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A day after India demanded immediate release of an IAF pilot who landed in Pakistan detention on Wednesday following an aeri- al engagement by air forces of the two countries, Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan on Thursday announced that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be released on Friday as a gesture of peace and the “first step” to open negotiations with India. The decision comes amid report that the Indian Government reportedly decid- ed that Varthaman cannot be a bargaining chip and New Delhi will not strike any deal with Islamabad for his release. Khan made the announce- ment during a joint session of Parliament soon after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Khan is ready to talk to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to de-escalate Indo-Pak tensions. “In our desire for peace, I announce that tomorrow (Friday), and as a first step to open negotiations, Pakistan will be releasing the Indian Air Force officer in our custody,” Khan said. The announcement was greeted by thumping of desks by Pakistani lawmakers. The Indian Air Force on Thursday said it is very happy that captured pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan is returning home but dismissed suggestions it was a goodwill gesture, insisting it was in line with the Geneva Conventions. “We are very happy Abhinandan will be freed tomorrow and look forward to his return,” Air Vice Marshal R GK Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, told a news confer- ence. Asked if the IAF sees it as a goodwill move, Kapoor said, “We see it as a gesture in con- sonance with the Geneva Conventions.” The joint session of Pakistan Parliament was held on Thursday to discuss rising tension with India. The Pakistani Air Force on Wednesday carried out a retal- iatory strike, a day after Indian struck inside Pakistan, destroy- ing the biggest terrorist train- ing camp of the Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM). Addressing the House, Khan said, “The only purpose of our strike was to demon- strate our capability and will. “We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we want- ed to act in a responsible man- ner.” He warned if India moved ahead with the “aggression”, Pakistan will be forced to retal- iate and urged the Indian lead- ership not to push for escala- tion as war is not solution to any problem. Warning that “any miscal- culation” from India would result in “disaster”, he said, “Countries are ruined because of miscalculation. War is not a solution. If India takes any action, we will have to retaliate.” Khan, however, said Pakistan’s “desire for de-esca- lation” should not be miscon- strued as its weakness. “Our armed forces are battle-hard- ened and they are fully pre- pared to respond to any aggres- sion,” he said. Khan said he “tried to call” the Indian Prime Minister on the phone Wednesday because “escalation is not in our inter- ests nor in India’s”. The Prime Minister urged the interna- tional community to play its role in de-escalation for peace and stability in the region. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale briefed envoys of sev- eral countries, including from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, on the Pakistan Air Force tar- geting Indian military installa- tions in an aggressive manner, resulting in the escalation of tensions. On US President Donald Trump’s suggesting that the situation between India and Pakistan was de-escalating, the sources said New Delhi has no idea what he was referring to. Pakistan’s efforts to link the release of the pilot with “de- escalation” of tensions with India has not gone down well in New Delhi, they indicated. In Islamabad, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his Government was willing to consider return- ing the captured IAF pilot if it leads to “de-escalation” of ten- sions with India. According to the sources, Khan has to walk the talk on investigating the February 14 Pulwama attack. India, they stressed, wants immediate, credible and verifiable action against terrorists and their proxies. D ebunking Pakistan claims that F-16s were not used in the offensive against Indian military targets in Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday morn- ing, the Indian Air Force on Thursday said the American aircraft was used in the mis- adventure and also displayed the wreckage of the ‘beyond visual range missiles’ of the US- supplied fighter plane. Air Vice Chief RGK Kapoor, who addressed the media, along with the repre- sentatives of the Army and the Navy, said a variety of aircraft was used by Pakistan Air Force — F-16s, JF 17 Thunder and Mirages. This rejects Pakistan’s claims that its air force did not target the Indian military installations during Wednesday’s air intrusion. Asserting that the IAF strikes hit the intended target and achieved the mission, Kapoor said it’s up to the polit- ical leadership to decide when and how to release evidence of the Balakot strike’s success. He was responding to a question on the scepticism in some quarters about whether IAF fighters had hit the intend- ed targets. Kapoor said there is credible information and evi- dence that “We hit the intend- ed targets” and it was prema- ture to assess the casualties and damage. Sources in the Government said more than 20 Pakistani air- craft had approached the Indian airspace. The IAF also nailed the misinformation by the Pakistan military that it shot down two Indian aircraft and captured three Indian pilots which was later claimed to be two and by the evening on Wednesday they said just one pilot was in their custody. The Army and Navy rep- resentatives asserted that the Armed forces are on high alert and ready to meet any securi- ty challenge on land and sea. But the sources added there has been no mobilisation of ground forces yet. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. It came 12 days after the JeM claimed respon- sibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir, killing 40 paramilitary men. The IAF showed parts of Amraam missiles as proof that Pakistan used F-16 aircraft to attack Indian military estab- lishments on Wednesday. Pakistan lied that no F-16 was used but there was enough evidence, Kapoor said. Stating that Pakistan air- craft targeted military installa- tions, he added PAF bombs were unable to damage any of India’s defence installations. Addressing the media, Indian Army’s Major General SS Mahal said escalation of ten- sions had been done by Pakistan but India was pre- pared for any contingency if the enemy provoked it. Mechanised forces were put on standby and troops were ready to deal with any security challenge, Mahal said. Rear Admiral of the Indian Navy Dalbir Singh Gujral said the force was in a high state of readiness to deal with any Pakistan misadventure in the maritime domain. The briefing by the tri-ser- vices came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high level meeting amid the height- ened tensions with Pakistan and after Imran Khan announced the release of an Indian Air Force pilot captured by his country. The meeting was attended by chiefs of the three Services, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A host of other senior officials attended the meeting at the PM’s residence. W ing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman raised patriotic slogans, fired in the air and stuffed his mouth with documents when he land- ed on Pakistani soil after eject- ing from his fighter jet, says the headman of a village on the other side of the border. The Indian Air Force pilot, who has been the centre of global attention since his cap- ture on Wednesday, will be released on Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced in Parliament. Recounting the dramatic events leading to his capture, Mohammad Razzaq Chaudhry, the chief of Horran village in Pakistan, told the BBC that he ran to the spot along with other villagers when he saw the MiG 21 crashing to the ground. Varthaman’s first question on landing was whether he was in India, Chaudhry said, dis- closing that the pilot was pelt- ed with stones and also shot in the leg while fleeing. “My objective was to cap- ture the pilot alive. I had seen the Indian flag on his parachute and knew he was Indian,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying. According to the 58-year- old eyewitness, Varthaman asked some of the villagers if he was in India, and the villagers tricked him with an affirmative response, leading the pilot to raise patriotic slogans about India. However, he was in for a shock. “The boys around him responded by saying, ‘Long live Pakistan’!” Chaudhury told the BBC, adding that Varthaman then pulled out his gun and fired in the air to intimidate them. The move led to more hos- tility and the villagers began pelting stones at Varthaman who by then was on the run. “The boys chased him until he fell into a stream and one of my nephews who was also armed shot him in the leg,” Chaudhry said. The pilot was then asked to drop his pistol, and was pinned down by a villager to prevent him from using any other weapon that he might have had. The pilot attempted to destroy the documents in his possession by stuffing them in his mouth. However, the vil- lagers managed to get hold of some papers which were later handed over to the army, the BBC reported. Varthaman was also thrashed by the “angry” mob until the Pakistani Army came to his rescue. “Our boys were angry and continued to force their way closer to him to punch and slap him, though some of them tried to stop the aggressors. I also told them not to harm him, to leave him alone until the army officers arrived,” Chaudhry said. G oogle-owned YouTube on Thursday removed 11 objectionable video links of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan during an air combat on Wednesday. The YouTube took the decision after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asked the video streaming platform to do so. The Ministry had asked YouTube to remove the clips following directive from the Home Ministry, a Government source said, adding that the said links have now been removed. When contacted, a Google spokesperson said the company complies with “valid legal requests from authorities wherever possible, con- sistent with our longstanding policy and act quickly to remove such material”. “Data on Government requests to remove content from Google services is regularly updat- ed in our transparency report,” the spokesper- son added. Videos of the captured Indian Air Force pilot were being released on the internet and netizens shared these videos across social media platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook. T he Army man in Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday expressed his desire to receive the valorous air force officer on Wagah border in Amritsar after his release by the Pakistani Army. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has earlier announced to release the Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman a day after. Notably, Abhinandan was arrested by Pakistan Army on Wednesday when his MiG 21 Bison crashed in an air strike by Pakistan and he fell in their territory. Capt Amarinder, who is currently on tour of the State’s border districts, tweeted the Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintaining that he would feel an honour to receive the pilot as Abhinandan and his father are alumnus of National Defence Academy (NDA) as he (Captain) himself is. “Dear @narendramodi ji, I’m touring the border areas of Punjab and I’m presently in Amritsar. Came to know that @pid_gov has decided to release #AbhinandanVartaman from Wagha. It will be an honour for me to go and receive him, as he and his father are alumnus of the NDA as I am,” tweeted Capt Amarinder. Earlier, Capt Amarinder had also wel- comed Khan's announcement on IAF pilot's release as goodwill gesture. R aking another controversy amidst the volatile situation between India and Pakistan, the cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday insisted to continue dialogue with the neighbouring nation underlining that the “solution to terror was peace” — something that failed to go down well with his own party. Sidhu, in a statement released on his official letterhead, titled “We have a choice”, said: “Dialogue and diplomatic pres- sure will count for a great deal in seeking a long-term solution at a time when tacticians on both sides of the border are planning for the worst.” Also thanking Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's announcement on the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan, Punjab Cabinet Minister Sidhu said that the “goodwill gesture is a cup of joy for a billion people”. In his tweet later on, he said: “Every noble act makes a way for itself...your goodwill gesture is ‘a cup of joy’ for a billion people, a nation rejoices...I am overjoyed for his parents and loved ones.” Taking a line independent of his Congress party on the pre- vailing security situation in the country, Sidhu batted for peace as the sole solution to terror. “I stand by my deeply held princi- ple that a community cannot be blamed for the actions of a few. A sentiment our Prime Minister echoed, when he said ‘Our fight is against terrorism and enemies of humanity. Our fight is for Kashmir not against Kashmir, not against Kashmiris’,” he said. He claimed that it was a sen- timent that Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj too shared, when she said that our fight is not with Pakistan, “our fight is with the terror estab- lishment”. He maintained that he stand by “my conviction that dia- logue and diplomatic pressure will count for a great deal in seeking a long-term solution to the presence and practice of ter- ror outfits that operate within and across the border...The solu- tion to terror is peace, develop- ment and progress. Not unem- ployment, hatred and fear”. Sidhu stated, “No son of our soil should be separated from his loved ones as Abhinandan is today. An escalation would mean many more incidents like this. Irreparable loss and both nations going to a point of no return.” Quoting his political men- tor, Sidhu said: “Our objective should be to firmly deal with ter- rorism and its sponsors, financiers and arms suppliers. At the same time, our doors should always be open for processes which would restore peace, development and progress to societies which have been dev- astated by terrorism over many generations.” Going all out to seek a dia- logue between India and Pakistan, Sidhu said “fear has been among us these last few days an unwelcome guest". Congress on Thursday snubbed Navjot Singh Sidhu’s support for continuing Indo- Pakistan dialogue, saying that “there’s a time to act and there’s a time to talk”. “If honourable Navjot Singh Sidhu has an opinion, it’s his personal opinion. It’s not the opinion of the Congress. The time is not conducive for a dialogue”, said Congress national spokesperson and for- mer Union Minister Manish Tewari. Tewari said that the inescapable facts are that Pakistan has been sponsoring a proxy war against India and Punjab is also one state which has suffered from the proxy war and unprovoked cross-border terror using semi-state actors. He said that going back to 1979-1980, “the first recipient of that proxy war or that unpro- voked cross-border terror using semi-state actors was Punjab...For 15 long years, Punjab suffered because of the terror unleashed by the ISI and its instrumentality”.
16

HZ_X 4`^^R_UVc e` cVefc_ e`URj - Daily Pioneer

Feb 04, 2023

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Aday after India demandedimmediate release of an

IAF pilot who landed inPakistan detention onWednesday following an aeri-al engagement by air forces ofthe two countries, PakistanPrime Minster Imran Khan onThursday announced thatWing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman will bereleased on Friday as a gestureof peace and the “first step” toopen negotiations with India.

The decision comes amidreport that the IndianGovernment reportedly decid-ed that Varthaman cannot be abargaining chip and New Delhiwill not strike any deal withIslamabad for his release.

Khan made the announce-ment during a joint session ofParliament soon after ForeignMinister Shah MehmoodQureshi said Khan is ready totalk to his Indian counterpartNarendra Modi to de-escalateIndo-Pak tensions.

“In our desire for peace, Iannounce that tomorrow(Friday), and as a first step toopen negotiations, Pakistanwill be releasing the Indian AirForce officer in our custody,”

Khan said. The announcementwas greeted by thumping ofdesks by Pakistani lawmakers.

The Indian Air Force onThursday said it is very happythat captured pilot WingCommander Abhinandan isreturning home but dismissedsuggestions it was a goodwillgesture, insisting it was in linewith the Geneva Conventions.

“We are very happyAbhinandan will be freedtomorrow and look forward tohis return,” Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, assistant chief ofAir Staff, told a news confer-ence.

Asked if the IAF sees it asa goodwill move, Kapoor said,“We see it as a gesture in con-sonance with the GenevaConventions.”

The joint session ofPakistan Parliament was heldon Thursday to discuss risingtension with India. ThePakistani Air Force onWednesday carried out a retal-iatory strike, a day after Indianstruck inside Pakistan, destroy-ing the biggest terrorist train-ing camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Addressing the House,Khan said, “The only purposeof our strike was to demon-

strate our capability and will.“We did not want to inflict anycasualty on India as we want-ed to act in a responsible man-ner.”

He warned if India movedahead with the “aggression”,Pakistan will be forced to retal-iate and urged the Indian lead-ership not to push for escala-tion as war is not solution toany problem.

Warning that “any miscal-culation” from India wouldresult in “disaster”, he said,“Countries are ruined becauseof miscalculation. War is not asolution. If India takes anyaction, we will have to retaliate.”

Khan, however, saidPakistan’s “desire for de-esca-lation” should not be miscon-strued as its weakness. “Ourarmed forces are battle-hard-ened and they are fully pre-pared to respond to any aggres-sion,” he said.

Khan said he “tried to call”the Indian Prime Minister onthe phone Wednesday because“escalation is not in our inter-ests nor in India’s”. The PrimeMinister urged the interna-tional community to play itsrole in de-escalation for peaceand stability in the region.

Foreign Secretary Vijay

Gokhale briefed envoys of sev-eral countries, including fromChina, France, Russia, theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States, on the Pakistan Air Force tar-geting Indian military installa-tions in an aggressive manner,resulting in the escalation oftensions.

On US President DonaldTrump’s suggesting that thesituation between India andPakistan was de-escalating, thesources said New Delhi has noidea what he was referring to.

Pakistan’s efforts to link therelease of the pilot with “de-

escalation” of tensions withIndia has not gone down wellin New Delhi, they indicated.

In Islamabad, ForeignMinister Shah MehmoodQureshi said his Governmentwas willing to consider return-ing the captured IAF pilot if itleads to “de-escalation” of ten-sions with India.

According to the sources,Khan has to walk the talk oninvestigating the February 14Pulwama attack. India, theystressed, wants immediate,credible and verifiable actionagainst terrorists and theirproxies. &���� 0AB�.A1/3

Debunking Pakistan claimsthat F-16s were not used in

the offensive against Indianmilitary targets in Jammu &Kashmir on Wednesday morn-ing, the Indian Air Force onThursday said the Americanaircraft was used in the mis-adventure and also displayedthe wreckage of the ‘beyondvisual range missiles’ of the US-supplied fighter plane.

Air Vice Chief RGKKapoor, who addressed themedia, along with the repre-sentatives of the Army and theNavy, said a variety of aircraftwas used by Pakistan Air Force— F-16s, JF 17 Thunder andMirages. This rejects Pakistan’sclaims that its air force did nottarget the Indian militaryinstallations duringWednesday’s air intrusion.

Asserting that the IAFstrikes hit the intended targetand achieved the mission,Kapoor said it’s up to the polit-ical leadership to decide whenand how to release evidence ofthe Balakot strike’s success.

He was responding to aquestion on the scepticism insome quarters about whether

IAF fighters had hit the intend-ed targets. Kapoor said there iscredible information and evi-dence that “We hit the intend-ed targets” and it was prema-ture to assess the casualties anddamage.

Sources in the Governmentsaid more than 20 Pakistani air-craft had approached theIndian airspace.

The IAF also nailed themisinformation by the Pakistanmilitary that it shot down twoIndian aircraft and capturedthree Indian pilots which waslater claimed to be two and bythe evening on Wednesdaythey said just one pilot was intheir custody.

The Army and Navy rep-resentatives asserted that theArmed forces are on high alertand ready to meet any securi-ty challenge on land and sea.But the sources added there hasbeen no mobilisation of groundforces yet.

Tensions between the twocountries escalated after Indianfighters bombed banned terrorgroup Jaish-e-Mohammed’sbiggest training camp nearBalakot deep inside Pakistanearly Tuesday. It came 12 daysafter the JeM claimed respon-sibility for a suicide attack ona CRPF convoy in Pulwama inJammu & Kashmir, killing 40paramilitary men.

The IAF showed parts ofAmraam missiles as proof thatPakistan used F-16 aircraft toattack Indian military estab-lishments on Wednesday.

Pakistan lied that no F-16was used but there was enoughevidence, Kapoor said.

Stating that Pakistan air-craft targeted military installa-tions, he added PAF bombswere unable to damage any ofIndia’s defence installations.

Addressing the media,Indian Army’s Major GeneralSS Mahal said escalation of ten-sions had been done byPakistan but India was pre-pared for any contingency if theenemy provoked it.

Mechanised forces wereput on standby and troopswere ready to deal with anysecurity challenge, Mahal said.

Rear Admiral of the IndianNavy Dalbir Singh Gujral saidthe force was in a high state ofreadiness to deal with anyPakistan misadventure in themaritime domain.

The briefing by the tri-ser-vices came after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi chaired a highlevel meeting amid the height-ened tensions with Pakistanand after Imran Khanannounced the release of anIndian Air Force pilot capturedby his country.

The meeting was attendedby chiefs of the three Services,National Security Advisor AjitDoval, Finance Minister ArunJaitley, External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj, HomeMinister Rajnath Singh andDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman. A host of othersenior officials attended themeeting at the PM’s residence.

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Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman

raised patriotic slogans, fired inthe air and stuffed his mouthwith documents when he land-ed on Pakistani soil after eject-ing from his fighter jet, says theheadman of a village on theother side of the border.

The Indian Air Force pilot,who has been the centre ofglobal attention since his cap-ture on Wednesday, will bereleased on Friday, PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khanhas announced in Parliament.

Recounting the dramaticevents leading to his capture,Mohammad Razzaq Chaudhry,the chief of Horran village inPakistan, told the BBC that heran to the spot along with othervillagers when he saw the MiG21 crashing to the ground.

Varthaman’s first questionon landing was whether he wasin India, Chaudhry said, dis-

closing that the pilot was pelt-ed with stones and also shot inthe leg while fleeing.

“My objective was to cap-ture the pilot alive. I had seenthe Indian flag on his parachuteand knew he was Indian,”Chaudhry was quoted as saying.

According to the 58-year-old eyewitness, Varthamanasked some of the villagers if hewas in India, and the villagerstricked him with an affirmativeresponse, leading the pilot to

raise patriotic slogans aboutIndia. However, he was in fora shock. “The boys around himresponded by saying, ‘Longlive Pakistan’!” Chaudhury toldthe BBC, adding thatVarthaman then pulled outhis gun and fired in the air tointimidate them.

The move led to more hos-tility and the villagers beganpelting stones at Varthamanwho by then was on the run.

“The boys chased him until

he fell into a stream and one ofmy nephews who was alsoarmed shot him in the leg,”Chaudhry said.

The pilot was then asked todrop his pistol, and was pinneddown by a villager to preventhim from using any otherweapon that he might havehad. The pilot attempted todestroy the documents in hispossession by stuffing them inhis mouth. However, the vil-lagers managed to get hold ofsome papers which were laterhanded over to the army, theBBC reported.

Varthaman was alsothrashed by the “angry” mobuntil the Pakistani Army cameto his rescue. “Our boys wereangry and continued to forcetheir way closer to him topunch and slap him, thoughsome of them tried to stop theaggressors. I also told them notto harm him, to leave himalone until the army officersarrived,” Chaudhry said.

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Google-owned YouTube on Thursdayremoved 11 objectionable video links of

Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman, who was captured byPakistan during an air combat on Wednesday.The YouTube took the decision after theMinistry of Electronics and InformationTechnology asked the video streaming platformto do so.

The Ministry had asked YouTube to removethe clips following directive from the HomeMinistry, a Government source said, adding thatthe said links have now been removed.

When contacted, a Google spokespersonsaid the company complies with “valid legalrequests from authorities wherever possible, con-sistent with our longstanding policy and actquickly to remove such material”.

“Data on Government requests to removecontent from Google services is regularly updat-ed in our transparency report,” the spokesper-son added.

Videos of the captured Indian Air Force pilotwere being released on the internet and netizensshared these videos across social media platformslike Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook.

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The Army man in Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Thursday expressed his

desire to receive the valorous air force officer onWagah border in Amritsar after his release bythe Pakistani Army.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan hasearlier announced to release the Indian Air ForceWing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman aday after. Notably, Abhinandan was arrested byPakistan Army on Wednesday when his MiG 21Bison crashed in an air strike by Pakistan andhe fell in their territory.

Capt Amarinder, who is currently on tourof the State’s border districts, tweeted thePrime Minister Narendra Modi maintaining thathe would feel an honour to receive the pilot asAbhinandan and his father are alumnus ofNational Defence Academy (NDA) as he(Captain) himself is.

“Dear @narendramodi ji, I’m touring theborder areas of Punjab and I’m presently inAmritsar. Came to know that @pid_gov hasdecided to release #AbhinandanVartaman fromWagha. It will be an honour for me to go andreceive him, as he and his father are alumnusof the NDA as I am,” tweeted Capt Amarinder.

Earlier, Capt Amarinder had also wel-comed Khan's announcement on IAF pilot'srelease as goodwill gesture.

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Raking another controversyamidst the volatile situation

between India and Pakistan,the cricketer-turned-politicianNavjot Singh Sidhu on Thursdayinsisted to continue dialoguewith the neighbouring nationunderlining that the “solution toterror was peace” — somethingthat failed to go down well withhis own party.

Sidhu, in a statementreleased on his official letterhead,titled “We have a choice”, said:“Dialogue and diplomatic pres-sure will count for a great dealin seeking a long-term solutionat a time when tacticians on bothsides of the border are planningfor the worst.”

Also thanking PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan'sannouncement on the release ofIndian Air Force pilot WingCommander Abhinandan,Punjab Cabinet Minister Sidhusaid that the “goodwill gesture isa cup of joy for a billion people”.

In his tweet later on, he said:“Every noble act makes a way for

itself...your goodwill gesture is ‘acup of joy’ for a billion people,a nation rejoices...I am overjoyedfor his parents and loved ones.”

Taking a line independent ofhis Congress party on the pre-vailing security situation in thecountry, Sidhu batted for peaceas the sole solution to terror. “Istand by my deeply held princi-ple that a community cannot beblamed for the actions of a few.A sentiment our Prime Ministerechoed, when he said ‘Our fightis against terrorism and enemiesof humanity. Our fight is forKashmir not against Kashmir,not against Kashmiris’,” he said.

He claimed that it was a sen-timent that Union ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swarajtoo shared, when she said thatour fight is not with Pakistan,“our fight is with the terror estab-lishment”.

He maintained that he standby “my conviction that dia-logue and diplomatic pressurewill count for a great deal inseeking a long-term solution tothe presence and practice of ter-ror outfits that operate within

and across the border...The solu-tion to terror is peace, develop-ment and progress. Not unem-ployment, hatred and fear”.

Sidhu stated, “No son of oursoil should be separated from hisloved ones as Abhinandan istoday. An escalation wouldmean many more incidents likethis. Irreparable loss and bothnations going to a point of noreturn.”

Quoting his political men-tor, Sidhu said: “Our objectiveshould be to firmly deal with ter-rorism and its sponsors,financiers and arms suppliers. Atthe same time, our doors shouldalways be open for processeswhich would restore peace,development and progress tosocieties which have been dev-astated by terrorism over manygenerations.”

Going all out to seek a dia-logue between India andPakistan, Sidhu said “fear hasbeen among us these last fewdays an unwelcome guest".

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Congress on Thursdaysnubbed Navjot Singh Sidhu’ssupport for continuing Indo-Pakistan dialogue, saying that“there’s a time to act and there’sa time to talk”.

“If honourable NavjotSingh Sidhu has an opinion, it’shis personal opinion. It’s not theopinion of the Congress.

The time is not conducivefor a dialogue”, said Congressnational spokesperson and for-mer Union Minister ManishTewari.

Tewari said that theinescapable facts are thatPakistan has been sponsoring aproxy war against India andPunjab is also one state whichhas suffered from the proxy warand unprovoked cross-borderterror using semi-state actors.

He said that going back to1979-1980, “the first recipient ofthat proxy war or that unpro-voked cross-border terror usingsemi-state actors wasPunjab...For 15 long years,Punjab suffered because of theterror unleashed by the ISIand its instrumentality”.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Thursday

dedicated eight developmentprojects to the tune of over Rs102.93 crore to the people ofdistrict Rewari.

The Chief Minister inau-gurated five ambitious devel-opment projects to the tune ofover Rs 95.10 crore and laid thefoundation stone of three pro-jects to the tune of over Rs7.82crore. Speaking on the occa-sion, the Chief MinisterManohar Lal said that the StateGovernment is committed toprovide quality education to thestudents.

“Along with education,vocational courses should also

be encouraged among studentsso as make them capable ofemployment after completingtheir education. Colleges arebeing established within theradius of 20 kms for highereducation of girls,” he said.

Manohar Lal inauguratedaugmentation of Water SupplyScheme at the cost of Rs6,785.81 lakh. With this project,better water supply would beprovided to the people of 31 vil-lages and three dhanis of Bawalassembly constituency.

The Chief Minister inau-gurated 12.5 km long HDPEpipeline sewerage treatmentplant from Bawal to SahbiRiver at the cost of Rs 9.94crore. He also dedicated theAdministrative Block con-

structed at the cost of Rs2.71crore in Rao Birender SinghState Institute of Engineeringand Technology, villageZainabad in Kosli assemblyconstituency and new collegebuilding at the cost of Rs11crore in village Kanwali.

Manohar Lal also laid thefoundation stone of three bigprojects of Kosli assembly con-

stituency. The projects includ-ed construction of V. R. Bridge34.047 of JLN Canal and NikhriDistributry, at the cost of Rs 94lakh, sports stadium to be con-structed at the cost of over Rs2.38 crore in village Surheli andconstruction of building ofBhagat Phool Singh RegionalCentre at the cost of Rs 4.50crore, in village Lula Ahir.

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Haryana Police has seized70,200 banned medicines

worth Rs 8 lakh approximate-ly in the international market

and 160 gram opium in districtSirsa.

Police has also arrestedtwo persons who were in pos-session of the prohibited drugsin the district, said a

spokesman of PoliceDepartment.

He said that on getting spe-cific information about smug-gling of banned medicine, ateam of Crime InvestigationAgency had put barricadesnear Ding mor, Sirsa and sig-naled a car coming fromFatehabad side to stop. Whensearched, 351 boxes having atotal of 70,200 tablets ofTramadol, a prohibited pharmadrug, were recovered from thevehicle, he said.

The arrested accused wasidentified as Amandeep, a res-ident of Ding mandi. Initialinquiry revealed that theseintoxicant tablets were to besupplied in Ding, Sirsa andBadagudha areas. The accusedwould be taken on remand byproducing in the court so thatinvolvement of others could beunearthed, the spokesman said.

In another incident, a teamof Crime Investigation Agencyhas arrested a person carrying160 gram opium from Sirsa busstand area. The arrestedaccused was identified as SujeetKumar, a resident of Gaya inBihar.

The spokesman said thatPolice is also enquiring aboutthe name of suppliers from theaccused and efforts are beingmade to nab them. Cases underNDPS Act have been registeredagainst them and further inves-tigation is on, he added.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)leaders on Thursday met

Punjab Governor VP SinghBadnore on Thursday seekingthe expulsion of Punjab Foodand Civil Supplies MinisterBharat Bhushan Ashu and fillingof FIR against other governmenttop brass involved in the multi-crore Ludhiana land scam.

AAP delegation, led by theLeader of Opposition (LoP) inVidhan Sabha Harpal SinghCheema, submitted a memo-randum to the Governor statingthat the multi-crore GrandManor Homes scam, involvingAshu and other bigwigs of thegovernment, had been hitting thenewspaper headlines of late.

“The issue had been raisedon the floor of the House duringthe recently-concluded Budgetsession of Punjab Vidhan Sabha,”he said adding that in the inquiryreport, names of Ashu, Congresscandidate for Atam Nagar(Ludhiana) assembly segmentKamaljit Singh Karwal and threeother government top officialshad prominently figured.

Lamenting that no actionhad been initiated against theaccused so far, the memorandumdemanded that Capt shouldmake public the inquiry report,conducted by the Local BodiesMinister Sidhu, a part of whichhad hit the newspaper headlines.

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Welcoming PakistanPrime Minister Imran

Khan’s announcement on therelease of IAF WingCommander Abhinandan aday after, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh on Thursday termed ita “goodwill gesture” that wouldhelp ease the prevailing ten-sions at the border.

Capt Amarinder, inter-acting with the BSF personnelat the Khalra observation postduring a tour of the borderareas as part of his confi-dence-building measures forthe residents, said that thePulwama attack by Pak-backterror forces was an act of cow-ardice, necessitating the retal-iation by the Indian govern-ment. “I, however, hope thatnormalcy would return soonat the border,” he said.

The Chief Ministerextended all support on behalf

of his government to the BSFto deal with the current situ-ation in the aftermath of theIAF strikes on terror hideoutsacross the Line of Control(LoC). “We are there for you,”he told the BSF personnel.

During his tour of theTarn Taran region to assess theground situation, the ChiefMinister interacted with theresidents of at least 15 borderarea villages, includingShaheed Baba Tara SinghWala, Rajoke, Kalia Shatara,Dholan, Lakhna and Kals.During his interaction withthe residents, he urged them toremain calm and not to beswayed by rumours.

Assuring the huge crowdthat had gathered at Mastgarhvillage, just two kilometersfrom the international borderto see him, the Chief Ministerreaffirmed his commitment toensure the safety and securityof every citizen.

The Chief Minister, who

shared lunch with them, urgedone and all to guard againstmanufactured hysteria andnot get waylaid by rumours.“Punjab Government standsshoulder to shoulder with youin this critical hour,” CaptAmarinder told the residentsin Kals village, urging themnot to panic.

Earlier, Capt Amarinderalso visited the 14th BSFBatallion Headquarters atKhemkaran, the bravehearts ofwhich are stationed along theinternational border, and wasbriefed about the overalldefence preparedness by IGBSF Mahipal Yadav. He wasassured that the force wasfully prepared to thwart anyuntoward incident from acrossthe border.

The Chief Minister, onhis arrival at Ghariala villagein Tarn Taran district earlier,took stock of the situation andwas briefed by top police andadministrative brass regarding

the prevailing situation andmeasures taken for the secu-rity of citizens.

The Chief Minister asked

the civil and police adminis-tration to work in coordina-tion to prevail upon the bor-der residents not to leave their

homes in panic but to jointlyhold meetings of village pan-chayats and prominent localresidents to instil a sense of

confidence.Capt Amarinder also

impressed upon the residentsnot to be swayed by the falsepropaganda and desist fromrumour mongering in the pre-vailing situation.

Reiterating his govern-ment’s firm commitment tostand by the people of the bor-der areas in the tense atmos-phere, the Chief Minister saidthat he was in constant touchwith the Centre and keeping atab on the situation.

The Chief Minister alsoinformed the people that he hadalready directed the state ChiefSecretary and DGP to stay inclose touch with the district andpolice administration of the sixborder districts — Tarn Taran,Amritsar, Ferozepur,Gurdaspur, Fazilka andPathankot — and work withthem on the contingency plans.

Meanwhile, in an informalchat with media, the ChiefMinister said that during his

visit to the border villages, hefound the morale of the peo-ple and forces very high. Hesaid that he had met officialsand personnel from the Armyand the BSF and they all werewell prepared to deal withany situation.

He said during his visit,several villagers had raisedtheir problems with him andhe will ensure that they areresolved at the earliest. “I’vealready instructed officers tovisit the area tomorrow andresolve complaints relating toabsence of teachers and doc-tors in schools and hospitals,”he said.

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Continuing to be on highalert, Punjab police

chief Dinkar Gupta onThursday directed all theInspector-Generals ofPolice (IGPs) and theSenior Superintendents ofPolice (SSPs) to remainvigilant round the clock todisrupt any terror mod-ules that could be lyinginactive in the State.

The state DirectorGeneral of Police (DGP), ina message to all the IGs andSSPs, has issued directionsto maintain high visibility of the forces andget down to high impactpolicing over the next fewdays.

Already, the StateGovernment has put theDistrict Administrations ofall the six bordering areason a high alert in view ofthe escalated tensionbetween India and Pakistanfollowing air strikes.

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Electricity bills amounting toa whopping Rs 7,975.81

crore have not been paid to theHaryana Power Discoms bythe consumers including farm-ers, residential and domesticconsumers and even govern-ment-owned bodies.

The electricity bills pend-ing in the state have increasedfrom Rs 7506.59 crore in 2017-18 to 7975.81 crore as onNovember 2018, as per theHaryana Government’s data.

The pending electricitybills of domestic sector aremaximum i.e Rs 5744.77 crore.

Several government

departments are the biggestelectricity bill defaulters in thestate with an arrear of Rs870.90 crore pending againstthem.

The outstanding dues toHaryana Power Discoms(Uttar Haryana Bijli VitranNigam and Dakshin HaryanaBijli Vitran Nigam) include Rs581.45 crore by industrial con-sumers and Rs 598.63 crore bycommercial users. In agricul-ture sector, electricity billsamounting to Rs 180.04 arepending as on November 2018.

To encourage the con-sumers to clear their pendingelectricity bills, the StateGovernment had launched abill settlement scheme.

13,34,180 consumers opted forthe scheme while an amount ofRs 422.37 crore have beenpaid till January 31, 2019 underthe scheme. The StateGovernment has also waivedoff bills amounting to Rs3585.64 crore under thescheme, the data stated.

The scheme was meantfor facilitating the consumersof domestic category and up to5 KW of non- domestic (NDS)category. For BPL consumers,the principal amount of last 12months only was to be paidand rest of the arrears waswaived off.

As on November 2018,the number of electricity con-sumers in the state was

65,32,341. The power con-sumers were 59,40,158 in2016-17 which increased to62,24,537 in 207-18 inHaryana.

The government’s data

stated, “The consumption ofindustrial sector was maxi-mum i.e. 123755.03 millionunits (MUs) during 2017-18followed by agriculture sectori.e. 100673.45 MUs. For agri-

culture sector, subsidy amount-ing to Rs 7600 crore was givenby the State Government.

The electricity consump-tion was 280787.05 million

units upto November 2018(2018-19) in the state while2017-18, the consumption was382329.73 million units.

Notably, the pending

power bills have alwaysremained a key election issuein Haryana. The ruling BJPhas often accused the opposi-tion of encouraging the peopleto not pay their electricitybills in the state.

The Indian National LokDal, Haryana’s main opposi-tion party has alreadyannounced to waive off agri-culture related electricity billsand reduce the domestic billsby half, if it comes to power in2019.

On the other hand, theCongress, in an election year,have been maintaining that ithad waived off electricity billsworth Rs 1,600 crore soonafter coming to power in 2014.

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Peeved by the continuousprotest by the teachers, the

Punjab Education Departmenton Thursday decided to acttough, sending out a clear mes-sage that the Government wouldnot bow down.

Taking the plea of ensuingfinal examinations, theDepartment has issued instruc-tions to the district officers toapproach the courts against theteachers, participating in protests,strikes dharnas, and rallies.

The state EducationSecretary Krishan Kumar, whois supervising the teachers’ situ-ation following the government’sregularisation orders, has issueda letter to all the director publicinstructions (DPIs), and districteducation officers (DEOs),directing them to file cases in thecourts to refrain the teachersfrom holding protests in theirrespective districts.

“Director PublicInstructions (SecondaryEducation) and Director PublicInstructions (ElementaryEducation) are directed to file theCivil Suit for PermanentInjunction and MandatoryInjunction in their respectiveDistricts through DistrictEducation Officers and obtainappropriate orders from theCourts for the better adminis-tration and smooth functioningof the schools and offices ofEducation Department, so thatthe study of the students may notbe disturbed,” read the one-page order.

It was pointed in the orderthat the Department of School

Education has observed thatnumber of teachers, throughtheir respective Unions, are“interfering” in the smooth func-tioning of the schools and officesof Education Department at dis-trict level, due to which the entireenvironment of the schools arebeing disrupted leading to thelawlessness.

“Since the final exams ofchildren are approaching, so, itis in the interest of Education orstudy of the students that suchteachers may not indulge indharnas, strike, rally or protestsetc,” read the orders, which havebeen forwarded to DPI(Secondary Education), DPI(Elementary Education), all theDEOs (Secondary Education),and all the DEOs (ElementaryEducation).

The state’s school teachersand the state government havebeen on warpath ever sinceOctober last year when the StateGovernment announced theirregularisation policy with a con-dition which requires them towork at a monthly salary of near-ly Rs 15,000 for three yearsbefore being regularised in theirjobs. Punjab Cabinet hadapproved to regularize the ser-vices of as many 8,886 teachersrecruited under the SarvaShiksha Abhiyan (SSA) andRashtriya Madhyamik ShikshaAbhiyan (RMSA), as well Adarshand Model Schools, with a 35percent pay cut for the first threeyears.

Other than that, manyteachers were also holdingprotests against the StateGovernment’s ‘Parho Punjab,Parhao Punjab’ project.

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Punjab Government is all setto launch a new employ-

ment generation programme —Mera Kaam, Mera Abhimaan —for the state’s urban youth.

Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh, speaking atthe culmination of the fourthjob fair on Thursday,announced the government’sdecision to launch the newemployment generation pro-gramme to ensure dignity oflabour.

He also congratulated 265youngsters who got their job let-ters as part of the 10-day longjob fairs held in all 22 districtsunder state’s ambitious GharGhar Rozgar and KarobarMission. They had got recruit-ed or placed in different gov-

ernment and private sectorsout of total 40,517 selected forjobs during this phase of the jobfairs.

Giving details of the state-level Mega Job Fairs, the ChiefMinister said that under theRozgar Mission, the StateGovernment was facilitating808 youth per day in getting jobsand this number would beincreased to 1000 per day soon.

“The state witnessed onlyfive percent placements duringits maiden job fair held inAugust-September 2017, withplacement of 19,415 followed by16 percent in February-March2018 with placement of 11,821youngsters. In the third job fair,the placement percentagejumped to 21 percent with18672 placements, and now inthe fourth mega job fair, the rate

of placement was 55 percent,” hesaid.

He added that out of thetotal 1.13 lakh jobs offered inthis 10-day long job fair held at54 venues, as many as 41,878placements were secured while4370 aspirants were facilitatedfor self-employment.

The Chief Minister alsopointed out that Ghar-GharRozgar – Poor First was prior-itizing the poor in skill devel-opment and provision ofemployment. He said that underit, a unique initiative to providejobs to at least 10 poor joblessyouth of every village had beenundertaken to ensure universalreach of the Scheme.

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Capt Amarinder Singh on

Thursday ALSO announcedthat the State Governmentwould accomplish the target ofestablishing 50 colleges in thenext three years.

The Chief Minister, afterlaying the foundation stone ofDegree College for Girls at thelocal Boota Mandi, said thatthey had initiated the process forsetting up 17 colleges in just twoyears of the Government whilethe previous Government hadmade only 30 colleges in itsdecade-long regime.

“The SAD-BJPGovernment has made anannouncement in 2008 to estab-lish a college here but there wasno development in this regardand it was just a namesakeannouncement – not meant tobe fulfilled,” he said.

Talking about the Degree

College to be constructed atBoota Mandi, the ChiefMinister said that it was adecade-old demand of the area,which has first raised the issuein 1992. This College would alsobe completed in one and halfyears at a cost of Rs 13 crores asthe three-acre land needed forit had been transferred byMandi Board to HigherEducation Department, he said.

Capt Amarinder reiterat-ed that the CongressGovernment would open thenew degree colleges in thoseassembly constituencies whichdid not currently have degreecolleges – to impart qualityeducation to all needy sectionsof Punjab. He said thatJalandhar would get twoColleges - one at Boota Mandiand another at Shahkot.

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Accusing the Congress-led PunjabGovernment of “misusing” the SIT

on Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan inci-dents for “settling political scores”, theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) presidentSukhbir Badal on Thursday demandedto hand over the probe either to a sit-ting judge of the Supreme Court or toan independent investigative agency.

“In the light of this brazen politi-cization of the probe by the Congressgovernment, we demand that the probebe handed over either to a sitting judgeof the Supreme Court or to an inde-pendent investigative agency. Only thencan a fair probe be conducted into theseincidents,” he said.

“The real motive behind the entireCongress exercise is not to bring the

truth out but to weaken the Sikh insti-tutions including the SAD, and thus ren-der the Sikhs leaderless. But what elsecan be expected from the Congress partywhich rolled tanks into Sri HarmandarSahib, destroyed Sri Akal Takht Sahib,put hundreds of saroops of Guru GranthSahib to flames and killed thousands ofinnocent Sikhs in 1984,” he said.

Condemning the harassment ofAkali leader Mantar Sigh Brar by the SIT,Sukhbir said that this was being doneunder “political” instructions to goafter Akali leaders. “Everybody knowsthat Mantar was only an MLA at thattime and had no role whatsoever in thematter,” he said.

Sukhbir said that the Congressgame-plan to implicate the Akali lead-ership in the Kotkapura and BehbalKalan incidents was clear right from the

very beginning. “Both Chief Minister Capt

Amarinder Singh and Pradesh Congresspresident Sunil Jakhar had held theAkalis responsible for both incidentseven before any inquiry was institutedto probe the cases,” he said.”

He added that his party did notcooperate with the Ranjit Singh

Commission as its findings wereannounced even before its institution byCapt Amarinder and PPCC leader SunilJakhar. “This is why we did not coop-erate with the Commission. Now again,the manner in which SIT has set aboutharassing Mantar Brar makes it clear thatit is following the footsteps of theCongress Commission headed by Ranjit

Singh,” he added.Claiming that SAD was the first to

extend cooperation to the SIT, Sukhbirsaid that we did that in good faith trust-ing the police officials, given respon-sibility to probe the two firing cases,would do a professional job unlike theCongress Commission headed byRanjit Singh.

“Our hopes have, however, beenbelied. Just like Ranjit Singh’s CongressCommission, the SIT has become a toolof the Congress party to indulge in thevendetta politics. SIT officers are beingopenly directed by Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder and his ministerialcolleagues to implicate Akali leaders inthe tragic firing incidents,” he saidadding that only a sitting judge of theSC or an independent investigatingagency can bring the truth out.

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Punjab Government on Thursday extended thelast date of applying for regularisation of ille-

gal colonies, plots and buildings to June 30, 2019,which otherwise lapsed on February 18.

The decision has been taken considering amajor demand of real estate promoters anddevelopers, said the spokesperson adding that ameeting in this regard was held recently under thechairmanship of the state Housing and UrbanDevelopment Minister Tript Rajinder SinghBajwa with the senior officials of the governmentto review the progress made under the policy noti-fied for regularization of illegal colonies in thepresence of Punjab Colonizers and PropertyDealers’ Association.

The Association members put forward ademand regarding extending the date regulariz-ing the illegal colonies, the Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department officials and theMinister, considering this demand, said thatkeeping in view the interests of common people,it was decided to further extend the date.

Spokesperson said that apart from extendingthe last date, the decision was also taken to allowthe acceptance of manual applications in theoffices of respective Development Authoritiesalong with the present system of receiving appli-cations at the Sewa Kendras and designatedbranches of HDFC Bank apart from onlinemode.

For easing the process of applying under thepolicy, instead of multiple sets, only one set is nowbeing accepted. Along with, a provision for mak-ing multiple applications through a single emaillogin has been allowed.

As per the demand of the colonizers of dele-gating the powers of issuance NoCs to the EstateOff icer (Regulator y) in place of ChiefAdministrator, the Association has been informedof the existing provisions of the Act, wherein thepower of issuing NoCs is delegated to the EstateOfficer.

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To ensure planned and holis-tic development of the holy

city of Sri Anandpur Sahib,Punjab Government onThursday constituted a 14-mem-ber Sri Anandpur Sahib UrbanDevelopment Authority (SASU-DA).

Spokesperson said that theAuthority would be headed bythe Chief Minister as its chair-man with Housing and UrbanDevelopment Minister as itsvice-chairman, and SriAnandpur Sahib MLA, Housingand Urban Development

Secretary, Local GovernmentSecretary, Finance Secretary,Tourism and Cultural AffairsSecretary, Water Supply andSanitation Secretary, PublicWorks Secretary, Town andCountry Planning director, ChiefTown Planner, RoopnagarDeputy Commissioner besidesany other member or invitee tobe nominated by government asits members. The ChiefAdministrator of SASUDAwould be its Member Secretary.

SASUDA’s headquarterswould be at SAS Nagar, and itwould exercise all the powers andfunctions relating to the devel-

opment and redevelopment ofSri Anandpur Sahib town underthis Act.

The Authority would help inproviding a workable frame-work of the historical placebesides ensuring its compre-hensive planned and integrateddevelopment in a meaningfuland result oriented manner, thespokesperson said.

As per the notification, theboundaries of SASUDA hasbeen defined which consists ofone town and 23 villages cover-ing 5846 hectares (14440 acres)area having population 27,195 asper 2011 Census.”

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Haryana Government onThursday said that more

than 80 per cent of the state isnow Saksham or grade levelcompetent.

After seven rounds ofSaksham Ghoshna assessment,68 more blocks have beenannounced Saksham in Hindiand Math, thus raising the totalSaksham blocks to 94,” said anofficial spokesman.

Haryana Government willhonour all the Saksham blocksat functions to be organised atdistrict and state level schedulednext week. After this round, ninedistricts have become fullySaksham, he said.

Saksham Haryana is a state-wide education transformationprogram going on for the last fiveyears. Under the programme, ablock with more than 80 per cent

students at grade level is declared“Saksham”. The students of grade3, 5 and 7 are assessed in lan-guage (Hindi) and Mathematicson a sample basis. The idea is toraise the learning level of stu-dents of government schools invarious subjects to the extent thatthey are at a par with the stan-dard of their respective classes.

Chief Minister Manohar Lalhas said that excellent work isbeing done under SakshamHaryana Project. The test ofSaksham blocks would again beconducted next year to maintaintheir learning level, he said.

Education Minister RamBilas Sharma has congratulatedthe teachers and officers associ-ated with Saksham HaryanaProject on the result andexpressed hope that they wouldcontinue to take significant stepsfor quality improvement ofschool education.

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The State Police ComplaintsAuthority, a statutory body

constituted in Haryana to lookinto complaints of serious mis-conduct by police personnel,has finally got a chairperson onThursday after a gap of fiveyears. Haryana Governmenthas appointed Ram Niwas, IAS(retd.) as chairperson, StatePolice Complaint Authorityfor a period of three years, withimmediate effect.

The terms and conditions ofhis appointment will be finalizedsubsequently, the order added.The State Police ComplaintsAuthority had been lying defunctfor the past five years.

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Due to erratic rainfall anddrought in around 250

districts across the country,the overall food grain produc-tion may fall by 3.46 milliontonnes (MT) in 2018-19 cropyear (July-June) despite recordrice output. As per the Ministryof Agriculture, overall foodgrain production is pegged of281.37 million tonnes this yearas compared to 284.83 milliontonnes in 2017-18. As per thedata, rice production is esti-mated to touch record 115.60MT in 2018-19 from 112.91MT in the previous year. Inother words, food grain pro-duction may fall by one percent in the current crop year.The second advance estimatesof Ministry of Agriculture

shows, wheat production isexpected to touch 99.12 milliontonnes, lower than the target of102.20 million tonnes.

“Rice production is at anall-time high. We had set a tar-get of 114 million tonnes. Butwe expect the output to reach115.6 million tonnes. There willbe no shortage of foodgrains inthe country. We will be able toexport more if internationalmarkets are competitive,” saida senior agriculture depart-ment official, who did notwish to be identified. Wheatoutput is pegged slightly lowerat 99.12 MT from 99.70 MT inthe previous year.

According to the estimate,pulses production is likely to be24.02 million tonnes, lowerthan the target of 25.95 milliontonnes. However, the estimat-

ed output is more than lastyear’s second advance estimateof 23.95 million tonnes.

The cumulative rainfall inthe country during the mon-soon season (June toSeptember 2018) was 9 per centlower than long period average(LPA). The cumulative rainfallin north west India, centralIndia and south peninsula dur-ing that period has been nor-mal on the whole. As per IMD,250 of the 681 districts acrossthe country have faced defi-cient rainfall this year.

“The production figuresare subject to revision on

account of more precise infor-mation flowing over time, itadded.

The total oilseeds produc-tion in the country during2018-19 is estimated at 31.50million tonnes, 1.62 milliontonnes higher than the 29.88million tonnes output in sec-ond advance estimates of 2017-18. The production of oilseedsduring 2018-19 is 1.85 milliontonnes higher than the averageoilseeds production.

With an increase of 27.61million tonnes over 2017-18,total production of sugarcanein the country during 2018-19is estimated at 380.83 milliontonnes. Further, sugarcane pro-duction during 2018-19 is31.05 million tonnes higherthan the average sugarcaneproduction of 349.78 million

tonnes. Production of cotton has

been pegged lower at 30.09 mil-lion bales (of 170 kg each) from34.88 million bales, while jute& mesta output is seen at 10.07million bales (of 180 kg each)against 10.13 million bales.

India has been witnessingbumper foodgrains, oilseeds,cotton, sugarcane, fruits, veg-etables over the last few years,which has resulted in lowerprices for farmers.

As per data, as many as 100districts of the country havewitnessed a drought like-situ-ation, triggered by failure ofsouth-west monsoon. This fre-quency is now increasing inBihar, Uttar Pradesh,Karnataka, Kerala,Maharashtra, among a fewother States.

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The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will

be extended up to the RingRoad near DND flyoverthrough a six-lane, access-con-trolled road from the WesternPeripheral Expressway (WPE)near Sohna that would alsoprovide a fast link to Manesarfrom east and south Delhi.

Over 59-km-long highwayproject will start at Ring Road-DND junction and passthrough Kalindi bypass and therevamped Faridabad-Ballabhgarh bypass finishing atthe interchange of Delhi-

Mumbai Expressway atWestern Peripheral Expresswayand Delhi-Agra Expressway. Itis part of the decongestionplan of Delhi. The total cost ofthe highway project is �3,580crore.

Union Road Transport andHighways Minister NitinGadkari will lay the foundationstone at Kalindi Kunj-Meethapur road in the nation-al Capital on Friday. The pro-ject would be in addition to thenine other projects beingimplemented for decongest-ing the National CapitalRegion.

According to the Ministry

of Road, Transport andHighways (MoRTH), theseprojects include the 3-km sig-nal free corridor from DhaulaKuan to airport at a cost of�280 crore, which is about 40per cent completed; the 22

km, six-lane elevated corridoron Gurugram-Sohna Roadcosting �2,000 crore on whichwork has started and eight-laneDelhi-Panipat highway fromMukarba Chowk to Panipat onNH-1 being constructed at a

cost of �2,300 and nearly 48 percent done. The other projectsfor decongestion include the 29km, eight-lane access con-trolled Dwarka Expresswaycosting about �9,500 crore onwhich work has started; pack-

age II, III and IV of Delhi-Meerut Expressway costing�5,900 crore, where package IIis 36 per cent done, package IIIis 76 per cent done and pack-age IV is 32 per cent done.

“The new link will decon-gest Delhi with reduction oftraffic in Ashram-Badarpur-Faridabad-Ballabhgarh regionas well as to reduce travel timebetween Delhi and Manesar.This is expected to result inreduction of vehicular pollu-tion,” it said. This stretch of theexpressway will enable com-muters coming from EastDelhi, Noida and Ghaziabad tobypass Ring Road and NH 8.The stretch will provide fasterlink from East and South Delhito WPE that already providesdirect connectivity to Manesar.

This 59-km stretch of theexpressway will also involveconstruction of 13 flyovers,two railway under and overbridges and 10 minor bridges.A no-objection certificate hasalready been obtained from theUttar Pradesh and DelhiGovernment.

The other projects which ispart of the decongestion plan

of Delhi include four-laning of124 km Khekra-EPE junctionto Shamli-Saharanpur (NH-709 B) at a cost of about �1,200crore; Rangpuri Bypass to con-nect Dwarka/NH-08 withVasant Kunj-Nelson MandelaRoad at a cost of �1,000 crore;75 km Urban Extension Road(UER-2), third Ring Road forDelhi under Bharatmala at acost of �4,000 crore and the31.3 km, six-lane access con-trolled corridor fromAkshardham NH-24 Junctionto EPE Junction on BaghpatRoad at a cost of about �2,600crore.

“The project will havethree-lane service roads eachon either sides for about 29 km,7.350 km of elevated sectionwith two level crossings at fourlocations of Metro line, 18new underpasses, and nineinterchanges with improvedjunctions”, the MORTH said ina statement.

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Aphoto voter slip would nolonger be used as a stand-

alone identification documentduring elections, and a voterwill have to carry any of thetwelve approved identity cardsto the polling station.

The Election Commissionon Thursday came out with anorder in this regard after rep-resentations were made to itagainst the use of these slips asthey do not have any securityfeature. They are printed afterthe finalisation of the roll anddistributed just close to the pollthrough booth level officers(BLOs).

“The design of the photovoter slip does not incorporateany security feature. In fact, itwas started as an alternativedocument as the coverage ofEPIC (Electoral Photo IdentityCard) was not complete,” itsaid.

The 12 documents accept-ed for identification include —

EPIC, passport, Aadhar card,driving licence, service identi-ty cards with photographsissued to employees by cen-tral/state government, PSUs,public limited companies, pass-books issued by bank or postoffice, PAN card and smartcard issued by the RegistrarGeneral of India underNational Populations Register.

As per available informa-tion, at present, over 99 per

cent electors possess EPIC,and more than 99 per centsadults have been issued AadharCards, the order said.

“Taking all these facts inview, the Commission has nowdecided that a photo voter slipshall henceforth not be accept-ed as a standalone identifica-tion document for voting,” theEC said.

However, such slips willcontinue to be prepared and

issued to electors as part of theawareness building exercise, itsaid.

The slip will also carry adisclaimer in bold letters thatit won’t be accepted for the pur-pose of identification. “In orderto ensure that no voter is leftbehind, henceforth EC directsthat anybody with the photovoter slip, shall bring any of thetwelve approved identity cardsto the polling station for his/heridentification,” a senior officialsaid.

Other approved docu-ments are MNREGA job card;health insurance smart cardissued under the scheme ofMinistry of Labour; pensiondocument with photographand official identity cardsissued to MPs, MLAs, MLCs,the statement said.

“In the case of EPIC, minordiscrepancies in the entriestherein should be ignored pro-vided the identity of the elec-tor can be established by theEPIC,” the statement said.

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Observing that Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi

and his mother Sonia Gandhi-headed firm Young Indianengaged in clandestine ways toacquire the National Heraldnewspaper publishing firmAJL’s assets, Delhi High Court’sDivision Bench ordered theimmediate eviction of HeraldHouse, the headquarters of themedia organisation.

Upholding the SingleBench’s verdict of rejectingAJL’s appeal against evictionorder, the Division Benchheaded by Chief JusticeRajendra Menon and JusticeVK Rao said that there was“press activity” in HeraldHouse and violated and mis-used many norms and leaseconditions.

In a 63-page judgment,the Bench observed that withjust �50 lakh, the Young Indianin “clandestine and surrepti-tious way” got the control of the�400 crore with Herald House,by giving the timeline of trans-actions, how AJL’s more than 99percent shares were taken overby the newly floated firm con-trolled by Sonia and Rahul. In

December 2010, Justice SunilGaur ordered for the evictionof Herald House. The AJL wasrepresented by Congress lawyerAbhishek Singhvi and theUrban Development Ministrywere represented by SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta.

“If all these factors aretaken note of and a decision istaken by the respondents(Centre) to say that the domi-nant purpose for which thelease was granted has been vio-lated and there has been mis-use of the conditions of thelease, in the absence of malafides or ulterior motive havingbeen established, the writ courthas rightly refused to interfereinto the matter.

“We also see no reason to

make any indulgence into areasonable order passed by thewrit court in the facts and cir-cumstances of the present case,”the bench said. It said noground is made out for makingany indulgence into the matterand “we dismiss the appeal”.

The Congress leadership isexpected to appeal to SupremeCourt soon as a last resort.Already Supreme Court ishearing the appeal of Sonia andRahul against the Income Taxfine of more than �400 crore inthe National Herald case.Meanwhile, in the main case intrial court, petitionerSubramanian Swamy’s crossexamination by Congresslawyers will resume on March 30.

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The Supreme Court onThursday allowed the Delhi

Police to arrest and interrogatein custody Amrapali groupCMD Anil Sharma and twodirectors on a complaint thathome buyers of their varioushousing projects were cheatedand duped of their funds.

The top court, which isseized of several pleas of homebuyers seeking possession ofaround 42,000 flats booked inprojects of the Amrapali group,also ordered attachment ofpersonal properties of theCMD and directors — ShivPriya and Ajay Kumar.

The trio, under detentionof the Uttar Pradesh police andkept in a hotel at Noida sinceOctober 9 last year by theapex court for not complyingwith its orders, was in for ashock when a bench of justicesArun Mishra and UU Lalitordered the arrest on a plea byEconomic Offence Wing(EOW) of Delhi Police saying

that it wanted quiz them in aseparate cheating case.

“We had never everstopped any agency from arrest-ing and interrogating the direc-tors,” the bench said, adding,“We make it clear that they(EOW) are free to arrest any orall directors”. The Bench, whichhad taken strong exception ofdiversion of monies of thehome buyers by the directorsand the real estate firm, direct-ed the court-appointed foren-sic auditors to complete theirdetailed investigation on diver-gence of home buyers money byAmrapali group before March22 and listed the matter forhearing on March 24.

The Bench, which hadasked the real estate firm andits directors to either depositthe diverted money or be readyfor consequences, Thursdayordered forthwith attachmentof personal properties of theCMD and the two directors.The attached assets also includ-ed the south Delhi-based bun-galow of CMD Sharma.

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The BCCI on Thursday toldthe Supreme Court that

the life ban imposed on formerIndian cricketer S Sreesanth forhis alleged involvement in the2013 IPL spot-fixing scandalwas “fully sustainable in law” ashe had “tried to influence” amatch.

Countering the argumentsadvanced by the counsel rep-resenting the Board of Controlfor Cricket in India (BCCI),Sreesanth’s lawyer told thebench of justices AshokBhushan and KM Joseph thatno spot-fixing took place dur-ing the IPL match and allega-tions levelled against the crick-eter were not substantiated byevidence.

The 35-year-old cricketerhas challenged in the top courtthe decision of a division benchof the Kerala High Court whichhad restored the life banimposed on him by the BCCI.

A single-judge bench of theKerala High Court had liftedthe life ban imposed onSreesanth by the BCCI and had set aside all pro-ceedings against him initiatedby the board.

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The Supreme Court onThursday stayed its

February 13 order directing 21states to evict 11.8 lakh illegalforest dwellers whose claimsover the land have been reject-ed by the authorities.

A Bench comprisingJustices Arun Mishra andNaveen Sinha directed the stategovernments to file affidavitgiving details about processadopted in rejecting the claims.

The apex court posted thematter for further hearing onJuly 10.

The top court had onWednesday agreed to hear theCentre’s plea seeking with-holding of its February 13order asking 21 states to evictnearly 11.8 lakh forest dwellerswhose claims were rejected.

After briefly hearing thematter, the bench said: “We stayand hold our February 13order.”

The bench also directedthat the affidavit has to be filedby the chief secretaries of thestates giving details of varioussteps covered for carrying outthe eviction of the forestdwellers.

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A33-year-old woman waskilled and an Indian Army

jawan, currently on leave,received critical injuries inintense cross-border shellingalong the Line of Control inMendhar sector of Poonch onThursday.

According to field reports,“the woman was sitting in anopen area of her house in vil-lage Chajjala when a mortarshell landed there causinggrievous injuries”. She suc-cumbed to her fatal injuriesbefore being rushed to thehospital.

Police said, “the deceasedwoman was identified asAmin Akhtar, D/O MohdSadiq while Lance Naik ZakirHussain, S/O Abdul Hameedof Balnoi in Mankote receivedsplinter injuries while he wasmoving through the lane nearhis house”. He was referred toGovernment Medical Collegehospital in Jammu.

Through out the day theborder residents in the areafaced brunt of intense shellingas Pakistan escalated tensionby targeting several civilianareas.

However, shortly afterPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan made an announcementto release Wing commanderAbhinandan Varthaman fromits custody the roaring gunsstopped firing artillery shells

which had triggered panic inthe area.

Earlier, Pakistan Air Forcejets also attempted to violate airspace in Mendhar sector butalert air patrol of the Indian AirForce chased them away andprevented targeting of vitalmilitary installations.

According to Defence PROLt- Col Devender Anand,"Pakistan initiated 'unpro-voked' ceasefire violation ataround 6.00 a.m by shellingwith mortars and firing ofsmall arms in Krishna Ghatisector". As the day progressed,Pakistan army targeted for-ward Indian posts in other sec-tors using heavy calibreweapons. In response the

Indian army retaliated strong-ly and effectively.

Firing in the KG sectorwas initiated around 1.00p.m.After about one hour,Kalal and Baba Khori area ofNowshera witnessed heavyshelling. Several local resi-dents in the forward areasremained indoors as theycould not move out due to fearof getting caught in the cross-fire. In response the Indianside responded strongly andeffectively. Tension in the areaescalated further around 3.00p.m after both the sidesexchanged heavy volume fir-ing in Sunderbani, Mankote,Khari Karamara and Degwarsectors.

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In the backdrop of the Indo-Pak conflict on the borders,

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday called for notdoing anything that wouldimpact the morale of armedforces as he also announcedthat India would work and winand continue its march towardsdevelopment.

“The enemy is trying todestabilise us, carry out terrorstrikes... They want to stop ourgrowth... We will fight, live,work and win as one,” he said.

Modi was interacting with

about one crore BJP workers in15,000 locations through whatthe party said was the “world’slargest video conference”.

Modi said in his addressthat the 2014 election was amandate for fulfilling people’snecessities and the 2019 pollswill be about fulfilling people’saspirations.

Indians have to be hardworking in all spheres andshould be grateful to all thosewho are protecting the country,the Prime Minister said.

Some people, for their self-ish interests, dislike a strongGovernment, he said. BJP

workers need to tell people thebenefits of a strongGovernment, he added.

Prime Minister said it isnecessary to ensure that noth-ing is done to dent the moraleof the security forces.

Modi said India will fight,live, work and win as one andnobody can create hurdles in itsmarch towards development.

On the political front,Prime Minister Dismissed the‘mahagatbandhan’ ofOpposition parties as‘mahamilavat’ which he saidwould send the country to theIntensive Care Unit (ICU).

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The Congress on Thursdayalleged that the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi has“misplaced priorities” and thathe was “desperate only for re-election”. It also accused the saf-fron party leaders of politicis-ing the bravery of the armedforces, while referring toKarnataka BJP leader BSYeddyurappa’s comment thatIndia’s “pre-emptive strikes”on terror camps in Pakistanhave created a wave in favourof PM Modi and will help hisparty win over 22 out of 28 LokSabha seats in the State.

The Congress simultane-ously distanced itself from thesuggestions by Punjab MinisterNavjot Singh Sidhu for a dia-logue with Pakistan and termedit as his personal opinion andnot that of the party. “There isa time to act and there is a timeto talk. Dialogue can only takeplace when the atmosphere isconducive for dialogue andthe current atmosphere is notconducive for a dialogue,”Congress spokesperson Manish

Tewari said.The party’s chief

spokesperson RandeepSurjewala alleged that theprime minister was “hell-benton creating a video-confer-ence record” when the entirecountry was praying for thereturn of its braveheart pilot.An IAF pilot was captured byPakistan after an air combat onWednesday during which thetwo sides said they shot downeach other’s warplanes thatfollowed an unsuccessfulattempt to target Indian mili-tary installations in retaliatorystrikes that sparked fears of war.IAF sources identified the pilotas Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman.

“Glaring case of misplacedpriorities! 132 Cr Indians prayfor safe & immediate return ofIndia’s brave-heart WingComm, Abhinandan butModiji desperate only for re-election. Congress cancelledits imp CWC & Rally today.Pradhan Sevak hell-bent oncreating a Video Conf. Record(sic)!” Surjewala wrote onTwitter.

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New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdayappeared to be making a ref-erence to India’s air strikes onterror camps in Pakistan whenhe said a “pilot project” wasrecently carried out and nowthe “real one” has to be done asthe earlier exercise was a prac-tice.

Speaking at an award cer-emony for scientists, he said,“You spend your life in labo-ratories. You have a tradition of

first doing a pilot project. It islater scaled up. So recently apilot project happened”, as theaudience burst into applause.

Modi continued, “Now thereal one has to be done. Earlierone was a practice. And the realis to actually give a standingovation to today’s award win-ners. We will will give a stand-ing ovation.”

These remarks of thePrime Minister were latertweeted by the ruling BJP.

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Mumbai: The Indian Navy onThursday said it is in a high stateof readiness to deal with any Pakmaritime misadventure amidrising tensions between the twoneighbours.

Pakistani Air Force onWednesday carried out a retal-iatory strike across the Line ofControl(LoC) in Jammu andKashmir and attempted to tar-get military installations, a dayafter India’s strike on the JeMfacility in Balakot. “The Navy isdeployed in a high state ofreadiness and remains poised onsurface, under sea and in air todeter, prevent and defeat anymisadventure by Pakistan inmaritime domain,” a Defencespokesperson said in a state-ment.”The Navy assures of a res-olute, swift and strong responsewhen needed. We stand with theArmy and Air Force to ensurethe safety and security of thenation,” he said. PTI

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Mamata Banerjee onThursday expressed con-

cern over the safety of WingCommander Abhinandan andat the same time faulted PrimeMinister Narendra Modi foravoiding an all-party meetingpost Balakot strike wonderingas to whether the air raid on theintended cross-border targetwas a genuine hit or a miss “as

is being claimed by some for-eign media.”

Abhinandan’s Mig 21 Bisonon Wednesday went down incourse of shooting down anenemy F-16 while chasing awaythe enemy squadrons that hadintruded into Indian territoryin Jammu & Kashmir.

The fighter pilot was cur-rently in Pakistani custody andwas likely to be released by thatcountry on Friday. “We areanxiously waiting for the safereturn of our brave pilotAbhinandan who was capturedby Pakistan,” while defending

India, the Chief Minister saidbefore squarely accusing theCentre of playing politics withthe soldiers’ blood.

Questioning the impact ofthe Indian Air Force strike onJaish-e-Mohammed terrorcamps on a hill top nearBalakot Banerjee said, “wewant to know how much truthis there in the claim of theGovernment,” questioning why“the Prime Minister is avoidingan all-party meeting to brief theopposition parties about thesuccess of the air raid,” on ter-ror camps.

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Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS) chief Raj

Thackeray said here onThursday that if Pakistanreleased India’s in-custodypilot Abhinandan Varthamanand called for ceasefire, thenPrime Minister NarendraModi should not refuse toaccept his Pakistani counter-part Prime Minister ImranKhan’s offer for “constructivetalks” between the two coun-tries.

“If Pakistan is really sin-cere in their offer of con-structive talks, then the firststep in this direction mustcome from them. They have torelease our pilot Abhinandan

immediately and call for cease-fire in the border. If this canbe achieved, then we canbelieve that Imran Khan’sintentions are noble. If all thistakes place, then Modi shouldnot let this opportunity passby,” Raj said.

Raj, who issued a state-ment to this effect hoursbefore Imran Khan made a“gesture of peace” in the formof announcement thatAbhinandan would be releasedon Friday, said: “Both thenations should resolve theissues through constructivetalks and foster a peacefulenvironment. That is what Ihope and wish for”.

“A war can never be asolution to any issue. In fact,

a war is damaging and takescountry back on all levels.Terrorists and terrorism mustbe ruthlessly eradicated but forthat, to wage a war or (create)a war-like situation for one’spolitical interest is not right,”Raj said, while taking an indi-rect dig at Modi and the rul-ing BJP for politicising theongoing military conflict withPakistan.

“I reiterate my stand that a war or a war-like situation is not the answer toany problems. To take advantage of such situationsshould not be disposition ofany good government and allpower bearers should keep this in mind,” the MNSchief said.

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Page 7: HZ_X 4`^^R_UVc e` cVefc_ e`URj - Daily Pioneer

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Shillong: Rescuers haveretrieved the second heavilydecomposed body of anunidentified digger from a370-feet illegal rat-hole mine inMeghalaya's East Jaintia Hillsdistrict, 77 days after 15 mengot trapped inside the floodedcoal quarry, an official saidThursday.

The body, located 200 feetaway from the bottom of themine, was brought out usingthe Indian Navy's underwaterremotely operated vehicle(ROV) and an NDRF boat onWednesday, operationsspokesman R Susngi told PTI.

This is the second heavilydecomposed body to be liftedfrom the mine after it floodedaccidentally on December 13,2018.

The first body, identified asthat of Amir Hussain fromAssam's Chirang district, was

pulled out of the mine onJanuary 24.

Assistant Commandant ofGuwahati-based NationalDisaster Response Force(NDRF) battalion, SantoshSingh, who has been leading ateam of rescuers from the start-ing day of the tragedy, told PTIThursday three more bodies ofthe miners were sighted in last

few days but they slipped andvanished in course of beingpulled out of the narrow shaftof the mine.

"Efforts are on to relocatethese bodies and bring themout of the mine," he said fromthe mine site located on thewestern side of a small hillockin Khloo-Ryngksan area bythe side of Lytein river.

The body pulled out of themine Wednesday was dis-patched to the civil hospital atthe district headquarters atKhliehriat for postmortemexamination, Susngi said.

Fifteen miners weretrapped deep inside the coal pitafter water from the nearbyLytein river had gushed into themine at Lumthari village in theKsan area of East Jaintia Hillsdistrict on December 13 lastyear.

Apart from the IndianNavy, the Army and the NDRF,the state's agencies are engagedin the operations that beganhours after the accident tookplace.

Giving details of theWednesday operation, theNDRF officer said five persons,four NDRF rescuers and onefrom Navy, went down into themain shaft number 26. PTI

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Mumbai: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdaysaid his act of washing the feetof sanitation workers inAllahabad recently was notintended for political gains,but an outcome of his 'sanskar'(values).

He was responding to aquestion by a BJP corporatorfrom Pune in Maharashtra viavideo link from Delhi, duringthe party's 'Mera Booth SabseMazboot' programme.

During the programme,which the BJP described as the"world's largest video confer-ence", Modi had direct dialoguewith BJP workers and volun-teers across the country.

"I have been to Kumbh(Mela) in Uttar Pradesh, whichwas widely appreciated for itscleanliness. Around 22 crorepeople visited the Kumbh. It ledme to think about the effortsput in by the sanitation work-ers and I decided to express mygratitude towards them bycleaning their feet," Modi said.

He said people dubbing hisact as a political gimmick donot know him well.

Modi recalled his housewarming ceremony when hebecame the chief minister ofGujarat for the first time.

"When people from theadministration asked me howI want to perform the housewarming of my official resi-

dence, I had plainly askedthem to get someone whoworks as a class four employeein the government. They founda Dalit person, and I placed the'kalash' in his daughter's hands,"he said.

"It is part of culture, mysanskar," Modi said.

Modi Sunday took a holydip at the Sangam in Allahabadand interacted with sanitationworkers who ensured cleanli-ness during the ongoingKumbh Mela. He describedthem as "real karma-yogis"whose contributions are beinglauded all over.

Modi also performed theGanga aarti and conducted'Charan Vandana' (washing thefeet) of select sanitation work-ers, as a mark of respect to theirefforts in ensuring a cleanKumbh. He presented them'angvastram' and said he wouldforever carry the memory ofwashing the feet of the 'safaikaramcharis'. PTI

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Lucknow: Amid reports of dif-ferences with its ally BJP, ApnaDal (Sonelal) chief AshishSingh Patel on Thursday said hehad a "positive" meeting withAmit Shah, but all options wereopen if a certain section of saf-fron party leaders "do notchange their attitude".

Ashish Singh Patel, thehusband of Union MinisterAnupriya Patel, had met BJPnational president Amit Shahat New Delhi on Wednesday.

"We have put up variousissues before Shah. Overall,the meeting was positive," hetold PTI, adding the talks wereregarding the "problems" hisparty was facing with the BJP'sUttar Pradesh unit.

Anupriya Patel had last weekaccused the BJP of "apparentlynot taking care of its allies" andsaid that her party was "free totake its own decisions" regardingthe upcoming general elections.

"Some differences croppedup between the Apna Dal andthe BJP. We had given themtime till February 20 to resolvethe issues, but there is noanswer from the BJP. It appearsthey are not interested in tak-

ing care of their allies," ApnaDal leader and Union MinisterAnupriya Patel had toldreporters in Bareilly last week.

"Now, the Apna Dal is freeto make its own decision. Aparty meeting has been calledto chalk out our future courseof action," she had said.

On Thursday, Ashish SinghPatel alleged that a section of BJPleaders did not want Apna Dal(Sonelal) stay in alliance with thesaffron party. "This section usedto create many problems for us.If they do not change attitude ouroptions are open," he said.

Ashish Singh Patel said ameeting of all the office-bearersof his party, which was supposedto be held in the state capital onThursday, has been rescheduleddue to India-Pakistan tensions.

"Our party demandsappointment of Dalits and(people belonging to back-ward communities on 50 percent police stations of the statebesides giving either DM or SPpost in districts to these cate-gory officers. Our party work-ers should be considered inappointment in various Statecorporations," he said. PTI

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Gorakhpur: Two weeks after hewas injured in the Pulwama ter-ror attack that left 40 of his col-leagues dead, CRPF constableAwadhesh Kumar on Thursdayreturned to his native villagehere and celebrated his daugh-ter's birthday.

The trooper received agrand welcome at his villageAabadi Sakhni on Wednesdayevening as he was greeted by a

large number of locals as well aspolitical leaders including thosefrom the ruling Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).

Not willing to speak aboutterror attack, Kumar said he washappy to celebrate the birthdayof his daughter, who turned twoon Thursday.

"I am very happy that I amcelebrating the second birthdayof my beloved daughter Jyoti,"

he said.Asked about his injuries, the

CRPF constable who had joinedthe force in 2011 said, "My headand hands were injured. Now Iam better and ready to leavehome on call (of duty)."

Forty CRPF personnel werekilled in a suicide attack inJammu and Kashmir's Pulwamadistrict on February 14 orches-trated by Pakistan-based terror

group Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM). Following the incident,India bombed and destroyedJeM's biggest training camp inBalakot in Pakistan's restiveKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province,about 80-km from the Line ofControl (LoC).

The Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) jawan's father toowas overjoyed to see his sonback home. PTI

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Amid concerns arising out of theongoing military conflict with

Pakistan, the MaharashtraGovernment on Thursday curtailedthe ongoing Budget session of the Statelegislature, by two days.

Prefacing his announcementabout the curtailment of the budgetsession of the Maharashtra Legislature,chief minister Devendra Fadnavisalluded to the surgical strike carriedout by Indian Air Force (IAF) on ter-ror camps in Pakistan and said in theState Assembly: “In view of the IAF’sairstrike and yesterday’s develop-ments, there is tension on the Pakistaniborder.. While the Army is capableenough to look after the country’ssecurity needs, it is but necessary thatwe take care of internal security in thecountry. In cities like Mumbai, we haveto maintain extra vigil security mat-ters”.

“There is no situation or need forus to panic. It is but essential that we

take necessary precautions in view ofthe situation in the country. This ses-sion would have gone on for next twoto three days. In view of the involve-ment of property like Vidhan Bhavan,we deploy as many 6,000 police per-sonnel during the legislature ses-sions,” Fadnavis said.

“After getting feedback from thetop police officials that they need moreforce to take care of security issues, Ideliberated the matter with leaders ofvarious political parties yesterday.Top police officials briefed us about thesituation. I had one more meeting withthe leaders of the Opposition in themorning today. At that meeting, weunanimously decided to complete allthe pending business today and cur-tail the session by two days so as tomake available more police personnelto take care of the security needs in thecity,” the Chief Minister said.

Fadnavis thanked leaders of theOpposition and leaders of variouspolitical parties in both the Houses fortheir co-operation in curtailing the

budget sessions by two days.In a tweet put out later in the after-

noon, Fadnavis said: “In view of thedevelopments in country and to keepavailability of our forces free fromother responsibilities, it is unani-mously decided to end#MaharashtraBudget session. No rea-son to get panic, this decision is onlyto make available forces with policedept:CM @Dev_Fadnavis”.

The budget session, which com-menced on Monday, was earlierscheduled to end on Saturday.

Maharashtra’s Finance MinisterSudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesdaypresented an interim budget for 2019-20 which showed an estimated rev-enue deficit of �19,784 crore and madea provision of special fund for farmloan waiver.

The vote-on-account budget,which has fiscal provisions for fourmonths of the next financial year —from April to July 2019, was passed byboth the Houses of State Legislatureon Thursday, without any debate.

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Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt asked the MaharashtraGovernment on Thursdaywhat prompted the Marathacommunity to agitate forreservation only in the recentpast.

A division bench ofJustices Ranjit More andBharati Dangre was hearing abunch of petitions challengingthe State Government's deci-sion to grant 16 per centreservation to the communi-ty in Government jobs andeducational institutions.

The demand for Marathareservation was not raisedafter the Mandal commissionsubmitted its report in 1980 orwhen the state backward class-es commissions submittedtheir reports, the court said.

"What was the suddenchange in scenario in therecent past that prompted thestate government to seek dataon the condition of theMaratha community?" JusticeDangre asked.

"After the Mandal com-mission report, there was noviolence or agitation by thecommunity demanding reser-vation. What happened sud-denly that prompted suchprotests?" she asked.

The State Government'slawyer V A Thorat said thecommunity was realising onlynow that it was being neglect-ed.

"The previous govern-ments, whom the Marathacommunity was voting for,made the community thinkand live under the perceptionthat they were forward. Butnow as time passed by, thecommunity has started feelingthat they are backward andneed protection," he said.

"We are only correctingthe mistakes committed in thepast," Thorat added. PTI

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Acouple of weeks ago, TheWashington Post published anarticle titled, ‘In Central Asia’sforbidding highlands, a quietnewcomer: Chinese troops’. It

reported: “Two miles above sea level in theinhospitable highlands of Central Asia,there’s a new power watching over an oldpassage into Afghanistan: China.”According to interviews, satellite images,photographs and first-hand observationsby a Washington Post journalist, it wasfound that Chinese troops have settled inone of the most strategic areas of centralAsia, termed “a choke point in Tajikistan.”

The US newspaper said, “Tajikistan —awash with Chinese investment — joins thelist of Chinese military sites that includesDjibouti in the strategic Horn of Africa andman-made islands in the South China Sea,in the heart of Southeast Asia”, adding “themodest facility in Tajikistan — which offersa springboard into Afghanistan’s WakhanCorridor a few miles away — has not beenpublicly acknowledged by any Government.But its presence is rich in significance andsymbolism.” The region has been (and is)still highly strategic. Last year, a publication,‘The 1959 Tibetan Uprising Documents:The Chinese Army Documents’ wasreleased on Kindle. It was a collection of topsecret documents of the military intelligenceof the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), dat-ing from the end of the 1950s till the 1962war with China.

At that crucial time, China had a seri-ous problem — it did not have an Air Forcein a position to take on the Indian AirForce. The compiler of the above men-tioned paper noted: “Disadvantage of theChinese Air Force is still a major problemin case of a conflict with India. Indian jetscan start at a low altitude with a full loadof bombs and plenty of fuel. Also, India hasmany airports only about a 100 kilometresfrom the highest peaks of the Himalayas.Short distance and higher bomb load meaneach Indian jet is at least twice if not threetimes more effective than a Chinese air-craft.” Apart from the fact that many air-planes had been sent to the Korean frontand that the Soviet Union had stopped sup-plying spare parts for the MiG fighterplanes, the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) had amajor hurdle: No fuel for its few planes.

The amount of gasoline reaching theplateau from China via the Qinghai-Tibetor the Sichuan-Tibet highways was notenough to maintain a large occupationforce on the Tibetan plateau (read theIndian borders) and at the same time, pro-vide the necessary fuel for the PLAAF. Oneof the published documents mentionedsecret statistics for “border trade” and theimport of fuel, gasoline and other com-modities between 1953 and 1967.

What do the statistics show? In 1958,gasoline of 380 tonnes was imported intoTibet; in 1959, nothing; in 1960, 2,220

tonnes, in 1961, 96 tonnes andin 1962, 30 tonnes. This meansthat in 1960, there was a hugesurge in fuel import. Butimport from where?

There was no possibility ofany gallon passing unnoticedthrough Nathu-la or Jelep-la —the two main passes betweenSikkim and Chumbi Valley(Tibet) — ditto for the passesin Uttarakhand or North-EastFrontier Agency (NEFA)(Arunachal Pradesh today) oreven Demchok in Ladakh,which had been closed fortrade by the Chinese.

The author of the publica-tion presumed that “corrupt”Indian officials had let the fuelbe smuggled in. That, too, wasnot possible. First, the officersof the Indian FrontierAdministrative Service, postedin these areas, were the mostupright people, and in anycase, considering that a mulecould only carry 40 kg per trip,it would have meant thou-sands and thousands of mules,which did not exist on theplateau …and they would haveto have been transparent.

After pondering over theissue, my conclusion was thatthis amount of gasoline couldnot have crossed any Indian orNepalese border post into Tibet.It left few other possibilities.One was the Soviet Union.Though it had just split withChina, relations between Beijing

and Moscow had reached abreaking point by 1959.

The only possibility wassome under-the-table purchas-es through corrupt officials inTajikistan or Kyrgyzstan. I gotconvinced that the gasolinehad come from the same areain Tajikistan where China istoday building a new base, atthe edge of the Wakhan corri-dor and Xinjiang.

An interesting lead:Tursun Uljabayev, the partysecretary of Tajikistan in 1960,was sacked and imprisoned forserious corruption a year later.In all probability, gasolinefrom Tajikistan was trans-ported to Kashgar (orTashgurgan) in Xinjiang andthen taken over the AksaiChin to be used in westernTibet. It could have been doneat night via the road cuttingacross Indian territory, whichwas the best protected arteryin China in the 1950s andearly 1960s as only the PLAwas allowed to use it; the traf-fic could have gone unnoticedfor several months. It wasprobably why Uljabayev wascaught and the import of gaso-line into Tibet drastically fellin 1961 …and by 1962 Chinahad no fuel for its aircraft.

The above findings havetwo important corollaries. One,it confirms that the Chinesehad no Air Force in flying con-dition at the time of the 1962

conflict with India, having nospares and no fuel. This wasrecently confirmed to thiswriter by Wing Commander‘Jaggi’ Nath, who extensivelyflew over Tibet in secret mis-sions between 1960 and 1962.He was awarded his first MahaVir Chakra medal for this (hegot his second in 1965 for map-ping the Pakistani defences).

The second upshot is thatthe area, where the Chinese aretoday building their new base,is highly strategic, being a rela-tively easy link between the oil-rich Central Asia, Afghanistan(through the Wakhan corri-dor), the restive Xinjiang (thehub of Xi Jinping’s Road and BeltInitiative) and Tibet.

This raises another issue:Why did the IndianGovernment, which had all theinformation about the situationin Tibet, the deployments ofthe PLA on the plateau and thelack of Chinese Air Force(‘Jaggi’ Nath was never attackedor even followed during hisregular sorties over Tibet), notuse its jets to pound the PLAconcentration near the Thaglaridge in the Tawang sector inWalong area of eastern NEFAor in Rezang-la in Ladakh? Theonly answer is a woeful lack ofleadership. Let us hope that thepresent bosses watch what ishappening in this area.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Pakistan cornered” (February 28).The best part about the air attackby the Indian Air Force (IAF) wasthat it caught Pakistan unawares.Kudos to our intelligence systemwhich provided crucial inputs andwe acted judiciously with laser-guided bombs in the wee hours.This is our first air raid after 1971and now we not only know of ourcapabilities but have also shown toboth Pakistan and the world whatwe can do if need arises.

Credit also goes to ourGovernment that we did not tar-get any military establishment orcivilian areas in Pakistan but justterrorists camps. As expected,Pakistan retaliated but was cor-nered by the IAF. Now the obviousoption for them will be to increaseterrorist activities in India.Nevertheless, the IAF must becommended for meticulous plan-ning and execution, like what ourArmy did during the 2016 surgi-cal strikes. Hopefully, Pakistanwill learn from this and ensure itdoes not allow its turf to be usedfor anti-India activities.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — The recent announcementof privatisation of major airportsunder the Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) model is arefreshing move at a time whenthe Ministry of Civil Aviationhas turned its attention toimprove non-metro airports likeLucknow, Guwahati, Mangaluru,

Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuramand Ahmedabad. Major airportsin New Delhi, Mumbai andBengaluru are witnessing hugepassenger influx and requireequal attention.

Airports across India arenow undergoing a massive infra-structure facelift owing toincreased domestic and passen-ger traffic. Further, with theinception of the UDAN scheme,

which is now in the third stage,infrastructure at regional air-ports, too, needs to be improved.

The Nextgen airports ForBharat Nirman initiative aimedat easing land-acquisitionprocess to enable the development of regional andgreenfield airports now needs afurther push.

Undoubtedly, the PPPmodel is an excellent opportu-

nity for regional airports togain a major infrastructureboost.

Varun SDBengaluru

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Pakistan cornered” (February 28).In a mini throwback to the1971 engagement on Pakistansoil, India has done well to resetits regional equations. We mustexpect international repercus-sions. Now that we have shuffledthe pack overnight, a new dealis in order. Post Balakot, intru-sions into Jammu & Kashmirfrom across the border willalmost certainly intensify. Wewould need additional thought-ful strategies on Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir.

If 1971 created a changedcontour for Pakistan, 2019 couldas well signal a reconfiguredLine of Control — our recalci-trant neighbour has had scantrespect for it anyway.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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It was the military disaster of 1971 thatforced the Pakistani establishment and itsmilitary, which runs the country for all

practical purposes, to face up to the fact thatthey could never win a conventional waragainst India. If Pakistan was to avenge itshumiliation and cut India down to size, it hadlittle choice but to fight through proxies andbleed India through a thousand cuts.

This idea must surely have germinatedfrom its successful employment of Islamic mil-itants — the forerunners of the Taliban — tooppose the rule of the Marxist People’sDemocratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) thathad deposed former President of AfghanistanMohammed Daoud Khan in what came to beknown as the Saur or April Revolution of 1978.It was this Pakistani-fomented insurgency thatfinally led to the Soviet intervention and occu-pation of Afghanistan in December 1979.

Incidentally, while conventional wisdomwould have us believe that it was the CentralIntelligence Agency (CIA) that came up withthe idea of using militants to fight the Soviets,facts show that it came to the party much laterand only added its considerable resources tothe techniques perfected by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence in the use of irregulars forits own ends.

Thus, from the early 1980s, Pakistancommenced its support for secessionist ele-ments within India that were involved in fight-ing against the state. First, the KhalistanMovement and subsequently, with greater suc-cess, in Jammu & Kashmir. It clearly hadadvantages as there was credible deniabilityand the economy of effort with the dirty workbeing done by proxies, keeping the Indiansecurity forces tied down and finally, the mostimportant of all, creating fear and anxiety with-in the general population that impacted everyaspect of our democratic way of life.

There is, of course, one major disadvan-tage of using proxies. They tend to have a mindof their own and often times, respond inap-propriately or work at cross purposes to whatits mentors may be wishing to achieve. ThePulwama suicide attack falls in this category.There have been numerous statements over thepast four years that have made it clear thatPakistan prefers to deal with IndianGovernments run by the more “liberal and sec-ular” parties, compared to having to deal withthe more conservative, Hindutva-drivenBharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With electionsaround the corner and with the BJP facing thevery real likelihood of a serious decline, if therecent State elections were any indication, itwould have been in Pakistan’s best interest tomaintain a low profile.

Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM) supremo, obviously had a different view.Not only did his organisation carry out the sui-cide attack that led to the death of 44 CRPFjawans but also went on to take credit for theaction. Thus, in one thoughtless act, he notonly destroyed the Pakistan Government’sattempts at deniability but also made ImranKhan’s call for India to provide credible evi-dence infructuous.

Most importantly, the timing of the dev-astating attack left the Modi Government withlittle choice but to respond overtly and withspeed, if it was to still retain any hope of doingwell at the hustings. There was also a possi-bility that if India responded in an effectivemanner to the outrage, the Government’s stockwould go up rapidly and that would enhanceModi’s reputation and chances of return topower, just as the earlier cross-border strikehelped the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh elections.This could hardly have been to Pakistan’sadvantage and in the event the attack was facil-itated by the Army, then General Bajwa hascertainly made a serious miscalculation.

Regardless of the number of casualties thatthe Indian Air Force’s attack on terror campsdeep inside Pakistan may have caused, the veryfact that the Indian Government displayed theintent to take on terrorists inside Pakistan hasclearly changed the narrative prevalent for thepast four decades. It has also shown upPakistan’s repeated threats of a nuclear riposteas sheer hyperbole and bluster.

More importantly, the initiative has final-ly shifted in India’s favour along with worldopinion, which has had enough of Pakistan’sduplicitous behaviour. Moreover, any escala-tion above a perfunctory retaliation, which wasto be expected to assuage domestic opinion,by Pakistan would destroy the fig leaf of deni-ability it has used over the years. Crucially, itwould force their military into a direct con-frontation, something that the proxy warwaged by them over the years allowed themto avoid.

In this context, one can only hope bettersense will prevail and we will be able to avoidserious escalation of the conflict, which can

hardly help either side, given the huge chal-lenges we face in lifting vast swathes of ourpopulation out of the twin evils of poverty andilliteracy.

However, it must be emphasised that trueprogress will only occur as and when Pakistanstarts to wind up the jihad factory it has builtover these years. In any case, the Indian cross-border raid cannot be a one-off affair and wemust be willing to do all that it takes to neu-tralise the jihadi network and its vast army offinanciers, managers and facilitators.

Finally, while all our attention may betaken in dealing with the issue at hand, the factas to what led to the Pulwama attack must notbe lost sight of. For this serious lapse on thepart of our intelligence services, it is impera-tive that heads must roll. There have also beenclear indications that despite increasing num-bers of militants being neutralised in the Valley,the Army and other security forces were beingincreasingly marginalised, especially in southKashmir, because of popular discontent.

They had consequently lost their ability todominate the countryside, thereby losing outon intelligence. These aspects continued to beignored by the Central Government and themilitary hierarchy. Little thought was given tothe necessity for reviewing either counterinsurgency strategies or tactical procedures andthe leadership continued to be swayed by tac-tical successes with little attempt to resolve thegrowing disillusionment and radicalisationwithin the population, especially the youth.This must certainly change.

(The writer is a military veteran, a consul-tant with the Observer Research Foundation andVisiting Senior Fellow with The PeninsulaFoundation, Chennai)

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In his 1934 book, The Story ofMy Life, the early Hindu nation-alist and author, Bhai

Parmanand, lamented that whenhe visited the United States in 1914,many Americans asked him, “Areall Hindus Muslim?” The Indianhistorian, Gyanendra Pandey, inhis essay for the anthology, Hindusand Others, wrote that even till thelate 19th century, being a Hindulargely meant being an inhabitantof India, no matter what religionhe or she belonged to.

Both Hindu and Muslimnationalisms in India have theirroots in the aftermath of the fail-ure of the 1857 War ofIndependence. Nationalism as anidea was largely foreign to bothcommunities. It was uncannilyintroduced in the subcontinent by

the British. Eminent historianAyesha Jalal in her book, Self andSovereignty, wrote that at leastone of the reasons behind theemergence of Hindu and Muslimnationalism was the introductionof the holding of a nation-widecensus by the British, who insist-ed that the natives declare theirfaith.

Bhai Parmanand should nothave been surprised by what theAmericans asked him. The idea ofdefining the Hindus and Muslimsas separate communities of Indiawas still new to those living thou-sands of miles away. To them, Indiawas Hindustan and its citizenswere Hindu just as America’s citi-zens were American — be theyChristian or otherwise. ButParmanand was aware of the factthat unlike Islam, Judaism orChristianity, Hinduism was a dis-persed faith, which did not have acentre.

According to author and his-torian Craig A Lockhard, in hisbook, Societies, Networks andTransitions, Hinduism emergedover centuries as a synthesis andfusion of various cultures and

beliefs which sprang up in theregion. But this synthesis wasmore cultural and geographical innature. It wasn’t tied together by asingle, over-arching theologicalthread.

The British scholar of compar-ative religion, GD Flood, wrote inhis tome, An Introduction toHinduism, that the word “Hindu”was first used as a geographicalterm in the Persian texts of 6thcentury BCE to describe peoplewho lived beyond River Indus (inpresent-day Pakistan).

Flood also wrote that thePersians formulated this wordfrom the original local name of theIndus, which was Sindhu.According to Indian historianRomila Thapar, the term “Sindhu”was derived from “Sapta Sindhu”mentioned in the Rig Veda — abook of Sanskrit hymns composedbetween 1500 and 1200 BCE. TheSapta Sindhu is described as a riverin the Rig Veda. The post-seventhcentury Arabs picked up on theword “Hindu”, first coined by thePersians to form the word “al-Hind” or “Hindustan.” By this, theymeant a region inhabited by the

people of the Indus.JT O’Connell, in his 1973 essay,

‘The Word Hindu’, published inGaudiya Vaisnava Texts, wrotethat it was only in the 16th centu-ry CE that the word “Hindu” ini-tially emerged in the context ofbeing a faith. According to him, itis described as a religion in the16th centur y Bengali tomeChaitanya Charitamrita, whichuses the term “Hindu dharma.”

Pandey wrote that to overcomethis realisation, early Hindunationalists claimed that a major-ity of non-Hindu people living inthe region had originally beenHindu and were converted. On theother hand, also in the 19th cen-tury, early Muslim nationalistsclaimed that their ancestors werenon-Indian and had roots inMuslim Arabia and Central Asia.But the early Muslim nationalistshad an established monotheistfaith to help them concoct a socialand political link with Muslim-majority regions; early Hindunationalists struggled to formulatea coherent history of Hinduism.

Whereas it was somewhat sim-pler for 19th century Muslim

reformers of India to work with anestablished monotheist faith withan organised “history” to expresstheir cultural and political sepa-rateness, Hindu reformers had tostart almost from scratch.

Therefore, early Hindureformist organisations such as theArya Samaj (formed in 1875)based their Hindu reformism onthe idea that Hinduism, too, was amonotheistic faith, which had justone God and that all other deitiesworshipped in India were justmanifestations of this one God.The aim was to shape a dispersedcultural synthesis into an organisedmonotheist faith so that it could beused to form a cohesive Hindunationalist narrative and polity.

In Modi’s India today, histori-ans who hold the above-men-tioned view, are under attack. Forexample, a textbook authored byThapar was removed from thecurriculum. The book was replacedby one authored by MeenakshiJain, a political scientist and a vocalsupporter of Hindu nationalism.

Jain accused Thapar of tryingto portray Hindu nationalism as amodern political construct which

had no roots in antiquity. Then,there was the case of American his-torian James Laine’s 2004 book,Shivaji: Hindu King in IslamicIndia, on the 17th century “warriorking” hailed as an unmatchedhero by Hindu nationalists. ButLaine did not treat any of themyths related to the king as facts.A group of men belonging to thefar-right Shiv Sena stormed thelibrary where Laine had done hisresearch. They broke its windowsand doors and set fire to a numberof books.

One of Laine’s Indian collabo-rators was thrashed and his faceblackened. The BJP Governmentdecided to ban the book in India.In 2002, prolific historian Prof DNJha completed his book, Myth ofthe Holy Cow. Drawing from var-ious historical sources, Jha estab-lished that the cow was not alwayssacred in what became Hinduismand that ancient Hindus regularlyate beef. He used the word “ancientHindus” because they were prob-ably not called that at the time. ToJha, the issues of cow worship andbeef in India today are more polit-ical and ideological in nature than

theological.After word got out about the

contents of his book, its appoint-ed publishing house was threat-ened. The publisher withdrew andJha had to look for another pub-lisher. The book was finally pub-lished, but Hindu nationalistgroups demanded that Jha bearrested for heresy. As threatsgrew, Jha secretly left India.

The Muslim religious-nation-alist narrative in Pakistan, too, hascaused fissures. But ever since the1990s, it has developed a less reac-tive tendency to absorb thecounter-narratives which chal-lenge the “mythical” aspects of thereligious-nationalist narrative. InIndia, the Hindu religious-nation-alist narrative constituted a lesserpart of the overall Indian nation-alist narrative.

It only began to assert itself inthe late 1980s. Challenging it caus-es more bitterness and violencethere — especially by that sectionof the polity which accuses theoriginal Indian nationalist narra-tive of suppressing Hindu majori-tarianism.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

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In signs of the Indian econo-my losing steam ahead of the

general elections, GDP growthslowed to a five-quarter low of6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of lowerfarm and manufacturinggrowth and weaker consumerdemand, Government datashowed on Thursday.

Also, economic growthestimate for the current fiscalyear ending March 31 hasbeen revised downwards to 7per cent from the earlier esti-mate of 7.2 per cent. This isthe lowest growth in the lastfive years.

However, the third quartergrowth rate, which was lowerthan the revised estimate of 7per cent in the previous quar-ter and 8 per cent in April-June,was faster than China’s 6.4 percent growth for the threemonths to December 2018.India thus retains its tag of theworld’s fastest-growing majoreconomy.

Data from the CentralStatistics Office (CSO) showedslower consumer spending at8.4 per cent as compared to 9.9per cent in the previous quar-ter. Farm sector growth slowedto 2.7 per cent from 4.2 percent in Q2 and 4.6 per cent inQ1.

The Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) had earlier this monthcut the key interest rate by 25basis points and changed itspolicy stance to “neutral” from“calibrated tightening”, sayingthe shift provides flexibilityand room to address chal-lenges to the sustained growthof the Indian economy over thecoming months.

Parallelly, eight core infra-structure industries’ growth inJanuary declined to a 19-monthlow of 1.8 per cent (December2018: 2.7 per cent, January2018: 6.2 per cent) on con-traction in refinery productsand electricity. Electricity sec-tor, which last witnessed acontraction in February 2013,posted a growth of (-) 0.4 percent in January — the lowest inthe last 71 months.

Devendra Kumar Pant,chief economist at IndiaRatings, said size of the econ-omy (nominal GDP) in FY19is now estimated at �190.54lakh crore compared to �188.41lakh crore, which “will helpgovernment to achieve fiscaldeficit/GDP target for FY19even though the fiscal deficit tillJanuary 2019 is 121.5 per centof FY19 (revised estimate).”

FY19 GDP growth at 7 percent “indicates that the econo-my is losing steam,” he said,adding the GDP growth in Q4has to be 6.5 per cent to attainoverall 7 per cent growth in

FY19. “This on the face of itlooks plausible; however, unlessexports in Q4 grow 14 per cent,attaining 7 per cent growth willbe difficult.”

According to CSO, whileagriculture is estimated to growat 2.7 per cent, manufacturinggrowth is expected to acceler-ate to 8.1 per cent in 2018-19.However, trade, hotel andtransportation sector growth isexpected to decelerate to 6.8per cent during the year.

The Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) at constantprices (2011-12) had grown at7.7 per cent in the October-December quarter of the pre-vious financial year. Thegrowth rate was revisedupwardly from 7 per cent.

“GDP at Constant Prices inQ3 of 2018-19 is estimated at�35 lakh crore, as against�32.85 lakh crore in Q3 of2017-18, showing a growthrate of 6.6 per cent,” the CSOsaid.

The CSO also revised GDPgrowth figures for April-Juneand July-September quarters ofthis fiscal to 8 per cent and 7per cent from 8.2 per cent and7.1 per cent.

The GDP growth rates forApril-June and July-Septemberof last fiscal were also revisedto 6 per cent and 6.8 per centfrom 5.6 per cent and 6.3 percent, respectively.

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Xiaomi on Thursdaylaunched Redmi Note 7

and Redmi Note 7 Pro. With both the front and

rear covered in CorningGorilla Glass 5, Redmi Note isno more only about puregrunt, marrying style andfunction. The Dot Notch dis-play, measuring 6.3 incheswith a 19.5:9 2340 x 1080-

pixel LTPS panel tops off theAura Design. Redmi Note 7Pro will feature a gradientdesign in the Nebula Red andNeptune Blue colour variants.The Aura Design that RedmiNote 7 Pro adopts isn’t justabout the colours or theGorilla Glass 5 body, butabout how all componentscome together to make RedmiNote 7 Pro one beautifullyfunctional device.

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Waaree Energies, an Indiansolar PV manufacturer,

aims at adding close to �400crore for the financial yearending 2020, exclusivelythrough the segment. Rooftopsolar will be one of the keyfocus segments for WaareeEnergies as it plans to add 100MW to its overall capacity inthe financial year 2019-2020.

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Capital markets watchdogSebi wants the Government

to do away with the practice ofits board having a nomineefrom the Reserve Bank of India,or alternatively provide for across-representation of the tworegulators on each other’s boards.

Officials said the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) first proposed to theMinistry of Finance to amendthe relevant provisions in theSebi Act to discontinue RBI’srepresentation on its board, asit already has adequate pres-ence of the Government nom-inees and in its over 25 years ofexistence the regulator hasevolved as an “effective and oneof the best in the world”.

Besides, the boards of otherregulators such as IRDAI forinsurance sector and PFRFAfor pension sector do not havenominees from other regula-tors, while there is no corre-sponding representation ofother regulators on the RBI’sboard, Sebi has contended.

However, the FinanceMinistry opined that the role ofthe RBI (Reserve Bank of India)in the financial sector cannot bediscounted and that the RBIpresence helps in bringing “over-all economic view and valuableinputs to the Sebi board”.

The capital markets regula-tor, however, feels that the inputsof the RBI on policy issues canbe taken through formal dis-

cussions and correspondencebetween the two regulatorybodies, the officials said.

Besides, Sebi feels there isalso the FSDC (FinancialStability and DevelopmentCouncil), an apex level bodycomprising of members fromthe Government and variousregulators, that has been set upto deal with inter-regulatoryissues and overlap of regulato-ry jurisdiction.

Following the reservationsexpressed by the FinanceMinistry on its original pro-posal and after taking intoaccount the fact that certainsecurities are under the purviewof both Sebi and RBI that aretraded on stock exchanges, thecapital markets regulator hasnow made alternative sugges-tion to provide for cross-repre-sentation of the two regulatorson each other’s boards.

The alternative proposal islikely to be discussed by Sebi’sboard in its next meeting onFriday and will be subsequentlysent to the Finance Ministry forfurther action.

Under the Sebi Act, the reg-ulator’s board should consist ofa Chairman; two nomineesfrom the Ministry of the CentralGovernment dealing withFinance and administration ofthe Companies Act; one nom-inee member from the RBI; andfive other members to beappointed by the Governmentof whom at least three should bewhole-time members.

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Fraud-hit Punjab NationalBank has been ranked first

among public sector banks inthe implementation of ’reformsagenda’, followed by Bank ofBaroda and State Bank of India,said a report on Thursday.

The BCG-IBA report –EASE Reforms for PublicSector Banks — measures per-formance of each PSB on 140objective metrics across 6themes, including customerresponsiveness, credit off-takeand digitalisation.

PNB with a score of 78.4 outof 100 has been ranked first inthe EASE (Enhanced Access &Service Excellence)-index, fol-lowed by BoB (77.8), SBI (74.6),Oriental Bank of Commerce(69), Canara Bank (67.5) andSyndicate Bank (67.1).

PNB has shown “strongperformance” in the parameterslike customer responsiveness,responsible banking, credit off-take and financial inclusion.

Releasing the report, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley said suchrankings brings about competi-tiveness and encourages banks toperform better than peers.

It then emerged as the bestperforming bank (in EASEreform ranking)”.

PNB, which was involvedin a �14,356-crore scam byNirav Modi, swung into blackin the October-Decemberquarter after posting losses inthe three previous quarters.

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Shares of Jet Airways fell byover 6 per cent on Thursday

after the company said sevenmore aircraft have beengrounded due to non-paymentof lease rentals.

Shares of the companydropped 6.15 per cent to �211on BSE.

On NSE, the sharesslumped 6.30 per cent to�210.15. So far this month, asmany as 13 planes of the com-

pany have been grounded onaccount of non-payment ofrentals to lessors.

In a filing to the stockexchanges on Wednesday, thefull-service airline said “anadditional seven aircraft havebeen grounded due to non-payment of amounts out-standing to lessors under theirrespective lease agreements”.

Faced with acute financialwoes, the airline is looking torestructure its debt as well asraise funds.

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Lawyers for former Nissanchief Carlos Ghosn on

Thursday filed a fresh bailrequest for the auto titan whohas been detained for morethan three months, the TokyoDistrict Court said.

It is the first bail requestfiled by the 64-year-old since heshook up his legal team as hecrafts his defence to threecharges of financial miscon-duct.

The former high-flyingexecutive has been in detentionsince his shock November 19arrest, and has tried repeated-ly without success to securebail.

Reached by AFP, an assis-tant lawyer for Ghosn’s leadattorney declined to explainhow the bail request would dif-fer from previous filings. “Wecan’t comment on details,including any differences inapproach this time.

We plan to explain aboutdetails when we hold a newsconference next week,” he said.

Ghosn’s previous legal teameven deployed a rarely-usedarticle of the Japanese consti-tution to force the court toexplain why the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian remainedin detention.

A judge said Ghosn’s con-tinued detention was justifiedbecause he posed a flight riskand there was a possibility hewould conceal evidence. Ghosnand his lawyers have arguedthat neither of those is the case,and he even offered to wear atracking bracelet and hireguards to monitor his where-abouts, pledging to stay inJapan.

But so far the courts haveshown no inclination to end hislengthy pre-trial detention,which has drawn some criti-cism internationally and fromrights groups.

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With the general electionsround the corner, the

Government has authorisedState Bank of India to launchthe sale of electoral bonds inthe months of March, April andMay.

The Government hadbrought in electoral bondscheme as an alternative to cashdonations made to politicalparties as part of its efforts tobring transparency in politicalfunding.

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New Delhi (PTI): Foodsafety regulator FSSAI will testmore samples and increaseenforcement activities to ensureavailability of safe food to peo-ple, its CEO Pawan KumarAgarwal said on Thursday. TheFood Safety and StandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI) has

done a survey on milk recentlyand it would like to conduct sur-veillance across all the food cat-egories, he added.

Agarwal also assured foodbusinesses not to be scared withthe increased enforcement as itis meant for ensuring safe foodsupply in the markets. “We in

FSSAI have recognised theimportance of food testing andanalysis. Our laboratories areessentially the heart of our foodsafety ecosystem,” he said whileaddressing a conference on foodsafety organised by AOAC India,an analytical body.

It was important to put up

quality food testing system fordeveloping a robust food safetyecosystem, he said. Stating thatstrengthening of lab system is“very critical”, Agarwal saidFSSAI was attempting to createthe foundation for a nationalnetwork of well-functioningcredible food laboratories.

&���� 0AB�.A1/3

7-Eleven, the world’s largestconvenience retailer, on

Thursday signed a master fran-chise agreement with India’sretail major Future Retail toforay into the Indian market.The agreement is to develop andoperate 7-Eleven stores withinIndia.

“The first 7-Eleven conve-nience store in India is expect-ed to open in 2019. The newmaster franchisee plans to build7-Eleven stores as well as con-vert some of its existing locationsto the 7-Eleven brand,” the twocompanies said in a joint state-ment. Future Group said 7-

Eleven’s entry into the countrywill modernise the small-retailenvironment and bring greaterconvenience to shoppers.

“Internationally popularproducts, beverages, snacks andimmediately consumable freshfoods with recipes developed forlocal tastes will be part of the ini-tial convenience offering,” thecompany added. “7-Eleven isamong the most iconic globalbrands in the food retail land-scape. We are proud to bring thisglobally trusted conveniencestore to India and build newpathways together that will offerIndian customers greater con-venience and choices, withintheir own neighbourhood,” said

Future Group founder andGroup CEO Kishore Biyani said.

The statement added that 7-Eleven will support Future Retailto implement and localise theunique 7-Eleven business model.

India will be the newestcountry or region where 7-Eleven stores operate.

At present 7-Eleven operatesmore than 67,000 stores world-wide in countries including theUnited States, Canada, Mexico,Japan, Thailand, South Korea,Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,Macau, the Philippines,Australia, Singapore, Malaysia,Viet Nam, United ArabEmirates, Norway, Sweden andDenmark.

&���� 0AB�.A1/3

The government is fol-lowing the policy ofamalgamating public sec-

tor banks to create healthylarge banks which are globallycompetitive, Finance MinisterArun Jaitley said on Thursday.

He said the NPA situationof PSU banks had improved inthe last 2-3 quarters and theNDA government had endedthe practice of “phone banking”and had maintained arm’slength by not interfering in thefunctioning of lenders.

“In order to make them(banks) sound, whether it islegislative steps or importantsteps like creating healthy largebanks, which can be globallycompetitive, the government isalso gradually following thepolicy of amalgamation...,”Jaitley said at an Indian Banks’

Association (IBA) event. The minister said the non-

performing assets (NPAs) orbad loans had initially gone upbecause of truthful disclosurerequirements which ensuredthat there was no sweeping ofbad loans under the carpet.

Moreover, he said theReserve Bank insisted thatbanks should provision for allstressed assets so that onlysound banks survive.

“The NPA curve has gonedown in the last two-threequarters,” he said.

Since 2014-15, PSU bankshave recovered �2.87 lakh crorebad loans up till December2018.

In the first nine months ofcurrent fiscal, the amountrecovered by state-ownedbanks stood at �98,493 crore, a100 per cent growth over theprevious year.

Asked about the futureplans for amalgamation, SBIChairman Rajnish Kumar said“three are already in the processand April 1 is the date. The suc-cess of this merger will deter-mine the future course.”

In January, the Cabinethad approved the merger ofVijaya Bank and Dena Bankwith Bank of Baroda (BoB).This will make BoB the thirdlargest PSU bank after StateBank of India and PunjabNational Bank.

Kumar further said the sit-uation for public sector bankswas “looking much better”with declining NPAs andimproving profitability.

On the rise in credit off-take, Kumar said: “If you lookat RBI statistics, the industryhas been growing at around 15-16 per cent and that trend willcontinue”.

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India’s foodgrains productionis estimated to decline by one

per cent to 281.37 milliontonne in 2018-19 despite recordrice output, as the country islikely to harvest lower coarsecereals and pulses crops, thegovernment said on Thursday.

The country had produced284.83 million tonne (MT) inthe 2017-18 crop year (July-June).

“Total foodgrains produc-tion in the country is estimat-ed at 281.37 MT,” the Union

Agriculture Ministry said in astatement while releasing thesecond advance estimates for2018-19.

The production figures aresubject to revision on accountof more precise informationflowing over time, it added.

The cumulative rainfall inthe country during the mon-soon season (June to September2018) was 9% lower than longperiod average (LPA).

As per the data, rice pro-duction is estimated to touchrecord 115.60 MT in 2018-19from 112.91 MT in the previ-

ous year.Wheat output is pegged

slightly lower at 99.12 MT from99.70 MT in the previous year.

The production of coarsecereals is estimated to fall at42.64 MT from 46.99 MT inthe previous year.

Pulses output, too, is seenlower at 24.02 MT from record25.23 MT during the periodunder review.

Among non-foodgraincrops, total oilseeds productionduring 2018-19 is estimated at31.50 MT as against 31.3 MTin the previous year.

Sugarcane output is esti-mated at 380.83 MT from376.9 MT.

Production of cotton hasbeen pegged lower at 30.09million bales (of 170 kg each)from 34.88 million bales, whilejute & mesta output is seen at10.07 million bales (of 180 kgeach) against 10.13 millionbales.

India has been witnessingbumper foodgrains, oilseeds,cotton, sugarcane, fruits, veg-etables over the last few years,which has resulted in lowerprices for farmers.

Mumbai (PTI): Non-banking financial companyL&T Finance is planning toraise up to �1,500 crorethrough non-convertibledebenture issues in threetranches. The base size of theissue, which is opening onMarch 6 and closing on March20, is �500 crore, with anoption to retain over-sub-scription up to �1,000 crore,company said on Thursday.

In the first tranche, it isoffering three bonds maturingin 36, 60 and 120 months. Thecoupon for retail investors arein the range of 9.10-9.35%,while for institutional investorsit is 9-9.20%.

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Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 5.52 5.90 5.52 5.71JPASSOCIAT 5.85 6.19 5.82 6.12RCOM 6.60 6.60 6.30 6.48YESBANK 229.85 232.70 227.00 231.20TCS 2065.00 2070.00 1977.85 1984.25RELINFRA 130.80 130.90 120.75 122.90JETAIRWAYS 219.50 228.00 211.00 222.80RELCAPITAL 171.25 173.75 165.30 172.30AXISBANK 721.00 722.35 706.80 709.35ASHOKLEY 85.70 86.90 85.25 86.35RELIANCE 1231.00 1239.50 1225.35 1231.55TATASTEEL 505.80 510.50 499.40 501.30TATAMOTORS 179.15 181.50 176.55 177.85SUNPHARMA 445.30 451.00 443.00 445.40IBULHSGFIN 658.05 660.70 643.60 655.00DHFL 128.00 130.20 126.60 127.20NATIONALUM 49.85 50.95 48.95 50.60COALINDIA 223.00 229.00 222.50 228.35ICICIGI 914.60 938.60 907.80 934.95TECHM 832.05 837.90 825.30 832.00LINDEINDIA 467.45 508.35 465.00 493.50VEDL 165.65 171.00 164.25 169.40SBIN 267.50 270.95 267.50 269.75IOC 141.50 146.80 141.50 144.80MARUTI 7003.25 7032.45 6801.15 6832.25MOTHERSUMI 155.50 162.90 155.50 161.80KOTAKBANK 1215.00 1225.50 1209.50 1212.45ZEEL 469.00 470.00 458.50 466.55ICICIBANK 348.25 350.90 345.00 348.80ADANIPOWER 47.75 48.75 46.30 48.10RAIN 94.80 97.60 90.00 91.15WIPRO 375.00 376.75 367.75 370.00FRETAIL 418.00 433.20 415.85 423.95RECLTD 134.50 137.50 132.45 136.50BALKRISIND 896.90 903.45 878.50 884.20M&M 662.00 665.00 642.80 646.55ONGC 144.15 150.00 143.50 148.80JINDALSTEL 156.25 159.65 154.85 156.55BDL 292.40 316.70 291.55 304.10TATAPOWER 65.85 66.20 65.10 65.35SPICEJET 78.05 80.90 77.40 79.85INFY 735.15 742.00 732.10 733.95JUSTDIAL 500.90 527.15 497.40 516.85HDFCBANK 2091.80 2106.00 2076.05 2082.15HEG 2070.10 2107.30 2029.10 2046.85LT 1290.30 1301.00 1274.95 1294.50KSCL 409.75 412.00 393.80 407.95TITAN 1018.00 1034.95 1003.30 1026.95SUNTV 598.00 610.45 587.95 607.75ITC 276.70 276.90 274.35 276.15

GRAPHITE 417.80 420.00 410.55 412.40ACC 1424.75 1436.45 1414.20 1421.70ALBK 47.25 48.70 46.35 47.95PCJEWELLER 71.60 72.20 70.00 70.55VGUARD 198.20 210.85 197.10 204.65JUBLFOOD 1271.30 1296.10 1258.45 1269.95DISHTV 37.60 39.45 37.30 38.95UPL 878.00 881.00 863.00 874.55RPOWER 10.75 10.95 10.55 10.75INFIBEAM 36.15 37.50 35.00 35.90VOLTAS 559.00 570.00 542.00 566.10NCC 83.90 86.35 83.50 85.55DELTACORP 233.95 248.80 233.95 247.00DABUR 437.60 442.25 432.90 438.50JSWSTEEL 288.00 289.65 280.00 281.00BHARTIARTL 324.15 326.85 316.05 317.95HINDUNILVR 1741.50 1756.65 1728.00 1731.35CADILAHC 320.00 329.00 315.65 318.70VIPIND 400.00 415.85 398.00 407.25HEROMOTOCO 2689.95 2703.00 2622.00 2634.95MAXINDIA 74.80 74.80 66.80 69.00GPPL 77.00 83.50 76.90 81.00INDIGO 1117.50 1130.00 1087.00 1123.50PNB 71.75 72.85 71.50 72.30WOCKPHARMA 395.00 401.60 393.10 396.05STRTECH 242.10 243.00 237.00 241.20L&TFH 124.30 125.80 123.35 124.30SPARC 175.15 179.90 174.15 177.90WESTLIFE 360.00 360.00 341.35 353.10NMDC 98.00 101.40 97.00 100.65HAVELLS 693.80 716.85 693.80 714.55CENTURYTEX 802.45 814.55 784.10 784.10WABAG 292.25 316.00 292.25 311.10BEL 80.95 83.20 80.15 82.40CGPOWER 31.40 32.50 30.95 32.25ADANIPORTS 327.60 329.55 323.65 325.20

AUROPHARMA 720.00 727.10 710.10 712.15BANKBARODA 101.90 102.00 100.80 101.05FEDERALBNK 81.35 84.40 81.25 84.05BAJFINANCE 2655.65 2660.70 2631.00 2650.00CANBK 232.00 233.80 229.10 231.50DLF 163.00 166.10 161.80 166.10SRF 2274.95 2315.75 2239.35 2304.85GUJFLUORO 895.60 931.60 894.80 900.00LUPIN 765.80 773.60 761.80 764.75BEML 839.90 852.10 830.75 835.55DCMSHRIRAM 366.00 398.95 366.00 393.05LTTS 1514.00 1545.00 1502.90 1525.00BAJAJ-AUTO 2905.00 2924.00 2865.65 2896.45BANKINDIA 82.00 83.90 81.60 83.05HINDPETRO 225.00 225.65 221.60 223.70MERCK 3097.00 3169.95 3075.00 3135.65NTPC 138.75 142.50 138.40 141.60IDEA 29.55 30.20 29.10 29.80BPCL 332.10 340.30 330.50 337.60INFRATEL 299.00 299.00 291.20 293.50OIL 172.45 178.50 172.45 175.05TATAMTRDVR 89.95 89.95 86.90 87.55EICHERMOT 20377.85 20566.75 19791.00 19899.55HCLTECH 1072.00 1072.00 1048.00 1053.20ABCAPITAL 92.50 93.40 91.45 91.95IBVENTURES 278.25 286.00 276.45 278.90AJANTPHARM 1005.00 1014.10 951.00 973.80JUBILANT 770.65 795.00 765.50 778.10HSCL 114.85 118.50 114.15 116.80HDFC 1842.35 1853.95 1835.00 1843.90GREAVESCOT 121.95 126.30 121.75 125.25RADICO 367.80 367.95 361.00 361.50INTELLECT 188.00 191.50 184.50 185.45BOMDYEING 110.05 112.70 109.10 110.10SIEMENS 984.35 1003.10 967.70 999.00ADANITRANS 197.75 208.50 192.00 206.40HEXAWARE 349.95 357.00 348.05 354.30BIOCON 624.00 628.70 617.65 621.60GAIL 338.00 343.50 334.30 340.55DBL 429.60 434.70 426.50 429.45REDINGTON 83.75 91.65 83.10 84.55GRUH 248.15 251.15 244.85 249.35LICHSGFIN 469.25 478.95 464.55 475.60IRB 134.95 136.30 131.50 135.00BATAINDIA 1308.05 1308.05 1276.00 1288.80STAR 419.00 423.00 416.50 420.95INDIANB 221.70 229.70 219.80 222.80BHARATFORG 517.00 518.00 510.00 511.90SUNTECK 333.90 349.95 330.10 346.90LAKSHVILAS 63.00 67.00 63.00 64.20ASIANPAINT 1413.00 1415.45 1401.00 1405.05HINDALCO 197.00 198.30 194.90 195.95TVSMOTOR 459.00 463.70 450.80 451.15EXIDEIND 222.75 222.75 217.50 218.60INDIACEM 88.95 89.35 87.00 87.60PFIZER 3164.00 3250.00 3135.30 3231.05AMBUJACEM 216.40 216.40 211.00 212.30ENGINERSIN 104.40 107.70 104.40 107.05FORCEMOT 1389.00 1393.80 1369.95 1385.35GNFC 258.00 263.05 257.65 260.25ICICIPRULI 324.00 324.75 318.50 320.10KEI 330.00 350.00 324.00 349.00IGL 292.90 294.85 286.10 292.15NETWORK18 32.00 32.35 31.65 31.75PHILIPCARB 155.00 159.00 155.00 155.85SAIL 48.55 49.05 47.80 48.30DMART 1460.00 1468.65 1450.00 1455.70BAJAJFINSV 6445.00 6493.60 6410.20 6466.75MINDACORP 140.05 149.00 135.10 147.60NAUKRI 1798.00 1830.00 1755.90 1771.10UNIONBANK 71.00 71.75 70.00 71.40IBREALEST 71.10 71.60 70.15 70.40IDFCFIRSTB 45.00 45.50 44.65 44.85MANAPPURAM 113.60 114.85 112.55 113.05CUMMINSIND 719.65 719.65 698.40 701.50SADBHAV 176.20 191.70 174.85 190.30NHPC 23.00 24.00 22.70 23.10INDUSINDBK 1484.00 1486.90 1470.00 1472.95PFC 111.25 113.70 111.25 112.20ASTRAZEN 1953.75 2048.20 1943.00 2036.20GODREJCP 663.40 674.25 660.20 671.50POWERGRID 182.45 184.60 180.75 182.55SRTRANSFIN 1125.00 1150.00 1125.00 1149.90NOCIL 132.00 136.50 130.30 133.30EDELWEISS 138.00 139.50 135.45 136.60HDFCLIFE 352.00 355.80 348.75 351.65TATACOMM 585.45 602.25 580.10 584.95GLENMARK 584.30 600.00 582.50 595.40JAICORPLTD 89.50 90.90 89.25 90.05IDBI 41.75 43.00 41.75 42.90FCONSUMER 46.00 47.10 46.00 46.15BLISSGVS 176.00 179.50 176.00 178.50BRITANNIA 3087.75 3094.55 3035.00 3069.00PEL 2319.90 2343.70 2312.60 2327.85CIPLA 552.00 557.95 545.70 557.00BHEL 64.85 65.00 64.15 64.55IPCALAB 816.00 816.00 798.90 807.20UJJIVAN 275.15 279.95 272.30 278.05TATAELXSI 889.00 892.75 879.10 885.00KEC 266.45 269.00 262.00 263.85ABFRL 225.80 227.40 220.50 225.20HAL 664.90 669.90 654.10 657.40RCF 52.20 53.00 51.45 52.45APOLLOTYRE 216.00 219.25 212.70 217.10DRREDDY 2651.65 2670.30 2621.10 2635.65FSL 42.55 43.75 42.50 43.35VINATIORGA 1466.00 1478.00 1390.00 1464.00NESTLEIND 10746.35 10762.10 10557.50 10627.00COLPAL 1260.40 1287.55 1250.10 1250.10

CANFINHOME 264.00 269.90 262.00 265.80SBILIFE 562.90 583.05 562.90 580.50EMAMILTD 397.80 399.60 388.15 392.00NBCC 53.10 53.30 52.35 52.80RAYMOND 765.00 772.75 752.70 763.60ULTRACEMCO 3940.00 3940.00 3793.20 3806.50RAJESHEXPO 573.80 585.00 566.50 571.00ITI 91.30 92.40 90.70 92.20AVANTI 334.90 339.15 331.10 333.45ESCORTS 659.00 669.60 656.70 658.80SOUTHBANK 13.20 13.40 13.11 13.20OMAXE 205.80 208.60 205.30 208.30PNBHOUSING 930.00 935.00 890.00 891.00BANDHANBNK 480.00 486.75 478.30 479.00SCHNEIDER 90.65 97.15 90.65 96.15AARTIIND 1412.00 1412.00 1350.40 1390.45JISLJALEQS 56.50 57.70 55.95 57.15M&MFIN 400.45 401.05 393.70 395.05KAJARIACER 543.80 549.00 541.00 549.00CARBORUNIV 354.50 375.00 354.50 372.60PIDILITIND 1145.00 1160.00 1140.05 1152.20BAYERCROP 4345.50 4415.00 4293.75 4329.85MINDTREE 903.45 914.00 892.80 913.00TAKE 133.00 134.40 127.10 127.85DIVISLAB 1638.95 1659.00 1635.00 1651.55CEATLTD 1098.60 1113.25 1082.00 1088.00MEGH 51.75 52.60 51.35 51.80GRASIM 786.20 790.00 773.45 777.15QUESS 711.00 721.65 704.80 712.95APOLLOHOSP 1164.75 1164.75 1136.70 1139.95JKLAKSHMI 328.55 330.30 321.80 330.00VENKYS 2086.85 2103.00 2058.05 2063.35KALPATPOWR 390.35 416.15 379.00 396.10IFCI 12.45 12.70 12.30 12.55SYMPHONY 1248.25 1305.00 1248.25 1292.00MPHASIS 1039.05 1059.50 1021.10 1046.05DCBBANK 184.40 185.90 179.35 181.50PERSISTENT* 652.00 659.25 650.05 655.55KTKBANK 112.60 112.90 111.15 112.90SJVN 23.70 24.20 22.25 22.85RAMCOCEM 679.10 681.00 664.00 667.10BERGEPAINT 299.05 306.95 299.00 306.95GRANULES 95.00 98.00 94.70 97.60CHOLAFIN 1217.45 1233.75 1205.00 1228.05PVR 1511.65 1521.15 1487.00 1492.00TATACHEM 556.85 561.15 554.90 558.80TORNTPOWER 242.95 246.00 242.10 242.95GODREJIND 502.00 502.55 488.75 492.00EIDPARRY 189.55 189.55 184.10 185.30MCX 665.35 665.75 652.70 654.80ORIENTBANK 81.45 83.60 80.70 83.20MGL 904.60 912.15 896.85 899.15CHENNPETRO 223.90 228.85 222.35 227.50PETRONET 225.90 225.90 221.25 223.35INOXLEISUR 280.00 280.00 270.85 274.80MRPL 64.60 65.40 63.90 65.00EQUITAS 113.50 114.25 111.45 113.60PAGEIND 22640.00 22754.50 22121.20 22210.25SWANENERGY 126.95 127.20 115.10 117.90TRIDENT 59.95 60.80 59.95 60.20GMRINFRA 16.30 16.35 16.10 16.25NLCINDIA 63.85 64.40 60.70 61.20DEEPAKFERT 126.20 127.50 125.40 125.65HINDZINC 264.80 271.50 261.35 269.10BAJAJHLDNG 3165.00 3191.70 3145.50 3165.00IDFC 37.95 37.95 36.40 36.95AMARAJABAT 721.90 724.15 712.60 717.10CASTROLIND 154.95 156.00 153.35 154.80ENDURANCE 1350.05 1350.05 1290.00 1290.00RALLIS 154.10 154.10 148.15 153.85MOTILALOFS 582.70 582.70 557.30 561.50UBL 1350.00 1355.00 1336.75 1350.00HINDCOPPER 45.35 46.00 45.15 45.70MARICO 340.00 342.30 336.50 339.60WELSPUNIND 52.15 52.60 51.10 51.15DEEPAKNI 234.95 234.95 228.00 232.45RBLBANK 570.35 579.80 570.35 576.65SREINFRA 27.25 27.65 26.75 27.15KANSAINER 451.90 452.65 443.00 445.15GSFC 91.35 91.85 90.35 90.60CENTURYPLY 165.35 168.00 163.15 166.00THYROCARE 531.15 537.50 514.15 522.35SIS 775.75 829.90 775.75 820.00PGHH 10300.05 10850.00 10140.00 10656.30ASTRAL 1060.00 1095.05 1060.00 1082.90PIIND 910.00 930.00 908.45 930.00TV18BRDCST 33.55 34.00 33.15 33.60FINCABLES 395.00 406.80 395.00 401.70APLAPOLLO 1165.80 1220.90 1152.75 1200.00MAHINDCIE 235.00 236.90 231.10 232.00TATAGLOBAL 192.15 195.00 191.80 195.00CYIENT* 635.00 646.50 631.75 639.95NIITTECH 1317.00 1330.55 1313.00 1320.80OBEROIRLTY 506.95 506.95 492.30 497.15LALPATHLAB 1024.10 1024.10 987.00 1004.80ISEC 200.05 202.95 200.00 202.95WELCORP 107.75 110.95 107.35 108.15RNAM 186.00 186.00 180.65 183.80MUTHOOTFIN 522.55 530.75 515.00 529.20MONSANTO 2560.00 2576.45 2535.00 2540.05COROMANDEL 436.20 448.40 433.00 440.65JAMNAAUTO 52.60 55.60 52.60 54.00JSLHISAR 88.90 90.70 87.45 88.00VBL 792.40 808.55 792.00 808.55SUVEN 241.90 242.80 238.90 241.00PARAGMILK 217.85 228.50 217.85 227.05BOSCHLTD 18850.00 19240.00 18850.00 18970.00LTI 1730.00 1740.00 1715.15 1720.00MHRIL 194.45 206.70 194.45 200.90

JMFINANCIL 75.80 78.15 75.70 76.50HUDCO 40.20 41.00 40.10 40.70PHOENIXLTD 589.00 636.00 580.75 624.45ELGIEQUIP 265.90 269.95 262.40 264.00JINDALSAW 81.70 82.45 81.05 81.65NIACL 172.70 175.90 170.25 171.50HFCL 21.15 21.30 20.95 21.20GODREJPROP 712.00 714.45 702.70 708.10GALAXYSURF 1003.25 1014.60 980.05 999.90REPCOHOME 330.30 335.70 325.40 334.60ZENSARTECH 204.00 204.00 200.00 200.50KRBL 354.90 356.00 344.00 352.05CARERATING 958.00 988.10 950.00 954.80TORNTPHARM 1818.00 1832.15 1792.20 1813.35MINDAIND 320.10 325.30 319.00 322.00JSL 35.20 35.70 34.90 35.25BASF 1307.75 1347.00 1307.75 1339.95BBTC 1193.05 1211.00 1185.00 1189.50CORPBANK 30.55 31.45 29.30 30.15CRISIL 1509.95 1509.95 1441.00 1468.00AUBANK 573.60 579.95 571.30 575.00CONCOR 476.55 476.55 467.85 471.05TATAMETALI 600.00 610.05 596.95 604.00CUB 179.45 185.75 178.20 184.05JKTYRE 86.35 86.65 85.90 86.15LEMONTREE 74.50 76.75 73.90 74.55JSWENERGY 65.35 65.35 64.50 64.60TRENT 330.40 330.60 323.80 330.00ABBOTINDIA 7375.00 7599.85 7348.00 7365.00SHANKARA 424.80 430.30 420.00 429.50SYNDIBANK 33.45 33.80 32.85 33.60AEGISLOG 195.40 201.40 194.80 201.15SUPREMEIND 1165.85 1165.85 1125.00 1148.95GICRE 219.00 220.45 215.00 216.30TEAMLEASE 2950.00 2973.20 2811.25 2825.70ABB 1226.50 1234.50 1224.30 1229.95CROMPTON 215.00 215.00 207.10 208.05GODFRYPHLP 885.00 888.00 875.45 884.00MMTC 25.05 25.65 25.05 25.45AKZOINDIA 1692.20 1810.00 1692.20 1768.35THOMASCOOK 211.25 213.70 210.00 210.95MFSL 399.70 402.20 392.90 395.35ASHOKA 115.10 119.85 115.00 117.65TEJASNET 154.85 162.85 153.05 155.45ZYDUSWELL 1265.85 1265.85 1217.35 1246.00FORTIS 134.75 134.90 133.25 134.90NATCOPHARM* 576.00 579.15 572.80 574.75ADANIGREEN 33.00 33.50 32.65 33.20ATUL 3335.00 3381.90 3298.45 3352.00IFBIND 810.25 835.10 801.85 835.00INDHOTEL 137.95 139.50 137.10 138.55GUJGAS 119.95 119.95 118.00 118.45TIMETECHNO 89.70 92.30 87.55 87.80BHARATFIN 930.80 936.20 921.65 929.90IBULISL 281.00 285.00 271.00 273.00WHIRLPOOL 1342.15 1390.00 1331.50 1377.90SHK 146.50 147.70 144.45 147.20OFSS 3478.70 3526.70 3478.65 3505.00GODREJAGRO 479.25 483.95 477.25 483.95BAJAJELEC 455.50 455.50 447.00 452.20WABCOINDIA 6432.10 6900.00 6417.05 6756.45COCHINSHIP 347.30 350.00 345.00 350.00MOIL 144.35 144.50 142.50 143.90PRSMJOHNSN 78.10 79.40 77.10 79.40IEX 152.75 158.35 150.50 153.00MRF 58500.00 58500.00 56000.00 56736.10GSKCONS 7224.50 7264.25 7185.00 7185.00SUNDRMFAST 524.00 524.00 510.60 516.90THERMAX 988.50 996.00 968.00 981.15COFFEEDAY 273.55 275.00 268.50 272.90CAPPL 397.80 402.15 386.35 390.10GESHIP 273.65 273.70 268.60 268.80HEIDELBERG 151.00 153.00 151.00 152.00SYNGENE 591.95 593.05 587.25 587.75DCAL 188.15 189.35 185.00 187.80GSPL 157.55 158.75 156.15 157.80SHREECEM 16608.05 16847.85 16461.00 16468.00CHAMBLFERT 161.80 161.80 156.10 158.25SCI 35.85 35.85 34.90 35.05FDC 160.00 169.00 160.00 168.00HSIL 219.65 224.90 217.95 224.90EIHOTEL 191.90 191.90 184.25 185.90GUJALKALI 441.80 453.80 437.30 442.05CERA 2365.00 2457.00 2336.50 2457.00SUPPETRO 206.85 209.10 204.00 207.20CENTRUM 32.10 33.00 31.25 32.65SKFINDIA 1961.75 1964.00 1927.05 1937.00HERITGFOOD 466.15 470.00 455.30 455.75

SOLARINDS 950.00 974.60 935.50 940.50RELAXO 734.00 749.95 733.00 741.95DENABANK 11.19 11.35 11.05 11.19UCOBANK 18.80 18.85 18.50 18.80NAVNETEDUL 104.90 104.90 102.95 104.45ALKEM 1757.45 1772.80 1743.45 1743.45GICHSGFIN 233.10 235.60 232.50 235.40MAGMA 102.60 104.00 101.15 102.45BIRLACORPN 465.80 471.50 464.50 468.00ALLCARGO 100.00 101.15 99.30 99.75UFLEX 195.15 196.50 192.00 193.65SOBHA 436.80 440.00 435.00 436.50ECLERX 1005.00 1040.00 1005.00 1038.55SONATSOFTW 340.25 340.45 336.50 337.85TATACOFFEE 84.20 84.45 83.65 84.00VMART 2589.60 2600.00 2539.00 2580.00CENTRALBK 30.25 30.50 30.00 30.20GREENPLY 141.60 144.30 139.25 141.00MAHABANK 12.90 12.90 12.56 12.81PRESTIGE 206.90 207.85 203.20 203.65BLUESTARCO 612.00 622.00 604.10 622.00ADVENZYMES 149.70 150.75 149.00 150.10DBCORP 180.00 180.00 173.80 178.95NAVINFLUOR 590.50 595.90 590.00 590.00MANPASAND 72.10 75.10 72.10 73.95PTC 78.00 78.55 76.55 77.20J&KBANK 39.00 39.00 38.00 38.30IOB 13.35 13.55 13.11 13.25GLAXO 1310.30 1334.75 1310.30 1326.80VIJAYABANK 40.65 40.65 40.30 40.35APLLTD 545.00 555.65 542.25 555.00TATAINVEST 825.00 829.00 823.00 825.75GET&D 288.25 291.50 283.55 289.35ANDHRABANK 24.50 24.85 24.50 24.70ISGEC 4700.05 4759.70 4644.95 4651.00NBVENTURES 103.40 103.45 100.90 101.15TTKPRESTIG 7540.00 7730.00 7540.00 7563.75NH 202.00 209.00 200.00 208.55SUDARSCHEM 320.75 321.90 320.00 320.00BALMLAWRIE 176.20 176.85 173.25 175.00JKCEMENT 713.10 734.00 708.00 721.20LAOPALA 196.55 200.80 192.15 196.00ITDC 273.90 279.15 268.10 268.55NAVKARCORP 40.10 41.60 40.10 41.05SUNCLAYLTD 2799.95 2860.55 2777.00 2837.05LAXMIMACH 5663.05 5760.00 5660.00 5732.50GMDCLTD 75.85 77.35 75.30 76.55GHCL 221.15 223.05 220.00 221.15INDOSTAR 345.25 347.00 335.10 341.60VTL 982.00 1011.95 982.00 999.00SOMANYCERA 326.75 329.10 322.00 326.653MINDIA 23044.80 23044.80 22600.35 23000.00FINOLEXIND 466.60 475.00 466.60 471.90SANOFI 5960.25 6009.45 5933.40 5978.10ORIENTCEM 73.00 73.60 69.05 69.95INOXWIND 71.00 71.95 70.10 71.75KNRCON 200.85 201.75 199.50 199.50ASTERDM 154.05 156.50 154.05 156.50PNCINFRA 127.70 131.05 126.00 128.35NESCO 431.05 434.65 429.00 433.50EVEREADY 198.05 198.70 196.00 196.60GILLETTE 6427.70 6510.00 6427.70 6500.00GULFOILLUB 882.05 883.00 852.00 860.00NILKAMAL 1248.70 1255.90 1241.40 1245.00AIAENG 1719.75 1722.00 1710.00 1715.75FORBESCO 1940.00 1952.95 1903.00 1911.10LUXIND 1089.50 1108.55 1089.00 1101.00CCL 281.60 281.60 278.05 279.00KPRMILL 533.00 535.50 526.25 534.30BLUEDART 3126.00 3314.00 3126.00 3130.05ITDCEM 105.75 107.75 104.50 105.25TIMKEN 560.00 575.00 560.00 574.85SUPRAJIT 188.80 193.45 188.80 192.00GEPIL 790.25 807.85 790.25 791.00JAGRAN 95.15 97.00 94.00 96.00ASAHIINDIA 255.30 259.00 252.50 258.00GDL 106.25 107.90 106.25 107.80SHARDACROP 356.40 362.50 354.60 361.00TNPL 188.45 188.45 186.25 187.60GRINDWELL 543.25 547.35 539.00 547.00JYOTHYLAB 179.00 180.65 178.50 179.05FLFL 428.95 430.00 422.95 428.50MAHLIFE 375.00 375.00 368.45 373.50MAHLOG 437.90 438.00 431.10 436.00RATNAMANI 850.00 868.90 842.00 868.90TVTODAY 319.50 319.50 314.55 315.80BAJAJCON 347.55 351.85 347.30 349.15SFL 1384.95 1450.00 1365.00 1409.90TRITURBINE 103.60 103.60 101.05 102.05ERIS 610.40 610.40 601.15 601.15JBCHEPHARM 332.70 332.70 322.65 326.15HATSUN 661.85 661.85 652.00 656.00HONAUT 21665.00 21700.00 21500.00 21650.00TIINDIA 350.40 359.65 350.40 356.30SCHAEFFLER 5314.25 5400.00 5314.25 5375.00GAYAPROJ 152.85 152.85 147.50 148.95HIMATSEIDE 165.80 168.00 164.25 167.50TIFHL 433.25 446.20 430.65 432.10SHILPAMED 355.20 356.65 350.00 350.50KIOCL 128.40 128.50 125.00 126.15JCHAC 1707.00 1740.00 1700.00 1725.00DHANUKA 409.00 409.00 401.05 401.05LAURUSLABS 332.10 332.25 331.10 331.10SHRIRAMCIT 1647.60 1653.50 1626.15 1650.00STARCEMENT 98.00 99.50 98.00 98.70ESSELPRO 109.15 112.50 109.15 111.50SHOPERSTOP 479.95 482.80 476.35 482.80TVSSRICHAK 2237.05 2250.00 2235.00 2235.25APARINDS 632.30 632.30 629.90 629.90

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10865.70 10865.70 10784.85 10792.50 -14.15ONGC 144.40 150.75 143.10 150.50 7.75VEDL 166.50 171.45 164.20 170.70 6.05COALINDIA 223.50 229.90 222.15 228.80 7.35BPCL 334.00 340.00 330.00 338.50 7.80GAIL 339.00 343.95 334.25 343.00 7.30IOC 142.50 146.80 141.55 143.90 3.00NTPC 140.20 142.70 138.30 141.65 2.90YESBANK 230.00 232.75 226.80 232.20 4.00ICICIBANK 348.45 351.75 345.00 351.05 5.50TITAN 1018.00 1033.80 1002.05 1032.45 16.20ZEEL 470.35 470.50 458.40 469.00 5.60LT 1293.00 1302.95 1273.30 1300.00 15.30UPL 877.00 881.60 862.20 878.00 8.70SUNPHARMA 446.60 451.50 442.10 446.50 3.80RELIANCE 1233.75 1239.85 1226.55 1232.00 8.50HINDPETRO 224.80 225.65 221.55 224.05 1.40CIPLA 555.00 558.30 546.00 555.25 3.35SBIN 267.70 270.80 267.65 269.15 1.50ITC 277.30 277.30 274.25 276.50 1.40POWERGRID 182.90 184.75 180.60 182.25 0.80BAJAJFINSV 6478.00 6480.00 6413.10 6448.00 28.15ADANIPORTS 328.70 329.70 325.15 326.35 1.10TECHM 833.00 838.40 825.00 827.90 2.30HINDALCO 197.70 198.20 195.00 196.50 0.55BAJFINANCE 2666.60 2667.00 2630.00 2647.20 5.20HDFC 1849.00 1853.65 1834.60 1841.80 0.80ASIANPAINT 1414.80 1415.00 1401.45 1405.20 -0.50INFY 738.70 742.40 732.30 734.70 -0.55TATAMOTORS 180.00 181.55 176.60 177.10 -0.25INDUSINDBK 1487.75 1489.00 1470.50 1474.40 -2.30IBULHSGFIN 658.80 661.90 643.60 657.80 -1.10BHARTIARTL 324.90 326.95 315.95 319.45 -0.70KOTAKBANK 1213.20 1225.05 1210.00 1213.30 -2.85HINDUNILVR 1749.00 1756.65 1727.60 1732.30 -4.20BAJAJ-AUTO 2930.00 2933.80 2864.00 2904.80 -9.90GRASIM 788.90 790.50 773.50 778.00 -4.40HDFCBANK 2093.10 2105.85 2073.20 2076.90 -15.35HCLTECH 1069.95 1069.95 1047.70 1050.85 -9.50JSWSTEEL 285.50 290.00 279.80 281.20 -2.80DRREDDY 2669.00 2669.00 2615.25 2619.00 -27.90INFRATEL 298.00 298.85 291.50 293.60 -3.15AXISBANK 723.45 723.45 706.40 709.55 -8.65TATASTEEL 506.60 511.00 498.30 499.50 -7.60M&M 663.75 663.75 642.50 645.55 -10.60WIPRO 374.90 376.70 366.60 368.00 -6.40HEROMOTOCO 2700.10 2707.60 2620.00 2630.00 -48.55MARUTI 7010.00 7040.00 6801.00 6831.95 -136.55ULTRACEMCO 3915.00 3915.00 3790.00 3810.00 -79.10EICHERMOT 20649.00 20649.00 19800.00 19821.60 -586.15TCS 2060.00 2071.35 1977.60 1983.50 -74.60

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26415.35 26552.10 26347.30 26514.45 203.60PGHH 10268.50 10998.70 10060.00 10889.75 518.55MOTHERSUMI 156.00 164.40 156.00 162.20 6.95NMDC 97.60 101.60 96.85 101.40 4.10HAVELLS 696.00 718.50 695.55 718.45 25.25SBILIFE 565.00 582.00 565.00 581.00 17.70BEL 81.00 83.20 80.05 82.75 2.10GODREJCP 666.00 675.00 659.50 674.00 16.60ASHOKLEY 85.90 87.00 85.20 86.95 2.10ICICIGI 912.00 936.00 912.00 932.00 21.90SUNTV 595.25 611.80 587.50 607.15 13.45LICHSGFIN 470.70 478.00 464.25 476.55 10.10HINDZINC 263.95 272.40 261.55 269.50 5.60SIEMENS 984.00 1000.00 967.85 999.00 19.95MCDOWELL-N 544.60 550.00 538.55 549.15 7.90SRTRANSFIN 1126.80 1148.60 1125.00 1142.00 13.05DABUR 437.95 440.00 433.00 439.65 5.05ABCAPITAL 92.00 93.45 91.10 92.00 1.05DLF 163.00 166.40 161.85 166.20 1.85OIL 172.00 178.50 172.00 174.25 1.65INDIGO 1118.00 1130.85 1086.05 1123.00 10.70BOSCHLTD 18818.00 19285.00 18817.75 18960.00 142.25BIOCON 620.10 628.80 617.75 621.00 4.60IDEA 29.60 30.35 29.55 29.70 0.15PIDILITIND 1150.00 1161.90 1140.35 1153.00 5.75HDFCLIFE 351.85 356.25 348.15 351.50 1.45ABB 1229.00 1234.55 1222.25 1230.00 4.95PETRONET 225.00 225.85 221.20 223.50 0.75DMART 1465.00 1467.90 1446.50 1455.00 4.85L&TFH 124.00 124.95 123.35 124.45 0.35ICICIPRULI 324.25 325.00 317.45 322.10 0.55MARICO 341.40 342.85 336.45 339.80 0.50BANKBARODA 101.20 101.70 100.75 101.15 0.15BRITANNIA 3071.00 3098.60 3032.90 3059.00 0.40OFSS 3502.80 3533.35 3494.95 3502.00 -0.80MRF 57390.00 57400.00 56572.00 56786.35 -76.40PEL 2340.00 2344.00 2311.50 2315.00 -3.45BANDHANBNK 479.00 487.50 478.00 479.40 -0.90SAIL 48.50 49.05 47.80 48.40 -0.10NHPC 23.00 24.10 22.65 22.85 -0.05LUPIN 765.05 773.50 761.05 766.00 -2.00ACC 1432.25 1436.95 1413.10 1421.00 -4.15CONCOR 473.00 477.00 467.60 472.00 -1.95CADILAHC 321.50 329.35 315.15 318.05 -1.55BHEL 65.00 65.15 64.10 64.55 -0.40AMBUJACEM 215.25 216.40 210.70 212.30 -1.65COLPAL 1270.00 1289.65 1247.15 1252.00 -10.90GICRE 216.20 220.25 216.20 217.05 -1.90SHREECEM 16798.10 16948.95 16434.35 16525.00 -194.65AUROPHARMA 719.10 726.90 710.00 710.70 -8.75NIACL 172.50 175.60 170.15 172.00 -3.45

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Beleaguered Jet Airways'Chairman Naresh Goyal

has agreed to step down as thelenders gear up to acquiremajority stake in the airlineunder a bailout plan, a sourcesaid Thursday.

When contacted, Jet AirwaysVice-President for CorporateAffairs and Public RelationsRagini Chopra said she is "notaware" of the developments.

The move comes a day afteran urgent meeting of lenderswith Goyal and Etihad AirwaysChief Executive Officer TonyDouglas to resolve various issuesbetween the two promoters aswell as lenders and Etihad.

The Gulf-based carrierholds 24 per cent stake in theMumbai-based full service air-line, founded by Goyal 25 yearsago.

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Page 12: HZ_X 4`^^R_UVc e` cVefc_ e`URj - Daily Pioneer

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Hanoi: The US-North Koreanuclear summit in Hanoiended abruptly without a dealon Thursday, with PresidentDonald Trump saying he haddecided to “walk” in the face ofKim Jong Un’s demands todrop sanctions.

The much-anticipated sec-ond meeting between the twoleaders was supposed to buildon their historic first summit inSingapore, but they failed tosign a joint statement as ini-tially scheduled and the talksended in deadlock.

“Sometimes you have towalk and this was just one ofthose times,” an unusuallydownbeat Trump told reporters.“Basically they wanted the sanc-tions lifted in their entirety andwe couldn’t do that,” Trump saidbefore leaving Vietnam aboardAir Force One to head back toWashington.

But Trump insisted he was“optimistic that the progress wemade” before and during thesummit left them “in positionto have a really good outcome”in the future.

“I’d much rather do it rightthan do it fast,” he added. Henoted Kim had vowed not toresume nuclear or ballistic mis-sile testing — something he

previously identified as a yard-stick for success — and reiter-ated their “close relationship”.

“We just like each other...There’s a warmth that we haveand I hope that stays, I think itwill,” he said. The outcome inHanoi fell far short of the pre-meeting expectations and hopes,after critics said their initial his-toric meeting in Singapore wasmore style over substance.

The leaders walked awaywith no set plans for a thirdmeeting, though Trump said hehopes to see Kim again soon.

Ankit Panda, from theFederation of AmericanScientists, warned on Twitterthat the White House’s expec-tation of further talks “does nothave to be a perception sharedin North Korea”. “Kim mayhave left irate, for all we know.He may have no intention ofcontinuing this,” added Panda.

In the original WhiteHouse programme, a “JointAgreement Signing Ceremony”had been scheduled in Hanoiand a working lunch for theleaders. Instead both men leftthe summit venue withoutsigning anything and Trumpmoved up his news conferenceby two hours. “This is a majorfailure,” tweeted Joe Cirincione,

president of the PloughsharesFund peace foundation, sayingit showed the limit of summit-ry, with “not enough time orstaff ” to work out a deal.

Trump flew around theworld for the meeting and Kimundertook a mammoth two-and-a-half-day trek throughChina in his olive green train,travelling 4,000 kms.

Kim will stay on inVietnam for a state visit, whichwill include a wreath-layingceremony at the Ho Chi Minhmausoleum, before his expect-ed departure on Saturday.

The US President, whotouted his “special relation-ship” with Kim, frequentlydangled the prospect of abrighter economic future for anuclear-free North Korea, atone point saying there was“AWESOME” potential.

From the outset, he hadappeared to downplay expec-tations of an immediate break-through in nuclear talks, say-ing he was in “no rush” toclinch a rapid deal and was

content if a pause in missiletesting continued.

But Harry Kazianis,Director of Korean Studies at theCentre for the National Interest,said that no agreement was bet-ter than a bad one. “The chal-lenge is North Korea’s nuclearweapons are already a reality,” hesaid. “Getting a deal that does lit-tle to nothing to remove thatthreat would be far worse thana flawed deal.” In a phone call toSouth Korean President MoonJae-in soon after the meetingended, Trump “expressed regret”at not striking adeal with Kim,the South’s

presidential office said.In Singapore Kim and

Trump signed a vague docu-ment in which Kim pledged to“work toward complete denu-clearisation of the Korean penin-sula”. Progress subsequentlystalled, with the two sides dis-agreeing on what that means, asthe North sought relief fromsanctions and Washingtonpressed for concrete stepstowards it giving up its weapons.

As in Singapore, the twomen put on ashow of bon-homie inV i e t n a m ,appearing to

share jokes in front of reporters.Looking relaxed but appearingto say little, they indulged in apoolside stroll Thursdayaround the gardens of the lux-ury Metropole Hotel.

It was a far cry from theheight of missile-testing ten-sions in 2017 when Trumpslammed Kim as “rocket man”and the younger man brandedthe American president a“mentally deranged US dotard”.

Meanwhile, Japan’s PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe backedDonald Trump on Thursdayafter the US president’s talkswith North Korea’s leaderended without a deal. Tokyohas regarded the US-led diplo-

matic push with Pyongyangwith suspicion, and hassought to keep its interestson the table in the dis-cussions by coordinatingclosely with its allyWashington.

“Japan fully supportsPresident Trump’s deci-sion to make no easycompromise and at thesame time continue pro-ductive discussions, andurge North Korea to takeconcrete action,” Abe

told reporters after aphone call with Trump.

London: A lurcher called Hector, branded as the ‘loneliest dogin Britain’ has finally found a home. The two-year-old lurcherhad been in a shelter for over 500 days since he was rescued overwelfare concerns in 2017. A lurcher is a sighthound such as aGreyhound crossed with a terrier, herding breed, or large scen-thound. Lurchers are primarily hunting dogs.

Hundreds of people from all over the world offered to re-home him after a campaign by Little Valley Animal Shelter inExeter, Devon, went viral, the BBC reported. The lonely lurcher,who spent more than 500 days at the shelter, had been its longest-staying resident.

“We couldn’t be happier for him,” the shelter said. PTI

Hanoi: US President DonaldTrump defended BenjaminNetanyahu on Thursday as theIsraeli premier reportedlyawaits a decision on whether hewill be indicted on corruptioncharges. “I can say this, he’sdone a great job as prime min-ister,” Trump said in Hanoiafter his summit with NorthKorean leader Kim Jing Un.

“He’s tough, smart, andstrong. He’s very defensive, hismilitary has been built up a lot,”Trump said. Israel’s attorneygeneral was expected toannounce Thursday a decisionon whether he intends to indictNetanyahu on corruption

charges, Israeli media reported.The reports come with

Netanyahu in the midst of atough re-election campaignahead of April 9 polls.

Trump said he was not in aposition to comment on the cor-ruption allegations. Trump againdepicted himself as a consum-mate dealmaker as he discussedprospects for peace betweenIsrael and the Palestinians. Hesaid, “We have a good shot atpeace.” “All my life, I’ve heard thattoughest of all deals, when theytalk about tough deals, thetoughest all of deals would bepeace between Israel and thePalestinians,” he said. AFP

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Seoul: The abrupt end to thesummit between DonaldTrump and Kim Jong Uncame as no surprise to NorthKorean defectors in theSouth, with one saying sim-ply, “I told you so!”

The defectors, who nowlive in Seoul, chatted andlaughed at the office of NorthKorea Free Radio as theyawaited news from the USpresident and the leader oftheir former homeland.

But they quickly fellsilent as it became clear thetalks were deadlocked.

AFP

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Beijing: Beijing expressed hopeon Thursday that the US andNorth Korea will keep talking,saying the nuclear issue will notbe solved “overnight”, after amuch-anticipated summit inHanoi ended without a deal.

China is Pyongyang’s solemajor ally and North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un travelledacross the neighbouring coun-try by train to his second meet-ing with US President DonaldTrump, which ended ahead ofschedule without any jointannouncements. AFP

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There are often vehicles thatsurprise you with sales thatbelie their ability, and the

Ford Endeavour has always beenone of those cars. Because it is sodarn good at what it says on thecover, the Endeavour remainsone of the best off-road vehiclesavailable in India. It is really notsomething that you should con-sider a ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’but a car that is a full-fledged off-roader. And Ford India just gavethe car a minor update, adding anew grille among some othersmall things, but most important-ly, the Endeavour gets a �30,000-50,000 price cut. Prices now beginat �28.19 lakh and go up to�32.97 lakh. In addition, the rangenow starts with a six-speed man-ual version of the 2.2-litre variant,and it is not available only in thetitanium trim.

All well and good, but why,you would ask rather reasonably,would a good car not sell verywell. Well, there is the minor mat-ter of the Toyota Fortuner, whichin terms of almost everything isnot as capable as the Ford but isbuilt stronger than a Red Armytank from World War II and hasa resale value that would makemost other cars red with embar-rassment. While I would consid-er the Innova to be a far morepractical vehicle, the Fortunerhas always exuded confidenceand power. The white Fortuner inparticular has been incrediblypopular with politicians. In fact,one would argue that a whiteFortuner is as essential a part ofan Indian politician’s wardrobe asa starched khadi kurta. And Ford,which did have first-mover advan-tage in the market if you remem-

ber, did miss a trick by delayingintroducing the new Endeavour,allowing Toyota to come in andsteal the market.

But you know what? Whiledriving over the sand of the Samdunes outside Jaisalmer, we saw acouple of politicians also drivingup and down the sand. And boththose gentlemen and their retinuewere travelling in Endeavours.One of them plainly stated that ifyou wanted to do this sort of stuff,only Endeavour can do that. Well,you can do similar things in

much more expensive cars like theLand Rover Discovery andMercedes-Benz G-Wagen, butyou get the point, right?

This isn’t the first time I havebeen on the soft, fine sand of theSam sand dunes. The last time Iwas in a (then) prototype of theMahindra Thar and even today,the dunes are full of Mahindra540s and Thars with local driversdriving like utter maniacs andtourists, without a care of person-al preservation, standing at theback. Sure, it looks fun, but some-

how nowadays I just see a tragedywaiting to happen with no safetygear. These are light, four-wheeledvehicles unencumbered by theweight of creature comforts andride over the sand with a sense ofpurpose. And they are fun to driveover the sand because you can vir-tually do anything.

The Ford Endeavour on theother hand is a heavy vehicle, withfull smartphone connectivity,three-zone air-conditioning aswell as three rows of comfortableseats which include lumbar and

side support. Really, it should nothave been doing what we weredoing with the car. Sure, we hadreduced the tire pressure to givethe Endeavour’s rubber a widercontact patch, but other than thatand switching the car’s terrainresponse system to ‘sand’ mode,there were no modifications to thecar. Nothing, nada.

We drove over the dunesquite comfortably, and the onetime I did get stuck, it was my faultin not giving the Endeavourenough gas at that moment. Theone thing about driving on sandor other non-road surfaces suchas ice or gravel is that you oftenhave to do things that mightappear to be counter-intuitive.While I’m really not makingexcuses for my driving abilities, Icannot praise the car enough.Think about it, this is an almostthree-ton car driving on a surfacethat you would assume somethingso heavy would need tracks like atank.

It is not perfect. I do not likethe incredibly small speedometerand instrument cluster, a vehicle’sspeedometer should at least reflectits size and this one is tiny. Whileyou can get a bunch of informa-tion on the cluster, you have tochoose between the rev counterand the trip meter.

But these were minor irritantsat the time and living with themthough could be an issue. I havegone off-roading in the Endeavourin the past as well and then, likenow, it impressed with its sheerability. If I was a politician whowanted to go deep into the coun-tryside on tracks rather than onthe road, I know what I would buy.

He sits quietly on theside and allows hisactors, Kriti Sanon,Kartik Aryaan andAparshakti Khurana

to corner the spotlight complete-ly. But Laxman Utekar, who makeshis Hindi directorial debut withLuka Chuppi, which releases today,by his own admission is “more ofan observer than a talker.” That’sbecause he has waited along thesidelines for far too long, being asweeper on the sets. Then he heldsomebody’s camera, played withshots and the rest is cliched histo-ry.

This quality of being anonlooker has set the tone for hisfilm set in Gwalior and Mathura,far-removed from his nativeMaharashtra. “The dialect is total-ly different as is the culture. For oneand a half years, my writer and Ivisited the place often and stayedthere at a stretch for 10 days to getthe nuances right. We madefriends, sat at the ghat, saw people,the lanes and the cows just amblingalong. We came back at night andwrote the script. We even heardstories like the one about a couplewho was unable to meet, given thatit was a small town and did so at4 in the morning in the public toi-let,” he says. He believes that he hasbeen able to incorporate the city’satmosphere in it.

Luka Chuppi is the latest in thesurfeit of films that are set in smalltowns and Utekar explains the rea-son. “Small cities are coming to thefore as cinema is changing. Withproducers like Dinesh Vijan, whoare approachable for small towndirectors coming from places likeKanpur, Lucknow and other hin-terland with stories that they haveseen and lived, there is an elementof realism. The audience appreci-ates these kind of stories.”

Moreover, the towns wherethese are set too become charactersand reveal themselves to the wide-spread audience. “For the audience,New York, Australia, Africa, wheremovies were shot four to fiveyears ago, were all the same, alienand disconnected. But in India,after every kilometre, the coloursand the culture change. We discov-ered Chanderi in Stree and in LukaChuppi we found Gwalior. Peoplelike being connected to theirdialect, culture, places and colour,”says the director who you have tostrain to hear as he is so soft-spo-ken.

Initially, besides Mathura, Agrawas also a part of the film but it was

Gwalior, lead actor Kartik Aryaan’shometown, that they finally settledfor. “I have worked as a cinematog-rapher in Agra and I was not happywith it as besides the beautiful TajMahal, there is not much to thecity. It wasn’t enough,” he recalls.So the crew decided to exploreGwalior as they had heard a lotabout the place. It was love at firstsight. “It is unique, clean andfresh and has the largest fort inIndia,” says Utekar.

The storyline of the film,which is evident from the promos,is about a couple’s decision to livein and their travails when theirconventional families join them.Utekar decided to take up the topicas it has a resonance among thecountry’s youth. “If a couple wantsto live-in even in a metro, it is dif-ficult to rent a house. If they man-age to do so, the neighbours castaspersions and label them charac-terless. So in a smaller town it iseven more difficult where theatmosphere is conservative. Thefilm is a fun ride,” he says.

However, at another level hedoes feel that the country is chang-ing. “Young India for me is smartIndia,” he says and gives the exam-ple of people in a mofussil townhaving access to web content fromall over the world. He goes on toadd, “People, having been exposedto a wide bouquet of subjects, cannow gauge if the film works forthem just by looking at the promo.They can differentiate between thegood and bad. They appreciate agreat plot. You can get any star foryour project but if you give a badproduct, it would not work.”

Talking of stars, not manymight know that he has rubbedshoulders with some of the biggest

names in the industry and says thathe has learnt a lot from them.“When I was shooting withAmitabh Bachchan for 102 NotOut, I wondered if he was the sameperson whose films I’d watched asa child. He has the same energy,hunger and positivity at this age.One wants to be like that when onegrows older,” he asserts.

But the list does not end there.He says there is a reason whyShahrukh Khan with whom heworked in Dear Zindagi is such aphenomenon. “It is not a fluke thathe became one of the biggestsuperstars in India. The kind ofdecency and the knowledge that hehas about any topic is unsur-passed. He is a director’s actor anda true gentleman. His co-star in thefilm Alia, even at this age, is a pow-erful performer but her feet arefirmly planted on the ground. Sheknows she has the talent and how

to use it,” He also worked with Sridevi (English Vinglish)

Irrfan Khan (Hindi Medium) as well as directors likeAmit Sharma, Gauri Shinde and Umesh Shukla fromwhom he learnt the craft. “I have taken something fromevery actor or director as I observe a lot,” he says.

Incidentally he learnt his craft in that man-ner too. He has no qualms about admitting thathe was a sweeper in a studio called JainBrothers and rose through the ranks. “Thecamera attendant didn’t come in one dayand the main camera attendant cribbedabout the owner taking bookings in theabsence of staff. So the owner Ashok Jainsuggested that he should take me as Ihad finished my work for the day. Iaccompanied him. I always take upeverything with an intensity. He likedmy work and I gradually became sec-ond assistant, then first and so on,”says Utekar, who started his careeras a cinematographer with the 2007Hindi drama Khanna & Iyer. Hehas been a part of films like Blue,Boss and Tevar.

He made his directorial debutin 2014 with the Marathi movieTapaal, which first screened at the18th Busan International FilmFestival 2013, South Korea, andopened to positive reviews andacclaim upon its release inIndia. His next directorialventure was yet anotherMarathi movie titledLalbaugchi Rani, whichchronicled the life of a men-tally unstable girl who gets lostat Lalbaug during a Ganpatidarshan and how she meetsdifferent people, changing theirperspective towards life.

Beyond films, Utekar is arestless being. He says, “I can-not sit free at home. When I amnot shooting, I might be writ-ing or thinking about a story.If I am travelling, then I oftenwonder what is the relation-ship between two people fromtheir body language, whetherthey are siblings or a couple.”

However, having done alot, it is home that he likesgoing back to. “If I get a leavefor three-four days, I go tomy village Polatpur, nearMahabaleshwar, which isfive hours away fromMumbai. My father and myjoint family stay there. We havecows, goats, chickens. I like toplough fields, eat farm food anddrink fresh milk. The atmosphere isdifferent as there is no phone net-work. In metros, the phones do notlet us live, even though humansdo.” Clearly he inhabits the spacebetween the small village and themegapolis with equal ease.

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People who love to eat are thebest kind,” reads a quote onone of the walls of Farzi Cafe.

Located in the most vogue placesof Gurugram, it altogether has adifferent aura to it. Walkingthrough the doors, it feels as if onehas entered a typical Irish bistro.The dim lighting, lounge music,wooden tables and chairs, createsa vibe that speaks for itself.

Without further ado, food wasserved. First to touch the table wasthe Amuse Bouche — mangospheres. Brought in tiny ceramiccups, these sweet spheres of whatis essentially yogurt, have a stretchyyet silky outside and a liquid inside.These small tangy spheres are coldand refreshing. This dish is defi-nitely a smart and rejuvenating wayof starting a meal, as well as helpsin building an appetite.

In an era of ‘Avocado andToast’, how could we as Indians, beleft behind in picking up thattrend. Giving avocado a desi twist,cafe aims to cater to the Indian,more so, the North Indian palate.The Avocado Chaat and BeetrootGel, was the next dish in. Partly cutavocado topped with onions, toma-toes, sev and the quintessentialchaat masalas, garnished withpomegranate and beetroot gel,could not have gone wrong. Whileeating it, you feel trendier but stillstrongly connected to our roots.

Coming next to the table wasAloo Samosa Pinwheel Chaat. It isessentially a deconstructed samosa,with the deep-fried flour, coveringof the samosa, made into a pin-wheel. What surprised me is thefact that, while eating a decon-structed samosa, one actuallyrealises and savours entire ele-ment of it as opposed to having asamosa as a whole. The beauty ofthe dish is — one can eat every bitof the element separately andrejoice its own, independentflavour.

Then, there is Papdi ChaatNachos. Standing on the bed ofsalsa beans, are house-preparednachos, topped with onions, toma-toes, peanuts and drizzled withmint chutney, I must say what amarvellous creation it is. The com-bination seems to be one made inheaven. Eating this famous Delhistreet-snack, all I can say is that it’s

a crowd pleaser. Moving on, a new take on one

of the most popular vegetariankebabs is brought to the table. Thisis the Peshawari Paneer Tikka,served along with a Blue CheeseRaita. While the paneer tikka —coated with layer of malai, it iscooked to perfection, and melts inyour mouth but the blue cheeseraita de-railed the dish. The sweet-ness from the blue cheese alongwith the sweet coating of thepaneer could be too sweet, but

might definitely be the choice of allthe sweet-tooths out there.

After a long wait, finally camein the first South Indian dish withan eastern twist. The Guntur ChilliChicken, an innovative take on thechicken 65, wok tossed like chillichicken. Tucking into this dish, thechicken is crispy, with a tad bit ofsweetness and gets spicier with astrong flavour from the curryleaves. Just what you’d expect froma chicken 65, but spicier, thanks tothe inspiration from the chilli

chicken. The shavings of coconut,really bring out the flavour of thefood. This dish will make yousweat, but it’s worth, plus you getto literally “burn” some calories.“Food for thought” (quite literally)— wouldn’t chicken 65 be India’snext chilli chicken?

Next in is the Paniyaram ScotchQuails Eggs. These are small, friedrice balls that centred poachedquail eggs, served with a side ofParmesan Papad. There’s not muchthat can be said about this dish. The

eggs were runny in the centre. Therice balls add a crunchy plus warmtexture, the parmesan papad andthe mint chutney binds the dishtogether spectacularly.

Back to the North, the dishbrought in is Amritsari Fish Tacoswith sour cream salsa. The hot andspicy Amritsari fish tucked in acrunchy taco shell with dollops ofthe sour cream salsa. Every elementon that platter comes together nat-urally and is lip smackingly good.It is an art to pick elements fromacross the globe and blend themtogether effortlessly.

Next up is a palate changer.This is the Elder Flower Sorbet. Hatsoff to the effort put into the presen-tation of this one. It comes on aceramic tree structure and on oneof the branches is the sorbet stick.The sorbet has a smooth, milky andcreamy yet icy texture. Drizzledwith blueberry compote, this addsa tanginess. The combination real-ly refreshes the palate and makesyou ready for more.

Coming to the main course, thefirst dish that hits the table is theHaleem Risotto topped with Muttonpickle. This plate of food is whole-some, meaty and scrumptious. The

pickle-ness dominates the platebut it doesn’t, in anyway, overpow-er the concept of the dish. Itreminds you of the fresh achaarthat your grandma would make foryou. This plate just mirrors child-hood memories and comfort. It isguaranteed that you wouldn’t wantto get over the achari fever.

Coming in next is theMushroom Do Pyaza and AjwainiParatha. This one too, tastes like ahome-cooked dish, that you’d cravefor. The ajwaini paratha, with alayer of butter over it, wouldn’tmake you stop indulging for more.There is nothing pretentious ortwisted, it is just pure goodness.

The very last main is broughtin. This is the Fish Pullimunchi withonion ghee pulao. On a bed of rice,rests the deep-fried, crunch andcrispy fish and for the dramatics,the broth/curry of the fish ispoured around the rice, on thetable. The light and tangy broth,mixed with ghee rice, is full-bod-ied in terms of its flavour. The fishadds the texture to the dish and thesalt content of the fish, rightfullybalances the plate.

Lastly, for the desert, the LemonCustard Tart is served with a rasp-berry splash and house-made vanil-la ice-cream. The dish is present-ed in the way that the tart shellhides the lemon custard and thevanilla ice-cream. This presentationis smart in a way that, once youbreak the shell, it crumbles over thecustard and the ice cream, whichallows you to enjoy the dish. It isthe best example of exemplarycooking, execution and the rightbalance. The tart shell adds bite tothe dish, the vanilla ice cream is thekind you’ve never eaten beforeand the tartiness of lemon custardand sweetness of the raspberrysplash will rock your world. Forthose who don’t have a sweet-tooth, too, will enjoy this. It is thebest way to end the meal.

An evening spent relaxing butalso tracing the trajectory of howfar Indian culinary has come butstill true to its roots, will fill youwith pride and of course, the foodwill not make your mouth stopwatering. True to its name, Farzicafé will not fail to create a gastro-nomical illusion through its top ofthe class culinary art.

In a time where everything is aboutinnovation, trend and modern

culinary techniques, Cicchetti (pro-nounced as She-ke-tti) wants tointroduce the lost European timesand traditions to India. Located inGurugram’s ‘place-to-be’, the CyberHub, this chic restaurant brings backthe concept of small plates, while din-ers can sip on their wine. Their visionis to, bring to the table, healthy foodand dismiss the association of Italianfood with just cheese. The entranceof the restaurant is extravagant whilethe interiors give a luxurious and afine-dine vibe. From the cutlery tothe chandeliers and the collection of

exquisite wine from around theworld, the idea is to make you feelfancy.

The first dish to be brought inwas one of Cicchetti’s hot-sellers, theSmoking Cranberry Jalapenos CreamCheese Dome. The cheese board wascovered with a long cylindrical glasscover, filled with smoke that youcould smell from two blocks away.This was truly a platter that caught

the attention of all the six senses. Asthe cover was lifted, one could smellthe Applewood chips that were usedto smoke the dome. The cheeseboard included crackers, a cranber-ry sauce, cream cheese along witholive and jalapenos. The element ofsmoke that was used, added a rusticand earthy flavour to each elementand enhanced them. This was a one-of-a-kind dish that was perfect-

ly balanced and flavoursome. Next dish was the Tomato and

Fennel Soup. Essentially, just a toma-to soup served with grilled fennel andsome veggies, yet, there was some-thing different to it. The tomato soupis finished off with olive oil insteadof cream, which added a fruitiness tothe tangy tomato soup. It also didn’tfeel off because it was still creamy andsmooth in its texture. Pairing it withgrilled fennel was clever. The fennelintroduces a freshness that elevatesthe dish altogether.

Up next was the Poached Chickenwith Warm Mustard Sabayon andMicrogreens. The poached chickenwas shaped into spheres coveredwith the mustard sabayon. The mus-tard is not overpowering at all. It gavemild vinegary and spicy flavournotes that comfort the palate andmakes the dish rich. The greens, ofcourse, bring in the freshness thatcuts through the richness of the

dish. However, the mustard is thedominant flavour of the dish.

With the coming of the GothAglio Oilio in Linguini, it was time forlarge plates. True to its name, the fooddoes look gothic as the pasta wasblack due to activated charcoal. Thisalso gave the dish more of a bite thanis usual in al dente paste. However,its simplicity speaks for itself. Thepasta was packed with garlic and dryred chilli powder and drizzled witholive oil that separated each pastastrand.

The Lamb Shank made its way tothe table and the braised meat stoodin the middle of a pool of creamypolenta centred with a side of roast-ed veggies. The lamb was cooked toperfection and it was smashing to seehow it just fell off the bone. Thecreamy polenta really gelled with thelamb. Although the dish was heavywith a lot of dense flavours, it was def-initely enchanting.

The dessert wrapped up the meal.It was the Classic Vanilla Bean andCoconut Panna Cotta paired withRaspberry Sorbet and dehydratedseasonal fruits. There are no words todescribe the panna cotta. The Frenchvanilla bean was paired with thesmooth and silky panna cotta. Therewasn’t too much gelatin that wasadded and it showed. The raspberrysorbet mixed in well and acted as therefreshing element on the plate.There are absolutely no words todescribe how good this dessert was.You’d just go head over heels for it.

The food here breaks the tradi-tional notion of what Italian foodreally is. For the dishes here are deli-cious yet, healthy. Even though, theplates and servings are small, there isa saying that all good things come insmall packets.

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England women on Thursdayscripted a sensational recoveryfrom a difficult position to reg-

ister a consolation two-wicket win inthe third and final ODI to preventhosts India from completing a white-wash in the three-match series.

Chasing India's total of 205/8,England were struggling at 49/5before all-rounder Danni Wyatt (56off 82 balls) stitched two crucialpartnerships with skipper HeatherKnight (47 off 63 balls) and GeorgiaElwiss (33 not out off 53 balls) topave the way for their victory.

England scored 208-8 in 48.5overs to grab two crucial points asthe three-game series is part of ICCWomen's Championship.

The World Champions areplaced in seventh place and need tobe in the top four to qualify direct-ly for the 2021 World Cup.

India had already sealed theseries after the winning the first twogames.

Defending the target, veteranpacer Jhulan Goswami (3-41) rattledthe England top-order, removingAmy Jones (13), Lauren Winfield (2)and Tamsin Beaumont (21).

Soon, it became 40-4 after off-spinner Deepti Sharma caught andbowled in-form Natalie Sciver (1)and then pacer Shikha Pandeytrapped Sarah Taylor (2) as Englandlost half their side at 49.

But then Wyatt and Knight con-jured an important 69-run stand forthe sixth wicket.

After Knight fell, Wyatt added 56

runs for the seventh wicketwith Elwiss to bring the vis-itors close to the target.

Elwiss and AnyaShrubsole (4 not out) thenheld their nerve to guide theside home.

Earlier, medium-pacerKatherine Brunt (5-28)grabbed a five-wicket haul torestrict India for 205/8.

India women had frittedaway the foundation laid bySmriti Mandhana (66) andPunam Raut (56) after suf-fering a middle-order col-lapse.

Brunt, 33, was the wreck-er-in-chief as the hosts suf-fered a middle-order col-lapse after they slumped

from 129/1 to 150/7.However, Deepti Sharma

(27 not out) and ShikhaPandey (26) later ensuredthat the hosts crossed the200-run mark.

Opting to bat, India lostJemimah Rodrigues (0) early.But then Mandhana andRaut steadied the ship withtheir 129-run second wicketstand.

They initially playedwith caution and later ham-mered the loose deliveries,putting the English attackunder pressure.

Mandhana, who mostlyrelied on pulls and drives,stuck eight fours and a six,while Raut hit seven bound-aries.

But Brunt broughtEngland back in the game byremoving both Mandhanaand Raut in the 29th over.

While Mandhana gave asitter to Dannie Wyatt atdeep-mid wicket, Raut wascleaned up.

Brunt then trappedMona Meshram (0) in frontof the wicket and later sentMithali Raj (7) back to com-plete her fifer.

Taniya Bhatia (0), JhulanGoswami (1) also fell cheap-ly as the visitors made asplendid comeback in themiddle-overs.

The two teams will nowhead to Guwahati to play thethree-match T20I series.

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Comeback man K L Rahul was the loneIndian to feature in the top 10 batting

list, even as Afghanistan's HazratullahZazai jumped 31 spots to be placed atcareer-best seventh position in the latest ICCT20I Players Rankings issued Thursday.

Rahul, who made a successful come-back with scores of 47 and 50 in the just-concluded T20 series against Australiaafter going through a tough time due to achat show controversy, jumped four rungsto the sixth position with 726 rating points.

Formerly top-ranked Virat Kohli (uptwo places to 17th) and former captainMahendra Singh Dhoni (up seven places to56th) have also gained among Indian bats-men.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (up 12places to 15th) and left-arm spinner KrunalPandya (up 18 places to a career-best 43rd)have also advanced.

However, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav hasdropped two places to occupy the fourthspot.

Among others, Australia batsmanGlenn Maxwell rose significantly in therecent ICC T20I Player Rankings after

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Glenn Maxwell would prefer batting higher upthe order in ODIs, following his series-winning

113 at number four in Australia's seven-wicket vic-tory against India in the second T20 International.

Maxwell bats at number 7 in ODIs and wouldhappily take a promotion in the five-match ODIseries starting in Hyderabad on March 2.

The 30-year-old slammed his third T20 inter-national hundred on Wednesday night, an unbeat-en 113 off 55 balls, to blow away India and win theseries 2-0.

"In my case tonight, when I came out, it was15 overs to go I think. And as long as I get a 80 ora 100 out of that even, if I am doing that at a No 6or a 7, it doesn't really matter. It's just me makingthe most of the opportunities when I get them," saidMaxwell.

"It's not easy tojust come here and golike that because theball is a lot older, thewicket's gone a lotquicker here. Eventonight at the end ofthe game, the wicket'ssort of drying out andthere was scuffs allover it," he added.

Maxwell believes thatin ODIs, he will find itdifficult to make a differ-ence at No 7 in mostoccasions and a promo-tion up the order may justsuit his game.

"In one day cricket, it'snot as easy to go at theend. So it would benice to bat higher upbut it depends onwhat happens in thetop four or top five.If the opportunitydoes come up, I'dlike to take," hesaid.

Maxwell wason a rampage,hitting bowlersto all corners ofthe park for ninesixes and seven fours. However, he felt that he didnot take any needless risk.

"I think it's just got to be about picking yourmoments. I think a little bit of it is that I have togo hard but I think I had been just picking off ballsI can hit the boundaries in.

"Like today, I don't think I took too manyridiculous risks and I feel I read the game really welland was able to hit the ball in areas where the field-ers weren't at all. There's not many times I hit theball straight over a fielder's head but just place itin the gap and I feel that's okay for me.

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Adil Rashid snared four wickets in fiveballs as England resisted a determined

West Indies effort to claim a 29-run victo-ry in a high-scoring fourth One-Day

International at the National Stadium inGrenada on Wednesday.

Responding to the tourists' mam-moth total of 418 for six, the high-est ever in an ODI in the Caribbean,

the home side were set on course by arampaging 162 off 97 balls by veteran open-er Chris Gayle.

They remained in the hunt until the48th over when leg-spinner Rashid, whohad taken a fearful hammering in his firstfour overs, broke an 88-run seventh-wick-et partnership between Carlos Brathwaiteand Ashley Nurse.

He then scythed through the tail — tak-ing the last three wickets in the next fourballs — to finish with figures of five for 85off his allotted ten overs.

Despite Rashid finishing as the match-winner with the last five wickets of theinnings, it was fast bowler Mark Wood whoprevented the home side from runningaway with the game as he completed his ten-over spell with excellent figures of four for60 on a pitch tailormade for batting.

"We were fortunate with that spell fromAdil to get us over the line," said a relievedMorgan at the end of the match.

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India women's ODI team cap-tain Mithali Raj is disappoint-

ed for not being able to completea series whitewash againstEngland, but said the 2-1 winover the current world champi-ons would act as a huge confi-dence booster for her side.

Mithali rued the missedopportunity to not only completea 3-0 series whitewash against a

quality side like England, but alsolose out on crucial two points inthe ICC Women'sChampionship.

"Well, it does play a veryimportant part because, obvious-ly we are not playing Pakistanand we just have one more teamthat we are still to play, the WestIndies," said Mithali after thehosts lost the third and final ODIof the series by two wickets hereon Thursday.

Putting things in perspective,Mithali said India now has onlythe contest against the WestIndies to look for after havinglost two points each against SriLanka, South Africa and also inNew Zealand.

"So pretty much in totalitywe lost eight points when wewere in a position to grab those2 points in all those series. So itis disappointing but winningagainst one of the quality sides

with full strength gives lot ofconfidence to this side," sheadded.

She said only against NewZealand the team became a bitcomplacent after wrapping upthe rubber.

"Only in New Zealand, wefelt it was a one-sided game inthe third ODI. But it was a wellfought match against Sri Lanka,which went till the last over andalso in South Africa when we

played South Africa, so thosematches were well fought,"Mithali said.

She said the issue wasaddressed before the seriesagainst England and the teamwas determined to make it 3-0.

"But this (issue) we didaddress and the girls do under-stand. We will definitely work onit, so that in the coming series,if we are in a similar position, wewould like to make it 3-0."

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superb show with the bat in the seriesagainst India.

Maxwell, who was the top-rankedbatsman in the format a year ago, hasgained two slots to reach third position

after scores of 56 and 113 not out thathelped complete a 2-0 victory in India,Australia's first series win in over a decadeagainst the 2007 T20 World Cup cham-pions.

Hazratullah has gained a whopping31 slots to reach a career-best seventhposition after aggregating 204 runs in the3-0 series victory over Ireland, thatincluded an incredible 162 not out, the

second highest score in T20Is. The left-hander slammed 11 fours and 16 sixesduring the 62-ball knock and helped histeam post the highest ever T20I total of278 for three.

Page 16: HZ_X 4`^^R_UVc e` cVefc_ e`URj - Daily Pioneer

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