DNA - Money - India's poor pay Rs.9 bn in bribes - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - Money - India's poor pay Rs.9 bn in bribes - Daily News & Analysis
India's poor pay Rs.9 bn in bribes
IANS

NEW DELHI: India's poor paid nearly Rs.9 billion in bribes over only three months to avail basic public utility services, a new study said on Saturday.

NGO Transparency International India (TII) found in its survey conducted between November 2007 and January 2008 that Rs.8.83 billion was paid as bribes by those living below the poverty line (BPL) to avail 11 types of services.

The survey found that the police department was the most corrupt, with two out of every five people seeking its help forced to pay bribes.

According to the survey conducted by the Centre for Media Studies and issued by TII, those involved in land records and registration services took the second spot in the list of bribe takers.

The ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) launched by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government is also plagued by corruption, it said.

Even though the 'school education up to Class 12' was the least corrupt service, it was found that BPL households paid Rs.120 million in bribes to put their children to school.

"This kind of corruption that denies people their entitlement to basic and need based services, many of which may be 'free' by law, results in the poor finding themselves at the losing end of the corruption chain," said TII chairman Admiral (retd.) R.H. Tahiliani.

"This increases disparity in income and deepens poverty," he added.

For the poor who have no option but to go to government hospitals fo healthcare, the situation is disappointing.

"Almost four million BPL households had to bribe hospital staff to get services like getting admission in the hospital, getting a bed, diagnostic services and getting an OPD card," the report said.

The total amount of bribe paid to the hospital staff by the poor in the last one year is estimated to be Rs.870 million.

Nearly one million households were denied hospital services simply because they either refused to pay bribes or could not afford to do so.

The study also revealed that 5.36 million BPL families had to pay bribe or use a contact to avail public distribution service (PDS) that is meant for them.

A majority pointed out that they bribed officials in order to get a ration card.

The survey further revealed that people have to bribe officials in order to get an electricity connection or to get faulty electricity meter rectified.

ABC News: Before Kissing Girl, Katy Perry Sang to God

ABC News: Before Kissing Girl, Katy Perry Sang to God

Pastors' Daughter Turns Pseudo-Lesbian Pop Princess
Katy Perry Shunned Christian Circuit for Mainstream Stardom
By SHEILA MARIKAR
June 27, 2008


Such is the contrast between Katy Hudson, Christian singer, and Katy Perry, chart-topper. Same girl, two stage names, two vastly different personas. And fans who loved the Katy who billed herself as the God-loving daughter of two pastors aren't pleased with her new image: Hip-shaking, lingerie-wearing, pseudo-lesbian pop star.

Born Kathryn Hudson, the now name-settled Katy Perry scored the dance song of the summer with "I Kissed a Girl" — not to be confused with Jill Souble's 1995 hit of the same name — currently at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Perry's debut album with Capitol Records, "One of the Boys," dropped June 17 to similar success.

But this isn't her first foray into music. Back in 2001, at the tender age of 16, she released "Katy Hudson" with the now-defunct Christian music label Red Hill Records. Russ Breimeier, who reviewed the album for Christian Music Today, thought she showed promise.
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"That album made our best albums list that year," he said. "She had a very creative sound for Christian music, more outside the box. I thought there was a lot of potential for her to develop into something more."

In his review, Breimeier noted that her lyrics weren't "quite brilliant," though they were "insightful." So goes the third verse to "Faith Won't Fail":

For He'll prevail

In the midst of all my trials and tribulations

And He'll prevail

In the midst of all my sin and temptations

But instead of sticking with Him on the road to righteousness, the newly minted Katy Perry, 23, hopped on the highway to pop stardom. First, she took on a new stage name to avoid confusion with that other Kate Hudson of the big screen.

Then, after picking up on mainstream music she recorded with production team The Matrix and released on her MySpace page, Blender magazine named Perry "the next big thing" in October 2004. In her interview with Blender, Perry confessed she wasn't "a typical Christian" and revealed she had done "lots of bad things" as a teenager.

Perhaps those bad things provided the inspiration for "I Kissed a Girl," which she released in April 2008 after signing with Capitol Records in early 2007.

Sourav Ganguly:Asian Cricketer and Asian Batsman of the year 2007

Former captain Sourav Ganguly was adjudged the Asian Cricketer and Asian Batsman of the year for his fighting comeback into the Indian team at the Castrol Asian Cricket Awards here in Karachi on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar was named the Best ODI batsman while Gautam Gambhir grabbed the honour in Twenty20.

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rediff.com :'Arranged marriages can teach us a great deal'

rediff.com :'Arranged marriages can teach us a great deal'

'Arranged marriages can teach us a great deal'

June 26, 2008
Reva Seth, attorney and journalist whose work has appeared in major Canadian newspapers including The Globe and Mail, has been intrigued by arranged marriages since her childhood in a New Jersey town. "I was the only Indian girl in a school in Madison," she says. "Whenever people heard that my parents had an arranged marriage they would wince or think all kinds of things," Seth, the author of the recently published book First Comes Marriage, says. "Some people thought my mother, who in fact is a very well read and modern woman, is someone very primitive."

Seth's book offers what she calls modern relationship advice from the wisdom of arranged marriages.

Secret # 1, she notes, is that your husband doesn't have to be your best friend. "That is why you've had a best girl friend, all along," she says. Another secret for a successful relationship: It doesn't matter if he doesn't dance. "Common interests are less important than shared values,' she asserts. And remember, she says, sexual chemistry is not always organic. "Attraction can be created," she adds, "if you know how to unlock your passion."

Arranged marriage is not an alien concept in America or Canada, she says. At least the Jewish communities have known arranged marriages till the other day.

With the Internet, Seth says, a new kind of arranged marriage is emerging in America and many other countries. "There is so much of third party intervention, with friends and relatives, if not parents, interfering and helping a young woman or a man make up their mind," she says.

Reva Seth has been married for about five years and lives with her husband and two year old son in Toronto. She spoke to rediff India Abroad's Arthur J Pais.

Why did you write this book?

Certainly not to show that love marriages do not work. I do know that many love marriages work very well. But there is also this wonderful institution of arranged marriage -- I certainly do not mean the kind of very old-fashioned arranged marriage in which the bride and bridegroom meet for the first time on their wedding day. I am talking about arranged marriages that call for intervention by parents and relatives. A marriage in which a man and a woman meet and get to know each other before they marry, at the instigation of their parents, relatives or friends. I am offering a practical and progressive guide to love and romance. The book also talks about various factors including adultery and adultery of the mind (which seems harmless) that can mar any relationship.

What can arranged marriages teach a modern woman or a man about love, dating and romance?

Lots! Aside from the seven big lessons that I discuss in my book, as an approach arranged marriages have a great deal to teach us. For instance as a society when it comes to love, we rarely think ahead. As a general rule, we are not trained to think about how feelings will change or evolve three or 30 years into the future. We are not taught to consider what we might expect and want from our partners and relationships, after the initial flush of infatuation wears away or as we age or have children. This is one of the reasons that arranged marriages are such a valuable model: they have evolved specifically with these questions and concerns in mind.

What are some of the advantages an arranged marriage has over a love marriage?

Reasonable expectations! Women in arranged marriages have a real understanding of the idea that husbands are life partners and not lifesavers.

On the other hand...

In contrast I think most of us don't even realise how much we expect from our partners and our relationships. And while having high expectations are good -- unrealistic ones are not! All that happens is that if we're single we become frustrated by the men we meet and if we're in a relationship, we become resentful when our real life partners can't live up to the fantasy man in our head!

First blog

This is my First Blog