Archives for 2019

The robot, designed by Robo Coupler Private Limited, can receive complaints through voice recording or digital typing, after which the complainant’s information will be given to the police.

VISAKHAPATNAM: No need to worry about the possibility of your coming across a bad-tempered policeman overburdened by work, when you go to a police station to lodge a complaint. You will be greeted by a robocop – impersonal and, at the same time friendly – to receive your complaint.   

In a first of its kind, Robot CYBIRA (cyber security interactive robotic agent) to receive complaints was launched on a pilot basis in Maharanipeta police station limits here. The robot, designed by Robo Coupler Private Limited, can receive complaints through voice recording or digital typing, after which the complainant’s information will be given to the police officer concerned.

The robot has been designed to resolve complaints within a specific time limit. In general, there are delays on the part of police in attending to complainants at police stations. But, robot complaints filed through voice recording in a local language or in a digital format, will get a quicker response. 

“Once a complaint is registered, the robot will take a photo of the complainant and send the information to the mobile phone of the officer concerned. Within 24  hours, the officer will be reminded of the complaint. And if no progress is made, the complaint will be sent to the next lower level officer, i.e. CI. Each complaint will have a deadline of 2-3 days to get resolved after which it will directly reach the Chief Minister’s office,” said CEO of the company, Praveen Malla. 

This smart technology will help police crack cases within a short time as it will categorise complaints as per laws under which they can be dealt with. Praveen said Robo Coupler Private Limited worked on this  project for two years. It was first proposed to the IT Minister and later it was sent to the DGP. 

“For the pilot project, we have selected Visakhapatnam. We will engage the services of the robot during Spandana programme to check its effectiveness before officially launching the project at selected police stations in the State. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner  RK Meena suggested that a scanner be attached to the robot so that people can have their written complaint scanned and processed.

NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee on Thursday reviewed the political scenario in Maharashtra, a day after it held a marathon meeting with the NCP on forming an alliance together with Shiv Sena to form a government in the state.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told the media after a meeting at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence that the CWC was briefed on the discussion between NCP and Congress on Wednesday.

However, Congress sources said a final decision on Maharashtra is expected by tomorrow.

The CWC, the sources said, has broadly agreed to go ahead with government formation with Shiv Sena and the NCP.

Another meeting between Congress and NCP is to happen Thursday night and a final meeting with Shiv Sena will happen Friday in Mumbai.

The decision on government formation in Maharashtra will be announced in Mumbai on Friday, the sources said.

On the hand, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday that a final decision on the new government in Maharashtra will be taken in the next two days.

He told reporters that there there are no plans of any meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray this week.

He also informed that three parties will collectively decide about power-sharing in Mumbai.

“The time has come, before December 1 the process of formation of the government will be over and the Chief Minister will also be decided. Till yesterday, marathon meetings of Congress-NCP were held here at the NCP Chief Sharad Pawar’s residence. In the next two days we will move ahead towards government formation,” said Raut.

“The three parties will collectively decide on power-sharing in Mumbai,” he added.

“The chief minister will be of Shiv Sena. People want Uddhav Thackeray to be the Chief Minister,” said Raut.

The chief minister’s post in Maharashtra is most likely to be on a rotational basis, with the first half of the five-year term to be given to the Shiv Sena and the latter to the Nationalist Congress Party, NCP sources said.

The Congress is likely to have the deputy chief minister’s post for the full term, they said.

A senior NCP leader said the fight between the Shiv Sena and the BJP was for over the issue of chief ministership for two-and-half years each.

“So, the question of the Sena enjoying the full five-year term does not arise. The second half will have a chief minister from the NCP,” the leader said.

However, Congress sources said the issue of chief minister’s post was not discussed in Wednesday’s meeting.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that the chief minister of the state will be from his party, but parried question on whether the Sena would hold the post for five years.

NCP leaders also cited the slim margin in the number of seats between the two parties.

In the October 21 Maharashtra polls, the BJP-Sena saffron alliance secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively in the 288-member assembly.

The Congress and the NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats respectively.

NCP sources also added that the smaller parties which had allied with the Congress-NCP coalition are also on board to having a tie-up with the Shiv Sena.

The Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Paksh (1), Hitendra Thakur-led Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), CPI-M (1) and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) — who had allied with the Congress-NCP — have also expressed their willingness to join the coalition.

On September 23, the RBI had imposed regulatory restrictions on the PMC Bank for six months over alleged financial irregularities.

MUMBAI: Depositors of the crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank can approach the Reserve Bank-appointed administrator for withdrawal up to Rs 1 lakh in case of medical emergencies, the RBI told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

In an affidavit filed in the HC in response to petitions challenging the fund withdrawal restrictions, the RBI has mentioned the withdrawal ceiling at Rs 50,000 for scenarios like marriage, education, livelihood and “other hardships”.

RBI counsel Venkatesh Dhond told a division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and R I Chagla that the depositors facing hardships can approach the RBI-appointed administrator and seek withdrawal up to Rs one lakh.

Such withdrawal restrictions were necessary to safeguard the interests of the bank and its depositors, the affidavit stated. The apex bank also stated that largescale wrongdoing has been found in the PMC bank.

On September 23, the RBI had imposed regulatory restrictions on the PMC Bank for six months over alleged financial irregularities.

“To mitigate the hardship of the depositors, the RBI has enabled entertaining on merit any application for withdrawal beyond the stipulated amount on hardship grounds like medical treatment, marriage, education, livelihood and other hardships, subject to a ceiling of Rs one lakh on medical ground and Rs 50,000 in all other cases,” the affidavit stated.

The bench after perusing the affidavit posted the petitions for further hearing on December 4. The withdrawal limit for account holders was initially Rs 1,000 per each customer for six months, which was later raised to Rs 10,000 and is now presently at Rs 50,000.

The crisis at the bank is attributed to the loans allocated to realty firm the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) without scrutiny. These loans later turned into non-performing assets (NPAs).

The petitions were filed by persons claiming to be depositors and account-holders of the bank seeking withdrawal of restrictions imposed by the RBI.

Meanwhile, lawyer of one of the petitioners, Pradnya Talekar, told the bench that depositors should not bear the brunt of wrongdoings done by senior officials of the PMC bank and that the RBI cannot impose such withdrawal restrictions.

To this, the bench said the depositors cannot say that their rights are superior to that of the banks.

“How can this court say that the action initiated by RBI is contrary to the public interest or the depositor’s interest?” Justice Dharmadhikari asked.

While the bench was perusing the RBI affidavit, hundreds of PMC bank depositors gathered outside the HC building in south Mumbai and raised slogans against the apex bank in the afternoon.

They were not allowed to enter the court premises by police personnel.

The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the alleged Rs 4355-crore PMC bank scam, had arrested nine persons including four top bank officials and two promoters of HDIL –Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, apart from auditors.

On Saturday, the EOW arrested one of the PMC directors Rajneet Singh, son of former-BJP MLA Sardar Tara Singh.

The EOW suspects a nexus between some of the accused and the realty group HDIL, whose mammoth loan defaults are said to have caused a liquidity crisis at the bank, leading to appointment of administrator by the RBI and restrictions on withdrawal of funds.

The EOW had earlier told a sessions court that prima facie a nexus between some of the accused and HDIL group companies has been made out by the investigators who suspected a “deep-rooted conspiracy”.

Six people had died due to loss of money, it had said. Another investigator, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), had attached assets of the Wadhawans.

Over Rs 6,500 crore of the bank’s advances of Rs 9,000 crore were made to either HDIL or dummy companies affiliated to it, which have gone sour.

Mumbai is rapidly gaining fame as a cruise tourism hub. In the past four years, there has been a 78% rise in cruise traffic in India.

Mumbai is rapidly gaining fame as a cruise tourism hub. In the past four years, there has been a 78% rise in cruise traffic in India. According to the Mumbai Port Trust, from 128 cruise callings in 2015-16 that catered to 1.25 lakh passengers, India’s five major ports are now looking at 593 cruise callings in 2019-20, catering to 4.18 lakh passengers. In Mumbai, 40 cruise ships catered to 37,820 passengers in 2015-16 and the number has now increased to 259 cruise ships catering to 1.8 lakh passengers. The other major ports are Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore . Monday turned out to be a unique day as six cruise liners with over 4,000 passengers aboard were at the Mumbai port. It is the first time when around 6,000 passengers transited through the port in a day.
 While there are forgetful Mumbaikars, as lost and found data from the railways shows, there are others who care for others and Mumbaikars are grateful for such gentle souls. Last week, a young pharma management professional from Thane had written about her experience on social media. A few years ago, she had just joined a new job and would commute by local train. It was almost the end of the monsoon season and she had forgotten her umbrella in the train. She assumed that she had lost it. However, a few days later when she got on to a train a lady approached her and asked her about her destination station. When she named the station, the lady took out the umbrella from her bag and gave it to the girl. “I still go speechless when I think of that moment. I mean who does it? How is it that this fast-paced city has so much heart! This is just one such example that has happened to me. God bless our Mumbai and our country,” she  wrote.
The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation had come up with a reward scheme for citizens who point out potholes, which the administration couldn’t fix within 24 hours. While Prathamesh Chavan, a Dadar resident got `5,000 reward for pointing out such potholes, there were at least 36 others who refused to accept the reward amount and said that they participated in the scheme to point out the attitude of the contractors and officials. Rather than getting a reward, they preferred that the municipal authorities fixed these unattended potholes.

Within just 10 months between January and October 2019, 1,687 commuters on the Western line of suburban local services have forgotten valuables worth `3.61 crore while travelling by train. The data was revealed by the Western Railways as these owners of valuables were traced and the items returned to them last week. Most of these things were forgotten on the racks during morning peak hour rush. Of the 1,687 railway commuters, only 876 registered complaints, railways data has revealed, while officials said over 43 such valuable items are still lying unclaimed at the railways’ headquarters and their collective value is around `2.2 crore. 

Political sources in Mumbai indicate that despite speculation and impatience in some circles, most issues have been finalized among the Sena, NCP and Congress.

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said here on Wednesday that the clouds over the government formation efforts in Maharashtra shall clear within a couple of days or so.

“There are certain internal processes of the different parties — Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress — which are currently on. A Sena-Chief Minister-led government will assume office by the first week of December.

Replying to a question that attempts are being made to lure legislators on different sides, Raut dismissed the contentions saying such theories are a conspiracy of those who don’t want to see a Shiv Sena government.

“In the Sena, the decision making is faster as it comes from the top to bottom, in NCP, the chief sounds out the party on taking a certain decision democratically and takes a little longer. The Congress has its own century-plus old traditions of arriving at any decision. The picture will start clearing from tomorrow,” Raut assured.

To a question whether Sena President Uddhav Thackeray will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Sena MP said “for the cause of the farmers, he will go and meet anybody” to ensure that the state’s disaster-hit peasantry gets maximum help and relief.

Political sources in Mumbai indicate that despite speculation and impatience in some circles, most issues have been finalized among the three parties, and it is only a matter of time before they announce their alliance and complete the government formation process.