Apni Patrika – January Edition
January 16, 2012
August 23, 2011
Current Indian System Vs Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill
Govt of India seems to be continuously overlooking the Jan Lokpal bill suggested by the Team Anna. The main and only reason as we can see is the corruption in current leaders which will be investigated immediately after passing this Jan Lokpal bill. Every minister is sweating because almost all of them have something to be grabbed for.
Here is a summery of Jan Lokpal bill for review:
|
Existing System |
System Proposed by civil society |
| No politician or senior officer ever goes to jail despite huge evidence because Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) and CBI directly come under the government. Before starting investigation or initiating prosecution in any case, they have to take permission from the same bosses, against whom the case has to be investigated. | Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level will be independent bodies. ACB and CBI will be merged into these bodies. They will have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician without needing anyone permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail. |
| No corrupt officer is dismissed from the job because Central Vigilance Commission, which is supposed to dismiss corrupt officers, is only an advisory body. Whenever it advises government to dismiss any senior corrupt officer, its advice is never implemented. | Lokpal and Lokayukta will have complete powers to order dismissal of a corrupt officer. CVC and all departmental vigilance will be merged into Lokpal and state vigilance will be merged into Lokayukta. |
| No action is taken against corrupt judges because permission is required from the Chief Justice of India to even register an FIR against corrupt judges. | Lokpal & Lokayukta shall have powers to investigate and prosecute any judge without needing anyone permission. |
| Nowhere to go – People expose corruption but no action is taken on their complaints. | Lokpal & Lokayukta will have to enquire into and hear every complaint. |
| There is so much corruption within CBI and vigilance departments. Their functioning is so secret that it encourages corruption within these agencies. | All investigations in Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public. Complaint against any staff of Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be enquired and punishment announced within two months. |
| Weak and corrupt people are appointed as heads of anti-corruption agencies. | Politicians will have absolutely no say in selections of Chairperson and members of Lokpal & Lokayukta. Selections will take place through a transparent and public participatory process. |
| Citizens face harassment in government offices. Sometimes they are forced to pay bribes. One can only complaint to senior officers. No action is taken on complaints because senior officers also get their cut. | Lokpal & Lokayukta will get public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen. |
| Nothing in law to recover ill gotten wealth. A corrupt person can come out of jail and enjoy that money. | Loss caused to the government due to corruption will be recovered from all accused. |
| Small punishment for corruption- Punishment for corruption is minimum 6 months and maximum 7 years. | Enhanced punishment - The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment. |
Here is the FULL Jan Lokpal bill to download : http://t.co/kQa1ndV
Your views are welcome 
June 30, 2011
Run Vodafone Mobile Connect (VMC 2G/EDGE) on iPhone in India
I’ve recently bought my iPhone and was happy using it on Vodafone India with 100 MB 3G iPhone data plane. When I used up 65 MB over, they charged me Rs 650/- @10/MB! I was almost fainted to see the bill and decided to switch back to 2G network data which is available to me for Rs 98/- only for 2GB Data!!! Awesome, isn’t it? But alas, my iPhone refused to connect to internet on this plan. When I tried to change APN settings, the Data setting option disappeared!!!
Finally I found 2 ways to get it working. One is simple and other one is advanced! First you need to know that your APN should be ‘www’ to connect to Vodafone Mobile Connect. Since there is no way to change the APN on the iPhone itself, you need to get some alternate way to change it.
Here’s how you do it:
1: Simple way (Needs WiFi connection)
Connect your iPhone (any of 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4) to WiFi and open Safari
Go to http://www.unlockit.co.nz/
Follow on screen instructions and select your network (IN – Vodafone or any other in case you are not using Vodafone)
Click ‘Save Settings’
You are good to go!!!
2: Advanced Way (If you do not have a WiFi connection)
Go to http://support.apple.com/kb/DL926 from your PC and download “iPhone Configuration Utility”
Run “iPhone Configuration Utility”
Take a look at the image below and enter your APN (www for Vodafone India)
Click “Install” button and you are good to go!
Post comments if you need any help, I will try to sort it out!
Cheers,
~Hashim
June 17, 2011
Teach your kids to get out of car themselve
It is so common to have a car these days and kids love their car so much. The car is not only the mode of transport when they go out on picnic or to their favorite places but also a small home for kids. Kids always treat the car as a picnic spot instead of a vehicle.
Most of the parents open doors for kids while boarding and de-boarding from the car. We, the parents, pay least attention to small kids and do not notice that it is very easy to open the door of a car from the outside but it might be extremely difficult to open the same door from the inside.
It may sound weird but kids are being killed in developing countries like India. Car can easily kill kids due to suffocation and heat of green house effect. Such incidents are taking place with those people who are either new car owners or the people who are quite busy and are unable to pay attention onto kids.
Always remember to teach your kids how to unlock and open door from the inside in case they lock themselves in the car. It takes a minute only to explain it to kids and it can save their life! Also, Do not hand over the keys to younger kids, especially if you have remote attached with the keys. It is not a bad idea to teach kids how to react if the car got an accident. How to open the back seat or how to break the window glass in the case of emergency.
In India people avoid talking about accidents or mis-happenings but it is extremely essential to talk about such conditions with the kids. Talk with your kids about emergency situations, not only in car but also in home or public places. Teach them to prevent accidents and to stay calm in panic situations. Always ask your kids to wear seat belts and do not run the car unless all kids are wearing seat belts.
Be a good parent, start teaching your kids for safety
- Hashim Taylor
Read News: Kid got killed by heat in Honda City car – http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/8880574.cms
January 23, 2011
BlackBerry Services on Vodafone India
In early 2010, when BlackBerry services were launched in India, it was so easy to get blackberry phones with services from Indian Cellular service providers. After a year, when it is so common to have blackberry services activated, Vodafone has almost completely removed information to activate and deactivate such services on user’s devices from their website.
I’ve been using blackberry Prosumer Services from my network provider ‘Vodafone India’ since last year. Now when I wanted to change my device and deactivate my blackberry services, I searched Vodafone India website all over but not found any information on how to deactivate my blackberry services. Recently vodafone customer care IVR has hidden options to ‘Talk to our representative’. When you call 111 or 121, you just hear a lot of options but “Talk to us”! Very user friendly!
After digging the net a lot, I found that we can call on 55666 to talk to them regarding BlackBerry services. I talked to them and got the information I was looking for finally. For such other users like me, who are looking all over the internet for this info, I am posing it here on my website. Hope it would be helpful for blackberry users in India.
Vodafone BlackBerry Prosumer Lite Services
(It will activate your instant messengers and push email for 10 email IDs for Rs 299 per month)
Send ACT BBPL to 111 to Activate
Send CAN BBPL to 111 to Deactivate
Vodafone BlackBerry Prosumer Service
(It will activate your instant messengers and push email for 10 email IDs and unlimited internet for Rs 599 per month)
Send ACT BBP599 to 111 to Activate
Send CAN BBP599 to 111 to Deactivate
Please do let me know if it was any useful for you!
Cheers!!
November 20, 2010
November 15, 2010
Social Networks Keeps me close
Internet has always been a wonderful event all the times. Whenever we see something new, it is always so lucrative that we indulge ourselves into this to the full extent. Whether it is a web page, or email address, or blogs, or social networks or even micro-blogging, we always think that this is it!
Internet never show any full stop or even a comma, it is always developing, always growing. We can just hope that tomorrow would be much much brighter and easier than today! Some may think that we have gone so far today and the technology we have in hands is cutting edge, but the truth is, we are still learning. A major change is still awaiting, something bigger is still about to happen!
So far so good, as per what we have today, we can connect ourselves to shape a better tomorrow because in every invention, social support is a must. As far today is concern, we can use whole lot of social network to keep track of each other. Since you’ve been so indulge in social networks, I would like to add you in the network you prefer. Below is a small list of my links in major networks, I look forward to see you added in my network. Just click on any link below and add me as your friend
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/people/Hashim-Taylor/1061964440
Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/smokkky
MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/555664687
LinkedIn : http://in.linkedin.com/in/hashimtaylor
Orkut: http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=2561200913618057921
See you there!
- Hashim Taylor
October 10, 2010
Updated Medal Tally Commonwealth Games
Updated Medals Tally in Common Wealth Games Delhi 2010
| Medals Tally | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|
56 | 30 | 32 | 118 |
|
27 | 18 | 18 | 62 |
|
24 | 45 | 29 | 98 |
|
17 | 11 | 22 | 50 |
|
9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
|
7 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
|
6 | 5 | 6 | 17 |
|
5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
|
4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
|
2 | 14 | 5 | 21 |
|
2 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
|
2 | 1 | - | 3 |
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
1 | - | 1 | 2 |
|
1 | - | 1 | 2 |
|
1 | - | 1 | 2 |
|
1 | - | - | 1 |
|
1 | - | - | 1 |
|
- | 5 | 4 | 9 |
|
- | 2 | 2 | 4 |
|
- | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
- | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
- | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
- | 1 | - | 1 |
|
- | 1 | - | 1 |
|
- | 1 | - | 1 |
|
- | 1 | - | 1 |
|
- | - | 2 | 2 |
|
- | - | 1 | 1 |
|
- | - | 1 | 1 |
|
- | - | 1 | 1 |
|
- | - | 1 | 1 |
August 18, 2010
National Victor Public School, East Delhi – Sucks!
Many schools in Delhi are doing business by fooling people around and making them pay higher against lower standard of education. One of these schools is ‘National Victor Public School’ which is located at multiple locations in East Delhi.
If you have to choose a school in Delhi, go for any school but this NVPS because this is one of the most stupid schools in Delhi. After reading this you will feel that this school should be closed or at least the decision taking staff should be kicked out. Read on to know why…
Though I faced multiple problems with my daughter who is studying in Pre-School grade. She is just 3 years old and she is being punished like a 12th grade full-grown student. When our government is taking huge steps for the kids to make them stay in school for classes, the management of this National Victor Public School believes in throwing students out of the classes.
Can anyone believe that a 3 years old girl who is studying in play school can be disallowed for attending class for doing nothing? Yes, it happened in this school on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010. One of the many stupid non-sense rules being run in this school is not to allow a student if she/he is a little late. Without even thinking that how can a 3 years old student be late by his/her own wish? I think they are assuming that a 3 years student can be playing in the middle of the way with friends or watching a movie in the theater somewhere nearby.
Even after explaining this to a higher grade management lady, she started to quarrel on this matter instead of allowing the little girl in the class. Can anyone agree that the little girl would learn a lesson by not being able to attend the school for the day? She can’t even understand what was going on and why she is not entering her classroom? That lady’s stubborn decision of punishing the little innocent 3 year old girl is very very inhuman and should strictly be not tolerated by the parents.
I wonder why school management has such people handling little children who doesn’t even have proper IQ to understand the understanding of a tiny 3 years old student? May be such people are available for cheap salary and don’t run away when parents scold them for their stupidity. I think school management should understand that such cheap stupids are lowering their substandard.
If you are planning to admit your child in this so called ‘National Victor Public School’, think twice for the sake of your children and choose some other school.
July 21, 2010
India and World Science. Are we there? (Essay)
India and World Science, Are we There?
This year we are celebrating our sixtieth year of Independence.
When India achieved Independence, it inherited a shattered economy, hardly any worthwhile infrastructure for the development of science and technology, no sound industrial base, abysmally low agricultural production and almost non- existence of health sector. Imported food grains fed the people. Famines were chronic. But defying all these hurdles India has surged ahead and has achieved dramatic success in the field of science and technology. This article aims to highlight India’s significant achievement in past sixty years. We being future engineers should appreciate these achievements and strive to take India’s successful scientific odyssey further ahead.
The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, laid stress on scientific research. He said “Scientific institutions are temples of modern India, and play a key role in the gigantic task of national development and nation building.” Under his leadership, innumerable national laboratories were set up, science departments in universities were expanded, institutions like IIT’s, IIM’s, and AIIMS were opened.
In the 1960s, India made head lines with its Green Revolution.High-yielding varieties and mechanization of agriculture led the country on the road to self-sufficiency, despite a rapid expansion in population. India emerged as the second largest paddy producer in the world and the world’s largest sugar producer.
With emphasis on horticulture, India also became the largest producer of fruits and the second largest of vegetables. The country ranks first in the production of mango and banana, and has the highest productivity of grapes in the world.
A successful combination of technology and milk cooperatives followed by an immensely successful operation flood led to highly increased milk production positioning India as world’s largest milk producer. The setting of National Diary Development Board (NDDB) and National Milk Grid further promoted supply of quality milk throughout the country.
In 1990s, propelled by scientific breakthroughs at some India’s leading fishery research institutions, the country push ahead with a Blue Revolution. The Indian fisheries sector, which 60 years ago produced only 6,00,000 tonnes of fish, today produces more than 5.5 million tonnes. India holds the third position in the world fish production.
In healthcare also tremendous scientific breakthroughs have been achieved. Infant mortality rate has gone down almost half of what it was sixty years ago; average life expectancy went up by more than 30 years. Smallpox, which killed or maimed millions every year, has been wiped out. Today India is in position to manufacture, apart from conventional drugs, antibiotics like penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline, as well as vitamins A, B and C at a cost about a fifth that of the imported drug. Indian pharma industry is ranked fourth in the world.
Power drives the nation. Till after Independence, the installed capacity was as low as 1362 MW mainly concentrated around urban areas. After Independence India went on to build some 3,600 dams. These not only provided drinking water to many, but also supported economic growth by diverting waters for irrigation of fields enabling the country to be self-sufficient in food production, and also for power. Today’s installed capacity is 84,000 MW. The number of electrified villages has gone up by more than 150% since Independence.
The Telecommunication story has had a dream run in India. India operates one of the largest telecom networks in Asia and the 10th largest in the world. There are about 200 million-telephone connections, over 2,15 million Public Call Offices (PCOs), and over 150 million cellular subscribers in India. Similarly, the Internet using population in India has crossed the 30 million mark.
When the US government refused to supply a Cray supercomputer to India in 1987, our scientist went way ahead to build their own supercomputer. The pride of place goes to PARAM supercomputer, the multipurpose high-speed machine developed by Pune based Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC). The latest offering, Param Padma can make 1 trillion processes per second. Such power has previously achieved only by USA and Japan.
Among the developing countries of the world, India has achieved the distinction of being the only one to have the complete infrastructure for a viable nuclear programme. It has developed its own capacity of handling entire fuel cycle- right from uranium exploration, mining, extraction and fuel fabrication, besides facility of heavy water production, reprocessing of used fuel and waste management. The underground nuclear explosion at Pokharan in Rajasthan on 18 May 1974 was a landmark event that demonstrated to world India’s nuclear capability.
One of the most visible success stories is the country’s space programme. India’s first satellite Aryabhata was a small satellite, weighing only 444 kg, which was primarily designed to test technology. But it far outlived its designing operating life of six years and went on to remain in the orbit and send data for almost 17 years. It was a remarkable feat for a first satellite design and built by a country. India is today the only developing country to have the capacity of designing, building, and launching satellites indigenously. Today, India’s space portfolio consists of array of satellites that aid in remote sensing, tele-education, tele-medicine, communication besides performing several other functions.
Indian oceanographers also have set up a permanent research stations on icy continent of Antarctica called Dakshin Gangotri, a feat only few countries in the world have achieved today.
These achievements ought to motivate us. We must take pride in being Indian. As engineers we should take oath to utilize our brain and power for the betterment of the country that has given us everything.
Jai Hind….
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If you like it, follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/smokkky
PS: My nephew asked me to write something on this topic so that he could submit the same in school. I am so bad in writing anything so I looked over the internet and found this somewhere written by some ‘Raunaq’. I am posting it here so that some other people can use this too.