---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 2:14 AM
Subject: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 2:14 AM
Subject: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
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| July 20th, 2010 | 5th Pillar Homepage Donate Now! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hong Kong's Fight Against Corruption The Independent Commission against Corruption was established in 1974 when Hong Kong was still under British rule. It's main aim was to clean up endemic corruption in the various departments in the Hong Kong Government. When it was first established, there were several conflicts between ICAC officers and angry policemen who stormed their offices. This ended only with the announcement of a partial amnesty for minor corruptions committed before 1977. Gradually, the ICAC gained momentum and power and several high profile police officers were tried and convicted while others were forced to retire. In 1978, 119 officers including one customs official were asked to leave, 24 were held on conspiracy charges, 36 officers and a customs official were given amnesties. In the years since the establishment of the ICAC, Hong Kong has been transformed into one of the least corrupt places in the world, as recognized by international institutions such as the World Bank, the Her itage Foundation, and Transparency International. In the 1970's eight out of ten graft complaints were against public officers. This trend has significantly changed over the years, with complaints against police officers reducing by 70% from 1443 in 1974 to 446 in 2007. Private sector cases have been on the rise in recent years, and the ICAC has stepped up efforts to minimize corruption risks through systems controls and staff training. In 2008, many countries have looked up to the ICAC as an effective model of combating corruption through detection, prevention and education. More information about them can be found at: http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/ | Upcoming Events Calendar . RTI Training at Chennai Office. 24.07.2010 and 1.08.2010 at 4 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 9445164555 or 044 6527 3056 or email info@5thpillar.org. . RTI Training at Coimbatore Office. 25.07.2010 and 2.08.2010 at 4:30 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 9445164555 or 044 6527 3056 or email info@5thpillar.org. Please note current address: 15 Sreji Apartment, East Periyasamy Road, Road, R.S. Puram, CBE-2. Near Brindavan Lodge and Priya Kunj Hall. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recent Activities 21.05.2010 to 27.06.2010: 5th Pillar, Coimbatore Chapter, instituted a stall at the Coimbatore exhibition. An estimated 50,000 to 75,000 people visited the exhibition, and an estimated 8,000-9,000 people had a one-on-one discussion with 5th Pillar volunteers. 540 people signed up to attend weekly meetings, and 215 signed up for memberships. 24 volunteers came forward to man the stall during the 38 days of the exhibition. 11.06.2010: Hand in Hand, TOT training in Kancheepuram. 19.06.2010: RTI Training by 5th Pillar at Vilagam Village in Kancheepuram district. 19.06.2010: Mr. Vijay Anand was invited to speak on corruption and strategies adopted by 5th Pillar to tackle corruption at the Redmond Regional Library in Redmond, WA, USA. 20-21.06.2010: 5th Pillar desk at the wedding reception of Vice President of Bank of America at Coimbatore. 26.06.2010: 5th Pillar was featured in Jaya TV for the program titled "Kaikodupom," which is a 30-minute TV program about social service organizations, NGOs, and Public Awareness offices. The program was telecast on 26th June from 11:00-11:30 AM. 28.06.2010 to 02.07.2010: Mr. Vijay Anand was invited to speak at The Fifth Summer University for Democracy, "The Crisis of Leadership," at Strasbourg, France. He spoke about corruption in India and the Zero Rupee Note. 02.07.2010: 5th Pillar information desk at the wedding ceremony of Kalai Selvan (C-DAC) and Renuga. 04.07.2010: Freedom From Corruption Campaign and RTI Training at Sirkali in Nagapattinam district. 09.07.2010 to 18.07.2010: 5th Pillar stall at Neyveli Book Fair. | World Bank Research on Bribes According to research by the World Bank Institute, over one trillion dollars is paid in bribes worldwide each year. According to Daniel Kaufmann, the Institute's director for governance, this doesn't include embezzlement of public funds. The research further shows that countries that tackle corruption and improve their rule of law can increase their national income by as much as four times in the long term, and the child mortality can fall as much as 75 percent, thus working as a major boost to a developing country. The following graph shows the percentage of companies that believe they have lost business due to a competitor's bribe: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th Pillar Address at the AID Foundation Mr. Vijay Anand was invited by the AID (Association for India's Development) Foundation of Portland to address a public gathering at the Intel JF Campus on 18th June, 2010. The topic of Mr. Anand's speech was "Freedom from corruption and RTI Act." His descriptive speech on all aspects of the organization and the adoption of the RTI Act to facilitate quick services was appreciated and encouraged by the software elites. They were very eager to learn more about the details of various scenarios to better understand the extent of corruption prevailing in our country. Some of them had interesting stories to share of the problems encountered by their relatives in India and were eager to know if they could be tackled. It was a very interesting group discussion, paving the way to new ideas and implementation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Window on Government: Applying for a Passport If applying for a fresh passport, a reissue, or a replacement due to a lost or damaged passport, change of name/appearance/exhaustion of pages, then Form No. 1 must be filled out and submitted. If the original passport was issued for a short validity of one to five years - under certain emergency conditions on the part of the applicant - and is now required to be extended to its full validity of ten years, then Form No. 2 must be filled out for a renewal. NOTE: Renewal is a zero fee service. The PP Form is used for Police Verification Report. This is a part of Application Form No. 1. This can be filled up separately if required by the Passport Office for re-verification. In case an applicant has resided at more than one place in last one year, an additional set of PP form for each address/ place has to be filled in. Instructions for filling up the form can be found here: http://passport.gov.i n/cpv/column_guidelines.htm The fee structure is as follows: . Fresh Passport (36 pages) of 10 years validity (including minors between 15 to 18 years of age, who wish to get a 10-year full validity passport): Rs 1,000/- . Fresh Passport (60 pages) of 10 years validity: Rs. 1,500/- . Fresh Passport for Minors (below 18 years of Age) of 5 years validity or till the minor attains the age of 18 which ever is earlier: Rs 600/- . Duplicate Passport (36 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport: Rs. 2500/- . Duplicate Passport (60 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport: Rs. 3000/- . Police Clearance Certificate/ ECNR/Additional Endorsements Rs.300/- 7. In case of Change of Address, Name, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Appearance, Spouse Name, Name of Parents/Legal Guardian : Rs.1000/- [Fresh passport booklet will be issued] You may submit the duly filled in Passport Application Form in the concerned Passport Office or in the District Passport Centers (DPCs) or in the Speed Post Centers. Note: In case of demand of bribe by any passport official in respect of any passport-related service, you may immediately contact the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Ministry at the address mentioned below. Please mention your e-mail address, contact telephone, and File Reference number (if available) in your communication. Joint Secretary (CNV) & CVO, Ministry of External Affairs, Room No. 163, South Block, New Delhi- 110011 In case the grievance is still not addressed, a complaint may be addressed to: Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission, Satarkata Bhavan, G.P.O. Complex, Block-A I.N.A., New Delhi-110023. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher and Editor in Chief: Vijay Anand Managing Editor: Anita Roychowdhury Contributing Authors: Anitha Ramalingam, Puneet Anand, Srimathi Sridhar, A. Subramani, and Shobila Kali Copyright © 2010 by 5th Pillar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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