Online Grievance forum by Govt.

Can you imagine this is happening in INDIA?

The Government of India has started an online grievance forum at http://www.pgportal.gov.in/ This tool can be used to highlight the problems faced while dealing with Government officials and departments.

The various government departments falling under this provision are:

1) Railways
2) Posts
3) Telecom (incl. BSNL & MTNL)
4) Urban Development Authorities
5) Petroleum & Natural Gas
6) Civil Aviation (Air India, Airports Authority of India, etc)
7) Shipping, Road Transport & Highways
8) Tourism
9) Public Sector Banks like SBI

10) Public Sector Insurance Companies like LIC, GIC

11) National Saving Scheme of Ministry of Finance
12) Employees' Provident Fund Organization
13) Regional Passport Authorities
14) Central Government Health Scheme
15) Central Board of Secondary Education
16) Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
17) National Institute of Open Schooling
18) Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
19) Central Universities
20) ESI Hospitals and Dispensaries.

Many of us say that these things don't work in India. Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents. A resident used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. To his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad were served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week.

Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it's clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all. So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility. This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the bad system in India. It will be great if this 'system' improves even by a small percentage. Lets start using it..

Its all for our country... For us. :-)

Mumbai gets its own NSG

Finally Mumbai will get its own NSG unit. The effectiveness and efficiency of the National Security Guard commandos and their skilful handling of terrorists had made the Maharashtra state government realize that Mumbai which should have its own unit.

Two months after taking the decision, the state government and the Centre have finally agreed on 23 acres of land at Marol, Andheri (E), for the NSG to set up its base. However, considering that the city is already bursting at the seams, finding space for a Mumbai base for NSG was a difficult task. Several suggestions later, the land which was meant to house the Mumbai Police HQ, was found ideal for the purpose. Four top NSG officials recently inspected and approved the location at Tungwe village in Marol. They were joined by officers of the state police headquarters and Mantralaya officials. Mantralaya sources said that after the NSG approved the land, the state government had given its formal consent to the proposal. However, it will now be the Central government’s job to release funds for the base to be set up. Once the funds are released, the Maharashtra government will formally transfer the land to the NSG. The state police would assist the NSG in setting up the infrastructure at its new base.. I believe it is a step in the right direction as it will cover the southern part of the country effectively and reduce the delays that were seen in the case of 26/11 attacks. On 26/11, after the terrorists struck at around 10.30 pm, the Ministry of Home Affairs quickly decided to send the NSG to fight the terrorists. The orders were issued, but the NSG men were at their headquarters in Manesar in Haryana. They were first driven to Delhi, where an IAF transport aircraft flew them to Mumbai, wasting four precious hours. After the operation, the MHA as well as the state government decided that an NSG base in Mumbai was a must considering the city's history of terror attacks. The then CM Vilasrao Deshmukh immediately started the process and offered several places for a base and the site at Tungwe is in the heart of the city and strategically located close to the domestic and international airports. This would make it easy for the commandos to move even to places outside Mumbai. Also, the centre would act as a psychological deterrent for those indulging in such terror acts. Wishing all the best to everyone involved in the building of this the new centre and I hope that it will be completed soon to help avoid such an attack being repeated in Mumbai! Amen

Jaago Re in Campus :)

Hi all..

As we informed you on the Republic Day, the Voter's registration event took place in the NMIMS quadrangle yesterday and the event was a big success :) 'Raj' Anand Trivedi, the guy who stars in the Tata Tea commercial for Jaago Re was in the campus.. Yeah the same exuberance, the same ability to engage people in dialogue and the same confidence that he has in the ad were present today... after all, convincing our college crowd to take part in something they have been procrastinating since 18 yrs of age, is not a small thing! lol but yeah the crowd was decent and the registrations progressed throughout the 12 to 6 time period kept for the event.. Kudos to the efforts put by the Yi net team from our college especially Rashi, Vineet (not me silly the other one), Ankit, Priyanka, Jimit and other people too.. it was good for F.A.T.E.ians to work with the Yi guys and together strive to achieve a better future for ourselves.. Jaago India :)

Register to Vote

Where the mind is without Fear and The head is held high,
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!

-Rabindranath Tagore

Wishing all F.A.T.E.ians a very Happy Republic Day :)

We, the youth of India always crib that the system is too corrupt to be trusted and think of a hundred reasons of not voting ranging from 'lack of good candidates' to 'total mistrust of the system'. With the elections approaching, we, the youth and especially the F.A.T.E.ians need to register to vote so that we can actually make a difference and bring about the change we so desire and crave for.. We had earlier sent out mailers to all members requesting all to register for voting at Jaagore.com. Jaago re! One Billion Votes is a nonprofit, nonpartisan campaign and does not support or endorse any political candidate or party..

With the help of our tie-up with Yi and CII, Jaagore has agreed to come to the campus themselves to physically register for NMIMS and SVKM people :) So let us all avail of this opportunity and do our bit to improve the conditions in our nation. For our members who are not present in Mumbai, you can register to vote on..

www.jaagore.com

Let us all take the pledge to cast our votes in the coming elections and 'Be The Change' ourselves..
Jai Hind!

Time for action India..

The TOI report in today's paper claims that India is finally on the diplomatic offensive by presenting Pakistan and some key countries with a dossier of incriminating ‘material’ from the probe into the Mumbai attacks, including telephone intercepts between the attackers and their Lashkar-e-Taiba handlers in Pakistan.

 This “Hard evidence’ was presented to the US, the UK and Israel, among other countries which had lost their citizens in the attacks. India will give copies of the documentation to members of the UN Security Council and the G-8 on Tuesday to mount pressure on Islamabad to acknowledge, as a first step, the involvement of its citizens in the attacks, and then follow that up with action against them.  

Whats in the Dossier???
 

-Confession of arrested terrorist Ajmal Kasab,
-Details on his family in Pakistan’s Okhara district,
-Details of the training camps run by LeT,
-Details of the journey to Mumbai,
-Identities of 9 dead LeT terrorists,
-Details of GPS readings from a device recovered from the landing raft on how terrorists navigated from Karachi,
-Satellite phone locations inside Pak from where LeT handlers talked to terrorists,
-Intercepts of Voice Over Internet Protocol through US-based Callphonix between terrorists and Pakbased commanders Zarar Shah, Muzammil, Abu Al Qafa and Abu Hamza,
-Mail ID in Pakistan used by Zarar Shah to open deccanmujahideen@yahoo.com account through which he owned up the attacks..

The question remains whether all this is sufficient?? Should we just sit and wait for the FBI and other international agencies do the dirty work or should we ourselves get into the fray and demand access to the masterminds behind this attack..

As a nation we need to assert ourselves and show the world that we are as keen on saving the lives of our citizens as perhaps the US or Israel are.. Is it sufficient for us to let these countries carry out the investigations for us? Even if Pakistan's reluctance in allowing India access to the alleged terrorists, shouldn't we ask the international powers to help us in getting justice for our citizens ourselves?

Under a SAARC agreement in 1987 on suppression of terrorism and the 2004 additional protocol to that convention, the treaty confers discretion to extradite terrorists even in a situation where the requested state makes extradition “conditional on the existence of a treaty.’’ As its preamble put it, the whole purpose of the 1987 convention, drafted against the backdrop of the Punjab insurgency, was “to ensure that perpetrators of terrorist acts do not escape prosecution and punishment by providing for their extradition or prosecution.’’ 

 The 2004 additional protocol enlarged the scope of the extraditable offences under the 1987 Saarc convention. One of the new extraditable offences is any violent act when its purpose, “by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government to do or to abstain from doing’’ something. Since international obligations undertaken by a country are deemed to be part of its domestic law, the 1987 convention and 2004 protocol show that there is no legal impediment to the extradition of terrorists from Pakistan despite the absence of an extradition treaty with India.

Pakistan’s claim to have a prior right to prosecute the wanted terrorists is also contrary to the SAARC instruments. The govt. needs to invoke its rights and take investigation in its own hands.. India owes it to its citizens.. 

JAI HIND