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In a new twist to the ongoingfracas over the Citizenship

(Amendment) Act or CAA,Samajwadi Party chief AkhileshYadav and BSP supremoMayawati have accepted HomeMinister Amit Shah’s challengefor debate on the CAA.

While Akhilesh is preparedfor such an engagement whilekeeping economic slowdownand development as part of thepackage, Mayawati said herparty is ready for a debate onthe CAA on any platform.

Meanwhile, AIMIM chiefAsaduddin Owaisi chipped in,telling Shah, “Daadhi wale sekaro na” (debate with a beard-ed man).

Addressing a rally in sup-port of the CAA in Lucknowon Tuesday, Shah had daredOpposition leaders likeMayawati, Congress leaderRahul Gandhi, TrinamoolCongress chief MamataBanerjee and Samajwadi Partypresident Akhilesh Yadav todebate with him on the law ona “sarvjanik manch” (publicplatform).

Picking up the challenge,Akhilesh said, “I’m ready forthe debate on CAA. Ask themto fix a place or a forum, withtheir favorite channels andanchors, also for a debate ondevelopment. We Samajwadisare ready for it. But the BJPshould also debate on the issueslike economic slowdown,unemployment, poverty anddeath of people due to

Government harassment.” Accusing the BJP of dis-

criminating on the basis of reli-gion, Akhilesh said those whounderstand the soul of thecountry are opposed to theamended citizenship law. Healso alleged the BJP is playingwith the Constitution as it hasmajority in the Lok Sabha.

“I am glad that womenhave taken the lead and youthare protesting in large num-bers,” Akhilesh said after gar-landing a statue of SP leaderJaneshwar Mishra at a parkhere on his death anniversary.

BSP chief Mayawati, whoalong with Akhilesh, hadskipped the Opposition meet-ing in Delhi to oppose theCAA, on Wednesday said herparty is ready for a debate onthe CAA on any platform.

“The BSP is ready to acceptthe challenge thrown by theCentral Government, which istroubled by the organisedstruggle and agitation all overthe country against the mostcontroversial CAA/NRC/NPR,especially by the youth andwomen, for a debate on theissue on any platform and any-where,” Mayawati said in atweet in Hindi.

Mayawati had obviouslycome under pressure to take anaggressive stance against theCAA after another Dalit leaderChandrasekhar Azad occupiedcentre stage in Delhi in mobil-ising protest against the CAA.

Meanwhile, asserting thatMahatma Gandhi and BRAmbedkar were against dis-

crimination, the SP chiefaccused the BJP of practisingdiscrimination on the basis ofreligion. “Every Indian isagainst it. Will they (the BJP)kill the soul of the country andcreate fissures in society forvotes,” he said.

Accusing Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathof using words like “thok diyajayega” in his speeches, he said,“This cannot be the language ofa politician.

“BJP used ‘kabristan andshamshan’ and ‘Diwali andRamzan’ during poll rallies forthe sake of votes.”

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The Interpol has urgedmember nations to help

locate Nithyananda, the self-declared godman who fledIndia last year amid allegationsof rape and sexual abuse.

A blue-corner notice thatmakes it obligatory for coun-tries to share information onany person involved in a crimehas been issued by the Interpolagainst Nithyananda at thebehest of the Gujarat Police.

Last month, Ecuadordenied the presence of thefugitive “godman” and said ithad rejected his request for asy-lum. The Embassy of Ecuadoralso suggested he had left thecountry for Haiti.

He was charged with kid-napping and wrongful con-finement of children to makethem collect donations fromfollowers to run his ashram.

The Blue Corner Noticewill help the law enforcementagencies here in collectingadditional information fromthe member countries of theInterpol about the suspect’sidentity, location or activities inrelation to the crime.

The Gujarat Police hadsent a request to the Central

Bureau of Investigation (CBI),the nodal body for Interpolmatters in India, seeking aBlue Corner Notice againstNithyananda, officials said.

Following this, the Interpolissued the Blue Corner Noticeagainst Nithyananda.

After securing the BlueCorner Notice, the GujaratPolice is working to get Interpolto issue a Red Corner Notice,a global arrest warrant, againstNithyananda, source said.

The Gujarat Police hadregistered an FIR againstNithyananda after two girlswent missing from his ashramin Ahmedabad last year.

While police continue tolook for him, reports emergedin December last year that hehas created a “Hindu” nation,Kailaasa, with its own flag andpolitical setup, on an islandnear Ecuador.

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Aheavy posse of police havebeen deployed at the resi-

dence of Tamil film’s superstarRajinikanth following threat ofphysical attacks on him by theDravida Kazhakam and asso-ciated parties.

Rajinikanth’s residence atChennai’s Poes Garden hascome under a security blanketwith armed guards of TamilNadu Special Police and plain-clothesmen from city policetaking positions in vantagepoints along the approach roadto Poes Garden.

The posting of policemenis a fallout of the statementmade by the actor on the 50thanniversary of Tamil magazineTuglaq on last Wednesdaywhen he pointed out that theDravidar Kazkaham, foundedby EV Ramasamy Naicker, hadtaken out a procession in 1971holding placards with nude

pictures of Lord Rama and MaaSita which were garlanded withfootwears.

This was a rally against thesuperstition prevailing amongthe Hindus and RamasamyNaicker was a known Hindubaiter.

Leaders of the DravidaKazhakam want a public apol-ogy from Rajinikanth for airinghis views publicly.

But the film actor made itknown on Tuesday that hestood by what he said during

his speech and there was noquestion of him tendering anyapology. All political leaders,barring those from the BJP,have come together in con-demning the superstar.

“Rajinikanth should notair his views publicly withoutlearning and understandingthe basics,” said MK Stalin,president, DMK.

The AIADMK expresseddispleasure over Rajinikanth’swords for hurting the senti-ments of the Dravida cadre.

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Before orbiting astronautson India’s first manned

mission to space in December2021, the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation willsend “Vyommitra”, a “ladyrobot” in the unmannedGaganyaan spacecraft.

The robot was the centre ofattraction at the inaugural ses-sion of the “Human Spaceflightand Exploration — PresentChallenges and Future Trends”here on Wednesday.

Vyommitra, a combina-tion of two Sanskrit wordsVyoma (Space) and Mitra(Friend), took everyone bysurprise when she introducedherself to the audience gatheredthere. “Hello everyone.

I am Vyommitra, the pro-totype of the half-humanoid,been made for the firstunmanned Gaganyaan mis-sion,” the robot said.

Explaining about the rolein the mission, she said, “I canmonitor through module para-meters, alert you and performlife support operations. I canperform activities like switchpanel operations...”

The robot said she canalso be a companion and con-verse with the astronauts,recognise them and can alsorespond to their queries.

ISRO chairman K Sivantold reporters the halfhumanoid will simulate human

functions in space and alsointeract with the environmentcontrol life support system.

“It will be simulating exactly the human functionsthere (in space). It will checkwhether the system is right.This will be very useful to sim-ulate, as if a human is flying,”he added.

The humanoid, whichSivan said was functioningwell, has the human simulationsystem.

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As the stakes are very highfor the BJP and the

Congress to regain grounds inthe Delhi Assembly againstArvind Kajrwal-led AamAadmi Party (AAP), they toohave listed star campaigners forthe February 8 elections.

The ruling-AAP has listed39 star campaigners, includingArvind Kejriwal, Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia, RajyaSabha member Sanjay Singh,Gopal Rai, Atishi Marlena andRaghav Chadha.

The BJP has rolled out bigguns of the party to wrestDelhi from the AAP — draw-ing up a list of 40 star cam-paigners led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for the highdecibel Assembly elections.The BJP, which could win onlythree seats in the 2015

Assembly election, has lined upa battery of Union Ministers,Chief Ministers and seniorstate leaders to campaign overthe next 20 days.

The list includes star cam-paigners like Amit Shah, SmritiIrani, Nitin Gadkari, RajnathSingh, Dr Harsh Vardhan, VijayGoel and the national presi-dent Jagat Prakash Nadda.

Uttar Pradesh Chief

Minister and the party’s posterboy Yogi Adityanath will leadthe fight with former ChiefMinisters Shivraj SinghChouhan and Arjun Munda.

Most of the campaignersfor the BJP are from outsideDelhi — a gap the ruling partyis expected to exploit.

Earlier, Kejriwal had point-ed out that the BJP is yet toname a Chief Ministerial can-

didate. While that is the BJP’susual procedure except in rarecases, the Chief Minister haspoked fun at the party.

Meanwhile, the Congresshas submitted names of 40star campaigners to the electioncommission for the upcomingDelhi Assembly polls.

Congress president SoniaGandhi, former party chiefRahul Gandhi, general secre-

tary Priyanka Gandhi Vadraformer Punjab Minister NavjotSingh Sidhu and actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinhaare among the star campaign-ers.

The decision to includeSidhu and Sinha’s name in thelist of star campaigner is takenconsidering large number ofPunjabi and Purvanchali vot-

ers in the national Capital, asenior party leader said.

Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh as well asChief Ministers of Congress-ruled States Capt AmarinderSingh (Punjab), Ashok Gehlot(Rajasthan), Kamal Nath(Madhya Pradesh), BhupeshBaghel (Chhattisgarh) and VNarayanasamy (Puducherry)

also figured in the list. Former Chief Ministers

Harish Rawat and BhupinderSingh Hooda, RajasthanDeputy Chief Minister SachinPilot, general secretaryJyotiraditya Scindia, seniorleaders Kapil Sibal and GhulamNabi Azad, are also among thestar campaigners.

The other campaigners forthe AAP in the list are BhagwatMann, Pankaj Kumar Gupta,Durgesh Pathak, ND Gupta,Sushil Kumar Gupta, RajenderPal Gautam, Imran Hussain,Baljinder Kaur, Dilip Pandey,Preeti Sharma Menon, SaurabhBharadwaj, Amantullah Khan,Satyender Jain, Dr Ajay Kumar,Kailash Gehlot, Rakhi Birla,Vishal Dadlani, Prithvi Reddy,Aman Arora, Shoaib Iqbal,Abdul Rehman, Sanjay Bhagat,Rekha Rani, and SomnathBharti.

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In the wake of delaying tac-tics adopted by the death-

row convicts in the Nirbhayagangrape and murder case,Union Home Ministry onWednesday approached theSupreme Court for amendingthe 2014 guidelines regardingthe timeline for the execution,filing of review and curativepetitions and mercy petitions.

Asserting that the need ofthe hour is to lay down guide-lines in the interest of the vic-tims rather than keeping therights of the convicts in mind,the Centre wants the SC to fixa deadline of seven days for theexecution of death penalty ofcondemned prisoners afterissuance of the death warrant.

The affidavit filed by theGovernment also sought clar-ifications with regard to casesinvolving multiple convictswho time their petitions insuch a way that the executionof the death warrant could bedelayed indefinitely. TheNirbhaya case is perfect exam-ple of such delaying tactics.

The MHA’s plea sought adirection from the top court in

fixing the deadline for filing ofcurative pleas after the rejec-tion of review petitions.

It also sought a directionthat “if the convict of deathsentence wants to file mercypetition, it would be manda-tory for a convict of death sen-tence to do so only within aperiod of seven days from thedate of receipt of death warrantissued by the competent court”.

The MHA submitted thatthe top court should “mandateall the competent courts, StateGovernments, prison author-ities in the country to issuedeath warrant of a convictwithin seven days of the rejec-tion of his mercy petition andto execute death sentencewithin seven days thereafterirrespective of the stage ofreview petition/curative peti-tion/mercy petition of his co-convicts”.

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The Supreme Court onWednesday issued notice to

the Centre on pleas challeng-ing the constitutional validityof the Citizenship(Amendment) Act saying it willnot issue any order to stay theAct without hearing theGovernment’s argument. Thecourt gave the Governmentfour weeks to respond. A five-

judge Constitution Bench willhear the matter.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice SA Bobde restrained allhigh courts from hearing pleason the CAA till it decides in thematter. As many as 143 peti-tioners have approached the SCon CAA questioning its con-stitutional validity.

The Bench, also compris-ing Justices S Abdul Nazeer andSanjiv Khanna, said it will hear

the petitions related to Assamand Tripura separately as theproblem with the CAA in thesetwo States is different from restof the country.

Senior advocate KapilSibal, appearing for some peti-tioners, said the issue bereferred to a ConstitutionBench and the NPR exercise bepostponed by a couple ofmonths. He also urged theBench to put on hold the oper-ationalisation of the CAA.

Asserting that it will notpass any ex-parte order with-out hearing the Centre on stay-ing the operation of the CAAand exercise of the NationalPopulation Register (NPR), thecourt said it will pass order ongranting any interim relief to

petitioner opposing the CAAafter four weeks.

The petitions concerningTripura and Assam as well asthe matters related to UttarPradesh, which is going aheadwith the implementation ofthe CAA without framing anyrules, can be dealt with sepa-rately, the Bench said.

It said the earlier cutoffdate for citizenship in Assamwas March 24, 1971 and notedthat it has been extended tillDecember 31, 2014 under theCAA.

The SC said it will decidein-chamber the modalities ofhearing the batch of petitionson the CAA and may fix themfor day-to-day hearing afterfour weeks.

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The troika of health, educa-tion and nutrition are the

basic needs of each and everyindividual irrespective of thecaste, creed, race, gender, reli-gion and region. All thesethree are interrelated.

The United NationsGeneral Assembly proclaimedJanuary 24 as the InternationalDay of Education. The right toeducation is enshrined in arti-cle 26 of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights.The declaration calls for freeand compulsory elementaryeducation. The Convention onthe Rights of the Child, adopt-ed in 1989 goes further to stip-ulate that countries shall makehigher education accessible toall.

The international commu-nity recognised that educationis essential for the success of all17 United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goals. Thesegoals are concerned withpoverty, health, education,nutrition and other basic infra-structure. There are 104 subindicators for these 17 goals. I

would like to touch only edu-cation. Secret of success of anyindividual in day-to-day life liesin application of behaviourknowledge and skill. All thesethree can only be acquiredwith education only.

The adjusted NetEnrollment Ratio from class Ito X in India is 76 per centwhile the target is 100 per centenrollment. Under the univer-sal health coverage the target is100 per cent however Indiacould achieve 29 per centaccording to the NationalFamily Health Survey (NFHS-4). Tendulkar committee esti-mated in 2011-12 that 22 percent of Indian population livesbelow poverty line while SDGtarget is 11 per cent.

Hunger is a big problem inIndia which is causing stuntingin children. About 35 per centof children under-5 years arestunted according to theComprehensive NationalNutrition Survey report 2016-18 of the ministry of health andfamily welfare. Similarly mor-tality under-5 year per 1,000live births is 50 which shouldbe 25 as per SDG target.Unemployment rate for 2017-18 in India stands at 6 per centwhich should be 0 per cent.

Being a medical doctorand having worked in scores of

medical institutions of Indiaand abroad in last 40 years indifferent capacities from traineeto teacher and examiner toadvisor in various medicalbodies, I will confine my viewsmainly to medical education.

According to a report pub-lished in 2018, there are 374medical colleges. There are31,385 under graduate seats inGovernment and 60,105 inprivate medical colleges. Butthe ratio of doctor and patientis not matching with WHOstandard which is 1:1,000. Overpopulation is diluting this ratiothough country is training themaximum number of the doc-tors in the world.

Rupees 300-400 crore isneeded to establish a medicalcollege and approximately Rs50 crore annually to run it. Ourmedical colleges are mainlylocated in the rural areas par-ticularly most of the privatemedical colleges. The cost ofthe land is exorbitant in urbanareas hence the owners preferto establish the medical collegein rural and remote area. Butthen it becomes difficult to getthe patient in such sparselypopulated rural areas and to getthe well established experi-enced doctor, as a full time fac-ulty in that area.

The younger generation

newer teachers do not prefereven well equipped medicalcollege of rural and remoteareas because of non availabil-ity of quality education fortheir children and other basicfacilities like shopping, recre-ational and entertainment facil-ities for their children andtheir families. They rather pre-fer small and poorly equippedsetup in urban areas. The fre-quent shifting and prematurepromotion of faculty againleads to the further deteriora-tion in the medical training andteaching and this becomesvicious circle.

Recently, the medical infra-structure is becoming moreand more expensive and healthcare services are becomingmore and more technologyoriented hence colleges are illequipped. Therefore, they areunable to provide the qualitymedical education as expected.

There is mismatching ofmoney and merit in India. It isa paradox in medical educationsector in the current scenario.The government colleges arehaving well educated and expe-rienced faculty but there is lackof newer or advanced techni-cal support. However manyprivate colleges are wellequipped but they are not hav-ing properly educated trained

and experienced faculty hencein both scenarios the quality ofeducation is compromised.

According to Dr BRAmbedkar, the architect of theIndian constitution and edu-cationist, the education oughtto be brought within the reachof everyone, hence, educationshould be cheapest in all pos-sible ways and to the greatestpossible extent.

But contrary to aboveviews most of these privatemedical colleges are run bybusinessmen on business prin-ciples while the concept ofmedical education is lacking.The owners of the medicaleducation institutions areworking as the investors andthey want to make more moneyfrom these organisations. Themedical colleges have becomecentres to mint money. Fee forfull MBBS course in privatemedical college is ranging fromRs 50 lakh to more than Rs onecrore in certain colleges.

Practice of cheating, copy-ing and impersonation wasprevalent in Xth and XIIthboard examinations but now itseems that these malpracticeshas come in medical entranceexaminations as well. Here Iwould like to remind you aboutMadhya Pradesh medicalentrance examination scam of

2013 which was named asVyapam scam.

A single national levelNational Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test by Governmentof India for undergraduate(NEET-UG) was introduced in2013 to get rid of existingmenace of capitation fees andother fraudulent activitieswhich were prevalent in med-ical entrance examinationsacross the country. Here, Iwould like to share one morefraudulent incident of TamilNadu NEET impersonationscam reported in October 2019in mass media. It is alleged thatthe son of a doctor got admis-sion in Theni GovernmentMedical College in Tamil Naduby managing and engaging aproxy candidate to simultane-ously write the exam for himwith same credential fromanother centre.

A report by Reuters in2015 stated that one out ofevery six (17 per cent) of med-ical college in the country hasbeen accused of cheating,according to Indian govern-ment records and court filing.These incidents could be the tipof the iceberg. One can imag-ine the quality of medical edu-cation being imparted.

If the status of the medicaleducation is analysed serious-

ly in detail then it seems thatthere is problem in our educa-tion system. Most of the brainfunctions are developed inchildhood. Interest of the edu-cation in any children developsin primary schools. The chil-dren not only learn the skill ofthe reading and the writing butthey learn ethical values as welland they themselves developthe skill of further improve-ment in them. Old habits diehard.

We should try to improvenot only the medical educationbut emphasis should be givento the primary and secondaryeducation. If we improve pri-mary and secondary educationthen we can definitely improvemedical education along withthem.

Health, education andnutrition are the three basic pil-lars of the growth and develop-ment of any nation. Educationis one of the important pillar ofthe growth of an individual andultimately of the family, societyand the nation. Health, educa-tion and nutrition in moderntimes have become sellableproducts which are bought bythe money only. Money can beearned by the employmentespecially for those who don’thave the funds to start as anentrepreneur and therefore

employment can only beachieved by quality education.

John Dewey, an Americaneducationist said whatever roleis of food and reproduction inexistence of physical life ofhumans, similar role is that ofeducation in their social life.Horace Mann an Americaneducational reformer said whereanything is growing, a former isworth of a thousand reformers.

If we analyse overall caus-es of poor results of medical orsurgical treatment then they aremainly attributed to the lack ofquality basic medical educa-tion, training and the experi-ence of that particular doctor.The quality of the workdepends upon the quality of theworker. The aim of the gov-ernment should be not only toprovide the education but equi-table quality education.Although this is relevant for allkind of education but it ismore relevant in case of med-ical education as medical doc-tor deal with the life of humanbeings and many times deci-sions have to be made at aninstant which may change thelife of the individual.

(The author is anorthopaedic and spine sur-geon, and the founding presi-dent of State Chapter of IndianOrthopaedic Association)

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Regarding the objectionsbeing raised by members

of some fraternities to the taximposition planned by theMunicipal Corporation ofDehradun on different com-mercial activities, municipalcommissioner Vinay ShankarPandey said that anyone whohas an issue with the tax impo-sition can raise an objection.

According to him, “Thecommercial groups can raiseobjection on the imposed tax.They have complete right toput their side in front of us.The final decision will be takenafter considering all the possi-bilities.”

He also said that tax will beimposed on small trades andbusinesses but it would not berushed. The final decision willbe taken after all the consid-erations from every perspec-tive.

Till now Udyog VyaparMandal and DehradunMahanagar City Bus Seva

Mahasangh have objected tothe tax imposition by MCD.The members of Udyog VyaparMandal have opined that thetax imposition is a means totorture them whereas themembers of Mahanagar CityBus Seva Mahasangh havetermed this move by the MCD

as completely illegal.On Wednesday, president

of Udyog Vyapar Mandal,Pankaj Kumar Masson metthe mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’seeking the cancellation of taxand according to Masson, themayor has promised to discussit in the board meeting.

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Sustainable Environmentand Ecological

Development Society (SEEDS)has partnered with theGovernment of Uttarakhandand Honeywell India to intro-duce a pioneering school safe-ty programme in 100Government schools acrossDehradun and Haridwar.

Speaking at the Safety FirstCarnival organised as part ofthe programme onWednesday, chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat said,“Children are our future citi-zens and it is our prerogativeto provide them with a safelearning environment.

This disaster risk reduc-tion programme resonateswith our state government’srecent call to corporates andNGOs to take ownership ofschools, and help improve thequality of infrastructure andeducation.

We can ensure safety withthe help of awareness. It is aproved significant tool towardsthe safety of children.

It is important to make thestakeholders aware of theirrights as well as informationthat can help them become

risk prepared. We have planned to build

wooden buildings for schools inUttarakhand to save our chil-

dren from hazards and risks; itwill be economical as well.”

SEEDS co-founder ManuGupta said, “We are pleased to

partner with the governmentof Uttarakhand to bring ourprogramme to Dehradun andHaridwar. The Honeywell SafeSchools programme is built onSEEDS’ child-first approachtowards risk reduction,empowering children tobecome change agents forbuilding resilience in the com-munities.”

Honeywell India presidentAkshay Bellare said, “We aredeeply invested inUttarakhand with our strongpresence, including a world-class state-of-the-art manu-facturing facility, a 2.3-acrecampus, and more than 250employees creating world-classproducts for India and theworld. Honeywell is a globalleader in safety and securitytechnologies; this programmeis a natural extension to bringour understanding of safety tothe communities we serve.”

The program will empow-er 31,000 students, 45,000 par-ents and 700 teachers across100 Government schools inHaridwar and Dehradun dis-tricts to be risk-ready.

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The second training sessionof the police personnel

deputed to Kumbh Mela 2021duty was inaugurated by theDirector General of Police AnilRaturi on Wednesday. Alongwith the police personnel, rep-resentatives of various Akhadasand Ganga Sabha were alsopresent on the occasion.

Raturi sought the blessingsand cooperation of the religiousfraternity for the Kumbh Melato be held at Haridwar in 2021.

The DGP further expressedconfidence that any problemsfaced will be overcome toensure successful completion ofthe Kumbh Mela.

In addition to Raturi, theDG (Law and Order) AshokKumar, Kumbh Mela inspectorgeneral Sanjay Gunjyal andKumbh Mela senior superin-tendent of police JanmejayKhanduri also shared theirviews with the police person-nel on the occasion.

Further, Mahant RavindraPoori from Mahanirvani

Akhada and Ganga Sabha pres-ident Pradeep Jha also assuredthat coordination among thereligious fraternity, local peo-ple and visiting devotees willmake the Kumbh Mela 2021successful.

Later, those undergoingthe training were also taken tothe Kumbh Mela control roombuilding. They were informedabout the police control room,CCTV network and commu-nication system by Haridwardeputy superintendent of policeMukesh Thakur.

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The Udyog Vyapar Mandal has requestedDehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ to not

restrict the entry of two-wheelers in PaltanBazaar.

Considering the congestion in Paltan Bazaardue to two-wheelers, MCD had decided torestrict two-wheelers in the area.

However, the members of Udyog VyaparMandal said that the traders and merchants ofPaltan Bazaar do not agree with the idea.

According to president of Udyog VyaparMandal, Pankaj Kumar Masson, “There is notmuch congestion in the area. People do not stayfor hours in the market to shop or buy thingsso the vehicle that enters the market also leavesshortly.

But if the entry of two-wheelers is banned,it will be difficult for people, especially the oldand women with kids to walk all around themarket.”

However, the customers in the markethave different opinions. According to PallaviMishra, “It would be great if the entry of any kindof vehicle is banned here.

The place is always congested and vehiclesjust take the congestion to another level.

At times we do not get proper space evento walk which feels suffocating.

So I have no problems with walking somedistance in the market.”

“It is already very difficult to walk, drive ordo shopping in the congestion of Paltan Bazaarso I am sure most of the people would not mindwalking in open space,” added Pankaj Rana.

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The irrigation departmenthas given No Objection

Certificate (NOC) to ChheNumber Puliya for the smartvending zone.

Last year in October, thesmart vending zone was inau-gurated by Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat alongwith Dehradun mayor SunilUniyal ‘Gama’.

In the past, many objec-tions have been raised on thecommencement of the smartvending zone without the per-mission of the irrigationdepartment which owns theland upon which the zone wasestablished.

Now after almost threemonths the irrigation depart-ment has issued NOC to

Municipal Corporation ofDehradun with terms and con-ditions that include the prohi-bition of using vending zone forany other business activitiesand permanent constructionon marked areas in the vend-ing zone.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the vendors pay Rs2000 to MCD as monthly taxand were funded underNational Urban LivelihoodMission (NULM) for their trol-leys.

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The indecision on part of theauthorities in installation of

CT scan machine is adverselyaffecting the patients and tar-nishing the image of theGovernment Doon MedicalCollege (GDMC) hospital here.

The important radio diag-nostic machine of the biggestGovernment hospital of theState is non-functional fromFebruary 2019. Howeverrepeated pleas of the hospitaladministration to replace theold error prone machine witha new one have failed to yieldany result.

It is learnt that some seniorofficials of the health depart-ment are unduly interested tohand over the facility of CTscan to a private player underPublic Private Partnership

(PPP) mode. However the process is

said to be stuck creating prob-lems for the patients and thehospital administration.

Considering the patientload in the hospital and the factthat the GDMC is planning tostart PG courses, at least twoCT scan machines are required.

In its recent visit, the teamof Medical Council of India(MCI) had expressed shockover the absence of the radiodiagnostic facility in the hos-pital. Interestingly the GDMChas started a diploma course inradio diagnosis in absence of abasic machine like CT scan.

When contacted, thePrincipal of the GDMC, DrAshutosh Sayana said that thestate administration has totake the decision on handingover the centre in PPP mode orpurchase a new machine. “All

we have requested that theGDMC hospital needs the CTscan service restored,’’ he said.

The CT scan machine wasinstalled in the hospital in theyear 2004 and as per the normsthis machine has become obso-lete and needs immediatereplacement.

The hospital administra-tion has requested the stateadministration to replace themachine with modernCoronary CT Angiographymachine. However instead ofproviding a new machine, thestate administration deliberat-ed on the option of handingover the centre to a privateplayer on PPP mode which hasresulted in delay.

More than 50 CT scanswere done by the lone machinedaily when it was operationaland in absence of this facility

the patients are forced to visitexpensive private hospitals anddiagnostic centres to get the CT

done. In absence of CT scanfacility in the hospital, thedoctors in some cases were

advising MRI scans for thepatients resulting in extra loadon the MRI machine.

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Experts raise questions onthe inclination of some

officers of state administra-tion on handing over healthcentres and facilities like CTscan on PPP mode.

They point out that hand-ing over the CT scan facilityat a centre situated inDehradun where the avail-ability of trained man poweris not an issue like in themountainous areas of thestate, raises concern over thevery intent of the plan.

However, the delay inthe process of decision mak-ing- whether to go for PPPmode or purchase a newmachine- at the highest levelis creating problems for thepatients arriving at the radiodiagnostic department of the

medical college hospital forCT scan.

One expert said, “Whatmore can reflect the dismalstate of health services in theHimalayan state than the factthat an important machinelike CT scan is non-func-tional from last one year inthe biggest hospital of thestate situated in provisionalstate capital? Immediate cor-rective measures are requiredin health system.’’

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The name of former ChiefMinister and general sec-

retary of All India CongressCommittee (AICC), HarishRawat figures in the list of thestar campaigners released bythe Congress party for theupcoming Delhi Assembly elections. A list of 40 star cam-paigners was released by the

general secretary of the AICC,K C Venugopal on Wednesday.Rawat incidentally is the lonepolitician from Uttarakhandwho was selected as star cam-paigner by the party.

Senior leader Raj Babbarwho is the Rajya Sabha MPfrom the state is also in the list.Other star campaigners in thelist are Congress PresidentSonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi,former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, PriyankaGandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad, PC Chako, Punjab CM CaptainAmarinder Singh, RajasthanCM Ashok Gehlot,Chhattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel, Madhya Pradesh CMKamal Nath and ShashiTharoor.

The voting for Delhiassembly would be held onFebruary 8. According to arough estimate there 25 lakhvoters of Uttarakhand origin inDelhi.

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The grid connected rooftopsolar phase II scheme and

integrated rooftop portal wasinaugurated here by chiefminister Trivendra SinghRawat on Wednesday.Expressing happiness atDehradun also being markedalong with Gandhinagar as agreen city, Rawat said that thiswill be helpful to enhanceenvironmental awareness anddeveloping Uttarakhand as atourism state.

The CM said that theState is focusing on solarpower for electricity genera-tion in government build-ings. Stating that this hasbeen started in the govern-ment buildings in Dehradunand Haridwar, he exhorted cit-izens to also use their rooftopsfor power generation. Under

the scheme, one can establishupto 10 KV plant which

would cause Rs five lakh withthe cost dropping to Rs 3.60

lakh after subsidy. Selling theelectricity thus generated

through the grid will developanother source of income.

The CM further said that cur-rently 268 MW electricity is

being generated through solarpower in the state while allot-ment has also been made for200 MW solar power genera-tion. In addition to this, MoUhas also been signed for 200MW floating solar power gen-eration. Rawat said that underthe scheme, for establishingsolar power plants in thedomestic consumer category40 per cent grant is beinggranted for establishing solarplants with one KV to threeKV capacity while 20 per centgrant is being provided forplants with four KV to 10 KVcapacity. If domestic con-sumers produce more elec-tricity than their consump-tion, the additional electrici-ty will be purchased by thedepartment. Non-domesticconsumers too can bringabout a drop in their electric-ity bill amounts through net

metering after establishingsolar plants with upto 80 percent capacity of their approvedpower load.

Energy secretary RadhikaJha informed that efforts areunderway to take the stateahead in the sphere of greenenergy. The grounding of pro-jects amounting to Rs 800crore investments has beendone so far. Further, 15 ven-dors have been empanelled toprovide technical assistance tothe general public.

UPCL managing directorBCK Mishra and energy addi-tional secretary AS Tiwarialso spoke on the occasion.The BJP State presidentBanshidhar Bhagat, MLAsGanesh Joshi, Sahdev Pundir,Rajkumar Thukral andDehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal‘Gama’ were also present onthe occasion.

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The district ad hoc wireless sur-veillance communication system

using drone technology project inRudraprayag district has been award-ed gold as part of the National Awardsfor e-Governance 2019-20.

This was stated in a letter sent byGovernment of India under secretaryVibhuti Panjiyar to the Rudraprayagdistrict magistrate Mangesh Ghildiyal.

According to the letter, the districtad hoc wireless surveillance commu-nication system using drone technol-ogy project has been awarded goldunder category III-excellence in dis-trict level initiative in e-governance.

The award is slated to be presentedto the district at the 23rd national con-ference on e-governance scheduled tobe held in Mumbai on February 7-8.

Talking to The Pioneer, theRudraprayag district magistrate saidthat the system is being used for var-ious purposes in the district.

He said, “It is being implementedto monitor construction works usinga drone as in the case of the Kedarnathreconstruction project. The systemusing drone technology also enablesobservance of live feed from thedrone in Dehradun and Delhi.Further, it is also useful in monitor-ing various construction works andaffected areas during disaster scenar-ios where rescue and relief works areto be carried out. In addition to this,we also have networking in schools soin case we lack a teacher in a school,a teacher in another school can teachthe students in that school using thesystem,” said Ghildiyal.

It is pertinent to mention here thatthe Prime Minister Narendra Modihimself has taken a keen interest in theKedarnath reconstruction project.Since the reconstruction work wasstarted he has held meetings with topstate officials to review the workprogress while monitoring the siteusing live feed from the drone.

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In view of the declining number ofstudents in the government

schools, the education departmenthas undertaken a drive to identifyout of the school children in thestate and admit them in the gov-ernment schools. The departmentalarmed by loss of interest of par-ents in admitting their children inthe government schools and deci-sion of state government to closeschools with less students has direct-ed the teachers to initiate enrollmentcampaign in right earnest. In thecampaign, the teachers would visithouseholds in their areas andrequest the parents to send theirwards to the government schools.

The department had asked theeducation officers to ensure that allthe children between age group 6 to14 are enrolled the schools. Duringthe campaign, the teachers wouldinform the parents about benefitslike Mid Day Meal (MDM), freetextbooks, free uniforms and betterquality of teachers. Apart fromthem, the co-curricular activities,sports, scholarship programmes,computer education and child

health programmes would also betold by the teachers to the parents.

The enrollment campaign start-ed on January 1 would continue tillApril 31. The director academicresearch and training, Seema

Jaunsari told The Pioneer that in thefirst phase the teachers would pre-pare a list of all such children whoare out of the school.

This phase would end onFebruary 15. In the second phase

enrollment of the listed childrenwould be done.

Teachers of the schools havingless than ten students are taking spe-cial interest in the enrollment cam-paign as they know that furtherdecrease in number of studentswould lead to closure of theirschool and their transfer.It is perti-nent to mention here that educationdepartment was forced to close 800schools in last 19 years due to lowenrollment of students. It is learntthat there are 2800 schools in thestate which have less than ten stu-dents. The department organisesenrollment campaigns every yearbut these campaigns have failed indelivering desirable results.

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The association of officersand employees of

Uttarakhand organised aprotest near the Parade Groundhere on Wednesday.

The employees are of theview that the governmentshould accept their eight pointdemands without any furtherdelay. On the day large numberof employees assembled at thesite and held a vehementprotest.

The district convener of theassociation, Pancham SinghBisht said that the governmentshould restore the benefit of thecashless health facility to theemployees.

He said that the employeeswant that the health facilityequal to CGHS applicable forcentral government employeesshould be provided to them. Headded that the employees wantthat minimum three promo-tions should be given to thenduring the entire length oftheir service.

The other demands of theemployees are restoration of the

old pension scheme (OPS) andimmediate removal on themoratorium imposed on the

promotions. The speakers on the occa-

sion threatened that the agita-

tion would be further intensi-fied if their demands are notaccepted by the Government.

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On meeting with the localsand members of

Pachwadoon Sanyukt Samiti,Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal‘Gama’ reportedly said thatMCD will get No ObjectionCertificate (NOC) for its solidwaste management and recy-cling plant at Sheeshambadarenewed in three days.

According toSheeshambada resident PremSingh Negi, “The mayor saidthat MCD will get NOC inthree days and that the plant isnot going to be shifted.”

On Wednesday, locals ofSheeshambada met the mayorand municipal commissionerregarding the solid waste man-agement and recycling plant.President of PachwadoonSanyukt Samiti, Chaitanya AnilGaud said, “The municipalcommissioner told us that thetreatment plant for leachate willbe operational soon and all

necessary steps will be taken byMCD. However, we don’tbelieve this as we have been lis-tening to false assurances forquite some time. That is whywe decided to meet the mayortoo."

Negi said, “The municipalcommissioner is denying anyproblems at the waste man-agement plant but we live thereand we know how terrible it is.Since the plant opened, peoplehave been falling sick moreoften. The municipal commis-sioner is rejecting our claims asfalse but to start with, skinallergies are visible in most res-idents while the machinery

generates noise day and night.Anyone who doubts our claimsis welcome to examine theplace and locals too,” he added.

Advocate fromSheeshambada, RajkumarSehgal said, “According to theSupreme Court guidelines,solid waste management andrecycling plant cannot be con-structed and operated so closeto a residential area or near ariver. Besides, MCD is workingwithout No ObjectionCertificate (NOC) for morethan five months. Are all thesethings not illegal?"

Locals claimed that theydid not let the solid plant oper-ate since Tuesday evening andthat it is still locked up.However, municipal commis-sioner stated that the plant isoperating now. Meanwhile,deputy municipal commis-sioner Rohitash Sharma saidthat most probably MCD willget NOC for the plant in threedays.

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There are a total of 12,339 pri-mary and 2796 upper prima-

ry schools in Uttarakhand. The number of students in

these schools has witnessed asharp decrease in last few years.

To find solution of the problemthe state government decided toeither close the schools with lessstudent enrollment or merge theseschools. However the Right toEducation (RTE) act has served asa saving grace for the department.

The act mandates that a

school should be in a radius ofone km of the students whichmeans that the schools located inan area where there is no schoolwithin the stipulated area underthe RTE act would not get closeddown despite low studentstrength.

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Even as he questioned SADpresident Sukhbir Badal’s

logic in interpreting his criti-cism of party’s stand onCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) as being ‘anti-Sikh’,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh onWednesday sent him a copy of‘Mein Kampf ’. Chief Ministeradvised him to read AdolfHitler’s autobiography tounderstand the dangerousimplications of unconstitu-tional legislation passed by theCentral Government, of whichthe Akalis are a part.

Given the current attemptsby the Centre to replicateHitler’s agenda is India, it wasimportant for the SAD leadersto read the former GermanChancellor’s autobiographybefore coming out with irra-tional reactions on the CAA,

said the Chief Minister.The recent statements of

various Akali leaders, includingSukhbir, clearly exposed theirignorance on this sensitiveissue, with grave repercussionsfor the nation, said CaptAmarinder, urging Sukhbir toread the book and decide“whether it’s country first orpolitical expediency”.

“Supporting the bill in bothhouses of Parliament and in theVidhan Sabha and opposing iton other platforms is unbe-coming of a political leader,” theChief Minister said in a lettersent to Sukhbir along the book.

In the letter, CaptAmarinder recalled that, dur-ing the last Vidhan Sabha ses-sion, he had promised to sendthe Akali Dal copies of Hitler’s‘Mein Kampf ’, which in Englishtranslates to 'My Struggles’.

“These were his (Hitler’s)beliefs which he sold to the

German people in his rise topower, which later became hisgovernment’s policy, when hisNazi party assumed office,”wrote the Chief Minister,adding that “Apart fromdestroying Germany in WorldWar II, to fulfil his territorialambition, from the time heassumed office in 1933 to theend of the war in 1945, hispurification of the Germanrace by his ethnic cleansing, ledinitially to the removal of hismain opposition, the commu-nist parties, followed by perse-cution of the intellectuals, andfinally to the extermination ofthe Jews”.

“Read the book, as onealways learns from history.The world has changed and ourtelevision and other media arepowerful, and certainly differ-ent to that of Germany in the30s under Joseph Goebbels.Nevertheless, the talk of camps

and a national register to elim-inate the Muslim and Jewishcommunities is ominous,” CaptAmarinder further wrote,adding that while some of thepolitical parties, including theCongress, were protestingeveryday along with universi-ties across the country, “it istime now that others, too, jointhis movement.”

Meanwhile, taking theSAD president head-on overhis remarks, the Chief Ministeralso asked him to explain howhis (Captain Amarinder’s)demand for the Akalis to quitNDA over CAA amounted to“subservience” to the Gandhifamily.

“Or are you trying to saythat the lakhs of people out onthe streets to protest againstCAA are doing so simply outof subservience to the Gandhifamily,” he asked Sukhbir.

Retorting to Sukhbir’s ‘sav-

ing his chair’ jab, the ChiefMinister said that his chair wasquite secure. “But apparently,you are worried about yourwife Harsimrat’s chair in theUnion Cabinet and do notwant her to lose that at anycost,” quipped Capt Amarinder,adding that this could be thereason for SAD refusing towalk out of NDA despite claim-ing to take a stand againstCAA.

Dubbing Sukhbir’s remarksas a blatant case of double stan-dards, the Chief Minister point-ed out that the SAD chief wasdeliberately twisting his(Captain Amarinder’s) state-ments in a bid to fool people onthe government’s stand onCAA.

“Or is he so ignorant thathe does not understand the dif-ference between seeking aninclusive legislation, whichallows citizenship for all com-

munities, including Muslimsand Sikhs, and a law thatexcludes certain sections suchas the Muslims and Jews etc?”asked the Chief Minister.

He said that Sukhbir needto clarify his and SAD’s standon CAA, considering theiroutrageously contradictorystatements on the issue over thepast several days.

“First they support CAAwholeheartedly in theParliament, then some of them(Akali leaders) say they wantMuslims in CAA (why they didnot say so in Parliament isbeyond comprehension), thenone of their leaders says theywon’t fight Delhi polls becausethey are not ready to reviewtheir stand on CAA. Butnobody knows what their standon CAA really is,” quipped theChief Minister, asking Sukhbirto give clarity, once and for all,on the controversial issue.

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Even as crime against womenis rising in Haryana, prop-

er infrastructure is not in placeat the institutions set up espe-cially for women and childrenfor their safety, security andwelfare.

The stark reality came tolight as Haryana StateCommission for Women chair-person Pratibha Suman con-ducted inspections of variousWorking Women Centres(WWCs), One Stop Centres(OSCs), Mahila Ashram, SafeHouses, Women Police Stations(WPSs) and other centres setup for Women in Rohtak.

Data of National CrimeRecords Bureau (NCRB) andHaryana State Commission forWomen (HSCW) suggests thatcrime against women hasincreased in Haryana this yearin comparison to previous twoyears, triggering concern.Referring to NCRB reports, theopposition leaders haveaccused the State governmentof insensitive attitude towardswomen’s security and said thatHaryana has stood at third rankin crime against women acrossthe country.

Talking to The Pioneer,Commission chairperson said,“Along with members of dis-trict level service authority andthe Commission, we conduct-ed inspections at One StopCentre, Mahila Ashram,Women Police Station andother centres set up for womenin Rohtak. Several shortcom-ings were found at these cen-tres. The inspection report willbe submitted to Chief Ministerfor further action.”

Pratibha Suman said thatin course of inspection at thecentres, it was observed thatwomen of the region wereunaware about institutions setup for them. Due to this, veryfew complaints were registeredat these institutions. Moreover,

these institutions were beingoperated without adequate staffand had inadequate basic infra-structure.

Suman said that at the SafeHouse, Rohtak, proper arrange-ment for women living therewas not in place and there waspoor sanitation at the premis-es. In one room, four womenwere accommodated. Theywere facing inconvenience.Washroom was not properlymaintained, she said, addingthat at Women Police Station,Rohtak, some women staffwere seen sitting in the sun andgossiping. When asked aboutthis, they replied that theyjoined here few days ago aftercompleting their training butwork has not been assigned tothem by the authorities con-cerned.

The Commission chair-person further said that duringinspection it was found thatone-stop centre for women‘Sakhi’ is facing shortage ofstaff, basic infrastructure, caus-ing problems to victims of sex-ual assault, dowry and domes-tic violence even though suchcentre is getting around Rs 1.50crore each year.

At One Stop Centre,Rohtak, shortcomings werefound like shortage of staff, vis-itor’s register was not main-tained; office’s register waspoorly maintained; one secu-rity guard was deputed here but

he was on duty sans uniform;only 27 complaints were regis-tered in one year; staff was notadequately deployed and alsonot trained properly and othernecessary infrastructures weremissing, the Chairperson of theWomen's Commission said.

The Commission informedthat one Stop Centre, alsoknown as ‘Sakhi’ is a project ofthe Union government underthe Nirbhaya Fund for provid-ing police, medical and legalhelp to women victims. Asper government order, thiscentre resolves any issue relat-ed to distress and violenceagainst women. It also providesintegrated services and facilitiesat a single point, saving the vic-tims from unnecessary harass-ment and delay caused by has-sles involved", she said, addingthis centre specifically dealswith issues involving crimeagainst women and minors,including rape, molestation,domestic violence, child mar-riage, child abuse, sexualassault, kidnapping and dowrycomplaints. Despite allocationof fund of around Rs 1.50crore, such institutions arewithout basic infrastructure.

Suman said such inspectiondrive will continue for ten days.She said a drive has now beenlaunched to know and reviewthe actual status of the executionof centre and State Governmentsponsored schemes being oper-

ated for the safety, security andwelfare of the women and chil-dren. For this, team membersled by Commission memberwould conduct surprise inspec-tions across the State. Afterinspection, reports will be sentto the State Government for fur-ther action.

The Commission receivedseven complaints of gang rapefrom various parts of the Stateover the last six months. Asmany as 99 rape cases werereported at Commission fromApril 15 to December 15 lastyear. The Commission hadreceived around 150 com-plaints of sexual harassment ofWomen at work place fromvarious parts of the State overthe last six months.

The NCRB data shows thatyear by year, crimes againstwomen in Haryana are increas-ing. The recently released fig-ures of the year 2018 by NCRBreveal that in the year 2018,crimes against womenincreased by 26 percent ascompared to the year 2017. In2018, there were 14,326 crimesagainst women which is anaverage of 39 crimes againstwomen were committed eachday. According to the NCRBdata, 1099 rape cases werereported in the year 2017 whichincreased by more than 17percent in 2018. This furtherincreased to 1296 in the year2018.

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To control air pollution, Punjab’sEnvironment and Climate Change

Department, under Tandrust PunjabMission, has decided to ensure replace-ment of more than 15 years old three-wheelers with electric or CNG autos.

Informing this, Tandrust PunjabMission Director Kahan Singh Pannusaid that it has been observed that alarge number of three wheelers, whichare more than 15 years, are operatingin the state of Punjab. “But as per Rule68 C of the Punjab Motor VehicleRules-1989, three wheelers auto rick-shaws cannot operate beyond 15 years,”he said.

He said that Punjab PollutionControl Board (PPCB) has alreadybanned the registration of new dieselor petrol three wheelers in the districtsof Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana,Fatehgarh Sahib, and Mohali sinceJanuary 2019.

“In fact, the case for banning suchvehicles in the districts of Patiala andBathinda is also under PPCB’s consid-eration and CNG supply stations haverecently been setup in these two dis-tricts to meet the upcoming demand,”he said.

Pannu said that all the three wheel-ers, which are more than 15 years old,are not just illegally operating in theState but are a major pollution hazardin addition to being accident prone. “Inmajor cities of Punjab, CNG supply sta-tions have been setup and in addition,electric three wheelers have alsobecome available,” he added.

He said that Deputy

Commissioners of all major cities havebeen asked to undertake measures toweed out the old three wheelers and toprovide opportunity of having gas orelectric based three wheelers to theowners of old three wheelers.

Pannu said that to facilitate thetransition, under Tandrust PunjabMission, it has been proposed that acommittee consisting of officers fromDistrict Police traffic wing, PPCB,Transport Department and Lead Bankofficer of the District may be consti-tuted by Deputy Commissioner underthe chairmanship of a senior officer ofthe District Administration.

“The residual value of old threewheelers is dismally low as these haveoutlived their life. However, major gasor electric three wheelers companieshave agreed to offer a price rangingfrom Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 for oldthree wheelers, which shall be scrappedby them in the shredding or furnaceunits, so that these are permanently putoff the roads,” he said.

Pannu added that it has been sug-gested that the owners or drivers of oldthree wheelers who are desirous of get-ting new gas or electric three wheelers,should be facilitated to obtain loans atconcession rates from commercialbanks under the Mudra Scheme or anyother scheme of Government or Banks.Even camps of such applicants can beorganized.

He said that action, as providedunder the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988,shall continue to be taken against thevehicles running in violations of theAct.

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In a bid to ensure better coordinationon law & order front, the top cops of

Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh willmeet once in every three months.

The Director General of Police(DGPs) of neighboring states of Punjaband Haryana and their joint capitalChandigarh will meet to discuss issuesrelated to interstate gangsters, to tack-le drug menace, safety of womenamong others.

Apart from this, SPs of two statesand the union territory will meet oncein a month for better coordination onlaw and order front especially in theinterstate gangs related crimes while thefield police officers will meet more fre-quently for coordination and cooper-ation in crime case investigations.

These decisions were taken at themeeting of Apex Committee for coor-dination of tricity held under PunjabGovernor and ChandigarhAdministrator VP Singh Badnore onWednesday here. Punjab ChiefSecretary Karan Avtar Singh, HaryanaChief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora,Manoj Parida, Advisor to UTAdministrator and other senior officersof Civil and Police Administration fromPunjab, Haryana and Chandigarh werepresent at the meeting.

During the meeting which lastedfor more than one and a half hours, theChandigarh Administration recom-mended establishing a special unitinvolving senior police officers fromtwo State Governments and UTAdministration to deal with crime byinterstate gangsters.

Apart from this, the

Administration suggested extension ofe-beatbook system in the tricity(Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali)and integration of emergency responsesupport system.

“It has been decided that DGPs willmeet once in three months to ensurebetter coordination between threeauthorities. The need to establish spe-cial investigation units, integration ofemergency response support systemand other requirements for betterpolicing system will be discussed atDGPs’ meetings,” said a senior officerof UT Administration after the meet-ing.

The coordination committee dis-cussed about various law and orderissues like the participation of both theneighbouring states in tackling thecrimes committed by the interstategangsters, snatchings and thefts in thetricity. It was also suggested that thereshould be special hotline for seamlesstransfer of border area calls in the tri-city, the officer said

The Administration has also rec-ommended that the security audit ofpublic places for women safety shouldbe done on various safety parameterslike lighting, openness, visibility, secu-rity, public transport and setting up ofpowerline for women and child safetyand adopt the best practices on samelines from other states including UttarPradesh.

At the meeting, ChandigarhAdministration apprized the neigh-boring State Governments that noaction was taken from their side to pre-vent the entry of agitators from jointborder even after prior information wasgiven to them and stressed on better

coordination and cooperation.Some of such incidents mentioned

by the Administration included entryof Kissan Majdoor SangharshCommittee Pidi Group enteringChandigarh from Punjab border andreaching Prime Minister’s rally place atSector 34 here in May last year and agi-tators from BKU Kadiyan Group,Joint Action Committee of Punjab andUT Employees and Punjab Govt pen-sioners, Gazetted and non-gazettedSC/BC employee federation , BKULakhowal Group entering the cityfrom Punjab border on various occa-sion for protests last year.

Apart from law and order issue,discussion was held on construction ofouter ring road, inner ring road andtraffic management issue. Not keen onimplementation of metro project, thethree authorities maintained their ear-lier stand on project, considering thenon-viability and high cost.

Following a discussion on this, itwas decided that the committee underthe Advisor to the Administrator willlook into various agendas discussedand resolve the health and transportissues of the tricity. The Administratordirected that this Committee shouldmeet more frequently.

At the meeting, the Administrationhas recommended that the speed lim-its of the major roads connectingChandigarh, Panchkula and Mohalishould be same. The UTAdministration also insisted on actionagainst plying of auto rickshaws with-out permit especially diesel run autos,mandatory QR code for auto rickshaws,taxis and public transport for the safe-ty of passengers especially women.

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Murmuring of dissentamongst the Haryana

Independent MLAs, on whosesupport the BJP-JJPGovernment survives, hasbegun.

All the seven IndependentMLAs who had given uncon-ditional support to the coalitionGovernment, held a meetingunder the chairmanship of inde-pendent MLA from Rania andHaryana Power Minister RanjitSingh Chautala in Chandigarhlate on Tuesday evening appar-ently to discuss the case againstagainst Meham's independentMLA Balraj Kundu and hisbrother.

However, talking toreporters in Chandigarh onWednesday, Chautala down-played the meeting and said itwas held on general issues. He,however, refused to discloseanything regarding Kundu’scase.

Sources said that in themeeting, while the independentMLAs supported Kundu,Chautala and Nayanpal Rawat,an independent legislator andchairman of HaryanaWarehousing Corporation sug-gested that the issue should bediscussed with Chief MinisterManohar Lal before taking anydecision.

Winning from the Mehamconstituency, Kundu is anotherBJP rebel. He had sought a BJPticket but when it fieldedShamsher Kharkara, he chose tofight as an Independent andwon. The meeting of indepen-dent legislators is considered tobe important after Kundu hadgiven a warning two days ago tothe coalition government towithdraw support. Sourcessaid that a strong objectionwas expressed to the case reg-istered against Kundu and hisbrother by independent legisla-tors. Independent legislatorshave indicated that they wouldpressurise the government onthe matter.

Kundu and his brother havebeen booked for allegedly cheat-ing their business partnerNarender Dhankar and notpaying back Rs 10.50 crorethey owed to him. Kundu hadearlier said, “The police hadbooked me in a false case dueto political pressure and formerMLA Manish Grover is exhort-ing pressure on administrationto implicate me in a false case.”

Two days ago, Kundu had

threatened to withdraw supportto the BJP- JJP government inHaryana if chief ministerKhattar fails to order a probeinto allegations of corruptionagainst former cooperativesminister Manish Grover with-in a month. Grover is countedamong the BJP leaders close toKhattar.

Kundu said he haddemanded inquiry againstGrover for allegedly allottingdevelopment projects in Rohtakto his relatives and favouritecontractors by ignoring rulesand regulations. He also allegedthat Grover was also responsi-ble for large scale irregularitiesin sugar mills across the stateduring his tenure as coopera-tives minister.

The Haryana Police hascharged Kundu and his broth-er Shivraj Kundu for allegedlycheating a Rohtak resident. Acase was registered on January17 against Balraj and his broth-er Shivraj under relevant IndianPenal Code sections pertainingto cheating, conspiracy andcriminal breach of trust on acomplaint lodged by oneNarender Dhankhar.

Dhankar had alleged thatthe brothers, who run a con-struction company, were notpaying money to him whichthey owed to him during busi-ness transactions.

Kundu had alleged that hewas being framed in the casedue to political vendetta at thebehest of a BJP leader from thestate, who is a former minister."I have been raising my voiceagainst corruption. Such falsecases will not suppress myvoice," he told reporters inRohtak.

Independent MLAs sup-porting the government includeKundu from Meham, RanjitSingh Chautala from Rania,Nayanpal Rawat from Prithla,Sombir Sangwan from Dadri,Randhir Golan from Pundri,Rakesh Daulatabad fromBadshahpur and DharampalGondar from Neelokheri.

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Haryana Government’sAntyodaya Saral Project

has been selected for the 'GoldAward' in the category of‘Excellence in providingCitizen-centric Delivery’ whichemploys e-Governance tomake delivery of citizen-centricservices to the people time-bound and hassle-free.

The award will be con-ferred at the 23rd NationalAwards ceremony for e-Governance to be organized bythe Department ofAdministrative Reforms andPublic Grievances,Government of India(DAR&PG) in Mumbai onFebruary 7 and 8.

Congratulating the offi-cers, Chief Minister, ManoharLal Khattar, said, “It is a mat-ter of great pride for Haryanathat the e-governance initia-tives of the state governmenthave been recognized andrewarded at the national level.”

Buoyed by the award, thestate government would nowre-engineer the processes to put

in place a cashless, paperlessand faceless mechanism fordelivery of citizen-centric ser-vices to realize the PrimeMinister, Narendra Modi’svision of Digital India, he said.

Officials said AntyodayaSaral Project helped in curbingcorruption, improving effi-ciency and ensuring hassle-freedelivery of services, but has alsogiven Haryana a new identityin the field of InformationTechnology (IT).

Rakesh Gupta, ProjectDirector, Chief Minister’s GoodGovernance Associates, saidthe huge IT potential ofHaryana has helped the state inemerging as a premier cyberhub in the country. The statehas now set the target of mak-ing 2.5 crore citizens ofHaryana as e-citizens.

Gupta said there has beena huge collaborative effortbetween 38 departments, dis-trict administration of all dis-tricts and NIC Haryana, witha strong supporting role playedby Chief Minister’s office andthe IT Department.

The key objectives of

Antyodaya Saral include bring-ing all schemes and services onone integrated online platform,establishing state-of-the-art cit-izen service delivery centers atthe district, sub-division andtehsil level, ensuring availabil-ity of all schemes and servicesat Atal Seva Kendra (CSC), andmaking sure that schemes andservices are delivered to thepeople of the state in a trans-parent and time-bound man-ner.

Gupta said every year,about 1 crore applications arereceived online in Haryana.More than 70 lakh are receivedthrough the Antyodaya Saralplatform. More than 1 lakhqueries and grievances regard-ing schemes and services areresolved every month throughthe Antyodaya Saral Helpline(1800-2000-023).

More than 15 lakh SMS aresent to citizens every month toinform the status of applica-tions. On an average, depart-ments have got a rating of 4.3out of 5 for citizen satisfactionthrough the feedback callsmade to citizens every month.

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Kirat Karo', 'Naam Japo','Vand Chhako' is the theme

of the official tableau of Punjabfor the Republic Day parade inNew Delhi on January 26.

''The tableau of the stategovernment at the RepublicDay-2020 is dedicated to theideology of the first Sikh GuruSri Guru Nanak Dev Ji to markthe year long celebrations of550th Prakash Purb of thefounder of Sikhism'', an officialspokesperson said here onMonday.

This showcases the basicphilosophy of the first SikhGuru in terms of the eternalmessage of 'Kirat Karo' (earnlivelihood by honest means),'Naam Japo' (constant chantingof Name of God), 'VandChhako' (share the fruits oflabour), to create an egalitariansociety, the spokesman said.

The spokesperson said theentire tableau gives a serene auraof all pervasive teachings ofGuru Nanak Dev Ji.

The tractor portion startswith a larger than life handdepicting the concept of

‘Oneness of God’. The trailerportion comprises three prin-ciples namely ‘Kirat Karo’,‘Naam Japo’, ‘Vand Chhako’which form the cornerstone ofthe Sikhism.

The trailer begins with themessage of ‘Kirat Karo’ whichpertains to earn an honest,pure and dedicated living byexercising one's God-givenskills, abilities, talents and hardlabour for the benefit andimprovement of the individual,their family and society at large.Next comes in the middle por-tion of the trailer ‘Naam Japo’.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) onWednesday demanded that

the Punjab Government shouldimmediately withdraw the caseslodged against thousands offarmers across the State in con-nection with the burning paddystraw. “The Government needsto understand in the first placethe nitty-gritty of the malaiseleaving the harried farmers toresorting to burn paddystraw…They were forced totake this anti-environmentalstep due to anti-farmer stance ofthe State and the CentralGovernments,” said AAP MLAs— party’s state Kisan wing pres-ident Kultar Singh Sandhwanand party spokespersonGurmeet Singh Meet Hayer.

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Amid heightened threat to itstroops and Amarnath Yatra

pilgrims later this year, the CRPF— the lead agency for internalsecurity and conduct of Yatra —is facing a critical shortage ofarmoured troop carriers to trans-port the paramilitary personnelin Jammu & Kashmir.

Officials said, the para-military is facing a shortage ofup to 40 per cent of the sanc-tioned strength, a figure beingwithheld in order to avoid anyrisk to the troopers from theterrorists in the Valley.

The preparation for theAmarnath Yatra begins inMarch and a meeting was held

in the Home Ministry for pro-curement of the armouredtroop carriers, sources said.

The shortage of thearmoured troop carriers hasaccrued over the years as theparamilitary has not been ableto procure bullet proof vehiclesfrom Original EquipmentManufacturers during the lastone decade, leading to analarming shortfall in such vehi-cles, they said.

The security forces espe-cially the CRPF is facingenhanced threat from the ter-ror groups post-abrogation ofArticle 370 and reorganisa-tion of the erstwhile State ofJammu & Kashmir into twoUnion Territories — J&K and

Ladakh, officials said, addingapprovals for procurement ofthe specialised vehicles are yetto see the light of the day

despite the Pulwama incidentlast year in which 40 CRPF per-sonnel were killed while trav-elling in a convoy consisting of

non-armoured buses. “The sanctioned numbers

of bullet-proof bunker vehiclesare badly needed as addition-

al deployment of 25 battalionsof the CRPF was made in theValley in anticipation of aggra-vated law and order situationfollowing nullification ofArticle 370 that granted specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir,”an official said.

The Amarnath Yatra that isheld between July and Augustis estimated to be tough fromthe security perspective as itwill be the first such Yatra to beconducted after change in thespecial status of J&K.

The terror groups are alsoseeking to find traction amongthe youth as the jehadi ranksare facing crisis due to the wip-ing out of the terror leadershipin the Valley owing to counter-

terror action by the securityforces in the last two years.

Last year, the AmarnathYatra was called off midwayahead of the decision to scrapArticle 370 on August 5 as awell calculated move to avoidany risk to the pilgrims.

In 2017, Amarnath pil-grims were targeted by theterrorists in July 2017 in whicheight religious tourists werekilled and over 30 othersinjured.

Likewise, in June 2016, thebanned terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyeba ambushed a convoyof CRPF vehicles in Pamporeand killed eight uniformedmen of the paramilitary andinjuring over 20 others.

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Days after Chief of DefenceStaff (CDS) General Bipin

Rawat said girls and boysbetween the age group of 10and 12 years were being radi-calised in Jammu & Kashmir,Defence Minister Rajnath Singhon Wednesday said the childrenfrom there are “nationalists” butsometimes get motivated inthe wrong direction and thoseguiding are the “culprits.”

Rawat had also said themisguided youth have to beweaned away by lodging themin deradicalisation camps.

Dispelling the notion ofradicalisation, the DefenceMinister said those youngsters“should not be seen in anyother way.”

Making this observationwhen asked about his opinionon the children from Jammu &Kashmir being motivated tojoin the National Cadet Corps(NCC), he said, “Youngsters areyoungsters only. Sometimes,the way they should be moti-vated, people do not motivatethem. In fact, they are moti-vated in the wrong direction.”

“That is why the kidsshould not be blamed for this.The ones who are wronglymotivating them should be

blamed. The ones who aremotivating them in wrongdirection are the culprits,” theDefence Minister added. Hemade these remarks afterattending the Republic Dayannual camp of the NCC.

In his address during theRaisina Dialogue here lastweek, Rawat had said childrenas young as 10 to 12 years arebeing radicalised in Kashmirand there is need to isolatethose completely radicalisedand put them in deradicalisa-tion camps.

He said radicalisation canbe countered by looking at

where it is happening and whoare behind it. The CDS alsosaid radicalisation is happeningin schools, universities, religiousplaces and sites and then thereare people spreading this. “Firstwe need to get to the nerve ofwho is radicalising people. Youcan start isolating these peoplegradually and then start acounter radicalisation pro-gramme by identifying peoplewho have been radicalised, towhat degree...” he had said.

Meanwhile, addressing theNCC cadets, the DefenceMinister said Indian valuesconsider all religions equal,

and that is why the country issecular and never became atheocratic state like Pakistan.

“We (India) said we wouldnot discriminate among reli-gions. Why did we do that?Our neighbouring country hasdeclared that their state has areligion. They have declaredthemselves a theocratic state.We didn’t declare so.”

“Even America is a theo-cratic country. India is not atheocratic country. Why?Because our saints and seersdid not just consider the peo-ple living within our borders aspart of the family, but called

everyone living in the world asone family,” the Minister said.

Singh underlined thatIndia had never declared itsreligion would be Hindu, Sikhor Buddhist and people of allreligions could live here.”They(saints and seers) gave the slo-gan of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’— the whole world is one fam-ily. This message has gone tothe whole world from hereonly,” he added.

He later presented RakshaMantri Padak and commen-dation cards to NCC cadets andobserved band and culturalperformances of NCC cadets.Praising the parade and various performances of cadets,the Defence Minister said it hasbeen able to boost the sense of national pride amongIndian youth.

He also said the NCC playsan unparalleled role in trans-forming the youth into futureleaders. “Today, NCC cadetscan be found in almost everyfield, including Armed Forces,politics and sports. Even PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, whois taking our country to newerheights, was an NCC cadet,”Singh said. He also recalled hisdays as a cadet of the largestuniformed youth organisationin the world.

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The Union Cabinet onWednesday allotted Rs

4,371 crore to upgrade NationalInstitutes of Technology (NITs)across the country.

Addressing media, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid this will help the NITS toestablish permanent campusesand infrastructures. BlamingUPA Government, he said theNITS were established in 2009were given very low fundingaround Rs 250 crore and thishad hampered the growth ofthe institutes.

“Now with the decisionfor granting Rs 4, 371 crore allNITs can be upgraded with bet-ter facilities by 2022, he said.

The Cabinet meetingchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi approved fur-

ther extension of six months tothe Other Backward Classessub-categorisation commis-sion, headed by retired DelhiHigh Court Chief Justice GRohini. Cabinet also decided todesignate Daman as the head-quarters of the merged UnionTerritories of Daman & Diu,and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

The Cabinet also approveda model pact with foreigncountries for recognition ofseafarers’ competency certifi-cates. This will pave the way formutual recognition of mar-itime education and training ofseafarers by the countriesinvolved.

“The Cabinet has approveda model MoU with foreigncountries for unilateral/bilateralrecognition of Certificates ofCompetency of seafarers,” aGovernment official said.

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Road, Transport andHighways Minister Nitin

Gadkari has convened a two-day marathon review meetingon Thursday and Friday of allthe ongoing projects, worth Rs3 lakh crore, of his Ministry asalso that of the central roadmaking agency NHAI.

Ministry sources saidprogress of about 500 projectsespecially struck/delayed projectswill be taken up during the meet-ing to be held at Manesar nearnational Capital. Various stake-holders numbering about 600Concessionaries/Contractors/Bankers and concerned officials ofUnion Governments and itsDepartments/Organisations,State NH Division, State PWDDepartments will be attendingthe review meeting on January 23-24.

“This meeting is an impor-tant platform for ironing outissues and exploring the wayforward for pending projectsand helping in expediting theimplementation,” said aMoRTH official. Minister ofState for Road Transport andHighways General (Retd) VKSingh will also attend themarathon meeting.

Officials said the first dayof the meeting projects ofSouth Zone (Tamil Nadu,Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,Telengana, Pondicherry,Karnataka) and Central Zone(Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat)will be reviewed while projects

of Haryana, Odisha, UttarPradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand andWest Bengal will be taken upon Friday.

The projects in the States ofPunjab, Jammu & Kashmir,Ladakh, Uttarakhand,Maharashtra and Goa will betaken up afterwards. It may bestated that issues related to pro-jects of North-Eastern States,and NHIDCL have alreadybeen reviewed in a separatemeeting early this year.

This is the second time

within a week when Gadkariwill be chairing a meeting ofentire Transport Ministry andstakeholders with the firstbeing the National Road SafetyCouncil meeting last weekwhen it was deliberated toimprove road and highwaysinfrastructure.

In the meeting, expressingconcern for fatalities on roads,Gadkari had advocated topenalise the officers for faulty engineering of roadinfrastructure.

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Charging the Congress with“Muslim appeasement”

and “insulting Hindus”, theBJP on Wednesday quotedMaharashtra Minister AshokChavan’s comments on instal-lation of a non-BJP coalitionGovernment in the State to saythe party should be termed“Muslim League Congress”.

Citing Chavan’s reportedremarks that the Congressjoined hands with the ShivSena in Maharashtra asMuslims also wanted the partyto stop the BJP from coming topower, BJP spokespersonSambit Patra accused Congressof betraying interests of Hindusand appeasing Muslims.

“The Congress leader saysthey joined the Government forMuslims. What is the sin ofHindus, Sikhs and others. TheCongress has insulted Hindusand this comment has exposedit,” the BJP leader claimed.

At his press conferencePatra referred to comments ofmany opposition leaders,including those from AIMIM,to allege that they were “abus-ing” Hindus in the name ofanti-CAA protests and soughtapology from Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi and NCP’sSharad Pawar.

Patra also drew attention tothe reported comments ofAIMIM leader AkbaruddinOwaisi, whose brotherAsaduddin Owaisi heads theparty that Muslims ruled overthe country for eight centuriesto refer to him as Jinnah,Pakistan’s founder

For his part, UnionMinister Giriraj Singh reactedsaying, “Wo Mughal lutere thay.Aap Bharat ko darane ka kaamna karein. Jinnah ke raaste parna chalein, Bharatvanshi abjaag chuke hain.”

Asked about Congressleader Mallikarjun Kharge’sreported jibe at the RSS for its“non-participation” in the free-dom movement, Patra shotback, asking if parents of SoniaGandhi, who is of Italian ori-gin, had fought in India’s inde-pendence struggle.

The Indian NationalCongress, he said referring tothe opposition party’s fullname, should be called“Muslim League Congress”.The Congress does “Muslimappeasement” for the commu-nity’s votes but has never doneany good for it, he claimed.

Pointing to a report in anUrdu daily, Patra said Congressleader Rahul Gandhi had oncedescribed his party as a “partyof Muslims” and its leaderscoined terms like saffron terror.Since 1946, Patra claimed theCongress has done “Muslimvote bank politics”.

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With an aim to combat cli-mate change, India has

banned import of toxic chem-ical hydrochlorofluorocarbon(HCFC)-141b used in the pro-duction of rigid polyurethane(PU) foams by foam manufac-turers from January 1, 2020.

Since HCFC-141b, green-house gases that damage theearth’s ozone layer, was not pro-duced in the country, all thedomestic requirements werebeing met through imports.

However, the UnionEnvironment Ministry issued anotification last year inDecember seeking ban onimport of the foam manufac-turing companies. With this,India has completely phasedout the important ozone-depleting chemical, said anofficial from the Ministry.

HCFC comprises inertcompounds of carbon, hydro-gen, and fluorine, and it is usedinstead of chlorofluorocarbon(CFC) as it is less destructive tothe ozone layer. At present,

HCFCs are used in various sec-tors like refrigeration and airconditioning (RAC) and foammanufacturing. These sectorsare directly related to urbandevelopment, agriculturethrough cold chain, and indus-trial development.

Simultaneously, the use ofHCFC-141 b by foam manu-facturing industry has alsobeen closed as on 1st January2020 under the OzoneDepleting Substances(Regulation and Control)Amendment Rules, 2014, said

a senior official from the UnionEnvironment Ministry.

Nearly 50 per cent of theconsumption of ozone-deplet-ing chemicals in the countrywas attributable to HCFC-141b in the foam sector.

The Ministry had adopteda structured approach to engag-ing with foam manufacturingenterprises for providing tech-nical and financial assistance inorder to transition to non-ODS and low GWP technolo-gies under the HCFC Phase-out Management Plan

(HPMP), said the official. Around 175 foam manu-

facturing enterprises have beencovered under HPMP out ofwhich, 163 enterprises are cov-ered under stage II of HPMP.The complete phase-out ofHCFC 141 b from the countryin the foam sector is among thefirst at this scale in Article 5parties (developing countries)under the Montreal Protocol.

The implementation ofHPMP through regulatory andpolicy actions, implementationof technology conversion pro-

jects has removed around 7800Metric Tonnes of HCFC 141-bfrom the baseline level of 2009and 2010 of the country, he said.

The phase-out of HCFC-141b from the country hastwin environmental benefitsviz. assisting the healing of thestratospheric ozone layer, andtowards the climate change mitigation due to tran-sitioning of foam manufactur-ing enterprises at this scaleunder HPMP to low globalwarming potential alternativetechnologies.

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The Congress on Wednesdaysaid the “Suit-Boot” BJP

Government’s focus is only onthe Industry of “Loot & Scoot”and under is rule “Commonman is in pain but Con-man isin gain”. The party questionedwhether the BJP-led dispensa-tion is involved in FrostInternational Bank Scam of Rs3,592.48 crore and in the escapeof its directors.

The Congress alleged thetotal bank fraud during theBJP’’s tenure amounted to overRs 2.7 lakh crore.

The party stated politicalaccountability must be fixed onPrime Minister and FinanceMinister for Rs 2,70,513.49crore public money lootedfrom banks and Rs 5,00,000crore written off of willfuldefaulters.

Congress spokespersonJaiveer Shergill slammed theGovernment for not takingtimely action against the direc-tors of Frost Internationalwhich is alleged to havedefrauded banks to the tune ofRs 3,592 crore. He alleged thatit was the Government thatprevented the lodging of com-plaint in the scam.

“When the consortium oflending banks had authorisedregistration of complaint onJune 15, 2019, why did it takemore than seven months toregister a complaint? Was someone in the BJPGovernment preventing the

registration of complaint?”Shergill questioned at a Pressconference.

“When the PSBs havingGovernment nominees onboard were aware that thecompany is unable to returnthe money, why did it takethem a year to request theMHA to issue a lookoutnotice?” he said.

The grand old party also

queried as to why the lookoutnotice was delayed.

“Despite issuance of LOCon January 18, 2019, why andon whose directions in theBJP Government did the inves-tigating agencies not register acase till January 19, 2020, for anentire year against the sus-pected offenders who remainuntraceable till date?” Shergill said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday took

stock of progress made in ninedelayed projects, worth Rs24,000 crore and spread acrossas many States at the firstmeeting of ‘Pragati’ this year.

These projects are in Odisha, Telangana,Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

These include three fromRailways, five from the RoadTransport and Highways andone from the Petroleum andNatural Gas ministry, thePrime Minister’s Office said ina statement.

Modi also reviewed theperformance related to insur-

ance schemes — ‘PradhanMantri Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana’ (PMJJBY) and ‘PradhanMantri Suraksha Bima Yojana’(PMSBY).

The progress under theCrime and Criminal TrackingNetwork and Systems(CCTNS) project, which is acomprehensive and integratedsystem for effective policingthrough e-governance, alsocame up for review.

In the last 31 ‘Pragati’ inter-actions, Modi has reviewed atotal of 269 projects with a total investment of Rs 12.30lakh crore.

He has also reviewed theresolution of grievance redres-sal related to 47 Governmentprogrammes and schemesacross 17 diverse sectors.

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Union Minister PrakashJavadekar on Wednesday

hit out at parties questioningthe National PopulationRegister (NPR) saying it waswelcomed in the past when thethen Congress-ledGovernment introduced it butis being dubbed as “bad” whenthe NDA regime is repeating it.

He also said the provisionof “naturalisation” to grantIndian citizenship to foreignnationals in the principalCitizenship Act of 1955 stillremains and Pakistani singerAdnan Sami became an Indiancitizen due to that.

“That provision (of natu-ralisation) still remains. TheCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) takes note of persecut-ed minorities in three coun-tries (Pakistan, Bangladeshand Afghanistan) who came toIndia seeking justice ... Theamendment is about giving cit-izenship and not taking it,”Javadekar said at a briefing ofthe decisions taken by theUnion Cabinet.

Kerala and West Bengalare some of the States whohave opposed the NPR exer-cise. The Supreme Court onWednesday refused to stay theamended citizenship law with-out hearing the Centre.

Responding to a questionon the issue, Javadekar said,“Those who are opposed to theCitizenship Amendment Actmade have their own views,

but the Supreme Court decid-ed not to give it (CAA) anystay,” he said.

Responding to questionson the NPR, he said giving dateof birth or place of birth of par-ents is optional in the exercise.“If you don’t have it or don’tremember, don’t give it ... Manyquestions are optional,” he said.

Referring to the origin ofthe NPR, he pointed out that itwas introduced by theCongress-led UPA Governmentin 2010. “Then you all wel-comed it. They bring it, it isgood. When we bring, it is bad.This cannot be the case. This isnot fair,” he said.

The Minister said theNational Register of Citizens islimited to Assam and it wasbrought by then PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi.

“They brought it (NRC) soit is good. We did not bring, sowe are bad,” he quipped.

To a question, the seniorBJP leader said at one point oftime, thousands of Tamilrefugees from Sri Lanka weregiven Indian citizenship.

Responding to a questionon “proposed” police action inDelhi’s Shaheen Bagh, he saidno action is on in the area.

“No action is being takenin Shaheen Bagh, there is acomplaint... Police went toJamia (university) there was acomplaint, they did not go(enter) the JNU (campus),there is a complaint. This is notdone (Aisa toh nahin chaltahai),” he said.

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Aday after Amit Shahattacked her for spreading

disinformation about theCitizenship Amendment Billinviting her to an open nation-al debate on the issue, BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee on Wednesday lashedout at the Union HomeMinister for talking big but hes-itating to come out with thetruth about the CAA.

Banerjee who led an anti-CAA rally in Darjeeling withmore than a thousand peoplereferred to Shah’s speech saying“yesterday I heard the HomeMinister making tall speechessaying that I am telling lie aboutCAA and National PopulationRegister… Now if we are lyinglet him tell the truth to the peo-ple. Let him tell whether

CAA is a selective Act whichdiscriminates among people.Let him tell about the condi-tions mentioned in the NPR.Let him mention whether thosewho will be granted citizenshipwill have to live as foreignersfor the first five years ornot.”

“And if such be the condi-tions then he will have to saywhether the people will losejobs because aliens cannotwork in India… whether thechildren will lose their schoolcertificates and whether the cit-izens will lose their rights toproperty they now own.”

Wondering whether mostof the people in the crowd hadthe date of births of their par-ents, Banerjee asked, “Do youhave date of births of your par-ents? Is this how a responsible

Government works. They donot even the same thing at thesame time. In the somethingthey say something and in theevening they other something.They say date of birth is notmandatory. If it is not manda-tory, why is it there in thecolumns?” she added.

Referring how thousandsof Nepali speaking people hadbeen banished from theNational Citizenship Register,Banerjee said, “People arescared that if CAA and NRCare implemented they will beuprooted. I want to tell the hillpeople not allow NRC andCAA.”

Referring to the risinginflation and decreasing jobsBanerjee said, “see what theyhave made of the Indian econ-omy. They promised acchheedin (good days) but where the

jobs. Why so many people areunemployed today. Why thefarmers are not getting theirdue and respect. WhyGovernment factories like ord-nance factory (in Kolkata) arebeing shut down… They areselling the country… and tohide these all they are raisingthe issues of CAA.”

Claiming that in order toturn the attention of the peo-ple from grim economic sce-nario and failed promises shesaid, “they are setting people ofone religion against the other.They are dividing the people torule but implementing CAA,NRC and NPR,” adding thosewho are protesting are beingtermed anti-Indians.

“The students are beingbeaten up if they raise theirvoices, the Opposition isharassed by the Agencies (read

CBI, ED etc) when they areraising the contentious issues.They are calling themPakistanis. I want to ask why doyou always bringing inPakistan. Do you have extralove for that country to invokeits name always?” Banerjeeasked.

She said the BJP leadersalways were foul-mouthing herfor protesting against theirpolices. “I want to tell the BJPthat foul-mouthing me all thetime will not work. Tell uswhether you will withdrawCAA or not. If CAA is not amischievous Act then why didyou leave out Assam andTripura, the States ruled byBJP? Why are these BJP-ruledstates out of the purview ofCAA?” There would be noCAA, NRC or NPR in Bengalshe insisted.

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The Kerala Congress which hasbeen without a proper com-

mittee will be announcing the listof office bearers by this week end.While State Congress chief andformer Union Minister of Statefor Home, MullappallyRamachandran was adamant fora “One man, One post” rule to beimplemented in the list of officebearers, the powerful “A” and “I”group managers of the partyscuttled the move.

The “A” group led by formerChief Minister Oomen Chandywas somehow accommodativeto the suggestion of the KPCCpresident, but the “I”group led bythe Opposition leader RameshChennithala did not budge for the“One man,One post” theory andhence the party will once again behaving a jumbo list of officebeares.

In addition to the KPCC

president, there will be five work-ing presidents in KodikkunnilSuresh, PC Vishnunath, KSudhakaran, KV Thomas and VDSatheeshan. There will be six vicepresidents and thirty general sec-retaries in the list followed bysixty secretaries. The number ofstate executive members of theparty is yet to be decided.

With the advent of SoniaGandhi back as the AICC pres-ident, senior leaders of the partyhad a major say and it was aftermuch confabulations and interparty discussions, the list is to befinalized. However it is learnt thatKPCC president MullappallyRamachandran was adamant thatparty leaders with criminalantecedents will not be accom-modated as office bearer whichwas met with stiff resistance from the group managers.

Interestingly in the agitationagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act(CAA),

Mullappallly has taken a stiffposition that there will not be anyjoint agitation with the CPM.This was after the oppositionleader Ramesh Chennithala hadtaken the initiative for a joint agi-tation with the CPM and otherleft forces and Oomen Chandysupporting this. Mullappally hadstayed out of the meeting.

Incidentally the AICC high-command - read Sonia Gandhi -had stood by the position takenby the KPCC president and in thepress conference held at Keralahouse, New Delhi both Chandyand Chennithala had to bitehumble pie and subscribe to theposition taken by the KPCCpresident. In the list of party officebearers also, the KPCC presidenthad done his maximum to reducethe number of contenders andsources in the Congress party toldThe Pioneer that the list wouldhave been double the present fig-ure had not Mullappally taken astrong stand.

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Anew troika has emerged in the KeralaCongress scheme of things with two

powerful leaders of the party, AK Antony,CWC Member and close confidant of SoniaGandhi and KC Venugopal, AICC generalsecretary (Organisation) and close associateof Rahul Gandhi putting in their weightbehind the beleaguered KPCC presidentMullappally Ramachandran who was beingpushed around by the “A” group and “I”group.

Sources in the Congress told The Pioneer,that it was the strength of these two leadersthat Mullappally had took on both Chandyand Chennithala on the CAA issue and raisedthe red flag for the joint agitation with theCPM.

To solve the vexed issue of announcingthe list of office bearers, both these leadershad thrown their weights behind the KPCCpresident and at the same time carefully see-ing it to that the group managers are notoffended.

The support of these two powerful lead-ers who have a major say in the organisationalaffairs of the Congress party has given a freshimpetus to Mullappally who is fast emerg-ing as a major power centre in the state

Congress.With the state going to polls in 2021 and

the Congress led UDF all set to replace theLDF Government led by the CPM, there arepossibilities of Mullappaly being consideredas the Chief Minister candidate as there isbound to be fight between RameshChennithala and Oomen Chandy for the CMpost.

There is already a suttle whispering cam-paign in the corridors of State Congress thatan Ezhava leader has not don the mantle ofChief minister of the Congress since RShankar who was Chief minister from 1962-64.

With the Congress led UDF winningnineteen of the twenty loksabha seats in thelast general elections, the graph ofMullappally Ramachandran has gone highand the seven term loksabha member whohas won the parliamentary elections from theCPM bastion of Vatakara is keeping his fin-gers crossed. “These are early days to com-ment on the Chief ministership and my pri-mary responsibility is to work among thegrass root and to strengthen the partymachinery. 2020 we have to face the localbody elections and in 2021 the assembly elec-tions and these two are my present priori-ties”, Mullappally told The Pioneer.

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Janata Dal (United) leader Vashishtha Narayan Singhon Wednesday took strong exception to party col-

league Pavan Varma questioning ‘in publi’ the tie-upwith BJP for the Delhi Assembly polls by extending thealliance beyond Bihar, calling it ‘absolutely’ an act ofindiscipline.

Singh, a Rajya Sabha member and the head of theJD(U)s state unit, asserted that the decision to align withthe BJP was taken after “due deliberation”.

He further said although the party respected free-dom of thought of every member, it was ‘anuchit’ (inap-propriate) on part of the career diplomat-turned-politi-cian to make public his letter to the Chief Minister andnational president Nitish Kumar.

“I consider his (Varmas) conduct as inappropri-ate and will put forth my views forcefully whenever aparty meeting takes place”, Singh told a news channel.He also said “if there were any reservations, these oughtto have been expressed in a party forum. People mayhave their individual opinions and the party respectsthat. But airing these in public is something I do notapprove of ”.

He also said Varma had ‘absolutely’ committed anact of indiscipline by sharing on the social media histwo-page letter to Kumar in which the chief ministerwas reminded of the unease he had been allegedlyexpressing ‘in private’ over the BJPs ideology and agenda.

Bengaluru: A 36-year-oldman, who is suspected to haveplanted the explosive at theMangaluru Intentional Airport,surrendered before the policehere on Wednesday, officialssaid.

The suspect has been iden-tified as Adithya Rao, a nativeof Manipal, police said, addingthat he resembled the one cap-tured on CCTV footage atMangaluru airport

The man turned up at theDG and IGP office here in themorning, where he wasdetained and taken for medicaltests and preliminary inquirydone, they said. The suspectconfessed to having planted thebomb at the airport, police said.

He is reported to have gotinformation on making theexplosive via internet, sourcessaid.

“One suspect namedAdithya presented before policebetween 8-9 am, claiming thathe was responsible forMangaluru incident—he will

be handed over to Mangalurupolice team for further inves-tigation..,” Bengaluru (Central)DCP Chetan Singh Rathoretold reporters earlier in the day.

A team of police officials,led by an AssistantCommissioner of Police (ACP)from Mangaluru arrived in thecity later to question the sus-pect and carry out necessarylegal procedures.

Police sources said, Rao, anengineering graduate and anMBA holder, who was taken toUlsoor Gate police station inBengaluru for questioning, wassubsequently handed over toMangaluru police, which isinvestigating the case.

He was presented beforethe Additional ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate(ACMM) court here and tran-sit warrant secured, officialssaid, adding that he will be pro-duced before a court inMangaluru on Thursday toobtain his custody. PTI

Patna: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor fireda fresh salvo at the BJP onWednesday, daring UnionHome Minister Amit Shah to“go ahead and try implement-ing” the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and theNational Register for Citizenswhich the latter had “auda-ciously announced to thenation”.

Kishor, who is the nation-al vice president of the JD(U),is helping Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwals Aam AadmiParty for the upcomingAssembly polls even though hisown party headed by BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumarhas tied up with the BJP to takeon the less than a decade oldparty.

“Being dismissive of citi-zens dissent couldnt be the signof strength of any Govt. @amit-shah Ji, if you dont care forthose protesting against

#CAA_NRC, why dont you goahead and try implementingthe CAA & NRC in thechronology that you so auda-ciously announced to thenation!”, Kishor wrote on histwitter handle.

The 42-year-old, whosefirst claim to fame was his han-dling of Narendra Modis spec-tacularly successful electioncampaign in 2014, made theremarks in the backdrop ofShahs assertion at a pro-CAArally in Lucknow that “CAA ishere to stay and it will not betaken back”, countrywideprotests by opposition partiesand others notwithstanding.

The Bihar BJP was, expect-edly, rankled by the latest out-bursts of Kishor, who joined theJD(U) about two years ago, gotelevated to the top party postwithin weeks, and has been tak-ing a public stand on the burn-ing issue that has embarrassedthe NDA. “There is no move

on #NRC by the Govt but#CAA is now a legislationmade by Parliament. Respectthe Constitution. Dont worry.The Supreme Court has agreedto listen to the voice of dissent.Just to satisfy the professionalego and political frustrationwhy creating hue and cry”,state BJP spokesman NikhilAnand said replying to Kishorstweet.

“You have all the right todisagree but selective propa-ganda on religious lines to suitthe Congi (sic) style politics ofMuslim appeasement must notbe encouraged. The Gazettenotification to start the processof #NPR and implement #CAAis published. Won’t be takenback at any cost, Anand added.

The JD(U) did not react toKishor’s comment.

Party leaders are refrainingfrom saying anything on thepoll strategist-politician’s asser-tions in recent times. PTI

Meerut: Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Wednesdaysaid religious minorities inPakistan, Afghanistan andBangladesh are living a “life ofmisery” and India has fulfilledits “moral duty” towards themby enacting the CAA.

Addressing a rally in sup-port of the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) inShatabdi Nagar here, he alsoquestioned those opposing theNational Register of Citizens(NRC) and said the govern-ment has not discussed it.

Dismissing allegations thatthe Centre is pursuing a “divi-sive agenda” through the CAA,Singh said the BJP doesn’t dopolitics on religious lines forselfish gains.

“In Pakistan, Afghanistanand Bangladesh, religiousminorities are living a life ofmisery. India has fulfilled itsmoral duty (by enacting theCAA),” he said.

“The entire world is accept-ing India’s power. We don’t dopolitics on the lines of religionfor selfish reasons,” he said.

The citizenship law is beingviewed from a Hindu-Muslimperspective, but Prime MinisterNarendra Modi speaks of jus-tice, he added.

Singh said the NDA hadprepared the citizenship legis-lation in its first tenure, but itcould not be enacted.

On the NRC, Singh said,“The government has had nodiscussion on the NRC. Andsuppose it has, then what is theproblem with having a registerof citizens.”

“Shouldn’t there be a reg-ister of citizens? Shouldn’t therebe a document for people toseek benefits of governmentschemes,” he asked the crowdat the rally.

Singh said the BJP wants todo politics by winning people’shearts and asserted that the

party is working to fulfil all itspromises.

“Whenever a political partycontests elections, it makesvarious kinds of promises. I wasgiven the responsibility to pre-pare the BJP’s manifesto for the2019 (Lok Sabha) elections.Within seven months of beingelected, the BJP has been rapid-ly fulfilling its promises,” hesaid.”I want to assure the peo-ple of India that our party willdeliver on whatever it promis-es. We do not want to cheat thepeople,” he said.”By the end of2022, every house will have apucca roof. Tap water willreach every household by theend of 2024. PM Modi put Rs6,000 each in the bank accountsof farmers,” he added.

The minister said the theBJP had also taken steps forfarmers’ welfare.”Farmer broth-ers need not worry, we will payyou every single penny foryour hardwork,” he said. PTI

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People protesting against theCitizenship (Amendment)

Act were allegedly lathichargedby police in a Muslim-domi-nated area in Uttar Pradesh’sEtawah district even as demon-strations continued against thelegislation in Lucknow andAligarh.

A video of the Etawahincident, where policemen canbe seen using batons and chas-ing away protesters in the areaon late Tuesday night, has alsogone viral on social media.

Violence broke out whenpolice tried to disperse theprotesters who were observinga sit-in since Tuesday morningin Pachraha area, defying pro-hibitory orders imposed there.

“Police used force againstus while we were holding apeaceful protest. Our brothersand cousins were beaten up andwe were abused. We were phys-ically tortured. We have a right

to protest,” one of the womenprotesters said.

Responding to the allega-tions, police said the protestershad staged a dharna defyingprohibitory order imposed inthe area and pelted them withstones. Police said they had touse mild force to chase the pro-testers away.

In the video, policemen canbe seen entering houses andshops.

The sit-in was organised insolidarity with the womenprotesting at Shaheen Bagh inDelhi against the new legisla-tion.

“Police are citing pro-hibitory orders to end ourprotest. What about the largepublic meetings being held byministers,” another protestersaid. In Lucknow, protesters atthe Clock Tower (Ghantaghar)in old city area of Lucknowheld a symbolic ‘havan’ withHindu women joining them.

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The Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission

(KVIC) has stepped up effortsto prevent misuse of its brandand symbol both within thecountry and on foreign soil.KVIC is proprietor of over 100trademarks including the sym-bol of ‘Charkha’ in India andother countries like Russia,China, Germany, Australia,UK and Bhutan.

These trademark and sym-bols have been misused timeand again by private players. Inan initiative to prevent suchmisuse, KVIC has taken up thematter with the Ministry ofExternal Affairs, Ministry ofCommerce and PermanentMission of India at UN, Genevaseeking InternationalTrademark protection of sym-bol of ‘Charkha’ under thearticle 6ter of the ParisConvention.

Article 6ter of the ParisConvention for the protectionof Industrial property of 1883(1967 Stockholm Act) safe-guards armorial bearings, flagsand other State emblems as wellas official signs and hallmarksof the States party to the ParisConvention. The signs pub-lished with World IntellectualProperty Organisation (WIPO)under this act are preventedfrom being registered or usedas trademarks, across theworld, without authorisation.

Speaking about the initia-tive, Chairman KVIC VKSaxena said, “KVIC is one ofthose unique institutions inIndia that links the nation’spast, present and future on its

functional plane, through -self-reliance and sustainability.Ever since the pre-independentera, Khadi has been consideredas the national symbol forSwadeshi. The word marksKHADI, KUTIR, “SARVO-DAYA and the logo of KhadiIndia and Charkha are theharbinger of this spirit ofSwadeshi, hence, must be pro-tected at all cost.”

Saxena said that due to thenegligence of earlierGovernments, some privateentities managed to registerthese symbols to fulfill theirpersonal material motives. Thisinitiative to prevent wrongfuluse of the trademarks will helpreinstate the dignity and prideattached with Khadi and the

symbols representing it, hesaid.”

Saxena has written toCommerce Minister ShriPiyush Goyal seeking his inter-vention so as to expedite thematter pending with theDepartment of Promotion ofIndustry and InternalTrade(DPIIT) which comesunder the Ministry ofCommerce.

KVIC is fighting cases inseveral countries for violationof the Khadi Mark Regulations.The regulations issued in 2013by the Ministry of MSME,empowered KVIC to grant‘Khadi Mark’ registration andtake royalties from any pro-ducer using the Khadi Mark. Incontinuation, KVIC has issuednotices against 600 entities inIndia, including a renownedgarment chain and 3 entities inthe International market formisusing these symbols andindulging in unfair trade prac-tices in the recent past.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi has been endorsingKhadi and due to his appealsthe sale of Khadi has gone upmanifolds,” Saxena said.

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The CBI has taken over the probeinto an attempt to kill a veteran

journalist in 1997 and three otherfresh cases allegedly involving jailedgangster Chhota Rajan.

Noted crime reporter inMumbai Baljeet Shersingh Parmarwas severely injured when motor-cycle borne shooters of Rajanallegedly attacked him outside abuilding at Antop Hill on June 12,1997.

The agency has taken over theMumbai police FIR in the case filedunder IPC Section 307 (attempt tomurder).

The agency has registered twomore cases of extortion by allegedgang members of Rajan and onecase related to issuing threats to life,according to the FIRs.

The agency has booked Rajanand his henchmen Guru Satamand Suresh for allegedly demandingRs 20 lakh as extortion moneyfrom businessman Devang BipinParikh in 1995.

The other case pertains toalleged demand of � 25 lakh in 1998

from a man named Ghisulal Jain byHemant, who is believed to be amember of Rajan gang, officialssaid.

The Mumbai police had filedcharge sheets in both the cases butRajan remained absconding, theysaid.

The last case is related to threatsissued to the life of builder ShabbirN Patel and his son in1996..

In November last year, the CBIhad taken over 10 cases, includingthose of extortion and murder, inwhich Rajan was an accused. Thesecases were registered in a 14-yearperiod since 1992.

These cases include killing oftrade union leader Datta Samant in1997 in Mumbai in which Rajan’srole is suspected.

Rajan was arrested at Bali air-port in Indonesia on October 25,2015, and deported to India.

He is an accused in around 70cases in Maharashtra, including theJ Dey murder case in 2011. Afterthis, the Maharashtra governmenthad handed over all the cases relat-ing to Rajan to CBI.

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Davos: President DonaldTrump has said that the US iswatching the developmentsbetween India and Pakistanover Kashmir “very closely”and repeated his offer to “help”resolve the dispute between thetwo neighbours during hismeeting with Prime MinisterImran Khan here.

Addressing the media withPrime Minister Khan prior totheir private meeting on thesidelines of the WorldEconomic Forum here onTuesday, President Trump asserted that trade andborders were both criticalpoints for discussion, whileKhan said that for him,Afghanistan was the top pri-ority.

Trump told Khan, whomhe referred to as ‘my friend’,that he would speak to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi about

the ongoing Kashmir issue.The US president is expected tovisit India in the coming weeks,marking his first visit aftertaking up his post in the WhiteHouse.

“What’s going on betweenPakistan and India… if wecan help, we certainly will bewilling to. We have been watching it very closelyand it’s an honour to be here

with myfriend,” Trump said.

“ T h ePakistan—Indiaconflict is a verybig issue for us inPakistan and weexpect the US toalways play itspart in deesca-lating the ten-sions, because noother country

can,” Khan said.President Trump has

repeatedly offered to mediatefollowing India’s August 5 deci-sion to revoke the special sta-tus to Jammu & Kashmir andbifurcate the Sate into twoUnion Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan which has beentrying to internationalise theissue. PTI

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As President Donald Trumpyet again offered to “help”

India and Pakistan to resolvethe Kashmir issue, New Delhion Wednesday categoricallyasserted that there is no role forany third party on the issue.

Government sources alsosaid India’s long-held positionhas been that Kashmir is abilateral issue between Indiaand Pakistan.

Responding to Trump’soffer, they said there is no ques-tion of any mediation or inter-vention by any third party.

This assertion came after theUS President, while addressingthe media with Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan in Davoson Tuesday, said the US waswatching the developmentsrelating to Kashmir “very close-ly” and repeated his offer to“help” resolve the dispute.

It was Trump’s fourth offerin last five months to help boththe countries resolve theKashmir issue after India with-drew the special status ofJammu and Kashmir and bifur-cated the state into two unionterritories.

“What’s going on betweenPakistan and India… if wecan help, we certainly will bewilling to. We have been watch-ing it very closely,” Trump said.Official sources said India’sclear and consistent positionhas been that there is no role toplay for any third party onKashmir. The US President isexpected to visit India in thesecond half of February.

It is learnt that India hadcommunicated to Washingtonafter Trump’s offer to mediateon Kashmir last year that it isa bilateral matter withPakistan.

Palghar: A 14-year-old boyallegedly committed suicide ata Government-run residentialschool for tribal children inMaharashtra’s Palghar district,the police said on Wednesday.

Sunil Khandvi, resident ofBeriste village, was the studentof a government-run Ashramschool at Hirve Pimpalpada inMokhada tehsil, a police offi-cial said.

His body was found hang-ing from the window grill ofthe school toilet on Sunday.

The school superintendenttold the police that Khandvihad written in the school reg-ister on January 19 that he wasgoing home and would remainabsent for a few days.

However, the next day hewas found to have hangedhimself with a bed sheet in theschool toilet, the police officersaid.The reason for committingsuicide was yet to be ascer-tained, he said, adding that fur-ther probe was on. PTI

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To realise their childhooddream of donning ‘khaki’

uniform and serve the motherNation, large number of ‘enthu-siastic’ young girls from remoteareas of Jammu region arequeuing up outside Policeheadquarters for last couple ofdays, braving adverse weatherconditions, to participate in thespecial recruitment drive aimedat raising two women battal-ions.

So far aspirants from hillydistricts of Doda,Ramban,Kishtwar and twinborder districts of Rajouri,Poonch have attended the firstleg of the special recruitment

drive, currently underway atGulshan ground.

Since early morning, aspi-rants start converging alongwith their parents and familyfriends to attend the rally.Since they are travelling fromfar off places they prefer reach-ing venue at the earliest toavoid any last minute hiccups.The atmosphere inside theGulshan ground was electrify-ing when group of media per-sons reached the venue of thespecial drive.

In the first leg, the candi-dates were undergoing physicalendurance/standard test. Afterclearing the first hurdle, jubi-lant candidates were allowed tointeract with media persons for

a short span of time. The can-didates, greeted them withpatriotic chants and loudcheers. “We are feeling proud,we are participating in therecruitment drive despite fac-ing many hardships”. Severalcandidates, names not beingdisclosed, claimed they want-ed to serve the mother Nationby joining the police force. “Iam very optimistic, after clear-ing the first round without fac-ing any major hurdle i am setto participate in the secondround”, a NCC cadet fromBhallessa in Doda district said.

Another candidate fromRamban claimed, “i want tohelp my family. “We have seenmany ups and downs during

our childhood days, now iwant to help my parents as theyhad struggled alot while raisingmy siblings and ensuring bet-ter education facilities for us”.

Senior police officers,supervising the recruitmentdrive told reporters in Jammu,“the morale of the aspiring can-didates is very high and theyare all keen to serve the policeforce”.

Briefing media persons,Inspector General of Police(Armed) Danesh Rana said,“the current recruitment driveis aimed at raising two womenbattalions, one each for Jammuand Kashmir divisions”.

He said, the candidates arebeing screened in a very pro-

fessional manner. We haveallocated district wise quota foraspiring candidates. Rana said,“we are following a very trans-parent process. There is noscope of any human interven-tion during the recruitmentdrive and only meritoriouscandidates are expected tomake it to the final list”.

Union government hadearlier announced two womenbattalions in June 2018 toenhance the representation ofwomen in the Police force.The final sanction was given bythe State AdministrativeCouncil (SAC) under the chair-manship of former GovernorSatya Pal Malik in January2019.

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After losing two soldiers,one each from the Indian

Army and Jammu & Kashmirpolice during fierce gunfight inKhrew area of Pampore inSouth Kashmir’s Pulwama dis-trict on Tuesday, a joint teamof security forces onWednesday once again trappedgroup of terrorists responsiblefor killing their buddies, onekilometer away from theencounter site, and eliminatedat least one terrorist.

According to groundreports, massive searches weregoing on in the Khrew areaafter the initial gunfight withterrorists resulted in killing oftwo soldiers. Due to badweather and poor light condi-tions, the search operationswere halted and the same wereresumed early Wednesdaymorning.

After the fresh contact wasestablished with the hidingterrorists,the security forcestightened the cordon and elim-inated at least one of the ter-rorists in the ensuingencounter, official sources said.

Confirming the elimina-tion of one of the terrorists,twitter handle of the Jammu &Kashmir police posted a mes-sage which read, “Police &Security forces killed one of thekillers of Martyred SPO

Shahbaz Ahmed and MartyredRifleman Rahul in this opera-tion even before bodies ofthese martyrs reached theirrespective homes.Operation isgoing on at Nagander onekilometre away from yesterdayencounter site”.

Official sources claimed,security forces were conductingrandom searches in the areasince Wednesday morning totrack down the foot prints ofthe terrorists hiding in thearea. Meanwhile, mortalremains of both the soldierswere dispatched to their nativeplaces after a formal wreath lay-ing ceremony in Srinagar.Senior police and Army officerspaid their tributes to both themartyrs. Interacting with themedia in Srinagar, DGPDilbagh Singh said, the secu-rity has been beefed up inKashmir.

“All arrangements havebeen made with regard to secu-rity measures on ground, thesecurity in South Kashmir hasbeen reviewed. We visited

Anantnag and also took stockof the security in other dis-tricts,” DGP Singh said.

“We have strengthened thesecurity measures in Srinagarahead of the Republic Day,” headded. In the run up to theRepublic day celebrations, ahigh alert has been sounded inJammu and Kashmir afterintelligence inputs suggest ofpossible terror strikes.

According to latest intelreports, a joint module of Jaish-e-Mohammed and HizbulMujahideen militants havebeen tasked by their handlersin Pakistan to carry out das-tardly attacks in the run up tothe Republic day.

There are inputs that mil-itants could launch suicideattacks on security installa-tions in south Kashmir anddefence positions across thesouth of Pir Panjal in theJammu region.

According to inputs, ter-rorist movement has also beentraced in areas of Srinagar andBudgam districts.

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After initial resistance fromcertain quarters, the

Maharashtra Government onWednesday approved theimplementation of its much-discussed ‘Mumbai 24x7’ or‘Vibrant Mumbai Nightlife’policy from the interveningnight of January 26 and 27.

At a weekly meetingpresided over Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray, the StateCabinet gave a go-ahead for the‘Mumbai 24x7’ policy withouttweaking the current exciserules which permit service ofalcoholic beverages only till theexisting time limits of 1.30am.

In effect, the new ‘VibrantMumbai Nightlife’ policy willnot be applicable to bars, pubsand restaurants serving liquor,which will be permitted toserve alcoholic beverages onlytill the existing time limits of

1.30 am.The new ‘Mumbai 24x7’

policy — which is a brainchild of Shiv Sena leader andcurrent Tourism andEnvironment Minister AdityaThackeray — will allow malls,multiplexes and eateries in thedesignated areas to functionround-the-clock.

State Home Minister AnilDeshmukh, who had initialreservations about imple-menting the Mumbai 24x7because of security reasonsand on the ground that barsand restaurants cannot serveliquor, came around afterAditya — at a meeting held afew days — convinced him thatthe policy could be imple-mented without tweaking thecurrent State excise rules andimposing a lot of burden on thecity police force.

Addressing a news confer-ence jointly with the StateHome Minister after the State

Cabinet gave a nod for theMumbai 24X7, Aditya said:“Mumbai’s identify is beingthat of a safe city. In Mumbai,you can get to see women andwomen moving around MarineDrive and other places safely ataround 2 am or 3 am. Mumbaipolice perform their duty well.But, take the case of touristscoming to Mumbai, they wouldnot be in the city for more than36 hours. To increase theemployment and tourism inMumbai, we came up with theMumbai 24x7 proposal in2013. We are implementing itafter seven years”.

“We will implement thispolicy in malls and mill com-pounds coming under theShops and Establishment Act.The malls and mill compoundsare in non-residential areas.The people do not live insidethese places. There are facilitieslike parking lots, CCTV, deci-bel limits, solid waste manage-ment. All the establishmentsthere are licenced ones. We aregiving permission to all theseestablishments to remain openfor all 24 hours”.

In fact, the MaharashtraShops and Establishments

(Regulation of Employmentand Conditions of Service)Act, 2017, allows all establish-ments to operate around-the-clock.

“There would not be anychange in the excise rules. Theliquor will be served only up to1.30 am in bars and restaurants.We are changing that. We areproviding facilities who want toeat out, go for shopping ormovies. The MVA Governmentis a people’s Government. Weare Government of aspirations.Unlike the BJP Government,we want to encourage theyoungsters,” the TourismMinister said. Home MinisterAnil Deshmukh said that thatthe State Government wouldensure that there was no stresson the police force.

“We do not enforce any-thing here. If some units are notable to keep their establish-ments for all 24 hours, they cando so. It is not the job of thestate government to increasethe footfalls. We are enablingthe owners of these establish-ments. Mumbai being an inter-national city, we are giving a24x7 facility,” Aditya said.

“London’s nightlife econo-

my is 5 billion pounds. InMumbai, there are five lakhpeople who directly employedin this service sector. When wesay that employment willincrease because of Mumbai 24x7, it is because theowners oif these establish-ments will have to employtheir staff in three shifts. Goingthat logic, we will have anemployment potential of 15lakh people or at least 10 lakhpeople in this service sector.Keeping these establishmentsopen, state revenue willincrease through various taxes,”he said.

“I do not think there will betension for the police.Currently, the police personneldo is to track if the establish-ments are open beyond thestipulated hours rather thancontrolling crime. Now they donot have to do that job and canconcentrate on the job they aremeant to do. If the establish-ments want more security, theycan employ private security orhire police security by payingmoney,” Aditya said.

Public distribution andcivil supplies minister ChhaganBhujbal said that Mumbai

Police Commissioner andMunicipal commissionerwould decide where nightlifewould be allowed. “During themeeting a lot of suggestionscame in. Like in some of therailway stations of Mumbaiwhere there is rush for 24hours, people come and go,

eateries could remain openthere,” Bhujbal said.

Earlier this week, at the bi-annual crime conference,Uddhav, along with his Cabinetcolleagues and bureaucracts,held a meeting with the citypolice officers Mumbai 24x7proposal.

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National InvestigationAgency (NIA) team, inter-

rogating Davinder Singh,DySP arrested by the policealong with Hizbul Mujahideenterrorist Naveed Babu fromJammu-Srinagar NationalHighway on January 11, shift-ed him to Jammu along withother arrested terrorists onwednesday.

The NIA team, which tookover the probe from the Jammu& Kashmir police recently, istrying to establish the linkwhether Davinder Singh wasregularly transporting HM ter-rorist Naveed Babu to a rela-tively safe hideout in Jammuand whether he was also intouch with over ground work-ers (OGW’s) active in theregion to facilitate hassle freestay of HM commander.

Last week, police had alsoarrested younger brother ofNaveed Babu, studying inChandigarh.

According to highly placedsources, Naveed’s brother hadcarved out a safe hideout for hisbrother in Bhatindi area ofJammu and the same waslikely to be used for accommodating terrorists, ferried by Davinder Singh atthe time of arrest.

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Opposing the Maharashtra Government’s Mumbai 24x7decision, senior BJP leader and former Minister Ashish

Shelar said on Wednesday ‘Mumbai Nightlife’ decision takenby the Uddhav Thackeray dispensation would prove to be a‘killing life’ for Mumbai.

Reacting to the State Government’s go-ahead for theimplementation of Mumbai 24x7, Shelar said: “The nightlifedecision is going to be a killing life for mumbaiks. Two years,14 persons were killed in a massive fire that broke out in twopubs.

The decision is an effort to regularise massive FSI irreg-ularities in the Kamala Mill compound in the name oftourism”. “Mumbaikars are already stressed over a numberof restaurants, bars, ladies bars and pubs existing in the res-idential areas. The nightlife decision will increase their incon-venience further. The work burden on the police personnelwill increase,” Shelar said.

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In an apparent effort to indi-cate that it has not deviated

from its Hindutva path afterforming a Government withthe Congress and NCP, the ShivSena on Wednesdayannounced that its presidentand Chief Minister UddhavThackeray would visit Ayodhyaafter the MVA Governmentcompletes 100 days in office.

Announcing the ChiefMinister’s impending visit toAyodhya, Shiv Sena MP andspokesperson Sanjay Rauttweeted: “Chalo Ayodhya ! CM#UddhavThackeray will visitAyodhya on the completion of100 days in power!@OfficeofUT”.

In another tweet, Raut said:“Our government has begunperforming its duties in greatvigour. We shall complete fiveyears in office. After govern-ment completes 100 days. CMUddhav Thackeray shall go toAyodhya. After seeking bless-ings of Lord Ram, will

decide on future course ofaction”.

Uddhav, who hadannounced after the SupremeCourt verdict in the Ayoidhyadispute case that he would goonce again Ayodhya onNovember 24, 2019, had post-poned his visit then, owing tothe impasse in the govern-

ment formation in the state.The public perception was thatthe Sena would soft-peddle itsHindutva agenda as long as itis running the government inthe state with the Congress andNCP.

It may be recalled thatUddhav had on November 25,2018 – along with his wifeRashmi and son Aditya, hadvisited Ayodhya. On June 16,2019 year after the Lok Sabhapolls, he once again visitedAyodhya and offered prayers atthe makeshift RamLalla shrine.

However, atmosphere haschanged after he joined handswith the “secular” and NCP toform a Maha Vikas Agadhigovernment in Maharashtra.The perception that has beengaining ground in the statepolitical circles that in order toensure that there is no threat toits government in the state theruling Shiv Sena is pursuing theHindutva as vigorously as it wasdoing earlier. So much so thatits erstwhile ally BJP has beentaking pot shots at the ShivSena for giving up on itsHindutva agenda for the sakeof power.

Interestingly enough, Rautcame out with a tweet a dayahead of the first grand con-vention of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS). It is speculated

that at the convention, MNSchief Raj Thackeray embracethe Hindutva path and changethe colour of his party flag.

Raj had recently met for-mer Maharashtra chief minis-ter and senior BJP leaderDevendra Fadnavis, sparkingspeculation about the possibil-ity of the MNS joining handswith the Amit Shah-led party.

Meanwhile, talking tomedia persons, Raut extendedinvitation to Congress’ formerpresident Rahul Gandhi andNCP chief Sharad Pawar toaccompany Uddhav Thackerayto Ayodhya. “We want that ouralliance leaders should alsocome along. Rahul Gandhialso visits several temples”.

On her part, BJP nationalspokesperson Meenakshi Lekhihad earlier in the day wantedto know if Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray wouldl alsotake Congress leaders alongwith him to Ayodhya. How thealliance partners of the Senareact? How will he show hisface to them – to the ones whoquestioned the very existenceof Lord Ram, even went to theSupreme Court stating thesame,”she said.

Uttar Pradesh’s deputychief minister Dinesh Sharmadescribed Uddhav’s impendingvisit to Ayodhya as a “politicalstunt”.

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The MaharashtraGovernment on

Wednesday announced thatthe historical drama ‘Tanhaji –The Unsung Warrior’ would betax-free in the State till April 30,2020.At its meeting presidedover by Chief Minister UddhavThackeray, the State Cabinetdecided to waive State Goodsand Services Tax (SGST) on thetickets of Tanhaji — TheUnsung Warrior’ and com-pensate for the loss from itsexchequer. “Thank youUddhav Thackeray ji fordeclaring #Tanhaji TheUnsungWarrior tax-free in the State of Maharashtra. @OfficeofUT@CMOMaharashtra,” leadactor in the film Ajay Devgntweeted.

The martyrdom of TanajiMalusare - the Commander ofthe Maratha Empire headed byChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj –in the bloody battle of SinhagadFort in Pune with the thencommander of the fortUdaybhan Sinh Rathore alliedwith the Mughals, holds a spe-cial place in the state’s history.

The governments of UttarPradesh and Haryana had ear-lier exempted ‘Tanhaji — TheUnsung Warrior’ from tax.

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Boeing’s internal documents, whichrevealed that executives mockedaviation regulators and airlinesacross the world, including India’sDirectorate General of Civil

Aviation (DGCA), were hugely damaging forthe American planemaker and marked a tor-rid start to 2020 after a horrific 2019. Theyear began in the aftermath of the Lion Air737 MAX crash in Indonesia. Using “friend-ly” media sources, Boeing executives said thatpoor pilot training (and the lack of it) wasthe primary cause of the crash. While theremay have been an element of truth to that,the second 737 MAX crash of an EthiopianAirlines jet, seconds after takeoff fromAddis Ababa, dealt the final blow.

As a result, Boeing’s 737 MAX fleetwas grounded worldwide, some regulatorsdoing it sooner than others, but the air-craft manufacturer kept on producingplanes, even though they could not fly.Planes kept coming off the production lineat over 20 a month, leading to over 200aircraft being parked at Boeing’s plant inRenton, Washington. However, with lit-tle space to keep so many airplanes —Boeing was also forced to park planes inemployee car parking lots — the Americanmanufacturer decided to suspend produc-tion a few weeks ago.

It is extremely fortuitous that thegrounding of the Boeing 737 MAX has notcollapsed the global aviation industry. Itis noteworthy here that the MAX was stilla new aircraft and had not been fully inte-grated with fleets across the world. Thegrounding is now beginning to impactgrowth opportunities for airlines. Withlarge American carriers like AmericanAirlines and Southwest Airlines, which arethe largest operators of MAX, now delay-ing the re-introduction of the plane all theway till the middle of this year, this cri-sis is not going to end anytime soon.Boeing’s nose has been grounded to thetarmac, its reputation ruined.

In most other industries, such a crisismight have been fatal for a company but theglobal airliner manufacturers’ duopolybetween the American Boeing and theEuropean Airbus, where the latter hassmartly and carefully not uttered a word oreven celebrated the former’s woes, makes theCoke-Pepsi duel look like a violent conflictin comparison. While the Chinese and theRussians are trying to up their game in thecivilian airliner market — some could evenargue that Boeing’s fall has given them anopportunity — they are far from being aneffective contender. It takes several billionsof dollars and an army of engineers to devel-op a new aircraft. Right now nothing can beatthe entrenched players.

But at the end of the day, the entire MAXcrisis that has engulfed Boeing comes downto the fact that the manufacturer did not wantto spend a huge sum of money on develop-ing a new plane. The Boeing 737 is a design

that dates back to the early1960s, the airworthiness certifi-cate given to the aircraft is onethat was issued almost sevendecades ago. The Boeing 737 hasbeen an immensely successfulplane. During 2018, Boeingdelivered its 10,000th 737 witha backlog of close to 5,000 air-craft remaining in its books. Ithas been off the competitionover the years as well. TheMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 andDouglas MD80 family could notkeep up with the success of theBoeing and eventually Boeingacquired McDonnell-Douglas.

However, the Airbus A320family, developed by theEuropean planemaker in theearly 1980s, was a different ket-tle of fish. With its highlyadvanced wing and comput-erised fly-by-wire technology,Boeing had to develop newtechnology to keep the 737competitive. So when Airbusdecided to refresh the A320 withmodern new high-bypass ratioengines, which would reducefuel consumption, it got a lot ofinterest from airlines. WhileAirbus has had its share ofproblems over the years, partic-ularly around the A380 super-jumbo, the A320 has been amoney-spinner. With modifica-tions in new engines — the NewEngine Option (Neo) — itwould become even more attrac-

tive. Despite the problems thatIndia’s low-cost carrier IndiGohas suffered with Neo aircraft,nearly a thousand such planesare in service currently. Boeinghad to do something to keep upwith the rising competition.Neo’s efficiency gains over theexisting generation 737 weremassive.

But Boeing had a problem.When it started developingthe 737 in the 1960s, it did nothave to face much in terms ofground clearance and kept rid-ing low to the ground. Thismade it easier for planes to ser-vice at smaller and less pre-pared airports, which were allbut common in the 1960s andthe 1970s. In fact, it was thisvery ability, coupled with it hav-ing lower engines, that made itattractive to the airlines. Evenwhen the 737 was improved,few changes were made to thisend. The problem with high-bypass ratio turbofan enginestoday is that to gain a perfectratio, the front fan has to bemassive. The 737’s basic archi-tecture made fitting such a newengine nearly impossible. Andwhile Boeing should have ide-ally developed a new aircraftaltogether, market realitiesmade that an impossibility. Ittook it over a decade to devel-op the 787 Dreamliner with anoverly optimistic entry into

service schedules. The subse-quent delays left the companywith a bloody nose.

The 787 is an immenselysuccessful aircraft today, hun-dreds of them forming thebackbone of airline fleets acrossthe world. But Boeing did nothave the time and its manage-ment thought of developing anew aircraft. A better option,no matter what the physics,would have been to re-enginethe current airframe withminor modifications.

Well, the modifications werenot simple. In order to fit a larg-er fan, Boeing engineers had tomove the engine further forwardand above the wing. This causedsome major problems to theaerodynamic properties of the737 but these could be solved.Pilots could be trained to dealwith the changes. Then cameanother problem. One majorselling point for airlines is to cal-culate the number of addition-al training pilots needed whenthey move to a new type of air-craft. Pilots trained on the reg-ular Airbus A320 could fly thenew A320 Neo with just a cou-ple of hours of orientation.Boeing promised pretty muchthe same even though it wasobvious — something that thestash of internal emails revealed— that pilots should have takenmany more hours of training for

the MAX, even some hoursinside the simulator.

The issue, as many peopleknow now, is that Boeing decid-ed to integrate much more soft-ware into the MAX to augmentflying characteristics. One ofthose pieces of software was theManeuvering CharacteristicsAugmentation System (MCAS),which in low-speed conditions,usually after take-off, wouldkeep the plane from stalling.With the engines of the 737MAX being shifted so much fur-ther forward, the centre of grav-ity of the plane, too, being farforward, only software couldresolve it. As we know now, theMCAS system depended ongood data from the sensorsoutside the aircraft. Sensors canfail and usually those failuresshould be notified, as on cars, tocite an example. But Boeing justmade an alert system for a sen-sor data mismatch, an optionalextra on the 737 MAX, eventhough it was but a softwareswitch. The MCAS system madesome sudden changes to theplanes flightpath and withoutproper training to recognisethe software intervention, pilotsonboard had no clue how to dealwith the issue. With little alti-tude, the pilots of the Lion Airand Ethiopian Airlines aircraftslammed to the ground.

At the end of the day, a com-pany, once known to beextremely fastidious on the engi-neering front, made a stupidmistake. A firm that almostbankrupted itself while develop-ing the Boeing 707 and thenalmost did so again with theBoeing 747 — which has proventhat it can redefine the marketeven in contemporary timeswith the Boeing 777 and Boeing787 — has ruined its reputation,thanks to the unnecessary short-cuts it took. As is being madeclear in the emails for the pub-lic to see, sheer arrogance of itsexecutives made matters worse.

It is being made apparentthat the Boeing 737 MAX willnot make it back into the servicebefore mid-year. A freshlyempowered Federal AviationAdministration (FAA), the civilaviation regulator in the US, willnot be in the pocket of Boeingas it was once. It is unlikely thata company so vital to America’strading interests and its defenceindustry will be allowed to col-lapse. But the arrogance ondisplay at the company was lit-tle different from that displayedby the bankers before the finan-cial industry collapse of 2008.Boeing has to do a lot to repairits reputation and salvage theimage of Boeing 737. Beinghumble shall make for a verygood start.

(The writer is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer)

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Sir — A peaceful protest byKashmiri Pandits to mark the30th anniversary of their massexodus from the Kashmir Valleygrabbed some attention. Throughit, they appealed to theGovernment to take plausibleand sincere steps to rehabilitatethem in the Valley. SuccessiveGovernments have only paradedtheir cause. Largely, they haveeither ignored the Pandits orused them for their selfish end.Left liberals, rights activists andsecularists, too, have turned ablind eye to their rightful griev-ances though they have beencampaigning for the rights ofminority communities in gener-al. Are Kashmir Pandits not aminority in the Valley? After thenullification of Article 370 and therevocation of special status to theformer State of Jammu & Kashmir,it is the responsibility of the UnionGovernment to restore normalcyin the Valley and rehabilitate thedisplaced Pandits willing to return.Even after the Supreme Court’sdirective, little action has beentaken.

Nimai Charan SwainBhubaneswar

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Sir — Once again, theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) has slashed India’s growthestimate to 4.8 per cent for thisfiscal year and 5.8 per cent for2020-21. Observers attributesuch grim forecasts to an eco-nomic slowdown.

In the Indian context, thecurrent growth projection fol-lows a downward trend from 7.5per cent last year to 6.1 per centin October. It is dishearteningthat while growth projectionshave continued to decline in therecent past, the Governmenthas taken little cohesive actionfor revival and has instead beendemanding rate cuts from the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Yet India is projected to be

the second-fastest growingmajor economy in the worldafter China. There are miles togo for that to happen. TheGovernment has to come upwith a big bang strategy torevive growth.

Srishti MathurUjjain

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Sir — At a time when the coun-try is faced with severe econom-ic slowdown and given the seri-ousness of the problem of unem-ployment with agrarian crisis,too, at its peak, the common manis expecting relief and progressivemeasures in the Budget that is tobe presented on February 1.

However, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman is busyattending various forums andmeetings to defend theGovernment’s decision to imple-ment the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA). Withjust a few days left for the Budget,one would have expected theFinance Minister to be giving fin-ishing touches to it. Despite thefact that Sitharaman has takenseveral measures to revive theeconomy, the situation isn’t show-ing any signs of improving. TheBudget must focus on revivingdemand, investment and growth.All of this must be done in atransparent manner.

Anna Mary YvonneChennai

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One of the dispiriting features of the moderndevelopment model is that despite oceans ofresearch and studies, there has not been a

substantive transformative impact on marginalisedcommunities. Much of the outcomes have beenpurely academic and we need more dedicated, coura-geous and purpose-driven champions who can cre-atively apply their core competencies and newknowledge to enhance people’s well-being. Similarly,we need to design tools and techniques that can helptranslate these insights into effective public policiesand professional practices that can sustainably deliv-er quality outcomes on an exponential scale.

There is now a tribe of passionate entrepreneurswho are collaborating with like-minded allies andwith those with different perspectives, to build a col-leagueship of expertise to address pressing humanchallenges and accelerate the transition of the under-privileged from subsistence to sustainability inemerging economies. Some of them are bright peo-ple working to uncover and scale breakthrough dis-ruptive solutions for leapfrogging meaningful socialchange. They have the vision to see the world theway it should be and create what is missing. Theyare combining business acumen with their con-science to solve problems in the community and fos-ter a fairer society in an efficient and sustainable way.

A brother-sister duo, Manav Subodh and SwatiSubodh, with diverse backgrounds and with careerson the cusp of steady and promising trajectories,decided to change track and pursue something thathad relevance and meaning to the wider world, andin particular to the underserved communities.Manav was Global Manager, Marketing,Entrepreneurship and Corporate Affairs at Intel butfound the canvas dimming his social horizon. Swatiobtained her post-graduate in biotechnology and didher doctoral research in genomics at AIIMS. It washere that she had her moment of epiphany. Her lab-oratory was opposite the outpatients departmentwhere the daily sight of struggling patients stirredher and fired the imagination to furrow a path ofconcrete action. Manav and Swati realised that theirpath was never going to lead to the right level of ful-fillment, because they were not doing something thatexactly fitted the values they had cultivated over time.

Since it wasn’t possible to change their values,they knew they needed to switch their careers.Manav was the first to take the plunge when he con-ceptualised the 1M1B (1 Million for 1 Billion)Foundation, an initiative to inspire a million youngleaders, educators and entrepreneurs to generate jobsthat will create better lives for a billion people in theunderserved communities. The idea was to empow-er entrepreneurs who would undertake socialinnovations, job creation and meaningful develop-ment in their communities so that each in turnwould create jobs and more stable economic livesfor a thousand more.

With Swati’s expertise in healthcare and Manav’sexpertise in entrepreneurship education and ecosys-tems, a social entrepreneurship model was concep-tualised. They visualised that a million entrepreneurs— spanning different geographies and sectors — cancome up with the right solutions that can impactone billion people. Everyone, according to them, isa natural entrepreneur and can play a vital role inpromoting resilience in their communities. Theybelieve that with relatively simple and inexpensivetools we can put the needle on tough problems butinterventions fail to reach the right person at the righttime. Sharing them equitably across the world tomaximise the impact is a big challenge. Addressingthese and other burning social problems requiresunderstanding and reframing them with a fresh view.It is here that entrepreneurs like Manav and Swati

are stepping in and filling the vacuum.With a team of like-minded people whoshare this passion 1M1B started takingshape.

Manav and Swati understand thatinterventions for rural regeneration can-not be played out in the same way thatsociety perceives the poor: Desperate cit-izens who need to be rescued by the elite.“We have to understand the local chal-lenges to improve their composite liveli-hoods. You can’t solve the problems of thelast mile from the headquarters,” explainsManav. According to him, it takes localentrepreneurs, empowered to adapt eas-ily to the nuances of local culture, to cre-ate and drive change sustainably on theground. The 1M1B Foundation is servingas a micro-accelerator for grassrootsentrepreneurs by giving them skill train-ing, access to technologies, finance andthen helping them launch their ownmicro-enterprise. “We scan the localenvironment to get better assessment ofneeds of the area and prospective inter-ventional aspects and partner with theseentities to provide our know-how and exe-cution pipeline to enable last mile accessto maximise impact”, he adds.

There are several interventions beingpromoted by 1M1B across segments.The Skills Accelerator programme helpsindividuals develop relevant skills toensure that they are in line with the mar-ket needs. Fifty per cent of the participantsget formal jobs and 15 per cent of themland up starting their own business.1M1B is honing the leadership skills ofmicro-entrepreneurs along with buildingrural co-innovation labs. It helps acceler-ate the access of indigenous technologiesto rural markets by pairing these entre-preneurs with mentors who help them indeveloping their ideas. It also connectsglobal start-ups to rural markets. Thisaccess and exposure allows them to testtheir solution on the specific populationsthrough other village-level players. Theprogramme provides training in comput-er skills, communication, accounting,

finance, access to technologies and hands-on growth support to help them launchtheir own micro-enterprises. 1M1Bbelieves that communities of artisans, par-ticularly women, deserve economicopportunities and aims to keep alive therich tradition of their craftsmanship. Thefoundation is working with Kalamkariweavers to provide a more robust econom-ic base to the weaver community. It is alsoan implementation partner on providingtraining in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to5,000 schoolchildren in New Delhi,Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Students areencouraged to come up with project ideason how AI can be applied for societalgood. Those selected are given access tothe AI Youth Lab to advance their projectsand create prototypes.

The Future Leaders programme isdedicated to identifying and nurturing thenext generation of leaders committed topositive change. The target group compris-es high school students and undergrad-uates who have the potential to have ameaningful influence on topics of rele-vance. During the course of the pro-gramme, they are imparted high-impactleadership development skills to developthe knowledge, resources and networkneeded to become an inclusive and social-ly-minded changemaker. These skillsinclude thinking critically and from mul-tiple perspectives, collaborating inclusive-ly, communicating effectively and becom-ing empathetic leaders. The coaching alsoexposes them to an array of educationalexperiences that broaden their worldview.

The latest batch participated in thefifth annual 1M1B Activate ImpactSummit at the United Nations (UN)Headquarters in New York. The summitprovided them the opportunity to learnabout leadership through the lens of theexperiences of leaders of civil society, gov-ernment, industry, non-government bod-ies, private entities, venture funds, entre-preneurs and influencers.

The foundation is a UN-accredited

non-profit organisation with special con-sultative status to the UN Economic andSocial Council and associated with the UNDepartment of Global Communications.

The foundation has a very innovativebusiness development programme, calledBusiness Raja (king). An AI-enabledchatbot, it is guiding aspiring entrepre-neurs in rural India to grow their nascentideas, raise funds and run their business-es successfully. It is simple in design. Forthe user, it is just another contact onWhatsApp they talk to about their ideasin three languages — Telugu, Hindi, andKannada — as of now.

The chatbot asks a user about theirideas, how they came up with it, measuresthe person’s personality and attains a com-plete profile. It also assesses their respons-es to tough questions — a sort of psycho-metric test.

An aspiring entrepreneur needs to fol-low a three-step process: First, share a busi-ness idea. The chatbot will provide refer-ence resources that need to be complet-ed. Then, the candidate will have to designa financial plan such as product pricing.Finally, if the idea works well, the chatbotwill help in raising funds. A final score ofinvestment readiness is then sent to thelending institution.

“The idea of Business Raja emergedwhile our team was working with grass-roots innovators and helping them navi-gates the challenging entrepreneuriallandscape. The AI chatbot and theresources associated with it help to do this,at scale so we can enable more entrepre-neurs faster”, explains Swati.

It doesn’t require a flash of genius orinvention of any radical idea to change thestory line. What is ultimately needed ispractical compassion. Most revolutionarysolutions have been evolved by people likeManav and Swati who looked at the famil-iar landscape with fresh eyes. They sawpromise where others saw hopelessness.

(The writer is Member, NITI Aayog’sNational Committee on Financial Literacyand Inclusion for Women)

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Delhi is heading for polls onFebruary 8 to elect 70 membersto the Legislative Assembly and

needless to say, campaigning by polit-ical parties across the national Capitalis expected to reach a fever pitch soon.Like always, this election, too, will wit-ness a plethora of populist issuesbeing made a poll plank by the candi-dates and their star campaigners as theydo the rounds of the city. Populism hasbecome an integral aspect of electionsmainly due to the fact that the peopleof one of the world’s largest democra-

cies have become used to being wooedwith sops and benefits. Whether it isregularisation of illegal colonies andstructures or subsidised electricity andso on, we just lap it up.

However, do we ever stop to thinkwhat the cost of these sops is and whois footing the bill? The answer is thatwe the people or the electorate are even-tually going to pay for the sops, collec-tively. The sole beneficiary in this willbe the political party we elect, who willbe laughing all the way to the seat ofpower, for the next five years.

We, as voters, must critically eval-uate the promises being made by theGovernment in power and all the othercontending parties and see what theircommitment is for pressing issuessuch as climate change and the envi-ronment. And, we also need to look atthe environmental cost of an election.This also needs to be audited and madepublic in order to ensure that the peo-ple realise the environmental costs of

this democratic exercise and which par-ties have had the smallest carbonfootprint. This will usher in a positivechange in the thinking of the voterwhich will in turn compel the partiesto shun anti-environmental activitiesin the form of excess use of fuel, plas-tic and paper during campaigning. Thepeople of Delhi need to question theGovernment and ask it what it has doneto safeguard the environment and

also asses what the environment-relat-ed promises and assurances othercontesting parties are bringing to thetable. The subject of pollution in Delhihas been a hotly debated matter, withthe ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)claiming tremendous success in rein-ing in the same with the help of thevehicle rationing initiative the Odd-Even Scheme. However, as is the normin politics, these initiatives have been

heavily criticised by the CentralGovernment.

Both the Centre and the DelhiGovernment have been trading chargesover this key issue and blaming eachother for the sad state of affairs in theCapital.

As the common man continued tosuffer the impact of the pollutionshrouding the city in a pall of smog, thejudiciary took it upon itself to expressreservations on the efficacy of thescheme in controlling the spiraling pol-lution levels in Delhi-NCR and pulledup the Centre, the Delhi Governmentand even the neighbouring States ofPunjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh onthe environmental crisis caused bycrop residue burning by farmers.

The Supreme Court also directedthe Central Government to assess thefeasibility of the use of hydrogen-basedfuel technology in the Capital to mit-igate air pollution.

However, the fact remains that

things should not have come to sucha pass. We need clear, tangible andmore-importantly quantifiable resultsagainst efforts undertaken to protectthe environment by all stakeholders.The city is what we will leave to thefuture generations and it cannot beinhospitable due to pollution that hasreached unmanagable levels and turnedit into a “gas chamber”, choking andkilling the people that reside in it.

The spectre of climate change islooming large and pollution cannot bestopped by turning a blind eye to it.Combatting pollution and climatechange need a concentrated and sin-cere effort by the Government inpower that has the resolve and the firmmandate of the people behind it. So thistime let us elect the environment. AGovernment that makes environmen-tal policies its priority will then auto-matically get elected.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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The Government will unveilits “plan of action” to boost

the economy in the UnionBudget to be presented onFebruary 1, Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar said onWednesday, asserting that eco-nomic fundamentals remainvery strong.

Responding to a questionabout the downward revision ofIndia’s growth rate by theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF), he said the economy ison the path of “revival” andnobody should have a pes-simistic view about it.

“From the Union Budget,you will get Government’s planof action.

Our fundamentals are verystrong. Therefore, nobodyshould create a pessimisticview about Indian economy,”the Information andBroadcasting minister said at abriefing after the UnionCabinet meeting.

Asserting that the economywas on the path of “revival”, he

said there are ups and downs inworld economy, and it hasreflection on economy of coun-tries.

The IMF had on Mondaylowered growth estimate forIndia to 4.8 per cent for 2019,citing stress in the non-bankfinancial sector and weak ruralincome growth as the majorfactors for the downward revi-sion.

While providing an updateon the global economy ahead

of the start of the WorldEconomic Forum (WEF)annual summit, the IMF cut itsIndia growth forecast.

India-born IMF ChiefEconomist Gita Gopinath hadsaid growth in India slowedsharply owing to stress in thenon-banking financial sectorsand weak rural income growth.

Opposition parties havebeen attacking the Governmentover the economic slowdownand its policies.

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New Delhi: Stock markets willbe open for normal trading onFebruary 1, Saturday, whenthe Union Budget will be pre-sented. Generally, the marketsare closed on Saturdays andSundays, except for special cir-cumstances.

In separate circulars onWednesday, leading exchangesBSE and NSE said the marketswould be open for trading onFebruary 1 on account ofUnion Budget presentation.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman is to present theBudget for 2020-21.

Trading would be con-ducted during normal hoursfrom 9 am to 3.30 pm, as perthe circulars.

According to marketssources, the decision has beentaken following requests madein this regard by market par-ticipants as Budget containsseveral market-movingannouncements.

In 2015, stock exchangeswere open for trading onFebruary 28, Saturday, whenthen Finance Minister ArunJaitley had presented theBudget. PTI

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The Union Budget 2020 mayunveil a scheme on pro-

duction linked benefits toattract hi-tech manufacturingin semiconductors, and micro-processors to India, apart fromgiving tax incentives to solarelectric charging infrastruc-ture, computers, and servers forits thrust in manufacturing ofglobal products to reduceimports.

To make it look moreattractive to MNCs to opt fordomestic electronics manufac-turing in India, the Budget maydish out production-linkedsubsidies for companiesinvolved in semiconductor fab-rication. This is aimed at invit-ing global semiconductor, andmicroprocessor companies toset up plants in India.

Earlier also, the govern-ment had announced schemesfor setting up semiconductorplants in the country.

The National Policy forElectronics, 2019, argues forspecial support for developing

core competencies in the strate-gic sub-sectors like fabless chipdesign industry. TheGovernment could provide taxincentives to high-tech manu-facturing plants in the fields ofsolar photovoltaic cells, lithiumstorage batteries, solar electriccharging infrastructure, com-puters, servers, and laptops.

For ‘Make in India’, theremay be investment-linkedincome tax exemptions underSection 35AD of the IncomeTax Act and other indirect taxbenefits.

Many global semiconduc-tor companies such as ARM,Qualcomm, Intel, Cadence andTexas Instruments have set updesign and software develop-ment infrastructure here butper se, chip manufacturingplants are still elusive for India.

Intel, AMD and ARM formicroprocessors, andQualcomm, Samsung andMediaTek are the names in thissegment globally who alsocater to the telecom segmentand their chips are imported byIndian companies.

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Ghana wants to replicate thehighly successful Ujjwala

model of giving out cooking gas(LPG) connections to the needand has signed an agreementwith state-owned Indian OilCorp (IOC) seeking its assis-tance and technical expertise inimplementation of the Africannation’s national LPG promo-tion policy.

Alhassan SulemanaTampuli, Chief Executive,National Petroleum Authority(NPA) of Ghana and L K SChauhan, Chief GeneralManager (LPG Operations),IOC signed the MoU in presenceof Oil Minister Dharmendrapradhan and Michael Aaron,High Commissioner of Ghana toIndia.

“With India’s emergence asa world leader in provision ofclean energy to its citizens bythe expansion of its LPG net-work, Ghana sought assistancefrom India in its own efforts topromote to safe, clean andenvironmentally friendly LPGfor increased domestic, com-mercial and industrial usage,”an IOC press statement said.

LPG coverage in Ghana isjust 23 per cent and customershave to queue up at petrol sta-tions with cylinders to get arefill. It wants to replicate theIndian model of setting up bot-tling plants where LPG can befilled in cylinders which arethen transported to dealerswho deliver them at customerdoorstep with a view to expandthe coverage to cover at least 50per cent of the population.

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The US state of New Jersey willenact a legislation that will

make college and universitiesmore affordable for the childrenof H-1B visa holders, mostlyIndian IT professionals, bringinga huge financial relief to them.

New Jersey Governor PhilMurphy on Tuesday signed thelegislation “S2555”, allowingNew Jersey students, who arethe children of H-1B visa hold-ers, to qualify for in-state tuitionat public institutions of highereducation.A majority of H-1Bvisa holders are Indians and thislegislation comes as a significantrelief to them, amidst an envi-ronment of stringent immigra-tion laws and scrutiny underthe Trump administration.

“New Jerseyans deserveequal access to higher educa-tion, and today we are takinganother step towards makingthat possible. I’m proud to signthe legislation to help our stu-dents achieve their educationgoals, pursue a successful futureand live their dreams here intheir home state,” Murphy said.

The legislation exemptsdependent students whose par-ents or guardians hold H-1Bvisas from paying out-of-statetuition provided they meetcertain criteria, including hav-ing graduated from a NewJersey high school and havingattended a New Jersey high

school for at least three years.New Jersey is home to presti-gious institutions such asPrinceton University.

Secretary of HigherEducation Zakiya Smith Ellissaid New Jersey is working tomake college affordable forNew Jerseyans and the legisla-tion will expand postsecondaryopportunities to more resi-dents such as dependents of H-1B visa holders. India’s DeputyConsul General in New YorkShatru Sinha welcomed thelegislation, saying in a tweet thatit is an “important initiative forthe Indian community”.

Primary sponsors of thelegislation include Indian-American Democratic SenatorVin Gopal, Senator M TeresaRuiz and Assembly membersRaj Mukherji, Daniel Benson,and Robert Karabinchak.

President and CEO ofEdison-based health technolo-gy company HealthEC ArthurKapoor welcomed the legisla-tion, saying it will tremen-dously benefit the Indian dias-pora in New Jersey.

“Indian diaspora welcomesthis bill since H-1B visa hold-ers pay enormous amounts oftaxes as well as social securitycontributions which they arenever able to use as they returnto India before they are eligibleto receive benefits. This bill willallow their kids access to thebest education,” Kapoor said.

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Tata Motors-owned JaguarLand Rover (JLR) on

Wednesday said that around500 jobs will be affected as itcuts down on shifts to optimisecar production at its Halewoodfactory in Merseyside.

The factory, which buildsthe Range Rover Evoque andLand Rover Discovery Sport inthe north west of England,will move from a three shift toa “two-plus” shift pattern fromApril as part of what the com-pany says is an efficiency pro-gramme and does not imply aloss of volume.

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India has moved up eightplaces to the 72nd position in

the 2020 Global TalentCompetitiveness Index thatmeasures and ranks countriesbased on their ability to grow,attract and retain talent.

Switzerland topped the listof 132 countries, followed bythe US and Singapore.

“Although more could bedone to improve the country’seducational system (68th inFormal Education), India’s keystrength relates to growing(44th) talent, due to its levels oflifelong learning (40th) andaccess to growth opportunities

(39th),” the Global TalentCompetitiveness Index (GTCI)report noted.

The country’s highest-ranked sub-pillar is employa-bility, but the ability to matchlabour market demand andsupply stands in contrast to thecountry’s poor “mid-levelskills”, which result in amediocre score in vocationaland technical skills, the reportsaid.

India’s greatest challenge isto address its weak ability toattract and retain talent, wherestrengthening the role ofminorities and women wouldraise the level of internal open-ness, it added.

The GTCI report waslaunched by INSEAD, a part-ner and sponsor of the UnitedNation’s SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs)Tent in Davos, Switzerland onWednesday.

Switzerland topped thisyear’s ranking, followed by theUnited States, its highest posi-tion yet, while Singapore is thethird most talent-competitivecountry.

Other countries in the top10 include Sweden at the 4thposition, Denmark (5th), theNetherlands (6th), Finland(7th), Luxembourg (8th),Norway (9th) and Australia(10th).

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State-owned Oil India Ltd(OIL) on Wednesday said it

has filed a clarificatory/modi-ficatory petition in the SupremeCourt against a �48,000 croredemand raised by the telecomdepartment on cumulative rev-enue of �1.47 crore it hadearned on an NLD telecomlicence.

Following the October 24Supreme Court ruling thatnon-telecom revenues of tele-com firms such as Bharti Airteland Vodafone Idea should beincluded for considering pay-ments of Government dues, the

telecom department asked OILto pay �48,000 crore in princi-pal dues together with interestand penalty. The dues soughtare double the net worth ofOIL.

“OIL had obtained aNational Long Distance ServiceLicence (NLD Licence) toestablish Supervisory Controland Data Acquisition System(SCADA System) for control,management, and protection ofOIL’s pipeline network used fortransportation of crude oil,natural gas, and petroleumproducts,” the company said ina statement.

The NLD licence is pre-

dominantly used for theSCADA system and only thespare bandwidth capacity isleased out to other telecomoperators.

“As per the licence terms,licence fee is to be paid on grosstotal revenue from servicesprovided under the NLDlicence. Since the award ofNLD licence, the cumulativerevenue of �1.47 crore is earnedby OIL from the leasing ofspare bandwidth capacity onwhich all applicable licencefee and other statutory dues as per licence terms havebeen paid by OIL regularly,” itsaid.

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India on Wednesday expressedinterest in raising the import

of crude oil from Brazil as theworld’s third largest oil consumeris looking at diversifying itsimport basket beyond the high-ly volatile Middle East region. OilMinister Dharmendra Pradhanmet visiting Brazilian Ministerfor Mines and Energy BentoAlbuqueroque to review coop-eration between the two countries.

“India is diversifying itscrude oil supply and our oilcompanies have expressedinterest in sourcing more crudefrom Brazil if offered favorable

commercial terms,” Pradhantweeted after the meeting.

India imports 84 per centof its oil needs and two-thirdsof its import come from theMiddle East with Iraq andSaudi Arabia being the top sup-pliers. Pradhan said he alsosought intervention for theearly monetization of India’sexisting investments in theBrazilian energy sector.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, theoverseas arm of state-ownedOil and Natural Gas Corp(ONGC), has two explorationblocks in Brazil — BC-10 andBM Seal-4 and is looking atmonetizing discoveries madethere.

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Sebi on Wednesday put inplace a stricter mechanism

to deal with non-compliance oflisting conditions under whichstock exchanges will have pow-ers to slap penalties up to �50,000 for certain vio-lations.

At present, a stockexchange is allowed to chargea maximum amount of �10,000for each violation of listingnorms that need to be compliedwith by companies.

According to a Sebi circu-lar, exchanges can impose a fineof �50,000 per instance fornon-compliance with respect to

obtaining in-principle approvalof bourses before issuance ofsecurities.

The bourses can levy a fineof �25,000 each in cases of non-disclosure of dividend distrib-ution policy in annual reportsand on the websites of the enti-ties.

The amount would also beapplicable in the cases of non-convening of annual generalmeeting within a period of fivemonths from the close of afinancial year and for not tak-ing exchange’s approval beforefiling request for change ofname with Registrar ofCompanies (RoC).

The new framework would

come into force with effectfrom compliance periods end-ing on or after March 31, 2020.

The move is aimed atmaintaining consistency andadopting a uniform approachin the matter of levy of fines fornon-compliance with certainprovisions of the listing regu-lations.

Besides, the exchanges canimpose a penalty of �10,000 fordelay in furnishing prior inti-mation about the company’sboard meeting as well as delayin non-disclosure of recorddate or dividend declaration,and non-compliance withnorms pertaining to having afunctional website.

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Moving away from pollut-ing coal, billionaire

Gautam Adani on Wednesdaylaid out a blueprint to make hisgroup the world’s largest solarpower company by 2025 andthe biggest renewable energyfirm by 2030 through aggres-sive capacity addition push inthese areas.

The $15-billion AdaniGroup — a sprawling con-glomerate with interests inenergy, agri-business, real estateand defence, among others —plans to double its renewable

power generating capacity ofcurrent 2.5 gigawatts (GW) by2020 and further to 18 GW by2025, Adani wrote in aLinkedin post.

“Our vision is to becomethe world’s largest solar powercompany by 2025 and largestrenewable power company by2030,” the Adani Group chair-man wrote. Adani Group notjust owns coal-fired powerplants but also coal mines inIndia and Australia. It hasinvested big time in coal as theAdani empire of mines, cargoships, ports and power plantsdepend heavily on it.

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New Delhi: The FinanceMinistry on Wednesday stag-gered last dates of filling GSTR-3B, a monthly return form, andhas provided three dates for dif-ferent categories of taxpayers,a moved aimed at de-stressingthe system. Currently, the lastdate for filing GSTR-3B is 20thof every month. From nowonwards, there will three dates— 20th, 22nd and 24th — ofevery month for different cat-egories of tax payers.

In past, glitches in thereturn filing system of GSTNetwork were reported on the

last day of filing of returns andtrade and industry had to faceproblems. It may be notedhere that about one-fifth of thetotal GSTR-3B returns were fil-ing on the last day (January 20).

“From now on, the last datefor filing of GSTR-3B for the tax-payers having annual turnoverof �5 crore and above in the pre-vious financial year would be20th of the month. Thus, around8 lakh regular taxpayers wouldhave the last date of GSTR-3B fil-ing as 20th of every month with-out late fees,” the ministry saidin a statement. The taxpayers

having annual turnover below�5 crore in previous financialyear will be divided further intwo categories.

The tax filers from 15states/UTs — Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,Daman and Diu, Dadra andNagar Haveli, Maharashtra,Karnataka, Goa, Lakshadweep,Kerala, Tamil Nadu,Puducherry, Andaman andNicobar Islands, Telangana andAndhra Pradesh — will now behaving the last date of filingGSTR-3B returns as 22nd ofthe month without late fees.

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India slipped 10 places to51st position in the 2019

Democracy Index’s globalranking, according to TheEconomist Intelligence Unit,which cited “erosion of civil lib-erties” in the country as the pri-mary cause for the downtrend.

India’s overall score fellfrom 7.23 in 2018 to 6.90 in theIndex that provides a snapshotof the current state of democ-racy worldwide for 165 inde-pendent states and two territories.

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The market gauge Sensexon Wednesday fell for the

third straight session to markits lowest level in over fiveweeks as participants movedto the sidelines exercisingcaution ahead of the federalBudget.

At close, the 30-shareSensex was down 208.43points, or 0.50 per cent, at41,115.38 — the lowest levelfor the index since December16. After starting the sessionon a high note, the BSE gaugekept on shedding gains andtouched the day’s low of41,059.04.

Likewise, the broaderNSE Nifty sett led 62.95points, or 0.52 per cent, lowerat 12,106.90 — marking itsfourth straight session loss.

Both benchmark indicesbore the brunt of heavy sell-ing mainly in energy, finan-cial and auto stocks.

A subdued corporateearnings season and banks’stressed assets situation havemade investors realign theirinvestment strategy, analystssaid adding that the upcom-ing Budget will decide thecourse of the market in thenear to mid-term.

Further, global agencies

slashing India’s growth out-look is also weighing ondomestic investor sentiment,they added.

On the Sensex chart,ONGC was the top loser,tumbling 5.13 per cent, fol-lowed by NTPC, Kotak Bank,Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, AsianPaints, ICICI Bank and AxisBank.

On the other hand, NestleIndia, TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, SBI and Bharti Airtelended with gains of up to 1.86per cent.

Sectorally, BSE metal, oiland gas and power wereamong the major losers —dropping as much as 1.57 percent.

While BSE IT, teck andtelecom indices ended up to1.09 per cent higher.

In the broader market,midcap and smallcap indicesfell up to 0.32 per cent.

“Domestic markets afteropening higher failed to holdon to gains amid profit-book-ing across finance, auto,metal and pharma stocks;while FMCG and few ITstocks remained in greenzone. Uncertainty ahead ofBudget has resulted ininvestors’ being cautious forthe time being,” Paras Bothra,President of Equity Research,

Ashika Stock Broking, said.Besides, fears of conta-

gion after the US announcedits first case of a new virusthat has claimed six lives inChina also remained in hind-sight, he said.

Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch, Geojit FinancialServices Ltd, said, “Banks,auto and midcaps are con-solidating due to marginalslippage in NPAs and earn-ings growth than anticipatedearlier.

The Q3 result had solidexpectat ions but actualresults are marginally belowexpectation for sectors like ITand banks, this is impactingthe market. A lot will dependon the actual outcome ofBudget for further direction,market is turning cautiousbefore the big event.”

On the currency front,the Indian rupee closed mar-ginally up at 71.19 against theUS dollar.

Global benchmark Brentcrude fell 0.67 per cent toUSD 64.16 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Shanghai, Hong Kong,Tokyo and Seoul ended withgains.

European markets werealso trading on a positivenote in their early sessions.

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India’s growth rate is expect-ed to be marginally higher at

5.5 per cent in 2020-21 againstthe estimated 5 per cent for thecurrent fiscal on the back ofstrong policy push coupledwith revival in demand, areport said.

Citing an NSO report,India Ratings and Research(Ind-Ra) said said the slow-down is a combination of sev-eral factors including an abruptand significant fall in lendingby non-banking financial com-panies close on the heels of aslowdown in bank lending andreduced income growth ofhouseholds coupled with a fallin savings and higher leverage.

Although some improve-ment in FY2020-21 is expect-ed, these risks are going to per-sist, India Ratings and Research

principal economist SunilSinha said.

As a result, the Indianeconomy is stuck in a phase oflow consumption as well as lowinvestment demand, it said.

“A strong policy push cou-pled with some heavy lifting(even if this requires using theescape clause as suggested bythe FRBM Review Committeeheaded by N K Singh) by thegovernment is required torevive the domestic demandcycle and catapult the economyback into a high growth phase,”it said.

The government hasannounced a slew of measuresrecently to prop-up the econ-omy, but Ind-Ra believes theywill come to aid only in themedium term.

The shortfall in the taxplus non-tax revenue to resultin the fiscal deficit slipping to

3.6 per cent of GDP (budget-ed 3.3 per cent) in FY2020,even after accounting for thesurplus transferred by theRBI, it said.

“A continuance of low GDPgrowth even in FY’21 meanssubdued tax revenue and lim-ited room for stepping-upexpenditure. Ind-Ra believesthe government will have toconstruct the FY21 budget ina way that expenditure is ratio-nalised and prioritised and allavenues of revenue generationare tapped,” it said.

While rationalising, thefocus of expenditure has to beon creating direct employmentand putting more money in thepockets of the people at thebottom of the pyramid, it said,adding since their marginalpropensity to consume is closeto one, they are likely to spendwhat they receive.

“This will support the con-sumption demand. Therefore,budgetary allocation to headssuch as rural infrastructure,road construction, affordablehousing and MNREGA mustbe prioritised and allocation fornon-merit subsidy/expendi-ture less critical for growth berationalised,” it said.

Also, gross fixed capitalformation (GFCF) has becomegovernment dependent, asincremental private capex hasbeen down and out, it said,adding, despite the fiscal con-straints, the government hasnot shied away from infra-structure spending in the pastand even resorted to fundthem through extra budgetaryresources.

Ind-Ra, therefore, believesthe government will continueto focus on infrastructurespending and leverage all pos-

sible options — budget, offbudget including NationalInfrastructure InvestmentFund, it said.

Also, since a larger part ofthe government capex nowtakes place at the state govern-ment level, it will be importantto keep a tab on the state gov-ernment capex as well, it added.

With regard to inflation, itsaid, retail and wholesale infla-tion expected to be 3.9 per centand 1.3 per cent, respectively ascompared to 4.4 per cent and1.4 per cent in the current fis-cal.

Though oil prices are sta-ble, retail food inflation afterremaining subdued and in sin-gle digit for 70 months sinceJanuary 2014, entered intodouble digits in November2019 and accelerated to 14.12per cent in December 2019, itsaid.

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The government onWednesday said it has

approved a model pact withforeign countries for recogni-tion of seafarers’ competencycertificates.

The decision was taken ata meeting of the Union Cabinetchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi here.

This will pave the way formutual recognition of mar-itime education and training of

seafarers by the countriesinvolved.

“The proposed bilateralMoU will enable India andanother country with whichsuch an MoU may be entered,to mutually recognise mar-itime education and training,certificates of competency,endorsements, documentaryevidence of training and med-ical fitness certificates, issued tothe seafarers who are citizens ofrespective countries,” theShipping Ministry said in a

statement.The pact will facilitate uni-

lateral recognition certificatesissued by the DirectorateGeneral of Shipping to Indianseafarers by another country,without seeking similaracknowledgment by India ofthe certificates issued by thatcountry, it added.

Under the pact, Indianseafarers will be eligible to beplaced on ships under the flagof that country for employ-ment, thus leading to increased

employment opportunities, theministry said.

The bilateral MoU wouldtherefore, make the seafarers ofboth the countries to be eligi-ble for employment on ships ofeither party based on the cer-tificates so recognized, it added.

“The Union Cabinet,chaired by the Prime MinisterShri Narendra Modi, has givenits approval for the ModelMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) for uni-lateral/bilateral recognition of

Certificates, pursuant toRegulation 1/10 ofInternational Convention onStandards of Training,Certification andWatchkeeping (STCW) forSeafarers, 1978 as amended tobe signed between theDirectorate General ofShipping, Government of Indiaand its counterparts in foreigncountries, with the approval ofMinister-in-charge of Shippingand the Minister of ExternalAffairs,” the statement said.

Script Open High Low LTPFORTIS 148.45 153.65 146.40 151.40HDFCBANK 1249.00 1255.45 1235.00 1240.35VMART 1910.25 1920.00 1869.00 1878.35ZEEL 276.40 303.95 272.45 300.25CANFINHOME 472.95 504.90 447.05 455.95TATASTEEL 478.10 479.80 473.05 474.80RELIANCE 1540.55 1546.70 1530.90 1533.10IBULHSGFIN 305.30 306.05 295.00 296.25TATAMOTORS 192.10 192.60 184.25 185.55SBIN 316.60 317.40 313.70 316.10ICICIBANK 534.70 534.90 521.05 523.00IDEA 5.97 6.03 5.45 5.63AXISBANK 719.40 722.60 707.00 712.75BHARTIARTL 515.00 524.00 507.15 514.35HDFC 2476.00 2481.20 2412.00 2417.10RBLBANK 343.00 345.45 332.60 339.10INFY 765.10 778.00 765.10 769.95IOC 117.00 117.00 112.30 113.85MARUTI 7334.20 7370.15 7109.65 7136.35TCS 2175.50 2210.10 2175.50 2206.50HAVELLS 595.00 617.80 588.50 599.90KOTAKBANK 1630.60 1636.05 1576.05 1585.90UPL 580.05 580.05 553.50 563.10ASIANPAINT 1818.00 1818.00 1769.60 1778.30JINDALSTEL 186.80 186.80 177.60 178.90RAIN 120.00 124.00 117.80 118.80SUNPHARMA 448.20 454.00 445.40 446.25ONGC 123.00 123.00 116.00 116.45VOLTAS 705.00 705.05 692.50 695.10YESBANK 38.60 39.10 38.00 38.45COALINDIA 196.50 199.45 191.05 192.00GRAPHITE 311.00 327.40 311.00 315.90LT 1310.00 1310.65 1292.40 1294.25POWERGRID 200.50 202.30 193.10 199.55AUROPHARMA 498.80 510.90 490.80 497.70POLYCAB 1121.00 1128.90 986.35 993.95BAJFINANCE 4170.00 4183.10 4125.00 4140.60INDUSINDBK 1348.00 1348.70 1323.00 1327.60JUSTDIAL 579.00 605.50 572.25 599.55HDFCAMC 3214.70 3261.30 3141.40 3172.05PFC 107.00 111.90 103.90 109.00HINDUNILVR 2061.25 2061.25 2028.00 2051.20DLF 259.10 261.25 255.10 258.20PIDILITIND 1423.00 1444.00 1420.25 1428.15GILLETTE 6330.00 6353.80 6288.05 6314.30PNBHOUSING 558.00 575.50 555.80 570.90HDFCLIFE 604.95 616.40 602.55 612.75PIIND 1449.00 1454.20 1435.50 1448.35TATAGLOBAL 387.10 388.50 382.40 384.80ICICIPRULI 494.00 511.80 489.00 506.55NIITTECH 1800.00 1894.30 1800.00 1871.40RPOWER 2.01 2.14 2.01 2.07BANDHANBNK 482.90 487.00 474.00 475.45BANKBARODA 95.30 95.75 93.60 94.25DISHTV 13.32 14.41 13.26 14.23NTPC 114.40 115.60 111.70 112.20INFRATEL 245.00 245.50 235.40 240.95VEDL 155.50 158.05 152.80 153.15FEDERALBNK 95.05 95.60 93.40 93.75PEL 1624.70 1630.40 1587.90 1608.60NMDC 135.20 135.20 128.80 132.30LICHSGFIN 481.00 483.00 472.50 476.55ITC 239.95 239.95 237.05 237.95HEG 1110.00 1149.00 1105.95 1125.00SAIL 50.00 50.30 49.20 49.75GRASIM 772.15 795.80 767.25 792.25TATAELXSI 958.05 978.90 955.00 960.50L&TFH 119.10 120.15 116.70 117.10INDIGO 1465.00 1475.20 1428.95 1468.65SPICEJET 102.30 102.50 97.50 97.85PNB 62.75 62.75 60.70 60.95DRREDDY 3060.00 3105.00 3051.35 3060.05ADANIENT 225.00 228.10 221.85 225.80BPCL 464.95 466.80 454.20 455.35CARERATING 652.90 683.50 652.90 662.05CGCL 198.90 199.20 195.55 196.50BEL 105.25 105.25 100.20 100.90HCLTECH 584.50 595.00 582.30 590.35ASHOKLEY 86.95 87.25 85.05 85.85HINDALCO 205.90 207.65 203.00 203.35AVANTI 713.40 718.00 691.35 696.10AMARAJABAT 775.00 792.60 769.45 784.05TORNTPOWER 318.00 322.35 313.05 315.65ESCORTS 707.55 713.95 701.35 703.50RNAM 341.05 349.45 340.50 346.20ACC 1505.00 1536.80 1505.00 1524.35SBILIFE 966.10 992.75 966.10 982.35JSWSTEEL 268.35 268.95 264.85 265.80ULTRACEMCO 4500.00 4539.65 4466.35 4479.80DMART 1925.00 1930.00 1908.15 1914.20CANBK 220.80 221.25 216.65 218.85NATIONALUM 45.65 45.75 45.00 45.50RAJESHEXPO 728.00 728.00 713.10 716.05EICHERMOT 21222.10 21265.45 20954.90 21090.60RECLTD 135.00 136.15 129.60 135.60TATAMTRDVR 80.25 80.25 76.25 77.45RAYMOND 688.15 703.55 662.00 673.10MFSL 536.00 536.00 514.45 519.25ADANIGREEN 205.00 208.65 194.40 197.55BHEL 44.10 44.10 43.05 43.40FORCEMOT 1479.90 1494.35 1442.25 1457.25DELTACORP 198.50 201.85 193.65 198.55JUBLFOOD 1768.25 1792.00 1768.25 1773.85M&M 553.55 556.45 549.30 554.00HINDPETRO 250.00 252.10 244.20 245.05BOSCHLTD 15053.60 15070.20 14615.00 14671.35RELCAPITAL 9.50 10.33 9.46 10.33

OIL 146.55 146.55 137.25 137.70BAJAJFINSV 9577.75 9600.00 9495.00 9548.55APOLLOHOSP 1632.45 1663.40 1627.30 1635.10GRANULES 142.45 149.90 142.00 149.25JINDALSAW 94.60 99.85 94.20 98.45NBCC 37.15 37.45 35.50 35.75WOCKPHARMA 284.45 284.45 276.45 278.35MCX 1405.00 1414.00 1379.10 1382.85INDIACEM 87.25 88.10 85.50 86.05NESTLEIND 15354.00 15585.05 15315.00 15544.40MINDTREE 897.00 918.20 897.00 906.10SPARC 187.75 188.80 181.00 182.40FRETAIL 345.00 347.70 341.25 343.50IRB 118.00 118.00 113.10 114.15GNFC 196.45 204.20 194.80 202.75CADILAHC 270.90 276.60 268.05 269.20NCC 57.05 58.10 56.50 56.70NHPC 25.90 27.20 25.20 26.35TATACHEM 752.00 759.35 747.00 748.95WIPRO 247.35 251.80 245.45 246.05TITAN 1185.00 1185.35 1172.45 1177.65STRTECH 132.50 133.80 127.25 129.25TECHM 783.00 790.00 776.80 778.10GAYAPROJ 76.10 77.00 74.25 75.25GLAXO 1630.00 1634.10 1619.75 1620.15ITI 100.25 103.00 99.00 99.80MOTILALOFS 866.10 884.20 852.00 873.55ICICIGI 1335.00 1342.75 1309.00 1313.55ADANIPORTS 379.00 385.00 379.00 383.85ADANIPOWER 62.65 63.35 62.30 62.45BDL 314.00 322.35 306.60 307.60ORIENTELEC 211.00 225.85 197.00 212.75BRITANNIA 3131.60 3137.15 3088.00 3106.15PRESTIGE 384.95 391.15 372.60 385.80MOTHERSUMI 138.50 139.30 136.60 138.65GAIL 127.10 127.65 125.55 125.85RAMCOCEM 830.00 839.75 820.05 831.40NAUKRI 2560.00 2570.55 2505.20 2529.40GLENMARK 355.90 356.25 346.80 350.00BEML 1005.50 1012.00 990.55 997.65BIOCON 294.00 297.00 291.50 292.75TATAPOWER 59.60 60.05 58.95 59.15RALLIS 234.85 238.00 228.90 231.15SUNTV 485.70 490.30 475.40 487.30BERGEPAINT 549.95 551.00 538.25 540.10CYIENT 462.80 504.25 461.95 484.85TVSMOTOR 462.35 468.35 455.60 464.55

RCF 52.60 54.20 52.60 53.50WELCORP 170.05 174.00 165.60 166.60PHILIPCARB 145.25 147.40 141.00 142.80DCAL 72.60 79.90 72.50 79.90SCI 60.45 62.90 59.45 60.90JAICORPLTD 112.90 112.90 108.00 109.00M&MFIN 355.00 358.10 348.50 350.35ADANIGAS 170.15 171.40 165.60 166.80MGL 1159.00 1163.00 1132.40 1140.25ABCAPITAL 107.35 109.40 106.45 106.95NOCIL 121.70 122.70 118.95 119.70BOMDYEING 87.10 87.20 84.50 84.80UJJIVAN 343.00 343.00 331.35 332.95BAJAJ-AUTO 3102.45 3108.00 3071.05 3077.30RADICO 365.70 367.45 356.00 364.40OMAXE 158.00 158.00 153.00 154.50APLLTD 602.00 603.85 585.70 589.75LUPIN 743.85 745.95 734.95 738.15SUDARSCHEM 489.90 495.40 472.20 477.60HEROMOTOCO 2405.25 2420.10 2380.00 2397.75AMBUJACEM 207.60 212.15 207.60 210.30INFIBEAM 59.20 59.20 57.25 58.15MUTHOOTFIN 775.55 775.55 755.70 758.40EXIDEIND 195.70 198.50 193.85 197.60IDFCFIRSTB 43.65 43.65 43.00 43.35JUBILANT 626.00 627.45 607.05 617.60NATCOPHARM 650.35 671.50 643.50 647.25IBULISL 135.15 135.15 122.35 125.95CIPLA 473.05 480.00 470.30 471.75BHARATFORG 513.00 514.80 500.80 502.90GODREJCP 730.00 733.65 721.80 726.05GUJGAS 280.00 282.00 273.45 280.80PAGEIND 25352.10 25725.35 25313.15 25419.15MRF 68506.20 68794.50 67505.55 67769.95COLPAL 1490.15 1493.00 1462.65 1477.90MANAPPURAM 180.20 181.65 177.10 178.95GSFC 84.50 88.25 83.05 87.05DIVISLAB 1870.00 1888.95 1845.80 1854.35MEGH 62.00 64.35 61.75 62.85STAR 397.65 400.00 394.85 396.65PCJEWELLER 23.35 23.40 22.70 23.15IBREALEST 101.30 101.80 95.55 96.40BATAINDIA 1787.80 1790.00 1767.00 1773.75TORNTPHARM 2036.00 2043.35 1995.00 1998.95CHOLAFIN 317.00 324.35 312.30 317.70

HINDZINC 215.15 216.10 207.55 209.25KEI 538.35 547.00 505.15 517.90DCBBANK 184.00 186.30 177.50 180.40INTELLECT 162.75 171.65 162.65 170.50ITDC 316.25 327.60 311.45 312.05BALKRISIND 1090.00 1101.20 1080.05 1097.95AIAENG 1794.00 1891.60 1725.60 1735.10IGL 472.00 475.40 469.10 472.00PVR 1939.00 1939.00 1905.35 1919.85EQUITAS 104.50 105.75 103.05 103.50SRTRANSFIN 1091.65 1092.65 1071.45 1074.65JMFINANCIL 104.45 105.25 100.55 101.75EIDPARRY 220.75 228.80 218.30 227.60CASTROLIND 132.15 133.60 129.70 130.50GMRINFRA 23.05 23.35 22.95 23.00ISEC 435.00 436.85 427.00 430.95VRLLOG 266.65 268.90 265.00 265.00RELINFRA 19.35 20.45 19.35 20.45SUNTECK 402.70 402.70 380.00 381.15JBCHEPHARM 487.00 512.00 487.00 497.35RELAXO 696.20 699.60 677.20 682.30DBL 417.35 427.55 414.65 418.70IIFL 174.45 175.00 162.95 165.75SIEMENS 1555.00 1596.40 1555.00 1577.75VENKYS 1793.00 1797.80 1755.00 1758.95DABUR 490.00 493.90 486.30 486.65BALRAMCHIN 184.50 186.30 183.30 184.65FINEORG 2218.90 2287.85 2204.55 2242.05IDBI 36.50 36.50 35.25 35.50WESTLIFE 388.00 391.00 380.00 381.50TATACOFFEE 104.20 105.10 100.90 101.95METROPOLIS 1655.00 1675.00 1621.00 1642.05WHIRLPOOL 2529.00 2529.00 2380.90 2403.45CEATLTD 1012.50 1012.95 992.95 999.50HAL 877.00 896.35 854.10 859.35PETRONET 270.25 274.50 270.25 270.75SUZLON 2.55 2.60 2.48 2.53EDELWEISS 100.00 104.75 100.00 102.10ASHOKA 120.05 121.60 115.00 115.65GDL 134.00 137.50 126.05 132.50BAJAJELEC 392.05 392.05 367.20 383.95VINATIORGA 2108.10 2140.00 2094.30 2116.55BBTC 1140.00 1148.25 1121.90 1129.70CROMPTON 255.00 263.00 252.15 260.90THERMAX 1047.60 1072.10 1046.00 1056.75VSTIND 4777.00 4856.45 4468.65 4604.75GSPL 252.70 254.75 250.20 253.45CONCOR 551.35 552.00 547.00 550.20PRSMJOHNSN 67.45 73.15 67.00 71.60HEIDELBERG 195.80 199.30 194.20 197.25APOLLOTYRE 174.90 175.15 173.35 174.30UBL 1273.00 1276.65 1264.00 1268.05NIACL 160.60 162.20 157.35 159.20SRF 3610.00 3637.80 3602.55 3608.15REPCOHOME 346.50 349.40 327.25 333.30MAXINDIA 79.65 86.80 79.65 85.65SWANENERGY 120.00 120.15 116.25 117.95BIRLACORPN 756.00 763.65 739.00 742.05KANSAINER 523.85 526.00 499.00 511.20GHCL 210.00 211.45 206.00 207.20IEX 186.00 186.50 177.90 180.45AUBANK 892.00 899.00 883.20 886.70RITES 315.85 320.55 313.55 318.70GODFRYPHLP 1421.00 1445.00 1406.00 1413.90MARICO 336.75 336.75 332.35 334.85VBL 797.90 804.85 777.00 793.50PERSISTENT 715.00 735.45 715.00 726.55HFCL 17.70 17.70 16.90 17.05HUDCO 42.75 42.90 41.20 41.70DIXON 4224.00 4224.00 4144.10 4158.05JKTYRE 81.05 82.75 80.20 80.90GODREJPROP 964.60 965.00 950.45 960.60KRBL 277.50 286.65 277.50 281.00COCHINSHIP 428.00 431.00 421.80 426.05BANKINDIA 67.40 67.85 66.75 67.45COROMANDEL 598.45 598.55 590.00 595.353MINDIA 22238.25 22353.75 22175.20 22269.50CHAMBLFERT 172.00 174.50 168.50 169.55MIDHANI 165.20 166.30 162.00 163.80INDIANB 105.00 106.00 103.40 103.95DEEPAKFERT 108.40 110.80 106.65 109.85NAVINFLUOR 1088.00 1098.75 1067.55 1073.50RESPONIND 92.85 93.25 91.65 92.65EMAMILTD 336.55 342.75 333.85 335.80SOUTHBANK 11.25 11.34 11.09 11.11TV18BRDCST 27.00 27.70 26.30 26.85TRENT 588.15 605.15 582.05 587.45HEXAWARE 340.85 341.70 334.15 335.05NBVENTURES 90.95 91.35 89.05 89.70WABAG 227.00 227.10 221.00 222.45APLAPOLLO 1983.00 2017.90 1978.75 1996.65LINDEINDIA 733.65 742.95 710.35 716.55SYMPHONY 1185.70 1219.50 1179.50 1195.30RVNL 24.65 25.10 24.50 24.85LALPATHLAB 1619.00 1641.90 1589.60 1595.75GICHSGFIN 161.00 163.95 156.95 157.85LTI 1915.95 1928.45 1903.55 1924.95NESCO 756.60 758.10 736.05 741.40IPCALAB 1230.20 1235.00 1212.75 1229.30HINDCOPPER 45.30 45.65 44.45 44.60ZENSARTECH 188.00 198.15 188.00 196.65PTC 59.50 60.75 59.50 60.50GICRE 257.40 257.65 247.35 249.25ALKEM 2359.00 2370.30 2346.80 2361.85HSCL 68.90 69.65 67.95 68.40INOXLEISUR 402.30 405.40 397.20 399.20SHREECEM 23199.95 23232.30 22900.10 22983.60NLCINDIA 61.10 61.40 56.40 57.40

ABBOTINDIA 12744.00 12744.20 12592.00 12714.70MINDAIND 388.00 408.00 388.00 402.10TEJASNET 82.80 84.95 82.00 82.85FCONSUMER 25.00 25.45 24.35 24.55IDFC 39.70 39.70 38.25 38.40KEC 339.70 344.25 329.15 330.50UNIONBANK 51.80 52.20 51.35 51.50ADANITRANS 335.20 338.80 330.05 332.70DALBHARAT 857.45 869.00 840.40 846.35DEEPAKNI 390.30 396.00 389.80 390.90INDHOTEL 144.00 145.70 143.50 144.30OBEROIRLTY 551.00 557.00 543.15 548.40CESC 750.90 751.00 741.45 748.40KNRCON 296.95 300.30 282.65 288.65FINOLEXIND 564.75 569.90 548.20 558.75CREDITACC 780.00 801.70 776.30 799.15JAMNAAUTO 45.45 46.00 44.60 45.05JKCEMENT 1287.05 1304.05 1284.00 1298.15REDINGTON 118.85 119.00 114.75 115.20FSL 42.85 43.45 42.80 43.20ENGINERSIN 100.60 100.85 99.05 99.25SUPREMEIND 1320.00 1323.25 1295.40 1314.20MPHASIS 887.90 893.75 882.05 886.30SJVN 26.70 26.70 25.70 26.00GESHIP 342.35 348.30 337.85 341.65ARVINDFASN 429.95 444.15 415.00 416.45TRIDENT 7.12 7.24 7.12 7.14LTTS 1627.95 1650.00 1622.30 1630.25GODREJAGRO 560.60 563.55 544.90 546.30AAVAS 1962.25 1970.10 1934.90 1944.95AJANTPHARM 1188.55 1199.00 1178.50 1191.25KTKBANK 74.00 74.20 73.10 73.55MMTC 21.70 22.45 21.50 21.80BASF 1024.05 1027.20 1010.00 1014.50ORIENTBANK 55.15 55.45 54.10 54.45PFIZER 4023.00 4075.00 3981.00 3998.90QUESS 575.45 578.95 567.25 571.55NH 358.80 362.85 352.00 355.20LUXIND 1510.00 1549.00 1471.10 1478.40CUMMINSIND 584.00 587.55 581.00 584.55JCHAC 2100.55 2243.60 2056.55 2201.50WELSPUNIND 50.70 50.70 49.50 49.75ATUL 4350.00 4350.95 4311.00 4325.15VIPIND 455.20 455.75 447.40 453.35BAJAJCON 233.50 238.80 231.60 232.35LEMONTREE 54.45 54.50 52.10 52.35ASTRAZEN 2542.95 2571.30 2517.95 2531.20CUB 238.90 240.00 235.95 236.25JKLAKSHMI 340.60 351.05 337.00 341.00IRCON 433.00 438.00 426.30 431.05GREAVESCOT 143.20 144.45 140.25 140.80ABFRL 233.00 236.80 230.65 235.10SYNGENE 308.40 318.00 307.10 309.15CCL 197.80 199.85 196.00 196.75ASTERDM 164.95 165.70 162.75 164.60JAGRAN* 68.50 70.00 68.00 69.35CRISIL 1796.75 1836.10 1795.85 1810.80SOBHA 446.20 448.15 438.00 440.35PARAGMILK 152.40 152.90 146.70 148.60NILKAMAL 1462.00 1497.00 1459.30 1467.70TNPL 192.90 197.05 192.90 194.50ERIS 510.00 511.75 503.55 507.05LAURUSLABS 406.40 406.40 394.45 399.55CHENNPETRO 148.05 150.60 142.75 143.65OFSS 2947.50 2970.75 2917.00 2953.10DCMSHRIRAM 413.20 413.20 400.00 402.55BAJAJHLDNG 3365.60 3385.80 3340.05 3355.00GSKCONS 8831.50 8894.00 8800.15 8857.65PHOENIXLTD 895.00 897.65 888.00 891.00HONAUT 27300.00 27367.00 26896.00 26987.65TIMKEN 930.00 937.45 912.50 926.05ITDCEM 61.55 63.95 60.60 63.05BRIGADE 226.00 231.30 224.75 227.40VGUARD 228.00 229.50 224.00 225.05DHFL 16.05 16.45 15.85 16.35JYOTHYLAB 155.30 158.95 153.90 157.05JSL 43.85 44.10 43.00 43.30IFCI 6.55 6.65 6.45 6.50BLISSGVS 146.25 147.00 143.25 145.05GMDCLTD 69.70 69.70 66.10 66.55ASTRAL 1100.00 1100.00 1076.95 1087.35SHANKARA 396.00 397.60 386.00 389.05BALMLAWRIE 125.20 127.15 123.60 124.20JISLJALEQS 8.00 8.00 7.64 7.69CENTRALBK 18.40 18.70 18.05 18.55JSWENERGY 66.20 66.95 66.20 66.50AMBER 1324.00 1348.80 1324.00 1342.70MRPL 47.15 47.15 44.80 44.90TCIEXP 738.70 744.45 738.70 742.90J&KBANK 29.40 29.40 28.85 28.90TEAMLEASE 2749.00 2749.00 2655.00 2698.55JSLHISAR 79.90 80.35 78.10 79.45CHALET 355.00 362.00 342.35 345.25BAYERCROP 4190.00 4190.05 4089.50 4112.45UFLEX 224.60 224.70 220.15 221.75SCHNEIDER 83.10 83.10 79.30 79.95TATAMETALI 644.05 646.00 630.65 635.75TTKPRESTIG 6123.10 6124.00 5985.00 5997.10HIMATSEIDE 140.50 141.00 136.40 136.95ORIENTCEM 83.20 86.40 82.70 83.10MOIL 160.20 160.20 157.00 157.75CHOLAHLDNG 538.10 543.95 525.00 541.65SUNDRMFAST 500.25 516.15 500.00 504.00PGHL 4330.80 4348.70 4310.10 4337.80NETWORK18 27.90 28.00 27.00 27.80GODREJIND 439.85 443.80 431.35 435.55SONATSOFTW 336.30 336.30 330.00 332.20GPPL 91.70 93.00 89.15 90.00

BLUESTARCO 845.00 845.00 825.60 835.20CAPPL 296.50 299.85 295.00 296.00ECLERX 667.50 667.55 655.00 658.90GRINDWELL 627.00 633.60 615.75 626.55MAHABANK 13.93 13.93 13.17 13.23VTL 1050.00 1050.00 1037.40 1042.95LAXMIMACH 3700.40 3719.35 3631.65 3637.05TIMETECHNO 59.70 61.00 58.10 58.40ALLCARGO 104.80 104.80 102.50 102.85FINCABLES 416.00 417.85 405.70 412.10KAJARIACER 552.00 553.50 547.05 551.00SADBHAV 134.70 135.00 130.50 131.50BLUEDART 2639.95 2702.05 2639.95 2675.00

SANOFI 6687.00 6754.90 6662.00 6669.05SHOPERSTOP 427.50 428.00 410.80 416.05MAGMA 66.25 66.35 62.20 64.20FDC 228.60 228.60 223.45 225.95GULFOILLUB 819.15 833.00 815.80 827.90SHRIRAMCIT 1377.00 1399.90 1357.45 1366.60PGHH 11339.00 11339.00 11195.00 11219.50PNCINFRA 195.75 195.75 191.00 191.70IOB 11.51 11.56 11.33 11.37CENTURYPLY 170.35 170.90 166.55 169.55EIHOTEL 146.65 149.40 146.65 148.15VARROC 486.50 490.25 482.00 483.75KALPATPOWR 448.00 469.95 446.80 449.00SHK 115.00 115.10 112.00 112.90TVSSRICHAK 1769.30 1783.35 1750.70 1755.50ENDURANCE 1065.00 1086.80 1055.00 1072.00DBCORP 146.05 148.00 141.90 142.35GALAXYSURF 1500.00 1517.90 1475.25 1487.35MINDACORP 106.45 106.45 103.70 104.70ADVENZYMES 185.25 185.25 179.75 180.50THYROCARE 550.00 557.55 542.75 555.40RATNAMANI 1221.00 1225.00 1189.25 1206.75MAHSEAMLES 410.00 410.00 404.00 407.45GUJALKALI 435.00 435.00 422.05 423.50IFBIND 680.00 682.15 663.50 669.70ALBK 18.65 18.70 18.50 18.50INOXWIND 43.50 44.55 42.45 42.85TAKE 107.15 107.50 105.00 105.50GEPIL 680.05 688.40 679.50 680.05CENTRUM 22.55 22.75 22.15 22.45ESSELPRO 173.00 174.70 170.85 171.40MASFIN 908.00 909.40 894.35 898.95MAHSCOOTER 4350.00 4363.00 4340.00 4346.40HATHWAY 21.30 21.45 20.65 20.75ANDHRABANK 17.00 17.15 16.85 16.90DHANUKA 456.75 464.90 446.10 449.30AEGISLOG 210.85 212.75 207.50 208.90STARCEMENT 90.35 90.40 88.70 89.25INDOSTAR 239.00 241.00 235.10 236.10UCOBANK 16.25 16.25 16.00 16.05TATAINVEST 832.90 834.00 822.40 830.00SIS 502.10 515.00 496.60 503.05SOLARINDS 1188.00 1208.90 1155.00 1171.10MAHLOG 424.10 426.05 408.40 415.65SFL 1416.00 1497.00 1416.00 1487.30MAHINDCIE 171.60 171.60 168.50 169.55SYNDIBANK 27.80 27.85 27.35 27.50KPRMILL 666.60 674.35 662.20 667.75SUPRAJIT 201.70 205.40 201.25 204.00KPITTECH 100.05 100.05 95.55 97.35CERA 2668.35 2699.85 2661.30 2687.30MHRIL 244.45 244.45 237.10 237.70VAIBHAVGBL 910.00 929.00 910.00 925.05LAKSHVILAS 15.85 15.95 15.70 15.75WABCOINDIA 6423.00 6465.65 6399.00 6409.10SHILPAMED 269.60 270.00 263.55 264.40MAHLIFE 414.15 415.00 409.55 413.05LAOPALA 172.05 172.25 167.65 168.70TIINDIA 523.95 525.40 522.25 523.70GARFIBRES 1372.00 1411.15 1360.00 1410.10TCNSBRANDS 591.00 592.00 585.95 587.30AKZOINDIA 2015.00 2035.95 2005.10 2012.85CORPBANK 24.40 24.45 24.20 24.35SKFINDIA 2166.00 2200.00 2151.00 2174.00UNITEDBNK 9.00 9.00 8.82 8.84ZYDUSWELL 1511.75 1516.80 1501.00 1504.20SOMANYCERA 228.85 229.75 225.05 225.90GET&D 155.65 155.65 152.60 153.05CARBORUNIV 338.10 338.10 331.35 336.60TVTODAY 253.50 257.05 246.30 249.75HERITGFOOD 365.05 365.05 360.00 360.90FLFL 408.00 413.75 405.85 408.35SCHAEFFLER 4573.30 4610.45 4558.40 4597.75

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 12218.35 12225.05 12087.90 12106.90 -62.95ZEEL 278.00 304.00 272.00 298.00 13.90GRASIM 770.85 799.00 767.10 792.00 20.35NESTLEIND 15369.00 15585.00 15301.00 15561.80 281.05TCS 2181.00 2210.00 2173.70 2209.80 38.75ADANIPORTS 379.95 385.00 379.00 384.00 4.05HCLTECH 585.20 595.00 581.50 590.20 6.15INFY 768.45 778.00 766.00 769.80 7.30SBIN 317.00 317.00 313.70 315.65 1.95BHARTIARTL 514.75 523.75 506.70 514.55 2.80YESBANK 38.70 39.00 38.00 38.45 0.10TITAN 1181.80 1185.95 1172.00 1178.00 1.80M&M 553.50 556.50 549.00 553.65 0.85BAJAJFINSV 9590.00 9600.00 9495.00 9545.00 10.70BAJFINANCE 4186.00 4186.50 4123.35 4143.00 4.40RELIANCE 1544.00 1546.75 1531.10 1535.25 1.35EICHERMOT 21160.00 21280.00 20944.00 21070.00 13.45TECHM 780.00 790.45 776.20 778.55 -0.35ITC 239.60 239.60 237.10 238.30 -0.15INFRATEL 244.85 245.00 235.50 240.35 -0.15HEROMOTOCO2408.70 2410.00 2379.00 2397.10 -1.60SUNPHARMA 448.40 453.85 445.35 447.00 -0.40ULTRACEMCO 4505.00 4540.00 4463.00 4477.00 -6.55DRREDDY 3060.55 3105.05 3047.40 3055.55 -4.90HINDUNILVR 2063.00 2063.50 2027.20 2051.90 -3.50BRITANNIA 3125.50 3138.70 3088.90 3105.30 -5.95HDFCBANK 1248.05 1255.00 1234.40 1241.85 -2.50IOC 116.65 116.90 111.95 114.55 -0.25VEDL 155.85 158.25 152.80 153.55 -0.35WIPRO 248.60 251.95 245.40 246.40 -0.70TATASTEEL 478.65 479.85 473.20 474.15 -2.00JSWSTEEL 268.30 269.30 264.75 265.95 -1.30CIPLA 474.50 480.30 470.25 470.80 -2.60GAIL 127.20 127.90 125.50 126.05 -0.70LT 1311.00 1312.00 1292.00 1294.90 -7.45BAJAJ-AUTO 3105.00 3110.00 3070.10 3074.85 -22.20INDUSINDBK 1346.35 1348.00 1323.00 1326.05 -10.30HINDALCO 205.60 207.80 203.00 203.50 -1.65POWERGRID 200.50 202.35 193.05 198.85 -1.75AXISBANK 717.00 722.75 706.60 709.30 -8.30BPCL 465.20 466.45 454.10 456.90 -6.95ICICIBANK 531.50 534.95 520.75 522.00 -9.05HDFC 2474.00 2483.35 2412.20 2418.00 -47.45ASIANPAINT 1815.00 1818.70 1766.85 1773.20 -37.55KOTAKBANK 1633.20 1637.90 1576.00 1591.00 -34.10MARUTI 7340.00 7374.95 7107.95 7145.00 -157.65UPL 582.85 582.85 553.40 560.45 -17.25TATAMOTORS 191.95 192.50 184.25 185.60 -5.80NTPC 114.95 115.75 111.50 112.50 -4.65COALINDIA 199.10 199.40 190.95 191.55 -10.60ONGC 122.00 122.00 116.00 116.30 -6.45

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Washington: The US Senateplunged into President DonaldTrump’s impeachment trialwith Republicans abruptlyabandoning plans to cramopening arguments into twodays but solidly rejecting fornow Democratic demands formore witnesses to expose whatthey deem Trump’s “trifecta” ofoffenses.

Trump himself claimed hewants top aides to testify, butqualified that by suggestingthere were “national security”concerns to allowing their tes-timony.

“We have a great case,”Trump said on Wednesday ata global economic forum inDavos.

In a press conferencebefore returning toWashington, Trump said hislegal team was doing a “verygood job.”

He appeared to break withRepublicans efforts to blockDemocratic motions to imme-diately call witnesses and sub-poena documents. Instead,Trump said he’d like to seeaides, including former nation-al security adviser John Bolton,Secretary of State MikePompeo, and acting chief ofstaff Mick Mulvaney, testify aswitnesses Trump said he’d leavethe “national security” con-cerns about allowing their tes-timony to the Senate.

Tuesday’s daylong session

started with the setback forRepublican Senate leaderMitch McConnell and thepresident’s legal team, but itended near 2 a.M. OnWednesday with Republicanseasily approving the rest of thetrial rules largely on theirterms.

With the rules settled, thetrial is now on a fast-track. Atissue is whether Trump shouldbe removed from office forabuse of power stemming fromhis pressure on Ukraine toinvestigate Democratic rivalJoe Biden and Biden’s sonHunter as Trump was withholdaid to the country, and forobstructing Congress’ ensuingprobe.

Chief Justice John Robertsgaveled open the session, with

House prosecutors on oneside, Trump’s team on theother, in the well of the Senate,as senators sat silently at theirdesks, under oath to do“impartial justice.” No cell-phones or other electronicswere allowed.

As the day stretched deepinto the night, lawyerly argu-ments gave way to morepointedly political ones.Tempers flared and senatorspaced the chamber.Democrats pursued what maybe their only chance to forcesenators to vote on hearingnew testimony.

After one particularly bit-ter post-midnight exchange,Roberts intervened, taking therare step of admonishing boththe Democratic House man-

agers prosecuting the case andthe White House counsel to“remember where they are.”

“I think it is appropriate atthis point for me to admonishboth the House managers andthe president’s counsel in equalterms to remember that theyare addressing the world’sgreatest deliberative body,”Roberts said.

He told them that descrip-tion of the Senate stemmedfrom a 1905 trial when a sen-ator objected to the word “pet-tifogging,” because membersshould “avoid speaking in amanner and using languagethat is not conducive to civildiscourse.”

Over and over,Republicans turned backDemocratic amendments tosubpoena documents from theWhite House, StateDepartment, DefenseDepartment and budget office.By the same 53-47 party-line,they turned away witnesseswith front-row seats to Trump’sactions including acting WhiteHouse chief of staff Mulvaneyand Bolton, the former nation-al security adviser critical ofthe Ukraine policy.

Only on one amendment,to allow more time to filemotions, did a singleRepublican, Sen. Susan Collinsof Maine, join Democrats. Butit, too, was rejected, 52-48.

As the visitors’ gallery

filled earlier with guests,actress-and-activist AlyssaMilano among them, andTrump’s most ardent Houseallies lining the back rows, theday that began as a debate overrules quickly took on thecadence of a trial proceedingover whether the president’sactions toward Ukraine war-ranted removal from office.

“It’s not our job to make iteasy for you,” Rep. AdamSchiff, the chairman of theHouse Intelligence Committeeleading the prosecution, toldthe Senate. “Our job is tomake it hard to deprive theAmerican people of a fairtrial.”

White House counsel PatCipollone, the president’s leadlawyer, called the trial “a farce.”He scoffed that the Housecharges against Trump were“ridiculous.”

The White House legalteam did not dispute Trump’sactions, when he calledUkraine and asked for a“favour,” which was to investi-gate Biden as he withheld mil-itary aid the ally desperatelyneeded as it faced off with hos-tile Russia on its border. But thelawyers insisted the presidentdid nothing wrong. “Absolutelyno case,” Cipollone said.

Schiff, the CaliforniaDemocrat, said America’sFounders added the remedy ofimpeachment in theConstitution with “preciselythis type of conduct in mind -conduct that abuses the powerof office for a personal bene-fit, that undermines ournational security, and thatinvites foreign interference inthe democratic process of anelection.”

Said Schiff: “It is the trifecta

of constitutional misconductjustifying impeachment.’’

The other lead lawyer onTrump’s team, Jay Sekulow,retorted, “I’ll give you a trifec-ta,” outlining complaints overthe House Democrats’impeachment inquiry process.

In Davos, Trump repeatedhis attacks on DemocraticHouse managers serving asprosecutors in the trial, sayinghe’d like to “sit right in the frontrow and stare at their corruptfaces” on the Senate floor dur-ing the trial but that his attor-neys might have a problemwith it.

And he said he wants todeliver the State of the Unionas scheduled on February 4even if the trial is ongoing,calling the address “veryimportant to what I am doing”in setting his administration’sagenda. AP

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Davos: US President DonaldTrump said his administra-tion was preparing to add a“couple of countries” to thecontroversial list of stateswhose citizens are subject totravel bans or severe restric-tions on entry to the UnitedStates.

“We are adding a coupleof countries to it. We have tobe safe. Our country has to be

safe,” he said at the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos,adding that the names of thenew countries would beannounced “very shortly”.

The Wall Street Journalreported earlier that theadministration planned toadd seven countries includingNigeria, Africa’s most popu-lous country, and others inAfrica and Asia.

It said the other nationsbeing considered for newrules were Belarus, Eritrea,Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudanand Tanzania.

The first package of trav-el bans and restrictions —targeting mainly Muslimmajority countries — wereannounced shortly afterTrump took office in January2017 and outraged his critics.

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Colombo: Gotabaya Rajapaksawants a probe into the disap-pearances of over 20,000 peo-ple in the country’s brutal civilwar with Tamil Tiger rebels, hisoffice has said in a clarificationafter the Sri Lankan Presidentdeclared the missing persons“dead” in a first-ever admissionto a UN official.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, theformer wartime defence secre-tary who played a key role inending Sri Lanka’s nearly 30-year civil war with the Tamilseparatist rebels, told UNResident Coordinator HanaaSinger last week that after thenecessary investigations arecompleted steps would be takento issue death certificates to themissing persons.

The President’s office hassaid Gotabaya Rajapaksa hadexplained to the UN official thathe will have the matter investi-

gated, but added, “however Ican’t bring back the dead”.

The President told the UNofficial that as a result of thecensus carried out by the gov-ernment at the end of the con-flict in 2009, it had emergedthat most of the missing per-sons had been conscripted bythe LTTE, the statement said.

“Their families attest tobeing witnesses of their lovedones being taken by the LTTE.However, thereafter they do nothave any information as totheir fate. Therefore, as far asthey are concerned these peo-ple are missing,” the statementquoted the Sri Lankan presidentas saying.

“The unfortunate truth isthat these people had died dur-ing the battles. Even in the secu-rity forces there are about 4,000personnel listed as missing.But in reality these people had

died during the fights, but theirbodies had not been recovered,”it said. Rajapaksa told the UNofficial that after the conclusionof the necessary investigations,steps would be taken to issuedeath certificates and after thatthe families would be given thenecessary support to rebuildtheir lives.

According to the govern-ment figures, over 20,000 peo-ple are missing due to variousconflicts including the three-decade separatist war withLankan Tamils in the north andeast which claimed at least100,000 lives.

The Tamils alleged thatthousands were massacred dur-ing the final stages of the warthat ended in 2009 when theGovernment forces killedLiberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) chief VelupillaiPrabhakaran. PTI

6��(��",������� ������� � ������� ����� �(�� � ���� ������ Beijing: The death toll from

the new coronavirus outbreakin China nearly doubled to 17with the confirmed infectioncases sharply rising to 444 onWednesday, even as the casesof the deadly pneumoniawere reported from the US,Hong Kong, Macao andMexico.

Chinese authorities havewarned that the disease couldspread further in the ongoingholiday season during whichmillions travel at home andabroad amid official advi-sories to people of Wuhan,the epicentre of illness, not toleave the city.

Seventeen people havedied due to the virus, state-run China Daily reported onWednesday.

The coronavirus is a largefamily of viruses that causesillnesses ranging from thecommon cold to acute respi-ratory syndromes, but the

virus that has killed people inChina is a novel strain andnot seen before.

Common symptoms ofthe novel coronavirus straininclude respiratory symptomssuch as fever, cough, shortnessof breath and breathing diffi-culties, according to the WHO.

The Chinese healthauthorities announced that444 confirmed cases of pneu-monia caused by a novelcoronavirus (2019-nCoV)had been reported in 13provincial-level regions inthe country by the end ofTuesday.

Considering its potentialto spread to different coun-tries, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) is hold-ing a rare emergency meetingGeneva on Wednesday toconsider declaring Wuhanvirus as an international pub-lic health emergency, as it didwith swine flu and Ebola.

Such a declaration, ifmade, will be seen as anurgent call for a coordinatedinternational response in viewof fears that millions ofChinese are travelling athome and abroad for the

Chinese New Year and SpringFestival holidays startingfrom January 24.

The fest ival triggersbiggest mass migration, clog-ging road, rail and air net-works every year. PTI

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Hong Kong: Hong Kongreported its first suspectedcase of the new SARS-likevirus Wednesday in a manwho arrived in the city fromWuhan via the cross-borderhigh-speed railway.

Health secretary SophiaChan said the 39-year-oldman was “preliminarily posi-tive”, but a final test resultwould only be known onThursday.

“We decided to announcedthe case (early) due to heavy

public concern,” Chan said.The man and four family

members had taken the high-speed railway from Wuhan toShenzhen on Tuesday beforetransferring to another trainthat brought them to HongKong.

He was put in isolation inhospital after tests, butWednesday when his relativesshowed no symptoms after anight at a city hotel they wereallowed to leave for thePhilippines. AFP

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Cairo: Egypt, Ethiopia andSudan started US-monitoredtalks on Wednesday in theSudanese capital to try ham-mer out a draft deal to resolvetheir dispute over a Nile damthat Ethiopia is constructing,an Egyptian spokesman said.

The $4.6 billion GrandEthiopian Renaissance Damproject on the Blue Nile, whichpromises to provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopia’s100 million people, has been acontentious point among thethree main Nile Basin coun-tries.

The issue is critical forCairo as Egypt seeks to protectits main source of freshwater

for its large and growing pop-ulation, also about 100 million.

The Blue Nile flows fromEthiopia into Sudan where itjoins the White Nile nearKhartoum, to form the NileRiver. Eighty-five percent ofNile waters originate inEthiopia from the Blue Nile,which is one of the Nile’s twomain tributaries.

According to Muhamedel-Sebai, a spokesman forEgypt’s irrigation ministry,technical and legal teams fromthe three countries are to “pre-pare a draft deal” on how thedam’s reservoir would be filledand how the dam itself wouldoperate.

The meeting in Khartoumwould last two days, he said.There was no immediate indi-cation on whether it wouldsucceed after several previousrounds of talks failed. But atthe talks in Washington lastweek, the three countries saidthey had reached a preliminaryagreement.

The US and World Bankare acting as observers at theKhartoum talks after Egypt’sPresident Abdel Fattah el-Sissilast year pleaded withWashington and the interna-tional community to mediate asolution for the years-long dis-pute. Egypt claims that fillingthe dam’s reservoir too quick-ly could significantly reduce itsshare of the Nile water. A jointstatement after the Washingtonmeeting said the filling shouldoccur in stages during therainy season, which generallyruns from July to August,thought it did not give detailson how long it would take to becompleted.Another two-daymeeting in Khartoum is planned for next week, withthe goal of reaching a finalagreement. AP

Jakarta: An American journal-ist working for an environ-mental website has been arrest-ed over an alleged visa violationin Indonesia that could sendhim to jail for years, his employ-er said on Wednesday.

Philip Jacobson, 30, was ini-tially detained last month afterattending a hearing in Borneoinvolving the local parliamentand the Indigenous PeoplesAlliance of the Archipelago,Indonesia’s largest indigenousrights advocacy group, the web-site Mongabay said.

This week, Jacobson wasformally arrested and told hefaced up to five years in prisonfor visiting Indonesia with thewrong visa, it added.

He had travelled to thecountry on a business visa,according to Mongabay.

“We are supporting Philipin this ongoing case and mak-ing every effort to comply withIndonesia’s immigration author-ities,” said Mongabay chief RhettA. Butler. PTI

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Davos: Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan on Wednesdaysaid he has told US PresidentDonald Trump that a war withIran would have disastrous con-sequences.

Asked whether Trumpagreed with him, Khan said theUS President did not say any-thing but he probably under-stood what he meant.

“Afghanistan is yet to beresolved and Iran would bemuch bigger (if war starts),”Khan said.

Khan met Trump on thesidelines of the WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) sum-mit here on Tuesday.

Tensions between the USand Iran have escalated in thewake of the killing of powerfulIranian commander GeneralQasem Soleimani by America

on January 3.“If there is conflict between

Iran and the Western world itwill be a disaster — it will causepoverty in the world — andwho knows how long it may goon. In my opinion it would beinsanity,” Khan said.

“I spoke to President Trumpyesterday and I told him itwould be a disaster,” Khan said.

The Pakistan PrimeMinister also said he does notunderstand why countries try toresolve their differences throughmilitary conflicts.

“The moment you start amilitary conflict, you don’tknow where it will finish. It hasunintended consequences,” hesaid.

After meeting Khan,

Trump on Tuesday had said theUS is watching the develop-ments between India andPakistan over Kashmir “veryclosely” and repeated his offerto “help” resolve the long-standing dispute between thetwo neighbours.

Trump told Khan, whomhe referred to as “my friend”,that he would speak to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi aboutthe ongoing Kashmir issue.Trump is expected to visit Indiain the coming weeks, markinghis first visit after assumingoffice.

“What’s going on betweenPakistan and India … if we canhelp, we certainly will be will-ing to. We have been watchingit very closely and it’s an hon-our to be here with my friend,”Trump had said. PTI

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Jerusalem: When FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronvisited Jerusalem’s Old City onWednesday, he also trod in thefootsteps of one of his predeces-sors, Jacques Chirac, by engag-ing in a heated argument withIsraeli security.

The altercation broke outwhen Israeli security forcespushed past the French detailand were first to enter theChurch of Saint Anne, which isFrench state property.

“Everybody knows the rules.I don’t like what you did in frontof me,” an animated Macronloudly told the Israeli personnel,speaking in English, in the crushto enter the building, whichremains French territory underinternational treaties. “Go out —outside please!” he added in araised voice in scenes capturedin video footage that quicklyspread on social media. TheRoman Catholic church, locat-

ed at the start of Via Dolorosa inthe Old City’s Muslim Quarter,has been part of France’s terri-tories in the Holy Land since the1850s. The rules that have beenin place “for centuries”, Macrontold the Israeli officers, “will notchange with me, I can tell you,OK? So everybody, respect therules.” Macron will on Thursdayattend a ceremony to com-memorate the liberation 75 yearsago of Nazi Germany’sAuschwitz death camp in whatwas then occupied Poland.

Wednesday’s tense scenesrecalled a 1996 Jerusalem visit bylate former president Chiracduring which he also lost his coolwith Israeli security agents whowere pressing him to move on.

Chirac heatedly told themtheir actions were a “provoca-tion” and angrily asked: “Whatdo you want? Me to go back tomy plane and go back to France,is that what you want?” AFP

���������������(���%������������� ��86����������� Sao Paulo: A frequent and

fiery critic of Brazil’s media,President Jair Bolsonarodeclared Wednesday he wouldno longer speak to journalists.

Bolsonaro made theremarks outside his officialresidence in Brasilia wheremost mornings for the pastyear he has fielded questionsfrom reporters and greetedfans. “I want to speak with you,but the national journalismassociation says that when Ispeak, I attack them,”Bolsonaro told reporters.

“As I am a person of peace,I will not give more interviews.”

The move comes after theNational Federation ofJournalists said last weekBolsonaro’s presidency had“significantly affected the free-dom of the press in Brazil.”

It registered 208 attacks —including physical and verbal— against the media or jour-nalists in 2019, an increase of54 percent compared with theprevious year. AFP

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The Enforcement Directorateroped in Saffronart, an inter-

national auction house, to hosttwo auctions featuring the seizedassets of fugitive businessmanNirav Modi. While the first sale,a live auction, will be onFebruary 27 in Mumbai, the sec-ond will be an online sale onMarch 3 and 4.

The auctions will feature 15artworks by significant modernand contemporary Indian artistsas well as a selection of luxurywatches, handbags and cars.

Highlights of the auctioninclude a 1,935 masterpiece byAmrita Sher-Gil, which hasnever been auctioned previous-ly and a significant oil on canvasby MF Husain from hisMahabharata series. Both theartworks have been estimated to

be priced at �12 crore or �18crore.

The exhibition will alsoshowcase a serene blue paintingby VS Gaitonde from 1972,which is estimated to be pricedat around �7 to 9 crore and avivid red depiction of Krishna byManjit Bawa (�3 to 5 crore).

Apart from the modern art-works, important watches willalso be on sale including a JaegerLecoultre Men’s ReversoGyrotourbillon 2 and a Gerrard

Perregaux Men’s Opera Onewristwatch. More than 80 brand-ed handbags are there in the auc-tion, out of which several arefrom the Birkin and Kelly linesby luxury retailer Hermes.

CEO and co-founder of theauction house, Dinesh Vazirani,said, “We are honoured to lendour services and expertise to theEnforcement Directorate. Weare working with the ED toassess and evaluate each item andput together the catalogue for

both the sales, which include adistinguished line-up of artworks,too.” He added that some of thebrands offer the most popularluxury items internationally andhave witnessed a great demandfrom celebrities and collectors.

This is the first time that theEnforcement Directorate hasappointed a professional auctionhouse to conduct an auction ofseized assets in India. Earlier, inMarch 2019, the Income TaxDepartment had appointed thesame auction house for the bid-ding that raised �54.84 crore.

Selected items from theforthcoming auctions will beexhibited at the Saffronart galleryin The Oberoi, New Delhi, dur-ing the India Art Fair later thismonth.

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Idon’t believe in enacting a characterwithout knowing him or his back-ground story,” says actor Sunny

Kaushal, who is set to make his debut withAmazon Prime Video’s web series TheForgotten Army. So he studied deep.“There is always some blurred informa-tion that you have because of what youhave read about history in school. But youwould have never known the details ofeverything, including their betrayals,struggles and fights and even some partof their personal lives. We started read-ing and researching about everythingthrough the 1999 documentary as well asinternet and books. We collected a lot ofmaterial to educate ourselves on the topic,”says he.

The series showcases the formationof Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian NationalArmy after British army’s defeat inSingapore during World War II. It hasbeen told through the perspective of sol-diers. Playing the role of soldiers could behighly taxing and challenging for debu-tantes. So how difficult did they find it tomaster all the moves? “For a week, welearnt how to live the way Army does. Wehad regular training on how to handle thegun and create formations. We worked onthe standing postures, learnt what anglesto hold and keep the gun so that you actu-ally look like one from the Army. Apartfrom that, psychologically too, there wasa lot of preparation to understand whatsoldiers have gone through in thosethree years during war,” says Sunny.

Director Kabir Khan brought thestory out to the public for the first timethrough the eponymous 1999 documen-tary, which also became the first referencefor the actors to prepare for their respec-

tive roles. Ever since Khan passed outof film school he wanted to tell the sto-ries of these soldiers. He says, “Twenty-seven thousand of them died fightingto liberate the country. Just imaginetheir patriotism and valour. They area forgotten chapter in our history andthis story is an effort to make peoplerealise their existence.”

Sharvari tells us, “The 1999 doc-umentary really helped us get into theskin of our characters since they arebased on real lives.”

However, Sunny points out thateven though the characters might befictional, the story and events that theaudience would experience are real.Surinder Sodhi, played by him, mightnot have existed in reality but has beeninspired by real people. Sunny tells us,“My character is an amalgamation ofGurbaksh Singh Dhillon, Shah NawazKhan and Prem Kumar Sahgal, thethree faces who were charged in theRed Fort trial. So different elementsfrom their stories have inspiredSurinder’s story.”

Maya, played by actor SharvariWagh, is a civilian who later becomesa part of the INA. She is inspired byone the leaders of the Rani LaxmibaiRegiment, which comprised women“who fought shoulder to shoulder withmen and stood till the end. They havebeen trained very well and how to fightwith guns and all kinds of weapons. Iam very glad that my first project has

been inspired by such a powerfulstory.”

Since it’s a period drama, the per-sonal lives and stories of the soldiers,their war rooms and battle set-up havebeen created based on archival footageand images to recreate the real histo-ry. But why is it that there are so manyfilms and series being made aroundchapters of Indian history today giventhe recent trend in Bollywood? “Withthe growth of good content, we are for-tunate enough to have come in theindustry at such a time when historyis being valued so much,” Sharvarisays. Sunny goes on to add thatanother reason why history is makingits way into mainstream cinema isbecause of the enhanced technologythat we are equipped with today. “Weare much better equipped today to cre-ate such content. What the directorenvisions, he can bring it alive the sameway he has imagined. To recreate thosetimes really needs a lot, including theright kind of animation, costumes andset-ups. You need a lot of means to dothat. It’s only now that they are able toexpress their creative vision. Thebiggest instance is of Kabir Khan him-self, who has been working on thisscript for 20 years since his 1999 doc-umentary.”

Sharvari, who is set for herBollywood debut with Bunty AurBabli 2, talks about her take onsequels and whether they revive theessence of an old blockbuster or justtake away its originality. She says, “Thesecond part will revolve around thestory which happens 10 years later.Might be their kids (laughs). It’s likea time lapse. It’s somewhat the samestoryline and same characters but justthe people and their approaches aredifferent this time. I think that it’s goingto be a fun thing and something thatpeople wouldn’t have watched. So asequel always has something to add ofits own while maintaining the origi-nality of both the versions.”

(The series releases on AmazonPrime on January 24.)

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Ahumble stone fountain, over-grown shrubs and flowers,

and white sheets drying on a linemet Pharrell Williams and othercurious guests at the Chanel showinside the Grand Palais.

The set recreated the land-scape house founder Gabrielle“Coco” Chanel viewed as a childafter her mother died and herfather sent her away to an abbeyorphanage.

If such a lowly — and sad —setting seemed like an unusualchoice to showcase high-pricedand normally joyous couture, itwas an intentional move bydesigner Virginie Viard todemonstrate how Chanel mixedhigh and low in her fashion.

Here are some highlightsfrom the second day of ParisFashion Week haute coutureshows for spring-summer 2020.

�CHANEL DELVES INTOFOUNDER’S ORPHANAGECHILDHOOD

Chanel, Viard discovered, hadbeen profoundly inspired in allher designs by the ancientCistercian Abbey of Aubazine, inthe French region of Corrèze —with its flowers, uniforms andstained-glass artistry.

The theme made for a morehaunting collection than normal— a mood emphasized by loud,spooky music and models thatslowly crisscrossed the courtyardlike they were in a trance.

A take on a convent school-girl uniform opened the show asa signature Chanel tweed skirt-suit. It was cut sharply, with around ecclesiastical white collarand baggy white preppy anklesocks. Mosaic patterns in panelsevoking stained glass appeared on

an equally strict jacket in pastelblue and sand. Apart from theoccasional flash of colour, most ofthe designs came in black andwhite.

“What interested me in this(abbey) was the paradox betweenthe sophistication of haute coutureand the simplicity of this place,”Viard said. “The strict suitsof the pupils rub shoul-ders with structureddresses of an etherealfinesse.”

Viard has lesshumour and astricter aesthetictake than theflamboyant KarlLagerfeld, her pre-decessor whodied last year.And thismore austeretheme gavethe Frenchdesigner aplatform todesign more nat-urally with herown voice.

�GIVENCHY’STIMELESSNESS

Musicians weresuspended mid-air

while seated on chairsattached to stone columns for

Givenchy’s historic Left Bankshow venue.

They played dramaticclassical music to accompa-ny spring’s equally dramaticcouture — an accomplished

series of varied designs thatmade it seem as if designerClare Waight Keller can’t put

a foot wrong.The clothes spoke for

themselves, without the needfor cultural references,through deft plays of pro-portion.

A long charcoal tuxedocoat had a magnificent shape,

with a truncated full skirt billow-ing out unexpectedly at kneelevel in a clever reinterpretationof a known silhouette.

Vividly coloured silk rufflesdidn’t just appear as details ongowns, but Keller used them toconstruct the structure and sil-houette of trapeze-shaped gar-ments that teemed like dense,oversize petals.

�ALEXIS MABILLE ‘TEESES’HIS GUESTS

Burlesque superstar Dita VonTeese opened the show for AlexisMabille in a black tuxedo withsensual decollete that drippeddown the leg with brooding black

sequins.The French couturier this

season used Von Teese — and herstyles — as the touchstone for acollection that explored corsetry,lingerie and seductive undressing.

A white satin bustier wascovered gently by a see-throughlace chemise. A white floor-lengthgown had a bold dropped shoul-der in which the segments seemedto fall off the bust, as if themodel were in the process ofundressing.

Mabille also used his signa-ture bow theme to produce a gar-gantuan abstract neck bow whoseproportions drowned the model.It was highly inventive.

�ARMANI LOOKS TOCOLOUR, ASIA

The iconic Place Vendomesquare was the enviable locationfor Italian design legend GiorgioArmani’s latest display.

For Armani, couture is aboutcelebrities and razzmatazz, andTuesday was no exception asactresses Reese Witherspoon andJuliette Binoche held court.

The Asian-themed designs,though beautifully constructed,were secondary to that, sadly, andtended toward the repetitive.

Statement colour — some-times overly bold — also definedthe spring aesthetic. But theexhaustive show held no surpris-es.

A structured white silk tuxe-do in a crossover design openedthe show. The model wore a stiffblack wig, a styling feature thatappeared throughout the show.

The signature tuxedo led to aterracotta obi belt on hot pinkloose pants and a V-neck tuxedoin imperial blue. C�(

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National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS) and Food Safety and

Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)have signed an MoU to create aware-ness in the field of food safety, hygieneand nutrition.

NIOS provides education at schoolstage up to pre-degree level throughopen learning system. Besides acade-

mics, NIOS provides around 100 voca-tional courses in different areas such asAgriculture, Business and Commerce,Engineering and Technology, Healthand Paramedical, Home Science andHospitality Management, TeacherTraining, Computer and IT related sec-tors.

FSSAI, an autonomous body estab-

lished under the Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare, Government of India,is responsible for protecting and pro-moting public health through the reg-ulation and supervision of food safe-ty.

NIOS and FSSAI by comingtogether in a collaboration will not onlycreate awareness about the need and

requirement of food safety and hygienebut would also provide knowledge, skilland abilities to the learner to undertakeemployment (self/wage) in this key sec-tor. The content developed by FSSAI onfood safety and hygiene will also beincorporated in NIOS learning mate-rials for home science and relevant aca-demic and vocational programmes.

The 4th edition ofKalinga Global FilmFestival (KGFF) was

inaugurated at KIIT School ofFilm and Media Sciences. Theinauguration ceremony wasgraced by Tusharkanti Behera,Minister of Sports and YouthService, Electronics andInformation Technology,Government of Odisha;Anubhav Mohanty, MP, LokSabha; Satyabrata Tripathy,Chairman of Odisha FilmDevelopment Corporation;Bijay Kumar Nayak, Directorof Culture Department,Government of Odisha;Pankaj Saxena, professor ofScreen Studies and Research,FTII, Pune; Dr AchyutaSamanta, Founder of KIITand KISS and HimanshuKhatua, CEO of KIIT Schoolof Film and Media Sciences.

While inaugurating,Behera said, “Odia cinemas

have to improve more. Itshould maintain their unique-ness.” Professor Saxena saidthat students of KIIT shouldreflect what they learn fromOdisha in their films.

The objective of this filmfestival is to encourage andignite young minds, enrichintellectually inclined cineast-es and promote aspiring filmmakers. “KGFF intends toorganise a festival that wouldconnect regular movie-goers,budding filmmakers and dis-tinguished filmmakers so asto bring greater understand-ing of the art and craft of filmmaking,” said Khatua.

KGFF presented a selec-tion of feature films, shortfilms and documentaries fromall over Asia. There were threepanel discussions on FilmSociety Movement, FilmAppreciation and CriticalAnalysis and Film Education.

During his visit to NCC Republic Day Camp2020, Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh con-

ferred Raksha Mantri Padak andCommendation Cards to NCC cadets for theirexemplary performance and devotion to duty.

Rajnath Singh was welcomed by theDirector General of National Cadet Corps, LtGen Rajeev Chopra, AVSM. A contingent ofsmartly turned out NCC cadets drawn from thethree wings — Army, Navy and Air Force — pre-sented an impressive Guard of Honour to theDefense Minister.

Raksha Mantri Padak was instituted in 1989and since then it is awarded to the most deserv-ing cadet every year for bravery or exception-al service of the highest order. This year, theRaksha Mantri Padak was awarded to LieutenantRaison Sam Raju of Kerala and LakshadweepDirectorate and Under Officer Rahul Sharma of

Uttar Pradesh Directorate. Raksha MantriCommendation Cards have been awarded to SrUnder Officer Shavetana Sambyal of Jammu andKashmir Directorate, Capt (Dr) Rajeev Thomasof Kerala and Lakshadweep Directorate, Sr GCISeema Rai of Uttar Pradesh Directorate andCadet Soumya Ghosh of West Bengal andSikkim Directorate.

Rajnath Singh also inspected the well laidout ‘Flag Area’, prepared by the cadets from allthe 17 NCC Directorates depicting various socialawareness themes. He was given a briefing bythe cadets on their respective models. He alsovisited the ‘Hall of Fame’, which has an archivalcollection of alumni photographs, models andother achievements of the NCC.

In his address, he complimented the NCCfor doing exceptional work towards SwachhataAbhiyan.

What an astonishing preach existsin Vedas — Anti santamnaja-

hati, Anti Santamnapashyati — whichmeans that even though the soul of ahuman being is closest to god yet hecan’t leave or see him. Indeed, soul cannever be away from god at any time.This eternal fact is also stated inYajurved mantra that god is near toyogis because they follow Vedas andpractise Ashtang Yog, which let themfeel god’s presence. On the contrary,god is not close to those who are sin-ners and against Vedas. He knowsevery pious and sinful deed of the souland accordingly awards each personin the form of happiness or sorrowsrespectively.

If we deeply study Bhagwad Geetaunder the guidance of acharya ofVedas, we find that Bhagwad Geeta atevery step inspires readers to followVedas. Rigved mantra preaches thatsoul cannot destroy his sorrows andcan never experience pleasure until herealises the presence of god, which canonly be attained by following the Vedic

path. Rigved mantra also preaches thatwithout following the Vedic path noone can attain happiness.

Further, Samved mantra pointsthat when an aspirant listens to Vedasfrom Brahma, he can actually feel thepresence of god. But nowadays, it issad that people misled by so-calledsaints. Hence, there occurs a problem.We must thank god that he merciful-ly has enlightened all human-beingswith knowledge of four Vedas to feelhis presence and to destroy all sorrowsof life. It becomes our utmost duty,which is entrusted on us by god him-self that we follow the Vedic path.Otherwise peace cannot be main-tained among public.

The knowledge of Vedas emanatesdirectly from god and like god it nei-ther gets destroyed nor becomes old.It is immortal and has been preachedby god to us to attain salvation.Nowadays people don’t pay attentionto invaluable Vedic knowledge. As aresult, they get stressed, dishonourwomen, thefts increase and many such

problems arise. It is mentioned in Ramayana that

earlier daily Vedic preach and agniho-tra was performed in every house. Asa result, there was no man or womanwho was affected with vices likeanger, greed, meanness and many oth-ers. So during those days there wasno question of insulting women ordisgracing their honour which isobserved nowadays. Why can’t Vedicatmosphere be everywhere now?

Manusmriti shlok and BhagwadGeeta shlok state that all karmas orrather duties emanate from Vedasand they emanate from god. So whydon’t we follow the Vedas to destroycorruption and sins from the soci-ety?

This fact is very well clarified inRigved mantra that the human-lifeonly achieves its motto when a itattains salvation along with piousworldly pleasure.

(The author, Swami Ram Swarup,is the chief editor of Ved Ishvareeyavani, a bi-annual magazine.)

In 1969, history was written inthe Punjabi film industry

with the release of Nanak NaamJahaz Hai. New records werecreated at the box office, whichwere never broken. Peopleremoved shoes before enteringtheatres. The film was anunprecedented hit across theglobe.

After breaking all box officerecords, the film went on to winthe coveted “National Award”

too! Now after 50 years of itsrelease, producers Maann SinghDeep and Kalyani Singh aregoing to produce a new filmunder the same title NanakNaam Jahaz Hai. Before becom-ing films producers, Maannand Kalyani were famous jour-nalists.

Talking about his thoughtbehind making this film, Maannsaid that at a time, when peo-ple are spreading hate in the

name of religion, caste, languageand colour, he wanted to makea film which depicts compas-sion, love and true faith in god.

“Whenever I can’t seeksolutions for my problems, I goto the Gurudwara to stay calm.I love the shabads recited there.Sikhism preaches love for

mankind, irrespective of reli-gion, caste, language andcolour. “When I read the writ-ings of Guru Nanak Dev ji, I waslost in the magic of Gurbani.Every word was so pure andtouching, (The only holy bookthat has great writings of sixgurus and saints of all religions)

that I wanted to spread this mes-sage of faith and love all across,”said he.

He feels that the best way tospread this message wasthrough a film because he hasa deep understanding of it.

“Initially, I discussed theidea with my wife Kalyani Singh

who is a writer-director and hasavid knowledge of Sikhism.She loved this idea and came outwith a beautiful story,” saidMaann.

It took them a while to getto this title but they feel thatBaba Nanak blessed them withit. They worked on the story till

the time they were convincedthat it was perfect to plan a film.They went on to hire the bestpeople who could execute thistask. “We were not looking forthe perfect team only from thecommercial point of view butwe also wanted the team whichbelieved in the spiritual and

social teachings of Guru Nanak,fit perfectly to the characters ofour story and join us not as pro-fessional actors or techniciansbut as a member of our mis-sion,” he said.

The shooting lasted for 42days in various parts of Punjabincluding Golden temple atAmritsar. “I hope this film willbe remembered as one of thebest devotional and socialfilms,” he added.

KIIT HOLDS FOURTH FILM FESTIVAL

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President Dr Ram NathKovind awarded Parth

Sarathi, a resident of Noidawith Bal Shakti award alongwith � 1 lakh, a medal and acertificate in RashtrapatiBhawan on Wednesday.

It will always be a memo-rable day for Parth because itis not often that you receive anaward in Rashtrapati Bhawanfrom the President. Hereceived this opportunitybecause of his consistent hard-work, optimistic behaviourand dedication towards thesociety.

Earlier, Parth received anaward for finding the lostkids through aadhar camps.During the summer vaca-

tions, he helped 12 studentsmeet their parents. He is thefounder of Raasta founda-tion whose theme is — Mathsand Music. In this foundation,he teaches mathematics andmusic to the kids so that theyare stress free and happy.During the Greater Noidacarnival, he organised a miniconcert where eight kids sanga beautiful song. Those stu-dents performed the first timeon the stage and receivedimmense praise and appreci-ation from the audience.

Parth is only 16 years oldand a student of class 11th. Itis commendable to see thispassion, hardwork and dedi-cation at such a young age.

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Manchester City defend-er Aymeric Laporte

admits he has returned fromhis serious knee injury earli-er than he expected.

The Frenchman was asurprise inclusion in PepGuardiola’s starting line-upagainst Sheffield United, hav-ing not been involved withthe first team for almost fivemonths.

He required surgery aftersuffering a knee injury dur-ing City’s home win againstBrighton on August 31.

Laporte’s comeback inthe 1-0 win for City atBramall Lane lasted 78minutes and he is nowlooking forward to therest of the season.

“Normally it wouldhave been later but Ispoke with the manag-er and tried today(Tuesday) and he toldme I would play so I

am very happy to be back assoon as possible and haveminutes and help the team,”said Laporte.

“It was very importantfor me to try to be with theteam, to be involved. It was

a good test of fitness. Thegame was difficult becausethey are very strong, a goodteam.”

“It was difficult for me(being out), my team-matessee me suffering,” he added.“But now I can help the teamout and give my best.”

City have had problemsat the back in Laporte’sabsence and his returnhelped City record their first

clean sheet in any compe-tition since December

29.After the match,

Guardiola admittedhis team had missedthe 25-year-old and

described him as thebest left-sided central

defender in the world.Laporte said: “It’s great to

hear that from this manag-er as he is one of the best inthe world, if not the best. Iam very happy to hear thatbut I have to work to staythere and keep going.”

ball,” she said.Djokovic also weathered

the breeze — which followedheavy rain on Monday, andsmog from bushfires last week— to beat Japanese wildcardTatsuma Ito 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in 95minutes.

“They were tough condi-tions, pretty windy and it washard to know where the ballswere going. My serve helped a

lot to get me outof trouble,” saidthe Serb.

Federer wasbarely detainedby Krajinovic, theworld number 41,as he moved

smoothly through in 92 min-utes in the night match on RodLaver Arena.

In other results, PetraKvitova, last year’s runner-up,came through 7-5, 7-5 againstPaula Badosa of Spain, andChina’s Zhang Shuai oustedAmerican Caty McNally 6-2,6-4.

Former US Open champi-on Marin Cilic won a five-set-ter against French seed BenoitPaire, and one-time semi-finalist Milos Raonic beatChile’s Christian Garin instraights.

Also, Tennys Sandgrentook the biggest scalp when heousted eighth seed MatteoBerrettini in five sets.

Sandgren’s fellowAmerican Tommy Paul alsopulled off a five-set upsetwhen he beat Bulgarian 18th

seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6(10/3).

And Australia’s JohnMillman further trimmed thenumber of high-ranked play-ers when he ended the cam-paign of Polish 31st seedHubert Hurkacz.

But Greek sixth seedStefanos Tsitsipas was handeda slice of fortune when PhilippKohlschreiber withdrewinjured.

Among eight first-roundmatches held over fromTuesday, after rain wiped outhalf of Monday’s schedule,Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro,also retiring this year, upsetBelarusian 11th seed ArynaSabalenka in straight sets.

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Fifteen-year-old prodigy CocoGauff set up an AustralianOpen blockbuster with

defending champion Naomi Osakaon Wednesday, as a pumped-upSerena Williams took another steptowards a record-equalling 24thGrand Slam title.

On a day when men’s seedstumbled, Serbia’s Novak Djokovicstrode into the third round to bejoined by Roger Federer, who dis-missed Filip Krajinovic 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.

American teenager Gauff,showing a tenacity which is becom-ing her trademark, clawed her wayback from a set down to beat theexperienced Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Gauff, who screamed andpumped her fists as she completedher victory, said her “will to win”had got her through the tough sec-ond-round match at a windsweptMelbourne Park.

“My parents always told me youcan always come back — no mat-ter what the score is,” said Gauff,who beat seven-time Grand Slamchampion Venus Williams in roundone.

Gauff also beat Williams on herGrand Slam debut last year atWimbledon, and in another quirk,she faced Osaka in the US Openthird round, going down meekly instraight sets.

Japan’s 22-year old Osaka, beatChina’s Zheng Saisai 6-2, 6-4 butbriefly lost her cool mid-match,hurling and kicking her racquetwhen she gave up a break in the sec-ond set.

“I was thinking that I reallydon’t want to play a third set thistime,” explained Osaka, who is

defending a Grand Slam title for thesecond time.

Former world number oneWozniacki, playing her final tour-nament before retiring, came frombehind in both sets for a 7-5, 7-5win over Dayana Yastremska ofUkraine.

Serena Williams shouted at the

top of her voice during a testing sec-ond set against 70th-ranked TamaraZidansek, before seeing off breakpoints to win 6-2, 6-3.

“She was a really good fighter —she did not just let me win,” saidWilliams, who can equal MargaretCourt’s all-time mark of 24 GrandSlams if she lifts the trophy.

WIND ‘MASSIVE FACTOR’Earlier, Australia’s world num-

ber one Ashleigh Barty racedthrough 6-1, 6-4 against PolonaHercog, buoying hopes of a firsthome winner since 1978.

“It was very different end toend, I think the wind was a massivefactor particularly with the new

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�������Bayern Munich have signedReal Madrid right-back AlvaroOdriozola on loan until the end of theseason, the two clubs confirmed onWednesday.

The 24-year-old Spain internation-al will bolster Bayern’s defence, whichhas been left short on cover with cen-tre-backs Niklas Suele and LucasHernandez sidelined by knee injuries.

“We decided to comply with therequest of our head coach Hansi Flickfor reinforcements in defence andtogether we decided on AlvaroOdriozola,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a statement.

“We are very happy about his sign-ing and would like to thank those incharge at Real Madrid for their veryfriendly and cooperative discussions.”

The move helps both parties asOdriozola, who was signed from RealSociedad for 35 million euros ($39 mil-lion) in 2018, has struggled for gametime in Madrid, where Dani Carvajal ispreferred in the right-back role. AFP

��1���� Top Indian shuttler SainaNehwal suffered a second consecu-tive opening round defeat as she wentdown to Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt tobring curtains on the country’s cam-paign in the Thailand Masters tour-nament here on Wednesday.

The fifth seeded Saina lost tounseeded Kjaersfeldt 13-21, 21-17,15-21 in a hard fought 47-minutecontest. World number 18 Saina hada 4-0 head-to-head record against thenumber 29 Dane before Wednesday’smatch.

With Saina’s defeat, India’s cam-paign came to an end in the BWFWorld Tour Super 300 event.

In the men’s singles, the trio ofKidambi Srikanth, Sameer Vermaand H S Prannoy, too, faltered in thefirst round.

Verma lost to Malaysia’s Lee ZiiJia 16-21, 15-21 in a 39-minutemen’s singles match. The story wenton similar lines for the fifth seeded

Srikanth, who went down to ShesarHiren Rhustavito of Indonesia 21-12,14-21, 12-21, in a match that lasted48 minutes.

This was Srikanth’s third consec-utive first-round exit this season.

It was curtains for Prannoy too.He lost 17-21, 22-20, 19-21 toMalaysia’s Liew Daren. PTI

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Ten-man Arsenal slowed Chelsea’s charge fora Champions League place on Tuesday as

Manchester City kept up their distant pursuit ofLiverpool with victory at Sheffield United on a dra-matic evening of Premier League football.

Fourth-placed Chelsea twice took the leadagainst Arsenal, who were reduced to 10 men afterformer Blues defender David Luiz took outTammy Abraham when he was through on goal.

Jorginho put Chelsea 1-0 ahead from thepenalty spot in the 28th minute but GabrielMartinelli equalised for Arsenal in the second half.

Cesar Azpilicueta put Chelsea 2-1 up with justsix minutes remaining but Arsenal levelled onlythree minutes later through Hector Bellerin.

The 2-2 draw leaves Chelsea six pointsahead of fifth-placed Manchester United havingplayed a game extra while Arsenal are in 10th spot,seemingly out of the running for a place in thetop four.

AGUERO SPARES BLUSHESPep Guardiola’s City, with defender Aymeric

Laporte back in the side, looked as though theymight rue Gabriel Jesus’s squandered first-halfpenalty but their Argentine hitman SergioAguero came to the rescue.

Despite the 1-0 win, second-placed Cityremain 13 points behind runaway leadersLiverpool, having played two games more, andtheir bid to defend their title appears hopeless.

City’s French central defender Laporte hasbeen out of action since suffering a knee injuryat the end of August and he was a surprise inclu-sion at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United goalkeeper Dean Hendersondenied Jesus from the penalty spot about 10 min-utes from half-time after a foul on RiyadMahrez.

But City made amends when substituteSergio Aguero, on for Jesus, tapped in from KevinDe Bruyne’s cross in the 73rd minute.

Southampton’s 2-0 victory against CrystalPalace, thanks to goals from Nathan Redmondand Stuart Armstrong, continued a remarkableturnaround for the club, who hit rock bottom ear-

lier this season in a 9-0 defeat by Leicester.Watford took the lead against Villa when

Troy Deeney headed in Gerard Deulofeu’s crossbut the home side hit back in the second halfthrough Douglas Luiz.

Tyrone Mings scored a dramatic late winnerfor Villa deep into stoppage time to endWatford’s recent revival under Nigel Pearson.

Moise Kean scored his first goal for Evertonsince his arrival from Juventus in the 30th minuteof their match against Newcastle and DominicCalvert-Lewin doubled the lead in the secondhalf.

Everton were cruising deep into stoppagetime but threw away the three points, withLejeune striking twice.

Bournemouth, who had lost their previousfour matches, all against relegation rivals, beatBrighton 3-1 thanks to goals from Harry Wilson,an own goal from Pascal Gross and a second-half Callum Wilson effort.

�,���Lyon beat Lille on penalties aftera dramatic 2-2 draw at the GroupamaStadium on Tuesday to reach theirsixth French League Cup final, settingup a possible clash with record eight-time winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Renato Sanches dragged whatproved to be the last penalty of theshootout wide to send Lyon through.

This is the final season of theLeague Cup after the French leaguevoted to suspend the competitionfrom next term to ease fixture conges-tion.

Lyon will bid to lift the trophy forthe second time when they take on thewinner of second semi-final betweenReims and PSG on April 4 at the Stadede France.

Portugal midfielder Sanches gavevisitors Lille a 13th-minute lead witha low left-footed strike from outside thearea to score his second goal for theclub since joining from Bayern lastAugust.

But the hosts were gifted a way

back into the game four minutes laterwhen centre-back Gabriel handledinside the area.

Moussa Dembele drilled the spot-kick into the top corner to grab hissixth goal in five games.

Houssem Aouar appeared to havefired Lyon into the final with a finelong-range strike with five minutesremaining.

There was another twist in the tale,though, as despite a lengthy delay fora VAR review, Lille were awarded aninjury-time penalty for what appearedto be an excellent tackle by formerManchester United full-back Rafael onJonathan Bamba.

Loic Remy, on as a 78th-minutesubstitute, stepped up with a coolPanenka finish down the middle of thegoal to force more spot-kicks.

But Ciprian Tatarusanu, playing inplace of usual Lyon goalkeeperAnthony Lopes, saved Bamba’s open-ing penalty before Sanches’ miss sealedLille’s fate. AFP

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��� ����� India’s Divij Sharan and hisNew Zealand partner Artem Sitak pro-gressed to the second round of the men’sdoubles event but Rohan Bopanna wasknocked out of the Australian Open here onWednesday.

Sharan and Sitak got the better of thePortuguese-Spanish duo of Pablo CarrenoBusta and Joao Sousa 6-4, 7-5 in a thrillingone hour, 28 minutes encounter.

The pair will next face the winner of thefirst-round match between 10th seeds MatePavic-Bruno Soares and Ben Molachlan-Luke Bambridge.

Partnering Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan,Bopanna went down to USA’s Bryan broth-ers, Bob and Mike, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 in a hard-fought one hour, 17 minutes contest.

Meanwhile on Wednesday Sania Mirzapulled out of the mixed doubles due to a calfinjury. She was supposed to partner com-patriot Rohan Bopanna.

Mirza will, however, play in the women’sdoubles event.

Sania, who won the doubles title inHobart International, will team up withNadiia Kichenok of Ukraine for the AustraliaOpen today.

The duo will face Chinese pair ofXinyun Han and Lin Zhu in their women’sdoubles first round clash.

“It’s unfortunate that this niggling injurygot aggravated in the Hobart final just as Iwas getting to the top of my game. It is a lotbetter now and I intend to give it my bestshot in doubles. It’s disappointing to miss outon the chance to partner Rohan in mixed,”Mirza was quoted as saying by the Times ofIndia. Agencies

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������Edinson Cavani wants to join AtleticoMadrid and is being treated “unfairly” byPSG, the Uruguay striker’s father said onWednesday. Cavani, 32, has fallen out offavour at PSG, where he is competing withKylian Mbappe, Neymar, Mauro Icardi andAngel di Maria for starting spots in attack.

A number of clubs are reportedly keenon signing Cavani, who has scored a club-record 198 goals for PSG and whose contractexpires in the summer. Atletico appear to bethe 32-year-old’s preferred choice but the LaLiga outfit and PSG are yet to agree a fee.

“I would like him to play there, (Atleticocoach Diego) Simeone wants him now,”Cavani’s father Luis told Spanish progammeEl Chiringuito.

“I think there is a strong chance he willgo to Atletico. There is also the option tojoin the club in June. There are lots of otherclubs interested but when you give yourword to a team, you respect it.

“If he is allowed to leave tomorrow andAtletico still want him, I think he will sign.He is a player who needs time to play. PSGare treating him unfairly.” AFP

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The in-form Prithvi Shaw flourishedyet again as India A notched up a con-

vincing five-wicket victory over NewZealand A in the first unofficial ODI hereon Wednesday.

A day after being picked as theinjured Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement inIndia’s ODI squad for the assignmentagainst New Zealand’s senior team, the20-year-old Shaw smashed 48 off 35 ballsto lay the foundation for the visitingteam’s chase.

Wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, whoreplaced Dhawan in India’s T20 squad,blazed away to a 21-ball 39, whileSuryakumar Yadav hammered 35 off amere 19 deliveries.

Chasing 231 after opting to field,India completed the task with more than20 overs to spare at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

With the ball, Mohammed Siraj wasthe most successful bowler for India A,picking up three wickets for 33 runs in6.3 overs, while there were two wicketsapiece for Khaleel Ahmed and Axar Patel.

Their efforts helped India A bowl outNew Zealand A for 230 with nine ballsto spare in the 50-over match.

Quite a few home team players gotoff the blocks easily but could not go onto make substantial contributions. RachinRavindra top-scored with 49 off 58 ballsand skipper Tom Bruce made 47 off 55.

India A got their chase off to a briskstart with Shaw and his opening partnerMayank Agarwal (29) picking the gapsat will.

The visitors had raced to 79 in 9.1overs when Shaw fell to James Neesham.The 20-year-old Shaw, who came into thematch after a 100-ball 150 in a practicegame, hit five fours and three sixes.

Captain Shubman Gill (30) got outafter getting his eye in and after that,Samson showed his prowess, smokingtwo maximums and three boundaries.

Mumbai player Suryakumar, whocan also use the big handle to good effect,struck three fours and two sixes to takehis team close to victory.

Vijay Shankar (20) and KrunalPandya (13) then got the job done asIndia A took lead in the three-matchseries.

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Nitish Rana played the “bestknock” of his first-classcareer as Delhi shocked

defending champions Vidarbhaby six wickets in an incrediblefinal day run chase in the RanjiTrophy here on Wednesday.

With this memorable runchase on day four, Delhi handedVidarbha their first outrightdefeat in a first class game afterthree years.

Chasing 347, Rana, who hasmade a name with his big-hittingexploits in the IPL, smashed anunbeaten 105 off only 68 balls asDelhi reached the target in 73overs, leaving Vidarbha gutted.

Delhi now have 16 pointsand stay in hunt for a quarterfi-nal berth while Vidarbha stay puton 17 points.

The chase was set up byopeners Kunal Chandela (75 off146) and Hiten Dalal (82 off 146)with a steady stand of 163 inunder 49 overs.

The left-handed Rana thentook charge and sent theVidarbha bowlers including fan-cied Umesh Yadav (0/85 in 19overs) on a leather hunt witheight fours and seven sixes.

“I had promised our coach(KP) Bhaskar sir that if its 75overs and around 320 runs, wewill win. This is the best first classknock that I have played. I haven’tforgotten the 2017 final in Indore,which Vidarbha won withoutplaying outstanding cricket.

“I knew I can hit their spin-ners out of the ground,” Rana toldreporters having ripped opposi-tion off-spinner Akshay Wakhare(64 off 9 overs) with slog sweeps,cuts and drives.

Vidarbha coach ChandrakantPandit took a gamble with asporting declaration but it back-fired as a side with its back to thewall produced the best perfor-mance of the season.

Openers Kunal and Hitenplayed confidently without tak-ing pressure on an eased outtrack.

Once Rana came in,Vidarbha sensing danger,deployed a negative field ‘7-2’(seven on the off side) field.

Their pacers Rajneesh

Gurbani (0/64 in 12 overs) start-ed bowling on an imaginary sev-enth off stump line.

The umpires started callingno ball and then Delhi started

attacking as they were forced tochange the line.

“I knew they would bowlnegative line but what I didn’t likewas time wasting tactic. Once

they started bowling within thestumps, I knew I will blast themif it’s in my arc,” said KKR’sdependable middle-order bats-man.

“This is my natural game andI don’t like advise if people comeand tell me to change my mind-set. I only welcome advise whenI need them,” he said.

MAIDEN TRIPLE HUNDRED�� ���� Staying true to hiswords, young Sarfaraz Khanstuck his maiden triple hundredto single-handedly give Mumbaithe crucial first-innings lead andgrab three points on the last dayof their Elite Group B matchagainst Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh had posted ahumongous 625/8 declared in

their first-essay courtesy wicket-keeper Upendra Yadav’s unbeat-en maiden double-ton.

But Sarfaraz’s (301 not out off391 balls; 30x4; 8x6) herculeantask overshadowed Yadav’sdouble-ton on a flattrack, which hadabsolutely nothing forthe bowlers even onthe final day.

R i g h t - h a n d e dSarfaraz was the cyno-sure of all eyes at theWankhede Stadium, as he battedfor as long as 633 minutes andhammered 30 fours and eightsixes.

What is more special abouthis knock is that the pint-sizedbatsman was suffering from fevertwo nights ago, but he came out

to bat and did the job for histeam.

Sarfaraz, who had played forUttar Pradesh and returned toMumbai, had all shots in thebook.

But more importantly, con-trary to his style, he showedrestraint and respected the goodballs.

Sarfaraz, in the process,became the seventh Mumbaibatsman to score a triple ton infirst-class cricket and joined theillustrious list comprising WasimJaffer (301 and 314 not out),Rohit Sharma (309 not out), AjitWadekar (323), Sunil Gavaskar(340), Vijay Merchant (359 notout) and Sanjay Manjrekar (377).

The hosts resumed the finalday on overnight score of 353/5needing 273 more runs to over-haul Uttar Pradesh’s first inningstotal, with 22-year-old Sarfarazunbeaten on 132 in company ofhis skipper Aditya Tare, who wasunbeaten on 9.

Sarfaraz first got able supportfrom Tare (97 off 144 balls, 14x4)and then Shams Mulani (65 off 82balls; 5x3; 1x6), as they took thegame away from Uttar Pradesh.

While Sarfaraz and Tareadded 179 runs for the sixth wick-et, he and Mulani added 150 runsfor the seventh wicket and it was

their partnership that ensuredMumbai crossed Uttar

Pradesh’s first-inningstotal.

Sarfaraz, who hadcompleted his individual250, took a single, as

Mumbai surpassed UttarPradesh’s mammoth total and

celebrated like the team had wonthe match.

Then Mumbai allowedSarfaraz to complete a well-deserved 300.

He completed his triple tonwith a six over wide long on, afterwhich the match was called off.

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�� ��� Playing in a tri-nationtournament before the Women’sWorld T20 will help in strategis-ing and team composition, seniorIndia player Smriti Mandhanasaid on Wednesday.

The marquee event will startin Australia next month butbefore that, the country is host-ing India and England in a tri-series. “Most of them have playedin Australia, I think India A tour-ing Australia last month is alsogoing to be a big help (as) four-

five players were part of that teamas well,” Mandhana told reporters.

She added, “The tri-series isgoing to be a really importanttournament, thinking about theteam composition or what isneeded or what target we need toaim at on Australian wickets.”

The left-handed batswomansaid the tri-series matches couldtell them a lot about what will bea safe target during the WorldCup. “How can our bowlers planbetter, all those things we are

going to understand once we landin Australia and play the tri-series.

“Specially the targets, tri-series will define the targets, likewhat the scoreline will be for theWorld Cup.

“England, Australia andIndia is always going (to be chal-lenging). We are going to aim atgood targets so I think that (tri-series) is an important tourna-ment leading up to the WorldCup,” the 23-year-old said.

According to Mandhana, theteam has been thinking about theWorldT20 for the past one year.

“Last one year, whatever wewere doing during the matches,we were thinking about theWorld Cup, so finally we are leav-ing for the World Cup, it is quiteexciting.

“I’m looking forward to play-ing this World Cup with this teamas it is a new team with a mixtureof experienced and new players,”she said. PTI

���C���D� To make up for “lack ofstrength”, India opener JemimahRodrigues is working on increasingher bat speed, which, she hopes, willaid in hitting big shots in the upcom-ing Women’s T20 World Cup.

The lively 19-year-old is alsostriving to hone her backfoot skillsahead of the marquee event, startingin Australia next month.

“I’m working more on my backfoot, developing my back foot moreand trying to increase my bat speed.Because looking at my size, you can

make out I don’t have that muchstrength to hit the sixes ... But I’ve beenworking on that for quite some time,”said Jemimah in a Road To The T20World Cup podcast.

Since making her internationaldebut in 2018, she has consistently putin commendable performances toestablished herself as a key memberof the team.

India take on defending champi-ons Australia in the opening game ofthe tournament in Sydney onFebruary 21, and the youngsterbelieves her side will have to be men-tally strong against the hosts.

“I think when it comes toAustralia, you got to be the best or youcan’t play. That’s the kind of team theyare. My favourite team to play againstis also Australia. It’s more of a mindgame than just skills (when you playthem on the field),” Jemimah said.

Jemimah, who will be playing herfirst World Cup, is looking forward toplay in the final of the tournament,which will mark an important mile-stone in her life.

“I can’t put it in words, howimportant it will be for me to be a partof the Indian team that plays in aWorld Cup final. It’s quite exciting. I’mreally looking forward to it,” she said.

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Angelo Mathews struck his highest Testscore with an unbeaten double century

on Wednesday as Sri Lanka left Zimbabwebattling to save the series opener going intothe final day at Harare.

Former skipper Mathews eclipsed hisprevious Test best of 160 and finished 200not out after a marathon knock spanning 468balls, as Sri Lanka declared their firstinnings on 515 for nine.

Zimbabwe, playing their first Test sinceNovember 2018, ended the fourth day on 30without loss and trailing by 127 runs afterBrian Mudzinganyama was drafted in as aconcussion substitute for opener KevinKasuza.

Debutant Kasuza, who made 63 in thefirst innings, suffered a delayed concussionafter he took a blow to the helmet while field-ing at short leg on Tuesday.

Mudzinganyama became the fourthZimbabwean to make his Test debut in thismatch. He was unbeaten on 14 with PrinceMasvaure 15 not out at stumps.

The 32-year-old Mathews brought up his10th Test century, his first since December2018, in the morning session and steadilyadded to his total with considerable supportfrom Dhananjaya de Silva and NiroshanDickwella.

De Silva and Dickwella both scored 63but two quick wickets for Sikandar Raza,who finished with three for 62, hastened thedeclaration as Mathews reached 200 with asweep to the square leg boundary.

With one day remaining, the visitorsappear the only team capable of victoryalthough the pitch looks likely to have thefinal say.

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New Zealand’s veter-an seamer Tim

Southee is “looking for-ward” to the India chal-lenge, leaving behindthe disappointment ofbeing dropped for thefinal Test of Australiaseries earlier thismonth.

“It’s about makingthat adjustment. What’sgone is gone and it wasvery disappointing, theguys would have learnt

from it, and now we’vegot to look forward tothe Indian series,”Southee was quoted assaying by stuff.Co.Nz.

Then, coach GaryStead had said it wasfelt Henry would offermore pace thanSouthee.

But the 31-year-oldis expected to lead theNew Zealand attackwhen the five-matchTwenty20 series againstIndia starts at EdenPark on Friday.

He admitted hewas disappointed not tohave played in Sydneybut said he has movedon.

“It’s disappointing.You’re gutted everytime you’re left out. It’san absolute dream toplay for NZ and everytime you do miss out ithurts, but you’ve got torespect the decisionsand try to help out andgive back to the team,even when you’re notplaying.”

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It's the year of the World T20and it isn't just Virat Kohli

and the Indian boys who arelooking to take every opportu-nity to prepare for the show-piece event slated to be heldlater in the year. Run-machineSteve Smith is already excitedat the prospect of playinganother ICC event at homeafter the 2015 World Cup. Infact, he believes that his stintin the IPL with RajasthanRoyals will have a major roleto play in the build-up to themega event Down Under.

Speaking to IANS, Smithspoke about the much-debat-ed proposal to have four-dayTests, India skipper Kohli'sgesture to ask fans to supporthim during the 2019 WorldCup, the Indian PremierLeague and how Tim Paine hasdone a brilliant job leadingAustralia in Test cricket.

For a man who has domi-nated batting charts in thelast few years, Smith's numbersin the shortest format of thegame definitely has room forimprovement. But the formerAustralia skipper wants tokeep playing and improving onthe go rather than changing hisstyle of training going into theWorld T20.

"No real specific training,but just playing a lot more T20cricket and just getting theright tempo I guess for thegame is the most importantthing for me. I would love tobe a part of the World Cup, it'sobviously at home in Australia.I was involved in the ODIWorld Cup here in 2015 andhad the most amazing six-weeks of my cricketing careerand loved every minute of it.So yeah would love to be

involved in another WorldCup at home for sure!" hesmiled.

Asked if he was looking athis time with Rajasthan Royalsto try some new stuff as it willbe the perfect training groundfor the World T20, Smith does-n't sound the sort who likes totinker much with his trainingritual. But he does have it on hismind to give his leg-spin skillsa thought.

"Ah, don't want to try toomuch different. I don't reallyknow, maybe a bit more bowl-ing perhaps, but then thattakes time away from my bat-ting. So yeah, it's a difficult onebut we'll wait and see," hereveals.

A chat with Smith cannever move forward withoutdiscussing Kohli. It looks likethese two will go ahead andshare all the records betweenthem when they hang theirboots. The greatness of Smiththough is in his humility. Themoment the talks movetowards the comparison, hedecides to highlight how bril-liant Kohli has been both asbatsman and leader.

"Yeah, he is terrific. His bat-ting numbers just speak forthemselves. I think he's anincredible player in all threeformats and I think we will seehim break many records. He'salready broken plenty of themand I see him breaking manymore over the years. He has gotthe hunger for runs and does-n't stop getting them. Hopefullyhe can stop getting themagainst Australia, that'll benice.

"As a captain he's alreadymade India the number oneside in the world in Test crick-et. From what I have seen hesets really good standards for

them. He is a lot about fitnessand is health conscious andthings like that. He's got theIndian side into a really goodplace and leads them excep-tionally well," the 30-year-oldpointed.

Asked about Kohli's ges-ture to ask fans to show himsupport during the 2019 WorldCup, Smith feels it was reallynice of the India skipper. "In theWorld Cup it was really nice ofVirat to do what he did. He didnot have to do that and yeah itwas a lovely gesture and reallyappreciated that," he smiled.

Kohli, in fact, won the'Spirit of Cricket' award for hisgesture in England.

There have been talks thatSmith is a natural leader andthat the national captaincycould well return to him in thenear future. But for the bats-man, Paine is the captain andsomeone who is doing a goodjob with the boys.

"Yeah, Tim's done a terrif-ic job. He has led the troopsreally well. Obviously retainingthe Ashes in England in twen-ty-odd years was an exception-al effort and yeah he has led theteam exceptionally well," hesaid.

From the Ashes to theICC's proposal to have four-dayTest matches on a regular basisfrom 2023, Smith is a tradition-alist in the matter and wantsthe format to stay as it is.

"I am comfortable withfive days. I like the challenge ofa five-day Test match.Obviously, there has been a lotof talk of the four-day Tests, butmy personal opinion is I likefive days. I don't make the deci-sions obviously of how it allworks out but my opinion isfive-days Tests is what it is allabout," he signed off.

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