IAAI’s AGM 2014 to be held on March 8-9 in Chennai.To focus on “factors affecting sustainability of agents”

BS Post: 101, Dated : 26 February 2014, Place : Mumbai.

The IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) is all set to organise its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Ambassador Pallava hotel in Chennai on March 8 and 9, 2014. This year’s AGM will witness a series of workshops and seminars on various aspects of the Indian travel and tourism industry. The Association is expecting the presence of over 200 IAAI members, including distinguished members of the industry, at the AGM. The preparations for the AGM are being looked after by T Gopakumar, Director, South India, IAAI and S Faisal, Chairman, Airline Affairs Committee, India, IAAI. Speaking about the AGM, Biji Eapen, National President, IAAI, said, “The forthcoming AGM is very important for IAAI. First, we have to get ratified all our deeds and activities held last year. Then we will present new activities and action plan for 2014, which has to be approved. This AGM will be mainly focusing on the “factors affecting sustainability of agents” providing more significance to “commission issue” and “weekly payment” system. Member’s comments, suggestions and criticisms are vital for us to streamline and formulate a strategy and to prepare the course of action. And significantly, our AGM is opened to press and media too, who have the freedom to intervene and demand clarifications". IAAI's AGM will discuss issues on agency commission, its present situation based on the social, political, governmental and legal stand. The other topics to be deliberated on at the AGM include implementation of Resolution 818g,  Ticket stock withdrawal by airlines, APJC- India: induction of IAAI and NDC (New Distribution Challenges), etc. Talking about the current state of industry, Eapen stated, “Travel industry is facing a very dangerous situation. The zero commission regime has led to the closure of few travel agencies and has affected the entire industry. The present scenario of weekly payment system will definitely wipe out another 30 per cent of ordinary agents. Indian travellers, especially corporate, used to avail maximum credit facilities. Many times, even the credit period used to extend up to one month. Today, seven days of business and next day you payment has to be made. Till December 2013, agents used to get 14 days credit period. Hence, agents will be in a real fix. The new financial guarantee will be another danger and finally NDC". IAAI, since its inception in 2001, is playing a major role in bringing agency commission for agents from airlines. As a result, many airlines and offices of Indian government have also come up with favourable solutions for agents.  Elaborating on their future strategies, Eapen said, “IAAI has a vision and mission. Presently, restoring agency commission is our first task. We will ensure and enforce the law of the land that each and every travel agent in India should get full remuneration from the airlines operating in India. And, we will have to reinstate the five per cent commission which prevailed in 2008.” "We have already discussed with many foreign airlines and all are of the opinion that they do not have any second opinion, provided, the national carrier implement the same.  Ultimately, the national carrier should take this initiative, which they won’t do because of their membership entry into Star Alliance. Hence, we may have to force Air India and government authorities to reinstate agency commission. The AGM will discuss the process and action plan and accordingly we will formulate the strategy,” said D L Jekannathan, General Secretary, IAAI. "We have to ensure that every agent should have ticket stock of all airlines operating in India," added S Saldanha, National Treasurer, IAAI. By Anish V Punnackattu | New Delhi

No Change in Refund Rules Pertaining to Cancellation of Confirmed Train Tickets

BS Post: 100, Dated : 25 February 2014, Place : Mumbai.

Press Information Bureau Government of India, Ministry of Railways,  24-February-2014 

                     A section of media, have published news regarding changes in the Railway Refund Rules. In this regard, the Ministry of Railways  clarifies that there has been no change in the Refund Rules which have been notified in June 2013 and have been brought into force with effect from 1^st July, 2013. According to the notified refund rules, passengers on a confirmed ticket can avail refund upto 50% of the fare provided the ticket is cancelled within 2 hours of the departure of the train.

For the purpose of clarification, the refund rules relating to cancellation of unused confirmed reserved tickets are summarized here below:-

    i.            if the ticket is presented for cancellation more than forty eight hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, a minimum per passenger cancellation charge shall be deducted at the flat rate of rupees one hundred and twenty for air-conditioned first class/executive class, rupees one hundred for air-conditioned-II tier/first class, rupees ninety for air-conditioned III-tier/ 3 economy/air-conditioned chair car, rupees sixty for sleeper class and rupees thirty for second class.

ii.            if the ticket is presented for cancellation between forty eight hours and upto six hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charge shall be twenty five per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.            

 iii.            if the ticket is presented for cancellation within six hours before departure and upto two hours after the actual departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be fifty per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.

 iv.            No refund shall be granted on the reserved ticket if it is surrendered for cancellation after two hours of the actual departure of the train.                 

Passengers may continue to avail refund of confirmed tickets under the above rules as there is no change in the Refund Rules.

     

Again the refund rules relating to cancellation of Unused waitlisted or RAC tickets are summarized here below:-

If a Waitlisted/RAC ticket is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be admissible after deducting the clerkage as per following:- 

a.             The ticket is presented for cancellation upto three hours after the actual departure of the train irrespective of the distance.

b.            The passenger may get the tickets cancelled from any PRS counters or the designated current counters.

c.             No refund of fare shall be granted on RAC ticket /Waitlisted ticket after three hours of the actual departure of the train.

d.            In case no current counters are available at journey originating station for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hours(actual departure , refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation office.

e.            In remote and hill areas as identified by the Zonal Railways with the prior approval of the General Managers and print in their Time Tables for train leaving between 1900 hours and 0600 hours (actual departure) refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation/booking office, in case there is no reservation counters/booking office/ current counters. Available in that area.

Similarly, the refund rules relating to cancellation of e-tickets and Tatkal Tickets have also been notified which are effective from July 1, 2013.

Further, under special circumstances like bandhs or agitations or floods, etc. where the passengers could not reach the reservation counters or stations for cancellation of tickets, a TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) shall be issued to the passenger upto three days after the scheduled departure of the train and the passengers may apply for refund of fare within ten days from the scheduled commencement of journey to the Chief Commercial Manager (Refunds), of the Zonal Railway concerned. The refund application shall then be considered on its merits based on the circumstances of the case.

Commercial circular no. 6 of 2014 dated 21.2.2014 is an internal circular seeking to remove the inconsistency between the computerised application (based on earlier circular of 2004) and the notified refund rules. Under this circular of 21.02.2014, CRIS has been advised to make requisite changes in the computerised PRS application so that the computerised application is aligned and made consistent with the Refund Rules and to ensure that the refunds are issued in accordance with the notified rules.

Passengers shall continue to get refunds across the counters for all waitlisted and confirmed tickets as per refund rules provided such refunds are sought within the prescribed time limits.

Your Aadhaar data is being misused by banks.

BS Post: 99, Dated : 15 February 2014, Place : Mumbai.

By Naveen Nair|Posted 24-Jan-2013 at MID DAY.

Heading out to enroll for a unique identity? Think twice before you provide your personal details while filling out the forms: the possibility of your personal details being leaked to a third party cannot be ruled out.

1: Applicants submit personal information of their family in the UID application form

Take for instance this couple based in Colaba, who were alarmed when a letter (see pic) arrived at their doorstep last week from the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). It was addressed to their 10-year-old daughter, and claimed that a Savings Bank (SB) account had been opened under her name.

2: UID centre forwards the information to banks

The family is now racked with anxiety, having no clue how their personal data reached bank officials without their knowledge or consent. While the bank officials claim that the data is directly sent to them by the central government, UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) officials say that no such information is forwarded to the banks without the consent of the applicant.

3: Bank uses the information to open accounts and then informs the customer about it. Graphics/Amit Bandre

Surprise package

Reshma Puri and her daughter Anamika (names changed on request) had applied for Aadhaar cards around eight months ago. Both already had existing accounts with banks other than IOB. Imagine their shock last week when the mailman delivered the letter from IOB. The letter, posted from the Nariman Point branch of IOB, claimed that an SB account in Anamika’s name had been opened on October 13, 2012, based on her Aadhaar details. The letter further requested her to visit the branch within 15 days armed with her Aadhaar ID card, to complete the procedure and activate the account.

A worried Reshma said, “The current accommodation we live in is provided by the government, and is thus transferable. My husband and I were both present when we applied for our daughter’s Aadhaar card, and we made sure that all the details were entered correctly. We are sure that we did not give any consent for an account to be opened for our daughter in any bank.”

She added, “We are surprised to see that our personal details have reached IOB officials, and they have forcefully opened an SB account. How can the UIDAI decide to share our data with a random bank and what if the provided data is misused? Aren’t we risking our personal security by providing our personal details during enrolment?

It is a kind of spam wherein the government and its subsidiaries are misusing our private information.” The final paragraph of the letter from IOB letter further requests the applicant to furnish the names, addresses and occupations of friends and relatives, particularly those staying abroad, so that the bank may contact them.

Spam or data theft?

Acknowledging the concerns raised by the Puris, Vijay Mukhi, a cyber expert, said, “I don’t believe that the government directly provides such data to any banks, it is lower rank officials working at private agencies to whom the UID data collection work is outsourced. It is the sole responsibility of the government to ensure that it is not leaked.”

Asked if the use of private information for marketing activities would fit the definition of spam, Mukhi said, “Spam is a smaller issue, this is a clear-cut case of data theft and should be looked into more seriously.” He suggested that the government implement measures that prevent others from copying such information from the database.

Reshma further explained that since their current residence is transferable, any such letter addressed to her daughter may arrive at the address in future in their absence, and a stranger may use the letter and operate the account facilities using forged documents.

Bank clarifies H Mahadev, regional vigilance officer (RVO), IOB, said, “The central government started this process of opening accounts linked to a person’s Aadhaar details about five months ago. The sole purpose of opening these accounts is to channelise the subsidies provided by the government to the Aadhaar cardholder. These accounts are generated directly and accommodated into our system and then bifurcated to respective branches based on the applicant’s residential address.”

He added, “The accounts are generated based on the consent provided by applicants at the time of his Aadhaar enrolment. If the applicant does not wish to operate this account, he or she should submit a letter mentioning the same.” Asked why details of friends and relatives were requested in the same letter, Mahadev said, “This is not part of the instruction provided by the central government. The respective branch may have included these requests as a part of their promotional activity.”

An official from the Nariman Point branch confirmed issuing a letter to Puri, saying, “We have received nearly 6,000 sets of data from our regional office and have randomly circulated letters to all the residents in our ward. Usually the account is expected to be opened in the name of the family’s head in order to avail of the government subsidy. Nearly 2,000 accounts have been activated and most of them are for local fishermen, who are likely to get their first subsidy by the year end.” Asked how a minor was sent the letter, the officer blamed it on system error, saying they are computer generated.

UIDAI’s take

Gurudutt Ray, assistant director general, UIDAI, said, “The central government does not directly open any accounts in a random nationalised bank. We do direct the banks to open an account linked to the Aadhaar details, if the applicant provides his consent for the same. In this case the applicant may have selected the option for opening a bank account linked to his Aadhaar number and IOB being in their vicinity, could have been directed to open the account.” Ray denied that personal data related to applicants is being provided to banks. He claimed that applicants have no obligation to activate the account.

Lawyers explain

No bank can unilaterally set up an account for you. In the case of minors, the guardian’s consent is necessary. If there is no consent, either express or implied, there is no way that an account can be set up that is basic contract law.

Aditya Ajgaonkar, Advocate

There are know your customer (KYC) norms framed by the Reserve Bank of India which clearly say the customer has to open a bank account. Moreover, how can they open up a bank account which has no initial deposit in it?

Jabbar Shaikh, Advocate

- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/your-aadhaar-data-being-misused-banks/197806

Shortage of passport booklets giving sleepless nights to haj Pilgrims.

BS Post: 98, Dated : 15 February 2014, Place : Mumbai.

Nearly lakh's of  passport applications are pending at all the Regional Passport Office because of a shortage of booklets. This is giving sleepless nights to haj Pilgrims , as the last date of Submitting application for haj 2014 is coming near.

Nashik-based Indian Security Press, the only place where passports are printed , was shut down for a couple of weeks due to shortage of a special raw material. Though printing resumed a day ago, the countrywide pile-up will take a long time to be sorted out and cleared the backlog . 

Don't expect a quick relief. There will be a tremendous shortage of passport booklets . The backlog is growing at a tremendous speed, he crisis will last a couple of weeks across the country. 

Mohammed Chand Shaikh


............

An online passport application registration centre was inaugurated at the head post office (HPO) Tiruchi Region. Soon the facilities will be available across the country.

PHSH, BS Post: 97, Dated : 11 February 2014, Place : Mumbai.

TIRUCHI, February 11, 2014,  Sources : TH

An online passport application registration centre was inaugurated at the head post office (HPO) premises here on Monday. The HPO was one among the 28 post offices in the central region of the postal department.

The centre aims at checking exploitation by middlemen.

At adalat and grievance day meetings organised by the Passport Office, it was noticed that many applicants were being exploited by middlemen, private browsing centres which collected anywhere between Rs. 200 and Rs.500 for registering details in the passport applications online. “This problem has now been addressed through these facilitation centres,” said K. Balamurugan, Regional Passport Officer, who inaugurated the centre.

The fee for these services has also been fixed by the Postmaster General at Rs.70 for post offices situated within Tiruchi, and Rs.100/- for other post offices. These centres would be in addition to the already existing three ex-servicemen help desk located at the Passport Office on the West Boulevard Road and at Passport Seva Kendras in Tiruchi and Thanjavur, he added.

The post offices would maintain the username and password for every applicant so that the they could reschedule their appointment and also make any changes in the forms for a maximum of three times. “The facility was not available in internet browsing centres, ” Mr. Balamurugan said.

Photo: M. Moorthy, TH

Service available at :

The services would be available at the post offices in Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Karur, Kulithalai, Kumbakonam, Melakaveri, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkali, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pattukottai, Tiruthuraipoondi, Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Tiruchi Fort, Lalgudi, Golden Rock, Teppakulam, Srirangam, Thuraiyur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Papanasam, Mannargudi, Vriddhachalam, Tirukoilur, Kallakurichi and Ariyalur.

E-PASSPORTS FOR INDIAN BY 2014

BS Post : 96, Date : 06.02.2014,  Place : Mumbai, By : Mohammed Chand Shaikh

Mumbai : The new generation electronic passport, which aims to secure the data and curb the menace of fake passports, is likely to be introduced by next year, a senior government official said here today.

“A Task Force has been set up to look into the e-passport project, which has held deliberations with different stakeholders (departments). We are planning to start issuing e-passports to new applicants by next year,” Joint Secretary (Passport Seva Project) and Chief Passport Officer Muktesh K Pardeshi told.

The e-passport will replace the existing passport document with a plastic card embedded with an electronic chip containing all the details of the passport holder, including biometric information, besides a digital signature of a passport officer, he explained.

“In 2013, the Government of India has issued close to 85 lakh passports and other related documents globally and recorded a growth of 14-15 per cent over 2012 (wherein 73.6 lakh passports were issued). Going by this trend, we are expecting to cross the one-crore mark in issuance of passports annually by the end of 2014 calendar year or by early 2015,” the Chief Passport Officer said.

“It’s also a great opportunity for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to extend one crore citizen service every year. With one crore passports being issued in a year, we will be in a group of handful of countries, with only two countries China and US which are issuing over one crore passports every year,” Pardeshi said.

Stating that it would be a great responsibility and opportunity as well as challenge for the passport officials, he said, “We have to scale up and expand our services and have to bring in more efficiency within our passport officials and we always have to be innovative.”

PTI

Is India’s biometric benefits database trampling privacy?

BS Post : 96, Date : 06.02.2014,  Place : Mumbai, By : Mohammed Chand Shaikh

In 2009 India announced its grand universal biometric scheme “Aadhaar”. The scheme, managed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), collects the fingerprints, iris scans and facial images of applicants in exchange for a national identification number. First handed out in 2010 the numbers, randomised 12-digit codes, function as “internal passports” which can be used as proof of identity to access state services.

November 2013 marked 500 million enrolments to the scheme, making Aadhaar the largest biometric programme in the world. This year the scheme is set to be linked to major development reforms, and the collection of data, stored in a centrally controlled database, aims to improve transparency, reduce corruption and ensure access to the country’s myriad of welfare benefits.

India’s welfare state is characterised by “leakage”: by corrupt middlemen syphoning off benefits and claimants taking more than their share. The biometric scheme plays an important role in making sure that those who are entitled state aid receive it. But despite this developmental progress India lacks comprehensive protections for biometric data, raising serious concerns about individual privacy.

A report by Oxford Pro Bono Publico, a research centre affiliated to the University of Oxford, found India’s controls over the collection, storage and use of biometric data, compared to other jurisdictions, hugely deficient.

The sheer scale of the project compounds concerns, with UIDAI aiming to enrol every one of India’s 1.2 billion people.  The scheme was first introduced as voluntary, but as more and more development schemes are administered through it, welfare recipients seeking state aid have little choice but to hand over their data.

Justice Puttaswamy, a retired High Court judge, has led the charge in challenging the scheme on privacy grounds. As he argued in his petition to the Indian Supreme Court, “there are no safeguards or penalties and no legislative backing for obtaining personal information”. His complaint culminated in a Supreme Court interim order, which insisted that the scheme must remain voluntary and that those entitled to receive welfare should do so regardless of their Aadhaar status.

Attempts to circumvent the Aadhaar programme to deliver benefits, however, have become increasingly difficult. Last year, despite the Supreme Court order, reports emerged from Delhi that food-subsidy ration cards were only being handed out to those with national identification numbers. Arecent announcement by the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, that consumers without Aadhaar cards would continue to receive discounted cooking gas, provoked oil companies and the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to return to the Supreme Court to file an appeal.

Aadhaar was introduced via an executive order, a lack of statutory backing that critics argue makes the scheme unconstitutional. As Shyam Divan, a practising lawyer and petitioner in a case against the UIDAI, explains, there is no legislative oversight of the collection, storage and use of biometric data. Controls on access are similarly scant. There are no provisions that address who can access the data, when and why. At the field level, agents enrolling applicants to the scheme are employed privately and work without government supervision. Once collected, the data passes through private hands before being transferred to the UIDAI’s central repository. Corporations (including the consulting firm Accenture, tech-solutions firm Morpho and American defence contractor L-1 Identity) are involved at every stage of the operation, a sprawling collection and transmission network that campaigners fear maximises the opportunity for abuse.

The case against the scheme on constitutional grounds is equally robust. Every time a person uses their unique Aadhaar number, a real-time confirmation is sent between the access point and central database, a process that activists complain amounts to covert surveillance. Critics argue that this tracking violates the right to privacy enshrined in Article 21 of Indian Constitution. According to campaigners insufficient information on the data-collection process also amounts to a lack of informed consent, a further rights violation.

Through public interest litigation various groups have taken the UIDAI to court over the lack of statutory backing and inadequate data protection, suits that the state has dismissed as “frivolous, misleading and legally incorrect” attempts at derailing a “project that aims to promote inclusion and benefit marginalized sections of society”.

The size and inefficiency of India’s welfare state imposes enormous pressures on officials to improve service delivery. The scheme’s defenders invoke a democratic justification, arguing the government has a responsibility to ensure that welfare spending reaches those that are most in need.

Nandan Nilekani, chairperson of the UIDAI, has admitted that he may not have done enough to persuade people of the benefits of the scheme.  But as Justice Puttaswamy insists “the way the government has gone about implementing this project is odd and illegal,” and questions about privacy still loom large.

This article was posted by Mr. Ram Mashru on 31 January 2014 at indexoncensorship.org.