening behaviour of an individual towards a person; in the form of following the victim, making harassing phone calls, vandalizing the victim’s property, leaving written messages or objects. Cyber stalking is simply stalking in the online domain using internet services, such as emails, instant messages and posts on social networking websites.
DoS Attack: Short for Denial of Service attack, this is an act by the criminal, who floods the bandwidth of the victim’s network or fills his email box with spam mail depriving him of the services he is entitled to access or provide. Many DoS attacks, such as the Ping of Death and Teardrop attacks, exploit limitations in the TCP/IP protocols.
Virus Dissemination: Malicious software that attaches itself to other software. Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, Time bomb, Logic Bomb, Rabbit and Bacterium are some examples of these malicious softwares.
Software Piracy: Theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or the counterfeiting and distribution of products intended to pass for the original.
Credit Card Fraud: The unauthorised and illegal use of a credit card, especially through phishing websites.
Phishing: The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, account numbers, that the legitimate organisation already has. The website however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information. By spamming large groups of people, the phisher is counting on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with legitimately. Phishing is also referred to as brand spoofing or carding.
Source: Cyber Crime Cell, Mumbai Police
“They hack into computers and they cause this chaos” was one of the more memorable dialogues of the 1995 psycho-thriller The Net. At that time, hacking and the occasional computer virus was all the chaos cyber forensic experts had to worry about. But now, with Nigerian scams, online thefts, identity theft, false profiles and the everincreasing domain of pornography, the chaos is only increasing and proportionally, so is the demand for cyber forensic experts.
WHAT IS CYBER FORENSICS?
In Computer Evidence: Collection & Preservation, Chris LT Brown defined cyber forensics as ‘the art and science of applying computer science to aid the legal processes’. A simpler definition would be ‘the examination of computers, cyberspace and other electronic devices for evidence that might have forensic value’.
There are four basic steps that are followed in conducting a cyber forensic analysis: Identifying sources of digital evidence Securing and preserving identified evidence Analysing the evidence Documenting legally admissible evidence
SCOPE OF WORK
According to Rohas Nagpal, president, Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL), cyber forensics is a field that is just taking root in India, and has a tremendous potential for growth.
“As far as cyber crime investigation goes, there is tremendous scope. If you see the trend in the last couple of years, there have been thousands of cases registered and solved all over India,” opines RB Shriwastav, ex-ACP, Thane Cyber Cell. While there are no official records as to the number of cyber crimes committed in India, Sujeet Menezes, CEO, IBI Detectives Pvt Ltd, recalls a statistic which claims that in a two-year period from February 2000 to December 2002, Indian corporate and government websites have been attacked or defaced over 780 times.
Cyber forensic experts can find employment in both the public and the private sector. Public sector employment is limited to the police and other law enforcement agencies, with cyber crime departments in Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram. “In the private sector, there are great opportunities in IT and non-IT companies; and also, there are a lot of prospects for those starting out independent consultancies,” says Nagpal.
Some of the primary responsibilities for those involved with cyber forensics in the private sector are to guard against data theft, prevent penetration into the security systems, and stop hacking, virus and phishing attacks. While for those involved in cyber forensics in the public sector investigating violations of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (see box), are the primary responsibilities.
ELIGIBILITY
Even though cyber forensics is a highly technical and specialised discipline, there are no fixed educational qualifications required in order to pursue a career in this discipline. A graduate degree in any field, with some specialised training in computers and information technology is usually sufficient.
“I have personally seen constables who are graduates in various disciplines, and who with a little bit of training can solve almost every case,” says Shriwastav. He adds that practical knowledge and experience are the key factors that make a good cyber forensic expert.
Having knowledge of computer storage devices, operating systems, programming languages and software applications are also added bonuses that can only further the opportunities available to cyber forensic experts.
In addition, Shriwastav recommends that all professionals undergo refresher courses every six months in order to keep themselves updated with the latest trends in the field.
REMUNERATION
There are no industry standards at present to determine the salary and remuneration available to a cyber forensic expert, and therefore the salary is largely dependent on the experience of the expert and the requirement of the company that is hiring.
In the public sector, it is impossible to calculate the salary, as in addition to solving cyber crimes, most police officers end up solving physical crimes as well. In the private sector, however, Nagpal believes that the average starting salary could range from Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 6,00,000, per annum for a fresher, with an increment as the expert gains more knowledge and experience.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
“India is on the verge of a technology revolution and the driving force behind the same is the acceptance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its benefits, which has generated a large scope of cyber forensics to reduce its misuse,” feels Menezes. Although cyber forensics is still in the nascent stages in India, Shriwastav feels that India has so far been doing extremely well and will only continue to improve. “We have so many different types of crimes being committed every year, and it looks like it will only increase. The most common cases today are the Nigerian scams and the identity theft, but we don’t know how these cases will evolve over time. But one thing is for sure, we will be able to solve them,” he says emphatically.
INSTITUTES
Asian School of Cyber Laws, Pune
(Post Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law,
Diploma in Cyber Law, Cyber Crime Investigator, Cyber Crime Analyst)
Indian Institute of Information
Technology, Allahabad (2-year Master of Science in Cyber Law and Information Security)
Amity Institute of Behavioural &
Allied Sciences (Short-term course in
Cyber Crime and Computer Forensics)
CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIMES
Hacking: Hacking (or cracking) is unauthorised access or an illegal intrusion into a computer system and/or network. Every act committed towards breaking into a computer and/or network is hacking. Hackers generally write their own programs or use ready-made software to access computer systems/networks.
Child Pornography: Child pornography is an offshoot of pornography, but is considered a more serious crime under the Information Technology Act (2000). Paedophiles are increasingly using the internet to reach and abuse children sexually. The easy access to the pornographic contents readily and freely available over the internet lowers the inhibitions of the children.
Cyber Stalking: Stalking refers to repeated acts harassment or threatening behaviour of an individual towards a person; in the form of following the victim, making harassing phone calls, vandalizing the victim’s property, leaving written messages or objects. Cyber stalking is simply stalking in the online domain using internet services, such as emails, instant messages and posts on social networking websites.
DoS Attack: Short for Denial of Service attack, this is an act by the criminal, who floods the bandwidth of the victim’s network or fills his email box with spam mail depriving him of the services he is entitled to access or provide. Many DoS attacks, such as the Ping of Death and Teardrop attacks, exploit limitations in the TCP/IP protocols.
Virus Dissemination: Malicious software that attaches itself to other software. Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, Time bomb, Logic Bomb, Rabbit and Bacterium are some examples of these malicious softwares.
Software Piracy: Theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or the counterfeiting and distribution of products intended to pass for the original.
Credit Card Fraud: The unauthorised and illegal use of a credit card, especially through phishing websites.
Phishing: The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, account numbers, that the legitimate organisation already has. The website however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information. By spamming large groups of people, the phisher is counting on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with legitimately. Phishing is also referred to as brand spoofing or carding.
Source: Cyber Crime Cell, Mumbai Police
Saturday, May 24, 2008
CBDT clarifies on issuance of PAN to FIIs
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Friday clarified that there is no truth in media reports which said one of the reasons for the decline in FII investments is the alleged delay in issue of permanent account number (PAN) or PAN cards to FIIs by the income tax department.
“The allotment and issue of PAN cards is carried out by the Income Tax department in partnership with UTITSL and NSDL. During 2007-08, UTITSL received 100 applications from FIIs for new PAN cards and all these were issued within 15 days.
The average time taken was 15 days. As on 31.3.2008, there were no pending applications for new PAN cards,” said CBDT. According to the board, during the same period, NSDL received 558 applications from FIIs for new PAN cards, out of which 81% were issued within 15 days and 13% were issued between 16 to 30 days. The average time taken was 13 days. As on 31.3.2008, there were only 2 pending applications for new PAN cards.
“The allotment and issue of PAN cards is carried out by the Income Tax department in partnership with UTITSL and NSDL. During 2007-08, UTITSL received 100 applications from FIIs for new PAN cards and all these were issued within 15 days.
The average time taken was 15 days. As on 31.3.2008, there were no pending applications for new PAN cards,” said CBDT. According to the board, during the same period, NSDL received 558 applications from FIIs for new PAN cards, out of which 81% were issued within 15 days and 13% were issued between 16 to 30 days. The average time taken was 13 days. As on 31.3.2008, there were only 2 pending applications for new PAN cards.
Short-term want and long-term gain
WHEN you see it in Tom and Jerry cartoons, the animated version of the South Indian Monkey Trap seems entirely believable. The trap gets mentioned in Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as an example of our inability to let go of things. It starts with a hungry monkey getting the smell of yummy rice, cooked with ghee and all sorts of goodies. The only problem is that it seems to be wafting out of a narrow opening to a small hole. Now catch a monkey resisting that temptation: if he didn’t bung in his arm into the hole immediately, wouldn’t he be a blot on the name of his tribe?
However, once he gets the goodies, the monkey is unable to extricate his arm because of the fist blocking the hole. Of course, if he could happily walk away free if only he could let the goodies slip out of his hand. But monkeys will be monkeys, right? In their scheme of things food rides so high up on their priorities that they simply cannot conceive the possibility of letting it go. They are therefore trapped by their own actions.
Sri Jnandeva, the 13th century mystic master made the same point with an allegory of the parakeet that’s unable to fly because it keeps clutching a rod with its feet reflexively. The more it wants to fly, the harder its nails dig into the perch. Only providence or Grace of the Guru helps to overcome the delusion, says the master in Bhavartha-Deepika, the celebrated Marathi commentary on The Bhagvad Gita.
Pirsig uses the example to make secular comment on what he calls value rigidity. Value rigidity becomes operational when you believe in the value of something so strongly that you no longer objectively question it. To a value-rigid simian, choosing between life-saving freedoms and letting go of more highly valued rice is simply not an option. Nor should you castigate the monkey: from an evolutionary point of view a bird (or rice) in the hand is worth two in the bush, because it offers you immediate gratification from hunger thus staving off for the moment at least the extinction of your genetic line.
But of what use would such an extension be, if one were to be trapped and killed because of one’s obsession with short-term gratification? Striking the right balance between satisfying shortterm want and long-term gain becomes one of life’s great challenges. Finding your monkey trap and knowing what makes for your value rigidity is also essential.
VITHAL C NADKARNI
However, once he gets the goodies, the monkey is unable to extricate his arm because of the fist blocking the hole. Of course, if he could happily walk away free if only he could let the goodies slip out of his hand. But monkeys will be monkeys, right? In their scheme of things food rides so high up on their priorities that they simply cannot conceive the possibility of letting it go. They are therefore trapped by their own actions.
Sri Jnandeva, the 13th century mystic master made the same point with an allegory of the parakeet that’s unable to fly because it keeps clutching a rod with its feet reflexively. The more it wants to fly, the harder its nails dig into the perch. Only providence or Grace of the Guru helps to overcome the delusion, says the master in Bhavartha-Deepika, the celebrated Marathi commentary on The Bhagvad Gita.
Pirsig uses the example to make secular comment on what he calls value rigidity. Value rigidity becomes operational when you believe in the value of something so strongly that you no longer objectively question it. To a value-rigid simian, choosing between life-saving freedoms and letting go of more highly valued rice is simply not an option. Nor should you castigate the monkey: from an evolutionary point of view a bird (or rice) in the hand is worth two in the bush, because it offers you immediate gratification from hunger thus staving off for the moment at least the extinction of your genetic line.
But of what use would such an extension be, if one were to be trapped and killed because of one’s obsession with short-term gratification? Striking the right balance between satisfying shortterm want and long-term gain becomes one of life’s great challenges. Finding your monkey trap and knowing what makes for your value rigidity is also essential.
VITHAL C NADKARNI
Group co services must trigger tax payment
COMPANIES that source services from associate companies will now have to pay service tax even before they make adjustments of the payments in their books. This follows an amendment in the Finance Act, 2008.
The amendment provides that service tax liability has to be discharged where the service is provided to an associated enterprise even if no payment is received, provided the amount for such service is credited in the books of the service provider.
The provision is also applicable where service tax liability arises on service recipient, that is, where recipient receives services from associated enterprise for which the recipient is liable to deposit service tax.
“The new rules will impact all associated companies providing taxable services to sister companies. Now they have to pay service tax on such transactions on accrual basis while for services rendered to third parties, the tax is payable only when the cash is received,” says global tax advisory services provider Ernst & Young partner Satya Poddar.
The change affects the timing of tax payment. There is also a risk the companies would forget to pay the tax when they book the entry, given that they pay tax in all other cases only when the cash is received.
The move is largely aimed at expanding the service tax base and prevent erosion in tax that could be taking place because of the delay in payment. Service tax is levied at the rate of 12%. However, industry experts say the move may put unnecessary burden on them and they could be held responsible for non-payment if they do not provide for the tax after receiving the service irrespective of the whether they make a payment at that time or not.
Deepshikha Sikarwar NEW DELHI
deepshikha.sikarwar@timesgroup.com
The amendment provides that service tax liability has to be discharged where the service is provided to an associated enterprise even if no payment is received, provided the amount for such service is credited in the books of the service provider.
The provision is also applicable where service tax liability arises on service recipient, that is, where recipient receives services from associated enterprise for which the recipient is liable to deposit service tax.
“The new rules will impact all associated companies providing taxable services to sister companies. Now they have to pay service tax on such transactions on accrual basis while for services rendered to third parties, the tax is payable only when the cash is received,” says global tax advisory services provider Ernst & Young partner Satya Poddar.
The change affects the timing of tax payment. There is also a risk the companies would forget to pay the tax when they book the entry, given that they pay tax in all other cases only when the cash is received.
The move is largely aimed at expanding the service tax base and prevent erosion in tax that could be taking place because of the delay in payment. Service tax is levied at the rate of 12%. However, industry experts say the move may put unnecessary burden on them and they could be held responsible for non-payment if they do not provide for the tax after receiving the service irrespective of the whether they make a payment at that time or not.
Deepshikha Sikarwar NEW DELHI
deepshikha.sikarwar@timesgroup.com
ICICI Bank under MRTPC scanner
MONOPOLIES and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has called for an investigation against ICICI Bank for clearing cheques with discrepancies, but not crediting the money to the accounts of depositors. According to official sources, the Commission has asked its investigating arm DGIR (director general of investigation and registration) to inquire into the matter and submit a report within 60 days.
Relying on media reports highlighting an incident in Noida where an ICICI bank accountholder’s cheque carrying some discrepancies was cleared without the money being credited to his account, the Commission took suo-motu cognisance and called for a probe to see if the practice was unfair.
Media reports said the cheque which had some discrepancy in the name written on it was cleared by the bank and the money deposited with its suspense account. It was claimed that the depositor had to face a lot of difficulties before realising his money.
“The practice of clearing cheques with discrepancies and not crediting it to the concerned accounts, prima facie, appears to be an unfair trade practice,” a source in the Commission said. Apparently not convinced with ICICI bank’s approach on the matter, the official added in cases of discrepancies in the cheques, banks usually return them to the depositors without clearing them on its own. When contacted, an ICICI spokesperson said they have not received the notice yet.
The RBI is in knowledge of the ICICI bank maintaining an account styled ‘current cheques with insufficient details’ reflecting amounts collected against instruments deposited where the depositors fail to give proper account details.
The RBI, in response to a right to information application, had noted that while one of the discrepancies could be a mismatch in the name and account number of the depositors, “these entries could be reversed at the branch after receipt of appropriate information”.
The ICICI bank which has been at the receiving end of the courts over several aspects of its functioning, with the Supreme Court disapproving its coercive methods to recover loans from defaulters.
CHEQUING IN
ICICI allegedly cleared cheques with discrepancies, but did not credit money to the accounts of depositors Commission took suo motu cognisance highlighting a case in Noida where the cheque carrying discrepancies was cleared MRTPC has asked its investigating arm DGIR to inquire into the matter and submit a report in 60 days
Relying on media reports highlighting an incident in Noida where an ICICI bank accountholder’s cheque carrying some discrepancies was cleared without the money being credited to his account, the Commission took suo-motu cognisance and called for a probe to see if the practice was unfair.
Media reports said the cheque which had some discrepancy in the name written on it was cleared by the bank and the money deposited with its suspense account. It was claimed that the depositor had to face a lot of difficulties before realising his money.
“The practice of clearing cheques with discrepancies and not crediting it to the concerned accounts, prima facie, appears to be an unfair trade practice,” a source in the Commission said. Apparently not convinced with ICICI bank’s approach on the matter, the official added in cases of discrepancies in the cheques, banks usually return them to the depositors without clearing them on its own. When contacted, an ICICI spokesperson said they have not received the notice yet.
The RBI is in knowledge of the ICICI bank maintaining an account styled ‘current cheques with insufficient details’ reflecting amounts collected against instruments deposited where the depositors fail to give proper account details.
The RBI, in response to a right to information application, had noted that while one of the discrepancies could be a mismatch in the name and account number of the depositors, “these entries could be reversed at the branch after receipt of appropriate information”.
The ICICI bank which has been at the receiving end of the courts over several aspects of its functioning, with the Supreme Court disapproving its coercive methods to recover loans from defaulters.
CHEQUING IN
ICICI allegedly cleared cheques with discrepancies, but did not credit money to the accounts of depositors Commission took suo motu cognisance highlighting a case in Noida where the cheque carrying discrepancies was cleared MRTPC has asked its investigating arm DGIR to inquire into the matter and submit a report in 60 days
Friday, May 23, 2008
By Hook Or By Crook-Good one do read
SYSTEMS AND RULES MAY BLOCK ELEPHANTS — BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS GAPS WIDE ENOUGH TO LET A RAT THROUGH
ACCORDING TO Brahmavaivarta Puran, Kuber, the king of Yakshas, had a gardener called Hema, whose duty it was to gather fresh fragrant flowers every morning with which Kuber performed his daily worship of Shiva. One morning, smitten by desire for his beautiful wife, Hema failed to leave his bed and go to the garden. As a result Kuber did not get the flowers he needed for his worship. Enraged, Kuber cursed Hema that he would be struck with an incurable skin disease and would be separated from his wife forever.
The curse took effect and Kuber’s gardener found himself alone and diseased in a faraway land. For years he suffered the curse, feeling there was no way out until one day, he told his story to a sage. Feeling sorry for Hema, the sage advised him to perform a vrat, an observance that involved fasting and praying all day on a particularly auspicious day. “If you observe this vrat with pure devotion, you will be liberated from this curse. Your health will be restored and you will be reunited with your wife.”
Religious books are full of vrats, ways by which one can work around any distressing and apparently insurmountable fate. The same thought exists behind the notion of upaay that is popular amongst astrologers. Astrology is supposed to reveal, through the position of stars and planets, the fate of man. If the revealed fate is not favourable, then the astrologer immediately offers a work around — a gemstone, a mantra, a pilgrimage, a prayer or a ritual by which the negative effects of a planet can be overcome.
For centuries, Indians have been exposed to vrats and upaays. Hence, at a deep cultural core, most Indians believe there is nothing rigid about life. Everything is manageable, solvable, everything has a work around. This powerful cultural construct has its most popular manifestation in the North Indian word jugaad. It is the ability to get things done when the law and the rules do not favour us. You want to fly down to Delhi today, but all tickets are booked — what do you do? Do a jugaad. You have been shifted to a new city and you want admission for your daughter in the best school in the neighbourhood, but admission time is over. All you have to do is get the man who can get jugaad done and find a way out. A jugaadu is a highly networked person who can weave his way through any system and get things done when the straight and narrow path is blocked.
In the typical Indian way of accommodating everything, we surrender to fate for the big things in life but for the small things, we subscribe to jugaad and vrat and upaay. We believing in bending fate, but do not believe we can break it. That is one reason why Indians are such short-term thinkers, finding it difficult to plan for the distant future (airports for 2020) while finding it easy to find jugaad for the immediate problems (land domestic flights in international airports to handle the air traffic crisis).
For many the existence of jugaad is a testimony that to the fact that systems are inefficient and corrupt. It indicates that Indians have no qualms about bypassing the system to get their way. Put in another way, systems in India may block elephants but there are always narrow gaps to let a rat through. For people who are linear thinkers, this behaviour can be rather disconcerting.
For others jugaad is proof of ingenuity and creativeness — a demonstration that Indians are not willing to accept fate and are willing to scurry a solution out of any problem. Nothing is insurmountable. If one has the will, there is always a way.
So this leads us to the question, does the system construct jugaad or does jugaad construct the system? Are we creative thinkers and therefore refuse to create linear logical systems? Or is it that we find linear systems tedious, demanding too much discipline and uprightness, hence turn to jugaad? The answer perhaps lies in the emotional nature of Indians that is responsible for both the inefficiency of the system as well as for the effective workarounds.
If you travel across India, you cannot rely on a postal address to find a person’s house in a city. Postal addresses are logical — name of the city, the area, the road, the colony, the building, the flat. But Indian cities are not logical. You have to step down from your car and ask the paan-wala for directions. This is also jugaad, albeit a minor form, that allows you to overcome a situation that is not favoured by logic. If you are in the USA, this may not be possible or even needed. Everything is so well organised with road maps and street signs that there is little need to ask anyone. Today, there are street signs and road maps in India too. But people still prefer asking those around them for directions. This indicates the Indian comfort with people rather than with processes, with private emotions rather than with impersonal logic.
Indians do not split professional and personal behaviour very easily; professional friends over time become personal friends, making it possible to ask for favours and do jugaad. There seems nothing wrong with taking advantage of his role and position. Most of jugaad is not just done through bribing or such financial transactions; it is done through relationships, networks, favours or emotional blackmail. It cannot be reduced to a process.
Comfort with jugaad is the reason why we tolerate and even contribute to inefficiency. Deep down, we don’t believe systems work hence don’t invest time and resources to building systems. It is perhaps the reason why the service sector is discovering that Indians are not very demanding of customer service. We don’t expect things to work through processes — we find innovative personal ways to get things done. Rather than call up the telephone agency’s complaint department which will give standard promises of seven-day solutions, we have greater trust in giving bakshish to the local lineman who will solve the problem in three days. We have become such compulsive out-of-the-box thinkers that, as we connect with the world at large, we need to train ourselves to be more in-the-box, become more aligned to processes and respect the rigidity of the system.
Devdutt Pattanaik-Economic Times
ACCORDING TO Brahmavaivarta Puran, Kuber, the king of Yakshas, had a gardener called Hema, whose duty it was to gather fresh fragrant flowers every morning with which Kuber performed his daily worship of Shiva. One morning, smitten by desire for his beautiful wife, Hema failed to leave his bed and go to the garden. As a result Kuber did not get the flowers he needed for his worship. Enraged, Kuber cursed Hema that he would be struck with an incurable skin disease and would be separated from his wife forever.
The curse took effect and Kuber’s gardener found himself alone and diseased in a faraway land. For years he suffered the curse, feeling there was no way out until one day, he told his story to a sage. Feeling sorry for Hema, the sage advised him to perform a vrat, an observance that involved fasting and praying all day on a particularly auspicious day. “If you observe this vrat with pure devotion, you will be liberated from this curse. Your health will be restored and you will be reunited with your wife.”
Religious books are full of vrats, ways by which one can work around any distressing and apparently insurmountable fate. The same thought exists behind the notion of upaay that is popular amongst astrologers. Astrology is supposed to reveal, through the position of stars and planets, the fate of man. If the revealed fate is not favourable, then the astrologer immediately offers a work around — a gemstone, a mantra, a pilgrimage, a prayer or a ritual by which the negative effects of a planet can be overcome.
For centuries, Indians have been exposed to vrats and upaays. Hence, at a deep cultural core, most Indians believe there is nothing rigid about life. Everything is manageable, solvable, everything has a work around. This powerful cultural construct has its most popular manifestation in the North Indian word jugaad. It is the ability to get things done when the law and the rules do not favour us. You want to fly down to Delhi today, but all tickets are booked — what do you do? Do a jugaad. You have been shifted to a new city and you want admission for your daughter in the best school in the neighbourhood, but admission time is over. All you have to do is get the man who can get jugaad done and find a way out. A jugaadu is a highly networked person who can weave his way through any system and get things done when the straight and narrow path is blocked.
In the typical Indian way of accommodating everything, we surrender to fate for the big things in life but for the small things, we subscribe to jugaad and vrat and upaay. We believing in bending fate, but do not believe we can break it. That is one reason why Indians are such short-term thinkers, finding it difficult to plan for the distant future (airports for 2020) while finding it easy to find jugaad for the immediate problems (land domestic flights in international airports to handle the air traffic crisis).
For many the existence of jugaad is a testimony that to the fact that systems are inefficient and corrupt. It indicates that Indians have no qualms about bypassing the system to get their way. Put in another way, systems in India may block elephants but there are always narrow gaps to let a rat through. For people who are linear thinkers, this behaviour can be rather disconcerting.
For others jugaad is proof of ingenuity and creativeness — a demonstration that Indians are not willing to accept fate and are willing to scurry a solution out of any problem. Nothing is insurmountable. If one has the will, there is always a way.
So this leads us to the question, does the system construct jugaad or does jugaad construct the system? Are we creative thinkers and therefore refuse to create linear logical systems? Or is it that we find linear systems tedious, demanding too much discipline and uprightness, hence turn to jugaad? The answer perhaps lies in the emotional nature of Indians that is responsible for both the inefficiency of the system as well as for the effective workarounds.
If you travel across India, you cannot rely on a postal address to find a person’s house in a city. Postal addresses are logical — name of the city, the area, the road, the colony, the building, the flat. But Indian cities are not logical. You have to step down from your car and ask the paan-wala for directions. This is also jugaad, albeit a minor form, that allows you to overcome a situation that is not favoured by logic. If you are in the USA, this may not be possible or even needed. Everything is so well organised with road maps and street signs that there is little need to ask anyone. Today, there are street signs and road maps in India too. But people still prefer asking those around them for directions. This indicates the Indian comfort with people rather than with processes, with private emotions rather than with impersonal logic.
Indians do not split professional and personal behaviour very easily; professional friends over time become personal friends, making it possible to ask for favours and do jugaad. There seems nothing wrong with taking advantage of his role and position. Most of jugaad is not just done through bribing or such financial transactions; it is done through relationships, networks, favours or emotional blackmail. It cannot be reduced to a process.
Comfort with jugaad is the reason why we tolerate and even contribute to inefficiency. Deep down, we don’t believe systems work hence don’t invest time and resources to building systems. It is perhaps the reason why the service sector is discovering that Indians are not very demanding of customer service. We don’t expect things to work through processes — we find innovative personal ways to get things done. Rather than call up the telephone agency’s complaint department which will give standard promises of seven-day solutions, we have greater trust in giving bakshish to the local lineman who will solve the problem in three days. We have become such compulsive out-of-the-box thinkers that, as we connect with the world at large, we need to train ourselves to be more in-the-box, become more aligned to processes and respect the rigidity of the system.
Devdutt Pattanaik-Economic Times
Banks set Rs 100 flat fee per forex transaction
COMMERCIAL banks have reached an understanding among themselves that they will charge a flat Rs 100 for every foreign currency transaction following the government’s decision to impose service tax on every foreign exchange transaction. According to a circular from CBDT, from May 16 all banks have to either pay 0.25% tax on the total forex transaction or they have to pay 12.36% on the cost of transaction per deal.
All banks have uniformly decided to declare Rs 100 as transaction cost. This means that for all interbank transactions, banks are charging their counterpart (another bank) Rs 100 as transaction cost and another Rs 12.50 as service tax. Similarly, most banks are charging their customers - retail and corporate - Rs 100 as transaction cost plus Rs 12.5 as service tax.
So far, banks were not charging any transaction cost to their customers and for interbank transactions. Banks made money in forex transactions by charging a higher spread over the foreign currency. Thus if the rupee was traded at 42.90 against dollar, banks sold dollars above 42.90 but brought it below 42.90 if a customer wants to sell.
Although the impact of transaction cost will get negated between banks since both (banks) would have to charge Rs 100 to each other, the customers will not end up paying more. For banks, this move will helps them shore up their fee income.
Senior dealers from government owned bank said that the Rs 100 transaction cost is applicable even when they buy or sell dollars for the Reserve Bank of India. “Both the bank and RBI has declared transaction cost of Rs 100 and we paying service tax on it,” said a forex dealers with a large public sector bank.
The entire purpose of fixing a standard transaction cost was to avoid any price war. Besides, for inter-bank transactions banks don’t have to maintain any ledger entry since the Rs 100 get negated on each side of the trade and both banks pay service tax directly to the government.
All banks have uniformly decided to declare Rs 100 as transaction cost. This means that for all interbank transactions, banks are charging their counterpart (another bank) Rs 100 as transaction cost and another Rs 12.50 as service tax. Similarly, most banks are charging their customers - retail and corporate - Rs 100 as transaction cost plus Rs 12.5 as service tax.
So far, banks were not charging any transaction cost to their customers and for interbank transactions. Banks made money in forex transactions by charging a higher spread over the foreign currency. Thus if the rupee was traded at 42.90 against dollar, banks sold dollars above 42.90 but brought it below 42.90 if a customer wants to sell.
Although the impact of transaction cost will get negated between banks since both (banks) would have to charge Rs 100 to each other, the customers will not end up paying more. For banks, this move will helps them shore up their fee income.
Senior dealers from government owned bank said that the Rs 100 transaction cost is applicable even when they buy or sell dollars for the Reserve Bank of India. “Both the bank and RBI has declared transaction cost of Rs 100 and we paying service tax on it,” said a forex dealers with a large public sector bank.
The entire purpose of fixing a standard transaction cost was to avoid any price war. Besides, for inter-bank transactions banks don’t have to maintain any ledger entry since the Rs 100 get negated on each side of the trade and both banks pay service tax directly to the government.
A personality for trouble
City psychologists delve into the minds of the accused — Maria Susairaj and her beau M L Jerome Matthew — in the Neeraj Grover murder
Psychiatrist Dr Ashit Sheth draws attention to the sexual politics that belie the Neeraj Grover tragedy. Maria Susairaj is an actress, and this is perhaps telling about her personality.
“Two personality types — histrionic and borderline,” says Sheth, “steer towards glamorous professions that give them adulation and recognition to satisfy their attention-seeking behaviour. These people tend to be exhibitive, dramatic, seductive, self-centred, demonstrative, charming, goodlooking and manipulative.
They are often in multiple relationships at a time and like to create conflict between their suitors for attention and excitement.”
While the underlying fear in a borderline personality is of abandonment, the histrionic personality seeks relief from boredom, often by indulging in sexual promiscuity. This kind of personality exchanges sex for material favours and are superficial with their self-esteem propped in no small part by their looks. Both are very impulsive and more likely to abuse substances. “Nine out of 10 borderline personalities,” says psychologist Alina Phillip, “have a history of sexual abuse, mostly in their childhood. They appeal to the protective, macho instincts of a man.”
Sheth and his colleagues, psychologists Devanshi Jalal, Saloni Sawnani and Phillip, draw our attention to three facts — that M L Jerome Matthew immediately flew up to Mumbai after he learned of the presence of a man in his girlfriend’s house; he attacked Grover and not Susairaj; and Susairaj helped him dispose of the body.
“We know of many cases,” says Sawnani, “where the girl is so charming and manipulative that she is able to convince both men she is with that she truly loves them. She always sides with the one she is talking to and often orchestrates fights or skirmishes.”
“This,” adds Jalal, “gives her attention and power, while reinforcing the belief that she is desirable and sought-after.”
“But while all this is happening around her,” says Phillip, “she maintains the “poor me” stand. She is always the “victim” of the circumstances.”
This may explain why Matthew attacked Grover and not Susairaj. “It is likely that she pinned the blame on him saying, ‘He forced himself on me”, or ‘He over-stayed his welcome,’” says Sheth, turning the blame away from her and towards Grover. She perhaps even had a history of cheating or luring other men, which would explain why Matthew flew out to Mumbai impulsively.
And lastly, Susairaj helped Matthew hide his tracks, even when she had a chance to get away (she went to the mall to get the butcher’s knife and other paraphernalia). A person who has just witnessed a murder is more likely to be afraid and run to the police than abet a crime.
“But she acted true to personality,” says Sheth, “With one man gone, she played good partner to the other, helping him cover his crime. It is possible she did this to convince him that he was her true love. These personalities are dramatically demonstrative of their ‘affections’.” However, Susairaj has also said that Matthew raped her twice at knife-point, so one cannot discount her acting out of fear.
Matthew, on the other hand, is a naval officer. “Unbending idealistic personalities,” says Sheth, “choose professions such as the armed and police forces. Since they are justified in killing people, and glorified for killing large number of “enemies” they are also de-sensitised to taking lives. Which is why it is not unheard of policemen and soldiers taking lives for personal vendetta.”
Some people who choose these professions are also anti-socials, add the psychologists, “They do not form human relationships and are devoid of guilt or repercussions to their actions.”
Whatever be the dangerous cocktail of personalities involved, the result is that Grover’s parents don’t even have the consolation of seeing their dead son one last time.
Psychiatrist Dr Ashit Sheth draws attention to the sexual politics that belie the Neeraj Grover tragedy. Maria Susairaj is an actress, and this is perhaps telling about her personality.
“Two personality types — histrionic and borderline,” says Sheth, “steer towards glamorous professions that give them adulation and recognition to satisfy their attention-seeking behaviour. These people tend to be exhibitive, dramatic, seductive, self-centred, demonstrative, charming, goodlooking and manipulative.
They are often in multiple relationships at a time and like to create conflict between their suitors for attention and excitement.”
While the underlying fear in a borderline personality is of abandonment, the histrionic personality seeks relief from boredom, often by indulging in sexual promiscuity. This kind of personality exchanges sex for material favours and are superficial with their self-esteem propped in no small part by their looks. Both are very impulsive and more likely to abuse substances. “Nine out of 10 borderline personalities,” says psychologist Alina Phillip, “have a history of sexual abuse, mostly in their childhood. They appeal to the protective, macho instincts of a man.”
Sheth and his colleagues, psychologists Devanshi Jalal, Saloni Sawnani and Phillip, draw our attention to three facts — that M L Jerome Matthew immediately flew up to Mumbai after he learned of the presence of a man in his girlfriend’s house; he attacked Grover and not Susairaj; and Susairaj helped him dispose of the body.
“We know of many cases,” says Sawnani, “where the girl is so charming and manipulative that she is able to convince both men she is with that she truly loves them. She always sides with the one she is talking to and often orchestrates fights or skirmishes.”
“This,” adds Jalal, “gives her attention and power, while reinforcing the belief that she is desirable and sought-after.”
“But while all this is happening around her,” says Phillip, “she maintains the “poor me” stand. She is always the “victim” of the circumstances.”
This may explain why Matthew attacked Grover and not Susairaj. “It is likely that she pinned the blame on him saying, ‘He forced himself on me”, or ‘He over-stayed his welcome,’” says Sheth, turning the blame away from her and towards Grover. She perhaps even had a history of cheating or luring other men, which would explain why Matthew flew out to Mumbai impulsively.
And lastly, Susairaj helped Matthew hide his tracks, even when she had a chance to get away (she went to the mall to get the butcher’s knife and other paraphernalia). A person who has just witnessed a murder is more likely to be afraid and run to the police than abet a crime.
“But she acted true to personality,” says Sheth, “With one man gone, she played good partner to the other, helping him cover his crime. It is possible she did this to convince him that he was her true love. These personalities are dramatically demonstrative of their ‘affections’.” However, Susairaj has also said that Matthew raped her twice at knife-point, so one cannot discount her acting out of fear.
Matthew, on the other hand, is a naval officer. “Unbending idealistic personalities,” says Sheth, “choose professions such as the armed and police forces. Since they are justified in killing people, and glorified for killing large number of “enemies” they are also de-sensitised to taking lives. Which is why it is not unheard of policemen and soldiers taking lives for personal vendetta.”
Some people who choose these professions are also anti-socials, add the psychologists, “They do not form human relationships and are devoid of guilt or repercussions to their actions.”
Whatever be the dangerous cocktail of personalities involved, the result is that Grover’s parents don’t even have the consolation of seeing their dead son one last time.
MARIA vs MARIA
How the killer took cops on the wrong track but was finally trapped by Rakesh Maria's men
The Neeraj Grover case was a straight contest between two Marias. On one side was the investigator, a sharp policeman with probing eyes and a wealth of experience in cracking serious cases: Joint CP (crime) Rakesh Maria. On the other side was the culprit, a film and TV actress, deft at feigning emotions and changing expressions at will: Maria Sushairaj.
Sushairaj, who was not just a witness to but a partner in what could be termed as one of the most gruesome murders in recent hsitory, mainatained a staright face through much of the investigation by the police.
She posed as a concerned friend of Grover and lodged his missing complaint on May 7 with the police herself. Whenever she was interrogated by police, she came across as a friend of Grover who was genuinely worried about his sudden disappearance. She maintained her story of two girls, Nisha and Varsha, calling Grover several times and Grover leaving her house at 12.30 am on May 7, through several interrogations. She even met Maria and expressed the same concern about her friend, and the master investigator did not suspect her a bit.
"She was so confident when she said anything or narrated any story with such precision that we never suspected her in the beginning. She showed no signs of any nervousness generally exhibited by a person who has committed a crime. In fact, after three-four sessions of interrogation, we were so convinced by her stories that we almost thought she was completely innocent," said a crime branch official.
In fact, till about 10 sessions of questioning from May 9 till May 17, police had no clue of her involvement. However, as no murder is a perfect murder, Matthew and Sushairaj too had committed some mistakes. And ultimately the law caught up.
Rakesh Maria's team found a watchman who had seen Sushairaj and her boyfriend Matthew leave in a Santro car in the evening of May 7 and got suspicious of Sushairaj.
However, police knew Sushairaj was a smooth operator and so played a trick with her.
They first asked her: "Do you know driving?" Sushairaj said: "Yes." The policemen then asked: "Do you own a vehicle?" She said: "I used to have a Zen but not anymore." The police asked: "Then whose car were you driving on the evning on May 7?"
This was the question that first showed signs of nervousness on Sushairaj's face, and on further grilling by Maria's cops, she broke down and confessed.
AFTER GROVER KILLED
RAPE AND COVER UP
While a horrified Sushairaj was still coming to terms with what had just happened, Matthew instructed her to go to Hypercity Mall nearby and fetch bedspreads, curtains, air freshner, sports bags and a chopping knife to remove all traces of the crime.
"Matthew was meticulous in destroying the evidence. He instructed Sushairaj to buy all the things, except the knife, using her debit card. He knew police would look for the weapon and so asked her to buy it in cash. Fearing Sushairaj might run away or alert someone while she was out, Matthew asked her to be in constant touch with him on the phone untill she returned from the mall," said Borkar.
As soon as Sushairaj returned, Matthew allegedly took the knife and raped her at knifepoint, said Borkar. He then chopped Grover's body into small pieces and stuffed them into the bags. The two cleaned the entire house before Sushairaj arranged for a Santro car in which they put the bags and left the house around 5 pm. They drove towards Manor in Thane district and burnt the body at a desolate place in the jungle near Amgaon village.
ALIBIS AND FEIGNED
INNOCENCE
While Matthew left for Kochi the same eveing, Sushairaj went to Malad police station and lodged a missing complaint about Grover. When questioned, Sushairaj maintained that she was a very close friend of Grover who was very concerned about him going missing. She repeatedly told police that Grover left her house around 12.30 am on May 7 after he got several calls from two of his friends Nisha and Varsha.
FLAWS LEADING TO DETECTION OF THE CRIME
After seven-eight days of questioning Sushairaj, watchmen and some other people, police were on the verge of giving Sushairaj a clean chit when they got a breakthrough.
A day-watchman named Satish Singh claimed to have seen Sushairaj and another man, who she claimed was her fiance, leaving the building in a Santro car. Police got suspicious as Sushairaj had never mentioned this fact.
Singh told Mumbai Mirror, "Around 5 pm on May 7, I saw her going out with a man in the car. I greeted her and she smiled back asking how I was. She then held the chin of the man with her and said he was her fiance. When police asked me, I told them that the man did not look at all like Grover."
THE CONFESSION
On May 17, the police confronted Sushairaj. She was still evasive and insisted that she had got the car from a friend named Jiten for some work. However, when police questioned Jiten, he said he did not give the car to her. Jiten claimed Sushairaj had asked him to tell anyone enquiring about the car that she took the car because he owed her money.
This made the police even more suspicious about Sushairaj's role. When grilled again, Sushairaj claimed to have borrowed the car from Kiran Shreyas, a choreographer friend of Matthew's from Oshiwara, for shifting Matthew's household stuff.
However, when confronted with the contradictions, the watchman's version and the presence of her fiance, she broke down and confessed.
ABOUT THE COUPLE
Matthew and Sushairaj were mates at St Mathias School in Mysore. Matthew was two years younger to Sushairaj and a classmate of her sister. They were mere acquaintances in school and got close just over a year-and-ahalf ago when they bumped into each other on Orkut.
The Neeraj Grover case was a straight contest between two Marias. On one side was the investigator, a sharp policeman with probing eyes and a wealth of experience in cracking serious cases: Joint CP (crime) Rakesh Maria. On the other side was the culprit, a film and TV actress, deft at feigning emotions and changing expressions at will: Maria Sushairaj.Sushairaj, who was not just a witness to but a partner in what could be termed as one of the most gruesome murders in recent hsitory, mainatained a staright face through much of the investigation by the police.
She posed as a concerned friend of Grover and lodged his missing complaint on May 7 with the police herself. Whenever she was interrogated by police, she came across as a friend of Grover who was genuinely worried about his sudden disappearance. She maintained her story of two girls, Nisha and Varsha, calling Grover several times and Grover leaving her house at 12.30 am on May 7, through several interrogations. She even met Maria and expressed the same concern about her friend, and the master investigator did not suspect her a bit.
"She was so confident when she said anything or narrated any story with such precision that we never suspected her in the beginning. She showed no signs of any nervousness generally exhibited by a person who has committed a crime. In fact, after three-four sessions of interrogation, we were so convinced by her stories that we almost thought she was completely innocent," said a crime branch official.
In fact, till about 10 sessions of questioning from May 9 till May 17, police had no clue of her involvement. However, as no murder is a perfect murder, Matthew and Sushairaj too had committed some mistakes. And ultimately the law caught up.
Rakesh Maria's team found a watchman who had seen Sushairaj and her boyfriend Matthew leave in a Santro car in the evening of May 7 and got suspicious of Sushairaj.
However, police knew Sushairaj was a smooth operator and so played a trick with her.
They first asked her: "Do you know driving?" Sushairaj said: "Yes." The policemen then asked: "Do you own a vehicle?" She said: "I used to have a Zen but not anymore." The police asked: "Then whose car were you driving on the evning on May 7?"
This was the question that first showed signs of nervousness on Sushairaj's face, and on further grilling by Maria's cops, she broke down and confessed.
AFTER GROVER KILLED
RAPE AND COVER UP
While a horrified Sushairaj was still coming to terms with what had just happened, Matthew instructed her to go to Hypercity Mall nearby and fetch bedspreads, curtains, air freshner, sports bags and a chopping knife to remove all traces of the crime.
"Matthew was meticulous in destroying the evidence. He instructed Sushairaj to buy all the things, except the knife, using her debit card. He knew police would look for the weapon and so asked her to buy it in cash. Fearing Sushairaj might run away or alert someone while she was out, Matthew asked her to be in constant touch with him on the phone untill she returned from the mall," said Borkar.
As soon as Sushairaj returned, Matthew allegedly took the knife and raped her at knifepoint, said Borkar. He then chopped Grover's body into small pieces and stuffed them into the bags. The two cleaned the entire house before Sushairaj arranged for a Santro car in which they put the bags and left the house around 5 pm. They drove towards Manor in Thane district and burnt the body at a desolate place in the jungle near Amgaon village.
ALIBIS AND FEIGNED
INNOCENCE
While Matthew left for Kochi the same eveing, Sushairaj went to Malad police station and lodged a missing complaint about Grover. When questioned, Sushairaj maintained that she was a very close friend of Grover who was very concerned about him going missing. She repeatedly told police that Grover left her house around 12.30 am on May 7 after he got several calls from two of his friends Nisha and Varsha.
FLAWS LEADING TO DETECTION OF THE CRIME
After seven-eight days of questioning Sushairaj, watchmen and some other people, police were on the verge of giving Sushairaj a clean chit when they got a breakthrough.
A day-watchman named Satish Singh claimed to have seen Sushairaj and another man, who she claimed was her fiance, leaving the building in a Santro car. Police got suspicious as Sushairaj had never mentioned this fact.
Singh told Mumbai Mirror, "Around 5 pm on May 7, I saw her going out with a man in the car. I greeted her and she smiled back asking how I was. She then held the chin of the man with her and said he was her fiance. When police asked me, I told them that the man did not look at all like Grover."
THE CONFESSION
On May 17, the police confronted Sushairaj. She was still evasive and insisted that she had got the car from a friend named Jiten for some work. However, when police questioned Jiten, he said he did not give the car to her. Jiten claimed Sushairaj had asked him to tell anyone enquiring about the car that she took the car because he owed her money.
This made the police even more suspicious about Sushairaj's role. When grilled again, Sushairaj claimed to have borrowed the car from Kiran Shreyas, a choreographer friend of Matthew's from Oshiwara, for shifting Matthew's household stuff.
However, when confronted with the contradictions, the watchman's version and the presence of her fiance, she broke down and confessed.
ABOUT THE COUPLE
Matthew and Sushairaj were mates at St Mathias School in Mysore. Matthew was two years younger to Sushairaj and a classmate of her sister. They were mere acquaintances in school and got close just over a year-and-ahalf ago when they bumped into each other on Orkut.
Neeraj Grover is responsible for his own death.
What happend with Neeraj body is really bad, I condemend the act but he was killed not for saving his country. What he was doining was not a great act. He was fully aware that Maria Susairaj and M L Jerome Matthew were couple and having affair and inspite of Mattew warning him not to stay he still stayed overnight to enjoy.What M L Jerome Matthew have been done is the act anyone in his place would have done.If Neeraj would have been in his place he would have done something similar not making 300 pices but he would have acted the same way M L Jerome Matthew did.
I only feel bad for his parents who are suffering because of Neeraj. There are many people like Neeraj in the city who enjoy company of others wife and girlfriends. Knowlingly they are doining this and they are fully aware that if they are caught they will be get nicely from the husband or boyfriend.
Girls and wifes need to think twice before acting in such way. The urban life there is hardly time for couples to spend time with each other. They hardly meet and discuss the problems in relation. Peoople like Neeraj take advantage of such girl and women situation and try to take advanatge of them.Sorry Neeraj you are no hero. See your parents and other romeos like neeraj should see and learn from this episode that girls will go back to their original love and if your caught you are gone boss.
Do not make your parents suffered for your selfish acts and desires.
Last year there was similar case of an Army officer The lady had an affair beacuse due to army work she could not get time to discuss with his husband her problems.Also a model case whose boyfriend killed her mother and uncle and then shot himself also.
See Neeraj what you have done your parents are suffering beacuse you want to enjoy in life.
When they arrived at the Malad police station at 11.45 am to record their statement, Amarnath and Nirmala Grover looked composed. For the next three hours they patiently told the cops all they knew about their son Neeraj's stint in Mumbai.
At 3 pm, they stepped out for a break and confronted any parents' worst nightmare: their son's killer. As Maria Susairaj and M L Jerome Matthew came in, their heads covered Nirmala Grover's composure broke. "Why are their faces covered? Did they cover their faces when they murdered my son cruelly?" she screamed. Inside the police station the two kept staring at Matthew and at one point pleaded to see his face just once. To know what their son last looked at as he confronted his own death.
Despite their pleading the police turned down their request leaving a by-now broken Amarnath to say, "Even their lives have been destroyed. How could they be so brutal?"It's a question an entire city is asking.
MARIA RAPED
The story of the events on May 6-7 that ended with the murder of media executive Neeraj Grover and his body being chopped to 300 pieces by the assailant duo
The city has already been shaken by the murder of Neeraj Grover and the manner in which his body was cut into 300-odd pieces sounded horrifying, but more gruesome details of the events that transpired in the apartment of Maria Sushairaj on May 6-7 emerged during her 'confession' to the police.
She is believed to have told the police that her jealous boyfriend raped her, not once but twice, after asking her to get a knife and other materials to get rid of Grover's body.
Early on May 7, Sushairaj watched her boyfriend M L Jerome Matthew and her close friend Grover fight fiercely over her. The verbal duel soon turned violent with Grover lunging towards Matthew with a kitchen knife. At some point, Matthew got hold of the knife and stabbed Grover several times. Moments later while Grover lay lifeless in a pool of blood in the bathroom of Sushairaj's second floor flat in Dheeraj Solitair appartments at Malad, Matthew allegedly forced himself upon her, raping her twice at knife point.
Later, Matthew used the same knife, bought by Sushairaj on his instuructions, to chop Grover's body into 300 pieces. By her own claims, at this point her role changed from a witness to a partner in crime as she helped her boyfriend escape the clutches of the law.
According to Crime Branch officers, Grover, creative head of a production house, had b e c o m e close to Sushairaj, a Kannada actress and a Bollywood aspirant, over the past couple of months. They met often and Grover dropped in at her appartment in Dheeraj Solitair on May 6 as soon as she mentioned needing help in setting up her new home.
THE SUSPICION
Late at night on May 6, Matthew, a naval officer based in Kochi, called Sushairaj and got suspicious on hearing a man's voice in the background. Even as he enquired, Grover told Sushairaj, "Is your boyfriend getting too insecure about my presence here?"
Police said this further enraged a very possessive Matthew who had already been suspecting Sushairaj of having an affair because of her growing indifferent behaviour towards him.
"After Sushairaj shifted to Mumbai six months ago, she had started avoiding Matthew and had also postponed their engagement. Of late, she had taken a liking to Grover and his presence in her house that night confirmed Matthew's suspicions," said an officer with the Crime Branch.
THE SCUFFLE AND THE MURDER
Matthew caught an early morning flight and reached Sushairaj's home around 7.30 am. On finding a semi-clad Grover in his girlfriend's house, Matthew threw a fit and both men barked at each other fighting over Sushairaj.
Senior inspector Ashok Borkar of Crime Branch (unit IX), "An enraged Grover soon fetched a kitchen knife and lunged at Matthew menacingly. Being from the armed forces, Matthew easily tackled Grover. He ducked and punched Grover in the face pushing him into the bathroom. There he snatched the knife and stabbed Grover him several times killing him instantly."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Paying petrol bill with your card? Think again, you could be at risk
Hackers Are Using Magnetic Strip Readers & Encoders To Clone Card HACKERS around the world are getting innovative. From skimimng and cloning your credit card, to making fake sites; from using stolen cards on them to using new online trading models, the cyber thieves are working overtime to hack into your bank account. If you think that giving your credit or debit card to a petrol pump attendant or a restaurant waiter is safe, think again. Chances are that it would be ‘skimmed’ and ‘cloned’ into multiple cards by the time you reach home, warn security experts. Card thieves are using magnetic stripe readers and encoders which are easily available in the market for $250-$600. While a card reader can read the data on the magnetic band of your credit or debit card, an encoder can encode it on to any plastic card with a magnetic band, even a normal hotel room key.
Says network security management company Appin’s founder director, Rajat Khare, “All credit cards can be cloned by simply inscribing cards with a similar magnetic band just like a hotel number is fed into a magnetic room key. These kind of card frauds are becoming common.” Banks are advising customers to subscribe to mobile alerts. ICICI Bank card products head Sachin Khandelwal said, “We have a 45% market share with about 8.5 million credit cards in the market. The percentage of card frauds is low at about 4 basis points of all transactions. Nevertheless, we shoot an SMS alert for every transaction above Rs 2,000 to all our customers. Skimming of credit cards is generally done when a customer places a mail or phone order transaction.” In additions to mobile alerts, HDFC bank also provides an extra security layer for all credit and debit card customers. Through this facility, the cardholder can create his own additional password, which provides an additional security layer for all On-line transactions, said HDFC Bank credit card marketing head Parag Rao. 
Another kind of credit fraud happens even before a new card has been received from the bank. If you have just received a new credit card from the bank, but discover that it already has a charge attached on it, don’t be surprised. Credit card number generators are freely available online (on sites like http://www.brothersoft.com) which claim to generate card numbers of various companies starting from ‘5’ (Master Card) or ‘4’ (Visa) or other digits. It also generates 13, 16, 18 or 19 digit card numbers. These generators use the same algorithms like `Luhn formula’ used by government agencies and banks to generate numbers. “In one case, a hacker managed to crack the algorithm of a bank’s credit card generator and sold hundreds of numbers online. So even before the fresh card came into customer’s hands, they already had a charge on them. In another case, a credit card hacker set up a site and started using stolen card numbers to provide downloadable images and managed to siphon off about $2 million,” Mr Khare adds.
E-commerce portals have also become safe trading havens for hackers. It works like this: A hacker enters the stolen card number and CVV (card verification value) number, as mentioned on the reverse of the card, into an e-commerce site and buys a product. The payment is made but the buyer doesn’t take the delivery immediately. He gives the delivery date – of generally a week to 10 days. During this time, the hacker posts his costly buys (from the stolen card) on the portal for sale obviously for an even lower price. As the hacker gets a customer for his product, offered at a jaw dropping price, he gives the customer’s address as the delivery address, on the same or other portal. He receives cash from the final customer in an electronic cash account or an escrow account from where he converts it into hard cash.
Harsimran Singh NEW DELHI
harsimran.julka@timesgroup.com
State nod for elevated rail corridor
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal by the Union railway ministry to construct an elevated rail corridor from Churchgate to Virar. On May 29, the railways will open tenders from consultancy firms for a “socio-economic-environment’’ feasibility study for the project.
Estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore, this will be India’s first such rail corridor.
Railway minister Lalu Prasad, had in his budget speech, proposed an elevated corridor with air-conditioned bogies to ease congestion along the 60-km western suburban line, which carries 35 lakh passengers every day.
On May 13, S K Vij, member, engineering department of the ministry of railways, and Gajendra Haldea, advisor to the planning commission, met chief secretary Johny Joseph to take the proposal forward. T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development, made a presentation to the cabinet on Wednesday, following which the plan was given inprinciple approval, and the state government has promised to extend its cooperation.
“The plan is for an elevated corridor, at a height of 12 to 15 metres above the ground. Where there are railway overbridges, the corridor will go over the ROBs,’’ said Benjamin, adding, there is no more land to build terrestrial rail lines.
There will be stations and booking offices, just like in the terrestrial rail network, and the elevated corridor is projected to transport 15 lakh passengers per day. The railways intend to extend the line to CST, Nariman Point and Mantralaya from its Churchgate end.
The railways will construct columns along the length of the existing suburban track, and in some cases, especially between Mumbai Central and Charni Road, these columns may have to be constructed a little way from the tracks and on to the road, said Benjamin. The state government has said it will help the railways with rehabilitation of the Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
The state government will have no financial involvement in the project which is to be funded on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with the private party likely to be allowed to run the rail line for 35-40 years before it is handed back to the government. The average fare per passenger is expected to be Rs 20 per day, which will allow the private party to collect Rs 3 crore per day.
Estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore, this will be India’s first such rail corridor.
Railway minister Lalu Prasad, had in his budget speech, proposed an elevated corridor with air-conditioned bogies to ease congestion along the 60-km western suburban line, which carries 35 lakh passengers every day.
On May 13, S K Vij, member, engineering department of the ministry of railways, and Gajendra Haldea, advisor to the planning commission, met chief secretary Johny Joseph to take the proposal forward. T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development, made a presentation to the cabinet on Wednesday, following which the plan was given inprinciple approval, and the state government has promised to extend its cooperation.
“The plan is for an elevated corridor, at a height of 12 to 15 metres above the ground. Where there are railway overbridges, the corridor will go over the ROBs,’’ said Benjamin, adding, there is no more land to build terrestrial rail lines.
There will be stations and booking offices, just like in the terrestrial rail network, and the elevated corridor is projected to transport 15 lakh passengers per day. The railways intend to extend the line to CST, Nariman Point and Mantralaya from its Churchgate end.
The railways will construct columns along the length of the existing suburban track, and in some cases, especially between Mumbai Central and Charni Road, these columns may have to be constructed a little way from the tracks and on to the road, said Benjamin. The state government has said it will help the railways with rehabilitation of the Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
The state government will have no financial involvement in the project which is to be funded on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with the private party likely to be allowed to run the rail line for 35-40 years before it is handed back to the government. The average fare per passenger is expected to be Rs 20 per day, which will allow the private party to collect Rs 3 crore per day.
Cancelling air ticket? Get full refund of taxes
New Delhi:Domestic airlines will no longer be able to hold people who cancel their tickets to ransom by either delaying refunds indefinitely or asking them to forget about their money and fly again within a fixed period. With complaints on these counts rising, the government is all set to issue new refund rules as per which airlines cannot bind passengers with conditions of future travel but must make the refund within a week.
More importantly, the new guidelines also make it mandatory for airlines to refund the entire amount of the service fee (Rs 225), congestion surcharge (Rs 150) and fuel surcharge (currently Rs 1,950 for short flights and Rs 2,350 for others) to passengers who cancel their tickets.
The three fees alone add up to Rs 2,325 for flights below an hour’s duration and Rs 2,725 for others, and low cost carriers who been giving away tickets with basic fares of Re 1, 3, 99 or even zero will now be forced to come clean on their pricing strategy and offer basic fares that give them leverage to hold back some cancellation amount.
These radical rules are contained in a new civil aviation requirement (CAR) framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and approved by the aviation ministry last week. The DGCA is likely to implement them soon.
CAR has taken note of passengers’ longstanding woes. “The issue of refund by airlines has become a major source of grievance among passengers. A large number of complaints are received regularly,’’ it says.
NEW RULES
In case of credit card payments, airlines will have to make refund within 7 days of cancellation
In case of cash transactions, refund to be made immediately at point of sale
Airlines will refund service fee, fuel and congestion surcharge
Passengers will have to be given option of refund while being offered tickets for future travel
Source: DGCA’s new CAR
Air fare: Govt says it was forced to act
New Delhi: Indicting domestic airlines, the new civil aviation requirement (CAR) framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that though the government does not usually interfere in their commercial practices, “the volume of complaints necessitates some affirmative action to safeguard the interests of the travelling public. The matter has been discussed in several meetings with airlines (but) with no improvement in the system...it is now considered that the onus rests on the government to fix some minimum benckmarks’’.
Under the new benchmarks, airlines will have to make refunds for payments made by credit card within seven days of the cancellation.
“In case of cash transactions, refunds shall be made immediately by the airline office from where the ticket was purchased,’’ CAR says.
Many airlines, especially low cost ones, do not govern refunds for cancelled tickets. They deduct a cancellation charge and keep the balance which can be adjusted by the passenger for flying that airline within a certain time. “This is a patently consumer-unfriendly move that we want to correct,’’ said a senior official.
The government consulted the refund rules of several countries before coming out with its own very stringent draft of rules.
More importantly, the new guidelines also make it mandatory for airlines to refund the entire amount of the service fee (Rs 225), congestion surcharge (Rs 150) and fuel surcharge (currently Rs 1,950 for short flights and Rs 2,350 for others) to passengers who cancel their tickets.
The three fees alone add up to Rs 2,325 for flights below an hour’s duration and Rs 2,725 for others, and low cost carriers who been giving away tickets with basic fares of Re 1, 3, 99 or even zero will now be forced to come clean on their pricing strategy and offer basic fares that give them leverage to hold back some cancellation amount.
These radical rules are contained in a new civil aviation requirement (CAR) framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and approved by the aviation ministry last week. The DGCA is likely to implement them soon.
CAR has taken note of passengers’ longstanding woes. “The issue of refund by airlines has become a major source of grievance among passengers. A large number of complaints are received regularly,’’ it says.
NEW RULES
In case of credit card payments, airlines will have to make refund within 7 days of cancellation
In case of cash transactions, refund to be made immediately at point of sale
Airlines will refund service fee, fuel and congestion surcharge
Passengers will have to be given option of refund while being offered tickets for future travel
Source: DGCA’s new CAR
Air fare: Govt says it was forced to act
New Delhi: Indicting domestic airlines, the new civil aviation requirement (CAR) framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that though the government does not usually interfere in their commercial practices, “the volume of complaints necessitates some affirmative action to safeguard the interests of the travelling public. The matter has been discussed in several meetings with airlines (but) with no improvement in the system...it is now considered that the onus rests on the government to fix some minimum benckmarks’’.
Under the new benchmarks, airlines will have to make refunds for payments made by credit card within seven days of the cancellation.
“In case of cash transactions, refunds shall be made immediately by the airline office from where the ticket was purchased,’’ CAR says.
Many airlines, especially low cost ones, do not govern refunds for cancelled tickets. They deduct a cancellation charge and keep the balance which can be adjusted by the passenger for flying that airline within a certain time. “This is a patently consumer-unfriendly move that we want to correct,’’ said a senior official.
The government consulted the refund rules of several countries before coming out with its own very stringent draft of rules.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
China aid gets trapped in the phishing net
Phishers Pose As Red Cross Reps, Siphon Off Donations Meant For China’s Quake Victims
CALL it phishing in troubled waters. As China mourns a devastating earthquake and gears up for more aftershocks, cyber criminals are cashing in on the international aid. A chunk of online donations made to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Sichuan has been siphoned off by phishers, according to international cyber security engine Websense.
The attack was hosted in China. The phishing site posed itself as a representative of the Red Cross and provided multiple bank account numbers for donors to send in donations. The link of the phishing website has gone down after alerts were issued by security agencies. However, authorities fear the culprits could resurface somewhere else in the cyber world. Phishing denotes an attempt to acquire personal data like passwords and credit card details from surfers through fraudulent means. Usually, the surfers are directed to some links where they have to enter personal information.
“Normally, such links are active for 6-7 hours after which hackers go for phishing using a different identity,” Websense Security Labs channel manager for SAARC region Jyoti Prakash said. “Similar incidents had also taken place after hurricane Katrina and there are chances that hackers would not leave donations for victims of cyclone Nargis untouched, though no such instance have come to light until now,” he said.
Though financial losses from such attacks run into millions of dollars, it is very difficult to get accurate details for any single event as multiple links and bank account numbers are used by hackers for such activities.
Phishing losses hit $3.2 billion last year
IN MOST cases, phishers use emails for enticing prospective donors towards contributing online. “In about 5% of the cases, they are successful in enticing donors,” Mr Prakash said.
Internet users could save themselves from being the victim of these crimes by following guidelines listed out by reputed security agencies or government organisations like CERT. For instance, internet users are advised to type the complete web address of a particular website that they want to visit and avoid getting channelled to other sites, especially in cases where financial transactions are involved.
According to a Gartner survey, financial losses due to phishing attacks rose to around $3.2 billion in 2007. E-commerce is the number one victim of phishing attacks, accounting for around 51% of the total incidents, followed by financial services, which accounted for 47% of the incidents in 2007, according to information available with the Department of Information Technology (DIT).
Niranjan Bharati NEW DELHI
niranjan.bharati@timesgroup.com
CALL it phishing in troubled waters. As China mourns a devastating earthquake and gears up for more aftershocks, cyber criminals are cashing in on the international aid. A chunk of online donations made to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Sichuan has been siphoned off by phishers, according to international cyber security engine Websense.
The attack was hosted in China. The phishing site posed itself as a representative of the Red Cross and provided multiple bank account numbers for donors to send in donations. The link of the phishing website has gone down after alerts were issued by security agencies. However, authorities fear the culprits could resurface somewhere else in the cyber world. Phishing denotes an attempt to acquire personal data like passwords and credit card details from surfers through fraudulent means. Usually, the surfers are directed to some links where they have to enter personal information. 
“Normally, such links are active for 6-7 hours after which hackers go for phishing using a different identity,” Websense Security Labs channel manager for SAARC region Jyoti Prakash said. “Similar incidents had also taken place after hurricane Katrina and there are chances that hackers would not leave donations for victims of cyclone Nargis untouched, though no such instance have come to light until now,” he said. Though financial losses from such attacks run into millions of dollars, it is very difficult to get accurate details for any single event as multiple links and bank account numbers are used by hackers for such activities.
Phishing losses hit $3.2 billion last year
IN MOST cases, phishers use emails for enticing prospective donors towards contributing online. “In about 5% of the cases, they are successful in enticing donors,” Mr Prakash said.
Internet users could save themselves from being the victim of these crimes by following guidelines listed out by reputed security agencies or government organisations like CERT. For instance, internet users are advised to type the complete web address of a particular website that they want to visit and avoid getting channelled to other sites, especially in cases where financial transactions are involved.
According to a Gartner survey, financial losses due to phishing attacks rose to around $3.2 billion in 2007. E-commerce is the number one victim of phishing attacks, accounting for around 51% of the total incidents, followed by financial services, which accounted for 47% of the incidents in 2007, according to information available with the Department of Information Technology (DIT).
Niranjan Bharati NEW DELHI
niranjan.bharati@timesgroup.com
Pak-owned shares worth crores sleeping with the enemy
WHAT happens when your shares are under the control of an obscure government office of a country and all the proceeds accruing from the shares keep on piling up in the treasury of that government? Not great. Ask 18,560 Pakistani shareholders whose aggregate shareholding in 558 Indian companies and all benefits accruing on the shares are under the control of the custodian of enemy property.
Equity assets worth thousands of crores originally owned by Pakistani shareholders are locked up with the government of India under the office of custodian of enemy property.As per the custodian’s records, the current market value of such shareholding in the top five companies is a staggering Rs 1,069 crore. The companies include Wipro, Cipla, the Tata group (five companies), ACC and the DCM group (three companies).
The numbers look even bigger at the individual shareholder level. Two Pakistani shareholders together hold a whopping one crore shares in Wipro worth Rs 504 crore while 34 shareholders in Cipla jointly own 2.3 crore shares valued at Rs 482 crore. The combined shareholding in the Tata group companies, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tata Coffee, is 4.4 lakh shares worth Rs 48 crore.
Similarly, ACC and the DCM group of companies have a joint shareholding of Rs 26 crore and Rs 9 crore respectively.
The latest dividend income from shareholding of the top five companies was worth Rs 12 crore. As on March 31, 2007, the custodian had over Rs 200 crore of dividend income as deposits with RBI.
The market value of such holding in other companies is also expected to run in hundreds of crores as Pakistani citizens had equity holdings in Hindustan Unilever, ITC, DLF, Bajaj Electricals, CESC, Reliance Energy, EIH, Aditya Birla Nuvo, India Cement, Dalmia Cement and Ballarpur Industries, among others.
Though entrusted with the management of assets, the custodian office seems to be clueless about their current status. They fail to provide the latest shareholding, which made our task difficult. ETestimates for top five companies is based on the combined information provided by the respective companies as well as the custodian.
As per an undated estimate available from the office of custodian, the value of shares in top 45 listed companies in the custodian’s portfolio stands at only Rs 180 crore. ET investigation, however, revealed that in the case of many companies, the holding figures were highly underestimated and did not show the true picture. For instance, Wipro’s holding as per the custodian data stands at 16.6 lakh shares, which is minuscule against the current latest holding of one crore shares. Likewise, instead of 11 lakh shares, Cipla has over 2.3 crore shares under the control of the custodian.
While the portfolio includes leading listed companies, there are dozens of companies that have either closed down, were liquidated or merged with another company or simply can’t be traced. One of the little-heard name in the list is TESTI, in which two shareholders hold a whopping 23 lakh shares. However, no details of such a company were found.
So, what is the fate of the shareholders and their prized investments? The assets were seized by the government of India under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, in the aftermath of Indo-Pak conflict in 1965. The control of assets vests with the office of custodian of enemy property appointed under the Act, which is under the home ministry. As of now, the status quo remains in the absence of an agreement between the governments. Internationally, there is a system of pro-rata compensation once the countries sign a peace treaty. In this case, however, the Pakistan government is alleged to have liquidated the Indian-owned property. This has put Indian government in a piquant situation. “Unless Indian property owners are not compensated, it becomes tricky for us to release assets under our control,” says custodian Dinesh Singh.
Kiran Kabtta & Krishna Kant ET INTELLIGENCE GROUP
kiran.kabtta@timesgroup.com
Equity assets worth thousands of crores originally owned by Pakistani shareholders are locked up with the government of India under the office of custodian of enemy property.As per the custodian’s records, the current market value of such shareholding in the top five companies is a staggering Rs 1,069 crore. The companies include Wipro, Cipla, the Tata group (five companies), ACC and the DCM group (three companies). The numbers look even bigger at the individual shareholder level. Two Pakistani shareholders together hold a whopping one crore shares in Wipro worth Rs 504 crore while 34 shareholders in Cipla jointly own 2.3 crore shares valued at Rs 482 crore. The combined shareholding in the Tata group companies, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tata Coffee, is 4.4 lakh shares worth Rs 48 crore.
Similarly, ACC and the DCM group of companies have a joint shareholding of Rs 26 crore and Rs 9 crore respectively.
The latest dividend income from shareholding of the top five companies was worth Rs 12 crore. As on March 31, 2007, the custodian had over Rs 200 crore of dividend income as deposits with RBI.
The market value of such holding in other companies is also expected to run in hundreds of crores as Pakistani citizens had equity holdings in Hindustan Unilever, ITC, DLF, Bajaj Electricals, CESC, Reliance Energy, EIH, Aditya Birla Nuvo, India Cement, Dalmia Cement and Ballarpur Industries, among others.
Though entrusted with the management of assets, the custodian office seems to be clueless about their current status. They fail to provide the latest shareholding, which made our task difficult. ETestimates for top five companies is based on the combined information provided by the respective companies as well as the custodian.
As per an undated estimate available from the office of custodian, the value of shares in top 45 listed companies in the custodian’s portfolio stands at only Rs 180 crore. ET investigation, however, revealed that in the case of many companies, the holding figures were highly underestimated and did not show the true picture. For instance, Wipro’s holding as per the custodian data stands at 16.6 lakh shares, which is minuscule against the current latest holding of one crore shares. Likewise, instead of 11 lakh shares, Cipla has over 2.3 crore shares under the control of the custodian.
While the portfolio includes leading listed companies, there are dozens of companies that have either closed down, were liquidated or merged with another company or simply can’t be traced. One of the little-heard name in the list is TESTI, in which two shareholders hold a whopping 23 lakh shares. However, no details of such a company were found.
So, what is the fate of the shareholders and their prized investments? The assets were seized by the government of India under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, in the aftermath of Indo-Pak conflict in 1965. The control of assets vests with the office of custodian of enemy property appointed under the Act, which is under the home ministry. As of now, the status quo remains in the absence of an agreement between the governments. Internationally, there is a system of pro-rata compensation once the countries sign a peace treaty. In this case, however, the Pakistan government is alleged to have liquidated the Indian-owned property. This has put Indian government in a piquant situation. “Unless Indian property owners are not compensated, it becomes tricky for us to release assets under our control,” says custodian Dinesh Singh.
Kiran Kabtta & Krishna Kant ET INTELLIGENCE GROUP
kiran.kabtta@timesgroup.com
Third-party power of attorney to attract 5% stamp duty
State Moves To Plug PoA Loopholes, Check Misuse In Property Deals
Jayashree Bhosale PUNE
ISSUING power of attorney (PoA) to persons other than close relatives will henceforth prove to be a costly affair. The Maharashtra government is amending the Bombay Stamp Act, 1958, to avoid misuse of PoA documents.
Though the proposed amendment is aimed at plugging the loopholes developers use to avoid paying the stamp duty, it will, as a fallout, prevent rampant use of PoA in property transactions. The proposed amendment makes it clear that a PoA authorising “to sell or transfer immovable property without consideration” (ie payment) to people other than close relatives, will be held equivalent to a conveyance deed. Such a PoA will then attract the same duty as is leviable on a conveyance deed.
What this means is that a PoA will attract a nominal stamp duty of Rs 500 if it is used to transfer property only to a close relative. But if it’s used for transferring property to someone other than close relatives, it will attract a stamp duty of not less than 5%.
It’s been observed that developers, in order to not pay the stamp duty, avoid entering into a sales deed as the transaction attracts 5% duty. Instead, they show the transaction as a development agreement and get away by paying a mere 1% stamp duty. “The proposed amendment will prevent this tendency,” a government official said. The immediate fallout of the proposed legislation has been that some builders have already started registering their transactions as sales deeds instead of just development agreements.
Manasi Yande, in-charge of the Punebased law firm Yande and Company, pointed out, “If one has to pay the same stamp duty on PoA as in sales or conveyance deed, then the builders will prefer to do sales deed. This gives them the advantage of having the property in their name.”
The state’s move comes in the wake of rising number of instances of the misuse of PoA coming to the fore. With the rising demand for housing, instruments like the power of attorney have come into regular play. In October 2007, the local police arrested city builder Pradeep Runwal for allegedly forging PoA documents of 270 farmers’ on the outskirts of the city.
Another provision in the proposed changes to the Stamp Act relates to investor agreements. Investors had the tendency to not register their properties to avoid paying stamp duty. To encourage them to register their properties, the government had provided for investor agreements without paying stamp duty for three years. Now, it has proposed to bring down this period to one year. Government officials are confident that following changes in the Bombay Stamp Act, the state’s revenue would rise significantly.
jayashree.bhosale@timesgroup.com
Jayashree Bhosale PUNE
ISSUING power of attorney (PoA) to persons other than close relatives will henceforth prove to be a costly affair. The Maharashtra government is amending the Bombay Stamp Act, 1958, to avoid misuse of PoA documents.
Though the proposed amendment is aimed at plugging the loopholes developers use to avoid paying the stamp duty, it will, as a fallout, prevent rampant use of PoA in property transactions. The proposed amendment makes it clear that a PoA authorising “to sell or transfer immovable property without consideration” (ie payment) to people other than close relatives, will be held equivalent to a conveyance deed. Such a PoA will then attract the same duty as is leviable on a conveyance deed.
What this means is that a PoA will attract a nominal stamp duty of Rs 500 if it is used to transfer property only to a close relative. But if it’s used for transferring property to someone other than close relatives, it will attract a stamp duty of not less than 5%.
It’s been observed that developers, in order to not pay the stamp duty, avoid entering into a sales deed as the transaction attracts 5% duty. Instead, they show the transaction as a development agreement and get away by paying a mere 1% stamp duty. “The proposed amendment will prevent this tendency,” a government official said. The immediate fallout of the proposed legislation has been that some builders have already started registering their transactions as sales deeds instead of just development agreements.
Manasi Yande, in-charge of the Punebased law firm Yande and Company, pointed out, “If one has to pay the same stamp duty on PoA as in sales or conveyance deed, then the builders will prefer to do sales deed. This gives them the advantage of having the property in their name.”
The state’s move comes in the wake of rising number of instances of the misuse of PoA coming to the fore. With the rising demand for housing, instruments like the power of attorney have come into regular play. In October 2007, the local police arrested city builder Pradeep Runwal for allegedly forging PoA documents of 270 farmers’ on the outskirts of the city.
Another provision in the proposed changes to the Stamp Act relates to investor agreements. Investors had the tendency to not register their properties to avoid paying stamp duty. To encourage them to register their properties, the government had provided for investor agreements without paying stamp duty for three years. Now, it has proposed to bring down this period to one year. Government officials are confident that following changes in the Bombay Stamp Act, the state’s revenue would rise significantly.
jayashree.bhosale@timesgroup.com
Sexual healing
While many may relate sex to simple 'fun', it also comes along with a bundle of health benefits. Read on to find out
RELIEVES STRESS
Many studies conducted have found that sex lowers blood pressure levels and also reduces the overall stress rates. A report submitted to the journal Biological psychology found that those who had frequent intercourse showed a better capacity to deal with stressful situations. Another study conducted found a connection between frequent hugs and lower blood pressure in women.
BOOSTS IMMUNITY
Studies have shown that those who have regular sex once or twice every week have higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA. And those who have higher levels of such an antibody are better protected from infections like common cold.
BURNS CALORIES
Many may not realise but sex requires a great deal of physical stamina and is an excellent work out. Moreover, the 'fun' part doesn't make it feel like an exercise at all! Statistics suggest that merely 30 minutes of sex burns approximately 85 calories or even more in some cases. Doesn't sound much? Look at it from a long term perspective. Indulge in sex regularly and about 42 half-hour sessions will have you burning about 3570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound.
FOR A HEALTHY HEART
Research has shown that having sex for about a week drastically reduced the risks of a fatal heart attack by almost 50 per cent in all men compared to those who had sex only once a month. While many elder folk relate sex to stroke, research doesn't show any such connection among those who enjoy good health.
BOOSTS SELF-ESTEEM
Most people look at sex as an effective mechanism for boosting their self-esteem. A great performance in bed works wonders not only for men, but also for women. In fact, those who enjoy high levels of self-esteem further indulge in sex to make them feel even better. A word of caution when boosting self-esteem in this case is that the sexual experience must make you feel loved and connected to your partner.
IMPROVES INTIMACY
Those bouts of orgasm not only work in the 'pleasure' aspect but also increase levels of oxytocin, also known as the ‘love hormone’ which plays an important role in building trust between partners. The higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity. So, the next time you feel a lot more generous and loved, you know who to credit.
REDUCES PAIN
As oxytocin increases, it increases the endorphins and that in the process reduces pain. Hence, the next time you are dealing with headache or maybe arthritis pain, the solution lies in moments of intimacy and increasing those levels of oxytocin. In an unusual study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapour experienced lower levels of pain.
AVOIDS PROSTATE CANCER
Men in early 20s who experience frequent ejaculation do themselves more benefit than they realise. Ejaculation often removes any cancerous cells (if present) in the prostate and makes way for the healthy ones.
PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES
Among women, doing some pelvic floor muscle exercises (also known as Kegels exercise) during sex has many benefits. It helps women experience far more pleasure and also strengthens the area. In later stages of life, it reduces risk of incontinence.
HELPS YOU SLEEP BETTER
The oxytocin that is released during orgasm also helps you sleep better, says research. And all of us know that there's nothing as healthy a good night's sleep. It helps to maintain a healthy weight and also stabilises blood pressure. So women, if you are still wondering why your man is active when having sex and snoring the next moment, this may be the answer.
RELIEVES STRESS Many studies conducted have found that sex lowers blood pressure levels and also reduces the overall stress rates. A report submitted to the journal Biological psychology found that those who had frequent intercourse showed a better capacity to deal with stressful situations. Another study conducted found a connection between frequent hugs and lower blood pressure in women.
BOOSTS IMMUNITY
Studies have shown that those who have regular sex once or twice every week have higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA. And those who have higher levels of such an antibody are better protected from infections like common cold.
BURNS CALORIES
Many may not realise but sex requires a great deal of physical stamina and is an excellent work out. Moreover, the 'fun' part doesn't make it feel like an exercise at all! Statistics suggest that merely 30 minutes of sex burns approximately 85 calories or even more in some cases. Doesn't sound much? Look at it from a long term perspective. Indulge in sex regularly and about 42 half-hour sessions will have you burning about 3570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound.
FOR A HEALTHY HEART
Research has shown that having sex for about a week drastically reduced the risks of a fatal heart attack by almost 50 per cent in all men compared to those who had sex only once a month. While many elder folk relate sex to stroke, research doesn't show any such connection among those who enjoy good health.
BOOSTS SELF-ESTEEM
Most people look at sex as an effective mechanism for boosting their self-esteem. A great performance in bed works wonders not only for men, but also for women. In fact, those who enjoy high levels of self-esteem further indulge in sex to make them feel even better. A word of caution when boosting self-esteem in this case is that the sexual experience must make you feel loved and connected to your partner.
IMPROVES INTIMACY
Those bouts of orgasm not only work in the 'pleasure' aspect but also increase levels of oxytocin, also known as the ‘love hormone’ which plays an important role in building trust between partners. The higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity. So, the next time you feel a lot more generous and loved, you know who to credit.
REDUCES PAIN
As oxytocin increases, it increases the endorphins and that in the process reduces pain. Hence, the next time you are dealing with headache or maybe arthritis pain, the solution lies in moments of intimacy and increasing those levels of oxytocin. In an unusual study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapour experienced lower levels of pain.
AVOIDS PROSTATE CANCER
Men in early 20s who experience frequent ejaculation do themselves more benefit than they realise. Ejaculation often removes any cancerous cells (if present) in the prostate and makes way for the healthy ones.
PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES
Among women, doing some pelvic floor muscle exercises (also known as Kegels exercise) during sex has many benefits. It helps women experience far more pleasure and also strengthens the area. In later stages of life, it reduces risk of incontinence.
HELPS YOU SLEEP BETTER
The oxytocin that is released during orgasm also helps you sleep better, says research. And all of us know that there's nothing as healthy a good night's sleep. It helps to maintain a healthy weight and also stabilises blood pressure. So women, if you are still wondering why your man is active when having sex and snoring the next moment, this may be the answer.
Ambani bids for Trans Harbour link unrealistic
State government calls for re-evaluation as the concessional periods for the link offered by the Ambani brothers differ drastically
The financial bids submitted by the Ambani brothers for the 22 km Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be re-evaluated, as the state government feels that the concessional periods offered by both of them seem unrealistic.
Anil Deshmukh, Public Works Department Minister and the chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), said Dar Consultants, who are also involved with the Bandra Worli Sea Link, are closely studying both bids which, in the government’s opinion, are quite ridiculous.
On February 20, 2008, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Energy-Hyundai Engineering consortium was awarded the bid after quoting a concessional period of 9 years, 11 months and 1 day, while Mukesh Ambani’s Sea King Infrastructure and IL&FS had quoted a concessional period of 75 years.
The concessional period for an infrastructure project is the time taken to complete the same, collect the toll, and then hand over the project to the government.
Deshmukh told Mumbai Mirror that both bids seemed frivolous in nature, and that a final decision would be taken based on the report submitted by the consultants to MSRDC within the next 15 days. A decision would be taken when the cabinet committee of infrastructure meets as the report would be put up at the meeting.
MSRDC, sources said, felt that the project would be viable if the company which is awarded the tender operates the bridge and collects toll for at least 44 years.
Sources said the financial bid of REL appears rather ambitious, as 10 years is too less a time to operate the bridge and collect toll as it will not be able to recover costs involved in the project. On the other hand, the 75-year concessional period of Sea King Infrastructure is far too long a time frame.
Sources pointed out that the toll — fixed at Rs 250 for heavy vehicles and Rs 120 for cars and light commercial vehicles — will not be enough to recover the cost in 10 years. “REL had set a short concessional period keeping in mind the large number of heavy vehicles that would ply on the route as various special economic zones,international airport, ports, etc would come into existence,” said sources close to the company, adding that both the technical and financial bids submitted by them give a clear indication that they are in a position to complete the work and collect the toll within the given time.
However, sources said that there appeared to be something fishy, as the letter of intent promised to REL within a month was not issued at all. REL officials, when contacted, refused to comment.
TRANS HARBOUR LINK
PHASE I: Construction of main bridge with six-lane facility from Sewri to Nhava including approaches at grade near Sewri end, interchange at NH4B near Chirle village, and underpasses at road and railway crossings. PHASE II: Dispersal System at Sewri connecting Eastern Freeway and Acharya Donde Marg to MTHL (Sewri Interchange). PHASE III: Construction of a broad gauge double track rail link from Sewri to Nhava on the north of the above mentioned facility, with a connection to the 6th corridor of the railway near Sewri and a connection to the Uran-Panvel rail link on Nhava side.
The pre-qualification bids took place in 2005.
The technical bids were issued on July 28, 2006. However, the REL bid was rejected by MSRDC on technical grounds.
The REL-led consortium then moved the Supreme Court which directed them to submit the bids again, which they did on December 15, 2007 financial bids were opened on February 20, 2008, and the project was awarded to REL.
However, in the course of rechecking the bids, it was felt that both the concessional periods mentioned by the bidders were too unrealistic. Hence, the govt decided to have the bids re-evaluated.
CONCESSIONAL PERIOD
The concessional period for an infrastructure project is the time taken to complete the project, collect the toll to cover the cost, and then hand over the project to the government.
The financial bids submitted by the Ambani brothers for the 22 km Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be re-evaluated, as the state government feels that the concessional periods offered by both of them seem unrealistic. Anil Deshmukh, Public Works Department Minister and the chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), said Dar Consultants, who are also involved with the Bandra Worli Sea Link, are closely studying both bids which, in the government’s opinion, are quite ridiculous.
On February 20, 2008, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Energy-Hyundai Engineering consortium was awarded the bid after quoting a concessional period of 9 years, 11 months and 1 day, while Mukesh Ambani’s Sea King Infrastructure and IL&FS had quoted a concessional period of 75 years.
The concessional period for an infrastructure project is the time taken to complete the same, collect the toll, and then hand over the project to the government.
Deshmukh told Mumbai Mirror that both bids seemed frivolous in nature, and that a final decision would be taken based on the report submitted by the consultants to MSRDC within the next 15 days. A decision would be taken when the cabinet committee of infrastructure meets as the report would be put up at the meeting.
MSRDC, sources said, felt that the project would be viable if the company which is awarded the tender operates the bridge and collects toll for at least 44 years.
Sources said the financial bid of REL appears rather ambitious, as 10 years is too less a time to operate the bridge and collect toll as it will not be able to recover costs involved in the project. On the other hand, the 75-year concessional period of Sea King Infrastructure is far too long a time frame.
Sources pointed out that the toll — fixed at Rs 250 for heavy vehicles and Rs 120 for cars and light commercial vehicles — will not be enough to recover the cost in 10 years. “REL had set a short concessional period keeping in mind the large number of heavy vehicles that would ply on the route as various special economic zones,international airport, ports, etc would come into existence,” said sources close to the company, adding that both the technical and financial bids submitted by them give a clear indication that they are in a position to complete the work and collect the toll within the given time.
However, sources said that there appeared to be something fishy, as the letter of intent promised to REL within a month was not issued at all. REL officials, when contacted, refused to comment.
TRANS HARBOUR LINK
PHASE I: Construction of main bridge with six-lane facility from Sewri to Nhava including approaches at grade near Sewri end, interchange at NH4B near Chirle village, and underpasses at road and railway crossings. PHASE II: Dispersal System at Sewri connecting Eastern Freeway and Acharya Donde Marg to MTHL (Sewri Interchange). PHASE III: Construction of a broad gauge double track rail link from Sewri to Nhava on the north of the above mentioned facility, with a connection to the 6th corridor of the railway near Sewri and a connection to the Uran-Panvel rail link on Nhava side.
The pre-qualification bids took place in 2005.
The technical bids were issued on July 28, 2006. However, the REL bid was rejected by MSRDC on technical grounds.
The REL-led consortium then moved the Supreme Court which directed them to submit the bids again, which they did on December 15, 2007 financial bids were opened on February 20, 2008, and the project was awarded to REL.
However, in the course of rechecking the bids, it was felt that both the concessional periods mentioned by the bidders were too unrealistic. Hence, the govt decided to have the bids re-evaluated.
CONCESSIONAL PERIOD
The concessional period for an infrastructure project is the time taken to complete the project, collect the toll to cover the cost, and then hand over the project to the government.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Banks catch the spy bug, keep eye on staffers
Incidents Like SocGen Fraud Have Increased Demand For e-Discovery Technology
Olesya Dmitracova & Jim Finkle LONDON/BOSTON
IF YOU work for a bank, a computer may be reading your e-mails, listening to your phone calls or analysing chat conversations as you type. Even banking workers used to the idea of surveillance might balk at the thought of a computer doing the job. But, there are strong prospects for the software niche, as banks try to keep a much closer eye on staff in the wake of scandals such as Jerome Kerviel’s rogue trading at Societe Generale, or the aggressive rumor-mill that undermined banks including HBOS and Bear Stearns.
“With the credit crisis and so on, people started to be much more careful,” said Ruggero Contu, principal research analyst at information technology consultants Gartner. Known collectively as e-discovery, these technologies are booming despite a slowdown in other areas. Gartner forecasts the segment will generate $760.5 million in revenues this year, up from $524.5 million in 2007.
The systems to record and monitor employee activity can help companies collect huge amounts of internal information — which they may increasingly need in the face of lawsuits spawned by the subprime crisis, or to meet rising regulatory demands.
US politicians are demanding tougher rules in the wake of the collapse of the once red-hot housing market, while the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act on corporate accounting and investor protection has already spawned hefty legal requirements.
“The overall tech base is under pressure on the back of the credit crunch but there are a few niches, for example the e-discovery space, which may benefit from the regulation,” said Josep Bori, technology sector analyst at Deutsche Bank. Banks are cutting non-essential spending and laying off staff to make up for losses and a slump in business. But spending on e-discovery bucks the trend.
“The one and only area where delays or cancellations are not happening is the regulatory and compliance. There’s no way to avoid compliance,” said Stephane Gregoire, a product management director at Brussels-headquartered FRSGlobal, which supplies regulatory reporting tools to top banks.
An obvious potential winner identified by Deutsche among others is Anglo-American Autonomy Corp, founded by Cambridge University researcher Mike Lynch. He said it was an Autonomy system that detected that mails created by Kerviel to support what he was saying had not been sent.
The company, with forecast revenue of more than $480 million this year according to analysts, sells search technology that can understand e-mail, text, voice and video data. The stock has outperformed the FTSE index by more than 50% over the past year.
“The effect of the subprime crisis appears now to be a positive for our business,” said Lynch. “This is all being driven by trading scandals and by the sharpening of requests from regulators.”
Many companies maintain the right to monitor an employee’s electronic correspondence using company property: in Britain, for instance, this is allowed if staff are informed and “the benefits outweigh the risks to individuals’ privacy,” according to the British Information Commissioner’s Office.
The problems the software can help resolve can be costly. Kerviel was blamed for a € 4.9-billion loss at Societe Generale. In March, over £3 billion was wiped off the value of British bank HBOS in less than an hour after some traders spread false rumours it had problems. Bear Stearns ended up being taken over. “It’s not new regulations that have caused an up-pick in interest, it really is incidents like Societe Generale — where communications were used to do illegal activities,” Akonix’s head of marketing Don Montgomery said. — Reuters
Olesya Dmitracova & Jim Finkle LONDON/BOSTON
IF YOU work for a bank, a computer may be reading your e-mails, listening to your phone calls or analysing chat conversations as you type. Even banking workers used to the idea of surveillance might balk at the thought of a computer doing the job. But, there are strong prospects for the software niche, as banks try to keep a much closer eye on staff in the wake of scandals such as Jerome Kerviel’s rogue trading at Societe Generale, or the aggressive rumor-mill that undermined banks including HBOS and Bear Stearns.
“With the credit crisis and so on, people started to be much more careful,” said Ruggero Contu, principal research analyst at information technology consultants Gartner. Known collectively as e-discovery, these technologies are booming despite a slowdown in other areas. Gartner forecasts the segment will generate $760.5 million in revenues this year, up from $524.5 million in 2007.
The systems to record and monitor employee activity can help companies collect huge amounts of internal information — which they may increasingly need in the face of lawsuits spawned by the subprime crisis, or to meet rising regulatory demands.
US politicians are demanding tougher rules in the wake of the collapse of the once red-hot housing market, while the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act on corporate accounting and investor protection has already spawned hefty legal requirements.
“The overall tech base is under pressure on the back of the credit crunch but there are a few niches, for example the e-discovery space, which may benefit from the regulation,” said Josep Bori, technology sector analyst at Deutsche Bank. Banks are cutting non-essential spending and laying off staff to make up for losses and a slump in business. But spending on e-discovery bucks the trend.
“The one and only area where delays or cancellations are not happening is the regulatory and compliance. There’s no way to avoid compliance,” said Stephane Gregoire, a product management director at Brussels-headquartered FRSGlobal, which supplies regulatory reporting tools to top banks.
An obvious potential winner identified by Deutsche among others is Anglo-American Autonomy Corp, founded by Cambridge University researcher Mike Lynch. He said it was an Autonomy system that detected that mails created by Kerviel to support what he was saying had not been sent.
The company, with forecast revenue of more than $480 million this year according to analysts, sells search technology that can understand e-mail, text, voice and video data. The stock has outperformed the FTSE index by more than 50% over the past year.
“The effect of the subprime crisis appears now to be a positive for our business,” said Lynch. “This is all being driven by trading scandals and by the sharpening of requests from regulators.”
Many companies maintain the right to monitor an employee’s electronic correspondence using company property: in Britain, for instance, this is allowed if staff are informed and “the benefits outweigh the risks to individuals’ privacy,” according to the British Information Commissioner’s Office.
The problems the software can help resolve can be costly. Kerviel was blamed for a € 4.9-billion loss at Societe Generale. In March, over £3 billion was wiped off the value of British bank HBOS in less than an hour after some traders spread false rumours it had problems. Bear Stearns ended up being taken over. “It’s not new regulations that have caused an up-pick in interest, it really is incidents like Societe Generale — where communications were used to do illegal activities,” Akonix’s head of marketing Don Montgomery said. — Reuters
These Maharashtra villagers need no loan waiver
IT’S not easy for a village in Maharashtra to oppose sugarcane cultivation and still survive. But Mhasvandi village on the Pune-Nashik highway, in the Sangamner taluka of the chronically droughtprone Ahmednagar district, did just that and not only survived but prospered too.The village has taken a policy decision to not allow borewells and sugarcane cultivation, which have been responsible for the depletion of the groundwater table in Ahmednagar district. The district leads in sugarcane production in the state and is home to some 18 sugar mills of the state’s total 170 sugar co-operatives.
Before 1995, when the Indo-German Watershed Project of Nabard was launched in
Mhasvandi, it was like any other Ahmednagar drought-prone village. The population of the village is 1,250, 40% of which is the tribal ‘thakar’ community. Growing rainfed bajra and grazing herds of desi cows was the villagers’ only occupation. With average annual rainfall of 399mm, even drinking water had to be fetched from far away.
But with the implementation of the watershed programme and women’s development through self help groups (SHG), the village is on the path to sustainable development. The social transformation has been brought about mainly through women’s empowerment. There are 23 SHGs with 160 members. Every household has a cooking gas connection. “We decided not to cut trees for cooking. So we took a loan of Rs 1 lakh from the village watershed committee and started a gas agency,” said Nanda Kale, a Mhasvandi resident.As most of the families have farms, purchasing seeds and fertilisers from Bota, which is 10 kms away, was a troublesome job. “We had to either walk for 10 kms or spend on transportation,” said Kisan Bodke. So the women started supplying seeds and fertilisers. The rooms for storing fertilisers and the gas cylinders were constructed solely through shramadan and monetary contribution of the villagers. Other SHG initiatives include distributing free grocery for households to celebrate Diwali. All the women in the village have life insurance policy.
A strong sense of community and unity has been developed in the village after the watershed programme. The elections to the gram panchayat are held with consensus since last 11 years. The villagers have revived the traditional ‘savad system’. It means all families, whether rich or poor, work on each other’s fields involved in sowing, harvesting etc. This has eliminated the need for farm labour. This co-operation has been extended to all activities. Nobody is alone here and this is perhaps the source of strength to beat all odds.No wonder then, no one from Mhasvandi village has any interest in the muchhyped Rs 60,000-crore farm loan waiver.
Jayashree Bhosale SANGAMNER
jayashree.bhosale @timesgroup.com
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Govt may get keys to your BlackBerry mailbox soon
ONLY NON-CORPORATE USERS
Rashmi Pratap MUMBAI
IN A major change of stance, Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) may allow the Indian government to intercept non-corporate emails sent over BlackBerrys. This is expected to solve the row between the Department of Telecom (DoT) and RIM to a large extent, since the government’s security concerns pertain more to emails from individual users than enterprise customers.
At the core of the issue is the data encryption technology used in BlackBerrys. Black-Berry uses a very high level of encryption — at 256 bits — while sending data. BlackBerry scrambles messages before sending and unscrambles them at the receiver’s end. Owing to security concerns, the government wants to be able to intercept and decode the data. However, the government’s decryption software can decode messages encrypted only up to 40 bits. India wants RIM to either hand over the decryption keys or reduce encryption to 40 bits.
According to officials close to the development, Canadian High Commissioner David Malone and RIM officials met telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura on May 7. “It was explained by RIM that it should be possible for the government to monitor emails to nonbusiness enterprise customers,” sources told ET. “RIM is considering giving access to individual users’ email to the government. Details on this will be provided in two or three weeks,” sources said.
BlackBerry offers two kinds of services — for enterprise (corporate) customers and for individual (non-corporate) users. Majority of its 1,14,000-plus customers in India are from the enterprise segment. However, decrypting emails of non-corporate customers is a larger security concern for Indian intelligence agencies.
BIT THE BULLET
The issue:
Indian security agencies want a system in place to monitor data and email sent between BlackBerry users. They say they can’t monitor mails as they bypass the networks of Indian operators and hit RIM’s Canada servers
DoT Call:
DoT proposes data between BlackBerry users be stored on telco servers for a year. It has asked RIM to use this period to move some of its servers to India, which will enable the country’s security agencies to monitor the traffic
High Stakes:
RIM, with over 1,14,000 customers in India, has huge interest here as the market is adding nearly 10 million subscribers every month
Key Pad:
International software solutions companies Cain Technologies and Cleartrail have approached the telecom department and intelligence agencies offering solutions for BlackBerry interception
Safety Measure
IB has rejected RIM’s proposal to decompress the data and emails sent from BlackBerry devices to a non-BlackBerry device. RIM had offered this solution because data on RIM network flow with the 256-bit advanced encryption standard, but India’s security agencies can intercept only 40-bit encryption
BlackBerry issue needs a comprehensive solution
A RIM spokesperson said: “RIM operates in more than 135 countries around the world and respects the regulatory requirements of governments. RIM does not comment on confidential regulatory matters or speculation on such matters in any given country.”
Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, however, said the move to give partial access to the government could open up potential legal risks for BlackBerry service providers. In India, Blackberry services are offered by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone and BPL Mobile. “By virtue of Section 79 of IT Act 2000, network service providers are made liable for all third-party data or information made available by them. Therefore, if such an action takes place, then potential of legal action arising cannot be ruled out,” Mr Duggal told ET.
He said there was a need for providing a more comprehensive solution to the issue. “BlackBerry issue has various ramifications — jurisdiction, location of servers, applicable law and a sovereign government exercising the right to intercept data located in foreign land. These piecemeal solutions will not work,” he said. The issue came to light after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence expressed inability to intercept any exchange of messages between hawala dealers and militant groups that use BlackBerry device.
Security agencies are said to be insisting that RIM must place its server, through which the information is routed to BlackBerry handhelds, in India. This is not acceptable to RIM as it does not do so in other countries where it offers services.
India has repeatedly assured RIM that its commercial interests will be protected and an amicable solution will be arrived at. Globally, there are over 14 million BlackBerry users and RIM has a large interest in the Indian market, which is adding nearly 10 million subscribers every month.
Rashmi Pratap MUMBAI
IN A major change of stance, Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) may allow the Indian government to intercept non-corporate emails sent over BlackBerrys. This is expected to solve the row between the Department of Telecom (DoT) and RIM to a large extent, since the government’s security concerns pertain more to emails from individual users than enterprise customers. At the core of the issue is the data encryption technology used in BlackBerrys. Black-Berry uses a very high level of encryption — at 256 bits — while sending data. BlackBerry scrambles messages before sending and unscrambles them at the receiver’s end. Owing to security concerns, the government wants to be able to intercept and decode the data. However, the government’s decryption software can decode messages encrypted only up to 40 bits. India wants RIM to either hand over the decryption keys or reduce encryption to 40 bits.
According to officials close to the development, Canadian High Commissioner David Malone and RIM officials met telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura on May 7. “It was explained by RIM that it should be possible for the government to monitor emails to nonbusiness enterprise customers,” sources told ET. “RIM is considering giving access to individual users’ email to the government. Details on this will be provided in two or three weeks,” sources said.
BlackBerry offers two kinds of services — for enterprise (corporate) customers and for individual (non-corporate) users. Majority of its 1,14,000-plus customers in India are from the enterprise segment. However, decrypting emails of non-corporate customers is a larger security concern for Indian intelligence agencies.
BIT THE BULLET
The issue:
Indian security agencies want a system in place to monitor data and email sent between BlackBerry users. They say they can’t monitor mails as they bypass the networks of Indian operators and hit RIM’s Canada servers
DoT Call:
DoT proposes data between BlackBerry users be stored on telco servers for a year. It has asked RIM to use this period to move some of its servers to India, which will enable the country’s security agencies to monitor the traffic
High Stakes:
RIM, with over 1,14,000 customers in India, has huge interest here as the market is adding nearly 10 million subscribers every month
Key Pad:
International software solutions companies Cain Technologies and Cleartrail have approached the telecom department and intelligence agencies offering solutions for BlackBerry interception
Safety Measure
IB has rejected RIM’s proposal to decompress the data and emails sent from BlackBerry devices to a non-BlackBerry device. RIM had offered this solution because data on RIM network flow with the 256-bit advanced encryption standard, but India’s security agencies can intercept only 40-bit encryption
BlackBerry issue needs a comprehensive solution
A RIM spokesperson said: “RIM operates in more than 135 countries around the world and respects the regulatory requirements of governments. RIM does not comment on confidential regulatory matters or speculation on such matters in any given country.”
Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, however, said the move to give partial access to the government could open up potential legal risks for BlackBerry service providers. In India, Blackberry services are offered by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone and BPL Mobile. “By virtue of Section 79 of IT Act 2000, network service providers are made liable for all third-party data or information made available by them. Therefore, if such an action takes place, then potential of legal action arising cannot be ruled out,” Mr Duggal told ET.
He said there was a need for providing a more comprehensive solution to the issue. “BlackBerry issue has various ramifications — jurisdiction, location of servers, applicable law and a sovereign government exercising the right to intercept data located in foreign land. These piecemeal solutions will not work,” he said. The issue came to light after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence expressed inability to intercept any exchange of messages between hawala dealers and militant groups that use BlackBerry device.
Security agencies are said to be insisting that RIM must place its server, through which the information is routed to BlackBerry handhelds, in India. This is not acceptable to RIM as it does not do so in other countries where it offers services.
India has repeatedly assured RIM that its commercial interests will be protected and an amicable solution will be arrived at. Globally, there are over 14 million BlackBerry users and RIM has a large interest in the Indian market, which is adding nearly 10 million subscribers every month.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Raj Thackeray (राज ठाकरे) - Few Links
Raj Thackeray-राज ठाकरे born June 15, 1968 is a politician from the Indian state of Maharashtra and the founder and chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena political party.Thackeray started his political career with the right wing Shiv Sena party of Maharashtra. He is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
Once seen as the future leader of Shiv Sena after his uncle Bal Thackeray, Raj Thackeray had a falling out with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, son of Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena's executive president.
Raj Thackeray resigned from the party in December 2005 after blaming Uddhav Thackeray and his companions for ruining the Shiv Sena. He announced that he would form his own party. He formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in March 2006. In the meanwhile, he extensively toured Maharashtra to garner support for his new party.Controversies :
In February 2008, a row erupted in Mumbai after Thackeray's controversial remarks about the migrant population from the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the city. Later, his party's activists clashed with activists of the Samajwadi Party, a regional party from Uttar Pradesh. Thackeray also criticized noted film actor Amitabh Bachchan, who is originally from Uttar Pradesh, for "taking more interest in Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra", in spite of achieving his fame and fortune in Mumbai.
Analysts have interpreted these developments as an attempt by Thackeray to move into the limelight, and strike at the Shiv Sena, which was trying to woo north Indian votes.
Thackeray, along with Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi, was arrested by the Mumbai Police on February 13, 2008 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.He was granted bail on the same day.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Lawyers get judgmental, say district judges aren’t tech-savvy
They envisage ‘problems’ following the replacement of sessions court judges by those from district courts, as the latter don’t know computers and they prefer Marathi to English
Many lawyers in the city are “worried” over the shifting of 66 judges across the state. They say the replacement of Mumbai sessions court judges by those of district courts is likely to create “workrelated problems” between the judges and lawyers.
The two key reasons: the district judges are “more familiar” with paper work (as opposed to computerised work) and they “stress on the use of Marathi” rather than English.
Following the first-of-its-kind transfer of about two dozen sessions court judges by the Bombay High Court on Monday, several city lawyers say dealing with district judges will be “difficult”, as the courtroom discipline they expect is different and they prefer Marathi to English.
The men in black also say the judicial proceedings of the far-flung district judges are long-winded, as they lay stress on paperwork than computers.
Criminal lawyer Parvez Memon says: “Simple mannerisms and decorum of the court change when a judge from a small town takes over a Mumbai court. This has a lot to do with these judges needing time to adjust to our city’s ways of functioning, unlike the laidback judicial procedures in the district court.”
Although district judges keep getting transferred to city courts, the higher number this time will see an unprecedented presence of these judges all across the civil and sessions courts.
Senior advocate Subhash Kanse poins out: “Usage of legal Marathi can get very complex and can leave even lawyers well-accustomed with the language confused. The way of functioning of the district judges greatly differ from Mumbai’s judges and when we object them, they say, ‘Aamcha district madhey assa chaalta’.”
Legal eagles believe that the administrative handling of the district judges are a lot more long-winding, and that they refuse to get acquainted with the computerised ways of disposing work.
A noted public prosecutor said, “For instance, in the Nashik and Nagpur district courts, judges narrate every sentence to be recorded — once to the Marathi stenographer and then to the English one. This is time consuming. Besides, most of these judges are not acquainted with computers and take time to get accustomed to it.”
Many lawyers in the city are “worried” over the shifting of 66 judges across the state. They say the replacement of Mumbai sessions court judges by those of district courts is likely to create “workrelated problems” between the judges and lawyers.
The two key reasons: the district judges are “more familiar” with paper work (as opposed to computerised work) and they “stress on the use of Marathi” rather than English.
Following the first-of-its-kind transfer of about two dozen sessions court judges by the Bombay High Court on Monday, several city lawyers say dealing with district judges will be “difficult”, as the courtroom discipline they expect is different and they prefer Marathi to English.
The men in black also say the judicial proceedings of the far-flung district judges are long-winded, as they lay stress on paperwork than computers.
Criminal lawyer Parvez Memon says: “Simple mannerisms and decorum of the court change when a judge from a small town takes over a Mumbai court. This has a lot to do with these judges needing time to adjust to our city’s ways of functioning, unlike the laidback judicial procedures in the district court.”
Although district judges keep getting transferred to city courts, the higher number this time will see an unprecedented presence of these judges all across the civil and sessions courts.
Senior advocate Subhash Kanse poins out: “Usage of legal Marathi can get very complex and can leave even lawyers well-accustomed with the language confused. The way of functioning of the district judges greatly differ from Mumbai’s judges and when we object them, they say, ‘Aamcha district madhey assa chaalta’.”
Legal eagles believe that the administrative handling of the district judges are a lot more long-winding, and that they refuse to get acquainted with the computerised ways of disposing work.
A noted public prosecutor said, “For instance, in the Nashik and Nagpur district courts, judges narrate every sentence to be recorded — once to the Marathi stenographer and then to the English one. This is time consuming. Besides, most of these judges are not acquainted with computers and take time to get accustomed to it.”
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