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I India
1. 80 died while crossing NH-8: On 23 November a girl was killed while crossing the road is a grim reminder of the hazards faced by pedestrians in the national capital region. In Gurgaon, this year as many as 80 people have died while crossing the road on NH-8. Police say there is negligence on the part of the pedestrians but they cannot be solely blamed. There is need to provide infrastructure like foot overbridges (FOBs) etc. Jaywalking is also very common at MG Road and other parts of the city. Cops say they face problem in restricting pedestrian movement at busy intersections like IFFCO Chowk and Rajiv Chowk. While there are hardly any pedestrian crossings in the city, pedestrians don't use the ones that exist. DCP (traffic) Bharti Arora said there was no provision to prosecute pedestrians for not crossing the road from designated places. But sadly, such designated places are also lacking, especially on the expressway where many FOBs, flyovers and underpasses are required. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/80-died-while-crossing-NH-8/articleshow/10876137.cms accessed on 26 November 2011.)
2. Free mobiles, bicycles for retaining Bihar migrant labourers: Facing acute labour shortage mainly due to less influx of migrant labourers, particularly from Bihar, employers are doling out freebies like mobile phones (monthly recharge coupon from Rs. 50 to Rs. 200) and bicycles (to ride to workplace and back) to lure workers. Witnessing almost 30 per cent labour shortage, nearly 5000 small and big manufacturers of bicycles and parts in Ludhiana, popularly known as the country's "bicycle capital", are facing threat of closure, traders said.
Some of the leading names in the bicycle manufacturing here include Hero, Avon and Rolex.The ill-effect of the labour crisis is also felt on the farm sector as well as on textile manufacturing in the district. MGNREGA was another factor pointed out for this.A survey has found that migration of labourers from Bihar in search of livelihood to places like Punjab and Delhi has declined by over 26 per cent, thanks to initiatives taken by the Nitish Kumar government in the past five years to check their exodus. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Free-mobiles-bicycles-for-retaining-Bihar-migrant-labourers/articleshow/10889595.cms accessed on 27 November 2011.)
Some of the leading names in the bicycle manufacturing here include Hero, Avon and Rolex.The ill-effect of the labour crisis is also felt on the farm sector as well as on textile manufacturing in the district. MGNREGA was another factor pointed out for this.A survey has found that migration of labourers from Bihar in search of livelihood to places like Punjab and Delhi has declined by over 26 per cent, thanks to initiatives taken by the Nitish Kumar government in the past five years to check their exodus. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Free-mobiles-bicycles-for-retaining-Bihar-migrant-labourers/articleshow/10889595.cms accessed on 27 November 2011.)
3. City laps up Quran laptops: In the world of Kindle and iPads, there comes another e-gadget, but with a difference. It's the Quran laptops that have become the latest rage among young believers, who like to slip the Q-notebook into their backpacks and tune into a chapter when they wish to in the city of Hyderabad. Though this is equipped with no other software, the laptop is being lapped up by both the young and old alike. Each key is dedicated to one chapter of the Quran. When the key is pressed, the chapter opens and its recitation begins. Himalaya Book World, Punjagutta is selling close to 15 pieces of the laptop every month. The laptop has all the 114 chapters of the Quran and helps the listener in understanding the right pronunciation and how the text should be read. And there is a mini version of this laptop aimed at children, which has also hit the market. These particular models have 40 and 80 keys respectively. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/City-laps-up-Quran-laptops/articleshow/10899925.cms accessed on 28 November 2011.)
4. With IVF, single mum reborn as star: Even strangers call this courageous lady to congratulate her on her decision to go ahead without bothering about what people will say and fulfill her long-cherished dream. Executive magistrate (Junagadh district) Rekhaba Sarvaiya, has become the poster-girl for single motherhood in conservative Saurashtra. She delivered a baby girl on 11.11.11. She was the first girl in her village to be highly educated - a gold medalist in BSc, MSc and Masters in Journalism and Communication. She said that she is not a man-hater feminist, but never came across a man with whom she would like to share my life. However, she wanted to experience motherhood and opted the IVF method. Now, with Abhigna playing in her arms, Rekhaban does not want any partner. She said, "I read a lot and am highly spiritual. It is not that I have become a single mom to cock a snook at the society and prove that a woman can do it. I have become a mother as it is the most humbling experience and most rewarding. (Radha Sharma, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/With-IVF-single-mum-reborn-as-star/articleshow/10898011.cms accessed on 28 November 2011.)
5. Philippines beats India to emerge as leader in call centre business: More Filipinos - about 400,000 - than Indians now spend their nights talking to mostly American consumers, industry officials said, as companies like AT&T, JPMorgan Chase and Expedia have hired call centres here, or built their own. The jobs have come from the United States, Europe and, to some extent, India as outsourcers followed their clients to the Philippines. India, where offshore call centres first took off in a big way, fields as many as 350,000 call centre agents, according to some industry estimates. The Philippines, which has a population one-tenth as big as India's, overtook India this year, according to Jojo Uligan, executive director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines. Executives say the growth was not motivated by wage considerations. Filipino call centre agents typically earn more than their Indian counterparts ($300 a month, rather than $250, at entry level), but executives say they are worth the extra cost because American customers find them easier to understand than they do Indian agents, who speak British-style English and use unfamiliar idioms. It helps that Filipinos learn American English in the first grade, eat hamburgers, follow the NBA and watch the TV show "Friends" long before they enter a call centre. In India, public schools introduce British English in the third grade, only the urban elite eat American fast food, cricket is the national pastime and "Friends" is a teaching aid for Indian call centre trainers. English is an official language in both countries. The Philippines has "a unique combination of Eastern, attentive hospitality and attitude of care and compassion mixed with what I call Americanization," said Aparup Sengupta, CEO of Aegis Global. (Vikas Bajaj, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Philippines-beats-India-to-emerge-as-leader-in-call-centre-business/articleshow/10898864.cms accessed on 28 November 2011.)
6. Bangalore best Indian city to live: Survey: Pipping past the four metro cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the southern technology hub Bangalore has emerged as the best city to live in India, according to the 'Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011' by the global HR (human resources) consultancy major Mercer. Despite its top Indian ranking, Bangalore's worldwide rank is very low at 141st position in a list of 221 cities. globally in terms of standard of living, compiled by the 'Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011' by the global HR (human resources) consultancy major Mercer.
Vienna has been ranked as the world's best city to live in on the global list, which has five Indian cities -- Bangalore (141st), New Delhi (143rd), Mumbai (144th), Chennai (150th) and Kolkata (151st). Globally, Vienna is followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich, Dusseldorf, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Geneva, Copenhagen and Bern among the top-ranked cities in terms of quality of living, Mercer said. In another list of the world's best cities in terms of personal safety standards, Luxembourg has been placed on the top, followed by Bern, Helsinki, Zurich, Vienna, Geneva and Stockholm. On this list, Indian cities have been ranked a little better, as Bangalore has got 117th place, New Delhi and Kolkata shared the 127th position, Mumbai is at 142 and Chennai is placed at 108th. Bangalore has been ranked as the best Indian city both in terms of quality of living and the personal safety standards. The personal safety ranking has been on measures of internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and host-country's international relations. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Bangalore-best-Indian-city-to-live-Survey/articleshow/10918790.cms accessed on 29 November 2011.)
7. 402 deaths on suburban tracks in 2011: Completion of a subway to cross the railway tracks at Chromepet might take longer as the Pallavaram municipality has decided to change the design. The accident rate at this point on the Chennai Beach-Chengelpet suburban railway line is very high due to people crossing the tracks. Between January and November this year, 402 people have died in accidents on this stretch as compared to the 387 people killed on the stretch in 2010, railway police said. Right now, there is only a railway crossing at Chromepet.
The proposed Rs 7.55 crore subway was to be open to all types of vehicles but the municipality has voted to change the design to allow only pedestrians and two-wheelers. Between August and November, 122 people died on the railway tracks between Guindy and Chengelpet. More than 90% of the deaths were due to people talking on cell phones while crossing the tracks. The rest committed suicide or were trespassing on railway property. Most of the victims were in the age group of 18 to 30 years. Of the 17 stations on the stretch, Chromepet is the most accident-prone, claiming 48 lives up to November. "The accident trend is alarming with more people losing their lives on tracks due to sheer negligence. Every month, an average of 30 people die on the tracks between Guindy and Chengelpet," said a railway police official. The subway project was first proposed in 1998 by Southern Railway and has been delayed for various reasons. For years, the state highways department found it hard to acquire 21 metres of land on both sides of the level crossing. Originally, the project was to be completed in a year after work started on 27 February, 2009. Around 400 families who live on either side of the level crossing have been resisting acquisition despite several meetings with officials and elected representatives. (D. Madhavan, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/402-deaths-on-suburban-tracks-in-2011/articleshow/10987150.cms accessed on 5 December 2011.)
8. Govt mulls free medicine for all: The government is considering rolling out a " free-medicine-to-all" scheme through public hospital and health facilities across the country in a bid to arrest poverty and indebtedness mainly in rural areas. The strategy aims to facilitate state governments to set up autonomous medical supplies corporation, a public sector body, to supply free, quality generic essential medicines to indoor and outdoor patients, who seek healthcare in government hospitals and health facilities. The Planning Commission's recommends that all state governments should follow the model adopted by Tamil Nadu. In the southern state, the bulk procurement of drugs by medical supply corporation directly from manufacturers through a transparent bidding process substantially reduces the cost of medicines. In many cases, they cost 1/10th to 1/15th less than retail outlets. Medicines account for about 50%-80% of healthcare costs. The scheme will ensure free government healthcare to the poor and vulnerable. The panel calculated that scheme will attract about 52% of the patients. Low public spending on drugs and non-availability of free medicines in government healthcare facilities are major factors discouraging people from accessing public sector health facilities. Kerala has already adopted the Tamil Nadu model and Bihar and Rajasthan are in the process of implementing the scheme. (Mahendra Kumar Singh, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-mulls-free-medicine-for-all/articleshow/10999850.cms accessed on 6 December 2011.)
9. Snake bites kill 46K in India yearly: The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene said in India 46,000 people are dying every year from snakebites against the official figure of only 2,000.More than 2.5 lakh cases of snake bites are reported every year. Those who survive the bite on the spot, subsequently die due to delay, unable to reach a hospital within the crucial golden hour or due to lack of treatment, resulting in overdose of anti-venom. The statistics are shocking, considering India is neither home to the largest number snakes in the world nor is there a shortage of anti-venom in the country. The World Health Organization estimates that up to five million people suffer from snakebites each year, resulting in 300,000 cases of permanent disability and about 100,000 deaths. India is home to 13 snake varieties that are highly poisonous of which five make up the deadly list of the common snakes biting humans - Common Cobra, Krait Cobra, Russells Viper, Saw Scaled Viper and Hump Nose Pit Viper. The worst-affected states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam and West Bengal. (Kounteya Sinha, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Snake-bites-kill-46K-in-India-yearly/articleshow/11000299.cms accessed pm 6 December 2011.)
10. India's mobile subscriber base at 873.61 mn users in Sept: Indian telecom service providers added 7.9 million new subscribers in September, taking the total number of wireless users in the country to 873.61 million, according to telecom regulator TRAI. The total telecom subscriber base of the country stood at 906.9 million at the end of September, taking the overall tele density to 75.48 (telecom connections per 100 people), a TRAI statement said today.The number of wireline subscribers fell to 33.3 million in September from 34.07 million in August, it added. There was marginal increase in India's broadband subscriber base to 12.84 million in September from 12.69 million in the previous month. About 25.70 lakh subscribers submitted request for MNP in September. Since the introduction of MNP in November last year, about 206.29 lakh subscribers across the country had submitted requests, till September, for changing their service providers while retaining their mobile numbers under MNP. (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/indias-mobile-subscriber-base-crosses-873-mn/209206-11.html accessed on 6 December 2011.) Breaking News:
11. US continues to be the biggest donor for Indian NGOs: The US continues to be the biggest donor for Indian NGOs, contributing a little less than one-third of the total Rs 10,337 crore received by various non-profit voluntary organizations in 2009-10 according to home ministry. The ministry's data showed that the US donated over Rs 3,105 crore to NGOs during the period compared to Rs 1,046 crore by Germany, Rs 1,038 crore by UK, Rs 583 crore by Italy and Rs 509 crore by Netherlands. Analysis of previous home ministry reports shows that these countries have been the top five donors to NGOs for the past several years, consistently giving over 50% of the total foreign contribution. During 2009-10, the highest Rs 944 crore out of the total Rs 10,337 crore of foreign contribution went to organizations working in the field of rural development followed by Rs 742 crore for welfare of children and Rs 630 crore for construction and maintenance of schools and colleges. The year 2008-09 had shown a similar trend. Contribution for AIDS awareness also figured prominently in the past five years. Indian NGOs collectively received foreign contribution to the tune of over Rs 49,968 crore during five years from 2005-06 to 2009-10. A total of 21,508 organizations received such funds for various activities in 2009-10 compared to 21,542 organizations in 2008-09. The home ministry's data shows that foreign contributions to voluntary organizations have come not just from rich and developed countries alone. Countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Zambia, Congo and others have also donated funds to different organizations. Although the contribution made by under-developed or developing countries has been quite low compared to the biggies, most of these countries have been providing funds to Indian NGOs consistently for different activities. During 2009-10, India's neighbours like Nepal contributed Rs 12 crore, China Rs 2.8 crore, Afghanistan Rs 1.9 crore, Pakistan Rs 1.2 crore and Bangladesh Rs 86 lakh. Besides rural development, child welfare, environmental programmes and AIDS awareness, foreign funds are also being used for setting up religious schools, education of priests/preachers, religious functions and publication/distribution of religious literature among other activities. (Vishwa Mohan, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-continues-to-be-the-biggest-donor-for-Indian-NGOs/articleshow/11011927.cms accessed on 7 December 2011.)
12. India's income inequality has doubled in 20 years: Inequality in earnings has doubled in India over the last two decades, making it the worst performer on this count of all emerging economies. The top 10% of wage earners now make 12 times more than the bottom 10%, up from a ratio of six in the 1990s. Moreover, wages are not smoothly spread out even through the middle of the distribution. The top 10% of earners make almost five times more than the median 10%, but this median 10% makes just 0.4 times more than the bottom 10%. "The main driver has been an increase in wage inequality between regular wage earners-contractual employees hired over a period of time," says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a new report on inequality in the developed world and emerging economies. "By contrast, inequality in the casual wage sector-workers employed on a day-to-day basis-has remained more stable," the report said. India has got more unequal over the last two decades-India's Gini coefficient, the official measure of income inequality, has gone from 0.32 to 0.38, with 0 being the ideal score. In the early 1990s, income inequality in India was close to that of developed countries; however, its performance on inequality has diverged greatly since then, bringing it closer to China on inequality than the developed world. There is evidence of growing concentration of wealth among the elite. The consumption of the top 20% of households grew at almost 3% per year in the 2000s as compared to 2% in the 1990s, while the growth in consumption of the bottom 20% of households remained unchanged at 1% per year. In comparison, the income of the bottom 20% of households in China grew at double the rate in the 2000s as compared to the 1990s, while the increase for the top 20% of households was much slower. In Brazil, household incomes have been growing faster among the poorest households than among the richest for the last two decades. Of all the emerging economies, India has by far the highest proportion of informal employment, by any national or international measure. "In India...informal employment includes a disproportionate number of women, home-based workers, street sellers and workers sub-contracted by firms in the formal sector." India spends less than 5% of its GDP on social protection schemes as compared to Brazil's more than 15%. Its tax revenue as a proportion of GDP is under 20%-the lowest of all emerging economies, and just half that of developed countries. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indias-income-inequality-has-doubled-in-20-years/articleshow/11012855.cms accessed on 7 December 2011.)
13. Dad held for raping girl repeatedly: A man has been arrested for allegedly raping his 15 year old daughter thrice reportedly at the instigation of her step-mother. The victim, who managed to flee her house in Jamia Nagar and contact police with the help of an auto driver, was produced before the child welfare committee and sent to the shelter home Prayas. The step-mother has also been arrested. According to government statistics released recently, 23 per cent of rape cases in urban areas took place in Delhi and 10.8 per cent in Mumbai. A total of 1,422 kidnapping or abduction of women have taken place in Delhi last year which is 37.7 per cent of the total cases in 35 major cities. There were 112 dowry deaths and 1,273 incidents of cruelty by husband or relatives in Delhi last year, said the report of the national Crime Control Bureau.In Mumbai, there were 146 incidents of kidnapping of women, 21 dowry deaths and 312 incidents of cruelty by husband or relatives during last year. (Dwaipayan Ghosh, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Dad-held-for-raping-girl-repeatedly/articleshow/11014320.cms accessed on 7 December 2011.)
14. MBAs, engineers join Delhi police as sub-inspectors: Are Indian youth unable to get jobs according to their qualifications or are they merely looking for stability in their career? 344 sub-inspectors were inducted into the Delhi police even though they were over qualified for their jobs. Sixty-eight of these SIs were women. Fourteen engineers, including an MTech, and 15 MBAs were among the Sub-Inspectors who joined the force at a ceremony held at Jharoda Kalan in northwest Delhi. Among the new inductees are 52 people with Master of Arts degreee, 10 with MSc, seven law graduates, four MComs, three BPharm, two MEd and one BPEd. Out of the 344 Sub Inspectors, 106 officers are from Delhi, 79 from Haryana, 76 from UP, 56 from Rajasthan, 15 from Bihar, four from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh and one each from West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Orissa and Punjab. Cops claimed Delhi police was one of the most culturally diverse forces in the country. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/MBAs-engineers-join-Delhi-police-as-sub-inspectors/articleshow/11064898.cms accessed on 11 December 2011.)
15. Life on the dark side: More than 1 lakh villages in India are yet to be electrified, according to government data, which translates into 350 million people living in the dark. That’s a conservative figure because there are several villages that are not covered under government programmes such as the flagship Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Viduytikaran Yojana (RGGVY), a scheme launched in 2005. (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/life-on-the-dark-side/886337/0 accessed on 11 December 2011.)
16. ‘No Toilets’ Fundamental Rights Violation: Supreme Court: Concerned over pathetic state of affairs in government run schools where children are denied drinking water and another basic facilities, the Supreme Court has directed the Centre and all states to ensure that hospitable conditions are provided to children as their refusal violate right to education and fundamental right. “It is imperative that all schools must provide toilet facilities; empirical researches have indicated that wherever toilet facilities are not provided in the schools, parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools’’, a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra said while hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, Environmental & Consumer Protection Foundation (ECPF) seven years ago. The law suit has sought better education facilities and proper schooling in order to check the rapid drop out graph. Expanding the scope of the petition and taking into account the contentions made by counsel Ravinder Bana, the court has already asked all the district magistrates nation-wide to file comprehensive affidavits within a month regarding availability of basic facilities such as potable drinking water, toilets both for boys and girls, electricity, boundary walls and mid-day meal in primary schools. Referring to its office report filed on December 3 last, the court said it indicates that despite opportunity granted, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Tripura and Union Territory of Lakshdweep have not filed their affidavits. DNA has already reported that India has about 6,88,000 primary schools and 1,10,000 secondary schools. According to the statistics available, two third of school going age children are enrolled in schools but the figures are deceptive as many don’t attend schools regularly. At least half of all students from rural area drop out before completing school. Giving a wider scope of the hearing, the Supreme Court has asked the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation to file an affidavit within a month indicating the latest position about the problem of drinking water in the country. (http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_no-toilets-fundamental-right-violation-supreme-court_1625013 accessed on 13 December 2011.)
17. 70% Indians are prone to malaria infection: Over 70% of India's population, or 100.41 crore face the risk of malaria infection. Around 31 crore, however, face the "highest risk" of getting infected by the vector-borne disease. According to the World Malaria report 2011, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), India has over 10 crore suspected malaria cases, but only 15.9 lakh could be confirmed last year. Of the confirmed cases, 8.3 lakh people were infected by plasmodium falciparum, while 7.6 lakh were infected with Plasmodium Vivax. Malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25% globally. There were an estimated 6 55, 000 malaria deaths in 2010, which is 36,000 lower than the previous year. India, however, recorded 1, 023 malaria deaths. The report says in 2010, there were an estimated 216 million cases of malaria in 106 endemic countries and territories. Globally, 86% of the victims were children under five years. Drug resistance is a major concern globally. Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinins, which was confirmed on the Cambodia-Thailand border in 2009, is suspected in parts of Myanmar and Vietnam. Since 2008, containment activities have been going on to limit the spread of artemisinin-resistant parasites. (Kounteya Sinha, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/70-Indians-are-prone-to-malaria-infection/articleshow/11114459.cms accessed on 15 December 2011.)
18. B'lore: Begging racket busted, 300 kids rescued 300 children who were trafficked, drugged and forced to beg have now been rescued by the Bangalore police. What's more shocking is that over a third of these children are infants, all under the age of three. The infant are drugged and used all day to beg for money. They run when they notice the camera. Older kids too are tutored to hide and stay away from cameras and controlled by street bosses who are hardly seen. But it’s the chronic drugging of 108 rescued infants that's most shocking as some were asleep even two days after the rescue. Most of the kids rescued are now at government homes. Some never want to go back home. A rescued beggar said, "My parents sent me to beg they said don't come home empty-handed. If I took less than Rs 200 back they used to beat me." The police are yet to nab the masterminds, but say they have video evidence of close to 1100 children being forced to beg by suspected traffickers on the streets of Bangalore. Anti-Trafficking Unit Inspector Anand Kabburi said, "Mostly these children are from neighbouring state Andra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh and totally we have booked nine such cases." The child traffickers who are arrested easily manage to get bail and that is encouraging this crime across the country. (Deepa Balakrishnan, http://ibnlive.in.com/news/blore-begging-racket-busted-300-kids-rescued/211988-62-132.html accessed on 15 December 2011.)
19. No Kidding: An increase in the number of double-income families, peer pressure, global retail formats, and awareness of international brands are key drivers for the growth of the kids garment market. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates that the industry is Noworth Rs 38,000 crore, and growing at a compound annual rate of about 20 per cent to reach Rs 80,000 crore by 2015. Kids wear has been segmented: Low – Unbranded (below Rs. 250) Economy – Big Bazaar, V-mart (Rs. 250-550); Medium- Giny & Jony, Lilliput kidswear Rs. 500-1000); Premium- Mom & Me; Mother Care; Tommy Hilfiger (Rs. 1000 – 2500) and Super Premium & Luxury – Kidology, Monnalisa (Rs. 2500 and above). (Anumeha Chaturvedi, Business Today 25 December 2011, p. 102-104.)
20. India most uncharitable in South Asia: India has earned the dubious distinction of being South Asia's most uncharitable country in 2011, if one goes by the ranking in the Charities Aid Foundation's World Giving Index. In the South Asia region, India is the worst performer with a global ranking of 91. In 2010, India ranked at 134. Pakistan, which was ranked at 142 last year, has made it to 34th position this year. Sri Lanka is ranked 8th while Bangladesh is 78 and Nepal 84. Thailand was the most generous, with 85 per cent of Thais making regular charitable contributions. The UK was the second most generous, with 79 per cent regularly giving to charity. Countries were ranked on monetary donations and charitable acts. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-most-uncharitable-in-South-Asia/articleshow/11187473.cms accessed on 21 December 2011.)
21. Flaming Disregard: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) recently pointed out gaping deficiencies in firefighting capabilities to the 13th Finance Commission—the country has only 2.46 per cent of the fire stations it requires, only 3.72 per cent of the necessary personnel and 19.96 per cent of firefighting and rescue vehicles that are considered a minimum prerequisite! To offer a contrast, New Delhi has only 51 fire stations and 2,500 firemen but New York has more than four times as many firefighters to respond to an area half the size of Delhi with nearly five million less inhabitants than Delhi’s 14 million. Some have even pointed out how highrises in Mumbai now go up to as many as 70 floors but the fire department has equipment that can reach a height of only around 25 floors. On a national level, a total of Rs 70,000 crore is required but only around five per cent has been arranged for so far. One may try and find an argument for the lack of finances but there isn’t one for human blunders and violations leading to these repeated disasters. (Debarshi Dasgupta, http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?279339 accessed on 23 December 2011.)
22. Mumbai railway claims 35,000 lives in decade: More than 35,000 people have been killed on Mumbai's rail network over the last decade, according to a freedom of information request. A total of 36,152 people died on the tracks between 2002 and November last year, the Daily News and Analysis newspaper reported, quoting data obtained from the Government Railway Police. During the same period, 36,688 were injured in the western city, which is India's financial and entertainment capital.The fatalities equate to nearly 10 people a day or over 3,000 a year. Mumbai's suburban trains or "locals" carry an estimated seven million people every day and are a lifeline in an overcrowded city with traffic-clogged, potholed roads. Train doors are normally open to the elements to combat high temperatures and humidity, with many travellers also hanging out of carriages or perching between them. A chronic lack of housing has seen slum-dwellings spring up alongside tracks, increasing the risk of death and injuries. Causes of deaths and injuries on the railways include falling from open doors, and being hit by trackside poles or while crossing tracks. (http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/dec/231211-Mumbai-railway-35000-lives-decade.htm accessed on 23 December 2012.)
II Global
Honour killing cases among South Asians in UK rising: Crimes in the name of "honour'' against women, including killings, reached an all-time high in the UK in 2010 and recorded a steep increase against the previous year. This surfaced in response to the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO)'s freedom of information request on Saturday. Figures provided by 39 of the 52 regional British constabularies revealed 2,823 "honour" attacks in 2010. These included around 500 in London and marked an overall rise of 47% rise against the previous year. A quarter of police forces in the UK were unable or unwilling to provide data because communities are often reluctant to talk about such crimes.Such acts are known to be prevalent among a section of South Asian immigrants. (Ashis Ray, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Honour-killing-cases-among-South-Asians-in-UK-rising/articleshow/10977789.cms accessed on 4 December 2011.)
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