Political and Social Issues

Team Anna feels the heat of media

After the Hissar by-poll result, one would have thought that Team Anna would celebrate in a grand manner. It did celebrate, but only to find two key members quitting, Kiran Bedi facing some unusual allegations, the Income-Tax department's reminder to Arvind Kejriwal and Swami Agnivesh seeking transparency in the accounts of Team Anna.
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Team Anna is defending itself, but somehow the voices do not seem very convincing. At least the opinions on Face Book said so.
So, why has the media changed its tone? Arrogance, a senior political journalist remarked.
Anna is observing ‘ Maun Vrat,' Prashant Bhushan is away in the US while others present in India are busy defending themselves, so there will not be verbal duel, hence no excitement in giving a sound byte. Anna's vrat is for an indefinite period.

LEGAL MATTERS (Residential Rental Agreement)

The normal practice is for the landlord to be responsible for any and all major repairs to be conducted on the property (for example, any leaking / water seepage, major electrical problems, etc), and for the tenant to be responsible for all the minor ones (for example, replacing bulbs, motors, fixing minor leaks in plumbing, etc).
The covenants should include a clause stating that the tenant will return the property in the condition he or she received it, subject to normal and acceptable wear and tear.
In the case of an apartment, there may be fixed monthly maintenance charges or apartment association charges.
The agreement must contain the exact monthly rent payable by the tenant to the landlord, along with the method of payment (cheque, demand draft, etc) and details as to when the payment must be made (for example, rent must be paid on the 1st of every month, no later than the 5th of every month, in advance).
If the property comes with any fixtures (lighting fixtures, paintings, chandeliers), furniture (carpets, beds, tables, chairs) or appliances (geysers, refrigerators, air conditioners), the same must be listed, counted and added as an annexure to the agreement and will form a part of the property.
The duration of the rental agreement varies, but is normally for 11 months with a clause for renewal of the lease on the mutual agreement of the parties.
The agreement must contain a clause stating that the agreement can be terminated by either parties, and must state the manner of serving the notice and the duration
Normally, two-month notice is sufficient.
Some agreements have a lock-in clause. This means that even though there is a fixed period of notice stated in the agreement, the tenant cannot leave until the lock-in period is over. (For example, if the lock-in period is five months, even if the tenant gives the landlord two-month notice in writing as per the agreement, he will still have to pay rent for the first five months, no matter when he gave notice).

Centre to set up 1,500 ITIs to tackle skilled labour crunch

The Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, today said that 1,500 ITI (technical institutes) have been proposed across the country to tackle skilled labour shortage in the XII Plan.
Mr Kharge, reiterated the importance of labour and said the manpower element is indispensable in any industry and more so in the labour-intensive plantation sector.
On the Minimum Wages Act, he said that it differed from State to State, and the State had the power to decide on the minimum wages.
It is the responsibility of the State Government to protect the interest of the labourers.
tea was neither categorised as agriculture nor industry. There is a need to place tea as an agro-based industry to derive the benefits of both.
He said that he has sought extension of the subsidy at enhanced rates for producing orthodox teas, extension of special purpose tea fund with increased cost-marking for proportionate subsidy element to raise subsidy whenever costs went up and not make SPTF as a requirement for granting subsidies.

Dumping duty on select rubber chemicals from China

The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on certain imported rubber chemicals namely ‘MBTS' Dibenzothiazole disulphide from China. This anti-dumping duty will be valid for a period of five years
The National Organic Chemical Industries Ltd had filed the original complaint. MBTS is used in the manufacture of rubber products and as an accelerator finds wider application in the manufacture of automotive tyres, conveyor belts and footwear industry.