NRI problems - Parent's dillemma over son's degrees

Question: My son who is completing his Masters in Computer Science wants to specialise in data science. He feels there are good career prospects in this specialised field. I am a little concerned as I wanted him to specialise in aeronautical engineering.

ANSWER: You may be justified in your concern because for data science job aspirants a degree is just not enough. However, there are several learning possibilities in data science, especially where it is coupled with studies in artificial intelligence and machine learning. It would be important for your son to be associated with communities that focus on data science. Therefore, the student has to be a part of the forums which specialise in data science. After getting the initial qualifications, it would be important to do internships with large companies. This would help in finding a well paid and stable job. In other words, once small internships and projects are accumulated, that would become part of the portfolio of expertise. It would also be necessary for your son to remain abreast of advancements in data science by reading research papers published in peer review journals. That will help him to navigate a myriad of technical challenges that arise in the job.

Question: In India hydrocarbons and fossil fuels play a key role in generating electricity. How will India be able to achieve its goal of reducing environmental pollution?

ANSWER: At present, coal accounts for 70 per cent of the raw material used for electricity generation. Only 25 per cent of the electricity is generated by using renewable resources. To reduce the dependence on fossil fuel, the Government is putting emphasis on hydel power. There are 29 hydel projects which are in the North Eastern States of India requiring an investment of Rs.2.7 trillion. These projects are currently with private developers who are not able to raise the required funds to implement the projects which have a combined capacity of 30,000 megawatts. The Central Government has therefore decided to enter into joint ventures with private parties in order to kick start the implementation of the hydel projects. The public sector units which are under the control of the Central Government may take over the projects so that power is generated in the next five years which would reduce the dependence on electricity generated by using fossil fuels. The State Government would considerably benefit on the completion of these projects as they would become self sufficient in power generation and at the same time help to achieve the targets fixed by COP 22.

Question: Recently my mother in India suffered a financial loss as her ATM card which was misplaced by her was used to draw funds from her account. This happened inspite of my mother informing the bank that the card was misplaced by her. Is the bank liable to compensate her for the loss suffered?

ANSWER: The bank can be held liable for the loss suffered by your mother as a result of unautho`ad use of her ATM/debit card. The bank should have blocked the card immediately on receiving information that the card was misplaced. In a similar case, the bank was held liable to compensate the customer on the ground that the bank did not act expeditiously with due diligence. The facts in this case were that a customer had lost her card and the bank was informed of the loss by a neighbour of the customer. The bank did not act for blocking the card on the ground that instructions were received from a third party and not from the customer. When the customer filed the complaint with the District Forum, the complaint was dismissed. Thereafter, a revision application was filed with the National Commission, The Commission held that the bank should have acted immediately as soon as it received the communication that the card was misplaced. The fact that the information came from a person who was not connected with the account holder was not relevant. According to the Commission, the bank had a duty to immediately contact the customer on her registered mobile number and seek clarifications. Failure to do so was held to be deficiency of service and the bank was ordered to compensate the customer for the loss suffered.

H. P. Ranina is a practising lawyer, specialising in tax and exchange management laws of India.

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