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Is the ministry of statistics’ new jobs report too good to be true? According to NDTV, it is. The report states that as many as 1.2 crore jobs were created in the formal sector over the last 10 months. The data comes from enrolment in state insurance. NDTV explains, “When an establishment with nine employees hires one more person, all 10 must be enrolled for insurance. So while the insurance scheme will show 10 fresh enrolments, on the ground, only one job is created.”
The report is the first of its kind from the ministry, and demonstrates that they need to do a more convincing job next time. Among other issues, the data doesn’t show if an establishment is registering for the first time. Further, if these numbers are to be believed, India is creating more jobs than people are entering the workforce every month — by an excess of two lakh.
Yogi Adityanath has declared that UP’s law and order situation is better now than it has been in the past 15 years. What’s the indicator? “Investment is flowing in,” he said.
Adityanath got defensive after the opposition disrupted assembly proceedings over the alleged sexual abuse of women at a Deoria shelter. “I feel, to hide their own incompetence and avoid becoming a laughing stock, they are raising a matter (Deoria case) that is sub-judice and being monitored by the high court,” PTI reported Adityanath saying.
Some political parties, including the BJP, have urged the Election Commission to link voter IDs with Aadhaar, “for better electoral roll management”. One-fourth of the 41 parties that attended the meeting with the EC made this demand. In 2015, the EC had put an end to activities that fed Aadhaar data into its National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP).
A Court of Inquiry (CoI) found Major Leetul Gogoi, the man who strapped a Kashmiri onto his car to form a human shield, guilty of breaking Army rules by “fraternising locally in spite of instructions to the contrary and for being away from the place of duty while in an operational area”. He was involved in altercation while trying to enter a Srinagar hotel with a woman in May this year.
Soldiers are strictly told not to fraternise socially with locals because that could lead to information being exchanged.
In April, after the ‘human shield’ episode, he was awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation for his “sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations”.
Twitter had mixed feeling about the result of the CoI.
Oh hey the guy who tied a person to a jeep as a human shield turned out to be a shitty human being and might be kicked out of the army for a whole different reason.
What a surprise.https://t.co/1rAXFxI7Qu
— Meghnad ? (@Memeghnad) August 27, 2018
Major Gogoi found guilty of indiscretion in hotel incident. He should also have been found guilty of abusing human rights when he tied a commoner to a jeep. Instead, of course. he was awarded and thought he was infallible
— Harinder Baweja (@shammybaweja) August 27, 2018
It is a reversal of fortunes for Major Gogoi. From being hailed by the army chief after his controversial ‘human shield’ act he falls from grace in just a year.
— Shuja ul haq (@ShujaUH) August 27, 2018
Neeraj Chopra made history at the Asian Games Monday by winning a gold for an 88.06m throw in javelin. Among the day’s other wins were a silver for Neena Varakil in women’s long jump, and Saina Nehwal’s bronze, which she won after being defeated by World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying
The RSS is upset that Rahul Gandhi compared them to the Muslim Brotherhood, and has invited him to a series of lectures to be schooled on the matter. The lecture series will give attendees an idea of what the RSS does. “The RSS believes such an interaction will help address the charge of spreading hatred Rahul has levelled against the Sangh and PM Narendra Modi,” The Times of India reports.
A SpiceJet plane partially functioning on bio-fuel completed its first successful journey Monday. “Today’s flight was a technological demonstration that bio jet fuel can be used in flights. It has the potential to reduce fuel costs by 15-20 per cent,” SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh told The Hindu. The 43-minute flight from Dehradun to Delhi “was operated by SpiceJet’s Bombardier Q-400 aircraft with 20 officials and five crew members onboard”.
News it’s just kinda cool to know
Here’s what T-Rex looks like! PTI reports that scientists have decoded the entire DNA structure of species like the velociraptor and the T-Rex. Extending common ancestry through birds and turtles who lived almost 260 million years ago, about 20 million years before the very first dinosaurs came into being, the research has unearthed the change in chromosome orientation over time from reptile ancestors to today.
Drinking ain’t that safe, reports The Hindu. According to a report published in the medical journal The Lancet, drinking, even at moderate levels, does not minimise health risks. In the year 2016, about 2.8 million people died due to alcohol consumption, the study adds. The data has been obtained from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016, covering about 195 countries. The report claimed that, “Our results show that the safest level of drinking is none.”
Business Class
Good news for iPhone lovers. Apple may soon launch three iPhones with larger screens and more colour variants, reports Business Standard, adding that drastic changes in design are not expected.
A new festive record: Experts believe the festive season in October will see a record shipment of about three million items per day from ecommerce players, surpassing last year’s two million shipments per day, reports The Economic Times. (Will send the link once the story is on web)
Point of View
Are India-China ties finally moving “towards normalcy”? The Indian Express writes in an editorial, “A year after Doklam, India and China are expanding engagement. They must also move on the border dispute.”
In the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha polls, are the serious issues facing the country being discussed? The Times of India writes in its editorial, “There is little serious debate on the most pressing economic problem of our time – jobs.”
Three cheers for Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan: Social commentator Shiv Visvanathan writes in his column in The Hindu, “Mr. Vijayan has no time for blame games or electoral politics. His even-tempered handling of the Centre and the southern states reflects a maturing of leadership. By avoiding nitpicking, he has brought a new maturity to the discourse on floods.”
Congress president Rahul Gandhi may have cracked the ‘limelight code’: Journalist Indrajit Hazra writes in a column in The Economic Times, “Gandhi playing by BJP rules of election campaigning has its dangers and shortcomings. For one, making headlines — even for the right ‘wrong reasons’ — doesn’t win elections. But for an electorate where sound and fury signify so much, it’s certainly a start. A digression is, at least, a beginning.”
Prime Time
Major indiscipline
NDTV debated the indictment of Major Leetul Gogoi on charges of indiscipline, and his imminent court martial for ‘fraternising’ with a civilian woman in his operational area.
Major Gogoi was previously honoured by the Army chief for the infamous Budgam ‘human shield’ row.
Defence analyst Ajai Shukla said that while the Army showed little tolerance for personal misconduct, it seemed quite tolerant to actions taken in counter-insurgency operations even if they were not in order.
Lt. Gen. Shankar Prasad said the Army’s decisions always factored in the results of internal inquiries. It was the Indian Army chief who honoured Gogoi for his “bravery” in Budgam, and the Army that took action against him for his indiscipline, he added.
‘Teen Murti only for Nehru’
On its debate, Republic TV sought to deal with allegations that the BJP was trying to dilute the legacy of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru by making a memorial for all his successors.
Arnab Goswami slammed ‘Nehru bhakts’ for trying to put India’s first Prime Minister above every other and creating a “caste system of leaders”. Anand Ranganathan, consulting editor of Swarajya, stated the Nehru museum had become a temple where Pandit Nehru was treated like a god, and his numerous mistakes were kept hidden.
He added, “The museum has become a cesspool of sycophants, Emergency apologists and (Congress) lapdogs”.
Professor P.L. Vishweshwar Rao, an activist and academician, opposed the decision to create a memorial for all prime ministers, saying it was an “attempt by the RSS and the BJP to erase India’s history and the legacy of a rational and liberal leader like Nehru”.
(With inputs from Avishek Jha)