New addresses for ministries.

PM Modi said that the sweeping reforms introduced by his government over the past 11 years have transformed India's governance model into one that is transparent, sensitive and citizen-centric. Citing the success of the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile) trinity, Modi said that the initiative had plugged massive leakages in welfare schemes and prevented the theft of over Rs.4.30 lakh crores that was allegedly being siphoned off through 10 lakh fake beneficiaries under previous regimes.

Approximately 10 crore beneficiaries listed under various schemes such as the ration card, gas subsidy and scholarships were found to be non existent. These individuals who never actually existed, were being used by previous governments to funnel money to middlemen. 

The PM was speaking at an event in Kartavya Path after inaugurating Kartavya Bhavan (Common Central Secretariat Building) 3, the first of the ten state-of-the-art central government office complexes planned along Kartavya Path as part of the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

These blocks will house offices of all ministries and associated departments, presently functioning from Shastri Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, Nirman Bhavan, North and South Blocks and other buildings located at different locations.

Kartavya Bhavan and other major infrastructure projects, including the new defence complexes, are not only a testament to India's pace but also a reflection of its global vision. With all the ministries and departments functioning from these buildings being constructed at one place, the government will save Rs.1,500 crore, currently being spent on rented accommodations at 50 different locations.

My take

Surely notching up modernity quietly and quickly, at comparatively low costs, as the work is being monitored by the Prime Minister himself! 

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and we were ready to kick off by 9. Kannan, our sa'arthi for the day fetched up on time and we kicked off by a quarter past 9 after topping up the Chevy with diesel and checking tyre pressure. 

Met Dr Jyoshid Balan, the Plastic Surgeon at the Elite Mission Hospital and he has put Lekha on antibiotics and twice-a-day dressings for the rupture of her plastic surgery patch on the foot.

Had lunch and went to Kuthampully on the Wadakkancherry road. Lekha did the selection and buying and after they came to know that I was working for the PN Panicker Foundation, they gifted us with a dhoti and a saree! The salesgirl, Krishnapriya looked after us. 

Reached The Quarterdeck by 5!

A quiet evening thereafter!

Admissions drop in private ITIs in Kerala.

Enrolment Statistics

No. of private ITIs                             245

Average admission in 

recent years                                          25-30%

ITIs maintained by industrial

training department                            108

Under SC department                          44

Under ST department                            2

Average admission in

govt ITIs in recent years                      95-98%

Even when skill is deemed as important as education in this technology-driven era, private industrial training institutes (ITIs) in Kerala are facing a tough time. The number of students taking admission in these institutes has been decreasing drastically over the past few years.

With just a few weeks left for the application process to end this year, only 5-10% of seats have been filled and the authorities do not expect the turnout to improve. 

From nearly 500 private ITIs at one point, the count has now reduced to 245. There is a general notion among people that ITIs are for weaker students, which is the primary reason for drop in the numbers. And the fact is that the students from these institutions would easily get jobs in both private and public sectors.

Students nowadays prefer short-term, job-oriented courses over those offered by ITIs even though many of them do not have proper certification. Most of these agencies offer courses in the developing technologies like AI. and hence there's the need to update the courses offered by the ITIs.

The most popular ITI trades are fitter, electrician, wireman, electronics mechanic, tool and dye maker, machinist, welder etc. The government, however, rebuts the shortcomings to non-uniformity in the private ITIs' fee structure!

Courtesy. Aswin Asok Kumar @ Tvpm in the NIE

My take

What a sorry plight? And my suggested remedy :-

     * Update the courses forthwith, encompassing the sought-after/popular courses these days.

     * Bring the private ITIs' fees structure on to an even keel.

Tailpiece.

Got up at my usual time, the chores and had my walk on the road in front of The Quarterdeck as it was a bright, sunny day. 

Earlier, carried out the usual Wednesday 'aarathi' of the house.

Lekha begins the onam gift purchases.

A quiet evening!  

The logjam in Parliament.

The opposition got what it wanted....a discussion on Operation Sindoor despite the fact that none of them had the expertise and knowledge of military matters. The government should not have permitted such a discussion where many of the opposition members said a lot of unsavoury things about the armed forces. 

The logjam in Parliament began yesterday as the opposition wants to discuss Sir ( ) in connection with the Election Commission's action on revising Bihar's poll rolls for the Assembly elections. 

The parliamentary Minister has put across the government's decision consequent to the continuing logjam.

Will push Bills in Parliament if opposition protest continues

Government will be compelled to press for the passage of its bills amid protests in Parliament. The warning came as the opposition's relentless disruptions over SIR dimmed the prospects of normal functioning of the two Houses. While the Lok Sabha saw little transaction of any listed business, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned as a mark of respect for its member and ex-Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren who'd passed away.

Will act in national interest

* When the bill has to be passed and the government has no other option, it is passed without  

   discussion

* The government wants a thorough discussion in Parliament but will act in 'national interest'

   if protests continue

* Hit out at the opposition, because they disrupted proceedings when they had agreed to a two-day

   discussion over National Sports Governance Bill and National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 

My take

And we, the tax payers, pay a huge sum of money to the MPs as allowances, TA/DA etc for taking

part in meaningful discussions to legislate bills during the sessions!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, the chores and was on my walk/exercises, within the house, as it was pouring outside.

Fixed up Lekha's appoinment with Dr Jyoshid on Thursday morning.

A quiet day, otherwise.

A generation raised by screens.

Beyond brain rot!

CocoClash : What overstimulating content does to kids

Fast cuts, flashy colours, loud noises....these screen-time staples may look fun but they come at a hidden cost. Here's what the science says

 Overstimulating habit              What it does to growing brains

Watching ultra-fast cartoons,               Can reduce executive function and delay

(with rapid scene changes, jump          attention span development. A study found

cuts, high-pitched audio)                      just 9 minutes of fast content impaired 

                                                              cognitive control in pre-schoolers.

Binge-watching videos (espe-              Disrupts the brain's reward system, leading

cially autoplay-heavy formats              to shorter attention spans and difficulty with

like Reels or Shorts)                             delayed gratification.

Overuse of sound+light toys and         Can overwhelm sensory systems, making real-

musical games (especially under         world stimuli feel "boring" in comparison. Red-

age 31)                                                 uces interest in independent, imaginative play.

Exposure to "educational" but             Leads to passive learning. Children may mimic

overly animated content                      tone and exaggeration but not develop conversa-

                                                             tional or emotional regulation skills.

Gaming apps with bright colours        Trains the brain to seek instant rewards which is 

and constant feedback                         linked to frustration intolerance and reduced per-

                                                             severance in tasks.

Switching rapidly between apps/        Undermines focus. Kids struggle with task persi-

content (eg jumping between You       stence and show signs of mental fatigue even

Tube, games and chat)                         after short sessions.

My take

The dangerous times our children live in, with technology!

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores.

Lekha went to town to get a few pending work done.

A quiet Monday!

India way behind in organ transplants.

As many as 18,911 organ transplants were performed last year in India but acute shortage of organs remains.

The report says that although the number of transplants in India has significantly from 4,990 in 2013 to 18,378 in 2023 and 18,911 transplants in 2024 from January to December, the organ donation rate remains at less than 1 per million. This contrasts with the highest at 48 per million population in Spain.

Delhi, TN lead in organ transplants

* India is the third highest in the world, after US and China, in total organ transplantation and first in

   total living donor organ transplant

* In 2024, there were 13,476 kidney transplants in the country, the most in Delhi, followed by TN,

   Maharashtra, Kerala and West Bengal; similarly, there were 4,901 liver transplants, with Delhi and 

   TN on top

63,000 individuals in India need kidney transplant at present

My take

Let attitudes thaw and India soar on the organ transplant front!

Tailpiece.

Got up to a sunny day, the chores and was ready quite before 10.

Leela chittamma, Saji, Salini and Lekshmi arrived at a half past 11. Lekha had organised a lovely lunch for them - non veg for them and veg for us. Vivek has joined phone pe and is in Bangalore since the last two months.

Saw the launch of Bigg Boss just to acquaint myself of the participants!   

Don't we need to worry?

Kerala buffeted by rising wave of public obscenity, indecency.

A recent surge in acts like public masturbation and other obscene acts has raised alarm bells. Despite worrying numbers, glaring legal loopholes continues to empower perpetrators.

No dedicated  law

* The absence of specific laws directly addressing flashing or public masturbation often hinders the

   formal registration of cases

* Police sources indicate that while victims sometimes bravely come forward with video evidence, many 

   hesitate to pursue further legal action due to fears of protracted legal battles

* The lack of a dedicated law ensures that there's no precise data on the true scale of the problem. How-

   ever, social media platforms and online blogs are increasingly amplifying voices on the issue

While not physically violent, being masturbated at is deeply personally violating. Public masturbation, unlike private acts, is not protected free expression; it is a grossly indecent act that outrages a woman's modesty. Incidents of street harassment such as sexually explicit comments, public masturbation and stalking are unfortunately common. Though public masturbation broadly fell under sections 73, 77, 285 and 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) - the absence of a specific law leads to under-reporting and very few convictions.

Psychiatrists say that individuals suffering from paraphilia are likely to masturbate in public. "Paraphilia is a condition characterised by intense fetishes towards unusual objects. When a person with paraphilia masturbates publicly, it inherently harms the object of their fetish, often women".

Public masturbators may also exhibit signs of regression, a psychological condition involving behaviour like extreme passivity, social withdrawal, aggression and open masturbation. Exhibitionism, a form of paraphilia, involves exposing genitals to unsuspecting strangers for sexual arousal and a few cases have confessed that the presence of a woman made the act "more realistic".

District-wise data with the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) for May 2024-25 is:-

      * Kozhikode                     193

      * Ernakulam                     157

      * Thiruvananthapuram     123

      * Kasaragod                       98

      * Kollam                            76

      * Malappuram                    74

      * Palakkad                          67

      * Alappuzha                       66

      * Kottayam                        54

      * Pathanamthitta                43

      * Kannur                            35

      * Idukki                              33

      * Wayanad                          29

      * Thrissur                            24       

Courtesy. Excerpted from Pooja Nair @ Kozhikode in the NIE.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the morning messages. Switched on the morning hymns, lit up the puja room lamp and opened up the house. The morning chores and was ready by a half past 9.

It was a thoroughly wet day. It was also depressing to hear about the passing away of young Kalabhavan Navas @ 51. My tears and prayers! May god give strength to his family to tide over this tragedy.

Prof MK Sanu passes away this evening at the Amritha Hospital!

Along the Malegaon blast timeline.

27 Sep 2008               An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque at

                                   Bikku chowk in Malegaon town

29 Sep 2008               An FIR lodged at Azad Nagar police station at Malegaon

21 Oct 2008               Maharashtra Terrorist Squad (ATS) takes over the case

23 Oct 2008               ATS makes the first arrest in this case namely Sadhvi Pragya Singh as well as

                                   three accused

        "                         ATS arrests LT Col Prasad Purohit for involvement and conspiracy

27 Nov 2008              ATS chief Hemant Karkare killed in a terrorist attack in Bombay

20 Jan 2009               ATS files charge sheet and charges them under MCOCA and UAPA

      Jul 2009               The special court says that the MCOCA wasn't applicable in the case

     Aug 2009              Maharashtra government moves against the special court in Bombay High Court

     Jul  2010               Bombay High Court overturns the special court order and upholds the charges under

                                   MCOCA

     Aug 2010              Accused Pragya and Lt Col Purohit move SC against the HC order

13 Apr 2011               NIA takes over case and holds Lokesh Sharma and Dhan Singh

     Apr 2015               The SC sends back the case to special court to reconsider the applicability of

                                   MCOCA

     Feb 2016               NIA tells court that they'd sought AG's view and MCOCA was applicable

    May 2016               NIA files another charge sheet in special court and asks to drop MCOCA

                                    against the accused and give a clean chit to all seven

25 Apr 2017               The Bombay High Court grants bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh but no relief

                                    Lt Col Purohit

21 Sep 2017                Lt Col Purohit finally gets bail via the Supreme Court. Later all accused

                                    arrested in the case were granted bail

27 Dec 2017                The special court of NIAdrops the charge that the accused was a member

                                    of the terrorist organisation and was raising funds for it

03 Dec 2018                The trial begins with examinations of first witnesses

14 Sep 2023                Court examines 323 prosecution witnesses; 37 turned hostile

23 Jul 2023                 The examination of defence witnesses completed

12 Aug 2023                The special court records the final statement of accused

19 Apr 2025                The special court closes the trial for judgement

31 Jul 2025                 The special court judge LK Lahoti acquits all seven accused

My take

And that ends P Chidambaram's script on "Saffron Terror" which was his and the Congress's game plan to pin down the BJP!

Tailpiece.

A wet day, couldn't walk on the road in front of The Quarterdeck as it was wet by the early morning rain.