16
B ihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expelled two senior most leader-Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma from the Janata dal (U) for accusing him of committing “ideological betrayal” by supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and aligning with the BJP for the Delhi Assembly polls. Nitish took the extreme step after Kishor on Tuesday launched a vehement attack on him tweeting, “Nitish Kumar what a fall for you to lie about how and why you made me join JDU!! Poor attempt on your part to try and make my colour same as yours!” He was responding to Nitish’s claim that he inducted Kishor on Amit Shah sugges- tion. Though the immediate cause for the expulsion of Kishor and Verma is seen as their objection to CAA and Delhi poll truck with the BJP, observers point to Kumar’s anger over their making pub- lic a series of behind-the-cur- tain political moves as the main reason for showing them doors. The relation between Kishor and Nitish were appar- ently also strained ever sine the former took the responsibility of managing the assembly elec- tion of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. The TMC and BJP share a bitter relation and it was becoming untebable for the JD(U) lead- ership to justify how could one of their senior leaders be man- aging the poll campign of Mamata Banerjee. In a statement, party General Secretary KC Tyagi said, “As both the party leaders have been broken the party dis- cipline, they are being expelled from the primary member- ship of the party.” Kishor had joined the JD- U in September 2018. He was also made the Vice President of the party. While Varma is a for- mer Rajya Sabha member of the JD-U. Soon after their expulsion from JD(U), both the dissent- ing leaders took a dig at Kumar by `congratulating` him for being successful in his power pursuits by compromising `ideology’.Prashant Kishor offered Kumar his best wishes to “retain” the chief minister- ship of Bihar. In a tweet minutes after the JD(U) suspended Kishor, Kishor said, “Thank you Nitish Kumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you.”Varma, after being expelled from JD(U), too gave left-handed complements to Kumar. “ I congratulate Nitish Kumar ji for removing all the obstacles and impediments from his path in his pursuit of short term political gain. This pursuit is clearly now com- pletely without any fidelity or loyalty to ideology”, he said. The election strategist had a couple of days ago sought to embarrass Sushil Modi by shar- ing an old video clip wherein, as the then leader of opposi- tion, he had spoken harshly about the Chief Minister. Kishor had raked up the episode by way of a riposte to Sushil, who had indirectly chid- ed him for troubling Nitish by repeatedly violating his own party's line. Both Kishor and Varma came from apolitical back- ground. Kishor made a name as a professional poll strategist after his involvement in Narendra Modi's successful campaign as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He was also seen as a key force in seal- ing Nitish's alliance with the RJD in 2015 and then with the BJP in 2017 before joining the JD(U) and being made its vice president. Varma, a former diplomat, was sent to Rajya Sabha by the party as Nitish felt that he could be useful as an articulate voice in the national Capital. Their expulsion from the party will be seen as a victory for its seasoned hands like Lalan Singh and RCP Singh who had not taken kindly to the rise of Kishor in the party and believed that his and Varma's outspoken views ill- served its interests. U nion Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday amped up his attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal challenging him to take his shirt off and take a dip in the Yamuna, mentioning the river continues to be in a state of neglect. “AAP had said that they will clean the water of river Yamuna. Kejriwal ji, today I challenge you to take off your shirt and take a dip in river Yamuna. You will realise the condition of the water of river Yamuna,” said Shah in a Nukkad meeting in Najafgarh Assembly constituency. Pertinently, ahead of the announcement of the Union Budget for the financial year 2020-21, Kejriwal wrote to the Union Minister to escalate Center’s share for Delhi citing various issues pertaining to air and Yamuna pollution, san- itation and other development works. Taking a jibe at Kejriwal for his promise to make Delhi’s road like Europe, Shah said he (Kejriwal ) cannot figure out potholes on Delhi’s roads. Shah also attacked the Kejriwal Government for its statement related to trans- forming Delhi’s infrastructure to international standards while addressing meeting in support for Najafgarh BJP’s candidate Ajit Khadhari. Once again, deviating masses from Delhi’s issue, Shah spoke about Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Shaheen Bagh protesters. “Delhi people will decide by their vote whether they are with the anti- CAA protesters or with the Government which sends anti- National elements to jail,” Shah said. Hitting out at AAP, the senior BJP leader said that the Kejriwal Government had promised to open 1000 new schools in Delhi but failed to do so, he (Kejriwal) is running schools in such buildings which have been marked for demoli- tion. “AAP has put the lives of innocent children in danger,” Shah said while mentioning about other promises made by AAP during 2015 Assembly elections like induction of DTC buses and assurance of pukka house for slum dwellers. A s the lethal coronavirus continues to spread far and wide, claiming 132 lives and infecting over 6,000 others in China alone, India on Wednesday issued a fresh advi- sory asking people not to undertake ‘unnecessary’ travel to the neighbouring country. Also, its only two passenger carriers that fly to China — IndiGo and Air India — announced suspension of most of their flights to the country as a precautionary measure. Airlines based in Asia, North America and Europe have already announced restricted operations to the region in view of the outbreak of the virus. India has requested China for permission to operate two flights to bring back its nation- als from Hubei Province, the epicentre of the outbreak, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Indian Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday circu- lated registration forms and consent notes for the Indians in Wuhan and Hubei province to be filled by them. While IndiGo airlines said on Wednesday that due to coronavirus outbreak in China, it has decided to sus- pend its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20. Air India spokesperson said the nation- al carrier is suspending its flights on Delhi-Shanghai route from January 31 to February 14. In India, many people are under observation in hospitals for suspected coronavirus infection including in Maharashtra, Goa, Odisha and the national Capital. The Union Health Ministry has asked peo- ple to use 24x7 helpline (011- 23978046) for queries related to respiratory infection. Efforts have been stepped up to handle any emergency situation in case arising due to the mysterious disease. Thermal screening has been expanded to 20 airports from seven, along with addition of 10 new laboratories to test the virus, as a precautionary mea- sure. The Government has acti- vated four new laboratories —the Indian Council of Medical Research’s viral research and diagnostics lab network — at Alleppey, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai for testing samples. So far, Pune’s National Institute of Virology was conducting the tests. A total of 20 samples have so far been tested by NIV Pune and all were found neg- ative. Meanwhile, Mumbai Port Trust has been instructed not to give shore permit to any ves- sel coming from China. R ohit Sharma smashed con- secutive sixes in the final two balls of the thrilling Super Over, leading India to their maiden T20 series win in New Zealand following a nerve- wracking finish in the third match here on Wednesday. Needing 18 off six balls in the Super Over, India had man- aged just 10 off the first four balls. Then, Sharma smacked two big hits, one over mid-wick- et and the other over long off, to help India pull off a nail-biter. Before the Super Over, New Zealand had it all under control with two runs needed off four balls and six wickets in hand to overhaul India’s 179 for five. However, the hosts threw it away from a comfortable position as Mohammad Shami bowled a brilliant death over to tie the game, stretching it to a Super Over, bringing back memories of the 2019 World Cup final which New Zealand had agonisingly lost to England on boundary count. Kane Williamon did all he could, both in the run chase (95 off 48 balls) and the Super Over (11), but it did not prove to be enough to get his team over the line in a must-win game. It was Williamson’s highest T20 score as the Black Caps scored 179-6 (20 overs) in reply to India’s 179-5 (20 overs). Rohit’s 65 off 40 balls had pro- pelled the visitors after they were put into bat. India’s first T20 series in New Zealand came after a 1-2 loss to the Black Caps almost 12 months ago. On Wednesday, India’s fielding effort was poor, including an easy drop from Ravindra Jadeja with Jasprit Bumrah (0-45) proving expensive on the night. Bumrah went for 11 runs in the penultimate over. Shami (2-32) conceded a six off the first ball of the 20th but then removed both Williamson and bowled Ross Taylor (17 off 10 balls) in the next five balls to snatch a tie. Detailed report on P16 C iting provocative languages used by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and Delhi BJP MP Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma in campaign rallies, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday ordered the BJP to drop both of them from the list of star campaigners for the Assembly elections in Delhi. Both of them should con- sidered themselves lucky because despite facing accusa- tion of making provocative hate speech and using abusive language, the EC let them escape with minor punish- ment. Thakur and Verma can still canvass for the BJP but they will have to bear the campaign expenditures. “The Election Commission has ordered the removal of Thakur and Verma from the list of star cam- paigners of the BJP for the gen- eral elections to the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi with immediate effect and until further orders,” an EC note stated. The final order will be announced by the poll panel after examining their replies. The comments by Thakur and Verma are part of a string of controversial comments and communally divisive rhetoric used in the Delhi election campaign. I n the midst of poll frenzy in the national Capital, the BJP on Wednesday had a prized joining as former world num- ber one badminton player Saina Nehwal joined the saffron party hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an “inspiration” with his “hard work” for the country. Detailed report on P5 W hile going Hindutva way, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath will organise recitation of Hanuman Chalisa 1.25 crore times in State Capital on Thursday. Giant posters informing the public about this religious event in posh Minto Hall have sprung up across the state cap- ital. Terming CM Kamal Nath a ‘Hanuman Bhakt’, these ban- ners claim that this Maha Nirvan event would be dedi- cated to lord Hanuman and Rastrapita Mahatma Gandhi. To add, Jan 30 is the death anniver- sary of Mahatma Gandhi. A private channel dedicat- ed to spirituality would also livestream this event. To add, Nath is a known devotee of lord Hanuman and makes it a point to assume important tasks on Tuesday, an auspicious day asso- ciated with l o r d Hanuman. T h e Madhya Pradesh C h i e f Minister has also got a mega idol of l o r d Hanuman in his home t o w n Chhindwara in the past. Hindutva outreach had been a key policy ever since the Congress party came to power in December 2018. The state government has already announced to develop Ram Van Gaman Path, a mythological route undertaken by lord Ram, Laxman and Sita during the 14-years of exile period. Besides, the Kamal Nath government also has recently decided to revive the tradition of Ramlila (dramatic depiction of Ramayana) across the state. Commenting on the event, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal told that in personal capacity the Chief Minister is free to do anything but his gov- ernment’s policies apparently appease and fan communal sentiments. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

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Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar on Wednesday

expelled two senior mostleader-Prashant Kishor andPavan Verma from the Janatadal (U) for accusing him ofcommitting “ideologicalbetrayal” by supporting theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and aligning with theBJP for the Delhi Assemblypolls.

Nitish took the extremestep after Kishor on Tuesdaylaunched a vehement attack onhim tweeting, “Nitish Kumarwhat a fall for you to lie abouthow and why you made mejoin JDU!! Poor attempt onyour part to try and make mycolour same as yours!”

He was responding toNitish’s claim that he inductedKishor on Amit Shah sugges-tion.

Though the immediatecause for the expulsion ofKishor and Verma is seen astheir objection to CAA andDelhi poll truck with the BJP,observers point to Kumar’sanger over their making pub-lic a series of behind-the-cur-tain political moves as themain reason for showing themdoors.

The relation betweenKishor and Nitish were appar-ently also strained ever sine theformer took the responsibilityof managing the assembly elec-tion of Trinamool Congresschief Mamata Banerjee. TheTMC and BJP share a bitterrelation and it was becoming

untebable for the JD(U) lead-ership to justify how could oneof their senior leaders be man-aging the poll campign ofMamata Banerjee.

In a statement, partyGeneral Secretary KC Tyagisaid, “As both the party leadershave been broken the party dis-cipline, they are being expelledfrom the primary member-ship of the party.”

Kishor had joined the JD-U in September 2018. He wasalso made the Vice President ofthe party. While Varma is a for-mer Rajya Sabha member ofthe JD-U.

Soon after their expulsionfrom JD(U), both the dissent-ing leaders took a dig at Kumarby `congratulating` him for

being successful in his powerpursuits by compromising`ideology’.Prashant Kishoroffered Kumar his best wishesto “retain” the chief minister-ship of Bihar.

In a tweet minutes after theJD(U) suspended Kishor,Kishor said, “Thank you NitishKumar. My best wishes to youto retain the chair of ChiefMinister of Bihar. God blessyou.”Varma, after beingexpelled from JD(U), too gaveleft-handed complements toKumar. “ I congratulate NitishKumar ji for removing all theobstacles and impedimentsfrom his path in his pursuit ofshort term political gain. Thispursuit is clearly now com-pletely without any fidelity or

loyalty to ideology”, he said. The election strategist had

a couple of days ago sought toembarrass Sushil Modi by shar-ing an old video clip wherein,as the then leader of opposi-tion, he had spoken harshly about the ChiefMinister.

Kishor had raked up theepisode by way of a riposte toSushil, who had indirectly chid-ed him for troubling Nitish byrepeatedly violating his ownparty's line.

Both Kishor and Varmacame from apolitical back-ground. Kishor made a name asa professional poll strategistafter his involvement inNarendra Modi's successfulcampaign as the BJP's prime

ministerial candidate in the2014 Lok Sabha polls. He wasalso seen as a key force in seal-ing Nitish's alliance with theRJD in 2015 and then with theBJP in 2017 before joining theJD(U) and being made its vicepresident.

Varma, a former diplomat,was sent to Rajya Sabha by theparty as Nitish felt that he couldbe useful as an articulate voicein the national Capital.

Their expulsion from theparty will be seen as a victoryfor its seasoned hands likeLalan Singh and RCP Singhwho had not taken kindly tothe rise of Kishor in the partyand believed that his andVarma's outspoken views ill-served its interests.

�� ((�������� )0!�10�2�

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Wednesday

amped up his attack on AamAadmi Party (AAP) convenerArvind Kejriwal challenginghim to take his shirt off andtake a dip in the Yamuna,mentioning the river continuesto be in a state of neglect.

“AAP had said that theywill clean the water of riverYamuna. Kejriwal ji, today Ichallenge you to take off yourshirt and take a dip in riverYamuna. You will realise thecondition of the water of riverYamuna,” said Shah in aNukkad meeting in NajafgarhAssembly constituency.

Pertinently, ahead of theannouncement of the UnionBudget for the financial year2020-21, Kejriwal wrote to theUnion Minister to escalateCenter’s share for Delhi citingvarious issues pertaining toair and Yamuna pollution, san-itation and other developmentworks.

Taking a jibe at Kejriwal forhis promise to make Delhi’sroad like Europe, Shah said he(Kejriwal ) cannot figure outpotholes on Delhi’s roads.

Shah also attacked theKejriwal Government for its

statement related to trans-forming Delhi’s infrastructureto international standards whileaddressing meeting in supportfor Najafgarh BJP’s candidateAjit Khadhari.

Once again, deviatingmasses from Delhi’s issue, Shahspoke about Citizen(Amendment) Act (CAA) andShaheen Bagh protesters.“Delhi people will decide bytheir vote whether they are withthe anti- CAA protesters orwith the Government whichsends anti- National elementsto jail,” Shah said.

Hitting out at AAP, thesenior BJP leader said that theKejriwal Government hadpromised to open 1000 newschools in Delhi but failed to doso, he (Kejriwal) is runningschools in such buildings whichhave been marked for demoli-tion. “AAP has put the lives ofinnocent children in danger,”Shah said while mentioningabout other promises made byAAP during 2015 Assemblyelections like induction of DTCbuses and assurance of pukka house for slumdwellers.

����� )0!�10�2�

As the lethal coronaviruscontinues to spread far

and wide, claiming 132 livesand infecting over 6,000 othersin China alone, India onWednesday issued a fresh advi-sory asking people not toundertake ‘unnecessary’ travelto the neighbouring country.Also, its only two passengercarriers that fly to China —IndiGo and Air India —announced suspension of mostof their flights to the country asa precautionary measure.

Airlines based in Asia,North America and Europehave already announcedrestricted operations to theregion in view of the outbreakof the virus.

India has requested Chinafor permission to operate twoflights to bring back its nation-als from Hubei Province, theepicentre of the outbreak, theMinistry of External Affairssaid.

The Indian Embassy inBeijing on Wednesday circu-lated registration forms and

consent notes for the Indians inWuhan and Hubei province tobe filled by them.

While IndiGo airlines saidon Wednesday that due tocoronavirus outbreak inChina, it has decided to sus-pend its f l ights on theBengaluru-Hong Kong routefrom February 1 and on theDelhi-Chengdu route from

February 1 to 20. Air Indiaspokesperson said the nation-al carrier is suspending itsflights on Delhi-Shanghairoute from January 31 toFebruary 14.

In India, many people areunder observation in hospitalsfor suspected coronavirusinfection including inMaharashtra, Goa, Odisha and

the national Capital. The UnionHealth Ministry has asked peo-ple to use 24x7 helpline (011-23978046) for queries related torespiratory infection.

Efforts have been steppedup to handle any emergencysituation in case arising due tothe mysterious disease.Thermal screening has beenexpanded to 20 airports fromseven, along with addition of 10new laboratories to test thevirus, as a precautionary mea-sure.

The Government has acti-vated four new laboratories—the Indian Council ofMedical Research’s viralresearch and diagnostics labnetwork — at Alleppey,Bengaluru, Hyderabad, andMumbai for testing samples. Sofar, Pune’s National Institute ofVirology was conducting thetests. A total of 20 samples haveso far been tested by NIVPune and all were found neg-ative.

Meanwhile, Mumbai PortTrust has been instructed notto give shore permit to any ves-sel coming from China.

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Rohit Sharma smashed con-secutive sixes in the final

two balls of the thrilling SuperOver, leading India to theirmaiden T20 series win in NewZealand following a nerve-wracking finish in the thirdmatch here on Wednesday.

Needing 18 off six balls inthe Super Over, India had man-aged just 10 off the first fourballs. Then, Sharma smackedtwo big hits, one over mid-wick-et and the other over long off,to help India pull off a nail-biter.

Before the Super Over,New Zealand had it all undercontrol with two runs neededoff four balls and six wickets inhand to overhaul India’s 179 forfive. However, the hosts threwit away from a comfortableposition as Mohammad Shamibowled a brilliant death over totie the game, stretching it to aSuper Over, bringing backmemories of the 2019 WorldCup final which New Zealandhad agonisingly lost to Englandon boundary count. Kane

Williamon did all he could,both in the run chase (95 off 48balls) and the Super Over (11),but it did not prove to beenough to get his team over theline in a must-win game.

It was Williamson’s highestT20 score as the Black Capsscored 179-6 (20 overs) in replyto India’s 179-5 (20 overs).Rohit’s 65 off 40 balls had pro-pelled the visitors after theywere put into bat. India’s firstT20 series in New Zealandcame after a 1-2 loss to the BlackCaps almost 12 months ago. OnWednesday, India’s fieldingeffort was poor, including aneasy drop from Ravindra Jadejawith Jasprit Bumrah (0-45)proving expensive on the night.

Bumrah went for 11 runsin the penultimate over. Shami(2-32) conceded a six off thefirst ball of the 20th but thenremoved both Williamson andbowled Ross Taylor (17 off 10balls) in the next five balls tosnatch a tie.

Detailed report on P16

����������� ����������������������� ������������������������������ ����������������������������

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Citing provocative languagesused by Union Minister of

State for Finance AnuragThakur and Delhi BJP MPPravesh Sahib Singh Verma incampaign rallies, the ElectionCommission (EC) onWednesday ordered the BJP todrop both of them from the listof star campaigners for theAssembly elections in Delhi.

Both of them should con-sidered themselves luckybecause despite facing accusa-tion of making provocativehate speech and using abusivelanguage, the EC let themescape with minor punish-ment.

Thakur and Verma canstill canvass for the BJP butthey will have to bear thecampaign expenditures.

“The ElectionCommission has ordered theremoval of Thakur and Vermafrom the list of star cam-paigners of the BJP for the gen-eral elections to the LegislativeAssembly of the NCT of Delhi

with immediate effect anduntil further orders,” an ECnote stated. The final order willbe announced by the pollpanel after examining theirreplies.

The comments by Thakurand Verma are part of a stringof controversial comments andcommunally divisive rhetoricused in the Delhi electioncampaign.

����� )0!�10�2�

In the midst of poll frenzy inthe national Capital, the BJP

on Wednesday had a prizedjoining as former world num-ber one badminton player

Saina Nehwal joined the saffron party hailing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as an “inspiration” withhis “hard work” for the country.

Detailed report on P5

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While going Hindutva way,Madhya Pradesh Chief

Minister Kamal Nath willorganise recitation ofHanuman Chalisa 1.25 croretimes in State Capital onThursday.

Giant posters informingthe public about this religiousevent in posh Minto Hall havesprung up across the state cap-ital. Terming CM Kamal Natha ‘Hanuman Bhakt’, these ban-ners claim that this MahaNirvan event would be dedi-cated to lord Hanuman andRastrapita Mahatma Gandhi. Toadd, Jan 30 is the death anniver-sary of Mahatma Gandhi.

A private channel dedicat-ed to spirituality would alsolivestream this event. To add,Nath is a known devotee of lordHanuman and makes it a pointto assume important tasks onTuesday, an auspicious day asso-

ciated withl o r dHanuman.T h eM a d h y aP r a d e s hC h i e fMinister hasalso got amega idol ofl o r dHanumanin his homet o w n

Chhindwara in the past.Hindutva outreach had

been a key policy ever since theCongress party came to powerin December 2018.

The state government hasalready announced to developRam Van Gaman Path, amythological route undertakenby lord Ram, Laxman and Sitaduring the 14-years of exileperiod. Besides, the KamalNath government also has

recently decided to revive thetradition of Ramlila (dramaticdepiction of Ramayana) acrossthe state.

Commenting on the event,Bharatiya Janata Partyspokesperson RajneeshAgrawal told that in personalcapacity the Chief Minister isfree to do anything but his gov-ernment’s policies apparentlyappease and fan communalsentiments.

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Indira Gandhi RashtriyaManav Sangrahalaya is play-

ing an important role in pre-serving India's rich culturalheritage and keeping the coun-try united. Under the Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat programme, itwas aimed to promote engage-ment amongst the people of dif-ferent States/UTs so as toenhance mutual understandingand bonding between people ofdiverse cultures, thereby secur-ing stronger unity and integri-ty of India. The State paired withMadhya Pradesh is Manipur.

Twenty two students andfour professors (member of teamgoing to Manipur under theBharat Shrestha Bharat pro-gramme) from the GovtHamidiya Arts & CommerceDegree College, Bhopal onWednesday visited IGRMS andthey understood the concept ofManipur related to the Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat at Museum.They were led by Dr AlpanaTrivedi, Professor, HamidiaCollege, Bhopal.

Initially, Rajendra KumarJharia (Assistant Keeper, IGRMS)said that "Ek Bharat ShreshthaBharat" will help in maintainingthe unity and integrity of the

country. The people of the Stateof Madhya Pradesh will developa sense of respect for the peopleof the State of Manipur, and therelationship between the twoStates will be strengthened so thatboth the States will be able to sup-port themselves in the develop-ment of the country.

On this occasion, NSakamcha Singh (MuseumAssociate, IGRMS) gave infor-mation about Manipur by show-ing a documentary film focusingon the language, culture, dress,occupation, lifestyle, tourism,customs, science, history, tradi-tion, food and more of the Stateof Manipur and he said thatAlthough Manipur is a small geo-graphical region, it is credited withrepresenting a variety of climates.Loktak Lake the largest freshwa-ter (sweet) lake in North-EastIndia, also called the only Floatinglake in the world due to the float-ing phumdis on it.

There are many types offorests and bio-diversity in thisregion. There are about 430species of medicinal plants andthis area of the home of Asiangolden cat, snakes, pythons,black Himalayan and Malayanbears, wild crow, skylark, spotbill, Burmese cranes and 216rare species deer.

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With a motive of “MajbootRetailer=Majboot Bharat”,

RetailersApp, specially designedapp for retailers, started its for-mal functioning in Bhopal fromtoday. An informal event on theinauguration was held at HotelRoyal Vilas, in MP Nagar whichfeatured select retailers, dis-tributors and brands along withthe developers and promoters of‘ReatilersApp’.

In the event, retailers andrepresentatives from brandsintroduced themselves andshared their expectations fromRetailersApp. While brandsshared their experiences, one ofthe key benefits reported was

better connectivity with retail-ers. Retailers also mentionedthat they are now gettingoptions for more products, rea-sonable prices, attractiveschemes and faster deliveriesthus resulting in benefits tothem. Other features and high-lights of the RetailersApp werealso discussed in the event.

Sanjeev Jain, Co-Founderand CEO Retailers App said,“RetailersApp is dedicated tostrengthening traditional momand pop stores, commonlyknown as kirana shops in India.RetailersApp brings retailers,distributors, and brands to acommon platform and improvetheir business transactions withthe help of technology. It is acommercial (B2B) app available

in both Hindi and English lan-guages.”

He further added, “Ourgoal is to connect and enableBhopal’s retailers with technol-ogy. RetailersApp has receivedtremendous response so farand we plan to expand it tomany cities in the future.”

Bhagyesh Dwivedi, Co-founder and Director (Retail)RetailersApp said,“RetailersApp was launchedin September 2018 and todaymore than 4000 products fromabout 155 brands are availableon this app. Approx 4000retailers from Indore are con-nected on this app. We arefocused on enabling retailers toface challenges from e-com-merce sites.”

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Department of MechanicalEngineering of Sagar

Institute of Science andTechnology (SISTec) culmi-nated its 8th edition of signa-ture event “Nirmaan 2020”Electric Vehicle Start-upConclave at its Gandhi Nagarcampus.

The event was organisedby SISTec MechanicalEngineers Association(SMEA) under the banner ofSociety of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE, India) &Indian Institution of IndustrialEngineering (IIIE) StudentChapter in association withAutomotive ResearchAssociation of India (ARAI)having SoEEM & UTD RGPVas its academic partner andsponsored by RGPV underTEQIP III.

“Nirmaan 2020” aimed toprovide special insights oncareer options on e-vehicle,lifecycle of E-Vehicle Start-up,workshops, panel discussions,presentations, innovative casestudies, start-up case studies,policies and business modelsby the industry experts fromWorld Auto Forum, MadAbout Wheels, ARAIAcademy etc.

More than 300Technocrats in 18 teamsapplied the pedagogicalapproach for development of e-vehicle with innovation, appli-cation of technology, supporteconomic development strate-gies for business developmentwith technology transferamong various participants of

conclave and presented theirelectronic vehicles which werejudged on Electricity sourcesand Energy storage options, itscomponents, motors and bat-teries, charging options, Plug-in Charging stations, batterymanagement, merits & demer-its, Government incentives,subsidies, promotions, currentmarket situations, sustainabil-ity and future strategies ofElectric Vehicles.

Team SISTec GandhiNagar bagged the Best Design,Innovation, Prototype andEconomical Product awardfor e-vehicles whereas SwamiVivekanada College TeamIndore and Oriental Instituteof Science & Technology weredeclared runners up in BestDesign and BatteryManagement System of e-vehicles respectively. Team

SISTec Gandhi Nagar alsobagged the runners up awardfor Best Innovation, BestBusiness Plan of e-vehicles.The winners were awarded ina valedictory ceremony withprizes upto 1 lakh in presenceof KC Vora - Sr DeputyDirector, ARAI Academy,Anuj Guglani - CEO WorldAuto Forum, Amresh Kharfounder MAD Wheels, AlokSirohi Exide Batteries, DrKeshvendra Chaudhary,Principal SISTec, Dr KuldeepGanju Principal SIPTec, DrSwati Saxena- Vice PrincipalSISTec and Prof Ravi ShankarChoudhary – HODMechanical DepartmentSISTec in presence of over 300technocrats who participatedin the event.

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The students,staf f and

management ofC a m p i o nSchool, Bhopal,bid farewell tothe outgoingstudents of XIIstd. A prayersong, followedby theirthought-pro-voking speech-es, recollectingthe memoriesand the timespent by theirseniors in theschool and bid-ding farewell tothem with aheavy heart, but with a hopethat they fair well in life lefteveryone teary-eyed.

The programme startedin the Loyola Auditoriumwith prayer by Superior FrChristdhari Kujur SJ, Afterthis “Lighting of the Lamp”done by the Principal FrAthnas Lakra SJ, VicePrincipal Fr Amritlal ToppoSJ, along with Senior MostTeacher Mahendra Kotharietc. Class XI students pre-sented foot taping dances andsongs.

A special cultural pro-gramme and different songswas organised by class XIstudents.

The programme got off toa start with a welcome songby the juniors in honour ofthe seniors.

Various Cultural &Bollywood style dances ondifferent Bollywood songsgiven by the students of XIthclass . Ramp walk andModelling was done by thestudents of the class XII.

The pick of the day wasthe Rock band event, wherethe juniors enthralled thegathering with their rhythmicdance steps on Rock band.

Felicitation to the stu-dents of XII Std on the basisof different rounds they weregiven different titles.

The Afternoon saw thevarious titles crowning of stu-dents like Consistent award,Ever ready To Help,Courteous, Regular, Creativeand Symbol of Simplicityaward.

Well dressed award goesto the students AnmolGomdelwar, Jaiditya Murjani,Parivesh Bajpai, Syed SaquibHussain, Dheeraj DharamDasani from all the five sec-tions of std. XIIth.

The most awaited awardof Mr Campion award goes to“Abeer Mishra”. He wasadjudged as Mr Campion. Inthe end vote of thanks gave byMaster Aryan Wadhwani.

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Gautam Nagar police hasnabbed a 19-year-old mis-

creant involved in stealing amotorbike and a mobile phoneand recovered the valuablesfrom his possession after hewas nabbed from Arif Nagararea on Tuesday.

Police executed the plan ona tip-off as the accused was try-ing to sell the bike at a lowprice. The bike was sans regis-tration number.

The accused was identifiedas Vijay Solanki.

When the accused wasquizzed, he confessed that he

had stolen the bike from DIGBungalow area near a liquorshop where it was parked.

Later, the accused con-fessed to have stolen the bikearound three months ago andhad removed the vehicle regis-tration number of the bikeand dumped it into UpperLake.

Police said that the numberof other vehicles stolen andburglaries committed by theaccused would be investigated.

The accomplices who havehelped in the crimes and in thedisposal of the stolen vehiclesand burgled vehicles would beinvestigated.

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A15-year-old girl committedsuicide by setting herself

on fire at her residence atKailash Nagar under AshokaGarden police station onTuesday.

Police said that the deceasedgirl, identified as Sandhya Sahu,was rushed to a hospital aftersustaining burn injuries whereshe was declared dead. In theinitial investigation, it was foundthat at the time of incident,Sandhya was present at homeand locked herself in her room.

At around 6 pm, Sandhyawent inside her room and setherself ablaze and when she

started crying of pain, familymembers rushed to her rescueand rushed her to a hospitalwhere she died.

The deceased was a class 9student. Her father works as avegetable seller.

Later, the body was sent forthe post mortem and a caseunder section 174 of CrPC wasregistered.

Police have not found anysuicide note and in the initialinvestigation it was also foundthat deceased was facing backpain and was suffering from thepain for long. The family mem-bers have told the police that shemight have committed suicidedue to unbearable pain.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old

man committed suicide byhanging with the ceiling at hishouse in Semra locality underAshoka Garden police stationarea on Tuesday.

Police said that thedeceased, Dharmendra Yadav,committed suicide at his house.The deceased who was theyoungest among four siblingsused to run a shop of electricalgoods.

In the initial investigationthe family members told policethat deceased was scheduled tomarry after around two monthsand was not having any prob-lem.

Body was sent for the postmortem after the preliminaryinvestigation.

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Hanumanganj police hasnabbed two miscreants

carrying a cash reward of�20,000. They were involved inrobbery of mobile phone andattacking the victim on January24. The bike used in crime androbbed mobile phone wererecovered from his possession.

The nabbed miscreantswere identified as Pappu aliasMohammad Sahil (22) andAmir Khan (20). They hadrobbed Gwalior-basedMahendra Thakur.

Police started investigationafter the victim was targetedand a case under section 394 ofthe IPC was registered.

In the investigation ofCCTV footages of the installedcameras, the two were spotted.

On Tuesday, police teamreceived information regardingthe miscreants and nabbed thetwo accused. They confessed tohave stolen mobile phones fromdifferent areas of the StateCapital.

Police would search per-sons who have bought therobbed mobile phones from themiscreants.

Initially, Pappu was trackedusing the registration numberof the vehicle who revealed rob-beries along with Amir Khan.

Taking the robbery inci-dents seriously, police declareda cash a reward of �20,000 onthem. Meanwhile, Cyber crimeBhopal police have nabbedmiscreant who duped a victimto the tune of �1.09 lakhthrough Paytm wallet.

The accused, identified asVinay Kumar Batham, wastracked and nabbed after acomplaint was lodged by thevictim Kartar Singh Thakur ofJehangirabad.

Accused confessed thatVinay used to work as driverand Kartar has provided hisATM card for withdrawal dur-ing which he used the details ofcard and withdrew moneythrough Paytm.

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Asmi Raghuwanshi, a stu-dent of class 8th of Carmel

Convent School (BHEL) herehas been selected underCultural Talent SearchScholarship Scheme 2019 fortraining in the field ofBharatanatyam. The scholar-ship is provided by Ministry ofCulture, Government of India,for budding talents in the agegroup of 10 to 14 years.

Bharatnatyam exponentGuru Pradeep Krishnan,Kalanjali said, “I am proud ofmy student AsmiRaghuwanshi. Kalanjali, anorganisation dedicated to thepreservation and promotionof traditional Indian classicaldance and art forms. Kalanjaliis aimed to provide a platformfor the children, the buddingartists to showcase their talentin the traditional dance forms.Bharatanatyam, is the tradi-tional dance form of India thathas been created and passed onby none other than Lord Shiva.It is said that Bharata Muni hadlearnt this dance form fromLord Shiva and later simplifiedit for the human beings.”

Asmi is the only studentfrom Madhya Pradesh to havebagged the scholarship inBharatnatyam categor y.Daughter of Ranveer SinghRaghuwanshi and Chandrakiran Raghuwanshi. She islearning Bharatnatyam fromnoted Bharatnatyam expo-nent Guru Pradeep Krishnan(Kalanjali) since 2014.

She has completed herfifth year diploma Prayag

Sangeet Samiti.The Centre for Cultural

Resources and Training(CCRT) is implementingCultural Talent SearchScholarship Scheme (CTSSS)since 1982 at Nationallevel. The Scheme is aimed atproviding facilities to out-standing talented childrenselected in the age group of 10

to 14 years studying either inrecognised schools or belong-ing to families practising traditional per-forming arts for getting spe-cialised training in variouscultural fields such as tradi-tional forms of music, dance,drama as well as painting,sculpture, crafts and literary activities.

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The adventurous tale of abrother and a sister to find

the lost pair of shoes is all aboutChildren of Heaven. TheIranian film “Children ofHeaven” was screened here onWednesday.

The film was screenedmarking the second day ofOscar Winner Film Festivalbeing organised at BharatBhavan.

“Children of Heaven” is a1997 Iranian family dramafilm written and directed byMajid Majidi. It was nomi-nated for the Academy Awardfor Best Foreign LanguageFilm in 1998.

The film starts with Alifetching his little sister Zahra'spink shoes after a cobbler hasrepaired them. He leavesthem unattended to buy somepotatoes. While he is pre-occupied, a homeless manpicks up the shoes, hidden ina bag, thinking it was garbageand takes them away.

Frantic to find them, the

young boy thinking the shoesfell behind the crates knocksover plates of vegetables andis chased away by the grocer.

Ali's family lives in a poorSouth Tehran neighbourhoodand is having financial trou-ble, so he fears to tell his par-ents about the mishap.

One day, Zahra noticesher missing pink shoes onanother student, Roya's, feet.After class, Zahra secretlyfollows Roya home. She laterbrings Ali with her for a con-frontation, but from hiding,they discover that Roya'sfather, the garbageman, isblind, so they decide to leave.

Finally, Ali learns of ahigh-profile children's fourkilometer footrace involvingmany schools; the third prizeis one week at a vacationcamp and a pair of sneakers.

Ali sees this as his chanceto earn a new pair of shoes forZahra.

To his bitter disappoint-ment, in a hard-fought dashto the finish, he accidentallyplaces first instead.

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The different types of craftsand activities for children

Ullas under Lokrang are cap-tivating the attention ofBhopalites. Ravindra Bhavanwitnessed a huge foot falleveryday during Lokrang.

Children's activities Ullasis all about theme-based books,puppets, writings, movies, toysand paintings. On Wednesday,a puppet show by flying flow-ers was held.

Children from variousschools attended the show.The puppet show was about achild who tries to pluck flow-ers from the trees.This childspends time with the animalsand birds around him, whenthe young chickens are lost,this child finds it and reach-es their mother. The childrenwatched the puppet perfor-mances excitedly.

The presentation was pre-sented by the Puppet ShalaGroup, New Delhi under thedirection of MohammedShamim. Children were giveneducation under the theme ofbooks in the exhibition ofbooks. Children watched theRedwalloon f i lm on the

Vyscope. In the game, children

gathered on the sound oftrain, rain and entertained it.Along with this, activities oflistening to poetry, storytelling, writing and makingpictures were performed.Children are connecting tonew dimensions of creativityunder the euphoria inLokrang.

Among the art exhibi-tions, Pannalal of Bhopalexhibited the tea crafts, cups,urns made of clay and othermaterials in clay crafts. In thecraft, the material of the craftsmade from Chinese clay isdecorated with decoration,children's play, and objects inuse by Narendra Batra ofKhurja.

The crown of Bharia tribemade from date palm leavesand the colorful fish made ofnecklace and bamboo wasmade by Sumar Lal Pachria,Chhindwara.

Tapanarai of Calcutta hasdisplayed flowers in differentcolors made by hand madeflowers of the leaves of thespecial trees of Calcutta fromthe sink of Kinkudi, Jemo,Jinnia, Sunflower Chhadu.

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Minister of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises

Arif Aqueel said at the inau-gural session of “GEMDialogue” programme that theMSME units will be given pri-ority in Government procure-ment, which will increase boththeir business and employ-ment. He said that businessworth �864 crore has beendone from 3,736 MSME unitsof Madhya Pradesh on theGEM portal. MSME units areproviding maximum employ-ment in the country.

The Minister said thatthere is a provision for selectionof purchases from units ofMSME on this portal and theyare also given exemption inEMD. With the facility pro-vided to MSME units on theGEM portal, they can maketheir product available for gov-ernment procurement acrossthe country.

During the programme,Minister Aqueel honoured anofficer of Urban DevelopmentDepartment as an incentivefor making maximum pur-chases from GEM. It wasinformed on the occasionthat even at the district ortehsil level, any governmentdepartment can easily procure

goods and services as pertheir requirements by know-ing the specifications andrates of the products manu-factured in the entire countrythrough the GEM portal.Government departments areprovided with the desiredmaterials or services throughthe GEM portal easily, at theright time and at the rightrates. For the convenience ofGovernment consumers, e-tender, reverse e-auction andonline purchase facility areavailable on the portal withdirect purchase.

The portal aims to bringtransparency, efficiency andspeed up public procurementof the government. Underthe MoU, the Governmentdepartments of the state areprocuring through govern-ment-e-marketplace, NewDelhi. For government pro-curement by the central gov-ernment, the government-e-marketplace portal has beenstarted by ending DGS & D.

Government-e-market-place and micro, small andmedium industries organiseda ‘G.E.M.-Samvad’ pro-gramme for buyers and sell-ers of the state. PrincipalSecretary Manu Srivastava,Additional Chief ExecutiveOfficer of GEM New DelhiPrakash Mirani, Deputy ChiefExecutive Officer YK Pathak,Managing Director of LaghuUdyog Nigam Pankaj Jaintook part in the programme.

In the first session of theprogramme, informationabout the G.E.M. portal wassought from the invited seniorbuyer officials of the state andcentral government and guid-ance was given to solve theproblems. In the second ses-sion, information was givenabout the suggestions relatedto G.E.M. portal from themajor invited vendors / man-ufacturers / service providersof the state and guidance wasgiven to solve their prob-lems.

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On Wednesday theBhopalites took pleasure of

various enthralling perfor-mances at Ravindra Bhavan.The perdormances were heldunder Lokrang 2020.

The evening began withGangaur dance. Showcasingthe Nimadi tradition, it was pre-sented under the direction ofSanjay Mahajan, Barwah.

Gangaur is the Geet Poetryof Nimar, this ritual festival last-ing nine days in the month ofChaitra and Vaishakh is dedi-cated to daughters.

The ethos of this festival,which shows importance insocial life, can be seen eventoday in the everyday lifestyleand practice of the land andcommunities of Nimar. Thisfestival, complemented by song-music-drama-dance, is a uniquefestival in the world. Along withNimar, the tradition of Gangaurin one form or another exists inother states of the country.

Besides, under Dharoharsegment, Koraku Tribal Gadaliand Thapti Dance under thedirection of Mansharam,Harda was held. It followedwith Shankh Dhwani dancewas held under direction ofMahapatra, Orissa, KalbeliyaDance of Rajasthan was per-dormed by Rakhi Kalbelia,

Jaipur, Dholu Kunitha Dance ofKarnataka by HemanthManjappa under direction ofShimog Mathuri Tribal danceswere performed.

Besides, Muria Tribal dancewas performed by ChhattisgarhRajkumar Sodi (Kondagaon),Dhimsa Tribal Dance AndhraPradesh S. Indraja(Visakhapatnam). After this,Shahir Avadhoot BapuraoVibhute (Maharashtra) pre-sented 'Powada Gaon' under'Deshrag'.

The dances from Russiatook away the hearts of every-one. It was a delightful eveningspent with cultural perfor-mances and delicious food

items.

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AFinancial LiteracyAwareness Programme

was organised by FusionMicrofinance.

Around 250 women par-ticipated in the event and tookadvantage of the informationprovided in the program.Financial literacy is different indifferent countries. "Financialliteracy" means to get the rightinformation about "wealth", sothat we can secure and improveour financial future by man-aging "wealth" correctly.

Among the guestsDasharatha Singh Jat, Presidentof BJP Mandal, SudhaChandra, President of BagdonaMerchants Association RameshHarode and Senior Socialworker Nanda Soni were pre-sent.

Guests applauded theimportance of financial man-agement to women whileappreciating the fusion effort.In this programme, peoplewere made aware of financialmanagement methods such assavings, expenses, governmentschemes through theatricaltransformation and video.

On this occasion the headof Fusion MicrofinanceCompany Nilesh Shukla(Regional Manager), SatishKumar (Divisional Manager),Vinay Kushwaha (AreaManager), Kapil Palia (Trainer)Pawan Kahare (BranchManager) Sarvesh (Admin) , JaiSingh, Mosin Khan and all thebranch employees were present.

Fusion Microfinance PvtLtd is a non-banking financialinstitution registered with theReserve Bank of India.

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Newsletter of CID Branchof Madhya Pradesh Police

Annual Report-2019 wasreleased by Director Generalof Police, Vijay Kumar Singhon Wednesday, this new lettercontains useful informationrelated to crime research alongwith the achievements of thepolice.

The newsletter is pub-lished every month, coversachievements of the policeincluding crime prevention,arrest of criminals and con-viction. The annual achieve-ments of the newsletter havebeen published after compil-ing the notable achievementsachieved by Madhya PradeshPolice during the year 2019.

This annual report con-tains information about thesensational incidents that tookplace in Madhya Pradesh lastyear, such as robbery, solvingblind murders, effectiveaction on drug trafficking,curbing Naxalite incidentsand Cyber Crime incidents.

Along with this, impor-tant information related to theaction being taken in thecrimes against women in thestate, sensit ivity towards weaker sections,efforts to reduce road acci-dents, police modernizationand effective police trainingaction have also been pub-lished.

The details of the selectionof the police from across thestate, the best researchers, the

police officers at the state andnational level have also beenincluded prominently in thenews letter.

ADG PoliceAdministration KailashMakwana, ADG PlanningAnant Kumar Singh and ADGD. Srinivasa Rao, along witheditor-in-chief of News Letterand Director General of PoliceCrime Research D. SrinivasaVerma and other officers werepresent in the release pro-gram.

The News Letter Letter-2019 has been edited by AIGCID Shraddha Tiwari .

Sub editor of the news let-ter is Shahnaz Khan, inspec-tor Mukhtar Qureshi and con-stables Deepak Jatav andUpendra Narwaria.

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The Community basedManagement campaign for

Severely mal-nourished chil-dren will also be conductednow by the Women and ChildDevelopment department inthe remaining 43 districts afterHoshangabad, Morena,Sheopur, Guna, Khandwa,Burhanpur, Chhatarpur,Chhindwara and Badwani dis-tricts. Outline and technicalinformation about the cam-paign was given to the partic-ipants of Chambal, Gwalior,Indore, Jabalpur divisions at thefirst phase of the State leveltraining held in Bhopal today.

The Principal SecretaryWomen and ChildDevelopment Anupam Rajanasked to identify the severeacute malnourished children incorrect manner during thecampaign. He said that tech-nical assistance will also be pro-vided for training in the dis-tricts. The Commissioner ShriNaresh Pal Kumar instructedthe officials for successfulimplementation of the cam-paign.

Under the Community

based Management of AcuteMalnutrition campaign, thenecessary tests of severe acutemalnourished children will beconducted with the help ofHealth department and medi-cines will be provided aftercheck up. A 5-day centre basedcare will be taken by theAanganwadi workers. Underthe campaign, the care ofseverely malnourished chil-dren will be taken at commu-nity level for 12 weeks. For thenext 3 months, follow up willdone by visiting their houses.Additional diet will be given tothe children with the help ofmothers every week usingadditional nutrition-diet avail-able at the centre. The infor-mation of the children will berecorded in the child nutritionprogress sheet. Centre-wiseand child-wise informationwill be entered by supervisorsin the CSAM MODULE of theSampark Application.

Ankur Joshi of BhopalAIIMS, Abhijit Pakhre, SameerPawar of UNICEF, Tarun Pateland Swarnima Shukla of AtalBihari Bal Arogya and PoshanMission gave technical infor-mation about the campaign inthe training session.

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In a bid to reduce the increas-ing number of road mishaps,

the State Government hasdecided to introduce a subjecton road safety in school cur-riculum from the next acade-mic session.

The move came at a high-level meeting chaired byCommerce and TransportSecretary Pramod KumarMeherda here on Wednesday.

As per the decision, roadsafety would be part of the syl-labus from the academic ses-sion 2020-21 for the students ofClass-X to sensitise them abouttraffic rules.

In the syllabus, there wouldbe a special chapter educatingthe students the rules for dri-ving vehicles on city roads andthe precautions to be takenduring driving. They wouldalso be sensitised to follow thetraffic rules under the amend-ed Motor Vehicles Act.

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Male bus passengers foundoccupying seats reserved

for women will now cough upfine in the State.

In view of the frequentcomplaints of harassment of

women travelling in buses, theState Government has decidedto penalise the male passengersfound sitting on seats meant forwomen.

A decision to this effect wastaken at a meeting here betweenCommissioner of PoliceSudhanshu Sarangi, members ofprivate bus owners’ associationsand Capital Region UrbanTransport (CRUT) MD ArunBothra on Tuesday.

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The Capital Region UrbanTransport (CRUT) has

decided to continue with thereduced fares of AC buses ofits Mo Bus services for the nexttwo months. Ticket prices of

AC Mo Buses that wereslashed up to 38% inDecember last would contin-ue till March 31.

The decision was taken ata meeting held here onWednesday in the presence ofCRUT MD Arun Bothra.

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The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved allo-

cation of 30 per cent funds ofthe North Eastern Council(NEC) for new projects forfocused development ofdeprived areas and neglectedsections of society.

As per the plans, allocationof 30 per cent of NEC fundswill be for new projects underthe existing ‘Schemes of NorthEastern Council’ for focuseddevelopment of deprived areas;deprived or neglected sectionsof society and emerging priority sectors in theNortheastern States.

The Cabinet meetingchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi decides to pro-vide the balance allocationshall be bifurcated in the exist-ing two components — Statecomponent-60 per cent and

central component-40 per cent.There will be a revision of theNorth Eastern Council (NEC)guidelines for simplificationof appraisal and approvalmechanism.

Projects will be allowedunder State component, up to25 per cent of each State’s nor-mative allocation, for sectorsnot covered in the mandate ofNEC, but which are consideredimportant as per local feltneeds as per the recommen-dations of the StateGovernments.

Briefing media, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid the the projects under theexisting “Schemes of NEC”will accrue socio-economicbenefits to the marginalisedand vulnerable groups of peo-ple in backward and neglectedareas of the Northeastern states.It will lead to faster decision-making and quick implemen-tation of projects, he said.

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The National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB) on

Wednesday launched a portalenabling people to search formissing persons and checkpolice records of any vehicle andgenerate a no-objection certifi-cate (NOC) for it from a coun-trywide database.

The citizen-centric serviceshave been launched on the Crimeand Criminal Tracking Networkand Systems (CCTNS) platformand can be accessed on -”http://digitalpolicecitizenser-vices.Gov.In”digitalpoliceciti-zenservices.Gov.In portal orthrough a link in the existing‘Digital Police Portal’, an officialstatement said.

“So far, such services arebeing provided through the state

citizen portals and it is the firsttime that these are being launchedcentrally,” it said. IntelligenceBureau Director Arvind Kumar presided over the launchceremony.

“The two citizen servicesnamely ‘Missing Person Search’and ‘Generate Vehicle NOC’ willnow be available online to citi-zens,” NCRB Director Ram Phal

Pawar said. “Citizens can searchfor their missing kin against thenational database of recoveredunidentified found person orunidentified dead bodies fromtheir homes. This will hugelybenefit relatives of missing personsand save them from running pil-lar to post, as all such detailsincluding photos are available inCCTNS and will now be accessi-

ble to citizens through this portalat their convenience,” he said.

On the ‘Generate VehicleNOC’ service, the NCRB directorsaid it allows citizens to ascertain

the status of a vehicle before itssecond hand purchase, as towhether it is suspicious or cleanfrom police records. “This searchcould be made against nationaldatabase based on vehicle’s details,one can generate and downloadthe relevant NOC, required by theRTO before the transfer of own-ership,” Pawar said, according tothe statement.

IB Director Arvind Kumaralso inaugurated the Cyber Tiplinemonitoring facility in the NCRB.Cyber Tipline is centralisedreporting system for the onlineexploitation including traffickingand sexual, of children. “Theintersection between crime andtechnology is more apparent todaythan ever before. Digital tech-nologies and the internet have notonly spurred cybercrimes but alsomade them much more sophisti-cated,” Kumar said.

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In the midst of poll frenzy inthe national Capital, the BJP

on Wednesday had a prizedjoining as former world num-ber one badminton playerSaina Nehwal joined the saffronparty hailing Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as an “inspira-tion” with his “hard work” forthe country.

The BJP may deploy the“youth icon” in the ongoingDelhi election campaign, espe-cially to reach out to the mil-lennial voters and youngsters.

The 29-year-old bad-minton poster girl, who joinedthe BJP along with her elder sis-ter Chandranshu at a ceremo-ny at its headquarters here, said,“I am a hard-working personand like hard-working people.Narendra Modi sir has beenworking day and night for thecountry. If I can do somethingfor the country with him, it willbe my good fortune. I draw a

lot of inspiration from Modi sir.He inspires me,” she said.

Ahead of the 2019 LokSabha polls, while the BJP hadseen the likes of cricketerGautam Gambhir joining theparty and going on to win fromthe East Delhi parliamentaryconstituency, it saw hockeyplayers like Sandeep Singh andwrestler Babita Phogat join it totake the plunge in HaryanaAssembly polls.

Nehwal has been vocal onTwitter in her support for theUnion government’s policies.She said the BJP has beendoing “a lot of good”, and shewould work to do her bit as itsmember. Nehwal is the firstIndian badminton player tohave won an Olympic medal, afeat she achieved in the 2012London games where she wasa bronze medallist. ThePadma and Arjuna awardee,

who later met BJP president JP Nadda, also referred to thegovernment’s ‘Khelo India’ ini-tiative and praised it.

BJP general secretary ArunSingh told reporters that Sainahas brought glory to the coun-try with her 24 internationaltitles, including gold in theCommonwealth Games, andthe people of India are “proud”of her. “She is an inspirationalfigure,” he added.

The shuttler’s mother, UshaRani, said, “I am very happy.Saina was doing well in sportsand she will do well in politicsalso. BJP is doing good for thecountry, Saina is very hard-working and will work hard inthis field as well.”

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Aday after US PresidentDonald Trump unveiled his

Middle East peace plan to solvethe long standing Israel-Palestine conflict, India onWednesday reaffirmed its call fora two-state solution and askedboth sides to resolve all issuesthrough direct negotiations.

Asserting that New Delhihas been consistently support-ive of the Palestine cause,Ministry of External AffairsSpokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid here India has called for atwo-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

“We reiterate our view thatthe final status issues should beresolved through direct nego-tiations between the two par-ties and be acceptable to both.We urge the parties to engagewith each other, including onthe recent proposals put for-ward by the United States, andfind an acceptable two-statesolution for peaceful coexis-

tence,” Kumar said in responseto response to a question on theIsrael-Palestine issue. He alsosaid India will continue to fol-low developments in the regionand engage with the partiesconcerned.

Trump on Tuesday saidJerusalem “will remain Israel’sundivided capital” as heunveiled his Middle East peaceplan aimed at solving theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict,describing it as “historic” anda “giant step” towards peace.

Standing along with IsraelPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu in the White House,Trump proposed a “realistic”two-state solution to solve oneof the world’s longest-runningconflicts, saying it would bringlasting peace in the Middle East.

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Representatives of the con-troversial outfit Popular

Front of India (PFI) and NGORehab India Foundation onWednesday met EnforcementDirectorate (ED) officials toseek more time for its officebearers to appear before theagency for questioning in con-nection with a money launder-ing probe against them.

Four officials, includinglegal representatives, of the twooutfits met ED officials at anagency office here onWednesday.

The ED is probing PFI andNGO Rehab India Foundationunder criminal provisions ofthe Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) aspart of a case registered in 2018.

A recent ED report hasclaimed that violent protests inUttar Pradesh and other partsof the country against theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) had an alleged “financiallink” with the PFI. This aspectis also under the scanner of theED along with some purport-ed dubious deposits in thebank accounts linked to theRehab India Foundation (RIF).

The agency had issuedsummons to seven office-bear-

ers of the two outfits onTuesday in connection thealleged funding for the anti-CAA protests.

Those summoned by theagency include PFI and RehabIndia Foundation (RIF)Chairman E Abubacker, PFIvice-chairman O M AbdulSalam, General Secretary MMohammed Ali Jinnah andnational secretaries AnisAhmed and Abdul Wahid Sait.

Similar summonses werealso sent to RIF general secre-tary Remiz Muhammed andsecretary A Chandrankandy.

The agency may issue afresh date for Abubacker’sappearance before it. The otheroffice bearers are scheduled toappear before the investigatingofficer of the case next week,officials said.

Officials said the agency isalso probing remittances andwithdrawal of funds from ninebank accounts of RFI apartfrom a deposit of �20 lakh fromDubai in its accounts.

At least Rs 1.04 crore wasdeposited in several bankaccounts linked to the PFIbetween December 4 last yearand January 6 in various partsof the country, sources said,adding this was the time whenParliament cleared the passage

of CAA. A total amount of �120

crore, credited at varied timesinto the bank accounts linkedto the PFI, RFI and few others,is under the scanner of theagency, sources said.

“The Popular Front ofIndia has stated it multipletimes that we fully complywith the law of the land and theallegation of �120 crore trans-ferred from the Popular Front’saccounts just before the CAAprotests is totally baseless andthe people who are levellingthese allegations should provethese claims,” the organisationhad said in a statement issuedon Monday.

The ED took cognizance ofa National Investigation Agency(NIA) FIR and charge sheetagainst the PFI to file thePMLA case against the outfit in2018.

The ED is probing the PFI’salleged role with respect tosuspected terror-funding andpossible creation of assets byusing suspected “proceeds ofcrime.”

The PFI was formed inNovember, 2006 in Kerala andis suspected to have subse-quently shifted its headquartersto Shaheen Bagh in the nation-al capital.

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Alleging that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has violat-

ed the poll code by addressingan NCC rally a day before, theCongress on Wednesday urgedthe Election Commission totake note of it even as it raisedquestions over the credibility ofthe poll panel.

Congress leader PrithvirajChavan said it does not behovethe prime minister to makesuch remarks to impressionableminds while addressing theNCC rally on Tuesday here.

“We have got serious ques-tions about the impartiality of

the Election Commission,”Chavan told reporters.

On two BJP leaders whohave been removed by theElection Commission from thelist of star campaigners, he said,whatever BJP does, it is for thepoll panel to take it up with theBJP leadership but we would liketo raise the issue of PM’s speechat the NCC rally.

“Election (campaign) isgoing on in Delhi and the

prime minister’s speech in theNCC rally, particularly to theyoung minds, I deplore thatwholly and I request theElection Commission to take itup seriously. Just because he isthe prime minister, he shouldnot violate the rules. He cannotviolate the guidelines of theElection Commission,” he said.

Addressing the AnnualPrime Minister’s NationalCadet Corps (NCC) Rally2020, Modi had on Tuesdaysaid his government brought inthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act to correct “historical” injus-tices and recalled the Nehru-Liaquat pact to assert that thelaw fulfils India’s “old promise”to religious minorities in neigh-bouring countries.

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The Congress on Wednesdayasked the Government to

announce a national farm loanwaiver in the upcoming UnionBudget and spell out measuresto ensure that farmers’ incomedoubles by 2022.

Congress leader PrithvirajChavan demanded reduction inGST rates on agriculture inputsto less than 5 per cent and saidthe Government shouldannounce measures like uni-versal basic income to put moremoney in the hands of farmersand the poor so that their con-sumption increases.

He demanded that theGovernment bring petrol anddiesel under the GST regime asit would help provide relief tothe farmers, who have beenpaying higher rates, and said the

Centre had earned over �13.5lakh crore by way of taxes onpetroleum products.

He said the Governmentmust tell how much has farm-ers’ income increased in the lastfive years under it, as part of itspromise of doubling farmers’

income by 2022. “We want toknow, as we are aware thatnothing has happened so far.The budget should also providea detailed outline of how todouble farmers’ income by 2022and what steps have beentaken,” Chavan said at AICC

Press conference. Chavan said the

Government should announcea national farm loan waiver onthe lines of the previous UPAGovernment’s step undertakenin 2008 to benefit 14 crorefarmer families in the country.

“We demand that theGovernment should put moremoney in the hands of 95 percent poor who live in rural areasand help improve consumptionthrough schemes like MNRE-GA. The Government shouldalso bring a universal basicincome scheme to ensure thatthere is direct benefit to peopleand money should go into theiraccounts directly to helpimprove consumption levels,”he said.

Chavan, a former ChiefMinister of Maharashtra, saidfor farmers’ income to doubleby 2022 the agriculture sectorhas to grow by at least 12 percent compounded annually.But, under the ModiGovernment the agriculturesector has seen a growth of only2.9 per cent in the last five years,he noted, wondering how thiswill double farm incomes.

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Newly appointed ForeignSecretary Harsh Vardhan

Shringla, who assumed chargeon Wednesday, said hereForeign Service is a public ser-vice and its every effort shouldbe dedicated to contributingtowards the nation in the formof security and prosperitythrough external engagements.

Shringla, who was India’senvoy to the US before assum-ing the new responsibility, willget a fixed two-year term asForeign Secretary. He suc-ceeded Vijay Gokhale follow-ing his retirement.

Shringla is taking charge ata time of the high-profile postat a time when India is facinga plethora of foreign policychallenges including rampingup of diplomatic outreach inthe wake of criticism by somecountries and global institu-tions of the new CitizenshipAmendment Act(CAA). Indiais also facing an increasinglyassertive Trump administrationand China’s attempt to expandits military and economic influ-ence in the region.

Speaking to reportersahead of taking the charge,Shringla, a 1984-batch officerof the Indian Foreign Service(IFS), said “I am as committedto the ministry’s role in nation-building as I was almost 36years ago when I entered these

portals as a young profession-al. I look forward to function-ing under the guidance of thePrime Minister (NarendraModi) and the External AffairsMinister (S Jaishankar), ourpolitical leadership and withthe support and cooperation ofmy colleagues both within theministry and outside,” the 57-year-old diplomat said.

The Government did notfollow the seniority principle inappointing Shringla to the toppost. Indian HighCommissioner to the UKRuchi Ghanshyam, a 1982-batch IFS officer, was also incontention for the post.

Shringla had played animportant role in successfulhosting of the “Howdy Modi”event in Houston in Septemberwhere US President DonaldTrump and Prime MinisterModi jointly addressed theIndian Diaspora.

“I am conscious of the factthat I am stepping into theshoes of my illustrious stalwartsand seniors who have upheldthe highest standards of pro-fessionalism and integrity totheir work. In this context mytwo immediate predecessorscome to mind — ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale whoset impeccably high standards,and Dr Jaishankar who weknow is one of the leadingauthorities on foreign policy inIndia and anywhere in theworld,” Shringla said.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt has set aside the direc-tion of National GreenTribunal ordering status quoon construction of a housingcomplex adjacent to the DelhiUniversity campus.

Applying the“Precautionary Principle” ofenvironmental law, the NGT onJanuary 8 had ordered the sta-tus quo and said that evaluationof relevant data was required bya joint Committee comprisingrepresentatives of the CentralPollution Control Board,Ministry of Environment andForests and IIT Delhi.

A Bench, comprisingJustices R Banumathi and A SBopanna, said on Tuesday thatwhen the counter affidavitalong with the documents wasavailable on record, a detailedconsideration was necessaryby the tribunal. PTI

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$,"C����'����'���������������������������7�� )'������(/���������� �New Delhi: The CentralInformation Commission(CIC) on Wednesday said anArmy Welfare HousingOrganisation (AWHO) offi-cial not providing informa-tion on sale of flats in Noidacasts a “rather murky shadowon the affairs of the organi-sation” and referred the mat-ter to the Army Chief.

The transparency panelmade the comments whilehearing an RTI applicant’s pleaseeking information from theArmy Headquarters on sale offlats of a defaulter privatebuilder’s project at Noida’sSector 143 to Army personnelas advertised by the AWHO inFebruary 2018. AWHOSecretary Colonel Abhisheksaid he would not be sharingthe information under the RTIwith the Army Headquarterseven after the CIC’s orders. PTI

Page 6: 45˝ˆ5ˆ56 7˛. ˛1%5 !ˇ˛#˙$ˆ˜˝˛# ˛ˆ%˜ˆ˛ &’˛ˆ ˙(...2020/01/30  · Thakur and Verma can still canvass for the BJP but they will have to bear the campaign expenditures

India’s controversial Defence MinisterVK Krishna Menon was recently in thenews, courtesy a well-researched book,which did not elaborate enough on theimplications for the country on account

of having a wrong person at the wrong placeand at the wrong time. Menon was one of thestrangest characters, who appeared on thepolitical scene after independence. PKBanerjee, the Indian chargé d’affaires inBeijing in 1962, who often encountered thehaughty politician, wrote in his memoir:“Krishna Menon’s appearance in the Indianpolitical arena was as sudden as it was unex-pected... he had his education and wasenrolled as a Barrister. He hardly had any legalpractice …[but] became a protégé of PalmeDutt, a lawyer and founder member of theBritish Communist Party.”

How, after independence, he was sud-denly nominated as the Indian HighCommissioner in the UK is still not clear.A few years later, he came back to India andwas made the Defence Minister: “In addi-tion, for all practical purposes, he func-tioned as Foreign Minister de facto,” notedBanerjee. Menon was certainly brilliant insome ways. He joined the Union Cabinetas a Minister without a portfolio in 1956.It was former Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru who appointed him as the DefenceMinister in April 1957.

Sixty-three years later, India still suffersbecause of Nehru’s choice. One of the manyblunders that he committed was to stopusing the seniority system in the Army,replacing it with the so-called merit-basedmethod of promotion; in fact, posting hisfavorites in positions where they should havenever been. This eventually led to the res-ignation of the then Chief of Army Staff,General KS Thimayya.

Let’s take a look at a few examples ofthe wrongs committed by Defence MinsterMenon at the time when the Chinese troopsattacked India in the North-East FrontierAgency (NEFA) and in Ladakh. It was onlyafter meeting Wing Commander JagMohan (Jaggi) Nath, the first of the six offi-cers who have been twice decorated withthe Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), India’s sec-ond highest war-time military award, thatI realised that the outcome of the 1962 warcould have been completely different hadIndia used its Air Force.

Nath received his first MVC for his rolein reconnaissance missions between 1960and 1962 over the Aksai Chin and Tibet. Hismissions proved immensely useful to learneverything about the Chinese militarybuild-up on the Tibetan plateau.Unfortunately, the political leadership (firstand foremost the Defence Minister) refusedto believe the hard evidence gathered dur-ing of his sorties. After one of his missionsover the Aksai Chin and Tibet, a messagecame that Nehru, Menon and their favoriteGeneral, Biji Kaul, wanted to be briefedabout Nath’s reconnaissance sorties.

Along with former Air ViceMarshal DAM Nanda, the thenDeputy Chief of the Air Force,Nath went to South Block tomeet Menon. They were waitingoutside the Minister’s roomwhen Kaul came and he startedtalking non-stop: “I know, Iknow, these fellows [the Chinese]are there. They asked me tothrow them back. I can throwthem back, not a problem! Butthey will be back the next day. Ithas to be planned out properly.”

Nath was surprised thatGen Kaul would speak this wayin front of a junior officer: “Iwas a low-level officer” but[Kaul] continued shouting:“You saw the Chinese soldiers.”I said, “Yes, sir, I saw them.”“OK, go to the DefenceMinister”, he finally said.

Nanda and Nath finallylanded up in Menon’s office.Nath recalled: “He did not askanything”, he just said, “Did yousee the Chinese soldiers?” Ianswered: “Yes sir, I saw them.”“That’s alright, you can go.” Thatwas it. Nath concluded: “Therewas a total breakdown.”

In a secret report written ashe was forced to resign inNovember 1962, the flamboyantDefence Minister wrote: “Chinais reported to have the thirdlargest Air Force in the world.This may well be true.” Though

Menon was aware of the fuelissue: “[China] had inadequatefuel capacity in terms of warrequirements,” he ignored thefindings of the brave airman,who explained: “If we had senta few airplanes [into Ladakh orNEFA], we could have wiped theChinese out and everythingcould have been different in the1962 war. The political leadershipdid not believe me that Chinahad no Air Force…”Unfortunately, the then Chief ofAir Staff did not have the courageto put his foot down. This led toone of the greatest tragedies inIndia’s modern history. Maohad bluffed Nehru and it worked.

Another sad story aboutthe 1962 episode was recountedby Lt Col (later Maj Gen) KKTewari, the Commander of theSignal Regiment of the Corpsbased in Tezpur (Assam),responsible in the early 1960s forthe Tawang sector of the NEFA.Tewari wrote: “On the 19th[October], Brig Dalvi[Commander of the 7th InfantryBrigade] talked to the GeneralOfficer Commanding [GOC] atZimithang [near the Tibet bor-der] on the telephone. He waspleading with the latter to let himmove up to a tactically sounddefensive position.” He describedthe existing position along theriver where he had been ordered

to stay by the CorpsCommander [BM Kaul] beforehis departure for Delhi as a“death trap.” Brig Dalvi was told“not to flap but to obey ordersand stay put. He was visibly upsetand was very abrupt on the tele-phone to his boss. He passed thetelephone to me.”

Tewari told the GOC thatthe Chinese were moving downthe Thagla Ridge like ants. Hecould also see at least half a dozenmortars, which were not evencamouflaged: “The Chinesecould not be there for a picnic,their attack was imminent on amassive scale,” he added. ButDalvi and his men were told thatthey had been informed by the“higher authorities in Delhi”that the Chinese would notattack …at a time they hadalready attacked.

Today, though the trauma ofthe 1962 thrashing remains,many things have changed on theground. The creation of a post ofChief of Defence Staff should goa long way in overcoming thecomplete lack of coordinationbetween the three services expe-rienced in 1962. This, however,will not absolve Nehru’s wrongchoice of making Menon theDefence Minister, a post heoccupied for five crucial years.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“A censure too far” (January 28).Goose pimples ran up the Centre’sspine with rage and it criticised theEuropean Parliament, whichdecided to debate the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) resolutions, saying itshould not take actions that callinto question the rights andauthority of democratically-elect-ed legislatures. Further, the draftresolutions urge India to engageconstructively with the anti-CAAprotesters and consider theirdemands to repeal it.

Why is the EuropeanParliament so hell-bent to take upresolutions to tell India to desistfrom implementing the CAA?The matter is entirely an internalissue of India and the fact that EUis going to champion the causehas become an irritating issue asfar as India is concerned. Whycan’t it highlight the killing ofinnocent people in Syria, Iraq,Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan,Nigeria and elsewhere? It will bebetter if the European Parliamentdrops the resolution against India.

TK NandananChennai

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Selling the jewel” (January 28).Given the leverage that Air Indiaenjoys in a premium and growingsector, it is sad that it has been fac-ing perpetual loss. A precipitateand full disposal of a blue chip assetcould result either in a no-sale orworse, a very bad deal that willhaunt for long. It would havebeen better if the Governmentwould have opted for a 51 per centstake sale and let the best player(s)run the airline.

Synergy between theGovernment and a professionalmanagement would have max-imised the nation’s asset and thenthey could have build on it. Fulldilution of any Government hold-ing has now become the norm evenas interests of the employees finda stable and agreeable solution. UKPrime Minister Margaret Thatcher’speremptory PSU reforms had lefta sharp decline in GDP growth, bigloss of industrial capacity and the doubling of unemployment.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Expectations ride high on Finance Minister (FM)Nirmala Sitharaman’s second Union Budget torevive the feel-good factor, which has been

missing since negative news flow continued to dom-inate national and international headlines. At a timewhen the country seeks to increase investments fromFDI and the local industry, the Government needsto pull every lever that can restore business confi-dence and make India the preferred investment des-tination. The 2020 Budget will be bold, it will be dif-ferent. It will be a win-all one. It has to be, becauseit’s a “do-or-die” situation for the Government whichhas to course correct all that ails the economy.Undoubtedly, these are challenging times for any FMto present a Budget, as achieving the goal of a $5 tril-lion economy by 2024 necessitates doubling thegrowth rate to 12 per cent year on year for the nextfive years, which currently seems a distant dream.

What is unmistakable is that never before hasany Prime Minister immersed himself so deeply inthe pre-Budget exercise to get a first-hand sense ofground realities from India Inc, economists and pol-icymakers. And, never before has an FM presentedvirtually four mini-Budgets in quick succession afterher maiden Budget last year in an attempt to recal-ibrate if Government interventions are producingthe desired outcomes to achieve whatever it takesto set the economic wheels in motion.

Fixing the economy and employment genera-tion is the top priority of policymakers, as the win-dow to capitalise on our demographic dividends isa finite one. Time is running out, as the labour forcein the middle and lower levels is ill-equipped forabsorption into Industry 4.0, which will worsen theproblem of unemployment unless we make quan-tum leaps on our Human Development Index.

Thus far, the economy has been propped up byGovernment spending, which is only an interim solu-tion till the private industry does not participate injob creation and expansion. World over,Governments are following a similar template forrevival by marginally exceeding fiscal prudence bya percentage point in order to satisfy rating agen-cies. Since the global economic crisis of 2008, exceed-ing fiscal deficit targets has become the “new nor-mal”, as a decade of easy money has accumulated arecord $250 trillion debt, which is a cumulative ofsovereign, corporate and household leverage. Centralbankers, from the European Central Bank to the IMF,have encouraged Government spending in the hopeof reaping economic dividends, regardless of mount-ing debt to GDP ratios. Globally, we are livingthrough the Age of Uncertainty, beset by more vari-ables than constants than we ever faced in the last50 years. This is the third slowdown India is facingsince 1991, and if we look back at the commentarypost the Lhman-led global collapse in 2008, senti-ments were even more dismal than they are today.Though the financial sector continues to face mas-sive NPA problems, this is not just an India-centricproblem but a worldwide phenomenon. A flashbackto what got us here in the first place is that nothingjeopardised the already beleaguered and brokenIndian banking sector more than the collapse ofIL&FS in 2018 and DHFL in 2019. This was trulyIndia’s unacknowledged Lehman moment, as IL&FSalone accounts for defaults of about �91,000 croreowed to banks, institutional investors and mutualfunds. While there is enough liquidity available withbanks, they are not lending to long-gestation pro-jects in infrastructure, housing or heavy industry such

as steel and cement, which has a cascad-ing effect in delaying their completion. Thesolution lies in creating a separateDevelopment Finance Institution to boostlong-term lending for projects like rail-ways, ports, power and so on, as also afaster resolution of the insolvency processthat would boost credit flows.

Expectations are that the Budgetwould lay the road map for a consolidat-ed action plan to jumpstart the multiplepropellers of growth by incentivisingboth the supply and the demand side.Starting with agriculture, housing, con-struction, automobiles and telecom, to theunorganised sector and MSMEs, all ofwhich await a bailout plan. MSMEs con-tribute 45 per cent towards manufactur-ing output and over 28 per cent towardsthe GDP, while creating employment forover 11 crore people. The Centre has donewell in earmarking �100 lakh crore forinfrastructure by 2025, provided a �25,000crore fund to revive the realty sector andallocated �75,000 crore for improving farmproductivity. Yet, the agri-crisis remainsunresolved, as prices of fertiliser, diesel andelectricity keep rising and prices of rice,wheat and sugar continue falling due to asurplus, making crop diversification andagro-based industries a priority.

Coming to the corporate sector,recent tax cuts have made Indian corpo-rate tax rates competitively benchmarkedto international rates. But as the industryhas prioritised on using the cuts to de-leverage — and already has an average of30 per cent excess capacity — the spinoffsfrom lower corporate taxes will takelonger to play out and they will first waitfor demand to pick up before looseningpurse strings. The economy relies on sevenmajor vectors of growth for revenue that

goes towards nation-building and job-cre-ation: Direct tax collections, Governmentspending, private industry, domesticdemand, disinvestment proceeds, exportsand FDI infusion. Typically, during peri-ods of global buoyancy, countries pursuean Export-Led Growth strategy.Conversely, during periods of recession orde-globalisation, the Domestic Demand-Led Growth strategy dominates in orderto keep the local economy insulated fromglobal shocks. It is the contraction indomestic driven demand that has this timefailed to keep the economy afloat. It is esti-mated that 70 per cent of economic growthcomes from consumption, the rest frominvestment. Exports have been the otherlaggard as any comprehensive plan can-not make up the numbers if our share inworld exports languishes at 1.7 per centamid a period of bleak global trade.Consequently, tax collections have beenbelow target in a contracting economy,leaving the Government limited avenuesto raise additional resources.

Also, the Government is very likely toagain miss the FY 20 disinvestment tar-get, as divestment beyond 0.5 per cent ofthe GDP cannot be absorbed by the mar-kets. Expediting disinvestment of AirIndia, Bharat Petroleum, CementCorporation and Shipping Corporation isnot easy as there is not enough appetitefrom retail or corporate investors to has-ten this process. Though India hasimproved on six out of 10 parameters inthe Ease of Doing Business and despiteopening up multiple sectors to foreigninvestment in 2018-19, the foreign invest-ment to GDP ratio has also taken a hit,falling to a decade’s low of 1.1 per cent froma high of 3.6 per cent in 2014-15. Foreigninvestments are vital for India’s growth, and

despite the PM’s powerful pitch to attractinvestments, there is a mismatch on theground, when the likes of Amazon or thelargest foreign investor like Vodafone arelocked in adversarial positions with thecourts or the Government.

Perception, as they say, is moreimportant than reality, so intent for cre-ating an enabling business environmentmust be followed through with leniencyand amicable dispute resolution by courts,regulators and line-ministries. Disputesalso have a domino effect on job losses andbanks that lent to the businesses, sendingnegative signals to oversees investors.

All said and done, the worst could wellbe behind us, as we are nearing the phaseof capitulation. So the only way from hereis up, which offers FIIs very favourablerisk-reward ratios to resume investmentsas we bottom out. Seasoned investorsknow that investing in totally risk-freeassets yields negative returns when adjust-ed to inflation. So FII money will ultimate-ly flow back into emerging markets likeIndia, which has strong fundamentals, astable currency, vibrant demographics andhigh foreign exchange reserves. We will getto $5 trillion, albeit it may take longer than2024 to achieve the goal. Regardless of thetemporary slowdown, India’s weightagewill continue to increase in playing a lead-ing role in restructuring the global eco-nomic order, once we regain momentum.But for now, Sitharaman will have to adda lot of sweeteners to this Budget and con-form to Chanakya’s prescription that,“the king should collect taxes from the tax-payers like a bee collects honey from aflower, without disturbing its petals.”

(The writer is an author, columnist,Chairperson of the National Committee forFinancial Inclusion at Niti Aayog)

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The growing disease burdenshould compel the country’spolicymakers to allocate a fair

chunk of funds for public healthcareinfrastructure. The recent news oninfant deaths in Muzaffarpur districtof Bihar due to Acute EncephalitisSyndrome and in Kota district ofRajasthan due to hypothermia areglaring examples of existing faultlines within the primary healthcaresystem in India. Such incidents senda grave reminder that affordable andaccessible, good quality healthcarestill remains the biggest challenge inthe rural hinterlands of our country.

The Centre’s ambitious flagshiphealth insurance scheme, Ayushman

Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) has immensepotential to correct the healthcarebasics in the country. It holds a lotof promise and has the right intent,but one can just hope theGovernment and healthcare author-ities take the right partnershipapproach to a more inclusive partic-ipation.

In the last Union Budget, thebudgetary allocation for the health-care sector stood at �60,908.22 crore,with �6,400 crore earmarked for theAB-PMJAY.

The scheme aims at providingannual health cover of up to �5 lakhper family for secondary and tertiarycare hospitalisation to over 10.74crore vulnerable families (approxi-mately 50 crore beneficiaries).Rationalisation of treatment packagesand speeding up the recovery processare essential elements that willencourage more private hospitals toempanel under this scheme.

Let us focus on the basics: Thehealthcare sector is one of the biggestcontributors to the Indian economyand accounts for six per cent of the

country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP). The hospital industry inIndia, accounting for 80 per cent ofthe total healthcare market, is wit-nessing a huge demand from globalas well as domestic investors. It isexpected to reach $132 billion by2023 from $61.8 billion in 2017;growing at a CAGR of 16-17 per cent.The country’s medical tourism mar-ket is expected to grow from its cur-rent size of $3 billion to $7-8 billionby the end of 2020.

Yet, the country’s spending onpublic healthcare is estimated only at1.3 per cent of the GDP. Besides hav-ing a poor infrastructure withinpublic health facilities, there is alsoa lack of adequate resources. Whenover two-thirds of the sector is dri-ven by private players, theGovernment should be more willingto get into a partnership-basedapproach with them to achieveUniversal Health Coverage in linewith the United Nation’s SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs).

A multi-pronged approach: Werequire a multi-pronged approachfrom the Government to strengthen

and reform the health sector. On theone hand, it involves improving thestate of public healthcare by increas-ing budgetary allocation, establish-ing more medical colleges andimproving primary healthcare facil-ities. On the other hand, it involvesmeasures to enable the private sec-tor to spread its presence beyond theurban landscape. This will help inimproving accessibility for secondaryand tertiary care in tier-II and tier-III towns, besides rural areas.

For the latter to happen, theGovernment must offer major incen-tives and tax breaks to private health-care organisations setting shop innon-urban areas.

The incentives can includeincome tax breaks for the first fewyears of operations, help in procur-ing land, making medical equipmentGoods and Services Tax (GST)-freefor such hospitals and relaxation onservice tax on hospital inputs.Similarly, establishing a mechanismto offer fund support or subsidisationin treatment costs to private hospi-tals in smaller towns and rural areascan go a long way in bridging the

prevalent accessibility gap. The cost of medical equipment

is another pain point, which requiresthrust and making the medicaldevices and equipment a part of the‘Made in India’ initiative shall ben-efit this sector.

Impetus to innovation: There isalso a need to provide an impetus toinnovation within the medical tech-nology sector. For that, special fundsfor start-ups that manufacture med-ical devices would specificallyaddress the needs of the Indianpopulations, serving as a big boostto the sector.

The introduction of ArtificialIntelligence (AI) and predictive ana-lytics for patient monitoring will addto significant financial savings andwill increase the reach of healthcarein the country.

The need of the hour is that theprimary care system should bestrengthened in such a way that it iscapable of doing the initial assess-ment, diagnosis and basic manage-ment and appropriate referral ifneed be. A thorough assessment andinvestigation at primary care or sec-

ondary care level can lead to a sig-nificant saving of resources at the ter-ritory level. The Government shouldfacilitate more Continuous MedicalEducation to help professinalsupgrade their skills which can solvethe problem of shortage of traineddoctors.

That Government must alsoconsider oral health as an integralpart of healthcare and give it theimportance it deserves. TheNarendra Modi Government shouldprovide an enabling environment forthe healthcare sector to grow. This iswhere the forthcoming UnionBudget can show some vision andleadership.

This being the first Budget of thenew decade, it will not only be amarker of the Government’s assess-ment but also a vision for the econ-omy over the next 10 years.

Let 2020 and the decade turn outto be in the larger interest of health-care, making it more accessible,more affordable and patient-friend-ly.

(The writer is founder and CEOof a dental healthcare chain)

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Anti-CAA movementclaimed more lives in

Bengal when two persons werekilled and at least three otherswere seriously injured afteralleged Trinamool Congresssupporters opened fire andhurled bombs at Congress andLeft workers backing a bandhat Jalangi area of Murshidabaddistrict bordering Bangladesh,sources said.

Congress leader inParliament Adhir Chowdhurywho is also an MP fromMurshidabad accused theTrinamool Congress saying thelocal leaders of the Bengal rul-ing outfit were under instruc-tions from the higher leadership to thwart anti-CAAmovement by other Oppositionparties.

“The local TMC leadersorganised the attack when thepeople of Jalangi were observ-ing a bandh in protest againstCAA,” Chowdhury said questioning the true face ofMamata Banerjee’s movementagainst CAA.

A local villager said TMC’sJalangi Block PresidentTahiruddin opened fire at theprotesters, killing two peopleand injuring several others.The two deceased have beenidentified as Maqbool Sheikh

and Anirudh Biswas.“The police did not inter-

vene despite repeated requestsfrom the villagers when we sawTMC goons assembling withdeadly weapons,” ShahrulBiswas, son of one of thedeceased.

“Today, a strike was calledin protest against CAA-NRC.

While my father was returning,a few motor vans came and theJalangi Block President of TMC Tahiruddin started firing randomly.

Police were present therebut did not do anything to stopit,” Biswas said.

While local TMC MP AbuTaher denied that his party was

involved in the clash CPI(M)’sMd Salim said “today’s attackonly proves how the MamataBanerjee does not walk the talk.She says something and doessomething else.

The TMC similarly tried tospoil the bandh called by theLeft and the Congress againstCAA and NRC last year, he

said, adding “this proves thatModi and Didi are not onlyfriends in need but also friendsin deed.”

State BJP president DilipGhosh said “the way the TMCmen opened fire and hurledbombs only proves that theparty belongs to anti-socialelements.”

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The Bharat Bandh called byseveral organisations

against the CAA and the pro-posed nationwide NRC onWednesday evoked mixedresponse in Bihar.

Leaders of various politicalparties hit the streets in theState capital which was, byand large, unaffected by thebandh with shops and officesremaining open.

Roads in Patna witnessedmajor traffic snarls due todemonstrations staged by lead-ers of parties such as formerChief Minister Jitan RamManjhi’s HAM, former Union minister UpendraKushwaha’s RLSP, muscleman-turned-politician PappuYadav’s Jan Adhikar Party andthe Left.

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A‘Bharat bandh’ called bysome organisations against

the Citizenship (Amendment)Act and proposed NRC saw a clash between two groupsin Maharashtra’s Dhule onWednesday, besides incidents ofstone-pelting in a few districtsand a train blockade in Mumbai.

There were no reports ofanyone getting injured duringthe sporadic violence. In northMaharashtra’s Dhule district,two groups clashed during a rallyagainst the CAA and theNational Register of Citizens(NRC). The incident took placeon Hundred Feet Road inChalisgaon Road police stationlimits during the rally where alarge number of Muslims werepresent. A group from the Hinducommunity gathered at the spotand started shouting slogans insupport of the CAA and NRC,which was followed by a clashand stone-pelting from bothsides, a police officer said.

To disperse the mob, policefired four rounds in the air andlobbed six teargas shells andbrought the situation undercontrol, he said.

There were `Rail Roko’(blockade on railway tracks) atBalapur in Akola district andincidents of stone-pelting in

Washim and Yavatmal districts,the police said.

At Yavatmal, police usedbaton-charge to disperse themob after two groups clashed.

In Aurangabad district, acivic-run bus was pelted withstones at Harsul while a statetransport bus was attacked nearHimayatbag.

In Palghar near Mumbai,protesters tried to block theMumbai-Ahmedabad highwaynear Vasai.

In Thane district, impact ofthe shut-down call was feltmainly in Bhiwandi, Mumbraand Ulhasnagar.

Multiple organisations,including Bahujan KrantiMorcha, had called for BharatBandh in protest against therecently passed CAA and theproposed NRC. In Mumbai,the country’s financial capital, atleast 47 protesters were arrestedduring a Rail Roko at suburbanKanjurmarg railway station.

At least 100 protesters gath-ered on the tracks around 8 inthe morning, affecting suburbanservices of the Central Railwaybriefly, the Government RailwayPolice said. Shops and officesremained closed in Muslim-dominated areas in Dongri,Byculla, Nagpada, Mahim,Bandra-Behrampada, Kurla PipeRoad, Kasaiwada, Andheri,Jogeshwari, Malad-Malwani andVikhroli in Mumbai city, thepolice said.

The Bandh call failed toevoke much response in Pune

city, barring few areas in the citywhere shops remained shut. Atleast 315 persons were detainedfor holding protests in areas suchas Sarasbaug, Swargate, GolibarMaidan, Chandan Nagar,Yerwada, Kondhwa, Wanwadi,Deccan and Khadak.

Public transport remainedunaffected and schools and col-leges remained open. In PuneCamp, Kondhwa and BhavaniPeth, some shops and com-mercial establishments downedtheir shutters.

In Pune district, the bandhreceived good response inBaramati, Indapur and Daundtehsils as shops, markets andcommercial establishmentsremained closed. “There was noreport of any untoward inci-dent,” said Sandip Patil,Superintendent of Police, Punerural. In Solapur in westernMaharashtra, the Bandhreceived a lukewarm responsewith shops remaining shut onlyin few areas of the city.

At Walsang in Solapur dis-trict, a group of protesters triedto disrupt a weekly vegetablemarket, but relented after localtraders and police informedthem that veggies come for salefrom far-off places.

In Miraj town in Sangli dis-trict, an auto-rickshaw was van-dalised after its driver refused totake part in the bandh. “We havedetained two persons,” a localpolice officer said. The Bandhcall received no response inKolhapur and Satara districts.

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Amid a high voltage protestand boycott by the

Opposition Congress-led UDF,Kerala Governor ArifMohammed Khan onWednesday presented his poli-cy address in the assembly andread out references to anti-CAAresolution passed by the house,despite disagreeing with it.

Reading out the the anti-CAA stand of the StateGovernment, the Governorsaid “our citizenship can neverbe on the basis of religion as thisgoes against the grain of secu-larism which is part of the basicstructure of our constitution.”

Referring to the unani-mous anti-CAA resolutionpassed by the Assembly, Khan,who has been at loggerheadswith the State Government formoving the Supreme courtagainst the law and the resolu-tion against it, said theGovernment believes the Act“goes against the cardinal prin-ciples” underlying theConstitution.

“Strong states and strongcentre are pillars of our feder-alism. The voices of genuineapprehension of the states needto be considered by the centralGovernment in the right spir-it keeping broad national inter-est in mind, particularly whenconstitutional values areinvolved and there are wide-spread anxieties and appre-hensions among a large num-ber of our citizenry,” he said.

It’s learnt that the Governordecided to read out the refer-ence to the state’s anti-CAAstance after a letter was sent byVijayan this morning, in whichthe Chief Minister had request-ed Khan to read the policyaddress “in its entirety sansany additions or deletions.”

“Since the constitutionalfunction under Art 176 is exer-cised with the aid and advise ofthe council of ministers, it isrequested that the addressapproved by the council of

ministers be read in its entire-ty sans any additions or dele-tions”, the letter stated.

The day also saw anunprecedented protest by theUDF members, who also boy-cotted the policy address.

As the Governor was beingushered into the Assembly hallby Speaker P Sreeramakrishnanand Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan, UDF members,blocked Khan, raised “Go Back”slogans holding aloft “RepealCAA” and “Recall Governor”placards and banners.

Speaker was seen repeat-edly trying to pacify the agi-tating MLAs but in vain, afterwhich the watch and wardpersonnel, who stood as a wallprotecting the Governor,

cleared his path to the dais.In his policy address, Khan

said though he had his “reser-vations and disagreement” overthe subject, he would read thepara 18 containing reference toanti-CAA matter, just to “hon-our” the wish of the ChiefMinister. When Khan beganhis policy address, the opposi-tion members trooped out ofthe assembly hall raising slo-gans and staged a sit in protestat the gate of the Assembly.

“This august body (KeralaAssembly) unanimously passeda resolution requesting theCentral Government to abro-gate the CAA 2019 which mygovernment believes goesagainst the cardinal principlesunderlying our Constitution,”

he said.The Government has also

filed a petition in the supremecourt invoking Article 131 ofthe constitution, Governor said.As he was leaving the assembly,reporters asked him about theunprecedented protest faced byhim, to which the Governorquipped that he had facedworst protests than this.

Meanwhile, taken by sur-prise over the governor’s moveto read out Anti CAA referencein his address, Leader ofOpposition, RameshChennithala, who protestedalong with his front MLAs, toldmedia that the StateGovernment and the Governorhad come to a “truce”.

“The double stand of theChief Minister has beenexposed now. The CM beggedthe Governor to read the pol-icy address in full. Why is theCM silent on the Governorwho has insulted the people ofKerala? This is a ploy to escapefrom the Lavlin case which maycome up soon,” Chennithalaalleged. The Top Court hasbeen hearings a batch of peti-tions challenging the KeralaHigh Court’s 2018 order dis-charging Vijayan, the thenState Electricity Minister, andothers in an alleged graft caseinvolving an award of contractto a Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin for the renovation andmodernisation of threeHydroelectric projects in 1997.

Expressing solidarity withthe Governor, BJP’s Kerala unittook out a march to theAssembly complex. Attackingthe UDF, former BJP President,Kummanam Rajashekharanasked, “who gave authority toCongress to stop theGovernor?..” “By blocking theGovernor, the UDF has insult-ed the people of Kerala,” he said.

Khan had made it clearthat he was not a “rubberstamp” and it was “improper”that he was not informed by theGovernment before movingthe apex court.

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The ‘Bharat Bandh’ called byseveral organizations,

including the Bahujan MuktiMorcha, the Bhim Army andthe Purvanchal Sena, to protestagainst the new citizenshiplaw and the NRC onWednesday witnessed a luke-warm response in the UttarPradesh capital.

In Muslim-dominated oldcity, traders downed shuttersover the CAA and the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC). Butthere was no impact of the shut-down call in other areas likeHazratganj and Gomti Nagar.

Police said no untowardincident was reported any-where in the city. In Deoria,

former Rajya Sabha MP AasMohammad and his wife weredetained by police near theSalempur area when they wereheading towards SubhashChowk to register their protestagainst the CAA and the NRC.

When information aboutthe detention of Mohammad

and his wife spread, localsrushed to the Kotwali police sta-tion demanding their release.

In Gorakhpur, the responseto the bandh call was seen in afew areas.

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India is among the top 30countries at “high-risk” from

the spread of the deadly coro-navirus, according to a studybased on the number of airtravellers predicted to arrive inthe countries from the worstaffected cities in China.

Thailand tops the list ofmost “at risk” countries orregions worldwide followed byJapan, and Hong Kong. The USis 6th on the list, Australia 10th,the UK 17th and India 23rd,researchers from the Universityof Southampton in the UK said.

The University’s WorldPopteam, Bangkok, Thailand, hadcompiled a list of cities andcountries they believe are athigh risk from the 2019 novelcoronavirus (2019-nCoV) —which has killed over 132 peo-ple so far, and infected thou-sands.

It said Thailand is currentlythe city most at risk from aglobal spread of the virus.Hong Kong is second on thelist, followed by Taipei inTaiwan. Sydney, New York andLondon are among the top 20other major international citiesranked in the research.

Within mainland China,the cities of Beijing,Guangzhou, Shanghai andChongqing are all identified ashigh-risk by the researchers,along with the Chineseprovinces of Guangdong,Zhejiang, Sichuan and Henan.

“It’s vital that we under-stand patterns of populationmovement, both within Chinaand globally, in order to assesshow this new virus mightspread — domestically andinternationally,” said AndrewTatem, a professor at theUniversity of Southampton.

“By mapping these trendsand identifying high-risk areas,

we can help inform publichealth interventions, such asscreenings and healthcare pre-paredness,” Tatem said.

The team usedanonymised mobile phone andIP address data — which helpsto identify devices — alongwith international air traveldata to understand typical pat-terns of movement of peoplewithin China, and worldwide,during the annual 40-dayLunar New Year celebrations.

The team, includingresearchers from the Universityof Toronto in Canada, and theChina Centre for DiseaseControl and Prevention, wasthen able to rank the top 30most at-risk countries andcities around the world.

The researchers acknowl-edge that their analysis is basedon ‘non-outbreak’ travel pat-terns, but highlight that a high proportion of peopletravelled with symptoms at anearly stage of the outbreak,before restrictions were put in place.

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As things stand, Telanganadoes not have a testing

facility or appropriate testingkits to detect the dreadful novelcoronavirus, which originatedin the Wuhan province ofChina and has been spreadingin certain parts of the world.All that the state does now is tosend samples of swabs of sus-pected carriers of the virus tothe National Institute ofVirology (NIV) in Pune.

Health authorities inTelangana, however, said onWednesday they had identifiedand set aside 100 isolationbeds in three public health care

facilities here.State Health Minister Etela

Rajender, who reviewed thepreparedness of state agenciesand resources available formanagement of coronavirus,again urged the general public not to believe inrumours or get carried away byfake news on coronavirus beingcirculated on various socialmedia platforms.

The Minister said that theState Government had takensteps to screen people whomight have been exposed to thevirus so as to prevent its spreadin the State. He requested theCentre to provide kits thatwould enable the State

Government to conduct thenecessary tests to detect casesin Hyderabad itself.

At present, samples takenin Hyderabad are being sent tothe National Institute ofVirology (NIV) in Pune.

Stating that many studentsfrom Telangana were pursuingmedical courses in China’sWuhan province, which was atthe centre of the outbreak,Rajender said that they werebeing screened on arrival at theRajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport (RGIA) here.

A special officer, Dr VijayKumar, has been appointed tooversee arrangements inTelangana.

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From global aviation andautomaker companies to

Starbucks and Apple, thealarmed industrial world onWednesday scrambled to stoptravel to China while closing cer-tain operations as the number ofconfirmed Novel Coronaviruscases jumped to 5,974 — sur-passing the 5,327 cases in main-land China during the SARSoutbreak in 2002-2003.

The death toll climbed to132 — still lower than 348 peo-ple who died owing to SARS inChina but the greater threatloom as nonone has answers tohow severe the 2019-nCoVoutbreak is.

Warning of an upcomingfinancial hit from the Chinavirus outbreak, Starbucksclosed nearly 2,000 restaurantsout of 4,292 stores it operatesin the country.

British Airways (BA) sus-pended all direct flights to andfrom mainland China becauseof the coronavirus outbreak,reports the BBC. BA operatesdaily routes to Beijing andShanghai from London’sHeathrow airport.

Several other airlines likeUnited Airlines, Air Canadaand Cathay Pacific Airwayshave already cancelled someflights to China.

According to The New YorkTimes, automakers Ford andToyota said they would idlesome of their vast Chineseassembly plants.

Ford and Renault wouldonly resume production attheir China factories afterextended breaks for theChinese New Year holiday.

Facebook and other high-profile US firms havealso told their employees not totravel to China.

Apple which has a strongChina base in both manufac-turing and retail segments,said that the company hasclosed one of its retail storesand has restricted employees’business travel to the country.

While McDonald’s hassuspended business in fivecities in the affected Hubeiprovince while the owner ofKFC and Pizza Hut has closedoutlets in Wuhan. Disney hasclosed its Shanghai and HongKong resorts, according tomultiple media reports.

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New Delhi: The Union AYUSH Ministry onWednesday issued an advisory for coronavirus,“based on the Indian traditional medicine prac-tices Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani” and rec-ommended that homeopathic and unani medi-cine could be effective in the prevention of novelcoronavirus infections.

It also mentioned some Ayurvedic practiceswhich can help recess symptoms of respiratory tractin possible virus infected cases. The Ministry hasrecommended that homoeopathic medicineArsenicum album 30 could be taken empty stom-ach daily for three days as a preventive medicineagainst the infection. Advisory listed several“Preventive Management Steps” as per ayurvedicpractices, and several “Unani Medicines useful insymptomatic management of coronavirus infection”.

The advisory suggests general hygienic mea-sures for prevention of air-borne infections suchas washing hands often with soap and water forat least 20 seconds, avoiding touching eyes, noseand mouth with unwashed hands, and avoidingclose contact with people who are sick. The min-istry has advised covering face while coughing orsneezing and preferably using an N95 mask whiletravelling or working in public places to avoiddroplet transmissions. It also recommended pro-phylactic measures/immunomodulatory drugs asper Ayurvedic practices and taking measures tostrengthen the immune system through a healthydiet and lifestyle practices. PNS

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Mumbai: Ten persons areunder observation at hospitalsin Mumbai, Pune and Nandedfor possible exposure to novelcoronavirus while there is noconfirmed case of the infectionin the State, MaharashtraHealth Minister Rajesh Topesaid on Wednesday.

As many as 4,600 passen-gers have been screened at theChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport heresince January 19. A total of 27persons are under observationin the State, he said.

As a precautionary mea-sure, ten of them have beenquarantined -- six at KasturbaHospital in Mumbai, three atPune’s Naidu Hospital andanother at a hospital inNanded, he said.

IN KERALA: 806 PEOPLEUNDER OBSERVATION,

10 IN ISOLATION WARDSThiruvananthapuram: At

least 806 people who returnedfrom China over the past fewdays are under observation inKerala for possible exposure tothe novel coronavirus, Healthofficials said on Wednesday.

Out of the total of 806 peo-ple, 173 had arrived in the Stateon Wednesday. While ten ofthem are under observation inisolation wards at various hos-pitals across the State, theremaining are under homequarantine.

IN MANIPUR: WOMANKEPT UNDER WATCH

Imphal: A Manipuriwoman, who recently visited aSouth East Asian country, hasbeen kept under observation at

her residence by personnel ofthe State Health Services, aftershe developed symptoms “sim-ilar” to those caused by thedeadly coronavirus. She hasmild fever and running nosesince Monday, an official said,adding the woman is beingtreated at her home in ImphalWest district.

IN GUJARAT: NO CASE SO FAR, AIRPORT

SCREENING IN PLACEAhmedabad: The Gujarat

Government has put in place ascreening facility atAhmedabad airport to detectpossible cases of coronavirusand also set up an isolationward in a civil hospital here totreat patients suspected of con-tracting the infection, officialssaid on Wednesday. The StateGovernment said it has stepped

up efforts to bring back stu-dents from Gujarat, who arecurrently studying in China,following their appeal to theauthorities to evacuate them atthe earliest.

IN ARUNACHAL: TAKESSTEP TO CHECK

POSSIBLE OUTBREAKVIA BORDER HAATItanagar: The authorities

have issued an advisory to theChanglang district adminis-tration asking it for takingpreventive measures to stop thepossible spread of coronavirusthrough goods on sale at a bor-der haat. The focus is on thePangsau Pass Border Haat in Changlang district,which is close to Myanmar aswell as southern China, as the deadly virus could bespread through goods sold to

Indian customers.

IN RAJASTHAN: MANWITH SYMPTOMS TESTSNEGATIVE, 18 OTHERS

TOO FINEJaipur: A man, who was

found with symptoms of coro-navirus here, tested negativeand 18 other suspects inRajasthan were also in goodhealth, Additional ChiefSecretary (Medical and Health)Rohit Kumar Singh said onWednesday. Blood sample ofthe man, who was admitted tothe Isolation Ward of the SMSHospital, was sent to theNational Institute of Virologyin Pune for examination, hesaid, adding that the secondsample would be taken accord-ing to the prescribed norms.

IN KARNATAKA: FOURCHINESE NATIONALS

QUARANTINED INBENGALURU

Bengaluru: The KarnatakaFamily Health and WelfareDepartment has quarantinedfour Chinese nationals in thecity, as part of coronaviruspreventive measures, an officialsaid on Wednesday. “Doctorsare visiting the Chinese nation-als every day, currently lodgedin a hotel. They are underobservation,” the department’sCommunicable Diseases wingjoint director, BT PrakashKumar told IANS. In additionto the Chinese, the doctors arealso observing two moreBengalureans.

IN TAMIL NADU: STATETO MONITOR

PASSENGERS FROMCHINA FOR 28 DAYSChennai: The Tamil Nadu

Government will monitor thehealth condition of thosereturning from China for 28days to see whether they areaffected by Coronavirus, said asenior official in Directorate ofPublic Health and PreventiveMedicine. He said passengerscoming from Chine and land-ing in Chennai, Madurai,Coimbatore and Trichy air-ports are monitored and theirdetails are being collected.

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Indicating rising stress levelsin the finances of the States,

India Ratings has reviseddownward the outlook on thestates to stable-to-negativefrom stable as it expects aggre-gate fiscal deficit to touch 3 percent in 2020-21 due to fallinggrowth and poor tax mop-up.

The States had budgeted a2.6 per cent deficit for FY2019-20.

Even the Centre is seenmissing the 3.3 per cent fiscaldeficit target by a wide marginas tax collections, divestmentproceeds and even dividendshave been missing the targetfrom the very beginning.

India Ratings also expectsstates' revenue account onaggregate to clock a deficit of0.4 per cent of GDP in FY2020-21 compared with a surplus of0.01 per cent budgeted forFY2019-20. A higher revenueexpenditure than revenuereceipts will primarily be led bythe outgo related to interestpayments in FY21 on accountof higher borrowings inFY2019-20.

"Since we expect GDPgrowth to remain low even inFY21, States' finances are like-

ly to continue witnessing rev-enue pressure, leaving a fiscaldeficit of 3 per cent," the agencysaid, adding accordingly "ouroutlook on the same is reviseddownwards to stable-to-nega-tive from stable."

The states' aggregate taxrevenue (including devolutionsfrom the Centre) and revenuereceipts to grow 11 per cent and9.9 per cent, respectively, inFY2020-21.

The Centre owes close toRs 60,000 crore in GST refundto the states. The Centre hadalso promised to share 14 percent of the total GST collectionwith the states, but GST mop-up this year has been wellbelow the projection.

The non-payment hasforced many opposition ruledstates to threaten to move theSupreme Court.

The agency warns that if

the delay continues, it willadversely impact states' riskprofile.

It assumes the states' sharein devolution to remain at 42per cent in FY2020-21 assum-ing that the 15th FinanceCommission which will submitthe report by October 30, 2020.

It expects the states' aggre-gate debt-GDP ratio to rise to27.5 per cent in the next fiscalfrom the budgeted 24.7 percent for FY2019-20. As a result,their aggregate debt burden willincrease as states resort to fundfiscal deficit by way of highermarket borrowings, which isslated to increase to Rs 6.09lakh crore in FY21 from anestimated Rs 5.96 lakh crore inFY20.

The burden of fiscal adjust-ment mostly falls on capex dur-ing the periods of subdued eco-nomic growth.

With capex bearing thebrunt of the slowdown andlower growth in revenuereceipts in FY2019-20, the sit-uation is unlikely to change inthe next fiscal. As a result, thestates' aggregate capex/GDPto come in marginally lower at2.8 per cent in FY21 from thebudgeted 3 per cent forFY2019-20.

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Boeing reported its firstannual loss in more than

two decades on Wednesday asthe lengthy grounding of the737 MAX undercut the com-pany's revenues and explodedcosts. The aerospace giantreported a $1.0 billion loss inthe fourth-quarter and a loss of$636 million for all of 2019, thecompany's first year in the redsince 1997.

Newly-installed ChiefExecutive David Calhoun, whotook the reins this month tostabilize the situation, pledgedto turn the company aroundeven as Boeing disclosed $9.2billion in new costs connectedto the MAX. Some analysts hadexpected new costs twice ashigh, and despite the heftycharges, Boeing shares ralliedearly Wednesday in pre-market.

The MAX has beengrounded since March follow-ing two crashes that killed 346people which opened the doorsto intense scrutiny of Boeing'ssafety practices — and regula-tory oversight of its produc-tions — as well bruising con-gressional investigations whichhave revealed a troublesomeculture at the aviation giant.

"We are committed totransparency and excellence

in everything we do," Calhounsaid in a statement. "Safetywill underwrite every deci-sion, every action and everystep we take as we move for-ward."

Calhoun has been at thehelm of Boeing only sinceJanuary 13 after DennisMuilenburg was ousted inDecember following criticismof his handling of the crisis, andimmediately after damningseries of internal communica-tions were released.

Calhoun is targeting mid-2020 to win approval fromaviation regulators to resumeflights on the MAX, which isseen as a more realistic time-frame after Muilenburg repeat-edly pushed a more optimisticschedule.

The grounding of theMAX dented Boeing's earningsin multiple ways, halting deliv-eries of new planes to cus-tomers, a major source of rev-enues. Boeing revenues in thefourth quarter plunged 36.8percent to $17.9 billion, whilerevenues for all of 2019dropped 24.3 percent to $76.6billion. The crisis also prompt-ed the manufacturer to firstreduce and then halt produc-tion of the MAX until the cri-sis is resolved. Boeing saidWednesday the changes in the

production schedule added$2.6 billion in costs connectedto airplane deliveries, plusanother $4 billion in "abnormalproduction costs" primarily in2020 associated with the sus-pension of the MAX and a"gradual resumption" of pro-duction. The company set aside$2.6 billion to compensate air-lines that have been forced tocancel thousands of flights dueto grounded MAX planes andundelivered aircraft.

The MAX crisis also hasweighed on numerous suppli-ers, such as Spirit AeroSystems,which announced earlier thismonth that it would lay off2,800 employees in Kansas dueto the production stoppage.

And General Electric,which builds engines for theMAX, said the crisis loweredcash flow by $1.4 billion for2019.

Boeing also announcedWednesday that it would againcut back production of the787 Dreamliner, a top-sellingplane that has supported rev-enues during the protracted737 MAX grounding.

The aerospace giant plansto cut production to 10 air-planes a month in early 2021through 2023 based on the"near-term market outlook,"Boeing said.

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Italian supercar makerLamborghini on Wednesday

took the wraps off the latestvariant of their Huracan super-car in India. The HuracanEVO Rear-Wheel Drive(RWD) has 610 horsepowerand a claimed top speed of 325kilometers per hour and a 0-100 time of 3.3 seconds, mak-ing it one of the fastest cars onsale in India. This variantwhich solely drives the rearwheels instead of the all-wheeldrive regular model is a true‘drivers car’ according toSharad Agarwal, Head,Lamborghini India and will seta buyer back �3.2 crore.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Matteo Ortenzi, ChiefExecutive Officer, Asia-Pacific,Lamborghini highlighted howIndia has been a bright spot forthe company. “The advent ofnew technologies and engi-neering have made the SportsUtility Vehicle (SUV) spacemuch more sporty. The Urus(Lamborghini’s SUV) has beenreally in demand with Indianbuyers, because it does notmake any compromises onperformance.” Agarwal added

that the Urus sold over 50 unitsin the first year of sales, andthat this helped Lamborghinidouble their sales in the ‘super-premium’ segment (vehiclesover �2.5 crore) even thoughthe segment declined over 18percent in line with the rest ofthe automotive market in 2019.

India is the only major marketwhere Lamborghini outsellstheir Italian rival Ferrari andOrtenzi puts that down to theUrus but added that supercarslike the Huracan help as well,“India is an important marketfor us, so much so that welaunched the Huracan EVO inIndia first and both theHuracan Spyder and the RWDcame to India within days oftheir global launch.” One rea-son for Lamborghini’s successin India according to Agarwalis because the company does-n’t just sell cars but also a ‘lux-ury lifestyle and experience’,“Lamborghini is much morethan just cars, we do drives andtrack experiences and muchmore for our customers.”

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Mercedes-Benz India, thecountry’s largest premium

car seller today took the wrapsoff their next-generation GLESports Utility Vehicle. Availablein two variants, the assembledin India GLE 300d for �73.7lakh and the imported GLE400d ‘Hip Hop’ Edition for�1.25 crore, this is the first often launches by the Germanmanufacturer this year whichwill attempt to hold onto itsleadership position in theIndian market.

The GLE 300d has a new1950cc engine that produces245 horsepower and the 400da 3-litre V6 engine with 330horsepower with Mercedes-Benz India Managing DirectorMartin Schwenk claiming thatthese next-generation dieselengines don’t just meet the newBS6 emission norms but are thecleanest diesel engines in Indiaright now.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Schwenk said that while 2019had been a difficult year for allmanufacturers he was particu-larly pleased with the last quar-ter where customers who haddeferred their purchasesreturned to the market. “Wealso had a run-out of several ofour outgoing models such asthe old GLE and the GLA, butwe were very successful in

moving all our stock of olderBS4 cars and now offer ourentire line-up in BS6. I believethat 2020 is going to be a solidyear and we should start gettingsome growth back into themarket, and our great servicepackages as well as a completelynew line-up shiuld help usgrow this year, we still havegreat confidence in the Indianeconomy.”

Mercedes-Benz has 96 out-

lets in 47 cities across Indiaright now and Schwenk saidthat the company aims to cross the 100 outlet mark in2020.

Unlike other brands, headded that their financialhealth of their dealer partnerswas in good shape and said thatMercedes had helped theirdealers whenever needed withDaimler Financial Services,the company’s finance arm.

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Union Minister NitinGadkari on Wednesday

urged industry players to cashin on the huge potential that 22upcoming express highwayshold in the areas of alternativefuel, electric highway andcharging stations.

The Road Transport,Highways and MSME Ministersaid that projects speciallyabout Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai express highway canoffer instant right of way toplayers interested in settingup LNG stations, electric charg-ing stations or petrol pumps.

Addressing a conferenceon 'Future Fuels forTransportation' by FICCI, theminister said plans were afootto set up 2,000 petrol pumps,including LNG.

“We are building 22 newexpress highways includingDelhi-Mumbai ExpressHighway. Work on seven out of22 projects have started andthese have huge potential forthe industry. If players want tocome forward, we can offerright of way especially onDelhi-Mumbai ExpressHighway which we plan tocomplete within three years,"the Minister said.

Gadkari said plans are onfor an electric highway stretchon Delhi-Mumbai Expresswayand the land acquisition forover Rs 1 lakh crore expresswayproject has been completed. Hesaid he will be visiting Swedennext month to see E-Highwaysand welcomed players forinvestments to convert high-ways into e-highways.

He also said: "The RBI hasassured us that they will allowus to take infrastructure loansfor 30 years. So if a bankableproject is for 30 years, the loanamount will be raised within13-18 years. There will be twoyears moratorium period aftercompletion of project. Whenafter three years, toll collectionstarts then we will open anescrow account. Specificamount will be deposited inthis escrow account."

The minister said at pre-sent NHAI has 480 such secure,bankable projects and fivemore banks are willing to giveloans like the SBI gave.

"Depending upon traffic,we will keep depositing moneyin the escrow account,” he said.

He said NHAI 's annualincome for the current fiscalwill be Rs 40,000 crore and itwill reach Rs 1 lakh crore incoming years.

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Ahead of the Union Budget,the Oil Ministry has made

a renewed pitch for inclusion ofnatural gas in the ambit of GSTto promote the use of the envi-ronment-friendly fuel byreducing multiplicity of taxesand improving business cli-mate.

When the Goods andServices Tax (GST) was intro-duced on July 1, 2017, amal-gamating 17 central and statelevies, five commodities name-ly crude oil, natural gas, petrol,diesel, and aviation turbinefuel (ATF) were kept out of itspurview given the revenuedependence of StateGovernments on this sector.

"Currently natural gas istaxed under the VAT regimewith VAT ranging from 3 percent to 20 per cent acrossstates," the ministry said in abooklet it brought out to pro-mote the use of the fuel in auto-mobiles, household kitchens,and industries.

If brought under GST, nat-ural gas will attract a uniformrate of tax at the consumptionpoint anywhere in the countryafter doing away with currentrates of excise duty and VAT.

This, it said, would "resultin an increase in state domes-tic product and socio-eco-nomic development owing toincreased economic activities"which will lead to improved employment oppor-tunities.

Also, it would lead toimproved investor confidenceand attract more investment innatural gas infrastructure in thecountry, the booklet said,adding that a positive impacton environment and healthdue to reduction in carbonemissions across major cities was another advan-tage.

"As gas is not under theambit of GST, there is no inputtax credit available. Further, thedownstream industries are notable to claim the benefit of thetax credit of VAT paid on pur-chases of natural gas which isavailable for alternatefuels/feedstocks," the bookletsaid.

Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan too has been makinga vehement pitch for the inclu-sion of gas in the GST.

"We believe natural gas asalso aviation turbine fuel (ATF)can be included in the GSTregime," he had said onMonday.

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Industry body Ficci onWednesday said its

Economic Outlook Survey hasprojected the country's annu-al median GDP growth for2019-20 at 5 per cent, in linewith the projections made bythe National StatisticalOrganisation (NSO).

The survey has put themedian growth forecast foragriculture and allied activitiesat 2.6 per cent for 2019-20, theindustry and services sector at3.5 per cent and 7.2 per cent,respectively, during the currentyear.

"Growth is likely toimprove to 5.5 per cent in2020-21 as per the projec-tions," the survey said.

Further as per the survey,the economic growth has beenpegged at 4.7 per cent for the third quarter of2019-20.

The survey was conductedduring December and January2019-20 amongst economistsbelonging to the industry,banking and financial servicessector, Ficci said.

As per the first advanceestimates of the nationalincome released by the NSO,

India's GDP growth is seen dip-ping to an 11-year low of 5 percent in the current fiscal, main-ly due to poor showing bymanufacturing and construc-tion sectors.

The survey further saidconcerns remain on externalfront with exports projected tocontract in 2019-20.

Merchandise exports areexpected to decline by 2.1 percent, while imports are expect-ed to decline 5.5 per cent dur-ing the year, it said.

Moreover, median currentaccount deficit forecast waspegged at 1.4 per cent of GDPfor 2019-20.

"Moderation in globalgrowth forecast, escalating geo-political tensions, and uncer-tainty around trade dealbetween US-China and BREX-IT outcome still form majorrisk factors to India's growth in2020," it said.

Participating economistssaid that a shortfall in govern-ment's revenue collectionsseems imminent this year onthe back of lower than antici-pated nominal growth.

To augment Government'srevenue collections, they calledfor measures to boost the coun-try's nominal GDP growth.

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Washington: Lawyers repre-senting Donald Trump at hisimpeachment trial said theabuse of power charges againstthe US President were “drivenby political desires”, as theywrapped up their opening argu-ments.

“The articles of impeach-ment fall far short of any con-stitutional standard,” WhiteHouse Counsel Pat Cipollone,who led Trump’s defence, saidon Tuesday.

“What they are asking youto do is to throw out a success-ful president on the eve of anelection, with no basis and inviolation of the Constitution,”he said.

Urging the Senate to acquitthe president of the abuse ofpower charges, the WhiteHouse counsel argued thatoverturning the last electionand “massively interfering” withthe upcoming one would causeserious and lasting damage tothe people of the United States.

“The Senate cannot allowthis to happen. It is time for thisto end, here and now,” he saidin his closing remarks at theSenate floor.

The Senate is conductingTrump’s trial as the House ofRepresentatives voted lastmonth to impeach him on arti-cles of abuse of power andobstruction of Congress, bothrelated to his dealings withUkraine.

Trump is accused of cheat-ing in his 2020 reelection bid bypressuring Ukraine, a US ally,to announce probe intoDemocratic presidential hope-ful Joe Biden and his sonHunter and a conspiracy theo-ry, promoted by Russia, that

Kiev helped the Democrats in2016.

According to the impeach-ment charges, Trump frozemilitary aid to Ukraine for twomonths last summer to putpressure on PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky to publiclyannounce the investigations,illicitly drawing a foreign nationinto American electoral politics.

Trump’s legal team said hedid nothing wrong and the arti-cles of the impeachment are“constitutionally deficient andthey fail to state impeachable

offences”.The lawyers said the entire

process that led to the House ofRepresentatives voting for thep r e s i d e n t ’ simpeachmentwas “completelypartisan” and was not based onany wrongdoing by Trump orany constitutionally sufficienttheories for impeaching thepresident.

“It was simply a partisanprocess that was driven bypolitical desires to overturnthe last election and to affect the2020 election,” the legal teamsaid.

Meanwhile, Democratssought to have the Senate sub-poena former national securi-ty advisor John Bolton as a wit-ness, following leaks from hisforthcoming book that sug-gested he could supply damn-ing evidence against Trump.

Republicans, however,exuded confidence that theyhave enough votes to thwart anysuch move. In the 100-memberSenate, Republican Senatorshave a 53-47 lead over theDemocrats.

Bolton reportedly writes

that Trump directly withheldsecurity aid to Ukraine for hisown political benefit.

During the three days ofa r g u m e n t s ,Trump’s lawyerspainted him as a

victim of a partisan attempt toundo the 2016 election.

Referring to Bolton’s alle-gations, Trump’s personal attor-ney Jay Sekulow said, “It is nota game of leaks or unsourcedmanuscripts.”

With the conclusion of theopening arguments of Trump’slegal team, the Senate trial nowmoves into a two-day period ofquestioning, during which eachparty will alternate questioningfor up to 16 hours throughoutWednesday and Thursday. Thesenators will not ask questionsthemselves but submit them forChief Justice John Roberts,who is presiding, to read.

A vote on whether or not tocall witnesses in the trial isexpected on Friday.

“No matter how many wit-nesses you give the Democrats,no matter how much informa-tion is given, like the quicklyproduced Transcripts, it will

NEVER be enough for them.They will always screamUNFAIR. The ImpeachmentHoax is just another politicalCON JOB!” Trump tweetedlate Tuesday night.

Senator Ted Cruz exudedconfidence that Trump will beacquitted of all the charges atthe end of the trial. PraisingTrump’s lawyers, Senator JohnCornyn said the House man-agers made the mistake of allot-ting time to each of the man-agers.

“It was more like theyweren’t talking to us, they weretalking to the TV cameras andwere enjoying their moment inthe sun. I thought the President’slawyers presented a concise andpersuasive case,” he said.

“Not only do they want tonegate the 2016 election wherePresident Trump was elected,they want to bar him frombeing on the ballot in 2020.That’s what this impeachmenttrial is all about. That, to me, isa real threat to the Americanpeople’s right to be heard at theballot box, particularly herenine months before the election,”Cornyn told Fox News. PTI

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Washington: President DonaldTrump has released his longdelayed Israeli-Palestinianpeace plan, promising “a newdawn,” but angry Palestinianscalled it biased and deservingto go in the “dustbin of histo-ry.”

Standing alongside IsraeliPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu in the WhiteHouse’s East Room, Trumpsaid on Tuesday that his plancould succeed where decades ofprevious US attempts to inter-vene had failed.

“Together we can bringabout a... New dawn in theMiddle East,” Trump said to anenthusiastic audience thatincluded throngs of Israeli andJewish American guests — but

apparently no Palestinian rep-resentatives.

They are flat out rejectingthe plan, which grants Israelmuch of what it has sought indecades of international diplo-macy, namely control overJerusalem as its “undivided”capital, rather than a city toshare with the Palestinians.The plan also lets Israel annexWest Bank settlements.

Trump praised Israel fortaking “a giant step towardpeace” with the plan, which laysout a vision for futurePalestinian statehood if a seriesof strict conditions are met.

These include requiringthe future Palestinian state tobe “demilitarised,” while for-malising Israeli sovereigntyover settlements built in occu-pied territory. AFP

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Doha: Qatar responded cau-tiously on Wednesday to USPresident Donald Trump’sIsraeli-Palestinian peace plan,saying it welcomed efforts tobroker “longstanding peace”but warned that was unat-tainable without concessionsto the Palestinians.

The plan grants Israelmuch of what it has sought indecades of internationaldiplomacy, namely controlover Jerusalem as its “undi-vided” capital, rather than acity to share with thePalestinians. The plan alsolets Israel annex West Banksettlements. AFP

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Ankara: Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan lam-basted a Middle East planunveiled by US counterpartDonald Trump as “absolute-ly unacceptable” in com-ments published onWednesday.

“Jerusalem is sacred forMuslims. The plan to giveJerusalem to Israel isabsolutely unacceptable. Thisplan ignores Palestinians’rights and is aimed at legit-imising Israel’s occupation,”Erdogan said, quoted byCNN Turk broadcaster.

“The plan outlined willnot serve peace or bring abouta solution,” he added. AFP

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Washington: Fifty Americansoldiers suffered traumatic braininjuries during the retaliatoryIranian missile strike on the USforces in Iraq, according to thePentagon, revising the figure fora third time since the attack onJanuary 8.

Iran attacked Iraqi baseshousing US soldiers in retalia-tion for an American droneattack that killed top Iraniancommander Qasem Soleimaniin Baghdad on January 2, rais-ing regional tensions.

The Pentagon and PresidentDonald Trump had initially saidno service members wereinjured or killed in the Iranianmissile attack.

But last week, the Pentagonsaid 34 troops were injured in

the attack. Earlier, the USCentral Command said that 11service members were treatedfor concussion symptoms fromthe attack. On Tuesday, it uppedthe figure of injured soldiers by16 to 50 service personnel.

“As of today, 50 U.S. Servicemembers have been diagnosedwith Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI),” Pentagon spokesman Lt.Col. Thomas Campbell said inthe statement. “Of these 50, 31total service members weretreated in Iraq and returned toduty, including 15 of the addi-tional service members whohave been diagnosed since theprevious report. Eighteen servicemembers have been transport-ed to Germany for further eval-uation and treatment. PTI

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Beijing/Wuhan: ChinesePresident Xi Jinping onWednesday ordered the mili-tary to “shoulder responsibil-ity” to contain the coron-avirus outbreak that has killed132 people, infected 6,000others with six foreigners con-tracting the disease for the firsttime in China and spread to 17countries.

President Xi, who headsthe People’s Liberation Army,told the military to keep theirmission firmly in mind andshoulder responsibility tomake contribution to win-ning the battle against thenovel coronavirus, which hehas described as a “demon”,state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.

Already the military ispressing thousands of its med-ical personnel into Wuhan, theepicentre of the virus outbreak,to assist the doctors.

Xi’s call to the militarycame as the number of con-firmed cases of the rapidlyspreading virus infection inmainland China reached 6,078with 70 cases abroad, sur-passing the cases witnessedduring the SARS or severeacute respiratory syndromeoutbreak, which had causedhavoc in China in 2002-03.Over 800 people, mostly inChina, died during the SARSepidemic.

The coronavirus, which

first emerged in Wuhan in lateDecember, has killed 132 peo-ple, infected over 6,000 othersand spread to at least 17 coun-tries, amid warnings by healthexperts that the epidemic mayreach its peak in the next 10days resulting in a big increasein number of cases.

The Chinese healthauthorities announced onWednesday that 5,974 con-firmed cases of pneumoniacaused by the novel coron-avirus had been reported in 31provincial-level regions byTuesday.

China’s National HealthCommission said in its dailyreport that 1,239 patientsremained in critical condition

and 9,239 people were sus-pected to be infected with thevirus. A total of 103 peoplehave been discharged fromhospital after recovery, thecommission said.

For the first-time, Tibettoo reported a suspected caseof coronavirus.

A total of 65,537 closecontacts had been traced, thecommission said, adding thatamong them, 1,604 were dis-charged after medical obser-vation on Tuesday. A total of59,990 people were still undermedical observation.

Also for the first timesince the virus surfaced inDecember, six foreigners,including four Pakistanis and

two Australians, have con-tracted the virus, raising con-cerns among thousands offoreigners working in China.

Pakistan also confirmedthat four of its nationals, allstudents, have been infectedwith the virus in Wuhan. Over500 Pakistani students were inWuhan.

Chinese officials said oneof the Pakistani students whocontracted the virus was foundin Guangdong province.

Guangdong health com-mission deputy head ChenZhusheng said that thePakistani and two Australianswere in a stable condition butit was not known how theycontracted the virus. PTI

Melbourne: Australian scien-tists said on Wednesday theyhave successfully grown thenovel coronavirus in a lab, forthe first time outside China, a“significant breakthrough”which they say may help com-bat the deadly virus that hasclaimed over 130 lives andinfected thousands.

The researchers from thePeter Doherty Institute forInfection and Immunity — ajoint venture between theUniversity of Melbourne andthe Royal Melbourne hospital

— said the advance will allowaccurate investigation and diag-nosis of the virus globally.

“Chinese officials releasedthe genome sequence of thisnovel coronavirus, which ishelpful for diagnosis, however,having the real virus means wenow have the ability to actual-ly validate and verify all testmethods, and compare theirsensitivities and specificities -it will be a game changer fordiagnosis,” said Julian Drucefrom The Royal MelbourneHospital. PTI

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Dubai: The United ArabEmirates announced onWednesday its first case of thenew coronavirus, in a familyfrom Wuhan, in what isthought to be the first con-firmed case in the MiddleEast.

“The UAE Ministry ofHealth and Preventionannounced a case of the newcoronavirus affecting peoplefrom one family coming fromthe city of Wuhan in China,”the state news agency WAMreported, without saying howmany were infected. AFP

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Ouagadougou: Six soldiers aredead and seven others are miss-ing after their vehicle struck aroadside bomb in easternBurkina Faso, authorities said.

The violence Tuesday cameas authorities confirmed that 39people had been killed over theweekend in an attack on amarketplace in the WestAfrican nation. Earlier reportshad said more than 30 were

thought to have died but detailswere unclear because commu-nication had been cut in thetown ahead of the attack. Inother violence, a nurse diedMonday while traveling withthree others on her way to herpost in Kelbo. Gunmen onmotorcycles attacked their vehi-cle, according to a statementfrom Col. Salfo Kabore, thegovernor of Sahel region. AP

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Virat Kohli said New Zealanddeserved to win the third

T20 after India prevailed in theSuper Over to take an unassail-able 3-0 lead in the five-matchseries.

Rohit Sharma smashed con-secutive sixes in the final twoballs of the Super Over to leadIndia to their maiden T20 serieswin in New Zealand followinga nerve-wracking finish.

Needing 18 off six balls inthe Super Over, India managed10 off the first four balls. Rohitthen smacked two sixes — oneover mid-wicket and anotherover long off — to help Indiapull off a nail-biter.

“I thought we were gone at

one stage. I told our coach thatthey deserved to win. The wayKane was batting, on 95. Feelbad for him, I know what it’s liketo play those knocks whenthings don’t go your way. On thelast ball, we had a discussion andwe came to a conclusion that wehad to hit the stumps,” the Indiacaptain said at the post-matchpresentation ceremony.

Rohit turned out to be thestar for India as he also top-scored with a 65-run knock toguide the visitors to 179 for fivein their 20 overs.

New Zealand had it allunder control with two runsneeded off four balls and sixwickets in hand to overhaulIndia’s total, but they faltered.

Mohammed Shami bowled

a brilliant final over to tie thegame and bring back memoriesof the 2019 World Cup final,which New Zealand agonising-ly lost to England on boundarycount.

New Zealand captain KaneWilliamon did all he could,both in the run chase (95 off 48balls) and the Super Over (11),but still it did not prove to beenough.

“Last ball we had a discus-sion, we had to hit the stumpsbecause if you don’t, it’s a singleanyway. Rohit was outstanding,both in our innings, and the lasttwo balls as well. We knew if hegot one hit, the bowler wasunder pressure immediately,”Kohli said. With the series inpocket, the India skipper hint-

ed that he will try out his benchstrength in the remaining twogames. “It’s important to give acouple of the others some gametime as well. We want to see howthey do in these conditions,someone like WashingtonSundar, or Saini,” Kohli said.

Meanwhile, Rohit said thereis no training possible for SuperOver eventualities. In fact, theIndian team wasn’t aware of theSuper Over and was made awareof the situation only after thematch had finished in a tie.

“I don’t know if you cantrain for a Super Over. We’ve gota T20 specialist in Bumrah. Forhim, Super Over or whether hebowls in a T20 match is the samefor him. There’s no trainingrequired there for him.

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“Super Overs aren’t reallyNew Zealand’s friend,” skip-

per Kane Williamson said aftera heart-breaking loss in thethrilling third game.

India defeated The BackCaps via Super Over to take anunassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Rohit Sharmasmashed consecutive sixes inthe final two balls of the elimi-nator to lead the visitors to theirmaiden T20 series win in NewZealand.

The defeat brought backmemories of the 2019 World Cupfinal, which New Zealand ago-nisingly lost to England onboundary count.

“Super Overs aren’t really ourfriends. To be honest we wouldhave liked to get across the lineearlier and not in the SuperOver. It’s just a shame that wecouldn’t get past the line,” said adisappointed Williamson at thepost-match press conference.

“It is pretty disappointing tobe on the wrong side of the resultafter doing a lot of hard work.(But) There was a lot of improve-ment after the first two games.

“If we reflect on thematch, then it was abrilliant game. Indiahad a good totalon that surfaceand they didwell with theball because itwas takingsome turn aswell. The guysfought backnicely after thestart India gotwith the bat.And we were ableto build partner-ships and take thegame deep,” he added.

Asked about yet anotherdisappointing outing in the

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Zimbabwe all-rounderSikandar Raza picked up a

career-best seven wickets asthe hosts built a 175-run leadover Sri Lanka on the third dayof the second Test here onWednesday.

Off-spinner Raza claimedthree wickets apiece in themorning and afternoon ses-sions to finish with figures ofseven for 113 as Sri Lanka werebowled out for 293.

Raza’s haul was the secondbest for Zimbabwe in Test crick-et, after former legbreak bowlerPaul Strang’s eight for 109against New Zealand atBulawayo in 2000.

Rain again brought an earlyend to the day as Zimbabwereached 62 for 1 at stumps intheir second innings with PrinceMasvaure unbeaten on 26.

Craig Ervine was the onlyZimbabwe wicket to fall after teawhen he edged behind offVishwa Fernando for 13. Playwill start early on Thursday at

07:35 GMT.For the second Test in suc-

cession Zimbabwe were forcedto make a concussion substitu-tion after opening batsmanKevin Kasuza was again struckon the helmet while fielding atshort leg.

Kasuza was diagnosed withmild concussion and will takeno further part in the match.All-rounder Timycen Marumahas been drafted in to take hisplace.

Angelo Mathews, whomade his first Test double cen-tury in the series opener, top-scored for Sri Lanka with a grit-ty 64 from 158 balls before hewas caught behind down thelegside off Mumba.

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Kristian Clarke came up with anall-round performance to help

New Zealand beat West Indies by twowickets in a low-scoring affair andenter the semifinals of the ICC U-19World Cup here on Wednesday.

Clarke (4/25) first shone with theball to restrict West India to 238 andthen made an unbeaten 46 off 42 ballsto take New Zealand home in thecompany of Joey Field, who was notout on 38.

Batting first, West Indies werebowled out in 47.5 overs with KirkMcKenzie top-scoring with a 104-ball99.

Besides McKenzie, KevlonAnderson (33) and Antonio Morris(31) also made useful contributionswith the bat.

Right-arm pacer Clarke pickedup four wickets for New Zealand,while left-arm spinner Jesse Tashkoff(2/35) and Field (2/52) shared fourwickets between them.

Chasing the modest total, NewZealand lost wickets at regular inter-vals to find themselves in a spot ofbother at 153 for 8 in 34.5 overs.

But Clarke and Field had otherplans as they duo joined hands andshared unbeaten 86 runs for the ninthwicket to take New Zealand home,finishing at 239 for 8 in 49.4 overs.

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,���� ���7������/����������,�� ������ Vice-captainRohit Sharma onWednesday emphasised onIndia’s recent winningstreak in the shortest for-mat, calling it a good signheading into the T20World Cup.

Rohit has forged twogreat opening partnershipsfor India with KL Rahuland Shikhar Dhawan. Hesaid that the team manage-ment will decide whichone comes to the fore laterfor the T20 World Cup.

“Whenever anyone’sgot an opportunity, theyhave made it count.Shikhar as well, when heplayed the last series againstSri Lanka, he got a crucial50 and then KL has been ingood form over the last 7-8 T20s, he’s got probably 4or 5 fifties,” Rohit said.

“So it’s a good sign forthe team. That’s how welook at it. It’s important formost of our players to stayin good form and then

what happens with thefinal XI and everythingthat will be only decidedonce all the players areavailable and the captainand management will sittogether and identify whoare the right guys to playthat particular game. That’show I look at it.

“For me, I want every-one to stay in good form,which has happenedthrough the series. It is agreat sign for us movingforward in this particularformat at least. I wish thenext two games too wedon’t relax. We just want tokeep the momentumgoing. It’s a good sign,” heopined.

India wouldn’t havewon the third T20I withouthis two Super Over sixesbut a modest Rohit credit-ed Mohammed Shami forthe victory.

Shami took two wick-ets in the final over to dis-miss both Kane

Williamson and RossTaylor.

Rohit hit two sixes offthe last two balls in theSuper Over as India tookan unassailable 3-0 lead inthe five-match series. Bothteams were tied on 179runs each after fifties fromRohit and Williamsoncancelled each other.

“I think MohammedShami’s last over was cru-cial, and actually that gotus the victory. Not my twosixes. It was Shami’s overwhere we defended nineruns. It’s not easy with thedew,” Rohit said at thepost-match press confer-ence.

The India vice captainadded, “The wicket set-tling in nicely and two setbatsmen out there as well...One batsman was battingon 95 and their most expe-rienced player was at theother end. Hats off toShami to bowl that overand get us back into the

game and into the SuperOver.”

Last but not the least,Rohit opined that it wastough not to feel for NewZealand who have been onthe wrong end of SuperOver results for a whilenow.

“Kane Williamsonplayed a solid innings. Ofcourse their team will feeldisappointed about howthey could lose such agame. But we have to lookat how we came back intothe game.

“The last over thatShami bowled was veryimportant for us and apositive sign because wecould play a game likethis in the World Cup.Then what do we do.

“We can’t lose hope.We will need to staystrong, even if you needdefend five runs, you haveto show a positive attitude,and we showed that here,”Rohit signed off. PTI

Super Over, the New Zealand skip-per said: “In my opinion we should-n’t have them (jokingly). Look it iswhat it is. It’s good fun. We had a fullhouse at midnight, which is reallycool. It’s good entertainment.

“I am probably not the person toask as we came second in the SuperOver tonight like a few other times.So it was not ideal but people haveenjoyed that, and that’s fine.”

Williamon did all he could, bothin the run chase (95 off 48 balls) andthe Super Over (11), but still it didnot prove to be enough.

Williamson was especially harsh

on Jasprit Bumrah (0/45), who hadan off day and then was expensive inthe Super Over as well.

“You are just trying to do what isrequired for the team, as best you can,and there are a number of other con-tributions that are really important,”Williamson said.

“Starting on that surface wasquite challenging. Everybody foundso but once you got in then you tryto get a bit of rhythm and the part-nerships were the most positive thingof that run-chase. Overall it was amuch better performance.”

Williamson, however, said he

didn't have any specific plan againstBumrah.

“No, not really targeting him(Bumrah), it was just that we need 10s(per over). There are big challengesthat we have seen in every game butI guess you are trying to do the bestand keep up with the asking rate.”

“Maybe ask AB (de Villiers) orother superstars (how to playBumrah), but for me I was just try-ing to look for areas on that surface.It doesn’t always come off but it wasnice that we were able to get so closewithout quite getting across the line,”he added.

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Manners are an impor-tant thing to learn.Having good mannersmeans acting in amanner that is social-

ly acceptable and respectful. Excellentmanners can help you to have betterrelationships with people you know,and those you will meet. Some stepsshould be taken to develop goodmanners like familiarising yourselfwith basic etiquette such as dining andphone etiquette. Being polite to oth-ers is always a good place to start andyou can begin your journey to goodmanners by holding doors open forothers when possible. Good mannersconvey respect to those you interactwith, and also commands respectfrom those you interact with.

The modern workplace compris-es mixed generations, changes, andstresses beyond your control. Forsome, this is brand-new territory, andwe sometimes feel confused by whatis or is not appropriate. Workplaceissues ranging from how you commu-nicate with others to how you presentyourself.

Manners certainly count—be itmeeting your significant other’s par-ents for the first time, or having lunchwith an important customer. Butmanners also count even when there’sno special occasion. Although friendsand colleagues may not say anything,they absolutely notice, and probablyjudge, how you behave every day.You’d know that if you could read theirminds.

Knowing where to place your forkand knife doesn’t mean that you havegood manners. Having proper man-ners simply means that your behav-ior is socially acceptable; you knowhow to behave so that you don’tembarrass yourself or worse yet,cause others to feel uncomfortable.

Good or bad manners say vol-umes about you and your upbringing.Manners show politeness and demon-strate an awareness of self-worth,respect for others, and a desire to fit

in.You only have seconds to make a

good impression. Make it positive.Remember to have a firm hand-shake, give your undivided attention,look him or her in the eye when you’respeaking, and listen till they’re finishedbefore responding. Dress for success,but also remember your manners.

Manners shift the attention fromyou toward others. Manners are agood way for you to show gratitude,display respect, and demonstratekindness.

Good manners are a strong indi-cation of how you’ll behave in thefuture. They indicate whether you’redependable, reliable, and selfless.These are critical elements in build-ing trusting personal and businessrelationships. People who are rude,inconsistent, or selfish ultimately suf-fer the consequences.

Manners are becoming a lost artbut they are a sign of professionalismand respect and will go a long waytoward increasing your chances inbusiness and the professional world.

We have become a culture withalmost complete disregard for formal-ity. But when people are buying aproduct or service, their positionshould be elevated regardless of their

age. As buyers, they are in an author-ity position. You are not equals and“yes, sir” and “no, sir” confirms thatyou know that.

Rather than responding to a cus-tomer request with “no problem,” anenthusiastic "it's my pleasure" showsyour willingness to assist. Remembertime is valuable. Thanking customersfor their attention at the start and theend of an interaction shows appreci-ation, empathy and understanding.Never say, "I don't want to waste yourtime or mine." Your time is notimportant. Their time is.

Before responding to customersabout anything, give them a fullacknowledgement by replicating theirremarks along the lines of "Thank youfor telling me that and I agree withyou." Just listening without doing somight prompt a buyer to feel unheardand disrespected.

Texting, answering calls or doingother tasks while serving a customeris not multitasking. It's multi-rudenessand will cost you multimillions. Givethe person standing before you yourfull engagement.

You can never thank customersenough. Use every medium possibleto show thanks. Text the person 10seconds after the exchange, then call,email and say again in person thankyou.

Following that up with a hand-written note is the most powerful wayto demonstrate thanks. The message"I just want to tell you again how muchI appreciate you as a customer" is apowerful written statement.

This is just simple common sense.If you’re reaching in front of someoneor moving into his or her physicalspace, acknowledge this by saying,"excuse me." It’s respectful. Also if youenter a room while people are talking,this is a polite way to be acknowledged

and have your question answeredquickly.

Never be the first person to walkthrough a doorway. Hold the door forall people no matter their position.Mannered people are responsiblepeople who look for opportunities tobe decent to their fellow humans.Holding a door for a stranger is an actof kindness.

Go out of your way to show appre-ciation and make customers feelimportant. If you can't communicatethis notion with sincerity, have some-one else work with this customer.

Manners are not just somethingyour parents thought were importantnor are they some outdated social pro-tocol. In the world of money and eco-nomics, great manners are rewardedand bad manners are punished. Watchthe people earning big money and youwill see how they make businessmanners a regular habit.

Keep the volume of your voice aslow as possible while still allowingpeople to hear you, and don't use slangor filler. Remember that the peoplearound you are not all deaf, so youdon't need to shout at the top of yourlungs. They might think that you arerude.

The essence of good manners andetiquette is to be respectful and cour-teous at all times and with everybody.Therefore, treat your co-workers,cleaners, maintenance people andothers with respect and courtesy

Good office etiquette is easilyachieved by using common courtesyas a matter of course

Keep your interruptions of othersto a minimum and always apologiseif your intrusion is an interruption ofa discussion, someone’s concentrationor other activity. Show respect for eachothers workspace. Knock before enter-ing

Show appreciation for the slight-est courtesies extended to you

Be helpful and co-operative witheach other. Brush up on your comput-er skills so that you can help others.

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Narmada Valley has beenvibrant since millions of

years, be it the origin andevolution of human civilisa-tion, the diversities of floraand fauna, the fertile land,the wars between kings tocapture the fertile land ordisputes on the ownership ofNarmada water. Thus, theriver Narmada and theNarmada Valley has alwaysbeen the subject of widepublic interest.

After the independenceof the country, people wit-nessed the dispute over shar-ing of its water between thestates from where its windsits way. This dispute leads tospark various social, politi-cal, economical and envi-ronmental issues with itscomplexities. These com-plexities multiplied with thepace of various efforts putby the systems to redressthem. As onlooker it wasdifficult to get a holisticaccount of Narmada Valleyin order to come to termswith realities on ground.Niyogi Books, New

Delhi – a leading namein the publishing world ofthe country successfullyattempted to display allabout Narmada Valleybefore the readers.

Niyogi Books is knownfor its finest books bream-ing with meticulousresearch on the subject. Itstitle RediscoveringNarmada Valley is also adextrous presentation of thesubject.

The writer Adil Khanwho hails from MadhyaPradesh and is known asexpert of Narmada Valleyrelated matters has fulfilledthe need on the subject. Hehas devoted more than 20years to research and redis-cover every dimension ofthe river and the valley. Beits history, geography, peo-

ple and politics, environ-ment, wild life, agricultureor development, Adil Khanwith his meticulous effortshas successfully collectedall about the valley in thisbook.

For a long time therehas been a need to rediscov-er and disseminate alldimensions of the subject ina systematic, authentic andusable form to make read-er aware about these aspects.The eventful and kaleido-scopic story of

Narmada Valley isworth knowing for the newgeneration from the past,present and future perspec-tive. The publisher and thewriter has put this endeav-our to achieve the same. Thenotable feature of the bookis that writer has put thesubject in a systematic,unbiased, simple andchronological manner, thusthe book is an asset foreverybody who directly orindirectly concerned withthe matters of the NarmadaValley. The book will alsohelp in way to deal with thefuture river water disputes ifany in the country.

Since the writer hasbeen associated with thedepartment of NarmadaValley as a senior informa-tion officer, the book standsfor its authenticity andupdation.

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Art that captures the imaginationis often that which serves a wit-ness to and a reflection of con-

temporary times. The populist senti-ments against migration being voiced bymany of the political parties has natu-rally found a reaction at the latest edi-tion of the India Art Fair. There is amigration series — You Will Know Me,curated by Tara Sabharwal by The ArtAlive Gallery. The works are about theartists who have migrated to the US andGermany. There are stories aroundartist like Vir Munshi on his return tohis exiled home in Kashmir, Ritu Sarinand Tenzing Sonam’s film on the expe-rience of Tibetans in exile, LavanyaMani’s dyed textiles on migrations,Sarojini Lewis’ prints on her grandfa-ther’s migration during his service inBritish Army at the time of World WarII and Tara Sabharwal’s collage depict-ing refugees on boats. Sunaina Anand,director of the gallery, says that theywanted to tell people about the migra-tion stories through art.

But then this is not surprising.Going by the exceptional outing thatIndian art and artists had at last year’sIndia Art Fair, the expectations are nat-urally high this year. The hopes centrecertainly centre around not just biggerand better offerings for art connoisseursbut also diverse media, international art

galleries expanding their collectionsacross geographies and mediums andconversations across the art world tak-ing up more space at exhibitions and gal-leries, feel experts.

The director of the fair, JagdipJagpal, shares that the 12th edition pre-sents a strong line-up of leading artists— Maya Krishna Rao, national-awardwinning theatre performer and socialactivist; Lagos-based multimedia artistJelili Atiku, whose works address polit-ical concerns for human rights and jus-tice; multi-disciplinary artist PiyaliGhosh and Raisa Kabir, an interdiscipli-nary artist exploring the politics and cul-tural anxieties around globalised neo-colonial textile production and nation-hood.

It also offers a platform for dialoguesand discussions — Auditorium Talks,which will feature artist presentations,memorial lectures and conversationsacross the art world with critics, collec-tors and institutions across the globe. Forinstance, modernist Nilima Sheikh,Turner prize nominated filmmakerNaeem Mohaiemen and Magnum pho-tographer Martin Parr.

Says Jagdip, “This year’s memorial

lectures will be dedicated to life andworks of modernist Ram Kumar andartist Tushar Joag. Other topics includediscussions on South Asian Textile Artwith curator Uthra Rajgopal from theWhitworth, Plans for Future Museumswith Sophie Makariou and KamaniSawhney from The Guimet and Museumof Art and Photography, amongst oth-ers.”

Outdoor art projects will showcasesix large-scale installations by Indian andinternational artists. The metal sculptureby Anita Dube’s untitled 1994-2019 is alarge-scale installation, taking the shapeof a hollow cyborg to reflect her con-cerns with personal and societal loss ina technocratic age. Another in line willbe Farah Mulla’s Crosstalk 2019, sup-ported by Serendipity Art Foundation.She presents an interactive installationexploring the connections between theaudience, space, sound and colourvibrations. There is Martin Parr’s LivePhotography Project, 2020, Supported byPhotoink, too. Magnum photographerMartin will capture people and presentlive photography at his booth.

Another in line is the Vadehra ArtGallery that focuses on promoting

young and contemporary artist alongwith showcasing the new works ofmodern masters — Shakti Burman,Maite Delteil and Manu Parekh. In con-temporary artists, the gallery will show-case new works of Suman Chandra,Purvai Rai, Portarasan Suban.Portarasan will present a ceramic sculp-ture depicting that the city that we livein has so much radiation. Purvai createslandscapes through textures of her tex-tiles. Suman, with his Jharkhand draw-ings, will depict the misuse of land andhow it has destroyed our environment.Roshini Vadehra, director of the gallery,feels that the current scenario of art mar-ket is very challenging but the mood ispositive. It is that time of the year whenart is foremost on everyone’s mind andpeople are looking forward to newexhibitions. They are eager to knowabout the world of art.”

DAG’s offering at the fair,Masterpieces: 100 Years of Indian Art,includes the collection of modern art inone space. Ranging from a portrait of ajewelled dancer from the South to thedelicate “wash style” associated with theBengal School (KshitindranathMajumdar) to the pathbreaking progres-sives (K K Ara, M F Husain, KrishenKhanna, S H Raza) and a phenomenalrepresentation of the Madras ArtMovement (K Sultan Ali), there are a lotof masterpieces on the display.

Ask Ashish Anand, MD and CEO ofDAG, about the current art market? Hesays, “India’s art market is still youngand, therefore, challenging, with a smallbase, insufficient infrastructure andlack of knowledge about art in general.”While he believes that art has to beaccessible and understood by peoplebefore a viable market can exist, Jagdipfeels that the South Asian art market hasundergone a massive transformationsince the downturn in 2009.

Through such fairs one can see theIndian art industry evolving at a glob-al level. The international exchange ofart and artists is giving a plethora of rea-

sons to the the ones originating in Indiato leave their imprint. Ashish says, “Inthe recent years Indian art is making aglobal presence. Exhibitions and retro-spective of Indian artists have openedoutside, whether Nasreen Mohamediand Mrinalini Mukherjee at the Met inNew York, Nalini Malani in Paris orBhupen Khakhar at Tate London, amongothers.”

Jagdip shares that the galleries are con-tributing to the development of the cultur-al scene within the South Asia art indus-try by laying a foundation for longer-termgrowth of the Indian art market. “We hearthat galleries are making significant salesat all price points to both established anda new, younger generation of collectors,who will be important in shaping the artmarket of the future. A growth in non-commercial art market initiatives is creat-ing new platforms for discussing, contex-tualising and promoting contemporary art.”

She believes that over the past decadethe region has seen a massive increase incultural activity with the establishment ofnew annual and biennial contemporaryart initiatives such as the Kochi-MuzirisBiennale, the Colombo Art Biennale, theLahore Biennale, Pune Biennial, theSerendipity Arts Festival and the DhakaArt Summit. Private patronage for the artsin India and South Asia continues to grow,with increasing support from organisa-tions such as Gujral Foundation and insti-tutions such as Kiran Nadar Museum ofArt, Kolkata Centre for Creativity and theforthcoming Museum of Art &Photography, Bangalore. “In conjunctionwith this, contemporary Indian andSouth Asian art and artists have beenincreasingly visible around the globe, gen-erating even greater understanding of theregion’s cultural diversity. There have beenmajor exhibitions at the Guggenheim, TheMet Breuer as well as high profile part-nerships cross-continent between SouthAsia and Europe, such as the New Northand South network which brought togeth-er 11 institutions in the UK and SouthAsia,” she adds.

Tamil Superstar Rajinikanthhas appealed for water con-

servation on a war footing as hemarks his TV debut after 43 yearsof cinema via Discovery channel’sInto The Wild with Bear Grylls.“This war (water conserving) hasto be led at all levels includinggovernment, community as wellas on the individual front. Ibelieve this show is a perfect plat-form to take the message ofconserving water to every homeacross the country,” said theactor.

The 69-year-old Southernsuperstar shot for the programmein Karnataka’s Bandipur TigerReserve. It’s an 874 sq km nation-al park, formed by integratingmost of the forest areas of erst-while Venugopala Wildlife Parkestablished in 1941, and laterenlarged to its current state inChamarajanagar district, about220 km Southwest of Bengaluru.The tiger reserve lists 28 speciesof mammals to be thriving in theforest, including royal Bengaltiger, Asian elephant, commonleopard, bonnet macaque, Indianpipistrelle and barking deer,among others.

In August 2019, Grylls hadhosted Prime Minister Modi inthe Man vs Wild show, whichwas shot at the Jim CorbettNational Park in Uttarakhand inFebruary 2019. Other interna-tional icons who featured in theshow include United StatesPresident Donald Trump’s prede-cessor Barack Obama, Titanicstar Kate Winslet, Tennis virtu-oso Roger Federer andHollywood great Julia Robertsand others.

“Into The Wild is a trulyunique show, at one level it

offers adrenaline pumpingaction, while at another, theshow lends itself beautifully todriving a specific purpose for thelarger good of society,” saidRajinikanth.

“Bear Grylls has tested thesurvival skills of multiple celebri-ty guests, pushing them to theirlimits. I look forward to the sur-vival challenge in the mesmeris-ing wilderness of India,” headded. Also focussing on waterconservation in the new pro-gramme, Megha Tata, managingdirector, Discovery, South Asia,said that the channel wanted toadd a layer of purpose with eachepisode.

“Last year, the show featur-ing Modi, generated muchdesired attention on conservationof wildlife. We are confidentthat the forthcoming episodewill sensitise each one of usabout conservation of water,”Tata said.

Grylls heaped praise onRajinikanth, saying that the actoris a phenomenon, who has cap-tivated the audience across theworld with his work both onscreen and off screen.

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With the current trend towardde-cluttering and downsiz-

ing, there are plenty of booksabout how to winnow down pos-sessions to the few that are trulynecessary and loved. This bookshows how you can live well oncethat’s done. In Downsize: LivingLarge in a Small House (2019, TheTaunton Press), author SheriKoones focuses on practical waysto live well at home once you’vestreamlined your belongings andare living more compactly.

“It scares people to think ofmoving into a smaller space, butevery single person I interviewedwho has made the transition saysthey are so happy they did,”Koones says. “Time and again,people used the word ‘liberated’ todescribe their move to a smallerspace, with homes requiring farless time and money to maintain.”

Koones, who recently relocat-ed from a sprawling 6,800-square-foot house in Greenwich,Connecticut, to a 1,400-square-foot home closer to town, hasexperienced the transition herself.

“It’s not just empty nestersanymore,” she adds. “Youngerpeople, too, are in couples wherethey’re both working, they’re hav-ing children later, they want to beactive and they don’t want to bedoing maintenance on the week-ends. They don’t want to be tieddown to mowing lawns and doingall the other chores that come withliving in a big house.”

Living more sustainably andsaving on energy costs is also partof the attraction of downsizing,Koones says. So is aging in place.There are people of all ages look-ing for features like a master bed-

room on the main floor or barri-er-free showers.

“Yes, older people with dis-abilities need them but evenyounger people break a leg skiingor have situations where theywant a barrier-free shower,” shesays.

The book features photos andillustrations of 33 well-designedsmall homes in urban and ruralsettings in the US and Canada. Itexamines the features that makeeach home a success, with adviceaimed at those building, renovat-ing or even just organising their

homes.Some of the features that

Koones says can make a smallhome feel more spacious:

- Raised ceilings, well-posi-tioned windows and light wall col-ors.

� Multifunctional furniture, liketiny kitchen tables that can expandto accommodate dinner guests.

� Flexible rooms that can serveas office, bedroom and hobbyroom, for example. One house fea-tured in the book has a garagewith light fixtures and doors thatopen in front and back so that itdoubles as an entertaining space.

� Creative storage ideas, likechairs that can hang on wall pegs,hooks for bicycles, and making thebest use of alcoves or space understairs.

� Fewer hallways, which allowsfor more livable space.

� Koones details specific types ofroofs (like standing-seam metalroofs), flooring (concrete) andheating systems that are moreenergy-efficient and low-mainte-nance. “The key is to have a homethat is efficiently designed, both interms of energy use and in termsof space,” she says. “I refer to it as‘downsizing,’ but a better word forit might be ‘right-sizing.’ For mostof history, houses were moremodestly proportioned, and welived quite comfortably in thosesmaller homes. Over time hous-es got too big. Now the trend isheading toward smaller again.”

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Bharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL) has

declared 2020 as “The Yearof Transformation” with theobjective of putting the com-pany on the path of becom-ing a global engineeringorganisation. Towards thisend, it has kicked off a multi-dimensional transformation-al strategy to address themultiple business challengesit currently faces — includ-ing decline in its traditionalmarket for thermal powerequipment, disruptive tech-nology developments andincreasingly stringent cus-

tomer requirements. Withthis, the company aims toturn the current challengesinto opportunities for thefuture.

In its over five-decadejourney, BHEL has been akey contributor to India’sindustrial development.Presently, more than 50 percent of the electricity gener-ated in the country comesfrom BHEL manufacturedpower generation equip-ment.

As part of the transfor-mation strategy, it has takenup the task of reviewing and

revamping processes,redesigning business models,expanding into new marketsand developing a committedworkforce with a strongleadership at all levels.Specific strategic initiativesfocus on quality, project exe-cution, cost reduction, diver-sification, digital enablementand technology upgrada-tion. These initiatives arebeing coordinated and mon-itored through a“Transformation Office” setup at the corporate head-quarters.

The company has

recently launched “QualityFirst” initiative aimed atstrengthening the qualityculture, focussing on deliv-ering world class productsand services.

Revamp of project exe-cution capabilities is anoth-er major initiative underway with the objective ofarresting project delays andconsolidating its position asa leading project executionorganisation. Under this ini-tiative, a number of stepshave been taken up, includ-ing implementation ofIntegrated Project

Management Software(IPMS) for real-time projectmonitoring, streamlining thesupply chain to supportsmooth erection work atsites, strengthening pre-engi-neering activities for longterm EPC excellence.

The company’s twopronged product strategyfocuses on defending thecore through excellence inexecution, cost competitive-ness, focus on spares andservices and diversificationinto new business areas byengaging a leading consul-tancy agency .

Digital enablement isanother focus area for thecompany. Various initiativesbeing taken in this directioninclude installation of IPMS,implementation of e-Officeand integration of multipleERP platforms for end-to-end monitoring of manufac-turing, project execution toimprove the overall efficien-cy of the organisation.

In line with its philoso-phy of being a committedcorporate citizen, BHEL istransforming its townshipsinto model / smart town-ships.

As a part of the quality man-date, University Grants

Commission (UGC) has set thegoal to get every HigherEducation Institution accredit-ed. In order to achieve this goalUGC has introduced a schemecalled Paramarsh (Consultant).Under this scheme institutionslike SRMIST which are accred-ited and acclaimed by variousagencies act as mentors andadopt unaccredited institutionsand mentor them towardsaccreditation. SRMIST hasadopted five institutions in andaround Chennai under thisscheme.

The inaugural workshopfor these institutes was conduct-ed at SRMIST, Kattankulathurcampus recently where thenuances of accreditation byNAAC were expounded byexperts from SRMIST. It wasalso highlighted how SRMIST,which was first accredited byNAAC way back in 2006,improved its performance byleaps and bounds to attain thepresent exalted status. The fiveinstitutes are: Pachaiyappa’sCollege for Women,Kanchipuram, Pachaiyappa’sCollege for Men, Kanchipuram,C. Kandaswami Naidu Collegefor Men, Rajalakshmi Instituteof Technology and ThangaveluEngineering College.

Welcoming the representa-tives from other colleges,Registrar Dr N Sethuramansaid, “This programme isorganised so that other highereducation institutions get men-tored and we get the opportu-

nity to lend our helping handto other institutions.”Inaugurating the workshop,Vice Chancellor Dr SandeepSancheti said, “Consultations isthe key to improvement in anydomain. Things can be doneeasily when we start consulting,however, this is not followedmuch in the field of education.Consulting with experts, stake-holders is an important way tohandle issues. Sharing the prob-lem also helps in growth. Thisworkshop will also aid inremoving ignorance and helpinstitutions improve their qual-ity, which is an importantbenchmark.”

On SRMIST conductingthis workshop, he said, “It is oneof the first institutions to getsA++. Only a handful of univer-sities have this status under thepresent NAAC system. So thisexpertise that we have can helpother institutions apply for cer-tification.”

He emphasised on theimportance of active learninglaboratory, foreign languages,faculty exchange programmesand so on that enabled SRMInstitute of Science andTechnology in becoming a top-rated ranking university.

Dr Latha Pillai, director(Quality Assurance andRankings) presented anoverview of Parmarsh andNAAC accreditation. Therewere several criterion — wiselectures by accreditationambassador, dean, IQAC andstanding committee membersof SRMIST’s Paramarsh team.

Council of Architecture(COA), the governing

body of all architects in Indiaorganised a “National Awardsfor Excellence in Architecture2019” for students from allover the country. The presidentof COA, Ar Habeeb Khanpresided over the function.The “Best Student ofArchitecture Award” was givenby the chancellor and presidentof DY Patil University, NaviMumbai.

With a view to encourageand motivate the students ofarchitecture, the Council ofArchitecture has instituted theNational Awards for Excellencein: Architecture in thesis andand JK AYA Best ArchitectureStudent of the Year Award and, COA National Awards forExcellence in Post GraduateThesis in Architecture, COAStudents’ Awards forExcellence in Documentationof Architectural Heritage,COA Griha’s National Awardsfor Excellence in ArchitectureThesis on SustainableArchitecture Design. Theaward for excellence in docu-mentation of architectural her-itage is already instituted in

India by Council ofArchitecture since 2018.

The motto behind institut-ing these awards is to inspireand stimulate the architectur-al students to bring glory andpride not only to them but alsoto the profession and architec-tural colleges. It will simulta-neously act to sensitise thesociety and create awareness topromote architecture as acareer option.

In order to create publicawareness, the ceremony forthe National Awards forExcellence in Architecture wasconducted as a two day eventon Friday and Saturday withexhibition and awards ceremo-ny. The ceremony was attend-ed by eminent architects, pro-fessionals, academicians,teachers and students in archi-tecture from all over the coun-try.

The award encouragedstudents to excel in their aca-demic pursuit and spread theawareness about architectureand the architect’s role in thedevelopment of the societythrough exhibitions and openjuries associated with theawards programme.

CRPF-the Central Armed PoliceForce of the country has been

awarded with 76 medals for gallantrywhich include one President’s Policemedal for Gallantry. With this, thetotal number of gallantry medals wonby the dedicated force personnel tillnow has reached upto 1976, thehighest ever among all the CAPFs inthe country. 62 force personnel havealso been awarded with servicemedals. There are also seven CRPFbravehearts whose valour has beenrecognised by the nation more than

once. Among them Naresh Kumar,assistant commandant is honouredwith the prestigious PMG for the sixthtime.

Dr AP Maheshwari, DG, CRPFhas congratulated all the medal win-ners and their families. As announcedby the government on the eve of the71st Republic Day, four braveheartsof the force have been awarded withthe prestigious gallantry medals.

Shaheed constable Utpal Rabhaof the 209 CoBRA Bn- the PPMGawardee, had not only held his

ground in the face of indiscriminatefiring by the maoists but in theprocess ensured the safety of his teammembers too. He laid down his lifefighting the maoists in the dense jun-

gle of Khunti in the West Singhbhumdistrict of Jharkhand.

The same strand of courage andconviction, valour and vivacity, per-sistence and patriotism, selflessness

and sacrifice runs through the gallantacts of all the brave force personnelwhich rightfully fetched them the dis-tinguished honour in the shape of thePPMG & PMG.

Tamil Nadu industrialist and chair-man, KPR group of Industries KPRamasamy visited KISS and KIIT

on Saturday. He visited all campuses ofKIIT and various units of KISS.Addressing the students of KISS he said,education is the fundamental instru-ment for economic and social growth.

Most of the students of KIIT andKISS are providing value based educa-tion. Dr Samanta always thinks aboutKalinga-the Odisha. It is in his heart.

During afternoon Ramasamy wasfelicitated by KIIT, deemed to be uni-versity. He also met Naveen Patnaik,chief minister of Odisha and discussedon establishment of industry by KPRGroup in Odisha. Ramasamy said thathe will explore to establish apparelindustry in Kandhamal and a trainingcentre will be opened there by KPR MillLtd. He was accompanied with highlevel officials of KPR Group.

Few days ago, Dr Achyuta SamantaMP, Kandhamal visited Chairman,KPR Ltd at Coimbatore during his tourto Tamil Nadu. During an interactionwith Ramasamy Dr Samanta request-ed him to establish an industry inOdisha.

In recognition of thecourage and bravery

displayed during vari-ous duties rendered by

Border Security Forcepersonnel, thePresident awarded 60medals, which include

nine Police Medal forGallantry (PMG)including six posthu-mously, five President’s

Police Medal forDistinguished Services(PPMDS) and 46 PoliceMedal for Meritorious

Services (PMMS) tothe BSF personnel onthe occasion ofRepublic Day.

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The Election Commissionof India has awarded

the Chief Electoral OfficePunjab with the “Best Statefor Accessible Elections”award for making elaboratearrangements to facilitatethe Persons WithDisabilities voters duringGeneral Elections 2019. ThePresident of India Ram NathKovind conferred this awardupon the Chief ElectoralOfficer Punjab Dr S KarunaRaju during NationalVoter’s Day function held atZoravar Auditorium inManekshaw Centre. Onreceiving the award, Dr SKaruna Raju said that thishonour was the result ofadministrative cooperationof Chief Secretary of Punjaband active support ofPrincipal Secretary Financeand commendable arrange-ments made during theelections in collaborationwith the departments ofRural Development andPanchayats, Health & fam-ily Welfare and SocialSecurity.

He said that exemplary

arrangements were put inplace as per the instructionsof the Election Commissionof India for the facilitationof Divyang voters in elec-

tions. Dr Raju added thatthe credit also goes to thehard work and efforts ofadditional CEO KavitaSingh, Sibin C, Gurpal

Singh Chahal, BhupinderSingh, all deputy commis-sioners and SSPs to trans-late the vision of ECI intoreality.

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��� �� AC Milan will meet Juventus inthe Italian Cup semi-finals after beatingTorino 4-2 in an enthralling encounterto continue their Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired revival.

Extra-time goals from substitutesHakan Calhanoglu and Ibrahimovicsealed passage into the last four for aMilan side who have been reawoken bythe return of the Swede last month.

They will be relishing the tie with theItalian champions, who thumped Roma3-0 in their quarter-final match last week.

The superstar striker’s second goalsince returning to Milan came on a nightthe club honoured Milan fan KobeBryant — who spent much of his child-hood in Italy — with the message“Legends never die” on the San Sirobig screens.

It was Calhanoglu who savedMilan’s skin just after coming offthe bench, as the Turk’s deflectedshot in the dying seconds of nor-mal time took the match to extra timeafter Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Siriguhad held the hosts at bay.

The hosts had dominated most of thematch but had found themselves behindto two Gleison Bremer goals with 19 min-utes left after Giacomo Bonaventura hadgiven Milan the lead in the 12th minute.

Ibrahimovic missed two chances tosnatch the tie after Calhanoglu levelled,

first somehow shooting over the barfrom inches out, then seeing hissmart shot well pushed away bySirigu.

Sirigu was on top form again inextra time when he pulled off a

superb double save, first charging out tostop Theo Hernandez before quickly get-ting up to keep out the rebound.

However he couldn’t stopCalhanoglu putting his side ahead earlyin the second half of extra-time, his pow-erful shot escaping the Italian stopper’sgrasp before Ibrahimovic slotted homeLeao’s neat lay-off two minutes later, end-ing Torino’s resistance. AFP

����� Trezeguet struck deepinto stoppage time to send AstonVilla into their first League Cupfinal for a decade with a 2-1 winover Leicester on Tuesday toprogress 3-2 on aggregate.

Matt Targett’s early opener putVilla in front, but Leicesterenjoyed the majority of thechances and finally found a waypast Orjan Nyland when KelechiIheanacho levelled 18 minutesfrom time.

However, Villa snatched vic-tory and a trip toWembley on March1 to faceManchester City orManchester Unitedwhen Trezeguetconnected perfectlywith fellow

Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady’scross three minutes into addedtime. “It was emotional for every-one when that goal goes in,” saidVilla boss Dean Smith, a lifelongfan of the club. “Taking this clubto Wembley, I will be a very proudman.”

Defeat ends Leicester bossBrendan Rodgers’s unbeaten runof 31 straight domestic cup match-es after a dominant spell at Celticand he rued his side’s inability toturn their dominance into goals.

“I thought we were excellentin the game. We played with a nicecontrol and composure, but theirgoalkeeper has made some out-standing saves,” said Rodgers.

“I’m gutted for my playersbecause we put so much into thegame. I thought at the end therewas only one team was going towin it, but we switch off at the lastminute.” AFP

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Dominic Thiem shocked top seedRafael Nadal and Alexander

Zverev ousted former championStan Wawrinka as tennis’s youngpretenders stole a march on the oldguard to reach the Australian Opensemi-finals on Wednesday.

Austria’s Thiem, 26, beat Nadal7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) —his first win in six attempts atGrand Slams, including two FrenchOpen finals — to end the 33-year-old’s bid to equal Roger Federer’srecord 20 Major titles.

Earlier Zverev, 22, beat 2014champion Wawrinka, 34, to go intoa semi-final with Thiem, meaningthat one of them will reach Sunday’sfinal against Roger Federer or NovakDjokovic, who have won 12 of thelast 14 Australian Open titles.

Thiem had Nadal’s measure inthe first two sets and he recoveredfrom dropping the third to win thefourth-set tie-breaker, getting off thefloor after falling to win one pointand enjoying some luck from the netcord to set up the third and decisivematch point.

“I was lucky in the right situa-tion — the net cord was really on myside,” Thiem said. “But it’s necessarybecause he is one of the greatest ofall time. You need some luck to beathim.”

Several young players have beenknocking on the door of the BigThree of Nadal, Federer andDjokovic, and either Thiem orZverev will get a chance to kick itopen in Sunday’s final.

‘ALMOST TOO FOCUSED’Germany’s Zverev rallied from

a set down to halt three-time Major-winner Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and reach his first Grand Slam

semi-final.Big things have been tipped for

Zverev since he burst intothe top 10 in 2017, but hesaid that until now he hasbeen pushing himself toohard at the Majors.

“I was doing things ina way too professional way. I was nottalking to anybody. I wasn’t goingout with friends. I wasn’t having din-ner. I was just really almost toofocused.”

“I changed that a little bit thisweek... maybe this is how it shouldhappen,” he added.

Wimbledon champion SimonaHalep has also benefited from a

more relaxed approach asshe swept aside AnettKontaveit 6-1, 6-1 to reachthe semi-finals withoutdropping a set.

The Romanian fourthseed, who is spending time awayfrom tennis between matches, saidshe was finally feeling comfortableon the biggest stage.

“I just feel more confident andI feel like I‘m able to do it,” saidHalep, who is going after her thirdMajor title. “It’s just a feeling that

you don’t see this trophy as impos-sible anymore.”

Halep’s semi-final is against fel-low two-time Slam-winner GarbineMuguruza, who continued herimpressive return to form by beat-ing Russian 30th seed AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3.

“I’m excited to play my firstsemi-final here,” said the unseededformer world number one, who wonthe 2016 French Open and 2017Wimbledon.

“I’ve known her (Halep) forquite a long time so it’s going to bea tough match,” she added.

����� �3$ 209�$*33�

Star javelin thrower NeerajChopra has qualified for

the Tokyo Olympics with athrow of 87.86m at the ACNELeague meeting here, makingan impressive return to the cir-cuit after recovering from anelbow injury.

The 22-year-old Indian,who missed the entire 2019 sea-son due to the injury, breachedthe Olympic qualification markof 85m in his fourth attemptand secured the top place at theinternational event on Tuesday.

He threw the spear to81.76m at the start and keptimproving with every throw.

He managed 82m in his secondattempt and 82.57 in the third.

The throw of 87.86m is hissecond-best behind 88.06,achieved during his Goldmedal winning show at 2018Jakarta Asian Games.

“I am extremely pleasedwith the performance. Goinginto the competition, I did nottry to put much pressure onmyself and was keen to testmyself out as it was my firstmeet in a long time,” Choprasaid.

“The warm-up throwswent very well, and eventhough my first three throwswere around the 81-82m mark,I felt there were some flaws I

could work on. This was amajor target for me during myrehab and I’m happy to havequalified.”

Chopra said he will contin-ue with his regular training inPotchefstroom with his coachand physio for few days.

“I will look to competemore in the coming monthsand am looking forward tomore high quality competitionat the Federation Cup and theDiamond League circuit.”

Another Indian in fray,Rohit Yadav threw 77.61m tofinish second.

The other three competi-tors did not even touch the 70mmark.

��� � )0!�10�2�

Ramkumar Ramanathan wason Wednesday handed a wild

card for the men’s singles maindraw of the Tata OpenMaharashtra and the organisersmay grant a similar entry to vet-eran Leander Paes in the men’sdoubles event.

India’s top two singles players,Prajnesh Gunnewaran and risingstar Sumit Nagal have entered themain draw on their own.

For 25-year-old Ramkumar,who has sipped to 185 in the rank-ing ladder, will make his third

appearance at India’s only ATP 250event in Pune from February 3.

“There are three singles wildcards for the main draw of whichwe have announced one forRamkumar. We are yet to decideon the other two wild-cardentrants,” said TournamentDirector.

“First time it has happenedthat two India players have madeto the main draw of the tourna-ment with a direct entry. We wishthat an Asian or an Indian winsthis tournament,” he added.

According to Sutar, legendaryPaes has also made a request for

a wild card entry into the men’sdoubles event and it will be con-sidered in a “positive” manner.

Surprisingly Rohan Bopannaand Divij Sharan, who won thistournament last year together,are not teaming up this year.Bopanna is also seeking a wildcard entry with local lad ArjunKadhe and so is Purav Raja withRamkumar.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan andN Balaji have also sought a wildcard entries, making it tough forthe organisers to take a call sincethere are only two wild cardentries for the doubles event.

� ���� �&������&�� ����������'�������&�

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Badminton fans inHyderabad are set for

a spectacle as the first ofthe three double headersof the PBL 2020 is sched-uled to take place todayat the GMC Balayogi SatsIndoor Stadium. Withthe table toppers ChennaiSuperstarz taking on thethird-placed Pune 7 Acesand the Mumbai Rocketsmeeting the NorthEastern Warriors later inthe day.

What makes the firstclash a highly entertain-ing one is how robustboth the teams havelooked so far. With theChennai team remainingunbeaten in three tiesand Pune in two, one willtaste its first defeat in thefifth edition.

The biggest attrac-tion of this tie is the pos-sible face-off betweenChennai’s SatwiksairajRankireddy and Pune’sChirag Shetty, who part-nered each other to a his-toric Thailand Open winlast year. Having knowneach other’s games insideout, it will be interestingto see how they perform

on the court as adver-saries.

Satwik’s smashes andhis dancing skills havebeen a major talkingpoint of the league as the19-year-old looks to bethoroughly enjoying hisfirst stint with the yellowbrigade. Shetty, mean-while, has shown excep-tional chemistry withworld champion HendraSetiawan and has gone aflawless 2-0 in Pune’soutings so far.

“It will be interestingto face Chirag on theopposite side of the netthis time. Both of us

know each other’sstrengths and weakness-es very well and the onewho holds his nervesunder pressure, will winthe match,” said Satwikon the impending clash.

Pune, on the otherhand, has been bolsteredby the arrival of theCommonwealth GamesGold medallists Chrisand Gabrielle Adcock,who have shown tremen-dous fighting spirit togrind out wins for theirteam. 2019 ThailandMasters champion LohKean Yew has also beena valuable addition tothe team as evident fromhis one win and a fight-ing loss in two outings.

����� Tottenham announced the signing ofDutch international Steven Bergwijn from PSVEindhoven for an undisclosed fee on Wednesday.

He became Jose Mourinho’s second perma-nent signing of the transfer window after thenorth London club converted Giovani LoCelso’s loan move into a full-time deal.

With Harry Kane injured, Mourinho waskeen to bolster his attack as he targets aChampions League qualification spot.

“We are delighted to announce the signingof Steven Bergwijn from Eredivisie side PSVEindhoven,” Spurs said in a statement.

“Steven has signed a contract with the clubthat will run until 2025 and will wear the num-ber 23 shirt.”

The 22-year-old added: “It’s an honour forme to be here, a dream to play in the PremierLeague and I will give whatever I have, whatev-er I can bring, I will give it all for the club andfor this team.”

“It’s an amazing move for me, an amazingclub. “Just look around the training ground, it’samazing. It’s an honour to be here. I just spoketo the manager as well. When I was a young boyI looked up to a coach like Jose Mourinho, nowI play for him.” AFP

����� Arsenal have signed Spanishdefender Pablo Mari on loan for therest of the season with an option to buyat the end of the campaign, the PremierLeague club announced on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old joins fromBrazilian side Flamengo, where hehelped them to win the Brazilian titleand the Copa Libertadores last year.

“Pablo is an experienced playerwho will provide us with additionaldefensive quality," said Arsenal techni-cal director Edu.

"We have been monitoring Pablo'scareer for a while and we are verypleased to have reached agreement withFlamengo for him to join us initiallyuntil the end of our season."

Mari said: "It's a massive opportu-nity for me to come to England,which is the best league in the worldright now. "Being able to play in thisleague and having the opportunity toplay for Arsenal is incredible, so I'mreally looking forward to wearing theshirt as soon as possible." AFP

����� )0!�10�2��

India's ace sprinterDutee Chand on

Wednesday said she iseyeing to qualify for theTokyo Olympics in com-petitions, scheduled to beheld next month.

The sprinter's imme-diate goal is to make the2020 Games. The quali-fication mark for the100m event has been setat 11.15 seconds.

"I haven't qualifiedfor the Olympics yet. Ihave to attain the quali-fication mark of 11.15seconds. I'll get a chanceto qualify for theOlympics in competi-tions, which will be heldin February," said Dutee.

The athlete believesthe Khelo IndiaUniversity Games willhelp in unearthing new

talent.The first edition of

the competition will beheld in Bhubaneswarfrom February 22 toMarch 1.

The sprinter, whoclinched gold at theWorld University Gameslast year, feels that mostof the sporting talentexist in schools and col-leges.

"The Khelo IndiaUniversity Games is agreat way to unearth tal-ent in this country.People study and playsports side by side. So,most of the talent existsin schools and universi-ties. Sports are playedmostly by students. Wewill get to know who hastalent in the UniversityGames. I will be takingpart in the tournament aswell," said the 23-year-

old.Dutee, who set a per-

sonal best and betteredher own national 100mrecord with a timing of11.22 seconds at theNational Open AthleticsChampionships last year,thanked the Odisha gov-ernment for supportingsportsperson and helpingthem to make a career insports.

"The Odisha govern-ment is supporting thesports circuit very well.Athletes are getting jobsin the government sectorand they are providingfacilities for all athletes toperform as well.

"So I am very happythat the athletes are beingsupported by the govern-ment. Earlier, one couldmake a career only bystudying, but now it haschanged. One has a

chance to make a careerin sports as well," saidDutee.

The national recordholder, who will partic-ipate at the Khelo IndiaUniversity Games forthe Kalinga Institute ofIndustrial Technology(KIIT), is extremelyhappy to see the athletesin India being support-ed by the government.

"Earlier, the focuswas only on cricket, butnow athletics is alsobeing promoted.Athletes from rural areasare getting a chance toshowcase their talentthrough the Khelo IndiaGames. They are beingprovided with facilitiesas well. There's a SAIcampus in every statewhere the upcomingathletes can train," saidDutee.

����� �8 :��)1

The Indian women’s hockeyteam suffered a 0-1 loss to

New Zealand in its third matchof the ongoing tour here onWednesday.

New Zealand’s Hope Ralph(37th) was the lone scorer of thematch.

India had earlier registereda 4-0 win in their first matchagainst the New ZealandDevelopment squad but lost 1-2 in the following match.

India were quick to get offthe blocks on an attacking mode,winning a PC in the secondminute of play but they missedthe chance to convert it and putNew Zealand on the back foot.

In the following minutes,New Zealand created two PCsbut India's defence was rocksolid to deny them a goal.

"Today we tried a few thingson the defensive side and thatallowed New Zealand to come inour circle and create opportuni-ties but it's better to practicethese variations now in thematches as this Tour is moreabout our preparations for theOlympic Games and see how wecan be better," explained ChiefCoach Sjoerd Marijne after thematch.

"Our game is improvingevery match and today wasagain better than the previousmatch. At this moment, resultsare not important but the processis and we are working on somenew tactics that will help us inthe long run," added Marijne.

After ending the first halfwith the scoreboard reading 0-0 stalemate, New Zealand beganthe third quarter on a positivenote with Hope Ralph convert-ing a field goal in the 37thminute.

In the last quarter thoughboth teams traded PCs withNew Zealand earning two PCsand India creating one, neitherfound success ending the matchwith the scoreboard reading 0-1 in favour of New Zealand.

India will take on GreatBritain on February 4.

(��� �0��38*)0

Novak Djokovic is everrespectful of “great fighter”

Roger Federer, but the Serbgoes into their Australian Opensemi-final as clear favouriteafter beating the Swiss maestroin every Grand Slam meetingsince Wimbledon 2012.

The pair enjoy one of worldsport’s greatest rivalries and willbe facing each other today fora 50th time stretching back to2006. Djokovic leads 26-23.

While Federer won theirlast clash at the ATP Finals inNovember, the Serb has a psy-chological edge at the Slams,beating him in all five show-downs since losing in the AllEngland club semis eight yearsago.

Sixteen-time Grand Slamwinner Djokovic has also beenin fine touch at Melbourne Parkas he targets a record eighthtitle, dropping just one set enroute to the last four.

In contrast, Federer haslived dangerously, two pointsfrom defeat against JohnMillman in thethird round andincredibly savingseven matchpoints in his quar-ter-final against TennysSandgren.

Djokovic pointed toFederer’s heroics in that epic asto why he can never be writtenoff, despite being 38 and in thetwilight of his career.

“What he did (againstSandgren) was amazing. Heshowed me he’s one of the bestplayers of all time. I mean, henever gives up. When it mattersthe most, he’s focused and heplays his best tennis,” said theworld number two.

“He’s a great fighter.Obviously I have lots of respect

for him.”Federer and Djokovic have

dominated the Australian Openfor years with the all-conquer-ing pair sharing 12 of the last14 titles.

Djokovic is the defendingchampion but Federer won in2018.

“I think conditions suit uswell here. Probably somethingto do with court speed, feelingcomfortable down here,” saidworld number three Federer,who is gunning for a 21stMajor crown.

“I mean, Novak also hasgone on all these runs like I didfor 10 years. He did the samefor the last 10 years. It helpswhen you start the year off witha bang. We were able to do thatquite a few times.”

Djokovic insists his recordover Federer at the Slams since2012 doesn’t tell the full story,pointing to their classicWimbledon final last year.

In that memorable fight,the Swiss had two match pointsand was one shot from victory.

“It’s not like I’ve been dom-inating thematch-ups. I’vehad successagainst him, inGrand Slams in

particular. But Roger is Roger,”he said.

“You know that he’s alwaysgoing to play on such a highlevel, regardless of the surface.

“He loves to play thesekind of matches, big rivalries,semis, finals of Grand Slams. Imean, he’ll probably confirmthat that’s probably the biggestreason why he’s still competing.”

Federer goes into today’sblockbuster on Rod LaverArena after playing 14 gruellingsets in his last three matches,but insisted “I feel pretty goodright now”.

‘Roger is Roger’: Djokovic notunderestimating ageless great

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