Thumb impression!

At the 2024 BL Changemaker Awards, Chetna Sinha of Mann Deshi Mahila Bank, who won for Financial Transformation, shared an interesting story. It all began in 1997 with just 1,335 members, and since then, Mann Deshi has bloomed into a thriving financial institution. But when the digital age rolled in, the bank’s managers hit a snag: “How will our illiterate rural women remember PINs and passwords for digital transactions?” they wondered.

Enter the women themselves, with an even bigger concern: “What if someone steals our PIN? It’s not like we’re guarding national secrets here!” Then came the kicker: “Forget PINs—give us digital thumbprints! You can steal passwords, but who’s going to steal our thumbs?” Chetna learned a valuable lesson here: “Never offer poor solutions to the poor — they’re too smart for that!”

The Solution

After receiving the BusinessLine Iconic Changemaker Award, Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala was surrounded by eager youth, questioning him about unemployment, overpopulation, and future challenges.

Calm and optimistic, he responded, “Yes, there are problems, but there are always solutions. Why focus on the issues when we can work together to solve them?” His words shifted the energy, offering not just answers, but a clear direction.

CBI - Still a caged parrot?

The Supreme Court, while granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, made a pointed reference to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) controversial reputation as a “caged parrot”. This sobriquet, dating back to the coal scam case of 2013 of UPA era, has been a haunting reminder of the CBI’s perceived susceptibility to political influence.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan’s remarks in the Kejriwal case underscored that the agency must dispel this notion. He cautioned that investigative agencies must maintain the highest standards of integrity and avoid using coercive powers like arrests as instruments of harassment.

The timing of Kejriwal’s arrest, coming nearly two years after the FIR was registered, raised eyebrows, with Justice Bhuyan even characterizing it as an “insurance arrest” aimed at keeping the Chief Minister in jail despite bail in the ED case.

The judge urged the CBI to act as an “uncaged parrot”, stressing the need for impartiality in investigations. Now legal experts see Justice Bhuyan’s observations as a stern reminder to the CBI that its actions should reflect independence and fairness rather than succumbing to external pressures!