Political and Social Issues:

Taking a strict view on issues relating to aviation safety, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday pulled up all scheduled domestic airlines for neglecting safety due to financial stress and stressed that it would not allow any carrier to cut corners on the safety front
The DGCA carried out financial surveillance from the safety perspective of scheduled domestic airlines in December 2011 and noted several findings with respect to
- backlog of flight crew training,
- flight operations quality assurance monitoring,
- shortage of operational crew and
- delay in disbursement of salaries

Nearly 70 per cent of the estimated 20 lakh Keralites working in the Gulf countries will be benefitted by the Union government's proposed Pension and Life Insurance Fund (PLIF) for overseas Indian workers in the Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries.
Already many welfare schemes such as pension, family pension, medical aid, and death assistance are being given by Kerala Non-Resident Welfare Fund Board
It is estimated that around 20 per cent of overseas Indian workers in ECR countries are women who are recruited for cleaning and other jobs.
The move by the Centre is also aimed at ending the often heard complaint that overseas Indian workers have been excluded from access to formal social security and retirement savings schemes available to residents of the ECR countries.
The government co-contribution is Rs.1,000 per annum in line with Swavalamban platform

There are many ways to protest and fight injustice.
- Frustrated with the apathy of officials, a 30-year-old woman put her two daughters for “sale” here on Thursday to raise money to “bribe” officials.
According to Ms. Vanishri, she had applied for the post of anganwadi worker about a year ago. However, her application was rejected.
- Claiming that she had secured 62 per cent in SSLC, she alleged that officials concerned were taking bribe and appointing people who had scored less than her for the post.
“Life has become miserable after my husband died. It's really difficult to raise my daughters as I have no source of income”, she said.

Consumers will be able to register their complaints online and any delay in complying with the orders of consumer courts could invite a fine of Rs. 500 or 1.5 per cent of the amount of penalty.
These amendments, introduced to the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, will facilitate quicker disposal of cases and amplify the scope of some of the provisions of the Act.
The Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha in the just-concluded session, has been referred to the Standing Committee.
As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, dispute redress agencies have been set up in 629 districts and at the State and national levels (35) to render simple, inexpensive and speedy justice.
The proposed changes include making a provision that an order of the District Forum/State Commission/National Commission will be enforced as a civil court decree.

A petition lying unheard in the Chhattisgarh High Court accuses the State's judicial officers of manipulating the results of the civil judge examinations of 2008 to favour the children and relatives of senior judges and politicians.
The Supreme Court now has sought a response from the Registrar-General of the Chhattisgarh High Court on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition
The petition was filed by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform on the basis of a Right to Information request