First permanent de-addiction centre for Juveniles

Posted on September 2, 2011 by SRRF

Recognizing the special need of Juveniles affected by drug/alcohol addiction, High Court’s persistent efforts have bore fruits. Delhi government joining hands with Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM- a Delhi based NGO) has opened a first permanent drug de-addiction centre for juveniles at Sewa Kutir  near Kingsway Camp in North Delhi.

Prior to that there was no regular drug de-addiction centre for juveniles in the city who take to drugs under distress and other circumstances. The centre has come as a ray of hope for such juveniles.

Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses had set up a detoxification-cum-rehabilitation centre at the auditorium of the Sewa Kutir complex. Government has granted the financial sanction for the construction of a kitchen, toilet and the conversion of the auditorium. Supreme Court judge was the chief guest, while Delhi High Court Chief Justice and High Court judges were also present during the inauguration.

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Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.in
Posted in Social Issues | Comments Off on First permanent de-addiction centre for Juveniles

Final push to wipe out Polio from India

Posted on September 1, 2011 by SRRF

With no polio cases in more than seven months, it would be easy for India to become complacent. However, the Government of India is determined more to give a final push to ensure that polio is eradicated from India.

Inching closer to polio eradication with the lowest-ever number of 42 polio cases recorded in 2010, more than 90 % reduction from 741 polio cases in 2009. This year, only one polio case has been reported from West Bengal, according to health officials.

The focused and collaborative efforts of the Indian Government, the spearheading partners and community organizations have continued to act quickly to identify high-risk groups and devise strategies to address each. One such group consists of migrant workers traveling to and from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar becomes difficult to track them.

Another main challenge in front of our government and health officials is the increasing number of refusals from families to immunize their children. According to Municipal Corporation, Medical Officer in Malegaon 1,020 families refused to vaccinate their children in the month of Feb, 2011 which was 966 in Jan. In December last year 947 Muslim families refused for the pulse polio dose.

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Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.in

Posted in Health | Comments Off on Final push to wipe out Polio from India

Notification issued on compounding matters

Posted on August 31, 2011 by SRRF
Dear SRRF Dialogue members,
Greetings!!!

Group members please find latest notification on compounding of FCRA violations by the Ministry of Home Affairs on FCRA ACT, 2010  S.O. 1976 (E), Dated 26-8-2011.

 

SECTION 41 OF THE FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION (REGULATION) ACT, 2010 – COMPOSITION OF CERTAIN OFFENCES – SPECIFIED OFFENCES & AUTHORITY

NOTIFICATION NO S.O. 1976(E), DATED 26-8-2011

WHEREAS “foreign contribution” has been defined under clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (42 of 2010) (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”).

WHEREAS “person” has been defined under clause (m) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act.

WHEREAS section 11 of the Act prescribes that no person, save as otherwise provided in the Act, shall accept foreign contribution unless such person obtains a certificate of registration or prior permission of the Central Government and therefore, acceptance of foreign contribution without obtaining registration or prior permission from the Central Government constitutes an offence under the Act.

WHEREAS sub-section (1) of section 41 of the Act prescribes that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, any offence punishable under this Act (whether committed by an individual or association or any officer or employee thereof), not being an offence punishable with imprisonment only, may, before the institution of any prosecution, be compounded by such officers or authorities and for such sums as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.

NOW, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 41 of the Act, the Central Government hereby specifies that the following offences by any ‘person’ may, before the institution of any prosecution, be compounded for the payment of sums as penalty, as indicated against each of the offences under the Act:-

S.No. Nature of offence Quantum of penalty
(i) Acceptance of cheque or draft towards foreign contribution by a ‘person’ without registration or prior permission of the Central Government even in cases where the cheque or draft has not been deposited in a Bank by the ‘person’. Rs. 10,000 or 2 per cent of the foreign contribution involved, whichever is higher.
(ii) Acceptance of cheque or draft by a ‘person’ towards foreign contribution without registration or prior permission of the Central Government and depositing the same in a Bank notwithstanding non-utilisation of the amount of the foreign contribution. Rs. 25,000 or 3 per cent of the foreign contribution involved, whichever is higher.
(iii) Acceptance of foreign contribution by a ‘person’ without registration or prior permission of the Central Government and utilisation of the same notwithstanding any inquiry which revealed that the contribution received was not diverted towards any purpose other than the objectives or purpose for which the same was received, utilisation of the contribution was as per the objectives of receipt of the same and records of receipt and utilisation have been kept properly. Rs. 1,00,000 or 5 per cent of the foreign contribution involved, whichever is higher.
(iv) Acceptance of foreign contribution in kind by a ‘person’ without registration or prior permission of the Central Government notwithstanding that nothing adverse was reported after inquiry. Rs. 10,000 or 2 per cent of the foreign contribution involved, whichever is higher.

 

(2) In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 41 of the Act, the Central Government hereby specifies that the Director or Deputy Secretary in charge of the FCRA Wing of the Foreigners Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be the authority for exercising the powers for compounding of an offence under the Act.

{F.No. II/21022/10(1)/2010-FCRA-III}
G.V.V. Sarma, Jt. Secy.
With warm Regards,
Tanvi

____________________________________
Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.in

Posted in FCRA, TAX, LEGAL | 2 Comments

Spinal Tuberculosis on the rise

Posted on August 30, 2011 by SRRF

Tuberculosis has always been associated with lungs, but the rising concern nowadays is spinal tuberculosis, which affects the lives of around 1.5 lakh patients in India. The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre took an initiative to create awareness on spinal tuberculosis and its implications. Tuberculosis of the Spine, with its disastrous and often irreversible complications, is becoming a cause for concern. Persistent backaches even while resting, fever, hump in the back and loss of appetite should alert one to consult a doctor without delay, said experts.

This problem is referred to as Pott’s disease, or tuberculosis spondylitis. It can lead to long-term complications such as destruction of the bones, deformity and instability of the spine and can also lead to complete paralysis of both legs and upper limbs, if ignored.

The biggest challenge for the medical community is that very few doctors know that TB can affect the spine. Also diagnosis is complicated because there is no absolute diagnostic criterion for the problem.

Urban lifestyle is the main reason behind the Spinal TB. The need of the hour is people must be aware of the problem and must visit their doctors at early stage to avoid complications.  There are very effective drugs against tuberculosis and the disease can be completely cured with early detection and prompt, required treatment.

____________________________________
Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044

Posted in Health | 4 Comments

Defining Poor

Posted on August 26, 2011 by SRRF

The Government proposes to combine caste survey with survey to identify poor in the country (Below Poverty Line). The survey which has already being undertaken in Tripura is likely to gather momentum as other states start the process. The survey is to be completed by spring of next year.

The survey which is moving away from the earlier proposed calorie intake criteria to more transparent criteria like any family with motorized vehicle even a two-wheeler, refrigerator, a landline phone, 2.5 acres of irrigated land would be excluded from the definition of poor. Households without shelter would be automatically included in the definition of poor. Others would be given scores according to the deprivations, for example in urban areas, non-accessibility to basic services like drinking water, electricity, sanitation, etc. would decide inclusion into the BPL list. Other criteria to be considered include food availability, clothing, footwear, use of durables, access to education and institutional health.

Rural Development Ministry will be the nodal agency for undertaking the survey in rural areas, while Urban Ministry (Dept of Poverty Alleviation) would be responsible for survey in the urban areas.

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Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.in

Posted in Governance Reforms | Comments Off on Defining Poor

Pedestrian safety

Posted on August 23, 2011 by SRRF

Pedestrian safety

Pedestrians are always at risk on Indian roads, since often they have to share the road with motorists, simply because of the conditions of the pavement facilities. Elderly and children are particularly vulnerable while crossing the road due to vehicular traffic and lack of signals.

 

Gurgaon has become a major casualty in this regard. Last year between Rajiv Chowk and Kherki Duala 57 deaths have been reported, majority being pedestrians.

 

An annual publication “Roads Accidents in India 2009” brought out by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways presents a general overview of various causes of road accidents in India. The single most important factor responsible for accidents, fatalities and injuries is driver’s fault followed by other factors like fault of cyclist, fault of pedestrian, defect in  road condition, defect in condition of motor vehicle , weather conditions, etc. NHAI has also commissioned Road Safety audits on certain stretches.

 

However the n eed to make authorities aware of the lack / defects in policies for safety of pedestrians continues. In this regard SRRF is making several efforts. See our web-site, but we need partners to support us in this area.

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Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044

 

 

 

Posted in Pedestrian safety | 1 Comment

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011

Posted on August 20, 2011 by SRRF

The Government introduced a bill seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children with provisions for stringent punishment for such offences in Rajya Sabha during the budget session. Till now, all such cases were being tried under the Indian Penal Code. The bill envisages a jail term up to seven years and a fine of Rs. 50,000 for such crimes.

Some of the salient features of the Bill are:

  • · The bill describes a child as individual below the age of 18
  • · One of the anomalies existing in present legislation is that a sexual act with children between the age of 16-18 is considered a crime, the proposed legislation recognizes the ground reality of early marriage and does not make it an offence if the consent of individual between 16-18 has been taken.
  • · To enhance speedy trials, the States will be required to designate a session court in each district to try offences under this bill.
  • · Till the proposed legislation aims at protecting children against offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, pornography and provide for establishment of special courts for trial of such offences.
  • · Sexual assault also includes fondling the child in an inappropriate way which will invite a penalty of minimum three years in jail.
  • · Minimum 5 years punishment of penetrative sexual assault.
  • · If offence committed by police, security personnel, public servant, persons from educational institution, hospitals or children’s home than minimum punishment is 5 years prison which can be extended to 7 years.
  • · There is a special provision for abusing children for pornography or even possessing such material.

The bill is long overdue considering inadequacy and inappropriateness of archaic Indian Penal Code, however one is rather worried that considering less and less attention of legislators in formulating laws (amount of interruptions in the legislative houses have risen dramatically), if this much needed bill also does not fall on the wayside.

Please find Bill no. XIV of 2011 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011 as introduced in the Rajya Sabha at our website http://www.srr-foundation.org

____________________________________

Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.i
Posted in Human Rights | 4 Comments

Delhi Government to provide free healthcare to school children

Posted on August 17, 2011 by SRRF
The Delhi Government announced ‘’Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojana’’, the most ambitious scheme to provide free healthcare facilities to all the children of the city up to the age of 14 years. With implementation of the scheme Delhi will be the first state to provide 27 lakh school going children free medical care and compulsory medical check-up.

An initial corpus of `100 crore is proposed in the plan budget for the scheme. The scheme is entirely conceived by the government and will run fully on state funds.

The Women and Child Department is working on initial stage of the project which will cover government schools, MCD, NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board schools. However, government has yet to fix the maximum limit of medical expenditure. While Delhi government has earmarked around `100 crores for this ambitious scheme, it is not clear what progress has been made on its implementation.

____________________________________

Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
e-mail: socio-research@sma.net.in
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Posted in Health | Comments Off on Delhi Government to provide free healthcare to school children

Forest Act to be amended to reduce tribal harassment

Posted on August 12, 2011 by SRRF

The Union Cabinet of India approved the amendments to the India Forest Act, 1927 to stop instances of unnecessary harassment and prosecution of forest dwellers and tribals for minor offences.  Besides, to restrain the arbitrary power of the forest official, a clause could be added to the Act according to which the forest official will have to consult and record the views of the gram sabha or village assembly before adjudging a person to have violated the law. The amendment to the Indian Forest Act was necessary because forest officers harassed tribals for minor issues like cutting grass or entering forest. Infact 90% of offences are under this category only.

The amendment to the Indian Forest Act raised the limit to which fines for relatively minor offences can be compounded from 50 rupees to 10000 rupees. Enacted in 1927, the law set the limit for compounding offences to 50 rupees.  At present, the low limit of 50 rupees was all easy to breach. It may help in curbing the encroachments on forest properties which harm the interests of tribals.

Besides the above, the Union ministry of Environment and Forests, asked state governments to declare bamboo as a ‘minor forest produce’ to help conserve bamboo forest and enable sustainable use and the management of this important resource. Bamboo is an important material used by tribals for their dwellings and many indigenous crafts and cottage industries.

____________________________________

Socio Research & Reform Foundation
(A Non Government Organisation)
512 A, Deepshikha, 8 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110008
Tele/Fax: +91-11-25821088, 25817157, 25722044
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment

Interest earned on FC money

Posted on August 12, 2011 by SRRF

Dear Sir,

When we receive grant for some specific program, it comes with a condition that any interest earned on the said grant should be treated as donor grant fund only. I have two queries on this:

1. Will the interest earned be treated as income for the year or added to un-utilized grant fund.
2. what is the best way of calculating the interest earned on each grant? We use monthly average method. Is this acceptable. B’coz, in one FCRA account, we use to have more than one donor fund and also donations.

—

Thanks & Regards

Pragya
Team Leader-Accounts

Villgro Innovations Foundation
III Floor, IIT Madras Research Park Building
Kanagam Road, Taramani,
(Behind TIDEL Park),
Chennai – 600 113

Posted in FCRA, TAX, LEGAL | 8 Comments