Sunday, October 8, 2017

Latest Offers, News, Current Affairs

Latest Offers, News, Current Affairs

Ricatech eyes USD 40 m revenue from India in 2017-18

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 02:19 AM PDT

Dutch luxury audio electronic brand Ricatech is making a foray into the Indian market and eyeing a revenue of USD 40 million in 2017-18. “India is a very promising market keeping the luxury segment in mind and I firmly believe that the time is ripe for any luxury or premium brand to enter India. We are entering the Indian terrain by launching the Amitabh Bachchan jukeboxes,” Ricatech CEO Richard Singh told adding that revenue expectation from India is USD 40 million in 2017-18. The retro style electronics firm that makes MP3 players and luxury jukeboxes is lining up USD 2 million to enter the country and sees a good market for its first product — Amitabh Bachchan jukebox, a collector’s item. “The Amitabh Bachchan jukebox is a very premium and exclusive segment and will be one of a kind limited edition luxury product,” he said, adding that the jukebox will be imported, delivered and installed by Ricatech directly. The company, which is targeting Mumbai and Delhi, also looks to launch retro jukeboxes, record-players, radios, accessories, headphones and bluetooth speakers in India, catering to the mass segment. “The lifestyle range like record-players, radios, headphones and bluetooth speakers that we will be launching at a later stage will be going through retail stores and e- commerce platforms,” he said. The company is also in talks with retailers and e- commerce players like Croma and Amazon to understand specific local demands in India and develop and launch the products based on them. On manufacturing its products in India, he said, “the production of the Amitabh Bachchan jukebox takes place in California, USA. We are not planning to move that because the machines, tooling, and staff with a lot of know-how is located in the USA. In our future projects, we do look at the possibilities of Make in India.”
Source: ET

Office leasing in Q3 up 2% in 8 cities at 10.4 mn sq ft: CBRE

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 02:19 AM PDT

NEW DELHI: Office space leasing increased marginally during July-September period in eight major cities at 10.4 million sq ft on higher demand from corporates from Europe, Middle East and Africa, according to property consultant CBRE. “Leasing activity remained strong during the quarter, with office space take-up rising marginally by 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to touch 10.4 million sq ft,” CBRE said in its report ‘India Office Q3 2017’. The eight major cities covered in this report are Delhi- NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Kochi. The consultant noted that there was increased interest from EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) corporates for India and their share of office space leasing rose to 14 per cent during July-September period from 9 per cent in the previous quarter. “India’s prime office market is evolving at a rapid pace. Occupier strategies continue to focus on consolidation/ expansion as well as cost and greater flexibility of office space,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman India and South- East Asia, CBRE. The co-working and shared office space formats are also gaining momentum and influencing the market to some extent, he added. “While demand for traditional office space will continue to dominate the segment, it will have to make allowance for newer formats that are slowly gaining prominence and absorbing a part of the overall pie,” Magazine said. As per the report, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR led quarterly leasing activity with a share of more than 60 per cent. “Apart from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, all the other cities witnessed a rise in space take-up on a q-o-q basis,” the report said. IT/ITeS sector continued to drive office space leasing with about 34 per cent share in the overall space leased during the quarter. The share of other sectors such as engineering and manufacturing (19 per cent) and banking, financial services and insurance (10 per cent) fell on a quarterly basis. Co-working operators remained active, with both global and domestic players expanding their operations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Pune, the consultant said. On transaction size, CBRE said that the bulk of leasing was for less than 50,000 sq ft during the third quarter of 2017 calendar year. Small-sized transactions (less than 10,000 sq ft) comprised about 40 per cent of all the transactions reported during the quarter, while half of the deals concluded ranging between 10,000 50,000 sq ft. The share of large-sized deals (greater than one lakh sq ft) remained at 5 per cent, same as the previous quarter. During the January-September period, office space leasing, however, declined marginally to 29 million sq ft compared to the year-ago period.
Source: ET

160 companies to face penal action for CSR violations

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 02:14 AM PDT

The minister of state for corporate affairs also asserted that the government does not interfere with regard to allocation of CSR funds by firms while compliance is monitored by way of mandatory disclosure requirements under the Companies Act, 2013.
Source: TOI

#8: Sukkhi Gorgeous Peacock Gold Plated Set of 3 Necklace Set Combo For Women

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 02:11 AM PDT

Sukkhi Gorgeous

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Sukkhi
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Awaiting police reforms (UPSC IAS mains GS paper 2)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT


Context:
There has been a rise of public demand for an efficient, accountable and people-centric police that steadfastly upholds the Rule of Law in all situations. Since independence, the National Police Commission as well as multiple expert committees have submitted successive reports recommending extensive reforms in the Police.  These recommendations have mostly remained unimplemented.
In September 2006, the Supreme Court of India, in Prakash Singh Vs Union of India passed a historic judgment directing the Central and State Governments towards operational reform and functional autonomy of the police. The Indian Police Foundation was inaugurated in 2015 to mount pressure on State governments to implement the directions of the Supreme Court on police reforms (Prakash Singh v. Union of India). 
However, in effect the country has failed to use this historic opportunity for serious modernization and reform of the police.
Introduction
Under the Constitution, police is a subject governed by states. The centre is also allowed to maintain its own police forces to assist the states with ensuring law and order. Therefore, it maintains seven central police forces and some other police organisations for specialised tasks such as intelligence gathering, investigation, research and recordkeeping, and training.
The primary role of police forces is to uphold and enforce laws, investigate crimes and ensure security for people in the country. In a large and populous country like India, police forces need to be well-equipped, in terms of personnel, weaponry, forensic, communication and transport support, to perform their role well.
Further, they need to have the operational freedom to carry out their responsibilities professionally, and satisfactory working conditions while being held accountable for poor performance or misuse of power.
Some of the issues in the policing system in India
Various expert bodies have examined issues with police organisation and functioning over the last few decades. Its chronology as follows-
  • National Police commission 1977-81
  • Rubeiro Committee 1998
  • Padmanabhaiah committee 2000
  • Malimath committee 2002-03
  • Police Act drafting committee 2005
  • Supreme Court directions in Prakash Singh vs Union of India 2006
  • Second ARC 2007
  • Police Act drafting committee-II 2015
Issues:
  • Police accountability
Police forces have the authority to exercise force to enforce laws and maintain law and order in a state. However, this power may be misused in several ways. To check against such abuse of power, various countries have adopted safeguards, such as accountability of the police to the political executive, internal accountability to senior police officers, and independent police oversight authorities
  • Crime Investigation
Each police officer is responsible for a large segment of people, given India's low police strength per lakh population as compared to international standards. While the United Nations recommended standard is 222 police per lakh persons, India's sanctioned strength is 181 police per lakh persons. After adjusting for vacancies, the actual police strength in India is at 137 police per lakh persons.
  • Crime investigation and Underreporting of crime in India
In 2015, the conviction rate for crimes recorded under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was 47%.19 The Law Commission has observed that one of the reasons behind this is the poor quality of investigations.
  • Poor Police infrastructure
Modern policing requires a strong communication support, state-of-art or modern weapons, and a high degree of mobility. The CAG has noted shortcomings on several of these fronts.
  • Police-Public relations
Police requires the confidence, cooperation and support of the community to prevent crime and disorder. A police-public relation is an important concern in effective policing. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission has noted that police-public relations is in an unsatisfactory state because people view the police as corrupt, inefficient, politically partisan and unresponsive.
Directions of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India
In 1996, a petition was filed before the Supreme which stated that the police abuse and misuse their powers. It alleged non-enforcement and discriminatory application of laws in favour of persons with power, and also raised instances of unauthorised detentions, torture, harassment, etc. against ordinary citizens. The petition asked the court to issue directions for implementation of recommendations of expert committees.
In September 2006, the court issued various directions to the centre and states including:
  • Constitute a State Security Commission in every state that will lay down policy for police functioning, evaluate police performance, and ensure that state governments do not exercise unwarranted influence on the police.
  • Constitute a Police Establishment Board in every state that will decide postings, transfers and promotions for officers below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, and make recommendations to the state government for officers of higher ranks.
  • Constitute Police Complaints Authorities at the state and district levels to inquire into allegations of serious misconduct and abuse of power by police personnel.
  • Provide a minimum tenure of at least two years for the DGP and other key police officers within the state forces
  • Ensure that the DGP of state police is appointed from amongst three senior-most officers who have been empanelled for the promotion by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of length of service, good record and experience.
  • Separate the investigating police from the law and order police to ensure speedier investigation, better expertise and improved rapport with the people.
  • Constitute a National Security Commission to shortlist the candidates for appointment as Chiefs of the central armed police forces.
Why is that urgency in implementing Police Reforms?
As India makes rapid advances towards becoming an economic and political superpower, our police cannot continue to remain frozen in the frame of a past era.
  • The avalanche of social and technological changes fuelled by the internet and the new social media are fast changing the nature, intensity and the reach of crime leading to unprecedented lawlessness and frightening dimensions of global terrorism.
  • There is an urgent need to strengthen our Criminal Justice System and our grassroots level policing institutions;
    • to prepare our police to deal with the present and emerging challenges and
    • Strengthen its investigative capabilities and emergency response infrastructure.
  • Traditional and linear devices used in the past towards police reform may not be sufficient.
  • Considering the multiple causes and their complex interdependencies associated with today's policing issues, there is a realization that these challenges require broader, more collaborative and innovative approaches and would involve a range of coordinated and interrelated responses.
It was in this context that the Indian Police Foundation and Institute was established, bringing together the multiple stakeholders to collectively work for reform and modernization of the police. However this could form only part of the solution.
Way forward
Political authorities still have a stronghold over the police and frequent changes of Police heads once a new government is elected has become a practice in many states. The result is that the police even today are not trusted by the people. They perceive the force as being partisan, politicised, and generally not very competent.
Much of the problem would not have been if the 2013 Lokpal legislation was put in place. The Lokpal would have the powers to oversee the CBI's work and would ease the burden of the court.
This nationwide campaign for transformation needs to be driven by our police leadership itself with the support and patronage of all stakeholders, including the Central and State Governments.
Ultimately, it is only strong public opinion that can move the political class to implement the 2006 directives. But the police have to set examples to win public trust. Reform must start at home. The Political class should take bold initiatives to bring in more reforms in the existing policing system in India. The need is to have an impartial and professional police force because the criminal justice system cannot function without a healthy police and investigative agency.
Conclusion
The transformative reforms in the Indian Police is possible through appropriate interventions in skill building and attitudinal training, through reforms that are both bold and practical, and through collective action of all stakeholders to drive a nationwide campaign for change, keeping in mind, the difficult conditions under which our police functions.

Source: XM

Cabinet approves umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (UPSC IAS mains GS paper 2 )

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:55 AM PDT

The Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) has approved implementation of umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) for years 2017 to 2020 to strengthen country's law and order mechanism, modernise police forces and effectively fight against terrorism.
It is biggest ever internal security scheme in country. It has financial outlay of Rs.25,060 crore out of which Central Government share will be Rs.18,636 crore and states' share will be Rs.6,424 crore.

Salient Features of Scheme

Special provision of scheme: It convers internal security, law and order, women security, availability of modern weapons, mobility of police forces, upgradation of police wireless, logistics support, National Satellite Network, CCTNS project, hiring of helicopters, E-prison project etc.
J&K, North Eastern and LWE States: Central budget outlay of Rs.10,132 crore has been earmarked specially for internal security related expenditure for Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern States and left wing extremism (LWE) affected States. It introduces Scheme of Special Central Assistance (SCA) for 35 worst LWE affected districts to tackle issue of underdevelopment in these districts. It has outlay of Rs.100 crore earmarked for North Eastern States for upgradation of police infrastructure, training institutes, investigation facilities etc.
Upgradation of Infrastructure: It introduces new initiatives to provide assistance to States for upgradation of police infrastructure, forensic science laboratories, institutions and equipment available with them to plug critical gaps in the criminal justice system.
Integration of Police Stations:  It will aid in integrating police stations to set up national data base of crime and criminals' records. It will be linked with other pillars of criminal justice system such as 'prisons, forensic science laboratories and prosecution offices.
Forensic science laboratories: It provides for setting up of state-of art forensic science laboratory in Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) and upgradation of Sardar Patel Global Centre for Security, Counter Terrorism and Anti Insurgency in Jaipur (Rajathan) and Gujarat Forensic Science University in Gandhi Nagar.

Comment

Implementation of this scheme will help to bolster Government's ability to address challenges faced in different theatres such as areas affected by LWE, Jammu and Kashmir and North East effectively. It will also aid to undertake development interventions which will catalyze in improving quality of life in these areas and help combat these challenges effectively at same time. It is expected that, the scheme will go a long way to boost capability and efficiency of Central and State Police Forces by modernizing them.

Source: XM

After Rs 50k no-PAN relief, govt now says new limit for reporting gold transactions soon

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:39 AM PDT

NEW DELHI: The government will soon notify a new threshold for reporting to authorities about transactions in gold and other precious metals and stones with a view to curb parking of black money in bullion, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said. The government had on Friday reversed its August order of bringing gems and jewellery dealers under the purview of the reporting requirement of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In an interview to, Adhia said the August 23 order had to be rescinded because it created “confusion and a lot of negative sentiment” because no threshold for transactions to be reported was set. “For the first time in India, we had notified that jewellers will be reporting entity (under PMLA) but what report they will submit to us that was not clear,” he said. This led to jewellers implementing the August 23 order on the line of banks where cash transactions of Rs 50,000 and above are to be reported. “And that affected sentiments. So, now we have to sit down and decide about it,” he said. The decision to rescind the August 23 order is being seen as the requirement of quoting the income tax permanent account number (PAN) for jewellery purchases exceeding Rs 50,000 is not longer applicable, providing a big festive cheer for the sector and customers. “The Rs 50,000 is too onerous in case of jewellery. Cash deposit is different in bank where everything is electronic and easy to report. But, here they started implementing. “Our notification (of August 23) only said that any jeweller with turnover of more than Rs 2 crore will be the reporting entity. Rs 50,000 requirement is in general rules,” Adhia said. He did not clearly state if the requirement of PAN for jewellery purchases above Rs 50,000 has been removed. “There was some confusion created, which has created a lot of negative sentiment. We will work on it. We will study what to do and we will again re-notify them as reporting entity but with what limit that we will decide. We will check with industry and decide soon,” the revenue secretary said. Explaining the PMLA reporting rules, Adhia said all governments have financial intelligence units (FIU) and there is anti money laundering act in every country. PMLA is an anti money laundering legislation. “PMLA says that anybody can be notified as reporting entity. So banks, insurance have to report. So, high value transactions of jewellers have to be reported,” he said. On Friday, the government rolled back August 23 notification that said dealers in precious metals, stones and other high value goods as persons carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Under the PMLA, every reporting entity is required to maintain record of all transactions of value exceeding Rs 10 lakh, all cross border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh and all purchase and sale of immovable property of Rs 50 lakh or more. Also, all reporting entities, like banks, financial institutions, are required to report cash deposits over Rs 50,000. The government has received representations from various associations in the gems and jewellery sector with respect to certain incongruities in August 23 notification, an official order said on Friday. “After considering various aspects of the issue, the Government has decided to rescind the said notification,” it said. “A separate notification after due consideration of points raised and wider stakeholder consultation in this regard, shall be issued separately.” JD BAL ABM
Source: ET

SAIL strikes deal with Posco for technical expertise

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:39 AM PDT

India’s largest steel producer SAIL today announced the signing of a strategic pact with Posco for collaboration on technical services for its plant in West Bengal. “Under the agreement, Posco will provide technical supervising service, including its knowhow relating to operation and maintenance of coke-making, iron and steel making…,” Steel Authority of India said in a statement. The pact is meant for SAIL’s IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) at Burnpur in West Bengal. This is an outcome of an earlier pact on technical collaboration which the PSU had forged in November last year. SAIL-ISP is in the process of ramping up output from its new facilities. The 0.55-million tonne wire rod mill of SAIL-ISP will soon start producing wire rods in special grades in order to meet domestic and overseas requirements. SAIL Chairman P K Singh has been stressing on ‘production to capacity’ and ‘production to potential’. This pact is seen as a testimony to the initiatives of the management to realise the potential at new mills of the steel major.
Source: ET

#10: Old Man Logan Mini Figure compatible Building Blocks Wolverine collectible figure Logan x-men

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:24 AM PDT

Safeguard India’s interests at WTO: RSS affiliate’s advice to Suresh Prabhu

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:14 AM PDT


Source: TOI

#9: Oz – The Great and the Powerful

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 01:00 AM PDT

Oz

Oz – The Great and the Powerful
James Franco (Actor), Mila Kunis (Actor), Sam Raimi (Director) | Rated: U (Universal) | Format: Blu-ray
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#10: AmazonBasics Classic Notebook – Plain – 240 pages

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:56 AM PDT

AmazonBasics Classic

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#7: Music Card: The Best of Classical Vocal – 320 kbps MP3 Audio (8 GB)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:56 AM PDT

Music Card

Music Card: The Best of Classical Vocal – 320 kbps MP3 Audio (8 GB)
Pt. Jasraj (Artist), Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Artist), Pt. C R Vyas (Artist), Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty (Artist), Pt. Rajan (Artist), et al. | Format: USB Memory Stick
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#10: Johnson’s Baby Powder (400g) with Free New Johnson’s Baby Soap (100g)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:55 AM PDT

Johnsons Baby

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EESL order will accelerate full range EV programme: Tata Motors

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:54 AM PDT

NEW DELHI: Homegrown auto major Tata Motors is banking on the order to supply electric cars to the government to accelerate its programme to offer full range of electric vehicles in the Indian market, according to company’s CEO and MD Guenter Butschek. Last month state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) had announced that Tata Motors had bagged orders to supply 10,000 EVs in two phases but later stated that Mahindra and Mahindra has matched the rival’s lowest bid price. EESL said all 10,000 e-cars would be procured in two phases with 500 to be procured in phase-I and 9,500 vehicles to be ordered post phase-I deliveries. “It will help us accelerate our efforts to offer full range of electric vehicles to the Indian consumers,” Butschek told when asked how the order would change the company’s EV programme. He further said: “It has provided us an opportunity to leapfrog in boosting our presence in the e-mobility space.” Tata Motors started its EV journey over three years ago, when in May 2014, UK-based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) revealed a Manza REEV (range extended electric vehicle) demonstrator vehicle. Located at University of Warwick in Coventry, TMETC has been working on high-voltage distribution systems, battery design and vehicle controller development, which were incorporated into Manza REEV. Since then it has run several other projects and came up with EV concepts of its products, including Vista, Zest, Bolt and Tiago. “Through this process, we have learned about electrification of power trains and most importantly how to actually apply the electric power train solutions on existing platforms,” he said. Butschek further said: “This is going to help us on the way forward to readily provide not just one product, but a range of products which will become available as electric versions to the Indian market.” Commenting on Tata Motors’ EV strategy, he said there is a latent need for a range of electric vehicle mobility solutions and the company will partner with local start-ups or enterprises. The partnerships, he said would be to “identify opportunities, to localise global technologies, meeting the price expectations of our customers and making EVs affordable towards the government’s vision”. To fulfill the EESL order, Tata Motors will manufacture electric version of its compact sedan Tigor at its Sanand plant in Gujarat.
Source: ET

#7: Generic LED Solar Emergency Light Bulb with Charging Cable (Multicolour, Plastic)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:53 AM PDT

Generic LED

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#10: Premsons 6 LED Solar Power Camping Lantern Rechargable Collapsible Night Light (Color May Vary)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:53 AM PDT

Premsons 6

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#8: Solimo Festive Delights Gift Pack of Nuts and Dry Fruits, 300g

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:53 AM PDT

Solimo Festive

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#3: Reeva Red And Green Gold Plated Necklace Set For Women

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:51 AM PDT

Reeva Red

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#10: Philips Base B22 7-Watt LED bulb (Cool Day Light,Pack of 2)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:51 AM PDT

Philips Base

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#10: Happy Diwali (Candles) – E-mail Amazon.in Gift Card

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:50 AM PDT

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New limit for reporting gold transactions soon: Govt

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:39 AM PDT

The government will soon notify a new threshold for reporting to authorities about transactions in gold and other precious metals and stones with a view to curb parking of black money in bullion, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.
Source: TOI

Q2 results, macro-data to define equity indices’ trajectory 

Posted: 08 Oct 2017 12:19 AM PDT

The upcoming quarterly results season, along with key macro-economic data points, are expected to determine the trajectory of equity indices next week.
Source: TOI

How Modi government is changing VIP culture in railways

Posted: 07 Oct 2017 11:59 PM PDT

NEW DELHI: The railway ministry has asked its senior staff to slug it out — at home and at work — as part of steps to end the VIP culture in India’s national transporter. In an unprecedented move, the ministry has brought to an end a 36-year-old protocol where it was mandatory for general managers to present themselves on arrival and departure of the Railway Board chairman and other board members during zonal visits. As part of a massive overhaul of the culture of privilege prevalent in the ministry, the Railway Board has decided to do away with the instructions of a 1981 circular that mandated such protocol. In an order on September 28, the ministry said that the instructions and guidelines issued to the railways regarding the protocol to be observed at airports and railway stations during the visit of the Railway Board chairman and other board members stand withdrawn with immediate effect. Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani said no official will entertain bouquets and gifts at any time. However, it’s not just in the office that senior officials of the national carrier have to exercise restraint, but also at home. All senior officials have to relieve all the railway staff who have been engaged as domestic help in their homes. Officials say that around 30,000 trackmen work at the homes of senior officials. They have been asked to resume duties. Sources in the ministry say that in the past one month around 6,000-7,000 personnel have reported back to work. “No one will be exempt from the directive to rejoin work except under very special circumstances. We are hoping that all the staff will join work shortly,” a senior official of the ministry said. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has also asked senior officials to give up travelling in cosy saloons and executive class travel privileges and start travelling in Sleeper and AC Three-tier classes, mingling with other passengers. These include members of the Railway Board, general managers of railway zones and divisional railway managers in each of the 50 divisions. “I believe that when these protocols were in place, people drafting them would have seen some reasoning behind them. It is difficult for me to say what they were though. However, now, these have no logic. “Also, there is a tendency in public organisations to not review protocols which have become archaic, but remain part of the dos and don’ts for officials. They should be reviewed on a regular basis,” said a former railway board member who didn’t want to be quoted.
Source: ET
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