Sugar cards can be changed to rice cards

20/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Now, family cardholders can convert their sugar option cards to rice cards by which they can get rice and other items provided under the Public Distribution System. In a statement, Food Minister R. Kamaraj said there were many requests from consumers to convert sugar cards to rice cards. Such consumers can apply online through www.tnpds.gov.in and also at the respective assistant commissioner’s offices till November 26, said an official release here.

Getting a driving licence is now a breeze, thanks to Sarathi

However, owing to lack of awareness about the online process, people still depend on driving schools

20/11/2019, R. SRIKANTH ,CHENNAI

A few years ago, getting a driving licence (DL) or even a learner’s licence was a hellish exercise.

The difficulty in getting DLs and LLRs started right from the application stage — one would find it difficult to even get an application form that would normally be “sold” outside Regional Transport Offices (RTOs).

But since the full-fledged launch of the Sarathi software — which is part of the pan-India Pari Vahan software — in 2018, the system of issuing LLRs, DLs, renewal of DLs and other formalities has become easy, with all transactions, including the payment of fees, completely made online. The site can be browsed at https://sa rathi.parivahan.gov.in/.

Simplified procedure

Today, all one needs is a little bit of time and a smartphone or a computer to fill in forms and upload documents for an LLR — the first stage for getting a driving licence — through the Sarathi software, which is self-guided.

Once the online application is completed, a time slot will be allotted to visit the RTO concerned for fulfilling necessary formalities. For getting a permanent driving licence, the applicant has to just give the LLR number, and the database can then be accessed by the RTOs.

A senior official of the State Transport Authority said all RTOs in the city, numbering 24 (including Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur), are posted with a help desk personnel at the entrance (in some cases, Regional Transport Officer himself) to help direct different applicants to the respective officials.

When LLR applicants visit the RTO at the time allotted, an official will check the documents, carry out physical verification and make them take a written test of traffic regulations and signs, after which they will be sent to take a photo for issuance of the temporary driving licence. While RTO officials claim the process of issuing licences has been simplified, a section of residents believe going through driving schools guarantees LLRs/DLs.

But a senior official of the State Transport Authority denied that going through driving schools would help get LLRs or driving licences easily. He said since the launch of the Sarathi software, the possibility of showing “discretion” to applicants routed through driving schools had become a thing of the past. The official faulted a majority of the people for not being aware of the fact that LLRs and DLs are being issued through the online system. He said only 20-30% applicants were aware of the online system, as a large number of people still visited RTOs and had to be explained the procedures for filling in applications. He rued that despite making the online process easier and simpler, most applicants sought the help of driving schools.

Abilash Surendran, a resident of Pammal, got his twin driving licences for four and two-wheelers without much sweat, after he filed the application for his learner’s licence and driving licence through the Sarathi software.

CCTV cameras installed

The State Transport Authority official said a series of technological developments were happening at RTOs across the State. He said closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were installed at all RTOs. Awareness posters to help applicants fill in applications through the Sarathi software have been put up and verification of driving skills by Motor Vehicle Inspectors have been made stricter, unlike random verification followed until a few years ago, the official added.

The official said there was a plan to install CCTV cameras on the testing track in RTO North West soon. Only Anna Nagar has a full-fledged testing track in the city, while other RTOs use arterial roads for carrying out driving tests.

For issuing driving licence for heavy vehicles, tests are carried out at the two testing tracks at the Institute of Road Transport in Guimmidipoondi (North) and Taramani (South).

The official also said earlier integration of Sarathi software with the main server was an issue, but now all local servers had been linked to the main server, resulting in fewer instances of crashing and disabling operations.

Coughing up a lot for cracked mobile screens? may be an insurance can help
Mamtha.A@timesgroup.com

Chennai:20.11.2019

Frequent physical damages and rising cost of smartphone repairs — sometimes equal to cost a brand new phone — is driving more phone buyers to insure them. Insurers see a 50%-60% rise in policies sold covering mobile phones. Mobile insurance policies range between ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 for high-end phones.

“We have seen about 50%- 60% higher sales on mobile phone insurance compared to last year. About, 60%-70% of claims were requested against cracked screen, as the demand matches the customer’s concern,” Vivek Chaturvedi, head of marketing and direct (online) sales, Digit Insurance, said. Digit Insurance has seen loss claim ratio at 75% for its mobile insurance product.

A 26-year-old, Aparna Vijay, purchased an insurance for her iPhone. “I have finally bought a 12-month mobile insurance cover for my iPhone at ₹1,300, which is much cheaper than the five screen guards at ₹4,500 (₹900 each), which were replaced last year. Why use a phone case or a screen guard ruin that very experience.”

Unlike internal damages like software failure which are covered under protection plans offered directly by mobile phone companies, eligibility criteria for external damages to be covered under insurance policies differ from player to player. Online mobile insurer, Acko General Insurance’s Ashwin Ramaswamy, head of strategic partnerships, said, over 70% of claims are settled within 48 hours of the application submission. “We charge premium between the range of ₹149 and ₹2,999 (from low to high-end phones) on buyers. Screen damage is by far the single largest damage issue that we have received,” he added, which has a partnership with Amazon to sell mobile insurance policies, alongside phones. In the case of a phone loss due to theft, insurance companies entertain claims only with the First Information Report (FIR), without which the claim is rejected.

Likewise, any defects caused while repairing or cleaning the device is not eligible for a claim.

There are exceptional cases when insurers reject a claim as the damage to phone is caused by a friend or a relative. Chaturvedi, said, “In such case, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) linked covers will be helpful. Whether you use the phone or your family or friend does, this mobile insurance policy will be valid for all, as it is linked to the IMEI of the phone and not the user.”


DAMAGE CONTROL

Falling interest rates hit pensioners
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:20.11.2019

Pensioners have been hit hard by the trend of falling interest rates in the country. A study conducted by the country’s largest lender the State Bank of India estimated that pensioners have lost an average ₹5,845 annually due to the falling interest rate regime.

Taking the argument forward, it said considering that there are more than 4 crore pensioners, who have average term deposits of ₹3.34 lakh per account, the net impact on private final consumption expenditure — a barometer for consumption — due to low interest income is estimated at 0.3%.

The annual interest income at the rate of 8.5% in 2015 worked out to ₹28,390 and the present interest income at the rate of 6.75% was estimated at ₹22,545, which shows a loss of ₹5,845 annually.

The economy is passing through a low interest rate regime with RBI cutting rates for five consecutive times to boost growth. Inflation has also remained benign and low for a sustained period, hurting the real monthly returns of pensioners. RBI has reduced its key policy rate by 135 basis points from 6.5% at the beginning of the year to 5.15%. Deposit rates during the same period have come down by an average of 1% for most banks.

The SBI study backed the idea of according full tax rebate on the Senior Citizens Savings scheme (SCSS). Under this scheme a senior citizen can depoit ₹15 lakh and the current interest rate is 8.6%. “However, the interest on SCSS is fully taxable which is a major drawback ( the interest amount of ₹1 lakh deposit for 5 years is around ₹51,000, which is taxable),” the report said.

Jio joins Airtel & Voda with plan to raise tariffs

Youngest Telco Says Move Needed For Fresh Tech

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:20.11.2019

Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, said on Tuesday it plans to raise tariffs, adding that the move is necessary to make fresh network and technology investments and factor in any regulatory interventions.

Its rivals Vodafone Idea and Airtel on Monday announced their decisions to increase tariffs from next month. When it happens, it will be the first significant tariff increase by the new telecom operator, which had disrupted the financials of the mobile industry through its aggressive plans after launching services in September 2016. “As per media reports, we understand that Trai is likely to initiate a consultation process for revision of telecom tariffs. Like other operators, we will also work with the government and comply with the regulatory regime to strengthen the industry to benefit Indian consumers and take measures, including appropriate increase in tariffs in next few weeks in a manner that does not adversely impact data consumption or growth in digital adoption and sustains investments,” the company said in a statement.

The company said it plans to compete with rivals on the basis of quality and service in the marketplace.

“Jio will always keep the customer at the centre of everything and ensure that the customer continues to benefit the most.” The company said it will work aggressively on shifting 2G customers to a 4G eco-system so that data-driven benefits can be accessed by all. “…there are still over 40 crore Indian consumers who have not benefited from the advent of the latest technologies. We believe that the ambitious objectives of the ‘Digital India’ mission can be achieved only if India is made “2Gmukt” in the shortest timeframe possible… This requires continued investment at an industry level. Vodafone Idea and Airtel had said that they will increase tariffs in view of their unprecedented losses and heavy government dues and mounting debt.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel, which had reported record losses in July-September, said increase in tariffs will help them “remain viable”, while giving them elbow room to invest for network and technology expansion.

Voda, Airtel lose 50L users in Sep

New Delhi:Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel lost nearly 50 lakh users in September this year, while rival Reliance Jio added almost 70 lakh users, according to data from sectoral regulator TRAI. Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA and LTE) increased to over 117 crore. Bharti Airtel lost nearly 24 lakh users in September to take its user base to 32.6 crore. Similarly, Vodafone Idea lost almost 26 lakh users to take its user base to 37.2 crore. Jio had 35.5 crore. AGENCIES

AIIMS RISHIKESH TELLS ITS FACULTY

‘Sign leave application only in Hindi’

Dehradun:20.11.2019

Rishikesh-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has issued an order making it mandatory for all its faculty members to sign their leave applications in Hindi. The order, a copy of which has gone viral on social media, says that not just the applicant but also the forwarding authority should sign in Hindi

otherwise the leave application will not be accepted.

Talking to TOI, Dean Academics, Manoj Gupta said that the idea behind the order was to promote Hindi language. “We are simply trying to promote Hindi language as per the guidelines of the Centre. The leave application and other forms are in English and the applicant can fill those in any language, but only signature in Hindi is mandatory,” Gupta added. TNN

Notification Dr. NTRUHS 20.11.2019