India, China out-educating us: Obama
27102013
| |
Billions of people from countries like India and China are striving hard to”out-educate” Americans in mathematics and technology, President Barack Obama has said while stressing on education reforms to prepare Americans for a global economy where “jobs can go anywhere.”
| |
“In previous generations, America’s standing economically was so much higher than everybody elses that we did nothave a lot of competition,” Obama said.
“Now you have got billions of people from Beijing to Bangalore to Moscow, all of whom are competing with you directly. And they are — thosecountries are working every day to out-educate and out-compete us,” Obama said in his remarks to students at the Pathways in Technology Early College High School in Brooklyn on Friday.
“And every year brings more research showing them pulling ahead, especially in some of the subject matter that this school specialises in — math and scienceand technology.So we have got a choice to make,” he said.
He said if the workforce is not educated enough, it will be left behind and find it hard to get a job that pays a living wage.
“We live in a 21st century global economy. And in a global economy, jobs can go anywhere. Companies, they are looking for the best-educated people, whereverthey live, and they will reward them with good jobs and good pay,” the president said.
“We can just kind of shrug our shoulders and settle for something less, or we can do what America has always done,which is adapt.We pull together, we up our game, we hustle, we fight back, we work hard, and we win,” he said.
Obama joked that he had asked students at the Brooklyn school if they could help him help his daughter Malia with her math homework.
“I don’t know if some of you have experienced this where you get to the point where your children ask you for help and you suddenly realise you have no ideawhats going on,” he said amid laughter from his young audience.
The President said America has to educate its young people and prepare them for the global economy.
With the cost of higher education escalating, Obama said heis working hard to reduce the burden of student loans on young people.
“We need to bring down the cost of college and give more young people the chance to go to college. So a couple of months ago, I put forward an ambitious newplan to do that, to reduce the cost of college,” he said.
Obama stressed that America needs a budget that is responsible, fiscally prudent and one that “cuts what we don’t need, closes wasteful tax loopholes thatdont create jobs, freeing up resources to invest in the things that actually do help us grow — things like education and scientific research, and infrastructure,roads, bridges, airports.
Having dealt with the government shutdown, Obama has his eyes set on passing the country’s immigration reforms.
“As we close out the new year, we still have a chanceto get immigration reform done and a chance to affirm that we’re a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.”
| |
Updated on : 27-10-2013 03:29 PMEdit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Uncategorized
International Newshot
27102013German intel chiefs to travel to US after spying scandal
Senior German officials will travel to the US to talk with the White House and the National Security Agency about the allegations that the US spied on Germany. The heads of Germany’s foreign and domestic intelligence agencies will participate in the talks, government spokesman Georg Streiter said Friday. At a summit Friday in Brussels, EU leaders vowed to maintain a strong trans-Atlantic partnership despite allegations of widespread US spying, including on Chancellor Angela Merkel. However, France and Germany say new surveillance rules should be agreed upon with the US this year
39 killed in six car bomb attacks in Baghdad
At least 39 people have been killed in six separate car bombings in Baghdad on Sunday, government officials and doctors said. The explosions also led to 50 people being wounded, AFP reported. Five different areas of the capital were struck, all in predominantly Shi’ite districts. There is still no information on who was behind the attack, but Sunni militias have been stepping up their sectarian campaign of violence toward the Shi’ite-dominated government and people since the withdrawal of US forces from the country in December 2011.
Pakistan supports Saudi decision to opt out of UN Security Council
Saudi Arabia’s decision not to join the UN Security Council after securing a non-permanent seat for the 2014-2015 term, received full backing from Pakistan, which shares the Saudi view that the international body cannot adequately perform its functions. Pakistan agrees with the Saudi Government that there should be forward movement and progress on all issues including Syria; Palestine and other long standing issues like Kashmir,” a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement. Saudi Arabia, after being elected unopposed last week, rejected the seat because of its continued dissatisfaction with how the Syrian crisis is being handled, arguing for more action against President Bashar Assad. The Saudis likewise criticized the UNSC’s perceived inability to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the failure to make the Middle East a WMD-free zone.
Georgians head to polls to choose presidential candidates
Georgians go to polling stations on Sunday to elect their next president, who will replace Mikhail Saakashvili after 10 years in power. Opinion polls put Georgy Margvelashvili, a candidate endorsed by Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, ahead of his main competitors. Those include former parliamentary speakers and Saakashvili allies David Bakradze and Nino Burjanadze. Bakradze has been backed by Saaakashvili as his preferred candidate, while Burjanadze joined the opposition to Saakashvili in the wake of Georgia’s war with Russia over South Ossetia in 2008. This election is likely to complete the transition of power from Saakashvili’s United National Movement to Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream coalition, which won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections last year.
Dozens detained by Egypt security forces in Sinai
Egyptian security forces detained dozens of suspects after raiding several Sinai villages as well as areas in and around El-Arish, officials told Ma’an News Agency. Ammunition and explosives were seized, along with cameras, cell phones and laptops which allegedly contain evidence of both past and future illegal operations in Sinai. Officials told the agency 11 of those detained are wanted criminals, some of whom have been implicated in the murder of Egyptian soldiers. Six detainees are reportedly Palestinian citizens illegally residing in Egypt.
Japan vows to counter China if it uses force
Japan will stand up to China, if provoked, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. He said China was attempting “to change the status quo by force”, not by the law. If it “opts to take that path, then it won’t be able to emerge peacefully,” Abe said. In the past year relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated over a territorial dispute in the East China Sea, where China claims an archipelago that it named Diaoyu, but that is administered by Japan under the name of Senkaku.
Man with guns, ammo in luggage arrested in New York airport
A man carrying two handguns, two defaced rifles and high-capacity magazines was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the officials said. Keenan Draughon from Clarksville, Tennesee, had the arsenal in his luggage, with one of the rifles loaded. The 23-year, traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
Early results give Social Democrats lead in Czech parliamentary election
The main opposition Centre-left Social Democrats, led by former finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka, have won 22.2 per cent of the vote to lead in the Czech parliamentary election, Reuters reports. The election committee has so far received results from 10 per cent of the country’s polling sections. “I firmly believe we will be able to form a strong government by the end of the year,” Sobotka said, adding that his party is aiming for a third of the vote. The Communists are vying for the second position with a new protest movement called, ANO, both on around 18 per cent on the basis of the early results. Four other parties seemed set to cross the minimum 5 per cent threshold to enter parliament.
2 killed, 2 injured as Antonov An-2 biplane crashes in Russia’s East Siberia
An Antonov An-2 biplane has crashed upon landing in East Siberia, killing two and injuring another two people who were on board. The two survivors have been taken to a local hospital. The accident has been likely caused by engine failure, a police spokeswoman said, citing the survivors. “The pilots were looking for a place where to land, but failed. The aircraft fell and caught fire,” she said.
Turkish police prevent student protests in Ankara, arrest 24
Ankara police have dispersed a protest by students against a project that threatens to destroy 3,000 trees to make way for a controversial road. Hundreds of students were preparing to march, but police prevented the demonstration and scuffles broke out between police officers and students.Turkish riot police fired tear gas. Some 24 people who formed a human chain were detained.
Cairo court throws out ‘betrayal of trust’ case against ElBaradei
A Cairo court has dismissed a lawsuit against former interim vice president Mohamed ElBaradei for “betrayal of trust.” Cairo’s Misdemeanours Court judge Wael El-Mahdi said the case lacked sufficient grounds. ElBaradei resigned Aug. 14 after security forces attacked protest camps set up by Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds of people. Anti-Mursi Egyptian law professor Sayyid Al-Ateeq filed the suit against ElBaradei in August.
UN envoy supports Iran’s participation in Geneva-2 talks
The UN envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Saturday expressed hope that Iran would be invited to participate in the Geneva-peace 2 conference on ending the Syrian war, Iran’s Press TV news channel reported. “We believe that the participation of Iran in the Geneva conference is natural and necessary as well as fruitful, so we are hopeful that this invitation is made,” Brahimi told reporters in Tehran, Press TV reported.
Russian FM, UN Syria envoy ‘agree on further steps’ for Geneva-2 peace conference
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has had a phone conversation with UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, in which they agreed further steps in preparation for the Geneva-2 peace conference on Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Lavrov told Brahimi about his visits to a number of Middle Eastern countries, and stressed the importance of both getting the Syrian opposition to work together in negotiating with Bashar Assad’s government and of involving key regional countries in the talks.
Suicide vests, bombs found in Dagestan terrorists’ cache
Security forces found 10 unarmed suicide vests, three IEDs, wigs and car license plates among the things discovered in a suspected terrorist cache in the republic of Dagestan in southern Russia, the country’s National Counter-Terrorism Committee reports. The explosives and the building, which apparently was used as a workshop by militants, have been blown up with explosives. Law enforcement agencies believe the items were meant to be used in a series of terrorist attacks in Russia. The cache was seized in a village one day after a fire-fight with a group of militants in Dagestan. The two gunmen, who were killed in the clashes, were transporting two powerful bombs with a combined yield of 100 kilograms of TNT, as well as a smaller bomb and a number of firearms in their car.
Greenpeace activist hangs from Eiffel Tower to protest ‘Arctic 30’ detentions in Russia
A Greenpeace activist suspended himself from Paris’ landmark Eiffel Tower to protest the detention 28 activists and 2 journalists who were arrested 38 days ago after trying to scale a Gazprom oil platform off Russia’s northern coast. The activist unfurled a large yellow banner reading: Free the Artic 30,” He was brought down two hours later by firefighters. A Russian court recently moved to drop the charges of privacy against the group, opting instead to charge them with hooliganism, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years behind bars.
Gunfight erupts between Afghan and NATO-led soldiers outside Kabul
A so-called “insider attack” between Afghan and foreign soldiers outside the capital Kabul on Saturday has left at least one Afghan soldier dead and a number of other troops injured, according to Afghan and NATO officials. “There was an argument between an Afghan and foreign soldier inside a military base… where they opened fire on each other. An investigation is ongoing,” defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said, as quoted by Reuters. The soldier killed was Afghan, a spokesman for the NATO-led contingency noted. Insider attacks are severely straining relations between the NATO-led alliance and Afghan authorities, even as the western military coalition prepares to exit the Central Asian country by the end of 2014.
Iran hangs 16 people ‘in response’ to deadly border clashes
Sixteen people were hanged in an Iranian prison Saturday morning “in response” to overnight clashes that left at least 14 Iranian border guards killed, Iranian Students’ News Agency reports, citing Mohammad Marzieh, the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where the clashes happened. He said the executed people belonged to groups hostile to the country, but offered no further details.
08:24
Arrested Chinese journalist confesses to taking bribes on TV
Chen Yongzhou, a Chinese journalist has confessed to taking bribes on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday, eight days after his arrest. He said he had written false reports about Zoomlion, a partly state-owned firm, which he claimed had financial troubles. Chen’s newspaper, New Express, on Wednesday ran a full-page appeal for his release.
06:11
14 Iranian guards reported killed on Pakistan border
Clashes at the Iranian-Pakistani border have claimed the lives of 14 Iranian guards, Iran’s IRNA state news agency reported. The soldiers were killed in an overnight skirmish with militants in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, the report said, citing an anonymous source. Five other guards were injured in the fighting.
Media agencies
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Business, culture, Education, Trade, Uncategorized, world News
Rahul Gandhi kick-starts Congress campaign in Delhi; says Sheila government
27102013
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi kick-started party’s poll campaign in Delhi by addressing a huge election rally at Mangolpuri. While speaking on the occasion, he showered praises on Congress government in Delhi led by Sheila Dixit and said that the Congress govt has transformed the state in the past 15 years. “The shining Metro in Delhi has become a model for others” he said. “The Congress Government in Delhi has welcomed the migrants with an open heart and also authorised several resettlement colonies in Delhi. Further ownership rights were handed over to 45 resettlement colonies also by the Congress Govt” said Rahul Gandhi.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi kick-started party’s poll campaign in Delhi by addressing a huge election rally at Mangolpuri. While speaking on the occasion, he showered praises on Congress government in Delhi led by Sheila Dixit and said that the Congress govt has transformed the state in the past 15 years. “The shining Metro in Delhi has become a model for others” he said. “The Congress Government in Delhi has welcomed the migrants with an open heart and also authorised several resettlement colonies in Delhi. Further ownership rights were handed over to 45 resettlement colonies also by the Congress Govt” said Rahul Gandhi.
“Congress Government at the Centre has initiated a process of granting rights to the people. We gave you the right to job, right to information and right to food”, said Rahul Gandhi. “The Right to Information empowered the people. Now they can get any information about the government functions. The decisions which were taking behind closed doors have now come out open and people can have access to it now” said the Congress Vice President.
“The Food Security Bill guarantees rights to food for the poor in the country. But the opposition questioned this policy too by asking from where we will have funds for it. But we showed them that we can arrange resources for it” said Rahul Gandhi slamming the BJP’s efforts to block the pro-poor measures of the UPA Government.
“Only Congress understands the pain of the people. They need jobs, they need adequate health facilities. Most of the earning they make, the poor are forced to spend it on treatment. We realise it and we framed policies to solve these issues being faced by them” added the Congress leader.
The assembly elections in Delhi will be held on December 4th and the counting will be done on Dec 8.
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Uncategorized
Vice President Inaugurates Festival of India in Lima, Peru
27102013
Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari inaugurated the “Festival of India-2013” in Lima, the capital of Peru today. The First Vice President of Peru Mrs. Marisol Espinoza and other important dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Festival is being conducted in the Latin American Countries of Peru and Cuba from October 25 to 31, 2013, to disseminate Indian culture in Latin America.In Peru, the festival comprises of a Film festival, Dance festival and a literary festival. With these the people of Peru will be exposed to the diversity of Indian culture and closely integrate with its various components.
At the inaugural function, “Nrityarupa”, the mosaic of six Indian dances – Bharatnatyam; Kathak; Odissi; Manipuri; Kathkali; and Chhau, encapsulated the experience of Indian dance as it has evolved in various parts of the India.
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Business, Media, Politics, Trade, Uncategorized, world News
Quake of M7.3 – OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU
27102013Quake of M7.3 – OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU
Quake of M7.3 – OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
| Magnitude | 7.3 |
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 37.194N 144.663E |
| Depth | 10 km |
| Distances |
|
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Education, Environment, Uncategorized
Modi address BJP’s ‘Hunkar rally’
27102013
Modi’s began Hunkar rally in Patna with cheers and slogan shouting greets his narration diction in Bhojpuri. He added Maithili, the dialect spoken in North eastern Bihar. Modi thanked people present in large number also praised Bihar BJP leaders for their efforts in making Hunkar Rally a success.
Serial blast in Gandhi Maiden did not dither the BJP to call off ‘Hunkar rally’, as per schedule began the proceedings of the rally with well attended leaders.
Rajnath Singh the President of BJP spoke after the state leaders with thundering applause began lauding the people of Bihar, cursing the UPA government thanking the people to be present in large number to make it historical moment before change.
Modi said “When democracy was threatened in India, then Bihar always stood first with marked presence in all era’s and presently Gandhi in Champaran, later Jayaprakash Narayan in post independence changed the course of the nation in right direction.”
Taking a Jibe onto Vice President of Congress, Modi said he will stop calling Rahul the Shahzada if Congress stops it dynastic agenda.
Modi accused Nitish of cheating the BJP and the people of Bihar and called him an opportunistic leader, Nitish’s PM ambitions led him to break the 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and work hand in glove with the Congress. He further said, One who can ditched JP can do the same with BJP.
BJP’s ‘Hunkar rally’ too brought national debate on security because five killed and eighty six have been injured in eight low intensity blasts in Patna on Sunday, first blast at railway station in Patna, seven blast occur at Narendra Modi’s address to a rally in the Bihar capital.
Seven low intensity blasts occurred on the outer periphery of the Gandhi Maidan, police said.People were seen rushing the injured to the hospital as the explosions sparked panic.
Six persons were injured in a blast before the Eliphistine cinema hall on the western side of the rally venue, police sources said.
Hours before that, a bomb exploded in a newly constructed toilet at the Patna railway station, two kilometers from the BJP’s ‘Hunkar rally’ venue, injuring one person.
Immediately after the explosion, bomb disposal swept the area and discovered two more crude bombs, Railway Superintendent of Police Upendra Kumar Sinha said.
One security personnel was injured while defusing a bomb recovered from the toilet, he said. At the rally, plumes of smoke billowed from a couple of sites even as BJP leaders, including its Prime Ministerial candidate Modi, addressed the crowd.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm.
He spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and asked him to speedily probe the blasts and ensure that perpetrators are punished.
The Home Ministry has sought a report from the Bihar government on the explosions and is sending teams of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) to the state.
NIA and NSG teams have been rushed to the blats sites in Patna, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Sunday.
“There were five blasts in and around Gandhi Maidan in Patna where five people were killed and 72 people were injured. I am in contact with the Bihar government,” Shinde told reporters in Mumbai.
Shinde also informed that the NIA team stationed at Bodh Gaya in Bihar in connection with the July bombings was also being rushed to the site of explosions in Patna.
When asked if it was a terror strike, the Home Minister evaded a direct reply, saying he was giving whatever information he had with him.
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : culture, Education, Politics, Uncategorized
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS
27102013
National Office : 6/6 Jangpura B, New Delhi – 110 014 . Phone : 011 2437 4535 | 9818905316
E-mail: napmindia@gmail.com | Web : www.napm-india.org
हिन्दी निमंत्रण नीचे दिया गया है।
AN INVITATION
Two Day Meeting on
New Land Acquisition Act, People’s Movements and its Political Implications
November 19-20, 2013. Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi
New Delhi, October 26, 2013
Dear Friends,
JIndabad
After years of struggles by the people’s movements in the country, the colonial Land Acquisition Act, 1894 has been repealed and a new law titled, Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, been enacted.
General Elections and Assembly Elections in many of the states are due in coming months. Political parties, those in power and in opposition have all started working on plans, schemes and legislations targetting electorates and addressing their constituencies. UPA government has passed on some of the key legislations with political benefits in mind in the coming elections, including the new land act along with the National Food Security Act. However, the broader questions of people’s participation in development process, development with dignity, equity and justice and strengthening of communities rights over natural resources remain unaddressed.
National Alliance of People’s Movements have been engaged in the process of developing an alternative to the whole framework of land acquisition by State in the name of public purpose using the power of eminent domain since late 80s. The question of protecting land rights, livelihoods of nature based communities, making displacement a coterminous agenda with development to be addressed by the government and a whole new framework of development planning, was put in public domain by NAPM.
In early 90s a draft Bill was submitted to the Government of India, later in 2006 a different version was accepted by National Advisory Council and since then many presentations to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, Ministry of Rural Development, other concerned Ministries and political parties have been made. The act now passed by the Parliament draws from our efforts starting with the very fact that there is a comprehensive Act, as opposed to two separate legislations, one for land acquisition and another for resettlement and rehabilitation. In addition, the inclusion for provisions of Social Impact Assessment, an expanded definition of project affected families, R&R benefits to the landless and groups other than land owners and role for Gram / Basti Sabha at different stages, consent of project affected and so on.
However, the new Act has many problems as pointed by NAPM and will not put an end to forcible land acquisitions and conflicts around that. It will neither end the miseries of displacement and nor empower communities rights and our struggle for democratic development and against corporate loot will continue. Even then, it is imperative that many of us who have been part of the struggles engage with the new legislation, strategise and make it a tool along with other laws to challenge the corporate loot of precious natural resources.
Land acquisition is going to increase given the large number of thermal power plants, dams, nuclear power plants, special investment regions, industrial corridors, manufacturing zones, highways, ports, airports, real estate projects and other infrastructure projects planned by the governments threatening the livelihood of millions and this new Act is to facilitate that.
There is a purposeful propaganda spread by the corporations and corporate media that the new Act is detrimental to industrialization, what we believe is that this is going to create a havoc in the country and cause sever land conflicts and will only facilitate the land acquisition. Hence, it is important to understand the new Act, to engage with it and see it as a tool for struggle.
The rules for the new Act have been put up for comments from public by the Ministry of Rural Development. As in past, we should read it, engage with it and give our reactions to it, in whatever form we deem fit.
It is in this context that we invite you to a two day consultation to discuss and debate the provisions of the new Act, proposed draft rules for the Act and people’s movements strategy in the upcoming Elections.
The meeting will be held on November 19-20, 2013 from 9:30 to 6:00 PM, at Gandhi Peace Foundation, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi.
Tentative agenda :
- Session One : Understanding the New Act
- Session Two : Discussion on Implications of the Provisions of the Act for Communities
- Session Three : Responses to the Act and Draft Rules
- Session Four : Upcoming Assembly and General Elections
We do hope you will be able to join us for this important meeting and together develop a common strategy to fight the corporate design for land and resource grab and develop a counter narrative to the dominant development and growth propaganda.
We look forward to be with you and do let us know, if you need more information.
Warm Regards,
Medha Patkar, Prafulla Samantara & Lingraj Azad (Orissa), Arundhati Dhuru (Uttar Pradesh), Dr. Sunilam, Aradhana Bhargava & Meera (Madhya Pradesh), C R Neelakandan (Kerala), D. Gabriele (Tamilnadu), Gautam Bandopadhyay (Chattisgarh), Sister Celia (Karnataka), Mahendra Yadav & Kamayani Swami (Bihar), Anand Mazgaonkar & Krishnakant (Gujarat), Ramakrishna Raju, PS Ajay and Saraswati Kavula (Andhra pradesh), Suniti. S. R., Vilas Bhongade, Suhas Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe (Maharashtra), Bhupender Singh Rawat, Rajendra Ravi, Madhuresh Kumar and Seela M (Delhi), Vimal Bhai (Uttarakhand)
Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : CSR, culture, Education, Uncategorized
EC’s guidelines on use of social media
27102013
EC guidelines on use of social media
| |
| |
All content posted by political parties and election candidates on internet and social media websites like Facebook and twitter.com will now come under the scanner of the Election Commission after it today issued detailed instructions in this regard.
| |
EC has directed all political parties and candidates to get their advertisements pre-certified by it before issuing them on social media websites.It also asked the parties and candidates contesting the upcoming Assembly polls to provide details of their internet/ social media accounts along with a statement of expenditure incurred for creating them.
However, as to content posted by persons or entities other than candidates and political parties, EC said it was considering the matter in consultation with the government to find a practical way out.
Issuing detailed instructions in the matter ahead of Assembly polls in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh, EC averred that the said steps were being taken in the interests of transparency and would provide a level-playing field.
“The provisions of the model code of conduct and related instructions issued from time to time shall also apply to the content being posted on the internet, including social media websites, by candidates and political parties,” an EC order said today.
In a direction to the Chief Electoral Officers of all states and various political parties in the country, EC said, “No political advertisements are to be released on any internet-based media/websites, including social media websites, by political parties/candidates without pre- certification from competent authorities in the same format.”
EC said that since social media websites came under electronic media, by definition, therefore, instructions for the latter would also apply “mutatis mutandis to websites including social media websites and shall fall under the purview of pre-certification”.
“As far as the content posted by persons other than candidates and political parties is concerned, (we are) considering the matter in consultation with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on practical ways to deal with the issue,” the poll body said.
EC also directed candidates and parties that they would have to include all expenses incurred during campaigning, including spending on advertisements on social media, in the statement of expenditure.
That would include payments to internet companies and websites for carrying advertisements and also campaign-related operational expenditure on creative development of content, operational expenditure on salaries and wages paid to the team of workers employed to maintain such social media accounts.
EC said candidates were required to file affidavits in Form-26 at the time of filing of nominations, providing details of their email IDs and authentic social media accounts.
The poll watchdog said that the prevalence of web and social media had increased over the years and there have been demands from political and social groups to regulate social media during elections the way every other media format is.
EC regulations would henceforth apply to all kinds of social media like collaborative projects (Wikipedia, etc.), blogs and micro blogs (like twitter.com), content communities (like YouTube), social networking sites (like Facebook) and virtual game-worlds (like Apps).
| |
