GENRE: Voices

Many of us have multiple health insurance policies such as a retail policy, a corporate plan and a family floater plan. And yet, we almost never consider claiming health benefits using them together for a treatment. The reason is that most people don’t know how to leverage multiple policies for a maximised claim. Yet, multiple policies can help you recover the maximum amount of treatment cost at times. But an important point to note here is that you can never claim an amount more than the treatment expenses. To benefit from multiple policies when filing a medical insurance claim, here…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழகத்தில் தற்போது பெண்கள் மேம்பாட்டை குறிக்கும் நிறம் பிங்க் என்று தான் சொல்ல வேண்டும். சென்னையின் பல்வேறு பகுதியில் பிங்க் நிற காவல் ரோந்து வாகனங்களை பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள். கடந்த ஜூன் மாதம், பெண்கள் மற்றும் குழந்தைகளுக்கு எதிராக அரங்கேறும் குற்றங்களை தடுக்கும் முயற்சியாக தமிழக அரசால், அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்கள் அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்பட்டன.  பெண்கள் காவல் நிலையங்கள், குழந்தை கடத்தல் தடுப்பு பிரிவுகள், சிறார் போலீஸ் பிரிவுகள் போன்ற அனைத்து பிரிவுகளையும் இந்த CWC (Crime against Women and Children) ஒருங்கிணைக்கிறது. இந்த அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்களின் பணி என்ன? இந்த வாகனங்களில் அதி நவீன தொழில்நுட்பம் கொண்ட கேமரா மற்றும் ஜிபிஎஸ் வசதி பொருத்துப்பட்டுள்ளது. இக்கட்டான சூழலில் உள்ள பெண்கள் -1091 என்ற எண்ணையும், குழந்தைகள் 1098 என்ற எண்ணையும் அழைக்கலாம், இந்த தகவலை காவல் கட்டுப்பாட்டு மையம் அருகில் உள்ள அம்மா ரோந்து…

Is junk food as hazardous as tobacco? The country’s regulator FSSAI seems to think so. In a draft regulation published by FSSAI dated October 30 2019, FSSAI has proposed that no person shall offer or expose for sale of pre-packaged foods which are referred to as foods high in fat, salt and sugar within 50m of a school campus, in addition to ensuring that the food served within the school campus be healthy. While this may be a timely move, when India has been ranked 2nd on child obesity, second only to China, the key lies in the implementation and…

63-year-old Kamalamma (name changed) was peacefully walking with her husband at 5.30 am in a quiet locality in Bengaluru. Little did she know that fate had a terrible plan for her. Two youngsters on a bike sped past them, close enough to brush against her. Her life changed forever! She fell down, hit her head against the curb, and has been bed-ridden for the last 10 years. My dear friend lost her 17-year-old son in a road accident, when he and a friend set off on a bike to wish their friends on a new-year eve. Both of them had…

For those of us who have lived in London, there is one thing we'd absolutely agree - it won't take you more than a couple of days to understand the public transport system. The flow of information is seamless, and there's no blindspot that leaves you in a lurch on either a crowded Regent Street or a quieter lane in Wimbeldon. Visible signboards about how to go forward - whether you use tubes or buses - are all around. Bus stands are never more than 400 yards from a tube station. The public transport service in London is also consistently…

Pink is the colour of women empowerment in Tamil Nadu these days. Most Chennaiites are, by now, familiar witnesses to the pink patrol vehicles of police in different parts of the city. The Amma Patrol is part of the Tamil Nadu government’s initiative that saw the formation of the Crime against Women and Children (CWC) wing in June 2019. The wing brings all departments dealing with incidents against women and children -- women police stations, anti-child trafficking units, juvenile police units — under a single platform. But what does the Amma Patrol do, exactly?  The patrol vehicles, the latest addition…

A few days ago, Tejasvi Surya, MP for Bangalore South, created news when he worked with various stakeholders - BBMP, BWSSB, BMRCL etc - to help clear the mess that was Bannerghatta Road. He coordinated a joint meeting with these departments and relatively eased life for thousands of commuters who use this road. A lot of people were impressed that an MP got down into the grit of solving the basic infrastructure problems that plague our city. But that's just the point here. Dealing with a bad road isn't his job as an MP! Just so we are clear, this…

The convenience that app-cabs provide to citizens has brought with it the unfortunate reality of harassment and molestation cases involving cab drivers. With newspapers publishing such cases every day from all over the country, there have been many suggestions, apps, safety instructions for operators, commuters, etc. but at the end of the day, there is only so much that apps can do. The rising number of such cases tends to lead one to believe that cab rides may be unsafe. One should keep in mind that not all drivers are bad. They have been trained by the operators and verified…

A major railway station, a Metro station and a national highway (Peenya Road) are all located close to each other in the Yeshwanthpur suburbs. But these transport modes are not well-integrated, causing major hassles in using public transport here. 2.3 km from old railway station to Metro The map below shows the distance from the old entrance of the railway station (marked YPR (OLD)), where Platform 1 is located, to the Metro station. This roundabout stretch is about 2.3 km long. The distance from the new entrance (YPR (NEW)), where Platform 8 is located, to the Metro station is shorter.…

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made FASTag mandatory for all vehicles that currently pay toll, starting December 1, 2019. The nation-wide introduction of FASTag is part of the National Electronic Toll Collection Programme which aims to achieve cashless toll collection, fast movement of vehicles across toll plazas and reduction in congestion. The rollout of FASTags will be limited to National Highways  and select state highways in the initial stage with all state highways expected to follow suit by March 2020. What is FASTag and how will it work? FASTag is a rechargeable prepaid vehicle tag that is…