"Revised Family Pension already paid few bank, Revised Pension near about double see details

FAMILY PENSION REFITMENT:

A report from an e-mail is reproduced below:

"Revised Family Pension paid in BOB today. Pension amount is Rs.21,738/-. Last month Pension was Rs.11,238/-

(Pensioner had retired in June 2001 as a Senior Manager in Vijaya Bank. Passed away in 2016)."

The calculation cross-checked as per the above data by me and found the revised Family Pension Fitment by the Bank is perfect. We may compare his regular pension, present family pension and the revised family pension as a SAMPLE CASE:

 

In side wife anger anger some historical invention of the future is hidden

*The wife got out of the house in anger and a revolutionary invention was made 😗

*The incident happened in 2004. Currently, Google company CEO Sundar Pichai was struggling to make a career in America at that time. Once one of his acquaintances invited him to his house for dinner. Since Sundar had to go with his wife, he made a plan with his wife. Sundar said that if he has to go to the office in the morning, then after office, he will go straight to the invited house for dinner. He asked his wife to reach there directly from home. Meaning that the wife had to go straight for dinner from home and Sundar Pichai had to reach for dinner straight from the office.*

*The dinner program was at 8 o'clock in the night. Sundar Pichai's wife Anjali reached the host's house for dinner at exactly eight o'clock in the evening in her car. Sundar Pichai also left the office, but he lost his way midway. By the time they reached there, it was almost 10 o'clock. When Pichai reached there, his wife had left after having dinner from there. Now Pichai sahib's condition got worse. Americans being punctual, all the dinner ritual got completed. However the host gave a warm welcome to Pichai's arrival and bade good bye*

*Sundar Pichai went to his house without eating anything from there. As soon as he reached home, his wife annoyed Anjali started her quarrel with him, as he did not reach on time and his wife felt insulted. Seeing Anjali's bad mood, Sundar Pichai thought it appropriate to return to the office again (at the same time at night). Some people say that the wife did not allow him to enter the house in anger*

*Well whatever it is, now Sundar has reached back to the office and he spent the whole night there. He kept thinking the same thing all night - if I lost my way, then many people would have lost their way every day. Something would have happened that how good it would have been to not get lost in any way. Thinking the whole night, he thought that if the map was in his pocket and the direction was correct, he would not have lost his way.*

*The next morning Sundar Pichai called his entire team and put the idea of ​​making a map in front of everyone. The team raised its hands on hearing this idea. The team did not believe in his idea, but held meetings with the team continuously for almost two days and convinced them to design a product that would show people the way.*

*Sundar Pichai and his team worked hard and made Google Map in 2005 and launched it in America. The very next year it was launched in England in 2006 and in India in 2008. And now you already know that the maps made by them are doing the work of showing the right path to the whole world. According to one figure, every seventh person in the whole world uses Google Maps.*

*Isn't it loud! So sometimes its okay that wife can get angry with you. So don't worry. Who knows that in that anger some historical invention of the future is hidden.*

*(news media)* .

Bank ownership in hands of corporates not desirable: ex-SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar

Allowing corporates to own banks in the country is not desirable due to the likely risks of related party transactions, former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar said. Kumar headed the country's largest lender for three years (October 2017 to October 2020).

"To me, in a country like India, allowing corporate houses to own banks is fraught with great risks. I believe that the licence of bank or bank ownership in the hands of corporates is not a desirable thing to do.

"We should have rightly-owned and professionally managed banks," he said at a webinar organised by the Centre for Financial Studies (CFS) of Bhavan's SPJIMR.

He was discussing his recently released memoir 'The Custodian of Trust'.

Last year, an Internal Working Group (IWG) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had recommended allowing large corporates/industrial houses as promoters of banks.

It, however, said large corporates should be allowed to own banks only after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulations Act, 1949 to prevent connected lending and exposures between the banks and other financial and non-financial group entities.

Kumar said even at a time even when corporates are not owning banks, there have been many instances of connected or related party transactions and over-exposures.

Asked whether industry houses which own NBFCs should be allowed to become full-fledged banks, he said one reason in favour of these entities is that they are well governed, but the issues around related party transactions still remain.

Speaking on the issue of 'telephone banking', Kumar said he had never faced a situation where a senior minister had called him for any loan approval.

"In three years (as SBI chairman), I did not face a situation where finance minister would call and ask me to do something that I had to say no to," Kumar said.

On the power sector, Kumar said the country brought public-private partnerships into the transmission segment, but the distribution sector, by and large, is still state-run.

He said there are huge issues around ATC (aggregate technical and commercial) losses, and the power industry ends up paying more due to power theft and subsidisation.

"We are in such a complex situation that we are unable to unravel this puzzle. There is a big mess around the pricing of the power and unless we are able to fix them, which is not easy, the power sector will never become healthy," he noted.

Shaktikanta Das to continue as RBI governor for another three years. Centre clears extension

The Centre has extended RBI governor Shaktikanta Das’ term for another three years. He will now serve till 2024. Das had replaced Urjit Patel on December 12, 2018, as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the reappointment beyond 10.12.2021 for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Das, a 1980 batch IAS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, was the economic affairs secretary till May 2017. He took over from Patel after he stepped down abruptly before the end of his tenure.

The pragmatic bureaucrat who has been witness to many a crisis in his career put the core objective of the central bank on the backburner and steered the economy with policy innovations like long-term funding for banks. Under his watch, RBI brought down interest rates to record lows and took a decisive turn from a deficit liquidity stance to a surplus one to ensure that its rate actions were reflected in the markets and that borrowers benefited.

Das, breaking conventional barriers, unleashed liquidity for every segment that needed it — small and medium enterprises or mutual funds.Much of this was possible mainly due to his ability to navigate the bureaucracy that he was once a part of and the political system that he had familiarised himself with over the past four decades.

DA INCREASE FOR BANKER'S 37 SLAB FROM NOV 2021 TOTAL DA FOR BANKER IS 30.38%

 DA INCREASE  
SUB STAFF  MIN  450 AND MAX 1150
CLERICAL   MIN   550 AND MAX 2150
OFFICERS    MIN  1100 AND MAX 4000

Banker' s DA may be 37 slab details will upload after hour

CPI  point up by 123.3 for Sept 2021...Hence DA rise from Nov salary may be 37 slabs...( total 434 slabs)...

How can you get a loan under the PMEGP scheme? Details about PMEGP

What is the PMEGP Scheme?

Launched in 2008, the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme is a Government of India (GOI) initiative to provide monetary assistance to micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) and generate employment. It is an amalgamation of two earlier running schemes of the GOI, namely the Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). Both these schemes had goals similar to that of the PMEGP scheme.

As per the scheme, the business owner needs to bear 5% to 10% of the total cost while the GOI provides a subsidy of 15% to 35% of the project after taking several factors into account. Moreover, the rest of the amount is provided by the financial institution in the form of a term loan. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is responsible for the management of the PMEGP scheme.

How can you get a loan under the PMEGP scheme?

In order to avail of the benefits of the scheme, the businesses need to fill in the application for the same. In the application, one needs to provide the details of business establishment, details of the project, and other necessary documents. Your application must fall under the jurisdiction of any of the four objectives of the PMEGP project. These are:

• Creating employability by establishing MSME projects in rural or urban spaces
• To support and promote ethnic craftsmanship or artisans and to create self-employment opportunities for youth.
• Enhance employment opportunities in the rural areas to prevent migration to cities and minimise seasonal unemployment
• Increase the per capita income of the individuals in both urban and rural areas

Documents Required to apply for a PMEGP Loan

Here is the list of documents that you will be asked to submit along with the application form.

1. Aadhar card
2. PAN card
3. Project report
4. Caste/Special category (if needed)
5. Rural Area certificate
6. Letter from the authority
7. Educational certificate and others

Eligibility criteria for getting a loan under the PMEGP Scheme

For your application to undergo the PMEGP loan process, you must fulfil the eligibility conditions of the funding. These are:

• You must be an adult i.e. you should be of 18 years at least.
• The minimum educational qualification for the applying PMEGP loan is class 8th pass i.e. must have completed the primary education to get a loan of Rs. 5 lakh or more to set up a service unit and Rs. 10 lakh or more to set up a manufacturing unit.
• Below poverty line beneficiaries who haven’t got the benefit of any other scheme
• Self-Help Groups
• Charitable Trusts & Production Co-operative Societies
• Loan under the PMEGP scheme will be provided for new ventures only

PMEGP Loan Details

In this section, we will discuss details of the loan process like allocation of funds, interest rate, tenure, and so on.

1. Loan Allocation: Once the loan is approved, the financial institution will fund up to 95% of the project. The remaining amount must be paid by the candidates. Out of 95% of the funding of the financial institutions, KVIC will provide up to 15% to 35% of the amount as a subsidy.
2. Rate of Interest: The interest rates on the term loan will be applicable as per the rates of interest of the MSME sector.
3. Loan Tenure: The repayment tenure of the PMEGP loan can go up to 3 years.
4. Businesses under the PMEGP Scheme:
   • Agriculture & Food Processing
   • Forest-Based Products
   • Hand Made Paper and Fibre
   • Mineral Products
   • Polymer and Chemical Products
   • Rural Engineering and Bio-Tech
   • Service and Textile

You can also check further in-depth details regarding the PMEGP loan on the KVIC website.

Why choose FlexiLoans for the PMEGP scheme?

FlexiLoan is a fintech company that provides a line of credit to businesses so that they can sustain, grow and expand their horizons. We use an alternate method of credit assessment to provide loans even to borrowers with marginally weak credit history. FlexiLoans cater to all your business needs irrespective of the size or location of the business. You can reach out to us for any kind of financial assistance. We use artificial intelligence for faster processing of the loans and transfer the amount instantaneously after the document verification.

Benefits of availing of the PMEGP loans from FlexiLoans

• Minimum documentation: Enables faster and hassle-free processing of the loan amount
• Need-based funds: Easily available along with a range of flexible options utilize the loan amount
• Easy repayment terms: We use cutting-edge technologies to inculcate automated repayments to ease out your burden.
• Unlimited number of withdrawals: Use funds as you want, and don’t worry about the amount or number of withdrawals.
• Low rate of interests: Competitive business loan rate of interest compared to any other lender or financial institutions providing a line of credit to the businesses
• Tax benefits: Since the interest amount is deducted from the gross income, enterprises can also claim tax deductions

Apply for Business Loan

Eligibility Criteria of FlexiLoans

There are 3 basic criteria that one needs to fulfill to avail of the business loans online from FlexiLoans. These are:

1. Age Criteria: Minimum 21 years of age
2. Business Life: Your business must be a year old
3. Monthly Turnover: The business should have a monthly turnover of 2 lakhs

Conclusion

In your vision of business expansion, the PMEGP scheme list can act as a big boost, especially if you are starting a new business. The subsidy from the government can drastically reduce the burden of paying EMIs. The PMEGP loans also eliminate the need for collateral that comes in handy for new businesses. You can reach out to us to be a financial partner in the scheme at any time. We are just a click away from your reach!

Frequently asked questions on PMEGP scheme

Q. What is maximum project cost allowed under PMEGP?

A.  Rs.25.00 lakhs for manufacturing unit and Rs.10.00 lakhs for Service Unit

Q. Whether cost of land includes in the project cost?

A. No.

Q. How much Margin Money (Govt. Subsidy) admissible?

Categories of beneficiaries under PMEGP Rate of  (Margin Money) Subsidy (of project cost) Area (location of project/unit) Urban Rural General Category 15% 25% Special (including SC / ST / OBC /Minorities/Women, Ex-servicemen, Physically handicapped, NER, Hill and Border areas etc. 25% 35%

Q. What is the component of project cost?

A.  Capital Expenditure Loan, one cycle of working capital and 10% of project cost as own contribution in case of General category and 5% of project cost in case of weaker section.

Q. Who are the beneficiaries?

A.  Individual Entrepreneurs, Institutions, Co-operative Societies, Self Help Groups, Trusts

Q. Which are the financial agencies?

A. 27 Public Sector Banks ,Regional Rural Banks(RRB), Co-operative Banks and Private Scheduled Commercial Banks approved by respective State Task Force Committee.  

Q. How the capital expenditure loan / Cash Credit Limit be utilized ?

A.  Working Capital at least once should touch 100% limit of Cash Credit within three years of Lock-in period of M.M. and not less than 75% of the utilization of the sanction limit on an average.

Q. Where the beneficiary has to submit his/her application/ Project?

A- Beneficiary can submit his/her application/Project online on kvic website www.kvic.org.in / kviconline.gov.in/pmegpeportal. List of office addresses of KVIC/KVIB/DIC are available at our website.

Q. What is Village Industry ?

A.  Any Village Industry (except those mentioned in the negative list) located in the Rural Area which produces any goods or renders any service with or without the use of power and in which the fixed capital investment for head of a full time artisans or worker does not exceed Rs.1.00 lakh in plain area and Rs.1.50 lakhs in hilly areas and for A & N Island and Laxdeep Rs.4.5 Lakhs.

Q. What is rural area ?

A.  Any area classified as Village as per the revenue record of the State, irrespective of the population. It also includes an area even if classified as town provided its population does not exceed 20000  

Q. What is Age limit ?

A. Any adult beneficiary above 18 years is eligible for financing under PMEGP.

Q. What are the main criteria of project?

A. It should fulfill the criteria of rural area (for Rural Area project), per capita investment, own contribution, negative list and the unit should be new one

Q. Whether EDP training is compulsory?

A.  Before MM Claim through PMEGP eportal ,EDP training of 10 working days for Project cost More than 5.00 lakhs and 6 Working days training for upto Project Cost 5.00 lakhs to the beneficiary is compulsory

Q. Whether collateral security is mandatory?

A.  As per RBI guidelines the project costing upto Rs.10.00 lakhs under PMEGP loans are free from collateral security. The CGTSME provided collateral guarantee for the project beyond Rs.5.00 lakhs and upto Rs.25.00 lakhs under PMEGP scheme.

Q. What is the helpline for the beneficiary in preparation of the project ?

A. 30 model projects uploaded on kvic.org.in website

Q. Whether an entrepreneur can submit more then one project ?

A- No

Q. What is the definition of family ?

A- Husband and spouse.

Q. Whether Unit can be set up in urban Area.

A- Yes through DIC only.

Q. Whether existing unit can avail funds under PMEGP ?

A - No, only new unit .

Q. Whether model projects are available with KVIC.

A - yes, Industry wise model projects are available at kvic.org.in

Q: where training centers are available to undertake EDP?

A - List of EDP training centers including 582 training center of RSETI/RUDSETIS are available at our websitekvic.org.in

Q. What is lock in period for Govt. Subsidy?

A- 3 years.

Q:- Can project be financed jointly from two different sources (Bank/Financial Institutions)?

A - No, it is not eligible.

Q:- How much own contribution to be deposited?

Categories of beneficiaries under PMEGP	Beneficiary’s contribution (of project cost)
General Category	10%
Special (including SC / ST / OBC /Minorities/Women, Ex-servicemen, Physically handicapped, NER, Hill and Border areas etc.	05%

INDIA AGAINST PRIVATISATION BANK -BANCHAU DESH BANCHAU

 

Public sector banks – the promise of a new dawn

 

Government move to revive them can boost India’s economic aspirations

After a lot of deliberation, India finally bit the bullet of consolidating public sector banks (PSBs). The expected advantages in terms of reduced cost through improved efficiency and better quality of service, risk diversification, and larger balance sheet enabling ability to write larger cheques and unconstrained by single borrower and single group exposure limits are obvious.

In line with the growing requirements of the Indian economy and its aspirations, there is requirement of banks whose balance sheets are capable of underwriting large projects. As of now, State Bank of India (SBI) is the only bank which is among the top 100. To put this in to context, SBI’s balance sheet size was around $600 billion (in FY21), compared to $5 trillion for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

In-house expertise

A large bank is likely to have strong in-house expertise and experience to assess and price risk. During the last growth phase, most small PSBs were followers that underwrote exposure in the quest of expanding their balance sheets, without necessarily having a clear understanding of risk. In this respect, the Finance Minister’s comments for India needing 4-5 banks of the size of SBI are apt.

It has been around two-and-a-half years since the first amalgamation of three large banks was carried out (Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank) and a year-and-a-half to the subsequent ones. While it may be too short a period to analyse the outcome, given that almost an entire year-and-a-half has been under the shadow of the pandemic, our assessment shows initial signs are encouraging.

The amalgamation process has been smoother than expected. While there were protests from the employees’ unions, the right messaging from government and bank management helped in limiting their intensity. The amalgamation schemes were well thought out and the system compatibility was kept in mind while selecting candidates. This enabled a smoother transition of customers and services of the merged bank to the anchor bank. The merger of banks has resulted in significantly larger franchise, which should aid in risk diversification. The five merged banks, along with SBI, now account for 53 per cent of systems advances (FY21) vis-a- vis 44 per cent in FY19.

The merged banks are also likely to reflect better risk diversification as they deploy discretion and risk adjusted pricing in taking exposure, which should reflect in lower concentration of advances. They would also have strengthened negotiating power with the borrowers and better ability to price the risk. As one would reckon, a large part of the asset quality issues in the corporate segment emerged on account of weak bargaining power, as many a times the banks would merely participate in the lending consortium on the terms finalised by the larger banks, thereby losing out on both pricing and collateral security.

Consolidation is also likely to strengthen funding as banks can demand that the borrowers direct transactional flows through them, thereby improving their current account deposits.

Operational efficiency

The merger has also helped in improving operational efficiency, as overlapping branches were shut down, resulting in cost savings. SBI had closed about 3,000 branches post the amalgamation of its subsidiary banks with itself within one year. Canara Bank rationalised about 600 branches within one year. Similar steps were taken by other merged banks.

The elimination of overlapping responsibilities in consolidated entity has strengthened senior management pool for the merged entity. One area where consolidated banks are expected to focus on is the upgradation and adoption of technology and digitisation, a process which becomes efficient with scale. As customers are increasingly becoming more demanding and their needs and requirements undergoing a change, this area is likely to become a differentiator.

Reducing govt presence

The second leg of banking sector reform is the government’s focus on reducing its presence in businesses and acting more as a facilitator. Some of the PSBs have had a consistent track record of weak operating performance (asset quality and profitability), poor efficiency and inadequate financial management and governance. These banks have been constantly needing government infusion, directed from taxpayer money, to support operations. There is an argument that private control on these banks would stimulate a wholesome, efficient banking system, which would be better prepared to support banking needs of high-aspirational economy, limiting demands on government resources.

The government has already announced that there would be no more consolidation and its intention to privatise two (yet-to-be-identified) PSBs. While the idea has its merit, there are certain challenges that need to be addressed. The PSUs are governed by Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, which caps the voting rights at 10 per cent for a non-government shareholder, irrespective of shareholding of private shareholders. The laws would require amendments and need to be passed by Parliament.

One could believe that some large domestic private banks or some foreign banks could be potential suitors. However, private banks have generally been lukewarm to the idea of acquiring PSBs, owing to the challenges in system integration, HR culture and policies. Additionally, selling banks’ stake to foreign banks may be politically inconvenient.

This sets the stage for the other debated topic of allowing corporates to own banks. Many of the corporate houses operate insurance companies and NBFCs of significant scale and, hence, have experience in running a financial services segment.

However, concerns have been raised on the ability of regulators in extending their supervision to non-financial entities, and the risk of challenges in non-financial entities seeping in to financial services segment. But the foremost argument has been the prevention of connected lending and corporate-owned bank being a neutral intermediary. Ostensibly the reason for the bank nationalisation was to prevent the misuse of the banking system by owner business groups.

Some of these issues could take time to resolve and, hence, the process of privatisation could be somewhat a long-drawn affair. Having said that, there is little argument that these steps, if implemented, will have huge potential and can significantly aid in supporting India’s economic aspirations.

(The writer is Director and Head, Financial Institutions,

India Ratings and Research)

WHATSAPP CHATS HAVE NO EVIDENTIAL VALUE ---SUPREME COURT

Bank of maharashtra have now added furniture allowance for sub staff and clerks too..

Bank of maharashtra have now added furniture allowance for sub staff and clerks too..

Would like to appreciate the bank and everyone who thought and implemented this.

Make sure every other bankers share this in your union and bank grups asking why not us?

NOW SENIOR CITIZEN CAN SUBMIT LIFE CERTIFICATE FROM HOME NO NEED TO GO BRANCH

Adhoc Bonus for 2020-21 declared for Central Govt. employees

Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (Ad-hoc Bonus) for Central Government Employees: The Central Government has approved the grant of Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (Ad-hoc Bonus) equivalent to 30 days emoluments for 2020-21 to some Central Government employees.

To calculate Non-PLB (Ad-hoc bonus) for one day, the average emoluments in a year will be divided by 30.4 (average number of days in a month).
This will, thereafter, be multiplied by the number of days of bonus granted.

For example, taking the calculation ceiling of monthly emoluments of Rs. 7000 (where actual average emoluments exceed Rs. 7000), Ad-hoc Bonus for thirty days would be Rs 7000×30/30.4 = Rs 6907.89 (rounded off to Rs.6908.

Central employes and pensioners get 3% additional D.A./D.R with effect from 01/07/2021

As informed in this blog a few hours ago, Cabinet approved 3% D.A/D.R. to Central Govt. employees and pensioners with effect from 1st July 2021. With this hike total D.A./D.R. reached to 31% of Basic Pay / Pension. Earlier in July, Govt. cleared pending 11% D.A. which was kept in abeyance from January 2020 onwards due to corona outbreak and necessary expenses thereof.

This will benefit about 47.14 lakh Central Government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners Impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.9,488.70 crore per annum (As per PIB Press Release)

Axis bank to waive 12 EMIs on select Home loan as festive offer

In-Depth | One year later, where are the farmers’ protests headed?

It started fairly innocuously, as a Delhi Chalo (Come to Delhi) call by farmers’ unions campaigning against three farm laws enacted by the central government. Amid a stalemate in efforts towards a settlement, the ensuing sit-in at the borders of the capital has turned into the longest protest against the Narendra government since 2014.

November 25 will mark one year since farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh marched on the capital demanding a repeal of the three farm laws, which they feared would deprive them of bargaining power, leave them at the mercy of corporate powerhouses and could be a prelude to the scrapping of minimum support prices assured by the government for procuring their crops.

Braving the Delhi winter, police lathis and a deadly second wave of the coronavirus disease, the protestors have stayed put. They have pitched hundreds of tents and set up makeshift community kitchens and clinics along three key highways leading to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, sending out a clear message that they were prepared for the long haul.

Two recent incidents of violence related to the farmers’ protest have raised questions as to where the campaign is headed next. Moneycontrol explains those two incidents, what the future possibly holds and what the past year has meant for the protest, one of the longest ever waged by farmers in post-independent India.

Recent past

On October 3, eight people were killed in violence that took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri. Of the eight, four were protesting farmers, who were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event organised in the area.

Of the other four, two were BJP workers, a driver of Union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra and a local journalist.

News18 has gathered that the Lakhmpuri protest had its roots in Ajay Mishra’s remarks in Sampurannagar area of Lakhimpur Kheri on September 25 when he reportedly said “farmers should reform themselves or they will be reformed.”

His remarks were in response to black flags displayed by some farmers when he was en route to a function. Farmers had since been protesting against the minister, who said his statement was twisted by his critics.

Farmers protesting against the death of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh on October 3.

Things came to a head on October 3 when Maurya was to arrive in Lakhimpur Kheri to launch a number of government projects in the presence of Ajay Mishra. In the morning, farmers occupied a helipad where Maurya was to land, forcing the deputy CM to drive to the district.

Maurya and Ajay Mishra inaugurated the projects in Lakhimpur Kheri around noon before deciding to head to the Union minister’s village, Banvirpur, to watch a wrestling competition. Before they could reach Banvipur, around 3pm, at a place called Tikunia enroute, the violence took place. There are conflicting versions of what happened.

Farmers claim that Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Kumar was in a vehicle with armed men that deliberately ran over protestors in Tikunia when they were stopped. Farmers have lodged a complaint against the minister and his son.

The Union minister has described it as an “accident”. BJP workers were driving to receive the deputy CM when they were attacked with stones by farmers, one of the drivers was injured and lost control of the vehicle that ran over the farmers, he claimed. The driver and three BJP workers in the vehicle were then pulled out by farmers and lynched, he said. The minister said his son was not present in the area at the time.

After multiple summons by the police, Ashish Kumar presented himself to a special investigating team (SIT) formed to probe the case, and was subsequently arrested. Nine others have also been arrested in the case so far.

The matter is currently subjudice and in its last hearing on October 20, the Supreme Court observed that the UP government seemed to be going slow on the investigation.

“We think you are dragging your feet. Please dispel that impression," observed a bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.

The Bench had taken up the matter on October 7 after two lawyers sought the Supreme Court’s intervention in the case. After the UP government asked for more time, the next hearing has been scheduled for October 26.

Singhu border violence

The body of Lakhbir Singh, a Dalit farmer, was found on October 15 tied to a barricade at the Singhu border with Delhi; one of his hands had been severed and his body bore multiple wounds caused by sharp weapons. Hours after the crime, Sarabjit Sigh, wearing the blue robes of the Nihang order, claimed that he had "punished" Lakhbir Singh for "desecrating" a Sikh holy book.

Four people have been arrested in the case. Sarabjit Singh was the first to be arrested on October 15 for the killing of Lakhbir Singh. Hours later, Narain Singh was arrested by the Amritsar Rural police in Amarkot village of Amritsar district, the police said. He was brought to Sonipat by the Haryana Police on October 17.

Narain Singh, who spoke to journalists before his arrest, was unrepentant and said Lakhbir Singh had been "punished for sacrilege". Two more Nihangs, Govindpreet Singh and Bhagwant Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib, surrendered before Sonipat Police.

Nihang, or a Sikh warriors at the farmers protest site in Singhu in March 2021.

Three of the suspects were remanded to six days in police custody on October 17. Haryana Police has set up two SITs to probe the incident.

These incidents of violence have sparked outrage and triggered calls for action to clear the protest sites on Delhi's borders.

The purpose of the farmers’ protest against the farm laws is being questioned, given that the Supreme Court has already stayed their implementation. Farmers have said they would settle for nothing short of a repeal of the laws.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ unions, has distanced itself from the violence at the Singhu border and claimed that an attempt was underway to derail the protest.

So where is the protest headed now? Before we dive into that, let’s do a quick recap of how the protest evolved.

The root of the protest

In September 2020, Parliament passed the three bills the government said were aimed at freeing up trade in agriculture, allowing farmers to sell their produce wherever they wanted instead of restricting them to local government-controlled mandis.

A few days later, on September 27, the three pieces of legislation received the president’s signature and notified in the Gazette of India. After sporadic protests against the new farm laws, including a nationwide road blockade on November 3, farmers’ unions in Punjab and Haryana on November 25 called Delhi Chalo .

Delhi Police rejected the farmers’ request to be allowed to enter the city, citing Covid-19 protocols, but the farmers pressed on, braving water cannon and teargas.

Farmers protesting in the cold winters of Delhi in November 2020.

A subsequent 11 rounds of talks between farmers’ representatives and the government failed to arrive at a solution. The government said it would amend the laws, and offered to put them on hold for one-and-a-half years, but the farmers wanted them repealed.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union moved the Supreme Court against the three farm laws on December 11. On January 12, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three contentious farm laws and set up a four-member committee to make recommendations on the legislation after hearing all stakeholders.

On Republic Day, thousands of protestors clashed with the police during the tractor parade called by farmers’ unions. At Red Fort, a section of protesters climbed poles and walls and hoisted the Nishan Sahib flag, a Sikh religious symbol. One protester died in the chaos.

Tractor Rally & protests carried out by farmers on Republic Day 2020.

On February 6, farmers staged a nationwide chakka jam, or road blockade, for three hours from 12 noon to 3 pm. And on May 27, farmers observed a black day to mark six months of the agitation, burning effigies of the government. Although crowds at the three Delhi border points had thinned, farm leaders said their campaign would continue until 2024 if their demands were not met.

In August, reports of violence from the protest sites in Haryana’s Karnal grabbed the headlines. Haryana Police cracked down on farmers, leaving several injured in a lathicharge at the Bastara toll plaza on the national highway. The farmers were protesting against a BJP meeting on upcoming panchayat polls; it was being chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

A standoff between the administration of Haryana and the farmers ensued. It ended only when the state government agreed to a probe of the incident by a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and said it would send Karnal sub-divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha on leave until the completion of the inquiry.

Barely a month later came the incidents in Lakhimpur Kheri and Singhu.

Where are the protests headed?

On October 19, ahead of a crucial Supreme Court hearing, farmers called for more reinforcements to join them at the borders of Delhi. The Chalo Delhi call has once again been renewed to amplify the protests.

On October 21, the Supreme Court heard a case pertaining to the farmers right to protests and if they can take to the streets when the farm laws were already being contested in court.  The apex court observed that farmers have the right to protest and are not against this even when a legal challenge against the three farm laws is pending but they cannot block roads "indefinitely".

"Farmers have the right to protest but they cannot keep roads blocked indefinitely. You may have a right to agitate in any manner but roads should not be blocked like this. People have the right to go on roads but it cannot be blocked," the bench also comprising Justice M M Sundresh said.

The farmers' unions alleged that the police were responsible for the blockade at the Delhi borders as it suits them to allow a feeling in the minds of the citizens that farmers are blocking the road while the Centre claimed there was an oblique purpose behind the protests.

Farmers' Protest

The top court asked the farmer unions to respond within three weeks on the issue and posted the matter for further hearing on December 7.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) last month issued notices to the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, saying it had received complaints that the farmers’ protests had caused an adverse impact on industrial units and that Covid-19 safety norms had been breached at the agitation sites, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

In a statement, the NHRC cited allegations that at least 9,000 micro, medium and large companies had suffered the impact of the farmers’ protests. Protesting farmers have made it clear that their fight will go on until the laws are repealed. With no new date set for talks, the stalemate seems set to continue.