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I n a setback to the coalition Government of Congress and Janata Dal(S) in Karnataka, two Independent MLAs on Tuesday withdrew their support even as the BJP shifted nearly 100 of its MLAs to Manesar in Haryana. Unfazed by these developments, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said he was “totally relaxed” and there was no threat to his Government. R Shankar of Ranebennur and MLA H Nagesh from Mulabagilu Assembly con- stituency wrote to Governor Vaju Bhai Vala saying they were withdrawing support to the coalition Government led by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. These Independent MLAs had extended their support to the Congress-JD(S) alliance when it was formed in May last. Political experts say at this juncture it may not affect the stability of the coalition Government since the Congress with 80 MLAs and the JD(S) with 37 enjoy a clear majority in the 224-member Karnataka legislature where halfway mark is 113. Congress leader and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said, “We have heard that the two Independent MLAs want to withdraw sup- port to the Government. As Independents, they are free to take any decision they want. They had extended support when the Government was formed and one of them was made a Minister for a while.” Asserting that he was total- ly relaxed and is sure about his strength, the Chief Minister said, “If two MLAs withdraw their support, what will be the numbers? I’m totally relaxed. I know my strength. Whatever is going on in media in the past week, I am enjoying,” he said. Taking a swipe at the BJP, the Chief Minister said, “What is going to happen? If two Independents declare support (to BJP). What will be the numbers?” Amid claims that the BJP was trying to lure the Congress MLAs and whisked away three of them to Mumbai, AICC gen- eral secretary KC Venugopal held a meeting with Kumaraswamy after holding discussions with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, senior Minister DK Shivakumar, Home Minister MB Patil and other party functionaries. Later speaking to reporters, the Chief Minister said “This ‘Operation Lotus’ is a false alarm created by media. There is no threat to the Government. I enjoy the news channels run- ning programmes like soap opera about threat to the Government.” Operation Lotus refers to BJP’s poaching of MLAs from other parties during BS Yeddyurappa’s first stint as Chief Minister. JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda also said nothing would happen to the Government headed by his son. “It is not in anybody’s hands, including the media. However much you cry hoarse, nothing will happen because it is in the hands of God. When a party (JDS) of 38 MLAs gets the blessings of a national party (Congress), it is all the wish of God,” Gowda said. Gowda also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations that Rs 60 crore and ministerial positions were offered to the MLAs of the ruling coalition by the BJP. “Does it look good that a national party (BJP) is hoard- ing its 104 MLAs? I am not talking about Amit Shah but Modi, who talks a lot through- out the day,” he said. Brushing aside any threat to Kumaraswamy Government, Venugopal said the coalition Government would continue despite the BJP’s “ugly and dirty” horse- trading attempts. T he Supreme court on Tuesday refused to give the go-ahead to the BJP’s pro- posed “rath yatras” in West Bengal, saying the law-and- order apprehension flagged by the State Government was not “totally unfounded”. The SC directed the BJP to seek a fresh approval from the Mamata Banerjee Government by submitting a revised pro- posal. The court, however, allowed the West Bengal unit of the BJP to continue with its proposed public rallies and meetings under its “Ganatantra Bachao Yatra”. The SC asked the Bengal Government to consider BJP’s revised proposal, keeping in mind the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expres- sion guaranteed under the Constitution. “Once such a proposal is submitted, the State Government will consider the matter and pass appropriate orders, keeping in mind that the present involves a case of exercise of the fundamental rights, inter alia, under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. It is in that spirit that we expect the State Government to deal with the matter on receipt of such revised proposal as may be submitted,” the SC said. The Bengal BJP had chal- lenged the December 21 order of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, which had set aside the order of a sin- gle-judge Bench allowing the processions. It had also asked the Bengal BJP to submit a revised plan for its “Save Democracy Rally” for the State Government’s consideration. “Looking into the details of the proposed rath yatras and the order of the State Government dated January 14, 2019, we cannot say that the apprehensions expressed by the State Government are total- ly unfounded,” said a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. “It is for the State Government to maintain law and order in the State and the apprehensions expressed in the order will have to be addressed by the petitioner in a reason- able manner,” said the SC. The Bench, also compris- ing Justices L Nageswara Rao and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, noted the State Government’s sub- mission that it had no objec- tions in allowing public meet- ings and rallies and had mere- ly sought the details and schedules of such events from the BJP. The top court also asked the State Government to respond to the revised pro- posal of the BJP with “utmost expedition”, keeping in mind that with the commencement of the CBSE and other board examinations, the use of loud- speakers might be banned. Appearing for the BJP, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the State author- ities were not granting per- mission saying the proces- sions would be communal at some places and political at other places. He assailed the observations made in the report of the State chief sec- retary and other officials that the “rath yatras” would have members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bajrang Dal, the Durga Vahini and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and said to note that the participants would make the rallies com- munal was improper. “All these outfits — RSS, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini and Vishwa Hindu Parishad — are not banned outfits. We are a responsible party. How can they say it will be communal at places and political at some other places? I have my fun- damental right to say whatev- er I want,” Rohatgi said. I n a major decision, the Centre on Tuesday announced that the HRD Ministry will imple- ment 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker section of the general category from the 2019 academic session and increase around 25 per cent seats in higher educational institutions and universities across the country. The announcement comes following the Constitutional amendment in Parliament last week to provide 10 per cent reservation to general category poor in jobs and education, with the Government terming the landmark move as “slog over sixes”. President Ram Nath Kovind has also given his assent to the Bill paving way for reser- vations in the said category. The quota will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Though financial implica- tions are yet to be ascertained after several rounds of meet- ings, sources said initial esti- mates reflect that around 10 lakh seats will have to be added in institutions across the coun- try, including Central univer- sities, IITs and IIMs, among other prestigious higher edu- cational institutions. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters that the decision was taken at a meeting of officials from the Ministry, University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). He said that the pri- vate universities are also ready to implement the quota. “The reservation will be implemented from the 2019- 2020 academic session itself. Nearly 25 per cent seats will be added to ensure that the reser- vation does not disturb the existing quota for SC, ST and other categories. There are around 40,000 colleges and 900 universities across the country and supernumerary quota will be provided in these,” Javadekar said at a late evening Press con- ference in this regard. The Minister, however, did not specify the number of seats which will be added. “The modalities are being worked out and within a week’s time we will have the exact number of seats that will be added. The operation manuals about how to implement the quota will be issued soon. The colleges and universities will also be asked to mention the quota in their prospectus as well and make infrastructural arrangements accordingly,” he added. HRD Ministry last week had convened a meeting to work out the modalities to implement 10 per cent reserva- tion for the “economically weak- er” sections among general cat- egory in higher educational institutions. T aking the fight to his ene- mies’ camps on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned both the LDF and the UDF that the day is not far off when the BJP would unseat them and win power in Kerala. Addressing a huge NDA rally at the historical Cantonment Grounds at Kollam, Prime Minister Modi lambasted the CPI(M)-led LDF as well as the Congress-led UDF for their stance on the Sabarimala Temple issue. “The entire nation is speak- ing about Sabarimala. The blun- ders of the CPI(M) would go down in history as the most shameful act. The CPI(M) speaks about gender justice while they behaved in the most shame- ful and inhumane manner at Sabarimala Temple. Why did they oppose in Parliament the Bill banning triple talaq if they have concern for gender justice and welfare of women?” asked the Prime Minister. Modi also said the Communists are known for their hatred to Indian history, culture and spirituality; the Congress is also no different in this issue. “The BJP is the only politi- cal party which believes and works for the all-inclusive growth of the population,” Modi added. He said the Congress is notorious for its double standard as well as hypocrisy. “What is their stance on Sabarimala? They speak something in Parliament only to contradict the same the next day outside the House. The LDF and the UDF are the two sides of the same coin. They are the ones who strength- ened casteism, communalism and corruption in the country,” Modi said, and listed the achieve- ments made by the country under the NDA regime during the last four and a half years. The Prime Minister point- ed out that Kollam, which was once famous for its cashew nut industry, is suffering because the Governments led by the UDF or the LDF did nothing to revive and resuscitate the sec- tor. L eader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terming the appointment of M Nageswara Rao as the CBI’s interim director “illegal” and demanding that a meeting of the Selection Committee be convened immediately to appoint a new chief of the probe agency. Kharge, who is part of the Prime Minister-headed three- member panel that removed Alok Verma as CBI chief, alleged that the Government is scared of CBI led by an “inde- pendent” director. “Actions of the Government indicate that it’s scared of a CBI headed by an independent director,” Kharge wrote in his letter to PM Modi. He also demanded that the Government come clean on the issues and make public the CVC report, Justice AK Patnaik’s report and minutes of the January 10 meeting. Rao’s appointment as CBI interim chief is “illegal”, the Congress leader wrote in the letter. Barely two days after the Supreme Court reinstated him, Verma was on Thursday last removed as CBI Director by the high-powered committee head- ed by PM Modi on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty, in an unprecedented action in the Central probe agency’s 55-year history. There were eight charges against Verma in the CVC report presented before the committee that also comprised Kharge and Justice AK Sikri, appointed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as his nominee. A 22 year-old man prepar- ing for the competitive examination has been arrest- ed by the Delhi Police for allegedly sending an email last week to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office threatening to kidnap the AAP leader’s daughter. The man wanted to draw the attention of a high-profile person in order to get better treatment for his psychiatric issues, police said. The man identified as Vikas Rai was arrested from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. “After sending the e-mail, Rai had left for his sister’s place in Rae Bareilly. The police traced him and asked him to join the investigation. He was arrested on Tuesday after the police took permis- sion from the court since the FIR was registered for non- cognisable offences,” said a senior police official. The accused, who was undergoing treatment for psy- chiatric issues at the Safdarjung Hospital here and was declared fit, felt he need- ed better treatment facilities, said the police officer. A BSF officer was martyred in a fresh “sniper” attack by Pakistan Rangers, first in 2019, along the International border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua on Tuesday. The BSF troops, led by Assistant Commandant Vinay Prasad were carrying out Border domination patrol near Pansar border post in Hiranagar, when they were fired upon by Pakistan snipers around 10.50 am. The BSF officer received serious injuries as he was hit in the abdomen. According to a BSF spokesman in Jammu, “the injured officer was taken to Military Hospital in Satwari, Jammu, where he succumbed.” Detailed report on P7
16

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Page 1: A`] de`c^ Z_

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In a setback to the coalitionGovernment of Congress and

Janata Dal(S) in Karnataka,two Independent MLAs onTuesday withdrew their supporteven as the BJP shifted nearly100 of its MLAs to Manesar inHaryana. Unfazed by thesedevelopments, Chief MinisterHD Kumaraswamy said he was“totally relaxed” and there wasno threat to his Government.

R Shankar of Ranebennurand MLA H Nagesh fromMulabagilu Assembly con-stituency wrote to GovernorVaju Bhai Vala saying theywere withdrawing support tothe coalition Government ledby Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy.

These Independent MLAshad extended their support tothe Congress-JD(S) alliancewhen it was formed in May last.Political experts say at thisjuncture it may not affect thestability of the coalitionGovernment since theCongress with 80 MLAs andthe JD(S) with 37 enjoy a clearmajority in the 224-memberKarnataka legislature wherehalfway mark is 113.

Congress leader andDeputy Chief Minister GParameshwara said, “We haveheard that the two IndependentMLAs want to withdraw sup-port to the Government. AsIndependents, they are free totake any decision they want.

They had extended supportwhen the Government wasformed and one of them wasmade a Minister for a while.”

Asserting that he was total-ly relaxed and is sure about hisstrength, the Chief Ministersaid, “If two MLAs withdrawtheir support, what will be thenumbers? I’m totally relaxed. Iknow my strength. Whatever isgoing on in media in the pastweek, I am enjoying,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the BJP,the Chief Minister said, “Whatis going to happen? If twoIndependents declare support

(to BJP). What will be thenumbers?”

Amid claims that the BJPwas trying to lure the CongressMLAs and whisked away threeof them to Mumbai, AICC gen-eral secretary KC Venugopalheld a meeting withKumaraswamy after holdingdiscussions with former ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah, DeputyChief Minister G Parameshwara,senior Minister DK Shivakumar,Home Minister MB Patil andother party functionaries.

Later speaking to reporters,the Chief Minister said “This

‘Operation Lotus’ is a falsealarm created by media. Thereis no threat to the Government.I enjoy the news channels run-ning programmes like soapopera about threat to theGovernment.”

Operation Lotus refers toBJP’s poaching of MLAs fromother parties during BSYeddyurappa’s first stint asChief Minister.

JD(S) chief and formerPrime Minister HD DeveGowda also said nothing wouldhappen to the Governmentheaded by his son. “It is not inanybody’s hands, including themedia. However much you cryhoarse, nothing will happenbecause it is in the hands of God.When a party (JDS) of 38 MLAsgets the blessings of a nationalparty (Congress), it is all the wishof God,” Gowda said.

Gowda also criticisedPrime Minister Narendra Modiover allegations that Rs 60crore and ministerial positionswere offered to the MLAs of theruling coalition by the BJP.

“Does it look good that anational party (BJP) is hoard-ing its 104 MLAs? I am nottalking about Amit Shah butModi, who talks a lot through-out the day,” he said.

Brushing aside any threatto KumaraswamyGovernment, Venugopal saidthe coalition Governmentwould continue despite theBJP’s “ugly and dirty” horse-trading attempts.

� ��� ������ �

The Supreme court onTuesday refused to give the

go-ahead to the BJP’s pro-posed “rath yatras” in WestBengal, saying the law-and-order apprehension flagged bythe State Government was not“totally unfounded”. The SCdirected the BJP to seek afresh approval from theMamata Banerjee Governmentby submitting a revised pro-posal.

The court, however,allowed the West Bengal unit ofthe BJP to continue with itsproposed public rallies andmeetings under its “GanatantraBachao Yatra”.

The SC asked the BengalGovernment to consider BJP’srevised proposal, keeping inmind the fundamental right offreedom of speech and expres-sion guaranteed under theConstitution. “Once such aproposal is submitted, the StateGovernment will consider thematter and pass appropriateorders, keeping in mind thatthe present involves a case ofexercise of the fundamentalrights, inter alia, under Article19(1)(a) of the Constitution ofIndia. It is in that spirit that weexpect the State Government todeal with the matter on receiptof such revised proposal as maybe submitted,” the SC said.

The Bengal BJP had chal-lenged the December 21 orderof a Division Bench of theCalcutta High Court, which

had set aside the order of a sin-gle-judge Bench allowing theprocessions. It had also askedthe Bengal BJP to submit arevised plan for its “SaveDemocracy Rally” for the StateGovernment’s consideration.

“Looking into the details ofthe proposed rath yatras andthe order of the StateGovernment dated January 14,2019, we cannot say that theapprehensions expressed bythe State Government are total-ly unfounded,” said a Benchheaded by Chief Justice RanjanGogoi.

“It is for the StateGovernment to maintain lawand order in the State and theapprehensions expressed in theorder will have to be addressedby the petitioner in a reason-able manner,” said the SC.

The Bench, also compris-ing Justices L Nageswara Raoand Sanjay Kishan Kaul, notedthe State Government’s sub-mission that it had no objec-tions in allowing public meet-ings and rallies and had mere-ly sought the details andschedules of such events fromthe BJP. The top court alsoasked the State Government torespond to the revised pro-

posal of the BJP with “utmostexpedition”, keeping in mindthat with the commencementof the CBSE and other boardexaminations, the use of loud-speakers might be banned.

Appearing for the BJP,senior advocate MukulRohatgi said the State author-ities were not granting per-mission saying the proces-sions would be communal atsome places and political atother places. He assailed theobservations made in thereport of the State chief sec-retary and other officials thatthe “rath yatras” would havemembers of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS),the Bajrang Dal, the DurgaVahini and the Vishwa HinduParishad (VHP) and said tonote that the participantswould make the rallies com-munal was improper.

“All these outfits — RSS,Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahiniand Vishwa Hindu Parishad —are not banned outfits. We area responsible party. How canthey say it will be communalat places and political at someother places? I have my fun-damental right to say whatev-er I want,” Rohatgi said.

� ��� ������ �

In a major decision, the Centreon Tuesday announced that

the HRD Ministry will imple-ment 10 per cent reservation foreconomically weaker section ofthe general category from the2019 academic session andincrease around 25 per centseats in higher educationalinstitutions and universitiesacross the country.

The announcement comesfollowing the Constitutionalamendment in Parliament lastweek to provide 10 per centreservation to general categorypoor in jobs and education,with the Government termingthe landmark move as “slogover sixes”. President Ram NathKovind has also given his assentto the Bill paving way for reser-vations in the said category. Thequota will be over and above theexisting 50 per cent reservationto Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes and Other Backward

Classes (OBCs).Though financial implica-

tions are yet to be ascertainedafter several rounds of meet-ings, sources said initial esti-mates reflect that around 10lakh seats will have to be addedin institutions across the coun-try, including Central univer-sities, IITs and IIMs, amongother prestigious higher edu-cational institutions.

HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar told reporters that thedecision was taken at a meetingof officials from the Ministry,University Grants Commission(UGC) and the All IndiaCouncil of Technical Education(AICTE). He said that the pri-vate universities are also ready

to implement the quota.“The reservation will be

implemented from the 2019-2020 academic session itself.Nearly 25 per cent seats will beadded to ensure that the reser-vation does not disturb theexisting quota for SC, ST andother categories. There arearound 40,000 colleges and 900universities across the countryand supernumerary quota willbe provided in these,” Javadekarsaid at a late evening Press con-ference in this regard.

The Minister, however, didnot specify the number of seatswhich will be added. “Themodalities are being workedout and within a week’s time wewill have the exact number ofseats that will be added. Theoperation manuals about howto implement the quota will beissued soon. The colleges anduniversities will also be askedto mention the quota in theirprospectus as well and makeinfrastructural arrangementsaccordingly,” he added.

HRD Ministry last weekhad convened a meeting towork out the modalities toimplement 10 per cent reserva-tion for the “economically weak-er” sections among general cat-egory in higher educationalinstitutions.

������������ �� ������

Taking the fight to his ene-mies’ camps on Tuesday,

Prime Minister Narendra Modiwarned both the LDF and theUDF that the day is not far offwhen the BJP would unseatthem and win power in Kerala.Addressing a huge NDA rallyat the historical CantonmentGrounds at Kollam, PrimeMinister Modi lambasted theCPI(M)-led LDF as well as theCongress-led UDF for theirstance on the SabarimalaTemple issue.

“The entire nation is speak-ing about Sabarimala. The blun-ders of the CPI(M) would godown in history as the mostshameful act. The CPI(M)speaks about gender justice whilethey behaved in the most shame-ful and inhumane manner at

Sabarimala Temple. Why didthey oppose in Parliament theBill banning triple talaq if theyhave concern for gender justiceand welfare of women?” asked

the Prime Minister.Modi also said the

Communists are known fortheir hatred to Indian history,culture and spirituality; the

Congress is also no different inthis issue.

“The BJP is the only politi-cal party which believes andworks for the all-inclusive growthof the population,” Modi added.

He said the Congress isnotorious for its double standardas well as hypocrisy. “What istheir stance on Sabarimala? Theyspeak something in Parliamentonly to contradict the same thenext day outside the House.The LDF and the UDF are thetwo sides of the same coin.They are the ones who strength-ened casteism, communalismand corruption in the country,”Modi said, and listed the achieve-ments made by the countryunder the NDA regime duringthe last four and a half years.

The Prime Minister point-ed out that Kollam, which wasonce famous for its cashew nut

industry, is suffering becausethe Governments led by theUDF or the LDF did nothing torevive and resuscitate the sec-tor.

� ��� ������ �

Leader of Congress in theLok Sabha Mallikarjun

Kharge has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,terming the appointment of MNageswara Rao as the CBI’sinterim director “illegal” anddemanding that a meeting ofthe Selection Committee beconvened immediately toappoint a new chief of theprobe agency.

Kharge, who is part of thePrime Minister-headed three-member panel that removedAlok Verma as CBI chief,alleged that the Government isscared of CBI led by an “inde-pendent” director. “Actions ofthe Government indicate that

it’s scared of a CBI headed byan independent director,”Kharge wrote in his letter toPM Modi.

He also demanded thatthe Government come clean onthe issues and make public theCVC report, Justice AKPatnaik’s report and minutes of

the January 10 meeting. Rao’sappointment as CBI interimchief is “illegal”, the Congressleader wrote in the letter.

Barely two days after theSupreme Court reinstated him,Verma was on Thursday lastremoved as CBI Director by thehigh-powered committee head-ed by PM Modi on charges ofcorruption and dereliction ofduty, in an unprecedentedaction in the Central probeagency’s 55-year history.

There were eight chargesagainst Verma in the CVCreport presented before thecommittee that also comprisedKharge and Justice AK Sikri,appointed by Chief Justice ofIndia Ranjan Gogoi as hisnominee.

��������������� ������ �

A22 year-old man prepar-ing for the competitive

examination has been arrest-ed by the Delhi Police forallegedly sending an emaillast week to Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal’soffice threatening to kidnapthe AAP leader’s daughter.The man wanted to draw theattention of a high-profileperson in order to get bettertreatment for his psychiatricissues, police said.

The man identified asVikas Rai was arrested fromRae Bareilly in Uttar Pradeshon Tuesday.

“After sending the e-mail,Rai had left for his sister’splace in Rae Bareilly. Thepolice traced him and askedhim to join the investigation.He was arrested on Tuesdayafter the police took permis-sion from the court since theFIR was registered for non-cognisable offences,” said asenior police official.

The accused, who wasundergoing treatment for psy-chiatric issues at theSafdarjung Hospital here andwas declared fit, felt he need-ed better treatment facilities,said the police officer.

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ABSF officer was martyredin a fresh “sniper” attack by

Pakistan Rangers, first in 2019,along the International borderin Hiranagar sector of Kathuaon Tuesday. The BSF troops,led by Assistant CommandantVinay Prasad were carryingout Border domination patrolnear Pansar border post inHiranagar, when they werefired upon by Pakistan snipersaround 10.50 am.

The BSF officer receivedserious injuries as he was hit inthe abdomen. According to aBSF spokesman in Jammu,“the injured officer was takento Military Hospital in Satwari,Jammu, where he succumbed.”

Detailed report on P7

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Since early morning onSunday, the devotees had

started to throng the fabled HarKi Paidi, braving the bitingcold. Things peaked onTuesday when lakhs of themtook the holy dip in the sacredriver Ganga on the auspiciousoccasion of Makar Sankranti.Though the turnout was heavy,the snan passed off sans anydisturbance thanks to the tightsecurity arrangements put intoplace by the administrationand the police. By the end ofthe day, nearly eight lakh devo-tees have taken the holy dip,said police. The period of aus-piciousness started on Mondayafternoon and lasted tillTuesday afternoon, said thepriests based in the holy city .

The devotees from acrossthe country flocked to theghats to take the holy dip in therevered Ganga to gain punyaon the occasion of MakarSankranti which marks theadvent of the Sun God in‘Uttarayan.’ The period is aus-picious as new works are initi-ated from Makar Sankranti,said the priests.

The people performedtarpan (offering to the ances-tors) at Narayani Shila andKushawart Ghat on the daytoo. It is believed that whatev-er is offered to the deceasedmembers of the family, itreaches straight to them andthe punya gets enhanced byholy dip taken in the sacredriver. The punya gained thisway is believed to exceed thefruit gained through perform-ing ‘Ashwamedha Yajnas.’

Speaking to The Pioneer,SSP Janmejay Khanduri said,“Things were smooth on thehighway and other roads con-necting Har Ki Paidi. This isdespite the fact that over sevenlakh people have taken theholy dip here till afternoon.The highway was not closed atany point of time. Four-wheel-ers were allowed beyondRishikul in the afternoon tillthe railway station.” As per thepolice estimate, the turnout fig-ure on Tuesday crossed eightlakh by the evening onTuesday.

Dwelling on the trafficarrangements made to ensurefree movement of traffic dur-ing the two-day festival, SSPsaid, “The whole of the melaarea was divided into severalzones and sectors. Cops werepositioned on the highwayand the major crossings toensure that the traffic was notstuck up anywhere.”

He further said that thepace of the traffic had sloweddown a little as the traffic wasdiverted from the Laksarregion. “But the matter of sat-isfaction for us is that thetraffic has never been stuck upanywhere. Traffic was divert-ed from Narsen entry pointand the buses were made tomove through Chilla route inthe city. Zero zone was markedfrom the post office tri-junc-tion to the main market of HarKi Paidi and towards BhimGoda area.

Two teams of bomb squadand dog squad were alsodeputed in the mela zone andthe whole area was kept underthe scanner of the close circuitcameras,” he said and addedthat the festival had passed offpeacefully without any unto-ward incident reported fromanywhere.

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On the auspicious day ofMakar Sankranti, pilgrims

from more than 12 countriescongregated at ParmarthNiketan here on Tuesday andpledged to do their bit to pre-serve and protect the MotherNature from any harm. Thepledge-taking was led bySwami Chidanand Saraswati,president Parmarth Niketan.On the day marked by the firstShahi Snan of the Kumbh Melabeing held now in Prayagraj,the ascetic engaged himselfand the pilgrims in clean-upprogrammeson the banksof the sacredriver.

He saidthat theKumbh mustbe trans-formed intoS w a c h hKumbh. “Weare here togive a messageof cleanK u m b h , ”S w a m iC h i d a n a n dsaid.

He said,"Kumbh is notan externalexhibition butit is meant forinner self-dis-covery, self-purification,self-cleaning.If we want tomake ourfuture secure,we must pro-tect our cul-

ture and the nature,” headded. Sadhvi Bhagawati whowas also present on the occa-sion said that the festival isthe occasion meant to dispeldarkness of ego-separatenessand let in light of spiritualunity within.

It is learnt that GangaAction Parivar and GlobalInterfaith WASH Alliance inconjunction with ParmarthNiketan are hosting an eco-friendly, environmentallyfocused camp in the KumbhMela being held in Prayag Rajfrom January 14 to February24.

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Veteran political leader andRajya Sabha member

Amar Singh lashed out at theSP-BSP alliance just stitched inUttar Pradesh ahead of thegeneral election. He said thatthe son of Mulayam SinghYadav is engaged in making amockery of his father just tosatisfy his greed for power. “Iwonder whether the BSP supre-mo Mayawati is ready to with-draw the case she filed againstAkhilesh Yadav’s father. Thecase has been pending now inthe Supreme Court,” he said.The veteran leader who was inthe SP for years was inHaridwar on Tuesday.

Quizzed over the recentlystitched poll alliance betweenthe arch rivals, Singh cast ques-tion on its morality. “Alliance islike a marriage and there is noplace for dispute in marriage.If there is any dispute, themarried life is bound to betroubled. So, it must be clearedwhether the BSP supremo hasagreed to withdraw the case shelodged against Mulayam SinghYadav which is now pending in

the Supreme Court,” he said.He also hit out at Akhilesh,

saying that he must make itclear whether the charge lev-elled by Mayawati against hisfather was justified or not. “Inthe five year tenure of SP,Akhilesh did nothing to lift theblemish hanging on the head ofhis father for years,” he said.

“It is therefore clear thatthe son has sacrificed hisfather’s honour on the stake ofpower,” he said. Casting doubtover the political justificationof the alliance for SP, he said,“SP did much better than BSPduring the polls held when theformer was passing through a

difficult patch. Now SP cling-ing to BSP amounts todefeatism on the part of SP.

This is most unfortunate.Son sacrificing honour of his

father in desperation forpower would go down as avery bad precedent for thepolitical life of the country,”Singh said.

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The Municipal Corporationof Dehradun MCD) is all

set to set up another stray cat-tle shelter in the city. Accordingto the information given by theofficials, the proposal is underprocess and it is now awaitingapproval. “Once it is sanc-

tioned, further steps would betaken up accordingly,” said acivic body officer.

Currently, the city has onlyone stray cattle shelter-‘KanjiHouse’-located at Kedarpuramwhich has a very limited capac-ity. The place is crammed oftenas the number of cattle beingsheltered there is large.

As per the information, theproject of another stray cattleshelter would cost around �8

lakh which would be set up onthe land under MCD.

Adding more informationto the matter, senior veterinaryofficer Dr Vivekanand Satisaid, “As 40 more wards arenow under MCD, the numberof the abandoned cattle is ris-ing up, compounding furtherthe problem. We have sent aproposal which is now underprocess. As soon as it isapproved, the work to set up

the stray cattle shelter wouldstart. Once completed, it wouldease our problem a great deal.”

When asked about the ster-ilisation of stray dogs, Satisaid, “Roughly, the populationof stray dogs in the city is25,000. Out of them, 16,000have been operated upon. Weare now down with staffcrunch. There is a need ofaround 250 people to operateproperly in the 60 wards and

40 wards will be added for bet-ter work. We currently have 35staffers which is inadequate.We need more staff for betterworking.”

Municipal commissionerVinay Shankar Pandey said,“We are well aware of the needof another stray cattle shelterespecially after 40 wards areadded in the civic body. Theofficial spadework would becompleted very soon.”

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With one more patient suc-cumbing to Swine flu on

Tuesday, the toll of H1 N1 virusin the State Capital has mount-ed up to seven. The chief med-ical officer (CMO) ofDehradun, Dr S K Gupta toldThe Pioneer that a 51-year-oldfemale patient, a resident ofMokampur in Dehradun, haddied due to the dreaded diseaseat Mahant Indiresh Hospital onTuesday.

He further informed thatthree patients, one each atMahant Indiresh, Max Hospitaland Synergy Hospital, areundergoing treatment at pre-sent for the disease.

The CMO said that all themedical professionals havebeen asked to keep track on thesuspected cases of the diseaseand inform to the districthealth department promtly.

He added that all the hos-pitals have adequate supply ofTami flu (medicine of swineflu) and triple layer masks.“Since the disease spreads bydroplet infection, the peopleshould cover their nose andface with handkerchief whilesneezing or coughing andshould regularly wash handsand face,” he said.

Dr Gupta said that oneshould immediately consult adoctor in case of consistentfever and breathlessness.

Interestingly, six of theseven patients who have so farsuccumbed to the disease wereundergoing treatment atMahant Indiresh Hospital. Analarmed health departmentsent CMO, Dehradun to thehospital for overseeing theprocess being followed in treat-ment of Swine flu patientsthere.

Swine flu is a viral diseaseand its virus is called H1 N1.Its genetic analysis has shownthat it originates from the ani-mals, especially pigs and henceit is called Swine flu.

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The high mortality rate incases of the patients affect-

ed by Swine flu this season hasshocked the experts and manyof them suspect that H1 N1, thevirus of the disease, has mutat-ed to become more virulent.

In the provisional StateCapital Dehradun-which isbearing the maximum brunt ofthe disease-seven patients suf-fering from the disease have sofar lost their lives due to Swineflu.

What is intriguing thehealth experts is the fact thatthe health department has so

far reported just ten cases of thedisease in Dehradun out ofwhich seven have died. It is inthe stark contrast to the previ-ous years where the death ratein the disease was much lower.In 2017, for example, twentypatients had died out of about200 confirmed cases of the dis-ease in Dehradun.

Taking note of the unusuallyhigh mortality due to Swine fluthis year, the district healthdepartment of Dehradun hasrequested the state health andfamily welfare department tolook into the issue.

The chief medical officer(CMO) of Dehradun, Dr S KGupta accepted that the highmortality rate this year is unusu-al and it appears that the virusis virulent. He added that thematter is being brought into thenotice of the higher authorities.

The head of department ofZoology of DAV PG Collegehere, Dr R K Johri also said that

very highdegree ofmortality inSwine flucases this yearis very seri-ous. “It isc o m m o n l yobserved thatthe mortalityrate in Swineflu is muchless than whatwe are observing this timearound. The viruses are knownto mutate and it appears thestrain which has affectedDehradun is more virulent,’’ hesaid.

The state health depart-ment, however, is not buying thevirulent virus theory.

The director general (DG)state health services, Dr T C Pantsaid that the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) providesinformation in case any changeoccurs in the strain of the virus

and there is no report by it onthe change in strain of the virus.

He attributed high mortal-ity rate to factors like focussedtesting and more critically illpatients. He said that the depart-ment is on alert mode regardingthe disease and rapid responseteams are working in all the dis-tricts to combat spread of H1N1. The DG further said thattreatment of the suspected casesof the disease should start with-out delay as early treatmentdrastically reduces mortality.

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The story of the soldier-Jaswant Singh Rawat of the

Garhwal Rifles, believed to bestill on duty decades afterattaining martyrdom duringthe Indo-China war of 1962will be known to the public ina few days. Biographical dramamovie-72 Hours: Martyr WhoNever Died will be released onJanuary 18.

This Hindi film is basedon the life of Rifleman JaswantSingh Rawat. Written anddirected by Avinash Dhyaniand produced under JSR pro-duction house banner, themovie has Dhyani also playingthe role of Rawat.

The movie depicts thedramatised true story based onthe 1962 Indo-China war. Theteaser of the movie recentlyreceived good response fromnetizens. It showcased thedetermination of JaswantSingh Rawat towards IndianArmy. He is believed to havefought the Chinese army for72 hours, resulting in thedeath of 300 enemy soldiers inthe border area of ArunachalPradesh.

On November 17, 1962,

Indian soldiers were attackedby the Chinese Army with 300soldiers at what was then theNorth East Frontier Agency(NEFA) border in ArunachalPradesh. The movie depictsthe valour of Rawat and oth-ers which is now part of leg-end. He was awarded MahavirChakra posthumously for hisbravery, and is believed to bestill guarding the post to thisday. Rawat has also attainedthe status of a deity at theIndo-China border.

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Ahead of the Lok Sabhaelections, the Bharatiya

Janata Party national presi-dent Amit Shah will beaddressing party workers of theTehri and Haridwar Lok Sabhaparliamentary constituenciesin Dehradun on February 2.After that, he will preside overa meeting with senior officebearers of the party and pub-lic representatives.

The BJP State presidentAjay Bhatt held a meeting withparty leaders here on Tuesdayto discuss Shah’s plannedUttarakhand visit. The party’sstate media in-chargeDevendra Bhasin said thatShah is slated to attend differ-ent programmes on February 2.After his arrival, he will address‘Trishakti Sammelan’. About14,000 office bearers, MLAsand MPs from Tehri and Pauriwill be attending this meet.After this, he will be holding a

meet with party leaders andoffice bearers.

‘Trishakti Sammelan’ willalso be organised for Garhwal,Almora and Nainital con-stituencies, the dates for whichwill be decided later.Meanwhile, on January 21 and22, meetings will be held to pre-pare for Shah’s visit. Bhatt willpreside over these meetingswhich will also be attended byChief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat and party State in-chargeShyam Jaju.

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Space technology should beused for the welfare of the

masses and environmental con-servation. Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat said thiswhile speaking at a workshopon space-based informationsupport for decentralised plan-ning organised by UttarakhandSpace Application Centre(USAC) here on Tuesday.

Rawat said that space tech-nology should be used toimprove the quality of life of themasses and conservation ofthe ecosystem. Facilitationsthrough satellite are not limit-ed only to science anymore buthave become a part of generallife.

Space technology has animportant role to play when itcomes to ensure convenience offacilities provided to the pub-lic and preventing excessiveexploitation of the environ-ment and other resources, hesaid. Rawat said that scientistsand departments concernedwill have to deliberate on newtechnology and scientificresearch to think of how toensure maximum benefit to thepublic.

He also stressed on theneed for thinking how new sci-entific discoveries can help inconservation of forests, water

and land. The CM also released

Kailash sacred landscape atlas,SISDP report and launched theUttarakhand geospatial ser-vices portal.

The Minister of State forHigher Education, Dhan SinghRawat also expressed his viewson the use and importance ofspace technology on the occa-sion.

Earlier, the USAC directorMPS Bisht informed the gath-ering in detail about the worksdone and planned by the

Centre. He also spoke aboutspace technology, how it hasbeen used in the State andscope for its use in enhancingworks in various spheres.

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Talking to the media per-sons after the programme,

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh

Rawat said that the provisionof 10 per cent reservation toeconomically weaker mem-bers of the general categorywas a historic decision of theUnion Cabinet. Directionshave been issued for imple-menting this in Uttarakhandtoo. Aspects of this provisionare being examined though itcan be stated that it has beenimplemented in Uttarakhand.

Regarding the BJP’s prepa-rations for the parliamentarypolls, he said that the party wasfully prepared for the elections.

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Heritage Aviation companyis slated to start air service

from Dehradun to Pithoragarhon January 17. On the same dayit will also start air service fromPantnagar in Udham SinghNagar district to Pithoragarh.

According to officials, aticket on the Dehradun-Pithoragarh flight will cost �1,570 while the flight will takeabout an hour to reachPithoragarh after taking offfrom Dehradun at 9:30 AM.

Tourism secretary andCivil Aviation secretary in-charge Dilip Jawalkar that thiswill be the second air-service tobe launched under the UdeDesh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)scheme for the convenience ofpeople residing in the areasalong the borders with Nepaland China.

The journey which takespeople 12 to 16 hours by roador train will be complete in anhour by air. Tickets will bebooked online.

Meanwhile, the Pantnagarairport director Sanjeev KumarSingh said that HeritageAviation company will alsostart operation of air service onthe Pantnagar-Pithoragarh-Pantnagar route. This is thesecond air-service to belaunched from Pantnagar air-port within a month under the

UDAN scheme. A 30-minutejourney on this route will cost�1,410 per ticket. Singh furtherinformed that depending onthe number of passengers, thecompany is also seriously con-sidering the operation of new20-seater aircraft on the route.

A company officialinformed that initially the com-pany will use new nine-seateraircraft on this route for dailyflights.

Flight number 4H-103 will

depart from Pantnagar at 11:30AM and reach Naini Saini air-port in Pithoragarh at about 12PM. Flight number 4H-102 isslated to depart fromPithoragarh at 10:40 AM andreach Pantnagar at 11:10 AM.

Further, flight number 4H-101 will depart from Dehradunat 9:30 AM and reachPithoragarh at 10:20 AM while4H-104 will depart fromPithoragarh at 12:20 PM andreach Dehradun at 1:10 PM.

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If you are exceptionally talland your hand span-mea-

sured by spreading both thearms wide apart-is more thanhalf of your total height youshould get checked as chancesof a genetic disorder calledMarfan’s syndrome is signifi-cantly higher in people with theabove mentioned traits.

A similar case wasencountered by the doctors ofKailash Hospital here when27-year- old Qadir (namechanged), a resident of

Muzaffarnagar (UP), wasadmitted on complaint ofbreathlessness on minimalactivity.

The Cardio Thoracic andVascular Surgeon of the hos-pital, Dr Akhilesh Pandey saidthat CT –Angiography hadrevealed that the ascendingaorta had swelled many-folds.“The patient was subjected toBentall’s operation whichinvolved replacing the ascend-ing aorta and aortic valvethrough open heart surgery.During the surgery, the heartbeat of the patient was stopped

for 140 minutes,’’ he said.Dr Pandey further said

that five days following thesurgery, the patient is nowready to be sent home. He saidthat the patient is sufferingfrom Marfan’s syndromewhich is a genetic disorder.“Such patients develop weak-ness in the wall of aorta andaortic valve malfunction caus-ing aneurysm and dissection.

Our team performed foursuch operations in the past butthis was the first case ofMarfan’s syndrome,’’ DrPandey added.

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The proposal for securing acredit rating for the

Mussoorie DehradunDevelopment Authority(MDDA) was approved by itsboard. The credit rating wouldenable the authority to secureloans easily for execution of itsschemes. This and other deci-sions were taken in the MDDA’s95th board meeting presidedover by the Garhwal commis-sioner and MDDA chairmanShailesh Bagauli here on Tuesday.

It was stated in the meetingthat under six heads of the2018-19 budget more than 90per cent had been spent byDecember 2018. Consideringthis, the board approved redis-tribution of budget from themaster plan head to these sixheads for the next three months.Regarding suggestions andobjections received pertaining tothe 10 villages brought under thepurview of MDDA, it was decid-ed that after report of the hear-ing on these by the committee,the necessary proposal alongwith approval will be sent to thestate administration.

The selection of Bridge andRoof company as the executingagency was approved forDhaulas housing scheme alongwith the costing for the same.The board also approved com-pounding under one-time set-tlement scheme for develop-ment charges and other pay-ments not made on time onapproved building maps. Otherissues on the agenda could notbe discussed due to paucity oftime and would be taken up onJanuary 19.

The MDDA vice chairmanAshish Kumar Srivastav, Financeadditional secretary LN Pant,MDDA secretary PrakashChandra Dumka, chief town andcountry planner SK Pant andother members of the board werepresent in the meeting.

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The Uttarakhand ElectricityRegularity Commission

(UERC) has directed theUttarakhand PowerCorporation Limited (UPCL)to actively pursue activitiesaimed at reducing power loss-es. It also directed the UPCL toprepare necessary proposalsto reduce power losses forfinancial year 2019-20 and2020-21 within next 60 days.

The secretary UERC NirajSati said that UPCL had sub-mitted a petition with theUERC for sanction of a sum of�157.55 crore for replacingoverhead LT conductors inDehradun, Uttarkashi, Pauri,Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagarand Almora districts with LTAerial Bunch Conductor(ABC) cable in July, 2018. Inthe petition, the UPCL hadproposed to purchase 3250km- long ABC cable as, accord-ing to it, the use of new cablewould prevent power theftsand increase power securityand improve supplies. The step

was meant to reduce trans-mission losses and bring downthe financial loss. On receiptof this proposal, the commis-sion asked the UPCL to submitdivision-wise details of theproposal, but it failed to file areply till November 2018.

The UPCL requested thecommission to grant a timeperiod of one month to submitthe required documents inNovember 2018. Sati said thatUPCL had again failed to sub-mit documents even after endof one month after which com-mission held a hearing on thepetition on Tuesday.

In the hearing, the UPCLofficials gave details of theimportance of the cable changeproposal and sought a timeperiod of 60 days to submit theinformation sought by thecommission.

On a stern note, the com-mission stated that the finan-cial year for which the invest-ment proposal was submittedis at its fag end and givinganother extension would finishits relevance.

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The Agriculture depatmenthas exonerated Jagdish

Chandra Khulbe, officer onspecial duty in the ChiefMinister’s office, of chargeslevelled against him for hiswork during his past tenure asthe in charge Agriculture andLand Conservation officer,Chakrata in Dehradun dis-trict.

It will be recalled thatKhulbe was accused of anom-alies involving public moneyamounting to �70 lakh, whichwas meant for a CentralGovernment scheme.

It was alleged that duringhis past term, Khulbe hadmisappropriated funds underthe Integrated WatershedManagement Programme ofthe Central Government.

However, in the order

signed by Agriculture direc-tor Gauri Shankar last month,it has been stated that fol-lowing the issuance of sevencharges against him and thedepartmental inquiry, Khulbehad provided satisfactoryreplies with evidence to provethat he had not indulged inany anomalies.

The director expressedsatisfaction at the replies pro-vided by the accused officer,report of the inquiry officeralong with the evidence anddocuments provided.

Considering this, theAgriculture director took afinal decision on the chargeslevelled against Khulbe, exon-erating him of the charges andending the process of disci-plinary action against him.

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Noted social scientist andformer head of the depart-

ment of school of social scienceHNB Garhwal University J PPachauri said that learning is acontinuous process whichstarts from birth of an indi-vidual.

He was speaking on thesecond day of the ten-day

national workshop on researchmethodology at the school ofthe management in DoonUniversity on Tuesday. He saidthat quest of incorporatingnew changes and experimentstakes the inquisitiveness of astudent to the highest level.Pachauri explained the funda-mental concepts of the researchby giving simple and lucidpractical examples.

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As the State has wit-nessed an alarming

number of cases ofmolestation in just onemonth, the StateCommission forProtection of Child RightsSCPCR) has written a let-ter to education depart-ment as well as to thepolice department to makethe children aware of goodtouch and bad touch.

According to a seniorfunctionary of the childrights body, the letter toboth the departments hadbeen sent nearly twomonths ago. “But the cam-paign as suggested is yet tobe launched,” he said.

Quizzed over thedelay, a senior officer saidthat despite the letter beingsent around two months

ago, the campaign is yet tobe started for several rea-sons. “This is principallybecause of the studentsbeing engaged with theirexaminations,” he said.

However, the SCPCRofficer said that nothinghad happened despite thebody having sentreminders to both thedepartments, asking themto launch the campaignwithout wasting furthertime. “Both the depart-ments conduct such cam-paigns in the schools. Byway of contrast, severalorganisations like NGOsand other bodies are reg-ularly working in the fieldto make the childrenaware of the good and thebad touch,” the officersaid.

With respect to thecase of a 14-year-old girl

allegedly molested by herown relative in Nanital, thecommission has written aletter to the senior super-intendent of policeNanital, asking the officerto submit the inquiryreport of the case in thecommission within 15days. Furthermore, thecommission has written tothe Uttarakhand StateLegal Service AuthoritySLSA) for the compensa-tion due to a victim of arape case allegedly com-mitted in 2018.

The chairpersonSCPCR Usha Negi said, “Itis very important that thechildren are made awareof the good and the badtouches. The more theyare aware the less thecrimes to be perpetratedagainst them.”

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In order to spread aware-ness regarding the

Electronic VotingMachine (EVM) andVoter Verified Paper AuditTrail (VVPAT) in the vil-lage areas of the state forthe upcoming Lok Sabhaelection, the state chiefelectoral officer Sowjanyaflagged off 21 vehicles tobe used for the awarenessprogramme on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occa-

sion, she said, “The cam-paign has been launchedto make the people livingin the villages aware of theEVM and VVPAT whichwould be used in theupcoming Lok Sabha elec-tion. The campaign wouldbe conducted for onemonth.”

She further said thatthe VVPAT machinealong with Ballot Unit(BU) and Control Unit(CU) is like a printer inwhich a voter can see his

or her vote cast in favourof the chosen candidate.“To take the awarenessprogramme to every cor-ner , the vehicles would besent to the villages acrossthe State.

A proper route chartfor all the 21 vehicles hasbeen made and as per it,one vehicle would cover atleast three to four villagesin a day. We hope that theprogramme would beimmensely successful,’’ sheadded.

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Soon, all the divyangs inPunjab would get spe-

cial identity cards forunique identity purposes.

Announcing this, thestate’s Social Security,Women and ChildDevelopment MinisterAruna Chaudhary onTuesday said that theUnion Social Justice andEmpowerment Ministryhas initiated a special pro-ject aimed at givingunique identity to the‘divyang’ persons, and thisproject has been started inall the districts of Punjab.

Chaudhary said thatthe Government has start-ed a web portal —www.swavlambancard.gov.in — for the divyang per-sons under this project.

As per this, the HealthDepartment would pro-vide a single unique iden-tity card (UDID) to eachdivyang person of Punjabwhich would serve as amultipurpose document

for identification ofdivyang persons. The cardwould be applicablethroughout the country.

In accordance withthe project, a central leveldatabase of the Divyangpersons would be pre-pared so as to bring themin the mainstream at vil-lage, block, district,provincial and nationallevel and bring trans-parency in the facilitiesbeing granted to them.Various welfare schemesconcerning Divyang per-sons are also available onthis portal.

The Minister addedthat these facilities couldonly be availed by theDivyang persons throughthis UDID. The HealthDepartment would alsoissue a ‘DivyangtaCertificate’ along with thisUDID.

The divyang personsof the state need to regis-ter themselves at thewww.swavlambancard.gov.in portal for availing thefacility.

Chaudhary said thatthose divyang perons whohave the offline certificateearlier issued by theHealth Department andwho are willing to getmade new ‘DivyangtaCertificate’, can get them-selves registered throughtheir sewa kendars, com-puters, common servicecentres, health centres,social security office.

For more information,the Social Security Officerof the concerned districtcould be contacted by thedivyang persons.

At the sewa kendarsand the common servicecentres, the divyang per-sons can get their regis-trations done at thecharge of Rs 10 per appli-cation.

Apart from this, thedivyang persons can alsocontact the anganwari oftheir village who wouldfacilitate the filling of theapplication forms andafterwards making sure itreaching the suvidha orcommon service centres.

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Haryana Government on Tuesday issuedtransfer and posting orders of 13 IPS offi-

cers with immediate effect.Saurabh Singh, IGP Security with addition-

al charge of IGP, STF Gurugram and CP,Panchkula has been posted as IGP, Security withadditional charge of CP, Panchkula relinquishingadditional charge of IG, STF.

Yogender Nehra, IGP RTC Bhondsi hasbeen posted as IG, RTC Bhondsi with addition-al charge of IG, STF while Y. Puran Kumar, DIGPrison has been posted as IG, Home Guards, onpromotion.

Hemat Kalson, DIG, CTI Home Guardsgoes as IGP, CTI Home Guards, on promotion,Manish Chaudhary, SP Security, CID has beenposted as DIG Security CID on promotion,Kulvinder Singh, DCP Headquarters Gurugramhas been posted as Joint CP, Gurugram, on pro-motion.

Ashok Kumar, SP Law and Order with addi-tional charge of SP, Telecom goes as SP Telecom,Pankaj Nain, SP Jhajjar has been given additionalcharge as SP Security, Deepak Gehlawat SP, Lawand Order has been posted as Commandant 4thIRB Manesar with additional charge of SP, Lawand Order.

Anshu Singla, ASP Panchkula has been post-ed as Additional SP Rohtak, Narender Bijraniya,ASP Gohana Sonipat goes as DCP Crime,Gurugram, Shashank Kumar, ASP Badli, Jhajjarhas been posted as Additional SP, Jhajjar and Chander Mohan, ASP,Ambala has been posted as Additional SP,Ambala.

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Himachal government hastaken new initiatives for

promotion of tourism activitiesand exploring lesser knownand virgin places of the Statewith assistance of about Rs.1900 crores from AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB),Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakursaid on Tuesday.

Launching the website andcalendar of tourism depart-ment, here, Thakur said thatthe website ---- himachal-tourism.gov.in. --- has mobilefriendly design with singlecodebase for all devices whichwould not require to maintainseparate site for mobile.

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Union Minister Smriti Iraniand Congress chief Rahul

Gandhi engaged themselves inverbal duel over social mediawith the former taking a jibe onthe way Congress awardedBharat Ratna on themselves,after Rahul made a mockery ofPrime Minister Narendra Modion him being conferred withPhilip Kotler Presidentialaward.

Irani’s lash out came afterRahul took a swipe at Modi forreceiving the Philip KotlerPresidential award. “I want tocongratulate our PM on win-ning the world famous ‘KotlerPresidential Award’!. In fact it’sso famous it has no jury, hasnever been given out before &is backed by an unheard ofAligarh company. EventPartners: Patanjali & RepublicTV :),” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

In a sharp retort, Irani,while tagging Rahul Gandhi’stweet, suggested that unlikePrime Minister Modi, whowas awarded by someone else,Gandhi family members hadconferred themselves the coun-try’s top civilian honour.

Irani is again looking for-ward to contest from RahulGandhi’s Lok Sabha con-stituency Amethi. Last weekshe was on a two-day tour tothe constituency where shepointed about the under devel-opment of the Gandhi bastion.

“Rich !!! Coming from aperson whose illustrious fam-ily decided to confer the ‘BharatRatna’ on themselves,” Iranitweeted, mocking Rahul’sremark.

Modi received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidentialaward on Monday. The awardfocuses on the triple bottom-line of ‘people, profit and plan-et’. It will be offered annually tothe leader of a nation, a state-ment from the Prime Minister’sOffice said. According to theaward citation, Modi wasselected for his “outstandingleadership for the nation”.

Another Congress leaderKapil Sibal took a jibe at UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath government overthe invoking of the NationalSecurity Act (NSA) againstthree persons arrested in con-

nection with an alleged cow-slaughter incident, saying NSAfor those accused of killingcows while freedom for thoseinvolved in the killing of apoliceman.

“Wah Yogi ji (UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath)...NSA for thoseaccused of killing cows.Freedom for those involved inkilling Inspector Subodh KantSingh,” Sibal said in a tweet.The Bulandshahr districtadministration on Mondayinvoked the NSA against threepersons arrested in connectionwith an alleged cow-slaughterincident in Siyana tehsil lastmonth.

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Union Home Secretary RajivGauba on Tuesday held a

meeting with senior officialsincluding BSF DG RK Mishraand Punjab Chief SecretaryKaran Singh Avtar on the issueof Kartarpur corridor here.The meeting of senior officialsof Centre and Punjab dis-cussed on security, logisticsand administration issues relat-ed to Kartarpur Corridor. Theother officials who attended themeeting included Punjab DGP,Intelligence, Dinkar Gupta,Indian High Commissioner toPakistan Ajay Bisaria andNHAI officials.

Earlier in the day, PunjabChief Minister AmarinderSingh sought waiver of thepassport condition for pilgrimsto pay obeisance at KartarpurSahib Gurdwara in Pakistan onthe 550th birth anniversarycelebrations of Guru NanakDev. In a letter to Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh, herequested that the condition ofmandatory passport for devo-tees seeking to cross theKartarpur Corridor be waived.

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Days after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi called for

a strong research ecosystem inthe State universities and col-leges, the Union Science andTechnology Minister Dr HarshVardhan on Tuesday launchedtwo science communicationsinitiatives — DD Science andIndia Science — with an aim todevelop a scientific tempera-ment among people particu-larly children here.

Speaking on the occasion,Dr Harsh Vardhan said whilethere was no dearth of ideas,talent and potential in thecountry, developing a scientif-ic temperament was a “criticalnecessity” and the ultimateaim was to launch a 24/7 chan-nel dedicated to science.

A pact was inked betweenVigyan Prasar, an autonomousorganisation underDepartment of Science andTechnology (DST) andDoordarshan on the occasion.

Director General,Doordarshan, Supriya Sahusaid that during a survey in vil-lages it was found that youthwanted science related pro-gramme and it is hoped that thenew initiative will be meettheir needs. “The channels willhave science based documen-taries, studio based discussions,virtual walkthroughs of scien-tific institutions, interviews andshort films and will be com-pletely free to access,” she said.While DD Science is a one hourslot on Doordarshan National

channel, India Science is aninternet based channel.Secretary, Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting,Amit Khare said Doordarshanreaches over 3 crore houses inthe country and would be animpactful medium for the pop-ularisation of science.

Khare also said thatDoordarshan would be an idealplatform to send the scientificfindings across.

CEO Prasar Bharati ShashiShekhar Vempati said the chan-nels were dedicated to scienceand will “enhance the spirit ofenquiry in children” whileAshutosh Sharma, Secretary,DST said pointed out that DSTranks number five in the worldin the research publications.

The Prime Minister earlythis year after inaugurating the106th Indian Science Congressin Jalandhar had said that Indianeeds to emerge among topthree economic superpowersand it can happen only throughscience and innovation.

Emphasising the need tomake big strides in the field ofscience and research, hadadded ‘Jai Anusandhan’ to thepopular phrase ‘Jai Jawan, JaiKisan, Jai Vigyan’. He urged thescience, technology and inno-vation advisory council to for-mulate an action plan toencourage research and inno-vation in colleges and univer-sities.

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While girls outperformboys in academics, when

it comes to basic arithmeticboys seem to hold a substantialadvantage over girls, accordingto the Annual Status ofEducation Report (ASER),2018. Nationally, 50 per cent ofall boys in the age group 14 to16 can correctly solve a divisionproblem as compared to 44 percent of all girls, the report stat-ed. The ASER covered 596districts, 354,944 householdsand 546,527 children in the 3-16 age group.

The survey took intoaccount three major aspects,including school enrolmentand attendance, basic readingand math abilities, and schoolfacilities with sports infra-structure.

According to the report,girls outperformed boys inacademics but when when itcame to basic arithmetic, boysseem to hold a substantialadvantage over girls.

For the first time in 2018,the number of children in the6 to 14 age group, who are notenrolled in school, fell below 3per cent and stood at 2.8 percent.

In 2006, the all-India pro-portion of girls in the agegroup 11 to 14, who were outof school, stood at 10.3 percent. In that year, nine majorstates had out of school figuresfor girls (age 11-14) above 10per cent, the report stated.

“In 2018, the overall pro-portion of girls in the 11 to 14age group out of school has fall-en to 4.1 per cent. This figureis more than 5 per cent in onlyfour states.

“Further, ten years ago in2008, nationally, more than 20per cent of girls in the 15 to 16age group were not enrolled inschool. In 2018, this figurehas decreased to 13.5 per cent,”stated the report.

According to the report,reading abilities of childrenhave also shown gradualimprovement.

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Visit to the 13th-centuryHauz Khas monuments in

Delhi, archival marvel Tomb ofLal Khan constructed by KingNaresh in 1773 andChaukhandi Stupa Sarnathhousing various stupas (both inVaranasi), Piprahwa andGanwaria in Sidarthnagar andGupta Temple in Lalitpur inUttar Pradesh besides 22 othermonuments across the countrywill be, in all likelihood, notfree soon. In other words, thevisitors will have to loosentheir purse strings in case theyplan to visit these 27 identifiedhistorical sites (see box). Indianvisitor will have to pay �35 fora ticket while for a foreigner

entry fee will be �550. The Archeological Survey

of India (ASI) under the UnionCulture Ministry has issued apreliminary notification in this

regard, seeking public views.The notification issued onJanuary 4, 2019 has beenuploaded on the website of theASI till next 45 days when pub-

lic or experts can suggest orobject the proposed inclusionof monuments under the tick-et ambit. Once notificationbecomes effective, there will be

total 143 monuments in thecountry that will attract entryfees.

“These monuments havetheir historical values and needbetter protection. The ticketingwill help generate fund fortheir upkeep as well as con-structing better amenities forthe visitors,” said an officialfrom the ASI. He said that thesemonuments attract high foot-falls and hence the moneygenerated will be pumped inthe upkeep of these touristsspots only, he said.

Making the monumentsticketed would also deter anti-social elements and those whodeface monuments or put graf-fiti on them.

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Crediting Narendra Modifor leading India as the

fastest growing major economy,Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley on Tuesday said Indianeeds a decisive Prime Ministerwith a clear mandate to deliv-er economic growth and satis-fy the country’s aspirations, andnot an unworkable alliancewith maverick leadership.

“Who should be India’sPrime Minister, if India wantsto achieve this? Should he/shebe constrained by his/her rivalaspirants who have reluctant-ly supported him/her out ofmere dislike for a commonopponent or does India need aPrime Minister with a clearmandate as in 2014.

Jaitley in a blog said Indiahas emerged as the fastestgrowing major economy underModi though it is still not sat-isfied with 7-7.5 per cent GDPgrowth and wants to “break the8 per cent barrier”.

“Only such a PrimeMinister can deliver growthand satisfy the nation’s aspira-tions” Jaitley said in an appar-ent dig at “mahagathbandhan”being propped up byOpposition parties with thesole objective of defeating theBJP in the forthcoming gener-al elections.

The pre-requisite forensuring growth is a decisiveleadership, consistency in pol-icy direction and a strong andstable Government, and not “anunworkable alliance with mav-erick leadership whose longevi-

ty is a suspect can never achievethis” he said in the blog titled‘Political stability, DecisiveLeadership and a ClearMandate — Their Relationshipwith Growth’ .

Under Modi, Jaitley saidIndia recorded a growth rate of7.3 per cent during 2014-15 to2018-19 as against 6.9 per centin UPA 1 and 6.7 per cent inUPA 2. Also, the inflation tooduring the five-year periodremained at a low of 4.6 percent as against 5.7 per cent inUPA 1 and 10.1 per cent inUPA 2.

“The average GDP growthof 7.3 per cent during the fiveyears of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is on a muchlarger base than that of his pre-decessors” he said.

He also said India’s fiscal

discipline during the past fiveyears has been amongst thebest as compared to any pre-ceding period.

He said that when Modicame to power, India was thetenth largest economy in GDPterms in the world. Presently,the fifth, sixth and seventhlargest economies namely theUnited Kingdom, France andIndia are within a very narrowrange. eom

“A marginal fluctuation ofcurrency values alters the sizeof the economies. India, ofcourse, is projected to grownext year at 7.5 per cent.

“This will conclusivelyensure that India, at the end ofthe next Financial Year, couldpossibly be the fifth largesteconomy in the world,” theFinance Minister said.

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Issuing a stern warning toPakistan that India will not

hesitate in carrying out strongaction against inimical moves,Army Chief General BipinRawat on Tuesday said thewestern neighbour continues toaid and abet terrorism.

Making this assertion whileaddressing Army personnel onthe occasion of the 71st ArmyDay here, he also said theIndian forces were giving a“befitting reply” to the enemyon the Line of Control (LoC)and inflicting heavy losses.The Army is making all effortsto ensure dominance on theLoC and will continue to do so,he added.

“Our forces are giving abefitting reply to our enemiesalong the Line of Control(LoC). They are suffering heavylosses. I am warning our enemy(across the LoC) that we willnot hesitate in carrying outstrong action against any inim-ical action,” Rawat said.

Referring to the situation inJammu & Kashmir, he said thearmy has inflicted heavy dam-age to terrorists adding youthsin the state were being ter-rorised and forced to take uparms. “We do not want thatpeople in J&K are disturbed.Our neighbouring country has

a hand in these activities.Terrorists are being trainedand given arms by our neigh-bouring country, which is beingtermed State-sponsored ter-rorism globally,” the Armychief said.

As regards the situation onthe Line of Actual Control(LAC) with China, Rawat saidthe armies of both

India and China haveissued new guidelines to theirrespective forces.

“Efforts are on to maintainpeace and tranquility alongthe (eastern) border. But wewill keep reviewing the situa-tion. Our soldiers will notallow any compromise inguarding the border in theeastern sector,” he said addingthat the orders given by theGovernment will be strictly fol-lowed.

Giving the assessment on

the scenario in the North-east,Rawat said the situation ispeaceful in the region and theArmy is carrying out regularanti-insurgency operations.

He also urged Army per-sonnel and their families to becareful in using social mediawhich he said is being used forradicalisation. Referring to crit-icism of the Army’s pyramidstructure, the Army chief said,“For us, the VIP is the jawanwho faces the enemy along theLoC.” On synergy and jointnesswith the Navy and IAF, he said“we will achieve decisive vic-tory along with the Navy andthe Air Force in case of a war.”The Army, Rawat said, was car-rying out major restructuringand modernisation of theArmy.

“The security challengefacing the country will becomemore complex in the comingyears. We will have to keepenhancing our combat prowessso that we can defeat ouradversaries. I assure that we willkeep the trust reposed on us bythe people of the country,” theArmy chief said.

Earlier, he reviewed theArmy Day parade at theCariappa Parade Ground,Delhi Cantonment and award-ed 15 Sena Medal (includingfive posthumously) for indi-vidual acts of gallantry.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Tuesday asked theUPSC secretary to personallyappear and inform the court ifthe commission prepares apanel of senior IPS officers fordirector general of police(DGP) appointments by stategovernments.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi soughtthe presence of the UnionPublic Service Commissionsecretary at 10.30 am onWednesday to ascertainwhether the commission

makes a panel of senior policeofficers who are considered forappointment as DGPs.

The direction came afterlawyer Prashant Bhushan saidthe lists of senior IPS officers arenot prepared by the UPSC butby the Department of Personneland Training (DoPT).

The apex court was hear-ing applications of various StateGovernments, includingPunjab, Haryana and Bihar,seeking to implement theirlocal laws regarding selectionand appointment of DGP.PTI

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The Comptroller andAuditor General has

refused to disclose details aboutits audit in the controversialRafale aircraft deal, saying theprocess is not yet complete andany disclosure at this stagewill amount to breach of theParliament’s privilege, an RTIreply said.

In its response to Pune-based activist Vihar Durvewho had sought the reportfrom CAG, the country’s audi-tor said, “The audit is underprogress and the report is yetto be finalised. The informationcannot be given under Section8(1)(C) of the RTI Act as thedisclosure would cause breachof Parliament”.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Tuesday said it wouldhear a plea by Zakia Jafri, chal-lenging the SIT’s clean chit tothen Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi in connectionwith the 2002 Godhra riots,after four weeks.

Zakia, the wife of ex-MPEhsan Jafri who was one of the68 killed in Ahmedabad’sGulberg society, has challengedthe Gujarat High Court’sOctober 5, 2017 order rejectingher plea against the SIT’s deci-

sion. The matter came up forhearing before a Bench ofJustices AM Khanwilkar andAjay Rastogi.

“You are asking for fourweeks and we are giving youfour weeks. List the matterafter four weeks,” the Benchsaid.

The court previously said itwill also look into the applica-tion by social activist TeestaSetalvad on becoming a co-petitioner in Zakia’s plea aheadof hearing the main case. PTI

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As the first Shahi Snan(auspicious bath) of the

2019 Kumbh Mela got under-way Tuesday, a UP CabinetMinister said the religiouscongregation is being held inPrayagraj after 350 years as theholy city was renamedAllahabad in the past.

Religious Affairs MinisterLaxmi Narayan Chaudharyalso claimed that it’s perhapsfor the first time sinceIndependence that properarrangements (of milk, ghee,food, blankets and firewood)have been made for the seers,ashrams and akharas.

“Nearly 350 years ago,the name of Prayagraj — con-sidered a prominent centre ofHindu culture and SanatanDharma — was changed toAllahabad. However, last year,under the leadership of UPChief Minister YogiAdityanath, it was decidedthat Allahabad should berenamed as Prayagraj, as men-tioned in ancient Indian texts,including the Vedas.

“And it is after 350 longyears that the world’s biggestspiritual congregation is beingheld in Prayagraj in the formof Kumbh Mela,” he told PTIin an interview.

Prayagraj: The Kumbh Mela,which kicked off early onTuesday with thousands takinga holy dip at the confluence ofGanga and Yamuna rivers andthe mythical Saraswati, is see-ing numerous sadhus and mys-tics, whose varied looks andpractices are evoking curiosi-ty among those who havedescended on this historic city.

The by-lanes of Prayagrajas well as the five-kilometrestretch of the bathing ghats isflooded with evoking sights asholy men and seers display theirunusual practices in full glory.

Seated at one of the tentsnear the pontoon bridges thatlead the visitors to Sangam isa holy man making show of hisnearly three-metre long mous-tache, which he claims to havegrown without interruptionover the past decade. Dozens ofdevotees thronged his tent andengaged with him. Somesought photographs and selfies.

Barely a few steps awayfrom him is the “Selfie Baba”,clad in a spiritual attire andequipped with a selfie stickattached to a smartphone. Hisappearance, in his own words,signifies the meeting ofmythology and technology.“Come and click a selfie tocarry home as a memorabilia,”

he was heard saying to drawthe attention of passersbys.

He is not the only oneadding a touch of modernity tothis ancient mega religious,spiritual and cultural congre-gation. The “Laptop Baba”, aNaga Sadhu, wearing all but aRudraksha mala, is anotherstar attraction. Seated on thefloor next to a fireplace by thebank of the Ganga, the “LaptopBaba” is no stranger to crowdsas he claims to have partici-pated in at least three previouseditions of the Kumbh.

Then there is the“Foreigner Baba”. Although anative, he wears a red cowboyhat and punky sunglasses.Scores of the passersby stopnear his tent and click picturesor share a moment of excite-ment on seeing him.

What evokes curiosityamong devotees is the factthat Naga sadhus are selfreliant. So, though they maycome in different avatars arous-ing interest among onlookers,they could also be seen cook-ing their meals in the open andcleaning their respective tents.A slew of such sights, such asthose of Sadhus depictingHindu god Shiva or those play-ing the symbolic ‘Damru’, markthe Kumbh Mela. IANS

Prayagraj: Hundreds of hoardings carrying the imagesof Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanath dotted the streets of theholy town as millions from across India and abroad havedescended here for the religious, spiritual and culturalcongregation taking place barely three months ahead ofthe 2019 general elections.

The Kumbh Mela is expected to draw over 15 crorepilgrims this year, is a sea of saffron and slogans such as“Modi tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain”(Modi you lead the fight, we are with you) and “Mandirwahin banayenge” (temple will be built at the disputedsite in Ayodhya) rent the air at the site.

Notably, both Modi and Yogi have waxed eloquenton the preparations for the holy dip, which according tolegend, opens the doors to heaven. The Kumbh Melaadministration officials said Yogi has resolved to providean unforgettable pilgrimage experience to crores of devo-tees visiting Kumbh.

IANS

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Government has allocated�4,200 crore for the KumbhMela being held in the ‘sangam’city of Allahabad, which isover thrice the budget of theMaha Kumbh in 2013, makingthe mega pilgrimage perhapsthe costliest ever.

“The UP Government hasallocated �4,200 crore for 2019Kumbh Mela. The previousState Government had spent

around �1,300 crore for theMaha Kumbh, which was heldin 2013,” State Finance MinisterRajesh Agarwal said. He saidapart from this, some otherdepartments have also allocat-ed funds for the mega event.Agarwal said this time theKumbh Mela area has beendoubled as compared to theprevious years.

This year’s Kumbh Mela isspread over an area of 3,200

hectare as compared to 1,600hectare area in the previousmelas. The endeavour of the UPGovernment has always been toenhance the facilities for thepublic and establishing facilitiesat the ground level has been abig task, the Minister added.

The Kumbh Mela isanchored in Hindu mythology.It is the largest public gather-ing and collective act of faithanywhere in the world.

Ardh Kumbh is held inevery six years, while theKumbh Mela comes after 12years. The Yogi Adityanathgovernment has renamed ArdhKumbh as Kumbh and theKumbh as Maha Kumbh.

The mela draws tens ofmillions of pilgrims over thecourse of approximately 48days to bathe at the sacred con-fluence of the Ganga, theYamuna, and the mythical

Saraswati river. The congrega-tion includes Ascetics, Saints,Sadhus, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis andpilgrims from all walks of life.

In all there are six auspi-cious bathing dates in thisKumbh — Makar Sankranti(January 15), Paush Poornima(January 21), Mauni Amawasya(February 4), Basant Panchami(February 10), MaghiPoornima (February 19) andMahashivratri (March 4). PTI

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Chennai/Puducherry: TheTamil harvest festival Pongalwas celebrated with usual fer-vour across Tamil Nadu andneighbouring Puducherry withpeople ushering in the auspi-cious Tamil month of ‘Thai’.

Chants of ‘Pongal-o-Pongal’ rent the air in many ahome as the milk boiled, sym-bolising the gushing of pros-perity. People decorated theirhomes with mango leaves andstrings of flowers.

Special prayers were heldat temples. This year, theAIADMK Government haddistributed gift hampers con-taining raw rice, sugar, raisins,cashew nut, cardamom andsugarcane to all cardholders tocelebrate the harvest festival, inan effort to mitigate the impactof cyclone Gaja in the Cauverydelta and drought in the north-ern districts.

The ingredients are used inthe preparation of the sweetdelicacy ‘Pongal’.

President RamnathKovind, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Tamil NaduGovernor Banwarilal Purohit,Chief Minister K Palaniswamiand DMK president andLeader of Opposition MKStalin greeted people.

Purohit celebrated the fes-tival with the villagers ofSathurangapattinam inKanchipuram district whilePalaniswami took part in thefestivities in his native Salem.

The famed bull-tamingsport of jallikattu was also heldin Madurai coinciding withPongal, with a number of eagervolunteers participating in it.

Meanwhile, Palaniswamigreeted Purohit. “I have greatpleasure in conveying my bestwishes and greetings to you, theFirst Lady and all the membersof your family for a very happyPongal and Sankaranthi,” hesaid in a message to the

Governor. In Puducherry, the festival

was celebrated with pomp andgaiety, as people, both youngand old, attired in new clothesexchanged greetings. Theresidents of the former Frenchcolony visited temples to offerprayers on the occasion.

Newly-made earthen pots,sugarcane and other festival-related farm products wereselling like hot cakes in mostparts of the town and in theperipheral areas. As the arrival

of sugarcane in large numbersfrom distant villages and neigh-bouring Tamilnadu created atraffic snarl in and around themarkets, police began to con-trol the traffic and restrictedmovement of vehicles.

Territorial LieutenantGovernor Kiran Bedi, ChiefMinister V Narayanasamy andassembly Speaker VVaithilingam, and leaders of dif-ferent political parties, Ministersand Members of Parliamentgreeted the people. PTI

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Gorakhpur: Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathon Tuesday said the SP-BSPalliance will create “anarchy” inthe State and will be short-lived.

“This alliance will pro-mote anarchy and insecurityonly. It was done due to the fear(of the BJP Governmentreturning to power) and thepeople will not accept it,” theChief Minister said here.

He was talking to reportersafter offering ‘khichdi’ at BabaGorakhnath at Gorakhnathtemple. Reacting to SP MLAHariom Yadav’s statement thatthe SP-BSP alliance would sur-vive only as long as SP presi-dent Akhilesh Yadav bowed tothe wishes of BSP supremoMayawati, Adityanath said, “I

am sure this alliance will notlast long.”

He said the SP had moreseats that those of BSP in 1993,when Mulayam Singh Yadavwas elected Chief Minister.

The BSP continued its sup-port but the alliance was short-lived, he said.

“The 23 crore people of thestate will not accept an alliancewhich has been arrived at aftergiving up the self respect andpride,” the CM said.

Asked if the Governmenthas invited SP and BSP chiefsto Kumbh, Adityanath said,“Kumbh is for all and we invit-ed all.” “People from both theSP and BSP are in the Kumbhcommittee and it is for them tovisit the Kumbh fair,” he said.

“We should make a reso-lution on Makar Sankranti to

rise above narrow caste andcreed lines,” he added. PTI

Kolkata: Terming the alliancebetween the SP and the BSP inUttar Pradesh as “selfish”, BJPnational vice-presidentDushyant Kumar Gautam onTuesday said the parties aredoing injustice to their activistsby bringing two ideologicallydifferent forces together.

Citing examples of ani-mosity between SP and BSPsupremo Mayawati, the BJPleader said people of UP are feel-ing deprived by the decision ofalliance and will reject it in the2019 general elections. PTI

Bengaluru: It was a differentbattlefield a ‘relaxed’ ChiefMinister HD Kumaraswamywatched amid the political cri-sis in Karnataka ahead of theLok Sabha polls.

Taking time out from theturmoil his Government is fac-ing due to two MLAs with-drawing support to theGovernment, Kumaraswamywatched a trailer of the movie‘Kurukshetra’, the Kannadaperiod movie-based on theMahabharata, based on thepoetic marvel’Gadayuddha’ bypoet Ranna.

His son Nikhil Gowda hasplayed the role of Abhimanyu.The movie has been producedby MLA Muniratna. Enthralledwith the trailer, Kumaraswamysaid never before a movie ofthis scale ever been made inKannada, where every minutedetail was taken care of. PTI

Bengaluru: The political tur-moil in Karnataka in the wakeof two MLAs withdrawing sup-port to the coalitionGovernment of the Congressand the JD(S) led to a Twitterwar between Congress strong-man Siddaramaiah and theBJP. Siddaramaiah launched ascathing attack on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, ask-ing him whether his slogan ‘SaafNiyat’ (Clean intention) meanta coup and grabbing power.

The former Chief Ministerwas active on Twitter from themorning, attacking the BJP asit became clear to theCongressleadership that IndependentMLA H NageshfromMulabagal and the loneMLA of rookie KarnatakaPrajnyavantaJanata Paksha RShankar from Rane Bennurconstituency Tuesday wouldwithdraw support to the coali-tion Government and alignwith the BJP.

“Mr. Saaf Niyat @naren-dramodi, Is allowing your dis-

graceful @BJP4Karnataka lead-ers to destabilise govt a ‘SaafNiyat’ towards democracy?Your PR slogans don’t hideyour actual ‘Niyat’ & your ‘SahiVikas’ should go beyonddevelopingResorts. First showyour Niyat to people!!”Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Taunting BJP leaders forhuddling their MLAs in aresort as they had done in thepast, Siddaramaiah said theBJP always hadGandha Niyat(bad intention) and ‘ResortVikas’ (promoting resort poli-tics). He also took a dig at‘Operation Lotus’, the allegedattempt to destabilise the gov-ernment.

“@BJP4India has a legacy of‘Gandha Niyat, Resort Vikas’.Their ‘Operation Kamala’ is notnew & they will indulge when-ever they feel politically threat-ened. Recent miserableloss in 5States is the result of their ongo-ing attempt in Karnataka which will fail #Gandha-NiyatResortVikas,” he said. PTI

Patna: RJD leader TejashwiYadav on Tuesday clarified theCongress was as an “old ally”and a major political partywith nationwide presence, rub-bishing claims that he hadsnubbed his coalition partnerby coming out in support of theSP-BSP alliance in neighbour-ing Uttar Pradesh.

The RJD heir apparent alsoremarked that during hisLucknow visit on Monday, “themedia there kept prying as towhether I had come to UP hold-ing a brief for the Congress”.

“It seems the media inBihar and UP is clueless aboutmy feelings for the Congress.My support to the SP-BSPalliance has evoked diametri-cally opposite views in the twostates,” he told reporters on thesideline of a ‘dahi chura’ (curdand flattened rice) feast organ-ised at Sadaqat Ashram, theBihar Congress headquarters.

The feast, organised to cel-ebrate the festival of MakarSankranti, was also attended byother leaders of the oppositionGrand alliance like RLSP chiefUpendra Kushwaha andVikasheel Insaan Party (VIP)founder Mukesh Sahni.

Presenting a picture ofbonhomie, Tejashwi, Kushwahaand State Congress presidentMadan Mohan Jha fed eachother ‘tilkut’ — a sweet dishmade of jaggery and sesame -consumption of which is con-sidered auspicious onSankranti.

The NDA had on Mondaywondered whether Tejashwi’sUP trip was part of “strong armtactics” against the Congress, itsally in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’.

The NDA’s reaction wasbased on Tejashwi greetingMayawati and Akhilesh Yadavfor forging an alliance sansCongress. PTI

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In a fresh ‘sniper’ attack byPakistan rangers, a senior

BSF officer was martyred, firstin 2019, along the InternationalBorder in Hiranagar sector ofKathua on Tuesday.

The BSF troops, led by theAssistant commandant, VinayPrasad, were carrying outBorder domination patrol nearBOP, Pansar in Hiranagar,when they were fired upon byPakistan snipers around 10.50am. The BSF officer receivedserious injuries as he was hit inthe abdomen.

According to a BSFspokesman in Jammu, “theinjured officer was taken toMilitary Hospital in Satwari,Jammu where he succumbed tohis injuries and attained mar-tyrdom”.

More than one dozen BSFjawans were martyred and over40 others injured in differentincidents of cross border firing

and sniper attacks by Pakistanrangers during 2018.

High alert was soundedalong the International Borderacross Jammu frontier follow-ing reports of fresh infiltrationbids by small groups of heavi-ly armed infiltrators in thecoming days.

Meanwhile, the Line ofControl (LoC) in Sunderbaniarea of Rajouri and Mendharand Balakote sectors of Poonchalso witnessed heavy shelling inthe evening in which twojawans including a BSF per-

sonnel received grievousinjuries.

The seriously injured BSFjawan was airlifted to Militaryhospital in Udhampur, officialsources said.

Till the time of filing thereport, shelling with heavycalibre of weapons was goingon in different sectors ofRajouri and Poonch. Inresponse, the Indian army toowas retaliating effectively, offi-cial sources said.

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Thiruvananthapuram: TheKerala Lokayukta has admitteda complaint alleging misuse ofChief Minister’s Distress ReliefFund (CMDRF) and issuednotice to Pinarayi Vijayan andother State Ministers on it.

A full Bench comprisingLokayukta Justice Pius CKuriakose, and Upa-lokayuktasJustices KP Balachandran andAK Basheer, on Tuesday decid-ed to admit a complaint filed byone RS Sashi Kumar.

The Bench was constitutedafter there was a difference ofopinion among the Lokayuktaand one of the Upa-lokayuktasregarding the jurisdiction of theagency to probe disbursementof assistance from CMDRF, anofficial statement said here.

The Bench decided that thecomplaint was maintainablebefore the Lokayukta andordered notice to the respon-dents — CM Pinarayi Vijayanand other State Ministers.While admitting the complaint,the Lokayukta clarified in theorder that he had not found anyof the party guilty. PTI

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Guwahati: Biraj Kumar Sarma— one of the signatories of thehistoric Assam Accord of 1985,Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)co-founder and formerMinister — died on Tuesday ata private hospital here, hisfamily and party sources said.

Sarma died around 2.30am in the hospital where hewas admitted on January 6 for protracted illness, hospitalsources said.

He was a front rankingleader of the six-year longAssam Movement led by the AllAssam Students Union from1979 which had culminated insigning of the Memorandum ofSettlement Assam Accord in1985 between AASU and rep-resentatives of Central andAssam Governments.

Sarma had participated inAssam Movement as an activemember of Sadou Asom GanaSangram Parishad and co-founded AGP, which wasformed by Assam agitationleaders in 1985. He wasGeneral Secretary of party andlater its vice-president. PTI

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Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) supremo Mayawati onTuesday appealed to workers ofher party and the SamajwadiParty (SP) to forget their pastdifferences to fight the upcom-ing Lok Sabha elections.

On Saturday, the BSP andthe SP announced an alliance inUttar Pradesh to unitedly fightthe BJP. “Forget past differencesand ensure victory of all jointcandidates of the SP and theBSP. This will be my idealbirthday gift,” Mayawati said ata Press conference here on theoccasion of her 63rd birthday.

SP president AkhileshYadav later visited the BSPchief and presented her with a

bouquet and a shawl on her birthday.

Mayawati said UttarPradesh, which is India’s largestState, will decide who will bethe next Prime Minister.

“UP decides who will cometo power at the Centre and whowill be the Prime Minister. TheBSP and the SP must fighttogether, setting aside theirdifferences and ensure the vic-tory of all ‘gathbandhan’(alliance) candidates,” she said,apparently hinting at her primeministerial ambitions. The BSPpresident, who had spelt outthe reasons of keeping theCongress out of the alliance onSaturday, did not spare it, ask-

ing the party to understand that“popular declarations will nothelp them anymore”.

“Fingers have already beenraised at the CongressGovernment over the loanwaiver scheme in MadhyaPradesh, Rajasthan andChhattisgarh, and people areasking as to why the cut offdates for it has been fixed forMarch 31 when it should havebeen December 17, 2018, whenthe new Government tookover,” she said.

“Also, these Governmentsare only waiving loans up to �2lakh and this will not helpfarmers in any manner,”Mayawati said. PTI

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In a major tragedy thatmarred the Sankranti festiv-

ities in the tribal belt of northMaharashtra, six persons —including two children — werekilled and 38 others injured onTuesday afternoon, when aboat capsized in Narmada riverin Nandurbar district, nearly360 km from here.

The ill-fated boat was car-rying as many as 62 peoplewhen it overturned near Busapoint in Dhadgaon tehsil ofNandurbar district. At the timeof mishap, the affected peoplewere returning home after per-forming Jal puja in theNarmada river on the occasion

of auspicious Sankranti festival.Official sources said that

among those killed, there weretwo male children, two women,a man and a teenaged boy.

All the passengers on themishap-hit boat were from Telkhedi village inDhadgaon tehsil.

With the mishap site beingin the hinterland pocket ofNandurbar which is a pre-dominantly tribal district, thedistrict authorities facedimpediments in reaching thesite for carrying out rescueoperations. Till the evening, thelocal police and villagers had rescued 42 persons — amajority of whom in an injuredcondition.

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Mumbai: Rubabuddin Shaikh,brother of Sohrabuddin Shaikh,who was allegedly killed in afake encounter, has requestedthe Home Ministry and theCBI to appeal against the trialcourt’s acquittal of all theaccused in the case.

On December 21, 2018, aspecial Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) court hadacquitted all the 22 accused dueto insufficient evidence and theprosecution’s failure to prove itscase beyond reasonable doubt.

The accused, mostly junior level police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan,were charged with killingSohrabuddin Shaikh, his wifeKausar Bi and his associateTulsiram Prajapati in a fakeencounter.

On January 14 this year,Sohrabuddin’s brotherRububuddin wrote letters tothe Ministry of Home Affairsand CBI, the prosecutingagency, requesting them to filean appeal in the Bombay HighCourt challenging the lowercourt’s order.

“The judgement of the CBIcourt dated December 21, 2018

acquitting all the accused per-sons is bad in law and primafacie untenable. The specialCBI court has erred in appreci-ating facts and evidence in rightperspective,” the letter said.

“I humbly request you(MHA and CBI) to kindlyundertake all necessary mea-sures to file appeal before theBombay High Court,”Rubabuddin said in the letter.

According to CBI, the threevictims, who were returning toSangli in Maharashtra fromHyderabad in a bus, were takeninto custody by a police teamon the night of November 22-23, 2005.

The couple were taken inone vehicle and Prajapati inanother. PTI

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Guwahati/Majuli: SeniorCongress leader and formerAssam Chief Minister TarunGogoi on Tuesday describedSarbananda Sonowal as a“weak Chief Minister” whoallegedly failed to provide astrong leadership when theState was going through tryingtimes due to the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill.

The bill, passed by the LokSabha on January 8, seeks togrant Indian citizenship tonon-Muslims who fled reli-gious persecution inBangladesh, Pakistan andAfghanistan and entered Indiabefore December 31, 2014.

Protests have eruptedacross Assam and a statewide“bandh”, called by a number oforganisations, was observedon January 8.

“Sarbananda Sonowal is aweak Chief Minister. If he doesnot take a strong stand on the

bill today, it is certain that thefuture of Assam will be dark. Ifeel if the CM remains weak atthis time, it is very unfortunatefor the people of Assam,”Gogoi, who preceded Sonowalas the Chief Minister, said.

“Sonowal has given only aweak leadership and for that, Ibelieve, (Finance Minister)Himanta Biswa Sarma is theone who is the most responsi-ble. And due to this, he (Sarma)is riding roughshod over thehopes and aspirations of thepeople of Assam, instead ofsupporting them,” he toldreporters here.

Even after all this, if thechief minister did not wake up,people would realise that hewas pretending not to under-stand their plight because of hisself-interest, the Congressleader said, while taking part inthe “Meji-burning” ritual ofBohagi or Magh Bihu, an agrar-

ian festival of Assam.“All this time, he (Sonowal)

had been sleeping... That is allright. But now he should wake

up from his slumber and fulfilthe promises he had made tothe people of the State,” headded. PTI

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Aizawl: Mizoram ChiefMinister Zoramthanga has toldPrime Minister Narendra Modithat the people of the north-eastern State vehemently oppos-es the passage of Citizenship(Amendment) Bill,, an officialstatement said on Tuesday.

The controversial bill,which has triggered large scaleprotests in the northeasternStates including Mizoram, waspassed by the Lok Sabha onJanuary 8. The statement said

that Zoramthanga met Modi inNew Delhi on Tuesday and dis-cussed several issues includingthe opposition to the proposedamendment on the CitizenshipAct, 1955.

They also discussed aboutbamboo projects, Mizoram’sseparate cadre for all India ser-vices and proposed terminationof Jet Airways’ flights fromAizawl to Kolkata and Guwahatifrom February 10, the statementadded. PTI

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The Bengal BJP reacted in aguarded manner to the

huge judicial setback it receivedin the Supreme Court which onTuesday turned down its pleafor a four-phase rath yatracovering almost all the 22 dis-tricts of the State.

“We had approached theapex court to get our democ-ratic rights that was underserious attack by the TrinamoolCongress Government restoredbut the State managed to put itsargument in a successful man-ner and we lost the case.

“We will honour theSupreme Court judgement buthaving said so we will contin-ue our struggle for restoringdemocracy in Bengal,” StateBJP president Dilip Ghoshsaid, adding his party wouldhowever, continue to stagedharnas and civil disobedi-ence rallies.

“We will be on the groundstaging civil disobedience ral-lies like we had been doing allthese days,” he said, adding his

party having failed to extractthe order favouring a rathyatra may now consider apadyatras or marches throughthe districts.

The BJP was likely to holda grand rally at the historicBrigade Parade Ground inKolkata on January 23. The rallyis likely to be addressed byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesdaysaid Congress Leader ofOpposition in Lok SabhaMallikarjun Kharge would

attend her party’s grand rally atthe Brigade parade Ground.

The Trinamool Congress’grand rally would take place onJanuary 19 and is likely to beattended among others by lead-ers like Sharada Pawar, SharadYadav, Akhilesh Yadav,Mayawati, MK Stalin, TejaswiYadav, Arvinda Kejriwal. Theparty is expecting a record-breaking presence of 20 lakhpeople, several lakh more thanthe highest recorded earlier ina Left Front rally which wasabout 15 lakh.

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From an Indian perspective,Afghanistan turned out to be theflavour of the fourth edition of theRaisina Dialogue at New Delhi,which, compared to other interna-

tional dialogues, is still in its infancy, giventhat it was flagged off as one of the three orfour universal concerns/hot spots. Thepresence of the evergreen former Presidentof Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, whose dis-like for the US and Pakistan has visibly mel-lowed; Gen David Petraeus, the key propo-nent and leader of the US military surge inAfghanistan; Indian Army Chief Gen BipinRawat, who threw a bombshell with hisadvocacy of unconditional talks with theTaliban; and the Nangarhar native Pashtun,Zalmay Khalilzad, in his new role as the US’points person on the reinvigorated peaceprocess, threw up some interesting ideas.Incidentally, S Khalilzad, in his book, TheEnvoy: From Kabul to the White House, MyJourney Through a Turbulent World, and var-ious presentations had recommended the‘Richard Armitage’ treatment of Talibansanctuaries in Pakistan: Bombing them tothe stone age.

For the transactional US President DonaldTrump, cutting the US losses and exitingAfghanistan were pre-election promises,though he was persuaded by the likes of GenJim Mattis (now resigned over the issue) to staythe course. Trump’s sudden announcement tode-induct from Syria and reduce US troopsin Afghanistan (later rescinded) last month ispart of a cost-cutting and burden-sharing exer-cise. US troops are the most expensive — eightGIs for one jawan — to maintain in the world,given their tail of commodes to chewing gum.But it is also clear that even Trump will notwalk out of Afghanistan, given the bilateralstrategic security pact with Afghanistan,including the need for retention of bases atBagram and Kandahar. Trump’s famous butshort-lived Afghan policy enunciated inAugust 2017 is all but dead. From being thevillain of the piece and part of the problem,Pakistan has bounced back to being the piv-otal player in the peace process. After blam-ing Pakistan for destabilising Afghanistan,Trump was forced to seek Prime MinisterImran Khan’s help in taming the Taliban.

So where is the peace process? Khalilzadhas been in the job for just five months. Afterthree failed attempts to get the Taliban to talkto Kabul, he has returned to the drawingboard. He must first convince Pakistan thatpeace and reconciliation in Afghanistan is inits national interest and pressing the Talibanfor direct talks with Kabul is indispensable.It is understood that the option of coercionis still available and usable against Pakistan(so far unsuccessful) and against its benefi-ciary, the Taliban (so far unused). As Mattisfailed in his coercive option, it is doubtful ifKhalilzad can succeed. Still, Khalilzad has hadthree ‘good’ conversations with the Taliban;though they have steadfastly refused to talkto the Kabul delegation. The fourth round

was postponed as the Taliban,at the behest of the Qataris,rejected Riyadh as the venue forthe meeting. It will now happenas soon as Khalilzad is backfrom China, who, he hopes, willurge Pakistan to play the ball.Pakistan Army Chief GenQamar Javed Bajwa is under-stood to have told Khalilzad that“we want peace and trade withIndia as well as LoC as the defacto border.” And, of course,“peace in Afghanistan”.

Afghanistan’s NationalSecurity Advisor HamdullahMohib, who was in New Delhijust before Raisina, was scepticalabout a positive outcome fromtalks with the Taliban. He saidthat the Taliban is not a mono-lithic organisation and is frac-tured down the middle. He feelsan intra-Afghan dialogue, whichhas not been held, must be a pre-cursor to talks with the Taliban.According to him, differentgroups from many factions in theTaliban have so far been sent fortalks in Moscow, Abu Dhabi andQatar. “We’ve had contacts withthe Taliban, including proximi-ty talks at Abu Dhabi”, he added.Karzai, too, endorsed Mohib’sviews but emphasised the cen-trality of Pakistan, adding “what-ever the deal with Pakistan, itshould not undermine Afghansovereignty.” “The Taliban arePashtuns, our people, and theyhave to be engaged in power-sharing” said Karzai. Most coun-tries are in contact with theTaliban. India, which is a legiti-mate stakeholder, must engagethe Taliban because they are

Afghans, noted Karzai. The Russians and Iranians

are also keen that India openlines with the Taliban whowill eventually be part of theGovernment. But India hasbeen unable to sidestep hesita-tions of history, which havemade its position rigid; thoughit has shown some flexibilityrecently. It is willing to supportthe peace process providedthe Taliban adheres to redlines: Renunciation of vio-lence, abiding by theConstitution and ensuring thepeace process is owned, led andcontrolled by Afghans.

On their part, the Talibanhas indicated that it is preparedfor power-sharing but withoutelections. It wants most of theEast and North East ofAfghanistan given to it on aplatter. Its writ runs in almosthalf the country. This plan issimilar to the one suggested byRobert Blackwill of dividingAfghanistan in the middle. TheTaliban also wants changes tothe Constitution.

Further, it has sought adeadline for the withdrawal offoreign forces, lifting ban on themovement of its leaders andsanctions imposed on some ofthem. Given the barbarity of theTaliban rule in Afghanistanfrom 1996 to 2001, which wasrecognised by the UAE, SaudiArabia and Pakistan, some of itsleaders are liable to be chargedwith crimes against humanity.

Karzai admitted that theTaliban attempted to destroyAfghanistan, its culture, histo-

ry, institutions and role ofwomen in society while tryingto impose Sharia’h law. Butsome Afghans say that theTaliban has mended its ways(doubtful) and 2019 is not1996. They no longer destroyschools and prevent girls fromgoing to school. Their biggestasset is control over largeswathes of territory and reten-tion of the capacity to executemultiple suicide attacks at will.In short, they enjoy on theground the dominant positionand advantage in balance of mil-itary power. This gives them adistinct edge in bargaining at thetalks table.

It is the Americans who arein a hurry to withdraw, not theTaliban. They can outwait themindefinitely. Americans mayhave the watches but we havethe time, this is what the Talibanhas been saying for a long time.Trump would like to get mostof his 14,000 soldiers backhome before the next electionsin 2020. Key questions, though,will remain: Who will guaran-tee the Taliban keeps its end ofthe bargain once foreign forcesleave Afghanistan ? UN peace-keepers? A regional compact onnon-interference as endorsed bySCO? Afghans reverting toneutrality? Or a grand bargainwith Pakistan? Watch this spacefor answers.

(The writer is a retiredMajor General of the IndianArmy and founder member ofthe Defence Planning Staff, cur-rently the revamped IntegratedDefence Staff)

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Sir — It is quite often thatjudgements by Benches, includ-ing division and larger ones, atthe Supreme Court, are keptreserved for months together. Asystem should be made so thatvarious Benches of the SupremeCourt may compulsori lyannounce judgements in a time-bound period of say withinthree months after the last dateof hearing or before the retire-ment of any Bench-memberhaving heard the case.

Delayed judgements aftercompetition of hearing add fuelto the fire of notorious aspect. Attimes, such delayed judgementsresult in costly and time-con-suming re-hearings in case anyof the Bench-member retiresfrom his/her post.

The Supreme Court’s web-site must have a link, providinga list of reserved judgements andmust clearly mention the lastdate of proceedings in the case.Time has come when judges should also be madeaccountable in the justice-deliv-ery system.

SC AgrawalDelhi

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “The Bua-Bhatija dare”(January 14). The recent seatsharing arrangement betweenthe Samajwadi Party (SP) andthe Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),keeping the Congress aside, hastaken all by surprise. The SP andBSP have taken a ‘bold’ decision

and are ready to give a formida-ble challenge to both the BJPand the Congress. TheTelangana Rashtra Samithi’s vic-tor y in the recently-heldAssembly elections set a politi-cal trend for regional parties towin successfully without anymajor party’s support throughan alliance.

Given the emergence ofregional parties, the BJP will

need a unique strategy to winthe 2019 Lok Sabha poll. As forthe Congress, it is now losing itshold on the much-toutedmahaghatbandhan strategy. Thestrongest of its allies are nowkeeping it out. It remains amystery as to how the politicalstrategy related to the mahaghat-bandhan will unfold.

Varun SD Bengaluru

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Sir — Pongal, also referred to asthe ‘harvest festival’, is observedby the people of Tamil Nadu,located in the southern part ofIndia. The idea behind celebrat-ing this day is the gratificationof people towards their god —the sun — for bringing about theseason of harvest, which is aboon for them.

A few days before the festi-val, people, particularly women,clean the entire house and deco-rate it with flowers. They useswastik and kumkum to embell-ish big earthen vessels. The pit isfilled with water and rice byeither the youngest or the oldestmember of the family. As per tra-dition, it is of paramount impor-tance to add some milk to waterin which the rice is to be cooked,which is then offered to the sungod. People who get involved incooking rice take utmost care ofcleanliness. They are not sup-posed to step over the rangoliwhich is done for decoration.

Jubel D’Cruz Mumbai

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Page 9: A`] de`c^ Z_

While the Opposition hasbeen touting the idea of amahagadbandhan (grand

alliance), what is happening on theground is entirely different. It is pret-ty clear now that a grand alliance ismost unlikely. Instead, parties aremore inclined to opt for State-specif-ic alliances. This is so because theOpposition is not united in choosinga prime ministerial face. Then at theregional level, satraps like TrinamoolCongress (TMC) chief MamataBanerjee and Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) supremo Mayawati have hugeego problems. All of them want tokeep their options open for a post-poll scenario.

The situation has become moreprecarious ever since the Samajwadi

Party (SP) and the BSP announcedtheir alliance in Uttar Pradesh forthe 2019 Lok Sabha poll. TheCongress has now decided to con-test all 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh inthe general election.

Let us be clear, the SP-BSPalliance had been on the cards forquite some time now. The latestannouncement just confirmed it.Nevertheless, it is indeed a majordecision and the combination will bea huge success if one were to ponderupon the caste arithmetic. Theirchemistry, too, should work as it didin last year’s by-elections inGorakhpur and Phulpur.

It must, however, be agreed thatwithout these two parties, therecannot be a mahagadbandhan.Their focus now is on winning themaximum number of seats in theirState. Only after the poll results areannounced, will they think aboutthe prime ministerial bid. “Wewant the next Prime Minister to befrom Uttar Pradesh and everyoneknows whom I will support,” SPchief Akhilesh Yadav said, hinting

that Mayawati might throw her hatin the ring if they get a good num-ber of seats. The Rashtriya Lok Dal(RLD) might also find a place intheir alliance.

So, it is clear that Uttar Pradeshwill witness a multi-cornered contest.The Congress, which was hoping tofind a place in the alliance, is now rec-onciled to fighting it solo in the LokSabha poll but its morale is high afterits recent win in Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh. UttarPradesh has the maximum numberof seats and whichever party registersvictory over there, will win India. TheBJP won 71 seats in 2014 in UttarPradesh. This time around, if it losesthe State, it would dent its overall tallyfor the forthcoming election.

With no United ProgressiveAlliance (UPA) at the national level,the Congress is trying to focus onState-specific alliances. There areabout 350 seats where tie-ups arealready in place. The party has a two-level strategy. First, is to fight solo inStates where it is strong. Second is togo for alliances with regional and

smaller parties in States. So far, the Congress successful-

ly stitched alliances with varioussmall and regional parties. InKarnataka, the party combined withthe Janata Dal (Secular) and in TamilNadu, the grand old party has beenan ally of the Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (DMK). In Bihar, it is inalliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) and other smaller parties.

In 2015, the grand alliance withthe Janata Dal-United (JD-U) andother parties worked well for theCongress but this time around, theJD(U) is with the NDA. Likewise, inMaharashtra, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party(Congress-NCP) tie-up has beenfirmed up and even seat-sharing hasalmost been decided.

In Kerala, the Congress leads theUnited Democratic Front (UDF)coalition. The UDF and the LeftDemocratic Front (LDF) have beenalternating power in the State. InAndhra Pradesh and Telangana, theCongress has an alliance with theTelugu Desam Party (TDP).

In Gujarat, the Congress hadsmartly stitched an alliance withlocal leaders like Hardik Patel, JigneshMewani and Alpesh Thakur duringthe Gujarat Assembly poll. This for-mula is still on. In Jammu & Kashmir,chances are high that the Congresscan opt for an alliance with theNational Conference (NC).

In West Bengal, the party standsdivided and is speculating whether itshould go with the Communist Partyof India-Marxist (CPI-M) or theTMC but that it will choose any oneof them is clear. The Congress mightfight it solo in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha,Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh,Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,Uttarakhand, Goa and Puducherry.

So where does all of this leave thegrand alliance? It can be successfulonly when all anti-BJP forces cometogether to fight the ruling party.Going by the present trend, it seemsunlikely.

The Opposition is sending con-flicting signals about its unity. WhileSP and BSP have announced theiralliance, Telangana Chief Minister

Chandrashekhar Rao has been try-ing to form a federal front withregional satraps like MamataBanerjee. His bête noire, AndhraPradesh Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu, has also beentrying to unite anti-BJP forces at thenational level. He is already in talkswith various parties. NCP chiefSharad Pawar has been entrustedwith the task of talking to various par-ties ahead of the 2019 poll. With par-ties pulling in different directions, theso-called grand alliance at the nation-al level is at best a mirage.

In such a scenario, with a split inOpposition votes in several States, itis an advantage for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as the BJP has a dis-ciplined cadre, unlimited resources,excellent communication strategyand above all, the guidance of a strongleader like him. It is simple mathe-matics that as long as anti-Modi votesare split, chances of winning for theOpposition are not very bright.

(The writer is a senior politicalcommentator and syndicated columnist)

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Some decades back, senior executives inlarge companies had a simple goal forthemselves and their organisations:Stability. Shareholders wanted littlemore than predictable earnings growth.

Because so many markets were either closed orundeveloped, leaders could deliver on thoseexpectations through annual exercises thatoffered only modest modifications to their strate-gic plan. Prices stayed in check, people held onto their jobs and life was good. However, mar-ket transparency, labour mobility, global capi-tal flows and instantaneous communicationshave blown this comfortable scenario intopieces. In most industries, and in almost all com-panies, heightened global competition has con-centrated the management’s collective mind onsomething that was happily avoided in the past:Change. Successful companies have developeda culture that keeps moving all the time andalthough the traditional line and the way stafffunctions has changed to keep pace with emerg-ing times, we are yet to see more changes.

Finance function is one such staff task thatis going to witness tremendous change and maynot remain the same as we know of it today. Asituation may arise where finance skill-sets andprinciples will be driven into other areas of theorganisation that, in turn, may become respon-sible for budgeting, performance reporting andstrategic decision-making. If this happens,where will it leave finance in the organisation?Financial skills and disciplines that we knowtoday are likely to survive but the finance func-tion in itself and the chief financial officers(CFOs), in particular, may need to adapt to afuture where organisations increasingly focus onconnectivity, interaction across business unitsand transactional synergies to derive value fromall parts of the business and not just those thatare customer-facing.

As businesses increasingly look for ananalysis and data to support strategic decisions,the CFO’s role is likely to embrace the princi-ples of performance and risk management morethan we see today. But reporting activities willalso need to evolve as new stakeholder groupsseek to understand not only the current prof-itability of organisations but the sustainabilityof such profits as also the organisation’s impacton the economy and society more widely.

There is a much greater opportunity forfinance to contribute, given the acceleratingtransformation in economies worldwide, dig-ital revolution, increasing market interdepen-dence, shifting of customer expectations andincreasing volatility of the global market place.This is coupled with a shift in focus from share-holders to broader stakeholder interests, part-ly driven by a more networked society, socialmedia and the near instant and global trans-mission of news.

Steering: Future finance functions will berequired to help create conditions for effectivesteering of the enterprise, providing more flex-ible and adaptive processes with near real-timereporting, rapidly produced analytics anddynamic and integrated forecasting — all ofwhich will meet the needs of business in its pur-suit of growth strategies. Finance needs to pro-

vide a process where interaction around theseaccounting and reporting processes delivers theright challenge and thought processes to navi-gate the business. There are great opportunitiesbut also pitfalls created by disruptive technolo-gies. Aspects such as Big Data and predictiveanalytics further add to the tools and techniquesfinance can deploy. By 2030, it is predicted thatvery little time will be spent on data gathering.

Financial data will be available to all stake-holders in real time, from a robust data source.Teams will spend a part of their time on analy-sis but a vast majority of their time will be spentwith internal and external stakeholders model-ling future performance and building scenariosbased on potential external events and competi-tor actions. In addition, forecasts or projectionswill be replaced in future by real-time forecast-ing, which will be made possible via the use ofemerging technologies, and the budget orrolling forecast, as we know it, will cease.External and environmental factors such as cus-tomer behaviour, competitor activity, new mar-ket entrants and activity in other competingindustries, markets or economies will be avail-able, tracked and built into scenarios for man-agement and shareholders to consider.

Intervention: Future finance functions willrepresent the organisation externally by engag-ing with a broader set of stakeholders who arehungry for information through increasinglydiverse means. This will include facilitating aninteractive environment much broader than tra-ditional reporting in which the organisation caneffectively share and discuss their performanceand overall impacts on stakeholders. This willinclude customers, public interest groups, sup-pliers, Governments and society as a whole,rather than just shareholders. This mediationprinciple is equally applicable for internalstakeholders. According to PwC, in the currentscenario, 49 per cent of companies have relevantmetrics for sustainability reporting with 27 percent reporting detailed actions on their strate-gic priorities and 44 per cent reporting on a seg-mental level about their business model.

In contrast, the future will see 100 per cent

of companies reporting on relevant sustainabil-ity metrics and in some cases, this will bemandatory. Most companies will report onactions across their strategy and over 75 percent will report on their business model at asegmental level. In addition, financial informa-tion will be available to management on a real-time basis to allow business performance anddirection to be assessed any time and from any-where through the latest available technology.Data will be audited in real-time, reducing theneed for external audit.

Flexibility: Future finance functions will bedriving themselves and the business towardsgreater flexibility and resilience, with the abil-ity to absorb and bounce back from internal andexternal shocks. Finance should be at the heartof a drive towards increasing the adaptive capac-ity of the organisation, including qualitative plan-ning for unforeseen shocks, use of predictiveanalytics and risk mitigation plans. After a fewdecades, all controls will be automated, embed-ded and consistent across end-to-end process-es. The focus will shift to statistical models whichwill raise alerts when certain conditions arisewhich could indicate fraud, misstatement orother irregularities.

Dashboard reporting will also be availablein real-time for management who can run ‘whatif ’ scenarios and model in the effects of envi-ronmental and behavioural changes on theirprocesses, eg systems failure, staff turnover, vol-ume and capacity peaks and so on, thus allow-ing them to plan their resource usage to best sup-port the business and ensure resilience under anyforeseeable change.

Integration: Future finance functions willneed to use systems and pool resources moreefficiently to satisfy business needs. It will be theability to find balance between man andmachine, providing integration between differ-ent functional silos, systems and processes to cre-ate a more connected organisation. There willbe no spreadsheet-based reporting. Validateddatasets will be produced either internally orexternally by industrywide finance dataproviders and made available to in-house

finance teams to manipulate using their ownmodels.

The divergent fortunes of Apple and Kodakexemplify the threats and opportunities facingmany industries worldwide. Apple was on a sus-tained decline between 1986-1997, yet managedto reverse course and has become a marketleader in a diverse range of products, complete-ly transforming how people interact with per-sonal technology. Some years ago, Kodak wasat the pinnacle of its industry until mobilephones became the preferred method of digi-tal photography. Kodak was late to respond andwas still held back by its legacy of success in non-digital products. As a result, the company wasforced into bankruptcy. These contrasting for-tunes show that the pace of change from disrup-tions to markets can have a binary impact andposes a real challenge for the role of finance.

The role of finance will be to create the effec-tive conditions for steering the organisation forsuccess. This requires a complex orchestrationof the business and finance working together toanalyse past direction, future possibilities andthen to decide collectively on the correctcourse. In the case of Kodak, did finance sup-port the right scenario analysis and take timeto assess future strategies, and was there suffi-cient challenge of its long-term plans? In caseof Apple, how will it continue to compete withaggressive competitors whose offerings threat-en to overtake them with each new release, andhow can finance support that dialogue? The roleof finance is to provide a window into the futurethrough which an organisation can best prepareitself. The future will see a totally different formof the finance function. Finance has the adap-tive capacity to rally around new challenges andhelp the business solve them more rapidly.Finance professionals will be embedded along-side marketing professionals, operations teams,strategy and compliance teams in the business.No silos will exist and end-to-end processes willbe managed across business lines and theorganisation.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, AmityUniversity)

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The equity benchmarkSensex on Tuesday rallied

nearly 465 points after coolingretail inflation raised RBI ratecut hopes, leading to intensebuying in rate-sensitive stocks,and strong global cues sup-ported investors sentiment.

Private sector lender YesBank emerged as the top gain-er with 3.86 per cent climb, fol-lowed by Infosys 3.66 per cent,Vedanta 3.03 per cent, Reliance3.02 per cent and TCS 2.74 percent, on the Sensex chart.

The 30-share index settled464.77 points, or 1.30 per cent,higher at 36,318.33, while thebroader NSE Nifty rallied149.20 points, or 1.39 per cent,to finish at 10,886.80.

Market sentimentremained upbeat over retailinflation dropping to an 18-month low of 2.19 per cent inDecember, creating headroomfor the Reserve Bank to ease

monetary policy next month.Another set of official data

showed that the wholesaleinflation too eased to an eight-month low of 3.80 per cent inDecember.

In the Sensex pack, othergainers were Bajaj Finance,Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, HeroMotoCorp, HUL, Asian Paints,HDFC duo and ONGC — gain-ing as much as 2.87 per cent.

Bucking the overall trend,Maruti, PowerGrid and ICICIBank ended in the red.

On a net basis, foreignportfolio investors (FPIs) soldshares worth �732.46 croreMonday, while domestic insti-tutional investors (DIIs) werenet buyers to the tune of�527.49 crore, provisional dataavailable with BSE showed.

“Domestic market wasbuoyed by broad-based buyingacross all sectors and particu-larly led by rate sensitive sec-tors on the of a probable ratecut considering that Index of

Industrial Production for themonth of November slumpedto mere 0.5 per cent while CPIinflation eased for a 6th straightmonth to 2.19 per cent inDecember,” Paras Bothra,President, Equity Research,Ashika Group, said.

Besides, positive cues fromEuropean and other Asianmarkets lifted sentiments.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea’sKospi jumped 1.58 per cent,Shanghai Composite Indexrose 1.36 per cent, Hong Kong’sHang Seng rallied 2.02 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei gained0.96 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt’sDAX was up 0.41 per cent,Paris CAC 40 rose 0.56 percent, and London’s FTSEgained 0.33 per cent.

The rupee, meanwhile,depreciated 20 paise against theUS dollar to 71.12.

The benchmark Brentcrude futures rose 0.78 per centto $59.45 per barrel.

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Facebook announcedTuesday that it will invest

$300 million over three yearsin various projects related tojournalism, especially to pro-mote local news, which hasbeen hit hard in the digital age.

The move comes withonline platforms under pres-sure for dominating the inter-net advertising ecosystem,making it harder for newsorganisations to make a tran-sition to digital.

“People want more localnews, and local newsrooms arelooking for more support,”Campbell Brown, Facebook’svice president in charge ofglobal news partnerships, saidin a blog post.

“That’s why today we’reannouncing an expandedeffort around local news in theyears ahead.” The initiativeincludes a $5 million endow-ment to the Pulitzer Center tolaunch “Bringing StoriesHome,” which will foster cov-erage on topics that affectlocal communities — fundingat least 12 local in-depth, mul-timedia reporting projects eachyear.

Facebook also said it giv-ing $6 million to the British-based Community NewsProject, which partners withregional news organisationsincluding Reach, Newsquest,JPI, Archant, Midland NewsAssociation and the NationalCouncil for the Training ofJournalists to recruit traineecommunity journalists.

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Huawei’s reclusive founderRen Zhengfei stepped

out of the shadows onTuesday to give a rare mediainterview, forcefully denyingaccusations that his firmengaged in espionage onbehalf of the ChineseGovernment.

The company he foundedmore than 20 years ago hasbeen under fire in recentmonths with the arrest ofRen’s daughter and HuaweiCFO Meng Wanzhou inCanada, the arrest of anemployee on spying chargesin Poland, and a worldwidecampaign by Washington toblacklist it.

A former Chinese armyengineer, Ren denied thatHuawei passed informationalong to the ChineseGovernment.

“I love my country, I sup-port the Communist Party.But I will not do anything toharm the world,” Ren told agroup of foreign reporters,according to BloombergNews.

“I don’t see a close con-nection between my person-al political beliefs and thebusinesses of Huawei,” hesaid.

Huawei faces unprece-dented challenges to its busi-ness amid a global campaignby Washington to pushnations to reconsider usingthe telecom giant’s equip-ment in their cellular net-works over security concerns.

Australia and New

Zealand banned its gear lastyear and a top British operatormoved to remove its existingequipment, while concernsgrow in Canada, Japan, France,Germany, Poland, the CzechRepublic and other countries.

Last month Canadaarrested Ren’s daughter Mengon a US extradition requestrelated to Iran sanctions vio-lations.

Ren said he missed hisdaughter very much anddenied any regular contactwith the Chinese govern-ment, according to theFinancial Times.

Some analysts sayBeijing’s ferocious response toher arrest points to the high-level connections thatWashington alleges.

Chinese authorit iesdetained two Canadian citi-zens — a former diplomat anda business consultant — onsuspicion of endangeringnational security soon afterMeng’s arrest in a move wide-ly seen as retaliation.

Then authorities revisitedthe litt le-known case ofCanadian Robert LloydSchellenberg, who was sen-tenced to 15 years in prison inNovember for drug offences.

On Monday he was sen-tenced to death in a hastilyarranged retrial — China hasdenied any of the cases areconnected to Meng’s situation.

In December PresidentDonald Trump said he couldintervene in the US caseagainst Meng if it helped seala trade deal with China — astatement that displeased

Canada, which has deniedpolitics played a role inMeng’s arrest.

“Trump is a great presi-dent. He dares to massivelycut taxes, which will benefitbusiness,” Ren said at theroundtable with reporters.

“Huawei is only a sesameseed in the trade conflictbetween China and the US,”he said, according toBloomberg.

Ren told reportersHuawei would deny anyrequest from Beijing to sharesensitive information fromits clients.

Huawei has long rejectedsuch Western accusations,saying there was “no evi-dence” it poses a threat to thenational security of any coun-try.

But this month Polandarrested a Huawei employeesuspected of spying for China.

The firm swiftly sackedthe employee Wang Weijing,who led Huawei’s sales teamin Poland, and said “hisalleged actions have no rela-tion to the company”.

Ren said he was not wor-ried about the bans by somecountries and forecastHuawei’s revenue would growto $125 billion in 2019.

“Huawei is not a publiccompany, we don’t need a beau-tiful earnings report,” he said.

“If they don’t wantHuawei to be in some mar-kets, we can scale down a bit.As long as we can survive andfeed our employees, there’s afuture for us,” he said, accord-ing to Bloomberg.

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The Indian rupee onTuesday plunged by anoth-

er 13 paise to close at one-month low of 71.05 against theUS dollar amid strengtheninggreenback and surging crudeoil prices.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange, the rupee openedweaker at �70.79 then lost fur-ther ground and fell to a low of71.15 against the Americancurrency.

The domestic unit, how-ever, gained some strength andfinally settled at 71.05 a dollar,down 13 paise over its previousclose.

This was the third straightsession of loss for the rupee.The domestic currencyMonday plunged by 43 paiseto close at nearly one-monthlow of 70.92 against the USdollar. The Indian unit has lost64 paise in these three ses-sions.

Forex traders attributedthe rupee plunge to risingcrude prices. However, heavybuying in domestic equitiesand fresh foreign fund inflowsrestricted the fall in the localunit to some extent.

Stronger dollar against itskey rival currencies impactedthe rupee trading pattern, theysaid.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, was higher by 0.22 percent to 95.81 in late afternoontrade.

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With a mission to inspirepeople to focus on fitness

and live a healthy lifestyle,Born2Run hosts the first everBorn2Run Half Marathon onJanuary 27 (Sunday) at JawaharLal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.The marathon starts at 6 amand will go on till 9 am. Therace categories are 5 km, 10 km,and 21.1 km, with a BIB Expoon January 25 – 26. The regis-tration for the marathon isopen till January 20, Sunday.The organizers of the eventexpect around 4000 runnersapproximately.

The vision of Born2Run isto establish a sustainable, com-munityfocused pan-India run-ning event, encouraging ath-letes and amateur runners tolead healthy lifestyles and fur-ther improve their personal fit-ness through running.The keyhighlights of the event are itsexcellent route profile withample hydration points, med-ical aid, ample parking facility,enough mobile toilets, plannedtransport facility and breakfastfor the participating individu-als.

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The Government is workingon a blueprint for the

domestic manufacturing of air-craft and also looking at aircraftfinancing from within thecountry, Civil AviationMinister Suresh Prabhu said onTuesday.

Speaking to the media atthe Global Aviation Summit2019, organised jointly by thecivil aviation ministry, theAirports Authority of Indiaand Ficci, the minister alsoemphasised on carrying out ofmaintenance, repair and over-haul (MRO) work domestical-ly.

“We will soon roll out aroad map for manufacturingof aircraft in India,” Prabhusaid.

Stating that the countryneeds 2,300 new aircraft tomeet the future air travel

demand, he said, “We wouldlike to join hands with top play-ers from across the globe.”

The Minister said theGovernment wants aircraftfinancing to be done by domes-tic players.

“We are already workingon financing of aircraft andhow that should happen fromIndia. We are loosing out lot ofresources to outsiders,” Prabhusaid.

He further said theGovernment wants aircraftMRO to happen in the coun-try.

“There are so many planesand the maintenance andrepairs can be done in India,”he said.

Prabhu warned that ifMRO work is not carried outin the country then theGovernment will be loosing outlot of money, besides jobopportunities.

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State-owned Indian Oil Corp(IOC) on Tuesday said it will

raise $900 million through anoverseas bonds issue to meet itsworking capital requirements.

In a regulatory filing, IOCsaid it has launched an inter-national bonds issue of $900million, carrying a coupon of4.75 per cent.

The Notes are expected tobe settled by January 16, 2019.

“The Notes carry a couponof 4.75 per cent per annumpayable semi-annually. TheNotes will mature in 2024 andall the principal and interestpayments will be made in USDollars,” it said.

IOC said the proceeds of theissue will be used to fund work-ing capital requirements for thenormal course of business.

The bonds will be listed onthe Singapore Exchange.

Bookrunners for the issue areCitigroup, DBS Bank, SBICAPSecurities, Standard CharteredBank and Westpac Banking.

IOC is buying back sharesand is paying an interim divi-dend for the fiscal 2018-19,aggregating to �11,000 crore.

The board of IOC lastmonth approved buyback of upto 29.76 crore equity shares, or3.06 per cent of share capital,at �149 per share aggregatingto �4,435 crore. It alsoapproved payment of �6,556crore as interim dividend toshareholders.

Fitch Ratings had lastmonth stated that �4,435 croreshare buyback and �6.75 pershare interim dividend, togeth-er with funding requirementsfor IOC’s capex plans toupgrade refineries for newemission standards and expan-sion of refining and petro-chemical capacity, will drive up

the company’s leverage. Its expected capex of

�23,000 crore in FY2018-19and �27,500 crore in FY2019-20 to result in continued neg-ative free cash flow.

The Government is push-ing cash-rich PSUs to pay high-er dividends and buy backshares using their reserves so asto help meet its budget deficit.

The Government, whichholds a 54.06 per cent stake inIOC, is expected to participatein the share buyback.

Besides IOC, at least half adozen other central PSUs havedisclosed share buyback pro-grammes. Prominent amongthese include ONGC, NHPC,Coal India, Oil India Ltd,BHEL, NALCO, NLC, CochinShipyard and KIOCL thatcould fetch the Government alittle over �6,000 crore.

At the �149 per share, theGovernment is likely to getabout �2,400 crore by tender-ing some of its shares in IOCin the buyback.

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The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Tuesday said it

would inject �10,000 crore intothe system through purchase ofGovernment securities onJanuary 17 to increase liquid-ity.

The purchase will be madethrough open market opera-tions (OMOs).

“Based on an assessment ofprevailing liquidity conditionsand also of the durable liquid-ity needs going forward, theRBI has decided to conductpurchase of ... Governmentsecurities under OMOs for anaggregate amount of �100 bil-lion on January 17, 2019,” thecentral bank said in a state-ment.

The eligible participantsshould submit their offers inelectronic format on the RBICore Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on January 17.

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The Government on Tuesdayunveiled its much-awaited

national air cargo policy, whichseeks to make India among thetop five air freight markets by2025, besides creating airtransport shipment hubs at allmajor airports over the next sixyears.

The policy documentreleased during the two-dayGlobal Aviation Summit 2019,which kick started hereTuesday, stated that the policywill encourage codesharing/inter-line agreementsbetween foreign and Indiancarriers.

As per the policy, interna-tional cargo comprises 60 percent of the total air cargo tonneshandled in the country, logginga growth of 15.6 per cent in theprevious fiscal, while domesticcargo grew by over 8 per cent,which reflects the skewedmodal mix, in which roadsaccount for over 60 per cent ofcargo transportation as com-pared to the global average ofaround 30 per cent.

Indian express industry isone of the fastest growing mar-

kets globally, but with a smallshare of about 2 per cent of theglobal market, grew at a com-pounded annual growth rate of17 per cent over the past fiveyears and was estimated to be�22,000 crore in 2016-17, it said.

The domestic expressindustry, a key constituent ofthe Indian express industry, isestimated to be worth �17,000crore, the policy documentsaid adding that the interna-tional express is estimated tocontribute �5,000 crore to theIndian express industry.

As per the document, thepotential in the new marketsneeds to be explored with long-term infrastructure creationin order to sustain cargogrowth in the next 10-15 yearsat least.

The cargo policy also seeksto establish agreementsbetween national carriers/freighters and integrators toimprove domestic connectivi-ty as well as encourage theestablishment of agreementsbetween national and interna-tional carriers/freighters andother airline operators to pro-vide access to key global cargohubs.

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The CompetitionCommission on Tuesday

dismissed a complaint by e-commerce firm Snapdealagainst kitchen appliancesmaker KAFF with regard toalleged imposition of mini-mum resale price maintenance(RPM) on its dealers.

The fair trade regulatordismissed the complaint byJasper lnfotech Pvt Ltd whichowns and operates e-commerceplatform Snapdeal as the it didnot find any contravention ofthe Competition Act.

The complaint, filed byJasper in 2014, alleged thatKAFF was attempting toimpose a price restriction tomake sales at a minimum priceand threatened to ban onlinesales if such prices were notmaintained.

The commission haddirected its investigation armdirector general to investigatewhether the minimum resaleprice imposed by the KAFF onits dealers contravened theCompetition Act.

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New Delhi: Honor — a sub-brand of Chinese firm Huawei — on Tuesdaylaunched its new smartphone 'Honor 10 Lite' in the Indian market, priced �13,999onwards. The handset features 15.77-cm screen, 24 megapixel front and13MP+2MP back camera, and 3400 mAh battery. The device will be availablefrom January 20 in two variants — 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory(�13,999) and 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory (�17,999). “The Lite seriesis focussed on offering the best design and camera features. With Honor 10 Lite,we are pushing the boundaries even further as it includes a range of high-endfeatures,” Honor India vice-president Allen Wang told reporters here. Honor10 Lite is a successor to Honor 9 Lite that has seen sales of over 1.5 million unitsso far.

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New Delhi: Reliance Jio’s 4G download speed declined by about 8 per centin December to 18.7 megabit per second (mbps) but still continued to lead thechart for the past 12 months in a row, according data published by telecom reg-ulator Trai. Jio network recorded an average download speed of 20.3 mbps inNovember. Performance of Bharti Airtel's 4G network marginally improved inDecember to 9.8 mbps from 9.7 mbps in November, according to the data pub-lished by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on MySpeed Portal.Though Vodafone and Idea Cellular have merged their businesses and now oper-ate as Vodafone Idea, Trai published their network performance separately. 4Gdownload speed on Vodafone network declined slightly to 6.3 mbps from 6.8mbps in November, while that of Idea dipped to 6 mbps from 6.2 mbps. Idea,however, continued to top the chart in terms of 4G upload speed despite dip innetwork performance. The upload speed on Idea network declined to 5.3 mbpsin December from 5.6 mbps in November. The download speed plays an impor-tant role when a user watches any video, browse the internet, access e-mails; anda good upload speed is required when a user wants to share data such as images,videos and any other files through e-mail or social media applications.

� ���������������������������� ��$� ������� ���New Delhi: Diageo-owned liquor firm United Spirits (USL) Tuesday said it

has executed a share purchase agreement for sale of its entire equity share cap-ital in its subsidiary Four Seasons Wines as well as associated brands to GroverZampa Vineyards and Quintela Assets. The company has entered an agreementfor the sale of all the equity shares held by the company constituting 100 percent of the paid up equity share capital of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Four SeasonsWines (FSWL), along with the brands, "the company said in a regulatory filing.USL said this move towards disinvestment of Four Seasons Wines is in line withUSL's strategy to successfully continue to monetise its non-core assets, includ-ing subsidiaries. The company said total consideration received for this sale is�31.86 crore.

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The BSE Sensex soared over450 points Tuesday after

lower retail inflation numbersfor December raised RBI ratecut hopes, leading to intensebuying in rate-sensitive stocks,supported by strong globalcues. The sensex rally was ledby Yes Bank, Infosys, RelianceIndustries and TCS, surging upto 3.86 per cent.

The 30-share index settled464.77 points, or 1.30 per cent,higher at 36,318.33, while thebroader NSE Nifty rallied149.20 points, or 1.39 per cent,to finish at 10,886.80.

Market sentimentremained upbeat over retailinflation dropping to an 18-month low of 2.19 per cent inDecember, creating headroomfor the Reserve Bank to easemonetary policy next month.

Another set of official datashowed that the wholesaleinflation too eased to an eight-month low of 3.80 per cent inDecember. In the Sensex pack,other gainers were Vedanta,Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel,Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp,HUL, Asian Paints, HDFC duoand ONGC -- gaining as much

as 2.87 per cent.Bucking the overall trend,

Maruti, PowerGrid and ICICIBank ended in the red.

On a net basis, foreignportfolio investors (FPIs) soldshares worth �732.46 croreMonday, while domestic insti-tutional investors (DIIs) werenet buyers to the tune of Rs527.49 crore, provisional dataavailable with BSE showed.

“Domestic market wasbuoyed by broad-based buyingacross all sectors and particu-larly led by rate sensitive sec-tors on the expectation of aprobable rate cut consideringthat Index of IndustrialProduction for the month ofNovember slumped to mere 0.5per cent while CPI inflationeased for a 6th straight monthto 2.19 per cent in December,”Paras Bothra, President, EquityResearch, Ashika Group, said.

Besides, positive cues fromEuropean and other Asianmarkets lifted sentiments.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea'sKospi jumped 1.58 per cent,Shanghai Composite Indexrose 1.36 per cent, Hong Kong'sHang Seng rallied 2.02 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei gained0.96 per cent.

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Unsold housing stocks fell by 9per cent in NCR during 2018 to

nearly 1.87 lakh units on improve-ment in sales but the region con-tinued to grapple with the problemof stalled residential projects, prop-erty brokerage and consulting firmAnarock said.

In the data released on Tuesday,the consultant said, housing sales inNational Capital Region (NCR)rose by 18 per cent during 2018 to44,300 units from 37,610 units in theprevious year.

The new units supply increasedby 17 per cent to 26,010 units lastyear from 22,180 units in 2017, whileunsold housing stocks declined by9 per cent to 1,86,714 units from2,05,000 units during the periodunder review.

“NCR housing sales increasedby 18 per cent in 2018. Despite ris-

ing sales, the region continues tograpple with the issue ofstalled/delayed projects," AnarockChairman Anuj Puri said in thereport.

Overall, in the seven citiestracked by the consultant, housingsales went up by 18 per cent to2,48,310 units during 2018 from2,11,130 units in the previous year.

NCR, MMR (MumbaiMetropolitan Region), Bengaluruand Pune together accounted for 82per cent of the sales. Hyderabad,Chennai and Kolkata contributedthe rest.

Anarock said that housing salesrose by 18 per cent and new launch-es by 33 per cent across the top sevencities compared to 2017 despite allheadwinds including the liquiditycrisis. Unsold inventories reduced by7 per cent to 6,73,208 units from7,26,218 units.

The residential inventory over-hang reduced from 47 months in Q42017 to 33 months in Q4 2018 acrossthese seven cities.

The demonetisation effect in late2016 had pushed up unsold inven-

tory overhang to 47 months in Q42017 from 40 months in Q4 2016.An inventory overhang of 18-24months signifies a fairly healthymarket.

“Having absorbed a lot of theimpact of various structural changes,the Indian real estate sector seemedpoised to grow from the previousyear,” Puri said.

However, he said the issue ofstalled projects and liquidity crisiscontinued to confound the housingsector in 2018, though it continuedits transition into a relatively moretransparent and end-user drivenmarket.

“End-users accelerated growth,while investors shifted focus towardsalternate asset classes such as com-mercial, retail and warehousing,which did fairly well during theyear,” Puri said.

He noted that builders were cau-tious about launching projects toalign supply with the existing buyerdemand. They also cut the averageproperty sizes to align their offeringswith the highly-incentivised afford-able housing bracket.

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.���0������A �����/������������ �������������New Delhi: Abu Dhabi expects

India to continue to be the largestsource market for overseas arrivals in2019 with a growth of around 10 percent year-on year, a senior official saidon Tuesday.

In 2018, the capital city ofUnited Arab Emirates had around3.35 lakh arrivals from India up toOctober. “We expect India to con-tinue to be the largest overseas mar-ket for arrivals in 2019. We are

expecting around 10 per cent growthin the number of Indian arrivals in2019,” Abu Dhabi department ofCulture and Tourism, Travel Tradeand Market DevelopmentDepartment Acting DirectorAnthony Rippingale told PTI. As ofOctober 2018, India is the largestsource market for overseas arrivals toAbu Dhabi, he added. “The growthwe are expecting is despite thisbeing an election year in India. This

is on account of long historical tiesbetween the two countries withstrong person-to-person contact,”Rippingale said. When asked aboutthe focus areas that the departmentis targeting here, he said: "We arefocussing on all the segments suchas MICE (meetings, incentives, con-ferences and exhibitions) segment,leisure segment specially the familiesand on weddings and honeymoonsegment.” PTI

Script Open High Low LTPRCOM 13.48 13.63 13.36 13.47YESBANK 196.40 205.00 196.05 202.95JETAIRWAYS 300.00 312.00 288.70 294.40INFY 705.10 729.80 705.10 726.55JPASSOCIAT 7.21 7.40 7.20 7.27SUZLON 5.31 5.36 5.24 5.28RELIANCE 1103.20 1132.30 1103.20 1129.55WIPRO 319.50 332.40 315.25 330.95DMART 1395.00 1417.15 1372.10 1395.00INFIBEAM 43.50 49.05 43.05 47.05TCS 1813.55 1868.00 1809.55 1864.20ICICIBANK 374.90 375.35 370.45 372.55IBVENTURES 402.00 412.00 386.05 388.50GUJGAS 136.00 156.95 135.05 143.80LT 1342.10 1348.00 1330.10 1341.05TRIDENT 70.90 75.60 70.15 72.75PCJEWELLER 79.25 83.50 79.25 81.60TATASTEEL 472.20 476.50 469.40 475.15M&MFIN 440.00 446.25 438.20 444.00TATAMOTORS 183.20 185.80 181.45 185.40IBULHSGFIN 786.00 810.70 786.00 807.40LINDEINDIA 754.95 799.80 754.00 786.05AXISBANK 661.25 664.25 655.50 660.10J&KBANK 38.00 42.10 37.80 39.50JINDALSTEL 145.00 147.40 143.10 146.85CASTROLIND 159.35 168.90 159.20 167.45ITC 295.10 297.35 294.10 296.60SBIN 301.30 303.60 300.55 301.00DHFL 221.85 225.35 221.60 223.35HINDUNILVR 1768.15 1792.25 1768.15 1787.65VEDL 193.30 199.70 193.30 198.90MARUTI 7438.70 7465.00 7321.00 7349.55BAJFINANCE 2558.00 2608.00 2552.25 2599.25STAR 518.30 528.35 511.70 514.15GODFRYPHLP 921.30 1000.00 921.30 985.35VIPIND 493.00 516.00 488.75 509.10ZEEL 450.30 463.25 450.30 456.70SUNPHARMA 452.10 454.95 450.00 451.85TV18BRDCST 37.40 39.15 37.40 38.75BEML 880.05 913.85 879.20 910.35BANDHANBNK 445.00 455.00 444.70 451.75HINDALCO 206.60 209.10 205.55 208.55HDFC 1976.60 1993.15 1964.65 1990.80ASHOKLEY 93.50 94.45 93.30 93.55CUMMINSIND 860.55 882.50 852.25 878.15L&TFH 137.35 142.00 137.00 141.00FSL 49.70 53.35 49.15 52.95JAICORPLTD 109.65 117.00 109.20 112.85GRUH 231.30 242.00 231.30 238.60HINDPETRO 234.50 243.00 234.50 241.85PNB 83.10 83.40 81.50 81.95GRAPHITE 705.00 708.15 690.70 694.65SPICEJET 81.00 81.70 80.50 81.05RELCAPITAL 216.10 222.40 216.10 221.75GNFC 363.20 381.10 363.20 378.70BATAINDIA 1166.00 1177.00 1155.00 1167.90BHARTIARTL 330.00 338.80 326.45 337.65BOMDYEING 118.80 124.35 118.45 124.35IOC 132.90 134.75 132.50 134.50INDUSINDBK 1497.05 1503.00 1487.00 1496.65JSWSTEEL 283.75 293.00 282.50 291.75EVEREADY 217.00 229.65 217.00 227.90PIDILITIND 1136.20 1175.65 1136.20 1159.35CGPOWER 44.15 45.00 43.85 44.50ABFRL 216.75 216.75 202.00 210.40ITI 91.50 95.50 91.25 94.30M&M 729.00 731.15 724.50 726.65MCX 764.00 778.00 759.00 763.50SOUTHBANK 15.70 15.80 15.45 15.55IDFCBANK 46.90 47.30 46.75 46.95NATIONALUM 61.90 62.60 61.35 62.30HCLTECH 933.50 955.00 929.40 947.05DCBBANK 181.30 184.80 180.30 183.15AUROPHARMA 770.50 787.75 770.50 785.25HDFCBANK 2105.00 2126.00 2100.05 2121.05DELTACORP 257.75 260.40 256.25 258.00ISEC 261.05 270.15 258.70 261.60ADANIPOWER 49.90 51.20 49.90 50.35RELINFRA 308.40 312.00 307.25 310.40KOTAKBANK 1210.45 1219.00 1210.45 1212.15RCF 65.60 67.45 65.60 66.85HEG 3625.00 3625.00 3526.40 3541.00ESCORTS 755.00 764.40 753.35 755.45GAIL 324.00 327.35 322.40 324.45ENGINERSIN 122.15 127.00 120.80 126.30DABUR 435.20 438.35 423.95 426.40ASIANPAINT 1388.45 1414.00 1388.45 1406.05GSFC 110.75 113.75 110.75 112.30UNIONBANK 94.20 94.80 93.05 94.05SAIL 50.95 51.45 50.55 51.10TECHM 685.00 710.00 683.60 707.30BANKINDIA 104.50 104.85 103.10 104.05EXIDEIND 251.05 259.15 251.05 258.10IBREALEST 87.00 87.65 83.00 85.65INDIACEM 86.15 89.10 86.15 88.05KPIT 204.00 213.60 202.00 211.50DISHTV 38.90 38.90 35.80 36.05MINDTREE 845.00 862.75 843.20 854.90MOTHERSUMI 162.40 162.40 157.75 160.45BIOCON 646.00 650.80 642.50 647.40INDIGO 1082.00 1091.50 1062.80 1081.20RECLTD 124.50 126.35 124.45 125.85RADICO 420.70 427.80 416.15 418.00BHEL 68.40 68.75 67.90 68.35PEL 2286.40 2350.00 2280.05 2344.10PHILIPCARB 207.85 207.85 202.45 203.00BALKRISIND 879.15 889.00 860.00 869.55ONGC 143.30 145.45 143.30 145.10

BHARATFORG 476.30 488.40 474.80 486.45NCC 89.60 89.60 88.05 89.00EDELWEISS 178.45 180.85 172.75 174.45SRTRANSFIN 1176.55 1192.20 1165.45 1187.70COALINDIA 231.00 233.60 231.00 232.60BPCL 334.80 343.30 334.80 341.50DLF 181.05 187.00 181.05 185.75BANKBARODA 121.60 122.00 120.85 121.25HFCL 24.60 25.15 24.50 24.70HEROMOTOCO 2887.00 2918.20 2868.00 2911.15NBCC 59.70 60.60 58.95 59.80UJJIVAN 287.75 295.60 286.50 293.60ACC 1467.65 1497.00 1466.10 1481.75EQUITAS 118.20 124.40 118.00 124.00NMDC 92.95 93.80 92.20 93.65SREINFRA 34.10 34.20 33.10 33.40FEDERALBNK 91.00 91.70 90.70 91.20NTPC 147.60 147.60 144.20 145.80CIPLA 513.10 516.20 509.80 514.75CANBK 277.05 280.20 273.95 275.40WOCKPHARMA 513.25 514.50 507.00 509.40TORNTPOWER 261.50 270.55 260.55 266.90VOLTAS 541.00 543.55 526.50 532.00ADANIPORTS 376.75 386.00 375.65 384.75MPHASIS 878.30 885.95 870.10 875.65HEXAWARE 316.00 322.75 314.95 319.70LUPIN 835.00 851.60 834.95 848.45RPOWER 28.95 30.30 28.95 30.15CEATLTD 1265.00 1265.00 1230.10 1237.50ICICIPRULI 349.10 358.20 348.20 352.10UPL 769.00 782.00 769.00 775.05MFSL 450.00 464.80 450.00 460.65TATAELXSI 972.00 984.60 970.35 978.35NIITTECH 1190.00 1202.00 1180.15 1186.15JUSTDIAL 474.10 480.75 473.00 478.45BAJAJFINSV 6404.00 6520.75 6379.10 6508.15NOCIL 166.50 170.20 165.80 168.20

STRTECH 290.00 294.10 289.40 291.15PFC 106.80 109.05 106.75 108.45SHANKARA 504.05 523.55 502.60 510.25TATAPOWER 74.55 75.25 74.35 74.95OBEROIRLTY 445.05 465.00 445.05 452.85TITAN 961.70 968.30 957.30 965.95SUNTV 576.00 581.55 573.10 580.35IDEA 35.95 36.35 35.70 36.25FORCEMOT 1613.70 1619.50 1593.00 1597.80HSIL 253.00 260.00 250.95 255.80PETRONET 219.20 219.45 214.50 214.90UBL 1390.00 1427.80 1377.05 1419.00BRITANNIA 3125.10 3196.80 3096.60 3182.50NAUKRI 1666.85 1700.00 1635.90 1685.35TATAMTRDVR 96.00 98.85 95.75 98.40MGL 889.80 901.90 885.00 898.60NAVKARCORP 53.00 53.00 47.00 50.95MEGH 56.30 59.65 56.30 59.20JUBLFOOD 1229.40 1242.60 1222.50 1235.70COFFEEDAY 275.00 290.00 274.05 282.85GRASIM 816.00 824.25 803.40 812.20MANAPPURAM 95.60 99.00 95.55 98.75POWERGRID 193.00 194.35 190.85 192.40JISLJALEQS 64.75 65.95 64.55 65.85IFBIND 835.40 947.70 825.50 915.50JSLHISAR 82.20 86.70 81.20 86.05CYIENT 616.90 620.95 608.00 612.75AMARAJABAT 764.95 771.00 758.20 765.90TVSMOTOR 538.25 548.65 535.80 543.65BEL 91.60 92.00 90.00 90.30WABAG 303.00 309.00 301.10 303.00ABCAPITAL 95.85 97.40 95.85 96.40SYMPHONY 1194.50 1248.95 1160.00 1168.70HDFCLIFE 392.00 392.45 386.25 388.55LUXIND 1092.75 1243.00 1054.95 1219.80JYOTHYLAB 199.00 199.00 196.35 197.65KTKBANK 119.40 120.20 117.55 119.20TATAINVEST 828.10 843.00 819.05 828.70EICHERMOT 20538.00 20649.90 20496.35 20609.50GODREJPROP 738.00 738.00 722.00 729.40MANPASAND 84.00 86.70 83.00 85.50GLENMARK 670.35 671.00 660.55 665.90KEC 278.15 282.80 271.45 275.35SPARC 184.50 185.50 182.00 182.90PAGEIND 24000.00 24210.05 23593.60 23733.70SUNTECK 334.00 337.00 331.55 335.15SIEMENS 1060.00 1071.00 1057.70 1063.40LALPATHLAB 975.00 1003.00 966.00 984.55HAVELLS 690.50 693.00 678.50 682.65MUTHOOTFIN 535.00 543.25 534.70 541.85IDFC 43.00 43.50 42.50 42.95RAIN 117.20 118.90 116.25 117.60TATAMETALI 637.00 638.45 621.05 626.05

ALBK 44.45 44.90 43.75 44.00APOLLOHOSP 1327.40 1333.75 1319.40 1329.50LTI 1737.00 1744.85 1708.70 1734.05ABB 1309.40 1325.00 1281.00 1295.40ULTRACEMCO 3780.00 3843.50 3780.00 3820.95TORNTPHARM 1885.00 1911.00 1885.00 1891.55DRREDDY 2589.90 2601.05 2583.00 2591.95RAJESHEXPO 574.50 589.85 569.00 582.45COLPAL 1307.20 1334.00 1307.20 1323.80TATAGLOBAL 213.00 215.20 213.00 214.40BBTC 1269.70 1300.00 1267.10 1282.10LICHSGFIN 480.75 488.55 477.95 485.00JINDALSAW 79.60 81.90 79.60 81.05CANFINHOME 276.00 278.00 273.60 276.45SUVEN 218.50 222.00 216.10 219.05BAJAJ-AUTO 2712.40 2734.90 2710.50 2725.30IDBI 62.70 63.05 61.40 61.65KSCL 559.50 593.00 559.50 579.05ORIENTBANK 99.00 99.10 97.20 97.75JAMNAAUTO 62.25 63.00 61.90 62.05JKLAKSHMI 301.95 316.00 301.95 308.55JBCHEPHARM 304.80 326.55 304.80 316.60FCONSUMER 43.60 43.60 43.00 43.35SOBHA 455.10 480.50 453.10 473.70QUESS 718.20 725.20 690.45 695.35VENKYS 2300.00 2356.95 2300.00 2321.55APOLLOTYRE 224.10 225.50 222.75 223.45JUBILANT 725.00 725.00 707.30 716.15IRB 153.00 159.95 153.00 157.70SUDARSCHEM 346.25 346.30 339.65 344.10WELSPUNIND 61.90 63.25 61.45 62.45HINDCOPPER 49.45 50.20 49.20 49.55KAJARIACER 528.05 534.95 527.40 530.20CROMPTON 228.40 228.40 224.50 224.95GODREJIND 525.05 529.90 520.60 526.95DIVISLAB 1533.00 1535.65 1516.55 1522.95NETWORK18 40.25 41.40 39.50 40.40ICICIGI 869.00 876.90 867.90 870.60CENTURYTEX 889.55 899.35 888.05 891.65BLISSGVS 166.50 166.65 161.75 162.60CHOLAFIN 1197.40 1201.90 1180.85 1189.95TATACHEM 696.85 698.75 692.20 695.35HUDCO 43.05 44.20 42.90 43.25PRESTIGE 210.00 224.40 209.60 215.40CHAMBLFERT 170.90 173.00 168.10 169.15DCMSHRIRAM 349.50 360.00 347.75 356.90AJANTPHARM 1179.95 1182.40 1156.25 1162.00CADILAHC 354.05 357.75 353.20 355.35JSWENERGY 69.15 70.20 68.40 68.90RAYMOND 819.75 825.55 811.20 815.60OMAXE 212.25 213.10 211.70 211.90IGL 272.00 275.20 269.60 271.80FRETAIL 443.10 448.00 440.90 446.55INDIANB 252.00 254.85 250.05 252.45SRF 2038.60 2076.75 2034.95 2070.45SWANENERGY 101.00 101.00 99.05 99.40DEEPAKFERT 146.00 147.40 142.00 143.75LTTS 1638.10 1657.00 1632.80 1651.00HSCL 129.80 133.25 129.75 132.65KEI 354.40 361.00 354.40 359.75VGUARD 208.00 209.75 205.80 208.55VIJAYABANK 48.60 49.15 48.60 48.70VBL 816.55 825.00 813.10 819.95EIDPARRY 221.85 230.00 220.30 227.05IPCALAB 786.00 799.50 780.00 781.85WESTLIFE 385.00 390.00 385.00 389.65SUPREMEIND 1149.15 1159.60 1109.00 1116.85GHCL 255.00 261.30 255.00 258.35RBLBANK 577.80 580.95 574.10 577.70AMBUJACEM 214.90 217.40 214.80 216.50BIRLACORPN 556.20 580.85 555.00 572.40HINDZINC 272.25 274.00 270.55 273.15GMRINFRA 16.50 16.60 16.30 16.50NESTLEIND 11252.45 11332.45 11201.85 11286.85SYNDIBANK 40.50 40.50 39.05 39.30PVR 1641.00 1665.70 1641.00 1659.85PERSISTENT 554.00 554.70 546.70 551.35BERGEPAINT 328.00 328.00 324.00 325.55MAHINDCIE 234.80 239.80 234.00 238.75OIL 174.00 175.10 173.00 174.65AVANTI 367.10 377.65 367.10 373.75INDHOTEL 139.85 140.75 137.55 138.45AARTIIND 1584.85 1584.85 1560.00 1569.45ADANITRANS 224.70 226.25 218.50 219.30JKTYRE 100.00 101.10 99.95 100.40MINDAIND 306.85 310.35 303.45 308.50PTC 89.75 91.20 88.95 90.90MARICO 382.35 385.00 380.35 382.40BHARATFIN 950.00 952.15 944.90 949.15PNBHOUSING 891.95 905.00 882.95 890.50BAJAJELEC 481.80 485.00 475.50 481.65GODREJCP 782.75 786.00 776.60 781.85CAPPL 407.00 415.00 405.60 411.65COROMANDEL 460.00 460.00 450.60 453.60KANSAINER 446.75 459.80 435.00 457.55INFRATEL 279.35 283.60 278.05 280.50IFCI 14.95 14.95 14.57 14.76DBL 389.25 396.40 389.20 391.40REPCOHOME 427.50 435.95 424.45 431.90PARAGMILK 238.00 243.65 238.00 242.50BAJAJCON 385.85 388.75 367.95 385.15JMFINANCIL 89.20 91.00 89.00 90.55SONATSOFTW 298.00 306.60 298.00 305.00NILKAMAL 1387.15 1399.80 1374.95 1380.05EMAMILTD 428.85 440.95 428.85 438.35IEX 160.30 166.75 160.30 166.00KRBL 323.00 328.20 314.55 316.30JSL 32.75 33.50 32.60 33.00INOXWIND 74.40 75.00 73.10 74.20

DENABANK 13.60 13.75 13.45 13.65AUBANK 659.90 667.15 652.00 660.25INTELLECT 219.60 222.20 218.05 218.80SUNDRMFAST 518.50 534.20 518.50 529.15ASHOKA 132.75 137.00 132.00 134.70SBILIFE 634.50 634.50 620.45 622.50MRPL 69.75 70.70 69.50 70.45RALLIS 167.60 171.25 166.90 169.10DBCORP 177.80 186.30 175.60 179.55BOSCHLTD 19400.00 19400.00 19010.00 19093.40TATACOMM 512.25 521.45 511.65 515.55GLAXO 1464.45 1464.45 1440.00 1445.10TIINDIA 333.00 333.00 323.50 326.70CENTRALBK 36.00 36.45 35.90 36.05ADANIGREEN 40.00 40.10 38.70 38.90GODREJAGRO 492.05 499.00 492.00 494.40FORTIS 140.00 140.00 137.15 138.15MINDACORP 150.05 153.40 150.05 152.30NIACL 181.75 186.35 179.80 184.25PFIZER 2696.55 2724.70 2692.95 2698.30ENDURANCE 1195.00 1213.00 1180.00 1183.40GPPL 90.55 90.55 89.00 89.65MAGMA 106.80 113.90 106.80 108.60COCHINSHIP 368.65 373.15 368.65 369.70SCHNEIDER 97.50 98.80 96.25 96.80WELCORP 135.15 136.00 132.55 132.90GREAVESCOT 121.15 122.50 120.60 121.50CHENNPETRO 262.55 264.80 262.30 264.25IBULISL 321.05 335.00 310.00 316.25GSPL 171.90 172.00 169.20 169.65RELAXO 761.00 763.20 749.95 752.50OFSS 3584.90 3670.00 3584.90 3658.60GRANULES 88.50 88.70 87.55 87.85NHPC 25.50 25.60 25.30 25.45ASTRAZEN 1611.10 1655.90 1601.10 1640.95TATACOFFEE 100.00 101.75 99.40 99.75PIIND 846.35 851.20 828.75 843.30MOIL 167.10 167.25 165.50 166.35AKZOINDIA 1760.50 1792.15 1740.00 1752.90GSKCONS 7465.00 7545.00 7425.85 7501.70RAMCOCEM 626.20 633.40 625.50 627.85MERCK 3203.20 3240.85 3197.35 3207.20LEMONTREE 70.65 70.85 69.35 70.10NATCOPHARM* 686.00 693.45 686.00 691.55MMTC 29.10 29.75 29.10 29.20SHREECEM 15448.85 15873.30 15448.85 15632.40PRSMJOHNSN 84.00 87.30 84.00 85.70CENTURYPLY 180.80 182.00 178.75 180.90AEGISLOG 205.20 210.55 200.00 209.60THYROCARE 546.00 553.00 531.00 545.95SYNGENE 532.00 546.85 532.00 540.05UCOBANK 20.45 20.80 20.45 20.60ASTRAL 1142.80 1148.95 1118.00 1131.20TRENT 357.00 358.00 353.20 355.75CRISIL 1651.95 1665.00 1625.00 1637.25TAKE 151.00 154.35 150.05 151.20CONCOR 682.50 685.00 676.30 679.95SCI 46.35 46.90 46.00 46.20MRF 66551.00 66874.55 66000.00 66236.85GICRE 256.70 261.85 256.00 257.45SADBHAV 222.30 223.65 219.50 220.45INDOSTAR 354.95 355.00 338.00 344.45RNAM 154.95 157.00 154.10 154.55SOLARINDS 1059.10 1059.10 1030.80 1039.10SANOFI 6270.00 6305.00 6155.00 6228.20GICHSGFIN 264.35 268.50 264.00 264.55SJVN 25.55 25.80 25.25 25.60ITDC 311.85 319.00 291.45 311.80TIMKEN 595.05 598.00 578.05 580.60KPRMILL 519.10 546.05 519.10 531.65ZENSARTECH 233.55 240.35 228.00 236.05ALLCARGO 111.00 112.00 109.75 110.30ADVENZYMES 170.15 171.05 169.25 170.20CUB 189.75 190.35 188.35 189.60DCAL 230.80 234.90 229.05 229.85CARERATING 1007.95 1016.10 998.20 1005.20ASTERDM 162.65 168.00 160.00 164.30LAXMIMACH 5650.20 5749.90 5650.20 5703.45VINATIORGA 1595.00 1624.00 1584.75 1595.45NESCO 465.50 466.85 454.00 454.70MHRIL 215.00 217.00 213.80 214.10ANDHRABANK 29.50 29.55 28.70 29.00MAHABANK 14.71 14.94 14.62 14.68BALMLAWRIE 199.75 202.40 198.00 198.50ABBOTINDIA 8101.50 8120.00 8052.00 8106.95PNCINFRA 154.20 155.90 152.00 152.40APLLTD 592.45 600.50 592.40 599.60HAL 770.00 779.00 770.00 771.65GET&D 320.00 320.35 310.00 311.45TEAMLEASE 2872.00 2899.00 2820.00 2846.00ESSELPRO 108.55 110.40 107.25 108.25EIHOTEL 182.85 184.00 181.70 183.15LAKSHVILAS 77.65 77.85 75.70 76.65SOMANYCERA 368.85 374.00 363.05 368.00PGHH 9995.00 10027.55 9915.05 9964.65GESHIP 315.30 320.95 315.00 315.45ATUL 3440.10 3484.15 3420.00 3452.55JAGRAN 112.20 114.45 112.20 113.40ECLERX 1059.55 1078.00 1050.00 1064.35BASF 1510.40 1527.00 1510.35 1514.25SHARDACROP 299.00 304.00 296.00 298.75PHOENIXLTD 559.35 577.95 559.35 575.75KNRCON 215.40 218.80 215.40 217.85GUJALKALI 516.00 524.00 516.00 520.65TEJASNET 216.00 218.50 215.00 215.60CENTRUM 35.50 36.35 35.25 35.85WHIRLPOOL 1472.35 1472.40 1454.70 1460.80ITDCEM 115.60 119.65 115.60 116.70VMART 2236.25 2292.20 2168.00 2237.30

WABCOINDIA 6397.95 6400.00 6276.10 6364.20BDL 277.55 285.70 277.55 279.00MOTILALOFS 697.00 697.00 673.30 679.80NLCINDIA 67.20 68.05 67.15 67.45NBVENTURES 115.00 115.20 113.10 113.45GUJFLUORO 932.00 942.00 925.00 927.55BAJAJHLDNG 3025.00 3035.00 2996.10 2997.65UFLEX 268.95 272.40 267.80 269.40GMDCLTD 86.85 87.70 86.05 87.15FORBESCO 2205.00 2339.95 2205.00 2228.20INOXLEISUR 255.30 255.80 251.25 252.45KIOCL 146.55 157.00 145.20 149.80DEEPAKNI 220.55 220.60 217.50 219.20REDINGTON 81.10 84.10 81.10 83.90KALPATPOWR 375.00 376.40 370.00 373.05GDL 113.50 114.55 110.60 111.30SHK 177.00 179.10 175.65 178.95HERITGFOOD 526.90 536.20 526.90 534.75FINCABLES 450.00 450.00 446.20 449.60NAVINFLUOR 670.65 674.70 668.25 669.40IOB 14.69 14.69 14.35 14.40ZYDUSWELL 1351.65 1374.80 1345.50 1369.60THERMAX 1136.00 1140.50 1117.25 1125.95BLUEDART 3263.00 3286.00 3190.00 3205.65VTL 1089.50 1089.50 1074.95 1076.40ALKEM 1945.00 1949.85 1911.25 1923.40HEIDELBERG 145.00 149.65 145.00 149.20CCL 265.40 266.95 265.05 265.95BAYERCROP 4216.90 4246.05 4170.00 4192.15TIMETECHNO 100.70 101.40 100.10 100.50GULFOILLUB 840.05 860.00 840.05 855.70THOMASCOOK 233.50 235.10 231.50 233.30GREENPLY 141.75 141.75 138.80 139.50SHILPAMED 390.45 390.50 383.80 386.15CARBORUNIV 361.00 364.75 360.00 361.50CERA 2612.30 2659.00 2573.65 2650.10TNPL 235.40 240.00 233.25 237.75FDC 172.20 173.00 171.45 172.55JKCEMENT 717.30 719.35 708.20 709.00SHRIRAMCIT 1672.30 1718.00 1672.25 1708.10AIAENG 1653.50 1673.25 1651.50 1660.80APLAPOLLO 1117.45 1122.00 1094.60 1111.25FLFL 394.00 394.00 385.15 393.30TVTODAY 369.00 372.95 365.00 370.20LAOPALA 211.60 222.00 211.60 220.30HIMATSEIDE 213.05 215.50 211.00 213.05FINOLEXIND 527.80 544.95 527.80 541.70MAHLIFE 389.90 395.00 389.40 390.95GRINDWELL 564.90 567.45 555.05 563.35TIFHL 477.65 477.65 460.00 467.90CORPBANK 28.55 28.95 28.50 28.60TRITURBINE 114.20 114.90 113.25 113.80HATSUN 678.80 681.30 676.00 676.10STARCEMENT 97.00 97.00 96.05 96.35SKFINDIA 1920.70 1931.75 1913.00 1919.80NAVNETEDUL 109.50 110.25 109.00 109.00HONAUT 21700.05 22000.00 21682.00 21934.60TTKPRESTIG 7593.90 7630.00 7550.45 7566.70SCHAEFFLER 5629.50 5685.00 5600.00 5649.40TVSSRICHAK 2424.10 2451.35 2405.10 2424.40SUPRAJIT 214.30 215.00 212.90 213.65ELGIEQUIP 257.00 260.75 257.00 260.00GALAXYSURF 1170.00 1184.55 1170.00 1174.603MINDIA 20551.15 20945.00 20551.15 20867.40SUPPETRO 182.20 185.60 182.00 184.15SUNCLAYLTD 3350.00 3368.80 3345.00 3346.65MONSANTO 2568.50 2590.90 2556.90 2580.45GILLETTE 6503.60 6503.60 6466.05 6488.50ERIS 650.00 651.00 640.05 644.90MAXINDIA 85.50 85.55 85.00 85.35LAURUSLABS 379.75 381.00 377.20 378.35ORIENTCEM 78.00 78.00 77.00 77.35ISGEC 5019.00 5043.95 5002.10 5012.40DHANUKA 427.00 429.00 420.00 425.45ASAHIINDIA 255.10 256.45 255.00 255.15NH 201.25 207.90 201.25 205.75GEPIL 810.50 819.90 810.50 819.40SHOPERSTOP 517.00 519.20 511.75 513.85BLUESTARCO 612.50 615.00 610.00 611.00APARINDS 620.60 622.20 619.00 620.90MAHLOG 513.30 515.00 512.55 514.75SIS 764.65 765.00 755.10 763.15RATNAMANI 878.40 915.95 878.40 915.00

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10777.55 10896.95 10777.55 10886.80 149.20WIPRO 319.00 332.30 315.05 329.70 17.15YESBANK 196.60 205.00 196.10 203.30 7.95TECHM 682.95 710.80 682.05 706.00 26.15INFY 707.20 730.00 707.20 728.30 26.40RELIANCE 1105.00 1132.00 1105.00 1130.95 34.15VEDL 193.85 199.80 193.35 198.80 5.75TCS 1810.00 1869.35 1808.00 1866.00 52.75HINDPETRO 234.90 242.95 234.30 240.75 6.80ADANIPORTS 375.00 386.00 375.00 385.00 10.55JSWSTEEL 285.00 293.00 282.30 291.50 7.60IBULHSGFIN 795.00 811.80 792.10 808.00 17.05BAJFINANCE 2551.00 2613.00 2551.00 2599.35 54.55BPCL 336.90 343.35 336.20 341.85 6.90BAJAJFINSV 6385.00 6524.00 6380.00 6493.00 124.20BHARTIARTL 330.00 339.35 326.50 338.00 6.40ZEEL 452.40 463.20 450.00 456.55 8.45IOC 132.60 134.75 132.55 134.45 2.15ASIANPAINT 1388.60 1414.45 1388.60 1407.95 19.35TATAMOTORS 183.30 185.80 181.25 184.90 2.50ONGC 144.70 145.50 144.05 145.40 1.95HINDUNILVR 1767.40 1793.40 1767.40 1786.55 22.65ULTRACEMCO 3792.00 3845.00 3771.05 3823.60 47.00HCLTECH 929.00 955.90 929.00 948.00 10.80HEROMOTOCO 2879.70 2918.35 2867.35 2900.00 33.00HINDALCO 207.35 209.00 205.65 208.50 2.35TITAN 956.00 970.70 955.10 967.65 10.15HDFC 1975.20 1996.00 1964.00 1988.40 19.20BAJAJ-AUTO 2705.00 2734.80 2705.00 2725.00 25.85GRASIM 815.90 821.85 802.70 820.80 7.10DRREDDY 2585.00 2604.00 2581.35 2601.00 22.20INDUSINDBK 1491.00 1504.40 1486.00 1496.70 12.65COALINDIA 231.50 233.60 231.05 232.70 1.80TATASTEEL 473.00 476.50 469.00 474.35 3.50HDFCBANK 2105.05 2126.50 2102.00 2117.00 15.35EICHERMOT 20540.00 20670.00 20480.00 20626.00 145.60LT 1340.00 1348.00 1330.00 1342.90 9.00UPL 772.60 782.10 771.95 775.45 5.05CIPLA 514.50 515.35 509.50 515.00 3.05ITC 295.25 297.40 294.00 295.95 1.65NTPC 146.00 146.45 144.15 146.30 0.75SBIN 302.00 303.60 301.10 301.65 1.25KOTAKBANK 1217.00 1220.00 1210.30 1216.00 4.25M&M 727.50 730.00 723.35 726.75 2.20SUNPHARMA 453.25 454.50 449.50 452.00 1.15AXISBANK 661.30 664.25 655.05 660.50 1.30GAIL 323.00 326.95 322.05 325.40 0.50INFRATEL 280.15 283.75 277.65 280.00 -0.10ICICIBANK 373.55 375.40 370.60 373.00 -0.35POWERGRID 199.00 199.00 190.40 192.30 -0.20MARUTI 7430.00 7470.00 7317.00 7349.00 -59.70

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 27603.25 27744.15 27574.25 27712.60 197.75L&TFH 137.00 142.00 136.75 141.90 5.65PEL 2284.00 2350.00 2276.65 2341.00 65.25DLF 182.50 187.20 182.00 185.85 4.70BRITANNIA 3120.15 3199.90 3095.00 3186.00 72.35PIDILITIND 1139.90 1178.75 1135.70 1160.00 25.35AUROPHARMA 774.00 788.95 771.10 786.55 16.35NIACL 180.50 187.30 178.80 183.80 3.75BANDHANBNK 444.15 455.30 444.15 452.00 8.80LUPIN 836.50 853.00 833.05 850.50 15.75LICHSGFIN 481.10 488.40 477.30 487.50 8.35ACC 1465.00 1498.40 1465.00 1483.05 23.45NHPC 25.40 25.80 25.35 25.80 0.40NMDC 94.00 94.00 92.10 93.55 1.45OFSS 3606.05 3684.70 3604.10 3675.65 53.90SHREECEM 15500.00 15878.00 15460.15 15725.05 228.50COLPAL 1302.10 1335.00 1302.10 1323.35 17.60SRTRANSFIN 1171.00 1192.50 1165.45 1183.35 14.30MCDOWELL-N 600.80 607.50 596.90 604.10 7.25IDEA 35.95 36.45 35.65 36.35 0.40ICICIGI 879.00 879.00 868.00 871.50 9.15SIEMENS 1062.50 1072.45 1057.00 1064.40 10.30BHEL 68.10 68.80 67.80 68.45 0.65OIL 175.50 176.00 172.80 174.85 1.60AMBUJACEM 215.45 217.50 214.85 216.60 1.75SAIL 50.75 51.50 50.55 50.95 0.40ABCAPITAL 96.45 97.50 96.20 96.75 0.65GODREJCP 783.00 784.55 775.85 782.00 4.80ICICIPRULI 347.30 358.50 343.80 352.60 2.10HINDZINC 272.55 273.95 270.20 272.95 1.55BIOCON 650.10 651.45 643.05 648.90 3.40SBILIFE 624.00 631.15 620.00 622.50 2.40INDIGO 1077.00 1091.00 1061.55 1085.70 4.05BANKBARODA 121.30 122.15 120.75 121.30 0.35ASHOKLEY 93.50 94.45 93.25 93.75 0.25MARICO 383.10 385.10 379.70 382.80 0.70CADILAHC 355.10 357.85 352.90 353.90 0.20SUNTV 568.00 581.25 568.00 579.35 0.35BOSCHLTD 19165.00 19290.00 19042.75 19125.00 8.90CONCOR 686.00 686.00 677.20 682.00 -0.30PGHH 9920.40 10010.00 9875.10 9960.00 -39.30GICRE 259.95 260.00 256.90 256.90 -1.25MRF 66650.00 66989.95 66077.00 66188.00 -465.05DMART 1385.00 1415.00 1372.00 1386.80 -10.60PETRONET 220.00 220.10 214.20 215.00 -1.95HAVELLS 691.25 693.50 678.35 682.10 -6.45MOTHERSUMI 161.90 161.90 157.60 160.20 -1.55BEL 92.00 92.15 89.75 90.25 -1.35HDFCLIFE 392.10 393.70 385.10 385.10 -6.95ABB 1310.00 1326.70 1272.50 1284.00 -23.35DABUR 434.90 438.00 424.00 424.95 -8.55

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Turkey’s President RecepTayyip Erdogan and US

counterpart Donald Trumpmooted on Monday the cre-ation of a “security zone” innorth Syria as tensions roseover the fate of Kurdish fight-ers in that country.

In a telephone conversa-tion, the leaders “discussed theidea of creating a security zonecleared of terrorism in thenorth of the country,” theTurkish presidency said in astatement.

This came after Turkeyvowed it “will not be intimi-dated” by Trump’s threats ofeconomic devastation ifAnkara attacked Kurdish forcesas US troops withdraw fromSyria.

Trump on Sunday warned the US would “devas-tate Turkey economically ifthey hit Kurds”.

Ankara has repeatedlythreatened to carry out a cross-border operation against theKurdish People’s ProtectionUnits (YPG), which have beenworking closely with theUnited States in the war onIslamic State (IS) jihadists.

US support for the YPGhas been a major source of fric-tion between the NATO allies.

The While House said in astatement that Trump hadwarned Erdogan against harm-ing Kurdish military units.

“The President expressedthe desire to work together toaddress Turkey’s security con-cerns in northeast Syria whilestressing the importance tothe United States that Turkeydoes not mistreat the Kurdsand other Syrian DemocraticForces with whom we have

fought to defeat ISIS,” WhiteHouse spokeswoman SarahSanders said.

The strained relationshipbetween Ankara andWashington initially seemed toimprove after Trumpannounced last month that2,000 US troops would with-draw from Syria.

Ankara welcomed the deci-sion and Erdogan told Trumpthat Turkey could finish off thelast remnants of IS.

Trump has been pushingfor the creation of a 30-kilo-metre “safe zone” in Syria.

US Secretary of State MikePompeo said Monday talkswere under way onWashington’s proposal to estab-lish the zone in flashpoint bor-der areas of northeast Syria.

“We want to make sure thatthe folks who fought with us todown the (Islamic State group)have security... And also thatterrorists acting out of Syriaaren’t able to attack Turkey,”Pompeo said on a visit toRiyadh.

Turkish Foreign MinisterMevlut Cavusoglu said earlierthat Turkey was “not against”a “security zone” in Syria.

And in their conversationMonday,Erdogan assuredTrump that Turkey was readyto provide “any kind of sup-port” to the United States in itswithdrawal from Syria.

Turkey views the YPG as a“terrorist offshoot” of the out-lawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK), which has been wagingan insurgency against theTurkish state since 1984.

The PKK is blacklisted asa terrorist organisation byAnkara, the United States, andthe European Union.

Erdogan’s spokesman

Ibrahim Kalin said Ankarawould “continue to fight againstthem all”, referring to IS and theYPG.

There has been growingtension between Turkey andthe US over the fate of the YPG,especially after Pompeo thismonth said Washington wouldensure Turkey does not“slaughter” Kurds.

And before a visit toAnkara last week, White HouseNational Security adviser JohnBolton said the US retreat wasconditional on the safety ofKurdish fighters, provokingangry retorts from Turkishofficials.

Turkey previously launchedmilitary offensives in northernSyria in 2016 and 2018 respec-tively against IS and the YPG.In early 2018, Syrian rebelsbacked by Turkish militaryforces captured the YPG’snorthwestern enclave of Afrin.Ankara, which supports Syrianopposition fighters, is alsoinvolved in the last rebel bastionof Idlib, where Turkey hasagreed a buffer zone deal withDamascus ally Russia.

But the deal has notstopped an assault by jihadistsin Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham(HTS), an alliance led byjihadists from Al-Qaeda’s for-mer Syrian affiliate, last weekextended its administrativecontrol over the whole of theIdlib region.

Syria’s National Coalition,the leading opposition body, onSunday called for a “radicalsolution” to put “an end to its(HTS) presence” in Idlib.

Cavusoglu however said the Idlib deal was being “successfully applied”and that statements that HTStook 50 percent of Idlib are“not true”.

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Donald Trump has sent aletter to Kim Jong-un, a

media report said on Tuesday,days after the US President saidhe received a “great letter”from the reclusive NorthKorean leader, amid talks abouta second summit betweenthem on denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula.

Kim and Trump held a his-toric meeting in Singapore onJune 12 last year where theyissued a vague goal for the“complete denuclearisation” ofthe Korean Peninsula withoutdescribing when and how itwould occur.

The letter delivered overthe weekend comes afterPresident Trump said earlythis month that he had receiveda “great letter” from Kim andwas looking forward to meet

the North Korean leader for asecond time in the “not-too-distant future”.

The letter comes as the twosides negotiate details of a sec-ond meeting between the twoleaders.

It was f lown to Pyongyang and delivered byhand, the CNN reported, quot-ing a source familiar with theongoing talks betweenWashington and Pyongyangon denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula.

North Korea’s former spychief Kim Yong Chol - one ofPyongyang’s top negotiators -could visit Washington as soonas this week to finalise detailsof the upcoming summit, itsaid.

The CNN previouslyreported that US scoutingteams had visited Bangkok,Hanoi and Hawaii as they

search for a location for the sec-ond summit.

Last week, South KoreanPresident Moon Jae-in threwhis support behind anotherTrump-Kim meeting, saying it- along with a visit by Kim toSeoul - would be a turningpoint “that will firmly solidifypeace on the Korean Peninsula”,the report said.

“We will not loosen ourguard until the promise todenuclearise the Peninsula iskept, and peace is fully institu-tionalised,” Moon said.

Trump’s announcement ofreceiving a letter from Kim hadcome after the North Koreanleader warned that Pyongyangmay change its approach tonuclear talks if Washingtonpersists with sanctions.

Earlier, the US presidentexpressed satisfaction over theprogress in talks with the North

Koreans, saying he is in no rushfor the denuclearisation of theKorean peninsula.

“We’re getting along fine.I’m not in any rush. I don’t haveto rush. All I know is there’s norockets, there’s no testing,” hesaid.

Trump said his adminis-tration was not getting anycredit for this peace initiativewhich has averted the worldfrom a major war.

After years of isolation, Kim held a numberof diplomatic summits in 2018,meeting with Moon, Trumpand Chinese President XiJinping.

Last week, he made a sur-prise visit to Beijing to meetagain with Xi, a meeting whichindicated that China remains amajor player in any futureaction to denuclearise theKorean Peninsula.

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Atop North Korean diplomatwas travelling to Sweden on

Tuesday, she told reporters, asspeculation mounts over thenext summit between the iso-lated State’s leader Kim Jong Unand US President DonaldTrump.

Choe Son Hui, a NorthKorean vice-minister of foreignaffairs, landed in Beijing on aflight from the North Koreancapital Pyongyang. “I am goingto an international conference inSweden,” South Korea’s Yonhapnews agency quoted her as say-ing on arrival at the airport.

Choe’s trip comes as expec-tations grow for a second meet-ing between Kim and Trump -- despite a lack of progress indenuclearisation negotiations -- after the North Korean leader

went to Beijing, longPyongyang’s key ally, last weekfor talks with President XiJinping.

South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in said Kim’s trip wasa sign a second US-NorthKorean summit was “immi-nent”, and US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo added at theweekend that: “We’re workingout the details”.

Suggestions circulatingamong Korea-watchers for pos-sible venues include Vietnamand Thailand, among others.

Stockholm has a long his-tory of mediating betweenWashington and Pyongyang --while the two do not havediplomatic relations, Sweden isthe protecting power for US cit-izens in the Asian country, andChoe has been intimatelyinvolved in the US-North

Korean relationship.Before she assumed her

current position, she was direc-tor general of the foreign min-istry’s North American depart-ment. She was also among theofficials who accompanied Kimto Singapore for his first summitwith Trump in June.

The meeting, held in a blazeof publicity, saw the two mensign a vaguely worded docu-ment in which Kim pledged towork towards “the denucleari-sation of the Korean peninsula”.

But progress has sincestalled with the two sides dis-agreeing over what that means.

Pyongyang is seeking sanc-tions relief and rejects demandsfor what it calls its “unilateral”disarmament, while Washingtoninsists that the punitive measuresmust stay in place until it givesup its nuclear arsenal.

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A36-year-old Bangladeshi-origin British lawmaker

has delayed giving birth tovote on the UK’s landmarkdivorce deal with the EuropeanUnion on Tuesday.

Tulip Siddiq, a Labour law-maker and a niece of

Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina, has beenadvised by doctors to have acaesarean section, but agreed to

push the procedure back toThursday so she can vote onthe Brexit deal Tuesday in theHouse of Commons.

By her decision, theOpposition lawmaker fromHampstead and Kilburn, hasreigniting the debate over proxyvoting in Parliament, the BBCreported.

Siddiq told the EveningStandard that she had a difficultfirst pregnancy with her two-year-old daughter, and was orig-

inally due to give birth to hersecond child by elective cae-sarean section on February 4.

But after developing gesta-tional diabetes, her doctorsrecommended she bring thedate forward to a delivery thisMonday or Tuesday. She spoketo medical staff at the RoyalFree Hospital in Hampstead,London, and they agreed to thedelay.

Siddiq said: “If my sonenters the world even one daylater than the doctors advised,but it’s a world with a better chance of a strong rela-tionship between Britain andEurope, then that’s worth fight-ing for.”

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Beijing on Tuesday slammedCanadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau for making “irresponsibleremarks” after he criticised aChinese court’s death sentenceagainst a convicted Canadiandrug smuggler.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg,36, was given the death penal-ty on Monday after his previ-ous 15-year prison sentencewas deemed too lenient — aruling that came amid a deep-ening diplomatic rift betweenOttawa and Beijing.

Trudeau expressed“extreme concern” on Monday,saying “China has chosen toarbitrarily apply death penaltiesin cases, as in this case facinga Canadian”.

“We urge the Canadianside to respect the rule of law,respect China’s judicial sover-eignty, correct their mistakes,and stop making such irre-sponsible remarks,” foreignministry spokeswoman HuaChunying said at a press brief-ing.

Hua also dismissed suggestions by human rights groups that Beijing hadseized on the case to put pressure on Ottawa overCanada’s arrest of a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei inDecember.

“I think such remarks aremalicious smearing and unwar-ranted accusations,” Hua said,adding that it is “extremelyclear” which side is politicisingjudicial issues.

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With an ever-increasing sizeand influence of the WorldWide Web, the domain of

professional blogging has become amainstream career rather than thehobby that it was merely a decade anda half ago. The world of blogging,vlogging (video blog) and influencermarketing has become massive andmore and more people have jumpedinto it in India.

However, we have seen that peo-ple with no technical ability orknowhow and absolutely no experi-ence in the online space jump into thissea and then get lost soon enough. Itis so easy to be lured into the onlineblogging space, without really under-standing it and most people end upwithout any real ideas after a fewmonths. Even though bloggers have afan following, they soon fade awayfrom public memory.

Communicating through the

written word is a learnt skill and intoday’s sphere of content creation,there are many players without aptknowledge for the same. It is essen-tial, just like for any other career, tolearn and educate yourself about thenitty-gritty of blogging. The game planis changing with every new techno-logical advancement, every new phonethat gets launched.

Not being equipped to face thechallenges that the digital world isthrowing at the content creators is thereason that people are not able to sharetheir value online. Whether you are anewbie or an experienced content cre-ator facing a creative block, a well-designed course can guide you toenhance your skill set and thereforeyour strategies to further the blog, vlogor your social media strategies.

Since the world of blogging isunlimited, so are the avenues of earn-ing through them. Many creative

people often struggle to make strate-gic financial decisions about their con-tent. It becomes the stumbling blockfor so many pre-bloggers and manyjust do it with their eyes wide shut.

Social media too plays a huge rolein all of this. The role of influencermarketers has increased in the pastfew years by leaps and bounds. Todaybrands are moving towards socialmedia to promote their products andservices. Collaborations with estab-lished bloggers seem to be a betterinvestment for many brands andmore importantly many startups thatcannot afford traditional advertisingon a large scale. The internet, on theother hand, has a universal reach.

For example, a small luxury resortat the foothills of the Himalayaswould much rather collaborate witha travel blogger who already has a setdemographic that follows her, whoalready has a psychographic profile

that they want to target their servicesto. If the service provider were to giveher a good experience at the resort,with just a little investment, thatresort is being marketed to the mostlikely traveller.

They can generate real interest.But one thing should be very clear, theblogger that they choose must havethe reliability and trust of her follow-ers. It can’t be someone who looks toonly gain freebies, because the audi-ence understands over time who isfooling them and who isn’t and quick-ly moves on to the next quality con-tent provider.

Whether it is the field of fashionblogging, travel blogging, beauty blog-ging, education blogging, technologyblogging or any other kind, the onlything that works over a long period oftime is useful quality content.

And quality content in the digi-tal world is different and exploratory

and ever-metamorphosing into newand different styles. If you step intothis maze, then the roads to successare not as easy as before. But the learn-ing curve does go high in this career.

No matter what career you are in,if you are passionate about blogging,nothing should come in your way.

There are many short-term week-end course in blogging offered by theinstitutes. With this course, one canlearn not only the tips of creatingunique content in order to become asuccessful blogger but also photogra-phy as it makes blogging more pow-erful. Technology has revolutionisedthe way we communicate and socialmedia is a byproduct of technicalinnovation. It is important for a blog-ger to understand these technologicaladvancements in the rapidly changingecosystem.

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����� ������The University of

Sheffield, UK, is invitingapplications for BAEconomics course starting inSeptember 2019.

This degree is excellentpreparation for a wide varietyof careers, including as aneconomist, analytical roles inindustry or government andfor jobs in finance, bankingand investment.

Having learned the coreskills, students will be able toapply them to a wide varietyof optional modules in yourfinal year, including laboureconomics, health economics,education economics andpolitical economy. There’s alsothe opportunity to undertakean independent research pro-ject.

This course give studentsthe opportunity to do a year-long paid work placementand gain a degree withEmployment Experience.Students will need to makeapplications for placementsthemselves, but guidance andsupport will be providedthrough the process by aplacements team.

There are also opportuni-ties for students to studyabroad in places such asAustralia, New Zealand,Canada, Hong Kong,Singapore or the USA withoutextending the length of theircourse. Or students have theoption of extending theirdegree to four years by work-ing or studying abroad intheir third year and thenreturning to Sheffield for theirfinal year.

Eligibility: 80 per centmarks in standard Class XII.International students needoverall IELTS grade of 6.5with a minimum of 6.0 ineach component, or an equiv-alent.

Fee: £17600 per year forInternational students.

Scholarships: The uni-versity offers a range of schol-arships for undergraduate stu-

dents including 50 schol-arships worth 50 per cent oftheir tuition fees and a 10 percent tuition fee discount. Formore information, log on tohttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/international/enquiry/money/ug

Last date to apply: -June 30, 2019.

���B��������������The Indian Institute of Art

and Design (IIAD) in collabo-ration with Kingston School ofArt, London, offers under-graduate programmes in fash-ion design, fashion businessmanagement, communicationdesign and interior architecture& design.

It also offers postgraduateprogrammes in fashion designand fashion business manage-ment. The institute offers theseprogrammes through its cre-ative studio-based educationand strives to groom the nextgeneration of designers anddesign thinkers at its state-of-the-art campus in New Delhi.

Eligibility: For UG pro-grammes, Class XII pass in anystream is required. For post-graduate programmes, gradu-ation is mandatory from anyrecognised university or insti-tutes. Students with awaitedresults (2019) in UG & PG areconsidered eligible to apply.

Admissions process: IIADEntrance Test

How to apply: Interestedcandidates can apply online byregistering themselves at IIAD’sonline application portal. Foroffline application, interestedcandidates can collect theapplication form at campusand submit it along with nec-essary documents to the IIADadmissions office.

Deadline: April 17, 2019.

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The According to a recentreport from Indeed, the

world’s no. 1 job site, Canadaand UK have gained in popu-larity amongst internationaljob seekers, including Indians.While there has been a sub-stantial fall in the share ofsearches for jobs in the UnitedStates, presumably owing to itsimmigration policies, a majorportion of international job-seeker interest has been pickedup by Canada and the UK. The

searches are primarily for highpaying roles in technology,research and finance.

���������The more welcoming

immigration policies in Canadaand the recent developments inUK immigration policies fol-lowing Brexit have made thempopular choices among inter-national job-seekers. In fact, theopen immigration policy atCanada has become the alter-native for Indians, as well as job-seekers from other Latin coun-

tries too. Through visa pro-grammes like Express Entryand Global Skills, the countryhas been opening avenues toskilled foreign workers. Globaltrends affecting political devel-opments pose challenges to theworkforce but also lead to moreopportunities for employment.The expansions of such policiesseek to deliver growth and meetthe aspirations and expectationsof Indian labour by providingwork opportunities in othercountries.

Data from Indeed indi-

cates that Indian job-seekers areexploring opportunities inCanada nearly twice as much asthey did two years ago with amassive shift in cross-bordersearches from the US toCanada. Between the periods of

August 2016 – July 2018, the USshare of job searches fromIndia fell from 60% to 50%,while there was a rise in search-es for Canada from 6% to 13%.

Alternatively, the UK hasthe potential to keep its posi-

tion as a global tech and bank-ing magnet in a post-Brexitworld, provided its migrationpolicy is flexible to accommo-date an internationally mobileworkforce. Since 2015, job-seekers based in other coun-tries accounted for between 8%and 10% of the overall jobapplications for tech jobs in theUK.

It was recorded that themaximum number of peoplelooking for jobs in the UK werefrom India, the US and France,followed by Poland and Ireland.As a group, Indian job seekersare highly focused on tech intheir job searches — almostone-fifth of all clicks on theUK-based jobs from India are

related to tech roles.

������� �While looking for employ-

ment abroad, there is greaterdemand for jobs in the STEMsector, especially for nicheroles. Given the rate at whichCanada is booming in terms oftechnology, the number of for-eign applications the country is receiving has beenmassive, not just due to theimmigration policy, but also the growth potentialoffered by the technologyindustry. When it comes to theUK, data indicates that jobswhich involve technology,finance and language are pop-ular with foreign job-seekers.

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The IFIM Business School, Bangalore,AACSB accredited management institute

and National HRD Network, recently unveiledthe findings of their six-month long AACSB-supported study for developing a graduatemanagement curriculum for the Industry 4.0.

The report titled “Curricula 4.0 —Creating Future Managers” stated that man-agement graduates face a gap between whatthe academia trains them for and how theindustry expects them to perform. Some ofthe new trends in the Indian scenario are:�Multi-generation workforce: Mixing ofindustry executives with younger MBA par-ticipants�Need for continuous learning as against edu-cation as start and finish: This involvesreskilling of practitioners at various levels�Curriculum needs to be individualisedbased on learning styles, pace and career stage�Integration of data, technology and com-munication in business �Research as part of curriculum �Wellness and fitness emerges as critical com-ponents of managing self �Becoming solution-oriented

The survey focused on identifying the rel-evance of the required skills mentioned inWorld Economic Forum’s “Future of JobsReport 2018’.

The new skills that will be in demand are:�Learning orientation & Analytical mindset�Integration of data, communication andtechnology �Solution orientation and problem solving�Dealing with change and uncertainty �People and team orientation �Innovation and creativity�Social sensitivity & cross cultural orienta-tion�Managing self-awareness, self-developmentincluding wellness �Entrepreneurial and business orientation �Globalisation

In today’s highly complex world,recruitment screening tests have

become the most important aspectof any HR function. Whether it isrecruitment of raw hands at entry lev-els or lateral recruitment, companiesare spending huge amounts of moneyfor selecting the right candidates. Forthey consider it an essential invest-ment in the long-term interest of theorganisation.

Recruiting the right managerialcandidate with the potential to devel-op into a leadership candidate is ahighly critical task for HR depart-ments. In addition to domain knowl-edge a candidate must also have cer-tain skills that are so essential for himto work efficiently and effectively inthe corporate world.

A study shows that major multi-nationals spend as much as $ 800 percandidate recruited. Once onboard,he/she needs to be put through theorganisation’s induction/orientationprogramme and brought up to themark & become billable. This attractsconsiderable additional expensestoo. Organisations are looking forways to reduce this onboarding andinduction cost, without compro-mising on the quality of recruits.

Today, employers expect that thenew recruit not only comes pre-equipped with necessary skills, butalso the requisite competencies.Here, competency means skills mul-tiplied by knowledge. Let’s take a lookat the various competencies anemployer looks for from the recruits.

�Working in a team: It is importantin today’s collaborative environmentthat a new recruit should be able towork in a cross cultural, cross geo-

graphical team. He/she should beable to make his/her point in a team,accept and implement the sugges-tions/action plans suggested by theothers, get the teammates to buyhis/her own ideas,and lots more. Thisattribute or interactive skill is actu-ally somewhat more important thaneven interpersonal skills.

�Decision-making ability: It isone of the most important factors inthe growth path. Many employees lagin this attribute, while many othersare capable of taking decisions butafraid of executing/implementingthose due to fear of failure/accept-ability. Or they are simply not readyto be accountable for the outputresulting from their decisions.

�Risk taking ability: In today’sworld, business scenarios are socomplex that traditional or conven-

tional methods/rules might havebecome outdated or useless. Onemust make bold as to risk taking adifferent path in order to succeed.

� Synthesising skills: Nowadays, alot of data and information is avail-able with businesses. There are dif-ferent tools available to analyse thatdata and get the inference. One mustnot stop only with analysis. He/sheshould be able to go further and syn-thesise different kinds of informationin seeking the best way forward.

�Stress managing capability: In theglobalised scenario, with cut-throatcompetition in every sphere work,stress is a commonly encounteredphenomenon in any organisation. Ifa person is not able to manage thestress, he/she will not be able to per-form efficiently and deliver.

�Mental and physical courage:With clarity in thinking, the employ-ee should be able to ask “Why” andbe able to say “No” equally firmly ifthe situation demands.

The above competencies aren’tnecessarily inherent in a person.However, a well-designed and cus-tomised test with an in-built psy-chometric component could easilyassess candidates for certain traits andhelp identify the right person whocould in the long run develop into theleader so desired by the organisation.Employees selected through suchtests fit into the organisational cul-ture and can be groomed easily.Studies show that the normal successratio of such tests is 55 to 60%. �������������������,��������%��� �����

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�/+�<+ ��J�9-<D�/�'9����&'��<D�-@�*��--C�;-*��������*�':�<&'&:�*����������� �$:�������� ��

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Arecent survey has found that nine out of 10technology sector employees feel there is a

huge gap between academic knowledge versus on-ground skill requirement, highlighting the widen-ing skill gap in Indian IT industry.

The Clover Academy Study is aimed atunderstanding the modern Indian ITProfessional’s academic experience verses learn-ing on the job, technologies/skill sets they areinterested in vis-a-vis industry skill gap. Theonline survey was conduct-ed among newly recruitedIndian IT professionals,working across differentdomains in the technologysector.

The survey focused onthree major areas that per-tained to professionals look-ing to acquire a particularskill set to excel in theircareers and the industry theyforesee will witness the max-imum technological disrup-tion. The finding of the sur-vey has opened a new debateon the weightage of the cur-rent academic learning.

As per survey, out of allthe new-age disruptive tech-nologies, cloud services havetopped the chart with 68 percent professionals choosingto invest/acquire this knowl-edge. Furthermore, bankingsector will witness the max-imum technology disrup-tion followed by Ecommerce,Media and Entertainment,and Insurance in the future.

Even a 2018 report titled “Reskilling andIndian Workforce” says that industries such as ITand software, banking, finance, e-commerce,healthcare, pharmaceuticals, media and enter-tainment, retail and manufacturing face an acute

shortage of talent. With new-age technologies anddigital transformation disrupting every industry,it becomes essential for professional to upskillthemselves constantly. The apex body of Indiantechnology sector, NASSCOM has also introduceda platform, called Future Skills, wherein they focuson skills development in eight varied technolo-gies.

The survey highlights that relevant qualifi-cation in a discipline is essential because it givesthe basic understanding or lays the groundwork.However, capabilities need to be built overtime

to perform a job. One needsto develop soft skills, job-specific technical skills, ana-lytical and people skills to dowell in any profession.Qualification is required toget into a profession, butcapabilities need to be devel-oped, enhanced and prac-ticed in order to remain rel-evant in the industry.

Sharing his thoughts onthe survey, Kunal Nagarkatti,COO – Clover Infotech,said: “Rapid digitalisationacross sectors has created aneed for 360 degree skillsdevelopment. In additionto technical skills, creativi-ty, emotional intelligence,analytical abilities, projectmanagement and peopleskills are required to aug-ment employability.Organisations will have tofocus on training and devel-opment to help employees toreskill and upskill quickly.The future would take “con-

vergence” to a different level and team membersfrom diverse geographies will come together toundertake and complete projects seamlessly. Insuch an ultra-digital universe, communication andpresentation skills would assume unprecedentedsignificance”.

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The University ofSheffield, UK is pleased tooffer the InternationalUndergraduate Scholarship2019 to new international(non-EU) students startingtheir undergraduate studiesat the University of Sheffieldin September 2019. TheScholarship is worth 10% ofyour tuition fee and is offeredin each following academicyear subject to sustained aca-demic success, please seebelow for more details.

No additional scholarshipapplication is required. If youmeet the eligibility and awardcriteria below the scholarshipwill be applied as a tuitionfee discount.

You must choose theUniversity of Sheffield asyour firm or insurancechoice before 16:00 (UKtime) on 14 June 2019 toreceive this award.

Eligibility: You mustcommence your studies of anundergraduate degree at theUniversity of Sheffield inSeptember 2019. All under-graduate degree courses areincluded except for Medicineand Dentistry; Subject tomeeting the eligibility andaward criteria the scholarshipwill be guaranteed in the firstyear of study.

The scholarship is applic-able to each subsequent acad-emic year of study, subject to

achieving 60% orabove and achieving a

minimum of 120 credits inthe previous academic year.The scholarship is not applic-able to any compulsory oroptional years in industry,work placements or yearabroad.

To know more visit:https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/international/enquiry/mon

The School of BiologicalSciences at the University ofQueensland is acceptingapplications for theInternational Scholarship inConservation Biology. Thescholarship is available forinternational students whoapply and are accepted to theMaster of ConservationBiology.

Eligibility: To be eligiblefor a scholarship, the studentmust have received andaccepted the unconditionaloffer of admission into theprogram and achieved anoverall GPA greater than 5 intheir undergraduate program(students with a GPA under5 are ineligible for considera-tion in the scholarshipround). Scholarships areavailable to students from allaround the world.

How to apply: To applyfor the scholarship, the appli-cants must submit an onlineapplication via: https://sur-vey.app.uq.edu.au/Survey.aspx?s=bc0621deff984bfb88e440ce45763601

Application deadline:The last date to apply is April28, 2019.

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If you are passionate about graphicnovels and felt that you could liketo create a masterpiece of your own,

this is the right time. Here are impor-tant points that will help you.

Research: Writing a graphic novelis a gargantuan task. While beginningthe project, you may feel extremelyoptimistic, but taking it to completionrequires a lot of dedication and com-mitment. It is good to do some studyabout similar projects, the challengesthat normally come up, with a purposeto learn and prepare oneself.

Ideas: Writing a graphic novelrequires great ideas. Use a theme thatyou truly believe in and want to sharewith others. The story should be ableto stand on its own after you have com-pleted it and released the novel.

Develop a plan of action: Now thatyou have an idea in mind to begin with,it will help if you draw out a high levelplan for yourself. You can create a highlevel plan and then break it down intotasks, you could put dates to them. Thiswill help to better prepare yourself andplan ahead in case you want to booksome external resources etc.

Develop a storyline: You need tohave enough material to be able todevelop a solid storyline around yourideas. There needs to be clarity aroundthe plot, characters of your story howthey need to be arranged and developedin line with the pace of the story.

Script writing: There are twomost common methods of scripting agraphic novel, one of them is the fullscript style which is used by movies andtraditional books. This is a moredetailed approach towards descrip-tions and actions, thus leaving noambiguity. The other style — plot basedis used in novels that touch the basicbeats of plot and action, thus encour-aging the readers to form their inter-pretations with the help of the visual artdepictions.

Focus on strengths: In graphicnovels you could write down the sto-ryline first or draw pictures accordingto the flow of the story and then buildthe text around them. In case you pre-fer to do the latter — complete the art

first, you can then create the dialogs,captions and text for the pages.

Choose drawings that you arecomfortable with. Ideally choose todraw what you are best at and lovedrawing.

Illustrating the novel: You wouldneed fine skills in sketching, inking andcoloring the drawings. Decide thestyle that you would like to follow;whether you want to the inking andhow do you want to do it. You couldalso explore software which help withthe art.

Create rules: Once the drawingsare completed, decide the placement ofthe balloons and boxes for text. Thevisuals usually complement the text inballoons and the captions. So designyour own format and panel layout thatcan be followed consistently in theentire novel.

Printing: Before printing of theproject, check the content and layoutfor any last minute changes. Choose towork in 300 dpi. Even if you choose touse 450 to 600 dpi, when printing thework is reduced to 300 dpi.

Colour models: It is suggested towork in RGB mode but print in CMYKmode. Save your master RGB file forfuture changes. Most printers print inthe CMKY mode. You could consult adesigner for finer and sharper results.

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���:��11���:�������%0��,�� ���More than 2,000 employees

of a prominent privatesector bank were found to

have indulged in fraudulent activ-ities in the last three years, accord-ing to a statement by Minister ofState for Finance Shiv PratapShukla. This is 16 per cent of allfrauds reported in the banking sec-tor during this period.

During the same period,13,949 bank employees with 60PSU and private banks were caughtor were reported for frauds,according to the Minister’s state-ment on the f loor of theParliament. Typically, as happenswith data presented by theGovernment, it appeared to be justa statement of numbers.

For customers, this could be awarning sign to be careful whiledealing with their banks. For thebanks, this could a huge loss ofreputation and possible loss ofbusiness too.

In all cases cite above, the con-cerned banks must have carried outa background check of theiremployees. If the quality of the exer-cise had been better, a number ofthese frauds could have been nippedin the bud. That could perhaps pre-vent other frauds from taking place.That, in turn, could have prevent-ed the loss of business and reputa-tion for these institutions, which isdifficult to quantify.

The banking sector in Indiais witnessing a sea change. Withnearly 50 per cent of Indians nothaving access to banking sectortill a few years ago, mobile bank-ing has taken the services to theremotest corners. It has alsospawned newage banks and theincumbents are sett ing upbranches at remote locationshoping to create a near ubiquitousbanking services. As the bankingsector reaches out to the remotestcorners, the need for backgroundcheck for employees could not bemore.

Over 24,374 new bankbranches opened by public andprivate banks between 2013 andJune 2017, according to datafrom Reserve Bank of India, withSouth India witnessing the high-est number of branches beingopened. That is the scale of theverification that needs to be car-ried out.

While hiring for banks andfinancial services companies, orany other sector too, HR spe-cialists do carry out preliminarychecks on the potential hire.With some basic online infor-mation, culled from online pro-files that are easily available.Such data is often a claim andrarely independently verified.

The HR team in companies,therefore, needs a reliable partner

who can serve as an extendedarm to verify such claims so thatthey are consistent to the needsof the role and the company.

The need for backgroundcheck for employees is true ofseveral other ser vices too.Telecom companies are now bat-tling for every customer as the

sector’s growth peaks and ensur-ing enhanced revenues from itssubscribers becomes the norm.But with every rogue employee inthe chain, the chances of compa-nies having to take a hit rises.

Prospective checks could helpcompanies address this malaise.

For any company, all employeesare the best in world till theirbackground is verified. The ele-ment of doubt, the confirmationof educational qualification andthe soundness of their profes-sional qualifications needs vali-dation before they can go up theladder further.

For the HR department, var-ious kinds of checks could bemandatory and it could beginwith educational qualifications.Between 2012 and 2015, DelhiMedical Council asked the policeto register cases against 422 peo-ple suspected to be quacks. Delhiis suspected to be the capital forquacks too with an estimated 25per cent of the two lakh quacksin the country working here.The Medical Council of India hasregistered cases against fake med-ical degrees across the country.With more and more hospitalssprouting in different parts of thecountry, imagine having to go fortreatment to one of these doc-tors!!

Educational degrees are animportant basis for hiring anyprofessional in a company. Butwhat if that degree is fake or hasbeen acquired from an institutionthat does not quite pass muster?While online checks will confirmthat the professional’s name is list-ed among those who have been

awarded the degree, a physicalverif ication in select casesbecomes a must.

Companies are looking tohire the best talent so that theirgrowth can be put in responsiblehands. Some HR professionalssometimes refer to it as the warfor talent. For zeroing on a poolof best talent that can drive com-panies to their next level ofgrowth, identifying the bestamong the talent is critical. Afterthe initial background check, itmight be a prudent idea to get adetailed verification done tounderstand the capabilities ofthe professional. If his profes-sional claims can be confirmedthrough a third-party due dili-gence process, his backgroundcan be seen as sound. Before that,giving thumbs up for a hire may,sometimes, be fraught with dan-ger.

Tall claims are often made byprofessionals when a sector is see-ing rapid growth and companieswant the hiring process to bequick to keep pace with themomentum of growth.Sometimes, caution is thrown tothe winds. It is precisely at thesetimes that background checkbecomes even more relevant tocarry out.

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India's top women boxers, including six-time world champion M C Mary

Kom, are among 60 pugilists short-list-ed for the national camp, which began atthe IG Stadium here Tuesday.

The World Championships and the2020 Tokyo probable will also be short-listed from here.

The Boxing Federation of India(BFI) has also rewarded pugilists whowere among the medals and showedpromise at the recently-concluded thirdElite Women's National BoxingChampionships at Vijayanagar,Karnataka.

The campers also include the WorldYouth gold medallists, Nitu (48kg) andSakshi (57Kg) and 2017 bronze medal-list, Astha Pawa, (75kg) as they were ele-vated from youth division to senior campfor the first time.

The selected 60 comprise a mix ofyoung as well as experienced boxers. SKalaivani , Himani Pant , Rinki Sharma, Manju , Sohini , Monika and Lalita aresome of those who have been rewardedas BFI also looks at the future prospects.

The first tournament that the boxerswill be aiming after a month-long campis the Strandja Memorial Cup Boxing tobe held in Bulgaria from February 13 to28.

���8��� ��������������Mohammed Ali Qamar, the man

who won India's first CommonwealthGames Gold medal in boxing, has takenover as chief coach for the country'swomen pugilists, becoming the youngestever to get the top job.

Ali Qamar, who turns 38 in a cou-ple of months' time, was appointed to theposition on Monday night, replacing vet-eran Shiv Singh. Ali Qamar has been anassistant coach in the national camp formore than a year.

In addition, the Arjuna awardee hashelmed the Railways Sports PromotionBoard's women's team for more thanthree years. "It has come as a bit of sur-prise to me, I got to know only last nightand I am thankful to the BoxingFederation of India for considering meworthy enough for the position," AliQamar, whose history-making CWGGold came in 2002 said.

���%#����'�!����$�#( '�)#��#%( *+,�-.*/ ������6=����■ ��������

MS Dhoni pulled off a tightfinish for India just like oldtimes to silence his critics

after captain Virat Kohli laid the foun-dation for a series-levelling six-wick-et win against Australia with his 39thODI hundred here on Tuesday.

Chase master Kohli could nottake his team to the finishing line thistime but Dhoni (55 off 54) andDinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to theoccasion with an unbeaten 57-runstand off 34 balls, taking India homewith four balls to spare. Australiascored 298-8 after opting to bat.

Man of the match Kohli was dis-missed in the 44th over after making104 off 112 balls with five fours andtwo sixes. Dhoni, who has beencoping a lot of criticism for his wan-ing finishing skills, turned back theclock and took India past the finishline with a final over six.

The third and final ODI will bein Melbourne on Friday.

India got off to a frantic start withShikhar Dhawan hitting five bound-aries in his 28-ball 32 runs. He put on47 runs for the opening wicket withRohit Sharma (43).

The latter had another strongouting, adding 54 runs with Kohli forthe second wicket as India crossed100 in the 18th over. But just whenthings were going smoothly, hemishit a pull off Marcus Stoinis (1-46) and was caught in the deep.

Ambati Rayudu (24) then cameto the crease, and while he added 59runs with Kohli for the third wicket,it was plain obvious that the numberfour batsman struggled for timing.

But it was Rayudu who triedattacking the bowling and perishedinstead, caught in the deep off GlennMaxwell (1-16) in the 31st over.

Dhoni then joined Kohli, and theduo put on 82 runs for the fourthwicket, with clever rotation of strikeas India crossed 200 in the 37th overto keep pace with the asking rate.

Kohli changed gears as he hit twoimmaculate sixes through pure tim-ing, and reached his hundred off 108balls. It was his sixth ODI hundredagainst Australia.

The turning point came in the44th over though, when Australiamasterminded Kohli's dismissal

through some clever field placementin the deep. He holed out to Maxwelloff Jhye Richardson (1-59).

Dhoni then took over and put onmatch-winning partnership withKarthik. In doing so, he turned backthe clocks to lead India to a tense fin-ish, and completed his second con-secutive half-century in as manymatches, 69th overall, off 53 balls.

The veteran's running betweenthe wickets, laced with two sixes asthe only boundaries, finished thingsoff in style for India.

The hosts were unchanged fromthe previous game, while Indiabrought in debutant MohammedSiraj in place of Khaleel Ahmed.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-45) andMohammed Shami (3-58) exertedthemselves on proceedings with thenew ball, and didn't let the Australianopeners get away quickly.

Kumar bowled Aaron Finch (6)through the gate in the seventh over,in a near-similar replay of his dis-missal in the first ODI. At the otherend, Alex Carey (18) looked setonce again before getting out twoovers later, a top-edge off Shami'squick bouncer caught at midwicketas Shikhar Dhawan took a skier.

It brought Marsh and UsmanKhawaja (21) together, and they puton 56 runs off 65 balls. Their part-nership threatened to turn the gameaway, but Ravindra Jadeja affected abrilliant run-out in the 19th over todismiss Khawaja with a direct throwfrom backward point.

India were forced to bowlKuldeep Yadav (0-66) and Jadeja (1-49) earlier in the innings thanplanned, and even Shami came backfor a spell before the 25th over as thelack of a sixth bowling option start-ed to show.

Australia did them a favour bylosing wickets at regular intervals.Peter Handscomb (20) was stumpedoff Jadeja in the 28th over with MSDhoni affecting another quick dis-missal. But he had added 52 runs withMarsh for the fourth wicket carryingAustralia past 100 in the 22nd over.

Marsh reached his half-centuryoff 62 balls, and added 55 runs withMarcus Stoinis (29) for the fifth wick-et. Their partnership threatened tochange the pace of scoring but Shamistruck in the 37th over, an inside edge

caught behind, to dismiss Stoinis.Maxwell hit five fours and a six

as Australia accelerated after reach-ing 200 in the 39th over. Marsh,meanwhile, had reached his hundredoff 108 balls.

Siraj had a woeful day as hemissed out twice on Maxwell's wick-et as the hard-hitting batsman sur-vived on 26 and 41. First, DRS over-turned an lbw decision in the 44thover with the ball going down leg, andthen Rohit Sharma dropped a toughchance at extra cover in the 47th over.

Kumar returned to account forboth Maxwell and Marsh in the 48thover and it dented momentumtowards 300, as Australia lost a flur-ry of wickets.

����■ ���������

India captain Virat Kohli called it an "MSclassic" after Mahendra Singh Dhoni,

with sixes that reminded of his heydays,hammered home the point that the fin-isher in him is still alive.

Dhoni slammed an unbeaten 55 off54 balls after Kohli laid the foundation forIndia's series-levelling six-wicket victoryover Australia in the sec-ond ODI with a fluentcentury.

"There is no doubtthat he should be a partof this team. Tonightwas MS classic. He cal-culates the game so well.He takes the game till theend, when only heknows what's going onin his mind, and hebacks himself to hitthose big shots at theend," Kohli said at thepost-match presentationceremony.

Kohli could not takehis team home this time but Dhoni andDinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to theoccasion with an unbeaten 57-run stand,helping India chase down a target of 299with four balls to spare.

"You look for little moments topump you up, get into the zone, and that'swhat I was trying to do. I tried to stay asaware as possible in recognising themoment to strike.

"I thought those 2-3 overs were themoment, to bring the gap between runsand balls down. When it comes off itlooks good. It was a really tough day.

"My pants are white with the sweat,the salts coming out. MS was tired as well,

fielding for 50 overs and batting as well,it was tough."

Kohli praised seamer BhuvneshwarKumar for his crucial blows at the death.

"We wanted to try and restrict themin the end. I thought they were going toget away from us when Maxy (GlennMaxwell) and Shaun (Marsh) were in.Getting them in two balls was brilliant.I thought 298 was par on that wicket, with

the start they had."Bhuvi was outstand-

ing to pull things back forus. Vijay Shankar is in thesquad, he's an all-rounder,so that gives us an optionto play around with - butwe'll see how we go. Butbacking five bowlers andseeing it come off is pleas-ing as a captain."

Australia rodeMarsh's century to post achallenging target afterwinning the first ODI. ButIndia's batting mightproved too good for thehome bowlers.

Skipper Aaron Finch acknowledgedthat.

"When you come up like a battingside against India, you know you have toget wickets regularly, and we ran into thatman Dhoni as well. Credit to India, theyplayed well.

"What we've been working towardsis some real solid performances throughthe middle overs. I'm responsible for thePowerplays, and I've not been coming off.It's a matter of time, I think.

"It's not easy when you're not gettingruns, but captaincy is separate from per-sonal performance, and you have to beconsistent with your actions," Finch said.

�����������

Afocused Serena Williams sent an ominousAustralian Open warning with a 49-

minute first-round demolition Tuesday asworld number one Novak Djokovic destroyedhis opponent as he targets a record seventhtitle.

US Open champion Naomi Osaka alsostormed through, but world number oneSimona Halep was lucky to stay alive, need-ing to dig deep and claw back from a set downbefore beating Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2.

American giant Williams is bidding tomatch Margaret Court's record of 24 GrandSlam crowns on her first return to MelbournePark since winning in 2017 while eight weekspregnant.

Now 37, she kept a low profile in the lead-up to the opening major of the year and cameout of the blocks flying against fellow mumTatjana Maria, pummelling her Germanopponent 6-0, 6-2.

Sporting a striking jade green jumpsuitand fine mesh stockings on Rod Laver Arena,the 16th seed wasted no time in getting outof the blistering Melbourne heat and said it wasgood to be back.

Bidding for an eighth Melbourne Parkcrown, few are betting against Williamsdespite her lowly seeding and she next facesCanadian Eugenie Bouchard who eased pastChina's Peng Shuai.

Williams played at the mixed teamsHopman Cup in Perth this month, but herappearance on Tuesday was her first outing ontour since a meltdown in losing the US Openfinal to Osaka in September.

Japan's Osaka, seeded four, wasted littletime in dispatching Poland's Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2 and will next play Tamara Zidansek ofSlovakia.

Like Williams, Djokovic is also gunningfor a slice of history as he looks to win a sev-enth title. Fellow six-time champion RogerFederer is aiming for the same.

The Serb blasted past American qualifi-er Mitchell Krueger 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to set up aclash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he beat inMelbourne to win the first of his 14 GrandSlam crowns back in 2008.

���������Fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who is look-

ing to win his first Slam title and establish him-self as a serious threat to Djokovic, Federer andRafael Nadal, cruised past Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.

But eighth seed Kei Nishikori, who won inBrisbane last week, had a lucky escape.

The Japanese star looked down and outagainst little known qualifier Kamil Majchrzak,losing the first two sets before the Pole beganbadly cramping.

He bravely fought on before calling it a dayafter winning just two of the next 17 games.

Elsewhere, 2014 champion Stan Wawrinkabenefited from an opponent pulling out, withErnests Gulbis calling it quits after hurting hisback in the second set.

Among the women, sixth seed ElinaSvitolina easily progressed, as did Williams' sis-ter Venus, who incredibly played her first GrandSlam tournament 22 years ago.

But two-time champion Victoria Azarenkawas bundled out, along with 10th seed DaryaKasatkina. Seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, whohas made the quarter-finals in her last twoappearances at Melbourne Park, went through,as did Madison Keys, who reached the semisat the French and US Open last year.

����� 3 �/�

With tears in his eyes, StephenConstantine stepped down as the

Indian football team's coach, the groupstage Asian Cup exit turning out to be onebitter pill that he found too hard to swal-low.

India's promising start to the conti-nental showpiece ended in a heartbreakwhen they conceded a 90th minutepenalty for Bahrain to eke out a 1-0 winin their final group engagements hereMonday night. And his "cycle" was fin-ished.

"I'm stepping down after this game.I've been here for four years, my objec-tive from day one was to qualify for theAFC Asian Cup. I've done that and I'mexceptionally proud of the players foreverything they have given," Constantinesaid. "I think my cycle has finished. I didwhat I was asked to and a little bit moreand after four years, I think it's time toleave," the Anglo-Cypriot added.

This was Constantine's second stintwith the Indian side after having been at

the helm between 2002 and 2005. Hereturned to the hot seat after taking overthe reins for a second time in 2015, suc-ceeding Netherlands' Wim Koevermans.

Ahead of the Asian Cup, speculationwas rife that Constantine was no longeron good terms with talismanic strikerSunil Chhetri and a few other senior play-

ers over his coaching methods."I've been here for four years. My

objective from day one was to qualify forthe Asian Cup and I've done that andwe've broken a few records as we did that.I'm exceptionally proud of the players andeverything they've given.

"I'm sad to be leaving, the players and

staff have been fantastic throughout thetournament. Even those who failed tomake the final squad."

His contract was to end on January31 and a perfect send-off was on the cards,but a reckless tackle by Pronay Halder,ruined all plans. He is now looking for-ward to spending time with his family.

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Manchester City manager PepGuardiola is keeping a close eye onGabriel Jesus now the young strik-

er's family are no longer with him inEngland.

Maintaining his hot streak in front ofgoal should keep the Brazilian's spirits high.

The 21-year-old Jesus scored twice inCity's 3-0 win over 10-manWolverhampton Wanderers in the PremierLeague on Monday, extending his spree toseven goals across three different compe-titions in the past nine days.

Whether he can retain City's solestriker spot ahead of club great SergioAguero, who started on the bench after arecent illness, remains to be seen but Jesuscannot be doing any more to impress hismanager, Pep Guardiola.

"I know Sergio Aguero is an amazingplayer and helps me a lot," Jesus said."When Sergio plays he helps the team, andwhen I play I want to help as well.

"I play better now and to score goalsis important to me."

And having two in-form strikers canonly boost City's chances of reeling inLiverpool in the Premier League title race.Liverpool's lead was trimmed to fourpoints by City's win over Wolves, for whomthe match was a damage-limitation exer-cise from the moment center back WillyBoly was handed a straight red card for adangerous tackle on Bernardo Silva in the19th minute.

By then, Jesus had tapped in a left-wing cross from Leroy Sane, who wasfound by a searching ball forward fromcenter back Aymeric Laporte, to put Cityin front in the 10th minute.

Jesus added his second goal from thepenalty spot in the 39th after RaheemSterling was fouled by Ryan Bennett.

City piled on the pressure in the sec-ond half — it finished the game with 76percent possession — but had only onemore goal to show for it, with ConorCoady glancing a header into his own netfrom substitute Kevin De Bruyne's cross.

Since losing back-to-back leaguegames around the Christmas holiday todrop out of the lead and, at one point, beseven points behind Liverpool, City hasbeen in relentless form — winning five

straight matches in all competitions andscoring 24 goals in the process. Amongthem was a 9-0 win over third-tier Burtonin the English League Cup, when Jesusscored four times.

Guardiola spoke ahead of the gameabout the club needing to rally around thestriker because he might start to find lifedifficult after his mother, two older broth-ers and nephew returned to Brazil fol-lowing an extended stay in Manchester tohelp Jesus acclimatize.

And teammates Sane and Sterlingcould not have handed him easier oppor-tunities to continue his scoring run.

Wolves were potentially tricky oppo-nents for City, given their strong recordagainst the top six in the league. NunoEspirito Santo's team drew against City athome in August and recently beatTottenham.

Boly's straight red card put paid to anychance of an upset at Etihad Stadium andWolves failed to have a shot on target. And

neither Boly nor Espirito Santo had anycomplaints about the decision, with thedefender having got the ball in a challengewith Silva only to catch him with the fol-low-through.

"The game 11 vs. 11 was the same as11 vs. 10," Guardiola said.

It was the 16th time this season thatCity has scored three or more goals. Thislatest victory moved the champion fivepoints clear of third-placed Tottenham,which lost at home to Manchester United

on Sunday.Liverpool will also be wary of City's

improved form."All we can do is win our own games,"

Guardiola said. "We spoke many times inthe last hours about this to our players. Wecannot control what they do. We can con-trol what we do. The only way to do thatis by being there. Maybe one day they failand we try to be there.

"But you can be sure if we don't win,they will be champions."

���� ������

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris admitshis side are now looking over their

shoulders at the teams chasing them in therace for the Premier League top four.

Spurs have been considered title chal-lengers after a superb run but two defeatsin three games — the latest to ManchesterUnited on Sunday -- have seriously dent-ed their chances of overhauling Liverpoolor Manchester City.

They are just a point ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea while defeat by Unitedmeans they are only seven points better offthan Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side andArsenal.

Despite Spurs being touted as possiblechampions a few weeks ago, the Francegoalkeeper says qualifying for theChampions League next season is themain goal.

"We are still involved in four competi-tions but the main thing is to finish in thetop four," he said. "We have said that fromthe beginning and we have not changed ourmind.

"Of course, everyone is talking aboutthe teams in front of u, but it is importantto keep an eye on the teams behindbecause in football things can change veryquickly." After Sunday's visit to Fulham,Spurs take on Chelsea in the League Cupsecond leg, holding a slender 1-0 advantage,before an FA Cup trip to Crystal Palace.

Tottenham then host BorussiaDortmund in the Champions League last-16 first leg on February 13.

How much of that crucial period willbe played without Harry Kane remains tobe seen as Spurs are waiting to find out thefull extent of the striker's ankle injury.

Kane was hurt in the 1-0 loss toUnited and boss Mauricio Pochettinoadmitted he is worried about the extent ofthe problem but Lloris said Spurs are nota one-man team.

"We all know how important Harry isin our team but he is not all of our team,"he said. "Football is about the team andevery player is ready to help the team.

"In football during the season you haveups and downs and you have to alwaysadapt to those and we will see about 'H'."

���� �����

One of football's great rival-ries takes centre-stage at the

Asian Cup on Wednesday whenIran play Iraq still smartingfrom their controversial exitfour years ago.

Iran played most of theclassic 2015 quarter-final with 10men after Mehrdad Pooladi'shotly disputed first-half dis-missal but when it ended 3-3after extra-time, Iraq edged thepenalty shoot-out.

Iran's protest that Iraq yield-ed an ineligible player was dis-missed as Carlos Queiroz'sthree-time winners were sentpacking from the tournament inAustralia.

Four years on from theirclash in Canberra, Iran forwardSaman Ghoddos said memorieswere still fresh as Team Mellitake on Iraq in their final gameof Group D.

"Iraq are tough opponentsand I think that this will be arevenge match for us," said

Ghoddos, according to Iran'sVarzesh3 website.

"I've been waiting for thismatch ever since the last AsianCup. We will win this match forthe people."

Football is one of theremaining points of contentionbetween the Middle East neigh-bours, who fought a bloody warin the 1980s in which hundredsof thousands of people died.

Relations between the two

countries have warmed since theremoval of long-serving Iraqidictator Saddam Hussein in2003, but games between thetwo are not for the faint-heart-ed.

=����������������L�Iran, the three-time Asian

Cup winners, lead Iraq on goaldifference at the top of Group D,with both teams already quali-fied for the next round.

Former Real Madrid andPortugal coach Queiroz, linkedwith a move to the Colombianational team after the AsianCup, said his prime concern wasmaintaining Iran's perfect start.

"In football, the most impor-tant match is always the next oneand every match is like a final forus in the tournament," Queirozsaid.

Iraq, meanwhile, came frombehind to beat Vietnam 3-2, andthen defeated Yemen 3-0. FacingAsia's highest-ranked team willbe a different challenge entire-ly, however.

The build-up to the gamehas been closely followed in bothcountries, with former Iraqiplayer Imad Mohammad tellingAFP that Iraqi media had playedup its "political character".

"Iraq's audience is looking atthis match with a special lensthat distinguishes it from allother matches that it played sofar or that it will play in the AsiaCup," said Iraqi journalist GhaziShaea.

����� ������

Middle-order batsman Rinku Singhstruck a fluent century to guide

Uttar Pradesh to 340 for seven in theirfirst innings on the opening day of theirRanji Trophy quarterfinal matchagainst Saurashtra, here on Tuesday.

Rinku made 150 off just 181 ballswith the help of 19 boundaries to takeUttar Pradesh out of trouble after thehosts were reduced to 54 for 4 at onestage on the first day of the four-daymatch

Rinku stitched two crucial part-nerships -- 145 runs for the fifth wick-et with Priyam Garg (49) and 85 runswith Umesh Yadav for the sixth wick-et — to keep Uttar Pradesh afloat.

Besides Rinku and Priyam, open-er Madhav Kaushik (37), SaurabhKumar (26 not out) and Shivam Mavi(28 not out) also made useful contri-butions with the bat.

Left-arm orthodox bowlerDharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/111) wasthe most successful bowler forSaurashtra, while skipper JaydevUnadkat (2/65) also chipped in withtwo wickets.

Free from national duty, India'smiddle-order mainstay CheteshwarPujara is turning out for Saurashtra inthe last-eight encounter.

�� �������0�������� ������ �������Karnataka grabbed hon-ours on the opening day of their RanjiTrophy quarterfinal, bowling out for-midable Rajasthan for 224 in their firstinnings at the Chinnaswamy Stadiumhere onTuesday.

At stumps, Karnataka were 12without loss in five overs with openersRavikumar Samarth and Dega Nischalbatting on seven and five, respectively.

The day also saw a couple of baddecisions by the umpires. Robin Bist'sleg before dismissal came despite theball climbing up and Rajesh Bishnoi waslucky to survive off K Gowtham.

Sent into bat, none of the batsmenmade any significant contributions,except for skipper Mahipal Lomror (50)and Rajesh Bishnoi (79) hitting fiftiesbatting lower down the order.

All the bowlers were among thewickets, barring Ronit More. Gowthamand Abhimanyu Mithun bagged threewickets each to emerge as highest wick-et-takers.

��������������"������5,M!$� ���Kerala hit back to reduceGujarat to 97 for 4 after being bowledout for 185 in 39.3 overs on the open-ing day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfi-nals here on Tuesday.

Gujarat won the toss and sent the

host into bat and struck at regular inter-vals to take control. OpenerMohammed Azharudeen (17) was thefirst to go, bowled by Rush Kalaria.

After a 23-run partnership, Keralalost the wickets of P Rahul (26),Sijomon Joseph and Sachin Baby at thescore of 52.

Medium-pacers Roosh Kalari (2 for63) and C T Gaja (4 for 57) did mostof the damage. Sandeep Warrier andBasil Thampi scalped two each to lead

the Kerala fightback.Thampi struck a big blowwhen he

dismissed Parthiv for 43 as Gujarat trailsby 88 runs.

����K� $���������������� ������ Middle-order batsman AvneeshSudha hit a patient 91 to guide Uttarakhandto a respectable 293 for six against reigningchampions Vidarbha on day one of their RanjiTrophy quarter-final here on Tuesday.

Put in to bat at the Vidarbha Cricket

Association's Stadium in Jamtha, Uttarakhandlost their skipper and opener Vineet Saxena(5) early after he was cleaned up by mediumpacer Rajneesh Gurbani.

The visitors were in a spot of bother asthey lost two more wickets in quick succes-sion. But then Sudha along with Vaibhav SinghPanwar (67 off 128 balls) resurrected the vis-itors' innings and steadied their ship.

The duo conjured a crucial 140-run standfor the fourth wicket to bail the side out of trou-ble and frustrate the Vidarbha bowlers.

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The International CricketCouncil Tuesday appointed

media professional ManuSawhney as its new chief exec-utive officer, replacing incum-bent David Richardson, whowill step down after the WorldCup.

Richardson's contractexpires at the end of this sum-mer's ODI World Cup inEngland.

Sawhney, the former CEOof Singapore Sports Hub andManaging Director of ESPNStar Sports, will join the organ-isation next month before for-mally taking over the reinsfrom Richardson in July, theICC said in a statement.

The appointment was rat-ified by the ICC Board follow-ing a global search and appoint-ment process led by the apexbody's chairman ShashankManohar and the NominationsCommittee.

Manohar said: "He brings22 years of outstanding com-mercial experience to the ICCand will lead the delivery of ournew global growth strategy forthe game...Manu stood out as

the man to work with ourMembers and take cricket for-ward."

Sawhney, was with ESPNStar Sports for 17 years and,during his tenure as ManagingDirector was responsible forscaling the business and dou-bling annual revenues.

"He has proven success ina number of leadership roles inboth sport and broadcasting.He is a strategic thinker andunderstands the cricket land-scape and its complexities. Thedecision of the NominationsCommittee to recommendManu to the Board was a unan-imous one..."

Additionally, Sawhney ledthe global broadcast partnershipdeal with the ICC that ran from2007-2015. He is also a non-executive director and memberof the Audit Committee ofManchester United Ltd.

He said: "It is a great privi-lege and responsibility to servethe global cricket community asCEO of the ICC."

Sawhney will work along-side outgoing CEO Richardsonto ensure a smooth transition ofleadership before assuming con-trol in July.

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