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HAPPY NEW YEAR B angladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling alliance on Monday swept to a landslide victory in the gener- al elections, securing a third straight term, an outcome that would be good news for India’s ties with Dhaka, especially on the national security front. The Opposition alliance, comprising jailed ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s BNP and some small parties, rejected the poll outcome as “farcical” and demanded fresh election. The Election Commission, how- ever, ruled out holding a fresh election. The Awami League-led Grand Alliance won 288 seats in the 300-member Parliament. The ruling alliance, which got nearly 82 per cent of the total votes polled, bettered its pre- vious best performance of 2008 when it bagged 263 seats. The Opposition Jatiya Oikya Front — National Unity Front (NUF) — secured seven seats with over 15 per cent of the votes, Election Commission secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said, adding that others won three seats. Voting was postponed in one constituency and result not declared in another due to the death of a candidate, he said. Commenting on the results, 71-year-old Hasina said the Awami League-led Grand Alliance’s win in the election is another victory for the people of the country in December - the month of victory. She was referring to Bangladesh’s (then East Pakistan) victory over West Pakistan (now Pakistan) in the country’s independence war in December, 1971. Hasina said the victory is nothing for her for personal gains, rather it is a great responsibility towards the country and its people. She said the Opposition was in a state of wilderness that caused their debacle in the elections. “It was a credible and transparent election... But (Opposition) BNP’s debacle in the polls was caused by their own faults and weakness,” Hasina said in an interaction with foreign journalists at her official Ganobhaban resi- dence. “The people did not know who the Opposition leader was...” she said, adding that the people wanted continuity of her Government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Hasina over phone on her victory in the elections and assured her of India’s continued support to Bangladesh’s developmental strides. India’s ties with Bangladesh under Hasina’s rule grew steadily. The last few years have been a “golden chapter” in India-Bangladesh relationship when complicated issues of land and coastal boundaries were resolved. Bangladesh has also assured India that it will not allow its soil to be used for any terrorist activities against the neighbouring country. The two countries share a 4,096-km border. While Hasina was seeking re-election for an overall fourth term as the Prime Minister, her 73-year-old arch-rival Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who is reported- ly partially paralysed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail where she is lodged after her conviction in corruption cases. Meanwhile, the Opposition NUF rejected the results and urged the Election Commission to immediately scrap the “farcical election” and hold a fresh one under a non-partisan interim Government. “You (the EC) must cancel this election right away. We reject the so-called results and demand a new election under a neutral government,” NUF chief and veteran lawyer Kamal Hossain said. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who steered the party in the absence of Zia, described the polls as a “cruel farce”. He said the elections proved that free and fair polls were not possible under a par- tisan Government. T h e BNP’s decision to stay away from the general election five years ago was not wrong, he said. The NUF is a coalition of opposition parties such as the BNP, Gono Forum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagorik Oikya and Krishak Sramik Janata League. Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, however, ruled out any scope of holding fresh election as demanded by opposition alliance, saying the allegations of ballot stuffing on the night before election is “completely untrue.” “We are not going to hold a new election. There is no scope to hold the national election again,” Huda told the media. The CEC expressed com- plete satisfaction over the elec- tion and said the voter turnout in the polls was 80 per cent. Responding to the vote-rigging allegations, Awami League Joint General Secretary Abdur Rahman said foreign and domestic observers have expressed satisfaction over the election process and declared that it was held in a fair envi- ronment. With the overwhelming majority in the 11th general elections, Hasina is set to take office of the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time and fourth time overall. Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is termed by many as the country’s iron lady. She won the historic fourth term as Prime Minister, becoming the country’s longest-serving leader. T he Opposition parties led by the Congress put up a united front in the Rajya Sabha on Monday to thwart the Government move to pass the contentious triple talaq Bill. While the Government pressed for a discussion on the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill 2018 after Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tabled the Bill, the Opposition stuck to its demand for send- ing the Bill to a select com- mittee of Parliament. After the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha last week, Opposition members con- vened a meeting on Monday before the legislation was to be introduced in the RS In view the tough stand taken by the Opposition, it’s unlikely that the triple talaq Bill will become a law during the winter session of Parliament. The Opposition parties have written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, demanding that the triple talaq Bill should be sent to a select committee of the House for consideration and the motion was initiated by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien. As per the resolution submit- ted by the Opposition, the Chairman will have to take it up before taking up the triple talaq Bill for discussion. The resolution has been signed by Congress, NCP, TDP, RJD, AAP, SP, BSP, DMK, CPI and CPM and the AIADMK. The AIADMK has been sup- portive of the Centre on most issues, but last week it vehe- mently opposed the passage of the Bill in its present format in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition meeting, chaired by Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, was attended among others by leaders of 12 Opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, CPI’s D Raja, Kerala Congress’ Jose K Mani. Continued on Page 4 T he Nashik sessions court in Maharashtra on Monday acquitted late Abdul Karim Telgi and seven others in a 2004 multi-crore fake stamp paper case in absence of “solid evidence” against them. Telgi, who was convicted in several cases in connection with the scam and sentenced to imprisonment of 30 years in total, died in Bengaluru in October last year while serv- ing his jail term. Charges against Telgi, believed to be the kingpin of the scam that was spread over several States, were abated after his death. In his order, district and sessions court judge, first class, PR Deshmukh acquitted Telgi and seven others for want of evi- dence against them. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet against Telgi and others in a Nashik court in August 2004 under various sections of the IPC. I ntense cold wave conditions continued to affect normal life across the State with Daringbadi and Phulbani in Kandhamal district experienc- ing snowfall for the second consecutive day on Monday. A minimum temperature of 2.8 degree Celsius was recorded in Daringbadi on Monday which threw normal life out of gear, while Phulbani shivered at 3 degree Celsius. Snowfall was also reportedly witnessed in Koida and Tensa area of Sundargarh district. The Regional Office of Indian Metrological Department (IMD) officials said the cold wave condition will continue to prevail for a week and the minimum tem- perature below continue to remain below normal by 3 to 4 degree Celsius for the next three days till January 3. Other places in the State where mercury dipped are Koraput 4.8 degree, Bhawanipatna 6 degree, Titlagarh 6.5 degree, Keonjhar 6.6 degree, Jharsuguda 6.8 degree, Sambalpur 7.5 degree and Bhubaneswar 9.5 degree. A BJP team on Monday met Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and sought his intervention against implementation of the KALIA Yojana by the State Government “for political interest”. “The State Government should have made a Budgetary provision and announced the KALIA scheme, if it had any concern for farmers’ interest. Instead of doing that, it is try- ing to use contingency fund in a hurry only to meet political interest. The KALIA Yojana is meant to betray farmers only,” alleged party vice-president Sameer Mohanty. The representative team comprised party State secretary Dr Lekhashree Samantsinghar, spokesperson Golak Mohapatra, BJP Mahila Morcha president Pravati Parida, Krushak Morcha gen- eral secretary Surath Biswal and Bhubaneswar district presi- dent Harekrushna Khuntia. C hief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday for- mally launched the ‘Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation’ (KALIA) scheme amounting to over 10,000 crore to provide financial assistance to farmers of the State. The scheme was launched by Patnaik at the State Secretariat here. All small and marginal farmers of the State will be cov- ered under this scheme. According to official sources, an amount of 10,000 per fam- ily at the rate of 5,000 each for Kharif and Rabi seasons would be provided as financial assis- tance for taking up cultivation. The assistance is for five crop- ping seasons spanning three years from 2018-19 to 2021-22. Besides, as many as 10 lakh landless households will be supported with a unit cost of 12,500 to take up activities like small goat rearing, fishery kits, mushroom cultivation and bee- keeping. This apart, an annual finan- cial assistance of 10,000 per household will be provided to take care of sustenance of those farmers, who may not be able to take up cultivation or avail liveli- hood options due to old-age, dis- ability, disease or other reasons. Importantly, life insurance cover of 2 lakh and addition- al personal accident cover of 2 lakh will be provided to both cultivators and landless agri- cultural labourers covering about 57 lakh households. The CM also launched the official logo, website – www.kalia.co.in and a helpline number 1800-572- 1122. However, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in reac- tion on social media said, “The State Government is not sympathetic to the cause of farmers. It has hatched a con- spiracy to fool them by the launching the KALIA scheme and sail through the forth- coming elections.” The scheme has been launched with the help of Contingency Fund. Seeing the public resentment in the State, the scheme has been imple- mented hastily, Pradhan added.

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Page 1: 01˘2$ 0%3)456 ˚ ˜ˇ ! 4;, ?0 4

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Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina’s ruling

alliance on Monday swept to alandslide victory in the gener-al elections, securing a thirdstraight term, an outcome thatwould be good news for India’sties with Dhaka, especially onthe national security front.

The Opposition alliance,comprising jailed ex-premierKhaleda Zia’s BNP and somesmall parties, rejected the polloutcome as “farcical” anddemanded fresh election. TheElection Commission, how-ever, ruled out holding a freshelection.

The Awami League-ledGrand Alliance won 288 seatsin the 300-member Parliament.The ruling alliance, which gotnearly 82 per cent of the totalvotes polled, bettered its pre-vious best performance of 2008when it bagged 263 seats.

The Opposition JatiyaOikya Front — National UnityFront (NUF) — secured sevenseats with over 15 per cent ofthe votes, ElectionCommission secretaryHelaluddin Ahmed said,adding that others won threeseats.

Voting was postponed inone constituency and result notdeclared in another due to thedeath of a candidate, he said.

Commenting on theresults, 71-year-old Hasina saidthe Awami League-led GrandAlliance’s win in the election isanother victory for the peopleof the country in December -the month of victory.

She was referring toBangladesh’s (then EastPakistan) victory over WestPakistan (now Pakistan) in thecountry’s independence war

in December, 1971.Hasina said the victory is

nothing for her for personalgains, rather it is a greatresponsibility towards thecountry and its people.

She said the Oppositionwas in a state of wildernessthat caused their debacle in theelections. “It was a credibleand transparent election... But(Opposition) BNP’s debacle inthe polls was caused by theirown faults and weakness,”Hasina said in an interactionwith foreign journalists at herofficial Ganobhaban resi-dence.

“The people did not knowwho the Opposition leaderwas...” she said, adding that thepeople wanted continuity ofher Government.

Prime Minister NarendraModi congratulated Hasina

over phone on her victory inthe elections and assured her ofIndia’s continued support toBangladesh’s developmentalstrides.

India’s ties with Bangladeshunder Hasina’s rule grewsteadily. The last few yearshave been a “golden chapter” inIndia-Bangladesh relationshipwhen complicated issues ofland and coastal boundarieswere resolved.

Bangladesh has alsoassured India that it will notallow its soil to be used for anyterrorist activities against theneighbouring country. The twocountries share a 4,096-kmborder.

While Hasina was seekingre-election for an overall fourthterm as the Prime Minister, her73-year-old arch-rival Zia ofthe Bangladesh Nationalist

Party (BNP), who is reported-ly partially paralysed, faces anuncertain future in a Dhaka jailwhere she is lodged after herconviction in corruption cases.

Meanwhile, the OppositionNUF rejected the results andurged the ElectionCommission to immediatelyscrap the “farcical election”and hold a fresh one under anon-partisan interimGovernment.

“You (the EC) must cancelthis election right away. Wereject the so-called results anddemand a new election undera neutral government,” NUFchief and veteran lawyer KamalHossain said.

BNP Secretary GeneralMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir,who steered the party in theabsence of Zia, described thepolls as a “cruel farce”.

He said the electionsproved that free and fair pollswere not possible under a par-tisan Government. T h eBNP’s decision to stay awayfrom the general election fiveyears ago was not wrong, hesaid. The NUF is a coalition ofopposition parties such as theBNP, Gono Forum, JatiyaSamajtantrik Dal-JSD, NagorikOikya and Krishak SramikJanata League.

Bangladesh’s Chief ElectionCommissioner KM NurulHuda, however, ruled out anyscope of holding fresh electionas demanded by oppositionalliance, saying the allegationsof ballot stuffing on the nightbefore election is “completelyuntrue.” “We are not going tohold a new election. There is noscope to hold the nationalelection again,” Huda told themedia.

The CEC expressed com-plete satisfaction over the elec-tion and said the voter turnoutin the polls was 80 per cent.Responding to the vote-riggingallegations, Awami LeagueJoint General Secretary AbdurRahman said foreign anddomestic observers haveexpressed satisfaction over theelection process and declaredthat it was held in a fair envi-ronment.

With the overwhelmingmajority in the 11th generalelections, Hasina is set to takeoffice of the Prime Minister forthe third consecutive time andfourth time overall. Hasina, thedaughter of Bangladesh’sfounder Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman, is termed bymany as the country’s ironlady. She won the historicfourth term as Prime Minister,becoming the country’slongest-serving leader.

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The Opposition parties ledby the Congress put up a

united front in the Rajya Sabhaon Monday to thwart theGovernment move to pass thecontentious triple talaq Bill.While the Government pressedfor a discussion on the MuslimWomen Protection of Rightson Marriage Bill 2018 after LawMinister Ravi Shankar Prasadtabled the Bill, the Oppositionstuck to its demand for send-ing the Bill to a select com-mittee of Parliament.

After the passage of the Billin the Lok Sabha last week,Opposition members con-vened a meeting on Mondaybefore the legislation was to beintroduced in the RS

In view the tough standtaken by the Opposition, it’sunlikely that the triple talaq Billwill become a law during thewinter session of Parliament.

The Opposition parties

have written to Rajya SabhaChairman M Venkaiah Naidu,demanding that the triple talaqBill should be sent to a selectcommittee of the House forconsideration and the motionwas initiated by TrinamoolCongress MP Derek O’Brien.As per the resolution submit-ted by the Opposition, theChairman will have to take itup before taking up the tripletalaq Bill for discussion.

The resolution has beensigned by Congress, NCP, TDP,RJD, AAP, SP, BSP, DMK, CPIand CPM and the AIADMK.The AIADMK has been sup-portive of the Centre on mostissues, but last week it vehe-mently opposed the passage ofthe Bill in its present format inthe Lok Sabha.

The Opposition meeting,chaired by Rajya Sabha Leaderof Opposition Ghulam NabiAzad, was attended amongothers by leaders of 12Opposition parties, includingSamajwadi Party’s Ram GopalYadav, TMC’s Derek O’Brien,CPI’s D Raja, Kerala Congress’Jose K Mani.

Continued on Page 4

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The Nashik sessions court inMaharashtra on Monday

acquitted late Abdul KarimTelgi and seven others in a2004 multi-crore fake stamppaper case in absence of “solidevidence” against them.

Telgi, who was convictedin several cases in connectionwith the scam and sentencedto imprisonment of 30 years intotal, died in Bengaluru inOctober last year while serv-ing his jail term.

Charges against Telgi,believed to be the kingpin ofthe scam that was spread overseveral States, were abatedafter his death. In his order,district and sessions courtjudge, first class, PRDeshmukh acquitted Telgi andseven others for want of evi-dence against them.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) had filed achargesheet against Telgi andothers in a Nashik court inAugust 2004 under varioussections of the IPC.

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Intense cold wave conditionscontinued to affect normal

life across the State withDaringbadi and Phulbani inKandhamal district experienc-ing snowfall for the secondconsecutive day on Monday.

A minimum temperatureof 2.8 degree Celsius wasrecorded in Daringbadi onMonday which threw normallife out of gear, while Phulbanishivered at 3 degree Celsius.Snowfall was also reportedlywitnessed in Koida and Tensaarea of Sundargarh district.

The Regional Office ofIndian MetrologicalDepartment (IMD) officialssaid the cold wave conditionwill continue to prevail for aweek and the minimum tem-perature below continue to

remain below normal by 3 to 4degree Celsius for the nextthree days till January 3.

Other places in the Statewhere mercury dipped areKoraput 4.8 degree,Bhawanipatna 6 degree,Titlagarh 6.5 degree, Keonjhar6.6 degree, Jharsuguda 6.8degree, Sambalpur 7.5 degreeand Bhubaneswar 9.5 degree.

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ABJP team on Monday metGovernor Prof Ganeshi

Lal and sought his interventionagainst implementation of theKALIA Yojana by the StateGovernment “for politicalinterest”.

“The State Governmentshould have made a Budgetaryprovision and announced theKALIA scheme, if it had anyconcern for farmers’ interest.Instead of doing that, it is try-ing to use contingency fund ina hurry only to meet politicalinterest. The KALIA Yojana ismeant to betray farmers only,”alleged party vice-presidentSameer Mohanty.

The representative teamcomprised party State secretaryDr Lekhashree Samantsinghar,spokesperson GolakMohapatra, BJP MahilaMorcha president PravatiParida, Krushak Morcha gen-eral secretary Surath Biswal andBhubaneswar district presi-dent Harekrushna Khuntia.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Monday for-

mally launched the ‘KrushakAssistance for Livelihood andIncome Augmentation’(KALIA) scheme amounting toover �10,000 crore to providefinancial assistance to farmersof the State.

The scheme was launchedby Patnaik at the StateSecretariat here.

All small and marginalfarmers of the State will be cov-ered under this scheme.

According to official sources,an amount of �10,000 per fam-ily at the rate of �5,000 each forKharif and Rabi seasons wouldbe provided as financial assis-tance for taking up cultivation.The assistance is for five crop-ping seasons spanning threeyears from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Besides, as many as 10lakh landless households willbe supported with a unit costof �12,500 to take up activitieslike small goat rearing, fisherykits, mushroom cultivation andbee- keeping.

This apart, an annual finan-

cial assistance of �10,000 perhousehold will be provided totake care of sustenance of thosefarmers, who may not be able totake up cultivation or avail liveli-hood options due to old-age, dis-ability, disease or other reasons.

Importantly, life insurancecover of �2 lakh and addition-al personal accident cover of �2lakh will be provided to bothcultivators and landless agri-cultural labourers coveringabout 57 lakh households.

The CM also launched theofficial logo, website –www.kalia.co.in and a helpline

number 1800-572- 1122.However, Union Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan in reac-tion on social media said,“The State Government is notsympathetic to the cause offarmers. It has hatched a con-spiracy to fool them by thelaunching the KALIA schemeand sail through the forth-coming elections.”

The scheme has beenlaunched with the help ofContingency Fund. Seeing thepublic resentment in the State,the scheme has been imple-mented hastily, Pradhan added.

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In a major relief to JharsugudaCongress MLA Naba Kishore

Das, House Ethics Committeehas given him a clean chit overthe allegation of his watchingporn in the State Assembly dur-ing a session in 2015.

The House EthicsCommittee has turned downthe allegation due to lack of evi-dence.

As per the committee’sreport, it had asked for themedia footage from a privatenews channel that had capturedvisual of Das watching a ‘porn’video on his smartphone.

The Junior Engineer, whowas in charge of the CCTV inthe Assembly, had produced theCCTV footage before the com-mittee showing no such act bythe MLA. However, the con-cerned media channel failed tosubmit the visual.

Based on the written state-ments of the Assembly officialand the media channel editor,the ethics committee gave aclean chit to Das.

The first meeting of the 24-member panel headed by BJDlegislator Ranendra PratapSwain was held in February2016 to probe into the seriousallegation against Das. Thepanel had reviewed a KarnatakaAssembly committee report onthe legislators watching pornclips in the House.

The case relating to Daswas reminiscent of what hap-pened in the KarnatakaAssembly in 2012 when twoBJP Ministers were allegedlycaught watching porn clips ona mobile phone.

Defending himself, Dashad said that by mistake he hadjust touched the YouTube appand the clip in question poppedup while he was browsing thephone, but the act was notdeliberate and intentional.

However, the then SpeakerNiranjan Pujari had suspendedDas from the House for a weekafter ruling BJD MLAsdemanded his dismissal overthe issue and referred the mat-ter to the ethics committee fora probe.

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A noted thinker once observed, “One child,one teacher; one pen and one book can changethe world.” Indeed, the thoughts only rule theworld. Einstein also spoke in the same vein thateducation is not the learning of facts but the train-ing of the mind to think. In the changing dynam-ics of higher education, a thrust area has beenidentified as a new world order in terms of theknowledge-based economy, path-breaking origi-nal research, transforming the higher educationscenario with wide-ranging reforms on teaching-learning strategies. Currently, Bishnupada Sethiis at the helm of affairs as the Commissioner-cum-Secretary in the Department of Higher Education,Odisha. A widely-travelled administrative officer,who acts locally and thinks globally, Sethi is bentupon initiating cutting edge research in our uni-versities by establishing centres of excellence underWorld Bank assistance to usher in an era ofresearch innovation culture at pace with globalcollaboration. After having his MTech in IndustrialEngineering from a reputed national institute atMumbai, he was called to join the IAS Odishacadre in 1988. He has headed various organisa-tions like Odisha Cashew DevelopmentCorporation, Odisha Pisciculture DevelopmentCorporation, Odisha Beverage Corporation,Kalinga Aquatics, Odisha KnowledgeCorporation, Odisha Milk Marketing Federation,State Cooperative Bank bringing about catalyt-ic changes by focusing on quality, effectiveness,sound financial discipline and leadership.Innumerable awards and accolades including pres-tigious International Star for Leadership inQuality (ISLQ) in Paris , Udyog Ratan with a goldcitation by Institute of Economic Studies,President’s silver award made him decorated haveadded feathers to his cap. He is also presently theSpecial Relief Commissioner and MD, OSDMA.Odisha has earned worldwide recognition andemerged as a leading State with an enviable recordin handling disaster management under his effec-tive leadership. In an interview to The Pioneer,Sethi spoke to Sugyan Choudhury on the emerg-ing scenario and the compelling current reformsin the higher education sector of Odisha.

What are your plans to galvanise highereducation in Odisha?

India's higher education system is theworld's third largest in term of students, next toChina and the UnitedStates. In future, Indiawill be one of the largesteducation hubs. The sit-uation of higher educa-tion in Odisha has notonly been witnessing newchallenges but greateropportunities with regardto expanding the systemin a sustainable way. Thehigher education systemin Odisha in the presentcentury is movingtowards being moreresponsive to changes inknowledge creation andapplication, translatingthese to meet emerging and changing labourmarket requirements in the contemporaryneoliberal socioeconomic context. TheDepartment of Higher Education has manythrust areas, which are identified to cater to theneed of neoliberal economy and industry. Suchneeds are taken care of through the introduc-tion of various reforms in different thrust areas.These areas include employment, infrastructure,curriculum, research, investment and pacewith global collaboration. The State is march-ing towards its ultimate objective of achievingexcellence in imparting knowledge, creating newknowledge and developing global competen-cies/skills in its youths.

What plans are on the anvil to project atleast one university of Odisha in the top 100rank of the world when the Union HRDMinistry is also working on similar lines?

You will be glad to know that the UtkalUniversity is one among the best 60 higher edu-cational institutions of the country grantedautonomy by the UGC (7th position) this year,and the NAAC has awarded it A+ Grade withCGPA 3.53. The Utkal University has also beenselected by the MHRD to receive Rs 100-croreassistance under the Rashtriya UchchattarShksha Abhiyan 2.0 and is one among the topten universities to receive this grant. Both theCentral and State Governments aim to projectthe Utkal University in the top 100 rank of theworld.

The Utkal University will take the follow-ing steps for moving towards a world-class uni-versity:

� Developing world-class infrastructuressuch as International Hall, InternationalCollaboration Cell, SophisticatedInstrumentation Centre, Technology-enabledclassrooms and laboratories.

� World-class digital library including e-

resources.� Going for international accreditation.� Engagement of internationally-reputed

faculty.� Attracting high-quality students from

across the globe.� Scholarship to high-performing students

and scholars.� Research awards for best quality publica-

tions.� Encouraging presentation of research

papers in international conferences.�Creating research groups in collaboration

with reputed national and international labora-tories, universities.

� Encouraging the faculty to file patent andother IPRs for original research work.

� Establishing scientific and academicChairs

�Establishing international advisory boardsfor quality enhancement in academics, researchand administration.

� Facilitating distinguished lecture/ scien-tist programmes.

� Creating endowments with the help ofindividuals, industries and alumni.

� Establishing research centres to addresslocal issues and cutting-edge research.

What are the current reforms you haveintroduced at the university and undergrad-uate levels?

In the aforesaid background, theGovernment of Odisha, in consultation with theVice-Chancellors of the State Universities, hasinitiated a process to bring in uniformity andhigh quality standards in five identified areas:(1) Common admission into PG courses by theuniversities; (2) Uniformity in syllabi at UG level;(3) Examination reforms in UG andPG/Autonomous Colleges; (4) Monitoring ofOn-Time-Graduation; (5) Timely conduct ofexaminations and timely publication of results.Detailed modalities for each of these action areasare being worked out so that clear steps can betaken with strict timelines.

What are the remedial measures you arecontemplating to see that more studentsfrom Odisha are selected for IAS, IPS andother UPSC wxaminations?

For a long time, it has been felt that thereis an urgent need for a State-sponsored centrefor administrative and academic career devel-opment for youths from Odisha. Lately, it is seenthat the success rate of university graduates fromOdisha who appear in various national-levelcompetitive examinations without any prepara-tory training has been dismal. The StateGovernment hatched up Civil ServicesExamination study centres at all the eight State-run universities -- Utkal, Berhampur, Sambalpur;RD Women’s; GM; FM ; Ravenshaw; and NorthOrissa University for providing coaching andguidance to students aspiring to appear for civilservices examinations and excel in them.Though such centres will take some time to sta-bilise, it is felt that the universities are not in aposition to run a focused administrative stud-ies centre by themselves. The entire project needs

to run at a separatecentre dedicated tobuilding employmentcapacity of graduate andpostgraduate studentsin various administra-tive jobs. To facilitateneedy and eligible stu-dents with good coach-ing facility, the StateGovernment hasresolved to partner withprofessional coachingorganisation to man-age the Civil ServiceCoaching Centre. Thecentre will be located atBhubaneswar for con-

venience of access and resource mobilisation.The selection of a coaching centre is in theprocess and in the final stage.

What are the measures your departmentis taking to shed off the obsolescence of thecollege teachers’ teaching at the undergradu-ate level?

It has now been proposed to train the col-lege teachers on pedagogy and subject matter.Around 14,000 teachers will be trained a phase-wise manner by the universities with financialsupport from the World Bank.

What steps are on the pipeline to stream-line higher research and developmental stud-ies at the university level?

As a nation with a large contingent ofresearchers both in mission departments anduniversities, a large number of publications docome out, but very few of them are path-break-ing research. At the State level, universities havedeveloped a good basic teaching learning pro-tocol. Steps are being taken by many universi-ties to develop, coordinate and strengthen inter-national linkages with funding agencies such asFulbright, Commonwealth, British Council andseveral international consortiums like ERASMUSMUNDUS, DAAD and other scholarship groups.The Odisha State Higher Education Council hasenvisaged a new scheme called the “OdishaUniversity Research and InnovationIncentivisation Plan (OURIIP) to bridge the gapin research activities and promote research inemerging areas. The thrust area would be orig-inal research instead of incremental research. Theaim of the scheme is to facilitate a research-inno-vation culture at the higher education institutes.This will be effective from 2018-19. The objec-tive of the project is to provide scholarships totalented youngsters to devote themselves to full-time research and facilitate young faculty to startresearch programmes.

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interview of the weekpioneer

Sir,

While the police force is respected in some countriesnationally and feared in some others, one is not sure wherethe khaki-clad law-keepers in India stand in respect of theirrelation with the people at large. But for sure, the cops nolonger enjoy the power of wielding their lathi as they did dur-ing the years of colonial rule. They must be feeling suffocat-ed in the current dispensation, called democracy, taking ordersfrom the elected people’s representatives holding high postsin the government, being armed with unbounded authorityto call the shots as it were. The matter of virtually invisibleconnection between the cops and the Netas, only heard abouton the grapevines, is in a closed circuit. However, it is an opencircuit that cops find themselves disconnected with those hav-ing claims of connect with one or the other Neta. The citi-zens may have to own the onus of creating the need for thepolice force amidst them thanks to their misdemeanour giv-ing rise to myriad criminal acts in a long, growing list. Evenas the tools and methods of nabbing the offending membersof society are effective, they seem to be falling behind the flockof perpetrators of crime.

Published data relating to the cops-citizens relationshipin different countries place India as a country much lesspoliced than the countries of the West, judged by the num-ber of police personnel per 1,00,000 citizens. Both criminalacts and wings of the police department have witnessed expan-sion in keeping with their distinguishable diversity. More andmore types of crime such as hacking websites of both govern-ments and companies in the corporate sector, called cybercrimes, are being reported. The battle lines in the mutualengaging between cops and citizens disinclined to conformto the laws are clearly drawn, revealing which party finds itselfon the winning side.

K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025, Mob:9437616497

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Let’s dedicate a day for “rest”.Let’s move on with a healthy

life with positive energy.With this message the

World Rest Day was cele-brated here on Sunday for thef if th consecutive year.Awareness about rest inhuman life was spread duringthe celebration. Residents ofWard-4 and Harijan Sahi andNuasahi under Korkara grampanchayat of Bhadrak dis-trict joined the celebrationunder the leadership of notedsocial activist RadhakantaTripathy.

Tripathy said that nowa-days, the year is packed withmany days like Valentine’s Day,Chocolate Day, Rose Day,Sparrow Day, etc. However,there is no no day to remem-ber and dedicate for rest.Giving Permanent rest to neg-ative instincts and taking prop-

er rest, thereby building ahealthy society, is the motto ofthis celebration. “If we followthese basic principles then ourfinal rest, i.e., death shall alsobe peaceful and remain worthremembering by others,” saidhe.

More interestingly, the con-cept of Rest Day has beenappreciated by the India Bookof Records, which has an entryof this year’s event after pre-senting a certificate andmemento to Tripathy.

Among others, ShantilataMunda, Som Ashirbad,Mamali Munda, human rightsscholar Sitakanta Tripathy,Sudhakar Mahalik,Smrutiranjan and hundred oth-ers participated in the celebra-tion. In the morning session,children took active interest tounderstand the concept of rest.In the afternoon session, vil-lagers of all age groups partic-ipated in the event.

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The Commissionerate policeon Monday detained an

alleged fraudster, known as‘Golden Baba’, here for alleged-ly duping a resident ofKeonjhar district.

The accused was identifiedas Jyotiranjan Beura. Accordingto reports, the police was on thelookout for Buera for a longtime in connection with vari-ous fraud cases following com-plaints lodged by the victims.Total 19 cases are pendingagainst him in various policestations.

Decked up in gold jewelries,he was attending BJD’s variousprogrammes identifying himselfas a party worker in the city.Earlier, he was residing at NiladriVihar area. Later, he was spottedin Kalarahanga and other partsof the city and he subsequentlyfled to Delhi.

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It seems that twin cities ofCuttack and Bhubaneswar

are now fast turning into hubsfor illegal narcotics trade witha spurt in several drug peddlingincidents in the past couple ofmonths.

The Central Excise andIntelligence Department onMonday seized brown sugarweighing 65 grams following araid at Badambadi area inCuttack.

The cost of the seized brownsugar is estimated to be aroundRs 7 lakh. The brown sugar wasrecovered from the possession ofone Ganesh Panda.

Earlier in December, offi-cials of the Excise Departmenthad seized 60 gms of brownsugar worth nearly Rs 6 lakhafter a raid in Cuttack.

On December 10, brownsugar weighing 70 grams worthnearly Rs 10 lakh was seizedfrom Khandagiri area inBhubaneswar. Two drug ped-dlers were also arrested by theExcise Department officials.

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Internationally-acclaimed US-based Kathak dancer Anindita

Neogy Anaam will be felicitat-ed with the National NrityaShiromani award for her preser-vation and promotion of Kathakdance in India and at global levelin a weeklong 10th InternationalDance and Music Festival at theSarla Bhawan Art Centre inCuttack from January 2.

This award has been givenin the past to outstanding Indianclassical dance performers andmusicians of India and abroad.This event is organised by theUtkal Yuva Sangsthan.

Anindita will also showcaseher solo Kathak recital on theinaugural day on January 2. Shewill start her recital on thefamous Rajasthani Maand,“PadharoMaare Des” (Welcometo My Land) in Jaipur style ofKathak. This Maand reflects apopular folk of the Thar desertand inspired by the love story ofDhola and Maru; so, it also hasa touch of Shringar Ras orromantic love.

Second presentation of theevening is a Kathak fusion onthe famous compositionRhythm Scape by Tabla virtuoso

Bickram Ghosh. This music is aconfluence of east and west.Similarly, Anindita would usemore technically-diversifiedbody gestures with hints of bal-let and flamenco dancing styles

into mainstream Kathak to givethis world music a twist.

Anindita is a recipient ofprestigious national awards likeJayadev Rashtriya Puraskar andBidagdha Nartaki Samman for

her outstanding achievementin the preservation and promo-tion of Indian art in India andabroad. She has also appeared asa judge in the famous Indianclassical dance competitions.She has performed in leadingfestivals of India, Germany andthe USA.

Anindita is a disciple of PtJai Kishan Maharaj, eldest sonof Pt Birju Maharaj, and PtRajendra Gangani.

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As the world witnesses rapidadvancement of science

and technology, innovation hasto be made part of the cultureto keep pace with the progress,said Governor Prof GaneshiLal on Monday.

“Innovation needs to becoupled with inner evolution,”Prof Lal said while addressingthe valedictory function of thefive-day 26th NationalChildren’s Science Congress(NCSC-2018) which ended inthe campus of the SOAUniversity here.

The NCSC, scheduled to beheld next year in Kerala, wasattended by over 700 child sci-entists from all over the coun-try, besides ten from theASEAN and five Gulf countries,apart from scientists.

Prof Lal said man’s eternaland consistent confusion hasbeen that he was guided byphysical perception. He said thiswhile referring to Newton’s

Laws of Motion and the ongo-ing search for the “God particle.”

“Newton was stirred intodiscovering the physical lawswhen he saw the apple dropfrom the tree, but the questionwhich needed an answer ishow did the apple reach thatheight in the first place? Howdid it go up? And who made itfall?” he asked.

This shows that there issome force working, Prof Lalsaid, adding it was a great fal-lacy of the modern age whenman thinks himself to beomnipotent.

“What are they searchingfor?” he asked referring to thescientists looking for the “Godparticle.”

Vice-Chancellor of SOAProf Amit Banerjee presidedover the function which wasalso addressed by DevelopmentCommissioner Asit Tripathy,

Chairman-cum-ManagingDirector of Nalco Tapan KumarChand, Higher EducationSecretary and Special ReliefCommissioner BishnupadaSethi and Science andTechnology secretary BhaskarJyoti Sharma.

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Four persons were killed andtwo others sustained critical

injuries as a Mahindra Boleroby which they were travellingrammed into a roadside tree atTayaput under Kashipur blockin the district late on Sundaynight.

According to reports, someyouths of Kashipur area hadcome to Rayagada in a vehicleto watch Chaiti Festival. Whilethey were returning home inthe vehicle, the driver lost con-trol over the wheels and the

SUV rammed into a roadsidetree killing four of them besidesinjuring two others grievously.

The deceased were identi-

fied as RabiM a j h i ,N a v e e nMajhi, NabiMajhi andP a p uMuduli.

O nb e i n gi n f o r m e dabout them i s h a p ,police and

Fire Service personnel rushedto the spot, rescued the injuredand admitted them to theDistrict Headquarters Hospital.

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As night temperature dippedfurther from 10 degree

Celsius to 7.8 degree here onSunday night, the homelessand destitute people were theworst sufferer of the continu-ing cold wave conditions.

Having no shelter to getprotection from the biting cold,hundreds of people are nowsleeping on floors of the railwaystation, bus stand, shop veran-dahs and worshipping sites,thanks to the apathetic attitudeof the district administration.

According to weatherman,the cold condition would con-tinure for next few days.

Although the districtadministration constructed anight shelter near the FMCollege here to accommodate50 homeless persons, still it hasnot been made operationalsince its inauguration in August.

The shelter has been built

mainly to accommodate job-less, rag pickers, abandonedones and persons with psychi-atric disorders

“As mercury is dipping inBaleswar district, rickshaw-pullers, jobless, mentally-chal-lenged and rag pickers and thehomeless are encounteringuntold woes. They are sleepingon shop verandahs, railwayplatforms, bus stand or underthe open sky as the shelterhome set up by the municipal-ity is yet to be operational,”lamented an intellectual.

When contacted, munici-pality Executive Officer, KanhuCharan Malik said, “The nightshelter couldn’t be made oper-ational due to certain technicalreasons. Since its managementwill be handed over to anNGO, the selection process isstill on.”

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Aperson was allegedly stonedto death by unidentified

miscreants at Bachhipur villagein Basudevpur of the district lateon Sunday night.

The deceased was identifiedas Ganesh Satpathy (40). Sourcessaid the deceased and his daugh-ter were sleeping when the mis-creant barged into the house andstoned Ganesh to death. Thematter came to light after wife ofthe deceased returned home tofind the door locked from out-side. After entering the house,

she found her husband lying ina pool of blood.

“I don’t know when theincident happened as I wasasleep and came to know aboutthe matter only after my moth-er arrived,” said daughter of thedeceased. She further added,“My father didn’t have any enmi-ty with anyone.”

On being informed aboutthe incident, police reached thespot and sent the body forpost-mortem. While the exactmotive behind the crime is yetto be ascertained, theBasudevpur police havelaunched an investigation intothe incident.

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Recently, the UrbanDevelopment Department

has declared the AthagarhNotified Area Council (NAC)as an open defecation-free(ODF) town. But one does notfind any relevance of the cer-tificate as in reality open defe-cation practice still prevails insome wards of the NAC.

Even though the NAC hassanctioned assistance for 1,496latrines under the SwachhtaMission, most of these weregiven on the basis of ruling

party pressure as alleged bylocals. This apart, no awarenessprogramme is conducted bythe authorities to explain peo-ple regarding the demerits ofopen defecation.

It is alleged that only toobtain more grants ahead of thegeneral elections, the depart-ment has hurriedly declared theAthagarh civic body as opendefecation-free. When a surveywas conducted by this corre-spondent, it was found that inWards-1, 2, 7. 8 and 14, thepractice of open defecationstill persists.

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Locals here under the bannerof the Gadajata Parikrama

have demanded that Athagarhbe given district status by theState Government.

As Athagarh fulfils almostall the criteria of a district, dueto lack of political will, it hasbeen deprived of the status tilldate, they said.

When former CM BijuPatnaik created districts in1990, the demand fordeclaringAthagarh a district was too

raised, but due to lack of polit-ical interest, it did not gt anyimportance.

However, when recently,the State Government isattempting to enhance thenumber of the districts, localshere have started organisingand mobilising the leaders. Atpresent, the number of popu-lation in Athagarh Sub-Division is over four lakh.

Before independence ofIndia, Athagarh Sub-Divisionwas comprised of four sover-eign princely estates like

Athagarh, Tigiria, Badambaand Narsinghpur. At the timeof merger with the IndianUnion, a tripartite agreementwas held among the rulingchiefs of these estates with theUnion and the State of Odisha(then Orissa). These Gadajatpeople did not want to contin-ue with Mughlebandis ofCuttack, Jagatsinghpur,Kendrapara etc. and demand-ed special status in the merg-er. Thereby, it Narsinghpurwas proposed to be declared asa district of which Athagarh

was the headquarters.But due to lack of admin-

istrative procedure, for sometime it was decided to start itsfunction from Cuttack and till1950, stamps of Cuttack districtwere read as Cuttack-Narsinghpur district.

Subsequently, the wordNarsinghpur vanished. Thishas been recalled by somesenior citizens of the area,demanding to open the histo-ry and declare Athagarh as adistrict.

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The year 2018 remained apainful one for residents of

Sundargarh district in view ofrising incidents of human traf-ficking, torture on migrantlabourers and human-elephantconflicts, delay in completion ofBrahmani bridge and upgradingof the IGH to a medical collegeand super speciality hospital andtroubles faced by people due totardy progress in sewerage workand frequent bandh calls given

for different purposes. Many innocent girls,

women and men of this tribals-dominated district were luredand trafficked to outside theState where they were engagedas domestic helps or as dailywagers in brick kilns and otherfactories. They were tortured atworkplaces and were not paidfor work. Even a girl had beensold at Rs 12, 000 and subse-quently raped. Though the girlwas rescued; her father, whohad gone to make a search,went missing and is stilluntraceable.

Another person ofSundargarh district, who hadallegedly been trafficked towork in Ramgad, has gonemissing for a few weeks now.

Similarly, human-elephantconflict reached a new high in

2018 as jumbos killed manypersons and destroyed paddyand vegetables in acres of land.The human-animal conflicthas become a major challenge

for forest officials in thedistrict.

Even as construction workof the much-awaited 2ndbridge over the Brahmaniriver started at Rourkela in2018, the work has been stalleddue to unavailability of land.While some people are reluc-tant to hand over land, badcondition of the existing bridehas made people suffer a lot.

Political parties, the BJDand the BJP, are blaming eachother for stalling of the work.Even Rourkela MLA Dilip Rayresigned from his post and quitthe BJP a month back citingdelay in construction of second

Brahmani bridge and upgrad-ing of the IGH to a super spe-ciality hospital as main reason.

The digging of roadsides infront of houses and shopsthrough the Rourkela city, donefor sewerage work, has made itsresidents’ life miserable.Protruding of barricade sticksand heaping of soil moundsalong the city roads havecaused accidents and trafficcongestion.

During 2018, severalbandh calls were witnessed inSundargarh district. Normallife was thrown out of gear dur-ing these periods. Studentssuffered as schools remainedclosed, common people facedtroubles because of closure ofbanks, Government and privateoffices and disruption in trans-portation system.

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The plight of this elderly cou-ple of Subarnapur district is

a glaring example of how ben-efits of various poverty allevi-ation schemes have failed toreach the intended beneficia-ries.

Sriram Chhatria and hiswife Rambha Chhatria ofDubla village in Tarbha blockhave been deprived of allGovernment benefits. Thoughthey possess Aadhaar and voteridentity cards, these have beenof little use.

While drinking water, oldage pension, electricity supplyand other Government facili-ties remain a distant dream forthe elderly couple, benefits ofBiju Pakka Ghar and Pradhan

Mantri Awas Yojana continuesto elude them.

The couple lives in athatched hut which is in adilapidated condition. Whilethe walls have developedcracks, last year’s rainfall hasmade the structure weak. A tar-paulin sheet serves as the roofof their humble abode whichironically is located 7 km awayfrom Tarbha block headquar-ters.

Chhatria has been livingwith his wife for the last 20years in this hut .The onlyvaluable assets that the couplepossesses include a few uten-sils, an old box and a plasticmat.

Chhatria alleged that thevillage representatives, includ-ing the ward member, wholives only some meters awayfrom his hut, and theSarpanch, have turned a blind

eye to their plight. He said hehad approached the authoritiesat the block and district officesbut in vain.

“I had requested the elect-ed representatives and districtofficials for a house, but I havereceived nothing from them,”he lamented.

For sustenance, Sriramworks as a daily wager. “Due toold age, I am not able to dohard labour. Sometimes, we are

unable to arrange two squaremeals per day. This apart,being a SC does yield anyrelief as local people are reluc-tant to offer work at theirhomes,” Chhatria said.

When contacted, BDONihar Ranjan Kaahnr said,“We have no special grant forBiju Pakka Ghar. But we willdefinitely include them in thescheme in the coming financialyear.”

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The SatyabhamaMaheswar Sports and

Arts Mahotsav organisedby the Sri Sai SatyabhamaMaheswar Seva Pratisthanand the Dina MaheswarSeva Parishad concludedhere on Sunday.

Oxford Odissi Centrepresident Baisali Mohanty,International Human RightsAward winner ManasiPradhan, Lalatendu Satpathy,Kalu Ransingh, RanjeetSundray, Prasant Kumar Dash,Hadbandhu Nayak,Laxmikant Das, BhagirathiMahapatra and RanjeetKumar Badu attended theevent as guests.

Pratisthan chairman DrRama Ballav Dash welcomed

the initiative to any organisa-tion organsining a sport andcultural events in the memoryof scribes and assured to finan-cial aid.

During the function PwDschildren played tabla, flute andother musical instruments andperformed dance and winnerswere felicitated. Among others,Pratisthan secretary DuniyaDash, Anshuman Maharanaand Chaitanya Parmani werepresent.

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The year 2018 witnessed sev-eral ups and downs in the

Odisha politics. From the rulingBJD’s thumping victory inBijepur by-poll, suspension ofheavyweights from the party totwo senior leaders quitting BJP,the State witnessed severalmajor political turning pointsthis year.

Here are the 10 importantpolitical happenings inOdisha.

1. Jay Panda axed fromBJD

The year began with themuch-talked-about political hap-pening in Odisha with the sus-pension of former MP BaijayantPanda from Biju Janata Dal (BJD)in January. Party Supremo andChief Minister Naveen Patnaiksuspended the high-profile MPfrom party’s primary membershipfor his alleged anti-party activities.It was alleged that Panda hadopenly campaigned for oppositioncandidates in his constituencyduring the last Panchayat elec-tions. Later on May 28, Pandaresigned from the party.

Meanwhile, speculations arerife that Panda would join BJPsoon which has neither been con-firmed nor denied by the politi-cian or his office.

2. BJD’s Bijepur by-pollwin

One of the major achieve-ments that the ruling BJDcheered for in 2018 was theparty’s landslide victory in theby-poll to Bijepur Assemblyconstituency in Bargarh district.The party won the by-electionin style by grabbing a stagger-ing 56 per cent of the polledvotes in February.

3. Three from BJD electedto RS

BJD candidates SoumyaRanjan Patnaik, PrashantaNanda and Dr AchyutaSamanta were elected uncon-tested to the Rajya Sabha fromOdisha in April. They replacedBJD MPs Dilip Tirkey, AUSingh Deo and BJD-backedindependent candidate AVSwami.

4. Niranjan appointedOPCC chief

In view of the Congress’poor performance in 2017Panchayat elections in the Stateand growing resentment with-in the party, AICC replacedPrasad Harichandan as OdishaPradesh Congress Committee(OPCC) president by handingover the mantle to veteranleader Niranjan Patnaik in April.

5. Dama Rout shown doorAfter Baijayant Panda, sus-

pension of one more heavy-weight leader from ruling BJDmade much noise in State pol-itics this year. Known for hissatirical yet controversialremarks, senior leader and for-mer Minister Dr Damodar Routwas suspended from the partyin September for anti-partyactivities. The move came a fewdays after the former Ministeralleged financial irregularities ina few State Government depart-ments. A day before his sus-pension, hundreds of BJD work-ers from Jagatsinghpur districthad met Patnaik at his residencedemanding Rout’s suspensionfor his ‘anti-party activities’.

6. Aparajita joins BJPA major turning point came

for the opposition BJP in Odishawhen former IAS officerAparajita Sarangi joined theparty in November. The 1994-batch officer joined the saffronparty at the residence of party’snational president Amit Shah inNew Delhi on November 27after her voluntary retirementwas approved by the Centre onNovember 16.

She had applied for volun-tary retirement from service onSeptember 15.

7. Bijay, Dilip Ray quit BJPThe Odisha BJP received

a major jolt, just two days afterAparajita Sarangi joined party,when two heavyweights- for-mer Union Minister DilipRay and national executive

member Bijoy Mohapatra-quit the party citing infightingin the party. While Mohapatraalleged that he was not givendue importance in partywhich guided him to takesuch decision, Ray resignedexpressing displeasure overthe Centre’s negligencetowards construction of a sec-ond bridge over Brahmaniriver and upgradation of theRourkela -based Ispat GeneralHospital (IGH) into a superspecialty hospital.

8. Srikant dropped fromCong panel

Former Union MinisterSrikant Jena was removed fromthe Poll Manifesto Committeeof Odisha Congress as its chair-

man. He was replaced by formerMinister and OPCC vice-pres-ident Ganeswar Behera.

9. KCR meets Naveen overfederal front

A few days after swearing-in as the Chief Minister ofTelangana, K ChandrashekarRao began his tour to variousStates to bring regional forcestogether to take on BJP at theCentre in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

A day before PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visitto Odisha, Telangana ChiefMinister Rao met his Odishacounterpart to discuss an alter-nate front ahead of the LokSabha polls.

10. Modi-Naveen war ofwords

The end month of the yearwitnessed a high-voltage war ofwords between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and OdishaChief Minister Naveen Patnaikwith both targeting each otherwithout taking names at sepa-rate public meetings. WhileModi, during his recent visit toOdisha, targeted the NaveenGovernment alleging rampantcorruption the State, Patnaik,on the BJD’s foundation day,launched a counter attack onModi by putting nine questionshighlighting the Centre’s fail-ures.

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Asenior citizen in Khordhatown has allegedly been

deprived of getting legal sup-port from a Model PoliceStation against unlawful con-struction of a house on his landby his neighour.

On the application ofKrushna Chandra Dash ofBhaliaguda village, Khordha

Sub-Collector had directedthe Khorda Town police toimpose 144 of the CrPC onthe disputed land.Accordingly, the police askedthe opposite party to stopconstruction. Despite this, theneighour has continued con-struction works.

Later, Dash filed a com-plaint at the Town police sta-tion alleging that the accusedflouted the 144 of the CrPC.But the police were yet to reg-ister a case against the accused.

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The Vigilance police on Monday caught Bhadrak district’sDobal Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) Baidehi Munda red-handed for demanding and accepting illegal gratification of Rs8,000.He was caught taking bribe from complainant Subodh Dasof Sodha village in Bhadrak district for signing the MeasurementBook (MB) and passing order in the MB for payment of finalbill amounting to Rs 40,000 in connection with construction ofdrain in the village executed by the complainant.Her residen-tial house at Baghurai in the district was searched. She was arrest-ed and forwarded to court.

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Well, 2018 is coming to aclose, and it was tough

year for the farmers ofJharsuguda district. The districtreported about 61.65 per centdrought. Out of total paddy cul-tivation in 50,404 hectares ofland in the district, 31,076hectares were affected bydrought.

For the animal lovers as well,the year was not good. Four ele-phants of a herd including twocalves, aged one and five yearsrespectively, and two adults,were killed after being hit by theHowrah-Mumbai CSMT Mailtrain near the Telidihi railwaycrossing under the BagdihiForest Range.

With rumours flying thickand fast about OPCC workingpresident and Jharsuguda MLANaba Kisore Das joining the BJD,questions are now being raisedover State Congress leadership.Das himself blows hot and coldabout it, though.

Vedanta ash pond breachesleading to inundation of largeareas and colossal damages tostanding crops, had caused a hueand cry.

But a positive development

was the Veer Surendra Sai (VSS)airport. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi dedicated theairport in Jharsuguda for thepeople of Odisha. The State gotits second airport 56 years afterthe Bhubaneswar airport. Modialso inaugurated the Garjanbahalopen cast mine of MahanadiCoal Fields Ltd (MCL).

Union Railway CoalMinister Piyush Goyal visited IBValley Area of MCL andinquired about various mines-related activities and expansionplans. The construction work ofthe most anticipated heart carehospital was started atJharsuguda. For the first time, aheart hospital will be built in theState at Jharsuguda with a costestimate of Rs 100 crore on PPPmode. This is being done withMCL funds near the District

Headquarters Hospital atBalijori.

Naveen, who inauguratedthe three-day Sacrifice Day atKolabira field commemoratingthe 158th death anniversary ofSaheed Karunakar, announcedthat the State Government willconstruct a memorial of martyrKarunakar at an expenditure ofRs 50 lakh.

CM Patnaik dedicated the163-km stretch of Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur BijuExpressway, four-laned at anestimated cost of Rs 1,200 croreunder PPP mode, to the peopleof the State.

Patnaik also inauguratedthe 2.5 km long Ib river bridgeThe river is a tributary of theMahanadi rive and the bridgehappens to be the longest riverbridge in western Odisha.

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The All Odisha Lawyers’Association organised its

47th State conference success-fully at Digapahandi in Ganjamdistrict on Sunday.

Over 1,000 lawyers fromdifferent parts of the Stateattending the meeting dis-cussed about their freedom,self-respect and unity. They toodiscussed about their respon-sibilities towards helpless, poorand economically backwardpeople.

The meeting held underchairmanship of associationpresident Sisir Padhy wasgraced by local MLA and

Minister Surya Narayan Patroas the chief guest and ProfBhagirathi Panigrahi as chiefspeaker. Association secretaryNiranjan Nayak read out theannual report and DrSudhansu Pati delivered wel-come address. Among others,senior lawyers Rabi Panigrahi,Akashaya Kumar Patro,Bishwajit Sahu, BichitraBadajena and Himansu Dhalspoke on various issues relatingto the law profession.

On the occassion, KhordhaLawyers’ Association memberBichitra Badajena and AngulLawyers’ Association memberSatyajit Sahu were unanimouslyelected as president and generalsecretary of the All OdishaLawyers’ Association for 2019-20.

Pravakar Rout, DipakPatnaik, Pitabash Panda,

Rajendra Pradhan,Nirmal Sahu, PradipPanda, KarunakaraPanigrahi, RasanandaRout, Hara PrasadRath, AseshnathMishra, ManoranjanPanda and RabiPanigrahi coordinatedthe programme.

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From January 1, Jharsugudadistrict will run 25 years

since its foundation. For this,the foundation ceremony anddistrict function ‘Dulduli’ willbe observed with full zest. Theinauguration of the functionwill be held on Tuesday.

The five-day-long festivalin Manmohan School groundwill be attended by culturaltroupes from the State andoutside. The major attraction ofthe event will be provided bycultural groups of Assam,Arunachal Pradesh, WestBengal, besides other States.

Likewise, Bihu,Bharatnatyam, Sambalpuri,Singhari and Odishi dance will

be performed by the teamsfrom neighbouring States, saidDistrict Collector and chair-man of District Council ofCulture, Bibhuti BhusanPatnaik.

From January 1 to 5, 771artists will perform in the fest.Likewise, during day- time,programmes like blood dona-tion camp, dance, music andquiz etc will be performed. Theday programmes will be attend-ed by more than 13,000 com-petitors and artists to exhibittheir talents, said culture corecommittee member TapasKumar Ray Chowdhury.

Around 300 stalls havebeen set up in the district fes-tival ground by ORMAS,Pallishree, handicrafts and ter-racotta units.

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Demanding justice for the2011-12 Pipili gangrape

and murder victim and allegingthat the prosecution clearly“botched” the investigationsinto it, hundreds of womenmembers of the BJP on Mondaygheraoed the State CrimeBranch (CB) police headquar-ters here for over three hours.

The BJP Mahila Morchamembers led by its PresidentPravati Parida held a massiverally from the district partyoffice here near theGourishankar Park shoutingslogans and marched towardsthe police headquarters at BuxiBazaar, which also houses theCB police headquarters.

Initially, there was a com-motion near the gates of thepolice headquarters when theprotesters tried to barge intothe prohibited areas by break-ing through the barricades andthe police cordon. Normalcywas restored when some agi-tators were taken into preven-tive custody.

“Those taken into preven-tive custody were laterreleased,” informed a seniorpolice officer, refuting the alle-

gation that the police misbe-haved with the women.

Addressing the protestrally, Pravati Parida said herparty had earlier doubted theCB probe into the sensationalrape and murder case for thefact that Pipili MLA andMinister Pradeep Maharathywas allegedly shielding theaccused.

“Our suspicions of 2012 arenow confirmed after six yearswhen a trial court exoneratedthe two key accused in the case,Prashant Pradhan and hisyounger brother Sushant, forlack of evidence against them,”Parida said alleging that theprosecution (CB) botched theinvestigations by destroyingthe evidences.

Notably, the Crime Branchhas, in the meantime, decidedto challenge the acquittal ver-dict of the lower court in theOrissa High Court, claimingthat clinching evidences show-ing the involvement of thebrother duo in the crime wereplaced before the trial court.

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As many as 34 college stu-dents, 13 girls and 21 boys,

joined the district police onMonday to work as traffic vol-unteers in Puri beginning fromthe New Year’s Day. Theremaining students of a total of60 would join in a secondphase.

The students selected werefrom the local SCSAutonomous College,Surajamal Saha College,Government Women’s College,Gopabandhu AyurvedicMedical College and SadasivaSanskrut Sansthan.

After permission fromtheir respective Principals, thestudents underwent therequired trainings at the police

barrack field. They are equipped with I-

cards, caps, jackets and whis-tles. Under the Students TrafficVolunteer Social Scheme(STVSC), they would bedeployed for crowd manage-ment at different crowdedcrosses. They would work for16 days a month for threehours a day and get Rs 1,600 asscholarship. Their duties wouldbe to assist the traffic policebesides creating awarenessabout the traffic rules amongthe vehicle riders. They wouldbe covered under the PM’ssocial insurance scheme of Rs1 lakh to Ra 2 lakh each in caseof death on duty.

After successful imple-mentation of STVSC inBhubaneswar, Cuttack,

Brahmapur, Raurkela,Baleswar, Koraput andSambalpur, the State police aregoing to launch scheme in thepilgrim city, besides Khordha,Dhenkanal, Angul andKeonjhar towns from January1.

Central Range IGSaumendra Priayadarshi, PuriSP Sarthak Sarangi, DSPSasmita Sahu were present onthe occasion the induction ofthe first batch of student traf-fic volunteers at the PoliceLine here on Monday.

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The ongoing dharna beingstaged by hundreds of

Anganwadi Workers’ underthe banner of the All OrissaAnganwadi Ladies Workers’Association before the StateAssembly here, pressing forimplementation of their variousdemands, reached 36th dayon Monday.

The demands include min-imum salary of Rs 18,000 forWorkers and Rs 9,000 forHelpers per month, minimumpension of Rs 3,000 per month,provision of house rent forcoordinating Anganwadi Centrein urban areas and TA/DA forWorkers in urban areas andenhancing retirement age from60 years to 65 years.

They also demanded thatSambalpuri saree be provided toall Workers and Helpers, revisedinsurance policy be implementedsoon and LGP cylinders con-nected to all Anganwadi Centres.Among others, association gen-eral secretary Sumita Mahapatra,Bharatiya Anganwadi LadiesWorkers’ Association generalsecretary Anjali Patel, associa-tion State treasurer GeetaraniMohanty, Jyostnarani Singh,Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Statehead Basant Kumar Sahu werepresent.

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Style, compassion, talent,intelligence and elegance

were at its best as teenagemodels took the ramp in the18th Nanhipari-Little MissIndia talent beauty pageant,which concluded at the KiiTInternational School here onSunday.

Thirty young girls between13-16 years shortlisted forsemi-final round from region-al auditions from Guwahati,Lucknow, Kolkata, Patna,Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi,Bangalore, Srinagar andHyderabad faced several com-petitions during the two-dayevent.

In the finale ShubhangiDwivedi from Lucknowcrowned the KIIT Nanhipari-

Little Miss India 2018. YashikaSingh of Delhi and Mira Singhof Amritsar were crowned firstand second runners up respec-tively.

The top three also receiveda cash award of Rs 3 lakh, Rs 1lakh and Rs 50, 000 respec-tively, along with silver crown,trophy and certificates.

Winners of many othertitles were awarded a cashprize each by KIIT Nanhiparichief patron Dr AchyutaSamanta and patron MalayMohapatra.

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The year 2018 has beenquite significant from

Odisha’s industrialisation per-spective, according to an offi-cial release.

The following were thekey developments that posi-t ioned Odisha as the“Manufacturing Hub of theEast”. The State has beenranked number 1 in terms ofinvestment implementationrate and amongst the top 3States in terms of live manu-facturing investments in India.

Make in Odisha Conclave2018: The flagship biennialflagship investors' meet of theState was organised inBhubaneswar in Novemberthis year and was over-whelmingly successful byevery measure. The conclavehas been a watershed momentin Odisha's industrializationjourney as 183 investmentintents were received in thelead up to and during the con-clave. The cumulative invest-ment intent was to the tune ofRs 4,19,574 crore across 15

diversified sectors which shallcreate 5,91,000 additionaljobs.

The conclave saw tremen-dous response with 5,074industry captains and dele-gates from India and abroadparticipating in the event.Over 31,000 people visited thelargest-ever industrial expo setup by the State.

Grounding of industrialprojects: The Government ofOdisha has demonstratedstrong commitment to deliverprojects on ground, which isreflected in the fact that theinvestment intents receivedduring Make in OdishaConclave 2016, close to 65 percent projects, are in variousstages of approval and imple-mentation. In the past 12months alone, three ground-breaking-cum-inaugurationceremonies were conductedthis year flagging off con-struction or operations of 64projects across the State. Thisled to creation of employmentopportunities for more than30,000 youths in the State.

CM’s road shows: ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik metthe who’s who of India Inc. ina series of road shows inMumbai, Delhi and Chennaiand invited them to come and

invest in Odisha. Due to theCM’s guidance, stable politicalenvironment, availability ofland, skilled manpower andsignificant ease of doing busi-ness, the response frominvestors across the countryhas been overwhelming.

Success in broad-basingindustrialisation : With theobjective of attracting 2.5 lakhcrore of fresh investments andgenerating 30 lakh job oppor-tunities as part of CM Patnaik’sVision - 2025, thenGovernment of Odisha isdiversifying and broad-basingthe State’s industrial develop-ment across six focus sectors.The Make in Odisha Conclavewill further the vision of theState to broad base the indus-trial growth with a slew ofinvestment proposals in sectorssuch as chemicals and fertiliz-ers, petrochemicals, food pro-cessing, healthcare, tourism,renewable energy and elec-tronics which will create newemployment opportunities forthe skilled youths of then State.

GO-SWIFT receiving500th investment proposal:Within a short span of oneyear, the GO-SWIFT portal hasreceived the 500th investmentproposal. Due to significantease of application and expe-

ditious approval process, therehas been a considerableincrease in the number ofinvestors wanting to set uptheir units in Odisha. TheMake in Odisha Conclave 2018has given further impetus tothe flow of investment pro-posals. The State continues toraise the bar for ease of doingbusiness and is focused onspeedy implementation of pro-jects on ground.

Commenting on theachievements, PrincipalSecretary, Industries, SanjeevChopra said, “2018 has been aseminal year for Odisha’sindustrialisation. With relent-less focus on improving ease ofdoing business and a focusedinvestment promotion strate-gy, the Make in OdishaConclave 2018 was a success.In the coming year, the focuscontinues to be on speedyimplementation of industrialprojects on the ground. In thenext 30 days, one-third of the183 investment intentsreceived in the lead up to andduring the conclave will beaccorded single windowapproval. The StateGovernment is committed tocreate tens of thousands of jobsin the coming year for theyouth of Odisha.”

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The ‘Satadalare Yagnaseni,’ aliterary event with a differ-

ence organised by publicationhouse, Adya Prakashanee,marked the release of the 100thedition of eminent writerPratibha Ray’s epic novel,Yagnaseni (Odia).

Chief guest Dr SitakantMahapatra released the 100thedition of the book. The occa-sion also marked the release ofthe Pratibha Ray FoundationTrust, formed by Pratibha’sfamily members with the goalof preservation and propaga-tion of Pratibha’s and Odia lit-erature.

Dr Pradip Bhattacharya,guest of honour, released theHindi translation of Ray’s‘Magnamati’, published by thepublication house, Rajpal andSons, New Delhi. Meera Johri

released yet another book ofPratibha Ray, ‘College Gapa.’

Chief speaker BasantPanda elaborated on the sig-nificance of Jagyaseni, whileDebi Prasanna Patnaik high-lighted the importance of thebook.

The writer, in her speech,said she sat on the ground andwrote with blood. She spokeabout her tryst with Jagyaseniand how the readers and herfans had been instrumental inmaking her a household namethrough their appreciation forthe novel.

The writer was felicitatedwith a standing ovation by theaudience as she was felicitated

by her loyal fans from all cor-ners. President, Odisha Societyof Americas LalatenduMohanty, president, CanosaSunanda Panda , DhirendraKar from Raleigh, US were alsopresent on the occasion. Thewelcome address was deliveredby Dr Adyasha Das while thevote of thanks was given byADG, Odisha Police Lalit Das.

Twenty translators ofPratibha’s works representingdifferent Indian languages,publishers as well as distribu-tors were felicitated.

The second session was acultural programme.

Those who got the PrativaSammana included DrSankarlal Purohit, Hindi, DrPradeep Bhattacharya, English,Kavita Dutta Goswami,Assamese, Prof JayashreeMohanraj, Telugu, ProfBhagirathi Nanda, Sanskrit,

Bharati Nandi, Bengali, BindyaSuba, Nepali, Dr RajendraPrasad Mishra, Hindi, RadhaJoglekar, Marathi, Dr VSnJoglekar, Marathi, ProfBikram Das, English, DrPrafulla Kumar Mohanty,English, Monalisa Jena,English, Abdul Matin Jami,Urdu, Dr Annie Ray, Hindi,while those who were felicitat-ed with Prakashan PratibhaSammana included MeeraJohari, Rajpal and Sons, Delhi,Kapish Mehra, Rupa and Co.Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, SoumyaranjanSahu, Nalanda Prakashani.

Besides, Kala PratibhaSamman was presented to emi-nent artists Ashok Mohantyand Soman Patnaik and PustakPrasar Pratibha Samman toArun Kumar Mishra,Soumyakanta Khandai, SatyaNarayan Choudhury andAkshaya Kumar Nayak.

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In protest against various irreg-ularities committed in the

Shreemandir at Puri, the BJP willon Tuesday launch a campaignof lighting diyas (earthen lamps)and burning effigies of ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik andLaw Minister Pratap Jena in frontof Jagannath temples across theState. “Non-opening of theShreemandir door, stalling ofdaily rituals and depriving devo-tees of Darshsan of the Trinity onDecember 28 are very disap-pointing. There were manage-rial disturbances marked duringNabakalebar and Niladribija ear-lier. Instead of taking actionagainst culprits, the StateGovernment is protecting them,”alleged BJP vice- presidentSameer Mohanty. Alleging fur-ther that the State Governmentis involved in Daru fixing, miss-ing of Ratna Bhandar keys andstealing of gold from Hundi,Mohanty said BJP activists wouldlight diyas and burn effigies ofthe CM and the Law Minister infront of Jagannath Temple.

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The “Udayabata”, a fortnightly newsmagazine, celebrated its15th anniversary here on Sunday under the chairmanship

of its editor Dushmanta Kumar Rout.Jajpur Athletic Association working president Rasananda

Mohanty, former Karilopatana College Principal Dr SarbeswarSena, BJP Yuva Morcha district president Alexandar Das, for-mer VN Municipality Chairman Sabita Rout, Wildlife WardenKailash Chandra Sasmal attended as guests.

On the occasion, scribe Harsha Bardhan Behera, SaratPathal, Chakradhar Dash, Jajpur Road PS IIC AmitavMohapatra, Paradip Port Trust Assistant Information OfficerPrakash Kumar Dash, Ramachandra Barik, teacher AngurabalaRath, Damodar Pradhan, Binay Rout and farmer LalbahadurMohanta were felicitated.

Durlabh Kala Parishad artists performed cultural pro-grammes. Among others, Dr Akshaya Panda, Bidyutprava Rayand scribe Biswaranjan Pattanayak were present.

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Former Defence Ministerand senior Congress leader

AK Antony on Mondayaccused the BJP and theGovernment of “manufactur-ing” lies in the AgustaWestlandcase and said UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi and Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi neverinterfered in any defence dealsduring the UPA regime.

“The Government and theBJP are misusing agencies tomanufacture lies. I am sur-prised to know that the presentGovernment is spreadinglies....Is trying to manufacturesomething out of nothing. Iwould like to say categoricallythat Sonia Gandhi and RahulGandhi never showed anyinterest ... Never interfered inthe AgustaWestland deal.During my entire tenure asdefence minister,” Antony saidat a Press conference.

His comments came afterthe Congress and the BJP wereengaged in a slugfest onSunday. While the oppositionparty alleged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his gov-ernment wereAgustaWestland’s protectorsand promoters, the saffronparty accused it of defendingChristian Michel, an allegedmiddleman in the deal, andasked why it was scared of aprobe into the case. , “Withoutany iota of truth, they are try-ing to follow vendetta politics,”Antony said.

The former DefenceMinister said it was theCongress-led UPA

Government that ordered aCBI inquiry the moment itcame to know of corruptionallegations in the VVIPAgustaWestland helicopter dealand initiated proceedings toblacklist the company.

Antony claimed that theUPA Government fought thecase “unusually” in a Milancourt against the chopper-mak-ing company and won it too.“We cancelled the contract andstarted proceedings of black-listing. But after we left, theModi Government did nothingagainst AgustaWestland.Instead of acting against thecompany, they favoured thecompany,” he said.

Antony said if the Congresshad anything to hide, it wouldnot have ordered a CBI probeor gone to Italy to fight the case.The senior Congress leaderalleged that the Governmentand the BJP were trying todivert attention from the alle-gations raised by his party onthe Rafale fighter jet deal andwere not initiating an inquiryinto the matter or a JPC toprobe the charges.

“During our time, when-ever there were allegations,even in media reports, we tookaction and held an inquiry,” hesaid while attacking the BJPgovernment for not ordering aJPC probe into the Rafale deal.On the BJP’s charges of theCongress being jittery eversince Michel was extradited toIndia, Congress chiefspokesperson RandeepSurjewala said this was like“chor machaye shor” (the thiefis making noise).

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Russian President VladimirPutin has sent new year

messages to President Ram NathKovind and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, and said rela-tions between the two countrieswere developing in a construc-tive and dynamic manner.

Putin, conveying his greet-ings to the two leaders, alsonoted that agreements reachedduring Indo-Russia annualsummit in October contributedto strengthening the privilegedstrategic partnership betweenthe two nations, according tothe Russian Embassy here.

In his new year messages toKovind and Modi, the RussianPresident emphasised that rela-tions between the two countrieswere developing in a con-

structive and dynamic manner,the embassy said.

“Vladimir Putin expressedconfidence that joint efforts willlead to further growth of mutu-ally beneficial cooperation invarious areas and greater coor-dination of efforts on key issueson the regional and globalagenda within the UN, BRICS,the SCO, the G20 and othermultilateral bodies,” it said.

In the annual summit here,India inked a USD 5 billiondeal to purchase the much-vaunted S-400 air defence sys-tem from Russia, notwith-standing US warnings of puni-tive sanctions against nationsdoing military transactionswith Moscow. A number ofother pacts were also signedfollowing talks between Modiand Putin.

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Two major healthcare Bills,one was passed by Lok

Sabha and another was intro-duced in Rajya Sabha onMonday. The Indian MedicalCouncil (Amendment) Bill2018 to allow a panel of emi-nent professionals to run thescam-tainted Medical Councilof India (MCI) was passed bythe Lower House while the Billaimed at regulating and stan-dardising the education andservices provided by allied andhealthcare professionals wasintroduced in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill passed by theLower House seeks to replace

an ordinance issued in thisregard in September this year.Piloting the Bill, HealthMinister Jagat Prakash Naddasaid this Bill supersedes MCIand the powers of the councilhave been vested in a Board ofGovernors (BoG).

The BoG have all eminentpersonalities and include direc-tors of AIIMS and PGI,Chandigarh. This board willcontinue to perform till aCouncil is constituted, Naddasaid.

“This Bill has been issuedso that medical education canbe regulated in best manner, asMCI turned out to be massivefailure,” he said.

The Minister, while speak-ing on the Bill, said the parlia-mentary panel on Health in itsreport also cautioned that anyattempt to overhaul the med-ical regulatory system in thecountry will face huge chal-lenges.

He suggested that govern-ment was forced to come upwith this Bill as the oversightcommittee formed by theGovernment on suggestion ofthe Supreme Court resignedand the MCI could not func-tion. Thereafter theGovernment came with anordinance.

Many of MCI membershave been accused of taking

bribes to fast-track accredita-tion.

Meanwhile, the Bill aimedat regulating and standardisingthe education and services pro-vided by allied and healthcareprofessionals was introduced inthe Rajya Sabha. The Bill pro-vides for setting up of an Alliedand Healthcare Council ofIndia and corresponding StateAllied and HealthcareCouncils, which will play therole of a standard-setter andfacilitator for such professions,an official statement stated.

“Introduced the Allied &Healthcare Professions Bill,2018 in RajyaSabha to provideregulation & maintenance ofstandards of education & ser-vices by allied & healthcareprofessional,” Nadda latertweeted.

The Union Cabinet hadrecently approved the Bill.

As per the Bill, there will be15 major professional cate-gories including 53 professionsin allied and healthcarestreams. Offences and penaltiesclauses have been included inthe Bill to check the malprac-tices.

The Bill provides for struc-ture, constitution, composi-tion and functions of theCentral Council and StateCouncils like framing policiesand standards, regulation of

professional conduct, creationand maintenance of live regis-ters, provisions for commonentry and exit examinationsamong others.

Professional advisory bod-ies under central and statecouncils will examine issuesindependently and provide rec-ommendations relating to spe-cific recognised categories.

The Bill will also have anoverriding effect on any otherexisting law for any of thecovered professions.

It is estimated that theproposed legislation will direct-ly benefit around 8-9 lakhexisting allied and healthcareprofessionals in the countryand several other graduatingprofessionals joining the work-force annually and contributingto the health system.

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Two Pakistani intruders sus-pected to be regular sol-

diers were killed as IndianArmy claimed to have thwart-ed a ‘treacherous attempt’ byPakistan’s Border Action Team(BAT) to carry out an attack innorth Kashmir’s Naugam sec-tor on December 30.

A defence spokesman saidthat the intruders attempted tomove by exploiting the thickjungles close to the Line ofControl ( LoC) and were assist-ed by heavy covering fire ofhigh calibre weapons suchincluding mortars and rocketlaunchers from the Pakistaniposts.

“The alertness andresilience of the own troops,who engaged and neutralisedthe intruders, thus eliminateda likely treacherous attack onthe Army forward posts alongthe LoC on the eve of NewYear,” he said.

The Army has decided toask Pakistan to take back themortal remains of deceasedlikely Pakistani soldiers sincePakistan did provide full cov-ering fire support to theseintruders.

The Army said that themovement of intruders wasdetected by the vigilant IndianArmy troops deployed alongthe LoC. “The fire-fight initi-ated by Pakistan was givenstrong retaliation by IndianArmy and the exchange of firecontinued the whole night,” thespokesman said.

Army said that during pro-longed search operations inthick forests confirmed elimi-nation of two likely Pakistanisoldiers and resulted in recov-ery of a large cache of warlikestores. “The search operations

are still underway in the sectorto sanitise the area. It was alsoreported that a few otherintruders managed to escapeacross the LoC, taking advan-tage of the Pakistani firing andadverse weather and visibilityconditions,” the spokesmansaid.

He said the intruders werewearing combat dresses likePakistani Regulars and werecarrying stores with Pakistanimarkings further reinforcedthe assessment. Some intruderswere also seen in BSF and oldpattern IA dresses as part ofdeception. They had intrudedwell equipped with IEDs,incendiary materials, explo-sives, and a plethora of armsand ammunition. From therecovery, it was estimated thatthey intended to carry out agruesome attack on the IndianArmy forward post in Naugamsector.

The spokesman said thatarmy authorities have applaud-ed the courage and persever-ance of the alert troops. TheIndian Army’s resolve to keepa strict vigil along the LoC anddefeat all such nefariousdesigns of Pakistan will con-tinue to remain firm and con-sistent.

“We will ask Pakistan totake back the mortal remains of

deceased likely Pakistani sol-diers since Pakistan did providefull covering fire support tothese intruders,” he said.

In Jammu, state police chiefDilbag Singh said that the BATattack was repulsed by thetroops. “Such attempts havebeen foiled in the past also. Thesecurity forces are capable offoiling such attempts,” he said.

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Eager to make the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana

(PMAY) a success, the Creditlinked subsidy scheme (CLSS)component of PMAY (Urban)on home loans for the MiddleIncome Group (MIG) has beenextended till March 31, 2019.Union Housing and UrbanAffairs Minister Hardeep SinghPuri on Monday announcedthat he has signed the file per-taining to the extension of theCLSS under which the gov-ernment provides a subsidy ofup to �2.67 lakh on homeloans. Till December 30 thisyear, around 3,39,713 benefi-ciaries have availed the CLSSunder the PMAY (Urban).

“I have just signed a filebefore I came here. It was onthe CLSS scheme which wehave extended for one year upto March 31, 2020. The lastextension was up to March 31,2019,” he said.

According to the Ministry,the CLSS for the MIG,launched originally for 12months till December 31, 2017,covered beneficiaries seekinghousing loans for acquisition orconstruction of houses (includ-ing re-purchase) from banks,housing finance companiesand other such notified insti-tutions.

Later, the Ministry issueda statement, stating, “The pro-posal for extension of thescheme was considered basedon the inputs from variousstakeholders in the month ofOctober 2017, and was accord-ed approval for extension by 15months up to March 31, 2019.”

Under the CLSS, for theMIG I category, which consistsof individuals with an annual

income of �6-12 lakh, an inter-est subsidy of 4 percent is pro-vided on a loan of up to �9lakh. For the MIG II category,which is made up of individu-als with an annual income of�12-18 lakh, an interest subsidyof 3 per cent is given on a loanof up to �12 lakh. The benefitsare typically in the �2-2.5 lakhrange.

The carpet area of a hous-ing unit was initially revised toup to 120 sq m and up to 150sq m for MIG I and MIG IIrespectively in November, 2017and further enhanced to up to160 sq m and up to 200 sq mfor MIG I and MIG II, respec-tively in June, 2018.

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In a move to check fraudulentregistration and to prevent

duplicate sale of the same prop-erties, the Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs (HUA) isworking on a land title regis-tration Bill for the nationalCapital. The Bill will have pro-visions to provide specificnumber to each and everyproperty. The new law willform a title registration author-ity that will maintain all landrecords electronically.

Union Housing and UrbanAffairs Minister Hardeep SinghPuri said that the HUAMinistry is working on a LandTitle Registration Bill for thenational Capital. He wasresponding to a query per-taining to increase of fraudu-lent registration of propertiesafter the implementation of theLand Pooling Policy in Delhi.

Sources said that a landtitling system that would pro-vide unassailable and conclu-

sive proof of ownership ofland. For now, there is no cen-tral system of maintainingrecords of property ownershipbecause of multiplicity ofauthorities.

Under the existing system,after purchasing a property, theowner first gets the sale deedregistered with the sub-regis-trar of his district. He thenapplies for mutation of theproperty to get the title of theproperty transferred in hisname.

But since there is no fool-proof mechanism for scrutiny,the officials bank on affidavitsfiled by the owners at the timeof registration. But it has beenobserved that the same prop-erty has been registered morethan once by different owners.

The Delhi Governmenthad conceived a draft bill of theLand Titling Bill in 2008. In2010, the erstwhile SheilaDikshit government passed abill “The Delhi Survey,Registration and Recordal of

Title of Immovable Propertiesin Urban Area Bill”, wasreturned by the Ministry ofHome Affairs in 2013.However, with the state goingto polls and the uncertainpolitical situation that followedthe bill was forgotten.

According to an officials ofrevenue department just regis-tering your property with thesub-registrar’s office and ensur-ing that your ownership rightsare recorded by land-owningagencies are not enough to safe-guard your rights as an owner.It merely gives you possessionof the property but not the title.

According to one estimateby a leading Mumbai-basedsecurities firm, 80 percent ofthe disputes before high courtsare ‘civil’ as against ‘criminal’,with the origin being in landownership. The Governmenthad earlier also launched theNational Land RecordsModernizing Program (2008)to address the issue of conclu-sive land titling.

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The thwarted Border ActionTeam (BAT) raid by the

Pakistan Army commandosalong with terrorists on Mondaywas an attempt to retaliateagainst two of its officers injuredin cross border firing with theIndian Army a fortnight ago.Desperate to raise levels of vio-lence on the Line of Control(LoC), Pakistan tried at leastfour times in the last few daysto carry out cross border raidsbut were beaten back.

Giving these details here,Army officials did not rule outthe possibility of similar actionsfrom across the LoC in thecoming days as there was lot ofpressure on Rawalpindi based

10 Corps to carry out spectac-ular attacks against the Indianarmy camps. Pakistan’s 10Corps calibrates and stokesterrorism in Jammu & Kashmirby aiding and abetting infil-tration besides BAT actions.These BATs comprise mixedgroup of Special ServicesGroup (SSG) commandos andwell trained terrorists.

Elaborating upon the latestraid foiled by the Indian Army,sources said a BAT team of sixto seven sneaked into theregion of Naugam. While twoof them were killed in ensuingfirefight after they managed tocome at least 100 to 150 metresinside Indian territory, theremaining fighters escapedback to Pakistan Occupied

Kashmir(POK). The encountertook place in the jurisdiction of17 Brigade of Indian Army,they added.

In an effort to take revengefor injuries suffered by two of itsofficers a fortnight in the sameregion, the Pakistan Army triedcross-border at least twiceincluding the latest one in thelast ten days. However, the raidswere not successful, sourcessaid. Some weapons, apparent-ly dropped by retreating ter-rorists, were also recovered.These two failed raids tookplace North of Pir Panjal ranges.

The Pakistan Army alsotried to attack Indian Armypatrols two times in South ofPir Panjal range in the sameperiod and the anti-infiltration

grid managed to deter themfrom doing so. Officials said theIndian Army has not reducedits troop strength on the LoCin the winter months antici-pating a determined bid by thePakistan Army to keep theLoC hot. This paid dividendsin terms of successfully foilingthe four BAT raids, they said.

A change in pattern ofattacking the Indian Armyposts on the LoC was alsonoticed as the Pakistan Armywas now using sniper fire fromangles instead of frontal shotsafter the Indian Army tookeffective evasive measures.Local commanders were nowdevising tactics to counter thenew tactics by the PakistanArmy, they said.

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The Government has con-stituted a committee to

suggest recommendations tostrengthen the real estate lawReal Estate RegulatoryAuthority (RERA) and toremove difficulties in its imple-mentation. The decision toform the committee, to beheaded by Union Housing andUrban Affairs Joint SecretaryShiv Das Meena, comesmonths after the Ministryorganised four workshopswhere stakeholders, includinghome-buyers, had given sug-

gestions for effective imple-mentation of the RERA.

RERA, which protects theinterest of home buyers,empowers States to notify theirrules and appoint regulatoryauthorities. As of now, 28 Statesand Union territories havenotified rules under the realestate law.

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New Delhi: A fresh tusslebetween the Centre and DelhiGovernment appears to bebrewing after the AAP dispen-sation imposed a condition of50-50 per cent operational losssharing while giving approvalto the Phase-IV of Delhi Metro.

Though Union Housingand Urban Affairs Ministryofficials said it is examining the

condition that the Centreequally share any operationalloss with the AAPGovernment, they asserted thatit was a State subject and thatother States may raise similardemands.

An official of the Ministrysaid Delhi Government hasalso put a condition in itsapproval that it will not have

any liability on loan providedby Japan InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA)to fund the project.

“We are examining bothconditions imposed by Delhigovernment in approving theMetro Phase-IV. Why shouldthe Central Government bearoperational loss? It is a State-subject. PNS

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The Government does notneed RBI surplus to finance

its fiscal deficit target, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley said onMonday, while stressing thatthe Modi-led NDA dispensa-tion has the best track recordof managing the deficit thanany other previous regime.Replying to a debate on the sec-ond batch of supplementarydemands for grants, Jaitley saidthe RBI surplus could be usedto alleviate poverty and recap-italise public sector banks.

Lok Sabha later passed thesupplementary demand forgrants for the current fiscal topermit gross additional expen-diture of �85,948.86 crore,amid sloganeering by Congressand AIADMK members onRafale and Cauvery issues.While �41,000 crore would goin for capital infusion intopublic sector banks, �2,345crore would be infused intodebt laden national carrier AirIndia.

“This Government has thebest track record than anyother previous Government inmanaging fiscal deficit. We donot need RBI reserves to man-age the fiscal deficit... It is a pri-ority of the government tomaintain fiscal discipline,Jaitley said.

Referring to the issues con-cerning the Economic CapitalFramework (ECF) of RBI,Jaitley said that central banks ofmost of the countries keep areserve of 8 per cent, whilesome conservative centralbanks maintain 14 per cent

reserves. The RBI was main-taining a reserve of 28 per cent,he said, adding the expertcommitee will decide on theappropriate reserve of the cen-tral bank so that surplus fundscould be utilised for fundingpoverty alleviation pro-grammes and recapitalisingthe state-owned banks.

The Reserve Bank has amassive �9.59 lakh crore worthreserves and former RBIGovernor led Bimal Jalan head-ed six member committee hasbeen set up to decide on theoptimum capital reserves thatthe central bank should hold.

Jaitley said the decision toset up the committee was takenwhen Urjit Patel was theGovernor of the RBI. Amid theeconomic capital frameworkbecoming a f lash-pointbetween the RBI and theGovernment, Patel resignedfrom the job on December 10,following which the govern-ment appointed formerbureaucrat Shaktikanta Das asthe new RBI Governor.

Jaitley also said that theRBI board is discussing on theBasel plus framework whichthe central bank has stipulatedfor the banks to follow.

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As the sun set for the lasttime in 2018 on Monday at

Kanyakumari, the DMK-ledOpposition parties are in aresurgent mood (at least onpaper) while the rulingAIADMK resembles a rudder-less and directionless ship beingbeaten up the powerful wavesof the political cyclone.

While the DMK has almostfinalised the line-up for theensuing battle for the LokSabha election to be held in themonth of May 2019, the rulingAIADMK is yet to come outwith the name of a single polit-ical outfit in the State withwhich it would contest theelection.

Though the vernacularmedia is full of speculationsabout the possibility of theAIADMK-BJP alliance, leadersof both the parties are yet toconfirm the authenticity ofsuch reports. “We will forge aviable and winning allianceafter the announcement of thepoll schedule by the ElectionCommission,” said EdappadyPalaniswamy, Chief Minister ofTamil Nadu.

“Nobody can ignore theBJP in Tamil Nadu. Our partyhas become a major factor inTamil Nadu politics. We willcome out with a winning com-bination,” said PonRadhalrishnan, union ministerof State for Shipping andSurface Transport on Sunday.

But Palaniswamy andRadhakrishnan were tightlipped when asked who theirpartners would be.

If past experiences are anyindication, there is no possi-bility of the AIADMK and theBJP getting benefited by analliance. The first time theyformed an alliance was in 1998.Though both the parties cor-nered some seas, the allianceshattered within one year. Thenext time they forged analliance was for the 2004 LokSabha election in which theDMK-led UPA simply obliter-ated the AIADMK-BJP com-bination. Hence Jayalalithaawas wary wary of any kind ofalliance with the Hindutwaparty though she had main-tained good chemistry withPrime Minister Narendra Modiduring her lifetime.

Vaiko’s MDMK,Ramadoss’s Vanniyar outfitPMK, Vijayakant-led DMDKwho were the constituents ofthe NDA in 2014 had dumpedthe BJP and moved over toother fronts. There is no pos-sibility of these parties return-ing to the NDA fold as Vaikohas sworn that he would notrest till he gets Stalin appoint-ed as the Chief Minister ofTamil Nadu. Ramadoss toldreporters on Sunday that hewould forge alliance with like-minded parties but his closeconfidants made it clear thatthe BJP does not figure in theradar of Ramadoss. TheVanniyar leader is shocked

with the BJP for not making hisson Anbumani Ramadoss aMinister in the Union Cabinet.

Political commentators areof the view that fringe partieslike Puthiya Tamilakam led byDr Krishnasamy and AISMKled by film actor turned politi-cian Sarat Kumar are the like-ly partners of the BJP for the2019 Lok Sabha election. Tamilsuperstar Rajnikant who hadannounced the launching of apolitical outfit on December 31,2017 is yet to take any steps inthat direction. “How is it pos-sible for the actor to launch apolitical party and field candi-dates in all the 39 constituen-cies. His dreams will remain anon-started for the time being,”said K A Johny author andcommentator. Johny said theLok Sabha election results inTamil Nadu would be a repeatof the 2004 poll . “It is a resur-gent DMK what I see now. TheAIADMK is likely to vanish inthe husting,” he said.

But there are many DMKhard liners who are expectinga tough f ight with theAIADMK. “You cannot ruleout the possibilities of moreand more outfits joining theAIADMK front because theyare in power. The KamalHaasan factor could be count-ed out as the actor has notbeen impressive till now.Chances are that Tamil Naduis in for a bipolar battle dur-ing the Lok Sabha election,”said Sam Rajappa veterancommentator.

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Jammu & Kashmir GovernorSatya Pal Malik on Monday

said that supporting militantshas become a political com-pulsion for the PDP presidentMehbooba Mufti.

The former Chief Ministerhad on Sunday warned theGovernor and the State policeagainst the alleged harassmentof a Pulwama woman (whosebrother happens to be a mili-tant), her husband and broth-er are in police custody at aJammu police station.

Interacting with the mediapersons here on the sidelines ofa function, Malik said, “SinceI am Governor, I don’t feel badabout what Mehbooba saidabout me the previous day.Moreover, she is daughter ofmy friend (Mufti Sayeed), Idon’t take her words seriously.But, I personally feel that it is

her (Mehbooba’s) politicalcompulsion to support mili-tants to regain the lost base inValley.”

The Governor also said,“We’ve directed our forcesnot to harass family membersof militants. We don’t haveany issue with the militants’families. At the same time, Iwant to assure her(Mehbooba) that if any fam-ily member of the militantshas been harassed in cus-tody, I will order a high levelprobe into it.”

Later in the day, DirectorGeneral of Police DilbaghSingh in Jammu said,"the inci-dent has come to light and wewill verify the same". He alsoclaimed, "i know she waspicked up and questioned butbeyond that we will verifyand if some one is foundguilty we will take appropriateaction".

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New Delhi: Foreign touristscan now directly fly to theAndaman and Nicobar Islandsas the Government has desig-nated Port Blair airport as anauthorised immigration checkpost for entry into and exit pointfrom India.

The decision to open up theAndaman and Nicobar Islandsdirectly for foreign tourists cameafter it was found to be the mostsought-after tourist destinationin the country receiving anaverage four lakh tourists,including several thousand for-eigners, annually.

"....The Central Governmenthereby designates Port Blair air-port of Union territory of theAndaman and Nicobar Islandsas an authorised immigrationcheck post for entry into/exitfrom India with valid traveldocuments for all classes ofpassengers," a Home Ministrynotification said.

The Superintendent ofPolice (CID) of the Island hasbeen designated as the "civilauthority" for the immigrationcheck post at Port Blair airportwith effect from Monday.

According to data availablewith the Home Ministry, morethan 16 lakh tourists visited theAndaman and Nicobar Islandsbetween 2015 and October thisyear to enjoy the natural beau-ty, beaches, flora and fauna andhistorically-significant land-marks in around 38 inhabitedislands out of the 572 islets.

The archipelago hasreceived 4,02,393 tourists,including 11,818 foreigners, till

October 2018, while it received4,87,229 tourists, including15,310 foreigners, in 2017.

In 2016, as many as4,00,019 tourists, including15,467 foreigners, had visitedthe Andaman, and in 2015, atotal of 3,11,358 tourists,including 14,674 foreigners,had gone to the union territo-ry, the data revealed.

The Andaman and NicobarIslands is a union territory andcomes under the administrativecontrol of the Home Ministry.

The island was under glob-al spotlight recently after thekilling of a 27-year-oldAmerican national by membersof a highly protected tribe,Sentinelese, in prohibited NorthSentinel Island in November.

The archipelago has beeninhabited for several thousandyears, at the very least.

The earlier archaeologicalevidence so far documentedgoes back some 2,200 years.However, indications fromgenetic, cultural and linguisticisolation studies point to habi-tation going back 30,000–60,000

years, well into the MiddlePalaeolithic period, according tothe Andaman and NicobarIslands tourism Department.

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday announcedrenaming of three islands ofthe Andaman and Nicobararchipelago as a tribute tofreedom fighter Netaji SubhasChandra Bose. The RossIsland was renamed as NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose Dweep,the Neil Island as ShaheedDweep and the HavelockIsland as Swaraj Dweep. PTI

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In what could further con-solidate her position in rural

Bengal, Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Mondayannounced an insurancescheme for the farmers underwhich the State Governmentwill pay �2 lakh in case of afarmer’s death.

Already bolstered by thefeedback on her popularschemes includingKanyashree, Rupashree,Swasthya Sathi, Khadya Saathiand Sabuj Saathi — takingalmost the entire populationunder some scheme of bene-fit or the other — the ChiefMinister on Monday said thenew Krishi Bandhu Schemewould secure a large section ofthe farmers in the working agegroup.

According to the new

scheme if a farmer betweenthe age group of 18 and 60died his or her family wouldget an assistance of �2 lakhfrom the Government. Thenew scheme would come intoeffect from January 1. “Wehave a total of 72 lakh farmerfamilies in Bengal. Thisscheme will start for these

families from January one andthe farmers will be able toapply for the benefits fromFebruary this year. Not onlythis, the same Krishi Bandhuscheme would ensure a pay-ment of �2,500 for a farmergrowing single crop per acre.The Government will spendover hundreds of crores of

rupees for the peasants underthis scheme, she said.

This amount will bepayable twice a year. By thisscheme the Government man-ages to identify and addressthe problem of those farmerswho have less productive landgiving only one crop a year.

This scheme is likely to dogood to the people ofJangalmahal area where vasttracts of lands single-crop innature.

Incidentally the TrinamoolCongress had given a belowpar performance in the pan-chayat elections in theJangalamahal districts ofPurulia and West Midnapore.“Before this our Governmenthad waived land tax and muta-tion fees on the agriculturallands,” Banerjee said addingshe had also taken initiativesfor online mutation to savepeople from harassment.

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The Bengal Governmentwas happy that Sheikh

Hasina had won the generalelections in Bangladesh, StateChief Minister MamataBanerjee told reporters onMonday.

“I have personally spokento her (Sheikh Hasina) andcongratulated her,” the ChiefMinister said adding herGovernment was “happy thatSheikh Hasina has won theelections,” by a landslide mar-gin. “I also congratulate thepeople of that country,”Banerjee said adding herGovernment wanted the rela-tionship between the twocountries to strengthen fur-ther.

On the Twitter she wrote,

“heartiest congratulations toSheikh Hasina ji on the victo-ry in the Bangladesh generalelections.”

The victory would furtherstrengthen the good Indo-Bangladesh relations she said.“We already share a cordialrelation with Bangladesh and Iwant that relationship tostrengthen with time,” Banerjeesaid adding the two countriesshould work together towardsmaintaining peace and stabil-ity in the region.

In the Bangladesh generalelections held on December 30,Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led coalition roared back topower with an overwhelmingmajority clinching 260 out of300 seats humbling the oppo-sition alliance led byBangladesh National Party.

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Former Chief Minister andchairman of the coordina-

tion committee of the coalitionGovernment in Karnataka,Siddaramaiah has made strongallegations against the BJP oftrying to buy their MLAs byoffering them �25 to �30 crore.He also said BJP was trying todestabilise the Congress- JD(S)coalition Government led byChief Minister HDKumaraswamy.

The Congress just after theCabinet expansion is handlinga major crisis with many oftheir MLAs being upset withthe party for not getting placein the Cabinet. The party is also

handling the coalition partnerJD(S) which is upset over thebig brother attitude of theCongress.

“BJP is indulging in horsetrading by offering �25 crore to�30 crore to each legislator. Ifthey are not corrupt, where arethey getting such a hugeamount from? As theOpposition party, what has itdone so far except trying tobring down the Government,”Siddaramaiah tweeted. Politicalobservers said that his com-ments have to be seen in thecontext of the future moves offormer Minister RameshJarkiholi, who was droppedfrom Cabinet last week.

Senior Congress leader and

strongman of Belagavi RameshJarkiholi remaining incommu-nicado for close to a week,speculations of him joining theBJP are worrying the Congress-JD(S) coalition government inKarnataka. Ramesh Jarkiholi,who was the minister formunicipal and urban adminis-tration, was dropped from theCabinet on 22 December.

According to sourcesJarkiholi is to be in talks withBJP’s senior leadership in NewDelhi. BJP state president BSYeddyurappa’s extended stay inNew Delhi has intensified thespeculations of Ramesh meetingBJP president Amit Shah to dis-cussion a possible defection.

A close confidant of

Ramesh Jarkiholi said thatRamesh was in touch with a fewdisgruntled MLAs. Accordingto sources, there are at leastmany MLAs from NorthKarnataka, who were denied acabinet berth, supportingRamesh Jarkiholi. However,the BJP will require 16 MLAs toresign or abstain from partici-pating in the vote of confidenceto topple the Government.Kumaraswamy who is headinga fragile coalition is away inSingapore with his family to cel-ebrate New Year but has so farnot cleared the list of MLAsappointed to boards and cor-poration by the Congress party.

Siddaramaiah said, “I don’tknow where Ramesh Jarkiholi

is. None knows. But I’m sure hewill not leave the party, comewhat may” .

Speaking to reporters inMysuru, Siddaramiah ques-tioned Modi’s moral right tocriticise the State Governmenton the issue of farm loan waiv-er. He said "I had twice led del-egations (to Modi) as a ChiefMinister, he did not agree towaive a single rupee. Whatmoral right does he have?" .

Alleging that Modi and hisGovernment were against theagriculture sector, he ques-tioned their contribution tothe farming community. "Okwe have given lollipop, whatpop has he given? What has hegiven?" Siddaramaiah asked.

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While the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation

(ISRO) will begin its prepara-tions in 2019 for sendingmanned mission to space, theDepartment of Atomic Energy,the body which administersIndia’s nuclear energy pro-gramme, ended the year in dis-appointment.

The 500 MW Fast BreederReactor coming up atKalpakkam, which was expect-ed to generate power in 2010failed again to meet the deadlineset by the founding fathers of theFast Breeder ReactorProgramme. Even after a delayof eight years, there is no signof the Fast Breeder Reactorcoming to life as the DAE hon-chos had claimed in 2005 itselfthat India was the global lead-

ers in the technology.The work for the FBR had

begun at Kalpakkam, nearChennai in 2004. By 2005 May,the raft where the reactor wouldbe built was ready and thereactor vault was installed by2008. The designers of the reac-tor had claimed that it would bean earthquake resistant reactor, capable of withstanding mas-sive quakes up to 9 in theRichter scale. The scientistswho headed the reactor pro-gramme got superannuated oneby one even as the reactor pro-gramme remained in limbo.

The Fast Breeder Reactor

was expected to generate cheappower (at the rate of �2.50/unit)from a mixed oxide fuel madefrom Plutonium-239 (an isotopeof Plutonium) recovered fromprocessing spent fuel and nat-ural uranium. Once the FBRstarts production of power, thenatural uranium would get con-verted into plutonium, whichmeans that the reactor wouldgenerate more fuel than what itconsumes. This bred fuel couldbe used to run more such reac-tors and the DAE had plannedfour more FBRs at Kalpakkamitself. All these programmesand dreams have come to astandstill.

The Indian nuclear energyprogramme itself is in crisis withthe two modern hi-tech 1000MW reactors at Kudankulam inTamil Nadu remaining in shutdown mode most of the time.The first unit of the reactor

which was commissioned in2014 and the second unit whichwas commissioned in 2016 havenot worked for more than 150days at a stretch, say insiders inKudankulam. There is some-thing seriously wrong with thereactors at Kudankulam whichneed a comprehensive investi-gation. No new reactors any-where in the world have facedsuch technical faults,” said asenior engineer who has com-missioned some of the nuclearreactors of the Nuclear PowerCorporation of India Ltd.

He said the Indian nuclearengineers seem to have bittenmore than they could chew withthe Fast Breeder Reactor atKalpakkam. “There is no pos-sibility of this reactor generat-ing power in the near future.Even if it generates power, itwould not be at an economicalrate,” he said.

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Patna: Bihar BJP chiefNityanand Rai on Mondayasked the Congress why it wasscared of Christian Michel, thealleged middleman in theAgustaWestland VVIP choppercase, and what is the truth thatit wants to hide.

The EnforcementDepartment investigating theAgustaWestland case, had tolda Delhi court on Saturdayrecently that Michel has madea reference to "Mrs Gandhi"during interrogation.

The Congress then hit outat the BJP-led Government atthe Centre, accusing it of usingagencies to put pressure on

Michel to "name a particularfamily" as elections were nearand it has no real issues.

"Why the Congress party ismaking a hue and cry onChristian Michel and what isthe truth that it wants to hide?The Congress getting jittery onthe issue makes things moreevident as why it is creating afurore over the matter," Rai toldreporters here at the partyoffice.

An Italian court in its ordernoted that �360 crore was paidas kickbacks in the �37 billiondollar chopper deal and politi-cians and bureaucrats received�125 crore as bribe, Rai said.

"The court also mentionedthe name of Sonia Gandhi fourtimes in its order which showsher involvement in the deal," hesaid. Rai said these accusationsof corruption were raised not bythe BJP or any central agencybut by an Italian court.

Michel has revealed manynames using codes such as "bigman, son of Italian lady, partyleader and R" which all suggestto a single family, he claimed.

The Congress is trying todeflect attention of the people by questioning the NarendraModi Government on the AugustaWestland deal, hesaid. PTI

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Ahmedabad: Students ofGujarat schools will answerroll calls with 'Jai Hind' or 'JaiBharat' instead of the current'yes sir' and 'present sir' fromJanuary 1 in order to fosterpatriotism, a notificationissued on Monday stated.

The notification, issuedby the Directorate of PrimaryEducation and GujaratSecondary and HigherSecondary Education Board(GSHSEB), lays down thatstudents of Class 1-12 inGovernment, grant-in-aid andself-financed schools will haveto respond to the attendancecall with "Jai Hind" or "Jai

Bharat," starting January 1.The objective of the new

practice is to "foster patriotismamong students right fromchildhood," it said.

As per the notification,the decision was taken by thestate Education MinisterBhupendrasinh Chudasama ina review meeting held Monday.

Copies of the notificationwere sent to the district edu-cation officials with instruc-tions to implement it fromJanuary 1.

Minister Chudasamacould not be contacted forcomment despite repeatedattempts. PTI

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Lucknow: Virtually putting theCongress-led Governments inMadhya Pradesh and Rajasthanon notice, the BSP supremoMayawati on Monday said shemight have to "reconsider" herparty's outside support to themif cases against "innocent" per-sons framed in Bharat Bandh onApril 2 were not withdrawn.

"If the newly-electedGovernments in MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan do notact swiftly and withdraw thecases against the innocent per-sons framed in Bharat Bandh,the BSP may have to reconsid-er extending the outside supportto the Congress Governments,"she said in a hard-hitting pressrelease here.

Mayawati said the casesagainst the innocent peoplewere framed out of political andcaste considerations in UttarPradesh and other BJP-ruledStates including MP and

Rajasthan, which were previ-ously under the BJP.

She said now that MP andRajasthan are ruled by theCongress, the newGovernments should immedi-ately withdraw such cases, fail-ing which her party would haveto reconsider its decision ofextending outside support.

The BSP has two membersin Madhya Pradesh's 230-mem-ber Assembly, while inRajasthan her party has sixseats in the House of 200 MLAs.

The BSP extended outsidesupport to the Congress toform Governments in thesetwo States as it had failed toreach majority on its own.

Mayawati also said theGovernments formed by the

Congress in Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh and Rajasthanshould not work like the BJP,which did not fulfil its promis-es made to the farmers and theunemployed.

"The warning to theCongress is necessary, as nowmerely making announcementsis not enough. People are of theview that in making promiseson papers, the Congress and theBJP are two sides of the samecoin. Now, it depends on theCongress whether it is able tochange this perception," shesaid in the statement.

She said had the Centre leftits "stubborn" behaviour per-taining to triple talaq bill, 2018,and sent it to the joint select com-mittee of Parliament as demand-ed by the entire Opposition, itwould have been better.

The BSP chief said in thepast five years, there have beennon-fulfilment of promises, andby showing dreams of 'achcheydin', demonetisation and GSThave been implemented in animmature manner. PTI

Srinagar: The minimum tem-perature at most places inKashmir Valley and the Ladakhregion plummeted, with Kargilexperiencing the coldest night ofthe season so far, an official at theMeT Department said onMonday. The nearby Kargilrecorded a low of minus 17.2degrees Celsius on Sunday night,he said. Srinagar, the summercapital of Jammu & Kashmir,recorded a low of minus 6.6degrees Celsius – a drop of overfour degrees from minus 2.4degrees Celsius on Saturdaynight. The official said Qazigund,the gateway town to the valley,in south Kashmir recorded a lowof minus 4.7 degrees Celsius,while the nearby Kokernag townregistered a low of minus 2.3degrees Celsius. PTI

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The Pune district authori-ties had their way on

Monday ahead of Tuesday’smuch-discussed Dalit con-gregation at Bhima-Koregaon,as the Bombay High Courtrefused to direct the police topermit Bhim Army chief andfireband Dalit leaderChandrashekhar Azad toaddress a public rally at a localcollege ground.

Simultaneously, theSavitribai Phule PuneUniversity denied permissionto Azad to interact with itsstudents on Monday.

Hearing a petition filed byBhim Army's Pune unit chiefDatta Pol seeking a directionto the Pune to allow Azad toaddress SSPMS Collegeground in Pune a public rallyon Sunday, a HC vacationbench of Justice C V Bhadangrefused to given an interimrelief to Azad and directed thePune Police to file its say onthe petition. Later, the courtscheduled the next hearing ofthe case for January 4.

The petitioner’s counselNitin Satpute told the HighCourt that his client had made

several applications to thePune police seeking permis-sion told public meetings andengagements on December30 and 31. However, theauthorities had not respond-ed to their applications andthat they learnt from themedia that the permissionhad been denied to them.

Contesting the claim byAzad and his supporters thatthere were detained whileheading towards Dadar-Chaityabhoomi on Saturdayevening, the Mumbai policeinformed the high court thatthey had not detained theBhim Army chief as claimedby the latter. “ We had onlyplaced him (Azad) underhouse arrest,” the police toldthe court.

Azad, who headed toPune soon after he wasreleased from “detention” bythe Mumbai police, arrived inPune on Sunday evening.

Talking to media personson his arrival in Pune, Azadcondemned the MaharashtraGovernment’s move to detainhim illegally and prevent himfrom addressing a public ral-lies in Mumbai and Pune.

In its petition before the

high court, the Bhim Armyhas demanded a a compen-sation of �10 crore from theMaharashtra Government forAzad’s “illegal” detention.

Azad was to address apublic rally at Jamburi Maidanat Worli in south-centralMumbai on Saturday.Subsequently, he was toaddress a public rally in Puneon Sunday and follow it upwith an interaction with uni-versity students on Monday.

As per the earlier sched-ule, Azad was to showerflower petals on the victorypillar at Bhima-Koregaon,where more than one lakhshave gathered to celebrate thethe 201st anniversary of the

the January 1, 1818 victory ofBritish troops over PeshwaBajirao II's army on Tuesday.Later, he was to address twomore rallies – one at Latur onJanuary 2 and another one atAmravati on September.

However, Azad has notbeen permitted by the policeto address even one rally inMaharashtra so far.

On his part, Azad hasthreatened to go Bhim-Koregaon on Tuesday to payhomage to those Dalits killedin the battle between Britishtroupes and Bhajirao II’sArmy on January 1, 1818.The Dalits were part of theBritish troupes in the 1818battle with the Bhajirao II’sArmy.

In its effort to ensureagainst a repeat of the distur-bances witnessed at Bhima-Koregaon last year, the Punedistrict authorities have madeelaborate security arrange-ments in the eight kilometreradius of the village to main-tain law and order during thevictory rally scheduled forTuesday.

It may be recalled that thatduring the caste riots thatbroke out on January 1, 2018

-- the 201st anniversary of thethe January 1, 1818 victory ofBritish troops over PeshwaBajirao II's army. One personwas killed, while propertyworth Rs 9.54 crore wasdestroyed at Bhima-Koregaonin Pune district. After theriots, there were wide-spreadprotests and violence acrossthe state.

After the Bhima-Koregaon riots, the police hadarrested 1o human rightsactivists for allegedly con-spiring to kill Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and over-throw the democraticallyelected government in thecountry. They have beenbooked for their alleged linkswith the banned CPI(Maoists). In addition, fiveabsconding Maoist leadershave also been made accusedin the case.

Apart from stationing ahuge contingent of police per-sonnel in and around the sen-sitive Bhima-Koregaon, thePune district authorities aredeploying 11 drones in theeight km radius of the villageto maintain vigilance on thegoings at the Dalit victoryrally to be held on Tuesday.

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Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis and

senior Congress leader AshokChavan on Monday exchangedbarbs over the Agusta WestlandVVIP chopper deal, with theformer asking the Congressand Gandhi family to comeclean on the bribery chargesand Chavan likening Fadnavis’allegations to a thief com-plaining about a robbery.

As part of the BJP’s strate-gy to field its leaders across thecountry to target the Congressand the Gandhi family on theAgusta Westland helicopterbribery case, Fadnavisaddressed a news conferenceand said: "Christian Michel isthe key middleman in theAugustaWestland deal. TheCongress Party has benefitedfrom him. This is what the

Enforcement Directorate (ED)has brought forth before aDelhi court. The Congress andGandhi family are runningaway from the allegations facedby it. The Congress and Gandhifamily must clarify its role inthe deal”.

Alluding to the allegationsof bribery in the deal, Fadnavissaid that there was a massivecorruption in this deal thatsome officials, Indian Air Forceofficers and politicians werebribed.

“Two officials were arrest-

ed and tried by the Italiancourts which have sentencedthem to jail terms. On page no.193 of the judgement, SoniaGandhi’s name appears fourtimes. It also said that a com-mission of �125 crore at therate of 10 per cent was final-ized, of which the CongressParty got nearly 52 per cent, 20per cent went to IAF and therest to other officials,” Fadnavissaid, while reading from a pre-pared statement.

Fadnavis alleged thatMichel was arrested in theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)in 2017 and extradited toIndia recently. The documentsand diaries seized from him bythe investigators revealed thereferences like Mrs. SoniaGandhi, a letter ‘R’, ‘family’,‘son of an Italian woman whocould be Prime Minister’ andother hints.

Mumbai: A 38-year-old womandied due to excessive bleedingduring her 10th pregnancy inBeed district of Maharashtra, apolice official said Monday.

Meera Ekhande delivered astillborn boy on Saturday at thecivil hospital in Majalgaon townof Beed, located around 380 kmfrom here, and later died, he said.

The woman, who used torun a pan shop in Majalgaon,already had seven daughters buther family wanted a boy, the offi-cial said.

She had also terminated

two pregnancies earlier, he said,adding that she conceived againapparently under family pres-sure.

"Ekhande was on Saturdayadmitted to the civil hospitalwhere she delivered a stillbornchild and then died of excessivebleeding," the official said.

"We have registered an acci-dental death report and handedover the woman's body to herfamily members," he said.

One of the seven daughtersof Ekhande had also died earli-er, he added. PTI

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Ahmedabad: In a scathingattack on Rahul Gandhi for hiscritical remarks on the upcom-ing Vibrant Gujarat Summit,Chief Minister Vijay Rupanidubbed the Congress presidentas a "shameless liar" who wasdesperate to see the State fail.

Rupani said people ofGujarat have recognisedGandhi's "hatred" for the Stateand have continuously rejectedthe Congress, and will keepdoing so.

Gandhi had on Sunday hitout at Prime Minister NarendraModi, claiming that "cynical"sponsors of the investor summitno longer wanted to be associ-ated with an event presidedover by him. "At the VibrantGujarat Summit 2019, cynicalsponsors no longer want toassociate themselves with anevent presided over by NoMo.They have left the stage, the wayhe likes it...Empty," he had said.

The Congress chief had

quoted a media report to targetthe summit, conceptualised in2003 by Prime Minister Modiwhen he was the chief ministerof the state to promote invest-ment in Gujarat.

The report claimed that theUnited Kingdom, after refusingto be a partner country for theVibrant Gujarat Summit 2019,said it had decided to withdrawfrom the "showpiece state-ledevent" due to lack of satisfacto-ry "commercial outcomes". PTI

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Even though the Lok Sabha passedthe Muslim Women (Protectionof Rights of Marriage), Bill, 2018,last week, the political slugfestover this festering problem is like-

ly to continue with opposition partiesthreatening to gang up and stall legislationthat seeks to address a critical issue of gen-der disparity among the Muslims — theright of Muslim men to divorce their wiveson a whim, despite a clear verdict of theSupreme Court against such a practice.

When the Supreme Court delivered itsjudgement over a year ago in the ShayaraBano vs Union of India in August 2017, itset aside the practice of talaq-e-biddat(three pronouncements of talaq at one andthe same time) which was used by someMuslim men to divorce their wives. Thispractice had been challenged before theapex court on grounds that it was discrim-inatory and against the dignity of women.

While disposing of this case, the court,in its 3:2 judgement, made certain obser-vations which are fundamental to this issue.

It said the law that governed Muslimsin matters such as marriage, divorce, inher-itance, maintenance, gifts, guardianship,intestate succession and so on was theMuslim Personal Law (Shariat) ApplicationAct, 1937. The court relied on an impor-tant judgement delivered by it in 2002which touched upon the matters at hand,namely Shamim Ara vs State of UttarPradesh. In that case, the court said “….thecorrect law of talaq, as ordained by the HolyQuran, is that talaq must be for a reason-able cause and be preceded by attempts atreconciliation between the husband and thewife by two arbiters — one of them fromthe wife’s family and the other from the hus-band’s; if the attempts fail, talaq may beeffected”.

The apex court’s judgement in this casegave a fillip to the Government’s desire tofill the gap in regard to parliamentary leg-islation in this area. A legislative measureof this kind also became imperative whenthe Government found that despite theSupreme Court’s judgement, cases of tripletalaq were still being reported from vari-ous parts of the country. This compelled theGovernment to bring in an Ordinance andto later come up with a Bill to replace theOrdinance. Although the Lok Sabha haspassed the Bill with huge support of MPs,parties opposed to the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) are unwilling to bite the bullet.

Sadly, parties, which nurture theMuslim vote-bank, have generally tendedto block progressive laws vis-à-vis theMuslims. They believe that any initiative,that seeks to align the Muslim Personal Lawto the grand Constitutional scheme, will berejected by the Muslims and will cost theparties heavily at the hustings. Such hasbeen the narrative since the days ofJawaharlal Nehru and there are any num-ber of instances of political parties backing

off, fearing a political backlash.The Congress has been at theforefront of this approach, lead-ing to terrible imbalance in theenforcement of Constitutionaland legal provisions across theland and across communities.

History will hold theCongress, which succumbed tothe mullahs and used its brutemajority in the two Houses ofParliament to annul a historicSupreme Court judgement,granting maintenance todivorced Muslim women inthe famous Shah Bano case, assingularly responsible for selec-tive deployment ofConstitutional provisions andweakening of the overallConstitutional scheme, merelyto gather the Muslim vote in anelection.

The current legislativeeffort by the Narendra ModiGovernment to restore theConstitutional rights ofMuslim women comes in thewake of some telling observa-tions of the apex court in theShayara Bano case.

Given the fact that tripletalaq is instant and irrevocable,justices RF Nariman and UULalit said it is obvious that anyattempt at reconciliationbetween the husband and wifeby two arbiters from their fam-ilies, which is essential to savethe marital tie, cannot ever takeplace. Therefore, triple talaqwas manifestly arbitrary in thesense that the marital tie can be

broken capriciously and whim-sically by a Muslim man with-out any attempt at reconcilia-tion so as to save it. This formof talaq must, therefore, beheld to be violative of the fun-damental right contained underArticle 14 of the Constitution ofIndia. The judges also heldSection 2 of the 1937 Act to bevoid. They said it must bestruck down as being void tothe extent that it recognises andenforces triple talaq.

This is where we get to seethe distinct approach of theRajiv Gandhi Government inthe 1980s and the NarendraModi Government now to sig-nificant judgements of theSupreme Court.

In the 1980s, when theapex court held that a divorcedMuslim woman was entitled tomaintenance from her hus-band, despite a massive major-ity of over 410 MPs in the LokSabha, the then Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi lost the historicopportunity to stamp out pseu-do-secularism, practised by hisparty since Nehru’s days and tousher in genuine secularism inthe country. He succumbed topressure from Muslim clericsand brought in a legislation toundo the apex court’s verdict.

This single decision of theCongress has wrought havoc onthe secular, democratic tradi-tions of the country, and elec-toral data shows that the partyhas never recovered from it.

The Shah Bano case also com-pelled the people to turntowards the BJP, in the hopethat this party would usher ingenuine secularism as ordainedby the Constitution. The differ-ence between the two parties isnow well established with theModi Government, unlike theRajiv Gandhi Government, tak-ing legislative measures toenforce the Supreme Court’sjudgement on triple talaq withstrong parliamentary backing.

Whatever the fate of thisBill in the Rajya Sabha in thecoming week, all political par-ties, especially the Congress,will be on test. The Congress,despite its recent successes inState Assembly elections, isstill seen as a party which isreluctant to enforce theConstitutional scheme acrosscommunities. Many other par-ties, too, are toeing this line,hoping to get minority votes in2019. And, in order to achievethis, they have no qualms indisplaying contempt for theSupreme Court as well. Thisapproach has contributed sig-nificantly to the rise of the BJPin national politics and a major-ity of the States. If it remains thesole opponent of pseudo-secu-larism, it will have the fieldentirely to itself. Its opponentswill emerge as champions ofpseudo-secularism, which thepeople have begun to abhor.

(The writer is Chairman,Prasar Bharati)

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Sir — New year wasn’t always cel-ebrated on January 1. Earliestnew year festivities date back toabout 4,000 years ago. At that time,people of ancient Babylon begantheir new year in March. Theywould call for a 11-day festival tocelebrate the beginning of springand the fact that crops were beingplanted for the coming year. Thecalendar that we use today, whichis known as the Gregorian calen-dar, was introduced 436 years agoby Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Hedeclared once and for all thatJanuary 1 should be new year’s day.And since that time, people havebeen celebrating this day onJanuary 1.

On this day we promise our-selves that we’ll do somethingdifferently or better, whether it isquitting a bad habit or getting bet-ter grades in school. But where didwe get this idea of making resolu-tions for the new year? It’s believedthat the ancient Babylonians werethe first ones to make new year res-olutions. They made promises tobegin the year off right and to earnthe approval of their gods.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

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Sir — Without questioning theshower of good wishes for the newyear, the fact remains that 2019holds no miracle. We can’t expecteverything to be fine as soon as theclock strikes 12. To ensure a cheer-ful year, certain fundamental socialtransformations are required. Butwho’s responsible for it? Of course,

we the people of this country. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel,

The Idiot, the superintendent of theSwiss clinic said to Prince LevMyshkin when the protagonistwas leaving the place after four-yeartreatment of severe epileptic con-dition: “If people try to act a bitsympathetic towards each other, themajority of the problems in oursociety would cease to exist”.

Indeed, we must be coopera-

tive towards our peers, neighbours,with people at workplace and thesociety at large. We must respecteach other, irrespective of ourdemographic or social status andremain tolerant towards diverseopinion and culture. Only then canthe world attain true civilisation.Let the new year kickstart withsuch optimism.

Kajal Chatterjee Kolkata

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Sir — With 2019 knocking onour doors, yet another year hasgone by, leaving behind some bit-ter-sweet memories. Globallyand nationally, the year 2018holds a chequered record ofevents ranging from politics toreligion, legislature to the judiciary, the executive and otheractivities, including sports andcinema. The year was vibrantwith a myriad of politicalupheavals, a slew of controver-sies, few economic achievementsand setbacks, numerous reli-gious vicissitudes, a couple ofinstitutional paradigm shifts andseveral landmark judicial ver-dicts. There was also publicresentment following incidents ofmob violence and moral policing.

What all of this boils downto is that this past year wasmarked by a few hits and miss-es, a mix of promises kept andunkept. Hence, optimistically, weshould ‘never say die’ and lookforward to a brighter year ahead.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Page 9: 01˘2$ 0%3)456 ˚ ˜ˇ ! 4;, ?0 4

In keeping with tradition, pop-ulism always emerges as anelectoral force. During the run

of a given political cycle, most pol-icy decisions are undertakenthrough a consumer-centric lens. Inthis case, the ideal policy would bethe one which pleases the voter andalso not burden the nextGovernment. However, the realityis such decisions often ignoreslong-term consequences on theexchequer or even the consumer.Consequently, freebies and loftypromises are the life-blood of elec-toral campaigns.

In this context, it is not surpris-ing that the Ministry of Informationand Broadcasting has set out a pro-posal which will enable the public

broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, to tele-cast “sporting events of nationalimportance” over other televisionnetworks.

By exercising the powers grant-ed by the Sports BroadcastingSignals (Mandatory Sharing withPrasar Bharati) Act, 2007, PrasarBharati’s television network, oper-ated by Doordarshan, receives livesignals from content owners thatbuy rights to telecast such eventsfrom sports bodies like the Boardof Control for Cricket in India(BCCI). This content is then tele-cast to the 31 million householdsthat subscribe to Doordarshan’sterrestrial networks and its free-dishDTH service.

This follows a 2017 judgment ofthe Supreme Court, which clarifiedthat the Act only allows forDoordarshan to telecast these eventson its own distribution networks,and not on private television distri-bution networks.

In an attempt to work aroundthe strict guidelines drawn by theapex court, the Ministr y of

Information and Broadcasting hasnow set out new legislations tomake the telecast of “sportingevents of national importance”available for free to all of the 183million television households inIndia. What better a scheme toimpress the average voter than onewhich makes some of the most pop-ular content on television, such asthe Cricket World Cup scheduledfor next year, available for free.

Though the stated objective ofthe proposed amendment is tomaximise access to sporting eventson a free-to-air basis, the mannerin which the Act is currently imple-mented already ensures that suchtelecasts are made available onDoordarshan’s own distribution net-works, free-to-air, to the consumer.By providing an alternative to paytelevision, Doordarshan effectivelywill ensure universal availability aswell as a universal means to access.

The conceptual challenge withthe Ministry of Information andBroadcasting’s new line of thinkingis that mere availability of free-to-

air channels on private networksdoes not translate to an enhancedconsumer access.

Given the implementation ofthe Telecom Regulatory Authorityof India’s (TRAI) latest tariff orderto broadcast and cable operators,subscribers of private televisionnetworks will have to pay a mini-mum charge of up to �130 everymonth regardless of the type ofchannels they subscribe to.

The proposed amendment will,therefore, not increase access tosporting content for consumers atthe bottom of the income pyramid,which should be the guiding prin-ciple of any measure to enhanceaccess. Instead, it will make popu-lar sports like cricket cheaper forconsumers who are already willingto pay to watch television over pri-vate networks.

If not the poorest socio-eco-nomic group, who is going to ben-efit out of the amendment? Almost85.7 per cent of Prasar Bharati’sreceipts accrue from Governmentgrants. The amendment may rein-

force a culture of handouts byenabling Doordarshan to telecastcontent without undertaking anyrisk. Besides Prasar Bharati, privatetelevision networks will benefitfrom this arrangement, as theywill be able to make subscriptioncontent available free-to-air with-out having to pay content ownersany part of the proceeds.

In due course, serious moneti-sation challenges are likely to besetthe entire sports economy in thecountry as private broadcastersstop investing in it. Broadcastingrights revenues contribute 91.69 percent to the total revenues of HockeyIndia, 85.88 per cent to revenues ofthe All India Football Federationand 47.46 per cent to revenues ofthe Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI).

Conversely, neither theGovernment of India nor PrasarBharati has the resources to makeup for the lack of private investmentin sports and independently develop high-quality sports pro-gramming.

The budget allocated to theMinistry of Youth Affairs andSports formed only 0.07 per cent ofthe total expenditure of the UnionGovernment in 2018-19, whileDoordarshan spent only 5.6 per centof its total programme expenses onsports events in 2016-17.

Adopting the proposed amend-ment will be unbecoming for aGovernment which prides itselfon reforms that prioritise long-termwelfare over short-term consider-ations, such as the Goods andService Tax.

While it may make sports con-tent cheaper for paying viewers inthe short run, it will deprive India’ssports economy of meaningfulinvestments in the long run. TheMinistry of Information andBroadcasting will end up throttlingthe value of sports as a business, asan industry and most importantly,as a career option.

(The writer is an Associate atKoan Advisory Group, New Delhi.The views expressed above are personal)

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Last year was eventful for public healthin India as the government followed upon some of its key decisions announcedbefore. Ayushman Bharat was launchedto implement select recommendations

made in the National Health Policy (2017). TheMental Healthcare Act, 2017, was implementedwhile the Insurance Regulatory DevelopmentAuthority (IRDA) mandated that mental healthproblems would henceforth be a part of insur-ance schemes. Several new health-related deci-sions were also taken — a series of approvals bythe Union Cabinet, new bills for considerationby Parliament and setting up new medical col-leges in various States. However, there is alwaysa time lag between an idea translating into pol-icy and programme. The initial discussion onhealth and wellness centres had started in 2013.The precursor of the Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojana (PMJAY) was the NationalHealth Protection Mission, which was original-ly announced in 2016. Ayushman Bharat itselftook off from the earlier discussion on NationalHealth Assurance Mission of 2014 among oth-ers. The country has already suffered because ofa laid-back attitude followed by a slow-pacedimplementation. Building upon what started in2018, here is a wishlist for 2019.

Build on Ayushman Bharat programme:Ayushman Bharat, which was announced onFebruary 1, 2018, was inarguably a major pub-lic health programme of the Union Governmentafter the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)in 2005. The Ayushman Bharat programme, withtwo components of health and wellness centres(for strengthening primary healthcare) andPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (for sec-ondary and tertiary level hospitalisation) werecredited for placing health higher on the polit-ical agenda. Yet, public health experts and jour-nals alike continued to make the mistake ofequating Ayushman Bharat with PMJAY, oftenforgetting that the health and wellness centrecomponent is foundational for the success ofPMJAY as well. It was not without reason thathealth and wellness centres as envisaged inAyushman Bharat were launched on April 14 lastyear at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, months beforePMJAY was launched on September 23, 2018 atRanchi, Jharkhand.

Much of 2018 was spent on planning for scal-ing up the healthcare scheme, so this year shouldbe utilised for an accelerated implementation.More attention should be paid to getting morehealth and wellness centres going throughstate-specific innovations and increased utilisa-tion of a range of service packages underPMJAY, especially in greenfield states, with effi-cient mechanisms for fraud detection. It willserve well if a detailed roadmap and executionplan for Ayushman Bharat is developed withproper funding, approved and placed in publicdomain, which will enhance its accountabilityat various levels.

States showing leadership in better healthregimes: Towards the end of the year, theUttarakhand government launched the break-through Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana,which covers 100 per cent of the State’s popula-tion compared to the proposed 40 per cent in

Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY. Health is aState subject in our country and the suc-cess of any initiative by the Centre islargely dependent upon the addition-al inputs by the States. This year, weexpect Karnataka, Meghalaya andPunjab to also take the lead andannounce similar total population cov-erage under PMJAY. Besides this, itwould be reasonable to expect that thenewly-elected Government at theCentre in May extends the coveragewith AB-PMJAY from the existing 40per cent families to an additional 20 percent of families. It should alsoannounce a roadmap to cover 80 percent or more population by 2022.

Basti dawakhanas in Hyderabad:The Greater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC), in collabora-tion with the Telangana Government,launched 17 basti dawakhanas (orslum health clinics) in Hyderabad inApril 2018. These facilities in the Stateare inspired by the mohalla clinics ofDelhi and comprise the first urbanlocal body-led community clinic ini-tiatives in the country. Though they arenot much in the limelight because ofthe distance from Delhi, initial reportssuggest that basti dawakhanas areequally popular. The outcome of thesetwo initiatives can change the wayStates and urban local bodies plan pri-mary health services and promptmore States to take such initiatives tostrengthen primary healthcare.

Reforms in medical education:The decision for revision in MBBS cur-riculum, with inclusion of courses onattitude, ethics and communication,was undertaken last year. The revised

curriculum, the first after 21 years, willbe implemented from the 2019-20academic year. This comes at a timewhen issues of unethical practices inmedicine and violence against doctorsare gaining ground, a phenomenondocumented in the book, Healers orPredators?: Healthcare Corruption inIndia, written by Samiran Nundy,Keshav Desiraju and Sanjay Nagral. Theother pending reform concerns theMedical Council of India through theNational Medical Commission Bill,which is still awaiting discussion inParliament. In 2019, there is a need forconsensus among political parties toreform healthcare education and deliv-ery systems to root out corruption.

Tackling air pollution to make airbreathable: In India, air pollution is amajor risk factor for both acute andchronic respiratory diseases. It is doc-umented as a key aggravator in a 2017study on the state-level burden of dis-eases in the country. However, for thethird year in a row, air quality hasgrabbed national and global head-lines. The air quality index continuesto be a cause of serious concern.

Air pollution is not limited toDelhi or north India but cities acrossthe country have poor air quality witharound 70 cities breathing bad as Indiaundergoes a huge infrastructure over-haul. It has been estimated that if airquality standards meet global stan-dards, people in India would live 1.7to 3.0 years longer. The NationalClean Air Programme (NCAP) waslaunched in India in April 2018, witha plan to reduce air pollution in 100identified cities. It is now proven that

efforts on improving air quality willbe a high return investment in theform of better health, higher workerproductivity and increased lifeexpectancy. So this year, there is aneed for developing multi-sectoralinterventions, led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Chief Ministersof various States, for clean air. AfterOctober 2019, the phase II of ‘SwachhBharat Mission’ can very well befocussed on ‘Clean air for all.’

Opportunities ahead: The yearahead is an opportunity for India toshow global leadership in health. InSeptember, the United Nations GeneralAssembly (UNGA) will hold its 74thsession on universal health coverage(UHC). Also, the World HealthOrganisation’s (WHO) annual WorldHealth Day 2019 theme is around UHCwith a focus on primary healthcare.These are additional opportunities forthe country to assume a leadership rolein advancing UHC, accelerate imple-mentation of ongoing initiatives andwork upon strengthening the health-care system, by providing attention onall aspects.

The momentum generated in thelast two years, the high political andpublic visibility of Ayushman Bharatand the competition among States tobetter their healthcare records are pos-itive peaks in the graph. For long,healthcare and education have been onthe lower spectrum of allocations ofthe GDP. Hope we look at these crucialasset sectors and push up our develop-ment indices.

(The writer is a leading publichealth expert based in New Delhi)

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The banking sector is on“course to recovery” as the

afflicting non-performingassets recede, but state-runlenders need reforms in gov-ernance, Governor ShaktikantaDas said on Monday.

The weaker ones amongthe public sector banks need tobe supported through recapi-talisation, the Governor said inhis foreword to RBI’s half-yearly financial stability report(FSR).

“After a prolonged periodof stress, the banking sectorappears to be on course torecovery as the load ofimpaired assets recedes,” Das,who took charge earlier thismonth after the sudden exit ofUrjit Patel, said.

He pointed out that theperiod till September has seena decline in gross NPA ratios —the first such dip in three years— and also pointed out atimproving provision coverageratio, which is the ability of abank to withstand stress, as apositive.

According to the FSR,gross NPAs ratio declined to10.8 per cent in September2018 from 11.5 per cent inMarch 2018, while for thestate-run lenders, the sameimproved to 14.8 per cent inSeptember 2018 from close to15.2 per cent in March 2018.

Under the baseline sce-nario, the GNPA ratio of allbanks may come down to 10.3per cent by March 2019 from

10.8 per cent in September2018, the report said.

The Governor said eventhough the current NPA levelsare high, stress tests done by theRBI have pointed to animprovement in the ratio infuture.

Having done a lot of workon the NPA front, which start-ed with the accelerated recog-nition through the asset qual-ity review, Das said there is aneed for operational improve-ments at the state-run lenderswhich account for a bulk of thedud assets.

“The immense effort put inby the stakeholders so far isrequired to be buttressed withsubstantive reforms in gover-nance and oversight regime,supported by recapitalisation ofweak PSBs,” he said in the com-ments, which come days afterthe Centre committed an addi-tional �41,000 crore in FY19 forthe recapitalisation.

Eleven of the 20 state-runlenders are under the promptcorrective action (PCA) frame-work, which restricts their nor-mal lending and is a bone ofcontention between the con-servative regulator and a gov-ernment that will be facingelections in a few months.

Das, a career bureaucratwho steered the Government’snote ban move from theFinance Ministry, said despiteits high costs, the NPA recog-nition has led to improve-ments in the operational riskassessment at state-run lenders.

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The asset quality of banksshowed improvement with

gross non performing assets’(GNPAs) ratio declining to10.8 per cent in September2018 from 11.5 per cent inMarch 2018, a Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) report said onMonday.

The net NPAs ratio alsowitnessed a fall at 5.3 per centin September 2018 as against6.2 per cent in March 2018, RBIsaid in its Financial StabilityReport.

“In a sign of possiblerecovery from the impairedasset load, the GNPA ratio ofboth public and private sectorbanks showed a half-yearlydecline, for the first time sinceMarch 2015, the financial year-end prior to the launch of assetquality review (AQR),” thereport said.

GNPAs of State-runlenders improved to 14.8 percent in September 2018 from15.2 per cent in March 2018,the report said.

Private sector banks sawgross NPAs falling to 3.8 percent in September

2018 from 4 per cent inMarch 2018.

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The closure of mining activ-ities in Goa has amounted

to a loss of large number ofjobs, Parliament was informedon Monday.

“Government of Goa hasintimated that the closure ofmining activities has resultedin loss of large number of jobs,”Mines Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said in a writtenreply to the Rajya Sabha.

A proposal, the ministersaid, has been received fromthe Goa Government toamend the Mines andMinerals (Development andRegulation) Act, 1957, in orderto tide over the difficultiesfaced by the state governmenton account of closure of min-ing activities.

“The said proposal isunder examination in theMinistry of Mines,” it said.

According to the infor-mation provided by the IndianBureau of Mines, a sub-ordi-nate office under the admin-istrative control of the minesministry, no mining activity iscurrently taking place in Goafor any major mineral.

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The foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) norms related

to e-commerce companiesshould be implemented ondomestic online players also torestrict them from adoptingany unethical business prac-tices, traders’ body CAIT saidon Monday.

In a communication toCommerce and IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhu, theConfederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) also urged theMinister to immediately releasethe proposed policy for the sec-tor.

The ministry is working onthe policy and would sooncome out with a draft for pub-lic views.

“The FDI norms as spelledout in the policy should also bemade applicable on domestic e-

commerce players as well torestrict them from adoptingany unethical business prac-tices and remain at par withother e-commerce players,” itsaid.

Tightening norms for e-commerce firms having foreigninvestment, the Governmentbarred online marketplacessuch as Flipkart and Amazonfrom selling products of com-panies where they hold stakesand banned exclusive market-ing arrangements that couldinfluence product price.

The Confederation alsoasked the minister to set up anindependent regulatory author-ity for the sector.

Further, it alleged that cer-tain associations are criticisingthe revised FDI norms and thegovernment should not “bowdown” under any kind of pres-sure.

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The IL&FS crisis points outto risk to systemic stabili-

ty from financial conglomer-ates (FCs) and there is a needfor “closer attention” on theiroversight framework, theReserve Bank of India (RBI)said on Monday.

In its half-yearly FinancialStability Report, the RBI said FCspose “clear risks” as intra-grouptransactions “create opportunitiesfor regulatory arbitrage” throughbypassing regulations related toexposure norms.

“The framework for over-sight of FCs requires closerattention,” GovernorShaktikanta Das said in hisforeword to the report.

At present, the oversight ofFCs is being carried out by anInter Regulatory Forum formonitoring FinancialConglomerates (IRF-FC),which is one of the four work-ing groups set up under theFinancial Stability andDevelopment Council (FSDC).

The report said eventhough the current practicesmeet the global bankingnorms, there is a scope ofimprovement in this area.

“There is possibly somescope to further fine-tune themto Indian conditions to identi-fy relevant FCs, incorporatemarket-based feedback in FCassessment and have propor-tionate triggers for timelyaction,” it said.

The comments comemonths after the diversifiedfinancial conglomerate IL&FS

started defaulting on its com-mitments. It has an overall debtof over �94,000 crore.

The crisis had an impacton the wider financial marketsas risks from possible asset lia-bility mismatches at otherNBFCs got recognised. Thegovernment moved in andreplaced the board with one ledby banker Uday Kotak, whichfound a complex web of over300 subsidiaries.

The episode which caughteverybody off-guard led toquestions over the regulatoryoversight on such entities.Some said the absence of pub-lic deposits being at play direct-ly may have led to the regula-tory oversight.

The RBI said all FCs are nowrequired to present a host of data,including intra group transac-tions, on a quarterly basis.

A revised financial con-glomerate returns format is inthe working and it aims to cap-ture all the borrowings made byeach group entity in an FC, itsaid.

Bifurcation in terms ofshort-term borrowings of up toone year and long-term bor-rowings will also be obtained,it said, adding this will helpascertain the dependence of theFCs group entities on banksand short-term borrowings.

While the present system isexhaustive, it is backward look-ing and may not captureemerging risks and vulnerabil-ities adequately, the reportacknowledged.

It also noted changes beingundertaken by capital marketswatchdog Sebi on the credit rat-ing agencies. At least threeagencies had given A or aboverating to IL&FS, which had tobe cut massively following thedefault.

A risk-sensitive FC over-sight regime where the intru-siveness of oversight of FCs isproportionate to a combinationof the size of the entity, and thelikelihood of an adverse event,may help make remedial mea-sures more timely, the RBIreport said.

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During the last four and a half years, sev-eral steps have been taken by the

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’Welfare in the interest of farmers. “Farmers’Welfare” is the primary goal of thisGovernment’s agricultural policy. For itsimplementation, increasing employment inagricultural sector and enhancing theincome of farmers are the important fac-tors. To achieve this, the Government is try-ing to increase productivity, reduce cost, andprioritize crops with high value, reduce risksand make agriculture sustainable.

In order to achieve this, the budgetaryallocation to the agriculture sector has beenraised by 74% and the SDRF allocation hasbeen almost doubled. Corpus funds havebeen created like �5000 crore micro irri-gation fund, �10,081 crore for DairyProcessing and InfrastructureDevelopment Fund, �7550 Fisheries and

Aquaculture Infrastructure DevelopmentFund (FIDF), �2,450 crore for develop-ment of animal husbandry infrastructureand �2,000 crore for the development ofRural Agricultural Market Infrastructure.

Many policy reforms have been carriedout with the above financial provisions. Forthe first time, Soil Health Card is being pro-vided to farmers on the basis of a nation-al standard, e-NAM has been started tohelp farmers receive fair value of their pro-duce and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojnato cover the maximum risk of farmers’crops based on the Scale of Finance byremoving capping on minimum premium.Soil Health Card and Paramparagat KrishiVikas Yojana for organic farming, HarMedh Par Ped for sustainable agriculture,‘Per Drop More Crop’ with special empha-sis on micro irrigation and restructuredNational Bamboo Mission.

In the last 4 years, agricultural creditflow has increased by 57% to �11 lakhcrore and interest subsidy has also beenincreased by one and half times to �15,000

crore. To increase the income of thefarmers, 546 FPO has been constituted bythe SFAC besides State Governments andFPOs of NABARD during the tenure ofModi Government. For landless farmers,the Joint Liability Group has beenincreased from 6.72 lakh to 27.49 lakh.

In its efforts to double the income ofthe farmers by 2022, MSPs of 24 crops havebeen raised by 1.5 times of the productioncost, thereby fulfilling the Government’spromise. There has been an unprecedentedincrease of upto 15 times in purchase bythe Government through PSS, PSF andMIS schemes.

The Ministry of Agriculture andFarmers’ Welfare is implementing the 7-point strategy developed under the lead-ership of the Prime Minister and also rec-ommended by Swaminathan, like PerDrop More Crop, provision of nutrientsaccording to the soil quality of each farm,large investments in warehouses and coldchains to prevent post-harvest losses,promotion of value addition throughfood processing, e-NAM, introduction ofcrop insurance scheme at lower costs tomitigate the risk, and promotion of alliedactivities such as dairy-animal husbandry,poultry, beekeeping, Medh Per Ped, hor-ticulture, and fisheries.

(The writer is Union Minister forAgriculture and Farmers’ Welfare,Government of India. Views expressed arepersonal.)

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Former Nissan boss CarlosGhosn will be spending the

beginning of 2019 behind barsafter a Tokyo court on Mondayextended his detention throughto January 11, local mediareported.

The decision, reported bypublic broadcaster NHK andlocal news agency Jiji Press,comes after Japanese prosecu-tors re-arrested Ghosn for freshallegations on December 21,dashing his hopes of beinghome for Christmas.

There was no immediateconfirmation from the court.

The move comes as Ghosn,who was arrested on November19, faces three separate sets ofallegations involving financialwrongdoing during his tenureas Nissan chief.

The growing case against theauto tycoon represents a stunningreversal of fortune for a man oncerevered in Japan and beyond forhis ability to turn aroundautomakers, including Nissan.

The twists and turns of thecase have gripped Japan and

the business world and shonea light on the Japanese legal sys-tem, which has come in forsome criticism internationally.

Authorities are pursuingthree separate lines of enquiryagainst the 64-year-old Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian executive.

They suspect he conspiredwith his right-hand man, USexecutive Greg Kelly, to hideaway around half of his income(some five billion yen or USD44 million) over five fiscalyears from 2010.

They also allege he under-reported his salary to the tuneof four billion yen over the nextthree fiscal years — apparent-ly to avoid criticism that his paywas too high.

The extension that prose-cutors won Monday allowsthem to continue investigatinga complex third claim thatalleges Ghosn sought to shift apersonal investment loss ontoNissan’s books.

As part of that scheme, heis also accused of having usedNissan funds to repay a Saudiacquaintance who put up col-lateral money.

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Amidst stiff internationalcompetitive bidding

(ICB), Bharat HeavyElectricals Limited (BHEL)has bagged a major order forsetting up a 660 MW super-critical thermal power plant inWest Bengal.

Valued at approximately�3,500 Crore, the order for set-ting up the 1x660 MW

Sagardighi Thermal PowerProject Extension Unit-5 atManigram village inMurshidabad district of WestBengal, has been placed onBHEL by West Bengal PowerDevelopment Corporation(WBPDCL).

BHEL’s scope of work inthe project includes design,engineering, manufacture,supply, erection, testing andcommissioning of the Main

Plant Turnkey Package, com-prising supercritical boiler andturbine generator along withits auxiliaries, electricals, con-trols & instrumentation,switchyard, flue gas desul-phurization (FGD) and selec-tive catalytic reduction (SCR)systems, coal handling plantand ash handling plant.

The supercritical technol-ogy based project would sig-nificantly contribute to the

nation’s quest for clean andeco-friendly power andwould cut fuel consumptionby employing high efficien-cy equipment working athigher operating parameters.The project will further limitemissions by utilizing state-of-the-art emission controlequipment — FGD and SCRsystems to capture pollutantslike SOx and NOx, aimed atmeeting revised emissionnorms, notified by theMinistry of Environment,Forest and Climate Change.

The key equipment for theproject will be manufacturedat BHEL’s Trichy, Haridwar,Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad,Jhansi, Thirumayam andBengaluru plants, while thecompany’s Power Sector —Eastern Region division will beresponsible for constructionand installation activities on site.

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For their efforts to promoteenergy conservation and effi-

ciency, BSES discoms have beenfelicitated at the Power Ministry’sNational Energy ConservationAwards 2018. While BSESYamuna Power Limited (BYPL)was ranked 1st under the‘Discom’ category, BSES RajdhaniPower Limited (BRPL) receiveda certificate of commendation.

While BYPL CEO PRKumar and Brajesh Kumar(Head, Business) received theaward on behalf of the organ-isation, Vineet Sikka (Head,Business) and Abhishek Ranjan(Head Renewables) receivedthe award on behalf of BRPL.

The prestigious awardswere presented by the LokSabha Speaker, SumitraMahajan and the UnionMinister of State for Power,New & Renewable Energy, RKSingh.

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Snazzier phones with premium price tags are set to vie for Indian customers'wallets in 2019, but it would be entry-level and affordable smartphones

driving sales volume in the world's second largest smartphone market. However,exclusive launches and deep discounts on e-commerce platforms like Flipkartand Amazon could become a thing of the past as new rules for online mar-ketplaces with new rules coming into effect in February. According to experts,2018 was a vibrant year for smartphone companies in India as shipments grewby an estimated 11 per cent to about 150 million units. And the growth streakis expected to get a bit better at 12 per cent in 2019. The stellar growth sawIndia uprooting the US as the the world's second largest mobile phone mar-ket by volume — ranking behind China but handset prices have been skewedtowards lower-end of the market.

“This is likely to change fast. We expect that mid-range smartphones, thosewith wholesale prices in the range of USD 200-400, will grow 20 per cent year-on-year in 2018 and by almost four times during the next five years to makeit one of the most important smartphone segments,” Counterpoint Researchassociate director Tarun Pathak told PTI.

He said the sales volume sweet spot is moving from sub-USD 150 seg-ment towards mid-tier as many features and capabilities common among flag-ship models, progressively diffuse through to these lower price bands.

Also, with features like full-screen displays, dual-cameras, biometric secu-rity and support for artificial intelligence being made available in more mid-range devices, customers don't seem to mind paying more for the latest tech-nologies. The 4G feature phones — designed to bring new users online —continued to gain traction among users during 2018 with Reliance Jio mak-ing a strong push for these devices. Xiaomi, which held onto the numero unospot in a hyper-competitive market, said it expects the average selling increas-ing gradually. The company has already expanded its product range to includetelevisions and said it will continue to focus on bringing more categories andmore innovative products to India. Premium players like OnePlus and Applealso expect strong growth in sales in 2019.

OPPO, which has recently set up a research and development facility inIndia, is focussed on localising products and creating consumer centric devicesfor consumers in the coming year. The Chinese player, much like its peers,expects the premium segment market to grow and shape out well in 2019.

For Transsion -- which operates multiple brands in India including itel,Infinix and Tecno -- the Rs 7,000-15,000 segment of smartphones is expect-ed to contribute highest in 2019. Globally, new innovations like 5G and evenfoldable screens are trends that consumers are keenly awaiting. However, itmay be some time before new gadgets with these new features make inroadsin the Indian market.

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Healthcare sector may seefurther consolidation in

2019 with tightening of regula-tory environment set to make itdifficult for small players to stayafloat in a highly competitivemarket.

Industry players also expectmore partnerships in the newyear between public and privatesector in the healthcare space,which they feel is ‘under-invest-ed’.

Already, Malaysia’s IHHHealthcare has scalped 31.1 percent stake in Fortis for �4,000crore after months of intensecompetition and is in process oftaking another 26 per centstake. Besides, KKR-backedhospital management firmRadiant Life Care hasannounced acquisition of amajority stake in MaxHealthcare through a merger tocreate a combined entity valuedat �7,242 crore.

“We have seen many merg-ers and acquisitions in this fieldand will probably see the con-solidation of health care by a fewlarge players like other fields inbusiness,” Manipal Hospitalchairman H Sudarshan Ballaltold PTI.Manipal Group,backed by global investmentfirm TPG, was also a con-tender for acquiring Fortis.

Ballal said demonetisation,GST, tightening of cash trans-

actions and regulatory issueshave certainly impacted some ofthe smaller establishments mak-ing them unviable.

“All in all as I see it, thefuture healthcare will be a high-volume, low-margin venture,inching towards universal healthcare with an active role playedby the government. It will alsobe a highly regulated account-able system and people andorganisations that do not adaptto this new philosophy willperish,” he added.

Given these circumstances,consolidation of health care bylarge chains and closure ofsome individual-driven small-er facilities is likely to happen,Ballal said.

There were five contendersto invest in cash-strapped Fortis:Manipal Group, IHHHealthcare Berhad, Chineseinvestor Fosun International,Radiant Life, which was backedby global private equity firmKKR, and a consortium ofIndian business families – theMunjals of Hero Enterprise andBurmans who own Dabur.

The deal between RadiantLife and Max will be carried outthrough a series of transactionsand will see KKR becoming themajority shareholder whileRadiant Life Care promoterAbhay Soi will lead the com-bined company as Chairman.Max Healthcare promoters ledby Analjit Singh will step down.

The merged entity willoperate over 3,200 bedsthroughout 16 hospitals acrossIndia.

Wockhardt Hospitals MDZahabiya Khorakiwala saidthat in the coming year moremeaningful partnershipsbetween public and privatesector should be expected toensure that the near-universalhealthcare rolled out in thecountry becomes a groundreality.

Apollo Hospitals ViceChairperson Preetha Reddysaid the country still remainsunder-invested in health infra-structure. “We have a scarcityof doctors and nurses and arevastly under-insured as anation. Other challenges thatremain are access to primaryand quality healthcare, chang-ing disease patterns, GST andprice regulations on treatmentsand medical devices - whichremain areas of debate andconsensus building,” she said.

In pharmaceutical sector,industry veterans expect a goodrecovery in the domestic mar-ket. “We expect a good recov-ery for the pharma sector in thedomestic market. The Indianpharma market growth is like-ly to be in double digits and wewill see introduction of newproducts consistently,”Glenmark PharmaceuticalsChairman and managing direc-tor Glenn Saldanha said.

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Technology is the new friend intown for insurance industry as it

strives to add more customers in a coun-try that still remains largely under-insured, after a year full of reforms andintroduction of easier-to-understandproducts.

The list of reforms undertaken in2018 is long -- diseases such as HIV andmental illness were brought under pol-icy covers, long-term third-party motorinsurance became mandatory and thegovernment launched its ambitiousscheme Ayushman Bharat that seeks tocover almost 50 crore people.

It was also a year of digitisation andlaunch of customer-friendly products asthere was a rapid growth in online chan-nel, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank ofCommerce Life Insurance's MD andCEO Anuj Mathur said.

The sectoral regulator InsuranceRegulatory and Development Authorityof India (Irdai) proposed to encouragecompanies to develop new technologies,asked insurers to make their productsmore attractive and customer friendly.

"With increased use of digitalmode... there was increased focus onpoint of sale products and simple to usechannels to increase penetration of lifeinsurance products in sub-urban andrural areas,” Mathur said. Government’smassive health insurance schemeAyushman Bharat will go a long way tobring the poorer segment of the societyunder policy cover, he said. Mathurexpects health insurance sector to seemore innovative and customised prod-ucts in coming years due to efforts of theIrdai.

HDFC Life’s Executive DirectorSuresh Badami said private sector hascontinued to gain market share in lastthree years and industry should con-tinue to see growth momentum as theregulator is taking very positive stepstowards increased transparency andbenefits to customers.

“Insurers will introduce simplerproducts which will provide customerswith the maximum value for theirhard-earned money. The exposure drafton the new product regulations has beencirculated with the member companies...The insurance industry at large hasshared its comments with the regulatorand hopefully, the recommendationswould be incorporated in the notifiedregulations,” he said.

However, he said, the protection gapis a serious concern that is beingaddressed through various financialprotection products designed for thechanging lifestyles of Indian consumers.

According to a survey, life insurancepenetration in India is less than 3 percent as compared to other developingnations.

“Insurers are making continuousefforts to address the challenge. The gov-ernment has been taking concrete stepstowards this direction as well,” Badamisaid. The private life insurance indus-try witnessed a 20 per cent compound-ed annual growth rate (CAGR) duringthe year. “I expect the industry to con-tinue to leverage the benefits from sev-eral initiatives it started in 2018. We willsee companies invest more in productinnovations using the sandboxing plat-form, to offer more value-packed prod-ucts for customers,” said Bajaj AllianzLife MD and CEO Tarun Chugh said.

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Script Open High Low LTPRCOM 14.90 14.93 14.29 14.39JPASSOCIAT 7.63 7.74 7.60 7.70DHFL 243.20 252.20 243.20 249.40YESBANK 183.10 183.90 181.00 181.75IBULHSGFIN 860.50 871.00 847.60 852.50SBIN 296.50 298.10 295.05 295.65GODREJPROP 671.15 675.00 645.00 650.05DMART 1660.00 1678.80 1597.00 1607.70SUZLON 5.46 5.46 5.40 5.42SUNPHARMA 429.80 432.30 425.65 430.65TATASTEEL 518.50 525.20 516.00 521.85RELCAPITAL 230.65 232.20 227.65 229.65RELIANCE 1127.15 1133.40 1116.60 1121.05BLISSGVS 158.20 168.60 155.00 163.10JETAIRWAYS 280.25 283.60 275.85 277.65INFY 659.00 662.15 656.10 659.85PCJEWELLER 88.00 88.45 85.60 86.15LT 1444.00 1450.00 1434.00 1438.50VEDL 202.40 203.60 200.60 202.35SUNTV 616.00 620.00 604.00 609.00JINDALSTEL 162.25 166.60 161.65 164.75SPICEJET 89.20 89.90 88.40 89.20MARUTI 7575.00 7586.60 7445.00 7462.30TITAN 928.00 939.00 920.70 929.95AXISBANK 629.10 631.80 618.75 619.80BAJFINANCE 2665.00 2665.00 2633.70 2641.15TCS 1901.00 1910.15 1887.00 1893.55TATAMOTORS 172.60 173.90 171.90 172.60BANKINDIA 104.00 105.20 103.35 104.05BEL 86.50 89.50 86.10 87.95ITDC 305.15 340.90 305.15 336.90ASHOKLEY 103.95 104.00 102.25 102.55NCC 87.30 89.50 87.30 88.10HEG 3739.00 3755.00 3702.30 3719.55NBCC 57.00 59.00 57.00 57.70VIJAYABANK 50.30 50.90 50.00 50.00JSLHISAR 89.20 93.90 88.60 92.70SAIL 55.20 56.75 55.05 56.45GRAPHITE 774.90 778.15 753.00 756.45PFC 105.05 107.70 104.40 107.05RELINFRA 313.70 317.65 308.80 315.75BANDHANBNK 539.00 551.35 534.85 549.15JSL 33.00 34.80 33.00 34.25HDFCBANK 2137.00 2142.00 2117.00 2122.85PEL 2379.00 2409.55 2355.50 2381.85JSWSTEEL 300.00 308.00 300.00 306.25L&TFH 155.90 156.65 152.20 152.95ICICIBANK 361.60 363.60 359.35 360.00BHEL 72.10 73.55 72.10 73.00MOTHERSUMI 162.80 167.90 162.80 166.75IOC 138.20 138.95 136.65 137.10KOTAKBANK 1242.00 1259.85 1235.00 1254.75STRTECH 291.40 296.40 290.70 293.40COALINDIA 243.00 244.50 240.05 240.75CGPOWER 46.40 46.40 44.85 45.05ITC 283.50 284.00 281.20 281.65HINDPETRO 255.50 258.50 252.55 253.25RECLTD 122.50 123.70 120.35 122.05DRREDDY 2619.00 2662.75 2610.00 2617.00DELTACORP 253.90 257.65 251.15 253.55PNB 78.90 79.45 77.90 78.10RAMCOCEM 640.05 646.75 615.65 635.00NAVKARCORP 56.00 61.00 55.00 56.95ESCORTS 707.00 711.00 702.45 706.20BANKBARODA 118.50 119.95 118.25 118.85LICHSGFIN 495.00 499.00 484.00 488.50CONCOR 667.60 696.50 666.55 687.10BEML 911.95 917.00 903.20 905.00UNIONBANK 86.95 86.95 85.35 85.85JUBLFOOD 1259.00 1261.70 1243.00 1251.50BHARTIARTL 319.80 321.00 312.00 312.90M&M 806.00 811.40 802.00 803.70GSFC 112.85 116.60 112.65 116.15INFIBEAM 48.10 48.50 47.15 47.40AUROPHARMA 727.45 732.70 727.00 731.40HINDCOPPER 51.40 53.00 51.20 52.30WOCKPHARMA 520.65 526.40 513.45 524.10CANFINHOME 294.00 295.75 286.10 288.55ONGC 150.95 150.95 149.15 150.20ITI 91.85 95.10 91.85 93.85MMTC 30.00 31.45 30.00 30.95MPHASIS 997.10 1021.35 981.65 1013.95WESTLIFE 386.95 390.00 379.85 385.80DLF 178.00 179.75 176.40 177.65SPARC 191.25 192.20 187.00 187.65PHILIPCARB 199.00 208.60 199.00 206.60CANBK 279.05 281.50 273.60 275.00ADANIPORTS 387.00 389.80 385.80 386.50MUTHOOTFIN 509.95 518.45 503.95 516.60TECHM 716.00 724.20 715.40 721.10CHENNPETRO 291.95 299.00 290.75 297.35BHARATFORG 507.40 513.75 506.00 508.35BIOCON 624.00 631.60 620.80 628.90THYROCARE 542.70 550.75 519.85 527.15BPCL 362.35 365.00 359.00 362.75HINDALCO 226.00 228.40 225.35 226.10TATACHEM 712.65 720.65 704.70 707.50HINDUNILVR 1822.00 1836.00 1811.00 1818.05GAIL 358.95 361.90 354.20 360.45ABCAPITAL 99.40 101.00 98.95 100.00AMBUJACEM 221.00 225.20 219.95 224.40IBREALEST 87.75 88.85 85.00 87.20UJJIVAN 274.15 281.15 274.15 277.55BOMDYEING 115.00 116.00 113.10 113.80FORCEMOT 1615.00 1643.00 1601.15 1612.50MGL 904.95 915.00 892.45 906.85JAICORPLTD 113.40 113.40 110.70 111.35LTI 1740.15 1742.05 1714.00 1720.00

TV18BRDCST 38.25 39.20 38.00 38.10GLENMARK 696.50 706.90 689.35 692.25ASIANPAINT 1379.50 1379.50 1359.75 1373.70HEROMOTOCO 3145.00 3155.90 3081.00 3105.70HDFC 1994.00 2000.00 1961.00 1970.00IBVENTURES 382.00 391.20 375.00 385.80FINCABLES 460.00 464.80 448.05 451.15BAJAJ-AUTO 2744.00 2762.00 2712.00 2726.00FCONSUMER 45.65 46.10 45.00 45.80ZEEL 475.00 482.60 473.15 476.00CADILAHC 348.50 350.05 346.50 347.55ISEC 260.00 262.55 254.70 259.60EDELWEISS 182.35 183.25 181.25 182.40RAIN 132.15 138.05 132.15 134.25NATIONALUM 64.10 65.85 64.00 65.75DABUR 431.00 440.00 428.80 431.00BAJAJFINSV 6560.85 6697.95 6440.00 6476.00INDIGO 1188.00 1190.00 1160.85 1163.00JISLJALEQS 69.60 70.35 69.25 69.70KIOCL 152.20 172.10 152.20 164.20INDIACEM 96.85 96.85 95.05 96.10RPOWER 29.50 29.60 28.60 28.65ICICIGI 850.00 868.20 841.60 860.00BRITANNIA 3098.05 3135.00 3089.00 3118.40VOLTAS 553.85 561.00 550.00 552.00BATAINDIA 1145.80 1145.80 1125.20 1131.00FORTIS 138.80 142.00 137.25 140.00AUBANK 582.00 625.75 575.00 620.85LUPIN 845.00 856.00 837.60 845.60RBLBANK 580.00 585.85 573.20 576.25RADICO 408.00 409.10 399.00 399.20ADANIPOWER 50.60 51.25 50.50 50.90NMDC 96.40 97.90 95.50 97.05CIPLA 523.00 525.65 517.80 520.00SRTRANSFIN 1229.00 1256.80 1229.00 1239.90APOLLOHOSP 1230.00 1265.00 1228.35 1258.70UPL 764.80 766.05 754.00 756.90

ACC 1488.00 1509.80 1471.35 1503.15NTPC 149.75 150.00 147.80 148.20WIPRO 330.00 333.90 325.20 330.00TVSMOTOR 570.00 573.90 563.25 571.20IDFCBANK 43.00 43.55 42.90 43.40SIEMENS 1060.00 1060.00 1040.00 1046.50TATAPOWER 77.05 77.90 76.45 76.75PAGEIND 25099.00 25706.05 24893.55 25161.30CUMMINSIND 860.00 866.65 846.00 846.00M&MFIN 481.70 481.70 469.35 473.15MRPL 76.00 77.30 75.00 75.75ORIENTBANK 96.50 97.15 95.10 95.50MCX 734.95 746.50 730.50 734.90BALKRISIND 910.05 932.00 910.05 924.70TATAMTRDVR 94.25 94.25 92.30 93.30GNFC 343.25 344.70 339.10 340.70RAYMOND 840.00 847.90 836.55 842.00IGL 268.00 268.00 263.00 267.15KEC 300.00 307.95 299.15 301.40OIL 180.90 180.90 174.10 174.90JYOTHYLAB 209.50 218.00 206.50 213.80FRETAIL 517.00 517.45 498.10 504.15UBL 1385.00 1394.00 1371.00 1374.95HCLTECH 961.25 965.25 955.50 962.55LTTS 1705.55 1737.40 1700.00 1700.00PVR 1587.45 1610.80 1587.45 1601.80TATAELXSI 1016.15 1026.00 1011.90 1020.70COLPAL 1344.70 1349.50 1320.70 1349.50JUSTDIAL 502.50 506.90 498.45 501.70INDUSINDBK 1585.15 1602.85 1585.15 1599.05CEATLTD 1305.00 1313.00 1301.00 1309.00HDFCLIFE 389.10 390.60 385.50 387.55LEMONTREE 75.80 75.80 72.15 73.30HUDCO 42.90 43.90 42.80 42.95CENTRALBK 36.15 37.10 36.15 36.70STAR 465.55 468.55 457.50 461.05MAHINDCIE 247.90 260.85 244.15 255.75IBULISL 386.00 390.00 367.95 375.00FEDERALBNK 93.20 94.30 92.85 93.15IDEA 37.55 38.10 37.55 37.70PTC 89.25 94.00 89.25 92.75GODREJIND 539.60 549.00 531.95 546.15EQUITAS 124.50 127.50 124.40 124.40REPCOHOME 406.00 411.50 395.95 400.50CENTURYTEX 921.55 935.90 915.85 921.50BAJAJELEC 502.10 512.00 500.75 503.70EXIDEIND 266.00 271.00 265.50 267.05ABB 1312.00 1343.75 1307.25 1326.00RCF 64.45 64.80 63.70 63.85RALLIS 181.40 182.20 177.15 178.80CHOLAFIN 1254.00 1275.30 1244.20 1257.00

QUESS 633.90 664.00 633.90 658.30AJANTPHARM 1198.00 1204.25 1180.00 1185.75HINDZINC 271.50 281.05 271.50 277.80JSWENERGY 70.70 70.70 68.50 68.85ULTRACEMCO 4005.15 4021.35 3981.85 4000.00SRF 2012.70 2023.00 1980.40 1998.55MINDTREE 863.15 872.00 861.05 863.35FSL 47.20 47.20 46.65 46.80ABFRL 206.00 207.25 201.50 202.40OMAXE 214.45 214.80 212.80 213.45AVANTI 392.90 394.55 383.90 385.55VIPIND 509.00 518.40 509.00 516.50GODREJCP 816.95 822.25 809.45 813.65EMAMILTD 411.95 424.00 407.50 418.20SHANKARA 521.05 534.75 521.05 525.00WABAG 257.35 263.10 257.30 261.45ICICIPRULI 334.50 334.50 322.00 323.90APOLLOTYRE 234.90 237.30 234.00 235.90PETRONET 226.95 227.85 222.40 223.50TRENT 362.00 372.25 355.90 360.10BERGEPAINT 330.55 334.65 329.55 330.05ADANITRANS 200.00 201.90 197.90 201.50SUVEN 231.15 234.40 226.10 227.35MANAPPURAM 93.00 94.00 92.55 92.85KEI 350.80 362.00 350.00 358.85GRUH 314.00 319.00 310.65 316.50BBTC 1324.95 1339.00 1313.50 1320.10POWERGRID 197.00 199.75 195.50 196.55SYNDIBANK 40.00 40.00 38.80 39.25AEGISLOG 193.00 205.85 191.00 204.20HFCL 21.10 21.35 20.85 21.20NESTLEIND 11350.00 11362.05 11043.00 11107.25SUNTECK 349.50 352.00 345.05 345.35DIVISLAB 1470.00 1492.85 1464.80 1482.00IDFC 44.00 44.00 43.40 43.60PIDILITIND 1105.00 1115.95 1103.75 1109.50ALBK 46.50 47.35 45.90 46.10TRIDENT 65.90 66.85 65.50 66.55EICHERMOT 23348.95 23350.00 23096.00 23168.50ENGINERSIN 125.50 127.65 125.15 125.40DCBBANK 167.35 169.50 167.00 168.50INFRATEL 256.95 271.95 256.95 259.10INTELLECT 227.00 228.75 223.80 225.40INDHOTEL 150.00 151.00 147.00 147.70TATAGLOBAL 223.00 223.50 218.80 219.00IFCI 15.04 15.10 14.72 14.98MHRIL 209.10 214.90 207.15 212.80KTKBANK 113.70 113.95 111.55 112.05GRASIM 827.45 834.20 823.90 826.80SOUTHBANK 15.50 15.75 15.40 15.55CASTROLIND 153.00 153.45 150.95 151.45PARAGMILK 254.10 255.45 246.65 248.10MARICO 378.10 378.10 372.15 374.45OBEROIRLTY 453.00 461.70 441.40 445.30DISHTV 38.45 39.45 37.90 38.00TORNTPOWER 260.50 263.50 259.40 260.10DCMSHRIRAM 338.65 349.80 326.80 337.80HAL 786.05 821.00 780.00 809.30INDIANB 243.85 245.90 241.60 244.00JINDALSAW 84.70 86.40 84.35 84.70KSCL 579.85 580.85 566.00 566.00GMRINFRA 16.35 16.50 16.20 16.40KAJARIACER 487.80 498.25 487.15 495.00SREINFRA 36.10 36.35 35.60 36.20DEEPAKNI 219.85 225.50 219.80 220.05MOTILALOFS 682.00 689.40 662.25 677.75GODFRYPHLP 892.15 898.05 883.30 887.90IRB 162.70 165.95 161.15 163.85MFSL 444.00 448.00 439.75 445.25PFIZER 2798.90 2865.80 2757.00 2847.55JUBILANT 710.00 717.70 706.80 709.65SCI 48.95 48.95 47.90 48.15MERCK 3078.60 3099.00 2982.35 3084.20TORNTPHARM 1784.00 1787.40 1758.30 1775.00NOCIL 164.20 166.50 163.50 165.50HEXAWARE 326.00 334.05 326.00 332.50PERSISTENT 634.10 636.00 621.10 627.35BAJAJHLDNG 2938.80 2997.90 2936.60 2950.00TIINDIA 341.30 359.00 337.45 357.35IEX 164.35 168.95 161.75 166.80GUJGAS 669.70 679.75 667.00 670.00HSCL 132.00 132.95 130.65 131.00DEEPAKFERT 150.75 151.10 147.60 149.20KPIT 217.85 219.05 216.05 217.90HAVELLS 690.00 697.25 688.50 689.15KALPATPOWR 385.05 398.20 381.20 389.50CUB 190.15 196.00 189.20 194.60VENKYS 2420.00 2422.05 2390.00 2392.00DCAL 234.80 235.35 225.70 229.40ENDURANCE 1209.00 1295.80 1207.75 1265.95KANSAINER 480.65 490.00 480.00 486.00TATAINVEST 888.80 892.55 881.05 890.05DBL 420.35 426.15 415.00 415.80JMFINANCIL 93.90 94.00 91.95 93.55BHARATFIN 1014.15 1016.35 1008.00 1015.00PRESTIGE 219.15 223.45 215.25 219.35VINATIORGA 1680.00 1680.00 1628.85 1648.95JKLAKSHMI 285.80 296.95 279.80 294.50NAVINFLUOR 702.00 703.50 695.00 695.25WELSPUNIND 59.35 60.20 59.20 59.50JAMNAAUTO 65.35 65.45 64.30 64.90PNBHOUSING 915.05 931.30 915.05 923.80NIITTECH 1155.00 1156.95 1145.00 1147.85WHIRLPOOL 1382.90 1400.00 1368.00 1394.60SWANENERGY 100.90 101.85 100.10 101.10VGUARD 231.95 231.95 226.30 227.05FLFL 396.00 464.00 392.00 420.00CYIENT 616.00 626.30 613.55 619.05APLAPOLLO 1107.55 1170.00 1107.55 1160.00

GICHSGFIN 257.00 266.00 256.50 261.65WELCORP 141.95 141.95 138.55 139.00SBILIFE 598.55 604.35 595.55 596.30VBL 763.85 795.50 762.30 794.95SYNGENE 567.90 573.85 551.50 561.10NILKAMAL 1484.05 1495.90 1468.30 1479.95IDBI 61.60 61.60 61.10 61.30SYMPHONY 1167.00 1188.40 1151.05 1163.90TATAMETALI 618.40 628.80 618.00 620.55TAKE 149.60 149.60 147.20 147.20THOMASCOOK 231.95 235.85 231.20 233.25UFLEX 281.10 283.65 278.95 282.15HERITGFOOD 535.40 560.00 524.20 527.60GODREJAGRO 500.05 505.00 497.45 503.00BASF 1604.90 1605.95 1533.60 1543.65ADANIGREEN 41.65 42.40 41.65 41.90ASTRAL 1168.80 1168.80 1125.30 1132.00JKTYRE 104.15 105.15 103.55 103.80MEGH 59.65 60.90 59.65 60.20NHPC 25.90 26.15 25.90 26.00TATACOMM 524.45 530.95 521.10 523.55LALPATHLAB 909.15 922.40 893.00 914.25GREAVESCOT 119.00 120.95 118.05 119.00ALKEM 1909.65 1954.05 1892.90 1949.90PRSMJOHNSN 88.10 91.50 87.35 89.00APLLTD 581.25 602.00 575.00 597.60EVEREADY 186.70 190.00 186.00 187.00HSIL 234.15 238.70 232.80 233.85ASHOKA 124.50 126.75 122.50 124.60COCHINSHIP 384.00 384.00 374.25 374.70LINDEINDIA 680.40 695.25 678.80 681.00OFSS 3660.80 3732.00 3648.75 3705.00IPCALAB 792.00 805.00 780.05 805.00AARTIIND 1422.35 1450.00 1422.30 1443.00ZENSARTECH 226.70 235.00 226.70 234.45GUJALKALI 546.00 551.00 542.20 543.00LUXIND 1372.00 1420.00 1346.15 1381.70TEJASNET 210.15 213.60 205.35 205.35AMARAJABAT 738.80 744.25 735.25 744.00PIIND 860.00 868.00 851.30 868.00TNPL 254.10 261.90 254.10 259.00GHCL 240.00 252.00 240.00 244.50GSPL 175.00 177.05 174.10 174.55THERMAX 1080.05 1133.00 1077.80 1133.00MAXINDIA 84.90 85.65 83.20 85.50TATACOFFEE 97.60 97.85 96.95 97.10MAHABANK 15.10 15.15 14.85 14.89SHOPERSTOP 535.00 542.00 518.15 542.00MINDACORP 145.40 149.50 143.60 146.60RAJESHEXPO 580.00 580.00 570.50 570.50CROMPTON 224.50 230.85 223.50 228.00EIDPARRY 205.70 207.50 205.00 206.40ISGEC 5107.95 5140.00 5025.00 5030.05KNRCON 213.10 214.35 210.70 212.55EIHOTEL 197.00 200.05 195.20 199.45SJVN 25.70 25.70 25.35 25.60SONATSOFTW 301.00 304.80 301.00 303.80VTL 1031.55 1123.00 1028.00 1118.00J&KBANK 37.90 37.90 37.05 37.70NLCINDIA 70.00 70.55 69.60 69.65UCOBANK 20.60 20.70 20.20 20.25NIACL 181.00 184.60 177.30 181.35GICRE 257.05 258.90 255.85 258.25NBVENTURES 118.75 122.15 118.75 120.50GRANULES 89.65 90.45 89.30 89.65MRF 67490.00 67490.00 66897.05 66897.05BALMLAWRIE 202.40 206.45 202.40 203.65CARERATING 981.15 988.90 974.00 976.00RNAM 159.55 164.00 158.95 159.35TTKPRESTIG 7500.00 7604.10 7415.05 7465.80SUNDRMFAST 532.00 537.25 527.75 534.80JBCHEPHARM 306.95 307.40 298.05 304.60CENTURYPLY 178.85 180.60 176.45 177.85INOXLEISUR 243.75 248.80 241.70 248.80MANPASAND 89.90 89.90 88.80 89.00AKZOINDIA 1691.85 1759.75 1675.00 1754.95RELAXO 729.20 737.70 728.00 735.70ASAHIINDIA 246.80 258.95 241.25 258.65SUPREMEIND 1159.00 1200.45 1140.00 1175.00NESCO 447.60 451.65 434.35 442.00BOSCHLTD 19645.05 19779.00 19581.75 19622.95MOIL 171.60 172.30 170.10 170.60SOLARINDS 1055.35 1096.00 1043.05 1096.00NAUKRI 1455.45 1466.75 1430.05 1439.70COROMANDEL 452.25 453.90 448.75 448.75GMDCLTD 88.80 89.85 88.60 88.60COFFEEDAY 275.90 280.90 274.25 276.90DENABANK 17.35 17.35 17.05 17.05PNCINFRA 149.00 151.35 146.75 147.50SUPRAJIT 220.75 229.15 218.05 227.85HEIDELBERG 151.00 152.75 149.50 152.05SHARDACROP 307.30 310.00 300.00 301.55NATCOPHARM* 686.00 687.00 678.80 680.80SANOFI 6285.00 6451.10 6260.00 6380.00GSKCONS 7689.35 7709.90 7620.00 7633.10WABCOINDIA 6950.00 7000.00 6842.00 7000.00ADVENZYMES 180.95 180.95 177.00 177.50CHAMBLFERT 145.35 149.15 145.35 147.90KRBL 281.15 283.10 279.20 282.00CORPBANK 29.30 29.65 28.90 28.90SOBHA 446.00 458.10 445.00 453.35LAXMIMACH* 5680.05 5820.00 5680.05 5730.95KPRMILL 562.20 565.95 554.65 560.00ANDHRABANK 29.50 29.80 29.15 29.40GLAXO 1508.05 1520.00 1492.45 1515.00BAJAJCORP 360.15 369.35 359.00 369.35GET&D 297.00 300.00 288.25 288.25SOMANYCERA 331.50 334.15 325.00 326.20CENTRUM 37.00 37.00 35.50 35.50

HIMATSEIDE 216.60 217.80 212.00 214.00TIMKEN 568.85 585.00 568.85 581.05ASTRAZEN 1472.00 1473.00 1445.00 1451.95GESHIP 311.70 318.25 311.70 318.00BAYERCROP 4296.95 4298.35 4160.00 4217.45ITDCEM 114.90 115.10 112.00 113.00ELGIEQUIP 271.70 271.70 259.40 262.30SADBHAV 209.80 214.00 209.80 210.00JCHAC 1750.00 1830.00 1750.00 1813.20MINDAIND 324.65 326.55 321.00 321.00REDINGTON 87.55 89.00 87.55 89.00NETWORK18 42.40 42.40 40.60 40.75ASTERDM 154.00 155.90 151.15 155.50INDOSTAR 348.30 350.30 340.00 340.00GPPL 101.35 102.95 101.35 102.50CAPPL 383.00 385.85 380.00 382.00BLUESTARCO 615.70 621.40 615.00 615.00SUDARSCHEM 342.00 342.75 337.10 338.75SHK 171.55 177.85 168.25 171.70BDL 278.90 284.90 274.00 277.00ORIENTCEM 81.75 83.30 80.75 81.10BIRLACORPN 595.00 609.20 595.00 595.05ZYDUSWELL 1360.00 1371.40 1354.00 1361.05ATUL 3420.00 3440.85 3415.00 3435.00TIMETECHNO 101.00 102.10 100.60 100.65GEPIL 818.70 834.55 818.70 828.00AIAENG 1651.05 1695.00 1651.05 1684.90PGHH 9902.50 9902.50 9840.30 9840.30HONAUT 23161.00 23161.00 21869.00 21872.80GUJFLUORO 897.30 910.00 888.45 899.00ESSELPRO 108.50 110.10 107.80 109.30DBCORP 168.50 170.00 168.05 169.50DHANUKA 460.15 467.75 459.85 467.65FINOLEXIND 550.50 551.85 541.30 547.45ECLERX 1093.70 1106.00 1071.05 1075.00CARBORUNIV 365.00 365.00 353.45 357.35FORBESCO 2365.15 2420.00 2353.00 2370.20IOB 15.00 15.00 14.85 14.93LAKSHVILAS 87.40 87.70 86.75 86.75SKFINDIA 1884.05 1916.50 1884.05 1914.30ALLCARGO 108.10 109.25 108.00 108.90GRINDWELL 560.00 560.00 550.00 555.00VMART 2628.80 2638.00 2575.30 2586.00JAGRAN 113.90 117.05 113.05 116.10MAHLIFE 391.60 395.00 389.35 393.25SCHNEIDER 101.95 101.95 100.70 101.80FDC 174.15 174.95 172.10 172.10INOXWIND 76.80 77.55 74.20 77.00CERA 2402.00 2402.00 2311.00 2388.45CCL 270.00 270.50 269.20 269.20LAOPALA 218.35 221.00 218.35 219.10ABBOTINDIA 7515.90 7545.00 7497.45 7545.003MINDIA 21200.00 21200.00 20823.00 20881.00TEAMLEASE 2875.00 2889.95 2826.20 2852.50GREENPLY 138.80 139.90 137.10 137.50NH 200.00 200.00 192.90 195.55SUNCLAYLTD 3700.00 3700.00 3525.05 3699.00GILLETTE 6561.00 6561.00 6479.15 6498.00NAVNETEDUL 106.80 106.80 105.10 105.20IFBIND 844.00 857.75 840.05 840.05MONSANTO 2635.25 2650.00 2610.00 2619.25CRISIL 1600.10 1623.75 1600.00 1600.00PHOENIXLTD 561.45 564.00 557.00 560.15BLUEDART 3350.00 3400.00 3284.10 3371.10TVTODAY 373.05 373.05 370.15 371.00SHREECEM 17570.00 17570.00 17200.05 17201.50LAURUSLABS 381.15 382.65 379.05 379.05TVSSRICHAK 2490.55 2582.80 2490.00 2500.00JKCEMENT 707.05 719.00 707.00 719.00TIFHL 515.85 524.85 514.45 523.95MAHLOG 514.20 523.00 512.30 522.40GDL 129.65 131.00 129.40 129.40GALAXYSURF 1202.65 1221.00 1202.60 1215.00STARCEMENT 112.00 112.00 102.95 103.00SHRIRAMCIT 1590.20 1600.00 1577.40 1599.60MAGMA 111.20 112.30 110.05 110.05TRITURBINE 112.00 112.00 110.50 110.70ERIS 685.00 690.00 682.40 690.00SHILPAMED 386.10 386.80 383.85 383.85SFL 1445.00 1495.00 1445.00 1484.95GULFOILLUB 820.95 823.80 820.10 820.10HATSUN 626.00 628.00 624.65 624.65APARINDS 663.25 664.95 658.00 664.95SCHAEFFLER 5629.00 5696.95 5629.00 5690.00SIS 761.00 772.45 754.05 772.45RATNAMANI 950.00 950.40 940.05 944.95SUPPETRO 209.15 209.60 207.10 207.10

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10913.20 10923.55 10853.20 10862.55 2.65JSWSTEEL 300.10 307.90 300.10 307.50 9.40TATASTEEL 520.00 525.00 516.20 521.00 8.15VEDL 201.40 203.60 200.60 202.15 2.75TATAMOTORS 172.45 173.90 171.75 173.05 2.20SUNPHARMA 428.10 432.30 425.50 430.15 4.95TECHM 720.00 726.45 715.10 721.65 7.65INDUSINDBK 1591.30 1604.00 1585.60 1599.85 16.60KOTAKBANK 1237.00 1262.50 1233.50 1253.00 11.65HINDALCO 226.70 228.50 225.25 225.50 2.00GAIL 357.60 361.80 354.00 359.10 2.80HCLTECH 962.45 966.60 955.60 964.20 5.85TITAN 926.00 939.50 920.35 927.65 4.95IBULHSGFIN 858.00 871.00 844.35 853.00 3.75INFY 660.00 662.00 655.80 659.60 2.65ZEEL 475.20 483.00 473.05 476.30 1.85GRASIM 830.00 834.15 823.00 827.20 2.60BPCL 361.90 364.80 358.80 363.00 1.10SBIN 297.20 298.25 295.50 295.65 0.85BAJAJ-AUTO 2738.00 2763.00 2710.00 2725.00 7.50YESBANK 183.20 183.85 181.00 181.90 0.45BAJFINANCE 2656.95 2666.30 2635.60 2641.00 6.20ASIANPAINT 1375.00 1378.00 1367.30 1369.00 3.00WIPRO 331.00 333.80 329.05 330.65 0.60M&M 808.90 810.00 801.20 804.80 1.25LT 1445.00 1450.00 1431.20 1440.00 0.60POWERGRID 196.70 200.00 196.00 197.10 0.05ICICIBANK 362.80 363.50 359.50 360.80 0.05UPL 762.00 766.25 753.45 758.30 -0.10RELIANCE 1130.95 1133.85 1116.20 1125.25 -0.30HDFCBANK 2137.00 2137.00 2116.70 2121.85 -1.05TCS 1908.00 1909.00 1886.15 1894.75 -1.30EICHERMOT 23350.00 23390.00 23007.75 23085.00 -39.10DRREDDY 2634.70 2663.80 2610.00 2617.00 -4.90ITC 282.80 283.85 281.10 281.60 -0.65HINDUNILVR 1830.00 1836.90 1811.25 1817.90 -4.15ADANIPORTS 387.20 389.95 385.65 386.30 -1.10ULTRACEMCO 4030.00 4032.75 3980.00 3990.00 -14.95BAJAJFINSV 6548.00 6591.20 6436.20 6472.15 -30.75ONGC 150.15 150.80 149.10 149.80 -0.70CIPLA 522.00 526.00 517.20 519.00 -3.00COALINDIA 242.70 244.40 240.10 240.75 -1.55MARUTI 7550.00 7572.75 7443.10 7452.00 -53.55IOC 138.60 139.00 136.55 137.20 -1.00HDFC 1988.00 1989.75 1961.55 1965.00 -14.95NTPC 149.80 150.05 148.10 148.70 -1.15AXISBANK 630.40 631.95 618.80 619.90 -5.15HEROMOTOCO 3143.00 3159.05 3087.00 3090.00 -32.60HINDPETRO 255.90 258.60 252.40 253.10 -2.80BHARTIARTL 319.00 320.90 311.10 312.30 -4.25INFRATEL 262.65 265.00 257.20 258.90 -4.10

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 28161.30 28261.00 28110.50 28178.80 115.60SAIL 55.05 56.65 55.00 56.50 1.85BANDHANBNK 538.45 552.75 534.80 551.00 15.15CONCOR 669.00 696.90 667.80 687.30 16.90MOTHERSUMI 163.45 167.90 163.00 166.80 4.10COLPAL 1329.10 1354.80 1320.20 1352.00 31.85ACC 1486.00 1511.90 1470.85 1508.00 28.30AMBUJACEM 222.00 225.85 219.60 225.00 4.05NMDC 95.60 98.10 95.50 96.85 1.35ICICIGI 853.55 868.85 844.00 862.00 11.35BIOCON 625.00 631.80 620.00 629.00 8.20BHEL 72.30 73.50 72.20 73.00 0.95ABB 1315.00 1344.95 1305.90 1330.00 16.70AUROPHARMA 731.00 734.70 726.25 732.90 8.95SRTRANSFIN 1230.40 1258.00 1230.40 1238.00 13.55OFSS 3638.15 3731.00 3638.15 3700.00 39.15NIACL 179.10 181.70 176.25 179.75 1.75CADILAHC 350.00 350.40 346.50 348.60 3.30GICRE 255.70 260.00 255.00 258.00 2.35PEL 2379.40 2410.00 2353.05 2376.00 17.85HINDZINC 273.25 281.60 273.25 277.50 2.10BRITANNIA 3105.15 3120.00 3083.00 3120.00 21.50PIDILITIND 1105.00 1116.00 1103.30 1108.70 6.75IDEA 37.70 38.10 37.60 37.70 0.20SIEMENS 1049.50 1056.30 1039.05 1047.90 4.55LUPIN 846.00 850.80 836.65 843.85 3.55SHREECEM 17200.00 17411.00 17178.40 17266.05 39.00BANKBARODA 119.25 119.95 118.20 118.60 0.25HAVELLS 693.00 697.90 688.90 691.55 1.45NHPC 26.00 26.10 25.90 26.00 0.05BOSCHLTD 19666.00 19793.00 19560.65 19660.00 30.25PGHH 9883.95 9899.00 9821.10 9890.00 5.90ABCAPITAL 100.30 101.05 98.80 99.95 0.05GODREJCP 811.00 822.50 807.80 811.00 0.15BEL 86.40 89.70 86.30 87.80 -0.10HDFCLIFE 388.00 389.40 385.60 386.80 -0.55ASHOKLEY 103.90 103.90 102.20 102.50 -0.25MRF 67550.00 67550.00 66812.40 66830.00 -206.95DLF 178.70 179.95 176.35 177.15 -0.80LICHSGFIN 493.25 498.75 482.95 486.15 -2.60SBILIFE 595.00 605.80 595.00 595.20 -3.60DABUR 433.65 439.90 428.95 430.00 -3.25MARICO 378.80 378.80 371.40 374.60 -3.50MCDOWELL-N 644.00 644.90 630.90 632.00 -6.65L&TFH 155.90 156.50 151.85 152.80 -1.65PETRONET 226.85 227.90 223.50 223.60 -2.50INDIGO 1175.00 1176.20 1159.05 1164.60 -13.90ICICIPRULI 328.20 330.35 320.80 323.80 -4.10SUNTV 619.05 620.45 605.55 607.00 -8.30OIL 178.10 179.00 174.35 175.00 -2.80DMART 1660.00 1678.55 1595.00 1605.70 -49.25

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ATurkish television stationhas broadcast CCTV

footage showing men carryingcases and bags which it sayscontained slain Saudi journalistJamal Khashoggi’s body parts.

The images shown on A-Haber television late on Sundayfeature three men carrying fivesuitcases and two large blackbags into the home of the Saudiconsul general in Istanbul.

The residence lies a shortdistance from the Saudi consulate where Khashoggi wasmurdered in October in a killing that has tested Riyadh’srelations with the West. Citingunnamed Turkish sources, A-Haber said Khashoggi’s dis-membered body was inside thecases and bags.

Khashoggi, a contributor tothe Washington Post, was killedon October 2 shortly after enter-ing the kingdom’s consulate inwhat Riyadh called a “rogue”operation.

The 59-year-old former

Saudi insider turned critic wasstrangled before he was cut upinto pieces by a team of 15Saudis sent to Istanbul for thekilling, according to Turkishofficials, with media reportssuggesting the parts were dis-solved in acid.

The consulate and the res-idence were searched by the

Turkish authorities in Octoberalong with several other loca-tions but Khashoggi’s body hasstill not been found.

There has been speculationthat Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salmanordered the hit but Riyadh hasabsolved the de facto leader ofany blame.

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Three confidantes ofPresident Donald Trump,

including his departing chief ofstaff, are indicating that thepresident’s signature campaignpledge to build a wall along theUS-Mexico border would notbe fulfilled as advertised.

Trump sparked ferventchants of “Build that wall!” atrallies before and after his election and more recentlycited a lack of funding for aborder wall as the reason forpartially shutting down theGovernment.

At times the president hasalso waved off the idea that thewall could be any kind of bar-rier.

However, White Housechief of staff John Kelly told theLos Angeles Times in an inter-view published Sunday thatTrump abandoned the notionof “a solid concrete wall earlyon in the administration.”

“To be honest, it’s not awall,” Kelly said, adding that themix of technological enhance-

ments and “steel slat” barriersthe president now wants alongthe border resulted from con-versations with law enforce-ment professionals.

Along the same lines,White House counselorKellyanne Conway called dis-cussion of the apparent con-tradiction “a silly semanticargument.”

“There may be a wall insome places, there may be steelslats, there may be technolog-ical enhancements,” Conwaytold “Fox News Sunday.”

‘’But only saying ‘wall or no wall’ is being very disin-genuous and turning a com-plete blind eye to what is a cri-sis at the border.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, theSouth Carolina Republican whois close to the president, emergedfrom a Sunday lunch at theWhite House to tell reportersthat “the wall has become ametaphor for border security”and referred to “a physical bar-rier along the border.”

Graham said Trump was“open-minded” about a broad-er immigration agreement, say-ing the budget impasse pre-sented an opportunity toaddress issues beyond the bor-der wall.

But a previous attempt toreach a compromise thataddressed the status of“Dreamers” — young immi-grants brought to the US aschildren— broke down lastyear as a result of escalatingWhite House demands.

Graham said he hoped toend the shutdown by offeringDemocrats incentives to getthem to vote for wall fundingand told CNN before his lunchwith Trump that “there willnever be a deal without wallfunding.”

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Pakistan’s Supreme Court onMonday asked the

Government to review its deci-sion to place 172 people,including former president AsifAli Zardari and the SindhChief Minister, on the ExitControl List (ECL) after theywere named in a money laun-dering scam.

Last week, the names of172 people — including politi-cians, bankers and business-men who were named in thecourt-ordered joint investiga-tion team’s (JIT) probe report- were placed on the no-fly list.

A two-member benchheaded by Chief Justice SaqibNisar expressed anger over theplacement of the suspects’names on the ECL and sum-moned “the minister responsi-ble” for the move to court.

Justice Nisar summonedState Minister for InteriorShehryar Afridi in the courtand asked why the cabinet dis-cussed the JIT report when itwas still sub-judice.

The court was hearing asuo motu case on a delay in a2015 probe into fake bankaccounts allegedly used to laun-der billions of rupees.

Several bigwigs, includingZardari, his sister Faryal Talpur,Sindh Chief Minister MuradAli Shah, PPP ChairmanBilawal Bhutto-Zardari andseveral other top politicians,

businessmen and bureaucratsare in the list.

“Review this decision, takeit back before the cabinet,” thechief justice said.

He also directed the min-ister to submit the names ofthose on ECL in the court andadjourned hearing untilJanuary 7.

The chief justice expresseddispleasure over name of Sindhchief minister in no-fly list andasked the attorney general howthe government banned thechief minister of second biggestprovince from leaving thecountry.

Speaking to the attorneygeneral, Justice Nisar said: “Youplaced the name of the chiefminister of the second largestprovince on the ECL.Tomorrow, you will place thename of NationalAccountability Bureau’s (NAB)chairman on the ECL and tellhim to continue working.”

“Maybe we should place four ministers’ nameson the ECL so that there is abalance,” the chief justice sug-gested.

The court expressed angerat the discussion on the JITreport in media when the courthas yet to give its ruling overthe report.

The bench also askedZardari’s defence counsel,Farook H Naek, to continuerepresenting his client thoughhis name was in JIT report.

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Baghdad: Iraq sentenced morethan 600 foreigners includingmany women and dozens ofminors in 2018 for belonging tothe ISIS, the judiciary said onMonday.

Iraq declared “victory” overIS at the end of 2017 after athree-year war against thejihadists, who once controllednearly a third of the country aswell as swathes of neighbouringSyria.

Around 20,000 people sus-pected of links to IS have beenarrested since 2014.

Judicial spokesman AbdelSattar Bayraqdar said Mondaythat “616 men and womenaccused of belonging to IS havebeen put on trial” in 2018 andsentenced under Iraq’s anti-ter-rorism law. They comprised466 women, 42 men and 108minors, he said.

Bayraqdar did not, howev-er specify the punishments.Under Iraq’s anti-terrorism lawcourts can issue verdicts, includ-ing death sentences, againstanyone found guilty of belong-ing to the jihadist group, includ-ing non-combatants. AFP

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Russia’s domestic securityagency said Monday that it

has arrested a US citizen onespionage charges.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, thetop KGB successor agency, said that Paul Whelanwas detained in Moscow onFriday. The agency said inMonday’s statement that hewas caught “during an espi-onage operation,” but didn’tgive any details.

Spying charges carry aprison sentence of up to 20years in Russia.

The Russian ForeignMinistry said the US Embassywas duly notified about thearrest, but wouldn’t give anyfurther information.

The US Embassy inMoscow had no immediatecomment.

The arrest comes as Russia-U.S. Ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over theUkrainian crisis, the war inSyria and the allegations ofRussian meddling in the 2016US presidential election.

Alexander Mikhailov, aretired FSB officer, said thearrest reflected the high effi-ciency of Russian counterin-telligence. “The service would-n’t have made this informationpublic unless it had solid evi-dence,” he told the RIA Novostinews agency.

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Kim Jong Un will be keepingNorth Korea watchers busy

on New Year’s Day, when he isexpected to give his annualaddress laying out the country’stop priorities for the year ahead.

The speech, which is nor-mally broadcast on NorthKorea’s state-run television net-work, is often the best gauge ofwhat the North Korean leader-ship is focused on and what toneit will take in its dealings with theoutside world.

For 2019, it will be parsedcarefully for clues about Kim’sthinking on denuclearisationtalks with Washington and a sec-ond summit with PresidentDonald Trump, relations withSouth Korea and Pyongyang’s

efforts to get out from underinternational sanctions as it triesto build up its domestic econo-my.

This is Kim’s primary con-cern. He made that clear in his2018 News Year’s address and hisgovernment has been hammer-ing it home ever since.

In his first televised speech,at a military parade in 2012, Kimvowed the nation would neveragain have to tighten its belts, areference to the economic hard-ships it has faced, including adisastrous famine in the 1990s.

While they remain isolatedand unable to travel or experience foreign media freely,North Koreans are aware of the yawning prosperity gapbetween themselves, SouthKorea and China.

Kim has tried to addressthat by initiating infrastructureprojects in major cities, buildingup the capital and allowing — ifnot overtly supporting — thespread of the market economy.What’s not clear is how far he iswilling to go with the kind offundamental, systemic reformsneeded to really ensure sustain-able growth.

North Korea has hinted itwants to join the World TradeOrganization and be more a partof the global economic com-munity. But that would alsorequire some risky moves — likeincreased transparency andcommitment to global rulesand norms. A big question ishow much control Kim is willing to relinquish in exchangefor prosperity.

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Chancellor Angela Merkelon Monday said Germany

must “stand fast, argue, andfight for our own convictions”and assume greater responsi-bilities at a time when multi-lateralism is coming underintense pressure.

In her New Year’s addressto Germans, Merkel said long-held certainties about interna-tional cooperation were beingput to the test.

Global challenges includ-

ing climate change, immigra-tion and the fight against ter-rorism could not be solved bycountries going it alone, shewarned.

“For our own interests, wewant to solve all these ques-tions, and we can do that bestwhen we also take into con-sideration the interests of oth-ers,” she said in a speech to bebroadcast in full later Monday.

“That is the lesson fromtwo world wars of the lastcentury,” she said, warning

however that “certainties aboutinternational cooperation isfalling under pressure.” “In ourown interest, we must take onmore responsibilities,” she said.

With an eye to Germanytaking on a non-permanentseat in the UN Security Councilin 2019 and 2020, the leader ofEurope’s biggest economy saidher country would push for“global solutions”.

She also pledged to raisespending for humanitarian anddevelopment aid, as well as

defence.Although Merkel did not

name US President DonaldTrump in her speech, she hason previous occasions rejectedhis criticisms of multilateral-ism.

In his second appearancebefore the UN’s annual gath-ering in September, Trumptold the General Assembly thathe and his administration“reject the ideology of global-ism, and we embrace the doc-trine of patriotism”.

A week later, Merkel hadwarned Trump against“destroying” the UN.

“I believe that destroyingsomething without havingdeveloped something new isextremely dangerous,” Merkelsaid at a regional election cam-paign event then.

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President Donald Trump onMonday defended his deci-

sion to withdraw Americantroops from war-torn Syriaand said that by doing so he’sfulfilled one of his campaignpromises.

Trump in a tweet said thatduring the 2016 presidentialelections, he had campaignedto get out of Syria and otherplaces.

“I campaigned on gettingout of Syria and other places.Now when I start getting outthe Fake News Media, or somefailed Generals who wereunable to do the job before Iarrived, like to complain aboutme & my tactics, which areworking. Just doing what Isaid I was going to do!” Trumpsaid.

His decision to withdrawtroops from Syria has beenwidely condemned by US law-makers and the influentialthink-tank community.

Defence Secretary JamesMattis resigned in protest.

The US has some 2,000troops in Syria, which willgradually return from this war-ravaged country.

Trump said that there is noneed for US troops in Syriaafter the defeat of the IslamicState.

The left over ISIS would betaken care of by neighbouringcountries, Turkey in particular,he said in a recent tweet.

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Why are New Year resolu-tions important? Whydo people tend to

change their habit patterns andtry to re-structure them with theonset of a new date line? Becausethey bring in a chance to rejuve-nate, recreate and look forward.As people’s preferences keepevolving, here’s what you canlook forward to.

���� �����������As the first month acts as

host to a number of literature fes-tivals like the Jaipur LiteratureFestival, Apeejay Kolkata LiteraryFestival, Tata Steel LiteraryFestival, there will be numerousnew book launches and prizes.

Veteran journalist and writerKuldip Nayar’s On Leaders andIcons from Jinnah to Modi will bea posthumous release of his col-lection of India’s political andcultural life over the decades,recounting his experiences ofmeeting leaders like MahatmaGandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah,Indira Gandhi, Lal BahadurShastri and Narendra Modi.

We Are Displaced: MyJourney and Stories from RefugeeGirls around the World by NobelLaureate Malala Yousafzai, willbe a follow-up of her bestsellingmemoir I am Malala. She intro-duces, in her book, some of thefaces behind the statistics andnews stories about the millionsof people displaced worldwide.The book explores not onlyYousafzai’s own story of adjust-ments to a new life while long-ing for home, but she also sharesthe personal stories of some ofthe incredible girls she had meton her various journeys — girlswho have lost their community,relatives, and often the onlyworld they’ve ever known.

The next in line exploresanswers around Dawood. Howdid he become the undisputedking of the Mumbai under-world? Who was his mentor?What was his process? The book,Dawood’s Mentor: The Man WhoMade India’s Biggest Don, is a

non-fiction account by crimewriter S. Hussain Zaidi. It tellsabout how, when Dawood andKhalid (Khan Bachcha) met,they forged into an unlikelyfriendship and together set on amission to crush, defeat andneutralise all mafia gangs in thecity.

Prasoon Joshi’s next calledThinking Aloud: Reflections onIndia will also see its release inthe month. In the book, Joshi’smusings are divided into foursections, each exploring a specif-

ic theme yet all of them tiedtogether by a commonality. Theydiscuss various ideas that Joshihad stumbled upon while inter-acting and being a part of vari-ous forums, cultural exchangeprograms, and literary festivals.

Through a combination ofpersonal anecdotes with historyand neuroscience, CreativityUnleashed by GopiKrishnaswamy will aim to helpreaders understand that creativ-ity, which is considered to be oneof the most valuable skills to pos-sess, is well within one’s reach.

�& �� �� ������ � One of the biggest techno-

logical shifts in 2019, as predict-ed, will be fixing of 5G applica-tions and mobile devices.According to Forbes, a plantowards setting up 5G has beenmade. It says that the year will bean “exciting” time for 5G andmobiles alike. There will be 5Gfinding its way into the uppercorner of mobile devices, exceptfor iPhone users, as for them, itis more likely going to happen in2020 or later.

The next in line are thetechnological advancements

through data, machine learningand artificial intelligence (AI). Asper Forbes, with improved pro-cessing power that can increasemachine learning, digital leaderswill be seen investing in makingmore of all of their data and thiswill be done with machine learn-ing and AI. It says that one percent will grow to three or fourper cent by 2020; which mayseem small but is a massiveincrease in data utilisation.

Another new addition will bethe smart speakers helping youlearn another language. With theverbal translations and conver-sations, Google, for example is allset to make its assistant, conversein French and German languagesother than English.

�� ����� ����Even though organic and

more herbal products have beenaround for a while, expertsbelieve that 2019 will likely see arise in plant-based skincare prod-ucts. Moisturisers, face cleansersand facial scrubs made fromfruit and green plants are predict-ed to clean out the shelves. Why?The harsh and potentially toxicchemicals in mainstream skin-

care products are becoming hardto justify, when there’s now somany gentle, natural and effectivealternatives on the market.

Experts also believe that non-surgical cosmetic methods (likeplastic surgery) will be the talk oftown in 2019. The use of injecta-bles, stem-cell experimentation aswell as cooling and heating pro-cedures are all set to make theirmark in the beauty world.

����� ��� �� � �� Theatres are always on the list

of everyone whether a kid or anadult. So let’s find out some mostawaited films of 2019.

Kalank, directed by AbhishekVerman, stars Alia Bhatt, SanjayDutt, Varun Dhawan, MadhuriDixit, Sonakshi Sinha, amongothers. The film, slated to releasein April, is based in the backdropof 1940s and the Partition ofIndia.

The next in line is HrithikRoshan-starrer, Super 30, direct-ed by Vikas Bahl, a biopic on thelife of mathematician AnandKumar. The mathematics geniusfrom a modest family in Bihar,who is made to believe that onlya King’s son can become a king,

is on a mission to prove that eventhe poor man can create some ofthe world’s most genius minds. Hestarts a training program named‘Super 30’ to help 30 IIT aspirantscrack the entrance and makethem successful professionals.

For all superhero-fantasy andaction sequence lovers, CaptainMarvel will be making its way totheatres. In the film, to be releasedin March, Carol Danvers becomesone of the universe’s most power-ful heroes when Earth is caught inthe middle of a galactic warbetween two alien races. It starsBrie Larson, Gemma Chan.

�������!��� �The meal on one’s plate varies

from person to person. Here’s howfood experts believe a change willcome about in consumer eatinghabits in 2019.

With an eco-friendly wavetaking over the food industry,zero-waste movement and sus-tainability factors are expected totake over people’s food eatinghabits. Experts believe that 2019is going to be the year where sus-tainability and looking for chem-ical-free foods are at the core ofhow food is approached.

One of Asia’s biggest electronic musicfestivals, Sunburn 2018, finally over

with exhilarating visuals and tributes toSwedish legend Avicii, and EDM-pumpedperformances by international and IndianDJs like Armin Van Burren, Alan Walker,Nucleya and Axwell-Ingrosso setting thetemperature high in December.

The 12th edition of the musicalextravaganza opened on Saturday for itsloyalists from across the globe who countevery single day, anxiously waiting roundthe year for the Electronic Dance Music(EDM) giant’s indulgence to begin theirNew Year with zeal.

The festival saw lakhs of EDM enthu-siasts, young and old - packing the 100-acre Oxford Valley here for thumping per-formances by DJs on four separate stages.On the first day, the main stage, named‘Cubezoid 4.0’, with 7,000 sq. ft of LEDs,witnessed spectacular performances fromJulia Bliss, Sara Santini, Anish Sood, ViniVici, Don Diablo and Axwell-Ingrosso cre-ating a perfect celebratory atmosphere.

What stole the show on the first dayof the festival was Axwell-Ingrosso’s(2/3rds of the Swedish House Mafia) per-formance with their everlasting anthemicsongs like Sun is Shining, Reload, Out OfMy Mind, Daning Alone and More ThanYou Know.

The pair closed out their emotive setwith Klahr’s Falling In Love under an auraof flushed smoke and slowly-risingsparklers. Towards the end, they paid their

respects for the passing away of Avicii byplaying Wake Me Up on Don’t You WorryChild. Thousands of people also scribbledAvicii’s name and drew his logo on a longblack chalkboard as a tribute to the 28-year-old DJ who took his life earlier thisyear.

As per speculation, this may have beenone of the last performance by Axwell-Ingrosso, as the complete group —Swedish House Mafia — prepares for its2019 relaunch.

On the other stage — Zee 5 — desibass king Nucleya set the stage on fire withhis street-style music from Raja Baja, BassRani, Tota Myna, and some occasionalBollywood drops. Kash Trivedi, AmannNagpal, Ritviz, Paratra, Sara Santini, 39Kingdom, Zenith, GREFF, 18 East, DualVibes, Basspatch, Hugel, David Gravell,and Progressive Brothers also took to thestage and amped-up the audience on dayone.

“With Sunburn moving to Pune, thefestival has become more affordable andaccessible to our audiences. This year dueto tight security, we have adopted exten-sive state-approved measures to ensure acatastrophe-free event given that visitors’safety has always been paramount,”Sunburn Global CEO Karan Singh said.

The second day, on the other hand,was all about Armin Van Buuren, andAlan Walker’s performances in the eveningas the venue got packed with people assoon as it hit 7 pm on the clock.

“On the second day, we saw a 10 percent increase in turnout from Day one andexpect a further 15 per cent increase onDay three as we have been able to deliv-er an improvised experience to our festi-val goers,” the CEO said in a statement.

While performances by SalvatoreGanacci, Ravtek, Madoc, Shashank, DJChico, Rave N Crave, Akade, KalpanikBass, Kryll, Shaan Gidwani, Basshunk,Zylor, VDJ Cas, NDS, Ishani X BobKat,Afro Bros, Candice Redding and Throttlebuilt the anticipation levels for the head-lining acts of the evening, Norwegian DJand producer Alan Walker proved that heis a true force to be reckoned with in thecontemporary electronic music scene.

The introduction to Walker’s set wasThe Spectre, followed by a remix of Sia’sMove Your Body and Sheep by Chinesemusician Lay. Alone had strong melodiesand atmospheric vocals. He closed his ver-satile set with hit Faded.

As fireworks lit up the arena andbooming sounds blared from the speak-ers, one of dance music’s busiest DJs,Armin van Buuren, took to the stage foran unforgettable act. Tracks like “Blah BlahBlah”, “The Last Dancer”, “Just As You Are”,“Popcorn”, “Sex, Love & Water”, “OurOrigin”, “Wild Wild Son” and “Ready ToRave” had the entire arena exploding withsound and energy. Known for his emotivesets, he performed “This Is What It FeelsLike”, dedicated to his son, and also the“Barso” remix by Ritviz. H$"6�

Legendary Bengali filmmaker MrinalSen, who, along with his contempo-

raries Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatakwas considered a doyen of regional par-allel cinema internationally, often hadpublic debates with Ray regardingfilm narratives and styles, but alwayschose to term them as clash of ideasand not conflict.

Sen, who directed 27 feature films,including Ek Din Pratidin, Kharij andKhandahar had said his films are“more of a thesis and do not have theimagery of Ray’s masterpieces.”

“I am not a Kurosawa, I am not aSatyajit Ray, I am not a Godard, whobelieve in drawing sketches. I can’t dothat. I can’t draw a single line. My filmsare a kind of thesis,” the DadasahebFalke awardee filmmaker was oncequoted in an interview.

Sen, who passed away on Sundayat the age of 95, maintained he and Rayshared a warm rapport during theirtime but often indulged in “construc-tive criticism” of each other’s films.

Their differences came into publicdomain when the two exchanged 19open letters in ‘The Statesman’ news-paper in 1965 over Ray’s criticism of thescript of one of Sen’s film AkashKusum.

In one of those letters, Ray ques-tioned the topicality of the themewritten by Ashish Burman, a scriptwriter and a regular collaborator of Sen.

“May I point out that the topical-ity of the theme in question stretchesback into antiquity, when it foundexpression in that touching fable aboutthe poor deluded crow with a fatalweakness for status symbols?” Raywrote in one of these letters.

“Had Mr Burman known of thefate of this crow, he would surely haveimparted this knowledge to his protag-onist, who now acts in complete igno-rance of traditional precepts with,need I add, fabulous consequences,” hehad noted.

Replying, Sen had written thaticonic actor Charles Chaplin had alsoreferred to the poor deluded crow ofAesop’s Fables as “My conception of theaverage man, of any man, of myself ”and asked whether Ray doubted thetopicality of Chaplin’s theme brought

out with such mastery during thelong years of his film career.

The polemics — rich in content,and now keenly lapped up by wannabefilm makers, critics and enthusiasts —continued for months till the newspa-per called for a halt.

Sen’s Bhuvan Shome also receivedsome caustic comments from Ray,who despairingly wrote: “Summary inseven words: ‘Big Bad BureaucratReformed’ by Rustic Belle.”

Sen in his autobiography AlwaysBeing Born claimed that Ray had“reacted rather unwholesomely” tothe film.

Talking about Ray in an interview,Sen said he had no conflict with theOscar winning filmmaker from Kolkataand claimed that the media finds asadistic pleasure in writing about theirconflicts.

“I did not like Abhijan, AranyerDin-Ratri and Asahni Sanket (films byRay). I openly said it with due reasons.We believed in constructive criticism.Both of us did not support gross com-mercialisation of cinema. I alwaysadmire Aparajito as his best creation,”Sen noted.

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The year 2018 saw two stal-warts of the Indian contem-porary art world pass on.

The venerated abstract master oflandscape Ram Kumar (1924-2018) and the pioneer of the printviscosity technique and mentorKrishna Reddy (1925-2018). It istime to assess their unforgettablelegacy that hopefully will inspirenew artistes.

RAM KUMARWhen it comes to landscapes,

nobody can hold a candle to thegentle soul Ram Kumar. Amonghis finest works are a tranquil land-scape of 1961 that venerates thetightly knit houses of Varanasi, anda study titled The Boats of 1968.Ram’s works became his signaturein the 1960s.

For most of his subsequentcareer, his work was abstract, oftensubtly shifting, jagged patchworksof monochromatic lines, blocksand plains. In the year 1969, hetravelled to the United States andMexico through a scholarshipfrom Rockefeller. And when 70scame, much of his work was basedupon his personal recollections ofexperiences and memories of trav-els to remote mountainous, spiri-tual centers in Northern India,Machu Picchu and Buddhistmonasteries of Ladakh.

Critic Ranjit Hoskote said,“Over the late 1950s, Ram Kumarshifted away from these melancholyevocations and towards landscapesin which he explored the archetyp-al presence of Varanasi —Hinduism’s most sacred city — asite of acute polarities. In Varanasi,where religion and corruption areoften interwoven, where the zonesof faith and torment intersect, hefound a potent symbol to denotehuman suffering under the tyran-ny of putrefying social customs.”

The finest composition done in

tones of studied restraint was TheBoats. Perhaps what entices is thetruth that this work has romanti-cism about it. The deep moss liketone and the spectral structure ofthe boats done in feather weightwispiness speak about his early apti-tude for abstraction and formless-ness.

Ram Kumar addressed himselfto the formal aberrations of mis-matched planes, jamming the hor-izontal perspective against topviews inspired by site-mapping,aerial photography and locking themuddy impasto-built riverbankconstructions into a cubist geomet-rical analysis. Gradually, the archi-tecture drained away from his can-vasses, society itself passed from hisconcerns, until during the late1960s, his paintings assumed thecharacter of abstractionist hymns tonature.

He spent the latter part of hislife in search for transcendence andawakening. “When one is youngand a beginner, one’s work is dom-inated by content, and ideas,” hesaid, “but as one grows older,he/she turns to the language ofpainting itself. I have growndetached. I want to find the samepeace that the mystics found.”

KRISHNA REDDYNo one can ever forget the

path-breaking practice of KrishnaReddy, the nonagenarian sculptorand pioneering printmaker whohad a range of work that encom-passed his career spanning overseven decades, keeping impres-sion-making at the core of his dis-cipline.

Reddy consistently experiment-ed with form, technique and appli-cation. Initially he was trained inTagore’s Santinketan under thetutelage of the inf luentialRamkinkar Baij. He moved toLondon in 1949 to study sculpture

at Slade in Henry Moore’s class andsubsequently spent over twodecades in Paris, first at the studioof Ossip Zadkine and eventuallydirecting Stanley William Hayter’s

Atelier 17, where he developedand invented the process that he isquite well known for – simultane-ous multicolor viscosity printing.He was a co-director of Atelier 17

since 1965. When Reddy joinedAtelier 17, it was already a thrivinghub for stalwarts like Joan Miro,Constantin Brancusi, Pablo Picasso,and Alberto Giacometti, with all of

whom he closely worked. This pro-vided a platform to him for break-ing new ground in intaglio print-making. In collaboration withHayter, Reddy developed a newtechnique in multi-colour printingby utilising variable viscosities of theprinting inks. In experimenting todevelop multi-colour simultaneousprinting, Reddy constantly pushedthe boundaries that were not onlyconfined to the formal process ofprintmaking but a revolutionary

way of thinking on how to developa new form.

He was able to control the vis-cosity of the inks by altering the oilconsistency in each impression,thereby allowing the inks to occu-py different depths without mixingwith each other. Using a range ofrollers, he pushed the inks to desiredparts of the plate, making spectac-ular unique mono-prints, rich intheir textural quality and dimen-sionality. Through the 1960s, hetravelled the world giving lecturesand conducting workshops. Afterthe Paris demonstrations of 1968, hebegan to spend more time in the USand finally moved to New York in1976 as director of graphics andprintmaking in NYU and went onto teach until retirement, headingthe printmaking department atCooper Union. Dedicating his prac-tice to pedagogy, Reddy’s contribu-tions have been largely undervaluedand under-recognised.

Demonstrators and the twodemonstration sculptures were cre-ated in Paris in 1968, a year markedby cultural, social, and political rev-olutions in many parts of theWestern world. In France, civicunrest and demonstrations reacheda boiling point in mid-may after thegovernment closed several univer-sities and arrested student occupiersand their supporters. More than8,00,000 demonstrators would soonmarch in Paris alone to express theirsolidarity with the students and theiroverall frustration with the govern-ment under Charles de Gaulle.

Reddy’s bronze sculpture andetching plates were a piece of histo-ry. Using his plates as a sculpturalsurface for mark-making andengraving, rather than merely usingit as a tool for taking an impression,Reddy’s sculptural practice foundsanctuary in experimentation withprintmaking in a lifelong pursuit tounderstand form.

Icalled him Bapu, and not Mahatmaji.We have deep love for each other, abond of affinity has been forged

between us, that’s all. And this disinter-ested love shall endure. It is endless,” saidNandlal Bose about the venerated ‘Fatherof the Nation.’

His portraits of Gandhiji with hisDandi are more than iconographic. Alinocut and a watercolour become a tes-timony of the saga of India’s freedom andthe cruel ways of the British. Nandlal wasamong the first to recognise that theimage of Gandhi alone had the potentialto unify a movement beyond the realmof a select few to express the collective willof a new nation.

At the NGMA in Delhi, along withthe Ministry of Culture, AdwaitaGadanayak, DG, NGMA, who has beenscouring the archives, has come up withanother show that is bound to stir up themany notions of nationality and patrio-tism within us.

Drawings — Salt MarchDandi Yatra showcases historical

drawings of the journey of the SaltMarch from Sabarmati SatyagrahaAshram, Kochrab to Dandi, a smallcoastal village in Gujarat,” saysGadanayak.

“The journey, covering 240 miles,took 12 night halts and was witness to thebreaking of the British law for salt. At thattime, a veritable ocean of people had beendrawn to this march, making it one of thelargest mass movements of the world. Alarge number of mediapersons and artistsfrom across the world was also drawn tothis event. An unsung Satyagrahi andartist Chhaganlal Jadav, in his tiny draw-ing book, had captured some

known/unknown faces from among theparticipants of this epic journey towardsSwaraj.”

“I am extremely happy to share theselandmark drawings that are part of ourliving history. They are at present a partof the personal collection of Dr RizwanQadri from Ahmedabad, who broughtthese drawings to light and shared themwith us for the purpose of showcasingthem for the first time, through this exhi-bition. He found these drawings at aSunday kabaadi bazaar.”

Nandlal’s watercolour If Nandlal’s linocut is unforgettable

iconicity, his watercolour is a melange oftones and tenors. Nandlal shows him asan individual who is at once strong andpure, both noble and fearless in his con-cern for doing good to others. Nandlal’swords ring through the darker resonancein this historic watercolour. “He has lovefor all men, limitless compassion for allcreatures, and he has staked his life forrestoring a degenerate and oppressed landto its former glory. For even his ignorantadversary he has only pity and non-vio-lence. His indomitable power and defi-ance of death derive chiefly from his self-possession and complete lack of self-inter-est.”

As an ardent follower and believer ofGandhi and his position in India’s free-dom struggle, Nandlal’s reflections, trans-lated from Bengali by the revered artistmentor K.G. Subramanyan, tug at myheart strings. “Anguish for human mis-ery has turned him into an unpossessinghermit working for the well-being of oth-ers all the time. He has subdued his sens-es and has accepted God as his chosen.These attributes of Mohandas

Karamchand Gandhi overwhelm me.”“What a miracle took place when,

yearning for India’s freedom, Gandhijiwent on the Dandi march. The entirecountry was roused with confidence insome unique strength. Glory filled myheart. I felt blessed and life became mean-ingful.” (N. Bose, translated by K. G.Subramanyan, Vision and Creation,

Calcutta, 1999, p. 232)

Ram Kinkar’s GandhiEqually epic is Ram Kinkar Baij’s

Gandhi . “ When you look at Ram KinkarBaij’s Gandhi you understand that sculp-ture must transcend reality and gobeyond to create its own language intime,” says Gadanayak. “When he creat-ed Gandhi with his Dandi, Ram Kinkarmoved away from the insipid realism ofthe British and instead created a work thatwas more about capturing the spirit ofhis subject. There is a tremendous ener-gy in his work and superb use of roughtextures created with his hands. Here hestands as an undaunted figure, there isheroism in the bending posture of hisbody, it speaks of determination andcourage.”

Contemporary installations “Nandalal Bose immortalised the

image of Gandhi’s Dandi march,” saysGadanayak. “We decided to recreate a hutwith a video montage with mounds of saltto personify the spirit of the event. Thesecond installation creates the salt river-ine with neon lights and salt and a seriesof small huts that speak of the journey. Iwanted the display to reflect the realityof the past in the commentary of the pre-sent as a visual journey.”

The installation brings back thewords of Gandhi. Nine days before themarch, in a letter to the Viceroy, Gandhiwrote, “Nothing but organised non-vio-lence can check the organised violence ofBritish Government. [...] This non-vio-lence will be expressed through civil dis-obedience for the moment confined tothe inmates of the Sabarmati Ashram, butultimately designed to cover all those whochoose to join the movement.”

The ensuing result is that it simplybut powerfully captures the spirit and per-sona of Gandhi as the leader of a newmovement. Gadanayak also recalls thatit was during this time that Nandlal Bosecreated several posters in support of thecivil disobedience movement but theywere immediately torn down anddestroyed, virtually none survived. At theNGMA Gandhi’s Dandi serves as an aptepitaph in the celebration of 150 years ofthe Mahatma.

(The show is on till February 10.)

Astray bullet crushed IralyYanez’s aspirations ofbecoming a professional

dancer eight years ago as it rup-tured two of her vertebrae andleft her paraplegic. But now theyoung Venezuelan dancer ispursuing her lifelong passion ina wheelchair — and hoping toput her career back on track —thanks to a contemporary dancecompany that is helping disabledpeople perform.

Caracas based AM Danzaworks with 50 youngVenezuelans who are pursuingtheir passion for dance despitelimitations like broken spines,cerebral palsy, Down syndromeor blindness.

Yanez joined the groupthree months ago and recentlyperformed in her wheelchair inan emotional hour-long showthat the dance troupe puttogether for its followers.

“This is the opportunity ofa lifetime” Yanez, 34, said afterthe contemporary dance review,“Ubuntu,” was held in one of theVenezuelan capital’s most pres-tigious theatres. “I can’t allowexternal issues to affect me anylonger.”

During the show, disableddancers performed alongsidefully abled professional dancersto demonstrate that art knowsno barriers. Some members ofthe audience shed tears. Dancerswith limited mobility in theirlegs lifted their crutches in theair in unison. A dancer hoistedYanez from her wheelchair andlifted her above her shoulders toperform complex moves.

“Dancing is all about pas-

sion” said AM Danza’s director,Alexander Madriz. “You have toenjoy your possibilities and useyour body to express emotions.”

Madriz has worked for twodecades with dancers who havedisabilities and says that thanksto them he has learned that cor-poral expression has no limits.

“Not everything has to bethe perfect lines and symmetrythat you see in contemporaryclassical dance” he said.

Madriz, 47, said that the stu-dents’ love for dance has helpedthem overcome the numerousobstacles faced by disabled peo-ple in Venezuela, where publictransport is still mostly inacces-sible to people on wheelchairsand ramps on sidewalks andpublic buildings are few and farbetween. In addition, like every-one else in Venezuela, they haveto cope with rampant medicalshortages and hyperinflationthat has devastated theirincomes.

Yanez says that on weekdaysshe can spend up to three hourswaiting for one of the fewwheelchair-friendly buses that

pass through her humble neigh-borhood in the suburbs ofCaracas to take her to AM’sdance studio. But that doesn’tseem to diminish her will totrain. She said that the dancecompany has allowed her tocome to terms with the accidentthat changed her life and makefeel like she can now “flythrough the sky.”

The ballerina was hit by astray bullet on New Year’s Evein 2010 as she entered herhome in a crime-ridden slum.That was the end of her danc-ing until she joined AM Danzain September.

As 2018 comes to a close,Yanez says she is looking for-ward to participating in moreperformances.

In the kitchen of her smallapartment, she glanced at adrawing of dancers posted onthe refrigerator by her 10-year-old niece, who also now prac-tices ballet.

“She’s one of the reasonsthat I am keeping up my strug-gle” Yanez said. “I see her, andI also see myself.” H"�

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It turned out to be a glorious 2018 forIndia captain Virat Kohli and SouthAfrica fast bowler Kagiso Rabada as

both maintained their respective polepositions in the year-end ICC Test PlayerRankings.

Kohli dropped three points despite afirst innings score of 82 in the third Testagainst Australia in Melbourne, but stillenjoys a 34-point lead over nearest rivalKane Williamson of New Zealand.

Kohli, who attained a career-high 937points during the year, which is thehighest ever by an India batsman, scored1322 runs in all. He overtook Steven Smithin August and has now held the top posi-tion for 135 days.

Rabada, who split the top rankingwith England's seasoned fast bowlerJames Anderson during the year, is just sixpoints ahead of his adversary.

Rabada, who became the youngest totake top position among bowlers duringthe year and held the spot for 178 daysduring the year, grabbed six wickets in theopening match at Centurion that SouthAfrica won by six wickets to finish with52 wickets in 10 Tests in 2018.

Kohli's compatriot Cheteshwar Pujarahas also maintained his fourth positionafter a first-innings century in Melbourne,wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has gained 10slots to reach a career-best 38th position.

Debutant opener Mayank Agarwalhas also entered the batsmen's list at animpressive 67th place after scores of 76and 42 helped his side win by 137 runs fora 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Jasprit Bumrah has moved from 28thto 12th after his match haul of nine for 86,the best-ever by an India seam bowler inAustralia. He is now the highest-rankedIndia fast bowler in the format withMohammed Shami is next in 23rd posi-tion.

For Australia, Pat Cummins has beenthe pick, gaining five slots to reach acareer-best third position after finishingwith nine wickets in the match. He hasalso gained 13 slots to reach 91st placeamong batsmen with some useful runsdown the order.

Travis Head (up seven places to 56th)has also benefitted in the latest rankingsupdate.

New Zealand fast bowlers have a lot

to cheer about following their record 423-run win over Sri Lanka in Christchurch.

Trent Boult's nine wickets in thematch have helped him gain seven slotsto reach the seventh position while TimSouthee (up two places to ninth) and NeilWagner (up one place to 15th) have alsomoved up.

Century-makers at Christchurch,Henry Nicholls (up two places to seventh)and Tom Latham (up eight places to 14th),and Jeet Raval (up two places to 35th) havealso gained in the latest rankings update.

Nicholls scored an unbeaten 162 tomove up to the seventh place.

For South Africa, former captainHashim Amla (up three places to 11thplace) and Temba Bavuma (up four placesto 31st) have gained among batsmen whilefast bowler Duanne Olivier has gained 17places to reach 36th position after his play-er of the match effort of 11 wickets.

Pakistan's Babar Azam has gainednine slots to reach 27th position afterinnings of 71 and six while left-arm fastbowlers Mohammad Amir (up two placesto 34th) and Shaheen Afridi (up 38 placesto 73rd) have advanced after taking fourand five wickets in Centurion.

Meanwhile, New Zealand haveleapfrogged South Africa to take thirdplace in the ICC Test Team Rankings afterstarting the series against Sri Lanka witha chance of going up to the second posi-tion with a 2-0 win.

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India's Harmanpreet Kaurwas on Monday named cap-

tain of the ICC Women's T20ITeam of the Year, which alsoincludes two of her compatri-ots Smriti Mandhana andPoonam Yadav.

Opening batswomanMandhana and leg-spinnerYadav were also included in theICC Women's ODI Team ofthe Year, which has NewZealander Suzie Bates as cap-tain.

The ODI and T20 sideswere selected by a voting acad-emy, which has former playerslike Lisa Sthalekar, CharlotteEdwards, Anjum Chopra andmembers of the media, andtook into consideration per-formances in the 2018 calen-dar year.

Harmanpreet has beenrewarded for spearheadingIndia to the semifinals of theICC Women's World T20 2018in the West Indies inNovember.

"In that tournament,(Harmanpreet) Kaur scored183 runs at a strike-rate of160.5, while in the 25 match-es in the calendar year, she

accumulated 663 runs at astrike-rate of 126.2. Kaur isranked third in the MRF TyresICC Women's Player Rankingsfor T20I Batters," the ICC saidin a statement.

The 29-year-oldHarmanpreet said she wassurprised to have been namedcaptain of the World T20 XI.

"To be honest, it was real-ly surprising for me. The lasttwo years we did not getenough T20I matches to playand it was really tough for meto build that confidence in theteam and show that self-beliefthat we can do well in T20Is.Credit goes to all team mem-bers, the way they workedhard and show that self-belief,"Kaur said.

"This award means a lot tome to build my confidence,BCCI is showing confidenceon me - that I can do well inthe format and I am lookingforward to do well in thefuture."

The T20I team has playersfrom five countries, includingfour from the ICC Women'sWorld T20 2018 championsAustralia. Two players arefrom New Zealand and oneplayer each from Bangladesh

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India batsman Rohit Sharma willmiss the fourth Test against

Australia in Sydney to be with hiswife, who gave birth to a baby girl inMumbai on Sunday.

Rohit has flown back fromMelbourne and will rejoin the squadon January 8 ahead of the three-match ODI series beginning January12 in Sydney.

"India batsman Rohit Sharma leftfor Mumbai on the 30th of Decemberto attend to his wife who has deliv-ered a baby girl. The BCCI congrat-ulates Rohit on the beginning of anew chapter in his life," the BCCI saidin a statement.

The Indian Cricket Board(BCCI), however, has not named anyreplacement for Rohit for the finalTest beginning on January 3. Indialead the four-match Test series 2-1after winning the Melbourne Test by137 runs.

"Rohit will miss the fourth andthe final Test against Australia atSydney. There will be no replacementplayer in the Test squad.

"He will join the ODI squad onthe 8th of January 2019, when theteam begins their preparation for theODI series starting 12th January," itadded.

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Former India skipper SouravGanguly rated the current

Australian selection process asthe "lowest ever" whileresponding to ex-captain SteveWaugh's predicted playing XIfor the fourth and final Test,starting Thursday at theSydney Cricket Ground(SCG).

"Australian cricket selec-tion at its lowest ever .. greatshave to put teams in theirInstagram posts to give direc-tion ....," Ganguly tweeted witha picture of Waugh's selectedXI for the Sydney Test.

Earlier, Waugh had pickedhis side for the fourth Testexcluding the off-colour open-er Aaron Finch.

Waugh had suggested thepromotion of Shaun Marsh toopen the batting alongsideMarcus Harris, with UsmanKhawaja at No.3 followed byTravis Head, skipper TimPaine, leg-spinning all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne,Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins,Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyonand Josh Hazlewood

Labuschagne was onSunday added to Australia's

squad for the final Test afterthe Virat Kohli-led touriststook a historic 2-1 lead bycomfortably winning theBoxing Day Test by 137 runsat Melbourne.

Meanwhile, another for-mer Australian skipper, RickyPonting, has suggested MarcusHarris and Usman Khawaja toopen the innings for the hosts,followed by Shaun Marsh.

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Left-arm spinner SaurabhKumar overall took 14 wick-

ets as Uttar Pradesh thrashedhosts Haryana by six wickets intheir Elite Group C Ranji Trophygame inside two days here. ForUttar Pradesh, Saurabh Kumar,was adjudged the Man of theMatch as he ended the gamewith figures of 14-65 at theChaudhry Bansi Lal CricketStadium, picking seven wicketseach in both the innings.

The visitors grabbed 6points with the thumping win.On Sunday, as many as 20 wick-ets had fallen on the openingday. Haryana were bundled outfor 110 in their first essay with25-year-old Saurabh taking 7-33.Resuming on overnight score of10 for no loss, Haryana batsmenagain meekly surrendered toSaurabh, who ended the secondinnings with brilliant figures of7-32.

Haryana was shot out forpaltry 129. Needing 107 to win,Uttar Pradesh chased the targetin 21.2 overs, losing four wick-ets in the process. UP openerSamarth Singh remainedunbeaten on 53 in company ofRinku Singh (20 not out) as theduo took the side home.

����&� �������� ����� ���Seamer Subodh Bhatitriggered a middle-order col-lapse in the second session asDelhi gained upperhand againstBengal with a slender 20-runfirst innings lead after the sec-ond day in a Ranji Trophy groupleague encounter. In a nippy five over spell,Bhati took three wickets asBengal lost five wickets in thepost-lunch session beforebeing all out for 220 in replyto Delhi's first innings score of240. Bhati got a good support fromKulwant Khejroliya (3/86) asthe left-arm medium pacerdealt a big blow dismissingskipper Manoj Tiwary (15),whose wrong judgementproved to be costly in the con-text of the innings.At stumps, Delhi were 41/2 in

their second essay, with anoverall lead of 61 runs at closeon day two. Ashok Dinda (2/22) took boththe wickets in a spirited bowl-ing display and was the onlyBengal bowler to make animpact, something that keptBengal's fading hopes alive inthe must-win Elite Group Bfixture. Both the teams needminimum six points to stay incontention for a quarterfinal.

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Serena Williams overcame a sluggish start to win her opening matchof the new season in Perth on Monday, two weeks out from 2019's first

Grand Slam.The 37-year-old was a long way off her commanding best and was

visibly frustrated with her own game early in her Hopman Cup singlesmatch, but still did enough to beat Greece's Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

However, it was Sakkari and her team-mate Stefanos Tsitsipas whohad the last laugh as Greece beat the USA 2-1 in the mixed doubles GroupB tie.

In her first tournament outing since the controversial loss to NaomiOsaka in the US Open final in September, Williams struggled early andher groundstrokes were erratic in the first set.

Sakkari, ranked 41st in the world, gained an early break and servedfor the first set but couldn't capitalise despite several gilt-edged oppor-tunities.

That opened the door for Williams, the bookmakers' favourite for theupcoming Australian Open in Melbourne, to power back and ultimate-ly win 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in an hour and 44 minutes.

Williams had her left ankle worked on at the end of the first set butit didn't stop her dominating the second, in which she looked more likethe player who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Williams won her last Grand Slam in Melbourne in 2017, but was-n't able to defend her title due to the birth of her first child.

Bidding to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 titles, she was beat-en in last year's Wimbledon and US Open finals.

Williams said she was looking forward to facing Swiss champion RogerFederer on Tuesday, when the USA plays Switzerland and the pair willbe opponents for the first time in the mixed doubles.

"I have been looking forward to it, this is so cool," she said, addingit was "like a dream come true".

Earlier, world number 15 Tsitsipas gave Greece the initial advantagein the tie as he edged past Frances Tiafoe in three sets, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.

The Greek 20-year-old won the first set comfortably and secured anearly break in the second.

But the 39th-ranked American broke back in the sixth game and lev-elled the match in the tie-break.

Another early break by Tsitsipas put him ahead in thethird and a sizzling backhand winner on match pointsecured victory for the Greek.

The Greek duo kept their tournament alive when theywon the deciding mixed doubles, 4-1, 1-4, 4-2.

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and England, besides the three fromIndia.

The ODI team, on the otherhand, has players from seven coun-tries, with two each from England,India, New Zealand and SouthAfrica. Australia, Pakistan andWest Indies has one player each.

Bates' appointment as the ODIcaptain was a recognition of hercontribution in inspiring her sideto second position in the ICCWomen's Championship after threerounds.

Besides Mandhana and Yadav,Alyssa Healy and Suzie Bates arethe other players who feature inboth the ODI and T20I squads.

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Former captains SteveWaugh and Ricky Ponting

want out-of-form openerAaron Finch to be droppedfrom Australia's playing elevenfor the fourth and final Testagainst India starting Thursdayin Sydney.

Both Waugh and Pontinghave predicted the inclusion ofleg-spinning all-rounderMarnus Labuschange in theplaying eleven.

Test legend Waugh postedhis preferred Australia XI forthe final Test at the SCG onInstagram.

According to Waugh,Marcus Harris and veteranShaun Marsh should open thebatting, followed by incumbentUsman Khawaja.

Waugh feels Travis Head,Australia's leading run-scorerin the series against India,should bat at No.4 ahead ofcaptain Tim Paine,

Labuschagne, and MitchellMarsh.

Waugh's preferred bowlingunit would be Pat Cummins,Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyonand Josh Hazlewood.

Waugh's successor, Pontingtoo feels that Finch should bedropped and Labuschagneneeds to be included in theplaying eleven.

Finch has had a dismalseries so far, averaging just 16while opening the batting with50 of his runs coming in thefirst innings of the second Testin Perth.

"I've seen Labuschagne hascome into the line-up so to mestraightaway that means Finchhas to miss out and Usman willopen the batting, I'd imagine,"Ponting told cricket.Com.Au.

"That's how it looks -Labuschagne probably batsfour, Head five and MitchMarsh six - I think that's theway they're going to line up.

"I can't really think what

else they can do. The selectorsand the captain and coachhave obviously had a long chatabout what they want andwhat they expect. We'll see howthey line up," he added.

Page 16: 01˘2$ 0%3)456 ˚ ˜ˇ ! 4;, ?0 4

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Asian Games Gold medallistDivij Sharan is set to play

only his second-ever Davis Cuptie and first since 2012 afterbeing included in the Indianteam for the World GroupQualifier rubber against Italy,scheduled for February 1-2 in

Kolkata.The new selection com-

mittee, led by Rohit Rajpal, haslargely gone by the rankings.

Sharan had missed out onplaying the Serbia tie due to ashoulder injury. The left-han-der from Delhi, ranked 39, willplay the doubles alongsideRohan Bopanna, ranked 37th

with whom he has paired for2019 on the Pro Tour.

As Yuki Bhambri contin-ues to miss action due to hisknee injury, the singles dutywill done by PrajneshGunneswaran (110) andRamkumar Ramanathan (132).

The team has a new mem-ber in young Sasi Kumar

Mukund, who was impressivein the 2018 season. He haszoomed to 295 after beginningthe 2018 season at a low 426.

Veteran Leander Paes con-tinues to remain on the side-lines. He is country's 3rd high-est-ranked player at 63 in theworld. India will host Italy ongrass courts of South Clubare.

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On-court coaching in ten-nis is a reality which the

game's stakeholders need toaccept and embrace the changein near future, advocatesWimbledon finalist KevinAnderson.

The historic US Open titlewin for Japan's Naomi Osakawas overshadowed by thecode-violation penalty hand-ed to Serena Williams forreceiving guidance from hercoach Patrick Mouratoglou inthe summit clash.

There were accusations ofsexism even as WimbledonChairman Philip Brook saidthey were open to discussionon the issue.

The Grand Slams and theATP do not allow on-courtcoaching even as WTA allowsthe coaches to converse withthe players once per set.

On an experimental basis,players were allowed to talkwith their coaches, sitting inplayers' box, during the ATPNext Gen finals, using head-phones.

"There are two sides.Tennis is one-on-one sport butat the same time it is also teamwork. You travel with yourteam, you talk about matchesa lot. It's very difficult to drawa line between coaching andjust the support," Andersonsaid on the sidelines of the TataOpen Maharahtra.

"Every one knows coach-ing does happen but it is dif-ficult to say if a line has beencrossed. In my opinion, itshould be allowed in structuralsense. I don't know what isbest way, we need to discussthat but I would be in favourof that (on-court coaching),"the South African star made itclear where he stood on theissue.

Anderson, who spokeabout a host of issues alsolamented that InternationalTennis Federation (ITF) didnot "collaborate" enough withthe players before bringing indrastic changes in the DavisCup format.

The ITF at its recent AGMapproved changes in the for-mat, introducing one-weekDavis Cup Finals instead ofhome and away format.

The world number six wascritical of the way ITF intro-duced changes but was sup-portive of the ATP Cup, anoth-er team event, being launchedat the same time.

"It's (ATP Cup) furthergoing to increase the exposureand popularity. We are veryfocussed on strengthening theATP Cup. I can't speak toomuch from ITF on Davis Cup,they have been doing theirown thing but they did not real-ly collaborated with the playersas closely we would have liked.

"It's better than the last yearwhich is a positive but it is alsosomething which is out of play-ers' hands as we do not have anysay in what they do."

Anderson, who beat RogerFederer en route theWimbledon final, was also sup-portive of the new structurebeing introduced which willallow only 750 ranked playerson the Pro circuit.

"We have to keep develop-ing and promoting the game,make it attractive and playerfriendly. It's never going to beideal for everybody but we tryto make the best decisions allthe time. All those changes willhave a positive effects on thegame," he said.


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