‘I WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I HAD TO OVERCOME IN MY LIFE’

Sidharthan.V@timesgroup.com 21.09.2018

I am truly glad to be among youth and college students of Tamil Nadu, we have a course to charter, and that’s why I am here. There is an unspoken government order banning me from entering colleges. I hope this makes you as angry as it makes me. I want you to go back to your colleges and let others know that the government is concerned that when you and I get together, we might make a new Tamil Nadu, and that is scaring them,” began Kamal Haasan addressing the students of different colleges and young entrepreneurs at Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, in Coimbatore, recently. He added, “No one has the right to stop you and me from conversing with each other, we will continue our conversations. The government thinks we need an auditorium or institution for us to get together and have a chat, but we don’t need all that, even an open ground is enough for us, you gather anywhere, I will break all the barriers and come to meet you,” as the audience in the auditorium erupted.

Talking about people who ask him not to talk politics in educational institutions, he said, “I heard that there are few colleges that have ‘do not discuss politics within the campus’ in its prospectus. I don’t find that right at all. What will the students who have chosen political science as their degree discuss in college? Politics is something that will have a huge impact in your life in future, you have to understand what this is and for that you need to discuss politics, so that you are able to assess what is right. I am stressing on it so much because I should have entered politics when I was your age, but I didn’t. I apologise for that. The reason why I am persuading you to enter politics is because you shouldn’t be regretting later that you should have entered politics earlier, like me. If the current political scenario can be changed, it can only be done by youngsters. The existing politicians can only make it better, but we can’t change it.”

The legendary actor-turned-politician also answered several questions from students and entrepreneurs. When he was quizzed about overcoming unemployment, he answered, “There are one crore newly graduated students coming out college every year in India, but is there job to accommodate every one of them? The number of government jobs are decreasing by the day, private organisations are on the rise, small-scale industries are also rising. The world is not going to be filled with workers, but with entrepreneurs — such a change is on the anvil. Pursue what you like, it is not necessary to like what you study, but that education is definitely going to help. The only way forward to beat unemployment is through small industries and micro entrepreneurs.”


KAMAL HAASAN

I did not choose acting, it chose me: Kamal Haasan

Answering a question on the biggest obstacle he has had to overcome in life, Kamal said, “Me; I was the biggest obstacle I had to overcome in life. Nobody stood in my way; everybody was ready to help me. I had too many good teachers, I have been a lucky man and inspite of it, if my progress has been slow it is only because of me. To overcome me was the most difficult thing, and I think I have managed to do it.”

When quizzed about how dirty politics is, and how he is going to survive, he said, “I was taught to be clean by my parents, but on the way to my school the streets used to be very dirty, people defecate publicly, so do animals. But I can’t stop going to the school, my education is in that corner and in between people are defecating, I will tap dance, step over it, but I will reach my destination.”

Talking about the importance of agriculture he said, “Agriculture and education are the two departments we need to improve in as a nation, the rest will fall in place, businessmen and entrepreneurs have no choice but to follow. We have to take care of our land and soil, the fauna and flora of our land is what will feed us. Extracting hydrocarbon is also important, but if it is a fertile agricultural land, please let that be even if you find diamonds beneath it, because during drought you can only depend on what grows above the soil and not the ones beneath it.”

On acting he said, “I did not choose acting, it chose me. I was at an age where I had no choice, I was three. The truth is that acting chose me and I liked it because it was one good way of getting out of school. A good actor should watch people around him, an actor is no less than a writer, poet or any person who is artistic. There is no subject that is taboo to him and beyond his comprehension. He will become that, if he doesn’t know he will learn. The beauty of being an actor is that he will learn a bit about all the roles he plays, when an actor plays a doctor, he will at least become a compounder or nurse by the time he finishes playing the role.”


Kamal Haasan

THE BEAUTY OF BEING AN ACTOR IS THAT HE WILL LEARN A BIT ABOUT ALL THE ROLES HE PLAYS, WHEN AN ACTOR PLAYS A DOCTOR, HE WILL AT LEAST BECOME A COMPOUNDER OR NURSE BY THE TIME HE FINISHES PLAYING THE ROLE AGRICULTURE AND EDUCATION ARE THE TWO DEPARTMENTS WE NEED TO IMPROVE IN AS A NATION, THE REST WILL FALL IN PLACE...

SECURITY RISK TOO’

Paytm says Google Pay violates user privacy

Digbijay.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:21.09.2018

A new battle is being waged in the domestic payments ecosystem. Paytm has written to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), saying that Google Pay’s privacy policy has scope of violating user privacy and potentially risking the security of the country.

In a letter to NPCI boss Dilip Asbe, Paytm said Google Pay shares user data within group companies and thirdparty platforms in India and abroad, which can be risky given that Google Pay is an unregulated payments platform and stores data outside the country.

Paytm had previously complained to the NPCI about WhatsApp, saying the latter was given unfair advantage at the time it entered the peer-to-peer payments business via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Google, however, responded that the company does not use any individual UPI transaction data for monetisation purposes, such as for advertisements, and all its actions are in line with applicable laws. Google Pay operates on UPI and recently completed one year of operations.

UPI is the fastest growing platform for digital payments, and a number of domestic and global players — including Paytm, Flipkart’s PhonePe, Google Pay and WhatsApp — have been fighting for a share of it. UPI witnessed over 300 million transactions in August, registering a growth rate of over 30% from July, when it clocked around 235 million transactions. In September last year, the same stood at just about 30 million.

A Google Pay spokesperson said in an emailed response that the service shares user data as may be required for the purpose of processing transactions or providing Google Pay Services with its authorised partners. “These include participating banks, banks on UPI infrastructure, bill aggregators, merchants on the Google Pay for Business program and with whom the users are transacting and billers such as utility services, etc. Sharing of this information is in accordance with applicable laws and requisite consent obtained from the user and in conformity with standard industry practice,” the spokesperson said.

An email sent to NPCI’s spokesperson had not elicited a response till the time of going to print.

It felt like a pin was being pierced into my ears, recounts passenger

Flyers Say After Oxygen Masks Dropped, Neither Cabin Crew Nor Pilot Made Any Announcement

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:21.09.2018

At least five passengers of a Jet Airways flight suffered ear and nose bleeding due to low cabin pressure early on Thursday during the aircraft’s ascent here. Both pilots are grounded and the Aircaft Accident Investigation Bureau has begun an inquiry.

Jet Airways said the five, taken to hospital, have been released. It added that 144 of the 166 passengers later travelled to Jaipur by an alternative flight.

The switch that works the crucial air-conditioning in the pressurized aircraft cabin is usually kept on. “Omission of such vital items after takeoff checklist, such as putting engine bleeds ON, is sheer negligence of standard operating procedure which could have led to a major emergency if both the pilots had also suffered an ear injury, like some of the passengers, said a senior pilot. Ankur Gala, 38, one of the five passengers taken to Nanavati hospital, had blood stains on his trousers. “It felt like a pin was being pierced into both my ears. Passengers were in a state of shock,” said Gala. “After the oxygen masks fell, there was no announcement or any instruction from the cabin crew. I put on the mask, but blood from my nose collected into the mask and dripped onto my clothes,” he added.

Some of the passengers who finally arrived in Jaipur at 12.30pm were shocked that flying could be so terrifying. “I was experiencing pain in my nose and ears and I thought it could be my problem only, though I have been a frequent flyer. Thereafter, I saw the passenger next to me bleeding from the nose. Suddenly oxygen masks came down. Shockingly, neither the cabin crew nor the captain made any announcement. We landed at the terminal at Mumbai and it was utter chaos initially,” said Prashant Sharma.

The 11-year-old Boeing 737 (VT-JGS) operating Jet flight 9W69 lifted off from Mumbai airport at 6.15am. Aircraft climb at a rate of about 1,500 feet per minute and so the Jet aircraft would have crossed 10,000 feet altitude within fivesix minutes, which was when the cabin altitude aural warning would have gone off (see graphic).

For the full report, log on to www.timesofindia.com(Inputs by Sumitra Deb Roy and Malathy Iyer)

Aviation ministry orders safety audit of all airlines, airports
New Delhi

: Civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday ordered a safety audit of all scheduled airlines and airports amid recent incidents related to safety of passengers.

The minister has also ordered a probe into the Jet Airways flight incident, which is being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), an official statement said. “Minister has further directed that safety audit should be commenced forthwith and a report to this effect should be submitted for his perusal within 30 days,” a statement from the ministry added. TNN

TN treasury to go online, cut billing delay

₹289cr System To Cut Time For Settling Bills To 1 Hour

Bosco Dominique & D Govardan TNN

Cuddalore/Chennai: 21.09.2018

Years after the world discovered the benefits of paperless online transactions, the Tamil Nadu government is taking its treasury operations totally online from November 1.

The state will implement an integrated financial and human resource management system (IFHRMS) for ₹289 crore, aimed at doing away with tonnes of paper and putting to proper use the government’s critical manpower resources now running around raising 150 types of bills for payments and settlements.

While the online services to be networked would cover all users coming under the purview of the state’s expenditure and revenue, the biggest beneficiaries could be the state’s nine lakh employees and seven lakh pensioners. The new system will bring down traffic at subtreasuries and district treasuries month-on-month, and reduce the time taken from raising bills to settlement to less than an hour, from the present 12 days average.

For the first time, the service registers (SR) of all state government employees will go digital, thereby doing away with the long-drawn process of tracking their records for promotions and settling their retirement benefits. It will also help make the replacement and recruitment process quicker.

For pensioners, it seeks to remove the anxiety of running from pillar-to-post for updates. Instead, they can now track their enhanced pensions or upload their ‘life certificate’ digitally by using their smartphones or computers. IFHRMS is being executed with Wipro as the system integrator, Accenture Services as project consulting agency and PriceWaterhouseCoopers as the thirdparty audit agency.

“For financial year 2017-18, the Tamil Nadu government handled expenditure and receipts of ₹1.7 lakh crore and ₹1.55 lakh crore. Much of these transactions were done manually, using paper,” said Tenkasi S Jawahar, principal secretary-cum-commissioner (treasuries and accounts).

The system will integrate various stakeholders including the accountant general, Tamil Nadu, controller general of accounts, RBI, Income Tax department, GST network and banks. Around 29,000 drawing and disbursement officers (DDOs) of Tamil Nadu government in the state and in New Delhi will get connected.

“All bills can be settled on the same day of presentation since the payments are routed through RBI’s e-kuber facility and SMS alerts will be sent to beneficiaries. The chief minister, finance minister, chief secretary and finance department senior officials will get to know the real time fund position of the state government,” said Jawahar.

Jawahar has been busy addressing ‘sensitization conferences’ across districts, explaining the new system to 50,000-odd employees involved in treasury operations.

MTC buses packed as auto fares rise
High Fuel Prices Begin To Pinch
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.09.2018

More people have started using buses run by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) as share autos have begun increasing fares to pay skyrocketing fuel bills.

According to MTC data, nearly 70,000 more passengers have used its buses since the fourth week of August, a welcome if marginal rise. Since January when the state government raised bus fares, the MTC had lost six lakh to seven lakh people to other modes of transport, particularly local trains. Share autos too had poached significant numbers of MTC commuters, prompting the public utility recently to write to the state transport department to take action against the drivers, accusing them of 'illegal operations' within the city.

"These vehicles (with permits to run as contract carriages) are not allowed to pick up and drop passengers at multiple points as do government buses (which have permits to be stage carriers)," pointed out a senior MTC official.

Transport sector experts say though some action was taken against them, share autos continued to thrive for two reasons. One, passengers could hop in and out at any desired point and, two, share autos ply much faster than MTC buses during peak hours. Given the passenger demand, share auto drivers operating along some of the key routes in the city could afford to increase the minimum fare from ₹15 to ₹20 and charge ₹5 more for every subsequent stop three or four km away.

B Anbalagan, a representative of share auto drivers affiliated to the CITU, said, "The revised fare structure is put into effect only during the peak hours since passengers tend to use MTC buses or local trains if the share auto drivers collect the increased fare during non-peak hours."

However, their fare slab revision turned out to be a blessing in disguise for MTC, which has of late increased the number of services operated during peak hours. B Shankaran, a commuter who prefers MTC buses to share autos, said, "Despite paying more, it is difficult to sit comfortably in an overcrowded share auto."

Air travel gets dearer as holidayers plan short getaways for Puja break

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 21.09.2018

With an extended weekend coming up thanks to puja holidays, air fares to international and domestic destinations from the city have increased for one month advance booking.

Travel agencies said the demand for seats to Singapore and other southeast Asian destinations is high for short getaways. Round trip fares on the Chennai-Singapore route are at ₹18,000 to ₹25,000, which was ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 above the usual rate.

“With Durga Puja and Navratri on the horizon, we have witnessed a rise in passenger load on flights to cities such as Kolkata, Jammu, Varanasi and Amritsar. With more travellers taking short and frequent breaks in the last couple of years, we have also seen a rise in bookings to beach and hill destinations for the long weekend around Dussehra. We expect a last minute surge of fares during this time,” Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com, said. “Compared to last year, we have witnessed an increase of more than 36% in booking queries for the festive season.”

The high demand has made flying to Kolkata costlier than to Delhi and Mumbai. One-way fares begin at ₹5,000 and go as high as ₹7,700 for travel in mid-October.

“The Vijayadashmi long weekend (18-21 October) is a month away but travel enthusiasts from Chennai are all set. Bookings from Chennai are on the rise and inquiries for the weekend have gone up more than 20%,” said Karan Anand, head, Relationships, Cox & Kings.

“Goa, Hampi, Andamans, Rajasthan and Kolkata are top destinations for weekend travel. Many from Chennai and Bengaluru are expected to visit Kolkata for Durga puja. Families are largely opting for staycations at luxury resorts offering great leisure facilities along with some sightseeing,” Anand added. “Some travellers are likely to take an additional two or three days off from work to fly to Singapore, Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia.”

Law school in city still hands out handwritten marksheets
This Is A Violation Of Government Regulations

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.09.2018

In the era of digital certificates and online examinations, a private law school in the city has resorted to the illegal practice of issuing ‘handwritten’ marksheets to its law graduates looking for postgraduate admissions.

Worse, the governmentrun TN Dr Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) has accepted these handwritten documents as valid testimonials for its postgraduate admission process. Call letters inviting the students for counselling were sent to these candidates earlier this month, triggering outcry in legal circles.

Disclosing that call letters were sent to ineligible candidates, officials told TOI: “Handwritten marksheets, endorsed by their respective principals, were accepted as a legitimate document by the School of Excellence in Law (SOEL) functioning under TNDALU. This is a blatant violation of existing government norms.”

TOI has in its possession one such marksheet submitted by a candidate from Saveetha School of Law. When contacted, prinicipal Asha Sundaram, who endorsed it, said the student’s final mark list was not ready in time for SOEL applications. “We issued handwritten documents only after SOEL insisted on it, if the final mark list was not ready,” she added.

In response, a senior SOEL official told TOI that call letters were dispatched based on claims made by students. “The said candidate was not given admission. It was mandatory for candidates to submit original certificates for verification at the time of counselling.”

Others, however, have questioned the legality of the call letter and said ineligible candidates shouldn’t have been invited for counselling in the first place, and that action came only after opposition from insiders.

“Even now, there is no clarity on the said candidate's admission status. The university should probe the entire admission process to find out if SEOL had accepted handwritten marksheets of candidates from other private schools as well,” an official said.

SOEL offers two-year master of law (LLM) degrees in nine branches and has 180 seats. Candidates with a score of 45% or above in their UG course in law from a recognised institute are eligible. The deadline for applications was August 17. The university released the rank list for LLM courses on September 8, and counselling ended Monday.

A copy of the handwritten marksheet submitted by a candidate from Saveetha School of Law