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T wo days after his Mig-21 Bison fighter jet was shot down and he was captured in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India on Friday night via Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar. His release prompted massive celebration across the country. The released pilot dressed in khaki trousers and a dark jacket set foot on Indian soil shortly after 9 pm from Pakistan after being handed over to India on other side, where he was accompanied by Indian air attaché and a woman official of Pakistan foreign office. He was whisked away from Attari bor- der to avoid media glare. Hundreds of people had gath- ered there since morning to have a glimpse of Varthaman. He will undergo a medical check-up at military hospital and then flown in a special air- craft to New Delhi. He will meet his family, including his wife, a retired IAF officer, and father, Air Marshal S Varthaman (retired) now set- tled in Chennai. The IAF authorities will then debrief the pilot in New Delhi. Sources said the debriefing procedure entails getting first person account from the pilot about the sequence of events during his captivity and details of interrogation by the Pakistan Armed forces. Since Varthaman was in custody for a brief peri- od and most probably blind- folded to prevent him from observing the details of the place of his custody, the debrief- ing will be short, they said. Reports from Pakistan media indicate that after the IAF pilot was shot down and beaten up by the locals in POK opposite Rajouri sector, he attempted to destroy the doc- uments in his possession by stuffing them in his mouth. His plane was shot down after Varthaman successfully brought down a F-16 of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) which had intruded into Indian air- space in Rajouri sector on Wednesday at about 10.30 am. The IAF pilot was part of combat air patrol which had intercepted the Pakistan jets in Narian in Naushera, Rajouri after it tried to target an ammu- nition point of the Indian Army. The Pakistani jets earli- er had dropped bombs at the brigade headquarters of the Army in Rajouri but there was no damage. During the aerial engage- ment close to the Line of Control (LoC) between the SU-30 and MIG-21s of the IAF and F-16s of the PAF, Varthaman chased one F-16 and shot it down and it fell in POK. However, his MIG-21 was shot by the air defence of Pakistan and Varthaman ejected before the plane crash and landed in POK where he was captured. The Pakistani action to attack Indian military installa- tions came a day after the IAF jets destroyed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early on Tuesday. It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF con- voy in Kashmir’s Pulwama, killing 40 soldiers. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced in Parliament there on Thursday about the decision to release the captured pilot as a “peace gesture” and the “first step” to open negotiations with India. “In our desire for peace, I announce that tomorrow (Friday) and as a first step to open negotiations Pakistan will be returning the IAF officer in our custody.” The IAF said it was happy that Varthaman was returning home but dismissed suggestions it was a goodwill gesture insisting it was in line with Geneva Convention.
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Jan 30, 2023

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Page 1: H@C=5 "# @A - Daily Pioneer

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Two days after his Mig-21Bison fighter jet was shot

down and he was captured inPakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK), Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthamanreturned to India on Fridaynight via Attari-Wagah borderin Amritsar. His releaseprompted massive celebrationacross the country.

The released pilot dressedin khaki trousers and a darkjacket set foot on Indian soilshortly after 9 pm from Pakistanafter being handed over to Indiaon other side, where he wasaccompanied by Indian air

attaché and a woman official ofPakistan foreign office. He waswhisked away from Attari bor-der to avoid media glare.Hundreds of people had gath-ered there since morning tohave a glimpse of Varthaman.

He will undergo a medicalcheck-up at military hospitaland then flown in a special air-craft to New Delhi. He willmeet his family, including hiswife, a retired IAF officer, andfather, Air Marshal SVarthaman (retired) now set-tled in Chennai. The IAFauthorities will then debrief thepilot in New Delhi.

Sources said the debriefingprocedure entails getting first

person account from the pilotabout the sequence of eventsduring his captivity and detailsof interrogation by the PakistanArmed forces. Since Varthamanwas in custody for a brief peri-od and most probably blind-folded to prevent him fromobserving the details of theplace of his custody, the debrief-ing will be short, they said.

Reports from Pakistanmedia indicate that after theIAF pilot was shot down andbeaten up by the locals in POKopposite Rajouri sector, heattempted to destroy the doc-uments in his possession bystuffing them in his mouth.

His plane was shot down

after Varthaman successfullybrought down a F-16 ofPakistan Air Force (PAF) whichhad intruded into Indian air-space in Rajouri sector onWednesday at about 10.30 am.

The IAF pilot was part ofcombat air patrol which hadintercepted the Pakistan jets inNarian in Naushera, Rajouriafter it tried to target an ammu-nition point of the IndianArmy. The Pakistani jets earli-er had dropped bombs at thebrigade headquarters of theArmy in Rajouri but there wasno damage.

During the aerial engage-ment close to the Line of Control(LoC) between the SU-30 and

MIG-21s of the IAF and F-16sof the PAF, Varthaman chasedone F-16 and shot it down andit fell in POK. However, hisMIG-21 was shot by the airdefence of Pakistan andVarthaman ejected before theplane crash and landed in POKwhere he was captured.

The Pakistani action toattack Indian military installa-tions came a day after the IAFjets destroyed terror groupJaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM)biggest training camp nearBalakot deep inside Pakistanearly on Tuesday.

It came 12 days after theJeM claimed responsibility fora suicide attack on a CRPF con-

voy in Kashmir’s Pulwama,killing 40 soldiers.

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan had announced inParliament there on Thursdayabout the decision to releasethe captured pilot as a “peacegesture” and the “first step” toopen negotiations with India.“In our desire for peace, Iannounce that tomorrow(Friday) and as a first step toopen negotiations Pakistan willbe returning the IAF officer inour custody.” The IAF said itwas happy that Varthaman wasreturning home but dismissedsuggestions it was a goodwillgesture insisting it was in linewith Geneva Convention.

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Two police personnel werekilled and 29 others injured

when a vehicle carrying theJawans of Odisha SpecialArmed Police (OSAP) 2ndBattalion collided head on witha truck near a petrol pump atLakhanpur in the Belpahararea on National Highway-49of Jharsuguda district on Fridaymorning.

The deceased cops werePrashant Behera (30) andShankar Prasad Pant (45). Theinjured were rushed to theTRL Hospital in Belpahar,District Headquarters Hospitaland Central Hospital Mandaliain Brajrajnagar.

Later, seven critically-injured personnel were shiftedto the VIMSAR in Burla aftertheir conditions deteriorated.

Reportedly, the police vehi-cle carrying 40 trainee Jawansof the OSAP’s 2nd Battalionmet with the accident at around6.30 am while they were enroute to Banharpalli for deploy-ment at the Chief Minister’sscheduled programmee on theday.

After getting information,police rushed to the spot andsent the injured to the hospi-tal. Traffic movement on theNH was affected due to themishap.

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik expressed grief over thedeath of the two OSAP Jawansin the road mishap and con-veyed deep sympathy to the

bereaved families. He also metthe injured Jawans at the hos-pital and ordered free treatmentfor them.

The Chief Ministerannounced ex-gratia of Rs 5lakh each and a Governmentjob for one of the family mem-bers of the two deceased police-men. He also declared a com-pensation of Rs 1 lakh each andfree treatment for the injuredjawans.

However, the OdishaHavildar-Sepoy-ConstableMahasangh demanded that theGovernment give a compensa-tion of �50 lakh each to thenext of kin (NOK) of thedeceased Jawans.

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The Campaign for Survivaland Dignity (CSD) would

hold a rally here on March 7 inprotest against the “lackadaisi-cal” attitude of both the UnionGovernment and the StateGovernment in protecting for-est rights of tribals and otherforest dwellers. The CSD tookthis decision in the wake ofSupreme Court’s February 13order to evict over one millionFRA claimant families in thecountry, including 1,45, 567families of Odisha.

The rally will be held underthe two captions, “BJP SarkarJawab Do” and “BJD Sarkar Hosme Aao”. The CSD has alsocalled upon all the organisationsfighting for the cause of tribalsand forest dwellers to be part ofthe March 7 rally. The CSD heldthe BJP Government responsi-ble for the SC order saying theorder came as an outcome of theCentre’s silence in court duringthe last four hearings. Itslammed the State Government

for “poor recognition of com-munity rights in the State”.

The CSD demanded thatthe Central Governmentimmediately act to reverse theFebruary 13 order and ensurethat all rejection of claimsunder the Forest Rights Act arereviewed through gram sabhas(not only by officials). Everyvillage in forest areas should beentitled to protect and managetheir community forestresources and to use their non-timber forest produce withoutany conditions or restrictions.

Besides, all compensatoryafforestation and other forestryfunds, including Joint ForestManagement, should only beutilised under the control of for-est dwelling communitiesthrough their gram sabhas. Theorganisation also demandedstopping of all diversion of for-est land for corporate projectswithout consent of affectedgram sabhas and without recog-nising rights. Identification offorest/un-surveyed villages andtheir convertion into revenuevillages and withdrawal of allforest offences cases filed againsttribals and forest dwellers arethe two other demands.

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The district police on Fridayarrested four persons of

Koraput district for allegedlycirculating the ongoing HighSchool Certificate(Matriculation) examination’sMIL (Odia) question paper onsocial media and helping exam-inees in malpractice. Thearrested were identified as PNaresh, G Champi, G Mithoonand Prasanna Subudhi.

According to policesources, three of the accusedhad gone to the examinationcentre at the BandhugaonGovernment School in the dis-trict around 20 minutes afterthe commencement of theexamination.

They took photos of thequestion paper and made thoseviral on social media. The triolater went to the computer shopof Prasanna Subudhi andfetched answers of the questions,following which the accusedprovided the answers to some ofthe students appearing for theexamination at the school.

A complaint in this regardhad been lodged at theBandhugaon police station.Acting on the complaint, policearrested the four.

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Sir,The current Financial Year is coming to a close on March

31, 2019. Commencing from April 1, 2019, the BMC will col-lect its Holding Tax at all its Zonal Offices in city. Every year,taxpayers stand in long queues to pay their tax which is a tediousexperience particularly for the aged and handicapped. Since manyyears, the taxpayers have been insisting on the BMC to go onlinefor Holding Tax collection but to no avail. While the BMC strivesfor getting tags like ‘Clean Bhubaneswar’, ‘Heritage Maintenance’,etc., why not they do some groundwork from now onwards andstart collecting Holding Tax online? I hope the BMC will lookinto this as still more time is there and can introduce a user-friend-ly software for payment of the tax. Or else, this will badly reflecton the e-governance being adopted at the BMC and also exposethe age-old system being followed in spite of the country head-ing in digital mode.

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

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The Regional Office of theIndian Meteorological

Department (IMD) here onFriday predicted that dryweather is likely to prevail inthe State in next 48 hours.

The IMD said, “Theweather would remain dry inmost of the places across theState during next 48 hours.However, rainfall is likely tooccur in interior areas of theState from March 3. Warnings

of thunderstorm, medium rain-fall and lightning with gustysurface wind are issued forcoastal and interior areas onMarch 4 and 5.”

“There are no specialwarnings issued for fisher-men,” the weather office added.

Thursday night’s thunder-storm accompanied by heavyrainfall caused damages andaffected normal life in differentplaces of the State. As perreports, Gopalpur received thehighest rainfall of 11.6 mm.

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Gajapati District CongressCommittee (DCC) leaders

have requested PCC presidentNiranjan Patnaik to contestfrom the ParalakhemundiAssembly constituency in theupcoming election. During ameeting with Patnaik atBhubaneswar, DCC leaderstold him that Paralakhemundihas remained a Congress fortsince the Independence. It con-tributed to the winning marginsof Brahmapur Parliament con-stituency candidates likeJagannath Rao, GopinathGajapati, PV Narashima Raoand Jayanti Patnaik.

Expressing hope that theCongress would form the nextGovernment in the State, theleaders said the constituencywould certainly witness fasterdevelopment if Patnaik repre-sents the seat to the Assembly.

They are also of the viewthat the candidature of Patnaikfor the seat would help theparty to bag many Assemblyseats in undivided Ganjam,Koraput and Kandhamal dis-tricts. Leaders like Dr TIrupatiPanigrahi, DCC working pres-ident G Tirupati Rao, generalsecretaries Dasarathi Gomangoand Himianshu Lima metPatnaik. In return, the PCCchief promised to considertheir proposal.

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Idco industrial estates likeDeras Seafood Park and

Info-Valley, Khordha haveattracted more investment pro-posals into the State’s non-mineral sectors.

This was revealed at ahigh-level Land AllotmentCommittee meeting heldunder the chairmanship ofChief Secretary AP Padhi atthe State Secretariat here onFriday. Idco CMD SanjayKumar Singh presented eightnew employment intensiveinvestment proposals for landallotment. The Chief Secretarygave in principle approval forland allotment to seven units,which would together createemployment opportunities for3,200 people.

Padhi directed IPICOL,OCAC and other nodal depart-ments to make proper assess-ment of land for various typesof industries.

Presenting the updates,“So far, 28 industrial unitshave been allotted land in thetwo estates having employ-ment potential of 16,315 per-sons. The sanctioned units

include 15 sea food industrieshaving employment potentialfor 7,728 people and 13 ITunits having potential of 8,587jobs”.

The Committee approvedallotment of 5.20 acres land tothe ITC Ltd for manufacturingof biscuits, noodles and snacksat the Industrial estateKhordha, 5.03 acres to theStar GSM and 4.10 acres to theCTEL Infosystems at the Info-Valley Khordha. Besides threeacres were allotted to the SabriSea Food Processing at Deras,20 acres to the Institute ofChemical Technology ( ICT)and four acres were allotted tothe Odisha Skill DevelopmentAuthority for establishment ofWorld Skill Centre atMancheswar.

Industries PrincipalSecretary Sanjeeb Chopra, ITPrincipal Secretary CJVenugopal, Skill Developmentand Technical EducationSecretary Sanjay Singh,Housing and UrbanDevelopment Secretary GMathivathanan, GA SpecialSecretary SN Girish and OCACCEO RN Palei participated,among others.

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The Bhubaneswar Branchof The Institute of

Chartered Accountants of Indiaelected its office-bearers for theyear 2019-20 at a meeting onThursday.

Sugyan Kumar Sahoo waselected as chairman, BibhuPrasad Mahapatra as vice-chairman, Bisworanjan Sutar assecretary, Ranjan Kumar Prustyas treasurer, Goutam Lenka aschairman, EICASA,Bhubaneswar and Janhabi Deoand Pradip Kumar Sahoo asManaging Committee (MC)members.

The MC members resolved

to continue their best efforts indischarging their duties andresponsibilities for the better-ment of the fraternity and con-tribute towards nation-build-ing.

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The Biju Janata Dal (BJD)would hold a demonstra-

tion before the East CoastRailway (ECoR) headquartershere on Saturday to protestagainst the bifurcation of theECoR .

The BJD said that with thecreation of a South CoastRailway (SCR) headquarteredat Visakhapatnam and transferof major assets there, the rail-way networks would be ruinedin Odisha.

Speaking at a Press confer-ence here on Friday, BJD gen-eral secretary Sanjay Dasburmaopposed the move of theCentre and demanded revoca-tion of the bifurcation order.

Terming the move as adeath knell for railways inOdisha, Dasburma argued that

north and west Odisha havecontinued providing majortraffic of iron ore and otherminerals are under the BilaspurZone of the South CentralRailway (SCR) and theChakradharpur Zone of theSouth Eastern Railway (SER),but the Centre is depriving theOdisha people of their legiti-mate right.

Similarly, the maintenancesheds of electric and dieselengines and wagons unitsbased at Visakhapatnam underthe ECoR Zone would nowmove to the SCR Zone. Theseloco sheds and wagon mainte-nance units are the biggest inthe country. After bifurcation,the ECoR would lose thesefacilities and depend on otherzones for supplies of wagonsand engines to Odisha.

Dasburma pointed out thaton February 16 2018, ChiefMinister in a letter to UnionRailway Minister Piyush Goelhad opposed the move.

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Rotary Governor BhabaniPrasad Choudhury visited

the Rotary Club ofBhubaneswar Capital onFriday. He said the Rotariansare committed to providingservices to people.

After inspecting all docu-ments, Choudhury expressedhappiness over the functioningof the club.

Past Rotary District

Governor (PDG) SibabrataDash, elected GovernorShantanu Kumar Pani, PipiKumar Mohanty, PrashantMishra, AK Sahu, SudarshanPanda, Namai De,Nikhileshwar Sahoo, PrithvirajPatnaik, Gadadhar Das, secre-tary Mahesh G Rajani, treasur-er Bimbadhar Behera,Prasanna Choudhruy andother members were present.

Pranay Kumar Jenapresided over the meeting.

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Retired IPS officer BiswakeshTripathy’s book “Journey

into the Unknown” wasreleased here on Friday.

Rama Devi Women’sUniversity Vice-ChancellorProf Padmaja Mishra releasedthe book in the presence ofeducationist Dr NibeditaMohanty, Prof Jatin Nayak andmany other noted persons.

The book, a historical fic-tion, depicts a story that a poorOdia Deccani Brahmin boyshows unusual adventurousspirit and leaves his village atthe age of 12. Then a slave trad-er sells him to a Persian trad-er, who then converts the boyto Islam and takes him toPersian town of Istahan. Later,

the boy returns to India, mar-ries a Persian girl and becomesthe Nawab of Murshidabad.Named Murshid Quli Khan, herules Bengal, Bihar and parts ofOdisha. His granddaughterSuraya marries RajaRamachandra Deb II, King ofUtkal. This led to havoc inOdisha leading to tragic end-ings. It happened in early 18thCentury.

Tripathy has authored sixbooks in Odia, six collectionsof short poems and one long

poem sequence in English,besides a book on ‘Terrorismand Insurgency in India’.

His two books in Odiahave been translated intoEnglish titled ‘Tales fromRamayana and Mahabharata’and ‘My Life and Times in IPS’.

In the recent past he haspublished three historical fic-tions titled ‘In the Cradle ofthe Seven Sisters’, ‘Kharavela -The Warrior Seeker’ and“Konark: A Story of ExplosiveLove”.

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Ayouth named PratapBaliarsingh alias Tutu sus-

tained critical injuries afterbeing shot at by stone mafia atKonark Nagar in Khordha dis-trict late on Thursday night.

Baliarsingh was returninghome from a stone crusher atTapanga at about midnightwhen some miscreants inter-cepted his car at OCC chhaknear Konark Nagar, attackedhim with sharp weapons andthen shot at him in his head.

Then, they fled from the spot.Later, family members res-

cued him and rushed him to ahospital.

Baliaringh’s wife Rajashreehas filed a complaint in theKhordha Sadar police station inthis regard.

Notably, Baliarsingh hadearlier been arrested in connec-tion with two incidents ofhotel burning and bomb burn-ing.Locals now apprehend thatgang war of stone mafias is like-ly to escalate in the area as elec-tions are ahead.

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The Odisha SoochanaAdhikar Abhijan (OSAA)

has alleged rampant interfer-ence in transfer and postings ofpolice officials by politiciansbelonging to the ruling BJD.

Citing a disclosure underRTI Act by the State DGP, theOSAA said that a nexusbetween the police officialsand politicians only led todeterioration of law and orderas the police officials receiv-ing the favour tend to losetheir independence and servethe interest of their benefac-

tors.It said during the period

from 8.5.2015 to 20.6.2017 asmany as 57 recommendationletters were received from

BJD MLAs, MPs and officebearers. The maximum wasfrom former Minister ArunSahoo who wrote 11 letters. 32Ministers like Bijayshree

Routray, Prafulla Malik,Pradeep Maharathy and ArunSahoo wrote for such postings.

As many as 81 letters ofrecommendations werereceived for transfer and post-ing from 21.5.2015 to15.12.2016 by the DGP, Odishafor transfer of IIC, DSP,Additional SP and AssistantCommandants of OSAP.Similarly, during the periodfrom 21.6.2017 to 12.12.2018,as many as 92 recommendationletters were received.

The OSAA also lamentedthat no action has been takenagainst any police officer whosename has been recommendedfor posting by any politicianunder Rule 23 of The OrissaGovernment Servants’Conduct Rules, 1959.

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Areport prepared on theworking and potentiality of

District Mineral Foundationwas shared and discussed in ameeting at Keonjhar wherePRI members, journalists,social workers and membersfrom civil societies participat-ed.

Keonjhar with �2,600 crorein DMFT holds huge potentialto improve human develop-ment indicators and createlivelihood security for the min-ing-affected people, Centre forScience and Environment(CSE) programme managerSresta Banerjee said.

The CSE report hasanalysed the gaps in socioeco-nomic and human develop-ment parameters in mining-affected areas of Keonjhar dis-trict and has proposed an out-

come-oriented model plan forthe DMFT.

Keonjhar is the top miningdistrict in India in terms ofDMFT collection, with 43 percent of Odisha’s DMFT collec-tion. The State has a total of�6,100 crore in DMFT com-bining all mining districts. Theissues that the DMFT shouldfocus on are nutrition andchild development, healthcare,clean water, education andlivelihood.

The projects taken up bythe DMF should have a plan-ning for long term instead ofshort term planning as seen inthe present working model.

The CSE report recom-mended that to begin with, itwill be important for the dis-trict to build on the ICDSsupport.

Another big concern is theshortage of health staff, par-ticularly doctors, nurses andspecialists. For example, thereare 52 doctors in the districtand sub-divisional hospitals,while the actual requirement isfor 92. There is also an acute 75per cent shortage of specialistsat CHCs. Addressing healthneeds could be a priority for the

DMFT.Supply of drinking water,

creating livelihoods and capac-ity building through skill devel-opment and education areother priority areas in the min-ing affected areas. After theroads connecting the miningareas were damaged by miner-al transportation, the roadsare being rebuilt.

But now all the villagersliving in the mining peripheryare forced to pay heavy tolltaxes on the check gates toreach the district headquarterseither for hospital or officialwork which makes their lifedifficult. Let the DMFT dosomething about it, some PRImembers demanded.

The common people,including PRI members havelittle information on the rulesand working of DMF for whichthey are unable to present planand proposals before theDMFT.

Many more directly min-ing affected villages and wardsare missing in the list preparedby the DMF and it needs cor-rection, activist Sebati Singhand journalist GyanaranjanMishra pointed out.

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The members of theSambalpur Bikash Manch

and Sankhyalaghu BikashManch on Thursday submitteda memorandum to the ChiefMinister through the Collectorof Sambalpur, requesting himto provide land to all landlesspeople staying in the slums ofSambalpur MunicipalCorporation (SMC) area.

The SMC comprises threetownships such as Sambalpur,Burla and Hirakud. They alsodemanded land rights for othergroups who have been stayingwithout any records. More than10, 000 people and also membersof the minority communitieswere present in a meeting by thetwo organisations here beforesubmitting the memorandum.

They wrote in their mem-orandum that more than 35,000 families are staying in 171demarcated slums in the SMC

area. But they always feel inse-cure since they feel the threat ofeviction at every point of time.

“During our visit to theslums, we find that the residentsthere are leading very miserablelife in absence of minimumcivic amenities. The unhealthycondition they face every day isalso unbearable. Poor drainageconditions to dilapidated roadsare the perennial problems.

Hence, we request the CM torealize the problems of the poorlandless people and slum dwellersand give them justice,” saidactivist Jayabrata Dey. “Givingthem right of the land they arestaying, allotment of land tolandless people, and providingthem the minimum basic facili-ties should be the prime respon-sibility of the Government,” MdNawab claimed.

“We request to include allthese poor people of the slumsunder the ‘JAGA Mission’ of theGovernment and do the bestpossible for them,” said DebashisPurohit, the convenor ofSambalpur Bikash Manch andSheikh Majjid, the convenor ofSankhya Laghu Bikash Manch.

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Former Malkangiri MLAMukund Sodi joined the

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday,a day after resigning from theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He joined the State’s rulingparty in the presence of partysupremo and Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik here.

Sodi had sent in his resig-nation letter to BJP State pres-ident Basant Panda and districtpresident Ashok Kumar Pandastating that he quit from pri-mary membership and all postsof the party.

Notably, the tribal leaderhad been denied BJD ticket tocontest election from theMalkangiri Assembly seat in2014. He quit the BJD on

January 18, 2017 ahead of thepanchayat elections.

Besides, more than a hun-dred of Congress and BJPworkers of Malkangiri andBalangir districts also joinedthe BJD on Friday ahead of theAssembly and Lok Sabha polls.

They announced their alle-giance to the BJD in the pres-ence of Naveen Patnaik at hisresidence. Patnaik said thejoining of hundreds of workersin the BJD would strengthenthe party.

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The post-independence eco-nomic development process

in Odisha has not generatedmuch employment for all sec-tions of the people across theState, as evident from the grow-ing unemployment situationand distress migration. Theeconomic policy has con-tributed in widening therich–poor gap across socialgroups as well as increasingregional disparity.

The women, dalits, adi-vasies, minorities, labourersand farmers are on the edge. Itis evident from the statistics ofthe Government that many ofthe middle age socio-econom-ic issues such as child labour,bonded labour, distress migra-tion, trafficking, hunger death,illiteracy, social discriminationand poverty are still prevalentin the State in spite of rule of aregional party with absolutemajority for four consecutivetimes. The issues are the con-sequences of the economicpolicy of the variousGovernments for the last sixtyyears. The long pendingregional aspirations of the peo-ple in different parts of the State

remain unaddressed and man-aged by local elites promoted byruling parties.

The Justice SK MohantyCommission’s report onregional imbalance submittedto the Government in 2008identified south-west districtssuch as Malkangiri, Nuapada,Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi,Kandhamal and northern dis-tricts like Mayurbhanj,Sundargarh and Keonjhar asmost underdeveloped. Thisregion is home to a majority ofthe poor of the State but it iscontributing more to the Statetreasury in terms of SGDP.

It has been continuouslyreported that there is preva-lence of serious socio-eco-nomic disparity in develop-ment of different regions andexcluded social groups in theState who persistently lagbehind in every aspect ofhuman development index.The south-west and northernparts of Odisha remain back-ward in many aspects ofhuman and social develop-ment as well as in terms of edu-cation, health, infrastructureand communication. The mostserious concern is lack of basicamenities like drinking water,housing, sanitation, electricityand connectivity. The lopsideddevelopment has seriousimpact over the economicgrowth of the State and verynegatively encourages sepa-ratist tendencies, violence andextremism, whetted by a senseof alienation and underdevel-opment in comparison to oth-ers. It is affecting production,social peace and quality of life.

The State charity, subsidyand welfare programme suchfree rice, token assistance and

relief measures remain domi-nant discourse in politicalmobilisation of the poor peo-ple of the State. Corporateinvestment in mining andindustry is being projected asState economic developmentand the role of State investmentin economic developmentremains minimal. The State hasbeen withdrawing from theresponsibility of providingbasic amenities and socialdevelopment. The develop-ment model of the Centre,schemes and programmes arebeing replicated by the Statewithout any local innovationand considering the local con-text and relevance and aregional economic develop-ment prospective.

The costal districts remainalways prone to natural calami-ties and every year people rou-tinely suffer with loss anddamages and it becomes theresponsibility of the State tointervene in emergencythrough humanitarian reliefand other services. This hasbeen a regular State expensewithout a permanent solutionto such tragedies. There hasbeen no plan by the Stateexcept relief to the affectedpeople hit by flood, drought,cyclone and disaster.

The biggest work done bythe Stated Government is therescue operation and human-itarian aid. For the last 60years, there has been nothingbeyond relief. The people inriver banks and coasts become

worst sufferers. Programmeslike Biju KBK Plan, BijuKandhamal O Gajapati plan,Gopabandhu Gramina Yojana,Western Odisha DevelopmentCouncil, Backward RegionsGrant Fund (BRGF) have notyet created any substantialimpact in removing regionaldisparity with low budget andlethargic bureaucracy. As aconsequence, the backwardregions of Odisha remain vul-nerable to distress migration.

Even there are districtswithout railway line and withzero industry. The long pend-ing demand for Khurda–Balangir railway line andOrissa High Court Bench inwestern part of Odisha stillremains unresolved in spite ofcontinuous uproar. Odisha wasformed as a linguistic provinceconsisting of six districts suchas Sambalpur, Koraput,Ganjam, Puri, Cuttack andBaleswar in 1936 and later in1950 the others were merged.Broadly, the whole area can bedivided into three parts asareas under direct British rule,feudatory States and tribalareas which are different fromthe other two. So for historicaland geographical reasons, theregional socio-political andsocio-economic issues are dif-ferent and there was absence ofcomprehensive administrativeand legal mechanism to planfor the whole State till 1950.The community developmentblock concept was introducedin the early sixties but there

have been serious limitations inthe formation of blocks asdevelopment units withoutconsidering the purpose ofsuch formations.

The budgetary allocationshould be based on income ofthe district or a particularregion. The regions contribut-ing to State treasury in terms ofnatural resources, minerals,forest produce, and marineproduct should get preferentialtreatment. It is unfortunatethat the people in coal,hydropower and thermalpower plant area are not gettingadequate electricity for theirbasic consumption. It is foundthat the areas coming up withindustrialization and urban-izations are being captured bythe dominant educated socialgroups by displacing the poor,illiterate and marginalizedsocial groups to the peripheryand depriving them of job,business and other economicopportunities created in thearea.

Budgetary provisionshould strictly followScheduled Caste Sub Plan(SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan(TSP) in allocation and spend-ing to reach to the most back-ward social groups and theallocation should consider theirpopulation in different levelwhile allocating the resourcesbut it has not been followed.The State should invest tochange the basic economicstructure through its radicaleconomic policy in favour ofbackward region through landreform, education, irrigation,electricity, rural industrialisa-tion, forest based NTFP, agri-culture and tourism whichalways take a backseat.

Industrialization in the State isnot integrating to all regions. Itshould focus on value additionby integrating manufacturingand ancillary industries inbackward regions of the State.The State should have ownpower plant and attemptshould be made to decentraliseenergy production for itsdomestic consumption. Solar,wind and other forms of ener-gy sources should be exploredto minimise pollution and dis-placement.

Odisha being a land ofdiversity and diverse ethnicgroups, the issues of differentsocial groups need to be inte-grated into the State plan for aninclusive development.Regional economy and plan-ning should be encouraged asa subject in courses of studiesin colleges with State specificsubjects like mineral econom-ics, forest economics andmarine economics. TheGovernment should generateadequate disaggregated socioe-conomic data and impactassessment reports whichshould be made available topolicy makers, researchers,development planners andadministrators. The institutelike Nabakrushna ChoudhuryCentre for DevelopmentStudies (NCDS) andGopabandhu Academy ofAdministration and the uni-versities in the State should col-lectively take a lead in theprocess in building a perspec-tive of economic developmentinvolving political parties,CSOs and academics of theState to mitigate regionalimbalances and disparity indevelopment.

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Two non-Odia youths facedthe music for allegedly rais-

ing pro-Pakistan slogans whiletravelling in a Governmentbus near Mahadevpali on theBinka-Sonepur road inSubarnapur district onThursday evening. The twoyouths, whose identities are yetto be ascertained boarded thebus from Barpali in Bargarh dis-trict. But after travelling for afew kilometers, the duo startedmisbehaving with the otherpassengers present inside thebus. When other passengersopposed, the two youths start-ed shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’and ‘Hindustan Murdabad’.

However, the two wereseverely thrashed by irate co-passengers. Police rushed to thespot after getting informationand rescued the youths. “Thetwo youths raised some anti-national slogans and also hadaltercations with other passen-gers inside the bus. An investi-gation is underway followingwhich further action would betaken,” informed SonepurSDPO Mihir Kumar Panda.

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The State Government hassanctioned Rs 94 lakh for

development of the Deojharanwaterfall and its surroundingand nearby dam areas in the dis-trict as an ecotourism centre.

The waterfall and the smalldam, situated 30 km fromhere, are major places of attrac-tion for tourists and picnickersof Odisha and neighbouringStates like Jharkhand andChhattisgarh mostly duringwinter and summer.

The district administra-tion had submitted a projectproposal of �1 crore to bespent in a phased manner fordevelopment of Deojharan.

According to the plan,boating facilities would be pro-vided in the reservoir, for whicha jetty would be constructedalong with a watchtower on thetop of the hill and a guesthouse.A total of 40 dustbins would beprovided for the use of visitors.Public toilets and footpaths upto the waterfall area would alsobe constructed in a phasedmanner, besides 15 kitchens for

the use of visitors. There is alsoa plan to develop a garden anda children’s park below, officialsources said. Since the entirearea is situated in a dense for-est, the Forest Departmentwould be entrusted to under-take the project.

The dam was constructedon the downstream of theDeojharan about 10 years agofor irrigation purpose. TheShiv-Durga temple situatednearby is another point ofattraction. Local devotees visitthe temple on Mondays.

The dam is surrounded bythree forests. After fallingfrom a height of over 50 feet,the water flows into the dambelow. It is a peaceful placewith natural surroundings.After its development, moredomestic and internationaltourists are expected to cometo the place, a senior officialsaid.

Deojharan will be the sec-ond ecotourism centre of thedistrict after Gudguda situated120 km from here in Kuchindasub-division.

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As part of late Biju Patnaik’s103rd birth anniversary

celebration, the Eastern IndiaOil Refinery Workers’ Union(EIORWU) began holding atwo-day Jeevan Bindu (blooddonation) camp at its ZeroPoint office premises here fromFriday. On day one, as many as2,277 units of blood were col-lected.

The inaugural event wasattended by State PlanningBoard Deputy ChairmanBishnu Charan Das as chiefguest and former PPT Trusteeand editor “Parada” Saroj

Kumar Pattnaik as chiefspeaker. The other guestswere Jeevan Bindu State coor-dinator Bijay Kumar Nayak,Jagatsinghpur district JeevanBindu coordinatorMadhusudan Sahoo, BJDwomen wing secretary MinatiDas, social activist LoraMohapatra, BJDJagatsinghpur district youthwing president AmarendraDas and local MP’s represen-tat ive KamalakantaMohapatra.

MP Dr Kulamani Samalalso visited the camp andpraised EIORWU presidentSantosh Kumar Pattnaik’s suc-

cessful effort for the megablood donation camp.

EIORWU presidentSantosh Pattnaik presided overthe meeting. General secretaryPadmalochan Dash gave wel-come address and vice-presi-dent Manindra Guru offered avote of thanks.

Before the inaugural func-tion, a silent prayer for the mar-tyred CRPF Jawans and sang“Bande Uttkal Janani”. Theguests spoke on the importanceof blood donation as it savesprecious lives at the time ofneed. They were all praise forSantosh Pattnaik’s dedicationfor human service.

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Aschoolteacher allegedlyraped a college girl in

Muribahal area of the districtand made the video of the inci-dent viral on social media.

As per a complaint lodgedby the family members of thevictim with the Muribahalpolice, the girl was waiting fora bus to reach college onFebruary 6, during whichaccused Gano Selama, teacherat Chhitakelajora PrimarySchool, offered her lift to dropher at the college.

However, he took the girl

to a forest where he allegedlyraped her and took photos.The teacher also threatenedher not to disclose the inci-dent.

The matter came tol ight af ter the accusedp o s t e d t h e p h o t o s o nsocial media and thosewent vira l . Pol ice haveregistered a case on thebasis of a complaint f i ledby the girl’s family mem-bers. The accused is abscond-ing and a manhunt has beenlaunched to apprehend him,police said. The girl was sent formedical examination.

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Chief Naveen Patnaik onFriday inaugurated the

2x660 MW power plant ofOdisha Power GenerationCorporation Ltd. (OPGC) at aspecial function held at the IbThermal Power Station,Banharpali.

He also flagged off thecommencement of miningactivity of Mahoharpur coalmine of Odisha Coal andPower Limited (OCPL)through videoconferencing.The commencement of con-struction of the Unit 3 and 4was kick-started by the CM onFebruary 23, 2014.

Patnaik lauded the effortsof the State Energy Secretary,Government functionaries,local authorities and OPGC

management for putting intheir best efforts to completethe project in scheduled time.

The two OPGC units shallmake Odisha self-sufficient inmeeting its electricity require-

ment and play a pivotal role inoverall development of theState, he said.

In his tele-conference withthe general public gathered atManoharpur coal mine, theCM expressed the commit-ment of Government to ensurequality rehabilitation and reset-tlement of the displaced com-munity.

It is to be noted here that,post stabilization, these twoOPGC units with assured sup-ply of 8 million ton of coal fuelfrom Manoharpur coal mine ofOCPL shall provide the Statewith a reliable energy source forthe next 25 years.

Among others, EnergyMinister Sushant Singh andEnergy Secretary and OPGCChairman Hemant Sharmaspoke.

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Rich tributes were paid tofreedom fighter Veer

Surendra Sai on his deathanniversary by people fromvarious walks of life inSambalpur on Thursday.

Sai was the first freedomfighter in the country whohad raised a war against theBritish rule in 1827, 30 yearsbefore the Sepoy Mutiny of1857. “But it is unfortunate thatwe have not been able to estab-lish the contribution of thisgreat freedom fighter at thenational level,” said speakers ata special function at his birth-place in Khinda. A statue of Saishould be installed in theParliament premises, they saidand urged the StateGovernment to take an initia-tive on the issue with theUnion Government. Sai wasjailed for 37 years, just half ofhis lifespan of 74 years, whichwas unique in any freedommovement in the world.

The meeting was attendedby members of the OdishaSanskrutik Samaj, a leadingsocio-cultural body of

Sambalpur, and the VeerSurendra Sai Smruti Sansad ofKhinda. Sanskrutik Samaj pres-ident Prof Sankar Prasad Patipresided over the meeting inwhich eminent artist and tableinstrumentalist Daya SagarRout was honoured.

Earlier, a galaxy of leadersfrom all political parties andprominent citizens garlandedSai’s statue at Jail Chowk.Students of various schoolstook part in a march-past and“Veer dress and slogan” com-petitions were organised on theoccasion.

Khinda residents and oth-ers complained about the neg-ligence of Sai’s native village.They demanded a park, amuseum and a monumentalhall in his birthplace for visit oftourists as promised by politi-cal leaders on various occa-sions.

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During his recent visit toRayagada, Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik addressed amammoth gathering of ruraland tribal women under theaegis of Mission Shakti.

Thousands of womenmembers from 6,729 SHGsfrom eleven blocks of Rayagadahave received Rs 10.09 crore inthe form of seed money asannounced by the CM. Anaverage amount of Rs 15, 886per group has been announced.As a part of digital empower-ment, a smart phone of worthRs 3,000 each is provided to6,735 SHGs costing the Stateexchequer Rs 2.02 crore.

To promote entrepreneur-ship among the SHGs, eachblock level federation (BLF) hasbeen provided with a grant ofRs 25 lakh. Thus 11 BLFs havebeen provided with totalamount of Rs 2.75 crore.

Anganwadi Workers andhelpers, who were instrumen-tal in formation and coordina-tion of SHGs, were providedmonetary incentive amountingRs 42.78 lakh.

Interestingly, the Dangaria

Kandh women in their tradi-tional attire from Niyamagirihills greeted the CM with theirshawl ‘Kapadagunda’ waitingfor GI tag. Women leadersfrom eleven BLFs greeted theCM.

Both thesewomen groups werep h o t o g r a p h e dthough no localpeoples’ representa-tives like MPs,MLAs and bureau-crats shared the daiswith the CM exceptCM’s PrivateS e c r e t a r yKartikeyan Pandian.

D i r e c t o r ,Mission Shakti,Sujata KartikeyanPandian deliveredthe welcome addressand briefed theachievements ofMission Shakti inRayagada.

Though foundation stonesfor a slew of other projectsamounting to around Rs1,270crore were laid, strategicallywomen were the focus, be ittribal women or women SHGfederation leaders.

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It was amazing to watch 35schoolmates coming closer

after a long 38 years who wereonce pursuing studies sittingshoulder to shoulder underthe same thatch.

Once in school uniform,they are now watching theirgrandsons and daughters mov-ing clad in same dresses. Whenthey assembled and watchedeach other a paled cheek withwhite hair, it was an unforget-table experience at theNilakangtheswar Temple near

the Lingaraj Road station inBhubaneswar.

While many puzzled todistinguish each other, five ofthem have gone missing fromearth years ago.

The Bhargabi High School,a pre-independence time insti-tute of repute was home to 500plus students way back in1981. Situated on the sandybank of river Bharagabi, 5kmfrom the pilgrim city of Puri,

the school has imparted edu-cation to freedom fighters,social reformers and academicsof the State.

On Sunday, when the 81matriculation batch got togeth-er, they found five of them,including two girls, missing.Many had already celebratedmarriages of their sons anddaughters years ago.

“It took a year to contact allthe friends. Besides, few friends

in villages, we had no idea ofwhereabouts of others,” saidMohan Sahoo, the headmasterof Gopinath Dev High School.“After watching the sad demiseof mates, we had a dream towatch each other as life isuncertain,” said Subal Muduli,a retired army man posted inBSNL office.

“It was unforgettable tosee all of us meet after 38years, said actor MahendraDash. Dash, who has earnedaccolades in Odisha acting as‘Viku Seth’ in ‘Saguna BasichiDena Melei’ drama blastedthe scene with his populardialogues played. Beforelunch, homage was paid to thedeceased mates and 40 CRPFbrave hearts martyred inPulwama terror strike recent-ly.

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The Manam Foundationwith its vision to address

mental health and wellness ona war footing conducted aseminar on the Self-InjuryAwareness Day on Friday.

The panelists comprisedeminent psychiatrists Dr TPRay, Dr Amrit Pattjoshi andcity D CP Anup KumarSahoo. The objective was tobring massive awareness tothe issues of self-harm andself-injury patterns amidstthe youths and other agegroups.

The seminar was targetedto bring more understanding tothe entire domain whichremains under wrap primarilybecause of lack of family andsocial support and under-standings.

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With the entire nation on agreat vigil and the Indian

Air Force (IAF) has proven itsextra ordinary brave act bydestroying Jaish-e-Mohmmad(JEM) camps at Balakot inPakistan occupied Kashmir,the 81st Patha Utsav on Sunday(March 3) will have a themededicated to the courage, val-our and services of the IAF.

While the songs will bededicated only to patriotictunes, other activities at thelargest street festival ofBhubaneswar will be based onnational integration and fight-ing terrorism.

Itishree Dixit and hergroup will do an exclusive``rangoli’’ on the contributionof IAF towards national secu-rity and how the brave soldiersand their flying machines havecontributed towards nation’speace keeping responsibilitiesand stability.

Sujit Mohapatra fromBakul Foundation said, “Wewill be doing storytelling onthe exploits of the Indian AirForce and would try to inviteretired IAF personnel to nar-rate their heroic tales to theparticipants. There would alsobe special curated sections onIAF planes/fighters and airwarfare.’’ Well-known story-teller of city Prachitara will alsodo a storytelling session on theIndian Air Force.Debiprasadfrom DPR Art Life is planningto pay a tribute towards IAFand Indian Armed Forcesthrough innovative art themesso that the young visitorswould be motivated towardsthe role of the national securi-ty agencies on and across theborder. Leading Odia dailyNitidina, which is regularlyparticipating in the weeklystreet festival, will come upwith a quiz on IAF, IndianArmy and patriotism.

The 81st Patha Utsav willalso try to educate the civilianson their responsibilities as thenation is passing through atime of high alert.

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikinaugurated a host of projects,

involving about Rs 730 crore atRourkela on Friday. Patnaik onhis one-day visit to the steel cityaddressed a large gathering as partof 'KALIA Convention' andclaimed that the farmers’ interesthas been a priority area of hisGovernment. "The KALIAscheme has been a boon for themarginal farmers, mainly for thelandless farmers and about 30lakh farmers of the State are going

to be benefitted in the first phase,"Patnaik said. “Another 10 lakhfarmers would be included inthe second phase, besides themeritorious children of farmerswould also be provided supportto pursue their higher educationdegrees,” Patnaik told.

Patnaik inaugurated about23 projects, involving about Rs336.61 crore and laid foundationstone of as many as 29 differentprojects, with an estimated costof Rs 309.78 crore. Earlier, agroup of BJD leaders, under theleadership of BJP State secretary

Dhiren Senapati, staged aprotest and attempted to marchto the meeting site but wasdetained by police.Anothergroup of BJP workers, under theleadership of Nihar Ray reachedSTI Chowk before the CM’sarrival and inaugurated thesame by breaking coconut andalso opened the bridge for pub-lic use. Ray in a release claimedthat since the ROB has beenconstructed with the funds sup-ported by the CentralGovernment, they decided toinaugurate the same.

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The BR Life Kalinga Hospitalis the first in Odisha that

has successfully performedemergency Abdominal AorticAneurysm (AAA) rupturesurgery.

A 28-year-old woman wassuccessfully operated recently.She was diagnosed with a rup-ture Abdominal AorticAneurysm (AAA), a conditionwhere the large artery in theabdominal cavity enlarges tomore than 3 cm, almost 50 percent larger than its normaldiameter.

Dr Sibasankar Dalai, seniorvisiting consultant, vascularand interventional radiologist,Dr Sushant Shaila, cardiologistand Dr Swetank Das, consul-tant vascular surgeon, con-ducted the Endovascular AorticRepair (EVAR), a minimally

invasive surgery, which involvesthe placement of an expandablestent graft within the aorta totreat aortic disease withoutoperating directly on the aorta.After them three-hour surgery,her condition was back to nor-mal. Her condition hasimproved rapidly and is show-ing speedy signs of recovery.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Friday asked a womanlawyer, who was allegedlyassaulted by some cops outsidethe Delhi High Court premis-es last night, to approach asenior officer of Delhi Police forlodging an FIR in the incident.

A Bench comprisingJustices S A Bobde and DeepakGupta took note of the sub-missions of the woman advo-cate, who has also filed a sex-ual harassment case against aneminent jurist, that she wasbrutally assaulted by twopolicemen near the high court.She also alleged that her mobilephone, by which she was film-ing the cops, was snatched bythem. "You go to the police sta-tion. This is not the police sta-tion,"the bench said. Later, thebench asked the woman lawyerto approach the office of the

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice, under whose jurisdic-tion the Tilak Marg police sta-tion falls, with her complaintfor registration of the FIR andseeking protection.

"Advocate, who is appear-ing as the petitioner-in-personin these writ petitions, hasmentioned before this court

today that she has been assault-ed by some policemen outsidethe High Court of Delhi lastnight. "It would be appropriateif petitioner-in-person, files anFirst Information Report (FIR)to that effect in the Office ofappropriate DeputyCommissioner of Police who isin-charge of the Tilak Marg

Police Station, New Delhi. Shemay also seek police protectionsince she apprehends danger toher life," the Bench noted in itsorder.

The apex court alsoallowed the lawyer to file inter-locutory application for direc-tions in the main petitions.

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In a major decision toimprove liquidity position

of sugar mills and to help thesugar industry clear its canedues arrears to farmers, theCentre has approved the pro-posal to provide soft loans tothe extent of �7,900-10540crore to the sugar industry.Government will bear theinterest subvention cost @ 7-10% to the extent of �553crore to �1,054 crore for oneyear.

Sugar cane arrears to farm-ers have crossed �20,000 crore inthe current marketing year 2018-19 (October-September).

"To help the sugar industryclear its cane dues arrears, theCabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA)chaired by Prime Minister todayapproved the proposal to providesoft loans to the extent of about�7,900-10,540 crore to the sugarindustry," an official statementsaid.

The Centre will bear theinterest subvention cost at therate of 7-10 per cent to the extent

of � 553 crore to �1,054 crore forone year.

"Surplus production is alsoestimated in the current sugarseason 2018-19 which has affect-ed the liquidity position of sugarmills resulting in building up ofcane price arrears of farmerswhich has reached to the level of�20,159 crore as on February 22,2019," the statement said. Toensure that farmers are paid theirdues expeditiously, the Centrehas asked banks to seek bankaccount details of cane growersfrom mill owners, so thatamount is paid directly to farm-ers.

"In order to incentivise themills to clear their dues, CCEAhas also decided that theapproved soft loans will be pro-vided to those units which havealready cleared at least 25 percent of their outstanding dues inthe sugar season 2018-19," thestatement said.

The decision to provide softloans comes a fortnight after theCentre raised benchmark sellingprice of sugar at factory gate by�2 to �31 per kg.

Although sugar production

is estimated to decline to 307lakh tonnes in the 2018-19 mar-keting year (October-September)from record 325 lakh tonnes inthe previous year, the output willbe much higher than annualdomestic consumption of 260lakh tonnes. Moreover, millshad an opening stock of about100 lakh tonnes of stock fromprevious year's production.

In last one-and-a-half years,the Central Government hastaken a number of measures tobail out sugar mills as well ascane farmers.

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Two years after the term ofNational Commission for

Other Backward Classes(NCBC) got over, the CentralGovernment has set up a newcommission appointingBhagwan Lal Sahni, a BJPleader from Bihar'sMuzaffarpur, as its new chair-man. Shahni assumed chargeon Friday.

BJP leader and formerVaranasi mayor KaushalendraSingh Patel, BJP national sec-retary and former MP SudhaYadav from Haryana, andTelangana BJP general secre-tary Achary Talloju have beenappointed as members of thecommission. President RamNath Kovind approved theirnames on Thursday.

Sahni, who belongs toNishad community, had con-tested Lok Sabha polls againstformer Defence MinisterGeorge Fernandes onRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)ticket in 2004. He has closelinks with the RashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

The NCBC was given con-stitutional status by Parliamentlast year, after repealing theNational Commission forBackward Classes Act, 1993.The Constitution (123rdAmendment) Bill, 2017 waspassed after heated exchangesin Parliament during whichseveral members urged the

Centre to make public thefindings of the caste censusand implement reservationaccordingly. The bill waspassed by the Lok Sabha onAugust 2, 2018 supersedingthe amendments earlier car-ried out by the Rajya Sabha.

The NCBC, which untilnow only had only a recom-mendatory role on the issue ofinclusion or exclusion of acommunity in the Central listof OBCs, will now have allpowers of a civil court when itcomes to handling complaintsand welfare measures forsocially and educationallybackward classes. Until now,the NCSC, which handles suchcases with regards to Dalits,was also in charge of lookinginto similar complaints ofrights violations of peoplebelonging to backward class-es.

The term of the last NCBCchairperson, Justice VEswaraiah (retd), got over inSeptember 2016, while that ofits last member expired byFebruary 2017.

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Union Minister NitinGadkari on Friday said he

is not in the race for the postof Prime Minister and termedhimself as a "pure RSS" man forwhom the nation is supreme.At the same time, he alsoshowcased the work done byhis Ministry including the pro-jects with Delhi Government,which has been at severe oddswith the Centre.

"I am not in the race to bethe Prime Minister. PM Modiis the PM and will be the PMeven after the elections. I aman RSS man, service to thenation is my duty. We are allbehind him [PM Modi]. I amanother worker in the fulfil-ment of his vision. Wheredoes the question of me beinga PM arise?" Gadkari said in areply to a query at the IndiaToday conclave on Friday.

The senior BJP leader saidthat BJP would get absolutemajority in the upcoming elec-tions and the country would goahead on the path of develop-ment under Prime MinisterNarendra Modi while "we arestanding behind him."

Reacting to speculationsthat in case of a fracturedmandate, Gadkari would bethe BJP's consensus PrimeMinister candidate, and said itis like "Mungeri Lal Ke HaseenSapne" (day dreaming).Asserting that "I am not a cal-culated politician", Gadkarisaid BJP would return to powerwith absolute majority andadded that this time he wasgoing to get 5 lakh votesagainst 3.5 lakh in the last elec-tions.

He said he spoke whatev-er he felt from within andadded "Neither I dream it, northere is any liaisoning, nor any

PR." "I have a bad habit... I tellbefore 10 lakh Muslims that Iam a pure RSS man vote me ifyou want otherwise do notregret. I have the conviction tosay this. I am not a calculatedpolitician. I am a good BJPworker. Country is supreme forme. I work for it. It should behappy, prosperous, strong andbecome world's economicpower," Gadkari said.

"I have come as a sup-porter in this work and will dowhatever work is assigned tome for the country," he reiter-ated. In reply to a query as towhy he was favourite amongthe opposition leaders,Gadkari said he was a worka-holic and believes in hard-work.

Asked whether he believedin "Congress mukt Bharat", hesaid the ideologies of both theparties are different and "weare not enemies of each other.

Difference of opinion can bethere... It is our tradition. AtalBihari Vajpayee, JawaharlalNehru and even Modiji wel-comes the opposition party."

Talking about the 'CleanGanga' project, Gadkari said,"The flow of water in theGanga has increased underthe Modi Government. In 13months from now, river Gangawill be cleaner." Gadkari alsoclarified his controversialwhere-are-the-jobs statement,saying he was misquoted bythe media as he meant "jobshave lessened after computer-isation".

On projects with DelhiGovernment, he said in 13 pro-jects work was on worth �4,500crore besides the work onYamuna, Ramnadi, Kali Gangaand 40 tributaries. On ethanol,he said that the plans were totake �11,000 crore ethanoleconomy to �2 lakh crore.

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In the backdrop of India'sairstrike at Balakot in

Pakistan harbouring Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) “terrorcamp”, the ParliamentaryStanding Committee onExternal Affairs on Fridaysought the Government to vig-orously explain to the interna-tional community reasonsbehind the Indian decision tohit the terror site across theneighbouring country.

The members of the paneltold foreign secretary VijayGokhale, who debriefed themhere about the latest develop-ment in the Indo-Pak sphere,that the Government shouldvigorously publicise across theworld the reasons behind NewDelhi's move to target the ter-ror camp, a member later said.

Gokhale gave details on thefast-paced development afterthe February 14 Pulwama ter-ror attack by the JeM in which40 CRPF personnel were killedand also received suggestionsfrom the Standing committeemembers.

The panel told the foreignsecretary that the Governmentshould highlight the impact ofthe air strike and the infor-mation about the extent ofdamage, including casualties,suffered by the JeM. This willensure that no internationalagency questions the impactof the strike, a member of thecommittee, said Gokhale, whowas assisted by officials of theMinistry of External Affairs(MEA), informed the panel'smembers about the air strikeon the JeM terror camp inPakistan and also about theretaliation by the westernneighbour, a source said.

Foreign ministry officialshad briefed the panel earlier inOctober when Imran Khanwas elected Prime Minister ofPakistan.

On Friday, the briefingincluded the MEA's assess-ment of the Pakistan PrimeMinister's tenure so far, themember said.

The foreign secretary alsotold the panel that an attemptby the Pakistan Air Force totarget military installationsin India was unsuccessful as itwas thwarted by the IndianAir Force, which lost a jet inthe fight back.

Another member said theforeign secretary detailed thediplomatic measures that theministry took right from thePulwama attack to the ensu-ing air strike, and efforts,thereon, to seek out the inter-national community to briefthem about the impasse, in aneffort to isolate Pakistan glob-ally.

Foreign Secretar yGokhale assured the commit-tee that diplomatic overturesto the international commu-nity were still underway.

He also informed themembers on how India got thesupport of the members ofOrganisation of IslamicCooperation (OIC) on theissue.

India, on Friday, for thefirst time, addressed the OICmeeting in Abu Dhabi whereExternal Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj is a guest ofhonour.

Pakistan has boycottedthe plenary session of theOIC meet to protest India'sparticipation there.

One of the parliamentarypanel's members also said thiswhen a slew of questions wereasked to the foreign secretaryabout the anti-terror strikesagainst Pakistan. Gokhale was"cautious" about answeringthem, taking the stand that hecould not reveal much becauseof the "sensitive nature" of theinformation and "nationalsecurity".

The panel raised somequeries about the assessmentof damage caused by the airstrike, but Gokhale informedthat the Defence Ministry wasbetter equipped to answer.

Congress president RahulGandhi is a member of thecommittee but was not present

in the meeting Friday.The purpose of the meet-

ing, described as good andconstructive, was part of "par-liamentary accountability" andthe MEA gave a briefing in thisregard, a member said.

The meeting was attendedby chairperson Shashi

Tharoor, Arka Keshari Deo,Prof Richard Hay, JagdambikaPal, Magannti VenakateshwaraRao, Mohammad Salim, PBhattacharya, SambhajiChhatrapati, SwapanDasgupta, ChunibhaiKanjibhai Gohel and KumarKetkar.

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Stating that creating a situa-tion for the return of Wing

Commander AbhinandanVarthaman from Pakistan insuch a short span of time wasa diplomatic victory, BJP pres-ident Amit Shah on Fridayslammed Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan for notcondemning the Pulwama ter-ror attack and asked how Indiacan trust him.

Speaking at the 'IndiaToday Conclave' here, Shahsaid, "The air-strikes after thePulwama terror attack hasnow isolated Pakistan global-ly, this is a victory of ourdiplomacy. Creating situationfor the return of pilotAbhinandan in such a shortspan of time is our diplomat-ic victory".

The two neighbouringcountries came on the verge ofwar with each other after ahuman bomb trained byPakistan based terror outfitJesh-e-Mohammad (JeM)killed over 40 CRPF personneland India on Tuesday crossingPakistan airspace and hittingJeM terror camp at Balakot inPakistan.

In the ensuing air skir-mishes following days WingCommander Abhinandan

whose MIG crashed after adogfight with Pakitani F-16had parachuted in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir and taken incustody by Pakistan authori-ties. Later, Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khanannounced that the IndianAirforce Pilot would bereleased as a 'goodwill gesture'.India, though, held that it washer diplomatic victory to havethe pilot released fromPakistani custody.

At the convention, BJPpresident slammed PakistanPrime Minister for not con-demning the Pulwama terrorattack and asked how India cantrust him.

Shah said the ModiGovernment has been able tocreate "fear" among thosebehind terrorism with itsactions against Pakistan-basedterrorists, and asserted a mes-sage has gone that India is nolonger ruled by a dispensationthat was at the helm between2004-14, referring to theCongress-led UPA.

Asked about Khan's offerfor talks with India, the BJPchief said, "He does not havetwo words of condemnationthat the incident (Pulwamaattack) was wrong. He shouldcondemn it. How can we trustyou? What are you talking?"

"You will speak and wewill listen without finding outyour intentions," he said,referring to Khan's commentsthat he was ready for talks.

In his brief reference tothe Pulwama incident inwhich 40 CRPF personnelwere killed in a terror attack,Khan had said on Wednesday,"We know how the families ofthose killed in Pulwama inci-dent must have felt. We havebeen the victims of war fordecades."

Shah said it may be pos-sible that Khan is not in con-trol, but he should have atleast paid a "lip service" andcondemned the attack.

Putting the UPAGovernment in the dock fornot giving a befitting reply tothe enemy after the Mumbaiterror attack in 2008, he saidthe Modi Government hasbeen the best dispensationsince Independence inresponding to terrorism.

"We have a policy of zerotolerance against terrorismand the Modi Governmenthas the will to implement it onground. Whenever we areattacked, we will give a befit-ting reply. Enemies will nowthink ten times before doingsomething," the BJP chiefsaid.

�$���2�$ ���.���,�������)6�����,� #�� New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Friday dismissed theplea of ar e t i r e dArmy offi-cer chal-lenging thea p p o i n t -ment of Dalbir Singh Suhag ashead of the Eastern Commandin 2012. Suhag had later suc-ceeded General Bikram Singhas Army chief on July 31, 2014.Gen. Suhag retired onDecember 31, 2016.

$����)�����,���� ,� �$1�,������1����.��New Delhi: The CBI hasbegun investigation into abrutal attack on Binu Kuruvila,who was contesting an elec-tion of the Christian organi-sation Kananaya YakobaSabha in Kerala, officials saidFriday. The CBI has taken overinvestigation on the orders ofthe Kerala High Court whichfound it necessary to rope inthe central agency for probingthe attack which took place onApril 7, 2018.

7),!�,+�),!�8�+�,#����#��1�#����,� �New Delhi: With MahaShivratri scheduled onMonday, a movie titled 'Godof Gods', produced by filmsdivision of Brahma Kumaris,was held at national Capital onThursday. The one and halfhour film is based on uniquetheme of "God's love andjourney towards country'slove" and basic fundamentalvalues.

�,�9��$ ,��,+�+,��� !��..���:��� ,��+.�!�New Delhi: A fresh petitionhas been filed in the SupremeCourt seeking direction tothe authorities not to evict anyforest dweller and setting up ofan SIT to look into illegalacquisition of tribal land in thecountry.

$����� ��#�:��$�+,�#�!�����$�,�!��New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Friday declined tointerfere with the MadrasHigh Court order giving itsnod to capture and put in cap-tivity a wild elephant, nick-named "Chinna Thambi",which has been venturing intohuman habitats in Coimbatoreand neighbouring districts.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Friday came downheavily on the HaryanaGovernment for passingamendments to an Act whichallows construction in Aravallihills, saying the step willdestroy the forest and this can-not be permitted.

A bench of Justices ArunMishra and Deepak Guptaasked the State not to take anyfurther action on the law andtermed it "shocking" that theHaryana government has takenthis step despite being toldearlier by the apex court not todo so.

On February 27, theHaryana Assembly had passedamendments to an Act, open-ing up thousands of acres ofland to real estate and othernon-forest activity that wereprotected under it for over acentury.

Chief Minister M L Khattarhad said the Punjab LandPreservation (HaryanaAmendment) Bill, 2019, wasthe "need of the hour", addingthat it was a "very old" act andmuch has changed over a peri-

od of time.The top court was dealing

with a matter in which it had ear-lier directed demolition of illegalconstructions in forest area ofAravalli hills in Haryana.

"You are not supreme andsupreme is the rule of law," thebench told the counsel appearingfor Haryana and asked the statenot to take any action on the lawallowing constructions in Aravalliarea."It is really shocking. You aredestroying the forest...It is notpermissible," the court said,adding that "it is sheer con-tempt".The bench observed ithad earlier asked Haryana not toallow any construction in forestarea of Aravalli, but despite thatthe State went ahead with it.

The amendments to the actwere passed by the state assem-bly amid vociferous protests andwalkout by opposition parties.

The Punjab LandPreservation Act was enacted bythen Punjab Government in 1900and it provided for conservationof subsoil water and preventionof erosion in areas found to besubject to erosion or likely tobecome liable to erosion. PTI

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New Delhi: The Centre Fridaytold the Supreme Court that itsorder allowing agencies tointercept, monitor and decryptcomputer systems of the citi-zens was passed keeping inmind "legitimate State interest"and threats like "terrorism"and it did not violate the rightto privacy.

The Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA), in its affidavitfiled with the apex court reg-istry, sought dismissal of thePILs challenging its December20, 2018 notification authoris-ing 10 central agencies to inter-cept, monitor and decryptcomputer systems saying thatthese would be done by "anauthorised agency".

"The grave threats to thecountry from terrorism, radi-calisation, cross border ter-rorism, cyber crime, organisedcrime, drug cartels cannot beunderstated or ignored and astrong and robust mechanismfor timely and speedy collec-tion of actionable intelligenceincluding signal intelligence, isimperative to counter threatsto national security.

"This is undeniably legiti-mate state interest. It is there-fore imperative that the requestfor lawful interception or mon-itoring must be dealt with bythe executive authority tomaintain speed and prompti-tude in taking decisions," theMHA said defending its order.

The apex court, which onJanuary 14 had issued notice tothe Centre on PILs, could nothear them today as the ChiefJustice of India

(CJI) Ranjan Gogoi wasunavailable due to suddendemise of his relative andDelhi HC judge Justice ValkimiMehta.

"There is no blanket per-mission to any agency forinterception or monitoring ordecryption as the authorisedagencies still require permis-sion of the Union HomeSecretary in each case as perdue process of law and justifi-cation for interception or mon-itoring or decryption," SatinderBhalla, Director in MHA, saidin the affidavit.

The Centre said the use ofthe power to intercept, con-templated under the law, hasbrought several results in larg-er national interest in pre-venting terrorism, drug traf-ficking and intercepting andbusting narcotic drugs racket.

"What has been doneunder the December 20, 2018,order was in fact restrictingthe exercise of powers, remov-ing a possible vagueness andspecifying the agencies/organ-isations who only would havethe powers to utilise the pow-ers of section 69 of theInformation Technology Act,"the Centre said.

It said the question as towhich government agency canbe authorised to exercise thepower under the IT Act wasnever defined till December20, 2018 and now, only 10agencies have been authorisedto exercise powers which aresubject to approval of the com-petent authority.

"Considering the nature

of the agencies specified in theorder, the order not onlystreamlines but restricts the useof the Act and confines it to thecases of legitimate state inter-est," it said.

The order was intended "toprevent unauthorised use ofthese powers by any agency,individual or intermediary andto ensure that right to privacyof law abiding citizens is notviolated by any agency, inter-mediary or person", it said.

The Centre said recordspertaining to directions forinterception and of the inter-cepted messages would bedestroyed every six monthsunless they were required.

It said the 10 agencieshave been asked to seek priorapproval of the Union HomeSecretary in each case of "inter-ception or monitoring ordecryption".

Such interception shouldbe "restricted strictly for thepurposes in the interests ofthe sovereignty or integrity ofIndia, defence of India, secu-rity of the State, friendly rela-tions with foreign states orpublic order, or for prevent-ing incitement to the com-mission of any cognisableoffence relating to above orfor investigation of anyoffence", it said.

It has been emphasised tothe agencies concerned thatstrict adherence to legal pro-visions must be ensured andevery such case of intercep-tion is placed before theReview Committee to reviewsuch cases, it said.

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While the world is respect-ing and saluting our

armed forces for the exemplarystyle in which they neutralisedterrorists and terrorism, somesection in India are doubtingour armed forces and spreadinglies about them, charged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onFriday. “The Parliament and theRadio in Pakistan are echoingthe words spoken by some ofthe political party leaders inIndia questioning our defenceforces. This is unfortunate,”said the Prime Minister whileaddressing a public meetingheld at Vivekananda College inKanyakumari on Friday.

The Prime Minister laid thefoundation stone for therestoration of the 17.2 km longrail connectivity betweenRameswaram and

Dhanushkodi which waswashed away by the tidal wavesin 1964. The �208 crore projectonce completed would ringback the moments of the BoatMail which connected Indiawith Sri Lanka by rail till theearly 1960s.

The Prime Minister alsoflagged off the Tejas Expressconnecting Madurai withChennai. The train built atIntegral Coach Factory atPerambur as part of the Makein India programme wouldcover the distance between thetwo cities in six hours and thir-ty minutes, a journey whichused to take nine hours.

The Prime Minister dedi-cated to the nation a stretch ofthe four-lane Madura-Ramanathapuram NH 87, aflyover and also the four-lanehighway between Panagudi andKanyakumari.

Addressing the mammoth

crowd which had gathered tohear him despite the scorchingsun, Prime Minister Modi paidrich tributes to AIADMKleader and former ChiefMinister J Jayalalithaa . “Peoplein Tamil Nadu would remem-ber her for her great develop-ment vision . I am also happyto be in Tamil Nadu, the homestate of India’s first womanDefence Minister NirmalaSitaraman and the home ofWing CommanderAbhinandan, the nationalhero,” said the Prime Minister

which was appreciated by thepeople. The Prime Ministerdevoted most of his speech tothe development works andpeople friendly measureslaunched and executed by hisGovernment during the last fiveyears. He listed the AyushmanBharat scheme, the world’slargest health programme forthe common man, and thePrime Minister’s KissanSamman Nidhi which enabledfarmers owning up to five acresof farm land would be eligibleto get �6,000 per year.

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Visakhapatnam: Firing freshsalvo at the Opposition, PrimeMinister Narendra Modiaccused them of indulging inpetty politics that is benefitingthe enemy and said their onlyagenda was to “remove Modi”rather than focusing on thecountry’s growth.

“It is the country’s misfor-tune during this time when thewhole world is seeking ansew-ers from Pakistan, some inIndia are giving statementsthat will weaken the morale ofthe country’s security forces,”Modi said, addressing a rallyorganised by the BJP here.

“They should introspectwhat they are talking that isbeing lauded in PakistanParliament and used to targetIndia,” he said in an apparentreference to ongoing tensionsbetween the two countries fol-lowing the February 26 airstrikes by the Indian Air Forceand Pakistan capturing an IAFpilot the next day. PTI

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Congress president RahulGandhi on Friday sought

to bring the various scamsinvolving the NDAGovernment back into the LokSabha poll agenda, by daringPrime Minister Narendra Modifor a public debate with him onthe issue of corruption.

Addressing back-to-backpublic rallies at Dhule in northMaharashtra and in Mumbai,Gandhi castigated Modi for“politicising” the ongoing con-flict with Pakistan, for his“miserable failure” to createjobs and for handing out ameasly cash assistance of Rs 17a day per farmer family underthe PM Kisan scheme.

Taking Modi head on theissue of corruption at a large pub-lic rally held at MMRDA ground,Gandhi had a caustic dig at thePrime Minister for his failure toaddress even one press confer-ence during the course of his fiveyear tenure and said: “I regular-ly address press conferences....Aap kabi desh ka chowkidar kopress ke saamne dekha hain?Inko 15 minute dedo, Merasaamne bithado. Dudh ka dudhpani pani kardenge (Have youever seen the country’s chowki-dar address the media?. Makehim sit in front of me 15 minutes,I will call his bluff)”.

“Mai Narendra Modi kochallenge deta hun. Brashtachar

ka mamle pe aap aake merasaath baat karo. Inko samnekhada kardo nahi tho meranahi tho do minute debate kardodo minute. Hindustan se bagnana pad jay mai deklunga ( I amchallenging Narendra Modi.Let him debate with me on theissue of corruption. Let me himstand in front of me standbeside me and debate with meon corruption for two minutes.I will see how he will not runaway from the country).

Responding a shout from amember in the audience “Chorbhag jayega” shout, Gandhisaid, “Darpok hain. Khada nahiho pata hain (He is scared. Hecan’t stand before me). ... Kaisaaasakta hain. Wo nahi aayega(How will he come to debatewith me? He will never come).

Gandhi, who began his25-minute speech after con-ceding to a request from theaudiences to indulge his sup-porters with “chowkidar chorhain” sloganeering, said that

“chowkidar chor bhi darpok bihain” ( Chowkidar is not mere-ly a thief but a coward)

At his earlier rally at Dhule,Gandhi went hammers andtongs at Modi over the Rafaleissue and demanded to know asto why the HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL),which had experiences of fight-er aircraft for 70 years andmade aircraft like like Mirage,Sukhoi and Jaguar, was deniedthe Rafale contract. He said thatthe Government had noanswers for the specific ques-tions raised by him inParliament and outside.

“Did Anil Ambani makeMirages or Sukhois?. For 70years HAL has been makingplanes. Anil Ambani cannoteven make paper planes,”Gandhi said.

Dubbing demonetisation asa big failure, Gandhi said: “Youstood in a queue outside banks...Did Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi,Mehul Choksi, Lalit Modi, VijayMallya stand in queues...whileyou were standing in queuesoutside banks, they were busymaking their black money intowhite on the rear side of thebanks,” he said.

“Modi ji said (before 2014elections)...do not make mePrime Minister, make me‘chowkidar’....and once hebecomes PM, he puts �30,000crore in pocket of AnilAmbani,” Gandhi said..

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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, urging him not tohand over the international airport here to a pri-vate entity.

The Adani Enterprises Ltd had emerged asthe highest bidder for managing, operating anddeveloping six airports of Airports Authority ofIndia, including that in Thiruvananthapuram,which are to be privatised.

In a letter to the PM, Vijayan demanded theairport’s operation be handed over toThiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd(TIAL) floated by the Government-run KeralaState Industrial Development Corporation. Theinterests of the Centre and the State will be pro-tected by this move, and with State backing itwill also pave way for airport’s development, hesaid. There is lot of opposition from the publicto the handing over of the airport’s functioningto a private entity, he said, adding that the samecompany has got the bids for all six airports inthe country. About 23.57 acres of land was givenfor free to the airport for developing it in 2005on the condition that the cost of the land wouldbe converted to Government equity if a com-pany was formed to manage it, he said. PTI

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Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Friday extended her

“welcome” greetings to fighter pilotAbhinandan Varthaman even as thecountry celebrated his glorious returnto India after two days’ captivity inPakistan where his fighter aircraft Mig21 Bison had crashed after shootingdown a much superior enemy jet F-16that had intruded into the India terri-tory in Jammu & Kashmir.

Banerjee who had on Thursdayexpressed concern about the bravefighter’s wellbeing, while duringPakistani custody on Friday tweeted,“welcome back AbhinandanVarthaman.”

Meanwhile, in a move to secure theLine of Actual Control in the easternHimalayas the Indian Army had decid-ed to move the XVII Mountain StrikeCorps to its designated headquarters atPanagarh in Bengal from where it canbe quickly airlifted to selected regionsup in the mountains.

The move comes against the war-like situation between India andPakistan, sources said adding the XVIIMountain Corps also known as theBramhastra Corps which was raised inJanuary 2014 for specialized actions in

the eastern mountains could be movedto a designated point in the easternmountains within an hour fromPanagarh.

Earlier, Lieutenant General MNNaravane, the GOC-in-C EasternCommand had visited Panagarh andmet with Brahmastra Corps com-manding officer Lt General PN Rao.

“Eastern Command Army com-mander visited Panagarh MilitaryStation on Wednesday. He was receivedby Lieutenant General PN Rao, GOC,Brahmastra Corps. The Corps whichwas raised at Ranchi will shortly beshifting to Panagarh.

“The Army Commander reviewedthe security situation and operationalpreparedness of the formation. Heemphasised on the need for remainingready at all times to meet the emergingsecurity challenges,” said a statementfrom the Eastern Command.

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Railway Minister PiyushGoyal on Friday released a

booklet on the five-yearachievements of the ministriesunder his charge. Highlightingthe achievements and initia-tives of the Ministry ofRailways, he said it made safe-ty the foremost priority andachieved its best ever safetyrecord in 2018-19.

Goyal said, “There hasbeen 81per cent drop in num-ber of deaths from 152 in2013-14 to 29 up to January 31,2019. This is a result of holis-tic efforts taken by the ministryincluding eliminating‘Unmanned Level Crossings’(UMLCs) on Broad Gauge net-work. Rashtriya Rail SanrakshaKosh (RRSK) fund of �1 lakhcrore has been created for safe-ty expenditure”.

Goyal reiterated that thefocused approach of theGovernment in last five yearshas materialised various projectsfor the benefit of the nation andpeople. He urged the people ofthe country to put their sug-gestions in the popular Mann Ki

Baat show for taking up furtherdevelopmental projects.

He added there has been aquantum leap in capital expen-diture. Total capital expenditurebetween 2014-19 is �5.1 lakhcrore which is more than dou-ble of total expenditure during2009-14, he said.

“The Railways is connectingIndia at a faster pace with a 59per cent increase in the averagepace of commissioning NewLine / Doubling / 3rd and 4thline projects from 4.1 km during2009-14 per day to 6.53 km perday during 2014-18,” he added.

Goyal said that aspirationsof the people of North Eastwere fulfilled with completionof 4.94 Kms long BogibeelBridge, longest rail-cum-roadbridge in India. Now, journeyfrom Itanagar to Dibrugarh isonly 180 Kms, reducing thetravel time from 24 hours toonly 5 hours.

Commuter travel in urbanIndia has been given suffi-cient attention. BangaloreSuburban System is beingdeveloped with ongoing pro-jects worth more than �15,700Crore, he said adding that this

will benefit about 15 lakh com-muters.

“Mumbai SuburbanSystems is also being mod-ernised with ongoing projectsworth more than �70,000 Cr,which will benefit about 75lakh commuters,” he said.

Talking about VandeBharat Express, he said “India’sfirst high-tech, energy-effi-cient, self-propelled train is aprime example of the success ofMake in India movement. Thistrain will be proliferated acrossIndia and also exported glob-ally, he said.

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Mathura: The mortal remains of an Indian AirForce (IAF) officer, who was killed in a heli-copter crash in Jammu & Kashmir’s Budgamdistrict, were consigned to the flames in UttarPradesh’s Mathura district on Friday.

The body of IAF officer Pankaj Nauhar wastaken to the residence of his father, retiredSubedar Major Nobat Singh, in Mathura town,said District Magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra.

He was taken to his native village in Mantarea for cremation. Rudra, the 16-month-oldson of Pankaj, lit the pyre with family membersbeside him. A massive crowed gathered at thefuneral amid chanting of slogans.

UP Minister Laxmi Narain Chaudhary,Mathura MP Hema Malini, RLD leader JayantChaudhary were among those present.

The widow of Nauhar was given a chequeof Rs 25 lakh by Uttar Pradesh Minister LaxmiNarain Chaudhary on behalf of the StateGovernment. A cheque of Rs 5 lakh was alsogiven by the Minister to the IAF officer’s father.

The Minister said a member of Nauhar’sfamily would be given a Government job alsoand land. PTI

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Shillong: A team of rescuersfrom the Navy And Army onFriday announced to leave theoperation site in Meghalaya'sEast Jaintia Hills district after 60days of searching the 15 min-ers trapped in a 370 feet-deepillegal coal mine.

The Navy and the Armyinformed local authoritiesabout their decision to pack upand leave the operation ondirection from their higher-ups,operations spokesperson RSusngi said.

However, the NationalDisaster Response Force(NDRF), which has beenengaged in the rescue operationsince the day of the tragedy onDecember 13 last, will contin-ue with their services.

"There is no instruction forus to wind up the operation andwe will continue with ourwork," Santosh Singh, AssistantCommandant of Guwahati-based NDRF team, told PTIFriday from the site.

The Navy will be going

back on Saturday, the opera-tions spokesperson said, addingthe Army will also pack up andleave on receiving a directionfrom the higher authority.

The Navy and Army per-sonnel along with rescuers ofthe NDRF had so far detectedfive bodies deep inside themine and retrieved two ofthem, officials said.

The Navy arrived at theaccident site at Ksan area ofLumthari village on December31 last and lately operated theirunderwater remotely operatedvehicle (ROV) to search theholes 24/7.

The district authority con-gratulated and saluted theefforts, dedication and thetremendous contribution ofthe agencies in the two month-long rescue operation for thetrapped miners at Ksan.

District DeputyCommissioner F M Dopth alsoconveyed his deepest gratitude.

On Thursday, the secondbody was handed over to the

relatives from Lumthari vil-lage, Susngi said. The highlydecomposed body was identi-fied by his family membersfrom the clothes he wore, hesaid.

The companies involvedin discharging water from themines, including the Coal IndiaLtd, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd andKSB dewatered over 1 crorelitres every day, he said.

The operation to rescue theminers is one of the longest inthe country and involved mul-tiple agencies, including theNavy, Army, NDRF amongothers.

The family members ofeach of the 15 miners have beengiven �1 lakh interim relief eachby the district authorities.

The mine disaster hadshocked the nation. Mediareports highlighted the cash-rich illegal coal mining in EastJaintia Hills district ofMeghalaya in violation of a banimposed by the National GreenTribunal in 2014. PTI

Shillong: Eight Bangladeshiwomen and a man, who ille-gally crossed the border, werearrested by BSF personnel inMeghalaya's South West KhasiHills district, officials said onFriday.

The Bangladeshis, whowere caught on February 25,were handed over to theauthorities of the neighbouringcountry by the Border SecurityForce as a goodwill gesture thenext day, they said.

The illegal immigrants hadcrossed the InternationalBorder on Monday through anunfenced area to visit a week-ly market, which is about 30km away, the BSF said.

Acting on inputs receivedthat a group of Bangladeshishad crossed over, the BSF teamdeployed at Kaithakona carriedout intensive search, friskingand checking of vehicularmovement along the border, aBSF spokesperson said.

In the process, theBangladesh nationals — onemale and eight females — en-route to the Khanjoy marketwere apprehended, he said.

Vegetables and fishesseized from them were hand-ed over to the Border GuardsBangladesh (BGB) with thepersons, the official said.

The BSF personnelrequested the BGB to presscharges against them for cross-ing the International Borderwithout valid documents, hesaid. PTI

Srinagar: PDP presidentMehbooba Mufti on Fridaycondemned the Centre's deci-sion to ban the Jamaat-e-IslamiJammu & Kashmir, saying itwas another example of "mus-cular approach" of the centralgovernment to deal with apolitical issue of the state.

"Democracy is a battle ofideas, crackdown followed bybanning of Jammat Islami (JK)is condemnable, another exam-ple of high handedness andmuscular approach of GOI todeal with political issue ofJ&k," the former chief minister

said in a tweet.The Centre Thursday

banned the Jamaat-e-IslamiJammu & Kashmir for fiveyears under anti-terror law ongrounds that it was "in closetouch" with militant outfits andis expected to "escalate seces-sionist movement" in the state.

A notification, banning thegroup under the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,was issued by the UnionMinistry of Home Affairs aftera high-level meeting on secu-rity, chaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. PTI

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Nagaon: Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal on Fridaysaid the State Government hasundertaken implementation ofinfrastructure development,water supply and beautificationprojects to the tune of �650crore in Guwahati, Nagaon,Dibrugarh and Silchar.

The projects are part ofAtal Mission for Rejuvenationand Urban Transformation(AMRUT), the Chief Ministersaid.

Sonowal said this whilelaying foundation stones for awater supply project, renova-tion work of three recreation-al parks and installation ofhigh mast LED lights atNagaon town on Friday.

The development schemes

under AMRUT would benefit28,000 families of Nagaontown, Sonowal said.

He also came down heav-ily against the oppositionCongress "for its 55 years ofmisgovernance in the state".

A large number of projectsare being implemented forimproving infrastructure andbeautification of all the 98towns of the state, he said.

Under the BJP-led govern-ments at the Centre and state,thrust has been given on imple-mentation of development pro-jects, which has broughtremarkable transformation inthe country in recent years, hesaid. As many as nine projects,to the tune of over �1,500crore, would be dedicated to the

state by Union Minister forPetroleum and Natural Gas,Dharmendra Pradhan, inGuwahati, Sonowal said.

He also said that the UnionCabinet gave its approval forconstruction of a new bridgeover river Brahmaputra forconnecting Dhubri withPhulbari, with a budget outlayof �5,000 crore.

"It is a strong testimony ofPrime Minister NarendraModi's unparallel commitmenttowards development of theState," he said. He observedthat financial allocation of �14lakh crore in the Budget lastyear, for improving rural liveli-hood and economy, hasbrought distinctive positivechange in the villages. PTI

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Panaji: The ruling BJP Fridayrejected the Congress's demandto cancel carnival festivities inGoa in the wake of the prevail-ing tension between India andPakistan, saying the country isnot in a state of war.

Goa Carnival is one of themost popular and much- await-ed annual cultural festivals inthe coastal state.

This year, the four-day fes-tival, a huge tourist attractionmarked by song, dance and dis-play of colourful floats, willbegin Saturday.

Goa Pradesh CongressCommittee president GirishChodankar had demanded thatcarnival festivities be cancelled

due to the ongoing tension onthe Indo-Pak border.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, Power Minister andGoa BJPspokesman NileshCabral said the country is notin a state of war to cancel anevent like carnival. "We are notin a state of war. If we were ina state of war then it (thedemand to cancel the event)could have been considered,"Cabral said. "But now we(India)are in a commanding position.The armed forces are properlylooking after us," he said,adding festivities like theKumbh Mela at Prayagraj arestill on and they should not bestopped. PTI

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Kota (R'than): Two gangs ofalleged motorcycle thieves werebusted and five people arrest-ed in Rajasthan's Bundi districton Friday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off aboutsome suspected youths insearch of customers to pur-chase motorbikes, the policecarried out a raid in Dablanaarea.

Three persons — Harpreetalias Siddhu (24), MahavirMali (45) and Murlidhar Gujjar(35) — were arrested and sixmotorbikes were recovered,said Deputy Superintendentof Police (DSP) SamandarChampawat. PTI

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Ahmedabad: A young hus-band-wife duo allegedlyjumped into a well at a villagein Wadhwan taluka ofSurendranagar district alongwith their two-month-oldchild, following which allthree died, police said onFriday.

Although the incidentcame to light on Friday, policesuspect that the couple hadapparently jumped into thewell a few days back.

"The bodies of the coupleand their baby were recoveredfrom a well near Baldana vil-lage in Wadhwan taluka today.They were missing since

February 24," Wadhwan policeinspector H R Jethi said.

The deceased were iden-tified as Nanka Sapania (20),his wife Puniben (19) andtheir son Sahil, he said.

Police investigation hasrevealed that the deceasedwere tribals and hailed fromAlirajpur district of MadhyaPradesh. The couple had beenworking as farm labourers atBaldana village for some time.

In his statement to police,Nanka's father Kaliyabhaiclaimed that the couple hadleft the farm on February 24saying that they would returnin some days.

"However, when they didnot return within thepromised time, Kaliyabhailaunched a search and finallyfound their bodies in the welltoday. Preliminary probe hasrevealed that the couplejumped into the well alongwith their son after tyingthemselves with a rope," Jethisaid.

He said that police weretrying to ascertain the reasonbehind their extreme step.

A case of accidental deathhas been registered, the offi-cer said adding that the casewill be investigated from allangles. PTI

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Hailakandi: Assam's Hailakandidistrict has shot up to numberone from the 52nd position,among the aspirational districtsof the country, a new reportreleased by the Niti Aayog said.

Hailakandi ranked firstamong the 112 aspirational dis-tricts of India on the basis of itsperformance during November-December 2018 and January2019, an official release said.

Deputy commissioners ofthe awarded districts have beeninvited to New Delhi on March6 at a conference on SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDG),where they would receive addi-

tional allocation on the basis ofthe rankings, it said.

"Aspirational districtHailakandi will be given anadditional allocation of Rs 10crore for securing first rank,"District Assistant CommissionerParikshit Phurkan said.

During the June-October2018 ranking, Hailakandi dis-trict was placed at the bottom ofthe rung of aspirational districts,the release said. The thenDeputy Commissioner AdilKhan had said that proper sur-vey was not possible as mostparts of the district were reelingunder floods in June. PTI

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Srinagar: Former Jammu &Kashmir Minister and seniorPeoples Democratic Party(PDP) leader QaziMohammad Afzal died due toprolonged illness on Friday.He was 76.

"With heavy heart we announce the tragicdemise of our Senior leader & Ex-Cabinet Minister Qazi Mohammed AfzalSahab," the PDP announcedon Twitter.

Afzal was admitted at theSKIMS hospital here, wherehe breathed his last at around8.00 pm, doctors said.

Afzal shot to fame after hedefeated then NationalConference president OmarAbdullah from Ganderbalassembly segment in the 2002assembly elections.

"His contributionstowards the party & the peo-ple of this state have beenimmense. We pray for eternalpeace to his departed soul &strength to the bereaved fam-ily," the PDP said.

Although he was a first-time MLA, Afzal was given acabinet berth in the PDP-Congress coalit ionGovernment that was headedby Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Afzal unsuccessfully con-tested the 2008 and 2014assembly elections as a PDPcandidate. PTI

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Kanyakumari (TN): NarendraModi has taken the "Narasimhaavatar", Tamil Nadu DeputyChief Minister OPanneerselvam said on Friday,likening him to the incarnationof Lord Vishnu as he and ChiefMinister K Palaniswami show-ered praise on the PrimeMinister for 'decimating' ter-rorists in Pakistan in air strikes.

Panneerselvam said Modidid not buckle under the threatof terrorism and instead hadtaken the "Narasimha avatar", areference to Hindu faith inwhich Lord Vishnu takes theferocious incarnation in theform of human body with thehead of a lion to destroy demonking Hiranyakasibu.

"Without buckling underthe threat of terrorism of theneighbouring country, Moditook Narasimha avatar anddecimated hundreds of terror-ists which the world lauded," hesaid at a function here wherethe Prime Minister dedicated tothe nation various highwayand railway projects in TamilNadu.

He was referring to India'sFebruary 26 pre-dawn airstrikes on a terror camp inPakistan days after the killing of40 CRPF jawans by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber

in Jammu and Kashmir.The Deputy Chief Minister

praised Modi for his "strongand steadfast leadership," in bat-tling external threats in a boldand decisive manner without awink of sleep.

Such resolute steps were awarning signal to countriesthat supported terrorism, henoted.

Speaking after his deputy,Palaniswami hailed Modi forbold and decisive measures toroot out terrorism.

"On behalf of the people ofTamil Nadu, I thank the PrimeMinister for the bold and deci-sive measures to root out ter-rorism, which is threatening theworld and the successful airstrike to decimate the terroristcamps."

"Entire country and TamilNadu stands behind you," theChief Minister said referring toModi. This is the first time, thetop two leaders of the AIADMKjoined the Prime Minister in anofficial event after their partyinked a poll pact with BJP onFeb 19 for the coming LokSabha elections.

The Chief Minister alsothanked Modi for his effectivediplomatic steps to bring backWing Commander Abhinandansafely to India. PTI

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Jaipur: The Rajasthan con-sumer commission on Fridayimposed a penalty of �48 lakhon a private hospital after anewborn had lost eyesight dueto medical negligence.

A bench of Kamal KumarBagri and Meena Mehta gavethe order on a plea by AnupYadav against SanjeevaniHospital in Kotputli town —around 110 km north of Jaipur.

Yadav's son was born pre-

mature and the hospital staffgave oxygen more than the pre-scribed limit, which contract-ed the retina of the eyes and ledto blindness. Family membersconsulted other doctors but theproblem was declared untreat-able, a statement said.

The bench found the hos-pital guilty of negligence andordered the hospital manage-ment to pay �48 lakh as com-pensation to the family. PTI

1�������������:;���������� �������������� Mumbai: Akil Lakdawala,

brother of fugitive gangster EjazLakdawala, has been arrested forallegedly trying to extort moneyfrom a builder here, a seniorpolice official said on Friday.

Ejaz Lakdawala had beencalling several builders in thewestern suburbs since Decemberand demanding `protectionmoney', he said. On February 26,a builder approached the anti-extortion cell of Mumbai Policeand lodged a complaint againstthe gangster. PTI

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Bengaluru: Karnataka BJPpresident B S Yeddyurappa onFriday urged the party workersto live up to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s expectation ofwinning 300 seats in the com-ing Lok Sabha elections bywinning all the 28 seats fromthe state alone.

“We have to live up to theexpectation of Modiji by win-ning more than 300 seats andhence, we have to win all the 28seats in Karnataka.

This is the responsibility wehave,” said Yeddyurappa in hisaddress to the ‘pramukhs’(heads) of 10 Shakti Kendras inthe run-up to the parliamen-tary polls.

He also asked the partycadres to serve as full-timeworkers just as Modi has beendoing ever since he assumedoffice.

Giving a clarion call for“Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot”,the party’s slogan to the grass-roots level workers for aggres-sive campaigning ahead of theelections, Yeddyurappa saidthe election dates could beannounced any time soon.

He reminded ShaktiKendra ‘pramukhs’ that theprime minister had a vision tosee India as a superpower in the

world.Hence, it was the respon-

sibility of all the party workersto put in all their efforts tomake him the prime ministeragain, he added.

“Prime Minister Modi didnot take rest for even a singleday in the last four and halfyears. You have noticed that heis toiling hard to make Indiaand the party stronger,”Yeddyurappa told the partyworkers.

Hailing MiG-21 pilotAbhinandan Varthaman whodisplayed extraordinary val-our, Yeddyurappa said Pakistanagreed to release him followinga warning by Modi to safelyhand over him to India with-out a delay for a second, or elsethey will face the consequences.

Yeddyurappa had comeunder fire Thursday for hisstatement that the IAF’s pre-emptive strike inside Pakistanterritory would help the partysecure at least 22 out of 28 seatsin Karnataka. PTI

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The Punjab Land Preservation(Haryana Amendment) Act(PLPA), passed recently by theHaryana Legislative Assembly, hasunderstandably alarmed those

who care for the ecology of the very large partof the Aravalli hills that fall in Haryana. ThePLPA was enacted in 1900 to “preserve” landin undivided Punjab by curbing activities likethe felling of trees for timber, quarrying forrocks, agriculture, herding and other pastoralpreoccupations on land notified under it. TheAct disallowed all human activity that couldaffect the availability of sub-surface water, alterthe landscape, lead to biodiversity loss andother unpredictable consequences.

Section 3A of the amended Act states thatthe provisions of the PLPA would not applyto “the lands included in the final develop-ment plans, any other town improvementplans or schemes published under the pro-visions of” Acts listed under the Section. Theamended Act would throw open almost30,000 hectares of land to a wide range ofactivities, particularly construction and min-ing. The impact would be all the more dev-astating because its provisions would apply,“except unless expressly provided,” retrospec-tively from November 1, 1966, when Haryanacame into being, and provide legal cover toall activities, some of them subjects of law-suits, which were clearly in violation of theprovisions of the Act prior to its amendment.

There arises here the question of the KantEnclave, a residential colony in Faridabad. TheSupreme Court had, in the matter of MCMehta Vs Union of India & Others, orderedits demolition on September 11, 2018, on theground that it was built on forest land. Thecase raised a critical issue — whether in theState of Haryana, land notified under the pro-visions of the Punjab Land Preservation Act,1900, was forest land or was it required to betreated as forest land? The Supreme Court hadanswered in the affirmative. Also, by an orderon December 12, 1996, the Supreme Courthad directed that the Centre’s prior approvalwas necessary for any non-forest activity with-in a “forest” and that any ongoing activitywithout that must cease forthwith.

One will have to watch how the imple-mentation of the amended Act proceeds inthe context of the various orders passed bythe country’s apex court and how it impactsthe suits being heard under the provisions ofthe PLPA. Meanwhile, one needs to point outthat its impact on the environment in the areasaround the Aravalli and Shivalik ranges, thatfall within Haryana, will be devastating. Theseconstitute a critical ecological and biodiver-sity zone that has nearly 400 species of plantsand is home to 200 species of native andmigratory birds. A huge part of the wildlifehabitat between Asola and Damdama couldbe destroyed, leading to the extinction of localwildlife of which there is a variety — leop-ards, wolves, hyenas, jackals, porcupines, mon-goose, civets, jungle cats, rhesus macaque andso on. There has been an increase in the pres-

ence of all these species, partic-ularly after the closure of mines.They will now be forced outagain.

There will be other conse-quences. Construction and min-ing activity in the Aravalli areaand the dust generated by it isbound to increase air pollutionnot only in the adjacent areas buteven in Delhi, the national cap-ital, where things are very grimalready and where the situationgets particularly bad in the peri-od between October and Januaryevery year. According to aresearch paper published by theMinistry of Earth Sciences inOctober, 2018, 21 per cent ofDelhi’s PM2.5 (particulate mat-ter smaller than 2.5 micron) airpollution is caused by the pres-ence of dust.

The result? The least seriousafflictions include breathless-ness, coughing, sneezing, con-striction inside the chest, allergyand aggravation of asthma. Theserious illnesses includeischaemic heart disease(ischaemic stroke) and cere-brovascular disease (haemor-rhagic stroke), chronic obstruc-tive pulmonary disease and res-piratory infections. Besides, astudy by researchers at ColumbiaUniversity’s Mailman School ofPublic Health shows that peopleliving in areas with high pollutionlevels are more likely to havebone fractures as a result of osteo-porosis.

Air pollution has been iden-tified as the fifth biggest cause ofmortality in India. Further,according to studies, as many asan estimated 10,000 people dieprematurely in Delhi every yearas a result of air pollution, andresidents could live for an addi-tional nine years if Delhi metWorld Health Organisation’s airquality standards.

Concern over the alarminglevels of air pollution in Delhi wasvoiced by the Supreme Court,which on October 24, 2018,expressed shock over the disap-pearance of 31 hills in the Aravallirange in Rajasthan and asked theState Government to stop all ille-gal mining in an area, measuring115.34 hectares, within 48 hours.The Bench of Justices Madan BLokur and Deepak Guptareferred to the huge amount theRajasthan Government wasearning from mining activities inthe Aravalli, but said thatnotwithstanding this, it could notendanger the lives of lakhs ofpeople as the disappearance ofthe hills could be one of the rea-sons for the rise in the pollutionlevel in Delhi-National CapitalRegion. It directed Rajasthan’schief secretary to file an affidavitregarding compliance of its orderwithin a week.

The assault on the Aravalli inHaryana and Rajasthan under-lines the growing tendency to pri-oritise development in terms ofindustry and infrastructure over

the environment and animalhabitats. The UttarakhandGovernment’s decision to builda highway through the CorbettNational Park is an example. Itsconstruction and the plying ofvehicular traffic through it willhave disastrous consequencesfor wildlife, particularly tigers.Another is the MaharashtraGovernment’s diversion last yearof 467.5 forest land in Yavatmaldistrict for a cement plant.Further, its recommendation hasled to the clearance, in principle,of the grant of 87.98 hectares ofland in Kondhali andKalmeshwar ranges to an explo-sives company in Chakdoh formanufacturing defence prod-ucts. Worse, the land earmarkedbeing reportedly in the tigercorridor between Bor andMelghat tiger reserves, the facto-ry would prevent the move-ment of tigers between the two.

This alarming tendencymentioned will cause irreparabledamage to the country’s environ-ment unless reversed. That canhappen only if a strong resistanceis mounted. The sterling roleplayed by the judiciary, theprotests against constructing theroad through Corbett, andHaryana’s PLPA amendmentAct, are heartening but theprotests need to become muchlarger for politicians to listen.

(The writer is ConsultantEditor, The Pioneer, and anauthor)

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Encashing Pulwama” (March1). Even as a war-like situationwas developing with Pakistan,political parties in India lost noopportunity to milk the issue forelectoral gains. The first in linewas the ruling BJP, which left nostone unturned to exploit thePulwama attack and the counterair strikes in Pakistan. It seemedto have taken all the credit forevery action taken in response tothe attack. It is quite bizarre thateven before the wounds of the 44jawans killed in the Pulwamaattack had healed, the tempo ofelectioneering picked up as if thevolatile electorate might forget theGovernment’s bravado.

It is too early to foretell theturn of the electoral wind but onething can be said that the valourof Prime Minister Modi as shownin the air strike and the success-ful release of Wing CommanderAbhinandan is being used as aweapon to thrash the alreadyfragmented opposition. ThePulwama development looks god-send at least for the BJP.

Rajendra Prasad SinghDelhi

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Sir — Pakistan-based MasoodAzhar’s terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), openly tookresponsibility for the Pulwama ter-ror attack on a Central ReservePolice Force convoy. It was confi-dent that as in the past, the IndianGovernment would not go beyondlodging protests and calling sup-

port of the global community. But this time, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi was determinedfor decisive action. Terming thePulwama attack a very big mis-take by those who committed it,he gave a free hand to the Armyto choose the time, place andstrategy to avenge.

JeM and its patron, thePakistani establishment, couldhave never dreamt of what was in

store for them. In the early hourson February, 26, 12 IAF Mirage2000 fighter planes took off fromvarious air bases in India andcompletely demolished JeM’sbiggest training camp at Balakotand two others in Pakistan andreturned safely.

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan threatened Indiawith retaliation though the IndianAir Force, in a limited non-mil-

itary action, had only targettedterrorist training camps onPakistan’s soil. On February 27,Pakistani Air Force fighter planescrossed the Line of Control andtargetted four Indian militaryestablishments but missed the tar-get. Pakistan has always been indenial mode whenever it isaccused of turbo-charging terror-ists. It has committed a blunderby targetting Indian militaryestablishments.

MC JoshiLucknow

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Sir — Now that WingCommander AbhinandanVarthaman is back, India mustpress the international communi-ty on the need for consensus oncombating terrorism. Withoutany doubt, world opinion isinclined towards India. India musttake advantage of this. As expect-ed, Pakistan is eager to engage inpeace talks with India. Revivingtalks can help ease the situation.

AnandVia email

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India and Pakistan joined the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO) as full mem-ber states during its June 8-9, 2017 summit in

Astana, Kazakhstan. Before the addition of the twoSouth Asian nations, the SCO consisted of China,Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan andKyrgyzstan. The now eight-member SCO also hasfour observer states, including Afghanistan and sixdialogue partners, including Sri Lanka. In total andtogether, they constitute much of the Asian geog-raphy with a population of over three billion peo-ple. The foundational purpose of SCO as the largestinter-governmental organisation in the world is tostrengthen mutual trust and promote good neigh-bourly relations among member states. This is tobe achieved through gradual but consistent effortsby SCO member states to engage in multi-facetedcooperation to advance their collective and com-mon interest in the sustainable human and protec-tive security of the SCO space. Parallel to this, theSCO seeks to establish a more democratic and ratio-nal world order.

Because sustainable peace makes sustainabledevelopment possible in Asia and the rest of theworld, the SCO summits continue emphasisingthe importance of results-driven security coop-eration among its member states, observer statesand dialogue partners. The addition of India andPakistan was widely welcomed as a significantopportunity for the SCO to address lingering secu-rity threats of terrorism, extremism and separatismin South and Central Asia. Same intertwinedthreats have provided an enabling environmentfor organised criminality, while also deepeningpoverty that denies the youthful populations ofAsia the socio-economic opportunities and facil-ities they need to contribute to the sustainabledevelopment and peace of their individual nationsand collectively to those of the rest of Asia.

That is why Chinese President Xi Jinping at the18th SCO Summit in Qingdao called on the SCO’sexpanded membership to move from talk toaction. He stated: “We need to actively implementthe 2019-2021 programme of cooperation for com-bating ‘the three evil forces of terrorism, separatismand extremism;’ continue to conduct the ‘peace mis-sion’ and other joint counter-terrorismexercises…We need to give full play to the role ofSCO-Afghanistan Contact Group to facilitatepeace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.”

President Xi added, “Countries are increasing-ly inter-dependent today… confronted with manycommon threats and challenges that no one cantackle alone. Only by enhancing solidarity and part-nership, will we be able to achieve lasting stabilityand development.” Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi, who addressed the summit as a newly admit-ted member state, echoed his Chinese counterpart,floating the concept of ‘secure’ to underpin the workof SCO: ‘S’ for security for citizens, ‘E’ for econom-ic development, ‘C’ for connectivity in the region,‘U’ for unity, ‘R’ for respect of sovereignty and ‘E’for environmental protection. He highlightedinstability in Afghanistan as an “unfortunate effectof terrorism”, noting: “I hope the brave steps towardspeace taken by President Ghani will be respectedby all in the region.”

Moreover, Russian President Vladimir Putinwelcomed the accession of India and Pakistan to theSCO. He stressed that “countering terrorism

remains the priority for cooperationwithin the SCO”, underlining that thethree-year programme of action, adopt-ed at the 18th Summit, “envisions hold-ing joint drills and counter-terror oper-ations, streamlining a closer exchange ofexperience and operational information.”He also encouraged the SCO YouthCouncil to “actively participate in the workon preventing the recruitment of youngpeople to participate in terrorist activities.”

Building on these and other state-ments from the SCO member states, call-ing for quick and concrete action to fightand eliminate terrorism, the CentralMilitary Commission of Russia conduct-ed a six-day joint military exercise fromAugust 22-29, 2018, in ChelyabinskOblast, Russia. The joint exercise was ini-tiated by the Regional Anti-TerroristStructure of SCO (RATS-SCO), whichincluded tactical operations with a focuson strengthening counter-terrorism andcounter-insurgency preparedness, coor-dination and cooperation among theSCO member states. Around 3,000 sol-diers, including 748 from China, 167from India and 110 from Pakistan, par-ticipated in the joint drill.

Indeed, for India and Pakistan, it wastheir first such joint military exercise sincetheir independence in 1947. And thisraised much hopes about the prospect ofthe two countries participating in the‘Peace Mission 2018’ and future ones tomove beyond decades of routine skirmish-es along the Line of Control and to beginbuilding inter-military confidence throughSCO measures, thereby easing tensionsbetween the two nations. Commenting onthis shortly before the joint exercise, SunZhuangzhi, a professor at the ChineseAcademy of Social Sciences, told theGlobal Times, “It is a rare opportunity forPakistan and India, which have long been

involved in military conflict, to enhancemilitary exchanges and trust. This couldimprove regional stability.”

Contrary to these expectations,however, a rapid escalation of violencebetween India and Pakistan sinceFebruary 14, 2019, has been a cause forserious concern in the SCO neighbor-hood and the rest of the world. OnFebruary 14, Pakistan-based terroristgroup, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), car-ried out and later claimed a suicide attackon a bus, carrying Indian CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) personnelin Pulwama district of Jammu &Kashmir. The attack killed 44 CRPF men.This unprovoked act of terrorism wasinternationally condemned with calls onPakistan to rid its soil of terrorist net-works and to dismantle their supportinfrastructure, including safe havensand training facilities. India promisedretaliation and, on February 26, conduct-ed surgical air strikes that hit “thebiggest training camp of JeM in Balakot,Pakistan.” Many militants under train-ing at the camp are reportedly to havebeen killed by India’s air strikes.

Although the international commu-nity has called for restraint by India andPakistan and de-escalation of tensionsbetween them, now is the time for theSCO’s founding member states to act ontheir often-stated common objectives torestore, ensure and maintain peace, secu-rity and stability in the SCO space. In thelast SCO Summit, President Putin empha-sised that one of the SCO’s key prioritieswas to assist “in the political and diplo-matic settlement of conflicts near theexternal borders of the organisation’smember states.”

Any escalatory moves by India andPakistan could lead to the breakout of alarger conflict with far-reaching implica-

tions within the SCO’s own borders. Theorganisation should lose no time inengaging with the two countries to havethem refrain from further retaliatory mea-sures in favour of returning to direct dia-logue for a resolution of mounting ten-sions caused by recent developments.

While this should be SCO’s immedi-ate goal, the RATS-SCO should be taskedto identify and assess the presence ofmajor terrorist groups and their supportinfrastructure throughout the SCO region.Then it should map out a results-orient-ed counter-terrorism plan of action foradoption by the SCO member states,whose counter-terrorism efforts theRATS-SCO should verify to ensure no dis-tinction between and among terroristgroups. In other words, verification byRATS-SCO should expose for correctionduplicitous counter-terrorism policies,which remain an impediment to effectivecounter-terrorism in South Asia.

As President Ashraf Ghani said whilecondemning the February 14 terroristattack in India, “terrorism is a cancer inthe region and requires collective effortsto root it out.” The SCO can and shouldinitiate to lead a collective, region-widecampaign to fight and eliminate the can-cer before it spreads in multiple destruc-tive ways throughout the SCO region.

Afghanistan has done more than alion’s share in fighting terrorism withregional and transnational roots. Ourfull accession to the SCO will onlyenable us to do a lot more, helping ourneighbours, including India, Pakistan,China, Russia and Iran, address theintertwined threats of terrorism,extremism and criminality.

(The writer is the Ambassador ofAfghanistan to Sri Lanka as well as SeniorInternational Security Fellow at the NewAmerica in Washington, DC)

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During Prime Minister NarendraModi’s recent visit to SouthKorea, both countries signed

seven agreements to enhance cooper-ation in key areas, including infrastruc-ture development, media, start-ups andcombating trans-border terrorism andinternational crime. Health could havebeen yet another possible area ofcooperation as India has much to learnfrom South Korea, which has over 30years of experience in implementing theNational Health Insurance Service(NHIS) scheme that covers its entirepopulation (almost). Currently, Indiais at the initial stages of rolling out theworld’s largest hospital insurance pro-gramme, the Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojana (PM-JAY), for the poor

and the vulnerable. Some of the chal-lenges faced by PM-JAY are not verydifferent from those faced by SouthKorea. The way it dealt with the issuesholds useful lessons for India. A lot canbe learnt on how to save the self-employed deal from vested interests,generate necessary intel from claimsdata and integrate different schemescovering different population sub-groups. This article will, however,focus on covering the self-employed orthe non-poor in unorganised sector.

About NHIS: South Korea, now anadvanced nation, was a middle-incomecountry when its NHIS achieved nearuniversal population coverage in 1989.In 1977, Korea made social healthinsurance mandatory for its employees(including dependents) of large corpo-rations. It was gradually extended toother organised sector workers (includ-ing dependents). However, in 1989,NHIS, with identical benefit package,was extended to the self-employed (andtheir families). In terms of funding, itis a contributory scheme for all organ-ised sector employees, wherein bothemployer and employee contributetowards insurance premiums.

For the self-employed, theGovernment partly tax-subsidises pre-mium. In addition to contributingtowards premium, all insured membershave to make co-payments at the timeof seeking care. These co-paymentsvary, depending on the level of health-care provider (from physician clinics totertiary hospital). For the poor, whoaccount for a small share (3 per cent to5 per cent) of the population, theGovernment fully subsidises premiumand co-payment rates, which are sig-nificantly smaller or nil. NHIS has awell-defined benefit package that cov-ers curative care (including outpatientcare), diagnosis, emergencies, pharma-ceuticals, health check-ups and the like.During 2000, the Government integrat-ed different schemes, each having a sep-arate risk pool into a single scheme witha single risk pool.

South Korea’s experience in imple-menting NHIS will be useful for Indiaeven though the context is different.While India has social health insurancefor a majority of its organised sectoremployees, it is seeking to provide freehospital care for the bottom 40 per centof the population through PM-JAY. For

the non-poor households, working inthe unorganised sector, private volun-tary health insurance is the only option.

Covering the self-employed — thewhy and how: South Korea is an excel-lent example of how premiums fromnon-poor households in the unorgan-ised sector can be leveraged to mobiliseadditional funding for the health sec-tor. This is particularly important in acontext where public health spendinghas been low and ‘sticky’, which is trueof India. Moreover, the Korean expe-rience informs us that there are poten-tial risks for not bringing this sectionof the population under the healthinsurance programme.

In South Korea, extending NHISto the self-employed was necessitateddue to rising inequity in the amountspaid by the insured and the uninsured.Under NHIS, reimbursement rates tothe health care providers were regulat-ed. As these rates were restrictive, healthcare providers were prompted to chargehigher rates to the uninsured, which ledto increasing inequity in the amountspaid by the two groups. There wereother factors at work, too, notably polit-ical considerations that led to the

inclusion of NHIS in campaign agen-da and rising economic prosperity thatimproved the ability of the self-employed to pay insurance premium.Insuring the self-employed broughtwith it challenges of deciding contribu-tion levels, enrolling/collecting contri-butions and administering benefits.South Korea responded to these chal-lenges well.

India will soon be confrontedwith the issue of divergence in the reim-bursement rates paid to hospitals andones charged by hospitals to the non-insured. This divergence will be signif-icant even if the non-poor unorganisedworkers were to participate in privatevoluntary health insurance. This is like-ly to become untenable sooner thananticipated. Unlike South Korea, wherethe Government fully subsidises pre-miums only for a small percentage ofits population, India is fully subsidis-ing premium for a significantly high-er share of its population. The fiscal bur-den will likely preclude theGovernment from giving any subsidyto the non-poor. Even so, extending thescheme to the unorganised sectorworkers at full and fair premium

should attract them to the programme.Korea made it mandatory for its pop-ulation to join the scheme. India willhave to look for mechanisms to createsemi-mandatory conditions such assubscribers of specific services like tele-com, tapping into affinity groups likehousing society members and so forth.

Also, extending PM-JAY to theunorganised sector has other solidadvantages such as reduced adminis-trative costs and greater bargainingpower as care purchaser relative to careproviders. There are good reasons forextending the scheme to the non-poorunorganised sector workers (and theirfamilies). This may not get extendedimmediately as the scheme is still beingrolled out to cover the poor and the vul-nerable. Nevertheless, a plan needs tobe put in place for covering the non-poor for which the Korean experienceis useful. Learning and technical know-how from Korea could, perhaps, be for-malised through a bilateral agreementor through an international agency likethe WHO.

(The writer is a development econ-omist, formerly with the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation and the World Bank)

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GST collections in Februarydropped to �97,247 crore

from �1.02 lakh crore in theprevious month, the FinanceMinistry said on Friday.

However, complianceimproved and the number ofsales return or GSTR-3B filedfor the month of January up toFebruary 28, 2019 stood at73.48 lakh. This is higher than73.3 lakh returns filed inJanuary.

“The total gross GST rev-enue collected in February2019 is �97,247 crore of whichCentral GST is �17,626 crore,State GST (SGST) is �24,192crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is�46,953 crore and Cess is�8,476 crore,” the Ministrysaid in a statement.

The GST collection forFebruary, 2019, is 13.12 percent higher than �85,962 croremopped-up in February, 2018.

The Government has set-tled �19,470 crore to CGST and�15,747 crore to SGST from

IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned

by the Centre and StateGovernments after regular set-tlement in February is �37,095crore for CGST and �39,939crore for SGST.

Tax experts attributed thereason for dip in GST mop-upfigures for February to thereduction in tax rates on 23goods and services, includingmovie tickets, TV, power banksand monitor screen, with effectfrom January 1.

The goods on which GSThas been lowered to 18 per centfrom 28 per cent include pulleys,transmission shafts and cranks,gear boxes, retreaded or usedtyres, power banks of lithium-ion batteries, digital cameras,video camera recorders andvideo game consoles.

EY Tax Partner, AbhishekJain said: “While the GST col-lections are in line with theaverage collection in this finan-cial year, it has witnessed aslight dip vis-a-vis the previousmonth; a possible reason being

the impact of rate rationaliza-tions effective January”.

The GST Council in itsDecember 22, 2018, meetingrationalised the 28 per cent slaband restricted the highest slabto luxury, demerit, and singoods, besides cement, largescreen TV, Air Conditionersand dishwashers.

Goods and Services Tax(GST) collections in the currentfiscal till February totalled�10.70 lakh crore.

The Government has low-ered the GST collection targetfor the current fiscal to �11.47lakh crore in the RevisedEstimates, from �13.71 lakhcrore budgeted initially.

GST collection stood at�1.03 lakh crore in April,�94,016 crore in May, �95,610crore in June, �96,483 crore inJuly, �93,960 crore in August,�94,442 crore in September,�1,00,710 crore in October,�97,637 crore in November,�94,725 crore in December2018 and �1.02 lakh crore inJanuary 2019.

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Indian economy is expectedto grow at 7.3 per cent in cal-

endar year 2019 and 2020, andthe Government spendingannounced ahead of electionsthis year which will supportnear-term growth, Moody’ssaid on Friday.

The US-based ratingagency said that the country isless exposed to a slowdown inglobal manufacturing tradegrowth than other major Asianeconomies and emerging mar-kets and is poised to grow at arelatively stable pace in the twoyears.

“We expect India’s econo-my to grow around 7.3 per centin both years (2019, 2020),”Moody’s said in its quarterlyGlobal Macro Outlook for 2019and 2020.

Moody’s growth esti-mates in based on calendaryear. India, however, mea-sures its economic growth onthe basis of fiscal year (April-March).

In 2018-19 fiscal, endingMarch 2019, Indian economyis estimated to have grown 7per cent, lower than 7.2 percent in 2017-18.

Moody’s said theannouncement in InterimBudget 2019-20 on direct cashtransfer programme for farm-ers and the middle-class tax

relief measures will contributea fiscal stimulus of about 0.45per cent of GDP.

“These measures will sup-port growth through con-sumption over the near term,albeit at a fiscal cost...

“In India, Governmentspending announced ahead ofelections this year will supportnear-term growth,” Moody’ssaid.

It said RBI is likely to beable to maintain their currentmonetary policy stance aftersome tightening last year.

The RBI cut its bench-mark policy rate in Februaryand changed the policy stanceto “neutral” from “calibratedtightening”. Inflation measureshave steadily declined since themiddle of 2018.

On banking sector,Moody’s said, although theoverall strength of the systemis improving, it remains a con-straint on the economy.

In February 2019, the gov-ernment provided further cap-ital infusions to public sectorbanks. These measures, com-bined with the application ofthe Prompt Corrective Actionframework, which requirestimely recognition of bad loans,and resolution of bad loansthrough the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code, are helpingto address solvency and assetquality challenges.

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Former finance secretaryAjay Narayan Jha on Friday

joined the 15th FinanceCommission as a member,pursuant to the resignation ofShaktikanta Das.

Jha, a 1982 batch IAS offi-cer of Manipur cadre, super-annuated as a FinanceSecretary to the Government ofIndia on February 28.

“Ajay Narayan Jha todayjoined the Fifteenth FinanceCommission as its member. Hejoins in place of ShaktikantaDas who had resigned as amember of the Commissionafter being appointed as gov-ernor, Reserve Bank of India,”an official statement said.

Jha had also served as thesecretary to the 14th FinanceCommission which was head-ed by former RBI Governor YV Reddy.

Set up in November, 2017,the 15th Finance Commission,headed by former PlanningCommission member N KSingh, is mandated to recom-mend distribution of net pro-ceeds of taxes between theUnion and the States, for a peri-od of five years — April, 2020to March, 2025, among others.

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PokerStars Indiaannounces its association

with B ol lywood actorNawazuddin Siddiqui, whostars in the adverts. Theassociation is designed tostrengthen the brand’s reso-nance as it seeks to bring theconcepts of poker to a wideraudience.

Three television com-mercials have been shot, eachwith a different narrative.

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Beijing: China said on Fridayit “regrets” a World TradeOrganization ruling inWashington’s favour over adispute on Chinese subsidies towheat and rice producers.

The decision comes as theworld’s top two economies tryto hammer out an agreement tosettle a long-running traderow that has rattled globalmarkets.

The United States in 2016alleged that China doled out$100 billion in “market pricesupport” for wheat and rice aswell as corn production, abovelevels agreed to at the Geneva-based WTO. AFP

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Financially-stressed JetAirways on Friday said two

more of its aircraft have beengrounded due to non-paymentof lease rentals.

With this, the total numberof aircraft taken out of opera-tions due to cash crunch in theairline and its subsequent fail-ure to pay rentals to variouslessors has gone up to 21 so far.

In a filing to the stockexchanges, the full-service air-line said, “An additional twoaircraft have been groundeddue to non-payment ofamounts outstanding to lessorsunder their respective lease

agreements.”The carrier is actively

engaged with all its aircraftlessors and regularly providesthem with updates on theefforts undertaken to improveits liquidity, the filing said.

The company said it ismaking all efforts to minimizedisruption to its network due tothe the grounding of theseplanes and is proactivelyinforming and re-accommo-dating its affected guests.

The company also contin-ues to provide required andperiodic updates to theDirectorate General of CivilAviation in this regard, itadded.

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To provide a boost for star-tups seeking to get listed,

capital markets regulator Sebi’sboard on Friday approved eas-ing of norms for accreditationof investors willing to invest insuch new-age entities.

At a meeting here, theSebi board approved a frame-work for the process of accred-itation of investors forInnovators Growth Platform,which will be the name of thestock exchange platformwhere new-age startups wouldbe listed.

Under this framework,the investor having a demataccount will make an appli-cation to the stock exchangesor depositories to be recog-nised as an ‘accreditedinvestor (AI)’.

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Retail inflation for industri-al workers rose to 6.6% in

January 2019 on account ofhigher prices of certain fooditems.

The year-on-year inflationbased on CPI-IW (ConsumerPrice Index for industrial work-ers) stood at 5.11% during thecorresponding month (January2018) of the previous year, aLabour Ministry statementsaid. In December 2018, it was5.24%.

Similarly, it stated that thefood inflation stood at +0.97%against -0.96% in the previousmonth and 3.36% during thecorresponding month of theprevious year.

According to the state-ment, the All-India CPI-IW forJanuary, 2019 increased by 6points and pegged at 307

points. On one-month per-centage change, it increased by+1.99% between December2018 and January 2019 whencompared with the increase of+0.70% for the correspondingmonths of last year.

The data showed that themaximum upward pressure tothe change in current indexcame from Housing groupcontributing +5.16 percentagepoints to the total change.

At item level, wheat, arhardal, fish, goat meat, coconut,lady’s finger, tomato, flow-ers/flower garlands, etc. areresponsible for the increase inindex.

However, this increase waschecked by onion, brinjal, cab-bage, carrot, cauliflower, gourd,peas, potato, cooking gas, elec-tricity charges, etc., puttingdownward pressure on theindex.

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Market benchmark Sensexon Friday rose over 196

points to end at 36,064 and alsoposted its second straight week-ly gains amid signs of easingtensions between India andPakistan.

The key BSE index alsosnapped its three-session losingrun after the March derivativesseries got off to a strong startcoupled with uninterruptedforeign fund inflows.

The 30-share Sensex openedpositive and rallied to the ses-sion’s high of 36,140.67 on wide-spread buying by participants.However, profit-booking inselect counters trimmed thegains as the gauge settled 196.37points, or 0.55%, higher at36,063.81. It had lost over 346points in the previous threesessions due to geo-politicaltensions between India andPakistan.

The NSE Nifty, after hittinga high of 10,877.90, closed at10,863.50, up 71 points, or0.66%. Intra-day, it fell to a lowof 10,823.10.

For the week, the BSESensex rose 192.33 points, or0.57%, while the broader NSENifty gained 71.35 points, or0.69%. This was the secondstraight weekly gains for theindex.

Investor sentiment revivedamid signs of easing geopoliti-cal tensions after Pakistan onThursday said it would releasecaptured Indian Air Force pilot

as a “first step” to open negoti-ations with India.

Investors indulged in creat-ing new positions following thebeginning of the March futuresand options (F&O) series thatled to the rally in the market.

Financial, capital goods, IT,power and oil and gas sectorstocks hogged the limelight andhelped indices to reclaim theirkey level.

IndusInd Bank emerged topperformers among Sensex con-stituents by surging 3.04%, fol-lowed by Yes Bank 2.68%. Otherprominent gainers includedVedanta Ltd, Hero MotoCorp,Coal India, ICICI Bank, TataMotors, SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC,Infosys, HDFC Ltd, L&T, KotakBank, Bajaj Finance, ITC Ltd,Sun Pharma, HCL Tech,PowerGrid, M&M, HUL,ONGC and HDFC Bank, risingup to 2.24%.

Maruti Suzuki rose 1.48%even as the country’s largest carmaker reported a marginaldecline in total sales in February.Bajaj Auto fell 1.16% after thecompany on Friday reported a10% increase in total sales inFebruary.

Bharti Airtel, Asian Paintand RIL also ended in the red.

All the BSE sectoral indicesended in the green with infra-structure climbing the most by1.99%, PSU 1.85%, metal 1.57%,capital goods 1.37%, power1.10%, bankex 0.98%, healthcare0.92%, IT 0.69%, teck 0.58%,FMCG 0.51%, and realty 0.01%.

The broader markets too

displayed a firm trend as the BSEsmall-cap index surged 2.13%and the mid-caps gained 1.29%.

Markets will remain closedon Monday on account ofMahashivratri.

Meanwhile, on a net basis,FIIs bought shares worth�3,210.6 crore, while domesticinstitutional investors (DIIs)sold shares worth �5,240.62crore on Thursday, provisionaldata showed.

On the macro-economicfront, however, traders lookedsomewhat hesitant after coun-try’s economic growth sloweddown to a five-quarter low of6.6% in October-Decemberperiod, analysts said.

Economic growth estimatefor the current fiscal year endingMarch 31 has been revised down-wards to 7% from the earlier esti-mate of 7.2%. This is the lowestgrowth in the last five years.

The rupee weakened by 20paise to close at 70.92 againstthe US dollar on Friday amidstrengthening of the Americancurrency and rising crude oilprices. Brent crude surging toUSD 66.55 per barrel, cappedgains to some extent.

Elsewhere, in rest of Asia,the Shanghai Composite Indexrallied 1.81%, Japan’s Nikkeigained 1.02%, Hong Kong’sHang Seng up 0.63% and StraitsTimes edfged up 0.20%.

Among european markets,Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.15%,while Paris CAC 40 advanced0.73% in their early deals.London’s FTSE too up by 0.66%.

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The country’s manufac-turing sector perfor-mance further strength-

ened in February and toucheda 14-month high driven byacceleration in sales, outputand employment, a monthlysurvey showed on Friday.

The Nikkei IndiaManufacturing PurchasingManagers’ Index rose to 54.3 inFebruary, from 53.9 in January,amid a robust improvement inbusiness conditions.

This is the 19th consecutivemonth that the manufacturingPMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI parlance,a print above 50 means expan-sion, while a score below thatdenotes contraction. Accordingto the survey, the February datareflected strongest improve-ment in business conditionssince December 2017, sharpestrise in factory orders for 28months and underpins fasterincreases in production andemployment.

“The Indian manufactur-ing sector made furtherprogress midway through thefinal quarter of FY18, buildingon the accelerated upturnnoted in January,” said

Pollyanna De Lima, principaleconomist at IHS Markit andauthor of the report.

Lima further noted that theupturn in employment wasone of the best seen for six-and-a-half years, as goods produc-ers sought to expand outputcapacities to meet strengthen-ing demand from both domes-tic and external sources.

On the inflation front, ratesof both input cost and outputcharge inflation remained sub-dued by historical standards,despite picking up fromJanuary.

According to experts, thesigns of easing inflationary pres-sures indicate that the ReserveBank of India (RBI) is likely toadopt an accommodative mon-etary policy stance.

The next meeting of RBI’sMonetary Policy Committee isscheduled on April 2-4.

“The survey results suggestthat manufacturing will likelyprovide a stronger contributionto overall economic growth inthe final quarter, provided thatMarch’s figures stay on thisfavourable path,” Lima said.

For FY19, IHS Markit hasrevised higher its GDP growthforecast, from 7.0% to 7.1%amid the announcement of

fiscal stimulus for the newinterim budget and the policyrate cut announced inFebruary.

India’s economic growthslipped to a 5-quarter low of6.6% in October-Decemberperiod of 2018-19, mainly dueto poor performance of farm,mining and manufacturingsectors, official data showed onThursday.

The Central StatisticsOffice (CSO), which releasedthe national account data forthe third quarter, also reviseddownwards the growth esti-mate for the full fiscal (2018-19) to 7% from 7.2%.

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Economic Affairs SecretarySubhash Chandra Garg said onFriday that the spurt in PMIindicates strong inflow of neworders and strengthening ofmanufacturing sector growth,

“Manufacturing PMI at 54.3in Feb is 14 month high andindicates strong inflow of neworders. Q4 2018-19 should markfurther strengthening of manu-facturing GVA and upwardmovement of GDP growth,”Garg said in a tweet.

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New Delhi (PTI): SBI Life Insurance on Friday said glob-al investment firm Carlyle Group had acquired 9% stake in thelife insurer from BNP Paribas Cardif. At the current market price,Carlyle would have paid �5,445 crore for the nine crore sharespicked up from the open market. Following the transaction,Cardif ’s stake in SBI Life has come down to 12.8% from 22%while Carlyle’s holding through CA Emerald Investments is at9%. SBI remains the majority shareholder with 62.1%stake inthe company.

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Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 5.77 6.00 5.75 5.95SBILIFE 580.35 620.00 510.00 612.25JPASSOCIAT 6.15 6.26 6.15 6.21YESBANK 234.60 238.35 234.50 237.40RELINFRA 123.85 127.70 121.85 125.30FORCEMOT 1394.00 1637.00 1393.30 1599.65JETAIRWAYS 233.70 238.40 230.35 234.65RPOWER 10.90 12.55 10.80 12.33BHARTIARTL 320.50 320.50 302.60 307.05ICICIBANK 351.80 354.90 350.10 353.50DHFL 128.00 132.45 127.50 128.70TATAMOTORS 179.20 184.00 177.35 180.10RELCAPITAL 173.10 183.45 173.10 181.70TCS 1990.00 2005.95 1982.50 1991.65SAIL 49.00 52.80 49.00 52.40RELIANCE 1235.00 1242.50 1222.45 1226.70CGPOWER 32.25 37.00 32.25 36.60RCOM 6.54 6.71 6.50 6.61IBULHSGFIN 657.30 674.90 657.30 672.00ZEEL 465.00 489.00 465.00 486.55MOTHERSUMI 165.00 166.70 159.70 160.50ASHOKLEY 87.30 87.85 84.60 86.55JUSTDIAL 506.05 539.50 505.00 534.25NATIONALUM 52.40 53.85 51.30 53.65PNB 72.95 77.00 72.75 76.60BANKBARODA 101.85 108.40 101.85 107.90SBIN 270.00 274.40 270.00 272.95TECHM 830.00 836.45 829.30 832.00AXISBANK 713.95 715.00 700.00 703.65WOCKPHARMA 401.75 426.30 396.05 420.80LT 1300.00 1312.15 1296.75 1308.65JAMNAAUTO 54.65 60.30 54.65 58.70GRAPHITE 417.00 428.40 410.50 423.95VEDL 172.00 174.70 171.85 173.20JSWSTEEL 282.55 285.00 280.75 282.10TATASTEEL 503.90 509.75 502.75 507.15MARUTI 6889.00 6950.00 6833.30 6933.20BANKINDIA 83.50 88.30 83.20 87.70NCC 85.90 90.00 85.60 89.20IOC 144.80 148.50 143.45 147.70UNIONBANK 71.75 78.35 71.75 77.05ITC 277.00 278.65 276.10 277.80TATAMTRDVR 90.00 90.80 87.90 90.15SUNPHARMA 448.00 451.20 445.10 448.25WIPRO 370.00 378.00 365.60 375.50DISHTV 39.15 41.85 38.85 41.35KOTAKBANK 1224.70 1230.20 1217.55 1226.60BAJAJ-AUTO 2909.95 2944.95 2844.00 2862.90HEG 2094.00 2112.00 2042.55 2092.95M&M 651.70 651.80 642.00 649.35

VENKYS 2063.40 2230.00 2055.35 2176.45INDUSINDBK 1484.60 1523.90 1474.00 1516.30JINDALSTEL 158.90 162.95 157.80 161.45RCF 53.00 58.40 52.70 56.25IDFCFIRSTB 45.10 47.60 45.10 47.40CANBK 232.85 248.00 232.40 243.35ADANIPOWER 48.10 49.05 47.80 48.35COALINDIA 229.45 232.90 226.60 232.40NOCIL 135.80 145.35 134.70 140.45SPICEJET 80.15 81.45 80.10 81.05ORIENTBANK 83.20 93.00 83.20 91.85IDEA 30.50 30.50 29.65 29.90ABCAPITAL 92.10 96.30 92.10 95.75INFY 737.80 742.35 735.55 741.15PCJEWELLER 70.25 73.50 70.25 72.25SPARC 178.55 186.40 175.00 185.10L&TFH 125.00 128.70 124.70 128.00ADANIPORTS 328.50 334.75 327.20 333.45M&MFIN 399.65 413.00 398.50 411.30INDIACEM 87.50 92.95 87.50 92.40VGUARD 207.00 214.00 203.00 213.00RNAM 183.50 194.80 183.00 189.40RECLTD 138.50 138.70 136.35 137.30ALBK 48.00 50.50 47.85 49.95HINDPETRO 224.00 233.70 223.80 232.65LICHSGFIN 473.00 483.05 471.40 474.05BOMDYEING 111.45 116.90 111.45 114.20PHILIPCARB 156.35 165.70 156.35 164.10IPCALAB 815.90 862.30 813.30 853.75RAIN 91.50 94.50 91.50 93.60ICICIGI 929.95 955.00 929.95 949.85BAJFINANCE 2662.80 2673.90 2643.10 2666.00ICICIPRULI 323.10 332.00 320.70 323.20STAR 422.50 436.80 422.00 433.95GAIL 342.20 359.10 342.20 343.85BEL 82.85 85.25 82.85 85.00

ESCORTS 671.00 676.00 663.65 674.30MEGH 51.90 56.70 51.90 56.05DRREDDY 2636.00 2649.20 2582.70 2639.00SUNTV 600.05 618.00 600.05 615.05JAICORPLTD 90.70 94.95 90.55 94.00DBL 434.00 454.30 430.10 449.00RADICO 369.70 384.70 366.05 382.00HDFCBANK 2084.00 2114.90 2078.45 2083.20GNFC 263.00 276.40 262.10 274.05HEROMOTOCO 2660.00 2690.80 2640.30 2681.90TATAPOWER 66.00 67.75 65.55 67.05EQUITAS 113.60 117.55 113.60 115.90VOLTAS 567.00 576.90 563.70 576.00ASIANPAINT 1407.60 1417.70 1388.15 1388.15HDFC 1848.60 1864.40 1840.00 1859.45ONGC 149.85 150.30 147.90 149.05EDELWEISS 139.00 141.90 137.95 139.75REPCOHOME 336.90 356.50 335.40 354.40TVSMOTOR 460.00 469.75 456.00 468.20DELTACORP 247.50 253.50 246.60 249.00JISLJALEQS 56.65 61.00 56.45 60.75HCLTECH 1055.55 1061.50 1046.45 1052.80BEML 842.95 858.60 838.40 850.85WELSPUNIND 51.80 54.65 51.80 53.65SUNTECK 349.30 350.00 341.25 343.00LUPIN 774.00 789.85 769.00 785.75CADILAHC 319.70 324.00 317.80 322.25FEDERALBNK 84.40 85.85 83.75 85.55JSLHISAR 89.00 93.30 87.60 88.40EXIDEIND 225.15 225.15 217.30 218.75MINDTREE 909.20 934.85 907.10 934.85GRANULES 98.65 104.20 98.60 103.80NBCC 53.70 55.40 53.00 55.05IDBI 43.20 44.60 43.05 44.35RBLBANK 576.00 598.00 573.00 594.95CHENNPETRO 238.00 241.50 230.00 240.10OIL 176.00 179.25 175.05 177.95WESTLIFE 350.00 377.00 350.00 353.70UJJIVAN 281.10 288.90 279.95 288.50HDFCLIFE 353.00 364.35 352.00 362.35MMTC 25.75 26.85 25.65 26.40STRTECH 243.15 247.60 241.70 246.90INDIGO 1115.00 1126.85 1098.20 1122.05SADBHAV 192.00 215.00 192.00 209.40TATAELXSI 890.65 913.50 888.15 911.25HINDUNILVR 1739.85 1748.50 1731.25 1734.95AUROPHARMA 714.50 727.55 714.20 723.35MCX 661.45 681.30 660.25 677.20CENTURYPLY 168.70 184.00 168.55 181.45KAJARIACER 546.00 561.45 544.60 555.50ABB 1245.00 1259.50 1232.50 1240.50MINDACORP 146.20 156.60 146.20 150.40ENGINERSIN 107.45 110.60 106.70 110.25FRETAIL 432.90 435.45 425.00 432.25NMDC 101.50 102.85 101.40 102.40BHEL 64.95 66.50 64.70 66.20TITAN 1029.90 1037.40 1019.35 1022.90ACC 1418.00 1495.00 1418.00 1471.70DLF 166.10 169.20 165.25 167.20CENTURYTEX 807.60 833.00 805.80 831.50HSCL 119.00 123.30 119.00 120.65IBREALEST 70.50 72.05 70.50 71.10IDFC 37.00 40.25 37.00 40.10BDL 301.00 306.00 284.80 286.05HINDALCO 197.25 198.90 195.35 196.15BAJAJFINSV 6461.50 6542.90 6425.70 6443.35MERCK 3188.80 3316.00 3188.80 3252.15HAVELLS 715.20 726.35 705.20 707.35LINDEINDIA 497.00 506.30 486.00 500.65INFIBEAM 36.35 36.85 35.65 36.20KSCL 414.95 414.95 406.00 408.80NESTLEIND 10650.00 10650.00 10331.05 10435.70MANAPPURAM 113.75 115.75 112.00 114.95ISEC 202.50 203.55 199.90 202.00CASTROLIND 154.50 161.30 154.50 160.50EICHERMOT 19999.85 20028.85 19759.60 19938.25WELCORP 109.95 115.45 108.50 114.55TATACHEM 559.70 568.00 557.55 564.00CIPLA 557.00 557.00 547.60 551.65APOLLOHOSP 1136.95 1164.95 1136.95 1153.50DABUR 440.95 446.00 440.35 445.20DCMSHRIRAM 401.50 419.40 400.20 410.90UPL 877.50 880.80 868.10 871.45PFC 112.15 114.15 112.15 113.35TV18BRDCST 33.80 35.80 33.65 35.60PEL 2328.05 2387.90 2328.05 2372.15RAYMOND 769.75 792.00 769.35 786.00IRB 134.60 142.60 134.60 140.80AJANTPHARM 988.00 994.75 981.50 991.00GUJALKALI 440.50 512.90 440.50 493.50IFCI 12.65 13.50 12.40 13.35AVANTI 338.90 351.15 337.15 345.85HINDCOPPER 46.50 47.80 46.25 47.20SOUTHBANK 13.31 13.74 13.30 13.66RALLIS 151.10 155.90 146.50 151.80CHOLAFIN 1230.45 1276.50 1229.95 1272.10BPCL 338.85 347.45 337.00 345.60INDIANB 222.55 233.50 222.40 229.55DMART 1467.50 1477.90 1452.05 1459.90GSFC 91.25 94.90 91.25 94.35IBVENTURES 287.00 287.00 279.10 281.35BERGEPAINT 306.00 307.60 300.75 302.00EIDPARRY 187.50 194.40 186.00 186.85BATAINDIA 1285.00 1299.00 1271.90 1282.25MARICO 339.00 343.00 331.00 334.50GODREJCP 675.05 686.00 674.30 679.50LTI 1729.85 1737.40 1699.45 1707.05MOIL 144.40 151.90 144.40 151.35APOLLOTYRE 218.00 221.00 217.35 219.95

INTELLECT 185.50 192.50 185.50 190.90CONCOR 475.00 481.00 470.30 479.00PARAGMILK 229.90 236.60 225.95 235.00SIEMENS 999.95 1018.00 992.20 1007.10MAGMA 102.70 115.05 102.70 111.55GRASIM 780.00 796.00 777.75 791.40JUBLFOOD 1285.00 1285.00 1268.05 1278.05SYNDIBANK 33.60 36.10 33.55 35.80HEXAWARE 355.00 360.00 354.60 360.00MUTHOOTFIN 530.00 536.40 529.50 531.30AUBANK 580.00 580.05 566.10 570.00CARBORUNIV 370.00 392.00 370.00 382.25FSL 44.15 45.10 43.45 44.75VIPIND 414.90 420.50 409.40 416.00BIOCON 624.40 632.55 622.65 631.45KRBL 353.80 370.25 353.80 366.40NTPC 142.00 143.75 141.95 142.95BHARATFORG 517.95 520.85 510.40 519.35AMBUJACEM 215.00 219.00 213.10 217.30BALKRISIND 892.00 900.00 885.15 894.30DIVISLAB 1651.00 1674.00 1650.00 1667.55CANFINHOME 269.95 278.00 268.70 276.70JINDALSAW 82.70 86.30 82.35 86.00SRF 2304.80 2336.90 2282.20 2288.50ADANITRANS 206.40 212.00 202.00 203.90PIDILITIND 1152.20 1159.00 1132.75 1148.95WABAG 308.40 318.60 308.35 313.00CEATLTD 1110.00 1115.85 1100.50 1105.20SRTRANSFIN 1149.35 1167.00 1149.35 1164.00EIHOTEL 187.00 190.20 183.50 186.05BLISSGVS 178.05 182.60 177.80 178.45SJVN 22.80 24.10 22.80 23.70MGL 907.05 922.50 907.05 920.35GPPL 83.00 86.95 81.45 85.05HSIL 220.80 236.00 220.80 226.25INOXLEISUR 277.00 285.00 277.00 280.15GLENMARK 595.45 601.20 588.20 597.30ITI 92.05 94.60 91.80 93.20HUDCO 41.00 42.30 40.70 41.85DCBBANK 182.00 186.25 182.00 183.70INFRATEL 296.20 297.25 291.60 293.50UBL 1360.00 1387.00 1347.65 1387.00HIMATSEIDE 170.00 181.30 170.00 172.90MRPL 65.50 68.05 65.30 67.50KEC 266.55 271.00 265.85 267.65MAXINDIA 69.90 70.55 68.30 70.30ABFRL 226.00 227.00 221.75 223.95BAJAJELEC 461.10 461.10 448.00 454.00ADANIGREEN 33.65 35.25 33.35 34.25SUVEN 242.90 246.55 241.75 245.75RAMCOCEM 670.00 692.00 666.80 692.00KTKBANK 113.10 116.00 112.95 115.60BANDHANBNK 482.00 485.15 476.45 480.00OMAXE 208.50 208.50 205.40 207.00COLPAL 1260.00 1266.95 1244.05 1246.15GMRINFRA 16.20 16.70 16.20 16.65JUBILANT 790.00 796.00 772.30 781.70PFIZER 3289.95 3310.00 3250.05 3275.00TATAGLOBAL 194.25 198.05 193.70 197.60NLCINDIA 61.90 64.15 61.30 63.35ULTRACEMCO 3846.55 3895.00 3832.10 3890.00VINATIORGA 1464.00 1520.00 1463.95 1475.00PETRONET 224.00 226.00 222.55 222.95BRITANNIA 3078.50 3087.40 3060.00 3073.70EMAMILTD 395.75 401.45 393.00 394.00INDHOTEL 138.70 140.10 137.25 137.35GREAVESCOT 127.00 130.30 127.00 129.05THOMASCOOK 212.50 215.70 210.10 214.30CUMMINSIND 714.70 714.70 701.25 703.10FCONSUMER 46.55 47.95 46.55 47.35TRIDENT 60.70 62.70 60.70 62.55AEGISLOG 198.25 215.95 198.25 206.30SCI 35.30 36.35 35.00 36.20PERSISTENT* 668.95 677.50 659.30 667.45TEJASNET 154.00 166.70 154.00 164.85KEI 350.00 354.50 342.20 349.55NETWORK18 33.50 33.50 32.00 32.85TATACOMM 584.95 595.15 581.75 592.65HFCL 21.50 21.90 21.35 21.75PRSMJOHNSN 79.45 81.00 79.00 80.20COCHINSHIP 348.95 367.00 348.95 363.60NIITTECH 1328.20 1332.00 1310.00 1326.00IGL 293.95 296.00 290.60 295.00GREENPLY 138.50 148.80 138.30 142.95NHPC 23.05 23.25 22.95 23.15TNPL 189.75 200.00 188.15 198.20JKTYRE 87.90 87.90 86.25 87.30OBEROIRLTY 507.00 507.00 485.50 488.55VIJAYABANK 40.45 43.60 40.45 43.15POWERGRID 182.90 183.50 182.10 183.25LTTS 1544.00 1567.20 1537.25 1549.45DENABANK 11.35 11.90 11.19 11.83BIRLACORPN 472.15 507.80 472.15 507.80PNBHOUSING 901.00 918.00 901.00 910.00NAUKRI 1795.00 1809.90 1784.30 1797.70NAVINFLUOR 595.85 607.40 595.85 598.10AMARAJABAT 717.00 730.00 717.00 728.90BBTC 1199.00 1233.00 1198.00 1216.75DEEPAKFERT 126.65 130.55 126.65 129.05JSWENERGY 65.15 66.20 64.85 65.45REDINGTON 87.65 89.90 86.50 89.00PAGEIND 22500.00 22565.80 22173.60 22300.00BHARATFIN 924.05 953.95 924.05 950.20GODREJAGRO 481.00 485.85 479.50 483.85SREINFRA 27.25 27.60 27.10 27.20HAL 657.00 673.85 657.00 669.65FINCABLES 414.90 421.10 408.55 418.90CHAMBLFERT 159.90 162.75 157.90 160.25GUJGAS 123.00 123.00 120.00 121.00

LUXIND 1097.50 1166.95 1097.50 1148.95NIACL 175.45 178.50 172.75 177.00MPHASIS 1049.00 1049.75 1026.00 1031.55SHANKARA 430.90 437.20 429.85 431.90HEIDELBERG 150.55 158.05 150.55 157.65GRUH 248.60 252.70 248.15 252.70GUJFLUORO 912.00 925.00 912.00 919.00SWANENERGY 120.10 120.10 113.00 114.05RAJESHEXPO 576.90 576.90 567.00 569.95TORNTPHARM 1802.35 1806.90 1772.80 1785.15JMFINANCIL 77.80 81.00 77.80 80.00IBULISL 272.00 286.65 272.00 286.65HINDZINC 269.05 271.50 268.10 270.05GODREJIND 501.00 503.00 493.15 497.00TRENT 328.20 338.50 323.00 335.85PVR 1515.00 1520.00 1488.20 1493.00TORNTPOWER 244.55 247.75 244.50 245.25SHK 146.70 150.00 146.70 149.00PIIND 932.00 942.75 925.20 936.00ZYDUSWELL 1234.05 1281.00 1225.00 1250.00WHIRLPOOL 1369.55 1455.35 1364.00 1439.40TAKE 132.90 132.90 128.05 130.35UFLEX 195.90 202.40 195.85 199.00MANPASAND 73.25 77.90 73.25 76.85MOTILALOFS 563.60 572.95 555.00 566.00GODFRYPHLP 887.50 909.00 885.00 899.20GHCL 223.30 229.30 223.30 228.75LAKSHVILAS 64.50 65.80 63.80 64.80LAXMIMACH 5780.70 5915.00 5756.00 5865.10CENTRALBK 30.30 32.00 30.30 31.25MINDAIND 319.65 327.20 318.10 321.85GICHSGFIN 237.00 243.00 234.75 241.85GICRE 218.85 226.00 218.85 224.45AIAENG 1710.00 1769.35 1700.25 1751.00SOBHA 440.70 442.80 435.90 436.00KANSAINER 452.65 452.65 442.85 448.00HERITGFOOD 457.55 461.55 454.00 454.55APLAPOLLO 1223.40 1372.95 1223.40 1311.80J&KBANK 38.50 39.60 38.50 39.00CYIENT* 646.50 657.00 642.00 646.80BOSCHLTD 18991.95 19019.15 18703.20 18749.30MFSL 399.05 405.60 398.80 401.00KALPATPOWR 396.10 406.00 395.80 396.55CORPBANK 30.10 31.00 30.10 30.45JKLAKSHMI 329.00 330.95 325.50 327.00SUNDRMFAST 519.05 527.90 518.55 520.00SONATSOFTW 344.00 344.50 338.85 340.05TATAMETALI 604.60 612.85 600.90 609.45NBVENTURES 102.65 105.00 102.45 103.60MAHINDCIE 234.60 237.50 231.25 235.40DCAL 190.00 191.00 188.50 189.85NATCOPHARM* 581.45 581.45 569.00 570.15AARTIIND 1403.00 1411.60 1394.00 1402.90JSL 35.35 36.00 35.35 35.65ALLCARGO 100.55 104.40 99.85 101.50ITDCEM 107.00 111.10 106.60 110.60TTKPRESTIG 7588.00 8025.00 7588.00 7993.30ASTRAZEN 2040.00 2055.00 1977.00 1977.00NAVKARCORP 41.45 41.50 40.25 40.40GODREJPROP 712.95 714.00 708.55 711.85ANDHRABANK 25.20 25.55 24.55 25.25QUESS 726.00 730.55 715.40 716.20TATACOFFEE 83.85 86.00 83.85 86.00MHRIL 200.90 205.00 199.80 204.95TIINDIA 360.00 369.00 355.75 365.10CROMPTON 215.40 215.40 208.10 210.35LAURUSLABS 336.00 345.00 336.00 342.60NILKAMAL 1242.00 1315.00 1242.00 1310.00ZENSARTECH 196.20 205.60 196.20 200.85SUPREMEIND 1150.00 1154.00 1119.00 1121.10UCOBANK 18.65 19.00 18.65 18.90GESHIP 271.40 280.00 271.30 275.55SCHNEIDER 99.50 99.50 96.25 96.90ABBOTINDIA 7405.00 7418.00 7325.00 7340.40BALMLAWRIE 176.55 181.05 176.55 180.25SYMPHONY 1302.00 1310.00 1267.00 1284.00GAYAPROJ 151.05 165.00 151.05 161.00FORBESCO 2024.70 2101.75 2000.00 2101.75GSPL 158.95 160.00 157.80 159.05CAPPL 390.10 397.00 389.00 389.30LEMONTREE 74.60 76.95 74.40 75.10PTC 77.30 78.50 77.30 78.30OFSS 3494.35 3540.00 3491.00 3501.50GLAXO 1334.35 1337.00 1325.00 1325.00ASTRAL 1094.70 1094.70 1075.10 1082.00BASF 1336.25 1350.00 1306.65 1334.05TIMETECHNO 89.60 91.35 89.00 89.30

MRF 56736.10 57380.00 56736.10 57124.60PGHH 10767.75 10957.00 10630.00 10874.00CENTRUM 32.65 33.00 31.90 32.70ALKEM 1794.90 1794.90 1751.90 1774.25MAHABANK 12.81 13.10 12.80 12.96CUB 182.00 188.40 182.00 187.25ASHOKA 119.45 121.80 119.45 121.40FINOLEXIND 481.05 492.00 474.00 492.00APLLTD 561.50 561.70 544.35 546.10NH 208.00 223.50 206.30 218.40BAJAJHLDNG 3170.00 3200.00 3161.15 3173.35GMDCLTD 77.40 79.55 77.25 78.15IOB 13.24 13.61 13.24 13.60IFBIND 827.00 865.00 825.00 848.00SIS 816.25 824.95 774.90 792.35TATAINVEST 827.95 830.00 824.00 828.10DHANUKA 408.00 424.00 406.80 422.00SHREECEM 16789.95 16800.00 16568.45 16800.00PHOENIXLTD 585.00 640.05 585.00 619.65WABCOINDIA 6824.35 6824.35 6470.00 6485.00SANOFI 5966.00 6002.35 5871.00 5904.80THYROCARE 520.00 529.25 520.00 525.00SOLARINDS 945.80 986.10 945.80 957.00INOXWIND 72.00 73.65 71.25 72.75JYOTHYLAB 181.70 182.15 177.05 179.75BLUESTARCO 623.40 629.00 621.85 625.00PNCINFRA 129.00 129.80 127.70 128.80ADVENZYMES 154.80 154.80 149.65 150.75ENDURANCE 1380.00 1380.00 1270.00 1290.00GALAXYSURF 985.30 1040.00 984.75 1007.05MAHLOG 439.15 453.05 439.15 453.05RELAXO 750.65 756.20 737.00 737.10JBCHEPHARM 327.00 335.00 326.15 335.00COROMANDEL 443.00 444.50 437.05 441.20SUDARSCHEM 324.70 336.00 323.40 332.85COFFEEDAY 273.30 279.00 270.55 274.00ISGEC 4728.95 4797.00 4651.00 4699.40VTL 1100.00 1100.00 1012.90 1074.80IEX 155.95 158.70 154.75 157.40INDOSTAR 344.55 345.55 330.20 336.40APARINDS 645.15 659.25 640.00 649.003MINDIA 23285.05 23600.00 22937.80 22985.95DEEPAKNI 233.00 235.00 232.25 233.50ORIENTCEM 71.05 75.95 71.00 73.70TVTODAY 314.85 333.00 314.85 327.80CARERATING 967.80 972.15 958.15 958.40LALPATHLAB 1018.85 1024.05 1014.00 1024.05JKCEMENT 724.65 735.00 720.10 732.40PRESTIGE 203.80 207.60 203.40 204.95FDC 167.75 169.00 163.55 164.45AKZOINDIA 1790.00 1805.00 1743.90 1752.90ECLERX 1042.50 1074.95 1034.75 1048.00ATUL 3390.75 3408.00 3343.40 3377.00MAHLIFE 368.90 377.35 368.00 373.00THERMAX 994.00 997.90 985.80 987.00SUPRAJIT 195.55 200.00 193.70 194.00ESSELPRO 112.05 115.00 111.50 113.00EVEREADY 197.70 197.80 196.05 196.05TEAMLEASE 2845.00 2888.75 2828.00 2884.00SKFINDIA 1926.45 1952.90 1915.00 1935.05GULFOILLUB 863.00 907.00 862.00 880.00JAGRAN 95.60 96.40 95.00 95.00NAVNETEDUL 105.00 106.00 103.55 105.30FORTIS 135.35 135.35 134.30 134.65ELGIEQUIP 268.85 269.00 261.05 262.60CRISIL 1470.65 1476.50 1469.05 1472.30GEPIL 805.60 816.00 800.05 816.00VBL 801.35 813.25 801.35 813.00KIOCL 128.45 131.65 128.45 131.00GDL 108.50 108.90 106.70 108.00KNRCON 199.85 203.00 199.85 201.00SOMANYCERA 323.55 337.00 323.55 333.05ITDC 273.00 275.00 270.10 270.10SHOPERSTOP 479.55 481.90 475.00 478.00GSKCONS 7193.50 7265.55 7193.50 7201.00CERA 2448.70 2504.95 2359.95 2450.00GET&D 291.00 293.80 288.35 289.25SUPPETRO 209.95 210.00 205.90 207.40SUNCLAYLTD 2819.50 2870.00 2819.50 2868.00ASTERDM 155.10 159.00 152.60 155.00SYNGENE 593.25 593.25 583.95 585.05KPRMILL 537.50 551.00 532.50 551.00NESCO 434.60 439.00 433.90 435.00ASAHIINDIA 259.85 265.00 258.00 265.00BAYERCROP 4319.35 4319.35 4251.05 4272.95BLUEDART 3129.00 3146.95 3120.00 3146.25TVSSRICHAK 2289.75 2290.00 2222.00 2223.40SHARDACROP 370.00 370.00 355.20 359.00LAOPALA 198.40 198.40 195.30 196.25SHILPAMED 355.55 356.00 350.80 353.25CCL 281.10 283.20 279.00 279.05BAJAJCON 348.20 352.00 348.20 352.00GRINDWELL 547.40 550.00 544.00 546.00ERIS 612.55 612.70 605.00 611.00VMART 2593.00 2593.00 2530.80 2548.75HATSUN 662.95 665.00 659.95 660.05SCHAEFFLER 5377.50 5430.00 5368.50 5425.00DBCORP 179.60 180.00 178.75 180.00TIFHL 439.00 455.80 439.00 448.00JCHAC 1748.75 1748.75 1701.00 1745.00FLFL 428.00 431.70 426.20 426.95TRITURBINE 103.40 104.05 101.55 103.35TIMKEN 574.85 574.90 565.60 574.00HONAUT 21965.40 22082.15 21856.95 21885.00GILLETTE 6500.05 6541.80 6482.00 6500.00MONSANTO 2564.95 2564.95 2550.00 2550.00SHRIRAMCIT 1650.00 1650.00 1644.80 1647.80STARCEMENT 99.45 99.50 98.85 99.00SFL 1375.00 1375.00 1369.00 1369.00

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10842.65 10877.90 10823.10 10863.50 71.00ZEEL 467.00 488.95 466.35 487.60 20.90HINDPETRO 224.50 234.00 223.35 233.25 9.90INDUSINDBK 1481.70 1519.50 1474.95 1517.00 43.15BPCL 338.25 347.55 337.15 346.60 9.05IOC 144.90 148.95 143.25 148.30 3.70YESBANK 234.90 238.50 234.10 236.90 5.75VEDL 172.45 174.80 172.00 173.60 4.20IBULHSGFIN 660.00 675.00 657.45 669.95 14.70HEROMOTOCO 2649.90 2690.60 2640.05 2682.00 53.90COALINDIA 228.80 233.00 226.60 232.95 4.65ADANIPORTS 328.80 334.80 327.00 332.35 6.50WIPRO 370.90 378.35 365.50 376.20 7.30GRASIM 780.50 794.60 778.05 792.15 15.10ULTRACEMCO 3839.90 3899.50 3826.55 3895.00 68.50MARUTI 6876.80 6950.00 6827.25 6938.95 109.25TATAMOTORS 178.65 184.00 177.35 180.05 2.60TATASTEEL 503.50 509.70 502.00 507.60 7.15SBIN 270.55 274.60 270.10 272.85 3.80LT 1300.30 1311.95 1297.25 1308.00 15.05ICICIBANK 352.05 355.00 350.65 354.10 3.95NTPC 141.70 143.75 141.65 142.80 1.55INFY 735.50 743.40 735.50 741.80 7.50HDFC 1850.40 1863.40 1838.30 1859.80 18.60KOTAKBANK 1221.70 1230.50 1217.35 1224.10 11.00ITC 276.45 279.00 276.25 278.30 2.25DRREDDY 2638.00 2657.10 2580.05 2648.00 16.35TCS 1995.05 2005.00 1980.35 1995.00 11.55ONGC 149.90 150.20 147.85 149.50 0.85M&M 650.00 652.00 641.00 648.90 3.00SUNPHARMA 447.90 451.00 445.05 447.10 1.95BAJFINANCE 2663.30 2674.30 2640.00 2659.30 10.30GAIL 343.50 349.30 342.50 343.25 1.25JSWSTEEL 284.40 285.10 280.70 282.15 1.05POWERGRID 183.10 183.75 182.10 183.50 0.65HINDALCO 198.10 198.90 195.30 196.40 0.65HCLTECH 1055.00 1061.40 1043.75 1057.00 3.10EICHERMOT 19904.00 20031.95 19720.00 19918.00 48.90HINDUNILVR 1735.00 1749.00 1731.05 1735.00 2.35HDFCBANK 2086.25 2100.90 2077.00 2080.00 2.45TECHM 831.00 836.50 829.10 831.00 0.85INFRATEL 297.65 297.65 292.00 292.80 -0.85TITAN 1031.90 1036.00 1017.10 1022.00 -3.20BAJAJFINSV 6480.00 6540.00 6428.05 6435.00 -27.45RELIANCE 1237.00 1242.35 1222.25 1225.00 -6.05CIPLA 555.00 555.30 547.40 550.70 -3.85UPL 876.10 881.90 868.15 870.60 -7.00ASIANPAINT 1409.00 1417.95 1388.10 1394.00 -11.20AXISBANK 713.50 714.95 699.55 702.45 -7.10BAJAJ-AUTO 2914.00 2943.00 2856.20 2861.05 -39.55BHARTIARTL 317.80 317.80 302.10 308.00 -10.05

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26613.55 26863.75 26594.45 26847.90 333.45SAIL 49.00 52.85 48.90 52.70 4.45BANKBARODA 102.00 108.80 101.60 108.50 7.50ACC 1422.30 1500.10 1420.30 1492.50 70.20ABCAPITAL 92.50 96.50 92.35 96.05 4.15GICRE 217.45 226.90 217.35 225.75 8.30SBILIFE 581.95 622.10 515.55 599.95 21.40MCDOWELL-N 550.20 566.60 548.00 565.90 19.65LUPIN 771.20 790.55 768.45 790.55 26.80NIACL 172.15 179.80 172.15 178.00 5.50BEL 83.00 85.30 83.00 85.00 2.50AMBUJACEM 212.95 219.30 212.75 218.40 6.35L&TFH 125.00 128.70 124.50 127.90 3.70HDFCLIFE 351.80 364.00 351.80 362.60 10.35BHEL 64.80 66.60 64.65 66.10 1.65OIL 175.10 179.30 174.55 179.00 4.40ICICIGI 931.55 957.00 931.55 953.80 22.65NMDC 101.90 103.15 101.20 102.95 2.25ICICIPRULI 320.25 332.30 320.25 326.50 6.90SIEMENS 993.00 1019.90 992.25 1011.80 19.85PEL 2319.00 2388.90 2319.00 2366.05 39.50DLF 166.00 169.20 165.20 167.45 2.75PGHH 10656.00 11000.00 10525.25 10940.00 177.40DABUR 439.70 446.05 439.70 445.00 6.95SRTRANSFIN 1144.40 1165.00 1144.40 1160.00 17.75BIOCON 624.00 634.40 623.00 631.00 9.55SUNTV 605.00 618.00 605.00 617.30 9.05AUROPHARMA 715.00 727.70 713.70 722.50 10.45CADILAHC 320.65 324.20 317.45 322.70 4.00NHPC 23.00 23.25 22.95 23.20 0.25GODREJCP 676.00 686.30 673.30 680.00 7.15ABB 1245.90 1262.00 1235.20 1240.00 12.95CONCOR 472.75 479.90 469.10 476.35 3.60HINDZINC 269.00 271.95 268.60 271.05 1.60BRITANNIA 3083.00 3090.35 3062.30 3074.00 17.10SHREECEM 16612.00 16835.65 16562.05 16671.20 78.40OFSS 3521.90 3550.30 3491.15 3515.00 13.15MRF 56907.00 57400.00 56907.00 57050.00 210.45ASHOKLEY 87.40 87.90 84.40 86.75 0.25DMART 1458.45 1479.00 1442.00 1453.00 -2.80LICHSGFIN 476.60 483.20 471.30 474.10 -1.40INDIGO 1113.95 1126.85 1093.15 1122.00 -3.35BANDHANBNK 484.50 486.00 478.00 478.50 -1.55IDEA 30.40 30.45 29.60 29.80 -0.10PETRONET 224.10 225.95 222.50 222.70 -0.90COLPAL 1256.50 1264.90 1243.10 1246.00 -10.45PIDILITIND 1151.00 1158.75 1132.10 1142.50 -9.95HAVELLS 717.50 727.00 705.10 707.00 -8.35BOSCHLTD 19000.00 19000.00 18701.00 18784.00 -242.30MOTHERSUMI 165.00 166.40 159.70 160.00 -2.60MARICO 342.00 342.80 330.90 334.10 -5.60

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China Friday said it has neverrecognised India and

Pakistan as nuclear powers andruled out extending such a sta-tus to North Korea following theunsuccessful second summitbetween US President DonaldTrump and North Korean leader

Kim Jong-un in Vietnam.“China has never recog-

nised India and Pakistan asnuclear countries. Our positionon this has never changed,”Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Lu Kang told amedia briefing here. He wasreplying to a question whetherChina would recognise NorthKorea as a nuclear state like Indiaand Pakistan as talks betweenTrump and Kim at the secondsummit in Hanoi broke downover Pyongyang’s refusal to giveup two nuclear processing plants.

China has been blockingIndia’s entry into the 48-mem-ber Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) on the ground that NewDelhi has not signed the NuclearNon-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

After India applied for NSGmembership, Pakistan tooapplied for the same followingthat China has called for a two-step approach which States that NSG members firstneed to arrive at a set of princi-ples for the admission of non-NPT states into the NSG andthen move forward discussionsof specific cases.

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North Korea on Fridaypromised further negotia-

tions with the US despite a spec-tacular failure to strike a nucleardeal at their Hanoi summit, withboth sides keeping the door ofdiplomacy open.

The high-stakes secondmeeting between the North’sleader Kim Jong Un and USPresident Donald Trump brokeup in disarray Thursday, with-out even a joint statement.

In the aftermath, eachsought to blame the other’sintransigence for the deadlock.Trump insisted Pyongyangwanted all sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons pro-grammes lifted, and this was abridge too far.

But in a rare late-night pressbriefing, the North Korean

Foreign Minister saidPyongyang had only wantedsome of the measures eased, andthat its proposal to close “all thenuclear production facilities” atits Yongbyon complex was itsbest and final offer.

Despite the stalemate, theNorth’s official KCNA news

agency reported on Friday thatthe two leaders had had a “con-structive and candid exchange.”Relations between the two coun-tries — on opposite sides of thetechnically still-unfinishedKorean War — had been “char-acterised by mistrust and antag-onism” for decades, it said.

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Russia on Friday vowed to maintain support forthe embattled regime of its Venezuelan

“friend” President Nicolas Maduro, including withhumanitarian aid supplies.

During talks with Venezuelan Vice PresidentDelcy Rodriguez in Moscow, Russian ForeignMinister Sergei Lavrov said President VladimirPutin expressed “support and solidarity for his col-league and friend” Maduro in the country’s polit-ical standoff with the opposition.

“Russia will continue to assist the Venezuelan authorities in resolving social and economic problems, including through the provision of legitimate humanitarian aid,” Lavrovtold a joint news conference with Rodriguez after-wards.

Battered by an economic meltdown, Venezueladescended into political crisis when oppositionleader Juan Guaido declared himself interim pres-ident in January and asserted that Maduro was nolonger legitimate.

Maduro and his allies — including Russia —have accused Washington of attempting to carryout a coup against his government. The UnitedStates has recognised Guaido and led a diplomaticcampaign in support of his leadership.

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The United States on Thursday offered a USD1 million reward for information on a son of

late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seeing himas an emerging face of extremism.

The location of Hamza bin Laden, sometimesdubbed the "crown prince of jihad," has been thesubject of speculation for years with reports of himliving in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or underhouse arrest in Iran. "Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former AQ leader Osama binLaden and is emerging as a leader in the AQ fran-chise," a State Department statement said, refer-ring to Al-Qaeda.

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Have you eaten?” Evenbefore I can ask aquestion, actor KartikAaryan fires the firstsalvo and makes you

wonder if you are on a social visitat his home rather than for an inter-view at a hotel. But then it is thisnext-door comfort that has madehim the nation’s heartthrob, onewho equalises reality and aspirationon his sneakers. Dressed in a darkblue suit blazer with a barely thereprint, white shirt that is unbuttonedand blue trousers, the actor sips histea perched on the 20th floor andglances around at the people whoare assembled in the room.

The actor, who is known for hiscomic capers in films like Pyaar KaPunchnama and its sequel as well asSonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, is often mis-taken for a Delhi boy. “May be it isbecause of the way I look or mylahja (tone). May be it has to dowith the fact that I have done a lotof films that have seen me play acharacter from Delhi. But yes, thisidea has caught on in popularimagination,” says the 29-year-oldactor.

Kartik is from Gwalior wherehis new film, Luka Chuppi, is set. “Icould never imagine that I would beshooting in the place where I haddreamt of being an actor. Myfriends, families and relatives are allthere. Everyone knows each otheras it is a small town. The welcomewas surreal. They started calling meSon of Gwalior. There were hugehoardings with my name and pho-tographs which were a bit embar-rassing, especially because they allwere from myscrawny days. Iwish they hadasked me forsome better ones,”he guffaws. “It wassurreal.”

However thelove for the citycomes through inhis voice. “I tookmy entire

cast and crew around. I loved theseboondi laddoos from BahaduraSweets as a child. So I got those andrasmalai for everyone everyday.Everybody had to chuck their dietplans. The aloo patties are famousas is the poha,” he says as he seemsto to be savouring all the delicaciesonce again.

But it is also in his values thathe continues to remain a small townboy and is not affected by failuresand success. “I keep on working onmyself because that is what I didafter getting scolded by my parents,”he says.

Coming back to the present, theactor says that his entire trajectoryhas been about doing relatable cin-ema. “Luka Chuppi is about theproblems that a small town couplefaces when wanting to live in. Butit has a quirk. It is live-in sah pari-var (with family). It is a social satireand many can identify themselveswith the characters. After watchingSonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, a lot of peo-ple felt that they wanted a Sonu intheir life as they felt that they wereTitus,” he says.

The actor believes that GudduShukla, the protagonist in this film,is the most earnest and honest char-acter that he has ever played. “Heis the guy you would want to takehome to mum,” he says.

And when one asks him if hisclaim of being marriage material ina recent interview is true, he imme-diately answers, “Yes,” without bat-ting an eyelid. And then laughs andadds, “May be I became the char-acter of Guddu. I am shaadi mate-rial as I am a person who believesin being together with family. I haveshifted to a bigger place recently sothat I could get my family toMumbai after staying alone forseven-eight years.” However, hebelieves that he is not as righteousas Guddu. “And that is me beinghonest,” he says guffawing again.

The other characteristics thathe believes he shares with

his role are that he isupfront and com-

mitted. If he is convinced about anychoice that he makes, he goes forit with great passion.

Besides the relatability factor,what excited Kartik was that for thefirst time he was using a dialect inthe film. “My character is fromMathura, so he speaks like the peo-ple from the town. But the mannerof speaking is situational because heis educated. So it changes depend-ing on the people that he is inter-acting with. I think my rawness willbe visible here. While Sonu and theother characters were flamboyant,street smart and with grey shades,here I play an average guy who fits

in the setting and is not stylish. Hisappearance, too, is such that he fitsinto the scenery. From the firstscene you will see Guddu and notKartik Aaryan.”

So is that his way of making amark when all the young actors arecompeting for the same set ofroles? “Whatever I am doing, Ibelieve it is working. I have thatbelief in my sense that it is going inthe right direction and I don’t wantto change it. I am relying on my gutfeel,” he says. About his compatri-ots, he adds, “I think that this is avery good time for the youngbrigade as there are so many con-tent creators and avenues of expres-sion. Content is king and that is thereason why there is ample amountof chance for all of us to put our-selves out there in projects which aredifferent and also work on screen.”

Few know that he locked on tothis character soon after he finished

Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety. “It is not justthe protagonists. The side track inthe film is an interesting commen-tary on our intrusive culture.Everybody has a habit of pokingtheir noses in other people’s livesinstead of their own. So the elderbrother wants to know what theyounger one is up to and the thirdbhaabi might be jealous that the firstone has an important position in thefamily. In this too, everyone has anagenda. Each character has a sepa-rate track. That is the funniestthing. There was a lot of situation-al comedy. When I heard the scriptI decided that this has to be my nextfilm. I was actually the first personon board.”

It is apparent that Kartik followseverything with a deep convictionand passion. “I was in class VIIIwhen I decided that I wanted to bean actor,” he says. It was in pursuitof this goal that he applied to all theengineering colleges only inMumbai and Navi Mumbai. “InGwalior, appearing for PMT and IITentrance exams was the done thing.I could not have told my parentsthat I wanted to pursue acting asthey would not have been able toafford a course. So engineering inMumbai became an excuse. I neverattended classes as I was busy withauditions,” says the actor who didmanage to complete his engineer-ing during Pyaar ka Punchnama 2.

Kartik burst on in the popularimagination with a six-minutemonologue in his first film, PyaarKa Punchnaama, and he has aninteresting story behind it. “Forthree years, I searched online withkey words like audition and actorsrequired. I got an advertisementwhere I was paid �2,500 which wasa channel promo where I washolding a placard,” he recalls. It wasduring this time that he saw anaudition call for an unnamed film.“I caught the train from Belapur toAndheri which took 2.5 hoursand gave an audition,” he says. Theback and forth went on for sixmonths and as a part of the last

audition he had to say this mono-logue which was five and a halfpages long! “It was the first timesomething like this was beingattempted. But this was crucial toclinching the role. To add to mywoes, I had to perform it the nextday,” he recalls. So Kartik did whathe knew best. Took it up passion-ately. “I didn’t sleep. I kept learn-ing it throughout my train journeyand then in my PG. I enacted it,recorded it, then saw the mistakesand attempted it again. The nextday I kept on doing it in the train.But it was worth the effort as peo-ple actually clapped when I fin-ished,” he says, the pride still sur-facing in his voice.

During the actual shooting,they worked on a reel camerawhich has a limit unlike the newerdigital ones which are used now.“There was only four-and-a-halfminutes of the film left when Istarted my monologue of six min-utes. No one told me that the cam-era was not rolling for the last one-and-a-half minutes. As I was draw-ing to a close, the reel finished. Ihad to do a re-take I shot at one goand it was okayed in Take 2,” hesays. But he feels it was well worththe effort as the monologue is themost popular scene from the film.“It has been circulated all over theworld and has been a hit,” he says.

Having nailed it, Kartik wenton to top this further. In Pyaar KaPunchnaama 2, the monologue wasseven minutes long. “They keptworking on the final draft so itcame to me when I was in themidst of shooting. But somehow Imanaged to pull through,” he says.

One reason that his films havedrawn flak is the misogynist gazeon the female characters. “See, weare not generalising boys. It is thesecharacters in the films that areroguish and loveable rakes.”

Another reason why Kartik hasbeen in the news is on account ofSara Ali Khan taking a shine to himand wanting to date him or hisalleged link-up with AnanyaPandey. Something that has kepthis name in circulation amongBollywood’s swish set. But theyoung star likes to keep it ground-ed. “I don’t pay attention. I only feelgood and flattered but that isbound to happen when someonesays something good about you.Link-ups are a part and parcel ofthe industry and I know how todeal with it,” he nods sagely. Thesmall town boy is growing up.

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Have you everthought of beingin a live-in rela-

tionship as a normal option?Well, our society, particular-ly in non-metro areas, isheaded towards a massiveoverhaul owing to the mod-ern ways that have devel-oped in relationships. Itseems like more and morecouples are warming up tothe idea to test their com-patibility before they get

married. Yet marriagestill receives a societal

stamp of approvalthan live-ins and it isthis dichotomy thatis being explored inLuka Chhupi. Ofcourse, Bollywoodhas been attempt-ing a dialogue on

the subject forquite sometime throughfilms likeS a l a a mNa m a s t e ,Katti Batti,Pyaar KaPunchnama

among others.

But actress Kriti Sanon, who plays thecharacter of Rashmi in Luka Chuppi,says that this one is a bit different fromall because it is about a “live-in withfamily.” She explains that a concept likethis may be cool in big cities but is a bigtaboo in small towns like Mathura. Shesees live-in as a choice for survival. “Toeach his own. Everybody has the rightto be completely sure of what two peo-ple exactly want before you can take thebig step of getting married rather thanrisk a divorce down the line. So it’s total-ly fine if it gives you a little bit clarityon that. After meeting so many peoplefrom all walks of life in this industry, Ido not judge anything at all.”

The actress feels that Bareilly KiBarfi was a milestone in her career. Andthe relatability she found in Bareilly isexactly the same in this film too. “InBareilly... Bitti was born and brought upin the eponymous town. So eventhough she was a little modern withrespect to the other girls, she was cir-cumscribed by her milieu, which wasevident in her dialect. Rashmi, on theother hand, is born in Mathura but hasstudied in Delhi. She is way more lib-eral than Bitti was. She is mature,empowered and gutsy enough to go fora live-in relationship. She is also impul-sive, so that is why she talks a bit fast.These little nuances you try and find for

yourself in the script to make each char-acter look different.”

Kriti doesn’t want to categorise her-self in terms of genres though she hasa series of comedies lined up — LukaChuppi, Arjun Patiala and Housefull 4.Perhaps that has happened uncon-sciously. “May be after Bareilly, I foundmyself getting attracted to comedy. Ididn’t realise it when I said yes to thesefilms.”

As an actor she’s greedy enough tobe wanting to do a lot more. She’s dyingto do a role that scares the hell out ofher but she wants to take baby steps.That is why she takes time while com-mitting herself to a script.

She’s very instinctive about thestories she wants to do. Says she,“Sometimes I go for the scripts, some-times for the way the characters areetched. Sometimes, I go by the director,hoping to avail a great learning experi-ence. Then I put myself in the audience’sshoes and ask if I want to spend mymoney and time on the film. There areseveral criteria but I never go by starsbecause I don’t believe that they makea whole film. I go with my gut feeling.Sometimes it works, sometimes it does-n’t. But I try to grow a little bit morewith each and every film I do.”

Kriti feels that she can explore dif-ferent characters simply because the

film-going audience is a lot moreaccepting of realism than escapism.“That’s the reason why biopics, real-lifeinspired events and social issues are thebedrock of commercial hits. The audi-ence these days wants to watch a sub-stantial story. And when you highlightsocial issues in an entertaining andlighter format without being preachy atall, it does make the crowd sit up andthink than it would if you were to force-feed it. We are in a good space in filmswhere we are free to think, say and dothings which are not harming anyoneelse.”

Since the actress has now workedwith both the Khurrana brothers,Ayushmann and Aparshakti, we ask herhow she rates them. Says Kriti, “Both aresupremely talented actors and easy towork with. They have a similar sense ofhumour. They even sound very similar.If you just listen to them and not seethem, I bet you can’t make out who itis. I enjoyed working with both of them.”

Of course, Kriti wants to do a larg-er than life role soon. And would loveto feature in a biopic on Madhubala.Says she, “That iconic actress was theepitome of beauty, style and grace andthere can never be someone like her. Iwant to tell the story of her life to theworld.”

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Pop singers Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonassported ensembles designed by New York-based

Nepalese designer Prabal Gurung for their single coverSucker.

Gurung sharedthe cover on socialmedia andcaptioned it: “TheJonas brothers wearPrabal Gurung onthe cover of theirnew album (single)Sucker. So stokedthat our firstm e n s w e a rcollection is on myfavourite brothersthank you NickJonas, Joe Jonas andKevin Jonas... I amover the moon.”

In the albumcover, Nick is seensporting salmonpink pants and ablack and yellow t-shirt. Joe looksdapper in an ice-blue twin set, whileKevin is seenwearing a brightorange and blue twin suit.

The Jonas Brothers have reunited for a single titledSucker after a gap of six years. Its video features Nick’sactress wife Priyanka Chopra too.

The video also stars Kevin’ spouse Danielle and Joe’fiancee and Game of Thrones fame actress SophieTurner.

Jonas Brothers’ band was formed in 2005. The bandhas created hits like Burnin’ up, Hold on and Fly with me”.The Jonas Brothers split up in 2013.

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With his shock of long greyhair, Muzaffar Ali standsout in any gathering. But

on him, it does not impart a lookthat is wild, rather it gives him asage like quality befitting a personwho organises Jahan e Khusrau, afestival centered around the Sufi artforms. But while the capital rever-berates with the sounds of the fes-tival in March, he is known formuch more and refuses to bedefined by any of it. As the direc-tor of the original Umrao Jaan(1981), he created a cult classicwhich more than any other film isconsidered Rekha’s most definingand seminal work in a career span-ning almost five decades. He is alsoa fashion designer along with hiswife Meera Ali whose brand Houseof Kotwara which has timeless tra-ditional silhouettes reminiscent ofIndian heritage translated perfect-ly through rich fabrics and subtlehues. He is also a poet, an artist, acraft revivalist and social worker.He discusses his life, the impact ofthe festival that has become andimportant part of the cultural cal-endar of the capital.

�Since it started, how has Jahane Khusrau changed and evolved?

Jahan e Khusrau was born outof a concern for the unity of Indiancultures which were threatened inKashmir and other parts of ourcountry by fundamentalism. It is anall inclusive philosophy made beau-tiful by poetry and music of theheart. It was inspired by AmirKhusrau the master blender ofsociety and the arts. Having workedin the valley on the film Zooni I feltthis intensely. While Zooni had tobe abandoned, my takeaway wasSufiana Kalaam which existed clois-tered in the Khanaqahs of the val-ley. It made me see music as aninternational language of the soul.

�When you started out, not manyfestivals centered around sufism.However, there are a lot now.What has led to the change?

Music and festivals around ithad been rampant but Jahan eKhusrau was born out of a differ-ent realisation. A realisation that

has been manifesting itself in dif-ferent ways becoming more andmore relevant with time. There wasa space in the heart which began tobe discovered and started to fill up.That is why we introduce new tal-ent each year and work with thosewho are open to new ideas andexperimentation in music and thesacred dance.

�What was the initial response toresponse to Jahan e Khusrau andhow has that become a much-awaited festival?

It is a blessing for the people ofthe city and for us too. It is againan organic extension of our jour-neys. Jahan e Khusrau is a commit-ment to an idea of oneness of thehuman race and that is what isreaching out in a viral form, morethan expected.

�The last film that you made wasJaanisar in 2015. Why don’t we seemore?

The film world which includestalent, resources and the market iscorporatised and controlled.Independent talent finds it extreme-ly difficult to make headway intothis domain.

�There is a certain intensity in thefilms, whether it is Gaman (1978)or Umrao Jaan. Where does thatcome from?

The intensity of thought andinspiration imparts a difference tomy approach to films. I am in aquest for perennial beauty thatenriches the human soul and it isthis that I wish to share without acommercial agenda or vested inter-est.�Zooni was much anticipated.Why is it yet to see the light ofday?

Zooni was a journey throughhistory of the Valley, its beauty andits heartbreak, its angst and itsdreams. It was delving into the truthof the pain which went beyond timeand subjugation of man by man.

�The web platform is an excitingnew space. Would you be open toexploring it?

The web platform is an excit-

ing world which inspires each of usin our own way. The west is show-ing its own mindset, its own agen-da through what it presents onscreen. India needs to create its owncontent base with its vision for thefuture. The content out of India hasto assume extremely aesthetic andcultural dimensions.

�The current crop of films hasseen content coming to the fore.Do you think Indian cinema hasfinally moved beyond formula?

Certainly good films have hap-pened, are happening and willcontinue to happen. Each personbrings his/her sensitivity to themedium. New experiences in mov-ing images and telling stories. Theformats are changing and contentevolving.

�Are you planning any new filmprojects?

I have many interesting ideas onthe anvil, but I feel the film econo-my is in a flux with corporate intel-ligence playing a different game.There are a few films in the pipe lineand we are hopeful. The House ofKotwara has a distinct look in its sil-houettes and designs. Now Sama(Meera and Muzaffar Ali’s daugh-ter) is coming in with her own sen-sibilities. Our design have beenorganic and natural as if emergingfrom a tradition with some elementsof newness and surprise.

�How do you juggle the festival,the fashion brand, writing andmore?

The fashion brand is more of aphilosophy than a competitivecommercial brand. And it is thisthat organically becomes a festivaland other forms of creative expres-sion.

�Your son, Shaad has charted outhis own journey. How much of aninfluence have you had on his filmmaking?

Shaad has his own journey andI am there to bless him and encour-age him only. He has to be respon-sible for his own successes! Ofcourse, he takes feedback from me.But I don’t interfere.

Badhaai Ho director Amit Sharmasays he will start shooting for hisnext film — a sports biopic —

along with actor Ajay Devgn, aroundMay or June.

His next film will focus on the gold-en years of Indian football between 1951and 1962. Ajay will play the role of SyedAbdul Rahim who was a coach andmanager of the Indian national footballteam.

Sharma said, “My next film is a foot-ball related film. It's a period film... wewill start shooting of the film in nexttwo to three months around May orJune.”

On the gradual audience acceptanceof high-on-content films, Sharma said,“I think it's a really nice time for cine-ma. We are getting to hear and watchgood and unconventional stories and Iam happy that those films are doing wellat the box office. I think people aregoing to theatres to watch those films,that's why they are doing good business.

“In fact, the audience is giving us a

message that keep making good filmbased on good stories.”

Sharma believes no one can teachfilmmaking and acting to anybody.

“It's either there inside you or it isn't.It's just that you need to tap the rightpoints and decide where it is takingyou.”

As a director, Sharma made hisdirectorial debut with Tevar, featuringArjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha.But it failed to impress the audience.

But his second film Badhaai Ho didvery well.

Asked about his definition of suc-cess, Sharma said: “I feel there is no def-inition to success. If you achieve successmore than your expectation, then it'sbad and if you do not achieve success,then also it's bad. One of my films hasworked and I am here right in front ofthe media... So, that is success and I feelsuccess should be under control.”

His yet untitled sports biopic will bebankrolled by Akash Chawla's FreshlimeFilms and Boney Kapoor. IANS

�How does Elsewith get along withJudith?

From the beginning, Judith andElsewith really click. I think Judithcan see a lot of herself in Elsewith.

Elsewith is a little bit overwhelmed withhaving to come in and take on such aprominent role within the royal fami-ly. Judith really helps to guide her. Sheinvests a lot in Elsewith. Elsewithknows eventually she is going to be atAlfred’s side for the rest of their lives,so she needs to be really strong. Judithhelps sculpt Elsewith’s role within theroyal family. They become very closebecause of this.

�What does Elsewith think of theVikings?

She’s definitely intrigued by theVikings in the beginning. She hasheard so many stories about how viciousthey are, but she’s still very curious. She’salso taken with how different and wildthey are — they follow their own rules.Elsewith was brought up as a goodChristian. When she’s confronted withpeople so completely different than her,it’s really intriguing.

�Does she get to meet the Vikings?Yes. They’re at the court when she

arrives. A few of them are aroundLagertha and Bjorn. She’s quite taken withthem and with all of the stories she’sheard.

�How did it feel coming into the showwith an already tight knit group?

Everyone was really amazing. It’s ahuge production, and it’s been going onfor so long. It is still running so smoothly. Everybody knows each otherquite well now. I have to say it’s been areally easy transition for me.

�After seeing the show on TV, did youever think you would be a part of it?

For sure. I think every Irish actorhopes to be on a show like this. I hadtaped for it a few times before for dif-ferent characters so I was hopeful thatI would eventually become part of thecast. Elsewith is a great character to playbecause her storyline goes far and sheis a very interesting person.

�Was it daunting coming to set onyour first day?

I suppose in a way. I think it’s moredaunting before you get to set becauseyou’re wondering what it’s going to belike since the show has been running forfive years already. You don’t know untilyou walk on set, but the minute you getthere, it’s like, “Oh yeah. I’m home.” Youget into the swing of it pretty easily.

�What does Elsewith take away fromLagertha ? Dose she aspire to be morelike her who is a strong warrior?

I think even if Elsewith wanted to bea warrior, there was no chance. A King’swife running around with shields would

not be allowed. I think being in Lagerthapresence, Elsewith realises that she’s afierce warrior and also a more wiserwoman from who Elsewith can learn alot.

�Do you hope that Elsewith canbecome more rebellious?

Oh for sure. I also hope that she willlearn to speak up and not be afraid. Shedefinitely likes to be heard and I hopeto see more of that.

�How long does it take you to get intocostume, hair, and makeup?

Hair takes 45 minutes. And make-up is very quick since it’s minimal. Thecostumes are beautiful. You can workyour whole life and never get into cos-tumes like we wear on this series. It’s anamazing work. They custom fit the cos-tumes to your measurements, so italways looks wonderful.

�What is Elsewith’s relationship likewith Alfred?

At first Alfred has so much going on

and he’s such a young King that he findsit all a bit overwhelming. Elsewith does-n’t know what to do with herself and howto connect with Alfred, but as time pass-es by and Alfred becomes more comfort-able with his position, they get on reallywell and form a great partnership.

�Does Alfred lean on Elsewith?He confides in her, and they have a

partnership where they can discussthings. Alfred provides, like in any strongrelationship. They do respect one anoth-er and I think they grow to love eachother.

�Michael write characters who have alot of insight. What are your thoughtson his writing style?

Michael writes such amazing, strongwomen, it’s brilliant. Especially, for peri-od pieces like this it is nice to work witha writer who values the female voice.There are so many amazing things thatwomen get to do in Vikings that you don’teven have to be a Viking to get to do them.

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The Indian cricket team willcontinue its experiments tofigure out the final pieces of

a jigsaw puzzle called the 'WorldCup squad' when a five-match ODIseries against Australia starts hereon Saturday.

The team is slowly moving intothe World Cup mode and even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20series won't see any shift in plansas far as skipper Virat Kohli andcoach Ravi Shastri are concerned.

"Every team will look to fine-tune whatever they need to beforethe World Cup, and we'll keepdoing that in the ODI series too, butwe still want to win every match weplay," skipper Kohli said after theBengaluru T20 loss headlining hisintention.

There will be at least fourplayers for whom the series will belike a 'pre test', a good score ensur-ing that they get 'admit cards' forthe board exams.

The four players in question areKL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, VijayShankar and Siddarth Kaul, whoare fighting for two available slotsin that UK bound 15-membersquad.

One man who will be keenlytracking the developments from thesidelines will be Dinesh Karthik,who still, many believe, has an out-side chance of making it to theteam.

However, for the quartet ofRahul, Pant, Shankar and Kaul, thecoming five matches will be an acidtest as and when they are induct-ed into the playing XI.

Rahul should be in a good headspace after scores of 50 and 47 inthe two T20 Internationals and isexpected to get a few more chancesat the top of the order.

The batsman is fighting for thereserve opener's slot and whoknows if Shikhar Dhawan's indif-ferent form continues, theMangalore man could well be a

permanent fixture in the side.All eyes will also be on Pant,

who hasn't exactly been consistentin the shorter formats but such ishis talent and ability to win match-es singlehandedly that the teammanagement may give him a fewmore matches before taking a finalcall.

For Vijay Shankar, his bowlingdoesn't exactly inspire confidencebut Hardik Pandya's dodgy fitnesswill keep him in the race and he can

still claim for a second all-rounder'sslot if Pandya is the first choice.

Kaul is a rank outsider andcould be a blind side entry as thereserve pacer as the team mange-ment's trial test with Khaleel

Ahmed hasn't yielded the desiredresults.

With Mohammed Shami andJasprit Bumrah being automaticchoices, Kaul will probably get twogames to prove his worth.

But Kohli and coach RaviShastri are not likely to tinker withthe core team too much as a com-prehensive series win is always anacceptable proposition.

With the seasoned AmbatiRayudu, veteran all-rounder KedarJadhav and the wily Shami back inthe Indian set-up, the ODI serieswill be a completely different chal-lenge for Aaron Finch and his men.

Also the formidable wrist spinduo of Kuldeep Yadav andYuzvendra Chahal will be operat-ing in tandem during those mid-dle overs to choke the run flow.

Add to it, Jadhav's side-armlow off-breaks and the likes ofGlenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short,Marcus Stoinis and Shaun Marshmay find it difficult to negotiate theovers.

Bumrah, set to be India's pre-mier bowler in England, may berested for a game or two depend-ing on India's position in theseries.

The Australian team, buoyedby the maiden T20 triumph over

India, will be eager to continue themomentum it has gained.

Nathan Lyon's presence willlend teeth to the spin departmentand he will partner Adam Zampa.

Andrew Tye, the late replace-ment for the injured KaneRichardson, will like to use all thevariations learnt during his stintswith various IPL franchises.

�C��!�India: Virat Kohli (captain),

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma,Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra SinghDhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, VijayShankar, Jasprit Bumrah,Mohammed Shami, KuldeepYadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, RishabhPant, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul,Ravindra Jadeja.

Australia: Aaron Finch (cap-tain), D'Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh,Marcus Stoinis, Usman Khawaja,Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb,Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa,Jason Behrendorff, JhyeRichardson, Pat Cummins,Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile,Nathan Lyon.

� �� �*�� �9��

India captain Virat Kohli onFriday said IPL performances

will have "no influence" on theWorld Cup team selection, callingthe speculation a "very, very rad-ical analysis".

With 12 to 13 slots more orless locked, India will be zeroingin on their last couple of slots forthe World Cup, whichstarts May30 in England, after the five gamesin the upcoming ODI seriesagainst Australia.

"No, I don't see the IPL hav-ing any influence on World Cupselection. I think that will be very,very radical sort of analysis," theIndian captain, known for hisforthright views, said on the eveof the first ODI here.

There were talks that IPLcould be a possible shoot-outbetween Dinesh Karthik andRishabh Pant for the second wick-etkeeper's slot but Kohli said thatone good IPL won't make muchof a difference for any World Cuphopeful.

"We need to have a solidteam. Before we head into the IPL,we need to be absolutely clear ofwhat team we want for the WorldCup. I don't see anything chang-ing on how the IPL goes for anyof the players.

"If one or two players do nothave a good IPL season, it does-n't mean that they are out of thepicture for the World Cup. Thosethings are not going to matter,"Kohli set the record straight.

Talking about the remainingslots, Kohli is keen to give Pantsome game time but certainly notat the cost of playing a bowler less,taking the field restrictions intoaccount.

"We will have to think aboutthe combinations. I don't thinkplaying a bowler less is a good ideabecause with the extra fielder intill the 40th over, it becomes verydifficult to sort of get a few guysto chip in with a few overs hereand there.

"We will have to work out thebatting combination to try andgive game-time to the guys wewant to. But, I don't see the bowl-ing combination changing," theskipper said.

The skipper also dropped abroad hint that KL Rahul, who

seems to have regained someform, has made a very good casefor himself for the World Cupsquad.

"It augurs really well. KL,when he plays well, is operating ata different level I feel. We have seenhim do that in the IPL last yearand in patches over the last sea-son we played as a team."

Kohli then went on to explainas to what makes Rahul special.

"It's very difficult to find aconsistent player, who can playgood cricketing shots and still winyou games at a strike-rate of over140 or 150. He has all the shotsand has a solid game as well.

"…it will be interesting to seewhat happens in the final WorldCup squad. Definitely, he hasmade a strong case for himself. It'sgood he's in great nick and hope-fully he can carry it forward."

The one time the skipperseemed a trifle irritated was whena scribe asked whether the teamis experimenting at the cost ofwinning the series.

"We are playing to win theseries or else I'll leave the ball tohit the stumps," it was difficult tomiss the sarcasm in his voice.

"As I said earlier, if we want tosee how a few guys play in a cer-tain situation, we'll play themagain in that situation. It's not likeif a guy is not playing in a certainsituation, he doesn't have theability," he added.

� �� �*�� �9��

Getting the batting order rightis every skipper's priority

and rival captains Virat Kohliand Aaron Finch are open tominor rejigs going into the 2019World Cup.

While the Indian captain "isready to bat at No 4" if the situ-ation arises, his opposite num-ber Finch made it clear thatGlenn Maxwell will come up theorder after playing a major partin the T20 series victory.

Recently, India coach RaviShastri had indicated that Kohlicould bat at No 4 in the WorldCup and the skipper on Fridaysaid that it's not a big deal as his"game template" doesn't changeif he comes one place down theorder.

"If that's the requirement ofthe team at a particular stage inthe game or before a particulargame, I'm more than happy to doit. I've batted a lot of times at No4, so I don't necessarily need totry it out because I've done thata lot of times in the past," Kohliechoed his coach's sentiment.

The skipper made it clearthat his style of batting won'tchange much from No 3 to 4.

"My game doesn't changefrom No 3 to No 4 because tem-plate is quite similar. In any given

situation, I back myself to playthe game that I know."

Maxwell, on the other hand,had indicated that he wanted tobat higher up the order after hisseries-winning hundred in thesecond T20 International onWednesday.

His skipper, on the eve of thefirst ODI, indicated that a pro-motion is in the offing for thedashing batsman.

"Glenn will get an opportu-nity to bat higher up the orderthan No 7 that he batted againstIndia in the previous series (inAustralia). He has been in greatform. His ODI cricket has beengreat as well. I am not sure wherehe will bat but higher than 7 Iwould imagine," Finch saidwhen asked about Maxwell'sbatting position.

"In one day cricket, it's notas easy to go at the end. So itwould be nice to bat higher upbut it depends on what happensin the top four or top five. If theopportunity does come up, I'dlike to take," Maxwell had saidafter the Bengaluru T20, sig-nalling his intentions.

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Centuries to Tom Latham and JeetRaval, and the best opening part-

nership for New Zealand in nearlyhalf-a-century left Bangladesh onthe ropes on day two of the first Teston Friday.

Kane Williamson, unbeaten on93, added to the run-fest at Hamilton'sSeddon Park in a century stand for thefourth wicket with Henry Nicholls.

At stumps, New Zealand were 451for four, leading by 217 with six wick-ets in hand.

Latham made 161, Raval notchedhis maiden century with 132, whileNicholls departed two overs beforestumps for 53.

With the assistance of a flat track,Latham and Raval put on 254 for thefirst wicket -- the third-highest open-ing partnership by a New Zealand pairand their best since the record 387 setby Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvisagainst the West Indies 47 years ago.

Latham punished Sri Lanka fordropping him before he scored at the

start of the innings.He occupied the crease for more

than six hours, scoring freely aroundthe ground and reaching the bound-ary with 17 fours as well as hittingMehidy Hasan over the mid-wicketfence three times.

Ironically, it was Soumya Sarkar-- who spilled the simple catch at sec-ond slip -- who eventually claimed hiswicket.

But by then, Latham had passed150 for the fourth time in his careerand New Zealand were 333 for two.

It continued a purple patch ofform for the left-hander who has threecenturies from his past four Testinnings.

Raval, frustrated by holding theNew Zealand record for the mostfifties (eight) without a century, final-ly got that monkey off his back in his17th Test.

He held his nerve after passing hisprevious best -- 88 on the sameground against South Africa twoyears ago -- and was able to raise hisbat when he cracked back-to-back

fours off Ebadat Hossain to movefrom 93 to 101.

It took a sly switch fromMahmudullah to make the elusivebreakthrough.

The Bangladesh skipper broughthimself on for one over only and onhis fifth delivery, Raval skied anattempted slog-sweep to KhaledAhmed at mid-wicket.

It was another part-time bowlerSoumya who picked up the twowickets of Latham and Ross Taylor.

Latham, who edged a wide deliv-ery to second slip on the second ballhe faced, put that stroke away for 246deliveries before he poked at a wideball from Soumya and a divingMohammad Mithun completed thedismissal -- also at second slip.

Taylor did not bother questioninghis dismissal when a Soumyainswinger rapped on the front padplumb in line with the stumps.

Against the run of play, Mehidyclaimed the late wicket of Nichollswith a ball that came back andcrashed into the stumps.

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Steve Smith has returned to the nets afterelbow surgery, with Australia coach

Justin Langer expecting the banned formercaptain and his deputy David Warner to befit for the Indian Premier League.

Smith went under the knife in Januaryafter being forced to drop out of theBangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tour-nament with a ligament problem.

He has been in a brace since, but pickedup a bat again and had a session at theSydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

"Great to have my first hit back. Theelbow is feeling good," Smith posted to his1.4 million Instagram followers with ashort video early Friday.

Smith and Warner become eligible forinternational selection again on March 29after serving year-long bans for their partin attempting to alter the ball during a Testagainst South Africa.

Warner also returned home fromBangladesh with an injured elbow, thoughless serious than Smith. He too had surgeryand was also at the SCG on Thursday.

He crossed paths there with formerSouth African fast bowler Morne Morkel,who has settled in Sydney with his wife.

Morkel was training at the ground aheadof a stint with English county side Surrey,

and told the Cricket Australia website thathaving Smith and Warner back would begood for the game.

"Obviously as a cricket supporter I'mrapt for him to get back on the field. It willbe great to see him and Steve (Smith) playand it will be great for Australia as well."Langer said.

"From all accounts they should both beready for the IPL, which is really positive,"he said. Once their bans expire, both play-ers will be eligible for the final two gamesof Australia's five-match ODI series againstPakistan in the UAE next month.

The squad for that series has yet to beannounced.

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After knocking Real Madridout of the Copa del Rey,

Barcelona now have the oppor-tunity to send their rivals pack-ing in the title race too.

Barca's 3-0 victor y onWednesday means Barca willreturn to the Santiago Bernabeuon Saturday with a spring in theirstep, even if Madrid were the bet-ter side and had the better oppor-tunities until the chaotic final 30minutes, when a Luis Suarezdouble and Raphael Varane owngoal gave victory to the Catalans.

"They had more chances inthe first half, it's true," saidGerard Pique. "But in the secondwe knew how to get at them.They left more space and in 10 to15 minutes we scored threegoals."

A repeat this weekend in LaLiga would leave Santiago Solari'sside 12 points adrift of Barcelona,who would effectively have anextra point's advantage giventheir superior head-to-headrecord. That would be a gargan-tuan gap to make up with 12games left.

Atletico Madrid are closer,seven points back, and they stillhave to play Barca in April, albeitat the Camp Nou, where they

have not won in 18 visits. Butthere is no doubt bumping Realout of the chase would be a majorstep for the Catalans.

They should feel confident if

recent form between the twosides is any guide. The Copa delRey win was Barcelona's fourthin six games at the Bernabeu andin each of those they have scored

three or more. This season alone,their aggregate total against Realreads 9-2.

And while Madrid will takeheart from the handful of gold-

en opportunities they created, itwas their opponents that showedthe killer instinct, delivered byplayers used to producing whenit matters most.

"When Luis Suarez is in thearea, he is at 200 per cent," saidValverde.

��.�����. ���The question for Barca is also

what these showings against thedefending European championssay about their own chances inthe Champions League.

A goalless draw at Lyon inthe first leg leaves their last 16 tiedelicately poised ahead of thehome return next month and ifBarca do come through, sternertests will lie ahead.

Suarez's brace on Wednesdaycontinues a timely return toform while Lionel Messi showedagainst Sevilla last weekend thathe is ready to call upon his scin-tillating best when required.

It is in defence where doubtsremain. The ease with whichMadrid opened Barca up on thecounter-attack suggests there isstill a vulnerability on the break,which teams in the ChampionsLeague will be better placed toexploit.

Midfield has been bypassedtoo easily all season while neitherNelson Semedo nor SergiRoberto have really convinced atright back.

There is still time to tightenup and Samuel Umtiti's return tofitness will be a welcome boost ifhe can find sharpness before theend of the season.

But for those that crave suc-cess in the Champions League,more than either La Liga or theCopa del Rey, there is room forimprovement.

"We are happy to go throughbut we have do have to do somethings a lot better," Valverdesaid.

"There are important match-es to come."

Atletico Madrid play a resur-gent Real Sociedad on Sundaywhile Getafe's surprise challengefor Champions League qualifica-tion continues away at Real Betis.

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Tottenham could dream of an unlike-ly Premier League title challenge just

a week ago but back-to-back defeatsagainst Burnley and Chelsea mean theirtop-four place is in danger as they pre-pare to host Arsenal.

Spurs' lead over their north Londonrivals is down to four points, withManchester United and Chelsea alsoclose behind in the race for the final twoChampions League places next season.

To make matters worse, MauricioPochettino's men still have to travel totitle-chasing Liverpool and ManchesterCity in the final 10 games of the leaguecampaign.

Pochettino has routinely hailed theincredible effort of his squad to stay inthe title race as long as they have done,particularly in finding late winners tobeat Fulham, Watford and Newcastlewithout the injured Harry Kane.

The England captain is now back inthe fold but despite defying World Cupfatigue and struggling with a lengthyinjury list, no new signings and havingto endure another season at their tem-porary home of Wembley, it is possibleSpurs are finally running out of steamat the wrong time.

"Now it's about being calm. It won'tchange my assessment of the players,"said Pochettino after his side failed toregister a single shot on target in thePremier League for the first time in hisfive seasons in charge in a 2-0 loss toChelsea on Wednesday.

"We need to support them, preparethem and lift them and help them tocompete on Saturday because that is themost important thing now."

Much of the damage done in thepast week will be forgotten shouldSpurs bounce back in the derby andopen up what ought to be a decisive

seven-point advantage over Arsenal.And Pochettino was keen to point

out that there is just as much pressureon their local rivals to avoid a third sea-son without Champions League football.

"Everyone from the beginning of theseason would have signed up to be inthat position before playing on Saturday,"added the Argentine.

"Everyone would have signed forthat eight or 10 months ago in June orJuly, to be, today, with the possibility ofplaying against Arsenal at Wembley withthe gap at four points. The pressure ison them, not only us."

!���"����A thrilling 4-2 win over Tottenham

in early December was the highlight sofar of Unai Emery's first season asArsenal boss.

However, despite the Spaniard'ssuccess in putting his personal stamp onthe Gunners, a familiar failing from thefinal years of Arsene Wenger's reign hashampered their progress.

In contrast to their stunning format the Emirates, Arsenal have won justonce on the road in the Premier Leaguein their past seven games and that wasat rock-bottom Huddersfield.

Emery's embarrassment of richesgoing forward was demonstrated in a 5-1 thrashing of Bournemouth onWednesday.

Mesut Ozil and HenrikhMkhitaryan both shone in their firstleague start together since November,while substitute Alexandre Lacazetterounded off the scoring after top-scor-er Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hadnetted his 19th goal of the season.

However, the former Paris Saint-Germain boss has struggled to find theright balance as Arsenal have not kepta clean sheet away from home in thePremier League all season.

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Australian Nick Kyrgios, unfazed bystern words from vanquished

Rafael Nadal, produced another grit-ty win over Switzerland's StanWawrinka to reach the semi-finals ofthe Mexico Open.

A day after his dramatic comebackvictory over 17-time Grand Slam win-ner Nadal, Kyrgios out-lastedWawrinka 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 onThursday to book a meeting witheither John Isner or John Millman fora place in the final.

Third-seeded Isner and eighth-seeded Millman met in the finalmatch on Cancha Central, whereKyrgios once again took a twisting pathto victory.

The drama started in the very firstgame, when Kyrgios took an awkwardfall and badly scraped the knuckles ofhis racquet hand.

As he received mid-game treat-ment the crowd grew restive, provok-ing the unpredictable Australian.

With the problem tended to,Kyrgios closed out the game, the setgoing with serve until Kyrgios seizedupon a couple of loose points from

Wawrinka to gain the break and the set7-5.

A tense second set saw Wawrinkabreak Kyrgios at love for a 5-4 lead. ButKyrgios broke back as they went to thetiebreaker -- Kyrgios vociferouslydefending himself when the umpireseemed to find his "let's go" call toWawrinka hostile.

Wawrinka won the tiebreaker toforce a deciding set that saw Kyrgiosbreak for a 3-2 lead he wouldn't relin-

quish, although before it was over hewould exchange words with a criticalspectator and provoke Wawrinka byhaving the trainer on yet again.

Unable to convert two matchpoints against Wawrinka's serve,Kyrgios closed it out in an explosive10th game, and insisted he relished itall despite complaining of debilitatingcramps.

"I love it," he said. "I actually playbetter when the crowd's against me."Kyrgios had already brushed asideNadal's complaint that he lackedrespect "for the public, the opponentand himself ".

That came in the wake of their sec-ond-round match -- during whichKyrgios complained of illness, pro-duced an underarm serve and, final-ly, taunted fans who booed his win.

"To come out yesterday againstRafa and pull together that three hourperformance after getting food poison-ing was massive," Kyrgios said.

"To back it up against Stan....I wascramping like crazy toward the end ofthe third set," he added. "I was just try-ing to scull any sort of fluids and hitthe ball as hard as I can it and it endedup working."

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There will be no final athome for Real Betis.The team's Benito

Villamarin Stadium in Sevillewill host the Copa del Rey finalthis season, but Betis won't bethere after being eliminated byValencia in the semifinals onThursday.

Valencia won 1-0 at hometo reach the Copa final for thefirst time in more than adecade, where it will playBarcelona on May 25.

Striker Rodrigo scored asecond-half winner forValencia, which advanced 3-2on aggregate after a 2-2 drawat Betis three weeks ago.

"We wanted to be in thisfinal and we were confidentthat we had the team to makeit," Betis defender Marc Bartrasaid.

"Unfortunately, sometimesthings don't go the way youexpect in football." OnWednesday, four-time defend-ing champion Barcelonadefeated Real Madrid 3-0 toadvance to its sixth straightCopa final.

Valencia, celebrating itscentennial, hadn't made it tothe final since it won the lastof its seven Copa titles in2008.

"We played a very com-plete series and deserved toadvance," Rodrigo said. "It'sgreat to be able to reach thisfinal in such a special year forthe club."

Betis needed to score afterconceding twice in the first legat home, but it was Valenciathat struck first at its MestallaStadium when Rodrigo foundthe net from close range aftera pass by Kevin Gameiro fol-lowing a breakaway in the56th minute.

It took a while forRodrigo's goal to be con-firmed, but a video revieweventually determined therewas no offside in the build-up.

Gameiro had scored thestoppage-time equalizer in the

first leg, when Valencia trailedby two goals early in the sec-ond half.

Valencia and Barcelonadrew both matches they playedin the Spanish league this sea-son - 1-1 at Mestalla last yearand 2-2 at Camp Nou Stadiumthis month.

"We will face a great team,with a player who makes thedifference," Rodrigo said.

"But we played two very

even matches against themthis season, and could haveactually beaten them. It's afinal, in one match, so any-thing can happen."

Valencia was eliminated byBarcelona in last year's Copasemifinal. It also fell to theCatalan club in the last four in2012 and 2016.

Barcelona will be trying towin an unprecedented fifthstraight Copa title, and 31stoverall, the most by any club.

Valencia had a dismal startto its season, winning only oneof its first 13 matches in allcompetitions. But it has hit itsstride recently, moving closerto the European spots in theSpanish league and also reach-ing the last 16 in the EuropaLeague.

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India Open will have a new addressthis time with Indira Gandhi

International Stadium (IGI) set tohost the ninth edition of the WorldTour Super 500 badminton tourna-ment from March 26 to 31.

After eight successful years, theUSD 350,000 tournament will returnfor its ninth edition with the bestnames in the business descending onthe capital for the event.

This marque tournament waspreviously held at the Siri Fort SportsComplex for the last seven years.

The Indira Gandhi InternationalStadium (IGI) in the past has host-ed landmark sports events like the1982 Asian Games and recently, theAIBA Women's World Boxing

Championships.All the matches will be played at

the K.D Jadhav Indoor Hall locatedwithin the IGI stadium.

"Historically India has registeredgood results in this tournament andI am confident our players will repeatthe feat this year too; especiallyplaying at a new and historic venuelike Indira Gandhi Stadium," BAIPresident Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The tournament has evolved along way since its inception in 2008.The first three editions of the IndiaOpen, then a Grand Prix Gold leveltournament of the BWF tournamentstructure were hosted in Hyderabad.

It was upgraded later to a BWFSuperseries Tournament in 2011 andsince then India Open is part of theWorld Tour and hosted at theNational Capital.

With the Olympic Qualificationstarting later this year; this year'sIndia Open will see a host of top play-ers from world badminton trying toamass as many ranking points pos-sible to guarantee a direct entry forthe Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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Sanju produced a hattrickas the Indian women's

team romped to a massive10-0 victor y againstTurkmenistan in their sec-ond match of the TurkishWomen's Cup in Alanya onFriday.

Sanju (17th, 37th, 71st)was the highest scorer of thematch, Anju Tamang (51st,83rd) and Ranjana (60th,62nd) got a brace each totheir name, while DangmeiGrace (7th), Sumithra(77th) and IndumathiKathiresan (87th) alsoscored one goal each.

India thus bounced backfrom their 0-1 defeat againstUzbekistan on Wednesday.

India started off with abang, as Dangmei put the

eves in front on the 7thminute itself. Around 10minutes later, Sanju addedanother one, before makingit 3-0 for India minutesbefore the half-time break.

The team, led byIndumathi in this match,

increased the tempo in thesecond half, as Grace andRanjana combined again toadd two more.

Notably, the 71st-minute goal marked thehat-trick for Sanju, and alsothe third assist of the match

for r ight-back DalimaChhibber.

Sumithra, Anju and cap-tain Indumathi added threemore goals to take India todouble figures in the game.

India are next set toface Romania on Sunday.

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