16
W oman can soon be joint owner of agriculture land. A Government-appoint- ed expert panel, set up to lay out the roadmap to double farmers’ income by 2022, has strongly recommended that the focus should now be on the women farmers. It has called for women to be recorded as cultivators in revenue records to make them eligible for all privileges received by farmers (read male counterparts). Currently, the practice is to only record the name of land owner unless it is contested. Cultivation by family members (women) is not recorded sep- arately. It has also recom- mended giving women joint pattas (ownership) for both homestead and agricul- tural land. The panel, headed by Agriculture Ministry’s Additional Secretary Ashok Dalwai, also pitched for allow- ing private operators to use Kisan Vikas Kendra’s (KVK) prime land. The report called ‘Empowering the Farmers through Science Technology & Knowledge,’ is the fifth report submitted by Dalwai. The report said that women should be recorded as cultivator in rev- enue records making them eli- gible for all privileges received by farmers and focus should be given on women farmers and their participation through the promotion of tool banks for small, marginal and subsis- tence farmers by setting up rural women’s collectives at the panchayat or hamlet level. This will also reduce drudgery and increase efficiency. “Recording the name of women cultivators or those who labour in their own fam- ily farms in the cultivation records can form the basis for her becoming eligible for the benefits of credit, inputs, insur- ance and compensation. This important step will go a long way in helping women farmers gain access to agriculture ser- vices, inputs, such as credit, Continued on Page 4 A khila, alias Hadiya, the 25- year-old poster girl of Kerala's alleged love jehad, got the much-needed relief on Monday from the Supreme Court, which allowed her free- dom from her parents' custody in Kerala and complete her five-year homoeopathy course from a college in Salem in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to the judges in the open court, she pleaded for `freedom' after being kept under house arrest for the past six months. She also wished to complete the 11-month intern- ship or house surgeon, which she had to leave midway due to proceedings before the Kerala High Court. The HC on May 24 this year annulled her mar- riage with a Muslim youth Shafin Jahan and ordered her to remain with parents. The Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud directed the Kerala Government to book her ticket to Salem at the ear- liest and ordered the Shivaraj Homeopathy Medical College, Salem to allow her to take the course and pursue internship. The SC also asked the Salem college to provide her an accommodation in the college hostel. The court appointed the Dean of the College to be her guardian although the girl pre- ferred her husband in that role. The Tamil Nadu Police was directed to monitor her safety. Almost half-an-hour later, the Bench got a clear picture that the girl did not prefer to be with her parents and desired to pursue her career as a homoeo- pathic doctor. While keeping her away from both her parents and husband, the Bench said it will decide on the validity of the HC order annulling her mar- riage at a later stage. Since Hadiya is an adult, the court was faced with the question whether legally it could interfere with the girl's choice of her life and marriage. The girl's father had argued through his counsel Shyam Diwan that her daughter was a Continued on Page 4 P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched BJP’s Gujarat blitzkrieg, calling himself son of the soil and unleashing a vicious attack on Congress for allegedly deni- grating him. In a jibe at the Congress he said he sold tea but did not sell the nation. Modi held altogether four rallies in the State on Monday. Addressing a rally at Bhuj, Modi said people of the State would not forgive those who are “insulting the son of Gujarat” who has never had a single blot on his political career. “You (opposition) dare to come to Gujarat and say things against the son of Gujarat? Will any Gujarati forgive peo- ple who make charges against the son of Gujarat? No Gujarati will endure this insult. This is my mother and I am its son. “You (people) have helped me grow as its son. You have helped shape me. You gave strength and nurtured the good in me, the people of Gujarat and Gujarat my moth- erland,” he said. Comparing his party’s clear roadmap for the development of India Modi said the opposi- tion did not have any definite policy and programme on development. As he arrived at Lalan College ground in Bhuj in the morn- ing, the Prime Minister apparently became nostalgic. Ahead of the last Lok Sabha polls, he had set the tone for his party’s poll campaign by addressing a sim- ilar rally as Gujarat Chief Minister from the same venue four years ago. The rally was held to mark the Independence Day of 2013 and Modi was already appoint- ed as Campaign Committee head of BJP for 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He made it a point to address the rally an hour after then Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh’s speech from the Red Fort and challenged the Congress party to compare development work done in Gujarat by his Government and development done by Congress led UPA Government at Centre in rest of the nation. In the backdrop of that historic rally at Lalan col- lege ground, Modi once again donned famous red Kutchi turban and launched a blister- ing attack on Congress the issue of national security. “I couldn’t understand why Congress leaders are clapping after a Pakistani court decided to release a terrorist (Hafiz Saeed). When Indian soldiers were standing strong against Chinese Army in Continued on Page 4 D ip in mercury and low dispersion of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPMs) have caused in rising values and higher concentration of pollu- tants in Delhi air as the National Ambient Air Quality Index (NAAQI) marked air quality “red” on pollution index. The six areas in city, including Anand Vihar and lush green RK Puram area, have witnessed “severe-plus” levels. With this, the Delhi- NCR is set to inhale more tox- ins in next three days itself. According to the data from Central Pollution Control Board, the Air Quality Index (AQI) across Delhi-National Capital Region continued to be “very-poor” with higher con- centration of pollutant even during the day time. As per the data from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Air Quality Index (AQI) across Continued on Page 4 T he Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was served a notice of 30 crore on Monday by the Income Tax department for an alleged mismatch in donations it received to fight elections and what it documented. The party has been asked to pay the penalty by December 7. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dubbed the move as “height of political vendetta”. “In the history of India, all donations to a political party have been declared illegal. All these were accounted for and shown in books of accounts. This is a height of political vendetta,” Kejriwal tweeted. The IT department said it gave AAP 34 chances to explain allegations. It has alleged that the AAP has not disclosed donations worth 13 crore received during 2014-15 and revealed details of 461 donors to the Election Commission. The IT department said the notice was issued by the assess- ing officer under section 156 (notice of demand). It said it is issued in the “normal course”, where ITRs are picked up for scrutiny by the assessing officer. Related story on P-3

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Page 1: ˇ $8 !# ˛$ %! - News Headlines India riage with a Muslim youth ... “In the history of India, all donations to a political party ... porting role in Siya ke Ram in Star Plus

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Woman can soon be jointowner of agriculture

land. A Government-appoint-ed expert panel, set up to layout the roadmap to doublefarmers’ income by 2022, hasstrongly recommended thatthe focus should now be on thewomen farmers. It has calledfor women to be recorded ascultivators in revenue recordsto make them eligible for allprivileges received by farmers(read male counterparts).

Currently, the practice is toonly record the name of land

owner unless it is contested.Cultivation by family members(women) is not recorded sep-arately. It has also recom-mended giving women joint pattas (ownership) forboth homestead and agricul-tural land.

The panel, headed byAgriculture Ministry’sAdditional Secretary Ashok

Dalwai, also pitched for allow-ing private operators to useKisan Vikas Kendra’s (KVK)prime land.

The report called‘Empowering the Farmersthrough Science Technology &Knowledge,’ is the fifth reportsubmitted by Dalwai. Thereport said that women shouldbe recorded as cultivator in rev-

enue records making them eli-gible for all privileges receivedby farmers and focus should begiven on women farmers andtheir participation through thepromotion of tool banks forsmall, marginal and subsis-tence farmers by setting uprural women’s collectives atthe panchayat or hamlet level.This will also reduce drudgeryand increase efficiency.

“Recording the name ofwomen cultivators or thosewho labour in their own fam-ily farms in the cultivationrecords can form the basis forher becoming eligible for thebenefits of credit, inputs, insur-ance and compensation. Thisimportant step will go a longway in helping women farmersgain access to agriculture ser-vices, inputs, such as credit,

Continued on Page 4

�)�������������->?�#>$6�

Akhila, alias Hadiya, the 25-year-old poster girl of

Kerala's alleged love jehad, gotthe much-needed relief onMonday from the SupremeCourt, which allowed her free-dom from her parents' custodyin Kerala and complete herfive-year homoeopathy coursefrom a college in Salem inTamil Nadu.

Speaking to the judges inthe open court, she pleaded for`freedom' after being kept

under house arrest for the pastsix months. She also wished tocomplete the 11-month intern-ship or house surgeon, whichshe had to leave midway due toproceedings before the KeralaHigh Court. The HC on May24 this year annulled her mar-riage with a Muslim youthShafin Jahan and ordered herto remain with parents.

The Bench of Chief JusticeDipak Misra, Justices AMKhanwilkar and DYChandrachud directed theKerala Government to bookher ticket to Salem at the ear-liest and ordered the ShivarajHomeopathy Medical College,Salem to allow her to take thecourse and pursue internship.

The SC also asked theSalem college to provide her anaccommodation in the collegehostel. The court appointed theDean of the College to be her

guardian although the girl pre-ferred her husband in that role.The Tamil Nadu Police wasdirected to monitor her safety.

Almost half-an-hour later,the Bench got a clear picturethat the girl did not prefer to bewith her parents and desired to

pursue her career as a homoeo-pathic doctor. While keepingher away from both her parentsand husband, the Bench said itwill decide on the validity of theHC order annulling her mar-riage at a later stage.

Since Hadiya is an adult,

the court was faced with thequestion whether legally itcould interfere with the girl'schoice of her life and marriage.The girl's father had arguedthrough his counsel ShyamDiwan that her daughter was a

Continued on Page 4

��'��������� )�-#6�-�)��

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday launched

BJP’s Gujarat blitzkrieg, callinghimself son of the soil andunleashing a vicious attack onCongress for allegedly deni-grating him. In a jibe at theCongress he said he sold tea butdid not sell the nation. Modiheld altogether four rallies inthe State on Monday.

Addressing a rally at Bhuj,Modi said people of the Statewould not forgive those who are“insulting the son of Gujarat”who has never had a single bloton his political career.

“You (opposition) dare tocome to Gujarat and say thingsagainst the son of Gujarat?Will any Gujarati forgive peo-ple who make charges againstthe son of Gujarat? No Gujaratiwill endure this insult. This ismy mother and I am its son.

“You (people) have helpedme grow as its son. You havehelped shape me. You gavestrength and nurtured thegood in me, the people ofGujarat and Gujarat my moth-erland,” he said.

Comparing his party’s clearroadmap for the development

of India Modi said the opposi-tion did not have any definitepolicy and programme ondevelopment. As hearrived at LalanCollege ground inBhuj in the morn-ing, the PrimeMinister apparentlybecame nostalgic. Ahead ofthe last Lok Sabha polls, he hadset the tone for his party’s pollcampaign by addressing a sim-ilar rally as Gujarat ChiefMinister from the same venuefour years ago.

The rally was held to markthe Independence Day of 2013and Modi was already appoint-ed as Campaign Committeehead of BJP for 2014 LokSabha polls. He made it a pointto address the rally an hourafter then Prime MinisterManmohan Sigh’s speech from

the Red Fort and challengedthe Congress party to comparedevelopment work done in

Gujarat by hisGovernment anddevelopment doneby Congress ledUPA Government

at Centre in rest ofthe nation.

In the backdrop ofthat historic rally at Lalan col-lege ground, Modi once againdonned famous red Kutchiturban and launched a blister-ing attack on Congress theissue of national security.

“I couldn’t understand whyCongress leaders are clappingafter a Pakistani court decidedto release a terrorist (HafizSaeed). When Indian soldierswere standing strong againstChinese Army in

Continued on Page 4

��(���������� ->?�#>$6�

Dip in mercury and lowdispersion of Suspended

Particulate Matter (SPMs) havecaused in rising values andhigher concentration of pollu-tants in Delhi air as theNational Ambient Air Quality Index (NAAQI)marked air quality “red” onpollution index.

The six areas in city,including Anand Vihar andlush green RK Puram area,have witnessed “severe-plus”levels. With this, the Delhi-

NCR is set to inhale more tox-ins in next three days itself.

According to the data fromCentral Pollution ControlBoard, the Air Quality Index(AQI) across Delhi-NationalCapital Region continued to be“very-poor” with higher con-centration of pollutant evenduring the day time.

As per the data fromCentral Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB), Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change, Air QualityIndex (AQI) across

Continued on Page 4

��++���(������ ->?�#>$6��

The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) was served a notice

of �30 crore on Monday by theIncome Tax department for analleged mismatch in donationsit received to fight elections andwhat it documented.

The party has been askedto pay the penalty by December7. Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal dubbed the move as“height of political vendetta”.“In the history of India, alldonations to a political partyhave been declared illegal. Allthese were accounted for andshown in books of accounts.This is a height of politicalvendetta,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The IT department said itgave AAP 34 chances to explainallegations. It has alleged thatthe AAP has not discloseddonations worth �13 crorereceived during 2014-15 andrevealed details of 461 donorsto the Election Commission.The IT department said thenotice was issued by the assess-ing officer under section 156(notice of demand). It said it isissued in the “normal course”, where ITRs are pickedup for scrutiny by the assessingofficer.

Related story on P-3

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Page 2: ˇ $8 !# ˛$ %! - News Headlines India riage with a Muslim youth ... “In the history of India, all donations to a political party ... porting role in Siya ke Ram in Star Plus

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The lawns of Swaveda Schoolsituated on Laksar Road are

having a different scene thesedays from the usual tiny totsplaying their games. Action,camera, lights are the wordsechoing with a moving camerataking shots of a seer clad insaffron robes who is seen nar-rating a story to a band of hisattentive disciples. A movieon Saint Ravidas is in the mak-ing which has many local artistsplaying while the crew is fromMumbai.

In the makeup room is vis-ible a man whose beard andmoustaches are being fixed bythe makeup artists to make hisface look like the 15th centuryseer – Ravidas. The man who

plays Ravidas in the filmSandeeep Mohan has acted intele serials based on mytholo-gies.

The film on saint Ravidasis being produced by SwamiSharad Puri of Juna AkhadaHaridwar who has taken anextra care to get thingsapproved by the saint fraternityto help the film steer clear ofany controversy taking lessonsfrom the fierce controversycreated by Sanjay LeelaBhansali’s Rani Padmavati.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Sandeep Mohan said, “Eightypercent of the scenes in thismovie are being shot inHaridwar covering Bhagirathighat and Raja ghat while a feware shot in Benares.

We intend to finish shoot-ing in Haridwar by the first

week of December after whichwe would move to some hillareas of Uttarakhand. Ravidasknown to have great reverencefor Ganga, the movie is aptlytitled ‘Ganga bhakt Ravidas’.”

Mohan shot to fame fromRamanand Sagar’s teleserialShri Krishna in which heplayed the role of Arjuna.Earlier, he enacted the roles ofVed Vyas and King Janaka inUpanishad Ganga, a famousIndian television drama seriesbased on the message of theUpanishads directed byChandraprakash Dwivedi andproduced by ChinmayaMission.

He has played almost everyIndian mythological character,be it Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshbesides different incarnationsof Lord Krishna. He has played

some negative roles too.Currently he is doing the sup-porting role in Siya ke Ram inStar Plus.

He has appeared in somefilms too such as Wrinkle-

free, Hola Venky and X: Past IsPresent while he made hisdebut in the realm of movieswith the movie titled Love.

Speaking of the challengeshis role of Ravidas presents,Sandeep says, “Ravidas is a his-torical figure. It is always a chal-lenge to play such roles as a lotof people deify them and itturns a testing moment for theactor to things intact.”

Swami Sharad Puri says,

“The movie spanning 2 hoursand 15 minutes has four songs.It is likely to be released onJanuary 31 next to mark thesaint’s birth anniversary. Wemade it a point to get thingsapproved by the saints of theakhadas prior to shooting.”

Notably, Ravidas was anorth Indian mystic, poetand saint of the BhaktiMovement that thrived dur-ing the 15th and the 16th cen-tury CE.

He is venerated as a Guruacross large areas of the landnow in Punjab, Rajasthan andUttar Pradesh.

His devotional songsimpacted the BhaktiMovement deeply which wereincluded in Guru GranthSahib and Panch Vani text ofthe Dadupanthi.

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Giving management tips tothe students of Indian

Institute of Management (IIM)during their visit to PatanjaliYog Peeth, Managing Directorof Patanjali Food and HerbalPark Limited Acharya BalKrishna, whose name recentlyfigured in Forbes List of therichest Indian, said that successof Patanjali lies in the con-sumers being considered asmembers of family and not asmarkets.

A delegation of 40 studentsfrom IIM Rohtak along withthree professors visitedPatanjali Yog Peeth on Mondayto learn the management tipsfrom the head of the PatanjaliGroup. Acharya Bal Krishnasaid that Patanjali’s manage-ment is based on Vedic man-agement. “To succeed, onemust have to think differently.To act differently, one must takecalculated risk. There is noshort cut to success. Hard

labour, giving priority to theright work, futuristic thinkingand right use of time contributeto success,” he said.

Dwelling on the art of themanagement, he said that agood manager is one who takesall of his workforce together,skilled and less skilled.“Considering a consumer aspart of our family and givingthem quality products at min-imum cost is the fundamentalprinciple that Patanjali follows

and this is what has put it in aclass by itself. We consider ourbusiness as a service to thenation. Among the indigenouscompanies here, Patanjali is theonly one which has touchedsuch dizzy heights in such asmall space of time.

Our products are reachingnow every Indian kitchen. Thepeople’s confidence in ourproducts is the key to Patanjalitaking major strides in everyventure it takes,” said the

Acharya.Rama Shankar Yadav, one

of the professors who accom-panied the IIM Rohtak stu-dents, said that the studentshave been gifted with somegems of management duringtheir two-day visit here whichcannot be found in the man-agement books. Visibly moved,many of the students expressedtheir desire to work forPatanjali group after they com-plete their studies.

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In a sensational incident,body of a youth was found

near new Empire cinema halllocated in the vicinity of Clocktower on Monday. Thedeceased has been identified as

Yatin Verma, a resident ofBageshwar. He was reportedlyworking in a private companyin NOIDA.

The police team whicharrived on the spot found thatthe body had a bullet injury onits head. It is learnt that theVerma had stayed in the lodgeon November 14. TheSuperintendent of Police (SP)City Pradeep Rai said that thepolice have confiscated thebody register of the lodge andare investigating the case fromall angles. He said the youth hasbeen shot on head from closerange and prima facie itappears that the body wasdumped here after murder.The police are using mobilerecords of the deceased to zeroin to the culprits. Meanwhilethe parents of Verma have saidthat they had no informationabout his stay son in Dehradun.

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The former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat hasexpressed deep concern at the deteriorating condition of law

and order in the State. He said that there seems to be a flood ofcrime in the provisional State capital with a rising incidence ofmurders, thefts and other crimes, which is not a good sign forthe State. The Government and police should take stern actionwithout delay to control crimes, he added.

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Police have achieved anoth-er breakthrough in the sen-

sational inter-state kidney rack-et with international links bust-ed in a Doiwala-based charita-ble hospital in September, astwo of the absconders-a couplecarrying bounties- were arrest-ed from Ghaziabad on lateSunday night.

Police said that Dr SanjayDas and his wife Dr SushmaKumari were anaesthesistswhose service was taken beforethe kidney transplant. Theyfurther said that the teams-formed to round up all theaccused on the run had raidedseveral places in Bihar UttarPradesh and areas borderingNepal in search of the fugitivedoctor couple. “Finally theywere arrested from StationMore in Ghaziabad on Sunday.

We are sure that the coupletaken into custody would helpus get to the bottom of theracket,” said a police officer,investigating the case.

Notably, GangotriCharitable Hospital in Doiwalaunder Uttaranchal DentalCollege was being used as thecentre of the kidney removaland transplant following anunderstanding reached withthe hospital management. Theprobe revealed that those run-ning the racket were in contactwith the agents operatingacross the country and abroadwho used to arrange thedonors and the receivers. Thekidney racket had been bustedon September 11 as the jointteam from Haridwar andDehradun police had arrestedan agent of the racket identifiedas Javed Khan, native ofMumbai. It was followed by

the arrest of several otherswhile some of the accused arestill on the run.

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The Booknerds Comic BookHangout is a fun initiative

by The Booknerds to bringtogether bibliophiles to discusscomic books, said founderRohan Raj and added that thefifth hangout at a place atAstley Hall in Dehradun wasmeant to spur the current gen-eration to read comic booksboth in English or Hindi.

“The fifth Hangout in theseries featured the JusticeLeague Comics while talk washeld on the origin and differ-ent versions of the DC ComicBook franchise.

The nerds discussed comicbooks, their favourite charac-ters and why the Justice

League came into existence,”Raj said.

The Justice League con-ceived by writer Gardner Foxis a group of fictional super-heroes appearing in Americancomic books published by DCComics.

The seven original mem-bers were Superman,Aquaman, Flash, GreenLantern, Martian Manhunter,Batman, and WonderWoman.

The hangout featuredcertified storyteller AbhaMassey who narrated a quirkycomic book story. Amongother activities at the hangoutsession was SuperheroColoring Contest which waswon by Ojsavi, informed Raj.

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To encourage the use of sus-tainable energy through

non-conventional resources,BHEL Haridwar is setting up a5 MW grid interactive Solar PVpower plant near its 132 KVsub-station. General manager(in-charge) HEEP SanjayGulati and general manager(in-charge) CFFP Rajiv Mehraperformed the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’of this ambitious project inHaridwar on Monday. Afterthe ritual was over Gulati saidthat sustainable energy pro-duced from non-conventionalresources is the future of powerin India.

“Preservation of our envi-ronment is the need of the hourand enhanced focus on pro-duction of green energy is thebest way out. Government ofIndia is also promoting renew-able energy infrastructure inthe country in a big way,” he

said. Mehra said that currentscenario in the country isfavourable for setting up cleanenergy projects like solar powerplants.

Once commissioned, thisplant would generate about 92lack units of electricity in a yearwhich will meet about 20 per-cent of electricity demand ofHEEP unit of BHEL Hardwar,resulting in a reduction in itsannual electricity bill byapproximately Rs 4.75 crore,Gulati said. All the major plant

equipment like Solar Panels,Power Conditioning Units,Sun trackers and VacuumCircuit Breakers would bemanufactured by various unitsof BHEL, he added.

In order to maximizepower generation, solar panelscorresponding to 1.25 MWcapacity would be mounted ontrackers which would followthe sun throughout the daywhile another 1.25 MW capac-ity would have simple East-West trackers and the rest 2.5MW would have fixed ModuleMounting Structures, he fur-ther informed.

The company which ispresently executing over 180MW of ground-mounted androoftop Solar PV projectsacross the country hasenhanced its state-of-the-artmanufacturing lines of solarcells to 105 MW and solarmodules to 226 MW perannum.

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On receiving the enquiryreport on the graft charges

levelled against the formerUragee gram pradhanRaghunath Singh, the PauriDistrict Magistrate SushilKumar issued an order onMonday, asking Singh todeposit a certain amount intothe account of the GramPanchayat Uragee in 15 daysand submit the deposit receiptto the District Magistrate’soffice.

DM further said in hisorder that in case Singh fails todeposit the said amount with-in the specified time, theamount would be recovered bythe land revenue department.Notably, the block develop-ment officer enquired into thecomplaints made by oneBikram Singh Gusain of thevillage Uragee.

Officials said that the BDOhad conducted an inquiry into

the three- point complaintlodged by Gusain who allegedfinancial irregularities indulgedin by the former gram pradhanSingh. The enquiry report wassubmitted to the district devel-opment officer who forwardedit to the DM. As per theenquiry report, two of thethree points were found with-out basis and were quashedwhile one was found havingsubstances. The one chargethat was found correct was thatthe former gram pradhan hadspent �49888.0 in the con-struction of railing in March2013 while as per the mea-surement of RES junior engi-

neer, the work cost �41994.0.It means that �7894 hasremained unaccounted for. Theformer gram pradhan had sub-mitted his explanation, reiter-ating that the amount spent onthe work was �49888.0 as men-tioned earlier. He had said thatthe engineer did not take intoaccount C C Road where thework was done in his mea-surement. The enquiry officerrejected the explanation, sayingthat construction of CC Roadwas not within the purview ofthe gram panchayat whiledefining it as an individualwork. He recommended recov-ery of the amount.

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The Jan Sangharsh Morchahas submitted its memo-

randum in the office of theState Chief Secretary seekingthe lodging of a first informa-tion report (FIR) in the case ofChief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat providing incorrectinformation on his electionnomination papers.

The Jan Sangharsh Morchachief Raghunath Singh Negisaid that as the appointmentsought with the chief secretarywas being deferred due tosome reason or the other, thememorandum was submittedto the chief secretary’s staff offi-cer.

Negi reiterated that CMTrivendra Singh Rawat, hadstated his age as 46 years in the2007 election nominationpaper, 52 years in the 2012nomination paper, 54 years in2014 and again 54 years in2017.

As per his known birthdate, the Chief Minister’s age

should have been 56 years in2017 and earlier it should havebeen 51 years in 2012, not 52years as stated in the nomina-tion. He also alleged that theChief Minister had either pro-vided incorrect informationor incomplete information inhis nomination paper for whichan FIR should be lodged.

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The IMA Ball one of theeagerly-awaited social event

for the Autumn term in theIndian Medical Academy(IMA) was organised onSunday night.

The evening of joy, merri-ment and nostalgia startedwhen the Commandant IMA,Lieutenant General SK Jha setthe ball rolling. As per the tra-dition of the academy, selectionof Mister IMA and Miss IMAwas held on the occasion inwhich the Gentleman Cadets(GC) and lady guests partici-pated with great zeal andenthusiasm.

Meenakshi Chaudhary wasadjudged as Miss IMA whileGentleman Cadet TarunVasudevan was declared asMister IMA.

The IMA Ball is heldtowards the end of each termto mark the culmination of therigorous training schedule ofthe Passing Out Course. The event marked with fun andfrolic can also be termed as the‘Break Up Party’ for the ThirdTermers. The IMA Ball is alsoregarded as a precursor to thefinal event – The Passing OutParade (POP) of the IMA,which is scheduled onDecember 9, 2017.

An IMA communiqué saidthat the occasion was charac-terised by the display of a highsense of chivalry, courtesy, eti-quette and gentlemanly con-duct of the passing out course.

These qualities which areimbibed and nurtured in theIMA, remain as an importantpart of their lives as officers oncommissioning. This was real-ly a good experience.

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Page 3: ˇ $8 !# ˛$ %! - News Headlines India riage with a Muslim youth ... “In the history of India, all donations to a political party ... porting role in Siya ke Ram in Star Plus

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Opening a long awaitedfacility, the Chief Minister

Trivendra Singh Rawat andthe State Forest and WildlifeMinister Harak Singh Rawatinaugurated the operation ofsafari vehicles in Corbett TigerReserve from Kotdwar onMonday. They also inaugurat-ed the Kotdwar eco tourismcircuit development schemeon the occasion. With the startof the jungle safari fromKotdwar in Pauri district, theCorbett Tiger Reserve will nowbe about 50 kilometres closerto the national capital com-pared to the Corbett gate atRamnagar in Nainital district.

Speaking on the occasion,the CM said that the schemesinaugurated at Kotdwar willlend a new direction to thesocial and economic develop-ment of the region. Theseschemes will also provide newavenues for self employment tothe local youth while alsoincreasing the number oftourists. Stating that eco-tourism will be linked with thestate’s development and income,Rawat said that schemes are

being prepared which will max-imise the employment oppor-tunities for local youth whilealso encouraging tourism. Thechief minister averred that thestate government was workingwith sensitivity. Doctors hadbeen transferred to remotemountainous regions with 90per cent of them also assumingcharge. He said that otherimportant steps are being takento improve the condition ofhealth services in the state.The Chief Minister also pre-sented cheques for loan at two

per cent interest rate to 200farmers under the Pandit DeenDayal Upadhyay cooperativesfarmers welfare scheme. Healso assured all possible assis-tance to the disaster affected. Healso unveiled the foundationstones for various works cost-ing Rs 960.77 lakh on the occa-sion. These include theimprovement of motor roadsfrom Simmalchaid to Sitabpur,Durgapur to Haldukhata andJhandichaid to Laldhang-Chillarkhal costing Rs 456.17lakh along with improvement of

motor roads under variousschemes in different parts of theregion.

Expressing his views on theoccasion, the state forest andwildlife minister Harak SinghRawat said that Kotdwar isimportant from the religious,historical and environmentalpoints of view. He said that theKotdwar eco tourism schemeand safari facility inauguratedhere will encourage tourism inthe region. State minister DhanSingh Rawat, Lansdowne MLADilip Rawat, district Panchayat

head Dipti Rawat, principalchief conservator of forests RKMahajan and Uttarakhand EcoTourism DevelopmentCorporation managing directorAnup Mallik were also amongthose present on the occasion.

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Citing a report of theMinistry of Home Affairs,

the Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat said that the Stateof Uttarakhand was top on thelist of strike-ridden States. Hesaid, “This is a matter for seri-ous thought. We should not letUttarakhand become a strike-ridden State, for which thesupport of the public is essen-tial. Strike by the Governmentemployees hampers the execu-tion of development works.The State Government will nottolerate such hurdles in devel-opmental works,” said the ChiefMinister.

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More than 13000 SpecialBasic Teaching Certificate

(BTC) teachers of Uttarakhandare now pinning their hopes onthe Chief Minister ofUttarakhand to solve the fias-co associated with recognitionof their degrees.

On Sunday, a delegation ofthese teachers met the CM andapprised him of the situation.The leader of the delegation andPresident of the Dehradun unitof Prathemik Shikshak Sangh(PSS), Virendra Singh Krishalisaid that the CM assured that hewould take up the matter withthe Union HRD MinisterPrakash Javadekar soon.

“CM would probably meetthe Union HRD Minister onTuesday and we are hopefulthat the matter would beresolved. It is crystal clear thatno teacher would enroll for thebridge course of NIOS,’’ he said.

The jobs of these teachersare stake due to an order by theUnion Human ResourceDevelopment (HRD) Ministrywhich has made it clear that by

year 2019 all untrained pri-mary teachers should com-pulsorily complete theDiploma in ElementaryEducation (DElEd) course(earlier termed BTC). To thechagrin of these teachers it waslearnt that due to tardiness ofthe edu department officers theSpecial BTC course held bythe District Institutes ofEducation and Training(DIET), are not recognised bythe National Council ofTeacher Education (NCTE). Asa way out, these teachers arenow offered by the State edu-cation department that theyshould undergo, a 6 monthbridge course offered by theNational Institute of OpenSchooling (NIOS).

However the agitated asso-ciation of Primary teachers, thePrathemik Shikshak Sangh(PSS), is adamant that no spe-cial BTC teacher would enrollfor the bridge course.

Meanwhile the PSS is con-tinuing its stir against thedepartment’s plan to enrollthese teachers for the bridgecourse.

On the day teachers fromHaridwar district sat on aDharna at the State educationdirectorate. The teachers ofDehradun and Nainital districtwould sit on the Dharna onNovember 28 and 29 respec-tively.

Similarly the teachers ofAlmora and Bageshwar wouldhold Dharna on Nov 30, UdhamSingh Nagar on December 1,Uttarkashi on December 4 andChampawat and Pithoragarh onDecember 5. Teachers haveresolved to take out a big rally atState capital if the issue is notresolved.

The District President ofDehradun unit of PSS, Krishaliclaimed that the number of spe-cial BTC teachers is more than19k and not 13K as claimed bythe department officials. Hesaid that it is unfortunate thatteachers are being informedafter 16 yrs that the Special BTCcourses conducted by the DIETsare not recognised by theNCTE. The teachers are furi-ous as these courses were con-ducted on the basis of GovtOrders (GO), he said.

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The UttarakhandGovernment has shown its

readiness to organise wintergames at Auli near Joshimath.If everything goes as per theplan, these games would beheld from January 15 to 21.

The department of tourismwhich is entrusted with organ-ising the event has asked theWinter Games Federation ofIndia, a body of IndianOlympic Association (IOA) toinvite participation in thesegames.

The Tourism secretary,Dilip Jawalkar said that the icemaking machine stationed atAuli to prepare ice for theevent would be repaired soon.For maintenance of this

machine, the departmentwould take the approval of theState cabinet for entering intoa single bid contract with themanufacturer of the machine.The machine was installed inthe year 2009 prior to theSouth Asian Federation WinterGames. The machine is notoperational now and in absenceof vendors interested to repair

it, the department is planningto hand over the task of repair-ing the machine on the manu-facturer. The departmentwould also put a proposal toclear a budget of Rs 12 Crorefrom the state assembly for theevent. It is worth mentioninghere that the International SkiFederation has given its nod tohold the event.

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Faced with shortage of appli-cants for 712 posts of

Medical Officers (MO) adver-tised recently, the UttarakhandMedical Services SelectionBoard (UMSSB) has extendedthe last date of applications toNovember 30.

Interestingly, the process ofinterviews for these posts gotstarted on November 22. Inview of less number of appli-cants, the board had extendedthe last date on two occasionsand as additional measure toensure maximum participa-tion in the process, the boardis accepting applications eventhough the interviews havestarted.

This action is necessitatedas the candidates of reserved

category are showing less inter-est in the recruitment drive.

The Chairman of theUMSSB, Dr R P Bhatt said thatthe board is trying its best toensure maximum participa-tion in the drive. He informedthat till date 1400 candidateshave applied for these posts.

“The interviews are sched-uled till December 23 but weare ready to extend them ifmore candidates show interestin the post of MO in the statehealth services,’’ he said.

The UMSSB took specialmeasures to give wide coverageto this recruitment drive ofdoctors. Dr Bhatt said apartfrom advertising in the news-papers the board has writtenletters to the principals ofmany medical colleges andoffices of Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA). He

informed that services of jobportals like naukari.com werealso taken for the purpose. Inlast three days about 150 can-didates have appeared in theinterviews.

The board has constitutedtwo panels which is inter-viewing thirty candidates everyday. The board chairmansounded hopeful that somemore candidates would applyfor the post of MO and thedrive would be a success.

In the present recruitmentdrive, out of the total 712posts, 200 are reserved forSchedule Caste, 33 forSchedule Tribe (ST) and 154are reserved for the OtherBackward Castes (OBC).Theselected MO would be induct-ed in the pay scale of 56100-177500 (level 10) of state healthservices.

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The UttarakhandGovernment is hoping that

the present recruitment drivewould help the State health ser-vices which in the absence ofdoctors are virtually defunct inremote and mountainous areasof the State. Out of total 2700posts of doctors in the Statehealth services about 1800 arevacant.

Acute shortage of MO inthe State health services havecreated problems for the peo-ple and have also acceleratedmigration from the moun-tainous parts. This effort willcheck the overall migrationfrom the State.

To attract young medicos

in its health services the StateGovernment has offered soupslike implementation ofDynamic Assured CareerProgression (DACP) wheretime bound progression insalary is assured and paymentof special allowances to thedoctors but all these mea-sures have failed in attractingdoctors.

In past the health depart-ment had launched manyschemes like guest doctorscheme, introducing PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP)model and tying up with theprivate hospitals to infusesome life into the totteringhealth services but all theseschemes failed to have thedesired the results.

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The Governor ofUttarakhand, Krishan Kant

Paul said that the residents ofNainital have the most impor-tant role to play in the conser-vation of the Naini lake. Hestressed that now discussionsshould be turned into actionand implementation based onsuggestions made by expertsand scientists. The Governorwas speaking at a workshop onscientific and technologicalintervention for Naini lake,organised by the UnitedNations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) in the RajBhawan auditorium here onMonday.

Speaking at the workshopthe Governor said that fromtime to time, many discussionsand seminars had been held onthis subject. Many organisa-tions had submitted theirreports too. He said it was nowtime for substantial imple-mentation of all the suggestionsto conserve the lake.He saidchief minister Trivendra SinghRawat had expressed his ded-ication towards this and thehigh court of Uttarakhand had

also given directions regardingthis. Thus, the local adminis-tration needed to follow thisseriously, stressed Paul.

He said that the biggestresponsibility in this context laywith the people of Nainital. Thecity is dependent for its watersupply on this lake. Every year,a large number of touristsarrive here and water has to bemade available to them also.

The concept of sustainabletourism and water manage-ment will have to be adoptedand rainwater harvesting mustbe encouraged. Alternative

sources of water for the citymust also be explored. Further,the tourists coming to Nainitalmust also be encouraged tovisit tourist places nearby.Citing the examples of Dhansa,Badkal and Surajkund lakes,the Governor said that thesehad once been important lakesaround Delhi but had nowdried up. “It is our responsi-bility to ensure that Naini lake

did not dry up like these lakes,”he said.

“Work will have to be donewith determination and eachcitizen will have to use com-

mon sense to play his or herrole in saving the lake,” stressedPaul.

Speaking on the occasion,the Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat said that there hadbeen a dwindling of watersources and rivers in the statewhich is a cause for seriousconcern. For the Naini lake, anaction plan would have to betimely implemented ensuring

local participation. He said thestate government had startedwork on conserving the lakeand other water sources. OnMay 25, a campaign on waterconservation had been held.Work on the rejuvenation ofBindal and Rispana rivers inDehradun had also been start-ed. Cleanliness and plantationdrives will be undertaken inthese areas. Suggestions givenat the UNDP workshop will beimplemented by the state gov-ernment, added Rawat. Healso appreciated the recentdecision of the Government ofIndia for conducting manualinspection of 26,000 watersources in Uttarakhand.

The State’s chief secretaryUtpal Kumar Singh, principalsecretary Anand Vardhan,UNDP’s additional countrydirector Rakesh Kumar, secre-tary Ravinath Raman alongwith scientists and expertsfrom various organisationswere also present on the occa-sion.

During the sessions in theworkshop, discussions wereheld on various aspects includ-ing the reasons for the fallinglevel of the lake, possible solu-tions, the changing geologicalcondition of Nainital, humanpressure on the city, role oforganisations and implemen-tation strategies.

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The Chief Secetary UtpalKumar Singh has directed

the department concerned andthe executing agency to makecoordinated work to speed upfour-laning on Haridwar by-pass road. Regarding theDehradun-Delhi national high-way, he also directed officials ofthe company concerned toexpedite the work. The ChiefSecretary issued these direc-tions while chairing the firstmeet of the authorised com-mittee of State level UdhyogMitra Samiti here on Monday.

Regarding complaintsreceived about notice issued bythe Uttarakhand biodiversityboard to industries withoutcompleting formalities, for pay-ment of five per cent cess, Singhinstructed that the boardshould widely publicise facts ofthe Biodiversity Act while alsotaking cognisance of sugges-tions made by the industrialists.Referring to the work of widen-ing national highway 74between Kashipur andRudrapur in Udham SinghNagar district, officials of theNational Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) informed thatthe work is in progress and isexpected to be completed soon.Singh directed the distrit mag-istrate to consistently reviewworks for drafting of plans forconstruction of proposed by-passes on national highway 74at Kashipur.

He also directed officials ofthe Public Works Department

to complete construction of

bridges on the said nationalhighway.

The chief secretary alsodirected officials to ensuretimely redressal of cases relat-ed to new electricity connec-

tions, power load and other

aspects while also conductingregular reviews. Care should betaken to prevent delay in worksdue to the gap between the sub-mission of application anddeposit of fees, he added.

Action should be taken imme-diately after approval from thestate administration for estab-lishment of a fire station atBhagwanpur in Haridwar andfor construction of staff quar-ters at the SIIDCUL Haridwarfire station. Principal secretaryManisha Panwar, industrycommissioner Sowjanya, sec-retaries Harbans Singh Chugh,Arvind Singh Hyanki and chiefconservator of forests ManojChandran among others werealso present in the meeting.

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5��������������1���������� ����1�������������%����6������������ �� ������&�����7�$���%�������� ��������������������� �����������!�7��������3��������� 1���������������������������������������1�� ������1�������� ����7�$���%��%� �����������1��������� �������� ��� ����������������1���� ������������������������ ����1����%������7���������������%�������������������%��� ��������1���6 �����78������3��������������%� �������&������ ��������1���%������������������������ �%������17������������6 �������)���3���!���������!�����!��3��������������������������������%��1����� �������!��������)�����1�����������������

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With December approach-ing, the denizens of

Dehradun are now gearing upfor the chilling winter thatwould continue till mid-February. The mercury hasstarted dipping while theweathermen say that the gulfbetween the maximum andthe minimum temperatureswould narrow down in thecoming days. The maximum inthe city is now hovering in 24degree Celsius while the min-imum is coming down to near-ly 6 degree Celsius during thenight and the early morninghours. The weather would be

mainly dry, though the skymight be partly overcast onTuesday, the Met officials said.

The temperature keepsdipping across the state whilethe higher reaches of the hills

are experiencing snowfall. Theminimum temperature settledat 5 degree Celsius atPantnagar in Udham SinghNagar district while it was 4.9in Mukteswar in Almora dis-trict and 6.2 in New Tehri inTehri district on Monday.

It was a sunny day inDehradun on Monday.However, it turned cold as theevening descended.

The night would be evencolder, given the trend. The traf-fic are significantly thinning onthe roads of the city during thenight hours while the tradersshutter their shops much earli-er than usual, as is the scenarioof Dehradun during the winter.

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From Page 1other schemes and subsi-

dies at par with male farmers.With this inclusion, womenwill also have decision-makingvoice in sale of land or anyother transactions done onland as collateral. This willreduce also drudgery andincrease efficiency,” the reportsaid.

“Though the number ofwomen cultivators and labour-ers has been increasing, therate of increase is more in caseof women as agriculturelabourers from 20.8 million in1981 to 59.1 million in 2011. InIndia, the typical work of thewoman agricultural laboureror cultivator is limited to lessskilled jobs, such as sowing,transplanting, weeding andharvesting. Many women alsoparticipate in agricultural workas unpaid subsistence labour,”the report said.

The National SampleSurvey (NSS) data shows, thatthere has been steady declineof men in agriculture over thelast three decades with per-centage of men coming downfrom 81 per cent to 63 per centas compared to women, inwhose case it has come downfrom 88 per cent to 79 per cent.As per report, the averageincome of an agriculturalhousehold during July 2012 toJune 2013 was as low asRs.6,426, as against its averagemonthly consumption expen-diture of Rs.6,223. The datashows as many as 22.50 percent of the farmers live belowofficial poverty line.

Even in respect of othersub-sector of agriculture, likeanimal husbandry, fisheriesand vegetable cultivation,women are involved in the coreactivities including in the mar-keting of the produce. In the

dairy sector, almost 5 millionwomen are active members ofthe milk cooperatives and as of2016 there were 32,092‘women only’ dairy coopera-tive societies.

Earlier in August, theAshok Dalwai committeereleased a four-volume reportwhich said the CentralGovernment’s goal is to raiseaverage incomes of agriculturalhouseholds from Rs 96,703 in2015-16 to Rs 1,93,406 in2022-23 (measured at 2015-16prices). According to thereport, India will need cumu-lative private and public invest-ments of Rs 1.486 trillion (at2004-05 prices) during thisperiod to double farmers’incomes.

The report further statesthat each KVK is in possessionof about 50 acres of land whichprovides ample opportunity fordeveloping agri-business enter-

prises, since the guiding prin-ciples of ATMAs also providefor promotion of PPPs inAgricultural Extension Delivery,with 10 per cent of the funds tobe allocated for such initiatives.“Some of the areas such asfarm mechanisation, precisionfarming, processing, storage,value addition, post-harvestactivities, market linkage, agri-logistics may be attractive to pri-vate sector as they match theirbusiness interest,” it said.

Reviving the ATMA whichwas conceived as a multi-agency platform for addressingshort-comings of agriculturalextension including conver-gence of agriculture and alliedsectoral services; gender equi-ty; and linking farmers to mar-kets is the another measures toimprove the farmers incomesuggested in the report.

“This Committee consid-ers ATMA to be a case of agood programme whoseimplementation has been inef-fective, and hence recom-mends retention of the schemewith reforms and a strongermonitoring mechanism toensure adequate compliancewith implementation proce-dures. It calls for well orient-ed and trained leadership anduse of ICT for ease of man-agement,” Dalwai’s report said.

From Page 1Delhi-National Capital

Region continued to be “very-poor” with higher concentra-tion of pollutant even duringthe day time.

Primary pollutant PM2.5,or particles in air with diame-ter less than 2.5 micrometers,had an average value of 216units across Delhi-NCR, whileit was 219 in Delhi alone at 2pm and in peak hours (5 pm-8 pm) the levels crossed 230micro cubic per gram.

Anand Vihar in east Delhi,Delhi Technical University(DTU) in North Delhi andGhaziabad in Uttar Pradeshhave “severe-plus or emer-gency” air quality. While,Punjabi Bagh in West Delhiand RK Puram in South Delhiand Sector 25 in Uttar Pradesh’s

Noida have “severe” air quali-ty at 7 pm.

As per the pollution fore-cast by System of Air Qualityand Weather Forecasting AndResearch (SAFAR), a unit ofMinistry of Earth Science(MoES) there is no scope ofimprovement, Delhi-NCR’s airquality will remain noxiousover the next three days.

With PM2.5 value rangingbetween 315 to 376 units at 2pm at all 10 monitoring stationsof SAFAR across Delhi-NCR,the monitoring agency advises“no outdoor physical activityand less indoor activities” forthe sensitive groups, and advis-es mask to everyone else.

The regions with respectivePM2.5 values include Dhirpur(319), Pitampura (353) andDelhi University (358) in North

Delhi, Pusa (319) and LodhiRoad (315) in Central Delhi;and Mathura Road (376) andAyanagar (347) in south Delhi.

Meanwhile, at IGI AirportPM2.5 was 354, at Gurugramin Haryana it was 350 andNoida it was 323 units -- all atleast 12 to 13 times higher thanthe permissible limits.

The safe range for PM2.5as per Internat ionalStandards is 25 micro-grammes per cubic metersand 60 units as per IndianMeteorological Department(IMD) standards.

SAFAR in its medical advi-sory mentioned, “Stop out-door activity at early morningand after sunset times. Go fora short walk instead of a jogand take more breaks,” said aSAFAR’s medical advisory

meant for everyone.“Stop any activity level if

you experience any unusualcoughing, chest discomfort,wheezing, breathing difficulty,or fatigue. Avoid burning ofwood, candles or incense.Masks known as N-95 or P-100respirators may only help if yougo out.”

The satellite images fromNASA continue showing inci-dents of stubble burning insouthern Delhi over the pastweek, as well as across Punjaband Haryana.

According to the weatheranalysts, while Delhi’s winddirections changed now fromnorth-westerly (coming fromPunjab) into westerly, the airpollution will still increase overthe next two days due toincrease in moisture.

From Page 1Doklam region, Congress

leadership was busy in‘Hugplomacy’ by huggingChinese ambassador. Whatwas that valour?” he said.

They (Congress) haddemanded videos of surgicalstrike carried out by our sol-diers post Uri attack, saidModi, adding that Indian sol-dier went inside the enemy ter-ritory to take revenge and notto shoot a feature film. “Youeven don’t respect Indianarmy,” he criticised the oppo-sition.

Referring to the 26/11Mumbai terror attack, he saidthe difference between leader-ships was visible now whenyou see how Congress-ledUPA Government reacted tothe terror attack in Mumbaiand how surgical strike wascarried out in retaliation of the

Uri attack. Modi said while the

Congress is also raising issue ofGST during Gujarat poll cam-paign, its representatives werepresent during all GST meet-ings. Citicising double stan-dard of the opposition party, hesaid in all those meetings theCongress backed all decisionson GST.

“I would like to tell youwith politeness that we are lis-tening to suggestions on GSTand in the interest of thenation the central governmentwould do everything,” headded.

Taking a dig at Congressparty for promoting dynasticpolitics, he said the oldestpolitical outfit is reduced to asingle family and it was notconcerned about the country.He claimed that the presentGovernment at Delhi was

working for 125 crore peopleof India with a definite goat toachieve a new height of devel-opment.

Ahead of the rally at Bhuj,Modi made it a point to payvisit to the Ashapura Matajitemple and offered prayerthere. He instantly struck achord with a large number ofpeople present at the LalanCollege ground as he initiatedhis speech in Kutchi language.

Promising to start Roll on- Roll off (RoRo) ferry servicein the Gulf of Kutch in lineswith Ghogha-Dahej RoRoinaugurated by him lastmonth, Modi said when he wasstudying in school he read anews that RoRo service fromGhogha to Dahej will start butunder Congress rule the pro-ject never took off.

Addressing a rally at theKoli community dominatedJasdan in Rajkot distric, Modisaid four Patidar ChiefMinisters - Chimanbhai Patel,Babubhai Patel, KeshubhaiPatel and Anandiben Patel -

became victims of Congress’sdirty politics.

In early seventiesChimanbhai and Babubhaibecame victims of IndiraGandhi inspired conspiracy,later Keshubhai became vic-tims of Khajuraho episode inwhich Shankersinh Vaghelawas supported by Congressparty. Latest Anandibenbecame victim of pro-quotaPatidar agitation that too isbeing supported by the oppo-sition party, he said.

In his other rallies atPatidar dominated Dhari inAmreli district and later on atKadodara near Surat in SouthGujarat he made similarpoints. “They are feelinguneasy because a chaiwalabecame the PM. We used toread in books how the down-trodden get harassed by thosein higher strata.

But I never imagined theywould stoop so low,” Modi saidin his speech in Gujarati atJasdan ahead of the first roundof polling on December 9.

victim of the so-called`love jehad by which she wasconverted and married off to aboy, alleged to have links withglobal terror organisation ISIS.

For over an hour, while thegirl stood in the court sur-rounded by a posse of police-men, the Bench sought theviews of the lawyers on bothsides on whether it was appro-priate to first hear the girl orexamine the documents sub-mitted by the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)pointing to the larger conspir-acy involving not just Hadiyabut 89 similarly-placed girls.

Additional SolicitorGeneral Maninder Singh, whopresented the 100-page NIAreport, said Akhila was "indoc-

trinated" to join Muslim faithby Sathya Sarini, the organisa-tion where she stayed. This wasdone at the behest of thePopular Front of India (PFI),which, he said, had a largerdesign to convert Hindu girlsto Muslim faith and later getthem married off to boys whoworked actively for PFI. Jahan,according to NIA, had linkswith ISIS recruiters, as madeevident from certain conver-sations on his Facebook page.

Senior advocate KapilSibal, who appeared for Jahan,wondered why the Bench wasto be influenced by the mate-rial as the only issue before thecourt related to the liberty andautonomy of an individual. Hesubmitted that the issue at

hand was not on whether sherightly converted, or gave herconsent rightly, or even madethe right choice to marry Jahan.The issue is whether she hasher individual autonomy andliberty to choose how she wantsto live.

The court said, "In ourjudicial career, this is the first-of-its-kind case we have todeal with. We want to set theparameters that when dealingwith similar cases, what is thethreshold that the court has topass, in order to merit inter-ference with individual auton-omy."

After Sibal remained per-sistent, the court allowedHadiya to tell her story.

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Boating facility will now beavailable to visitors at the

Jungle Safari from January 1next year in the new Capital.

Chief Minister RamanSingh on Friday launched‘Nauka Vihar’ at the JungleSafari. The Chief Minister alsoenjoyed the boat ride on the180 acres Khandwa Reservoirat Jungle Safari.

Singh, while expressing hishappiness, added that JungleSafari was a major attraction tovisitors from all over the country and the State.

Raipur city and the Stategot a distinct identity becauseof Jungle Safari. Modern facil-ities were being added to thetourists on a regular basis, hesaid. The Jungle Safari com-prises of four separate Safarisincluding Herbivore Safari,Bear Safari, Tiger and LionSafari. Around 166 personnelincluding officials, doctors,zoo-keeper, guard and otherstaff are deployed for taking

care of animals in the Safari.Notably the Chhattisgarh

government has also ear-marked 258.48 hectares of landin the capital for setting up a‘Nature Resort’ and a ‘ThemePark’ in future, officials stated.

On the other hand, it maybe recalled that a ‘ThemeResidential Township’—thefirst of its kind in Central

India would have people livingin sort of a ‘getaway’ locationsurrounded by natural sur-roundings in the new capitalcity.

The State governmentrecently informed that the‘Purkhauti Muktangan’ hadalso been developed with thevision to promote culture, tra-dition, and archeology.

Traditional sculptors ofChhattisgarh have given it theshape of cultural heritage.Spread over 200 acres of land,Purkhauti Muktangan is situ-ated nearly 20 km away fromvillage Uparwara, officialsinformed. Soon rock gardenand aquarium will also bedeveloped at the PurkhautiMuktangan premises which

will further enhance its signif-icance, they informed.

Rural EngineeringDepartment Abhanpur andRaipur besides ChhattisgarhTourism Board have beenappointed implementationagency under PurkhautiMuktangan Scheme.

Till date, developmentworks on 20 acres of land havebeen completed, whichincludes landscaping, civilwork, installation of fountainand water stage. Developmentworks of the first phase includeconstruction of magnificententrance, tourist information

centre, path-way, media path,Baiga Chowk Devgudi,Chhattisgarh Haat,Chhattisgarhi Chowk, tribaltraditional shade, amusementpark, roads and water supplyfacility, workshop for ironcraftsmen, traditional net formural paintings, construction

of freedom fighters’ statutes,boundary wall construction,making of Chhattisgarh’s mapthat will highlight the greatnessof Chhattisgarh. It may berecalled that the Chhattisgarhgovernment has also com-menced the process for settingup the ‘Tribal Museum andTribal Research & TrainingCentre’ at the ‘PurkhoutiMuktangan’ premises here,officials informed. Naya RaipurDevelopment Authority(NRDA) will also be develop-ing an integrated adventuresports facility at Sendh Lake inthe new capital region. It maybe also recalled that theChhattisgarh governmentwould also re-create models ofBastar and Surguja divisionjungles and other natural beau-ty of Chhattisgarh in the pro-posed Film City to come up atNaya Raipur.

The nature based modelswould be created for enablingshooting of films which wouldalso help showcaseChhattisgarh in global cine-matic space, officials informed.

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The Punjab Vidhan Sabhaon Monday paid tributes to

the farmers, who had commit-ted suicide, Punjab soldiers whohad died in Army operations, aswell as those who lost their livesin the recent Ludhiana factorycollapse incident and Bathindaschool bus accident. Besides, thepolitical and other eminent per-sonalities, who had passed awayduring the intervening periodbetween the two sessions, werealso remembered by the mem-bers of the House.

Rich tributes were also paidto Rajmata Mohinder Kaur,mother of Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh, who has beenthe member of both Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha. She breathedher last on July 24. Along withthem, former MPs KanwarVishvjit Prithvijit Singh andMohinder Singh Kalyan werealso remembered by the House.The Speaker Rana Kanwar PalSingh led the House in payinghomage by citing a quote byfamous artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Apart from former parlia-mentarians, other eminent per-

sonalities to whom the Housepaid its respects were formerMLAs Harmohinder SinghPradhan, Balwant Singh, RajaSingh, Balbir Singh, SurjanSingh Joga, and Comrade RajKumar.

The members also paidtributes to freedom fightersincluding Arjun Singh, WassanSingh, Jagat Singh, BachanSingh, Ram Sarup, Bachan Kaur,Channan Singh, other than theJathedar of Takht Sri KeshgarhSahib Giani Mal Singh. Punjabpolice Sub-Inspector KamaljeetSingh, Naik Bakhtabar Singh,and Manjinder Singh, who sac-rificed their lives in the line ofduty, were also paid homage bythe House. Homage was alsopaid to those who were killed inthe previous week’s tragic inci-dent of a building collapse of aplastic factory in Ludhiana afterit caught fire. After the Speakerread out references to all thoseincluded in the list, SAD’s MLAfrom Batala Lakhbir SinghLodhinangal requested to addthe name of martyr MandeepSingh of Chahal Khurd villagein Batala. Thirty-two years oldMandeep had died while fight-

ing militants in Kupwara districtof north Kashmir on November22. Also, the Leader ofOpposition and AAP MLAfrom Bholath Sukhpal Khairaalso suggested to pay homage tothe farmers who had committedsuicide, as well as the teachersand students who were died inNovember 8 Bathinda road acci-dent besides those who losttheir lives in another mishap onNovember 7 on Ferozepur-Fazilka road. Carrying a list saidbe having names of farmers whohave committed suicide, Khairademanded that the Houseshould also pay tribute to over200 such farmers. “As many as289 farmers and farm laborershave committed suicide sincethe previous session,” he added.

Agreeing to the suggestions,the Speaker allowed to includethe suggested obituary refer-ences to the list. Speaker thenpassed a resolution for convey-ing the condolences of theHouse to their respective fami-lies, and observed a two-minutesilence in the memory of depart-ed souls as a mark of respectbefore being adjourned for theday.

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Giving a much-neededfillip to its industrial

d e v e l o pm e nt a g e n d a ,Punjab Government onMonday signed 50 MoUswith a total investment of�1,200 crore for the upcom-ing plastic clusters in theState amid indications ofreduction in fixed chargesfor power tariff to boostindustrial development.

The MoUs, signed byt h e D e p a r t m e nt o fIndustries and Commerce,envisage the creation ofabout 6,000 jobs.

Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh, in whosepresence the MoUs weres i g n e d , s a i d t h at h i sGovernment had alreadytaken various initiatives topromote industry, includingelimination of truck cartelsand electricity at �five perunit, and was now mulling50 percent reduction infixed charges of power forthe industry.

He also clarified thatthe Rs five per unit indus-trial power tariff would beeffective from November1, 2017, as announced byhis government, and therehad been no change in thedate for the implementationof the revised tariff.

C h i e f M i n i s t e r a l s oreleased a document titled‘Investment Opportunitiesin the Plastic Sector’ out-l ining the government’splans to promote invest-ment in the plastic sectorand the fiscal incentivesfor the MSME plastic pro-cessing units.

Capt Amarinder laudedHMEL’s world class crack-er and petrochemical com-plex at Bathinda, which hesaid would open up vastopportunities in the plasticprocessing, plastic machin-ery, additives and relatedindustries in the state.

H M E L , w h i c h h a salready invested �32,000crore in the state, is plan-ning a further investmentof �23,000 crore, which willfacilitate Punjab’s industri-al development, said theChief Minister, adding thatthe increase in availabilityof plastic raw materialsshall offer immense oppor-tunities for exponentialgrowth of the plastic pro-cessing industry.

The state was seeking todevelop plastic industryclusters in Sangrur, Patiala,Bathinda and Ludhiana,said the Chief Minister,adding that Punjab’s newIndustrial Policy, with itsvarious incentives for thestate, would help the indus-try compete in the market.

He a lso assured theplastic industry of full sup-port getting all clearancesat the district level by set-ting up single window sys-tem at the district levelu n d e r t h e D e p ut yCommissioner.

The Government willseek the Centre’s assistanceu n d e r P l a s t i c s Pa r k sDevelopment Scheme fordeveloping infrastructurefor the Industry, he added.

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Accusing Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of having

an ‘unhealthy mindset’ and‘misleading the people’, theCongress on Monday said thisis why he has forgotten whatthe first PM Jawaharlal Nehruhas done for the developmentof Gujarat.

Hitting back at Modi overhis charge that the Congresspropagated dynastic politics,party’s senior spokespersonAnand Sharma said the PrimeMinister ‘has forgotten’ that theCongress gave prime ministerslike Lal Bahadur Shastri andManmohan Singh, who camefrom a humble background.

Defending the Nehru-Gandhi family, the formerUnion Minister said none ofthe Gandhis was part of theGovernment since the lastalmost three decades. “ThePrime Minister has said thatthe country’s first PrimeMinister has not done anythingfor Gujarat. It is wrong and farfrom truth. We condemn it.The prime minister is havingan ‘aswasth mansikta’(unhealthy mindset) which isan issue of grave concern for

the country,” Sharma said atAICC briefing.

Sharma cited several pro-jects initiated by Nehru inGujarat like Amul cooperativemovement, IIM Ahmedabad,National Institute of Design,formation of Gandhinagar, thestate’s capital, ONGC’s complexat Ankleswar and developmentof ports like Kandla and Dahej,besides setting up of airports.

“It is not right on the partof the prime minister to speaklike this. He should abstainfrom giving such statements asthe Congress is capable ofdenying them with facts. ThePrime Minister is trying to mis-lead the people of Gujarat bygiving wrong statements and is

trying to lure the people of thestate ahead of Assembly elec-tions,” he alleged.

Sharma asked what theModi government had done forGujarat and said it should be leftto the people of the state and thecountry to judge its perfor-mance. “He (Modi) should notgive certificates of honesty to hisGovernment,” he said.

“The Modi Government isrunning away from account-ability and that is why thePrime Minister never con-vened Parliament session aheadof Gujarat assembly polls andneither did he answer any ofour questions,” the Congressleader said.

On Modi’s charge of dynas-tic politics, Sharma said theCongress was led by stalwartslike Mahatma Gandhi, SubhasChandra Bose, SardarVallabhbhai Patel, GopalKishna Gokhala and MadanMohan Malviya.

Countering the PrimeMinister’s attack on Nehru-Gandhi family, he said RahulGandhi, being an elected rep-resentative, was asked by thethen Prime MinisterManmohan Singh to join him,but he did not do so during the10 years of UPA Government.

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The Sharad Yadav-led JD(U) faction, whose claim

over the party’s poll symbol wasrejected by the ElectionCommission, announced onMonday that it will form a newparty after the Gujarat pollswhich it is fighting in alliancewith the Congress.

The faction’s general sec-retary Arun Shrivastava said itslone MLA, Chhotu Vasavafrom Gujarat, will fight the statepolls under the banner of thenew party, Bhartiya TribalParty, whose symbol will beauto rickshaw. Vasava was theYadav-led group’s acting pres-ident but floated a new partyafter the EC recognised BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar-led faction as the real JD (U)and accepted its claim over thepoll symbol of arrow.

“We will hold a conventionafter the Gujarat polls andform a new party. Our candi-dates will contest seven seatsunder the banner of BhartiyaTribal Party in alliance with theCongress,” Shrivastava saidafter his faction’s national exec-utive meeting here where Yadavwas present.

The announcement marksthe formal separation betweenYadav and Kumar, who hadjoined hands to oust LaluPrasad-led RJD Government inBihar. The JD(U) was inalliance with the BJP till Kumardecided to snap ties in 2013and was supported by Yadav.The JD(U) formed the grandalliance with Lalu Prasad’s RJDand the Congress in 2015 and

won the Bihar Assembly polls.However, it was Kumar’s

decision to tie up with the BJPin July this year that caused asplit between the two as Yadavopposed the move andannounced his support to theCongress and the RJD. Anoverwhelming number of elect-ed party members and mostoffice bearers remained withKumar.

While the Yadav factionwill continue to contest the EC’sdecision in courts, it will floata new party to carry on with itspolitics, Shrivastava said. Healso hit out at Kumar for giv-ing ticket to a candidate namedChhotu Vasava to take onMLA Vasava in the latter’sconstituency.

“Nitish Kumar is doing it toconfuse people and at theinstance of the BJP. He hasbecome the B team of the BJP,”Shrivastava said and claimedthat the saffron party will tastedefeat in the elections. Thenational executive also choseRajsekharan, its leader fromTamil Nadu, as its acting pres-ident.

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The Supreme Court onMonday said that a hearing

on the petitions challengingAadhaar will have to wait tillJanuary even as the Centre wasopen to extend the deadline forlinking Aadhaar with bankaccounts and other social wel-fare schemes till March 31,2018.

With the Court havingearlier fixed the Aadhaar mat-ter for hearing in November,with the month almost over,the lawyers appearing in thepetitions challenging the

scheme sought urgent listing ofthe case. Senior advocateShyam Divan argued that thematter must be heard on mer-its or else interim orders should

be passed staying the ongoinglinkage of Aadhaar with banks,SIM cards, etc.

The bench headed by ChiefJustice Dipak Misra stated that

a Constitution Bench is cur-rently in session and gave lib-erty to Divan to mention afterthe Bench gets over. It left it tothe Constitution Bench to passany interim orders.

Attorney General KKVenugopal said that in such anevent, the Centre is open toextend the deadline of Aadhaarlinkage till end of March 2018.He further advised the Courtnot to conduct a hearing in thecase till the Committee onData Protection comes outwith its report by Februaryend. Divan objected to thesame.

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ATrinamool Congress dele-gation on Monday met the

Election Commission demand-ing holding of simultaneous by-elections in one Lok Sabha andtwo Assembly constituencies inWest Bengal in ‘greater publicinterest’. The vacancies werecaused due to the resignationof Manas Bhunia, MLA fromSabong, on July 24 this year andthe death of Noapara MLAMadhusudan Ghosh on August18. Sultan Ahmed, who repre-sented Uluberia Lok Sabhaseat, died on September 4 thisyear.

The Commission hasalready announced the sched-ule for by-election to a few seatsin legislative assemblies of dif-ferent states including Sabongin West Bengal.

Trinamool MPs DerekO’Brien and Kalyan Banerjeemet the Election Commissionand submitted a memoran-dum asking it to hold simulta-neous by-elections in the twoassembly seats and one LokSabha constituency. “All thesethree vacancies were causedwithin July 24 to September 4,2017, which is less than oneand half months.

“In the fitness of the situ-ation, all these three casualvacancies are required to befilled in simultaneously to allowthe electorate of those con-

stituencies elect their repre-sentatives and the sooner it isdone it would not only be bet-ter for them, but also conformto the practised conventions,”the memorandum says.

To press for their demand,the TMC has referred to thevacancy caused by the demiseof E Ahmed, member of par-liament of Malappuram par-liamentary constituency onFebruary 1 2017, which wasfilled within 70 days through aby-election on April 20.

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The Centre will not deterfrom implementing harsh

measures if needed to not letthe Delhi smog-like situationrecur, Environment SecretaryCK Mishra said here onMonday even as he assertedthat no single authority can beheld responsible for the menace.

“If harsh measures arecalled for, they will be taken,”Mishra said at an event hostedby WWF-India where helaunched a report on ‘CleanEnergy Innovation Ecosystemin the SME sector in India’.

“We recently witnessed theDelhi smog, and the air quali-ty is really a matter of greatconcern to each one of us.There are a lot of things thatshould have been done. But, nosingle organisation or author-ity can be held responsible.

“Many say theGovernment has been unableto enforce what it says. But, letme put another perspective, ifthe government has failed tostop the emission, it is time,those who are emitting alsotook some responsibility,”Mishra said.

The EnvironmentSecretary said there was a “lotof ground to cover” and it wasnot always the rulebook thatshould decide actions, but theconcern.

“As the Government, weare determined to not let this(Delhi smog-like situation)happen again, which may meantaking harsh measures, andthere will be (such measures).Because, we care for lives andwe cannot ignore that aspect,”he said.

The environment secre-

tary also reached out to thesmall and medium-sized enter-prises (SMEs) and urged thebusiness entities to becomeextremely competitive in devis-ing ‘innovative and cleanertechnology’.

India has ‘unique prob-lems’ and so it needs ‘uniquesolutions’. And, ‘who comes upwith a cleaner technology’ hasto be the slogan of the indus-try, he said, adding, climatechange is for real, and we needto brace up for it.

“We are at present thethird largest emitter of CO2,but if you look historically,India’s contribution to climatechange has been very low. But,that does not absolve us of tak-ing very harsh measures toensure that we move ahead onthis,” Mishra said.

The official said millions ofIndians still do not have accessto electricity, and the govern-ment wants to reach out to allof them soon by creating addi-tional capacity through renew-able power worth 175 GW by2022, particularly with refer-ence to solar technology.

The Basil Energetics andAtomberg Technologies wereawarded the ‘Climate SolverAwards 2017’ at the event forcontributing to greenhouse gas(GHG) reduction by develop-ing a smart micro-grid andGorilla energy-efficient ceilingfans, respectively.

Climate Solver is a climateinnovation platform launchedby WWF-Sweden in 2008 tostrengthen the developmentand widespread use of low-car-bon technologies. It has nowexpanded to other countries,including China and India, theWWF said.

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President Ram Nath Kovindon Monday advised the

medical professionals to active-ly listen to their patients andtheir concerns, as simply lis-tening to the patients for a cou-ple of minutes can bring psy-chological benefits to themand aid in the recovery process.

Addressing the GeneralDuty Medical Officers(GDMOs) of the 2ndFoundation Course, conduct-ed by the National Institute ofHealth and Family Welfare,the President also said that thegoal of universal health cover-age is a priority for theGovernment.

“The implementation ofthe National Health Missioncritically depends on commit-ment of the medical fraternity.

This needs effective gover-nance at the community, villageand district levels,” he said.

The President stated thatwhile health may be a coreconcern for them, they have anequally important role to play

in the socio-economicprogress of the country.“Several key Government ini-tiatives such as Beti Bachao,Beti Padhao and SwachhBharat need their support andservice,” said Kovind.

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The Council for Scientificand Industrial Research

(CSIR) has launched a mis-sion project on diagnosis,prevention and managementof sickle cell anaemia (SCA),the genetic blood disorderwhich is commonly foundamong tribals in India.

The SCA is an inheriteddisorder characterised byabnormal red blood cells thatstick together in patients’blood vessels, blocking theblood flow to organs, whichcan lead to severe pain, organfailure, stroke, and evendeath. Every year approxi-mately 5, 00,000 children areborn with SCA worldwidewith India accounting fornearly 50 per cent of thecases.

A senior official from theCSIR said that a CSIR lab, theCentre for Cellular andMolecular Biology (CCMB),

has joined hands with theSickle Cel l Institute ofChhattisgarh, Raipur (SCIC)to work on the project.Chhattisgarh has a sizablepopulation of the SCA.

The disease is mainlyconcentrated in the scheduledtribe, scheduled caste andother backward caste popu-lat ions of Chhatt isgarh,Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,Jharkhand, Gujrat, AndhraPradesh, where carrier fre-quencies range between 5-40per cent or more.

For instance, a projectsponsored by the Departmentof Bio-Technology (DBT) inWest Godavari district lastyear found that 10 per cent oftribals were affected by SCA.Tribal population was foundto be prone to SCA because ofmalnutrition. A marked rela-tionship had been establishedbetween genetic mutation andmalnutrition. Also, Gujaratwhich has a tribal populationof 80 lakh had already

screened 20 lakh people forSCA.

According to anotherfindings, while Chhattisgarhis home to 10 lakh sickle-cellanaemic people, Odisha hassix lakh affected people.

The disease gets trans-mitted from one generation tothe next if both the parentshave sickle cell haemoglobintraits in their bodies.

Typically, SCA patientsshow symptoms such asanaemia, breathlessness, bodypain, jaundice, repeated infec-tion etc because of whichtheir lifespan is reduced to 42-

48 years. Mortality amongchildren is much high.

Dr Amar Agar wal-Chairman and MD of DrAgar wal’s Group of EyeHospital said, “Sickle Celldisease is fast becoming aserious health concern. Apartfrom brain, lungs, kidneys,liver and spleen, Sickle Celldisease can also lead to visionloss. When Sickle Cell diseaseworsens in the eye, it createssevere hemorrhages in theeye and retinal detachment.Some of the common eye ail-ments due to Sickle Cell dis-ease are scarring/ retinal

detachment and Sickle Cellretinopathy.”

The Prime Minister, whohas been keenly looking for aremedy to the disease sincehis days as Chief Minister ofGujarat, had discussed theissue with Nobel Prize winnerfor Medicine (2012) SYamanaka when he visited theKyoto University in 2015.

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Since millets (bajara) arehighly nutritious when com-

pared to other cereals, theCentre is planning to distributeit to citizens through the pub-lic distribution system andinclude it in mid-day mealschemes.

According to UnionAgriculture Secretary SKPattanayak, “The Ministry istrying to ensure millets arebrought under the PDS(Public Distribution System)and schemes like mid-daymeal. Niti Aayog has alsosuggested this should be partof the PDS. Storing millets forlong is an issue at present,there is a need to increase theshelf life of millets.”

“The Government is think-ing of promoting millets as‘nutri-cereals’ and is already inthe direction of making thestorage facility of the cereal bet-ter, Pattanayak added.

The Indian Council ofAgricultural Research is work-ing on the issue of low yieldsand storage and is likely torelease some high yieldingvarieties soon, he said.

The Union AgricultureSecretary also suggested that

the states should promote set-ting up of farmer producersorganisations (FPOs) for betterproduction and marketing ofmillets, ensuring higher incometo farmers.

Since the millets can begrown using less water and dryland, it would be a blessing tofarmers who have been suffer-ing due to failure of monsoon,Pattanayak said. Pattanayakfurther said that there may berequirement of mechanicalharvester for millets. The cen-tral government is alreadyworking in this direction.

Millets are a group of high-ly variable small-seeded grass-es, widely grown around theworld as cereal crops. Some of

the varieties of millets arebajra, ragi, sorghum, jowar ,brown top millets ( korle),Little millet (samai) and Indianbarnyard millet.

“Malnutrition is mainlycaused due to low protein lev-els in the body. Finger milletsand barnyard millets willincrease protein content in thebody. Plus, millets are lowglycemic functional food whichprevents non-communicablediseases such as diabetes,hypertension, cardio-vasculardiseases and cancers,” Ministryofficials said.

Notably, Tamil Nadu gov-ernment has already intro-duced millets in the mid daymeal programme.

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As the contentious issue ofwater sharing from

Mahadayi between Karnatakaand Goa has become a majorpolitical row between rulingCongress and Opposition BJPahead of ensuing elections tothe Assembly, Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah has sought theintervention of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to resolve theissue. Addressing the reportersat Naragunda in northKarnataka on the sidelines of afunction on Monday he said itis now PM should interveneand resolve the issue.

He said “We have doneeverything we should have. Itis for the Prime Minister toresolve the issues confrontingthe Mahadayi project throughhis intervention."

He also told the membersof an all party delegation thathe said he had met the PM andmade all efforts but said it isonly PM can intervene andresolve the issue.

In poll bound Karnatakawater sharing from riverMahadayi for drinking water

purpose for many districts ofNorth Karnataka has becomeone of the major issues for boththe national parties. TheTribunal has also asked theconcerned parties to resolve theissue amicably. It is an advan-tage for the BJP to deal with theissue with Goa governmentheaded by chief ministerManohar Parrikar.

Meanwhile BJP State pres-ident B S Yeddyurappa blamedthe Congress Government andChief Minister Siddaramaiah

for not resolving the issue. Hesaid that he had taken completeresponsibility upon himself tohelp resolve the Mahadayiwater dispute in the next 15 to20 days. Addressing reportersin Bengaluru, Yeddyurappasaid that the BJP would worktowards an out-of-tribunal set-tlement between Karnataka,Goa and Maharashtra to endthe stalemate.

He said "I have already spo-ken to Goa Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar. I will speak

with him again. I am certainthat we will find a solution tothis problem. I can guaranteethat 7.56 tmcft water will bereleased to Karnataka fordrinking water purposes. Ihave taken up the responsibil-ity as I have complete faith inmy all India leaders."

Further, Yeddyurappa saidthat the BJP would ensure thatthe dispute is resolved withoutthe state government's sup-port.

"The dispute will beresolved without ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah's role.There is no need for hisinvolvement whatsoever. It isbecause of the Congress and itsleader Sonia Gandhi that weare in this situation today.They are the ones who movedthe Supreme Court, whichresulted in the constitution ofthe Mahadayi Water DisputeTribunal. The Congress hascompletely failed in addressingthis issue. We will do thiswithout the state government'ssupport. Siddaramaiah has noconcern his only concern isplaying politics," addedYeddyurappa.

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On the last day of filingnomination for the 2nd

and final phase of GujaratAssembly polls, the rulingBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) onMonday announced its last listof 34 candidates.

The final list had mix ofexperience, continuity andwinnability, by BJP retainingnames of 12 sitting legislators.Among the key candidates,Jaynarayan Vyas, formerMinister in Keshubhai PatelMinistry and party spokesper-son for long has again beenfielded from Siddhpur con-stituency in North Gujarat.Vyas lost in 2012 Assemblypolls against BalwantsinhRajput, who has now jumpedship from Congress to BJP.

Kaushik Patel, formerEnergy Minister in KeshubhaiPatel Government too has beenbrought back as party candi-date from Naranpura con-stituency in Ahmedabad. In the

last elections, Patel lost fromDariyapur Assembly con-stituency, now he will fightfrom Party president AmitShah’s constituency who hasvacated the seat after becomingRajya Sabha member.

BJP has fielded 12 of the 16sitting legislators inAhmedabad. A BJP strong-hold, the party currently holds14 out of the 16 seats in thisbiggest city of the State. Theonly changes that have beenmade in the latest list is that ofGhatlodia, from where formerchief minister Anandiben Patelwas elected. Her confidanteBhupendra Patel has been field-ed from her constituencyinstead. It was rumoured thatthe party could field her daugh-ter Anar Patel from here.

The other surprising inclu-sion is that of former HomeMinister Rajnibhai Patel fromBechraji in North Gujarat.Rajni Patel has had to resign asHome Minister of the Stateafter Patel quota stir assumed

huge proportions and therewas massive anger against him.Rishikesh Patel too repeatedfrom nearby constituency ofVisnagar, the place from wherePatel quota stir actually began.

The interesting exclusionsinclude absence of name ofMahendrasinh Vaghela, son offormer chief ministerShankarsinh Vaghela. He wasslated to be given ticket fromBayad after he joined BJP.However, his name was miss-ing from the list. BJP has field-ed Adesinh Chauhan fromBayad constituency. The othername missing was that ofMinister of State for financeRohit Patel from Anand.

Meanwhile, OppositionCongress had released its offi-cial list of 76 candidates for sec-ond phase on late Sundaynight, a few hours ahead ofdeadline for filing nomina-tions and having faced series ofprotests from its workers overnomination of candidates forfirst phase.

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Regardless of that “ominousLeftist hangover” Bengal was

raring to develop under MamataBanerjee, State Chief Minister onMonday told a gathering ofindustrialists refusing thoughto budge from her notoriouslystated stance of “no acquisitionof farm land.”

Addressing more than threehundred foreign and Indian del-egates attending the Horasia

Asia meeting — first such sum-mit to be held in India — theChief Minister urged the over-seas diaspora to “please comeand invest in Bengal,” becauseher State had “inched severalpoints upwards in terms of easeof doing business.”

She claimed her State was“third in terms of ‘ease’ in doingbusiness,” adding “there is somelegacy issues of the previous Left-Front Government that will takesome time to wither away.”

Though her Governmentwould “never capture agricul-tural land forcibly” for industry,it had adequate “land bank” asalso that “power bank or thepower that is needed for runningthe industry,” Banerjee saidBengal is the safest destinationfor the investors as it has a sta-ble Government, with a soundpolity and social harmony.Bengal was also the gateway tothe north-eastern part of thecountry and Eastern Asian coun-tries, she maintained adding,“everything is there in the Stateand we need just your availabil-ity” and inviting the delegatesfrom the US, Europe and partsof Asia. With the investment ratetouching the nadir during herrule allegedly on account offaulty land policy and politicalgoonda raj Banerjee had vainlybeen flying in and out of India— to Germany, Singapore,England etc — for investmenteven as the State’s employmentgeneration programme haddropped and revenue earninghad not progressed proportion-ately.

In a sudden development adelegation of TMC leaders onMonday appealed to the Election

Commission of India to conductsimultaneous by-elections forAssembly and parliamentaryseats in the State.

Two Assembly and oneParliamentary seat had fallenvacant in Bengal. While electionswill be held for the SabongAssembly seat vacated by formerCongress MLA Dr ManasBhunia who joined theTrinamool Congress after win-ning the Assembly seat with Leftsupport. The Trinamool is field-ing Bhunia’s wife for the seat.Another Assembly seat wasvacated after the death ofNoapara MLA MadhusudanGhosh. The Uluberia parlia-mentary seat fell vacant follow-ing the death of former UnionMinister Sultan Ahmed.

A delegation of TMC MPsDerek O’Brien and KalyanBanerjee on Monday met theECI with an appeal to conductthe elections simultaneouslyurged the Commission to holdelections “in public interest,”though a section of the opposi-tion felt the Bengal ruling outfitdid not want to let the impact ofone election fall on the other par-ticularly at a time when BJP wasexpanding its base in the State.

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Retired Admiral L Ramdashas joined a clamour in cer-

tain quarters for a judicialinquiry into the alleged suspi-cious death of CBI SpecialJudge Brijmohan H Loya dur-ing his private trip to Nagpuron December 1, 2014.

In a letter written to ChiefJustice of India Dipak Misrawith a copy to Chief Justice ofBombay High Court, AdmiralRamdas (retd) stated: “A judi-cial probe at this point, at leastto respond to the queries raisedby the family (of late Loya), andto uphold the image of the judi-ciary in the eyes of the peopleof India, is absolutely neces-sary”

Justice Loya (48) died of a“heart attack” when was hear-ing the alleged SohrabuddinSheikh encounter case – inwhich BJP‘s current nationalpresident Amit Shah was one ofthe accused. Justice Loya’s fam-ily has raised several ques-tions about the circumstancesleading to his sudden death onDecember 1, 2014.

Justice Loya’s death hastriggered a debate in politicalcircles and media, with amongothers Delhi Chief ministerArvind Kejriwal, CPM gener-al secretary Sitaram Yechury,former chief justice of Delhihigh court Justice AP Shah andCongress spokesman AbhishekManu Singhvi demanding aprobe into the death.

In his letter datedNovember 24, 2017 which wasreleased to media on Monday,Admiral Ramdas (retd) stated:“The silence of the two judgeswho apparently persuaded thelate Judge Loya to travel toNagpur, and accompanied him,is disturbing to say the least”

“The inaction of the judi-

ciary about this sequence ofevents thus far is indeed sur-prising. This is all the morepuzzling in the context of therecent revelations by familymembers of the late JusticeLoya, who have raised certainquestions, apprehending foulplay in the circumstances lead-ing to his sudden death,” hestated.

“As a former Chief of theIndian Navy, I feel strongly thatit is critically important toclear any doubts about thisentire incident. Therefore in thelarger interests of the nationand its people, and above all inupholding the Constitution ofIndia and the image of ourentire legal system, a high leveljudicial enquiry be initiatedimmediately,” Admiral Ramdas(retd) said.

Admiral Ramdas (retd)prefaced his demand for aprobe into Justice Loya’s death,by saying: “All Democraciesexist and survive on three mainpillars – namely the Executive,Legislature and the Judiciary.Freedom from British rule,was won after a prolongedstruggle and the IndianConstitution was evolved afternearly two and a half years ofdebate in the Constituent

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Succumbing to resistancefrom its alliance partner

Shiv Sena, the ruling BJP onMonday compelled its newally and former Chief MinisterNarayan Rane to back out ofthe State Council’s poll race bynominating its Mumbai unit'svice president Prasad Lad as itscandidate for the December 7by-election.

Monday was the last dayfor filing nominations to theState Council by-poll scheduledfor December 7.

The by-poll has beennecessitated by the resigna-tion tendered by Rane who, itmay be recalled, had quitCongress and given up hismembership in theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil on September 21.

Rane -- who after quittingthe Congress floated a newpolitical outfit “MaharashtraSwabhiman Paksha” and sub-sequently joined the BJP- ledNDA in the hope that he mightland a berth in the MaharashtraCabinet—had been lobbyingfor the ruling BJP’s support tocontest the December 7 StateCouncil by-poll.

Rane had met Maharashtrachief minister DevendraFadnavis at the latter’s officialresidence “Varsha” on Sundaynight, in an effort to seek the

BJP’s support to contest theCouncil by-poll. At this meet-ing, Fadnavis is understood tohave told Rane that he wasunable to extend support to thecandidature of the latter in viewof the stiff resistance from theShiv Sena to his candidature.Fadnavis, however, assuredRane that the BJP would extendits support to the latter in theState Council polls to be heldin July next year.

After his meeting withRane, Fadnavis confabulatedwith State BJP PresidentRaosaheb Patil-Danve anddecided to field Lad as the rul-ing party candidate in theDecember 7 by-poll.Apparently happy with theBJP’s decision not to extend itssupport Rane’s possible candi-dature in the Council’s by-poll, the ruling Shiv Sena threw

its lot with Lad.Lad’s candidature came as

a big disappointment for BJP’ssenior functionary and Stateparty’s spokesperson MadhavBhandari who was expectinghis party to field him as a can-didate in the by-poll.

On its part, the Congresshas fielded its former SolapurMLA Dilip Mane as its candi-date. The Opposition NCP,Peasants’ and Workers’ Party,Samajwadi Party and Peoples’Republican Party have extend-ed its support to Rane’s candi-dature.

The electoral college for theDecember 7 State Council by-poll is the 288-memberMaharashtra LegislativeAssembly, where the seatbreak-up of major politicalparties in the Assembly is asfollows: BJP-122, Shiv Sena-63,

Congress-42 and NCP- 41. Meanwhile, Rane claimed

that he would have won theState Council by-poll, even ifthe Congress, NCP and ShivSena had come together andfought the election. “If the BJPhad extended its support to mycandidature, I would haveensured the split in the ShivSena votes. I would have wonthe by-poll even if the Senawere to oppose me formally. Allthe same, I have accepted what-ever the decision (of fieldingLad as its candidate) that theruling BJP has taken,” Ranesaid.

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Campaigning for the third andlast phase of Urban Local

Bodies poll in 26 districts of UttarPradesh ended on Mondayevening where polling will beheld on November 29.

In the last phase, 4,299wards will go to polls in 233 localbodies including five MunicipalCorporations where new Mayorswould be elected. The fiveCorporations are Saharanpur,Moradabad, Bareilly, Ferozabadand Jhansi.

Saharanpur and Ferozabadwould witness MunicipalCorporation elections for the firsttime. In Jhansi, former Unionminister and Congress candidatePradeep Jain Aditya’s candidaturefor Mayor’s post has rendered thecontest tough for the ruling BJP.

Polling would be held from7.30 am 5 pm amid tight secu-rity with more than 80,000 secu-rity personnel, including 40companies of Central Para-Military Forces deployed for

ensuring law and order. As per State Election

Commission (SEC), there are 74candidates in the frayfor fiveMayoral posts and 914 candi-dates contesting forChairperson’s post in 51 NagarPalika Parishad and 1711 can-didates for Chairperson's post inNagar Panchyats. Counting ofvotes for all three phases will bedone on December 1 and theresults are expected to bedeclared the same day.

Districts going to polls in thelast phase are Saharanpur,Baghpat, Bulandshahr,Moradabad, Sambhal, Bareilly,Etah, Ferozabad, Kannauj,Auraiyya, Kanpur Dehat, Jhansi,Mahoba, Fatehpur, Rae Bareli,Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri,Barabanki, Balrampur,Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj,Kushinagar, Mau, Chandauli,Jaunpur and Mirzapur.

The SEC received com-plaints from all corners inLucknow about missing namesfrom the rolls.

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Seeking a reciprocal gesturefrom Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath, Samajwadi PartyMuslim mascot Azam Khansaid 'Muslims consider LordRama and Lord Krishna as theirancestors and the CM shouldalso accept Prophet Mohammedas ancestors of the Hindus'.

“Muslims know that theLord Rama and Lord Krishnaand not the Mughals were theirancestors. Yogi Adityanathshould also accept that ProphetMohammed was the ancestor ofHindus,’’ said Khan while cam-paigning for Urban Local Bodieselections in Sambhal on Monday.

Khan also targeted Yogi forlaunching poll campaign fromAyodhya.

"Its for the first time that aCM is actively campaigning forULB poll and he chose a place tolaunch the campaign which isknown for dispute which ispending in the Supreme Court.

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It is going to be a tenseChristmas season in Tamil

Nadu as the window for filingnomination papers for theDecember 21 RK Nagar by-election has opened onMonday.

The chief electoral officer(Tamil Nadu) declared all the256 booths in the constituencyas sensitive booths, bringing theentire RK Nagar area underunprecedented security blanket.Door-to-door campaigning bythe candidates and party work-ers would be allowed onlybetween 9 am and 5 pm.

Between 5 pm and 9 am,the constituency would be lit-

erally under the control of thepolice and security forces. Morethan 1,000 police personnelhave been deployed and 11check points with drop gatefacility have been set up. TheState police have deployed 24Gypsy patrol vehicles forround-the-clock monitoring ofthe constituency.

HM Jayaram, assistantcommissioner of police who isin overall command of theconstituency, said that morethan 100 CCTV cameras wouldbe deployed in the constituen-cy. “Police team could monitorthese cameras from theirmobile phones because all thesecameras have been enabledwith 3G technology,” he said.

Rules have been tightenedin the backdrop of the 2017April by-poll scheduled for thesame constituency which had tobe rescinded following wide-spread cash distribution andother irregularities by some ofthe candidates.

The result in RK Nagarcould be a turning point inTamil Nadu politics as the rul-ing AIADMK is in a precariousposition in the State Assembly.The Election Commission hasstated that the AIADMK enjoysthe support of 111 MLAs in aHouse, the strength of which is234. But the effective strengthof the House is 232 sinceJayalalithaa’s death and

Karunanidhi unlikely to attendthe House. This means that theGovernment should have thesupport of 117 MLAs to contin-ue in office.

The Madras High Court ishearing a series of petitions filedby the 18 AIADMK rebel MLAswho were disqualified by theSpeaker for submitting a mem-orandum to the Governor stat-ing that they were withdrawingsupport to the Chief Ministerand another by the DMK ques-tioning why O Panneerselvamand 11 of his MLAs were notdisqualified in spite of themviolating party whip and votingagainst Chief MinisterEdappadi Planiswamy in the2017 February trust vote.

If the high court nullifiesthe Speaker’s action (disquali-fying the 18 MLAs) theAIADMK would have the sup-port of 129 MLAs, pointed outG Satyamoorthy, veteran polit-ical commentator.

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Another feather will be addedto the cap of Hyderabad city

when the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will formallylaunch the first phase of theprestigious Hyderabad Metroproject on Tuesday. This is thebiggest infrastructure project inpublic private partnership (PPP)mode built at a cost of morethan �14,000 crore.

Prime Minister, accompa-nied by the Governor ESLNarasimhan and the ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Raowill launch the 30 kms longstretch of the Metro line fromMiyapur to Nagole and willalso ride on the maiden tripamid unprecedented securityarrangements.

Earlier the Prime Ministerwill unveil the magnificentInaugural Metro Plaza adjacentto the Miyapur Metro station asmark of the inauguration of theMetro project. The plaza withten acres of green space aroundit, expected to become a land-mark, a tourist spot and a self-ie point for the visitors embod-ies the heritage of Hyderabad aswell as wear the contemporarylook, said NVS Reddy, the man-aging director of HyderabadMetro Rail Ltd. It has three beau-tiful arches coming out of waterpond symbolising the three cor-ridors. Each arch is designed asa rail track which vanishes infin-

ity, signifying the future expan-sion of the project.

Commercial operation ofMetro train will start from 6 amon Wednesday.

Metro will ultimately have71 kms long run on three dif-ferent corridors and wasexpected to be completed bythe end of 2018.

Even as the State’sTelangana Rashtra Samiti andChief Minister KCR were bask-ing in the glory of the moment,two opposition parties havealso sought the credit for themega project.

The main oppositionCongress party recalled that itwas during the reign of YSRajasekhar Reddy that the pro-ject had got the approval fromthe Centre and an agreementwas signed with the L&T com-pany, the Telugu Desam hasreminded the people that theidea of Metro rail system was

floated by its leader and ChiefMinister N ChandrababuNaidu in 2003 and the thenNDA Government had givenits nod to the project.

“Like so many other pro-jects, Hyderabad Metro was thebrain child of ChandrababuNaidu when he was the ChiefMinister. It was due to hisuntiring efforts that Hyderabadbecame a global city and venueof several major internationalevents with the world classinfrastructure”, said RChandrasekhar Reddy, seniorleader of TDP in Telangana.

Going one step ahead theTelangana state Congress pres-ident N Uttam Kumar Reddyorganized a event and made amulti media presentation tohighlight the contribution ofCongress government of theerstwhile United AndhraPradesh to implement theMetro project.

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Right from the floating of theidea till the opening of its

first phase now, HyderabadMetro has seen five ChiefMinisters – N ChandrababuNaidu, YS Rajasekhar Reddy, KRosaiah and N Kiran KumarReddy (of Andhra Pradesh)and K Chandrasekhar Rao (ofTelangana).

The project ran into sever-

al hurdles including 200 legalchallenge and an agitation bythe traders of busy SultanBazar area to force the changeof the route. The protests,however, failed.

While work on all the threecorridors was 85 per cent com-plete, work was yet to begin onImlibun to Falaknuma stretchof Corridor III as it passesthrough thickly populated oldcity of Hyderabad.

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Stage is set for the 8th GlobalEntrepreneurship Summit-

2017 in Hyderabad fromTuesday with the focus on theprosperity of all throughempowerment of women.

The event, jointly hosted bythe Indian and the USGovernments will be inaugu-rated by the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi at theHyderabad InternationalConvention Centre and IvankaTrump, the daughter and advi-sor US President DonaldTrump will lead the Americancontingent.

Amitabh Kant, CEO ofNiti Ayog and Kenneth Jester,the US ambassador to Indiasaid that the majority of 1,500delegates at the three day eventwill be women.

“More than ten countriesincluding Afghanistan, SaudiArabia and Israel will be rep-resented by all female delega-tions”, they said at the mediabriefing.

A number of leading

women including Cherie Blair,wife of former British PrimeMinister Tony Blair, Indianace tennis player Sania Mirza,Google’s Vice President of NextBillion User Dian LouisPatricia, Roya Mahboob ofAfghan Citadel Software com-pany will speak at the plenar-ies, break out sessions, masterclasses and workshops.

While the inaugural ses-sion on Tuesday afternoonwill be addressed by the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Ivanka Trump and TelanganaChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, Ivankawill also feature in anotherimportant session onWednesday morning on “Wecan Do it: Innovation in work-

force deployment and skillsTraining”. Cherie Blair,founder of Cherie Blair foun-dation for Women,Chandrana Kochhar, MD andCEO of ICICI Bank, KarenQuintos chief Customer offi-cer, Dell EMC will be amongthe other speakers.

The venue and the roadsleading it to were under com-plete security blanket as theHyderabad city police hasdeployed more than 10,000personnel to ensure the safetyof the VVIPs and the delegates.The inner circle security at theHICC and the hotels whereIvank Trump and other mem-bers of her delegation will visithas also been taken over by theUS Secret Service agents.

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Hyderabad city police arrest-ed a gang of five robbers

who had waylaid three personsfrom Mysore and looted anamount of �1.26 crore in the city.

Hyderabad police commis-sioner V Srinivas Rao told a newsconference on Monday thatthree employees of MHRajendra, a gold trader inMysore had come to the city onSaturday evening by car to pur-chase gold and as per the instruc-tion of their employer visitedSkyline Apartments inNarayanguda area to purchasethe gold.

However, on receipt of aphone call from MH Rajendrathat the deal was cancelled, theycame out of the apartment.

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At least five persons wereinjured as clashes broke out

between the district administra-tion accompanied by securitypersonnel and group encroach-ers, who had encroached uponAmchang wildlife sanctuarylocated close to Assam’s capitaltown Guwahati

The Kamrup (Metro) dis-trict administration accompa-nied by at least 1,500 police andCRPF personnel, elephants andJCBs started an eviction driveat three locations underAmchang wildlife sanctuaryaround 8.40 am on Monday.

Clashes broke out afterhundreds of settlers from differ-ent parts of Amsang put up aresistance to three-dayencroachment drive that start-ed on Monday, police saidadding that by forest and dis-trict administration officials,bulldozers and elephants whenthey swooped down toencroached areas.

“Eviction was carried out inthree locations of Amsang —Yusufnagar, Nabajyotinagar andKangkannagar. The team wasfaced with strong resistancemostly in Nabajyotinagar, wherepolice had to fire tea gas shells todisperse the protestors whoresorted to stone pelting,” policesaid adding that five personsincluding three women and aphotographer of the forestdepartment were injured duringthe scuffle that took place.

“Initially there was lot ofresistance at Nabajyoti nagar.Protesters blocked the road.After lot of pursuasion they didnot relent.

Finally after followingproper procedure, tear smokeshells had to be fired,” Kamrup(metropolitan) deputy com-missioner M Angamuthu said.

Police also alleged thatactivists of Krishak MuktiSangram Samiti (KMSS), a peas-ant group which is against theeviction, were also involved inthe protest at Nabajyotinagar.

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Page 8: ˇ $8 !# ˛$ %! - News Headlines India riage with a Muslim youth ... “In the history of India, all donations to a political party ... porting role in Siya ke Ram in Star Plus

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’sinability to handle the deterioratingsituation in Jammu and Kashmir,

despite the virtual blank cheque offered bythe Centre and her Bharatiya Janata Partycoalition partner, was obvious in April2017 when bye-elections were ordered forthe Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha con-stituencies. Former Chief Minister FarooqAbdullah’s victory from Srinagar amidstunacceptable violence by stone-pelters inwhich eight persons died and one wasfamously tied to a jeep to facilitate the safeexit of security personnel from a pollingstation, was illegitimate and should havebeen annulled by the Election Commissionas only 7.13 per cent of the electorate voted.

Far more significant, however, is thefact that Tassaduq Hussain, brother of theChief Minister and People’s DemocraticParty candidate for Anantnag, had torequest the Election Commission to postpone the election owing to the volatilesituation there. The election, deferred tillMay 25, has still not been held. Clearly,Mehbooba Mufti cannot protect her fam-ily seat, once held by her late father, MuftiMohammad Saeed, and vacated by her inJuly 2016.

This single truth has delegitimisedher leadership. The situation calls forGovernor’s rule; the Chief Ministershould resign; this lame duckGovernment cannot last till 2020. TheAgenda of Alliance was seen as abject sur-render by BJP supporters; MehboobaMufti still failed to control the State. Aftermonths of stone-pelting by unruly youthsand steep rise in terror incidents, mostnotably the attack on the Uri militarybase, some quiescence came with theSeptember 2016 surgical strike and success in eliminating terrorists in theState. The Centre has recently appointedan interlocutor to assess the situation, butwhatever Dineshwar Sharma suggestscannot improve the PDP’s precarioussituation. Governor NN Vohra is keen tobe relieved; a new Governor andGovernor’s rule seems the only way out.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi triedhis utmost to improve relations withPakistan, something keenly sought by thePDP also, but in vain. The crisis over thearrest and death sentence verdict forIndian national Kulbhushan Jadhav inPakistan, and the de facto military rulethere following the ouster of PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif, have only compli-cated matters.

India has failed to comprehend whatthe Muslim population of Kashmir Valleyhas wanted ever since Sheikh Abdullah firstsided with Jawaharlal Nehru and laterflirted with external powers, but Hindudesires have been crystal clear. Foremostis the honourable rehabilitation of Hindus

who fled West Pakistan in 1947-48 inunspeakable, pitiable conditions; propermeasures for their sustenance and livelihood, including citizenship and StateSubject status, as granted with shamelessalacrity to Muslims from Tibet in 1959.Equally poignant is the issue of the returnand rehabilitation of nearly four lakhHindus forced to flee the Valley in 1990.In between is the unending saga of discrimination against Hindus of Jammuprovince and Buddhists of Ladakh.

These concerns deserve urgent redres-sal. Yet, the situation of West Pakistanrefugees, roughly one lakh persons (19,960families) settled in Jammu province, hasbecome perilous. At a meeting with interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, the WestPakistan Refugees Action Committeechairman, Labha Ram Gandhi, lamentedthat they have been denied citizenshiprights for over seven decades. Each household has three or four unemployedyouth who are aging without the hope ofgainful employment; the refugees accusethe State Government of trying to compelthem to move to other places in India bycheating them at every turn.

The refugees have been denied Statecitizenship despite living there for threegenerations; they can vote in national elections but not in State and municipalelections. The issue of a rehabilitationpackage has been hanging fire for decades.Nor have they received ownership rightsover the small settlements they built onState land, though illegal colonies are rou-tinely regularized in all States. They have

been given identity certificates so that theycan seek employment in the defence orparamilitary services, but the revenueauthorities have withheld the caste certificates without which nothing can bedone. It’s a crying shame.

More poignantly, in recent weeks, sev-eral West Pakistan refugee families foundtheir names deleted from the list of rationcard beneficiaries issued by the ConsumerAffairs and Public DistributionDepartment under the National FoodSafety Act, forcing them to the verge ofstarvation amidst a bitterly cold winter.Even the Congress party condemned thisas “inhuman”.

Embarrassed, the State BJP attributedthe problem to an “administrative fauxpas” and asked the affected families toapproach the Deputy Commissioner,Jammu, for re-inclusion of their names inthe ration card list. It is inexplicable whythe coalition partner in the StateGovernment did not ensure orders weregiven to the Department to restore the sta-tus quo. Actually, the authorities first toldthe affected families that their names werebeing deleted from the beneficiary list asrefugee families do not have PermanentResident Certificates. This is preciselywhat the State has denied them by refus-ing to make them State Subjects; the per-versity is mindboggling.

In the Lok Sabha election of May 2014,the BJP promised citizenship rights,including the right to vote in Assembly andlocal bodies' elections, right to immovableproperty, right to higher and technical edu-

cation, and right to State government jobs,and garnered the Hindu refugee votes. Butlittle has been done to ameliorate their con-dition.

Occasionally, there have been appar-ently sincere promises to build exclusivetownships to rehabilitate Pandits whofled the targeted violence of 1990. As perofficial statistics, there are 62,000 migrantfamilies registered with the government,of whom 41,462 live in different parts ofJammu and 20,000 have settled in otherStates. Earlier this year, the Governmentidentified 100 acres of land, priced at Rs375 crore, to build townships for the oust-ed Pandits, which was vigorously opposedby separatist groups. The Government ofIndia also approved construction of 6,000transit accommodations in the Valley forKashmiri Pandits.

But when Jammu-based RTI activistRohit Choudhary sought details of theplan, he learnt that there are no plans tobuild resettlement homes, and that theinterlocutor is unlikely to address the aspi-rations of Hindus, but will likely accom-modate jehadis and separatists. The with-drawal of thousands of cases againstsocalled first-time stone-pelters has alreadybegun, regardless of the damage caused bythem, including injuries to security person-nel. None of this bodes well for India oreven for Jammu and Kashmir. India musttake a call on how long we can tolerate thecussed lawlessness of certain sections ofsociety.

(The writer is a political analyst andindependent researcher)�

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Sir — The letter of theArchbishop of Gujarat on the eveof the Assembly Election inGujarat cautioning his followers,i.e. the Christian community,against “nationalist forces” whileexercising their franchiseamounts to a fatwa by a Christianpriest against the Union of India.Although the motive behind thecommunique is obviously todirect Gujarati Christians to voteagainst the BJP, and presumablyfor the Congress, the tone andtenor in addition to the wordsused signal a danger to thenation-state.

The law-enforcing apparatusand the courts must take cog-nizance of the clearly anti-national communication of theArchbishop and he should becharged and tried according tothe law of the land.

Dr Jai Prakash GuptaAmbala

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Sir— This refers to the editorial“Losing the masses” (November27). Yes, there has been somedrop in the number of passengersavailing Metro as a mode of trav-el in NCR ever since DMRCincreased the recently. But hav-ing said that, it will not be rightto say that it is an anti-peoplemove. We need to see few moremonths' numbers to arrive on ajudgement on whether theDMRC fare hike resulted in sig-nificant drop in riders or not.There is no doubt that the Metroremains the lifeline for the peo-ple living in NCR but it is also a

commercial organisation. Since2009, there has been only onehike, in May 2017, while operat-ing costs have risen manifold.DMRC is a professional organi-sation which provides a world-class transportation service andit needs to make money to sus-tain this kind of service.

We as a society need tochange our mindset and be readyto pay for world-class service andaccept the fact that nothing comesfree. Moreover, if we compare thefare before October 10 and now,it is indeed cheaper for maximumdistance slots for the people whohold smart cards. We need to seethe larger picture here.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — Now that the 25-year-oldHadiya has deposed that shebecame a Muslim and married aMuslim entirely of her own voli-tion, it is only just and fair thatshe is allowed to live with herhusband. Looked at objectively,Hadiya is not a victim of “lovejehad”. Hadiya has stood by herhusband with courage and deter-mination in the face of adversi-ty and proved that love is “themarriage of true minds”.

It is bizarre to attribute hersteadfast love for the man shemarried to her alleged “mentalillness”. The right to make per-sonal choices is guaranteed bythe Constitution.

G David MiltonTamil Nadu

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Page 9: ˇ $8 !# ˛$ %! - News Headlines India riage with a Muslim youth ... “In the history of India, all donations to a political party ... porting role in Siya ke Ram in Star Plus

With increasing accumulation-in urban spaces, rapidlydecreasing landfill space and

fire and slippage incidents like inGhazipur landfill, urban local bodies(ULBs) are looking for alternatives totreat waste efficiently and limit thewasteflow to dumpsites.

As options run out in the socialsphere, the science arena has environ-mentally acceptable alternatives tooffer. The cement plants, for instance,can process a large quantum of segre-gated combustible waste through amechanism called co-processing. Co-processing refers to the use of wasteresources in industrial processes asAlternate Fuel and Raw material(AFR). The Government, throughsolid waste rules 2016, has endorsedco-processing by proposing the use ofmunicipal solid waste for preparationof Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)for usein cement plants.

According to 2016 estimates by theCentral Pollution Control Board, urbanIndia generates close to 141,064 Metrictonnes per day with only 27 per centtreated. Further, it also estimates that

only about 4,515 TPD was disposed tolandfills, the rest ending up in dump-sites. Comprehending all the factors,asubstitution of mere 10 per cent ofavailable MSW in the cement indus-try could lead to savings of about18,62,045 MT of coal per year.

As per the CII, the presentThermal substitution rate (TSR) ofthe cement industry is about 1 percent. However, with projections forthe year 2025 leading to 25 per centTSR and RDF forming 57.07 per centof the AFR share, the need to assessreasons leading to the slow progressof the mechanism becomes vital.

RDF is manufactured throughseg-regating, shredding and dehydrationof MSW. However, as the efficacy ofsource segregation is poor, quality ofRDF manufacturedhas shown propor-tional results and may not be withinthe acceptable limits for commercialuse in cement plants. Levels of chlo-rine,particle size, ash, moisture andcalorific value are some indicators thatdictate the acceptability of the fuel intocement plants. This SCF may need tobe further pre-processed by the cement

kilns by incurring a cost, in order tomeet the acceptable quality standardsbefore use in their facilities. GeocycleIndia in one thetechnical papers quote“Presently, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)presented for use by RDF manufactur-ing facilities in WTE and Cementplants is a misnomer for this materi-al as it does not have the desired qual-ity or consistency in it for using it asa source of fuel”.

There are very few RDF facilitieslocated strategically located around tocement kilns in the country. Cost oftransportation of RDF from the MSWprocessing facility to cement kilns is tobe incurred either by the urban localbody or cement plant. Since the quality of RDF delivered by MSW pro-cessing facilities is low, the cost behindtransportation of the same projectsitself asa ‘major cost’. Consideringcoal being transported between continents owing to its use and quality, there needs to be an impetuson improving the quality of RDF thatis being manufactured. On similarlines, The Energy Resources Institute(TERI), in a recent study, suggested that

co-processing of RDF made fromwaste within 100km around cementplants in India may lead to a TSR ofonly 0.43%. The report further suggeststhat areas greater that 100km may needto be explored to increase the levels ofTSR substitution in cement plants.

With low quality RDF and itsassociated transportation costs, it is anuphill task for the ULBs to implementthis mechanism. Lack of a nationallyacceptable quality standard for RDFis an added stumbling block for allstakeholders. A standard would set abenchmark for compliance by stake-holders and ensure RDF is utilizedbenefitting both the waste manage-ment sphere and fuel substitution ata cement plant level. However, acommittee has recently been formu-lated by the central government tounderstand these issues so as to sug-gest a solution for the same.

ULBs are often seen grapplingwith lack of funds to deal with MSW-related activities. With waste genera-tors in today's scenario increasingwaste output and not adhering to seg-regation standards, ULB’s must ensure

formulation of a mechanism to collectuser fees from residential and com-mercial waste generators. It may bedone with due consideration toincome levels/standards of living/exist-ing BPL recommendations. Thiswould ensure an uninterrupted wastemanagement service to citizens andhealthy cash flow to ensure timely pay-ments to service providers.

RDF co-processing mechanismcalls for an overarching consensusbetween different industries to arriveat a cost-sharing model to facilitate suc-cessful implementation. The mecha-nism also calls for a sound businessmodel to ensure no entity is function-ing at a negative IRR. While quality ofthe manufactured RDF needs a seriouslook, formulation of national standardsfor the same may be seen as a majorbreakthrough.While the concernsaround transportation costs remain,situation also demands forimprovedspatial planning to ensureMSW processing plants cater their fin-ished products to industries.

(Writers are associated withTERI)

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Clearly, there is a global shifttowards clean money, as the eraof dirty cash gradually gets

flushed out of the formal economies ofdeveloped nations. To that extent,Narendra Modi is not isolated amongworld leaders in his policy activism ateconomic cleansing as India has joinedthe fight against tax evasion becominga signatory to OECD’s informationexchange to end base erosion. Thefoundations of modern states nowglobally rest on shrinking the informaleconomy and generating revenuesthrough higher tax compliance need-ed by governments to deliver betteramenities to its people. This necessi-tates citizens contributing their fairshare in nation building, for which wedon’t need higher taxes for sure, but wedo need a wider taxpayer base. Asnations unite through forums like theG20 to synchronize information shar-ing of tax-havens, local Governmentsare closing-in on the ‘robber barons’ ofcapitalist societies.

The Economist says crony capital-ism under Modi shrunk to 3 per centof GDP from 18 per cent in 2008; also,the black money component at 10 percent of GDP is effectively shrinkingthrough efficient data-mining postdemonetization. Conversely, India’stop 1 per cent now hold 58 per cent ofthe country’s total wealth according toan Oxfam study and that inequity doesnot augur well as it is as much a glob-al concern as illicit wealth. All wealthis not black money, of course, but nar-rowing income disparity has become amajor electoral issue the world over andthe next big move by governments willbe to play leveler in order to seek re-election. However, disruptive reformstake five to ten years to reflect in GDPgrowth and convert to jobs.Consequently, Modi has suffered anerosion of his core catchment voter baseof traders, youth and the upper mid-dle class. And while World Bank orMoody’s upgrades are good news, theyonly act as indicative milestones thatpoint to India being on the right sideof reforms but mean little to voters.

Economic restructuring, or ‘pere-stroika’ as it was termed in Gorbachev'sSoviet Union, is being undertakenalmost concurrently by individualnations to strike at the root of corrup-tion. Most leaders may be content withthe decline in the Corruption Index,even if they personally grew wealthi-er. To that extent, Modi’s personalintegrity ratings have soared in com-parison to Donald Trump, Xi Jinping,or Vladimir Put in. While 79 per centbelieved “Put in delivers a ‘controlledcorruption,’ where only his cronies canreckon for the rewards,” latest WEF rat-ings show Modi leads the third-mosttrusted government in the world.Success or failure of reformist leadersmust benchmark personal integrity

plus the delivery of their reforms toglobal peers who share similar con-cerns on the exodus of national wealthand pilferage of national resources.

Importantly, were Trump’s, Putin’s,and Xi’s ‘perestroika’ motivated by thequest for personal aggrandizement, forconsolidation of political power, or forthe larger good of the country?Between personal gain and personalpower, the former is moral corruptionwhile the latter can be put down to per-sonality traits of narcissism all strongleaders possess which is not necessar-ily an evil in itself. Modi's primemotivation stems from putting the‘nation first’, retaining dominancewithin his party and stifling the rise ofany credible opposition. In compari-son, Put in runs an oligarchic and graft-ridden regime, as Russia scores poor-ly in the Corruption Perceptions Index.And though for Trump it’s ‘AmericaFirst’, the promise on which he waselected, his Cabinet is the richest inmodern history with its membersworth a combined $10 billion. Thisapart, his dynastic propensity and‘conflict-of-interest’ issues continue tohaunt him since his ascendency. Andeven as Xi made fighting corruption acornerstone of his reign, “China’spolitical order remains a system forfunnelling private rewards to membersof the ruling coalition, making Xi’simage as China’s ‘Mr Clean’ a miragemore than reality,” writes a leading ana-lyst.

America’s forced retreat from glob-alization and multilateralism leaves Xias the strongman in the fray for dom-inance over trade and global suprema-cy. Xi has consolidated his hold on an

absolutist political system, completewith a semi-freemarket economy com-plimented by a lavish dose of hyperna-tionalism. Also, his anti-corruptionpurge has been absolute in disciplin-ing rivals and prosecuting a millionparty members and provincial officials,which helped him secure his hold with-in the party, and the party’s power overthe country. However, given the differ-ences of state structures between abso-lutist China and democratic India,Modi’s template ought to be on the linesof Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew and histransformational success of the islandcity turning into a global financial hub.If Modi can replicate Singapore'sunparalleled institutional set-up thatstringently complies with the rule oflaw and match its continuous vigilagainst corruption, he will go down inhistory as the leader on whose watchIndia realised its potential.

Nationally, the impact of reformswould be gauged by the scale of victo-ry in Gujarat, considered as a secondreferendum on Modi after the win inUttar Pradesh,and thereafter how soonGDP revival converts to jobs. Globally,elections are being lost or won on GDPas the pivotal determinant that corre-lates to livelihoods. If growth data forthe third quarter falls below 5.7 percent, the remaining 18 months ofNDA’s term could well swing towardswelfarism and ‘povertarian’ politics ofUPA times, as the 2019 GeneralElection beckons. Economic restivenessruns high with growth-propellers foreconomic revival missing and indus-trialists concerned that if even India’s200 top companies are being unable tocreate new jobs it is going to be really

hard to generate growth that pulls allstrata of society along.

So, with the benefits of reformsexpected to manifest only post-2019,has Modi factored in the timing over-lap to look beyond political arithmeticby selflessly putting the nation first,even over concerns of winnabilty, andplaced his trust in the innate wisdomof the Indian people? Because forresults to show, the progress of disrup-tive reforms cannot be timed to syncwith elections as benefits take time toplay out. Successive governmentsdeferred radical reforms for preciselythis fear of short-term dislocations,because they do not yield instantpolitical dividends. Transforming acountry’s work ethic in corporate andadministrative governance is a pro-longed process. For this, Modi needstime away from being a star campaign-er in perpetual election-mode, as Stateelections invariably turn into serial ref-erenda on reforms. And no PrimeMinister can live from test to test at anaverage of four to six times a year thatthe States go to polls.

Ultimately, BJP’s winning formu-la for 2019 would go beyond reformsto a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, jobs foryouth, and a good MSP for farm pro-duce. Because for now, the governmentis unlikely to expend further politicalcapital to hasten the pace of reforms till2019 and will instead allow the econ-omy to recalibrate. So, don’t expectacchey din till the process of econom-ic cleansing, which will put Indiafirmly back on a higher growth trajec-tory, is complete.

(The writer is an author andcolumnist)

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GST collections slippedalmost 10 per cent to�83,346 crore in

October as tax rates on sever-al product were cut andteething troubles with the newregime pushed back imple-mentation of key provisions.

As many as 50.1 lakhGoods and Services Tax (GST)returns filed for October result-ed in a revenue of �83,346crore, down from over �92,000crore in the previous month, aFinance Ministry statementsaid.

It attributed the drop incollections to rates on severalcommodities being cut andtax administration being basedon self-declaration as matchingof returns, electronic transitpermit system or e-way bill andreverse charging being post-poned.

Also, there was additionaltax inflow on inter-statemovement of goods, calledIntegrated-GST or IGST, inthe first three months while theactual credit being utilised onlywhen final sale transactiontaking place.

The GST, which was imple-mented from July 1, has sub-sumed over a dozen central andstate levies including exciseduty, service tax and VAT. Therevenues collected are splitbetween the Centre and statesin a pre-decided formula.

The Finance Ministry said�10,806 crore was released tostates from the revenue col-lected from levy of cess on lux-

ury and sin goods, in July andAugust. A compensation of�13,695 crore for Septemberand October is being released,it added.

The compensation is tomake up for any loss of revenueto the states arising from imple-mentation of the GST.

“The states’ revenues havebeen fully protected takingbase year revenue as 2015-16and providing a projected rev-enue growth rate of 14 percent,” the ministry said.

As per official data avail-able, GST collections in themaiden month of July wasover �95,000 crore while inAugust, the figure was over�91,000 crore. In September, itwas over �92,150 crore.October is the fourth month ofGST rollout.

Explaining the downwardtrend in tax revenue underGST, the ministry said initial-ly Integrated GST was paid ontransfer of goods from onestate to another.

“As and when the finaltransaction of these goodstakes place, the credit forIGST is being utilised for pay-ment of SGST and CGST andtherefore, the inflow of newtaxes is low,” it said.

MUMBAI: Commerce & IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhu has asked theindustry to set a timeline for achieving a$1 trillion in manufacturing revenue andtake its share in GDP to 20 per cent.

The share of manufacturing in GDPhas been trending at 16-17 per cent forsome years now and the previousManmohan Singh government had set atarget of taking this share to 25 per centof GDP by the turn of 2025.

“The Government aims to increase theshare of manufacturing in GDP to 20 percent,” the minister told a CII-organisedevent on the topic here on Monday with-out offering a timeline to achieve the same.But instead he asked the industry to set atimeline for themselves to achieve this asalso to take the value of manufacturingGDP to $1 trillion.

“Without a number it is not possiblefor the industry to prepare a roadmap forachieving this milestone,” he said.

To help achieve this, the minister saidthe Government is working on getting intothe top 50 slot in the World Bank's Easeof Doing Business rankings.

“We have jumped 30 slots to 100 in the

ease of doing business ranking in 2018 (ofthe World Bank), and we want to be amongthe top 50. We are on the verge of a bigeconomic growth and the recent upgrad-ing by credit rating agency is also a recog-nition of a series of reforms undertaken bythe Government,” he said.

It can be noted that early this month,

the World Bank ranked the country at the100th slot in its Ease of Doing Businessreport for 2018, climbing 30 notches from2017 citing the central and State reforms.

Prabhu also expressed optimism thatexports will gather momentum going for-ward on the back of the revival in the econ-omy which is on course to double to $5 tril-

lion and become the world's third largestin over the next few years.

He pointed out that Government isestablishing relationships with top Fortune500 companies and will welcome all sortsof foreign investments that help in creat-ing jobs.

Promising to ease the problems beingfaced by exporters under the new taxregime, he admitted that “exporters are fac-ing challenges in the goods and servicestax (GST) regime and that his ministry istaking up the issue with the authoritiesconcerned.”

“It is not possible for a small busi-nessman to sit here and do business glob-ally. We want to create a support system,especially for small businesses, by creatinga brand equity for India globally. Linkageswith global markets are necessary for pro-moting our products and we will do that,”the minister said.

He also said the Government is iden-tifying specific products that can be soldin specific geographies globally throughmarket research with the help of the EximBank, and the Indian Institute of ForeignTrade. PTI

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With aggressive marketing in some target seg-ments, especially for the rural masses, private

insurer IndiaFirst Life Insurance is eyeing a slot inthe top ten positions in the life segment in Indiasoon. Now, the insurer has already consolidated itsposition on the twelfth spot among all 23 life insur-ance firms in India, including public sector LifeInsurance Corporation (LIC).

“We always take proac-tive measures to expandour business and growth.As far as top ten positionsare concerned, we areaggressively marketing insome target segments, espe-cially for the rural massesand we will improve ourposition very soon. As wedon’t believe in forwardlooking statements, we can’tspeculate at this moment,”IndiaFirst Life MD and CEO RM Vishakha told ThePioneer in an interview on Monday.

IndiaFirst Life, which covers over 1.1 crore livesin the country, is a joint-venture between Bank ofBaroda, (44 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (30 per cent)and UK’s life insurance and pension fund Legal &General (26 per cent).

The insurer is also planning to expand its reachto rural masses through sale of policies from the vastnetwork of common service centres or CSCsacross the country. As of now, India has a networkof 2.70 lakh CSCs. “Targeted at rural masses, whodo not often have a regular source of income,‘Insurance Khata’ launched by IndiaFirst Life isunique policy which will not lapse even if the pol-icyholder fails to pay premium after the firstinstance,” Vishakha said.

The programme ‘IndiaFirst Life CSCInsurance Khata’ was launched by Minister of Statefor Electronics and IT KJ Alphons here onMonday. Keeping in mind seasonal incomeprobability, Vishakha, however, explained, “A pol-icyholder can pay premium in parts, as and whenpossible without losing the benefits of the prod-uct. This product is designed for long-term sav-ings along with life insurance benefit. The sim-ple and easy to understand model makes thisproduct mis-selling resilient.”

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Telecom regulator Trai plans toissue the much-awaited rec-ommendations on Net neu-

trality today which is likely toimpact the future of apps that pro-vide calling and messaging services.

The consultation paper on thesubject floated in January this yearmajorly focused on network speedso that telecom operators do not useit to give preference or preventaccess to any website or service likevoice calls which requires decent netspeed.

“We will be bringing out Netneutrality recommendations onTuesday. You will find answersregarding OTT (over-the-top), VoIP(Internet based calls),” TraiChairman RS Sharma told reporterson the sidelines of an open housediscussion on in- flight connectiv-ity (IFC) for providing phone calland data services.

On the issue of Net neutrality,Telecom operators have demandedthat same rules should be appliedon entities providing similar ser-vices. According to them, OTTplayers like Skype, Whatsapp andViber provide calling and messag-ing services much like telecomoperators and hence there should belevel playing field between them.

Trai’s consultation paper onNet-neutrality was sought by theDepartment of Telecom (DoT) fol-lowing the suggestion of a HighLevel Committee which proposedregulation of domestic calls onInternet-based apps by puttingthem at par with services offered bytelecom operators.

That move came under imme-diate attack from various industrybodies and the civil society.

Supporters of Net neutralityback the principle that the entireInternet traffic should be available

to everyone on equal terms withoutany discrimination based on busi-ness considerations of serviceproviders.

In February last year, Traiaddressed a part of Net-neutralitywhich was under its jurisdiction. Itbarred platforms like Facebook’sInternet.Org and Airtel Zero whichallowed free access to select websites

to check ‘gate-keeping’ in cyberspace.

The Trai’s recommendationstoday will come at a time whenthere is a debate raging over Netneutrality globally.

The US regulator, FederalCommunications Commission, hassaid recently that it plans to roll backthe “Net neutrality” rules that wereadopted in America in 2015.

On the issue of in-flight con-nectivity, Sharma said the recom-mendations on IFC will be issuedwithin 10 days.

“We have done consultationwith the stakeholders (on IFC).Now, that process is complete today.Hopefully in a week or 10 days’ timewe will be able to give our recom-mendations. Lawful interceptionwill have to be made available. Wewill discuss what technology willhave to be used. We will take call forproviding in flight connectivity,”Sharma said.

Representatives of satellitecompanies and telecom operatorsdemanded light regulation on com-panies providing IFC service. Mostof the players were of the view thatmobile service should be allowed onflights and Internet service shouldbe started on priority basis.

Reliance Jio representative saidthat communication in flightsshould not be restricted to satelliteonly but air- to-ground technologiesshould also be allowed. Under theair-to-ground technology, Jio saidthat equipment from a tower willlook up in the sky and provide con-nectivity.

Most of the satellite companieshave favoured setting up of a gate-way in India for providing IFC toaddress the government's securityconcerns.

Trai will send recommenda-tions to the DoT which will takefinal call on the policy framework.

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NEW DELHI: The Income Tax(IT) department will launchfull-fledged assessment pro-ceedings from January nextyear against those assesseeswho have deposited “suspi-cious” amounts of money inbanks post-demonetisation, buthave not filed their income taxreturns (ITRs) till now.

The Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT), which framespolicies for the department,has asked the taxman to finishthe process of serving notices tosuch entities by December 31.

“The department will initi-ate full-fledged assessment pro-ceedings against these assesseesfrom the later part of January,after the replies to the IT noticesare received. The cases, wherethe replies to the notices havebeen received, are now beinganalysed,” a senior official said.

Those who attempted toshow their black income aswhite and evaded tax would beprosecuted, he added.

The action is a part of theOperation Clean Money(OCM), initiated by thedepartment early this year tospecifically check black moneyinstances in the wake ofdemonetisation.

The department, on thebasis of data analytics andinformation gathered duringthe first phase of online veri-fication under the OCM, hasprepared a list of about 18lakh assessees, who haddeposited substantial amountsof cash in their bank accountsduring the demonetisationperiod (November 8-December 30, 2016), but areyet to filed the ITRs for assess-ment year 2017-18. PTI

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The embattled Essar Group onMonday announced the closure

of its BPO arm Aegis sale for�2,000 crore and said it has beenable to pare debt by �75,000 crore,thanks to the proceeds from therecent sale of its refinery business.

The company announced theconclusion of the �2,000- crore saleof Aegis to Capital Square Partners(CSP), marking its exit from thebusiness process outsourcing (BPO)business. Earlier, it had concludeda $13 billion deal to sell its oil busi-ness to Russia’s syRosneft.

Welcoming the move, SandipSen, Global CEO, Aegis, said, “I amthankful to the Essar managementfor incubating the BPO businessand nurturing it through timely andstrategic acquisitions. Essar’s sup-port and guidance helped us growand reach a stage where we coulddream bigger and strive higher. ”

While Sanjay Chakrabarty and

Mukesh Sharda, Managing Partnersof CSP, jointly said, “With thisacquisition now complete, we arekeenly looking forward to workingwith the Aegis management teamto grow its global footprint andenhance its capabilities and excel-lence in service to its customers.”

A July media report had peggedthe total debt of the group at �1.38trillion. Some reports had said theRosneft deal alone would havehelped it pare debt by �70,000 crore.

However, it was not immedi-ately clear about the levels to whichthe debt of the group has come

down to.The diversified conglomerate

has been selling off assets to pare itshigh debt, which has seen it exitingthe oil business and also sell realtyholdings, apart from Aegis, the BPOarm. “Net proceeds from this sale(of Aegis) will be used to retire ourdebt at the group level,” Essar saidin statement.

“The closure of this transac-tion is in line with Essar’s intentto reduce leverage that is comple-mented by an asset monetisationprogramme. The proceeds fromthe sale of Aegis and Essar Oilhave enabled Essar to retire almost�75,000 crore of debt,” it added.

The Aegis sale was announcedon this April 3 and involved AGCHoldings Mauritius, a wholly-owned portfolio company of EssarGlobal, selling 100 per cent stakein ESM Holdings Mauritius, theholding company of Aegis, toCSP, a Singapore-based privateequity fund.

NEW DELHI: ONGC officers asso-ciation has sought Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s intervention to stallOil Ministry’s plan to sell the compa-ny’s producing oil and gas fields, say-ing the move has highly damagingimplications for the country.

The Association of Scientific &Technical Officers (ASTO) cited exam-ples of falling production at the west-ern offshore Panna/Mukta fields thatwere privatised in the 1990s, andReliance Industries’ flagging KG-D6fields to state that ONGC has done wellwith its ageing fields.

Most oil and gas fields of ONGChave been in production for 30 years

and output has naturally shown a dipfrom the peak level but still accountsfor the bulk of domestic output, ASTOpresident Sanjay Goel wrote to Modion November 23.

Oil Ministry has identified 15 pro-ducing oil and gas fields of ONGC andOil India Ltd for handing over to pri-vate firms on the premise of raisingoutput.

The fields have in-place reserve of791.2 million tonnes of crude oil, and333.46 billion cubic metres of gas havebeen identified.

Production trajectory at Panna-Mukta field, which was taken awayfrom ONGC and privatised, has been

on continuous decline, Goel wrote. “Infact, from 2009-10, production fromthe asset has dropped by close to 60 percent,” he wrote.

Also, Ratna-R Series fields whichwere given to Essar Oil could not bebrought to production in two decadesand have now been reverted to ONGC.“This clearly shows privatisation aloneis not a sufficient condition for aug-menting output from any hydrocarbonproperty,” he wrote.

He said if stagnant or flagging pro-duction is a criterion for identifyingunderperforming fields of ONGC, thesame yardstick must be extended to alldomestic fields.

“The production today at RILoperated KG-D6 is under 10 per centof its targeted production. For a fieldthat is less than 10 years into its life-cycle, this is a staggering drop on anycount,” he said.

The production drop at KG-D6 to5-6 million standard cubic meters perday has also had a collateral damageto stranded gas-based plants and otherstruggling industries.

“Compare that with the consistentgas supplies from our Bassein andSatellite Assets in western offshore -where production has averaged 30mmscmd for the past 20 years at astretch,” he wrote. PTI

MUMBAI: The Sensex onMonday scrambled for ways,but closed above the base linefor the eighth straight sessioneven as Standard and Poor’skept India’s sovereign creditrating unchanged. Thebroader NSE Nifty toomoved sideways multiple

times before ending a tadhigher. The outcome of theupcoming OPEC meeting onoil supply and F&O expirythis week kept investors onthe sidelines. The 30-sharebarometer opened lower andstayed in the red for themost part of the day. PTI

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NEW DELHI: Commerce and IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhu has said the newindustrial policy that will seek topromote emerging sectors will bereleased early next year. The pro-posed policy, the draft of whichhas been prepared by theCommerce and IndustryMinistry, will completely revampthe Industrial Policy of 1991.The draft policy is ready and the ministryis now planning to organise 8-9 roadshowsto discuss it with all the stakeholders, theminister told PTI during an interview.

Among other things, the policy wouldendeavour to reduce regulations and

bring in new industries currently infocus. “We have to do three things in the

new industrial policy. One is toreduce regulations. Why? Becausethe Government cannot runindustry. Number two is to pro-mote modernisation of the exist-ing industry as they are facingchallenges. And number threewill be to take into account the

new emerging industry, which is not evenseen today,” he said. The minister made apoint that there is a need to see the impactof emerging sectors like artificial intelli-gence on jobs and how they would workin India. PTI

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There are some peoplewho are allergic to fooditems like nuts, mush-

rooms and are lactose intoler-ant. However, many peoplewho have never had any aller-gy in their life end up withrashes all over their bodies.Most doctors will tellyou that allergiescan be triggereddue to anything;it can be a fruityou have con-sumed or couldbe a sandwichwhich one ate.For most of theseallergies, one has topop pills for a few days orin extreme cases, take anti-allergy injections. But there area few home remedies that onecan follow.

Sometimes a cold showercould be just what you need.My mother always said thatcold shower closed the bloodvessels and didn’t allow theallergic reaction to come outof the blood vessels.

The humble baking sodais an excellent home medicinefor skin allergy. It helps theskin rash to dry. It also relievesitchiness. Make a paste bymixing half a teaspoon ofbaking soda in some water.Apply on the affected area and

leave it on for a few min-utes and then rinse it

off.There are

many plantsknown for theirant ib a c te r i a l ,anti-fungal and

anti-irritant prop-erties. Hence mak-

ing them an excellentagent when it comes to

treating some of the skinallergies. The fleshy, gel-likeportion from a fresh aloevera leaf is a good option.

Then there is good oldtulsi. Boil half a cup of theseleaves till the water is reducedto half. Allow it to cool andthen dip a clean cloth andapply it on the itchy skinregularly.

����������Are you the kind of person whotakes medicines to get rid of aller-gies? If you are tired of poppingpills, try some home remedies,says ROSHANI DEVI

Most of us have seenHollywood movieswhere children hate eat-

ing brussels sprouts. But there areseveral reasons why one must eatit. This green veggie is full of pro-tein, iron and potassium.

Half a cup of brussels sproutscontains 48 mg of Vitamin C,which is about 50 per cent of whatmen need each day and about 65per cent of what women need ona daily basis.

Also called folicacid, folate is a BVitamin presentin large doses inleafy green veg-etables. One-halfcup of brussels

sprouts provides 47 microgram offolate which is approximately 12per cent of the 400 microgramone needs daily.

This green veggie also con-tains phytonutrient calledorganosulfur compounds, whichhave anti-oxidant properties.These compounds protect cellsfrom oxidative stress, a type of

damage that can harm yourDNA.

Three-fourth of acup of brussels sprouts

will help meet one’sdaily Vitamin Kr e q u i r e m e n timproves bone

health by improvingcalcium absorption.

Also known as methi, thisgreen leafy vegetable ismore popular as a herb in

most cultures. Due to its variety ofbenefits, many use this leaf to addflavour to the dish. However, thereare several households in northIndia who cook this vegetablewith potatoes especially in winters.

It is a very good source ofiron. That is why fenugreek —seeds and leaves — is consideredmedicinal for curing anemia.

It is a very good source of

roughage. It will fulfill the body’sfibre requirements. Earlier, peo-ple used to consume it when theywere constipated.

The leafy vegetable is a greatsource of protein and nicotinicacid. These nutrients are good forthe hair — they give shine andmaintain good healthy hair.

Believe it or not, if you crushfresh leaves of methi or make aglass of juice out of it, it is a per-fect health drink to control thehormonal level of insulin.

While most people prefer to use this veg-etable in salads, this veggie, also calledpatta gobi, has far greater benefits

than we credit it with. First, it is a power-ful brain food. This is because it is richin iodine which improves brain function.Iodine also helps prevent and treat neu-rological disorders like Alzheimer’s.Second, the vegetable is full of vitamins,minerals, fibre and other nutrients. Sinceit is low in calories, one can eat a whole pile

of it and not gain many calories.Third, eating patta gobi along

with other cruciferous vegetableshas anti-aging properties. Therich amount of Vitamin C in thisvegetable keeps the skin youthful.

The vegetable is also goodwhen it comes to curing many skin

problems like eczema, psoriasis, acne,rashes, insect bites, leg ulcers, and wounds.

Finally, it helps cure arthritis as well.

It is an aromatic herb that belongsto the parsley family. Though inIndia we don’t eat fennel, we eat the

seeds — saunf. But this vegetable hasplenty of benefits and therefore shouldbe included in the diet.

The good part is that it can beeaten raw or cooked in salads or pastas.

Some say that fennel may helpwith the treatment of glaucoma, a con-dition that causes a gradual loss ofsight. Of course, in India, ourgrandmothers having beenusing saunf water to treat colicin babies.

Fennel also helps to maintaincholesterol. It removes damagingLDL cholesterol, a major factor inheart diseases, atherosclerosis, andstrokes.

Research based on200 previous stud-ies worldwide says

that people consumingthree to four cups of cof-fee a day are less likely toget diabetes, heart dis-ease, dementia and somecancers except forwomen who are pregnantor who have a higher riskof suffering fractures.

Coffee was also associat-ed with a lower risk ofseveral cancers, includ-ing prostate, endometri-al, skin and liver cancer,as well as type-2 dia-betes, gallstones andgout, the researcherssaid. The greatest bene-fit was seen for liverconditions such as cir-rhosis of the liver.

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Popping common heartburn and indi-gestion pills can increase the risk of

kidney failure, if recent studies are to bebelieved. The study found that individu-als who used proton pump inhibitors(PPIs), which reduce gastric acid produc-tion, had a 33 per cent increased relativerisk of developing chronic kidney disease(CKD) or kidney failure when comparedwith non-users. Chronic kidney diseasecan strike any one. Diabetes and highblood pressure are the two leading caus-es apart from heart disease and a familyhistory of kidney failure — a severe formof kidney disease.

The study also advises that it is bestto avoid medication unless necessaryand or advised by a doctor. The eight gold-en rules to avoid or delay getting kidneyfailure are:�Keep fit and active as it can help reduceyour blood pressure.

�Keep regular control of your blood sugarlevel as about half of people who have dia-betes develop kidney damage.�Eat healthy and keep your weight incheck as this can help prevent diabetes,heart disease and other conditions asso-ciated with CKD. Reduce your salt intake.�Maintain a healthy fluid intake.Traditional wisdom has long suggesteddrinking 1.5 to 2 litres (3 to 4 pints) ofwater per day. Consuming plenty of fluidhelps the kidneys clear sodium, urea andtoxins from the body which, in turn,results in a “significantly lower risk” ofdeveloping chronic kidney disease. �Don’t smoke as it slows the flow of bloodto the kidneys. Smoking also increases therisk of kidney cancer by about 50%.�Don’t take over-the-counter pills on aregular basis: drugs like ibuprofen areknown to cause kidney damage and dis-ease if taken regularly.

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�/�'1���1���' ,�*',As per World Health Organization, there are around 15-20

million asthmatics in India, out of which 10-15 per cent arechildren under five-11 years of age. It is although a largely

avoidable disease, still it tends to occur in epidemics. These ratesare increasing by 50 per cent every year. The economic costs asso-ciated worldwide with asthma exceed to that of tuberculosis andHIV/AIDS combined. For some, it can just be a minor problem,but sometimes asthma attacks greatly affect patient’s quality of lifeand can be life-threatening too.

��/���The exact cause of asthma is still unclear, but it can be a com-

bination of environmental and genetic factors. Normally, the air-ways carry air to the lungs. As the air passes through the lungs,airways become smaller and smaller anatomically just like treebranches. In asthma, the airways to the lungs become inflamed andnarrow causing constriction of the passage and restricting theamount of air that can enter. Less air gets in and out of the lungs.During asthmatic attack, airway constricts even more and throwsmore mucus in the passage, which further clogs up and reducesthe amount of air going in and out of the lungs. This makes breath-ing difficult along with a cough, wheezing and breath grasping.

�������Various factors can trigger

the symptoms including pollen,perfume, pets, stress on lungsdue to exercise or laughing,upper respiratory infection,cigarette smoke, dust, sulfites oracid reflux in food or drinkpreservatives, indoor allergenslike bedding mites, carpets,outdoor pollution, food itemssuch as dairy products, peanuts,fish, soy, shellfish, wheat, etc,traffic on roads, pollution,chemical fumes, gases, dust, etc.

Other risk factors includelow birth weight, asthmaticpatient related with blood, aller-gic rhinitis or atopic dermati-tis, being overweight, and beinga smoker.

�'�(���The symptoms include

trigger cough, wheezing while exhaling, shortness of breath, andchest pain or tightness, or trouble sleeping or feeling of drowning.Emergency symptoms include rapid worsening of breath, no reliefwith an inhaler, or shortness of breath with minimal physical activ-ity.

������The disease can’t be cured but its symptoms can be managed

or controlled. �Medications can calm down the symptoms by relaxing the mus-cles of the airway. These medications should be hands-on for suchpatients. For allergen triggered asthma attacks, allergy medicationsalso help manage the symptoms. Every patient does not take thesame medicine.�Inhaled corticosteroids are to be used for several days to weeksfor maximum benefit.�Oral medications like montelukast help relieve the symptoms forfew hours. Rarely, these can be linked with psychological reactions.�Long acting beta agonists like salmeterol are inhaled medicinesthat open the airways, but these too increase the risk for severe futureattacks. That is why these are to be taken in combination with inhaledcorticosteroid. �Combination inhalers are used which have long-acting beta ago-nist along with a cortiocosteroid.�Short acting beta agonists can be a hand-held inhaler or a neb-uliser and can be used for quick relief. �Oral and intravenous corticosteroids, mainly prednisone andmethylprednisolone relieve airway inflammation. In long-term use,these can have severe side effects.�Allergy shots (immunotherapy) reduce the immune reaction grad-ually to specific allergens.�Prevention and long-term control of asthma is the key in man-agement. The treatment plan should be flexible and assessed thor-oughly by the doctor.�Patients must get vaccinated against influenza and pneumoniaand learn to recognise the breathing pattern for any change.

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The struggle of constant weight loss and gainis real. There are different factors that comeinto play while reducing the weight ie

genes, hormones, psychological and social fac-tors and should be acknowledged and manip-ulated accordingly for consistent results. Theweight cycling is generally a result of a yo-yo diet,where you go on an extremely low calorie dietfor a certain period and gain back the weight asyou switch back to a normal balanced diet. Thedieters are successful in their pursuit of losingthe weight but fail to maintain it and might expe-rience an equal or greater weight regain. Thus,the yo-yo effect is established where the personis swinging in extreme weight ranges.

The various studies that circle around the‘set point’ and body’s metabolic rate gives a pro-found explanation to an increased weightregain. The set point theory suggests that thebody has a nat-ural set pointfor storage offat which issupported by afeedback mech-anism thatadjusts themetabolic ratein response to ahypo caloricdiet. The lowerbasal metabolicrate may persisteven after thetransition thathappens byswitching to asufficient calo-rie diet which results in gaining back the sameweight or even more. A yo-yo diet which ismarked by extremely less calories, skipping ofmeals and decreased portions are well correlat-ed with the yo-yo effect of weight cycling.

There are various researches that validatethat weight cycling alters the body compositionwith depletion of the muscle which reduces themetabolic rate and further makes weight lossmore difficult. This extreme form of dieting hasvarious ill effects on the health in terms of meta-bolic changes, cardiac health, immune compe-tence, chronic diseases and osteoporosis.

The need of the hour is to modify thelifestyle by maintaining the intake through dietand balancing the output with the help of phys-ical activity. A holistic and consistent approachtowards the weight loss, as well as management,should be taken into consideration. This can bedone by consistent monitoring of the weight andmaking small behavioural changes into the day-to-day life. The patient with super BMI with orwithout co-morbidities like diabetes, hyperten-sion, metabolic syndrome, infertility can also optfor bariatric and metabolic surgery whichwould reduce almost 70 per cent of excessweight and major resolution of co-morbiditiesalso happens leading to breaking of the cycle.Thus, the aim should be to maintain a healthyweight rather than opting for unrealistic weightgoals which are achieved by extreme measuresbut at a certain cost.

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Here is a bit of a catch. Alsocalled karela, this vegetable isactually not a veggie but a

fruit. But since Indians eat it as a sabzi,we will go by the popular belief that it isa vegetable that contains a truck full ofnutrients — iron, magnesium and vita-min to potassium and Vitamin C.

It is an excellent source of dietaryfibre. It contains twice the calcium ofspinach, beta-carotene of broccoli, andthe potassium of a banana.

The World Health Organisation hasestimated that over 382 million peopleworldwide suffer from diabetes. Bittergourd contains an insulin-like com-pound called polypeptide-p or p-insulinwhich has been shown to control diabetesnaturally. According to a 2011 study, pub-lished in the journal Ethnopharmacolgy,a four-week clinical trial showed that

2,000 mg of bitter gourd, when takenon regular basis, reduced the bloodglucose level significantly in thepatients suffering from type-2 dia-betes.

The fruit/vegetable is good whenit comes to getting rid of alcohol in the

system. Sip some bitter gourd juice toget rid of the intoxication settled in theliver.

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You can call them string beans snap beans or evenFrench beans but the fact remains that these veg-etables have the potential of reducing the risk

of obesity, depression, heart diseases and can even con-trol diabetes. The beans contain about twice theamount of iron as compared to spinach. If one has ane-mia, low energy or metabolism, green beans are themagical food one must eat.

This vegetable is a powerhouse of vitamins andnutrients and can do wonders for the skin, hair andnails. The beans are loaded with a type of silicon, whichis important for the formation of healthy connectivetissues.

Besides this, the veggie is good for the eyes, pre-vents osteoporosis and full of dietary fibre.

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Pakistan’s law minister ZahidHamid on Monday quit as

the Government “surrendered”to hardline religious groups,who called off their violentprotests in Islamabad that hadleft six people dead and hun-dreds injured.

An official of the PrimeMinister House confirmed thatthe law minister last night senthis resignation to PrimeMinister Shahid KhaqanAbbasi, who accepted it today.

Hamid’s resignation clearedthe main hurdle in the lifting ofsiege of the capital by protest-ers who demanded his removalfor changes in a law related tothe Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (final-ity of prohpethood) oath in theElections Act 2017.

His resignation comes inthe aftermath of deadly clash-es between security forces andprotesters during the weekend,that killed six people andinjured hundreds. The sit-inhad paralysed the national cap-

ital for three weeks.Activists of Tehreek-i-

Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY)and Sunni Tehreek Pakistan(ST) religious groups startedprotests three weeks ago.

Official sources said anunderstanding was reachedwith protesters to call off theprotest as their key demandhad been accepted and thechanges made in the law hadalready been taken back whenparliament restored the origi-

nal oath.Following the agreement

and the subsequent resignationof Hamid, TLY chief KhadimHussain Rizvi ordered his fol-lowers all over the country toend the sit-ins and go home.

“We have decided to endthe protest after assurance bythe army chief and an agree-ment with government,” hesaid at Faizabad interchange,where he was camping withover 2,000 supporters for lastthree weeks.

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The Bangladesh High Courton Monday upheld the

death sentence of 139 and the lifeimprisonment of 146 convictedsoldiers involved in a 2009mutiny and their role in the ma-ssacre of 74 people, including 57Army officers, in the country’sbiggest-ever criminal case.

The judgement comes afterthe court started delivering theverdict on Sunday in the deathsentence of the total 152 con-victed soldiers of the thenBangladesh Rifles (BDR) forthe brutal killing at the borderguards’ headquarters here.

“One 39 will have to walk togallows and 146 will be impris-oned for life,” Attorney GeneralMahbubey Alam told a mediabriefing, quoting the over 1,000-page judgement delivered by athree-judge High Court bench.

“The rebels staged themutiny so no military officercould serve in BDR, so theykilled the innocent (army) offi-cers systematically. This is

unprecedented,” Alam said.A key lawyer on the defence

side Aminul Islam, however,called the judgement “unex-pected” and “defiance of justice”as it mostly upheld the lowercourt verdict “which had beendelivered in most cases withoutany evidence”. “I will advice mycleanest (convicts) to file appealsbefore the (apex) AppellateDivision of the Supreme Courtto get justice,” he said.

The judgement comes fouryears after a lower court inDhaka handed down capitalpunishment to 152 and lifeterm to 158 soldiers of theBDR. The bench yesterday start-ed reading out the entire judge-ment on the death sentence andappeal hearing of the trial ofwhat is said to Bangladesh’sbiggest ever criminal case.

A Dhaka court had award-ed death penalty to 152 jawansand non-commissioned offi-cers of the BDR, which wasrenamed as the Border GuardBangladesh (BGB), inNovember 2013.

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Arumbling volcano on theresort island of Bali could

erupt at any moment, author-ities warned today as theyraised alert levels to maxi-mum, accelerated a mass evac-uation and closed the main air-port, leaving tourists stranded.

Massive columns of thickgrey smoke that have beenbelching from Mount Agungsince last week hae now begunshooting more than three kilo-metres (two miles) into thesky, forcing flights to begrounded.

Some 40,000 frightenedpeople have fled their homesaround the volcano but asmany as 100,000 will likely beforced to leave, disaster agency

officials said after raising thealert to its highest level.

The exclusion zone aroundAgung, which is 75 kilometresfrom the beachside tourist hubof Kuta, has also been widenedto 10 kilometres.

“Continuous ash puffs aresometimes accompanied byexplosive eruptions and a weakbooming sound,” the NationalBoard for DisasterManagement said.

“The rays of fire areincreasingly observed at night.This indicates the potentialfor a larger eruption is immi-nent.”

Agung rumbled back to lifein September, forcing the evac-uation of 140,000 people livingnearby. Its activity decreased inlate October and manyreturned to their homes.

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Rohingya are still fleeing intoBangladesh even after an

agreement was signed withMyanmar to repatriate hun-dreds of thousands of the Mu-slim minority displaced along theborder, officials said on Monday.

The arrangement struckby the neighbours on Thursdayraised the prospect of at least700,000 Rohingya Muslims liv-ing in overcrowded camps insoutheastern Bangladesh beingreturned to Myanmar.

But at least 3,000 refugeeshave crossed since then, theUnited Nations said in its latestreport on the crisis, with guardsat check-posts along the frontier

also reporting a largely unin-terrupted flow of newcomers.

“The number of arrivalshas declined, but it has notstopped,” Bangladesh borderguard commander LieutenantColonel SM Ariful Islam said.

Islam said at least 400refugees had passed by guardsunder his command along theborder with Myanmar since theagreement was signed.

An estimated 624,000Rohingya have fled a militarycrackdown in Myanmar sinceAugust described by UN and USauthorities as ethnic cleansing.

The repatriation agreementapplies to Rohingya refugeesliving in Bangladesh who fledMyanmar in two major out-breaks of violence sinceOctober 2016.

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Zimbabwe’s police and Armywill stage joint patrols as the

country returns to normal afteran army takeover that led toRobert Mugabe’s resignation,the authorities announced onMonday.

“You will soon notice theZimbabwe Defence Forces andZimbabwe Republic Policemembers conducting jointpatrols, especially in the Hararecentral business district,” policespokeswoman CharityCharamba said.

“We urge you all progres-sive Zimbabweans to respectthe country’s laws and cooper-ate with our officers as theyperform their duties,”Charamba said, reading from ajoint statement of the policeand defence forces.

Zimbabwe Defence Forcesspokesman Overson Mugwisisternly warned those who hadcommitted crimes during thecrisis, when police numberswere under strain.

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At least 53 civilians, includ-ing 21 children, perished

early this morning whenRussian air strikes hit “resi-dential buildings” in a villageheld by the ISIS group in east-ern Syria, a monitor said.

The Britain-based SyrianObservatory for Human Rightssaid the strikes hit the village ofAl-Shafah in Deir Ezzorprovince, on the eastern bankof the Euphrates River.

The Observatory relies on anetwork of sources inside Syria,and says it determines whoseplanes carry out raids accordingto type, location, flight patternsand munitions used.

The monitor had initiallygiven a death toll of 34 civiliansbut the number spiked aftermore bodies were recovered.

“The toll increased afterremoving the debris in a longday of rescue operation,” RamiAbdel Rahman, head of theSyrian Observatory for HumanRights told AFP, adding thestrikes hit “residential buildings”.

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Britain’s Prince Harry, one ofthe world’s most eligible

bachelors, is getting married tooutspoken American actressMeghan Markle next year afterthey announced on Mondaythat they got engaged earlierthis month.

The wedding is scheduledfor Spring of 2018 and the cou-ple will make NottinghamCottage at Kensington Palace inLondon their marital home.

“The Prince of Wales isdelighted to announce theengagement of Prince Harry toMs Meghan Markle,” ClarenceHouse said in a statement onbehalf of Harry’s father PrinceCharles.

“The wedding will takeplace in Spring 2018. Furtherdetails about the wedding daywill be announced in duecourse,” it adds.

The announcement con-firms that the couple had gotengaged in London earlier thismonth and that the 33-year-old fifth in line to Britain’s

throne had informed QueenElizabeth II of his intention tomarry Markle.

Markle a mixed-raceAmerican raised in California,an outspoken full-time actress,and a divorcee makes a sur-prising addition to Britain’smonarchy.

Markle, besides being anactress and model, is a bloggerwho has written about herheritage on her website,describing herself as biracial,and has been a United Nations(UN) women’s advocate.

She has campaigned with

the United Nations on genderequality, written in Time mag-azine about girls’ educationand the stigma surroundingmenstruation, and has travelledto Rwanda as global ambas-sador for the charityWorld Vision Canada.

In January, Marklevisited India withWorld Vision to meetgirls and women whodirectly bear the bruntof social stigma associ-ated with periods andhow it costs them theirright to education.

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&����!���������������������������� ����� � *������"��� � ���� ��&������������"(�'� ������� �� �� ������ ����� ���������������������� �'�����������7�������������C����������%����(#�� �����'&����������C��&������"����%����� �������������������������� ���������� ������������ ���&������� �� ������������������������������&���� �����"�����C������������������ �(��� ���� ��&� �������7���������5���!����������6��������7�������&����������&��3������#���� �(����������������� �������"���������� ������� ������ ���� �����&"���� � ���������� ��(�����������!�N��C�������� � ����"�����������(�'&���������������� ���� ���������������� ��������� �� ����� �������������� � ���������� ���������(O

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$���� ������������1�������� �����F 1����G�+�!������7$��� ������������;9���!���������1���%����3�1������� �� ��� �����������������-9������������ ����%����F����������G74? ���5��5���5�( The horrific phenomenon of acid

attacks still continues to be a weaponof violence against women, curbing theirfreedom of choices and giving them alife-long trauma. Though sale of acid asa toilet cleaner has been restrictedacross the counter, illegal procurementand availability have meant that theycontinue to be used by tormentors. It wasto create awareness about this andempower survivors that the city wit-nessed a Power Walk of feisty women.The evening was hosted by Kitty Su, TheLaLiT, in collaboration with Make LoveNot Scars NGO. The much-neededevent was organised to boost the con-fidence of the victims whose journey hasbeen one of immense pain and suffer-ing.

Meena, one of the participants at thegala, was attacked in 2011. “It happenedto me on November 5, in the wee hourswhile I was sleeping. I woke up scream-ing due to the burning sensation ofkerosene oil on fire and was in a stateof shock for some time. I didn’t evenknow who to blame for it as I couldn’tfind my father-in-law in the house thatmorning while my mother-in-lawbehaved as if she had no clue about whodid this gruesome act. My husband wasaway and came rushing to me petrifiedby my screams and blew the flames. Hishands also got burnt in the process.”Following this, she was taken to hospi-tal where her husband stood next to her.However, soon after she got dischargedand went back to her maternal home,things changed and distance camebetween the two. “At first, he used to visitme on a weekly basis which laterchanged to monthly and so on. He soondiscontinued supporting me both finan-cially and emotionally.” Slowly, he start-ed cutting chords with her while she wasgoing through pain and agony. “On thecontrary, my family was my pillar ofstrength at the most challenging time ofmy life. They took care of me, helped mecope and sent money timely. But theyalso had to support my younger broth-er and sister along with my medication.Soon, things started worsening financial-ly which ended with them selling theirhouse and us shifting into a rentedhouse. I feel that the problems never real-ly left me but what kept me going wasmy will to survive in spite all odds,” sheadded.

For Meena, being part of the PowerWalk was a whole new experience. “Itwas nerve-wracking since I had neverdone anything like this before and myheart was beating too fast. It was a mixedfeeling,” shared Meena, who doesn’t wantthe shadows of her past to be a hurdlein her future. “I am in a good state ofmind, want to move forward in my life,be financially independent and want tomake sure that my son receives qualityeducation.”

Twenty eight-year-old Mamta wasa victim of the gruesome attack by her

own husband as their shallow demandof dowry was not met with. “I have sur-vived on my own and my words will notbe able to justify my journey. I wouldtake this opportunity to send across amessage that no matter what life throwsat you, one should not bow down to it.Instead one should fight with courageand lead a life of dignity. There will beseveral difficulties in life but women arefighters and can achieve anything we putour mind to. During the challengingphase of my life, I even considered end-ing my life but didn’t. Instead, I went out,met new people, gained experiences andmoved on in life.

“Initially I didn’t even have a job andhad to struggle for a long time. But now,I have one in the High Court. I’m set-tled and lead a good life. I believe thathard time and experience are the great-est teachers in life and my siblings sup-ported me during that time. I getinspired by others and hope to be aninspiration for survivors like me that oneincidence should not stop them from liv-ing their life,” added Mamta. For her,walking down the ramp was a great feel-ing and an honour. It made her forgetthe scars for a while and enjoy themoment.

“It is our mission to bring all themarginalised communities into main-stream space. Our hotel is an inclusiveplace, where everyone is welcome.Deformity is a serious issue, there arescars that stay and it is important for cor-porates to support the victims and helpthem walk the extra mile,” sharedKeshav Suri, Executive Director of theLaLiT Group. Fashion designers, includ-ing Rohit Bal, Anita Dongre, Ranna Gilland Archana Kochhar, donated an out-fit from their line for an auction.

Sunday afternoon had Delhi’scognoscenti descend at the JaipurPolo Ground to witness the fierce

contest between Jindal Panther andSahara Warriors Achievers on the lush-est greens. Jindal Panther emerged win-ners (by beating Sahara WarriorsAchievers by 10 goals to 8) of The IndianOpen Polo Championship. Shamsheer Aliand Italian Cutinelli Goffredo scored fourgoals each to help their team defeatSahara Warriors Achievers. AbhimanyuPathak was adjudged the “Most ValuablePlayer of the Tournament.” The corpo-rates played with vigour on horsebackand scored goals amid loud cheers.

Once a heritage sport, polo has inrecent times caught the attention of cor-porates and is now the favourite of the

start-up generation what with young-sters finding a new headrush from rid-ing a horse and training it to be in syncwith a ball game. Said player AngadKalaan, “I don’t think corporate involve-ment has changed the game much asthose who join are purely passionateabout the sport. Apart from NaveenJindal and Sanjay Kapur, one doesn't findmany corporates opting for this sport.The Indian Open Polo Championship isa grand affair in itself. The grace of theanimals and the adrenaline gush of a fast-paced sport have attracted viewers sea-son after season.”

Apart from being a top-notch poloplayer, Adhiraj Singh is the CEO of asports management company calledEquisport. One of India’s finest horsemen,he has won many coveted titles includ-

ing the Asian Games and AsianChampionships. Said he, “It’s untrue thatpolo is mostly played by corporatesthese days as there are many young andmiddle class polo players on the circuit.Ninety per cent of polo players in today’stimes belong to a middle class back-ground. Wider access to training infra-structure has changed the scenario. It’sabout the passion for horses, communi-cating with them, being in sync with theirmovements, love for speed and able totake injuries as this is not a safe sport.One has to bear injuries from time totime. It’s also important to first get good

training under a professional coach andthen join polo clubs. In contemporarytimes there are hardly any royals who playpolo. And though its image is hoity toity,fact is the upper crust doesn’t send manyof its children to play the game as thereis a risk of getting injured. NaveenJindal and Sanjay Kapur are exceptionsand they are in the game as they love thesport. In fact, Kapur started playing poloin his 30s. When affluent people join thesport, it creates an impact as common-ers want to emulate them and that’s thereason a lot of youngsters are participat-ing in this generation.”

He added, “Youngsters who are hun-gry to make a mark in the field are mostwelcome. Polo championships attract ahuge amount of crowd because they havehuge spectator value. At the match,many people were live tweeting thehighlights of the match. Such is the powerof social media that more people getinquisitive about the sport, want tolearn the craft and join in the brigade.”Singh believes that to be a good polo play-er, the person should first learn tobefriend a horse well and master the artof riding. He should hire a good coachor trainer and go to polo clubs and rid-

ing schools. “Unfortunately, the lack ofeasy access to horses and polo groundsis an issue. Also, there are not many train-ers available on call,” he said.

Shamsheer Ali’s exploits at the JaipurPolo Ground are well-known. With themallet in hand, he is simply invincible."We Indian professionals work really hardto compete with players who get theirhorses from abroad, such as Sahara andJindals. We use Indian thoroughbreds andcompete with these prolific teams. Andsometimes play with them as well.”

Talking about the challenges of thegame, he said, “We need more sponsors.We have to maintain the horses through-out the year though we play six monthsa year. So, anyone playing polo should befinancially sound as this sport is expen-sive.” On his advice to budding polo play-ers, Ali said, “My advice to the young poloplayers is to work harder and learn fromthe senior players. It’s vital to be finan-cially stable as this sport is a little expen-sive. There is no need to be so nervous.Hot blood and cool mind will work per-fectly.”

Polo player Himmat Singh Bedla feltthat sponsorships had made polo acces-sible to all. “With sponsorships, morepeople are getting involved, either direct-ly or indirectly. And there is a growingexcitement among the public as well. Beit the history or on the international front,polo has always been associated with agentleman’s sport which is talked abouton a very different level. So there is anelement of lifestyle and aspiration thathave attracted big brands,” he added.

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Noted actor Boman Irani shared his jour-ney from a waiter at the Taj Mahal hotel

to selling insurance policies and now beingconsidered one of the finest actors in thecountry. Reminiscing his part, he initiatedthe second edition of Signature Start UpMasterclass, a unique platform to inspire andenable those who want to follow their pas-sion and make a mark for themselves.

Born in a traditional Parsi family, Irani’slife has was never easy. From being encour-aged by his mother to watch movies andlearn the art of film making, to support herat their ancestral bakery until the age of 32,Boman also worked as a waiter at a hotel andsaved money to buy his first professionalcamera. However, a chance to cover theBoxing World Cupas the official pho-tographer changedhis life forever andhasn’t looked backsince then. Bomanalso had keen inter-est in acting duringhis early days andwent on to trainunder HansrajSiddhia as a profes-sional actor. He con-siders Alyque Padamsee as his mentor forhaving introduced him to formal theatre. Hismost illustrious play till date has been I amnot Bajirao which ran for 10 years. He hadhis first brush with stardom post the successof the comedy MunnaBhai MBBS where hisrole as J Asthana earned him a filmfare nom-ination for Best Comedian.

Speaking at the event, Irani said, “Therewas a point in life where I was content withselling photographs for a meagre 20-30rupees, but the day I decided I had to dosomething big, which I call it my ZeroNumber Moment, I followed my passion ofphotography and acting to taste success.Ihave been lucky to have restarted my life at32, but I sincerely hope everyone who werepart of my masterclass today do not have towait for so long to follow their passion andturn it into a career.”

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Think of the miniature format ina postcard, add to it the magic

of landscapes bathed in pristinepure rays of light belonging to thetropics or the Himalayan moun-tains. Imagine there are just one ortwo people inhabiting these raremountainscapes, and you see themajesty and ingenuous hand ofBengal master Bireswar Sen.

At the National Gallery ofModern Art in Delhi is a delight-ful show of 80 works by artistBireswar Sen. Director-GeneralAdwaita Gadanayak has culled theshow from the NGMA collectionin a bid to invite scholarship anddeep understanding of the study oflandscapes in an age besieged bytechnology. Sen studied underAbanindranath Tagore andNandlal Bose but was deeply influ-enced by Nicholas Roerich in1932. This show, of which a greaterpart belongs to the NGMAarchives, is like a pilgrimage.

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bolises a voyage into the embodi-ment of deep spirituality as itmerges man and nature. There isdevotion and a mystic quietude inworks that recreate in the small for-mat William Blake’s “eternity in anhour.” Sen conjured landscapesand nature, gesture and expression,as well as solitude and spiritualitywithin the miniature format.

But Sen, a lecturer in English,was deeply influenced by the mas-ter Nicholas Roerich. It wasRoerich who introduced him tothe rare vignettes of mountainpasses, the gorges and crevices andthe incandescent quality of atmos-pherics in the Himalayas.

However their treatment dif-fered vastly. While Roerich paint-ed large majestic mountains on

canvasses, Sen created miniatureswithout losing the majesty of themountains and also gave us tinyhuman figures-all on little postcardsize formats. “These works must bestudied and enjoyed for theirminute offerings, the detailing is sofine,” affirms Gadanayak.

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Bireswar Sen studied Englishliterature at Presidency CollegeKolkata and was simultaneouslytrained in art by the three Tagores— Rabindranath, Abanindranath,whom Sen considered his guru,and Gaganendranath. He alsotaught English in Patna Universityand never lost his passion for writ-ing and literature.

While Sen may have chosen asmall format, we are given theimpression of vast and wide openspaces, of rarefied atmosphere, anda limpid light that can be glimpsedin the upper reaches of theHimalayas.

The technical feat is whatamazes viewers. Sen squeezes

panoramic views into 9cm x 6cmframes. It’s uncanny how the artistcaptures the loftiness and tran-scendence of 19th century prac-titioners in the West. Sen used theminiscule format with tempera andwatercolour with the wash method.

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Finer nuances in strokes, ges-tural techniques and translation ofearth tones and the mountainslopes into shades more densethan the sky, give us a feel of Sen’slove for nature and his insight intoa romantic vision of nature.

You can note than Sen had adeep insight into the physicalgrandness of the Himalayas, theforests and the vast plains throughwhich rivers and streams ran. Atthe NGMA, Gadanayak hasdesigned the exhibition in thestyle of old masters by even design-ing the frames in wood finishmahogany with ivory mounts.

Intriguing is the extent andstrength of observation of such anartist. The study of nature and the

wash technique with the lightest oftouches is rare and this is whatmakes these works so special.

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The passion and perfection ofintent come through as the worksalso speak of Sen’s accuracy andpanache, of how he could capturethe manifestation of an illusion ofthe pellucid, almost transparentlight and its tinted opacity effectson the snow-capped mountainranges and the dark, barrenhills.

The show offers intricate andlaborious technique detailings. Senused orange, ochre, blues, greysand earth browns of variousdegrees of brightness and depth.Sometimes he could give us anight sky up with a tiny burninglamp on a beach side. He could alsobring alive the poets of old, thealchemy of nirgun poets whospoke of equivocal tones and real-ities and the paradox of mortalityand immortality all rolled into thecapsule that we call time.

Imagine a ceramic artist who begansculpting in the 1960s in Baroda. A

high priestess of the world of mineralsand fire and clay, who had to create herown alchemy of contours and colours,she looked around her garden at Barodafor her stimulus and inspiration.

Meet Jyotsna Bhatt, whose soloshow in Kolkata after many years,defines her brilliance and her devotionto the art of ceramics in a country wherea lot of potters have lost originality. Whatsets her apart from the deep, emotion-al investment in crafts in the state ofGujarat is her sensitivity and her distinctsensibility.

We can inherently sense a feelingof a completely different sensibilityfrom that of ruralist craftsmen. We cansee the genesis of a silent yet robusturban potter, who is at home in a con-temporary world and comfortable in herown skin considering the fact that shehas been firing pots since 1960's.

���/����+��������'Art lovers can behold a deluge of

delightful creations, each one unique inits sustaining power of knowing the dif-ference between what can be producedmindlessly and what can be created withpassion, power and penetration ofinsight and aesthetics.

It is uncanny how in her agilehands, inert matter like stoneware, sig-nature matte glazes and minerals seemto awaken, smoke, stretch and settle intoa position of poise and reflectivereverie. Jyotsna makes platters,cats, vases, bulbs and small arte-facts that are not justutterly unique but arethe embodiment of2 1 s t - c e n t u r yIndianesque mod-ernism. Yet rather thanconsciously follow the dic-tates or philosophies of an aes-thetic school, she draws inspiration

from what she sees in thegarden around her: thequirky expression of acat in sleep,thebeauty of an open-ing bud, littlevignettes fromnature, all with a hintof antiquated mur-murs.

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These 50 oddstoneware creations, areinterestingly made with anextremely limited palette of colours:burnt terracotta brown, teal and ash greyon a few variants of bulbs or platters orcats or quasi vases. It is possible to readthem as parallel to a syntactical device,a way of allowing disparate elements tosit alongside each other. It allows Jyotsnato make coherent groups of work in away that the connotations of nature'seffusions can speak in an age whenceramic art is fashionable but pro-duced more out of the dictates of super-ficial whimsy rather than enigmatic orstudied intima-

tions.This sense of objectsbeing part of a muchlarger world is whatmakes Jyotsna standout as an urban stu-dio potter whoteaches techniquesand shares recipes of

glazes with her stu-dents over years of

workshops and travel.These 50 works, created

over 2016-2017, echo their ownaccommodation with modernity. She

uses the matte glaze and creates worksin terracotta tones of burnt browns andalso uses ash and blue teal.

When asked about her process andher preferences for firing she says:“The firing and temperature range I usedfor this show are both oxidation andreduction atmospheres. I used wood andgas firing, ranging from 1260 C to1280C. I have always had a preferencematte and satin matte glazes with mot-tled color tones. Colours for me hadalways been a softer natural tone vari-ety. I reduce my firing using copperoxides and their carbonates, tin oxide

and titanium di oxide. As for oxi-dation firing or what I call nor-

mal firing, I like the playof ash and flames on

the works, whichenhance the forms,so accordingly letthem be openbody.(withoutany glaze or glossy

surface).”

(Uma Nair is an artcritic and curator)

The India Art Festival brought together 39 artgalleries and 470 artists from seven coun-tries and 30 cities across the world under one

roof at Thyagaraj Stadium. The third edition ofIndia Art Festival (IAF) was open to all forms ofartistic expressions, including painting, sculptures,

photography, ceramics, textiles, installations andoffered an insight into current art trends from ruralparts of India to the metro cities. On its growth,art festival director Rajendra said, “India ArtFestival has developed a good visitor base, includ-ing art buyers, collectors and lovers within a short

span of time. If exhibitor galleries and artists getgood response in terms of sale, they are bound toparticipate every year; it shows the acceptance ofthe mixed module of art festival with galleries andindependent artists by Delhi’s liberal art com-munity.”

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“I came up with the concept to pay my grati-tude towards women who play a crucial role

in our lives as a mother, daughter, sister or wife.The women in these paintings give a message ofcombining the physical existence with love, har-mony and togetherness,” shares Kishore, who wasinspired by the rising sun to use a vibrant colourpalette. “The colours in the sky during sunriseexude positive energy, depicting joy of life anda new beginning. The use of primary coloursportrays me as a simple human being.”

On the painting titled, The rhythm of life, hesays, “Without education, we cannot achieve ourgoal which is being discussed by a bunch offriends and an angel. I try to stay rooted in myculture and thus paint ethics, morals and valuein my work without which there will be a chaos.”

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The concept of the artwork revolvesaround a lady who is deep in thought

after seeing a bird relaxing on a branchand which will fly after a while into thewide sky, leaving all the worries behind.She resembles every woman whoseinner soul is waiting to fly like a bird, for-getting all her responsibilities, restric-tions and barriers imposed by society. “Ihave made paintings of man and womanusing geometrical forms which are espe-cially inspired by Madhubani painting as

I have learned in my native region. Butin Madhubani paintings, we generallyuse fine lines all over the paintingwhich are known as Kachni style. In thisstyle, fine lines are created in paintingwith finest details and double lines areused to depict the outlines. I sometimesuse the Bharni style too where theblack outlines are filled with vibrantcolours. They do not use shade lighteffect which I do as an innovation.Second, the human figures in my worksare completely abstract. I have kept abreathing space which is generally absentin my style,” says Gupta.

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This series highlights the rise of intoleranceand the growing phobia of outsiders on the

global platform, exploring the victims — theirdetachment and hopelessness, captured usingtextures and the bold structures depicting themin their most vulnerable state.

The theme of the painting draws its theologi-cal inspiration from a concept in physics called

“Law of Entropy” which says that if there is anisolated system, the randomness of the systemgrows over time. “I believe that if you pay closeattention to any random event, we find a patternand all the chaossorts itself overtime. All itrequires of us isto just wait forthe right timeand place,”shares Shaileewho has alsoexplored social,emotional, andpsychologica ldysfunction inthe societythrough her art-work. “Withintwo decades wehave already wit-nessed bloodshed in Afghanistan, Iraq andSyria. We have hardly recovered from our pre-vious wounds and now there is a speculation ofanother one. Even though we are far away fromthe scene of the crime, our consciousness isaffected by the news. We have segmented thesociety in all sorts of ways —religious, politicalinclination or be it business consumerismbehaviour. In a nutshell, we all wear pretentiouscloaks to hide the true need that underlines allthe segments — to love and be loved. That is thereason I believe the society has become so dys-functional and emotionally crippled.”

'��/=��4�"����':+��� ������� �������������������G ����������� �� �������&����������&���"��� ������������������ ������� ���� �� !��� �� ����� � ����������������� ����� �������(�3���>�� =�=�

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Free-flowing colours, blendinginto each other, following no

definite contours, create anabstract backdrop for the humanand natural forms. People, floraand fauna effortlessly mergeyet stand out individually, giv-ing a clear message of unity indiversity. This is what describesSharmila Thapar’s canvas.

The painting titled, InHarmony is a fusion of two cul-tures. “When I was living inBeirut, I saw the similaritiesbetween the Indian and theLebanese culture in terms offamily, education, colours, foodand music. I frequently metwith the Lebanese doing yogaand learning Indian music. So,I decided to depict traditionalLebanese women with tradi-tional Indian sitar. This fusionof two symbolises harmonybetween cultures and people,promoting tolerance, acceptanceand respect for others.” Gaiea isthe Greek Earth MotherGoddess, symbolising all that’sgood in femininity, nature, fer-tility and spirit, Nature isbenign, beautiful, gentle, givingand accepting. It nurtures andpromotes ecological balance. Itis diverse and complementary, atthe same time, ever-changing

and yet predictable. It’s completeand still continues growing.

For Thapar, having lived invarious countries has given anin-depth insight into the basichuman need for peace and love.No country is totally at peace,some internally and some due toexternal causes. One shouldstrive to move forward againstall odds, obstacles and irritants.The challenges of life should betaken as tests that once sur-mounted, can only mean suc-cess. The message and vibrancyof colours depict and describemy emotions. Life should be joy-

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Australia cruised to a crushing10-wicket win over Englandto go one-up in the Ashes

series in the opening Test at theGabba on Monday, with captainSteve Smith praising his team's char-acter.

Openers David Warner andCameron Bancroft added toEngland's agony by peeling off therequired runs without the loss of awicket before lunch on the final day.

Warner finished unbeaten on 87off 119 balls with newcomer Bancrofthitting the winning runs to remain82 not out off 182 balls in Australia's173 without loss.

In the process, they broke an 87-year-old Test record for the all-timehighest unbeaten opening partner-ship in a successful Test chase.

"We had to show some reallygood character throughout.Obviously losing the toss, and thewicket was a lot slower than weanticipated it would be. We had towork really hard," said Australiancaptain Steve Smith. "I'm pleasedwith the way we have played.Bowling first at The Gabba, it'shard. The bowlers had to be on. Theway we pulled it back to win fromthe position we were in it's extreme-ly pleasing. I'm proud of the way theboys fought."

The Australians only needed 56runs on the final morning go one upafter England imploded on Sunday'sfourth day.

England captain Joe Root saidthe result did not tell the full story.

"For three days we were excel-lent. Bar Steve's knock we wereright in it," he said, referring toSmith's battling first innings centu-ry. "It's frustrating. We have to moveon quickly and make sure we don'tmake the same mistakes inAdelaide."

It was Warner's 25th Test fiftyand ninth in the Ashes, while debu-tant Bancroft posted his first half-

century in only his second Testinnings.

"It was good fun; to share a goodpartnership was nice. To get the winin the end was good," said Bancroft,who was allegedly headbutted byEngland wicketkeeper JonnyBairstow in a late-night altercationin Perth earlier in the tour.

An England and Wales CricketBoard statement confirmed teammanagement have asked Bairstowabout the alleged incident.

- Gabba fortress -Warner said it was great to get

the win without losing a wicket."That's what we cherish, coming

out being disciplined to try and getthe job done as best as possible," hesaid.

England's doleful defeat wasplayed to the background sounds ofthe travelling Barmy Army support-ers singing 'We'll Take the (Ashes)Urn Home' in the sparsely-populat-ed Gabba ground.

It was an attritional battlebetween the traditional rivals over thefirst three days of the Test, raisingEngland's hopes of a first win at theground in just over three decades.

But skipper Smith's match-defin-ing unbeaten 141 over eight-and-a-half hours to give Australia a 26-runinnings lead and Josh Hazlewood'stwo late wickets on Saturday swungthe momentum firmly Australia'sway.

England were knocked over for 195off 71.4 overs, losing their last six wick-ets for 82, to set Australia an unthreat-ening target to chase down in theremaining four sessions of play.

Australia stretched their unbeatenrecord at their Gabba fortress to 29years since their last defeat to VivRichards' West Indies team in 1988.

England have not won inBrisbane in 31 years, a stretch of eightAshes Tests.

The five-Test series heads toAdelaide Oval for the first-ever Ashesday-night Test, starting on Saturday.

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Captain Joe Root has urgedhis players to keep backing

themselves as Ashes holdersEngland head into a crucial sec-ond Test after their demoralis-ing loss to Australia at theGabba.

The Australians romped toan emphatic 10-wicket victoryearly on the fifth day in Brisbaneafter breaking free of an attri-tional opening three days, leav-ing questions for the touristsover the remaining four Tests.

England's inability to capi-talise on a strong start in the firstinnings — where they crashedfrom 246 for four to 302 all out— and a below-par 195 in thesecond innings cost them anywinning chance in Brisbane.

"We've got to keep believingand trusting the work we'vebeen doing, and backing our-selves and backing each other asa group," said Root, on whommuch depends with the batand team strategy. "For threedays we played some excellentcricket. Unfortunately, when wegot into good positions, wedidn't quite capitalise on it."

The series now heads to theAdelaide Oval for the first- everday-night Ashes Test, starting onSaturday, where England cannotafford to lose again.

Root defended his elaboratefielding placements at the Gabbafor Australia's master batsmanSteve Smith, who turned the Testwith a painstaking unbeaten 141over eight-and-a-half hours togive his side a narrow but cru-cial innings lead.

His field strategy for Smithwas likened to Bodyline, a noto-rious leg theory bowling tacticdevised by England on their1932-33 tour of Australia tocounter the great Don Bradman.

The England skipper placedsix fielders on the leg-side withthree in the deep and no one infront of the bat on the off-sideas his pacemen ripped in short-pitched deliveries to Smith for atime. "We made him (Smith)work extremely hard for hisruns. Credit to him, he playedextremely well," Root said.

"Sometimes you've got tosay well played to the opposi-tion."

Root, ranked the world'ssecond-best Test batsman, wasout leg before wicket in bothinnings but is confident of mak-ing big scores in the rest of theseries. "I feel like I've got a goodunderstanding of how I play andI'll make sure that I prepare verywell in terms of getting ready,"Root said.

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After thumping ATK 4-1in front of their home

crowd in Kolkata on Sunday,FC Pune City's star forwardEmiliano Alfaro said thevictory was important to liftthe spirit of the team afterlosing their opening matchto Delhi Dynamos.

"The Match againstKolkata was challenging butwinning an away game orrather winning a game wasreally important for theteam's morale," said theUruguayan striker onMonday.

"We can take a lot ofconfidence from this win inorder to make sure weremain consistent throughthe season."

The Ranko Popoviccoached side roped in anarray of quality attackingplayers (which boasts namessuch as Marcelinho — gold-en boot winner of last sea-son, Indian stars in BaljitSahani and Kean Lewis, re-signed star performer

Jonatan Lucca and Alfarohimself ), making themarguably the best attackingline-up on paper in theIndian Super league and theone-sided victory againstthe defending champions onSunday somewhat justifies it.But the Uruguayan interna-tional begs to differ.

"No, I don't think so(that we have the best attack-ing team).Because there aremany good players in theleague, there are many strongteams. You can't just sayPune can beat this teameasy. Of course we havequality players like Marceloand Lucca. But at the end ofthe day, we have to performon the pitch. We haven'tdone well in the competitionin the past. So it is importantwe keep performing well tillwe reach the Final and thenonly we can make thoseclaims," said the formerNorthEast forward.

Scoring two goals in twoconsecutive matches, Alfarosaid that playing under man-agers with same philosophyin ISL helped him settle

quickly with his new club."Nelo Vingada (coach of

NorthEast last year) andPopovic have a similar wayof looking at football, theyhave same style. They bothlike to play to win, doesn'tlike to allow space at theback. Of course the teamswere different but that some-where helped me to under-stand the football here," heexplained.

Pune City will gear upfor the Maharashtra derby asthey take on Mumbai CityFC on Wednesday. Alfarosaid they won their last gameas a team and wish to con-tinue doing the same againstMumbai.

"Yesterday the teamshowed a great characterand as our coach said it wasa brilliant team work. Fornow, we have more games tocome and need to concen-trate on our next gameagainst Mumbai. I like tolook at one game at a time,so we will be prepared as aunit and play for all threepoints against them," he con-cluded.

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The third edition of the VodafonePremier Badminton League opens

with a grudge match, with PV Sindhu'sChennai Smashers taking on SainaNehwal's Awadhe Warriors onDecember 23.

The first leg will take place in newentrants North Eastern Warriors'hometown, Guwahati, who enter thearena on the very second day to face themight of Carolina Marin's HyderabadHunters.

The 23-day long league has care-fully been laid out, with only tie linedup each day at prime time to give theplayers and teams enough time torecover for their next encounter.

"This is going to be an exciting edi-tion of the PBL, the world's biggest bad-minton league," Atul Pandey, ManagingDirector, Sportzlive said. "It's a longertournament, with eight teams in fray.Virtually all the best players havesigned up too, which makes it the oneand only true world league in the coun-try," he added.

A bevy of top players, includingmen's No 1 Victor Axelson (BengaluruBlasters) and women's No1 Tai Tzu-Ying (Ahmadabad Smash Masters), willbe seen in action during this badmintonextravaganza. The fast growing army ofshuttle fans the in the country can hopeto see world-class fare from closequarters, many of them in their owncities.

After four days of intense battles in

Guwahati the bandwagon shifts toDelhi. Delhi will see five ties, withthe Delhi Dashers enjoying thebenefit of playing two matches athome. They will hope to pick upmaximum points againstBengaluru Blasters and HyderabadHunters to make it at least to thesemifinals this year.

The next stop will be the 'Cityof Nawabs', Lucknow. VictorAxelson's Bengaluru Blasters willclash with San Wan-Ho's MumbaiRockets to ring in the New Year.Four ties have been slotted here,giving North Eastern Warriors andHyderabad Hunters a solid four-day break.

The PBL will move to thewarmer climes of Chennai onJanuary 5 for the penultimate leg.The battles are expected to reachfever-pitch by then, with every teamscrambling for points and a placein the knockout stage.

After an intense five-day stint,the players will shift to Hyderabadon January 10. Only two ties havebeen lined up here, with theDashers meeting the Warriors andthe Hunters the Blasters.

The semifinals will take placeon January 12 and 13 followed bythe final, which will be held the verynext day, on January 14.

The matches will be telecast onStar Sports HD 1 and Star Sports1 and streamed on Hot Star. Ticketswill be available on BookmyShow.

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Aruthless India equalled theirbiggest victory margin, deci-mating a lacklustre Sri Lanka

by an innings and 239 runs in the sec-ond cricket Test for a 1-0 lead in thethree-match series, here on Monday.

The victory margin is identical toIndia's Test win over Bangladesh atMirpur in 2007 when Rahul Dravidwas captain.

Off-spinner RavichandranAshwin (4/63) completed a covetedpersonal milestone of fastest 300 Testwickets in 54 games, beating DennisLillee's previous record of 56 match-es, as he took the last wicket of SriLanka, who were dismissed for a pal-try 166 in their second innings.

Ashwin, who had a match-haulof 8 for 130, bowled Lahiru Gamagewith a doosra to bring down curtainson one of the most lop-sided Testmatches in recent times. The cele-brations were much muted withteammates shaking hands withAshwin before quietly walking off thefield.

Skipper Dinesh Chandimal (61)was the only Sri Lankan batsman toshow some resistance as others nevermatched up to what is required toplay highest level of internationalcricket.

The manner of abject surrenderin this Test match would certainlyhurt the island nation, which till fewyears back was a force to reckon ininternational cricket. Just like the Testmatches in Sri Lanka, they lost the

Test match well inside three and a halfdays.

Ishant Sharma (2/43) lookedmenacing as he bowled short andquick while Ravindra Jadeja (2/28)was the beneficiary of some sharp

fielding from Murali Vijay and indis-cretion from the part of oppositionbatsmen.

Umesh Yadav (2/30) had achance of completing his 100 wick-ets in Test but fell one short as theTamil Nadu tweaker got to his mile-stone first.

Dimuth Karunaratne (18) wasthe first to get out when he tried toflick Jadeja and Murali Vijay stand-ing at short leg had the ball jam intohim. The Tamil Nadu player showedgood reflexes as Karunaratne was leftstunned.

Lahiru Thirimanne (23), cur-rently a senior player in the teamstunned one and all when he chaseda wide delivery from Umesh Yadav tohand Jadeja at point the simplest ofcatches. It was a shocking dismissalas the ball was on the imaginary sixthstump and should have been leftalone.

Former captain Angelo Mathews(10) was expected to show someresponsibility while batting alongsideChandimal but his choice of shot alsoleft a lot to be desired.

Having hit Jadeja for a six overlong-on, he tried the same shot overlong-off but failed to clear RohitSharma at mid-off. The former skip-per is a pale shadow of himself andquestions have been raised about hisform and commitment which hasbeen hurting Lankan cricket forsome time now.

Mathews used to look a fine play-er when Mahela Jayawardene andKumar Sangakkara were around butafter their retirement, he has not beenthe player expected to be.

The Sri Lankan cricket hadexpected Mathews to carry on thelegacy of Mahela and Sangakkara butover the past two years, he has failedmiserably with no significant contri-bution in Sri Lankan victory.

Niroshan Dickwella (4) got asnorter from Ishant which he awk-wardly fended off to Virat Kohli atthird slip, who gobbled it on secondattempt.

It was then Ashwin, who joinedthe party after Shanaka hit himacross the line for a boundary and asix. But it was an act of desperationthat was for a brief period of timebefore he was holed out at long-on byKL Rahul giving the off-spinner his297th victim.

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Aggression has been the hall-mark of his batting and India

captain Virat Kohli feels his team-mates will need to adopt a similarapproach to produce results intheir gruelling tour of South Africaup ahead.

Kohli was at his aggressive bestin the just-concluded second Testagainst Sri Lanka as he smashed astrokeful 213 off 267 balls to helpIndia amass a huge first inningstotal.

Kohli's knock and centuriesfrom Murali Vijay, CheteshwarPujara and Rohit Sharma ensuredthat India had ample time in theirhands to bowl Sri Lankaout for a massiveinnings and 239 runswin in the just-con-cluded Test here.

"I just wanted tobat the way I bat. Getinto good positionsand rotate strike andscore quickly so ourbowlers have time tobowl the oppositionout," Kohli said at thepost-match presenta-tion ceremony onMonday.

"We will needthat (approach) over-seas so I was lookingat doing that.

"I always wantedto better myself inscoring big hundredsfor the simple reasonthat the team benefits.When you lose concentration aftera hundred, maybe two wickets canfall quickly. A set batsman can playshots easier than a new batsman soI started thinking in that way andmy fitness helps me bat for longerperiods," he added.

Pujara has been a consistentperformer for India in Test match-es, but it was heartening to see thereturn of Vijay and Rohit, both ofwhom smashed tons to give Kohlia happy selection headache for theupcoming matches.

"Pujara we know, he's beenvery consistent. Vijay was playingafter a while, he takes pride in play-ing Test cricket. I know it hurt himto be out and he came back reallywell.

"Rohit as well, making a strongcase for himself in the future. Hewill always be there when wespeak about combinations. Wehave a lot f Test cricket coming up,"said Kohli, who was effusive in hispraise for the trio.

The Indian skipper also hadwords of appreciation for his bowl-ing unit, especially the pacers.

"Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar)has played a lot of cricket for Indiain the last few months. Ishant(Sharma), (Mohammad) Shamiand Umesh (Yadav) did not play somuch. But they bowled a lot ofovers in first-class cricket andthey always say that's important forrhythm," Kohli said.

"Even on this pitch, they wereexcellent. Although the spinnersdid a good job for us, Ishant wasthe standout bowler."

Kohli, who was adjudged man-of-the-match for his record break-ing double ton, reiterated thatwith no time in hand, the team istaking the ongoing series againstSri Lanka as a preparation for the

tour of South Africa."We would like to

think we want to pre-pare for South Africa.That's why we asked forpitches with help for thefast bowlers. This one(Nagpur) deterioratedby the second day. ButKolkata was the idealwicket," he said refer-ring to the trip startingDecember 27.

"There's notenough time inbetween to prepare sowe have to use the timewe have now for a bigtour coming up."

Sri Lanka captainDinesh Chandimal wasat a loss of words whenasked to analyse histeam's shoddy perfor-

mance in the match.Chandimal blamed his bats-

men and said they need to put upbig totals in first innings in orderto stand a chance against a teamlike India.

"It was a good toss to win.Unfortunately, we were outplayedfrom the first day of the game. Ourbatting unit let us down again. Youhave to score at least 350 plusagainst India to win or even stayin it for five days," Chandimal said.

"Before we came here, we hada gameplan. Then we said to theguys, if you get a start, you have tobat long. But they scored only 50-60 runs and got out. Its unfortunatebut I'm sure they will learn."

Chandimal said seniors playerslike Angelo Mathews needs to stepup and set example for the youngerguys.

"Angelo is the one who is themost senior guy in the line-up. Andif he is not scoring, our team goesdown. As senior players you need tostand up and perform so the young-sters can follow. I'm sure he willstand up and make it count again,"the visiting captain said.

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There will always be regrets in life but I amglad that I am back on my feet playing crick-

et again," Rohit Sharma said when asked if 22Test matches in an international career span-ning 10 years does justice to the talent that hepossesses.

Playing his first Test in more than a yearafter recovering from a career-threateninginjury, Rohit scored his third hundred - first tonin longest version in more than four years.

"There will always be regrets in your life.Even if you score 10,000 runs, you will feel, 'oh,I should have scored 15,000 runs' or people willtell you, 'you should have scored 15,000 runs,man!" he said. "But for me, I am glad that I amback on my feet, because when I went throughthat injury (thigh surgery in 2016), at one pointI was thinking whether I will be able to walkor not.

"I'm lucky that I am on my feet, playing andscoring some runs, so yes, I'm happy," Rohit saidafter India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and239 in the second Test, here on Monday.

Currently India's second best player in ODIsafter skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit said he wantsto live in the present and let bygones be bygones.

"I am not someone who will think aboutwhat has happened in the past. I like to see what

is in front of me, and yes, that is how I look atit. When I was inexperienced having just comeinto the team, there were lot of things that I usedto think about, but not anymore. I have passedthat age where I shouldn't be thinking whathappened in the past," the stylish right-handerwas at his pragmatic best.

"I should be ready for what is ahead of meand that's what matters. What has happened inthe past is gone - you can never change it. Forme, I can change things looking forward, andlooking forward is Delhi Test match andthereafter one-day series and then the SouthAfrica series," he said.

There was a point of time in his career whenobsession with doing well in Test cricket madehim "over-complicate" things and lose focus onhis primary goal - enjoying the game he loved.

"My plans are simple and clear. I don't wantto complicate things which I have in the past,when had I just come into the team, At the endof the day, it's just a cricket match that you haveto play," Rohit said.

"Initially, my focus was much on Test crick-et, like 'Oh no this is Test cricket and I have todo well. I have to do this and that. In thinkingthat I lost a lot of focus and forgot (lost) whatI was there for and what I needed to do and pret-ty clear in mind which is the most importantthing."

Mumbai school of batsmanship has beenmore about grit and grinding it out and the word'khadoos' (uptight) is synonymous with the city'scricket.

Rohit's batting has been more about ele-gance and sinewy wrists where the ball is notbludgeoned but caressed to the boundary butthe Mumbaikar agrees that Mumbai cricket doesmake one tough. "Of course, coming fromMumbai, I have learnt the hardship of scoringruns and making every opportunity count. InMumbai, you get few opportunities and if youslip, you might not get an opportunity for godknows how many years or how many months,"he said. So every time you get an opportunity,you try and make it count. That's what I've learntplaying for Mumbai and growing up as a kidand getting into that Ranji Trophy dressingroom."

The VCA Stadium in Nagpur invokes asense of déjà vu in Rohit, who was supposedto make his Test debut back in 2010 but a freakankle injury during a game of football sawWriddhiman Saha playing his maiden Test asa batsman.

"Personally for me, it was very importantas I was playing Test cricket after nearly 500days. I have been waiting for this opportunityand I am glad that I could put some runs onthe board for myself and team.”

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An angry Sri Lanka interimcoach Nic Pothas on Monday

said that his players should beembarrassed of their innings and239-run defeat at the hands of Indiain the second Test.

Pothas made it clear that thereis bound to be repercussions asplans have not been executed andsome senior players like AngeloMathews need to do some soulsearching.

"It is hugely disappointingbecause of the amount of workethics that goes in behind thescenes. It is embarrassing (defeat).Players should be embarrassedwith their own performances. Netpractice means nothing if youdon't get out and put runs on theboard," Pothas' answer was in ref-erence to Sri Lanka's scores of 205and 166 in both innings of thematch.

"You can talk all that you wantto and plan a lot but at the end ofthe day you've got to execute plans.As a player, your currency is runs,wickets and catches. You can do allyou like but if you are not pro-

ducing them, obviously there willbe repercussions. That's the worldof professional sport."

Pothas urged senior proAngelo Mathews to do some soulsearching as he can only come upwith solutions to his wretchedform as Sri Lanka lost fourth timeto India inside three and half daysin the last five Test matches.

Mathews, who was expected toshoulder the burden of nationalteam post Mahela Jayawardeneand Kumar Sangakkara's departure,has scored a meagre 537 runs in 20innings in his last 10 Tests at anaverage of 26.85.

"I have been only in place forsix months and Angie hasn't playeda lot of Test match cricket prior to

one of these games. But you cancount on numbers over a period oftime.

"Your numbers will tell you apretty good story about where youstand. You can look at yourself andask what have I done," Pothas' replymade it clear that there are con-cerns about the veteran all-rounder's form.

Pothas hoped that Mathewswould be able to sort out his tech-nical issues after sessions withbatting coach Thilan Samaraweera.

"It is tough when you are notplaying continuously, especially totry and strike a rhythm when youdo make a comeback. We have gotThilan Samaraweera as our battingcoach with a good track record.

"I am sure he will sit down withAngelo and work things out.Angelo is a quality internationalcricketer and he is hurting at themoment because he takes immenseamount of pride in his game.

"I have no doubt that with hisability he will come up with someanswers. As coaches, we need toprovide him with the best envi-ronment as possible in order forhim to make the best chance."

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India captain Virat Kohli was onMonday given a much-needed

rest from the upcoming ODI seriesagainst Sri Lanka while spinnersRavichandran Ashwin and RavindraJadeja continued to be ignored in the50-over format.

While Kohli will play in the thirdTest in New Delhi starting December2, his limited overs deputy RohitSharma will be leading the squad inthe three-match ODI series startingDecember 10.

Ashwin and Jadeja's continuedexclusion is a clear indication thatthey are not in the immediate schemeof things in this format.

Shreyas Iyer, who made his T20international debut against NewZealand last month, has earned hismaiden call-up in the ODI side andis expected to bat in Kohli's place atnumber three.

The squad also includesuncapped Punjab right-arm mediumpacer Siddharth Kaul, who was inci-dentally a member of the 2008 U-19World Cup winning team, which wasled by Kohli.

Kaul has played for India A andhas 175 wickets from 50 first-class

games and 98 scalps from 52 List A(domestic 50-overs) games. Themedium pacer has also been a partof IPL franchises Delhi Daredevilsand Kolkata Knight Riders.

The squad for the T20Internationals against the islandersand the Test tour of South Africa hasbeen put off till the third and finalmatch in the national capital.

While the squad for the thirdTest remained unchanged, ODI spe-cialists like former skipper MahendraSingh Dhoni, star all-rounder Hardik

Pandya, batsman Kedar Jadhav alongwith speedsters Bhuvneshwar Kumarand Jasprit Bumrah returned to the50-over format.

On expected lines, Axar Patel,Yuzvendra Chahal also came back inthe squad.

It was learnt that since Kohli willbe playing the third Test in Delhi, herequested the selectors to pick thesquad for the South Africa Tests dur-ing that game. Chief selector MSKPrasad and his panel agreed toKohli's request.

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