˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and...

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T he Supreme Court in a rare judgment on Tuesday rejected the apology of former interim CBI Director M Nageswara Rao and agency top law officer S Bhasuram and awarded them day-long court- room detention for “brazen” contempt of its orders and asked them to sit in a corner of the court till it rises for the day. The punishment is reminiscent of the classroom rebuke gen- erally handed out to students by teachers for indiscipline. Strongly rebuking the two officials, the SC also imposed a fine of 1 lakh each for transferring out an officer who was probing the Bihar shelter homes sexual assault cases despite an embargo put by the apex court. Sparing Rao and Bhasuram jail, the apex court held them guilty for “wilfully disobeying” its orders by transferring CBI Joint Director AK Sharma, as Additional Director General of CRPF on January 18. “In our considered view, it is a case where contempt has been committed by both the then acting CBI Director, MN Rao, and the director prosecu- tion (of the agency)” said a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. Rao and Bhasuram, who on Monday had already ten- dered unconditional and unqualified apologies for their roles in the transfer of Sharma, were in for a rude shock as the Bench expressed its mind on their culpability for contempt at the outset. Holding them guilty of contempt of court, the Bench, also comprising justices LN Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, said, “We could not have done anything else”. “We have heard Rao and Bhasuram for commission of contempt of court and we impose one lakh fine and sen- tence them till the rising of the court. Go to one corner of the court and sit down till the ris- ing of this court,” the Bench noted. Both remained in a corner of the CJI’s courtroom till 4 pm, the normal working hours of the judicial side of the apex court. They also remained seat- ed during the lunch session. The Bench did not allow Attorney General KK Venu- gopal’s request that the two offi- cers be allowed to leave even at 3.40 pm — 20 minutes ahead of time. The CJI responded furiously to Venugopal’s plea saying, “What’s this? Do you want us to sentence him till the rising of the court tomorrow? Go and sit where you were.” Before passing the order in the pre-lunch session, the Bench told Rao and Bhasuram they have been held guilty of contempt of court and it was not accepting their uncondi- tional and unqualified apolo- gies. At the outset, the Attorney General, appearing for CBI and its officers, referred to the noting on the file related to the transfer of Sharma and said that it was a case of “error of judgment” on Rao’s part as he had acted on the “incorrect legal advice”. “It is not wilful. Facts are little muddled... Rao has put himself to the mercy of this court,” Venugopal said and sought leniency from the Bench. “Let us see the sequence of events. From the note of the Acting (CBI) Director, this much is obvious that he knew that there was an order of the Supreme Court (against the transfer of the CBI officer). He also seeks the opinion of the legal adviser,” the Bench said. Later, Rao approved the relieving order of the CBI offi- cer without “satisfying” himself whether the sanction of the court has been secured or not and “if this is not the contempt then what is contempt,” the bench said, adding “the axe falls on the Supreme Court orders”. “He is the Acting Director of the CBI...Would the heavens have fallen if the relieving orders were passed after taking the Supreme Court into confi- dence,” the furious CJI remarked. Continued on Page 4 K arol Bagh, one of the most frequented business hubs in the national Capital, wit- nessed a horrific incident in which 17 people died while 35 people were injured after a massive fire broke out at a hotel on Tuesday. Some of the vic- tims were charred to death and others were asphyxiated by the poisonous fumes. A woman and a child jumped from the fourth floor to save themselves from the blaze but they died on the spot. Most of deaths took place due to asphyxiation, authorities said. Guests at the Hotel Arpit Palace that is popular with budget and business travellers, were unable to use corridors to escape because of wooden pan- elling. The hotel didn’t have proper fire escapes and the emergency exit door was locked. “The fire could have been caused by short-circuit,” said Delhi Fire Services (DFS) Chief Fire Officer, Atul Garg. One of the staff members said that the hotel was built around 25 years ago and had 45 rooms. At the time of the inci- dent about 41 rooms were occupied and there were near- ly 53 people inside the hotel. A group of eight tourists from Myanmar were also staying at the hotel. Three of them, including two women, were killed and one was injured. According to Garg, the blaze first erupted on the first floor of the hotel around 3.30 am, trapping many guests who were asleep. Two persons, including a child, who jumped from fourth floor of the build- ing in a bid to save themselves died. They are yet to be iden- tified. “A call was received at 4.35 am, about an hour after the fire started and 28 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. If the fire department was informed earlier, life could have been saved,” said Garg. “An eyewitness of the inci- dent told us that he saw fire at first floor. He saw the residents scurrying to safety to top floor of the hotel. However, the fire spread like wildfire due to wooden interiors in the hotel, giving them no time to escape. They were trapped on the fourth floor,” he said. Video grabs of the blaze taken by an eyewitness showed flames billowing out from the terrace into the pre-dawn dark- ness. “A 43-year-old woman suffered 45 per cent burn injuries while one person is still missing. Continued on Page 4 I t was just a gap of 10 minutes that proved to be fatal for the tourists from Kerala as they were almost ready to leave for Haridwar. The power went off and before they could plumb it, thick smoke had enveloped the hotel. Somshekhar and his family were caught unaware as plumes of thick smoke ran through their floor at Hotel Arpit Palace. However, a foul smell created fear and they realised there was something amiss. Their plan to visit Hardwar was in jeopardy. An inconsolable Somshekhar identified the bod- ies his mother Nalini Amma (84), elder brother Vidyasagar (60) and sister Jayashree (53) at RML Hospital mortuary. They were missing since the fire broke out on the second floor, the floor on which they had booked rooms no 201,203, 204 and 205. The family had come from Ernakulam district in Kerala to attend a wedding in Ghaziabad. Besides, Somshekhar, 12 of his family members were stay- ing at the hotel in Karol Bagh. “We had come from Ernakulam district in Kerala on February 7 to attend a wedding of a relative in Ghaziabad. We had moved to this hotel on February 10 and we were plan- ning to go to Haridwar today morning,” said Somshekhar. “We all were getting ready for Haridwar when there was a sudden power cut. The hotel staff switched on the generator and there was heavy smoke and smell. Continued on Page 4 S amajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was on Tuesday stopped by authorities at Lucknow airport from tak- ing flight to to Prayagraj in the name of law & order, trigger- ing protests by party workers in Prayagraj, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Balrampur, Jalaun, Azamgarh and Gorakhpur, where SP supporters smashed windscreens of vehicles and clashed with the police. Akhilesh hit back at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the latter’s comments that his Prayagraj visit could have triggered violence. He alleged, “I was stopped from boarding a flight to Prayagraj to attend a students’ union programme. I haven’t been given a reason why but it occurred to the pow- ers-that-be that I would create a law and order problem. They (BJP) are using this as a cover to hide their nervousness.” “If there was a genuine problem, the police there would have objected or asked for a change in my schedule,” said Akhilesh. Defending the decision to prevent Akhilesh from pro- ceeding to Prayagraj, Yogi ques- tioned as to why the SP chief was so adamant on going to Prayagraj when the district administration was apprehen- sive that his presence could cre- ate law and order problems. “Was he going to create vio- lence there?” Yogi questioned. “The SP should refrain from its anarchist activities. The Allahabad University administration had given in writing that Akhilesh’s visit might create law and order problem due to the dispute between student outfits. Hence the Government took this step," he clarified. Interestingly, the Allahabad University had already informed the SP chief that no politicians were allowed in any of their programmes. On Monday, registrar of Allahabad University had written to Yadav’s personal secretary in this regard. Rajya Sabha proceedings were disrupted on Tuesday fol- lowing protests by the SP and other Opposition parties over alleged stopping of Akhilesh at Lucknow airport. In UP, both Houses were adjourned for the day after Opposition mem- bers in Assembly and Council protested against the Government on the issue. Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati termed the incident as extremely condemnable. She sought to know whether the ruling BJP was afraid of the SP- BSP alliance as a result of which it was “resorting to anti- democratic methods”. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it hap- pened because of “arrogant attitude of so-called BJP leaders”. C ongress president Rahul Gandhi continued to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal, accusing him of “treason” and violating the Official Secrets Act by alleged- ly acting as industrialist Anil Ambani’s “middleman” in the Rafale contract. In his second Press con- ference in less than a week on the controversy, Rahul came out with a fresh allegation and shared an email to claim Anil Ambani was aware of the deal days before India and France finalised it. Ambani’s Reliance Defence, however, said the “proposed MoU” mentioned in a purported email cited by the Congress president was a ref- erence to its cooperation with Airbus Helicopter and had “no connection” with the Rafale fighter jet contract. The BJP dismissed the alle- gations as height of shameless- ness and irresponsibility on the part of the Congress president, and asserted that the e-mail he cited to criticise the Prime Minister referred to some chopper deal and not the pur- chase of the fighter aircraft. Continued on Page 4 I n a rare instance, the Supreme Court on Friday will hear a petition filed by Manikandan Chettiar, an advo- cate from Chennai, against the life ban imposed on him by the Bar Council of India. Chettiar is the first advo- cate in independent India to be served such a harsh punish- ment and the third person in the 395 years in Indian judicial history to face such ignominy. Mahatma Gandhi was served with life ban against practising as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter Shyamaji Krishna Varma was the second person to be banned from law practice in 1909. The first two decisions of life ban were imposed by London’s Inner Temple, the then regula- tor of the Bar. “Ironically, both the Mahatma and Shyamaji were reinstated by the Inner Temple posthumously in 1988 and 2015 respectively, 66 years and 106 years, after their being banned. The appellant on the other hand, is challenging the double life ban imposed upon him because Republic India’s Constitutional Law-Courts and its Bar Councils have both suo motu imposed the double life- ban on the petitioner since February 2, 2018 and interim indefinite ban since September 2015 without being able to frame a single charge, whatso- ever,” said Manikandan Chettiar in his petition filed in the SC challenging the decision of the BCI. He is represented by noted lawyer Colin Gonsalves. The case is listed before a Bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta. In Chennai legal circles, Manikandan (45) is known as an activist lawyer, who picked up fights with police and on some judicial corruption relat- ed issues. He filed several cases seek- ing probes in cases of alleged corruption in judiciary. In the controversial Sankararaman murder case in 2011, he pro- duced an audio tape as pur- ported evidence of money transfer to a trial court judge. In this case, as per Manikandan’s petition in the apex court, the current Madras HC Judge PN Prakash was the lead lawyer of the accused per- sons, including late Kanchi Shankaracharya. While all accused were acquitted in the case, Manikandan continued with his demand for probe into the audio tape scandal. In 2013, advocate Prakash was elevated as a judge in the Madras High Court. Two years later, he took over the case related to judicial bribing from trial court and directed the Tamil Nadu Bar Council to initiate stringent action against Manikandan, though his junior was the actu- al petitioner. Continued on Page 4 A ndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu along with TDP MPs and MLAs met President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday and raised demand for Special Status for the State. The delegation marched from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented a memoran- dum to the President with 18 demands, including the Bifurcation Act promises and Special Status to the State. “We met the President and apprised him of our demands. The Central Government has ignored the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act promises. The Modi Government is passing the time without releasing grants to the State. For the development of Hyderabad there has been a struggle for 60 years and today it stands as a world-class city,” Naidu said. Detailed report on P5

Transcript of ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and...

Page 1: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

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The Supreme Court in arare judgment on Tuesday

rejected the apology of formerinterim CBI Director MNageswara Rao and agencytop law officer S Bhasuram andawarded them day-long court-room detention for “brazen”contempt of its orders andasked them to sit in a corner ofthe court till it rises for the day.The punishment is reminiscentof the classroom rebuke gen-erally handed out to studentsby teachers for indiscipline.

Strongly rebuking the twoofficials, the SC also imposeda fine of �1 lakh each fortransferring out an officer whowas probing the Bihar shelterhomes sexual assault casesdespite an embargo put by theapex court.

Sparing Rao and Bhasuramjail, the apex court held themguilty for “wilfully disobeying”its orders by transferring CBIJoint Director AK Sharma, asAdditional Director General ofCRPF on January 18.

“In our considered view, itis a case where contempt hasbeen committed by both thethen acting CBI Director, MNRao, and the director prosecu-tion (of the agency)” said aBench headed by Chief Justiceof India Ranjan Gogoi.

Rao and Bhasuram, whoon Monday had already ten-dered unconditional andunqualified apologies for theirroles in the transfer of Sharma,were in for a rude shock as theBench expressed its mind ontheir culpability for contemptat the outset. Holding themguilty of contempt of court, theBench, also comprising justicesLN Rao and Sanjiv Khanna,said, “We could not have doneanything else”.

“We have heard Rao andBhasuram for commission ofcontempt of court and weimpose one lakh fine and sen-tence them till the rising of thecourt. Go to one corner of thecourt and sit down till the ris-ing of this court,” the Bench noted.

Both remained in a corner

of the CJI’s courtroom till 4 pm,the normal working hours ofthe judicial side of the apexcourt. They also remained seat-ed during the lunch session.

The Bench did not allowAttorney General KK Venu-gopal’s request that the two offi-cers be allowed to leave even at3.40 pm — 20 minutes aheadof time. The CJI respondedfuriously to Venugopal’s pleasaying, “What’s this? Do youwant us to sentence him till therising of the court tomorrow?Go and sit where you were.”

Before passing the order inthe pre-lunch session, theBench told Rao and Bhasuramthey have been held guilty ofcontempt of court and it wasnot accepting their uncondi-tional and unqualified apolo-gies. At the outset, the AttorneyGeneral, appearing for CBIand its officers, referred to thenoting on the file related to thetransfer of Sharma and saidthat it was a case of “error ofjudgment” on Rao’s part as hehad acted on the “incorrectlegal advice”.

“It is not wilful. Facts arelittle muddled... Rao has puthimself to the mercy of this court,” Venugopal said andsought leniency from the Bench.

“Let us see the sequence ofevents. From the note of theActing (CBI) Director, thismuch is obvious that he knewthat there was an order of theSupreme Court (against thetransfer of the CBI officer). Healso seeks the opinion of thelegal adviser,” the Bench said.

Later, Rao approved therelieving order of the CBI offi-cer without “satisfying” himselfwhether the sanction of thecourt has been secured or notand “if this is not the contemptthen what is contempt,” thebench said, adding “the axe fallson the Supreme Court orders”.

“He is the Acting Directorof the CBI...Would the heavenshave fallen if the relievingorders were passed after takingthe Supreme Court into confi-dence,” the furious CJIremarked.

Continued on Page 4

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Karol Bagh, one of the mostfrequented business hubs

in the national Capital, wit-nessed a horrific incident inwhich 17 people died while 35people were injured after amassive fire broke out at a hotelon Tuesday. Some of the vic-tims were charred to death andothers were asphyxiated by thepoisonous fumes. A womanand a child jumped from thefourth floor to save themselvesfrom the blaze but they died onthe spot. Most of deaths tookplace due to asphyxiation,authorities said.

Guests at the Hotel ArpitPalace that is popular withbudget and business travellers,were unable to use corridors toescape because of wooden pan-elling. The hotel didn’t haveproper fire escapes and theemergency exit door waslocked. “The fire could havebeen caused by short-circuit,”said Delhi Fire Services (DFS)Chief Fire Officer, Atul Garg.

One of the staff memberssaid that the hotel was builtaround 25 years ago and had 45rooms. At the time of the inci-dent about 41 rooms wereoccupied and there were near-ly 53 people inside the hotel. Agroup of eight tourists from

Myanmar were also staying atthe hotel. Three of them,including two women, werekilled and one was injured.

According to Garg, theblaze first erupted on the firstfloor of the hotel around 3.30am, trapping many guests whowere asleep. Two persons,including a child, who jumpedfrom fourth floor of the build-ing in a bid to save themselvesdied. They are yet to be iden-tified.

“A call was received at 4.35am, about an hour after the firestarted and 28 fire tenderswere rushed to the spot. If thefire department was informedearlier, life could have beensaved,” said Garg.

“An eyewitness of the inci-dent told us that he saw fire atfirst floor. He saw the residentsscurrying to safety to top floorof the hotel. However, the firespread like wildfire due towooden interiors in the hotel,giving them no time to escape.They were trapped on thefourth floor,” he said.

Video grabs of the blazetaken by an eyewitness showedflames billowing out from theterrace into the pre-dawn dark-ness. “A 43-year-old womansuffered 45 per cent burninjuries while one person is stillmissing.

Continued on Page 4

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It was just a gap of 10 minutesthat proved to be fatal for the

tourists from Kerala as theywere almost ready to leave forHaridwar. The power went offand before they could plumb it,thick smoke had envelopedthe hotel. Somshekhar and hisfamily were caught unaware asplumes of thick smoke ranthrough their floor at HotelArpit Palace. However, a foulsmell created fear and theyrealised there was somethingamiss. Their plan to visitHardwar was in jeopardy.

An inconsolableSomshekhar identified the bod-ies his mother Nalini Amma(84), elder brother Vidyasagar(60) and sister Jayashree (53) atRML Hospital mortuary. Theywere missing since the firebroke out on the second floor,the floor on which they hadbooked rooms no 201,203, 204and 205.

The family had come fromErnakulam district in Kerala toattend a wedding in Ghaziabad.

Besides, Somshekhar, 12 ofhis family members were stay-ing at the hotel in Karol Bagh.

“We had come fromErnakulam district in Kerala onFebruary 7 to attend a weddingof a relative in Ghaziabad. Wehad moved to this hotel onFebruary 10 and we were plan-ning to go to Haridwar todaymorning,” said Somshekhar.

“We all were getting readyfor Haridwar when there was asudden power cut. The hotelstaff switched on the generatorand there was heavy smoke andsmell.

Continued on Page 4

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Samajwadi Party (SP) chiefAkhilesh Yadav was on

Tuesday stopped by authoritiesat Lucknow airport from tak-ing flight to to Prayagraj in thename of law & order, trigger-ing protests by party workers inPrayagraj, Jaunpur, Jhansi,Kannauj, Balrampur, Jalaun,Azamgarh and Gorakhpur,where SP supporters smashedwindscreens of vehicles andclashed with the police.

Akhilesh hit back at UPChief Minister Yogi Adityanathover the latter’s comments thathis Prayagraj visit could havetriggered violence. He alleged,“I was stopped from boardinga flight to Prayagraj to attenda students’ union programme.I haven’t been given a reasonwhy but it occurred to the pow-

ers-that-be that I would createa law and order problem. They(BJP) are using this as a coverto hide their nervousness.”

“If there was a genuineproblem, the police therewould have objected or askedfor a change in my schedule,”said Akhilesh.

Defending the decision toprevent Akhilesh from pro-ceeding to Prayagraj, Yogi ques-tioned as to why the SP chiefwas so adamant on going to

Prayagraj when the districtadministration was apprehen-sive that his presence could cre-ate law and order problems.“Was he going to create vio-lence there?” Yogi questioned.

“The SP should refrainfrom its anarchist activities.The Allahabad Universityadministration had given inwriting that Akhilesh’s visitmight create law and orderproblem due to the disputebetween student outfits. Hence

the Government took this step,"he clarified.

Interestingly, the AllahabadUniversity had alreadyinformed the SP chief that nopoliticians were allowed in anyof their programmes. OnMonday, registrar of AllahabadUniversity had written toYadav’s personal secretary inthis regard.

Rajya Sabha proceedingswere disrupted on Tuesday fol-lowing protests by the SP andother Opposition parties overalleged stopping of Akhilesh atLucknow airport. In UP, bothHouses were adjourned forthe day after Opposition mem-bers in Assembly and Councilprotested against theGovernment on the issue.

Meanwhile, BSP chiefMayawati termed the incidentas extremely condemnable. Shesought to know whether theruling BJP was afraid of the SP-BSP alliance as a result ofwhich it was “resorting to anti-democratic methods”.

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee said it hap-pened because of “arrogantattitude of so-called BJP leaders”.

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Congress president RahulGandhi continued to attack

Prime Minister Narendra Modiover the controversial Rafalefighter jet deal, accusing him of“treason” and violating theOfficial Secrets Act by alleged-ly acting as industrialist AnilAmbani’s “middleman” in theRafale contract.

In his second Press con-ference in less than a week onthe controversy, Rahul cameout with a fresh allegation andshared an email to claim AnilAmbani was aware of the dealdays before India and Francefinalised it.

Ambani’s Reliance

Defence, however, said the“proposed MoU” mentioned ina purported email cited by theCongress president was a ref-erence to its cooperation withAirbus Helicopter and had “noconnection” with the Rafalefighter jet contract.

The BJP dismissed the alle-gations as height of shameless-ness and irresponsibility on thepart of the Congress president,and asserted that the e-mail hecited to criticise the PrimeMinister referred to somechopper deal and not the pur-chase of the fighter aircraft.

Continued on Page 4

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In a rare instance, theSupreme Court on Friday

will hear a petition filed byManikandan Chettiar, an advo-cate from Chennai, against thelife ban imposed on him by theBar Council of India.

Chettiar is the first advo-cate in independent India to beserved such a harsh punish-ment and the third person inthe 395 years in Indian judicialhistory to face such ignominy.Mahatma Gandhi was servedwith life ban against practisingas advocate by the British in1922 and freedom fighterShyamaji Krishna Varma wasthe second person to be bannedfrom law practice in 1909. Thefirst two decisions of life banwere imposed by London’sInner Temple, the then regula-tor of the Bar.

“Ironically, both theMahatma and Shyamaji werereinstated by the Inner Templeposthumously in 1988 and2015 respectively, 66 years and

106 years, after their beingbanned.

The appellant on the otherhand, is challenging the doublelife ban imposed upon himbecause Republic India’sConstitutional Law-Courts andits Bar Councils have both suomotu imposed the double life-ban on the petitioner sinceFebruary 2, 2018 and interimindefinite ban since September2015 without being able toframe a single charge, whatso-ever,” said ManikandanChettiar in his petition filed inthe SC challenging the decisionof the BCI.

He is represented by notedlawyer Colin Gonsalves. Thecase is listed before a Benchcomprising Justices DYChandrachud and HemantGupta.

In Chennai legal circles,Manikandan (45) is known asan activist lawyer, who pickedup fights with police and onsome judicial corruption relat-ed issues.

He filed several cases seek-

ing probes in cases of allegedcorruption in judiciary. In thecontroversial Sankararamanmurder case in 2011, he pro-duced an audio tape as pur-ported evidence of moneytransfer to a trial court judge.In this case, as perManikandan’s petition in theapex court, the current MadrasHC Judge PN Prakash was thelead lawyer of the accused per-sons, including late KanchiShankaracharya.

While all accused wereacquitted in the case,Manikandan continued withhis demand for probe into theaudio tape scandal.

In 2013, advocate Prakashwas elevated as a judge in theMadras High Court. Two yearslater, he took over the caserelated to judicial bribing from trial court and directed the Tamil Nadu BarCouncil to initiate stringentaction against Manikandan,though his junior was the actu-al petitioner.

Continued on Page 4

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Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N Chandrababu

Naidu along with TDP MPsand MLAs met President RamNath Kovind at RashtrapatiBhavan on Tuesday and raiseddemand for Special Status forthe State. The delegationmarched from Andhra PradeshBhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavanand presented a memoran-dum to the President with 18demands, including theBifurcation Act promises andSpecial Status to the State.

“We met the President andapprised him of our demands.The Central Government hasignored the Andhra PradeshBifurcation Act promises. TheModi Government is passingthe time without releasinggrants to the State. For thedevelopment of Hyderabadthere has been a struggle for 60years and today it stands as aworld-class city,” Naidu said.

Detailed report on P5

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal ordered a magis-

terial probe and announcedcompensation of �5 lakh eachto the kin of 17 persons wholost their lives due to fire in aprivate hotel at Karol Bagh incentral Delhi. Kejriwal alongwith Home Minister SatyenderJain inspected the spot.

Jain said that prima faciehotel was operating in violationof building laws as it was hav-ing an additional fifth floorwhile only four floors areallowed as per the buildingbylaws. The Minister wrote tothe Revenue Minister, KailashGahlot for instituting a magis-terial inquiry into the matter asto how the hotel building hadmore than four floors, whetherdeliberate violations wereallowed to allow the building tooperate commercially againstbuilding bylaws and responsi-bility be fixed for lapses, whichled to such a serious andpainful incident.

“Government has ordereda magisterial enquiry to ascer-tain the cause of fire and thereasons behind it, “It is anextremely painful incident andthe cause of fire has not yetbeen ascertained. A magister-ial probe is being set-up, whichshould be able to determine thecause of fire and lapses whichcould have led to such a painfulincident. If there were viola-tions of building bylaws, thatwill also be under the ambit of

this probe. All relevant angleswill be brought under theambit of the probe,” the ChiefMinister said.

Delhi Government has alsodirected the Delhi Fire ServicesDepartment to carry out animmediate inspection of thebuildings in the area havingmore than four floors and takestrict action as per the fire safe-ty standards and guidelines toprevent recurrence of suchincidents in future.

“A bare inspection of thearea reveals that most of thebuildings in the vicinity havemore than four floors and haveapparently come up in blatantviolation of the building regu-lations and without the requi-site fire safety standards andprecautions,” said Jain.

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After the deadly fire in hotelArpit Palace in central

Delhi gobbled up 17 preciouslives and left 35 baldy injuredon Tuesday morning, AamAadmi Party (AAP) questionedthe negligence in safety mea-sures and accused the munic-ipal corporation for utter care-lessness.

“Every time there is a hor-rific incident in Delhi killinginnocent people, we talk aboutnegligence by some depart-ments, we speculate about fix-ing the responsibility, but thereis hardly any change in situa-tion. The hotel has five floorswith fibre structure on the topfloor. How did authority issuedapproval for such buildingplan? If there was no approvalissued, how could such hoteloperate? How could they getcertificate to operate fromMCD? Will Delhi ever see aCommissioner of MCD orchief of fire being suspendedfor such huge loss of innocenthuman lives?,” said SaurabhBharadwaj, AAP spokesper-son.

Adding further, he said,recently petitions committeevisited a private school named

Indian School where schoolhad constructed a totally ille-gal basement and fourth floor.As per records of MCD and firedepartment, the school doesnot have a basement or fourthfloor. The fourth floor wasmade of exactly same fibrematerial which was used inhotel of Karolbagh.

“The fire departmentfound not even single ventila-tion in basement because it wasbeing concealed from author-ities. Such is a sad state of affairsthat no action could be takenagainst the school as the elect-ed Government does not havea power to do so, but theLieutenant-Governor (L-G)who have the power do not ahave an accountability,” added

Bharadwaj. Delhi Congress president

Sheila Dikshit also demandedthe Delhi Government to con-stitute a committee to probe thefire incident at Karol Bagh inwhich 17 people including awomen and a child died.Expressing shock over the inci-dent, Sheila met the familymembers of the 18 people whodied in the major fire broke out,demanded for special enquirycommittee to be formed to findout the reasons behind theincident. “The guilty must bepunished, but the immediatetask should be to console andjoin in the grief of those fam-ilies who have lost their nearand dear ones in the fire,” shesaid.

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Facing flak for their inactionto check violations of build-

ing by-laws and preventingsuch incident, North DelhiMunicipal Corporation (NMC)Mayor Adesh Gupta hasordered an enquiry in KarolBagh fire incident to ascertainthe lapses from the civic offi-cials’ end, or Delhi FireDepartment’s end and also talkabout ensuring that such inci-dents do not recur in future.

A senior NMC official saidthat there are obvious violationsof laid-down norms, includingrunning a makeshift restauranton the rooftop. The committeewill probe the matter from allthe angles and taking previousviolations if any into account,he said.

Mayor said that theenquiry committee has beenasked to submit the report

within three days. Based on thereport action will be takenagainst civic employees if theyare found guilty of committingany lapses, he said.

As per the NMC records,the hotel building had facedaction years back under theDelhi Municipal Corporation(DMC) Act for illegal con-structions, he added.

The mayor andCommissioner Varsha Joshialso visited the site of the fireand took stock of the situation.

The civic body in its pre-liminary enquiry found that theincidence of fire occurred onthe second floor around 3.30am due to short-circuit,” theofficial said.

A Delhi Fire Service (DFS)officer said that the fifth floorwas sealed with a brick wallafter which a fire safety cer-tificate was issued but later thewall was demolished by hotelmanagement to run the rooftop

restaurant.“The fifth floor was cov-

ered with acrylic roof and was

being used as a terrace restau-rant by the hotel management.They had also made a kitchen

on the terrace with sittingarrangement for at least 60 peo-ple on roof, he said.

Again an inspection wasconducted on December 4,2017 and the owner was“deemed complied” with firesafety norms at the hotelpremises and it was declared“fit” for “occupancy class resi-dential” (guesthouse) with effectfrom December 24, 2017 for a

period of three years, he said.Soon after the incident

came in light, official of variousauthorities in the city startedthe blame and tried to pass thebuck on each other. Residentsof the adjoining areas accusedcorporation officials for failingto check repeated violations inthe area which resulted in sucha monumental tragedy. Evenafter many of such incidentsreported in past, civic author-ities have not learnt any lesson,they said.

There are more than 800hotels in the areas and many ofthem have not followedrequired safety norms and evensome of them have illegal con-struction as well, one of the res-idents said.

The hotel was first granteda licence in October 2005 andwas renewed every year. The lastlicence renewal was done onMay 25, 2018, which is valid tillMarch 31, the official said.

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Two MyanmareseBuddhist pilgrims were

killed in a massive fire in afive-storey hotel in northDelhi’s Karol Bagh onTuesday, while a womanguide accompanying themescaped death by jumping offits second floor.

The two Myanmarnationals killed in the firehave been identified as DawHla May (66), from TikegyiTownship, and Daw MyaMya Htwe (44). According toofficial at Myanmar Embassy,the two deceased were part ofa seven-member touristgroup who had come to Indiaon a Buddhist trail.

The official of MyanmarEmbassy in New Delhi alsosaid that the two pilgrimsfrom Myanmar lost theirlives and one was injured inthe fire, which killed 15 otherpeople.

“The...Team comprisingseven Myanmar pilgrims wasresiding at the hotel. Officialsfrom Myanmar Embassy inNew Delhi and Myanmarmonks are providing neces-sary assistance to the victimsat the hospital,” said the offi-cial. The group had hired a

cameraperson from BodhGaya in Bihar who also per-ished in the blaze, theembassy official said.

The injured person isreceiving treatment at theLady Hardinge Hospital hereand the rest four Myanmarcitizens are staying at the Hotel Metro View, itadded.

The embassy official said,Chan Chan, a 33-year-oldtourist guide from Myanmar,who was part of the group,“saved her life by jumping offthe second floor of the hotel”.

Chan has suffered a frac-ture in her leg and is under-going treatment at the LadyHardinge Medical Collegeand Hospital.

“The group had come toDelhi from Myanmar. Priorto visiting Delhi, they hadgone to Bodh Gaya. Thegroup was on a Buddhisttrail.

The families of thedeceased have been informedand their bodies would besent back to the countryafter completion of formali-ties,” the embassy officialsaid.

“Today, they were toleave for Varanasi,” he added.

Gyandeep, a monk help-ing the affectedMyanamarese pilgrims, saidthey were also planning tovisit the site of AshokanEdict in Kailash Hills areanear ISCKON Temple here.

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New Delhi: Finding lapses inthe functioning and safetymeasures of Hotel Aprit Palacein Central Delhi’s Karol Bagharea, wherein a massive firebroke out on Tuesday, DelhiPolice have registered a FirstInformation Report (FIR)against the management. Thefire broke out early morning onTuesday and 17 people, includ-ing a child lost their lives,

while 35 people were injured inthe incident.

“Police have registered acase under sections 304 (cul-pable homicide not amountingto murder) and 308 (attempt tocommit culpable homicide) ofthe Indian Penal Code.Conviction under both thesections leads to seven years ofimprisonment,” a senior policeofficial said. SR

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Union Minister KJ Alphonswho visited the site of the

tragedy in central Delhi’s KarolBagh locality and RamManohar Lohia (RML) hospi-tal to meet victims and condolefamilies of the deceased onTuesday alleged that the emer-gency exit of the Arpit Palacehotel, where 17 people werekilled in a fire that broke out onearly Tuesday, was “too nar-

row” and also locked. TheMinister said he was sure thatthere would be violation ofnorms.

The Union Tourism

Minister said there were a lotof wooden structures inside,which may have helped the firespread.

“When I headed to theemergency exit, I found that ithad been locked yesterday (lastnight). Also, it was too narrow,”he told reporters.

“Obviously, even if peoplecame to the emergency exit,they could not have escaped asit was too narrow and it waslocked anyway,” he said.

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Page 3: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

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India and China are leadingthe global greening effort,

which is quite contrary to thegeneral perception worldwide,a latest NASA study said,observing that the world is agreener place than it was 20years ago.

The NASA study based ondata received and analysedfrom its satellite said that Indiaand China are leading in green-ing on land. “China and Indiaaccount for one-third of thegreening but contain only 9 percent of the planet’s land areacovered in vegetation,” saidlead author Chi Chen of BostonUniversity.

“That is a surprising find-ing, considering the generalnotion of land degradation in

populous countries from overexploitation,” he said. Thestudy published on February11, in the journal NatureSustainability said that recentsatellite data (2000–2017)reveal a greening pattern thatis strikingly prominent inChina and India and overlapswith croplands world-wide.

China alone accounts for25 per cent of the global net

increase in leaf area with only6.6 per cent of global vegetat-ed area. The greening in Chinais from forests (42 per cent) andcroplands (32 per cent), but inIndia it is mostly from crop-lands (82 per cent) with minorcontribution from forests (4.4per cent), the NASA studysaid. China is engineeringambitious programmes to con-serve and expand forests withthe goal of mitigating landdegradation, air pollution andclimate change.

Food production in Chinaand India has increased by over35 per cent since 2000 mostlyowing to an increase in har-vested area through multiplecropping facilitated by fertilis-er use and surface- and/orgroundwater irrigation.

“When the greening of theEarth was first observed, wethought it was due to a warmer,wetter climate and fertilizationfrom the added carbon dioxidein the atmosphere,” said RamaNemani, a research scientist atNASA’s Ames Research Centerand a co-author of the study.

This study was made pos-sible thanks to a two-decade-long data record from theModerate Resolution ImagingSpectroradiometer (MODIS)instruments on NASA’s Terraand Aqua satellites. “Now withthe MODIS data, we see thathumans are also contributing,”she said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said his

Government will speed up thecampaign to rid the country ofthe corrupt, claiming that onlysuch people had a problemwith him while the honesttrusted the ‘chowkidar’. Modisought people’s support in thecampaign while addressing agathering here at the “SwachhShakti 2019”, an event to recog-nise the leadership role playedby rural women in theSwachchh Bharat Missiontowards achieving a clean andopen defecation free (ODF)country by October 2 this year.

The PM also inauguratedand laid the foundation stonefor six projects, including theNational Cancer Institute inJhajjar, Shri Krishna Ayush uni-versity in Kurukshetra and ESICMedical College and Hospital atFaridabad from here.

“In 2014, you gave yourvotes for an honest and trans-parent Government.Middlemen and those whosnatched rights of poor havebeen eradicated from the sys-tem,” Modi told the gathering.

“Every honest person inthe country trusts this ‘chowki-dar’ (watchman), but thosewho are corrupt, have a prob-lem with Modi,” he said.

Modi said some people in

Haryana are worried over theongoing investigations by probeagencies against them.

“Even in Haryana, you arewitnessing how some peopleare worried because of probe byinvestigating agencies,” he saidwithout naming anyone.

There are investigationsagainst former Haryana ChiefMinister Bhupinder SinghHooda and Congress presi-

dent Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra for allegedirregularities in land deals inthe State.

The Prime Minister alsomocked the Opposition’s pro-posed grand alliance as “maha-milawat”, saying all the faces inthis are indulging in threaten-ing and abusing Modi.

“All the faces of this ‘maha-milawat’ are indulging in com-

petition of threatening andabusing investigating agencies,court and Modi,” he said whileassuring that “this ‘chowkidar’will neither be threatened orbrowbeaten with their threatsand abuses, will neither stopnor bow down”.

“Our ‘safai’ campaign to ridthis country of the corrupt andthe dirt is going to be furtherspeeded up. For this campaign,your blessings should contin-ue,” the PM said.

The ‘Swachchh Shakti2019’ event partaken by Modiwas attended by over 15,000woman sarpanchs and womenacross the country and thestate associated with the‘Swachchhta’ campaign.

Referring to ‘Battles ofPanipat Museum’, the founda-tion stone for which was laid byhim, Modi, in a veiled attack onthe Nehru-Gandhi family, said,“Some people think that coun-try’s history started from 1947and that too with a single fam-ily and this has cut the coun-try from the roots of history.”

On his f lagship pro-gramme of constructing toiletsacross the country, he saidthere had been people who hadmocked him for speakingabout it from the ramparts ofthe Red Fort. “At that timethose who were in power ear-lier mocked me, criticised me,called me names, and asked

what kind of PM I am for hav-ing spoken about toilet fromthe Red Fort, but those werepeople who had no concern forthe problem and pain ofwomen of the country,” Modisaid.

He, however, said that hewill continue with his efforts,adding “the taunts of thoseborn with gold spoon do notaffect me”.

Modi said 10 crore toiletshave been constructed in thelast over four years, as he calledupon people to ensure they areused so that there is no opendefecation. The PM said a largenumber of women in ruralareas were working hard toensure cleanliness and creditedthem for being on the forefrontof the Swachchhta campaign.

Modi also hailed the effortsof authorities concerned inensuring cleanliness in theongoing Kumbh Mela, a megaevent which has been visited bycrores of people from India andabroad, in Allahabad.

He said 5.5 lakh villages in600 cities have turned ODF,adding that the Swachchatacampaign is not only helpingwomen get rid of embarrass-ment and pain but also turningout to be a mode of employ-ment generation. As per esti-mates, almost 45 lakh peoplegot employment opportunitiesunder this campaign, he said.

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New Delhi: The EnvironmentMinistry on Tuesday found sup-porters in international organisation BloombergPhilanthropies and Delhi-basedthink-tank TERI on resolving airquality issues under the NationalClean Air Programme (NCAP).

An initiative launched atthe World SustainableDevelopment Summit (WSDS),organised by The Energy andResources Institute (TERI),would help mitigate air pollu-tion — both at the nationallevel and in a group of Indiancities — a Press note issued bythe TERI said.

The Government has col-

laborated with the TERI,Bloomberg Philanthropies andShakti Sustainable EnergyFoundation, aiming to bringtogether research and civilsociety organisations to offertechnical assistance on air qual-ity issues in support of theNCAP. “The joint project willhelp address and mitigate airpollution, both at the nationallevel and in a group of Indiancities, by working to developbetter understanding andawareness of the sources of airpollution through emissionsinventories and source appor-tionment studies,” the state-ment said. PTI

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AMiG-27 fighter aircraft ofthe Indian Air Force crashed

on Tuesday in Eta village inPokaran tehsil of Rajasthan’sJaisalmer district, a defence offi-cial said. The pilot ejected safe-ly, Defence spokesperson ColSombit Ghosh said.

“A MiG 27 aircraft air-borne from Jaisalmer crashedduring a routine mission todayevening. Pilot ejected safely. ACourt of Inquiry will investi-gate the cause of the accident,”Ghosh said. Jaisalmer SP KiranKang said no casualty has beenreported so far, and a policeteam is in touch with Air Forceofficials. She said a police teamrushed to the spot.

A few hours before theaccident, in Delhi, IAF’s ViceChief Air Marshal Anil Khosla,during an interaction withreporters, had said that life ofa pilot is the most important,and then other factors comelower in priority list.

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Bengaluru: The stand-offbetween the Government andthe Opposition continued inthe Karnataka Assembly onTuesday over an SIT probe intoan audio clip showing BJPchief B S Yeddyurappa in a pur-ported conversation to lure aJD(S) MLA in his allegedattempt to topple the Congress-JDS Government.

Kumaraswamy on Mondayhad announced a comprehen-sive SIT probe into the audioclip. He had accepted an“advice” by an emotionalSpeaker Ramesh Kumar to con-stitute SIT to probe the episodeto “establish the truth” as hisname has also been dragged

with the charge that he hadbeen “booked” for Rs 50 crore.

During an intervention inthe discussions on Tuesday, theSpeaker, pointing to repeatedreference to charges againsthim said his “situation was likethat of a rape victim, as they tooare supposedly questionedabout the incident repeatedly.”

The Speaker called for ameeting of floor leaders onWednesday to resolve the issue,as the BJP stuck to its strongopposition to the SIT, saying itcould be used for “politicalvengeance.”

He decided to convene themeeting at the end of the daylong discussion on the issue for

the second consecutive day inthe Assembly, with both theruling Congress-JD(S) coali-tion and the Opposition BJPrefusing to budge from theirpositions.

“Let’s discuss and try tofind a solution,” the Speakerannounced as he adjourned theassembly proceedings toWednesday morning. TheSpeaker’s decision came afterYeddyurappa, the leader of theOpposition, pointed out thatno effort was made by theChair to seek the opinion of theopposition before deciding onthe investigation agency toinquire into the case.

PTI

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From Page 1Thirteen of the bodies were

taken to Ram Manohar LohiaHospital, two to Lady HardingeHospital and two to BLK hos-pital,” said a senior police offi-cial.

“The deceased have beenidentified as Suresh Kumar(IRS), Evs Chalpathi Rao (52),Vidya Sagar (60), Nalini (84),Arvind (50), Rabia Menon(50), Pranav Kumar Bhaskar(32), Tara Chand (43) and TunHla Sein (32) and Dawmla May(67) both Myanmar nationalswhereas five bodies are yet tobe identified,” said the seniorpolice official.

“A majority of the deathstook place due to asphyxiationwhile there were some whosuccumbed to their burns.Some used fire extinguisherswere found suggesting peopletrapped inside tried to dousethe flames in a bid to escape.But escape may have beenalmost impossible,” the seniorpolice official added.

Mandeep SinghRandhawa, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Central district saidthat a First Information Report(FIR) has been registeredagainst the management ofHotel Aprit Palace.

“The case has been regis-tered under Section 304 (cul-pable homicide not amountingto murder) and 308 (attempt tocommit culpable homicide) ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC).Conviction under both thesections leads to seven years ofimprisonment, the DCP said.

For Somshekhar fromErnakulam in Kerala, whosesister was the first one to alertthem to the smoke and hasbeen missing since, it has beena nightmare without end.

The family had come toattend a wedding in Ghaziabadand was getting ready to go toHaridwar when the fire start-ed. His sister rushed out tocheck what was happening andthat’s the last he saw her.

“The entire pathway wasfull of smoke. My mother andbrother were along with my sis-ter at the time. I immediatelycame to the room and openedit for fresh air and we managedto escape. We were on the sec-ond floor of the hotel,” he said.

A busy commercial centrecriss-crossed by narrow alleyswhere electric wires dangleoverhead, Karol Bagh housesaround 800 hotels and is usu-ally packed with tourists andshoppers. According to peoplein the area, the hotel was put upfor auction by a State-run bankat a reserve price of Rs 27 croreon December 31, 2018.

Prime Minister NarendraModi was among those whocondoled the loss of lives.“Deeply saddened by the loss oflives due to a fire at Karol Baghin Delhi. I convey my condo-lences to the families of thosewho lost their lives,” he tweet-ed.

Putting blame on Hotelauthorities, Union TourismMinister KJ Alphons said thatthe emergency exit was “toonarrow” and also locked.“There were also a lot of wood-en structures which may havehelped the flames spread,” headded.

The Minister who visitedthe site and RML Hospitalsaid that the emergency exitwas locked at night.

Indicating another prob-

lem area, Sandip Khandelwal,president of the Delhi Hoteland Restaurants OwnersAssociation, claimed fire ten-ders reached 15-20 minutes latebecause the area was barricad-ed for security purposes atnight and fire tenders had totake a longer route to reach thehotel.

Taking a serious note of theincident, the DelhiGovernment ordered a magis-terial probe. Home MinisterSatyendar Jain said he has alsodirected the fire department toinspect buildings which arefive floors or more and submita report on their fire safetycompliance within a week.Action will be taken againstthose found guilty,” he said.

The hotel was first granteda licence in October 2005 andwas renewed every year. Thelast time it was renewed onMay 25, 2018 and was valid tillMarch 31.

Following the incident,North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC) MayorAdesh Gupta has ordered anenquiry to ascertain the lapsesin Karol Bagh fire incident.Gupta said that the enquirycommittee has been set up toprobe the matter and the reportwill be submitted within threedays. Based on the reportaction will be taken againstthose found guilty, he said.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal announcedRs 5 lakh compensation for thenext of kin of those killed. “Itis a very tragic incident. Itseems that there may havebeen some lapses. A magister-ial probe has been ordered toinvestigate the cause of the inci-dent,” he said.

The Delhi Governmentalso cancelled its fourthanniversary celebrations inview of the tragedy.

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From Page 1According to Manikandan’s

petition, without hearing him,in 2015 the State Bar Councilsuspended him from practic-ing, and in February 2018, BarCouncil of India imposed a lifeban on him.

In his 206-page petition,the advocate details his fightsagainst corruptions in police,bureaucracy and judiciary andclaimed he was punished by theBCI for this very reason. “Thusit is crystal clear that in order toprotect the criminals and lawyersinvolved in the illegal framing ofPuducherry’s Chief JudgeRamaswamy and also to protectthe murder case approver frombeing committed to trial in the2004 Sankararaman murder caseand to thwart an appeal againstthe acquittals, their erstwhilecounsel PN Prakash (now judgeof the High Court of Madras) hasbeen consistently misusing hisjudicial office in league with oth-ers, and had the appellant ex-communicated from India’s lawcourts without any allegations,and without any due process bymeans of an unjust disciplinaryproceeding judgment,” saidManikandan in his petitionagainst Bar Council of India forimposing life ban on his career.

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The CJI told the AttorneyGeneral “Let us be very clearthat I don’t think any of us haveas judges had the opportunityto invoke the jurisdiction of thecontempt”. “We are and I cansay I have not invoked the con-tempt powers and punishedanyone. Speaking for myself Ican say I have not invoked con-tempt power in the last 20years. However, the dignityand majesty of the court has tobe maintained,” the CJI noted.

“But this is brazen”, the CJIsaid, adding he was of the“firm view” that “the majesty ofjudiciary” has to be main-tained. At this moment, theAttorney General said, “To erris human, to forgive is divine.”

The Bench said the officershave committed the contemptand asked, “Why a contemnorshould be defended atGovernment expenses?”

Rao did not even seek“post facto” approval of theapex court to the decision fortwo weeks,” the Bench said.Rejecting the defence of thetwo officers, the Bench saidthough they have tendered anunconditional and unqualifiedapology, “we don’t agree withthe contentions raised by them”.

Rao’s “attitude is ‘I havedone what I thought wasrequired’,” the Bench said. “Thisis a blatant contempt of court.If this is not contempt of courtthen what is,” asked the Bench.

The court had on February7 come down heavily on theCBI for transferring Sharmaout of the agency in violationof the court’s order. It had alsotaken note of the violation oftwo earlier orders and issuedcontempt notice to Rao.

From Page 1Rahul Gandhi released to

the media an email datedMarch 28, 2015 purportedlywritten by Airbus executiveNicolas Chamussy to threerecipients with the subject line“Ambani”. He claimed the emailshowed Ambani visited thenFrench Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s office andmentioned an “MoU in prepa-ration and the intention tosign during the PM visit (toFrance)”.

The Congress presidentasked how Ambani knew aboutthe deal and mentioned it inthe French Defence Minister’soffice when even then ForeignSecretary S Jaishankar andthen Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar had noinformation on it. TheCongress president also reject-ed the Comptroller andAuditor General report on theRafale deal, and dubbed it“Chowkidar Auditor General”report.

“This is a breach of theOfficial Secrets Act. The PrimeMinister who is the only otherperson who knows about thedeal has informed Anil Ambaniabout the deal. The PrimeMinister is acting as AnilAmbani’s middleman,” Rahulalleged and called for a crimi-nal investigation into the mat-ter.

According to Rahul, it wasearlier an issue of corruption,of procedural inconsistenciesbut was now a matter related tothe Official Secrets Act which he said was “much moreserious”.

“This is now treason, noth-ing less. Mr Narendra Modi isdoing what spies do. He isinforming somebody ofdefence matters, he is underoath to protect these secrets. Hehas now given this secret to MrAnil Ambani who knows thatthe biggest defence deal in theworld is going to him 10 daysbefore the deal...This itself iscriminal, this itself will put thePrime Minister in jail,” theCongress chief said.

At the Press conference atAICC, Rahul reiterated thatthere will no doubt in any-body’s mind that the PrimeMinister is a “corrupt man” andhe has helped Anil Ambani. Heread out the email to the mediaquoting it as saying thatAmbani visited the FrenchDefence Minister’s office and“told them he intends to workwith AH (Airbus Helicopters)on commercial helos and thenon defence. Mentioned (an)MoU in preparation and theintention to sign during the PMvisit”.

“This is literally handingover a defence secret...ThePrime Minister has compro-

mised national security. Hehas done what a spy does. Hehas given defence informationto a person who is not sup-posed to have it,” Rahul alleged.

Reacting to the Congressallegations, Anil Ambani’sgroup said the discussion onproposed MoU was clearlywith reference to cooperationbetween Airbus Helicopter andReliance. “It had no connectionwhatsoever with Governmentto Government Agreementbetween France and India for36 Rafale aircraft. It is in pub-lic domain that AirbusHelicopter has partnered withMahindra for the MilitaryHelicopter Programme,” theReliance Defence spokespersonsaid.

“Purported email beingreferred by the Congress Partyis regarding the discussionbetween Airbus and RelianceDefence regarding Civil &Defence HelicopterProgrammes under ‘Make inIndia’,” said the RelianceDefence spokesperson in astatement.

“Also, for the record, theMoU for Rafale aircraft wassigned between France andIndia on January 25 2016 andnot in April 2015. From theabove, it is evident that the factsare being deliberately twistedand reality being ignored,” thecompany said.

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Page 5: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

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Aday after his fast for thecause, Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu on Tuesday took hisfight for special status to theState to the Rashtrapati Bhawanas he along with TDP MPs andMLAs met President RamnathKovind and took up the issuewith him.

The delegation marchedfrom Andhra Pradesh Bhavanto Rashtrapati Bhavan and pre-sented a memorandum to thePresident with 18 demands,including the Bifurcation Actpromises and special status tothe State.

“We met the Presidentand apprised him of ourdemands. The CentralGovernment has ignored theAndhra Pradesh bifurcationact promises. Modi govern-ment is passing the time with-out releasing grants to thestate. For the development ofHyderabad there has been astruggle for 60 years and todayit stands as a world-class city.On seeing the injustice done to

Andhra Pradesh many peoplewent into depression andrecently a physically chal-lenged man Arjun Rao hascommitted suicide over thespecial status not being grant-ed to the State,” Naidu said ata press conference.

Naidu said that through a

memorandum he informed thePresident that the Central gov-ernment has failed to fill the rev-enue deficit gap. He also com-plained to President that it wasdecided in the parliament toaccord special category status toAP but the BJP Government hasfailed to fulfill the demand so

far. The delegation complainedto President over the neglect infulfilment of state bifurcationassurances.

Bringing his battle for spe-cial status for his state to thenational Capital, Naidu onMonday went on a daylong fastthat became a rallying point for

opposition unity for the secondtime in less than a month totake on the BJP ahead of theLok Sabha polls.

Naidu, who is trying tounite opposition parties, hasover the last three months helda number of meetings withopposition party leaders onforming an anti-BJP front. TheTDP pulled out of the NDAgovernment in March last yearover its refusal to grant specialstatus to Andhra Pradesh.

He said that a possibility ofpre poll alliance with oppositionparties cannot be ruled out.

“Nothing is decided yet butpossibility of a pre poll alliancewith opposition parties cannotbe ruled out,” Naidu said at Pressconference. Naidu further saidwhile entire nation extendedsolidarity for ‘dharma poratadeeksha’, the YSR Congressfailed to extend support.

Demanding that theCentre fulfil promises madeduring Andhra Pradesh’s bifur-cation in 2014, the TDP pres-ident has been alleging thatModi was not following ‘rajdharma’ by denying the statespecial status.

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Pressing with its demand forconstitution of a Joint

Parliamentary Committee toprobe Rafale fighter jet deal, theCongress Tuesday staged awalkout in the Lok Sabha whenGovernment refused torespond to it.

Alleging corruption,Congress leader MallikarjunKharge said that a JPC alonecould detail out all the facts ofthe controversial Rafale dealwith France.

He also demanded discus-sion on the issue to which theSpeaker said a debate had

already taken place in the House.Kharge said the CAG

report on defence was tabledbefore the Rajya Sabha and was“leaked”. He said the report wasnot tabled before Lok Sabha.

Mahajan said the reportswere tabled before the LokSabha, in an apparent referenceto P Radhakrishnan tablingthree CAG reports, includingone on defence services.

Intervening in the matter,Home Minister Rajnath Singhsaid the issue of Rafale has beendiscussed in the House andeven the Supreme Court hasgiven its judgement on it.

At this state an agitated

Kharge asked loudly, “What isthis? We want JPC”.

“I will allow you to speakwhen the time will come. Nowsit down. You have shouted alot. Give your throat somerest,” she said.

With this, Kharge sat downbut said, “If you don’t allow us tospeak, why should we be here”.

UPA Chairperson SoniaGandhi, who was sitting next toKharge, nodded in support.

Kharge soon nudged otherCongress MPs to restart theprotests and they immediatelytrooped into the well, carryingplacards and shouting slogansseeking JPC on the Rafale deal.

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Union Minister Arun JaitleyTuesday accused the

Congress of peddling “lies” onthe Rafale deal to save a “sink-ing dynasty” and manufactur-ing a new falsehood every day.

The latest lie from theCongress, the finance ministersaid is in relation to the presentComptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) and “his par-ticipation in the decision mak-ing process of Rafale.”

Jaitley, in a Facebook post,dismissed allegations of conflictof interest of CAG RajivMehrishi saying he never dealtwith any file or paper relatingto the fighter jet deal during histenure in the Finance Ministryin 2014-15.

“How many more lies willbe peddled to sustain a sinkingdynast? India, certainlydeserves better,” Jaitley said ina Facebook post titled ‘HowMany Lies Need to be Peddledto Sustain a Sinking Dynasty?’.

Congress President RahulGandhi has dismissed the CAGreport on the Rafale deal as“Chowkidar Auditor General”report

Stating that the contagioneffect of falsehood is fairlylarge, Jaitley said the lies spreadby the Congress have spread toother colleagues in the

“Mahajhootbandhan”.“In relation to the Rafale

deal where thousands of croresof public money has beensaved, a new falsehood is man-ufactured on a daily basis. Thelatest is in relation to the pre-sent CAG and his participationin the decision making processof Rafale,” Jaitley said.

In 2014-15, present CAGMehrishi was Economic AffairsSecretary in the FinanceMinistry, and being the seniormost bureaucrat was also des-ignated as the Finance Secretary.

“I say this without fear ofcontradiction that no file orpaper relating to the Rafaletransaction ever reached himnor was he in any way, direct-ly or indirectly, associated withthe decision making on defencepurchases. Expenditure to beincurred on purchases by var-ious departments of theGovernment needs theapproval of Secretary(Expenditure),” he said.

Asking as to why then a liein relation to the CAG havinga non-existent conflict of inter-est is being raised, Jaitley said“the dynast knows that his 500crore vs 1600 crore kinder-garten argument was a fictionalstory. No one would ever buyit because facts don’t support it.Even before the contents ofCAG report are known, a

‘Peshbandi’ attack on the insti-tution of the CAG is launched,”Jaitley said.

Without naming Rahul ,Jaitley said “the dynast” and hisfriends have in the past evenattacked the Supreme Courtwhen it rejected the writ peti-tion on Rafale.

He said the entire pricingargument of the Congress wasfactually wrong and the pro-cedure argument that therewas no Defence AcquisitionCouncil, no CCS, no ContractNegotiation Committee was ablatant lie.

“The �30,000 crore favourto a private company is non-exis-tent. The use of sliced documentby a newspaper is unprecedent-ed in the history. The use of anincomplete document is cer-tainly not in consonance with thespirit of free speech.

“The ‘no integrity pact’argument is belied by the factthat even in earlier purchasesthrough inter-governmentalagreement with Russia and theUnited States, such pacts werenot there. Now without a shredof evidence, a fictional conflictof interest of the CAG is invent-ed,” he said.

Jaitley said truth is bothprecious and sacrosanct and inmature democracies those whodeliberately rely on falsehoodare banished from public life.

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Robert Vadra, Congress president RahulGandhi’s brother-in-law, and his mother

Maureen appeared before the EnforcementDirectorate’s office in Jaipur for questioningin connection with the probe into the Bikanerland scam case.

Newly-appointed AICC general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra dropped them off atthe ED’s zonal office in Jaipur. Priyanka tooktime off from her four-day Uttar Pradesh tripin a show of solidarity with her husband.

Vadra took to the Facebook to accused theNarendra Modi Government of being vin-dictive in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.

This was Vadra’s first appearance beforethe ED in Jaipur in connection with chargesof money laundering through land deals madeby a company linked to him.

Earlier, Vadra was asked by the RajasthanHigh Court to cooperate with the agency.

Vadra’s Jaipur appearance follows soonafter he faced ED questioning for three daysin Delhi on charges of money laundering ina separate case relating to assets in London.

Vadra is also facing charges of irregularland deals in Gurugram district of Haryana.

His mother, Maureen Vadra was allowed togo after some time. Vadra was permitted to leavearound 1.30 pm for an hour-long lunch break.

Before the grillingbegun, Vadra accusedthe government of harassing his elderly

mother by putting her through it.“As I always have adhered to rules and

overall being a disciplined person, I have theability to sustain any amount of hours of ques-tioning and having nothing to hide, I willanswer every question with respect and dig-nity. This too shall pass and will make mestronger,” Vadra said.

“So here we are—my 75-year-old moth-er and me in Jaipur— to depose in front of theED. Not understanding the lows of this vin-dictive government to be harassing a seniorcitizen, who the world knows has lost herdaughter in a car crash, her ailing son to dia-betes, and her husband as well,” he posted.

In the Bikaner case, the agency had sum-moned Vadra thrice but he failed to appearbefore it. The Rajasthan High Court asked himand his mother to cooperate with the ED afterthey approached the court seeking directionsthat no coercive action is taken against themby the AGENCY.

The ED had registered a case underPrevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)in connection with the deal in 2015, takingcognisance of a clutch of FIRs andchargesheets filed by the Rajasthan police afterthe Bikaner tehsildar complained aboutalleged forgery in land allotment.

Sources said Vadra was quizzed over hislinks with the Skylight Hospitality PrivateLimited, the firm at the centre of the dubiousland deals.

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The Rajya Sabha on Tuesdaywas marred by disruptions

and adjournments followingprotests by the SP and otheropposition members overreported stopping of SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav at the Lucknowairport to prevent him from afunction at the AllahabadUniversity. The morning ses-sion of the Upper House wasfunctioning smoothly whenSP leader Ramgopal Yadavtried to raise the issue.Chairman M Venkaiah Naidudid not allow him leading toprotests forcing the Chair toadjourn the house. Similarscenes were witnessed in theafternoon before it wasadjourned for the day.

The trouble started in thefirst half after as many as 15members had made Zero Hourmention on matters of publicimportance. In fact, Leader ofOpposition Ghulam Nabi Azadsaid the government and theopposition had the constitu-

tional obligation of passingthe motion of thanks to thePresident’s address and thegeneral budget. He urged all toparticipate in the discussion asonly two days were left beforethe budget session ends onWednesday.

It set the tone with mem-

bers from various parties flag-ging issues of public impor-tance. However, after abouthalf an hour SP members triedto raise the issue of their chiefgetting stopped at the Lucknowairport and Naidu saying hecannot allow them to raise theissue as they have not given

notice. But the agitated SPmembers did not relent andNaidu then adjourned thehouse till two pm.

Akhilesh Yadav wasstopped at Chaudhary CharanSingh International Airport inLucknow by police in a bid toprevent him from visiting

Allahabad to attend an oath-taking ceremony of a studentleader at

Allahabad University, SPmembers said. Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathhad told reporters in Lucknowthat the step was taken on therequest of the university asthere was apprehension thatYadav’s visit could trigger vio-lence on the campus.

When the Rajya Sabha re-assembled at two pm, membersof SP, BSP, TMC and RJD con-tinued their protests followingwhich the House was adjournedtill 2:35 PM. As soon as theHouse met again at 2:35 PM,members from various opposi-tion parties trooped into theWell protesting against the inci-dent involving Akhilesh Yadav.

Deputy ChairmanHarivansh tried to pacify themembers and urged them to goback to their seats.

However, opposition mem-bers did not oblige him andcontinued their protests, fol-lowing which he adjournedthe house till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the governmentintroduced two bills - theInternational Financial ServicesCenter Authority Bill 2019 andCinematography (amendment)Bill 2019. International FinancialServices Center Authority Bill2019 was moved by Minister ofState for Finance Shiv PratapShukla. The Cinematography(amendment) bill 2019 wasmoved by Information andBroadcasting MinisterRajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

Earlier in the day whilewelcoming Azad’s plea forsmooth functioning of thehouse, Minister of State forParliamentary Affairs VijayGoel said the government wasagreeable to the suggestion ofdiscussion the Motion ofThanks and the budget. “Wecan extend the session if thereis an agreement in the House”to discuss the six bills that arelisted for taking up after theMotion of Thanks is passedand the Budget approved, hesaid. However, his suggestiondid not seem to have foundfavour with members.

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Even as political slugfest is onover media reports that the

Government waived off someclauses of anti-corruptionpenalties and sovereign guar-antee in the �58,000 croreRafale fighter jet deal withFrance, top IAF officers saidhere on Tuesday the S-400missile defence system dealworth over �45,000 crore withRussia does not have a “sover-eign guarantee” as the processof inter-Government agree-ments with countries likeRussia and the US are already“streamlined.”

This assertion came at atime when a political contro-versy erupted over a mediareport about Indian govern-ment having made conces-sions by allegedly droppingsome key clauses relating toanti-corruption penalties andsovereign guarantee in the con-troversy-hit Rafale deal. Whileopposition parties led by theCongress raised questionsabout such clauses having beendropped, the ruling BJP and thegovernment rejected corrup-tion allegations.

In a bid a clear the air onthe issue while replying to aquestion here during a pressinteraction on the IAF’s firepower demonstration VayuShakti 2019 at Pokhran rangeslater this week, Air Marshal VR Chaudhari, Deputy Chief ofthe Air Staff, said, “There is nosovereign guarantee in the S-400 deal with Russia.”

IAF’s Vice Chief AirMarshal Anil Khosla said, “Wehave had a lot of acquisitionsfrom Russians and Americansearlier. The process of the gov-ernment-to-government agree-

ment with Russia and America are generally

already streamlined, or shouldI say evolved. With othercountries, it may not haveevolved, as the government-to-government (agreement)...May have been the first or justinitiated,” he said.

The Hindu newspaper hadreported on Monday that themulti-billion dollar Rafale dealsaw critical provisions relatingto anti-corruption penalties,sovereign guarantees and mak-ing payments through anescrow account being droppeddays before the signing of theinter-governmental agreement(IGA) in 2016.

The newspaper also saidthis was significant because thegovernment also chose to doaway with a sovereign or bankguarantee from France andsettled for a letter of comfort,which is not legally binding,from the French PrimeMinister.

The S-400 deal was inkedby India with Russia in Octoberlast year to procure a batch ofthe missile systems. Indiawent ahead to seal the dealdespite sanction warnings fromthe US. Russia in January hadsaid there will be no delays indelivery of the S-400 airdefence systems to India and apayment mechanism for thedeal is being worked out

Russian Deputy ForeignMinister Sergei Ryabkov, duringhis India visit had said the mis-sile systems will significantlyenhance India’s air defencecapability. The governmenthad informed Lok Sabha earli-er this year that it will startreceiving the missile systemsfrom Russia from October 2020and the deliveries will be com-pleted by April 2023.

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The Defence Ministry on Tuesdayissues expression of interest for

short listing of potential Indian and for-eign original equipment manufactur-ers(OEM) for 111 naval utility heli-copters. This project is the first underthe Strategic Partnership to build stateof the art weapon platforms within thecountry. The Defence AcquisitionCouncil(DAC) had given the nod forthe project in August last year.

The proposed new twin-enginehelicopters will replace the ageingChetak single engine helicopters of theNavy. The new helicopters will be usedfor search and rescue missions and casu-alty evacuations, navy officials saidhere on Tuesday. Moreover, 95 heli-copters out of the 111 will be manu-factured in India by the selected Indianselected partners. The global tender wasfloated last year and four foreign com-panies were found fitting the bill. Theywill now respond to the expression ofinterest catering to specific requirementsof the Indian Navy, they said.

The request for expression ofinterest from Indian private compa-nies for participating in the project hasbeen hosted on the defence ministry

and Indian Navy websites. However,the equest for Expression of Interestfrom foreign OEMs has been for-warded to companies that participat-ed in the global tender deliberations.The OEMs have been mandated to setup dedicated manufacturing line,including design, integration andmanufacturing processes for heli-copters in India and make IndianManufacturing Line as a global exclu-sive facility for the naval utility heli-copter platform being offered.

Whilst Indian companies havebeen given two months to respond tothe expression of interest, the foreignOEMs have been given three months.Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, MahindraDefence, Adani Defence, L&T, BharatForge and Reliance Infrastructure are theprobable Indian companies that are like-ly to participate in the process. TheIndian companies would be shortlistedbased on their capability of system ofsystem integration, facility in the aero-space domain and financial capability.

The foreign OEMs likely to par-ticipate in the project are LockheedMartin, Airbus Helicopters, BellHelicopters and Russia. High level ofindigenisation of about 60% of thehelicopter is desired, they said.

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In a significant development, theSupreme Court Tuesday referred the

controversy over minority status forAligarh Muslim University to a 7-judgebench, which will also lay down parame-ters for granting the tag to an education-al institution.

A three-judge bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi agreed with the sub-mission of the AMU that the correctnessof the 2006 judgement of the AllahabadHigh Court, by which the minority tag tothe university was taken away, needs to beexamined in detail.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan,appearing for AMU, submitted that theissue involved in the matter was importantas the apex court in its 7-judge benchjudgement in the TMA Pai case in 2002did not deal with the aspect as to whatshould be the requirement for establish-ing a minority institution.

Since that question was not answeredin the TMA Pai case which dealt with var-ious issues concerning the minority insti-tution, there was a need to examine it, hesaid.

Taking note of the submission, thebench, also comprising Justices LNageswara Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, saidthe issue needs to be decided and referredthe matter to the seven-judge bench.

Besides AMU, the then UPA

Government also filed an appeal againstthe 2006 verdict of the Allahabad HighCourt holding that the varsity was not aminority institution.

The BJP government at the Centre hadin 2016 told the apex court that it will with-draw the appeal filed by the erstwhile UPAgovernment as “the previous stand (of theUPA government) was wrong”.

It said a five-judge Constitution benchin 1968 in the Aziz Basha case had heldthat AMU was a “Central university” andnot a minority institution. It maintainedthat AMU was not a minority institutionas it was set up the government and notby Muslims.

After the 1968 verdict, the AMU(Amendment) Act, 1972 and thereafter1981 came into force.

The Allahabad High Court had inJanuary 2006 struck down the provision ofthe 1981 amendment Act by which the uni-versity was accorded the minority status.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Tuesday lashed out at the BJPleadership for stopping for-mer UP Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav from proceed-ing to Prayagraj saying thesaffron party had lost its sens-es before its destruction.

Banerjee who left for Delhifor joining the dharna beingstaged in the national Capitalby her Andhra Pradesh coun-terpart Chandrababu Naidu,said “the recent incidents showhow intolerant the BJP hasbecome. They have lost theirsenses.”

Calling the UP incident asan attack on the democracy,Banerjee said it was not only the

destruction of democracy, but“vinash kaley buddhi nash (adestruction of the BJP’s sensesbefore its own destruction).”

The people were watchingthe developments and they

were prudent enough to give abefitting reply when the timecomes, she said. “The peopleare watching and the BJP willget a befitting reply from them,”she said.

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Jaipur: The Gujjar communityagitation for five per cent reser-vation in jobs and educationentered its fifth day on Tuesday,with protesters blocking Chaksutown, about 40 km from here onNational Highway 52, policesaid.

The blockades on the Agra-Jaipur-Bikaner NationalHighway-11 in Dausa district,state highway in Nainwa ofBundi district, Malarna road inSawai Madhopur and theKarauli-Hindaun road at Budlavillage in Karauli district con-tinued from the previous day.

“Apart from the routes thatwere blocked till yesterday, agi-tators have laid a blockade inChaksu town of Jaipur district.No untoward incident has beenreported so far. Law and ordersituation is under control,”Director General of Police (Lawand Order) M L Lathar said.

The North Western Railwayinformed through a bulletin that

three trains were cancelled andtwo diverted on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Gujjar leadershave refused to back-off fromthe tracks and roads.

“We have not received anycommunication from the StateGovernment so far. Dharnawill continue,” Vijay Bainsla, sonof Gujjar leader Kirori SinghBainsla, said.

Gujjar agitation leaderKirori Bainsla and his support-ers began their indefinite sit-inon railway tracks in MalarnaDungar of Sawai Madhopur

on Friday evening.Bainsla has stuck to the

demand of five per sent reser-vation for the Gujjar, Raika-Rebari, Gadia Luhar, Banjaraand the Gadaria communities,and has to refused to move fromthe tracks until the same is metthrough an official announce-ment. A State Government del-egation, including TourismMinister Vishvendra Singh andIAS officer Neeraj K Pawan, hadheld talks with the protestors onSaturday but failed to come toan agreement. PTI

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Kolkata: Former TrinamoolCongress (TMC) MP KunalGhosh, who was jointly ques-tioned with Kolkata PoliceCommissioner Rajeev Kumarby the CBI in connection withthe Saradha chit fund scam,wrote to the probe agency onTuesday, accusing the toppolice officer of tamperingwith the new evidence that hasemerged in the case in Shillong.

Ghosh, whose two-dayquestioning ended on Monday,demanded that he should joint-ly be interrogated withBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader Mukul Roy as it mightbe helpful for the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI).

“I have written a letter tothe CBI, where I have categor-ically accused Kolkata PoliceCommissioner Rajeev Kumarof tampering with the evi-dence that has emerged in the

chit fund case during the jointquestioning with me inShillong.

“Kumar is leaking whatev-er I had said during the jointinterrogation with him (atShillong) and is instructinghis subordinate officers to tam-per with that evidence. I havereceived information regardingit. I request the CBI to takeimmediate action so that thetampering of evidence isstopped,” Ghosh told PTI.

When contacted, KolkataPolice officials said they wereyet to receive any query fromthe central probe agency. “If weget any (query from CBI), wewill answer it,” a senior KolkataPolice official said.

Ghosh claimed that sever-al key persons were still out ofthe purview of the CBI inves-tigation into the multi-crore-rupee scam. PTI

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With increasing number oflower and middle rung

Trinamool Congress leadersbeing attacked by unknownassailants, the Bengal police hasdecided to review the securityof all the State TMC leaders,sources said.

At least five TMC organis-ers, including an MLA fromNadia district, have beenbumped off in the last onemonth. While the TMC lead-ership have pointed its fingersat the killers backed by the BJPand RSS. The latter haveaccused the vicious interestgrouping within the Bengalruling outfit.

“We have lost at least five

small and middle rung leadersin the past 4-5 weeks,” a TMCMLA from North 24 Parganasaid adding he too was facingthreat to his life from the sus-pected undercover saffronoperatives.

He has written to theSuperintendent of Police forreviewing his security, the pan-icked leader said adding “Ihave one security personnel. Ihave asked for one more as they(the assailants) are emergingfrom nowhere and coming ingroups.”

At the senior level policesources said they had decidedto review the security of MLAs,MPs and even the Ministers,particularly from NorthBengal. In South Bengal too the

leaders’ security were likely tobe reviewed particularly inHooghly, East and WestMidnapore, two 24 Parganasand Nadia, sources said.

While unknown assailantson Saturday evening shot deadSatyajit Biswas a vocal andactive TMC MLA and organ-iser from Ranaghat-Hanskhaliregion of Nadia a formerblock president Ajit Panditwas dealt near fatal injury atKeshpur in West Midnaporeon Monday. His brotherNanda Pandit was literallylynched while.

Miles away on the sameday in Hooghly the policerecovered the body of RiteshRoy a popular TMC leaderfrom Kanthi. Roy’s body was

found by a State highway,sources said. Roy, 45, was acooperative society chairmanfrom East Midnapore’sMarishda village. He was founddead near Hooghly’s Dadpurvillage. He had been missingsince February 7.

A few weeks ago onJanuary 21 two TMC leaderswere murdered at Dalkhola inNorth Dinajpur district ofNorth Bengal. On the same daya TMC youth leader was shotdead at Alipurduar while onthe next day another TMCleader was killed at NorthDinajpur.

Reacting to the recentkillings senior leader andBirbhum district TMC presi-dent Anubrata Mondal said

how the BJP was targeting hisparty men but added theTrinamool Congress wouldretaliate in equally measures.

“We are a peace-lovingpeople and hate violence. Butthe leftovers of the CPI(M)’sharmad brigade are now join-ing the BJP and attacking us.But they should rememberthat the people will retaliate inequal measures. Each suchkilling will be taken account of,”he said.

Meanwhile, BJP leaderMukul Roy on Tuesdayapproached the Calcutta HighCourt for anticipatory bail inthe Nadia Trinamool MLAmurder case. Roy’s name fig-ured in the FIR of KrishnaganjMLA Satyajit Biswas’ murder.

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Nearly a fortnight after hewent missing, the police

have recovered the body of 32-year-old RTI activist VinayakShirsat in a valley near Lavasa inPune district.

Pune’s Bharatiya Vidyapeethpolice said on Tuesday thatVinayak’s body, which wasrecovered Monday evening, hadbeen sent for an autopsy.

The investigators primafacie suspect that Vinayak mighthave been abducted and mur-

dered, before dumping in theLavasa valley.

A resident of Shivane-UttamNagar, Vinayak had been cru-sading against against illegalconstructions in the Vadgaon-Dhayari belt of Punewhich had led to the authoritiesissuing stop work notices tobuilders concerned and levying fine.

Nine days ago. Vinayak’sbrother Kishore Sirsat hadlodged a missing complaintabout his disappearance fromhome. Vinayak’s last reported

was Mutha village.Vinayak went missing from

his home on January 30 follow-ing which his lodged a com-plaint with the police the fol-lowing day.

Having registered a case ofabduction on February 5, thepolice were looking for Vinayakbefore they were tipped about abody lying in Lavasa valley.The family members of Vinayaklater recognised his body

Vinayak’s family membershave told the police that theysuspected real estate link to the

murder as Vinayak had beenexposing issues relating to illegal constructions in the Vadgaon-Dhayari belt of Pune.

Meanwhile, police have reg-istered a case under sectionsSections 302 (murder) and 201(causing disappearance of evi-dence of offence) of IPC.

Maharashtra has witnessedseveral killings of RTI activistsover the years. It may be recalledthat 39-year-old RTI activistSatish Shetty from TalegaonDabhade, a small township in

Pune district, was fatallyattacked by “three to four”masked men with sword andsome other sharp weapons,when he stepped out of hishouse for a morning walk. Hedied before he could be rushedto nearby Pawana Hospital.

A fearless crusader knownfor effectively using RTI Act tofight corruption, Shetty — whowas the district convener of theBhrashtachar Dakshata Samiti— had exposed one too manyshady deals in the Talegaon-Lonavala belt.

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Ahmedabad: Claiming thatPrime Minister NarendraModi has rock-solid supportof people, BJP president AmitShah on Tuesday said thecoming Lok Sabha poll willbe an important step forIndia to become a globalsuperpower.

Attacking the oppositionparties which were trying toforge an alliance ahead of theLok Sabha election to take onModi, Shah said the “maha-gathbandhan” (grandalliance) was made up ofonly state-level leaders andthat it will not affect BJP’s pollprospects.

He sought to know fromthe opposition parties whowas their prime ministerialface and the leader of theirproposed grand alliance.

Addressing BJP leadersand workers from Gujaratafter launching the ‘MeraParivar-Bhajapa Parivar’ voteroutreach campaign, he said afull majority Governmentwas required to enable PMModi to continue servingthe needy.

“The 2019 Lok Sabhaelection is an important stepfor India to become a super-power in the world. I havetravelled across the country,and I can see that people arestanding like a rock withPrime Minister NarendraModi. I have seen love forModi in people’s eyes,” Shahclaimed.

He said many partyworkers ask him about the‘mahagathbandhan’. “I wantto tell them that it will not

have any impact,” he assert-ed.

“What will happen if(former prime minister andJD-S supremo) Deve Gowdagives a speech in Gujarat or(West Bengal Chief Minister)Mamata Banerjee inMaharashtra or (former UPchief minister) AkhileshYadav in Kerala? It will nothave any impact whatsoeverbecause they are only state-level leaders,” the BJP presi-dent said. PTI

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Srinagar: Separatists onTuesday called for a two-dayshutdown to protest the legalchallenge to Article 370 andArticle 35-A of theConstitution, which grantspecial status to Jammu &Kashmir and special rightsand privileges to its “perma-nent residents”, respectively.

Petitions have been filedin the Supreme Court, chal-lenging the constitutionalvalidity of Article 370 andArticle 35-A.

“People of Jammu &Kashmir will forcefully resistevery challenge by NewDelhi to change the demog-raphy of the State by rollingback hereditary state subjectlaws of 1927 (protected byArticle 35-A of theConstitution), being con-tested in the Supreme Courtof India through theiragents,” separatists’ JointResistance Leadership (JRL)said here.

The apex court is sched-uled to hear the petitions

challenging Article 35-Aduring the week.

To protest the “viciousmove”, the separatists calledfor a complete strike onWednesday and Thursday.

“The late announcementand ambiguity over the datesof hearing of (PILs against)Article 35A and Article 370by Supreme Court on 13 or14 of February is worri-some, and indicates mis-chief,” the JRL, comprisingSyed Ali Geelani, MirwaizUmar Farooq and YasinMalik said.

“(We) understand thatfrequent shutdowns add tothe hardship already expe-rienced by people as a resultof occupation, but it isimperative to register ourstrong protest in the wake ofsuch threatening measures,”it said.

The separatist amalgamsaid it is an “extremely crit-ical issue” about the veryexistence of people and about“our disputed status”. PTI

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Chennai: The Madras HighCourt on Tuesday dismissed aPIL seeking action against theTamil Nadu chief secretary fornot playing the national anthemat a recent function in which thePrime Minister participated,noting that even the petitionerhad not said it was mandatory.

When the plea came upbefore a division bench com-prising justices S Manikumarand Subramonium Prasad, thepetitioner said neither Tamil (aninvocation song to motherTamil) nor the national anthemwas played when NarendraModi took part in the event tolay the foundation stone for theAIIMS at Madurai on January27. Citing a Union HomeMinistry circular that outlinesstate events where the nationalanthem should be played, thepetitioner said and submittedthat neither the Tamil nor thenational anthem was playeddespite the presence ofConstitutional authorities likeGovernor Banwarilal Purohit inthe function. PTI

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Srinagar: In a major success,security forces shot dead HizbulMujahideen terrorist HilalAhmed Rather, who had helpeddreaded LeT terrorist NavedJhatt escape, during anencounter in South Kashmir onTuesday in which an Armyjawan was also killed, officialssaid.

Rather, 21, was killed in theencounter in Ratnipora area ofPulwama, a district highlyinfested by terrorists, after a tip-off was received by the Jammu& Kashmir Police about hispresence during the interveningnight.

A cordon and search oper-ation was launched by thepolice along with the Army andthe CRPF. As it was going on,the terrorists fired upon thesecurity forces, who retaliatedeffectively, a police spokesmansaid.

In the ensuing encounter,one terrorist was killed and hisbody was retrieved from the siteof encounter.

“Rather was the mainaccused in the escape ofLashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militantNaved Jhatt from a Srinagarhospital,” Inspector General ofPolice (Kashmir Range)Swayam Prakash Pani said.

His body was handed over

to family members after com-pletion of all legal formalities.

The name of Rather, a class12 passout, first surfaced whena Special Investigation Team,formed to crack Jhatt’s escape,found that he was the mainconspirator. He had hatched aconspiracy with other terroriststo secure the release of Jhattwhen he was taken to SMHShospital for a routine check-upin February last year.

Jhatt was killed in anencounter with the police onNovember 28 last year inBudgam district of CentralKashmir.

The spokesman said Ratherwas affiliated with the bannedHizbul Mujahideen (HM) and

had a long history of terrorcrimes, including attack onsecurity establishments andcivilian atrocities, thespokesman said.

He said incriminatingmaterials, including arms andammunition, were recoveredfrom the site of encounter.

“All these materials havebeen taken in the case recordsfor the purpose of investiga-tion,” he said. He said twosecurity personnel also sus-tained gunshot injuries in theencounter and were rushed toa hospital. One of them, JawanBaljeet Singh, succumbed toinjuries, the spokesman said,adding the other soldier isbeing treated. PTI

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Ahmedabad: The GujaratGovernment has confirmedthe presence of a tiger in theState, days after a man claimedhe saw the big cat crossing aroad in Mahisagar district.

State Forest MinisterGanpatsinh Vasava said onTuesday that the carnivore wascaught on cameras set up by theforest department in that area.

“It has now been con-firmed. A tiger in the age-groupof 7 to 8 years has been seen inMahisagar district,” Vasava toldreporters in Gandhinagar.

The striped animal waslast seen in Gujarat in 1989.Subsequent surveys carried outevery four years by the centralGovernment showed no pres-ence of tiger in the state, hesaid.

A local Government schoolteacher had last week claimed

that he saw a tiger crossing aroad near Boriya village inMahisagar, around 120 kmfrom here, on February 6.

The teacher clicked theanimal’s picture on his mobilephone and shared it withfriends on social media plat-forms.

The photo soon went viraland based on the teacher’s

claim, the forest departmentdepartment set up several cam-era traps in that area.

Vasava said the tiger mighthave come to Gujarat from anyof the neighbouring states ofRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh orMaharashtra, where the stripedanimals are found.

“The Madhya Pradesh gov-ernment has said that a tiger

has gone missing from Ujjain.It is possible that the tiger seenhere can be from any of theseneighbouring states which havetigers,” the minister stated.

He said the state govern-ment will now contact theNational Tiger ConservationAuthority (NTCA), which hasthe data of tigers across thecountry, to ascertain wherethe feline came from.

The Wildlife Institute ofIndia (WII) will also beinvolved to carry out a surveyin the area to find out if thisregion is conducive for tigers,he said.

“We now agree that there isa tiger in Gujarat. WII willstudy if the area could bedeveloped for tigers. We arealso seeking NTCA’s guidance,”he said.

Vasava said it was yet to be

ascertained how long andwhere the lone tiger had beenroaming in Gujarat.

“We are yet to ascertain ifthat area was the tiger’s per-manent residence or whether itmigrated from neighbouringstates. It is certain that Gujaratis also a part of tiger’s naturalcorridor,” he said.

Principal ChiefConservator of Forests(Wildlife) Akshay Saxena saidevidences like pug marks andscats, as well as hair and scratchmarks on a tree had to someextent confirmed the tiger’spresence in the region.

“Later, camera traps wereset up and we have now gotvisual evidence of a tiger in thearea. It is not necessary that wewill find the tiger in the samearea, so we will continue tokeep a watch,” he said. PTI

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Sabarimala: The Lord Ayyappatemple here re-opened onTuesday for five-day monthlypujas under a heavy securityblanket as hundreds of policepersonnel were deployed inand around the hill shrine inview of possible protest fromright-wing activists, opposingentry of young women.

Despite security arrange-ments, a large number of devo-tees, including those fromneighbouring states, turned upto offer prayers when the shrinewas opened at 5 pm.

Chief priest VasudevanNampoothiri opened the sanc-tum sanctorum in the presenceof ‘tantri’ (head priest)Kandararu Rajeevaru.

There would be no specif-ic pujas on Tuesday and theshrine would be closed at 10pm with the rendition of ‘hari-varasanam’, the customary lul-laby for Lord Ayyappa, temple

authorities said.The temple would remain

open for five days till February17 for the monthly pujas dur-ing the Malayalam month ofKumbam, temple authoritiessaid.

Several special ritualsincluding ‘kalabhabhishekam’,‘sahasrakalasam’ and ‘lak-sharchana’ would be performedduring the five days, they said.

There has been a sense ofanxiety in and aroundSabarimala in view of thereopening as the shrine hadwitnessed frenzied protestsduring the recently concludedannual pilgrimage season overthe entry of women of men-struating age.

Though no prohibitoryorders have been clampeddown in and around the shrine,the entire area from the basecamp to ‘Sannidhanam’(templecomplex) is under tight police

security.The BJP and right-wing

outfits had spearheaded theagitations against implemen-tation of the September 28Supreme Court verdict per-mitting women of all agegroups into the shrine.

The areas in and aroundthe temple had witnessed wide-spread violence after theCPI(M)-led LDF governmentdecided to implement the apexcourt order.

Marking the culminationof the over two-month-longstormy annual pilgrimage sea-son, the shrine was closed onJanuary 20.

Traditionally, women ofmenstruating age or in the age group of 10 to 50 years werenot allowed to enter the temple as the deity, LordAyyappa, is believed to be“naishtika brahmachari” orperennial celibate. PTI

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Chennai: The Madras HighCourt on Tuesday ordered theauthorities concerned to imme-diately close all illegal barsacross Tamil Nadu and file areport by February 20.

Expressing surprise over asubmission made on behalf ofthe State Government, whichstated that 3,326 FIRs hadbeen against illegal bars, thecourt directed the home, pro-hibition and excise depart-ment secretary to shut them allforthwith.

The division bench com-prising Justice S Manikumarand Justice SubramoniumPrasad passed the order after apetition from a Coimbatoreresident, D Prabakaran, soughta direction against fraudulentacts in Tamil Nadu StateMarketing Corporation (TAS-

MAC) with regard to issuingand collection of license feesfrom bars.

It was submitted beforethe bench that during April-December 2018 surprise checkswere conducted by senior divi-sional manager and districtmanagers of TASMAC andthey found that 2,505 illegalbars were being run.

The head office squad detected 20 illegal barsand the deputy collectors andthe flying squad detected 801bars.

The petitioner allegedfraud in issuing purchase bills,rendering periodical accountsto the Government, collectionof license fees from the TAS-MAC bars, charging of excessrate, all of which cause loss tothe exchequer. PTI

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The Modi Government hasa tough job on hand.

Against the target of setting up15,000 Health and WellnessCentres (HWCs) by March-end 2019 under theGovernment’s ambitiousAyushmaan Bharat-PradhanMantri Jan Ayush Yojna(PMJAY), the figures have justcrossed the halfway mark withonly 8030 centres being oper-ational as on February 2, 2019.

Of these, over 2,000 centresare concentrated in twoSouthern States — AndhraPradesh tops the list with 1361centres closely followed byTamil Nadu (1318) while otherStates are nowhere even near tothe four digit mark. (See box1).

The Union HealthMinistry, which is overseeing

the centrally sponsoredscheme, is, however, hopeful toachieve the target stating thatapproval has already beenaccorded to State and UnionTerritories for over 21,000 suchcentres for the current fiscal.

Overall, there are plans toconvert a total 1.5 lakh HealthSub Centres and PrimaryHealth Centres into HWCs ina phased manner by December,

2022, Union Minister of Statefor Health, Ashwini KumarChoubey told the Parliament ina written reply on Tuesday.

Under the health flagshipscheme launched in Septemberlast year, the Centre is provid-ing health coverage up to Rs. 5lakh per family per year for sec-ondary and tertiary hospital-ization as well as supporting theStates for strengthening Sub

Centres and Primary HealthCentres as HWCs for provisionof comprehensive primary carethat includes universal screen-

ing, prevention and manage-ment of common non-com-municable diseases like diabetesand cancer among poor people.

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Page 8: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

There are eerie similarities in thegenesis, proceedings and theultimate fate of the US involve-ment in both Vietnam andAfghanistan. First, both — the

Vietnamese and the Afghans — pridethemselves on their fierce history of resis-tance to foreign invaders for centuries. Inthe case of the Vietnamese, it was thevaliant repulsion of the Chinese, Mongols,French and the Japanese forces; whereas,the unforgiving battlefields of the Afghanswathes have been bloodied with forces ofAlexander, Arab caliphates, Genghis Khan,Timur, Persians, Mughals, Sikhs, Britishempire and to the communist forces of theerstwhile USSR. Both races have a height-ened sense of history and destiny that mil-itates instinctively against any notion of aforeign “invader.” Both these lands havebeen at the forefront of the US’ efforts tocounter the topical “ism” that threatenedAmerican interests. In the case of Vietnam,in the 50s and 60s, it was the Cold War fearof “communism” that drove US interest;whereas in the case of Afghanistan (post2001), “religious extremism” replaced“communism” as the greatest securitythreat.

In both these conflicts, the US hadplayed a covert, tactical and surreptitiousrole in inflaming the combustible groundsituation. Insidious military and financialsupport was extended to the French forcesin the 50s to re-colonise Vietnam, whichlater morphed into a full-fledged US mil-itary intervention by the 60s. Similarly, theless-than-covert military operations ofthe Central Intelligence Agency-IslamicState (IS), along with the Afghanmujahideen in the 80s, had lit the flamesof religious extremism that ultimatelymorphed into the phenomenon of theTaliban. The pattern of sudden US disin-terest is also common to both places asVietnam would face in the mid-70s whenthe forces of Ho Chi Minh overran Saigon,as also in the essential US disinterest in the90s as Pakistan-supported Taliban enteredand butchered their way into Kabul. Thegenesis of both conflicts had unmistakablefingerprints of the US handiwork prior tothe full escalation of the crisis. In bothcases, the US had erred in its initialjudgement as it had twice spurned appealsby the nationalist, Ho Chi Minh, before heturned a staunch communist; whereas, theAmerican desperation to dislodge thecommunist Najibullah regime in Kabul hadled them to honour and fete the Afghanmujahideen in the White House, who laterturned on their original benefactors.

Signs of American “shock-and-awe”military tactics to bludgeon enemy lineswere visible in the killing fields of Vietnam,where the Americans dropped more thanthree times the tonnage of bombs that theentire allied forces dropped in World WarII. Today, Afghanistan has replaced

Vietnam as its longest war anda record high number ofbombs dropped in a year wereregistered in 2018. The defin-itive imagery of 388,000 tonnesof napalm bombs dropped inVietnam was mirrored with theunabashed dropping of theGBU-43/B (also known as“Mother of all Bombs”) inAfghanistan — the most pow-erful non-nuclear weapon inAmerican arsenal. However,despite the colossal commit-ment of weaponry and militarymight, the Afghan extremistgroups today control more ter-ritory than at any point eversince the removal of theirregime 17 years ago. TheVietnam War had led to over58,000 American military casu-alties and the technology-enhanced Afghan war to yetanother 2,400 American mili-tary casualties. The “cost ofwar” to the locals (civilians, sol-diers and insurgents) was anunprecedented three million inthe Vietnam War and over111,000 in Afghanistan. Fromthe official start date of theVietnam War (November 1,1955) to the signing of thepeace treaty in January 1973 forfacilitating the withdrawal ofAmerican troops, the realisa-tion of an unsustainable “no-win” stalemate took 18 years.Today, nearly 18 years into theAfghan War (started in 2001,following 9/11), the Americansare walking the talk of anoth-

er American withdrawal, thistime from Afghanistan, follow-ing yet another stalemate.

Unfortunately, the loomingfears of the imminent future arealso similarly aligned as theAmericans are negotiating withthe Afghan Taliban (under thenudge and aegis of the equal-ly unreliable ally, Pakistan) tofacilitate the American troops’withdrawal. In 1973, a similarface-saving treaty was signedby the representatives of theUS, South Vietnam, NorthVietnam and Viet Cong to‘reunite’ Vietnam peacefully –even though the signatorynorth Vietnamese were know-ingly violating the terms ofceasefire and agreement and by1975, the entire South Vietnamterritory had fallen to a full-scale invasion by the North. Itis this doomsday scenario thathas fuelled concerns in theAshraf Ghani-led AfghanGovernment in Kabul as theyfear the impact of an embold-ened Taliban. From 1,50,000foreign troops defending thebeleaguered AfghanGovernment till 2016, to justabout 7,000 (after the currentUS withdrawal plans), alongwith the well-known aspirationof “strategic depth” inAfghanistan for the Pakistanistate – the military ability of thecurrent Afghan Government inKabul to withstand the IS-Taliban combined onslaught isextremely suspicious. The sud-

den vacuum following the USwithdrawal in Vietnam in 1973had led to the ultimate fall ofthe South Vietnam defences;the US “withdrawal” fromAfghanistan in 1991 had led tothe creation of the Taliban; andnow the insecurity in Kabul is one of history repeatingitself.

While history is yet torecord its final verdict and vic-tor in Afghanistan, in Vietnam,the Americans can technicallyclaim to have “withdrawn.”However, objectively, the anti-US side overran the US protec-torate and they rule till date.Thousands of insurgents werekilled in US military operationsand multiple more of the samewere borne out of the sense ofrevenge, hatred and retributionagainst the US. In both cases thehuman, economic, military andthe political “cost of war”became unsustainable and thecommon feature of “stalemate”wore out the largest military inthe world. The intrigues, com-plexities and accompanyingcivilian atrocities in both con-flicts have also led to seriousquestions on the morality, trustand confidence on the US’words and actions. Afghanistanis still an unfolding saga, yetportents of a possible repeat ofa Vietnam stare in the face.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry.)�

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Sir — The recent interview of theBoard of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) selection commit-tee chairman MSK Prasad, regard-ing the World Cup preparations,was refreshing and clear on intent.As there is not much time left forthe big event, the Chairmanstruck the right chord by lettingthe world know that the selectionprocess is almost complete.

This was, perhaps, aided by theperformance of the young bloodduring the Australia-New Zealandseries, the recently concludedRanji tournament and the pool oftalented players available in thedomestic cricket circuit. It is alsowelcome to note that for mattersrelated to picking the Number 4batsman and other issues that mayarise in the selection of the WorldCup team, the decision will restwith the team management, withzero interference from the selec-tion committee.

Varun SDBengaluru

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Sir — It was both upsetting andmoving to read about a nine-

month-old girl, who was alleged-ly thrown into a well by her moth-er in Ranchi, Jharkhand.Thankfully, she was rescued andairlifted to a hospital in Delhi andis now battling for her life.According to the Delhi trafficpolice, a “green corridor” was cre-ated from the Indira GandhiInternational Airport’s Terminal1-D to the hospital, allowingemergency services to cover a dis-tance of 12 km in 13 minutes.During peak hour traffic, this

stretch could take much longer tocover. All officers, who con-tributed towards facilitating thegreen corridor must be thanked.This episode shows that humankindness is not yet in short sup-ply. One just hopes that theinfant recovers soon.

Mohd UsmaniMumbai

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Sir — It was a historical decision

taken by the Government of AbuDhabi, UAE, to allow the use ofHindi as the third language besidesArabic and English in its judicialsystem. This move will certainlyhelp Indian expatriates in the caseof any litigation proceedings. Abilingual judicial system assuresclarity and transparency. Hindi-speaking expatriates can lodgeclaims and submit grievances intheir mother tongue now.

Ramesh G JethwnaiBengaluru

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Sir —This refers to the editorial,“An infernal tax” (February 11).The singular fixation with fiscaldeficit vis-à-vis inflation is seento be subsiding as growth hasreturned to the spotlight. Evenwith a diverse mix of debt, infla-tion and growth vis-à-visdebt/GDP ratios, the crux wouldlie more in the denominator thanthe numerator.

The rate of inflation, nominalinterest rate and the level of thestock market are all now fairlyhealthy and markets would lookfor more Government debt tillinterest and inflation rates shootup or stocks plunge.

A phase of hesitant jobaddition needs sourcing of freshfunds for growth and notrevenue expenditure. Marketscould be more enthused to seegreater transparency in thecomputation of data — be it onGDP, job creation, ease of doingbusiness or such other guideindices.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Page 9: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

The conferment of Bharat Ratna toNanaji Deshmukh is a great gift toacademicians, professionals and stu-

dents of social work discipline in Indiawho have been celebrating his birthanniversary on October 11 as Indian SocialWork Day or Bharatiya Samaj KaryaDiwas and are dedicated to decolonisingsocial work education in Indian universi-ties.

Since time immemorial, Indian acad-emicians have been working for the inte-grated and holistic development of soci-ety. Although termed in different typolo-gy, the ancient Indian academicians havedeveloped various methodologies andmodels to engage with and address theconcerns of society, from individual tofamily, community to nation and the

whole world. They were the first to pre-sent the philosophy of international peaceby presenting the concept of a global fam-ily or Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The con-tribution of ancient Indian academicianshas been recognised by their moderncounterparts across nationalities, partic-ularly in contemporary inter-disciplinaryresearches where social work needs to bor-row ideas from Indian philosophy throughcross-pollination for negotiating function-al deadlocks related to human behaviour.

In our school days, we were taught alot about the great Indians who had donegreat social service and also spearheadedreform movements from time to time.However, at the university level we weremade to learn that social work as a prac-tice was alien to the Indian sub-continentbefore establishment of the Tata Instituteof Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai by anAmerican citizen during British colonialrule in 1936. This is because in the socialwork curriculum, there is hardly any men-tion of the social service and reforms ofthe great Indian philosophers, academi-cians and legendary personalities whoflourished from the century before Christ.Students of social work are also compelled

to swallow that it is because of TISS thatsocial work was gradually included in uni-versity curriculum and that we received itas part of our colonial heritage. Till date,the curriculum related to social work inalmost all universities follows a pattern setin the British colonial period — import atemplate from Euro-American countriesand implement them in Indian universi-ties. Except some institutions with Indianacademicians did design their curriculumon the basis of the Gandhian philosophy.This strategy of “import and execute” hasbeen best explained by Kalyan ShankarMandal in his research paper, ‘AmericanInfluence on Social Work Education inIndia and its Impact’, published in theEconomic and Political Weekly onDecember 9, 1989.

We are not against idea exchange butthis intellectual import in the discipline ofsocial work has been unidirectional. Theidea to dismantle this intellectual cageimposed on us by the colonial governmentof British India was always on the mindof our free-thinking academicians. A rayof hope came when the Mahatma GandhiAntarrashtriya Hindu Vishwavidyalaya,Wardha, invited social work academicians

from across the country to design a newcurriculum for the discipline in a two-daynational workshop titled “Bharatiyakaranof Social Work Curriculum” last June.

Over 40 social work academicians andpractitioners from over two dozen Centraland provincial universities participated.The academicians also adopted a 10-pointaction plan to decolonise the curriculumthrough an intellectual movement.

During the workshop, they unani-mously recognised the academic andprofessional contributions of NanajiDeshmukh to social work and adopted aproposal to celebrate his birth anniversaryas Indian Social Work Day.

Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh was amulti-faceted personality, a social work-er par excellence, educationist and devel-opment economist. He was also active inpolitics but perhaps the only politicianwho voluntarily proclaimed his retirementat the age of 60 and became a full-timesocial worker. He not only developed hisown model of integrated and holisticdevelopment of the villages but alsoimplemented them in practice. He single-handedly turned the fate of over 500 vil-lages in the drought-affected areas ofChitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Maharashtra. He also established theMahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot GramodayaVishwavidyalaya on February 12, 1991.

This is the first university in India dedi-cated to rural development and is a greatcentre of learning his social work modelsbased on the philosophy of MahatmaGandhi and the integral humanistic phi-losophy of Pandit Deen DayalUpadhayaya.

Social service models, practices, reformmovements, rural reconstruction experi-ments and socio-developmental philoso-phies of Nanak Dev, Jyotiba Phule, B. R.Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, SwamiVivekananda, Narayana Guru and allthose who evolved from the Indic perspec-tive should be given due space in the cur-riculum of social work at various levels.There is need for high quality research andexperimentation in this direction forwhich the government agencies shouldprovide required resources.

The conferment of Bharat Ratna is awelcome step and indeed a landmark forsocial work discipline in India but thereis a long way to go.

(Dr Bishnu Modhan Dash is a Facultyin Social Work Department of DelhiUniversity’s B.R. Ambedkar College.Siddheshwar Shukla has been Fellow inMakhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal.)

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The corporate landscape has long beendominated and characterised by menand is still skewed in their favour. In2013, the archaic Companies Act,1956, underwent the much-needed

amendments. This infused critical measures ofgender equality into today’s corporate scenario.Subsequently, in a knee-jerk reaction to the reg-ulation, women representation on corporateboards jumped substantially. According to areport by Prime Database, from a mere five percent female representation in 2012, the board’scomposition is significantly more inclusive nowwith women constituting around 13 per cent(622) of the total directors (4,690) in the NIFTY500. Without accounting for multiple director-ships, there were a total of 477 unique womendirectors in these companies. Although India isimproving gender diversity on boards, it still lagsbehind on the world stage.

Worldwide, gender diversity in boardroomscontinued on an upward trajectory; although atdifferent paces. Norway is the first country tointroduce at least 40 per cent women directorson boards in 2003 and had the highest percent-age at 46.7 per cent in 2017. This was followedclosely by France, Sweden and the UnitedKingdom at 34 per cent, 33.6 per cent and 20.3per cent respectively, according to the CreditSuisse analysis. The biggest improvement inboard diversity was seen in western Europe,which saw an increase from eight per centwomen directors in 2004 to 26 per cent in 2016.Gender diversity in boards is relatively stuntedin the United States at 17 per cent when com-pared to the European nations. Canada, on theother hand, has shown notable diversity progresswith its Prime Minister appointing 15 womenand 15 men in his Cabinet in 2015. Asian coun-tries, however, lag behind with China at eight percent, followed by Singapore (7.9 per cent) andIndonesia (six per cent). The situation is acutewith some of the biggest Asian businesses likeSamsung, Softbank, Baidu and Hynix having all-male boards.

There were some initial concerns that a size-able portion of new women directors belongedto the promoter’s family and members were beingappointed in a non-executive capacity just tocomply with the norms. But latest data invali-dates this assumption. According to PrimeDatabase, there were only 98 women promoterdirectors (16 per cent) in the NIFTY 500. Of thisset, 50 per cent were executives and were drivingthe company in a leadership capacity. Thisimplies that a bulk of the women gettingappointed had professional experience andexpertise. This suggests that companies are notpaying mere lip-service to the regulations by pro-moting family members but have also inter-nalised the legislative intent of the mandatedthresholds.

The contribution of women directors to cor-porate value-creation has been widely studied.Most of these studies make the “business case”for more women on corporate boards, arguingthat if a segment of society’s talent is systemat-ically excluded from boards, not because of tal-ent but gender, then such boards are sub-opti-mal. Despite these arguments, in most corporateboards, there is only one woman or a smallminority of women. As such, they are often con-

sidered tokens because of their under-representation. The relevant questionto ponder upon is whether an increasednumber of women directors leads to thebuild-up of critical mass that substan-tially contributes to firm innovation?

Arguments for a higher number ofwomen in corporate boards are numer-ous but in many countries, women, whoserve as board members, are stilltokens. But who are tokens? It is aresearched fact that the majority exertsmore influence in a group of peoplethan minorities do, by virtue of theirgreater numbers. Minorities are easilymarginalised when their presence in alarger group is modest. Due to theirunder-representation in the group,they are viewed as a symbol or token.The members of the majority are‘dominants’ while the remaining minor-ity members are seen as ‘tokens’. Andfor these tokens, stereotyping couldresult in the perception of barriers toexerting influence on decisions in thegroup.

Moreover, tokens are perceivednegatively, sometimes with downrightderision and are often doubted and nottrusted. As a result, being labelled as atoken often creates discomfort, isolationand self-doubt. Being perceived as atoken can even interfere with perfor-mance. In fact, because of their high vis-ibility, tokens face additional perfor-mance pressures and are singled outbecause they are different and notbecause of their own particular accom-plishments. These reactions to tokensseem to occur whether the token is awoman or a minority in a larger group.

However, when the size of theminority group increases to the pointthat it is no longer a token, the perspec-tive of board members and the natureof relations between the minority andmajority change qualitatively. Therefore,the influence of a minority in a groupdepends upon the strength, immedia-cy and number of its members. Criticalmass theory, in particular, suggests that

the nature of group interactionsdepends upon size. When the size of thesub-group reaches a certain threshold,or critical mass, the sub-group’s degreeof influence increases. In other words,this theory suggests that when theminority group reaches critical mass, aqualitative change will take place in thenature of group interactions.

Being a token has three behaviour-al consequences, namely visibility,polarisation and assimilation. Visibilityimplies that tokens find themselvesbeing watched all of the time, resultingin perceptions of performance pressure.In this situation, there are perceptionsthat even small mistakes can be fataland tokens feel that they have to workharder to receive recognition for anyindividual achievements. At the sametime, tokens may perceive a pressurenot to out-perform dominants andsome will choose to become sociallyinvisible and maintain a low profile.Polarisation implies that the dominantgroup feels threatened or uncomfort-able around tokens and, therefore,they heighten their boundaries byexaggerating their commonality andtheir differences vis-a-vis tokens. Themajority may, thus, exclude tokens frominformal networks where importantsocialisation takes place and as a result,the tokens may experience social iso-lation. Finally, assimilation impliesthat tokens are forced into stereotypi-cal categories defined by dominants.Tokens are then not seen as they real-ly are and the majority group forcesthem into limited and caricaturedroles. Expectations as to what is “suit-able behaviour” for a woman are anexample of this. Importantly, these threemechanisms are predictions of how thedominants behave towards tokens, aswell as the subjective reactions of thetokens in terms of their own status.

Therefore, the question is: Howmany women should be a part of theboard to elevate their position frommere tokens to critical mass? Women,

as minorities in a male-dominatedenvironment, have little chance toexert influence on the organisation untilthey become a consistent or significantminority. Above that point, they couldbegin to effect organisational changes.Recent studies of women on corporateboards suggest that the critical mass ofwomen directors is reached whenboards of directors have “at least threewomen” who can influence the dynam-ics and thought processes amongmembers.

Additionally, having “at least threewomen directors” makes the boardsmore heterogeneous and allows major-ity-minority interactions and process-es to take place, thereby enabling theoverall board to take high-quality deci-sions. This view is also supported byother studies suggesting that heteroge-neous groups produce higher qualitydecisions than homogeneous groups oncomplex tasks and generate more inno-vative solutions. It is also well recognisedthat pressures for uniformity are animpediment to good problem-solvingand homogeneous groups may hamperinnovation because high levels of cohe-sion produce pressures towards confor-mity. Therefore, heterogeneity, assum-ing that persons differing in categorywill provide diverse approaches toproblems and, therefore, overall perfor-mance will improve, is considered valu-able.

The size of the minority group ofwomen directors requires particularattention: Appointing only one womandirector would seem to be inexpedientsince as suggested by tokenism theories,they will be categorised, stereotyped andignored by the majority group (of maledirectors). Thus, policy-makers shouldmove from “at least one woman direc-tor” to more and ensure that women reach a critical mass in theboards to be able to have higher influ-ence and say.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University.)

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Shortage of pilots continuedto hamper budget carrier

IndiGos operations with theairline cancelling as many as 30flights on Tuesday from acrossstations and passengers alleged-ly being forced to buy lastminute high fares for its flights,a source said.

On Monday also, theGurugram-headquartered air-line had pulled out 32 flightsfrom its network.

On the other hand, therewas no indication of any probeby the aviation regulator intothe cancellation of such large

number of flights by the airlinesince last Saturday.

IndiGo has cancelled 30flights for Tuesday due to theon-going pilots issue. Most ofthe flights have been cancelledfrom Kolkata, Hyderabad andChennai, the source said.

While eight flights are notbeing operated from Kolkata,another five flights are can-celled from Hyderabad andfour each from Bangalore andChennai, among others, headded.

The source also allegedthat IndiGo was forcing pas-sengers to either buy lastminute fares or offering them

alternate flights with one-stopconnectivity with a long tran-sit time.

Response to the queriessent to IndiGo and DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation onthis issue was awaited.

In a statement on Sunday,the airline had blamed onweather for disruption in oper-ations across its network.

“As part of recovering ourschedule, positioning of thecrew and aircraft had to bereadjusted. As a result, a num-ber of flights were cancelled, ithad said without giving anyspecific number of flights werecancelled.

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Retail inflation fell to a 19-month low of 2.05 per cent

in January due to fall in pricesof food articles, mainly fruitand vegetables, coupled witheasing of fuel cost,Government data showed onTuesday.

The Consumer Price Index(CPI)-based retail inflationwas revised downwards forthe preceding monthDecember to 2.11 per centfrom the earlier estimate of2.19 per cent, showed datafrom the Central StatisticsOffice (CSO).

In the year-ago month,January 2018, the retail infla-tion was at 5.07 per cent.

Fruits, vegetables and eggscontinued to witness defla-tionary trend during Januarythis year, with their pricesdeclining 4.18 per cent, 13.32per cent and 2.44 per cent,respectively, according to theCSO data released by theMinistry of Statistics andProgramme Implementation(MoSPI).

The rate of price rise in the‘fuel and light’ category was2.20 per cent in January 2019,compared with 4.54 per cent inDecember 2018.

The overall food inflationduring the latest monthremained in the negative zone

at (-)2.17 per cent. It was (-)2.51 per cent in December2018.

“At 2.05 per cent, CPI forJanuary is at 19-month low.Extended winter remains sup-portive of decelerating foodprices. The fuel component,too, has surprised on thedownside,” said Shubhada Rao,chief economist, Yes Bank.

The previous low than thelatest print of 2.05 per cent wasback in June 2017, when retailinflation was at 1.46 per cent.This, along with core inflationat 5.36 per cent, presents a sce-nario of CPI year-on-yeargrowth between 2 per cent and3 per cent in the next 5months. This raises the prob-ability of rate cuts in April andbeyond, she said.

ICICI Bank Head ofGlobal Markets Group BPasanna said: “India’s indus-trial production data forDecember was in line withexpectations and confirms ourbelief that the November printwas more an aberration.”

The recovery in growth inconsumer goods, especiallynon-durables, is encouraging.

“Our expectations for thenext few months are alsobenign on headline CPI and,hence, we believe that there isa room for further accommo-dation in the next policy meet-ing,” he said.

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The Government has invit-ed applications to open

more ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendras’across the country and has alsowaived application fee,Parliament was informed onTuesday.

The Government endeav-ours to cover all states, unionterritories and districts of thecountry by opening more andmore Pradhan Mantri BhartiyaJan Aushadhi Pariyojana(PMBJP) Kendras in order tomake quality generic medicinesavailable at affordable prices toall.

“To achieve this objective,applications are invited fromindividuals, NGOs, charitableinstitutions/hospitals, privatehospitals, trusts, societies, selfhelp groups and Governmentagencies for opening PMBJPKendras through online as wellas offline mode. Application feefor opening PMBJP Kendrashas been waived off so thatmore and more people canapply under the scheme,”Minister of State for Chemicalsand Fertilizers Mansukh LMandaviya said in a writtenreply in the Lok Sabha.

A total of 5,001 PMBJPKendras were functional in651 districts of the country, ason February 5.

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The net profit of Small IndustriesDevelopment Bank of India

(SIDBI), the all India financial insti-tution engaged in creating an inte-grated credit and development sup-port ecosystem for micro & smallenterprises, rose by 39.9 per cent infirst nine months of this financial yearin comparison to that in the lastfinancial year.

The increase in profit is mainly dueto higher income from increased

portfolio.“In a scenario when the banking

sector is reeling under pressure, we haveachieved encouraging growth in ourfinancial performance. Credit demandto the MSEs sector continues to bestrong. We expect to maintain thegrowth momentum as we continue tomove forward with our SIDBI Vision2.0 which aims to promote inclusivegrowth driven by deeper engagementwith MSEs,” said Mohammad Mustafa,Chairman & Managing Director,SIDBI.

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Power Finance Corporation’sProfit After Tax (PAT) is up

by 53% from �1,355 crore inthe second quarter to �2076crore during the third quarter(October-December) of thecurrent Financial year of 2018-19.

The Net Interest Incomerose by 12% to reach a figure of`2,435crore as against `2,180crore recorded during the sec-ond quarter of the currentFinancial year. The company’sNet Interest Margin has beenimproving over the quartersand is 3.42% for third quarter.

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Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) Tuesday announced

the launch of an online consumercommunity and an online indus-try community for standardsconsultation. These online com-munities have been initiated inassociation with local circles.

This will enable consumeracross India to get connectedwith BIS and participate in theconsultation process on stan-dards. This community will alsoallow consumers to share theirexperiences with various products.

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The Government on Tuesday informedParliament that loans worth �7,277.31 crore

of public sector banks under Pradhan MantriMudra Yojana (PMMY) have turned bad at theend of March 2018.

Loans extended under PMMY from incep-tion of the scheme up to March 2018 by all mem-ber lending institutions (MLIs) were �5.71 lakhcrore, Minister of State for Finance Shiv PratapShukla said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

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Commerce and IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhu

will hold bilateral discussionson trade issues with USCommerce Secretary WilburRoss on February 14 here.

The Indo-US CEO Forumwill also held its meeting on thesame day, the commerce min-istry said in a statement.

“Representatives of the USand Indian Governments willshare outcomes of the 2018commercial dialogue workplan, including the three workstreams: standards, businessclimate and investment andtravel and tourism,” it said.

Discussions will be held onthe 2019 commercial dialoguepriorities, identification of newareas of cooperation based onthe new CEO Forum recom-mendations, it added.

The co-chairs for the US-India CEO Forum areNatarajan Chandrasekaran,Chairman of Tata Sons, andJames Taiclet, Chairman,President and CEO ofAmerican Tower Corporation.

It said that during the CEOforum, working groups will givepresentations and recommen-dations related to their sector.

This forum was reconsti-tuted by the Trump and ModiAdministrations. It is an effec-tive platform to highlight keymarket access issues thatimpact the ease of doing busi-ness and to identify areas forcloser collaboration, it said.

Annual bilateral trade ingoods and services between the

countries doubled over the lastdecade, from USD 58 billion in2007 to USD 126 in 2017.

“Both countries areresolved to remain engaged andtake measures for furtherenhancement of bilateral trade.Bilateral trade in 2018 contin-ued in spite of uncertain glob-al economic conditions.Bilateral investment flows havealso grown appreciably overrecent years,” it added.

The talks assumes signifi-cance as officials of both thesides are negotiating a tradepackage to boost bilateral com-merce.

India is pressing forexemption from high dutyimposed by the US on certainsteel and aluminium products,resumption of export benefitsto some domestic goods undertheir Generalised System ofPreferences (GSP) as well asgreater market access for itsproducts from sectors like agri-culture, automobile, auto com-ponents and engineering.

On the other hand, the USis demanding greater marketaccess through cut in importduties for its agriculture goods,dairy products, medicaldevices, IT and communicationitems, the official added.

However, the commerceministry is not in favour of cut-ting or eliminating customsduties on seven categories ofICT products, including high-end mobile phones and smartwatches, as demanded by theUS, citing revenue loss andadverse impact on Make inIndia initiative.

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Page 11: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

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New Delhi: Tata Motors Tuesday reported 12 per cent fall in global sales,including that of Jaguar Land Rover, at 1,00,572 units in January this year. Thecompany had sold a total of 1,14,797 units in the same month last year. Globalwholesale of all Tata Motors' commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range inJanuary 2019 stood at 40,886 units, down 9 per cent from the same month lastyear, the company said in a statement. It had sold 44,828 units in the same monthlast year. The company's global sales of all passenger vehicles in January this yearwere at 59,686 units, a decrease of 15 per cent from 69,969 units in the samemonth last year. Global sales for Jaguar Land Rover were 41,676 vehicles. Jaguarsales for the month stood at 12,904 units, while Land Rover sales for the monthwere at 28,772 units.

�"�,,#��������#��������!����#New Delhi: Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy Tuesday said it has

launched ‘Swiggy Stores’ moving beyond its core food delivery segment to pro-vide access to consumers items across multiple categories. The company will deliv-er from these stores “in categories such as fruits and vegetables, kiranas and super-markets, florists, baby care, health and supplements among others,” Swiggy saidin a statement. With the launch of these stores, Swiggy wants to become the one-stop delivery app that enables access to every store in the city, it added. “Today’sannouncement takes Swiggy to categories beyond food, where we hope to deliv-er the same level of delightful experiences to consumers for their everyday needs,"Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said. It is the first milestone in Swiggy's vision toelevate the quality of life for the urban consumer by offering unparalleled con-venience, he added. Swiggy Stores will give its merchant-partners unmatchedaccess to a combination of core assets to reach more existing and new customers,the statement said. For the delivery partners this will give them access to an addi-tional avenue for income, it added.

����������� ������� ���� ������4/H� �����67�������New Delhi: The smartphone market in India grew 14.5 per cent in 2018 with

shipment of 142.3 million units, as per research firm IDC. In the previous year, ship-ment stood at 124.3 million units. During the December quarter, smartphone ship-ment expanded 19.5 per cent year-on-year to 36.3 million units from 30.3 millionunits in the same period the previous year, driven primarily by multiple rounds ofsales by e-tailers beyond the festive Diwali period lasting into December. However,shipment numbers in December 2018 quarter were down 15.1 per cent comparedto the July-September 2018 period, owing to high channel inventory. “Amongst thebig highlights of 2018 were the online-focused brands that drove the share of theonline channel to an (annual) all-time high of 38.4 per cent in 2018 and a whop-ping 42.2 per cent in Q4 2018,” IDC India Associate Research Manager (ClientDevices) Upasana Joshi said. She added that this was primarily driven by severalrounds of discounts by e-tailers driving affordability through various financingoptions, cashback offers and buyback schemes.

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The BSE Sensex droppedover 200 points, ending in

the negative terrain for thefourth straight session onTuesday, as investors intensifiedselling towards the fag end ofthe day, even as global cuesremained positive.

Realty, IT, FMCG andbanking counters witnessedheavy selling ahead of index ofthe release of industrial pro-duction (IIP) data forDecember and consumer priceinflation (CPI) numbers forJanuary. Indices failed to holdon to opening gains as profit-taking re-emerged in the laterpart of the session, wiping offinitial gains, with the BSESensex settling 241.41 points,or 0.66 per cent, down at36,153.62 points. The gaugehad lost 580 points in the pre-vious three sessions.

The broader Nifty finishedat 10,831.40, down 57.40points, or 0.53 per cent.

Top losers include HeroMotoCorp, HDFC, SBI,Infosys, HCL Tech, ICICI

Bank, Bajaj Finance, ONGC,Bajaj Auto and IndusInd Bank,falling up to 2.63 per cent.

On the other hand, SunPharma, Coal India, Tata Steel,NTPC, Asian Paints, Vedanta,M&M and RIL were the gain-ers, rising up to 2 per cent.

“The market closed thesession with cuts of over half aper cent amid weak globalcues and ahead of inflation andindustrial output data,” saidParas Bothra, President, EquityResearch, Ashika Group.

“The underlying sentimentof the markets remained cau-tious as another round of US-China trade talks began withworking-level talks in Beijingand US congressional negotia-tors reached an agreement inprinciple to fund the govern-ment and avoid another shut-down ahead of a Friday mid-night deadline,” he added.

Sectorally, the BSE realtyindex emerged as the worstperformer by falling 1.29 percent, followed by IT indexshedding 0.94 per cent, teck(0.90 per cent), bankex (0.81per cent), FMCG (0.73 per

cent), auto (0.51 per cent),PSU (0.31 per cent), capitalgoods (0.19 per cent), power(0.08 per cent), consumerdurables (0.07 per cent) and oiland gas (0.06 per cent).

While metal, healthcareand infrastructure indicesended higher up to 1.65 percent. In the broader markets,the small-cap index fell 0.43 percent, and mid-caps shed 0.06per cent. Tepid earnings bysome more companies andforeign fund outflows alsodampened trading sentiments,brokers said.

On a net basis, foreignportfolio investors (FPIs) soldshares worth Rs 125.05 crore,while domestic institutionalinvestors (DIIs) offloadedshares worth Rs 232.55 croreMonday, provisional datashowed. In the Asian region,Japan's Nikkei climbed 2.61 percent, Korea's Kospi was up0.45 per cent, Taiwan indexgained 0.93 per cent andShanghai Composite Indexedged 0.68 per cent higher.Hong Kong's Hang Seng too up0.10 per cent.

��,#�',#��%#��#�!�%��$��3�$&#3%$��$))���$6!&!#"7�*'��#�New Delhi: The gov-

ernment and private playersneed to work together inhealthcare sector to increaseaffordability of medical ser-vices as rising cost impactsaccess to patients, experts

said Tuesday.Arun Mitra, core com-

mittee member of theAlliance of Doctors forEthical Healthcare, suggeststhat the government shouldtake steps such as 'one drug,

one price' formula, strength-ening of NationalPharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA) and pub-lic sector units in pharmasector. These steps wouldhelp increase access to afford-

able medicines to all people,he said at a roundtable meet-ing on 'Cost of Life SavingMedicines - Is there a wayout?', organised by startupStraight Drive.

Mitra also emphasised

on the need to boost expen-diture on R&D by the gov-ernment on medicines.

Priti Nanda Sibal,founder, AB Hospitals, saidthe government shouldinvolve all the stakeholders

while taking decisions onprice regulations for medi-cines. “Multiple pillars areinvolved in this segment andthey have to come together topromote the growth of thesector," she said. PTI

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The Ministry of Finance spent�1,157 crore on various heads

during 2017-18 without obtainingprior approval of Parliament, theComptroller and Auditor General(CAG) report tabled in Parliament onTuesday said.

Excess expenditure aggregating�1,156.80 crore was incurred during2017-18 without obtaining priorapproval of Parliament, the CAGreport 'Financial Audit' of the Accountsof the Union Government said.

The report further noted that theMinistry of Finance did not devise asuitable mechanism in respect of newservice/new instrument of service,which led to the extra spending.

The Department of EconomicAffairs under finance ministry failedto obtain legislative approval for aug-menting provision (for extra expen-diture), the report added.

“As per the guidelines, any aug-mentation of provision by way of re-appropriation to the object heads (i)grants-in-aid (ii) subsidies (iii) majorworks attracts limitation of New

Service (NS)/New Instrument ofService (NIS) and hence require priorapproval of Parliament,” CAG reportsaid.

The Public Accounts Committee(PAC) in its 83rd report had also takenserious view on cases of augmentationof provision of object head 'grants-in-aid' and 'subsidies'.

PAC noted that these serious laps-es are a pointer towards faulty budgetestimation and deficient observancesof financial rules by the ministries/departments concerned.

There is an imperative need on thepart of the Ministry of Finance todevise an effective mechanism forimposing financial discipline on all theministries/departments so as to avoidrecurrence of such serious lapses,CAG report said.

“Despite the PAC recommenda-tions, Ministry of Finance had notdevised a suitable mechanism, asresult of which, during 2017-18 incases across 13 grants, there wasexcess expenditure over total authori-sation aggregating to �1,156.80 crorewithout obtaining approval ofParliament,” as per the report.

Script Open High Low LTPAPOLLOHOSP 1,130.00 1,190.40 1,100.00 1,135.45TATASTEEL 479 496.95 476.6 487.95PETRONET 222.85 226.05 221.8 222.65RELIANCE 1,253.00 1,272.00 1,251.90 1,256.70HEG 2,170.00 2,432.20 2,025.00 2,402.95IBULHSGFIN 606 622.8 591.85 598.9YESBANK 173.7 176.1 171.75 172.35AXISBANK 700.75 713 698.5 705.85SAIL 45.1 48 44.55 47.25RELCAPITAL 135.05 140.7 126.5 136.5RELINFRA 117.4 118.5 107 112.3GRAPHITE 417.1 431.4 395 421.5ICICIBANK 349.85 352 343.25 344.45JINDALSTEL 128.55 142.5 128.2 141.2BAJAJHLDNG 3,111.55 3,122.00 3,075.00 3,100.00JETAIRWAYS 205.25 224.4 203.9 220.85GRUH 245.3 250.2 242.3 243.65SUNPHARMA 428 443.95 424 436.75TATAMOTORS 153.6 154.2 150.75 151.45MARUTI 7,217.00 7,229.00 7,122.00 7,145.10INFY 763 763 741 750.4BAJFINANCE 2,662.25 2,676.40 2,616.00 2,623.60SBIN 280.25 282.2 274.5 275.4DHFL 102.3 108.7 102.3 106.1M&M 649 657.55 644.75 648.6EICHERMOT 20,212.00 21,194.00 20,100.00 21,032.10TITAN 1,056.00 1,074.50 1,051.00 1,066.65TCS 2,070.00 2,077.00 2,020.35 2,050.65HINDALCO 200.15 202.7 197.15 198.6ZEEL 408.6 418.65 401.7 414.9BRITANNIA 3,094.45 3,095.00 2,991.10 3,004.95NCC 80.9 84.6 78.1 83.55ASIANPAINT 1,435.00 1,456.55 1,434.55 1,448.70DRREDDY 2,625.70 2,674.40 2,586.45 2,647.50IOC 137.3 137.95 133.7 134.5VEDL 152.05 158 150.6 152.9JSWSTEEL 262.4 274.25 257.5 271.8BALKRISIND 817.7 845 802.7 835.15IGL 275.65 275.8 258.25 269.35ITC 277.45 280.45 274.5 275.45IPCALAB 733.95 750.05 730 738.6KOTAKBANK 1,303.95 1,311.00 1,295.25 1,298.60LT 1,245.95 1,264.05 1,238.00 1,244.65GNFC 290 290 270.75 275.5SUNTV 574 578.25 557.35 560.65BATAINDIA 1,204.00 1,205.30 1,183.10 1,189.00BEML 796 800 756.2 765GAIL 322.5 327.05 322 326.15DISHTV 30.05 34.7 29.45 33.55MOTHERSUMI 132.7 134.5 127.5 129MINDTREE 921 927.6 894.5 900.6ESCORTS 638.1 647.35 608.85 610.55JUBLFOOD 1,324.00 1,325.00 1,275.35 1,296.50TECHM 810.1 814.35 796.4 805.35SPICEJET 78.75 79.75 77.1 77.8MGL 920 938 864.4 874.15HDFCBANK 2,139.00 2,148.30 2,125.20 2,129.70CANFINHOME 240.9 269.7 240.85 264.8HDFC 1,951.00 1,955.95 1,901.90 1,905.60IDFCFIRSTB 45.25 45.75 44.7 45.15PNB 71 72.2 70.9 71.35DLF 166.8 166.8 157.95 159.25AUROPHARMA 764 772 760.9 768.05SRF 2,206.60 2,237.45 2,161.35 2,196.00RPOWER 11.1 11.15 10.6 10.75HINDUNILVR 1,805.00 1,808.05 1,789.00 1,794.85COALINDIA 220.7 223.8 219.5 222.95ASHOKLEY 83.35 83.5 81.05 81.35RAYMOND 689.95 715.2 681 701.45SPARC 153.8 158 151.45 155.8PCJEWELLER 68 68.35 65.35 66.6PFC 100.65 101.55 99.4 99.85SRTRANSFIN 1,057.00 1,069.15 1,034.55 1,045.35INDUSINDBK 1,511.15 1,523.00 1,488.30 1,496.55PEL 2,122.65 2,193.00 2,122.65 2,179.50ACC 1,370.00 1,384.90 1,356.00 1,373.20RCOM 5.38 5.75 5.11 5.62BANKINDIA 85.05 85.9 82.4 82.9BAJAJFINSV 6,070.00 6,166.70 6,070.00 6,102.95BANKBARODA 104.1 105.4 102.25 102.6NTPC 131.5 133.75 130.2 133.1JSL 28.4 33.15 27.75 32.75DMART 1,440.05 1,464.30 1,434.40 1,439.65HEROMOTOCO 2,885.00 2,885.00 2,788.70 2,802.40INDIGO 1,180.95 1,188.80 1,165.00 1,174.10VIPIND 453.7 457.15 431.4 444.05INDIACEM 76.9 79.65 74.85 79.1TATAGLOBAL 178.8 188.9 178.35 186.05BEL 77.7 79.85 76.2 77.75WIPRO 373 375.3 368.5 374.3STAR 402.1 417.9 399.6 412.25AJANTPHARM 1,017.95 1,020.00 982.9 1,006.70NESTLEIND 10,780.00 10,851.75 10,616.65 10,798.65LUPIN 820 824.5 808.9 812.85IDEA 31.1 31.1 29.1 29.5BAJAJ-AUTO 2,851.00 2,853.00 2,816.60 2,832.45BANDHANBNK 464 477.95 458 471.6KSCL 538.85 542.15 503.3 510.3ADANIPORTS 328.8 329.9 323.8 327.1WOCKPHARMA 408 415.4 404.4 407.75DIVISLAB 1,638.00 1,650.15 1,614.70 1,639.90NIITTECH 1,323.00 1,336.20 1,290.20 1,295.25STRTECH 218.2 222.5 181 216.35ONGC 138.9 141 136.6 137.5HAVELLS 725 730.1 707.3 710PIIND 851 913.7 850 884.6NATIONALUM 54 54.3 51.1 52.05CIPLA 540 545.1 535.85 542.2

RECLTD 120 122.8 119.1 121.75TATACHEM 582 585.15 567.05 570.2PIDILITIND 1,134.85 1,142.10 1,110.00 1,133.00UJJIVAN 274 274 257.8 264.5JUSTDIAL 467 486.05 467 483.15CANBK 226 227.6 220 221.15OFSS 3,776.15 3,844.45 3,764.75 3,801.35GRASIM 718 727.3 710.4 718.75ICICIGI 855.25 889.6 855.25 884.25LICHSGFIN 442.05 453.1 442.05 447.85RBLBANK 566.1 571.7 560.5 563.45L&TFH 125.5 128 124.85 125.6TATAELXSI 905.05 911 885.1 889.25HINDPETRO 232.5 237.55 231.5 233.6BIOCON 637.05 653 637.05 643.95MRF 55,540.05 56,100.00 55,005.00 55,346.50INFIBEAM 32.4 34.7 32.1 33.4AMARAJABAT 730 759.6 730 741.25ADANIPOWER 34.7 35.5 33.65 33.95OMAXE 212.5 212.5 210.35 210.85RAJESHEXPO 581.7 581.7 569 572.3BHARTIARTL 312 315.3 310 311.5UPL 806 813 791.1 794.9MFSL 371 396 370.15 391.3GODFRYPHLP 920 920 867.05 878.4CENTURYTEX 733 746 726.9 735ULTRACEMCO 3,427.00 3,500.00 3,414.10 3,452.75EXIDEIND 210 214 208.3 209.5CEATLTD 1,084.00 1,092.50 1,055.00 1,060.95BPCL 334 343 334 339.15BLISSGVS 147.25 151.4 147 148JISLJALEQS 54 54.85 53.5 54.4INFRATEL 322.75 322.75 310.5 312.85CGPOWER 34.15 34.7 32 33.75UNIONBANK 72.15 72.65 70.1 70.55ENGINERSIN 108.95 116 108.8 113.55BOSCHLTD 18,800.00 18,800.00 18,500.00 18,610.00CHOLAFIN 1,208.00 1,228.55 1,178.45 1,193.10POWERGRID 182.5 186.25 180.65 181.3IBVENTURES 274 283.4 271.15 276.5NMDC 94.55 96.4 93.95 95MANAPPURAM 102.45 105.25 102.45 104.7IDBI 43.05 44.9 42.95 43.3GMRINFRA 14.65 15.1 14.45 14.65SREINFRA 23.65 24.3 22.85 24.05TVSMOTOR 489 498 485.8 489.55BHEL 62.2 62.55 61.25 61.6

M&MFIN 386 391.65 379.7 382CUMMINSIND 725.05 725.05 706 711.05KAJARIACER 497 518.5 493.95 516.1PAGEIND 23,700.00 23,969.55 23,639.70 23,711.85INDIANB 203 207.2 200.65 204.9EDELWEISS 134.95 135.85 131 132.2EQUITAS 112 113.7 109.4 111.8PHILIPCARB 153 155.95 150 152.9MARICO 368 368 354.25 357.85HCLTECH 1,078.00 1,078.00 1,052.85 1,059.35ITI 95.85 96.6 92.7 93.3ICICIPRULI 300 307.65 296.05 298.4SUNTECK 352.15 356 346.65 353.4TATAPOWER 66 67.2 65.5 66.35GODREJCP 695 705.45 690 692.3HEXAWARE 355.25 362.3 349.4 358.35FEDERALBNK 83.45 84.3 82.4 82.95ATUL 3,402.00 3,436.95 3,370.00 3,424.35ORIENTBANK 85 86.3 83.25 83.85NBCC 53.3 54.45 52.95 54TATAMTRDVR 81.8 82.8 79.85 80.1DELTACORP 225.9 226.5 223.1 224.8CASTROLIND 146.95 153.1 145.5 152.65BOMDYEING 103.75 108.95 102.5 105.4LTI 1,790.00 1,831.00 1,770.15 1,786.55DABUR 455 455 444.5 446.55INDHOTEL 137 138.85 133 135.75SWANENERGY 96.2 98 95.55 97.1RADICO 417.85 425.55 414.3 416.65REDINGTON 66.05 77 64.3 72.2MEGH 55.7 55.7 51.5 52DBL 360.25 371.85 360.25 366.9IBREALEST 66 67.7 65.7 66.8VENKYS 2,165.00 2,167.45 2,084.00 2,098.40BHARATFORG 476.7 486 471 484UBL 1,378.15 1,392.00 1,378.00 1,388.95JPASSOCIAT 5.15 5.36 5 5.07HINDCOPPER 44.9 46.9 44.6 45.65HSCL 111.55 115 107.55 110.95APOLLOTYRE 202.5 205.1 199.5 201.25

JSLHISAR 80.15 85 80.1 83.35MUTHOOTFIN 507.9 515.25 506.55 512.7SUZLON 3.42 3.6 3.34 3.43TORNTPOWER 234 239.9 233.2 235.05TEAMLEASE 2,792.95 2,875.70 2,792.95 2,839.85SOUTHBANK 13.1 13.39 13.05 13.16JUBILANT 737 743 718 721.4JAICORPLTD 88.25 89.8 85.8 86.6BAJAJELEC 482 485 458.2 462.75MCX 688.95 700 683 694.95VOLTAS 524.15 528.5 519.05 522.4WABCOINDIA 6,162.00 6,266.80 6,139.20 6,155.30MPHASIS 995 1,024.80 991.85 1,019.55GLENMARK 600 611.5 593.95 603.45SUVEN 225 239 225 236.45LAXMIMACH 5,750.00 5,750.00 5,515.00 5,525.45HDFCLIFE 355 360.1 351.75 354.05AVANTI 334.1 335.5 324.45 327.85ABB 1,231.05 1,266.45 1,231.00 1,251.55ALBK 39.6 40.75 38.8 39.45ISGEC 4,821.00 5,000.00 4,778.00 4,899.45IDFC 37.15 37.5 35.5 35.7LALPATHLAB 1,040.55 1,052.90 992.05 1,007.80PERSISTENT* 640 668 629.15 647.95SIEMENS 1,033.55 1,048.00 1,007.00 1,013.50AARTIIND 1,533.80 1,559.60 1,470.00 1,486.95LINDEINDIA 429 448.2 425.4 437.65NOCIL 123.7 124.85 119.65 120.45PVR 1,514.90 1,514.90 1,448.90 1,454.70IRB 123.6 126.35 121 122.05TNPL 200 200 185 192.05ABCAPITAL 79.45 80.35 79.1 79.95CADILAHC 325 327.05 318.1 318.7PFIZER 2,955.00 3,037.55 2,860.00 2,901.55BERGEPAINT 300 307.1 299 305.8FSL 43 44.5 43 43.45EVEREADY 217 218.6 197.75 203.35AMBUJACEM 205.8 209 203.95 207.4KTKBANK 114 115.6 113.3 114.25NAUKRI 1,700.00 1,715.00 1,607.05 1,625.95PNBHOUSING 960 960 904.55 914.7RCF 54.8 55.2 54 54.15SYNDIBANK 32.05 33.9 32.05 32.4LTTS 1,532.00 1,558.05 1,525.50 1,545.00FORCEMOT 1,367.00 1,383.00 1,346.25 1,351.80OIL 170.25 171.95 168.25 169.85GUJALKALI 482.1 482.1 465.25 469CONCOR 519.8 523 509.5 512.3PARAGMILK 209.05 211 204 204.6BHARATFIN 943.8 943.95 932.95 937.3HEIDELBERG 143.8 150.95 143.2 147NAVINFLUOR 595 620.8 593 615.65REPCOHOME 363.4 375.05 363 368.65NHPC 23.3 24.15 23.3 23.55FRETAIL 418 436 418 432.5CAPPL 351.5 365 323.8 333.4HINDZINC 248 253.45 247 250.15KRBL 323.65 332.45 311.5 315.7GSFC 89.05 90.15 88.55 89.35MANPASAND 84.6 86 80.25 81.25VGUARD 196.7 196.7 191.9 193.3COLPAL 1,285.05 1,292.00 1,273.00 1,274.65RAIN 100 104.7 98.6 100.25EMAMILTD 368 368 353.65 360.15GODREJAGRO 483.35 484.75 479.7 480.45GODREJIND 486.4 497.05 485.1 491HFCL 21.6 21.75 21.35 21.6GEPIL 730.2 799.9 708.9 777.55INTELLECT 168.85 171.05 165.6 167.85WESTLIFE 361 366.9 354 357.8NATCOPHARM* 679.3 682.5 652 666.15DCBBANK 176.7 180 176.7 178.9UFLEX 238 239.5 227 229.55CYIENT* 582.9 590 580.6 588.6THERMAX 1,083.95 1,083.95 1,031.00 1,049.70TATACOMM 482 487.75 481.35 485.35CENTRALBK 28.4 28.95 28.3 28.45GREAVESCOT 123.7 124.4 122.3 123.7FCONSUMER 43.3 44.35 42 42.6SHREECEM 15,977.00 16,179.40 15,751.65 15,832.35GODREJPROP 733 733 707.15 715.5VTL 1,010.55 1,018.00 991.1 995.05DEEPAKNI 220.5 225.85 219.05 221.1GESHIP 298.3 298.3 240.05 280.5TRIDENT 61.15 61.85 61.05 61.45JINDALSAW 78.5 79.8 77.25 77.6TORNTPHARM 1,790.00 1,814.15 1,790.00 1,800.75BBTC 1,177.60 1,201.40 1,176.00 1,197.00RALLIS 155 156 151.2 152.5HSIL 233.8 237.45 230.6 231.4MAHINDCIE 227.4 228.4 224.5 226.9SBILIFE 565 584.25 561.15 576.3KEI 345.55 352 340.1 345.75APLLTD 536.05 560 528.5 545.4MMTC 24 24.65 23.85 24.3HUDCO 39 39.35 38.6 38.75TV18BRDCST 32.4 32.7 31.7 32ABFRL 210.1 212 210 211.35LUXIND 1,163.50 1,189.75 1,148.05 1,170.85QUESS 636.95 670.45 633.7 661.95FORTIS 134.45 135.25 134.45 134.9OBEROIRLTY 441.15 454.15 441.15 445.7ASTRAZEN 1,834.95 1,864.20 1,785.00 1,808.40VINATIORGA 1,643.00 1,665.60 1,595.30 1,614.70GICRE 217.95 217.95 206.35 209.35IBULISL 218 241.95 218 234.65SHANKARA 367.55 367.55 356.55 367.55TATAMETALI 601.25 615 594 602.05GSKCONS 7,525.00 7,552.50 7,500.10 7,528.00

VIJAYABANK 40.45 41 40 40.25RAMCOCEM 595.8 608 595.8 604.65JKTYRE 89.35 89.8 87.7 88CHENNPETRO 217.75 219.4 213.65 216.8CRISIL 1,579.70 1,644.90 1,574.00 1,621.60ALKEM 1,885.35 1,895.00 1,817.00 1,840.75SCI 37.8 38.3 35.2 36.15MOIL 156.05 157.4 155.85 156.6WABAG 267.85 282.5 267.85 277.95EIDPARRY 189.8 196.6 186.35 192.9SADBHAV 176.1 180 170 173.8SONATSOFTW 327.75 333.6 325.65 329.1VBL 792.05 792.05 754.75 772.75MOTILALOFS 590.9 590.95 573 575.25CORPBANK 25 25.6 24.8 25.1FINCABLES 389.55 389.55 378.1 379.4JSWENERGY 66.05 67.5 66 66.85DEEPAKFERT 117 118.6 115.2 117.93MINDIA 21,875.05 21,875.05 20,900.00 21,190.75HONAUT 21,328.35 21,600.00 20,700.00 21,600.00TIMETECHNO 79.9 80.75 76.2 78.45MRPL 63.4 64.65 63.3 63.7CENTRUM 29 30.15 28.9 29.2CROMPTON 211 212.75 207.4 208.7IFCI 12.4 12.5 12.11 12.37PGHH 10,149.00 10,194.85 10,011.00 10,127.35WELSPUNIND 51.55 51.55 51 51.05CARERATING 961 961 922.95 940.8NLCINDIA 62 68.7 61.7 64.7JAMNAAUTO 51 51.55 50.3 50.7WELCORP 95.1 99.3 95.05 96.9ITDCEM 110.1 113.5 108.6 109.15SYNGENE 595 596.05 588 594.6SUDARSCHEM 301.9 308.65 301.9 306.65IEX 163.85 168 162.4 167.2GRANULES 86.85 87.7 85.8 86.75KEC 246.95 251.4 246.6 250.55CHAMBLFERT 169.05 170.8 166.65 167.65GALAXYSURF 1,008.30 1,008.30 952 978.85JMFINANCIL 74.55 76.45 74 75.1PTC 72.25 73.5 72 73.15IOB 12.5 14.8 12.32 12.48MINDAIND 265.65 269.35 260 265.4KANSAINER 461 463.8 451.4 459.4GICHSGFIN 215.05 222.85 215.05 219.55ADANITRANS 216.95 217 210.7 211.3SUPRAJIT 198.95 200 189.05 190.2MERCK 3,276.05 3,299.15 3,238.25 3,240.30ISEC 190 195.35 188.8 193.65ANDHRABANK 24 24 23 23.35GUJGAS 123.9 126 123.5 124.8INOXWIND 66.9 70 65.5 68MAHLOG 430.15 438.65 418.8 427.8FDC 161.7 164.75 161 163.3ADVENZYMES 153 164.15 151.15 157.7MONSANTO 2,620.00 2,651.00 2,535.85 2,543.15SUPPETRO 203.95 210 203.95 209.7SYMPHONY 1,174.25 1,187.50 1,160.00 1,172.60ADANIGREEN 32.65 33.25 31.7 32.05ALLCARGO 103.1 105.25 101.35 103.9JBCHEPHARM 311.25 316.7 311.25 315.35AEGISLOG 192 195.9 185.5 193.5SOBHA 462 462 449 449.35INOXLEISUR 261.2 262.2 250.65 252.75LAOPALA 205 211.95 200.75 209.9RNAM 154.5 159 154.5 157.4CERA 2,305.45 2,344.90 2,200.05 2,223.25ASTRAL 1,139.75 1,154.45 1,126.00 1,148.40COCHINSHIP 352.05 356.2 348.05 349.75COFFEEDAY 255 255 248.75 250.6NETWORK18 33.4 34.5 32.75 33.4LAKSHVILAS 58.05 60.8 58 60TATAINVEST 840 840 833 836.85FINOLEXIND 498.2 504.95 492 500.05HAL 659 659 638.5 641.2SANOFI 6,296.15 6,375.90 6,258.80 6,314.95GSPL 163.5 166 162.4 165.2ZENSARTECH 216.2 219.95 209.6 217.2JKLAKSHMI 305.85 308.2 294.95 300ABBOTINDIA 7,700.00 7,777.00 7,658.45 7,732.95NAVKARCORP 41 41.75 39.75 40.1BALMLAWRIE 175 176 171.45 172.7CUB 187.6 187.8 186 186.35SUNDRMFAST 518.6 519.8 512.95 515.95APLAPOLLO 1,085.70 1,099.00 1,078.00 1,095.10AUBANK 584 585.85 576.1 579.15THOMASCOOK 217.9 217.95 207.7 210DCAL 194.6 197.8 187.15 194.75BDL 241.75 243 234 234.65HERITGFOOD 463.55 475.65 455 464.9FORBESCO 1,990.00 1,996.00 1,935.00 1,948.00DENABANK 11.2 11.25 11.01 11.04AIAENG 1,650.05 1,660.00 1,619.45 1,654.90ENDURANCE 1,258.85 1,284.00 1,250.00 1,281.55GLAXO 1,380.05 1,400.15 1,370.10 1,378.85BIRLACORPN 468 470.05 452.55 455.65SJVN 25.95 25.95 25.5 25.6TATACOFFEE 83 84.7 82.75 84.15BAYERCROP 4,233.30 4,349.00 4,202.65 4,294.10DHANUKA 398.7 399.9 372.4 378.45WHIRLPOOL 1,420.00 1,420.00 1,391.00 1,396.05ELGIEQUIP 240.5 249.95 239.3 248.45DCMSHRIRAM 332.3 344.15 331.65 338.6VMART 2,596.40 2,647.00 2,515.00 2,545.20HIMATSEIDE 174.6 176.1 173.4 174.3PRSMJOHNSN 70.05 71.7 70 70.35GHCL 226 229 221.45 225MAGMA 89.75 91.45 85.3 86.35CENTURYPLY 166.05 168.4 163.8 165.2

MHRIL 193.5 194.95 189.5 191.65MAXINDIA 77.4 77.8 75.15 76.15SOMANYCERA 330 330 313.4 316.7TAKE 128 128.3 125 125.55KNRCON 197.25 202 195.05 201.3BASF 1,289.60 1,304.00 1,270.00 1,275.50COROMANDEL 456.1 458.2 452 456.35NESCO 444.85 445 434.45 441.45ASHOKA 112.65 115.1 110.1 111.05KIOCL 125 130.1 120.6 123.6NBVENTURES 103.25 104.35 99.75 100.35SHOPERSTOP 488.15 504.95 480.85 500.2NILKAMAL 1,290.05 1,304.00 1,282.85 1,285.45EIHOTEL 187.55 191.45 187.35 189.55SOLARINDS 975.05 975.65 957.75 967.6ESSELPRO 107.35 108.55 104.1 107.85J&KBANK 38.35 39 38.1 38.4BLUESTARCO 583.2 595 577 578.9ZYDUSWELL 1,296.00 1,305.00 1,256.00 1,267.00KALPATPOWR 349.75 359.25 345 354.15GMDCLTD 76.95 77.15 74.1 76.45GET&D 277.7 295 277.7 291.6GPPL 80.15 81.2 78.85 79.2THYROCARE 482 497.25 482 494.15TEJASNET 146.75 151.1 138 140.8MAHABANK 13.2 13.29 13 13.01ITDC 250.05 258.5 246.45 250.5AKZOINDIA 1,724.35 1,727.55 1,700.00 1,701.50LEMONTREE 70.75 72.4 70.45 71.8SKFINDIA 1,929.80 1,949.00 1,928.15 1,940.60TIMKEN 558.9 561 546 547.9UCOBANK 17.6 17.6 17.1 17.25TRENT 342.8 343.15 339.05 340TIINDIA 347.3 349.05 342.25 348.95SCHAEFFLER 5,514.85 5,536.65 5,435.85 5,529.95MINDACORP 132.55 136.85 129.95 132JKCEMENT 697.35 707.05 685 691.35CARBORUNIV 344.55 344.75 334.1 341.7GREENPLY 129.55 134 128.2 129.75SUPREMEIND 998 998.5 985.5 991.45PRESTIGE 201.2 202.5 198.6 201.2GDL 103 103.5 100.1 101.7HATSUN 681.1 688.8 677.9 679.8ECLERX 1,013.00 1,013.00 982.65 984LAURUSLABS 337 337.25 331 332.9GUJFLUORO 867.2 880 850.2 855.95BLUEDART 3,100.00 3,139.00 3,092.60 3,098.20PHOENIXLTD 584 596.8 575.7 577.7JAGRAN 95.9 97.85 95.45 95.6CCL 277.9 279.15 274.65 277.05SIS 762.4 762.4 746 752.8TRITURBINE 102.15 102.95 100.15 101.7BAJAJCON 349.95 356.2 349 351.7RELAXO 744.1 748.2 742.9 744.9SHARDACROP 327 327 320 321.1GILLETTE 6,483.20 6,499.90 6,428.00 6,499.65JYOTHYLAB 180 182.85 178.5 181.35SCHNEIDER 87.05 88.75 87.05 88ERIS 644.05 644.05 620.8 624.4NIACL 168 173 168 171.85SUNCLAYLTD 2,570.00 2,676.80 2,500.05 2,589.10GAYAPROJ 161.3 161.3 154 157.7FLFL 430.45 436.25 430.45 436.25TIFHL 430.05 432 425.25 426.7ASAHIINDIA 245 247.9 242.3 242.75PNCINFRA 143 144.25 141.5 143.5DBCORP 176.2 178.5 175.5 175.85NAVNETEDUL 105.3 106.1 104.5 105.8TVSSRICHAK 2,264.80 2,302.00 2,264.80 2,292.50ASTERDM 154.15 157 154.05 154.8IFBIND 743 743.9 730.5 733.05ORIENTCEM 66.35 70.7 66 69.7TTKPRESTIG 7,797.55 7,805.50 7,771.70 7,773.35SHK 162.55 163.75 161 161.25INDOSTAR 326.25 326.25 316.45 321.35STARCEMENT 87.1 87.1 85.1 86.3SHILPAMED 359.25 359.25 351 357.5TVTODAY 318.25 320.15 311.1 316.95KPRMILL 529 539.9 528.1 529.1APARINDS 605.95 628.4 602.65 610.45MAHLIFE 372.65 372.65 370.3 371.25NH 195.2 197.9 195.2 196.2RATNAMANI 847.05 856.05 841 845.65GULFOILLUB 872.2 877.3 870 872.75GRINDWELL 508.7 510.95 508.1 509JCHAC 1,720.00 1,720.00 1,704.15 1,712.95SHRIRAMCIT 1,521.05 1,555.40 1,521.00 1,521.00

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10,879.70 10,910.90 10,823.80 10,831.40 -57.4ZEEL 404 419 401.6 418 16.3JSWSTEEL 261.55 274.5 257.5 272 10.4SUNPHARMA 427.2 444 424.05 442.45 13.9NTPC 130.05 133.95 130 133.25 2.9COALINDIA 219.8 223.9 219.35 223.1 4.3EICHERMOT 20,470.00 21,300.00 20,070.00 21,137.90 384.75DRREDDY 2,619.00 2,676.45 2,584.00 2,663.00 47.65BPCL 334 343.5 334 339.3 5.7GAIL 322 326.55 321.45 326.25 4.1TATASTEEL 478.4 497.2 476.7 486.55 5.85TITAN 1,058.00 1,073.95 1,050.10 1,066.00 9.6ASIANPAINT 1,438.50 1,456.90 1,435.25 1,449.00 11.9ULTRACEMCO 3,440.00 3,498.30 3,415.05 3,467.00 17.6HINDPETRO 231.25 237.95 231 232.75 1.15VEDL 151.9 157.95 150.7 152.9 0.75GRASIM 717 727.9 710 720.1 3.45WIPRO 374.15 376.25 368.35 374.8 1.75RELIANCE 1,251.50 1,272.35 1,251.50 1,255.50 2.25BAJAJFINSV 6,115.00 6,174.00 6,065.10 6,104.00 7.75M&M 647 657.8 644 647.6 0.05CIPLA 540.05 545.7 536.1 543.05 -0.25LT 1,244.50 1,264.90 1,241.55 1,245.00 -1.5KOTAKBANK 1,300.00 1,310.00 1,295.30 1,298.00 -3.55POWERGRID 183 186.4 180.45 181.8 -0.55YESBANK 173 176.25 172.1 172.65 -0.6TATAMOTORS 152.95 154.4 150.6 152 -0.65HDFCBANK 2,138.00 2,148.00 2,124.80 2,130.05 -9.6MARUTI 7,193.00 7,230.00 7,127.95 7,141.00 -36.9TECHM 809.9 814.9 796.45 805 -4.4ITC 277.05 280.5 274.6 275.6 -1.5BHARTIARTL 311.7 315.6 309.65 310.35 -1.85HINDALCO 199 202.7 197 198.25 -1.2ONGC 138.5 140.95 136.55 137.3 -0.9HINDUNILVR 1,810.00 1,812.00 1,789.00 1,793.00 -11.8IBULHSGFIN 607 623.7 593.3 594 -4.05TCS 2,070.00 2,070.00 2,018.00 2,051.00 -14.9INDUSINDBK 1,512.10 1,522.75 1,486.25 1,498.80 -12.2ADANIPORTS 328.8 329.95 323.25 325.65 -3.15BAJAJ-AUTO 2,845.60 2,854.00 2,819.50 2,825.00 -28.6AXISBANK 701 713.4 700 703.45 -7.4IOC 137 137.9 133.9 134.4 -1.45BAJFINANCE 2,668.00 2,677.15 2,616.30 2,616.95 -40.25INFY 760.35 760.35 741 750.4 -12.4HCLTECH 1,076.00 1,078.40 1,052.75 1,061.00 -18.35UPL 807 812.5 791.65 792 -13.85ICICIBANK 349 352 343.25 344 -6.05SBIN 280.65 282.2 274.65 275.1 -5.4HDFC 1,950.00 1,956.40 1,901.15 1,904.50 -43.7HEROMOTOCO 2,896.85 2,896.85 2,785.00 2,802.00 -87.05INFRATEL 323 324.4 310.65 312.7 -10.8

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26,259.25 26,336.60 26,060.60 26,094.40 -145.6SAIL 44.95 47.95 44.5 47.2 2.4PEL 2,122.00 2,193.00 2,122.00 2,177.00 57.75ICICIGI 856 889 856 880 22.2ABB 1,244.20 1,265.00 1,227.00 1,263.00 29.2BANDHANBNK 463.6 477.95 457.25 472.3 8.1BEL 76.85 79.95 76.15 77.9 1.15NIACL 170.25 174.9 169 172.25 2.3PIDILITIND 1,127.00 1,142.90 1,108.50 1,139.90 14.35SBILIFE 569.85 585.65 562.1 574 7.15ABCAPITAL 79.4 80.25 79 80 0.9NMDC 94.2 96.55 93.75 95.15 1NHPC 23.4 24.15 23.35 23.65 0.2PGHH 10,160.50 10,205.05 10,018.00 10,200.00 81.2ICICIPRULI 296 307.85 295.55 300.2 2ACC 1,368.00 1,383.85 1,356.45 1,376.00 7.7AUROPHARMA 770 772 760.1 767 3.85OFSS 3,780.00 3,848.95 3,762.90 3,792.85 4.45LICHSGFIN 448.6 453.55 443.2 447 0.2AMBUJACEM 207.55 209 203.75 207.6 0MCDOWELL-N 531.2 535.5 525.05 527.45 -0.1BIOCON 643 653.4 636.8 644 -0.2MRF 55,750.00 56,178.00 54,900.00 55,300.00 -45.6L&TFH 125.85 128 124.65 125.5 -0.15HINDZINC 249.9 253.5 246.2 249.05 -0.4MARICO 361.8 362.85 354.25 358.5 -1.1OIL 170.45 172 169.05 169.6 -0.75HDFCLIFE 355.3 360.3 351.35 354.9 -1.7BHEL 62.5 62.6 61.5 61.6 -0.35DMART 1,452.00 1,465.40 1,435.00 1,438.45 -12.85COLPAL 1,292.00 1,292.50 1,272.40 1,274.00 -11.8SHREECEM 15,950.00 16,217.95 15,731.00 15,815.05 -148.3LUPIN 822.55 824.75 806.25 812.8 -7.7GODREJCP 701 705.45 688.95 691.35 -6.65DABUR 450.9 452.9 444 444.5 -4.45BOSCHLTD 18,780.05 18,780.05 18,500.10 18,600.00 -198.7INDIGO 1,184.45 1,189.70 1,169.00 1,174.10 -12.95CONCOR 519.45 523.9 509 515 -5.65BANKBARODA 103.9 105.35 102.3 102.75 -1.15PETRONET 223 226.15 221.75 222.25 -2.55SRTRANSFIN 1,059.00 1,070.00 1,033.50 1,039.95 -16.3CADILAHC 324.5 326.35 318.4 319 -5.4SIEMENS 1,036.80 1,048.60 1,005.00 1,010.80 -19HAVELLS 726 733.45 705.5 708.3 -15.05ASHOKLEY 83 83.55 81 81.2 -1.9SUNTV 570.25 578.5 558 560.5 -13.55DLF 164 165.65 157.6 159.8 -3.9MOTHERSUMI 131.15 134.2 127.15 128.85 -3.85BRITANNIA 3,105.00 3,107.00 3,001.00 3,014.90 -92.65GICRE 215.9 216.5 207.35 209.25 -6.65IDEA 30.95 30.95 29.5 29.6 -1.55

Page 12: ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer · 2019-03-15 · Joint Director AK Sharma, as ... bers in Assembly and Council protested against the ... as advocate by the British in 1922 and freedom fighter

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Embattled British PrimeMinister Theresa May on

Tuesday asked MPs to give her“some time” to complete nego-tiations with the EuropeanUnion (EU) in order to bringback a deal for a Parliamentvote and deliver Brexit in timefor the March 29 deadline.

In an important update tothe House of Commons, Maycalled for patience as the talkswith the EU were at a “crucialstage” and promised MPs a“meaningful vote” over areworked withdrawal agree-ment.

“Having secured an agree-ment with the European Unionfor further talks, we now needsome time to complete thatprocess. When we achieve the

progress we need, we will bringforward another meaningfulvote,” she said in her statement.

“The talks are at a crucialstage. We now all need to holdour nerve to get the changes

this House requires and deliv-er Brexit on time,” she said.

May said that by getting thechanges required to the con-troversial Irish backstop – theinsurance policy against a hardborder between the UK and EUmember-country Ireland – shewas confident that she couldbring back a deal more accept-able to MPs, who had voteddown her withdrawal agree-ment in a historic defeat lastmonth.

“We can deliver for thepeople and the communitiesthat voted for change two andhalf years ago – and whosevoices for too long have notbeen heard. We can honour theresult of the referendum,” shesaid, in reference to the June2016 referendum in favour ofBritain’s exit from the EU.

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China and Russia havedeveloped robust and

capable space services and thetwo countries pose a challengeand threat to the space capa-bilities of the US, the Pentagonhas said.

Chinese and Russian mil-itary doctrines indicate theyview space as important tomodern warfare and counter-space capabilities as a means toreduce US and allied militaryeffectiveness, the Pentagon saidin a report released by theDefense Intelligence Agency.

The report “Challenges toSecurity in Space” examines thespace and counterspace pro-grammes that could challengethe US or partner interests inthe space domain.

Noting that both coun-tries have developed robustand capable space services,including space-based intelli-gence, surveillance and recon-naissance, the report saidChina and Russia were makingimprovements to existing sys-tems including space launchvehicles and satellite navigationconstellations.

“These capabilities pro-vide their militaries with theability to command and controltheir forces worldwide withenhanced situational aware-ness, enabling them to moni-tor, track and target US andallied forces,” it said.

Running into more than 40pages, the report mentionsIndia a few times and describesChina and Russia as a majorchallenger to the US, Iran and

North Korea as other spacechallenges. The Pentagon listsIndia as one of the nine coun-tries and one internationalorganisation which can inde-pendently launch spacecraft:China, India, Iran, Israel, Japan,Russia, North Korea, SouthKorea, the United States, andthe European Space Agency(from French Guiana).

While the European Union,Russia and the US’ satellitenavigation constellations offerglobal coverage, Japan andIndia operate regional systems,it said. China operates both aregional and worldwide satellitenavigation system. In its report,the Pentagon said Chinese andRussian space surveillance net-works were capable of search-ing, tracking and characterisingsatellites in all orbits.

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Democrats and Republicanshave reached an agree-

ment in principle to fund theUS Government and avertanother partial Governmentshutdown at the end of theweek while denying PresidentDonald Trump much of themoney he has sought to buildwalls along the US-Mexicoborder.

The announcement by law-makers on Monday night camedays ahead of a possible gov-ernment shutdown in theabsence of such an agreement.

Senate and House negotia-tors from both parties, whoheld a closed-door meeting inWashington, did not commenton the details of the deal, say-ing the staff is still working onlast-minute logistics.

Sharp differences betweenDemocrats and PresidentTrump over border security andbuilding a wall along the US-Mexico border resulted in arecord partial government shut-down for more than 30 days.

“We’ve had a good evening.We’ve reached an agreement inprinciple between us on theHomeland Security and the

other six bills,” Senator RichardShelby told reporters at the USCapitol Hill Monday night.

As a result, the House andthe Senate are likely to pass anew resolution before theFebruary 15 deadline.

According to reports, thebill would provide $1.375 bil-lion for wall construction, farless than $5.7 billion congres-sional funding Trump hasdemanded to build the wall.

But, if accepted, the dealwould end a standoff in whichTrump has threatened to cutbudgets from swaths ofGovernment this Friday.

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President Donald Trumpcharged ahead with his

pledge to build a wall at the US-Mexico border, skimming overthe details of lawmakers’ ten-tative deal that would give himfar less than he’s been demand-ing and declaring he’s “settingthe stage” to deliver on his sig-nature campaign promise.

In the first dueling rallies ofthe 2020 campaign season,Trump’s “Finish the Wall” rallyin El Paso went head-to-headMonday night against coun-terprogramming by BetoO’Rourke, a formerDemocratic congressman andpotential Trump rival in 2020, who argued that wallscause more problems than theysolve.

The rallies across the street

from each other served as apreview of the heated yearslongfight over the direction of thecountry. And they made clearthat Trump’s long-promisedborder wall is sure to play anoutsized role in the presiden-tial race, as both sides use it totry to rally their supporters andhighlight their contrastingapproaches.

Standing in a packed sta-dium under a giant Americanflag and banners saying “FIN-ISH THE WALL,” Trumpinsisted that large portions ofthe project are already underconstruction and vowed to ful-fill his 2016 campaign promiseregardless of what happens inCongress.

“Walls work,” said Trump,whose rally was repeatedlyinterrupted by protesters.“Walls save lives.”

Bratislava(Slovakia): USSecretary of State Mike Pompeoon Tuesday invoked the 30thanniversary of the demise ofcommunism to implore coun-tries in Central and EasternEurope to resist Chinese andRussian influence.

Speaking in the Slovak cap-ital of Bratislava, Pompeo saidChina and Russia pose twinthreats to the democratic andfree-market gains made sincethe fall of the Berlin Wall in1989. He said the post-com-munist countries are particu-larly vulnerable to Chinese andRussian predatory investmentand political meddling. AP

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For a very long time, both Law andManagement courses have gothuge popularity. The reason

which makes them a favourite choicefor students is primarily that thecourses are neutral to all the streamseither Engineering or Humanities.

Second, they have huge scope interms of career and respect in the soci-ety. However, larger the picture theyshow of the future, it also demands alot of focus for preparation along withdetermination and perseverance tocrack the beast like entrance exams ofthe reputed colleges and universities.

Majority of Commerce andHumanities students are the ones whoprefer to ride this journey of prepara-tion for the entrances, be it BMS DUentrance exam or All India LawEntrance Examination (CLAT) light-ly and end up losing the chance of get-ting into their dream college due toleast focusing ability and lack of time-management skill.

Both Law and Management cours-es give huge opportunities like parale-gal, detective, litigators, lawyers, judi-cial services, social work and workingon management level posts in MNCs, banks and also starting one’s own busi-ness respectively. Students and parentsboth understand how important thefoundational step of clearing theentrance exam is and parents need todecide whether they want their childto have fun now and struggle laterwhen the focus shifts to board class inorder to score a good percentage for agood college.

Hence the pre-requisite hard workrequired to crack the exam is well evi-dent. Studying at the 11th hour is nevera fruitful exercise, it does not fetch thestudents much benefit, but if they makeit a regular routine to prepare for apaper with a disciplined outlook, theyare sure to achieve their goals. It'salways good to have a path and visionfrom an early age.

Preparing for entrance exam forLaw is no rocket science and to under-stand how, it is always better to startthe preparation a year before than tohave last minute stress. Syllabus pro-crastinated to the last minute createsanxiety and confusion for students thatleads to demeaning the confidence of

students appearing for competitiveentrance exams, hence it is very muchimportant to start the preparationwell on time. In the initial stage, the syl-labus looks humongous but whensegregated and planned perfectly itbecomes much easier. As it is well saidconsistent efforts always tend to makeyou more confident. Preparing for suchexams require at least few hours ofpractice every day to crack the entranceexams, which is an addition to a busyschedule.

����,��Here is the new change in the

CLAT, 2019 which is national lawentrance exam to enroll into the bestlaw colleges and universities is nowoffline. The major sections in thepaper are general knowledge, currentaffairs, english, logical reasoning and,mathematics.

The dream destination for most ofthe law aspirants for example IIMIndore and many other prestigious col-leges and universities having entrance

test that comprises of three stages thatare first aptitude test consists of quan-titative aptitude and verbal ability.Second is writing ability test and thirdis personal interview.

It is essential to be equipped withall of these topics in order to get anadmission, and one of the keys to crackthese examinations is not only toknow multiple things but also to man-age time simultaneously. The difficul-ty level of an entrance exam seems toincrease because as a student we lack:�Time Management: It becomes veryimportant for a student to focus on classXII boards and to prepare for entranceexaminations. It becomes essential forthe student to strike out a balancebetween the two exams. As one isimportant for you to get an admissionbased on marks and the other gets youa chance to study in a premier acade-mic institution through an entranceexamination.

�Practice: It is important for studentsto spare time to put their efforts in keep-ing pace with constant practice. Thiswill not only make them well versedwith the pattern of competitive examsbut also will help them to have a cut-ting edge over others. So, preparingyoung minds early can prove extreme-ly beneficial for students, It’s like mold-ing clay into a shape when it's still wetwhich is why it stays for a longer dura-tion.

As an aspirant, students shouldknow their pain points like Vocabulary,which cannot be mastered overnightand requires a constant effort.Improving calculations by using tech-niques like Vedic Math can be used todo faster calculations and CurrentAffairs are also an ongoing process tomake or break section in anycompetitive examination.

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� ����� ���������������*1/�;���������The PDM University,

Bahadurgarh, Harayana hasbecome one of the front runners inthe State to utilise solar energyextensively for illuminating thecampus spread over 95 acres of landin Delhi-NCR.

The university has installed3400 solar panels on the roof topof all the buildings of its variousdepartments like Engineering,Dental, Pharmacy, Science,Humanities, Architecture, Arts,Law, Business & Commerce, MassCommunications & Agriculturealong with institutions likePolytechnic, Public & PrimarySchool associated with 25-year-old

PDM Group. These panels will generate

energy to run a 1,100 KW solar PVplant project.

All the energy needs of hi-techclass rooms, laboratories, hostels,mess, sports gymnasium, officesand administrative building of theuniversity will be taken care by thissolar plant. The solar panel systemswill be linked to a centralised elec-trical substation situated insidethe campus for collective solarcoverage.

Chitresh Lather, CEO of PDMUniversity, said that several bene-fits like eco-friendly approach,cost-effectiveness, diverse appli-

cation use and constant techno-logical advancements have encour-aged the university management toadopt solar panel concept model.

“Learning about renewable ener-gy early and being exposed to

solar panels on top of schools andcolleges will have an incredibly pos-itive effect on students who arefuture consumers,” he said.

Dr Rajesh Sood, Director(IAH), of the university, said:“Having a full fledged solar powerplant will curtail the dependency onthe power grid as it is designed insuch a way that it will automaticallyswitch over to solar power, whenthe battery is fully charged.”

The St Frobel Senior SecondarySchool, Pashchim Vihar, Delhi

received the prestigious India K-12Awards for Excellence in Parent-Connect Programme from theEldrok India K-12 summit. Theaward is the recognition of theschool’s support to improve school-ing experience of its studentsthrough multiple outreach pro-grams between parents and teach-ers.

Dr Ragini Kaul, Prinicipal, StFrobel Sr Secondary School, said:“We are honoured to receive thisprestigious award and thankful tothe Eldrok India. The award is a

testimony to the efforts beinginvested by our staff and reaffirmsour commitment towards theSchool’s mission of deliveringquality education. Through puri-ty of intention and synergisticapproach of both parents and theschool we can light the fire of desirein children’s heart and inspire themto take up a decision making glob-al career and dedicate life to chang-ing the world and make it a betterplace for everyone.”

By delivering quality educa-tion, the SFS is impacting to morethan 2000 students in the Northand West Delhi.

�,J ,� �,������The Indian Institute of Art

and Design (IIAD) invitesapplications for its new under-graduate and postgraduate pro-grammes.

The IIAD, in collaborationwith Kingston School of Art,London, offers UG programmesin Fashion Design, FashionBusiness Management,Communication Design andInterior Architecture & Design.It also offers postgraduate pro-grammes in Fashion Designand Fashion BusinessManagement. The Instituteoffers these programmesthrough its creative studio-basedcampus in New Delhi.

Admission Process: IIADEntrance Test

Last date to apply: April 17,2019.

How to apply: Log on towww.iiad.edu.in.

����������������,�The University of Sheffield,

UK is inviting applications forthe MA Urban Design andPlanning programme starting inSeptember 2019.

The programme equips stu-dents with the required skills toproduce sensitive plans and cre-ative designs, taking intoaccount the financial and prac-tical issues associated with urbandevelopment. Students willdevelop skills in urban designand planning that are ideallysuited to the challenges associ-ated with managing rapid urbangrowth and change.

Eligibility: Under-gradu-ates with 60 per cent or firstclass from a reputable universi-ty. Overall IELTS grade of 6.5with a minimum of 6.0 in eachcomponent, or equivalent.

Last date to apply:September 30, 2019

How to apply: Log on [email protected]

��������!!��,#University of Southampton

invites applications for UK’sonly full-time MSc Allergy pro-gramme.

The programme is designedto help healthcare professionalsto gain a greater understandingof allergic diseases and to be ableto translate this knowledge intotheir everyday practice. It willprovide effective education andtraining in the mechanisms,diagnosis, treatment and man-agement of allergic disease.

Programme Duration:One-year full-time (Can beextended to two-five years onpart-time basis).

Eligibility Criteria: Second-class honors degree or relevantpost-qualifying professionalexperience and a minimumoverall IELTS score of 7.0;undergraduate medical studentswho have achieved 60 per centor above in all of their Year 3assessments are also eligible toapply.

Last date to apply: June 30,2019 (early applications byMarch 15 are advisable).

How to apply: Log on tohttps://www.southampton.ac.uk/medicine/postgraduate/taught_courses/msc_allergy

�����������������,�The Indian Institute of Art andDesign (IIAD) in collaborationwith Kingston School of Art,London offers undergraduateprogrammes in Fashion Design,Fashion Business Management,Communication Design andInterior Architecture & Design.It also offers postgraduate pro-grammes in Fashion Designand Fashion BusinessManagement.

Eligiblity: Class XII in anystream for undergraduate pro-grammes

Last date to apply: April 17How to apply: Log on to

[email protected].

The online job portal in India —shine.com, recently projected growth

areas in the hiring sectors for 2019 whilecharting hiring trends in 2018. Thetech-driven job search platform lever-aged its vast pool of data collated overthe past year to map the Indian hiringlandscape, focusing on key growthregions and functional areas acrossindustries.

Top metro cities like Bengaluru,Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai haveretained their dominant positions as theregions with the highest talent demand.However, emerging cities likeHyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, andAhmedabad also staked their claim asregional job hubs, having performedexceptionally well in terms of hiring in2018.

On the back of its burgeoning ITsector, Hyderabad broke through intothe top five cities for hiring in the pastyear. According to the portal’s estimates,the growth trend witnessed across tier-II cities can be attributed to the sprawl-ing FMCG/consumer durables, phar-maceuticals and healthcare, and ener-gy and renewables sectors in these geo-graphies.

An industry-wise demand analysishighlighted that IT-Software, BFSI,Manufacturing and BPO/KPO, whichwere the most active recruitment sec-tors in 2017, continued to hold top posi-tions in 2018 as well. Within the IT/software sector, job requirements haveincreased across technologies such asdata science, artificial intelligence,cybersecurity and progressive applica-tions.

While job positions are on the rise,major upskilling is required for pro-fessionals to take up these roles.Widespread technological uptake in the

BPO/KPO sector has made forincreased job creation and this trend isbound to continue in 2019 as well.

As more manufacturing plants areset up in India, new jobs will be creat-ed in tier II and III cities where thesemanufacturing plants are typicallylocated. The rise of Fintech firms,mobile wallets, and numerous paymentapps has ensured the steady growth ofthe BFSI sector, which will also retainits spot in the highest job creating indus-tries in 2019. Emerging industries thatare displaying an increase in hiring in2019 also include education and health-care. Numerous tech startups in thesetwo sectors were launched in 2018, pro-pelling growth and job creation in 2019as well.

In an interesting development, sig-nificant acceleration in hiring was wit-nessed across previously sluggish indus-tries like engineering and construction,

which entered the top 10 list in 2018.According to the report, increased hir-ing across the engineering and con-struction domain in tier-II areas can beascribed to infrastructural advances.

In terms of functional areasIT/Software, customer service, bankingand finance, and production emergedas the top functions in 2018. As anincreasing number of organisationsembrace technology to boost growth,IT/Software has become the mostsought after job role across industries.Furthermore, an increase in startups inthe Fintech sector has led to unprece-dented growth in the BFSI industry. AsIndia progresses towards becomingthe world’s youngest workforce, the pro-duction sector is receiving a significantboost. In fact, India is projected tobecome a manufacturing hub over thenext few years. This has led productionand manufacturing to become one of

the leading functional areas hiringprofessionals in 2018.

Speaking on the dynamic trends,Zairus Master, CEO of shine.com, said:“A greater focus on technology, acrossindustries, has caused significant growthin the hiring domain in the past year.We have witnessed accelerated growthin sectors such as healthcare and BFSI,with players in the domain quicklyembracing innovation and evolvingtheir processes. In 2019 and beyond, weare expecting to see the top hiring citiesincluding Bangalore, Mumbai andDelhi to retain their top positions.However, we won’t be surprised if Tier2 cities such as Indore and Jaipur takeprime positions over the next fewyears. Furthermore, it is heartening tosee the education and training sectorpicking up pace, as professionals gearthemselves up by picking up new skillsfor technologically-advanced job rolesemerging across IT and non-IT sectorsalike. We expect our Shine Learningbusiness to also benefit from thistrend.”

As industries continued to gainscale on the back of increased techno-logical deployment, a steady increasewas seen in hiring across Sales andBusiness Development functions aswell in 2018. Additionally, with moreand more professionals focusing onupskilling themselves for new-age jobroles, the education, training, and lan-guage sector registered a significantuptick in 2018 as well.

Industry experts are anticipatingaccelerated hiring across all currenthigh-growth domains in 2019. Thesefuture trends, without a doubt, will bemajorly influenced by large-scale tech-nological uptake and the changingnature of jobs across all industries.

��� �������� ������������The role of education is to

prepare our future genera-tions to take their rightful placein society, as future learners,professionals and citizens.

Yet, there is often a funda-mental mismatch between theskills students are taught inclassrooms and those they willneed to function effectively inthe wider world. A recent studyconducted by a leading researchcompany named YouGov hasfound that less than one out ofevery five surveyed employersconsidered graduates as ‘work-ready’.

With the world evolvingfaster and workplaces becom-ing more competitive than everbefore, it becomes especiallyimportant for educators toequip students — especiallythose preparing to undertakefurther education or to enterthe workforce — with key lifeskills, so that they are betterequipped to face the challengesthat the future has in store forthem. Key among these are:�Seed emotional intelligence:Emotionally intelligent chil-dren eventually grow into well-adjusted, strong and self-awareadults. To teach your childrenemotional intelligence, begin byfirst acknowledging their per-spective and communicatingempathy, even if you do notnecessarily agree. Accepting achild’s emotions, rather thandenying or minimising them,enables him/her to accept theemotion, resolve their feelingsand move on. In the long term,

this teaches children to self-reg-ulate their own emotions andallows them to move on to thenext step, namely problem-solving. � Impart critical-thinking:Facts and figures are important,but not enough for the bulk ofchildren’s education to be cen-tred on memorising data.Children must also learn tothink for themselves — to useevidence, logically evaluateavailable information and formtheir own opinions. This willplay a crucial role in theirhigher studies as well as theirfuture careers. �Improve communication:Written and oral communica-tion skills will eventually play akey role in every sphere of yourchild’s life. Improve your child’swritten communication byencouraging them to participatein writing-based extracurricu-lar activities. Oral communi-

cation can be strengthenedwith regular, consistent practice— have children discuss theirproblems with you, rather thanonly telling them how thingsshould be done. �Work ethic: Good work ethicwill prove to be a key differen-tiator for children as theymature into young adults. It istherefore important to neverstop stressing on the impor-tance of them performing anytask they take up to the best oftheir abilities. In school, thiscould mean submitting projectsand assignments on time, andmaking sure they prepare fortests and evaluations. � Time management :Professionals, today, are expect-ed to do more with the limitedtime and means they have, inorder to truly differentiatethemselves. This makes it espe-cially important for children tobe taught the basics of timemanagement at an early age. Agood way to begin is by havingthem buy a planner, whichthey can use to make a note ofupcoming deadlines, goals andkey milestones.������ �������� ��������� ��������

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MPOWER Financing islaunching its brand-newWomen in Science,Technology, Engineering,and Math (STEM)Scholarship programme tohonour the United Nation’sInternational Day of Womenand Girls in Science.

They are looking for tal-ented women and men whocan help us shape the futureof financial technology. Theaim to encourage women tostep-up and enlighten theworld about their work aswell as aspire to achievegreater breakthroughs intheir chosen field throughthe STEM Scholarship.

How to apply: Thedetails are available athttps://www.mpowerfinanc-ing.com/scholarships.

The University ofSheffield, UK is pleased tooffer Computer ScienceExcellence Scholarship tooverseas undergraduate stu-dents.

Scholarships of up to£2000 will be awarded as aone-off payment in recogni-tion of academic excellenceto overseas students startingan UG degree September2019.

Eligibility: You must:Make The University ofSheffield your first (firm)choice in the UCAS applica-

tion process for2019 entry, Apply to study

a full-time undergraduateprogramme in theDepartment of ComputerScience, Be classed as aninternational student fortuition fee purposes, Be tak-ing all prerequisite subjectsfor your selected degree.

The scholarship amountis depended on your acade-mic achievement pleaseemail the UndergraduateAdmissions Team: [email protected]

For further details -https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/engineering/study/schol-arships.

The Faculty ofHumanities and SocialSciences at the University ofStrathcyle, Glasgow is offer-ing Indian students theopportunity of a scholarshipaward up to £4,000 towardsthe cost of their tuition feesfor each year of UG and PGlaw coursesfor September2019.

Eligibility: Applicantsmust: Be a resident in India,Be available to commencetheir academic studies by thestart of the academic year inSeptember 2019. Be applyingfor a full-time undergraduateor postgraduate programme.

For further information,please contact: [email protected] [email protected]

Application deadline:The last date to apply isAugust 30, 2019

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An informal survey revealed somevery useful insights into an ado-lescent’s world. Comparisons

with friends, how well prepared theyare, parental expectations, peer pres-sure, need for approval, Pressure ofsocial media with a need to stay con-nected and not be left behind, lack ofsleep are some issues that came up.

Is there some way that we canrethink our upbringing and parenting?Do schools have a role to play? Can weprepare our youngsters so that thewhole test taking experience becomesa stress-free experience? Let us look atthe role of each stake-holders.

Role of school and the teachers:Even though the traditional schoolsbased on the assembly line industrialmodel have served us well through the19th and early 20th centuries, it is nolonger relevant today. The changeddemands of the times where employ-ers are looking for well-rounded indi-viduals, there is dire need to transformthe school system.

By establishing a set of wide con-sistencies, schools need to create a pro-ductive learning community. Schoolsneed to foster a growth mindset, andexplicitly teach self- management skills.Rather than focus on the teaching con-tent, the focus has to be on the processand on teaching how to learn.

In order for our students to becomegood at test taking, we need to ade-quately equip them with study skillsright from the early stage. To illustrate,a long answer requires global under-standing whereas an objective type testrequires attention to detail. Therefore,training students to recognise thestrategies as per the text is important.

Students: While preparing forexams, one needs to balance and man-age time well. Creating a plan bybreaking the entire syllabus into small-er chunks that need to be accomplishedon a daily basis and following up on theschedule, creating lists, taking andmaking notes, prioritising, having afixed bed time and getting enough rest,limiting distractions by setting self -imposed limits, rewarding yourselfand most importantly having a prop-er place to study are some suggestionsto help one study.

While taking an exam one point to

remember is to manage time well. Asfar as being able to complete a paperin time is concerned, typically questionshave word limits so one must try tostick to those. In case you get stuck ona question do not waste time go on toother question and come back to it later.

If feeling anxious, taking a few deepbreaths and using positive affirmationsmakes one feel better.Also, some of usneed to have a scribe either because ofa physical constraint or because of alimitation which would affect our testperformance adversely and not reflectour actual abilities. Each one of us isunique and just accepting this and mak-ing use of all available resources is asensible choice.

Parents: Parents have a very impor-tant role in helping build self-esteemand self -approval. They need to realisethat each child is unique with his or herown strengths. Celebrating this unique-ness, supporting the child in realisinghis/her dreams. Spending quality time,not comparing with other children orsiblings, respecting individual point ofviews and perspectives, being open andtransparent, ensuring supportive studyspaces, prioritising or time manage-ment are some other ways in whichparents can play a supportive role.

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��������������������0�(������!������������In few week’s time the exam sea-

son is about to begin. First it willbe the CBSE Class XII Board in

March followed by engineeringentrance exams. Since it will be along season of exams it is impor-tant to prepare a systematic andworkable plan for optimising time,resources and most importantly theoutcome in each exam. Studentsfrom Science are essentially engi-neering aspirants and would haveappeared in JEE Main held inJanuary 2019 by the NationalTesting Agency (NTA). Those whodid not appear in January and/orthose who wish to improve theirJanuary percentile will get anotherchance to appear in JEE Main inApril 2019. So a student has Boardand JEE Main exam to deal. Tips forthem.

���!�"�������!���The syllabus of JEE Main is

equal to the syllabus of CBSEClasses XI and XII. In view ofupcoming Class XII board exam, astudent is likely to cover the ClassXII syllabus very well. Since a sub-stantial portion of questions askedin JEE Main is from Class XI, a stu-dent must factor in the revision ofthis portion in their study plan.There is a likelihood that a student

might be out of touch with Class XIsyllabus for a sustained period oftime due to board and competitiveexams. In such a case revision ofClass XI syllabus should be strate-gic. Student’s who completed ClassXII last year, and targeting JEE in2019 should focus on both Class XIand XII syllabus.

�������Revising is very important. It

will help for both the Board and JEEMain exam. Evaluate the weightageattached to different chapters, as itwill help you to decide the timerequired to be devoted for revision.Make revision notes so that you canquickly brush up the concepts. Givedue importance to fourth and fifthsubjects of the Boards, as they arekey contributor to your overall per-centage.

�!����#�#�������After you have finished revis-

ing a chapter, you should feel100% confident of solving anyquestion being asked on that chap-ter. If not, reach out to your teacherand clarify doubts.

������Once the doubts are cleared,

you should start practicing ques-

tions from the chapter that you justfinished revising (from Boardexam and JEE Main perspective).Make sure that you practice 5 or 6marks questions of Board exams.Also solve JEE Main type ques-tions. Try to solve problems byyourself in the first attempt. If youare unable to solve, then refer to thesolution. If you had faced any dif-ficulty while solving any specifictype of question in last one year,make sure that you practice it now.

Question Paper for Boards: Itis a good way to mentally prepare

yourself and be exam ready. Themore you practice and solve ques-tion papers the more confident youbecome.

Computer Based Test (CBT)for JEE Main: Acclimatisation isthe key. Since JEE Main hasbecome CBT from this year, gettingfamiliar with the testing environ-ment is crucial so that the accura-cy and speed doesn't drop.

�Solving mock tests is themost important part of prepara-tion. It is advisable to write at leastone mock test each for Board &JEE Main, every week. It will helpto assess your preparation, figureout the weak areas, build examtemperament, learn to effectivelymanage time during exam,improve upon speed and accura-cy. For JEE Main it is important tosubscribe to an All India Level TestSeries in CBT format so as to geta national benchmarking or at leastjoin an online Test Series for prac-tice.

�It’sextremely crucial to spotand analyse mistakes if you do notwant to repeat it in the actualexam.

�Solve previous years ques-tions papers for Board and JEEMain within fixed time limit.

�Read the Question Paper

thoroughly to begin with. Theinstructions carry lot of importantinsight about the paper. Scan thequestion paper to spot questionsthat you can answer and prioritiseaccordingly.

�In Board exam: Whileanswering, mention the propertyor formula used. Final answersmust be highlighted. Marks will bededucted for missing steps. Do notskip steps. Attempt the entirequestion paper. When you skip aquestion you lose an opportunityto score.

�In JEE Main, data shows thatthe cut-off generally averagesaround 30%. You need not attemptall questions. Attempt only thosethat you are completely sure of.

�If you get stuck while solvinga question, move on to the next.You can revisit the question laterwith a fresh mind and save time.

�Keep your stress level undercheck: The exam environment canadd to stress. Try to stay away fromit. If you get stressed, have somewater & take some deep breaths.

�Give time for revision: If youmanage to finish the exam early, donot submit the paper. Go throughthe paper to rectify errors, if any.

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She made a successful come-back after an injury lay-off,but India's top weightlifter

Mirabai Chanu realises that sheneeds to improve her perfor-mance by a few notches if shewants to claim Gold at the TokyoOlympics.

Mirabai, a 2017 WorldChampionships Gold medallist (in48kg) was laid low due to a lowerback injury that kept her out foreight months, claimed Gold at theEGAT Cup in Thailand last weekin her new 49 kg category. She fin-ished on top with an effort of 192kg.

But Mirabai knows only toowell that she will have to go waybeyond the 200kg mark soonerthan later so that she can competewith the best in the world in hernew weight category.

"With the increase of 1kgfrom 48 to 49, all the weightlifterswill now try to increase their totallift. Moreover, some lifters, whowere competing in 53kg earlierwill now come down to 49kg. So,the competition will be toughernow," Mirabai said.

"I am doing 199-200kg duringtraining and I am confident ofgoing past 200kg in the actualcompetitions in the next fewmonths. My aim is to touch 210kgbefore the Tokyo Olympics, whichwill be the world record. It will not

be easy but my target is to do thatand I will have to work harderthan before," she added.

It will not be easy for the 24-year-old Manipuri to improve10kg in one and a half years. Herpersonal best in 48kg is 196kg,which she lifted while winningGold at the Gold CoastCommonwealth Games last year.She had won the 2017 WorldChampionships Gold (in 48kg)with a total lift of 194kg.

Last year, the InternationalWeightlifting Federation (IWF)rejigged the weight categories forboth men and women in theOlympics and other global events.The least Olympic weight in thewomen's category has beenchanged to 49kg from earlier48kg.

The 2018 WorldChampionships in Turkmenistanwas held under the new weightsystem and the Gold, Silver andBronze winners there lifted 209kg,208kg and 206kg respectively.Even the fourth-place finisherlifted 201kg.

"I have to do better than the209kg if I have to keep myself inthe frame for a Tokyo OlympicsGold. I hope to do that before theOlympics. The AsianChampionships (in April inChina) and 2019 WorldChampionships (in September inThailand) will give me a chance todo that as the best in the world will

be there."I can do that but I have to

work harder than before. I want tobreak the world record of 209kg,"she said. The 2020 TokyoOlympics will have seven women'sweight categories — 49kg, 55kg,

59kg, 64kg, 76kg, 87kg and +87kg.The qualification process has

also been changed with the earli-er system of clinching an Olympicberth based on a single perfor-mance has been done away with.The qualification period has been

split into three — from November1, 2018 to April 30, 2019; May 1,2019 to October 31, 2019;November 1, 2019 to April 30,2020.

A weightlifter has to partici-pate in a minimum of six IWF-designated events (Gold andSilver level only) and a minimumof one eligible event per period.

At the end of the qualificationperiod, the IWF will issue a list ofweightlifters on the basis ofAbsolute Ranking Points subjectto participation in two events inthe same Olympic category andcalculated from four results —best one from each of the threeperiods and one next best resultin the whole of qualification peri-od.

Mirabai said she has no prob-lem with the new qualificationsystem as it will keep a weightlifterconsistent in his or her perfor-mance.

"Earlier, a weightlifter mayqualify for Olympics early in thequalification period and his or herperformance may dip beforegoing into the Olympics. Underthe new system, I have to keep myperformance consistent because Icannot miss taking part in all thethree periods," she said.

Mirabai is one of the fourIndian weightlifters, who are inthe International RegisteredTesting Pool of the IWF. The otherthree are Jeremy Lalrinnunga,Satish Kumar Sivalingam andMonalisha Sonowal.

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Acrammed BWF calendar affecting hisfitness last season, Indian shuttler B Sai

Praneeth says he will pick his tournamentscarefully in the Olympic qualification yearand is eyeing a national title to prepare forthe All England Championship next month.

With defending champion HS Prannoyand finalist Kidambi Srikanth withdrawingdue to fitness issues, former championPraneeth will be one of the favourites to liftthe trophy at the 83rd Senior Nationals,which got underway with the qualifiers onTuesday.

"Last season, I struggled with my fitnessand confidence because there were too manytournaments. So I couldn't maintain fitness.From June to December, I played continu-ously, so it was all about fitness. I am finenow and fortunately no injuries," Praneethsaid.

"I am looking forward to All Englandnext month and Nationals will be good

match practice to prepare. It will help myconfidence ahead of the internationalevents. You have to beat all the top Indianplayers to win it and it is not easy because

everyone is playing well," said Praneeth, whowill also play the Swiss Open this year.

The Olympic qualification period willbe between April 29, 2019 to April 26, 2020,and the BWF rankings published on April30, 2020 will decide who makes the cut forthe Tokyo Games.

Praneeth, who is currently ranked26th, said he will need a bit of luck and seriesa consistent performances to earn him aticket to the Olympics.

"It is an Olympic qualification year, soscheduling of the tournaments will beimportant. I can afford not to play a fewevents. We will need a bit of luck and goodperformance. I have to play quarters andsemis consistently, but that won't be easy, soyou also need a favourable draw sometimes.

Praneeth won six of the eight matcheshe played for the eventual champion,Bengaluru Raptors, in the fourth edition ofPremier Badminton League (PBL) and hesays it boosted his confidence ahead of theinternational season.

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Badminton great LeeChong Wei aims to

make his comeback inApril at the MalaysiaOpen after a cancer bat-tle, a month later than heoriginally hoped, an offi-cial confirmed onTuesday.

The three-timeOlympic Silver medallistand former world num-ber has been on the side-lines since July last yearwhen he was diagnosedwith early-stage nosecancer.

The Malaysian starunderwent a gruellingprogramme of specialisttreatment in Taiwan butpledged not to retire andresumed training last

month.The 36-year-old had

previously said he want-ed to make a return tocompetitive play at theAll England Open in

March.But on Monday Lee

told local media he wastargeting a return toaction on home soil atthe Malaysia Open,

which he has won 12times, from April 2 to 7.

"I have got anotherappointment with mydoctor in Taiwan nextmonth. Once I get thegreen light from him,then I will make a fullcomeback, hopefully atthe Malaysia Open," hetold the New StraitsTimes newspaper.

"It isn't time to makea full comeback yet, Ihave to do it slowly instages after consultingmy doctor." BadmintonAssociation of Malaysiageneral managerMichelle Chai confirmedthat Lee planned to comeback in April.

Lee still hopes tocompete in the Tokyo2020 Olympics but may

face a tough fight toqualify against risingMalaysian stars.

Since he stoppedplaying, he has slippedto 30 in the worldrankings, behind twoMalaysian players, LeeZii Jia and LiewDaren. A country cansend a maximum oftwo players to com-plete in the Games,provided they are bothranked in the world'stop 16.

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Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha managedto restrict Rest of India to a manageable 330

after orchestrating a middle-order collapsedespite dogged hundred from Hanuma Vihariand a 95 by opener Mayank Agarwal on theopening day of the Irani Cup.

The two India internationals added 125 runsfor the second wicket but once Agarwal's free-flowing knock came to an end, the Rest inningslacked momentum as they could never recov-er from a middle-order collapse.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane's (13) problemsagainst slow bowling continue as left-arm spin-ner Aditya Sarwate (3/99) had another prizedscalp in his possession after getting CheteshwarPujara twice in the Ranji Trophy final.

Sarwate got able support from the ambidex-trous spinner Akshay Karnewar (1-45) and vet-eran off-spinner Akshay Wakhare (3-67).

Vihari, who had scored a hundred in the lastIrani Cup, once again held the innings togeth-er scoring 114 off 211 balls with 11 fours andtwo sixes. It was in complete contrast toAgarwal's innings which was laced with 10 foursand three sixes.

The 27-year-old Agarwal, who made his Testdebut against Australia on Boxing Day last year,missed out on a deserving hundred after beingdismissed by seamer Yash Thakur.

Agarwal paced his innings well as herepeatedly peppered the off-side field and wasin a mood to punish anything on his pads.

Vihari, who took time to settle, was later inhis usual element. The Andhra batsman, how-ever, survived a scare on 24, when he edged tofirst slip off Sarwate, but the ball touched theground even as Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazalclaimed a catch. The third umpire, who wasapproached but it was ruled not out.

However, once Rahane was gone, edgingone to the gully fielder after the deliveryturned as well as kicked up, the Rest innings lost

its fizz. From 231 for 3, suddenly, they slumpedto 258 for 7 as Vihari reached his 16th first-classhundred.

Shreyas Iyer (19) and Ishan Kishan (2) failedto contribute, which brought about Rest'sdownfall.

Vihari, despite the fall of partners at theother end, continued to flourish as he took teampast 300-run mark before Sarwate bowled anoth-er classical left-armer's delivery that turned awayfrom the right hander to take the edge.

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Having found his mojo back,opener KL Rahul will like to

continue his good form with an eyeon the reserve opener's slot for theWorld Cup as he leads India Aagainst England Lions in the second'Unoff icial ' Test, starting onWednesday.

Rahul, who was sent by theteam management to the India Aset-up, to find some form, scored 89in the opening 'Test' against a goodLions attack and one good knockwill keep him in good stead beforethe squad selection for the Australiaseries on February 15.

India A did earn the braggingrights in the first Test with Gujaratopener Priyank Panchal hitting adouble hundred and 'keeper KonaBharat scoring a hundred atWayanad in the drawn encounter.

Rahul, Panchal and Bharatwould like to continue their goodrun with the bat while AbhimanyuEaswaran, who missed out on a bigscore in the Wayanad 'Test' andAnkeet Bawne will aim to findform.

The out of favour as well KarunNair will also be lookjing to keephimself relevant having done pre-cious little in the past few months.

The India A bowlers did well to

restrict the Lions to 340 despiteallowing them to get off to a solidstart. Speedster Navdeep Saini shonewith a five-wicket haul and the oth-ers including comeback man ShardulThakur along with young AveshKhan had a good workout.

The team think-tank may con-sider giving former Test bowlerVarun Aaron a go in this matchgiven that the India selectors arelooking at genuine quick bowlerswith an aim to broaden the pool.

The visiting batsmen defied theIndia 'A' bowlers on the final day ofthe first 'Test' to force a draw and will

be eyeing an improved performance.Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope,

who have played Tests for England,did well in Wayanad and will hopeto get going again while the captainSam Billings who didn't have a veryhappy outing will be expected to hitform again after his impressive dis-plays in the ODIs earlier.

The bowlers were put to swordby Panchal, Bharat and Rahul, andwill have to step up in Mysuru. Itremains to be see if left-arm spinnerDanny Briggs, who bore the bruntin the first game, gets a secondchance.

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The national selection com-mittee is unlikely to make

any experiment when theypick the squad for the five-match ODI series againstAustralia on February 15 inMumbai.

The five-match ODI serieswill start in Hyderabad onMarch 2 followed by matchesin Nagpur (March 5), Ranchi(March 8), Mohali (March10) and Delhi (March 13).

The team for the two T20International matches to beplayed in Visakhapatnam(February 24) and Bengaluru(February 27) will also beannounced on the same day.

It has been learnt that theteam management as well asthe selection committee are onthe same page and the squadthat will play against Australiais likely to be a mirror-imageof the one that will be travel-ling to UK for the WorldCup.

There is a possibility thatselectors may pick 16 mem-bers for the ODIs instead of 15in order to check all the play-ers in contention for theWorld Cup.

"There is a possibility thatRohit Sharma may be restedfor the two T20 Internationalsas Virat Kohli will be back.But when it comes to select-ing the ODI squad, therewon't be any experimentswith only five matches to go,"a senior BCCI official said onTuesday.

Asked about the muchtalked about workload man-agement programme, the offi-cial said: "Most of our ODIboys will be getting good twoand half weeks of rest. Well,the pacers can be rotated dur-ing the five matches but noone will be kept out of thesquad and rested. Workload

management will be requiredmore during the IPL.

"As of now, there are onlytwo spots that are up forgrabs. The battle is for secondwicket-keeper betweenDinesh Karthik and RishabhPant along with third opener'sslot. The team management atleast won't experiment duringthe first three games," heinformed.

There is a school ofthought that Shikhar Dhawanmay be rested for the final twoODIs and just check if KLRahul has found his formback in order to keep himready for the mega event.

"However, it won't be acase of any surprise selectionas of now. It will just be a caseof who plays on the day.Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar andShami are all fit and available.Along with Khaleel, thesefour will be rotated to checkthe combination, more thanthe workload management,"the official said.

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Indian batswomen JemimahRodrigues and Smriti

Mandhana on Tuesdayjumped four places to be sec-ond and sixth in the ICC T20rankings despite their team's0-3 loss in New Zealand.

Rodrigues's 132 runs inthe three-match series againstNew Zealand have lifted herto second position whileMandhana, who grabbed thetop spot in ODIs last week,has gained four spots after fin-ishing as the leading run-get-ter in the New Zealand serieswith an aggregate of 180.

The stylish left-handersmashed two half-centuriesincluding a fluent 86 in thelast match in Hamilton thatIndia lost by two runs.

Spinners Radha Yadav,up 18 places to 10th after tak-ing four wickets in the series,and Deepti Sharma, up fiveplaces to 14th, are the India

players to move up amongbowlers.

For New Zealand, SophieDevine has moved from 11thto eighth position among bat-ters after scoring 153 runs inthe series including a match-winning 72 in the last match,while captain AmySatterthwaite's 87 runs havelifted her from 23rd to 17thposition. Among bowlers, LeaTahuhu has moved up fiveslots to 11th position.

Windies' Deandra Dottinhas grabbed the top spotamong all-rounders.

Dottin has been thestandout performer in a 2-1series win in Pakistan. Dottinhas moved up two places tothird among batters afterscoring 158 runs in the serieswhile her three wickets havelifted her two slots to 29thamong bowlers.

Pakistan captain BismahMaroof has gained three slotsto tie with compatriot JaveriaKhan in 15th position amongbatters while Sana Mir, who istop ranked in the ODI format,has moved up six places totake 28th position amongT20 bowlers after taking threewickets in the series.

In the team rankings,New Zealand have overtakenEngland to take second place.Australia continue to leadthe table while the Windiesand India are fourth and fifthrespectively.

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The Delhi & Districts CricketAssociation (DDCA) is all set to

impose life ban on U-23 cricketerAnuj Dedha, who had physicallyassaulted former India pacer AmitBhandari for not selecting him in thestate U-23 side.

Senior selection committeechairman Bhandari was attacked byDedha and his hired goons at the StStephen's ground on Monday whenhe was watching a warm-up game ofthe senior Delhi team preparing forthe Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Dedha along with 15 othersattacked Bhandari with hockey sticks,cricket bats and rods and the formerpacer sustained injuries on his fore-head and other body parts.

He was taken to hospital andsubsequently discharged after treat-ment while Delhi Police arrestedDedha. He is currently under policecustody.

DDCA president Rajat Sharmasaid that there will be a meeting heldon Wednesday to decide the quan-tum of punishment. He said as ofnow, life ban on Dedha seemed amere formality.

"We have a meeting tomorrowbut as our former captain GautamGambhir has suggested, I thinkthere is no other option left apartfrom imposing a life ban on this man

Anuj Dedha. Whatever he has done,he only deserves exemplary punish-ment," Sharma said on Tuesday.

The DDCA president informedthat he has summoned all age groupselectors as well as some distin-guished former cricketers for a meet-ing.

"We need to discuss selectionissues but I want to assure all selec-tors that they should continue to fear-lessly select sides. I am with them. Ihave met the Lt Governor AnilBaijal and requested him to ask thepolice authorities to probe all angles.I would like to know if there is anydeep rooted conspiracy in thisattack," Sharma added.

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Vijay Shankar, who has made astrong case for himself to beincluded in India's World

Cup bound squad, feels that hisbiggest takeaway from the Australiaand New Zealand series is learningthe "art of chasing" from none otherthan Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Shankar had some decent perfor-mances with the bat during theNew Zealand leg, now wants to fin-ish games like Dhoni.

"I was happy to be around withthe seniors. Just watching them pre-pare for matches and learning.Moreover, I learnt a lot by watchingDhoni during run chases. I learnt alot about how to pace an innings,especially during chases. I learntabout his mindset," Shankar, whoreturned on Monday said.

For him, it was like living adream as he shared the dressingroom with Dhoni, Virat Kohli andRohit Sharma.

"It was a great experience toshare the dressing room with nameslike Virat Kohli, M S Dhoni, Rohit

Sharma. It is important to watch andlearn from the seniors in the team,"the soft-spoken Shankar said.

Shankar, who had confessedafter the final T20 Internationalthat he was surprised when promot-ed up the order to No 3, said that hewas specifically told by the teammanagement before the start of theseries.

"I was surprised but at the sametime was very happy to be asked tobat at number three. I was told beforethe series started that I would bat atone-drop. In T20s, there is notmuch time to settle down and theapproach needs to be positive."

Though he got a few 40's,Shankar lamented that he couldn'ttake the team home during the final

T20 International."I thought I should have got

more runs. Also, I felt disappointedthat I could not take the team homein the third T20. I had the chance.It is a learning experience for me. Ineed to adapt faster and also be con-sistent..." he added.

He got an important partnershipwith Ambati Rayudu in Wellington

ODI when India were 18 for 4 andhe cherished batting in challengingconditions.

"When I walked in at 18 for 4, itwas all about playing time andbuilding a partnership (withRayudu). It was a good challenge asthe New Zealand bowlers were bowl-ing well. We had a good partnership.I should have gone on and made abig score..." he added.

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder,who has been around the India 'A'set-up for a while before graduatingto the senior side, said his focus ison constant improvement whileadding that he saw every match as anopportunity to do well.

"I have done the hard work andgot the opportunity in the nationalteam. Now my focus is on constantimprovement. I have to step up anddo well in every match I get to play.I see each game as an opportunity todo well," he added.

Asked about chief selector MSKPrasad's recent remark that he wasin the reckoning for a spot in theWorld Cup squad, the all-rounderplayed it down.

"I don't want to think too farahead. I want to do well in everygame. Every day is important forme..." he said.

"I still need to fine-tune a fewthings," he added.

The 28-year-old Tamil Naducricketer, who made his ODI debutagainst Australia at the MelbourneCricket Ground before the NewZealand series, said it was a big thingand "a happy feeling" to get startedat an iconic venue.

"Yeah... To make my ODI debutat the MCG was a big thing and ahappy feeling. Having watched somany matches and dreamt of play-ing at such venues, I was delightedto play there," he added.

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Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey hassigned a four-year deal to join Juventus on

a free transfer from next July, the Italian cham-pions said on Monday.

The 28-year-old Wales international willarrive in northern Italy on July 1 with his con-tract running until June 30, 2023.

As his contract will have ended, Arsenalwill not be entitled to a transfer fee.

"As a result of the registration of the play-er, Juventus will incur additional costs of 3.7million euros ($4.1 million), to be paid by July10," the Serie A champions said.

The move brings to an end Ramsey's 11-year spell with the Gunners having moved fromCardiff City in 2008.

Over the past decade he has played 256Premier League games, scoring 38 top-flightgoals, and winning three FA Cup and twoCommunity Shield.

He also had two loan spells at NottinghamForest in 2010, and back at former club, Cardiffin 2011.

"I wanted to issue a personal statement forall the Arsenal fans who have been extremelyloyal and supportive," Ramsey wrote onInstagram.

"You welcomed me as a teenager and havebeen there for me through all the highs andlows I have encountered during my time at theclub.

"It is with a heavy heart that I leave after11 incredible years in north London. Thankyou.

"I will continue to give the team 100 percent and hope to finish the season strongly,before heading on to my next chapter in Turin."Ramsey has 58 caps for Wales, scoring 14 goals,and was a part of the Welsh side that reachedthe Euro 2016 semi-finals.

He becomes the third Welshman to play forJuventus following club legend John Charles andformer European Golden Boot winner IanRush.

Ramsey had turned down the offer of a newdeal at Arsenal, with clubs including Barcelona,Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, Inter Milanand Bayern Munich linked with the player.

"Everyone at Arsenal Football Club wish-es Aaron Ramsey a happy and successfulfuture," the London club said in a statement.

"Aaron's made a fantastic contribution toour club since joining from Cardiff City in 2008.He has always been a consummate profession-al and will always have a special place in thehearts and memories of Arsenal fans aroundthe world."

Ramsey will reportedly become Juventus'second-highest earner behind CristianoRonaldo earning 7 million euros ($7.8 million)a season.

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Stan Wawrinka benefitted from aBenoit Paire collapse, with the Swiss

carving out a 7-6(7/4), 6-1 win onMonday at the Rotterdam Open.

After fighting through a 45-minutefirst set the 33-year-old Wawrinkaneeded just 26 more minutes to saltaway the first-round victory as themoody Paire had unleashed a trade-mark racquet smash after dropping theopening set.

The frustrated 58th-rankedFrenchman made little effort in the sec-ond set, phoning it in with apparent dis-interest as Wawrinka took completecharge.

The field is headed by Asia's topplayer, Kei Nishikori of Japan, whoopens in his tournament debut onTuesday against Montpellier finalistPierre-Hugues Herbert of France.

In other first-round results onMonday, Italian veteran Andreas Seppioutlasted Peter Gojowczyk of Germany7-6(7/3), 3-6, 6-2 while Kazakh MikhailKukushkin beat Dutchman RobinHaase, a quarter-finalist here in 2018who lost to Roger Federer, 6-2, 7-6(7/4).

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