The Little Geeni

Net operating income (i.e., NOI) is one of the most important calculations made in regard to any real estate investment because it represents the property’s potential income after all vacancy and operating expenses have been subtracted. In other words, net operating income represents the investment property’s productivity, or measure of cash flow.

To help plant the idea, consider net operating income in one of the following two ways, depending on whether or not a mortgage exists.

The investor pays all cash for the property. In this case, since the investment property has no debt, NOI virtually becomes the rate of return expected from a property for any given annual period before taxes and depreciation are considered. In other words, given no deduction for debt service (loan payment), you can regard net operating income as the annual cash flow (cash flow before taxes, or CFBT).

The investor finances the property. Here, since the property has a mortgage, NOI should be regarded as the anticipated amount of cash flow available to pay the mortgage. In this case, only the remainder of NOI (net operating income less annual loan payment) becomes the annual cash flow before taxes (or CFBT).

How to Calculate Gross Scheduled Income Less Vacancy and Credit Loss = Gross Operating Income Less Operating Expenses* = Net Operating Income

Example: Assume that you want to do an analysis on an income property that generates a GOI of $100,000 with Operating Expenses of $42,000. What is the NOI?

$100,000 Less $42,000 = $58,000

*Mortgage payments, depreciation, and capital expenditures are not considered operating expenses and therefore have no impact on net operating income.

It’s Role in Real Estate Investing

Net operating income plays a large role in a variety of real estate investment and holding period decisions. For instance, capitalization rate (cap rate) is calculated by dividing NOI by sale price. Likewise, property value (or the property’s sale price) is calculated by dividing NOI by the cap rate.

Example: Let’s continue to assume a net operating income of $58,000 (as in our example above) and a sale price of $580,000. What is the property’s capitalization rate?

Net Operating Income Divided by Sale Price = Cap Rate

$58,000 Divided by $580,000 = 10.0%

Okay, now let’s assume an NOI of $58,000 of and a cap rate of 8.0%. What is the property value?

Net Operating Income Divided by Cap Rate = Property Value

$58,000 Divided by 10.0% = $580,000

Net operating income also plays a large role with lenders. For example, Debt Coverage Ratio (DCR) is calculated by dividing the net operating income by loan payment.

Net Operating Income Divided by Annual Loan Payment = Debt Coverage Ratio

$58,000 Divided by $46,000 = 1.26

How Credible Is It?

Conceptually, NOI is important because of its use in numerous calculations surrounding property performance. Because it’s used to estimate property value and cap rate, as well as useful to lenders, NOI has become an essential component of real estate investment analysis. As a real estate investor, therefore, you should understand net operating income, and recognize what it means to your potential investment valuation.

But be careful.

Remember, NOI is not unlike other calculations typically used for real estate investing purposes. The result is only as good as the numbers are credible, and numbers can be manipulated. Sellers have sometimes been known to become very creative in order to make the relationship between the price and NOI to come out right.

So here’s a tip. Whether or not a property appears to have a favorable NOI with positive rates of return, don’t just accept the numbers. Spend the time to validate the numbers. Reconstruct the owner’s representations for income and operating expenses if necessary, and compute your own NOI. Whatever you do, rely on nothing less then the most credible net operating income possible. You can’t afford not to.

Operating Systems Analysis, Estate, Income, Operating, Real

This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to be answered with a plain simple answer. Before we decide on the most compatible operating system for web hosting we need to delve a little further to know what an operating system is and why is it being given so much importance.

What is an Operating System?

The applications that you can use on your computer, the internet chatting and browsing dealings are all possible due to the help of the operating system. Operating systems are the backbone of computers that help you in completing your task with ease.

Most of the computers use the Windows operating system such as ME, XP, NT and several others. These programs are operating systems. This operating system is also vital for the functioning of the host server. Now let us determine the types of operating systems and their viability

Windows Operating System

Windows is a product of Microsoft designed for the running of the web server. The beauty of Windows is that it has a unique integration of various Microsoft products It also facilitates your website to run Active Server Pages and also allows you to integrate SQL databases.

The only disadvantage with the Windows operating system is that it is very expensive. Also if you do not have enough experience maintaining Windows from a remote location the procedure can be a very tedious and time-consuming one.

Linux Operating System

Linux is a second version created by some individuals who were the pioneers for designing Linux operating systems main portion. The introduction of some of the parts led to customization of the operating system meant for special uses.

One of the advantages of Linux operating system is PHP and the biggest advantage is that Linux is freely available. This is also a very stable and secure system. There are many companies that are involved in Linux marketing such as Red Hat and Debian.

Unix Operating System

This is the third version of the operating system which is somewhat similar to Linux. Unix has 2 operating systems. One is OpenBSD and the other is FreeBSD. The advantageous point to be noted is that once you install the Unix operating system they are very robust and will give you no trouble.

But the trouble lies in the installing part. These systems are very difficult to install. OpenBSD is the preferred one among the operating systems. Both these systems are freely available.

Which to choose?

We come back to the basic question of which one is ideal. Depending on your requirement you should choose your operating system. For example, if security is your priority then you should opt for OpenBSD.

If you are looking for compatible various Windows products then you should opt for Windows. If your main concern is PHP compatibility then you should choose Linux. You need to choose the best operating system that would help you achieve your goal.

Operating Systems Best, Domains and Hosting, Operating, System

Many people these days are interested in pursuing a driving career in the trucking industry as the jobs could provide with a competitive salary, flexible working schedules and greater benefits. However, not many people realize that there are several types of trucking jobs available out there. Therefore, make sure which kind of job you are interested in and what all it would entail before you go for an interview. You can find various owner operator trucking jobs like owner operator flatbed, owner operator driver van, owner operator tanker, owner operator reefer, owner operator car hauler and others.

Types of owner operators

Solo owner operator

Owner operator is a driver who owns one’s own truck also drives the truck alone. There are many companies that require some extra drivers. Therefore, they would contact freelance drivers like you. Typically, the owner operators don’t have much of driving experience as compared to many other company drivers. The owner operators might have a whole team of truck drivers contracted to the companies in need of driving services.

With the skyrocketing prices of the fuel, cost of equipments and the rising insurance and a gruelling schedule, searching and maintaining a success in the owner operator truck driving job could be a pure challenge, even for those skilled truck drivers. On surface, it might sound much easy to acquire a semi truck, find some profitable truck driver’s job that you can probably handle and earn a handsome income. Earning about $100,000 a year, after all tax deductions, is thought to be a handsome income. The fact is that not many of the owner operators are successful. In fact, it is estimated that even less than ten percent of the independent owner operator truck drivers are able to make this sort of money.

The inexperienced and the new owner operator truck drivers are vulnerable and susceptible to the financial management challenges during the starting period, within 24 months, after they have chosen to dive in the ownership. Unfortunately, trucking industry has had a terrible reputation of chewing and spitting all individuals who have taken up the independent owner operator trucking jobs. Over the years, trucking industry has failed to cultivate, nurture and train the drivers for helping them with management of financial side of business and to avoid any pitfalls that are associated with rankings of the semi truck driving owner operator.

Similarly, amongst all those successful independent owner operator drivers set aside an amount for emergency, is in common. As a primary key for a successful business is management of the cash flow, nothing is probably more important that profitability of the trucking business than a good business decision in the area. Being an independent owner operator truck driver, you are alone responsible for the management of every aspect of the cash flow. An effective management of the cash flow would determine the profitability towards the end of month. Many successful owner operators advice that the truck drivers need to have about three to about six months of the after tax cash in their fund for the emergency like loss of the job or incurrence of some unexpected big expenses. Emergency cash fund would include all business expenditures that are stashed including the insurance, truck payment and maintenance and others.

Team owner operators

A team owner operator usually owns the truck and has driving partner.

Operating Systems Jobs, Operator, Owner, Trucking

In this article, we want to discuss the role of net operating income to real estate analysis. How it’s calculated and then how real estate analysts use net operating income to determine the profitability of investment real estate.

Net operating income (or NOI) is one of the most important calculations made during the analysis of any real estate investment because it represents the property’s potential income after all vacancy and operating expenses have been subtracted. In other words, net operating income virtually represents the income property’s productivity, or measure of cash flow.

To help plant the idea, let’s consider net operating income in one of the following two ways, depending on whether or not a mortgage exists.

1. The investor pays all cash for the property. Since the property is wholly owned and has no debt, in this case, NOI is the annual return the investor would expect from the property before consideration for taxes and depreciation. Given no deduction for debt service (loan payment), you can regard net operating income in this case as the annual cash flow before taxes (or CFBT).

2. The investor obtains a mortgage. Here, since the property has a mortgage, NOI should be regarded as the anticipated amount of cash flow available to pay the mortgage. In this case, only the remainder of NOI (after you subtract the annual loan payment) becomes the annual cash flow (or CFBT).

Okay, let’s summarize. If you pay all-cash for a rental property, because there are no mortgage payments, NOI by default represents the property’s cash flow. On the other hand, when there are mortgage payments, NOI represents the amount of money available to service the debt, and then, subsequently the cash flow only after the loan payments.

How to Calculate Net Operating Income

Gross Operating Income less Operating Expenses = Net Operating Income

For example, let’s assume you’re doing a real estate analysis on an apartment building that produces a gross operating income of $100,000 and operating expenses of $42,000. What is the NOI?

This should be easy. $100,000 less $42,000 equals $58,000.

Okay, but let’s make sure that you understand both components in the formula.

1) Gross Operating Income (GOI) – This equals the rental property’s annual gross scheduled income less vacancy and credit loss. In other words, GOI is the actual income the rental property is expected to produce.

2) Operating Expense – An operating expense ensures the property’s continued ability to produce income. Whereas such things as property taxes, utilities, and maintenance and repairs are operating expenses, mortgage payments, depreciation, and capital expenditures are not considered operating expenses.

The Role of Net Operating Income

Net operating income plays a large role in a variety of real estate investment and holding period decisions. Capitalization rate, for instance, is calculated by dividing NOI by sale price, and property value is calculated by dividing NOI by capitalization rate.

Likewise, net operating income is significant to lenders. To compute debt coverage ratio (DCR), for instance, net operating income is divided by annual loan payment.

The Credibility of Net Operating Income

Not unlike any component in a real estate analysis, net operating income is only as good as the numbers used to compute it are credible.

Whether you use real estate investment software, a spreadsheet, or pencil and paper for your real estate analysis, you must spend the time to validate the numbers and reconstruct the owner’s representations for income and operating expenses if necessary.

Prudent real estate analysis demands it. Whenever you are running the numbers on any real estate investment, rely on nothing less then the most credible net operating income possible.

Operating Systems Analysis, Estate, Income, Operating, Real, Used

Since time immemorial, travel has been an integral part of human life. In the early days, man traveled in search of food, they led a nomadic life. As time passed humans learnt to settle down in one place, learnt agriculture to meet their food requirements, the concept of travel took on another hue. Now one could travel by boat, by road or by train. With further development and exciting discoveries humans learnt to do business and commerce. Trade between places became the norm. Soon came the era of the tourists. Now travel was not just for business it was also for pleasure and this realization brought in the very lucrative business of travel agencies and tour operators.

Today tours and tourists is a booming industry. There are millions of people moving around the world in planes trains and ships even as we read. With advancements in technology, travel agencies found life easier and business much better if they used computers to aid their enterprise. Today one can book tickets round the world in minutes all due to tour operator software that brings details in seconds.

So what is tour operator software? Well, since computers are such an integral part of any tour operator business, software developers came up with tour operator software that would aid the user to conduct their business without wading their way through pages and pages of data looking for flights, bus and train reservations and even ship, ferry and boat timings. The travel software is designed in such a way that it does the internet surfing and brings up only the results that have been asked for. Today one can do bookings anywhere in the world sitting in one office and you can get confirmed reservations at your fingertips.

Tour operators generally combine the travel, the actual touring and the accommodation aspects of any trip. There are tour operators who specialize in niche activities like skiing or surfing and they would then provide your itinerary accordingly. People want to plan their business related activities like conferences and seminars along with a short break, or then there are people who want only a holiday where everything is taken care of like pick-up and drop from the airport or the train station, all touring aspects like bus bookings, hotel bookings, transit details, tours and guides, camps and excursions etc. people also like to know before hand what they are booking and what they are going to get. So this kind of a tour operator software helps the tourism agency to provide the client with everything hat they want.

Tour operator software makes all these complicated aspects of booking etc very easy to do. A client only has to outline what his or her requirements are and the tour operator keys in the relevant data into his tour operator software run program. Most tour operator software incorporates an integrated reservation system along with relevant accounting aspects. There are web interfaces for client, agent and even supplier based transactions.

There is a number of tour operator software available in the market and one needs to find out which will fit specific requirements of the tour operator in question. The business could be a small one or even a mid-sized one; there is tour operator software for all. Each comes with a variety of features and aspects that are user friendly and will aid user requirements.

Tour operator software has been developed over a period of time in a manner that it can now be used for all aspects of the tourist business. Schedule management, pricing, reservations, motor coach bookings and efficient automated quotations are just some of the features that good tour operator software can offer its clients. With online sales and bookings gaining popularity this is an easy, reliable and efficient way of getting your travel details sorted out.

There is tour operator software that can start at a single entry point for accommodation and run through the entire travel requirements to end with the online booking engine which will complete your travel plans with confirmed authenticated and guaranteed reservations and even seat bookings wherever possible.

If you are in the travel and tourism business then your best option is to look for tour operator software that will meet all your requirements and make your work easier, more efficient and quick. The internet is the best place to look for the right kind of tour operator software. There are lots of sites and companies who offer some of the most comprehensive and versatile tour operator software varieties one could hope for.

Make a list of all that you need your software to do and then look for the company that can meet your requirements without making a hole in your pocket. There are specific kinds of tour operator software available that cater to small, medium and big tour operator outfits. You can select a tour operator software to suit your requirement.

Operating Systems Operator, Software, Tour

There are many differences between tour operators. Some primary differences between tour operators are the level of service they provide and the destinations that they travel to. Another aspect which sets tour operators apart are the clientele that they aim their services to. Tour operators can save you time and money while planning your vacation. They often know of specific deals and offers that will make your vacation a memorable occasion.

Tour operators provide a complete vacation package. Their trips include travel expenses, accommodations and often many of the meals. Each tour operator is different, so it is important to understand exactly what you can expect from your tour or vacation. Even the same tour may offer different levels of service for different trips. While the list of tour operators is endless, here are some that provide dependable service.

1. AAA Member Choice Vacations. This tour operator was created for the traveler that has a variety of interests. With tours all across the world, there is guaranteed to be something that will interest you. Once you choose your location, you can customize your trip itinerary so that it fits your needs perfectly. Their tours allow you to focus on the food of a region, the natural aspects of an area, adventure activities or even to explore the cultural aspects of an area.
2. Blue Sky Tours. Blue Sky Tours is an example of a tour operator that focuses on one region and does it well. Blue Sky Tours operates tours to Hawaii. For many people Hawaii is a dream destination. If you are looking at a once in a lifetime trip, it makes sense to choose a company that knows the region well.
3. Abercrombie and Kent. This tour operator offers a wide variety of packages to a diverse range of clientele. Abercrombie and Kent provides small group, family and adventure travel for all ages. They also offer train excursions, a niche vacation type that a growing number of people are participating in. Abercrombie and Kent is geared toward the higher end travel clientele, and couples traveling with children.
4. Footloose Sailing Charters. If your dream has been to learn to sail, Footloose is the tour operator for you. They offer sailing charters for the amateur as well as more experienced customers. New Zealand and St. Lucia are just two of the destinations where they provide service.
5. United Vacations. United Vacations is a division of United Airlines. This allows the company to provide competitive pricing to many destinations. Their destination choices circle the globe, with trips available all over the world and directed at all age and economic levels.

These are just five of the many tour operators that you can choose from. When choosing a tour operator for your travels there are a few things to keep in mind. By deciding exactly what you need from a tour operator, you will be prepared to find the tour operator that will best meet your needs. Some things to consider:

• Your budget. Some tour operators are geared toward budget travel while others are directed toward high end travel. Being realistic about your budget allows you to find the tour operator that is best suited to meet your needs.
• Your ideal vacation. Every person has their own idea of what makes up an ideal vacation. If your dream vacation includes SCUBA diving or parasailing, then a tour operator that provides adventure travel makes sense. If you want to enjoy pampering, a tour operator that specializes in luxury accommodations is a good choice.
• Your fellow vacationers. Some tour operators specialize in family vacations, while others are geared toward seniors. There are travel operators that specialize in trips for newlyweds and couples. It is important to choose a tour operator that gears their trips toward the travel group that you will have. A tour operator that specializes in travel for couples may not be the best choice for families. Not only will many of the activities not be suitable, but the other members of your travel group may not appreciate the mixed group.
• Where you want to go. While some tour operators offer trips all across the world, other companies specialize in one area. If you have your heart set on a specific destination, choosing a company that specializes in that area may make the most sense. If, however, you are looking to explore new areas, or are having trouble narrowing down your options, choosing a tour operator that organizes trips across the world may provide you with ideas that you have never considered.
The itinerary. Some tours provide an extremely regimented schedule for each day of the trip. Others allow you to personalize your trip every hour of the day. If you are interested in trying new things, then following the tour operator’s schedule may appeal to you. For others who like to plan their own day, a tour operator that offers more flexibility would make a better choice.

Operating Systems Between, Differences, Operators, Them, Tour

Franchise operations manuals may seem daunting, especially for a company that has never written an operations manual before. Bewildered by the new business of franchising, with its legal requirements, franchise disclosure documents, operations manuals, training programs, etc., many companies delegate responsibility to a high-priced franchise consultant.

But using someone to write your franchise operations manual who knows literally nothing about your business, never makes any sense when everything is considered objectively. And, besides a hefty price tag of $20,000 or more to write the manuals, using franchise consultants brings another, expensive result – legal risk. Here are some drafting tips and strategies from a recognized, international franchise expert.

Why Franchise Consultants Are Risky Business
Paying someone who knows nothing about your business, and having them learn it from scratch at your expense is really just common sense. Using franchise consultants for what is a relatively easy and straightforward task has never made any sense – except to the franchise consultants who charge exorbitant amounts to write an operations manual. It’s one of those little franchise secrets that the consultants don’t ever mention or discuss.

Using a franchise consultant to write a franchise operations manual also carries legal risk. The principal legal risk comes from including inappropriate topics, chapters and policies that are commonly found in company-owned, chain operations manuals.  If these are included, as they often are in franchise operations manuals, very significant franchise liability issues arise. Because the franchise consultants are not franchise attorneys or experts, they are entirely oblivious to this risk. They don’t know where the bullets come from in franchise litigation. As a testifying and consulting franchise expert, I routinely find franchise operations manuals drafted by franchise consultants and do-it-yourself manuals containing inappropriate chapters or topics. And, because they rely on boilerplate manuals used for other clients, where (hopefully) all instances of burgers, for example, are searched and replaced with tax returns, the end result is not only dangerous – it is also very mediocre. Giving a mediocre operations manual to a franchise owner who has invested hundreds of thousands (or in some cases millions) of dollars in your franchise model is definitely not the best way to start or ensure a smooth franchise relationship.

The Best Practice Approach To Drafting Franchise Operations Manuals
Besides the expensive and legally risky approach there is another, best franchise practice approach based on almost three decades of writing, editing and reviewing hundreds of franchise operations manuals. The essence of this approach is also common sense – letting the true expert in your business write the manual. Typically that person is the founder of the business, or a small team of management personnel who know business operations inside and out. While a franchise expert should be involved in the process, the expert’s role should be limited to a planning and editing capacity.

Three Easy Steps For Drafting A Franchise Operations Manual
The drafting process begins with planning and developing the Table of Contents for the franchise operations manual. This includes making sure all the appropriate chapters and topics are included, and the inappropriate ones are not. Knowledge of franchise management best practices is essential here, and that’s why a franchise expert’s input and planning is so important. Because most franchise operations manuals are incorporated by reference in the franchise agreement (which is a franchise industry best practice)  the franchise contract is also  reviewed.  Some operations-specific information may be inadvertently included in the contract by the attorneys, which is not a good thing. This needs to be moved out or appropriately amended.

The second step is giving the person(s) within your company who have drafting responsibility samples of operations manual writing styles, guidelines and instructions. With these, they can begin drafting each chapter of the manual using their extensive operational knowledge of the day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. aspects of your business.

The third and final step is having the franchise expert review each chapter as it is drafted and comment on the professionalism and sufficiency of the chapters from a franchise industry best practices and franchise operator perspective.

Summary
The first couple chapters are typically the hardest to draft, as you or your management personnel learn and apply operations manual drafting techniques under the guidance of a professional editor. But after that, it’s smooth sailing through the balance of the document. This approach produces a professional, easy to use and update franchise operations manual. It also ensures the most efficient use of resources and talent, and eliminates having to pay a franchise consultant $20,000 or more for this relatively simple task. Whether or not a company ultimately franchises, the process of planning, documenting and implementing standardized operating procedures and systems via operations manuals, like blue chip franchise and non-franchised companies do, makes any firm operate more efficiently and competitively. In a franchise environment, it ensures consistent and uniform operations, helping personnel with different skills learn to perform tasks in a consistent manner throughout the franchise network. Finally, it’s important to realize the process of writing a franchise operations manual never stops. As the business model evolves, so must the operations manual – the ultimate reason why writing the manual yourself to begin with makes imminent common sense. As one franchise company executive observed “I found that not only was writing my own operations manual a cost savings; it was imperative.”

copyright 2008-2009, Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. – all rights reserved

For further information, visit the Franchise Foundations website

Operating Systems Affordable, Easy, Franchise, Manual, Manuals, Operations, Steps, Three, Write

Sting Operation –To be or not to be?

A Sting Operation is an operation designed to catch a person committing a crime by means of deception. A complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care. The word “sting” derives its origin from American usage to mean a police undercover operation designed to ensnare criminals. The word “sting” is a synonym for the expression “set a trap to catch a crook” and this article uses the term in that sense. In more refined terms, it can be called Investigative Journalism or Undercover Journalism. Sting Operation is an information-gathering exercise; it looks for facts that are not easy to obtain by simple requests and searches, or those that are actively being concealed, suppressed or distorted.

An informed citizenry the bedrock of a democracy, holding the government accountable through voting and participation requires investigative journalism which cannot sustain itself on asymmetric dissemination of information. In many cases, the subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed. Among the most popular programmes in India, are those reporting on corruption and misdeeds of politicians and government officials. ‘Candid camera,’ reports many true stories of the day the bribe that the police inspector extracts from the victim of a crime before agreeing to investigate, the ‘fee’ that the government officer charges for his giving the order to make an electric connection, and the ‘contribution’ that a company pays a member of Parliament before bringing up a legislative concern in the Lok Sabha. Because of all these things do we really require Sting Operations? At the same time, where such investigative work involves the use of covert methods, it raises issues that tend to further blur the line between law and ethics. Is deception legitimate when the aim is to tell the truth? Is any method justifiable no matter the working conditions and the difficulties in getting information? Can television reporters use hidden cameras to get a story? Can journalists use false identities to gain access to information? The critical question that surfaces is “to what extent can the media go and to what extent should a person be informed?”

Sting Operations In India
Sting Operations are undertook with a view to look into the working of the govt. or to see whether the acts of any individual is against the public order. On the basis of the purpose Sting Operations can be classified as positive and negative. Positive Sting Operation is one which results in the interest of the society, which pierces the veils of the working of the government. It is carried out in the public interest. Due to positive sting operation society is benefited because it makes government responsible and accountable. It leads to the transparency in the government. On the other hand negative sting operations do not benefit the society, but they do harm the society and its individuals. It unnecessarily violates the privacy of the individual without any beneficial results to the society. These types of Sting operations if allowed then it will hamper the freedom of the individuals and restricts their rights. Here are some examples which we can distinguish as positive and negative sting operations.

1. Positive Sting Operations:
„« Sting operations on ultra-sound centers carried out by the Health officers in Karnataka for “serious enforcement’’ of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act which bans sex determination of foetuses and consequent abortion of female ones to stop female foeticide.

„« The Ministry (by the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act and Programme Code), has prohibited the transmission of Cineworld channel for 30 days for showing “objectionable content.” Because it “offended good taste and decency” and it “was obscene and likely to corrupt public morality and was not suited for unrestricted public exhibition”

„« An operation by an online news site called Tehelka to catch top politicians and army officers taking bribes from journalists posing as businessmen.

„« An operation in which a journalist posing as a struggling actress met actor Shakti Kapoor, who promised in the televised footage that his secretary would introduce her to movie producers and directors.

2. Negative Sting Operations:
Instances over the years have shown that though sting operations do expose corruption in some cases, sometimes they seriously violate the rules of journalism in the pursuit of profit and short-term sensationalism.

„« The Delhi High Court on Friday, 7th September, 2007, issued notices to the Delhi government and city police after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports alleging that a sting operation carried out by a TV channel, which claimed to have exposed a sex racket run by a government school teacher Uma Khurana, for allegedly luring her pupils into prostitution has now been revealed to be completely fabricated and was fake and distorted.

„« The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 7th February, 2007, issued notices to a private news channel and its reporter for carrying out a sting operation carried out in the year 2004, which allegedly showed a non-bailable warrant could be procured against any person by paying a hefty amount in the court.

These incidents are an example of how a sting operation can go wrong and become an exercise in trapping an innocent person. India TV’s chief editor, Rajat Sharma, said that there was no violation of privacy in exposing such matters as political corruption or the trading of jobs for sex in Bollywood, a practice known in movie and theatrical business lore as the casting couch. “If you are serious about exposing certain social evils, there is no other option but to use sting operations.”

Do We Really Need Sting Operations?
The media plays an important role in a democratic society. It acts as the fourth institute outside the Government . Sting operations are methods of uncovering information. Although, the Indian Constitution does not expressly mention the liberty of the press, it is evident that the liberty of the press is included in the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a). Various Constitutions have guaranteed free press or media as a fundamental right . Freedom of press is a special right under art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, 1950 but it has certain restrictions. The democratic credentials are judged by the extent of freedom the media enjoys in a particular state . Further the media has a right to impart the information to the public. Freedom of speech includes freedom to communicate, advertise, publish or propagate ideas and the dissemination of information . Furthermore Art. 19(1) also incorporates within itself right to receive information about any event, happening or incident etc. “The heart of journalism has to be public interest” and Sting operations, serve public interest.

In Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras Court said, “…. The public interest of freedom of discussion (of which the freedom of press is one aspect) stems from the requirement that members of a democratic society should be sufficiently informed so that they may influence intelligently the decisions which may affect themselves. ….In some the fundamental principle involved here is the peoples’ right to know.”

This concept of peoples’ right to know, which was found to be so essential for democracy, was located by the Court in Article 19(1)(a) in Bennett Coleman and Co. v. Union of India observing thus:

“Although Article 19(1)(a) does not mention the freedom of the press, it is settled view of the Court that freedom of speech and expression includes freedom of the press and circulation.”

The Court held:
“Press has a fundamental right to express itself; the community has a right to be supplied with information; and the Government has a duty to educate the people within the limits of its resources.”

Justice Mathews ruled in the case of State of UP v. Raj Narain , “The people of this country have a right to know every public act, everything that is done in a public way by their public functionaries. Their right to know is derived from the concept of freedom of speech”.

In S.P. Gupta v. Union of India , “No democratic Government can survive without accountability and the basic postulate of accountability is that people should have the information about the working of the Government.”

In Prabha Dutt v. Union of India the Supreme Court upheld the right claimed by the press to interview prisoners that the right claimed by the Press was not the right to express any particular view or opinion but right to means of information through the medium of interview of the prisoners.

In Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Private Ltd. and Ors v. Union of India and Ors. , the Court emphasized that the freedom of press and information were “vital for the realization of human rights”. The court relied upon the Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

Why No To Sting Operations?
With great power comes great responsibility, therefore the freedom under Article 19(1)(a) is correlative with the duty not to violate any law. Every institution is liable to be abused, and every liberty, if left unbridled, may lead to disorder and anarchy. Television channels in a bid to increase their Trade Related Practices (TRP’s) ratings are resorting to sensationalized journalism. Sting operations have now become the order of the day. The carrying out of a sting operation may be an expression of the right to free press but it caries with it an indomitable duty to respect the privacy of others.

In Time v. Hill the U.S. Supreme Court said: “The constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech to press is not for the benefit of the press so much as for the benefit of all the people. The same principle was followed by Mathew, J. in Bennett Coleman and Co. v. Union of India.

Article 19(2) – An Exception to Article 19(1): It is however pertinent to mention that, freedom of speech and expression of press is not absolute but is qualified by certain clearly defined limitations under Article 19(2) in the interests of the public.

In Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras, and Brij Bhushan v. State of Delhi the Court firmly expressed its view that there could not be any kind of restriction on the freedom of speech and expression other than those mentioned in Art 19(2) and thereby made it clear that there could not be any interference with that freedom in the name of public interest even when Clause (2) of Article 19 was subsequently substituted under the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 by a new clause which permitted the imposition of reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression of media.

Against Right to Privacy: The individual who is the subject of a press or television ‘item’ has his or her personality, reputation or career dashed to the ground after the media exposure. He too has a fundamental right to live with dignity and respect and a right to privacy guaranteed to him under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court, Kharak Singh v. State of UP held that right to privacy is inherent under Article 21. The Delhi High Court observed that right to privacy that flows from Article 21 couldn’t be invoked against private entities. It can not be denied that it is of practical importance that a precarious balance between the fundamental right to expression and the right to ones privacy be maintained. ‘Right to Privacy’ has ceased to have any pragmatic value where ‘sting operations’ define the order of the day. The right to privacy is an alleged human right, which may restrain both government and private party action that threatens the privacy of individuals. It has been recognized as a fundamental right by the Hon’ble SC under Article 21.

The Supreme Court in R. Rajagopal and Another v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others are true reminiscence of the limits of freedom of press with respect to the right to privacy:

“A citizen has a right to safeguard the privacy of his own, his family, marriage, procreation, motherhood, child bearing and education among other matters. No one can publish anything concerning the above matters without his consent – whether truthful or otherwise and whether laudatory or critical. If he does so, he would be violating the right to privacy of the person concerned and would be liable in an action for damages. Position may, however, be different, if a person voluntarily thrusts himself into controversy or voluntarily invites or raises a controversy.”

In another landmark judgment which addressed the issue of privacy was the telephone tapping case- People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India the Court observed:

“The right to privacy by itself has not been identified under the Constitution. As a concept it may be too wide and moralistic to define it judicially. Whether right to privacy can be claimed or has been infringed in a given case would depend on the facts of the said case….”

Against Public Morality: There is the classic ethical problem that haunts all sting operations: can you hold somebody responsible for a crime that he would not have committed if you hadn’t encouraged him? The essence of all entrapment is that you promise a man a reward for breaking the law and then, apprehend him when he takes the bait. All sting operations involve making people commit crimes that they would not otherwise have committed and are therefore immoral. It is against the public morality and decency and hence falls within the purview of Article 19 (2).

The 17th Law Commission in its 200th report has made recommendations to the Centre to enact a law to prevent the media from interfering with the privacy rights of the individuals.

Problems With Sting Operations
The classic ethical problem that haunts all sting operations: – can you hold somebody responsible for a crime that he would not have committed if you hadn’t encouraged him? The essence of all entrapment is that you promise a man a reward for breaking the law and then, apprehend him when he takes the bait. A defence that can be taken by the accused that the act had been committed as a result of inducement, and which he (the accused) did not intend himself to commit, or, in cases where lack of consent constitutes the offence, such as rape, that the consent had been implied by the inducement, where because of the ‘trap’ laid down for the accused, the impression given was that an offence had not been committed.

Fundamental rights can’t be enforced against the individual or private entity: When Maneka Gandhi sued Khushwant Singh over certain references to her in his autobiography “Truth, Love and a Little Malice” saying that it was a violation of her privacy, she lost the case. It is precisely because of this lack of legislation that we have numerous Sing Operations taking place almost daily thereby obtruding upon individual privacy. However, despite the growing invasion of privacy, there is no Indian legislation that directly protects the privacy rights of individuals against individuals.

Conflict of Laws: Although on one hand, the Constitution confers the fundamental right of freedom of the press, Article 105 (2) provides certain restrictions on the publications of the proceedings in Parliament. In the famous Searchlight Case , the Supreme Court held that, the publication by a newspaper of certain parts of the speech of members in the House, which were ordered to be expunged by the Speaker constituted a breach of privilege.

Another major problem which we face today is against whom the sting operation is allowed? Some are of the opinion that it must be allowed against the public servants. The definition of “Public Servant” is given in 2(c) of The Prevention of Corruption Act. Again a problem comes that can we have sting operation against the public servants when they are not in their course of duty? There are so many problems which arise because we do not have proper legislation. We can say the root of all these problems is the lack of legislation first and any thing after.

Position Of Sting Operation In India
In India we have no specific law which governs such operation and also we have no judicial pronouncements till today which guides such operations or the acts of the media. But a person can go to the court under different laws to protect his rights and freedom. We have wiretapping which is a part of sting operation is regulated under the Telegraph Act of 1885. In 1996 decision by the Supreme Court which ruled that wiretaps are a “serious invasion of an individual’s privacy” The Court also laid out guidelines for wiretapping by the government, which define who can tap phones and under what circumstances. Only the Union Home Secretary, or his counterpart in the states, can issue an order for a tap. The government is also required to show that the information sought cannot to be obtained through any other means. The Court mandated the development of a high-level committee to review the legality of each wiretap. Tapped phone calls are not accepted as primary evidence in Indian courts.

Apart from the common law, the Supreme Court has recognized a constitutional origin as well. So, firstly, a private action for damages may lie for an unlawful invasion of privacy under The Law of Torts. These sting operations also violates right to privacy which according to the Supreme Court is guaranteed under Article 21- right to life and personal liberty. As we are provide that the freedom of expression guarantee in Article 19(1)(a) is not absolute therefore the constitution provides with Article 19(2) which protects the public interest morality and decency. A person who welcomes media interest in his life will not be able to claim a right to privacy as easily as a ‘private individual’. There is vast room for interpretation, especially with terms such as ‘private affairs’ and ‘public interest’; and interpretation will be made by the regulatory authority even though the onus on proving that a particular publication was in public interest lies with the media house. Undoubtedly, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court will certainly influence interpretation The Apex Court has always upheld the importance of an informed citizenry. A ‘sting operation’ with a genuine motive to create awareness of wrongdoing, cannot be proscribed or prohibited.

Final Remarks:
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry must favour the introduction of a clause to address “Sting Operations” in the Broadcasting Bill. The Ministry must make a clear distinction between stories that amount to an “invasion of privacy” and those which expose corruption or have political implications. However, “Sting Operations” which expose corruption and tell stories with political implications will be allowed, as any attempt to proceed against them would be seen as an effort to stifle the media.

What journalists and editors need to determine is who will benefit as a result of the reporting. If journalism is committed to democratic accountability, then the question that needs to be asked is whether the public benefits as a result of specific investigative reports. Does the press fulfill its social responsibility in revealing wrongdoing? Whose interests are being affected? Whose rights are being invaded? Is the issue at stake a matter of legitimate public interest? What the regulatory body will need to determine is who will benefit as a result of the reporting. Is the issue at stake a matter of legitimate public interest? These are some questions which need to be answered when going for a sting operation or going for making legislation on it.

The legislation must govern the conduct of the media and must define the extent media can sting a person’s life and whom they can sting? In the US for example, it is only the federal government and the FBI alone has the right to use a hidden camera and go for sting operation. In India too some body like CBI or any other body must only be legalized to perform sting and their conduct must be regulated through the legislations. This body must not be immune to any legal proceedings. There must be a proper authority like court or Attorney General, whose permission must be sought on proper proof against the subject of the sting. The subject of the sting must have the evidence of criminality

Today the sting operations is taking place for commercial gains therefore the Supreme Court should take observations about it. Problem with the media is that it only campaigns for cases which appeal to its market and its imagination, which may result in its good reputation in front of the society.

To avoid falling into that trap, the sting operations need a code of conduct. Laws too, should be strengthened in this regard. Sting operations are completely justified if they are carried out with the protocol that has been talked about.

Operating Systems Operations, Sting