New Delhi : Indian Railways has for the first time completely digitized the Complaint management system. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways & Coal today launched a new App “Rail Madad” – An App to expedite &  streamline passenger grievance redressal. 

RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger Grievance Redressal and Management System),which has been developed by Northern Railway (Delhi Division) and comprises many novel features including ‘Rail Madad’ – a  mobile App  to register complaints by passengers through mobile phone/web. It relays real time feedback to passengers on the status of redressal of their complaints- the passenger gets an instant ID through SMS on registration of complaint followed by a customized SMS communicating the action taken thereon by Railway. RPGRAMS integrates all the passenger complaints received from multiple modes (14 offline/online modes currently) on a single platform, analyzes them holistically and generates various types of management reports which enable the top management to continuously monitor the pace of grievance redressal as well as evaluate the performance of field units/ trains/ stations on various parameters viz cleanliness, catering, amenities etc. It also identifies weak/deficient areas and laggard trains/stations for undertaking focussed corrective actions.

Salient features of Rail Madad application are:

Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel) registers a complaint with minimum inputs from passenger(option of photo also available), issues unique ID instantly and relays the complaint online to relevant field officials for immediate action. The  action taken on complaint is also relayed to passenger through SMS, thus fast tracking the entire process of redressal of complaints through digitisation.

Rail MADAD also displays various helpline numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc) and provides direct calling facility for immediate assistance in one easy step

All modes of  filing complaints including offline and online modes are being integrated on a single platform, therefore the resultant management reports present a holistic picture of weak/deficient areas and  enable focused corrective action by officials concerned.

The data analysis would also generate trends on various performance parameters of a selected train/station like cleanliness, amenities etc thus making managerial decision more precise and effective.

Hierarchy based dashboard/reports will be available for management at Division /Zonal/Railway board level and sent through auto email to every concerned officer weekly

A considerable proportion of adolescents in Bihar are aware of the availability of tests to determine the sex of the foetus. As many as 31 percent of younger boys (ages 10–14) and 67 percent of older boys, and even more girls—39 percent of younger girls (ages 10–14) and 72–76 percent of unmarried and married older girls—were aware of sex determination tests. 

Findings pertaining to older adolescents’ perceptions about abortions underscore that most adolescents did not favour the termination of pregnancy; only 23–36 percent of older boys and girls perceived that it is acceptable for a 15 girl or woman to terminate her pregnancy if she does not want to continue with it. Indeed, as many as 58–61 percent of adolescents believed that it is not acceptable to terminate a pregnancy. Of those who were aware of abortion, 64 percent of boys and 53–58 percent of girls reported that they would direct a friend or relative in need of abortion services to a provider or facility that was likely to be legal, which indicates some indirect understanding that abortion is legally available. Only very small proportions of adolescents reported that they would suggest a facility or provider not authorised to provide abortion services (2–4%). Finally, 23 percent of boys and 11–22 percent of girls reported that they did not know of facilities that offer abortion services.

These are some of the findings of a research programme titled, ‘Understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh’ done by Population Council, A total of 35,586 households were selected for interview; among these, interviews were successfully completed for 33,900 sample households. A total of 10,433 adolescents were interviewed.

While most older adolescents had heard of contraception, in-depth awareness was limited. Thus, 84 percent of boys, 65 percent of unmarried girls, and 86 percent of married girls had heard of at least one selected modern method of contraception—oral pills, condoms, and emergency contraceptive pills—suitable for adolescents. However, specific knowledge of at least one modern contraceptive method was reported by considerably fewer—63 percent of boys, 18 percent of unmarried girls, and 43 percent of married girls. Specific knowledge of at least one contraceptive method increased with the respondent’s educational attainment level, current enrolment in school/college, as well as his/her mother’s educational attainment level and the household’s economic status.

Findings show that school enrolment was nearly universal among adolescents other than married older girls, but particularly so for younger adolescents; however, a considerable proportion of unmarried and married older girls—nine percent of unmarried older girls and 29 percent of married older girls—were never enrolled in school. Findings highlight, moreover, that differences by residence in rural or urban areas in school enrolment were modest. Although school enrolment was nearly universal, attainment of educational milestones was far from satisfactory.

Data on activity status during adolescence among older adolescents show that school enrolment declined across all groups as they transitioned out of early adolescence into late adolescence; for example, school enrolment declined from 94 percent to 85 percent among older boys and from 88 percent to 79 percent among unmarried older girls at the ages of 10 and 15, respectively

Data on migration experiences among older adolescents show that 18 percent of boys, 10 percent of unmarried girls, and 87 percent of married girls were migrants by place of last residence. Boys migrated largely for education-related reasons (34%), family migration-related reasons (26%), and work-related (20%) reasons. Among unmarried girls, the leading reasons were family migration (56%), followed by education-related reasons (29%). Some 17 percent of boys and 12 percent of girls cited economic distress experienced by family. Almost all married girls who had migrated into their current place of residence cited marriage-related migration. Finally, findings show that the vast majority preferred to stay in their state, given a choice — 89 percent of boys and 75–79 percent of girls. Just 6–14 percent preferred to migrate outside their state, while the remaining were unsure about it.

Findings suggest that large proportions of adolescents were exposed to the mass media, typically television and films (83–91% of boys and 61–82% of girls). Fewer adolescents had been exposed to the print media (61–81% of boys and 41–66% of girls who had completed five or more years of education) and to the radio (26–32% of boys and 10–13% of girls). More boys than girls reported exposure to each medium.

However, a large majority of adolescents owned or had access to a family member’s mobile phone. Findings show that the penetration of internet and social media among adolescents was very limited, except among older boys. While as many as 39 percent of older boys had ever accessed the internet, only 1–13 percent of adolescents in the remaining four categories had done so. Very few adolescents, except older boys, had ever accessed social media—27 percent of older boys and 1–4 percent of adolescents in the remaining four categories. As expected, a larger proportion of urban than rural adolescents had ever accessed social media.

Findings underscore, in general, the gender discriminatory experiences of adolescents. Among adolescents with opposite-sex siblings who were up to three years younger or older than the respondent, for example, 19–20 percent of boys reported that their parents favoured them over their sisters and 33–42 percent of girls (married older girls were not included) acknowledged that their parents favoured their brother over them in at least one of three practices, namely, the quantity or quality of food items given, amount of pocket money given, the type of school in which they were enrolled, or parental aspirations for respondent’s education.

Findings related to adolescents’ plans for the immediate future, that is, for the three years following the interview, show that the vast majority of younger boys and girls (88–89%) reported that they would like to continue/get back to their studies. In contrast, and not surprisingly, a large proportion of older boys and unmarried older girls expressed that they had both plans to continue/get back to their studies (66% for each) and plans related to livelihood generation (56% and 48%, respectively). Married girls, on the other hand, were interested in livelihood-related plans (45%) and plans to become a mother (17%) or assume the role of a homemaker (40%).

Findings clearly highlight the limited agency of adolescents and the striking gender divide in all the dimensions of adolescents’ agency. Adolescent girls were far more disadvantaged than adolescent boys. Differences by sex, for example, were evident among both younger and older adolescents across all domains of decision-making, with boys more likely than girls to have some say in decisions such as choice of friends, level of schooling they want, whether to work or not.

Findings also underscore adolescents’ limited awareness of sexual and reproductive matters, such as how pregnancy occurs and knowledge of contraception, HIV, safe sex practices, and maternal and newborn care practices. Just 56 percent of younger boys in ages 13–14 and 44 percent of younger girls in ages 13–14, for example, knew that a woman cannot become pregnant after kissing or hugging; even fewer (9–10%) were aware that a woman can get pregnant at first sex. Among older boys and unmarried older girls, only 27–28 percent were aware that a woman can 14 get pregnant at first sex, and hardly any (4–5%) knew that a woman is most likely to become pregnant if she engages in sexual relations mid-cycle. 

Even among married older girls, just 53 and 12 percent, respectively, were aware of these facts.

Findings highlight the limited awareness of maternal and newborn care practices among older adolescents, including among married girls (younger adolescents were not asked about these matters). Just 22–28 percent of boys and girls for example, knew that a pregnant woman should have at least four antenatal check-ups, and 68–71 percent of boys and girls knew that a woman should go for post-partum check-ups even if she is feeling well. Similarly, 30–43 percent of boys and girls knew that a newborn should be breastfed within an hour of birth, 39–50 percent knew that colostrum should be fed to the newborn, and 28–48 percent knew that an infant should be breastfed exclusively for six months. 

Finally, 62 percent of boys and 34–39 percent of girls reported that a newborn should not be bathed on the first day of birth. Awareness levels increased systematically with the respondent’s age, his/her belonging to general castes, educational attainment level, his/her mother’s educational attainment level, and the household’s economic status.

Adolescents had few sources of information on puberty and sexual and reproductive matters. Indeed, large proportions of younger boys and girls had never received any information about puberty (57% and 53%, respectively). Likewise, 70–72 percent of younger boys and girls in ages 13–14 had never received information on such matters as how pregnancy occurs or how a pregnancy can be prevented, as also 25 percent, 44 percent, and 30 percent of older boys, unmarried older girls, and married older girls, respectively.

Leading sources of information on puberty for younger adolescents were family members (15% of boys and 38% of girls), particularly parents, followed by friends (12% of boys and 6% of girls) and influential adults in the community (9% of boys and 7% of girls), particularly teachers. Hardly any younger adolescents listed healthcare providers (less than 1%) or the mass media (2% or less) as their major sources of information. Leading sources of information on sexual and reproductive matters for boys aged 13 and above included friends (17% among 13–14-year-old boys and 59% among older boys), influential adults in the community (11% among 13–14-year-old boys and 15%, among older boys), and the mass media (3% among 13–14-year-old boys and 18% among older boys). Among girls, family members (20% among 13–14-year-old girls and 36–58% among unmarried and married older girls) and friends (4% among 13–14-year-old girls and 17–18% among unmarried and married older girls) were the leading sources of information.

Findings confirm that despite strict norms prohibiting opposite-sex socialising, opportunities do exist for the formation of romantic relationships among adolescents. As many as 19 percent of boys and 13–14 percent of girls reported that they had been involved in a romantic partnership in their lifetime. Romantic relationships almost always included some form of physical intimacy—74 percent of boys and 52–55 percent of girls had hugged their romantic partner, and progressively fewer reported more intimate behaviours, such as kissing their romantic partner on the lips (64% of boys and 43–47% of girls) and engaging in sexual relations with their partner (41% of boys and 17–18% of girls).

A large proportion of adolescents who had engaged in sexual relations with a romantic partner had engaged in unprotected sex. Contraceptive use in a romantic relationship was limited—just 31 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls reported using a contraceptive method at first sex. Even more limited was consistent contraceptive use—only 28 percent of boys and 7–11 percent of girls reported that they/their partner had always practised contraception. The majority of those who practised contraception in romantic relationships had used condoms.

Non-consensual sexual experiences characterised the lives of a significant number of adolescents. As many as 22 percent of younger girls had ever experienced teasing and verbal harassment of a sexual nature and seven percent had experienced unwanted sexual touch. Among younger boys, one percent had ever experienced non-consensual sexual touch, typically perpetrated by another boy or a man.

Circumstances of the first birth suggest that almost all married girls had received at least one antenatal check-up (98%). However, fewer girls had their first check-up in the first trimester (47%), while even fewer had received four or more antenatal check-ups (36%). Although 44 percent of married girls had taken iron and folic acid tablets, only six percent had taken it for 100 days. As many as 89 percent of married girls had received two or more tetanus toxoid injections and almost all (95%) had received at least one. Giving birth in a health facility and having skilled attendance were common for the first delivery. Indeed, 79 percent of married girls reported that they gave birth in a health facility and 84 percent of girls reported that their first birth was attended by a health care personnel. Findings show that girls’ access to post-partum check-ups following their first birth was limited—just 39 percent of married girls reported at least one check-up. Some 36 percent of married girls had their first post-partum check-up within two days of delivery. Almost all married girls who had received a post-partum check-up had received it from a healthcare professional. Only nine percent of girls had received three or more check-ups within six weeks of delivery

Breastfeeding is nearly universal—96 percent of married girls with at least one live birth reported that they had breastfed their first child. However, only a small proportion of married girls had initiated breastfeeding within an hour of delivery (47%) and 80 percent had initiated breastfeeding within the first day of birth.

The reach of various schemes to promote maternal, newborn, and child health— the Janani Surksha Yojana, the Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, and the ICDS—was far from satisfactory. Just 43 percent of married girls with at least one live birth had received JSY cash benefits for their first birth; even among those who had given birth in a public sector facility, only 72 percent had received the cash benefits

Menstrual hygiene practices were far from satisfactory, as measured by use of sanitary napkins. Of those who had begun menstruating, 20–28 percent reported that they used only sanitary napkins, 43–52 percent reported that they used only pieces of cloth, and 21–27 percent reported that they used both. Those who reported using materials other than sanitary napkins cited lack of affordability of sanitary napkins, difficulty in or shyness about obtaining sanitary napkins, and lack of awareness about sanitary napkins as the leading reasons for not using sanitary napkins.

The findings of UDAYA provide considerable evidence that family life or comprehensive sexuality education is urgently needed among adolescents, for both those in school and those who have discontinued their education. Findings demonstrate a limited understanding of sexual and reproductive matters among adolescents, including among the married older girls. Misconceptions abound on most topics: sex and pregnancy, contraceptive methods, STIs and HIV/AIDS, and maternal and newborn care practices. Where adolescents have shown awareness of sexual and reproductive health matters, many of them exhibited only superficial knowledge. While few adolescents had been exposed to family life education, key topics covered related to HIV/AIDS rather than sexual and reproductive topics more generally. Even so, those who had been exposed to such an education were more likely than those who had not been to display in-depth awareness of sexual and reproductive matters. 

Moreover, notable proportions of adolescents—one-tenth to two-fifths—indicated a preference for receiving information about sexual and reproductive matters from teachers, healthcare providers, or other influential adults in the community, the study says.

Adolescents in Uttar Pradesh have limited awareness of sexual and reproductive matters, such as how pregnancy occurs and knowledge of contraception, HIV and safe sex practices, and maternal and newborn care practices. Just 55 percent of younger boys in ages 13–14 and 43 percent of younger girls in ages 13–14, for example, knew that a woman cannot become pregnant after kissing or hugging; even fewer (8–10%) were aware that a woman can get pregnant at first sex. 

Among older adolescents, only 23–24 percent of boys and unmarried girls were aware that a woman can get pregnant at first sex, and hardly any (5–7%) knew that a woman is most likely to become pregnant if she engages in sexual relations mid-cycle. Even among married older girls, just 58 percent were aware of even one of these facts. However, as many as 26 percent of younger boys (ages 10–14) and 57 percent of older boys were aware of the availability of tests to determine the sex of the foetus as were 30 percent of younger girls (ages 10–14) and 65–68 percent of unmarried and married older girls.

These are the findings of the programme of research titled, ‘Understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh 2015-16’, implemented by the Population Council. 

Findings pertaining to adolescents’ perceptions about abortions underscore that most adolescents did not favour the termination of pregnancy; one-third or fewer adolescents (23–32%) perceived that it is acceptable for a girl or woman to terminate her pregnancy if she does not want to continue with it. Indeed, as many as 54–64 percent of adolescents believed that it is not acceptable to terminate a pregnancy. Of those who were aware of abortion, 66 percent of boys and 51–61 percent of girls reported that they would direct a friend or relative in need of abortion services to a provider or facility that was likely to be legal, which indicates some indirect understanding that abortion is legally available. Only very small proportions of adolescents reported that they would suggest a facility or provider not authorised to provide abortion services (2–5%). Finally, 20 percent of boys and 12–29 percent of girls reported that they did not know of facilities that offer abortion services.

The goal of UDAYA is to establish the levels, patterns, and trends in the situation of younger (10–14) and older (15–19) adolescents and assess factors that influence the quality of transitions they make. 

UDAYA uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs and focuses on unmarried boys in ages 10–14 and 15–19, unmarried girls in ages 10–14 and 15–19, and married girls in ages 15–19 in both rural and urban settings in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. These two States together constitute 25 percent of the country’s population and adolescents in these states account for 29 percent of the country’s adolescent population.

Adolescents had few sources of information on puberty and sexual and reproductive matters. Indeed, large proportions of younger boys and girls had never received any information about puberty (56% and 63%, respectively). Likewise, 69 percent of younger boys in ages 13–14 and 83 percent of younger girls in ages 13–14 had never received information on such matters as how pregnancy occurs or how a pregnancy can be prevented as also 37 percent, 57 percent, and 31 percent of older boys, unmarried older girls, and married older girls, respectively (adolescents in ages 10–12 were not asked about these matters). Leading sources of information on puberty for younger adolescents were family members.

Hardly any younger adolescents listed healthcare providers or the mass media as their major sources of information. Leading sources of information on sexual and reproductive matters for boys aged 13 and above included friends (17% among younger boys in ages 13– 14 and 48% among older boys), influential adults in the community (6% and 14% among 13–14-year-old boys and older boys, respectively), and the mass media (2% and 14% among 13–14-year-old boys and older boys, respectively). Among girls, while no single leading source of information was identified among younger girls, family members (24%), friends (13%), and the mass media (13%) were listed as leading sources for unmarried older girls, and family members (60%), friends (16%), and influential adults in the community (7%) were listed among married older girls.

Findings confirm that despite strict norms prohibiting opposite-sex socialising, opportunities do exist for the formation of romantic relationships among adolescents. As many as 26 percent of older boys and 16–20 percent of unmarried and married older girls reported that they had been involved in a romantic partnership in their lifetime. Romantic relationships almost always included some form of physical intimacy—74 percent of boys and 54–60 percent of girls had hugged their romantic partner, and progressively fewer reported more intimate behaviours, such as kissing their romantic partner on the lips (68% of boys and 42–51% of girls) and engaging in sexual relations with their partner (42% of boys and 18–25% of girls).

A large proportion of older adolescents who had reported sexual relations with a romantic partner had engaged in unprotected sex. Contraceptive use in a romantic relationship was limited—only a quarter of boys and about one-fifth of girls reported that they had used a contraceptive method at first sex.

Non-consensual sexual experiences characterised the lives of a significant number of adolescents. As many as 16 percent of younger girls had ever experienced teasing and verbal harassment of a sexual nature and two percent had experienced unwanted sexual touch. Among younger boys, three percent had ever experienced non-consensual sexual touch, typically perpetrated by another boy or a man. Two percent of older boys and 8–9 percent of unmarried and married older girls reported ever experience of non-consensual sexual touch, including attempts to force sex on them (married older girls were asked to report such experience if it had occurred before their marriage). Four percent of unmarried older girls and five percent of married older girls reported the experience of a forced sexual encounter ever in life including that perpetrated by their romantic partner/s (married older girls’ experiences were before marriage).

Circumstances of the first birth suggest that almost all married girls had received at least one antenatal check up. However, fewer girls had their first check-up in the first trimester (47%), while even fewer had received four or more antenatal check-ups (31%). Although 55 percent of married girls had taken iron and folic acid tablets sometimes, only eight percent had taken it for 100 days. As many as 82 percent of married girls had received two or more tetanus toxoid injections and almost all (93%) had received at least one. Giving birth in a health facility and having skilled attendance were far from universal for the first—and most risky—delivery. Indeed, just 72 percent of married girls reported that they gave birth in a health facility and 78 percent of married girls reported that their first birth was attended by a health care personnel. 

Findings show that girls’ access to post-partum check-ups following their first birth was limited—just 37 percent of married girls reported at least one check-up. Some 33 percent of married girls had their first post-partum check-up within two days of delivery. Almost all married girls who had received a post-partum check-up had received it from a healthcare professional. Only eight percent of married girls had received three or more check-ups within six weeks of delivery.

Breastfeeding is nearly universal—96 percent of married girls with at least one live birth reported that they had breastfed their first child. However, only a small proportion of married girls had initiated breastfeeding their first child within an hour of delivery (33%). 

The reach of various schemes to promote maternal, newborn, and child health— the Janani Surksha Yojana (JSY), the Janani-Shishu Surakshya Karyakram, and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)—was far from satisfactory. Just 32 percent of married girls with at least one live birth had received JSY cash benefits for their first birth; even among those who had given birth in a public sector facility, only 61 percent had received the cash benefits. Among married girls whose first birth took place in a public or private health facility, 54 percent reported that they had received at least one benefit dispensed under the Janani-Shishu Surakshya Karyakram. The reach of services through the ICDS programme was even more limited during pregnancy and the period of lactation. Just 33 percent of married girls reported that they had received food supplementation during pregnancy or the lactation period with respect to their first child, and fewer married girls reported that they had received health and/or nutrition education. Infant and child health services in contrast were more likely to have been accessed by married girls who had at least one child—53 percent of married girls reported that they had received various services for their first child under six years of age.

Menstrual hygiene practices were far from satisfactory, as measured by the use of sanitary napkins. Of those who had begun menstruating, 30–35 percent reported that they used sanitary napkins, 42–50 percent reported that they used pieces of cloth, and 16–25 percent reported that they used both. Those who reported using materials other than sanitary napkins cited lack of affordability, difficulty in obtaining sanitary napkins, and lack of awareness about sanitary napkins as the main reasons for not using sanitary napkins.

Findings show that frontline workers (FLWs), namely, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and anganwadi workers (AWWs) were widely known to adolescents. Among boys, 82–91 percent and, among girls, 84–93 percent, for example, had heard about AWWs.

Findings show that school enrolment was nearly universal among adolescents, except for married older girls, among whom a considerable proportion of married girls—one out of five—were never enrolled in school. Findings highlight, moreover, that differences by sex in school enrolment had disappeared and that differences between adolescents of rural and those of urban areas were modest. Although school enrolment was nearly universal, attainment of educational milestones was far from satisfactory.

Retention in school was far from universal even among younger adolescents despite the introduction of the Right to Education Act, 2009, that has made primary education free and compulsory, with 86–91 percent of younger adolescents, 52—63 percent of older boys and unmarried older girls, and five percent of married older girls were enrolled in a school or college at the time of the interview. Furthermore, school retention declined steadily as boys and girls transitioned from early adolescence to late adolescence, with steeper declines among girls than boys and among married than unmarried older girls. While 90–93 percent of boys and unmarried older girls in ages 15–19 were in school at age 10, just 69–78 percent were in school at age 15

Data on migration experiences among older adolescents show that 19 percent of boys, 14 percent of unmarried girls, and 92 percent of married girls were migrants by place of last residence. The major reason for migration among boys and unmarried girls was family migration—47 percent of boys and 68 percent of unmarried girls reported that they had moved into their current place of residence because the family had migrated. Other reasons for migration included the pursuit of education, economic distress experienced by family, and, additionally, among boys, employment. Almost all married girls who had migrated into their current place of residence cited marriage-related migration. Finally, findings show that the vast majority preferred to stay in their state, given a choice — 88 percent of boys and 70–76 percent of girls. Just 7–12 percent preferred to migrate outside their state, while the remaining were unsure about it.

Findings suggest that large proportions of adolescents were exposed to the mass media, typically television and films (90–92% of boys and 73–81% of girls). Fewer adolescents had been exposed to the print media (65–82% of boys and 48–67% of girls who had completed five or more years of education) and to the radio (28–33% of boys and 16– 24% of girls). More boys than girls reported exposure to each medium, while differences by age and by marital status among girls were modest for the most part. However, a large majority of adolescents owned or had access to a family member’s mobile phone. Findings show that the penetration of internet and social media among adolescents was very limited, except among older boys. While as many as 42 percent of older boys had ever accessed the internet, only 5–17 percent of adolescents in the remaining four categories had done so

Findings underscore, in general, the gender discriminatory experiences of adolescents. Among adolescents with opposite-sex siblings who were up to three years younger or older than the respondent, for example, 16–19 percent of boys reported that their parents favoured them over their sisters and 26–28 percent of girls (married older girls were not included), acknowledged that their parents favoured their brother over them in at least one of three practices, namely, the quantity or quality of food items given, the amount of pocket money given, the type of school in which they were enrolled, or parental aspirations for respondent’s education. Girls who were less educated, out-of-school, engaged in paid work, belonging to poor households, and residing in rural areas were more likely than others to report gender discriminatory experiences. Adolescents’ family lives were marked by violence, both witnessed and experienced. As many as 20–24 percent of boys and 26–30 percent of girls whose both parents were alive at the time of the interview had ever witnessed incidents where their father had beaten their mother

The findings of UDAYA provide considerable evidence that family life or sex education is urgently needed among adolescents, for both those in school and those who have discontinued their education. Findings demonstrate a limited understanding of sexual and reproductive matters among adolescents, including among married older girls. Misconceptions abound on most topics: sex and pregnancy, contraceptive methods, STIs and HIV/AIDS, and maternal and newborn care practices. Where adolescents have shown awareness of sexual and reproductive health matters, many of them exhibited only superficial knowledge. While few adolescents had been exposed to family life education, key topics covered related to HIV/AIDS rather than sexual and reproductive topics more generally. Even so, those who had been exposed to such an education were more likely than those who had not been to display in-depth awareness of sexual and reproductive matters. Moreover, notable proportions of adolescents—one-tenth to two-fifths—indicated a preference for receiving information about sexual and reproductive matters from teachers, healthcare providers, or other influential adults in the community.

[Produced by: Bombay Talkies/ Directed by: Franz Osten / screenplay: Niranjan Pal/ dialogues &lyrics: J.S. Casshyap/ cinematography: Josef Wirsching/ music composer: Saraswati Devi/ Starring: Devika Rani, Ashok Kumar. P.F. Pithawala, Kamta Prasad, Kishori Lal, Kusum Kumari, Pramila, Anwar and Ishrat.]

India’s cinema has been reluctant to tackle the vexed issue of casteism from its very inception. The first major attempt to deal with the subject was attempted in the Bombay Talkies’ Achhut Kanya (1936). Achhut Kanya mounted the topic in a Romeo-and-Juliet tale of star-crossed lovers meeting their fate due to intolerant families and village community at large. 

Bombay Talkies, as an institution was a result of the genius of Himanshu Rai (1892 –1940) who had not intended it as just not another of those fly by wire film making companies but an institution strongly conscious of its sense of social commitment. 

Achhut Kanya, tried to piggy ride the genre of romantic tragedy established by Barua’s Devdas that had rocked India an year earlier at its core, it was a film made for the young of the thirties. The theme of untouchability was segued in by Himanshu Rai, who wanted to splash Bombay Talkies amidst the ruling élite. Pandit Nehru and Sarojini Naidu admired its progressive theme.
 

The film was based on the story, The Level Crossing by Niranjan Pal, freedom fighter Bipin Chandra Pal’s son who also wrote the screenplay. Achhut Kanya chronicled the tragic love story of a Brahmin youth (Ashok Kumar) and an untouchable girl (Devika Rani).

The cinematography, production design and acting in Achhut Kanya reached new levels thanks to the contributions of German technicians whom Himanshu Rai had brought along with him from Europe. There was Franz Osten as director, Josef Wirsching as cameraman and Karl Von Spreti as the art director.

Achhut Kanya, was directed by Franz Osten who employed flash back technique in narrating the story, a rare first in the history of Bollywood. Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani played the lead roles and also became the biggest singing stars of their generation, lending their voice to the duet “Mein Ban ki chidiya…” which became a template for all romantic duets of the day.

It is claimed that solo playback singing was introduced in this film, when the composer Saraswati Devi (1912 – 1980) herself sang the song, Ki Gaye who.. In the film Dhoop Chaon (1935) helmed by Nitin Bose for New Theatres, an year earlier playback singing had been introduced for the first time in Bollywood although in a chorus of singing stars. Saraswati Devi was a Parsi whose real name was Khursheed Manchershah Minocher-Homji, while her sister played a role under the name of Chandraprabha. 

Devika Rani, the grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore left for London in the 1920s to study architecture. There she met Himanshu Rai and became the set designer of his first production, Light of Asia (1925). They got married and the couple made the bilingual film, Karma (1933), in which a 4 minute kiss between them was the talk of the tinsel town. The couple set up the famous Bombay Talkies Studio, which started rolling out Hindi productions beginning with Jawani ki Hawa (1935).

A love curl or kiss curl was a shapely curl hanging on the forehead or turning into the cheek in films of yesteryear is unique to Bollywood stars, was first seen on Devika Rani in Â‘Achhut Kanya’ (1936),besides being employed to a devastating effect on Vyjayanthimala in Â‘Madhumati’ (1958), Madhubala in Â‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960) and Asha Parekh in Â‘Teesri Manzil’ (1966). 

Ashok Kumar, born Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly, a law student from Kolkata, wanted to become a director so he joined Rai as a laboratory assistant. Ashok’s brother-in-law, Shashadhar Mukherji was already employed with Bombay Talkies. The biggest stars of Bombay Talkies at the time, Najmul Hasan and Devika Rani, who had fallen for each other during Jawani Ki Hawa, eloped to Calcutta during the shooting of Jeevan Naiyya (1936) their film on the floor.

Sashadhar Mukherjee and Himanshu Rai tracked down the couple at Calcutta’s Grand Hotel. Sashadhar Mukherjee, convinced Devika Rani to return, without Hasan, and suggested Ganguly as a replacement for the male lead to Himanshu Rai. A protesting Kumar was thrust in front of the camera opposite his wife Devika Rani in Jeevan Naiyya (1936). Ashok Kumar’s father was a lawyer and his grandfather, an affluent district magistrate didn’t take it very kindly to his joining the films, however the aura of Bombay Talkies and a handsome salary of Rs 75 per month held back Ashok Kumar. 

In his first film as a leading man Ashok Kumar was a green horn who for example had to garland the standoffish and sophisticated Devika Rani, and he would most gawkishly keep on getting the garland entangled in her hair! The very year of release of Acchut Kanya had Ashok Kumar getting married in an arranged match with Shobha. Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani started as lead pair in films from Jeevan Naiya (1936) but it was Achhut Kanya (1936), which capitulated Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar to big time fame. Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani did Janma Bhoomi (1936), Savitri (1937), Izzat (1937), Nirmala (1938) and Vachan (1938). The last film to co-star them was Anjaan (1941). 

Devika Rani continued acting till 1943 and when Rai died in 1940 she took over the reins of Bombay Talkies. Among her discoveries at Bombay Talkies was Dilip Kumar. But the economics of filmmaking and tussles with other studio executives led her to take voluntary retirement in 1945. She married the famous Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich and stayed at their huge estate near Bangalore in South India. For her contribution to Indian Cinema, Devika Rani was the first ever recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1970. 

In an irredeemable loss to Indian cinema, master prints of over 60 films including prints of classics such as Achhut Kanya (1936), Ziddi (1948), Bandhan (1940) and Jhoola (1942) were reduced to ashes in a fire that broke out at the Bombay Talkies studio in Mumbai on June 26, 2014!  .

Sony TV’s new show “Zindagi Ke Crossroads’’ has come under fire from women’s groups for its first episode on abortion.

A statement by Advocating Reproductive Choices (ARC) Coalition on the advertorial published by a media house to promote their launch episode said it was disheartening to note that a popular Indian media house is using irresponsible provocative content to promote their reality show.

The first episode of ‘Zindagi Ke Crossroads’ was aired yesterday on Sony Entertainment Television which revolved around the plight of life of the parents with special children. However, the advertorial which was released to endorse the first episode as well as the programme was insensitive, misleading and misconstrued. In a country like India which has put women at the topmost priority introducing policies and laws to safeguard their rights and respect, it is defamatory to feature a woman who has decided to take medical assistance to terminate her pregnancy as ‘She would be playing God’. The teaser goes on to reveal that the mother took this decision since she wanted to save her future child from sorrows and sufferings which s/he might face as a ‘special child’ if she continues with the pregnancy.

Advocating Reproductive Choices (ARC) is a coalition of approximately 170 civil society organisations and individuals that are committed to advocating for greater attention and focus on sexual and reproductive health issues and family planning services in India.

While watching the advert and the first show which was telecasted last night, we observed a couple of inappropriate languages used in the context of abortion, which we as a coalition would like to flag our concerns, the statement said.

While abortion legally accepted under a board range of circumstances since 1971 in India, using such sentences like ‘Mother asked to kill her own child’ or ‘She would be playing God……’ is completely unacceptable as it gives a negative connotation and demeans an extremely important issue. In fact, these words unnecessarily create a sensation to the incident adding misery to the life of the expecting woman who might have already taken a hard decision to abort the foetus post medical advice.

Further, many Indian women carry on with their unexpected pregnancies failing to take a timely call due to the social stigma around it. Therefore, terming a foetus as a “child” and hammering on the word “mother” in the advertorial as well as during the show tends to hype unnecessary expectations and also instigates the society to become judgemental about a person or a situation which do not necessarily fall under the social determinants.

The statement pointed out that abortion is a legal process and should be dealt between the decision maker and medical facilities. Brining such issues into public forum, efforts in generating discussion around those with limited cross sectoral representation from medical fraternity and advocates, rather than just lay audience, who may not be aware of the issues has actually compromised the content of the episode. We are concerned that such an episode might have a long term impact on the decision making process of women.

Expressing similar concerns, Pratigya—Campaign for  Gender Equality and Safe Abortion– has asked Sony TV has quoted the recent Supreme Court judgement on privacy which said that decisions relating to reproductive autonomy including the decision to seek Medical termination of Pregnancy/ abortion and said it was a violation of this ruling. It has said it should be made clear that abortion is legal in India for a range of reasons including fetal abnormalities.  

“I understand that the purpose of this program on Sony TV is to put forth the challenges people face in life. However, a personal choice on whether to have or not have an abortion is not a subject of public debate. We all need to remember that abortion is a woman’s personal decision and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 also recognizes this. Therefore public value based debates on a personal and contextual decision like abortion threatens the very essence of women’s rights and contravenes the right to privacy. Media needs to be sensitive to issues of women’s health and rights and not stigmatize abortion but reinforce that having an abortion is a personal choice of the woman,”  said Vinoj Manning, Executive Director, Ipas Development Foundation.

Qingdao: Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to India next year for an informal summit, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced here on Saturday.

Briefing journalists after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in this Chinese city, Mr. Gokhale said that one of the important outcomes of the meeting was that the Chinese side conveyed that they have accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation to President Xi Jinping to have a similar informal summit in India in 2019.

The two leaders had an informal summit in Wuhan in the last week of April when Mr. Modi travelled to China.

The Foreign Secretary said Saturday’s meeting between the two leaders was “a substantive meeting”. He said that President Xi Jinping began by making positive assessment of Wuhan summit. The Chinese leader described it as ‘a new starting point’ in  bilateral relations between the two countries. Mr. Modi described it as ‘milestone in our relations’, Foreign Secretary said about the bilateral meeting.  

“Met this year’s SCO host, President Xi Jinping this evening,” PM Modi tweeted. “We had detailed discussions on bilateral and global issues. Our 

talks will add further vigor to the India-China friendship,’’ he said.

The Foreign Secretary said that new people to people mechanism will be set up. On Indian side, it will be headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and on the Chinese side, it’ll be headed by state council and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The first meeting of this mechanism will be held this year: Mr. Gokhale said,

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit here, India and China signed two crucial Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) including sharing of hydrological information of Brahmaputra river. The MoUs were signed after a delegation level meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi. 

In a tweet Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “Following PM @narendramodi meeting with Chinese President Xi, two MoUs were signed – Sharing hydrological information of Brahmaputra river by China to India& amendment of Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice.”

Both the leaders agreed on to deepen the bilateral ties in scores of field. 

“Further strengthening the positive momentum in the bilateral relationship generated at the #Wuhan Informal Summit, PM @narendramodi had a warm and forward looking meeting with Chinese President #XiJinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit,” Mr Kumar said in another tweet.

India is attending for the first time the SCO summit after formally becoming its full time member last year. Pakistan also became the full time member in 2017.

During his visit, Mr. Modi also held meetings with heads of several participating member nations.

“Becoming part of the SCO family! PM @narendramodi interacting with leaders of other #SCO member countries in the Leaders’ Lounge at the banquet hosted by Chinese President #XiJinping in Qingdao,” Mr Kumar added. Mr. Modi held a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Apart from India,China and Russia, other SCO member nations include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), a revolutionary tax reform rolled out in July 2017, has effectively replaced the previous Gordian Knot of multiple taxes like VAT, central excise duty, commercial tax, service tax, octroi, etc. It has made India a ‘tax-neutral’ nation – and while it evoked a response best described as ‘mixed’ from real estate buyers, most of them are in favour of it.

This is natural, as the unitary tax compliance system has simplified the home buying process – and with the passage of Input Tax Credit (ITC), there may not be a significant additional burden to buying a home. Homebuyers in the affordable housing segment – specifically homes of up to 60 sq.m carpet area in size – have benefited significantly from the reduction of GST by 4% (from 12% to 8%). 

However, even almost a year after GST implementation, the only real clarity that exists for property buyers is on the prevailing GST rate of 12% on under-construction projects. There is still confusion about the amount of rebate that a prospective homebuyer is entitled to on the back of the pass-over of ITC. The confusion is not only about the percentage of ITC but also on the mode and tranche of the rebate.

On their part, developers are stating that they have to do multiple calculations to arrive at ITC and will pass it on only during the final tranches only. With this lack of transparency on ITC, homebuyers are understandably upset because as of now, their overall payment has increased.

The Ready-to-move Vs Under-construction Debacle

On the one hand, ready-to-move (RTM) properties which have been issued completion certificates are out of the GST ambit and attract no tax from homebuyers. On the other hand, under-construction (UC) properties attract 12% GST with full input tax credit (ITC). This is causing homebuyers to abstain from the UC option, which was earlier the more attractive one due to the cost arbitrage developers offered on them.

The added benefits to ready-to-move-in property buyers are immediate possession – read instant gratification – and freedom from stress with regards to completion risk and the uncertainty of construction-linked home loan EMIs.

Ongoing Challenges

Real estate stakeholders still face considerable challenges in the metamorphosis period from the pre-GST regime to the post-GST era. These include:

• Complex tax slabs
• Hiccups in the deployment of supporting IT infrastructure
• Confusion about the integration of Input Tax Credit (ITC), and
• Various blurred components of GST such as abatement for land values and anti-profiteering provisions

The lack of clarity on the rules and regulations under the anti-profiteering clause which was incorporated to pass on the benefits of ITC to end-users is a particularly prominent pain-point with GST as of now.

GST’s Impact on Pricing & Transparency

Although it was anticipated that GST will reduce property prices pan-India, we have in fact not seen such a significant impact on the ground. If the stamp duty and registration fees would be subsumed under the GST regime, we would definitely see the overall cost of property purchase come down.

GST definitely is reducing developers’ construction costs by negating the morass of double or triple taxation to a more moderate level through input tax credit. While there are no significant variations in the overall taxes, GST has certainly eliminated the tax-on-tax system. Also, shady transactions are being minimised considerably, bringing in transparency and accountability into the sector.

However, end-users have not received a consummate benefit because of the inherent ineffectiveness of the anti-profiteering provisions. They will only benefit if the base property prices are reduced and the developers pass on the tax credits to their customers.

While the tax-on-tax has been eliminated with the advent of GST, the overall outgo from homebuyers’ pockets seems to have increased, considering that even after passing on of ITC, they may have to pay 3-4% more than in the earlier service tax + VAT regime. However, shady transactions are definitely reducing to a considerable extent and the cause of bringing more transparency and accountability into the sector is served. Additionally, the input tax credit is a boon to developers as it aids in bringing down the construction cost.

The Road Ahead

In line with its ‘One Nation, One Market, One Tax’ philosophy, the GST reform will in all probability benefit the Indian economy in the long run. As the realty sector becomes more streamlined on the back of GST and other landmark reforms such as RERA, investor and consumer sentiments will become more positive and further strengthen the entire system in the future.

(Views expressed are personal.)

“Either by talking or writing or whatever way possible, I just want to awake the sleeping souls of people,” said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, who recently launched his book named ‘Every Child Matters’.

The book is a culmination of Kailash Satyarthi’s writings and interviews, which makes the reader connect to the need to create safe environment for our children. He stated that his writing is a reflection of hope telling children that they can do it. In the book, he has also pointed out the materialistic nature of ‘development’ where the countries measure their growth through the GDP, side lining the education and health factors.

Starting his journey fighting for children rights in 1980s, Kailash Satyarthi is known to have liberated more than 80,000 children from forced labour and human trafficking. He believes that there is no greater violence than denying children to dream. When a child victim doesn’t get the ‘so called justice’ on time, it adds up one more layer of injustice done to him/her. The criminal might get punished but it would still not be just as the childhood that was snatched from the child cannot be given back. Talking of the value of freedom, he said, “If anyone takes away our freedom, it is against our dignity. To be able to write, talk, move forward in life and to live our childhood is what freedom truly means but some children are deprived of this right.” He spread the message by saying that ‘Since we are born free, we have to live free!’

Also talking about freedom was the Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was present at the launch. He remarked, “The idea of freedom for one generation will always be incomplete if it cannot perpetuate to the next generations.” He also highlighted how due to the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the country where the children help in their family enterprise, the Amendment Bill 2016 provides that children can help their families after school hours or during vacations only in non-hazardous occupations. This clearly ensures children’s schooling as per the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.

Thanking the Indian Judiciary for support, Kailash Satyarthi said that change is possible when social effort and Judiciary work together.

NEW DELHI:  Two departments of Defence ministry appeared to be at cross purposes in ensuring implementation of the Military Service Pay (MSP).

A procedural wrangle between the Defence ministry and the Finance ministry is keeping at bay the implementation of leave encashment. 

Pune-based Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers) (PCDA) has not included MSP as part of pay for calculation of leave encashment for 300 days and 10 days leave encashment allowed each year. 

The move would lead to a monetary loss of around 1.40 lakh defence personnel, sources in the Defence ministry told UNI.

In the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC), the MSP was granted to Defence personnel in place of Rank, Pay and Compensation for edge in pay. It was treated as pay for all purpose, except for calculation of annual increment.         

While in 7th CPC, the MSP was to be counted as pay for purpose of computation of dearness allowances and pension.

The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) has included MSP as part of its reckonable emoluments in the pension order. For the same case, the PCDA has sought clarification from the Department of Defence (DoD).

The DESW and DoD come under the purview of the Defence ministry.

For more clarity, the DoD has requested the Finance ministry for assistance. The guidelines are still awaited.

As per the sources, a large number of pay and allowances are still pending with the DoD, impacting over 13.5 lakh personnel. 

It would accrue a loss of Rs 1.55 lakh to each military officer and Rs 60,000 to each Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and Other Ranks (OR).

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has improved its position by 50 places in the QS World University Rankings 2019 published yesterday. The Overall Rank of IIT Roorkee is 381 in this edition of the QS World University Rankings, which is its highest ranking so far.

The institute is placed at the 36^th Rank in the world in Citations per Faculty, which is the strongest indicator for the Institute. It has achieved the distinction of being ranked as the best among all IITs in the ‘Citations per Faculty’ and ‘International Students’ Parameters.

This year, IIT Roorkee has improved its performances significantly in almost all the parameters of QS Rankings, such as Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, International Students and Citations per Faculty.

The ‘Citations per Faculty’ for IIT Roorkee is 121.8, which is way above the Global Median of 34.1. This lead to the Citations per Faculty score of 89.5 out of a maximum of score of 100.

The QS Rankings classified IIT Roorkee as a ‘Historic’ Public Institution with ‘Very High’ focus in ‘Research Intensity.’

Speaking about the performance of the Institute in QS World University Rankings 2019, Prof. Ajit Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, “This impressive improvement in the QS World University Rankings 2019 is undoubtedly an outcome of the sustained hard work put in by my faculty colleagues and students towards pursuing quality research. Every member of the community, including the non-teaching staff, takes great pride in our legacy and our responsibility towards the institute. We will strive for further improvements in the future.”

The QS World University Rankings has an intricate system of evaluating universities. It has six criteria with different weights that are summed up to get the results. The QS World University Rankings are based on parameters like Academic and Employer Reputations, Faculty Student ratio, citations per Faculty, International Faculty and International Students.

QS World University Rankings has been recognized as one of the most influential rankings of the top universities around the world.

In the past few years, IIT Roorkee has taken several initiatives to attract bright research scholars and promising young professors from around the world by introducing various schemes to facilitate and recognize outstanding research.