!ˆ ˛˙#˝ ˚ ˚˙˜$% & ˙ ˚˝˙’˝ &˘˜ˇ · 2019-03-15 · and people, and this shows ˘ ˇ...

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A gainst the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack last week in which 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were martyred, visiting Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) said here on Wednesday terror- ism and extremism are “com- mon concerns” and his country will extend cooperation to India and neighbouring countries to deal with them. He held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the attack a “cruel symbol” of the scourge of terrorism and sought punishment for terrorists and their backers. However, both the leaders refrained from naming Pakistan. Terrorism and extremism are “common con- cerns” and Saudi Arabia will extend all cooperation to India and other neighbouring coun- tries to deal with them, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said. The talks between him and Modi took place a day after the influential Arab leader con- cluded a high-profile visit to Pakistan and agianst the back- drop of India’s escalating tension with Islamabad following the Pulwama terror attack. The External Affairs Ministry later said the Saudi Crown Prince and Modi con- demned the Pulwama terror attack by JeM while “complici- ty” of Pakistan was underlined during the meeting between the two leaders. Briefing reporters on the Crown Prince’s visit and on the issues discussed during the talks, TS Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry said, the two leaders also called upon countries to renounce use of ter- rorism as a state policy. In his media statement, Modi called the attack a “cruel symbol” of the scourge of ter- rorism and sought punishment for the terrorists and their back- ers. The Crown Prince, howev- er, did not mention the strike. “Last week’s barbaric Pulwama attack was a symbol of the shadow of the inhuman danger hovering over the world. To deal with the scourge, we have agreed there is a need to ramp up pressure on countries extending any sort of support to terrorism,” Modi said, without naming Pakistan. He said dismantling terror infrastructure, eliminating sup- port to terrorism and punishing terrorists and their supporters are very necessary. In his address, Modi also called for a strong action plan to combat extremism so that powers spreading violence and terror cannot mislead the youth. The PM said both sides agreed that stronger bilateral cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, maritime security and cyber-security will be beneficial for the two countries. “Today, we held extensive and meaningful dis- cussions on all subjects of our bilateral relations. We have decided to take our economic cooperation to new heights,” he said. In order to facilitate insti- tutional investment from Saudi Arabia in India’s economy, the two countries have agreed to establish a framework, Modi said. “As a result of our meeting in Argentina two months ago, the essence of our strategic part- nership has expanded in the areas of security, trade and investment,” he said. A Pakistan national belong- ing to the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyeba was alleged- ly murdered on Wednesday in a brawl with other prisoners at the Central Jail in Jaipur, jail officials said. A police official said the prisoners fought over the vol- ume of a TV set and hit Shakrullah (50) with a large stone. The police said “three or four” prisoners were responsi- ble for killing the life convict, who is from Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjab. A murder case has been registered. The incident comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack in which a car bomb killed 44 CRPF personnel. T he DMK and the Congress finalised their seat sharing for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday after two days of marathon discus- sions held in New Delhi. As per the agreement reached between the two parties the DMK has allocated to Congress ten out of the total 40 seats which are at stake from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Tamil Nadu has 39 parlia- mentary seats while the Union territory of Puducherry has a lone seat. The details were announced by DMK president MK Stalin and Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik. “The alliance between the Congress and the DMK was the need of the hour. The Narendra Modi Government at the Centre has let down the people of the country, especially the middle class,” said Venugopal while speaking to the reporters. Both Stalin and Venugopal expressed confidence over the outcome of the polls and said the front would win hands down. Stalin said the Congress would wholeheartedly support the DMK candidates in all the 21 Assembly constituencies from where by-polls are due. The allocation of seats for the other constituents in the DMK- led front, the CPI(M),the CPI, the MDMK the VCK and Muslim League would be announced in days to come. Sources in the DMK said these parties would be allocated one seat each, leaving the Dravidian major with 25 seats. The AIADMK had for- malised its seat sharing with the PMK and the BJP on Tuesday. It is almost certain that the Vijayakanth-led DMDK and the Tamil Maanila Congress led by GK Vasan too would figure in the AIADMK-led front. Meanwhile, the DMK and its front partners upped the ante against the AIADMK- PMK alliance terming it “opportunistic” and “unholy”. Stalin, while addressing a Gram Sabha meeting at Thiruvallur on Wednesday, said it was out of fear that the AIADMK included the BJP as an alliance partner. “The Hindutva party has been threatening the AIADMK with criminal cases and CBI raids. Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy and his Cabinet colleagues are facing probes and investigations in scams and corruption charges and they had no options other than allocating seats to the BJP,” said Stalin. But Narayanan Thiruppathi, BJP spokesman said the DMK has been rattled by the ease with which the AIADMK and the other parties formalised the seat sharing talks. “Stalin is disturbed and that’s why he is criticising the AIADMK-PMK-BJP alliance”, said Narayanan. S ix jawans of the Army’s Jammu & Kashmir Rifles unit are feared dead in an avalanche on the India-China border in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Five Armymen are missing while one jawan succumbed to his injuries while being evacuat- ed to hospital. A combined team of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) launched a rescue attempt to locate the other missing soldiers. The mishap took place around 11.00 am near Shipkila when an Army patrol was moving between two Army posts and a mas- sive snow avalanche hit them, Army officials said in New Delhi. Several jawans of the ITBP were also trapped in the avalanche, but they were res- cued, said Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand. A ssembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon headed Tribunal on Wednesday validated the join- ing of six legislators elected on the tickets of the JVM during 2014 Assembly polls into BJP. With this the membership of the MLAs namely Randhir Singh, Amar Kumar Bauri, Ganesh Ganjhu, Alok Chaurasia, Janki Prasad Yadav and Navin Jaiswal remains intact in the House. The Speaker, who had reserved his order on December 12, 2018 after lis- tening to all the parties, read out operative part of his judg- ment compiled into four sec- tions in a packed court room on the Assembly premise in the afternoon. Interestingly none of the MLAs in question was pre- sent there in person. Oraon arrived right on time with a yellow envelop car- rying the order copy and start- ed with thanking all the parties involved into the case for their support in making the court arrive the conclusion as per the facts and provisions of the 10th schedule of the Constitution. The provision is to deal with anti-defection practices prevalent in politics. “I would read out para-1 of the order here. In the light of my order given on February 12, 2015 as per the provisions of the para 4(2) of the 10th sched- ule and had permitted the merger of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik into the BJP with conditions, I give my assent to the merger,” ordered the Speaker. He went on reading out the other parts of the brief order saying that different petitions filed by JVM president Babulal Marandi and general secretary Pradeep Yadav before him demanding dismissal of the six members from the House for their anti-party activities have been dismissed in the light of the established Constitutional provisions. Lastly, he directed the Tribunal officials to provide copy of the judgment and detailed order to all the parties. The order has come after about four-year long hearing started in 2015 when the former JVM legislators opted for the BJP post Assembly polls. This took tally of the ruling party to 43 providing it majority of its own in the House of 81. Experts are of the view that the order is based on the 10th Schedule of the Constitution which allows at least 2/3 of the MLAs of any party to break away without any bearing on their membership under the anti-defection law. Here the Speaker’s court has validated the rupture of the JVM then as legitimate merger. “This order does not mean that entire JVM has merged into the BJP but only the sections falling apart. The Act says that 2/3rd members are required for a merger that means 1/3rd may be remaining out of it and thus the original party’s identity would remain intact,” said a senior official of the Assembly. Following the pronounce- ment of the judgment lawyers representing the BJP hailed it while JVM expressed its anguish. “This is the order taken against the provisions and previous orders came in similar cases. We would study the full order and see how the Speaker arrived at such a con- clusion. Thereafter we would move a petition into the High Court,” said JVM advocate RN Sahay. Nevertheless, sources are of the view that this move just has reduced to an academic exer- cise since Assembly polls are less than a year away and there is no chance of the matter get- ting decided ahead of that. On the other, the Tribunal order would also be moral boosting for the ruling BJP ahead of the elections. It has also ensured status-quo in the State politics which would have otherwise forced reshuffle into the Cabinet. C hief Minister Raghubar Das on Wednesday launched Tele Medicine, a digital dispen- sary project, and Anemia Free India campaign from Pithoria in Ranchi. The projects, he said, are a part of the State’s relentless efforts in revolutionizing health facilities by incorporating dig- italization and creating public awareness. The Tele Medicine is a dig- ital dispensary, through which patients living in the interiors of the State will be able to get health advice from doctors over video calls. At least 100 such digital dispensaries were launched on Wednesday across the state. These dispensaries will also have pathology centres, which will upload the test reports of various patients online for doctors’ reference. “We are fast digitalising various schemes and projects in a bid to utilize the potential of technology to the fullest. Through technology, now, vil- lagers in the interiors of Jharkhand will be able to con- sult doctors online and get treated,” said Das. He had floated the idea of digital dispensaries soon after coming to power and asked health officials to prepare a blueprint for the same, Das added. “IT today is bridging the gap between the Government and people, and this shows how effective technology is as a tool for development,” he said. Meanwhile, the Government on Wednesday also announced that under its Anemia Free India campaign, free iron supplements will be distributed at Anganwadi cen- tres and schools among girls in the age bracket or one year to five years and five years to nine years. The supplements will also be provided free of cost to women till the age of 45 years. According to World Health Organization (WHO), if the prevalence of anemia in a pop- ulation is 40 per cent or higher it is categorized as a severe pub- lic health problem. In Jharkhand, 70 per cent of 6-59 month-old children, 62.6 per cent of pregnant women and 65.2 per cent of women in the reproductive age are anemic. According to National Family Health Survey 4, anemia is more prevalent in rural areas of Jharkhand and among tribal women and women with no schooling. Talking about the impor- tance of keeping a strict watch on health issues, Das said it was time for the rural citizens to return to age old home remedies for tackling minor diseases. “There are so many naturally growing herbs in Jharkhand that have medicinal value. We have been using them since ages, and it is time we use them to stay healthy,” Das said, adding that prevention of any disease was always better than cure. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement, Das said that 57 lakh families are con- nected to the Ayushman Bharat scheme and are reaping the ben- efits of it in Jharkhand. Modi, he said, was committed in provid- ing best possible health facilities to the poor and this is the reason why three medical colleges were inaugurated on the same day in Hazaribagh recently. Das also commended the 108 ambulance facility and appreciated the efforts put in by the staff running the show. During the launch, Das was accompanied by Ranchi MP Ramtahal Choudhary; Kanke MLA, Jeetu Charan Ram; Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni and UNICEF Jharkhand chief Madhulika Jonathan. I n what may be a landmark judgment in the State, the court of Additional District Judge -1, L Dubey in Gumla awarded capital punishment to the rapist and murderer of a three-year-old girl of the dis- trict on Wednesday. When the three-year-old victim was playing near her house, the convict, Bandhan Oraon (20), who lived next door took her to his place and raped her. When the girl screamed, he strangled her to death. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Puso police station. Officer in charge of Puso PS, Rafuddin Ansari said, “Parents of the girl filed an FIR on September 24, 2018 and the chargesheet was filed on November 22, 2018. The moth- er said that when she went to search for the girl, Oraon told her that she is sleeping and he will send her home when she gets up.” After half an hour, Oraon went to the victim’s mother and said that the victim is not speak- ing. “The mother rushed to the convict’s place to find her daugh- ter dead and noticed blood stains on her clothes, following which she lodged the FIR.” Within three months of the chargesheet being filed, the court gave its verdict and awarded capital punishment to the convict along with a fine or Rs 10,000. Gumla SP, Ashwini Kumar Sinha said, “The man has been awarded the sentence based on the amendment in criminal law done in 2018, which calls for punishment up to death sen- tence for rape of a girl of 12 years of age or younger.” The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018 called for amendment in the Indian Penal Code. Explaining the amendment, Supreme Court advocate Ravi Kant said, "Section 376 AB has been included in IPC, which says that punishment for rape of a woman of 12 years of age or below shall not be less than rig- orous punishment of 20 years, which may extend to imprisonment for life or death." Kant informed that this also has an impact on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. “Section 42 of POCSO Act says that an offender found guilty under selected sections of IPC, which also includes rape, shall be liable for punishment under this Act or under IPC, whichever punish- ment is of a greater degree,” he said.

Transcript of !ˆ ˛˙#˝ ˚ ˚˙˜$% & ˙ ˚˝˙’˝ &˘˜ˇ · 2019-03-15 · and people, and this shows ˘ ˇ...

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Against the backdrop of thePulwama terror attack last

week in which 44 CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)soldiers were martyred, visitingSaudi Arabia Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman (MBS)said here on Wednesday terror-ism and extremism are “com-mon concerns” and his countrywill extend cooperation to Indiaand neighbouring countries todeal with them.

He held talks with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, whocalled the attack a “cruel symbol”of the scourge of terrorism andsought punishment for terroristsand their backers. However,both the leaders refrained fromnaming Pakistan. Terrorism andextremism are “common con-cerns” and Saudi Arabia willextend all cooperation to Indiaand other neighbouring coun-tries to deal with them, SaudiCrown Prince Mohammed BinSalman said.

The talks between him andModi took place a day after theinfluential Arab leader con-cluded a high-profile visit toPakistan and agianst the back-

drop of India’s escalating tensionwith Islamabad following thePulwama terror attack.

The External AffairsMinistry later said the SaudiCrown Prince and Modi con-demned the Pulwama terrorattack by JeM while “complici-ty” of Pakistan was underlinedduring the meeting betweenthe two leaders.

Briefing reporters on theCrown Prince’s visit and on theissues discussed during the talks,TS Tirumurti, Secretary(Economic Relations) in theExternal Affairs Ministry said,the two leaders also called uponcountries to renounce use of ter-rorism as a state policy.

In his media statement,Modi called the attack a “cruelsymbol” of the scourge of ter-rorism and sought punishmentfor the terrorists and their back-ers. The Crown Prince, howev-er, did not mention the strike.

“Last week’s barbaricPulwama attack was a symbol ofthe shadow of the inhumandanger hovering over the world.To deal with the scourge, wehave agreed there is a need toramp up pressure on countriesextending any sort of support to

terrorism,” Modi said, withoutnaming Pakistan.

He said dismantling terrorinfrastructure, eliminating sup-port to terrorism and punishingterrorists and their supportersare very necessary. In hisaddress, Modi also called for astrong action plan to combatextremism so that powersspreading violence and terrorcannot mislead the youth. ThePM said both sides agreed thatstronger bilateral cooperation inareas such as counter-terrorism,maritime security and cyber-security will be beneficialfor the two countries. “Today, we heldextensive and meaningful dis-cussions on all subjects of ourbilateral relations. We havedecided to take our economiccooperation to new heights,” hesaid. In order to facilitate insti-tutional investment from SaudiArabia in India’s economy, thetwo countries have agreed toestablish a framework, Modisaid. “As a result of our meetingin Argentina two months ago,the essence of our strategic part-nership has expanded in theareas of security, trade andinvestment,” he said.

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APakistan national belong-ing to the terror group

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba was alleged-ly murdered on Wednesday ina brawl with other prisoners atthe Central Jail in Jaipur, jailofficials said.

A police official said theprisoners fought over the vol-ume of a TV set and hitShakrullah (50) with a largestone.

The police said “three orfour” prisoners were responsi-ble for killing the life convict,who is from Sialkot inPakistan’s Punjab. A murdercase has been registered.

The incident comes amidheightened tension betweenIndia and Pakistan after thePulwama terror attack in which a car bomb killed 44CRPF personnel.

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The DMK and the Congressfinalised their seat sharing

for the ensuing Lok Sabhaelections on Wednesday aftertwo days of marathon discus-sions held in New Delhi. As perthe agreement reached betweenthe two parties the DMK hasallocated to Congress ten out of the total 40 seats whichare at stake from Tamil Naduand Puducherry.

Tamil Nadu has 39 parlia-mentary seats while the Union territory of Puducherryhas a lone seat.

The details wereannounced by DMK presidentMK Stalin and Congress leaders KC Venugopal andMukul Wasnik.

“The alliance between theCongress and the DMK was theneed of the hour. The NarendraModi Government at theCentre has let down the people

of the country, especially themiddle class,” said Venugopalwhile speaking to the reporters.

Both Stalin and Venugopalexpressed confidence over the outcome of the pollsand said the front would winhands down.

Stalin said the Congresswould wholeheartedly supportthe DMK candidates in all the21 Assembly constituenciesfrom where by-polls are due.The allocation of seats for theother constituents in the DMK-led front, the CPI(M),the CPI,the MDMK the VCK and

Muslim League would beannounced in days to come.Sources in the DMK said theseparties would be allocated oneseat each, leaving the Dravidianmajor with 25 seats.

The AIADMK had for-malised its seat sharing with thePMK and the BJP on Tuesday.It is almost certain that theVijayakanth-led DMDK andthe Tamil Maanila Congress ledby GK Vasan too would figurein the AIADMK-led front.

Meanwhile, the DMK andits front partners upped theante against the AIADMK-

PMK alliance terming it“opportunistic” and “unholy”.Stalin, while addressing a GramSabha meeting at Thiruvalluron Wednesday, said it was outof fear that the AIADMKincluded the BJP as an alliancepartner.

“The Hindutva party hasbeen threatening the AIADMKwith criminal cases and CBIraids. Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy and his Cabinetcolleagues are facing probesand investigations in scamsand corruption charges andthey had no options other thanallocating seats to the BJP,” saidStalin.

But NarayananThiruppathi, BJP spokesmansaid the DMK has been rattledby the ease with which theAIADMK and the other partiesformalised the seat sharingtalks. “Stalin is disturbed andthat’s why he is criticising theAIADMK-PMK-BJP alliance”,said Narayanan.

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Six jawans of the Army’sJammu & Kashmir Rifles

unit are feared dead in anavalanche on the India-Chinaborder in Kinnaur district ofHimachal Pradesh onWednesday. Five Armymenare missing while one jawan succumbed to hisinjuries while being evacuat-ed to hospital.

A combined team of theArmy and the Indo-TibetanBorder Police (ITBP)launched a rescue attempt tolocate the other missing soldiers.

The mishap took placearound 11.00 am nearShipkila when an Armypatrol was moving betweentwo Army posts and a mas-sive snow avalanche hit them, Army officials said inNew Delhi.

Several jawans of theITBP were also trapped in theavalanche, but they were res-cued, said Kinnaur DeputyCommissioner Gopal Chand.

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Assembly Speaker DineshOraon headed Tribunal on

Wednesday validated the join-ing of six legislators elected onthe tickets of the JVM during2014 Assembly polls into BJP.With this the membership ofthe MLAs namely RandhirSingh, Amar Kumar Bauri,Ganesh Ganjhu, AlokChaurasia, Janki Prasad Yadavand Navin Jaiswal remainsintact in the House.

The Speaker, who had

reserved his order onDecember 12, 2018 after lis-tening to all the parties, readout operative part of his judg-ment compiled into four sec-tions in a packed court roomon the Assembly premise in theafternoon. Interestingly none ofthe MLAs in question was pre-sent there in person.

Oraon arrived right ontime with a yellow envelop car-rying the order copy and start-ed with thanking all the partiesinvolved into the case for theirsupport in making the court

arrive the conclusion as per thefacts and provisions of the10th schedule of theConstitution. The provision isto deal with anti-defectionpractices prevalent in politics.

“I would read out para-1 ofthe order here. In the light ofmy order given on February 12,2015 as per the provisions ofthe para 4(2) of the 10th sched-ule and had permitted themerger of Jharkhand VikasMorcha-Prajatantrik into theBJP with conditions, I give myassent to the merger,” orderedthe Speaker.

He went on reading out theother parts of the brief ordersaying that different petitionsfiled by JVM president Babulal

Marandi and general secretaryPradeep Yadav before himdemanding dismissal of the six

members from the House fortheir anti-party activities havebeen dismissed in the light of

the established Constitutionalprovisions. Lastly, he directedthe Tribunal officials to providecopy of the judgment anddetailed order to all the parties.

The order has come afterabout four-year long hearingstarted in 2015 when the formerJVM legislators opted for theBJP post Assembly polls. Thistook tally of the ruling party to43 providing it majority of itsown in the House of 81.

Experts are of the view thatthe order is based on the 10thSchedule of the Constitutionwhich allows at least 2/3 of theMLAs of any party to breakaway without any bearing ontheir membership under theanti-defection law. Here the

Speaker’s court has validatedthe rupture of the JVM then aslegitimate merger.

“This order does not meanthat entire JVM has merged intothe BJP but only the sectionsfalling apart. The Act says that2/3rd members are required fora merger that means 1/3rd maybe remaining out of it and thusthe original party’s identitywould remain intact,” said asenior official of the Assembly.

Following the pronounce-ment of the judgment lawyersrepresenting the BJP hailed itwhile JVM expressed itsanguish. “This is the ordertaken against the provisionsand previous orders came insimilar cases. We would study

the full order and see how theSpeaker arrived at such a con-clusion. Thereafter we wouldmove a petition into the HighCourt,” said JVM advocate RNSahay.

Nevertheless, sources are ofthe view that this move just hasreduced to an academic exer-cise since Assembly polls areless than a year away and thereis no chance of the matter get-ting decided ahead of that. Onthe other, the Tribunal orderwould also be moral boostingfor the ruling BJP ahead of theelections. It has also ensuredstatus-quo in the State politicswhich would have otherwiseforced reshuffle into theCabinet.

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Chief Minister Raghubar Dason Wednesday launched

Tele Medicine, a digital dispen-sary project, and Anemia FreeIndia campaign from Pithoria inRanchi. The projects, he said,are a part of the State’s relentlessefforts in revolutionizing healthfacilities by incorporating dig-italization and creating publicawareness.

The Tele Medicine is a dig-ital dispensary, through whichpatients living in the interiors ofthe State will be able to gethealth advice from doctors overvideo calls. At least 100 suchdigital dispensaries werelaunched on Wednesday acrossthe state. These dispensaries willalso have pathology centres,which will upload the testreports of various patientsonline for doctors’ reference.

“We are fast digitalisingvarious schemes and projects ina bid to utilize the potential oftechnology to the fullest.Through technology, now, vil-lagers in the interiors ofJharkhand will be able to con-sult doctors online and gettreated,” said Das.

He had floated the idea ofdigital dispensaries soon aftercoming to power and askedhealth officials to prepare ablueprint for the same, Dasadded.

“IT today is bridging thegap between the Governmentand people, and this showshow effective technology is as atool for development,” he said.

Meanwhile, theGovernment on Wednesday

also announced that under itsAnemia Free India campaign,free iron supplements will bedistributed at Anganwadi cen-tres and schools among girls inthe age bracket or one year tofive years and five years to nineyears.

The supplements will alsobe provided free of cost towomen till the age of 45 years.

According to World HealthOrganization (WHO), if theprevalence of anemia in a pop-ulation is 40 per cent or higherit is categorized as a severe pub-lic health problem.

In Jharkhand, 70 per cent of6-59 month-old children, 62.6per cent of pregnant womenand 65.2 per cent of women inthe reproductive age are anemic.According to National FamilyHealth Survey 4, anemia ismore prevalent in rural areas ofJharkhand and among tribalwomen and women with noschooling.

Talking about the impor-tance of keeping a strict watchon health issues, Das said it wastime for the rural citizens toreturn to age old home remedies

for tackling minor diseases.“There are so many naturallygrowing herbs in Jharkhand thathave medicinal value. We havebeen using them since ages, andit is time we use them to stayhealthy,” Das said, adding thatprevention of any disease wasalways better than cure.

Reiterating Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s statement, Dassaid that 57 lakh families are con-nected to the Ayushman Bharatscheme and are reaping the ben-efits of it in Jharkhand. Modi, hesaid, was committed in provid-ing best possible health facilitiesto the poor and this is the reasonwhy three medical colleges wereinaugurated on the same day inHazaribagh recently.

Das also commended the108 ambulance facility andappreciated the efforts put in bythe staff running the show.

During the launch, Daswas accompanied by RanchiMP Ramtahal Choudhary;Kanke MLA, Jeetu CharanRam; Health Secretary NitinMadan Kulkarni and UNICEFJharkhand chief MadhulikaJonathan.

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In what may be a landmarkjudgment in the State, the

court of Additional DistrictJudge -1, L Dubey in Gumlaawarded capital punishment tothe rapist and murderer of athree-year-old girl of the dis-trict on Wednesday.

When the three-year-oldvictim was playing near herhouse, the convict, BandhanOraon (20), who lived nextdoor took her to his place andraped her. When the girlscreamed, he strangled her todeath. The incident occurredunder the jurisdiction of Pusopolice station. Officer in chargeof Puso PS, Rafuddin Ansarisaid, “Parents of the girl filed anFIR on September 24, 2018 andthe chargesheet was filed onNovember 22, 2018. The moth-er said that when she went tosearch for the girl, Oraon toldher that she is sleeping and hewill send her home when shegets up.”

After half an hour, Oraonwent to the victim’s mother andsaid that the victim is not speak-ing. “The mother rushed to theconvict’s place to find her daugh-ter dead and noticed bloodstains on her clothes, followingwhich she lodged the FIR.”

Within three months ofthe chargesheet being filed,the court gave its verdict andawarded capital punishment tothe convict along with a fine orRs 10,000.

Gumla SP, Ashwini KumarSinha said, “The man has beenawarded the sentence based onthe amendment in criminal lawdone in 2018, which calls for

punishment up to death sen-tence for rape of a girl of 12years of age or younger.”

The Criminal LawAmendment Act, 2018 calledfor amendment in the IndianPenal Code. Explaining theamendment, Supreme Courtadvocate Ravi Kant said,"Section 376 AB has beenincluded in IPC, which saysthat punishment for rape of awoman of 12 years of age orbelow shall not be less than rig-orous punishment of 20 years,which may extend to imprisonment for lifeor death."

Kant informed that thisalso has an impact on theProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Act,2012. “Section 42 of POCSOAct says that an offender foundguilty under selected sectionsof IPC, which also includes rape, shall be liable forpunishment under this Act orunder IPC, whichever punish-ment is of a greater degree,” hesaid.

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Woman and girl victims ofrape, domestic violence,

sexual abuse, child marriage,cyber crime, dowry harass-ment, missing/ kidnapping,acid attack, abuse and traffick-ing will get relief under oneroof called Sakhi One StopCentre (SOSC) inauguratedjointly by BJP MP Palamu VD Ram and DC PalamuShantanu Kumar Agrahari onWednesday in Chainpur oldblock building.

SOSC is Government ofIndia’s scheme for women andgirls in distress and destitutionlaunched in 2015 but no DCsof Palamu in the past everbothered to start or set up thisSOSC here which finally saw itssetting up today in the oldblock building of Chainpur.

BJP MP VD Ram said, “Ihad taken up this issue withthen DC in 2015 but in vain. Iam thankful to DC Agrahariwho got it done today.” TheSOSC is under social welfaredepartment and its districtchief Sartunjay Kumar and histeam did a lot of works to getit opened today at a very shortnotice. Sartunjay Kumar in hisspeech said now woman andgirl in distress shall not wanderhere and there but this centrewill look after their every prob-lem. Kumar said this SOSC hason its panel para legal volun-teer, a psycho analyst, a policeofficer of the rank of SI, ANMfor health issues and others tooto make a woman or a girl in

distress to feel at home in thisone stop centre.

A woman or a girl in dis-tress if she wants to be spend-ing a few days time here forrelief, assistance or counselingwill find 5 beds here at thisSOSC here. Lady supervisorsnamely Puja Vinayak, ShaliniBoral, Prem Lata Kujur, AlkaKumari and others played a keyrole in the inauguration of thisSOSC. Sources said SOSC is tocome up in a district wherecases of atrocities against fairsex are either 21 per cent orabove or where the genderratio of a district shows a widegap between male and female.

Sources said Palamu dis-trict fulfils both the criterion ashere atrocities against womanand girl is more than 21 percent and the gender gap perthousand of population is alsotoo wide and big if one takesnational average.

SOSC is to be maintainedand run with fund underNIrbhaya scheme which is onecrore an year but sources saidPalamu is yet to get it.

However, the DC said wehave some 7 to 8 lakhs of fundwith which this SOSC will berun. He said land for its inde-pendent building has beenidentified at Kund Muhalla. Hesaid this SOSC will be underthe watchful eyes of cHainpurcommunity health centre formedical assistance to distress-ful woman and girl.

SOSC is to be just one inany district and so it is also onein Palamu.

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The Indo-AmericanChamber of

Commerce (IACC) anapex bi-lateral Chamber ofCommerce engaged inpromotion of trade andcommerce between USand India, in associationwith the Masonic Lodgeorganised The GreatAmerican Outdoor Show.

The chief guest of the showDarrell E. Preble, plant head,Tata Cummins, inauguratedthe show and congratulatedIACC on their initiative. Healso spoke about US Indiabusiness prospects and growthpotential of IACC inJamshedpur. It was an all-dayShow with major US Brands asparticipants like – Harley-Davidson, Veedol, andiDestiny. Harley-Davidsoncame all the way from Kolkatato set-up a boot camp for all the

riders in city. They showcasedIRON 883 and Fat Bob at theShow. Veedol, owned by TideWater Oil Co.(India) Ltd. oneof India's premiere lube brands,brought their premium rangeof automotive engine oils forcars and two wheelers to theShow.

iDestiny, Jamshedpur'sonly Apple Premium Reseller,supported the adventurous out-door spirit of the city and pro-moted a healthy lifestyle withtheir Apple Watch, theUltimate Health Companion.

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Jusco dedicated a 33/11KV power sub-station atSeraikela to cater to the growing needs of indus-

trial hub. The capacity of this substation is 2x5MVA, 33/11KV (expandable by another 5MVA )with the feeding area of approximately 50 villagesand 6-8 thousand families. Chhavi Ranjan,Deputy Commissioner , Seraikela – Kharsawaninaugurated the 33/11KV power sub-station atSeraikela. Speaking on the occasion, ChhaviRanjan thanked Jusco for its commendable effortsand also has requested help to provide power innearby rural areas of Seraikela Kharsawan.

SDO Seraikela, Chairman Nagar Panchayat,Tarun Daga, managing director,Jusco, DeepakKamath, senior GM Real Estate, V P Singh, GM,Power Services, K R Krishnakumar, CIO , officialsof both local administration and JUSCO were pre-sent at the inauguration.

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Aunique fest to bring together aca-demics, arts, sports, music and the

spirit of studentship named, ‘FREON-FEST19’ is being organised in theCapital City on February 28 atMorabadi Ground. Featuring ShirleySetia and Hard Candies along with aplethora of other events for the youthand people, its main aim is to unite thepeople of Ranchi and the nearby cities.

The event is being organised byAmi Empresia Entertainment with thestudents from BIT Mesra and Lalpur,Amity University, St. Xaviers Collageand the other collages in the city.

The event aims at giving the stu-dents a chance to explore the profes-sionals in them and a platform to show-case their talent. Being an open fest toall the colleges, the event is set to linkall the college goers with a chain of pos-itivity and enthusiasm.

Shirley Setia, the girl with thegolden voice has already won a millionhearts on YouTube will be there to mes-merize the crowd. Hard Candies- thecombination of two stylish, talented andexperienced DJ’s is going to rock theground with their beats. A fashion show,an Open Mic- get your voice heard, adance competition called Naach are also

planned. For those aspiring to start theirown business, B-Plan; Unleash theblueprint will give them a stage to pre-sent their new and unique ideas. Thereare whooping cash prizes to be won atthe various competitions.

The event also includes a socialcause ‘Divyang – Ek Kadam Samantaki or’ in association with an NGOLakshaya. The NGO works for the bet-terment of the differently abled speciallyfocusing on the visually challenged.

The event is being sponsored byMax Fashion, Radio Dhoom, Jharcraft,Aqua Spa and Salon among many oth-ers. Couple tickets for the event arepriced at 799 where as a general entryticket is for 399. A family pass allow-ing entry for four is for 1999 and a fanbox is priced at 1199. VIP and VVIPtickets are for 1999 and 2999 respec-tively.

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The central team ofMukhymantri Jan Samvad

organized an awareness pro-gramme in Sadar block cumCircle office of Lohardaga onWednesday.

The trainer ofMukhymantri JansanvadPrashikshan Kendra VijayaShahdeo gave details of theGovernments projects to thevillagers.

She made villagers awareabout Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojna (AyushmanBharat), Mukhyamantri KrishiAwas Yojna, MukhymantriSukanya Yojna, MukhymantriKanyadan Yojna, PradhanMantri Matritwa VandanaYojna, Sukanya SamridhhiYojna, among others.

Addressing the pro-gramme, the District GrievanceRedressal Coordinator NandlalPradhan said that the Centre aswell as State Government isrunning various public welfareschemes. Prakhand PramukhPahnu Oraon and Block

Programme Officer AbhishekKishore, Bhathkhijari MukhiyaSurendra Lohar, RampurMukhiya Suman Panna,Harmu Mukhiya MeenaOraon, panchayat sevaks, roj-gar sevaks and many other vol-unteers were present in the pro-gramme.

A team of artists staged aspecial show through streetplay to encourage people ofcasting their vote in the com-ing Lok Sabha elections. Theartists in the team includedLoknath Lohra, Deepak Oraon,Bhandari Oraon, Vijay Asur,Vikki Lohra, Anita Devi,Sangeeta Deci, Dilip Sahu,Nisha Kujur, Lauva Oraon,Baiju Lohar and RameshMahli. LED display van wasalso used to tell the people ofthe projects and aware them oftheir voting rights.

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As many as 42 ParyatakMitras from various dis-

tricts of the State are being pro-vided training on life savingtechniques by the StateTourism Department andNational Institute of WaterSports of Ministry of Tourism.

A total of 300 ParyatakMitras applied for the trainingprogramme through theirrespective district administra-tions, of which 100 were calledin for the training at Hotwar inthe first phase. Prayatak Mitrasor tourism friends are localyouths roped in by tourismdepartment to help and guidetourists at various tourist spotsacross the State.

Rajeev Ranjan, joint direc-tor, Directorate of Tourisminformed that the applicants

underwent a basic swimmingtest to be eligible for the train-ing.

“Of the 100 candidates, 80turned up for the test and 42were selected. The test was toswim 100 mts in three minutes.Also, the minimum educa-tional qualification should beclass eight. However, if theperson is an exceptional swim-mer, the educational qualifica-tion can be relaxed,” he said.

The joint directorinformed that those who couldnot clear the swimming testthis time can brush up theirswimming skills and approachthe department again. “If theymeet up the eligibility criteriathey would be provided train-ing in the later phases,” he said.

The life saving techniquetraining will be of five days fol-lowed by a five day training ofpowerboat driving. “Thosewho successfully learn the lifesaving techniques can opt for

powerboat driving training.Once they are trained, they willbe provided license and will beeligible to drive these boats attourist spots like dams andrivers,” Ranjan said.

The training would focuson how to save a drowning per-son, giving first aid, CPR andother necessary techniques.The second phase of trainingwill be organized fromFebruary 27 in which 150 moreParyatak Mitras will be trained.

The training is being pro-vided with an aim to boostwater tourism in the State.Tourism Director Sanjiv Besrasaid, "The State has numerouswaterfalls, dams and otherwater tourism destinationwhich can be developed aswonderful tourism spots. Thedepartment is planning to startboating facilities at variouswater tourism spot for whichthe powerboat handling train-ing is being provided."

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Tata Business ExcellenceGroup (TBExG), organ-

ised a function to recognizeTata Education ExcellenceProgramme (TEEP) Assessorsat Golmuri Club. In TEEP, 4types of assessments are done.A total of 104 assessors wererecognised.

Under the Regular pro-gram, 9 schools had partici-pated in 2018. Each assessmenttakes around 6 days, resultingin an assessment report con-sisting of Strengths,Opportunities for improve-ment and a score. Each schoolis assessed by a 5-memberteam. Over 44 assessors underthe Regular program wererecognised at the function.

The concept of mentoringwas introduced in 2018.Mentors are typically thosewho have completed 12-13assessments. They interact withthe team at each stage of theassessment and provide guid-ance to the team. 5 mentorswere recognised at the func-tion.

Regular assessments andDip Checks are done in alter-nate years such that a schoolwhich undergoes Dip Check inthe first year, undergoesRegular assessment in the sec-ond year and vice versa. 9schools participated in DipCheck in 2018. Each Dip Checktakes around 2 days, resultingin an assessment report with

strengths and areas forimprovement. Each school isassessed by a 2- 3 memberteam. Over 23 assessors wererecognised at the function.

Under the Basic program,10 schools had participated in2018.

Each assessment takesaround 2 days, resulting in anassessment report with a com-pliance score. 21 assessors wererecognised at the function.

Under the Saral program,8 schools had participated in2018. Each assessment takesaround 1 day, resulting in anassessment report with a com-pliance score. 16 assessors wererecognised at the function.

N K Sharan, VicePresident, TBExG welcomedthe audience. Leslie D’Gama,

eminent educationist andMaster Trainer, from Kolkata,was the chief guest. BesidesD’Gama, K P G Nair, chairman,Kerala Samajam Model School& TEEP Executive Committeemember and Dipa Sengupta,educator and former Principal, Narbheram Hansraj EnglishSchool , gave away the certifi-cates.

In his remarks, D’Gamareiterated that teachers have avital role to play in education.Earlier in the day, TBExGorganised an interactive sessionbetween D’Gama and the prin-cipals, vice principals & coor-dinators of various schools atthe Centre of ExcellenceAuditorium. Over 50 partici-pants attended the interactivesession.

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In an attempt to providemachinery and information

for the entrepreneurs of thefood processing industryVintage Media will organizeAsia Foodtech a three day exhi-bition from February 22 andwill continue till February 24.

While addressing a pressmeet on Wednesday VintageMedia, East Regional HeadKajal Das said, “This is firsttime in Jharkhand and adjoin-ing areas where such kinds ofexhibition on food processingindustry is going to take place.This is exhibition is not forcommon men it is for entre-preneur who are looking foropportunities in the field offood processing, bakerymachinery, hotel and kitchenequipments, packagingmachines, sweet industriesequipments industrial refriger-ation and cold room, foodflavours, food industries relat-ed all accessories. The reputedcompanies from all over Indiawill display their products andtechnology in this networkplatform. Around 25 to 30 stallwill be installed at the venue.”

While providing the detailof the exhibition Das said,“Jharkhand is located in east-ern part of India and its bordershares with West Bengal , UttarPradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa.Seeing Jharkhand’s potential invegetable sector and lot ofcompanies have expressedinterest to set up food pro-cessing plants in the State.Jharkhand is vegetable surplusState, which produce around 40lakh metric tonnes of vegeta-bles annually at the require-ments of 30mlakh metrictonnes.

The State supplies aroundone million tones vegetable toother states mainly Bihar,Orissa and West Bengal everyyear. Due to surplus productionand shortage of buyers, farm-ers dump their produce everyyears. The upcoming process-ing plants would not only helpincrease farmers’ income butthey would also get market fortheir products.”

While speaking on theissue of treasure of the State,Das said, “Jharkhand isendowed with rich culturalheritage and bestowed liberal-ly with bounties of nature. TheState is blessed with immensebio-diversity, moderate climate,rich cultural and historicalheritage, religious places andethnic aspects to make theState the ultimate destinationfor tourists because of the rea-son the growth of tourist sec-tor is very high.”

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The State BJP unit has wel-comed the decision of

Jharkhand Assembly SpeakerDinesh Oraon’s Court that gavebig relief to six MLAs of rulingparty quashing the petitionfilled by JVM Chief BabulalMarandi challenging theirmembership. Six out of eightMLAs from JVM in 2015 hadjoined the BJP amidst anti-defection clamour made byMarandi.

State BJP president andparty MP, Laxman Gilua said,“The verdict of Speaker’s Courtis victory of truth and judicia-ry. The Speaker’s Court aftergoing through all the docu-ments hearing the argumentsfrom both the sides gave thejudgment.”

Gilua also said that afterthe Speaker’s Court gave theConstitutional validity to join-ing of six JVM MLAs, theexistence of Babulal Marandi’sparty JVM comes to end. Hesaid, “Babulal Marandi has nolegal right to use the name,symbol and party flag of JVM.”

Echoing the views of Gilua,BJP MLA from Chhatarpurand party chief whip inAssembly, Radha KrishnaKishore said, “We welcome

the decision of Speaker’s Court.The Speaker taking intoaccount all Constitutional pro-visions had given the verdict.With today’s judgment themouth of Opposition is closedas the Speaker has given thejudgment after taking intoaccount all the provisions. Inthe present case anti defectionlaw was not applicable.”

He said, “Defection of sixof the eight JVM MLAs to BJPwas legally valid as the 1985anti-defection law states that asplit is permissible if 2/3rd ofthe members of legislatureparty cede from the parentparty and join another party orform their own outfit.”

The Rajiv Gandhi govern-ment in 1985 introduced ananti-defection law through the91st constitutional amendmentwith the introduction of TenthSchedule.

Kishore claimed that asper the anti-defection law, theSpeaker’s Court has all thepower to decide such cases andthe judgment of Speaker’sCourt is legally valid; however,if any aggrieved party has anygrievances they can approachat higher platforms.

Kishore said, “Today’sjudgment calls for introspec-tion of Babulal Marandi and hisparty’s style of functioning. InJVM there is no internaldemocracy. It is one man showwith no second rank leader-ship.”

State BJP spokespersonand Gumla MLA, Shiv ShankarOraon too welcomed the deci-son. Oraon claimed that in thepresent case anti defection lawwas not applicable.

JVM’s case was switchingof six out of eight of the partyMLAs to the BJP on February11, 2015 post Assembly polls in2015. Six MLAs namely AlokKumar Chaurasia, Janki PrasadYadav, Navin Jaiswal, Ganesh Ganjhu, Randhir Singhand Amar Kumar Bauri hadjoined BJP. Later, RandhirSingh and Amar Kumar Bauriwere made ministers inRaghubar Das led governmentwhile others were made headsof different boards.

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Reacting on expected linesthe entire Opposition

snubbed the ruling given bySpeaker Dinesh Oraon’s Courtthat stamped six former JVMMLAs as of the BJP onWednesday.

JVM general secretary andlegislator of party PradeepYadav using tough wordsdenounced the decision of theTribunal outrightly andpledged to knock the doors ofthe highest court of the coun-try.

“The ruling given by theAssembly Speaker is against thespirit of the 10th Scheduled ofthe Constitution which clear-ly says that 2/3 of all the elect-ed members and other partyoffice bearers are required tomerge to validate it. This hasnot happened. This is clearlylike murder of democracy. It isunfortunate that Jharkhandwould again be perceived as alaughing stock before the

nation,” said the JVM MLA.He also rapped the BJP and

said that it was expected fromit while alleging that the deci-sion of the Speaker’s Court hascome under duress. “It wasexpected from the BJP. Wewere expecting that they wouldpressurise the Tribunal to get afavourable order.

We oppose the verdict andwould soon move to theSupreme Court to get the ordercorrected,” added Yadav. JVMspokesperson Yogendra Singhtermed it a black day andalleged the BJP for running allthe Constitutional institutionsthrough remote control.

Pradesh CongressCommittee president AjoyKumar also criticised the deci-sion terming it the one estab-lishing opportunists and turn-coats into politics. “Eyes ofentire State and its people wereon the Speaker but he tore apartthe legacy attached with punch-parmeshwara office. TheSpeaker says that it was not a

defection but merger of oneparty into the other. This isunfortunate and wrong. Hehas ruled this just to be inpower and to protect theGovernment and was wellanticipated,” said the StateCongress chief.

He added that the order isa disrespect of the anti-defec-tion law and has weakened thedemocratic setup and allegedthat the Speaker was undergreat deal of pressure to pro-nounce a suitable decision.

Jharkhand Mukti Morchaalso reacted adversely to thejudgment. “The Speaker hasbeen and was acting underpressure from the Government.This is not an impartial deci-sion which anyone can under-stand and feel.

This way the BJP is run-ning amok and running downevery institution of the coun-try which is a great danger fordemocracy,” said party gener-al secretary SupriyoBhattacharya.

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The Master Plan of the 37industrial areas located in

the State was approved in themeeting of Jharkhand IndustrialArea Development Authoritychaired by Chief MinisterRaghubar Das here onWednesday. It was also decidedthat priority will be given to theunit operating in the said indus-trial areas in case of availableland. Notice for one time settle-ment will be issued for dys-functional units. A Leather Parkin Dhanbad and Pharma Park atBareh, Ranchi was alsoapproved. During the meetingthe CM said that more and morepeople get jobs from smallindustries. He asked the officialsto increase the facilities in all

industrial areas and complete theprocess of establishing industryin a time bound manner. Heasked them to move more andmore companies into industri-al areas of the Santhal Pargana.This will facilitate rapid devel-opment there.

The Chief Minister askedofficials to hold meetings withentrepreneurs from time to timeto solve their problem.

Principle Secretary to ChiefMinister Sunil Kumar Barnwal,Energy Secretary VandanaDadel, Revenue and Landreforms Secretary KK Soan,Industry Secretary K Ravikumar,Independent DirectorUdaybhan Narayan Singh andSatendra Kumar, Secretary ofJIADA Sunil Kumar were pre-sent in the meeting.

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More than 70,000 police-men of the State worked

empty stomach on Wednesdayas a mark of protest against theGovernment’s alleged apathytowards their long-pendingdemands for better pay, healthfacilities and privileges for fam-ily of martyrs.

The protestors includedconstables, head constables,sub inspectors and inspectorsfrom across the 24 districts andthe Criminal InvestigationDepartment (CID) ofJharkhand Police.

The protesting policemenhave demanded immediate

implementation of ChiefMinister’s assurance for 13month pay to the cops annually.Das had in 2017 promised a 13-month pay to the policemen ofthe State every year in recog-nition of their sacrifices.However, many cops claimthat they are yet to get the addi-tional pay as promised.

Besides, the cops havedemanded implementation ofthe seventh pay commissionand flexibility on the eligibili-ty for recruitments on com-passionate grounds.

“Even the CM’s securitypersonnel have not had a sin-gle morsel of meal since morn-ing. The Government should

understand our problems andaddress them at the earliest,”said Yogendra Singh, presi-dent, Jharkhand PoliceAssociation

Jharkhand Police Men’sAssociation, Jharkhand PoliceChaturthwargiya KarmchariSangh and Jharkhand PoliceAssociation jointly called for

the hunger strike onWednesday. The three associ-ations have also threatenedthat all the 70,000 odd police-men in Jharkhand will go on afive-day leave from February 28if their demands are not met bythen.

“We all will go on a five-day mass leave on February 28if the Government fails to giveus any assurance by then,” saidSingh. In case the cops go onmass leave, the law and ordersituation in Jharkhand mayface a major jolt. The protestorsalso include traffic constables,so the traffic in cities may alsogo haywire if cops refuse toundertake their responsibilities.

Thousands of policemenalso staged protests in differentdistricts of the State onWednesday and raised slogansfor their rights. In Ranchi,they sat on hunger strike out-side the Police Headquarters inDhurwa and put up a bannerhighlighting their demands.

Besides pay revisions, thecops have sought health facil-ities for low grade staff at parwith what the senior officials ofthe police department get. Incase a policeman is martyred ordies on duty, his parents mustget 25% of the ex gratia, theydemanded. Changes in pensionplan also found a mention intheir list of demands.

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The annual matriculationand intermediate exami-

nation began on Wednesdayamidst tight security arrange-ments across the State. As perofficials of JAC, no incident ofusing ‘unfair means duringexamination’ was reportedfrom any exam centre on thefirst day.

The matriculation examsbegan with the home sciencepaper and will conclude withthe mathematics paper. Theintermediate exams startedwith vocational papers andwill conclude with biology,geography, and business math-ematics. Both Matric and Interexams will conclude on March9.

The first paper of theMatric exam was held from9:45 AM to 1 PM while in thesecond sitting, Inter examina-tion was conducted from 2 PMto 5:15 PM. Following theguidelines of the CentralBoards, an additional 15 min-utes is being given to the exam-inees since 2015.

“No incident of using anyunfair mean during the boardexamination has been report-ed by any center superinten-dent on the first day. The

examination was conductedpeacefully under strict vigilanceacross the State in coordinationwith the respective districtadministration team. Also, theexaminees did not face anyconfusion due to the change inthe exam centre,” said JACChairperson, Arvind Prasad.

As many as 46 studentsappeared in the Home Sciencepaper from the State Capital’scenter -- KV High School –Metro Gali. Similarly, the num-ber of students who took theexamination of vocational sub-jects remained low.

As per the academicians,the examination of main sub-jects will begin from February23; hence, the footfall of stu-dents on day one was compar-atively less at the centers.

Besides, the State Capital,the number of exam centres hasbeen increased in the EastSinghbhum district to providea better ambience to studentsand to reduce the risk of mal-practices. East Singhbhum hasregistered 23,723 studentsacross 70 centres in Matric and20,380 students across 28 cen-tres in intermediate, this year.

Besides, adopting all basicsecurity measures for surveil-lance like installation of CCTVcameras at the centres, the

council has come up with thefacility of Composite ControlRoom for the assistance ofboard examinees. In case of anyemergency, a student can con-tact on 74850-93433, 74850-93440 and 74850-93433. Thecomposite control room will bemade operational from 8 AMto 7PM.

Also, a toll-free numberservice —18003456523 hasbeen released by JAC for stu-dents counseling.

This year, 4, 39, 892 stu-dents have been registered inclass 10 while 3, 14, 832 stu-dents have been registered inthe intermediate examinationfrom across Jharkhand.

In accordance to the datareleased by the AcademicCouncil, over 7, 54,724 stu-dents from across the State isappearing in the board exam-ination, this year.

Over 80 observers havebeen deployed at various cen-ters to avert unfair means.Besides the observers, the cen-tre superintendents and the fly-ing squads comprising the offi-cials of JAC including the offi-cials of district administrationhave been given the responsi-bility of peacefully conductingthe exams at the demarcatedcentres.

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With the Lok Sabha pollsinching closer, the State

BJP has embarked upon a cam-paign to woo women voters.The State BJP to attractwomen voters have decided tohighlight Centre and State spon-sored schemes mainly forwomen.

The State BJP in this con-nection today organised a func-tion in Gumla district—100Km west of Ranchi, which wasattended by BJP Mahila Morchanational president VijayaRahatkar, Minister of State forTribal Affairs Sudarshan Bhagatand local MP, local MLA andparty MLA Shiv ShankarOroan.

Rahatkar highlighting theschemes of Narendra Modigovernment on the occasionsaid, “The Narendra Modi gov-ernment at Centre andRaghubar Das government inState has initiated various

schemes for poor especiallywomen. Ujjwala scheme, underwhich gas connections are pro-vided to household, social secu-rity schemes, toilets schemesand housing schemes are suchschemes which have beenfarmed keeping in mindwomen.”

The Mahila Morcha chiefsaid that the Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojana, aims to providefree cooking gas connections topoor families which hasstrengthen the lives of poor,marginalized, Dalits and tribalcommunities.

Rahatkar said that thoughthe LPG gas cylinders came toIndia after Independence, butthe only urban population werebenefitted, but with PradhanMantri Ujjwala Yojana gas con-nections has been given to 100million LPG connections.

The Mahila Morcha chiefon the occasion asked its pub-lic representatives to explain thebenefits under the Ujjwala

Yojana, social security schemesespecially to the SC/ST com-munities and other sociallybackward communities.

Apart from Ujjwala some ofschemes launched by Modigovernment for womenincludes the Jan Dhan Yojanaencouraging women to get bankaccounts, Mudra scheme pro-moting small entrepreneurship,Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana pro-moting saving for future of girl

child among others.Also, the Modi government

has used legislative interven-tions for addressing concerns ofIndian women, such as lawawarding death penalty for rapeof girl child below 12 of age. Thegovernment is also fighting toget Triple talaq outlawed fromthe Muslim personal laws.

Also speaking on the occa-sion Sudarshan Bhagat MoSfor tribal affairs and local MP

highlighted the growth anddevelopment the country hasattained in last sixty years ofCongress government as com-pared to four and half years ofModi government.

Bhagat said, “The NarendraModi government at centrebelieves on Sabka Saath SabkaVikash and with this aim manyof schemes of government hasbeen made.”

Local MLA, Shiv ShankarOroan said: “it is for the firsttime any government in Delhihas initiated so many schemeskeeping in mind the women.The party believes in empow-erment of women.”

Sources said that the StateBJP has received directionsfrom Centre to highlightschemes of women and thevisit of Rahatkar is in this direc-tion. PM Modi in this connec-tion last year on December hadaddressed Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) Mahila Morcha conven-tion in Gandhinagar.

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Union Bank of India has dis-bursed a total of �78 crore

as loan under various schemesin financial year 2018-19 tomeet its two purposes – one, toprovide self employment tothe people of the State andanother to develop micro, smalland medium enterprises.

Speaking on the occasionof customer meet programmeorganized by the bank in theState capital on WednesdayExecutive Director, DK Gargsaid that bank has given croresof rupees as loan to the peopleof the State to provide selfemployment under schemeslike Mudra loan.

“The individuals andwomen are the largest benefi-ciaries of the schemes andmostly women by formingSHG’s are getting loan for selfemployment and numbers ofindividual women are also get-ting loan for Light CommercialVehicles,” he added.

While addressing the gath-ering Garg said that it is nec-essary to add people with thebanks and provide them loanaccording to their require-ments and capability because itis duty of banks to increase self

employment of the people byproviding easier loan.

While appealing to thestaffs of the banks Garg saidthat the banking services isgoing through a changing timeand in this time we have tokeep ourselves ready to face anykinds of changing situation. Wehave to work with diligence anddedication and also we have togive our best at our work, headded.

During his two day visit tothe State the Executive Directorinaugurated cashless campus atRanch situated NilayUniversity. On the occasion alarge numbers of loan appli-

cants received loan acceptancecertificates by the ExecutiveDirector.

While speaking on theoccasion General Manager,Financial Inclusion, PCPanigrahi informed about theGovernment of India’s ongoingambitious welfare programmessuch as Pradhan MantriJandhan Yojna and social secu-rity schemes such as PradhanMantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojna,Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojna and Atal Penson Yojna.

On the occasion RegionalChief of the bank, Vipin Singh,Deputy Circle Chief RP Mishrawere also present.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Wednesday took over the probeinto the February 14 Pulwamasuicide bombing from theJammu and Kashmir police.

The NIA has re-registeredthe case and formed a team toinvestigate the deadliest terrorstrike in which 40 CRPF per-sonnel were killed, an NIAspokesperson said.

NIA Director General Y CModi, along with a team of offi-cers including two IGs, DIGand SP, visited the place ofoccurrence of the February 14incident. The officers of CRPFand local police briefed theNIA team about the progressmade in investigation so far.

The State police had regis-tered a case at the Awantiporapolice station on February 14after a suicide bomber hit hisexplosive-laden vehicle on aCRPF bus, which was part of a78-vehicle convoy, carryingover 2,547 personnel on theirway from Jammu to Srinagar.

The NIA has already gath-ered samples from the blast siteat Lethpora in Pulwama districtof south Kashmir and has been

involved in the questioning ofaround a dozen suspects andwitnesses, officials said.

The NIA has also metsenior police, intelligence andarmy officers to gather any pos-sible leads or evidence, theysaid.

The NIA will probe theplanning and execution of theterror attack, the deadliest afterthe terrorism hit the State in1989.

On Monday, three Jaishterrorists were killed in a 16-hour operation in Pulwama'sPinglan area, 12 km from thespot of the February 14 attack.An Army major and four secu-rity personnel also lost theirlives in the encounter that ledto the elimination of threeJaish-e-Mohammad terrorists.

Apart from other technicaland intelligence inputs, theHizbul Mujahideen had alsoprovided leads leading to thekilling of the three top JeMcommanders, sources said.

Meanwhile, Indian HighCommissioner to PakistanAjay Bisaria and Ambassadorto US Harsh Vardhan Shringlaon Wednesday met UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singh,amid the heightened tension

between the two countriespost-Pulwana suicide bomb-ing.

The terror attack inPulwama prominently figuredduring the 20 minutes meetingbetween Bisaria and Singh.Bisaria was called back by thegovernment for consultationsafter the Pulwama attack.

A home ministryspokesperson, however,

described the two Indianenvoys meeting the Minister as"courtesy call".

The meeting comes soonafter India decided not to sub-mit any evidence to Pakistanon the role of JeM in thePulwama attack.

India will, however, sharethe facts to friendly nations tounmask the role of elementsbased in the neighbouring

country in the attack, aGovernment official said.

The decision not to sharethe evidence with Pakistanwas taken considering the pastexperience wherein Islamabaddid not act after New Delhigave multiple dossiers on theinvolvement of Pakistan-basedelements in the 26/11 Mumbaiterror attacks and terror strikein Pathankot airbase.

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The Centre on Wednesdaylaunched Operation Digital

Board to leverage technology inorder to boost quality educa-tion in the country.

Addressing a press con-ference HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar said that OperationDigital Board is a revolution-ary step which will make thelearning as well as the teachingprocess interactive and popu-larize flipped learning as apedagogical approach.

Javadekar disclosed thatthe digital board will be intro-duced all over the country inGovernment and Governmentaided schools from class 9thonwards as well as in highereducation institutions.

The process will beginfrom the coming session of2019 itself, the Ministerexplained.

He further said that ODBaims at converting a class roominto a digital class room and inaddition to availability of e-resources at any time and at anyplace to students, it will also

help in provisioning of per-sonalised adaptive learning aswell as Intelligent Tutoring byexploiting emerging technolo-gies like Machine Learning,Artificial Intelligence & DataAnalytics.

An expert committee hasworked out optimum configu-ration of the Digital ClassRooms under ODB.

The Union Minister saidthat the biggest challenge fac-ing education sector in thecountry is maintaining accept-able quality standards across thecountry. Although we havegood number of premier insti-tutions, which compete with thebest in the world, a large num-ber of higher education insti-tutions and schools needsimprovements in quality teach-ing-learning, as the studentscoming out of these institutionsfind themselves unsuitable forthe requirements of the societyand market.

The spread of educationaltechnology and connectivityhas given an opportunity toresolve this issue and aim atequity in educational standards.

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HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar on Wednesday

denied that students hailingfrom Kashmir were targeted inmany parts of the country inthe aftermath of the Pulwamaterror attack.

"There is no threat toKashmiri students as it is beingmade out to be. Countrymenare angry because of Pulwamaattack, but no Kashmiri studenthas been assaulted," Javadekar

said while talking to reporters. Javadekar added that the

Ministry is in touch with all theinstitutes and so far, no suchuntoward incident has beenreported. An estimated 3,000students from Kashmir attendcolleges and institutes inDehradun. Home Ministry hasalready issued advisory to Stateand UTs to ensure safety andsecurity if students hailingfrom the Valley State and resid-ing within their States amidstthe reports of threats to the stu-

dents. Following the terror attack

in Pulwama which killed 40CRPF personnel on February14, Hindutva groups inDehradun including BajrangDal and Vishwa HinduParishad beat-up 12 Kashmiristudents. The Dehradun policehad denied any incident of vio-lence against the Kashmiristudents, but videos of thestudents being beaten up infront of the police went viralover social media on Saturday.

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Slamming Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for receiv-

ing Saudi Arabia's CrownPrince Mohammed binSalman at the airport, theCongress on Wednesday askedwhether according a grandwelcome to "those whopraised" Pakistan's "anti-terrorefforts" was his way of remem-bering the martyrs of thePulwama attack.

In a special gesture, thePrime Minister received theSaudi crown prince at Palamairport on Tuesday night. Thevisit comes five days after a sui-cide bomber belonging to thePakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group killed40 CRPF personnel inPulwama district of Jammuand Kashmir.

"National interests V/SModiji's 'hugplomacy'. Breakingprotocol, grand welcome to

those who pledged US $20 bil-lion to Pakistan and praisedPakistan's 'anti-terror' efforts. Isit your way of rememberingmartyrs of Pulwama?" Congresschief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said on Twitter.

The Congress spokesper-son was referring to the crownprince's visit to Pakistan, dur-ing which the two countriessigned investments agreementsworth USD 20 billion.

He urged Modi to "showcourage" and ask Saudi Arabiato undo its joint statementwith Pakistan, in which theycalled for avoiding "politicisa-tion" of the UN listing regimeat a time when India was step-ping up efforts to brand JeMchief Masood Azhar a globalterrorist.

Senior Congress leaderAnand Sharma tweeted, "PMModi seems to be eager tocompete with and emulate thePakistan PM Imran Khan in

breaking protocol and receiv-ing Saudi Crown Prince...Without any need or justifica-tion".

"Worse, the joint state-ment does not refer to the banon either Jaish or MasoodAzhar," he said. Sharma added,"The fact that the Crown Princehas visited Pakistan after thedastardly attack and refused toendorse the ban on MasoodAzhar and the declaration ofJaish E Mohammed as a ter-rorist organisation seems tohave been lost on the PrimeMinister."

He called it a "glaringdiplomatic failure" for whichModi must answer to thenation.

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Days after a Governmentreport suggested the cre-

ation of a second home for theAsiatic lions from Gujarat'sGir forest, a Parliamentarypanel too has recommendedthat wildlife experts may beconsulted for exploring theoption of relocating/shiftingsome of the lions in nearbyareas or other sanctuaries, iffeasible.

The panel, headed by RajyaSabha MP Anand Sharma, in itsreport 'status of forest fire',observed that lion population inthe Gir forest is decreasing dueto one reason or the other."There are many unprotectedwells; lions sometimes fall downin these wells, leading to theirdeaths. Frequent fights amongstthe lions and man-animal con-flicts can also be attributed forreduction in number of lions..,"said the report tabled inParliament recently.

Asiatic Lions are listed inthe Schedule-I of the Wild Life(Protection) Act, 1972, thereby

according them the highestdegree of protection.

Warning that lions can gothe tigers' way as happened inRajasthan's Sariska TigerReserve a few years ago wherepoaching of big cat was "goingon unabated and consequently,Sariska had become tiger less afew years back," the panel notedthat a real effort was made topopulate it again.

The Committee hopes thatunprotected wells of all wildlifesanctuaries/national parks ofthe country including the GirForest in Gujarat would becovered properly in order tosave the wild animals fallinginto these wells and losing theirlives.

In the wake of 23 liondeaths within a very short spanof time ie September- October,2018, the panel had soughtstatus report from the UnionEnvironment Ministry askingfor the reason for fatalaities.

The Committee alsoexpressed its concern thatinfighting amongst the lions ofGir forest, Gujarat might be due

to over population of the lionsin specific areas. TheCommittee recommends thatwild life experts may be con-sulted for exploring relocat-ing/shifting some of the lions innearby areas/other sanctuaries,if feasible.

The suggestion echoes theviews of the report, 'Asiatic LionConservation Project', whichwas released by UnionEnvironment Minister DrHarshvardhan on February 9,which said that among otherconservation measures," theGovernment may consider theestablishment of a second homefor Asiatic Lions for securingthe population from any threatof disease or epidemic".

The report had noted thatthe current rate of develop-ment-induced habitat frag-mentation, loss of potentiallion habitats owing to naturalcalamities triggered by climatechange besides poaching andpoisoning of prey carcassesplague the lions conservation,which are presently confined inSaurashtra region of Gujarat.

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The Election Commission(EC) with the help of the

Income Tax department andbanks would monitor high-value transactions in banksahead of the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls and some otherLegislative Assemblies andbypolls in the coming monthsas part of attempts to curb ille-gal money flow during electionprocess.

The EC has asked chiefelectoral officials of all Statesand Union Territories, IndianBanks Association andDirector General of IncomeTax department to keep tackand monitor on suspiciouscash transactions madethrough bank accounts duringelection process.

It has directed district elec-tion officers to obtain infor-mation from the banks regard-ing suspicious cash transactionduring polls.

Sources said that theCommission has chalked out astringent plan with differentenforcement agencies to ensurethat there are no illegal cashtransactions during cam-paigning.

"As directed by theCommission, information onsuspected cash transaction forbribing the electors should bepassed on to the flying squadsfor necessary action after dueverification.

Information on cashdeposits or withdrawals ofmore than 10 lakh is to be sentto the nodal officers of IncomeTax department for necessaryaction under the Income Tax

Act," the Commission said ina communiqué to Income Taxdepartment, CEOs of all statesand Union Territories.

The EC also met seniorofficials of the railways, cus-toms and excise, transportdepartments and the police,and constituted a high-levelmonitoring panel. They willmonitor pre- and post-electionactivity.

The Election Commissionof India also directed thatinformation on cash deposits orwithdrawals of more than � 10lakh is to be sent to the nodalofficers of Income Tax depart-ment for necessary actionunder the Income Tax laws. Atpresent, the I-T departmentseizes cash of unexplainedtransactions of �10 lakh ormore.

The department had lastyear released an advisory, lim-iting cash donation to a regis-tered political party.

The government had in theBudget last year launched the"electoral bond" facility. Donorscan buy these bonds from theState Bank of India and a fewother banks. Even through theRepresentation of the PeopleAct, 1951, exempted partiesfrom declaring funding madethrough bonds, the I-T Actrequires them to disclose thetotal income from this source.

The tax department is alsokeeping an eye on all donationsto political parties. If a donationis above �2,000 in cash, thedonor might face scrutiny.

In 2014, as many as �300crore seized as dubious trans-action across the country dur-ing polls.

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Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President

Rahul Gandhi, appearedbefore the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) onWednesday for questioning ina money laundering caserelating to alleged irregularpurchase of foreign assets.

Vadra reached theagency's office at JamnagarHouse here at around 10:30AM along with his lawyersand they left the agency officeafter about three hours ofquestioning, officials said.

Vadra told the investi-gating officer (IO) of the casethat he was not well followingwhich recording of his state- ment was discontinued, the

officials said, adding he isexpected to join the probeagain on Friday.

Vadra had skipped the

summons on Tuesday citingbad health.

Vadra is facing a criminalprobe related to allegations ofmoney laundering in pur-chase of assets abroad.

Earlier this month, Vadrawas questioned by the EDsleuths in connection with thecase for 23 hours over threedays of deposition.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Wednesday decidedto hear on February 26 thepolitically sensitive Ayodhya'sRam-Janmabhoomi BabriMasjid land dispute matter.

It will be heard by a five-judge Constitution Benchcomprising Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justices S ABobde, D Y Chandrachud,Ashok Bhushan and S ANazeer.

The apex court on January27 had cancelled the scheduledhearing for January 29 asJustice Bobde was not availablethat day.

The fresh notice issued bythe apex court registry said allthe petitions in Ayodhya landdispute will come up for hear-ing on February 26.

Fourteen appeals havebeen filed in the apex courtagainst the 2010 AllahabadHigh Court judgment, deliv-ered in four civil suits, that the2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be

partitioned equally among thethree parties-the Sunni WaqfBoard, the Nirmohi Akharaand Ram Lalla.

The five-judge bench wasre-constituted on January 25 asJustice U U Lalit, who was amember of the original bench,had recused himself from hear-ing the matter.

When the new bench wasconstituted, Justice N VRamana was excluded fromthe re-constitution bench.Justices Bhushan and Nazeermade a comeback to hear theAyodhya land dispute matter-both were part of an earlierbench headed by then CJIDipak Misra (now retired).

PTI

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New Delhi: Supreme Courtjudge, Justice L Nageswara Raoon Wednesday recused himselffrom hearing the CentreBureau of Investigation (CBI's)plea alleging obstruction in itsprobe into the multi-croreSaradha chit fund scam probeby West Bengal authorities.

A three-judge bench com-prising Chief Justice RanjanGogoi and Justices Rao andSanjiv Khanna adjourned thehearing on pleas of the CentreBureau of Investigation, sayingthat one of the judges was notinclined to be part of the benchto hear the matter.

Justice Rao said he hadappeared for the state as alawyer and therefore cannothear the case.

The Bench has now post-ed the matter for hearing onFebruary 27 before an appro-priate Bench of which Justice

Rao is not a part. On February 18, West

Bengal Chief secretary MalayKumar De, DGP

Virendera Kumar and thenKolkata Police CommissionerRajeev Kumar had filed sepa-rate affidavits in the apex courton the contempt petitionmoved by the Centre Bureau ofInvestigation in connectionwith the scam and had ten-dered "unconditional andunambiguous apology".

The West BengalGovernment and its police hadrefuted CBI allegations in theapex court that they obstruct-ed investigation into theSaradha chit fund scam cases,with the state cops chargingthat the central agency force-fully tried to enter the Kolkatapolice commissioner's resi-dence on February 3 withoutvalid papers. PTI

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The country's sugar pro-duction rose by 8.07 per

cent to 21.93 million tonnes(MT) till February 15 in theongoing marketing year 2018-19 from the year-ago period.However, the overall sugaroutput is pegged lower at 30.7MT for the current marketingyear (October-September)compared to 32.5 MT during2017-18. India is the secondlargest sugar producer afterBrazil. Its annual consumption

is around 26 MT. According to the Indian

Sugar Mills Association(ISMA), the recent hike inminimum selling price of sugarby � 2 per kg to Rs 31 will "gen-erate additional revenue for thesugar mills and help them inpayment of cane price arrears."

Cane arrears have touchedover �20,000 crore this yearand the government raisedthe minimum selling price ofsugar to improve the liquidityof cash-starved mills andenable them to clear the

mounting cane dues.Sharing the production

update, ISMA said mills havemanufactured 21.93 MT ofsugar till February 15, higherthan 20.35 MT in the year-agoperiod.

"Higher production thisyear is mainly becauseMaharashtra and Karnatakasugar mills started their crush-ing earlier this year. Overall,the country is expected toproduce less sugar this seasonas compared to last season," itsaid.

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Swine flu is fast spreading inthe country with at least 377

persons succumbing to thevirus so far while the numberof those infected by it hascrossed 12,000. At least 65 peo-ple have died due to H1N1virus in the country last week.

Rajasthan reported thehighest number of deaths at 127with 3,508 cases, followed byGujarat (71 deaths and 1,983cases). In Delhi, seven peoplehave died while 2,278 peoplewere infected by the virus.Punjab reported 31 deaths and410 cases, followed by MadhyaPradesh 30 deaths and 128cases. In Himachal Pradesh, 27

people died due to the virus and224 were infected.

Jammu and Kashmirreported 22 deaths and 293cases; Maharashtra 17 deathsand 330 cases; and in Haryana,seven people died while 752people were affected.

The rest deaths and caseswere reported from other partsof the country.

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Bijni/Diphu (Assam): At leasteight persons, including twowomen, were killed and as manyothers injured in two road acci-dents in Bongaigaon and KarbiAnglong districts of Assam onWednesday, police said.

Five persons travelling in anauto-rickshaw were killed whena truck rammed into their vehi-cle by a truck on NH 31 at Bijni-Goraimari in Bongaigaon dis-trict at around 2.30 PM, policesaid. Police rushed to the spotand the injured were admittedto a hospital nearby.

In another road accident incentral Assam’s Karbi Anglongdistrict, three persons, including

two women, were killed and fourothers seriously injured at about6.30 am when the driver of theirvehicle lost control while cross-ing a road bridge and hit a pil-lar, the police said.

The vehicle fell from thebridge at Hari Tarogaon nearDokmoka Army Camp, policesaid. Three occupants of thevehicle died on the spot, whilefour others including its driverreceived grievous injuries andwere admitted to a hospital inDimapur.

The vehicle was travellingfrom Dimapur to attend a meet-ing at Tura in Meghalaya, thesources said. PTI

Nashik (Maha): Four mem-bers of a family, including twochildren, were charred to deathin a fire triggered by explosionof a domestic LPG cylinder inNashik district of Maharashtra,police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred onTuesday night in Dhaur villagein Dindori taluka, around 30kms from here, when the fam-ily members were asleep afterhaving dinner, a local police offi-cial said.

The makeshift tin-roofstructure in which the familywas living suffered extensive

damage in the explosion, he said.The official said four mem-

bers, including a couple and twochildren, burned alive in fire.

It seemed the cylinder wasleaking and the gas came intocontact with a kerosene lamp inthe shed which has no powerconnection, the official saidwhen asked about the likelycause behind the incident.

The deceased persons areidentified as MurlidharChoudhari (32), his wife Kavita(30), their son Tushar (10), andnephew Nayan Choudhari (8),he said.

A case of accidental deathhas been registered by Dindoripolice and further investiga-tion is underway. PTI

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Chief of Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) and former

Chief Minister MehboobaMufti on Wednesday labelledthose seeking revenge againstPakistan as ‘illiterates’.

Speaking selectively to agroup of media persons here ather residence, Mehbooba Muftisaid “In today’s world, only illit-erate people will talk about war.Both countries have nucleararms. When there is an optionof dialogue then there is nopoint talking about war. Ifthere is no war there would beno retaliation. Those talkingabout war are just bluffing,those who are sincere willnever lead their country intowar” .

Mehbooba was reactingto the ongoing war of wordsbetween India and Pakistan inthe aftermath of the Pulwamaterror attack.

Immediately after thePulwama terror attack, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadvowed revenge with many onsocial media calling for anoth-er surgical strike to avenge thedeaths of the soldiers.

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Pakistan army onWednesday resorted to

heavy shelling of mortars alongthe Line of Control in Kalalarea of Nowshera sector ofRajouri district.

This is the second incidentof ceasefire violation in the last24 four hours in the sameregion.

According to groundreports, “the firing startedaround 6.30 p.m and continuedtill late in the night”.

Defence PRO in Jammu, LtCol Devendra Anand said, “Pakistan army initiated ‘unpro-voked’ ceasefire violation byheavy shelling with mortarsand firing of small arms around6.30 p.m”.

“The Indian army retaliat-ed strongly and effectively”, headded.

Tension prevailed in theforward areas as panic strick-en residents were forced to stayindoors due to heavy mortarshelling.

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Aday after MeghalayaGovernor Tathagata Roy

prescribed justice for thePulwama terror attack victimsby boycotting everythingKashmiri, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeelaunched a scathing attack on“those holding constitutionalposts” saying a section of polit-ical parties/groups were mak-ing hate statements, under-mining the country’s’ federaland secular health.

The Chief Minister who onWednesday declared a pay-ment of �5 lakh each for thetwo CRPF jawans from Bengalwho had perished in the savageterror attack on February 14besides offering governmentjobs to the next of their kintweeted: “a section of politicalparties/groups along with peo-ple holding constitutional posi-tions” were “indulging inrumour-mongering, spreadinghatred with dangerous state-ments.”

Though she would notname Roy in her comment,

Banerjee wondered “what lev-els of polluted politics have wedescended to,” criticising thosewho were indulging in shame-less politics.

Roy had earlier supporteda call for boycotting “everythingKashmiri” including tourism tothat State, Amarnath Yatra andpurchasing the products thatwere produced there.

Asking the Kashmiris liv-ing in Bengal to stay in the Statewithout fear Banerjee said,“there is no reason to be afraidhere in Bengal.

There was one stray inci-dent (of attack on twoKashmiris) but we have takenstrong action there becausewe want a united India and nota divided India.”

Incidentally, the ChiefMinister had earlier questionedthe developments Pulwamaattack wondering whether the

Centre was trying to go to warwhen Lok Sabha elections wereround the corner. She alleged“while the Government didnothing after the Pathankotattack it was creating a “war-like hysteria” before the gener-al elections.

In a related developmentcentral Kolkata witnessedclashes between two groupswhen alleged RSS-BJP youth onWednesday attacked an anti-war procession led byAssociation for Protection ofDemocratic Rights.

“A group of about 15 peo-ple carrying the national flagattacked the rallyists decryingbattle-mongering,” said APDRchairperson Sujata Bhadra.“We have unequivocally con-demned the Pulwama attackand have stood by the victims’families but this does not betaken as an excuse to spreadwar-mongering between andmass hysteria, he said adding“some people certainly fromthe RSS and the BJP who wereessentially not Bengali-speak-ing attacked us even as thepolice stood mute spectators.”

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Kolkata: A teenaged girl fromKolkata was trolled andallegedly threatened with rapeon Facebook for a post on theplight of Kashmiris in the wakeof the Pulwama attack, she saidon Wednesday.

In her February 15 post,the Class 12 girl condemnedthe deadly terror strike inJammu and Kashmir that killed40 CRPF jawans, while high-lighting the daily hardships ofKashmiris. She said some peo-ple asked her to leave thecountry and go to Pakistan inreply to her post, and othersthreatened rape and dire con-sequences. A local shopkeeperalso told her that a few menwere trying to locate her housethrough her Facebook pic-tures, she claimed.

“Initially, after receivingthe threats, I had deleted mypost. But after I came to knowthat some youths were lookingfor me, I decided to delete myFacebook account. I did not goto school for the last two days,”she told PTI. PTI

Bengaluru: Congress MLA JNGanesh was arrested onWednesday near a restaurant atSomnath in Gujarat, weeksafter he was declared abscond-ing for allegedly assaultinganother lawmaker from hisparty during a brawl at aresort.

Ganesh was at large after the alleged assault on Anand Singh, both fromBallari district, on January 20at the Eagleton Resort on thecity outskirts, where theCongress had sequestered itsMLAs to prevent a poachingbid by the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).

The MLA was arrested inthe afternoon when he wasgoing to have lunch nearSomnath Temple,Ramanagaradistrict superin-tendent of police RameshBhanot said.

“We had sent a team toGujarat three days ago follow-ing information that he wasstaying in a hotel there.

Today our team got inputsthat he was near Somnath tem-

ple to have meals at a hotel. Hehad stopped his vehicle therewhen we arrested him,” Bhanottold reporters.

He said police teams weresent to Andhra Pradesh, TamilNadu, Maharashtra and Delhi.

There were three peoplewith him -- two of them fromKarnataka and one of hisfriends was from Gujarat, headded.

Karnataka Home ministerM B Patil said the MLA wasarrested at 2 pm.

“He will be brought here bya flight in the night,” Patil toldreporters here.

Ganesh had allegedlyattacked Singh with his fistsand a flowerpot, hit him nearhis eye and kicked him on hischest, according to the com-plaint filed with the police.

In his complaint, Singhsaid Ganesh was upsetas hesuspected that he wanted to fin-ish him off politically and didnot support him financiallyduring the Karnataka Assemblypolls last year. PTI

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Guwahati: Assam Governmenton Wednesday informed theState Assembly that over 2.9lakh cases are pending in lowercourts across the State and it ismulling to set up 33 fast trackcourts to try heinous crimes.

Giving a written reply to aquery by AIUDF MLA AminulIslam, Law and Justice MinisterSiddhartha Bhattacharya saidthe number of pending cases inlower courts have gone upfrom 2,76,520 in 2017 to2,91,960 the next year.

A total of 3,26,931 newcases were registered last yearand 3,11,150 cases were dis-posed of, he said.

“The government is con-sidering to set up 33 fast trackcourts to handle cases of rapeas well as murder of womenand children,” Bhattacharyasaid.

He also informed theAssembly that a total of 70posts of judges in various lowercourts are lying vacant at thismoment.

Bhattacharya said, out ofthe sanctioned posts of 24judges in the high court, fourare vacant. PTI

Kolkata: The 109-year-old highsecurity Alipore CentralCorrectional home in the cityofficially closed down onWednesday due to securitypurpose after all its inmatesbeing shifted to other correc-tional homes.

It’s an end of an era forKolkata, as the jail had as itsprisoners at various times free-dom fighters and leaders likeSri Aurobindo, his brother

Barindra Kumar Ghosh, NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose, PanditJawaharlal Nehru, Kazi NazrulIslam, Sarat Ch Bose, K Kamrajand Bidhan Chandra Roy dur-ing the Independence move-ment.

“We decided to close theprison due to security purpos-es. The condition of this 100year old prison is not good.Besides, you will hardly findany modern prision in middle

of a city. So we decided to moveto the newly built Baruipurprison,” Correctional HomesMinister Ujjal Biswas told PTI.

The height of the AliporeCentral jails walls are 6.5metres, while those at theBaruipur jail are a metre high-er. The Alipore Central jail canaccomodate 1800 convicts butBaruipur jail can accomodate2200 convicts, the ministersaid. PTI

Shillong: Scientists atZoological Survey of India(ZSI) have found a rare frogspecies in Lower Subansiri dis-trict of Arunachal Pradesh,according to a recently pub-lished journal.

The convex-vented hornedspecies (Megophryspachyproctus), collected fromTale Valley Wildlife Sanctuaryof the district in 2017, is crim-son in colour, it said.

Led by senior ZSI scientistBikramjit Sinha, the researchersalso found out that the frog isendemic to Xizang in China,the journal, ‘Records of theZoological Survey of India’,said. PTI

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Kochi: A massive fire broke outat a footwear showroom andgodown located near the Southrailway station in Kerala’s com-mercial hub Kochi Wednesday.

Officials said no casualtywas reported but firefighterstook several hours to bring the

blaze, which broke out in the thefourth floor of the six-storeyedbuilding, under control.

Around 50 fire enginesrushed to the spot and peoplefrom nearby shops and resi-dential buildings were evacuat-ed, a fire department official told

PTI. An eyewitness said a largeplume of black smoke was seenspreading around the multi-storeyed structure before the firebroke out.

Short circuit is suspected tobe the cause of the blaze but itcannot be confirmed at the

moment, the official said. “Nocasualty has been reported asthe employees of the godownmoved out of the building assoon as the fire broke out. Nowthe blaze is under control...Weare trying to douse it com-pletely,” the official said. PTI

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Ahmednagar: A former villagehead in Ahmednagar district ofMaharashtra has been arrestedfor allegedly making objec-tionable comments over thePulwama terror attack, policesaid on Wednesday.

A candle march was takenout on Monday evening inVispur village, located around30 km from here, to protestagainst perpetrators of theattack in which 40 CRPF per-sonnel were killed in Pulwanadistrict of Jammu and Kashmirlast week, Belwadi police sta-tion’s inspector RajendraPadwal said.

During the march, Vispur’sformer sarpanch Sayyad JabbarAmir allegedly made somestatements against the Indiangovernment, the official said.

The other participantsimmediately criticised hisremarks following which Amirran away from there, he said.

Later, some locals filed apolice complaint based onwhich Amir was arrested onTuesday night and bookedunder Indian Penal CodeSection 153-B (imputationsand assertions prejudicial tonational integration), Padwalsaid. PTI

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Guwahati: Over 36,500 postsof teachers are lying vacant inschools of all levels acrossAssam, the state Assembly wasinformed on Wednesday.

In a written reply to aquery by AGP MLA UtpalDutta, Education MinisterSiddhartha Bhattacharya said atotal of 36,523 teaching postsare vacant at present, including17,293 posts in primaryschools.

Out of these 17,293, hesaid, 10,137 are in lower pri-mary and 7,156 are in upperprimary schools. PTI

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Jammu: The Jammu ProvincePeople’s Forum (JPPF), anorganisation advocating cause ofDogras, on Wednesday threat-ened agitation if police do notimmediately release over 100boys allegedly detained inJammu during protests againstPulwama terror attack.

“100 plus innocent (boys)are detained for none of theirfault. We request the adminis-tration to release the detainedinnocent youths of Jammu oth-erwise situation will become badto worse”, Working President ofthe Forum, M S Katoch saidWednesday here.

The JPPF, which supervisedthe agitation for the CentralUniversity Jammu (CUJ) andAIIMS and forced the centralgovernment to announce thetwo institutes for Jammu, hasasked the government to releasethe detained youths immediate-

ly. Lashing at the administrationfor “anti-Jammu” steps, Katochsaid the city is under strict cur-few for the last 5 days and peo-ple here are having a “toughtime”. He said the government“failed” to control the situationand alleged that no action wastaken against those chanting“anti-India” slogans in Jammu.

“No action has been takenagainst them (who raised anti-national slogans). It is a mat-ter of shame that even the peo-ple living in the governmentquarters in Sarwal and Janipurarea are involved in this anti-national offence and no actionhas been taken by theGovernment against the cul-prits”, Katoch said. The JPPFpaid rich tributes to the mar-tyrs of Pulwama attack by theJaish-e- Mohammed in whichat least 40 CRPF personnelwere killed. PTI

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Mumbai: Congress chief RahulGandhi’s “development book”has improved much since 2014and he has his sister PriyankaGandhi Vadra’s support, butthey cannot be compared withPrime Minister NarendraModi’s leadership, the ShivSena said on Wednesday.

The remarks by theUddhav Thackeray-led partycame two days after it sealed apre-poll alliance with the BJPafter years of bickering and crit-icism of its policies and leaders.

Responding to Oppositioncriticism of the seat-sharingpact, the Sena, in an editorialin party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’,said questions on tie-up are lessin the minds of people butmuch more among politicalopponents as these “insects”will be crushed due to thealliance.

Referring to Modi’s stew-ardship, it said, “Rahul Gandhi’sbook of development hasimproved much since 2014

and he has Priyanka’s help.However, they can’t be com-pared with Modi’s leadership.”

Asserting that the party isnot helpless for power, the edi-torial said there are severalquestions — like why did it allywith the BJP despite differencesin 2014, will the Ram Templebe constructed, will there beSena’s Chief Minister — andtheir answers are “positive”.

Instead of replying to ques-tions on the alliance, it is bet-ter that the “arrangement”made for the benefit ofMaharashtra is taken ahead, itsaid.

The Marathi daily said BJP

president Amit Shah himselfcame to Sena chief UddhavThackeray’s suburban residence‘Matoshree’. Thackeray toldhim what he had to and it wasfinally decided to give thealliance another chance.

Maintaining that there wasno enmity between the Senaand the BJP, it said if (Biharchief minister and JD-U head)Nitish Kumar could join theNDA despite differences ofopinion with Modi and if theCongress could forge a “maha-gathbandhan” (grand alliance),then the Sena has always beena part of the BJP-led coalition.

The Sena said there wasresentment in 2014 against theCongress and its allies andthere was a “wave” in favour ofModi.

However, in 2019, the wavehas receded and elections haveto be fought not on the back ofthe “wave”, but on ideology,development works and future,it added. PTI

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After a six-hour-long drama,the forest department offi-

cials captured a leopard fromthe basement of a hotel atThane, after the wild cat hadstrayed into the parking lot ofa leading shopping mall andlater entered the basement of anearby hotel, thus triggeringconsiderable panic among res-idents in the area.

In an operation that lastedfor more than five and a halfhours, the forest officialstrapped the leopard in a cageafter tranquilising it. Ahead oflaying the trap, the officials hadburst crackers in an effort toscare the wild cat.

“It took us nearly fivehours to capture the leopardwhich we did around at around11.30 am. After completingnecessary formalities, we willbe leaving the leopard in thewild, ” a senior forest officialsaid.

Some eyewitnesses said

that the leopard which cametrapped was seen around lastmidnight entering the Cadburycompany located in nearPokharan Road-1, from whereit is believed to have headed toKorum Mall.

The leopard that had beenspotted leaving the Korum

Mall in Mumbai’s satellite cityof Thane at around 5.30 amhad reportedly entered themall complex after scaling theperimeter wall. The CCTVfootage from the mall subse-quently showed the wild cathiding behind a staircase beforeheading towards a dark corner.

The leopard, which isbelieved to have strayed intothe Thane city from the near-by Yeooor hills located on therear side of the Sanjay GandhiNational Park (SNGP), laterquietly entered the basement ofSatkaar Hotel, which is lessthan 300 meters away from theKorum mall, from the rear side.

One Gurudev Singh (44)who works at the hotel as a dri-ver, said he had spotted thewild cat entering the hotelfrom its rear side.

Before long, the panickedhotel management alerted thefire brigade personnel, forestofficials and police. By then,the leopard had quietlydeposited itself in the base-ment of the hotel, blissfullyunaware of the panic that ithad generated among the peo-ple in the area.

The incident created quitea commotion at the Smt.Sulochanadevi SinghaniaSchool, where high schoolexaminations were on.

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The Jammu & KashmirGovernment on

Wednesday further diluted andwithdrew the security of 18other members of HurriyatConference, including Syed AliShah Geelani, Yasin Malik,Aga Syed Mosvi and MaulviAbbas Ansari .

Earlier, four Hurriyatmembers, including MirwaizUmar Farooq, were stripped offtheir security cover by theState Government.

In addition, the security of155 political persons andactivists, who did not requirethe security provided to thembased on their threat assess-ment and their activities, wasalso withdrawn.

This includes Shah Faesal,who resigned from the IAS andWahid Parray.

According to thespokesperson of HomeDepartment, "it was felt thatproviding security to theseseparatist leaders is a wastageof scarce state resources whichcould be better utilised else-where".

Among the leaders whosesecurity has been downgradedand withdrawn are SASGeelani, Aga Syed Mosvi,Maulvi Abbas Ansari, YaseenMalik, Saleem Geelani, Shahidul Islam, Zaffar Akbar Bhat,Nayeem Ahmed Khan,Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, FarooqAhmed Kichloo, MasroorAbbas Ansari, Aga Syed AbulHussain, Abdul Gani Shah andMohd Musadiq Bhat.

Through this exercise, over1,000 police personnel andover 100 vehicles are freed todo regular police work, thepolice spokesman said.

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As the 12th edition of AeroIndia 2019, a biannual

plane carnival kick-started atthe Yalahanka Air base at theoutskirts of Bengaluru onWednesday, Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman laudedthe achievements of ModiGovernment in defence sectorahead of general elections justa few months away.

Speaking at the inaugura-tion of 12th edition of AeroIndia she said, “Some of themajor achievements of Publicand Private defence industry, Iwant to put before you include155 MM 52 caliber self-pro-pelled howitzer guns, advancedtowed artillery guns, high alti-tude UAVs, commissioning ofindigenous scorpene INSKalvari, development of twoindigenous ATGMs, upgrada-tion of air defence guns L 70,LCA Tejas 2, integrated aircommand control system,Akash missile system and soon.” She also said with focuseddefence policy the public andprivate defence industry havebeen able to achieve majormilestones in the defence andaerospace segment.

As a mark of tribute toWing Commander Sahil

Gandhi who was killed in amid-air clash of two Hawkfighters of team Surya Kiran onTuesday.

“There are now more than424 companies which haveobtained the license for defenceproduction. This number hasalmost doubled over the lastfour years,” she added. Shesaid on Foreign directInvestment”(FDI ) ) upto 49per cent were allowed throughautomatic route and above 49per cent we go through theGovernment route. But a sig-nificant FDI growth in defenceand aerospace sector have beenwitnessed. During 2014-18, sixcompanies in defence and aero-space sector obtained govern-ment approval for FDI of �237crore while FDI of �200 crorehas been received through theautomatic route.

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Aizawl: The Mizo PeaceAccord of 1986 has stood thetest of time and made Mizoramone of the most peaceful statesin the country, GovernorKummanam Rajasekharan saidWednesday.

Addressing a meeting hereto celebrate the 32nd anniver-sary of the signing of the MizoPeace Accord - Remna Ni(Peace Day) - Rajasekharansaid it is the duty of allstakeholders to ensureenduring peace in the state asit is the most crucial prereq-uisite for development.

The Peace Accord wassigned on June 30, 1986, bythe erstwhile undergroundMizo National Front (MNF),the Centre and the Mizoramgovernment.

"It is to the credit of thestrong civil society out here,that we have transitionedfrom years of struggle tobecome one of the mostpeaceful states in the coun-try. It is our duty to maintainthis peace, which is so vitalfor development," he said.

The governor urged thepeople to exploit the immensepotential that Mizoram offersin the realms of agriculture,horticulture, organic farming,food processing, handloom

and handicrafts."Special emphasis is now

being given to the bamboo sec-tor in the state. We have one ofthe largest bamboo cover in thecountry, it is now recognized,developed and promoted in amanner ensuring ecologicalsecurity for all-round sustain-able development of the stateand well-being of our people,"Rajasekharan said. PTI

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Partysupremo Mayawati claimed onWednesday that the BJP wasafraid of its tie-up with theSamajwadi Party in UttarPradesh and was now desper-ate to forge an alliance of itsown.

Her remarks came in thewake of the BJP announcing atie-up with the Shiv Sena inMaharashtra and the AIADMKin Tamil Nadu.

"Does the BJP's move toforge alliances in Bihar,Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,in absolute helplessness and onits knees, show its strong lead-ership? In fact, the BJP is soafraid of the SP-BSP alliancethat it is now running from pil-lar to post to forge an allianceof its own," Mayawati tweetedin Hindi.

She said, "No matter how much efforts the BJP makes during the election period, people of thecountry are fed up with its anti-people policies and willnot forgive it. The public willshatter its arrogance in the elections and their govern-ment will go." PTI

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Less than 48 hours after thetwo saffron parties entered

into an electoral alliance, seniorShiv Sena leader and MinisterRamdas Kadam on Wednesdaycreated a stir in the State polit-ical circles, by asserting that hisparty would severe its ties withthe BJP if the latter did notaccept the Sena’s condition thatthe Chief Minister’s post shouldbe shared in rotation betweenthem if they returned to powerin the State.

“At the seat-sharing talksheld on Monday, the BJP hadaccepted Sena President UddhavThackeray’s condition that thetwo parties would share theChief Minister’s post in rotationin the event of our returning topower in the State. This meansthat both the Sena and BJPwould get the chief minister’spost for two and a half yearseach,” Kadam said, while talkingto a Marathi television channel.

Kadam said that if the BJP

failed to fulfill its promise, theSena would have no other go butto break the alliance.

Alluding to an interviewtelecast on a regional televisionchannel, Kadam said: “In aninterview, I saw senior stateBJP leader Chandrakant Patilsaying that whichever of the twoparties ( BJP and Sena) getsmore number of seats in theAssembly polls, it will have itsperson in the chief minister’ssaddle. Whatever Patil has saidis wrong. I want chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis to speak toBJP national president AmitShah and clarify matters.Otherwise, there will be onceagain confusion and there is apossibility of a break-up in ouralliance”.

“If the BJP does not acceptour condition of rotational chiefministership, then we will tellour party president UddhavThackereay to break the allianceonce again,” Kadam said.

It may be recalled that boththe Sena and BJP leaders had not

spoken about the understandingreached between them over thechoice of the chief minister’spost. As a result, it was felt thatboth the parties had chosen tokeep the issue of chief minister’spost open.

Dwelling upon the sharingof positions in the event of thesaffron alliance governmentreturning to power, MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis had said: “We are con-fident of returning to powerboth at the Centre and in thestate. If we take charge of theoffice once again inMaharashtra, we will sharepower and positions equitably”.

Under the seat-sharing for-mula arrived at between the twosaffron alliance partners, the BJPwill contest 25 Lok Sabha seats,while the Shiv Sena will fieldcandidates for the remaining 23LS seats. In the State Assemblypolls, the two parties will — aftersparing some seats to otheralliance constituents — contestequal number of seats.

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Panaji: The BJP on Wednesdaysaid the mining issue in Goa hasbecome quite "tricky" and noneother than Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was lookinginto it to find a solution.

Talking to reporters here,BJP vice president VinaySahasrabuddhe also said theCentre and the GoaGovernment were on the "samepage" as far as finding a solutionto the mining crisis was con-cerned.

The mining industry inGoa has come to a standstillsince March 16 last year, afterthe Supreme Court quashed therenewal of 88 mining leases inthe State.

"It would not be true to sug-gest that nothing has happenedto resolve the mining crisis. It isa very intricate issue and every-body is aware that the judicia-ry is involved in it," he toldreporters in response to a ques-tion.

"Perhaps, if it was left onlyto the Government, resolvingthe issue would have been easy,"Sahasrabuddhe added.

He was in Goa as part of thedrive to collect feedback and

suggestions for the party fordrafting the manifesto ahead ofthe Lok Sabha elections.

According toSahasrabuddhe, there were sev-eral issues coming in the way ofresolution of the mining crisis.

"Judiciary is involved in it.The issue has become tricky.Therefore, it is takinglonger...Sooner or later, a solu-tion would be there," he said.

When asked whether a wayout would be found before theLok Sabha polls or after that, hesaid, "The entire gamut of issuesabout mining is under the activeconsideration at the apex level.Therefore, in a way it is work inprogress. I understand perhapsmore patience is required.

"The Prime Minister islooking into it, so solutionwould be found sooner thanlater," the BJP leader added.

When asked about GoaChief Minister ManoharParrikar's statement that as theCentre has failed to provide away out, the State Governmentwould find solution to the cri-sis, Sahasrabuddhe said, "Thereis nothing like division betweenCentre and the State." PTI

Bhopal: BJP MLA ChetanKashyap, one of the richest law-makers in Madhya Pradesh, onWednesday announced in theAssembly he would not drawsalary and allowances and urgedthe State Government to spendthis amount on developmentworks.

Kashyap made theannouncement during the ZeroHour and said he was capable ofbearing his expenses as MLA.

According to a report of theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR), Kashyap wasthe second richest MLA of thestate with total assets worth Rs204 crore.

Another BJP MLA SanjayPathak, a businessman, tops thelist with assets worth Rs 226crore, as per the affidavit sub-mitted during the Novemberassembly elections.

Kashyap, elected for a secondterm from Ratlam, said he hasdecided not to draw any salary,allowances or pension entitled toan MLA from the state exche-quer like his previous term. Heurged Speaker N P Prajapati todirect the department concernednot to withdraw his salary fromthe treasury. PTI

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Cowardly, dastardly and desper-ate — these are some of theadjectives the Government useswhen faced with surprise terror-ist attacks on the armed forces.

The recent deadly assault on the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy inPulwama, Jammu & Kashmir, was noexception. Enthralled by cricket a little toomuch, we somehow expect the terrorists tobehave as bowlers in a gentleman’s versionof the game. They would allow the batsmanthe time to adjust his pads, gloves and hel-met and take a comfortable position on thecrease before the ball is thrown at him.

But in an asymmetric warfare, where sur-prise is of essence, there is little scope for suchniceties. On April 6, 2010, in Dantewada,Chhattisgarh, a Maoist ambush had led to thedeath of 76 CRPF personnel. Similarly, inJammu & Kashmir, the Indian Army and theparamilitary forces are involved in an unequalwar against the terrorists. The rules ofengagement in an unconventional war differwidely from those of conventional conflicts.

Even in conventional conflicts, the com-batants prioritise results over rules. Elaboraterules were drawn on the eve of theMahabharata war. They were based on theconcept of providing level-playing field andfair play. But as the war progressed, rules weremore honoured in breach than in observance.However, none would disagree that theMahabharata war was about principles.Even Lord Krishna had to succumb to thelaw of karma, by a hunter’s arrow stuck in hisheels, because he had at times instigatedArjuna to uphold Dharma by contraveningDharma (killing of Karna and Jayadratha).Even Duryadhana, in Souptika Parva, griev-ed about surreptitious killing of the sons ofthe Pandavas while in sleep. But can oneexpect Hafiz Saeed to bemoan the killing of19 Indian soldiers in sleep at Uri brigadeheadquarters? This is because a very differ-ent worldview of war inspires terrorists.

Brigadier SK Malik (of Pakistan Army)described it elaborately in his book, TheQuranic Concept of War (1979). Its forewordwas penned by none else than General Zia-ul Haq, who modestly signed as the Chief ofArmy Staff, though already the President ofPakistan. Brigadier Malik, making a referenceto the Battle of Badr (624 AD), observed, “TheQuranic military strategy, thus, enjoins us toprepare ourselves for war to the utmost inorder to strike terror into the heart of the ene-mies, known or hidden, while guarding our-selves from being terror-stricken by theenemy (P 58).” We have to remember that theorganisation, of which the suicide bomber wasa member, is called the Jaish-e-Mohammad,meaning, The Army of the Prophet of Islam.Little wonder that the bomber was inspiredby that worldview as described by BrigadierMalik. His purpose was seemingly to striketerror in the heart of the enemy.

In Jammu & Kashmir, terrorism has beenon the rise during the last few years. While

there were 322 and 342 incidentsof terror in the State in 2016 and2017 respectively, in 2018, theirnumbers rose to 600. More ter-rorists were neutralised in thecorresponding period — 150(2016), 213 (2017) and 252(2018). However, more securitypersonnel were also killed — 82(2016), 80 (2017) and 91 (2018).As per a reply given by theMinister of State, Home, in LokSabha recently (January 8), anestimated 300 terrorists are activein the State. Net infiltrationacross the Line of Control hasgone up significantly over the lasttwo years. Thus, despite the zerotolerance policy and �80,068crore provided to Jammu &Kashmir under the PrimeMinister’s Development Package,2015, the situation in Jammu &Kashmir has not improved. Thisis in sharp contrast to the situa-tion in the North-Eastern States.While insurgency is on thedecline in the North-East, it is onthe rise in Jammu & Kashmir.

Nobody seems to have a clueabout what would work inJammu & Kashmir. OnNovember 3, 2014, two car-borne youth were killed inChattergam (district Budgam) inthe outskirts of Srinagar by Armybullets. Driven by teenagers, thecar apparently did not stop at thecheck post, making the Armysuspicious. The outrage over theincident forced the Army toinstitute an inquiry into the inci-dent. Nine soldiers were ultimate-ly indicted for the killing. TheArmy was compelled to issue an

apology over the incident. A month later, on

December 8, 2014, PrimeMinister Modi in his speech atSrinagar took credit for theArmy issuing an apology overthe Budgam incident. He saidthat this was the first time thatthe Army had apologised.“Modi sarkar ka kamaaldekhiye…” It gave an impressionthat the Army is a habitualoffender, whom noGovernment had the gumptionto take to task before. TheBudgam outrage forced theIndian Army to be guarded inits approach towards privatevehicular movement. Had itbeen otherwise, possiblyPulwama could have been pre-vented.

The worsening of democra-tic discourse in the Valley isanother cause for concern. Thevoter turnout was a meagre twoper cent in the SrinagarParliamentary Constituencybypoll in April, 2017, which waswon by National Conference(NC) chief Farooq Abdullah.The re-polling in 38 boothsactually proved worse than theactual bypoll, which had seenseven per cent voter participation,and, hence, was countermanded.The local body elections inOctober, 2018, saw voters’ partic-ipation in single digits, the poor-est show in three decades.

The proliferation of Wahabi-controlled mosques in the Valleyover the last 10-15 years haschanged the nature of insurgencyin Kashmir, traditionally influ-

enced by a comparatively liber-al Sufi version. The money forthese mosques pours in from oil-rich Arab countries. Theybecome a point of attraction forthe Muslim youths. The Ministryof Home Affairs report onKashmir (February 2017) recom-mended control of mosque,madrasa, print and TV media.

This is, however, not tonegate the fact that religiousidentity is the fundamentalshaper of conflict in Kashmir.Why else does the Muslimmajority of the Valley, in contrastto Kashmiri Pandits, dislike partsof Hindu majority India evenwith Article 370 as a safeguard?Why were Kashmiri Panditsbrutally assaulted and massacreduntil they decided to desert theKashmir Valley on the sacredShivratri of 1990? Why were theirplaces of worship desecrated,idols stolen and destroyed? Whywere Urdu posters, ‘MuslimonJago, Hinduon Bhago, Jihad aaya’(Muslims arise, Hindus quit,Jihad has arrived) plastered onthe walls of Srinagar?

The return of the IED(Improvised Explosive Devices)in the Valley after a hiatus of adecade is a cause of anxiety. Thesolution to the Kashmir crisis,provided there is any reality, hasreceded from sight of late. Thesecession of Kashmir, on anIslamic plank, will make theposition of Muslims in the rest ofIndia vulnerable.

(The writer is an independentresearcher. Views expressed are hispersonal)

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Sir — Post the attack on a CRPFconvoy in Pulwama, that claimedthe lives of over 40 soldiers andinjured several others, countlessopinions have been made. Whilesome have suggested that it’s awake-up call for another surgicalstrike, others have opined that alltrade links with Pakistan shouldbe cut. The Indian Prime Minister,too, has said that a swift, robustand decisive action should betaken against the perpetrators ofthe ghastly crime. However, whatis of utmost importance is toaddress the core issue of radical-isation of the youth in the Valley.Why is it that they get drawntowards terrorism? At a timewhen proactive steps are neededto win over the Kashmiri main-stream, arm-twisting instead ofreaching out will be counter-pro-ductive and deepen the alienation.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

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Sir — It is not surprising thatPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan refused to acknowledge the

attack on Indian security forces inPulwama as an act of terrorism. Heeven demanded proof for Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leaderMasood Azhar’s involvement inthe attack. Such an attitude on thepart of Pakistan has always beena dampener for better cooperationbetween the two countries. Khan,a philanthropist by nature and aliberal at heart, has really shockedthe world for his acrimonious

speeches against India and for hisblatant ‘lie’. A direct conflict withPakistan will not fetch any desiredresult. Some strategic moves likecrippling their economy and sin-gling Pakistan out from the worldforum can be the best option otherthan a direct conflict. Advicefrom Israel is a must for India inthis regard.

TK Nandanan Chennai

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Sir — The terrorist attack inPulwama has been condemnedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi,who has vowed that sacrifices of ourjawans will not go in vain. It is truethat the entire nation stands in sol-idarity with the families of the mar-tyrs but with a heavy heart, onemust also ask how could such an

incident take place right under thePrime Minister’s nose, whose partyduring the last election campaign,had promised to adopt a hardlineapproach towards militancy inKashmir? The Government has toalso answer why there has been a176 per cent rise in the number ofterrorist incidents in Jammu &Kashmir between 2014 and 2018?It is ironic that the Governmentchooses to focus only on the num-ber of terrorists killed in a particu-lar year, and ignores the fact that therecruitment of Kashmiri boys bymilitant groups has gone up from88 in 2016 to 191 in 2018.

Jammu & Kashmir is nowunder Governor’s rule and SatyaPal Malik has admitted that thePulwama attack was partly theresult of an intelligence failure.The security forces could notdetect the loading and movementof the explosive-laden vehicle. Itwas also known that the bomber,Adil Ahmad Dar, had joined themilitants but the police could nottrace him. These basic securitylapses expose the larger officialdisregard for lives of our jawans.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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Climate change has become aneveryday reality for mankind.The ill-effects of punishing

changes in the environment havealready taken a toll on a variety ofaspects such as thinning of our forestcover or rapidly rising sea levels,which are in turn threatening ourcoastal areas. On the other hand, thevanishing green canopy has beeninstrumental in increasing the ambi-ent temperatures. These have led to ascenario where limiting the globaltemperature rise to below 2 degreecentigrade seems like an unachievablegoal now. As the world is locked in anirrecoverable downward spiraltowards a definite and permanent cli-mate change, humans residing inrural and urban areas are poised totake the maximum hit.

Whereas the rural areas areexpected to get off lightly, thanks totheir proximity to nature, they are notlikely to get off as easily on the agri-cultural front where climate change isexpected to hit food productionimmensely. To state that the farmersof India are looking at a dark future,both financially and agriculturally,would not be incorrect.

Their city counterparts are notgoing to fare better either, thanks tounstoppable migration to cities fromrural hinterlands and the groaninginfrastructure that is already burstingat seams, unable to provide for evenbasic amenities such as power, waterand accommodation. To make mat-ters worse is the fact that green coverin many Indian cities has virtually dis-appeared amid the growing problemof increasing population.

Scientific opinion is also nowunanimously certain that global tem-peratures are likely to continue to risewith concomitant extreme weatherpatterns and events. There is a proteanbody of scientific literature availableon global warming and climatechange, which is affecting urban liv-

ing in every respect, from the impactof heat islands phenomena. Urbanplanning implications are reflected inbuildings, street and communitydesign for more environmentally sus-tainable cities. Though the urbanscience related to climate change andits implications for human settlementis in its early stages, the threat of cli-mate change to urban settlements oftoday is so real that it is alreadybecoming a concern of insurance andactuarial industries. These begin toassess risk to human settlement, con-struction and other risks associatedwith atmospheric conditions.

Currently numerous problemsconditioned by global climate changesare quite clearly reflected in the con-temporary urban and rural environ-ment. A series of extreme weatherconditions in the European citiesand worldwide has shed the light onthe vulnerability of the cities to theimpact of climate changes. On theother part, the cities represent themajor originators of the same but arealso the main field of action to min-imise their impacts. In light of that, thegrowing cities, particularly in respect

to the growth of the density ofdwelling, industry and traffic, repre-sent the strategic place for mitigationof the harmful impacts of climatechanges on the environment. Climatechanges, to a great extent, affect thechange of behaviour of the stakehold-ers in the city. These changes are alsoreflected through diverse changes inthe urban structure: morphological,organisational, functional, economic,social and the changes in the qualityof the environment. Global climatechanges have also the unavoidableimpact on the structure and function-ing of the region, altering the region’stopography and relationships amongits basic building elements.

In the backdrop of these menac-ing climate changes, our urban plan-ners must help our cities becomeresilient which can absorb the twinimpacts of rural to urban migrationand worsening climate. Time hascome when urban planning and cli-mate change are going to intersectand urban planners, who handle avariety of responsibilities aroundcommunity development and designand manage everything from trans-

portation planning to park place-ment and land-use zoning, must beprepared to handle this conflict.What is clear is that the climatechange-related extreme weatherevents may not stop but the urbanplanner’s efforts in making theIndian cities resilient and sustainablewill help them bounce back after nat-ural disasters.

The new cityscape planning mustnow do away with priority for concreteand instead replace the same withgreen pockets, which must be a partof the public places. The harsh ener-gy guzzling glass facades of the com-mercial buildings must be made tosport only solar panels so that theirenergy needs are half met by their owngeneration. To this end, the govern-ment must ensure that the electricityload allocated or allowed to thesebuildings be a mix of conventionalnon-renewable energy and solarenergy. This way the architects will beleft with no other option but toensure that the green building gener-ates its own quota of solar energy.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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With just two months left for thegeneral elections, the politicalsensex in India is heated, fluc-tuating and volatile. This isbecause newer entrants and

federal bloc entities are striving to increase brandequity within the country’s re-calibrated demo-graphics. India’s large and fragmented electorate,and its progressively widening diversity and plu-ralism, have made the country more complexand unwieldy to govern even by a party thatruled with a majority after 30 years, making thepolitical marketplace a challenging one for 2019.

New-age elections are no longer foughtoffline on rugged turfs or over shrill televisiondebates as brand-wars have shifted to theonline space, where opinions are shaped.Because social media is mostly consumed byyounger demographics, which comprise 65 percent of the voting population, ad-spends ofparties are on par in print and electronicmedia. And where the BJP held a first-moveradvantage since 2014, political competitorshave narrowed the gap in visibility, reparteeand aggressive rebuttals not only on mainlinemedia but also on platforms like Facebook,Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp.

The product differentiator of the BJP ver-sus ‘the Rest’ is that brand Modi has a nation-ally tried and tested leadership appeal. This isin contrast to incubator or trial and error region-al brands, whose organisations or leaders haveno prior experience in national governance (asin Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati or anuntested leader lacking administrative experi-ence from a mainstream party, like Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi). Creating a powerfulnarrative around a political product needsbranding strategies similar to a consumerdurable company, where the consumers must feeltempted to buy a product they will have to livewith for the next five years. And remember thatthe party that comes to power impacts nation-al and individual fortunes of the multitude.

No brand, be it a consumer product, polit-ical party or a corporate entity, can retain leador dominance indefinitely in the cluttered mar-ketplace of politics. Political brands, like con-sumer ones, need continual upgrading to retainrelevance. Brand Modi’s campaign of 2014 soldhope for a transformative ‘New India’, whichworked at that time as a powerful motivator.A re-run of the same theme cannot have thesame appeal in 2019. Instead, ‘Modi’s half-fin-ished revolution requires another term’ is amore honest and realistic selling propositionfor 2019 in contrast to the mahagathbandhan’sthus far uninspiring counter-proposition or thelack of it. According to brand experts, region-al party aspirants lack clearly defined USPs inthe consumers’ perception that would temptthem to buy into a regional leader to displacea towering national brand like Modi.

The elections of 2019 are no longer a sim-plistic assessment of two competing pan-Indian protagonists from India’s mainstreamparties, Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Becausedepending on post-poll results, Mayawati orTrinamool Congress chief Mamata could wellbecome default choices if the BJP or Congress

fall terribly short of numbers and choose to sitin the Opposition benches, propping up a pup-pet regime.

In a “Modi versus the Rest”, there are twocompeting brands for the top slot against Modi.First, “the Rest,” or the Federal Front is a distinctproduct entity in itself. It’s an amorphous brand,minus the Congress or the BJP, comprisingSamajwadi Party, BSP, Telugu Desam Party,Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Partyand TMC among others. Historically, suchhybrid formations have been synonymous withinstability and chaos. The selling points of theFederal Front brand will be assessed on the valueproposition of the Common MinimumProgramme (CMP) it puts forth as an alterna-tive to the perceived flaws of brand Modi’s gov-ernance. It must offer viable economic solutionsfor a pick-up in investments and jobs and havelong-term solutions to fix rural distress.

Voters are cynical about “hit and run” man-ifestos with no accountability post-Governmentformation. The USP of the Front will also liein how the brand differentiates itself in its com-mitment to upholding institutional integrity ofthe vibrant pillars of democracy: A free Press,Central Bureau of Investigation, Comptrollerand Auditor General of India, EnforcementDirectorate and Reserve Bank of India. Becauseevery party that came to power at the Centreor States has been guilty of the very sameexcesses and impropriety of fiddling withdemocratic institutions that Opposition flagsas flawed features of brand Modi’s governance.Selling a brand’s ability to govern is like mar-keting a service product, similar to banking orinsurance. Delivering good governance is asolemn and contractual service obligationbetween the ruler and the voter.

The second voter option is the Gandhibrand, and consequently a Congress-led alliance.Rahul is the prime mover in this space, thoughnot the glue that binds the Opposition and lacksany empirical record of governance to gauge past

performance that inspires a “buy.” Rahul hasbeen a brand-in-the-making since 2004 that wasformally test-marketed in the Gujarat electionsin 2017 with partial success till he led theCongress to convincing wins in the politicallysignificant Hindi heartland States in 2018.

Rahul’s personal branding for 2019 as theangry young man of Indian politics is a com-plete mis-match to real-life attributes. TheBachchan prototype in politics could well haveappealed to the aspirational youth had hegained ascendance through meritocracy. Hismarketing strategy is deliberately confronta-tional and headline-grabbing, targetted to“defeat the BJP in the daily news cycle”through “hit and scoot” allegations in anattempt to maximise media space and brandvisibility. As an anti-corruption crusader,upholding India’s institutional integrity, unem-ployment and agri-distress, a discerning voterwould see through the claims of a party thatsuffered its worst rout in 2014 for those veryissues Rahul champions in 2019.

Let’s not forget that Rahul, like his mother,had unfettered and equal access through proxypower during UPA’s 10 years to transform India.The fact is, he did nothing. So the rebel imagedoes not quite add up. The Congress-led UPAran a highly corrupt establishment with abjectdisdain for the integrity of democratic institu-tions starting with the office of the PrimeMinister, CBI, CAG etc. Besides, an inconvenienttruth seldom highlighted in present times is thecronyism Rahul alleges, and hopes to reap elec-toral dividends from by scamming the Rafaeldeal, is that the rise of the Ambanis coincidedwith the rule of Indira Gandhi, not with Modi’sascendance. By 1999, the Reliance group had thelargest net worth among all private companiesin India, much before Modi came to power inGujarat or in the capital.

Second, Rahul’s economic panacea of aMinimum Income Guarantee scheme is aflawed and financially prodigal strategy.

Because it is based on assumptions that mar-ket-led economic growth will remain below-par, insufficient to raise millions out of pover-ty, so there is need to fall back on direct state-supported welfarism. Progressive growth isfounded on policies that widen the econom-ic pie, as compared to welfarist solutions whichare based on redistribution of wealth, whichis an interim solution to mitigating poverty anda constant drain on the exchequer.

Brand Modi is the “challenged” brand withthe largest individual market share that reachedsaturation in 2014, and now suffers anticipat-ed mid-cycle plateau. With his sweeping victo-ry in 2014, the brand appeal resonated widerthan its parent organisations, the BJP and RSS.

Despite a degree of voter-fatigue, displac-ing an overarching brand whose organisationand party dominates 19 Indian States is also amarketing challenge. Brand Modi retains top-of-the-mind recall through sustained visibili-ty, being omnipresent in daily Governmentadvertisements and regular personalisedengagements through messaging updates viamail, Twitter and Mygov apps. It stands forunadulterated brand attributes of personalintegrity. Voters, who buy into brand Modi in2019, are not looking for new value-adds.Instead, brand loyalists are looking for renew-al of commitments on how it can deliver on pastpromises and rectify the errors of his firsttenure. As Modi’s brand attributes have beensynonymous with decisive leadership, gaugingfrom the patriotic fervour post the Pulwamaattack, there would be a huge surge in popular-ity ratings should he choose to exercise militaryoptions, like going in for a limited war. Questionis: Does he need to resort to knee-jerk reactionsto prove his ‘josh’ by going to war in order towin the elections of 2019?

(The writer is author, columnist andChairperson for National Committee onFinancial Inclusion and Literacy for Womenconstituted at NITI Aayog)

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India will remain the fastestgrowing major economy,

much ahead of China, in thenext decade 2019-28, accordingto a global economic researchreport.

The report prepared byOxford Economics, which isengaged in global forecastingand quantitative analysis, Indiais likely to achieve an averagegrowth of 6.5 per cent in 2019-28, the highest among theemerging economies.

India will be followed bythe Philippines (5.3 per cent)and Indonesia (5.1 per cent),the report titled ‘EmergingMarkets Sustained Growth inEMs Calls for Thrift andInnovation’ said.

China has been assignedthe fourth slot with an averagegrowth rate of 5.1 per cent forthe next decade (2019-28).

The report is authored byeminent economist Louis Kuijs.

It pointed out that emerg-ing markets (EMs) with sus-tained fast growth are distin-guished by rapid capital accu-mulation — mainly domesti-cally financed — and robusttotal factor productivity (TFP)growth.

“To achieve sustained rapidgrowth in the coming decades,EMs will need solid saving,” thereport said.

According to the report, to

avoid the middle income trap(MIT), the upper middleincome countries (MICs) inparticular need to makeprogress in terms of ‘masteringtechnology’, raising the involve-ment of firms and/or people ininnovation and R&D.

“Major saving is requiredfor sustained rapid growth inemerging economies,” it said,adding that TFP growth driven

by innovation and R&D, espe-cially in middle income coun-tries.

India is projected to growat 7.5 per cent in 2019 and 7.7per cent in 2020, more thanChina’s estimated growth of6.2 per cent in these twoyears, according to theInternational Monetary Fund’srecent World EconomyOutlook update.

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In a significant developmentin the country’s architecture

sector for the first time ever anIndian design company hasacquired an Internationaldesign firm.

CP Kukreja Architects hasacquired the India arm ofChicago-based renowneddesign firm dbHMS. TheIndian arm of dbHMS has twoverticals — sustainability andEngineering designs. They havebeen leading the innovativeengineering and green buildingmovement in India.

“We are delighted that weare able to bring this world classexpertise to our clients in India.The country is poised forunprecedented development inthe years to come and it isimportant that the foundation ofour work is based on sustain-ability and environmentallyresponsible design,” said DikshuC Kukreja, Managing Principal,C P Kukreja Architects.

Kukreja Architects isdesigning India’s first RailUniversity besides the con-vention centers in PragatiMaidan and Dwarka for theG20 Summit in 2022.

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International CopperAssociation India (ICA India)

on Thursday hosted nationalseminar on “Energy EfficientMotor Standards & EmergingChallenges” in New Delhi. Theguests of honor for the eventwere Ravinder Secretary DIPPand Rk Bajaj, DDG — BIS whodelivered keynote address.Sharing his views Ravinder citedthat the import of sub-standardmotors should be controlledand customs can help by keep-ing a check and barring themfrom entering India eventuallyhelping in the adoption of ISacross the country.

Commenting on the eventSanjeev Ranjan, ManagingDirector, International CopperAssociation India said, “ICA hasalways been at the forefront fortaking initiatives to provide a plat-form for dialogue between thegoverning bodies, regulatory bod-ies and industries to bridge thegaps and work collectively withthe larger vision of betterment forthe national economy. We hopethat our seminar on energy effi-cient motor standards wouldhave provided all the stakehold-ers the ground to come up withsolutions for the challenges relat-ed to adoption of HigherEfficiency Motors (HEMs).”

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Markets regulator Sebi onWednesday exempted

State-owned Coal India fromcomplying with regulationswith regard to its proposedbuyback programme for 4.46crore shares.

Coal India had filed an appli-cation on February 12 with theSecurities and Exchange Board ofIndia (Sebi) seeking exemptionfrom the strict enforcement of thebuyback norms.

The application has beennecessitated on account of trans-fer of 4,46,80,850 equity sharesof Coal India which were heldby the promoter (Government),to the asset management com-pany of the Bharat 22 ETF in themonth of February, according toa Sebi order.

The promoter(Government of India) saidadditional offering period ofBharat 22 ETF was opened andclosed on February 14, 2019.

It is noted that the proposedtransfer equity shares by thepromoters will occur during theperiod between the date ofpassing the resolution of the

board of directors approving theoffer of buyback of securities ofthe company (i.E. February 4,2019) and the closure of suchoffer, Coal India said.

Under buyback regula-tions, it imposes an obligationon the company to ensure thatits promoters do not deal in theshares of the company in thestock exchange or off-marketincluding inter-transfer ofshares among themselves dur-ing the period from the date ofpassing the resolution of theboard of directors till closing ofthe buyback offer.

On February 4, CoalIndia’s board had approved thebuyback of 4.46 crore equityshares, representing about 9.86per cent (stand alone basis) ofaggregate of fully paid–up equi-ty capital at a price of Rs 235per equity share for an aggre-gate consideration of Rs 1,050crore.

The PSU in its applicationsaid that in the proposed buy-back, 15 per cent of the num-ber of equities will be reservedfor small shareholders whichwill benefit larger number ofsuch small shareholders.

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Observing there was a ‘wil-ful default’, the Supreme

Court on Wednesday held AnilAmbani, chairman of RelianceCommunication(RCom),guilty of contempt of court andordered the debt-laden com-pany to clear the �453 croredues to Swedish telecom equip-ment maker Ericsson withinfour weeks or face a 3-monthjail term.

In a verdict that came asa setback to Ambani, theapex court also pulled up theindustrialist for his “cavalieratt itude” demonstratedthrough the affidavit filed inthe court and said any“unconditional apology”given must be rejected.

Besides Ambani, the courtheld Reliance Telecom Ltdchairman Satish Seth andReliance Infratel Ltd ChhayaVirani as well as their threecompanies guilty of contemptof court,

“The RCom group isdirected to purge the con-tempt of this Court by pay-ment to Ericsson the sum of�453 crore within a period offour weeks from today. Indefault of such payment, theChairmen who have givenundertakings to this Courtwill suffer three monthsimprisonment,” said a bench ofJustices R F Nariman andVineet Saran.

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The Finance Ministry onWednesday announced to

pump in �48,239 crore in 12public sector banks (PSBs) inthis fiscal to help them main-tain regulatory capital require-ments and finance growthplans.

With this funding, the totalamount of capital infusionwould increase to �1,00,958crore of the planned recapital-isation of �1.06 lakh crore forPSBs for the current fiscal,according to Financial ServicesSecretary Rajiv Kumar.

The remaining �5,000crore capital infusion wouldbe used as buffer for any con-tingency or growth capitalfor Bank of Baroda which is inthe process of merging DenaBank and Vijaya Bank withitself.

“It (pending �5000 crore)may be used for any contin-gency or for growth capitalwherever it is necessary includ-ing amalgamated entity of Bankof Baroda,” Kumar said.

Corporation Bank is thebiggest beneficiary of thisround of capital infusion with�9,086 crore of funding, fol-lowed by Allahabad Bank with�6,896 crore.

Explaining the rationalefor giving higher capital to

these two banks, Kumar saidequipping these two betterperforming banks, currentlyunder the Prompt CorrectiveAction (PCA) supervision ofthe RBI, would help meet req-uisite capital thresholds of7.375 CET-1 ratio, 8.875 percent Tier I ratio, 10.875 per centof capital-to-risk weightedassets ratio (CRAR) and the netNPA ratio threshold of below6 per cent.

Further, �4,638 crore and�205 crore will be provided toBank of India and Bank ofMaharashtra. These banks haverecently come out of the regu-latory supervisory frameworkPCA of the RBI.

Kumar further said PunjabNational Bank will get �5,908crore, Union Bank of India�4,112 crore, Andhra Bank�3,256 crore and SyndicateBank �1,603 crore.

The Government willpump in �12,535 crore in fourother banks under PCA —Central Bank of India, UnitedBank, UCO Bank and IndianOverseas Bank.

The Government inDecember had increased theoutlay by �41,000 crore forinfusion in public sector banks.As a result, the total recapital-isation in the current fiscalfrom �65,000 crore to �1.06lakh crore.

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The Ministry of Steel onWednesday extended till

April 17 the deadline formandatory use of Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS) certifiedhigh-grade steel in automobilemanufacturing.

Automobile manufactur-ers in India have been import-ing high-grade steel and hadpressed the Government toextend the deadline for usingBureau of Indian Standards(BIS) certified high-grade steelbeyond February 17.

According to auto manufac-turers, they are facing difficultyin sourcing high-grade steel fromdomestic companies while for-eign suppliers have expressedreluctance to seek BIS certifica-tion due to very low volumes.

In a notification onWednesday, the steel ministrysaid, “in pursuance to theenforcement of steel and steelproducts quality control orderdated August 13, 2018, theMinistry of Steel informs that allgrades available in Indian stan-dards IS 4454 (Part-1): 2001, IS4454 (Part II): 2001, IS 11169(Part-I): 1984 and IS 6603:

2001, IS 6527: 1995 and IS6528: 1995 shall remain outsidethe purview of the quality con-trol order till April 17, 2019.”

To promote local manu-facturing, the steel ministry inJune 2018 mandated BIS certi-fication for the commodity tobe sold in India. This includedboth for domestically producedand imported steel.

For the domestic autoindustry, December 17, 2018was set as the deadline to meetthe norm.

Following the concernsraised by the auto makers, thegovernment in December 2018extended the deadline for auto-mobile makers till February 17.

The automobile manufac-turers had sought a year’s time,expressing their inability tosource high grade steel locallysoon citing inconsistent quality.

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Tata Consultancy Services(TCS), Wipro, Carnival

Cinemas and Glenmark wereamong the Indian companiesthat signed 15 agreements onWednesday to invest in SaudiArabia.

The Saudi Arabian GeneralInvestment Authority (SAGIA)in a statement said while 11MoUs were signed to forgepartnerships, four new licencesworth more than $28 millionwere handed out to Indianfirms at the Saudi-India Forumhere.

“The announcementscover a range of partnershipsacross strategic growth sec-tors, including energy andwater, technology, arts andentertainment, healthcare,trade and investment,” it said.

“This reflects the strengthand diversification of the Saudieconomy, as well as the oppor-tunities being unlocked for

private sector businesses bywidespread economic andsocial reforms as part of Vision2030.”

The MoUs that were signedinclude agreements that willboost the collaboration instrategic growth sectorsbetween several Saudi govern-ment entities with leadingIndian firms including TCS,Wipro, Glenmark and IonExchange.

Besides, licences weregranted to AWJ Energy,SecurEyes, Carnival Cinemasand Red Sea Arabia Companyto establish operations in SaudiArabia.

The Saudi-India Forum ispart of the first official statevisit of Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman toIndia.

“Saudi Arabia is open forbusiness and we are delightedto announce the licences andMoUs signed at the Saudi-India Forum today.

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Wednesday con-

ducted raids on at least six loca-tions in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR region in connection withthe multi-crore IL&FS pay-ment default crisis and seizedforeign currency worth �6 lakh,officials said.

They said the action by thecentral probe agency came

after it registered a criminalcomplaint Tuesday under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in thealleged payment default case.

Searches were being con-ducted at the “residentialpremises of key officials” linkedto the erstwhile management ofInfrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services (ILFS),including its former chairmanRavi Parthasarathy and fewothers, they said.

“During the search proceed-ings, foreign currencies amount-ing to about Rs 6 lakh, variousproperty documents, incrimi-nating documents, records andmedia have been recovered andseized from the premises,” the EDsaid in a statement.

The agency added it hasfiled the PMLA case “againstIL&FS Group and others on thebasis of an FIR registered by theDelhi Police EOW for allegedcheating and forgery on part ofIL&FS Group and its managingcommittee during the periodfrom 2010-2018”.

The raids were conductedin Mumbai and locations inDelhi and the national capitalregion (NCR), includingGurgaon, the agency said.

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India’s largest telecom opera-tor Vodafone Idea Ltd. said

on Wednesday that the auctionof 5G spectrum should not beheld before 2020 as the indus-try needs time to developIndia-specific use cases for thenext-generation technology.

Vodafone Idea chief tech-nology officer Vishant Voratold reporters that the full inte-gration of the two telecom net-works post the mega merger lastyear is “on track” and expectedto be completed by June 2020.

On the globally con-tentious issue of use of com-munications equipment ofChinese vendors, Vora saidthat the Indian governmenthad not taken a position onsuch deployments, and assert-ed that the company wouldcomply with the rules of thecountry.

“Within Indian context, thegovernment has not taken aposition unlike some othercountries.... Australia, NewZealand, and the US... havetaken a clear position... Ofcourse, we will follow whateverthe Indian government decidesand we will work with the gov-ernment to ensure that India’sstrategic needs and security arefully looked after,” he said.

Last year, Idea andVodafone completed the merg-er of their India operations to

create the country’s largest tele-com operator to take on com-petition from rivals Reliance Jioand Bharti Airtel. British tele-com major Vodafone holds45.1 stake in the combinedentity, while Kumar MangalamBirla-led Aditya Birla Groupcontrols 26 per cent and Ideashareholders own 28.9 per cent.

“We, at the time of merg-er, had said it will take threeyears for completing the inte-gration of the network. Wehave since then revised thatestimate and said we will com-plete this by June 2020 whichis half the time. We are on trackfor that,” Vora said.

Asked whether the com-pany was in favour of auctionof radiowaves this year, Vorasaid that the company had the

capability of near-5G serviceseven with its current spec-trum holding.

“The 2020 and spectrumissue is different. It is not aboutus running out of spectrum. Itis more related to developingIndia specific use cases for 5G.And given the current focus ongiving high speed broadbandservices across vast geographyof India, we believe industryneeds to stay focused on thatmission and 5G is somethingmuch more suitable that cancome after 2020,” he said. Voraadded: “The most appropriatetime to hold auctions will besomewhere after 2020”.

On whether the companywould participate in auctions ifthey were to be held this year,Vora declined to comment.

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Reversing a nine-sessionfalling streak, the BSESensex rebounded 404

points on Wednesday asinvestors snapped up recentlyhammered stocks amid opti-mism in global markets overthe US-China trade talks.

After a firm opening, the30-share index stayed in thepositive terrain throughout thesession before finally finishingat 35,756.26, up 403.65 points,or 1.14%.

The broader NSE Niftysoared 131.10 points, or 1.24%,to 10,735.45.

In the past nine sessions,the Sensex had lost 1,622.62points, while the Nifty cracked465.05 points over eight trad-ing days.

Metal, IT and bankingcounters chalked up smartgains on Wednesday, withVedanta topping the Sensexwinners list with a jump of4.67%.

Other gainers includedTata Steel, ONGC, NTPC, YesBank, Infosys, Sun Pharma,Bharti Airtel, SBI, BajajFinance, L&T and RIL, risingup to 4.13%.

On the other hand, HeroMotoCorp, HUL, M&M, BajajAuto and IndusInd Bank fell upto 0.56%.

All the BSE sectoral indicesfinished in the green, led bymetal (2.99%), basic materials(2.24%) and oil and gas(2.19%).

“The market continues tofight the wall of worry, and

bulls appear to be unwilling togive up the fight, as Indianequities had a strong day, up1.3%,” said Sunil Sharma, chiefinvestment officer, SanctumWealth Management.

Commodities and metals

led the gains, alongside IT andenergy, as investors are expect-ing a favourable outcome of theUS-China trade talks, he added.

Broader indices too endedpositive, with the BSE Midcapand Smallcap rising up to0.91%.

Domestic institutionalinvestors (DIIs) were net buy-ers to the tune of �1,163.85crore on Tuesday, while foreigninstitutional investors (FIIs)sold shares worth a net of�813.76 crore, provisional dataavailable with BSE showed.

Global markets spurted onhopes of a positive outcome ofthe ongoing US-China tradenegotiations.

US President DonaldTrump on Tuesday said thenegotiations were going verywell, but refrained from com-mitting any extension of theMarch 1 deadline to arrive at anunderstanding.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s HangSeng jumped 1.01%, Korea’sKospi rose 1.09%, Japan’sNikkei ended 0.60% higherand Shanghai Composite Indexgained 0.20%. In the Eurozone,Frankfurt’s DAX was up 0.40%,Paris CAC 40 rose 0.09% andLondon’s FTSE was up 0.05% inearly deals.

The benchmark Brentcrude futures fell 0.44% toUSD 66.16 per barrel.

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?�!����!����6)�!����Mumbai (PTI): Snapping a four-session downturn, the rupee

appreciated by 23 paise to end 71.11 against the US dollar onWednesday amid easing oil prices and a firm greenback.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, thedomestic unit opened strong at 71.29 but surrendered the gains toslip to a low of 71.34. However, it clawed back lost ground and final-ly ended at 71.11, up 23 paise. The rupee had closed at 71.34 ver-sus the greenback on Monday. Money markets were closed onTuesday on account of Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti.

“Rupee has broken the four days’ losing streak by appreciating23 paise against the dollar. All the Asian equity markets closed ona strong wicket today, amid continued optimism that upcominground of talks between the US and Chinese officials will take thetwo nations closer toward achieving a trade deal in the foreseeablefuture. The US dollar Index was capped against its peers today onfalling US yields and before the Federal Reserve’s policy meetingminutes, scheduled today. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yieldfell sharply to 2.628, the lowest level since 3rd Jan 2019.

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its board meeting decid-ed to transfer �28,000 crore as interim dividend to the governmentfor the period of July to December 2018. The dividend transfer willhelp the Centre meet its revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per centof gross domestic product for FY19. With this surplus transfer, thetotal dividend payout by the RBI to the government in FY19 standsat �68,000 crore. Lower fiscal deficit would provide floor to the indi-an currency,” said VK Sharma, head PCG and Capital MarketsStrategy, HDFC Securities.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength againsta basket of six currencies, inched up 0.04% to 96.56.

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New Delhi (PTI): Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson onWednesday said it had started deploying 5G-ready equipmenton Vodafone Idea network. The equipment will be used for 4Gservices at present and can be upgraded to provide 5G servicesas per business requirement of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), Ericssonsaid. “We have been strategic partners to both Vodafone and IdeaCellular and now we enter a new phase of partnership with thisdeal with VIL... The 5G-ready solutions in the Ericsson RadioSystem portfolio will help boost the capacity of VIL’s LTE (4G)network and broaden the availability of high quality mobile broad-band services for its customers,” Ericsson India Managing DirectorNitin Bansal said. He said the contract was for eight of 22 tele-com circles in which VIL operates. VIL has plans to invest �20,000crore in network expansion over the next 15 years.

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New Delhi (PTI): TheCommerce and IndustryMinistry on Wednesday said ithad started the exercise forranking states and Union terri-tories for 2019 based on initia-tives taken for startups.

The exercise aims to evalu-ate measures taken by states/UTsto boot startup ecosystem dur-ing the period from May 1, 2018to June 30, 2019, the ministrysaid.

“Ranking framework 2019comprises seven pillars and 30action points,” it said in a state-ment. The pillars will assessefforts of states/UTs across insti-tutional support, simplifyingregulations, easing public pro-curement, incubation, seedfunding, venture funding andawareness and outreach relatedactivities.

“The startup ranking frame-work aims to rank states/UTs forestablishing a robust ecosystemfor supporting startups. Theframework also encourages statesand UTs to identify, learn andreplicate good practices fromeach other,” it added.

The Department forPromotion of Industry andInternal Trade under the ministryhas prepared the framework afterseveral rounds of consultations. Itsaid the framework has evolveddistinctly as compared to last yearwith major emphasis on collect-ing feedback from startups andother important stakeholders.

Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 3.61 3.70 3.55 3.65JPASSOCIAT 5.22 5.28 5.02 5.23KSCL 424.00 426.60 376.00 416.90RELCAPITAL 152.50 152.50 135.95 145.05RELINFRA 122.60 124.05 111.50 119.40RCOM 6.09 6.17 5.45 5.80YESBANK 216.80 219.80 213.25 217.90TATASTEEL 476.40 493.65 472.80 490.60JINDALSTEL 142.80 151.00 141.75 149.90IBULHSGFIN 621.00 653.00 620.40 646.15RELIANCE 1226.10 1239.25 1218.75 1234.35TCS 1913.95 1933.80 1882.00 1914.45VEDL 154.85 160.65 154.15 160.15AXISBANK 698.55 702.70 694.95 700.90CGPOWER 29.30 30.80 28.75 30.25DHFL 128.00 131.30 127.10 130.30JETAIRWAYS 232.00 235.90 225.00 232.95SBIN 265.00 267.70 264.50 267.05MINDAIND 288.50 332.20 288.50 325.20ASHOKLEY 79.95 81.50 79.70 80.95TATAMOTORS 165.00 166.50 163.85 164.85GRAPHITE 404.00 418.85 403.50 412.20LT 1260.55 1280.00 1260.55 1275.10RPOWER 11.15 11.15 10.25 10.75SUNPHARMA 417.00 424.50 416.60 422.20EXIDEIND 206.00 207.90 194.65 206.55EMAMILTD 407.40 412.40 389.00 394.70DRREDDY 2565.65 2580.00 2510.00 2523.70ONGC 141.50 145.00 140.20 144.05DLF 165.00 167.00 158.95 163.10ICICIBANK 344.15 347.65 342.35 345.20INFY 730.00 743.45 727.00 740.05JUBLFOOD 1342.00 1360.85 1285.00 1293.05IOC 126.50 129.95 125.95 128.90M&M 639.00 639.00 628.50 633.50HEG 2119.75 2183.95 2105.35 2132.50

ZEEL 445.00 451.50 438.90 444.90ITC 277.50 278.40 274.00 275.85MARUTI 6852.00 6882.65 6807.00 6848.70HINDUNILVR 1740.00 1744.05 1722.00 1733.60VIPIND 413.45 440.00 400.05 433.65PCJEWELLER 67.25 68.55 67.05 67.45DMART 1435.20 1489.80 1435.20 1468.20SAIL 46.55 48.45 46.25 47.90TECHM 795.00 815.00 786.00 811.75JSWSTEEL 268.00 276.45 267.65 276.20SUNTV 559.45 572.95 557.00 570.40IDBI 43.00 44.05 42.65 43.65ITI 95.00 98.00 94.90 95.70INDIGO 1101.75 1145.65 1087.95 1136.75NATIONALUM 51.35 51.35 48.95 49.70ADANIPORTS 341.00 356.95 341.00 355.00INFIBEAM 36.85 38.50 36.20 37.65JUBILANT 747.50 763.00 743.70 748.45BEL 77.80 78.65 76.35 77.35INDUSINDBK 1482.05 1493.40 1474.15 1480.80IRB 112.65 121.65 112.65 117.45DISHTV 34.15 35.05 33.75 34.40FSL 41.60 42.15 39.45 39.85PAGEIND 21664.65 21771.10 20310.05 20578.10STRTECH 235.00 239.90 234.00 237.60PNB 70.50 71.45 70.25 71.10BANKBARODA 102.75 104.25 102.00 103.05OIL 179.00 181.00 176.70 180.45INDHOTEL 140.50 147.50 137.20 138.95AMBUJACEM 199.00 208.00 199.00 206.85PFC 108.45 109.50 107.25 108.70BANKINDIA 81.25 82.85 80.95 81.80SHANKARA 487.00 492.35 451.80 461.70ADANIPOWER 36.55 40.95 36.55 38.85IBREALEST 73.20 74.30 71.40 72.60BPCL 335.00 344.65 335.00 340.00HINDALCO 187.00 193.85 187.00 192.80TITAN 1030.00 1044.00 1028.20 1033.25JSLHISAR 78.50 81.70 78.15 78.90WIPRO 364.00 374.00 361.45 373.00DBL 464.85 472.20 444.45 449.05LICHSGFIN 451.95 457.20 444.55 452.20BAJFINANCE 2576.90 2609.00 2575.00 2600.85STAR 406.00 411.85 403.90 409.05HINDPETRO 215.05 222.20 215.05 221.00WESTLIFE 349.00 357.00 340.10 355.50SONATSOFTW 336.00 352.00 320.80 341.60TATAELXSI 857.25 897.70 851.00 889.70EDELWEISS 143.90 149.35 143.45 148.45SPICEJET 76.90 78.00 76.00 77.30AUROPHARMA 702.00 724.55 702.00 722.20MOTHERSUMI 132.00 136.30 131.95 134.60

RECLTD 124.30 128.25 124.30 127.30ABFRL 215.55 220.50 212.10 219.30STRTECH 235.00 239.90 234.00 237.60PNB 70.50 71.45 70.25 71.10BANKBARODA 102.75 104.25 102.00 103.05OIL 179.00 181.00 176.70 180.45INDHOTEL 140.50 147.50 137.20 138.95AMBUJACEM 199.00 208.00 199.00 206.85PFC 108.45 109.50 107.25 108.70BANKINDIA 81.25 82.85 80.95 81.80SHANKARA 487.00 492.35 451.80 461.70ADANIPOWER 36.55 40.95 36.55 38.85IBREALEST 73.20 74.30 71.40 72.60BPCL 335.00 344.65 335.00 340.00HINDALCO 187.00 193.85 187.00 192.80TITAN 1030.00 1044.00 1028.20 1033.25JSLHISAR 78.50 81.70 78.15 78.90WIPRO 364.00 374.00 361.45 373.00DBL 464.85 472.20 444.45 449.05LICHSGFIN 451.95 457.20 444.55 452.20BAJFINANCE 2576.90 2609.00 2575.00 2600.85STAR 406.00 411.85 403.90 409.05HINDPETRO 215.05 222.20 215.05 221.00WESTLIFE 349.00 357.00 340.10 355.50SONATSOFTW 336.00 352.00 320.80 341.60TATAELXSI 857.25 897.70 851.00 889.70EDELWEISS 143.90 149.35 143.45 148.45SPICEJET 76.90 78.00 76.00 77.30AUROPHARMA 702.00 724.55 702.00 722.20MOTHERSUMI 132.00 136.30 131.95 134.60RECLTD 124.30 128.25 124.30 127.30ABFRL 215.55 220.50 212.10 219.30BEML 755.15 777.15 755.15 773.75HDFCBANK 2085.00 2110.00 2081.65 2106.55GMRINFRA 15.60 15.75 15.45 15.60AARTIIND 1379.90 1379.90 1301.55 1309.30ABCAPITAL 80.80 82.35 80.75 81.80AMARAJABAT 739.35 745.00 712.00 724.00ESCORTS 642.60 660.00 641.25 657.55COALINDIA 215.05 216.25 213.70 215.30L&TFH 124.00 124.50 122.70 124.25APOLLOTYRE 203.40 210.80 203.40 208.95ENGINERSIN 109.05 109.10 105.70 106.55IDEA 30.35 30.90 29.95 30.70LUPIN 762.00 769.15 754.00 760.70PHILIPCARB 140.15 151.80 140.15 149.10TEJASNET 130.90 152.20 129.00 152.20EQUITAS 111.50 113.95 110.35 110.90APOLLOHOSP 1120.00 1143.55 1120.00 1128.85WOCKPHARMA 394.00 395.40 389.50 393.05SRTRANSFIN 1006.75 1060.00 1006.75 1049.50IDFCFIRSTB 43.60 44.90 43.60 44.70BOMDYEING 105.95 109.35 105.85 107.20NAUKRI 1617.00 1785.00 1616.10 1724.90NCC 82.75 84.55 82.75 84.30UNIONBANK 68.50 70.10 68.50 69.55NBCC 51.15 51.40 50.00 51.15HEROMOTOCO 2645.00 2656.50 2610.00 2628.45GODREJAGRO 478.60 484.30 476.00 479.50LTI 1738.50 1767.00 1676.85 1735.75GAIL 323.00 331.00 319.65 331.00JKTYRE 86.40 86.55 84.70 86.00BHARTIARTL 305.00 310.80 305.00 309.55MPHASIS 1046.85 1046.85 1030.00 1041.10DEEPAKFERT 121.65 127.80 119.40 127.75WELCORP 98.05 103.25 98.00 101.25BHARATFORG 459.50 473.65 459.50 472.00ALBK 42.30 45.20 41.45 44.00KEC 241.60 242.55 235.80 238.40HDFC 1882.90 1882.90 1858.45 1870.00TVSMOTOR 474.20 478.00 464.85 466.90CUMMINSIND 666.55 692.50 666.55 677.55SPARC 156.30 162.00 156.30 160.15HAVELLS 678.00 697.90 674.75 694.10ACC 1379.80 1394.80 1362.00 1386.25MANAPPURAM 107.30 109.90 107.30 109.05TATAPOWER 66.25 67.80 65.90 67.80CANBK 215.30 219.65 215.25 218.50DIVISLAB 1590.00 1596.40 1553.40 1555.50PRESTIGE 214.00 218.40 210.90 210.90IBVENTURES 265.00 272.80 261.65 268.30MINDTREE 890.00 906.90 880.00 902.65INDIANB 215.55 223.00 215.55 220.85RBLBANK 548.65 556.50 546.65 555.15ICICIPRULI 303.90 305.40 300.00 302.45BHEL 62.25 63.10 62.00 62.65LTTS 1433.95 1465.95 1405.00 1465.95GNFC 246.50 249.00 245.05 247.65SUNTECK 340.65 348.00 334.25 345.00JINDALSAW 78.40 79.95 77.30 79.05INDIACEM 84.00 85.95 83.35 85.80HEXAWARE 351.50 358.70 351.50 356.35PEL 2180.00 2217.75 2180.00 2196.10GRASIM 723.80 734.00 721.00 730.75PVR 1490.55 1518.95 1465.50 1473.00DELTACORP 228.45 234.45 227.20 229.60NTPC 134.00 137.90 132.40 137.20MEGH 50.75 51.20 49.60 49.90GLENMARK 583.75 590.00 580.10 586.95BIOCON 620.00 620.00 611.65 618.20HCLTECH 1030.00 1060.45 1026.05 1055.85RAJESHEXPO 564.15 588.75 559.75 568.70ASIANPAINT 1384.15 1396.40 1377.00 1392.00TATAMTRDVR 84.95 87.00 84.95 85.50BRITANNIA 2873.00 2943.00 2873.00 2922.05ULTRACEMCO 3500.00 3593.90 3490.00 3576.20ESSELPRO 117.00 118.00 107.40 109.30GODREJCP 671.20 677.50 668.90 675.65NIITTECH 1270.10 1299.00 1266.35 1296.40KOTAKBANK 1282.00 1293.85 1280.10 1291.30ORIENTBANK 80.70 82.75 80.55 81.25VBL 787.00 796.60 772.15 788.50JUSTDIAL 472.00 477.85 464.00 475.00OMAXE 209.60 209.95 208.55 209.50KEI 308.45 327.00 308.45 322.70RADICO 371.00 375.05 364.00 368.45

PTC 73.95 84.55 73.95 81.80HFCL 21.15 21.40 21.00 21.20INTELLECT 154.20 165.25 154.20 164.20GRUH 244.05 246.15 241.00 241.50INFRATEL 317.95 322.50 314.05 317.70UJJIVAN 272.65 276.00 268.95 273.45HDFCLIFE 348.00 350.55 346.50 347.25JAICORPLTD 88.90 90.70 87.10 89.40BATAINDIA 1266.00 1274.90 1256.25 1270.05TAKE 100.05 103.60 97.00 97.85POWERGRID 179.90 182.50 179.00 181.90PETRONET 216.00 217.40 211.60 214.00CANFINHOME 243.00 254.70 243.00 252.10CENTURYTEX 718.05 743.00 718.05 740.25ENDURANCE 1316.05 1354.05 1262.20 1265.15BAJAJ-AUTO 2786.25 2797.00 2740.85 2778.20VIJAYABANK 39.70 40.55 39.70 40.00TORNTPOWER 235.00 240.40 235.00 238.90RAIN 92.65 96.00 92.00 94.55JISLJALEQS 54.90 56.75 54.75 55.95OBEROIRLTY 480.05 491.75 474.00 481.55FEDERALBNK 79.30 80.40 79.15 79.70ABB 1257.00 1274.00 1242.85 1247.00M&MFIN 376.00 383.45 373.60 381.35CONCOR 487.60 496.00 480.60 491.95PERSISTENT* 641.40 644.90 617.85 624.10SUPREMEIND 1047.40 1060.00 997.00 1030.45FORCEMOT 1351.00 1356.00 1337.00 1339.90BANDHANBNK 475.15 478.90 472.60 477.45BAJAJELEC 433.05 448.15 433.05 436.20REPCOHOME 315.55 324.00 310.90 316.90SYNGENE 593.85 608.20 580.70 587.90EIHOTEL 184.20 185.65 183.55 184.10ICICIGI 917.95 923.00 897.80 905.05VOLTAS 529.15 532.40 524.40 531.00MANPASAND 78.00 79.50 75.50 76.60BAJAJFINSV 5999.70 6059.30 5935.10 6003.10AJANTPHARM 951.00 974.90 951.00 970.25VENKYS 2118.95 2127.00 2083.00 2091.30COLPAL 1254.90 1268.00 1240.15 1243.85BHARATFIN 920.00 933.60 920.00 927.00FRETAIL 427.40 435.00 427.40 434.20CADILAHC 312.40 314.50 310.50 314.40SUVEN 220.55 226.70 220.55 221.80CIPLA 539.20 542.50 538.90 540.10IFCI 11.90 12.17 11.90 12.08EICHERMOT 20499.90 20650.00 20376.35 20427.70GSFC 87.35 90.40 87.35 90.00UPL 817.55 829.45 814.55 824.40MFSL 381.95 397.60 381.95 394.55NAVKARCORP 38.55 40.60 37.45 39.25NOCIL 120.45 121.95 119.50 121.00JAMNAAUTO 50.90 51.40 50.00 51.05BALKRISIND 824.20 834.10 822.55 825.25NMDC 92.85 94.30 92.85 93.90BBTC 1199.65 1240.70 1199.00 1230.00SIEMENS 946.95 969.95 945.00 966.60DCMSHRIRAM 351.40 364.00 348.20 363.00UBL 1345.90 1362.90 1345.90 1357.25FCONSUMER 44.40 45.50 44.40 45.50CEATLTD 1060.45 1066.00 1049.40 1055.05INOXLEISUR 271.45 280.50 271.45 273.00MGL 876.00 883.00 859.85 863.05MARICO 332.40 338.70 331.50 334.40JSWENERGY 66.30 66.75 64.50 65.40HINDZINC 251.05 254.20 249.65 253.10MMTC 25.45 26.15 25.45 25.80IDFC 35.05 36.05 34.95 35.70RCF 51.30 51.90 51.10 51.50BLISSGVS 154.20 154.75 151.70 152.60TEAMLEASE 3109.05 3156.65 3067.45 3104.05SWANENERGY 96.30 98.00 96.00 96.30NESTLEIND 10520.10 10615.00 10410.00 10530.80TRIDENT 59.70 61.60 59.70 61.25TATACOMM 505.35 522.00 502.95 517.50OFSS 3499.00 3510.05 3453.00 3481.05LUXIND 1112.00 1159.00 1082.85 1108.00FINCABLES 365.60 381.00 361.40 372.25CHENNPETRO 204.00 210.00 204.00 206.30ISEC 195.55 202.00 192.50 196.00PIDILITIND 1060.00 1083.00 1057.60 1082.00ASTRAL 1117.30 1119.95 1080.05 1096.00HUDCO 38.40 38.80 38.15 38.45RAYMOND 685.00 691.00 681.90 684.25CROMPTON 195.50 204.80 194.70 200.95FINOLEXIND 456.35 456.35 442.00 447.60DABUR 422.00 426.20 421.40 425.40RAMCOCEM 608.55 626.00 606.15 626.00QUESS 645.85 669.60 645.85 662.00RNAM 151.90 157.50 150.05 155.90TV18BRDCST 32.75 32.75 30.90 32.35GSPL 154.10 154.20 151.50 152.00PNBHOUSING 872.45 886.40 863.20 868.45ADANITRANS 219.45 219.65 214.50 214.50HSCL 95.00 98.30 94.00 97.35LINDEINDIA 440.00 443.75 430.05 437.35IPCALAB 805.25 812.40 794.40 797.00GODREJIND 475.50 485.00 471.45 482.00TIINDIA 353.00 362.60 347.55 358.00JMFINANCIL 73.55 76.40 73.55 75.60SOUTHBANK 12.88 13.15 12.88 13.15MRPL 63.45 64.05 63.25 64.00MCX 666.85 674.10 661.70 669.90MERCK 2990.05 3031.00 2961.40 2971.00TATAINVEST 833.80 834.30 808.10 818.65CHOLAFIN 1162.20 1194.05 1161.55 1191.25HINDCOPPER 44.50 45.35 44.35 44.55PFIZER 2928.95 2983.45 2887.00 2895.00DCBBANK 174.50 176.25 172.00 172.00NAVINFLUOR 601.15 601.50 585.00 586.80GRANULES 87.75 91.00 87.75 90.60CASTROLIND 149.05 150.75 148.00 149.95KAJARIACER 508.90 524.00 508.30 521.20NHPC 23.45 23.65 23.40 23.45NIACL 168.20 175.90 168.20 169.50ADVENZYMES 163.00 167.85 157.00 157.95

TATAGLOBAL 185.60 189.30 185.50 189.00SREINFRA 26.10 26.30 25.40 26.15WHIRLPOOL 1314.65 1359.10 1314.65 1359.00COFFEEDAY 280.80 281.85 273.15 276.15SHILPAMED 344.75 354.45 340.90 348.45LAKSHVILAS 55.35 56.60 54.90 55.90BAJAJHLDNG 3063.45 3184.90 3060.05 3158.65WABAG 272.10 285.00 272.10 275.50IBULISL 211.25 223.70 211.25 223.00SYNDIBANK 31.35 32.20 31.35 32.10KRBL 310.45 317.00 308.60 313.60BERGEPAINT 290.05 296.00 288.25 293.50PNCINFRA 134.95 135.20 130.30 131.95TORNTPHARM 1760.30 1771.35 1745.00 1766.15IGL 281.00 286.50 281.00 286.00TTKPRESTIG 7850.00 7961.25 7850.00 7896.05FORTIS 134.75 139.00 134.75 136.55KTKBANK 112.60 114.30 112.55 113.80MUTHOOTFIN 521.00 524.65 517.50 519.70NLCINDIA 62.30 67.00 62.25 65.55TATACHEM 566.00 571.25 563.00 565.10GICHSGFIN 229.70 232.25 227.40 230.10HSIL 219.40 226.90 219.35 224.00ZENSARTECH 229.80 229.80 210.10 210.10GODREJPROP 715.00 720.00 703.70 713.20SCHAEFFLER 5275.25 5299.00 5151.00 5297.70AEGISLOG 179.05 187.90 178.00 187.90MOIL 145.00 145.60 141.10 141.75DENABANK 10.85 11.10 10.85 10.97SADBHAV 166.60 179.15 166.60 171.90REDINGTON 81.00 84.55 81.00 83.60MAHINDCIE 217.40 224.40 215.15 222.30AVANTI 324.00 326.00 321.90 323.35NBVENTURES 100.25 104.90 99.50 102.25SRF 2172.35 2209.70 2172.35 2200.00THOMASCOOK 210.50 211.00 207.00 209.20GUJALKALI 419.45 434.00 419.45 434.00ASHOKA 109.75 112.20 108.10 112.20APLLTD 533.90 545.00 519.00 529.90SOBHA 442.05 449.00 440.25 447.00TATAMETALI 581.70 595.00 575.95 585.10HEIDELBERG 150.30 157.00 150.30 153.80GALAXYSURF 1064.00 1073.85 1021.00 1038.95PIIND 866.65 902.60 866.65 896.20GODFRYPHLP 879.95 888.70 866.00 875.05SUNDRMFAST 503.75 513.10 503.15 503.15UFLEX 185.20 191.50 185.20 190.15BIRLACORPN 448.50 460.00 446.05 458.95CYIENT* 605.50 625.85 602.20 605.00WELSPUNIND 47.40 48.55 46.60 48.40SBILIFE 570.00 570.00 557.00 560.65GESHIP 270.25 275.75 263.80 275.75DEEPAKNI 213.60 217.50 213.60 216.05CENTRALBK 28.80 30.15 28.80 29.95SCI 35.85 36.50 35.10 35.65JSL 31.00 31.75 30.35 31.65BASF 1216.35 1220.00 1180.05 1196.70VGUARD 186.85 189.40 185.05 188.45LALPATHLAB 1021.15 1043.00 1014.70 1028.10NETWORK18 33.10 34.45 32.85 33.55BAJAJCON 351.90 352.00 348.45 351.00GAYAPROJ 147.85 149.75 146.00 148.00JBCHEPHARM 316.05 323.40 315.40 322.95MAHABANK 12.25 12.63 12.25 12.40ITDC 248.90 256.50 246.15 250.00BOSCHLTD 17901.10 18250.00 17792.70 18153.05MINDACORP 126.00 131.80 125.95 126.35BDL 246.35 250.80 241.05 243.00ANDHRABANK 23.50 24.10 23.40 23.85NATCOPHARM* 580.05 580.05 570.00 579.30APLAPOLLO 1110.10 1110.10 1079.00 1082.00VMART 2465.00 2567.70 2449.00 2567.50LEMONTREE 73.50 73.75 72.65 72.65EIDPARRY 185.05 187.25 184.50 185.15ADANIGREEN 31.30 31.55 30.75 30.90GPPL 78.75 81.65 77.00 79.50MRF 54378.15 55500.00 54111.20 55499.00KALPATPOWR 332.30 339.00 330.00 335.75ATUL 3424.90 3466.00 3371.25 3430.00J&KBANK 38.80 39.90 38.80 39.35IOB 12.50 12.65 12.25 12.39GUJGAS 118.00 119.50 117.55 118.25THERMAX 968.25 978.45 955.00 960.00AUBANK 563.85 571.55 560.00 563.05PARAGMILK 202.25 204.90 198.70 201.80SCHNEIDER 87.85 87.85 83.35 84.30GICRE 218.00 221.60 216.80 219.00IEX 163.00 167.00 160.20 165.00NILKAMAL 1245.50 1261.75 1239.00 1254.00TIMETECHNO 94.80 94.90 86.00 86.00CAPPL 325.00 335.90 324.05 332.15VINATIORGA 1615.80 1630.95 1593.00 1606.25JKCEMENT 704.95 720.00 704.95 710.90COCHINSHIP 338.30 341.90 337.55 341.65

JYOTHYLAB 175.35 181.90 175.00 180.00PGHH 9870.05 10026.10 9838.00 9943.15DBCORP 176.75 181.00 175.00 179.45KANSAINER 434.60 444.00 432.00 444.00SHK 144.45 146.00 138.00 138.65CUB 178.05 179.00 176.70 177.30RALLIS 154.00 154.00 151.35 152.75CRISIL 1560.05 1585.65 1533.00 1561.00GUJFLUORO 863.50 865.15 850.40 856.50ALLCARGO 101.50 101.80 98.00 101.45GSKCONS 7285.55 7316.00 7220.10 7225.00CHAMBLFERT 160.00 161.80 158.95 161.10CENTRUM 32.00 32.30 31.50 32.30WABCOINDIA 5882.00 5999.00 5825.00 5825.00FORBESCO 1970.00 1972.00 1802.00 1888.00SANOFI 5959.50 6030.00 5881.25 5979.40ASTRAZEN 1755.30 1783.30 1755.30 1772.00IFBIND 730.00 769.45 730.00 766.00INOXWIND 60.40 62.00 58.05 61.50PRSMJOHNSN 69.40 70.75 68.30 69.35LAXMIMACH 5400.00 5460.00 5366.00 5437.00TATACOFFEE 81.10 82.15 81.10 81.65HAL 614.00 626.85 614.00 624.90TRENT 333.30 333.30 326.70 331.10BLUESTARCO 570.00 600.00 565.00 600.00MOTILALOFS 572.00 585.00 571.00 578.00UCOBANK 17.10 17.30 17.10 17.25GLAXO 1342.15 1350.00 1325.00 1330.00SHARDACROP 353.50 398.00 342.20 354.00AKZOINDIA 1645.25 1701.00 1641.70 1700.003MINDIA 21600.00 22026.20 21600.00 21903.00HIMATSEIDE 166.00 167.20 164.55 165.80BALMLAWRIE 166.35 169.85 165.00 169.85PHOENIXLTD 600.65 607.40 591.55 602.00CORPBANK 24.70 26.00 24.65 25.45SUPRAJIT 187.35 199.80 182.00 199.70GHCL 215.45 220.00 215.00 220.00GMDCLTD 75.00 76.50 72.70 72.70SHREECEM 15400.00 15830.00 15400.00 15830.00DCAL 184.00 190.00 184.00 187.90AIAENG 1640.00 1640.00 1601.55 1609.00GDL 99.95 101.05 98.85 99.00CARERATING 958.50 960.00 950.40 958.65SYMPHONY 1166.00 1182.50 1156.65 1164.15MHRIL 186.65 195.95 186.65 193.85FDC 151.95 154.50 148.80 154.00ISGEC 4830.50 4940.00 4795.00 4807.25ZYDUSWELL 1241.85 1258.65 1232.10 1238.30CENTURYPLY 161.80 161.80 160.00 160.40SJVN 24.55 25.30 24.50 25.10GREAVESCOT 118.55 119.60 118.00 119.25JKLAKSHMI 313.20 313.20 307.95 308.55BAYERCROP 4284.00 4334.90 4237.30 4282.30CCL 261.15 263.70 258.90 263.55TNPL 191.70 192.75 188.40 190.00THYROCARE 545.90 545.90 520.15 524.70GILLETTE 6481.40 6524.00 6400.00 6500.00GET&D 276.50 280.75 271.00 271.05ERIS 629.95 630.05 605.00 617.00SKFINDIA 1958.90 1984.00 1958.90 1972.30LAOPALA 198.00 200.95 194.00 195.00NESCO 430.00 433.30 426.00 427.65LAURUSLABS 329.60 333.05 328.10 328.10ITDCEM 100.90 106.35 100.90 106.35JAGRAN 93.60 95.00 92.60 95.00ASTERDM 158.00 158.00 153.00 153.15MONSANTO 2618.95 2649.00 2581.00 2611.75KNRCON 200.50 206.00 198.00 202.50ALKEM 1847.75 1851.00 1830.55 1843.00FLFL 427.00 427.20 419.50 424.00SUPPETRO 206.35 208.50 201.95 205.00VTL 974.55 981.25 956.00 961.85COROMANDEL 449.40 450.00 444.20 444.20SUDARSCHEM 312.20 315.00 310.00 310.15KPRMILL 532.00 532.00 530.00 530.00DHANUKA 384.90 393.40 384.90 392.30INDOSTAR 320.00 323.05 318.05 320.00SUNCLAYLTD 2385.00 2438.65 2285.00 2300.00MAGMA 88.55 90.95 88.55 89.50GRINDWELL 516.10 524.90 510.25 524.90NH 201.90 203.00 199.25 200.00GEPIL 750.05 753.00 737.05 739.10SOMANYCERA 306.45 312.35 306.45 310.00ORIENTCEM 64.45 67.45 64.45 67.00HERITGFOOD 443.45 443.45 436.85 440.10MAHLIFE 369.45 378.90 369.45 373.15TIMKEN 524.00 530.95 517.00 522.85SOLARINDS 954.15 968.05 950.00 950.00EVEREADY 199.00 201.75 199.00 201.45STARCEMENT 99.20 99.45 95.60 97.00NAVNETEDUL 102.05 103.95 101.15 102.45GREENPLY 130.05 130.15 125.85 129.00APARINDS 621.75 630.00 621.00 629.95CERA 2156.10 2212.00 2156.10 2211.95ABBOTINDIA 7291.20 7325.00 7261.80 7286.00GULFOILLUB 870.00 875.05 870.00 874.50MAHLOG 431.85 438.45 431.15 438.45SFL 1291.30 1291.30 1270.00 1278.05TRITURBINE 100.55 101.25 100.05 100.10KIOCL 120.70 127.00 120.70 124.00RELAXO 753.75 755.75 743.50 743.50SHRIRAMCIT 1564.75 1606.95 1548.45 1594.00ASAHIINDIA 251.25 252.80 250.05 251.90ELGIEQUIP 245.20 246.20 241.85 243.05ECLERX 989.70 989.70 980.05 980.05CARBORUNIV 347.75 347.75 345.00 345.05SHOPERSTOP 485.10 495.10 485.10 492.25TVTODAY 337.00 337.00 319.00 319.00MAXINDIA 76.75 78.15 76.60 78.15JCHAC 1730.00 1730.00 1695.00 1728.00TVSSRICHAK 2232.00 2250.00 2231.20 2240.00HONAUT 21499.45 21499.45 21305.05 21393.95HATSUN 657.95 668.95 650.00 650.00BLUEDART 3100.70 3100.70 2978.05 3000.00RATNAMANI 851.50 859.85 851.50 851.50TIFHL 430.00 445.05 430.00 445.05

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10655.45 10752.70 10646.40 10735.45 131.10IBULHSGFIN 620.00 652.00 620.00 652.00 37.70TATASTEEL 472.50 493.85 472.50 493.70 22.75VEDL 154.00 160.90 154.00 160.20 7.10ADANIPORTS 342.00 356.35 340.95 354.60 15.05HINDALCO 187.80 193.90 187.55 193.90 7.35GAIL 324.00 332.60 319.45 332.00 11.75ONGC 141.60 145.35 140.00 144.10 4.95NTPC 134.20 138.90 132.30 138.45 4.75ULTRACEMCO 3474.10 3597.00 3471.10 3580.05 112.45JSWSTEEL 267.85 276.20 267.50 275.50 8.65IOC 126.50 130.70 125.90 129.15 3.55WIPRO 363.20 374.00 361.20 373.50 10.05TECHM 794.05 816.25 785.25 812.80 21.80HINDPETRO 215.35 221.90 215.15 220.55 5.75SUNPHARMA 418.00 424.45 416.05 423.50 9.85INFY 727.00 743.00 726.05 740.55 16.25HCLTECH 1042.35 1061.50 1026.00 1060.00 20.95SBIN 264.50 268.30 264.30 268.00 5.10YESBANK 216.90 219.80 213.35 216.95 4.10GRASIM 721.30 733.50 721.30 731.70 13.35BAJFINANCE 2585.00 2614.80 2571.00 2606.15 46.35RELIANCE 1223.85 1240.00 1219.00 1235.55 19.45BHARTIARTL 305.55 310.85 304.95 308.50 4.80BPCL 338.00 344.75 336.10 340.00 4.75LT 1265.00 1282.65 1264.20 1276.00 17.70POWERGRID 180.75 182.60 178.60 181.95 2.50ASIANPAINT 1380.00 1398.80 1376.00 1396.80 18.95HDFCBANK 2088.50 2111.00 2081.90 2109.00 24.95UPL 819.30 829.00 813.80 826.00 9.55AXISBANK 697.60 703.00 695.30 699.60 6.55HDFC 1865.00 1874.95 1858.00 1869.00 15.55KOTAKBANK 1281.30 1292.00 1279.20 1290.75 10.30ICICIBANK 345.00 347.60 342.35 345.70 2.45MARUTI 6842.00 6888.00 6804.40 6849.95 45.40CIPLA 540.20 543.20 538.65 543.20 3.55BAJAJFINSV 6007.00 6045.00 5932.20 6005.00 35.25TATAMOTORS 164.45 166.70 163.75 164.70 0.95EICHERMOT 20415.00 20650.00 20380.00 20505.00 95.20TITAN 1030.00 1044.40 1027.50 1033.50 4.70TCS 1915.00 1933.80 1881.30 1913.30 8.50COALINDIA 214.80 216.40 213.55 215.00 0.75BAJAJ-AUTO 2788.00 2798.00 2737.25 2794.50 6.65INFRATEL 319.00 322.90 313.65 319.00 0.55M&M 637.00 637.30 628.15 632.65 0.05ITC 277.25 277.50 274.25 275.85 -0.05INDUSINDBK 1480.00 1493.60 1474.10 1479.25 -1.25ZEEL 447.00 451.00 438.40 446.00 -0.45HINDUNILVR 1742.70 1745.95 1722.00 1736.00 -1.95HEROMOTOCO 2646.05 2661.75 2606.60 2629.00 -7.85DRREDDY 2574.90 2584.00 2508.55 2528.00 -8.90

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 25434.10 25732.05 25434.10 25677.30 339.80SRTRANSFIN 1010.00 1059.55 1008.05 1055.00 54.05INDIGO 1105.00 1149.50 1086.50 1145.50 44.45AMBUJACEM 199.60 207.80 199.60 207.20 7.60SAIL 46.40 48.50 46.20 47.85 1.65MCDOWELL-N 516.90 540.50 516.10 529.50 17.00HAVELLS 680.00 699.00 674.00 698.50 21.55SHREECEM 15379.95 15844.00 15350.00 15799.95 480.90ACC 1360.00 1392.00 1360.00 1390.00 36.90SIEMENS 950.00 969.70 946.90 968.45 23.65BOSCHLTD 17900.00 18224.95 17755.00 18194.00 432.65MOTHERSUMI 132.30 136.25 132.00 134.70 3.20ASHOKLEY 79.80 81.50 79.80 81.05 1.85GICRE 220.00 222.20 217.30 220.90 5.00HINDZINC 250.50 255.15 249.35 253.95 5.65PIDILITIND 1056.50 1084.70 1056.50 1080.00 23.70SUNTV 561.10 572.40 556.20 569.90 12.25AUROPHARMA 708.55 724.80 708.55 722.80 14.75BRITANNIA 2884.00 2930.00 2884.00 2929.00 55.45BEL 77.80 78.75 76.30 77.40 1.40IDEA 30.30 30.90 29.95 30.85 0.55L&TFH 123.55 124.65 122.55 124.30 2.00NMDC 92.80 94.30 92.80 94.25 1.50BHEL 62.30 63.15 62.00 63.05 1.00OIL 179.20 181.00 176.55 179.80 2.70ABCAPITAL 80.65 82.40 80.65 81.65 1.05MRF 54529.90 54970.00 54125.00 54829.90 602.00DMART 1441.00 1493.70 1438.00 1448.00 14.70ICICIPRULI 301.50 305.70 300.10 303.00 3.05DABUR 422.25 426.00 421.30 425.00 4.20NHPC 23.55 23.80 23.40 23.60 0.20PGHH 9911.20 10050.00 9835.00 9999.00 81.85LICHSGFIN 450.00 457.35 444.50 451.75 3.65ABB 1255.00 1274.50 1245.55 1252.90 9.95PEL 2182.95 2219.00 2178.60 2196.90 17.30GODREJCP 673.80 678.00 668.45 675.00 5.30BIOCON 616.80 621.00 611.20 620.50 4.35NIACL 169.65 172.80 169.55 171.00 1.05BANKBARODA 102.50 104.20 102.00 103.00 0.55CONCOR 489.00 496.50 480.00 492.00 2.25BANDHANBNK 476.20 478.90 472.00 477.00 1.15CADILAHC 311.80 314.75 310.00 312.50 0.60OFSS 3476.00 3514.50 3452.65 3490.15 4.90LUPIN 766.00 768.45 752.60 762.90 -0.20HDFCLIFE 348.60 349.75 345.75 346.15 -0.65DLF 163.60 165.30 159.00 162.95 -0.45COLPAL 1255.00 1268.00 1238.75 1245.20 -4.15PETRONET 215.20 217.65 211.20 213.65 -0.95SBILIFE 564.60 571.10 556.00 559.90 -2.55MARICO 335.05 339.00 331.20 333.20 -1.50ICICIGI 906.50 923.80 897.00 906.00 -10.55

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US President Donald Trumphas said he is looking for-

ward to his second meeting withNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27 and 28 inVietnam and wants Pyongyangto end its nuclear programmebut is in no rush for it.

The two leaders held theirfirst meeting in Singapore lastyear, after which the WhiteHouse said in a statement thatKim “reaffirmed his firm andunwavering commitment tocomplete denuclearisation ofthe Korean Peninsula.”

North Korea has conductedno further nuclear and missiletests since the June summit, buthas made no commitment tosurrendering its nuclear arsenal.

Trump discussed his tripwith his South Korean coun-terpart Moon Jae-in and told reporters his ultimate goalis denuclearisation of North Korea.

“I had a great conversationthis morning with PresidentMoon of South Korea. Weobviously discussed theupcoming trip nextweek...We’re going to Hanoi inVietnam...I look forward tobeing with Chairman Kim(Jong-un)..I think a lot of

things will come out of it,”Trump told reporters about thetelephonic conversation.

President Moon and I dis-cussed probably every aspect ofthe meeting,” he said.

“We’re in no rush whatso-ever, we’re going to have ourmeeting...We’ll see what hap-pens and I think ultimatelywe’re going to be very success-ful,” he said.

The White House said thetwo leaders agreed to remain inclose communication followingthe summit.

In an interaction withreporters, Trump said he wouldbe talking over phone withJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe on Wednesday onthe same issue.

“I will be speaking tomor-row (Wednesday) with PrimeMinister Abe of Japan. I will behaving a similar conversation. SoI think, next week is going to bevery exciting. It’s going to be thesecond summit,” he said, addinghis ultimate goal is denucleari-sation of North Korea.

“I think we will see thatultimately. I have no pressingtime schedule. A lot of peoplewould like to see it go veryquickly from the other side. Ireally believe that North Koreacan be a tremendous econom-

ic power. Their locationbetween Russia, China andSouth Korea is unbelievable,”he said.

Trump said that NorthKorea and chairman Kim havesome very positive things inmind. “We will soon find out.I’m in no rush. There’s no test-ing... If you look at the end ofthe Obama administration, itwas a disaster. What was goingon. You don’t have that rightnow. It’s a much different feel-ing. I think people have...There’salways danger, but I think peo-ple have much different feeling,”he said.

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AUK girl of Bangladeshi descent,who fled to join Islamic State (ISIS)

in Syria in 2015 and married an Islamistextremist, has been stripped of herBritish citizenship which the teen saidwas “unjust”.

Shamima Begum, 19, who hadexpressed the desire to return to the UKwith her newborn son, was banned onTuesday from entering the country.

In a letter dated February 19, UKhome secretary Sajid Javid wrote toBegum’s family informing them that hehad made an order revoking her citi-zenship. “Please find enclosed papersthat relate to a decision taken by theHome Secretary, to deprive your daugh-ter, Shamima Begum, of her British cit-izenship,” the letter reads.

Begum, who is currently in a Syrianrefugee camp, described the move as

“unjust”. “I am not that shocked but Iam a bit shocked. It’s a bit upsetting andfrustrating. I feel like it’s a bit unjust onme and my son,” she told ‘ITV News’channel from the camp.

Begum claimed that she was beingtreated harshly because “I was on thenews four years ago”, saying that sheheard of “other people being sent backto Britain”. “I don’t know why my caseis any different,” she added.

She said she was weighing up heroptions and could try to apply for Dutchcitizenship on the basis of the nation-ality of her ISIS-recruit husband, whois currently in prison.

“Another option I might try withmy family is my husband is fromHolland and he has family in Holland.Maybe I can ask for citizenship inHolland. If he gets sent back to prisonin Holland I can just wait for him whilehe is in prison,” she said.

London: The UK Governmentis “reflecting” on demands fora formal apology for theJallianwala Bagh massacre inApril 1919 during the BritishRaj, a Minister told the Houseof Lords. During a debate titled‘Amritsar Massacre: Centenary’in the Upper House, BaronessAnnabel Goldie also confirmedplans to mark 100 years sincethe tragedy “in the most appro-priate and respectful way”.

“The Government at thetime, as we know, roundlycondemned the atrocity, but itis the case that no subsequentgovernment have apologised,”said Baroness Goldie, whoholds the post of Governmentwhip and Baroness-in Waitingin the Lords. PTI

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President Vladimir Putin onWednesday said Russia

would have to deploy missilestargeting “decision-makingcentres” if Washington sendsmissiles to Europe.

The announcement comesafter the US said it wouldwithdraw from a key ColdWar-era arms treaty over whatit said were Russian violations,prompting a mirror move fromMoscow.

“Russia does not intend tobe the first to deploy such mis-siles in Europe,” Putin saidduring an annual state of thenation address.

“If (the US) develops anddeploys them in Europe... Thiswill dramatically exacerbatethe international security situ-ation, creating serious threatsto Russia,” he said.

“I’m saying this clearly andopenly, Russia will be forced todeploy weapons that can beused... Against the decision-making centres that are behindthe missiles systems whichthreaten us.”

He earlier accusedWashington of using “far-fetched accusations” to with-draw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)agreement. Putin said heunderstood concerns about thebilateral deal, namely that othercountries could continue todevelop weapons that arebanned for the US and Russia.

“The current state of affairsof course raises questions,” hetold the audience of lawmakersand celebrities.

“Our American partnersshould have been honest... Andnot use far-fetched accusationsagainst Russia to justify theirunilateral withdrawal from thetreaty,” he added.

The United States hasrepeatedly accused Russia ofviolating the INF by develop-ing banned weapons and thismonth President DonaldTrump said Washington wasstarting a process to withdrawfrom the treaty.

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Hanoi: Pyongyang’s specialrepresentative for the US KimHyok Chol arrived in Hanoi onWednesday with a NorthKorean delegation, an AFPreporter and source confirmed,ahead of a summit betweenDonald Trump and Kim JongUn next week.

“A team of North Koreansarrived on a flight fromBeijing,” a source at the airportsaid requesting anonymity. AnAFP reporter saw Kim Hyok

Chol walk into a Governmentguesthouse where other NorthKorean officials in town forpre-summit preparations werestaying over the weekend.

Kim Hyok Chol is expect-ed to meet with his US coun-terpart Stephen Biegun, who isen route to Hanoi, later in theweek to lay the groundwork fortalks between Trump and Kimin the Vietnamese capital onFebruary 27-28.

AFP

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Karl Lagerfeld once created a Walmart-sized “Chanel Shopping Center” to

show off his ready-to-wear collection. Itfeatured aisle upon aisle of luxury goodslabelled “one for the price of two.”Immediately after models had paradedthrough the aisles, guests raided theshelves. Rihanna posed in a shopping cart,and Keira Knightley looked on amazed.

“Luxury should be worn like you’regoing to the supermarket. It’s the pop artof the 21st century,” said Lagerfeld.

The show was the type of presentationthat came to define much of Lagerfeld’s six-decade career at the top of fashion.

When Chanel fell into decline follow-ing Coco Chanel’s death in the 1970s, itsnew owners looked for a larger-than-lifedesigner to wake up the house from its cre-ative coma. The German-born Lagerfeld,a contemporary of Yves Saint Laurent witha strict ponytail and tight collar, was justthe man.

As Chanel creative director from1983 until his death on Tuesday, he quick-ly transformed the house into a billion-dol-lar industry leader, a position it retainstoday.

Lagerfeld, who had been poachedfrom Chloe, used his creative scalpel tomodernise the house’s signature skirtsuits and tweed in the ‘80s as the houseexpanded internationally, opening some 40boutiques around the world in that decade.

His work ethic was legendary. BeyondChanel, he also began working withItalian fashion house Fendi in 1965 andheld the top job at the LVMH-ownedbrand since 1977. Yet Lagerfeld will beremembered as much for his showman-ship, eccentric personality and acid tongueas for his youthful designs.

Donning sunglasses and gloves, heevolved into “Kaiser Karl” — a nicknamethat referred to his demanding character,put-downs and uncompromising stan-dards.

“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. Youlost control of your life so you bought somesweatpants,” he once declared. Anothertime, he dismissed Saint Laurent as“provincial.”

The sheer ambition of his fashionshows was legendary, and they becameespecially influential in an age in whichimages are beamed around the world at theclick of a button.

His Chanel collections were invariablythe biggest on the Paris Fashion Week cal-endar. Chanel, it was said, put the “show”in “fashion show.”

Lagerfeld was also an anachronism,dressing in a punk, baroque style and defy-ing political correctness — proudly.

He got into hot water for calling singerAdele “a little too fat” and said he didn’tlike the face of Pippa Middleton, theDuchess of Cambridge’s sister. “She shouldonly show her back,” he advised.

In another interview, he created afurore by criticising Kim Kardashian asbeing too flashy with her money in Parisfollowing her 2016 robbery.

Despite the sharp remarks, Lagerfeldremained surprisingly warm in person andalways kept a sparkle in his eye. Jokes weredelivered with a smile, even when they

were clearly derogatory.Evidence of his generous spirit could

be seen in his relationships with reporters.Well into his 80s, he was unique in Parisfor holding interviews for over an hour fol-lowing each Chanel show. He would flitseamlessly between English, French, Italianand his native German.

Of his feelings following a collection,he once said: “I’m a kind of fashionnymphomaniac who never gets anorgasm.”

The love of his life, his cat Choupette,was also testament to his kind, if eccen-tric, heart. He wore her likeness as a pen-dant at one show and acknowledged thatshe has at least two maids.

She is spoiled, “much more than achild could be,” he said in 2013, revealingthat he took her to the vet nearly every 10days.

Like a proud parent, Lagerfeld told amagazine that Choupette earned morethan $3 million in 2014 for advertisingcampaigns.

In recent seasons, Lagerfeld lookedincreasingly frail. When he failed to takehis usual bow at the house’s January cou-ture collection, sadness filled the faces ofguests, some of whom had grown gray cov-ering his long career.

For a 2012 couture display, Lagerfeldbuilt a futuristic jetliner, with the aisle serv-ing as the runway for models and guestsgathered in “Star Trek”-style seating.

Lagerfeld was supposed to be in thevessel’s cockpit giving interviews. But hewas nowhere to be found. His staff pan-icked that their chief had somehow slippedaway just when he was needed most. Theybegan a frantic search.

“Karl’s moved to the south part,”crackled their radios on a loop as theydashed around the elaborate set.

Then, as quickly as he vanished,Lagerfeld reappeared near the jetliner’sentry hub.

Amid the spectacle, Lagerfeld was anisland of calm, sipping diet coke from a sil-ver platter.

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In a role reversal from theiryounger days of serenadesand big love despite theodds, actors Madhuri Dixitand Anil Kapoor now play a

warring couple. Yes, they are atloggerheads, on the verge ofdivorce and united only in theirpursuit of money in their newfilm Total Dhamaal. The actress

with the winsome smile, who hasoften been compared to the icon-ic Madhubala and is looking time-less in her latest outing, says,“Things just fell in place. Indra ji(director Indra Kumar)approached me saying that he hadsomething interesting and narrat-ed the script. I loved it. Then hesaid that he was casting Anil(Kapoor) ji. We both discussed itover the phone.”

The familiarity of the set-uphelped. Madhuri had last workedwith Kumar in Raja opposite Anil’sbrother Sanjay Kapoor. “It didn’tfeel like so many years had passed.Everything just fell in place. Wehad a blast during the shooting.There were 12 of us and I’ve neverlaughed so much during a shoot.”

Anil plays a Gujarati andMadhuri, his Maharashtrian wife.They are one of the four pairs inthe film chasing money. The filmis divided between these charac-ters who are not necessarily girl-boy pairs. “What makes it unique

is that people have always seen usas a romantic couple where we arein love or in Beta where I play hisprotective wife and support sys-tem,” she says. That was anotherreason which proved to be aclincher for her when acceptingthe role.

While Madhuri has tried herhand at comedy in spurts, this isone of her first attempts at a filmwhich is an out-and-out one. Sheclarifies, “In Indian films, there isevery flavour. Even when I did Dil,there was romance, comedy anddrama. In the give and take withAruna Irani (who played her stepmother-in-law) in Beta, the sceneswere more comic than dramatic.Raja, on the hand, was an over-the-top comedy.”

The Total Dhamaal taglinecuts it out to be an adventure com-edy and Madhuri says that it isbecause the scale is very huge.“Everything has been scaled up.The film ends with animals in thezoo,” she laughs.

However, while this film is bigin every sense of the word, themanner in which most video con-tent is being viewed is changingdrastically. Madhuri says,“Everything — the big screen,small screen and little screen — iscoming together. The way contentis consumed is changing as peo-ple get it easily on their phones. Of

course, there will be big screensor even theatre but a change hasbegun,” she says and adds, “I

am open to web series as wellbut the role should be excit-

ing and the contentshould be good.”

She feels that thereis a variety of content

on offer as “societyis changing and

people see avariety of sto-ries from dif-

ferent parts ofthe world on TV

and web channelslike Netflix. This expo-

sure to different ideas hasmade the audience more

open-minded. Earlier, theywould see only a certain kindof film. They are now shiftingtowards finding somethingnew and different.”

One way in which contenthas changed a lot is that womenare no longer just eye candy.“There are so many differentkinds of roles being written andwhat really makes them differ-ent is that these are unabashedabout the choices that womenmake. Earlier, if she was danc-ing in a bar, there was alwaysa back story where she had apoor, sick brother who wasdying or something equallytragic. There were alwaysexcuses to paint her in the rightlight. That’s not done anylonger. Women are treated likewomen. They are unapolo-getic. In Tumhari Sulu, she is anRJ at night because she enjoysit,” says Madhuri who alsoacted in films like Mrityudand(1997).

So what is her heads-upprocess? “The script followedby the director and then thecast. You have to look at it fromall angles and not just one,” sheadds. Madhuri, who debutedwith Abodh in 1984, feels thatwhile some elements havechanged in the industry, somehaven’t. “The people have notchanged. On the other handthe whole atmosphere has

transformed for the better. It ismore disciplined with corporatescoming in and everything isworked out from the script to whatyou are wearing beforehand. Thismakes it much easier for an actorto prepare at ease, uncluttered,” shesays.

Beyond films, Madhuri alsolikes to work on projects that con-cern women and children. “Iworked with UNICEF in MadhyaPradesh and Maharashtra wherewe did a project called Mamta kaAanchal which focussed on breastfeeding to bring down child mor-tality. It also looked at givingexpectant mothers folic acid andensuring that they are notanaemic. We told them to go to thehospital and have a baby ratherthan at home which is not hygien-ic.”

A professional kathak dancer,Madhuri’s moves were often thetalking point of her many films.She has pursued the interest fur-ther with her dance academy. “Ihave been teaching dance to a lotof people through the academy forthe past five-six years as well as onmy website and DTH platforms. Itry to get the best of gurus becausein smaller centres, it is muchmore difficult to get a goodteacher,” she says.

Since it is something close toher heart, when she decided totransition to the small screen, itwas dance-based shows that shechose. “I did Jhalak Dikhhla Jaaand So You Think You Can Danceearlier and now I am doing DanceDeewane because I enjoy teachingthe art form. I really like the plat-form as it is an extension of act-ing. A lot of talent is being discov-ered which comes from smalltowns and gets a platform toshine,” she says.

Up next Madhuri will be seenin Kalank, but what the film or roleis about, she refuses to divulge.“Next time,” she promises andflashes that million dollar smile,once more. We can all but acqui-esce.

(The film releases on February22.)

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What happens when a pilotentrusted with the lives of hun-dreds of passengers is caught

with anxiety in the middle of the flightand decides that ‘life is not worth it’ andchooses to end it all, taking all the pas-sengers and crew with him?’ reads thedescription of author and storyteller PriyaKumar’s book, I Will Go With You: TheFlight of a Lifetime.

As millions of readers turned thebook into a bestseller, the story is now allset to be presented through ZEE5’s webseries, The Final Call.

It hasn’t been long since the show’strailer was launched and started trend-ing on YouTube, leaving the audiencecurious about actor Arjun Rampal’srole. The protagonist is a dark characterand has a hint of mystery around himwhich leaves one perplexed about whathe is trying to do. He tells us that thereare certain things that one feels fearfulabout sharing. “We have to maintain thesurprise element, especially if it’s a psy-chological thriller. Even now, when Iwatch the trailer, I wonder whether itwould have been better to exclude cer-tain scenes to keep the mystery alive,” saysthe model-turned-actor.

Explaining his role, he says that thepilot he plays is suicidal and in a very“dark space” in his life as he is affectedor traumatised by his past experiences.He is not trying to save anyone rather hemight just crash the plane on purpose.Well, not many might know that whenTarun Katial, CEO of ZEE5, had roped

in Arjun for a show, it was for anoth-er series which was a biopic. So howdid he land this role?

Arjun narrates that he found thebiopic script “horrible” but didn’t know

how to refuse it. However, he wasrelieved when Tarun himself found theshow unworthy, which is when they con-nected as quality mattered to both ofthem.

“Sometimes, you overlook a role ora film and think that it could be madebetter through editing and presenting itin a different way than it is written. ButTarun was very vigilant and hands-onabout what he was doing. I found it veryimpressive. And that’s when he cameacross yet another script that was veryintriguing. Priya’s book was its own kindof genre and had a uniqueness,” says he.

It’s the Rock On actor’s debut on thedigital format and he feels that working

on a film or a web show is equally chal-lenging. However, “web gives a lot ofspace and provides freedom at all levels.It gives more time to tell the story. It’s nota two-hour tale that needs to be finishedon time. It allows the filmmak-ers to delve into the details ofeach character. So it gives free-dom to both the makers andthe audience. It also doesn’thave ‘box-office pressure’and helps masses toengage with it. Last, itdoesn’t have the hor-rible censorshipaspect which makesit boundless.”

The actor saysthat he realised thatweb also lets onegrow as he has towork on his charac-ter each day. “On bigscreen, the challengeis that the film doesn’tflop. Here, the target isthat people don’t justshut the show in the mid-dle of an episode. Theircuriosity level should bemaintained till the end tokeep it working,” he says.The actor feels that if ashow is being binge-watched and not flipped onto some other series, it is def-initely successful.

When a book is adaptedinto a show or a film, it doesget ‘lost in translation’

sometimes as its intricacies might getcompromised while visualising and act-ing it out especially since everything can-not be included.

To the contrary, Priya says that sheedited the script and made a lot ofchanges which she thought she couldhave added in the actual book as well. Forher, “the important point was to keep themessage intact. As long as that happened,I was fine with changes in the script.Filmmakers feel that an author can’t bea screenplay writer if his/her book isbeing adapted because he/she is veryattached to the work. Sometimes thesame kind of idea might not work for avisual show.”

However, she wanted to give it achance and hence, even after she changedmultiple things, the director changed itfurther. “It seemed to have been touchedby a magic wand as it did turn out to bereally wonderful and the way I had imag-ined. Rather, it has only enhanced themessage my book tries to give,” says Priya.

As the trailer also hinted at some-thing that could be an act of terrorism,Arjun and Priya talk about its scourgeand India being at its receiving end.Arjun says, “It’s very unfortunate whathappened in Pulwama. I was recently

shooting for the show in Kashmirand felt very peaceful. Even thenative people feel that but theplace has become a target ofmedia’s exaggeration and vio-lence. They feel that they are justtargets of state politics. A feelingof inclusiveness should beextended towards the people ofthis state just like to those in anyother part of the country. Thereis some fear in them that alsodoesn’t let their businesses toflourish and the state tourism tothrive.”

But if we give out a messageof peace and work for theirsafety, both state tourism andbusinesses will work out since

people would also not be afraidto visit Kashmir. “Such coward-ly acts,” he says, “is just alienat-ing the state from the nation. Itis a beautiful place and shouldremain the same rather thanturning into a blood zone.”

(The show airs on ZEE5from February 22.)

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The National AluminiumCompany Limited (NALCO),in association with the LV

Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), haslaunched the state-of-the-art sec-ondary plus Eye Care Hospital atAngul in Bhubaneswar. The hospitalwill benefit more than 60,000 outpa-tients; will perform 6,000 surgeriesannually and offer free of cost treat-ment to poor patients.

The ultra-modern hospital,which has been built at a cost of �25crores, was inaugurated byDharmendra Pradhan, UnionMinister for Petroleum and NaturalGas, Skill Development andEntrepreneurship, in the august pres-ence of Rudra Narayan Pani, formerMember of Parliament and Dr TapanKumar Chand, chairman-cum-man-aging director of NALCO.

The Eye Care Hospital will pro-vide free eye care services to the res-idents of the periphery villages of theS&P Complex and Utkal D and E coalblocks, who hold valid identificationcards. The treatment will also be free

for the below the poverty line (BPL)category families, residing in andaround the Angul district. A team ofeye care specialists will provide com-prehensive eye care for uncorrectedrefractive error, cataract surgeries,medical care of glaucoma and retinaldiseases, diabetic retinopathy andocular surface disorders, amongother diseases.

NALCO, a Navratna public sec-tor undertaking (PSU) under theMinistry of Mines, has been workingdiligently to deliver high qualityhealthcare solutions and is carryingout important corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) interventionsfor people residing in the peripheryareas of its Smelter and PowerComplex at Angul. This modern eyecare hospital is yet another step

taken by the company to reach out tothe marginalised section of the soci-ety.

It may be mentioned here thatlast year, the company had spent morethan �70 crore towards its CSR pro-

jects including, piped drinking watersupply, development of infrastructurefor periphery villages, implementa-tion of nano-technology baseddeflouridation plant, healthcareincluding mobile health service

through four Mobile Health Units(MHUs) and setting up of secondaryplus eye hospital, education facility inDPS and SVM and scholarshipsunder ‘Nalco-ki-Ladli’ to poor, mer-itorious girl students.

The Union Minister laudedNALCO for this important initiativewhich aims to deliver comprehensiveand the latest eye care solutions to thepeople of the Angul district. Thesprawling hospital is spread over fouracres of land with 35,000 square ftbuilt-up area and state-of-the-art,modern medical equipment withworld-class facilities.

The launch ceremony also sawthe minister distributing aids andassistive devices to the senior citizensunder the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojnaof the Government of India.

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Perpule, an omni-channel retailtechnology company, and

India’s first self-checkout enabler,announced the launch of itsnext-gen, Point of Sale (POS)billing solution called, ‘UltraPOS’.It is a cloud-based SaaS product,which eliminates the need ofbulky servers and computers inthe store for billing purposes.This new product promises toenable offline stores to reducebilling counter size by up to 40per cent and help increase salesand revenue through an ArtificialIntelligence or data-drivenapproach to dynamic offers,cross-sell and upsell. It is current-ly being used by retail brandssuch as Vishal Mega Mart, BigBazaar, Foodhall and many more.

The Perpule UltraPOS comeswith in-built features such as ana-lytics, inventory and staff man-agement tools. Retailers canupdate product prices, stocks,

offers, and so on, consistentlyacross platforms. This solutionalso gives omni-channel playersa platform to manage order andinventory for both e-commerce aswell in-store sales from the storeitself. The UltraPOS solution canwork with any device such ashandhelds, mobile, desktop andtablets. It allows cashiers to scanbarcodes, generate receipts andaccept payments without anyhassle. Retailers can also opt forthe accompanying hardware (ahandheld device) at no addition-al cost and a flexible monthlyrental fee.

Abhinav Pathak, CEO andcofounder, Perpule commented,“We are super excited aboutUltraPOS which will make thecurrent POS Billing systemsobsolete and will redefine cus-tomer experiences significantly.We have been collaborating withthe largest of the retailers inIndia to understand their chal-lenges and aspirations and havegot it all built in one platform thatthey can trust and customise. Ourproduct approach is about build-ing the commerce platformwhich doubles up as a billing sys-tem and can also open up alter-nate revenue streams for ourpartners in future. We havealready onboarded over sevenrenowned retail brands in Indiaand are particularly focussing oncapturing retailers of all sizesacross Tier I, II and III marketsin 2019.”

��''��7��!<�<��: Bharti AXA Life Insurance has

launched its new child insuranceplan—‘Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars’that provides life cover to parents andprotects their children andfamily from any financialinstability.

The new plan is anon-linked, non-par-ticipating limited payendowment life insur-ance plan, that pro-vides assured payoutsat maturity and helpsparents accumulate suffi-cient wealth secure theirchild’s future and financehis/her higher educational expensesand other life turning points through dis-ciplined savings. The new child plansgives parents flexibility to choose betweentwo maturity payout options—FlexiPayout Option and Annual PayoutOption—which can be chosen at policyinception and modified at the time ofmaturity as per child’s needs.

Under Flexi Payout Option, thematurity benefit can be taken as a lumpsum at maturity or at the end of any yearduring maturity payout period so thatpayout timings can be customised as perchild’s needs, while in Annual PayoutOption, five equal annual payouts will be

paid at the end of every year starting frommaturity to cater to child’s higher edu-cation expenses.

The plan comes with an inbuiltbenefit where the policy shall

continue even after the deathof the policyholder with no

further premiums to bepaid and the maturitybenefit shall continue tobe payable at the time ofmaturity. “Apart fromoffering comprehensive

benefits of life cover alongwith maturity payout, the

new child insurance plan alsobuilds a corpus for child’s edu-

cational expenses and safeguardshis/her future needs, including highereducation, career planning and marriage,after the demise of the parent,” said thecompany’s managing director and chiefexecutive officer, Vikas Seth.

The plan also offers the flexibility tochoose from nine combinations of pre-mium paying terms and policy termswhere the premiums are payable for alimited period of time. The minimum ageto enter the plan is 18 years and the max-imum age to buy it is 60 years. Theinsured will also be entitled for tax ben-efits on premium payment as well as thebenefits received, as applicable.

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India’s largest iron ore producer—NationalMineral Development Corporation

(NMDC), has bagged five awards at the PublicRelations Council of India (PRCI) ExcellenceAwards 2019, organised at Jaipur recently,where in more than 150 delegates from var-ious PSEs, government agencies, media pro-fessionals deliberated on the theme—‘PR-What is the Big Idea’. The awards were givenaway by Ram Charanji Bora, Member ofParliament, Rajasthan and were received byCh Srinivasa Rao, DGM(CC) on behalf ofNMDC. The company won the Gold awardfor its CSR Brochure, Corporate AdvertisingCampaign (English) and NMDC Diary 2019.The other awards were given for NMDC wallcalendar 2019 and television commercials. Thechairman-cum-managing director of NMDC,N Baijendra Kumar, congratulated the teamof Corporate Communications for their con-tinued efforts for propagating and promotingthe company’s activities and connecting peo-ple through electronic, print and digitalmedia.

Atwo-day national levelseminar was conducted

by NLC India Limited(NLCIL) on ‘Best Practicesand Latest Trends inProcurement Process’ atNeyveli, recently which sawparticipation of 200 dele-gates including 55 delegatesfrom various public sectorenterprises (PSEs) andsenior officials of NLCIL.

The seminar was inau-gurated by NLCIL’s CMD,Rakesh Kumar, where hesaid that, public procure-ment accounts for morethan 20 per cent of thecountry’s GDP and there-fore it is immensely impor-tant to ensure transparency,

accountability and econom-ically competitive price forgoods and services. He fur-ther said that e-marketinghas already gained momen-tum in NLCIL.

The key discussion top-ics at the seminar includedthe Acts and Guidelines onPublic Procurement Policyof the Union Governmentwith reference to MicroSmall Enterprises, DomesticSuppliers, Start-upCompanies, Make in IndiaPolicy and procurementthrough the newly devel-oped GovernmentProcurement Portal GeMand their compliance inPSUs and e-auction.

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At the ongoing AeroIndia 2019, Rostec State

Corporation is showcasingover 200 pieces of advancedcivil and military equip-ment at the military air baseYelahanka in Bangalore.

India is Rostec’s strate-gic region of presence.Contracts signed last yearbetween Russia and India,stipulate unprecedented vol-umes of Russian militaryequipment supplies and thelaunch of manufacturingoperations at Indian enter-prises.

Rosoboronexport’s 2018portfolio of Indian orders hasgrown to $10 billion. “Russiaand India have built upextensive expertise in bilater-al industrial cooperation, andnow they are delivering jointprojects for the ‘Make inIndia’ programme, with thekey focus on the military sec-tor. Russia is a country thathas been supporting ‘Make inIndia’ from the word go. We

are bringing to Aero India2019, more than 200 pieces ofequipment for civil and mil-itary use. It may well be thatsome of them will eventual-ly be manufactured in India,”said Victor Kladov, Rostec’sDirector for InternationalCooperation.

Rostec continues work

on a major programme todevelop and promote civil-use products under itsStrategy 2025, looking toenhance operational efficien-cy, raise the share of civil-useproducts in its revenues to 50per cent and penetrate therapidly growing global mar-kets, including India.

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As part of the TransmissionSystem for inter-regional

strengthening scheme for theWestern Region (WR) andthe Northern Region (NR)(Part-B), the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has dedicatedthe POWERGRID 765/400kV Orai Sub-station and the765 kV Aligarh Sub-stationand associated lines. The PMsaid, “To solve the problem ofelectricity, the transmissionsystem has been improved.Now, along withBundelkhand, the power sys-tem will be improved in manyareas of western Uttar Pradesh.Power generated will be trans-mitted to different regionsthrough the western andnorthern grid”.

The project involves estab-lishment of Extra High Voltage(EHV) Sub-stations at OraiGas Insulated Sub-station(GIS) and Aligarh GasInsulated Sub-station (GIS),along with high capacitypower transmission corridorbetween the northern andwestern grids. It will strength-en the inter-regional transmis-sion corridor and facilitatereliable supply of power toOrai, Aligarh and the adjoin-ing areas of western UP andBundelkhand. Apart fromenhancing power transfercapability between the western

region and the northernregion grids, to the tune of2700 MW, it will also aidtransfer of power from Sasanand Vindhyachal generationcomplexes in western region toload centres in western andnorthern regions.

This project, constructedby the Power GridCorporation of India Limited(POWERGRID), will makeOrai a key Sub-station to feedthe demand of Orai andadjoining areas of western UPand Bundelkhand region. Itwill also give huge boost to thetourism sector and willenhance socio-economicdevelopment, as quality powerwill be distributed to homes,agricultural setups, businessestablishments and industriesof the region. The cost of theproject is about �4,976 crore.

The mega event at Jhansi,where the PM dedicated theproject, was graced by RamNaik, Governor of UttarPradesh, Yogi Adityanath,Chief Minister of UP andUma Bharti, Union Ministerfor Drinking Water andSanitation, among the CMD ofPOWERGRID, Ravi P Singh,Director (Projects), RKChauhan, Executive Director(NR-III) RK Singh and othersenior officials of the state gov-ernment and POWERGRID.

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Barcelona coach ErnestoValverde shrugged offhis team's struggles in

front of goal after they wereheld to a 0-0 draw away at Lyonin the first leg of theirChampions League last-16 tie.

The Spanish side had mostof the chances at the GroupamaStadium on Tuesday, with LuisSuarez firing just wide in thesecond half, although it wasLyon who came the closestwhen Martin Terrier hit the barearly on.

Lionel Messi and co wasonce again left frustrated on theroad at the business end of thecompetition, and have nowgone six away matches withoutwinning in the ChampionsLeague knockout rounds, scor-ing just a single goal in thattime. It is a run that goes backthree years.

Desperate to end RealMadrid's recent Europeandominance, Barca must nowfinish the job when the teamsmeet again at the Camp Nouon March 13, but Lyon remainin the tie.

Barcelona's form needs toimprove between now andthen, though — they havedrawn four of their last fivematches in all, and have scoredjust once, from a penalty, intheir last three outings.

The visitors — who start-ed with Sergi Roberto in mid-field rather than the out-of-form Philippe Coutinho —had good reason to be wary oftheir hosts, who have excelledin big games this season.

��������������Bruno Genesio's team had

taken four points from a pos-sible six against ManchesterCity in the group stage andrecently won at home to ParisSaint-Germain in Ligue 1.

They are still unbeaten inEurope this season, althoughthis was their sixth consecutivedraw.

"It's a satisfying resultbecause it leaves us with achance for the second leg, andwe didn't concede. If we canscore at the Camp Nou we'llhave a chance of goingthrough," said Genesio.

He admitted that he had

hoped for an even better per-formance, but Lyon was miss-ing its World Cup-winningcaptain Nabil Fekir due to sus-pension.

It was the 21-year-oldTerrier who surprisingly start-ed in his place, and he delivered

the most exciting moment ofthe first half for the crowd ofalmost 58,000 with a thunder-ous strike from 20 yards out inthe ninth minute that wastipped onto the bar by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The same player later shot

over at the end of a fantasticmove, while Houssem Aouarhad earlier been denied by thegoalkeeper, but it wasBarcelona who enjoyed thelonger spells of possession.

Ousmane Dembele — oneof two Frenchmen in the awayline-up — came closest forthem in the first half, althoughtheir best chances came afterhe had been replaced byCoutinho midway throughthe second period.

Suarez came withininches of breaking thedeadlock 20 minutesfrom time, firing nar-rowly wide from JordiAlba's cutback. He has nowgone 16 away matches withoutscoring in the competition.

Coutinho had a powerfulshot beaten away by AnthonyLopes, with the Lyon goalkeep-er also frustrating Messi andSergio Busquets as Barcelonadominated but departed with-out a potentially precious awaygoal.

At least they extendedtheir unbeaten record againstLyon to seven matches, butthere remains hope for theFrench club ahead of thereturn.

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Tim Southee snared a six-wickethaul and Ross Taylor tore up the

record books as New Zealand domi-nated Bangladesh to seal a 3-0 serieswhitewash with an 88-run victory inthe final one-day international inDunedin on Wednesday.

Sabbir Rahman's gallant maidenODI century saved Bangladesh fromtotal humilation after they lost threewickets with just two runs on the boardchasing New Zealand's imposing tar-get of 331.

The tourists were 242 all out in47.2 overs after the Black Caps weresent into bat and made 330 for six atUniversity Oval.

It was final New Zealand outingbefore the Cricket World Cup andplayers were desperate to impresscoach Gary Stead even though the fix-ture was a dead rubber.

Paceman Tim Southee, overlookedin New Zealand's past six ODIs, tooksix for 65 to guarantee himself almostcertainly a berth at the tournament.

Henry Nicholls looks to havesecured an opening batting slot with

a sparkling 64, but out-of-form rivalColin Munro was dismissed for eight.

Ross Taylor became NewZealand's highest-scoring one-dayinternational batsman as his 69 off 81balls took him past 8,000 runs in th 50-over format.

His 47th ODI half-century sawTaylor reach 8,026 runs, overtakingStephen Fleming's previous record of8,007.

The 34-year-old, who made hisODI debut in 2006, reached his mile-stone in 203 innings with a superbaverage of 48.34.

Tom Latham pressed his claim fora World Cup spot with a solid 59 whileColin de Grandhomme and JimmyNeesham both scored 37 as they seekall-rounder berths.

Bangladesh made a horror start tothe run chase when Tim Southeeclaimed a trio of top-order wickets inhis opening two overs to leave the vis-itors reeling on two for three.

However resistance came in theform of Rahman and MohammadSaifuddin, who made 44 in a 101-runpartnership that added respectabilityto the scoreboard.

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Roger Federer's comeback on claywill feature a return to the Madrid

Open for the first time since 2015, itwas confirmed on Wednesday.

For the last two years, the 37-year-old has chosen to skip the clay-courtseason completely to preserve energyfor tournaments on his preferred sur-faces of grass and hard.

But Federer indicated in Januarythat he would play at the FrenchOpen this year while the MadridOpen has announced he will be amongthose competing at the Caja Magicatoo.

"Federer is one of the best playersin history, it's no secret," said FelicianoLopez, the Madrid Open's tournamentdirector.

"We are happy because his returnto Madrid is a gift for the tournamentbut above all for the fans, because theywill be able to see a player that isunique and unparallelled."

Federer has won the Madrid Openthree times, in 2006, 2009 and 2012,but his last appearance was in 2015,when he lost his opening match to NickKyrgios.

The 20-time Grand Slam champi-on was beaten in the fourth round atthe Australian Open in January, oneyear after he had claimed his last majortitle there.

Clay has been Federer's leastfavourite surface. He has won theFrench Open only once and not gonepast the quarter-finals in Paris since2012.

"I am in a moment where I wantto have fun," Federer said, when askedlast month about returning to RolandGarros. "It's a personal desire. I feel likeI don't need to take a big break again."

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Sri Lankan captain DimuthKarunaratne on Wednesday

said that he wanted his players tocontinue playing with a smile ontheir faces as they seek to becomethe first Asian team to win a Testseries in South Africa.

Sri Lanka go into the secondTest at St George's Park onThursday with an unbeatable 1-0lead in the two-match series aftertheir sensational, Kusal Perera-inspired one-wicket win in thefirst Test in Durban.

"We came here to win match-es," said Karunaratne, who washanded the captaincy after DineshChandimal was axed after losinga series in Australia last month.

"I just want to make sure theboys give their maximum eachday." Karunaratne said enjoy-ment was a key factor.

"We have to keep our headsclear and play positively," he said.

"We want to enjoy ourselves.You will see with our boys whenthey are playing they are smiling

and cheering eachother. If you are enjoy-ing yourself you willplay well."

The Sri Lankan captain saidconditions in Durban and thoseexpected in Port Elizabeth were"much easier" than those inAustralia, where they played onfast, bouncy pitches.

Although Sri Lanka werebeaten by 206 runs on their pre-

vious appearance inPort Elizabeth twoseasons ago,Karunaratne said

they had played well enough to gointo Thursday's match with con-fidence.

South African captain Faf duPlessis said his players were "high-ly motivated" to square the series.

"We were in control for mostof the (first) Test, then something

brilliant took it away from us," hesaid of Perera's match-winninginnings.

"The disappointing thing witha short series is that you only playtwo matches so for us it is mak-ing sure we square up the series."

The pitch had a good cover-ing of grass but Du Plessis said heexpected a "normal" St George'sPark pitch.

"It looks pretty similar towhat we played on againstAustralia and Sri Lanka in our lasttwo Test matches. Hopefully therewill be some assistance for ourseamers. We are not expecting alot of pace and bounce so we'rejust hoping there will be decentcarry."

Du Plessis admitted that SriLanka's inexperienced bowlers,notably Vishwa Fernando andLasith Embuldeniya, had brought"an element of the unknown anda surprise factor" to the touringteam's attack.

"There has already been a bitof chat to make sure we play thenew guys better," he said.

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Indian women's team was dealt a big blow aftervice-captain and premier batswoman

Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out of the upcom-ing limited overs series against England with anankle injury.

India will play three ODIs in Mumbai start-ing February 22, followed by three T20Internationals in Guwahati from March 4.

Rookie Harleen Deol, who played two warm-up games against English women, got her maid-en berth in the squad.

The ODIs are a part of ICC Women'sChampionship and points will be carried forward.

It has been learnt that Harmanpreet had sus-tained an ankle injury during a training sessionin Patiala and has a grade 2tear.

She will now under-go rehabilitation pro-gramme at the NCA inBengaluru where theextent of the injurywill be ascertained.

If Harmanpreetfails to get fit ontime for theT20Is, thenopener SmritiMandhana willbe leading theside.

�������� <.+3

World number two SimonaHalep and world number

four Petra Kvitova booked theirplaces in the quarterfinals of theDubai Duty Free TennisChampionships with contrast-ing wins on Wednesday, butfifth seeded German AngeliqueKerber lost her third roundmatch.

Halep, who beat 2014Wimbledon runner-up EugenieBouchard of Canada 7-6, 6-4 onTuesday, registered anotherstraight set win on CentreCourt.

The reigning French Openchampion beat Ukrainian LesiaTsurenko 6-3, 7-5.

Tsurenko was serving forthe second set at 5-4, but the Romanianbroke back and went on to win the nexttwo games, finishing the match in style.

Kvitova, on the other hand, beatAmerican qualifier Jennifer Brady 7-5,1-6, 6-3 in the first match of the day onthe Centre Court.

It wasn't the perfect match for the 28-year-old Czech player who once again strug-gled with her serve, making 10 double faults.

"Definitely it's a relief rightnow," Kvitova, said after her matchon Wednesday. Kvitova also wona three-setter in the second roundagainst compatriot KaterinaSiniakova on Tuesday.

"I tried to be quicker todaythan yesterday. I did little bit bet-ter, but still was pretty tough. Thewind was just terrible today, to behonest. It was really difficult to kindof find a way with it. I couldn't real-ly serve well today at all."

Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsiehstunned three-time Grand Slamchampion Kerber 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 intheir third round match on CourtOne.

It was the 33-year-old Hsieh'sfirst win over Kerber in threeattempts.

Halep, Kvitova and Hsieh werejoined in the Dubai quarterfinals byViktoria Kuzmova.

The Slovakian also needed threesets to beat Sofia Kenin of the US 1-6,7-5, 6-2 on Court One.

Meanwhile, Frenchwoman KristinaMladenovic, who stunned world number oneNaomi Osaka in the second round onTuesday, lost her third round match toSpaniard Carla Suarez Navarro (5-7, 5-7).

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Liverpool's undermanneddefence held out for a pre-

cious clean sheet but BayernMunich will also be confidentof progress to the ChampionsLeague quarter-finals after a 0-0 draw in the first leg of theirlast 16 tie at Anfield. SadioMane wasted the best chancefor the hosts on Tuesday,when the Senegalese forwardfired wide during an open first45 minutes, but a cagey sec-ond half left it all to be decid-ed when the sides meet againin Munich on March 13.

Without the talismanicpresence of Virgil van Dijkthrough suspension and theinjured Joe Gomez and DejanLovren, Liverpool were forcedto name a make-shift centraldefence with Brazilian mid-fielder Fabinho moved back to

partner Joel Matip.That unfamiliarity

showed in the early stagesas the hosts started nervous-

ly at the back.Matip breathed a

sigh of relief when heturned Serge Gnabry's

driven cross towards his owngoal only for the ball tobounce to safety off AlissonBecker's chest.

However, the Braziliangoalkeeper played his sideinto trouble moments later toput pressure on Matip andwhen he was dispossessed byRobert Lewandowski,Kingsley Coman fired into theside-netting.

Liverpool were also pos-ing plenty of problems at theother end when they gotMohamed Salah, RobertoFirmino and Mane into dan-

gerous areas.Salah headed wide at the

back post from TrentAlexander-Arnold's perfectlymeasured cross.

Mane then passed up thebest chance for either side ashe shot wide on the turn afterNaby Keita's initial effort wasblocked by the arm of NiklasSuele.

Matip could not forcehome Firmino's unselfishcross with the chance to openthe scoring at the right endand Mane sent a spectacularoverhead kick effort high andwide as the Premier Leagueside ended the half on top.

Bayern may not have hitthe heights of previous yearsin the Bundesliga this seasonas they trail BorussiaDortmund by three points intheir quest to land a seventh

straight league title.However, the German

champions have made thelast eight of the ChampionsLeague for each of the pastseven seasons and had theexperience to hold out forwhat they clearly saw as avaluable draw as they woundthe clock down in the finalstages.

Liverpool had 10 days offto prepare for Bayern's visitdue to their early exit in the FACup and looked the fresherside as they pressed for a win-ner.

Matip wasted anothergood chance by firing well offtarget from the edge of thearea before Manuel Neuerproduced his best save of thenight to turn Mane's headerbehind five minutes fromtime.

Jurgen Klopp's men havelost all of their last fiveChampions League gamesaway from Anfield, includinglast season's final.

The return of Van Dijkwill aid their chances, but thatrot will need to stop in Munichin three weeks' time if they areto reach the last eight.

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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt hopes anunexpected call to play in the domestic Twenty20

league will help him regain his place on the nation-al team, he said on Wednesday, years after he wasbanned for spot-fixing.

The 34-year-old said he is delighted to join theLahore Qalandars in the ongoing Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) as a replacement for MohammadHafeez, who was ruled out after fracturing his thumb.

"After a long time I received one of the best mes-sages of my life when Lahore called me to play in thePSL, and I am very happy to get this opportunity,"he said.

The PSL's popularity has surged since it was firstheld in 2016. The bulk of the tournament is playedin the United Arab Emirates, but with securityimproving in Pakistan the final eight matches —including the March 17 final — will be held at home,in Karachi and Lahore.

The league's growing profile means it is the firstbig chance for the left-handed batsman to rehabili-tate himself since hishigh-profile ban for aspot-fixing scandalwhich erupted onPakistan's 2010 tourof England.

Butt, captain ofPakistan's Test team atthe time, was chargedfor orchestrating delib-erate no-balls from hispace bowlersMohammad Amir andMohammad Asif dur-ing the Lord's Test inreturn for money.

He was banned for five years in total, as were Asifand Amir.

Though they completed their bans in September2015, only Amir was able to regain his place in thePakistan team.

"It's been a long time and I have been doing allmy training and playing domestic cricket and try-ing my best to play for Pakistan," said Butt.

Since his return to domestic cricket in Pakistan,he has been a prolific run scorer, finishing with 536runs in the National One-Day Cup in early 2016 —his first tournament since being cleared to play.

He scored 741 runs in the premier first-class tour-nament — the Quaid-e-Azam trophy — with twinhundreds in the final to help his team to the title inDecember 2016, and continued his strong form inthe same tournament last year.

Butt said he hopes he has done his penance."It's been a long and hard path, but thankfully

this is the first step and if I can carry on doing wellthings will work out, Inshallah," he said.

Before his ban Butt had played 33 Tests, 78 one-day internationals and 24 Twenty20 matches forPakistan.

He led Pakistan to a rare series draw againstAustralia in 2010, over two Tests played in England.

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Badminton Associationof India (BAI) on

Wednesday named a 20-mem-ber junior Indian squad for theupcoming Dutch Internationaland German Junior.

Manipur's MaisnamMeiraba Luwang will be lead-ing the boys' singles challengeby virtue of the 1192 pointsthat he amassed following histitle wins at the All-IndiaJunior Ranking BadmintonTournaments in Vijayawadaand Bangalore.

The girls' team will bespearheaded by the 2017 U-15Asian Junior ChampionshipsGold medallist Samiya ImadFarooqui who logged in 1125points in the ranking tourna-ments.

BAI considered the cumu-lative ranking points from thethree All India Junior Rankingtournaments held inVijayawada, Bangalore andJaipur in the month of January.

While Meiraba topped thechart in the boys' singles sec-tion, the others joining himare Andhra Pradesh's SaiCharan Koya, PriyanshuRajawat of Dhar in Madhya

Pradesh and Sathish Kumarfrom Coimbatore.

In girls' singles, Farooquiis joined by GayatriGopichand, Nashik girl SmitToshniwal and Amolika Singhhailing from Uttar Pradesh.

The winner of each leggets 500 while the runner-upbags 425. The rest of thepoints bifurcation are semi-finals (350), quarter-finals(275) and pre-quarter-finals(192).

Ishaan Bhatnagar andEdwin Joy will be leadingIndia's challenge in the boys'doubles section, Treesa Jollyand Varshini VS will be theones to watch in girls' doubles,while Navaneeth Bokka andSahithi Bandi, who swept thethree ranking events, will beIndia's top team in mixeddoubles.

The prestigious DutchJunior International and theGerman Junior will be heldfrom February 27 to March 3and March 7-10 respectively.

Last year, India won theboys' doubles Silver medal atthe Dutch Junior when the tal-ented duo of Krishna PrasadGaraga and Dhruv Kapila fin-ished as the runners-up.

� ��� :?4 ?4

Maurizio Sarri insists heexpects to avoid beingsacked as Chelsea man-

ager if his troubled side can puttogether a sustained winningrun.

Reports on Wednesdayclaimed Sarri will be axed ifChelsea is beaten in any of theirnext three matches after losingthe backing of the club's hierar-chy.

Chelsea owner RomanAbramovich is not renowned forhis patience and Monday's FACup fifth round defeat againstManchester United increasedspeculation that Sarri is on thebrink of being dismissed.

Sarri faces a crucial sevendays as Chelsea take a slender 2-1 advantage into Thursday'sEuropa League last 32 second-leg against Malmo before facingManchester City in the LeagueCup final at Wembley onSunday.

Those games are followedby a crucial London derbyagainst Tottenham in thePremier League nextWednesday, a match Chelseacan't afford to lose as theysit outside the top four.

Acknowledging hisperilous position canonly be improved by arapid reversal of for-tunes, Sarri toldreporters: "Weneed to win three,four matches in arow. It's the only solution.

"I can understand verywell the frustration of ourfans. Because they are used towinning. Now we are in trou-ble, so I can understand verywell.

"There isn't another way. Wecan only have good perfor-mances and results."

With Chelsea in the midstof a bad run, Sarri is fighting tosave his job less than a seasonafter arriving from Napoli.

The United loss followedhot on the heels of a humiliat-

ing 6-0 thrashing at ManchesterCity, which ranked as Chelsea'sheaviest defeat for 28 years, andan equally miserable 4-0 defeat

at Bournemouth.Angry Blues fans have

taunted Sarri with chantsdemanding the 60-year-old'ssacking and calling for for-mer Chelsea star FrankLampard, now in charge ofsecond tier Derby, to behired as his replacement.

E��?���������?But, insisting he still has a

future at Stamford Bridge,Sarri says he has not spoken

to Abramovich or influentialdirector Marina Granovskaiathis week.

"I have to think that I will bethe manager of Chelsea for along time, otherwise I cannotwork," Sarri said.

"I am not sure (if I will behere for a long time), but I haveto think this. I have to work and

I want to work with a long-rangetarget.

"Of course in this momentit's very difficult to think we'reable to win three, four matchesin a row. As you know very wellin football everything canchange in one day."

One of the main criticismsof Sarri has been his stubbornrefusal to change his tacticsdespite clear evidence that theformula that worked with Napoliis failing at Chelsea.

Sarri has held severallengthy inquests with his play-ers after Chelsea's worst resultsand conducted another after theUnited defeat.

But reports claim many ofhis players have lost faith withhis football philosophy, especial-ly his decision to use his formerNapoli midfielder Jorginho inthe holding role instead ofN'Golo Kante, who had thrivedin that position in the past.

Sarri's hopes of getting

Chelsea back to the form thatsaw them start the season withan 18-match unbeaten run arebeing hampered by the team'shectic schedule.

"We're trying to solve ourproblems. It's not very easybecause we have no time," hesaid.

"We're trying to talk withthe players, trying to avoidsome mistakes by video. It's noteasy, because we have to playevery three days, so on the pitchwe have no time."

The Italian still refuses tocompromise on his 4-3-3 sys-tem and possession-based'Sarri-ball' style, which wasridiculed by supporters onMonday.

"The system is a false prob-lem. I know very well thatwhen we lose I have to put astriker on the pitch. When wewin I have to put a defender onthe pitch. But I want to see foot-ball in another way," he said.

����� 4�#� �:;3

Left to deal with fitnessissues for most part of

last season, India's doublesspecialist Pranaav JerryChopra is aiming to returnto his best form ahead ofthe Olympic qualificationevents.

The 26-year-old hadto endure a tough phase lastseason as he spent most ofhis time nursing a recurringshoulder injury before about of dengue completelyderailed his plans.

The Punjab-born shut-tler received a huge boostwhen he, along with ChiragShetty, clinched the men'sdoubles title at the SeniorNational Championship inGuwahati last week.

"The senior title meanta lot after going through alot, both mentally andphysically," Pranaav, whoforms India's best mixeddoubles pair with N SikkiReddy, said.

"My focus is to regainfull fitness before theOlympic qualification startsby April end," added theIndian, who was part of theGold-winning mixed teamat the Gold Coast

Commonwealth Games.Pranaav suffered a

shoulder injury in May lastand though he recovered toplay a few tournaments, itrelapsed in September buthe couldn't skip tourna-ments as he had alreadysent the entries.

"I had a shoulder issuein May, which needed twoweeks of rest but inSeptember it happenedagain during theHyderabad Open. This

time it had affected thebone but I had to playthrough pain as we hadalready sent the entries forJapan and China," he said.

"My doctor said it willtake one month of rest andafter that I can do myphysiotherapy but in thelast week of my recovery Iwas down with dengue andI was hospitalised inLudiana for a week andafter coming back, it tookthree months to start train-

ing."I had pain in joints

and other muscles, spe-cially lower body but Iplayed two tournamentsin January as I wanted tocontinue playing. Now I amfeeling much better."

"I started training inNovember because I had toplay Syed Modi as again wehad sent the entry and thefines are huge, so I playedbut I was not in great shape.From February I started full

training," said Pranaav, whoalong with Sikki, are rankedworld No 32 now.

Pranaav is now lookingfor a good performanceduring the Tokyo Olympicqualification period whichstarts April 29.

The Badminton WorldFederation (BWF) rank-ings list which will be pub-lished on April 30 nextyear will be used to allocatespots.

"We will be playing AllEngland, Swiss and IndiaOpen. I am not looking atthe results. We had a dropin ranking as we couldn'tplay 4-5 events. So I wouldlike to regain my fitness andget our ranking up there aswe want to qualify forOlympics," he said.

"My focus was to keepplaying before the qualifi-cation starts by April end,and regain full fitness bythen. So that we can go fullon when the qualificationstarts."

Pranaav had won themen's national doublescrown along with AkshayDewalkar in 2013 and 2015and the mixed doubles titlewith Prajakta Sawant in2010.

����� 4�#� �:;3

It hurt a little bit more becauseI belong to the armed forces,"

said Indian boxer AmitPanghal as he dedicated hisGold medal at the prestigiousStrandja MemorialTournament to the CRPF per-sonnel who lost their lives inthe Pulwama terror attack.

The Asian Games Gold-medallist claimed a secondconsecutive top finish at one ofEurope's oldest boxing compe-titions when he out-punchedKazakhstan's TemirtasZhussupov in the summit clashin Sofia, Bulgaria on Tuesdaynight. He was India's lone maleboxer to grab a medal at thejust-concluded edition.

The 23-year-old NaibSubedar in the Indian Army onWednesday said the Pulwamaattack, which claimed the livesof 40 CRPF personnel, was onhis mind through the tourna-ment. The deadly strike tookplace the day the Indian box-ing team left for Sofia lastweek.

"Main khud army se hun,dard isliye thoda zyada tha (Ithurt a little bit more because Ibelong to the armed forces). Iwas desperate for a medalbecause I wanted to dedicate itto the heroes who lost theirlives in Pulwama," Panghalsaid over phone.

"This was my mindset themoment I got to know of theattack after landing here."

India finished with sevenmedals — three Gold, a Silverand three Bronze medals — inSofia. Among the womenGold-winners, Nikhat Zareen(51kg) had also dedicated hermedal to the slain CRPF men.

"I was in touch with myfamily members during thetournament and they also toldme that I had to win a medalin honour of the Pulwamamartyrs. I was doubly motivat-ed by this thought," Panghalsaid.

The motivation did comein handy as Panghal battledweighty matters in the run-upto the main draw.

"Weight nahi aa raha thayahaan thand ke kaaran (It wasdifficult to get the right weightbecause of the cold here). So, Iwent to bed hungry for a cou-

ple of days, trained the nextmorning to ensure that I wasready at the time of weigh-inon the day of draws," Panghalsaid.

"It was tough but worthevery bit of the trouble becausein the end, I could accomplishwhat I wanted," he added refer-ring to the sub-zero tempera-tures in Sofia which made itdifficult to shed weight.

Panghal's campaign lookedeffortless but the boxer fromRohtak said the competition hefaced this time was certainly anotch higher than what hecame across in the 2018 edi-tion.

"...Russia, Kazakhstan andUkraine fielded their strongestline-ups. This was not the caselast time. The guy I fought inthe final was the Bronze-medal-list from the Asian Games lastyear and had won in India dur-ing a World Series of Boxingbout," he said.

"I had not fought with himearlier as he was not in my halfduring the Asian Games but Iknew I could do it," he added.

Speaking of weight andcompetition, Panghal revealedthat Strandja was his last com-

petition in the 49kg division."I have no choice but to

jump to 52kg because 49kg isnot there in the Olympic pro-gram for Tokyo 2020 and I can'tafford to skip that," he said.

"This was my last competi-tion in 49kg and I will be com-peting in the 52kg category if Iam selected for the AsianChampionships. It is going tobe very tough for me because49kg is a weight class that I amcomfortable in," he explained.

Asked about the specificchallenges that the transitionwould bring with it, Panghalsaid, "I am going to need a lotmore power and it is not goingto be easy but I am confident ofmaking it happen."

The Asian Championshipsare scheduled to be held inApril 19 to 27 in Bangkok,Thailand. In a first, the compe-tition for both men and womenwill be held simultaneously.

"Amit will start his 52kgstint with a tournament inGermany which is round-robinso there is no pressure of amedal. We will see how it goesfor him there and figure out,"said national chief coach C AKuttappa.

����� 4�#� �:;3

Aiming at an Olympic quota,Manu Bhaker says she is

"putting in a lot extra" as shejuggles between shooting andstudies ahead of the WorldWorld Cup, which precedes herClass 12 Board exams.

The 17-year-old Bhaker,owner of multiple ISSF WorldCup, Commonwealth andYouth Olympic Gold medals,has her eyes trained at a quotafor the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Having turned a year oldertwo days ago, Bhaker will haveher chance to secure anotherquota for the country in theInternational Shooting SportFederation (ISSF) World Cup,which begins at the Dr Karni

Singh Range from Saturday."I am doing little extra work

as my class 12 exam is alsoscheduled just after the WorldCup. Hence, I study for myexams after practice," Bhakersaid.

The Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI) recently requestedthe Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) to reschedulethe class 12 exam dates forBhaker and fellow marksmanVijayveer Sidhu in order toavoid a clash with the upcom-ing Asian AirgunChampionships.

With their impressive show-ings in the WorldChampionships last year inKorea, Anjum Moudgil andApurvi Chandela earned India

two Olympic quotas. The shoot-ing fraternity is optimistic aboutadding to that numbers over thenext few days, and Bhaker is oneof the many hopefuls.

"Hope we will get it ...Pressure is bit more this timearound as Olympic tickets arethere."

Around 503 shooters from58 countries will be competingfor top honours with eight ofthe 10 events offering 16 quotaplaces for the Tokyo Games.

Having taken the juniorcircuit by storm with her explo-sive performances, Bhaker, hail-ing from Jhajjar district inHaryana, did an encore whenshe graduated to the seniorlevel.

She bagged a handful of

medals, including individualGold, in her maiden seniorISSF World Cup,Commonwealth Games, beforecapping it off with a historicGold at the Youth Olympic inBuenos Aires last October.

In the same year, she alsohad her first brush with failureand the criticism that comeswith it. She has dealt with themand is now looking forwardwith optimism, having givenher best in practice.

"I am doing well in mypractice and hope everythingwill be good. Second year is anumber only," she said whenasked how she looks to sustainthe momentum, adding,"Olympic Gold is the ultimategoal."

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