B ihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expelled two senior most leader-Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma from the Janata dal (U) for accusing him of committing “ideological betrayal” by supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and aligning with the BJP for the Delhi Assembly polls. Nitish took the extreme step after Kishor on Tuesday launched a vehement attack on him tweeting, “Nitish Kumar what a fall for you to lie about how and why you made me join JDU!! Poor attempt on your part to try and make my colour same as yours!” He was responding to Nitish’s claim that he inducted Kishor on Amit Shah sugges- tion. Though the immediate cause for the expulsion of Kishor and Verma is seen as their objection to CAA and Delhi poll truck with the BJP, observers point to Kumar’s anger over their making pub- lic a series of behind-the-cur- tain political moves as the main reason for showing them doors. The relation between Kishor and Nitish were appar- ently also strained ever sine the former took the responsibility of managing the assembly elec- tion of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. The TMC and BJP share a bitter relation and it was becoming untebable for the JD(U) lead- ership to justify how could one of their senior leaders be man- aging the poll campign of Mamata Banerjee. In a statement, party General Secretary KC Tyagi said, “As both the party leaders have been broken the party dis- cipline, they are being expelled from the primary member- ship of the party.” Kishor had joined the JD- U in September 2018. He was also made the Vice President of the party. While Varma is a for- mer Rajya Sabha member of the JD-U. Soon after their expulsion from JD(U), both the dissent- ing leaders took a dig at Kumar by `congratulating` him for being successful in his power pursuits by compromising `ideology’.Prashant Kishor offered Kumar his best wishes to “retain” the chief minister- ship of Bihar. In a tweet minutes after the JD(U) suspended Kishor, Kishor said, “Thank you Nitish Kumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you.”Varma, after being expelled from JD(U), too gave left-handed complements to Kumar. “ I congratulate Nitish Kumar ji for removing all the obstacles and impediments from his path in his pursuit of short term political gain. This pursuit is clearly now com- pletely without any fidelity or loyalty to ideology”, he said. The election strategist had a couple of days ago sought to embarrass Sushil Modi by shar- ing an old video clip wherein, as the then leader of opposi- tion, he had spoken harshly about the Chief Minister. Kishor had raked up the episode by way of a riposte to Sushil, who had indirectly chid- ed him for troubling Nitish by repeatedly violating his own party's line. Both Kishor and Varma came from apolitical back- ground. Kishor made a name as a professional poll strategist after his involvement in Narendra Modi's successful campaign as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He was also seen as a key force in seal- ing Nitish's alliance with the RJD in 2015 and then with the BJP in 2017 before joining the JD(U) and being made its vice president. Varma, a former diplomat, was sent to Rajya Sabha by the party as Nitish felt that he could be useful as an articulate voice in the national Capital. Their expulsion from the party will be seen as a victory for its seasoned hands like Lalan Singh and RCP Singh who had not taken kindly to the rise of Kishor in the party and believed that his and Varma's outspoken views ill- served its interests. U nion Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday amped up his attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal challenging him to take his shirt off and take a dip in the Yamuna, mentioning the river continues to be in a state of neglect. “AAP had said that they will clean the water of river Yamuna. Kejriwal ji, today I challenge you to take off your shirt and take a dip in river Yamuna. You will realise the condition of the water of river Yamuna,” said Shah in a Nukkad meeting in Najafgarh Assembly constituency. Pertinently, ahead of the announcement of the Union Budget for the financial year 2020-21, Kejriwal wrote to the Union Minister to escalate Center’s share for Delhi citing various issues pertaining to air and Yamuna pollution, san- itation and other development works. Taking a jibe at Kejriwal for his promise to make Delhi’s road like Europe, Shah said he (Kejriwal ) cannot figure out potholes on Delhi’s roads. Shah also attacked the Kejriwal Government for its statement related to trans- forming Delhi’s infrastructure to international standards while addressing meeting in support for Najafgarh BJP’s candidate Ajit Khadhari. Once again, deviating masses from Delhi’s issue, Shah spoke about Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Shaheen Bagh protesters. “Delhi people will decide by their vote whether they are with the anti- CAA protesters or with the Government which sends anti- National elements to jail,” Shah said. Hitting out at AAP, the senior BJP leader said that the Kejriwal Government had promised to open 1000 new schools in Delhi but failed to do so, he (Kejriwal) is running schools in such buildings which have been marked for demoli- tion. “AAP has put the lives of innocent children in danger,” Shah said while mentioning about other promises made by AAP during 2015 Assembly elections like induction of DTC buses and assurance of pukka house for slum dwellers. A s the lethal coronavirus continues to spread far and wide, claiming 132 lives and infecting over 6,000 others in China alone, India on Wednesday issued a fresh advi- sory asking people not to undertake ‘unnecessary’ travel to the neighbouring country. Also, its only two passenger carriers that fly to China — IndiGo and Air India — announced suspension of most of their flights to the country as a precautionary measure. Airlines based in Asia, North America and Europe have already announced restricted operations to the region in view of the outbreak of the virus. India has requested China for permission to operate two flights to bring back its nation- als from Hubei Province, the epicentre of the outbreak, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Indian Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday circu- lated registration forms and consent notes for the Indians in Wuhan and Hubei province to be filled by them. While IndiGo airlines said on Wednesday that due to coronavirus outbreak in China, it has decided to suspend its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20. Air India spokesperson said the national carrier is suspending its flights on Delhi-Shanghai route from January 31 to February 14. In India, many people are under observation in hospitals for suspected coronavirus infection including in Maharashtra, Goa, Odisha and the national Capital. The Union Health Ministry has asked peo- ple to use 24x7 helpline (011- 23978046) for queries related to respiratory infection. Efforts have been stepped up to handle any emergency situation in case arising due to the mysterious disease. Thermal screening has been expanded to 20 airports from seven, along with addition of 10 new laboratories to test the virus, as a precautionary mea- sure. The Government has acti- vated four new laboratories —the Indian Council of Medical Research’s viral research and diagnostics lab network — at Alleppey, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai for testing samples. So far, Pune’s National Institute of Virology was conducting the tests. A total of 20 samples have so far been tested by NIV Pune and all were found neg- ative. Meanwhile, Mumbai Port Trust has been instructed not to give shore permit to any ves- sel coming from China. C iting provocative languages used by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and Delhi BJP MP Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma in campaign rallies, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday ordered the BJP to drop both of them from the list of star campaigners for the Assembly elections in Delhi. Both of them should con- sidered themselves lucky because despite facing accusa- tion of making provocative hate speech and using abusive language, the EC let them escape with minor punish- ment. Thakur and Verma can still canvass for the BJP but they will have to bear the campaign expenditures. “The Election Commission has ordered the removal of Thakur and Verma from the list of star cam- paigners of the BJP for the gen- eral elections to the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi with immediate effect and until further orders,” an EC note stated. The final order will be announced by the poll panel after examining their replies. The comments by Thakur and Verma are part of a string of controversial comments and communally divisive rhetoric used in the Delhi election campaign. I n the midst of poll frenzy in the national Capital, the BJP on Wednesday had a prized joining as former world num- ber one badminton player Saina Nehwal joined the saffron party hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an “inspiration” with his “hard work” for the country. Detailed report on P5 O n the recommendations of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Governor Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday dis- tributed portfolios among the members of the council of ministers. The CM has been allotted Personnel, Home (With prisons), Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance (sans Parliamentary affairs) and all other departments that have not been allotted to any Minister. Minister from Congress quota and CLP Leader Alamgir Alam has been allotted Parliamnetary Affairs, Rural Development (Including Rural Works, Panchyati Raj and NREP Special Division) depart- ments, while JPCC president rameshwar Oraon has been allotted Planning cum Finance, Commercial taxes, Food, Civic Supplies and Consumer Affairs departments. Minister from RJD quota Satyanad Bhokta has been entrusted with Labour, Employment and Training department, while Banna Gupta has been given Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare alongwith Welfare department. First time Minister Badal (from Congress) has been given Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative departments. Minister Champai Soren (JMM) has been entrusted with ST/SC Welfare (Sans Minority) and Transport department, while Hazi Hussain Ansari has been given Minority Welfare and Registration departments. Minister (JMM) Jagarnath Mahto has been given School Education and Literacy, Excise and Prohibition departments, while Joba Manjhi has been entrusted with Women and Child Development and Social Welfare department. JMM’s Mithilesh Thakur has been given Drinking Water and Sanitation department. After about a month of for- mation of government in the State, seven ministers took oath of office and secrecy on January 28 taking the total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister in the council of min- isters to 11. One ministerial berth is still vacant in the coun- cil of ministers. Jharkhand can have a maximum of 12 ministers including the Chief Minister. The previous Raghubar Das government had run the dis- pensation with only 11 ministers all through its five-year term. Earlier, the Cabinet expan- sion was to take place on January 24, but the function was postponed at last hour due to killing of seven tribals at Burugulikera village in Chibasa by alleged pro Pathalgadi sup- porters. Also the function was deferred due to communal vio- lence in Lohardaga. P adma Shri award nominee for the year 2020 Shashadhar Acharya today met Chief Minister Hemant Soren with Minister Champai Soren. Acharya will be awarded with Padma Shri this year for his remarkable contribution in the field of Chhau dance. Acharya is a resident of Saraikela- Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. The CM congratu- lated Acharya and said that his Chhau dance has earned world fame. “Your contribution in the field of art culture of Jharkhand is an inspiration to the State,” said the CM. He also congrat- ulated Madhu Mansoori Hansmukh ji Nagpuri, select- ed for the Padma Shri Award and said that a strong picture of Jharkhand has emerged on the globe from his singing and writing. The CM said that the selection of these two names for the Padma Shri award is an honour for Jharkhand.
expelled two senior mostleader-Prashant Kishor andPavan Verma from the Janatadal (U) for accusing him ofcommitting “ideologicalbetrayal” by supporting theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and aligning with theBJP for the Delhi Assemblypolls.
Nitish took the extremestep after Kishor on Tuesdaylaunched a vehement attack onhim tweeting, “Nitish Kumarwhat a fall for you to lie abouthow and why you made mejoin JDU!! Poor attempt onyour part to try and make mycolour same as yours!”
He was responding toNitish’s claim that he inductedKishor on Amit Shah sugges-tion.
Though the immediatecause for the expulsion ofKishor and Verma is seen astheir objection to CAA andDelhi poll truck with the BJP,observers point to Kumar’sanger over their making pub-lic a series of behind-the-cur-tain political moves as themain reason for showing themdoors.
The relation betweenKishor and Nitish were appar-ently also strained ever sine theformer took the responsibilityof managing the assembly elec-tion of Trinamool Congresschief Mamata Banerjee. TheTMC and BJP share a bitterrelation and it was becoming
untebable for the JD(U) lead-ership to justify how could oneof their senior leaders be man-aging the poll campign ofMamata Banerjee.
In a statement, partyGeneral Secretary KC Tyagisaid, “As both the party leadershave been broken the party dis-cipline, they are being expelledfrom the primary member-ship of the party.”
Kishor had joined the JD-U in September 2018. He wasalso made the Vice President ofthe party. While Varma is a for-mer Rajya Sabha member ofthe JD-U.
Soon after their expulsionfrom JD(U), both the dissent-ing leaders took a dig at Kumarby `congratulating` him for
being successful in his powerpursuits by compromising`ideology’.Prashant Kishoroffered Kumar his best wishesto “retain” the chief minister-ship of Bihar.
In a tweet minutes after theJD(U) suspended Kishor,Kishor said, “Thank you NitishKumar. My best wishes to youto retain the chair of ChiefMinister of Bihar. God blessyou.”Varma, after beingexpelled from JD(U), too gaveleft-handed complements toKumar. “ I congratulate NitishKumar ji for removing all theobstacles and impedimentsfrom his path in his pursuit ofshort term political gain. Thispursuit is clearly now com-pletely without any fidelity or
loyalty to ideology”, he said. The election strategist had
a couple of days ago sought toembarrass Sushil Modi by shar-ing an old video clip wherein,as the then leader of opposi-tion, he had spoken harshly about the ChiefMinister.
Kishor had raked up theepisode by way of a riposte toSushil, who had indirectly chid-ed him for troubling Nitish byrepeatedly violating his ownparty's line.
Both Kishor and Varmacame from apolitical back-ground. Kishor made a name asa professional poll strategistafter his involvement inNarendra Modi's successfulcampaign as the BJP's prime
ministerial candidate in the2014 Lok Sabha polls. He wasalso seen as a key force in seal-ing Nitish's alliance with theRJD in 2015 and then with theBJP in 2017 before joining theJD(U) and being made its vicepresident.
Varma, a former diplomat,was sent to Rajya Sabha by theparty as Nitish felt that he couldbe useful as an articulate voicein the national Capital.
Their expulsion from theparty will be seen as a victoryfor its seasoned hands likeLalan Singh and RCP Singhwho had not taken kindly tothe rise of Kishor in the partyand believed that his andVarma's outspoken views ill-served its interests.
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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Wednesday
amped up his attack on AamAadmi Party (AAP) convenerArvind Kejriwal challenginghim to take his shirt off andtake a dip in the Yamuna,mentioning the river continuesto be in a state of neglect.
“AAP had said that theywill clean the water of riverYamuna. Kejriwal ji, today Ichallenge you to take off yourshirt and take a dip in riverYamuna. You will realise thecondition of the water of riverYamuna,” said Shah in aNukkad meeting in NajafgarhAssembly constituency.
Pertinently, ahead of theannouncement of the UnionBudget for the financial year2020-21, Kejriwal wrote to theUnion Minister to escalateCenter’s share for Delhi citingvarious issues pertaining toair and Yamuna pollution, san-itation and other developmentworks.
Taking a jibe at Kejriwal forhis promise to make Delhi’sroad like Europe, Shah said he(Kejriwal ) cannot figure outpotholes on Delhi’s roads.
Shah also attacked theKejriwal Government for its
statement related to trans-forming Delhi’s infrastructureto international standards whileaddressing meeting in supportfor Najafgarh BJP’s candidateAjit Khadhari.
Once again, deviatingmasses from Delhi’s issue, Shahspoke about Citizen(Amendment) Act (CAA) andShaheen Bagh protesters.“Delhi people will decide bytheir vote whether they are withthe anti- CAA protesters orwith the Government whichsends anti- National elementsto jail,” Shah said.
Hitting out at AAP, thesenior BJP leader said that theKejriwal Government hadpromised to open 1000 newschools in Delhi but failed to doso, he (Kejriwal) is runningschools in such buildings whichhave been marked for demoli-tion. “AAP has put the lives ofinnocent children in danger,”Shah said while mentioningabout other promises made byAAP during 2015 Assemblyelections like induction of DTCbuses and assurance of pukka house for slumdwellers.
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As the lethal coronaviruscontinues to spread far
and wide, claiming 132 livesand infecting over 6,000 othersin China alone, India onWednesday issued a fresh advi-sory asking people not toundertake ‘unnecessary’ travelto the neighbouring country.Also, its only two passengercarriers that fly to China —IndiGo and Air India —announced suspension of mostof their flights to the country asa precautionary measure.
Airlines based in Asia,North America and Europehave already announcedrestricted operations to theregion in view of the outbreakof the virus.
India has requested Chinafor permission to operate twoflights to bring back its nation-als from Hubei Province, theepicentre of the outbreak, theMinistry of External Affairssaid.
The Indian Embassy inBeijing on Wednesday circu-lated registration forms and
consent notes for the Indians inWuhan and Hubei province tobe filled by them.
While IndiGo airlines saidon Wednesday that due tocoronavirus outbreak in China,it has decided to suspend itsflights on the Bengaluru-HongKong route from February 1and on the Delhi-Chengduroute from February 1 to 20.
Air India spokesperson said thenational carrier is suspendingits flights on Delhi-Shanghairoute from January 31 toFebruary 14.
In India, many people areunder observation in hospitalsfor suspected coronavirusinfection including inMaharashtra, Goa, Odisha andthe national Capital. The Union
Health Ministry has asked peo-ple to use 24x7 helpline (011-23978046) for queries related torespiratory infection.
Efforts have been steppedup to handle any emergencysituation in case arising due tothe mysterious disease.Thermal screening has beenexpanded to 20 airports fromseven, along with addition of 10new laboratories to test thevirus, as a precautionary mea-sure.
The Government has acti-vated four new laboratories—the Indian Council ofMedical Research’s viralresearch and diagnostics labnetwork — at Alleppey,Bengaluru, Hyderabad, andMumbai for testing samples. Sofar, Pune’s National Institute ofVirology was conducting thetests.
A total of 20 samples haveso far been tested by NIVPune and all were found neg-ative.
Meanwhile, Mumbai PortTrust has been instructed notto give shore permit to any ves-sel coming from China.
Citing provocative languagesused by Union Minister of
State for Finance AnuragThakur and Delhi BJP MPPravesh Sahib Singh Verma incampaign rallies, the ElectionCommission (EC) onWednesday ordered the BJP todrop both of them from the listof star campaigners for theAssembly elections in Delhi.
Both of them should con-sidered themselves luckybecause despite facing accusa-tion of making provocativehate speech and using abusivelanguage, the EC let themescape with minor punish-ment.
Thakur and Verma canstill canvass for the BJP butthey will have to bear thecampaign expenditures.
“The ElectionCommission has ordered theremoval of Thakur and Vermafrom the list of star cam-paigners of the BJP for the gen-eral elections to the LegislativeAssembly of the NCT of Delhi
with immediate effect anduntil further orders,” an ECnote stated. The final order willbe announced by the pollpanel after examining theirreplies.
The comments by Thakurand Verma are part of a stringof controversial comments andcommunally divisive rhetoricused in the Delhi electioncampaign.
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In the midst of poll frenzy inthe national Capital, the BJP
on Wednesday had a prizedjoining as former world num-ber one badminton player
Saina Nehwal joined the saffron party hailing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as an “inspiration” withhis “hard work” for the country.
Soren, Governor DroupadiMurmu on Wednesday dis-tributed portfolios among themembers of the council ofministers. The CM has beenallotted Personnel, Home (Withprisons), Cabinet Secretariatand Vigilance (sansParliamentary affairs) and allother departments that have notbeen allotted to any Minister.
Minister from Congressquota and CLP Leader AlamgirAlam has been allottedParliamnetary Affairs, RuralDevelopment (Including RuralWorks, Panchyati Raj andNREP Special Division) depart-ments, while JPCC presidentrameshwar Oraon has beenallotted Planning cum Finance,Commercial taxes, Food, Civic
Supplies and Consumer Affairsdepartments.
Minister from RJD quotaSatyanad Bhokta has beenentrusted with Labour,Employment and Trainingdepartment, while BannaGupta has been given Health,Medical Education and FamilyWelfare alongwith Welfaredepartment.
First time Minister Badal(from Congress) has been givenAgriculture, AnimalHusbandry and Cooperativedepartments. MinisterChampai Soren (JMM) hasbeen entrusted with ST/SCWelfare (Sans Minority) andTransport department, whileHazi Hussain Ansari has beengiven Minority Welfare andRegistration departments.
Minister (JMM) JagarnathMahto has been given SchoolEducation and Literacy, Excise
and Prohibition departments,while Joba Manjhi has beenentrusted with Women andChild Development and SocialWelfare department. JMM’sMithilesh Thakur has beengiven Drinking Water andSanitation department.
After about a month of for-mation of government in theState, seven ministers took oathof office and secrecy on January28 taking the total number ofministers, including the ChiefMinister in the council of min-isters to 11. One ministerialberth is still vacant in the coun-cil of ministers. Jharkhand canhave a maximum of 12 ministers
including the Chief Minister.The previous Raghubar Dasgovernment had run the dis-pensation with only 11 ministersall through its five-year term.
Earlier, the Cabinet expan-sion was to take place onJanuary 24, but the functionwas postponed at last hourdue to killing of seven tribals atBurugulikera village in Chibasaby alleged pro Pathalgadi sup-porters. Also the function wasdeferred due to communal vio-lence in Lohardaga.
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Padma Shri award nomineefor the year 2020
Shashadhar Acharya today metChief Minister Hemant Soren
with Minister Champai Soren.Acharya will be awarded withPadma Shri this year for hisremarkable contribution in thefield of Chhau dance. Acharyais a resident of Saraikela-
Kharsawan district ofJharkhand. The CM congratu-lated Acharya and said that hisChhau dance has earned worldfame. “Your contribution in thefield of art culture of Jharkhand
is an inspiration to the State,”said the CM. He also congrat-ulated Madhu MansooriHansmukh ji Nagpuri, select-ed for the Padma Shri Awardand said that a strong picture
of Jharkhand has emerged onthe globe from his singing andwriting. The CM said that theselection of these two namesfor the Padma Shri award is anhonour for Jharkhand.
Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary hasstarted witnessing a majorboost this year. The scenicwildlife sanctuary, 30km fromJamshedpur, is abuzz withtourists spending quality timeamid natural surroundings.
The forest department’sfocus on infrastructure devel-opment has played a key role inincreasing revenue as well asthe footfall this time. TheDalma sanctuary, known for itsscenic beauty and large pres-ence of the elephants has wit-nessed a gradual improvementon the infrastructure frontwith setting up of mud hous-es, cafeteria, watch tower andrest rooms.
“In January alone this yearwe have generated revenue of
�2.35 lakhs. The footfall hasincreased in compere to lastyear. The improvement ininfrastructure has definitelyhelped us to attract touristsfrom across the State andneighbouring places. We aretaking every step to improvefacilities at the sanctuary,” saidDalma range officer (West)Dinesh Chandra.
He said that facilities likeMud House and Cafeteria isproving a major boost to attracttourists. He said that touristsfrom different States are pour-ing in. Accommodationoptions at the Dalma sanctuarycomprises four AC cottages andthree non-AC rooms, bam-boo huts and mud cottages atMakulakocha as well as threenon-AC rooms nearPinderbera forest guesthouseon the top.
Dalma sprawls over anarea of 193 square kilometresand houses 85 villages insidethe enclave and 51 villages inits periphery. Dalma is fre-quently visited people ofOdisha and Kolkata. In fact alarge number of foreigners also
visited Dalma last year. Sensing the need of visi-
tors, the state forest departmentturned a guesthouse near themain entrance in Makulakochainto a luxury address. Therooms have attached toilets, alarge kitchen-cum-hall, andample space in the front. Therooms and toilets as well as the
kitchen space have tiles. Newbeds, mattresses and blanketsare also in place.
“We want people to staycloser to the nature. We haveguest houses, thatched roofsmade of hay and bamboo tokeep the huts warm duringwinter and cool during sum-mer. Guests are served food
prepared from organic vegeta-bles grown in the farm andorganic milk, said another offi-cial.
Dalma Hills, to the northof Subarnarekha River andabout 10 kms from the city, isfamous for its herds of wild ele-phants, barking deers, slothbears, leopards, porcupines,
gaurs and chitals. In these hillsis Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary.Elephants are the star attractionhere as during summer theymigrate in great numbers tothis sanctuary from neigh-bouring areas. Some mahoutseven take their elephantsthrough the tree-lined streets ofJamshedpur.
Tata Steel will organise thethird Jharkhand Literary
Meet (JLM) 2020 to be held onFebruary 1-2, 2020 at AudreyHouse, Kanke, Ranchi.Celebrated Hindi writer andSahitya Akademi awardee,Mridula Garg, whose work hasbeen widely translated inEnglish, will inaugurate thethird edition of JLM.
Chanakya Chaudhary, vicepresident (corporate services),Tata Steel said “Jharkhand hasa rich cultural and intellectualheritage with leading person-alities who have significantlycontributed to Indian literature.The Tata Steel JharkhandLiterary Meet is a signatureoutreach program on an intel-lectual platform that brings
leading minds across art andcultural disciplines on one plat-form to engage with Ranchi’sdiscerning audience. I am surethis year’s edition will be muchappreciated by participants andthe audience.”
The highlights of the meetinclude a special session withRuskin Bond on ‘the joys ofwriting Rusty’ based on a semi-biographical character created
by him.Actor-couple Pankaj
Kapur and Supriya Pathakwill also grace the two-dayevent and talk about their lifejourney in films, theater andtelevision at the closing ses-sion on the first day. Dopehri,a dramatic reading by PankajKapur is scheduled on Feb 2at Mayuri Auditorium,CMPDI, Ranchi.
The Tata Steel JharkhandLiterary Meet (JLM) is a sig-nature community outreachprogram on an intellectualplatform. The responsereceived to the earlier editionsof the meet has been veryencouraging. As in earlieryears, it is expected that thisyear would also see an over-whelming participation fromthe students and intellectuals.
For the purpose of qualitativedevelopment and improve-
ment in primary education, atwo-day international confer-ence is being organised in thecapital city on February 3 and4.
The conference will beattended by eminent academicsand educational consultants
from Japan, Australia, Sweden,Canada, Belgium and Malaysiaincluding India.
Jharkhand State PrimaryTeachers Association GeneralSecretary Yogendra Tiwari saidthat for the first time such aconference has been organisedin India which has been host-ed at Ranchi which is a matterof great pride.
Tiwari said that formerUnion Minister SubodhKantSahai will be the chief guest ofthis conference.
On the other hand, Subodh
Kant Sahay has said thatJharkhand will directly benefitfrom hosting this conferenceand giving practical solutionsto the conclusions drawn aftercontemplation because therewill not only qualitativeimprovement in primary edu-cation but also incorporatingmany specialties.
Sahay said that many peo-ple know Jharkhand for itsnatural resources, whereas thereality is that the humanresource of Jharkhand is alsofull of its potential. He
expressed confidence thatthis conference will prove tobe a milestone in the devel-opment of the country.
He said that Ranchi hasalways been a hub of educa-tion and it is known not onlyin United Bihar or countrybut also in the whole worldfor its excellent educationalenvironment. He said thatRanchi has given a newdimension not only to tradi-tional but also practical -technical education.
Talking about the great
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Panki MLA KushwahaShashi Bhushan Mehta has
raised questions on the modeof unfurling of tricolor thisRepublic Day celebrated onSunday.
In his letter to SP PalamuAjay Linda the first time MLAhas written that in charge ofPadma police outpost did notunfurl the national flag himselfbut called in the former MLAPanki Devendra Kr Singh,which is a privilege motion.
In the same vein Mehta hasshot off a letter to DC PalamuShantanu Kr Agrahari where-in he has written that formerMLA Devendra Kr Singh wasmade to unfurl the national flagat Kisan Bhavan, Padma, SBIbranch Padma, Janta HighSchool Padma, CommunityHall Padma, Primary schoolTetaryadeeh , PanchayatBhavans at Padma and atBansee.
Mehta said, “I am toohappy that Republic Day wascelebrated with great fervour inmy constituency, but fromwhere comes that Governmentinstitutions like school, pan-chayat bhavans, kisan bhavan,
community hall, police outpostetc got their unfurling cere-mony by the former MLA.”
The MLA said the bestthing would have been if thehead or in-charge of theseGovernment institutions hadunfurled the national flag butto call in someone having apolitical badge shows the ulte-rior motive of the incharge ofthe government institutions.
He further said howincharge of a police outpost canget the national flag hoistedwhen he was himself there.
Mehta said were all thesedone to dance to the tune of theformer MLA?
“No official should be anyignorant about the protocoland decency to be shown to theelected representative of thepeople and here these govern-ment institutions have floutedthe basic norm of protocol,”Mehta said.
He said, “I have lodged awritten complaint to theSpeaker of Jharkhand VidhanSabha in this connection. Iunderstand DC and SP Palamuwill take immediate cognizanceof my complaint and appriseme of their findings and actionstaken in this regard.”
In a move to clear extra rushof passengers, South Eastern
Railway has decided to addpermanent extra coaches tofour important express trainson a permanent basis. TheHowrah-Jagdalpur Express willget one extra First- AC- cumAC-2 Tier Coach and oneextra AC-3 Tier Coach uptoSambalpur and one extra AC-3 Tier Coach and one extrasleeper class coach uptoJagdalpur with effect fromApril 1 this year.
The Jagdalpur-HowrahExpress will get facility of oneextra AC-3 Tier Coach and oneextra sleeper class coach fromJagdalpur to Howrah fromApril 3 onwards. In addition,one extra First AC cum AC-2Tier coach and one extra AC-3 Tier coach will be attachedfrom Sambalpur to Howrahfrom April 2.
The Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Expresswill get one extra AC-3 Tierand four extra general chair carCoaches from April 1. TheHatia-Purnia Court Expresswill get an extra AC-2 Tierand two extra AC-3 Tiercoaches. This will be imple-
mented from April 1 fromHatia and April 2 from PurniaCourt.
The Ranchi-SasaramExpress will get one extra ACChair Car and three extra gen-eral chair car Coaches fromApril 1.
An official said every yearduring the vacation such rushis witnessed. Steps are beingtaken to ease the rush. He wenton to inform that SouthEastern Railway has decided toattach extra coaches to sev-eral long distance trainspassing through Tatanagarto accommodate passengers.
The Tatanagar railwaystation is the only A1-cate-gory railway station underChakradharpur division ofSouth Eastern Railway (SER). The footfall at the
station is gradually on the risebecause of increasing numberof trains and also because ofthe fact that Tatanagar falls onthe Howrah-Mumbai mainline. Several important trainstravel via Tatanagar, includingthe high-profile RajdhaniExpress and DurontoExpress. The station sees adaily traffic of 90 mail,express and passenger trains,besides a footfall of morethan 60,000 passengers.
All the children in the agegroup of 1 to 19 years will
be administered dewormingmedicines, under the NationalDeworming campaign on 10February aiming to improvehealth and nutrition-level ofchildren across the district.Health workers will providemedicines free of cost to allchildren in all schools andAnganwadi centers. This willalso include children of juvenilehomes and rehabilitation cen-ters, informed Mukesh KumarDeputy Commissioner Bokaro.
Under the campaign, thereis a target to provide deworm-ing medicine- Albendazoletablets (400 mg) to nearly eightlakhs children. Those childrenwho will miss out the dose dur-ing on 10 February for any rea-son will get it on a mop-upround on 17 February, he said.
The Deputy Commissionersaid that albendazole tabletsshould be chewed and eaten. Itcould also be taken with water
in powder form, said DC.Health dept officials
informed that worm infectionadversely affects children'shealth in many ways. Wormsconsume nutrients from tissuesof the human body, whichleads to the deficiency of nutri-ents in children, hamperingtheir mental and physicalgrowth.
Albendazole is a safedeworming medicine for bothchildren and adults. This med-icine makes the worm uncon-scious and their grip is loos-ened from the intestines andthey come out of the body withfeces when it would be taken inpowder form along with wateror chewed dry, said the official.
Children with excessiveinfection may experiencesymptoms such as nausea,vomiting, dehydration, stom-ach pain and fatigue, after con-sumption of the medicine.Such situations can be easilymanaged by school teachers orAanganwadi workers, said theofficial.
Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and the NationalCitizenship Register (NRC)partially impacted life in vari-ous districts of Jharkhandincluding Ranchi.
Not a single long-distancebus from Khadgadha bus standin Ranchi ran on Wednesday.Even auto and other passengervehicles were not availablefrom Kantatoli Chowk.However, Private andGovernment educational insti-tutions were open. Private vehi-cles were running. On theother hand, the police andadministration have made ade-quate security arrangementsto put security cover for thepeople of the State.
In the early morning sup-porters took to the streets andstarted closing shops in Ranchi.In many areas, the people ofparticular areas faced problemsdue to the Bandh supporters.The impact of the Bandh wasalso seen in Ramgarh Districtand at Kuju More; people
blocked the four lane route.The police and adminis-
tration have made elaboratesecurity arrangements to main-tain law and order. RanchiPolice has deployed 10 ZonalPolice Officers for 28 PoliceStation Areas. Along with theQuick Reaction Team (QRT),Additional Security Forces havebeen deputed. Three camp jailshave also been built in Ranchi.
People staged a sit-in
demonstration in support ofthe Bharat Bandh at PithoriaChowk, Ranchi due to whichtraffic interrupted. RuralSuperintendent of Police ,Rishabh Jha had to go to con-vince people. Rural SPs were try-ing to get people to stop the jam.
There was no effect ofBandh in Pakur and also therewas no effect of Bandh inKoderma District. In theseDistricts the condition of rail,
road, and markets were nor-mal. Police have detained sev-eral Bandh supporters inDumka.
The dawn to dusk BharatBandh called by Dalit organi-sations under the banner ofBahujan Kranti Morcha againstCAA evoked lukewarmresponse in Jamshedpur cityareas. Barring the minority(read Muslim) dominated areasin Azadnagar (in Mango),
Dhatkidih (in Bistupur) andpockets of Jugsalai, publictransport including privatetown buses and auto-rickshawplied normally. Most of nearly100 private town buses pliednormally. Most of the schoolsremained closed due to BasantPanchami (Saraswati Puja)however, higher educationalinstitutions and commercialestablishments remained openthroughout the day.
termed that Bharat Bandhcalled in protest against theimplementation of the CAAhad completely f lop inJharkhand.
State BJP SpokespersonPratul Shahdeo said that atsome places in Jharkhand,some anti-social elements triedto disturb the atmosphere. “Atsome places, traffic was dis-rupted by anti-social elementsand at some places there werevandalism. The administrationremained silent throughoutthe time. It seemed as if thesemiscreants were enjoying theGovernment protection,” headded.
Mocking at Governmentofficials, Shahdeo said thatthe officials had more infor-
mation about the Bandh thanthe public.
With the end of thisBandh, the people ofJharkhand have given a clearindication that they are withPrime Minister NarendraModi and the BJP on theCAA issue, he added.
Shahdeo said that theGovernment has notannounced yet an impartial
inquiry into the death ofNeeraj Prajapati, the deceasedin the Lohardaga incident. Notop official has met the fami-ly members of the deceased, headded.
“The death of TabrezAnsari caused panic all overthe country, while no leader ofthe ruling coalition came topay tribute after the death ofNeeraj Prajapati. This showsthe double vision of the rulingcoalition towards majoritysociety,” said Shahdeo.
Reacting sharply onBharat Bandh call by the CAAopponents, BJP State presidentLaxman Gilua said that it is aninsult to India’s Parliamentarysystem. “Such people are play-ing at the behest of theCongress party. It is known toeveryone that this law is not alaw to take citizenship but togive citizenship,” he added.
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The Building ConstructionDepartment has roped in a
New Delhi-based consultancyfirm to prepare a DetailedProject Report (DPR) for con-struction of two State GuestHouses – one in Puri and theother in Mumbai, officials fromthe Department said onWednesday.
As per the private firm,Rudrabhishek EnterprisesLimited’s (REPL) the area ear-marked for the project in
Mumbai is around 12,000square meters and approxi-mately 14,000 square meters inPuri.
The company, however, isyet to demarcate the plot onwhich the guest houses will beconstructed in the two cities,Chief Engineer of BuildingConstruction Department,Arvind Singh said. “The con-struction will begin soon.Within 10 days, we will get anidea about the shape and thesurface area of the land,” headded.
Talking about the project,REPL’s General Manager,Zulquer Nain said, “REPLwill be managing the Stateguest house project right from the design phase to construct ion phase and post construction formali-ties.
Detailed engineering andproject management will beinvolved in execution of theproject, wherein we will bedeveloping design details, bidprocess management, con-struction phase, and approvals
from various departments.”REPL is extensively asso-
ciated with Government ofIndia’s flagship programmessuch as Smart Cities, PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (PMAY),AMRUT at mult iple locations under variouscapacities. The company pro-vides end-to-end solutions tothe clients.
According to the commu-niqué shared by REPL, theguest house will have uniqueand inspiring space to work,rest and do recreational activ-
ities. The campus will alsohave integrated road networkwith pavement and parkingfacility, solar power supply asbackup, water harvesting sys-tem, storm water drainage sys-tem, solid waste disposal sys-tem and many more smartand sustainable facilities, itadded.
“We will ensure quality,safety, timely delivery andsmooth work process of theproject. As a consultant toBuilding ConstructionDepartment, we will provide
optimum solution to designand deliver energy efficientbuildings,” said REPL’s CMD,Pradeep Misra.
REPL has planned anddelivered complex assign-ments of diverse nature such as Residential,Commercial, Group Housingand Integrated Township pro-jects. It has worked on hospi-tals, hotels, recreational facil-ities, water supply, sewerageand sanitation systems,regional plans and masterplans.
Lok Sabha MPs from across theCountry, which was stoppedfrom visiting Burugulikeravillage in Gudri block ofChaibasa, where seven tribalswere killed by pro Pathalgadisupporters, has submitted itsreport to BJP national presidentJP Nadda. The team in theirreport has highlighted aboutthe incident and the “worsen-ing law and order situation” inarea after the incident.
The 10 page report com-prises “Government’s failureto check law and order situa-tion in the area” leading tokilling of seven tribals by proPathalgadi supporters. BJP’sRajya Sabha MP, Samir Oraonand part of the delegation said,“The fact finding team thoughwere stopped by district admin-istration from reaching theincident site, but our localleaders including former MLAGuru Charan Nayak, who werecamping in the area had foundthat government was protect-ing Pro Pathalgadi supporters.”
He also said that with gov-ernment support to Pathalgadimovement gained momentum
as Chief Minister HemantSoren after visiting the incidentsite had said that those whowere killed and those behindthe incident are both our peo-ple. Chief Minister HemantSoren after assuming office inhis first Cabinet announced towithdraw cases against peoplefor taking part in PathalgadiMovement in Khunti in 2018.
The Pathalgadi movementhit the national headlines in2018, after many tribal villagesin Khunti and Simdega areasputting up giant plaques declar-ing their gram sabha as the onlysovereign authority and ban-ning outsiders from their areas.The pathalgadi supportersallegedly abducted and gan-
graped five NGO workers inJune 2018. After the incident,then Raghubar DasGovernment had decided totackle the situation with ironhand against Pathalgadi andtheir leader Yosuf Purty. TheBJP MP claimed that the dele-gation will also meet UnionHome Minister Amit Shahsubmitting the report.
The committee comprisesGujarat MP Jaswant SinghBhabhor, Jharkhand MPSameer Oraon, MaharashtraMP Bharti Pawar, ChhattisgarhMP Gomti Sai, West BengalMP John Barla, formerJharkhand Minister NeelkanthSingh Munda.
The delegation had to visit
Burugulikera village in Gudriblock of Chaibasa, but wherestopped at Sonua-30 km fromincident site. The BJP delega-tion was stopped from visitingthe site as the district admin-istration had clamped pro-hibitory orders.
The BJP delegation, whichwas stopped from visiting thearea next day staged dharnanear Raj Bhavan protestingagainst incident and adminis-trative strictness for not allow-ing the delegation to visit inci-dent site. The BJP delegationwhich sat on dharna compris-es former Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, formerAssembly speaker DineshOraon among others.
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The plot of former ChiefMinister Babulal Marandi’s
party Jharkhand Vikas Morcha(JVM) merger with BJP is finaland it will be executed soon.Sources said that after the endof Delhi Assembly electionsenior leaders from both theparties will announce themerger.
Sources said that to makethe merger of JVM with BJP agrand affair, senior leadersfrom both the parties havedecided to hold a mega func-tion most probably at PrabhatTara ground and will be attend-ed by senior BJP leaders includ-ing OP Mathur, former chiefminister Raghubar Das apartfrom Marandi himself.
Giving pace to merger talksof two parties, JVM chiefBabulal Marandi on Tuesdayleft for Delhi from Ranchi viaKolkatta. Sources said that inDelhi he will meet PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andUnion Home Minister AmitShah. A senior BJP leaderrequesting anonymity said,“The entire plot of merger of
two parties is being looked byOP Mathur. The entire plot isexecuted in such a way thatthere is no technical problem inmerger of two parties.”
Sources said that as it iswin-win situation for both theparties, Marandi first tried toconvince its two MLAs BandhuTirkey and Pradeep Yadav tojoin BJP, but when his legisla-tors refused to join BJP, twoparties decided to go aheadwith their plans leaving Tirkeyand Yadav.
Tirkey was expelled fromparty for anti-party activities ashe was alleged to support
Congress candidate Ajay NathShahdeo contesting from Hatiain Assembly election. Later,another MLA Pradeep Yadavwho was made the JVM partyleader in House was removedfrom post; however, both theleaders have challenged theirexpulsion.
Sources said that Marandiis taking time for merger of hisparty with JVM as he did notwant technical glitches in themerger. Sources said thatMarandi is very much inter-ested to join BJP after he cameto know that two of theseMLAs (Yadav and Tirkey) wereplanning to join Congress.Both Yadav and Tirkey haveopenly opposed the merger ofJVM with BJP.
Sources said that it will bewin-win situation for both BJPand Marandi, as after theAssembly election debacle, BJPhas been looking for a tribalface in Jharkhand with anappeal in Santhal region.Sources said that for Maranditoo it will be rehabilitation forhim as despite all efforts hisparty managed to win onlythree seats.
Singhbhum district on January17 were ‘not even remotely’related to the Pathalgadi move-ment, an independent fact-finding team of the Congressparty has found during its visitto the Burugurikela village.
A six-member team, head-ed by Congress MP GeetaKoda, visited the tribal-domi-nated village on Monday andalso spoke at length with thefamilies of the diseased aboutthe incident.
“Our team found that thekillings were not even remote-ly related to the Pathalgadimovement.
I cannot disclose moredetails about our findings sincewe have not submitted thereport to the JharkhandPradesh Congress Committee(JPCC) yet,” said formerHuman Resource DevelopmentMinister Geetashree Oraon,who was a part of the fact-find-ing team.
Soon after the killings,media reports highlighted thatthe seven deceased men hadallegedly had a tiff with somePathalgadi supporters a daybefore they were killed.
They were reportedlyabducted for protesting thePathalgadi supporters’ demandof surrendering theirGovernment identity and wel-fare cards. The next day, policefound their bodies with theirthroat slit from jungles near thevillage.
The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) has been questioningthe Government’s decision ofwithdrawing sedition chargesleveled against Pathalgadi sup-porters in 2017, claiming thatthe leniency towards Pathalgadisupporters was encouragingsuch crimes in Jharkhand hin-terland.
A BJP team of six MPs,including some from MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh andWest Bengal, were not allowedto enter the Burugurigela vil-lage recently – a developmentthat further intensified theBJP’s attacks on theGovernment for allegedly sav-ing the Pathalgadi supporters.
Some reports also said thatthe People’s Liberation Front of
India (PLFI) – a Left WingExtremist (LWE) group activein Jharkhand – might bebehind the killings. However,the Congress party’s fact-find-ing team also rubbished thereports of PLFI’s involvementin the incident. “There is norole of PLFI in the incident,”Oraon said.
While the police have saidthat personal rivalry could bea reason for the coldbloodedmurders, they are yet to releasean official statement on the rea-son behind the killings. Oraonon Wednesday hinted that per-sonal rivalry could be a triggerfor the attacks. However, sherefused to disclose details aboutthe team’s findings. “We will
submit the report within acouple of days and let everyoneknow about our findings,” shesaid.
The six-member team wasconstituted by JharkhandPradesh Congress Committee(JPCC) president RameshwarOraon on January 24. TheCongress party is a part of theruling coalition Government inJharkhand. It has 16 legislatorsin the 81-member Assemblyand four ministers in theCabinet.
The Pathalgadi movementin Jharkhand, which has its epi-center in Khunti, advocatesthe idea of having liberatedlands in the interiors where theadministration’s interventionswere prohibited.
In 2017, villagers in parts ofKhunti district held Pathalgadi–a practice of demarcating theborders of a village and declar-ing it as liberated land throughwritings on stone plaques – andallegedly prohibited entry ofthe administration in their vil-lages.
Soon after coming topower in the end of 2019,Chief Minister Hemant Sorenannounced that seditioncharges against Pathalgadi sup-porters will be scrapped.
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Afive member inspectionteam from University
Grants Commission (UGC)visited Dr Shyama PrasadMukherjee University(DSPMU) in Ranchi. The two-day inspection was conductedon January 28 and January 29and was done regarding thefinancial assistance grantedunder Section 12 B of theUGC Act.
The inspection teamincluded Professor PP Dhyanifrom Dehradun University,Professor BB Goyal, ProfessorSadanand Shahi, Dr Bhadoriaand UGC Deputy SecretarySatish Kumar.
During its two-day visit,the inspection team visited thevarious departments ofDPSMU. The team filed itsreport on Wednesday, which asper protocol will be opened bythe administration on a fewdays time.
“The 12 B grant of UGC isgenerally given to any univer-sity or college on the basis of itsinfrastructure. Once a varsity
receives this grant then stu-dents who qualify the NEET-National Eligibility andEntrance Test will start receiv-ing the scholarship associatedwith it. Hence, it is very impor-tant for a college or universityto be under Section 12 B of theUGC Act,” said AssistantProfessor Rajesh Kumar Singh,Professor, Department ofHistory cum Public RelationsOfficer DSPMU.
Singh further added that asper UGC there is no grading inthe 12 B Act while the inspec-tion report will clearly statewhether DSPMU is eligible toreceive the grant or not.
“Receiving this grant willalso make the teachers ofDSPMU eligible to do aresearch under UGC,” addedthe official.
The team visited the 29 tra-ditional departments includingsocial science, humanities andscience and also the depart-ments of the vocational cours-es like B.Ed and microbiology.
The labs and boys hostel ofDSPMU were also visited bythe team.
The new building, centrallibrary, canteen and adminis-trative block which are present-ly under construction werealso visited.
Jharkhand will continue towitness cold weather in the
first week of February withminimum temperatures drop-ping across the State by a cou-ple of degrees.
With variations in theweather being witnessed, theresidents need to be extra cau-tious as not everybody has astrong immunity system.
According to theMeteorological Centre, Ranchi,there are some chances thatparts of south east Jharkhandwill receive light to moderateshowers on January 29. Theother parts of the State will con-tinue to remain cloudy but willnot witness any showers.
For the next 48 hours,from January 29 to January 31,there will be a drop in the min-imum temperature across theState by about three to fivedegree Celsius.
“The temperature record-ed in Ranchi on January 29 is14.4 degree Celsius and since itis cloudy the minimum tem-perature on January 30 isexpected to fall by just one ortwo degree Celsius.
However, on January 31the temperature may drop fur-ther to around eight degreeCelsius,” said Deputy Director,MET Centre Ranchi, AbhishekAnand.
As per the weathermen, thenorth westerly wind patternwill again be active towards theend of January across the Statewhich will increase the chillfactor.
From January 30 onwardsmost parts of Jharkhand willhave mist in the early morninghours while parts of southJharkhand will also have fog.
“Both mist and fog causevisibility issues. When the vis-ibility is less than 1 Km it istermed as fog while visibility
between 1 to 2 Kms is knownas mist. Visibility between 2 to3 Kms is called haze whileabove that is termed as nor-mal,” added the official.
Some parts of the State cap-ital witnessed rainfall duringthe early morning hours ofJanuary 29 with the amount ofrainfall being recorded at 3.6mm. Chaibasa recorded themaximum amount of rainfall at27 mm. There are no cold waveconditions recorded.
On February 2, most partsof the State will have cloudyweather conditions but thereare no chances of rainfall any-where.
According to the METCentre, Ranchi from January30 to February 2, the minimumtemperature in Ranchi and itssurrounding areas will bebetween 10 to eight degreeCelsius while the maximumtemperature will be at 24 or 25degree Celsius.
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Asocial policing event washeld at Karso Middle
School, where police distrib-uted 100 blankets, 50 copies,half a kg toffees, dozen pack-ets of biscuits and equal num-ber of sweaters among the stu-dents and locals.
Just a dozen girl studentswere there in the school as theboy students had ran in fear themoment the school teachertold them that police were tocome on Tuesday. DhananjayPathak a teacher said, “Korwatribe students and Yadav com-munity students are enrolled inthe school. The Korwa studentson learning that police are tocome left the school in a greathurry. They still fear police likeanything.”
There were elderly womenonly sitting outside the class-rooms in this programme. Menwere there, who could becounted on fingers only.
RR Shahi circle inspector ofpolice Chainpur said, “We are
your police, not of British time.That British police time hasgone. We are at your service.We are to help you.”
SDPO Sandip KumarGupta asked the gathering iftheir fear of police is due totheir any soft corner for theextremists the gathering didnot respond at all.
Gupta asked them to riseagainst extremism and takehelp from the police.
Karso village is a cut off vil-lage where there is no roadworth the name for 15 Kms outof the stretch of 35 Kms fromDaltonganj. Yadavs and primi-tive tribe group Korwas live here.
Finding no source of cleanwater here Gupta asked thegathering to drink only boiledwater and the gathering heardit with attention. There is nomatriculate Korwa in this vil-lage of more than 500 people.
A young woman whobecame a widow three yearsago told police that she is notcovered under widow pensionscheme as yet.
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The Environment Protectionand Awareness Club of BIT
Mesra will be organising thelargest science exhibition of theeast zone- Jharkhand Scienceand Environment Festival(JSEP’20) on February 1.
More than 500 studentsfrom across the country will beparticipating in various eventslike quiz competitions, exhibi-tions and also an event namedAd- sense.
The main objective of theevent is to propagate environ-ment friendly practices, con-template over the recent climatecrisis and also ponder overideas of clean and affordableenergy. JSEF’20 is going to bea take on the pervasive evilsrelated to the environment andthe climate. Issues like what ifthe advancements of technol-ogy do more harm than goodwill also be debated upon.
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The Giridih Police arrestedone hardcore criminal on
Wednesday from nearNainpodwa bridge located inManikpur forest area of thetown. Stating this here at a pressconference on Saturday,Khorimahua SDPO NavinKumar Singh said the criminalswere planning to loot. Whenone of them was arrest follow-ing a tip-off. Earlier they havelooted several motorcycles rid-ers.
A police team headed byKhorimahua SDPO and
Inspector Gawa circle P.Leyangiand others police official arrest-ed one the seven criminalsidentified as Ravi Ranjan Yadav(22) and seized one motorcy-cle and arms and other incrim-inating documents from hispossession.
The SP said in course ofinterrogation, the arrestedcriminal admitted that he andhis colleagues,they wereinvolved in major crimes whichincluded road dacoities in sev-eral areas of Giridih and severalmajor dacoities in differentdistricts of Bihar and Giridihdistrict in Jharkhand.
cation of 30 per cent funds ofthe North Eastern Council(NEC) for new projects forfocused development ofdeprived areas and neglectedsections of society.
As per the plans, allocationof 30 per cent of NEC fundswill be for new projects underthe existing ‘Schemes of NorthEastern Council’ for focuseddevelopment of deprived areas;deprived or neglected sectionsof society and emerging priority sectors in theNortheastern States.
The Cabinet meetingchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi decides to pro-vide the balance allocationshall be bifurcated in the exist-ing two components — Statecomponent-60 per cent and
central component-40 per cent.There will be a revision of theNorth Eastern Council (NEC)guidelines for simplificationof appraisal and approvalmechanism.
Projects will be allowedunder State component, up to25 per cent of each State’s nor-mative allocation, for sectorsnot covered in the mandate ofNEC, but which are consideredimportant as per local feltneeds as per the recommen-dations of the StateGovernments.
Briefing media, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid the the projects under theexisting “Schemes of NEC”will accrue socio-economicbenefits to the marginalisedand vulnerable groups of peo-ple in backward and neglectedareas of the Northeastern states.It will lead to faster decision-making and quick implemen-tation of projects, he said.
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The National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB) on
Wednesday launched a portalenabling people to search formissing persons and checkpolice records of any vehicle andgenerate a no-objection certifi-cate (NOC) for it from a coun-trywide database.
The citizen-centric serviceshave been launched on the Crimeand Criminal Tracking Networkand Systems (CCTNS) platformand can be accessed on -”http://digitalpolicecitizenser-vices.Gov.In”digitalpoliceciti-zenservices.Gov.In portal orthrough a link in the existing‘Digital Police Portal’, an officialstatement said.
“So far, such services arebeing provided through the state
citizen portals and it is the firsttime that these are being launchedcentrally,” it said. IntelligenceBureau Director Arvind Kumar presided over the launchceremony.
“The two citizen servicesnamely ‘Missing Person Search’and ‘Generate Vehicle NOC’ willnow be available online to citi-zens,” NCRB Director Ram Phal
Pawar said. “Citizens can searchfor their missing kin against thenational database of recoveredunidentified found person orunidentified dead bodies fromtheir homes. This will hugelybenefit relatives of missing personsand save them from running pil-lar to post, as all such detailsincluding photos are available inCCTNS and will now be accessi-
ble to citizens through this portalat their convenience,” he said.
On the ‘Generate VehicleNOC’ service, the NCRB directorsaid it allows citizens to ascertain
the status of a vehicle before itssecond hand purchase, as towhether it is suspicious or cleanfrom police records. “This searchcould be made against nationaldatabase based on vehicle’s details,one can generate and downloadthe relevant NOC, required by theRTO before the transfer of own-ership,” Pawar said, according tothe statement.
IB Director Arvind Kumaralso inaugurated the Cyber Tiplinemonitoring facility in the NCRB.Cyber Tipline is centralisedreporting system for the onlineexploitation including traffickingand sexual, of children. “Theintersection between crime andtechnology is more apparent todaythan ever before. Digital tech-nologies and the internet have notonly spurred cybercrimes but alsomade them much more sophisti-cated,” Kumar said.
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In the midst of poll frenzy inthe national Capital, the BJP
on Wednesday had a prizedjoining as former world num-ber one badminton playerSaina Nehwal joined the saffronparty hailing Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as an “inspira-tion” with his “hard work” forthe country.
The BJP may deploy the“youth icon” in the ongoingDelhi election campaign, espe-cially to reach out to the mil-lennial voters and youngsters.
The 29-year-old bad-minton poster girl, who joinedthe BJP along with her elder sis-ter Chandranshu at a ceremo-ny at its headquarters here, said,“I am a hard-working personand like hard-working people.Narendra Modi sir has beenworking day and night for thecountry. If I can do somethingfor the country with him, it willbe my good fortune. I draw a
lot of inspiration from Modi sir.He inspires me,” she said.
Ahead of the 2019 LokSabha polls, while the BJP hadseen the likes of cricketerGautam Gambhir joining theparty and going on to win fromthe East Delhi parliamentaryconstituency, it saw hockeyplayers like Sandeep Singh andwrestler Babita Phogat join it totake the plunge in HaryanaAssembly polls.
Nehwal has been vocal onTwitter in her support for theUnion government’s policies.She said the BJP has beendoing “a lot of good”, and shewould work to do her bit as itsmember. Nehwal is the firstIndian badminton player tohave won an Olympic medal, afeat she achieved in the 2012London games where she wasa bronze medallist. ThePadma and Arjuna awardee,
who later met BJP president JP Nadda, also referred to thegovernment’s ‘Khelo India’ ini-tiative and praised it.
BJP general secretary ArunSingh told reporters that Sainahas brought glory to the coun-try with her 24 internationaltitles, including gold in theCommonwealth Games, andthe people of India are “proud”of her. “She is an inspirationalfigure,” he added.
The shuttler’s mother, UshaRani, said, “I am very happy.Saina was doing well in sportsand she will do well in politicsalso. BJP is doing good for thecountry, Saina is very hard-working and will work hard inthis field as well.”
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Aday after US PresidentDonald Trump unveiled his
Middle East peace plan to solvethe long standing Israel-Palestine conflict, India onWednesday reaffirmed its call fora two-state solution and askedboth sides to resolve all issuesthrough direct negotiations.
Asserting that New Delhihas been consistently support-ive of the Palestine cause,Ministry of External AffairsSpokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid here India has called for atwo-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
“We reiterate our view thatthe final status issues should beresolved through direct nego-tiations between the two par-ties and be acceptable to both.We urge the parties to engagewith each other, including onthe recent proposals put for-ward by the United States, andfind an acceptable two-statesolution for peaceful coexis-
tence,” Kumar said in responseto response to a question on theIsrael-Palestine issue. He alsosaid India will continue to fol-low developments in the regionand engage with the partiesconcerned.
Trump on Tuesday saidJerusalem “will remain Israel’sundivided capital” as heunveiled his Middle East peaceplan aimed at solving theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict,describing it as “historic” anda “giant step” towards peace.
Standing along with IsraelPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu in the White House,Trump proposed a “realistic”two-state solution to solve oneof the world’s longest-runningconflicts, saying it would bringlasting peace in the Middle East.
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Representatives of the con-troversial outfit Popular
Front of India (PFI) and NGORehab India Foundation onWednesday met EnforcementDirectorate (ED) officials toseek more time for its officebearers to appear before theagency for questioning in con-nection with a money launder-ing probe against them.
Four officials, includinglegal representatives, of the twooutfits met ED officials at anagency office here onWednesday.
The ED is probing PFI andNGO Rehab India Foundationunder criminal provisions ofthe Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) aspart of a case registered in 2018.
A recent ED report hasclaimed that violent protests inUttar Pradesh and other partsof the country against theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) had an alleged “financiallink” with the PFI. This aspectis also under the scanner of theED along with some purport-ed dubious deposits in thebank accounts linked to theRehab India Foundation (RIF).
The agency had issuedsummons to seven office-bear-
ers of the two outfits onTuesday in connection thealleged funding for the anti-CAA protests.
Those summoned by theagency include PFI and RehabIndia Foundation (RIF)Chairman E Abubacker, PFIvice-chairman O M AbdulSalam, General Secretary MMohammed Ali Jinnah andnational secretaries AnisAhmed and Abdul Wahid Sait.
Similar summonses werealso sent to RIF general secre-tary Remiz Muhammed andsecretary A Chandrankandy.
The agency may issue afresh date for Abubacker’sappearance before it. The otheroffice bearers are scheduled toappear before the investigatingofficer of the case next week,officials said.
Officials said the agency isalso probing remittances andwithdrawal of funds from ninebank accounts of RFI apartfrom a deposit of �20 lakh fromDubai in its accounts.
At least Rs 1.04 crore wasdeposited in several bankaccounts linked to the PFIbetween December 4 last yearand January 6 in various partsof the country, sources said,adding this was the time whenParliament cleared the passage
of CAA. A total amount of �120
crore, credited at varied timesinto the bank accounts linkedto the PFI, RFI and few others,is under the scanner of theagency, sources said.
“The Popular Front ofIndia has stated it multipletimes that we fully complywith the law of the land and theallegation of �120 crore trans-ferred from the Popular Front’saccounts just before the CAAprotests is totally baseless andthe people who are levellingthese allegations should provethese claims,” the organisationhad said in a statement issuedon Monday.
The ED took cognizance ofa National Investigation Agency(NIA) FIR and charge sheetagainst the PFI to file thePMLA case against the outfit in2018.
The ED is probing the PFI’salleged role with respect tosuspected terror-funding andpossible creation of assets byusing suspected “proceeds ofcrime.”
The PFI was formed inNovember, 2006 in Kerala andis suspected to have subse-quently shifted its headquartersto Shaheen Bagh in the nation-al capital.
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Alleging that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has violat-
ed the poll code by addressingan NCC rally a day before, theCongress on Wednesday urgedthe Election Commission totake note of it even as it raisedquestions over the credibility ofthe poll panel.
Congress leader PrithvirajChavan said it does not behovethe prime minister to makesuch remarks to impressionableminds while addressing theNCC rally on Tuesday here.
“We have got serious ques-tions about the impartiality of
the Election Commission,”Chavan told reporters.
On two BJP leaders whohave been removed by theElection Commission from thelist of star campaigners, he said,whatever BJP does, it is for thepoll panel to take it up with theBJP leadership but we would liketo raise the issue of PM’s speechat the NCC rally.
“Election (campaign) isgoing on in Delhi and the
prime minister’s speech in theNCC rally, particularly to theyoung minds, I deplore thatwholly and I request theElection Commission to take itup seriously. Just because he isthe prime minister, he shouldnot violate the rules. He cannotviolate the guidelines of theElection Commission,” he said.
Addressing the AnnualPrime Minister’s NationalCadet Corps (NCC) Rally2020, Modi had on Tuesdaysaid his government brought inthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act to correct “historical” injus-tices and recalled the Nehru-Liaquat pact to assert that thelaw fulfils India’s “old promise”to religious minorities in neigh-bouring countries.
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The Congress on Wednesdayasked the Government to
announce a national farm loanwaiver in the upcoming UnionBudget and spell out measuresto ensure that farmers’ incomedoubles by 2022.
Congress leader PrithvirajChavan demanded reduction inGST rates on agriculture inputsto less than 5 per cent and saidthe Government shouldannounce measures like uni-versal basic income to put moremoney in the hands of farmersand the poor so that their con-sumption increases.
He demanded that theGovernment bring petrol anddiesel under the GST regime asit would help provide relief tothe farmers, who have beenpaying higher rates, and said the
Centre had earned over �13.5lakh crore by way of taxes onpetroleum products.
He said the Governmentmust tell how much has farm-ers’ income increased in the lastfive years under it, as part of itspromise of doubling farmers’
income by 2022. “We want toknow, as we are aware thatnothing has happened so far.The budget should also providea detailed outline of how todouble farmers’ income by 2022and what steps have beentaken,” Chavan said at AICC
Press conference. Chavan said the
Government should announcea national farm loan waiver onthe lines of the previous UPAGovernment’s step undertakenin 2008 to benefit 14 crorefarmer families in the country.
“We demand that theGovernment should put moremoney in the hands of 95 percent poor who live in rural areasand help improve consumptionthrough schemes like MNRE-GA. The Government shouldalso bring a universal basicincome scheme to ensure thatthere is direct benefit to peopleand money should go into theiraccounts directly to helpimprove consumption levels,”he said.
Chavan, a former ChiefMinister of Maharashtra, saidfor farmers’ income to doubleby 2022 the agriculture sectorhas to grow by at least 12 percent compounded annually.But, under the ModiGovernment the agriculturesector has seen a growth of only2.9 per cent in the last five years,he noted, wondering how thiswill double farm incomes.
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Newly appointed ForeignSecretary Harsh Vardhan
Shringla, who assumed chargeon Wednesday, said hereForeign Service is a public ser-vice and its every effort shouldbe dedicated to contributingtowards the nation in the formof security and prosperitythrough external engagements.
Shringla, who was India’senvoy to the US before assum-ing the new responsibility, willget a fixed two-year term asForeign Secretary. He suc-ceeded Vijay Gokhale follow-ing his retirement.
Shringla is taking charge ata time of the high-profile postat a time when India is facinga plethora of foreign policychallenges including rampingup of diplomatic outreach inthe wake of criticism by somecountries and global institu-tions of the new CitizenshipAmendment Act(CAA). Indiais also facing an increasinglyassertive Trump administrationand China’s attempt to expandits military and economic influ-ence in the region.
Speaking to reportersahead of taking the charge,Shringla, a 1984-batch officerof the Indian Foreign Service(IFS), said “I am as committedto the ministry’s role in nation-building as I was almost 36years ago when I entered these
portals as a young profession-al. I look forward to function-ing under the guidance of thePrime Minister (NarendraModi) and the External AffairsMinister (S Jaishankar), ourpolitical leadership and withthe support and cooperation ofmy colleagues both within theministry and outside,” the 57-year-old diplomat said.
The Government did notfollow the seniority principle inappointing Shringla to the toppost. Indian HighCommissioner to the UKRuchi Ghanshyam, a 1982-batch IFS officer, was also incontention for the post.
Shringla had played animportant role in successfulhosting of the “Howdy Modi”event in Houston in Septemberwhere US President DonaldTrump and Prime MinisterModi jointly addressed theIndian Diaspora.
“I am conscious of the factthat I am stepping into theshoes of my illustrious stalwartsand seniors who have upheldthe highest standards of pro-fessionalism and integrity totheir work. In this context mytwo immediate predecessorscome to mind — ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale whoset impeccably high standards,and Dr Jaishankar who weknow is one of the leadingauthorities on foreign policy inIndia and anywhere in theworld,” Shringla said.
New Delhi: The SupremeCourt has set aside the direc-tion of National GreenTribunal ordering status quoon construction of a housingcomplex adjacent to the DelhiUniversity campus.
Applying the“Precautionary Principle” ofenvironmental law, the NGT onJanuary 8 had ordered the sta-tus quo and said that evaluationof relevant data was required bya joint Committee comprisingrepresentatives of the CentralPollution Control Board,Ministry of Environment andForests and IIT Delhi.
A Bench, comprisingJustices R Banumathi and A SBopanna, said on Tuesday thatwhen the counter affidavitalong with the documents wasavailable on record, a detailedconsideration was necessaryby the tribunal. PTI
$,"7����'����'���������������������������8�� )'������(1���������� �New Delhi: The CentralInformation Commission(CIC) on Wednesday said anArmy Welfare HousingOrganisation (AWHO) offi-cial not providing informa-tion on sale of flats in Noidacasts a “rather murky shadowon the affairs of the organi-sation” and referred the mat-ter to the Army Chief.
The transparency panelmade the comments whilehearing an RTI applicant’s pleaseeking information from theArmy Headquarters on sale offlats of a defaulter privatebuilder’s project at Noida’sSector 143 to Army personnelas advertised by the AWHO inFebruary 2018. AWHOSecretary Colonel Abhisheksaid he would not be sharingthe information under the RTIwith the Army Headquarterseven after the CIC’s orders. PTI
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Anti-CAA movementclaimed more lives in
Bengal when two persons werekilled and at least three otherswere seriously injured afteralleged Trinamool Congresssupporters opened fire andhurled bombs at Congress andLeft workers backing a bandhat Jalangi area of Murshidabaddistrict bordering Bangladesh,sources said.
Congress leader inParliament Adhir Chowdhurywho is also an MP fromMurshidabad accused theTrinamool Congress saying thelocal leaders of the Bengal rul-ing outfit were under instruc-tions from the higher leadership to thwart anti-CAAmovement by other Oppositionparties.
“The local TMC leadersorganised the attack when thepeople of Jalangi were observ-ing a bandh in protest againstCAA,” Chowdhury said questioning the true face ofMamata Banerjee’s movementagainst CAA.
A local villager said TMC’sJalangi Block PresidentTahiruddin opened fire at theprotesters, killing two peopleand injuring several others.The two deceased have beenidentified as Maqbool Sheikh
and Anirudh Biswas.“The police did not inter-
vene despite repeated requestsfrom the villagers when we sawTMC goons assembling withdeadly weapons,” ShahrulBiswas, son of one of thedeceased.
“Today, a strike was calledin protest against CAA-NRC.
While my father was returning,a few motor vans came and theJalangi Block President of TMC Tahiruddin started firing randomly.
Police were present therebut did not do anything to stopit,” Biswas said.
While local TMC MP AbuTaher denied that his party was
involved in the clash CPI(M)’sMd Salim said “today’s attackonly proves how the MamataBanerjee does not walk the talk.She says something and doessomething else.
The TMC similarly tried tospoil the bandh called by theLeft and the Congress againstCAA and NRC last year, he
said, adding “this proves thatModi and Didi are not onlyfriends in need but also friendsin deed.”
State BJP president DilipGhosh said “the way the TMCmen opened fire and hurledbombs only proves that theparty belongs to anti-socialelements.”
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The Bharat Bandh called byseveral organisations
against the CAA and the pro-posed nationwide NRC onWednesday evoked mixedresponse in Bihar.
Leaders of various politicalparties hit the streets in theState capital which was, byand large, unaffected by thebandh with shops and officesremaining open.
Roads in Patna witnessedmajor traffic snarls due todemonstrations staged by lead-ers of parties such as formerChief Minister Jitan RamManjhi’s HAM, former Union minister UpendraKushwaha’s RLSP, muscleman-turned-politician PappuYadav’s Jan Adhikar Party andthe Left.
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A‘Bharat bandh’ called bysome organisations against
the Citizenship (Amendment)Act and proposed NRC saw a clash between two groupsin Maharashtra’s Dhule onWednesday, besides incidents ofstone-pelting in a few districtsand a train blockade in Mumbai.
There were no reports ofanyone getting injured duringthe sporadic violence. In northMaharashtra’s Dhule district,two groups clashed during a rallyagainst the CAA and theNational Register of Citizens(NRC). The incident took placeon Hundred Feet Road inChalisgaon Road police stationlimits during the rally where alarge number of Muslims werepresent. A group from the Hinducommunity gathered at the spotand started shouting slogans insupport of the CAA and NRC,which was followed by a clashand stone-pelting from bothsides, a police officer said.
To disperse the mob, policefired four rounds in the air andlobbed six teargas shells andbrought the situation undercontrol, he said.
There were `Rail Roko’(blockade on railway tracks) atBalapur in Akola district andincidents of stone-pelting in
Washim and Yavatmal districts,the police said.
At Yavatmal, police usedbaton-charge to disperse themob after two groups clashed.
In Aurangabad district, acivic-run bus was pelted withstones at Harsul while a statetransport bus was attacked nearHimayatbag.
In Palghar near Mumbai,protesters tried to block theMumbai-Ahmedabad highwaynear Vasai.
In Thane district, impact ofthe shut-down call was feltmainly in Bhiwandi, Mumbraand Ulhasnagar.
Multiple organisations,including Bahujan KrantiMorcha, had called for BharatBandh in protest against therecently passed CAA and theproposed NRC. In Mumbai,the country’s financial capital, atleast 47 protesters were arrestedduring a Rail Roko at suburbanKanjurmarg railway station.
At least 100 protesters gath-ered on the tracks around 8 inthe morning, affecting suburbanservices of the Central Railwaybriefly, the Government RailwayPolice said. Shops and officesremained closed in Muslim-dominated areas in Dongri,Byculla, Nagpada, Mahim,Bandra-Behrampada, Kurla PipeRoad, Kasaiwada, Andheri,Jogeshwari, Malad-Malwani andVikhroli in Mumbai city, thepolice said.
The Bandh call failed toevoke much response in Pune
city, barring few areas in the citywhere shops remained shut. Atleast 315 persons were detainedfor holding protests in areas suchas Sarasbaug, Swargate, GolibarMaidan, Chandan Nagar,Yerwada, Kondhwa, Wanwadi,Deccan and Khadak.
Public transport remainedunaffected and schools and col-leges remained open. In PuneCamp, Kondhwa and BhavaniPeth, some shops and com-mercial establishments downedtheir shutters.
In Pune district, the bandhreceived good response inBaramati, Indapur and Daundtehsils as shops, markets andcommercial establishmentsremained closed. “There was noreport of any untoward inci-dent,” said Sandip Patil,Superintendent of Police, Punerural. In Solapur in westernMaharashtra, the Bandhreceived a lukewarm responsewith shops remaining shut onlyin few areas of the city.
At Walsang in Solapur dis-trict, a group of protesters triedto disrupt a weekly vegetablemarket, but relented after localtraders and police informedthem that veggies come for salefrom far-off places.
In Miraj town in Sangli dis-trict, an auto-rickshaw was van-dalised after its driver refused totake part in the bandh. “We havedetained two persons,” a localpolice officer said. The Bandhcall received no response inKolhapur and Satara districts.
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Amid a high voltage protestand boycott by the
Opposition Congress-led UDF,Kerala Governor ArifMohammed Khan onWednesday presented his poli-cy address in the assembly andread out references to anti-CAAresolution passed by the house,despite disagreeing with it.
Reading out the the anti-CAA stand of the StateGovernment, the Governorsaid “our citizenship can neverbe on the basis of religion as thisgoes against the grain of secu-larism which is part of the basicstructure of our constitution.”
Referring to the unani-mous anti-CAA resolutionpassed by the Assembly, Khan,who has been at loggerheadswith the State Government formoving the Supreme courtagainst the law and the resolu-tion against it, said theGovernment believes the Act“goes against the cardinal prin-ciples” underlying theConstitution.
“Strong states and strongcentre are pillars of our feder-alism. The voices of genuineapprehension of the states needto be considered by the centralGovernment in the right spir-it keeping broad national inter-est in mind, particularly whenconstitutional values areinvolved and there are wide-spread anxieties and appre-hensions among a large num-ber of our citizenry,” he said.
It’s learnt that the Governordecided to read out the refer-ence to the state’s anti-CAAstance after a letter was sent byVijayan this morning, in whichthe Chief Minister had request-ed Khan to read the policyaddress “in its entirety sansany additions or deletions.”
“Since the constitutionalfunction under Art 176 is exer-cised with the aid and advise ofthe council of ministers, it isrequested that the addressapproved by the council of
ministers be read in its entire-ty sans any additions or dele-tions”, the letter stated.
The day also saw anunprecedented protest by theUDF members, who also boy-cotted the policy address.
As the Governor was beingushered into the Assembly hallby Speaker P Sreeramakrishnanand Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan, UDF members,blocked Khan, raised “Go Back”slogans holding aloft “RepealCAA” and “Recall Governor”placards and banners.
Speaker was seen repeat-edly trying to pacify the agi-tating MLAs but in vain, afterwhich the watch and wardpersonnel, who stood as a wallprotecting the Governor,
cleared his path to the dais.In his policy address, Khan
said though he had his “reser-vations and disagreement” overthe subject, he would read thepara 18 containing reference toanti-CAA matter, just to “hon-our” the wish of the ChiefMinister. When Khan beganhis policy address, the opposi-tion members trooped out ofthe assembly hall raising slo-gans and staged a sit in protestat the gate of the Assembly.
“This august body (KeralaAssembly) unanimously passeda resolution requesting theCentral Government to abro-gate the CAA 2019 which mygovernment believes goesagainst the cardinal principlesunderlying our Constitution,”
he said.The Government has also
filed a petition in the supremecourt invoking Article 131 ofthe constitution, Governor said.As he was leaving the assembly,reporters asked him about theunprecedented protest faced byhim, to which the Governorquipped that he had facedworst protests than this.
Meanwhile, taken by sur-prise over the governor’s moveto read out Anti CAA referencein his address, Leader ofOpposition, RameshChennithala, who protestedalong with his front MLAs, toldmedia that the StateGovernment and the Governorhad come to a “truce”.
“The double stand of theChief Minister has beenexposed now. The CM beggedthe Governor to read the pol-icy address in full. Why is theCM silent on the Governorwho has insulted the people ofKerala? This is a ploy to escapefrom the Lavlin case which maycome up soon,” Chennithalaalleged. The Top Court hasbeen hearings a batch of peti-tions challenging the KeralaHigh Court’s 2018 order dis-charging Vijayan, the thenState Electricity Minister, andothers in an alleged graft caseinvolving an award of contractto a Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin for the renovation andmodernisation of threeHydroelectric projects in 1997.
Expressing solidarity withthe Governor, BJP’s Kerala unittook out a march to theAssembly complex. Attackingthe UDF, former BJP President,Kummanam Rajashekharanasked, “who gave authority toCongress to stop theGovernor?..” “By blocking theGovernor, the UDF has insult-ed the people of Kerala,” he said.
Khan had made it clearthat he was not a “rubberstamp” and it was “improper”that he was not informed by theGovernment before movingthe apex court.
The ‘Bharat Bandh’ called byseveral organizations,
including the Bahujan MuktiMorcha, the Bhim Army andthe Purvanchal Sena, to protestagainst the new citizenshiplaw and the NRC onWednesday witnessed a luke-warm response in the UttarPradesh capital.
In Muslim-dominated oldcity, traders downed shuttersover the CAA and the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC). Butthere was no impact of the shut-down call in other areas likeHazratganj and Gomti Nagar.
Police said no untowardincident was reported any-where in the city. In Deoria,
former Rajya Sabha MP AasMohammad and his wife weredetained by police near theSalempur area when they wereheading towards SubhashChowk to register their protestagainst the CAA and the NRC.
When information aboutthe detention of Mohammad
and his wife spread, localsrushed to the Kotwali police sta-tion demanding their release.
In Gorakhpur, the responseto the bandh call was seen in afew areas.
India is among the top 30countries at “high-risk” from
the spread of the deadly coro-navirus, according to a studybased on the number of airtravellers predicted to arrive inthe countries from the worstaffected cities in China.
Thailand tops the list ofmost “at risk” countries orregions worldwide followed byJapan, and Hong Kong. The USis 6th on the list, Australia 10th,the UK 17th and India 23rd,researchers from the Universityof Southampton in the UK said.
The University’s WorldPopteam, Bangkok, Thailand, hadcompiled a list of cities andcountries they believe are athigh risk from the 2019 novelcoronavirus (2019-nCoV) —which has killed over 132 peo-ple so far, and infected thou-sands.
It said Thailand is currentlythe city most at risk from aglobal spread of the virus.Hong Kong is second on thelist, followed by Taipei inTaiwan. Sydney, New York andLondon are among the top 20other major international citiesranked in the research.
Within mainland China,the cities of Beijing,Guangzhou, Shanghai andChongqing are all identified ashigh-risk by the researchers,along with the Chineseprovinces of Guangdong,Zhejiang, Sichuan and Henan.
“It’s vital that we under-stand patterns of populationmovement, both within Chinaand globally, in order to assesshow this new virus mightspread — domestically andinternationally,” said AndrewTatem, a professor at theUniversity of Southampton.
“By mapping these trendsand identifying high-risk areas,
we can help inform publichealth interventions, such asscreenings and healthcare pre-paredness,” Tatem said.
The team usedanonymised mobile phone andIP address data — which helpsto identify devices — alongwith international air traveldata to understand typical pat-terns of movement of peoplewithin China, and worldwide,during the annual 40-dayLunar New Year celebrations.
The team, includingresearchers from the Universityof Toronto in Canada, and theChina Centre for DiseaseControl and Prevention, wasthen able to rank the top 30most at-risk countries andcities around the world.
The researchers acknowl-edge that their analysis is basedon ‘non-outbreak’ travel pat-terns, but highlight that a high proportion of peopletravelled with symptoms at anearly stage of the outbreak,before restrictions were put in place.
facility or appropriate testingkits to detect the dreadful novelcoronavirus, which originatedin the Wuhan province ofChina and has been spreadingin certain parts of the world.All that the state does now is tosend samples of swabs of sus-pected carriers of the virus tothe National Institute ofVirology (NIV) in Pune.
Health authorities inTelangana, however, said onWednesday they had identifiedand set aside 100 isolationbeds in three public health care
facilities here.State Health Minister Etela
Rajender, who reviewed thepreparedness of state agenciesand resources available formanagement of coronavirus,again urged the general public not to believe inrumours or get carried away byfake news on coronavirus beingcirculated on various socialmedia platforms.
The Minister said that theState Government had takensteps to screen people whomight have been exposed to thevirus so as to prevent its spreadin the State. He requested theCentre to provide kits thatwould enable the State
Government to conduct thenecessary tests to detect casesin Hyderabad itself.
At present, samples takenin Hyderabad are being sent tothe National Institute ofVirology (NIV) in Pune.
Stating that many studentsfrom Telangana were pursuingmedical courses in China’sWuhan province, which was atthe centre of the outbreak,Rajender said that they werebeing screened on arrival at theRajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport (RGIA) here.
A special officer, Dr VijayKumar, has been appointed tooversee arrangements inTelangana.
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From global aviation andautomaker companies to
Starbucks and Apple, thealarmed industrial world onWednesday scrambled to stoptravel to China while closing cer-tain operations as the number ofconfirmed Novel Coronaviruscases jumped to 5,974 — sur-passing the 5,327 cases in main-land China during the SARSoutbreak in 2002-2003.
The death toll climbed to132 — still lower than 348 peo-ple who died owing to SARS inChina but the greater threatloom as nonone has answers tohow severe the 2019-nCoVoutbreak is.
Warning of an upcomingfinancial hit from the Chinavirus outbreak, Starbucksclosed nearly 2,000 restaurantsout of 4,292 stores it operatesin the country.
British Airways (BA) sus-pended all direct flights to andfrom mainland China becauseof the coronavirus outbreak,reports the BBC. BA operatesdaily routes to Beijing andShanghai from London’sHeathrow airport.
Several other airlines likeUnited Airlines, Air Canadaand Cathay Pacific Airwayshave already cancelled someflights to China.
According to The New YorkTimes, automakers Ford andToyota said they would idlesome of their vast Chineseassembly plants.
Ford and Renault wouldonly resume production attheir China factories afterextended breaks for theChinese New Year holiday.
Facebook and other high-profile US firms havealso told their employees not totravel to China.
Apple which has a strongChina base in both manufac-turing and retail segments,said that the company hasclosed one of its retail storesand has restricted employees’business travel to the country.
While McDonald’s hassuspended business in fivecities in the affected Hubeiprovince while the owner ofKFC and Pizza Hut has closedoutlets in Wuhan. Disney hasclosed its Shanghai and HongKong resorts, according tomultiple media reports.
New Delhi: The Union AYUSH Ministry onWednesday issued an advisory for coronavirus,“based on the Indian traditional medicine prac-tices Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani” and rec-ommended that homeopathic and unani medi-cine could be effective in the prevention of novelcoronavirus infections.
It also mentioned some Ayurvedic practiceswhich can help recess symptoms of respiratory tractin possible virus infected cases. The Ministry hasrecommended that homoeopathic medicineArsenicum album 30 could be taken empty stom-ach daily for three days as a preventive medicineagainst the infection. Advisory listed several“Preventive Management Steps” as per ayurvedicpractices, and several “Unani Medicines useful insymptomatic management of coronavirus infection”.
The advisory suggests general hygienic mea-sures for prevention of air-borne infections suchas washing hands often with soap and water forat least 20 seconds, avoiding touching eyes, noseand mouth with unwashed hands, and avoidingclose contact with people who are sick. The min-istry has advised covering face while coughing orsneezing and preferably using an N95 mask whiletravelling or working in public places to avoiddroplet transmissions. It also recommended pro-phylactic measures/immunomodulatory drugs asper Ayurvedic practices and taking measures tostrengthen the immune system through a healthydiet and lifestyle practices. PNS
Mumbai: Ten persons areunder observation at hospitalsin Mumbai, Pune and Nandedfor possible exposure to novelcoronavirus while there is noconfirmed case of the infectionin the State, MaharashtraHealth Minister Rajesh Topesaid on Wednesday.
As many as 4,600 passen-gers have been screened at theChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport heresince January 19. A total of 27persons are under observationin the State, he said.
As a precautionary mea-sure, ten of them have beenquarantined -- six at KasturbaHospital in Mumbai, three atPune’s Naidu Hospital andanother at a hospital inNanded, he said.
IN KERALA: 806 PEOPLEUNDER OBSERVATION,
10 IN ISOLATION WARDSThiruvananthapuram: At
least 806 people who returnedfrom China over the past fewdays are under observation inKerala for possible exposure tothe novel coronavirus, Healthofficials said on Wednesday.
Out of the total of 806 peo-ple, 173 had arrived in the Stateon Wednesday. While ten ofthem are under observation inisolation wards at various hos-pitals across the State, theremaining are under homequarantine.
IN MANIPUR: WOMANKEPT UNDER WATCH
Imphal: A Manipuriwoman, who recently visited aSouth East Asian country, hasbeen kept under observation at
her residence by personnel ofthe State Health Services, aftershe developed symptoms “sim-ilar” to those caused by thedeadly coronavirus. She hasmild fever and running nosesince Monday, an official said,adding the woman is beingtreated at her home in ImphalWest district.
IN GUJARAT: NO CASE SO FAR, AIRPORT
SCREENING IN PLACEAhmedabad: The Gujarat
Government has put in place ascreening facility atAhmedabad airport to detectpossible cases of coronavirusand also set up an isolationward in a civil hospital here totreat patients suspected of con-tracting the infection, officialssaid on Wednesday. The StateGovernment said it has stepped
up efforts to bring back stu-dents from Gujarat, who arecurrently studying in China,following their appeal to theauthorities to evacuate them atthe earliest.
IN ARUNACHAL: TAKESSTEP TO CHECK
POSSIBLE OUTBREAKVIA BORDER HAATItanagar: The authorities
have issued an advisory to theChanglang district adminis-tration asking it for takingpreventive measures to stop thepossible spread of coronavirusthrough goods on sale at a bor-der haat. The focus is on thePangsau Pass Border Haat in Changlang district,which is close to Myanmar aswell as southern China, as the deadly virus could bespread through goods sold to
Indian customers.
IN RAJASTHAN: MANWITH SYMPTOMS TESTSNEGATIVE, 18 OTHERS
TOO FINEJaipur: A man, who was
found with symptoms of coro-navirus here, tested negativeand 18 other suspects inRajasthan were also in goodhealth, Additional ChiefSecretary (Medical and Health)Rohit Kumar Singh said onWednesday. Blood sample ofthe man, who was admitted tothe Isolation Ward of the SMSHospital, was sent to theNational Institute of Virologyin Pune for examination, hesaid, adding that the secondsample would be taken accord-ing to the prescribed norms.
IN KARNATAKA: FOURCHINESE NATIONALS
QUARANTINED INBENGALURU
Bengaluru: The KarnatakaFamily Health and WelfareDepartment has quarantinedfour Chinese nationals in thecity, as part of coronaviruspreventive measures, an officialsaid on Wednesday. “Doctorsare visiting the Chinese nation-als every day, currently lodgedin a hotel. They are underobservation,” the department’sCommunicable Diseases wingjoint director, BT PrakashKumar told IANS. In additionto the Chinese, the doctors arealso observing two moreBengalureans.
IN TAMIL NADU: STATETO MONITOR
PASSENGERS FROMCHINA FOR 28 DAYSChennai: The Tamil Nadu
Government will monitor thehealth condition of thosereturning from China for 28days to see whether they areaffected by Coronavirus, said asenior official in Directorate ofPublic Health and PreventiveMedicine. He said passengerscoming from Chine and land-ing in Chennai, Madurai,Coimbatore and Trichy air-ports are monitored and theirdetails are being collected.
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India’s controversial Defence MinisterVK Krishna Menon was recently in thenews, courtesy a well-researched book,which did not elaborate enough on theimplications for the country on account
of having a wrong person at the wrong placeand at the wrong time. Menon was one of thestrangest characters, who appeared on thepolitical scene after independence. PKBanerjee, the Indian chargé d’affaires inBeijing in 1962, who often encountered thehaughty politician, wrote in his memoir:“Krishna Menon’s appearance in the Indianpolitical arena was as sudden as it was unex-pected... he had his education and wasenrolled as a Barrister. He hardly had any legalpractice …[but] became a protégé of PalmeDutt, a lawyer and founder member of theBritish Communist Party.”
How, after independence, he was sud-denly nominated as the Indian HighCommissioner in the UK is still not clear.A few years later, he came back to India andwas made the Defence Minister: “In addi-tion, for all practical purposes, he func-tioned as Foreign Minister de facto,” notedBanerjee. Menon was certainly brilliant insome ways. He joined the Union Cabinetas a Minister without a portfolio in 1956.It was former Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru who appointed him as the DefenceMinister in April 1957.
Sixty-three years later, India still suffersbecause of Nehru’s choice. One of the manyblunders that he committed was to stopusing the seniority system in the Army,replacing it with the so-called merit-basedmethod of promotion; in fact, posting hisfavorites in positions where they should havenever been. This eventually led to the res-ignation of the then Chief of Army Staff,General KS Thimayya.
Let’s take a look at a few examples ofthe wrongs committed by Defence MinsterMenon at the time when the Chinese troopsattacked India in the North-East FrontierAgency (NEFA) and in Ladakh. It was onlyafter meeting Wing Commander JagMohan (Jaggi) Nath, the first of the six offi-cers who have been twice decorated withthe Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), India’s sec-ond highest war-time military award, thatI realised that the outcome of the 1962 warcould have been completely different hadIndia used its Air Force.
Nath received his first MVC for his rolein reconnaissance missions between 1960and 1962 over the Aksai Chin and Tibet. Hismissions proved immensely useful to learneverything about the Chinese militarybuild-up on the Tibetan plateau.Unfortunately, the political leadership (firstand foremost the Defence Minister) refusedto believe the hard evidence gathered dur-ing of his sorties. After one of his missionsover the Aksai Chin and Tibet, a messagecame that Nehru, Menon and their favoriteGeneral, Biji Kaul, wanted to be briefedabout Nath’s reconnaissance sorties.
Along with former Air ViceMarshal DAM Nanda, the thenDeputy Chief of the Air Force,Nath went to South Block tomeet Menon. They were waitingoutside the Minister’s roomwhen Kaul came and he startedtalking non-stop: “I know, Iknow, these fellows [the Chinese]are there. They asked me tothrow them back. I can throwthem back, not a problem! Butthey will be back the next day. Ithas to be planned out properly.”
Nath was surprised thatGen Kaul would speak this wayin front of a junior officer: “Iwas a low-level officer” but[Kaul] continued shouting:“You saw the Chinese soldiers.”I said, “Yes, sir, I saw them.”“OK, go to the DefenceMinister”, he finally said.
Nanda and Nath finallylanded up in Menon’s office.Nath recalled: “He did not askanything”, he just said, “Did yousee the Chinese soldiers?” Ianswered: “Yes sir, I saw them.”“That’s alright, you can go.” Thatwas it. Nath concluded: “Therewas a total breakdown.”
In a secret report written ashe was forced to resign inNovember 1962, the flamboyantDefence Minister wrote: “Chinais reported to have the thirdlargest Air Force in the world.This may well be true.” Though
Menon was aware of the fuelissue: “[China] had inadequatefuel capacity in terms of warrequirements,” he ignored thefindings of the brave airman,who explained: “If we had senta few airplanes [into Ladakh orNEFA], we could have wiped theChinese out and everythingcould have been different in the1962 war. The political leadershipdid not believe me that Chinahad no Air Force…”Unfortunately, the then Chief ofAir Staff did not have the courageto put his foot down. This led toone of the greatest tragedies inIndia’s modern history. Maohad bluffed Nehru and it worked.
Another sad story aboutthe 1962 episode was recountedby Lt Col (later Maj Gen) KKTewari, the Commander of theSignal Regiment of the Corpsbased in Tezpur (Assam),responsible in the early 1960s forthe Tawang sector of the NEFA.Tewari wrote: “On the 19th[October], Brig Dalvi[Commander of the 7th InfantryBrigade] talked to the GeneralOfficer Commanding [GOC] atZimithang [near the Tibet bor-der] on the telephone. He waspleading with the latter to let himmove up to a tactically sounddefensive position.” He describedthe existing position along theriver where he had been ordered
to stay by the CorpsCommander [BM Kaul] beforehis departure for Delhi as a“death trap.” Brig Dalvi was told“not to flap but to obey ordersand stay put. He was visibly upsetand was very abrupt on the tele-phone to his boss. He passed thetelephone to me.”
Tewari told the GOC thatthe Chinese were moving downthe Thagla Ridge like ants. Hecould also see at least half a dozenmortars, which were not evencamouflaged: “The Chinesecould not be there for a picnic,their attack was imminent on amassive scale,” he added. ButDalvi and his men were told thatthey had been informed by the“higher authorities in Delhi”that the Chinese would notattack …at a time they hadalready attacked.
Today, though the trauma ofthe 1962 thrashing remains,many things have changed on theground. The creation of a post ofChief of Defence Staff should goa long way in overcoming thecomplete lack of coordinationbetween the three services expe-rienced in 1962. This, however,will not absolve Nehru’s wrongchoice of making Menon theDefence Minister, a post heoccupied for five crucial years.
Sir — This refers to the editorial,“A censure too far” (January 28).Goose pimples ran up the Centre’sspine with rage and it criticised theEuropean Parliament, whichdecided to debate the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) resolutions, saying itshould not take actions that callinto question the rights andauthority of democratically-elect-ed legislatures. Further, the draftresolutions urge India to engageconstructively with the anti-CAAprotesters and consider theirdemands to repeal it.
Why is the EuropeanParliament so hell-bent to take upresolutions to tell India to desistfrom implementing the CAA?The matter is entirely an internalissue of India and the fact that EUis going to champion the causehas become an irritating issue asfar as India is concerned. Whycan’t it highlight the killing ofinnocent people in Syria, Iraq,Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan,Nigeria and elsewhere? It will bebetter if the European Parliamentdrops the resolution against India.
TK NandananChennai
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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Selling the jewel” (January 28).Given the leverage that Air Indiaenjoys in a premium and growingsector, it is sad that it has been fac-ing perpetual loss. A precipitateand full disposal of a blue chip assetcould result either in a no-sale orworse, a very bad deal that willhaunt for long. It would havebeen better if the Governmentwould have opted for a 51 per centstake sale and let the best player(s)run the airline.
Synergy between theGovernment and a professionalmanagement would have max-imised the nation’s asset and thenthey could have build on it. Fulldilution of any Government hold-ing has now become the norm evenas interests of the employees finda stable and agreeable solution. UKPrime Minister Margaret Thatcher’speremptory PSU reforms had lefta sharp decline in GDP growth, bigloss of industrial capacity and the doubling of unemployment.
Expectations ride high on Finance Minister (FM)Nirmala Sitharaman’s second Union Budget torevive the feel-good factor, which has been
missing since negative news flow continued to dom-inate national and international headlines. At a timewhen the country seeks to increase investments fromFDI and the local industry, the Government needsto pull every lever that can restore business confi-dence and make India the preferred investment des-tination. The 2020 Budget will be bold, it will be dif-ferent. It will be a win-all one. It has to be, becauseit’s a “do-or-die” situation for the Government whichhas to course correct all that ails the economy.Undoubtedly, these are challenging times for any FMto present a Budget, as achieving the goal of a $5 tril-lion economy by 2024 necessitates doubling thegrowth rate to 12 per cent year on year for the nextfive years, which currently seems a distant dream.
What is unmistakable is that never before hasany Prime Minister immersed himself so deeply inthe pre-Budget exercise to get a first-hand sense ofground realities from India Inc, economists and pol-icymakers. And, never before has an FM presentedvirtually four mini-Budgets in quick succession afterher maiden Budget last year in an attempt to recal-ibrate if Government interventions are producingthe desired outcomes to achieve whatever it takesto set the economic wheels in motion.
Fixing the economy and employment genera-tion is the top priority of policymakers, as the win-dow to capitalise on our demographic dividends isa finite one. Time is running out, as the labour forcein the middle and lower levels is ill-equipped forabsorption into Industry 4.0, which will worsen theproblem of unemployment unless we make quan-tum leaps on our Human Development Index.
Thus far, the economy has been propped up byGovernment spending, which is only an interim solu-tion till the private industry does not participate injob creation and expansion. World over,Governments are following a similar template forrevival by marginally exceeding fiscal prudence bya percentage point in order to satisfy rating agen-cies. Since the global economic crisis of 2008, exceed-ing fiscal deficit targets has become the “new nor-mal”, as a decade of easy money has accumulated arecord $250 trillion debt, which is a cumulative ofsovereign, corporate and household leverage. Centralbankers, from the European Central Bank to the IMF,have encouraged Government spending in the hopeof reaping economic dividends, regardless of mount-ing debt to GDP ratios. Globally, we are livingthrough the Age of Uncertainty, beset by more vari-ables than constants than we ever faced in the last50 years. This is the third slowdown India is facingsince 1991, and if we look back at the commentarypost the Lhman-led global collapse in 2008, senti-ments were even more dismal than they are today.Though the financial sector continues to face mas-sive NPA problems, this is not just an India-centricproblem but a worldwide phenomenon. A flashbackto what got us here in the first place is that nothingjeopardised the already beleaguered and brokenIndian banking sector more than the collapse ofIL&FS in 2018 and DHFL in 2019. This was trulyIndia’s unacknowledged Lehman moment, as IL&FSalone accounts for defaults of about �91,000 croreowed to banks, institutional investors and mutualfunds. While there is enough liquidity available withbanks, they are not lending to long-gestation pro-jects in infrastructure, housing or heavy industry such
as steel and cement, which has a cascad-ing effect in delaying their completion. Thesolution lies in creating a separateDevelopment Finance Institution to boostlong-term lending for projects like rail-ways, ports, power and so on, as also afaster resolution of the insolvency processthat would boost credit flows.
Expectations are that the Budgetwould lay the road map for a consolidat-ed action plan to jumpstart the multiplepropellers of growth by incentivisingboth the supply and the demand side.Starting with agriculture, housing, con-struction, automobiles and telecom, to theunorganised sector and MSMEs, all ofwhich await a bailout plan. MSMEs con-tribute 45 per cent towards manufactur-ing output and over 28 per cent towardsthe GDP, while creating employment forover 11 crore people. The Centre has donewell in earmarking �100 lakh crore forinfrastructure by 2025, provided a �25,000crore fund to revive the realty sector andallocated �75,000 crore for improving farmproductivity. Yet, the agri-crisis remainsunresolved, as prices of fertiliser, diesel andelectricity keep rising and prices of rice,wheat and sugar continue falling due to asurplus, making crop diversification andagro-based industries a priority.
Coming to the corporate sector,recent tax cuts have made Indian corpo-rate tax rates competitively benchmarkedto international rates. But as the industryhas prioritised on using the cuts to de-leverage — and already has an average of30 per cent excess capacity — the spinoffsfrom lower corporate taxes will takelonger to play out and they will first waitfor demand to pick up before looseningpurse strings. The economy relies on sevenmajor vectors of growth for revenue that
goes towards nation-building and job-cre-ation: Direct tax collections, Governmentspending, private industry, domesticdemand, disinvestment proceeds, exportsand FDI infusion. Typically, during peri-ods of global buoyancy, countries pursuean Export-Led Growth strategy.Conversely, during periods of recession orde-globalisation, the Domestic Demand-Led Growth strategy dominates in orderto keep the local economy insulated fromglobal shocks. It is the contraction indomestic driven demand that has this timefailed to keep the economy afloat. It is esti-mated that 70 per cent of economic growthcomes from consumption, the rest frominvestment. Exports have been the otherlaggard as any comprehensive plan can-not make up the numbers if our share inworld exports languishes at 1.7 per centamid a period of bleak global trade.Consequently, tax collections have beenbelow target in a contracting economy,leaving the Government limited avenuesto raise additional resources.
Also, the Government is very likely toagain miss the FY 20 disinvestment tar-get, as divestment beyond 0.5 per cent ofthe GDP cannot be absorbed by the mar-kets. Expediting disinvestment of AirIndia, Bharat Petroleum, CementCorporation and Shipping Corporation isnot easy as there is not enough appetitefrom retail or corporate investors to has-ten this process. Though India hasimproved on six out of 10 parameters inthe Ease of Doing Business and despiteopening up multiple sectors to foreigninvestment in 2018-19, the foreign invest-ment to GDP ratio has also taken a hit,falling to a decade’s low of 1.1 per cent froma high of 3.6 per cent in 2014-15. Foreigninvestments are vital for India’s growth, and
despite the PM’s powerful pitch to attractinvestments, there is a mismatch on theground, when the likes of Amazon or thelargest foreign investor like Vodafone arelocked in adversarial positions with thecourts or the Government.
Perception, as they say, is moreimportant than reality, so intent for cre-ating an enabling business environmentmust be followed through with leniencyand amicable dispute resolution by courts,regulators and line-ministries. Disputesalso have a domino effect on job losses andbanks that lent to the businesses, sendingnegative signals to oversees investors.
All said and done, the worst could wellbe behind us, as we are nearing the phaseof capitulation. So the only way from hereis up, which offers FIIs very favourablerisk-reward ratios to resume investmentsas we bottom out. Seasoned investorsknow that investing in totally risk-freeassets yields negative returns when adjust-ed to inflation. So FII money will ultimate-ly flow back into emerging markets likeIndia, which has strong fundamentals, astable currency, vibrant demographics andhigh foreign exchange reserves. We will getto $5 trillion, albeit it may take longer than2024 to achieve the goal. Regardless of thetemporary slowdown, India’s weightagewill continue to increase in playing a lead-ing role in restructuring the global eco-nomic order, once we regain momentum.But for now, Sitharaman will have to adda lot of sweeteners to this Budget and con-form to Chanakya’s prescription that,“the king should collect taxes from the tax-payers like a bee collects honey from aflower, without disturbing its petals.”
(The writer is an author, columnist,Chairperson of the National Committee forFinancial Inclusion at Niti Aayog)
The growing disease burdenshould compel the country’spolicymakers to allocate a fair
chunk of funds for public healthcareinfrastructure. The recent news oninfant deaths in Muzaffarpur districtof Bihar due to Acute EncephalitisSyndrome and in Kota district ofRajasthan due to hypothermia areglaring examples of existing faultlines within the primary healthcaresystem in India. Such incidents senda grave reminder that affordable andaccessible, good quality healthcarestill remains the biggest challenge inthe rural hinterlands of our country.
The Centre’s ambitious flagshiphealth insurance scheme, Ayushman
Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) has immensepotential to correct the healthcarebasics in the country. It holds a lotof promise and has the right intent,but one can just hope theGovernment and healthcare author-ities take the right partnershipapproach to a more inclusive partic-ipation.
In the last Union Budget, thebudgetary allocation for the health-care sector stood at �60,908.22 crore,with �6,400 crore earmarked for theAB-PMJAY.
The scheme aims at providingannual health cover of up to �5 lakhper family for secondary and tertiarycare hospitalisation to over 10.74crore vulnerable families (approxi-mately 50 crore beneficiaries).Rationalisation of treatment packagesand speeding up the recovery processare essential elements that willencourage more private hospitals toempanel under this scheme.
Let us focus on the basics: Thehealthcare sector is one of the biggestcontributors to the Indian economyand accounts for six per cent of the
country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP). The hospital industry inIndia, accounting for 80 per cent ofthe total healthcare market, is wit-nessing a huge demand from globalas well as domestic investors. It isexpected to reach $132 billion by2023 from $61.8 billion in 2017;growing at a CAGR of 16-17 per cent.The country’s medical tourism mar-ket is expected to grow from its cur-rent size of $3 billion to $7-8 billionby the end of 2020.
Yet, the country’s spending onpublic healthcare is estimated only at1.3 per cent of the GDP. Besides hav-ing a poor infrastructure withinpublic health facilities, there is alsoa lack of adequate resources. Whenover two-thirds of the sector is dri-ven by private players, theGovernment should be more willingto get into a partnership-basedapproach with them to achieveUniversal Health Coverage in linewith the United Nation’s SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs).
A multi-pronged approach: Werequire a multi-pronged approachfrom the Government to strengthen
and reform the health sector. On theone hand, it involves improving thestate of public healthcare by increas-ing budgetary allocation, establish-ing more medical colleges andimproving primary healthcare facil-ities. On the other hand, it involvesmeasures to enable the private sec-tor to spread its presence beyond theurban landscape. This will help inimproving accessibility for secondaryand tertiary care in tier-II and tier-III towns, besides rural areas.
For the latter to happen, theGovernment must offer major incen-tives and tax breaks to private health-care organisations setting shop innon-urban areas.
The incentives can includeincome tax breaks for the first fewyears of operations, help in procur-ing land, making medical equipmentGoods and Services Tax (GST)-freefor such hospitals and relaxation onservice tax on hospital inputs.Similarly, establishing a mechanismto offer fund support or subsidisationin treatment costs to private hospi-tals in smaller towns and rural areascan go a long way in bridging the
prevalent accessibility gap. The cost of medical equipment
is another pain point, which requiresthrust and making the medicaldevices and equipment a part of the‘Made in India’ initiative shall ben-efit this sector.
Impetus to innovation: There isalso a need to provide an impetus toinnovation within the medical tech-nology sector. For that, special fundsfor start-ups that manufacture med-ical devices would specificallyaddress the needs of the Indianpopulations, serving as a big boostto the sector.
The introduction of ArtificialIntelligence (AI) and predictive ana-lytics for patient monitoring will addto significant financial savings andwill increase the reach of healthcarein the country.
The need of the hour is that theprimary care system should bestrengthened in such a way that it iscapable of doing the initial assess-ment, diagnosis and basic manage-ment and appropriate referral ifneed be. A thorough assessment andinvestigation at primary care or sec-
ondary care level can lead to a sig-nificant saving of resources at the ter-ritory level. The Government shouldfacilitate more Continuous MedicalEducation to help professinalsupgrade their skills which can solvethe problem of shortage of traineddoctors.
That Government must alsoconsider oral health as an integralpart of healthcare and give it theimportance it deserves. TheNarendra Modi Government shouldprovide an enabling environment forthe healthcare sector to grow. This iswhere the forthcoming UnionBudget can show some vision andleadership.
This being the first Budget of thenew decade, it will not only be amarker of the Government’s assess-ment but also a vision for the econ-omy over the next 10 years.
Let 2020 and the decade turn outto be in the larger interest of health-care, making it more accessible,more affordable and patient-friend-ly.
(The writer is founder and CEOof a dental healthcare chain)
Indicating rising stress levelsin the finances of the States,
India Ratings has reviseddownward the outlook on thestates to stable-to-negativefrom stable as it expects aggre-gate fiscal deficit to touch 3 percent in 2020-21 due to fallinggrowth and poor tax mop-up.
The States had budgeted a2.6 per cent deficit for FY2019-20.
Even the Centre is seenmissing the 3.3 per cent fiscaldeficit target by a wide marginas tax collections, divestmentproceeds and even dividendshave been missing the targetfrom the very beginning.
India Ratings also expectsstates' revenue account onaggregate to clock a deficit of0.4 per cent of GDP in FY2020-21 compared with a surplus of0.01 per cent budgeted forFY2019-20. A higher revenueexpenditure than revenuereceipts will primarily be led bythe outgo related to interestpayments in FY21 on accountof higher borrowings inFY2019-20.
"Since we expect GDPgrowth to remain low even inFY21, States' finances are like-
ly to continue witnessing rev-enue pressure, leaving a fiscaldeficit of 3 per cent," the agencysaid, adding accordingly "ouroutlook on the same is reviseddownwards to stable-to-nega-tive from stable."
The states' aggregate taxrevenue (including devolutionsfrom the Centre) and revenuereceipts to grow 11 per cent and9.9 per cent, respectively, inFY2020-21.
The Centre owes close toRs 60,000 crore in GST refundto the states. The Centre hadalso promised to share 14 percent of the total GST collectionwith the states, but GST mop-up this year has been wellbelow the projection.
The non-payment hasforced many opposition ruledstates to threaten to move theSupreme Court.
The agency warns that if
the delay continues, it willadversely impact states' riskprofile.
It assumes the states' sharein devolution to remain at 42per cent in FY2020-21 assum-ing that the 15th FinanceCommission which will submitthe report by October 30, 2020.
It expects the states' aggre-gate debt-GDP ratio to rise to27.5 per cent in the next fiscalfrom the budgeted 24.7 percent for FY2019-20. As a result,their aggregate debt burden willincrease as states resort to fundfiscal deficit by way of highermarket borrowings, which isslated to increase to Rs 6.09lakh crore in FY21 from anestimated Rs 5.96 lakh crore inFY20.
The burden of fiscal adjust-ment mostly falls on capex dur-ing the periods of subdued eco-nomic growth.
With capex bearing thebrunt of the slowdown andlower growth in revenuereceipts in FY2019-20, the sit-uation is unlikely to change inthe next fiscal. As a result, thestates' aggregate capex/GDPto come in marginally lower at2.8 per cent in FY21 from thebudgeted 3 per cent forFY2019-20.
two decades on Wednesday asthe lengthy grounding of the737 MAX undercut the com-pany's revenues and explodedcosts. The aerospace giantreported a $1.0 billion loss inthe fourth-quarter and a loss of$636 million for all of 2019, thecompany's first year in the redsince 1997.
Newly-installed ChiefExecutive David Calhoun, whotook the reins this month tostabilize the situation, pledgedto turn the company aroundeven as Boeing disclosed $9.2billion in new costs connectedto the MAX. Some analysts hadexpected new costs twice ashigh, and despite the heftycharges, Boeing shares ralliedearly Wednesday in pre-market.
The MAX has beengrounded since March follow-ing two crashes that killed 346people which opened the doorsto intense scrutiny of Boeing'ssafety practices — and regula-tory oversight of its produc-tions — as well bruising con-gressional investigations whichhave revealed a troublesomeculture at the aviation giant.
"We are committed totransparency and excellence
in everything we do," Calhounsaid in a statement. "Safetywill underwrite every deci-sion, every action and everystep we take as we move for-ward."
Calhoun has been at thehelm of Boeing only sinceJanuary 13 after DennisMuilenburg was ousted inDecember following criticismof his handling of the crisis, andimmediately after damningseries of internal communica-tions were released.
Calhoun is targeting mid-2020 to win approval fromaviation regulators to resumeflights on the MAX, which isseen as a more realistic time-frame after Muilenburg repeat-edly pushed a more optimisticschedule.
The grounding of theMAX dented Boeing's earningsin multiple ways, halting deliv-eries of new planes to cus-tomers, a major source of rev-enues. Boeing revenues in thefourth quarter plunged 36.8percent to $17.9 billion, whilerevenues for all of 2019dropped 24.3 percent to $76.6billion. The crisis also prompt-ed the manufacturer to firstreduce and then halt produc-tion of the MAX until the cri-sis is resolved. Boeing saidWednesday the changes in the
production schedule added$2.6 billion in costs connectedto airplane deliveries, plusanother $4 billion in "abnormalproduction costs" primarily in2020 associated with the sus-pension of the MAX and a"gradual resumption" of pro-duction. The company set aside$2.6 billion to compensate air-lines that have been forced tocancel thousands of flights dueto grounded MAX planes andundelivered aircraft.
The MAX crisis also hasweighed on numerous suppli-ers, such as Spirit AeroSystems,which announced earlier thismonth that it would lay off2,800 employees in Kansas dueto the production stoppage.
And General Electric,which builds engines for theMAX, said the crisis loweredcash flow by $1.4 billion for2019.
Boeing also announcedWednesday that it would againcut back production of the787 Dreamliner, a top-sellingplane that has supported rev-enues during the protracted737 MAX grounding.
The aerospace giant plansto cut production to 10 air-planes a month in early 2021through 2023 based on the"near-term market outlook,"Boeing said.
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Italian supercar makerLamborghini on Wednesday
took the wraps off the latestvariant of their Huracan super-car in India. The HuracanEVO Rear-Wheel Drive(RWD) has 610 horsepowerand a claimed top speed of 325kilometers per hour and a 0-100 time of 3.3 seconds, mak-ing it one of the fastest cars onsale in India. This variantwhich solely drives the rearwheels instead of the all-wheeldrive regular model is a true‘drivers car’ according toSharad Agarwal, Head,Lamborghini India and will seta buyer back �3.2 crore.
Speaking to The Pioneer,Matteo Ortenzi, ChiefExecutive Officer, Asia-Pacific,Lamborghini highlighted howIndia has been a bright spot forthe company. “The advent ofnew technologies and engi-neering have made the SportsUtility Vehicle (SUV) spacemuch more sporty. The Urus(Lamborghini’s SUV) has beenreally in demand with Indianbuyers, because it does notmake any compromises onperformance.” Agarwal added
that the Urus sold over 50 unitsin the first year of sales, andthat this helped Lamborghinidouble their sales in the ‘super-premium’ segment (vehiclesover �2.5 crore) even thoughthe segment declined over 18percent in line with the rest ofthe automotive market in 2019.
India is the only major marketwhere Lamborghini outsellstheir Italian rival Ferrari andOrtenzi puts that down to theUrus but added that supercarslike the Huracan help as well,“India is an important marketfor us, so much so that welaunched the Huracan EVO inIndia first and both theHuracan Spyder and the RWDcame to India within days oftheir global launch.” One rea-son for Lamborghini’s successin India according to Agarwalis because the company does-n’t just sell cars but also a ‘lux-ury lifestyle and experience’,“Lamborghini is much morethan just cars, we do drives andtrack experiences and muchmore for our customers.”
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Mercedes-Benz India, thecountry’s largest premium
car seller today took the wrapsoff their next-generation GLESports Utility Vehicle. Availablein two variants, the assembledin India GLE 300d for �73.7lakh and the imported GLE400d ‘Hip Hop’ Edition for�1.25 crore, this is the first often launches by the Germanmanufacturer this year whichwill attempt to hold onto itsleadership position in theIndian market.
The GLE 300d has a new1950cc engine that produces245 horsepower and the 400da 3-litre V6 engine with 330horsepower with Mercedes-Benz India Managing DirectorMartin Schwenk claiming thatthese next-generation dieselengines don’t just meet the newBS6 emission norms but are thecleanest diesel engines in Indiaright now.
Speaking to The Pioneer,Schwenk said that while 2019had been a difficult year for allmanufacturers he was particu-larly pleased with the last quar-ter where customers who haddeferred their purchasesreturned to the market. “Wealso had a run-out of several ofour outgoing models such asthe old GLE and the GLA, butwe were very successful in
moving all our stock of olderBS4 cars and now offer ourentire line-up in BS6. I believethat 2020 is going to be a solidyear and we should start gettingsome growth back into themarket, and our great servicepackages as well as a completelynew line-up shiuld help usgrow this year, we still havegreat confidence in the Indianeconomy.”
Mercedes-Benz has 96 out-
lets in 47 cities across Indiaright now and Schwenk saidthat the company aims to cross the 100 outlet mark in2020.
Unlike other brands, headded that their financialhealth of their dealer partnerswas in good shape and said thatMercedes had helped theirdealers whenever needed withDaimler Financial Services,the company’s finance arm.
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Union Minister NitinGadkari on Wednesday
urged industry players to cashin on the huge potential that 22upcoming express highwayshold in the areas of alternativefuel, electric highway andcharging stations.
The Road Transport,Highways and MSME Ministersaid that projects speciallyabout Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai express highway canoffer instant right of way toplayers interested in settingup LNG stations, electric charg-ing stations or petrol pumps.
Addressing a conferenceon 'Future Fuels forTransportation' by FICCI, theminister said plans were afootto set up 2,000 petrol pumps,including LNG.
“We are building 22 newexpress highways includingDelhi-Mumbai ExpressHighway. Work on seven out of22 projects have started andthese have huge potential forthe industry. If players want tocome forward, we can offerright of way especially onDelhi-Mumbai ExpressHighway which we plan tocomplete within three years,"the Minister said.
Gadkari said plans are onfor an electric highway stretchon Delhi-Mumbai Expresswayand the land acquisition forover Rs 1 lakh crore expresswayproject has been completed. Hesaid he will be visiting Swedennext month to see E-Highwaysand welcomed players forinvestments to convert high-ways into e-highways.
He also said: "The RBI hasassured us that they will allowus to take infrastructure loansfor 30 years. So if a bankableproject is for 30 years, the loanamount will be raised within13-18 years. There will be twoyears moratorium period aftercompletion of project. Whenafter three years, toll collectionstarts then we will open anescrow account. Specificamount will be deposited inthis escrow account."
The minister said at pre-sent NHAI has 480 such secure,bankable projects and fivemore banks are willing to giveloans like the SBI gave.
"Depending upon traffic,we will keep depositing moneyin the escrow account,” he said.
He said NHAI 's annualincome for the current fiscalwill be Rs 40,000 crore and itwill reach Rs 1 lakh crore incoming years.
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Ahead of the Union Budget,the Oil Ministry has made
a renewed pitch for inclusion ofnatural gas in the ambit of GSTto promote the use of the envi-ronment-friendly fuel byreducing multiplicity of taxesand improving business cli-mate.
When the Goods andServices Tax (GST) was intro-duced on July 1, 2017, amal-gamating 17 central and statelevies, five commodities name-ly crude oil, natural gas, petrol,diesel, and aviation turbinefuel (ATF) were kept out of itspurview given the revenuedependence of StateGovernments on this sector.
"Currently natural gas istaxed under the VAT regimewith VAT ranging from 3 percent to 20 per cent acrossstates," the ministry said in abooklet it brought out to pro-mote the use of the fuel in auto-mobiles, household kitchens,and industries.
If brought under GST, nat-ural gas will attract a uniformrate of tax at the consumptionpoint anywhere in the countryafter doing away with currentrates of excise duty and VAT.
This, it said, would "resultin an increase in state domes-tic product and socio-eco-nomic development owing toincreased economic activities"which will lead to improved employment oppor-tunities.
Also, it would lead toimproved investor confidenceand attract more investment innatural gas infrastructure in thecountry, the booklet said,adding that a positive impacton environment and healthdue to reduction in carbonemissions across major cities was another advan-tage.
"As gas is not under theambit of GST, there is no inputtax credit available. Further, thedownstream industries are notable to claim the benefit of thetax credit of VAT paid on pur-chases of natural gas which isavailable for alternatefuels/feedstocks," the bookletsaid.
Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan too has been makinga vehement pitch for the inclu-sion of gas in the GST.
"We believe natural gas asalso aviation turbine fuel (ATF)can be included in the GSTregime," he had said onMonday.
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Industry body Ficci onWednesday said its
Economic Outlook Survey hasprojected the country's annu-al median GDP growth for2019-20 at 5 per cent, in linewith the projections made bythe National StatisticalOrganisation (NSO).
The survey has put themedian growth forecast foragriculture and allied activitiesat 2.6 per cent for 2019-20, theindustry and services sector at3.5 per cent and 7.2 per cent,respectively, during the currentyear.
"Growth is likely toimprove to 5.5 per cent in2020-21 as per the projec-tions," the survey said.
Further as per the survey,the economic growth has beenpegged at 4.7 per cent for the third quarter of2019-20.
The survey was conductedduring December and January2019-20 amongst economistsbelonging to the industry,banking and financial servicessector, Ficci said.
As per the first advanceestimates of the nationalincome released by the NSO,
India's GDP growth is seen dip-ping to an 11-year low of 5 percent in the current fiscal, main-ly due to poor showing bymanufacturing and construc-tion sectors.
The survey further saidconcerns remain on externalfront with exports projected tocontract in 2019-20.
Merchandise exports areexpected to decline by 2.1 percent, while imports are expect-ed to decline 5.5 per cent dur-ing the year, it said.
Moreover, median currentaccount deficit forecast waspegged at 1.4 per cent of GDPfor 2019-20.
"Moderation in globalgrowth forecast, escalating geo-political tensions, and uncer-tainty around trade dealbetween US-China and BREX-IT outcome still form majorrisk factors to India's growth in2020," it said.
Participating economistssaid that a shortfall in govern-ment's revenue collectionsseems imminent this year onthe back of lower than antici-pated nominal growth.
To augment Government'srevenue collections, they calledfor measures to boost the coun-try's nominal GDP growth.
approached National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI) foroffering its ‘waste plastic-to-road’ technology that uses end-of-life plastic for road con-struction.
The company has alreadypiloted a few projects and hasconstructed nearly a 40 kilo-metre-road by mixing 50tonnes of end-of-life plasticwaste with bitumen at itsNagothane manufacturing sitein Raigad district.
“It took us some 14-18months to develop this mech-anism where we can use theend-of-life waste plastic likepackaging of snacks and flim-sy polyethylene bags, amongothers, in road construction.
“We are in talks with NHAIto share our experience and tohelp the use of end-of-life plas-tic for road construction,” thecompany’s COO PetrochemicalsBusiness Vipul Shah toldreporters. Apart from NHAI,RIL is also in talks with stategovernments and local bodiesacross the country for offeringthe technology, he said.
End-of-life plastic cannotbe recycled.
Explaining the benefits ofthe usage of end-of-life wasteplastic, Shah said, “it not onlyensures sustainable utilisationof plastic but is also financial-ly viable”.
“Our experience showedthat 1 km of road uses 1 met-ric tonne (mt) of waste plasticand can save nearly �1 lakh asit can be utilised as a substitutefor bitumen to the extent of 8-10 per cent. So, roughly wesaved �40 lakh. Besides, thisplastic also enhances the qual-ity of roads,” he said.
Shah also said the roadsmade using end-of-life wasteplastic were completed in twomonths and sustained the tor-rential rains of last year with-out any erosion.
“NHAI is expected to con-struct 10,000 kms of roadswith average four lanes inFY2021, which is around40,000 kms of roads that canuse nearly 40,000 mt of wasteplastics. Besides, other stateauthorities and local bodiesare expected to construct23,000 kms of around four-lane roads.
“This is a good 86,000 mtof waste plastic,” RIL head ofbusiness development (sus-tainable solutions) KRSNarayan said.
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Market benchmark Sensexrallied 231.80 points on
Wednesday, driven by gains inindex heavyweights HDFCBank, ITC, RIL and Infosys.
The 30-share BSE indexsettled 231.80 points, or 0.57per cent, higher at 41,198.66. Ithit an intra-day high of41,334.86 and a low of41,108.19.
Likewise, the broader NSENifty closed 73.70 points, or0.61 per cent, up at 12,129.50.
In the Sensex pack, BajajFinance was the biggest gain-er, rising 4.95 per cent, followedby Nestle India, ITC, Infosysand NTPC.
On the other hand, TCS,HDFC, Sun Pharma, ICICIBank, Bharti Airtel and AxisBank ended in the negative ter-ritory.
According to traders,recovery in global equities andhopes of growth-boosting mea-sures in the upcoming Budgetbuoyed market sentiment.
Further, short-coveringahead of January derivativesexpiry also lifted key indices,they said.
Bourses in Japan and SouthKorea ended with gains, whileHong Kong closed with sharplosses as the market openedafter the Lunar New Year break.Bourses in China remained
closed.Stock exchanges in Europe
opened on a positive note,even as investors assessed therisks posed by the Wuhancoronavirus.
Brent crude oil futures rose0.71 per cent to USD 59.93 perbarrel.
On the currency front, theIndian rupee appreciated by 7paise to settle at 71.24 againstthe US dollar following gains inthe domestic equity market.
Forex traders said rupeeconsolidated in a narrow rangeas market participants areassessing the economic impli-cations of the coronavirus out-break and awaiting cues fromthe Union Budget.
At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 71.23.During the day, the local unitsaw a high of 71.17 and a lowof 71.29. The domestic unitfinally settled at 71.24, up 7paise from its previous close.
The rupee had settled at71.31 against the Americancurrency on Tuesday.
“Indian rupee gained asrisk sentiment recovered amida rebound in the global anddomestic equities. Market play-ers assessing the economicimplications of the coronavirusoutbreak,” said VK Sharma,Head PCG and Capital MarketsStrategy, HDFC Securities.
Sharma further said thatstrong foreign fund flows alsosupported strength in rupee asthey have bought USD 2.21 bil-lion equities so far this month.
Leading stock exchangesBSE and NSE will shift sever-al scrips to the restricted trad-ing segment from Thursday toensure safety of investors in thecapital markets.
BSE will shift as many as 30stocks, including McDowellHoldings, Emami Realty,United Van Der Horst,Hindustan Everest Tools,Technofab Engineering andLactose India, to the trade-for-trade segment represented by Tor XT groups. At the sametime, NSE would transfer 13scrips to the trade-for-tradesegment segment on its plat-form.
In this segment, no specu-lative trading is allowed anddelivery of shares and paymentof consideration amount aremandatory.
With a view to take pre-ventive surveillance measure toensure market safety and safe-guard the interest of theinvestors, BSE and NSE havedecided to move shares of thesecompanies to T or XT Groupwith effect from January 30.
�������������������������3���(����������3���������3����New Delhi: IT company NIIT Technologies onWednesday reported a 66.29 per cent jump inits consolidated profit at �123.3 crore for thethird quarter ended December 31, 2019. Thecompany had posted a profit of �100.2 crore inthe corresponding quarter a year ago.
The revenue from operations of NIITTechnologies increased by 11.8 per cent to�1,088.2 crore during the reported quarter, from�973.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of2018-19, the company said in a regulatory fil-ing. America, which contributes the biggestchunk of the company’s revenue, grew byaround 10 per cent, while European businessgrew by about 23 per cent.
The company recorded the highest growthin profit before tax in the American region fol-lowed by Europe. However, the operational prof-it of the company declined in India and AsiaPacific region.
The company declared a dividend of �10 perequity share.
� � ��(�� ����������6����)��� ����'������(��� �����1�2����New Delhi: Bajaj Finance Ltd (BFL) onWednesday reported highest ever quarterly con-solidated net profit at �1,614 crore in December2019 quarter on the back of healthy interestincome. The non-banking finance companyposted a 52 per cent jump in Q3 net profit ascompared with �1,060 crore in the year-agoquarter.
Total income of the company grew 41 percent to �7,026 crore for October-December of2019-20 as against �4,992 crore in year ago peri-od, Bajaj Finance said in a regulatory filing. Thenet interest income was up by 42 per cent at�4,537 crore from �3,206 crore while the inter-est income increased by 39 per cent to �6,105crore from �4,387 crore in Q3 of 2018-19.
The company’s asset under management(AUM) as on December 31, 2019, rose to
�1,45,092 crore, up 35 per cent from �1,07,507crore. New loans booked in terms of volumeincreased 13 per cent to 76.7 lakh from 67.7 lakh,it added. The consolidated figures of BFLinclude the results of its wholly-owned sub-sidiaries Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd (BHFL) andBajaj Financial Securities Ltd. From 2019-20,BFL and its subsidiary BHFL have opted for thereduced rate of 25.17 per cent for computationof income tax as per recently inserted sectionof the Income Tax Act, 1961, the company said.
Gross non-performing assets (NPA) and netNPA as on December 31, 2019, stood at 1.61 percent and 0.70 per cent, respectively.
Bajaj Finance also informed that its boardof directors has appointed Deepak Bagati as theChief Risk Officer of the company with imme-diate effect. Bagati will take charge in place ofFakhari Sarjan.
�6������������������ ��'���144���������������� ���New Delhi: CG Power and Industrial Solutionson Wednesday reported widening of its consol-idated net loss to �1,595.21 crore in quarter endedin September 2019, from �101.83 crore loss yearago, mainly due to lower income. Total incomeof the company fell to �1,548.50 crore in the sec-ond quarter of this fiscal from �2,115.27 croreyear ago, according to a BSE filing.
The company’s consolidated net loss alsowidened to �1,668.81 in April-September this fis-cal from �212.09 crore loss in same period yearago, it said. The company had reported a con-solidated net loss of �507.13 crore in 2018-19.
Total income of the company in the first halfof this fiscal declined to �3,330.87 crore from�3,958.87 crore year ago. The company had ear-lier informed the bourse about the delay in sub-mission of the financial results of first and sec-ond quarter of this fiscal.
“During the quarter and six months endedSeptember 30, 2019, the group has carried outthe process for recovery of outstanding advancesby issuing recovery notices to various third par-ties,” the company said. PTI
Washington: Lawyers repre-senting Donald Trump at hisimpeachment trial said theabuse of power charges againstthe US President were “drivenby political desires”, as theywrapped up their opening argu-ments.
“The articles of impeach-ment fall far short of any con-stitutional standard,” WhiteHouse Counsel Pat Cipollone,who led Trump’s defence, saidon Tuesday.
“What they are asking youto do is to throw out a success-ful president on the eve of anelection, with no basis and inviolation of the Constitution,”he said.
Urging the Senate to acquitthe president of the abuse ofpower charges, the WhiteHouse counsel argued thatoverturning the last electionand “massively interfering” withthe upcoming one would causeserious and lasting damage tothe people of the United States.
“The Senate cannot allowthis to happen. It is time for thisto end, here and now,” he saidin his closing remarks at theSenate floor.
The Senate is conductingTrump’s trial as the House ofRepresentatives voted lastmonth to impeach him on arti-cles of abuse of power andobstruction of Congress, bothrelated to his dealings withUkraine.
Trump is accused of cheat-ing in his 2020 reelection bid bypressuring Ukraine, a US ally,to announce probe intoDemocratic presidential hope-ful Joe Biden and his sonHunter and a conspiracy theo-ry, promoted by Russia, that
Kiev helped the Democrats in2016.
According to the impeach-ment charges, Trump frozemilitary aid to Ukraine for twomonths last summer to putpressure on PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky to publiclyannounce the investigations,illicitly drawing a foreign nationinto American electoral politics.
Trump’s legal team said hedid nothing wrong and the arti-cles of the impeachment are“constitutionally deficient andthey fail to state impeachable
offences”.The lawyers said the entire
process that led to the House ofRepresentatives voting for thep r e s i d e n t ’ simpeachmentwas “completelypartisan” and was not based onany wrongdoing by Trump orany constitutionally sufficienttheories for impeaching thepresident.
“It was simply a partisanprocess that was driven bypolitical desires to overturnthe last election and to affect the2020 election,” the legal teamsaid.
Meanwhile, Democratssought to have the Senate sub-poena former national securi-ty advisor John Bolton as a wit-ness, following leaks from hisforthcoming book that sug-gested he could supply damn-ing evidence against Trump.
Republicans, however,exuded confidence that theyhave enough votes to thwart anysuch move. In the 100-memberSenate, Republican Senatorshave a 53-47 lead over theDemocrats.
Bolton reportedly writes
that Trump directly withheldsecurity aid to Ukraine for hisown political benefit.
During the three days ofa r g u m e n t s ,Trump’s lawyerspainted him as a
victim of a partisan attempt toundo the 2016 election.
Referring to Bolton’s alle-gations, Trump’s personal attor-ney Jay Sekulow said, “It is nota game of leaks or unsourcedmanuscripts.”
With the conclusion of theopening arguments of Trump’slegal team, the Senate trial nowmoves into a two-day period ofquestioning, during which eachparty will alternate questioningfor up to 16 hours throughoutWednesday and Thursday. Thesenators will not ask questionsthemselves but submit them forChief Justice John Roberts,who is presiding, to read.
A vote on whether or not tocall witnesses in the trial isexpected on Friday.
“No matter how many wit-nesses you give the Democrats,no matter how much informa-tion is given, like the quicklyproduced Transcripts, it will
NEVER be enough for them.They will always screamUNFAIR. The ImpeachmentHoax is just another politicalCON JOB!” Trump tweetedlate Tuesday night.
Senator Ted Cruz exudedconfidence that Trump will beacquitted of all the charges atthe end of the trial. PraisingTrump’s lawyers, Senator JohnCornyn said the House man-agers made the mistake of allot-ting time to each of the man-agers.
“It was more like theyweren’t talking to us, they weretalking to the TV cameras andwere enjoying their moment inthe sun. I thought the President’slawyers presented a concise andpersuasive case,” he said.
“Not only do they want tonegate the 2016 election wherePresident Trump was elected,they want to bar him frombeing on the ballot in 2020.That’s what this impeachmenttrial is all about. That, to me, isa real threat to the Americanpeople’s right to be heard at theballot box, particularly herenine months before the election,”Cornyn told Fox News. PTI
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Washington: President DonaldTrump has released his longdelayed Israeli-Palestinianpeace plan, promising “a newdawn,” but angry Palestinianscalled it biased and deservingto go in the “dustbin of histo-ry.”
Standing alongside IsraeliPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu in the WhiteHouse’s East Room, Trumpsaid on Tuesday that his plancould succeed where decades ofprevious US attempts to inter-vene had failed.
“Together we can bringabout a... New dawn in theMiddle East,” Trump said to anenthusiastic audience thatincluded throngs of Israeli andJewish American guests — but
apparently no Palestinian rep-resentatives.
They are flat out rejectingthe plan, which grants Israelmuch of what it has sought indecades of international diplo-macy, namely control overJerusalem as its “undivided”capital, rather than a city toshare with the Palestinians.The plan also lets Israel annexWest Bank settlements.
Trump praised Israel fortaking “a giant step towardpeace” with the plan, which laysout a vision for futurePalestinian statehood if a seriesof strict conditions are met.
These include requiringthe future Palestinian state tobe “demilitarised,” while for-malising Israeli sovereigntyover settlements built in occu-pied territory. AFP
Doha: Qatar responded cau-tiously on Wednesday to USPresident Donald Trump’sIsraeli-Palestinian peace plan,saying it welcomed efforts tobroker “longstanding peace”but warned that was unat-tainable without concessionsto the Palestinians.
The plan grants Israelmuch of what it has sought indecades of internationaldiplomacy, namely controlover Jerusalem as its “undi-vided” capital, rather than acity to share with thePalestinians. The plan alsolets Israel annex West Banksettlements. AFP
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Ankara: Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan lam-basted a Middle East planunveiled by US counterpartDonald Trump as “absolute-ly unacceptable” in com-ments published onWednesday.
“Jerusalem is sacred forMuslims. The plan to giveJerusalem to Israel isabsolutely unacceptable. Thisplan ignores Palestinians’rights and is aimed at legit-imising Israel’s occupation,”Erdogan said, quoted byCNN Turk broadcaster.
“The plan outlined willnot serve peace or bring abouta solution,” he added. AFP
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Washington: Fifty Americansoldiers suffered traumatic braininjuries during the retaliatoryIranian missile strike on the USforces in Iraq, according to thePentagon, revising the figure fora third time since the attack onJanuary 8.
Iran attacked Iraqi baseshousing US soldiers in retalia-tion for an American droneattack that killed top Iraniancommander Qasem Soleimaniin Baghdad on January 2, rais-ing regional tensions.
The Pentagon and PresidentDonald Trump had initially saidno service members wereinjured or killed in the Iranianmissile attack.
But last week, the Pentagonsaid 34 troops were injured in
the attack. Earlier, the USCentral Command said that 11service members were treatedfor concussion symptoms fromthe attack. On Tuesday, it uppedthe figure of injured soldiers by16 to 50 service personnel.
“As of today, 50 U.S. Servicemembers have been diagnosedwith Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI),” Pentagon spokesman Lt.Col. Thomas Campbell said inthe statement. “Of these 50, 31total service members weretreated in Iraq and returned toduty, including 15 of the addi-tional service members whohave been diagnosed since theprevious report. Eighteen servicemembers have been transport-ed to Germany for further eval-uation and treatment. PTI
Beijing/Wuhan: ChinesePresident Xi Jinping onWednesday ordered the mili-tary to “shoulder responsibil-ity” to contain the coron-avirus outbreak that has killed132 people, infected 6,000others with six foreigners con-tracting the disease for the firsttime in China and spread to 17countries.
President Xi, who headsthe People’s Liberation Army,told the military to keep theirmission firmly in mind andshoulder responsibility tomake contribution to win-ning the battle against thenovel coronavirus, which hehas described as a “demon”,state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.
Already the military ispressing thousands of its med-ical personnel into Wuhan, theepicentre of the virus outbreak,to assist the doctors.
Xi’s call to the militarycame as the number of con-firmed cases of the rapidlyspreading virus infection inmainland China reached 6,078with 70 cases abroad, sur-passing the cases witnessedduring the SARS or severeacute respiratory syndromeoutbreak, which had causedhavoc in China in 2002-03.Over 800 people, mostly inChina, died during the SARSepidemic.
The coronavirus, which
first emerged in Wuhan in lateDecember, has killed 132 peo-ple, infected over 6,000 othersand spread to at least 17 coun-tries, amid warnings by healthexperts that the epidemic mayreach its peak in the next 10days resulting in a big increasein number of cases.
The Chinese healthauthorities announced onWednesday that 5,974 con-firmed cases of pneumoniacaused by the novel coron-avirus had been reported in 31provincial-level regions byTuesday.
China’s National HealthCommission said in its dailyreport that 1,239 patientsremained in critical condition
and 9,239 people were sus-pected to be infected with thevirus. A total of 103 peoplehave been discharged fromhospital after recovery, thecommission said.
For the first-time, Tibettoo reported a suspected caseof coronavirus.
A total of 65,537 closecontacts had been traced, thecommission said, adding thatamong them, 1,604 were dis-charged after medical obser-vation on Tuesday. A total of59,990 people were still undermedical observation.
Also for the first timesince the virus surfaced inDecember, six foreigners,including four Pakistanis and
two Australians, have con-tracted the virus, raising con-cerns among thousands offoreigners working in China.
Pakistan also confirmedthat four of its nationals, allstudents, have been infectedwith the virus in Wuhan. Over500 Pakistani students were inWuhan.
Chinese officials said oneof the Pakistani students whocontracted the virus was foundin Guangdong province.
Guangdong health com-mission deputy head ChenZhusheng said that thePakistani and two Australianswere in a stable condition butit was not known how theycontracted the virus. PTI
Melbourne: Australian scien-tists said on Wednesday theyhave successfully grown thenovel coronavirus in a lab, forthe first time outside China, a“significant breakthrough”which they say may help com-bat the deadly virus that hasclaimed over 130 lives andinfected thousands.
The researchers from thePeter Doherty Institute forInfection and Immunity — ajoint venture between theUniversity of Melbourne andthe Royal Melbourne hospital
— said the advance will allowaccurate investigation and diag-nosis of the virus globally.
“Chinese officials releasedthe genome sequence of thisnovel coronavirus, which ishelpful for diagnosis, however,having the real virus means wenow have the ability to actual-ly validate and verify all testmethods, and compare theirsensitivities and specificities -it will be a game changer fordiagnosis,” said Julian Drucefrom The Royal MelbourneHospital. PTI
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Dubai: The United ArabEmirates announced onWednesday its first case of thenew coronavirus, in a familyfrom Wuhan, in what isthought to be the first con-firmed case in the MiddleEast.
“The UAE Ministry ofHealth and Preventionannounced a case of the newcoronavirus affecting peoplefrom one family coming fromthe city of Wuhan in China,”the state news agency WAMreported, without saying howmany were infected. AFP
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Ouagadougou: Six soldiers aredead and seven others are miss-ing after their vehicle struck aroadside bomb in easternBurkina Faso, authorities said.
The violence Tuesday cameas authorities confirmed that 39people had been killed over theweekend in an attack on amarketplace in the WestAfrican nation. Earlier reportshad said more than 30 were
thought to have died but detailswere unclear because commu-nication had been cut in thetown ahead of the attack. Inother violence, a nurse diedMonday while traveling withthree others on her way to herpost in Kelbo. Gunmen onmotorcycles attacked their vehi-cle, according to a statementfrom Col. Salfo Kabore, thegovernor of Sahel region. AP
Art that captures the imaginationis often that which serves a wit-ness to and a reflection of con-
temporary times. The populist senti-ments against migration being voiced bymany of the political parties has natu-rally found a reaction at the latest edi-tion of the India Art Fair. There is amigration series — You Will Know Me,curated by Tara Sabharwal by The ArtAlive Gallery. The works are about theartists who have migrated to the US andGermany. There are stories aroundartist like Vir Munshi on his return tohis exiled home in Kashmir, Ritu Sarinand Tenzing Sonam’s film on the expe-rience of Tibetans in exile, LavanyaMani’s dyed textiles on migrations,Sarojini Lewis’ prints on her grandfa-ther’s migration during his service inBritish Army at the time of World WarII and Tara Sabharwal’s collage depict-ing refugees on boats. Sunaina Anand,director of the gallery, says that theywanted to tell people about the migra-tion stories through art.
But then this is not surprising.Going by the exceptional outing thatIndian art and artists had at last year’sIndia Art Fair, the expectations are nat-urally high this year. The hopes centrecertainly centre around not just biggerand better offerings for art connoisseursbut also diverse media, international art
galleries expanding their collectionsacross geographies and mediums andconversations across the art world tak-ing up more space at exhibitions and gal-leries, feel experts.
The director of the fair, JagdipJagpal, shares that the 12th edition pre-sents a strong line-up of leading artists— Maya Krishna Rao, national-awardwinning theatre performer and socialactivist; Lagos-based multimedia artistJelili Atiku, whose works address polit-ical concerns for human rights and jus-tice; multi-disciplinary artist PiyaliGhosh and Raisa Kabir, an interdiscipli-nary artist exploring the politics and cul-tural anxieties around globalised neo-colonial textile production and nation-hood.
It also offers a platform for dialoguesand discussions — Auditorium Talks,which will feature artist presentations,memorial lectures and conversationsacross the art world with critics, collec-tors and institutions across the globe. Forinstance, modernist Nilima Sheikh,Turner prize nominated filmmakerNaeem Mohaiemen and Magnum pho-tographer Martin Parr.
Says Jagdip, “This year’s memorial
lectures will be dedicated to life andworks of modernist Ram Kumar andartist Tushar Joag. Other topics includediscussions on South Asian Textile Artwith curator Uthra Rajgopal from theWhitworth, Plans for Future Museumswith Sophie Makariou and KamaniSawhney from The Guimet and Museumof Art and Photography, amongst oth-ers.”
Outdoor art projects will showcasesix large-scale installations by Indian andinternational artists. The metal sculptureby Anita Dube’s untitled 1994-2019 is alarge-scale installation, taking the shapeof a hollow cyborg to reflect her con-cerns with personal and societal loss ina technocratic age. Another in line willbe Farah Mulla’s Crosstalk 2019, sup-ported by Serendipity Art Foundation.She presents an interactive installationexploring the connections between theaudience, space, sound and colourvibrations. There is Martin Parr’s LivePhotography Project, 2020, Supported byPhotoink, too. Magnum photographerMartin will capture people and presentlive photography at his booth.
Another in line is the Vadehra ArtGallery that focuses on promoting
young and contemporary artist alongwith showcasing the new works ofmodern masters — Shakti Burman,Maite Delteil and Manu Parekh. In con-temporary artists, the gallery will show-case new works of Suman Chandra,Purvai Rai, Portarasan Suban.Portarasan will present a ceramic sculp-ture depicting that the city that we livein has so much radiation. Purvai createslandscapes through textures of her tex-tiles. Suman, with his Jharkhand draw-ings, will depict the misuse of land andhow it has destroyed our environment.Roshini Vadehra, director of the gallery,feels that the current scenario of art mar-ket is very challenging but the mood ispositive. It is that time of the year whenart is foremost on everyone’s mind andpeople are looking forward to newexhibitions. They are eager to knowabout the world of art.”
DAG’s offering at the fair,Masterpieces: 100 Years of Indian Art,includes the collection of modern art inone space. Ranging from a portrait of ajewelled dancer from the South to thedelicate “wash style” associated with theBengal School (KshitindranathMajumdar) to the pathbreaking progres-sives (K K Ara, M F Husain, KrishenKhanna, S H Raza) and a phenomenalrepresentation of the Madras ArtMovement (K Sultan Ali), there are a lotof masterpieces on the display.
Ask Ashish Anand, MD and CEO ofDAG, about the current art market? Hesays, “India’s art market is still youngand, therefore, challenging, with a smallbase, insufficient infrastructure andlack of knowledge about art in general.”While he believes that art has to beaccessible and understood by peoplebefore a viable market can exist, Jagdipfeels that the South Asian art market hasundergone a massive transformationsince the downturn in 2009.
Through such fairs one can see theIndian art industry evolving at a glob-al level. The international exchange ofart and artists is giving a plethora of rea-
sons to the the ones originating in Indiato leave their imprint. Ashish says, “Inthe recent years Indian art is making aglobal presence. Exhibitions and retro-spective of Indian artists have openedoutside, whether Nasreen Mohamediand Mrinalini Mukherjee at the Met inNew York, Nalini Malani in Paris orBhupen Khakhar at Tate London, amongothers.”
Jagdip shares that the galleries are con-tributing to the development of the cultur-al scene within the South Asia art indus-try by laying a foundation for longer-termgrowth of the Indian art market. “We hearthat galleries are making significant salesat all price points to both established anda new, younger generation of collectors,who will be important in shaping the artmarket of the future. A growth in non-commercial art market initiatives is creat-ing new platforms for discussing, contex-tualising and promoting contemporary art.”
She believes that over the past decadethe region has seen a massive increase incultural activity with the establishment ofnew annual and biennial contemporaryart initiatives such as the Kochi-MuzirisBiennale, the Colombo Art Biennale, theLahore Biennale, Pune Biennial, theSerendipity Arts Festival and the DhakaArt Summit. Private patronage for the artsin India and South Asia continues to grow,with increasing support from organisa-tions such as Gujral Foundation and insti-tutions such as Kiran Nadar Museum ofArt, Kolkata Centre for Creativity and theforthcoming Museum of Art &Photography, Bangalore. “In conjunctionwith this, contemporary Indian andSouth Asian art and artists have beenincreasingly visible around the globe, gen-erating even greater understanding of theregion’s cultural diversity. There have beenmajor exhibitions at the Guggenheim, TheMet Breuer as well as high profile part-nerships cross-continent between SouthAsia and Europe, such as the New Northand South network which brought togeth-er 11 institutions in the UK and SouthAsia,” she adds.
Tamil Superstar Rajinikanthhas appealed for water con-
servation on a war footing as hemarks his TV debut after 43 yearsof cinema via Discovery channel’sInto The Wild with Bear Grylls.“This war (water conserving) hasto be led at all levels includinggovernment, community as wellas on the individual front. Ibelieve this show is a perfect plat-form to take the message ofconserving water to every homeacross the country,” said theactor.
The 69-year-old Southernsuperstar shot for the programmein Karnataka’s Bandipur TigerReserve. It’s an 874 sq km nation-al park, formed by integratingmost of the forest areas of erst-while Venugopala Wildlife Parkestablished in 1941, and laterenlarged to its current state inChamarajanagar district, about220 km Southwest of Bengaluru.The tiger reserve lists 28 speciesof mammals to be thriving in theforest, including royal Bengaltiger, Asian elephant, commonleopard, bonnet macaque, Indianpipistrelle and barking deer,among others.
In August 2019, Grylls hadhosted Prime Minister Modi inthe Man vs Wild show, whichwas shot at the Jim CorbettNational Park in Uttarakhand inFebruary 2019. Other interna-tional icons who featured in theshow include United StatesPresident Donald Trump’s prede-cessor Barack Obama, Titanicstar Kate Winslet, Tennis virtu-oso Roger Federer andHollywood great Julia Robertsand others.
“Into The Wild is a trulyunique show, at one level it
offers adrenaline pumpingaction, while at another, theshow lends itself beautifully todriving a specific purpose for thelarger good of society,” saidRajinikanth.
“Bear Grylls has tested thesurvival skills of multiple celebri-ty guests, pushing them to theirlimits. I look forward to the sur-vival challenge in the mesmeris-ing wilderness of India,” headded. Also focussing on waterconservation in the new pro-gramme, Megha Tata, managingdirector, Discovery, South Asia,said that the channel wanted toadd a layer of purpose with eachepisode.
“Last year, the show featur-ing Modi, generated muchdesired attention on conservationof wildlife. We are confidentthat the forthcoming episodewill sensitise each one of usabout conservation of water,”Tata said.
Grylls heaped praise onRajinikanth, saying that the actoris a phenomenon, who has cap-tivated the audience across theworld with his work both onscreen and off screen.
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With the current trend towardde-cluttering and downsiz-
ing, there are plenty of booksabout how to winnow down pos-sessions to the few that are trulynecessary and loved. This bookshows how you can live well oncethat’s done. In Downsize: LivingLarge in a Small House (2019, TheTaunton Press), author SheriKoones focuses on practical waysto live well at home once you’vestreamlined your belongings andare living more compactly.
“It scares people to think ofmoving into a smaller space, butevery single person I interviewedwho has made the transition saysthey are so happy they did,”Koones says. “Time and again,people used the word ‘liberated’ todescribe their move to a smallerspace, with homes requiring farless time and money to maintain.”
Koones, who recently relocat-ed from a sprawling 6,800-square-foot house in Greenwich,Connecticut, to a 1,400-square-foot home closer to town, hasexperienced the transition herself.
“It’s not just empty nestersanymore,” she adds. “Youngerpeople, too, are in couples wherethey’re both working, they’re hav-ing children later, they want to beactive and they don’t want to bedoing maintenance on the week-ends. They don’t want to be tieddown to mowing lawns and doingall the other chores that come withliving in a big house.”
Living more sustainably andsaving on energy costs is also partof the attraction of downsizing,Koones says. So is aging in place.There are people of all ages look-ing for features like a master bed-
room on the main floor or barri-er-free showers.
“Yes, older people with dis-abilities need them but evenyounger people break a leg skiingor have situations where theywant a barrier-free shower,” shesays.
The book features photos andillustrations of 33 well-designedsmall homes in urban and ruralsettings in the US and Canada. Itexamines the features that makeeach home a success, with adviceaimed at those building, renovat-ing or even just organising their
homes.Some of the features that
Koones says can make a smallhome feel more spacious:
- Raised ceilings, well-posi-tioned windows and light wall col-ors.
� Multifunctional furniture, liketiny kitchen tables that can expandto accommodate dinner guests.
� Flexible rooms that can serveas office, bedroom and hobbyroom, for example. One house fea-tured in the book has a garagewith light fixtures and doors thatopen in front and back so that itdoubles as an entertaining space.
� Creative storage ideas, likechairs that can hang on wall pegs,hooks for bicycles, and making thebest use of alcoves or space understairs.
� Fewer hallways, which allowsfor more livable space.
� Koones details specific types ofroofs (like standing-seam metalroofs), flooring (concrete) andheating systems that are moreenergy-efficient and low-mainte-nance. “The key is to have a homethat is efficiently designed, both interms of energy use and in termsof space,” she says. “I refer to it as‘downsizing,’ but a better word forit might be ‘right-sizing.’ For mostof history, houses were moremodestly proportioned, and welived quite comfortably in thosesmaller homes. Over time hous-es got too big. Now the trend isheading toward smaller again.”
declared 2020 as “The Yearof Transformation” with theobjective of putting the com-pany on the path of becom-ing a global engineeringorganisation. Towards thisend, it has kicked off a multi-dimensional transformation-al strategy to address themultiple business challengesit currently faces — includ-ing decline in its traditionalmarket for thermal powerequipment, disruptive tech-nology developments andincreasingly stringent cus-
tomer requirements. Withthis, the company aims toturn the current challengesinto opportunities for thefuture.
In its over five-decadejourney, BHEL has been akey contributor to India’sindustrial development.Presently, more than 50 percent of the electricity gener-ated in the country comesfrom BHEL manufacturedpower generation equip-ment.
As part of the transfor-mation strategy, it has takenup the task of reviewing and
revamping processes,redesigning business models,expanding into new marketsand developing a committedworkforce with a strongleadership at all levels.Specific strategic initiativesfocus on quality, project exe-cution, cost reduction, diver-sification, digital enablementand technology upgrada-tion. These initiatives arebeing coordinated and mon-itored through a“Transformation Office” setup at the corporate head-quarters.
The company has
recently launched “QualityFirst” initiative aimed atstrengthening the qualityculture, focussing on deliv-ering world class productsand services.
Revamp of project exe-cution capabilities is anoth-er major initiative underway with the objective ofarresting project delays andconsolidating its position asa leading project executionorganisation. Under this ini-tiative, a number of stepshave been taken up, includ-ing implementation ofIntegrated Project
Management Software(IPMS) for real-time projectmonitoring, streamlining thesupply chain to supportsmooth erection work atsites, strengthening pre-engi-neering activities for longterm EPC excellence.
The company’s twopronged product strategyfocuses on defending thecore through excellence inexecution, cost competitive-ness, focus on spares andservices and diversificationinto new business areas byengaging a leading consul-tancy agency .
Digital enablement isanother focus area for thecompany. Various initiativesbeing taken in this directioninclude installation of IPMS,implementation of e-Officeand integration of multipleERP platforms for end-to-end monitoring of manufac-turing, project execution toimprove the overall efficien-cy of the organisation.
In line with its philoso-phy of being a committedcorporate citizen, BHEL istransforming its townshipsinto model / smart town-ships.
As a part of the quality man-date, University Grants
Commission (UGC) has set thegoal to get every HigherEducation Institution accredit-ed. In order to achieve this goalUGC has introduced a schemecalled Paramarsh (Consultant).Under this scheme institutionslike SRMIST which are accred-ited and acclaimed by variousagencies act as mentors andadopt unaccredited institutionsand mentor them towardsaccreditation. SRMIST hasadopted five institutions in andaround Chennai under thisscheme.
The inaugural workshopfor these institutes was conduct-ed at SRMIST, Kattankulathurcampus recently where thenuances of accreditation byNAAC were expounded byexperts from SRMIST. It wasalso highlighted how SRMIST,which was first accredited byNAAC way back in 2006,improved its performance byleaps and bounds to attain thepresent exalted status. The fiveinstitutes are: Pachaiyappa’sCollege for Women,Kanchipuram, Pachaiyappa’sCollege for Men, Kanchipuram,C. Kandaswami Naidu Collegefor Men, Rajalakshmi Instituteof Technology and ThangaveluEngineering College.
Welcoming the representa-tives from other colleges,Registrar Dr N Sethuramansaid, “This programme isorganised so that other highereducation institutions get men-tored and we get the opportu-
nity to lend our helping handto other institutions.”Inaugurating the workshop,Vice Chancellor Dr SandeepSancheti said, “Consultations isthe key to improvement in anydomain. Things can be doneeasily when we start consulting,however, this is not followedmuch in the field of education.Consulting with experts, stake-holders is an important way tohandle issues. Sharing the prob-lem also helps in growth. Thisworkshop will also aid inremoving ignorance and helpinstitutions improve their qual-ity, which is an importantbenchmark.”
On SRMIST conductingthis workshop, he said, “It is oneof the first institutions to getsA++. Only a handful of univer-sities have this status under thepresent NAAC system. So thisexpertise that we have can helpother institutions apply for cer-tification.”
He emphasised on theimportance of active learninglaboratory, foreign languages,faculty exchange programmesand so on that enabled SRMInstitute of Science andTechnology in becoming a top-rated ranking university.
Dr Latha Pillai, director(Quality Assurance andRankings) presented anoverview of Parmarsh andNAAC accreditation. Therewere several criterion — wiselectures by accreditationambassador, dean, IQAC andstanding committee membersof SRMIST’s Paramarsh team.
Council of Architecture(COA), the governing
body of all architects in Indiaorganised a “National Awardsfor Excellence in Architecture2019” for students from allover the country. The presidentof COA, Ar Habeeb Khanpresided over the function.The “Best Student ofArchitecture Award” was givenby the chancellor and presidentof DY Patil University, NaviMumbai.
With a view to encourageand motivate the students ofarchitecture, the Council ofArchitecture has instituted theNational Awards for Excellencein: Architecture in thesis andand JK AYA Best ArchitectureStudent of the Year Award and, COA National Awards forExcellence in Post GraduateThesis in Architecture, COAStudents’ Awards forExcellence in Documentationof Architectural Heritage,COA Griha’s National Awardsfor Excellence in ArchitectureThesis on SustainableArchitecture Design. Theaward for excellence in docu-mentation of architectural her-itage is already instituted in
India by Council ofArchitecture since 2018.
The motto behind institut-ing these awards is to inspireand stimulate the architectur-al students to bring glory andpride not only to them but alsoto the profession and architec-tural colleges. It will simulta-neously act to sensitise thesociety and create awareness topromote architecture as acareer option.
In order to create publicawareness, the ceremony forthe National Awards forExcellence in Architecture wasconducted as a two day eventon Friday and Saturday withexhibition and awards ceremo-ny. The ceremony was attend-ed by eminent architects, pro-fessionals, academicians,teachers and students in archi-tecture from all over the coun-try.
The award encouragedstudents to excel in their aca-demic pursuit and spread theawareness about architectureand the architect’s role in thedevelopment of the societythrough exhibitions and openjuries associated with theawards programme.
CRPF-the Central Armed PoliceForce of the country has been
awarded with 76 medals for gallantrywhich include one President’s Policemedal for Gallantry. With this, thetotal number of gallantry medals wonby the dedicated force personnel tillnow has reached upto 1976, thehighest ever among all the CAPFs inthe country. 62 force personnel havealso been awarded with servicemedals. There are also seven CRPFbravehearts whose valour has beenrecognised by the nation more than
once. Among them Naresh Kumar,assistant commandant is honouredwith the prestigious PMG for the sixthtime.
Dr AP Maheshwari, DG, CRPFhas congratulated all the medal win-ners and their families. As announcedby the government on the eve of the71st Republic Day, four braveheartsof the force have been awarded withthe prestigious gallantry medals.
Shaheed constable Utpal Rabhaof the 209 CoBRA Bn- the PPMGawardee, had not only held his
ground in the face of indiscriminatefiring by the maoists but in theprocess ensured the safety of his teammembers too. He laid down his lifefighting the maoists in the dense jun-
gle of Khunti in the West Singhbhumdistrict of Jharkhand.
The same strand of courage andconviction, valour and vivacity, per-sistence and patriotism, selflessness
and sacrifice runs through the gallantacts of all the brave force personnelwhich rightfully fetched them the dis-tinguished honour in the shape of thePPMG & PMG.
Tamil Nadu industrialist and chair-man, KPR group of Industries KPRamasamy visited KISS and KIIT
on Saturday. He visited all campuses ofKIIT and various units of KISS.Addressing the students of KISS he said,education is the fundamental instru-ment for economic and social growth.
Most of the students of KIIT andKISS are providing value based educa-tion. Dr Samanta always thinks aboutKalinga-the Odisha. It is in his heart.
During afternoon Ramasamy wasfelicitated by KIIT, deemed to be uni-versity. He also met Naveen Patnaik,chief minister of Odisha and discussedon establishment of industry by KPRGroup in Odisha. Ramasamy said thathe will explore to establish apparelindustry in Kandhamal and a trainingcentre will be opened there by KPR MillLtd. He was accompanied with highlevel officials of KPR Group.
Few days ago, Dr Achyuta SamantaMP, Kandhamal visited Chairman,KPR Ltd at Coimbatore during his tourto Tamil Nadu. During an interactionwith Ramasamy Dr Samanta request-ed him to establish an industry inOdisha.
In recognition of thecourage and bravery
displayed during vari-ous duties rendered by
Border Security Forcepersonnel, thePresident awarded 60medals, which include
nine Police Medal forGallantry (PMG)including six posthu-mously, five President’s
Police Medal forDistinguished Services(PPMDS) and 46 PoliceMedal for Meritorious
the Chief Electoral OfficePunjab with the “Best Statefor Accessible Elections”award for making elaboratearrangements to facilitatethe Persons WithDisabilities voters duringGeneral Elections 2019. ThePresident of India Ram NathKovind conferred this awardupon the Chief ElectoralOfficer Punjab Dr S KarunaRaju during NationalVoter’s Day function held atZoravar Auditorium inManekshaw Centre. Onreceiving the award, Dr SKaruna Raju said that thishonour was the result ofadministrative cooperationof Chief Secretary of Punjaband active support ofPrincipal Secretary Financeand commendable arrange-ments made during theelections in collaborationwith the departments ofRural Development andPanchayats, Health & fam-ily Welfare and SocialSecurity.
He said that exemplary
arrangements were put inplace as per the instructionsof the Election Commissionof India for the facilitationof Divyang voters in elec-
tions. Dr Raju added thatthe credit also goes to thehard work and efforts ofadditional CEO KavitaSingh, Sibin C, Gurpal
Singh Chahal, BhupinderSingh, all deputy commis-sioners and SSPs to trans-late the vision of ECI intoreality.
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��� �� AC Milan will meet Juventus inthe Italian Cup semi-finals after beatingTorino 4-2 in an enthralling encounterto continue their Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired revival.
Extra-time goals from substitutesHakan Calhanoglu and Ibrahimovicsealed passage into the last four for aMilan side who have been reawoken bythe return of the Swede last month.
They will be relishing the tie with theItalian champions, who thumped Roma3-0 in their quarter-final match last week.
The superstar striker’s second goalsince returning to Milan came on a nightthe club honoured Milan fan KobeBryant — who spent much of his child-hood in Italy — with the message“Legends never die” on the San Sirobig screens.
It was Calhanoglu who savedMilan’s skin just after coming offthe bench, as the Turk’s deflectedshot in the dying seconds of nor-mal time took the match to extra timeafter Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Siriguhad held the hosts at bay.
The hosts had dominated most of thematch but had found themselves behindto two Gleison Bremer goals with 19 min-utes left after Giacomo Bonaventura hadgiven Milan the lead in the 12th minute.
Ibrahimovic missed two chances tosnatch the tie after Calhanoglu levelled,
first somehow shooting over the barfrom inches out, then seeing hissmart shot well pushed away bySirigu.
Sirigu was on top form again inextra time when he pulled off a
superb double save, first charging out tostop Theo Hernandez before quickly get-ting up to keep out the rebound.
However he couldn’t stopCalhanoglu putting his side ahead earlyin the second half of extra-time, his pow-erful shot escaping the Italian stopper’sgrasp before Ibrahimovic slotted homeLeao’s neat lay-off two minutes later, end-ing Torino’s resistance. AFP
����� Trezeguet struck deepinto stoppage time to send AstonVilla into their first League Cupfinal for a decade with a 2-1 winover Leicester on Tuesday toprogress 3-2 on aggregate.
Matt Targett’s early opener putVilla in front, but Leicesterenjoyed the majority of thechances and finally found a waypast Orjan Nyland when KelechiIheanacho levelled 18 minutesfrom time.
However, Villa snatched vic-tory and a trip toWembley on March1 to faceManchester City orManchester Unitedwhen Trezeguetconnected perfectlywith fellow
Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady’scross three minutes into addedtime. “It was emotional for every-one when that goal goes in,” saidVilla boss Dean Smith, a lifelongfan of the club. “Taking this clubto Wembley, I will be a very proudman.”
Defeat ends Leicester bossBrendan Rodgers’s unbeaten runof 31 straight domestic cup match-es after a dominant spell at Celticand he rued his side’s inability toturn their dominance into goals.
“I thought we were excellentin the game. We played with a nicecontrol and composure, but theirgoalkeeper has made some out-standing saves,” said Rodgers.
“I’m gutted for my playersbecause we put so much into thegame. I thought at the end therewas only one team was going towin it, but we switch off at the lastminute.” AFP
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Dominic Thiem shocked top seedRafael Nadal and Alexander
Zverev ousted former championStan Wawrinka as tennis’s youngpretenders stole a march on the oldguard to reach the Australian Opensemi-finals on Wednesday.
Austria’s Thiem, 26, beat Nadal7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) —his first win in six attempts atGrand Slams, including two FrenchOpen finals — to end the 33-year-old’s bid to equal Roger Federer’srecord 20 Major titles.
Earlier Zverev, 22, beat 2014champion Wawrinka, 34, to go intoa semi-final with Thiem, meaningthat one of them will reach Sunday’sfinal against Roger Federer or NovakDjokovic, who have won 12 of thelast 14 Australian Open titles.
Thiem had Nadal’s measure inthe first two sets and he recoveredfrom dropping the third to win thefourth-set tie-breaker, getting off thefloor after falling to win one pointand enjoying some luck from the netcord to set up the third and decisivematch point.
“I was lucky in the right situa-tion — the net cord was really on myside,” Thiem said. “But it’s necessarybecause he is one of the greatest ofall time. You need some luck to beathim.”
Several young players have beenknocking on the door of the BigThree of Nadal, Federer andDjokovic, and either Thiem orZverev will get a chance to kick itopen in Sunday’s final.
‘ALMOST TOO FOCUSED’Germany’s Zverev rallied from
a set down to halt three-time Major-winner Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and reach his first Grand Slam
semi-final.Big things have been tipped for
Zverev since he burst intothe top 10 in 2017, but hesaid that until now he hasbeen pushing himself toohard at the Majors.
“I was doing things ina way too professional way. I was nottalking to anybody. I wasn’t goingout with friends. I wasn’t having din-ner. I was just really almost toofocused.”
“I changed that a little bit thisweek... maybe this is how it shouldhappen,” he added.
Wimbledon champion SimonaHalep has also benefited from a
more relaxed approach asshe swept aside AnettKontaveit 6-1, 6-1 to reachthe semi-finals withoutdropping a set.
The Romanian fourthseed, who is spending time awayfrom tennis between matches, saidshe was finally feeling comfortableon the biggest stage.
“I just feel more confident andI feel like I‘m able to do it,” saidHalep, who is going after her thirdMajor title. “It’s just a feeling that
you don’t see this trophy as impos-sible anymore.”
Halep’s semi-final is against fel-low two-time Slam-winner GarbineMuguruza, who continued herimpressive return to form by beat-ing Russian 30th seed AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3.
“I’m excited to play my firstsemi-final here,” said the unseededformer world number one, who wonthe 2016 French Open and 2017Wimbledon.
“I’ve known her (Halep) forquite a long time so it’s going to bea tough match,” she added.
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Star javelin thrower NeerajChopra has qualified for
the Tokyo Olympics with athrow of 87.86m at the ACNELeague meeting here, makingan impressive return to the cir-cuit after recovering from anelbow injury.
The 22-year-old Indian,who missed the entire 2019 sea-son due to the injury, breachedthe Olympic qualification markof 85m in his fourth attemptand secured the top place at theinternational event on Tuesday.
He threw the spear to81.76m at the start and keptimproving with every throw.
He managed 82m in his secondattempt and 82.57 in the third.
The throw of 87.86m is hissecond-best behind 88.06,achieved during his Goldmedal winning show at 2018Jakarta Asian Games.
“I am extremely pleasedwith the performance. Goinginto the competition, I did nottry to put much pressure onmyself and was keen to testmyself out as it was my firstmeet in a long time,” Choprasaid.
“The warm-up throwswent very well, and eventhough my first three throwswere around the 81-82m mark,I felt there were some flaws I
could work on. This was amajor target for me during myrehab and I’m happy to havequalified.”
Chopra said he will contin-ue with his regular training inPotchefstroom with his coachand physio for few days.
“I will look to competemore in the coming monthsand am looking forward tomore high quality competitionat the Federation Cup and theDiamond League circuit.”
Another Indian in fray,Rohit Yadav threw 77.61m tofinish second.
The other three competi-tors did not even touch the 70mmark.
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Ramkumar Ramanathan wason Wednesday handed a wild
card for the men’s singles maindraw of the Tata OpenMaharashtra and the organisersmay grant a similar entry to vet-eran Leander Paes in the men’sdoubles event.
India’s top two singles players,Prajnesh Gunnewaran and risingstar Sumit Nagal have entered themain draw on their own.
For 25-year-old Ramkumar,who has sipped to 185 in the rank-ing ladder, will make his third
appearance at India’s only ATP 250event in Pune from February 3.
“There are three singles wildcards for the main draw of whichwe have announced one forRamkumar. We are yet to decideon the other two wild-cardentrants,” said TournamentDirector.
“First time it has happenedthat two India players have madeto the main draw of the tourna-ment with a direct entry. We wishthat an Asian or an Indian winsthis tournament,” he added.
According to Sutar, legendaryPaes has also made a request for
a wild card entry into the men’sdoubles event and it will be con-sidered in a “positive” manner.
Surprisingly Rohan Bopannaand Divij Sharan, who won thistournament last year together,are not teaming up this year.Bopanna is also seeking a wildcard entry with local lad ArjunKadhe and so is Purav Raja withRamkumar.
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan andN Balaji have also sought a wildcard entries, making it tough forthe organisers to take a call sincethere are only two wild cardentries for the doubles event.
a spectacle as the first ofthe three double headersof the PBL 2020 is sched-uled to take place todayat the GMC Balayogi SatsIndoor Stadium. Withthe table toppers ChennaiSuperstarz taking on thethird-placed Pune 7 Acesand the Mumbai Rocketsmeeting the NorthEastern Warriors later inthe day.
What makes the firstclash a highly entertain-ing one is how robustboth the teams havelooked so far. With theChennai team remainingunbeaten in three tiesand Pune in two, one willtaste its first defeat in thefifth edition.
The biggest attrac-tion of this tie is the pos-sible face-off betweenChennai’s SatwiksairajRankireddy and Pune’sChirag Shetty, who part-nered each other to a his-toric Thailand Open winlast year. Having knowneach other’s games insideout, it will be interestingto see how they perform
on the court as adver-saries.
Satwik’s smashes andhis dancing skills havebeen a major talkingpoint of the league as the19-year-old looks to bethoroughly enjoying hisfirst stint with the yellowbrigade. Shetty, mean-while, has shown excep-tional chemistry withworld champion HendraSetiawan and has gone aflawless 2-0 in Pune’soutings so far.
“It will be interestingto face Chirag on theopposite side of the netthis time. Both of us
know each other’sstrengths and weakness-es very well and the onewho holds his nervesunder pressure, will winthe match,” said Satwikon the impending clash.
Pune, on the otherhand, has been bolsteredby the arrival of theCommonwealth GamesGold medallists Chrisand Gabrielle Adcock,who have shown tremen-dous fighting spirit togrind out wins for theirteam. 2019 ThailandMasters champion LohKean Yew has also beena valuable addition tothe team as evident fromhis one win and a fight-ing loss in two outings.
����� Tottenham announced the signing ofDutch international Steven Bergwijn from PSVEindhoven for an undisclosed fee on Wednesday.
He became Jose Mourinho’s second perma-nent signing of the transfer window after thenorth London club converted Giovani LoCelso’s loan move into a full-time deal.
With Harry Kane injured, Mourinho waskeen to bolster his attack as he targets aChampions League qualification spot.
“We are delighted to announce the signingof Steven Bergwijn from Eredivisie side PSVEindhoven,” Spurs said in a statement.
“Steven has signed a contract with the clubthat will run until 2025 and will wear the num-ber 23 shirt.”
The 22-year-old added: “It’s an honour forme to be here, a dream to play in the PremierLeague and I will give whatever I have, whatev-er I can bring, I will give it all for the club andfor this team.”
“It’s an amazing move for me, an amazingclub. “Just look around the training ground, it’samazing. It’s an honour to be here. I just spoketo the manager as well. When I was a young boyI looked up to a coach like Jose Mourinho, nowI play for him.” AFP
����� Arsenal have signed Spanishdefender Pablo Mari on loan for therest of the season with an option to buyat the end of the campaign, the PremierLeague club announced on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old joins fromBrazilian side Flamengo, where hehelped them to win the Brazilian titleand the Copa Libertadores last year.
“Pablo is an experienced playerwho will provide us with additionaldefensive quality," said Arsenal techni-cal director Edu.
"We have been monitoring Pablo'scareer for a while and we are verypleased to have reached agreement withFlamengo for him to join us initiallyuntil the end of our season."
Mari said: "It's a massive opportu-nity for me to come to England,which is the best league in the worldright now. "Being able to play in thisleague and having the opportunity toplay for Arsenal is incredible, so I'mreally looking forward to wearing theshirt as soon as possible." AFP
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India's ace sprinterDutee Chand on
Wednesday said she iseyeing to qualify for theTokyo Olympics in com-petitions, scheduled to beheld next month.
The sprinter's imme-diate goal is to make the2020 Games. The quali-fication mark for the100m event has been setat 11.15 seconds.
"I haven't qualifiedfor the Olympics yet. Ihave to attain the quali-fication mark of 11.15seconds. I'll get a chanceto qualify for theOlympics in competi-tions, which will be heldin February," said Dutee.
The athlete believesthe Khelo IndiaUniversity Games willhelp in unearthing new
talent.The first edition of
the competition will beheld in Bhubaneswarfrom February 22 toMarch 1.
The sprinter, whoclinched gold at theWorld University Gameslast year, feels that mostof the sporting talentexist in schools and col-leges.
"The Khelo IndiaUniversity Games is agreat way to unearth tal-ent in this country.People study and playsports side by side. So,most of the talent existsin schools and universi-ties. Sports are playedmostly by students. Wewill get to know who hastalent in the UniversityGames. I will be takingpart in the tournament aswell," said the 23-year-
old.Dutee, who set a per-
sonal best and betteredher own national 100mrecord with a timing of11.22 seconds at theNational Open AthleticsChampionships last year,thanked the Odisha gov-ernment for supportingsportsperson and helpingthem to make a career insports.
"The Odisha govern-ment is supporting thesports circuit very well.Athletes are getting jobsin the government sectorand they are providingfacilities for all athletes toperform as well.
"So I am very happythat the athletes are beingsupported by the govern-ment. Earlier, one couldmake a career only bystudying, but now it haschanged. One has a
chance to make a careerin sports as well," saidDutee.
The national recordholder, who will partic-ipate at the Khelo IndiaUniversity Games forthe Kalinga Institute ofIndustrial Technology(KIIT), is extremelyhappy to see the athletesin India being support-ed by the government.
"Earlier, the focuswas only on cricket, butnow athletics is alsobeing promoted.Athletes from rural areasare getting a chance toshowcase their talentthrough the Khelo IndiaGames. They are beingprovided with facilitiesas well. There's a SAIcampus in every statewhere the upcomingathletes can train," saidDutee.
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The Indian women’s hockeyteam suffered a 0-1 loss to
New Zealand in its third matchof the ongoing tour here onWednesday.
New Zealand’s Hope Ralph(37th) was the lone scorer of thematch.
India had earlier registereda 4-0 win in their first matchagainst the New ZealandDevelopment squad but lost 1-2 in the following match.
India were quick to get offthe blocks on an attacking mode,winning a PC in the secondminute of play but they missedthe chance to convert it and putNew Zealand on the back foot.
In the following minutes,New Zealand created two PCsbut India's defence was rocksolid to deny them a goal.
"Today we tried a few thingson the defensive side and thatallowed New Zealand to come inour circle and create opportuni-ties but it's better to practicethese variations now in thematches as this Tour is moreabout our preparations for theOlympic Games and see how wecan be better," explained ChiefCoach Sjoerd Marijne after thematch.
"Our game is improvingevery match and today wasagain better than the previousmatch. At this moment, resultsare not important but the processis and we are working on somenew tactics that will help us inthe long run," added Marijne.
After ending the first halfwith the scoreboard reading 0-0 stalemate, New Zealand beganthe third quarter on a positivenote with Hope Ralph convert-ing a field goal in the 37thminute.
In the last quarter thoughboth teams traded PCs withNew Zealand earning two PCsand India creating one, neitherfound success ending the matchwith the scoreboard reading 0-1 in favour of New Zealand.
India will take on GreatBritain on February 4.
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Novak Djokovic is everrespectful of “great fighter”
Roger Federer, but the Serbgoes into their Australian Opensemi-final as clear favouriteafter beating the Swiss maestroin every Grand Slam meetingsince Wimbledon 2012.
The pair enjoy one of worldsport’s greatest rivalries and willbe facing each other today fora 50th time stretching back to2006. Djokovic leads 26-23.
While Federer won theirlast clash at the ATP Finals inNovember, the Serb has a psy-chological edge at the Slams,beating him in all five show-downs since losing in the AllEngland club semis eight yearsago.
Sixteen-time Grand Slamwinner Djokovic has also beenin fine touch at Melbourne Parkas he targets a record eighthtitle, dropping just one set enroute to the last four.
In contrast, Federer haslived dangerously, two pointsfrom defeat against JohnMillman in thethird round andincredibly savingseven matchpoints in his quar-ter-final against TennysSandgren.
Djokovic pointed toFederer’s heroics in that epic asto why he can never be writtenoff, despite being 38 and in thetwilight of his career.
“What he did (againstSandgren) was amazing. Heshowed me he’s one of the bestplayers of all time. I mean, henever gives up. When it mattersthe most, he’s focused and heplays his best tennis,” said theworld number two.
“He’s a great fighter.Obviously I have lots of respect
for him.”Federer and Djokovic have
dominated the Australian Openfor years with the all-conquer-ing pair sharing 12 of the last14 titles.
Djokovic is the defendingchampion but Federer won in2018.
“I think conditions suit uswell here. Probably somethingto do with court speed, feelingcomfortable down here,” saidworld number three Federer,who is gunning for a 21stMajor crown.
“I mean, Novak also hasgone on all these runs like I didfor 10 years. He did the samefor the last 10 years. It helpswhen you start the year off witha bang. We were able to do thatquite a few times.”
Djokovic insists his recordover Federer at the Slams since2012 doesn’t tell the full story,pointing to their classicWimbledon final last year.
In that memorable fight,the Swiss had two match pointsand was one shot from victory.
“It’s not like I’ve been dom-inating thematch-ups. I’vehad successagainst him, inGrand Slams in
particular. But Roger is Roger,”he said.
“You know that he’s alwaysgoing to play on such a highlevel, regardless of the surface.
“He loves to play thesekind of matches, big rivalries,semis, finals of Grand Slams. Imean, he’ll probably confirmthat that’s probably the biggestreason why he’s still competing.”
Federer goes into today’sblockbuster on Rod LaverArena after playing 14 gruellingsets in his last three matches,but insisted “I feel pretty goodright now”.
‘Roger is Roger’: Djokovic notunderestimating ageless great
Virat Kohli said New Zealanddeserved to win the third
T20 after India prevailed in theSuper Over to take an unassail-able 3-0 lead in the five-matchseries.
Rohit Sharma smashed con-secutive sixes in the final twoballs of the Super Over to leadIndia to their maiden T20 serieswin in New Zealand followinga nerve-wracking finish.
Needing 18 off six balls inthe Super Over, India managed10 off the first four balls. Rohitthen smacked two sixes — oneover mid-wicket and anotherover long off — to help Indiapull off a nail-biter.
“I thought we were gone at
one stage. I told our coach thatthey deserved to win. The wayKane was batting, on 95. Feelbad for him, I know what it’s liketo play those knocks whenthings don’t go your way. On thelast ball, we had a discussion andwe came to a conclusion that wehad to hit the stumps,” the Indiacaptain said at the post-matchpresentation ceremony.
Rohit turned out to be thestar for India as he also top-scored with a 65-run knock toguide the visitors to 179 for fivein their 20 overs. New Zealandhad it all under control with tworuns needed off four balls andsix wickets in hand to overhaulIndia’s total, but they faltered.
Mohammed Shami bowleda brilliant final over to tie the
game and bring back memoriesof the 2019 World Cup final,which New Zealand agonising-ly lost to England on boundarycount.
New Zealand captain KaneWilliamon did all he could,both in the run chase (95 off 48balls) and the Super Over (11),but still it did not prove to beenough.
“Last ball we had a discus-sion, we had to hit the stumpsbecause if you don’t, it’s a singleanyway. Rohit was outstanding,both in our innings, and the lasttwo balls as well. We knew if hegot one hit, the bowler wasunder pressure immediately,”Kohli said. With the series inpocket, the India skipper hint-ed that he will try out his bench
strength in the remaining twogames.
“It’s important to give acouple of the others some gametime as well. We want to see howthey do in these conditions,someone like WashingtonSundar, or Saini,” Kohli said.Meanwhile, Rohit said there isno training possible for SuperOver eventualities. In fact, theIndian team wasn’t aware of theSuper Over and was made awareof the situation only after thematch had finished in a tie.
“I don’t know if you cantrain for a Super Over. We’ve gota T20 specialist in Bumrah. Forhim, Super Over or whether hebowls in a T20 match is the samefor him. There’s no trainingrequired there for him.
per Kane Williamson said aftera heart-breaking loss in thethrilling third game.
India defeated The BackCaps via Super Over to take anunassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Rohit Sharmasmashed consecutive sixes inthe final two balls of the elimi-nator to lead the visitors to theirmaiden T20 series win in NewZealand.
The defeat brought backmemories of the 2019 World Cupfinal, which New Zealand ago-nisingly lost to England onboundary count.
“Super Overs aren’t really ourfriends. To be honest we wouldhave liked to get across the lineearlier and not in the SuperOver. It’s just a shame that wecouldn’t get past the line,” said adisappointed Williamson at thepost-match press conference.
“It is pretty disappointing tobe on the wrong side of the resultafter doing a lot of hard work.(But) There was a lot of improve-ment after the first two games.
“If we reflect on thematch, then it was abrilliant game. Indiahad a good totalon that surfaceand they didwell with theball because itwas takingsome turn aswell. The guysfought backnicely after thestart India gotwith the bat.And we were ableto build partner-ships and take thegame deep,” he added.
Asked about yet anotherdisappointing outing in the
(��� 2�*�*0
Zimbabwe all-rounderSikandar Raza picked up a
career-best seven wickets asthe hosts built a 175-run leadover Sri Lanka on the third dayof the second Test here onWednesday.
Off-spinner Raza claimedthree wickets apiece in themorning and afternoon ses-sions to finish with figures ofseven for 113 as Sri Lanka werebowled out for 293.
Raza’s haul was the secondbest for Zimbabwe in Test crick-et, after former legbreak bowlerPaul Strang’s eight for 109against New Zealand atBulawayo in 2000.
Rain again brought an earlyend to the day as Zimbabwereached 62 for 1 at stumps intheir second innings with PrinceMasvaure unbeaten on 26.
Craig Ervine was the onlyZimbabwe wicket to fall after teawhen he edged behind offVishwa Fernando for 13. Playwill start early on Thursday at
07:35 GMT.For the second Test in suc-
cession Zimbabwe were forcedto make a concussion substitu-tion after opening batsmanKevin Kasuza was again struckon the helmet while fielding atshort leg.
Kasuza was diagnosed withmild concussion and will takeno further part in the match.All-rounder Timycen Marumahas been drafted in to take hisplace.
Angelo Mathews, whomade his first Test double cen-tury in the series opener, top-scored for Sri Lanka with a grit-ty 64 from 158 balls before hewas caught behind down thelegside off Mumba.
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Kristian Clarke came up with anall-round performance to help
New Zealand beat West Indies by twowickets in a low-scoring affair andenter the semifinals of the ICC U-19World Cup here on Wednesday.
Clarke (4/25) first shone with theball to restrict West India to 238 andthen made an unbeaten 46 off 42 ballsto take New Zealand home in thecompany of Joey Field, who was notout on 38.
Batting first, West Indies werebowled out in 47.5 overs with KirkMcKenzie top-scoring with a 104-ball99.
Besides McKenzie, KevlonAnderson (33) and Antonio Morris(31) also made useful contributionswith the bat.
Right-arm pacer Clarke pickedup four wickets for New Zealand,while left-arm spinner Jesse Tashkoff(2/35) and Field (2/52) shared fourwickets between them.
Chasing the modest total, NewZealand lost wickets at regular inter-vals to find themselves in a spot ofbother at 153 for 8 in 34.5 overs.
But Clarke and Field had otherplans as they duo joined hands andshared unbeaten 86 runs for the ninthwicket to take New Zealand home,finishing at 239 for 8 in 49.4 overs.
SUPER OVERS AREN’T OUR FRIENDS: KANE-��������������� �����������@�� ����������������� ����@������������������
,���� ���8������1����������,�� ������ Vice-captainRohit Sharma onWednesday emphasised onIndia’s recent winningstreak in the shortest for-mat, calling it a good signheading into the T20World Cup.
Rohit has forged twogreat opening partnershipsfor India with KL Rahuland Shikhar Dhawan. Hesaid that the team manage-ment will decide whichone comes to the fore laterfor the T20 World Cup.
“Whenever anyone’sgot an opportunity, theyhave made it count.Shikhar as well, when heplayed the last series againstSri Lanka, he got a crucial50 and then KL has been ingood form over the last 7-8 T20s, he’s got probably 4or 5 fifties,” Rohit said.
“So it’s a good sign forthe team. That’s how welook at it. It’s important formost of our players to stayin good form and then
what happens with thefinal XI and everythingthat will be only decidedonce all the players areavailable and the captainand management will sittogether and identify whoare the right guys to playthat particular game. That’show I look at it.
“For me, I want every-one to stay in good form,which has happenedthrough the series. It is agreat sign for us movingforward in this particularformat at least. I wish thenext two games too wedon’t relax. We just want tokeep the momentumgoing. It’s a good sign,” heopined.
India wouldn’t havewon the third T20I withouthis two Super Over sixesbut a modest Rohit credit-ed Mohammed Shami forthe victory.
Shami took two wick-ets in the final over to dis-miss both Kane
Williamson and RossTaylor.
Rohit hit two sixes offthe last two balls in theSuper Over as India tookan unassailable 3-0 lead inthe five-match series. Bothteams were tied on 179runs each after fifties fromRohit and Williamsoncancelled each other.
“I think MohammedShami’s last over was cru-cial, and actually that gotus the victory. Not my twosixes. It was Shami’s overwhere we defended nineruns. It’s not easy with thedew,” Rohit said at thepost-match press confer-ence.
The India vice captainadded, “The wicket set-tling in nicely and two setbatsmen out there as well...One batsman was battingon 95 and their most expe-rienced player was at theother end. Hats off toShami to bowl that overand get us back into the
game and into the SuperOver.”
Last but not the least,Rohit opined that it wastough not to feel for NewZealand who have been onthe wrong end of SuperOver results for a whilenow.
“Kane Williamsonplayed a solid innings. Ofcourse their team will feeldisappointed about howthey could lose such agame. But we have to lookat how we came back intothe game.
“The last over thatShami bowled was veryimportant for us and apositive sign because wecould play a game likethis in the World Cup.Then what do we do.
“We can’t lose hope.We will need to staystrong, even if you needdefend five runs, you haveto show a positive attitude,and we showed that here,”Rohit signed off. PTI
Super Over, the New Zealand skip-per said: “In my opinion we should-n’t have them (jokingly). Look it iswhat it is. It’s good fun. We had a fullhouse at midnight, which is reallycool. It’s good entertainment.
“I am probably not the person toask as we came second in the SuperOver tonight like a few other times.So it was not ideal but people haveenjoyed that, and that’s fine.”
Williamon did all he could, bothin the run chase (95 off 48 balls) andthe Super Over (11), but still it didnot prove to be enough.
Williamson was especially harsh
on Jasprit Bumrah (0/45), who hadan off day and then was expensive inthe Super Over as well.
“You are just trying to do what isrequired for the team, as best you can,and there are a number of other con-tributions that are really important,”Williamson said.
“Starting on that surface wasquite challenging. Everybody foundso but once you got in then you tryto get a bit of rhythm and the part-nerships were the most positive thingof that run-chase. Overall it was amuch better performance.”
Williamson, however, said he
didn't have any specific plan againstBumrah.
“No, not really targeting him(Bumrah), it was just that we need 10s(per over). There are big challengesthat we have seen in every game butI guess you are trying to do the bestand keep up with the asking rate.”
“Maybe ask AB (de Villiers) orother superstars (how to playBumrah), but for me I was just try-ing to look for areas on that surface.It doesn’t always come off but it wasnice that we were able to get so closewithout quite getting across the line,”he added.
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