diplomats and media. ... features of the India wedding is the sight of the groom riding a caparison...

16
I ndia has introduced some nuance rephrasing in its lex- icon on engaging Pakistan on terror issues. The Government on Thursday said “though ter- ror and talks cannot go togeth- er, but talks on terror can def- initely go on.” This was the response of the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on a recent ‘secret’ meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua in Bangkok. The Government feels that though terror and talks (Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue) cannot go together, it will not mind discussing issues pertaining to terrorism through various mechanisms. This will take the wind out of Pakistan’s attempts to blame India on international plat- forms for avoiding talks to de- escalate border tension. Clearing air on the NSA talks, Raveesh said the NSA talks were part of the various mechanisms established between India and Pakistan to talk about specific issues. He said India used the opportuni- ty to raise the issue of cross bor- der terrorism, infiltration and safe sanctuaries for militants along the border with Pakistan. “I am agreeing that talks took place and our issue was eliminating terrorism from the region. While our position remains that terror and talks cannot go together, we believe talks on terror can definitely go ahead. Hence, the focus of the talks between NSAs of India and Pakistan was cross-border terrorism,” Raveesh said while confirming the `secret meeting’ between the NSAs of India and Pakistan. The meeting took place in Bangkok on December 26, a day after ex-Indian Navy offi- cial Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is languishing in Pak custody, met with his mother and wife in Islamabad. The two women were humiliated and harassed by Pakistani diplomats and media. This is the second time in two years the two NSA met in Bangkok, the last time being in December 2015. Raveesh made it clear that the meeting date of the NSAs were pre-decided. At the political level India has maintained that there can- not be Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue with Pakistan, after the Pathankot air base terror attack. However, the two coun- tries hold regular meetings and talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations, Director Generals of Border Security Force- Pakistan Rangers, Indus Water Commissioners and the NSAs. In fact, the two NSA spoke shortly after the Pathankot attack in January 2016. Thereafter too there have been occasional telephonic engage- ments. In addition the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries have talked as and when need arise, though the formal FS level talks, which were precur- sor to the CBD, too have been put on abeyance. The MEA official made it clear that these mechanisms are not part of the structured CBD that was announced between the two countries during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad in 2015. However, the mood for CBD is built up following sim- ilar NSA talks in 2015. Pakistani-based Dawn quoted officials saying the meeting between the two NSAs as ‘good’ and ‘useful’. They added Doval’s tone and tenor was friendly and positive and the interaction might help in restarting some sort of engage- ment at the diplomatic level. T he Delhi Police recorded a 12 per cent increase in crime, owing to rise in the online registration of property and Motor Vehicle theft in 2017 as compared to 2016, said Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik during his annual media inter- action on Thursday. However, records show that crime in the city under major heads like rape, murders have declined by 23.43 per cent. “Street crimes like robberies and snatchings also came down by 21.05 per cent,” he said. According to the data shared by the Police Commissioner, 2,23,075 cases were registered in 2017 as in comparison to 1,99,110 in 2016. The total number of crime under Indian Penal Code (IPC) per lakh of population stood at 1,263 in 2017 while the same ratio was 1,137 in 2016. Talking about the factors behind the criminal incidents, Patnaik said, “Socio-economic disparities” are the reasons coupled with other issues. “The socio-economic dis- parities between the opulent and the less affluent are a sig- nificant criminogenic factor, and the resultant youth impa- tience, driven by a pronounced get- rich-quick penchant, gets discernibly reflected in delin- quent street demeanour,” he said. “The increase in motor vehicle thefts continues to be an area of concern for police and we are making concerted efforts to identify and arrest gangs involved in the theft of motor vehicles”, the police chief said. He said the issues of women’s safety and the menace of street crime demanded a focused strategy. With inci- dents of terror occurring fre- quently across the globe, anti- terror measures were also on the top of their list, he added. Talking about the 12 per cent hike in the registration of FIR, the Delhi Police Chief said it is largely due to the online registration of FIRs. In 2016, a total of 1, 99, 110 cases were reported from January 1 till December 15. In 2017, in the corresponding time period, 2, 23,075 cases were reported. Explaining the reasons behind the rise in the number of reported cases, Patnaik said, “It is factors like fair and truth- ful registration of criminal cases, online crime reporting of property theft and Motor Vehicles theft, registration of FIR for all reports of missing children in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court.” Addressing the issue of rape, the Police Commissioner said Delhi recorded a 0.73 per cent reduction in the number of rape cases in 2017. To curb the cases of rape in Delhi, Delhi Police in association with civic agencies identified dark stretches, and increased the deployment of women cen- tric PCR vans in the city. Patnaik spoke at length about the crime rate in Delhi, how they intend to deal with crime in 2018 and the measures they are taking to ease traffic congestion. Talking about how the Delhi Police adopted proac- tive policing in Delhi in 2017 as opposed to reactive approach, the Commissioner said, “We believe in making the interface of police station peo- ple friendly. We launched the concept of child friendly police station at the newly inaugurat- ed IGI airport police station. “In the first phase, we set up public facilitation desks in 70 police stations. While look- ing at any case, our approach towards the complainant is empathetic and kind. Following this motto, we register FIRs related to women of cognizable nature and follow the norms of zero tolerance for non regis- tration of FIR based on the issue of jurisdiction.” Patnaik emphasised that the focus of the force is on pre- ventive policing rather than reactive policing. “We have streamlined beat policing and there is a method into that. Beat-in-focus policing, identi- fication of active criminals and effective surveillance on them, high-visibility of police on streets has acted as a deterrent and jas subsequently resulted in the reduction in heinous crimes by 23.43 per cent last year. Continued on Page 4 AIRQUALITYINDEX JAN 9, 2018 243 JAN 9, 2017 215 T hree paratroopers were injured while practising slithering operations from a rope hanging from a Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) here. The soldiers fell down on ground from a height of nearly 30 feet when the boom (pulley) supporting the rope reportedly gave away. Following the inci- dent, the Army has temporari- ly suspended all such slithering operations. A probe is on to find out the cause of malfunction. The injured are reported to be stable. The mishap took place on Tuesday at the Army Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment when the soldiers were prac- tising slithering drill. The drill is part of combat demonstra- tion to be held on the Army Day on January 15, officials said here on Thursday. Slithering involves soldiers coming down from a hovering helicopter through a rope. The “insertion” and “extraction” of commandos is generally carried out by the helicopters in special opera- tions. The objective is to carry out the raids on enemy targets in the shortest possible time and then return to safe bases in the helicopters. The drill is practised relent- lessly as stealth and speed is of paramount importance to retain the element of surprise. If detected by the enemy, the helicopters with soldiers dan- gling from the rope, are an easy target and the effort always is to avoid such situations, sources said. A Dhruv twin-engine heli- copter flew the soldiers to the designated ‘drop’ zone and as three soldiers slithered down the rope dangling from the helicopter the boom support- ing the rope reportedly devel- oped snag. It led to the rope breaking away and the para- troopers fell on each other before crashing down on the ground. The troops stationed near the ‘drop’ zone rushed to the spot and ferried the injured to the hospital, officials said. Following the incident, the Army suspended slithering operations involving Dhruv helicopters till a probe was completed, the sources said. This helicopter is an indige- nously developed and manu- factured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Army has more than 100 Dhruv helicopters deployed in all the operational areas including the heights of Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East. T he possible blanket ban on the movement of horses due to Glanders disease in the entire national Capital is expected to impact the wed- ding ceremonies in the city in a big way. The marriage season begins from January 14 (Makar Sankranti). One of its most glamorous features of the India wedding is the sight of the groom riding a caparison horse as part of barat procession. But due to the spread of Glanders disease in horses, the wedding band industry is facing a serious financial threat as bookings are getting cancelled. In December last year, the Government already restricted the movement of equines in and out of west Delhi after eight horses at Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care (SGAC) in Raja Garden tested positive for the infectious disease. So far, a total 40 horses have reportedly tested positive for Glanders disease, which can also be fatal for the animal. It can also be contracted by humans. The Ministry of Agriculture has taken a decision to seek Home Ministry’s intervention to “notify” the disease, which will ban the movement of the animal in the notified areas. They cannot also travel across the Delhi border. The decision was taken after an emergency meeting called by the Ministry of Agriculture on reports from the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) suggesting that 32 more horses had tested positive for Glanders disease in Hisar. Divisional Commissioner Manisha Saxena of the Delhi Government and senior officials of Animal W hile underlining that the United States has ‘a very ambitious agenda’ for the US- India partnership, Ambassador Kenneth Juster on Thursday said that his country is work- ing closely with other nations to secure India’s membership to the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). During his first speech ever since taking over as the new envoy, at Carnegie-India’s special event, Juster also said that the US is partnering with India on counter terrorism and that President Donald Trump and other US leaders have been clear that they will not tolerate cross-border ter- rorism or terrorist safe havens anywhere. He added that the US will also support India in promoting security and stabil- ity in the Indo-Pacific region. The statement comes days after the US suspended its aid to Pakistan demanding credible action on certain terror groups active in the region. “We feel Pakistan has not done enough for the stability of Afghanistan. We will not tolerate any kind of safe havens and cross border terrorism. We remain in close contact with India on this issue,” Juster said while replying to questions. “Each of our countries has suffered horrific terrorist attacks and continues to be tar- geted. We have a strong mutu- al interest in eliminating this threat to our societies. President Trump and other US leaders have been clear that we will not tolerate cross- border terrorism or terrorist safe havens anywhere. As part of this effort, last month we launched the first-ever US- India Counterterrorism Designations Dialogue. We need to continue to enhance the sharing of information, designations of terrorists, com- bating of financial crimes and networks, and disruption and dismantling of terrorist camps and operations - both region- ally and globally,” Juster said. Talking about India’s NSG aspirations, the envoy said India is celebrating its mem- bership in two of the four multilateral export control regimes -- the Wassenaar Arrangement on dual-use items, which India just joined, and the Missile Technology Control Regime - more might be coming. “We also expect in the very near future India to join the Australia Group on chemical and biological weapons. And we are working closely with India and our international partners to secure India’s membership in the NSG,” Juster said while adding that the US, at the same time, has gone from a restrictive policy regarding the export of dual-use items to India to a much more liberal one. Continued on Page 4 A fter being in jail for five months, Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala's son Vikas Barala got relief as the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday granted bail to the 23 -year-old who has been booked on charges of stalking and attempting to abduct a 29- year-old woman. "The bail of Vikas Barala has been approved by Justice Lisa Gill," Barala's counsel Vinod Ghai said here. He said the defence told the court that the accused would not influ- ence anybody in the case. "No application was moved by the prosecution in the court on whether the alleged accused has so far tried to influence anybody in the matter," he said. Ghai claimed that no case of attempting to abduct Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a senior IAS officer, was made out against his client. He alleged that at the time of registeration of the FIR, the woman's father and her coun- sel were present at the police station and there were chances that the entire story was manip- ulated. Her cross-examination was held in the district court on January 9 and earlier this week. The High Court had last month directed the district court to complete the cross- examination of Kundu before January 11 when it had listed the bail plea for consideration. The lower court in Chandigarh had rejected the bail application of Barala four times. On December 7, the High Court had granted bail to him to appear in an examina- tion on December 18 under police custody. Vikas Barala, who has been lodged in Burail jail here, is pursuing a law degree from the Kurukshetra University. Continued on Page 4 T he Haryana Government will celebrate ‘International Saraswati Festival’ from January 18 to 22. The State Education and Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Thursday invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the celebrations during the festival. During his meeting, Sharma said the Government will celebrate Saraswati Festival from January 18 to 22 at inter- national level. The International Saraswati Festival to be organ- ised by Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board will be inaugurated on January 18 at Adi Badri. An international confer- ence will be held from January 19 to 22 in Kurukshetra University to deliberate upon issued related to Saraswati river. Continued on Page 4

Transcript of diplomats and media. ... features of the India wedding is the sight of the groom riding a caparison...

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India has introduced somenuance rephrasing in its lex-

icon on engaging Pakistan onterror issues. The Governmenton Thursday said “though ter-ror and talks cannot go togeth-er, but talks on terror can def-initely go on.”

This was the response ofthe Ministry of External Affairsspokesperson Raveesh Kumaron a recent ‘secret’ meetingbetween National SecurityAdvisor Ajit Doval and hisPakistani counterpart NasserKhan Janjua in Bangkok.

The Government feels thatthough terror and talks(Comprehensive BilateralDialogue) cannot go together,it will not mind discussingissues pertaining to terrorismthrough various mechanisms.This will take the wind out ofPakistan’s attempts to blameIndia on international plat-forms for avoiding talks to de-escalate border tension.

Clearing air on the NSAtalks, Raveesh said the NSAtalks were part of the variousmechanisms establishedbetween India and Pakistan totalk about specific issues. Hesaid India used the opportuni-ty to raise the issue of cross bor-der terrorism, infiltration andsafe sanctuaries for militantsalong the border with Pakistan.

“I am agreeing that talkstook place and our issue waseliminating terrorism from theregion. While our positionremains that terror and talkscannot go together, we believe

talks on terror can definitely goahead. Hence, the focus of thetalks between NSAs of Indiaand Pakistan was cross-borderterrorism,” Raveesh said whileconfirming the ̀ secret meeting’between the NSAs of India andPakistan.

The meeting took place inBangkok on December 26, aday after ex-Indian Navy offi-cial Commander KulbhushanJadhav, who is languishing inPak custody, met with hismother and wife in Islamabad.

The two women werehumiliated and harassed byPakistani diplomats and media.This is the second time in twoyears the two NSA met inBangkok, the last time being inDecember 2015. Raveesh madeit clear that the meeting date of

the NSAs were pre-decided. At the political level India

has maintained that there can-not be Comprehensive BilateralDialogue with Pakistan, afterthe Pathankot air base terrorattack. However, the two coun-tries hold regular meetingsand talks between the DirectorGenerals of MilitaryOperations, Director Generalsof Border Security Force-Pakistan Rangers, Indus WaterCommissioners and the NSAs.

In fact, the two NSA spokeshortly after the Pathankotattack in January 2016.Thereafter too there have beenoccasional telephonic engage-ments.

In addition the ForeignSecretaries of the two countrieshave talked as and when need

arise, though the formal FSlevel talks, which were precur-sor to the CBD, too have beenput on abeyance. The MEAofficial made it clear that thesemechanisms are not part of thestructured CBD that wasannounced between the twocountries during ExternalAffairs Minister SushmaSwaraj’s visit to Islamabad in2015. However, the mood forCBD is built up following sim-ilar NSA talks in 2015.

Pakistani-based Dawnquoted officials saying themeeting between the two NSAsas ‘good’ and ‘useful’. Theyadded Doval’s tone and tenorwas friendly and positive andthe interaction might help inrestarting some sort of engage-ment at the diplomatic level.

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The Delhi Police recorded a12 per cent increase in

crime, owing to rise in theonline registration of propertyand Motor Vehicle theft in2017 as compared to 2016,said Delhi PoliceCommissioner Amulya Patnaikduring his annual media inter-action on Thursday.

However, records show thatcrime in the city under majorheads like rape, murders havedeclined by 23.43 per cent.“Street crimes like robberiesand snatchings also came downby 21.05 per cent,” he said.

According to the datashared by the PoliceCommissioner, 2,23,075 caseswere registered in 2017 as incomparison to 1,99,110 in2016. The total number ofcrime under Indian Penal Code(IPC) per lakh of populationstood at 1,263 in 2017 while thesame ratio was 1,137 in 2016.

Talking about the factorsbehind the criminal incidents,Patnaik said, “Socio-economicdisparities” are the reasonscoupled with other issues.

“The socio-economic dis-parities between the opulentand the less affluent are a sig-nificant criminogenic factor,and the resultant youth impa-tience, driven by a pronouncedget- rich-quick penchant, getsdiscernibly reflected in delin-quent street demeanour,” hesaid. “The increase in motorvehicle thefts continues to be an

area of concern for police andwe are making concertedefforts to identify and arrestgangs involved in the theft ofmotor vehicles”, the police chiefsaid. He said the issues ofwomen’s safety and the menaceof street crime demanded a

focused strategy. With inci-dents of terror occurring fre-quently across the globe, anti-terror measures were also onthe top of their list, he added.

Talking about the 12 percent hike in the registration ofFIR, the Delhi Police Chief saidit is largely due to the onlineregistration of FIRs. In 2016, atotal of 1, 99, 110 cases werereported from January 1 tillDecember 15. In 2017, in thecorresponding time period, 2,23,075 cases were reported.

Explaining the reasonsbehind the rise in the numberof reported cases, Patnaik said,“It is factors like fair and truth-ful registration of criminalcases, online crime reporting ofproperty theft and MotorVehicles theft, registration ofFIR for all reports of missingchildren in accordance with thedirections of the Supreme

Court.” Addressing the issue ofrape, the Police Commissionersaid Delhi recorded a 0.73 percent reduction in the numberof rape cases in 2017. To curbthe cases of rape in Delhi,Delhi Police in associationwith civic agencies identifieddark stretches, and increasedthe deployment of women cen-tric PCR vans in the city.

Patnaik spoke at lengthabout the crime rate in Delhi,how they intend to deal withcrime in 2018 and the measuresthey are taking to ease trafficcongestion. Talking about howthe Delhi Police adopted proac-tive policing in Delhi in 2017as opposed to reactiveapproach, the Commissionersaid, “We believe in making theinterface of police station peo-ple friendly. We launched theconcept of child friendly policestation at the newly inaugurat-ed IGI airport police station.

“In the first phase, we setup public facilitation desks in70 police stations. While look-ing at any case, our approachtowards the complainant isempathetic and kind. Followingthis motto, we register FIRsrelated to women of cognizablenature and follow the norms ofzero tolerance for non regis-tration of FIR based on theissue of jurisdiction.”

Patnaik emphasised thatthe focus of the force is on pre-ventive policing rather thanreactive policing. “We havestreamlined beat policing andthere is a method into that.Beat-in-focus policing, identi-fication of active criminals andeffective surveillance on them,high-visibility of police onstreets has acted as a deterrentand jas subsequently resulted inthe reduction in heinous crimesby 23.43 per cent last year.

Continued on Page 4

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Three paratroopers wereinjured while practising

slithering operations from arope hanging from a Dhruvadvanced light helicopter (ALH)here. The soldiers fell down onground from a height of nearly30 feet when the boom (pulley)supporting the rope reportedlygave away. Following the inci-dent, the Army has temporari-ly suspended all such slitheringoperations. A probe is on to findout the cause of malfunction.The injured are reported to bestable.

The mishap took place onTuesday at the Army ParadeGround in Delhi Cantonmentwhen the soldiers were prac-tising slithering drill. The drillis part of combat demonstra-tion to be held on the ArmyDay on January 15, officialssaid here on Thursday.Slithering involves soldierscoming down from a hovering

helicopter through a rope.The “insertion” and

“extraction” of commandos isgenerally carried out by thehelicopters in special opera-tions. The objective is to carryout the raids on enemy targets

in the shortest possible timeand then return to safe bases inthe helicopters.

The drill is practised relent-lessly as stealth and speed is ofparamount importance toretain the element of surprise.

If detected by the enemy, thehelicopters with soldiers dan-gling from the rope, are an easytarget and the effort always isto avoid such situations,sources said.

A Dhruv twin-engine heli-

copter flew the soldiers to thedesignated ‘drop’ zone and asthree soldiers slithered downthe rope dangling from thehelicopter the boom support-ing the rope reportedly devel-oped snag. It led to the ropebreaking away and the para-troopers fell on each otherbefore crashing down on theground. The troops stationednear the ‘drop’ zone rushed tothe spot and ferried the injuredto the hospital, officials said.

Following the incident, theArmy suspended slitheringoperations involving Dhruvhelicopters till a probe wascompleted, the sources said.This helicopter is an indige-nously developed and manu-factured by HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Army has more than100 Dhruv helicoptersdeployed in all the operationalareas including the heights ofJammu & Kashmir and theNorth-East.

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The possible blanket ban onthe movement of horses

due to Glanders disease in theentire national Capital isexpected to impact the wed-ding ceremonies in the city ina big way. The marriage seasonbegins from January 14 (MakarSankranti).

One of its most glamorousfeatures of the India wedding isthe sight of the groom riding acaparison horse as part of baratprocession. But due to thespread of Glanders disease inhorses, the wedding bandindustry is facing a serious

financial threat as bookings aregetting cancelled.

In December last year, theGovernment already restrictedthe movement of equines inand out of west Delhi aftereight horses at Sanjay Gandhi

Animal Care (SGAC) in RajaGarden tested positive for theinfectious disease.

So far, a total 40 horseshave reportedly tested positivefor Glanders disease, which canalso be fatal for the animal. Itcan also be contracted byhumans.

The Ministry of Agriculturehas taken a decision to seekHome Ministry’s interventionto “notify” the disease, whichwill ban the movement of theanimal in the notified areas.They cannot also travel acrossthe Delhi border.

The decision was takenafter an emergency meetingcalled by the Ministry ofAgriculture on reports from theNational Research Centre onEquines (NRCE) suggestingthat 32 more horses had testedpositive for Glanders disease inHisar. DivisionalCommissioner Manisha Saxenaof the Delhi Government andsenior officials of Animal

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While underlining that theUnited States has ‘a very

ambitious agenda’ for the US-India partnership, AmbassadorKenneth Juster on Thursdaysaid that his country is work-ing closely with other nationsto secure India’s membership tothe elite Nuclear SuppliersGroup (NSG).

During his first speechever since taking over as thenew envoy, at Carnegie-India’sspecial event, Juster also saidthat the US is partnering withIndia on counter terrorismand that President DonaldTrump and other US leadershave been clear that they willnot tolerate cross-border ter-rorism or terrorist safe havensanywhere. He added that theUS will also support India inpromoting security and stabil-ity in the Indo-Pacific region.

The statement comes daysafter the US suspended its aidto Pakistan demanding credibleaction on certain terror groupsactive in the region. “We feel

Pakistan has not done enoughfor the stability of Afghanistan.We will not tolerate any kind ofsafe havens and cross borderterrorism. We remain in closecontact with India on thisissue,” Juster said while replyingto questions.

“Each of our countries hassuffered horrific terroristattacks and continues to be tar-geted. We have a strong mutu-

al interest in eliminating thisthreat to our societies.President Trump and otherUS leaders have been clearthat we will not tolerate cross-border terrorism or terroristsafe havens anywhere. As partof this effort, last month welaunched the first-ever US-India CounterterrorismDesignations Dialogue. Weneed to continue to enhance

the sharing of information,designations of terrorists, com-bating of financial crimes andnetworks, and disruption anddismantling of terrorist campsand operations - both region-ally and globally,” Juster said.

Talking about India’s NSGaspirations, the envoy saidIndia is celebrating its mem-bership in two of the fourmultilateral export controlregimes -- the WassenaarArrangement on dual-useitems, which India just joined,and the Missile TechnologyControl Regime - more mightbe coming. “We also expect inthe very near future India tojoin the Australia Group onchemical and biologicalweapons. And we are workingclosely with India and ourinternational partners to secureIndia’s membership in theNSG,” Juster said while addingthat the US, at the same time,has gone from a restrictivepolicy regarding the export ofdual-use items to India to amuch more liberal one.

Continued on Page 4

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After being in jail for fivemonths, Haryana BJP chief

Subhash Barala's son VikasBarala got relief as the Punjaband Haryana High Court onThursday granted bail to the 23-year-old who has been bookedon charges of stalking andattempting to abduct a 29-year-old woman.

"The bail of Vikas Baralahas been approved by JusticeLisa Gill," Barala's counselVinod Ghai said here. He saidthe defence told the court thatthe accused would not influ-ence anybody in the case.

"No application was movedby the prosecution in the courton whether the alleged accusedhas so far tried to influenceanybody in the matter," hesaid. Ghai claimed that nocase of attempting to abductVarnika Kundu, the daughter ofa senior IAS officer, was madeout against his client.

He alleged that at the timeof registeration of the FIR, thewoman's father and her coun-sel were present at the policestation and there were chancesthat the entire story was manip-ulated.

Her cross-examination washeld in the district court onJanuary 9 and earlier this week.

The High Court had lastmonth directed the districtcourt to complete the cross-examination of Kundu beforeJanuary 11 when it had listedthe bail plea for consideration.

The lower court inChandigarh had rejected thebail application of Barala fourtimes. On December 7, theHigh Court had granted bail tohim to appear in an examina-tion on December 18 underpolice custody.

Vikas Barala, who has beenlodged in Burail jail here, ispursuing a law degree from theKurukshetra University.

Continued on Page 4

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The Haryana Governmentwill celebrate ‘International

Saraswati Festival’ fromJanuary 18 to 22.

The State Education andTourism Minister Ram BilasSharma on Thursday invitedExternal Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj to attend thecelebrations during the festival.

During his meeting,Sharma said the Governmentwill celebrate Saraswati Festivalfrom January 18 to 22 at inter-national level.

The InternationalSaraswati Festival to be organ-ised by Haryana SaraswatiHeritage Development Boardwill be inaugurated on January18 at Adi Badri.

An international confer-ence will be held from January19 to 22 in KurukshetraUniversity to deliberate uponissued related to Saraswati river.

Continued on Page 4

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Retorting to the allegations ofpatronising mafia, men-

tioned in Himachal Governor’saddress on Wednesday,Congress Legislative Partyleader Mukesh Agnihotri onThursday said that Jai RamThakur led BJP Governmentshould act tough against themafia, instead of accusing pre-vious Congress Governmentand begin to fulfil its pollpromises.

Agnihotri, who initiatedthe discussion on the motion of“Thanks on Governor’s address”brought by the BJP MLARakesh Pathania and support-ed by the Col. Inder Singh saidthat having taken over the reins

of Governance in the State, thenew BJP Government had todecide, whether it wished to goon path of development andwelfare of the State or to take theroute of vendetta politics andblame game. Pointing a fingerat interference of RSS in theBJP led Government, Agnihotrisaid that there was an impres-sion that while Jai Ram Thakurwas on the driver’s seat in thisGovernment, but it was beingcontrolled by remote.

He said there was no men-tion of promises made by PremKumar Dhumal before theelection in the Governor’saddress, and should not under-mine those promises.

The Leader of Oppositionsaid that Dhumal had promised

to give 4-9-14 scale to youth,providing employment toyouths, restoring industrialpackage etc but these promis-es were not there in theGovernor’s address.

Acknowledging the shortspan available to theGovernment for preparingGovernor’s speech, Agnihotrisaid that the paucity of timemight be the reason for non-mentioning of these promises,but Government must deliver onthe promises made by Dhumal.

Commenting on the first 15days of Thakur in the CMO,Agnihotri said that the CM hasto take decisions as per his ownwisdom and BJP had raised largeexpectations of the people andnow the Government should act

upon its poll promises.He said that new

Government had convenedfour cabinet meetings howeverno major decision was taken inthese meetings that shows thatGovt was not moving towardsfulfilling its poll promises.

Lambasting BJP Govt forblaming the last VirbhadraSingh regime for financialcrunch in the State, the Congressleader said that the previousGovernment too faced crunch offunds but the Government didnot let the developmentalprocess suffer due to it. He saidas Thakur enjoys good rapportwith the Narendra Modi ledUnion Government, he shouldbe able to bring enough fundsfrom centre.

Agnihotri said that lastCongress rule providedemployment allowance andskill development scheme ben-efited around 1.50 lakh youthin the State. He said rather thandoing away with such schemes,new Government should comeforward with new schemes toprovide employment avenuesto more than 12.50 lakh unem-ployed youth in the State as itspoll promise.

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Ruling BJP on Thursday accused the pre-vious Congress Government in Himachal

for large scale vacancies in the medical col-leges in the State saying that CongressGovernment did nothing to fill the posts ofdoctors and paramedical staff.

Introducing ‘Motion of Thanks’ onGoverrnor’s address, BJP MLA RakeshPathania alleged that as many as 763 posts ofdoctors were lying vacant at IGMC Shimlaand 500 in Dr. Rajinder Prasad GovernmentMedial college Tanda in Kangra district as theprevious Government did nothing to fulfil the

vacancies.Painting a grim picture of the health facil-

ities in the State, he said that more than 200patients were forced to sleep on the floor atCancer Hospital at Shimla as there was notsufficient infrastructure in the hospital. Hesaid that patients were being referred to PGIChandigarh and Ludhiana, due to non-availability of man power and equipment inState hospitals.

Inder Singh of BJP who supported themotion on Governor’s address alleged thathealth services in the rural areas were inshambles as there are no doctors in PrimaryHealth Centres.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh has written

to Union Minister of Shipping,Road Transport & HighwaysNitin Gadkari, seeking renam-ing of National Highway-344Aas Mata Gujri Marg.

Last Minister, the ChiefMinister had said in FatehgarhSahib that the proposal fordeclaring the new NationalHighway from Patiala toPanyali (Ropar-Phagwara road)via Sirhind- Fatehgarh Sahib-Bassi Pathana-Morinda as MataGujri Marg had already beensubmitted the National ofHighway Authority India(NHAI) .

In his letter to Gadkari, theChief Minister has informedthe Minister that the FeasibilityReport and Detailed ProjectReport (DPR) of the road wasalready in the process of prepa-ration and would soon be sub-mitted to the Ministry.

The historical towns ofSirhind, Fatehgarh Sahib andChamkaur Sahib, where the

four Sahibzadas of GuruGobind Singh attained mar-tyrdom, are located on thisroad. Mata Gujri, the mother ofGuru Gobind Singh, whoaccompanied the youngerSahibzadas (SahibzadaZorawar Singh & Fateh Singh)also attained martyrdom atFatehgarh Sahib. “Mata Gujri isan iconic figure in Sikh histo-ry and is remembered for hercourage and supreme sacrifice,”the statement said.

Capt Amarinder alsothanked the Union Minister fordeclaring the road connectingNH-344A from (VillagePaniyali) -Bela-ChamkaurSahib-Morinda-Sirhind uptoPatiala as National Highway, inprinciple.

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Electoral rolls for all 68Vidhan Sabha constituen-

cies in Himachal Pradesh willbe revised in a special summaryrevision from 23 January to 14February with 1 January 2018as the qualifying date.

Draft publication of elec-toral rolls will be available at allpolling stations, offices ofReturning Officers andAssistant Returning Officers by23 January. Claims and objec-tions for electoral rolls could befiled from 23 January to 14February. All the claims andobjections will be decided by 22February and after claims andobjection having been settledfinal electoral rolls will be pub-lished on March 15.

Any eligible citizen who hasattained the age of 18 years onJanuary 1 this year can apply forenrollment in the electoral rolls.

Additional Chief ElectoralOfficer D.K. Rattan hasappealed to all the political par-ties for co-operation in upda-tion of electoral rolls with reg-istration of eligible citizens inthe electoral rolls and deletionin case of death or shifting.

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Even as a new harvesting sea-son has begun, Punjab's

farmers are staring at bleakprospects with potato prices,that had hit rock-bottom lastyear, not showing signs ofreturning to previous levels.

About 10 per cent of thecurrent season's total harvesthas been sold and the priceshave stuck somewhere between�150 and �300 per quintal,according to the PunjabHorticulture Department.Farmers are apprehensiveabout the remuneration thisyear too, though the produc-tion is expected to be higherowing to favourable climaticconditions. About 80 per centof the harvest in Punjab comesduring the peak season ofFebruary and March.

Potato prices had slumpedto just �10 for a bag of 100 kg(one quintal) last year, leavingfarmers in tears -- and most ofthem chose to throw their pro-duce on the roads to rot.

According to the PunjabGovernment, production thisyear is expected to be over 2.5

million tonnes.“If the

weather is con-genial andpotato plantsare not infect-ed by theblight, overallyield will beg o o d .Currently therates are notgood, I heard,”Gulab SinghGill, DeputyD i r e c t o r(Horticulture)told IANS.

What concerns the farmersmore is uncertainty over remu-nerative prices for their harvestwhen it hits the market duringthe peak season, said GurinderSingh Kang, a potato growerfrom Jalandhar's Lallian Kalanvillage.

“There is neither muchfog nor initiation of blight dis-ease. The climate is quite favor-able for optimum output.However, there is an appre-hension among farmers andtraders whether they will get afair price as current rates are atbelow �3 for a kg,” Kang said.

Despite the fall in prices lastyear, land under potato culti-vation has increased this year asfarmers used a certain amountof the unsold crop for sowing.

“It is not just the decline inconsumption or rise in pro-duction that led to the pricedrop, but several policy-relat-ed reasons such as demoneti-sation, high tax rate for coldstorage, lack of export facilitiesare also responsible,” an officialof the Jalandhar PotatoGrowers Association (JPCA)said.

“It is like multi-organ fail-ure. After demonetisation,traders have become hesitant toprocure any agricultural pro-duce in excess. Earlier, we hadto pay 14 per cent tax for coldstorage but post-GST it has

become 28 per cent,” said JPGASecretary Jagat GillThamanwal.

“Also, there are no facilitiesfor exports. Punjab is land-locked and exports to Pakistanare banned via the Wagah bor-der. As the sea route is not cost-effective, our superior potatocrop fails in the competition,”Thamanwal added.

Thus, farmers had thrownabout 80 per cent of their cropon the roads due to the drasticfall in prices last year.just thepotato growers who have beenhurt but the vibrant seed indus-try has also been significantlyimpacted, claimed JPCAPresident Gururaj Nijjar.

“We fulfill almost 33 percent of the country's demandand we provide good qualityseeds to other States. However,the seeds we produced were notsold this year. We could noteven store them in cold storageas the seed's life is just twomonths,” Nijjar said.

Potato seeds grown in theDoaba region -- the landbetween the Sutlej and Ravirivers -- are in huge demandacross the country for beingdisease-free and of superiorquality.

Nijjar produced 15,000bags (each 50 kg) of potatoseeds in 2016-17 and Gill pro-duced 35,000 bags.

Farmers in the region havesought Government assistance,including a minimum supportprice (MSP), to bring them outof the financial distress.

Including potatoes in theMSP scheme is, however, notpossible as it is a cash crop andprices will be decided by themarkets, asserted a seniorGovernment official, whorequested anonymity.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Thursday

extended his felicitations toGeeta Verma, a female healthworker from Sapnot village ofKarsog Tehsil in district Mandi,who has been figured in WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)calendar for the year 2018 forher herculean task in ensuringalmost hundred percent cov-erage under measles and rubel-la programme in her area ofoperation.

Thakur said all employeesshould have this type of com-mitment towards their job andan impulse for serving thepeople with dedication. Beinga lady having done this, she hasbrought pride for the State hesaid.

Verma undertook the cam-paign of inoculating childrenvillages in remote areas ofMandi. She travelled long dis-tance to serve remote areapeople, whenever any immu-nization campaign waslaunched by providing the ser-vice at the grass root level.

She went on foot and her

own two wheeler to immunizechildren of shepherds andGurjar community in theremote areas of Raygarh intemporary camps measles andrubella programme.

The Chief Minister con-gratulated her for her achieve-ments and said that it was amatter of pride for the state thata lady health worker had foundmention in WHO.

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In a bid to improve the effi-ciency in recruitment

process, Haryana Governmenthas directed all departments toappoint a senior officer, abovethe rank of Joint Director, asnodal person to coordinatewith Haryana Staff SelectionCommission (HSSC).

The nodal officers will beappointed to coordinate withHSSC on all matters relevant torecruitment through theCommission like requisitions,court cases, recommendations,clarifications and grievances,said an official spokesman

A letter in this regard hasbeen sent from the Chief

Secretary’s office to all admin-istrative secretaries, Heads ofDepartments, commissionersof six divisions, all deputy com-missioner and managing direc-tors of boards and corporations,

The HSSC coordinationwith various Governmentdepartments can be significant-ly optimized if all departmentsappoint an officer above the rankof Joint Director as nodal per-son for purpose of recruitmentsrelated to the Commission, saidthe spokesman.

He added that all the Govtdepartments, boards, corpora-tions, autonomous units andauthorities have been directed tointimate the name, rank andcontact number of such nodalofficer, directly to HSSC byJanuary 20.

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Punjab would soon start2950 wellness centers across

the State in phased manner tocater the healthcare services tothe patients at their doorstepsespecially in rural areas.

To strengthen health ser-vices, 50 new ambulances willbe rolled out including 5Advance Life SavingAmbulances equipped withcritical life saving equipments.

The announcement wasmade by Health & FamilyWelfare and Medical EducationMinister Brahm Mohindra ina press conference here. TheMinister said that to providerelief to patients suffering fromchronic diseases, medicineshops will be opened at 22District Hospitals, 41 SDHs andin 3 medical colleges of Punjabto provide generic medicines ataffordable rates.

The Minister also rolledout the vision document ofHealth and Medical EducationDepartment and said the mottoof the Punjab Government is toprovide quality health servicesto all the citizen of the State.

He claimed that though heinherited the health depart-ment which was totally inshambles but the health caresystem has improved to a greatextent. Mohindra alsoannounced set of new flagshipschemes, which will start in2018.

The first major announce-ment by the Health Ministerwas the establishment of 2950Health wellness centers (HWC)in the State. He said Punjab isthe first State in the countrywhich has taken this initiative.

“These centers will beestablished in phased manner

and under first phase 240 suchwellness centres will be openedwithin this year in the districtsFazilka, Pathankot and in 2blocks of Patiala district," hesaid.

The Minister said trainedstaff nurses will be designatedas Community Health Officerin wellness centers and the spe-cial training programme of 6six months is underway, whichis being imparted by IGNOU.Specialists and Medical Officerfrom nearby CHC or PHC willvisit HWC bi-weekly for OPDservices.

The Minister alsoannounced to roll out 50 newambulances including 5advance life saving ambulances(ALS) to provide emergencyservices to the urban and ruralareas. These ALS will beequipped with critical life sav-ing equipments. Divulging thedetails he said that 242 ambu-lances have already been deput-ed at Strategic places and areconnected with ‘108’ Call Centre.

Mohindra said Punjab is

the only state in India that hasrolled out e-Raktkosh in all 45Government blood banks.

The Health Minister saidthe congress party in its elec-tion manifesto has promised toset up 5 new medical collegesand hospitals in the State andthe Government has decided toset up medical college andhospital in SAS Nagar(Mohali). He said the con-struction work will be initiat-ed in this year.

Mohindra also flagged aninitiative of free dialysis in alldistrict hospitals, sub divi-sional hospitals (Kotkapura,Abohar, Batala, Dasuya andPhagwara) and CHC Bangaand in three medical collegeand hospitals. He said 68units at these 28 centres areoperational. He said in thesecond phase free dialysis ser-vices will soon be provided inanother 5 sub divisional hospitals.

Health Department inorder to check the spread of TBvirus has decided to providefree dietary support to the

patients undergoingtreatment for TB –nutrient mixture willbe provided fromnext month in col-laboration withMarkfed. He saidthat free x-ray for TBsuspect patients isalso being extendedin all GovernmentHospitals. He saidthat at National levelaim is to eradicateTB by 2025, but Stateintended to achievethis target by 2022.

The Ministerstressed on the needto establish Trauma Centers toextend crucial life saving healthcare to the injured during thecritical hours. He said that theState Government realizing theneed of trauma centers, hasdecided to set up 5 trauma cen-ters across the state. He saidthat in the first phase thesetrauma centers to come upalong the National and StateHighways.

Mohindra said that to con-

trol the infant and mothermortality rate the state gov-ernment is all set to launch 100days comprehensive Mother& Child Health CareProgramme for strengtheningthe benefit given to beneficia-ry starting from pregnancy tillthe immunization of child iscompleted.

The Minister furtherdivulged that PunjabGovernment is all set to initi-ate the first of its kind uniqueprogramme, under which StateOrgan Tissue Transplantationorganisation will be establishedto provide ‘Organ & TissueDonation’ under tertiary healthcare services. For this, space

has already been earmarked inMedical Education Bhawan atMohali.

He said that many patientssuffer from end stage disease ofvarious organs likewise Heart,Lungs, Kidney, Liver, Pancreas& Intestine etc. Once the facil-ity is operational, the donatedorgans will be transplantedinto such patients for thera-peutic purposes under thisprogramme.

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The Department of LocalGovernment Punjab has

decided to implement onlinebuilding plan approval systemin all the Municipal Bodies ofthe State.

The proposed BuildingPlan Management System willautomate the end-to-endprocess from empanelment ofarchitect, Online DocumentsSubmission, Online FeePayment, ArchitectRegistration, Building PlanApproval, and Plinth LevelApproval to Completion /Occupation Certificate acrossall Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)in the state.

Local GovernmentMinister, Navjot Singh Sidhuon Thursday said that a soft-ware called “Online BuildingPlan Approval System” wouldbe provided to the TownPlanning Wing, Department ofLocal Government, Punjabensuring that that a buildingproponent does not of requirevisiting any the offices and sub-mission of building plans inhard copy version is to beentirely done away with.

He said the endeavourwould be to enhance the citi-zen centric services throughresponsive and transparent e-Governance systems.Elaborating about the othercore features of the novel ini-

tiative, Sidhu said that a singlesystem to manage the elec-tronic building plan approvalworkflow and the electronicstorage of relevant documen-tation would be implementedand public access to the elec-tronic building plan approvalsystem across the departmentwould be facilitated.

Not only this but scrutinyof drawing would ensure thatthe building plan conforms toall regulatory and statutorynorms, rules and regulationsand time consuming manualverifications is reduced. Also,the status of service would benotified at regular intervals.

Sidhu said that the RequestFor Proposal (RFP) has beenfloated by the Departmentwhich is available on the web-site. The service provider willbe finalis00ed next month andthe system will be operationalin all the Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) by July this year.

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Even as the 2019 assemblyand parliamentary polls are

more than a year away, thethree main political parties inHaryana are already gearing upfor the ballot-battle.

While the ruling BJP hasbegan an exercise to take feed-back from party workers aboutthe performance ofGovernment and gauge publicmood, the opposition parties—Congress and Indian NationalLok Dal—have also stepped uppolitical activities to take on themaiden BJP led HaryanaGovernment.

Eyeing 2019 polls, theChief Minister Manohar Lalhas started holding meetingswith MLAs, senior party officebearers and workers of variousdistricts to make assessment ofhis Government’s performanceand take feedback of publicperception.

Manohar Lal on Thursdayheld a meeting with seniorleaders, office bearers andworkers of BJP of Gurugram,Rewari, Sonipat and Kaithaldistricts at his residence hereand more such meetings arescheduled in the coming daysin view of preparations of nextyear’s elections.

Apart from this, BJPnational President Amit Shah’sone-day visit is scheduled onFebruary 15 in Hisar, duringwhich he will f lag off astatewide motorcycle rally tospread awareness on develop-ment works undertaken by theCentral and Haryana

Governments.The ruling BJP has chalked

out a plan to carry out inten-sive campaigning to reach outto the public and apprize themabout the works undertaken bymaiden BJP Governmentformed in Haryana in 2014.The party will also come outwith an elaborate counter-strategy on the key issues of lawand order situation, farmers’woes and water-sharing.

The Congress, on the otherhand, is also set to kick offmajor campaigns in the State.The faction-ridden HaryanaCongress which is divided intwo dominant groups of Stateparty Chief Ashok Tanwar andformer Chief MinisterBhupinder Singh Hooda will bevigorously working to make acomeback in the State.

The State Congress will beholding three “manthan shivirs”beginning January 15 to delib-erate on launching mass out-reach programmes in Haryana.The first shivir will be held atGurugram from January 15to 17.

Also, the two-time formerChief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda will carry out a rath yatrawhile Tanwar will start cycleyatra in February to cover allconstituencies in Haryana withan aim to strengthen the party’shold in the State ahead of nextyear’s polls.

Hooda will also lead a del-egation of party senior leadersto meet Governor KaptanSingh Solanki on January 17 toraise issues related to law andorder and high electricitycharges in the State.

Similarly, the IndianNational Lok Dal is set tointensify its protest to press forthe demand of construction ofSutlej Yamuna Link (SYL)canal.

Eyeing political revival bypiggybacking on the emotiveissue of SYL canal, the INLDhas announced to hold a rallyat Ramlila Ground in NewDelhi on March 7. Having lostthree consecutive assemblyelections in the State, the INLDis hopeful of regaining the lostpolitical ground in Haryana onthe issue of SYL and has beenaggressively raising the demandof construction of the canal.

Pushing for SYL canal con-struction, the INLD had lastyear held a series of protestsincluding blocking the nation-al highway near Ambala andfour other highways inHaryana, another protest atHaryana-Punjab border and atJantar Mantar in the nationalCapital.

Notably, the BJP had cameto power in Haryana for thefirst time after winning 47seats in the 90-member assem-bly in the polls held in October2014. The Congress wasreduced to 15 seats, even los-ing the status of the mainopposition party to the INLDwhich had won 19 seats. Thenumber of Congress MLAshad increased to 17 afterKuldeep Bishnoi’s HJC’s merg-er in the party last year.

Among the Lok Sabha MPsin Haryana, the ruling BJPhas seven members, INLD hastwo and the Congress has onemember.

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Haryana Government hasgreen-lit a proposal to set

up multi modal transit centres(MMTC) at Gurugram,Faridabad, Bahadurgarh andKundli.

The State Government hasalso selected the sites for thesame, said a Governmentspokesman.

The sites which have beenselected in Gurugram includ-ed Kher ki Daula near the pro-posed metro station, RegionalRapid Transit System (RRTS)station and bus stand adjoiningthe junction of CPR and NH,on land of Haryana StateIndustrial and InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation(HSIIDC) acquired in trans-port and communication zone.Similarly, the second site ofMMTC would be nearPanchagaon Chowk adjoiningthe proposed metro station

and RRTS station where thepanchayat land is available,said the spokesman.

He said that the site inFaridabad included site nearBallabhgarh metro station, busstand and railway station on theland of Transport Department.In Bahadurgarh, the site forMMTC included existing busstand adjoining metro stationwith the stipulation that exist-ing bus stand would continueto be used as intra city busstand, said he.

The spokesman added thatin Kundli, the site would bebetween RRTS stations of RajivGandhi Education City(RGEC) and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) interachange onthe acquired land of HSIIDC.

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Aday after the SupremeCourt’s decision to set up

a fresh SIT in 186 anti-Sikh riotcases of 1984, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh on Thursday said it washigh time that justice be provided.

“It is high time that justicebe provided in these cases,” theChief Minister said here, wel-coming the court’s decision toconstitute a fresh SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) tomonitor the probe.

Capt Amarinder who hadquit as MP in protest againstthe riots, said, “More than 30years have passed since thegory violence, which claimedmany lives and left many oth-ers homeless, and while variouscommissions had been set upto investigate the cases, justicecontinued to elude the victims.”“Several names had cropped upin connection with the riots,and it was now up to the SITto verify the allegations andbring the investigation to itslogical conclusion,” he said.

The Supreme Court a daybefore had said it would con-stitute a fresh three-memberSIT, to be headed by a formerhigh court judge, to monitorthe probe into 186 anti-Sikhriot cases, that followed theassassination of former PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi in1984, in which investigationswere closed.

To a question on the banannounced by certain elements

on entry of Indian officials inGurdwaras in Canada and theUS, the Chief Minister saidanyone, be it Sikh or non-Sikh,can enter the ‘guru ghar’ (abodeof the Guru) to pay his respectsor partake the ‘langar prasad’.

It was against the ‘Sikhi’(tenets of Sikhism) to stopanyone from entering the gur-dwaras, he said, condemningthe ban as “totally” wrong.

It was for the managementcommittees of the Gurdwaras,as well as the Sikh communi-ty, in these countries, to put astop on such acts, he said,pointing out that never had anyperson been barred from enter-ing a Gurdwara.

On the issue of politicalconferences at Shaheedi JorMelas, Singh said the precedentlaid in the case of the FatehgarhSahib Jor Mela should be fol-lowed for all other such melas,like those in Maghi andChamkaur Sahib.

Political parties had acced-ed to the Jathedar Akal Takth’scall not to hold any politicalconference in Fatehgarh Sahib,he said.

They should now followthe same tradition for similarmelas. If the SAD has plannedto hold political conferencesthere, it was up to them toexplain and justify their act, theChief Minister said.

The CM, however, made itclear that he was not againstholding of political confer-ences at other Jor Melas whichwere not related to martyrdom.

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In Haryana, beneficiaries ofthe Mukhyamantri Samajik

Samarsta Antarjatiya VivahShagun Yojana can now applyfor incentives for inter-castemarriage under it within threeyears from the date of theirmarriage instead of one year,earlier.

This decision was taken ina review meeting of all DistrictWelfare Officers and TehsilWelfare Officers held under thechairmanship of Minister ofState for Welfare of ScheduledCastes and Backward Classes,Krishan Kumar Bedi here.

Bedi said that the schemewas launched to promote com-munal harmony and encour-aging inter-caste marriages.

The Government will re-launch the scheme so as toensure coverage of maximumbeneficiaries under the scheme.Under the scheme, a grant of

�1.01 lakh is being given to aScheduled Caste boy or a girlof Haryana who married anon-Scheduled Caste girl orboy, said he.

He also directed the offi-cers to ensure benefit ofMukhyamantri Vivah ShagunYojana alongwith a greetingmessage of Chief MinisterManohar Lal to all eligiblebeneficiaries before seven daysof marriage.

The local MLA of the partyor any other public represen-tative should be involved forthis purpose, said Bedi.

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Haryana Government hasdecided that all

Government and private buseswould be equipped in such amanner which would befriendly to persons with visu-al disabilities for making theirtravel more convenient.

All the buses which wouldbe bought in future would befriendly to persons with visu-al disabilities and even the oldbuses would be equipped withramps for their convenience,said Chief Secretary DS Dhesiwhile presiding over a meetingregarding creating such facili-ties in the State which would bemore convenient to the personswith visual disabilities.

Dhesi directed to equip allbus stands with wheelchairs forthe use of persons with visualdisabilities. He also directed for

issuing guidelines to the privatebus operators for providingfacilities in the buses for theconvenience of persons withvisual disabilities.

It was apprised in the meet-ing that 42 buildings inGurugram and 47 buildings inFaridabad were being con-structed which would be con-venient to persons with visualdisabilities. A sum of over �55crore had been released by theCentral Government for suchGovernment buildings.

In the thirdphase, theGovernment build-ings rendering pub-lic services in tenmore districtsincluding Panchkula,A m b a l a ,Kurukshetra, Karnal,Panipat, Sonipat,Rohtak, Bhiwani,

Hisar and Rewari would bemade friendly to persons withvisual disabilities.During themeeting, it was also informedthat 69 websites of the Statewould become friendly to per-sons with visual disabilities byMarch 2018. Till now, 16 web-sites have been developed in asimilar manner. Also, the meet-ing of State Advisory Boardwould soon be convened.

Senior officers of con-cerned departments were pre-sent in the meeting.

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The Shiromani Akali Dal onThursday said it will launch

“Pol khol lehar” in Punjab in thefirst week of February to "exposethe Congress Government'smassive fraud with the belea-guered farmers, khet maj-doors,dalits and BackwardClasses on loan waiver.

SAD will take the issue ofto the people with rallies in all117 assembly constituencies ofthe State, party presidentSukhbir Singh Badal announcedafter a meeting of the CoreCommittee of the party at theparty headquarters here.

Badal also announced thata delegation of the SAD com-prising Core Committee mem-bers will meet the StateGovernor VP Badnore onFriday to seek his interventionto direct the State Govt to ful-fil its promises to farmers, dal-its, khet mazdoors andBackward classes.

"The total debt according tothe Congress itself is 90,000crore and their total waiverscheme covers less than 700crore, that less than one percentof the total burden," Badal said.

The delegation would alsoask the Governor for theappointment of an inquirycommission headed by a sittingjudge of the Supreme Court togo into the all incidents of sac-rilege in Punjab both duringthe SAD-Government andunder the present regime.

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Haryana Chief MinisterMahohar Lal on Thursday

urged the BJP leaders and itsworkers to be ready for theelections scheduled next year.

As a result of ensuring thebenefit of various schemes andprogrammes, people’s faith inthe BJP Government hasincreased, said Manohar Lalduring the meeting with thesenior leaders, office bearersand workers of BJP ofGurugram, Rewari, Sonipatand Kaithal districts at his res-idence to review Government’sperformance.

He exhorted the partyworkers to give the list of nec-essary demands of their area sothat the same could be com-pleted on priority basis.

The Chief Minister alsoasked them to remain presentamong the people and give

emphasis on the doing theirworks so that in the next elec-tions, people could see the BJPas the only party which couldfulfill their aspirations .

He said that during ourtenure of over three years, wehave ensured the developmentin the state by doing away withthe old tradition of casteism,regionalism and nepotism.

Special emphasis has beengiven on uniform develop-ment of the State unlike theprevious Governments wherethe development was centeredaround a particular district,said he.

I have visited each assem-bly constituency in the Stateand made 3600 announce-ments based on sentiment andrequirement of the people ofthe area.

Out of these, 65 per centannouncements have beencompleted whereas the remain-

ing are in the progress, headded.

Haryana BJP State presi-dent, Subhash Barala said thatthe BJP Government hasbrought about a revolutionarychange in the system by hittinghard at the corruption.

Barala urged the partyworkers to further strengthenthe BJP and also make peopleaware about various schemesimplemented for their benefit.This would surely help theBJP in ensuing elections, headded.

Among those present onthis occasion included PublicWorks (Building and Roads)Minister, Rao Narbir Singh,Urban Local Bodies MinisterKavita Jain, Minister of Statefor Public Health andEngineering Banwari Lal,MLAs namely RandhirKapdiwas, Tejpal Tanwaramong others.

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Most parts of Punjab andHaryana reeled under

cold weather conditions onThursday as Adampur becamethe coldest place recording aminimum temperature of 3.2degrees Celsius.

The joint capital of thestates, Chandigarh, recorded alow of 6.6 degrees Celsius, onedegree above normal, a MeTdepartment official said.

In Haryana, Ambala, Hisarand Karnal recorded the min-imum temperatures at 8degrees, 5.1 degrees and 5.5degrees Celsius, respectively.

Narnaul, Rohtak andBhiwani recorded 4 degrees, 7.7degrees and 5 degrees Celsius,respectively, the official said.

In Punjab, Amritsar expe-rienced cold weather condi-tions at 4.5 degrees Celsius,while Ludhiana and Patialashivered at 8.3 degrees and 8.4degrees Celsius, respectively,the MeT said.

Bathinda, Halwara andPathankot in the state record-ed 4.6 degrees, 4 degrees and4.8 degrees Celsius, respec-tively.

The MeT official addedthat the weather remained clearat most places in the neigh-bouring States.

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For the first time in thecountry, the name of a prac-

ticing woman lawyer has beenrecommended for appoint-ment as a judge of the SupremeCourt. Sixty-two year old InduMalhotra, a designated senioradvocate practicing in the apexcourt and High Courts, waspicked by the SC Collegium onWednesday.

If the recommendationmeets the approval of theCentre, Malhotra will be thesixth woman judge to grace thechair in the Supreme Court. Inthe past, all women judgesserved as served as High Courtjudges before they were ele-vated to the SC.

At present, Justice RBanumathi is the lone womanjudge in the SC. Her term willend in July 2020. Judges of theSupreme Court retire at the ageof 65, which gives Malhotra amaximum tenure of threeyears. Along with her, the five-judge Collegium has alsocleared the name of Justice KMJoseph, the Chief Justice ofUttarakhand High Court, forappointment as a judge ofSupreme Court.

While eyes are fixed onMalhotra breaking the glassceiling, the recommendation ofthe Collegium has also endedthe long wait for a womanjudge to enter the SC. JusticeBanumathi was the last womanjudge to be appointed onAugust 13, 2014. Prior to her,Justice Gyan Sudha Misra wasappointed on April 30, 2010,Justice Ruma Pal on January 28,2000, Justice Sujata V Manoharon November 8, 1994, and

Justice M Fathima Beevi onOctober 6, 1989.

Justice Beevi was the firstto break into the male bastionin the Supreme Court, eversince its institution in 1950.

Malhotra, who hails froma family of lawyers, has had aroaring practice at the SupremeCourt. She was designated as asenior advocate by the FullCourt of the Supreme Court inAugust 2007. This designationtoo was special as she becameonly the second woman to begiven this title, the last being ofJustice Leela Seth in January1977.

Malhotra did her Bachelorsand Masters in Political Sciencefrom Lady Sri Ram Collegeafter finishing her schoolingfrom Carmel Convent in Delhi.She graduated in Law fromFaculty of Law, DelhiUniversity in 1982. A yearlater, she joined at the Bar andcleared the Advocates-on-Record examination in theSupreme Court with top hon-ours. With time, she spe-cialised in arbitration law, bothdomestic and international,and took up several publicinterest issues, including theGood Samaritan law withregard to protection of personswho help road accident victimsand other gender specificissues.

In December 2016, theGovernment of India appoint-ed her as Member of the High-Level Committee constitutedby Ministry of Law and Justice,to institutionalise the prevail-ing arbitration mechanism inthe country. Her commentaryon the Law and Practice ofArbitration in India is a bril-liant treatise on the subject.

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From Page 1Street crimes like robberies

and snatchings also declined by21.05 per cent,” the police chiefsaid. He attributed the reduc-tion in crime rate to crimemapping, identification of hotspots, increased visibility ofpolice on streets to grouppatrolling by district DCPs,breaking the supply of firearms in Delhi.

As per the data provided bythe Delhi Police, in 2016, 7,910heinous cases were registeredwhile in 2017, 6057 heinouscases were registered.

Talking about cases regis-tered under heinous heads cat-egory in 2017, RP Upadhyay,Special Commissioner of Police(Crime) said Delhi observed a23.43 per cent decline in thenumber of heinous crimesrecorded by the Delhi Police inthe Capital in comparison tothe previous year. According toofficial data, 6,057 heinouscrimes were reported in 2017as opposed to 6,057 in 2016,thereby showing a decline of23.43 per cent. “Unplannedurbanization and urbananonymity are some of the fac-tors that impact crime in Delhi.

The large expansion of newcolonies like Dwarka andRohini and surfeit of unautho-rised colonies are driving fac-tors. A sizeable populationresides JJ clusters and are fac-ing lack of civic amenities,”Upadhyaya said. There were 45cases of dacoity that werereported in 2016 while in 2017,36 cases were registered, indi-cating a 20 per cent decline.

On the other hand, 501murder cases were reported in2016 while in the correspond-ing period in 2017, 462 cases ofmurder were registered by theDelhi Police, thus highlightinga decline by 7. 78 per cent.4585 cases of robbery werereported in 2016 while 2833cases were reported in 2017indicating a 38 per centdecrease.

Attempt to murderreduced by 0.16 per cent, riotby 36 per cent, kidnapping forransom by 36 per cent.

“Insistence on focusedinvestigation led to a high rateof detection of heinous caseswhich was 87.98 per cent in2017 as opposed to 71.81 percent in 2016,” the Special Crimesaid.

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From Page 1His counsel had sought a

regular bail last month fromthe high court, submitting hisclient had been behind barsfor four months.

The woman had accusedBarala and Kumar of stalkingand attempting to abduct her.

Charges were framedagainst Vikas Barala and his27- year-old friend, AshishKumar, in connection withthe case, which had triggeredwidespread outrage and aspate of protests across thecountry.

The two men were arrest-ed on the intervening night ofAugust 4-5 last year followingthe complaint, but werereleased on bail as they werebooked under bailable sec-tions of the Indian PenalCode and the Motor VehiclesAct.sThey were arrested againon August 9 after they joinedthe investigation and werecharged with attemptedabduction under sections 365and 511 of the IPC.

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From Page 1Sharma said that this is the

third Saraswati festival. Thefirst Saraswati festival was heldat the state level and the secondSaraswati Festival was heldnationally.

The BJP led HaryanaGovernment had been workingsince 2015 to restore Saraswaticreek from Adi Badri toMustafabad in Yamunanagardistrict.

The Saraswati river, con-sidered sacred in Hindu reli-gion, finds mention in ancientHindu scriptures like the RigVeda, Mahabharata, Ramayanaand others, giving credence tothe belief that it existed duringthose times.

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From Page 1Juster’s statement comes

at a time when India will beonce again pursuing its mem-bership for the NSG during themeeting of the group this sum-mer. China is the only countrythat is opposed to India’s mem-bership citing signing of Non-Proliferation Treaty as one ofthe important clauses. India isnot a signatory to NPT. Chinawants that in case the NPTclause is waived off for Indiathen Pakistan should also beallowed to be a member of theNSG. However, most of thecountries in the NSG havemade it clear that India andPakistan hold different repu-tations and the two should notbe clubbed together. India in2008 got a waiver from NSGfollowing strong efforts fromthe US. Through its sustainedefforts, the US believes thatIndia may finally get a seat inthe NSG. Talking about theIndo-Pacific region, the envoysaid that the US NationalSecurity Strategy recognisesIndia as a leading power inregion and beyond. “The long-standing commitment of theUS to a free, secure, and openIndo-Pacific has underpinnedthe stability and remarkable.

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Attacking the Centre overChina’s reported attempt

to build a road in the Tutingarea of Arunachal Pradesh,the Congress on Thursdaysaid it happened due to“Intelligence failure” and askedif New Delhi had granted a“franchise” to Beijing to con-struct roads.

AICC spokesperson TomVadakkan wondered whatDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman and HomeMinister Rajnath Singh weredoing when China “reported-ly built 1.3-km-long road in theIndian territory”. “It was anattempt by China to fosterDokalam 2.0,” he said.

On a sarcastic note, heasked if the Government hadgranted a franchise to China toconstruct road in India. “Mysimple question to theGovernment of India is havethey granted a franchise to theChinese Government to buildroads in India, in our territo-ry? Why is this happening?What was our intelligencedoing? What were our DefenceMinister, Home Ministerdoing? It’s total intelligence

failure,” Vadakkan said at AICCbriefing.

Vadakkan suggested relax-ing a Pradhan Mantri GramSadak Yojana (PMGSY) crite-ria that a village with a popu-lation of at least 100 can havea Government-built road.“Bishing, the village whereChina reportedly constructedthe road, has 16 householdsand a population of 54, whichis why there is no road there,”he said.

“The Congress wants togive a positive suggestion to theGovernment. Taking in accountnational security, PMGSYnorms for remote areas shouldbe relaxed and roads must bebuilt to prevent such cases inthe future,” he added.

Vadakkan alleged that“false bravado, chest thumpingand TV studio warfare” werethe tools the Modi Governmentemployed to manage head-lines when it came to criticalissues of national security. “TheModi Government has dis-played a heedless, incautiousand short-sighted attitude,when it comes to such issues ofnational security...Nationalsecurity is being ignored,” healleged.

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Former BJP MP Nana Patole,who quit BJP following dif-

ferences with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on agrarianissues on Thursday, rejoinedthe Congress. He won theBhandara-Gondiya parlia-mentary seat in Maharashtraon a BJP ticket defeating NCPheavyweight Praful Patel.

“Yes, I have joined theCongress. I will take whateverresponsibility the party givesme, either at the national or thestate level,” Patole said. He said he would continue towork on farmers’ issues andstrengthen the party.

Patole, who resigned fromthe Lok Sabha last month overthe Centre’s alleged poor han-dling of agrarian issues, had leftthe Congress to join the BJPahead of the 2014 elections.Patole resigned from the BJPon December 8, a day beforethe first phase of the Gujaratelections. He attended a pollrally along with Congress pres-ident Rahul Gandhi, indicatingthat his return to the party wasonly a matter of time.

Party sources added that

the former MP has joined theCongress “unconditionally”.“Patole is back home. He hasreturned unconditionally, with-out seeking any post,” a partyinsider said.

The Congress also posteda photograph of party chiefRahul Gandhi and Patole onTwitter with a message wel-coming him to the party.“Congress President RahulGandhi warmly welcomes MrNana Patole, Ex-MP from BJP,to the Congress family,” thecaption along with the photoread.

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Despite several efforts madeby the Government, onion

prices continue to remain ele-vated amid indication ofreduced availability of the bulbfor the season 2017-18.

Retail onion price haverisen to �50-60/kg in someparts of the country even as theGovernment said it is a “tem-porary phase” and the rates willcool down by the month-endwith improved arrival of thekharif crop.

Onion is being sold at over�50/kg in the national Capital,Mumbai and Kolkata. InChennai, the price is ruling at�45/kg, as per the official data.A similar trend prevails insmall cities as well.

“It is a temporary phase.Traders are taking advantage ofthe temporary ups and downs.But the fundamentals arestrong,” Agriculture SecretarySK Pattanayak told a newsagency. Though the onion cropis estimated to be slightly lowerin the 2017-18 crop year (July-June), the total productionwould be sufficient to meet thedomestic requirement, he said.

Former chairman ofAzadpur Mandi RajendraSharma told The Pioneer thatonion prices will hover around�30-40 a kg in the wholesale

market. “The reason is thatthere supply is less as comparedto the last year during thesame period. Only 70-80 trucksarrive daily at the Azadpurmandi and rates are quitehigh,” Sharma said.

As per the AgricultureMinistry’s data, the country’sonion production is estimatedto decline by 4.5 per cent to

21.4 million tonnes in the2017-18 crop year due to loweracreage as against 22.4 milliontonnes last year.

Pattanayak said the pricesof onion will get correctedwith the increase in arrival ofthe crop in the coming days.Nasik-based NationalHorticultural Research andDevelopment Foundation(NHRDF) acting Director P KGupta said, “The arrival of theKharif onion is less at presentand therefore prices are underpressure. The arrivals areexpected to improve by end ofthe month and the prices will accordingly get corrected.”

The kharif onion output isexpected to be lower as acreagewas down by 20-25 per centbecause of less rains during thesowing period in key growingstates Maharashtra, Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh and TamilNadu, he said. Once the kharifarrival and later rabi onion crophits the market, the retailprice situation will automati-cally improve, he added.

The estimated fall in onionoutput is attributed to the sub-stantial decline in sowing areathis year. Data compiled by theAgriculture Ministry showedtotal sowing area under onioncultivation this year at 1.19 mil-lion hectares, 8.4 per centlower than last year.

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Indoor air pollution is fatallychoking Indians: According

to the latest Global Burden ofDiseases (GBD MAPS) reportby the Boston-based HealthEffects Institute, residentialbiomass burning was behind2,67,700 deaths or nearly 25 percent of the deaths attributableto PM2.5 in 2015.

If no action is taken, thefuture burden of disease from allsources including residentialbiomass burning, coal com-bustion in industries and ther-mal power plants, burning ofcrop residue and vehicular com-bustion will grow substantiallyby 2050, with deaths attributableto ambient PM 2.5 projected torise to 3.6 million, said the

report released on Thursday. And this may only be the

tip of the iceberg as the studydoes not take into accountindoor exposure to biomassburning, especially in ruralareas where charcoal, firewoodand animal dung are used forcooking in the absence ofcleaner fuels.

The study focuses on themajor sources of PM2.5 that arebehind the deaths namely, res-idential biomass burning, coalcombustion in industries andthermal power plants, burningof crop residue and vehicularcombustion.

“Coal combustion, rough-ly evenly split between indus-trial sources and thermal powerplants, was responsible for169,300 deaths (15.5%) in 2015.

The open burning of agricul-tural residue was responsiblefor 66,200 PM2.5-attributabledeaths (6.1%),” the report says.

Transport, distributeddiesel and brick productionwere responsible behind23,100, 20,400 and 24,100deaths respectively, it said.

However, the researchers ofthe study engaged with premierinstitutes in the US, China,Canada and India among oth-ers, noted that the findings maybe underestimating the actualcontribution of transportsources which typically operatein closer proximity to popula-tions than do large stationarysources such as power plantsand industrial facilities.

The burden of disease, interms of the numbers of deaths

attributable to total PM2.5, isexpected to grow in the future,as the population ages andgrows and leaves more peoplesusceptible to air pollution,the researchers have forecast.

The study says that if emis-sion control measures are nottaken, the number of deathscaused by PM2.5 in the coun-try will rise to 1.7 millions in2030 and reach 3.6 million in2050.

Randeep Guleria, AIIMShead, said that they are con-ducting a study to assess thepollution impact on thepatients that are being admit-ted here as it is not only theurban areas but even ruralareas are under the impact ofthe air pollution, resulting inhigher respiratory disease cases.

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Financial condition ofmunicipalities is a “cause of

concern”, Union MinisterHardeep Singh Puri said onThursday and pitched for a“robust financial management”to enhance their revenues andraise funds by tapping capitalmarket through bonds.

He said the combinedreceipts of all municipalities inIndia was estimated to be lowerthan �1.5 lakh crore, with lessthan a third of the amount

coming from their resources,making them dependent onCentral and StateGovernments.

It is also estimated thatnearly �65 lakh crore would berequired as capital investmentand for services in Indian citiesover a 20-year period, theMinister said, adding thereforethe space to raise private fundswas “enormous”.

“Compared to certainother areas of reform, we havebeen relatively slower inmunicipal finance reforms, and

the financial position of ourmunicipalities is a cause of con-cern,” Puri, the Housing andUrban Affairs Minister, said atan event in Vigyan Bhawan.

He said the municipalfinance market faced a range ofchallenges, including weakadministration and politicalinterference by way of waivers.“Municipalities need to lay afoundation of robust financialmanagement for both enhanc-ing own revenues as well astapping the capital marketthrough Municipal Bonds,” he

said.Speaking about adminis-

trative reforms, he said the timehas come to adopt the recom-mendations of the SecondAdministrative ReformsCommission and merge thefunctions of the person chair-ing the municipal council andthe individual exercising exec-utive authority.

“The position of chairper-son/mayor duly created mustbe filled via a direct electoralprocess, and should have afixed five-year tenure,” he said.

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Ahead of elections in fiveStates of Karnataka, Tripura,

Nagaland, Mizoram and Megha-laya, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday held a din-ner meeting with all party gen-eral secretaries to discuss thepolitical situation and strategy tobe adopted by the party for theensuing Assembly polls .

According to sources, thePrime Minister sought all thegeneral secretaries to sharplyfocus on galvanising the cadresfor the coming Assembly pollsand increase party supportfrom the younger generation,particularly those who wouldbe eligible for voting in 2018.

The dinner meeting, withBJP chief Amit Shah in atten-dance, provided an opportuni-ty to party leaders to pick upthe threads from Gujarat andHimachal Pradesh poll cam-paigns and streamline strategiesfor the polls in Karnataka andNorth-Eastern States with theformer offering BJP an oppor-tunity to unseat the Congress-led Siddaramaiah Government.

Tripura is another Statewhere BJP is hoping that it maycreate history by deposing theManik Sarkar-headed Left-front

Government which is ruling theState for two-decades.

The Lok Sabha polls, whichare less than one-and-half yearsaway, also generally figuredduring the interactions withgeneral secretaries who alsohappen to be States-in-charge,sources said. BJP has already set

itself on for general electionswith around 4 lakh “Vistaraks”deployed across the States.

The leaders who attendedthe dinner-meet includedKailash Vijayvargiya, Bhupen-der Singh, Ram Lal, Arun Singh,Ram Madhav, Saudan Singhand Anil Jain . A total of eightgeneral secretaries were presentat the dinner that lasted twohours, according to sources.

The high-level interactionhas come close on the heels ofindications that there may besome changes in the party.The reshuffling in the party islong overdue, according to asection in the party while oth-ers in the BJP feel that the partywas “in any way winning all theelections”.

Earlier during the day,Shah attended the core groupof Karnataka to review party’scampaign in the State whichwitnessed heated exchangesbetween the Karnataka ChiefMinister and the BJP chiefthis week. The meeting wasattended by BJP’s Karnataka-in-charge Murlidhar Rao.

Besides the five States oth-ers like Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh arescheduled to go to polls duringthe latter half of the year.

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The Supreme Court onThursday set up a three-

member special investigationteam (SIT) headed by retiredDelhi High Court judge JusticeSN Dhingra to probe into 186cases involving the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital andother parts of north India. TheSIT will present the first statusreport of its probe in twomonths, latest by March 19, thenext date of hearing. JusticeDhingra had also headed aCommission to probe into theland deals of Robert Vadra, theson-in-law of former Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi.

An apex Bench of ChiefJustice Dipak Misra, JusticesAM Khanwilkar and DYChandrachud passed the orderfollowing a suggestion made

unanimously by the Centreand the PIL petitioner S GurladSingh Kahlon, a member of theDelhi Sikh GurdwaraManagement Committee.Besides Justice Dhingra, theother two members of SITinclude Abhishek Dular, a 2006batch IPS officer of HimachalPradesh cadre who is current-ly posted with Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI), andRajdeep Singh, a retired SpecialDirector General of BSF whoretired in 1979.

The Court clarified that thepresent SIT will no way affect thefunctioning of the previous SITcurrently seized of some casesrelated to the 1984 riots. Thedecision to reopen 186 cases wastaken by the Court after it cameto light how the existing SITclosed these cases without con-ducting any investigation.

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If you thought that dialing theGovernment’s toll-free

QuitLine 1800-11-2356 will bea sheer waste of time and nothelp you quit smoking or chew-ing tobacco, then think again.

According to a one-year-data analysis of more than3,000 people who calledQuitLine, the national tobaccocessation helpline launched onMay 31, 2016, almost 40 percent people, who signed up forthe cessation programme, quitsmoking or chewing tobacco.

The data, gathered fromMay 30, 2016 to May 31, 2017,also revealed that majority ofthe registered callers were edu-cated adults of age 25-64 years,which points to the fact that

they were well aware of theharmful effects of tobacco usebut still chose to indulge insuch delirious habits.

“Interestingly, we alsofound that that maximumnumber of callers, ie 73.4 percent, had no family history oftobacco use.

“Majority of adults andyouth are using tobacco underpeer pressure, status symbol, tofit in group, work pressure,stress, imitation, family con-flicts, relationship issues, anx-iety, social conformity etc,”said Prof Raj Kumar, Head,Department of National Centerof Respiratory Allergy, Asthmaand Immunology (NCRAAI),Vallabhbhai Patel ChestInstitute.

Prof Raj Kumar heads thetobacco cessation program,

which is funded by the HealthMinistry.

Interestingly, 46.45% regis-tered callers were from UttarPradesh who were seeking coun-seling to help them quit; secondhighest was Delhi. The tobaccocessation program is headed byProf Raj Kumar of VallabhbhaiPatel hospital, Delhi.

“Tobacco quit-line servicesare the telephone-based free ofcost services, with primaryobjective to provide counselingfor tobacco cessation. Theseservices include supportthrough educational material,in the form of sms, e-mail andwebsites,” he said adding thatthe results are motivating thatpeople are coming around andseeking help. The quit line hasbeen recommended by theWorld Health Organisation as

one of the population-wideapproaches to support tobaccousers in quitting.

According to experts, thebenefits of quitting are wide-ranging and almost immediate.Within 20 minutes blood pres-sure drops and within 24 hoursa person’s chance of heartattack decreases. Long- termbenefits include reduced risk oflung cancer, stroke and heartdisease, they say.

Using any type of tobaccoputs a person at an increasedrisk of cancer. “Avoiding orstopping the consumption oftobacco is one of the foremoststeps in cancer prevention,”said Dr K K Aggarwal,President Heart CareFoundation of India (HCFI)and ex President of the IndianMedical Association (IMA).

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As part of the celebrations tomark 25 years of bilateral

relationship, Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahuwill be visiting India fromJanuary 14-19 during which hewill undertake a multi-city tourand also hold discussions withPrime Minister Narendra Modion a range of bilateral and inter-national issues besides strength-ening their strategic partnership.

India and Israel have adeep cooperation in severalareas including defence, secu-rity ties, agriculture and tech-nology. Netanyahu’s four-dayvisit is expected to furtherboost the strong ties as the twosides explore new avenues forcollaboration and increasingtrade relations.

In New Delhi, Netanyahuwill hold talks with Modi onJanuary 15 at the HyderabadHouse where the PM will host alunch for him. The two leaderswill then travel to Ahmedabadon January 17 where they will

hold a roadshow and visit theSabarmati Ashram. Netanyahuwill also travel to Mumbai onJanuary 18 for a meeting withbusiness heads and other events,including a visit to NarimanHouse, also known as ChabadHouse, which was targeted by theterrorists during an attack on26/11/2008.

Netanyahu along with hiswife and 2008 terror attack sur-vivor Moshe Holtzberg, hisnanny Sandra Samuel and bothmaternal and paternal grand-parents are expected to visit theNariman House. Modi hadmet Moshe during his maidenvisit to Israel last year and invit-ed them to visit Mumbai.

“The Prime Minister’s visitto India is the grand finale to thecelebrations of 25 years ofGrowing Partnership betweenIndia and Israel. The visit willfocus on the progress madebetween India and Israel sincePrime Minister Modi’s visit toIsrael last summer,”IsraeliAmbassador to India DanielCarmon said.

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India on Thursday askedMaldives that its “India First”

policy should be visible on theground and efforts should bemade to strengthen bilateral tiesin all aspects. New Delhi’sassertion came against thebackdrop of its sagging ties withMale and the growing clout ofChina in the island country.

During her talks with thevisiting Maldives ForeignMinister Mohamed Asim,External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj conveyedIndia’s commitment to achiev-ing the full potential of the rela-tionship with Maldives in linewith India’s “NeighbourhoodFirst” policy.

On his part, Asim reiterat-ed his Government’s commit-ment to the “India First” poli-cy, and assured Sushma that hisGovernment will not do any-thing that goes against the inter-est of India. Asim also said thatMaldives will keep India’s sen-sitivities into account while for-mulating its policies. Asim lateralso met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and repeatedhis Government’s commitmentfor maintaining good relationswith India while emphasising

that Maldives attached the high-est priority to its ties with India.

The Maldives Governmenthas hurriedly pushed through aFree Trade Agreement withChina even as negotiations onthis with India continue. Also,three local councilors wererecently suspended in Maldivesfor meeting the IndianAmbassador following a prohi-bition on diplomatic meetings.

Maldives President AbdullaYameen too has maintainedthat India remains its closest allyand important partner. Asim,who is also the Special Envoy ofthe President of Maldives, is ona visit to India to rejuvenate theties and smoothen the roughedges that have developed in therelationship.

During the review of theIndia-sponsored developmen-tal projects in Maldives, Indiaraised the issue of delay andsought to know the reasons forroadblocks. Asim assured thathis Government will ensureearly progress on all the pend-ing development projects thatIndia is supporting in Maldives.Issues pertaining to strength-ening development partner-ship and enhancing Defenceand security cooperation werealso discussed.

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Just the day after BJP presi-dent Amit Shah blasted the

Congress Government led byChief Minister Siddaramaiah asanti-Hindu, the All IndiaCongress Committee (AICC)general secretary KCVenugopal has ruled out theState Government putting anyban on Popular Front Of India(PFI). The BJP has beendemanding a ban on PFI foralleged murder of 21 Hinduactivists in Karnataka.

Addressing a Press confer-ence at Vijayapura in Karnatakaon Thursday Venugopal said, asthe State Government was tak-ing all necessary steps to nabthe culprits indulged in violenceand murder, especially in thecoastal districts, there was noneed to ban PFI. He saidalready five people have beenarrested in connection withmurder of BJP activist DeepakRao near Suratkal in MangaluruDistrict recently. Venugopalalleged that the BJP and RSSleaders were inciting violence inCoastal districts in the State.

Addressing a Parivarthanarally of the BJP led by BSYeddyurappa at Holalkere town

on Wednesday in KarnatakaAmit Shah had a scathing attackon Congress Government forthe failure of law and order. Hehad also said that after BJPcomes to power all the perpe-trators (who had killed Hinduactivists) of the crime will besent to jail. Shah had warnedthe Congress Government thattime had come for them to go.

In another developmentKarnataka Home MinisterRamalinga Reddy made a seri-ous allegation of telephone tap-ping of the State Congress lead-ers against Central Governmentled by Prime Minister NarendraModi ahead of Assembly polls.Reddy said he had received sev-eral complaints from partyleaders and Ministers in thisregard. “Earlier also I hadreceived similar complaints andhad informed it to Union HomeMinister,” he added.

In August 2017, the BJPleaders had alleged thatCongress Government in theState had indulged in phonetapping of its party leaders.However, he refused to namethe leaders whose phone werebeing tapped.

Meanwhile the majorOpposition BJP had said thatthey would launch a State-wide‘jailbharo’ agitation on Friday inprotest against Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah’s remarks thatBJP RSS and Bajrang Dal haveterrorists. But Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah on Thursday inMysuru clarified and said hehad only referred to Hindutvaextremism when speaking ofterrorists.

“What I said is BJP and RSSare spreading Hindutva terror-ism for political gains. In myopinion, whoever spread hateand incites violence is a terror-ist,” said Siddaramaiah. BJPpresident Amit Shah termedCongress Government led bySiddaramaiah as ‘anti-Hindu’for allegedly being soft onIslamic extremist groups. Fewweeks back Siddaramaiah andhis Uttar Pradesh counterpart,Yogi Adityanath, engaged in awar of words on Twitter.

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Uttar Pradesh Shia WaqfBoard Chairman Wasim

Rizvi, who had chargedmadrasas with teaching terror,is increasingly coming underattack from within the BJP.

After the most renownedMuslim face of the party ZafarSareshwala, another minorityleader of the BJP fromTelangana has also lashed out atRizvi. Haneef Ali, member ofthe party’s executive has claimedthat Rizvi has lost his mentalbalance and was conspiring tocreate differences between Shiaand Sunni Muslims.

The blistering attack cameafter Rizvi wrote a letter toPrime Minister demanding theclosure of all Madarsas. “Rizvihas no relation withthe BJP orthe RSS”, Haneef Ali said. “Hehas the habit of earning fame bysuch cheap tactics,” he added.

Haneef Ali said that afterBJP came to power in UttarPradesh the Shia Waqf Boardwas dissolved because of cor-ruption charges but WasimRizvi was continuing by brin-ing a stay order from the court.

He said the Shia communitycondemns Rizvi’s letter toPrime Minister. He also deniedthat the BJP had any plans toclose down the Madarsas. “Wewill expose the conspiracybehind the letter to create dif-ferences between Sunnis andShias,” he said. “Such elementsare trying to defame the BJPand disturb the peace in thecountry,” he added.

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The controversy arisingout of an additional

judge’s warning against theuse of loudspeakers inmosques in Nizamabad dis-

trict was resolved after thedistrict judge held discus-sions with the additionaljudge concerned, top policeofficials and leaders of theminority community.

The controversy erupt-ed in Armoor town, 25 kms

away from the district head-quarters Nizamabad whenthe additional judge BhaskarGoud issued a warning to allthe mosques in the town ofbooking cases against themif they continue to use theloudspeakers.

The threats of ajudge caused a stir inthe entire district andthe office-bearers ofseveral mosque com-mittees and leaders ofvarious organisationsincluding Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeenand Jamiatul Ulemalodged a complaintwith the PoliceC o m m i s s i o n e rKartikya. MIM’s leg-islator Ahmad PashaQuadri also spoke tohim over phone andapprised him of the

concern of the communityover the unusual action of thejudge of visiting the mosquesand issuing warnings.

Amid the growing ten-sion Nizamabad district KSujana, along with othermagistrates and Kartikyavisited Armoor town andheld discussions with theadditional judge. They alsoheld talks with the repre-sentatives of the localMuslims and recordedtheir statements.

Later G Sujana assuredthe minority communitythat the judiciary had nointention of interfering inreligious matter of anycommunity and the instructions against loud-speaker was not aimedonly at mosques but for allthe religious places as partof efforts to curb the noisepollut ion. The PoliceCommissioner a lsoassured that such incidentswill not recur.

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With lakhs of people head-ing to their respective

native places to celebrate thefestival of Sankranti or Pongalthis weekend, the roads ofHyderabad city will be free ofthe usual mad rush.

Traffic was thin in all partsof city as the vehicular traffic felldrastically on Thursday.However, there was a hugerush at all the major railway sta-tion and two main bus termi-nals as the families joined thelong queues to head towards thenative places, mostly the dis-tricts of Telangana as well asAndhra Pradesh.

In the annual tradition theSouth Central Railway wasrunning special trains to dealwith the rush. Similarly, theTelangana State Road TransportCorporation was running hun-dreds of special buses to easethe congestion. In an unusualmove the SCR authorities havedoubled the platform ticketfrom �10 to �20 to discouragelarge number of people comingto see off their relatives.

With many families travel-ling by their own vehicles there

also rush on all the roads lead-ing out of Hyderabad and therewere long queues at all the tollplazas.

Authorities say that theywere also getting ready for thereturn rush from evening ofJanuary 16. Schools have col-leges have declared holiday tillTuesday.

Government and privateemployees including the work-ers of IT companies have alsotaken leave to extend theirholidays to spend more timewith their families back home.According to the IT industrysource of more than 4 lakh soft-ware engineers, 30 to 40 per-cent have gone on extendedleave.

The rush for Sankranti hasnot only made life easy for thetraffic on the roads but offices

and other public places werealso appearing deserted.

On the other hands the res-idents of Hyderabad were alsogearing up for the colorful fes-tival of kites and the shops in theold city and the Begum Bazarwere buzzing with the kitelovers. Telangana Governmenthas organised not only a KiteFestival but also a Sweet Festivalwhere more than three hundredoutlets have come up servingdifferent sweet dishes andsavories of local varieties.

Meanwhile, the police inHyderabad and neighboringCyberabad and Rachakondacommissionerates have increasedtheir patrolling specially in thoseareas where large number offamilies have gone to their nativeplaces for the festival.

The police have issuedwarning to such families thatthey should fully secure theirhomes and properly lock thembefore leaving the city. In someareas they also asked the peo-ple to inform the local policestation about their travel plans.The precautionary measureswere taken in view of manyinstances of burglars targetingsuch houses in the past.

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Gujarat police arrested anaccused in 2002 Gulberg

Society massacre case after heremained absconding for about16 years.

The accused AshishPandey, one of the fiveabsconding in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality on Wednesday eveningby crime branch official after atip off.

Pandey had been abscond-ing after being named in theFIR registered in the GulbergSociety massacre case. A resi-dent of Naroda area, Pandeylived in different cities to evadearrest, the police said.

On February 28, 2002 amob had attacked a pre-dom-inantly Muslim colony —Gulberg Society — inAhmedabad a day after infa-mous Godhara carnage. Asmany as 69 people, includingformer Congress MP EhsanJafri, were killed in the attackon society. The incident wasrecorded to be one of the worstviolent incident during thecommunal conflaguration witnessed by the State postGodhra train burning a dayearlier.

A special court had in June2016 convicted 24 people in theGulberg case, awarding lifeimprisonment to 11 peopleand 10-year term to one of theaccused, seven-year jail termfor 12 and acquitting 36 others.Five of the accused weredeclared absconding. With thearrest of Pandey, four moreaccused still remain at large.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee who had

“dropped” her doctorate degree— reportedly earned from analleged non-existent Universityin the United States in the1980s — following large-scalecriticism from the Oppositionparties finally earned a genuineone on Thursday when theCalcutta University conferredon her an honorary D.Littdegree.

While the Thursday’sdegree came not without politi-co-judicial ruckus with chal-lengers moving the High Courtand critics seeing “boot-lick-ing” of some “so-called educa-tionists”, in the whole drama amoved Chief Minister exhibit-ed great degree of humilitywhen she said “I know I am notworth it but still I am happythat I have been given it.”

She said she would not usethe degree, with tears wellingup in her eyes, even as she rem-inisced how she had to faceterse remarks for her inabilityto carry forward her studiesdespite tremendous desire.

“I am a beggar of love andam overwhelmed at this ges-ture,” she said even as stalwartsin Calcutta University said the

degree was a tribute to hersocial work and struggle.Banerjee also said that she hasalways been publicly deridedand was in two minds about tothe occasion “but then theEducation Minister ParthoChatterjee persuaded me tocome here and I am over-whelmed by the honour.

“I am deeply touched bythe recognition the Universitygave to my creativity, art, literary activities, social service

and public work. Glory and heritage of CalcuttaUniversity transcends bound-aries,” she said.

Meanwhile a PublicInterest Litigation was stillpending in Calcutta HighCourt where the PetitionerRanjugopal Mukherjee, a former Professor of the university, claimed that thedecision to confer the award onthe Chief Minister was arbi-trary and opaque.

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New Year has given a good beginningto Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

Chandrababu Naidu. On Friday, he willmeet Narendra Modi at the PrimeMinister’s Residence in New Delhi.

Naidu will discuss about theAmaravati Capital RegionDevelopment and support requiredfrom the Government of India, issuesarising out of State bifurcation andother development activities inAndhra Pradesh.

On Wednesday, Naidu wrote a let-ter to the Union Finance Minister,Arun Jaitley about cuts in CentrallySponsored Schemes and Central ShareIn Externally Aided Projects sanc-tioned to Andhra Pradesh for 2015-

16 to 2019-20 years. As ExternalAgencies are taking long procedure tosign agreements and consuming longtime to release funds, Naidu said,Andhra Pradesh is not in a positionto absorb the time loss happeningEAP. He further requested to convertall EAP projects as NABARD projectsby releasing �16,447 crores as the spe-cial dispensation amount instead ofloans through External Agencies.

“The special assistance measuresannounced to Andhra Pradesh andCentral Assistance In 90:10 ratio onpar with Special Category States willenable to put the residuary State’sfinances on a firmer footing as envis-aged by the Parliament while passingthe Bifurcation Bill”, Naidu added inhis letter.

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Purushothaman means thebest among men. But B

Purushothaman (57) residentof Kanakalakshmi Nagar inCoimbatore is an antithesis tothat name. Tamil Nadu policehas registered 15 cases againsthim, all under white collarcrimes. He was once detainedunder the Goondas Act.

Despite the cases regis-tered against him,Purushothaman continues tohoodwink people throughnewly devised modus operan-di. Coimbatore Police is in thelook out for him and variousteams have been constituted to

somehow nab him. The latestinitiative is a fallout to com-plaints filed againstPurushothaman by threewomen who were cheated bythe him.

Purushothaman is on awedding spree now. His latesttargets are middle-agedwomen, especially spinsters,widows and divorced women.He selects only women fromaffluent families.

The women who filed thecomplaints against him weremarried by him and robbedcrores of rupees from themconcealing the fact that he wasalready married. The latestvictim is a Professor working ina Chennai college, who was

zeroed in by Purushothamanwith the help of an on-line mat-rimonial bureau.

“The spinster wasimpressed by the sweet talks of

Purushothaman and she read-ily agreed for the marriage.After the marriage ceremonyand the honeymoon days,Purushothaman told theProfessor that he was not com-fortable in Chennai. Since hisbusiness was centered aroundCoimbatore, he made the newbride agree to sale her proper-ty in the metropolis for �1crore,” said an officer inCoimbatore City Police.

The professor agreed to hisdemand and Purushothamanwent to Coimbatore in searchof a property for both of themto stay. “That was the last shesaw of Purushothaman,” saidthe officer.

M e a n w h i l e ,

Purushothaman had managedto marry another spinster androbbed �3 crore from her andmade the disappearing act.

Inspector Masutha Begumof Podanur All Women’s PoliceStation said that initial probesby the police revealed thatPurushothaman had marriedeight women.

“He has a transport com-pany in the city and is a habit-ual cheat. We have deployedteams to all over in pursuit ofPurushothaman. The chargesagainst him range frompolygamy, suppression of mate-rials and cheating,” said Begum.She said the proprietor of theon-line matrimonial servicehas been taken into custody.

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Upset with the Indian Navy’sWestern Naval

Command’s “objection” to thesetting up of a floating jetty inthe Arabian Sea off southMumbai, Union ShippingMinister Nitin Gadkari onThursday hit out at the Navyfor “blocking” developmentalworks and said that the Navyhad nothing to do withMalabar Hill, two nauticalmiles off which a floatel withfive star facilities was to be pro-posed to be anchored.

Giving his peace of mindto the top brass of the WesternNaval Command for exceed-ing its brief and blocking adevelopmental project insouth Mumbai, a miffedGadkari said that “not aninch of land” would be givenfor Navy housing in southMumbai, after wondering asto why all the Navy personnelwanted to live in the upmar-ket area when their role was tosecure the country’s bordersfrom terrorists.

Speaking at a function afterlaying foundation stone for anInternational Cruise Terminalat the Mumbai port, Gadkarisaid: “I heard yesterday that theBombay High Court stayed aproposal to set up a floatingjetty at Malabar Hill. I was told

the reason for this was the Navyobjected to the project. Whereis the Navy in Malabar Hill?Navy has nothing to do withcoast along Malabar Hill. But,it has become a habit for theNavy to stop all kinds of works”

“You bring such proposalsto us. We are the Government.Neither the Navy nor theDefence Ministry is theGovernment. The PrimeMinister has appointed a com-mittee under my chairmanshipfor infrastructural clearances.Even if we agendas, we clear theproposals. You bring the pro-posals to me. There is no needto take the proposals to theNavy. The Navy’s role is in theborders where terrorists try toinfiltrate. Why do all the Navypersonnel want to live in southMumbai,” Gadkari said.

Revealing that the Navy hadcome to him for a plot of land insouth Mumbai for a housingproject, Gadjkari said: “Whydoes everyone (in the Navy)want to stay in South Mumbai?They (Navy) had come to me,asking for a plot (of land). I willnot give even an inch of land.Please don't come to me again….We do respect you (Navy), butyou should go to the Pakistanborder and do patrolling."

Significantly enough,Gadkari made the remarks at apublic event here in presence of

Western Naval Command chiefVice-Admiral Girish Luthra.

Gadkari’s remarks came inthe backdrop of the BombayHigh Court rejecting a petitionfiled by a private firm seekingpermission to construct a float-ing hotel and a jetty nearNariman Point in SouthMumbai.

A division bench of justicesAS Oka and PN Deshmukhhad on January 8 dismissed thepetition filed by RashmiDevelopment Pvt Ltd, chal-lenging an order passed by the

Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) and ahigh-court appointed commit-tee denying permission for theconstruction of the floatinghotel, jetty and ramps abuttingthe Marine Drive promenade.The rejection of the privatefirm’s petition essentially meansthat it will have to look for anew location to build floatingjetty to ferry passengers to itsfloatel – floating hotel with fivestar facilities in the Arabian seaproposed to be anchored twonautical miles off Raj Bhavan.

Gadkari said that a fewimportant and senior officialscould stay in Mumbai, but theland on the eastern seafrontbeing jointly developed by thestate-run Mumbai Port Trustand the Maharashtra govern-ment would be utilised only forthe benefit of local citizens.

Incidentally, southMumbai’s Colaba is home to alarge number of Navy person-nel. It houses the headquartersof the Western NavalCommand (WNC) and thenaval residential quarters at

Navy Nagar.Estimated to cost �300

crore, the international cruiseterminal at the Bombay Portwill have all facilities like an air-port with separate arrival anddeparture lounges and cater toaround 700,000 tourists annu-ally arriving or departing bycruise liners, and is expected tobe ready by December 2019.

Spread over 4.15 lakh sq.feet, the terminal will beequipped to host cruise shipswith a capacity of around 5000passengers, with restaurants,shopping, recreated and leisureactivities, which would also beaccessible to the local population.

“The Arabian sea and seafront is a speciality and strengthof Mumbai and Maharashtra.Eighty cruise ships came toMumbai this year and 950cruise ships will come in thenext 5 years, Gadkari said.

Gadkari said that therewas a huge tourist potential inMumbai. Speaking aboutVarious projects of MbPTworth �6,500 crore, theMinister said; “Of these pro-jects, 27 projects are in pipelineand will be inaugurated inupcoming year”.

Gadjari said that SagarMala project for Maharashtrawas worth of 2.41 lakh crore.“Twenty four applications havebeen received for Special

Economic Zones (SEZ). Ofthese, only in JNPT SEZaround 1.5 lakh youth will getemployment in the next 3years, they all should be fromRaigad and Konkan areas,” theMinister said.

Maharashtra chief ministerDevcendra Fadnavis said thatthe proposed internationalcruise terminal was part of thegovernment’s four-prongedpolicy to develop Mumbai onwater, sky, ground and under-ground with water transport,new international airport,roads and flyovers, and theunderground Mumbai Metro.

“This will make Mumbai aglobal cruise destination, cre-ate huge employment oppor-tunities, increase the number oftourists and contribute to theGDP growth of Mumbai andMaharashtra,” Fadnavis said.

Earlier, Gadkari andFadnavis laid the foundationstone for the swank new international cruise terminalwhich will come up in theMumbai port.

Slated to cost �300 crore, itwill have all facilities like an air-port with separate arrival anddeparture lounges and cater toaround 700,000 tourists annu-ally arriving or departing bycruise liners, and is expected tobe ready by December 2019.

Fadnavis said that this inter-

national cruise terminal is partof the government’s four-pronged policy to developMumbai on water, sky, groundand underground with watertransport, new international air-port, roads and flyovers, and theunderground Mumbai Metro.

“This will make Mumbai aglobal cruise destination, cre-ate huge employment oppor-tunities, increase the number oftourists and contribute to theGDP growth of Mumbai andMaharashtra,” Fadnavis said.

Spread over 4.15 lakh sq.feet, the terminal will beequipped to host cruise shipswith a capacity of around 5000passengers, with restaurants,shopping, recreated and leisureactivities, which would also beaccessible to the local population.

In fact, in 2016-2017,around 55 international cruiseships carrying over 60,000 pas-sengers touched Mumbai,which is now expected to grow10 fold to around 700 vesselsannually.

With Mumbai aloneexpected to handle nearlythree-fourths of this estimatedhuge growth in cruise liner traf-fic, the government plans todevelop other ports (besidesMumbai) like Goa, Mangalore,Kochi and Chennai to cater tobig and small internationalcruise ships.

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Ayoung ruling party legislatorrepresenting Wachi

Assembly segment from SouthKashmir district of ShopianThursday stirred up a hornets’nest by labeling terrorists killedin Kashmir as ‘martyrs’ and‘brothers’.

He also advised Centre’sinterlocutor Dineshwar Sharmato hold parleys with the HurriyatConference members and ter-rorists in order to resolve theissue of Kashmir.

An Advocate by professionPDP MLA Aijaz Ahmed Mir'sown house was attacked by ter-rorists on October 19, 2017 bylobbing a grenade. At that timehe was away and his familymembers escaped unhurt.

On Thursday he toldreporters on the footsteps of theState legislature complex,"Terrorists who are fromKashmir are martyrs, they are

our brothers. They are our chil-dren. Some of them are minorswho don't even know what theyare doing." He said they shouldbe counselled and brought backto the mainstream to end thisbloddshed.

Referring to the killing ofover 200 militants during year2017 Mir told reporters, "Thekilling of terrorists should not becelebrated.”

"We should not celebrate thekillings of terrorists, it is our col-lective failure, we feel sad whenour security forces are martyredas well, we should sympathisewith parents of security jawansand with parents of terrorists aswell," Mir said.

“Nearly one lakh peoplehave been killed due to militan-cy in all these years. We mustfocus on dialogue as only dia-logue is the way forward," Aijazclarified before entering the Statelegislature complex.

He also urged the Centre's

special representative forKashmir Dineshwar Sharma totalk to everybody in the State."He should talk to separatists andterrorists in Kashmir too," hesaid.

Reacting to the statement ofPDP MLA Congress legislativeparty leader Nawang RogzinZora said, "On one hand BJP topbrass remain busy in issuing cer-tificates of 'Nationalism' and onthe other hand their own alliancepartner PDP MLA is labelingmilitants as 'martyrs'. Ask BJP

Chief Amit Shah and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi what ishappening in Jammu andKashmir. Zora said, while addingthat the double standard of boththe alliance partners BJP-PDPhas been exposed before theirown electorate as they are issu-ing confusing statements.

Senior National ConferenceMLA Ali Mohd Sagar said, "ThePDP is a party of contradictions.”On the one hand, they said, ter-rorists are killed under theirwatch, and on the other, they

make statements claiming ter-rorists are 'martyrs'. He toldreporters to ask Deputy ChiefMinister to clarify their partystand on the issue.

Meanwhile, State BJPspokesman strongly condemnedthe statement of PDP legislatorAijaz Mir.

Chief spokesman Sunil Sethisaid, "It seems PDP legislator haslost his mental balance. He istalking in the language of mili-tants and separatists while underoath of constitution as legislator.”

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Hours after they were arrest-ed in connection with the

December 29 Kamala Millscompound blaze in which 14persons were killed and 55 oth-ers injured, the three co-own-ers of restaurant 1Above wereremanded in police custody bya city court till January 17.

The police obtained thecustody of three accused —Kripesh Sanghavi, JigarSanghavi and Abhijeet Mankar— till January 17, after pro-ducing them before a Bhoiwadacourt at around 3 pm.

Kripesh Sanghvi and hisbrother Jigar Sanghvi who hadbeen on the run since theDecember 29 fire tragedy froma hotel in Bandra late onWednesday, while the thirdpartner of 1Above restaurantAbhijeet Mankar, was arrestedfrom Marine Lines in the earlyhours of Thursday. The citypolice had issued look-outnotices for these three abscond-ing accused.

While seeking custody ofSanghvi brothers and Mankar,the Prosecution told the courtthat the three were responsiblefor the loss of lives in theDecember 29 blaze, in which13 of their patrons were killedin the mishap.

The investigators told thecourt that they wanted to con-front the three accused with thearrested accused Yug Pathak,son of a retired IPS officer andPune's former PoliceCommissioner and one of theco-owners of Mojo's Bistro,

where the fire originated andspread top two pubs-cum-restuarants.

On their part, AdvocateKiran Jain – representing thethree accused – said that clientswere not responsible for themishap as the fire originated atMojo’s Bistro as per the inquiryreport submitted by theMumbai Fire Brigade.

Jain claimed that his clientswere being framed by theinvestigators who had not evennamed Mojo’s Bistro’s ownersin the initial FIR till the firebrigade report was releasedand that Mojo’s Bristo co-owner and accused Yug Tullihad still been been absconding.

It may be recalled that 14persons were killed and 55 oth-ers were injured in the massivefire that ripped Mojo's Bistrolounge, neighbouring 1Abovecasual dining restaurant andLondon Taxi Gastro pub atTrade House.

With the latest develop-ment, the total numbers ofarrests made in the KamalaMills compound fire has goneup to seven.

The persons arrested ear-lier were: wo managers of1Above pub – Kevin Bawaand Gibson Lopez, two rela-tives of the abscondingSanghavi duo – uncle RakeshSanghavi and cousin AdityaSanghavi for giving shelter tothe currently absconding co-owners of 1Above pub and YugK. Pathak, son of a retired IPSofficer and Pune's formerpolice commissioner and oneof the co-owners of Mojo's

Bistro. However, the uncle-cousin

— Rakesh Sanghavi and AdityaSanghavi – were subsequentlyproduced before the BhoiwadaCourt which released them ona bail of Rs.25,000 each.

Apart from issuing lookout notices for Sanghvi broth-ers and Mankar, the policehad announced a cash rewardof Rs 1 lakh for those givinginformation about the where-abouts of the key abscondingaccused.

Meanwhile, the matterrelating to the December 29blaze has reached the BombayHigh Court.

Mumbai’s former PoliceCommissioner and Punjab’sex-Director General of PoliceJulio Riberio on Tuesdaymoved the Bombay HighCourt, seeking a court-moni-tored probe by a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) intothe December 29 fire in theKamala Mills compound tofix responsibility for the inci-dent and also to make fireaudits compulsory for all pubs,restaurants, hotels and eateriesacross the metropolis.

In a PIL filed before thehigh court, 88-year-old Riberiomade a strong case for the set-ting up of a HC-monitored SITto look into the role of the seniorofficials of BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)in the circumstances leading theDecember 29 blaze and fixresponsibility for the mishap. Healso urged the court to make fireaudit mandatory for liquorjoints and eateries in Mumbai.

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The world has seen a series ofextreme events in recentmonths, with three successivehurricanes hitt ing theCaribbean and North

American region; unprecedented forestfires in California; and now parts ofEurope and the east coast of the US in thegrip of a severe cold wave.

It is no surprise that US PresidentDonald J Trump, the high priest of cli-mate sceptics and someone who is sur-prisingly immune to scientific knowl-edge, tweeted, “In the East, it could be theCOLDEST New Year’s Eve on record.Perhaps we could use a little bit of thatgood old Global Warming that ourcountry, but not other countries, wasgoing to pay TRILLIONS OF DOL-LARS to protect against. Bundle up!”.

It was in 2011 that theIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) brought out a specialreport on Managing the Risks of ExtremeEvents and Disasters to Advance ClimateChange Adaptation (SREX). Climatechange must be understood as not mere-ly an increase in temperature but amajor disruption of the climate system,which has been relatively stable foralmost a million years.

Some have described the current eraas anthropocene, since human activitiesare now the major determinant of thegeological, ecological and climatic con-ditions of this planet. Thomas LFriedman, the distinguished columnist ofthe New York Times, rightly refers to glob-al warming as “global weirding”.Essentially, what he is trying to conveyis the fact that globally, the climate isbecoming weird.

President Trump’s sarcastic com-ment through the well-established eru-dition of his tweet can easily be demol-ished with a very simple scientific expla-nation. With increase in surface temper-ature on land and bodies of water, thereis an increase in evaporation. This resultsin much heavier quantities of waterbeing held in the atmosphere in the formof clouds. When it rains or snows, there-fore, the quantity of precipitation issubstantially higher than would havebeen the case if there was no warming ofthe earth’s surface.

In other words, if we go back to pre-industrial times, when the quantity ofcarbon dioxide in the atmosphere wasaround 280 parts per million (ppm) andnot in excess of 400 ppm as is the casetoday, temperatures would have beenlower. Consequently, the extent of evap-oration would also have been lower. Theblizzards which have currently hit theeastern parts of North America and partsof Europe have occurred on account of

extreme precipitation. The fact that this has come in the

form of snow, and with much lower tem-peratures can also be explained by the factthat warming is taking place across theglobe and this has a major impact on themovement of air from one region to theother. The current cold spell in NorthAmerica and Europe is the result of coldair moving from the Arctic region south-wards, which would normally not havehappened with the stability of air currentsin the Arctic region.

Of course, any single extreme weath-er event cannot be attributed to humaninduced climate change, because there areseveral other factors which can accountfor extreme weather conditions.However, the increase in atmosphericmoisture content would be expected tolead to an increase in extreme precipita-tion when other factors do not change.

The IPCC in the Special Reportreferred to the above concluded that since1950, it is very likely that there has beenan overall decrease in the number of colddays and nights, and an overall increasein the number of warm days and nightsat the global scale, that is, for land areaswith sufficient data. There is evidence ofthe likelihood of such changes havingoccurred at the continental scale inNorth America, Europe and Australia.

There is also a warming trend in dailytemperature extremes in much of Asia.Very reliable climate models, which arevalidated on the basis of past records of

climate, project substantial warming intemperature extremes by the end of the21st century. It is virtually certain thatincreases in the frequency and magnitudeof warm days and nights and decreases inthe cold days and nights will occurthrough the 21st century at the globalscale. This is mostly linked to meanchanges in temperatures, although changesin temperature variability can play animportant role in some regions. It is verylikely that the length, frequency, and/orintensity of warm spells or heat waves(defined with respect to present regionalclimate) will increase over most land areas.

For a set of plausible emission scenarios of the future a one-in-20 yearannual hottest day is l ikely to become a one-in-two year annualextreme by the end of the 21st centuryin most regions, except in the high lati-tudes of the Northern Hemisphere whereit is likely to become a one-in-five yearannual extreme.

There are major equity considera-tions in the current reality of climatechange and projections for the future.Typically, developing countries are themost vulnerable to these extreme impactsof climate change, but, unfortunately, theyalso lack the capacity and infrastructureto be able to withstand them.

In very simple terms, a cyclone inBangladesh causes much greater havocthan a hurricane with the same intensi-ty which hits the state of Florida. Thatpart of the US, which receives several

hurricanes, just as Bangladesh is subject-ed to a large number of cyclones, hasextremely reliable and timely early warn-ing systems, and it is not uncommon tosee large numbers of people just nailingboards of wood on their windows andescaping to safer areas away from Florida.Such a possibility does not exist inBangladesh, and the risk to life and prop-erty is, therefore, substantially higher.

Another aspect of human inducedclimate change and its impacts in theform of higher frequency and intensityof extreme events is the possibility of thesame location being subjected to two ormore dissimilar extreme occurrences.

The same place, therefore, couldsuffer from drought conditions duringsome period of a year and then heavy pre-cipitation during another period in thesame year. This would compound theproblem of steady water supply andstorage. California has just suffered froma tragic mudslide, which is the result ofextreme precipitation and recent loosen-ing of soil with trees having burnt downdue to prolonged forest fires, aided by dryweather and high temperatures.

It is sad that leaders across the worldremain so insensitive to the huge risksfrom climate change faced by the weak and the poor and their own chil-dren and grandchildren wherever theywould be on this planet.

(The writer is former chairman,Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange, 2002-15)

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Good sense prevai ls”(January 11). By making itmandatory to play the nationalanthem in cinema halls beforethe screening of films, theSupreme Court had stirred a hor-net’s nest, with some peoplefavouring the ruling and someopposing it. People who wereopposed to the playing of nation-al anthem made an issue out ofnon-issue. They fought toothand nail to rescind the decisionof the apex court. Lack of con-sensus among the people even inmatters of national anthem israther intriguing. Finally, thetop court also toed the line of thepeople opposed to playingnational anthem in cinema halls.This is nothing but a triumph ofanti-nationals over nationals.

KV Seetharamaiah Hassan

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Rahul washes dirty linen inpublic on foreign ground”(January 10). Basking in thereflected glory of his ‘allied’ elec-toral success in Gujarat, Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi isemboldened to get back to theold Congress game — of blam-ing the BJP of communalism.This, from the member of aparty which has the dubiousdistinction of being the progen-itor of divisive vote-bank politics,of minority-appeasement andallying with communal elements.

Astonishingly, Rahul Gandhi

is of the view that his partyknows how to defeat the BJP,since the former has the experi-ence of defeating the British! Likethe Leftist falsehoods about RamMandir-Babri Masjid, maybe theCongress scion thinks that suchhalf-truths will go unnoticed.

In his book, ‘History of theFreedom Movement in India’ Vol3, renowned historian RCMajumdar quotes a conversationbetween PB Chakraborty (theacting Governor of West Bengalin 1956) and Clement Attlee(England’s Prime Minister whenIndia was free) who was visitingCalcutta in 1956, when he wasasked by Chakrabothy what madethe British leave in such a hurrywhen the Quit India movementhad died out long before 1947.

Chakrabothy said, “...Attleehad cited several reasons, themost important of which were theactivities of Netaji Subhas ChandraBose, which had weakened thevery foundations of the attachmentof the Indian land and Navalforces to the British Government.”Hence, let not Rahul Gandhi har-bour any illusion about his party’srole in ending the British rule,when the colonialists themselvesreveal the names of the personsbehind their hasty retreat.

Instead of Goebbelsian com-munal propaganda against theBJP, which is not only provingcounter-productive but alsowhich we are tired of, RahulGandhi should question the rul-ing party on jobs, agriculture,poverty and environment.

CV Krishna ManojHyderabad

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India’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is estimated to grow at6.5 per cent during the financial

year 2017-18 as per data released bythe Central Statistical Organisation(CSO). This growth is, perhaps, thelowest in the last four years.

As soon as the growth estimateswere released, leaders from theOpposition were quick to seize themoment: Congress President RahulGandhi accused the Government of“ignoring economic wisdom” anddealing a “catastrophic” blow toIndia’s growth.

Senior Congress leader PChidambaram remarked that theworst fears of an imminent eco-nomic slowdown have come true.Such reactions do not surprise as

leaders from the Opposition haveall along been critical of the UnionGovernment’s two major structur-al reforms: Demonetisation andthe roll out of the Goods andServices Tax (GST) last year.

While Opposition leaders arecautioning the Government aboutdark clouds hovering over India’seconomic space, the Government isseeing a silver lining in those darkclouds. Indeed, vice chairman of theGovernment’s think-tank, NITIAayog, Rajiv Kumar, was quick topoint out an upward movement inquarterly growth rates, indicating apickup in India’s economic activi-ty, which promises a robust growthin 2018-19.

Similarly, the agriculturalMinistry was quick to cite reasonswhy agricultural growth is expect-ed to be higher than what the CSOput in its estimates.

Both, demonetisation and theGST have been two major structur-al reforms of the ModiGovernment. It would be naïve toexpect these reforms to not lead to

any short-term economic costs interms of economic growth, jobcreation and credit uptake, even asthe reforms promise huge mediumto long-term gains.

If the effect of demonetisationis viewed narrowly, in terms of theextent to which it could flush outillicit currency from the system, itwill surely appear to be an utter fail-ure. But this is not a correct view.Demonetisation is expected to havefar reaching ramifications.

The fact that almost the entirequantum of banned currency notesmanaged to find its way back intothe banking system indicated thatpeople outsmarted theGovernment. This fact not only sur-prised the Government but alsosome experts. It became clear thatthe success of demonetisation lay inthe follow-up measures.

To this end, the Governmentdidn’t shy away from taking thosemeasures: It gave a strong push todigital transactions, used data ana-lytics to track large deposits inbanned currency notes, promoted

Aadhaar-linking of bank accountsand so forth.

It also saw a merit in the speedyroll out of the GST, which is aimedat simplifying the tax system andalso fixing one major avenue for thecreation of black money.

However, the roll out of a sin-gle tax system nationwide is boundto have some problems. What mat-ters the most is how speedily theissues being faced in GST imple-mentation are tackled. Frequentreviews and adaptations of the sys-tem by the GST council is a proofof how quickly the body has beenfine-tuning the system and will con-tinue tweaking it in near future too.

However, there is one lesserknown and little appreciated effectthat these twin structural reformshave unleashed. It has jolted thepeople out of their usual thoughtprocesses. In some ways, it haschanged the way people and busi-nessmen view their business, con-duct and practice the same.

What had once become widelyaccepted business practice in our

society — paying and acceptingbribe, transacting in black money,evading taxes and launderingmoney — the twin reforms haveforced the people to rethink on the way they conduct theirbusinesses.

As a result, the people arebeginning to realise that it is far bet-ter to do clean business, to earnwith dignity and respect, and to livewith confidence than to bribe one’sway and live in constant fear. Theyare beginning to realise that it is farbetter to play by the rules than tocut corners.

This psychological effect has thepotential to play out in terms ofboth robust and cleaner economicgrowth over medium to longerperiod. However, to realise thispotential, the Government willneed to constantly educate the people of the several advantagesof clean business, conduct andpractices.

Social media campaigns similarto what we’ve seen in other contexts,such as making India open defeca-

tion free or waging war againsttuberculosis need to be designed forpromoting business norms andpreferences for cleaner conduct.

Such messaging will also reas-sure the public of the Government’santi-corruption resolve, which assome fear, may get compromised inthe run-up to the next GeneralElection in 2019.

As for now, the lower-than-expected growth estimates of theCSO has put the Finance Ministryfolks in a tight spot. As they givefinal touches to the next UnionBudget, they have an arduous taskof balancing multiple objectives ofsustaining consumption, encourag-ing private investment, energisingagriculture, giving stimulus toexports and much more.

And all of this at a time whenthe fiscal situation of the country istight and political imperatives ofGeneral Election looms large.

(The writer is a developmenteconomist, formerly with the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and theWorld Bank)

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No re-plastering, thestructure is broken’, is aslogan from the May1968 revolt in Francethat echoes the senti-

ments of today’s Indian youth inmany ways. This is because present-ly India identifies more with intoler-ance and radicalism and less withinclusiveness and geniality. Thenation though seemingly a meltingpot of cultures is actually burdenedwith cultural differences and ideolog-ical clashes from within and these arepossibly just waiting to explode likein the France of 1968-69. Forty yearson, the social and political upheavalthat shook France is still fresh in peo-ple’s’ memory and not without a validreason. A non-threatening movementthat started with students seekingsexual freedom eventually tookeveryone in its fold and became aclassic example of the power that theyouth have always had.

Back in May ‘68, the above slo-gan reflected the disenchantment ofthe young as they openly went anti-establishment and put forth theirdemands that were neither outra-geous nor unjust. What they wereasking was probably the basic tenetof freedom: ‘Be what you want to beand let others do the same.’ Theyouth back then was simply reactingto the ‘daddy knows best’ attitudethat had always set the dos and don’tslist for the younger generation tillthen. With globalization attaining itsearly form in the 1970s, the May ‘68events in France also set the stage forirrevocable changes in societies andthe mind-sets of people. The 1968revolution of France was a trendset-ter in its own right. A stark reminderof the strength of the youth and howit could bring the whole nation to astandstill. The movement brought tothe fore the fact that it is impossibleto suppress the aspirations of theyoung generation for long. World over, they yearn for libertyand would retaliate if their freedomis at stake. The sentiment to be freeto make one’s choices is the sameirrespective of country, religion,caste or culture.

Boredom at times becomes apowerful catalyst for revolt. It was a‘no action-no fun’ sentiment amongyoung men and women that pavedway for the student agitation inFrance. What began as a simplerevolt 40 years ago in Franceengulfed the whole nation and shookthe very framework of society andpolitics. The coincidental occur-rence of the workers’ strike for high-er wages magnified the agitationmany fold and in the end, the Frenchgovernment had to accede to all thedemands. Had the two events notcoincided with each other, none of

them would probably have acquiredthe enormity that they attained atthat time. With a feeble educationsystem to rely on and little enthusi-asm in the job arena, the Indianyouth of today is also a bored andfatigued lot. Even the once strongsocietal threads of India are increas-ingly becoming fragile. The youngare constantly being judged on thebasis of their performance both aca-demically as well as professionally.Add to this the constant culturalhammering and moral policing andyou have a brigade of disgruntledand angry youth that is ready toexplode at the slightest provocation.

Today, India is fast becoming acountry where personal freedoms areperceived to be gravely compro-mised. The list of restrictions andbans is becoming incredibly long.When the Uttar PradeshGovernment constitutes an Anti-Romeo Squad to put a curb on so-called promiscuity among the youth,there is no pushback to stop this bla-tant breach of people’s fundamentalright to freedom. If only the systemhad paid more attention to otherproblems that plague the lives ofyoung people in modern times...even strolling in a park with friends,especially if of the opposite gender,is looked upon with suspicion now.That is the sad reality. Sunny Leonewas not allowed by the KarnatakaGovernment to perform at a new

year’s bash as the authorities feareda law and order problem in the Statein the wake of threats of agitation bysome radical groups. These fringeelements were, of course, “merely”trying to protect the “culture” of theState. According to them, watchingthe actor groove to raunchyBollywood numbers will corruptyoung minds. And moral policingdoes not stop at that. The SouthDelhi civic body recently proposeda ban on display of non-vegetarianfoods by restaurants and eateries asit hurts the sentiments of vegetari-ans. In a multicultural, liberal coun-try like India, these are outrageousmoves. Of course, if restrictions arethe norm today across political dis-pensations and seemingly with thesupport of those who elect them,how can condoms be left behind? Acountry set to become the most pop-ulous one in the world by 2022 is stillapparently embarrassed to watch acondom advertisement on TV from6 am till 10 pm. But the authoritiesare absolutely fine with Bollywoodheroes urging people to eat panmasala for instant success duringthese hours. Such a display ofhypocrisy is possible only in a cul-tured country like India.

India seems poised for a dicta-torship of the people with heft on theground in the near future, whereincitizens will probably have to livetheir lives according to a rule-book

devised by the not-so-friendly neigh-bourhood goon. The recent contro-versy surrounding the release ofBollywood flick Padmavati is prob-ably the last nail in the coffin. It can’tget more dictatorial than this wheneven creativity and freedom ofexpression are being curbed by self-proclaimed protectors of cultureprotesting about a film before it isreleased. Bigots of all descriptionshould remember that the nation’syoung are not just the backbone ofthe economy but also the torch-bear-ers of our culture. They look forwardto living free, with an open mind andin a progressive environment. Ifthey are denied free will for too long,they are capable of snatching it byforce like their brethren did inFrance 40 years ago.

Interestingly though, after theMay 1968 revolt in France, many ofthe student leaders went on tobecome journalists, politicians, writ-ers and eminent personalities in anumber of other fields. Will India’syouth of today similarly transforminto tomorrow’s responsible adults orwill they wither into oblivion due toa lack of purpose or direction? AsA.E. Stevenson, the American politi-cian, once said, “A free society is onewhere it is safe to be unpopular.”

Will India ever attain freedom inthe real sense? Time will tell.

(The writer is Associate Editor,The Pioneer)

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With a robust demandfor utility vehicles andconsistent strong per-

formance during the first threequarters of the current fiscal,passenger vehicle sales in Indiacrossed 3-million mark for thefirst time in 2017, showing afive-year high healthy growth of8.85 per cent.

The data released by theSociety of Indian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM), onThursday, said that passengervehicle sales in 2017 stood at32,29,109 units as against29,66,603 units in 2016, agrowth of 8.85 per cent. Withsales remaining in the positiveterritory during the first threequarters of the current fiscal,SIAM has pegged the segmentto grow by 9 per cent against aprevious forecast of 7-9 percent in 2017-18.

Besides sales of passengervehicles, a record 1,91,76,905two-wheelers were sold last year,up 8.43 per cent from1,76,86,685 units sold in 2016.

“In 2017, for the first timemore than 3.2 million passengervehicles were sold in the domes-tic market. Last year also sawrecord sales of 19 million twowheelers,” SIAM DeputyDirector General Sugato Sentold reporters here.

In terms of growth rate, pas-senger vehicles' sales in 2017were the fastest since 2012 when

it rose by 9.77 per cent. SIAM,however, said vehicle sales acrosscategories, including CVs andtwo-wheelers, grew by 8.39 percent to 2,37,39,780 units in2017 as compared with2,19,01,703 units in 2016.

On the back of strong per-formance during the first threequarters of the current fiscal, Senhas said SIAM has zeroed in on9 per cent growth for the PV seg-ment. For the commercial vehi-cles, he added, “It has beenrevised upwards to 13 per cent

from an earlier estimate of 4-6per cent, while for two-wheelersit has been pegged at 12 per centagainst a previous forecast of 9-11 per cent.”

In 2017 year, although carremained the mainstay of thepassenger vehicles segmentgrowing by 5.13 per cent at21,68,151 units as against20,62,357 units in 2016, it wasthe growth of utility vehicles(UV) that stood out last year.UV sales stood at 8,70,060 unitsin 2017 as against 7,24,522 units

in 2016, up 20.09 per cent.In 2016-17 fiscal, sales of

passenger vehicles had grownby 9.23 per cent, CVs by 4.16per cent and two wheelers by6.89 per cent. Commenting onthe market environment, Sensaid the auto industry, exceptfor CVs, has now been nowbeen able to recover fromdemonetisation.

“While some memberswere having some issues withregards to the GST, SIAMexpects them to be settled by

March,” he added.In December, passenger

vehicle sales rose 5.22 per centto 2,39,712 units from 2,27,823units in December 2016.Domestic car sales, however,declined marginally to 1,58,326units as against 1,58,617 unitsin December 2016.

Market leader MarutiSuzuki India posted a growth of11.44 per cent at 1,18,560 units,while rival Hyundai MotorIndia was up marginally at40,158. Mahindra & Mahindrasaw sales drop by 6.99 per centat 15,531 units. Homegrownrival Tata Motors saw a growthof 33.94 per cent at 16,089 unitsin December 2017.

Total two-wheeler sales inDecember rose 41.45 per centto 12,87,592 units compared to910,276 units in the year-agomonth. Motorcycle sales lastmonth rose 40.31 per cent to7,88,156 units as against5,61,710 units a year earlier.Market leader Hero MotoCorpposted domestic sales of3,98,816 units as against2,79,448 units in the year-agomonth, up 42.71 per cent.

Rival Bajaj Auto saw its bikesales rise 5.87 per cent to1,12,930 units as against1,06,665 units in the samemonth last year. HondaMotorcycle and Scooter India(HMSI) saw its sales rise by 133per cent to 124425 units asagainst 53,400 units inDecember 2016.

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Benchmarks spurted tofresh life-time highs on

Thursday on optimism sur-rounding corporate earnings,with IT and realty countersleading the charge.

The BSE Sensex jumped70.42 points to end at34,503.49, while the broaderNSE Nif ty f inished at10,651.20, up 19 points.

Investors were optimisticthat blue-chip companies willpost encouraging third quar-ter results, brokers said.

The 30-share Sensex, aftera cautious start, gatheredmomentum and rallied to34,558.88, before ending at34,503.49, a rise of 70.42points, or 0.20 per cent. Itbroke its previous closinghigh of 34,443.19 hit onJanuary 9.

The 50-share Nifty, afterrange-bound morning trade,soared to touch an all-timehigh of 10,664.60 on a flurryof buying deals.

It finally settled 19 points,or 0.18 per cent higher at10,651.20, surpassing its pre-vious closing record of 10,637hit on January 9.

“Market continued to stayon the positive side on trac-tion in IT, realty and small-cap stocks but some volatili-ty was seen in banks.Investors are focusing onearnings growth in Q3 tosupport the premium valua-tion. Friday's CPI inflationdata is expected to rise, which

may influence investors toremain cautious,” said VinodNair, Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services.

Domestic institutionalinvestors bought shares wortha net �600.24 crore onWednesday, while FPIs netsold shares worth �572.26crore, as per provisional data.

Infosys was the top per-former among the Sensexconstituents, rising 2.28 percent ahead of its Q3 earnings,while Bharti Airtel jumped1.66 per cent.

Other gainers were KotakBank, HDFC Ltd, AsianPaints, HUL, M&M, YesBank, Sun Pharma, TataMotors, SBI, HDFC Bank,Adani Ports, ITC Ltd, DrReddy's and ONGC, gainingup to 1.61 per cent.

However, shares of privatelender IndusInd Bank fell themost at 2.08 per cent despitethe bank posting a 24.72 percent increase in net profit to�936.25 crore for the quarterended December 31, 2017.

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The Government is looking at settingup a database of independent direc-

tors, who form the fulcrum of corporategovernance framework, Union MinisterPP Chaudhary said on Thursday.

He also emphasised that independentdirectors should exercise special care inissues of conflict of interests in relatedparty transactions as well as those relat-ed to managerial remuneration as they arethe watchdogs of companies.

The Minister of State for CorporateAffairs said, “In the best interest of thecompany, the issue of conflict of inter-est in related party transactions needs tobe looked at judiciously. Independentdirectors have to exercise special carewhile looking into such related partytransactions.”

He noted that caution must be exer-cised by independent directors while eval-uating issues related to remuneration ofthe management.

Chaudhary was speaking at the inau-gural function of the two-day orientationprogramme for newly-appointed inde-pendent directors of public sector banksand undertakings organised by the IndianInstitute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) atits campus in Manesar, Gurgaon.

He said that Section 150 of theCompanies Act mandates theGovernment to maintain a database ofindependent directors.

“Now, the government is seriouslyconsidering implementing the mandate

of Section 150 for maintaining the data-base and utilising the institute (IICA) forthis purpose,” he noted.

As it continues efforts to curb illic-it fund flows, the ministry has alreadyderegistered more than 2.26 lakh firmsfor being inactive for long apart fromdisqualifying over 3 lakh directors.

Many of these firms are into ille-gal activities, Chaudhary said, addingthat “if the independent directors withrespect to public companies are vigi-lant then such type of happenings willnot be there”.

There is an urgent need to carry outconcerted efforts for continually sup-porting and strengthening the institu-tion of independent directors in thecountry, he said.

IICA DG & CEO GyaneshawarKumar Singh said independent directorsare supposed to be the custodians of cor-porate governance.

NEW DELHI: The UniqueIdentification Authority of India(UIDAI) has granted a tempo-rary extension to India's largesttelecom operator, Bharti Airtel,to conduct Aadhaarbased re-verification ofits mobile subscribers,till March 31.

The Aadhaar-issu-ing body has, however,not lifted the ongoingsuspension on AirtelPayments Bank's eKYClicence, said sourcesprivy to the development.

The extension is “subject tocompliance of activation con-ditions laid down by theUIDAI”, said a source.

A further view would betaken on the matter onFebruary 10 after taking intoaccount the final report of theauditor, Department ofTelecom, and Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) as well as the com-pliance status report.

An Airtel spokesperson, inan email response, said: “We canconfirm that the UIDAI haspermitted Bharti Airtel to con-tinue Aadhaar based e-KYC tillMarch 31, 2018, subject to

compliance to guidelines laiddown by the authority.”

Both Airtel and AirtelPayments bank drew flak afterthe Sunil Mittal-led firm

allegedly opened pay-ments bank accountsof its mobile phonesubscribers withoutseeking their“informed consent”,and LPG subsidyworth crores wasdeposited into theseaccounts.

In a strong action onDecember 16, the governmentand the UIDAI temporarilybarred the company from con-ducting Aadhaar-based SIMverification of mobile customersusing eKYC process, and e-KYCof payments bank clients. OnDecember 21, it allowed Airtelto use Aadhaar for re-verifica-tion of its mobile customers tillJanuary 10 with stiff riders.

The reprieve was givenkeeping in mind the conve-nience of customers and alsothe impending March 31deadline given by theSupreme Court for mobileSIM re-verification. PTI

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The Income Tax Department(ITD) on Thursday said it

has attached more than 900benami properties includingflats, shops, jewellery and vehi-cles worth over �3,500 crore.

ITD said in a statement thatit has stepped up action underthe Prohibition of BenamiProperty Transactions Act,which came into force fromNovember 1, 2016.

The Act provides for pro-visional attachment and subse-quent confiscation of benamiproperties, whether movableor immovable.

It also allows for prosecu-tion of the beneficial owner, thebenamidar and the abettor tobenami transactions, whichmay result in rigorous impris-onment up to 7 years and a fineof up to 25 per cent of fair mar-ket value of the property.

The department had setup 24 dedicated BenamiProhibition Units (BPUs) underits Investigation Directoratesall over India in May, 2017 toensure swift action in respect ofBenami properties.

“Due to intensive effortsundertaken by the Department,provisional attachment has beenmade in more than 900 cases ofproperties under the Act. Theseinclude plots of land, flats,shops, jewellery, vehicles,deposits in bank accounts, fixeddeposits etc,” the statement said.

The value of propertiesunder attachment is morethan �3,500 crore includingimmovable properties ofmore than �2,900 crore, thedepartment said.

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Country's largest IT firm Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) on Thursday said its net

profit fell 3.6 per cent to �6,531 crore in theDecember 2017 quarter.

The Mumbai-headquartered companyhad posted a net profit of �6,778 crore in theOctober-December quarter of the previous fis-cal, the company said in a BSE filing.

Its income from operations during thequarter under review stood at �30,904 crore,up 3.9 per cent from �29,735 crore in the year-ago period, as per Indian Accounting Standard(Ind-AS). The company has declared a divi-dend of �7 per share.

“We wrapped 2017 with a strong perfor-mance in the December quarter. As lagging partsof our portfolio turn around, and areas of soft-ness reduce, we are well placed for strongergrowth ahead,” TCS CEO and MD RajeshGopinathan said. He added that the companysigned its first over $50 million deal in 'Digital'this quarter.

New deal ramp-ups, increasing tractionin Digital, robust demand pick up in Retailand continuing momentum in most of TCS'industry verticals gave the company strongvolume growth in a seasonally weak quarter,TCS COO and Executive Director NGanapathy Subramaniam said.

TCS' digital revenue saw an increase of about40 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 22.1per cent of the company's revenues.

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The 10-member Law ReviewCommittee (LRC) has rec-

ommended against inclusion ofall services, barring restaurants,under the ambit of compositionscheme in the Goods andServices Tax (GST) regime.

A Government-appointedcommittee, comprising repre-sentatives from both the Centreand States, also suggested thatthe limit of services provided bya composition dealer should belimited to 10 per cent of the tax-able turnover or �5 lakh,whichever is higher.

The panel suggested a sep-arate composition rate notexceeding 18 per cent for ser-vices supplied by compositiondealer by way of job work,sources said. The recommen-dations by the Law ReviewCommittee is based on the sug-

gestions made by the advisorypanel, comprising representa-tives from trade and industry,which wanted compositionscheme to be extended to all ser-vice providers.

Over 15 lakh businessesopted for composition scheme,which allows them to pay taxesat a concessional rate andmakes compliance easy underthe GST which was rolled outfrom July 1. Under the scheme,

traders and manufacturers canpay taxes at a concessionalrate of 1 per cent while restau-rants pay 5 per cent GST.

The composition schemeis open for manufacturers,restaurant owners and traderswhose turnover does not exceed�1.5 crore. The Council in itsNovember meeting increasedthe threshold for the composi-tion scheme to �1.5 crore andalso decided to amend the GSTlaw to raise the statutory thresh-old to �2 crore.

The law review committee,which has 5 members eachfrom Centre and states, havesuggested that GST Council

should limit the compositionscheme threshold limit at �1.5crore for the time being.

According to sources, thecommittee is not in favour ofraising the threshold further to�2 crore immediately. The lawreview committee also sug-gested that the compositionscheme should not be extend-ed to businesses which areengaged in inter-state supply ofgoods and services.

The recommendations ofthe law review committee is like-ly to be taken up for considera-tion by the GST Council, com-prising Centre and states, in itsnext meeting on January 18.

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The Department of Telecom(DoT) will seek to move

quickly and take a view on mostof sector regulator Trai’s rec-ommendations pending with it,including on net neutrality andinternet telephony, by March31, a senior Government offi-cial said on Thursday.

Some of the major recom-mendations of the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(Trai) which are with the DoTinclude proposed measures onease of doing business, keepinginternet open and free (net neu-trality), creation of telecomombudsman for complaintredressal, and internet telephony.

Speaking at a BroadbandIndia Forum event, DoT SpecialSecretary N Sivasailam said:“The Government is keen andthe Telecom Minister andSecretary have also put a time-line on consideration of Trai rec-

ommendation issued up toDecember 31, 2017 and wehope to address most or all ofthem by March.”

Trai proposals would beprocessed and placed before‘competent authorities for con-sideration’ within the stipulatedtimeline, he asserted. Moreover,Trai is also expected to give its

inputs for the new telecom pol-icy by the end of this month.The telecom department iscrafting the new policy in con-sultation with stakeholders andexpecting to finalise it by March.

“We are examining all therepresentations. Trai itself hasmade a presentation on whatthey consider to be their first list,and they have also asked us towait till the end of the month fortheir formal consultation paper(on NTP) to conclude,”Sivasailam said.

Broadband India Forumon Thursday also released areport highlighting the chal-lenges faced by the mobilehandset manufacturing sector.The report highlighted three sig-nificant issues impacting India'sindigenous mobile telephonyand telecom equipment sectorgrowth. It noted that mobiletelephony growth in the coun-try is largely being driven anddependent upon imports.

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Commerce and IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhu on

Thursday made a case for increas-ing investments in research anddevelopment activities in the areaof energy storage. Addressing theEnergy Storage India 2018 meet,organised by India Energy StorageAlliance (IESA),the minister saidit is a criticalcomponent inglobal energystrategy.

“We shouldbe the leaders,we should invest in R&D,” IESAsaid in a statement, quoting Prabhu.The storage process involves cap-turing of energy produced for usingit later through an accumulator orbattery. It converts energy into con-veniently storable forms. About1,000 industry experts, 100 speak-ers, 50 exhibitors and partners areparticipating from over 25 coun-tries in the event, IESA said.

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The Securities AppellateTribunal (SAT) on

Thursday quashed insuranceregulator Irdai’s direction ask-ing ICICI Prudential to takeover the life insurance busi-ness of the embattled SaharaGroup and asked it to pass afresh order after hearing thecompany.

But the tribunal upheldthe insurance watchdog(Insurance RegulatoryDevelopment Authority) deci-sion to appoint an administra-tor to run Sahara Life in theinterim. Irdai on July 28, 2017had ordered the transfer of thelife insurance portfolio ofSahara India Life to ICICIPrudential Life with a view toprotect the interests of policy-holders of the embattled lifeinsurer.

The tribunal quashed thisorder and asked Irdai to hearthe matter afresh as it observedthat the regulator did not pro-vide a copy of the report of theadministrator which recom-mended sale/transfer of SaharaLife's assets to another player.Accordingly, the tribunal hasasked Irdai to complete theprocess and pass an order with-

in three months of the receiptof the company's reply to theadministrator's report.

“The report and its out-come have potentially andadversely affected Sahara Life.Irdai should have supplied acopy of the report to the appel-lant before passing the July 28,2017 order transferring its busi-nesses to ICICI Prudential Life,so as to enable it to make a rep-resentation on the report,” SATsaid in a 43-page order.

“This Irdai action is clear-ly in breach of the principles ofnatural justice...The impugnedJuly 28 order therefore, deservesto be quashed,” the SAT said onThursday.

The tribunal accordinglyasked Irdai to issue a freshdirection on the matter afterhearing the appellant in con-

sonance with the principles ofnatural justice. However, the tri-bunal upheld Irdai orderappointing an administratorto manage the affairs of SaharaLife. Irdai counsel SomasekharSundaresan said the regulatorwill study the order and takethe next course of action as thisa question of a policy stance.

“A view will be taken onlarger policy issues, as forIrdai this is not just a situationin one case but a stance thatwill have implications in allfuture cases,” he added.

Terming the SAT order asa ‘major respite’ for the com-pany, Sahara Life said, “we hadalways contended that the Irdaiaction was illegal had hadmalafide intention as it wasdone without affording anyopportunity of hearing us.”

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Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan on Thursday vir-

tually ruled out giving statutorypowers to upstream oil and gasregulator DGH, saying the sec-tor has not fully developed andneeds government support.

There are two regulatorybodies in the oil and gas sector- the Petroleum and NaturalGas Regulatory Board, which isa regulator for the downstreamactivities like laying of pipelinesand fuel marketing but withoutpowers to review pricing.

The Directorate General ofHydrocarbons (DGH) is a tech-nical arm of the oil ministrywhich overseas upstream oiland gas exploration and pro-duction activities. Various com-mittees have suggested creationof an independent, statutoryregulator for the upstream oilsector.

At a seminar organised byFICCI, McKinsey in a presenta-tion reiterated the demand, call-ing for DGH to be made a statu-tory body like market regulatorSebi. Responding to this,Pradhan said the sector has notdeveloped fully and still looks atthe government for reforms.“Does a sector which has notdeveloped fully, a sector which

expects Government to doreforms, should be talk of that,”he said. He said it was not rightto put ‘jargons’ like statutory reg-ulator for the sector.

In 2013, a committee, head-ed by former finance secretaryVijay Kelkar, had recommendedhiving off the DGH's financialoversight function and vesting itwith the income tax authorities.It recommended that the min-istry and the DGH shouldrestrict themselves to the tech-nical oversight of contractors.

The DGH currently man-ages petroleum resources besidesmonitoring production sharingcontracts (PSCs), and assists theGovernment in auctioning oiland gas exploration fields.

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MUMBAI: Private sectorlender Indusind Bank onThursday reported a 25 percent growth in Decemberquarter net profit at �936.25crore boosted by higher coreincome. The city-based lender,promoted by the HindujaGroup, saw a 20 per cent risein the key net interest incomeat �1,894.81 crore ona 25 percent growth in advances, whileits deposits grew 23 per cent.

Fee income grew 22 per centto �1,076.51 crore, while thespike in yields over the past fewmonths resulted in a 17 per centdecline in the treasury incomeat �110 crore. Managing direc-tor and chief executive RameshSobti said the bank saw a surgein demand for term-loans,which is indicative of a turn-around in the corporate sector.

He said while working cap-ital demand continues to dom-inate corporate loan growth,there are brownfield expansionshappening for which funds arebeing sought. “There is realgrowth. We can sense it and wefeel demand is reviving,” hesaid, pointing out to a doublingof credit growth for the indus-try at over 10 per cent as beingevident of this trend. PTI

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NEW DELHI: Scores of listedcompanies will soon have toscout for new auditors with mar-kets regulator Sebi banning firmsin the Price Waterhouse networkfrom issuing audit certificatesfor two years in the multi-croreSatyam case. A major player in theauditing space, Price Waterhousehas a total of 11 network firmsand employs around 3,000 peo-ple in India.

In a significant order onWednesday, Sebi barred PriceWaterhouse network firms fromissuing audit certificates to anylisted company in India for twoyears after finding the audit majorguilty in the multi-crore Satyamscam that came to light in January2009.

Besides, the watchdog hasdirected the audit major and itstwo erstwhile partners whoworked on the IT firm's accountsto disgorge wrongful gains worthover �13 crore. Currently, PWnetwork firms carry out auditingactivities for about 75 listed com-panies, an official in the knowsaid. These companies wouldsoon be required to look for newauditors in the wake of the Sebiorder even though the regulatorhas made it clear that the ruling

would not impact audit assign-ments relating to the financial year2017-18 undertaken by the PWnetwork firms.

While there would be nodirect impact, Sebi’s ruling couldalso raise questions about PW net-work entities’ auditing of unlistedand other entities. A senior char-tered accountant said impact ofthe Sebi ruling on auditing busi-ness of PW network firms andothers cannot be assessed imme-diately.

It needs to be seen whether itwould benefit the smaller firms ornot, he added. Sebi has imposeda two-year ban on entities/ firmspracticing as chartered accoun-tants in India under the brand andbanner of PW from directly orindirectly issuing any certificate ofaudit of listed companies, com-pliance of obligations of listedcompanies and intermediariesregistered with the regulator.

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President Donald Trump,who continues to be under

unremitting attacks fromDemocrats over his “cosy” rela-tionship with Russian coun-terpart Vladimir Putin, hasdefended his efforts to improveties with Moscow.

“Working with countries,whether it’s Russia or China orIndia, or any of the countriesthat surround this world andencompass this world, is a verygood thing. That’s not a badthing,” Trump said at a jointWhite House news conferencewith visiting Norwegian PrimeMinister Erna Solberg.

Given that the UnitedStates regards India as a closefriend and partner, but viewsboth Russia and China asadversaries, it was not imme-diately clear why PresidentTrump mentioned all threecountries in the same vein,except perhaps for the factthat all three are large nationsand

Washington should beworking with each of them.

Trump’s broad defence ofhis approach towards Russia, incontrast to that of his prede-cessor Barack Obama, came ona day when Democrats onCapitol Hill kept up their pres-sure on him over what they seeas soft-pedalling of the allegedRussian meddling in the USpresidential election.

Senate Democrats alsoreleased on Wednesday anextensive report, alleging thatthe Russian interference in the2016 White House race fit intoa two-decade pattern of med-dling with governmentsarounds the world, and criti-cizing Trump for what theyregard as his kid-glove treat-ment of Moscow.

“Never before in Americanhistory has so clear a threat tonational security been so clear-ly ignored by a US president,”the Democrats’ report charged.Senior Democratic SenatorBen Cardin attacked Trump forhaving “barely acknowledgedthe threat posed by Putin’srepeated attacks on democra-

tic governments and institu-tions”.

Trump, while replying toquestions at his news confer-ence, appeared to discount thepossibility of being interviewedby Special Counsel RobertMueller in the ongoing probeto determine if there was any“collusion” between the Trumpcampaign and Russia in therun-up to the presidential elec-tion.

Trump, who has repeated-ly and vehemently denied anycollusion of the sort, said:“Certainly I’ll see what hap-pens. But when they have nocollusion, and nobody’s foundany collusion at any level, itseems unlikely that you’d evenhave an interview.”

“It’s a Democrat hoax thatwas brought up as an excuse forlosing an election,” Trumpcommented, adding: “I’ll speakto attorneys. I can only say this:There was absolutely no collu-sion. Everybody knows it.”

Dealing with another sub-ject – a Bill to protect some8,00,000 young illegal immi-grants from deportation –Trump appeared to modify hisearlier statement that he wouldsign a “clean DACA (DeferredAction on Childhood Arrivals)Bill” if it were to emerge fromCongress.

Trump, who has been facedwith criticism from theRepublican base over softeninghis stance, told a questionerthat the Bill must include bor-der security features, includingfunding for his pet project tobuild a wall along the Mexicanborder.

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The increase in work of theInternational Court of

Justice shows that various coun-tries are reposing much greaterconfidence in the world court'sfunctioning, Indian ICJ JusticeDalveer Bhandari has said.

A reception in honour ofJudge Bhandari — who was re-elected as ICJ judge recently fora fresh term from 2018-2026 —was hosted by Venu Rajamony,India's Ambassador to theNetherlands yesterday at theiconic Peace Palace here,according to an official state-ment issued today.

Bhandari was re-elected inNovember to the InternationalCourt of Justice with more thantwo-thirds of the UN membersbacking him, forcing Britain towithdraw its candidate, in thehard-fought race to the worldcourt.

During his address at theevent, Judge Bhandari con-veyed gratitude for the whole-hearted support received in theelection and emphasised on theneed for greater mutual coop-eration and goodwill withincreased global interdepen-dence.

He said the work of thecourt is increasing day by daywhich shows that memberstates are now reposing muchgreater confidence and faith inthe functioning of the courtthan ever before, the statementby the Indian Embassy said.

Bhandari urged all coun-tries to make serious efforts inensuring that peace is not dis-turbed in any part of the worldand appealed to UN membernations to accelerate its effortsin ensuring peace and amityworldwide.

Rajamony on behalf of thegovernment of India thankedeverybody for the overwhelm-ing support extended to thecandidature of Bhandari.

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Brussels: European Unionpowers on Thursday urged USPresident Donald Trump toendorse a key nuclear agree-ment with Iran insisting thatthe deal is essential for inter-national security.

The foreign ministers ofBritain, France and Germanythrew their weight behind thepact limiting Iran's nuclearambitions and insisted that theIslamic Republic is respecting it.

“There is no indicationtoday that could call into doubtIranian respect of the agree-ment,” French Foreign MinisterJean-Yves Le Drian toldreporters in Brussels, after ameeting between the Europeansand their Iranian counterpartJavad Zarif. Le Drian called onall parties to uphold the agree-ment, noting that “our

American allies should respectit as well. There is no particu-lar reason for any rupture.”

Under the accord, Iranslowed its nuclear program inexchange for an easing of inter-national economic sanctions.Trump is expected to decide byFriday whether to extend thesanctions relief or re-imposethe restrictions his predecessor,President Barack Obama, sus-pended two years ago.

British Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnson also noted thatno one has put forward a planthat might be as effective incurbing Iran's nuclear ambi-tions.

“It's incumbent on thosewho oppose the (deal) really tocome up with that better solu-tion, because we haven't seen itso far,” he said. AP

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Anew Bill, introduced byRepublican lawmakers in

the US House ofRepresentatives as part of thelegislative fix to protect about8,00,000 young illegal immi-grants from deportation, alsoproposes a substantial increasein allotment of Green Cards forlegal immigrants waiting foryears for permanent residency.

The Bill, if passed, willhelp reduce to some extent thelong wait of Indians who arefaced with the maximum back-log under the per-countrynorm.

The Bill follows a call fromPresident Donald Trump toincorporate in the DACA Billcertain other immigrationissues, including boosting bor-der security and putting an endto visa lotteries and “chainmigration”.

Called “Securing America’sFuture Act”, the legislation pro-poses increasing the overallnumber of green cards from120,000 to 175,000 per annum.

However, given that someestimates put the number ofIndians waiting for green cards

at over 5,00,000, only a removalof the country-wise quota sys-tem may be of help to Indianapplicants, a good chunk ofwhom have been waiting forover 10 years.

Overall, the Bill seeks toreduce America’s immigrationlevel from the current averageof 1.05 million to 260,000 ayear.

While the Bill in its presentform can possibly clear theHouse of Representatives, giventhe Republican majority, itcannot pass muster in the USSenate, where it will needDemocratic support to clear the60-vote threshold. Republicanshave just a bare majority of 51in the 100- member Senate.

House Homeland SecurityCommittee chairman MichaelMcCaul asserted that the Bill“offers common-sense solu-tions that will finally secure ourborders, better support ourfrontline defenders, strengtheninterior enforcement, and gettough on those who break ourimmigration laws”.

“With this president at thehelm, we have the opportuni-ty to provide the security andrule of law our founding fathersintended,” McCaul said.

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Celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, whocounts himself as a social commentator and

attempts to capture the complex reality of theIndian society in his films, says he wantsthought-provoking films to help the audiencestart a conversation on issues.

His forthcoming sports film Mukkabaazdeals with the struggle of a boxer and withsocial issues like caste system, youthpolitics and the power play ofpeople.

Known for his socio-politi-cal dramas like Black Friday,Ugly and Gangs Of Wasseypur,what made him make a filmon boxing?

“I intend to start a dia-logue through my films. I ama social commentator as afilmmaker and (believe in)capturing the complexity ofthe society as it is. The ideais that after watching thefilm Mukkabaaz, if peoplestart talking about the affect-ed area of a sportsman’s lifeand who is responsible forthat, I will be happy,” saidKashyap.

“The fact is, in our coun-try, people join sports to get agovernment job and once theyget that, they do not want to do thatand rather want to play the sport. As a result, neither do they becomea good officer, nor a sportsman.Ultimately, the result shows on our achievement of medals in international tournaments,” heexplained.

Kashyap, who is keen on explor-ing the old storytelling traditionthat infuses music and poetry,believes in adding entertainmentvalue to any serious topic.

“This is the first time that I havethought about the story as in ‘Howwould Rajkumar Hirani do it’because as a filmmaker, he under-stands the pulse of a common manvery well. He took on the educa-tion system in 3 Idiots, religionin PK and a subject likeMahatma Gandhi in Munna

Bhai.“Raju proved the fact that if you can add

a value of entertainment, you can reach outto the largest audience with the most seri-ous subject of the country. I think I have triedeverything in this one — whether addinghumour, use of music and poetry... I have

tried them all,” added Kashyap.He believes in the existing fine linebetween a lyricist and a poet,

and so, has used poetry pennedby Hussain Haidr y forMukkabaaz.

Being vocal on issues pertaining to the entertain-ment business, the film-maker said that he prefersto stay as an independentindividual. However, hehopes better times prevail

for the industry.“I think the larger issue

in the business of cinema isdifferent. Things like censor-

ship, forced rule of the intervalby exhibitors, difficult distribu-tion of a film in different states

are some of them. I think we areliving in a country where people wanteverything free, without responsibili-ty. And they are certainly not ready topay for entertainment.”

Kashyap said, “My film is a sportsdrama inspired by a real-life story andis not based on caste. There is no movie

in Bollywood where the cast of the pro-tagonist is not mentioned. I am not try-ing to do anything that has not been donebefore and doesn’t want the film to hog thelimelight for wrong reasons such as casteissue.

“Cinema’s work is not to give a socialmessage or bring a change. Peoplesearch for moral points in it, there have been numerous films brimmedwith messages. Has anybody learnt to love through films? The audience watch-es the film, praises it and forgets the mes-

sage as soon as they leave the theatre. Ibelieve that the film that impacts us the

most is the one which shakes the core andleaves an indelible impression on ourmind.”

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The Audi Q5, the first generation Q5 was almost like the per-fect Sports Utility Vehicle, the perfect porridge for Goldilocks.

It was neither too big or too small, with standard trim it had allthe modern conveniences and even the standard two-litre dieselit was sold with had the right amount of power for the city andenough for the highway. There was a sporty version internation-ally, the SQ5 but even that wasn’t an ‘off the charts’ sort of car.So how do you improve the perfect bowl of porridge? It was sucha good bowl of porridge that Audi sold 1.6 million Q5’s in thefirst generation and in 2014, one in every three Audi’s that fea-tured the Quattro all-wheel drive system were Q5’s.

Well, the second generation Q5 is longer, wider and tallerthan the outgoing model, although when you look at it, you willnot be able to tell. The new car shares the design language wefirst noticed on the second-generation Q7, so it actually lookssleeker, almost like an Estate. Inside the car, these changes makeit seem larger and at the back, it is certainly more comfortable.The infotainment screen is now raised, to be in line-of-sight, buton the face of it, the overall layout of the Q5 is more or less thesame. That said, it now has Audi’s ‘Command Centre’ display onthe instrument panel. So everything feels updated rather thanbeing massively different, and that is a good thing as Audi’s over-all driver and cabin ergonomics are very good. The Q5, at leastin launch specification in india will come with a touch panel,something which is a slightly pointless idea in right-hand drivemarkets because you need to operate these panels with yourleft hand, and unless you’re a southpaw or train yourself tobecome ambidextrous, they’re a bit pointless, as they are onmodern Mercedes’ cars as well. Especially if you have voice-activated controls.

Anyhow, despite being slightly larger, the second-generationQ5 is 65 kilograms lighter. The engine, while being the same two-litre diesel is now tuned to deliver 190 horsepower and thanksto a combination of lower weight and better overall stance, Audiclaims that this car is far more economical. And the work Audihave put in making this car feel a lot more driver friendly shows,in Dynamic drive mode, the car feels almost fun to drive, noth-ing excessive, but it can put a smile on your face. The hills sur-rounding Pushkar were a great place to drive this car, it was-n’t a sporty sedan by any stretch of imagination but it keepsyou engaged.

Honestly, the best compliment you can pay the Q5 is thatif it was porridge in the Goldilocks fairy tale, it is better thanbefore. With honey and nuts, the perfect porridge is better now.Better in terms of space, economy and power. But the prob-lem the Q5 will face now is that the segment is a lot morecrowded with new competitors, there is the new Volvo XC60and new BMW X3. But the Audi Q5 has great brand heritageon its side and the second-generation car ticks all the boxesand is sure to be a best-seller.

There is a point in life whereyou decide what you want to

do. Do you want to make yourown path or will you give up,conform and follow the lifethat was made for you by oth-ers. Life is too precious for thedesires of others to influenceyou. For the author, KalliaPapadaki, nothing else makesher feel the way writing does.Said she, “there is somethingineffaceable and deep rootedabout art. There are no criteriaor norms to follow.”

Kallia Papadaki, arenowned author from Greecewas in India representing theEuropean Union at the WorldBook Fair. “It is a great oppor-tunity to reveal our work toanother nation, speak aboutthe ways of writing and the storyand struggles behind our nov-els. The inquisitive and interac-tive readers were respondingwell and the feedback they gavemattered the most,” said she.

Born in Didymoteicho, shehas written short story collec-tion, The Back-Lot Sound and acollection of poems, Lavender inDecember. Her third book,Dendrites has won the Young

Author’s Award and EuropeanUnion Prize for literature. It isa story about the quest for ameaningful life amidst the ruinsof lost second chances, failedmarriages, and broken careers.The emphasis is on how bigdreams, small gestures, andunspoken words can createminute cracks that bring downwalls, buildings and lives.

The life stories of strangershave stimulated an immensepassion for writing in the author.The ability to understand anddwell into the depths of theirsouls gives a unique essence tothe narration. The stories youhear and make up are based onwho you are as a person, yourexperiences and the way youview and perceive the world. Awriter breathes life into a char-acter the way we do with our-selves and our future. “Everyindividual has several versions ofwho they want to be, who theymight have been in the past andwhat they think about others.Also, every story has a dynamicperspective which makes thereader ponder about their aware-ness of the reality. It is theminute details and intricacies

that are great material to build upa story”, she said.

The idea to write profession-ally was a gradual decision. Shewas inspired by American writ-ers like John Updike and ELDoctorow. “In my graduateschool, I read books by Indianauthors like Jhumpa Lahiri,Anuradha Roy and SalmanRushdie. The Indian novelistshave a great tradition when itcomes to literature. They createa world with various cultures,history and rituals and evoke asense of belongingness withvivid imaginative portrayal.

“Men of certain age like toread non-fiction but there is awider audience for fiction. Withthe constant crisis in Greece,there is a lot of literature aboutthe aftermath effects and theways to deal with the crisis,” saidPapadaki, a person of routine,who likes to write in her office.When she isn’t writing, she usu-ally takes long walks to think andlet her mind wonder. There areno shortcuts to become anauthor. “Reading is the first andforemost requirement. Read asmuch as you can and maybe youwill become a writer.”

Ballet has come of age with thedanseur not being restricted tothe background or seen as a

mere accessory, who comes into foreto lift the Ballerina. ContemporaryBallet allows him to be at the samelevel with the girl by providing themale dancer with a crucial role.Muriel Zusperreguy, PremiereDanseuse, Opera de Paris said,“Contemporary ballet has revolu-tionised the way we view it as themale ballet dancers are given equalimportance — treatment and movesas ballerinas encouraging moredanseurs who are passionate for thiscraft to consider it as a fine careeroption.”

Paris Ballet Legend artfully pre-sented eight performances based onhistoire d’amour, all duets, to paytribute to the city of love, and thewriters and artists who consideredit as their muse. Frederic Fontan,artistic director exclaimed, “I amexcited to bring classical and con-temporary ballet from my homelandto India. I tried to create a showwhich depicts evolution of ballettechnique, coupled with Paris —each piece is linked to it be it thecomposers, choreographers or thesaga — from Marius Petipa to ÉdithPiaf, Georges Bizet to JacquesPrévert. We picked diverse love sto-ries encapsulating various moods oflove from dramatic to sensual totragic and funny.” The alluring per-formance was staged at Siri Fortaudience and was organised byBonjour India.

Children Of Paradise, adaptedfrom the film directed by MarcelCarné and Singer Edith Piaf ’s Non,Je Ne Regrette Rien were some of theinfluences for the pieces of narrativeballet. Added he, “We have tried tocreate ambiance of the Opéra deParis, used classical scores in thepieces, but for our Indian audiencewe have brought certain fantasy talesfrom European point of view whichcan seamlessly blend with their cul-

ture, sensibilities, vibrancy and cos-tumes.

One of the danse duo was per-formed by Muriel Zusperreguy andBenjamin Pech and is based onPetipa’s La Bayadere (The TempleDancer), is set in India and is thestory of the temple dancer Nikiyaand a prince named Solor. She is abeautiful lady with a pure soul butbelong to the lower class of the soci-ety. The prince is supposed to getmarried to another girl whom he isnot in love with. Her father, king ofGolconda releases snake in thepremises where Nikiya was dancingduring the court ceremony. She getsbitten by the snake and dies. Thprince, unaware of the treacherousscheme, goes in search of her, onlyto realise that she is already gone.

Zusperreguy asserted, “Balletallows me to be free, use my bodyto express myself in a way no otherform allows. On stage, I forgetmyself and become the character Iam playing. It’s a kind of undressing.Not many men opt for this profes-sion so I take pride in being one.”There are three duets, inspired byclassic tales. There are three pedidoin ballet — seduction, resistance andabandon.

Dance has always been a part ofZusperreguy’s life and his associationwith ballet is three decades old. “Iwas introduced to this dance formwhen I was 11-year-old, beforewhich I was inclined towards jazzdance.”

The 43-year-old emphasisedthat it’s a difficult profession to be in,not everyone is gifted, its also phys-ically draining at times, the very rea-son young girls and boys enroll inballet classes every year but only atiny proportion of them make it asprofessionals. “I have met some real-ly talented dancers but they could-n’t keep up with this profession dueto weak body or serious injuries dueto which their journey came to a halt.It all depends on the kind of profes-

sional training one has been underand their bodily as well as mentalresistance.” Fontan added that thereare some competent dancers butthey remain as part of the ensembleas they are not motivated enough togrow and become principal dancers.

Zusperreguy also talked aboutperils of being a mature danseur andsaid that this is the pity of this worldthat when one reaches a certain agethey can understand things theywish they could know in their 20’s.As at that age they are preoccupiedby techniques or the physical aspectof it. “I feel that maturity made mebeautiful as a dancer as I carry yearsof experience in my performances.The cons are that I am not as strongor agile as before.”

On traditional ballet’s evolve-ment with time, he noted, “The cred-it to reform the artform should begiven to the dancers who make itappealing to the present-day audi-ence. They take mimic and pan-tomime out of it that we used to doin earlier times. It’s developing grad-ually, I believe that we have to keepthe traditional school alive butshould also modernise it with pas-sage of time. Now, the onus lies onme to bring contemporarity to myperformance.”

Benjamin Pech, Etoile, Opera deParis said, “I am here to offer some-thing different to the Indian audi-ence which they are not used to. I amexcited to see how they will react toit, hoping that it will be positive asit will be our debut act here followedby a performance in Mumbai. Suchopportunity is a rare occurrence sowe want to do our best.”

Said Etoile: “The challenge to dosomething different, get into theshoes of various characters andoffer something fresh to the audienceeach time I go on stage keeps memotivated to continue being a bal-lerina.” She was attracted to balletdue to the beautiful costume, tutu ata young age.

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The food and drinks last yearwere magical with rainbowcoloured food shots, and edi-

ble glitter dusted food, induced witheasy to hold burgers, munchingpopcorns or crunchy nachos andinky desserts to detoxifying drinksand breads. Yet cleansing and lowin cholesterol.

It’s the season’s moods thatkicks one to have amazing food —with fizzy drinks and easy rolls, theyear lensed out a dramatic shift inthe chef ’s mindset that startedtowards an infusion of indigenousingredients. The growing food con-sciousness in 2017 is evolving withan approach on food and palatesthis year. A focus shift on thechef ’s dishing around with moregreens.

This year, we will be concen-trating on culinary storytelling asmore restaurants are reviving theold world culture of organic food inorder to procure pure ingredientsand eat pure. In terms of food, con-venience food continue to trend fol-lowed by workouts along withvegan food options. The promotionon values of eating smart based onfood tricks will triumph as wemove further into the year.

Looks like switching to health-ier options is the New Year resolu-tion for many. The indulgence ofeating and dining out for celebra-tions will see a rise along with anaddition of smaller quantities offoods and specialised micro-greensalads. A strong shift on a healthi-er menu will be more trending withvegan, gluten free, organic otherthan usual carb-loaded menus.Especially, in a country, where dia-betes is rampant; the chefs arelooking out to have a completemake-over of the menu.

Food trends like — zerowastage, abundant use of seaweed,healthy smoothies and vegan icecreams have been the talk of the

town for long but with the veganheadcounts increasing, they arenow gaining more visibility onyour dinner tables.

The culinary experiments of theWest have now slowly started tohave an impact on the local com-munity, making vegetables moreinteresting. But this will be chal-lenged by the traditional Indiancuisines. The menus will see anoverload of High teas, cuisinesfrom Japan and Spain, along with a

massive presence of wine.A return to the roots is wit-

nessing an upsurge as it is all aboutauthentic native cuisines. Due atten-tion is being given to the native foodculture, and the inclusion ofMeghalayan cuisine should nottake you by surprise when you lookat the à la carte.

With the youth looking formore experimental cuisines, MiddleEastern appetisers such as hummusand shawarma with distinct palate

tastes are creating a buzz. Steadyinnovations like spicy lamb, seafood,masala chicken pizzas are adding onto spiced yet complex dish menus.This year will be about specialisedcuisines such as Japanese,Cantonese, Syrian, Moroccan,Persian, Israeli and Lebanese in themenu pages.

Also, an alternative vegan foodis majorly preferred in a country likeours. Hence, people will surelyenjoy as new vegan inventions will

prevail — from plant based Sushi tofoods rich in tomatoes and manymore strategically planned fooddominated with greens. Mushroomsare going to top them all in yourpalates along with Panatone shadefood that are red cabbage, redonions, eggplant, purple sweetcorns, purple sweet potatoes, plums,purple cauliflower, acai and figs, asthese are associated with loweringblood pressure, anti-cancer andanti-viral properties. Also they are

high in antioxidants with highnutrient density.

Treating breakfast as a big meal,waffles, pancakes, healthy salads,cheesy pastas, juices, detox waterand mouthwatering smoothies arebecoming a must. With a change inthe consumer attitude, the restau-rants are reframing the breakfastmenus to bring out more picky chefspreparations. From waffle sticks tosandwiches and more variations willbe managed to hitch the tantalisingappetite.

Beverage trends are lookingtowards fruity and fizzy with a greatdeal of mixology. From turmericshots to cold pressed juices, sparklingcoffee and more water based drinkswill have artistic tonics to be served.The growing beer cafes and brew-eries influenced by west will be moreinfluential. The homemade syrupsand shrubs will be a big surprise inthis year.

Apart from the subject of food,drinks are also an inevitable part ofa complete food. Marked to behappy high, the drink trends arepopularising in the restaurant withwines from old world and newworld along with unheard classiccocktails.

Lengthways with healthy food,savoury desserts will be incorpo-rated to your dessert offering thisyear. With new inventions, a lookout of bread in ice cream and cau-liflower in chocolate mousse are get-ting ready to complete your mealsas sweet is necessary after everycount of meal.

2018 is full of food treats andsurprises you can look forward to.It’s time to welcome the new foodcharts along with breathtaking bev-erages.

(The author is the executivechef, PVR The Luxury Collection)

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India couldn't have hoped for a worst start toa long South African sojourn but pacer JaspritBumrah on Thursday asserted that if one

debacle dents the team's confidence then it "doesnot deserve" to play Test cricket.

South Africa outplayed India by 72 runsinside four days in the opening Test in CapeTown to claim a 1-0 lead in the three-matchseries. The second Test is scheduled to start hereon Saturday.

"Confidence is not dented after one match.If it happens, then you don't deserve to play.Learn from the mistake you made and go for-ward. There is not a single cricketer who has notmade a mistake," asserted Bumrah, who tookfour wickets in the match.

"It was a first good Test and a good learn-ing experience for me because I have neverplayed over here in South Africa. So I had a lotof things to learn from it. Now it is time to moveforward and focus on the second Test," Bumrahsaid on Thursday.

Bumrah said he would rather pick the pos-itives, including getting AB de Villiers as his firstTest wicket.

"It was not a dream debut. I was happy withwhatever I learnt from that match. As a bowleryou look to get the first wicket early and I gotAB de Villiers.

"It was a happy moment, and from there on,we took a lot more wickets. As a bowler, mymotto is not to get too excited and not to get toodown after every match. I want to take confi-dence in to the next match," he added.

Bumrah had a mixed first outing atNewlands. He was taken for runs in the firstinnings at a time when India needed to keepSouth Africa quiet, but roared back to form inthe second innings and triggered the hosts' 8-65 collapse on day four.

He outlined the differentiation in his per-formance was down to understanding thenature of the pitches here.

"It's always challenging whenever you cometo a new country. The wickets are different andthe weather is different. So it's always good toface new challenges. As you play more and more,you get to know a lot about the wickets.

"You get a fair idea about where to bowl andwhat kind of lines to bowl. It's been good so far.I am still learning and hopefully in the furthermatches, I will be able to do better," said Bumrah.

Bumrah said he prefers to not have anynotions about the surfaces he bowls on. He alsoacknowledged that Indian bowlers erred in read-ing the bounce in the South African first innings,which yielded 286 runs for the hosts.

"We realized what mistakes we made in thefirst innings, so (on day four) we were trying tocreate pressure from both ends and focus on ourlengths which were wrong in the first innings.

"We just tried to correct them and not over-do things because over here when there is help

from the wicket, you try to do extra butthat won't help. So we were just tryingto be disciplined and stick to basics," hesaid.

When asked about the moment hewas made aware of his Test debut,Bumrah said, "There was a general dis-

cussion that I would play the match. SoI started talking to our bowling coachwhat kind of things I should do, whatkind of wickets are over here and whatshould I expect."

The Gujarat pacer said he was notnervous when his debut cap was hand-

ed to him."It's not like I was playing a first

First-Class game in my life. I haveplayed a lot of four-day games. So mybasic plan was to go inside, get a feel ofthe wicket and make changes accord-ingly."

Bumrah has spent a lot of time withbowling coach Bharat Arun even in thejunior days and he highlighted theinputs he has received. "He knows mybowling and as a player it is good tohave a coach who knows my strengthsand weakness," he said.

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South African opener AidenMarkram is of the opinion

that the pitch at SupersportPark, although aiding morepace and bounce, will also begood for batsmen. The secondTest begins here on Saturdaywith the hosts leading 1-0 inthe three-match series.

"Generally, it's a good bat-ting wicket here although I amnot sure how they have pre-pared it this time. But therehave been a lot of high scoreshere.

“I would like to think itwill be a good wicket. I ampretty sure it will be similar tolast week (Cape Town), maybenot as extreme," Markramsaid on on Thursday.

"It is incredibly exciting toplay here because it is a placewhere I grew up watchingand playing cricket. It's a wick-et where if you set yourself upas a batsman there are runs tobe had.

"But as a bowler, with thepace and bounce, you alwayshave a shout as well. It's goingto be an exciting match," headded.

It will be a homecomingfor the 23-year-old Markramwho is slated to play only hisfifth Test. He has made theleap from a junior prospect toUnder-19 World Cup win-ning captain and now to adependable Test opener sofar.

"It's been a bit of a roller-coaster the last couple of yearsbut an enjoyable one. I learnta lot about my game andmyself, which is important. Iam fortunate to rub shoulderswith legends of the game at ayoung age, which does help.Most importantly I have keptlearning, which is great," hesaid.

Markram admitted thatplaying India was completely

different from being pittedagainst minnows likeBangladesh and Zimbabwe.

"Playing against India is amassive step up (as comparedto Bangladesh andZimbabwe). It was a massivestep up. There's a reason whythey are the No 1 team in theworld - they have quality play-ers in all departments.

"They tick all the boxesand they have come here tocompete, which is great. Forme as a young guy, it is awe-

some. Every day you are learn-ing something new, and to beexposed to challenges like thatis great. You learn your bestlessons at this level. So it wasvaluable and going into thisTest it's something I'll be moreaware of," he added.

Talking about learningfrom the Newlands' Test wherehe scored 5 and 34, Markramsaid:"We got an insight intohow the pitches are going to bein this series. It's about form-ing a game plan according to

that."We have had a couple of

days off now to think aboutthat. That's the direction wewant to go in, to feel that asbatters it's not that we can'tscore runs here. And look toscore, according to how thewicket is going to play."

The covers came off theSupersport Park pitch in theafternoon for a little time. Onfirst glance, it looked a hardand bouncy surface with aneven sprinkling of grass aswell.

In keeping with coachOttis Gibson's licking for pace,there is talk of pacer LungiNgidi - another local boy -being included in place ofinjured Dale Steyn.

At the same time, KagisoRabada will take the field asthe Test No 1 bowler after dis-placing England's JamesAnderson with his perfor-mance in the first Test.

"KG (Rabada) has fitted(taken) like a duck to water ininternational cricket. He's puthis hand up for the side and healmost sees his role as a seniorone even though he is soyoung.

"He has adopted a greatmindset. He is obviously a verycompetitive guy. He has got alot of x-factor about him andwhat's lovely is he likes to com-pete with batsmen - he neverlikes a batsman to get up onhim. It's a great trait for himto have," said Markram.

He was all praise for LungiNgidi.

"I am incredibly happyfor Lungi. We have played forquite a few years both with andagainst each other. I am happyto see him getting a chanceand he really does deserve it.He puts in a lot of hard workbehind the scenes and he hasthe perfect mindset for an up-and-coming player. It filtersonto the rest of us," he added.

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The 24th seed GM ZiaurRahman of Bangladesh

defeated Vietnamese GM TranTuan Minh to emerge as the newsole leader after the end of thefourth round of 16th DelhiInternational Chess tournament.At the end of three rounds,eleven players had shared thelead.

More than 2000 chess play-ers from across India are par-ticipating in this mega eventwhich is being organised byDelhi Chess Association underthe aegis of All India ChessFederation. Players from 29countries from around the worldare playing in the tournament,breaking the previous record of28 countries set by the 2017 edi-tion of the same tournament.

The 'A' category of the tour-nament has managed to betteritself in terms of cash prize andstrength as for the first time inIndian history, a 2700+ elo ratedplayer will be playing in aClassical GM Open. The total

prize money is �77 lakh. Thepremier event has 27 GrandMasters and 24 InternationalMasters.

Rahman showed immensediscipline and skill to beat TranTuan. It was a TrompovskyOpening from Rahman whohad the white pieces but TranMinh played pretty accuratelyand was having a better position.Early in the middle game, Blackhad stifled the position on thekingside where Rahman hadswung his rook. Meanwhile,Rahman had expanded on the

queenside. But Tran Minh madea very strange move when hecastled kingside where Rahmanwas able to break open theposition and swiftly drum up anattack on black's king.

All other co-leaders couldonly draw their games andhence, the Bangladeshi grand-master leads alone with 4.0/4.

In the B-category with 783players being held simultane-ously, 8 rounds of play have beencompleted and with two roundsto go, Shubham of Haryanarated 1915, and Subhra Saha, ofWest Bengal, rated 1727, leadtogether with 7.5/8.

"This is a historic momentfor Indian chess as we welcomethe 16th edition of the Delhi GMOpen. We started small back in2003, but now it is alreadyboasting a record prize fund.This tournament has proved tobe a boon to every chess playerin India. It is our honor to serveIndian chess and Indian chessplayers," said Bharat SinghChauhan, president of DelhiChess Association.

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Mumbai registered a thumpingseven-wicket win over arch rivals

Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq AliT20 West Zone League match here onThursday.

For Mumbai, medium pacerAkash Parkar starred with the bowl ashe picked up three wickets to help hisside bundle out Maharashtra for ameagre 89.

Parkar, who returned with theimpressive figures of 3-22, wassuperbly aided by all other bowlers -Shivam Dube (2-7), ParikshitValsangkar (2-22), experiencedShardul Thakur (1-13) and DhawalKulkarni (1-20).

For Maharashtra, except openerRahul Tripathi and one down VijayZol (both 21 runs in 16 balls), no otherbatsman was able to make a mark andsteer the team out of trouble.

Another opener Ruturaj Gaikwad(3) and experienced Ankit Bawne (9)too fell cheaply.

The Mumbai bowlers took wick-ets and never allowed the oppositionbatsman to set in.

While chasing, skipper AdityaTare remained unbeaten on 42 in 26balls to help the side romp home.

The experienced Siddhesh Lad,who was the team's crisis man in theRanji Trophy this year, chipped in witha valuable 25 off 15 balls and steadiedtheir ship after the side was totteringat 17 for 2.

Earlier, Mumbai lost both theiropeners Eknath Kerkar (2) and JayBista (9) quickly.

Surya Kumar Yadav remainedunbeaten on 12 with skipper Tare asMumbai overhauled the target in thetenth over. Mumbai got four pointsfrom the match.

In the second match of the day,Baroda defeated Saurashtra by 8 wick-ets to bag four points.

Electing to bat, Saurashtra were allout for 131 in 19.5 overs as Barodabowlers wrecked havoc. Atit Sheth wasthe pick of the bowlers as he grabbed2 wickets conceding 18 runs.

Skipper Deepak Hooda (1-10),Swapnil Singh (1-18), LukmanMeriwala (1-25) and Rishi Arothe (1-29) played their roles to perfection togive Baroda an edge.

For Saurashtra, barring skipperJaydev Unadkat (33 off 26 balls) andwicket-keeper Robin Uthappa (29 off19 balls), others made a beeline to thepavillion.

Chasing 131, Baroda opener Kedar

Devdhar made a brisk unbeaten 62 in48 balls, lacing seven fours and a six,to guide his team home.

One down Krunal Pandya (25 off21 balls) chipped in with crucial runsand the remaining job was done byHooda, who remained unbeaten on 32in 20 balls, with Devdhar.

Hooda struck two fours and asmany sixes as Saurashtra bowlerswere taken to task.

For Saurashtra, Shaurya Sanandia(1-23) and Chirag Jani (1-17) pickeda wicket each.

����������Vizianagaram: Tamil Nadu defeat-

ed Goa by 25 runs on Thursday to reg-ister its third straight win in the SyedMushtaq Ali Trophy T20 South Zonetournament here on Thursday.

Dinesh Karthik (56) scored histhird half-century on the trot to starwith the bat again as Tamil Nadu post-ed 155 for 5 in its quota of 50 oversbefore restricting Goa to 130 for 7.

Skipper Vijay Shankar returned tothe side after missing the first twogames owing to injury concerns, butcouldn't do much with the bat, fallingfor four to Amogh Desai.

Electing to bat after winning thetoss, Tamil Nadu lost M S WashingtonSundar (14) at 29, not before he had

hit two boundaries and a six.Karthik, who has been in superb

form, got into the act quickly and hitshots all round the wicket. He smashedsix fours and a sixer before falling inthe 15th over.

Though Abhinav Mukund (12)and Shankar fell in quick succession,Karthik found an able partner in BAparajith (26). The two added 54 runsin just about seven overs.

Some lusty blows by R SanjayYadav (28 not out, 20 balls, 1X4, 2X6)and N Jagadeesan (10 not out, 1X6)helped swell the total to 155.

Goa's chase was stifled by the lossof wickets at regular intervals withnone of the batsmen being able to geta big score.

Skipper Sagun Kamat made thetop-score of 41 but tight bowling bythe Tamil Nadu bowlers made thingsdifficult.

Leg-spinner M Ashwin, who keptthings tight in the middle along withoffie Washington Sundar, picked uptwo wickets each while left-arm spin-ner R Sai Kishore bowled just one overto scalp one victim.

Medium-pacers K Vignesh andAthisayaraj Davidson got a wicketapiece.

Meanwhile in matches played inVisakhapatnam, Karnataka edged outHyderabad by two runs while AndhraPradesh cruised to a six-wicket winover Kerala in a match reduced to 13overs a side.

There were reports that a protestby Hyderabad players led by captainAmbati Rayudu over addition of tworuns to the Karnataka total delayed thestart of the second game betweenAndhra and Kerala.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 155 for5 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 56,Sanjay Yadav 28 not out, AmoghDesai 3 for 22) beat Goa 130 for 7 in20 overs (Sagun Kamat 41, M Ashwin2 for 22, Washington Sundar 2 for 20).Points: TN: 4; Goa: 0.

At Visakhapatnam: Karnataka 205for 5 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 77, KGowtham 57, Ravi Kiran 2 for 33) beatHyderabad 203 for 9 in 20 overs(Akshath Reddy 70, Tanmay Agarwal38, Bavanaka Sandeep 34, Stuart Binny3 for 29). Points: Karnataka: 4;Hyderabad: 0.

Kerala 120 all out in 12 overs(Vishnu Vinod 45, Sanju Samson 32,M Harishankar Reddy 4 for 2, BandaruAyyappa 3 for 32) lost to Andhra 126for 4 in 13 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 64,G H Vihari 25, Basil Thampi 2 for 35).Points: Andhra: 4; Kerala: 0.

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Indian Arrows, the youngest outfit in the ILeague, desperately need their top players to

fire as they take on depleted hosts GokulamKerala FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium hereon Friday.

Odafa Okolie who has 100-odd I-Leaguegoals under his belt is the newest recruitmentto them but he did little justice to his name onhis debut for the Keralites.

The hosts are yet to find their combinationright and unwell players have added to theirheadache.

Coach Bino George didn't hide his frustra-tion.

"Balwinder has chicken pox. He is admit-ted to the hospital. I have no idea what is hap-pening", he said.

Meanwhile, he reiterated that the foreignsignings should contribute more to churn outsome positive results.

"The problem with us is the lack of foreignplayers. We signed Odafa because it was easy tocomplete the paperwork. He has scored a lot ofgoals."

He further added that Arrows boys have agreat future ahead as they have their age on theirside.

"Indian Arrows are showing a lot of promisefor the future. Their possession and passing areall really good. The small mistakes they are com-mitting is due to their age. They will threaten

if given space."However, the young guns who have taken

everyone by surprise until now were on thereceiving end during their last outing againstShillong Lajong FC.

The Kerala-based side also had the last laughagainst the young guns in the first leg played atthe Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.

Indian Arrows coach Matos recalled thatmatch as 'a strange game.'

"The match against Gokulam in Delhi wasa strange game. They scored the first goal froma corner. Their second goal was from a free-kick.At the end, they got the three points."

He informed that the team is travelling con-stantly and it might take a toll on the boys interms of giving their 100% on the field.

"For us, tomorrow will be difficult. We arenot in the best shape. Since December 19, wehave played so many matches, so very short timeto recover. It was a Lot of travelling. These arenot excuses but reality. It is not easy for theseyoung boys." Meanwhile, coach Matos tested anew defence setup last day having rested BorisSingh, Sanjeev Stalin and Anwar Ali. Asish Rai,Roshan Singh completely justified their selec-tion with a special mention for goalkeeperPrabhsukhan Gill who was only playing his thirdmatch for the Matos-coached team in the HeroI-League 2017-18.

Matos further informed that Sanjeev Stalinis still nursing the injury and he's unlikely to playhis part on Friday.

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Chelsea wasted a chance to take controlof their League Cup semi-final against

Arsenal as the misfiring Blues were forcedto settle for a 0-0 draw in Wednesday's firstleg.

Antonio Conte's side dominated pos-session for long periods at StamfordBridge — where the Video AssistantReferee system (VAR) was in operation —but lacked the killer instinct required totake a step towards the final.

They had 21 shots to just eight fromArsenal, yet the tie remains on a knife-edgeheading into the second leg at the EmiratesStadium on January 24.

"We are not so clinical despite creat-ing chances. If you want to win you haveto score," Conte said.

"We didn't concede a goal, but weknow we play away at Arsenal and we mustbe ready to fight if we are to play the final."

While it was a frustrating evening forChelsea as they chase a first League Cupfinal berth since 2015, the stalemate wasa welcome tonic for their London rivals.

Arsenal, who also drew both PremierLeague encounters with Chelsea this sea-son, suffered one of the most chasteningdefeats of Arsene Wenger's reign onSunday as second tier Nottingham Forestwon 4-2 in the FA Cup third round.

While Arsenal were well below theirbest once again, in contrast to their sur-render in Nottingham, the Frenchman willbe encouraged that they showed enoughspirit to keep Chelsea at bay.

"I felt there was great togetherness. Iam pleased with the spirit and determi-nation," Wenger said.

"You want first to be solid, but ideal-ly you want to score as well."

Conte had mostly fielded fringe play-ers en route to the last four, but EdenHazard, back from a calf injury, N'GoloKante and Thibaut Courtois were calledupon with a Wembley showdown againstManchester City or Bristol City in sight.

Wenger surprisingly left Alexis

Sanchez on the bench amid talk of theunsettled Chile forward joining ManchesterCity, while Mesut Ozil missed out with aknee injury.

Wenger was watching from the pressbox as he serves his touchline ban and theGunners boss was shifting anxiously in hisseat early on when Hazard's pass gaveAlvaro Morata an opportunity that hedrove into the side-netting.

After a tepid opening from Arsenal,Alexandre Lacazette escaped the Chelsea

defence to collect Jack Wilshere's pass, butthe French striker wasted the chance as hescuffed a hurried shot wide.

Chelsea wing-back Victor Mosesforced David Ospina into action with astinging drive that the Arsenal goalkeep-er fumbled before recovering to snatch theball away from Morata.

�������$Moses was proving a problem for

young left-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles andthe Nigerian found space for another shotmoments later, this time his low shot hitOspina's near post before Arsenal scram-bled it away.

Alex Iwobi was selected despiteWenger saying he could be fined for report-edly partying until the early hours ofSaturday morning and the Arsenal wingeralmost repaid his manager's faith with adrive that Courtois pushed away.

When Maitland-Niles went downunder pressure from Moses in the area, ref-eree Martin Atkinson consulted the videoassistant referee, but no penalty was given.

Fabregas should have given Chelsea thelead just before half-time, but the formerArsenal midfielder wastefully headedstraight at Ospina from close range.

Andreas Christensen fared no betterafter the interval when the Chelsea defend-er dived to head over from inside the six-yard box. Chelsea were piecing togethertheir most convincing spell of pressure, butthey couldn't find the finishing touch asMorata's powerful effort was well saved byOspina.

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Neymar scored a second-half penalty asfour-time defending champions Paris

Saint-Germain toiled before overcoming10-man Amiens 2-0 to reach the semi-finalsof the French League Cup on Wednesday.

PSG were again without leading scorerEdinson Cavani, who also missed Sunday'sFrench Cup rout of Rennes after returninglate from his Christmas and New Yearbreak in Uruguay.

Amiens' hopes of springing an upset wereheavily undermined by the dismissal of goal-keeper Regis Gurtner on 34 minutes for a foulon Kylian Mbappe after charging out of hisarea.

And Neymar eventually made the visi-tors' numerical advantage count by winningand converting a spot-kick eight minutes intothe second half at the Stade de la Licorne.

Mbappe, earlier denied by a fingertip savefrom Jean-Christophe Bouet, was thenthwarted by a combination of the substitutekeeper and the crossbar before firing anoth-er effort narrowly wide.

Marquinhos also struck the woodworkafter connecting with a cross from GiovaniLo Celso, but Adrien Rabiot wrapped up aremarkable 35th consecutive win in domes-tic cup ties for PSG with a glancing headerfrom an Angel Di Maria corner on 78 min-utes.

The goal was given following consulta-

tion with the video assistant referee (VAR)— being used for the rest of the competitionas a test ahead of its expected arrival in Ligue1 next season — after goal-line technologyfailed to award it.

"Our team worked hard but we didn'tshine like on Sunday, but we also didn't con-cede chances. It was easier to win because weplayed with an extra man," said PSG coachUnai Emery. "All teams prefer to play athome. But we will make another trip toRennes full of desire to reach the final andwin the title," Emery added.

Isaac Mbenza scored with four minutesleft as Montpellier snatched a 1-0 win atAngers, while Adrien Hunou struck twice lateon as Rennes defeated Toulouse 4-2.

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Real Madrid fielded analmost unrecognisable

team and struggled into theCopa del Rey quarter-finals onWednesday after a 2-2 drawagainst second divisionNumancia.

Already 3-0 ahead fromthe first leg, coach ZinedineZidane could afford to rest hissuperstars with one eye on LaLiga, where they are 16 pointsbehind Barcelona, and theChampions League last 16with a clash against ParisSaint- Germain next month.

However, they were farfrom convincing at theBernabeu.

Lucas Vazquez scoredboth of Real 's goals onWednesday after the 11th and59th minutes.

But on both occasions,their modest visitors foughtback thanks to a brace from

Guillermo on the stroke ofhalf-time and then after 82minutes.

Numancia ended thegame with 10 men after cap-tain Dani Calvo was red-card-

ed in the dying moments.Leganes, a modest club fromthe Madrid suburbs, reachedthe quarter-finals of the Copadel Rey for the first time intheir 89-year existence.

Despite losing 2-1 atVillarreal, who are currentlysixth in La Liga, Leganes pro-gressed on away goals havingwon the first leg 1-0.

Moroccan internationalNabil El Zhar scored the cru-cial away goal for mid-tableLeganes on the half-hourmark.

In the night's other earlysecond leg tie, last season'srunners-up Alaves downedthird division Formentera 2-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win.

On Thursday, Barcelonahost Celta Vigo with the tielocked at 1-1.

C�����J������������������� Real Madrid coachZinedine Zidane on

Wednesday confirmed thathe has signed a contractextension which will keephim at the European champi-ons until 2020.

"It's signed," said theFrench star after his side drew2-2 with Numancia toprogress to the quarter-finalsof the Copa del Rey 5-2 onaggregate.

After a dream start atReal, with eight trophies outof a possible 10, Zidane hasendured a tough season withhis side 16 points behindBarcelona in the La Liga titlerace.

And the 45-year-old cau-tioned: "I'm enjoying what Ido every day, because that'sthe way it is. I can't imaginemyself as a coach in two,three years, because things arenot like that. I know how itgoes, nothing more, even withthis contract it does notchange anything."

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With techinal directorAvram Grant at helm,

NorthEast United finally gotback into the groove by defeat-ing FC Goa in the last match buttheir task will be cut out as theytake on Teddy Sheringham'sATK in the Hero Super Leagueat the Indira Gandhi AthleticStadium, Guwahati on Friday.

The Kolkata outfit havewon just twice in eight gamesand can cut the gap to the play-off spots to just two points witha victory.

Their assistant coach BastobRoy likened the situation to thatof Real Madrid in the La Liga -saying that this was how footballwas and that they would nowhave to create their own luckrather than rely on the rub of thegreen.

"Have you seen the situationof Real Madrid? This is football,it's part of the game and we aretrying to come out of this situ-

ation. We still think we can makethe playoffs. The table is veryunpredictable and with twowins in a row, we may be able toachieve it. Chance factor hasbeen against us. We are not look-ing behind but looking for-ward. The only thing we can dois hard work. Luck is not in ourhands. In football you have toscore and not concede. That's

what we work on," he said. Meanwhile, former Chelsea

manager Grant will look for theattitude which was seen againstFC Goa, when his side notchedtheir first win after four defeatson the trot. They can leapfrogATK with a win and that will bethe most motivating factor forthem.

"I think we need to improvea lot. I like to implement attack-ing football but for us to reachthe desired level is difficult. Sothe immediate focus is to remainorganised and be together," saidNorthEast assistant coach EelcoSchattorie.

"Two areas which needwork on is to bring the teamtogether. Secondly, we need toimprove in the area of scoringgoals but that is the most diffi-cult as well. We can't train todayto score and score tomorrow.That is not how it works. Thatonly works when you have(Lionel) Messi or (Cristiano)Ronaldo," he added.

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Roger Federer found himself in aslightly awkward position beforethe Australian Open draw.

Just being there.A few minutes later when the formal-

ities were completed, Federer found outhow difficult defending his title could beafter landing in the same half as six-timechampion Novak Djokovic.

"This is not normal," Federer told acrowd of hundreds of fans before the drawon Thursday at Margaret Court Arena. "Idon't like usually going to draws becausethey freak me out. I don't want to knowwho I play other than just seeing the sheetat the end and knowing who my first-round opponent is."

First up, the 36-year-old Swiss will playAjaz Bedene of Slovenia. He also has No7-ranked David Goffin, Juan Martin delPotro, Sam Querrey, and Milos Raonic inhis quarter.

There's a potential semifinal againstDjokovic, who is aiming for a record sev-enth Australian Open title but is seeded14th as he returns from six months on thesidelines with a right elbow injury.

Djokovic is in the same quarter as theZverev brothers — fourth-seededAlexander could meet older brother andNo 32-seeded Mischa in the third round— 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, and No5 Dominic Thiem.

Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the finalhere last year on his return from six monthson the sidelines and is seeded No 2 as hebids for a 20th Grand Slam singles title.

Djokovic had a contrasting 2017,starting at No 2 but losing in a second-round upset at the Australian Open and notplaying again after Wimbledon. It was thefirst year since 2009 that Djokovic didn'treach at least one Grand Slam final. Hedelayed his return until two exhibitionappearances this week.

Top-ranked Nadal will open againstVictor Estrella Burgos, has a potentialfourth-round match against John Isner, andNo 3 Grigor Dimitrov in his half of thedraw. He followed his run to the final inMelbourne by winning the French Openand US Open, splitting the Grand Slamhonors with Federer for the year.

Serena Williams has opted not todefend her title four months after givingbirth to her first child, leaving the women'sdraw open.

Her sister Venus, who lost the all-

Williams Australian Open final last year,has a tough opener against Belinda Bencic— who combined with Federer to win theHopman Cup for Switzerland last week —and is also in the same quarter as US Openwinner Sloane Stephens.

Top-ranked Simona Halep opensagainst Australian wild card DestaneeAiava, has a potential second-round matchagainst 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie

Bouchard, and is in the same half asGarbine Muruguza, the Wimbledon cham-pion.

Third-seeded Muguruza is in a diffi-cult quarter containing former AustralianOpen champions Maria Sharapova andAngelique Kerber, and US Open finalistMadison Keys.

Sharapova, who won the 2008Australian title and reached three other

finals at Melbourne Park, missed lastyear's tournament during a 15-month sus-pension after a failed doping test here in2016.

The five-time major winner finished2017 ranked No 60, meaning she missedout on a seeding for the Australian Openand could face 2016 champion Kerber inthe third round.

"There's no easy way to get to the top,"Sharapova told the crowd at MargaretCourt Arena before the draw. "You alwayshave to beat the top players in order to getto the top."

Organizers defended the decision toinvite Sharapova to appear as the repre-sentative for the women's draw, withtournament director Craig Tiley sayingthe sanction was over and the 30-year-old Russian was there as a former cham-pion.

Sharapova said after a long time out shehad to be patient coming back to the tour,but was still confident of returning to thetop ranking and winning major tourna-ments.

"The drive, I still have it. I certainly willhope I put myself in that position,"Sharapova said. "I put a lot of expectationson myself because I have been there, andI have delivered in those moments. I expectto continue to do so."

H����������������������K������ISerena Williams tells Vogue that she

dealt with a medical scare right after thebirth of her daughter.

In a story in the magazine's Februaryissue and posted Wednesday on Vogue.com,Williams discusses developing severalsmall blood clots in her lungs while in thehospital after Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jrwas born in September.

According to the article, the tennissuperstar "spent the first six weeks of moth-erhood unable to get out of bed."

When Williams originally announcedher baby's arrival, via social media post-ings in September, she said in a video, "Wehad a lot of complications, but look whatwe've got."

Days after winning Wimbledon in2010, Williams cut both feet on brokenglass while leaving a restaurant, leading totwo operations on her right foot. Then shegot clots in her lungs and needed to injectherself with a blood thinner. Those shotsled to a pool of blood gathering under herstomach's skin, requiring another hospi-tal procedure. In all, she was off the tourfor about 10 months at the time, return-ing in 2011.

The 36-year-old Williams, who ismarried to Reddit co-founder AlexisOhanian, has not competed since winningher 23rd Grand Slam singles title at theAustralian Open in January 2017. Williamsis skipping this year's Australian Open,which begins next week.

Williams said in the Vogue story thatshe has her sights on getting to 25 majortitles, which would break the all-timerecord of 24 held by Margaret Court.

������������������������Former World No 1 AngeliqueKerber continued her strong start to the sea-son by advancing to the SydneyInternational semifinals with a 6-3, 6-1 winover Dominika Cibulkova on Thursday.

Kerber, who began last year at the topof the rankings before finishing at No 22,won her seventh straight match of 2018,including four singles at the Hopman Cuplast week.

"This start is not bad, for sure," Kerbersaid.

Kerber will play Camila Giorgi in thesemifinals. Giorgi beat defending champi-on Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2.

Ashleigh Barty also advanced, 6-3, 6-2 over Barbora Strycova.

She will play fellow Australian DariaGavrilova, who had a walkover win overWimbledon champion Garbine Muguruzawhen the Spanish player withdrew from herquarterfinal with a right thigh injury.

In men's quarterfinals, fourth-seededFabio Fognini beat No 5 Adrian Mannarino6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2, Daniil Medvedevdefeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3, and BenoitPaire beat second-seeded Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4.

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